FINE ARTS.

HINTS FOR THE FORMATION OF PROVINCIAL GALLERIES. THE sketch of the contents of a Provincial Gallery of Fine Art, that we promised to attempt, has been postponed till now, by the appearance of the Report of Mr. EWART'S Committee, which for the last few weeks has claimed our attention. The formation of local museums of works of art, indeed, is an important point of consideration in this Report ; and we have been gratified to fluid that the opinions of the witnesses who adverted to this branch of the subject are in accordance with the view we took of it before we became acquainted with the evidence they have given. The object of these museums, be it observed, is not merely the accu- mulation of antiques as relics of art ; but the collection of a wellchosenvariety of the most perfect specimens; not only to convey to

the artist a correct idea of ancient art, but to familiarize the public at large, and the mechanics in particular, with the beauties of form, design, and colour, in the fine works of antiquity. It is of importance to bear this in mind ; because, as museums of art (we hope) will be numerous, there would not be originals enough to furnish them forth, unless indeed the manufacturers of " old paintings " and " antiques" were set

to work again—as would very likely be the case. The difficult, if not hopeless, attempt to make collections of really fine original pictures and

statues, would cause a profuse outlay of money, and end in disappoint- ment.. If a few good pictures were got together, the examples would be so inadequate to convey an idea of the power of art and the genius

of the great masters, and of so little service in filling the mind of the uninitiated with that sense ,of the beautiful which is the chief source of the pleasure and benefit derivable from the contemplation of works

of art, that the object proposed would not be attained. Copies of pic- tures and casts of statues must of necessity form a considerable propor- tion of the contents of these galleries : of course the copies should

be excellent, preserving as much of the spirit of the originaLas can be

looked for in a copy, besides being accurate and masterly in execution. We are far from undervaluing the worth of originality in works of art; but a good copy of a grand or beautiful painting, and especially a cast from a fine statue, are preferable to an inferior performance of indu. bitable originality—for the purpose we have in view particularly. Many an apocryphal picture or duplicate of inferior merit, would, if

known to be an authentic copy and put forth as such, acquire a value which its questionable originality does not gain for it. In the one case,

we are most attracted to the evidences of spuriousness in order to sa-

tisfy our doubts ; in the other, we overlook the imperfections of the copyist, and see only the ensemble, supplying the defects from our imagi- nation, and endowing the reflection with charms even beyond those of the original. If we value an engraving that presents a miniature and colour- less translation of a fine picture, bow much more should we prize the

painted copy? In the case of sculpture, the contour and relief of tbe figures attract many an eye that does not regard the minute details of the ana-

tomy, except as they tend to produce the coup Imperfect, there-

fore, as the best casts must be to a certain extent, and as the mass of theni are in the superficial modelling, and even in the contour, so much of the beauty and grace of the original yet remains as to impress the observer strongly with a sense of these qualities. As regards pictures where the general effect depends upon the purity and power of colour, the truth of the expression, and the skill of the handling, as well as

the design, artists of approved skill should be selected, whose style and feeling assimilate best with the respective masters whose works they had to copy ; and it would be advisable that their labours should be superintended by a competent person appointed for the purpose.

There are many great works only visible to the traveller, and then under unfavourable circumstances of haste, bad light, dirt, and decay, of which copies would be most desirable for the use of artists, as well as the gratification of the public. Among these are the frescoes, which being painted on walls and ceilings, are every year suffering by decay. They cannot be rescued, like the sculptures of the Partheaon, from the

defacing touch of time : they must perish. " The Last Supper," by LEONARDO DA VINCI, is nearly obliterated ; and the best remains of this grand work are the painter's first studies, the heads forming part of the LAWRENCE Collection of Drawings, which we yet hope to congratulate the country on possessing. Faithful copies of such works would be valuable possessions.

Among the works of this class, which might be copied either wholly or in part, on the same or on a smaller scale, as the case might be, are

the frescoes of CIMABUE and GIOTTO, in the church of Santa Maria Novello, at Assisi ; those of MASACCIO, in the Campo Santo at Florence; of LUCCA SIGNORELLI, representing the Plagues, in the Cathedral of Orvieto; of RAFFAELLE, in the Loggie and Stanzie of the Vatican, consisting of his Scripture designs known by the set of prints called Rarrar.i.i.e's Bible, and his grand compositions, " The Schoo.

of Athens," " Parnassus," "The Dispute of the Sacrament," " Heli-

odorous," and "Attila ;" the "Creation "and the" Prophets and Sybils " of MICHAEL .ANGELO, in the Sistine Chapel ; the frescoes of COREG..

Gro, in the Duo= at Parma; the "Last Supper" and the "Battle of

the Standard," of LEONARDO DA VINCI. In these sublime relies of the Titanic age of painting, the soul of genius seems to have soared and expanded with its lofty subject and the grandeur and sacredness of the places which they adorn. They comprise the greatest triumphs that the art has achieved—the Cartoons of RAFFAELLE excepted—from the earliest epoch of modern art, rendered famous by the genius of CIMABUE, GIOTTO, and MASACCIO—the CHAUCER, GOWER, and SuartY

of painting—to the time of its perfection, as regards the art of design,

in the time of RAFFAELLE, MICHAEL ANGELO, and LEONARDO DA VINCI. The Cartoons of RAFFAELLE ; that fragment known as the "Cartoon of Pisa," by MicnaEL ANGELO; the "Last Judgment" of the same painter ; the " Raising of Lazarus" of SEBASTIAN DEL PIOMBO—the glory of our National Gallery ; and such grand pictures as the " The Descent from the Cross," by DANIEL DA VOLTERRA ; "The Marriage of Cana," by PAOLO VERONESE, in the Louvre; the "Crucifixion," by TINTORETTO ; "The Communion of St. Jerome," by DOMINECHINO ; "Apollo and the Hours," by GUIDO; "The Descent from the Cross," and "The Fall of the Angels," by BURENS,—llt short, all clitfu-d'crierre by great masters, in which the grandeur of the

design would so impress the beholder, that any defect in the expression would be passed over, or attributed to the imperfect kiJi. of the copyist, are suitable for a public picture-gallery. If we cEu.ld boast of

MICHAEL ANGELO% RAFFAELLES, and DA VINCIS, in our day, they would be employed in ornamenting—not churches, palaces, and public halls—but private dwelling-houses : the scale of the painter's opera- tions has diminished with his powers; and it must be confessed that when the artists of the present day (with two or three noble excep- tions) essay painting on a grand scale, their works show like pigmies in comparison with the giants of old.

Easel pictures, those especially whose attractions consist in rich

colouring and powerful effect, might also be copied. Who has not been struck with the brilliancy of the comparatively slight sketches of MIA pictures that one sees stuck up round the studios of artists. In the department of Sculpture, the facilities for furnishing a mu- seum with specimenas are very great. For two or three hundred pounds, an extensive gallery of casts might be formed, including the following. The Laocoon, the Apollo Belvidere, the Apollo

Lizard-Killer of PRAXITELES, the Fighting and Dying Gladiator, the two Discnboli of MYRON and NADCIDES, the Dancing and Reposing Fauns, Diana, Cupid bending his Bow, the Bacchus, Achilles ( BORG- siese), Adonis, the Listening Slave, or Grinder, Antinous, Phocion,

Cincinnati's, Aristides, and Germaniens ; the Venus de Medicis, the Venus of Mao, the Venus of the Capitol, ti e Townley and Calypi- gian Venuses, the groups of Cupid and Psyche, Castor and Pollux, the Boxers, the Wrestlers, &c. Casts of all these, and of some of the

TOWNLEY Marbles, are readily procurable in London : it may be neces- sary to send to Paris for some others ; and it is an important point to

ascertain where is the best mould. In many instances the moulds are much worn, or are made from common casts : the outline of the casts from such will have lost its crispness, and the modelling of the surface much of its delicate marking. It is very rare, we believe, that the first mould is extant ; others having been made from casts taken from it. Of the Hercules ( Farnese), the cast in the possession of the Royal Academy is unique, it is said ; and casts of the entire group of the Niobe Family are not as yet obtainable, we believe. There are also many other beautiful works of the antique, of which we are in doubt if any casts are to be procured in the ordinary way. Among them are the groups of Hercules and Antams,• in the Pitti Palace, Zetus and Amphion (called 11 Toro), at Naples, the Bac- chus and Faun of Prtaxtrer.es ; Orestes and Electra, Menelaus and Patroclus, Me:non and Antigone, Patus and Arria,* Ajax sup- porting the dead Patroclus,' Atreus bearing the dead body of the son of Thyestes, the Meleager, the Torso (Belvidere), the Hermaphro-

dite, &c. The moulds now making by SART! from the Elgin Marbles will furnish England and the Continent with casts of those noble

fragments ; and they may be made the means of procuring for us casts of antique sculptures from which moulds have not as yet been made. There should be a general interchange of the treasures of ancient tut among the different nations of the Continent and ourselves.

There are several modern works, too, which deserve a place in every museum of sculpture,—ex. gr. the Crouching Venus, Mercury, and the Group of the Rape of the Sabines, by Joust of Bologna, the

Modern PRAXITELES—the statue of Lorenzo di Medici, and the Group of Charity, by MICHAEL ANGELO : his Moses we cannot admire. Some of the best works of CANOVA—though his style looks artificial and meretricious beside the simplicity and unaffected grace of the an- tique—and such productions of contemporary sculptors as the " Eve" of our countryman BAILY, should also be included. Besides these groups and statues, there are several bassi relievi which are desirable. Among them, those of the Life of Christ, by JOHN of Bologna ; those by GIIIBERTI, on the gates of the Baptistery at Flo- rence, which MICHAEL ANGELO said were worthy to be the gates of Paradise ; those by NICHOLAS and JOHN PISAN°, at Orvieto ; mid the Bronzes, by DONATELLO, on the pulpit of San Lorenzo at Florence.

It is scarcely necessary to enumerate the antique busts,—such as the Phidian Jupiter, Ajax, the Dying Achilles, the Young Jupiter, Bacchus, Paris, Minerva, and the portrait busts of Septimus Severus and Marcus Aurelius. These are essential to a collection of sculpture, and are readily to be got ; but there may be many others, not less de- sirable, which would require to be sought from the possessors of the collections which they adorn.

Casts from the living figure of limbs remarkable for muscular de- velopment or symmetry of form, would be valuable additions to a col- lection of sculpture:: they serve as a standard of nature, and to show that truth as well as beauty is the charm of the antique.

In addition to galleries for paintings and sculpture, there should be one for architectural casts of capitals, architraves, and ornaments. There is an elegance, a grandeur, in the proportions as well as the details of Greek architecture, that few modern imitations of it fully possess. A selection of models of the antique vases most remarkable for ele.. gance of form, richness of ornament, and beauty of design in the bassi relievi that adorn them, would be most essential. Among the examples

that immediately occur to us in this country, are the Townley, the Warwick, Portland, Medici, and Borghese Vases. Fac-similes might also be made in the Lowesby terra cotta of some of the most beauti- ful of the fictile vases in the British Museum, at a very small cost. The multiplication of the graceful forms of the antique vessels would greatly improve our pottery both in form and ornament : indeed, much good has already been done since WEDGWOOD first began the reform of our crockery-ware.

The casts might be preserved from soil and dust by being washed over with purified linseed-oil, with a little drying-oil mixed with it; or by painting them carefully with a thin pigment of flake-white, ground with oil.f Some sculptors employ a stone colour ; but the pure white we think, preferable ; and as it admits of being washed with soap and water, it may be kept equally clean. Of course the dust should be constantly brushed off, and the casts be kept covered up when the gallery is closed. By these precautions, they may be preserved for sears without deterioration.

As regards the plan of the building, some valuable hints are offered by the Baron VON KI.ENZE, architect to the King of Prussia, in his evidence before the Committee. He is the architect of the celebrated Munich Gallery, one of the completest and most magnificent picture. galleries in the world—as our National Gallery is the most paltry. We need not now quote his description of it, as the edifice is on too large a scale for those we have in view : when we come to speak of

• These are common in smaller size.

The following recipe is accounted a good one in Paris. Take of lime seventeen parts, slack it with a very little water, and then sift it in order to separate the unslacked particles : mix this well with enough curd of milk to make a soft paste ; add of powdered plaster of Paris seven parts, and of dry white lead, in powder, six parts; and grind the whole together on a slab with a little water, so as to produce a sort of paste; thin it with more water, and apply it with a brush—giving three coats to the cast, that disgraceful job the mock Natiotal Gallery—which has not yet been sufficiently brought home to the responsible parties—wig be the proper time. Meanwhile, it may be as well to state here, that the height of the rooms in the Munich Gallery is a feet to the top of the vaulted ceiling ; the walls, to the spring.. ing of the roof, being 31:1 feet high, and the width 42 feet. The sculptures are in a separate gallery, and are lighted front one side only ; and instead of a gray wall, they are relieved by a back- ground of a deep rich colour, which sets off the pure white of the statuary to great advantage ; and the coup d'eeil is further enriched by gilded decorations on the ceilings, and ornamental floors. These are wonderful Improvements: colour might be introduced into our Museum. with advantage. By the way, there seems no absolute necessity for separating pictures and statues : on the contrary, they serve to set off each other : the paintings form a gorgeous background to the sculpture; and the chaste whiteness and relief of the sculpture aid, by contrast, the effect of the paintings. It is well to have a good technical reasoa for the union of the sister arts : one always feels the effect agreeable; while the chilling influence of a Quaker-like gallery, devoted wholly to sculpture, tends to make the people of a cold climate indifferent to the beauties of statuary, when they are only averse to its coldness. A catalogue raisonne, giving a full and clear description of each work of art, a brief account of its author, and an indication of it lead-

ing merits and defects, is essential to the utility of a public gallery. For want of knowing how to understand works of art, very many per- sons are prevented from enjoying their beauties.

Without pretending to have formed a detailed calculation of expense,. we may venture to guess that a plain, brick and stucco gallery of two or three well-proportioned saloons, lighted from the roof, and filled with good copies of the chefs-d'eruvre of painting and sculpture—such as would do credit to a provincial city and afford a perpetual source of delight and instruction to the learned and the unlearned—might be fur- nished for 5000/. Mr. LOUDON, in his Architectural Magazine, would perhaps invite some young architect to draw out a plan and design for a simple structure, with an estimate. A gallery of casts only—an in- dispensable addition to a School of Design—might be formed for as many hundreds.