SECOND LECTURE.

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called Correggio , whofe works it attended like an en-chanted fpirit. The harmony and the grace of Cor­ reggio are proverbial: the medium which by breadth ofgradation unites two oppoftte principles, the coalitionof light and darknefs by imperceptible tranfition, arethe element of his ftyle.—This infpires his figures withgrace, to this their grace is fubordinate: the moft ap-propriate, the moft elegant attitudes were adopted, re-jected, perhaps facrificed to the moft awkward ones, incompliance with this imperious principle: parts vanifhed,were abforbed, or emerged in obedience to it. Thisunifon of a whole, predominates over all that remains ofhim, from the vaftnefs of his cupolas to the fmalleftof his oil-piCtures.—The harmony of Correggio , thoughaflifted by exquifite hues, was entirely independent ofcolour: his great organ was chiarofcuro in its moft ex-tenfive fenfe; compared with the expanfe in which hefloats, the effeCts of Lionardo da Vinci are little morethan the dying ray of evening, and the concentratedflafh of Giorgione difcordant abruptnefs. The blandcentral light of a globe, imperceptibly gliding throughlucid demitints into rich reflected fhades, compofes thefpell of Correggio , and affeCts us with the foft emotionsof a delicious dream.

K 2

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