28 AUGUST 1841, Page 21

FRESCO - PAINTING.

Ma. HAYDON, with characteristic energy and enthusiasm, has already made a trial in fresco, on the wall of his painting-room ; and the result

of this first and hasty attempt, which we have had the gratification of

seeing, is decisive of two important points,—the beauty of fresco paint- ing as a means of decoration, and the ease with which a knowledge of the practice may be acquired. The subject is a study for the Archangel Erie!, the bust and arms onlyf of the life-size : it was painted at once on the plaster, without a cartoon to work from, in four hours ; the painter's hand trembling with apprehension for the success of his ex- periment, and incompetent from inexperience to do full justice to the means : it is a rough sketch, in short, made without the boldness and firmness of pencilling that certainty of purpose and mastery of hand alone can give. Yet the figure stands out from the wall, solid in form, lively in colour, and brilliant in tone ; making the pictures beside it look poor, flat, and muddy in comparison ; its flesh-tints surpassing in purity the freshest oil-painting. It has a majestic presence, that seems to enlarge the space it occupies, and to give new radiance to the light reflected from it ; but while it thus fills the sense and elevates the mind, it is not obtrusive.

In describing the impression made by this piece of fresco, our object is not to compliment Mr. HAYDON or to praise his design ; we do but record the effect produced upon us by the work : though the conception and style of the painter must have had their share in producing this im- pression, we endeavoured to regard only the physical qualities of the art. The large scale of the design, and the breadth and simplicity of the paint- ing, have unquestionably a material influence over the mind ; but these -characteristics belong to all fresco, and constitute its chief recommenda- tions : the greatness of the style powerfully aids the grandeur of the idea, and the largeness and boldness of the handling inspire the painter with congenial vigour of execution, which the cartoon he works from would prevent from running into exaggeration. As the tendency of high finish in cabinet-pictures is to contract the focus of the mind and cramp the execution, so that of fresco is to enlarge the conception and expand the style. Fresco-painting is the school of greatness in painting : it daunts and depresses only the little mind ; it fires and elevates the noble and aspiring genius : the artist works with that grand gusto of which we hear so much and see so little. Mr. HAYDON tells us, and we can well believe, that there is a fascination in the very manner of painting which is inspiriting and stimulating to fresh exertions; and he now regrets not having followed the advice given him by the late Sir DAVID WILKIE twenty years ago, to apply himself to fresco. Any zealous artist might easily make the experiment ; the same means of information are open to all. The book authorities for the Italian method, we are told, are VASARI, Anzontnia, and Czailazi : Messrs. LATILLA of London, BELL of Manchester, and BARKER of Bath, are the artists in this country whom Mr. HAYDON consulted ; Mr. LANE, of whom we spoke, is not, we believe, in England. The method is simple : chip off the outer surface of plaster from a dry wall, and substitute for it a coating of wet plaster, composed of two parts of river-sand and one of lime, well mixed together with water to a proper consistency : this ap- plied to the wall will remain sufficiently moist to work upon for four hours ; no greater space should be plastered at once than can be covered in that time. Every touch is indelible ; but it may be gone over again while the plaster is moist. The pigments used are of the common kind, being earths, and are dissolved in water ; the lime itself is the white : the difficulty is to allow for the change of tint in drying.