which our leading journals of culture have received with acclamation.
Sir Henry Layard has evidently either never been at Varallo, or has
so completely forgotten what he saw there that his visit no longer
counts. He thinks, for example, that the chapels, or, as he also
calls them, "stations" (which in itself should show that he has not
seen them), are on the way up to the Sacro Monte, whereas all that
need be considered are on the top. He thinks that the statues
generally in these supposed chapels "on the ascent of the Sacro
Monte" are attributed to Gaudenzio Ferrari, whereas it is only in two
or three out of some five-and-forty that any statues are believed to
be by Gaudenzio. He thinks the famous sculptor Tabachetti--for
famous he is in North Italy, where he is known--was a painter, and
speaks of him as "a local imitator" of Gaudenzio, who "decorated"
other chapels, and "whose works only show how rapidly Gaudenzio's
influence declined and his school deteriorated." As a matter of
fact, Tabachetti was a Fleming and his name was Tabaquet; but this is
a detail. Sir Henry Layard thinks that "Miel" was also "a local
imitator" of Gaudenzio. It is not likely that this painter ever
worked on the Sacro Monte at all; but if he did, Sir Henry Layard
should surely know that he came from Antwerp. Sir Henry Layard does
not appear to know that there are any figures in the Crucifixion
Chapel of Gaudenzio, or indeed in any of the chapels for which
Gaudenzio painted frescoes, and falls into a trap which seems almost
laid on purpose for those who would write about Varallo without
having been there, in supposing that Gaudenzio painted a Pieta on the
Sacro Monte. Having thus displayed the ripeness of his knowledge as
regards facts, he says that though the chapels "on the ascent of the
Sacro Monte" are "objects of wonder and admiration to the innumerable
pilgrims who frequent this sacred spot," yet "the bad taste of the
colour and clothing make them highly repugnant to a cultivated eye."