Although Fuseli had a great dislike to sit for his portrait, there are
the following busts and pictures of him:--A bust in marble, chiselled
when he was in Italy; of the merits of this he always spoke in high
terms, and it is supposed to be now in Rome. A portrait in profile, by
Northcote, taken at Rome in 1778, in the possession of James Carrick
Moore, Esq. A drawing by Sir Thomas Lawrence, in 1787, made for the
translation of Lavater's physiognomy. A portrait by Williamson, of
Liverpool, in 1789, in the possession of William Roscoe, Esq. A picture
by Opie, in 1800, which Mrs. Fuseli now has. A very characteristic
miniature, by Haughton, taken in 1808, in the collection of the Countess
of Guilford; and there are two or three subsequent miniatures by the
same artist. An elaborate portrait in oil colours, by Harlow, painted in
1817, in the possession of the writer of this memoir; and one less
wrought, by the same artist, for Mr. Balmanno. A bust in marble,
executed by Baily, in 1824, for Sir Thomas Lawrence. A portrait by Sir
Thomas Lawrence, taken in 1825, a few weeks before Fuseli's death, is
now in the possession of that gentleman's executor. And a bust in clay,
modelled from a cast of the face, taken after death, by Mr. Baily, for
the Countess of Guilford.
Notwithstanding some eccentricities, Fuseli was a man of method: his
daily occupations, which were almost unalterable, will give some notion
of this. If the weather were favourable, he usually walked for an hour
or two before breakfast; if otherwise, he read some classic author. At
breakfast (which generally occupied an hour), he was engaged in looking
over drawings of entomology, or in reading some book on that science.
After he had breakfasted, and while under the hands of the hair-dresser,
he read Homer in Greek. At half-past ten o'clock he went to his study,
and engaged himself in painting until four; then dressed, and walked
till the time appointed for dinner. In the evening, if not in society,
he amused himself in examining prints, executing drawings, or reading
the popular works of the time. When out of London, the middle of each
day was spent either in drawing, writing, or reading.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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