GUIDE TO THE ACADEMY AT VENICE 179

A piece of play, very nearly, the whole picture; a painter living in the midst of a prosperous city, happy in his own power, entirely believing in God, and in the saints, and in eternal life; and, at intervals, bending his whole soul to the expression of most deep and holy tragedy,-such a man needs must have his times of play; which Carpaccio takes, in his work. Another man, instead of painting this piece with its monkey, and its little fiddler, and its jesting courtiers, would have played some ape-tricks of his own,-spent an hour or two among literal fiddlers, and living courtiers. Carpaccio is not heard of among such-amuses himself still with pencil in hand, and us also, pleasantly, for a little while. You shall be serious enough, soon, with him, if you will.

But I find this Guide must run into greater division,¹ for I can’t get the end of it properly done yet for some days; during the winter the gallery was too cold for me to think quietly in, and so I am obliged, as Fate always lately obliges me, to do this work from pen to print-at speed; so that, quitting Carpaccio for the nonce, I will tell you a little more about the general contents of the rooms; and so afterwards take up St. Ursula’s pilgrimage, undisturbed.* Now, therefore, I will simply follow the order of the room circuit, noting the pieces worth study, if you have proper time.

From before this picture which has so long held us, go down the steps on the right of it, into the lower room.²

Turning round immediately, you have good sight of two

* This I am now doing in a separate Guide to the works of Carpaccio in Venice:¹ these two parts, now published, contain all I have to say about the Academy.

¹ [The Guide itself was never altered or continued by Ruskin (but see the next note), nor was any separate Guide to Carpaccio issued (but see chapter x. in St. Mark’s Rest).]

² [The directions no longer apply. The two pictures by Veronese-“The Assumption” (265) and “The Coronation” (264)-are in Room IX A few lines lower down, “other” is here substituted for “opposite.”]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]