Hired to Depress: A Digital Scholarly Edition of William Blake's Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses

Some Account viii


the rules laid down in his book, a man may
do wonders; for this is wonderful.” 6 From
these attempts he proceeded to draw like-
nesses of the friends and relations of his
family, with tolerable success. But what
most strongly confirmed him in his love of
the art, was Richardson’s Treatise on Paint-
ing; the perusal of which so delighted and
inflamed his mind, that Raffaelle appeared
to him superior to the most illustrious names
of ancient or modern time ; a notion which
he loved to indulge all the rest of his life.


His propensity for this fascinating art
growing daily more manifest, his father
thought flt to gratify his inclination; and
when he was not much more than seventeen
years of age, on St. Luke’s day, Oct. the
18th, 1740, he was placed as a pupil under
his countryman Mr. Hudson,7 who though

6 From the late James Boswell, Esq. to whom this
little circumstance was communicated by our author.
7 Thomas Hudson, who was the scholar and son-in-law
 

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