subservient to his pursuits in natural history and botany;[1] branches of science which are greatly assisted in their acquisition by the investigator possessing, himself, a facility in copying the subjects appertaining to them. Besides his extreme neatness, faithfulness and truth, in the delineation of natural objects, more particularly of plants, by the pencil, he acquired great adroitness in the beautiful art of etching on copper, and I have now in my possession, among other efforts of this kind, the figure of a dog, which exhibits the most true and perfect attainment of this nice art I have ever seen—It was made about five years ago. Dr. Barton did not despise these adventitious aids of science, and he often declared it as his opinion, that no man could become a nice, discriminating, and eminent botanist, without possessing that acumen in perception of proportion, colour, harmony of design, and obscure differences in the objects of the vegetable world, which alone belong to the eye of a painter. The accuracy, the vividness, the sensibility (if I may be allowed the expression) of his eye, were truly wonderful. I dwell more on these points than in the estimation of some, perhaps, they may seem to merit, because they have a near relation to the authenticity of the engravings that accompany some of his works. I know they may be relied on, for what passed his inspection and received his approbation, in this way, must be faithful as the pencil and the graver could make them. Those who painted the subjects of natural history[2] for
- ↑ The following extract from a letter written by Dr. Barton to his cousin, July 14, 1785, from the western boundary of Pennsylvania, shows that he very early applied his talent for painting to useful purpose:
"Tell H― she may depend upon the promise I made her, of drawing her a landscape; and probably some other pictures. I have already taken drawings of several curious and beautiful flowers, together with one of the falls of the river Youh: this last I will send her as soon as a safe opportunity offers."Benjamin Barton.
- ↑ I have frequently painted these subjects for him, and can therefore speak with the more certainty of the fact. In all my drawings made for him, whether of plants, animals, bones, &c. I learnt the absolute necessity (to please his eye) of adhering very faithfully to my models. The first lessons I ever received of scrupulous correctness in drawings of this nature, were from him. In fact he was, if I may be allowed to use such language, religiously conscientious not to suffer any things of this nature to pass with his name, unless they were true and
