The Press.
London, England, 1858-05-22 00:00:00

want holy crocodiles and consecrated cats to serve
as an antidote. The example of a man who has
wilfully abandoned the truth, and been visited, as
theologians say, with judicial blindness, and give*
over to a reprobate mind, is valuable in other matters
beside theology. Artists have been seduced by all
kinds of meretricious beauty, and misled by all kinds
of false lights; but it seems to have been reserved
for Mr. Poole to assert a profound conviction that
the grandest and most beautiful thing in this world
is a yellow fog. This demon of fog holds him in
abject slavery ; he is never allowed a moment's
liberty. Two years ago he painted William Tell
and his fellow-conspirators in a fog at midnight ;
last year, a fog in the sixteenth century, enveloping
a field conventicle on a Scotch moor; and this year
he produces a still more ancient fog, with figures of
Lear and Cordelia. And all the! pay that Mr. Poole
gets from this hard taskmaster is a half-concealment
of his sins against form and colour. We would not
have his pictures excluded from the Academy on any
account ; he does his work well.
Mr. Richmond has attempted a subject beyond
his powers in the "Agony in the Garden."
He has just been elected an Associate in
recognition of his merit as a portrait-painter : and
it was not unnatural that his promotion should
stimulate him to attempt higher things. We can
only regret that he should not be conscious of his
own failure. Mr. Thomas's picture of the presenta-
tion of the Crimean medals on May the 18th, 1855,
painted by the Queen's command, contrasts very
favourably with Mr. Ward's unfortunate productions.
He has overcome the difficulties of the subject with
great skill, relieving the formality of the scene as far
as was possible, and availing himself of the mistiness
of the spring morning to give an appearance of
greater extent to the parade-ground, and of greater
dignity to the surrounding buildings than in reality
they possess. Mr. Egley's scene from "Le Malade
Imaginaire" is very carefully painted, and the ex-
pression of some of the figures is forcible, but it
seems to us that painters should not illustrate any
books but such as are universally known ; these
French plays are read and admired by a certain
class, but we doubt if they ate familiar to one person
in twenty who visit the Academy. " The Gaoler's
Daughter," and " Flora Macdonald's Farewell to
Charles Edward," by Mr. Calderon, are works of
promise ; not showing much strength, but tender
and gentle, without feebleness. " The Last Trial of
Madame Palissy," by Mr. W. J. Grant, is a pretty
picture, but not well considered. The enthusiastio
potter, in the course of his experiments, reduced his
family to great distress, and finally persuaded his wife
to throw even her wedding-ring into his crucible. This
is the subject which Mr. Grant has chosen, but be
seems to have a dislike to distress, and carefully
excludes every appearance of it from his picture.
His delicate feelings will only allow a pensive look
to be thrown over the face of Madame Palissy ; star-
vation is too vulgar a thing to be painted, and,
besides, is not pretty. Mr. Grant should indulge
his taste by representing such things as are agree-
able to it, not by misrepresenting such as are not.
Mr. Stone's " Missing Boat " is a scene on the
beach at Calais ; sailors and sailors' wives looking
through the storm for friends and husbands. It is
commendable as an earnest attempt on Mr. Stone's
part to leave off repeating himself ; but, looking at
it upon its own merits, we have not much to say in
its favour. The figures seem scattered about the
canvas without the slightest attempt at grouping,
and are all enfeebled by his old habit of cleaning and
refining. The feeling and force of the subject are all
refined away. Why paint people braving a storm, if
the storm is not allowed to wet their clothes, or even
disturb their hair?

A DIOP.AMA OF THE INDIAN MUTINY has been
painted by M. Gompertz, with the assistance of
other artists, and is now being exhibited at St.
James's-hall. The siege and capture of Delhi, the
execution of the mutineers at Peshawur, the massacre
at Cavrnpore, the insurrection at Lahore, and the
evacuation of Lucknow, are the principal scenes
represented. Each view is said to have been
painted from an authentic sketch, with the excep-
tion of the massacre, which is, of course, a mere
work of fancy. The idea is not a bad one, but as a
work of art the diorama is rather inferior ; the view
of Delhi by Mr. C. Marshall is by far the best of the
series. A descripture lecture is delivered by a Mr.
Rignoldi in a style of elocution not much to be com-
mended ; it is plain and straightforward enough for
the most part, but a few passages of rather foolish
declamation might as well be omitted. The Indian
diorama is followed by a oil* of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre at Jerusakeii3i which, M. Gompertz
tells us, "though not in any way aceineeted with the
Indian subject, represents a pleaetef the most pro--
found interest in connection with the c
being the crypt of the church which has
over the spot where the Cross of our
found."

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491
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