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Article THE FINE ARTS. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Fine Arts.
THE FINE ARTS .
ROYAL ACADEMY .
_ "Omnestacitoquodamsensu , sine ulla arte autratione , qua sint in artibus , et in pictum , et in sigms , et in ahis operibus , recta ac prava dijudicant . " Cicero de Oratore , lib . 3 . 1 . 50 . " Most have the seeds of judgment in their minds . " POPE .
A FTER twenty-seven successive and annual exhibitions of the fine arts J- -a- of this country , we look in vain in the present for that general and splendid display of genius , which it was once thought the royal bounty , in founding the Academy , would produce . A variety of causes have contributed to check the progress of this noble institution ; and to prevent its being so generall y useful as it mi ght be . Among these causes is to be ranked —first—the dissensions of some of the memberswhich unhappilfat before
, y -ran the death of the late President ; and—second—b y a want of that patronage to the higher branches of the art , which can alone bring them to perfection . Painting , like poetry , has always flourished in proportion to the meed that has been bestowed on it . The generosity of Augustus was , perhaps , the first and chief cause that produced the JEneid of Virgil ; and it is to the bounty of Elizabeth that we are , probably , indebted for some of the subiimest effusions of the muse of Shakespeare ; nor can it be denied , that it is to the refined , lr luxurioustaste of
thoug , LEO , and his extensive encouragement of the arts , we are indebted for the best productions of the pencil of Raphael . If we apply this observation to the state of the arts in this country , we shall find that the great patronage given to portrait painting , has produced a degree of excellence m it , which leaves all competition far behind ; while Historical painting , and sculpture ( the hi gher branches of art ) have improved very little within the last twenty years ; for what artist will paint that which
produces only fame ? Or who has sufficient resolution to look , in his performances , only to posterity ? After these preliminary remarks , we shall proceed to a short review ot the present exhibition , under the respective heads of Histbiical Painting , Sculpture , Architecture , Portrait Painting , and Landscape .
HISTORICAL PAINTING . FOREMOST ( or at least most conspicuous from situation ) in this branch stands the picture of the president , " Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh " ( No . 175 . ) painted for his Majesty ' s Chapel at Windsor . This certainly does not add in the smallest degree to Mr . West ' s reputation . When he was a younger man , we were accustomed to admire the harmony of his groups , the softness and richness of his colouring , and the chaste grandeur and correctness of his whole desi '
gn ; but the present performance has not , m our opinion , one of these requisites . In most artists , a ? e , while it mellows and ripens the judgment , checks the exuberance of tlie ^ ' fancy ; but Mr West is so far an exception to this rule , that it is onl y in his later compositions we find the unnatural wildness of fancy which is so manifest here ; he aims at sublimity , and becomes either monstrous , or ridiculous . The scene m tins pifture is in a watch-house , Pharaoh is the constable of the night Aaron is a watchman bringing in Moses drunk , and the attendants are , in appearance , the usual attendants on such a place .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Fine Arts.
THE FINE ARTS .
ROYAL ACADEMY .
_ "Omnestacitoquodamsensu , sine ulla arte autratione , qua sint in artibus , et in pictum , et in sigms , et in ahis operibus , recta ac prava dijudicant . " Cicero de Oratore , lib . 3 . 1 . 50 . " Most have the seeds of judgment in their minds . " POPE .
A FTER twenty-seven successive and annual exhibitions of the fine arts J- -a- of this country , we look in vain in the present for that general and splendid display of genius , which it was once thought the royal bounty , in founding the Academy , would produce . A variety of causes have contributed to check the progress of this noble institution ; and to prevent its being so generall y useful as it mi ght be . Among these causes is to be ranked —first—the dissensions of some of the memberswhich unhappilfat before
, y -ran the death of the late President ; and—second—b y a want of that patronage to the higher branches of the art , which can alone bring them to perfection . Painting , like poetry , has always flourished in proportion to the meed that has been bestowed on it . The generosity of Augustus was , perhaps , the first and chief cause that produced the JEneid of Virgil ; and it is to the bounty of Elizabeth that we are , probably , indebted for some of the subiimest effusions of the muse of Shakespeare ; nor can it be denied , that it is to the refined , lr luxurioustaste of
thoug , LEO , and his extensive encouragement of the arts , we are indebted for the best productions of the pencil of Raphael . If we apply this observation to the state of the arts in this country , we shall find that the great patronage given to portrait painting , has produced a degree of excellence m it , which leaves all competition far behind ; while Historical painting , and sculpture ( the hi gher branches of art ) have improved very little within the last twenty years ; for what artist will paint that which
produces only fame ? Or who has sufficient resolution to look , in his performances , only to posterity ? After these preliminary remarks , we shall proceed to a short review ot the present exhibition , under the respective heads of Histbiical Painting , Sculpture , Architecture , Portrait Painting , and Landscape .
HISTORICAL PAINTING . FOREMOST ( or at least most conspicuous from situation ) in this branch stands the picture of the president , " Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh " ( No . 175 . ) painted for his Majesty ' s Chapel at Windsor . This certainly does not add in the smallest degree to Mr . West ' s reputation . When he was a younger man , we were accustomed to admire the harmony of his groups , the softness and richness of his colouring , and the chaste grandeur and correctness of his whole desi '
gn ; but the present performance has not , m our opinion , one of these requisites . In most artists , a ? e , while it mellows and ripens the judgment , checks the exuberance of tlie ^ ' fancy ; but Mr West is so far an exception to this rule , that it is onl y in his later compositions we find the unnatural wildness of fancy which is so manifest here ; he aims at sublimity , and becomes either monstrous , or ridiculous . The scene m tins pifture is in a watch-house , Pharaoh is the constable of the night Aaron is a watchman bringing in Moses drunk , and the attendants are , in appearance , the usual attendants on such a place .