FINE ARTS.
THE LAWRENCE GALLERY—DRAWINGS OF MICHAEL ANGELO.
THE glorious pagea it ofart which the Lawrence Gallery has furnished is now closed by the drawings of the mighty master MICHAEL ANGELO, who brings up the rear with the fulness of his power. Not all his great- ness, however, can make us forget his divine predecessor in this proces- sion of the great geniuses of painting,—RAFFA ELLE, before whose lovely perfections the strength and energy of even Micirans ANGELO must bow. These two pillars of the school of design are here brought into comparison, and the triumph of RAFFAELLE is complete. Both are sublime ; but the sublimity of MICHAEL ANGELO is material and physical, that of RAFFAELLE etherial and intellectual. MICHAEL ANGELO startles and astonishes by his prodigious boldness and strenuous energy; but we are sensible of an effort, and an ostentatious display of conscious power : he obtrudes his vigour upon us—insisting upon points of grandeur ; and we resent the attempt to bear down the • mind by overawing the sense. On the works of RAFFAELLE we dwell with rapture and delight : we love, and we adore. His grace and beauty do not cloy, for they are simple and natural ; his grandeur impresses by the intense and lofty emotions it inspires; his temble images appal the mind without shocking the sense, as MICHAEL ANGELO does : even deformity in RAFFAELLE'S pictures does not disgust. It may have been a strong impression of this contrast between the designs of the SHAKSPEARE and MILTON of painting, that caused us to feel something very like disappointment at this display of drawings by MICHAEL ANGELO. Certainly they are not equal as a collection to that of the RAFFAELLE8—Which is one of rare and unique excellence. Then, they have less subject. Of the hundred RAIFAELLES exhibited, (why are not the other eighty shown ?) a great number were designs for pictures, in which the dramatic power of RAFFAELLE was wonderfully manifested. These drawings of MICHAEL ANGELO include only three of his renowned Sybils, and a few fragments from the cartoon of PI.Sar the Last Judgment, 8w. There are many slight sketches, and studies of figures and drapery, a few fine heads, and several designs for Cruci- fixions and Holy Families. The display of anatomical learning and executive skill is not superior, and in finish not equal, to RAFFAELLE ; while the grandeur is turgid and exaggerated, the grace artificial aud contorted, the simplicity studied and formal. There is a slovenliness in the style, too, which is the more apparent after RAFE A ELLE'S ex- quisite neatness. MICHAEL A NGELO's expression is conveyed by pos- tures and draperies, not in faces: in RAFEAELLE both contributed to embody the sentiment in an equal degree. One of the most striking qualities in RAFFAELLE'S designs, indeed, is the powerful way in which the action of the figure where the face is averted expresses the emotion. We would not be misunderstood as wishing to disparage lthcitatl. ANGELO, though we confess to a desire of exalting RAFFAELLE above him ; for we think MICHAEL ANGELO has been unduly aggrandized at the expense of RAFEAELLE. The truth is, that MICHAEL ANGELO bad more gusto than imagination : he required the resistance of a block of marble, and affected to despise oil painting, which he said " was only fit for women "-that was because it was too delicate an operation for his impatience and sense of physical power. His genius was that of a sculptor and architect : to achieve great things he required to wield great masses. We are glad to hear that a memorial to the Lords of the Treasury is in course of signature by all the leading artists and amateurs, pray- ing them to purchase de drawings of RAITA ELLE, MICHAEL ANGELO, and LEONARDO DA VINCI, for the National Gallery. In furtherance of this object, Messrs. Woonnuax, the proprietors, have most libe- rally agreed to abide by the valuation of five competent persons in fixing the price. Twelve thousand pounds was the reduced price asked by them for the RAFEAELLES. We rejoice to think that there is a prospect of these treasures of art remaining in this country.
Previous page
