11 FEBRUARY 1837, Page 20

peated his wonderful tours de force of painting a blaze

of sunlight with all the vividness and intensity of' nature, that his splendours begin to pall upon the eye, and the mind craves something more satisfactory than a glare of light, to which a whole picture is sacrificed. As in reality a dazzling sun before the eye obscures the landscape, and makes one glad to look another way, so it is with TURNER'S gorgeous effects—we wish the suit were out of the picture. "Regulus" (120) is a compo- sition of Italian palaces, with a sea all a-foam, and vessels red with the fiery rays of the sun. It looks as if' TURNER was trying to outdo

CLAUDE, by showing that he could paint a more flaring sun and loftier buildings. He not only goes beyond CLAUDE, but " o'ersteps the mo- desty of nature." TURNER iS just the converse of CLAUDE; instead of the repose of beauty—the soft serenity and mellow light of an Italian scene—here all is glare, turbulence, and uneasiness. The only way to be reconciled to the picture is to look at it from as great a distance as the width of the gallery will allow of, and then you see nothing but a burst of sunlight. This is scene-painting—and very fine it is in its way. The very opposite to this is Sratals.sn's " View on the Guidecest, Venice" (17).—cold and opaque in colour, and chaste and elegant in style. It reminds us of Cat.i.corT; but it is somewhat leaden in tone, and neither so pure in colour nor so classic in compo- sition. We mistook poor VICKERS'S posthumous picture "Scene on the Lake of Zurich" (346) for STANFIELD'S at first sight: it is an imitation of STANFIELD'S imitation of CALLCOTT—colder and coarser, and with a repose that amounts to a dead fixture : it is the still-life of landscape. This young artist died suddenly two or three weeks ago, after this picture was sent in to the Exhibition. He was skilful in his art, and but too dexterous in catching the manner of other painters. He studied his contemporaries more than nature : he did not live long enough to prove to the world that he possessed original talent. ElOWARDCooKE's marine pictures are so exquisitely finished, so rich in colour and powerful in toile, and so minutely true to nature, in general effect as well as detail, that criticism almost becomes eulogy. In (19), "Rigging Hulk and Frigate at Portsmouth," he unites the freshness of nature with depth of colouring. The sky in "The Beach at St. Lawrence, Isle of Wight," is a leads opaque ; and the middle distance in that of the " Vessel on the Sands at Hastings" (42) is rather too near the eye ; but the objects in the foreground are so delicately, forcibly, and freely painted, and the feeling of the scene is so vividly conveyed, that it seems hypercritical to find fault. "Art Interior, with Fish" (41), is the perfection of still-life painting, where accuracy of the imitation is made subservient to picturesque effect. CHAMBERS'S large picture of " The Bombardment of Algiers" (261), is a very clever piece of nautical painting: but sea-fights are all alike uninteresting; either the ships look like models, or all is ob- scurity and confusion, and you see nothing for fire and smoke. STARK exhibits two minutely truthful transcripts of nature, ".Cro- mer (II), highly finished, and " Bird-searers " (262), which is in a looser and freer manner. Both are petite in style, cold in tone, and feeble in handling; but there is atmosphere in them ; and there being no trees, his defect of hardness in imitating folia4e is lost sight of. LEE is colder than ever in his " River Scene" (78); and cotisi- dering that it is October, his "Snow Scene on Seven Oaks Common" (33), might bear a little warmer tone : it is a mastely sketch, however, and with this exception true to nature. HOLLAND is the only land- scape painter who seems to its to hit the point of ttuth between frigid chillness on the one band and torrid heat on the other : his sketch of " Nirneguen " (321), is bright and glowing with warmth and colour, yet fresh and aarial ; and in this scene in " Venice" (398), be depicts the cloudless brilliancy of the sky, giving the effect of distance with a clear atmosphere, and combining bright local colouring with harmonious general effect : all is light, warmth, and gayety, with perfect keeping. We anticipate great things from these beautiful indications: the painter is on the right track. Fess, in his view of Windsor (16), very nearly hits the point lie

aims at of uniting a silvery tone with the warmth of sunlight ; but the keeping is not quite perfect. The cattle in SIDNEY COOPER'S land- scape " Evening" (88), are worthy of PAUL POTTER ; but the fore- ground is too heavy and cold. 4' A scene on Walthamstow Heath" (35), is one of STANLEY'S best and freest landscapes. There are some pretty landscapes alsoby HOFLAND, WATTS, TENNANT, VICKERS, Porrs, BAKER, Hir.nrren, and others ; and some Dutch-looking sea: pieces by 1Vissos, none of which are so remarkable as to require par, ticularizing.

In Still Life, LANCE is preeminent, if not quite alone. His fruit. pieces (156 and 263), are the best ; they are pulpy, sun-ripened, and coloured by nature. The gems iind plate in 57 and 254 are not quite perfection ; the substance and texture of the different objects are not la every instance acculittely represented. These sort of pictures challenge minute criticism. HOLLAND'S flowers (9), are wonderful for fresh. nese, depth, and richness of colour and force of delineation ; but the texture is not so soft and delicate as in nature.