ART.
THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
[TIMID NOTIOE.]
HAVING in our previous notices mentioned the greater portion of the most important figure-paintings in this year's Exhibition, we now proceed to speak of the Landscape contributors and their work. There is generally supposed to be a somewhat jealous feeling against Landscape art amongst the Academicians, far the greater number of whom are figure-painters. But this year, at any rate, there need be no complaint as to the manner in which the Landscapes have been hung. Nearly all the best have as good a place upon the line as could be desired. Foremost among these in interest is No. 106, "Over the hills and far away," by J. E. Millais. This is the largest landscape of the year, and will be doubtless thought the best by the admirers of this clever artist. It represents a large expanse of open moor, with some pools of water, reeds, and heather in the foreground ; whilst in the middle- distance the ground falls sharply down, leaving an outlook over dim, blue hills, across which a faint rainbow is fading into the sun- light,—a bright, delicate landscape, bringing delicious ideas of a run into the country for fresh air and fresh ideas after a hard year's work. But there is something wanting here, as there has been of late about all Mr. Millais' pictures, and that is,—feeling. The impression left upon the mind is, that the artist saw a subject more or less suited to the popular taste and his own capacity, and having once before attained a great success for his painting of reeds and water in "Chill October," thought it would be as well to repeat the experiment. More and more of late years has this grievous fault been creeping over Mr. Millais's paintings ; until now, the artist of "The Huguenots" and "The Black Brunswicker " is the last from whom we expect anything but indifferent work on common-place subjects.
As a contrast to the above picture, in its absence of all strain- ing after effect, and in the honest, unsparing labour with which it has been painted, should be noticed No. 550, "The Rustling Leaves," H. W. B. Davis. This is, to our thinking, the finest landscape in the Exhibition. It is only a country road, probably in Northern France, with a distant view through and over the rustling leaves. The spectator is standing on the brow of a slight eminence, and looks over the woods and fields below. But of the painting of this simple subject we can hardly speak in sufficient terms of praise. The quiver of the leaves as the light, summer wind passes through them, the flickering sunlight and shadow upon the grass, the bright variety of the foliage, are all carefully studied, and painted with a dexterous hand. But per- haps its greatest merit is the manner in which the aspect of Nature on a bright day in early summer, is brought home to the mind. It is a picture to hang upon the walls, and look at in the long winter evenings, to remind one of the sun, till the leaves are out once more upon the trees, and the summer it depicts is at hand. Near this Mr. Davis has another large picture, No. 557, "Mares and Foals in Picardy." The horses are drawn with much spirit, frisking about in the rough grass, near the edge of a cliff, with a background of distant sea. No. 168 is another picture by the same artist, entitled "Early Summer," chiefly re • - markable for the masterly drawing of the group of bullocks which occupies the foreground. The large glade of trees and water, with a richly-wooded distance, which forms the rest of the painting, is not quite so satisfactory, and the blue seems a 'little forced. There is a small picture of Mr. Davis's in the seventh gallery, No. 506, "A Spring Morning," two white horses ploughing, which is happy in its expression of all the freshness and fragrance of the season. With these pictures should be noticed.No. 22 and No. 75, by B. Goddard, two fine animal-pictures. The first, of "Colt-Hunting in the New Forest," is full of the excitement of the scene, where the colts are being hunted in the mist of the early morning. The second, of a bloodhound giving tongue on the spot where his master fell, is a good drawing, treated in a somewhat unconventional manner. From this rather mournful subject we turn with a feeling of relief to Mr. Hook's bright English pictures of breezy skies, sparkling waters, and sunburnt fisher-maidens. *.11 of these are fresh and pleasing, but the preference must be tavern to No. 186, "A Little Blue Bay." The name so perfectly describes the composition, that there is little to add concerning it. It is only a little bay, probably on the North Devon coast, by the colour of the water, with two fisher-people in the foreground, and the rest of the picture given up to the blue water and steep, grey cliffs, with a down behind them of softest green. There is a larger composition, entitled, "The Crab-Fishers," which reminds us much of the " Luff, Boy," of former years, though the subject is
hardly an interesting one,—but Mr. Hook can make even a fisher- man extricating a crab from a crab-pot fair to see. From Hook to Cooke is an easy transition, and this year Mr. Cooke is parti- cularly fortunate in one of his pictures, No. 79, "The After-Glow in Egypt." This represents the ruined temple of Kom-Ombo, with its gigantic columns, few of which now remain, lit up by the red glare in the west,—a fine, impressive picture, and one that shows the artist at his best, though we are more accustomed to marine subjects from his hand. One of the best landscapes of this year is from a comparatively unknown hand, No. 483, "A Scotch Hill- side," by Mark Fisher, a simple subject simply treated, without affectation or attempt at anything but truth. The influence of the French school is very perceptible in this picture, as it was in the smaller ones this artist exhibited at the Dudley Gallery this year, which we had occasion to notice. No. 885, "Moorland Rovers," by Peter Graham,—two shaggy, Highland cattle, standing in amongst the flags and water of a morass, almost enveloped in soft, grey mist. The cattle are painted with Mr. Graham's usual fidelity, but hardly his usual power, and the whole picture is rather too pretty to be natural. No. 899, "God's Covenant with Noah," by Heywood Hardy. This is certainly a very extraordinary picture, but that an artist so clever as Mr. Hardy should waste his time upon such an incongruous composition is still more won- derfuL On the extreme right of the picture is a portion of the Ark, and two large feet, apparently intended for those of the Patriarch. The two enormous hippopotami who are standing with their mouths wide open are evidently disquieted as to their means of transit, and indeed the manner in which they are to be hoisted into the exceedingly small window where Noah (or rather his feet) is standing does not seem very evident. Very evidently there was in this case but one step from the sublime to the ridi- culous, and the artist has taken it. No. 62, "Saturday Night," by F. Barnard,—a curiously forcible transcript of the lower and baser side of London life, but we can hardly believe that any crowd could have so few redeeming features as this one. Hanging in the first room, surrounded by such pictures as No. 31, "A Bientot," and No. 55, "Love's Confession," this seething crowd of Whitechapel roughs, sailors, &c., buying their Sunday dinners at an open-air meat-stall, is a suggestive contrast,—and it may be well that some of us should remember that such scenes exist in our midst.
Mr. Brett's pictures this year are very unequal in merit, and both below his usual mark. No. 365, "A Certain Trout- Stream," overhung with heavy masses of trees, and reflecting the setting sun in its clear depths, is no doubt one of the best land- scapes of the year, and the autumn tints of the foliage are rendered with considerable truth and beauty. But Mr. Brett is getting more and more into a confirmed mannerism, which threatens to ruin his painting. Always addicted to purple, he now puts it everywhere, and in his cliffs especially the immoderate use of this colour is painfully apparent. Nevertheless, there is always to be found in his paintings genuine, careful study, and an honest love for the sun, which indeed blazes sometimes almost too fiercely from his canvas. The second contribution of Mr. Brett's, No. 532, "St. Thomas's Tower," is a rocky shore, with calm, blue sea, and somewhat thunderous sky. The little child who is bathing all alone has chosen a somewhat dangerous spot, and it would probably be as well for her, and certainly better for the picture, were she safe at home. Indeed, Mr. Brett is exception- ally ill at ease with any figure he introduces into his compositions, witness that of the angler in the former picture.
There is a small picture here, by a little-known artist, which should be noticed by every visitor to the Academy. This is No. 141, "High Mass at a Fishing Village in the Zuyder Zee." It represents the door-way of the village church, which is crammed to overflowing with the fisher-people, in their quaint linen caps and holiday dresses. The door has been left open, and the kneel- ing figures extend beyond it into the street; on one side of the church, a young couple arc stealing away, with a somewhat ashamed look. Over the heads of the worshippers, and as far as we can see into the dim church, there is repeated, row after row, the same dark-blue dresses and bent heads,—a quiet, thoughtful picture, in every sense of the word a work of true art and deep feeling.
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