FINE ARTS.
Tim annual exposure of incapacity by the copyists at the British Insti- tution took place on Wednesday. The number of libels on the works of the Old Masters is unusually great, and the proportion of painters to daubers unusually small. Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS is this year the prin- cipal victim of these cruel mockings ; no fewer than nine of his pictures, including the " Ugolino " and "Infant Academy," having been left at the mercy of the bunglers who are privileged to burlesque what they know not how to imitate. Not one in ten of the "copies" is like the original; and the principles upon which the great painter proceeded seem to be wholly unknown. It was a sight at once ludicrous and painful.
By way of getting rid of the disagreeable impression we stepped in- to the gallery next door, to look at "certain pictures Of high import- ance," valued at 22,5001., that the proprietor, Mr. Bucamcaw, "has been advised to dispose of" by lottery. Two fine whole-length por- traits by VANDYKE first excited our admiration ; but these, we were in- formed, "do not enter the list" of prizes. We were so unlucky as to be attracted by other works in a similar category, while the "pictures of high importance" failed to engage our attention. By the help of the prospectus, however, we discovered the " Titian " priced at 2,500/., the "Ruhens" at 1,5001, an " Annibal Caracci" at 1,000/., and a " Murillo," a "Ruysdael," and a "Vandevelde," at 8001, each, with others of less price. The "Raphael" and "Baroccio," at 1,200/. each, and the "Giulio Ro- mano" at 1,000/4 we could not see ; and only one of the two 3,0001. Ca- Mei, from the Lucca collection, was in the gallery. But we saw enough to convince us of the fallacy of Juliet's exclamation, "What's in a name ? " since, but for these great names and the good round sums affixed to them, we might have passed over many of these "pictures of high importance" without suspecting their extraordinary claims to notice. It is right to add, that there are some names equally celebrated, to which comparatively low prices are affixed : for instance, " Leonardo" and " Correggio " go at 3001. each, " Rembrandt" at 2001., and "Paolo Verouese " at 1001. These sums may be considered too little; but the addition of an 0 would make all right. Nothing is more detri- mental to the reputation of an "old master" than a low price ; the authenticity of a painting is often determined by its nominal value : deprive it of one little 0, and you reduce it to a cipher; take 0 away and nought remains. Indeed the originality of many a "picture of high importance" is altogether a thing of nought. Passing along Pall Mall, we looked in at Messrs. GnevEs's, to see the bust of Espartero, modelled by Mr. JONES; which has marked indivi- dual character, and so strongly resembles Mr. LINNELL'S spirited sketch that the likeness of both print and bust to the original is con- firmed.
We were next- attracted by the announcement of an exhibition of Models of the Buildings of Pisa, in the same room with that of St. Peter's at Rome ; and they well repaid the visit. These fresh proofs of the ingenuity and patience of Signor GAMBASSINI consist of minia- ture representations of the Cathedral, Baptistery, Leaning Tower, and Campo Santo of Pisa ; on a smaller scale than that of St. Peter's, but almost as elaborate. Like it they are constructed of wood, the sculptures being represented by ivory carvings and the mosaics by painting; and they are made to open, so that the whole details of the interior of each are shown, as well as the ensemble of the exterior.
The sight of WYATT'S "Billy Waters on a prancer," as we beard his cocked-hat and pigtail statue of George the Third called;reminded us of a rumoured intention to remove it to one of the pedestals opposite the National Gallery, and to place CHANTREY'S equestrian statue of George the Fourth on the other. How the two effigies might pair off in point of size we know not ; but one good would result from their juxtaposition, CHANTREY'S taste and skill serving as an antidote to the bane of Wvarr's bad art. Charles the First might form the apex of the triangle ; and the three Kings on horseback would exemplify three styles of sculpture—the noble, the elegant, and the vulgar ; Nelson at the top of the column (the effigy was smuggled up slily to get it out of sight) representing a fourth—the nautical. Nothing could be better planned to illustrate the retrograde progress of art and taste since the days of VANDYKE and RUBEN& The practice of drawing from models, that we have so often advo- cated, is becoming very general. The extraordinary progress made by the mixed classes at Exeter Hall demonstrated the fact that every per- son may be taught to delineate solid forms correctly. Mr. Binua WILLIAMS has removed his classes to a lofty and commodious gallery in Maddox Street, Hanover Square, where the light i much better than at Exeter Hall. Some of the more advanced pupils are beginning to draw the human figure, from casts of beads, hands, and feet ; the forms being blocked out square as proposed by Durum : they will then pro- ceed to finished casts, and instruction in anatomy will form part of the course of study. The drawings of a few pupils, who were admitted to sketch the interior of St. Martin's Church, are very creditable; and we are glad to state that the deficiency that we pointed out in their know- ledge of ground plan will be supplied by lessons in geometrical per- spective.
Mr. HENRY WILKIN, too, has entered the field as an advocate of the practice of drawing from models and real objects instead of the old course of copying. He is delivering a course of lectures on perspective, at his residence in Newman Street ; and in the first, which we heard, he exemplified very convincingly the utility of a knowledge of perspec- tive in sketching figures—an application of model-drawing to the study of nature that is not obvious to every one at first sight. Mr. Wrimits uses models of his own construction. We may here mention that we saw at Messrs. TAYLOR and W.sizow's an extensive series of models, the forms selected from the portable sets designed by Messrs. Dr.moir and HAWKINS respectively, and from the large series adopted by Mr. BUTLER WuasAms from DUPUIS, with the addition of planes for the use of beginners : they are on a scale between DEACON'S and Dupuis's, and suited for use in schools. The selection of such elementary forms as will practise the pupil in every variety of light and shade, progressing from a plane surface to the sphere, without needless repetition, is a matter deserving the attention of teachers of drawing.
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