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Article THE FINE ARTS. ← Page 2 of 2
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The Fine Arts.
We are glad to pass from Mr . West to Westall ; this year , he carries away the palm from every other artist . The fervid g low of his fancy , and the boldness of his conceptions , begin now to be chastened by the maturity of judgment ; and we may hope soon , to see him leave every rival behind . His p icture , or rather drawing , of " Hes ' iod instructing the Greeks in the arts of peace , " ( No . 706 . ) is , we think , the best in the exhibition . The calm and exalted dignity expressed in the countenance of Hesiod and the mute for
attention of the surrounding Greeks , leave us hardly any thing to wish . The poet is more than mortal , yet he is not a God ; he is uniting poetry and legislation , and instructing his countrymen in their true interests and happiness ; nor do they seem insensible of the blessing . Every countenance , every attitude , is strictly Grecian ; and lost in admiration , at the whole we are prevented noticing particular parts . This p icture , and that of Mr . Westarewe think " the two most remarkable exhibited this year ; and we
, , , have , therefore , noticed them as such . There is , however , a picture by Downman of " the Angel and Hagar" which has much merit , if we except the indecency of the angel ' s pointing with his finger in the way he does . SCULPTURE . IN this branch of art there are very few productions ; the . only on ' es which deserve notice , are the two models of figures , intended for the new
Trinity House , by Mr . Bacon , jun . which give good earnest of his future success . ARCHITECTURE . THIS seems to have made a more rapid progress in this country , than any of the fine arts . The talents and exertions of ADAM and WYATT have raised a degree of emulationwhich must be attended with the happiest
con-, sequences . Upon the whole , the architectural part of the exhibition is the best we have ever seen . Were we to point out particular excellence , we should refer to the design for a triumphal bridge ( No . 733 . ) by MAYHEWthe design for the entrance to an arsenal ( No . 716 . ) by J . KAY—and the . designs for a mansion ( No . 8-52 , and No . S 44 ) by BONOMI . The design for an entrance to Hyde Park ( No . 731 . ) by SOANE may perhaps rank . next .
PORTRAIT PAINTING . IN this department , where there is such general excellence , it is perhaps an invidious task to point out individual merit . Lawrence still improves ; and his portrait of serjeant Shepherd ( No . 183 . ) is equal to any one in the room . He has caught the exact expression of his countenance ( which we have been so much used to admire in our Courts of Law ) when he pleads the cause of innocence against oppression , or endeavours to bring down law
to the standard of reason . In the minitaures all is done that art can do ; and that , by many of its professors ; we shall not , therefore , attempt to select even one from the many . LANDSCAPE . IN this division , there is one performance by the President , ( No . 189 . ) which is stiff and hard indeed ! An honorary exhibitor , Sir George
Beaumont , however , leaves the regular members far behind . His landscapes ( No . 152 , and No . 191 , ) whether we consider the correctness of their composition , or the richness of their colouring , deserve great praise . There are several other landscapes , that are much above mediocrity .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Fine Arts.
We are glad to pass from Mr . West to Westall ; this year , he carries away the palm from every other artist . The fervid g low of his fancy , and the boldness of his conceptions , begin now to be chastened by the maturity of judgment ; and we may hope soon , to see him leave every rival behind . His p icture , or rather drawing , of " Hes ' iod instructing the Greeks in the arts of peace , " ( No . 706 . ) is , we think , the best in the exhibition . The calm and exalted dignity expressed in the countenance of Hesiod and the mute for
attention of the surrounding Greeks , leave us hardly any thing to wish . The poet is more than mortal , yet he is not a God ; he is uniting poetry and legislation , and instructing his countrymen in their true interests and happiness ; nor do they seem insensible of the blessing . Every countenance , every attitude , is strictly Grecian ; and lost in admiration , at the whole we are prevented noticing particular parts . This p icture , and that of Mr . Westarewe think " the two most remarkable exhibited this year ; and we
, , , have , therefore , noticed them as such . There is , however , a picture by Downman of " the Angel and Hagar" which has much merit , if we except the indecency of the angel ' s pointing with his finger in the way he does . SCULPTURE . IN this branch of art there are very few productions ; the . only on ' es which deserve notice , are the two models of figures , intended for the new
Trinity House , by Mr . Bacon , jun . which give good earnest of his future success . ARCHITECTURE . THIS seems to have made a more rapid progress in this country , than any of the fine arts . The talents and exertions of ADAM and WYATT have raised a degree of emulationwhich must be attended with the happiest
con-, sequences . Upon the whole , the architectural part of the exhibition is the best we have ever seen . Were we to point out particular excellence , we should refer to the design for a triumphal bridge ( No . 733 . ) by MAYHEWthe design for the entrance to an arsenal ( No . 716 . ) by J . KAY—and the . designs for a mansion ( No . 8-52 , and No . S 44 ) by BONOMI . The design for an entrance to Hyde Park ( No . 731 . ) by SOANE may perhaps rank . next .
PORTRAIT PAINTING . IN this department , where there is such general excellence , it is perhaps an invidious task to point out individual merit . Lawrence still improves ; and his portrait of serjeant Shepherd ( No . 183 . ) is equal to any one in the room . He has caught the exact expression of his countenance ( which we have been so much used to admire in our Courts of Law ) when he pleads the cause of innocence against oppression , or endeavours to bring down law
to the standard of reason . In the minitaures all is done that art can do ; and that , by many of its professors ; we shall not , therefore , attempt to select even one from the many . LANDSCAPE . IN this division , there is one performance by the President , ( No . 189 . ) which is stiff and hard indeed ! An honorary exhibitor , Sir George
Beaumont , however , leaves the regular members far behind . His landscapes ( No . 152 , and No . 191 , ) whether we consider the correctness of their composition , or the richness of their colouring , deserve great praise . There are several other landscapes , that are much above mediocrity .