'Introduction', continued: 832/12.A.f.5

Materials used in production

Ink

Components of the work

Support composed of paper
Leaf Height 330 mm Width 190 mm

Techniques used in production

Handwriting : Pen and ink on ruled paper

Inscription or legends present

• Text: they are both the production of one sculptor, it is also possible / the Archytypes[sic] of these two Divinities were introduced in the destruc / =tion of Niobe & her family by Phidias on the Throne of Jupiter / at Elis, the sanction of antient[sic] authors & monuments are not / wanting to countenance this supposition. / In this enumeration a beautiful modern statue must not be / forgotten, it is Paris, by Sig.r Canova Marquis of Ischia & / perpetual President or (in the Italian language) Prince of the / Roman Academy, his moral qualities & rank in his art are equally / honorable[sic] to his country & himself, gratitude would be wanting / not to acknowledge he has manifested a passionate desire to / serve & respect the Royal Academy of London, and his atten / =tions have been prompt & unceasing to the English in Rome. / By such a donation as that we now contemplate the Donor / secures to himself satisfactions increasing in proportion / to the accumulated advantages resulting from the use of / the gift, the diffusion of knowledge & taste, the elavation[sic] / of national charactor[sic] in noble & useful arts, desseminating[sic] / their advantages in a thousand different currents connected / by the united interests of letters, science & civilization[sic], / the honest wealth of the Country promoted, & by the inno_ / =cence of such employments & the beneficence of their nature / a permanent addition will be acquired in the general fund / of happiness & contentment! / Long may the Prince[deleted] Regent enjoy the delights of such / patriotic & balmy reflections! And may the rising talents / within these walls satisfy the wishes of their Patron! & / fulfil the most sanguine expectations & ardent hope of / this Institution & their Country / What has been said may properly lead to more extensive views / in the arts of Design & especially sculpture the object of these Lectures /. In the early ages of the world Tents & the slightest structures were / thought sufficient for the purposes of habitation, but Temples were raised / or excavated of stone adorned by sculpture with the emblems of Theology / and
• Location: Recto
• Method of creation: Ink

• Text: and[sic] symbols of Divine Wisdom / In India these sculptures were mystical attributes & manifestations / In Assyria they had relation to the heavenly bodies & government of the Universe. / In Egypt they were Hieroglyphical memorials of Divine / and human knowledge, this was the earliest as it will always continue / the most important employment of this art, debased indeed according / to the corruption of systems_ but in that nation that[deleted] which received the / Law with signs wonders to enlighten a darkened world! The Almighty / directed the figures of Cherubim to guard the ark of the covenant / but the ark, the Tabernacle, the first & second Temple, & all / their glories have been removed by Divine appointment, & we / must look & we must look[preceding four words deleted] to systems more questionable & less / sure for such perfection as we are acquainted with in this art, / yet we must not be led to suppose that any art dependant on / intellectual knowledge can arise to any height of excellence / without the assistance of its efficient cause, & the arts of / design in Greece were improved by the Pythagorean & Platonic / philosophies the most enlightened the[deleted] which the heathen world / possessed, so much the less will be said of Grecian Art / in this place because it supplies so large a portion of the / following discourses, while we turn our present thoughts / to the more general application & utility of the arts of / Design & more especially Sculpture. / by John Flaxman
• Location: Verso
• Method of creation: Ink

Identification numbers

Accession number: 832/12.A.f.5
Primary reference Number: 40857
Stable URI

Audit data

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints