FINE ARTS.
EXHIBITIONS, PRESENT AND TO COME.
Tan Exhibition-season is nearly at its height : in the course of the en- suing three weeks, as many galleries of modern art will open their doors
to the picture-seeing public,—namely, those of the two Water-Colour
Societies and the Royal Academy ; the British Institution, which is not yet closed, and the Suffolk Street Gallery, will make five numerous
displays by contemporary artists ; one by Sir GEORGE HATTER, Of his principal works, forming a sixth. Early in May, therefore, the various parterres of the Metropolitan picture-garden will be in full blow; and while mentioning these gaudy annuals, we should not overlook the more sober splendour of the perennials of the National Gallery. A few weeks later, the first shoots of the exotic fresco, the culture of which in England has been encouraged by a Royal Commission and premiums, will be unfolded in Westminster Hall, now to become a conservatory for the fine arts of the country as it was of her liberties in days of yore : to this show we look forward with great interest.
The precise time for the public exhibition of the Competition-designs is not yet fixed; but the cartoons are to be sent in to Westminster Hall the first week in June. A fitter place could scarcely be chosen the space required for displaying a great number of large compositions of figures is so great that it would be difficult to find another building suffi- ciently capacious to contain them : the objection to the want of light in the Hall is futile, since the drawings, being without colour, can be lighted by gas if necessary. The names of the six judges appointed to award the prizes have been published ; and the selection is such as to inspire the competitors with confidence in the decision to be pronouncel : three are distinguished connoisseurs of art,—namely, the Marquis of LANSDOWNE, Sir ROBERT PEEL, and Mr. SAMUEL ROGERS the poet ; and three are Royal Academicians,—namely, Sir RICHARD WEST- IKA.COTT, Mr. ETTY, and Mr. RICHARD COOK. Sir MARTIN SEER and Sir Arrautrrus Cai.Lcurr were applied to, but declined, the latter on the ground of ill health. Mr. COOK is scarcely known to the public as a painter, as it is a long time since he exhibited any pictures ; but he is well qualified to form a judgment of the merits of a design, from his skill and knowledge of composition and drawing the figure.
Sir GEORGE HATTER'S great portrait-picture of the First Reformed House of Commons is now exhibited, together with those of the House V Lords during the Trial of Queen Caroline, the Trial of Lord William Russell, and other of his works, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. A more troublesome and unpromising subject for a painting than the old House of Commons—its dull, formal, chapel-like interior, filled with Members in modern dress—could scarcely be presented to an artist ; and the best praise of Sir GEORGE HATTER'S skill in its treatment is that he has succeeded in producing a faithful and agreeable picture. Viewed at a distance and from the raised platform which places the eye of the spectator on a level with the pictorial horizon, its effect is strikingly real ; and it will also bear a closer scrutiny. The occasion chosen by the artist is the moving of the Address to King William the Fourth, on the 5th February 1883; which, however, furnishes no inci- dent to vary the monotony of perspective rows of heads closely packed, only affording an excuse for representing a very fall House, in a state of amiable unanimity and decorous quietude, not always characteristic of Parliamentary proceedings. By an allowable licence, the faces of nearly all the Members are visible either in front or profile ; and several Peers of eminence are introduced in the space below the bar, from whence the view is taken. The portraits, so far as our cognizance of the originals enables us to judge, are unmistakeable liknesses ; but they do not manifest refined perception and exact deli- neation of physiognomies' traits, so essential in intellectual portraiture; the resemblances are mostly superficial and commonplace, and the indications of character are deficient in completeness and vitality. The sketches from life are generally more characteristic and animated ; though these first studies are often unsatisfactory, especially in the ease of men of mark. On comparing the House of Commons picture with that of the House of Lords painted twenty years ago, a great difference is observable: the principal persons concerned in the trial of Queen Caroline are depicted with admirable fidelity, and the heads are full of character and expression ; those of Sir Robert Gifford, Sir James Parke, and Dr. Lushington, in particular, are highly intel- lectual. A comparison of the portraits of the Duke of Wellington and Lords Lyndhurst, Holland, Lansdowne, Grey, and others, who figure in both pictures, will exemplify the artist's falling-off both in dis- crimination of character and in his style of painting. The famous pic- ture of the Trial of Lord William Russell exhibits Sir GEORGE HAY- TER's skill in composition and arrangement the principal persons, however, have a somewhat theatrical air.
Mr. LESLIE'S picture of the Christening of the Princess Royal, painted for the Queen, is exhibited by Mr. MOON, instead of at the Royal Academy ; and as it is seen by daylight, though in a narrow cell, the only inconvenience resulting from the change of place is the distance to Threadneedle Street,—unless the importunate eloquence of the exhibi- ters be regarded by visiters as a drawback from their gratification. The subject in itself possesses but little intrinsic interest ; less, indeed, than the christening of the meanest subject, since the formalities and etiquette of court ceremonial repress any manifestation of genuine feeling : in effect, it is only a portrait-picture ; and, as the personages who figure in
it have been often limned before, there is not much to excite curiosity beyond the furniture of the apartment The sacred rite was privately performed at Buckingham Palace, in the evening ; and the scene repre- sents a recess at the end of one of the state-apartments, fitted up with a temporary altar ; the gold font being placed on a superb loo-table, raised on a dais covered with embroidered cloth of gold: the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, holding the royal infant, is in the act of perform- ing the baptismal rite ; and the Queen Dowager, as sponsor, is leaning over the table pronouncing the name. The King of the Belgians is the only extraordinary visiter of distinction ; the small semicircle inclu- ding the Queen and Prince, the Dutchesses of Kent and Gloucester, the Dukes of Sussex and Wellington, the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London and Norwich, and the suite of the Royal personages. The portraits are mostly excellent likenesses ; Prince Albert, the Dutchess of Kent, the King of the Belgians, and the Bishops especially : that of the Duke of Wellington has a feeble look ; and the artist's attempt to throw an expression of maternal delight into the countenance of the Queen is not perfectly successful. The picture is a beautiful work of art, admirable both in arrangement and execution : the finish of the painting is exquisite, even to the minutest details ; and the consummate skill of the accomplished artist is visible in the due subordination of the
glittering accessaries. The heads are distinguished by the refinement with which individual characteristics are portrayed ; and an air of life, elegance, and serenity, pervades the illustrious party : we seem to be spectators of the actual scene. It strikes us that the effect is too much like that of day-light ; but the blaze of wax-lights, perhaps, may have neutralized the strong dark shadows attendant on artificial illumination. The Queen could not have made choice of an artist better qualified for the task than LESLIE ; and a finer picture of its class no living painter could have produced : we only wish he had had greater scope for the exercise of his talents.
Among the publishers' exhibitions, we may also mention that of the Portraits of the Queen and Prince Albert, painted by WiarrnanatTnit, for the King of the French. They are kitcats the size of life ; and are shown by gas-light in a dark cell, which prevents any estimation of the colouring. The artist's style is that of a dexterous painter and an expert draughtsman, possessed of an elegant taste and a correct percep- tion of character. The portrait of Prince Albert is not remarkable, but that of the Queen is a strong resemblance ; depicting truly and gracefully, without flattery or exaggeration, the lineaments and expres- sion of the living original. These pictures will shame those by Messrs. Lucas and PARTRIDGE presented by Queen Vicroara to Lours Pim- LIPE ; and the reputation of English art will suffer accordingly.
A picture painted by Mr. THOMAS DUNCAN, of the Scottish Academy, representing Prince Charles Edward Asleep in one of his Hiding-places Vier the Battle of Culloden, intended for the Royal Academy, has been exhibited by the artist in Edinburgh, and in London at Messrs. GRAVES'S in Pall Mall, by Mr. ALEXANDER HILL of Edinburgh, who intends to publish a print of it. It is striking and impressive ; and in point of execution is far in advance of Mr. Duncan's last historical work, the Triumphal Entrance of Charles Edward into Edinburgh, to which it is intended as a companion. The scene is the interior of a cave, dimly illumined by a fire that throws its flickering light on the sleeping Prince and the lovely Flora Mac- donald, who watches his slumbers: the agitation in the group of Highlanders keeping guard over their royal master indicates that danger is near ; and the determined attitude of one stalwart moun- taineer, grasping his gun, as significantly denotes that the faithful followers of the proscribed Prince are prepared to shed their blood in his defence. The way-worn aspect of the sleeper—his manly form, prostrate as though he had thrown himself on the heather overcome with bodily fatigue and discomfiture of mind—contrasted with the youthful beauty of the fair watcher, and the alertness of the sentinels, produces a strong feeling of interest; which is maintained by the power- ful pictorial effects in keeping with the incident : in fine, the story is admirably told. The drawing of the figures, the composition of the group, and the general arrangement of the picture, are excellent : yet while admiring the design, we fear that the opacity of the painting, especially in the darks and reflected lights, will militate against its attractiveness in the exhibition.
Two valuable additions have been recently made to the National col- lection—not the less valuable for being comparatively inexpensive: one is the fine Van Eyck exhibited at the 'British Institution two years ago, for which Oa has been given ; the other is the sketch for the ceiling of Whitehall by RUBENS, which we mentioned a few months since as being in the possession of Mr. TIFFIN the printseller, who purchased it at Sir THoMas LAWRENCE'S sale for about 70/., and sold it to the Trustees of the National Gallery for 2001. Both pictures are well worth the prices given for them ; though the Trustees had the same chance as the purchaser of obtaining the Rubens for the un- accountably small sum it fetched at Christie's, had they been on the alert. For want of an ordinary amount of quicksightedness, many a desirable picture is missed altogether, or subsequently pro- cured at an advanced price, that makes the country pay a smart penalty for the remissness of the Trustees.
The Van Eyck is a diamond of the first water—a pare and lustrous gem of art, and precious as being one of the earliest paintings in oil. Joni; Vali EYCK, though not the first artist who wrought in oil-colours, was one of the foremost who employed this medium ; and in this work he has attained a point of perfection in finish and brilliancy that has never been surpassed since. It is a cabinet-picture, representing the interior of a bedroom with two persons standing in the middle : one of them is a grave man with a long face and large nose like a horse ; his seem- ingly shaven head covered by a huge round hat of some corded mate- rial, the ample rim of which would almost rest on his shoulders were it pressed down ; and attired in a mantle of maroon colour, open at the sides and lined with sables : he is looking towards the spectator with a solemn expression ; his right hand held up, and his left holding the open palm of a young and blooming matron, of fair complexion, in an ample gown of green, lined with ermine,—whose downcast eyes, en- sangtuned cheek, and the projecting folds of her dress in front, denote her to be a 'fruitful vine." These are supposed to be per- traits of the painter and his wife. The elaboration of the exe- cution is astonishing ; no Dutch picture ever surpassed it in ex- quisite finish ; yet it is as clear as it is solid. The eyes of a little dog in the foreground glisten like life, and every hair of his shaggy coat seems visible ; though his body wants the relief of the pair of wooden clogs close by, which are tangibly substantial. At the end of the room hangs a convex mirror, which reflects the chamber and its contents with the distorted fidelity and minuteness of the images in a real convex glass ; revealing the presence of two or three other persons in the room, but out of the picture : the frame of the mirror is studded with little circular bits of glass with figures on them, which are repre- sented with the accuracy of the daguerreotype. A carved chair by the bedside, some oranges on a table beneath the window, a brass chandelier suspended from the ceiling, with one candle alight in it- every item, in short, is depicted with the most minute precision ; yet despite this over-elaboration and rigidity of style, and the violent perspective of the room, the picture is in good keeping: the harmony of colouring and the general effect are beautiful ; and altogether it is a marvellous work of art, and matchless of its kind. The Rubens we before described: and it only needs to say that the bravura style of this great master is conspicuous in the daring of the design, the mastery of form in the drawing, and the brilliancy of the colouring, which is pure, fresh, and harmonious. Speaking of the Daguerreotype, we are reminded of an improvement in the appearance of Photographic miniatures, made by Mr. BEARD, of Parliament Street ; who has been successful in giving colour to them, though not by the action of light. The best specimens are those where a faint tinge of some pale hue is thrown over the dress, and a warm pink tint communicated to the flesh, neutralizing the metallic and livid tone of the ordinary photographs : the attempt to use bright colours, and add touches of gold and silver on the costume, is not so good ; these being too powerful for the flesh-tints of the face. The result of the competition for the premium of 60/. offered by the Art-Union of London for the best of a series of ten Designs in Out- line, exemplifies the activity and talent of the rising generation of artists. No fewer than thirty sets of designs were sent in ; several of which possessed so much merit that the Committee awarded honorary premiums of twenty pounds to three others besides the successful com- petitor, Mr. 11. C. &LOU& This gentleman's name is less known to the public than his performances he is the coadjutor of Mr. BURFORD in painting the Panoramas, and, we believe, the designer for the figures in those works. His talent is conspicuously shown in the groups of a picnic party introduced into the foreground of a view of Baden, by Mr. BURFORD, just opened to the public. This pretty little Panorama of Baden-Baden, "Queen of the Ger- man Spas," and head-quarters of gambling as well as bathing, fills the smallest of the three pictorial circles in Leicester Square ; having sup- planted the view of Jerusalem. The subject is exactly: suited to this panoramic summer-house; which one may fancy to be in the pleasure- grounds attached to the Conversation-house of Baden-Baden, where the spectator is supposed to stand. Before you is the little town of hotels, with its steep background of rocky bills bristling with firs : on one side opens the valley, its verdurous perspective terminating in a mountain barrier ; and behind is a woody height, in whose sunlit glades feasting and flirting are in full activity-the English being conspicuous in both amusements. The painting is sketchy, and somewhat man- nered; but it is effective, and cleverly touched ; and the light of an afternoon-sun gives brightness and freshness to the animated scene.
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