Principal imaginative productions of Cole.

pilgrim lets fall his staff, and turns in despair to the long-neglected and forgotten Cross. Veiled in melancholy night, behind a peak of the mountain, it is lost to his view for ever.

The principal imaginative productions, besides those just described, are, the Departure and Return, which is a poetical representation of the feudal times; the Cross in the Wilderness; Il Penseroso; L'Allegro; the Past and Present; the Architect's Dream; Dream of Arcadia; the Expulsion of Adam and Eve; and Prometheus Bound. The last-mentioned picture is owned in England, and is unquestionably one of the wildest and most splendid efforts of the painter's pencil. The scene represented is among the snow-covered peaks of a savage mountain-land, and to the loftiest peak of all Prometheus is chained. In the foreground is a pile of rocks and broken trees, which give a fine effect to the distant landscape; while just above this foreground is a solitary vulture, slowly ascending to the upper air, to feast upon his victim. The idea of leaving the devouring scene to the imagination, could only have been conceived by the most accomplished artist. The time represented is early morning, and in the cold blue ocean of the sky is seen one brilliant star, which represents Jupiter, by whose orders Prometheus was chained to the everlasting rock.

This is most sublime, and possesses all the qualities which constitute an epic production. The unity of the design is admirable one figure, one prominent mountain, a cloudless sky, one lonely star, one vulture, and one cluster of rocks for the foreground. It is also completely covered with an atmosphere which gives every object a dreamy appearance. In point of execution, there is no fault to be found with this glorious picture, and the` idea of the poet could not have been better illustrated.

With regard to the actual views, and other less ambitious pro

Second visit to Europe.-Pictures of American scenery.

ductions of Cole, we can only say that the entire number might be estimated at about one hundred.

"In July, 1841, Cole sailed on a second visit to Europe. On this occasion he travelled much in Switzerland, which he had never before seen, lingering as long as the limits of the time he had prescribed to himself would allow him, in that remarkable country; and filling his mind with its wonders of beauty and grandeur. From Switzerland he passed to Italy, whence he made an excursion to the island of Sicily, with the scenery of which he was greatly delighted. On its bold rocky summits, and in its charming valleys, he found every where scattered the remains of a superb architecture, and gazed without satiety upon the luxuriance of its vegetation, in which the plants of the tropics sprang intermingled with those of temperate climes."

It was after his return, in 1842, that he commenced the Pilgrim of the Cross and of the World, which was his last work. While engaged in painting this series, the summons of death came. He died in February, 1848.

In looking upon his better pictures of American scenery, we forget the pent-up city, and our hearts flutter with a joy allied to that which we may suppose animates the woodland bird, when listening in its solitude to the hum of the wilderness. Perpetual freedom, perpetual and unalloyed happiness, seem to breathe from every object which he portrays, and as the eye wanders along the mountain declivities, or mounts still farther up on the chariot-looking clouds, as we peer into the translucent waters of his lakes and streams, or witness the solemn grandeur of his forests, we cannot but wonder at the marvellous power of genius. His style is bold and masterly. While he did not condescend to delineate every leaf and sprig which may be found in nature, yet he gave you the spirit of the scene. To do this is the province

Uncommon effects.-New style.-C. Ver Bryck

of genius, and an attainment beyond the reach of mere talent. The productions of Cole appeal to the intellect more than to the heart, and we should imagine that Milton was his favourite poet. He loved the uncommon effects in nature, and was constantly giving birth to new ideas. He had a passion for the wild and tempestuous, and possessed an imagination of the highest order. He was also a lover of the beautiful, and occasionally executed a picture full of quiet summer-like sentiment. But his joy was to depict the scenery of our mountain-land, when clothed in the rich garniture of autumn. He was the originator of a new style,

and is now a most worthy member of that famous brotherhood of immortals whom we remember by the names of Lorraine, Poussin, Rosa, Wilson, and Gainsborough.

C. VER BRYCK.

In compliance with a request of the National Academy of Design, the writer* has attempted a short memoir of Cornelius Ver Bryck. The life of an artist is proverbially barren of those stirring incidents and strange vicissitudes that interest the reading multitude, and to this the life of the subject of the present sketch forms no exception.

Mr. Ver Bryck was born at Yaugh Paugh, New Jersey, on the 1st of January, 1813. In childhood he discovered a predilection for the fine arts, which strengthened with his years, and at length led him to embrace the profession of an artist. In 1835 he studied for some time under Prof. Morse, then president of the National Academy. At the Academy of Design, he was distin

* Thomas Cole, N. A.

Drawings from the antique.—Prize.-Mobile.-Europe.

guished for the ardour of his studies. His drawings from the antique showed a keen appreciation of character, and were executed in a vigorous manner. He obtained the prize of the silver palette soon after entering as a student. In the Academy exhibition of 1836, Mr. Inman called the attention of several artists, in his peculiar ominous and emphatic tone, to a picture exhibited by Ver Bryck. It represented an old Dutch Bible, with clasps, a skull, and other objects suggestive of serious feeling, painted with remarkable power. "Look," said Inman, “at the very dust which has collected on the old Bible—impossible for any one to paint better." This picture has since been presented, by a brother of the artist, to the New York City Gallery. It is an unpretending, low-toned picture, but whoever attentively observes it, will be interested in the solemn, still, and mournful air which is thrown around it by the "mysterious power of shade."

In the fall of 1837 he went to Mobile, for the benefit of his health; and a friend, to whom I am indebted for much of the information in this memoir, states, that he carried with him several pictures, among which were a Bacchante and a Cavalier, which were much admired. They were purchased at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Early in the spring of 1838, he returned to New York. The next year, stimulated by the desire to behold with his own eyes the wonders of ancient art, and scenes that through history and poetry had long been familiar to his mind, he sailed for London, in company with his friends Huntington and Gray, and for a time enjoyed, as such a mind only can enjoy, the productions of the great masters; and the works of art to be found in London and Paris. But unfortunately his stay in the old world was short, for he was called home by the illness of a sister.

After his return, he was occupied in landscape and histórical

Sonnet.-Elected member of the Academy.

"And

pictures. Among the latter was one whose subject was: one shall be taken and the other left." This picture was finely conceived; it represented a blessed spirit ascending towards heaven, with enraptured expression, in the midst of light; while below, in murky gloom, was seen one of the accursed ones, with demoniac face, descending.

His intimate friend, the Rev. Cleveland Coxe, at that time addressed a sonnet to him, which is introduced here, as characteristic both of the poet and painter:

"I'll spoil a sonnet, but-I'll tell thee now,
How much I love thy reveries and dreams,
Thy vein poetic, and thy darling themes,

Of dear pursuits, and stories that allow

The frequent laugh-though thou can'st weep, I trow-
And how I love to plot with thee, sweet schemes

Of future life, commingling the extremes

Of mirthful hours, and days of thoughtful brow;

For, like a strange chiaroscuro, thou

Hast in thy soul mysterious power of shade,
While thy warm heart of sunshine's self is made;

And if thou'lt labour out thyself enow

Upon thy canvass-all, I promise you,

Will love the picture, and the painter too."

In the year 1840 he was elected a member of the Academy, having previously been made an associate; a tribute due to his talent and character. For a few years he pursued his art, struggling with ill health and unfavourable circumstances, until 1843, when his friend Huntington, with his wife, who was the sister of one to whom Mr. Ver Bryck was deeply attached, proposed to visit Europe again. Suffering from disease, and in the hope that a voyage might restore him, Mr. Ver Bryck hastily