MONTHLY MIRROR, PREFACE TO THE TWELFTH VOLUME, The commencement of another Volume calls for a renewal of those grateful acknowledgments which it is as much our pleasure as it is our duty at all times to return, for the signal patronage we have so uniformly experienced. Professions we have no more to make; nor is there any necessity, at this period of our labours, to have recourse to them. A Work that has for nearly six years maintained its rank among the most respectable periodical publications of the country, must be supposed to possess some solid pretensions to the public favour, and the Proprietors may, without vanity, conclude that their exertions have, at length, entitled them to the entire confidence of their subscribers. We shall endeavour not to lose this hold upon their good opinion; and we take it for granted that the best means of securing it will be by continuing to adhere to the plan and principles which have conducted the MONTHLY MIRROR to its present enviable pre-eminence and prosperity. A Portrait of John Johnstone, Esq. of the Theatre Royal Haymarket, will be given in No. 70. We have been favoured by a Correspondent with an ingenious Tale called the Lawyer, which we shall insert in our next Number, with a very humorous plate, designed by an Artist of the fir celebrity. MONTHLY MIRROR, FOR JULY, 1801. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN OPIE, ESQ. R. A. [WITH A PORTRAIT.] ONE of the best of our critics, speaking of our first poet, borrow ing an image from that poet, and ennobling it by happy application, says, "the incumbrances of his fortune were shaken from his mind as dew-drops from a lion's mane." Nature, no doubt, from her inexhaustible stores, is constantly supplying the world with men who might raise themselves to distinction, in the province for which she designs them; but she is too often thwarted in her intentions by the accidents of life, and, in the lapse of ages, many who were quaJified by inherent powers to reach the heights of fame, are condemned, by want of patronage or enterprize, to linger in d jection, and die in obscurity. Such, however, is not the fate of the person, who at present engages our attention. Nature certainly gifted him with extraordinary powers, which fortune, resolution, and perseverance have exalted into due celebrity. JOHN OPIE was born at the village of St. Agnes, in the county of Cornwall, in the year 1762. His family is ancient, and was formerly opulent. He, however, descended from that branch of it which did not inherit its property, and his immediate predecessor was obliged to support himself by the efforts of honest industry. As soon as young Opie was capable of noticing the works of art, he discovered an inclination for pictures and prints, endeavouring to display his skill in imitation with such rude materials as he could obtain. His father did not attempt to control this propensity, and several intelligent neighbours encouraged the lad with applause and liberality. At length he was suffered to neglect all other business, and to employ himself wholly in pursuits for which nature had obviously designed him, which absorbed the whole of his powers, and seemed to present the only object of his ambition. After having obtained as much instruction as he could casually procure in a place so little favourable to his wishes, but which his vigorous mind improved as much as possible, by observation and assiduity, he boldly trusted to the impulse of GENIUS, removed to Exeter, and endeavoured to raise himself into notice as a portrait-painter. In his progress, however, from his native place, to the enlarged sphere of action in that city, he stopped at every village on the road, and found some employment for his skill, as the renown of our rural Zeuxis had travelled before him. At Exeter he found men capable of estimating the promising omens f early genius, and was assisted by their counsels, incited by their praise, and animated by their countenance. Here he soon acquired wealth enough to enable him to visit the metropolis, which he considered as the only place capable of affording a suitable direction to his pursuits, and an adequate protection for his talents. He arrived in London in the year 1782, and immediately sent some specimens of his skill to the Royal Academy, which appeared in the Exhibition of that year, and which were generally viewed with surprise and admiration, as the vigorous offspring of original genius. One of his earliest works struck the attention of his MAJESTY, whose taste in the arts is too well known to need an eulogium in this place the picture was purchased, and is now conspicuous in the collection at Buckingham House. Public attention was strongly excited by the productions of this extraordinary young artist, who had principally made his way by the force of his native powers; and the gradual improvement of his skill enabled him to secure the reputation he had acquired. His cha. racter was at length so deservedly high in the estimation of all good critics, as well as of the public at large, that, in the year 1785, he assumed his proper rank in his profession, and was appointed one of the Royal Academicians. When the liberal and the enlightened temper of the Boydells, suggested the establishment of an institution for the purpose of illustrating the works of our great dramatic bard, Mr. Opie was of course employed upon the occasion, and he contributed some of the most admired productions that embellish the Shakespeare gallery. His genius also highly distinguished itself in the repository for a graphic illustration of the British poets in general, founded by the late enterprising Macklin. The historic pencil of Mr. Opie has been exercised in other undertakings of a similar kind, and from all of them he has derived an increase of reputation, as well as a considerable degree of pecuniary success. He has also very much improved his fame and fortune as a portrait painter, in which character he stands as high in the estima tion of all sound judges as any of his competitors. |