New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-04-24

again, like a strain Of winning music. In No. 20,
what on aggregation Of beautiful and poetic OBJ
jecis: palms, the most poetic of trces-graccfal
temples with delicate tracery-a summer sca--ths
snow needles Of an Alpine distance piercing the
tranquil day-the leading Of hocks by still
ters-e the imagery Of pastoral poetry and OF
midsummer dreams and idyls, and yet the spcc,a-
Tor wonders why the picture fails to sOo,hc him
INTO tropical revere. But the old artist who from
the soft eyes of one woman, and the flowing luster
OF another's hair, and the curved lips, rounding
form, and differing projections of many Others,
sought to model single overpowerins beauty.
has solved the wonder.
Fine words do not make poem. PICTURESQUE
forms, brilliantly painted, do not make good PIC
turc. They must be harmonzed into single
impression, and that impression must be neither
partial, nor commonplace, nor obvious, but d.
rect and beautiful. Thus, let us cite for Illus
traton CAPEILks's Norwegian Forests tiI0l
and DiAzs Cors in a Wood (75,) pictures
of very differing styles of feeling and treat
ment. Neither of these works have any pres-
tige of poetic association to propitiate the eye.
MOI an ordinary, homely cattle piece, and No.
40 is passage of not unfequent forest scenery,
damp pool in the darkness of heavy woods, with
old, rotting messy trunks lying in the water set in
shiny, slippery rocks and rank growths. The first
Of these pictures is very small, and consists Of
mass of foliage, upon which is relieved a group OF
cows. From too much vanishing, probably, il has
unnaturally FURNISHED look but it is a charac-
teristic piece of the master. What is the secret
of the pleasure it imparts Ii snot only the easy
mastery of brilliant color, it is exquisite witch
cry of iorm it is no collateral suggestion like that
derived from objects Of certain association, but
it is tic reproduction of that passage in nature 50
simply done, and so skillfully, as well in what is
omitted as in what appears, that glance ut il.
even in dreary weather, is strain of summer, and
begets the mood which the scene itself Inspires.
This simple Renaissance is certainly not the highest
triumph Of ant but it is great success. aud its
secret is in the subjugation of the material to tho
single impression sought. CRorsRY strikes
higher. The aim of his picture is to repre-
sent the Spirit of Peace, and Of course the
point of the picture is to show that the tranquil life
of the landscape is the result of Peace. Todo this,
evidently, something more il necessary than to
paint scene without an army. The artist
has composed for that purpose, an unreal land
scape-a scene, that is, of which the features are
drawn from Nature, but which have an artificial
and conventional grouping in the picture and
which, therefore, as an illustration of the reign Of
Peace upon earth and among men, remove it from
sympathy. 1t is rather a passage Of Arcadia. 1t
is no more the Spirit Of Peace in the in
tended, than the Southern Italy was, or than any
quiet landscape is 1t is, indeed, a peaceful
scene, but that is not the intention.
The truth is that the subject demands kind Of
allegorcal treatment. The aim is not only to repre-
sent the effects Of Peace, which any picture Of .
scene betrayng no devastation of War does, but 70
force the contrasts of Peace and War upon the OBJ
servers mind by something which shall emphasize
the fact that this state of things proceeds from
Peace. 1t aims that is to say, to exercise certain
direct moral influence. In this it fails. spectator
would feel upon regarding the picture that it was
intended to charm him with Peace as the cause Of
the tranquility represented. That has beon done,
however, by Iandseer, and his picture Of Peace 10
an adequate illustration of our position The sheep
cropping the flowers that grow in the rusty can
mons mouth and the busy aspect of the distant
seaport tell the story without any lettering.
When sheep feed in the lannon's mouth, then fac
tories smoke and craft of all kind sail. Had tho
cannon been omitted, the picture would have
been no more distinctively Peace than the cattle
bit of Disz. 1t is just this stroke which makes il
a work of art, and not merely pleasing picture.
We have indicated sufficiently our feeling in re-
spect of the treatment and conception of this
landscape. Ii is true of the companion piece, and
it is in general true of the works of Mr.. Chop
sEY. He yields to no man in his love Of ma
ture. in the patient fidelity with which he studies
and elaborates hor forms, and his glowing and
teemng Imagination speaks in his brilliant color.
There is always great pleasure in tho study
of his pictures, in the pursuit Of the wel-wrought
detail, which is, on the whole, their cardinal
defect because it only detail. The glaciered
precipices in the left Of No. 49, and the angry
nassing Of clouds in the right of the same picture.
have reality and depth of feeling, and skill Of
treatment to which we are the last to be insensi-
ble In his Italy, a Study, t279,) there is pathst-
ic sentiment, so just and poetic,--a comparative
simplicity and subjugation Of material, and .
sweeping grace of handling, which makes it, to our
fancy, the pleasantest Of his pictures. Its value
is kindred to that of No. rs, by Diaz, and to the
quoted picture of Landseer. The story is told.
That nameless grace, that poetic elegance, that
air of romantic decay,-are Italy. 1t Is no real
landscape, indeed, nor was it meant to be. 1t Isl
pensive thought. 1t is picture, which, like Land
seers, requires no lettering, but which every man
who has truly seen Italy, directly recognizes.