Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-07-11
NEW SERIES--V0L. IS, NO. 81
ARTISTIC ERRORS ANDANACH.
RONISMS.

AR TIST7C ERRORS ANDANA OH
RONISMS.
In the works ofsomc Of the greatest
painters, curious and startling anach.
ronisms occur. In their representa-
tions we frequently find objects intro
duced long before the period Of their
existence; and TO bring out an effect,
historical truth has been in many
cases ignored. In this respect, Ra-
phael d'Urbino was great trang-
gressor: he introduces hewn stone
step into "The Expulsion from Para
dise;' and book bound in tho neat
! est possible modern manner into the
wellknown picture of "Elymas the
Sorcerer struck Blind" A host of
other artists appear TO have believed
that the Virgin Mary was in the habit
OF studying a massbook, and that the
Hebrew Kings wore robes similar to
those of Henry VIII.
That there is nothing now under
the sun, is a maxim the broad truth of
which will be conceded by most men /;
but when Albert Curer goes so far as
to introduce tent bedstead, com
modious cooking-range, and an array
of china candlestcks, surmounted by
modern.shapcd candles, into his Birth
Of the Virgin" the spectator is not un-
naturally inclined to doubt whether
tho painter was altogether justified in
his creations.
When buttons were invented is q
problem that very probably cannot
now be solved but it is q question
whether they were used in the days Of
Isaac. Silvio Manage, however, evil
IDENTIFY thought such to be the case
for in his picture OF the sale of Joseph
to the lshmaelites, the coat Of one of
the brothers is not only fastened, but
even decorated by their means. Lucas
Van Leyden, too, was bold enough to
put chignon on the head of Joel, the
wife of Heber the Kenite and not con-
tent with this, he surmounted the edi,
fee with q beautiful coalscuttle bon
net of straw. Salvador Rosa is another
trespasser in the matter of head dress
An exquisite work by this master rep
resents the Baptist preaching in the
wilderness; but the whole effect is
spoiled by the presence in the back
ground Of some jaunty spectators in
slOuch hats and Haunting feathers Van
Dyck himself represents one OF the
Apostles in sea.boots in his picture of
"The Miraculous Draught OF Fishes"
which is now in the National Gallery;
and Paul Voronesc paints some italian
peasants in felt hats and plumes calm
y contemplating tho Alteration Of the
Mag. Agostino Caracci, in q picture
of aTobias amounting his fathers eyes,
puts the two men in shoes, and N
Poussin, in his celebrated Passage Of
the Rcd Sea- introduces Roman armor
of the time Of the Emperors, regardless
of the well-ascertained fact that The
Egyptians, about the days of the Hyc-
sos, did not indulge in metal armor at
all In ono of Raphaol's best works,
the TRANSPORTATION monopolises the
upper part of the canvas, while IN the
lower portion the man possessed with
an evil spirit is being simultaneously
healed and in 9 Flemish painting Of
somc note, several corpulent Doors,
with clay pipes in their mouths, are
gazing in wonder at David, who is
carrying the head Of Goliath. Indeed,
the history Of the Poet King is made a
frequent medium for anachronisms for
in another picture of the Death of Go
Hath, the giant wears no armor except
plumed helmet; and in a third, Da-
vid is hurling at his adversary rough
stcnc instead Of a pebble. At his sub.
sequent triumph, according to yet an
other painting, David is received by
Greek maidens in front of an italian
building surmounted by flags, while |
two pyramids in the background vain
y do their best TO lend harmony to
the scene
Abraham has been shamefully treat
cd by his illustrators. A Spanish art
list represents him as about TO shoot
Isaac with a pistol; and the patriarch |
is almost always represented as a man
of not more than sixty years of age at
most A very common anachronism
is the introduction OF Italian archtec-
ture into Eastern scenes. Claude, for
instance, in his "Embarkation of the
Queen OF Sheba," and Bono Of Ferrara
in his Jcromo in the Desert" do so
and examples might be multiplied dd
nfnitum. Claud, in the "Embarkation
of Saint Ursula also introduces ships
Of the type in use at the middle of the
seventeenth century; and Boocaccio
Boccaccino. in the "Procession to Cal
vary" fills up his background with a
fuc broad river covered with shipping,
in spite OF the fact that nothing Of the
sort exists near Jerusalem. How the
disciples, in Raphaels miraculous
Draught of Fishes" managed to pre-.
serve their equilibrium in the very
minute boats TO which tho artist
has treated thom, is a mystery
and why Claud should have celebrated
the marriage Of Isaac and Rcbccca in
front Of waterfall that might almost
vic with that of Niagara, is n riddle
that viii probably never be solved.
The illustrations TO Newton's Bible,
which was published in l771, contain
some curious errors and anachronisms
that arc lttlo known. Solomon is be-
ing anointed nnder the shadow Of q
pyramid; and the destruction of Da-
gon takes place in building very sim.
liar in appearance to st. Paul's Cathe-
dral in London. David is singing be-
for the Ark from scroll that is con-
veniently held in front of him by a
winged but lcgless ohorub; and Sap
phira dies in the street. In a picture
representing the death of the lying
prophet, the dead man wears coat
and trousers; and in another depicting
Elijah and the priests of Baal there Is
an altar, but no surrounding trench.
Perhaps the most fragrant engraving
in the collection is one Of Daniels
Dream, which introduces four great
beasts that do not in the least answer
the description OF them given in the
text. Fortunately for the credit OF
the artists involved, all the pictures
are anonymous; but some are known
to have been executed by very cmi-
ncnt men.
A much cherished idea with the
painters of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries was that guitars and violns
werein vogue at the time Of our Saviour.
Illustrations may be found in the works
Of Domenichino, Jean Belin, Cosimo