The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-06-07
THE STRANGEST OF PICTURE GAL
LERIES,

| There is one gallery of pictures in Brus-
sels says a correspondent, SO unique III
character that they will stay in the memory
when better things have faded out. This is
the Wiertz Museum. The great picture is
| the struggle for the body of Patroclus It
don't matter who Patroculus was, except that
he looks very dead indeed but the point of
the picture is the awful strain of two sets of
men. both bound to conquer or die in the
attempt. 1t is like looking on a duel when
you sympathize with both sides. There is
passion enough in it for the whole bat
tie of Waterloo. This is almost the
only picture into which the artist
bitterness as genius. The oppression
of earthly authority is gradually shown
in giant grinding woman's shoulder be-
tween his teeth, and treading helpless NOR
tails under foot. Perhaps the most curious
idea is expressed in the Man of the Fu-
ture,' an enlarged and noble figure of man
holding in his big hand, and regarding with
plying smile, the banbles that have been
most valued by mankind-coins, flags, Or
ders gems and firearms. Two angels look
on him with sympathetic wonder. Near
this is figure of Napoleon ia the flames of
hell, while his victims hold out broken limbs
to him as the trophies of his career A Bit
ter hatred of Napoleon and French despot-
ism run through the whole gallery and yet
the artist, against his will, has given to Ma
paleon face SO sad and noble that the SYM
pathy of tie beholder cleaves to him,
and not to those who suffered by him. =
Every contrvance is resOrted to to keep
up the illusion of reality. One looks
through knot-hole in board fence
into a charnel-house, where woman,
too soon buried, in cholera times, is just
forcing up her cotfin-lid, and realizing the
horror of the situation. Through another
hole is seen a mother, driven mad by starva-
ton in Napoleons campaigns, who is
cutting up her child to boil it in kettle.
The curve of the little cheek, half covered $
in her apron, is the only softening touch in
the terrible picture. But not all these fam
tastes are horrible In corner painted
girl smiles at you, through a crack in a
tainted door, so naturally that you smile;
back at her before YOU can realize that she
is only picture. In another more lovely
than words can tell, a mother, just arrived
in heaven, recognizes the child that had gone
before. Nlertz was a wonderful flesh painter
Some OF his nude figures of women remind
one of Lady Mary Montague's conclusion
when she saw Turkish women in bath. II
was here convinced Of the truth of ref1ec-
ton that have often made, that if it were
the fashion to go naked, the face would be
hardly observed, and many noted beauties
would have to abdcate their thrones"
Wiertz was low-born and poor, and the iron
early entered his soul to reappear in his pic
lures, which are full of scorn and bitterness
toward all the word that called itself supe-
rior to him. He is as vulgarly self-conscious
in his art as Byron was in his poetry. He
was of that order of genius which, in litera-
ture, has produced Frankenstein, and
Vathek, Poe's stories, and some of Haw-
thorne's novels-a select few out of all hui
manity who are under sort of opium IN
duence from their BIRTH They love the
world no better than the world loves them.