Praxiteles produced two statues of Venus, one draped, the other nude, the former chosen by the inhabitants of the island of Cos, the latter by those of Cnidos. Both statues were masterpieces of Grecian art; but so celebrated was the naked Venus that many came from afar to see that beau-ideal of female beauty. So highly was it prized by the Cnidians that they refused to sell it to Nicomedes ; king of Bithynia, who offered to remit them in return a large sum of money. The statue was still in Cnidos during the reign of the Emperor Arcadius, about 400 years before our era. According to Winkleman it furnished the idea of the Venus de' Medici; but our Flaxman is of opinion that the latter is a varied delineation of the former. Pliny informs us that Scopas executed a statue of Venus, so exquisitely beautiful, that it was preferred to that of Praxiteles. The Aphrodite Venus of Aleamenes, one of the most distinguished sholars of Phidias, was held in high estimation at Athens, and is said to have been touched by Phidias. The Venus de' Medici, which, as we have said, is supposed to have originated in that of Cnidos, was much admired by the Greeks and Romans: of it many ancient copies exist; and it is supposed to have been produced by the chisel of Scopas. Having premised this brief notice we now come to the statue before us.

The Venus of Fogelberg is semicolossal and half draped. She has just received the golden apple, which the goddess of discord had thrown on the

table, when the gods were assembled to celebrate the marriage of Peleus. On the apple were inscribed the words Pulcherrimae detur, Let it be given to the fairest; and the goddess of discord, who had not been invited on the occasion, hoped to be avenged by the difficulty and delicacy of the award. Accordingly the goddesses very naturally were in, volved in a general quarrel, each claiming the prize as due to her superior beauty: Jupiter was appealed to; but be refused to decide the invidious question, and left it to the determination of Paris. The judgment of the Trojan prince was as prompt as it was just he assigned the apple to Venus, to the no small disappointment and mortification of her fair rivals. Accordingly Venus here holds the apple in her right hand, and seems reading the inscription with peculiar complacency; and the beauty of her countenance and grace of her person proclaim her right to the golden prize. Her drapery too is light, undulating and transparent: the masses are well disposed; and the whole is harmonious in its effect of chiaroscuro. The nude has much of the purity of Grecian art: the flesh has peculiar softness; the contour is flowing and salient; and the action is unaffectedly graceful in the highest degree.

Close to Venus is her truant son, with a palm branch in his hand; and he stretches out his little dimpled hand, as if anxious to possess the golden apple. The treatment of the hair reminds us much of the Venus of the Capitol :

"Virginis et vera facies quam vivere credas Et si non obstet reverentis posse movere.

This beautiful statue, which rivals the," matchless boast of all the mingled beauty of exulting Greece," was executed for the king of Sweden who has ordered many works from the chisel of this distinguished artist, as did also his Royal Prede

cessor.

SEPULCRAL MONUMENT TO MADAME PIETROWSKY,

a Polish Lady of distinction, by M. Troschel.

This sepulchral bas-relief is composed of three figures of the natural size, and represents an affecting scene. On a camp-bed is seen extended the consort of M. Pietrowsky: her drooping head rests on the shoulder of her affectionate and afflicted husband, who is kneeling behind the couch; and his hand presses on her throbbing temples. His face is close to that of his beloved wife; and he seems to have caught her last dying sigh, as her spirit takes flight from its earthly abode to waft its way to heaven. The arms of the dying wife are crossed

on her bosom! her eyes are closed; and she presses the instrument of Redemption, the emblem of the Christian's hope, to her heart. At the foot of the couch is the Genius of Death: he leans on an inverted torch, to indicate that the flame of life is extinguised; and his downcast countenance bespeaks his melancholy mission.

This bas-relief is executed in pure classic taste: the husband is invested in the Greek pallium; and the expiring wife is draped in a simple tunic. The likeness of the husband is iconic; and that of the wife is from a cast taken after death. The artist excels in the execution of has-reliefs, several of which he has executed with great success for Prince Torlonia, which we hope to have another opportunity of describing.

CUPID WITH A BUTTERFLY, OR LOVE CAPTURING THE SOUL,

a statue by Finelli.

"As rising on its purple wing
The insect queen of eastern spring,
O're emerald meadows of Kashmeer
Invites the young pursuer near,
And leads him on from flower to flower
A weary chase and wasted hour,
Then leaves him, as it soars on high,
With panting heart and tearful eye,
So Beauty lures the full grown child,
With hue as bright and wing as wild;
A chase of idle hopes and fears,
Begun in folly, closed in tears.
If won, to equal ills betrayed,
Woe waits the insect and the maid;
A life of pain, the loss of peace,
From infants play, and man's caprice:
The lovely toy so fiercely sought
Hath lost its charm by being cought,
For every touch that wood its stay
Hath brushed its brightest hues away,
'Til charm, and hue and beauty gone,
'Tis left to fly or fall alone.

Byron's Giaour.