_biade of the sword. 
154 Account of the Life and. Woks of Canora. 
ness. Psy che, with her left hand, grasps 
that of Cupid, on which she places a but- 
te fly. The meaning of this allegory 1s, 
Psyche giving herself up to Cupid. 
If it be easy to reduce a work full 
of faults to iis just level, it is frequently 
impossible to bestow praises equal to the 
merits of an object; and we feel our ina- 
bility to do justice to the adimirable group 
of which we are speaking. Who could 
describe the enc hanting graces of Psyclie, 
_the setluctive figure ot Cupid, their soft 
contours, the expressive and clegant 
countenance with which Cupid em- 
braces the tender Psyche, that fire and 
innocent transport which animates. their 
features. Never did modern art’ attain 
to such perfection in every thing that is 
calculated to form a model of whatever is 
most graceful, tender, and amiable. The 
most exquisite unity pervades this com- 
position. The invention and execution 
are equally admirable, and all. the paris 
of the performance vie with each other 
in point of perfection. .Wi-hout preteud- 
ing to find the least fault with Psyche, it 
may uvevertheless be asserted that Cupid 
seems to be of a composition still more 
divine. The spectator admires the for- 
_mer, but he returns te the latter with in- 
creased enthusjasin. 
The hair of Cupid 
is somewhat stilf, and the, drapery of 
Psyche rather common:.and these are 
perhaps the only points, on which the 
most rigid critic could animadvert. 
About the same ume that the pugilists 
were exhibited in his shop, a Palumedes 
between six and seven feet high made its 
appearance. ‘This statue represented a 
_young man naked, reclining against the 
Hunk of a tree. i his rit band, which 
is half open, he holds some dice, ‘and in 
his left the hilt of a sword, which rests 
_ upon his arm. Every one Inows that to 
this hero is ascribed the invention of 
dice, and of the Greek alphabet, some 
characters of which ave inscribed on the 
This statue, which 
was designed for a counterpart to Per- 
seus, was thrown down and broken by 
the inundation of the Tiber, which,, in 
1805, penetrated into the work-shop of 
Canova. 
.. Jtwas in 1796 and 1797 that this art- 
ist exeented the mode! of the mausoleum 
of the Archduchess Christina ef Austria, 
wife of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. 
This menument was erected m see} in 
the chapel ot the Augustin church at \ 
enna, which also contains the.tomb of rhe 
Ewperor Leopold IL. executed by Zau- 
ner. 
“On a square base of Cattata’ marbles’ 
- (Sept. 1, 
four, palms in height, and thirty-two in 
length and breadth, rises a. marble pyra- 
mid, to the height of about twenty-eight 
palins,. The entrance to the monument, 
which is at the base of this pyramid, is 
placed upon two steps, and grows nar- 
rower towaids the top., On “the archi~ 
trave is this inscription: Conjugi. Opti- 
me. Albertus. On the field ot the .pyra- 
mid, which is above the architrave, the 
artist has represented a female figure, as 
large as life, intended for Celestial Happi- 
ness, who is soaring towards heaven with 
the. medallion of the archduchess, Op- 
posite this figure, is that of a young child, 
ora Genius, who is likewise flying | auacl 
holding a palm-branch jin his hand. 
About the medallion, whichis surrounded 
with a serpent, the emblem of, eternity, 
are these words, Maria. Christina. Austr. 
Allthis part of the mausoleum js in relievo. 
On the steps of the pyramid on the 
right is a seroll of white marble, which 
reaches to the entrance of the mausole- 
we., This scroll serves asa general. base 
for the. combination of the. six figures 
which appear in front; they are disposed 
in two. groups, forming a a funeral proces- ° 
SION) | 1 
The principal figure of the first group 
represents Virtue. She is clothed ina 
long tunic. , Her hair, encircled with an 
olive garland, falls down her shoulders. . 
She is holding the urn which contains the 
ashes of her whose Joss ‘she deplores. 
On either, side of her are two young fe- 
males carrying torches. Their hair falls 
‘in ringlets ‘down their backs, and they 
incline their heads in. a languishing atti- 
tude towards the ground. Their dress 
consists ot long tunics, covered by a man- 
tle, which reaches down to the waist. 
This group is close.to the entrance of the 
tomb, toward which thé faces. of the 
fivares are turned, so that you.can only 
see their backs. A garland ot flowers, 
which enwreaths the urn, is supported at 
the two ends by the children who accom- 
pany Virtue, and it serves to unite more 
closely the figures composing this first 
group. 
The other is at some distance to the 
right, 0, the step yhich leads to the 
tomb. The principal figure. is a female, 
who appears somewhat younger thaw the 
former. She represents Charity. . She 
advances with her head inchned ; sorrow 
is depicted in her countenance, and her 
hands are crossed on her oreast... An old 
blind man takes holdof one of her arms ¢ 
ie is conducted by a poor little gel, fines 
vor six years old, with her. hands. jommed, 
and her head inclined, 
_ The old man 
r alses 
; 
