The Press.
London, England, 1853-05-07 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

variety of the " family of grasses." All we have not
is expression, character, and dramatic interest.
If to Itafletelle we owe the true method of telling a
stor of grouj►ing the figures, and dressing them in
appropriate cost►nne. and to Titian the magic of
glowing colours. we ►►we not less tee Leonardo Its
Vinyl for the intention of clliaroscun►. that ditiltsite
concentration of light which is ter►ued edict.
To Correggio we are indebted for the 'learnt of half
tints aunt that delightful gradation of light which
pervades his pietures„ that indescribable harmony
which delights the artist and bewitches the most
ordinary observer, etneeenscioos of the spell that hiatla
Mtn. These tour great men, turi‘ ailed. unapproaclicel.
lime marshalled the. It,
their• appearance was in its infancy ; diet their de-
!su•ture it suddenly sunk into decline and decrepi-
tude. NVIe will et painter of real merit l►'rcist ill
ignoring their existence, and painting in despite of
their• example'
. . . .

In Mr. Millais' pientres then. is a tibial absolve of
ehianeseuro : we' have no eonse-
Illiently, un hanneski. His lights and shadows are
abruptly contrasted. and his forms want roundness and
reality. His outline is hard. and, in spite of the Imis of
nature, its everywhere too strongly defined. The
Order of Release, NM" (No. ::11:1 1. is a subject. well
chosen to enlist our sympathies. A wounded and im-
prisoned highlander is released from his capth its, and
his wife is the bearer of the welcome tidings of release.
The treatment of the subject is less happy, perhaps,
than its selection. The husband, already beyond
the walls of his prison, his wounded arm supported
in a napkin, sinks overcome on the bosom of his
wife, while his left ann encircles her waist and lays a
firm grasp upon the infant. child who slumbers on
her shoulder, undisturbed by his hard pressure ; a
faithful dog leaps up to lick his ninster's wounded hand.
and exhibits in his obstreperous welcome a strong
contrast to the impassive wife and sleeping child,
who seem to take no interest in the event. The
wife is in fact the greatest defect of the picture : her
countenance exhibits no emotion, or joy, or anxiety,
and her glassy eye is fixed on vacancy. Ina pic-
ture of this description the sentiment depends on
the dramatic propriety of the details. The captive
is already beyond the walls of his prison, while his
gaoler is in the act of inspecting the order for his
release. which the wife has not yet given up : neither
is costume preserved; the date, WM, ostentatiously
appended, does not accord with the three-cornered
cocked hat of the gaoler and his rolled stockings :
these are the habiliments of the following century.
Till we consulted the catalogue, we supposed the
highlander to be a follower of Clinch's Edward,
antler the charge of one of Cumberland's grena-
diers.

The total absence of any background, and of any
of those obtrusive accessories in which this school
loves to indulge, is a great advantage. We wish we
could also compliment the artist up►n the accuracy
of his drawing and his composition. One of the
highlander's legs is nearly invisible, and the other.
though carefully painted, is ill-drawn ; and he stands
upon neither.
Mr. Millais will excuse, we hope, the sincerity of
our criticisms: it is the greatest compliment in our
power to pay him ; if we did not admire his talents
we should not waste our advice upon him. We
would earnestly entreat him not to he led away by
his present populatit• : it cannot last, because it. is
grounded upon what is new and false in his painting,
and not upon what is excellent. The time is per-
haps not, far distant when he will look with regret
upon his present delusion, and with surprise, and it
may be contempt, on that of the public.