The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-01-31 00:00:00

THE BRITISH INSTI7'UTION.

This excellent Institution opens to the public this day.
From the cursory ♦iew which our time permitted us to
take of the pictures which form its present exhibition, it
struck us as containing less of prominent excellence than we
have witnessed in former years. We clo not consider this
as owing to any retrograde movement which the Arts base
taken in England, but to a want of that effective patronage
which can alone ensure their advancement. The almost
exclusive encouragement bestowed on portrait-painting,

combined with the preference given—nine times out of tea
undeservedly—to the Old Masters, has tended greatly to
the discouragement of native talent, by withdrawing front
it that employment, to which its exertions give it s fair
and forcible claim. Nothing is so easy as to find fault,
and to lament the want of merit in this picture and in that;
but let us first ask ourselves, is there a sufficient public
disposition shown to incite to excellence, and to reward it?
That there are wine ardent and generous patrons of living
artists we well know, for we could name them ; but we
know also, that the majority put their judgment and their
vanity under the guidance of picture-dealers, and are duped
out of thousands for a Flemish or Venetian picture, whiff
the genius of many an English artist, with its utmost ef-
forts+, can procure him bread, and nothing more. In the
exhibition of this year at the Louvre, we observed several
pictures, fresh from the English easel, that were very
highly and* deservedly admired: in particular we n.
marked those of CONST•BLE' and COPLLY FIELDING.
Of the fonner we recollect " Use charette d fin tearer.
sant un gue au pied dune fertile," which was a landscape
of great merit; and by the latter, "A View nfllasrisos,
and " A View of CHLPITOW CASTLE," which we remcm.
bcr the French, who, by the way, never spell an English
name tight, whether of place or person, were pleased, in
their catalogue, to call the "Chateau deCHETSTOR ." and
these productions, with several others of the English
school, readily found purchasers. But the rapid improve-
ment of the French school of painting is strikingly
visible: in the historical department it is far superior
to ours ; in landscape, in which, till of late years,
it was greatly deficient, it is making rapid advancement;
in portrait it is, at least, our equal. We are speaking of
the exhibition at the Louvre. The "Portrait de feu M. le
Dec de Richelieu," by Sir THOMAS L•WRINCI, was
rivalled by others on the same walls, and by even mor:
than one, which, with all our patriotism, and with all ou:
partiality for the President, we should certainly havr
preferred.
There is no dearth of genius and talent in the Englisi
school, but we regret to say that it is not called forth by
adequate excitement. We could wish to observe less
apathy on the part Of Government on this subject. That.
there is a leaning towards its patronage we admit, but it is
without energy, and producer nothing elevated. There is
a mass of redundant wealth in this country, a part of
which, if it flowed in this channel, would, we are sure, be
employed with infinitely more profit titan in imaginary
mines and speculative pearl-fisheries.