A Summer Across the Sea (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ... of paintings in Europe north of Italy. Its art treasures were gathered in the eighteenth century by the Electors of Saxony, and the collection now contains twenty-four hundred paintings, many of them of world fame. The finest painting in the gallery, and probably the finest in the world, is Raphael's Sistine Madonna, which was painted by the artist at the request of the Pope, in 1515, for a monastery in Italy. It was bought for the Dresden gallery in 1753, for $45,000, and it is said that Italy has since offered $200,000 for its return; but it is now a treasure beyond price. The Virgin mother, holding her Child, stands in a parted curtain behind which are angels, as though she had stepped out of heaven. The depth and mystery of expression in her face and in the face of the Child are wonderful. For nearly four hundred years the generations have come and gone and gazed at this picture, and marveled at the vision. Among other famous paintings in the gallery are Correggio's "Holy Night," "Jesus in the Temple," by Hoffman, who lives in Dresden, at the age of eighty-four, and is ranked as the greatest living artist, Munkacsy's " Christ on the Cross," and hundreds of others by Titian, Murillo, Rubens, Rembrandt, and other great names in the world of art. Room after room of the large building is filled with these paintings, many of which are now beyond price. Biblical scenes abound, but all scenes, from tragedy to comedy, from humble life to great personages and events, are depicted. These artists have caught the joys and the sorrows, the hopes and fears, the triumphs and the tragedies of the world, and fixed them upon these canvases in imperishable colors. Many of them have held the gaze of the world for centuries. They abide while t...