Character Sketches of Romance Volume Iii Part 57

Why, it is no more like a fly than I am like--;" but, as he approached his finger to the picture, the fly flew away (1772)[TN-60]

_Grapes._ Zeuxis (2 _syl._) a Grecian painter, painted some grapes so well that birds came and pecked at them, thinking them real grapes (B.C.

400).

_A Horse._ Apelles painted Alexander's horse Bucephalos so true to life that some mares came up to the canvas neighing, under the supposition that it was a real animal (about B.C. 334).

_A Man._ Velasquez painted a Spanish admiral so true to life that when King Felipe IV. entered the studio he mistook the painting for the man, and began reproving the supposed officer for neglecting his duty in wasting his time in the studio, when he ought to have been with his fleet (1590-1660).

_Accidental effects in painting._

Apelles, being at a loss to paint the foam of Alexander's horse, dashed his brush at the picture in a fit of annoyance, and did by accident what his skill had failed to do (about B.C. 334).

The same tale is told of Protog'enes, who dashed his brush at a picture, and thus produced "the foam of a dog's mouth," which he had long been trying in vain to represent (about B.C. 332).

_Painters_ (_Prince of_). Parrhasios and Apelles are both so called (fourth century B.C.).

=Painters' Characteristics.=

ANGELO (_Michael_): an iron frame, strongly developed muscles, and an anatomical display of the human figure. The aeschylos of painters (1474-1564).

CARRACCI: eclectic artists, who picked out and pieced together parts taken from Correggio, Raphael, t.i.tian and other great artists. If Michael Angelo is the aeschylos of artists, and Raphael the Sophocles, the Carracci may be called the Euripides of painters. I know not why in England the name is spelt with only one _r_.

CORREGGIO: known by his wonderful foreshortenings, his magnificent light and shade. He is, however, very monotonous (1494-1534).

CROME (_John_): an old woman in a red cloak walking up an avenue of trees (1769-1821).

DAVID: noted for his stiff, dry, pedantic, "highly cla.s.sic" style, according to the interpretation of the phrase by the French in the first Revolution (1748-1825).

DOLCE (_Cario_): famous for his Madonnas, which were all finished with most extraordinary delicacy (1616-1686).

DOMENICHI'NO: famed for his frescoes, correct in design and fresh in coloring (1581-1614).

GUIDO: his specialty is a pallid or bluish-complexioned saint, with saucer or uplifted eyes (1574-1642).

HOLBEIN: characterized by bold relief, exquisite finish, force of conception, delicacy of tone, and dark background (1498-1554).

LORRAINE (_Claude_): a Greek temple on a hill, with sunny and highly finished cla.s.sic scenery. Aerial perspective (1600-1682).

MURILLO: a brown-faced Madonna (1618-1682).

OMMEGANCK: sheep (1775-1826).

PERUGINO (_Pietro_): known by his narrow, contracted figures and scrimpy drapery (1446-1524).

POUSSIN: famous for his cla.s.sic style. Reynolds says: "No works of any modern have so much the air of antique painting as those of Poussin"

(1593-1665).

POUSSIN (_Gaspar_): a landscape painter, the very opposite of Claude Lorraine. He seems to have drawn his inspiration from Hervey's _Meditations Among the Tombs_, Blair's _Grave_, Young's _Night Thoughts_, and Burton's _Anatomy of Melancholy_ (1613-1675).

RAPHAEL: the Sophocles of painters. Angelo's figures are all gigantesque and ideal, like those of aeschylos. Raphael's are perfect human beings (1483-1520).

REYNOLDS: a portrait-painter. He presents his portraits in _bal masque_, not always suggestive either of the rank or character of the person represented. There is about the same a.n.a.logy between Watteau and Reynolds as between Claude Lorraine and Gaspar Poussin (1723-1792).

ROSA (_Salvator_): dark, inscrutable pictures, relieved by dabs of palette-knife. He is fond of savage scenery, broken rocks, wild caverns, blasted heaths, and so on (1615-1673).

RUBENS: patches of vermillion dabbed about the human figure, wholly out of harmony with the rest of the coloring (1577-1640).

STEEN (_Jan_): an old woman peeling vegetables, with another old woman looking at her (1636-1679).

TINTORETTI: full of wild fantastical inventions. He is called "The Lightning of the Pencil" (1512-1594).

t.i.tIAN: noted for his broad shades of divers gradations (1477-1576).

VERONESE (_Paul_): noted for his great want of historical correctness and elegance of design; but he abounds in spirited banquets, sumptuous edifices, brilliant aerial spectres, magnificent robes, gaud, and jewelry (1530-1588).

WATTEAU: noted for his _fetes galantes_, fancy-ball costumes, and generally gala-day figures (1684-1721).

=Paix des Dames= (_La_), the treaty of peace concluded at Cambray in 1529, between Francois I. of France and Karl V., emperor of Germany. So called because it was mainly negotiated by Louise of Savoy (mother of the French king), and Margaret, the emperor's aunt.

=Palabras Carinosas.=

"Good-night! I have to say good-night To such a host of peerless things!

Good-night unto the fragile hand All queenly with its weight of rings; Good-night to fond uplifted eyes, Good-night to chestnut braids of hair, Good-night unto the perfect mouth And all the sweetness nestled there,-- The snowy hand detains me,--then I'll have to say Good-night again!"

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, _Poems_, 1858-84.

=Paladore=, a Briton in the service of the king of Lombardy. One day, in a boar-hunt, the boar turned on the Princess Sophia, and, having gored her horse to death, was about to attack the lady, but was slain by the young Briton. Between these two young people a strong attachment sprang up; but the Duke Bire'no, by an artifice of false impersonation, induced Paladore to believe that the princess was a wanton, and had the audacity to accuse her as such to the senate. In Lombardy, the punishment for this offence was death, and the princess was ordered to execution.

Paladore, having learned the truth, accused the duke of villainy. They fought, and Bireno fell. The princess, being cleared of the charge, married Paladore.--Robert Jephson, _The Law of Lombardy_ (1779).

=Palame'des= (4 _syl._), son of Nauplios, was, according to Suidas, the inventor of dice. (See ALEA.)

_Palamedes_ (_Sir_), a Saracen, who adored Isolde, the wife of King Mark of Cornwall. Sir Tristram also loved the same lady, who was his aunt.

The two "lovers" fought, and Sir Palamedes, being overcome, was compelled to turn Christian. He was baptized, and Sir Tristram stood his sponsor at the font.--Thomas of Erceldoune, called "The Rhymer," _Sir Tristram_ (thirteenth century).

=Palame'des of Lombardy=, one of the allies of the Christian army in the first crusade. He was shot by Corinda with an arrow (bk. xi.).--Ta.s.so, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).

=Palamon and Arcite= (2 _syl._), two young Theban knights, who fell into the hands of Duke Theseus (2 _syl._), and were by him confined in a dungeon at Athens. Here they saw the duke's sister-in-law, Emily, with whom both fell in love. When released from captivity, the two knights told to the duke their tale of love; and the duke promised that whichever proved the victor in single combat, should have Emily for his prize. Arcite prayed to Mars "for victory," and Palamon to Venus that he might "obtain the lady," and both their prayers were granted. Arcite won the victory, according to his prayer, but, being thrown from his horse, died; so Palamon, after all, "won the lady," though he did not win the battle.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Knight's Tale," 1388).

This tale is taken from the _Le Teseide_ of Boccaccio.

_The Black Horse_, a drama by John Fletcher, is the same tale. Richard Edwards has a comedy called _Palaemon and Arcyte_ (1566).