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EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
figure pictures. There was but little seriousness of purpose evinced in this branch of the art; nearly all the subjects were as trivial and as superficial as one of the Spanish love songs. In the landscapes, on the contrary, were displayed a surprisingly intimate sympathy with nature, and a grand conception of natural beauty. Urgell and Torrescassana seem both inspired by the sublime solitude of the landscape, where the presence of the human figure only makes the solitude the more impressive. The former artist exposed a sea-coast view: a long stretch of sand, a gray, lazily-rolling sea, a cold sky, and the dimmest vision of a departing ship in the horizon; a single figure of a girl alone on the beach, watching the vanishing sail;—this is all. But how impressive is the maiden’s loneliness, as she feels for the first time the longing that will not cease until the sea brings back the loved one ! A gray sky, a broad plain, and a single row of trees, quiet, truthful, and suggestive of one of the solemn hushes in the working of nature’s forces, when they seem to pause for breath before exciting new convulsions ;—this was one of Torreseassana’s motives, and the same feeling inspired a twilight scene, with a simple silhouette of houses and trees against the sky.
The influence of the artistic productions of the Netherlands on the art and artists of every nation, has always been disproportionate to the political and geographical importance of this country, and at the present day is as strongly felt as ever, though less generally recognized and acknowledged. In sculpture, no less than in painting, this comparatively insignificant country has moved a current of art far beyond its conceded strength. The noble examples of the famous masters of the Netherlands serve as salutary guides to artistic progress in every country where art has had a foothold, and need no repetition of their good qualities here. Of the sculpture of the Netherlands very little is generally known, and there has been, I believe, no description published of this extensive and interesting branch of Dutch art. Probably few art connoisseurs will remember that some of the most famous examples of old sculpture in Europe are from the hands of artists of the low countries. I speak of Belgium and Holland collectively as the Netherlands, and of their art