The Art Journal. S. Virtue and Co.)—This, the oldest of
the artistic publications of Great Britain (the volume before us is the fiftieth), continues to hold an honourable place. No one will say that in point of merit awl interest, whether we consider the artistio or the literary qualities of the volume, it is below its predecessors. There are six etchings, the frontispiece being by C. 0. Murray, afterMr. Luke Fildes's "Venetians," a charming study of female figures. Mr. Murray also gives us another very pleasing etching, "From the Field of Sedgmoor," after Mr. Seymour Lucas. Mr. E. Slocombe etches a portrait of the Queen, painted for the Punjab Institute, Lahore ; and Mr. Alex. H. Haig, "The Round Tower of Windsor." "The Grape. Harvest" and "The Raising of Jaime's Daughter" are by Messrs. II. Lepind and W. Unger respectively. There are two "reproductions in fac-simile," "Curiosity," after Ludwig Passini, and "Consulting the Oracle," after Gerome's famous picture of Napoleon looking at the
Sphinx. Both are most interesting, and in their way anew- passable. They must be the despair of engravers. Of en- gravings there are five full.page examples, worthy specimens of the art. Still, one cannot help feeling that one sees in an engraving too evident traces of the mechanical means by which it is brought into existence. Among the contents of the
Journal we may notice eix particularly interesting papers, "A Foreign Artist and Author in England," which we owe to the pen
and pencil of Mons P. Pillars. M. Villars, in the character of observer, has some of the peculiarities of his nation—for instance, he never heard any English people laugh—but he is worth reading
and his sketches are attractive. The exhibitions of the year are fully described and criticised, and we have generally a sufficient chronicle of contemporary art. A propos of the fact that this is a "Jubilee" volume, we may mention that in 1837 the pictures in the National Gallery numbered 148, and that there are now 1,232.
Previous page
