Rofa. is well drawn, his sleep natural, and attitude unaffected; by Giovanni Rofa. St. John in the Giovanni Defert: a tolerable picture; by Guido Reni. A Guido beautiful Magdalen repentant and contrite, but Reni. not forfaken by the Graces; the author Annibal Annibal Caracci. Caracci. A Virgin, with her infant son standing on her lap; trying to catch at a pomegranate she holds out of his reach. He is the handsomest child you can form any idea of; good sense, the utmost sweetness and good-nature are blended with a ftrong expreffion of impatience to attain the fruit. The colour, drawing, &c. are capital. By Van- Vandyke. dyke. St. Jerome in the Desert, by Titian; the Titian. Saint very well, but the Defert deteftable. A fmall oval picture, reprefenting a Madona and Bambino asleep on her lap; a fine carnation spread over the sleeping infant; his head and arms hanging down liftlefs, the mouth a little open, and a most profound fleep, are all well imitated by Camillo Procaccino. There are more pictures in Camillo this faloon, but I will not trouble you with them; cino. they do not appear to have as much merit as those I have named. In the fourth faloon, a large picture; the subject is a group representing the Virgin, the infant Jefus, the three wives of Rubens, several Saints and Angels; alfo a man armed in a coat of mail. This last figure is admirably done, but does not feem to have any bufinefs in this picture, any more than Rubens' wives, who are all vulgar and ugly. This piece, as you may fuppose, is by Rubens. A very good picture of St. Rubens. Jerome VOL. I. N Procac Guido Corregio. Jerome reading, by Guido Reni. There are other pictures in this fourth faloon, but I do not mention them, for the reafons I gave before, in regard to the former. In the gallery, the wife and fon of Vandyke. One of the most perfect productions of this admirable painter; the child in particular is inimitable. A Nativity; the Vir gin-mother most beautiful; the child is nature itfelf; he fhrinks, and turns himself from the cold air towards the bofom of the Virgin, as if to feek fhelter from the fituation to which a new-born infant muft neceffarily feel himfelf expofed, added to the inclemencies of the weather, without any other protection than that of a ruined stable, or bed than a heap of ftraw upon which he is laid. This fcene is ftrongly reprefented by the energetic pencil Vandyke. of the great Corregio. Vandyke's portrait, by himfelf; a duplicate of what we have feen before Holbens. at Turin. A Fortrait, faid to be by Holbens; but I doubt it. A handfome-faced Lucretia ; but her hands appear lame, and fhe is poorly finished; although the dagger is half-buried in her breast, yet it fits the wound so nicely, that no blood, nor any mark of being wounded appears: this is by Titian. A Magdalen transported into Heaven by Angels; her face fine, and fore-fhortened with great judgment in the drawing; her long yellow hair exceedingly well done, and as much grace as a figure can exprefs thus conveyed by other figures. This picture is by Guido Reni. A Brughel. Temptation of St. Anthony, by Brughel; this Titian. Guido Reni. painter painter has here exhibited a wonderful company, all calculated to teafe and torment poor St. Anthony, who is more frightened than tempted; being furrounded with flying monsters vomiting flames, devils and dwarfs riding upon winged fifhes, wanton women with fcaly tails, like mermaids, and a thousand fuch fancies of diftempered brains, that you would think he had been raving in a fever when he compofed this piece, There are, I believe, half a dozen more pictures in this gallery than I have mentioned; but as they do not appear to have any great share of merit, I shall not trouble you with an account of them. Adieu. I fear I may miss the post, fo fhall only add, that these palaces want new-furnishing and fresh gilding; both have been fine, but are at present exceed ingly out of repair. The floors all paved with brick, and ill painted; too many doors in every room; and, upon the whole, most uncomfortable dwelling-houses; but it feems the Balbis do not inhabit their fine apartments, except when they have a converfazione, or affembly; for in general they live as high as their houses admit of, and occupy a few rooms, very much inferior in fize, cleanliness, and furniture to those fhewn to ftrangers. I have no more time than to affure you much I am, &c. how LETTER XVII. Genoa, November 9th. I HAVE had the good fortune to receive ano ther packet of letters from Turin, which our banker T-- has forwarded to us. I am overjoyed to find, amongst the many agreeable things they contain, that you are perfectly fatisfied with me, and very much flattered that you give my catalogue of pictures, roads, &c. the preference to those of * * * *, &c. &c. but as I am confcious of the partiality of both you and M, I ought to fear the pluming myself on my own difcernment. All I can honestly affert is, that I speak the truth to the beft of my judgment, and am far from prefuming my opinion in works of tafte to be what you fuppofe. Those pictures particularly that are univerfally admired, and confidered as Chef d'Oeuvres, I may poffibly do injustice to by my defcriptions; but as I know you had rather have any description that can convey fome idea of a picture, than have the epithet very fine, very good, &c. repeated without end; fo you must not be surprised at the length of my letters, which I fear will increase, even to tedioufnefs, when we fhall have reached Rome and Naples. But not to anticipate, by augmenting the prefent more than is neceffary, I fhall proceed to to inform you, as briefly as I can, of the contents of the palaces of Durazzo, Pallavicini, Doria, &c. as alfo fomething of the churches. An Abigail and David: too much blackened in Palace of Philip the shaded parts, and become fo pale in the light, Durazzo. as to be almost void of merit. A Picture, the subject of which is, Render to Cæfar that which belongs to Cafar, &c. as fine for colouring as can be wished. But I do not think this fubject is very proper to be represented in a picture; it is not fufficiently marked for a painter to know well what expreffion and character to give to each figure of the group. David giving the letter containing the order for Uriah's death: This, Guercino has Guercimade more of than he has of the former; the most no. ignorant in the art of painting cannot avoid perceiving the merits of this picture; particularly in the perfon of David, to whom this act of tyranny appears by no means familiar; fo that he feems to wish to revoke the order, in which at the fame time his paffions compel him to perfist. It is astonishing how a painter could, in reprefenting one moment of time, convey to the mind of the spectator fuch a crowd of ideas. Guercino's colouring, in general, is not, in my opinion, very agreeable; there is too much purple and lilak, or a light red purple and white, in almost all his pictures. The woman taken in Adultery, by Julio Cesare Procaccino: the colour- Julio Ceing is too red and flaring, and the woman not caccino. handfome. A finall picture of the Martyrdom fare Pro |