New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-17

Germany in respect Of ideal historic art And as
Kaulbach is prominently its chief, so Leasing .
stands at the head of the genre school, at Dus'
seldorf And now we are ready to examine the
large work of the latter artist, whose title we
have placed at the head Of our observation let |
us see what is the value Of Lessings Hgrtyr' /
dom Of Huss
While from instructive judgment and common
consent it seems to be well determined that GER
tain subjects shall be treated cassically and
ideally the line of demarcation is not so nicely
drawn as TO designate clearly those which are
capable of genre treatment only. Without pre-
Stunning, then, 10 decide whether Leasing IS here
felicitous in the choice Of his subject or whether
having chosen it, he can be justified for treating
il in tame and common place manner we may
state that it has been received with some disaP-
pointment by many persons, artists and connol-
seurs. whose Judgment has been formed by long
familiarity with Art, and sincere enthusiasm tor
Nature. But in the throng who visit the Dus
seldorf Gallery" such critics are comparatively
few, and there are many who regard tins as the
greatest picture they ever saw, Notwithstanding
thew have seen the works of Signorelli, Raphael
and Michael Angelo. Others even believe II 70
be not only the largest picture, but the only large
picture ever painted and we were not altogether
surprised at overhearing, as we did some time
since, a young lady Of high fashion and dlstln-
guished name reply to the question whether she
visited the Dusseldorf collection of pictures, and
how she liked them o yes 60 always twice
week, and often four times. They are the most
beautiful paintings | ever saw; they are so elao-
crate and done so carefully. And then brother
who has been in Europe, says they would be very
good even there. They exceedingly well
drawn and colored particularly fruit piece and
the leaves of some plants are very tine and also
Holy Family and then it's an excellent idea TO
have glass over them, it gives them the appear
ance of being so highly finished. l really lind
them exquisite and the more think OF them the
more am puzzled to understand how Mr.. Dus
seldorf ever found the time and patience to do
them all so well.
Praise or blame on this polished model is alike
easy nor, were we disposed to find fault, should
we err in saying: The left arm of the young no
bleman who leans with clasped hands upon the
bank in the foreground, looks to be some SIX
inches longer than the right one the attitude OF
the duke is unmeaning; the horse is mean in char
acter, stiff in position and appears incapable OF
moving or breathing the right hand OF the ca
puchin monk is ugly in form and badly expressed
his feet also are not well executed the execu
TONERS about the stake are not upon the proper
plane to make them relatively so small as repre-
sented there must have been great number
of small fires or one very large one to fill the
whole picture so with smoke, and so on. But we
leave this class of errors to those who have pen
chant for exposing them. There are more than
enough small good things in the picture to over
| balance a thousand bad ones. For instance In
the group of Bohemian Hussites the head and
person of the Burgomaster and two or three other
heads, are splendid studies from nature the head
and garb of the capuchn monk are finely render
ed, while the man about to place the cap upon
the martyrs head is cruel and almost grand And
so throughout the work there are portions that
none but finely organized initiative faculty could
have produced But these things are not now to
our purpose. What we wish to inquire into is:
Whether the artist has treated his subject from
the highest point of intellectual conception com
patible with the historic interest of the event
Recurring to the life of this martyr and particu
larly to the last stern scene of his heroic career,
conception of its various features naturally rises
| of Huss himself We behold him approaching the
dreadful end of his life and labors, nerved and sus
! tanned bv faith which deprives death of every
terror-so inspired by what he believes to be the
divinest truth that the features OF his manly face
are radiant with godlike courage and the hbers Of
his perishable form defy all tortures that physical
agents can infict. He dies, too, not merely for
truth, but for mankind; and in that hour he feels
that his is the sympathy of the future and the
grateful recognition OF coming generations for
whose liberties he is now about to make last
sacrifice. And thus he stands the type OF all that
is noble and vigorous in manhood exalted by re-
ligious enthusiasm into divine rather than human
PROPORTIONS Around him throng forms Of hatred
and affection, deyilish esgerness and patient re-
sgnatiOn, cruel delight and despairing sorrow,
enemies guarding their enemy and friends attend
ing their friend aud teacher to the stake As the
scene depicts itself in the mind, think little Of
mere external things What affects US is human
passion, human fate, human triumph. Beholding
the peasants who have loved and believed and
followed Huss, we do not curiously mark the rude
quantness of their costume; we see eyes red with
tears of snguish-fps pale with pity-hRnds clasp
ed in the agony ofdespsir, whose pangs are keen
er than death. The executioner and officials OF
Church and State are there but their velvets, and
ermines, and plumes, and horses and trappings are
not observed, so absorbediy does the mind gaze at
the hateful exultstion that gowers in the faces Of
some, and the thoughtful, hardened fanaticism
that pe.ri6es the hearts of others. But mainly
We behold the martyr--his eye glowing, and his d,
step firm and noble. And over all is cast the
hushed dread of almost bresthless despair and ex
pectation.
Such we think, ought to be the scope and spirit
of picture representing the msrtyrdOm of Huss