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Aitts.
SKETCHES AND STUDIES BY THE WATER-COLOUR SOCIETY.
Is is frequently assumed that the mind and poetry displayed in a picture are in inverse proportion to its finish ; that every step towards its completion beyond the merest suggestion of the original idea is necessarily a departure from nature ; and that whatever is added by the artist in the absence of his model is only so much handiwork, redolent of technicalities and dodges, and overlaying or obscuring the intellectual and poetical qualities of his original conception. True it is, that a sketch generally contains the first impression unbroken (as well as unimproved) by after thoughts ; and that the apparent ease with which the result is achieved is a source of pleasure to the spectator which he cannot derive from a performance where greater and more laborious effort is accompanied by inadequate success. Then, again, the very imperfection of the performance stimulates his invention, and his imagination is left at liberty to fill up the out- line as it pleases, unchecked by the expression of details which are, or may be, out of harmony with the chord originally struck. But surely the assumption is in the main erroneous. "Execution," said the enthusiastic William Blake "is the chariot of genius," Guided by the hand of the true artist, it is an-instrument to bear him to his highest achievements; and it is only the ignorant pretender, unable to guide because he has no definite aim, that is run away with and overturned. I am not saying of any given individual that his sketches are not superior to what are improperly called his finished pictures (improperly, because the finish consists entirely in the greater load of paint, or in a mass of details claim- ing admiration for the performer's skill, but adding nothing to the facts, to the meaning, to the expressiveness of the work), but that given an artist who deserves the name, who has a thought to express, and has learned the language of his art in order that he may express it, his finished picture, well thought out and carefully painted, without robbing the spectator's imagi- nation of employment (which no work of art can afford to do), will be a more satisfactory and more deeply impressive work than his unfinished sketch, however masterly and captivating. The poet's thought gains emphasis and strength from well chosen words and polished rhythm ; and however interesting it may be to trace the growth of a Raffaelle or a Turner from the first hints on paper to the finished picture, surely no one wishes that the " Transfiguration " or the " Terneraire " had never gone beyond a sketch. And though nature, of course, is the great fountain and exemplar of all an artist aims at, yet the end of painting from nature is not so much to exhibit careful copies.of natural objects (a comparatively easy task), as to feed the imagi- nation and render the mind capable of high impressions and the hand of expressive workmanship. But however thesketch may be looked upon as inferior to the finished picture, the public will not be the less satisfied that the members of the Water-Colour Society have for the second time opened their gallery for the exhibition of their sketches and studies, and again given them an opportunity of seeing how, even in the presence of nature itself, the idiosyncracy of each artist modifies his transcript of the original, or rather leads him to select certain qualities and appearances at the expense of others for -which he has no sym- pathy.
Mr. Dodgson's studies in Knowle Park were a remarkable feature of the winter exhibition of last year, and now he con- firms his title beyond all rivalry to the broad and leaf-strewn shade of the spreading beech, the sunny glade, and tangled fern brakes of that most pleasant domain. No drawing could more worthily occupy the central position in which hangs his mid-day study (10M) of trees on a sunny bank, with dappled sky above, and sheep that nibble the grass in the foreground ; unlees the preference be given to his "Autumn Leaves" (180), in which the half-stript bows of a majestic beech scarcely shade the ground beneath from the sparkling light which shines full on the mea- dow and woods beyond ; or to the thorough sylvan repose of a third, inscribed with the suggestive " Tityre tu patulm," esc. (147), equally beautiful in workmanship, and more complete in itself as a picture, where the stately trees yet bear the full honours of their summer foliage. Mr. Jenkins has visited the same spot ; but sees it with different eyes. His study (193) lacks the refinement of colour, the bold drawing, and leafy delicacy of Mr. Dodgson's works.
Some of the best sketches (distinguished from studies) are con- tributed by Mr. Holland, who is equally at home on the canals and in the churches of Venice. Marvellous is his power of sug- gesting, currents calms), the full yet tender sunshine of the City of Palaces; marvellous -the delicate lights and half-tints of his interiors. He has, besides, a study of running water, "Below' the Swallow Fall, after rain" (260), in which the whirl and hurried leap of the deeply stained mountain torrent are given with con- summate power. Mr. Duncan and Mr. Whittaker both rank high as sketchers, and both are here well represented. By the latter artist frames (219) and (241) may be particularized. "Tan- best, Loch Fyne" (119), and "Hulks in Hamoaze " (180), are characteristic and admirable examples by Mr. Duncan, who also exhibits a pencil study of Loch Coruisk, in Skye (216), remark- able for the largeness of its lines, as well as the accuracy with which it gives the massive rocks which clothe the surrounding mountains, as it were, with plate-armour. Mr. J. Gilbert's pen- and-ink sketches, full of life and motion, Mr. F. Taylor's jottings of horses, dogs, and cattle, and Mr. Collingwood's cottage inte- rior (310), are all admirable in their way, the last, and four landscape studies by the same artist (278), being especially notice- able for their colour. A yet better colourist is Mr. Glennie, and one that never o'ersteps the modesty of nature. His contribu- tions, however, to the present exhibition (like some others by less worthy contributors) are scarcely distinguishable in charac- ter from what he exhibits as finished drawings. Mr. A. Newton's "Scene near Venice" (136) is remarkable for its pure daylight and a harmony not observable in all his studies. Mr. T. M. Richardson's great skill as a draughtsman is displayed in nume- rous small sketches grouped together in various frames, among which it is hard to prefer any before the rest. In No. 19 are some very truthful sketches of Scotch mountains fretted with early autumnal snow, and a good study of sky on the south coast. Mr. S. Palmer's drawings are all finished works, and all, as usual, imaginative and poetical. "The Chapel by the Bridge" (65) is a good representative. The rich and luminous gloom of twilight has tempted Mr. A. Hunt to the almost impossible task of putting it on paper. But his "Snowdon" (19) leaves no room for regretting the attempt. It is not in such an exhibition, if anywhere, that strange attempts need excuse ; and though it needs one with something of Turner's power to deal adequately with "Niagara, the pathway behind the Cataract" (266), still Mr. Andrews has not unsuccessfully sketched the arrowy flight of waters which he has courageously chosen for his subject.
For power of drawing, there is nothing here to equal Mr. Haag's contributions, which, whether finished studies (if not pictures), like his "Syrian Gowas.s" (8), "Copt Girl" (259), and "Egyptian Fellah" (267), or slighter sketches, like the "Tyrolese Bride" (187), the last a charming combination of modesty and rustic beauty, are equally remarkable for life-like form ; you cannot but think that they could all move if they chose. Mr. A. Fripp .exhibits some of his sunny Italian sketches, with that fine appreciation for reflected light pervading the shadows which once made the critics hesitate to yield their approval. Look especially at "St. Rocco, Olevano" (263), painted almost entirely in body colour, and "The Four Sisters, Capri" (272), an interior, with four Italian peasants, their household duties lightened by some passing merriment. Mr. Burton's sketches need no trumpeter. His study of a "Child's Head—sarly need" (302), is a touching representation of patient penury ; and his landscape sketch (380) is a broad hint of what he might accom- plish if he turned his attention to that branch of art. Mr. F. Smallfield, emulating the achievements of W. Hunt, treads the path of accurate and painstaking imitation, which reaches its ne plus ultra in his study of eggs, sardine box, and oyster shell (369). Hunt himself, meanwhile, is far a':ead of all imitators ; and while he still asserts his supremacy in the realm where he is most likely to be assailed, witness the mushroom in frame (105), he yet more delights and astonishes us with the variety of his studies, especially of landscapes, remarkable not so much for accu- rate detail as for solidity and breadth, and for unrivalled bril- liance and mellowness of colour. V.
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