ITALIAN SCHOOL. oooooooooo ALBANI. ooooooooooooo MILAN GALLERY.

A DANCE OF LOVES.

This composition, often looked upon as a mere dance of loves, is, according to the intention of the artist, Albani, a Triumph of Cupid. The artist appears to have taken his subject from Ovid. The poet relates, that Venus having reproached her son that Proserpine was not yet submitted to her laws, the young god aimed an inflamed arrow at Pluto's heart, who carried off Proserpine whilst on the borders of the Pergas gathering flowers. This scene is represented to the left; and in the upper part, to the right, Cupid is seen receiving a kiss from his mother as a reward for having so promptly executed her orders. But the most remarkable part of the painting is, in fact, that dance of Loves, in the composition of which, the artist seems, to have had some reminiscences of a little dance of children engraved by Marc Antoine, from a design by Raphael.

The heads are all from Albani's own genius, and are full of grace and simplicity. They all are the portraits of his children, for it is known that this painter had a beautiful wife and several children, whom he generally took for his models. The colouring of the figure is worthy of Correggio, and the landscape has a very fine effect.

The original picture, paintedon copper, is in the Milan Gallery it comes from the Palazzo Zampieri, and has been engraved by Rosaspina. There exists in the Dresden gallery a duplicate of this picture, with some deviations, the principal of which are, that instead of the tree in the middle, Cupid's statue is seen on a pedestal.

Width, 3 feet 8 inches; height, 2 feet 11 inches.