Fred.
END OF VOL. I
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
Edinburgh & London
FOOTNOTES:
[67] "Romeo," "Pan," and "Venus," being then exhibited at the yearly autumn Exhibition at Manchester.
[68] "368. From Keats' Ode to Pan, in the 'Endymion': F. Leighton.—Flesh painting is the grand test. With the majority of artists the attempt results in a something very much resembling tinted marble. Not so Mr. Leighton. This enchanting creation of his mind glows with the rich warm hues of life; and the sweeping outline which gives such beauty to the female form is preserved with subdued definiteness. The background is a fine piece of mellow autumnal tinting.
"The Royal Institution.—In the second room will be found one of the very best, if not the best picture in the exhibition, No. 183, 'Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets,' by F. Leighton. Whatever its other merits or faults may be, it tells the sad story clearly and forcibly. The scene is 'the tomb of all the Capulets,' and the moment chosen by the artist is when the heads of the rival houses, standing by the dead bodies of those in whom all their hopes had been centred, agree to lay by their ancient feuds, and clasp their hands in sign of future friendship.
In the foreground are the bodies of the lovers, placed on a bier. Juliet has thrown herself upon the body of Romeo, her hands clasped around his neck, and her cheek touching his. In that position, typical of her undying love, the fatal potion has done its work. Lady Capulet, in a paroxysm of maternal grief, has thrown herself on her knees at the foot of the bier; behind her is the Friar. Opposite the spectator are old Capulet and Montague, their aged forms bowed with grief, in the act of reconciliation. These are the principal figures. The Prince, attendants, &c., fill up, without crowding, the picture. The gloom of the ancient monument is capitally rendered, the colouring is harmonious, and the disposition of the figures careful and dramatic. The artist has admirably discriminated the characters of the two aged noblemen. Readers of Shakespeare will not need to be reminded of the distinction which the dramatist has made between the two. Montague appears only in the first and last acts, but displays great resolution, accompanied by a noble moderation, in the brawl commenced by the retainers of each of the houses. The language put into his mouth is noble and poetical, especially in concluding his account of the black and portentous humour which had overtaken his son.
"'But he, his own affection's counsellor,
Is to himself,—I will not say—how true,—
But to himself so secret and so close,
So far from sounding and discovery
As is the bud, bit with an envious worm,
Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air,
Or dedicate his beauty to the sun.'