The National Register. — London, England, 1809-03-05 00:00:00

15A • 110 W far Commercial Pair(tire may be beneficial tb the Arts, is a outstion dot tieeided. It may with cer tainty be asserted, that the artist win) looks forward to p2euniary reN; lad Alone will nes er attain excellence.. The great intOtersi ‘vhose names are Irked up to with reve rcuce, knew nut what it was to bargain with a purchaser 14 the remuneration of their labours. Honour was their •ohject. With that degree of competency which enabled Men' to 11‘ , C 1 they wrought with perseverance unextin guishable, and tnaeavoured to render their lives distin guished and illustrious; not opulent and luxuriou3. A different principle unavoidably arise among a . free and commercial people. Where rank may be obtained by per sonal exertion, and where wealth is the great mechanic power by which those exertions produce their effect, it :will not be forprizing that the first object of almost c' cry votary of 11.!e arts should be found to be pecuniary emolu- Meta. To be sure no artist can expect by the mere sale .of his laborious productions to arrive at any considerable de gree of riches in comparison with the inercluint or the trading agricuiturist ; but when he finds a regidar mart open for the fruits of his toil, he must necess,irily he iden tified with other speculators in hard cash, and will soon learn the art \of estimating " The worth of any thing " By the mere money it will bring." • tXcellent as the plan of the But rise INSTITUTION apphars, (and 1 fear that it is the best plan we can expect from the fregociuting patronage whit:h the poor arts will ever obtain this country)—)et—(( would repress the idea if 1 could) --yet; 1 ant persuaded that it will tend to encourage false , taste ;—to encourage endeavours to please, not to excel, — to excite those competitions tor price and not for fame, 'which must; necessarily, render the arts despicable, and sink the thia ;;Fuithitts Hob the mercenary speculator. la the list of Subscribers to this Institution, I observe the names of many of our nobility distinguished by capital lefters, and prtAixect to the sum of one hundred guineas eat h. This sounds Magnificently, anti makes indeed a very tapitol appearance: But; alas, painters are not made by subscription;—the family of Jlederi—and what is the family of the MiarriA iu comparison with many of those iiriti;h families Ivhich are seen in this list?—The family of the .iledecisilni not cent Mlle themselves with a company of coadjutors %shot they intended iv raise the arts of their ctnintry to the highest pitch Of excellence. No—person ally—individually—they patronized each selected artist— and rendered their country, in I hat departMent of Genius, the wonder—the eternd admiration of the world I But if is time to turn from this critique on the Institution itself, and to select from those specimens of its utility, biell it offers to public examination, such Aubjects as we May with impartiality either approve or condemn: • The Myra of Nra.soN, by .1. 11. ig among the first that claims our attention. The subject can never lose its interest in the British bosom. In every point of view in which such an occurrence is capable of being e?Aibited, it must rivet our regard, and in some respects stifle the ardour of criticism by more acutc,,,,ontl more endeared sensations. .11r. bevis has chosen the moment in which our national hero expired ill Ike cock-pit of the Victory. The place is not favourable for effect : nor hai the artist beeii able to overcome the disadvantages of position to Which he was thus condemned. Perhaps he fancied that b e ga ined some depth in the scene by placing enormous figures in the front, and decreasing . the natural size of the figure= io the hark ground. lie has thereby injured his picture in the most material point. He has made the prin cipal fi g guru, even allowing for the fore -shortening in the tecumhent position, much too small. The surrounding group possesses liknesses undoubtedly ; but they have not any expression. Every countenance lotAs as if- it was selling (rather paimtvlly perhaps) 4efore the eisel of Mr. '-~; 4- _ •t~ ~~t I.IA 1; INSTITVIJON. MARCH 5.. ..I►ir *ittiokAti tit,GistEli. Deis There - is neither piety or anj gladness, of any species, in the conotenance of Lord Nelson ; it does not seem to he even endeavouring, to express any emphatic feeliie; ; for is it even the visage of an expiring mith. It is a blue Rudy from a disfigured cast or model. The young wounded officer has a ghastly, toeneaning countenance ; and as his eves are directed towards the spectator, he disturbs the harmony of the, whole piece. The dyiug marine seems to be thrown in t') MI up a Corner : he might have been rendered 144culiarly interesting. The assistant surgcoi( has a broad laugh nit his visage. The great figure of a seaman who smnds upright with his back towards the spectator, breaks the slide: group ; and the great dispro portion of his figure, and the uncouth attitude in which he stands, destroysail pretentious to that fiarmony, which in such assemblage (night particularly to have beea preserved: The painter does not appear to have known what to do with the lights of his various lamps. One of them looks like a flame without light. Upon the whole I cannot help pronouncing this picture to be one of the poorest with respect to genius that ever 1 beheld. Its whole merit consists in some good portrait drawing. ?t has neither perspective, composition or taste. It excites our commiseration less than any painting could be supposed to do on the same subject ; and I will venture to aiscrt that ninny would not even guess that the scene before them, attempted to display the dying moments of Nelson ! Drox. (To be continued.) F./iilliro S 14.1 31. i UCH', 1809. Mantles and coats of Green Vignnia, or Merino cloth, of vad rious shades; from tls e sober hue of the Spanish fl y to the more lively pea-green; have succeeded to the purple, which thouglt a colour most pleasing in itself is now become too general to find a place in a select wardrobe. Scarlet cloaks are no longer seen on genteel women, except is wraps for the Theatres; the satia ted eyti turns overpowered by their universal glare; to rest on more chaste and refreshing shades. Mantles and pelisses are now considered more elegant when trimmed with gold or silver l:tee, or binding; or wills velvet, bound, or laid' flat, and w hieh is sometimes finished at its terminations With a narrow gold edging, or flat braid. Some are decorated with •borders of co:mired chen i lle, but these can only consistently belong to the • carriage costume. Bonnets continue to he formed of tlAc same materials as the coat or Mantle, and trimmed to correspend. The Patriotic helmet, and the College bonnet each worn with short white lace veils, are amidst the most novel and attractive articles of this kind. The purple and the greets beaver hat, somewhat of the Spanish fonts, turned op with a loop and n•ro'rts tassel of gold, falling towards the left eye-brow, and ornamented with a • small Persian plume of the same colour, is making its appear. ante, and as a carriage decoration possesses much becoming attraction. The robe a- nido, formed of Tyrian bright velvet, or safg net, ranks high in fashionable splendour. It is trimmed with gold lace, and n Roman girdle of gold tissue, confined its front with a rich emlfossed clasp, onraments the bottom of waste. The hair is secured with a caul, or gold net behind, end orna mented with a bandeau or diadem in front. The Carthage cy mar or fancy scarf, formed of Paris net, with gold emb:essed border and stars, shades the Shoulders, which this splendid costume w ould otherwise too much expose ; but we remark that sometimes in full dress tke robes are made to sit high in the neck, like morning habits, but more ornamented about the throat and bosom : we cannot, however, in any way subscribe to a fashion which Ovels a keit distinction. Combs of steel rank amidst other fashionable ornaments for the hair. Shoes are no'w vety lunch trimmed, and are more showy than we have observed them for some sears. Half-boots of cloth, the colour of the pelisse or mantle, are also much in request. The most genteel colours are Saragossa brown, various shades or green, amber, and pale geranium; the most general, purple and scarlet. Friday, at twenty minutes i►.a.'t two, the St, Doming), Ott largest 74 in the British Navy, was launehed at the Mors Dock-yard, Woolwich. The fineness of the weather drew iu immense concourse of people to witness the scene, and the road from Greenwich to..Woolwieh was entirely bliicked up with carriage; ; Many of wittch were not atilt 19 reach the DAV yard until some hears after the launch.. ~~'