[ 304 ] 

 FINE ARTS' EXHIBITIONS. 



[Mauch, 



THE BRITISH INSTITUTION. 



The gallery of the British Institution 

 opened, (February 2,) this season with 

 more than usual eclat ,- and, in proof of the 

 increasing patronage with which the fine 

 arts in this country are now lionoured, 

 notwithstanding the pressure of the times, 

 a large number of the pictures have already 

 been sold. 



Our circumscribed limits preclude us 

 from all attempts to play the critic ; there- 

 fore, we content ourselves with little more 

 than a brief mention of the more attractive 

 objects in this national gallery. 



Amongst numerous pieces which have 

 been seen .nnd admired at Somerset House, 

 are— Hayter's Trial of Lord Russel — 

 Etty's Woman pleading for the Vanquished 

 — Hilton's Christ cro\\Tied with Thorns— 

 Mulready's Convalescent Soldier, very ef- 

 fectively retouched — Westall's Mary Jlag- 

 dalen, &c. 



Haydon again steps forward in his own 

 branch of art — histon.'. His Pharaoh's 

 Submission (117) affords abundant proof 

 that the fire of his genius is not extinct. 

 There is much good painting in this pic- 

 ture ; but the figures of Pharaoh, Moses, 

 ^c.., possess not tlie characteristic dignity 

 required. 



Martin's Deluge (63), noticed at length 

 in our Number for last month (page 159), 

 as it is the most striking, will probably 

 prove the most attractive picture in the 

 rooms. If we mistake not, Martin has 

 made himself better acquainted with the 

 proportions of the human form, and with 

 the power of anatomical expression, than 

 formerly. It is not, however, in this that 

 the chief merits of his sublime effort con- 

 sist. 



The veteran Korthcote has olie piece 

 (19), Christ falling under the Weight of his 

 C>oss. The later attempts of this artist 

 arc not calculated to increase his fame. 



Young Ho'ward, the son of the academi- 

 cian, has produced a work of considenble 

 merit, and still greater promise, in The Last 

 Day (24). It is original in conception, 

 spirited, but somewhat hard in outline, and 

 deficient in harmony of colour. He has 

 another verv clever piece of a different cha- 

 racter. The Quintin (."97). It is well 

 painted, and forcible in effect- 

 Leahy's Mary Stuart's Farewell to 

 France (76) strikes us as tame and cold. 

 Fradelle is, this year, far less successful 

 than usual. We like net the spirit of his 

 Ivanhoe (382) ; and his Susanna, in the 

 Marriage of Figaro (11) is not a very happy 

 effort. 



Danby lias a poetic subject (129), very 

 effectively treated — Solitude, the Moment 

 of Sunset, with the Moon rising over a 

 ruined City. Its beauties " will not \xr.- 



sought be won." — G. Haytcr has four 

 pieces, exclusively of his Trial of Lord 

 Russel, amongst which we particularly 

 notice, as an original, bold, atid successful 

 effort, his Alashtar (161), from Lord 

 Byron's Lara. — Pack's Shakspeare recit- 

 ing Su- John Falstaff to his Father ami 

 ]\Iother (298) is hard in manner, but humo- 

 rous and characteristic. — John Hayter's 

 picture of Joseph inteq)reting the Butler 

 and Baker's dream, is fine in drawing, ex- 

 ])ression and colour, and ranks him with 

 his elder brother. 



Holland has four pieces in his customary 

 meritorious style. — R. H. Hilditch has six : 

 his Richmond Bridge, Evening, (121) is in 

 charming repose. 



Pity the Sorrows of a Poor Old Man 

 (183) by Witherington, is one of the hap- 

 piest efforts of this artist. — Bonnington has 

 two pieces (242 and 256) of French Coast 

 Scenery, — the latter with fishermen — of ex- 

 traordinary merit. — Stanfield's Market Boat 

 on the Sciieldt (14-2) is also entitled to high 

 praise. — Eraser has two most promising 

 pictures. " The successful Fisherman " is 

 beautiful. 



A Head (139) by Mrs. W. Carpenter, 

 and a Study of a Head (89) by Bradley, 

 are both fine. — Edmonstone has two pieces; 

 Italian Boy (72) and Group of Italian Boys 

 (194), veiyclearlypainted. — Good has two 

 pieces: a Study of an Old Woman (15) 

 and a Fisherman (216), in his usual inge- 

 nious but very mannered style. — Sharp has 

 a delightfully humorous morceau — The 

 Bottle of Champaigne (.384) : this is the 

 hero of the Bco's Wing, drunk. — In spirit, 

 humour of character, and grouping. Farrier 

 advances in his profession. His Sini])L' 

 Simon (10) desei-ves'great praise. — Clover's 

 Portrait Approved (403) is a veiy sweetly 

 painted pictiu-e. So also is Newton's Deep 

 Study (116). The same remark applies to 

 Mather Brown's Fair (355) ; with the 

 addition that the story is well told, the 

 piece full of detail, the grouping excellent, 

 and the individual figures in character. — 

 Stewardson's Boy running away with a 

 Puppy (23) is well painted, bold, and ex- 

 pressive. — Edwin Landseer's Interior of 

 a Highland Cottage (113) has considerable 

 merit. His Dog and Shadow (182) and 

 the Widow (203) are eicellent. — Stevens 

 has several paintings of Dead Game, all 

 more or less successful. — Lance's Larder 

 (135) contains some beautiful fniit, and 

 the plumage of his birds is very rich. — Ro- 

 berts's Chapel of the Church of St. Jacques, 

 at Dieppe (26!) cannot be seen without 

 being admired. — Barney, always successful 

 in flowers, has only one piece (.306). 



Miss Gouldsmith, whose industry walks 

 hand-in-hand with her genius, ha.s contri- 

 buted three pieces. Here we are compelled 

 to close. 



