The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-28 00:00:00

EXHIBITION OF THE SOCIETY

OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS.
(SATURDAY.)

This is the forty-first annual exhibition of this the parent
of the Society of Painters in Water Colours, and we are
glad to say that the Society still keeps up its pristine
reputation. We consider that this Society has done
for art—for British art—(for water-colour painting
is a branch of art which may be called exclusively British)
—more than almost any other society in existence. Fifty
years ago water-colour drawing was merely a pretty ac•
complishment—to talk of water-colour paintings would have
been considered absurd—sneered at by the Royal Academy—
looked upon with contempt by the dauber in oils: the
artist in water colours was denied the privilege of even ex-
hibiting his productions, so as to show the public of what
water-colour drawing was capable. This Society was then
founded to give him that opportunity, and from
that moment we had water-colour paintings,—the
artists in water colours forced the public to
acknowledge them as artists, and water-colour painting now
takes its rank among the arts as in all respects equal to
painting in oils—in some respects even superior to it. For
the creation of this branch of art we are indebted to this So.
ciety ; and, therefore, it is with a feeling of gratitude that
we enter the portals of the gallery in Pall-mall East.
The exhibition of the present year is in every respect excel-
lent. Copley Fielding contributes no lets than forty-two
pictures of various sizes, and, although all are good, of vari-
ous degrees of merit, the pictures which struck us
as most worthy of admiration from the pencil
of this artist, are-92, Scene on the South Downs,
near Brighton ; 121, View of the Summit of Snowdon ; and
143, View of Lancaster from the coast. This last is an ex-
ceedingly beautiful picture, perhaps the best that Copley
Fielding has in the exhibition. Samuel Prout gives us
several most elaborately finished pictures of mediaeval ar-
chitecture ; they are all fine, and we only wish he
had given us more of them. J. D. Harding gives us but
few pictures this year, not exceeding half a dozen in all ;
but every one is a gem. No. 26, " Berne, Switzerland—
Morning as it sometimes wakes among the Alps," is a miracle
of painting. The following description from the catalogue
will give some idea of the scene. After describing a terrific
thunder-storm, the writer proceeds
" This lasted till I left Berne at five o'clock, and when
distant from the city about three quarters of an hour, the sun
broke through the clouds, and presented a sight the most
gorgeous. Every hue of scarlet and gold mixed with the
spectral grey clouds, which here and there dis-
charged their yet unspent stores of water. Day
had, as yet, only reached the Alpine heights ;
the grey and reeking landscape was lighted, but not
warmed by reflection from the struggling sky, aad altogether
formed one of the richest sights nature could have presented."
We are in doubt whether this picture of Harding's, or
No. 57, " Coast of Antrim," by H. Gastineau, is the gem
of the exhibition. The following lines are given in the
catalogue as descriptive of the scene :
" Where darkness hears the booming echoes roar
And caverned surges rock the pillared shore;
Or where, extended o'er yon dreadful deep,
Hangs Reda's aerial bridge from steep to steep."

The boldness of the rocks—the sweep of the bridge—the
boiling of the surge beneath, all are represented with a bold-
ness and vigour which bespeaks genius of the highest
order. The drawing is perfect and the colouring
very fine. Mr. Gastineau contributes several other pictures,
all of which are good. W. Hunt gives some most remark-
able candle-light effects. His" Romish Devotion" (No. 9), is
a work of a much higher order of art—it is really a
fine picture. Richter's " Parting of Romeo and Juliet "
(No. 203), is a beautiful picture, and displays a
fine Shaksperian feeling. The Juliet is the most beautiful—
the most truly Shaksperian—we have ever seen. The
late hour of the day at which we write com-
pels us to close this hasty sketch without even allud-
ing to the many other exquisite works of art in this ex-
hibition. We hope, however, to be enabled to return to the
subject.