Omniana/Volume 2/West’s Immortality of Nelson
our great naval hero is thus described by one of the authors of that joint work. "The leading point in the picture represents Victory presenting the dead body of Nelson to Britannia after the battle of Trafalgar, which is received from the arms of Neptune, with the trident of his dominions and Nelson's triumphant flags. Britannia sits in shaded gloom, as expressive of that deep regret which overwhelmed the United Kingdom at the loss of so distinguished a character. In the other parts of the picture are seen the concomitant events of his life. The Lion, under Britannia's shield, is represented fiercely grasping the tablets with beaks of ships, on which are inscribed his memorable battles; and the sons and daughters of the Union are preparing the mounful sable to his memory. At a distance on the left is represented the 'wreck of matter and the crash of worlds.' The winged boys round his body, are emblematic that the influence of Nelson's genius still exists; other figurative and subordinate parts are introduced to give harmony and effect to the whole composition."
It must be confessed that the daisies and dandelions of eloquence are strewed here with profusion, . . but it is not all this stile ornate which can conceal the absurdities of the composition. In the right hand corner of the piece is half a horse's head, and over the horse is a hand, and over the hand is the head of a Triton, or sea-devil, and over the Triton is the head of another horse, and over this horse's head are some boys and young ladies, "sons and daughters of the Union," by which I presume is to be understood that some are English and some Irish, though the boys are certainly mulattos. They are "preparing the mournful sable," that is to say, they are making mourning. And over them is a lion, grinning a ghastly smile, and holding in his fore paws three large pieces of wood, which none but the handiest of all lions could contrive to hold at all, selling aside all considerations of size and weight. Over the lion is the shield of Britannia, resting apparently with the edge upon his hack, very uncomfortably for him, sufficiently so, indeed, to account, for the expression in his countenance; and over the shield are three little Cupids, looking down in wonder upon the number of odd things below.
Returning to the bottom of the piece, we find a fish's tail showing itself under the arm of a man, whose naked back is turned towards the spectators. Above him, a little to the left, the upper half of a gigantic personage appears out of the water. By the help of the explanation we learn that this is Neptune, though from his black beard and buccaneerish sort of look a sailor would suppose it to be Davy Jones; one of our Hindoo commentators may perhaps prove these two personages to be the same with a third of Hindoo, or Egyptian, or wild Irish family, having an N, or a D, or a J, or an E, or an A, or an O, in his name. This personage is holding up the dead body of Nelson, wrapt in a sheet, and resting upon what we take to be a cloud; three more little cupids are playing with the dead body, one of them peeping under the sheet: the head is supported by a handsome gentlewoman, decently drest, and with a large pair of wings, holding a trident in her right hand, which she is delivering to an armed virago, who is bending forward to receive the body from the aforesaid Neptune, or Davy Jones; and this transfer of the dead body from a male giant to a female one, is to represent the Immortality of Nelson. Two flying cupids are above steering towards the virago, one holding a wreath, the other a printed label, in the manner of those used at elections.
In the left corner are three young ladies putting their heads out of the water; one is leaning upon the top of a wheel, and one half hiding her face behind what we verily mistook for an umbrella, till upon closer consideration we found reason lo suspect that it might be part of Neptune's car. We had forgotten the flags which are above Neptune, between him and the gentlewoman with wings. But what is all this in comparison with "the wreck of matter and the crash of worlds" which is quietly going on in the back-ground, just under that gentlewoman's feet, within the compass of two square barley corns, and without discomposing either lady or child, fish, flesh, man, horse, or devil!
The famous representation of Dr. Burney with his harpsichord in the Thames, appears perfectly reasonable and convenient when compared with this accumulation of incongruities. Why will painters thus wantonly abase their prerogative? Neither the genius of Mr. West, great as I willingly admit it to be, nor that of our great Barry, nor of Michel Angelo himself, the mightiest mind that ever ennobled the art, can render that sublime which is in itself inherently absurd. And surely if it be absurd to paint a human bead upon a horse's neck, with the body of a fowl, ending in a fish's tail, it is not less so to heap heads, tails, horses, fish, lions, and cupids, one upon the other. There will come a time when such gross allegories will be deemed as repugnant to true taste as the gross Anthropomorphism of Catholic church pictures is to true religion. The invisible world is not within the painter's province; there is a commandment of common sense which forbids him to make unto himself the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above.