The early work of Raphael . in the Rue de Sevresto which our thoughts turn most readily at the words Salon de MadameRecamier. It is the earlier salon, the throne of which the fair Recamierhad to share with the brilliant and by no means fair De Stael. Thepresence of Lucien, of Bernadotte, of Neckers daughter herself, is enoughto show that the time was not yet when half the patronage of the Frenchminister had to pass through the hands of the sexless beauty. The subject of The Toung Duke is all upon the canvas. A younggrandee has come of age, and celebrates his manhood by feasting his menfriends.
The early work of Raphael . in the Rue de Sevresto which our thoughts turn most readily at the words Salon de MadameRecamier. It is the earlier salon, the throne of which the fair Recamierhad to share with the brilliant and by no means fair De Stael. Thepresence of Lucien, of Bernadotte, of Neckers daughter herself, is enoughto show that the time was not yet when half the patronage of the Frenchminister had to pass through the hands of the sexless beauty. The subject of The Toung Duke is all upon the canvas. A younggrandee has come of age, and celebrates his manhood by feasting his menfriends. Pictorially, it is a variation on the Voltaire. Putting aside thesuggested drama—tragedy or comedy, as it strikes you—-of the earlierpicture, the materials are the same in both cases, and the new creation islittle else than the old looked at from a different point of view. Againwe have the shimmer of tapestry and gilded mouldings for a background,a line of periwigged and be-satined men for population, a table with its. Si S is 4 ^ THE ART OF WILLIAM QUILLER ORCHARDSON 55 load of furniture and its white cloth for nucleus. The focus and thetrend of the masses are different, and the element of opposition—furious Arouet versus impassive Sully and Co.—on which the vitality of the Voltaire so greatly depended, is absent altogether, unless, indeed, the freshness of the bowl of roses, with its silent protest against thedissipation going on within its scent, may be taken to supply it. VIII The most popular of all Orchardsons pictures is probably the Mar-iage de Convenance. The group to which it belongs includes its sequel,After, and such domestic scenes as A Social Eddy, Her Mothers Voice, AnEnigma, If Music be the Food of Love, flay on, Hard Hit, Her FirstDance, and Music, when Sweet Voices die, vibrates in the Memory. Allthese, with the one exception of After, explain themselves, or ratherrequire no explanation. They afford glimpses into the kaleidoscope ofsociety, which you
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookde, booksubjectraphael14831520, bookyear1895
