Memoirs of William Hazlitt
Ch. VI 1792-1803
William Hazlitt to William Hazlitt sen.; 10 December 1802
“December 10th, 1802.
“My dear Father,
“I yesterday morning completed my copy of the picture
called The Death of Clorinda; I have been, in all,
fifteen mornings about it. It is a very good copy; when I say this, I mean that
it has very nearly all the effect of the picture, and will certainly make as
great a figure in Railton’s
parlour as the original does in the Louvre. It has been praised by some of the
French painters. They have begun of late to compliment me on my style of
getting on; though, at first, they were disposed to be very impertinent. This
is the way of the world; you are always sure of getting encouragement when you
do not want it. After I had done my picture yesterday, I took a small canvas,
which I had in the place, and began a sketch of a head in one of the large
historical pictures, being very doubtful if I could; not at all expecting to
finish it, but merely to pass away the time: however, in a couple of hours, I
made a very fair copy, which I intend to let remain as it is. It is a side
face, a good deal like yours, which was one reason of my doing it so rapidly. I
got on in such a rapid style, that an Englishman, who had a party with him,
came up, and told me, in French, that I was doing very well. Upon my answering
him in English he seemed surprised, and said, ‘Upon my word, sir, you
get on with great spirit and boldness; you do us great credit, I am
sure.’ He afterwards returned; and after asking how long I had
been about it, said he was the more satisfied with his judgment, as he did not
know I was a country-![]()
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man.
Another wanted to know if I taught painting in oil. I told him that I stood
more in need of instruction myself; that that sort of rapid sketching was what
I did better than anything else; and that, after the first hour or two, I
generally made my pictures worse and worse, the more pains I took with them.
However, seriously, I was much pleased with this kind of notice, as however
confident I may be of the real merit of my work, it is not always so clear that
it is done in a way to please most other people. This same sketch is certainly
a very singular thing, as I do not believe there are ten people in the world
who could do it in the same way. However, I have said enough on the subject. I
shall go on with this business, as I find it succeed. I intend to copy a
composition of Rubens in this manner,
which I can do at intervals, without interfering with my regular work. The copy
of Titian’s Mistress, and the other,
which I began from him, I purpose finishing in the six following days, and
another copy of Titian in the six after that; which will
be four out of the five which I am doing for Railton. I shall want another fortnight for the copy of
Guido; and it will take another
fortnight, if I do that for Northcote.
This will make fourteen weeks. I have been here seven already. I will now
enumerate the pictures I have done, or am doing: 1. The
Death of Clorinda, completed. 2. Portrait of a
Man in Black, by Titian, nearly finished. 3.
Titian’s Mistress; this will take four days
more to finish it. 4. Portrait of another Man in black, by the same, not yet
begun. 5. Christ Crowned with Thorns, by
Guido, not begun. ![]()
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6. Hippolito de
Medici. As I have six hours to work every morning, from ten till
four, I intend to give an hour to making rough copies for myself. In this way I
shall make a sketch of the head I mentioned; and I propose doing a Holy Family,
from Raphael (a very small picture), and
a larger copy, from Rubens, in the same way. My love to
all.
“Yours affectionately,
“W. Hazlitt.”
James Northcote (1746-1831)
English portrait-painter and writer who exhibited at the Royal Academy; he wrote a
Life of Titian (1830).
Mr. Railton (1803 fl.)
William Hazlitt's Liverpool patron. If Hazlitt's editor Sikes is correct about the names,
this would be Joseph Benn Railton (b. 1773)—brother, not father, of Frances-Ann (1769-1840)
who Hazlitt admired and who married William Wentworth Deschamps in 1796. Their father,
Joseph Railton, was a London attorney who died a suicide in 1797.
Raphael (1483-1520)
Of Urbino; Italian painter patronized by Leo X.
Guido Reni (1575-1642)
Of Bologna; Italian baroque painter.
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Flemish baroque painter and diplomat notable for his allegorical depictions of the life
of Marie de Medici.
Titian (1487 c.-1576)
Venetian painter celebrated for his portraits.
