"Three angels bear aloft the interpreter of the divine will: one has the form of infancy, another of youth, the third of adolescence. The minister of our Lord raises his hands to heaven, on which he gazes with an expression of burning hope. How he seeks to discover the first rays of the eternal light! How he longs for the moment in which he shall appear before the Almighty! What enthusiasm animates his countenance! I doubt if the ardor of faith could be better shown. The little angel has those brilliant eyes, and that expressive visage, which this master knew so well how to paint; it is certainly not inferior to those which we admire in the grand salon of the Louvre. The angel of the second age charms the eye by a grace and an easiness of attitude extremely remarkable; upon his countenance burn the veneration and the love with which the Apostle inspires him. The entire group seems actually to mount in the air. Mr. Bryan had the good taste to purchase it at the sale of M. Forbin-Janson."
To this just and graphic description, from the pen of M. Michiels, which appeared in the Gazette de France, it is needless to add anything more.
This picture was formerly in the gallery of the Cardinal Lambruschini, and afterwards in the collection of M. Forbin-Janson, Director of the Louvre, at whose sale it was purchased by the donor.
(Bryan Collection.)
B-58. Christ Crowned with Thorns. (24½X20.) Guido.
If not original, it is the best copy ever seen by the donor.
(Bryan Collection.)
B-59. Magdalen in a Trance. (46½X36.) School of Guido.
This picture is from the collection of Louis Philippe. The head of the Magdalen is evidently a reminiscence of the Niobe discovered at Rome at the epoch of the painter.
(Bryan Collection.)
B-60. The Young Bacchus. (33X24.) Oval. School of Carlo Dolci.
(Bryan Collection.)
B-61. Lucretia. (33X24.) Oval. School of Carlo Dolci.
(Bryan Collection.)
B-62. Magdalen. (34X28.) Oval. School of Carlo Dolci.