Fine Arts.
The Times, 1824-11-16T00:00:00

A tle rollowing tribute to the protessional and personal eharacter of the late Presideut of the Royal Academy was paid bv Sir Tho- mas Lawrence, in his address to the Students on the last distribu- tion of the Annual Prizes:- " The elevated p hilnsophy of Sir Joshua Reynolds,in those golden precepts which are now acknowledged as canons of universal taste. and that illustrious societv of which he was the centre, combined with his genins to Rive a (iazzling splendour to his name, which seemed to leave himn without compnetitor; yet ilte powers and knowledge of Illr. WVest deserved not the contrast in ttieir present rortuncrs. At an era when historical painting wats at the loweat ebb- (with the few exceptions which the clainms *f the beautiful and the eminent permitted to the pencil of Sir Joshua)-Mr. WVest, sustain. ed by the benecgent patronage of his late Majesty, produced a series of compositions from sacred and profane historv, profoundly studied, and executed with the most facile power, which not ornly were su- perior to any forxter productions of }nglish art, but far surpassing contemporary merit on the continent, vere unequalled at any period below the schools of the Carracci. The picture of the Return ef Re gat,s to (o r]tiwgc preserved vwith gracOauR attelltion in the palace of Buclkingham-huuse, artd of the Sh,ipn't c*cof St. Paul, in the chapel of the Royal Hospital of 6freenwichl, are examples titat may secure- ly be addluied in testimony of the fact. " Towar.ls the close of an honoure d andl laborious life, and when his advanced age migiht reasonably have dleterred him fromii exer. tion, he produced a large an d interesting work (ltrfist healibng tihe Sick, purchiased by the British Institution), which mneting with liberal reward, so forcibly excited the admt iration of tihe public, as even by its attraction to adld new meanes of patronae tO the prompt benevolence that secured it. This was srtcceed by others of still mire arrltuous subjects, of greater inagnitude, and if possible, more powerfully impressive. The display of such astonishing abilities in age-(forhe was cnployeeien them in hiseightieth year)-combined witlh tile s.cred imuor.ance of his subjects, gave him celebrity at the close of his life far greater than any lhe had ever before enjioved, and he became (alniost to forgetfulness of deceased greatness) the one popular painter of his cocu ttv. Yet, what slight sircimnstanees may retard the effect usually produccd by death on the fame of the eminent andgood! Itisnowvmorethan threcyears that wehare witnessed,at his own residence, an exlibitionofttireaccumulate( laboutrsoftthis venera. hleand great artist, whose remains were honoured with apublicfune- ral, and whose loss was felt as a rational calamity, totally neglected and deserted ;-the spacious rooms in which thev are arranged, erect- ed in just respect to a parent's memory ancI linse attention to the imagined expectation of thie public, as destitute of spectators -s the vacant halls of smine assembly-and, brit for the possession of other property of known value, threatening to injure the remaining fbr- tunesof the filial love that raised them. But thor?gh unnoticed by thte public, the gallery of MIr. West remnins, gentlemen, fbr yoe, and existsefor your .nstruction; wlile the extent of knowledge that he possessed, and wss so liberal to conrev-the usntal weight oi Ili* opinions in socieies of the highest ranik-thegentle humtnanity of him natture, and that parental fondness with which Youth and its young ,spiriags were instrutcted and cherishedby him,-will render his me- inory sacred to iis friends, and endearet to the schools of this aca- lemy, while respect for worth and gratitutle for invaluable senrice are encouraged in theta For miyself, indebted to Ihis frienriship for no inconsiderable portion of that service, I can truly say, that I never estimnated the comprehensivc ability of that great artist su higltly,as when comparing his labours in tnv metnory witt many of the most celebrated com- positions, then before me, of the revivers of inodern art: and, were the revered friend now living to whom my letters were addressed, his report would be evidlente of that impression. t hope it is not possible that the nation should long continue its neglect, and seern to prove by this indifference that the gen;cral en- thusiasm so recently excited by chose line productions, and the respect then shown to titeir venerable author, Mrere but the impulse and fashion of an hour, dependent on the mere convenience of place and distance, instead of the rational tribute of the judgment, and the feeling protection of an enlightened and just people." FIlNA) ARTS. THE LATE AIR. WEST.