Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-12-02
LETTER TO THE YOUNG
FOLKS.
From Dresden, sa1Ony.

Correspondence Delaware Gazette.I
There is a picture in Dresden abou
which great talk has been made 70
hundreds of years. 1t IS the Sixinl
Madonna. 1t is so named because it wa!
painted to adorn church in Rome call
ed the Sixtine chapel and that, if yol
like the whole story. was named for {
Pope.
Well, this picture is the best Madon
ma in the world, which is almost saying
it is the best picture in the world, foi
this reason: there is nothing in which
/ people have been so hard to suit as II
pictures of Mary ard Jesus. You SEE
the Virgin Mary is supposed to have
been a woman far above common wo-
men. 1t would be a great thing to pain
a picture even of her which would
| please everybody. You can think then
what it would be to paint one of Jesus
who most people believe was God, and
who was vet little child God, the
wisest and strongest being that lives,
and little babe that can know and do
nothing Blend these two somehow
and add the mother Mary looking all
| love, rapture, wonder, and then you will
family see what every artist had before
| him who undertook to create a Ma
donna.
Well, because it seemed so sweet and
perhaps because it was so hard a thing
to do, nearly every artist from Jesus
time down, has tried to paint a Madon-
ma. And every one has failed, more or
less, because, you know. being human, ne
could not put the Cookbook in the baby S
face. The great Galleries are full Of
these pictures or failures. Some of them
are so gentle and tender that they might
make you cry, while others look SO
queer they would set you to laughing.
Many as they seem to be, they are of
course but choice few compared with
the myriad greater failures which
could not command places in these gal
leries.
Think of the countless disappointed
men after a thousand years trying, and
then think of the greatest artist in the
world painting numbers of Madonnas
before he could paint this one, and in a
moment you will see and agree that this
picture is like bloody battle won it is,
as our soldiers used to say, "a victory
won over overwhelming numbers
It IS true we have no great account
of pictures painted during the early part
of that thousand or more years, but we
have no reason to doubtthere were plen-
ty, such as they were, and if any at all
in Europe then more Madonnas than
any thing else, because there were more
Catholics than almost anything else.
1t is also true, though it spoils our
nice picture to say it, that there was an
other artist whom some people think
was greater than this one, but more of
that anon.
It is much more than likely that some
of you will see this picture for your
selves, sometime. Suppose you were
about to do so, and now wished to be
"posted" a little on pictures beforehand.
If we were already in Dresden, it would
be nice to stroll down to the Bruhl
Terasse 1t IS the incest promenade in
the city. 1t is near the Picture Gallery
which is open from ten o'clock till four
We would go at ten when the streets
and river are lively. In half an hour
we would have the story over and feel
fresh and ready for picture-g gazing, which
would be just what we would need. Then
we could spend a good hour looking at
the picture, by which time you would be
tired and want your dinner, and some
body else would want your place before
the Madonna. The main reason why
propose this plan is, that have no idea
of trying really to describe the picture
itself. And this will help to amuse US
instead.
The BruhI Terrasse is a lofty,
shaded terrace running five hundred
and fifty feet along the bank of the riv-
er Elbe. 1t is best reached by the end
next the Palace and Court-church. At
its foot, if you like, you can spend two
cents and fill as many pockets with lus-
cious pears, or purple or yellow plums
as large as a great peach, and juicy and |
sweet as you could wish. After we have
the steps we find an empty seat
facing the river, and there we see, first, |
the boats and bridge thronged with cd !
dest looking people over the river, at
the left, the Japanese Palace and Park, |
both of them open to everybody; in |
front the new city; at the right, around
bend in the river, villas, castles, gar
dens, vineyards crowning the hills. The
prettiest chateau there belongs to an
American The hills are round and
green. They slope upward and back
ward in the yellow sunshine and purple |
mists. The crowded boats you see
are coming and going between Dres-
den and the Kings summer palace and |
other romantic places, especially Saxon I
Switzerland, all of which lie that way
Believe now that you are look |
ing on all that charming scene and eat
ing Saxon pears, and you will not have |
time to think if my story is dull, which |
begins and goes on in this way:
A good while ago when the world was
young, there were no sculptures or
paintings in it. Then there came |
a time, long before Christ, when a
was made. After awhile this
was lost. But it was revived |
again few hundred years ago. This
revival was called the Revival of Art. |
The time of it is called the Period of the
There IS a style of archi-
lecture which takes its name from it. The
Revival of Art reached its climax of glo-
ry IN Italy, as the beginning" of art
had done long before in Greece. Many /
sculptures have come down to us from
that Golden Era in Greece, although
some of the most precious were lost. A
few great sculptures and many paintings
remain to us from the Golden Age of
in Italy. The oldest of the
are known by their gilt back
ground. There is no perspective" in
.hem, that is, no distance behind any
-lAllAS VI oLAlJ DOdJ J--AAItAAAAA5 DetN EAA@s ~
makes the figures stand out as if they
were raised.
At the time of the Revival of Art,
many great painters arose in different
countries, and each, living in different
country and being of course a aLfeTeNf
nan from the rest, had a style of his
own; such marked, splendid style as
to draw no end of people into initiating
him. And so he was said to found a
school" and so became "Great Mas
Ter" We now have German, Dutch,
Flemish and other schools, and in each
Great Gallery suites of rooms set off to
each. But in different parts of Italy, no
less than Ifz,e great artists were born in
he same century, the fifteenth. Their
names, were Leonardo da Vinci, Mich
lel Angelo. Raphael, Titan and Cor
.eggio. Beginning with the second, they
the Florentine, Roman, Vene-
ian and Lombard schools. Copies Of
heir paintings are found all over the
world Some 0f Won havga ~cv,s,e oF M !