The anatomy and philosophy of expression : as connected with the fine arts / by Charles Bell.

  • Charles Bell
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The anatomy and philosophy of expression : as connected with the fine arts / by Charles Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/332 (page 3)
    genius, cultivated and enriched by a constant observa- tion of nature. Till he has acquired a poet’s eye for nature, and can seize with intuitive quickness the appearances of passion, and all the effects produced upon the body by the operations of the mind, he has not raised himself above the mechanism of his art, nor does he rank with the poet or historian. It is a happy characteristic of the present times, that a love of the fine arts is becoming more and more pre- valent among the affluent; but still, rich furniture, mere ornamental painting and gilding, usurp the place of art properly so called. The mansion of an English nobleman and that of a Roman of the same rank present a singular contrast. The former exhibits car- pets, silk hangings, lamps, mirrors, china, and perhaps books. The palazzo, on the other hand, in its general aspect, may betray antiquity and decay; yet respect for ancestry retains on its walls the proofs of former grandeur and taste; there hang many pictures, each of which would purchase an English villa or furnish a London mansion in all the extravagance of fashion. Yulgar curiosity may seek admittance to the finery of the one, while princes are gratified by admission to the other. Original genius seems peculiarly necessary to ex- cellence in design. Good taste may be acquired by familiarity with statues and paintings, and by the con- versation of the ingenious ; but the power of execution depends on deeper sources. In reading Yasari, we are struck by the difficulties with which the famous painters had to struggle. There is hardly one of them who had not to combat parental authority before obtaining leave to give up his days to painting; nor is it sur- prising that there should be an unwillingness to permit a youth to dedicate his life to an art so little gainful, where extraordinary excellence alone obtains notice, and b 2