Let us pardon the
stiffness of their composition, the formality of their figures, the
inelegance of their draperies, the hardness of their outlines, and the
want of chiaroscuro;--for, in spite of all these failings, there is a
truth to nature, and a richness of coloring, which always attract and
win. The picture in question is the _Virgin Mother in her Domestic
Retirement_, surrounded by her family, a comely party of young females
in splendid attire, some of them wearing the bridal crown. It is
altogether a curiosity, partaking, indeed, of the general bad taste of
the times, but painted with great attention to nature in the minutiae,
and resembling Lionardo da Vinci in many particulars, especially in the
high finishing, the coloring of the carnations, and the grace, and
beauty of some of the heads. The draperies, too, are rich and brilliant.
This museum is a recent erection: most, if not all, of the departments
of France, possess similar establishments in their principal towns. The
basis of the collection is founded upon the plunder of the suppressed
monasteries; but M.
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