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

alphabet of art; is a monotonous colourist, a
feeble chiaroscurist, and executes figures, " nine
" heads high and more, with forms modelled
" neither after nature nor in consonance with the
" traditionary ideal." Nevertheless Dr. Springer
assures us that " in the gift of designing poems—
"in the power of developing profound thoughts
" through grand series of figures spread over a
" vast extent of space, Cornelius is unrivalled.
" The union of the poet, the philosopher, awl the
"painter, forms his imposing attribute;" and "if
"he outrages nature now and then, it is only
" because he subordinates the form to the idea"
The practical result of this idea-worship is
amusing as well as instructive:—
Without preliminary anti accurate study ; without a
knowledge of the superstructure of thought on which the
compositions of Corneliaa rest, their comprehension is
impossible. It sounds like irony—bat it is, comparatively
speaking, true, that tho perusal of the programme which
sets forth the purport of these pictorial cycles affords
scarcely less enjoyment than their actual inspection.

Putting all this together, we arrive at the fol-
lowing rather singular conclusions with regard to
the German type-artist under review. Cornelius
is unquestionably one of the greatest masters of
any age. He and Michael Angelo are indeed
congenial spirits (geistesverwandt). The fact
that his pictures require a preliminary course of
metaphysics, and the study of an abstruse Pro-
gramme, before anybody can make out what they
mean, is only an additional proof of his profound
genius. Poetry and Philosophy combine to
elevate him to this sublime artistic position, ana
the trifling circumstance that he is unable either
to draw or to paint does not in any way detract
from his claims to fill it.

It is, we see from this, in the highest sphere—
the sphere of absolute Idealism, where matter
dissolves into " mere appearance," and thought
consolidates into " objective reality.'—that the
type-artist sits enthroned. To our grovelling
English sense, this theory of artistic excellence
looks rather queer, but, Teutonically and trans-
cendentally speaking, it is doubtless all right.
Once upon ground like this, we take off our
shoes and reverentially make an exit as noiseless
as rapid. At the same time we will venture to
remark, that there is nothing but rigorous con-
sistency in the fact that a country whose literary
men are superior to style and composition,
should produce artists sublimated above form
and colour.

It would be erroneous, however, to suppose
that this outré Idealism is a universal charac-
teristic of the really remarkable art-movement
in Germany. On the contrary, a very pecep-
tible realistic tendency has manifested itself there
during the last few years, and especially since
the convulsions of 1848 shook the country out of
its dreamy state of transcendental abstraction.
The most remarkable representative of this ten-
dency is the historical painter, Karl Friedrich
Lessing. Lessing is one of those rare excep-
tional natures in whom progressive development
seems to be the being's law. His early reputation
was won as a disciple of the Dusseldorf; or sen-
timental, school, during his connection with which
he produced a series of cabinet pictures distin-
guished by s strongly romantic imagination. As
the social atmosphere around him gradually mo-
dified itself; he seized its altered spirit, with rare
sagacity, and gave it expression in pictures so
completely distinct from his first style (" Huss a
the Stake," " Luther Burning the Papal Bull,"
&c. &c.) that Dusseldorf excommunicated him,
and a break up of the school, properly so called,
was the ultimate result. A similar heresy has
already penetrated into the ranks of the Idealists,
through the agency of Wilhelm Kaulbach, whose
inimitable illustrations of " Reinke Fuchs" are
familiar to everybody. Even in sculpture itself—
apparently, of all branches of art, the least
sensitive to contemporary influences—this realistic
movement (initiated by Rauch, and ably carried
out by Rietschel, Kiss, Drake, and many others)
has declared itself; chiefly in the art-school of
Berlin.
Passing over an elaborate, and, on the whole,
impartial survey of Belgian and French art, ice
shall close this paper with a few of Dr. Springer s
remarks on " die Kunstbestrebungen in Mg'
land " :
The position of the tine arts in England (he 911311 off
us a peculiar spectacle. Great originality, and yet Frea,
m°33tonY a manifold conformity in the prerallol?
manner, and let no school ; a local charsoter impres9. eLI ult.o‘
eltrema .listinotness, and yet no artiatio unity .
"414 of 139 country are 99 919147 rectotaied t"