entirely ignorant of the manner of using colours. His mother, on observing such decided proofs of the bent of his genius, communicated to him the small degree of instruction in the art which she had herself received in her youth; and gave him a box of colours, which first put him into a capacity for handling the pencil. Ile made but little progress in the other branches of his education, as his predominant taste absorbed all the powers of his mind; the reprimands of his preceptors had no effect: and Carstens quitted his classical studies at the age of sixteen, without knowing much more of them than when he first entered upon them.

His mother consented to his wish of being placed in the work-room of a painter; and application was accordingly made to Tischbein, who at that time enjoyed great celebrity. The conditions however which the latter proposed for receiving him, were too degrading; the young artist could not submit to the character of a footman, and the affair was in consequence broken off. About the same time, his mother died; on which the effects which she left were sold off, and the children were put under guardians. Carstens thus found himself removed further than ever from the attainment of his favourite purpose; and, being compelled to adopt a commercial life, settled in the house of a wine-merchant at Eckernfærde. He now formed a serious determination to renounce his attachment to painting; but still he was, in a manner, unsuspectingly drawn to this object. To this be devoted his hours of leisure; and his genius even took a new flight, in consequence of his forming an acquaintance with a young painter, who taught him the method of using oilcolours.

His first attempt in this practice, was the copy of a head of Minerva, of the natural size, from Joseph d'Arpino. This head, and a picture from Abraban Diepenbeck (a pupil of Rubens), representing a satyr watching some sleeping nymphs, are the only pieces that Cars. tens ever copied.

He began to succeed in portraits; and on executing those of his master and his family, was in consequence presented with a work of Kræker, on easel-painting. From this book he derived several ideas which were further developed when he became possessed of Webb's Enquiries concerning Beauty in Painting. By these means he learnt the names of the great masters: he considered himself initiated

in the mysteries of the art; and could not longer think it possible for him to resist an inclination which daily assumed the character of a genuine passion. He had accomplished the five years of his apprenticeship; and, according to the terms of the agreement with his master, was still under an engagement to remain two years longer in his house: but an advocate with whom he had contracted an acquaintance, pointed out to him the means of liberating himself from this si tuation of painful dependance, by ob. serving to him, that at the age which be had now attained, he was entitled to act according to his own incrmations in this respect, even in opposition to the engagements previously formed by his guardians, who had exceeded their lawful authority over him. The result of these suggestions was, that Carstens compro mised the matter with his master, by paying him eighty crowns for his liberty.

He now went to Copenhagen, where he renewed an acquaintance winch he had, formed at Sleswick, with a painter named Ipsen, which proved of considerable service to him. He felt a strong desire to see the works of the great masters, which as yet he knew only by com mon fame; and his joy was extreme when he obtained access to the royal gallery: but it is impossible to express his sensations at beholding the monuments of sculpture which are preserved in the Hall of Antiques. Ile could scarcely believe that such master-pieces were mere productions of art: to his eyes they appeared to be rather the workmanship of a divinity. Here indeed he saw the Laocoon, the Vatican Apollo, the Farnese Hercules, &c.

During his stay at Copenhagen,he passed entire days in admiring these sublime performances. But he did not undertake the task of copying them; for he thought it of more utility to impress his mind thoroughly with their particular features, and to express these afterward with his utmost accuracy, in every possible position. This constituted almost his sole employment; and he has acknowledged that nothing was of greater advantage to him in facilitating the study of the human body, and the grouping of the figures in composition-pictures. The anatomical lessons of professor Wieden haupt, gave him just ideas on the natural forins of the body; but he could not resolve on copying them from the models specially appropriated to this study. Designs from the antique, executed in

the

the manner before explained, were the only undertakings that occupied him in a period of two years.

The first picture on which Carstens tried his strength, was the death of Eschylus. It was only by dint of persevering labour that he brought this piece to some degree of perfection; but he was still far from understanding the true principles of composition: at every step he found new difficulties; and perceived his own errors, though he neither knew how to avoid them, nor to compensate for them by beauties. A perusal of the treatise of Dubos first shewed him the object at which every artist should aim in his performances; and the Dutch work of Gerard Lairesse on painting, assisted him in the application of these principles. Carstens derived his only resources from books: almost all his discoveries were the result of his own application. While he remained at a distance from the academy, he was of course unable to profit by the lessons of the professors; but, with the works of Raphael before his eyes, he was in no danger of mistaking his path.

When he had been nearly four years at Copenhagen, he became acquainted with count Moltke, who possessed a very vaJuable gallery. Carstens visited this collection with great assiduity; and the count, having remarked that circumstance, desired to see some painting of his performance. For this purpose Carstens executed a design representing Adam and Eve near the Tree of Know. ledge, from Milton's Paradise Lost: the count approved this specimen; and engaged Carstens to execute it in oil, at the price of sixty crowns. Encouraged by this mark of beneficence, our young ar tist applied himself to the undertaking with ardour, and completed the picture in two months. The count was then in the country, and Carstens went himself to lay before him his performance: but his patron scarcely deigned to recollect him; and endeavoured to redeem his promise by offering him, the inferior sum of eight ducats. Carstens, indignant at such a reception, rejected a reward which seemed to him to carry with it a proof of contempt. Even the keeper of the Count's gallery was affected by similar feelings at his master's conduct: he shewed an interest for the unfortunate artist; and mentioned him to chamberlain Warnstædt, one of the most enlightened connoisseurs of Copenhagen. This nobleman paid a v sit to Carstens,

to assure him of his protection; and in deed, a few days afterward, the crown prince, having been informed of the conduct of count Moltke, sent for Carstens, gave him a kind reception, and bought his picture for a hundred crowns.

This incident happened very fortu nately for our artist, who had exhausted his slender patrimony. He now had recourse to a style which he had hitherto neglected, and in some degree despised, by resolving to follow portrait-painting, as a means of subsistence. But this pursuit did not absorb his whole time, and Carstens never lost sight of the end which ' he had contemplated from his first entering his career. His zeal, far from being checked by these obstacles, derived fresh incitements from them.

He had formed an acquaintance with professor Stanley, an artist endowed with a lively and fertile imagination; who sometimes visited Carstens, and examined his designs. Among these there was one which particularly attracted his notice, representing, according to the mythology of the northern nations, the Gods lamenting over the Corpse of Balder. Stanley shewed this piece to his colleagues, who solicited Carstens to enter upon a course of academical study. He was not much inclined to comply with this invitation; but the favour which was granted to him of being admitted almost immediately into the Hall of Models, conquered his repugnance; and besides, he hoped that by this means he might engage the attention of the prince, and be placed in the number of pupils destined for the

school of Rome.

The design exhibited by Carstens on this occasion, was a composition of his own, representing Eolus and Ulysses; the latter producing an empty bottle and repulsed with contempt by the god. This design, which had a hard and wild character, struck the spectators, and deservedly obtained applause from the prince.

Professor Abilgaard, who had some time before returned from Italy, had conceived a favourable opinion of the designs of Carstens, and even hoped to have him for a pupil; but he was unacquainted with the character of the young artist, who aspired to independence. The repugnance testified by Carstens to

the proposals which were made to him on this subject, gave that celebrated painter a disinclination toward him. As Abilgaard had not been present at the exhibition of the designs, and, of course, had not an opportunity of judging of the merit of that of Carstens, he engaged the Jatter to let him see it. After viewing it a considerable time with attention, he exclaimed: "This piece is not bad, and you may even attain a much higher Bank in the art; but you have a long tract to pass over. How old are you?" Carstens answered that he was in his twenty-eighth year. "Then," replied Abilgaard, "there is little hope for you. At that age, one ought to be master of the management of colours; it is an exercise that must be begun in youth." Carstens informed him of the circumstances which had retarded his progress. "It is lucky," replied the other, "that you completed your apprenticeship: the wine-trade may prove a useful resource for you." These words provoked Car tens; who rejoined with vivacity, Lout oil-painting was far from constinting alone the principal merit of an arest, and bat Michael Angelo disdained, to paint in oil. He then left the professor ab. ruptly; and on returning home, spread a large canvas, and prepared to execute bis Eolus in oil-colours. He worked at it day and night; and in two months the picture was finished.

In one of the pu'olic exhibitions of the academy, Carstens had obtained the silter medal, and it was universally expected that the golden one would be given to a young painter whose design was much superior to all the others. It was however adjudged to a relation of Abilgaard; and this preference was easily accounted for. Carstens felt the strongest indignation at this incident, and refused to accept the medal which was awarded to him, unless the first prize were granted to the student who had justly merited it. This terminated his connection with the academy, and the resolution for his expulsion was publicly posted up at the door: but the professers kept him in their remembrance; and in the next year gave him hopes of obtaining from the crown prince a pension, and permission to go to Rome. Carstens however rejected this idea, replying that he hoped he should soon go to Rome without that as sistance; and in fact from that moment he began to collect a small sum which he destined exclusively for ne execution of this project. He er,gaged one of his

brothers, who had learnt drawing at Sleswick, to accompany him; and they began their journey in 1785.

When they arrived at Mantua, they resolved to spend some time there, in order to admire the performances of Julio Romano. A servant of the count of Brisach (who was then governor of that city) spoke of them to his master; on which the count sent for Carstens, who made known to him the motives of his journey, and the resources which be hoped to derive at Rome from the exercise of his art. The count shook his head at this. "At Rome," said he, "there are already a sufficient number of artists contending for the means of subsistence you must not put any dependance on the Italians; the artists of that nation live on the purses of foreigners. It would be best for you to go to Milan; I will give you a letter of recom Tendation to one of my old fellow-soldiers, and if you get any money there, you can at any time easily proceed to Rome."

Carstens followed this advice, but the letter of recommendation did not produce any great effect. It was addressed to general Stein, who, after reading it, threw it on the table, saying, "Indeed, I do not know what this old fool thinks of, in sending such people to me. My friends, I can do nothing for you: try to find better fortune elsewhere." These words affected Carstens with a lively grief. He thus found himself compelled to renounce an undertaking from which he anticipa ted the most brilliant success. The reflection of being now without money, in a country where he did not understand the language spoken, entirely depressed his spirits; and he saw no other course for him to adopt, than that of returning into Germany. After passing some days in admiring the magnificent pictures of Leonardo da Vinci, he set out with his brother, and having crossed mount St. Gothard on foot, they reached Zurich. Here Carstens made it the first object of his attention to pay a visit to Gessner, who has acquired a still higher reputation by his idylls than by his landscapes, though the latter are not without merit.

Gessner received him with kindness; and, as our traveller was under the ne cesssity of selling several of his designs, he informed him of some proper persons for that purpose, to whom he gave him let ters of recommendation. One of these was Lavater: with him Carstens had a long dispute on the subject of the fine

arts;

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 Caracei, 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 bad the first rank in the models of style which he had adopted; yet he had no knowledge of them 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.

thoughts which they are intended to express. One may see that the imagina tion 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 corpositions, and not to the servile imitation of individual objects: this is incontestably proved by his first productions. Ia these may be discovered a tendency to that purity of forms and of outlines, to those graceful positions, and to that cha racter 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 n 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 he 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 distribu tion 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 cir cumstances 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 confidence. 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 more liberal character, M. Rodde desired only that Carstens would at some future time enrich 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 pictures 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 rcception.

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 Genelli, 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 judg ment of his new friends; who rectified many of his ideas, and made him ac quainted 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 consi derable 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 him the means of executing his favourite project. His performance was well received; and his former hope of visiting Rome revived. He used every oppor tanity 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 productions, those which constitute their principal