NEW PRINTS.
COLLINS'S pleasing characteristic picture of " Sunday" in the Country, exhibited at Somerset House last year, has been engraved in mezzotint by S. W. REYNOLDS. The charm of Cow NS'S landscapes is their truth and rural simplicity ; and though his later works have not the vigour and freshness of his earlier day, when he produced those coast scenes which obtained him so high a rank among modern: artists, he is still a genuine English painter. The scene is a green lane, overshadowed with trees through whose thick foliage the sunlight of a summer morning pierces here and there, dappling the ground, and producing that agreeable ad- mixture of light and shade which the painter so happily imitates, and constitutes the sweetest effect of landscape. At the entrance of the lane is a thatched cottage covered with roses and embowered in foliage, from which a rustic pat ty is issuing : the son and daughter are support- ing their aged mother, the sure-footed nag is standing at the gate to carry the old dame to church, and a group of children are waiting out- side. The church spire is seen in the distance, and the shady lane is studded with church-goers, amongst whom the parson is conspicuous. We ;almost fancy that we hear " the sound of the church-going bell," and see the chequered lights and shadows shifting, so completely is the spirit of the scene embodied. We excuse a degree of feebleness in the drawing of the figure's, and a lackadaisical smugness in the faces, for the sake of the general truth and picturesqueness. Much of the•beauty of the painting is necessarily lost in the engraving. Mezzotint in the hands of the most skilful artist can hardly render the infinite variety of tints of green in a verdurous landseupe ; and the tone is con- sequently heavy, though it is also forcible. The introduction of etching in the foreground gives variety to the texture and brilliancy to the effect. Altogether it is a striking and interesting print, and well deserving the honour of the Queen's patronage. A bird's-eye view of the projected Railway from Westminster Bridge through Kennington, Camberwell, and Peckham, to join the Croydon, Kent, and Brighton Railway at New Cross, and the Greenwich and Deptford Pier Junction Railway at Deptford High Street, forms a striking picture of the Metropolis, looking in the direction of the Sorry hills. Below the eye is Charing Cross, the Admiralty, Horse Guards, Treasury, and Whitehall ; on the left, the view embraces St. Paul's and the forest of steeples in the City ; and on the right, the north front of Westminster Hall is visible. The print is lithographed by W. WALTON, from a drawing by the architect, Mr. J. D. PAINE ; and as a work of art the sketch is highly creditable to their talents. The effect of distance and space, combined with as much distinctness as the smoke of the City will admit of; or the mass of roofs and unpicturesque buildings require, and the due relief of the more prominent and ele- gant structures, is managed with great skill. Breadth of effect is in no instance sacrificed to detail : the steam-boats and smaller craft on the river, the people in the Park, and the carriages in the streets, arc indi- cated, without interfering with the perfect keeping of the picture. A very neat and effective view of the proposed Arcade under the Via- duct, lithographed in the tinted manlier by W. G. COLMAN, accom- panies the large view. It is somewhat similar to the Low ther Arcade, except that the dwellinghouses are set back, and there is an open space over the shops.
Of the utility of this undertaking, or the probabilities of its success, we are not culled upon to give an opinion.
The non-arrival of the print prevented our noticing at the time of its publication a very forcible and spirited copy in lithography, by LOWES DICKINSON, of a dog's head, after EDWIN LANDSEEit. It is a portrait of "Dash," a spaniel of the Blenheim breed, belonging to the Dutchess of KENT; and the print, when coloured and varnished, has an effect as brilliant and powerful as a water-colour drawing. The handling is bold and free, and the texture of the hair is admirably well imitated; moreover, there is that look of life and animation in the eyes of the animal which is so characteristic of his lively race. The fact of this being the first published work of the young draughtsman, in-
creases its merit, as far as lie is concerned.
A portrait of Thomas Moons:, by his countryman Georter Mute VA NY, has been engraved by 0. R. WARD. The likeness is strong and faithful, both as regards feature and expression ; though it is a little too staid and sombre for the gay and animated character of the original. This defect is assisted by the heavy colouring of the pie- tore, which is necessarily reflected in the mezzotint. It shows the Bard of Erin has grown graver as well as older.
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