arts; but their respective kinds of enthusiasm were very different, and it was not easy for them to understand each other. At length Carstens arrived at Lubec, where he resolved to fix his abode. His journey, unfortunate as it had proved, had notwithstanding supplied him with a multitude of new ideas; and no painter can visit Switzerland, and contemplate the pictures of Julio Romano and Leonardo da Vinci, in vain. Carstens remained nearly five years at Lubec. While he staid here, portrait-painting was his only resource; but this business was incapable of slackening his application to works of a more elevated character. He continued to pursue his historical career, taking his subjects principally from Homer, the ancient Greek tragedians, Shakespeare, Pindar, Ossian, and from the odes of Klopstock. He endeavoured to form his style by studying engravings from the works of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Julio Romano, Polydore, Caravaggio, Annibal Caracci, and Pietro Testa; but how could he hope ever to see the originals? Among the productions of his cotemporaries, Carstens admired those only which joined to beauty of execution, grandeur of subject and justness of composition. Whatever was merely handsome, without having a decided character, made no impression on him. Next to the works of the ancients, those of Michael Angelo had the first rank in the models of style which he had adopted; yet he had no knowledge of thein but through the medium of engravings. At a later period, when he was able to admire the master-pieces of Raphael at Rome, he gave the pre-eminence to this master; but without any diminution of the admiration with which he regarded Michael Angelo. From this time Carstens had conceived a particular taste for allegorical representations, and he continued long attached to them. The engravings of Pietro Testa, and Winckelmann's Essay on Allegory, had inspired him with this taste. He was also inclined to this kind of composition by the natural tendency of his genius, which preferred subjects characterised by depth of thought, and especially symbolical representations. Whatever critical opinions may be formed as to the choice of the subjects which he has treated allegorically, it is certain that his compositions have the peculiar merit of a perfect analogy with the thoughts which they are intended to express. One may see that the imagination of Carstens transported itself at an early age to the heroic times of ancient mythology; and a comparison of his different works proves that these subjects were the most suitable to his talents. From his study of the master-pieces of antiquity, Carstens necessarily became attached to the principle of ideal compositions, and not to the servile imitation of individual objects: this is incontestably proved by his first productions. In these may be discovered a tendency to that purity of forms and of outlines, to those graceful positions, and to that character of grandeur and strength, which so eminently distinguish the ancients; but we remark also a certain harshness arising from too scrupulous an observance of this principle; a defect which can only be corrected by a mixture of individual beauties copied from nature, and which, united with ideal subjects, constitute the perfection of style and of art. Carstens had a tolerable knowledge of the human body, and be neglected no opportunity of grounding this study on nature itself. When, for instance, he was bathing with his friends, he caused them to take different positions, of which he caught all the varieties with an astonishing sagacity. He felt however that he was not sufficiently familiar with the true principles of anatomy; and unfor tunately his situation did not always offer him means of supplying this defect. As to perspective, and the just distribution of light and shade, he knew nothing of these subjects but what he had learnt from nature. But it was particu larly in colouring that he was the most deficient. The narrowness of his circumstances did not allow him to undertake oil-paintings' which he had no prospect of disposing of, and hence he was compelled to execute his compositions without giving them the perfection of which they were susceptible. When Carstens had been five years at Lubec, a fortunate incident procured him an acquaintance with the poet Overbeck, who was very much surprised at discovering, in the little smoky apartment of our artist, designs worthy of adorning the most splendid saloons. He intro duced him to the counsellor Matthew Rodde, who possessed a fine collection of pictures; and this amateur frequently visited Carstens, and acquired his confi dence. To this gentleman the unfor tunate tunate artist made known all the circumstances which rendered his present situation incompatible with the development of his talents. M. Rodde engaged him to remove to Berlin: he paid the debts which Carstens had contracted, to the amount of about a hundred crowns; and even put him in a condition to support himself for the first six months in that capital without having recourse to work, in order to afford him an opportunity of making himself known there. To give these benefactions a still nore liberal character, M. Rodde desired only that Carstens would at some future time eurich his collection with some of his performances. Our artist set out for Berlin in the spring of the year 1788; and lived there, for a period of two years, almost unknown, He would not take any other path to public notice than that which his talent might open to him; and this certainly was not the most direct. He subsisted for some time by giving short lessons, for which he was ill paid; and found himself frequently reduced to the greatest privations. He formed an acquaintance however with some booksellers, and embellished several literary works with his designs. For the first exhibition of p.ctures that took place after his arrival at Berlin, Carstens executed a rich composition of above two hundred figures, representing the Fall of the Angels. This was merely a washed sketch; but it attracted the notice of the connoisseurs, and procured him the offer of a place in the academy. Before accepting that proposal, he required as a condition that he should be allowed to consider himself as in immediate dependance on baron Heinitz, who was then curator of the academy: but by this circumstance he lost the good-will of the professors; and the celebrated Chodi. wiecki was the only one who gave him a favourable reception. Carstens was now in a very advantageous situation for the development of his talents; but his views were still directed toward that country, of which he had in a manner touched the threshold: he wished to penetrate to the sanctuary of the arts. Every thing contributed to confirm this irresistible inclination: the two brothers Genel!i, one an architect and the other a landscape-painter, had returned from Rome in 1789; and the accounts which they gave of their residence in that city, inspired him with the desire of viewing its treasures. He sub mitted his numerous designs to the judgment of his new friends; who rectified many of his ideas, and made him acquainted with at least the names of a multitude of master-pieces which he had not even heard of before. The architect possessed a perfect knowledge of the principles of design, and had studied the chief works of Raphael with considerable attention. He succeeded in moderating Carstens's attachment to allegory. The latter applied with ardour to reading the ancients, and formed a collection of the most esteemed authors. The study of engraved stones was also of very great benefit to him; as it taught him the method of grouping figures, of giving them suitable attitudes, and a proper disposition of drapery : the happy results of this branch of study may be found in all his compositions. Genelli rendered Carstens a signal service, in procuring for him the commission of ornamenting the principal apartment of the Dorville palace. The price which Carstens required for this work was very moderate; and this moderation gained him the good-will of the minister, and afterward acquired for himn the means of executing his favourite project. His performance was well received; and his former hope of visiting Rome revived. He used every opportunity of speaking to the minister on this subject; indeed it was in some measure a reward due to him. The minister took a lively interest in his favour, and presented him to the king. Carstens thus at length reached the summit of his wishes: he obtained the favour which he had so earnestly desired; but he was obliged to wait till the next year, before he could begin his journey. This he did in 1792, with the grant of a pension of 450 rix-dollars. Carstens was now thirty-eight years of age; and, in spite of the extreme feebleness of his constitution, and perpetual obstacles, his persevering labours had conducted him to an object which he could never have attained but by a courage and talents of a superior rank. At Dresden he contemplated the works of Mengs; but he thought them very unworthy of the great reputation of that artist: however, he did justice to his large altar-piece. In the performances of this celebrated painter, he found no beauty of invention, force and grace of style, truth of expression, or collective unity. The brilliant qualities of his próductions, those which constitute their principal principal merit, seemed to Carstens to be very far beneath the character of real genius. Carstens staid a month at Florence; and here he had a foretaste of the rich banquet which he expected to enjoy at Rome. He became acquainted with the works of the Florentine painters who preceded Michael Angelo and Raphael. It was in the chapel of the Depositi of the church of St. Lawrence, that the genius of Michael Angelo appeared before him in all its pomp. The view of the masterpieces which adorn that building, was well adapted to call forth the powers of his imagination; and accordingly he formed the plan of a rich composition representing the Battle of the Lapithæ and the Centaurs. In September 1792, Carstens arrived at Rome; and he conceived himself to contemplate all Rome in the Vatican: considering the rest of the admirable works contained in that city, as merely the rays encircling this glorious centre of light. He found the master-piece of Michael Angelo, in the Sistine chapel, greatly above his expectation in style and force of expression, and even in colouring. The Last Judgment, indeed, seemed to him harsh and unpleasing. With regard to Raphael, his fresco paintings contributed eminently to develope the genius of Carstens, which may be said to have hitherto had no favour. able opportunity for taking an unre strained flight. The sublimity and richness of Michael Angelo drove him to despair; but the grace of Raphael attracted him, and excited his emulation. During the earlier period of his residence at Rome, Carstens visited the Vatican daily, till he had acquired a perfect knowledge of the master-pieces which it contained; and afterward he still devoted some hours of every week to this temple of genius. The study of Raphael at length determined him to the style which he adopted; and he gradually relinquished the violent attachment which he had formerly entertained for allegorical composition. He could not however conciliate the unreserved goodwill of his countrymen. It was impossible for him to applaud their method of composition: he perceived in their works nothing of that pure, simple, and majestic taste, which shone in the compositions of Raphael and Michael Angelo. The custom which had been introduced, of putting in motion small figures for the purpose of assisting the imagination in MONTHLY MAG. No. 199, the choice of attitudes, he thought an expedient unworthy of true genius; and by condemning these erroneous principles and practices, he excited a spirit of censure which was vigorously directed against the first work that he executed at Rome, the Visit of the Argonauts to the Centaur Chiron. Carstens had fixed on the spring of 1795 for the exhibition of his works; and accordingly, in the month of April, he invited the public to visit the nume rous assemblage of them in his gallery. Most of them were taken from classical mythology. The judgment of the connoisseurs on this occasion, was very honourable to the artist. As there was no oil-painting among the pieces, he had the advantage of not being liable to be compared with any but Michael Angelo or Raphael; and though he was certainly very far inferior to those celebrated masters, still it was a great point gained to be brought into a comparison with them. Baron Heinitz, on learning the success that Carstens had met with, solicited him to send some of his designs to Berlin. Carstens complied with this invitation; but he, at the same time, sig nified to the minister that he intended to prolong his stay at Rome. This circum stance excited some warm discussions between the minister and Carstens, who in the result found himself deprived of the allowance which had been granted to him, and left entirely independant of the academy. Henceforth therefore he subsisted on the produce of his works. During 1795 and 1796, Carstens executed several large pieces, principally on classical subjects: but these were the last years in which he was able to prosecute his labours with assiduity; for a disorder of the breast, with which he had been long affected, gave him very little respite in 1797. Even in that year however, he produced a number of designs, the most remarkable of which were twenty-four on the expedition of the Argonauts, from Pindar, Orpheus, and Apollonius Rhodius: these latter are mere outlines, which death prevented him from perfecting. In his fatal illness, Carstens painted his picture of Edipus Tyrannus, from Sophocles. This was the last of his works that he was able to finish. During the first months of 1798, he ap peared to regain some strength. Не then endeavoured to give his mind some relaxation by reading ÏIesiod, and formed the plan of a magnificent design repreSN senting senting the Golden Age. The artist chose for his scene an agreeable valley, bounded by small hills covered with forests. A brook crosses this beautiful spot; and the trees on the ascents are of those species which are peculiar to southern climates. The valley enlarges, and at length forins a vast plain; of which the horizon stretches to a great distance, and is ultimately bounded by the sea and a chain of mountains. Trees loaded with fruit, and vines bending under the weight of their clusters, display nature in all her luxuriance and all her riches. Several groups animate this delightful valley, with joy and innocence depicted in their features and their amusements. All the figures are without any other ornaments than those supplied by na ture; and nothing belonging to art is seen in this spot, where wants are wholly unknown. At a time when the mind of Carstens might have been fully occupied by his sufferings, he yet snatched some monents from these latter, to be bestowed on an art to which he had devoted all his thoughts and all his labours. Sitting upright in bed, he endeavoured to sketch, with a trembling hand, the bat tles described by the baid who has in mortalised liium. He prescrved his intellectual faculties unimpaired through his whole illness. The writer of this memoir assisted him in his last moments; and discussed subjects of art with him till his death, which happened on the 25th of May, 1798. On opening his body, the lungs were found to be entirely destroyed, Carstens was buried near the pyramid of Cestius; and M. Fernow pronounced over his tomb a discourse marked by the simplicity and modesty which were conformable to the character of his friend. SCARCE TRACTS, WITH EXTRACTS AND ANALYSES OF SCARCE BOOKS. It is proposed in future to devote a few Puges of the Monthly Magazine to the Insertion of such Scarce Tracts as are of an interesting Nature, with the Use of which we may be favoured by our Correspondents; and under the same Head to introduce also the Analyses of Scarce and Curious Books. Transcript of the Parish Expenditure of Milton-Abbot, for the Year 1588; in the Order, and exactly after the Letter, of the Original." TRichard Com the poor people of this parish of Myltone-Abbot, elcctyd and chosen att the feaste of the Nativitie of St. John the Baptist, Ann. Dom. 1587, untyll the said feaste now, Ann. Dom. 1588; that is to say, for one whole yeare. Itein. They do cownte for vjs, vd. receyvyd of Richard Hawkin and Constantyne Maynard, the last collectors, whych dyd remayne to the use of the poor mens box, as doth apere in the end of the collectors Cownte, made the last John Rundle Philip Egabeare vjd. Nicholas Collyne vj. Roger Sleman John Maynard, of Foghanger XVI Philip Rundle Thomas and Walter Rundle Richard Sleman Alyce Alyce Rowe vid. John Edgcombe John and Roger Jackeman Michael Vela John Cundy Richard Sewton Johan Doidge, vid. Tristram Doidge John Sleman, of Leighe Henry Doidge Thomas Edgcombe Thomas Jordan Davyd Sargent John Hawkyn Ralp Whytbourne, constable John Jackeman, of Edgcombe Young Mens Geifts. John Adams Thomas Sleman Walter Crabbe Wm. Ketowe John and Robert Tremlet Oliver Maynard Philip Hockedaye John Sargent Robert Woulrydge Item. Receyvyd for the geifte of Win. Blachford, decessyd, towards the poor, viijd. The some of newe receyts this year is js. ijd. The some of newe receyts, with the arrearages this yere, is Ivijs. ixd. ob. Expences-Item. In expences this yere. First, payd to Wm. Ketowe for a shroud for a poor man, which dyed within this parishe, which was caryed from tythinge to tythinge, xvid. Paved to Walter Jackeman for bread and drink for them whych took payens for bringing the same poore man to the grave, vjd. Payd to John Speare in v divers times vs. Payd to John Doidge, of Lydarow, xijd. Payd for a shert clothe, for a lad of the same John Doidge, xvjd. Payd to George Doidge, of Quether, vjd. Payd for a payre of showes, for a lad of the same George, vijd. Payd to John Wyse, in 2 dyvers times, xvjd. Payd for a smocke for Johan Wyse, dafter of the same John, ijs. jd. Payd to Roger Todye, in iij dyvers tymes, xvd. Payd to Thomas Rowe, in iij dyvers tymes, ' ijs. ijd. Payd for a payre of showes, for the same Thomas, xvijd. Payd for a shert clothe, for the same Thomas, ijs jd Payd to John Adams, for the makynge the byl to gether up the collections by, ijd. Payd to Henry Collyne and Maud his wyfe in ij dyvers ́ tymes, xd. For a shert for the same Henry, xxijd. For a payre of showes for the same Henry, xvijd. For a payre of showes for Philip Pyper, xijd. Payd to Johan Worth, iiijd. Payd for a payre of showes for the same Johan, xijd. For a smocke clo.he, for the same Johan, xviijd. For ij payres of showes for Davyd Jackeman, xijd. To John Todye, in i dyvers tymes, xd. For a shert for Michael Todye, xiijd. ob. For a payre of showes, for a dafter of Edinoud Bela, vd. Payd for a smocke, for the same mayde, xd. Payd to a poore child of John Hornadon's, iijd. To Richard Jeffry, iijd. To Stephen Strout, in iij dyvers tymes, xxjd. To John Collyne, of Wylslye, for iij yeards and iij qurs. and half of grave clothe, to make a blankyt for the same Stephen, js. viijd. Payd to Richard Scoble for that he should pave over to Johan Gale, xijd. To Wm. Rundle and his howsehold, xxijd. in ij dyvers tymes. Payd to Thomas Baselye, xijd. To Wm. Byrch, in ij dyvers tynes, xxd. showes, for Margaret the sayde Wm. xiijd. in ij dyvers tymes, xvd. same John, viijd. For a smocke for Elizabeth Iyle, ijs. jd. For a payre of showes, for the same Elizabeth, xd. For a smocke, for Elizabeth Bate, xxiijd. For making the cownte, vjd. For a payre of Byrch, dafter of To John Paydge, To a lad of the Some for expences for this releyf this yere is lvs. ijd. ob. And so remayneth to the use of the poor mens box, ijs. vijd. 1588. |