The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-11-05
The 8utlaua Daily Glohe.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER ), 1874.
Letter from Cnas. FL. Congaon, Esq.

you from Boston / promised in my next
letter to give your readers description of
the Art Exposition of the exhibition of the
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AS
ISOLATION But permit me to digress little
from that promise and for the benefit of
your numerous readers who may not have
the opportunity at present of viewing the
Mon'pensier and other pictures to describe
more in detail. (For l make no preten-
sions ut criticism) and shall only undertake
to tell what think of, and how those paint
ings impressed me. No one but a Con-
noisseur in pictures or an artist himself
could properly criticize where there are So
many really nice productions. But it is
with pictures as it is with men when you
see them congregated together it is easy
enough to discern the great, the good and
read the heart it is more difficult opera
ton. So with pictures as you glance over
them and casually remark their coloring
and tinting involuntary exclam-
How Beautiful! But when you come to
examine more at your leisure, and compare
one with another, you perhaps find quail
tiles in others that transcend by far the
one you at first thought most beautiful
The one is comparatively fresh from the
artists hand and has all the GLOW and re.
sonance requisite to set off picture to adj
ptap ho,n,if,1 IN IT, q I'LL
and shades, grand in its conception, meth
odcal and mechanical in all its executions,
and what more you ask would you have for
a perfect picture. All there it is and the
artist of to-day knows fall well that what
ever eminence he may have attained and
howsoever perfect his pictures may be there
is one thing necessary; and this is beyond
his control. Time the great modfer of all
things has always something to do for the
artist. This alone can tone down picture
and bring out new beauties that perhaps
the artist never dreamed of. And when one
sees picture that has been embellished by
age he sees beauties that could not have
been traced when fresh from the masters
hand. Thus God through the unfailing
cycles Of time dresses and redresses in
beauty the artists most fanciful productions
And thus too he deals with man. Bold,
dauntless, striking, fascinating even in
youth he may be, and these qualities may
not be ephemeral; but there age is requisite
to round out tone down, bring out, the man
both physically and mentally. In looking
over the pictures referred to in my last let
ter we see at glance that many of them
have the indelible imprint of age that Pc
culiar yellow-bending which gives so much
richness to pictures, and often so much
vvlue. l shall only give brief description
of few OF the more :, na9tsEoTihy a ls fftsi
the dead Christ in her arms. This is No
IS in the catalogue and was painted by
Luis dc Morales, surnamed the Divine and
who was born about the year 1908 or 1900,
and died in 1886. This picture is supposed
to have been painted by him
when in his 47th year. and is from
the Spanish gallery at the Lonore.
In my estimation this is the most valuable+
picture IN the collection. The reason why
think so, is perhaps because it has haunt
ed me perpetually since first set my eyes
upon it, and | can give no better reason
than the great contrast that the painter has
been able to display. You see the dead
Christ and che is dead" deathly paleness
ashy white overspreads his person, the
blood has dried to his hands and arms as it
oozed from the wounds. The wound in his
side made by the merciess spear seems as
fresh as if just made, the contrast; the liv-
ing woman looking mournful, detected;
full of grief, pity, compassion, anguish.
But she is alive. The life blood is coursing
through its wonted channels, the blush OF
health is on her cheek and though regret is
shading her brow, yet you detect that hope
is not extinct and she bears away the dead
Christ from the hateful cross.-And think
was not alone in my estimate of this picture
for many of those who were present at the
time of my visit would pass from one corrid-
dor to another and from one gallery to
another only to return to take another look
at this wonderful picture; and those who
were about to leave | noticed spent the last
moment in looking at this production and
had a vote been taken that day Morales
would have been voted a man, but immor-
tai. There are three other pictures in this
collection of nearly equal merit namely
The Virgin of the Swathing Sand, by Bar
tolomeo Estaban Murillo, it is No. in the
catalogue, and the only one | now think of
by that celebrated artist, have seen bet
ter pictures of his. The Repentent Mag
dalen despoiling herself of her jewels, by
Antanasio Boccanegra. He was pupil OF
Cano, and left some beautiful pictures
to the world, and this is one of them.
Cato of Utica tearing out his
entrails, by Joseph dc ltibera,
nick-named Lo Spagnoletto, and was
| - Rtbattn nj ole of ('arn.
yaggio. OF this picture must say, rs the
Spanish have it, lie Diable Horrible Aw-
full If there is anything horrible o: aw-
full in this world that the painter does not
express through Cato in his trying condl-
ton, then am no judge of expression in a
picture. The balance of the collection is
good, excellent; but have not time nor
talent to picture on paper what have seen
on canvass. will only add of the mod
ern pictures on exhibition here. There are
two by Henri Lehman, painted. The Ocean
Nymphs Weeping upon the Rock of Pro-
metheus in 1S43, and given by King Louis
Philippe to his son the Duke de
Montpensier The other, The Syrens
Seeking to Entice Ulysses, painted
as pendant to the ocean nymphs for the
Duke, believe, in 1874. These are splen-
did pictures and the artist has succeeded
| III ~ e"h'"'S i+''
imagination If in the first picture your
heart is made sad by their Punishment and
desolation, their forlorn and desolate con-
dition upon lonely rock in the midst of
the see, it is caused TO beat lighter when
you behold the syrens seeking by their per-
sonal charms and voluptuous actions to en-
tice Ulysses upon the fated rock. This
some would call an extravagant picture,
but do not so look upon it. a great
moral is connected with this picture,
and the picture was intended to
convey that moral. There are more
Syallas and Charybidyses than we read of
in Grecian lore or story, and happy are
they who are able to resist the syrens to
keep their vessels from being stranded upon
the shoals and rocks of temptation, and
are allowed to moor their vessels beside the
shore beyond which the Elyslan fields
stretch out into endless plains where the