NATURE IN THE LOUVRE. 261 
must have been, and how wonderfully the form has 
been rendered in marble for this to be the best 
position to view it. 
Three large folds, marked by deep lines, cross the 
lower part of the torso, and it is these creases that give 
the work its life. They are but just made in stooping, 
and will disappear as she rises from that position. 
These three grooves cross the entire front of the torso ; 
the centre one is forked at its extremity near the right 
hip, and the fork of this groove encloses a smaller crease. 
Immediately under the right breast there is a short 
separate groove caused by the body leaning to the right ; 
this is a fold of the side, not of the front. Under these 
folds there must be breath, there must be blood; they 
indicate a glowing life. The immense vitality of the 
form appears in them, and even as an athlete’s muscles 
are exhibited in relief at his exercises, so exceeding 
strength of life is evident in these grooves. A heart 
throbbing steadily and strong, veins full of rich, pure 
blood, a warm touch, an eager wish to be affectionate, 
and self lost in the desire to love—this is the expression 
of the folds. Full of the energy of exceptional vitality, 
she gladly gives that energy for the delight of the little 
one. 
There are no grooves on the torso of the Venus de 
Medici or of the Venus of Cnidus ; they are sculptured 
in attitudes chosen to allow of the body and the limbs 
presenting an unbroken smoothness. They kave the 
roundness of the polished column. They are ideals, but 
do not live. Here the deep grooves and the large folds 
are life. 
As we move slowly around the statue from left to 
right, after observing it in front, the right breast gra- 
dually advances, and its outline appears. The act of 
