The Minster is one of the most celebrated cathedral structures of England, and stands upon the place where Edwin was baptized. The present building was commenced prior to the year 1100, and completed 1472. Its length is 524 ft., breadth 250, and the height of the central tower 213. The s. transept, the oldest portion, is distinguished by small windows, slender columns, and sharp pointed arches. **The w. front, one of the most ornate façades ever erected, is in two distinct styles, the Decorated, extending from the base to the battlements (1340); and the Perpendicular, extending from the battlements upward (1455). *The principal portal, illustrating the history of Adam and Eve, is extremely rich. The Interior. The best general view of the interior is from the s. transept. In style, the transepts are Early Eng., and the nave, Eng. Decorated. The five lancet windows of the n. transept are filled with their original glass, and are known as the "Five Sisters." *The west window, 54 by 30 ft., also contains the original glass. **The great East Window, 76 ft. in height by 32 in width, is the largest window in Eng. still retaining the original glass, and is by many regarded as the finest window in the world. (Glazed 1405-8.) *The octagonal Chapter-house, with its geometric tracery, is considered as unsurpassed in England. The central tower rests on four massive piers with leafage capitals. The Walls of the city, 24 mls. in circuit, are of diverse date and style. They may be ascended at the gates and afford numerous excellent views of the cathedral and the suburbs. St. Mary's Abbey was one of the first monasteries founded after the Conquest. The principal ruins are of the Abbey Church and the Hospitium of the Monastery. The Multangular Tower consists of 10 sides of a 13-sided Roman structure, 33 ft. in diam. The upper part is a mediæval addition. St. Leonard's Tower, founded by Athelstane and rebuilt by Wm. and again by Stephen, was one of the best endowed hospitals in the north of England. The parts remaining are the chapel and the ambulatory. York gives the title of Duke to the 2d son of the Sovereign. Zurbaran, Francisco (thoor-bah-rahn'), 1598-1662, b. at Fuentes, Spain; d. at Madrid. One of the most eminent masters of the Spanish school. His subjects were of every variety, but his favorite one was monks; was appointed painter to Philip IV., who called him "painter of the king and the king of painters." PRINCIPAL WORKS: Augsburg, 296; Berlin, 404A; Dresd., 627; Edinb.. 98; Hermit., 348, 349; Louvre, 555-6-7; Madrid, 1120-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, 1130-1-2-3; Acad. de San Fernando, five; Munich, 351, 373; Nat. Gall., 230; Pesth, 712?; Seville, 1, 7, 8, 46, 67, 74. Zürich (zoo'-rik), the Turicum of the Romans, pop. about 23,000, is delightfully situated at the foot of Lake Zürich on both sides of the Limmat; that portion of the town on the right being known as the Grosse Stadt, and that on the left as the Kleine Stadt. It is more noted for its charming situation than for its internal attractions. The hotels Baur au Lac and Bellevue are both delightfully situated on the margin of the Lake. The most desirable points of view are the Terrace, the Hohe Promenade, the Katz, and along the Lake, the Bauschanze. THE CATHEDRAL, or Gross-Münster, was erected in the 11th cent., the gilt ornaments of the towers being added, 1779; on the west tower, is an effigy of Charlemagne in commemoration of favors received from him. The Hohe Promenade, on the height two or three squares to the left of the lake, at its termination, commands a most admirable view, and possesses also a monument to the eminent composer, Nägeli. On the opposite side of the town is the Botanical Garden, which contains 800 Alpine plants. The Katz, a portion of an old fortification near by, affords a fine view. ENVIRONS: The Bürgli Terrace on the Uetliberg road,ml.; the Wied, to the n. w., 3 mls. dist.; and the Uetliberg, 6 mls. dist.; this commands a view of the Alps and the intervening country and lakes, scarcely surpassed for beauty in Switzerland. THE LAKE OF ZÜRICH, 25 mls. long and 2 broad in its widest part, though wanting the grandeur of Lake Lucerne, is nevertheless one of the most beautiful in Switzerland. The up per portion of the lake lies in the midst of more rugged scenery than the lower. Boats leave about every two hours in summer, occupying 24 hrs. for passage; making the excursion in about 6 hrs. Routes To BÂLE, 2 hrs., $1.75; $1.25. To LUCERNE, 2 hrs., $0.85; $0.60. TO COIRE, 3 hrs., $3; $1.80. TO SCHAFFHAUSEN, 2 hrs., $1.20; $0.85. PART II. CATALOGUE OF THE NOTED WORKS OF ART IN THE PRINCIPAL GALLERIES OF CENTRAL EUROPE. "THE ARTS ARE ODIOUS ONLY TO THE IGNORANT." -Inscription on the Berlin Museum. "TO BE CONVERSANT WITH THE ARTS OF GREECE IS TO MOVE AMONG A RACE OF GODS ENDOWED WITH PERPETUAL YOUTH." St. John. "TO THESE GREAT MASTERS DOTH MANKIND OWE ITS KNOWLEDGE OF THE BEAUFIFUL." "NEVER JUDge a work of Art by its defects."-Washington Allston. NOTE.-In every extensive Collection of Art, the number of works of great historic value or artistic merit is necessarily but a small proportion of the whole. The judicious visitor will, therefore, abridge his attention to the gallery in general, and devote his time and interest to those rooms and works which the catalogue indicates as most worthy of attention. The American, whose study of a gallery is likely to be somewhat limited, unless endowed with extraordinary powers of memory, should attempt nothing more than the recollection of the starred works. Indeed, if proposing to visit several galleries, these alone will prove neither a light task nor an unimportant acquisition. A part distinctly remembered is better than the whole held in confused uncertainty. When leisure permits, it is recommended to the visitor to make his selections of the more meritorious works without aid or hint from the guide-book. It will be found of great benefit to exercise, so far as possible, an independent judgment upon the peculiar excellences or deficiencies of noted works before seeking the aid of criticism. Indeed, when the student learns that the most authoritative art critic of England declares Turner (an Englishman) to be "the greatest painter the world has seen; " and that an equally weighty authority of Germany avers that Dürer (a German) is the equal of any artist that ever lived; and that another German critic announces that Correggio (an Italian) was no master, but "merely an adept in chiaroscuro," he may be pardoned some abatement of faith in unprejudiced criticism, and some disposition to independent opinion. The limited dimensions of a hand-book for tourists render impossible a specific mention of the less important galleries, many of which the art student would find worthy of a visit, and containing some of the best works of the great masters. Among these are the galleries at Brunswick: Ducal Museum; 900 pictures; Dutch masters ably rep resented. Buda-Pesth: 800 pictures (50 Spanish), 50,000 engravings, 12,000 drawings. Cassel Picture Gallery; rich especially in Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, and Hals. Cologne: Museum; examples of Cologne school of painting. masters. Haarlem: 300 pictures by Dutch and Belgian artists. Lille: Museum; rich in drawings by old masters and copies of Italian artists. Lyons: Picture Gallery; a few good pictures." Parma: "Inferior pictures with names of great masters appended." Stockholm: With fine modern works. Turin: With Raphael's Madonna della Tenda. See p. 224. Vienna: The Leichtenstein; 1,500 pictures, among which are some very fine works. |