The National Register. — London, England, 1812-04-05 00:00:00

A PRI L .5. FINE ARTS. BRITISH INSTITUTION. No. 151.. A Grecian Landscape: Composition. By GA SPA n GABat ru.t.—To a classical mind, to a heart that feels the delights of rural scenes as they are described by ancient and modern authors, nothing can be more pleasing than the present picture. It brings hack to the en chanted soul all what we have read of Tempe, of the yaks of molnit Ikeipois, and of tuneful Arcadia, where pastoral life was so desirable that the Gods themselves envied or shared the situation of the happy shepherds.--The clearness of the waters, which, like a faithful mir(or, in multiplying the surrounding objects, increase the ph asure of the be holder; the calmness of the sky; the verdant shades of the thick-set groves; the coolness that seems to breathe under the lofty tree;, and on the enamelled margin of the crystal lake—all remind us of the b.:autiful exclamation in the Georgics:— O übi campi, Sperchiusque et virginitnis bacehata Lacznis • Taygeta! o qui me gelidis in vallikus Haerni Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegdt umbra ? Which a modern poet has imitated in the following manner:— Oh !-lead me to some cool, sequester'd vales, Where, from the groves, the p►:rest.air enhules The wholesome smell of turf, the breath of fluw'rs, And scented shrubs self-plaittd in the how'rs; Where sleep unbought refresh the wearied eyes, And cloudless days to clear nights yield the skies. Where dropsy watchmen, stagg•ring as they go, Bawl nut the hour they themselves hardly know ; But chanticleer, true her.ll , l of the sun, Tells me, at once, the day's wurk is begun ; Where no hoarse tribes of Jews, the butt of scorn, Disturb the silence of the peaceful morn ; But soaring larks, ill heav'illy'nu Call me to share the pleasures of the day. The composition, which we attempted to deacribe above, and which has called forth the foregoing quotation, dues great honour to GABRIELLI as a landscape-painter. No.T. At Old IVontan reading, a book to her Ihia bat.a. .By A. C EL- Ll.—That a good wife should read to her husband, that the hushan,! should be attentive to the silver tone, the accented ir.fle:e.ous, note at the end of every period, a delightful 71L'int nto of Loa: aing school musical readin?, : all this may be very edifying, very pleasant, but it does not make here any thing interesting; and, imi.t.rd, it may be all very well, for aught we know tp the contrary, yet it rcqoires the skill of a GevAan-D6vv, a MIX 18, or NET-SCHER, to become a good picture, and Mr. CELLI, whose talents are worthy of better themes than GM WHIM! and Dried Herrings (Nos. 10,183), hatt not yet arrived to that nicety of Flemish and Dutch high-finishing which makes amend,' for lowness of subject. No. 108. A View of part of Loch-Cahrine, Scotland. By P. MYTH. This is really a pleasing little performance. The skies are beautifully displayed, and the light sporting clouds, that float so ger.ti on the sapphire expanse, remind us of Cuyp : the rest of the picture is equally well executed. We are sorry to find but one effusion of Mr. NASMYTII'S pencil in this Exhibition. No. 84. The Woman taken in alalter:i. By J. Tat/Mat:Ll .—Amongst the numerous pictures which we have seen here and on the continent upon this subject, none ever pleased us so much, and told the history so Plainly, so completely as one of Giacomo TIN TOR F.TI 0, Where CliriA is represented as if just rising from the attitude of writing on the ground, and the woman standing in sincere compunction before him, whilq the abashed accusers silently retire one aft,. r another, and leave the place. The meek and benevolent countenance of Christ, the humb:e at.d de jected appearance of the woman, reminded us most impressively of the beautiful observation, " that when all the accusers slowly moved off, they left behind, together and alone, Cowl' and MERC —Pi - Tel/ion et :li , ericordia, the contrite Sinner and the forgiving Judge. We sin cm:ly wish we could say as4nuch of the performance before our eyes f . r ; - .:itices a great deal of genius and talent in the artist, and ni..l:e sin 1;0 ni.an euhject for admiration at!l praise. The figure of onr :s ra;Lle, Ed: of and ay; noi raturAly fit to inspire: T! , e ,!,.• .-Npostles •;••,.s. rAlier witnesses of the tr.:•? , :..:• 41 ; the is a :;ea , ini tone, an , : t!ic t • 210 rest of the mechanical parts,Which constitute a good teak:elutes*, are appropriate and just.. But all this will not redeem a fault which, we are very concerned to say, is of the greatest moment : the fact is sot wade out. A young woman, with a greater display of innocence upon her face than we shotild expect from the wanton wife who defiled the purl/ of the connubial couch, is kneeling at the feet of Christ who seems in the act of blessing her ; and several personages who may be taken for some Philosophers of Athens, as well as for Jews, stand in several attitudes, but with very little contrast, to fill up the scene—Certainly this is too undecided, too general a sketch of the interesting story; and, even at the moment, when the source of all mercy opened itself upon the since rity of repentance, something more characteristic should have met the eye of the spectators. However, and without disguising what we . have heard frequently observed in the room, namely, that the feet of Jim are not of the same size, even with due allowance made for perspective; and that the neck of the young woman is not correctly drawn, we are not afraid to declare that this is a very pleasing picture, and would be an ornament to any chapel as an Altar piece, ibd so disgrace to any gallcry of modern pictures. We beg our readers to consider attentively this painting, and they will find that, if there is any apparent severity in our observations, it is grounded upon our strong conviction, both of tLe intrinsic merit of the performance, and of the eminent talents of the .-`lrti , t who produced it. No. 116. atil 117. Lanscnpes. By T. BURDIN. We cannot help being pleased at the tight of these performances, as, by their easy and bold stile, they bring back to our recollection that of a great favoirite of the chromatic muse, Sir GEORGE BEAUMONT. There seems to exit such & similarity of _handling the pencil, that we have not the least doubt that Mr. Bu DZN had the good sense to study the peculiarfarc of the inv. Mous Baronet ; yet we do not advise him to work merely for effect. A painting is a fuc simile of nature ; in nature, it Is true, when objects are seen zt a distance, they become proportionally confuse and indefl• nite, but when you approach that forest, that meadow, which appeared at first, as an emerald plain, an ocean of venture, you may tell every leaf, every blade of grass ;•not so with Landscape, when the Artist aims only at what is called " effect ;" all what we descry, when at dis. tance, vanishes, like a vapour, as ♦tee come nearer to the canvass; and the disappointed bt.kolder tie-Lams with La Fontaine, In his fable, " Les batons flottant,." THE NATIONAL REGISTER. De loin c'6st velque chose et de pris ce n'est lien ? Next Sunday we intend - to give our opinion upon the famous Cartoon, " Cl riit healing the Sick," by the venerable President of the Roral Academy, ILL-TREATMENT OF DOGS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Sia—The faithful guardian of our houses, of our property, of our per .oris, the Dog, is one of the tri.ist precious among those e,ifts which the hat.4l of Providence has lavished upon man. The Horse con q ered fro:ia a savage life, the Cat, originally littered, perhaps, among the whelps of the Leopard, the steady Bull that helps us in cultivat ing the fields, the Cow and the Sheep which feed us with their milk, c.)ver us with their skins, and at last fail victims to the cravings of our stomachs, ?II of these have their qtralities, and are truly dear to as, but dearer than any ef them ought to be the Dog—and yet how utt q,ratefully the pow. animal is too often treated! I omit to speak of the bad fare which k often his lot; of his tiresome watchings; of the un merited kicks he patiently receives, and of other indignities-1 come to ti!e point. Your Paper has often given us humane animadversions • the cruel treatment which the brute creation meets at the hands hrdly man, and this has induced me to address you in behalf- of these i.:)or wretched Dogs which we meet every day in our streets, harnassed ::ye a cart horse, and striving to bring along the loaded truck of the Idzy baker (•r pot-buy, whose business it Is to draw it. This evil i 3 no,-. cf oid standirg and, I hope, not incurable. Let the slightest !leaver of riartire co:i4ider the anatomical construction of a Dog's feet, ii:d i defy him not to find, and soon be convinced, that they were never ininla far eit'ler the carrying ur drawing of burthens. They cannot • I ,;, etavY stones of our streets, they have no hoof to fig as a 11-int ttto•II h.a•dfy of any use, arc •!r df4 , l 7fcar, c '. i I tr.Ve it zi;a: :..): Yor.••0 •• •