At the Northwick Sale in 1859 yet another Poussin, _The Infancy of
Bacchus_, was added; besides a large panel by Perugino, an early work,
once in the Church of San Girolamo at Lucca. An interesting painting
representing a _Dance of Angels_, probably by a Sienese master of the
fifteenth century, came also from this same sale. Titian's _Ecce Homo_
was bought for 15,000 francs from the Averoldi family of Brescia, for
whom it is said to have been painted.[19]
_The Woman taken in Adultery_ (attributed to Giorgione), _The Martyrdom
of St. Stephen_ by Annibale Carracci, and _Mars and Venus_ by Paolo
Veronese were bought in London in 1860 from M. Nieuwenhuys; and in 1864
at a public sale in Paris the celebrated painting by Ingres representing
_The Story of Antiochus and Stratonice_ fell, amid general applause, to
the lot of the Duc d'Aumale for 92,100 francs.
Rosa Bonheur's _A Shepherd in the Pyrenees_, presented by the Duke to
his wife, was acquired next, together with Gérome's _Le Duel après le
Bal_ and Protais' _Avant et après le Combat_.
From the Soltykoff Sale in Paris, for the sum of 54,000 francs, came the
four large portraits in Limoges enamel representing _Henri d'Albret,
King of Navarre_, _Antoine de Bourbon_, _Louis de Bourbon_, and
_Catherine de Lorraine_.
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
The Minerva of Chantilly.
Greek Bronze.]
In 1865 Baron Triqueti, who often represented the Prince at these sales,
was sent to Paris to acquire the famous Pourtales vase, a Greek amphora
with red figures of the time of Phidias. For this interesting work of
art he paid 10,000 francs; whilst two small Greek bronzes--one
representing _Jupiter_ and the other a statuette of _Minerva_--were
knocked down to him for 8,000 and 19,300 francs respectively. Upon this
occasion the Duke was bidding against the Louvre, the British Museum,
and Monsieur Thiers. These two bronzes, which were found near Besançon,
are of unequal merit; the _Jupiter_ is of only average workmanship; but
the _Minerva_ statuette is considered one of the greatest treasures at
Chantilly. Léon Heuzey places it in the late archaic period at a time
when the Greeks were still endeavouring to ennoble and beautify their
goddess before they finally arrived at the height of their ideal in the
famous _Athena of Lemnos_. The fact that this statuette was found at
Besançon indicates how highly Greek Art was valued, not only in Rome,
but also in Cisalpine Gaul; for such small portable figures often
accompanied their owners on their journeys, and who knows what great
personage it may have been who brought this exquisite little _Minerva_
with him to Gaul? We know that Tiberius never travelled without his
much-cherished _Amazon_ of the Vatican.
A fragment of an antique sarcophagus representing _Bacchus and Ariadne_
was acquired for 7,200 francs at the Nolivos Sale and is exhibited now
in the Salle Minerve along with the above-mentioned statuettes and some
charming Tanagra figures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account