Social England : a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day . igrammatic judgment that Lawrencemade coxcombs of his sitters, and his sitters made a coxcomb ofhim. Wilkie, too, has pointed out that the features in nearly allhis heads were painted in the same position. His gift of flatter-ing was sedulously cultivated, and he took amazing liberties inaltering and refining the features of his sitters. He has beencalled an attenuated Sir Joshua, but the phrase does not see
Social England : a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day . igrammatic judgment that Lawrencemade coxcombs of his sitters, and his sitters made a coxcomb ofhim. Wilkie, too, has pointed out that the features in nearly allhis heads were painted in the same position. His gift of flatter-ing was sedulously cultivated, and he took amazing liberties inaltering and refining the features of his sitters. He has beencalled an attenuated Sir Joshua, but the phrase does not seemparticularly happy. Except occasionally in his earlier Avorks, hemakes no attempt to get to the heart of the matter. In char-acter, where Sir Joshua is specially strong, Lawrence is speciallyweak. Richness and harmony he cares little for, nor for themass of light and shade ; with him drawing is more esteemedthan painting, and purity more esteemed than tone. His skill FROM REYNOLDS TO LAWRENCE. .595 1802] in deDicting grace in dress, his delicate draughtsmanship, thebeautiful hands, the brilliant eyes, all these must be accorded toLawrence. But his deficiencies are no less JOHN PHILU AS HAMLET, BY SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, (National Portrait Gallery.) Nevertheless, as the last portrait-painter in a great succession,as a most prolific artist in a great epoch if not an epoch of greatmen, Lawrence must hold an important place in the history of 596 REVOLUTION AND REACTION. [1784 English art. He reached the zenith of his fame in 1815 whenthe Regent knighted him. He visited Aix-la-Chapelle duringthe Congress, and painted a vast array of emperors and kings;but his pictures tell the tale of a gift growing ever more andmore common, though occasionally the fine character of thesitters face lights up the mechanical cleverness of the work. Itmust be said in his favour that his careful and laborious method—for he had quite lost in later life the childish gift of rapidly
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