le t with cameos, intaglios, &c. in an elegant tafte, and
the moft delicate workmanlhip, faid to have been
■brought from France by Philip the fifth. There is like-
¡wife a valuable colledion o f books and prints daily
adding to the cabinet by the faid Don Pedro Davila. ^
Were painting and fculpture my'objects, this would
be the place to defcribe the many fine pictures in the
royal palace and in the noblemen’s houfes at Madrid |
but I pafs them over in filence the more readily, as
modern travellers have defcribed the moft beautiful of
thefe pictures. I fhall juft obferve that a. late writer
who fpent fome time at Madrid, fpeaking o f the church
of the vifitation, called Las Sale/its, where the late king
Ferdinand and his queen are interred, tells us, that at
the principal altar, there is a fine copy of Raphael’s
transfiguration ; whereas it happens to be a good p ic ture
-of the vifitation,: in allufion to .the name o f the
church, and done b.y -Francifco de Muro at Naples,
It is true a moft excellent copy of Raphael’s transfiguration
may be feen at another church belonging to the
convent of St. Terefa, placed there by the founder, the
Prince de Aftillana, who confidered it as an original of
Raphael, and valued it at ten thoufand piftoles (about
£7000). I t is fuppofed to have been done- by Julio
Romano, the .ableft and favourite fcholar of Raphael.
The lame writer Ipeaking of the pictures in the palace
of
e>F Buen- Retiro in the faloon, named De las Reynas,. calls
•one pidure “ Santa Cruz fuccouring Geneva” ; whereas
it is the. furrender of Genoa to that officer, being placed
amongft. other hiftorical pieces o f the times, which are
termed by him, “ Scripture fubjeds of the old teftament.”
That beautiful equeftrian ftatue of Philip the 4th, by
Tacca o f Florence, which Hands in a little flower garden
o f the Retiro, is worthy o f the higheft admiration.. The
attitude, of the horle. is furprifingly bold, with'both his-
fore feet in the.air.;, and was imitated from a pidure o f
Velafquez, fent to Italy for that purpofe. When feen
by the Florentine artifts,. they all: agreed it was impoffi-
ble to execute it; however Tacca with the affiftance of
Galileo happily applied the. principles- of equilibrium,
and. fucceeded: beyond expedatiom This unfortunate
artift died foon after of grief from the treatment he received
from the grand, duke’s minifter, concerning this
ftatue,. but his eldeft fon. Ferdinand came to Madrid,
and fixed the. parts together, which were three in nurm-
ber, and. placed, the ftatue properly. Six hundred and
fifty fix quintals o f 1281b. o f metal each, were employe
d in. the calling. Its height, including the pedeftal, is
84 palmos (1.9 feet 9 inches Englilh) (a). In an inventory
of the effeds o f the Retiro, it was valued at forty
thoufand piftoles (£.28.000) an enormous fum, and
(a) A Spaniih palmo eight inches and a quartet..
I muchi