An Essay upon Poetry and Painting with Relation to the Sacred and Profane History. With an appendix concerning obscenity in writing.
London: F. Fayram, 1730. First edition. A very good copy. Contemporary paneled calf, expertly rebacked, Twelvemo. [2], 202 pp. Item #15185
Charles Lamotte (1681?-1741) is known almost solely for the present work; he receives no mention in the D.N.B. There is, however, a substantial entry on him in the Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century British Philosophers. John Valdimir Price writes: “Lamotte’s concern…is with ‘License’ or what other aestheticians called decorum. Poets and painters are allowed ‘some Degree of Licence,’ but the analogies and linkings that they make should never venture into absurdity or anachronism. The proper enjoyment of painting or drama depends on an awareness of its fidelity to historical truth and of its consonance with the general experience of mankind.” Price goes on, “…he never loses sight of the power of painting or poetry to corrupt and to deprave,” but notes that “there is a refreshing lack of cant and proselytizing in his work.” A second edition appeared in Dublin in 1742.
Price: $950.00