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75 Study of others. "The study of excellent works of every Class, is a certain way to improve, if not to create, an inventive faculty; and I have no doubt, that a person comparatively poor in Natural gifts, who steadily pursues his purpose, & makes use of all the means open to him, would soon eclipse the strongest in native ability, who neglect them, and trusts to himself alone; which, after all, would be an attempt as ridiculous as arrogant - for, whether we wish it or not, nine hundred & ninety nine out of a thousand of our thoughts are necessarily suggested by the works of others." [[underline]] Opie [[underline]]. Chiar-oscuro. "If properly managed it contributes infinitely to expression & sentiment; it lulls by breadth & gentle gradation, strikes by contrast, & rouses by abrupt transition. xxx It is the medium of enchanting softness and repose in the works of some Painters, and the Vehicle by which others have risen to sublimity, in spite of the want of almost every other excellence. In allusion to these known & acknowledged effects, the [[underline]] magic [[underline]] of light and shade is become a proverb." [[underline]] Opie [[underline]]. [[strikethrough]] On [[/strikethrough]] Portraiture. "If by an operation of Mechanism Animated Nature could be copied with the accuracy of a Cast in Plaster, a tracing on a wall, or a reflection in a glass, [[underline]] without modification [[underline]], & without the proprieties & graces of Art, all that [[underline]] utility [[underline]] could desire would be perfectly attained; but it would be at the expense of almost every quality which renders Art delightful. Art is only Art when it adds [[underline]] mind [[underline]] to [[underline]] form [[underline]]." xxx "In truth, a strictly accurate likeness is by no means necessary for recognition: a [[underline]] too faithful [[underline]] resemblance of the person ill supplies the impression left by his [[underline]] living [[underline]] image. With [[underline]] defects [[underline]] made palpable to increase the resemblance, & intelligence invaded by minute detail, a Portrait of this kind, compared with what it imitates, is dull & heavy, without motion as it is without life. Such a Portrait, [[underline]] disagreable [[underline]], & failing in the true qualities of the Original, has no attraction for any one else; is at best [[underline]] disliked [[underline]], & discarded by the very persons to whom its likeness is its only value. Experience This was written before the invention of Daguerreotypes