Tapestry Of The Cartoons.
'rhere are nowv exhibitiBg at MrBllock's EgyptianHall, Piccadilly, nine curious pieces of tapestry, being parts of the celebrated 'series for which Raphael's designs, commonly called the Cartoons, were painted by or(ler of Pope Leo X. Two sets of this tapestry were originally fin{shed at Brus- sels, and each consistedI of thirteen historical pieces, illus- trative of thie Acts of the Apostles.' The, set which was deposite1 in the Vatican, and exhibited annually from the Colonnatle to the people on the feast of Corpus (,Uhrisii, was preserved with scrupulous care, until the entrance of the French army into Romne in the year 1798, when it suf*'ered the fate of the other works of art which fell into the same hands, antl became partiaUy sn(d irreparably injured, be- fore the time of restitution arrived. The set now exhibit- ing ba been brought from Spain. It is describe(I as being that which Henry VIII. once possessed at V'hitehall, and Which was sold wvith the other royal effScts, at the sale of Charles the First's property, anitl removed into Spain. It contains two pieces, in addition to tliope we havc inl the (Cartoons at Hampto-n Court,-lnannely, Christ giving fie keys to St. Pet-r, an) the sfoning of St. Stephen. This tapestry is, eonsidleritig all the circumstances of its history, in a goad state ofpreservation, some of the strolnger colours (the blues in particular), in the dye of which a mnetallit composition was used, have become partially tle- eomposed, and the copperas has injured the material; but in other respects the colours are well kept, an( the general e7fect preserved. The unriyalledl meritof Raphael s Car- t(ons was, however, their being moade, by the geuius of t7he artist, the great velicles of formn, an(d cotmorehen(ling everY Vatiety of expreSsion and attittude: in this respect they wvill for everr iemaie an inexhaustible miiodel for the stiudv of artists. The tapestry contains the great ouLlille of these qt4alities, as well, if not better, than it is to be found in Sir Jsmes Thornhill's copies at the Royal Academy ; but the material does not admit, nor cou!d the skill of the mainu- facturer convey in anl equal dlegree, tbe piathos, the varied and contrastedl axpression of tholugt, which abound in the original designs. The tapestry is nevertheless carious, and eonveys a perfect ideaof tie skill and expense once em- ployee on the Contiment in ftnis magniticent manufactuire. The pieces of tapestrv :ri this exhibition are of large size, beting each above I . (eet in heigbt, and 20 in 1ength. TAPESTRY OF THE CARTOONS.