The Express.
London, England, 1850-05-06 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

ROYAL ACADEMY.

Three years since, at the time of the Westminster-
hall competition, there were prophetic souls who
looked fur ward with same anxitty to what would be
the result of their bringing forth latent talent, with-
out guarantee of being able to sustain it. The time has
come when this questioa must be answered ; the com-
petitues have come forth in strength as well as
numbers.
Foremost amongst these may be placed Mr. Pickers-
gill, whose " Samson Betrayed, is as brilliant in
colour as hie " Burial of Harold " Wii s timbre. It
also affords a happy contrast with the former concep-
tions of the spocryphi..l legend, by merging its sen-
sua►ity in its moral meaning. As the swarthy save
shears the giant of his strength, the charms of DA-
M and her handmaids are almost forgotten in their
attitudes of remorse. The balance of the lines and
the grouping are not more admirable than the colour-
ing; the tender draperies richly inlaid'with gold, and
the contrasts of fair and dark flesh recal the palmy
days of Etty, of whom, by the bye, there is an exqui-
site memento mori, entitled the Toilet. _ _

A chastened execution and an attenuated scale of
colour reveal our modern /resew/di. Mr. Maclise, in
his " Spirit of Chivalry," deserves as much praise for
the masterly manner in which he has adapted his
composition to time and place, es for the intrinsic
beauty of the conception; by raising aloft the alle-
gorical figure of Justice, holding her balance over the
crouching figures be:.eath, awaiting her final decree,
he has vanquished the g-eatest difficulty a painter
can contend with, that of filling up and destroying
the appearance of a narrow space.
Mr. I)yce also displays his fresco predilections, in
his meeting of Jacob and Rachel, both by severity of
outline and simple contract of colour. The slight
variation from former versions of this subject,
consisting of the hesitation of the maiden in receiving
her lover's kiss, give it an original freshness equal to
the purity and skill of the drawing. Mr. Cope, who
also formerly did ample justice to this scriptural
theme, has divided his strength in several smell com-
positions, the principal one representing the " Death
of King Lear. The chiaroscuro is sombre and effec-
tive, hot the costumes belong to a much later period.
Almost equal in size, though different in style,
stand opposed the canvasses of Mr. Armitage and Mr.
Cross, who thus challenge comparison. With the un-
doubted power of practised draughtsmen, they evince
that healthy spirit of which they gave such a pro-
mising earnest three years since. Mr. Armitage,
nevertheless, in selecting a vision of Ezekiel, has, like
Raphael of old, been guided by sculptural inspiration,
only eschewing Greek art for the lately exhumed rules
of Nineveh: and whilst Raphael recalled Olympue,Mr.
Armitage dwells on the banks of the Chahar. The;figure
of I. Aholibah gazing on the images of the Chaldeatis,"
is masterly and full of energy. But however admi-
rable a subject for developing feminine character and
beauty, its mystic meaning is beyond the capabilities
of the pictorial art. If, on the contrary, fault may be
found with Mr. Cross's fine conception of the " Burial
of the Two Sons of Edward in the Tower," it is the
absence of mystery, which is neither dramatically nor
historically correct. The nude striplings form a beau-
tiful group. &The picture iu its component part.
evince. care, deep study, and fine feeltug, folly justi-
fying the somewhat tardy decision of the Fine Arts
Commissioners in entrusting Mr. Cross with a subject
for the phrliatnent house.
Mr. Lucy, also a prize-man, has a clever picture of
a hackneyed subject, the " Part:og of Charles from
his Caildren." In mai:wing works more or less
attaching to the French school, we naturally tarn to
the chief and best indoctrinat.r of the principles on
which it is based. "Cromwell looking at the dead
body of Charles the Fleet," by I'. Delareshe,
already sufficiently known by the engraving, evinces
all the dramatic power and accuracy of costume which
are the characteristics of this great painter. Whether
wo gaze on the teem features of the Protector,
in which there Is no traee of remorse, as he
examines the traits of his prostrate rue, on his pic-
turesque garb, or on the subdued accessories, of which
the solemnity is heightened by the light darting from
behind the canvas, we only find in them the great

artist circomscribin his powers within received and
welbdefined limits, which, no less than the charm of
his pencil, have rendered his name famous in his own
000ntry and in ours. Yet in France there are not a
few, and that among the most educated, who have
thought and asserted that there is a step beyond,
which lifts the painter of subtle thought far above the
delineator of the heavy actions of men, and which only
gifted spirits can reach. This Mr. Delaroche neither
admits nor attempts ; he has remained content to illus-
trate the records and chronicles of history with ad-
mirable artistic tact and true feeling.
This sign of discretion should be po!nted out as an
example to that resolute, enthusiastic, but misguided
little band amongst us whn, with great artistic feeling,
have each an equivocal method of rendering it, in
their conceptions, their designs, and their colouring.
So ugly and misshapen are the brings they bring
forth on canvas, that they seem to libel even the
diminished beauty of our degenerate days. Mr. Mil-
lais, the principal delinqurnt in this re-
spect, @hews, nevertheles-, the same amount
of talent which he displayed last year in his scene
from Boccaccio; but in the perversion of his power,
he is like an artistic Chatterton, obscuring thought
and meaning in the turbid versification of a Rowley.
The subject, in itself sufficiently mystic, is taken from
Zechariah, arid goes beyond the ultra-catholicism of
Mr. Herbert. It represents the infancy of Christ
whom the Virgin is caressing. I.iko the old Italians,
the details of the carpenter's shop are taken from life,
but unlike them and their spirit of adoration, he has
depicted decay in the person of the Virgin.
In seeming companionship with this picture is one
marked with that eccentric power, which arrests
1 attention, by Mr. W. Hunt, representing " a British
family sheltering a Christian missionary from the
persecution of the Druids," which, if docked of an
exuberance of grouping, wuuld be a masterly per-
formance. Tne red draperies are to) violent in tone,
but the expressions of fear, coutage, and rage are
worthy of praise and admiratiim. On the whole the
works of these young reformers mud only to be
ahem of their drynees, and endowed with inure of the
graceful to beeline healthy ant pleasurable.
We would point to the weeks of Mr.
Frank Stone as examples of this purification.
His subject from the " Tempest," where 3firasda
on seeing Ferdinand, fancies he is a spirit, is full of
the idealistic beauty and the naivete conveyed by the
poet. Not far from this is the work of one of the
Associates, as felicitous in the choice of his subjects,
as Hogarthian in the mode of handling them. Mr.
Ward depicts " James the Second receiving the news
of the landing of William ;" the expression cf the
fallen monarch, relining in his chair, and those of
the courtiers, neat Hog th, as does the scheme of
harmony, centering in his favourite reds and yellows.
The complexions of some of the Personages however
seem to call for medical advice ; has not Macaulay
chronicled the antibilious Cackle of the period ? The
immortal duo o' Cervantes furnish a fitting theme to
Mr. Frith; that banquet with the Duchess never
satiates the palettes of our painters. The beauty of
the feminine fiznre, the delicacy of tex ure, and the
sparkling brilliancv of the accesrvie s,txc, 1 Mr. Frith's
former feats. Mr. Poole re-asserts his power for d oes-
trous subjects, in the announcement of Job's first cala-
mity ; more simplicity in the arrangement, and less aim
at strong contrasts distinguishing this composition. At
tl.e opposite extreme of Mr. Poole's sombre hues, are
the cheerful and brilliant sylvan scenes of Mr. Ken-
nedy's brush. With little depth of sentiment, they
have a fund of contemplative reverie, to whine his
facile execution greatly contributes, whether in the
handling of his mellow landscapes or in that of the
pleasant costumes he peoples them with. Mr. Elmore,
who may be pronounced the Boccaccio of art,
in the beauty, delicacy, and amorous tendencies
of his compositions, hi,. this year chosen " "
from Caaneer's tales, when the marquis is struck
with her beauty. The manipulative dexterity of
execution excites pleasure and admiration, but never
obtrudes on the importance of the subject. Ni. 526,
" The Queen of the Dry," is not less poetic and grace-
ful, and dcs.ervt s its title. Mr. 1.4 had not been
frightened by the mot strong costume of the age of
cocked hats and top-boots, and has never been hap-
pier than in his " Peter the Great seeing Catherine
his future cmprees frr the first time." This to a per-
fect little di bill j the crispness of the handling and
the unaffected play of the figures are admiratile. This
picture will greatly enhance Mr. Egg's reputation, by
its qu'et and sentimental vein. We reserve for
ano,:ier odpottui-lty further notice of important
master-pieces, which have ()UT as yet bees cursorily
glanced at.