The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-11 00:00:00

SEVENTH REPORT OF THE COM-

MISSIONERS ON THE FINE ARTS.
TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

We, the commissioners appointed by your Ma-
jesty for the purpose of inquiring whether advantage
might not be taken of the rebuilding of your Ma-
jesty's Palace at Westminster, wherein your Majesty's
Parliament is wont to assemble, for the purpose of
promoting and encouraging the fine arts in your
Majesty's United Kingdom, and in what manner an
object of so much importance might be most effec-
tually promoted, humbly report to your Majesty, that
having on a former occasion, viz., in our report of the
9th July, 1844, proposed that artists should be in-
vited to enter into a competition in oil• painting, we
have now humbly .to state to your Majesty that the
competition referred to has taken place, and that the
evidence of ability afforded, not only by the works of
the successful candidates, but by those of many others,
has been most satisfactory to us. We remark that
several of the artists who had before distinguished
themselves in cartoon-drawing, have shown, by their
works exhibited on this occasion, that they are well
qualified to execute oil-pictures on a large scale.
Several examples of fresco-painting, before exhi-
bited, justified us, we conceive, in recommending the
application of that method in some of the localities in
the palace at Westminster ; and the first specimen,
executed in the House of Lords by Mr. Dyce, con-
firmed our opinion of the fitness of such method for
certain subjects, situations, and lights. During the
recess other artists, selected to execute frescoes in the
same locality, will, it is hoped, be enabled to com-
plete the works committed to them.

With respect to sculpture, we have humbly to re-
port to your Majesty that three statues, of Hampden,
Lord Falkland, and Lord Clarendon, for which com-
missions had, with your Majesty's sanction, been
given, are in a forward state ; •and that the execution
of those works, the general conception of which had
before been approved, is considered by us to be,
hitherto, fully satisfactory. We are of opinion that
the statues of eighteen barons and prelates (with the
alteration of one name), as selected by a committee
and enumerated in the appendix to our fourth report,
for the niches in the House of Lords, should be cast
in metal ; meanwhile we propose that the models for
such statues should be forthwith prepared, at the cost
of two thousand seven hundred pounds, an expendi-
ture for which we request the sanction of your
Majesty.
We have further humbly to report to your Ma-
jesty, that having in our last report, dated the 14th of
August, 1846, expressed our opinion that it is the
duty of this Commission, for the better guidance of
present and future artists, and in order to maintain a
character of harmony and unity in the decorations of
the Palace at Westminster, to determine a complete
scheme for such decorations, we have accordingly re-
commended the consideration of this subject to a select
committee ; and having received and approved their
report, we beg leave to subjoin it to this our general
report, and to request the sanction of your Majesty
to the same.
Albert, Lansdowne, Lincoln, J. Russell, Pal-
merston, Melbourne, Morpeth, Canning,
Mahon, Willoughby D'Eresby, Lyndhurst,
Colborne, C. S. Lefevre, Robert Peel, J. R.
G. Graham, T. B. Macaulay, Robert Harry
Inglis, B. Hawes, Samuel Rogers, George
Vivian.
Westminster, July 13, 1847.