in hard
dry study of forms, the half he painted would be soon worth double the
present value of all. For he really has deep and genuine feeling of hill
character--a far higher perception of space, elevation, incorporeal
color, and all those qualities which are the poetry of mountains, than
any other of our water-color painters; and it is an infinite pity that
he should not give to these delicate feelings the power of realization,
which might be attained by a little labor. A few thorough studies of his
favorite mountains, Ben-Venue or Ben-Cruachan, in clear, strong, front
chiaroscuro, allowing himself neither color nor mist, nor any means of
getting over the ground but downright drawing, would, we think, open his
eyes to sources of beauty of which he now takes no cognizance. He ought
not, however, to repeat the same subjects so frequently, as the casting
about of the mind for means of varying them blunts the feelings to
truth. And he should remember that an artist, who is not making
progress, is nearly certain to be retrograding; and that progress is not
to be made by working in the study, or by mere labor bestowed on the
repetition of unchanging conceptions.

Sec. 28. Works of J. D. Harding and others.

J. D. Harding would paint mountains very nobly, if he made them of more
importance in his compositions, but they are usually little more than
backgrounds for his foliage or buildings; and it is his present system
to make his backgrounds very slight. His color is very beautiful:
indeed, both his and Fielding's are far more refined than Stanfield's.
We wish he would oftener take up some wild subject dependent for
interest on its mountain forms alone, as we should anticipate the
highest results from his perfect drawing; and we think that such an
exercise, occasionally gone completely through, would counteract a
tendency which we perceive in his present distances, to become a little
thin and cutting, if not incomplete.

The late G. Robson was a man most thoroughly acquainted with all the
characteristics of our own island hills; and some of the outlines of
John Varley showed very grand feeling of energy of form.

FOOTNOTES

[56] I have above exhausted all terms of vituperation, and probably
disgusted the reader; and yet I have not spoken with enough
severity: I know not any terms of blame that are bitter enough to
chastise justly the mountain drawings of Salvator in the pictures of
the Pitti Palac