FINE ARTS.
Aar-Moms are now the rage, as Political Unions were in the days of Reform-Bill agitation, and Parish Unions are at the present time : every county in England, and every country in Europe will soon have its Art- Union. " All prizes and no blanks" is the motto of these picture- lotteries : a print is to be given to each subscriber on payment of his subscription, just as you are presented with a playbill on taking a place at the theatre. Each individual print-collecter in ease becomes a " patron of art" in posse : a turn of the wheel of Fortune converts any dunce into a dilettante, with "the galleries before him where to choose, and ignorance his guide" : who would refuse a guinea to promote the fine arts in so delightful a manner ? The only fear is, that the annual ex- hibitions will not supply works enough for these myriads of middle- class Medici, made for a guinea a year, with a print into the bargain. But mediocrity is indefatigable ; and there are plenty of coverers of canvass, who, requiring no time for thought or study, will turn you out any quantity of pictures fitted to the Art-Union market, and priced ac- cordingly, "at the shortest notice," as the victuallers have it. Of prints to supply the subscribers there will be no lack ; two great publishers having come forward in the handsomest manner to aid the movement with offers of unsaleable plates, which are to be multiplied by means of the electrotype process. The plates named are among the best, cer- tainly far from the worst, of modern engravings ; which being mostly sold before they are seen, have a very extensive circulation. Messrs. GRAVES have placed part of their dead stock at the disposal of Mr. GILBERT, the projector of the West Biding Art-Union ; and Mr. Moots, with still greater liberality, has offered some of his unpublished plates for the use of a monster project to be called the " National Art-Union." Both these schemes offer the temptation of a print to be given at once in payment of the subscribers ; while subscribers to the Art-Union of London for 1841 have not received their plate yet : in the race for the "plate" the Yorkshiremen are likely to come in first. Meanwhile, the London Art. Union offers two prizes to encourage the study of form,— namely, one of 60/. for the best set of ten designs in outline, to be en- graved; and one of 30/. for the best piece of miniature sculpture, a statue or group fifteen inches high, to be cast in bronze. One of the earliest publications of the season will be a volume of fac-similes of Sir DAVID WILKIE'S Oriental Sketches' lithographed by Mr. JOSEPH Nam There is an anecdote connected with this work, too good to be lost. Mr. GRAVES, the publisher, applied personally to Baron RoTascan.n, in Paris, asking as a favour the loan of two of WiLutz's sketches, to be copied : this was not refused, but a demand was made of thirty guineas for their use. On the publisher urging the Claims of the fine arts, be was silenced by the inquiry," What have the fine arts done for me ? "
Mr. Dom:Las McmisoN, whose Haddon views made him known to the world of art, has just returned from a visit to Coburg and Gotha with a portfolio of Sketches, which he has taken, and is about to litho- graph, under the patronage of Prince ALBERT and the Duke of SAXE- Colonta.
Mr. HumatasiDEL has been honoured with a gold medal and an auto- graph letter from the King of Prussia, for his invention of lithotint. The medal is a novel and elegant design, and a superb specimen of medallic engraving : the obverse presents a small head of the King in bold relief, surrounded by a broad raised border in compartments, en- closing figures of Music, Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture : the reverse displays a Temple of Fame, exquisitely cut in high relief, with Apollo in his car rising above it.
The King of Prussia is equally liberal and gracious with the King of the French in recognizing the merits of foreigners, as well as of his own subjects, who have any claim to his notice. Mr. DOUGLAS Moat SON, having letters of introduction to the King of Prussia, was invited to the Palace, and had the honour of dining with their Majesties; to whom he showed his sketches. Mr. ATKINSON' of the Mint, when he was in Paris lately, was similarly honoured by the King of the French ; who, after dinner, addressed him before the whole company in a complimentary speech, and presented him with a magnificent gold medal. Such condescending courtesies are not merely flattering to the individuals who may be the objects of them ; they manifest that regard for the interests of art and science which these enlightened Sovereigns
take every occasion of promoting. Their example is worthy of being followed at the English Court ; where animals seem to be more noticed than men of talent or genius.
There are no exhibitions, but the National Gallery and the British Mu- seum, to attract the lover of art in town ; though the Chinese Collection and the Model of St. Peter's are both worthy of a visit, and the Pano- rama of Cabul is attractive as a picture as well as a view of a place now so interesting to us. We have seen two single pictures, however, that merit the attention of all who can appreciate a choice wol k of art. One is the original sketch by RUBENS for the ceiling of Whitehall, painted on panel, which belonged to the late Sir DAVID WILKIE : he had it from Lord ELDIN in exchange for some picture of his own ; and it was bought at the sale of Wums's works, by Mr. TIFFIN, the printseller of West Strand. The brilliancy of the colouring is surprising; and the boldness and skill shown in the design—which differs materially from that of the ceiling—are marvellous. It is painted a prima, as it is called— that is, without glazing ; and the purity of the tints is no less remark- able than the dexterity of handling, the power of drawing, and mastery of composition. It is a study for the artist ; who may here see how RUBENS worked—at least in his oil-sketches. The other is a water- colour drawing by GIRTIN, the finest work of one of the greatest Eng- lish landscape-painters, and the founder and head of the water-colour school : it is a view on the Thames at Chelsea Reach, with an effect of evening twilight ; and never has the solemn repose and fading splendour of the dying day been more truly and beautifully depicted. A wide expanse of water fills the foreground, reflecting the dusky clouds gathering in the horizon, which is golden with the last rays of the set- ting sun ; and the distant landscape melts into dim indistinctness, illu- mined only by faint gleams of light : the river is still and calm ; a soli- tary barge floats stealthily in the shade, and the white sail of a skiff is seen like a speck in the lig:it. GIRTIN had an affection for flat level scenes and tranquil effects : he loved to paint the elements in calm re- pose, and water was as necessary to him as atmosphere and light. His works are few, for he died young; and being rare they are the more welcome : this one belongs to Mr. WHITE, the picture-dealer, in Mad- dox Street ; and whoever desires to see what the old school of water- colour painting could produce, should ask to be favoured with a sight of it
We wish one of the Water-Colour Societies would make an exhibition of choice works of their predecessors : a retrospect of water-colour painting, from the first " tinters " to the early days of TURNER, PROUT, DEWINT, and others, would be both gratifying and useful : we should then see what gum, body-colours, and other adventitious aids of the pre- sent day, have done for the art.
We were shown the other day a few of the numerous paintings of the late Madame SOYER, better known as Miss Emma JONES, who for several years contributed to the London exhibitions, and more recently exhibited in the Louvre, where her works were much admired. The account we received of her quickness of perception and rapidity of ex- ecution, the incessant activity of her pencil, and the limited instruction she received, rendered more striking the impression of her talents as an artist. In depicting individual character, especially of a homely and rustic kind, Madame SOYER was particularly successful. Two of her latest performances—" The Gleaner," a fresh country-lass with her harvest-load; and "The Little Lemon-sellers," a couple of Alurillot'sh boys—are admirable for the true and lively expression of nature in the faces. In colouring she was greatly improving ; and had she lived to unite brilliancy of tone and other refinements of art to that force and fidelity of representation which constituted her forte, she would have ranked among the foremost of female limners. A very good mezzotint engraving of the Lemon-sellers has been executed by a French artist, and is about to be published by her bereaved husband, M. SOYER, Chef de Cuisine of the Reform Club.
A correspondent of the Art-Union has sent a stiff and uncouth trans- lation of a German critique on the last Academy exhibition to that jour- nal; which is useful as showing English artists what their Continental brethren think of their works. The critic is Dr. HENRY MEET; and his report appeared in the Kunst Blatt, "the great oracle of art through- out Germany" : it is therefore entitled to attention, especially as its strictures, though severe, are in the main just. The Art-Union's corres- pondent would fain turn aside this tranchant blow at the bad system of English art, by vulgar abuse, and imputation of "ignorance, injustice, falsehood, calumny," and so forth ; but this will not avail. There is but too much truth and justice in the German exposition of the defects of the English school. Dr. MEET, it is true, selects the pictures for notice according to their subjects, and speaks of them according to their treat- ment; and as he pays most attention to the higher class of subjects, he necessarily finds more to blame than praise : he regards only the merit and demerit of the work, not the name of the artist ; hence he is guilty of contumacy towards the It. A.s, who, by dint of getting the best places, figure so conspicuously in newspapers at home. Dr. MERZ naturally seeks for those qualities which are most prized by the Germans,— namely, design, invention, and drawing ; and he finds them not: colour and effect have few charms for him, where the higher essentials are wanting. We will only quote one passage—"Have the gentlemen of the Academy themselves, this year, exhibited a single work of art, which is not so deficient in drawing, in style of drapery, and scholar-like colour- ing, that the lowest pupil in the Dusseldorf Academy would be ashamed to place it before the eyes of the public ? "
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