Italy and England are undoubtedly possessed of a greater share of female
beauty than any other country in Europe. But the English and Italian
beauties, although both interesting, are very different from one another.
The former are unrivalled for the delicacy and bloom of their complexions,
the smoothness and mild expression of their features, their modest
carriage, and the cleanliness of their persons and dress; these are
qualities which strike every foreigner at his landing. On my first arrival
in England, I was asked by a friend how I liked the English women; to which
I replied that I thought them all handsome. This is the first impression
they produce. There is an air of calmness and pensiveness about them, which
surprises and interests particularly a native of the south. They seem to
look, if I may apply to them the fine lines of one of their living poets--
"With eyes so pure, that from the ray
Dark vice would turn abash'd away;
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Yet fill'd with all youth's sweet desires,
Mingling the meek and vestal fires
Of other worlds, with all the bliss
The fond weak tenderness of this."
The Italian beauties are of a different kind. Their features are more
regular, more animated; their complexions bear the marks of a warmer sun,
and their eyes seem to participate of its fires; their carriage is graceful
and noble; they have generally good figures; they are not indeed angelic
forms, but they are earthly Venuses. It has been supposed by some, that the
habitual view of those models of ideal beauty, the Greek statues, with
which Italy abounds, may be an indirect cause conducing to the general
beauty of the sex; be that as it may, I think the fine features and
beautiful forms of the Italian fair have a great influence upon the minds
of young artists, and this is perhaps one of the principal reasons why
Italy has so long excelled in figure painters. A handsome female
countenance, animated by the expression of the soul, is among the finest
works of nature; the sight of it elevates the mind, and kindles the sparks
of genius. Raphael took the models of his charming Madonnas from nature.
Titian, Guido, Caracci, and others, derived their ideas of female beauty
from the exquisite countenances so frequent in their native country.
_Italy in the Nineteenth Century._
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