FINE ARTS.
BOYS'S PICTURESQUE ARCHITECTURE OF PARIS, &c.
Tuts superb volume is unquestionably the most extraordinary produc- tion that has issued from the lithographic press : it not only far sur- passes any previous attempts at picture-printing in colours, but maul- fasts a higher degree of perfection than could have been supposed pos- sible ; indeed it is equally beautiful and curious. The process employed is chromolithography ; of which it is a modification so material, that the improvement and extension of its capabilities exhibited in this work constitute almost a new art—the effects, compared with those
produced in printing arabesque ornaments with colours, are what paint- ing is to mosaic. Not only are these drawings infinitely superior to priuts coloured by hand, in being the work of the artist throughout, but they possess qualities of a novel and excellent kind that reconimend this new art to the painter as a medium for reproducing 'coloured sketches.
The views of the Picturesque Architecture qf Park, Ghent, Antweap, Rouen, 6.c., twenty-nine in number, taken from nature and drawn upon stone by THOMAS SIIOTTER BOYS, are printed in colours at the press of HULLMANDEL, and present the appearance of water-colour drawings, snore or less elaborately wrought up ; some looking as thought sepia or chalk predominated, but most resembling painting with colours only. They are distinguished from priuts coloured by hand afterwards, by the transparency, purity, and homogeneousness of the tints, as well as by the artistic feeling and delicacy of the execution, and the free and masterly handling : indeed they might pass for originals, especially when mounted on card-board.
The subjects are architectural, but are treated picturesquely, so that the buildings only form part of a scene animated by figures and other local characteristics. Half of the views are in Paris, the greater num- ber representing curious old Gothic structures': of Notre Dame there is a distant general view, showing the east end with its flying but- tresses ; we also get peeps of separate portions of it : Ste. Chappelle, a fine old Gothic chapel in the early pointed style of the thirteenth cen- tury, the ancient church of St. Severn), and the more modern one of St. Etienne du Mont, are the other ecclesiastical edifices. Time ex- =pies of domestic Gothic are the Hotel Cluny, a religious house of the period of the Renaissaiwe, that the French Government have bought to preserve as a national monument, and of which two views are given ; the Hotel de Sens, a gloomy fortified dwelling, with pepper-box tur- rets, built by an Archbishop for his residence ; and the Hotel de la Tremouille, belonging to the ancient family of that name, of which the fragment shown in the view was all that remained of its former maguifieence when the sketch was taken.
In the three following Paris views, the beauty of thc atmospheric appearances renders the interest of the places subordinate to the picto- rial effects. A corner of the Tuileries, seen from the quay on a fresh sunny day, with a bright though cloudy sky throwing shifting shadows on the facade of the building, is full of light and air ; you seem to see miles beyond. A different view of St. Etienne introduces the Pantheon, its dome dimly seen in the distance : the scene is illumined by an almost cloudless moon, that pours a flood of cold yet mellow radi- ance over the foreground, while the body and tower of the old church are in deep shadow, relieved only by the red lights from within the doors and windows or a silvery beam catching on some corner of the building. It is a marvellous piece of painting, and the best moonlight effect we have seen this many a day. The Institute—its dome and porch burs nished by the golden light of sunset, tliat reflects its lustre on the pave- ment, and steeps the whole scene in luminous brilliancy—is the third of this splendid triad. They all exhibit in a remarkable manner the talent of the artist, and the powers of the medium by which the variouS aspects of day, eventing, and night are imitated, with a truth that cart hardly be surpassed. The Byloke, Ghent, an old carved red brick building, formerly a nunnery but now an hospital, is shown under a snow-shower ; and the effect of the ruddy walls glowing from out the wintry pall, with cattle seeking the icy pond, the blue of the sky almost obliterated by —the falling flakes, is very striking. From these ex- amples an idea may be formed of the opposite effects capable of being. produced by means of chromolithography, and also of the variety of stvle and treatment of this set of views.
'Among the more noticeable buildings are the Belfry, Ghent—a lofty clock-tower ; and the Hotel de Vilk, Arras, with its tall Gothic spire— both characteristic features of the Low Countries ; Loon Cathedral—a rich example of florid Gothic, though little known ; St. Laurent, Rouen, whose beautiful tower, though curtailed of its fair proportions, still !oohs light and elegant as it rises above the embrowned front of an old abbey ; and two fragments of Gothic at Chartres—the porch of the Cathedral and the front of St. Andrii.
In the treatment of these and other subjects, Mr. BOYS evinces a thorough knowledge of architectural details, a perfect mastery of per- spective, and a lively perception of natural effects and local character- riAies. He is perhaps too fond of sudden perspective—frequently choosing his point of sight close to the thee of the building he repre- sents, or viewing it at a sharp angle ; this produces a peculiarity some- times piquant and striking, at others unpleasing. The distinguishing feature of his style, however, is its reality : the views seem as if they were painted on the spot, exactly us the scene appeared at the moment, not only accurate in form and colour, but faithful to the atmospheric effect and the casual incidents. Thus the figures look like actual passers-by, not groups composed and introduced afterwards : the foregrounds, which artists too constantly fill up with a set composition, are left open and
clear, as one mostly sees them in reality—which gives an effect of space
like that produced in a vignette.
iln the handling or colouring of the architecture, two distinct manners are observable : in some, the building is remarkable for solidity of sub-
stance, force of relief, and texture of surffice—as in the Belfry, St. Laurent, Ste. Cho ppelle, St. Ser erin, and St. Etienne by moonlight ; which, moreover, are all admirable for breadth of effect, sobriety ofcolour, and depth Of tone : in some few others—the Grosse Horloge, Rouen, Hue Notre Dame, and Rue (lu Temple, Paris—the colours of the signs and shop-fronts look garish; the surfaces want variety of texture to solidify and enrich them, and stronger light and shade to subdue the motley as- semblage of bright hues : in one or two of the views, moreover, the quantity of blank wall has a bald and naked appearance. But these are peculiarities of the artist's taste, that may please some, as the open tOregrounds please us, for their literal truth—though truth is never the worse fin being agreeable.
Comparing the work as a whole with the two specimens pot forth three months ago, a marked improvement is visible—showing that, as it proceeded, it has been advancing in perfection : indeed it is very much superior to what the public have been led to expect : the defects of blackness of tint and blurred outline, that we noticed in the gateway of the 116tel Cluny, not being observable in more titan one or two others; while the view of St. Laurent, which then seemed wonderfully ;.th-ctive, is surpassed in power, richness, and brilliancy of colour and tone, by others. The second view of the lEttel Cluny (the in- terior of the court) may be instanced as the most complete of any in all the points that constitute a perfect picture : the building is solid, the stone seems palpable, and the chimnies and root's, with the vane and iron railing on the turret, are relieved against the sky like actual sub- stance standing out from atmosphere: the local colours of the red brick, the green blinds, &c. are harmonized, and keep their places, without that spottiness that is sometimes observable. In this drawing there is no appearance of chalk shading; the tints are close, as if produced with the brush : this is owing to the use of the stump, which produces an even tint like a wash of water-colour for purity, yet with a solidity unattainable by that vehicle. The brightness of the tints and the union of transparency with substance result from oil-colours printed on the absorbent paper. The murky cloud that lours over the sombre IlUtel de Sens is a remarkable example of this union of seemingly in- consistent qualities in a sky-tint ; the stone and brick of the building also exhibit a similar combination in masonry. The skies are in every instance pure and atmospheric, and even surpass the effects of water- colour in some cases ; though the difficulty of working the blue is an obstacle to perfection that remains to be removed—a defect is occa- sionally apparent in the appearance of granulation in the surface, resem- bling a tint " floated " on a semi-absorbent paper. The defects incidental to the printing from four or five successive stones to produce one impression, which arise front the difficulty of regis- tering the different tints with exactness, are not apparent but on close scrutiny ; and the general effect is rarely impaired in a noticeable degree. In short, there is nothing in the process that militates against its success- fill adapt:114BI to all the purposes of picture-printing ; and the infinitely higher worth and beauty of ehromalithographie drawings over prints coloured by hand, is demonstrated beyond question. Mr. Hors has greatly raised his reputation by this strikingly ori- ginal work. which will spread his name and talent in many gnarters where neither is known at present : he deserves the highest praise for the loddness of his attempts in a new art where he had every difficulty to encounter ; and in addition to the satisfaction at the complete sue- vss that has crowned his perseverance in this arduous task, he is en- titled to the honour of being the first to carry out the idea to its full extent, and be the pioneer of his brother artists in a new field. The het that two of the most brilliant effects, the moonlight and sunset, are the very latest of the series, coupled with the variety of manner throughout, shows that as he proceeded he developed fresh beauties, He has dedicated the work to Mr. II r i.t.siaxoxi., in acknowledgment of the many and great improvements made by hint in lithography : a welbuterited compliment handsomely paid. The publisher, Mr. Bo vs, of Golden Square, (a relative of the artist,) has spared no expense in the getting-up of the volume ; which, with its crimson cover of sill( and morocco, stamped with a corbel-head in gold by way of label, makes a magnificent ornament for the drawing-room table. The views are also published amounted as originals in a portfolio, for those who peel', r them in that shape ; and at a price below what the copies of RoltEllTs'.4, STANFIELD'S, and Na sits Sketches coloured bv hand, are sold at : so that chromalithographie drawings are not only better but cheaper than coloured prints.
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