_Morning_, and _View from Rydal Woods_, by C. V. Fielding, are both masterly performances. The last, in particular, is a rich, mellow landscape, and presents a fine, woody, and romantic scene, which in some degree calls off our admiration from the merit of the artist to the beauties of nature. This is a sacrifice of self-love which many of our artists do not seem willing to make. They too often chuse their subjects, not to exhibit the charms of nature, but to display their own skill in making something of the most barren subjects. We think this objection applies to Mr. Hofland’s landscapes in general. The scene he selects is represented with great truth and felicity of pencil, but it is, generally speaking, one we should neither wish to look at, nor to be in. In his _Loch-Lomond_ and _Stirling Castle_, the effect of the atmosphere is finely given; but this is all. We wish to enter our protest against this principle of separating _the imitation_ from _the thing imitated_, particularly as it is countenanced by the authority of the ablest landscape painter of the present day, of whose landscapes some one said, that ‘they were pictures of nothing, and very like!’ THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED _The Champion._] [_February 19, 1815._ _Battle-piece_, B. Barker, is a spirited sketch, harmoniously coloured. In force of drawing and expression, it is inferior to _The Standard_, by Ab. Cooper. There is too violent an opposition of white and black in the horses in this picture; and the eye does not immediately connect the heads of the animals with the rest of their bodies. This picture, however, displays great knowledge of the subject, and considerable strength of composition. _A Study from Nature_, by the same artist, Ab. Cooper, is a masterly little picture. _Birds_, from nature, and _Plovers_, from nature, by M. Chantry, are both excellent in their kind. _View of Richmond, Yorkshire_, by W. Westall, A.R.A. is deficient in perspective and in other respects. The river below seems to be on a level with the high foreground from which it is seen. The representing declivities by means of aerial perspective is, we believe, one of the difficulties of the art, and we do not remember any successful instances of it, except in some of Wilson’s landscapes. _A Boy lamenting the Death of his Favourite Rabbit_, W. Davison, is a very pleasing composition in the style of Gainsborough. The landscape has too much the blue greenish hue and slender execution of Gainsborough’s back-grounds. The boy is well painted. There is a picture of this kind by Murillo in the collection at Dulwich, which we would earnestly recommend to every painter of such subjects. Or we might as well, in other words, recommend them to look at nature. _Forest Scene_, by J. Stark, is painted with great truth of colour and effect. _Stacking Hay_, P. Dewint, has great merit.