1830.] 



[ 353 ] 

 FINE ARTS* EXHIBITIONS. 



Illustrations of Natural History, em- 

 bracing a series of Engravings and descrip- 

 tive Accounts of the most interesting Genera 

 and Species of the Animal World. The 

 engravings by J. Le Keux and R. Sands. 

 The world has seen all sorts of ages ; 

 it has seen its golden, silver, and iron 

 periods. More recently indeed, accord- 

 ing to Lord Byron, we have had an age 

 of bronze ; but metals seem to have had 

 their day, and our's may truly be termed 

 " an animal age." Zoology has put 

 every other science completely out of 

 fashion ; chemistry gives way to came- 

 lopards, and monkeys have scattered 

 mineralogy to the winds. The exhibi- 

 tions of the Zoological Society (the 

 Wombwells and Atkinses of fashionable 

 life) have been in a very considerable 

 degree instrumental in bringing about 

 this consummation. People visit the 

 Regent's Park, and immediately become 

 profound devotees of science. Formerly 

 they were electrified at merely seeing a 

 lion ; they now want to know the Latin 

 for it. They call him Felis leo, inquire 

 into generic names, and pretend to un- 

 derstand systems. While this society, 

 however, has set on foot and cultivated 

 a most foolish fashion, it has also, though 

 unconsciously and without any merit of 

 its own, given a decided spring and im- 

 pulse to zoological science : and indeed 

 we may fairly conclude that it is to the 

 labours of that admirable naturalist and 

 amiable man, the late Sir Stamford Raf- 

 fles, that we are indebted for the beautiful 

 book before us. Of this publication there 

 are two editions : that in quarto is pub- 

 lished in parts, eight of which have al- 

 ready appeared. This contains proof 

 impressions of the plates. The other 

 edition is in octavo, and the numbers 

 already issued form one of the cheapest 

 and most elegant volumes that could be 

 desired. It contains nearly one hundred 

 engravings ; all, we can scarcely find an 

 exception, beautifully executed as works 

 of art ; and, what is infinitely better, 

 with a fidelity and adherence to nature 

 which, though so necessary in a work 

 like this, are so frequently overlooked 

 by artists for the sake of effect. Messrs. 

 Le Keux and Sands have very properly 

 perceived that nothing is so picturesque 

 as nature, and that in presenting the best 

 portrait of the animal, they present the 

 best picture. The drawings are by va- 

 rious artists of eminence ; and among 

 the names we perceive those of Edwin 

 and Thomas Landseer the Sir Thomas 

 Lawrences of the brute creation. The 

 histories and descriptions that accom- 

 pany these engravings are written with 

 intelligence and talent. Much pains 

 have evidently been taken in research, 



M.M. New Series. VOL. X. No. 57. 



and the compilations are generally ju- 

 dicious. This, and the volume which 

 is to succeed it, will complete the history 

 of quadrupeds ; it is then proposed to 

 give one to birds, another to fishes and 

 amphibious animals, and a third to rep- 

 tiles and insects. The work deserves to 

 be popular. 



The engravings that form the gallery 

 of portraits of the Female Nobility in 

 "La 'Belle Assemble'e," resemble the 

 thousand and one stories in the " Ara- 

 bian Nights ;" they are all so beautiful, 

 and each has so many peculiar charms of 

 its own, that the reader in one case, and 

 the spectator in another, is very plea- 

 santly puzzled, and hardly knows which 

 to prefer. To escape from the dilemma, 

 he generally fixes upon that which has 

 been most recently inspected, and pro- 

 nounces the last to be best which is 

 precisely what we are disposed to do 

 with the portrait of the Countess Veru- 

 lam, the proof of which now lies before 

 us. It is a very lovely picture of a very 

 lovely woman ; and as a work of art (it 

 is engraved by Dean), will lose no lustre 

 by a comparison with the finest engrav- 

 ings of the day ; nor would it, as we 

 have already intimated, be easy to select 

 a rival to it, either for feeling or finished 

 execution, from any of the sixty-eight 

 portraits that have preceded it. To us, 

 and to many others, who only see the 

 beauties of our court reflected in the 

 mirror which art holds up to us, this 

 series of portraits has an especial charm, 

 by making us familiar with all the graces 

 and ornaments of the age, without the 

 trouble of obtaining a presentation at a 

 levee, and the inconvenience of being 

 elbowed by an alderman, or a barrister 

 bowing himself into a silk gown. 



Landscape Illustrations of the Waverley 

 Novels. Much as we like the preceding 

 parts of this very tasteful and elegant 

 work, we cannot help liking the present, 

 which is the fourth number,somewhat bet- 

 ter. Our preference however rests rather 

 upon the selection of the subjects, than 

 upon any superiority or improvement 

 in execution. These four engravings 

 exhibit the same light, graceful touches 

 that characterize their predecessors. 

 The view of " Durham" in particular, 

 from a design by Robson, is extremely 

 beautiful. The others are, the " Tol- 

 booth," by Nasmyth; " Caerlaveroch 

 Castle," by Roberts ; and lastly, " Lon- 

 don," seen from Highgate an illustra- 

 tion for " Rob Roy." With this, al- 

 though it has employed the united talents 

 of Barret and Finden, we are far less 

 pleased than with the wild and watery 

 effect of the clouds and lake in the view 

 of " Caerlaveroch Castle." They are 



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