Excerpt from A General Dictionary of Painters: Containing Memoirs of the Lives and Works of the Most Eminent Professors of the Art of Painting, From Its Revival by Cimabue, in the Year 1250, to the Present Time

The author of this Dictionary felt these embarrassments while pur suing his venturous course; for, although his sole object was only to enlarge his own ideas, and to improve his judgment, he was - from the very nature of his situation - compelled to draw, if not all, yet by far the greatest portion of his knowledge from books; which, on questions of taste and criticism - in the arts especially - are commonly very suspicious authorities.

Having, however, to depend upon such guides, Mr. Pilkington laid down the most judicious rule that could be adopted for the conduct of his inquiry. I have not adhered, says he, to one author, so as to be either a literal translator or transcriber; but have collected what seemed to me most material from each, and endeavoured, with the utmost exactness I could exert, to rectify their chronological mis takes; to illustrate what appeared obscure; and to digest the whole, so as to be instructive and concise.

After amassing, with uncommon diligence, a large stock of informa tion from a variety of sources, it naturally occurred, that what had been so useful and agreeable to himself, might prove equally so to others; and hence he conceived that a collection of the Lives of the Painters would be both an acceptable and a beneficial present to the public. Impressed with this idea, he extended his inquiries, and chose the alphabetical order of arrangement, as being best adapted for a book of reference. It is somewhat remarkable that, while the author was thus employed in a retired situation, the Royal Academy in London was founded; which circumstance, no doubt, acted as a stimulus to the writer, who, with great propriety, addressed his work to the President and Members of that new and important Institution. Of the necessity of such an establishment a stronger proof, perhaps, need hardly be given than what was to be found in this very Dictionary; where, out of little more than twelve hundred names of artists, only twenty-one could be adduced to which Great Britain and Ireland had any proper claim as natives; and even of that insignificant number, which, as rari nantes in gurgite vasto, appeared at distant intervals during three centuries, not more than five or six had any legitimate title to distinction. If, in contemplating this dreary waste, the eye occasionally caught and was gratified with a cheering spot which, like the oasis in the sandy desert, afforded some relief, it gave no resting place to the mind; for though Henry the Eighth patronised Holbein, and though Rubens and Vandyck were honoured and rewarded by the unfortunate Charles the First, a dismal blank soon followed each of these periods: star after star went out, and all was night.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.