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LE PIANO DB BERTHE. A PEETTY woman, in a...
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VAUXHALL. If only for its old historical...
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1 ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION-. IV. OBHTAIN...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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I Puritan!. Mario Was Not Dead, But Sloo...
four such singers unite to make one opera perfection . Grm w still Elmra ; but wonderful creature as she is , she is not what ^ she then was—tne cvnosure of beauty—the divinest voice in Europe . Mario in this part may be accepted for Rubini . Bonconi , consummate artist , is not equal to Tamburini as a voice , and the character of Riccardo admits of no display ; while Marini in place of Jupiter Tonans , Lablache the Magnificent—On Thursday we were to have had Angiolina Bosio in II Barb fere ; but " indisposition" unkindly balked our expectations , and Castellan played the part instead . What was the consequence P To a large public admiring Castellan the change mattered little ; but to me , who cannot \ vr- \ rxa nwflfilf to listen to her with more than extremely tranquil pleasure ,
it was sufficient excuse for staying away . When Angiolina Bosio plays the part you shall hear from me . Meanwhile I rejoice to hear that Mario redivivus was again the delicious and fascinating Almaviva , and Ronconi still the unapproachable Figaro .
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Le Piano Db Berthe. A Peetty Woman, In A...
LE PIANO DB BERTHE . A PEETTY woman , in a moment of fond confidence , once began , this speech to her lover : " Jules , what I love in you is- " " Ah ! " he passionatel y exclaimed , " Sivous savez quoi , je suis perdu !—If you know what it is you love in me , the spell is broken !" I do not know a truer mot . Love is a transcendental mystery : to penetrate it would be to dissipate it ; because , to penetrate it would be to remove it from its real sphere of emotion , and to drag it into the sphere of intellect ; before you can Jcnoio it you must rob it of its infinity , and reduce it to the proportions of finite intelligence . ? Love being a mystery , one has no right to doubt the truth of Berthe s intrudenim
affection for the gay , confident , insinuating composer , who ^ s - self upon her ennui , piques her vanity by criticising her singings breaks her china , will not be bowed out meets her frown with a smile , kisses the hand that strikes , looks tenderly into the eyes that flash , interests her by his misfortunes , makes her tremble beneath the subtle intonations of his voice , flings Ma impetuous passion at her feet , and finally crowns his life with her love . This is the subject of Le Piano de Berthe , a proverb produced on Wednesday for the benefit of that promise-keeping , enterprising , pleasure-giving manager , Mr . Mitchell . Berthe was the mask worn by Rose Clieri ; but it was carelessly worn , and altogether the proverb was not amusing . Had Alfred de Musset taken up this subject he might have made something of it , for the subject is a suggestive one . Some wet morning I may take it in hand myself . Think of that , beloved forth of what
reader ! A proverb by Vivian ! A dramatic settin g may be called the " magnetism" of love . Ah ! if I had but the talent requisite for the stage , what apiece I could write ; unfortunately , I only know what ought to be , and don't know how to do it . Quo voulez vous ? One cannot make silk purses out of flannel waistcoats , and a dramatist must be born a dramatist . I resign myself . . On the same evening we had an old comedy ; of Scribe ' s Yelva , chosen by Kose Cheri for the display of her pantomimic qualities . Dumb , she ha 3 to be eloquent with look and gesture ; and eloquent she is , though I should prefer her speaking . Tonly saw half of this comedy—superior fascinations having kept me from the stall of duty—and the half I did see was of mediocre interest , although Scribe ' s bright and pleasant dialogue helped it through . Vn Service a Blanchard gave that admirable Numa a good opportunity to display his dry , natural , queer comedy . Numa is an actor who gains immensely on being known .
Vauxhall. If Only For Its Old Historical...
VAUXHALL . If only for its old historical associations , Vauxhall will not easily fail in attractiveness . Other and younger beauties may pique a wandering attention for a time , but the French truly say , " On revient toujours a ses premiers Wauxals ; " and now that " Summer has set in with its usual severity , " as IJorace Walpole wittily remarked , Vauxhall becomes a necessity . Oh ! what a charming night was that opening night of Wednesday—the Derby night—the bal masque night ! A bal masquS is , as you know , of all things the one most congenial with British vivacity and laisser alter ; our gay and unreserved countrymen shine in these exuberances of fantastic animal sp irits . There never were such Greeks as our Greeks ; Wapping itself produces no such tars as our tars ; while for the deep genial humour of our clowns , and the airy pleasantry of our dominos , Europe must bo ransacked for parallels . Imagine then , this gay and brilliant crowd of motley gathered in the gardens of Vauxhall , the night when the weather was as bright and genial as their spirits , and you may realize just such a picture as " our artist" would draw for an illustrated paper . The rain bad been steady , persevering , torrential all day , yet it did not increase the brilliancy ; the atmosphere was heavy , damp , and dirty , yet it did not intoxicate the revellers . Nature and England combined their dreariness—I leavo you to appreciate the product !
But to bo serious , although tho Bal MasquSwas but a damp orgio , the gardens , as a nightly entertainment , are very materially improved since last season , and the Rotunda now having a flooring makes a Ball Jttoom of immense capacity ; and when the seasonable severity of our capricious climate has passed into mild and balmy niglita , those gardens will bo crowded . And for tho suppers——Oh ! those suppers ! Vivian .
1 Royal Academy Exhibition-. Iv. Obhtain...
1 ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION-. IV . OBHTAIN HISTOBIOAli fclOTtTRES . Inteii / eotuaTi propositions arc precisely tho subjects moflfc unfittod for art . Raphael had approached the nearest to a shadow of that sort in his School of Athens ; which is , howevor , rather an embellishment , a fanciful grouping of traditionary portraits and of raodorn portraits
arpisimplest form , and the figures that are accessory story , behaving in a manner the most direct . . The adoring erowjd in the former cartoon the figure of Paul rending his garments and weeping , are conceived in a spirit as simple as that of a boy endeavouring to set forth the story in living figures . In the " Death of Ananias , " one apostle points to heaven another deals the curse upon the liar , the sinner himself falls convulsed ' the people around are startled and astounded , and the episode of t he wife bringing the false tale of money to the apostles is scarcely an episode in
to the trarily associated with the idea > than the pictorial embodiment of a real subject . For historical painting the proper subject is one morally ym pressive or physically striking ; and in the greatest master of design ^ e see that selection , and also the most simple and direct mode , of treatment Wltether we take the cartoon of Paul and Barnabas at Lystra , which belongs to the moral class , or the death of Ananias , which is both . moral arid physical , we see the main idea of the picture presented in . its
the composition . /• . t . '• • . . The simplicity of this conception is dictated by the fulness and richness of the painter's mind rather than by any meagreness of idea or barrenness of resourcesj for it is accompanied by the utmost fertilit y and amplitude in the science of organic life and the outward expressions of passion . There are few of the pictures of Raphael which do not exhibit the same example of a striking idea , often a moral one , grasped with the most distinct firmness of purpose , expressed with a directness of youth , or it may be said of truth , and embodied with an abundance of organic power unknown to painters whose studies have been less accom-Taking this model as a standard , we might have some difficulty in findine an historical picture in the present exhibition of the Royal Academy .
Ther e are , indeed , pictures whose painters must evidently be intended to take rank in that category—for example , Mr . Maclise ' s of " Alfred in the Oamp of Guthrum . " In spite of its hackneyed subject , it is intended to be a composition of much force , and the incident itself is very suitable to the treatment of historical painting j but , when we investigate Mr I ^ aclise ' s composition , we are bound to reject his picture as one not havinff the slightest claim to be included in the list ; , the main idea is frittered away in a number of episodes , so treated that each one attracts pmial attention . The strange group on the left , engaged in some
unintelligible occupation of astonishment— -the not less strange group on the riffht in which one heated enthusiast is proposing a toast to another who is " sewed up "—the hamper-full of revellers , packed immediately round the -nerson of the royal invader—attract the attention quite as forcibly as the central figure of Alfred ; though he is watching under the rose as intently as if he were Mr . Macready . Now here is not one subject , but a scatterin g of subiects . As to the treatment , although Mr . Machse has studied the human figure , and is able to present diagrams of its muscular construction even in action , with somewhat more anatomical exactitude than is usual in English painters , he seems so far to ^™ " ^^ J ^ nf + ho Tinman figure in the movements and aspects of life , that he has -torl ^ trrmftterstrifles in themselves , but essential to the true " aspect witn
, Sf vitality He seems , for example , to have ^ acquaintance xne actual appearance of the skin ; and the edges o his eye-lids are oft en no better than a caricature on the same feature in the knaveof cards . Ine colouring is a great improvement upon the picture of " Noah '' and other of Mr Maclisp great works ,-less chalky , less opaque ; but still belong fn /^ s ' sentfally to the style which is fitted for paper hangings-harsh powdery colour , with harsh heavy outline . Through this dust and pother Sf vehement pigments , of these convulsive diagrams and scattered eps ^ o dl the spe ct ! tor has so much difficulty in penetrating to the subject that the picture may less be called an historical painting than an histoncal shind y ^ j ^^ ** Mr . Armitage ha s evinced his desire to ,,, T ^ . Jl —~ ~? ^^ rr ^ oafoaf musters . The acti on is simple , tno follow the steps of the greatest masters The action » "WJ direct
Tn colour is natural , the outline is vigorous the ^/ ^ mentjs lut thi > ro is a kind of factitious pose in the attitude of the Hagar , suggested fEr ^ ^ J ^^^^ j ^ SS the great masters , but who has been thinking of their manner rather than of the subiect which ho had undertaken to embody , h Perhaps tho solo approach towards an historical picture , treated wm ss & ttffS & 1 J - ^^ - SS tho Picture is , in many respects , an immense improvement on the pio _ A . _ _ Li ^ u' 4 .-U * a « r ^ A nffinf T im Bubioct is much cravor and mor «
. we ^ hty theTe is conJderiblc success in the aim at the couleur ^ u Jlie character , the expression , and the physical ^ S ^^^ ortwi * English eye have much of the Prcnch typo about thorn . J * ^ fwouhl of Charlotte Corday somewhat violates historical doso"P ^ , wlucJi ^ v give her dark auburn hair ( chdtain noir ) and bl ° nd ? ^^ Xtion > sod of black hair and dark eyes , there is still much of ™ aesl ^ resolution ^ direct purpose in that sad severity of lip and te ™>} ™}™ > ^ ZuZ » look , soft and bright aa woman , tranquil as a ^ aamt , ^ fl ^ UnaUre martyr , sternly beautiful as an avenging angol . In ? P ^ n ^ f ff ^ f " th o costume , tho figure of Robespierre is sf recognizable as , J &^ J Soa-groen Incorruptible . " . Danton , tho typo o ( by f . ^ T !^ -n 7 ^ butohor enough ; tut Camille Desmouhns wi scarcely ; airy , and *** enough in his " countenance , and , bearing . Tho principal « f ^ tho
composition , however , aro that aamo ae ca *<**« , , ^ *"" r nont a posiwho ' is fiercely insulting tho heroic victim , ^ occupies too p i ^ T ^^ juta tion in tho picture , ancftho gendarme , with his ^ -f ^^ aJod upon far too largo a proportion of tho canvas ; so that the oyo » arroe i ^ i ^ minor andoron [ negative aooesBories of the subject Sti U , upoi «^ tf tho main idea stands forth with much vigour ; tho roootator ^^ u ^ filled with it , and remains imnrosaed by the , J ^ P ^ ^^ tU fanavoys—tho indomitable strength of woman s devotion , ana 01 ticism which ifl but tho oostacy of faith .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 29, 1852, page 22, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29051852/page/22/
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