DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23229#0217
CHOPIN AMONG ARTISTS AND SCHOLARS
Fig. 222. Carlo Dolci, St. Cecilia, oil on can-
vas, 1671, Dresden Gallery.
tron of music, at the organ. The white lilies not only symbolise her virginity,
but also refer to her name: Cecilia is coeli lilia, the lily of heaven. Looking
at this scene, painted smoothly and in bright colours, Chopin may have
recalled the organ music he played at the church of the Nuns of the Visi-
tation in Warsaw. It is not known whether he admired Tintoretto's Women
Playing Music and similar paintings in the Gallery; what is known, howe-
ver, is that he was fully aware of the qualities of some paintings by Verone-
se and the sweet, Raphaelesque beauty of Murillo's canvases. About the
first he wrote to his family in the letter of 1st August 1848:
The Duchess of Sutherland presented me to the Queen, who was
amiable and talked with me twice. Prince Albert came up to the piano-
forte. [...] I should like to describe to you the Duchess of Sutherland]'s
palace, but I can't. All those who know say that the Queen of England
has no such house. All the royal palaces and castles are old; splendid,
but neither so tasteful nor so elegant as Stafford House (as the Duke
of Sutherland's palace is called); it is as close to the London palace of
St. James as Blacha (fig. 223). For instance, the staircases are famous
for their magnificence. They are neither in the entrance nor in the vesti-
bule; but in the middle of the rooms, as if in some huge hall with most
gorgeous paintings, statues, galleries, hangings, carpets; of the love-
liest design with the loveliest perspective. On these stairs one could see
the Queen, under a brilliant light, surrounded by all sorts of bediamon-
ded and beribboned people with the garter, and all descending with the
utmost elegance, carrying on conversations, lingering on various levels,
where at every point there is some fresh thing to admire. It is true one
regrets that some Paul Veronese could not see such a spectacle, so Fig. 223. Bernardo Bellotto, View of Warsaw
that he could have painted one more masterpiece.134 from the Royal Castle Terrace, detail of Fig. 1.
235
Fig. 222. Carlo Dolci, St. Cecilia, oil on can-
vas, 1671, Dresden Gallery.
tron of music, at the organ. The white lilies not only symbolise her virginity,
but also refer to her name: Cecilia is coeli lilia, the lily of heaven. Looking
at this scene, painted smoothly and in bright colours, Chopin may have
recalled the organ music he played at the church of the Nuns of the Visi-
tation in Warsaw. It is not known whether he admired Tintoretto's Women
Playing Music and similar paintings in the Gallery; what is known, howe-
ver, is that he was fully aware of the qualities of some paintings by Verone-
se and the sweet, Raphaelesque beauty of Murillo's canvases. About the
first he wrote to his family in the letter of 1st August 1848:
The Duchess of Sutherland presented me to the Queen, who was
amiable and talked with me twice. Prince Albert came up to the piano-
forte. [...] I should like to describe to you the Duchess of Sutherland]'s
palace, but I can't. All those who know say that the Queen of England
has no such house. All the royal palaces and castles are old; splendid,
but neither so tasteful nor so elegant as Stafford House (as the Duke
of Sutherland's palace is called); it is as close to the London palace of
St. James as Blacha (fig. 223). For instance, the staircases are famous
for their magnificence. They are neither in the entrance nor in the vesti-
bule; but in the middle of the rooms, as if in some huge hall with most
gorgeous paintings, statues, galleries, hangings, carpets; of the love-
liest design with the loveliest perspective. On these stairs one could see
the Queen, under a brilliant light, surrounded by all sorts of bediamon-
ded and beribboned people with the garter, and all descending with the
utmost elegance, carrying on conversations, lingering on various levels,
where at every point there is some fresh thing to admire. It is true one
regrets that some Paul Veronese could not see such a spectacle, so Fig. 223. Bernardo Bellotto, View of Warsaw
that he could have painted one more masterpiece.134 from the Royal Castle Terrace, detail of Fig. 1.
235