14. _Rubens and the Philosopher_.--G. Clint. The anecdote of Rubens and
Brondel, the alchemist, remarkably well told.
16. _Benaiah_.--W. Etty--The line in 2 Samuel xxiii. 20., "he slew two
lion-like men of Moab," has furnished Mr. Etty with the subject of this
picture. It is a surprising rather than a pleasing composition; but the
strength of colouring is very extraordinary. The disproportions of parts
of the principal figure will, however, be recognised by the most casual
beholder: although as a fine display of muscular energy, this picture is
truly valuable, and is a proud specimen of the powerful genius of the
painter.
28. _Waterfall near Vatlagunta, in the peninsula of India, in the
mountains that divide the Coasts of Coromandel and Malabar: its height
between 500 and 600 feet_.--W. Daniell.--The sublime and stupendous
character of the scenery will enable the reader to form some idea of the
difficulty with which the artist had to contend.
43. _The Lady in St. Swithin's Chair_ from vol. i. Waverley.--Sir W.
Beechey.--We confess ourselves far from pleased with this picture. There
is a want of freedom in it which is any thing but characteristic of the
incident which it is intended to portray.
56. _The Spanish Posado_.--D. Wilkie.--We must describe this picture in
the words of the catalogue:--
This represents a Guerrilla council of war, at which three reverend
fathers--a Dominican, a monk of the Escurial, and a Jesuit, are
deliberating on some expedient of national defence, with an emissary in
the costume of Valencia. Behind them is the posadera, or landlady,
serving her guests with chocolate, and the begging student of Salamanca,
with his lexicon and cigar, making love to her. On the right of the
picture, a contrabandist of Bilboa enters, upon his mule, and in front
of him is an athletic Castilian armed, and a minstrel dwarf, with a
Spanish guitar. On the floor are seated the goatherd and his sister,
with the muzzled house-dog and pet lamb of the family, and through the
open portal in the background is a distant view of the Guadarama
mountains--It is next to impossible for us to do justice to the
diversified character of this picture. The deliberation of the fathers,
and the little bit of episode between the landlady and student are
extremely interesting.
(_To be continued._)
* * * * *