PANORAMA OF JERUSALEM.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7804, 6 March 1891, Page 2

PANORAMA OF JERUSALEM.

The great cycloramla picture of the Niagara Falls, which h*t been exhibited for so long Iα York atitf% Westmlneter, has been replaced by » similar painting of Jerusalem on the day of the Crucifixion, of which Carl Frosch is the artist. Although this Is a subject (ssye the Home News) which ia, perhaps, more closely associated with the sea&ou of Lent than with Christmastide, the interest which scenes in the Holy Land mast arouse will doubtless attract large numbers of the public when the exhibition opens* At any rate, those who do find their way to York street will be rewarded by the contemplation of a splendid representation of the all-important event that took place some 1900. jears ago. The actual sight of . Calvary always has been, and probably ■ always will be, the subject of much discussion. At present, the traditioeal site is within the precincts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, within the present walls of the city. Outside the Damascus Gate, however, there is agreen knoll which has been fixed on by many, and amongst them the late General Gordon, as eke true site, and this spot has been selected by the artist. It will be remembered that the Scripture narrative state* that on the occasion of the Crucifixion there was darkness from the sixth hour until the ninth—*.«., from twelve o'clock noon until three o'cloclc in the af ternoou — and it is at the ninth hour, just as the darkness is lifting and a great ray Of sunlight flashes across the city, that the spectator is introduced to the scene. Standing outaide the city at the north-western corner, almost, as ie were, on Calvary itself, his attention ia first arrested by the great central group. Gathered at the foot of the Crocs staud the Virgiu Mother, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arltnathea, Salome, Lazarus of Bethany, the centurion who exclaimed, "truly this was the Son of God," and a group of soldiers casting lots for the raiment of the Lord. With regard to the grouping on Calvary itself there are, no doubt, merits and demerits which might be discussed, but inasmuch as it ia intended that the picture should be looked at chiefly as a landscape, it would serve no good purpose to discuss them here. To those who have visited the Holy City, the picture when once the altered conditions have been fully comprehended, will be a delightful reminiscence, while to those who have not been so fortunate it will afford a vivid idea of Jerusalem in the days of its glory. As has been said, the view is taken from the north-western side of the city, the side on which the roads from Jaffa and Damascus approach. Thus the city itself is iuterposed between the spectators and the Mount of Olives, while the background to the south-east is made up of the hills of Judrea, retiring, range upon range, to the far-olf mountains of Moab. Within the city walls the most conspicuous objects are the Temple of Herod, the Palace of Antonia, and the Palace of Herod. All these are now but memories of the past. Oα the spot where stood the Temple of Solomon, rebuilt by Herod, stands now the Moaque of Omar; and all that now remains of the Palace of Herod Iβ the single tower, known as the Tower of David.