Acknowledging that the author has made a serious and imaginative attempt to answer the question 'What is the mission of art?' (see here), the critic of the Foreign Quarterly Review contrasts Modern Painters I favourably with earlier, more formulaic writings on art by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mengs. A summary of the work is illustrated by long extracts (see here), and ends with the lament that the author, while a perceptive critic, is too biased towards Turner (see here).