Finally, in the "Venus disarming Cupid," of the Wallace collection, we
have, in my opinion, the wreck of a once splendid Giorgione. In the
recent re-arrangement of the Gallery, this picture, which used to hang
in an upstairs room, and was practically unknown, has been hung
prominently on the line, so that its beauties, and, alas! its defects,
can be plainly seen. The outlines are often distorted and blurred, the
Cupid has become monstrous, the delicacy of the whole effaced by
ill-usage and neglect. Yet the splendour of colour, the cast of drapery,
the flow of line, proclaims the great master himself. There is no room,
moreover, for such a mythical compromise as that which is proposed by
the catalogue, "It stands midway in style between Giorgione and Titian
in his Giorgionesque phase." No better instance could be adduced of the
fallacy of perfection implied in the minds of most critics at the
mention of Giorgione's name; yet if we accept the Louvre "Concert," if
we accept the Hermitage "Judith," why dispute Giorgione's claim on the
ground of "weakness of construction"? This "Venus and Cupid" is vastly
inferior in quality to the Dresden "Venus,"--let us frankly admit
it,--but it is none the less characteristic of the artist, who must not
be judged by the standard of his exceptional creations, but by that of
his normal productions.[119]
[Illustration: _Hanfstaengl photo. National Gallery, London_ VENUS AND
ADONIS]
Just such another instance of average merit is afforded by the "Venus
and Adonis" of the National Gallery (No.
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