German is of stone, limestone, pudding stone, marble, granite even, and so to a considerable degree is English, whereas French is bronze and gives out a metallic resonance with tones that neither German nor English tolerate.
Source: In Being Bernard Berenson, by Meryle Secrest, 1979.
-- Bernard Berenson, (Jun 26 1865-1959), US art historian; He was a noted Italian Renaissance expert; wrote Drawings of the Florentine Painters, 1903.