. The history of Our Lord as exemplified in works of art : with that of His types ; St. John the Baptist ; and other persons of the Old and New Testament. led the van—if, indeed, the design ascribedto him be his—with a figure, old and clumsy, with disorderly beardand plebeian face, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, and with a pick-axe on his shoulder (woodcut, No. 223). The light that encirclesthis figure is utterly incongruous, and the marks of the wounds onhands and feet profane. But for these, He would look like someMercury or Apollo, veiling his beams beneath a crafty disguise, inorder to begui
. The history of Our Lord as exemplified in works of art : with that of His types ; St. John the Baptist ; and other persons of the Old and New Testament. led the van—if, indeed, the design ascribedto him be his—with a figure, old and clumsy, with disorderly beardand plebeian face, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, and with a pick-axe on his shoulder (woodcut, No. 223). The light that encirclesthis figure is utterly incongruous, and the marks of the wounds onhands and feet profane. But for these, He would look like someMercury or Apollo, veiling his beams beneath a crafty disguise, inorder to beguile the rather light-looking lady at his feet. Poussin equally bowed the knee to false gods in this a consistency in error worthy of a better cause, Christ is madedigging up carrots, which lie strewn on the ground before Him, Hisfoot on the haft of the spade. Such designs would be better with-drawn from the series of the Passion, and renamed as tableaux degenrey fitting any story to them that might suggest itself, for it isalmost needless to say, that the Magdalen is as little honoured here APPEARANCE OF CHRIST TO THE MAGDALEN. 283. 223 Christ appearing to Magdalen. (Raphael.) as her Master. If the painters object is the embodiment of amomentary blunder, how comes she to be consenting to it ? Forevery child who has read the story knows that this is not theperson she turned to, recognised, and adored. It is not too much to say, that no high name and no technicalmerit can render such conceptions endurable. No Christian wouldwillingly live with the Person of our Lord thus parodied before hiseyes. It is different with those who have restricted the error to thedisplay of the spade only, in which they all follow each other likesheep into a devious path. Without this, but few examples of thissubject are found in Italy after the 14th We must, there- 1 The small picture in the National Gallery, called, Francesco Mantegna, is one except-ion. 284 HISTORY OF OUR L
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