The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-10
THE FINE ARTS.

TITIAN's VENus.-Mr. W. Holman Hunt
writes to the London AthenGum, from Florence,
as follows about Titian's Venus:-
FLORENCE, October, 186S.-All of your read
ers who have visited the galleries here will
remember that the usual place for the Titan
Venus is some ten or twelve feet high i'll the
dark ''Tribune:" :" it is but rarely brought
down. At this time it happens that, for the
convenience of German artist who was copy
ing it, the picture has been removed into a
lighter loom, where it is placed on level
with the eye. Having benefited by the oppor.
tunity to examine the picture very closely,
am induced to forward to you some facts about
its condition of Importance to the whole world
interested in ancient art-which | tender as
my apology to the custodians of the Ufizi for
making my remarks in this very indirect and
public manner.
The first testimony have to give is very
honorable to all who have had charge Of the
picture; for after examination of the surface,
with and without glass, | came to the con-
clusiOn that it had been retOuehed as little as
any picture of the same date l had ever
examined At the edges of the painting, near
the frame, there are patches Of comparatively
modern date, but these have been placed,
honestly enough, to cover spaces of naked
canvas, left exposed by the falling away of
loosened flakes OF paint. This last o0serva-
ton leads to very serious discovery, 1. e.,
that the whole painting is in great danger
from the extension Of what may appropriately
enough be called cobweb cracks over its whole
surfaces each crack belonging to a system,
starring away from and circling around a CEN
tral point, and extending itself until it meets
with neighboring web of cracks. The injury
in its origin is, probably, of old date, scarcely
a single inch of the picture being free from
some line of rupture; this leaves the paint in
inIa 1u at
detachable with the nail, and of course, there
| fore, in peril of falling off bit by bit by the
shaking and unavoidable touching at the back
| and the front in the course of unfxing and
refxing the picture, or even by the necessary
busting of it even with the lightest of feather
| brushes.
The cause of this injury is, that the strainer
upon which the canvas is placed has warped
and shrunk to such degree that the paint on
| it's surface is ever subject to deviation from
| the level plane to conclave or convex one, in
| neither of which is it possible in it's present
| hard porcelain state to remain attached to its
| bed without rupture of the unyielding coating
| of precious cOlors.
TO arrest the evil cannot be very difficult.
That the picture should be retouched at all
should grieve at more than that it should be
left as it is. Any cleaning or hattening with
| hot iron would not be less deplorable. The
cracks are very fine, and in no sensible degree
ipure the effect of the picture when seen at
| distance of few feet and they have some
| value to the artist in revealing the manner of
painting adopted by Titan in executing this
work. Some mechanical process-perhaps,
for example, the application of thin coat OF
| glue to the cracks, i'll such way that the glue
should spread somewhat beneath the loose
scales-might be adopted to make the paint
| adhere more firmly to the canvas; and, this
| done, nothing more would be requisite to hand
| the picture down TO succeeding generations
| as far removed from our time as we are from
| Titsn's, to say the very least but the placing
| the canvas on new strainer of we'll seasoned
| wood, or even on the present old one, little
| rectifed in shape and size, with-and this is
most important of ala panel filling up the
whole space of the framework and supporting
| the canvas in such manner as TO prevent the
picture from being shaken by a eoncussion of
| any kind either in front or behind; and in ad-
dition to this should certainly recommend that
| the picture be covered with sheet of glass,
| removable at pleasure, as is done with some
| precious pictures in our own National Gallery,
to preserve it from injury from spectators and
ordinary copyists; the special need of which |
will demonstrate in later letter. should you
| do me the honor to insert this.
Before closing this, hope may be excused
for adding a few lines TO suggest inquiry as to
what copies of good character exist in England
of this picture. Some forty years since Etty
became a worshipper of the glory of the work;
he exerted all his interest in vain to have II
put into a good light for his study; but the
jealousies of the then ruling Government, and
some i'll conceived delicacies in the mind of the