The innocents abroad; . re that he will not mistakesome harmless innocent of a juryman for the black-heartedassassin on trial. Yet such people talk of character andpresume to interpret expression in pictures. There is an•old story that Matthews, the actor, was once lauding the abil-ity of the human face to express the passions and emotionstidden in the breast. He said the countenance could disclosewhat was passing in the heart plainer than the tongue could. ]^ow, he said, observe my face—what does it express ? Despair! Bah, it expresses peaceful resignation! What does thisexpress ? Eage! Stuff
The innocents abroad; . re that he will not mistakesome harmless innocent of a juryman for the black-heartedassassin on trial. Yet such people talk of character andpresume to interpret expression in pictures. There is an•old story that Matthews, the actor, was once lauding the abil-ity of the human face to express the passions and emotionstidden in the breast. He said the countenance could disclosewhat was passing in the heart plainer than the tongue could. ]^ow, he said, observe my face—what does it express ? Despair! Bah, it expresses peaceful resignation! What does thisexpress ? Eage! Stuff! it means terror ! This P Imbecility! Fool! It is smothered ferocity ! Now this / ^Joy! 13 194 PAINTING- OF THE VIRGIN MARY. Oh, perdition ! Any ass can see it means insanity !* Expression! People coolly pretend to read it wlio would think themselves presumptuous if they pretended to interpret the hieroglyphics on the obelisks of Luxor—yet they are fully as competent to do the one thing as the other. I have heard. FACIAL EXPRESSION. two very intelligent critics speak of Murillos Immaculate Con-ception (now in the museum at Seville,) within the past fewdays. One said: Oh, the Yirgins face is full of the ecstasy of a joy that iscomplete—that leaves nothing more to be desired on earth! The other said: Ah, that wonderful face is so humble, so pleading—it saysas plainly as words could say it: I fear; I tremble ; I amunworthy. But Thy will be done; sustain. Thou Thy ser-vant ! The reader can see the picture in any drawing-room; it canbe easily recognized: the Yirgin (the only young and reallybeautiful Yirgin that was ever painted by one of the old mas-ters, some of us think,) stands in the crescent of the new moon,with a multitude of cherubs hovering about her, and morecoming ; her hands are crossed upon her breast, and upon heruplifted countenance falls a glory out of the heavens. Thereader may amuse himself, if he chooses, in trying to deter-mine which of these gentlemen
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectvoyagesandtravels
