THE MARLBOROUGH HOUSE GALLERY.
- The Vernon collection has' with some other English pictures, been transferred from the basement of the gallery in Trafalgai Square to the ground floor of Marlborough [louse;. vrhere it is scen better, but yet not satisfactorily. Not only are the rooms small, but the windows are placed low ; so that the light falls on the pictures either in a sidelong manner or at right angles—in one case leaving the picture dark, in the other shining on the surface.
A fresh glance at the pictures is not encouraging. The general fault in the designs is want of action ; in the drawing, want of freedom in the colouring, want of luminous transparency. In escaping from the washy style of Reynolds or Gainsborough, our artists have fallen into a style that seems as if the models were wooden dolls. The story is rarely told with animation. Moreover, the figures seem set in postures easy for the draughtsman. The most like masterpieces are the landscapes ; a few, such as the Landseers, stand out for character ; and the great satirist Hogaith rules in a region of his own.
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