PICTURES AND ARTISTS.
No two works afford a more striking contrast than Birrv's Cities or Europe, and Ti it La's England and 1-I ales; the latter feeble, fiat, mo- notonous, and literally exact; the former distinguished for grandeur of style, variety of effect, and truth to nature. The Fifth Part of the Cities qf Europe completes tbe work rather abruptly, by suddenly nar- rowing its scope ; for the Views of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, and Antwerp, are all included in this last part, which contains no more plates than were in former parts devoted to one city. Is it that the public are satiated with Continental Views in the Landscape Annuals? or does Colonel BATTY at last feel sensible that a practised amateur cannot stand before the array of talent which includes such names as STANFIELD, IIAnnixu, and Puour ? These artists have supplanted the gallant Colonel in the illustrations to the forthcoming new edition of B yron's Works; but he has no reason to complain, having, with the aid of his camera lucida, reconnoitered a great portion of the Continent already. Indeed, the artists, who " if they live to paint must paint to live," have just cause to be jealous of the success of an amateur, \'ho, by leaving preoccupied the ground, has brought off the field a golden spoil.
In No. XIII. of England and Wales, we have Malvern Abbey and Gate, with a thunderstorm,--a picture full of imagination ; Richmond Hill and Bridge, a new view of a scene so often painted and engraved, that it requires all the resources of art to render it interesting. The figures in this view are tastefully grouped, and more like men and wo- men than is usual in Mr. TURNER'S drawings; but in the view of Ply- mouth, the sailors and their doxies look like puppets. The sky and distance in this plate are beautifully appropriate and true. The tumul- tuous rack of clouds piled up over Salisbury Plain, with the Cathedral rising majestically against the dim mist of ram that yeils the distant hills, is one of those daring attempts in which Mr. TURNER is preeminently successful. The engravers in this and other plates have been puzzled how to follow him ; and no wonder. Malvern Abbey, by HORSBURGH, is, however, finely executed, with sharpness and clearness; and the effect is vividly conveyed.
Part VII. of THOMAS LANDSEER'S Sketches of Animals contains por- traits of the Leopard, the Gnu, and the Tapir, in the Zoological Gar- dens, and of an Ourang Outang—the beau ideal of a Select Vestryman. The plates are etched with Mr. LANDSEER'S accustomed spirit and. fidelity; but in the vignettes we observe a sacrifice to mannerism, which, is occasionally made at the expense of nature.
W. RADDON'S engraving of the portrait of Mr. TELFORD the engi- neer, by SAMUEL LANE, is firm, clear, and forcible, but with a degree of hardness in the drapery, and a deficiency of delicacy in the flesh tints. That from TENIERS, of "Soldiers Playing Tric-Trac," is also good, with a similar exception. The 'faces are coarse, and not so well mo- delled as could be wished; but their expression appears to have been. preserved in the print. Miss CoansAuies portrait of Prince George of Cumberland is clever, and alikeness.; but we think not characteristic of the little Prince, who has a more lively look; it is nicely engraved by WAG STAFF. There is also .a very -pretty portrait of the..Queenin her Coronation Robes (b114 not a new likeness), by F. B. -SAY, engraved.by E. FINDER. The cuts in noon's Comic Annual, though coarse, are out of the ordinary course, and display much more fine art in their execution (on the block) than many works of steel. The rude strokes of the wood- cutter are more biting than aquafortis on copper. They are hard hits, and make a strong impression; the expression, too, is forcible. The "Court of Chance" has great decision : justice is done to the subject. "A-lad-in, or the Wonderful Lamp," shows that the boy stuck in the lamp-iron must be light-headed. A commission " de lunatic() inqui- rendo," is no bull, though typified by a " The Child's Call" cannot be returned, though it is sure to be answeree.: it is not easily "to be disposed of" Among the best graphic puns, are the following. " A 'Coolness between Priends"-two Qualrers (in a double sense) up to their necks in a pond, with only an ice between them. " Not up yet" -a bottle of Wright's pham-paigne in bed, and not in a fit state for the scru-tiny. " A Second Course"-two greyhounds chasing a cooked hare, on its way to the dining-room. " Drawing Lots"-a horse drag- ging a flimily-party of eight, with a hanger-on behind the vehicle. " Coming Events cast their Shadows before "-a gouty papa's shadow on the opening door of a room, where his daughter is receiving the ado- rations of her lover.
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