The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-09 00:00:00

CHIMENTI'S PICTURES,

The old adage tkat there is nothing new under tb:
sun would seem to have received another and uulooked-far
cobfirmation. We all know that the effect of relief produ
o
by the stereoscope is owing to binocular vision, wherelr
two copies of the same object placed side by side melt l° 0
one. Those who are familiar with the history of the f//1
arts are also aware that there lived at Florence in the bad;
ginning of the 17th century an artist, Jacopo Chimenti
Empoti, who died in 1610, and who, though not Be uni'o,";
sally known as the great masters, has left a few very flilk
pictures in some of the churches of the Tuscan capital•
dispute has arisen between Professor Emerson, of TO,'
University, U.S., Sand Sir David Brewster, about c%
Lain drawings of that old master, executed in doul/'
like stereoscopic photograhs, and which, vie'eoil
through the stereoscope, appear in relief, peofeo°t
Emerson attributes this effect to accident, and silo
,1
" Let any one execute a pen-and. ink sketch, 1/1110
then let him make as perfect a copy of it as he can wltho
careful measurements; now place these two drawing° to
the stereoscope, and you get the same kind of effect se°ll
the Chimenti drawings." Sir D. Brewster, on the contrl
considers these drawings to be a proof that stereosooPil.d•
been attempted as far back as the 17th century, and BC" A..
ingly replies in this monta'a
.Philosophical litagazin4lo9'4
ing Professor Emerson whether he himself has exec,utecl'io
such sketch and obtained the required relief, or whether t 3
ever made a correct copy of one or other of the (le
drawings, and if he did, why he did not advise any one 410
the same, and thus obtain the only satisfactory proof °
relief's being accidental ? Sir D. Brewster had been t° °re
of the masters of the School of Art at Edinburgh, 011(1 tya
quested him to obtain from his pupils copies of each , d$
Chimenti drawings. Of the six copies thus obtainedt;o?
one could produce in the stereoscope the effect of the Li"
menti drawings. This at once did away with the opiOril
that one of the drawings might be Chimenti's, and thove
its side a copy of one of his pupils. Sir D. Del
now defies Professor Emerson to produce one rem
a hundred sketches by different individual° by
which the stereoscopic relief exists at all ; anctoes
to Chimenti, it may be asked what led so etnilss
an artist to make so uninteresting a sketch as 010
of a man sitting upon a stool with a pair of comPastoit.
one hand and a string in the othei.; what led him t° aor
a copy of it the very same size, and without any ellall'es?
improvement whatever; what led him to preserve en° DO
interesting pict,res ; and, above all, what led him to Poss
those two figures side by side, and in sucja, a manner pt.
the instant they were seen by en intelligent travellertto
bo
Crum Brown, he conceived they were intended. ,0001'
brought into relief by binocular vision, and, Pe
ally brought them into stereoscopic relief hoer
tiring and combining the two separate pictures. tip°
over these drawings were executed about 1620, at tilt' befi
when Baptista Porta had called the attention of phil°s°Via
to the subject of binocular vision, and had sheviu,,eteP
diagram so far resembling a stereoscopic slide that e%1_14
by
objects, that is, objects in relief, were seen binocul°,rtil'ete,
the combination of a right-and-left-eye picture ° doh
Dr. Brewster states, in conclusion, that Professor Ar 0
Director of the Industrial Museum of Scotland, °I 01;41
turn-out of the Museum at Liverpool, what appear to r,
a stereoscope, bearing the date of 1670, and suppose

of Italian origin
Bt
ACCIDENT TO SIR JAMES WILDE. lire
(' rt lear-s
tio
Sir James Wilde, the judge of the Divorce Cou, 11
with an accident of a somewhat serious nature. Lie Wa.s;til .riel/
week thrown out of an open carriage, and received 113"hlie
so severe that he is still unable to leave his bed, thollgt-blio
will, w© are assured, shortly be able to discharge his
duties. t a ta
PROBATE AND DIVORCE.—We are reques-erIP
state that, owing to an accident, Sir James 1%111 o'
will be prevented sitting in Chambers or in Court en ,hies'
day, Jan. 12. The summonses and motions whic11:1)8
fixed for that day will, should the judge be able to 6;,-11'00,
taken on Saturday the 16th. The probate causes s"."
Pd
juries will be taken on Friday, the 22d. We regret tonvell
that the learned judge was last week thrown out of ou ;tilt
carriage and received injuries so severe that /I° °tired'
unable to leave his bed, though ho will, we ar° 39°
hortly be able to discharge his public duties.
"Whose bathes his hand in blood, must -6°
with tears, says a German Trever 6,