The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-21 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

• We have been gratified by a private view of Land-
seer's magnificent picture " Hawking in the Olden
Time," which we look upon as one of the proudest
triumphs which has ever been by a British artist
achieved. The English have been reproached as pos-
sessing no genius for historical painting ; and doubtless
there is too much ground for the imputation. At the
same time their eminence in portrait painting has never
been disputed, and this picture is a fine example of
how admirably the talent for faithful portraiture may be
united with, and, indeed, mode the medium of a strong
historical interest. The subject is illustrated by the
representation of an English Nobleman of the " olden
time" preparing for the amusement of Hawking. The
principal figures are likenesses of Lord Francis Eger-
ton (the munificent patron of the artist, and of the arts
in general) and his family. When we stated that the
picture was by Landseer, we rendered it superfluous to
describe how he has painted the horses, the dogs--as
as usual, they all but speak—" their eyes so eloquent
of meaning." Neither do we dwell much on the
accuracy of the portraitures ; though for that of
his Lordship we can vouch, as being perfect
There are few modern artists (are there any ?) who
can so powerfully flash from the canvass the feeling of a
fine, expressive eye,—in which after all lies the essence
of a likeness,—" for soul is mirrored there." But the
glory of the painting is in the general tone and keeping
of the whole,—in the composition,—in the depth and bril-
liancy of the colouring,—in the effective grouping of the
figures,—in the picturesque arrangement of the minor
portions ;—in short, in the character, which gives to
the picture some of the best attributes of an historical
painting ; and renders it a splendid delineation of tho
manners of a very interesting age. We are happy to
find that this fine picture is being engraved under the
auspices of that most enterprising of print-publishers,
Mr. Moon—by the Mezzotinto engraver, Cousins—
whose works are little less valuable than line' engraving :
and from what we have seen of it we doubt not that
it will be worthy of his fame.

CURIOUS HISTORY OF A VIRTUOSO OF ,EUROPEADI
CELEBRITY, AND SALE OF HIS GALLERY' OF PIC-
TURES, &c.—The sale of this celebrated gallery, which,
we believe, was the only private one of any note re-
maining in Paris, besides those of Marshal Soult and
of the wealthy Spanish speculator, M. Aguado, com-
menced on the 18th, on which day and the following
seventy-eight pictures were sold, which yielded alto-
gether 103,707 f. The liveliest competition was ex-
pected to take place for Canova's Magdalen, but it was
affirmed that the French Government intended to se-
cure that beautiful statue, and place it in the splendid
Church of the same name. The late owner of
this collection, M. de Sommariva, was born at
Lodi. In 1795 he was a petty lawyer, exercising his
craft at Milan. When, during Bonaparte's expedi-
tion to Egypt, the ascendancy of the French Re-
public declined in Italy, M. de Sommariva declared
himself the partisan of France, and exposed himself to
some danger by defending the persons and property of
various French subjects in the Courts of Lombardy.
As soon as the arms of France re-asserted her autho-
rity, M. de Sommariva was appointed one of the three
Directors of the Cisalpine Republic, in which exalted
station he contrived to acquire, in a very short time, a for-
tune of 880,000/. The French Republic having become
an Empire, and its Cisalpine sister a kingdom, Director
Sommariva withdrew to Paris, after losing in some
speculation about 240,000/. of his ravings. There he
was visited with serious apprehensions respecting his
remaining 640,0001. He was in constant expectation
of one of those bills which Napoleon occasionally drew
upon large fortunes too rapidly amassed in the public
service. Dreading what had befallen M. Ouvrard and
some other worthies, fear created the " Sommariva
Gallery." To shelter his wealth he proclaimed himself
the patron of the Fine Arts, and set about collecting
paintings and statues. Little caring for old and foreign
works, he affected a preference for the French modern
school. By employing Girard, Girodet, David, and
their pupils as his collectors, he secured the veneration
of the artists of France, and the arts protected him
more than he protected them. Napoleon spared his
Cisalpine cash, but, to his great mortification, never
would admit hina into the " Legion of Honour."
M. de Sommariva left his gallery to an only son,
who lately died without posterity and intestate, so
that this fine collection is selling for some poor re-
tions of Lodi. If terror had inspired what affec-
tion the father bore to the arts, the son openly
hated them. The paternal gallery reminded him of
many a mortification. Whenever he applied for a small
sum, his sire replied, " Impossible ! tile arts ruin men ;"
and he pointed to a picture. It was a Zephyr of
Prudh'on, a Pygmalion of Girodet, a Belisarius of
Girard, or a Psyche of David, which bad temporarily
reduced, on such occasions, Sommariva to mendicity.
Need it he added that all these pictures were the ob-
jects of detestation of the younger Sommariva, and that
he would have sold them with less scruple than Charles
S u face his limned ancestors. But when he succeeded
t• rthe fortune, the young Count Sommariva realm.
bered, alas: that this gallery was the only trophy which
gilded the rather recent, escutcheon of nobility of his
family, and that the pictures aforesaid were substitutes
for the portraits of great ancestors, which other more
ancient hidalgos possessed.