The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-04-30 00:00:00

THE EA"' !El TION OF TOE ,SOCIETY OF -
BRITISH ARTISTS. •
(Continued from the British Puss of April 18.]

217. The Convalescent, a Family Picture.—B. R. Hat•
DON.
If modest merit made any part of Mr. Haertrotei
cha-
racter, our sympathy with his total failure in every picture
he has hung on the walls of this Exhibition would incline
us to treat him with great indulgence • but we doubt
much, could the qualities of his mind be analysed, whe-
ther even a single particle of any thing like diffidence
could be found in its whole composition. On the contrary;
if we were to measure his abilities by his pretensions, the
names of such men as WAIT and russet would hardly de.
serve " honourable mention," and their works must shrink
from all comparison. But we live in a republican age,
when, in spite of all that a man can utter in his own
praise, his merits will be forced down to their true level,
and he must he content. to be rated at his real worth.
With respect to the family picture before us, it would
perplex any one to divine why'or wherefore it should
be called " The Convalescent". 'We have a robuit
bacchanal in his dressing gown, whom no one could
for a moment suppose had just escaped from his re-
soneseal ; to all appearance lie has not a grain of mor-
tality in him—no span-girth shanks—no limbs worn down
by short allowance—no marks of 5 constitution that has
boric up is;einst pills and prescriptions : on the contrary,
his jolly appearance carries with it no likelihood of cutting
out any work for the sexton for years to come ; nothing,
indeed, can be more distant from dust and ashes. There
is not, moreover, any symptoms—as there ought to have
been—of a restored invalid—no lingering apparatus of e
sick chamber—net so touch as an empty vial, er a stray
label, to tell of the tepetatite huustus which bad drenched
the now revived indent in the days of his visitation.
There is, in feet, nothing analogous to the subject Of
the picture in any pert of it. ..The lady who sits
so lovingly by the side of the Convalescent—his wife,
we take it for granted—and who has been fain to cocker
him up with broths and jellies, and other restoratives, to
replenish his vascular system—seems herself to require a
warm bath acd a dose of Glauber's salts, to remove the
beat and irritation of her skin ; her face—the features of
which are very far from prepossessing--betrays no very
great reverence for the virtues either of "temperance,
soberness, or chastity ;"—in plain truth, it has in it a vul-
garity and tipsiness of expression that is extremely repul-
sive ;. so much so, that the courteous female, who is in the
act of handing a plate of Patagonian strawberries to the
restored patient, is made to turn her head away, a
want of ordinary politeness and propriety which could
on no other suppoSition be justified. The thoughts of
this family party seem to be all occupied with dif-
ferent subjects; their eyes are all directed different
ways ; the Convalescent seems to make no part of their
concern ; their features have no expression that betokens
any sort of interest in him ; he is a corpulent figure,
within the bounds of the circle, and that is all. That
superstitious reverence fee the antique, that runs through
all Mr. Haydon's performances, pervades the present. All
his portraits in this exhibition partake of the gigantesque.
It is worth his while, seriously, to inquire what can have
made bun so unsuccessful; for he is wofully inferior even
to himself. His conceptions are great, but he wants judg-
ment, and his powers of execution are inadequate; his
compositions have nothing of the simplicity of nature in.
them ; his imaginat'on seems engrafted with the Elgin
Marbles; and he appears anxious, on every occasion, to
translate them into whatever subject comes before him;
but the feelings of the spectator do not go along with him :
and the result is, that his pictures inspire no sympathy.
We arc grown too fastidious in these times to be talked out
of our love of symmetry and grace by an appeal to the
authority of an antique statue.
217. Portrait of a Gentleman—J. M. Lenin.
Mr. Leigh is a young artist of sterling merit; he begins
well, for while he follows the bent of his own natural talent,
it has manifestly been cultivated by careful study, and his
instructions have left him nothing to unlearn. We risk
little in predicting his future fame from his present com-
mencement. The portrait before us is excellent, both le
its drawing and colouring: in some particulars, however,
we think it capable of amendment ; the nose is extremely
well relieved, and the mouth is likewise well shaped and
well placed, but the left eye requires to be mote shadewed;
its position does trot permit the light to fall upon it so
' strongly • it produces, moreover, on the other eye, an effect
of imperfect vision. We would recommend, too, that the
grey tint should he removed from the forehead ; the flesh
in nature would not take this tint; if the position of any
part of the head be such as to throw it into shadow, this
will not change its colour; if the light be partially with-
drawn from any object, its colour will of course be less
distinct, and if it be wholly withdrawn, the colour will ne-
sarily disappear, but it will not vary. We are disposed
to draw attention to this fundamental truth in painting,
not only from its importance, but because we observe many
of our best artiste perpetually sinning against it.
236.—P0t trail r.,l* Paijssio, a native of Cephalonia, and
Grand Archimandrite of Wallachia and Moldavia:—
During tne horrible massacres of the Greeks which recently dia.
graced Constantinople, this venerable Patriarch was dragged before
tire public authorities, and doomed to an ignominious death ; but
being provided with a document previously granted to him in the
lonian Islands by the British Minister, he was allowed to escape,
and ultimately took refuge on the hospitable shores of Britain,
where his reception has been such as to reflect honour on the British
pti
Nation.—J. LEIGH.

We have here a portrait much more favourable for the
display of the artist's powers than the one we have just no-
ticed. The head has great expression and character, and
the variety and richness of the costume contribute not a
little to its impressive and picturesque effect. The dra-
pery is well coloured, and is touched in many parts with
masterly freedom.

1 To he continued.l
It is said tl:at tl e King will hold two Drawing-rooms
in the course of the month of May.
The Duke of York transacted military business with the
King yesterday.
Yesterday morning, at twelve o'clock, the Duke of
York, accompanied by the Marquis of Anglesey, and a
numerous staff, inspected the new Riding Ilouse and
Barracks, at St. John's Wood, near the Regent's Park,
lately built for the use of the riding establishment under
the superintondence of LieutenanuColonel Peters, who
some time since commenced the formation of a new
system of equitation for our cavalry, at Pimlico, which has
not only met with the Duke of York's sanction to be
adopted by the cavalry, but many experienced cavalry
officers have expressed their approbation of the utility of
this newly-invented system. His Royal Highness approved
of the construction of the
The Princess Augusta honoured Covent-garden Theatre
with her presence yesterday evening.
Yesterday the Duchess of Gloucester and the Princess
Sophia visited the Princess Augusta.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Princess
Augusta, went yesterday about 1Y o'clock to Somerset House
to view the Exhibition, previous to its being opened to
public view. Their Royal Highnesses were received by
Sir Thomas Lawrence, the President of the Royal Ace,-
detny, and Mr. Howard. the Secretary, who conducted
the Royal party over the different rooms set apart for paint.
ing, sculpture, &c.
On Saturday last his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant
gave the annual state dinner to the Lord Mayor and Cor-
poration of the City of Dublin. The entertainment was
laid out in the Presence Chamber. His Excellency en-
tered the dining-room soon after seven o'clock. After the
cloth was removed, the usual toasts were given, and impro-
priate tunes followed, by the excellent band of the Fourth
Dragoon Guards. There were present
The Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the
Rolls, Lord Norbury, the Lord Chief Baron, the Soliritor•General,
the Earl of Meath. the Earl of Clanricarde, the Carl of Itatiitiown,
Lord Caetlecnote, the Bishop of Derry, the Bishop of Cionfert.
the Provost, Archdeacon Biahopp, Mr. Gregory:, Monsieur Ro-
maine, General ryeri, General Young, Colonel Sir Hisgh (lough,
Colonel Sandilanda, Major Sin, the Lord Maydr.Sheriff Lardrrel,
Sheriff Warren, the High Sheriff of the County, the Becorler, the
Cite Chaplain ; Aldermen Sir A. B. King, Sir William Sfuner,
Harty, fintEzetta.wi'l(eirning,,, AllriconhertgomMe.!Ky,"CnY..PB.lAr, Archer, erK,'Tjyrimd"a4sll,
West, Abbot, Sir Thome' Whelan, Sir George. Whiteford ;
share, ma. Johnstone, Sir S. Bruce. ha G. Rich, Sir
neon., captain Webster, Colonel Gore, Colonel Hill, Doctor
Hunter, 51.1)., Colonel D'Arey, Captain Ricketts, Rs— Dubin,
Freeman': Joanne.