The Meeker herald., 1915-05-15
LOST GEMS OF ART
Many Famous Paintings Have
Mysteriously Vanished.
WORKS OF THE OLD MASTERS.
Hundreds Of Portraits by Reynolds Are
Among the Missing Treasures. Be-
sides Masterpieces Of corressio. Titi-
an. da vinci and Others.

an. da vinci and Others.
/ There are many famous paintings by
the old masters that have mysteriously
vanished. They are known to have
been painted. but their whereabouts
has been an enigma for several hun
dred years.
| From time to time lost pictures come
again to the knowledge OF the world.
as when the original Of the Dulwich
Velasquez, the Phillip w." was found
In Polish nobleman's castle; when
the portrait of Isabel de Valois. King
Philip lis third wife. by Coeilo-the
original Of that by PantoJa de Ia Cruz
In the Prado-was finally identified mt
the Grafton gallery. to which the Gaels
war of Baroda had lent 1t; when Ii
| tians "Perscus and Ariadne" was
| found by Sir Claude Phillips In the
bathroom of Hartford House. and Bot
ticelli's "Pallas and the Centaur' was
identified by mn English critic. forgot
ten and unnoticed in an obscure place
In the Ufiizi Gallery-a queer place to
| lose n picture in.
1t Is declared that no fewer than 400
portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds have
disappeared. The historians of art
the "Anonimo." vassari and many an
other-speak with admiration OF pic.
lures so innumerabIe which have
| passed into the limbo of the unknown
that the announcement OF n discovery
Is rarely treated with absolute skep
ticism. even In the case of the greatest
masters. There Is plenty of room for
| the appearance of number OF early
| works by NalesqueZ-de Bcruete gives
| n list of them-but especially the por'
trait of Fonsecn. which gave to Veles-
| quez his footing in Madrid. and more
particularly the equestrian portrait Of
Philip ~. which placed him so quickly
upon the pedestal
Or take COrreggio. There is the pic
ture of THE Savior" copy OF which
hangs in the Prado. There is the RE
pose In Egypt" the"Herodias' triptych.
the st Bartholomew" the Young
Man Fleeing From the Captors Of
| Christ" 1.-The Birth of Venus" and st
| Mary Magdalen" and others besides
all lost
| And Titan "a group of whose mas
terpieces were burned in great Eng
fish country house,. where on earth Is
his portrait Of Isabella Gonzuga and
her son. which is known to us through
the copy by Pordenone? Giorgione
also. He Ia so rare mnster-rarc
\ alike as to numbers and to quality
that the recovery OF his birth of
Venus would be an event of the very
highest Importance In the world of art
The Anonimo speaks OF 1t. but since
his day no other writer. so far as ex'
perts are aware. has ever set eyes
on It
Although we have so many hundred
canvases OF that amazing genius. Ru
bens. the loss of n picture such as his
"Cambyses and the Judge" Is dis
tinct deprivation. inasmuch as 1t is
said to have been one of his finest
efforts. 1t was painted in 1923 for the
magistrates hall In the town hall of
Brussels. and no less than 1900 forms
was paid for 1t.
We might spare. perhaps. the Head
of Christ" by Andrea del Sarto paint
ed In 1924. for similar works of his
"visitation'' of the same year. II only
because Andrea was painter of great
est Importance. historically considered
| he who broke away entirely from
Gothic rigidity and introduced senti
ment and delightful sense of gayety
and sweetness that brought art home
| to hearts untouched by the earlier dig
nifty and gravity which they felt op
pressive
The portraits of Terburg. again. are
n delight and IL host of them exist lin
Guiding not Il few not unworthy oil
him. but really by the. hand Of his pu
Pill, Koets,. yet we cannot read with
out regret the list of them. as well us
of his exquisite subject pictures. which
| NJ. Hofstede de Groot's researches
| have enabled us to make We may
! even regard with relative equanimity
| the disappearance of Nicholas Pous
sins "Rinaldo and Armida." Bnt on
| quite another plane il the mystery OF
| the portraits which Leonardo da Vinci
| painted for Ludovico SforZn and which
| vanished into thin air as completely
| as his Mona Lisa couple OF years
ago
The jocund lady re-emerced into the
| light of day, hut the Ludovico por
| trnits are practically beyond hope
unless perchance even now. unsnspect-
| cd of their Identity. they are dccorat
ing the upper corridors of some great
| house tmines of unexplored wealth.
or the back storerooms OF minor deal