FINE ARTS.
STARK'S Scenery of the Rivers of Nwfolk, of which three parts have appeared, is a work which is well calculated to please all tastes, for the views bear the stamp of truth, and have besides many excellent qualities as works of art. Mr. STARK'S style is the minute and literal,—some- times degenerating into feebleness, at others rising into beauty. When he does succeed in producing a fine natural effect in an artist-like manner, he emulates the fidelity of the Dutch school of painting. Some of his wood scenes remind us of HOBBIMA, while his river scenes approach the character of VANDERCAPELLA. They do not display, it is true, that mastery of art which bespeaks the pencil of genius ; but the painstaking accuracy with which the various objects and natural ap- pearances are delineated, render these modest productions of an ingenious artist pleasing. The pretty little bits of rustic scenery, which abound in our own country, find a congenial imitator in Mr. STARK. He depicts the cottage nestling in the bosom of a copse, the woodland hamlet, and the weed-crowned ruin, with the feeling of a lover of nature, if not always with the power of an accomplished artist. His trees are por- traits ; his shipping evinces knowledge of nautical craft ; his skies are extremely natural ; and he reflects all these objects in water really trans- parent. The tendency to littleness of style and feebleness of effect, which we have noticed, is occasioned by an over anxiety to be minutely faithful; and is shown in a spottiness and want of breadth which render the views less valuable in the eye of the artist. To those who only de- sire to possess transcripts of the picturesque scenery of the rivers Yare, Waveney, and Bure, these simple and unpretending productions will be more acceptable than the splendour of TURNER'S eccentric pencil,— whose figures, by the by, are as bad as those of Mr. STARK. Among the views which we most admired, are—" The Mouth of the Yare," an excellent picture ; "The Yarmouth Regatta," a lively scene, with a clear silvery tone and an airy distance ; "View on the Yare near Thorpe Church," a sweet evening scene ; "Reedham Mill," a Dutch- looking view; "The Ferry, Norwich," a very true picture, with pleas- ing effect ; and the vignettes of " Hardleigh Cross" and "Burgh Castle,"—the last a very rich bit of effect, worthy of COOKE'S Southern Coast ; with which work the present corresponds in size and the style of getting it up.
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