"A LESSON FOR HUMANITY."
A picture has been painted under this title by Mr. T. .1. Barker, and is now to be seen at Alderman Moon's in Threadneedle Street. It repre- sents an interesting incident in the life of Napoleon—one of the very few which exhibit him as an advocate or representative of the gentler morals. As he was passing over the field with other generals after the battle of Bassano, he came across the body of an Austrian soldier, uncared for, like heaps of others, by any human mourner, but still watched over by his faithful dog : turning round to his companions, the victor read to them the moral of the scene, as "a lesson for humanity." In Mr. Barker's picture, the head of Napoleon has been closely modelled on Canova's bust ; the figure sits and motions remarkably well ; and portraits are introduced of Marmont, Massena, Berthier, and Augereau. It is much to the advantage of the work that the artist excels in studies of animal life—and of animal death too ; the glazed eye, stark limbs, and hard body of the soldier's dead horse, are rendered with striking success. In actual treat- ment, as well as in capability of treatment., this is a decided advance on Mr. Barker's "Meeting of Wellington and Blucher on the field of Wa- terloo," likewise exhibited some while ago at Mr. Moon's, and now in the engraver's hands; as the "Lesson for Humanity" is about to be.
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