New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-23
HOLIDAY IN ITALY.
H..
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR ENJOYING
FLORENCE WITHOUT PEDANTRY
OR DRUDGERY.


Is not to he made up of serious working days.
during which he will take his pleasures sadly
To the familiar Baedeker has been added Mr.
Grant Aliens historical guide and the visitor is
No longer at liberty TO stroll haphazard idly
hooking at pictures. churches and palaces with
out having any prearranged plan. He is now
under obligation to study scientifically the his
,orical evolution OF art and architecture, to fol-
low A set chronological order in sightseeing, to
master the details of legendary lore, religious
symbolism and dogmatic theology. and to make
a deliberate and toisome comparison of "crys-
affiliations in stone and bronze in form and
color Of great popular enthusasms" The time
has gone by when the tourist can check off the
masterpieces Of architecture. sculpture and
ns,nting which are doube-starred in Baedeker
and with a comfortable feeling that he has seen
the best things reserve little leisure for recre-
alton. He must look at one thing for an hour
IN order 10 obtain "a first impression" and then
ne must return frequently in order to compare
Il with similar objects connected with it in the
development of art Otherwise he will have an
uncomfortable feeling that he Is not making the
hest use Of his opportunities.
The really enjoyable holiday in Italy is spent
where there is no green book to enforce the
r,rc,nle that the only way TO comprehend art
O. bv laborious comparison and public knowl-
,dge NJ the conditions Of its historical evolution
The traveller has happy day in Genoa among
AIessrs palaces which are impressive memo
r,als Of the splendor and opulence of the Renais-
sance period He does not concern himself with
the question whether Milan Cathedral Is or Is
NOT q true example Of Italian Gothic, or whether
the ornamentation covering the walls IL so weak
&c IN impair the effect of simplicity of proper
finn. but he roams within in pleasurable excite
rnent hour after hour, enjoying the Jewelled
effects Of color in the windows. and the glorious
vistas Of vast interior where there are no side
channels 70 break the view, and fancying that
he IS IN a forest temple with gigantic piers to
UNFOLD leafy arcades and to blossom into statues
high overhead. At Bologna he revels in quaint
and picturesque city of arcades. monasteries
and palaces and enjoys every stroll without be-
ing Immersed with the necessity for arduous
and painstaking study of details. AT Pisa he
sees the marvellously beautiful Romanesque
cathedral group with the Renaissance sculptures
and frescos of the Campo Santo All these are
genuine holidays in Italy. and they are filled
with unalloyed enjoyment Of pictures Of travel
At Florence holiday recreation becomes
serious labor with Mr.. Grant Allen as mentor
and guide The Etruscan antiquities, the Glot-
tesoue frescoes Of Santa Croce and Santa Maria
Novella the bronze doors Of the Baptstery, the
collections Of the Belle Arti, Uftizi Pitt and
Bargello Orcagna's shrine in Or San Michele
the frescos Of the Brancacc Chapel, the cathe-
draI group. the Fra Angelicos In San Marco the
NTediof tonbs, Andrea del Sarto's work In the
IS Annunziata and all the other treasures Of this
Tuscan museum Of art are presented objects
Of comparative study in a general scheme Of
evolution. The visitor is overwhelmed with a
sense Of responsibility when he is warned
against haphazard sightseeing and advised to
see every great work again and again. and TO
dwell upon 1t and let II grow upon him until he
understands 1t thoroughly and does not allow
single detail to escape him. If he profits intel
ligently by all these admonitons, and has two or
three years at his disposal for continuous resi-
dence and art study. he will be in a fair way to
understand the history and significance of the
art treasures Of Florence. If he attempts to do
any portion Of this work in Mr. Aliens way
during fortnight or month he will not have
an agreeable and restful holiday.
vacation in Florence will he a happy one
II the visitor be content to recognize the limita
tons Of time and knowledge and TO enjoy see
ing what he likes instead Of attempting to
make comprehensive study OF all the treas
ures Of this richest Of art centres lndepend-
ence OF judgment is requisite, If one is to be de-
livered from the drudgery Of tramping about
chapels and cloisters in futile attempt to see
and understand faded and defaced frescos.
Many Of them cannot be properly seen at any
hour In the dimly lighted chapels, and all can
be studied to better advantage in photographs
or engravings than in their original state Even
where the light is good, It is in the famous
RIO lilo ha
scheme Of composition is too large and the sig
nhcance Of the painted story too complex to
he taken In by the eye even with the aid of
opera-glass The scuptured doors OF the Bap
tistery and many other great artistic works in
Florence can be critically examined at leisure
with the help Of photographs and much time
saved for more peasurable sightseeing.
The Bottcellis. for example, perhaps the
most beautiful pictures in Florence, and are an
unfaing source of delight to nearly all lovers Of
art. The Primavera" Coronation Of the Vir
GIN "Enthroned Madonna" and Three Arch
angels and Tobias" at the Belle Arti, and the
"Annunciation." Coronation" Alteration Of
the Magi and Birth Of Venus" at the Ufflzi
Gallery are lovely examples of the early Renais-
sance' which are more closely in accord with
inouefh TASTE 'nan any other group Of pictures
in the great galleries Dav after day these
great works, with their delicacy and softness of
colorng and extraordinary sense Of movement
and grace in the figures attract the largest
swarm Of visitors Perhaps the late Sir Ed
ward Burne-Jones was mainly responsible for
the revival of public interest in these Florent,ne
gems; but the pictures now compete strongly
and even successfully with the Raphaels in at
tractive power No photographs Of these ex-
qusite works are satisfactory. since their effect
depends TO a large degree upon the beauty of
the cooring: and copyists find it impossible to
reproduce the characteristic grace Of movement
in the 1.-the figures. 1t is only in the galleries OF
Florence that one can he with Bottcelli in any
real sense and IL is a pure and joyous expert
ence.