One of the most interesting parts of it, in the eyes of many, is the series of Roman Emperors, from Julius C?sar to Gallienus, with a considerable number of their Empresses, arranged opposite to them. This series is almost complete; but wherever the[360] bust3 of an Emperor is wanting, the place is filled up by that of some other distinguished4 Roman. Such an honour is bestowed5 with great propriety6 on Seneca, Cicero, or Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus. But, on perceiving a head of Antinous, the favourite of Adrian, among them, a gentleman whispered me,—that minion7, pointing to the head, would not have been admitted into such company any where but in Florence. It ought, however, to be remembered, that the Gallery is not an ?gyptian court of judicature, where Princes are tried, after death, for crimes committed during their life. If the vices8 of originals had excluded their portraits, what would have become of the series of Roman Emperors, and particularly of the bust of the great Julius himself, who was husband to all the wives and —— —— —— The gallery is sacred to art, and every production which she avows9, has a right to a place here.
Amidst those noble specimens10 of ancient sculpture, some of the works of Michael Angelo are not thought undeserving a place. His Bacchus and Faunus, of which the well-known story is told, have been by some preferred to the two antique figures representing the same.
The beautiful head of Alexander is universally admired by all the virtuosi; though they differ in opinion with regard to the circumstance in which the sculptor11 has intended to represent that hero. Some imagine he is dying; Mr. Addison imagines he sighs for new worlds to conquer; others that he faints with pain and loss of blood from the wounds he received at Oxydrace. Others think the features express not bodily pain or languor12, but sorrow and remorse13, for having murdered his faithful friend Clitus. You see how very uncertain a business this of a virtuoso14 is. I can hardly believe that the artist intended simply to represent him dying; there was nothing[362] very creditable in the manner he brought on his death. Nor do I think he would choose to represent him moaning, or languishing15 with pain or sickness; there is nothing heroic in that; nor do we sympathise so readily with the pains of the body, as with those of the mind. As for the story of his weeping for new worlds, he will excite still less sympathy, if that is the cause of his affliction. The last conjecture16, therefore, that the artist intended to represent him in a violent fit of remorse, is the most probable. The unfinished bust of Marcus Brutus, by Michael Angelo, admirably expresses the determined17 firmness of character which belonged to that virtuous18 Roman. The artist, while he wrought19 at this, seems to have had in his mind Horace’s Ode
Justum et tenacem propositi virum
Non vultus instantis tyranni
Mente quatit solida, &c.
[363]
This would, in my opinion, be a more suitable inscription21 for the bust, than the concetto of Cardinal22 Bembo, which is at present under it[8]. Michael Angelo, in all probability was pleased with the expression he had already given the features, and chose to leave it as an unfinished sketch23, rather than risk weakening it by an attempt to improve it.
The virtuosi differ in opinion respecting the Arrotino, or Whetter, as much as about the head of Alexander. A young gentleman said to an antiquarian, while he contemplated24 the Arrotino, “I believe, Sir, it is imagined that this statue was intended for the slave, who, while he was whetting25 his knife, overheard Catiline’s conspiracy26.”—“That is the vulgar opinion,” said the other; “but the statue was, in reality, done for a peasant, who discovered the plot into which[364] the two sons of Junius Brutus entered for the restoration of Tarquin.” “I ask pardon, Sir,” said the young man; “but although one may easily see that the figure listens with the most exquisite27 expression of attention, yet I should think it very difficult to delineate in the features, whether the listener heard a conspiracy, or any thing else which greatly interested him, and absolutely impossible to mark, by any expression of countenance28, what particular conspiracy he is hearing.” “Your observation is just, young man,” said the antiquarian, “when applied29 to modern artists, but entirely30 the reverse when applied to the ancient. Now, for my own part, I plainly perceive in that man’s countenance, and after you have studied those matters as profoundly as I have done you will see the same, that it is the conspiracy for the restoration of Tarquin, and no other plot whatever,[365] which he listens to; as for Catiline’s conspiracy, it is not possible he could know any thing about it; for, good God! people ought to reflect, that the man must have been dead four hundred years before Catiline was born.”
As we are now in the famous octogonal room, called Tribuna, I ought, if I had any thing new to say, to descant31 a little on the distinguishing excellencies of the Dancing Faun, the Wrestlers, the Venus Urania, the Venus Victrix; and I would most willingly pay the poor tribute of my praise to that charming figure known by the name of Venus de Medicis. Yet, in the midst of all my admiration32, I confess I do not think her equal to her brother Apollo in the Vatican. In that sublime33 figure, to the most perfect features and proportions, is joined an air which seems more than human. The Medicean Venus is unquestionably a perfect model of female beauty; but while Apollo appears more than a[366] man, the Venus seems precisely34 a beautiful woman.
In the same room are many valuable curiosities, besides a collection of admirable pictures by the best masters. I do not know whether any are more excellent of their kind, but I am convinced none are more attentively35 considered than the two Venuses of Titian; one is said to be a portrait of his wife, the other of his mistress. The first is the fined portrait I ever saw, except the second; of this you have seen many copies: though none of them equals the beauty of the original, yet they will give a juster idea of it than any description of mine could. On the back ground, two women seem searching for something in a trunk. This episode is found much fault with; for my part, I see no great harm the two poor women do: none but those critics who search more eagerly after deformity than beauty, will take any notice of them.
[367]
Besides the Gallery and Tribuna, the hundredth part of whose treasures I have not particularised, there are other rooms, whose contents are indicated by the names they bear; as, the Cabinet of Arts, of Astronomy, of Natural History, of Medals, of Porcelain36, of Antiquities37, and the Saloon of the Hermaphrodite, so called from a statue which divides the admiration of the Amateurs with that in the Borghese village at Rome. The excellence38 of the execution is disgraced by the vileness39 of the subject. We are surprised how the Greeks and Romans could take pleasure in such unnatural40 figures; in this particular their taste seems to have been as depraved, as in general it was elegant and refined. In this room there is a collection of drawings by some of the greatest masters, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, and others. There is, in particular, a sketch of the Last Judgment41 by the first-named of these painters, different, and, in the opinion of some, designed[368] with more judgment, than his famous picture on the same subject in Sixtus the Fourth’s chapel42 in the Vatican.
The large room, called the Gallery of Portraits, is not the least curious in this vast Mus?um. It contains the portraits, all executed by themselves, of the most eminent43 painters who have flourished in Europe during the three last centuries. They amount to above two hundred; those of Rubens, Vandyke, Rembrandt, and Guido, were formerly44 the most esteemed45; two have been added lately, which vie with the finest in this collection—those of Meng’s and Sir Joshua Reynolds. The portrait of Raphael seems to have been done when he was young; it is not equal to any of the above. The Electress Dowager of Saxony has made a valuable addition to this collection, by sending her own portrait painted by herself; she is at full length, with the palette and pencils in her hands. Coreggio, after[369] hearing the picture of St. Cecilia at Bologna cried up as a prodigy46, and the ne plus ultra of art, went to see it; and conscious that there was nothing in it that required the exertion47 of greater powers than he felt within himself, he was overheard to say, “Anch’ io sono pittore.” This illustrious princess was also conscious of her powers when she painted this portrait, which seems to pronounce to the spectators, Anch’ io sono pittrice.
[8]
Dum Bruti effigiem Michael de marmore fingit,
In mentem sceleris venit, et abstinuit.
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1
connoisseurs
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| n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 ) | |
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2
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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3
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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4
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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7
minion
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| n.宠仆；宠爱之人 | |
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8
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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avows
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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11
sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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12
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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14
virtuoso
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| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
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languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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16
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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17
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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18
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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19
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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20
ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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21
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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23
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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24
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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25
whetting
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的现在分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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26
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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27
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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28
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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31
descant
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| v.详论，絮说；n.高音部 | |
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32
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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33
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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35
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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36
porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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37
antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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38
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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vileness
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| n.讨厌，卑劣 | |
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40
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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41
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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42
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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43
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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44
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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45
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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46
prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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47
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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