was the handling of his pencil, which, to the utmost rapidity, unites the greatest judgment, and that effects, decides, and achieves something in every stroke— gifts which had become familiar to Paul Veronese. To these praises should be added a recognition of the bold grandeur, combined with elegance, of his contours. The National Gallery contains but a single additional picture, which was formerly in the Orleans Collection, from the pencil of Paul Veronese; viz. The Rape of Europa: in the treatment of which the artist has been not less successful than in the Consecration of St. Nicholas. As his Wedding at Cana is pervaded by an air of joyous festivity; and as his Initiation of St. Nicholas to his Bishopric, is governed by a sentiment of rich solemnity, homogeneous with the pious pomp of the church of Rome; so the seduction (or abduction) of Europa, is all melting and amorous blandishments. We deem this skilful adaptation of treatment to subject, by whomsoever manifested, as belonging to a high order of professional merit. A comparison of the marrowy and voluptuous tones of the seduction of the lovely, innocent, credulous, fascinated, princess of Tyre, with the solemn richness and ecclesiastical pomp of the Saint Nicholas, which every tasteful visitor of the National Gallery is happily and easily enabled to make, will show that this master knew, or felt, that the true use of colour was to aid and strengthen sentiment, and thus to enforce truth, while it increased our pictorial pleasure. THE RAPE OF EUROPA. PAUL VERONESE. As the subject of this picture carries us back quite into those remote depths of time of which Thucydides has learnedly and rationally treated, when the Homeric mythology was but forming, and fact and fable were murkily blended or scumbled together; and as Paul Veronese has in no respect violated the letter or spirit of the classic legend-it may not be esteemed useless to the less learned of our readers, or otherwise improper, if we submit a brief sketch of the fable, and of the fact upon which we believe it to have been grounded, before we describe, or criticise, the picture as a work of art. The princess Europa, from whom the division of the globe which we inhabit is believed to have derived its appellation, lived during those far distant ages-probably before Jupiter was thought of as a deity, and while he was simply a prince of Crete; in which island, according to Cicero, and Lucian, his tomb was once shown to strangers. From Herodotus, and from the author whom we have named above, it is known that in those early ages, piratical expeditions were common in the Mediterranean. The Cretans were among the first people who had constructed ships, and when once they had acquired the method of navigating these, they soon took up the profession of piracy, under the command of those who were distinguished for bravery and enterprise; and this was so far from being thought reproachful, that it was even deemed glorious during those barbarous ages. It is then by no means impro bable that an enterprising prince of Crete may have piratically landed on the coast of Phenicia from a rude bark, bearing a sculptured bull, or bull's head, on its prow, (and probably named the Bull,) and finding the princess of Tyre at play with other maidens near the shore, he may have seized and carried her off to Crete. This appears to be the most natural and probable explication of the old Greek legend of the rape of Europa. The event notoriously happened during the fabulous ages; and what extravagant fabulists the Greek poets were, is pretty well known. But the story as they have transmitted it, and as it is here depicted by Paul Veronese, is briefly as follows Europa was the admired daughter of Agenor, king of Phenicia, and Telephassa. She was so beautiful that Jupiter became enamoured of her, and, the more effectually to engage, first her attention and afterward her affections, assumed the shape of a bull, and mingled with her father's herds, while the princess with her attendants were gathering flowers in the meadows: Lucian says a white bull, just as we find him here represented in Paolo's picture, that he moreover, had horns gracefully turned; a lovely leering eye; and the wag facetiously adds-that he lowed so amiably, it was a pleasure to hear him. Europa caressed the beautiful white bull, and, gradually emboldened, took the fancy, as he kneeled down, to seat herself upon his back. But, no sooner was the bull-god aware that she was firmly seated, than he rose, moved toward the margin of the sea, and presently plunging in-the alarmed princess grasping his horn, and Neptune smoothing the way for them-he swam over to the isle of Crete, &c. &c. Lucian is believed to have taken his droll confabu lation between Zephyrus and Notus, from which the above is briefly compressed, from an ancient Greek picture of this subject, which was a great favourite with the artists of antiquity, and was esteemed to be so interesting that the Sidonians impressed the rape of Europa upon some of their coins. Madame Dacier thinks that Anacreon's pleasant little Ode on the subject, is also copied from a still more ancient painting, we mean that Ode of which Moore's delightful translation begins "Methinks the pictured Bull we see Our readers, who have perused the above, will scarcely have failed to observe the near agreement which subsists between the classic story and the picture here produced by the Veronese artist; almost the only difference being, that the painter, in adapting it to his art, has added a few touches and ideas of his own, which are both poetical and picturesque, and, at the same time, so perfectly homogeneous with the subject, that they appear like restorations of the lapses of literature and tradition. The beauteous and seducing bull, having just received his precious burthen, is still kneeling; the princess, with the assistance of two of her approving maids of honour, having confidently seated herself; while a third and more matronly attendant has presumed to offer some prudent admonition or remonstrance, to which Europa-as we see by the fine turn of her head, and expression of her countenance-is blandly and innocently replying that she entertains no fears, and that it is her royal will and pleasure to ride on a beautiful bull. The amorous Jupiter meanwhile is insidiously, but consecutively, licking that trusting right foot of the princess which is raised from the ground. There are some capital inuendoes in the performance; for the adoption and introduction of which the Italian artist, having shown both his wit and his wisdom, will, as we trust, find due sympathy in England. Two little winged loves are sporting in the air above, gathering fruit from the back-ground trees, and scattering roses; below, the "amiable" bull is garlanded with a wreath of flowers, which, passing around his youthful and heifer-like horns, trails on the ground, and is held by the master Cupid. It is obviously to be understood as the leading-string of Love. But where is the other hand of this Cupid? Ha! By Jupiter! he has taken "the bull by the horn"-by the right horn. And pray observe; that the little wanton, intriguing deity, who "rules and reigns without control," though he is prepared to lead the lovers to the Dictæan cavern, here places one of his feet on and against the knee of the bull; which is of course to be understood as a delicate intimation that Love restrains Jupiter from instantly rising with his beloved burthen :-as a painted whisper of "Not yet," and a manifestation of his mighty power and quick apprehensiveness in critical moments. But why this intimation of "Not yet?" Because (as the reader has been rendered aware) the oldest of the attendants on the princess, is lecturing her on prudence; and Love will rather sooth, than run the least risk of increasing, her alarm, at a moment so inauspicious. |