The midsummer of Italian art . l-ing is evolved. The religions of all races have origi-nated in mystery, and no philosophy is of muchvalue that is not founded on it. The Brahmans believe, or formerly did, that theearth rests on a tortoise; but what does the tortoiserest on? That they do not dare to the discoveries of science have not solved theenigma that is conveyed in this legend. The earthit is true is held in position by gravity ; but how didgravity originate ? Beyond the solar system are thestars ; but what is beyond the stars ? Space canhave no limit. All the greatest min
The midsummer of Italian art . l-ing is evolved. The religions of all races have origi-nated in mystery, and no philosophy is of muchvalue that is not founded on it. The Brahmans believe, or formerly did, that theearth rests on a tortoise; but what does the tortoiserest on? That they do not dare to the discoveries of science have not solved theenigma that is conveyed in this legend. The earthit is true is held in position by gravity ; but how didgravity originate ? Beyond the solar system are thestars ; but what is beyond the stars ? Space canhave no limit. All the greatest minds have sharedlargely in this element. Homer was no less a mys-tery than Shakspeare. Goethes writings are fullof it. Napoleon never explained himself, and wasan enigma to his nearest friends. Aristotle expressedit when he said that the ultimate reality was self-ac-tivity. I think Leonardo owned a larger share ofmystery than Michel Angelo. It gives an excep-tional charm to his work and makes his drawingsperpetually MONA LISA, BY LEONARDO DA VINCI{Iv Salon Carrel Louvre GaUery, Paris Leonardo da Vinci, 49 LA VIERGE AU painting in the Louvre by this title, and theduplicate in the possession of the Earl of Warwick,are clearly the work of Luini, for they have his scaleof coloring—and very beautiful it is but wholly dif-ferent from Leonardos, either in his own portraitor in the faded condition of the Mona Lisa—and it isonly necessary to compare their painting with thoseof the genuine Leonardos to recognize them as theproduct of an inferior though eminent artist. A cer-tain magnificence of design which underlies the paint-ing suggests to us, however, that Leonardo probablymade a cartoon from which they were both derived,—as in the case of the Madoyina with St. beautiful hands of the Madonna, the exquisitedrawing of her sleeves, and the lines of the mantleover her head, so much like the Mona Lisa, are alsosubstantial indications. The long nos
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Keywords: ., bookauthorstearnsf, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1911
