As you say in your review of Antonio Canova’s exhibition at Rome’s Galleria Borghese, his portrait of Napoleon’s sister, Pauline, as a voluptuous Venus Victrix, first displayed in the early Nineteenth Century, has excited admiration ever since (“Canova’s Sensuous Curves,” November 10, 2007). Back then, everyone rushed to witness the miracle of marble made flesh. “The ultimate, scandal-inducing thrill,” you point out, “was to view it by candlelight, which made it even more lifelike.” Sure enough. It is good to remember that much art has been conceived not only under candlelight, but with candlelight in mind, as well. Or the light provided by oil lamps. Most galleries and museums nowadays forget this plain fact to the detriment of the art, which is often bleached out by intemperate lighting.