The Press. — London, England, 1858-05-29 00:00:00

tint 1,05 ROI AL ACADEMY. (Filth Notice.) Tea landscapes exhibited this year are not fur the most part particularly interesting. There are a few promising works by the younger artists, but only a few; and the painters of established reputation seem to have abandoned themselves almost entirely to a wearisome system of repetition. This habit, which is the besetting sin of most successful artists, betrays an indolent mode of working which leads to the worst results. It is impossible for any one who honestly paints from nature to produce monotonously the same pictures year after year ; we may be sure that any one :whom we find so doing has sleepily shut his eyes upon the endless variety which surrounds him—that he either paints from memory altogether, or contents himself with the barest sketch or memorandum of the scene he undertakes to depict. During his past studies he has made certain observations, learnt certain lessons, and acquired a certain skill and dexterity in putting his knowledge into practice ; and here he comes to • standstill, or would, if such a thing were poa. sible. He would learn no more and study no more, but go on doing what he has done. But it is not possible for any man to stand still. From the moment that he ceases to go forward he is certain to go back. His mind gets rusty from want of action, and his memory betrays him. He thinks he is painting what he saw years ago; it he would but compare nature with his representa tion of it, he might find how gradually, but how far, Le has wandered from the truth. But very likely by ceasing to look he will have lost the very power of seeing ; it is of no use now to tell him to paint only as he sees, he can see only as be paints. The direction in which he wanders off will depend upon the man's individual character. He may simply become feeble, putting less and less of truth in each succeeding picture ; or he may fall in love with falsehood and commit all kinds of absurdities. In general the works of any such painter can be singled out at a glance, not always by any prominent merit or defect, but by their utter sameness and strongly marked manner; and the lengths to which mannerism is carried in landscape exceeds any thing that is possible in figure painting. Most men have certain favourite effects of form and colour, and in many subjects they are at liberty to indulge them without scruple ; by such peculiarities the works of some of the great masters may easily be distinguished even by an unpractised eye. In imaginative paintings, whether of landscape or figure, the taste of the artist has a large scope; he can fairly in troduce such forms and features, colours of com plexion and drapery, such effects of light and shadow, trees, rocks, and streams of such form and hue as most please him—so long as they are not untrue in themselves or inconsistent with the subject. But in portraiture, of course, there is less liberty; it will not do for an artist to modify his subject according to some Lean-ideal of his own. People have common sense enough in the pre"ent day to know that the first merit of a portrait is to be like the person it professes to represent; the artificial pro ductions of this class which were formerly admired are gradually falling into deserved contempt. But if portraits of persons are not painted from slight pencil sketches or water-colour drawings, but directly from the lite, why should not portraits of landscapes be painted with similar care ? And yet we have artists who will give us views in all parts of the world, as much like one another as the soups at a French restaurant which all come from the same pot, or the sermons of some extempore preachers in elect) the only thing that varies is the text. Three artists of great talent who stand just now in this posith it are Stanfield, Roberts, and Creswick. Mr. Stanfield exhibits four pictures—" Old Holland," "The Fortress of Savona," " The Castle of Ischia," and "The Hollands Diep." The last—the only one which shows any new thought—seems to have been snegeeted by the French photographs of the sea under a gleam of sunshine. The darkness of the sky, the want of colour and the heavy grey tone of the scene, which make it a good subject for a pho tc'graPb, make it also a bad subject for a painting. It is not a pleasant picture, though there is some striking truth about it. The other three are mere repetitions; the same sky, the same sea, the same rile) ", boats, and piers that we have seen for years Past- The artist himself betrays something like the there is a sort of lassitude observable in 'ue execution ; all the objects seem ,o be drawn and modelled from habit. Nothing is very wrong, but scarcely anything is quite right- How can air. Stanfield be content to represent things 60 full of ehor. s as sea and sky under one unvarying ""t?liter. Zobosta, os the Aber hand, is THE PRESS, MAY 29, 18;)8. getting into a random way of painting; his pictures of this year are more coarse and care less than any we remember to have seen. lfe has not lost his old cleverness in the production of scenic effect, and still paints the subdued light of an interior with greater skill than any other living artist ; but his work will not bear looking into, and if any of his present contributions be citnpared with his picture in the Vernon Gallery, a most lamentable falling-off will be apparent, especially as regards the accuracy of the detail. Mr. Creswiek does not pro fess to paint landscape-portraits ; but even in such subjects as " A Ford across an English River," " The Road by a Highland Lake," and " A Rocky Devonshire Stream," we do not expect to find always the same greenish-grey rocks, always broken into the same rectangular pieces ; the same trees, the same pale sunshine, and the same clear atmosphere. We fear this incessant repetition cannot possibly consist with truth ; we see nothing like it around us. Is it possible that the Devonshire stream could tumble in that way over those stones, and then fall into the pool below without even rippling its surface, just to gratify Mr. Creswick's taste for quiet water and clear reflections? His large picture of "The Mountain Torrent " is chiefly remarkable for its size. It is only the old materials thrown into rather a new form —mere kaleidoscope work. Mr. Sidney Cooper, besides a small group of sheep, and the cows which lie has put into Mr. Creswick's river, sends two large and rather pretentious compo sitions. We cannot tell what has happened to this artist; be seems to be losing all his power. "An October Evening" is one of the ugliest pictures in the Exhibition—bard, wooden, and unnatural. " Home " has more of' prettiness, but is not in reality much better. Two soldiers are represented standing in one of the meadows near Canterbury ; one ap pears to be pointing out to the other his home in the distance. There is sufficient internal evidence of the manner in which this picture was painted ; it is a scene of the present time, for the uniform of the soldiers is that recently introduced, and yet the cathedral in the distance is represented with only one western tower, though the other was rebuilt some years ago. The landscape must have been worked out from some old sketch ; but, even though the locality is not mentioned in the catalogue, it is rather absurd to paint such a familiar view and not to paint it cor rectly. At any rate, the old minster need not have been so preposterously out of perspective. It would be impossible for any one who painted from nature to fall into such blunders as these. Mr. Cooke exhibits six pictures, none of which are at all equal to those he sent last year. If he had contented himself with the production of a smaller number, it would have been better in every respect. Such subjects as he chooses, if not painted tho roughly well, had better not be painted at all. It requires a great deal of art to make anything worth looking at out of chalk cliffs, pebbly beaches, wooden piles bleached with wind and salt water, grey skies and grey seas. A rough sketch of such things is of no value to any one. He has attempted to represent two remarkable skies in his "Sunset on the Lagune of Venice " and " Venetian Fishing craft on the Adriatic," and has failed in both simply because be has not taken care and trouble enough. The water in " Dutch Boats in a Calm " is a failure for the same reason ; it looks more like a painted board than anything else, and can only be made to stand for water at all by a strong effort of the mind. Denby and Witheringtrn are still painting in their respective manners ; it seems hopeless now to expect anything from either. Linton and the three Linnells are as artificial as ever, and Boddington sends a couple of the very landscapes with which he has coveted the rooms in Suffolk street for years past. It is a rule of the Academy " that no work be re ceived which has been already publicly exhibited." Does any one attempt to enforce this rule against Mr. Boddington? We presume his word is received as sufficient; no one, surely, can pretend to recollect whether he has seen any one of this artist's pictues before or not. Mr. Dillon's " Pelicans on the banks of the Nile" is an admirable painting of an unusual and interesting subject. The various attitudes of the birds are exceedingly well drawn, and the river, bordered with palm-trees and glowing with a crimson sunset, is equally well rendered. But the landscape which, for the minute accuracy of every part, and the perfect truthfulness of the general effect, bears away the palm from every other, is the background of Mr. Brett's "Stonebreaker." The boy at work upon his heap of flints, and the dog playing by his side, occupy the foreground of the picture, bat behind them in the distance are Box-bill and the high grounds of Surrey rising one above another. It is worth while to notice how when a man sets himself down before a subject to paint everything that be can see, and every thing exactly as he sees it, he throws aside at once the violent contrasts of colour and wrong effects of light and shadow, whit& others who ars lass WARMS dad it amessary to employ in order to 515 i avoid flatness. There is a quiet, truthful beauty about this picture which may well astonish people who look upon Pre-Raphaelite notions as extravagant folly ; it is as near perfection as may well be. We only wish Mr. Brett had not thought it necessary to insert the cloud which throws its shadow upon the hill ; it is not wanted, and would he better away. The distant view, too, might have been displayed to greater advantage. But we are little inclined to suggest faults ; there is no picture in the Exhibition which deserves higher pi aise. Mr. Emmerson seems inclined to work in the same manner, but he stops half-way. He has patience enough to aim at the true farm and colour of every object, but not patience enough to labour on till he has accomplished what he aims at. His landscapes have all the crudity which some people lay to the charge of the principles which he adopts, but which he does not carry out. THE NEW PAUL VERONESE IN THE NATIONAL GAL• LERY.-" This fastidious Roman expressed also his annoyance at the inaccuracy of the costume, in Paul's fine picture of the ' Family of Darius presented to Alexander,' and lamented that so admirable a work should have been blemished by this gross anachro nism. You are, doubtless, well acquainted with a painting which belongs to a branch of your family. It may be truly called the triumph of colouring ; and certainly more harmony, splendour, and loveliness, never met together in one picture. To these merits must be added the truth of character which prevails in all the heads, most of which are portraits. Forget for a moment that the incident is borrowed from ancient story ; imagine it the victory of a hero of the sixteenth century, and the painting becomes, in all respects, a masterpiece. The architecture, in the background, gives a tone to the whole; but it required the delicate outlines and the exquisite perception of harmonious colouring which distinguish Paul Vero nese, to give relief and contrast to the figures and draperies on so light a ground. The pyramidal group, formed by an old man and four female figures, is superlatively lovely ; the countenances wonderfully expressive, and sparkling with animation. The h.'ad of Alexander is beautiful, but deficient in masculine firmness, and more adapted to charm the softer sex than to awe the world ; while the nobler features of Parmenio exhibit a strength of character finely con trasted with the more feminine graces of the royal conquerer, and his yellow drapery is admirably folded and coloured. How exquisitely finished, too, is the long and beautifully braided flaxen hair of the Per sian Princesses ! And what a host of figures in this noble picture, most of them the size of lite, as in the Nuptials of Cana!' Certainly, this painting is nearly unrivalled in close fidelity to nature; and in the truth and splendour of its colouring, it yields only to that triumphant specimen of Venetian art in the Scuola dells Carita, Titian's Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple.' These two pictures will long maintain their glorious supremacy, and will probably never be surpassed. The painter's violation of costume is in fact, only a defect in the eyes of antiquarians. The great mass of society overlook it, and care only for what gratifies the eye and the imagination. Never theless, I would recommend to artists generally the avoidance of subjects borrowed from ancient history. It is far easier to excel in the folds and colourings of modern drapery, than to delineate the light garb and native elegance of Grecian forms. Nor could Loy painters, but those who lived in the times of Pericles and Aspasia, do justice to those most classical and graceful of all subjects."—From No. 11. of Tales from Blackwood.—" Colonna the Painter." CRYSTAL PaLecr.—The first horticultural fete of the season took place last Saturday, and attracted a throng of visitors. The plants were in admirable condition, aid the collection extremely fine. The roses, pelargoniums, azaleas, and orchids were the principal objects of admiration. Among the roses the specimens contributed both by Paula and Lanes deserve especial notice, though the former were con sidered by the judges to have the advantage. Th pelargoniums of Turner and Dobson and Son wer of such nearly equal merit that it could be only matter of opinion which should bear the palm. The azaleas were extremely beautiful, and contributed much to the general effect of the show; there was also a good display of exotics in excellent growth and a fine collection of fuchsias, calceolarias, an pansies. The supply of fruit was rather scant• but the specimens sent deserved great comment lion, and formed by no means the least attraer portion of the exhibition. The new wind band of company was heard for the first time on this sion, and received with considerable applausi upper range of fountains played as usual afternoon, but their effect was completely de by the boisterous wind. The refreshments the new management, appeared to afford err faction, and the ►'ll.oadon Dinner," which I' duced for the first time, was largely patron; IA glad to Sol WA poorly 11,000 pe' presoos at OA fite. ....•••••