represented in all possible attitudes, where every sentiment, every
passion, every reflection of thought, and every aspiration of the soul
are rendered with inimitable perfection, has never been equalled and
never will be equalled in the domain of Art.

This time the genius of Michael Angelo simply attacked the infinite. The
subject of this vast composition, the manner in which it is conceived
and executed, the admirable variety and the learned disposition of the
groups, the inconceivable boldness and firmness of the outlines, the
contrast of light and shade, the difficulties, I might almost say the
impossibilities vanquished, as if it were all mere play, and with a
happiness that savours of prodigy, the unity of the whole and the
perfection of the details, make _The Last Judgment_ the most complete
and the greatest picture in existence. It is broad and magnificent in
effect, and yet each part of this prodigious painting gains infinitely
when seen and studied quite near; and we do not know of any
easel-picture worked upon with such patience and finished with such
devotion.

The painter could only choose one scene, several isolated groups, in
this appalling drama which will be enacted on the last day in the Valley
of Jehoshaphat, where all the generations of man shall be gathered
together. And yet, admire the omnipotence of genius! With nothing but a
single episode in a restricted space, and solely by the expression of
the human body, the artist has succeeded in striking you with
astonishment and terror, and in making you really a spectator of the
supreme catastrophe.

At the base of the picture, very nearly in the centre, you perceive the
boat of the _Inferno_, a fantastic reminiscence borrowed from Pagan