The sun., 1884-04-27

IN. u lOA1. - toe - 1eorle. - ~ SsVssss
hs found . warm friend n vs,assssa VIE
obtained fcr him The satsy - ths rsys!
palaces. VITA pesmission 70 COPY any Of
the pictures. and who also introduced
him to OlivAres. But for the specdy downfall
OF tho Prime Minister. who. with his usual dis
cornmsnt. had divinod the talent OF tho new
aspirAnt for fame. Murillo might have become
court paintor. In which event he would have
been impelled toward portraiture. and might
have missed his true vocation. Al II was. In
1645 no went back 10 Seville and never after.
ward passed tho bounds OF ha native province.
Like Morales. he was to owe nothing to foreign
| travel. and nothing to tho italian and Flemish
masters. except as these wore represented In
tho Madrid galleries.
10 needy was he on his return to Seville that
he alone Of artists OF repute was willing 70 un.
dertake for tho pittanoe offered the eleven his.
torical pictures required for tho smHll cloistcr
OF the Convent OF San Francisco. These paint
ings. on which he was engaged for three years.
brought him fame and wol-rsmunerated om-
ploymont. though they stl,l reveal some tracos
OF his flrst cold manner. tho outlines being rel.
atively sharp and the shadows strongly
marked. sovon OF them wero carried
OF by Marshal Soult and Con. Faviers.
but four. owing to tho haste OF
tho evacuation. wero loft bchind. and
tonic Bravo. Ono OF this collectors prizes. the
Saint Diego Of Alca nS Surprised by the Guard
dian." passed by q chain OF title. every link OF
which is sound. to Mr. Charles u. Curtis. tho
| author OF this catalogue. who has embeliished
the prosont volume with an otching OF this col
ebrnted picture. According to tho legend which
tho painting embodies. Saint Diego. having
been reproved by tho Prior Of tho convcnt
for his excessive charity to tho poor.
was on ono occasion saved from pun
ishmont by a miraculous conversion into
flowers OF tho oaves which he was privily con-
| veying to tho mendlcants. We SEQ him In Mu-
rilos picture with upturned faco. unfolding
his brown robe. which proves to bo filled with
| roses. whilo tho Guardian lifts his hand In
| amazcment at the miracle. On the left arc four
| old boggars and two boys I'm plorinR aims. and In
| front Christ himself. marked with tho stigmata.
| but in mendicant guise. Is seated with out
| stretched hand. as II repeating "Inasmuch rs
ye have done 1t unto ono OF the least Of these.
ye have dono 1t unto NO."
| 1t Is possible. as some chroniclers will have
1t. that tho distinction gained by the San Fran
cisco paintings brought about Murllo's mar
rage with Beatrlz do Cabrera sotomayor.
though Mr.. Curtis can lnd no evidence that tho
lady was other rich or noble. The aluson to
| her dowry In her husbands will seems to indi-
cato thnt 1t was inconsiderable. and her sur
| name. which was a common one. no more at
tests relationship to the great house Of Soto.
mayor. than In our day the name OF Howard
would prove affllIation to tho Duke OF Norfolk.
or that Of Campbell kinship with the Duke
OF Argyl. OF fmuch moro importance than his
marriage to posterity Is the fact that about the
same date uG4S) he changed his style from the
first. or Jrio. to the second. or calido. manner.
and painted tho Flight into Egypt" and also.
D1., f..
ture. executed for tho Convent OF La Mcrced
Ca!zada was captured by soult. and purchased
at his sale In 1859 by the Due do Gallera. W hose
widow. 1t is said. proposes to bcQueath it to
| the city OF Paris.
To the next twenty years are referred most OF
| tho innumerable Immaculate Conceptions. As
| sumptions. Annunciations Matres Dolorosn.
Alterations. and representations OF the Virgin
| and Child and Of tho Holy Family. or these
| many are unqucstionably the authentic pro-
| ductions OF Murilio. and some OF them rank
| among his most coveted che| dGurres. but
many. also cannot be traced back to his studio.
and some that pass under his name must be
assigned to other hands. Among the treat
mcnts OF the Immaculate Conception.
whose genulnencss is indisputable. several
should BIO enumerated. Tho Seville Museum.
| for example now contains the picture origin
rGporoso style. and designated by Bermudez
| as the graceful and beautiful Conception. re-
| mnrknble for the lov6lincss OF the angels that
sustain tho Virgin" To the samo collection
| belongs the Immaculate Conce ption" that for
| mcrlv stood over an arch In tho church Of tho
| Franciscan Convent. 1t is said that whom this
| work was completed. tho monks. dissatisfied
with its coarse and unfinished appearance. re-
fused to accept 1t. The painter. however.
asked permission to place 1t in tho lofty and
| remote position it was intended to occupy.
whore Its beauty ut once became so evident
that tho friars were glad to obtain it at o higher
price than they had first offered.
One OF the finest reservations Of this subject
by Murillo was formerly in the palace OF San
Ildofonso. but is now in the Prado Museum.
Besides tho superior power with which the face
Is treated. 1t differs In several minor details
from tho two pictures Just now mentioned and
especially In this. that. while hore tho Virgin
stands in tho hollow OF q crescent with ono
horn. In those pictures she stands either In tho
hollow OF q two-horned crescent or on q globe.
Wo may remark in parenthesis. that in his
portrayal ofthe Virgin. Murillo very seldom con-
formed to the rule OF tho Inqulstlon that her feet
should rest on tho outside OF crescent whose
horns point downward But this dcreliction
was nothing to his defiance Of far moro rigor.
GUS prescriptions In other paintings whore tho
Virgins bosom is uncovered. Returning for q
moment to the classified list we ind. OF course
that Mr.. Curtis has much to toll US about the
Conception (now in tho I.ouvre) wrought for
the Hospital de los Henerabies SdcerdOtes. which
the Spanish writer's pronounced superior to any
thing by Murillo's hand In Seville for color and
charo-oscuro. This was the most valuable pic
ture acquired BY Sout. and 1t reached the pin
nace OF fame ut the sale in 1859 when II brought
$l23000. the highest price ever given for a
work OF art before or since. In connection
| with this class Of Murillo's compositions We
| should not forget to say that the Immaculate
Conception" which Is now In tho possession
OF Mrs. W. II. Aspinwall. is OF great merit and
| incontrovertible authenticity 1t WAS taken
from the Royal Palace at Madrid by Gen.
Desolle whose daughter sold it to a Mr.. Wood
burn from whom tho King OF Holland pur-
| chased 1t. At the latter's sale in 1850 1t was
bought In and subsequently sold to Mr. Aspin-
wall
OF another celebrated picture by Murlllo. In
ha Tonvro la nirth of tho Vir.ip i,t,