ence to paint light, than the
objects seen by it.

'Titian's great care was to express the general colour, to preserve the
masses of light and shade, and to give, by opposition, the idea of that
solidity which is inseparable from natural objects. When these are
preserved, though the work should possess no other merit, it will have,
in a proper place, its complete effect; but where any of these are
wanting, however minutely laboured the picture may be in detail, the
whole will have a false, and even an unfinished appearance, at whatever
distance, or in whatever light it can be shown. It is in vain to attend
to the variations of tints, if in that attention, the general _hue_ is
lost, or to finish ever so minutely the parts, if the masses are not
observed, or the _whole_ not well put together. And those who will
examine into the artifice, will find it to consist in the power of
_generalizing_, and the shortness and simplicity of the means employed;'
and in fixed principles, our general ideas predominating over our
individual.

Rubens, in his splendid manner, involved all the schools--Roman, Dutch,
and Venetian! yet, with all this magnificence and variety, possessed
repose.

ACCIDENT.--Accident often comes in aid of invention. In nature, all
objects by daylight are equally illumined; the painter has, therefore,
always found it necessary to avail himself of accident, whenever it may
occur: shadows, in particular, reflected upon one object by another;
large floating masses of light or shade thrown across a mountain, a flat
country, or an open sea, by the passing clouds as they sail by; flashes
and streaks of light, as they struggle from between them, &c., are all
adapted to work out the general effect. Where the _forms_ of a
composition are _insufficient_, this is the usual resource, these
accessories generally supplying grandeur and elevation to the scene. All
catching lights should be laid hold of with equal tenacity. The clearing
off of a shower is particularly favourable to this useful auxiliary.

DEXTERITY AND AFFECTATION.

A CONTEMPTIBLE species of affectation in the form of a _dashing
dexterity_--used, in most instances, to confuse and mystify bad drawing,
conceal ignorance of principles, and all the higher excellencies a
painter should have studied and brought to aid his work--has been so
widely diffused of late, that a notice of this splashing attainment may
not be out of place in a work of this kind. I