he quantity of white to be introduced, this is by no means an
unpleasantly coloured picture. There is much richness, in fact; and the
artist has, with very great skill, avoided a gaudy effect. So the Battle
of Waterloo must derive its great value from the truth of the portraits.
It is any thing, however, but an heroic representation of a battle.
Perhaps the object of the painter was confined to the facts of a
military description, of positions of brigades and battalions--to our
unmilitary eyes, there is wanting the vivid action, the energy, the
mighty conflict--possibly only the ideal of a battle---which may, after
all, be in appearance a much more tame sort of thing than we imagine.
There is a necessity, for historical value, to see too much. There is Mr
Ward's "Fight of the Bulls:" the whole earth echoes the boundary and the
conflict; it is one great scene of energy. But the great fight of men
conveys none of this feeling. It is not imposing in effect--it looks
indeed rather dingy, the sky and distance cold, and not remarkably well
painted--a battle should have more vigorous handling, something of the
fury of the fight. If, however, it be matter-of-fact truth; that in such
a subject is all important, and should be painted. A battle, any battle,
may be another thing.--"Sir Joshua Reynolds and his Friends" is an
excellent subject, if all the portraits are from authentic pictures; at
a future day it will be of great value, although it is not very
agreeable as a picture.

Either the portraits have less effect than they usually have, or there
are fewer of them this year. We must give the palm to Mr Grant. He
combines many excellences--perfect truth, unaffected simplicity, and
most judicious and ever-harmonious colouring. It may not perhaps be far
wrong to say, that he is the very best portrait-painter this country has
known since Vandyck; certainly he appreciates, and has often deeply
studied, that great painter. We have long considered Mr Grant's female
portraits by far the best--the present exhibition raises him as a
general portrait-painter. The perfect unaffected ease of his attitudes
is a very great thing. Here are three pictures in a line, portraits, the
_sitters_ all _seated_--and yet how striking it is, that there is only
one that sits--Mr Grant's "Lord Wharncliffe." How sweet and natural, how
beautiful as a picture, are "The Sisters!" The conventional style of
portrait is undoubtedly good, and founded on good sense