The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-08-23
wonderful Paintings.
/" THE DREAM OF Pilates WIFE AND
CHRIST LEAVING THE PRAroRIUM."
ILondOn Correspondent courier.Journal. /

!, London Correspondent Courier-Journal.I
. This morning we visited the Dore gal
lery,- where the last great work of thi
, wonderful artist, "The dream Of Plate
! wife," has recently been placed. Th
gallery is email suit of rooms on New
BOND street. but it contains works which
are enough in themselves to immortalis,
the artist. You go through hall ani
enter quiet though crowded apartment
where the history of Christ is wildly and
mournfuily portrayed ON several large
Pilates wife" is the last butno the least ad
dition. 1t is founded on the words of Mat.
thew: !" And when PLATE was set down on
the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him
saying, have thou nothing to do with that
just man, for have suffered many things
this day in q dream because of hmm The
sentence ID brief but it is pregnant and sug-
gestive, and the weird imagination of Dore
has seized it and elaborated it into a nost
1 pathetic and powerful poem.
The prominent figures are our Lord and
Pilates wife, who. according to church ira
dition, was Claudia Procula. She is de-
scending flight of steps on the left, having
vacated her chamber, where the bed is in
disorder caused by the restless agitation of
the dreamer. Her beautiful face is greatly
troubled as an angel whispers to her and
points with prophetic finger to the "just
man" on the right surrounded by notified
crowd. Every feature of her face ia ex-
presslve of the perturbed spirit and the
torture of the feyerish dream. Its muscles
almost move as the dark vision is unvailed
by the angel, and her lips seem to culver
with horror as she beholds the executioners
piercing the feet of the divine sufferer,
doomed in short time to be nailed upon
the dark, bitter cross lying in front. The
confused surroundings are illuminated with
the light that radiates from the face of the
Saviour, whose whole countenance seems
to shed pity and forgiveness upon his foes.
His eyes have that far-of, weefnl look of
" the man of sorrows;" but He is stretch
ing His gaze hopefully to a shmmering
cross that shines with untroubled lustre
upon the summit of distant hill. The |
forehead and the form have the ineaments |
OF q descended God, and the grief depicted |
there is enough to disturb the repose of any !
spirit or trouble the peace of any dream. |
Near the Master are Peter and Paul, the I
one symboled by the keys, the other lean
ing upon martyrs sword. Behind him
is long and unbroken procession illlustra-
tive OF the ages of the cross. Conspicuous
lr this throDg are the fathers of the church
Atbanasius, Augustine, Gregory, Bruno
and some others. Beyond these are the
Crusaders, their age blending with that of
martyrdom. But the sad foreground is here
banners, and the cross, which in front il
rough hewn and black, is here radiant with
glory and power, and is raised aloft as a
syn Dol of authority before which the kings
aud princes and potentates of the earth
bend the knee and bow the head.
Before these trium plant legions thicken
into vast army, united in undistipguish-
able comradeship, the forms of Charlie
nagne, st. Louis, Godfrey of Bouillion, and {
OF Toulouse rise in conspicuous
leadership above the rest.
The remainder. of the huge capyas ia ,
crowded only with the underlined and
troubled sbapelessness of the dream world
But the two leading figures are enough 10
enchain the eye and grasp the sympathies !
If the spectator. The deep pathos of that )
suffering face, and the turbulent apprehen-
lions of Pilates wife, who seems to catch =
With woman's instinct the peril of the G
approaching tragedy, are enough. Mol
living soul can look upon the scene viii t
nut emotion.
There is but one other work in the GAL n
cry that equals it, and it would be idle for q
ne to- attempt it's description. Christ
leaving the Fi@eorium is even more y
Vonderful, aud is acknowledged to be the "
masterpiece of this most wonderful man. a
{ depicts another chapter in the life of
ihrist. The Judgment has been rendered o.
Is known. brutal crowd has gathered
bout the steps of the Pratoriurn, clamor-
ng cruelty Him. There are the chief
RESTS, the elders, the scribes and the
'harisees. Prominent to the left ia the ~
'resoiute and conscience smitten PLATE.
aiaphas stands near him exulting in his CT
aturnine triumph. Judas with his feloo
owl looks on in silence. Christ is hi
one. The few who/dare feel a sym- ht
athy for Him in>~that dark hour are
ePtt back by the weapons of the grim r,
'ldlery who have orders to clear the n
ny and who obey those orders strictly and A,
And there are the four
aP5e, desolate and sorrow stricken, bnt an
itbful to the last. The dropping, heart. er
'oken figure of the Virgin mother, so pale
ID beautiful. is about to sink in the surg
6 crowd. One has already tainted and % ed
danger of being trampled. Mary Mag IN
'tene and the other Mary appeal to the an
alwart guard, bat in vain. ExcitaS :
ughs press hard upon the forbidden at
IL. an
Ihey, too, are threatened with the brist- for
z weapons of the Roman soldiers bnt
ey seem to know that the hour, if NOT /
moment, of their triunnb js ~ - | cial