DUTCH SCHOOL. cococo0000co J. STEEN. ooocoooooooo HAGUE MUSEUM. A PATIENT AND HER PHYSICIAN. A young woman, finding herself unwell, has just sent for a physician she presents to him her arm, and the doctor whilst feeling her pulse, seems to have some doubts as to the malady, the cause of which is carefully kept from him. The young girl who is standing near her mistress, appears to anxiously await the physician's decision, who, probably, will also be silent, as to the true source of the disorder. The artist has however taken care to impart his thought by some accessories, to which, at first, no great attention is given. A statue of Cupid, holding one of his poisoned darts, is placed on the corner of the mantle piece. This indication is already sufficient to give a clue. But he has wished to express his idea in a manner still more palpable, by displaying over the chimney-piece part of a picture, the composition of which represents a horseman, riding away at full speed. He is followed by a servant, and is, no doubt, going to join the army: but the glory he seeks to acquire, forcing him away, his absence can but increase the fears of her, by whom he is tenderly loved. Among John Steen's pictures, this is one of the few that present nothing trivial. It is painted on wood, and forms part of the Museum at the Hague. Height, 5 feet 11 inches; width, 4 feet 10 inches. ÉCOLE FRANÇAISE. cooooooo N. POUSSIN. cccooooo CABINET PARTICULIER. MORT D'ADONIS. Ovide, en racontant la mort d'Adonis, dit que Vénus, ayant entendu les cris de son amant, tourna son char traîné par deux cygnes du côté d'où venaient les plaintes, et trouvant celui qu'elle chérissait baigné dans son sang, se jeta précipitamment à bas de son char, et s'arracha les cheveux en s'en prenant au Destin. Ovide ajoute ensuite que, pour conserver le souvenir de son malheur et de son affliction, elle répandit du nectar sur le sang d'Adonis, qui, s'étant gonflé, produisit en un instant des fleurs semblables à celle de la grenade, et qu'on nomma depuis arémones. Vénus, à genoux près de celui dont elle pleure la mort, vient de quitter son char sur lequel sont placés deux oiseaux. Les personnes qui aiment à critiquer, et qui en trouvent si rarement l'occasion dans les tableaux de Poussin, s'étonnent de ne point voir les cygnes dont parle Ovide, et ils ajoutent que les oiseaux qui doivent tirer le char de Vénus sont si petits qu'on les prend plutôt pour des passereaux que pour des colombes. Ils prétendent encore que la figure allégorique du fleuve est trop colossale pour bien représenter la petite rivière d'Adonis, qui, du mont où elle prend sa source jusqu'à la mer où elle tombe, ne parcourt qu'un trajet de deux ou trois lieues. Ce tableau a été gravé par Baquoy. Larg., 3 pieds 6 pouces; haut., 1 pied 7 pouces. R. 2. 370. FRENCH SCHOOL. ooooooooo N. POUSSIN. oocooo PRIVATE COLLECTION. € THE DEATH OF ADONIS. Ovid, when relating the death of Adonis, says that Venus, hearing the cries of her lover, turned her car, drawn by two swans, towards the spot whence came his moans; and finding him, whom she cherished most, bathed in his blood, she leaped precipitately from her car, tore her hair and cursed the Fates. Ovid adds, moreover, that, to preserve the remembrance of her sorrow and grief, she poured some nectar over the blood of Adonis, which, having swoln, instantaneously produced flowers similar to the pomegranate, and which have since borne the name of Anemones. Venus, kneeling by the side of him whose death she bewails, has just left her car, upon which are two birds. Those persons fond of criticising, and who, in Poussin's pictures, very seldom have an opportunity of doing so, are astonished not to find the swans spoken of by Ovid, and they add that the birds supposed to draw the car of Venus, are so small, that they might be taken rather for sparrows than doves. They also pretend, that the allegorical figure of the river is too colossal to represent properly the small river Adonis, which, from the hill, where it takes its rise, to the sea where it disembogues itself, flows over a space of not more than two or three leagues. This picture has been engraved by Baquoy. Width, 3 feet 8 inches; height, 20 inches. |