KEATE. MR. and Mrs. Nollekens's old friend, George Keate, Esq. was born at Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, November 30, 1730. Early in life he went to Geneva, where he remained some years; and then he returned to England, when he was articled to Palmer, the steward of the Duke of Bedford, and became a Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Mr. Keate's knowledge of the Continent gave him many superior advantages over those persons with whom he associated. Rome was his residence in 1755. He had passed the Alps with the reflecting eye of a poet, and was personally acquainted with Voltaire. Among his various poems he wrote an epistle to Angelica Kauffmann. His work entitled, "Sketches from Nature," was certainly generally read; but of all his writings, "The Pelew Islands" gained him the greatest celebrity. Most of his publications were printed by Boyer, though some were published by Dodsley. His attainments were various, for he was a naturalist, a poet, an antiquary, and a draughtsman; and was one of the first Honorary Exhibitors in the Royal Academy upon its establishment. Mr. Keate died at his house, now No. 10, in Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury, June 17th, 1797, and was buried at Isleworth; in which Church, on the east wall of the chancel, there is a small monument, with his likeness on a medallion, sculptured by Nollekens. There is an engraving of him by Sherwin, from a picture painted by his intimate friend Plott, Nathaniel Hone's pupil, prefixed to his "Sketches from Nature."* The following is a list of Keate's works, with their dates of publication. Ancient and Modern Rome, 1760. History and Laws of Geneva, 1761. Epistle of Lady Jane Grey, 1762. The Alps, 1763. Netley Abbey, 1764; enlarged, 1769. Poem on Rome, 1765. The Temple Student; an Epistle to a Friend, 1765; in which, it has been supposed, he pourtrayed himself. On Mrs. Cibber's Death, 1767. Ferney; an Epistle to Voltaire, 1769. Monument in Arcadia; a Dramatic Poem, in two parts, 1773, of which the idea was taken from Poussin's picture of Arcadian Shepherds and Shepherdesses contemplating a monument, inscribed, "Et in Arcadia ego." Sketches from Nature; taken and coloured in a journey to Margate, two volumes, published from the original design. Poetical Works, in two volumes, 12mo. Epistle to Angelica Kauffmann, 1781. The Distressed Poet, in three Cantos, 1787. Account of the Pelew Islands, 1788. In Vol. VI. of the "Archæologia," are some observations by him on Roman earthenware found in the sea on the Kentish coasts. He also wrote Prologues and Epilogues for Mr. Newcome's Scholars in Hackney; complimentary verses in the European Magazine, &c. DEARE. DR. CLARKE, in Vol. V. page 24, of the fourth edition of his Travels, speaking of Queen Eleanor sucking the poison from King Edward's arm, says, : “ The tradition, however, which, after all, is not disproved by the evidence Fuller* has adduced, has given rise to one of the finest specimens of modern sculpture existing in the world and as it affords, perhaps, the only remaining proof of the surprising abilities of an English artist, (snatched from the pursuit of fame in the very opening of a career which might have classed him with the best sculptors of Ancient Greece,) the author considers it a patriotic duty to pay some tribute to its merit, and, thereby, to the memory of its author, John Deare, who, at a very early period of life, attained to a surprising degree of perfection in sculpture and design. He died a few years ago, at Rome, at the very time when the first proofs of his genius began to obtain the patronage necessary for its full development. The particular work alluded to is a bas-relief, executed in the marble of Carrara. It was purchased by Sir Corbet Corbet, an English Baronet, and belongs now to his collection. “This brief allusion to a young artist, who would have been an honour to his country, is perhaps the only biographical document concerning him likely to be made public.” Had my honoured friend, the author of the * Fuller's Historie of the Holie Warre, book iv. chap. 29, p. 220. Camb. 1651. above, been aware of the existence of the following particulars relating to Deare, it would have given him the greatest pleasure to have found his last paragraph respecting our justly lamented Sculptor useless. JOHN DEARE was born at Liverpool, on the 18th of October, 1760. The dawn of his genius gleamed early; for his inquisitive mind was seldom engaged in casting of dumps, or bowling marbles through the arches of a bridge, regarding such childish amusements only as frivolities. His leisure time was mostly occupied in contemplating the forms and construction of things; and so extraordinary were his juvenile talents, that at the age of ten years he sedulously studied from the skeleton of a full-grown person, from which he made a copy in wood, wholly cut out with his penknife. This curious production, which alone would evince his early talents, measures six inches and a half, and is now most carefully preserved by Joseph, the youngest son of his brother Edward. I have seen it, and it is a most extraordinary piece of carving; for, setting aside the youthful period in which it was produced, and the very imperfect instrument with which it was cut, the anatomy is strictly correct, the ribs and double bones are most minutely perforated, and the limbs, fingers, and toes, are connected by the slightest ligaments left in the wood; for in no instance has it the assistance of wires. It is carved from one piece of wood; and so beautiful is this specimen of Deare's correctness of eye and perseverance, that I can hardly think it was possible for him in his maturer age to have excelled this juvenile production. He continued most sedulously to amuse himself between schoolhours, by making drawings from the best prints which his indulgent father could procure; and as nothing less than the most elevated subjects engaged his attention, his mind became habitually illuminated by studying the Forge of Vulcan, the glittering Shield of Achilles, or the Thunderbolt of Jupiter; and when he has, in his maturer years, described his feelings as a lad, whenever the Siege of Troy was mentioned, I have seen his nostrils expand, as if he had been brandishing the mighty spear over tens of thousands of Grecian warriors. He was articled to Thomas Carter, of Piccadilly, then residing in a small house on the site of No. 101; and at the age of sixteen he was employed in carving ornaments for chimneypieces, in the exquisite performance of which he astonished the oldest practitioners. But |