The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-30 00:00:00

~'~~

ON Otri

IN WESTMINSTER HALL.

T;ie exhibition of wo:k of art in Westminster•hall
was opened on Saturday for a private view. Our readers
are aware that the Royal Commission of the Fine Arts
have resolved, avith the sanction of the Lords Commis-
sioners of her ilalesty's Treasury, that six arched c.:rn-
partments in the House of Lords shall be decorated with
fresco-paintiii,T,s : vett the subjects of such fresco-paint-
ings shall be idastrative of the functions of the House of
Lords and of the :"elation in which it stands to the Sove-
reign; that th- subjects of three of the said fresco-paint-
ings shall be person.kfications or abstract representations of
religion, justice, and the spirit of chivalry ; and that
the three remaining subjects corresponding with such
representations, and expressing the relation of the Sove-
reign to the Church, • to the law, and, as the fountain of
honour, to the Sate„ shall be, the Baptism of Ethelbert;
Prince Henry, afterwarrls Henry V., acknowledging the
authority of Chief Justice Gascoigne ; aid Edward the
Black Prince receiving the Order of the Garter from
Edward 111.
They have commissioned six artists, viz., Richard
Redgrave, A.R.A , William Cave Thomas, Charles West
Cope, A.R.A., John Callcott Horsley, William D) ce,
and Daniel Nlaclise, R.A., selected by the Commissioners
from among' tte. present exhibitors in Westminster-
to prepare cartoon', coloured sketches, and speeimens of
freico.pair ting for the subject. above mentioned. But
the Comniissionera, not binding themselves to employ
such artists on the fresco-paintiegs in the H .use of
Lords, and being- desirous of giving a further opportunity
to artiste, oth'r than the above artists, to exhibit speci •
nicni of their ability in cartoon drawing and fresco.
painting,. have opened the subjects to gen ral competition,
offering three premiums of 2001. each f.,r the three best
designs.

Each artist was required to send in a e;,:o._n, 9 feet
3 in:thes wide, by 16 feet high to the poitv of the
arch ; also, a coloured sketch, not less than 18
is its shortest 'dimensions, of the entire design repre-
sented. The cartoon and a fresco paiut4ig, not less
than three feet—its shortest dimensions, representing a
part of the design in full proportion. These. works, 116
in number, were opened for private. view on Saturday,
and ere opened this morning fir public exhibition. -The
three prizes have been awarded to J. Noel Paton, jun.,
Dunfermline, North Britain, for " The Siirit of Reli-
gion ;" to Edward Armitage, 13, George-street, Adel-
phi, who carried' off one of the prizes at first exhi-
bition of cartoons two years since, for the same subject ;
aid to John Tenniel, jun:, 22, Glouce,ter-place, New-
road, for an allegory of Justice. The aWa• dis signed
Lansdowne, Robert Peel, Samuel Roge: s, R chard West-
mama, Richard Cook, SVitli iw Etty. •
The tollowirg is the-descrietiongiven.iii the catalogue
of Mr. Paten's rise cartoon :
" The human soul is typified, under the influence of
the Spirit of Relieion. fightiee the good tight of Faith,'
and pressing towards the made fir the rrize of the
high calling of God iu Christ Jesus.' The Christian
-.oul is assailed by the three great principles that en-
danger spiritual life—the pride of unhallowed and law-
less domtnatien, the lust of pleasure, and the mysterious
tendency towards ill ' • (scripturally) the world,
the flesh, and the devil. Fame, on his right, strives to
allure him from his enterprise, by the phantasmal pe-
gean try of earthly glory—the victory in the battle field
—th triumph in the city —and the apotheosis in the
sacred place ; but he has overcome the spirit of the
world, and tramples him under foot. Pleasure, the in-
sidious parasite, still clings to him, but he spurns her
from his side. The fetters of sensuality aril broken ;
his aim is a higher destiny ; his course is upward and
onward, and he is alike regardless of her lures and of the
scenes of revelry and voluptuousness which her at-
tendant Bacchanal presents to him ; his utmost
energies are concentrated to repel the assault of th
Evil One, who interposes between him and the re-
alization of his hope, a hile The Lamb, slain from the
beginning, the Alpha and Omega,' extends his helpine.
hands ; the angelic swords are bared—the fiend is
baffled—and the soul is rescued."

There is some very beautiful drawing in this carteon, lent
we do not like the manner in which Mr. Paton treats his
subject. It would b' impossible to understand the wean-
ing of the picture without the explanation which accom-
panies it. It does not explain itself, and might, but for
the explanation, be t ken for tt picture of the Ascensi it.
Mr. Armitage has, to our taste, treated the subject in
a much more artist-like manner. The followieg is the
description, in the catalogue, of his cartoon No. 46 :
Religion, unfolding her mantle, reveals herself to man-
kind. The clouds of error recede before the star of truth.
Faith kneels in humble wietratioe holding the palm
branch, the emblem of martyrdem. hope, with one
band on the Gosptl, and the ether pointing to the Crese,
bids the captive, the dying, and the broken-hearted look
up to religion. end Charity, uninfluenced by human pre-
judices, extends her proe.etion to the helpless and out-
cast." This is really a very fine design, and is executed
in a most mesterly manner. Callcott Horsley's cartoon,
No. 35 (Reliejen exemplified im the faith and hope of the
Crocsot Chriet, in the subjection of all earthly power and
human distinctions to His will, and in the common depen-
dance of all estates and conditions of men on His word)
which was executed by cenunission. is also exceedingly
the, and we scarcely know to which of these two we
onght to award the preference. The other prize cartoon,
No. 85, " An Allegory of Justice," by John Teuniel,
jun., is a production of .the highest order of art, and
which is the perfection of allegorical painting—it com-
pletely tells its story. The figure of Justice occupies
the centre of the upper part of the picture ; with her
arms extended, she protects a girl and a bey, who have:
clung to her robe, one on civil .=ide. The . boy has just
escaped from his pursuers, whose countenances bear the
expression of baffled malignity, as they shrink
back to avoid her uplifted arm. The group-
ing of the figures below, personifying the diffe-
rent attributes of Justice, is also very fine, and the
public voce well we doubt not confirm the award of the
flemmissioners. The cartoon on the same subject,
No. 38, executed by commission by W. Cane Thomas, is
also a work of a high order of art, but we certainly pre-
fer Mr. Tenniel's treatment of the subject. No. 41,
" The Spirit of Chivalry," executed by commission by
Maclise, is by far the best picture on the subject in the
exhibition. The number of figures in the composition
is very great as may be gathered from the following de-
scription given in the catalogue :—" The Spirit, or per-
sonification' of Chivalry, is surrounded by men of va-
rious pursuits—religious, military, and civil, who repre-
sent, as by an upper court or house, the final acquisition
of her, honours and rewards. Beneath, as not having
obtained, though within reach of, the crown, a young
Keight vows himself to chivalric services, attended by
hish m
Page,
i an,
din variousinvi glrale.
invited
tyhisslady's favour. Beside, or
around
other figures are intro-
duced ; to connect the a abstract representation' of Chi-
valry with its general recognition intellectual in-
fluences. Among them the Painter, Sculptor, awl Man
of Science ; the Bard, inspiring youth by his recitals ;
the Troubadour and his Mistress ; the Palmer from
the Hol=y Land ; and the Poet-historian, from
whom future ages must derive their know-
ledge of the spirit and the deeds of Chivalry."
But the most artist-like management is shown in the
grouping. The expression of the features of each figure
is very fine, and pere.etly appropriate. It is a design
to study, aed it requires to be studied long to tho-
reughly appreciate Its beauties. Of the various pictures
of the Belt ism of Et helbert, the best is certainly the one
executed by commission by Mr. Dyck', No. 63. lle has
avoi'led the fault into which almost all the other exhi-
bitors have fallen, of waking Ethelbert at the time of
his baptism !a -young man. Frank Howard's design for
the same subject, No. 72, is also a fine work of art.
The only
cenr3e,ldicsiinggn on the subject of Edward the Black
Prince
coinmiistihoenh3C. W. Cope, who has handled
Order, of the Garter is No. 57, exe-
cuted by
the subject in a very artist-like manner. On the
subject of Prince Henry, afterwards Henry V., acknow-
ledging the authority of the Chief Justice Gascoigne,
there are numerous designs of very various degrees of
merit. The best, however, is certainly No. 60, executed
by commission by Recherd liedgraae. The expression.
of of dignity which he has infused into the bearing and ex-
pression
tt
hh
ei s
onee st l
Ifiltai
last ear,
ll anh
tx
ti,bt eicqmiusaolvfe fr;roye stfieh7;.'e iasrAtstu)sopiaia,
pression
.of the chief justice
exhi-
bition of two years since. This, however, may be ac-
,rv''.ll%‘,eeilirrieeenrh,e):ootntaihlar.eened.u,lNititly•yilslbpoehminyg,
counted for from the narrow limits in which the artists
mtr,evosdtreiiincsstetedonftcoestas(otumifisrei, subjects.
many John
of
h,d),tecle,
);,..I;h,g)g l
t,y possibility, Ire owet I'arliamc:tt. the s:btt:yha:ti
c:theall3isoe9),same P.
arewa l
hnhoahttifil,edhnosipmeta(
ai
theint.e.
decorations
Archbishop
f
inee (119), by Henry Sheldon, is a work which way legi-
timately find a place in the i'ul ice of Westminster, as
Alfr.el the Gnat (126) by John Henning, jun., and the
Fair Maid of Kent, and Richard the Second at the
shrine of the Virgin (142), by the same artist. There is
also an excellent portrait statue of Shakespeare (127) by
John Bell, and a beautiful design of a monument to Camp-
bell (141) by Patrick Park. The exhibition was visited
during the afternoon by a great number of Peers and
Members of Parliament, and by a crowd of fashionable
dilettanti.

R
iutotr i:t
ii,im
lorry • - ---
OY AL AUELAIDE GALLERY.
A daily increasing; attendance of visitors at this fa-
vont ite and valuable institution hears testimony to the
excellence of cho nose management. On Saturday the
pripcipal objects of att-ntion wore the lectures upon
l'lnliip'• Fire Annihilator and Kolitnan's Railway Im-
provements ; both inventions of which the importance
to society far exceeds the great interest which they
excite as matters of curious and attractive exhibition.
The nature and the powers of the " Fire Annihilator"
have already been adequately explained in the columns
or The Sun, and it is painful, in the midst of constantly
returrirg i oofl-gratioes a,sl miserable loss of life, to
witness the upatfiy with which this powerful means of
preventing b- 4h appears to be disregarded. There is no
presutnption in asserting that the scientific principles of
Mr. Phillip's Fire Annihilator are irrefragable in theory,
arid that their practical application is easy and incxpen-
sive, and their success. as demonstrated in the expuri-
merit, c -replete and indubitable. If the benevolent per-
sons alio exert themselves to discover and encourage
eimtrivances for saving life from fire would turn their
attontiin to the Annihilator, there would 'soon be
air aleetlute end to metropolitan " fires," 'and the
burning
•=t sea. It is not so easy to
1,i.0,v
of shiers
e anticertain opinion as to' the
i 1 Mr. Koliman's RailwAy Locomotive
n
?rl'i,i;ze Improvements," for daily experience in
the it
p a
Committees makes it but too evident
that the high, at. theoretical koowlege may be mistaken,
and the most e.,i visite working models may deceive in
rsa:.a. lorry
engirrering:. of which nothing can be certainly
relied
not be.-n imply proved upon a large
do3C'll t- at:r 4
titat has
l practice. Ia making this cautionary ob-
si-rvaiion, there is no intenii,al to cast an ungenerous
doubt up ni a series of inventions which u• questionably
display' great mechanical ingenuity, originality, and
scientific attainments. It is certainly most_ interesting,