The Express.
London, England, 1859-01-08 00:00:00

FINE AR73.

EXHIBITION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.

Year by year some improvement is made in Pho-
tography ; some advance achieved in—es 'kolas:x.omm in
his addoms to the British Associstka termed this moot

--
subtle application and combination in photicity, electricity,
ebanistry, and magnetism." Shortly before the last exhibi-
tion of the Photographic Society, M. Palmyra's production
of plates in relief, for the purpose of engraving by the sedan
of light alone, wee cited ea the latast marvel in phdlogrephi.
But far more important, as "big with promise," were the
startling expwiments of M. Niel= de St. Victor, which
almost indicated the universality of photographic plimarmons.
We have had this year few dimoveriss of this rotes alto
'tract nature, but some Important facts have bon
noted in what is call ad actino-oheuslatry—fads from

which it is considered barely possible that the phenomena
of chemistry, if ever so destined, may be reduced under
the dominion of mathematical analysis. But the most im-
portant advances of this year have been withered in the
applications of photography. First, we had the photogyapldit
primitive in carbon by M. Fretsch ; then, the arond geed
direovery by lir. Fox Talbot, photographic engraving, or the
set of trarehring a photographic pintas, end robing it es
steel or orger-pletes, kcal which impririess may be taken
in the ordinary way ; and quite recently we bear of a me-
thod baying been discevred of obtaining a phoneme*. sr
pieratetion en the black of the itood-engeweee, elen iMporv7
sad* the drigrier, and requiring only the label, of the
tiwalietry eeppaver. The applications of photography for ob-
toinleg Awe of the moon, of the planets, of scientific end
ether pireemens, era Sae clever veins
WeeMerled yesterday a private view of the Exbillitka of
Sr Photographic Society for the present year, and it will be
erns" to the public on Monday. The locality—the GANT
of the Society of British Artists, in Suffolk-street—is far
mew atereible then that chosen for the exhibition of last
per, white au readers will remember was a building &t-
-imbal hi the Mane= at South Kensington. After careful
enninleellea we were rather disappointed to find that sorted
the mere mewl triumphs of the set were not illustrated in
the preen. ealdbleien. There are, however, several speci-
mens of the photagekehography ci M. Fretsch. which,
sans( a certain heaviness, are truly admirable. We may
instance as well-known subjects the " Mask " and the figure
of "Don Quixote," which are reproduced with surprising
fidelity. There are but few other more strictly scientific
novelties or even curiosities And some of theta ar, for
example, the ratantansous photographs of breaking waves
and erode by Mews Cundall and Downes, have been re-
ewe, rani in our corms.
There seems to have been no assured advance during the
year towards securing the permanency of the actual photo-
sorts Notwithstanding, also, the reports from tires to
time, no successful effort has been made to clear the Winds
which nature, we believe, has immutably Imposed in respect
to esker, and the photographer has still to contend against
bat trepproschable extent of light and shade, and also the
perplexing effects of the different degrees of photographic
power In the variously-coloured rays.

Undoubtedly, the most artistioeily valuable application of
photography op to the present tiros is the noble series of
photographs by Masser Caldest and Monteochi, from the
Certecias of Raphael et Hampton Court. Times we care-
hdly reviewed in a recent number of this journal. Since our
action however, several fall-sine studies of heeds, of the
most extraordinary power and massivenem of effect, have
boa Wad. Another series from the tacos Carton., of
my as large dimensions and of almost equal merit, bays
be.. undertaken for the government by Mr. Thurske
Thompson. We think it of easeetial consequence to remark
that these inveciable works, which together form by far the
most important feature of the present exhibition, are sees
under the greatest possible disadvantage. The Them
naturally follows the order of the catalogue, and by the time
be arrives at them, the eye is rendered en fastidious by the
dainty deliamies of detail upon which it has been feasting,
that the muel traces of time and W wage on the old cartoons
(so faithfully reproduced in the photographs) and—compered
to the "pencil of light"—the comparative coarseness of the
Meek of Raphael and hie scholars become most painfully
impost ; it is like being suddenly placed close to a pealing
organ after listening to a solo on the violin. (The visitoe, who
would see what the imperfect lighting of the original cartoons
at Hampton Court would never permit him to discover,
should go to these photographs before he has lost the "fresh
aye," and before him vision has been rendered incapable of
thoroughly appreciating their innumerable beautiee.
As a single feat in photography nothing, however,
amperes "The Crystal Palace, Syclenham" (169),
by Mr. Delasnotte. This photograph, measuring by the
eye, must be nearly four feet by about one foot nine inches,
and is in only three pieces ; yet there is scarcely any evi-
dence of perspective distortion or focal difference of tone, and
all the thousand objects of art, retried forms of vegetation,
and stricture details of the length and breadth of the Cry.-
tsl Palace are given with the utmoet delicacy, and without
the lent " muzziness." The " Panorama of Cairo," by Mr.
Frith, which we reviewed in our notice of the Architectural
Photographic Exhibition, and of which there is an " impres-
sion" here, is longer, but the defects incidental to them per-
formances are more apparent.
Now that the camera has been, comparatively speaking,
transferred from the hands of the chemist to the artist, the
&Bowies works, which more especially evince feeling for
pictorial composition, might perhaps have justly claimed
primary police. The present exhibition is not, however,
rich as what we may call " high art " arta. Mr. Rej-
lender'scoabitedions (Nos. 2, 20) display taste in posing the
figure. " (IS4), an old pedagogue listening impatiently
to the imperfectly learned lemon of two blies-coat boys, is also
fell of humour ; and " The Scripture Reader " (163) has all
thesis:wens of a picture ; but Mr.Rejlander exhibits nothing
nearly so ambitious as his elaborate " Two Ways of Life" of
Ise year. The mother is too short and the child too old in
the otherwise meritorious " Little Red Riding Hood"

(13, 18) of Messrs. Traefitt, brothers. " The Queen of the
May" (23) is • small and picturesque campoeition by the o
rue gentlemen. " Fading away" (18), by Mr. Robinson—
a consumptive girl surrounded by nennnifully solicitous 1
fiends—de, considering the inherent difficulties of the sub-
ism, • socceesful effort, although the grief of the sister Is
evidently simulated, end the taste of the whole questionable. I
Mr. Roger Fenton boa been trying his band upon some
Oriental figure subjects: of them, one or two are as impor-
tant and felicitous es any of the landscape ettbjects with
which Mr, Fenton appears in such force. In "The Reverie"
(..10), for example, we have more than all the detail of a
water colour drawing by John Lewis, end at the same time
a low tone of 'angular breadth and sweetness. Ail artists,
sod most photographers, will agree with ns that there is
nothing better in srrangewent or conception in the
whole exhibition than the email end exquisite pho-
tographs " Preparing for Market" and " The Dead
Died" (73). The photographers, Messrs. Delferier and
Beer, were also extremely fortunate he their intelligent and
pretty subjects. The old smuggler with his " Forty Wink*"
and "One Wink" (83), by the rams gentlemen, is almost
equally excellent. The better choice of points of view, and
the preference shows for pictoreeque ruins, prove that
landscape photographers are making progress in their artistic
education. The colour greets still however presents the
great difficulty, especially in the treatment of foreground
foliage. It always tends to black from the photographic
power of the component yellow ray, and this contrast, with
the inevitable exaggeration of the minute lights on the
leaves end the hard outlines of the foliage against the sky,
the delicate gradations of which cannot be ',Wind without
sacrificing the foreground. We have already alluded to the
eihnirable works by Mr. Fenton. We marked for ~special
commendation • large series of lovely views of Tintern
Abbey, the rugged cleavage of "Cheddar Cliffs" (56), and
"Chatsworth Castle in the Water" (69), • photograph •11
strike as a Cayp. Mr. Bedford's landscape contributions
are almost as numerous as those by Mr. Fentoe, end include
besides views in and neer Gotha; "The Lobes,"
Raglan Castle, Tintern, and many other of our own
favourite scenes. These, however, together with the
Egyptian and Syrien subjects by Mr. Frith, and the delicate
bletre.toned views in Rotten by Mr. Howlett, are already
too well known to require further comment; they have,
beeides, been foe the moot pert reviewed in our notice of the
I Architectural Photographic Exhibition. Bat it would not
be just to omit the following names of landscape exhi-
bitors, Mg., Messre.Morgan, Crittenden, Blame, and Rosins.
, Asa copyist of works of set we have already seen (is
, the instance of the cartoons) that the reins of the camera
anent be or-estimated. We have ban, also, a photograph