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pride in possessing such men as Wilkie, Stoddart, Smirke, Westall, and a few others, who would do honour to any age and any country.

Of sculpture we shall only say, that with some of the noblest works of ancient Greece in our possession-with the most exquisite living models constantly before our eyes— with every excitement, in short, to the imagination, and every degree of ideal perfection of form within our reach,-we ought to hold pre-eminence in this art; and yet our school of sculpture is the lowest among modern nations. It may not be thought invidious when we state, what we know to be a fact, that Flaxman, now no more, is the only British sculptor whose fame has extended beyond the limits of his own country.

Proceed we now to point out those works in the present exhibition, which have appeared to us deserving of particular notice.

No. 7. Death of Sir John Moore. G. Jones, R. A. This beautiful and spirited picture struck us the moment we entered the room. The General is expiring in his lodgings at Corunna, surrounded by his staff. The colouring is excellent; the grouping, and other subordinate parts of the composition good; but the subject would bear a composition of a more elevated character.

No. 9. A Hindoo Temple. No. 20. An Imaum-barrah, or Mausoleum of a Mahometan High Priest. No. 97. Hindoostanee Females at a Gaut. W. Daniell, R. A. These pictures are painted with a fidelity which none can appreciate to its full extent, who are not familiar with Eastern scenery. Beautiful as works of art, even to the commonest spectator, they must afford tenfold delight to those who, like ourselves, have ascended the rugged Ghauts, scaled the precipitous and rocky sides of the Indian dell, forded the swollen nullah, and struggled through the thick jungle. Daniell, from year to year, brings all these scenes before us, with a vividness which kindles in our minds the same thrilling associations as beset us when we gazed upon the reality. No. 338, 339, 340, and 341, are small pictures by the same artist, representing birds and animals of Ceylon and India. They are executed in a manner every way worthy of him.

No. 52. A Scene in the Isle of Wight. W. Daniell, R. A. This production differs from the preceding, inasmuch as it is entirely made up of English scenery. It is an excellent picture, displaying the highest and most intellectual order of merit.

No. 31. H. C. Ship, General Harris, passing the South Foreland, homeward bound. C. H. Seaforth. Is a work evincing more than ordinary talent. There is truth of colouring and much good effect in this picture, which we venture to class among the few good sea pieces in the exhibition.

No. 30. Portrait of Rajah Rammohun

Roy. H. P. Briggs, R. A. Elect. This is a clever portrait and a striking likeness. One of equal excellence in execution, and much superior in general effect, is No. 343, representing Mrs. Siddons and Miss Kemble. Of the other portraits by this artist, in the present exhibition, we can say little in commendation. The colouring of that of Lord Mulgrave is decidedly bad. We regret to find Briggs descending from the lofty arena of historical and poetic composition, in which he was successfully working his way to excellence and renown, to strive in the ignoble field of portrait painting. If the want of encouragement in the higher department of the art be his excuse, we can only say 'tis a pity!

No. 62. Portraits of Lady Coote and Child. No. 126. Portrait of the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn. No. 154. Portrait of the Duke of Buccleuch. No. 253. Portrait of Mrs. Macleod, and 448. Portrait of Lord Charles Townsend. H. W. Pickersgill, R. A. These portraits are all excellent. The colouring is good, as are the likenesses, so far as we are acquainted with the parties, and the expression is characteristic.

No. 70. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Italy. J. M. W. Turner, R. A. There are no greater admirers of Turner's genius than ourselves; but we must enter our solemn protest against the particular manner which that artist has followed of late years. By straining after novelty in lieu of elevation by seeking to astonish instead of exciting true poetic feeling, he has adopted a meretricious and mannered style of colouring and effect unworthy of his great talents. However it be the fashion to admire these extravaganzas of his, we appeal to every real and conscientious judge of art, native or foreign -and Turner's fame has extended to all countries-whether the picture now under our notice might not be mistaken, at a little distance, for a gaudy tea-board. In spite of its beauties of composition and design, it is, in our humble judgment, an unmeaning mass of colour. Let Mr. Turner recollect, that there are many exquisitely beautiful effects in nature, which art has no means of expressing; and in the particular instance before us, the ardent sun-beams, playing upon such objects under the clear sky of Italy, would produce a variety of strong and dazzling tints,--but of tints ever varying and uncertain, which remain not an instant the same, are always in motion, and cannot therefore be represented by any fixed and permanent colour. Let him also remember, that there is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous. This gaudy ribbon and vulgar nosegay style of painting is a complete mistake, and as friends and warm admirers of Turner, we entreat, we conjure him, to abandon it, and pursue those inspirations of

true genius which have made him one of the first of British landscape painters, whom all nations acknowledge to be the best landscape painters in the world, whether ancient or modern.

No. 153. William III. landing at Torbay. 284. Helvoetsluys, and 543, Staffa, Fingal's cave, a real gem,-all by the same artist, are worthy of his high reputation; but his Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, in the fiery furnace, is wild and ineomprehensible. It is an absolute night-mare, something indistinct and horrid, any thing but what it purports to represent.

No. 134. The preaching of Knox before the Lords of the congregation. D. Wilkie, R. A. This is the noblest of Wilkie's productions, and is one of the finest pictures that any modern school ever produced. In conception, design, expression, colouring, and chiaro-scuro it is admirable. The earnest and persuasive enthusiasm of Knox, and the power of his eloquence upon his hearers, are exquisitely depicted. His attitude is forcibly expressive, whilst the vehemence of his words and actions are visible in the strained eye, the open mouth, the flying drapery, and the pulpit door, which he seems unconsciously to have burst open with his foot. The chief light of the picture is made up by the lovely countess of Argyll, halfsister of queen Mary, and the lady in attendance upon her. Every female figure is beautiful and expressive; that of every male noble and appropriate. In this work, Wilkie has suddenly raised himself to pre-eminence in the highest and most intellectual branch of painting, and he will descend to posterity as a history painter of the first class.

No. 71. Portrait of William IV., by the same artist, is in our opinion a failure. Wilkie has a mind above portrait painting. The likeness of the king is good, so is the colouring; but the draperies are bad, and the full length figure awkward and vulgar.

No. 178. Christ blessing the little Children. R. Westall, R.A. This is a picture belonging to the most elevated and most difficult branch of the art; and in contemplating this beautiful production, we almost fancied ourselves standing before one of the sublime works of the old Italian masters. The composition and design are of the severest and most graceful purity, and there is a truth of expression, a feeling of mystic and religious love, which fills us with wonder and delight. The story is simply and beautifully told; nothing is equivocal; the whole bursts at once upon the spectator, and leaves the impression that such must have been the reality. The mild dignity of the Saviour, the grateful eagerness of the women who are kneeling at his feet, the anxiety of the young mother who stands behind him, the doubt expressed by the nearest attendant disciple, and the

surprise of the others, are truly admirable The colouring is classical, harmonious and effective, but we may be allowed to observe, that the lips of the beautifully expressive female figure nearest the Christ, are too red. This picture must necessarily become a standard work of the British school of art. We would recommend its study to young painters.

Nos. 35, 36, and 43, are also worthy of this artist, but No. 298, a Weary Beggar-boy, is one of the most beautiful things we ever saw. Besides truth of expression and colouring, the subject has been treated in a manner most exquisitely intellectual. This is, in truth, one of the gems of the exhibition.

No. 258. Portrait of P. Reinagle, Esq. R.R. Reinagle, R. A. This artist has a large number of portraits at the present exhibition, all of very mediocre merit for an R. A., with the exception of that now under our notice, which is really one of the best in this year's display of British art. Reinagle is neither a good portrait painter nor a good animal painter; yet with the foolish conceit which makes some men pretend to superiority in that which they do badly, and neglect that in which they excel, he has set himself up for both, to the detriment of his powers in that branch of the art peculiar to his genius. Reinagle's talents are therefore underrated. In those sombre and poetic landscapes in which Nicholas Poussin so much delighted, in the delineation of the dark and still forest of the Druids, no artist succeeds better than R. R. Reinagle.

No. 121. A picture of the Grosvenor Family. C. R. Leslie, R. A. The painting of a high aristocratic family is a bad subject for a man of genius. The formality of etiquette which the familiarity of long and friendly intercourse can alone dissipate, acts as a spell upon the noblest inspirations; nevertheless, in this picture, Leslie has admirably mastered the difficulty of his subject. It is a production of very high talent.

No. 106. Pets, and 364, Hawking. E. Landseer, R.A., are gems of the first water, and beautifully executed. They are nature itself, and in the latter you fancy you feel the feathers of the birds before you.

This

No. 272. Cinderella. C. Landseer. is a very clever picture. Composition, execution, design and harmony of colouring, are all of a superior order. The story is not only well told, but well conceived. C. Landseer has power to treat more lofty subjects.

No.135. A Magdalen. Sir M.A. Shee, P.R.A. The portraits by the President in the present exhibition are generally good, but when he attempts any thing of a higher character he fails. There is nothing intellectual in his Magdalen.

No. 68. Medea meditating the murder of her Children. H. Howard, R. A. There is much feeling in this picture. The dreadful

workings of the mother's mind visible in her beautiful countenance, and the quiet loveliness of the children, tell an affecting tale. No. 159. Contention of Oberon and Titania, by the same artist, is full of sweetness and elegance.

No. 196 and 360. W. Etty, R. A. The first a fancy composition, the second from Spencer's Fairy Queen, are beautiful pictures, well composed, and exquisitely coloured; but in both, the arms of the female figures are out of drawing.

No. 239. The Saint Manufactory. T. Uwins. One among the best pictures in the exhibition. The composition is spirited and intellectual, the story well told, the drawing good, and the colouring excellent.

No. 279. Whitehall Stairs. J. Constable, R. A. A good and effective picture, which ought, however, to have been hung higher, as it requires to be seen at a distance; much of its effect is lost where it now is.

No. 333. The Wounded Knight. E. T. Parris. A picture that would do credit to any school of art. It is full of truth and character. The female figure reminds us of some of Parris's former productions. This picture would be better appreciated if freed from the glare of colour by which it is surrounded.

No. 359. Portrait of the Marchioness of Londonderry. F. J. Du Bois Drahonet. An excellent portrait, and of high merit as a work of art. It evinces a pure and classical taste in the artist, with great correctness of drawing and beauty of colouring.

Nos. 400. Portrait of Lord Stuart de Rothesay, and 401, Portrait of Lord John Russell. G. Hayter. These portraits are full of merit. The expression, in both, is well defined and characteristic the colour ing and execution very good, and, as works of art, they may be classed among the best portraits in the exhibition.

No. 409. A group of the Fitzclarence family. J. Hayter. A clever collective family portrait. The likenesses are striking, and the general effect of the picture good.

No. 410. Burial of Sir John Moore. W. Brockedon. A work full of effect and feeling; conceived in a poetic spirit, and exe

cuted in a manner worthy of the subject. There is a lucid depth of colouring, and a solemn effect of light and shade, in admirable keeping with the solemnity of the scene.

Among the drawings in the antique academy, we noticed Nos. 512, Abbotsford, 513, The Vicarage of Trowbridge, Crabbe's late residence, 523, Hodnet Vicarage, and 524, Brem Hill Vicarage, by W. Westall, A. These little drawings are really beautiful, full of spirit and truth. They evince a mind sensibly alive to the beauties of nature, and a power of expressing them in the most effective manner; 544, View from the shore, under Mount Edgecumbe, and 545, View at Terracina, by H. Parke, are of a larger size than the preceding, very prettily conceived, and executed in a manner creditable to the artist.

The architectural drawings in the library are numerous, but not remarkable as a collection. We were more particularly attracted to 998, Sir John Soane, R. A., 1005, W. and C. Inwood, 1020, R. Wallace, and 1032, Sir J. Wyatville, R. A.

In the model academy, or rather the dismal den so called, all is dreadfully cold and monumental; nothing of life and poetry; nothing but the sculptured lineaments of the tomb. Here all is sad and silent, because there is nothing of intellect to work upon the imagination, and raise the thrill of enthusiasm.

1178. Statue of Canning. F. Chantry, R.A. A good statue; but under the standard in the expression of intellect.

1172. The Cymbal Player. R. Westmacott, jun. Not without merit, but the figure wants motion. You might fancy a man in the act of playing the cymbals, suddenly the petrified.

1173. Statue of Thomson, the poet, walking in his library. C. Rossi, R. A. This is a caricature unworthy of the art.

1178. The Gipsey. R. Westmacott, R. A. The principal figure is very good, but the child badly executed.

1132. Statue of a supplicating Virgin. L. Macdonald. Has the merit of representing with truth the yielding appearance and elasticity of human flesh.

THE KING'S THEATRE.

THE DRAMA.

THE introduction of German Operas at this theatre is a proof of the judgment and good taste of the present manager, Mr. Monck Mason. The public have long been weary of the vapid productions of the present Italian school, and well they may. The musical drama in Italy has already culminated, and is now

fast descending towards the horizon into which it will sink for ever, after having scattered its seeds in other climes, where they have sprung up in wondrous strength, beauty, and luxuriance.

The ill success of the King's Theatre at the beginning of the season, may be attributed to an occult and ill-judged influence exercised upon the establishment

by the arts of certain intrigants, operating upon good-natured and well-meaning patrons, unconscious of the bad effects of their interference. We believe Mr. Mason to be a high-minded man—we know him to be a liberal one; and we cannot but think that in this enterprise he was actuated more by public spirit than by any great hope of pecuniary advantage. He is a devoted lover of music, and though an amateur, is himself a composer of very great talent. No man is therefore better qualified to select works of surpassing merit. Give him but fair play-let him exercise, in the management of the opera, his own unbiassed judgment without control, and we will venture to predict that the King's Theatre will reach that eminence upon which it ought to stand, and at length break the spell laid upon it during the last twenty years, by ignorance, litigation, and mismanagement.

The German company is one of distinguished merit. Madame Schræder Devrient unites the most exquisite feeling to a full rich voice and perfect intonation; Mademoiselle Schneider, unaffected and unpretending, evinces considerable talent; and Haitzinger has one of the most beautiful high tenor voices we ever heard,—all voce di petto up to C in alt. "Der Freischütz," by Weber, was brought out on Thursday, the 10th of May, and Beethoven's "Fidelio," in the course of the succeeding week. The first of these splendid productions has long been known to the British public, though we never saw it so effectively given in this country as by the German company. The "Fidelio is a magnificent work of genius, unrivalled for grandeur and originality of effect. These operas continue to attract overflowing houses, and the enthusiasm evinced in their favour does infinite credit to the national taste.

Mesdames Grisi and Rosa Mariani made their first appearance on Saturday, the 12th, in Pacini's opera, entitled "Gli Arabi nelle Gallie," a work below mediocrity, devoid of effect, and powerless in instrumentation. We were disappointed in Grisi; there is a castiron hardness in her upper notes, destructive of true expression. Mariani

pleased us much. She has a beautiful contr'alto voice, which she uses with great judgment and effect; and in better music, would, no doubt, display a vigour equal to Pisaroni, whom she far excels in the tender and pathetic. Tamburini, the very best basso cantante in Europe, made his debût on Saturday last, in the character of Dandini, in La Cenerentola. His singing and acting are both admirable. He was ably seconded by Madame Cinti-Damoreau and by Donzelli.

COVENT GARDEN AND DRURY LANE.

THE great Theatres have presented us with no novelties during the month, worth mentioning. The grand pageants have been going on, and the Hunchback still maintains its deserved popularity. Young took his leave of the stage on Wednesday evening, amid the sighs and regrets of a numerous and fashionable audience. Covent Garden Theatre is on the eve of passing under another management. We confess that we are sorry to see one of our first national theatres about to fall into the hands of a foreigner. We have no objection to M. Laporte personally, but we repeat, we do not desire to see a foreigner at the head of one of our first national theatrical establishments.

FRENCH PLAYS, HAYMARKET.

THE great attraction here has been Madame Albert, and she is decidedly the most extraordinary little artiste of her day. We know of no one but our own Miss Kelly who can be compared to her. She is the very child of nature. She has alike a perfect mastery over the tenderest affections, and the most powerful emotions. Her manner of pourtraying those feelings which at once storm our sympathies and melt the heart, is perfect; and she has no less power in exhibiting those great, and sometimes terrific, impulses, which, on the stage, constitute the sublimest of our moral developements. She is as arch and spirited in comedy, as she is deep and heart-searching in tragedy, (though the serious pieces in which she plays are not tragedies, yet her acting in them is sublimely tragic), and she is moreover a sweet and effective singer.

INDEX TO VOL. XV.

Illustrative Memoirs.-Lady Marjoribanks, 1.
-Right Hon. Lady William Montagu, 49.
Lady Gore Booth, 97.-Right Hon. Louisa
Viscountess Stormont, 145.-Honorable Mrs.
Howard, 193.- Hon. Mrs. Frederick Irby,
241.

Original Communications.

Stray Sentences, 2, 54

Enthusiasm at Eighteen, 3

Between You, and I, and the Post, 9

Pour et Contre, 12

Ladies, the True Legislators, 18
Rhapsody, by A Rambler, 22

The Castle Builders of Padua, 25

The Italian Improvisatori, 26

My Portrait, 28

The Physician of Paris, 30

The Pearl Diver, 55

My Prejudice, suggested by my Portrait, 63

Fashionable Female Meetings at Willis's, 66

The Living Italian Corinna, 71

Two Days in the Country, 74

Prove your Words, 81

The New Female Cabinet, 100

The Fiend's Field, 105

An Auction-room Episode, 115

Outlines of Editors, 118
Scraps on Scandal, 123

No. 90.*-Vol. XV.

Pebbles picked up on the Sea-shore, 125
Calamities at the Opera, 129

An Essay on Eye Glasses, 149
Le Café Tortoni, 151

Leaves of a Life; or the Templar's Tale, 153
A Defence of Dancing, 161

My Lady's Dream, 164

Rambling Reminiscences of Fashion and the
Fine Arts, 169

The Tale of an Ancient City, 174

The Bashful Wooer, 195

My Aunt's Coiffeur, 206

A Tale of the Passions, 209

The Beauties of Bells, 214

The Island of Death. A Fragment, 218
Dunnotar. A Scottish Sketch, 224

The Pindaree Robbers, 245

The Glittering Valley; by the author of the
"Mummy," 254

Lost by a Pinch, 258

The Blush of Modesty, 261
Goethe, 262

Père la Chaise, 266

Characteristics of Women, 269

Original Poetry.

Fashion and Grace, 6

A Tale of the Alhambra; by Miss Jewsbury, 7

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