New-York tribune., 1907-12-26
MASTERS In CELLARS.
One of Reynoldss Famous Work,
Rescued from ObliUion.
London, Dec TX

the. cellars and lumber rooms of the Natioc.,
Gallery, haunted by the ghosts of geniuses who.
works have been boxed UP and buried in dark
ness: and, 10, there is breath of life among thu
old bones. Sir Joshua's Holy Family" faded
and blackened on the walls until sky and land
scape could not be seen, and there was tar
nished background of cracked bitumen fer the
group of four blurred and wasted figures The
Virgins blue dress had turned into a dull
snudged green, the pink in the robe had been
washed out and there were ragged assures in thu
neck like hicks in porcelain. Joseph In the back.
ground had shrunk into musty obscurity. and
the Christ-chI and the infant St. John wer.
blackened figures without beauty or grace Ths
paintine had been cleaned. touched up. revar-
nished and restored several times. but every
renovation had left 1t a worse wreck than be-
fore It's condition was deplorable that IL
was taken down from the walls thirty years ago
and hidden out of sight in the condemned cells;
and IL four or five engravers had not left. plates
of it in it's best state IT would have passed en-
tireIy out of mind Sir Charles Holroyd had not
forgotten It. was he so closely occupied
with the arduous labor of rearrangins the
treasures of the National Gallery as to abandon
the hope of recovering the neglected Reynolds
Its restoration has been accomplished by ths
painseakins care and scientific skill Of Mr. But
terv. and the Holy Family is now one Of
tho most beautiful and impressive pictures In
the Reynolds room
The work of renovation has been mainly that
of thorough cleaning The varnishes and
patches of top dressing put on by ignorant 70
storers have been gradually removed. and the
cracks and bituminous blurs we're In these
rather than in the painters pigments. The
soiled green dress has returned to its original
state of exquisite. dainty blue The pink robe
with a few touches Of tempera. has become a
bright IS ever. The cracks in the long. grace
full neck have been filled. and the face has
gained its purity of flesh tint and charm OF ex-
preston. Joseph has come out Of obscurity.
and can now be recognized an elderly man
with thoughtful face and disnihed presencs.
John is seen almost too clearly. for his Is the
weakest of the four figures. with awkward
pose and feeble craftsmanship in the limbs
always a weak point in Sir Joshua's art: but
the infant Christ. with rosy face and 1.-THE body.
Is a lovely child. vivid IN naturalness- Behind
the group the black patch has resolved Itself
into a wall with trees and a blue misty noun
tain far away in a luminous sky. fecked with
prav clouds With the rich landscape and har-
nnonious color scheme II is a work Ia Sir JOSH
mas grand style; and the Of the defective
wax medium. or egg asphaltum varnish. r
whatever II was indicates the effort which he
made to prodcce the effects OF Venetian pig
ments or Correggio's transparency. Yet IN its
final stage of restoration It is not italian Re-
naissance in quality so much as It fs Spanish
II the Madonna did not have characserfsfe
English face IL might be taken at quick
glance for an early Murillo-
The Madonna in this beautiful composition
seems to resemble Miss Liney. whom SIR Joshua
knew as Mrs Sheridan. She was the St Cechis
of the work exhibited in 1IT5. not long after ner
romantic eIopement and marriage; and she also
uss his model for Charity in the New College
chanel windows and for the Madonna Of the Ma
,iv,tv-,he picture destroyed when Bevo'r cas-
tle was burned. ninety years ago IL Is non
r;ua,v that she sat again for this later Holy
Family. but Sir Joshua may not have succeedeo
in forgetting her face when he received VI ito'
four wears before his death-a commission iro"
Nacl<Iin print seller. for illustrations TOT
Bible which would rival Boydelfs Shakespeara'
or again. he may have used variant OF tn7
Nativity picture in executing an order WHICH DC
considered of minor Importance Whatever may
nave been his feeling at the start. he speedily
hscarue deeply interested IN a work Wnich t.
vived his memories of Renaissance religious arr
TIL. work now aglow with color and glory OF
LIGHT ,s a proof that he had masterpiece IN
mind rather -han a commonplace IN hlus'ra-
tfon Four of the best English ensraVers
corded full dignity to il when tney rep'oiuSV'
IL as one of his characteristic works. ana IL N@'
So REGARDED when 1t was sold 10 LORD G"yuyi
and was subsequently, purchased by the bIlli>H
T,sti,u,fou and transferred to the National Gal
Iery in 1873.
Tbe restoration OF this work TO its orisina
state has enabled Sir Charles Holroyd TO COM
plete the transformation OF the entrance Iool"
in the British section into Reynolds sa4ferS'
All hut two Of the Gainsboroughs had alrea"'
baen moved out. and now Mrs Siddons ana tns
Parish Clerk have taken flight along VII" -"
Romueys and other lnterlopers Ihere e
about twenty-nve Sir Joshuas in this ROOM even
with Lord Iigonier on horseback and Cap'aH"
Orme beside his horse still lingering III ~
outer court and few corner spaces are niiei
with ANAL landscapes by Richard wilson "hoS
classical studies accord with the masters sranu
stvle Sir Joshua met the landscape painter L.
Rome when Commander Keppel carried MIN on
IN Its,v in his in,pressionable youth. ana u ~
pleasing coincidence to hnd them tose'ne
this room. The wilson's are. however. scaic
noticeable in this noble gallery. which IS 'i'
in color only by the superb Venetian room anu
the Turner carnival OF splendors Tnere
nor,rait Of Sir Joshua painted by hirlsei, o.,
each side of the glorious Three GraceS'
on the adjacent walls are masterpieces such
.I ssv cockburn and Her Children" the 'Coun-
tess Of Albermare." Mrs Hartley anu 80. N- .
THE Snake in the Grass" "Lcrd Heatnne
..Rob1netta" Admiral Keppef ana
Johnson The Holy Family" palnteu q
before bis sight began to fail. takes us ,. iisA
place in this grand muster OF slr 'o' .
works Neither the painters own -
in pigments and varnishes nor the nie a.,
restorers two generations ago have pefhiaNe ,,.
damaged it, 1t was painted not long AFTER 'I
heroic portrait of the defender of Gibraltar o