202
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
liorse and his double burden, the crowds of spectre followers, and the weird effect, is more solidly painted, though monotonous in color. From this latter fault the artist has escaped in his On the Housetops, an oriental scene; but in this he is less hardy in treatment and weaker in expression. Leighton stands almost alone in his poetical feeling for color and the unobtrusive interest of his characters. After the Vespers, a simple, half-length study of a young girl, is as quietly appealing in sentiment as it is sober and delicate in color. In the way of liliputian figures, the Ramsgate Sands of Frith is quite as complete and perfect a work of this kind as one could wish to see, though not equalling his more famous Derby Day. The pleasure-seekers, multiplied to thousands, are each studied Avith conscientious care and in their petty way are amusing enough. Fortunately for the subject, the artist has not limited his study to the poses alone, but has given a wonderful individuality of character to each of the minute heads. Taa t o oriental scenes by John F. Lewis, The Suspicious Coin , and A Street in Cairo , are exceptionally strong in color, but are a little glassy from their extreme finish. The camels, in the latter picture, appear co\ r ered Avith eel-skin, and the former, a Turkish bazaar, Avith its picturesque occupants and A\ T ealth of drapery, Avonderfully \ T igorous and rich in color, loses from its almost metallic lustre.
In portraiture, Millais, Avith a full length of a little girl) and a group of three sisters, occupied the most prominent place. There is a great deal attractive about his representation of little Miss Lehman, but e\'en the charmingly-caught) half-pouting expression on the delicate features is not a lasting offset to the unpleasant chalkiness of general tone, Avhich grows, on acquaintance, into an evident fault. The pose is charmingly naive and unconscious. Millais has found his model in the conservatory, and has painted her sitting on a large green porcelain jar, swinging one foot in true schoolgirl impatience, and both hands in her lap, idly playing Avith a rose. The drapery is all Avhite, the floor is of Avhite marble, and, relieved against it by a fine distinction of tone, are two Avhite do\ T es. The group of the three young girls is less pleasing as portraiture and richer in color; the faces are very