St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-09

Aristotle under logic, Tubalcain under
music, Worcester under astronomy,
Euclid under geometry and PythagOras
under arithmetic. But why do single
out this painting for special attention?
Because the average tourist passet it by
unnouced. or mayhap deyotes two
precious minutes and half to 1t,
whereas it took the best art critic of to-
day fully five weeks to study it. Be
sides it is pictorial history of studies
in which every touch of the artists
brush leads on to new line of thought.
The Art Galleries.
Florence, seen in the fresh light of
rosy fingered morning in March, or in
the after glow of an early summer sum
set is transcendentIy beautiful. Still
more beautiful are the scenes which
greet the visitor in Its gorgeous palaces
of art. The art galleries of Florence are
of the best in Europe. Art students
from all parts of the world go there for
study and inspiration. 1t was pleasing
to see that the United States was not
unrepresented, and that American art
lists have done some very creditable
work in Florence. The palazzo Pitt
and the palaZZo UffiZZi are its two
great galleries.
In the former may be seen the wild
ana gloomy pictures OF
Salvador Rosa, the heavenly creations of
Raphael, and the rich, warm works of
Titan. Most people notice the con-
SpicuouS realism of the statuary, and
some would doubtless be inclined to
petition the lawmakers Of Florence to
pass McHale bill, but L could not help
thinking that the mind must be very
badly trained and very much given 20
lower things ii it could see aught else
but beauty i'll these splendid creations.
When Bayard Taylor made his tour
through Europe Oh foot he devoted some
| well-Spent time to the UffiZZi palace
in Florence. He tells us that he was
not enraptured with the first view of
| the Venus de MedIci. And l think this
| is the experience Of most people. The
| full beauty of this worldfamed work Of
| art does not dawn upon the mind in one
brilliant flash. Raphael, Michael
! Angelo and Bandinelli are we'll repre-
scented here. The last mentioned set up
q silly rivalry against Michael Angelo,
and was disposed OF by Angeles retort
that it is foolish for those who walk in
the footsteps Of others to say they go
before them.
1t is strange that Michael Angelo
could have made such mistake in the
selection of subject as when he tried
to present to the world drunken BAG
chus." He was utterly unfit for such
an undertaking. Bacchus should not
be represented as a beautiful god. An
| cello succeeded i'll giving him a sensual
| expression, but the Ideally of the artist
| himself and the Subtlety OF Grecian
beauty are there also. Another mistake
| Of Angeles is that he looked upon
| painting as being only a fit occupation
| for women. The fact is that though far
more women than men are engaged
| in this ennObling calling, never
| theleSS there are few great works
| FROM tho brush OF woman. | am aware
of the fact that ever since Mrs. jose
| phine Butler painted the Roll Call"
| there has been great deal Of loose
| talk about the highest form of artistic
talent being found in the female brain;
| but / am also aware that it is yet an
! open question whether the popularity of
! that painting is due to a cursOry remark
! of the Prince of Wales rather than to
| its Intrinsic merit. At all events one
| swallow does not make spring. But
Angelo was fond of a sly joke, and
| when he spoke of painting as being
| only fit tor woman, lie may have meant
| the painting OF plaque, or, perhaps,
| he merely meant the use OF cosmetics.
Genoa.
Fascinating as is the city of the cold
| and astute Machiavelli and of De Medici
! the Magnificent, IL IS pleasing i'll the
| summer season to go back, though it be
only in imagination, to d city situated
| on the shores OF the Mediterranean.
| Genoa la Superba, as it is called; Genoa,
the city OF gorgeous palaces and stall
warth seamen, has special claim upon
Americans, and has an additional inter
est for us this Columbian year, for
| the Genoese say that their city gave
! birth to Columbus. Checkered as has
| been its history, there are many reml-
niScences Of its ancient glory. the chief
<Of which are the art palaces Of the old
nobility. When speaking OF Genoa, L
might easily practice the pleasing lit
erary illusion of making my readers
feel as though they We're inhaling the
ozone of the Mediterranean, or listening
to its matchlesS and melancholy music,
or feasting their eyes upon the indie
| Scribabe beauties of the SKY above ii.
The effect is no more difficult than
! that produced by the scenic artist who
makes the spectators OF his pictures
! iulagine that they are Strollihg through
floWery fields or skipping over heathery
| hills. But friendly voice has whis-
| pered that the vividneSS of some of my
descriptions has occaSioded a gentle
shock 10 the unhealthy nerves of some
of the weaker brethren. And, though
L agree with the late lamented White
Melville that the weaker brethren are
| an unmitigated nuisance, and though |
look upon them as being to certain eX-
| tent the dead weight of modern Chris
| tanity and as being the repellerS of the
| more masculine intellectS from carrying
| out the higher Christian principles,
nevertheless, since Paul set the exam
pie of refusing TO eat pig lest he should
offend the slayerS of Christ, can afford
to repress some finishing phrases for
| the sake Of those who have been fed
| upon everlasting dullneSs.
Genoa has caught the modern spirit of
| merchandise, and one of its chief boasts
| today is the immense number of meT-
chant vessels. The Impression made by
any city depends largely upon the time
and the weather. | have seen Genoa
when the floodgateS of heaven were
! opened as widely as though one were in
Killarney. Viewed under this condi-
ton, its weather-beaten streets looked
dreary enough. L have also seen it
bathed in the melloweSJ light of a
southern sun; and thus viewed, all its
glorious splendOr, which gave it the
name Of the City Of Palaces, greeted the
astonished eye.
The Cradle of Columbus.
Genoa makes the strongest claim to
being the birthplace OF Americas dis
coverer. The GenOese say that to their
city belongs the honor OF being the place
where Columbus first saw the light, and
where the future admiral of the seas
developed that adventurous enthusiasm
for the ocean which made him so fear
lessly fond Of the briny deep. am not
unaware of Bayard Taylor'S plea that
Columbus was Graded at Corsica, the
birthplace of Europe's chief tyrant-Na-
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