The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-17 00:00:00

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CARTOONS POR ?RR 14EW

1 HOUSES OF PA RIAA-NIEN: -1
The Commissioners of the Fine Arts appointed' to
take into consideration the most judicious mode for
the interior decorations of the New* Buildings at
Westminster, have just published their Report. It
contains a well drawn view of the-state and prospects
of the English School of Painting, bV the Secretary
of the Commi,:siot., Charles Lock Eastlake, 4q. ;
some very valarN ') and experienced opinions of Cor-
nelius the first hesco painter on the Continent, upon
the subject, as also a body of research on this peculiar
branch of art—its method of execution and preserva-
tion from deteriorative causes —along with historibal
notices of the fine4t specimens extant. -Within the
smallest possible space, we proceed tb embody the
substance of the Report : . . .
ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT UPON THE
PROPOSED FRESCO PAINTIN:GS FOR
WESTMINSTER. , r„
Tut: CAILTOONS AND THEIR SUBJECTEL-111e Corn-
mission, considering that Fresco paintlnglas inot beeu
sufficiently cultivated in this country, propose that
artists he invited to enter into a competition in car-
toon, and the notices given by them on fills score are :-
1, That three premiums of 300 k.: each, three
premiums of 2001. each, and five premiums of
1001. each, shall ho given to the artists who, furnish.
Cartoons that shall be deemed worthy of acceptance;
2. That the drawings be' uncoloured, and either in
chalk or charcoal; and, 3, That the size of the draw-
ings be not less than ten, nor more than fifteen feet in
their lon,,est dimension, with the figures not less thim
life ; 4. The subjects are to be from British History,
or from the works of Spenser, Shakspeare, or Milton.
The competition is to be confined to "British .Artist;''
(page 7), which is afterwards explained (page 48) as
comprehending foreigners, practising the arts, who
May have resided ten years or upwards in Great Bri-
tain. 'The time specified for sending in the finished
Cartoons is extended from the first week in.Mny to
the first week in June, 1843.

WHETHER HISTORICAL PAINTING IN FILROICCO
COULD III: CULTIVATED IN 'ENGLAND.-11fr- East-
lake" takes this subject into consideration' .-dgiirous of
diScovering reasons for shOwing that if duly. encou•
raged by the State, there exists grounds for hoping
that this branch of art would be cultivated and tiou-
.
rish. lie considers thatitaencouragetnent will chieitir'
tkrptftithipon the effortit-bl"Thi'artists
must make its way, not by virtue of a mere super- . 4
ticial taste, but by the presence of a vital impulse.
LARGE SPACES DEMANDED FOR THE EX EEC).*
TIIE ART.—Paifiting in England, Mr. Eastlake shows,
has not yet been admitted into churches or in puhlia
buildings which afford space. The Italian masters
always had this advantage. In the last century, all .
the principal English artists, notwithstanding Ho-
!_cartli s success in small pictures, painted the size of
life—Reynolds (considered as an historical painter),
West, Barry, Fuseli, Copley, Northcote, Opie, and
others.

WHY NOT CONTINUED.—REDUCEII HISTORICAL
PICTURES.—The experiment of painting the size of
life as regards private patronagg„ seems thus to have.
been fairly made. The gradtal change to reduced
dimensions, again appears to have been the conse-
quence of the insufficient demand for large works,.
arising in a great degree from the limited size of
English dwellings, and hence the execution of small
historical pictures. In comparing the treatment of
these cabinet pictures with those other works of the
largest size, and in which the figures are. colossal, the
small picture besides being executed with delicacy, .
generally exhibits a certain fullness of detail, while
the large work is not only less elaborate, but is ccan
posed o fewer parts. From this it appears .that the
greater space never allows the introduction of nwre
detail than the smaller, but generally, if not alway 4,
requires less.
PLACES SUITABLE FOR FRESCOES.--It is evident'
that works of the magnitude of historical frescoes,
cannot be often in demand for ordinary, dwelling-,
houses. Those places which alone will allow its ex-
ercise and appearance will be 'churches, national and
municipal buildings, the mansions and villas of.
affluent individuals ; all localities, in a word, where
painting can be displayed to the public in its highest
and most didactic form. Such was the enthusiasm
on. this score in the last century, that the English
artists. of the time offered to decorate St. Paul's. Ca-.
thedrali•and other buildings. at their own expense.
FOREIGN SrECLMENS OF FRESCO.—TheSe, of course,
abound in the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and other
places in Borne. At Padua are the works of
AVanzo ; in Florence those of Benozzo Gozzoli in the
Palace Iticardi, of Angelico da Fiesole, Masacelo, and
others; in Peru,2io those of Perugino ; in Assissi
those of Giotto, all which belong to the 14th and 15th
centuries. ' Venice, Genoa, the works of Luini at.
Saronno and Lugano; in S. Giacomo, Spell°'. Orvieto,
Pisa, and Siena an immense number of master-
pieces are to be seen. In EnglaHd, about the michile
of the last century some frescoes were. execniesl' at
Wycombe Park by Guiseppo Borgnis, a Milanese,
`under the auspices of Francis Lord Le'bespenser.
.IFrancia amlltal.hael, Andre del Sarto 'and 'Guido,
t). uercwo, POrdenone, the Carucci and Cosesv;o, ere a
host of Hirst-rate names i....,,u_..,„5„e5.
OPINIONS OF DIRECTOR PETER* VOLT COR•
NELIUS.—This distinguished artist, who has'executed
so many works in fresco at Munich, as the " Glypto-
theke," the " Pinathek„' and the " Ludwig-Kirche,"
has given his statements on the proposed frescoes for
the Houses of Parliament. He considers that the
damp of the river will have no effect on frescoes ele-
vated in rooms as those in question, above the level of-
the water. lie lays great stress upon the partieular
lime and colours, to be employed, and on .no point is
snore decided than on the necessity of placing a given
series of frescoes under the, control of One directing
artist. lie supposes that London smoke may un- .
doubtedly have a disadvantageous effect on' frescoes, .
but if after 50 or 100 years, dirt has accumulatecl,
much, they, may be cleaned with bread or a wet
sponge. Cornelius considers it time to begin the de-
signs, supposing the present building to be ready in
seven years from this time. The German artists, ex- -
pert as they are at drawing, always take some years'.
to prepare their Cartoons. The first rough coat 'of
mortar alone, after being laid, should allow six or
twelve months to elapse, so that it be properly hard-
ened
before it be painted on. The German painters'
suffer the lime to remain for at least years in a state.
of preparation before used for painting or coating the
walls. Cornelius prepared the lime for the Ludwig,.
Kirche eight years before he painted there. .A great
quantity is generally kept in Munich, and might be
had, perhaps, tbr works in this country. The late
Loxd Munson intended to have had lime from Mu-
nich for the works which Cornelius was to have done-
for him at Gatos'.

LIME-COLOURS AM) IMPLEMENTS FOR FRESCO "
PAINTING.-4 brick ground, covered with the lime;.
plaster, is always to be preferred where practicable
lath walls are liable to bulge, thereby destroying the
painting, and are perishable ; the lime, having under-
gone a certain preparation of mixing with water,
and two or three filtrations to free it from impuri!-;
ties, is left in a pit from eight to twelve months;
the lime, however, for the first coat, need not be
kept more than two months. This is allowed to dry
perfectly befbre the next coats are put* on ; and
lastly, having beensmst carefully prepared, the lime
of which the intonaco, or coat ot` fine plaster, is laid
on. This intonaco, on which great pains are be-
stowed, is composed of two parts of fine sand and
one of lime; it must be perfectly clean, sharp saud,
as the presence of any earthy particles would in-
evitably ruin the fresco. Some of the old masters
used pounded white marble instead ; the surface of
this last coat is then slightly roughened, to render it
fitter for painting on. A quarter of an hour after,
painting may be begun upon it.
As no other hair resists the lime, but becomes ..
either burnt or curled, small pencils of otter hair in
quills are used. The colours used are chiefly white,
yellow, brilliant reds, brown, black, purple,.green, and
blue, according to certain admixtures mentioned.
Others, such as vermillion and chrome yellow, have
been tried, but not found to stand. Coloura prepared
from animal and vegetable substances Canna be used
at all, as the lime destroys them. It is' the opinion of
some of the Munich professors that frescoes thinly
painted are least liable to change. The. frescoes by
Paul Veronese, in the Morosini Villa, near Castel
Franco,- were removed by Count Balbi a few years
since, and several of these works when .re-transferred
to canvass were sold in England in 1838.
BRISTOL LIME RECOMMENDED FOR FRESCOES.--.
The finest limestone used at Rome has always been
the Travertine ; the ancients and all the great artists
of the 16th century painted on it : the. lime it fur-
nishes is of the purest whiteness. From, analysis, it
lime
so
tthoeconruitmanibnerinofev,e974.degrl:hee of t e
rioncare;bloionwaeteVeorf,
of Bristol,. Durdham-down, appears to,-he finer still,.
and is equal, or even superior to it, since it contains in
every 100, 99.7 of carbonate of lime.
Du. lixio's OPINION OF THE PROBAIILE EFFECTS
OF GAS ON FRESCOES.—Dr. Reid considers that gas
will not be at all injurious to frescoes in apartments
ventilated as the present Houses of Parliament are :
the noxious sulphur and ammonia contained by it
being carried off by the air-drains. made" for ven-
tilation. With regard to cleansing frescoes; Professor
Hiss, on being consulted on this point;rentarked that
if frescoes were painted in the open air in London, the
rain would be the best picture-cleaner. the' obser •
vation is important as it assumes the :possibility of
washing frescoes freely without injury to the colours.
A sponge and soft water only has been-used to clean
the frescoes at Bath ; at Genoa they are cleaned with
vinegar, and Carlo Maratti used wine to wash those of
the Vatican.

- -- --
We notice amongst the arrivals by the Acadia,
from. Boston, Prince Murat.,
Naples, and nephew of the Emperor Napoleon. The
officers of - the vessel and the passengers speak of Min
son of the forawr King of
with great respect. We understand that he proceeded
to London ou Saturday evening.—Liverpool Times.
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