The morning call., 1893-05-02
GOT A CORREGGIO.
An Old Master for Six
Dollars. ~.
DR.. Lonigo Thinks His Woodward S
Gardens Purchase Worth at Least
Six Thousand Dollars.

Another genuine old master has turned
up-not in the flesh, but in masterpiece
on canvas. This time it is Correggio.
OF course it is genuine-wtness the sigma
ture in yellow in the corner.
DIR. Emile Y. Lonigo is the lucky man
who purchased this great art treasure at
the recent W oodward's Gardens sale, for the
contemplate sum of Sc.
What clever caricaturist was it who drew
the picture of one of the cid masters az
work, In which he represented the indus
trious genius in the center of his studio.
provided with dozens of arms radiating
from his body in all directions, and sur
rounded by vast circle Of canvases, all of
which were being painted at once?
Il may have teen fanciful, but ii furnishes
a very graphic explanation of the immense
number of compositions with which these
oyerworked old artists have flooded the
world.
Dr. Lonigo is at once surprised and elated
at the fact that the city of San Francisco
has for years had in its very bosom a
genuine CoueEgfQ. and never for one
IH9men suspected It,
. Where are local dilettanti, our Bohemian
Club men, our boosted savants. who, having
Travelled the world: over. having gained a
speaking acquaintance: with every sqN9re
Iueh IF celebrated canyas in the cath edrals
and galleries of Europe, could take their
nieceS ami nephews Tor an outing in:Qld
,W0odward'S Gardens; go through. that gal
leFy, examine the pictures and not Jun d
OFT OF their boots the moment they laid
their experienced eyes %on that canvas. :: .
[ 1t seems :prep0ster0us: But then truth
WAS eyer stranger than felton,. j..
And then think OF it At the sale they
called it; "Fruit'-jd5t 'FIllit," nothing
more. They didn't even say it was latter,
CorreggiG. = .....: - - -
: Il saw it in the corner: right. OH the
floor" said Dr.. Lonigo dramatically. mo-
body paid any attention TO it / Recognized
the: Style the treatment the: character. of
the great: painter, "C0rreggiO. There was
the ine translucent light in the grapes and
Tlulns ana the winrg,ass. reflecttng the.
cOieT OF the orange beside it, a perfect
triumph OF genius. knee ing down, / be-.
held the sigma azure, 'CoFTegglo'-not- 4 letter
missing" '-.::s r..
TAen the enthusiastic doctor described
the Huctioniag off of the picture Ow
the emily ether bidder showed = his vulgar
ignorance by refusing TO bid higher than
S5, aud huw he himself. with wildly beat,
ing heart and an advance Of 81. scQoped in.
the great4iEas tar piece -. "
The doctoI also pnrchaseda copy a. the.
M4donnadel Gardihae Of Raphael for So
c;fear,.. even for n copy: BUTTE think OF
buying, a. 5000 TO $4,000 painting for SG.is:
simply iut6xicatlng. -. :
/, Antonio >AllegFj, called, fran the name of
his birthplace, CorTeggio, painted saints and,
babies almost. altogether: very MUCH rs our
Montgeme rY-street t.: '.MIlet': does ,'land-
scape" exclusively. won julius Never
Cerregg!o's :: inost gelebrated biographer,
d oes not. credit the: painter with the pro-:
ductiAn OF amy sifll-llte composition but
then Won Meyer had never visited Wood:
ward Gardesis. -:
: CorreGgio Liked To- paint things In the
open air. and. Dr.:Lnnise's find certainly
represents n large Ulece of Opau air.. Phere
is also an Apennine mountain righ back Of
tile melon. j.. -.
DR.. Eonigoi is very familiar with the old
italian: masters having studied them in
f. Rome, Florenee and elsewhere In Europe
He has. carefully studied. the terhhiQ1e< Of
8 ons fur believing / Ito be- genuine: There,
| is; no doubt about the teclffiane 1t is laid
ollsih broad. bolddabs and there is lots :of it..
| Who; shall say that it is aot genuine.
/ CoTtesglo IS dead Having passed In his
checks in. the year 1884 he is really too
dead to be used for purposes Of iidehtifiea-
/ ton, r.: - -: :
/ !" still this. difficulty not insurmountable
in. city teelning with meu and DIN Ell
clEimng to be able 10 manipulate tile wires
connecting us with the other shore.
One OF our talented mediums ought GER
tainy to be able to summon the. shade OK
the Ing defunct Antonio, and interrogate
him concerning the authenticity OF the can
vas.
OF course it is barely possible that he may
become stuck on the canvas and falsely
claim authorship OF II, in which case II may
become advisable to have few representa-
| tives of the bar in attendance 50 as to sub
| jeet his shadeship to rigid cross-examlna-
| ton.
Meanwhile DE-. Lonigo would not sell he
| picture for his puTchase-pTice plus COM
| pound interest reckoaed at per cent psr
| minute.