Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - Gregory Art Collection Catalog (Gregory) [PAGE 29]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

54

years of age, the Virgin Mary was presented to the High Priest, who took charge of her education. The young girl ascending the steps alone seems to be the least part of the picture. 113. The Assumption of the Virgin.—Venetian School. This is also in Venice, an<t is considered the masterpiece of Titian. The Madonna is upborne by thirty little angels and received above by God the Father. P A U L VERONESE.—(1528-1588.) A Venetian artist of much distinction. He was a very prolific painter and besides the easel pictures in the various galleries, executed many frescoes in and about Venice. His pictures are distinguished by a certain magnificence of style and coloring. 114. Marriage Feast at Cana.—Venetian School. This immense picture, in which the figures are life-size, is one of the most widely known of Veronese's works. It is in the Louvre at Paris. Christ and the Virgin sit at the head of the table, the newly married couple are at the left extremity. In the foreground a band of musicians are seated. Many of the faces in this composition are portraits of celebrated personages. The bride is Elenora of Austria, queen of France. Francis I, his head adorned with a curious headdress, sits at her left hand. 115. Christ at Simon's House.— Another large painting by Veronese, in the Louvre mu-eum. The central group is the figure of Christ with Mary Magdalene kneeling at his feet and drying them with her hair. The box of ointment is on the floor, and Judas springs from his seat as if to prevent the lavish use of so precious an article. l l f i . Last Judgment. —This great fresco occupies the whole wall opposite the entrance in the Sistine chapel. It is the most powerful thing that the art of painting has ever produced, and Michael Angelo took nine years for its execution. In the upper portion of the picture Christ sits as Judge, the Madonna at his side as Mediatrix. " On the right hover the saints, drawn back by devils and supported by angels, on the left the sinners in vain strive to ascend. Above are two groups of angels with the cross, the column at which Christ was scourged and the other instruments of his suffering. Beneath the rising dead is hell, according to Dante's description, with the boatman Charon and the judge Minos. The figures in this picture were formerly nude, but Paul I V caused them to be draped by Da Volterra. 117. The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.—-This was done thirty years before the Last Judgment, and the whole ceiling was finished in the short space of twenty months. " The fundamental idea of the work is the preparation of the world for the advent of Christ." In the center of the ceiling are the following n i r , e sections: One, God the Father separates light from darkness ; two, creation of the sun and moon ; three, separation of the land from the sea ; four, Adam inspired with life; five, creation of Eve ; six, the fall and banishment from paradise; seven, Noah's thank-offering after the deluge; eight, the deluge ; nine, Noah's intoxication and the derision of his sons. Around these scenes are the figures of the prophets a«d sibyls who proclaimed the Messiah's advent, and the ancestors of Christ who expected him.

55

IIS. The Coronation of Charlemagne.—One of the frescoes in the stanze of Raphael (see engravings No. 1,) in the Vatican. It represents the crowning of Charlemagne in the former church of St. Peter. Leo I I I has the features of Leo X ; the emperor those of Francis I.

Me

,. 1 1 9 . The Cross Appearing to Constantine.—One of the frescoes of the stanze of Raphael, designed by that master but executed by Guilo Romano. 1 2 0 . Descent from the Cross.—The picture from which this photograph is taken is in the Borghese palace at Rome, and is one of the most admired of Raphael's large-sized paintings. The figure of the dead Christ is lifted from the cross—and the lifeless drop of the limbs, the lax muscles, are admirably portrayed. Below the cross is another group of the fainting Madonna with her three faithful companions bending over her. The faces of the women are full of a tender sorrow. 121. Madonna delta Scdia.—This, one of Raphael's most famous pictures of the virgin and child, is in the Pitti palace in Florence. The painting is small, but the art perfect that overcomes the disadvantages of lack of space and inconvenience of form, making the arrangement so natural and graceful that the shape of the canvas would seem to be the choice of the artist, instead of the caprice of the purchaser, as was the case. The Madonna in this picture is criticized as being too much the earthly mother, lacking in divinity. The face is stronger than the generality of Madonnas. In the background, St. John worships humbly, almost timidly, the child Jesus. 1 2 2 . Madonna del Gran Duca.—The original of this painting is'also in the Pitti palace. It is one of the simplest Madonnas that the pencil of Raphael ever produced. The virgin mother is shown in half length, holding thechild in her arms. Her eyes are cast down in humility, and her whole position is modest, pure and angelic. The picture was purchased by Ferdinand, the Grand Duke of Florence, (hence the name) and such was his admiration for it that he had it carried about everywhere with him and performed his devotions before it morning and evenings. 1 2 3 . Madonna di Foligno.—This is in the Vatican at Rome, in the same apartment with the Transfiguration. It represents the virgin mother enthroned in the clouds and surrounded by saints. The picture was ordered from Raphael by Sigismondo Conti, an officer of the household of Julius I I . The painter has introduced him into the picture kneeling in the group on the left, opposite St. John the Baptist. The landscape represents a distant view of the city of Foligno. 1 2 4 . Madonna del Cardellino, or the Madonna of the goldfinch, is in the Tribune of the Ufflzi gallery at Florence. One of the most charming of Raphael's Madonnas. The virgin is represented seated with a book in her hand, whilst Jesus, standing between her knees and with his foot resting on hers, presents a bird to St. John. The painting was executed in lo04. 125. St. Cecilia.— The gem of the museum at Bologna. The figures are life-size—representing St. Cecilia, the sweet patroness of music, surrounded by the apostle St. Paul, the evangelist St. J o h n , St. Augus-

X

f

/A;

I '*