366 Art Subjects and their Treatment. 



Egypt is famous, and which we lately endeavoured to portray. 

 All the figures are in comparative shadow with the bright light 

 behind the entire group. Such a treatment offers picturesque 

 advantages at the expense of great difficulties, which latter are 

 admirably surmounted. Under such circumstances, richness 

 of effect and brilliancy must depend entirely on the skill with 

 which the colours are contrasted and harmonized. Only one 

 little touch of white is introduced, and a magical use is made 

 of greens, purples, crimsons, blues, and yellows. Those who 

 fancy that the colourist has nothing to do but bring strikingly 

 opposed tints into juxtaposition, should study the immense 

 variety of tones and hues that are introduced into the 

 draperies of this piece. The dress, that at first sight would be 

 pronounced blue, is in reality of very complicated and varied 

 hue, and no part of the drapery is wanting in elaboration 

 of colour harmony. It is this, quite as much as the splendid 

 drawing, that makes the " Rising of the Nile" a truly great 

 work — to our mind far exceeding anything Mr. Goodall has 

 hitherto accomplished. We do not wish to make unfair com- 

 parisons ; but let any one who has an eye for colour, go from 

 this picture to the fine painting representing MurihVs boy- 

 hood, and he will then see how great an advantage the 

 ■ c Rising of the Nile" possesses over the other important work, 

 because more pains have been taken to fill up the scale of 

 colour, and give that harmonious completeness which affords a 

 permanent sensation of delight. 



Another striking oriental picture, but of a much lower grade 

 than the " Rising of the Nile," is the " Turkish School at 

 Cairo," by J. F. Lewis, R.A. elect. The colouring is brilliant, 

 but scarcely harmonious, and the human interest is secondary — 

 the draperies and accessories constituting the artist's real 

 theme. 



Domestic scenes in various ranks of life supply subjects for far 

 too many pieces for us to enumerate. In dealing with cottage 

 life, our artists, with scarcely an exception, commit the common 

 fault of treating their inmates as objects to be done into paint, 

 not as persons having joys, sorrows, temptations, and triumphs 

 like themselves. The boards and tiles, the pots and pans may 

 be unexceptionable, but the sentiment is wanting. We might, 

 however, mention several delineations of domestic life that are 

 pleasing and meritorious as far as they go ; one of the prettiest 

 in conception is the ' ' Old Maid " — two young girls, dressed 

 in old style, are playing at cards the game of " Old Maid," and 

 the loser exclaims, " Maggie, you're cheating." Mr. Archer is 

 the artist from whom this clever picture comes. Webster's 

 " My Back Kitchen" is admirable for its truthfulness to fact 

 and to a conception void of the poetic, and if we may name Sir 



