trifling pieces for his daily subsistence.  After two years of extreme toil and difficulty, he was relieved by the arrival of Mignard, the artist, who had formerly been the companion of his studies.  Mignard evinced the warmest regard for his friend, and they were afterwards known in Rome by the name of the inseparables, for they lived in the same house, worked together, and united the produce of their labours.  They were employed to copy all the best pictures in the Farnese Palace, and every evening attended an academy of drawing.  Mignard was superior in practice, while Fresnoy was perfect master of the rules, history, and theory of his profession.  They communicated their sentiments to each other, Fresnoy furnishing his friend with noble ideas, and the latter instructing the former to paint with more ease and dispatch.  Fresnoy painted several fine pictures in Rome, and, in 1653, he left that city, in company with his friend, travelled to Venice, and then to Lombardy.  Here the two friends parted,[3] Mignard returning to Rome, and Fresnoy to his native city.  After his arrival in Paris, he painted some beautiful historical pictures, which established his reputation.  He perfectly understood architecture, and drew designs for many elegant mansions in Paris.  During his travels in Italy, he planned and composed his De Arte Graphica, an excellent poem, full of valuable information, and containing unerring rules for the painter.  This poem was twenty years in hand, and was not published until three years[4] after the author’s death, which took place in 1665.  It has been observed, that Fresnoy possessed the genius requisite for forming a great master; and had he applied himself more strictly to painting, and educated pupils, he would doubtless have proved one of the greatest painters France ever produced.  But, possessing high literary talents, he chose to lay down precepts for his countrymen, rather than to present them with examples of his art.  He adhered too closely to the theory of painting, neglecting the more essential part—­practice.

   [3] When Mignard returned to Paris in 1658, he again went to reside
       with his friend.

   [4] It appeared at Paris, in 12mo., with a French translation by
       Mons. Du Piles, 1668.

In the reign of Louis XIV., Nicholas Poussin distinguished himself as a painter, by displaying exquisite knowledge and great skill in composition.  He generally painted ancient ruins, landscapes, and historical figures.  He was likewise well acquainted with the manners and customs of the ancients; and, though he educated no pupils, and never had any imitators, his pictures are universally admired in every European country.  Charles le Brun[5] established the French school,—­an undertaking which Voueet had previously attempted.  Le Brun drew well, had a ready conception, and a fertile imagination.  His compositions are vast, but, in various instances, they may justly be termed outre.