in this place. The difpofition, of which we have been speaking hitherto, is purely picturesque: But there is a fecond kind, which we may call the expreffive. When many perfons are prefent at an action, in which they are interested, it naturally fets them in motion; their movements will depend on their characters and feeling; anger, love, or aftonishment, fhall with propriety be expreffed by fingle figures; whilft others fhall be collected into parties, or groupes, to communicate their fears, doubts, belief, and the like. Thus, in that inimitable picture by Leonardo da Vinci, when Christ, at fupper with his difciples, declares, that one of them fhall betray him; they all inftantly take the alarm: One of the youngeft, rifing from his feat, his hands croffed on his breast, looks on Christ with an action full of love and attachment to his perfon; the zealous and impatient St. Peter, throws himself a-crofs two or three others, others and whispers the beloved difciple, who is next to Chrift; no doubt, to ask his mafter who it fhould be. The reft are divided into parties, reafoning and difputing on their different fentiments. It is easy to perceive, that the artist, intent on giving a full expreffion to the sentiments and paffions becoming the occafion, confidered the difpofition of his picture, merely, as it tended to explain or add force to his principal action. This will ever be the cafe with the greatest painters: They may fet a juft value on the scenery of their piece, but never facrifice to that the expreffion of their fubject. When Chrift gives the keys to Peter, nothing is more natural, than that the dif ciples fhould all crowd together, to be witneffes of an action which fo much concerned them. This difpofition is true and expreffive, but by no means picturesque : Raphael was too wife, to flatter the eye, at the expence of the understanding; yet, where where they could both be indulged with propriety, his compofition was no less picturesque than expreffive. In his St. Paul preaching at Athens, the difpofition in general is not only pleasing, but the groupes are well imaged, and happily connected. In fhort, the true difference between these artifts, is this, with Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, difpofition is an acceffory; with Lanfranc and Pietro di Cortona, it is not only a principal, but comprehends too often the whole merit of the picture. B. HAVING fettled our ideas of this part which you call the scenery of painting; let us, if you please, examine the merit of the ancients in this article: It is the received opinion, I think, that their compofitions in painting, like thofe of their baffo Relievo's, were extremely fimple; if fo, I cannot exp.& much from you on this head. A. THIS A. THIS opinion, is a neceffary confequence of that, which I have already mentioned, namely, that they were unacquainted with the laws of perspective, and the effects of the clear obfcure. If the contrary of this be true, which, it seems to me, I have proved; we may very well conclude, that, poffeffed of the fame means with the moderns, and at least equal to them in genius, they should employ them to the fame ends. Was their compofition fo fimple as it is thought, there could be, in this particular, no variety in the art, and, of course, no-degrees of merit in the artists. Yet, we are told by Pliny," [] That Apelles confeffed Amphion to be his fuperior in the dif pofition: It was then an object of attention; it must have been too, in the opinion of the ancients, of confequence; for, the [Cedebat Amphioni de Difpofitione. hiftorian hiftorian gives it as an extraordinary inftance of [m] candor in the painter. It is probable then, that, as Apelles was the Raphael, fo Amphion was the Lanfranc of Greece. B. I AM inclined to believe from hence, that the first painters among the ancients, like those among the moderns, were, as it is natural they should be, more ftudious of the expreffive than the picturefque; and this may be the reafon why the claffic writers, who borrowed their ideas of painting from their capital works, have not dwelt on the article of difpofition; looking on it as a circumftance infeperable from the general expreffion of the fubject. A. AND yet they are not altogether filent on this head: And we may find, even in [m] Fuit Apelles non minoris fimplicitatis quam arLib. xxxv. c, 10. tis; nam cedebat, &c, them |