Landscapes. playing on his lyre. The latter is seen seated on a bank at the side, rapt in the melody of his own voice and instrument; before him are two nymphs recumbent on the ground, and a third stands near them. The attention of the whole is so absorbed by the enchanting sounds of his music, that they are wholly ignorant of the fatal accident which has befallen Eurydice, who is at the extremity of the group, and so placed that the female who is standing, conceals her from the view of the Thracian prince. She appears to have been gathering flowers, and while thus engaged, a serpent has bitten her in the heel. The painter in this instance has deviated from the poetical legend, which states that Eurydice was wounded by a serpent while escaping from the violence of Aristæus. A river flows through the country, at the extremity of the foreground, on the margin of which is seated a female angling, but her attention appears to be suddenly drawn from her sport by the screams of the unfortunate Eurydice. A beautiful cluster of trees adorns the right of the picture, and the distance is bounded by a chain of hills, on which is seen a lofty tower and other buildings of the city of Thrace. Engraved in the Musée Française by Bouvenet, and Niquet. 3 ft. 7 in. by 6 ft.-C. Valued by the Experts du Musée, 1816. 50,000 fs. 20007. Now in the Louvre. 303. Orpheus and Eurydice. A landscape, in which this subject is introduced, was sold in the collection of General Craig, 1812, for 181 gs. 304. Pyramus and Thisbe. The story of the Babylonian lovers is introduced in the foreground of a grand and beautiful landscape, where the lifeless Pyramus lies extended, with the fatal sword by his side: this affecting sight appears to have Landscapes. just met the eyes of Thisbe, who stands aghast, with her arms extended in despair, and a shriek of horror seems to escape from her lips. At some distance, through the gloom of the twilight, may be descried a lion springing on a terrified horse, whose rider lies prostrate by its side, while his companion, mounted on a black charger, is furiously attacking with a spear the savage beast: from this scene of danger travellers with their cattle are seen escaping in all directions. The scene exhibits an open country of a broken and undulating surface, watered by a spacious lake in the centre, adorned with clusters of trees, and a variety of beautiful buildings distributed along the acclivities of the surrounding hills. These objects are but faintly perceived through the prevailing gloom, for the luminary of day has long since sunk below the hills, and his departing rays cast but a feeble light on the most prominent objects. The subject is also beautifully illustrated by the most natural and appropriate episodes. A storm, attended by vivid bursts of lightning and furious gusts of wind, rages with awful violence; wild beasts are attacking benighted travellers; and affrighted peasantry are flying in every direction. In this glorious work of art, the painter appears to have seized and embodied all that nature and accident could offer, that might tend to give grandeur and sublimity to his picture. Engraved by Chatelin, Vivares, and anonymous. 6 ft. 5 in. by 8 ft. 10 in.-C. Now in the collection of the Earl of Ashburnham. 305. Pyramus and Thisbe. A landscape represented under the effect of moonlight, in which the story of Pyramus and Thisbe is introduced, was sold in the collection of Benjamin West, Esq., P.R.A., 1820, for 185 gs. 2 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 1 in.-C. Landscapes. 306. Polyphemus. This beautiful scene exhibits a mountainous country, with a rugged and rocky foreground, washed by a rippling stream, and enriched by abundance of bushes. Amidst these, and on an eminence near the centre, are three dryades sitting together: a satyr, partly concealed among the bushes, is cautiously watching them, and the head of a second sylvan is seen above the trees, similarly engaged. On the opposite side, a little retired from the front, is an emblematic figure of a river god reclining on a rocky bank. The view extends over a fertile valley, in which cattle are feeding, to two lofty rocky mountains, on the summit of the farthest of which is seen the Cyclops Polyphemus seated, playing on his pipe. Clusters of umbrageous trees give beauty to the meadows, whose verdant freshness indicates the vernal season of the year. This picture was painted in 1649, for a M. Pontel. Engraved by Baudet. 4 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft. 6 in.—C. Worth 5001. Now in the Palace of the Hermitage, at St. Petersburgh. A repetition of the preceding picture, size 3 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 4 in.-C., is said to be in the Museum at Madrid. 307. Hercules and Cacus. The view here represents a grand rocky scene, divided by a meandering river, whose banks are studded with clumps of bushy trees. Upon a rocky verdant bank, in the centre of the foreground, sit three naiades, and a fourth stands by them; they are lightly clad with mantles of divers hues, and their heads decked with flowers; a stream flows by them, in which are two vases. At a little distance on the right is a river god, reposing on the bank of a stream; and beyond may be observed two persons in a boat. The view is bounded by Landscapes. the mountains of Taurus and Caucasus; at the side of the latter promontory, is seen Hercules destroying the robber Cacus, at the mouth of the cave. This, like the preceding picture, to which it forms a pendant, is distinguished by the freshness and brilliancy of its tones. 4 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft. 6 in.—C. Worth 500 gs. Now in the Palace of the Hermitage, at St. Petersburgh. 308. The Affrighted Traveller. This picture offers a view of a hilly country with a river in the centre, and its surrounding banks adorned with beautiful clusters of trees; beyond these are perceived a variety of buildings distributed along the acclivities of the more distant hills. The scene is further identified by a traveller, on a rugged road in front, who appears to be escaping in terror from the sight of a man lying on the margin of a stream, entwined by a large snake; a second object of terror is seen more distant, consisting of a man lying dead on the ground, and a woman wailing over him still more remote are perceived several persons on the bank of the river, and two men in a boat. This picture was painted in 1650, for a M. Pointel, at whose decease it passed into the possession of M. Moreau. Engraved by Baudet. 309. A Traveller washing his Feet at a Fountain. The scene represents a fertile and richly-wooded country, divided by two winding roads, one of which appears to lead to a distant town, situate at the foot of a range of mountains; the other diverges among clusters of trees to the right, on which side, and close to the front, are a young man and woman sitting together at the base of a stone erection, forming, apparently, part of a monument; beyond them is a young female with a Landscapes. basket of fruit on her head and another on her arm, and in the opposite side sits a traveller washing his feet in the overflowing water of a stone fountain. This classic production, is also remarkable for an image of a tutelar deity, and some votive arms suspended to the trunk of a fine evergreen oak, at the foot of which reclines a venerable man, who seems absorbed in meditation. This picture forms one of the set of six landscapes engraved by Baudet. 2 ft. 5 in. by 3 ft. 4 in.-C. Presented by Sir George Beaumont, Bart., to the nation, and now in the Public Gallery. 310. A Peasant filling a Vase at a Fountain. This picture is distinguished by a perspective view up a straight road, flanked on one side by stonework, and on the opposite side by a fountain and clusters of trees. A large building enclosed by a wall occupies one side, in the middle distance, and some houses are seen at the extremity of the road; beyond which the eye encounters the distant mountains. Close to the front are two men and a woman; one of the former is dipping for water at the fountain, the other two are seated together near a stone pedestal, on which is a mantle and a basket of fruit. Engraved by Baudet. This picture was painted about the year 1650, for M. Passart, Secretary of State. 2 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. 4 in.-C. Bequeathed by Sir Francis Bougeois to the Dulwich College, and now in the Gallery of that Institution. 311. Two Nymphs observing a Snake. The view exhibits a wild and rocky country with a large river in the centre, which appears to flow in a tortuous direction to the front |