andmakeitaruletoearnestlyandpatientlyandcarefullyswallowafewofthesmallestgnatsIcanfindseveraltimesaday,asthebestastringentforthethroatIknowof。
ThethirteenthchapelistheMarriageFeastatCanaofGalilee。
Thisisthebestchapelasaworkofart;indeed,itistheonlyonewhichcanclaimtobetakenquiteseriously。Notthatallthefiguresareverygood;thosetotheleftofthecompositionarecommonplaceenough;noraretheChristandthegiverofthefeastatallremarkable;butthetenordozenfiguresofguestsandattendantsattheright-handendoftheworkareasgoodasanythingoftheirkindcanbe,andremindmesostronglyofTabachettithatI
cannotdoubttheyweredonebysomeonewhowasindirectlyinfluencedbythatgreatsculptor’swork。ItisnotlikelythatTabachettiwasalivelongafter1640,bywhichtimehewouldhavebeenabouteightyyearsold;andthefoundationsofthischapelwerenotlaidtillabout1690;thestatuesareprobablyafewyearslater;theycanhardly,therefore,bebyonewhohadevenstudiedunderTabachetti;butuntilIfoundoutthedates,andwentinsidethechapeltoseethewayinwhichthefigureshadbeenconstructed,IwasinclinedtothinktheymightbebyTabachettihimself,ofwhom,indeed,theyarenotunworthy。OnexaminingthefiguresI
foundthemmoreheavilyconstructedthanTabachetti’sare,withsmallerholesfortakingoutsuperfluousclay,andmorefinishedontheoff-sides。Maroccosaysthesculptorisnotknown。Ilookedinvainforanydateorsignature。Possiblytheright-handfigures(fortheleft-handonescanhardlybebythesamehand)maybebysomesculptorfromCrea,whichisatnoverygreatdistancefromOropa,whowaspenetratedbyTabachetti’sinfluence;butwhetherasregardsactionandconcertwithoneanother,orasregardsexcellenceindetail,Idonotseehowanythingcanbemorerealistic,andyetmoreharmoniouslycomposed。Theplacingofthemusiciansinaminstrels’galleryhelpstheeffect;thesemusiciansaresixinnumber,andtheotherfiguresaretwenty-three。Underthetable,betweenChristandthegiverofthefeast,thereisacat。