The National Register. — London, England, 1812-06-21 00:00:00

JITNE 21. No. i 26. The disobedient Prophet of Judah, skits by a Lion.—By J. NoaTuco . re, R. A.—Well acquainted with the genius and talents of t hi s ingenious veteran in the service of the historic muse, we grieve sinctrely to find but one single ex voto upon her altar, from the hands of this favourite. The rage for Portraits has, or appears to have, al ea:;:t entirely warped aside that brilliant stream of ideas which used to flow from his mind ; if it is replaced by that of Pactolus, it is all well for the Artist, but had for the art. Few men have received such abili ties as Mr. NORTHCOTE is possessed of; his fancy roves front the tomb of the Capulets to the highest themes in sacred lore , and his hands paints with equal felicity the rosy cheek of a beautiful ;.voman, and the speckled snake who seduced the first of her sex ; he seems to have in herited the very easel of Rubens, and though his colouring does not spew the same hyperbolism of brilliancy, it is in general appropriate to the subject. The Picture under our consideration is of great effect, and exhibits uncommon Rashes of feeling and expression. The many quotations from the Bible, and several authors, which have been of late years, introduced in the Catalogue of the Royal Aca demy, may be interesting to a certain class of readers, but are become now so nnmerous and extensive, that they constitute nearly the third part of the whole. We have, for the picture of Mr. NoaT nccer e, not less than seven full verses from one of the books of Kings ; eleven lines cf a MS. poem, for The Snow Storm of Mr. TuaN ER ; fourteen for a composition of VARLEY, &c. &c. Weuld not it be better to reduce the quotations altogether, and the price of the Catalogue, to what it was six or seven years ago? We take the liberty to suggest this to the wisdom and economy of the Royal Academy. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Mr. WII.KIE's EXHIBITION. This Exhibition has closed much sooner than the public expected, owing to a circumstance which Mr. WILKIE could neither foresee or prevent; however, for the satisfaction of those who have not seen the excellent pieces exposed there to public view, we will continue and con clude our observations upon them. No. 10. if Family Picture, painted in 1810.—No. 11. Portraits e a Clergyman and his ;flip, painted in 1807.--Islo. 15. Portrait of a Lady gf Quality, painted in 1807 —A hand favoured by Providence with such talents as Mr. WILKIE is possessed of, cannot touch any subjectwithout having masterly marks of the genius that puts it in motion and directs it; like the fostering breath of Zephyr, wherever it acts, abundance of flowers will rise to the enchanted eye. But we wish Mr. WILKIE to con skier seriously, that when he sits down at his easel and chains at the foot of his chair, his imagination, that impatient Fairy, who burns to take him away from the slavish drudgery of imitating this or that nose, of colouring this individual eye brow, or tinging this particular shade of hair, he deprives the whole world of some cliefid'reavres of his own creating, and robs himself of several rays of glory. We are far, very far from depreciating the merit of Portrait painters, of whom an author often luoted before, says, with his usual elegance— Promotheus like, fraught with celestial ray, Our nearest friends, from Nature, THESE portray; And on the lasting canvas hid them live. A parent's face to orphans they revive; Or to the widow's eye, by magic art, Retrace the faithful partner of her heart, Whom death has doom'd to silence and repose; And thus, with fictious joys, sooth real woes." We coincide fully with his admiration of their skill and the usefulness of their talents; but if Nature has pointed to us a road, a special path to immortality, why deviate from it ? Seldom the same genius can excel in different parts of the art of painting, and although TITIAN ) Roßeers, and VANDYKE , are illustrious exceptions to the generality, yet we would sincerely advise the steady and exclusive practise of the same sort of Style, rather than to risk, in another sphere, the lustre which we have acquired, or are constantly improving, in that which Nature or accident has designed for us. No. 12. The Rent-Day, painted in 1807.—We never laugh more heartily at a jocose story than when it is seriously told. This is the very reason why t hi s pi cture i s one o f th e most enjoyed and admired !n the room ! See the calculating tenant, the good farmer's wife (who, by the bye, carries something, ift her features and air, above the Common cast) and her pretty daughters; see the man button ing. and the butt o n e d man ; th e c l o wn who rests his teeth on his end the well-cloaked phthisick whom you hear cough ; see all and say whether we can flaul such characters in many of the ancient ...~„ isi masters' performances ? and whether you can lark at all these serious creatures without laughing. The eating -party too! how cleverly ex. pressed ! but none has perhaps more expression than the busy buttler striving with all his might to draw a cork in favour of those at whose houses he had been so well received; and,who, wishing to repay here, at no expense of his own, all the civilities he has received before,hyperbolizts all his cares and attentions. But description cannot give an idea of the whole; it must be seen. This piece was painted fur, and is in the pos. session of, Lord Mulgrave. No. 14. Alfred reprimanded by Me eat-herd's Wife.—This national anecdote i; here consecrated by the pencil of Mr. NVILICIE to the admira tion of the public ; had we more room we would have expatiated upon this subject, suffice it to say, that the Master is seen every where in it, but more especially in the lad talking to a girl in the back ground. It is Mr. WILKIE'S own portrait. No. 15. The Wardrobe Ransacked, painted in 1810; in this humorous scene, there is a sweetness of colouring, and a freedom of manner. which is somewhat different from the steady stippling style of the Dutch school. It resembles much more to CI; zuz E and FRAGONARD tkan to any other master. The old Man's face is admirable. N 0.16. The Card-Players, painted id 1810.—A subject often treated by TENIEES, BROWER, HEMSKIRK, and others, and made out with a great deal of fun and success, but none of their performances can ex hibit that humour, that overflowing of joy that the winners express, contrasted with the disappointed face of the steady and thinking loser, whose partner shows by his excellent attitude, how mad he is with the bad fortune of his cards : the corner of the picture, on the right of the beholders, presents a window and a well-stored table, painted in a man ner which resembles that of MIERIS and WANDERWER7, for truth and high-finishing. No. 17. Sunday Morning, painted in 1805.--One of the earliest per formances of the Artist, and ere he ever had seen any paintings by Te- NIERS, or any other of the Dutch or Flemish schools. We admire here the freedom of a hand taught by Nature alone, and of a mind unwarped by any of those shackles which the evil spirit of imitation imposes upon beginners. No. 18. The Country Fair, painted in 1804.—This would be sufficient to give a name to any painter. We find it in the stamina of all the flowers which this young academician has strewed upon the rest of the pictures in the room, the figures are nearly all Portraits, and the scene test Pit lacey, in Scotland. We really grieve that we have no room to give a minute account of the interesting groups which compose the taut enseits. We, and must conclude by declaring, that no man has ever attained, in so short a time, and at so youthful a period in life, to such a degree of per tection in the style he had adopted. The small picture of the " Jew's Harp," which was bought of Mr. WILKIE the late 1)r. A NN EsI.EY , for 2.5 guineas, about four years ago, was knocked down last Monday at Panties's for 77 guineas, which is more than two-thirds of the oriE,inal price. The Marquis of BLAND... ro P D is the purchaser. DRAMATIC REGISTER. HAYMARKET THEATRE. A new Farce was on Monday produced at this Theatre, entitle! " The Sleep Walker, or Which is the Lady ?" This piece, which is really what it professes to be, is front the pen of Mr. OuvroN, author of " The Sixty Third Letter," an After-piece. produced at this Theatre some years ago, with great success. The pre sent performance has much humour, and considerable ingenuity to re commend it to public approbation. The plot is truly whimsical, and the characters throughout are kept up with it degree of spirit which.em hodys the original idea with the happiest effect. In some parts it is rather too intricate, so much so indeed as to cause momentary confusion. With the exception of this blemish, there is hardly a fault in it, which In such a piece could with propriety be made the subject of critical ani madversion. It appears to have been rather injudiciously curtailed by sonic one, as there are points in it, which have evidently a reference to something not at present to be found in the Farce. This ought to be corrected in representation, by omitting that we in the first instance al lude to, as the piece is quite long enough to bear such a curtailment, and would be improved rather than injured by being shortened. The cha racters were well sustained; Mai news, in the " Sleep Walker," a servant who R a s been an actor, and who walks and spouts in his sleep, did noble justice to an exceedingly well drawn character. The effect of the whole performance was precisely such as it must have been the author's object to produce; and the piece went of with univerlal applause. -;~.~