LANDSCAPES IN OIL.

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the same tint, darker and stronger, he used for the foreground.

The pale greenish tints of Cozens's distance are visible in Turner's early works; and Girtin, too, copied him in many points of manner, though incapable of the tender delicacy and poetry of Cozens. And here it may be a fitting place to briefly particularize a few of the English landscape-painters who preceded Turner.

And now for the oil-painters. Barrett, Wilson's successful rival, passed away when Turner was still young; for he died and was buried at Paddington, in 1787 (Turner was then twelve years old). He was a Dublin man, and came to England about 1763. His scenes were mostly from the English Lakes, and he was famous for aërial perspective and flat distances. His dark pictures were thought the best; his warmer ones, too, were too powerful in colour for the age. His blacklead studies of trees (particularly the ash and willow) were lauded as most light, firm, and spirited. His works were unequal because he was loaded with commissions and employed hosts of subordinates. While Wilson was all but starving, Barrett was making two thousand a year, and carrying off art-prizes for landscapes. He eventually failed, and caused great misery to his family by his extravagance.

Then there was Loutherbourg's pupil, Sir Francis Bourgeois, who was knighted for painting a portrait of a son of the King of Poland. He never studied from nature, so that he soon became a mere mannerist -his light and shade spotty, his colouring chalky, his figures and animals outrageously ill drawn.

Brooking was a marine painter of great promise, who died young, having been all his life an obscure slave of the dealers. He understood ships. His colouring is bright and clear, and his water transparent. "He had," says Dayes, his contemporary, a firm, broad, spirited touch."

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Robert Carver was an Irish scene-painter who came over and painted for Drury-lane. His colouring was warm, his style grand and simple. He died in his house in Bow-street, 1792.

Thomas Daniel, born at Kingston-on-Thames, was an unsuccessful painter who went to the East Indies and came home to publish a fine series of aquatints. Dayes criticizes his "colouring as sweet, though not always solid, and his touch firm, particularly in his buildings." The sketches by Daniel I have seen, seemed to me too dark and cold to represent accurately Indian atmosphere.

Joseph Farrington, R.A., like Sir George Beaumont, was a pupil of Wilson. Critics called his colour transparent and brilliant, but his composition poor, and his pencilling often hard.

William Hodges was also a pupil of Wilson, known for his East-Indian aquatinta views and his illustrations to Cook's last voyage. His colour was considered by good judges monotonous, and often abrupt and heavy. His best ideal work was the forest landscape from "As you Like it," well engraved by Middiman. Having realized a fortune, Hodges took to banking, failed, and died in 1797, leaving a wife and children in great distress.

Julian Ibbetson was originally a ship-painter at

Scarborough, but turned artist, and accompanied Lord Cathcart on his mission. Becoming poor, Ibbetson took to copying Berghem, in a clear, firm, rather hard manner, with clayey tones. His cattlepieces were the most preferred.

James Marlow was a landscape-painter of this date, famous for buildings. His distances were low and his trees ill-formed, but he was admired for a rich ambery tone he knew how to give. His master was Scott, one of the earliest modern men to attempt to make the strength of water-colour drawings equal those of paintings. The Bridge and Castle of St. Angelo (moonlight), by Marlow, is much praised by Dayes.

Abraham Pether, Dayes calls an ingenious little man, being not merely a painter, but also an excellent musician and mechanic. He was famous for "sweet distances," for clear and brilliant colours, and great power of handling. He knew, however, little of clair-obscure, and repeated himself in consequence of going seldom to nature.

His cousin William was a portrait and miniature painter. He also engraved in mezzotinto from Rembrandt and Wright of Derby, and executed some tolerable landscapes in oil.

And last, but not least, comes Wilson, whose genius, though great, owed so much to the even greater mind of his engraver Woollett. Poor Wilson, classical as he was, with his Tivolis, Niobes, and solemn Italian compositions, was never appreciated in his own day, The very pawnbrokers were impatient of his fine works. The King disregarded him, to pamper the mediocrity of West. After a miserable

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FLIMSY LANDSCAPE.

life of poverty and pining, Wilson died at last, worn out and all but broken-hearted, in Wales, whither he had retired to die in peace.

Gainsborough's graceful but somewhat flimsy landscapes had also their effect, as Morland's, too, had, on the mind of Turner; for no man was ever more ready to admire and learn from the talent of another.

CHAPTER VI.

TURNER AND GIRTIN AT DR. MUNRO's.

Ir is supposed that Turner's early patron, Dr. Munro, of the Adelphi-terrace, was first attracted to his works by seeing some of his country sketches in the barber's window in Maiden-lane.

It is not improbable, however, that Dr. Munro may also have heard of the clever lad through his friend Raphael Smith, the engraver, Morland's friend, who was at this time employing a clever lad named Girtin, with Turner, to colour prints; and who was intimate also with Cozens, the celebrated landscape-painter who had accompanied Beckford, the young millionaire of Wiltshire, to Italy.

If indeed the acquaintance arose after 1790, when Turner began to exhibit, the lad's own productions at Somerset House would have been quite enough to attract an exhibition-haunting amateur.

His other great patron in the Adelphi-terrace, Mr. Henderson, probably heard of Turner through Dr. Munro. Dr. Munro, one of George III.'s mad doctors (not the most famous), lived at next door, No. 4 or 6, I am not sure which; and Mr. Henderson