Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses: Edited, with an Introduction, by Helen ZimmernReynolds, Joshua, Sir
General
Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses: Edited, with an Introduction, by Helen Zimmern
Reynolds, Joshua, Sir
Art
I will mention a few that occur to me of this narrow, confined,
illiberal, unscientific, and servile kind of imitators. Guido was thus
meanly copied by Elizabetta, Sirani, and Simone Cantarini; Poussin, by
Verdier and Cheron; Parmeggiano by Jeronimo Mazzuoli. Paolo Veronese,
and Iacomo Bassan, had for their imitators their brothers and sons.
Pietro da Cortona was followed by Ciro Ferri, and Romanelli; Rubens,
by Jacques Jordaens and Diepenbeke; Guercino, by his own family, the
Gennari. Carlo Maratti was imitated by Giuseppe Chiari, and Pietro de
Pietri; and Rembrandt, by Bramer, Eeckhout, and Flink. All these, to
whom may be added a much longer list of painters, whose works among
the ignorant pass for those of their masters, are justly to be
censured for barrenness and servility.
To oppose to this list a few that have adopted a more liberal style of
imitation;--Pellegrino Tibaldi Rosso and Primaticcio did not coldly
imitate, but caught something of the fire that animates the works of
Michel Angelo. The Caraccis formed their style from Pellegrino
Tibaldi, Correggio, and the Venetian school. Domenichino, Guido,
Lanfranco, Albano, Guercino, Cavidone, Schidone, Tiarini, though it is
sufficiently apparent that they came from the school of the Caraccis,
have yet the appearance of men who extended their views beyond the
model that lay before them, and have shown that they had opinions of
their own, and thought for themselves, after they had made themselves
masters of the general principles of their schools.
Le Suer's first manner resembles very much that of his master Voüet;
but as he soon excelled him, so he differed from him in every part of
the art. Carlo Maratti succeeded better than those I have first named,
and, I think, owes his superiority to the extension of his views;
beside his master Andrea Sacchi, he imitated Raffaelle, Guido, and the
Caraccis. It is true, there is nothing very captivating in Carlo
Maratti; but this proceeded from a want which cannot be completely
supplied; that is, want of strength of parts. In this certainly men
are not equal; and a man can bring home wares only in proportion to
the capital with which he goes to market. Carlo, by diligence, made
the most of what he had; but there was undoubtedly a heaviness about
him, which extended itself, uniformly, to his invention, expression,
his drawing, colouring, and the general effect of his pictures. The
truth is, he never equalled any of his patterns in any one thing, and
he added little of his own.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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