Of The
Pictures, What Gave Me Most Pleasure Was The Magdalen Of Guido,
Infinitely Superior To That By Le Brun
In the church of the
Carmelites at Paris; the Virgin, by Titian; a Madonna, by
Raphael, but not comparable to
That which is in the Palazzo de
Pitti, at Florence; and the death of Germanicus, by Poussin,
which I take to be one of the best pieces in this great
collection. In the Palazzo Falconeri there is a beautiful St.
Cecilia, by Guercino; a holy family, by Raphael; and a fine
expressive figure of St. Peter weeping, by Dominechino. In the
Palazzo Altieri, I admired a picture, by Carlo Maratti,
representing a saint calling down lightning from heaven to
destroy blasphemers. It was the figure of the saint I admired,
merely as a portrait. The execution of the other parts was tame
enough: perhaps they were purposely kept down, in order to
preserve the importance of the principal figure. I imagine
Salvator Rosa would have made a different disposition on the same
subject: that amidst the darkness of a tempest, he would have
illuminated the blasphemer with the flash of lightning by which
he was destroyed: this would have thrown a dismal gleam upon his
countenance, distorted by the horror of his situation as well as
by the effects of the fire; and rendered the whole scene
dreadfully picturesque. In the same palace, I saw the famous holy
family, by Corregio, which he left unfinished, and no other
artist would undertake to supply; for what reason I know not.
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