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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
hold your breath and do not speak as you look at it . The catalogue says , 'La Vierge recommande le silence k Saint Jean pour ne pas troubler le repos de Jesus . ' That * recommande ' sounds strangely ; but what other word could be found ? The sweet earnest face of the mother , whose arm tenderly cradles the sleeping
child—sleeping so placidly , that you hear in fancy the gentle breathing through its parted lips ; her upraised hushing finger ; her slight bending forward , as if to check the little disciple , who is making his whole body minister to one tiny finger , that it may fall like down upon the foot of the sleeper : Oh * it is all so
beautiful ! The soldier is still gazing , and if you asked him why ? he would perhaps answer , because the woman was so ' douce * and the children so 'jolis . ' We would make answer for him , that he has a human heart—that he is enjoying , perhaps unconsciously ,, the expression of brotherly affection and expansive benevolence . The mother ' s face is alike free from the
harshness of rebuke or the weakness of entreaty . She is careful of the feelings of the child of another , as she is watchful over the repose of her own ; she is not one to exact obedience through fear , but to change it into pleasure through affection—the face of that mother , the act of that child , are lovely lessons of kindness and gentleness from which all , whether men , women , or children , may learn equally .
Another pleasure peculiar to the Louvre is the sight of so many women artists , who may work in safety without being insulted by the suspicious glances of the mischievous and ignorant , and who , by their judicious selection of subjects , and the truth and spirit with which they master them , show that they need but equal advantages to give them equal ability . They paint freely , easily , and
have sufficient command over their pencils ^ or , rather , devotedness to their subject , to be perfectly indifferent to the looks or remarks of the people around them . They lose all consciousness of self in their love for the art—one of the distinguishing marks of true genius . ' What an intelligent face ! What a beautifully organized hand ! What is she copying ? ' The loves of Paris and Helen , by David ;—one moment of them , but still sufficient to tell their
whole history . Alone , away from all pursuit , secured even against the intrusion of the airs of heaven , by the full , soft , folded drapery that curtains the entrance ; all around glowing with bright hues and exquisite forms , they , the centre of all , richly adorned , in the full pride of matchless physical beauty—Perfect , you would say ; but look , the lovely head of Helen is slightly drooping;—again ,
there is abstraction in her eye ;—again , there is an unsatisfied , remorseful expression on the crimson lips : and Paris , as he draws her nearer to him , grasps her arm more than presses it , and looks up in her face with eyes of uneasy passion , as if asking why they are not happy now that they have attained the end of their wishes . Did a blessing ever rest on pleasure earned at the price of pain to
Untitled Article
842 A National Gallery .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1833, page 842, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2628/page/38/
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