in a picture.
The groupes seem to be intirely independent of each other. The
extraordinary merit of this piece, I imagine, consists, not only in the
expression of divinity on the face of Christ; but also in the
surprising lightness of the figure, that hovers like a beautiful
exhalation in the air. In the church of St. Luke, I was not at all
struck by the picture of that saint, drawing the portrait of the Virgin
Mary, although it is admired as one of the best pieces of Raphael.
Indeed it made so little impression upon me, that I do not even
remember the disposition of the figures. The altar-piece, by Andrea
Sacchi, in the church of St. Romauldus, would have more merit, if the
figure of the saint himself had more consequence, and was represented
in a stronger light. In the Palazzo Borghese, I chiefly admired the
following pieces: a Venus with two nymphs; and another with Cupid, both
by Titian: an excellent Roman Piety, by Leonardo da Vinci; and the
celebrated Muse, by Dominechino, which is a fine, jolly, buxom figure.
At the palace of Colorina Connestabile, I was charmed with the
Herodias, by Guido Rheni; a young Christ; and a Madonna, by Raphael;
and four landscapes, two by Claude Lorraine, and the other two, by
Salvator Rosa. In the palazetto, or summerhouse belonging to the
Palazzo Rospigliosi, I had the satisfaction of contemplating the Aurora
of Guido, the colours of which still remain in high perfection,
notwithstanding the common report that the piece is spoiled by the
dampness of the apartment. The print of this picture, by Freij, with
all its merit, conveys but an imperfect idea of the beauty of the
original. In the Palazzo Barberini, there is a great collection of
marbles and pictures: among the first, I was attracted by a beautiful
statue of Venus; a sleeping faun, of curious workmanship; a charming
Bacchus, lying on an antient sculpture, and the famous Narcissus. 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
Pa