FRENCH SCHOOL. ece GIRODET.******** FRENCH MUSEUM.

DIE

ENTRANCE OF THE FRENCH INTO VIENNA.

After a series of conquests achieved with the rapidity of a simple march, the Emperor Napoleon, at the head of the grand army, invested Vienna. Having halted at Schoenbrun, the municipal officers of the Austrian capital, with the clergy and the commanders of the garrison, came in procession to present him the keys.

Napoleon is accompanied by his generals, Murat, Berthier, Bessieres and others; whose portraits are good likenesses, and of a noble character. The left side of the picture is occupied by a group, extremely picturesque from the variety of persons that compose it: among them, is a female peasant of extraordinary beauty.

The back-ground shews the scene to be the entrance of Schoenbrun : on the eminence which is supposed to the point of view, is an edifice bearing the singular name of Gloriette.

This fine picture is now in the great gallery of the Museum. It was exhibited in 1808, and obtained an honorable mention, at the distribution of the decennal prizes: it has been engraved by Pigeot.

Width, 15 feet 11 inches; height, 10 feet 7 inches.

SCULPTURE. .... APOLLONIUS ET TAURISCUS. ***** NAPLES.

DIRCÉ

ATTACHÉE AUX CORNES D'UN TAUREAU.

Antiope, femme de Lycus, roi de Thèbes, ayant été séduite par Jupiter, fut répudiée par son mari, qui épousa Dircé. Mais cette seconde épouse, craignant que son mari l'abandonnât pour retourner à celle qu'il avait aimée d'abord, elle la fit mettre en prison et la tourmenta horriblement. Antiope parvint pourtant à s'échapper et se retira près de ses deux fils, Amphion et Zéthus. Ceux-ci, pour venger leur mére, vinrent prendre Dircé et l'attachèrent aux cornes d'un taureau sauvage qui la tua bientôt.

Tel est le sujet de ce groupe, le plus grand que l'on connaisse parmi les ouvrages qui restent de l'antiquité; il est dû au talent de deux frères, Apollonius et Tauriscus de Rhodes, vivant 400 ans avant Jésus-Christ.

La figure de femme que l'on aperçoit debout derrière le taureau, est celle d'Antiope que les auteurs ont supposé avoir assisté au supplice de son ennemie. Il est difficile de deviner ce que signifie la figure du jeune homme assis sur le devant. Ce groupe fut transporté à Rome, à ce que l'on croit, sous le règne d'Auguste, et placé alors devant la maison d'Asinius Pollion. Il a été trouvé dans les thermes de Caracalla, sous le pontificat de Paul III, qui le fit placer dans le vestibule du palais Farnèse. C'est de là que lui vient la dénomination de taureau Farnèse, sous laquelle il est ordinairement cité. En 1788, le roi Ferdinand IV en devint possesseur et le fit transporter dans le jardin de son palais à Naples.

Haut., 12 pieds; larg., 9 pieds, 4 pouces.

SCULPTURE. APOLLONIUS AND TAURISCUS. 0000000NAPLES.

DIRCE

TIED TO THE HORNS OF THE BULL.

Antiope, the wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, having been seduced by Jupiter, was repudiated by her husband, who married Dirce. But the second wife, fearing the return of her husband's affection for the first, had her imprisoned and cruelly tortured. Antiope at length found means to escape, and fled to her sons Amphion and Zethus; who, to avenge her injuries, seized Dirce, and bound her to the horns of a wild bull, which soon put a period to her life.

Such is the subject of this group, the largest among the remains of ancient sculpture: it is the work of Apollonius and Tauriscus of Rhodes, who lived 400 years before Christ.

The woman seen standing behind the bull, is Antiope, whom the artists suppose to have witnessed the fate of her rival; but it is difficult to conjecture what is meant by the young man seated in the fore-ground.

This monument is supposed to have been conveyed to Rome, in the reign of Augustus; when it was placed before the house of Asinius Pollio. It was discovered in the baths of Caracalla, in the pontificate of Paul III., and deposited in the porch of the Farnese palace; whence is derived the name of the Farnese Bull, by which it is commonly designated. In 1788, Ferdinand IV. became possessor of it, and had ☀ transported to the garden of his palace in Naples.

Height, 12 feet 9 inches; width, 9 feet 11 inches.