FINE ARTS.

REFORM OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY.

TILE Royal Academy, by taking possession of the National Gallery, though but for a time, has placed itself in the position of a public in- stitution It is not only countenanced by Royal authority, but sup- ported by Government aid, as if for a national purpose. It is there- fore amenable to the country for what it does; and may no longer plead its private character as a bar to legislative interference. More- over, the Government, having thus sanctioned the institution, is bound to insist on its fulfilling the objects for which it was at first esta- blished by the King, and is now supported by the public. In fact, the Academy, though an unchartered body,* stands in the predicament of one of the old corporations. Like them, it has outlived its constitu- tion, and must submit to be reformed as they have been. " Reform of the Academy," should be the watchword of the artists, as "Reform of the Lords" :a the cry of the people. They should petition the King and the Parliament, and memorialize the Ministers, until their demand is acceded to. What Lord A NGLESEA said to the Irish, we say to the painters and sculptors : " Agitate, agitate, agitate." With many it is a question between "reform" and "abolition;" and if the opinions of Sir :MARTIN SHEE and Mr. Howaatn are to be taken, there is no remedy but abolition : according to them, the Academy, if not immaculate, is at least unimpruvable. Its abolition would be troublesome, and might seem unjust : reform, being neces- sary and practicable, carries the conviction of expediency along with the demand. Having unfortunately got a " Royal Academy," the best course is to make it a useful institution. Were it remodelled on broader basis, and in a liberal spirit, we think that in the present state of public taste in this country, it might be productive of good. Honorary distinctions, and a representative body chosen by a constituency, are as yet necessary to give the Fine Arts voice and influence with the country. That the Academy as constituted has exercised no beneficial in fluence, but on the contrary an injurious one, is abundantly proved by the evidence given before Mr. EWART'S Committee. Some of these • It is rumoured that the President has got a charter or the promise of one from the King. Sir MARTIN Sass's name has figured in the list at visiters at the Pavilion lately.

candidate for admission hands in a prescribed set of drawings as evi-

dence of his talent : if approved, he is required to draw for a certain SCULPTURE.

shade and colour? of the chemical properties of the oils and varnishes, the earths and minerals, used as pigments? The principles, history, BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS.

and progress of the art, it will be said, are taught by lectures. Suppose BIRTHS. they were : can a practical knowledge of anatomy be conveyed by a lee- On the 25th ult., in Arlington Street, the Countess of ERFCHNOCR, of a daughter. turer, even if he have a skeleton and a living model to illustrate his On the 30th ult., the Countess of BURLINGTON, of a son.

fered as an excuse for the non-delivery of any lectures upon it for these a daughter. eight years past, that this mode of instruction was considered as ill-eaten- At Shelfonl. Cambridgeshire, at the house of her father, Lieut.-Gen. S:r Charles Iated to explain the science! ( See SirMARTIN SHEE'S evidence, Q. 2042.) On the 27th ult., at Whippingliam, Isle of Wight, the Lady of the Rev. J. G. CIF- Here is a confession ! So, because perspective cannot be properly FORD, of a son. taught by lectures, it is not taught at all ! But another reason assigned On the 24th ult., at Bluebridge House, the Wife of the Rev. W. C. TOTTON, Of a for the omission of lectures on perspective, is " a delicacy, which can- on the 26th ult., in Charles Street, Berkeley Square, the Lady of WILLIAM B. EAT. not perhaps be perfectly justified, but which arises from the respect LEY, Esq., of a son.

cimen of the " delicate " mode in which the Academy performs its duties. MARRIAGES. There was a hiatus of seven years also in the delivery of the lectures Peter Pole, Bart . to ELIZABETH ANNE, daughter of Richard Elmbirst, Esq., of Clea- on Architecture, which was accounted for by Sir Joust SOANE'S in- thorpe, Lincolnshire. firmities. " Delicacy " here too prevented the election of another Pro- On the 24th ult., at Glasgow, HENRY GOUGER, Esq., of London, to Mrs. ANN JANE

fessor; and at last, for very shame, the lectures were read by the

Secretary. But the fact is, these lectures are doled forth like homilies; Charles Everett, Esq., of Langhorne House, Sheldon Mallet, to ADELAIDE JANE, the and, excepting that there are a few drawings or casts shown as illus- youngest surviving daughter of the late D. Ximenes, Esq., of Rose Mount, Sidmouth. !rations, they had much better be read at home. It is a most drowsy DEATHS. operation, equally irksome to the lecturer and his audience. The On the 25th ult., in South Street, the lion. GEORGE AUGUSTUS FREDERICK LAMB, anatomical lectures, indeed, are only intelligible to such as do not need On the 26th ult., at Ramsgate, Lady GREY, Wife of Sir Thomas Grey. of that place. the information they convey. On the 3t1 tilt., in Beaumont Place, Edinburgh, the Rev. JAMES BROWN, LL.D.,late As there is no real instruction given, so is there no test of qualifica- Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. lion required. There is no examination, no report of progress. Medals On the 14th of May, at Vellore, Lieut. Dustcart CHARLES W. CAM eRELt,9th Native are given annually, and a gold medal biennially ; the possessor of which of a gig, and the wheel of the vehicle passed over his head and fractured his skull. last is entitled to compete for a "travelling studentship," consisting of On the 231 ult.. at her house in Southampton, in her 80th year, Mrs. PINNems, an allowance for three years to defray his expenses while studying the Widow of the late James Pinnock, Esq, of Devonshire Place, and of the Isiand of great works of art in Italy, &c. As a specimen of the working of this on the 26th ult., at Moffat, Jong LOUDEN MADAM, Esq., in his 81st year. part of the system, one fact will suffice, which we have on good authority. On the 233 ult., at Sidmouth, Capt. T. P. DITRELL, R.N., in his 81st year. The successful candidate for a gold medal one year, obtained it for a On the 25th ult., HARRIET, relict of the late Rev. Dr. VILETT, cti Swindon, Wilts, in group the principal figure of which was actually modelled by the her 8tI year. sculptor whom he was studying under, who was a Royal Academician : in his 85th year.

It is a common remark, too, that "gold medal students " never turn On the 27th ult., at his house, Grosvenor Place, Camberwell, RictIARD BOYMAN, Esq. out any thing ; andthe being sent out to Rome generally proves fatal in his 90th year.

to improvement. months.

So much for the Academy as a school of instruction. It may be

asked, How then is it that students are found to join it? The answer THE ARMY. is, that besides being the door to academic favour, it costs nothing. apt. T. C. Crawford, from the half- There as Sub Inspector of the Militia, to be Capt. vice Capt. R. K. Trotter, who ex There are casts and living models to draw from gratuitously ; and the changes. 1st Foot Guards—Lieut. and Capt. %V. Fludyer to be Capt. and Lieut.-Col. models being set in a graceful attitude, with draperies, &c. arranged by purchase, vice Boates, who retires ; Lieut. and Adjt. F. W. Hamilton to have the very tastefully, make very saleable pictures : we have seen many rank of Lieut. and Capt.; Ensign and Lieut. Hon. J. Lindsay to be Lieut. and Capt, by purchase, vice Fludyer ; R. H. Glyun. Gent. to be Ensign and Lieut. by purchase. Academy studies exhibited, with very little added to them. HAYDON vice Lindsay. 18th Foot—J. Tongue. Gent. to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Francklin, gives a curious instance of this practice— promoted. 39th Foot—Ensign H. Hardin"e to be Lieut. without purchase. vice Lloyd.

" A very celebrated landscape painter at the Academy brought clown a large quantity of plants in pots, orange and great lemon trees, and put them all round itrumotioo, by purchase, has been cancelled ; J. F. Dalrymple, Gent. to be Ensign

proofs we gave in our extracts from the Report : but, large as was the a naked figure on which he wanted to set olf the flesh of the model a id make space we devoted to the subject, it did not suffice to take in the whole an Eve of it." case against the Academy. We now, therefore, return to the subject, ' It is a common practice for accomplished artists to enter as students in order to make good by facts the charges we have at various times for the sake of belonging to the Academy, and for the use of the

preferred against the exclusive, self-elected, and irresponsible body. models. But then, they are obliged to go through all the forms and

The uses of the Academy, supposing it to be good for any thing, stages, as if they had never learnt their art. We know an instance of are twofold,—first, as a school of instruction ; second, as a corporation. an exhibitor of one of the finest pieces of modern sculpture at Somer- As a school, its duties were to educate the students, by affording set House, who was at the same time a probationer—giving proof of his each the best means of instruction in the theory and practice of every ability to learn ! But the Academy never recognizes any merit beyond branch of the fine arts,—such means, indeed, as were not otherwise its walls. Mr. Mawria gives an example of this— attainable; and to confer honours on distinguished merit, without "In the country and on the Continent, I am generally supposed to be in the favour. Academy ; and my letters are constantly so addressed. I have been sometimes As a corporation, its duties were to protect the interests of the body amused on receiving letters from the Continent, with merely my name, pro. of artists, by becoming the organ of their wishes and opinions—to fession, and London written on the back, which had been taken previously to unite the craft in one guild as it were. the Academy, and ' Nut known here,' written on the back." (Evidence, Part The effect of the right performance of these duties would be, to II., Q. 908.)

raise the standard of excellence in art, and to elevate the tone of feeling We have beard of a similar instance of this affectation of ignorance,

among the artists, and the taste of the public. in the case of a very eminent water-colour painter, who having occasion Let us examine into the working of the Academy in these two cape- for the official signature of the President of the Academy to sonic docu- cities, separately. ment, waited on Sir MARTIN 'SHEE ; and was asked, with a formal As a school, it is a mere mockery—a hollow set of forms. The gravity that would have been insulting were it not ridiculous, " Are amount of instruction it affords is contemptible. At best, it furnishes you a British artist, Sir ? " some facilities for study. Every student learns his art out of doors, But these anecdotes illustrate the second part of the subject—the and only comes to the Academy to practise. This is notorious to all Academy in its corporate character; which we must reserve till next who are acquainted with the Academy. What is the course ? A week.