The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-20 00:00:00

English, whose diaphanous forms and soft colouring
cannot anywhere find their equal. But, on the other hand,
in no circle of arusta does so much profound divergence,
glaring antithesis prevail, as here. The
such varied and
development of English art takes, at every moment, some
new direction, and different models came upon the lapis.
And yet exterior influences are never tolerated, the national
independence being jealously
. preserved. If we examine,
however, in what this last consists, we find it limited to a
specific technical manner, but without root in any par-
ticular mode of viewing the thing, or in any primitive and
indigenous sense of form. . Reynolds and Lawrence are not
less English than Wilkie and Turner; and yet how little
has the one pair in common with the other One
cannot dispute the great charm, the striking beauties of
numerous English productions; but it the entire mass or
awing English art were annihilated, its disappearance
would not have the slightest influence on the aesthetic
development of the rest of Europe. Even in England
herself the vitality of the fine arts is exclusively main
wined by private individuals, and is wholly unconnected
with, and independent of, the education of the people.
A closer coherence is seen in England's architectural
works. These do not disdain the historic soil, do not
strive after an ill-assorted originality, but rather abide
rigorously by the old indigenous arid purely national taste.
England has recently become the promised land cf the
Gothic. To the merit of having been the first to revive
this style, she adds the still greater merit of having applied
it more frequently and with greeter versatility than any
other ostioa lt is customary in speaking of Eng-
land to praise the elaborate provision for comfort in private
buildings, and to go into ecstacies about the marvels of
engineering; but, if one is asked about the condition of
architecture, to point, with a shrug, to the bare brick boxes,
three windows broad and three stories high, which our
round the squares and border the endless streets. But
this judgment is altogether an unjust one. These shape.
less masses of brick are, it is true, inexpressibly ugly, and
faithfully symbolize the fact that in London even the
enjoyment of life is carried on as a matter of business.
Bat they do not in any way represent the English taste for
architecture. When we state that this taste stands
incomparably higher than the exaggerated architectural
phantasy of the Parisians, the praise is not of great
significance. But the British creations in this walk need
not shun comparison even with German edifices
The lively, religious feeling, which distinguishes the
English people above all ethers, has, during the last few
years, given an amazing impulse to ecclesiastical archi-
tecture—and their exertions in the field of civil Gothic are
still more remarkable, are indeed unrivalled. We may
instance the colossal Parliament Houses, by Barry, which
hare already swallowed np the gigantic sum of 14 millions,
and whose grand effect, whatever censure may be thrown
upon overloaded ornament, defects of plan, and errors in
acoustic, not even the bitterest criticism can deny.

In sculpture Dr. Springer accords us inferior
excellence. Flax-man, he allows, " could be
" placed above Canova without fear of contradic-
" tion ; but only the most shortsighted pa-
" trioti4m would venture to compare Gibson with
" Thorwaldsen, Chantrey with Rauch, Marshall
with Jouffroy." The first-mentioned sculptor,
Dr. Springer evidently regards as overrated.
On the subject of his unfortunate polychromatic
monomania, he observes :
Gibson has sought, by the revival of Polvchromie, by
tinting separate portions of the face and the fringes of
the drapery, to give his works enhanced charm—an absurd
notion in an age when, by the perfected development of
painting, the limits of the plastic hays been distinctly
marked out, and when the phase of civilization no longer
tolerates here such direct appeals to the sense!

With respect to painting—but really, in justice
both to author and bookseller, we must stay our
pilfering hand here, and allow this, probably the
most attractive section of the book, to draw
readers for the reviewed rather than for the re-
viewer. That Dr. Springer judges English Art
with an impartiality rarely found among foreigners
will, we think, be already evident to our readers.
His views, although often expressed with obscurity
and prolixity, are unusually practical—for a Ger-
man; and a translation of this book, executed
with intelligence and judicious exegetical free-
dom, would, we feel convinced, be well received
by an art-losing public.

The Italian Valleys of the Pennine A4ll. By the
Rev. 8. W. King, M.A., F.R.G.S. With
Illustrations and Maps. London : Murray.
THE Literature of Travel has become a specialty
within the last few years, and the services ren-
dered by the admirable Handbooks of Mr. Murray
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tries. Several causes have combined to make
books of travel favourites with the public. Those
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While others naturally desire to find new routes
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eassy to produce a good book of travels. Pleasant
slants, a lively style, a turn for anecdote, and