Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-04
Rijks Museum, Amsterdam.

and since that tine there have been success
sive requests Many painters have donated
their works-notahly John Constable. About
$4So.ooo has also been beaueathed to the
gallery for the purchase Of art works. In
1857 building was erected IN Trafalgar
Square to house the national gallery and
Royal Academy together, the academy va
eating in 1915. since VIXEN several editions
have been made to the structure. Parlia-
ment annually votes q subsidy for the pur-
chase OF new pictures and where this has
been insufficient for the acquisition, intact.
OF some important collections offered for
sale. special appropriations have been made
In London there Is also the Tate gallery,
which bears the same relation to the Brit
ish national gallery as will the Freer gal
lery to our national gallery In 1857 Sir
Henry Tate completed a ma gn!ffcent gallery
upon site given by the government and
installed In It his valuable collection of
modern British paintings. He then gave
the building and its contents to the British
nation, and It was formally opened under
the name of the National Gallery Of British
Art. Sir Henry has since added eight pic
ture galleries to the new building into which
have been removed some of-the paintings
from the older building In trafalgar Square.
The Louvre.
Frances national gallery is in the mag
nificent Louvre, the ancient castle of the
kings of France from the thirteenth century
until Louis XIV. It's art collections date
back to Francis I, who during his Italian
wars acquired taste for art. France then
had no great artists and Francis imported
many as he could tempt from Italy
among them Leonardo ia Vincf. Colbert,
the minister of Louis XVI, also added enor-
mously to the royal collections, acquiring
among other items the art treasures OF
Charles 1 of England-69S paintings and
over 800 sculptures. Louis XVI first brought
the collection to the Louvre In 1851, when
the doors were thrown open to the public,
who Toasted eyes upon sixteen RaphaeIs,
Tftfans. fourteen Van Dycks and hundreds
Of other masterpieces. But 1t appears that
the spectators on the Louvre got on the
Great Louis nerves and he moved his col
lection back to Versailles. The revolution
lists after cutting of the heads of Louis
XVI and Marie Antoinette, the then royal
owners. claimed the collections and return
ed them to the Louvre. The first republic
annually appropriated funds for buying more
pictures, but Napoleon added to the col
lection IN a manner which amazed the
French and afterward reverted to the dis
grace of their nation. After mis- wars ship
after ship would enter the Seine loaded w tn
loot from Italy, Holland. Austria and Spain.
Immense carts and vans loaded with thou
sands of boxes and bales while the populace
cheered from the quays proceeded to the
Louvre, where were unpacked among other
priceless treasures Titan 8 Assumption of
the Virgin Rubens Descent from the
Cross and the Venus de Medici.' But
after Napoleon's overthrow the piIlaged
France was made to disgorge nest OF them.
Since then various extra appropria. ions
above that given yearly for the Louvre have
been made by the several governments. In
1900 the building was completely renovated.
In Paris there is THE Society of Friends of