Put arts.
SIR CHARLES EASTLAKE'S LATE PURCHASE.
In the number for Saturday last, our well-informed contemporary, the Critic, notices the recent purchase said to have been made by Sir Charles Eastlake in Italy. "The Spectator of Saturday last attacks Sir Charles Eastlake for having purchased an altar-piece by Bernardino Luini for 32,0001., terming the artist a third-rate' painter. Is this quite a fair definition of his merits ? Luini is little known in this country ; but he N49.13 by far the best of all Leonardo da Vinci's disciples, and some of his works so closely resemble those of the master as to be often attributed to the latter. Still the sum named is a very large sum, and the picture must be an unusually fine one to be con- sidered a fair equivalent. According to the Spectator, the picture is an altar- piece from a church at Legnano, near Milan. We are inclined to suspect that there may be a slight mistake here. There is an altar-piece by this artist at Lugano, on the lake of that name, of which we have been told upon competent authority, that no sum would be too large for its purchase. Let us hope that it is this treasure that Sir Charles Eastlake has secured." If our contemporary will refer to the paper which we wrote, he will observe that we did not " attack " Sir Charles Eastlake. We stated a report which had reached us, and which was vouched on high local and official authority. We shall be glad to make any correction of the state- ment as soon as the facts are before us ; we are glad to suppose that there has been some mistake. The observations of our contemporary, however, seem rather to corroborate the report of a vast payment ; and any argument which we intended upon the rumour, therefore, remains at present untouched. We await the facts for anything like a final judg- ment.
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