FINE ARTS.
CARTOONS BY COEREGGIO.
Sorez portions of the Cartoons by CORREGGIO for the Frescoes at Parma have been brought to London ; and we counsel all who appreciate what is most exalted in art to get a sight of them as soon as possible, lest these colossal fragments should be sent out of the country. They may be seen by application to the proprietor, Mr. HERTZ, of Great Marl- borough Street. There are fifteen pieces of various dimensions, con- taining heads of cherubs, figures of seraphs, and beads of saiots, of stupendous proportions and corresponding grandeur of style. They are executed with surpassing delicacy and freedom, in black and white chalk on rough gray paper ; and are in sufficiently good preservation to convey a perfect idea of the sublime conceptions of the mighty master and the transcendent power of his pencil. Their authenticity cannot be questioned by any one acquainted with the style of CORREGGIo, or sensible to the influence of the creations of genius : they breathe the inspiration of a pure and lofty imagination, and display that great- ness and mastery- of hand which are inimitable. They were found
rolled up, as if forgotten ; and the canvass on which the paper had been mounted was so rotten that it seemed hopeless to attempt to detach them entire. This has, however, been accomilished, with little detriment to the drawings. Those who know CORREGGIO only from his easel-pictures will be
astounded at the vastness and daring of his genius in these works : it appears almost incredible that the same hand which elaborated so ex- quisitely the miniature Holy Family and Christ in the Garden, in the National Gallery, should possess such largeness of manner. Yet the same refinement of style and delicacy of handling are displayed in these grand and vigorous designs as in his most minutely-wrought perform- ances: indeed, the combination of intense sweetness of expression with the utmost boldness and grandeur of design is one of the most striking characteristics of these extraordinary works. They have the preternatural power and gigantic magnitude of MICHAEL ANGELO, and the divine beauty and radiant loveliness of RAFFAELLE, with an ineffable grace and sweetness peculiar to CORREGGIO. The faces of the cherubs and seraphs beam with holy rapture and benignity. They are beings of angelic nature ; celestial smiles play round their innocent lips, and soul pure from mortal taint looks forth from their meek eyes. The great painter has caught inspiration from above ; he has opened heaven in the vaulted dome, and gives us glimpses of spiritual existences. To describe them is impossible ; their beauty must be felt ; and it is only by expressing the feelings they excite that their attributes can be cha- racterized.
The mere executive art is marvellous, and exemplifies those qualities which preeminently belong to CORREGGIO-unrivalled skill in the ma- nagement of chiaroscuro, and consummate power of drawing the figure with soft rounded contours. The light and dark tints are so subtilely blended by means of the gray middle tint, that it is impossible to define their boundaries; the outlines are so tender and delicate that they be- come evanescent in parts; and the strongest markings display a free- dom that is absolutely audacious. The profound knowledge and lofty purpose of the painter are veiled uoder the guise of a seemingly careless ease and negligent grace of hand. Seen close, the cartoons present a few crayon scratches with smudges of white and black rubbed into a misty confusion ; but viewed from the proper distance, the forms stand out in palpable relief; the masses of flesh presenting a yielding surface, and the play of expression in the features and muscles animating it with life. The effect is magical. CORREGGIO drew in light and shade, not in lines; he modelled rotund forms, not inlaid flat shapes in wiry out- line, as the moderns do. His foreshortening is wonderful ; though the effect cannot always be appreciated in the cartoons, as it depends ne- vessarily on the curve of the dome for which they were designed.
These are works that our cartoon-designers should study ; but before
they can hope to emulate their fine qualities of execution, they must Study anatomy and light and shade, and follow CORREGGIO'S example olmodelling their figures in relief to get the due effect of projection. Such examples as these of the highest invention and the most intense expression, combined with the utmost knowledge and skill in the art of design, ought to be secured for the benefit of our students and the gra- tification of the public : at this juncture they would be invaluable to the British school. Mr. HERTZ intends to offer "the refusal" of them to the Trustees of the National Gallery ; which they are but too likely to give. We fear they will follow the Raffaelles and Leonardos of the Lawrence collection, to Holland and other lands : negotiations are on foot already with two or three foreign governments for the purchase of these precious relics of pictures now•nearly obliterated.
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