ART.
THE ROYAL ACADEMY. [SECOND NOTICE.]
THE most complete of Mr. Leighton's pictures is certainly his. " Cleobulus instructing his Daughter Cleobuline " (1,118). The father is manly and kindly ; his pupil-daughter attentive, pretty,. and unaffected. The composition is natural (indeed, a composi- tion of two figures is not so difficult), and the colour is pleasing.- There is some prettiness also in the drapery of "Greek Girls. picking up Pebbles by the Sea" (567) ; but the colour inclines. to be sickly, and unaffectedness is not here the prominent quality._ Surely also the ugly effect of the breast-bands is unnecessarily exaggerated. As to the sky in this picture (equally with that in the "Alcestis"), it must be remarked that excessive conven- tionality ought at least to be balanced by fitness. But these skies are neither natural or beautiful in themselves,, nor are they conducive to a pleasing general effect. For beauty. of design in drapery, however, one rather turns to Mr. Albert Moore's pictures, which besides breathe an air of parity quite dis- tinguishable from the too Paphian atmosphere of Mr. Leighton's: works. On the other hand, the pale chalky tints affected by Mr- Moore (and by certain others, as, Mr. Barclay and Mr. Armstrong„ who have little of his taste for beauty of line), guiltless, as they are, of any depth or brilliance of colour, and strangers to the dignity and tenderness of a well-informed chiaroscuro, force upon us the question, can this be that same art of oil-painting which was practised byRubens,Velasquez, and Titian ? However, we may well' be grateful for Mr. Moore's pleasant reminiscences of the later- Greek art which decorated the houses of the luxurious Romans. This,
hankering after Greek costume is, no doubt, a protest against the ugliness of modern dress, and so far respectable. But it is a mark of considerable self-assurance when an artist quotes Homer for a picture whose only qualification for the honour is the clothes. Mr. G. Leslie's "Nausicaa " (103) has no trace of classic flavour. It contains indeed a very pretty face; and with that many will be content, without caring overmuch whether the poet has been worthily illustrated. The large scale on which the pic- ture is painted betrays some serious defects in Mr. Leslie's technical resources. The marvellous beauty and articulation of the hand, the natural shapeliness of arm and shoulder, sometimes rounded, sometimes inclining to flatness, are qualities which one might suppose an artist would feel the keenest pleasure in por- traying, and spare no trouble in learning to reproduce. By com- paring " Nausicaa and her Maids" with "The Morning and Evening of Life" (1157), by M. Hebert, one may see how much is lost when those qualities are disregarded. The Frenchman's work shows that thorough training which, as a rule, is so con- spicuously absent in English pictures. Now and then we have an artist who can and will draw the hand. Mr. F. Goodall is one ; but he unfortunately exhibits nothing this year. Mr. E. J. Poynter is another. And a notable instance (in a past generation) was Wilkie. But a very cursory glance at this exhibition will show bow general and how grievous is our English neglect of nice draughtsmanship.
But of all pseudo-classical pictures that is the worst which, assuming to represent Greeks in their proper dress, gives their women the attire which (as the dictionaries tell us) was worn only by women of loose reputation. The Greek dress was light, as befitted the climate. It was sometimes short, as in old Lacethe- mon. But that diaphanous gauzes, more indecent than pure nudity, were worn by girls or women of good repute, no one will believe, who takes the trouble to refer to the books where those " pretences " of dress are mentioned, and is not frightened by the obscenities that he will find there. Neither would Greek men have ever thought (with women looking on) of engaging in their ordinary games with a helmet for their only covering. Any argument for such a dress (or undress) drawn from the practice of sculptors would be misapplied ; just as it would be a mistake to cite an ideal work like the Venus of Milo, as an authority for painting similarly half-draped figures in a picture of manners with the ultra-realistic treatment fashionable in the present day. It is all very well for Cleopatra, in M. Gerome's picture (144), to be attired only with jewels and gauze. She had a definite design upon Csesar, and is appropriately set off. Yet this picture cannot-be considered a triumph for its author. The flesh-painting is bloodless and wooden ; and Cleopatra herself, strange to say, is not a figure of eminent beauty. The slave, however, on the right is a grandly conceived example of physical strength. The beautiful drawing and modelling of the child in " Cache-Cache" (229), by M. Per- rault, deserves particular notice. Mr. Poole can lay no claim to such qualities, but he almost makes us forget their absence by his dainty and poetical treatment of a subject, and by his suggestive execution. "The Supposed Death of Imogen " (312) charms the eye and imagination, in spite of obvious faults of drawing. It is difficult to account for the very high commendation bestowed on Mr. Millais' " Somnambulist " (312). So long as the eyes are not made to look at the spectator, it cannot be very difficult to give them proper vacancy, and the long nightgown that envelopes the figure has not called forth any great feat of painting or disposition of drapery.
Scotch art is represented by MM. Feed, Orchardson, Pettie, Nicol, McWhirter, and P. Graham. Is Scotland satisfied with its representatives? Mr. Feed's "A Wee Bit Fractions" (150) is a fair example of his painting. The assortment of colours—red, green, and so on—is so nearly identical with what we have seen in former pictures that this one hardly seems a novelty. The heads are common-place and excite little interest. The interior of St. Mark's, Venice, is generally supposed to be as rich a display of colour as is to be found in any European building. Mr. Orchard- son's version of it is positively disagreeable (1,117). Nor is he more 'successful out-of-doors ; unless, indeed, "On the Grand Canal" (462) was meant for a joke. Was ever water, even in the most filthy-mantled pool, of such a colour? Whether crudeness or dirtiness of colour is the less objectionable is often a question. In endeavouring to avoid the first an artist sometimes falls into the other. Mr. Orchardson has:contrived to combine the two. See also "A Hundred Years Ago" (162). "The Pedlar" (179) is Mr. Pettie's best contribution. There is a good deal of humour in the expression of the two girls shyly sur- veying the pedlar's choice "prints." Yet how hacknied are both
subject and treatment l His "Scene in the Temple Garden (501) is stagey and poor. The " brawl " that led to the war of the roses is a good subject, but requires more thought. and care than Mr. Pettie has vouchsafed to it. Mr. Nip)i is what he always was,—a caricaturist. Mr. McWhirtez exhibits (404) a clumsy imitation of a well-known sketch of seashore and rain by Mr. Whistler. He has added,. of his own invention, an ill-drawn donkey, and bid for notice by quoting a passage from Shakespeare, which (except that it con- tains the words "wind and rain ") is wholly inappropriate. There is absolutely no merit in the painting. It would have been. better for Mr. P. Graham if his "Rainy Day" (348) had been less visibly hung, or even entirely excluded. It will do him more mischief in the eyes of competent judges than his "Bridle Path" (442) will do him good. The latter might have maintained his- previous credit, and no more. The large fir wood through which. the path winds breathes that peculiar gloom which is the charac- teristic of Mr. Graham's best work. One can fancy the sad sigh- ing of the wind. But he will never rank high as a landscape- painter while he continues to slur: over half his pictures, as if his. only object was to cover the canvas and be rid of a disagreeable task. His foregrounds are without form and void.
It is a real pleasure to pass from work whose only apparent object is to astonish and bring notoriety to the artist, to picturea where the modesty of true art is present, and where enjoyment of the subject treated is not marred by the phantom of a self- conceited performer pluming himself on his cleverness. Osten- tatious art and ostentatious persons are alike odious. The title of Mr. H. S. Marks' " Bookworm " (149) scarcely does justice to the sexagenarian student whose thirst for knowledge, whether to be extracted from books or from things, remains as keen in the yellow leaf as ever it was in the green. A real respect is excited for the old man so studiously bent ou his researches. He fully deserves his well-filled library, his entomological and other specimens, and comfortable furniture. The picture is exceedingly good in colour, and every detail is well, though still modestly, painted. The old. man is, as he should be, the centre of interest. He obviously has brains. Very kindred qualities differently applied are to be found. in Mr. Walter Field's "The Milkmaid's Song to Izaak Walton" (555). The old fisherman reclines in the shade of a spreading oak, while the milkmaid bashfully sings her song, and charms with her voice both him and the milking cows. The level flowering meadow where the scene is laid is beautifully painted, and completes the impression of rural freshness and quaint simplicity that the pic- ture conveys. Mr. Field has another picture (1159) more purely landscape, which, unfavourably hung though it is, shines like a bit of modest nature among many of less meritorious kind. His "Grey Day on the Thames" (605) and "Mill Garden" (738) are among the very few creditable drawings in the water-colour room. Another good picture hung half out of eight is Mr. C. P. Knight's. "Channel Fleet off the Lizard" (585). The daylight and space are excellent, and the long roll of the sea, as it gradually "rocks itself to rest," truly rendered. Mr. Brett's study of "The British Channel from the Dorsetahire Cliffs" (522) contains the fruit of much accurate observation, but wants the informing spirit of an, artist to give it good effect. Two moonrise pictures, by Mr. H. W. B. Davis, the one with a cloudless but hazy sky, the other dappled with clouds through which the silver moon breaks and contrasts with the redder glow of departing day (1052, 562), are equally accurate in point of observation, and possess besides the indispensable merit of being feelingly treated. "Lengthening Shadows" (458), by the same artist, also charms by its beauty
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