Page:A tribute to W. W. Corcoran, of Washington City (IA tributetowwcorco00boul).pdf/64

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A TRIBUTE TO

presents to view mostly a wild uncultivated ridge of land, with a little streamlet meandering near the foreground. The Rocky Mountains stretch away in the distance. A long line of wagons is advancing slowly, showing how the tide of emigration is westward bound. No. 21. Shepherd and Sheep, by Robbe, who shows his thorough acquaintance in the art of sketching animals. No. 22. Italian Ox Cart, by A Roviard. This picture was painted at Rome, in 1860. It represents a huge lumbering wagon or cart, drawn by oxen, the driver being seated on high in a fine position to survey the beauties of nature. The road over which they are slowly making their way is in the mountains, and the surrounding elevated peaks are touched with a hue as deep as indigo. The poor lone occupant is in the act of lighting his pipe for company. He wears a Tyrolean hat, and his strong limbs are slashed up to the knees with black bands, after the fashion of his country. Raised to such an altitude, his thoughts, we imagine, must be stamped with loftiness, or he feels the truth of the words, "Who so brave as the mountaineer?" The huge beasts have been doing honest service, yet with all their labor and the oft told look of sadness or weariness in their eyes, they are evidently enjoying more freedom than the two white chickens in the cart which are tied together, and are ignominiously suspended, heads downward. No. 23. A View on the Amazon, by Church, 1854. How truly welcomed is this name among the noblest artists whose works grace the gallery! And this production bears the most critical examination, so delicate and fine is every stroke of the brush. The placid water reflects the shrubbery and houses, also the canoe lying in close proximity to the tropical verdure, and the tall graceful palms. The distant mountain peaks, and the