The New York herald., 1867-02-10

FINE ARTS.
81 --~~~-~->~~~~-~~~~~~
Every rssh exhibition Of pictures tends 70 promote
the growing interest in among people We have.
therefore, called attention than once TO the cosc
ton lately belonging 70 Mr. Wright which is on exhoi-
tion At Mr. Derby's New Art Rooms on Broadway. Al
though rather miscellaneous In its character and nclud
ing some inferior works which 10 somewhat surprising
70 md in such goodly company this collection 70
markable for other works Of extraordinary merit We
have already specified most Of the latter The public
has bean delighted ct the opportunity Of admrng again
the original Of Rosa Bonheur's famous "Horse Fair"
unqusstionaby the best picture Of It's kind and the og
nal Of Eastman Johnsons 'Old Kentucky Home, which
Ar Derby in his catalogue has rechrisencd as the od
Virginia Home" This name is less appropriate.
and the work itself-a poem well as pcture-will
have permanent value illustration Of phase OF
social life nov rapidly disappearing Wholly free from
the poemc bitterness Of Mrs Beecher Stowes "Uncle
Toms Cabin, 10 in its way, equally powerful IS one
OF The earliest revelations Of the undeveloped wealth
OF indigenous art copy by Gallait himself
OF his impressive bat melancholy painting The Last
Honors Paid 10 Counts Egmont and Horn;' Rousseaus
Landes" perhaps the finest Of his productions
brought 70 America Breton's Village Perambulatorn
Troyons Landscape with Cattls;n Achenbach's "Rett
berg on the Rhine;" and vsrboechoven's "Loch Lo-
mond" are conspicuous among the better foreign pic
lures in the New Art Rooms The catalogue contains
m unusual number OF tho most familiar names or IA
vote European artists. and tho works signed by them
unlike many pictures palmed or upon our creduous
public by unscrupuous deaers arc nearly all worthy Of
the reputation Of those artists The catalogue also con.
tans almost full list Of the most eminent Of our own
artists We enumerated them in . previous notice.
Eastman johnson, Durand and Cropsey lead on the
list and the OF Lentze be honorably added
70 IT, only by way Of protest against the outrageous
personal attacks upon the well the artist for
which the nudity Of Lady Godiva has been made the
pretoxt
The barking cur
Made her cheek flame;
but Peepng Tom OF Coventry would have deserved
TO escape his stroke Of blindness If he had kicked the
and set il ON 70 bite the brutal Theodc instead Of
barking the white wonder OF Lady Godivas beauty
Theodc and not Leutze is 70 blame for exposing the
fair and compassionate lady 70 such trial she had to
undergo In order 70 relieve her people from their heavy
burden Of taxation the architecture represented in
the painting belongs partly 70 period and partly 10
another may It not be presumed that this is because
corresponds TO the facts in the in every old
European townf II the artist portrays Lady Godiva
cordng to his idea Of ripe, healthy, portly English
dame, "al Of the olden tme," rather than pretty
but slim and delicate American school girl why should
ho be tomahawked for it9 To be the artist may
be suspected OF having unconsciously Germanized
bis subject; but he might urge that he has only
saxonized her, and that to this day the Ger
man type 10 mot seldom manifest in English
bsauty from royal rank 70 the humbsst peasantry.
still more legitimate ground for criticism on the part Of
sticklers for literal historical exactituds offered by the
way in which Lady Godiva sits her horse In her time
ladies rode astride But how much shocked the hyper.
critical would have been had The artist chosen
deviate slightly from ancient practice in compliance
with modern custon We cannot say that color 10 what
plsases most in this picture osher works Of Mr.
Leutse and some Of his most popuas productions strike
moro Or less melodramatic m sye de etibss non
dsWstandsm-there's NO dispusing about nstee But
none can deny thai he has proved himself TO be Won
instructed, conscientious artist whose name and whose
pictures have done much 10 awaken interest abroad and
at homo In American art We ars glad to learn BY the
BY that Mr. Lsutzs 10 recovering from his tedious
ilness
the present dsmns the other works Of American artists
In this exhibition, with the remark that while few Of
them a admirabls TOO many Of the chiefly In
terssng because they enable rs 70 appreciate the credit
able progress which The artists who painted them many
years ago have since made This ID q least more graft
flying than II were constrained TO admit that any or
the pictures betrayed sad falling OF from the former
degree OF excellence None Of our artistssven the
bsst-can afford TO rest their early laurela II Mr.
wrghps collection has been surpassed In special
departments and In general value by few other private
collections In this country, yet other American COL
ector has been more fortunate than Mr. Wright in &C.
curing such masterpieces the Horse Fair and the
'sOd Virginia Home" These alone would distinguish
any gallery. For the sake Of securing only those and
half dozen other excellent paintings in the collection
1t was well worth while 70 purchase il entire.