MILTON GALLERY,
Reading edition
AS IT WAS OPENED THE 20TH OF MAY, 1799.
PARADISE LOST.
Picture I.—A Sketch.
Satan risen from the Flood, Beelzebub rising.
Forthwith upright he rears from off the pool His mighty stature; on each hand the flames Driv'n backward slope their pointing spires, and roll'd In billows, leave i' th' midst a horrid vale. ——Him follow'd his next mate, Both glorying to have 'scap'd the Stygian flood As Gods—— Book I. v. 221, 238.
In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Picture II.
Satan calling up his Legions.
——On the beach Of that enflamed sea he stood, and call'd His legions, Angel forms, who lay entranc'd Thick as autumnal leaves, that strow the brooks In Vallombrosa.—— He call'd so loud, that all the hollow deep Of Hell resounded.—— Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n. They heard, and were abash'd, and up they sprung—— Book I. v. 299, 314, 330.
In the possession of His Grace the Duke of Wellington.
Picture III.—A Sketch.
Satan haranguing his Host.
He spake: and to confirm his words, out flew Millions of flaming swords, drawn from the thighs Of mighty Cherubim.—— Book I. v. 663.
Picture IV.
Figures from a simile in allusion to the contracted form of the Spirits assembled in the new-raised Hall of Pandæmonium, illustrated by a simile from
——Fairy elves, Whose midnight revels by a forest side Or fountain some belated peasant sees, Or dreams he sees, while over head the moon Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth Wheels her pale course, they on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear; At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds. Book I. v. 781.
Picture V.
Satan encount'ring Death, Sin interposing.
——And now great deeds Had been achiev'd, whereof all Hell had rung, Had not the snaky Sorceress that sat Fast by Hell gate, and kept the fatal key, Ris'n, and with hideous outcry rush'd between. ——She finish'd, and the subtle Fiend his lore Soon learn'd, now milder.—— Book II. v. 722, 815.
In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Picture VI.
The Birth of Sin.
All on a sudden miserable pain Surpris'd thee, dim thine eyes, and dizzy swam In darkness, while thy head flames thick and fast Threw forth, till on the left side opening wide, Likest to thee in shape and count'nance bright, Then shining heav'nly fair, a Goddess arm'd Out of thy head I sprung.—— Book II. v. 752.
In the possession of Samuel Cartwright, Esq.
Picture VII.
Sin pursued by Death.
——I fled, and cry'd out Death; I fled, but he pursued—— ——And swifter far Me overtook.—— Book II. v. 787.
In the possession of John Knowles, Esq.
Picture VIII.
Lapland Orgies, the Hell-hounds round Sin compared to those that
——follow the night-hag, when call'd In secret, riding through the air she comes, Lur'd with the smell of infant blood, to dance With Lapland witches, while the lab'ring moon Eclipses at their charms.—— Book II. v. 662.
In the possession of John Knowles, Esq.
Picture IX.
Satan's ascent from Hell.
——At last his sail-broad vans He spreads for flight, and in the surging smoke Uplifted spurns the ground.—— Book II. v. 927.
In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Picture X.
A Gryphon pursuing an Arimaspian. A comparison of Satan's exertions to force his way through the realm of Chaos.
As when a Gryphon through the wilderness With winged course, o'er hill or moory dale, Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth Had from his wakeful custody purloin'd The guarded gold: so eagerly the Fiend—— Book II. v. 943.
In the possession of John Knowles, Esq.
Picture XI.
Satan bursts from Chaos.
He ceas'd; and Satan stay'd not to reply, But—— Springs upward like a pyramid of fire. Book II. v. 1010.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XII.
Ulysses between Scylla and Charybdis. An exemplification of Satan straitened in his passage to Light.
——Harder beset Than when Ulysses on the larboard shunn'd Charybdis, and by th' other whirlpool steer'd So he with difficulty and labour hard Mov'd on, with difficulty and labour he. Book II. v. 1019.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XIII.
Adam and Eve first discovered by Satan.
Under a tuft of shade that on a green Stood whisp'ring soft, by a fresh fountain side They sat them down. Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles Wanted, nor youthful dalliance as beseems Fair couple, link'd in happy nuptial league, Alone as they—— ——aside the 'Spirit' turn'd For envy, yet with jealous leer malign Ey'd them askance.—— Book IV. v. 325, 337, 502.
Picture XIV.
Satan surprised at the ear of Eve, starting from the touch of Ithuriel's Spear.
Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear Touch'd lightly;—— ——up he starts Discovered and surpris'd. As when a spark Lights on a heap of nitrous powder,—— ——the smutty grain With sudden blaze diffus'd inflames the air: So started up in his own shape the Fiend. Back stept those two fair Angels half amaz'd So sudden to behold the grisly king. Book IV. v. 810.
In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq.
Picture XV.—A Sketch.
Satan discovering his fate in the Scale aloft, flying from Gabriel and the Angelic Squadron.
——On th' other side Satan alarm'd Collecting all his might dilated stood.—— ——The Fiend look'd up, and knew His mounted scale aloft: nor more; but fled Murm'ring, and with him fled the shades of night. Book IV. v. 985, 1013.
Picture XVI.
The Dream of Eve, fancying to have tasted the fruit from the Tree of interdicted Knowledge, with
One shap'd and wing'd like one of those from Heaven. ——Forthwith up to the clouds With him I flew, and underneath beheld The earth outstretch'd immense—— ——Suddenly My guide was gone, and I, methought, sunk down, And fell asleep;—— Book V. v. 55, 86, 90.
In the possession of Wm. Young Ottley, Esq.
Picture XVII.
The creation of Eve, as related by Adam.
Abstract as in a trance methought I saw, Though sleeping, where I lay, and saw the shape Still glorious before whom awake I stood; Who stooping open'd my left side, and took From thence a rib—— Under his forming hands a creature grew, ——So lovely fair, That what seem'd fair in all the world, seem'd now Mean, or in her summ'd up.—— Book VIII. v. 462, 470.
Picture XVIII.
Eve, new created, led to Adam.
——On she came, Led by her heav'nly Maker,—— And guided by his voice,—— Grace was in all her steps, Heav'n in her eye, I overjoy'd could not forbear aloud. This turn has made amends.—— Book VIII. v. 484.
In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq.
Picture XIX.
Eve at the forbidden Tree.
——Her rash hand in evil hour Forth reaching to the fruit, she pluck'd, she eat; ——Back to the thicket slunk The guilty serpent.—— Book IX. v. 780.
Picture XX.
Adam resolved to share the fate of Eve; the Guardian Angels leaving the Garden.
——if death Consort with thee, death is to me as life; Our state cannot be sever'd, we are one, One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself. So Adam, and thus Eve to him reply'd. O glorious trial of exceeding love, Illustrious evidence, example high! So saying, she embrac'd him, and for joy Tenderly wept—— Up into Heav'n from Paradise in haste Th' angelic guards ascended, mute and sad For Man—— Book IX. v. 953, 958, 990.—Book X. v. 17.
Picture XXI.
Eve, after the Sentence and departure of the Judge, despairing, supported by Adam.
——With swift ascent he up return'd. She ended here, or vehement despair Broke off the rest; so much of death her thoughts Had entertain'd, as dy'd her cheeks with pale. But Adam with such counsel nothing sway'd, To better hopes his more attentive mind Lab'ring had raised.—— Book X. v. 224, 1007.
Picture XXII.
Death and Sin bridging the 'waste' of Chaos, and met by Satan on his return from Earth.
——The aggregated soil Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry, As with a trident smote,—— ——and the mole immense wrought on Over the foaming deep high arch'd, a bridge Of length prodigious.—— ——when behold Satan in likeness of an Angel bright—— ——Sin, his fair Enchanting daughter, thus the silence broke: O Parent, these are thy magnific deeds. Book X. v. 293, 300, 326, 352.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XXIII.
Satan discovered on his Throne, after his return from Earth.
——Down a while He sat, and round about him saw unseen: At last as from a cloud his fulgent head And shape star-bright appear'd—— ——all amaz'd At that so sudden blaze the Stygian throng Bent their aspect—— ——loud was th' acclaim: Forth rush'd in haste the great consulting peers, Rais'd from their dark Divan.—— Book X. v. 447, 452, 455.
Picture XXIV.
The Vision of the Lazar-house.
——Immediately a place Before his eyes appear'd, sad, noisome, dark, A lazar-house it seem'd, wherein were laid Numbers of all diseas'd, all maladies. Demoniac phrenzy, moping melancholy, And moon-struck madness, pining atrophy. Marasmus—— Dire was the tossing, deep the groans; And over them triumphant Death his dart Shook, but delay'd to strike, though oft invok'd. Book XI. v. 477, 485.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XXV.
The Vision of the Deluge.
——the thicken'd sky Like a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain Impetuous—— ——Sea cover'd sea, Sea without shore—— How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold The end of all thy offspring—— Depopulation! Book XI. v. 742, 754.
In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq.
Picture XXVI.
The Vision of Noah.
——from his ark The ancient sire descends with all his train; Then with uplifted hands, and eyes devout, Grateful to Heav'n, over his head beholds A dewy cloud, and in the cloud a bow. Book XI. v. 861.
In the Church at Luton, Bedfordshire.
Picture XXVII.
The dismission of Adam and Eve from Paradise.
In either hand the hast'ning Angel caught Our ling'ring parents, and to th' eastern gate Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast To the subjected plain; then disappear'd. They looking back, all th' eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Wav'd over by that flaming brand, the gate With dreadful faces throng'd and fiery arms: Some natural tears they dropt.—— Book XII. v. 637.
PARADISE REGAINED.
Picture XXVIII.
Jesus on the pinnacle of the Temple.
There on the highest pinnacle he set The Son of God, and added thus in scorn. There stand, if thou wilt stand; to stand upright Will ask thee skill.—— To whom thus Jesus; also it is written, Tempt not the Lord thy God: he said and stood: But Satan smitten with amazement fell. Book IV. v. 549, 560.
HYMN ON THE NATIVITY.
Picture XXIX.
Mary and Jesus. The ruin of Paganism.
The Oracles are dumb, No voice or hideous hum Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. Apollo from his shrine Can no more divine, &c. The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn; The brutish Gods of Nile as fast, Isis and Orus, and the dog Anubis haste. Stanza xix. xxii-iii.
In the possession of John Knowles, Esq.
L'ALLEGRO.
Picture XXX.
Faery Mab.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XXXI.
The Friar's Lanthorn.
In the possession of Watts Russell, Esq.
Picture XXXII.
The Lubbar Fiend.
With stories told of many a feat, How faery Mab the junkets eat, She was pinch'd, and pull'd she said, And he by friar's lanthorn led Tells how the drudging Goblin swet, To earn his cream-bowl duly set, When in one night, ere glimpse of morn, His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn, That ten day-lab'rers could not end; Then lies him down the lubbar fiend, And stretch'd out all the chimney's length, Basks at the fire his hairy strength. V. 101.
Picture XXXI. receives still better light from the following lines in Paradise Lost, Book IX. v. 634, &c.
——as when a wand'ring fire, Which oft, they say, some evil Sp'rit attends, Hovering and blazing with delusive light, Misleads th' amaz'd night-wand'rer from his way To bogs and mires, and oft through pond or pool, There swallow'd up and lost, from succour far.
IL PENSIEROSO.
Picture XXXIII.
Silence.
Some still removed place—— Where glowing embers through the room Teach light to counterfeit a gloom. V. 78.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XXXIV.
Chremhild meditating revenge over the Sword of Sigfrid.
Or call up him that left half told The story of Cambuscan bold—— And if aught else great bards beside In sage and solemn tunes have sung—— V. 109, 116.
COMUS.
Picture XXXV.
The Palace and the Rout of Comus; the Lady set in the enchanted Chair, to whom he offered his Glass; the Brothers rushing in with Swords drawn, wrest the Glass out of his hand; his Rout flying.
Picture XXXVI.
Orgies of Cotytto. Baptæ preparing a Philtrum. See the Vth Epode of Horace.
Venus now wakes, and wakens Love. Come let us our rites begin—— Hail Goddess of nocturnal sport, Dark-veil'd Cotytto—— Stay thy cloudy ebon chair, Wherein thou rid'st with Hecat', and befriend Us thy vow'd priests, till utmost end Of all thy dues be done.—— V. 124, 128, 134.
LYCIDAS.
Picture XXXVII.
Solitude. Twilight.
Under the opening eyelids of the morn, What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn. V. 26-8.
In the possession of the Countess of Guilford.
Picture XXXVIII.
Milton, as a Boy with his Mother.
In the possession of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart.
Picture XXXIX.
Milton, when a Youth.
Picture XL.
Milton, dictating to his Daughter.
In the possession of the Marquis of Bute.
The Vision of the Lazar-house was justly considered by the best judges in the art, to be the chef-d'œuvre of the Gallery. It is a composition of seventeen figures, and parts of figures, in which the painter creates both terror and pity in the spectator, by judiciously excluding most of those objects represented by the poet as suffering under bodily diseases calculated to create disgust, and confining himself chiefly to the representation of the maladies of the mind, which are so forcibly described by the passage,
"Demoniac Phrensy, moping Melancholy, "And moon-struck Madness——"
It would be a vain attempt, by words, to describe this Gallery, so as to do justice to the grandeur of the ideas and of the drawing, more particularly in the pictures of 'Satan calling up his Legions;' 'Satan encountering Death, and Sin interposing;' 'Satan surprised at the ear of Eve;' 'Death and Sin bridging of Chaos,' or, in that of 'Sin pursued by Death;'—they must be seen to be appreciated. But Fuseli shone not only in the grand, the sublime, and pathetic scenes, but also in the playful ones. How rare a quality it is for the same mind to direct its efforts to the Pensieroso, and, at command, to divert its attention to the Allegro, and succeed in both!—But such were the powers of the painter in question, as well as of the poet.
Unfortunately for Fuseli, some of the newspapers of the day were so inimical to this exhibition that it was difficult for him to get an advertisement inserted, and even money would not induce the editors to give a place to any paragraph which his friends wished to insert in its favour. The beautiful lines (which will be found in the Appendix) from the pen of William Roscoe, Esquire, lay in the hands of the editor of a popular paper for some weeks before he gave them insertion.
The sum charged the public for viewing this Gallery was one shilling, and for the descriptive catalogue, sixpence. The receipts of the exhibition during the first month amounted only to one hundred and seventeen pounds, and the two succeeding ones were each even less than this sum; so that when it was closed, at the end of July, the whole of the money taken at the doors was not adequate to the payment of the rent of the premises and the expenses incurred for advertisements and attendants. Fuseli was somewhat dismayed by this, and thus expressed himself: "I have dreamt of a golden land, and solicit in vain for the barge which is to carry me to its shore." But the consciousness of his own merit did not allow him to sink under the disappointment; he determined to try the effect of another season, and laboured diligently upon pictures to be then added to the Gallery.
Barry, who was at this time professor of painting to the Royal Academy, had for a long period made himself obnoxious to the members, first by his undeserved attacks upon the works of his earliest and best friend in the art, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and afterwards by occasionally delivering in his lectures the most severe criticisms upon the works of living artists, and among others upon those of West, the then President, and Fuseli. The latter were, however, in some degree provoked by the frequent although just sallies of wit, which Fuseli employed on Barry's pretensions to learning. The President and Council of the Academy pointed out the impolicy of such proceedings, and indeed reprimanded Barry; but this, instead of checking, had the effect of increasing the violence of his abuse. A meeting of the whole body of the Academicians was consequently summoned, and they not only dispossessed him of the Chair as Professor, but expelled him the Academy. The Chair of the Professor of Painting being by this resolution vacant, Opie intimated an intention of offering himself as a candidate; but, upon being told that Fuseli intended to do the same thing, he immediately withdrew his name, paying at the same time this merited compliment to his genius and talents: "I would not," said he, "have surrendered my pretensions to any other artist but Fuseli," who was therefore elected on the 29th of June 1799. The powers which he had displayed in the pictures of "The Milton Gallery," his learning and well-known critical knowledge, were the causes which influenced the Academicians in their choice.
It has been insidiously asserted, that after Fuseli left Zurich in 1779, he was not on friendly terms with the members of his family; and that they took little or no interest in the success of his efforts in the Fine Arts. The following translation of a letter from his eldest brother, Rodolph, proves the assertion to be unfounded.
"Vienna, May 7th, 1799.
"dearest brother,
"Benedetti, the engraver, brought me last year, (in September,) a letter from you, in which you assured me of your unchanged, brotherly affection, and invited me to write to you sometimes, and to acquaint you with an opportunity of sending over to me some works of art. In October I answered your letter, and named at the same time two London printsellers, with whom the printsellers here, (Artaria and Co., and Mollo and Co.) are in correspondence. Half a year, however, has already elapsed, without my having heard from you. I can well understand that, pending the great work which you have undertaken, and will, I now hope, soon have finished, you may have had but little time for letter-writing; but I do not ask a formal letter of you, but only a line or two, to assure me you are well, and have not quite forgotten me. If, therefore, your fraternal love is not chilled, I hope to be gratified in this respect, before the scythe overtakes me, of which, at my time of life, when we are continually fancying we hear it behind us, one cannot be too distrustful.
"Much as I value your works of art, you must not think that what you promised me is the occasion of my now writing. No, my dear brother, I am not so selfish; your good health, and the success of your great undertaking, are to me matters of far greater concern than any works of art you could send me; and upon these two points I beseech you to set my mind at ease, be your letter ever so short.
"The affairs of our country wear a lamentably gloomy aspect; and I much fear that our fellow-countrymen will act as imprudently, and as awkwardly in the sequel, as they did at the commencement of the Swiss Revolution, thereby drawing a foreign power into the country. They then played a wretched part, and I only hope they will not do the same again. I do not know whether the new German books upon matters of art are to be had in London, or not; if you should meet with the first part of my Critical Catalogue of Engravings after classical masters, peruse it with indulgence. The second part will be better managed. In characterising Rafael, Correggio, and Titian, I have made use of the writings of Mengs; because I know that he has studied all his life after these three masters, and (in my opinion) writes philosophically on their styles of art; but for the rest, I confess, I do not consider Mengs to be that great artist which the world makes him, as laborious study is too evident in his works, and (according to my feeling) there is a something in them of an undecided and timid character.
"We have materials here for the advancement of art, which are no where to be had better—the Court spends (even now in war-time) twenty-six thousand florins yearly on the Academy; we have casts of all ancient statues of importance, which were to be seen in Rome, Florence, or Portici; also of more than a hundred of the most beautiful busts; models of individuals distinguished for beauty of person, taken from the life; skeletons; moveable anatomical figures. The great rooms, like halls, are filled with collections of these kinds; stipends, premiums are given; and, in short, every thing that can be desired for the encouragement of a school of art is here; and, nevertheless, hitherto without having produced any apparent advantage; for, where there is no susceptibility for the beautiful, every thing is to no purpose, and will probably be always to no purpose.
"Your London publications are every where held in the highest esteem, especially on account of the elegance of their execution, and the typographical splendour of the impressions. But they are all so high in price, that a private individual of moderate means cannot buy any of them, and must content himself with looking at the best in the collections of the great and rich.
"Füger, whom you may perhaps have known in Rome, is now director of the Academy of Arts here. He has exhibited a series of twenty designs from Klopstock's 'Messiah;' amongst which, some of particular interest. Our engravers, with the exception of Schmüzer, who has published four good prints from Rubens, are of no importance, and are for the most part to be looked upon as mere mechanics; and even if some of them have talent, they are obliged to engrave from insignificant things, in order to earn their bread.
"The other day, I found many people collected before the shop of my printseller, and staring at something in the window. I pressed through the crowd, and found your representation of "Hamlet's Ghost" was exposed in the window, of which all present, each in his way, were expressing their admiration. Now that I have prosed on to you of different things, I will spare you any more prosing.—Farewell, and be happy, and think sometimes, when in a good humour, of your ever-loving brother,
"Rodolph."
"If it should ever come into your head to write me a line, direct, Füessli, on the Nienn Laurenzer-House, No. 34, on the first floor, in Vienna.
"N. B.—The Nienn is a little river which flows by my house."
The "Milton Gallery" was re-opened on the 21st of March 1800; but as it did not attract the public, and as many of the members of the Royal Academy lamented deeply the ill success which attended it, and considered the apathy which was shown towards these grand specimens of art would in the end be fatal to the progress of history painting in this country, so they induced the Academy to which they belonged to come to the resolution of patronizing the undertaking, which caused the following circular to be issued:—
"Royal Academy, May 2, 1800.
"Messrs. Dance, Banks, and Opie, the Stewards, request the favour of your company to dine with the President, Council, and the rest of the Members of the Royal Academy, at the 'Milton Gallery,' on Saturday, the 17th of May, at five o'clock.
"Tickets, price fifteen shillings, to be had at the 'Milton Gallery,' and at the 'Freemasons' Tavern,' till Saturday, the 10th of August. Any Member desirous of introducing a friend, may be accommodated with a ticket for that purpose.
"The favour of an answer is desired as soon as possible."
This dinner was numerously attended; the seven pictures which had been added to those of the last exhibition were much admired; but all that Fuseli got on the occasion, to use his own terms, was "mouth honour." The following are the subjects of the pictures which were not in the exhibition of the former year:—
PARADISE LOST.
Picture XLI.
Sin receiving the Key of Hell.
——Down they fell, Driven headlong from the pitch of heav'n, down Into this deep, and in the general fall I also: at which time this powerful key Into my hand was giv'n. Book II. v. 771.
In the possession of Samuel Cartwright, Esq.
Picture XLII.
Satan's first Address to Eve.
——Eve separate he spies, Veil'd in a cloud of fragrance, where she stood, Half spy'd, so thick the roses blushing round About her glow'd, oft stooping to support Each flower of tender stalk, &c. He bolder now, uncall'd, before her stood, But as in gaze admiring— His gentle dumb expression turn'd at length The eye of Eve—— Book IX. v. 424, 523.
Picture XLIII.
Adam and Eve meeting after her Seduction.
——By the tree Of knowledge he must pass, there he her met, Scarce from the tree returning; in her hand A bough of fairest fruit—— ——in her face excuse Came prologue, and apology too prompt, Which with bland words at will she thus addressed. ——The Serpent wise Hath eaten of the fruit, and is become Endued with human voice, and human sense. ——I Have also tasted, and have also found ——opener mine eyes, Dim erst, dilated spirits, ampler heart, And growing up to Godhead—— On the other side, Adam Astonied stood and blank—— From his slack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve Down dropt—— Book IX. v. 848.
ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF A FAIR INFANT.
Picture XLIV.
Winter carrying off a Maid.
O fairest flow'r, no sooner blown but blasted! Soft silken primrose, fading timelessly! Summer's chief honour, if thou hadst out-lasted Bleak Winter's force that made thy blossom dry; For he, being amorous, on that lovely dye That did thy cheek envermeil, thought to kiss; But kill'd, alas! and then bewail'd his fatal bliss.
L'ALLEGRO.
Picture XLV.
Euphrosyne, or Mirth, with Fancy and Moderation hovering over her, tripping forward—
On the light fantastic toe;
accompanied by
Wanton Wiles; Sport, that wrinkled Care derides; And Laughter, holding both his sides,
with the Group of Falstaff and Doll in the fore-ground: the distance exhibits the Meeting of Zephyrus and Aurora, allusive to the Birth of Euphrosyne, in the words—
Zephyr with Aurora playing, As he met her once a maying, &c.
In the possession of the Duchess of St. Alban's.
IL PENSIEROSO.
Picture XLVI.
Melancholy, Reclining on her throne—
Her rapt soul sitting in her eyes,
behind her the Shadow of Ugolino and his dead Son.—The whole dimly illuminated by a Moon-beam.
This picture was destroyed accidentally.
SONNET III.
Picture XLVII.
The Shepherdess of the Alps watering her Plants.—An Evening Scene.
Qual in colle aspro, &c.
As an exhibition opened for the second time has not the charm of novelty to attract the public; so, unfortunately, at its close the Milton Gallery, notwithstanding the patronage of the Royal Academy, was found to be even less productive during this than the previous season; and after four months of anxiety and disappointment, Fuseli closed it on the 18th of July 1800. Thus terminated the exhibition of one of the greatest efforts of genius ever executed by one artist. It is lamentable to contemplate that, after the labour of so many years, the energies exerted by the painter, and the privations which he endured during the time he was executing these pictures, they should have been met with so much of neglect from the public[47]. Upon the closing of this Gallery, Fuseli thus expressed himself to a friend, "I am fed with honour, and suffered to starve, if they could starve me."
Fuseli sometimes lounged about the Milton Gallery to hear the critical and other remarks of the visitors. On one occasion, a coarse-looking man left his party, and coming up to him, said, "Pray, Sir, what is that picture?" Fuseli answered, "It is the bridging of Chaos: the subject from Milton."—"No wonder," said he, "I did not know it, for I never read Milton, but I will."—"I advise you not," said Fuseli, "for you will find it a d—d tough job."
His friends felt in how embarrassed a situation Fuseli must be placed by these unsuccessful exhibitions; and they determined to relieve him by becoming purchasers of some of the pictures. The Countess of Guilford bought the "Lycidas;" Lord Rivers, "Satan calling up his Legions;" Sir Mark Sykes, Bart., "The Lubbar Fiend;" Thomas Coutts, Esq., "The Lazar House;" John Julius Angerstein, Esq. (at the recommendation of W. Lock, Esq.) "Satan starting from the touch of Ithuriel's spear;" "The Vision of the Deluge," and "Eve, newly created, led to Adam;" William Young Ottley, Esq., "Sin pursued by Death," and "The Dream of Eve;" and William Roscoe, Esq. with that friendship and liberality which he always exercised towards Fuseli, purchased pictures to the amount of £300; which, however, did not form a part of this exhibition.
Prior to the purchase of the picture of "The Deluge," by Mr. Angerstein, Fuseli wrote the following letter to Mr. William Lock.
"London, 11th August, 1800.
"As it may be expected, and indeed necessary, that I should inspect, and perhaps correct the pictures sent under Mr. Wyall's direction to Mr. Angerstein's, I take the liberty of applying through you to Mr. Lock, to be informed when my admission for that purpose may be attended with the least inconvenience to Mr. Angerstein's arrangements.
"The greater part of my exhibition, the rejected family of a silly father, are now again rolled up, or packed together against the walls of my study to be seasoned for dust, the worm, and oblivion. Τι γάρ μοι καὶ μακροῖς αὐλοῖς,[48] said Otho when in possession of his wish; I have been punished by obtaining mine. It cannot be supposed, however, that I should be quite indifferent to the fate of my bantlings; and as 'the expectations of ignorance are indefinite,' I venture to ask, whether you think it quite impracticable to persuade Mr. Angerstein to find a place for 'The Deluge?' It is not quite so wide as the smaller picture in his possession; and though, if placed on the other side of the Satan, it would be less honourable to me than the company of Rubens; it would be more in tune with the rest.
"It would be presumption in me, without authority from you, to congratulate you on what more than rumour has told me, of your intended change of state: of this, however, you are sure, that nothing conducive to the happiness of William Lock can be more interesting to any man than his
"Respects. "Fuseli."
"To William Lock, Jun. Esq. Norbury Park."