painter labour who essays the bold and difficult task of
repre- senting on a plane surface of a few feet the almost immeasurable elevation of the Alps on the apparent scale of nature ? The purer atmosphere of Italy, too, increases the difficulty, by making all distant objects, especially the mountains, appear much nearer to the eye, and thus causing de aerial as well as the linear per- spective to lessen their apparent dime: sons.
The visiter of Mr. BURFORD'S panoramic view of Mont Blanc, the Valley of Chamounix, and the surrounding mountains, should bear this in mind; and allow a little time for his eye to become accus- tomed to the scale of the picture, and its tone of colour. He will find that the scene, which at first might seem misty and cold, and pressing upon the eye, will after a while become brighter and clearer ; the mountains will recede and expand ; and the mind will be able, by reference to the size of the trees and houses, to ascend the colossal scale of nature in the picture as in the reality.
The view is taken from the Fl6gere, a part of the chain opposite to Mont Blanc, at a height of about 4 U00 feet ; whence the snow- crowned summits of the Alps are seen to due advantage, ranged in 't circle like the diadem of earth. The time is evening, when the sun hasjust dipped below the mountainous horizon, and its last rays are breaking over the ridge, and reflected on the granite peaks and snowy crests of the summit of Mont Blanc—the only time when the scene
is free from mists. The effect is less dazzling than the brilliant de- scriptions of travellers bad led us to imagine : but we had the testi- mony of more than one Alpine tourist to the truth of the representa- tion as regards the forms and local colours, and also the general effect of the coup &ail. To describe the scene, would be superfluous as wel as presump- tuous : all who have seen the reality give it up in despair. " Who shall undertake the indescribable ?" Suffice it to say, that in the picture the shapes of each crag and cleft, as well as of the pinnacles and glaciers, are represented with the minute accuracy of a model. The drawings were made by Mr. BURFORD himself, in conjunction with his cello- borateur Senors, on the spot which is indicated in the picture. They took possession of the litle cabin midway up the mountain, where they lived during the time they were thus occupied. The group of travellers and mules round the cabin make a pretty foreground : but we think that it little more force in the paint-
ing of this part of the picture would have increased the effect of dis- tance in the rest. The painting of the mountain behind it is ad- mirable: indeed, the execution is finished and masterly throughout. The solid and defined forms of the masses—foliage, verdure, granite,
snow, and ice—and the light fleecy clouds that encircle the summits— are each indicated with the nicest discrimination of their substance and texture. Altogether, this must be regarded as the triumph of Mr. BcaronD's art. Ile richly deserves the reward that will best repay his exertions—the universal popularity of the panorama.
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