miniatures, and with such success as to excite the wonder of his acquaintances and of his master, who took him to see some pictures by an artist of the name of Martin, which he viewed with equal delight and admiration. Continuing to paint miniatures, he began to be so much employed as to find it worth his while to quit his trade, upon an understanding that his master should receive part of his earnings. Before the term of his apprenticeship had expired, he commenced painting in oil on a large scale, and, for this purpose, borrowed several pictures from Martin to copy. This artist, who did not assist him in any other way, accused him of selling one of the copies; in consequence of which, Raeburn indignantly refused any further accommodation from him. He now gradually relinquished miniature painting, and, at the expiration of his apprenticeship, commenced portrait painter by profession. His marriage with a lady of some fortune, in his twentythird year, did not alter his views; on the contrary, he became more ambitious of professional success, and removed to London for the purpose of further improvement. Being introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds, that eminent artist gave him the encouragement of which he thought his works worthy; and not only advised him to pass some time in Italy, but volunteered to furnish him, if it had been required, with pecuniary assistance for that purpose. Mr. Raeburn accordingly set out for Rome, and, after having occupied two years in studying the Italian masters, returned home in 1787, and established himself in George Street, Edinburgh.

He soon came into full practice, and Martin, finding himself compelled to retire, Mr. Raeburn had the field of portrait painting entirely to himself, and thenceforth maintained it, unrivalled. Martin, it seems, did not give up the contest without a struggle; and in the same spirit which made him accuse Raeburn of selling one of his copies, he now declared that "the lad in George Street painted better before he went to Rome." In a few years, Raeburn became so celebrated in his profession as to be called the Reynolds of the North; and he had the honour of painting almost every distinguished

Scotsman. It was not, however, till 1814, that he was admitted an associate of the Royal Academy; and being elected a royal academician in the following year, he paid a visit to London on the occasion, where he was warmly welcomed by Wilkie and other eminent artists. Not long after, he was chosen a member of the Imperial Academy of Florence, of the Academy of New York, and of the Academy of Arts in South Carolina, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. After he had become a royal academician, his exhibitions at Somerset House were more frequent than before, and obtained so much notice as to induce in him some thoughts of establishing himself in London. Upon this point he consulted Sir Thomas Lawrence; and though "Raeburn," observes Allan Cunningham, 66 never expressly said it, he sometimes, I am told, seemed to insinuate, in conversations at his own fireside, that the president of the Royal Academy had been no loser by his absence from the field of competition." In the autumn of 1822, when the king visited Scotland, Mr. Raeburn received the honour of knighthood; and on the following 5th of October, a grand dinner was given to him by the artists of Edinburgh. In the summer of 1823, he was appointed portrait painter to his majesty for Scotland; an honour which he survived but a few days, dying, after a week's illness, on the 8th of July, in the same year. He was survived by his lady and one son. Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland, held a meeting on the 10th of July, at which the Society expressed their regret that the season of the year, and other circumstances, prevented them from attending publicly his funeral; and, at a meeting of the Royal Academy of London, on the 16th, Sir Thomas Lawrence "expressed his high admiration for the talents of the deceased, and his unfeigned respect for the high feeling and gentlemanlike conduct which had conferred a dignity on himself and on the art which he professed. loss had left a blank in the Royal Academy as well as in his own country, which could not be filled up."

The

His

Before we enter on a discussion of Sir Henry's merits as an artist, it

may be as well to enumerate some of his principal works. His chief portraits were those of Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Keith, of Ravelstone, the celebrated Dugald Stewart, Professor Playfair, Francis Horner, Lord Frederick Campbell, Dr. Macnab, Mr. Macdonald, of St. Martin's, Sir John Hay, Bart., Lord Glenloe, Lord Douglas, Dr. Hope, Sir John Douglas. James Watt, Dr. Marcet, Francis Jeffrey, Henry Mackenzie, Honourable Henry Erskine, Lord Meadowbank, John Rennie, Chantrey, the sculptor, &c., &c. Of Sir Walter Scott, he painted two portraits; the last, but a short time before his death. Of the first, which represents Sir Walter at full length, sitting on some fragments of Gothic masonry, with two favourite greyhounds at his side, an engraving was made; in reference to which, Allan Cunningham tells a ludicrous anecdote. "The success of this attempt," he says, 66 was told me by the artist in these words, on the day the print was published :— "The thing is d-d, sir!-gonesunk! Nothing could be more unfortunate! When I put up my Scott for sale, another man put up his Molyneux. You know the taste of our London beer-suckers : one black bruiser is worth a thousand bright poets: the African sells in thousands, and the Caledonian won't move :-a dead loss, sir-gone-d-d !-won't do! "

Sir Henry Raeburn possessed, in an eminent degree, the requisites for a first-rate artist. His likenesses were strikingly indicative of the character as well as of the features; and these he had the art of delineating under their most pleasing and dignified aspect, without the introduction of any ideal touches or departure from the strictest truth. A natural penetration, aided by the most agreeable conversational powers, always enabled him to draw out the mental characteristics of his sitters, and his hand was no less ready in transferring the expression of them to his canvass. In this manner he made many friends; his agreeable manners and intelligent conversation seldom failing to make a very pleasing impression on the majority of those who sat to him. His manner of painting has been thus described by one of his friends who came for his portrait :

"He spoke a few words to me in his usual brief and kindly way, evidently to put me into an agreeable mood, and then, having placed me in a chair on a platform, at the end of his paintingroom, in the posture required, sat up his easel beside me with the canvass ready to receive the colour. When he saw all was right, he took his palette and his brush, retreated back, step by step, with his face towards me, till he was nigh the other end of the room; he stood and studied for a minute more, then came up to the canvass, and, without looking at me, wrought upon it with colour for some time. Having done this, he retreated in the same manner, studied my looks at that distance for about another minute, then came hastily up to the canvass, and painted a few minutes more. I had sat to other artists; their way was quite different: they made an outline carefully in chalk, measured it with compasses, placed the canvass close to me, and looking me in the face almost without ceasing, proceeded to fill up the same with colour. They succeeded best in the minute detail-Kaeburn best in the general result of the expression; they obtained, by means of a multitude of little touches, what he found by broader masses; they gave more of the man-he gave most of the mind. I may add that I found him well informed, with no professional pedantry about him; indeed, no one could have imagined him a painter till he took up the brush and palette."

These high qualifications were accompanied by a profound knowledge of his art in all its minor points. The whole style of his execution was bold, free, and open; his drawing was correct, his colouring rich and deep, his lights welldisposed, and the accessories, without being divested of their character of subordinates, were always treated with elegance and spirit. He drew animals with peculiar felicity, particularly the horse; so that his equestrian portraits are considered his best performances. What other artists could only achieve by repeated trials, his firm and sure touch enabled him to execute at once; and hence Sir Thomas Lawrence is reported to have said that, though he received a higher price for his pictures, he was worse paid for his time than

Raeburn. One rule, from which Sir Henry never deviated, and to which he ascribed the genuine and natural character of his pictures, was, never to copy any object whatever from memory. The elevation and dignity of style which he always maintained, has been attributed to his exclusive acquaintance with the Italian masters.

Sir Henry Raeburn understood something of sculpture and architecture as well as painting; indeed, he had, at one time, conceived the idea of making the former branch of art his profession. Had he done so, there is little doubt but that he would have become eminent; at least if we may judge from a small medallion of himself, executed just after his return from Rome. Of his taste in architecture he has left a proof in the suburb at Stockbridge, raised and planned by him; and which, since its union with the new town of Edinburgh, has been called Raeburnville. Such was his fondness for architecture, that, in a picture by Allen, of the eminent men of Edinburgh, he is represented tracing the foundation-plans of his new town with his wet forefinger upon the table. He had also a passion for mechanics and hydrodynamics; and though, as one of his biographers observes, he had not acquired that knowledge of geometry and analysis which is requisite to the profound study of these branches of knowledge, yet he had obtained a practical acquaintance with them which is not often possessed by the general reader. Not very congenial with his other tastes, was a pre

dilection for dabbling in law. "Of all our clients," his professional adviser is represented as saying, "he was the most enthusiastic, and, at the same time, the most acute and shrewd. He dearly loved a ganging plea, and smiled to see difficult cases arise which promised a new case. He was, as Prior says of another matter, a great lover of that same:' but do not misunderstand me; the subject of these observations desired to oppress no one, and never waged war but for his own right, and to keep his plans free from blemish, perfect as he had laid them down."

Sir Henry Raeburn possessed a tall and commanding person, with a noble and expressive countenance. He excelled at archery, golf, and other Scottish exercises; was particularly fond of fishing; and passed no inconsiderable portion of his time in making experiments to discover perpetual motion. In private and domestic life, he was equally esteemed; but though much courted in society, he seemed always happiest at home. His extensive information and agreeable manners made him a very desirable companion; and he seldom failed to enliven the social or convivial circle, from the rich store of anecdote which he had at command. To young artists his conduct was particularly kind and encouraging; to such of them as asked his advice or assistance, whether acquainted with them or not, he freely accorded it; and when unable to give them his time in the day, would engage them to come to him early in the morning.

WILLIAM BLAKE, the son of a hosier, was born in Broad Street, Golden Square, on the 28th of November, 1757. He was educated for his father's business, but, in consequence of his love for poetry and painting, he was, at fourteen years of age, apprenticed to Basire, the engraver. He served his master with diligence, attending to the graver in the day time, and to his favourite pursuits in the evening. About 1783. he married a young

woman, named Katharine Boutcher, and, shortly afterwards, entered into partnership with a fellow-apprentice, and commenced printseller, in Broad Street. A separation taking place, he removed to Poland Street, where, to the occupation of plate-engraving and song-writing, he added that of musical composition. The first work which he published was entitled, Songs of Innocence and Experience, consisting of about seventy designs, in which the

VOL. IV.

artist and the visionary were equally conspicuous. Of his poetry, he also gave some favourable specimens in this publication; and his love of that art seems to have had a singular effect on his imagination. Not content with putting into verse his dreams, he declared that he held communion with the dead, and that the spirit of his favourite brother, Robert, had appeared to him, for the express purpose of advising him in what manner to bring out the work just mentioned. The spirit, he said, desired him "to write the poetry, and draw the designs upon the copper with a certain liquid (which he always kept a secret ;) then to cut the plain parts of the plate down with aquafortis, and that would give the whole, both poetry and figures, in the manner of a stereotype." Blake followed this plan, and tinted both the figures and the verse with a variety of colours. His next successive productions were entitled, respectively, The Gates of Paradise, and Urizen; the latter being a perform ance of such extravagant originality, that even his wife, who could usually interpret his most obscure meanings, declared she could not tell the import of this. It was published in 1794, at which time he was residing in Lambeth. Genius, however, of no ordinary character, was sufficiently visible in his efforts to make his name favourably known. Edwards, the bookseller, employed him to illustrate Young's Night Thoughts; and he, shortly afterwards, became intimate with Flaxman, the sculptor, and Hayley, the poet. At the request of the latter, who had a house at Felpham, in Sussex, he removed to that place, for the purpose of making engravings for the Life of Cowper. Whilst thus employed, he wrote some letters to Flaxman, in one of which occurs the following passage: "And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth is shaken off. I am more famed in heaven for my works than I could well conceive. In my brain are studies and chambers, filled with books and pictures of old, which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity, before my mortal life; and those works are the delight and study of archangels."

After a residence of three years at Felpham, he removed to South Molton

Street, and, shortly afterwards, published a hundred designs, entitled, Jerusalem, which he thus announced: "After my three years' slumber on the banks of the ocean, I again display my giant forms to the world." Some of the figures are said to have been worthy of Michael Angelo; but the performance, as a whole, was too obscure to become popular. His next work was the illustrations of Blair's poem of The Grave, which were deservedly commended by Fuseli, and had the merit of exciting both sympathy and admiration. This was followed by his Canterbury Pilgrimage, which, with his principal works, he exhibited at the ho se of his brother, in Broad Street, in 1809. One of his latest, and, certainly, the best of his performances, was, A Series of Inventions, as he used to call them, for the Book of Job. They amounted to twenty-one, and were executed with a sublime simplicity, and in a manner worthy of the subject. He next drew, and engraved, two works, entitled, Prophecies concerning Europe and America, containing, together, thirty-five plates: the design was sufficiently wild and obscure; the colouring and drawing in his best style. Blake continued to labour to the last, with cheerfulness and enthusiasm, although, from want of patronage, he was latterly so poor, that, but for the assistance of friends, he would have wanted a meal. Three days before his death, he sat up in bed, to tint a favourite work of his, called The Ancient of Days, and, seeing his wife in tears, said to her, "Stay, Kate; keep just as you are-1 will draw your portrait-for you have ever been an angel to me." He made an excellent likeness of her, and died two days afterwards, on the 12th of August, 1828.

Respecting the works of this extraordinary man, no satisfactory conclusion can be come to: by many they will be called the productions of a madman; and still more will regard them as the abortions, or, at least, the misconceptions, of genius. Had he condescended to consult other models than those presented to him by his own ideas, he would undoubtedly have risen to the highest eminence in his art; for he possessed, in addition to a sublime imagination, the most unwearied patience and perseverance. In his most

mystical pictures, there is something that arrests the attention strongly, though, perhaps, both the subject and the feeling it conveys are indescribable: he is extravagant, but still sublime; fantastic, not ludicrous.

As a man, he was esteemed and respected by all who knew him: he was somewhat touchy in temper, but his manners were seldom other than gentle and unassuming. He was short in stature, and slightly made; had peculiarly dark and expressive eyes, and a high, thoughtful brow. He continued a visionary to the last, and bore his poverty with the calmness of a philosopher, and the fortitude of a martyr. "Were I to love money," he used to say, "I should lose all power of thought: desire of gain deadens the genius of man. I might roll in wealth, and ride in a golden chariot, were I to listen to the voice of parsimony. My business is not to gather gold, but to make glorious shapes, expressing godlike sentiments."

A few anecdotes of Blake and his supernatural acquaintances are too singular to be omitted in our memoir. He boasted of a personal intimacy with Homer and Virgil, Dante and Pindar. Moses occasionally looked in upon him; and Milton once intrusted him with a whole poem of his; but the communication being oral, he could not give it to the world. Among those who stayed long enough for him to take

their portraits, were William Wallace, Edward the First, Corinna, Laïs, and Herod; all of whom he declared sat to him in propria persona. He was engaged, one day, at his easel, when a friend entered: "Disturb me not," said Blake, in a whisper, "I have one sitting to me." "Sitting to you!Where is he, and what is he?—I see no one," exclaimed the astonished visitor. "But I see him, sir," answered Blake, haughtily; "there he is, his name is Lot-you may read of him in the Scripture. He is sitting for his portrait." The most extraordinary of his visitations is yet to be told. He was found by a friend, one evening, more than usually excited, and, on being asked the cause, said, "I have seen a wonderful thing-the ghost of a flea." "And did you make a drawing of him?" inquired his friend. "No, indeed," he replied; "I wish I had; but I shall, if he appears again." He looked earnestly into a corner of the room, and then said, "Here he is; reach me my things-I shall keep my eye on him. There he comes! his eager tongue whisking out of his mouth, a cup in his hand to hold blood, and covered with a scaly skin of gold and green:"-and according to this description he drew him. When asked how the apparitions of his sages and heroes looked, he answered, "They are all majestic shadows, gray and luminous, and superior to the common height of men."

JOHN HOPPNER, said, though upon slender authority, to have been a natural son of George the Third, was born in London, about the year 1759. His mother was one of the German attendants at the royal palace, and, as he was brought up and educated at the expense of the king, the story of his birth obtained additional credit. Having a melodious voice, he was made one of the choristers of the Royal Chapel; but how long he sang there, or when he first turned his attention to art, his biographers have not stated. He was a student of the Royal Academy, and made such

rapid proficiency, that, in his twentyfourth year, he had already attained something like reputation, by the superior manner in which he painted heads. He gained critical approbation, by a portrait of Mrs. Jordan as the Comic Muse, and of a lady as a Bacchante, which were soon followed by his portraits of the Duke and Duchess of York, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Clarence, and of several of the nobility, both male and female. Between this period and his fortieth year, he continued the favourite painter of the day, had become a royal academician, and.