The Express.
London, England, 1859-07-11 00:00:00

FINE ART&

THE NORTIrWICK COLLECTION.
(Pawl Ora OWN 0011lIZIPONDIINT.)

The approaching dispersion of the late Lord North-
wick's very 'suasive collection of ancient and
modern pictures, at Tkirlestone House, Cheltenham,
will in all probability be the most important artistic
mat of the season, and one of the most memorable
picture sales is England for some years put.
Thirlestone Rows (at which the sale will take
place) can scarcely be said to be out of the town of
Cheltenham. The whole mansion is one vast picture
pnery, and so exclusively has the small original
building and the numerous extensive additions been
subordinated to the exhibition of the victures that
I when they are removed we cannot imagine what use
will be made of much of the interior. There are a
few lateral rooms filled with pictures, but they bear a
comparatively small proport ion to the suite of ten large
apartments, including the noble picture gall
pro which communicate in a straight lingesrg
each other. The vista presented by these galleries,
with their sumptuous wall decoration, and closed at
each end by a grand altar-piece, and the colossal
picture of the " Marriage of Strongbow," by
Maas", is imposing in the extreme. The impres-
sion deriv,d from a rapid glance at the whole collec-
tion is, in fact, quite bewildering—both from the
cense already adverted to, and the prodigious quantity
of pictures, sot only on the walls bat on screens in
every direction, numbering. as they do with those re-
moved her. from Northwick Park, upwards of 1,300.
Added to this there is not even the ordinary attention
to relative merit in the collocation of the pictures,
and very many are besides wrongly named, some-
times with astouodiog inexactitude—facts, we are
sorry to say, which do not reflect much credit upon
the connoisseurship of the late noble proprietor, at
least in regard to some of the schools of the
old masters ; so that it was only after a most
careful examination, extending over three dap,
that we permitted ourselves to arrive at
• positive estimate of the whole collection. 1/r.
Waage's, in his account of this gallery in his Art
T , frankly admits that he could only devote
six hours to its Inspection ; we mast consequently
not hold him too strictly responsible for some conclu-
sions from which we shall have occasion to differ.

At it may be inferred from recent acquisitions
that the National Gallery authorities would be glad
to make thatpublic collection more completely repre-
sentative of this period, and the great climax of art
history developed from it, they will now have the
opportunity to 811 up certain awkward laeunee.
Here are specimens more or lees remarkable of Ma-
saccio, Sandro Bottioelli, Lorenzodi Credi, Verrocchio,
Perugino. Francis., Lo Spagno (?), Giovanni Bellini,
Bartolommeo Nlontagna, Oirolamo Moeetto (?) Cana
da Conegliano; and, besides, w..rks which illustrate
the influence of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael
upon their contemporaries. There are, also, a few
early pictures of the northern schools. Of all the
more ordinary materials of a picture gallery there is
of coarse abundance. The portraits are numerous
and apparently authentic; there are several we
should like to see secured for our National Portrait
Gallery. The English school contains some of the
finest works of living artists, but with some excep-
tions there are not many productions by the earlier
deceased routers. We do not remember a single
Turner. The collection of miniatures is rich and
valuable, including a most admirable head by Hol-
bein. The engraved gems and antique Sicilian coins
are very noteworthy. Tree mansion tad gardens are
ornamented by statues and casts of no particular
value.
The collection may be viewed on and after Friday,
the 15th inst., and the sale, which will be conducted
by Mr. Phillips, of Bond-street, will commence on
the 28th, and continue the 21 subsequent days.