3739. Harriet’s husband purchased a new piece of small
sculpture for her birthday. It was an extravagant purchase and the first real
Italian work in her collection. She had hoped for some small piece from the
Italian Renaissance even if it was by some unknown master, or even unsigned,
but that is not what she received.
3740. Harriet’s husband was a Philistine, even though he
could quote the poetry of Browning on occasion. To him the works of the
Renaissance and the works of the Baroque masters were one and the same. He
could not distinguish the difference between the twisting, intertwined figures
of Bernini from the stiff figures on the portals of medieval
cathedrals.
3741. For him a figure in stone was like any other figure in
stone, and if it had eyes, nose and a mouth, plus a mantle to cover the body,
it was a thing of wonder and magic. So it was no wonder that he
mistook a small marble figure probably by a follower of Canova, for a work of
some High Renaissance master.
3742. The work was crafted by a
person with a name with a vowel at the end. The figure was a naked man holding
a sword aloft, and striking a pose reminiscent of the Greek heroes just before
they smite something. It was different from ancient Greek works of a similar
subject in many particulars.
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