Excerpt from Elements of Art Criticism: Comprising a Treatise on the Principles of Man's Nature as Addressed by Art; Together With a Historic Survey of the Methods of Art Execution in the Departments of Drawing, Sculpture, Architecture, Painting, Landscaping Gardening, and the Decorative Arts The following Treatise on the Elements of Art Criticism has originated in a conviction that the general neglect of early instruction in the principles of Art Execution is a serious defect in American education; which defect may be, and therefore should be, removed. The educated American tourist finds him self mortified amid the galleries and before the monuments of Art in the Old World, because, unlike European visitors, he has no preparatory acquaintance with the first principles of Art, kindred to his early instruction in Science and Literature, which would make him at home among such treasures, and fit him to appreciate, to enjoy and to improve his privilege. The American legislator, obliged by his position to take action in meeting the great and growing demand for public expenditures in the department of Painting, Sculpture and Architec ture, is harassed with the apprehension, that, having no independent judgment of his own, he may be misled by unworthy and interested men, who are ever in advance of genuine artists in pressing their own claims. The young Amer ican artist has rarely access to technical, historical and critical treatises on Art, which may give clearness and comprehensiveness to his investigations and conceptions. To this special lack of these several special classes must be added the general want felt by the entire mass of the American people, male and female, youths and adults, pre-eminently an educated and reading people; who, though supplied with elementary treatises in every department of science and philosophy, search in vain in American and even in English libraries for a condensed and comprehensive work on Art, which shall meet their general need. The demand is a peculiar one; and the effort to meet it is attended with great difficulty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.