PAYING HOMMAGE TO LEWIS XIV.

When the exhibition of 1810 displayed the design of this immense basso-relievo, which adorns the tympan of the pediment in the middle of the colonnade of the Louvre, the catalogue contained the following explanation : « It represents the Muses, who, invited by Minerva, come to pay hommage to the Sovereign that finished this grand building. Clio, holding the style of history, engraves upon the cippus, supporting the bust of the hero : NAPOLÉON LE GRAND A TERMINÉ LE LOUVRE; Napoleon the Great finished the Louvre. »

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The bust and inscription disappeared in 1814 Napoleon's head made way for that of Lewis XIV, and the inscription LUDOVICO MAGNO was introduced. Thus the artist's idea was distorted, and if in after-ages there should remain no trace of the changes ordered, the appearance of this basso-relievo might give ideas far removed from the truth.

The character of this production is grand and noble without any alloy of harshness; there is great richness in the composition and arrangement; yet the beho'der cannot help being struck at the ill-effect produced by the upper angle of the pediment: the cornice seems to rest on the very head of the hero whose bust is offered to the gazîng admiration of thousands. The drapery of the figures is well cast, and the naked parts are in a noble style: The whole does credit to the sculptor Lemot.

This basso-relievo is in marble: it was named by the Jury of the Decennial Prizes as deserving the Grand Sculpture Prize. The only print done from it, is by M. Heina.

Width, 78 feet 8 inches; height, 14 feet 10 inches.