ia Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A w\\- SON. 6 HANDBOOK THE NATIONAL GALLERY THE NATIONAL GALLERY is open to the Public on week-days through- out the year. On MONDAYS, TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, and SATURDAYS admission is free, and the Gallery is open during the following hours : From 10 A.M. until 4 P.M. , From 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. From 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. January . February . March April May June July. . August September October . November December From 10 A.M. until 7 P.M. From 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. From 10 A.M. until dusk. On THURSDAYS and FRIDAYS (Students' Days) the Gallery is open to the Public on payment of Sixpence each person, from II A.M. to 4 P.M. in winter, and from n A.M. to 5 P.M. in summer. OT Persons desirous of becoming Students should address Hie Secretary and Keeper, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, S. W. A POPULAR HANDBOOK TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY INCLUDING, BY SPECIAL PERMISSION, NOTES COLLECTED FROM THE WORKS OF MR. RUSKIN COMPILED BY EDWARD T. COOK WITH PREFACE BY JOHN RUSKIN, LL.D., D.C.L. Hondo n MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1888 All rights reserved A picture which is worth buying is also worth seeing. Every noble picture is a manuscript book, of which only one copy exists, or ever can exist. A National Gallery is a great library, of which the books must be read upon their shelves (RusKiN : Arrows of the Ckace, \. 71). Arf Library CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE BY JOHN RUSKIN . . . . vii INTRODUCTION BY THE COMPILER, WITH HISTORY OF THE xi NATIONAL GALLERY . . PLAN OF THE GALLERY, WITH GUIDE TO THE ROOMS . xxi HANDBOOK TO THE PAINTERS AND PICTURES : NORTH VESTIBULE (the Marbles] i ROOM I. THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL . . . 5 ,, II. THE SIENESE SCHOOL . . .36 ,, III. THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL (Fra Filippo Lippi and Botticelli) . . . . 51 ,, IV. THE EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL . . - 63 ,, V. THE FERRARESE AND BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 79 ,, VI. THE UMBRIAN SCHOOL . . .94 ,, VII. THE VENETIAN AND ALLIED SCHOOLS . 125 ,, VIII. THE PADUAN SCHOOL . . .179 THE "OCTAGON" ROOM VENETIAN AND VERONESE SCHOOLS, ETC. . . . . .188 1104542 vi CONTENTS PACK ROOM IX. CORRKGGIO AND THE SCHOOLS OF LoMBARDY IQ4 ,, X. THE DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS . 209 ,, XI. THE EARLY GERMAN AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 257 ,, XII. THE DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS . 283 ,, XIII. THE LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS . . 305 XIV. THE FRENCH SCHOOL . . . 334 ,, XV. THE SPANISH SCHOOL . . .372 ,, XVI. THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Reynolds ami Gains- borough) . . ... . 387 ,, XVII. THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Hogarth and Wilson} 424 EAST VESTIBULE THE ENGLISH SCHOOL . . 445 WEST VESTIBULE ,, . . 449 ROOM XVIII. ,, . -455 XX. . . 489 XXI. ,, . 544 XXII. THE TURNER GALLERY . . , . 574 XIX. 629 STAIRCASES (Miscellaneous Pictures and Sculptures) . , 648 BASEMENT (Miscellaneous Pictures and Drawings) . . 651 ADDENDA (Pictures not at present hung) . . . 654 APPENDIX i. INDEX LIST OF PAINTERS . . . 665 ,, ii. INDEX LIST OF PICTURES . . . 677 PREFACE BY MR. RUSKIN So far as I know, there has never yet been compiled, for the illustration of any collection of paintings whatever, a series of notes at once so copious, care- fully chosen, and usefully arranged, as this which has been prepared, by the industry and good sense of Mr. Edward T. Cook, to be our companion through the magnificent rooms of our own National Gallery ; without question now the most important collection of paintings in Europe for the purposes of the general student. Of course the Florentine School must always be studied in Florence, the Dutch in Holland, and the Roman in Rome ; but to obtain a clear knowledge of their relations to each other, and compare with the best advantage the characters in which they severally excel, the thoughtful scholars of any foreign country ought now to become pilgrims to the Dome (such as it is) of Trafalgar Square. viii PREFACE BY MR. RUSK1N We have indeed be it to our humiliation remem- bered small reason to congratulate ourselves on the enlargement of the collection now belonging to the public, by the sale of the former possessions of our nobles. But since the parks and castles which were once the pride, beauty, and political strength of England are doomed by the progress of democracy to be cut up into lots on building leases, and have their libraries and pictures sold at Sotheby's and Christie's, we may at least be thankful that the funds placed by the Government at the disposal of the Trustees for the National Gallery have permitted them to save so much from the wreck of English mansions and Italian monasteries, and enrich the recreations of our metropolis with graceful interludes by Perugino and Raphael. It will be at once felt by the readers of the following catalogue that it tells them, about every picture and its painter, just the things they wished to know. They may rest satisfied also that it tells them these things on the best historical authorities, and that they have in its concise pages an account of the rise and decline of the arts of the Old Masters, and record of their personal characters and worldly state and fortunes, leaving nothing of authentic tradition, and essential interest, untold. As a collection of critical remarks by esteemed judges, and of clearly formed opinions by earnest lovers of art, the little book possesses a metaphysical interest quite as great as its historical one. Of PREFACE BY MR. RUSKIN IX course the first persons to be consulted on the merit of a picture are those for whom the artist painted it : with those in after generations who have sympathy with them ; one does not ask a Roundhead or a Republican his opinion of the Vandyke at Wilton, nor a Presbyterian minister his impressions of the Sistine Chapel : but from any one honestly taking pleasure in any sort of painting, it is always worth while to hear the grounds of his admiration, if he can himself analyse them. From those who take no pleasure in painting, or who are offended by its inevitable faults, any form of criticism is insolent. Opinion is only valuable when it gilds with various rays These painted clouds that beautify our days. When I last lingered in the Gallery before my old favourites, I thought them more wonderful than ever before ; but as I draw towards the close of life, I feel that the real world is more wonderful yet : that Painting has not yet fulfilled half her mission, she has told us only of the heroism of men and the happiness of angels : she may perhaps record in future the beauty of a world whose mortal inhabit- ants are happy, and which angels may be glad to visit. J. RUSKIN. April 1888. INTRODUCTION BY THE COMPILER WITH HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY THERE are so many points of view from which a collection of pictures may be approached, that it is necessary, in order to save the reader from the chance of disappointment and myself from the charge of presumption, to explain, at the outset, the scope and limits of this Popular Handbook. This explanation can best be given by a statement of the circumstances out of which the book arose. For several years I had been permitted to edit a Catalogue for the annual Loan Exhibition of Pictures organised by Mr. Barnett at St. Jude's Schools, Whitechapel. The aim of that Catalogue was to point out in simple words the mean- ing or sentiment of the pictures, and to tell the salient facts about different schools of painting and different painters' characteristics. The aim was very imperfectly realised ; but the little Catalogue, incomplete and meagre as it was, appeared to add to the enjoyment and apprecia- tion of the Exhibition. It was suggested by friendly critics that a Handbook, with the same popular scope, but on a more ambitious scale, would be of interest to the daily xiv INTRODUCTION BY THE COMPILER the history of the institution. The National Gallery of England dates from the year 1824, when the Angerstein collection of thirty-eight pictures was purchased. They were exhibited for some years in Mr. Angerstein's house in Pall Mall; for it was not till 1832 that the building in which the collection is now deposited was begun. This building, which was designed expressly for the purpose by William Wilkins, R.A. was opened to the public in I838. 1 At that time, however, the Gallery comprised only six rooms, the remaining space in the building being devoted to the Royal Academy of Arts whose inscription may still be seen above a disused doorway to the right of the main entrance. In 1860 the first enlargement was made con- sisting of one new room. In 1869 the Royal Academy removed to Burlington House, and five more rooms were gained for the National Gallery. In 1876 the so-called " New Wing " was added, erected from a design by E. M. Barry, R.A. In that year the whole collection was for the first time housed under a single roof. The English School had, since its increase in 1847 by the Vernon gift, been exhibited first at Marlborough House (up to 1859), and after- wards at South Kensington. In 1884 a further addition of five rooms was commenced under the superintendence of Mr. J. Taylor, of Her Majesty's Office of Works; these rooms, the present "New Rooms" (I. II. III. V. VL), with a new staircase and other improvements, were opened to the public in 1887 ; and the Gallery now consists of twenty-two rooms, besides ample accommodation for the offices of the Director and the convenience of the students. 2 1 The exterior of the building is not generally considered an archi- tectural success, and the ugliness of the dome is almost proverbial. But it should be remembered that the original design included the erection of suitable pieces of sculpture such as may be seen in old engravings of the Gallery on the still vacant pedestals. * The several extensions of the Gallery are shown in the plan on p. xxi. INTRODUCTION BY THE COMPILER XV This growth in the Galleries has, however, barely sufficed to keep pace with the growth of the pictures, which have increased during the last fifty years nearly tenfold. In 1838 the total number of national pictures was still only 150. Ten years ago the number was 926; to-day it is 1250. This result has been due to the combination of private generosity and State aid which is characteristic of our country. The Vernon gift of English pictures in 1847 added over 150 at a stroke. Ten years later Turner's bequest added (besides some 19,000 drawings in various stages of completion) 100 pictures. In 1876 the Wynn Ellis gift of foreign pictures added nearly another hundred. By the terms of his will they were to be kept together for ten years. This period has now elapsed, and their dispersal among the rest of the collection has greatly facilitated the recent re-hanging of the Gallery. Particulars of other be- quests may be gathered from the final index ; but it should be added that the Parliamentary grants have of late years been supplemented by private bequests of money. Mr. Francis Clarke left ^23,104, and Mr. T. D. Lewis ^10,000, the interest upon which sums was to be expended in pictures. Mr. R. C. Wheeler left a sum of ^2655, the interest on which was to purchase English pictures ; and finally Mr. J. L. Walker left ^10,000, not to form a fund, but to be spent on "a picture or pictures." It is interesting to note that this growth of the Gallery by private gift and public expen- diture concurrently is strictly in accordance with the manner of its birth. The Gallery came into existence, as we have said, by the purchase of Mr. Angerstein's collection, but one of the factors which decided Lord Liverpool in favour of the purchase was the generous offer of a private citizen Sir George Beaumont. Sir George's gift, as we shall see from a little story attaching to one of his pictures (XIV. 61, p. 358), was not of b xviii INTRODUCTION BY THE COMPILER Vernon will fill up. But on the other hand we can set against these deficiencies many painters who, and even schools which, can nowhere in one place be so well studied as in Trafalgar Square. The works of Crivelli one of the quaintest and most charming of the earlier Venetians which hang together in Room VIII., the works of the Brescian School, including those of its splendid portrait painters Moroni and II Moretto ; the series of Raphaels, showing each of his successive styles ; and in the English School the unrivalled and incomparable collection of Turners : are amongst the unique glories of the National collection. And not only have we many things peculiar to ourselves, but historically the collection is remarkably com- plete. This is a point which successive Directors have, on the recommendation of Royal Commissions, kept steadily in view ; and which has been very clearly shown since the admirable re-arrangement of the Gallery after the opening of the new rooms in 1887. It is in order to enable visitors to take full advantage of the opportunities thus afforded for historical study that I have adopted the method, in arranging my notes, which will be found explained on p. xx. E. T. C. Jurtt i, 1888. GUIDE TO THE GALLERY WITH NOTES TO THE USE OF THIS HANDBOOK The pictures in the Gallery are hung methodically, so as to illustrate the different schools of painting and to facilitate their historical study. But the numbering of the rooms does not in all cases follow the historical order. Visitors who desire to study the pictures historically should make the tour of the rooms in the following order : Italian Schools: North Vestibule, IV. II. III. I. V. VI. VII. VIII., Octagon, IX. XIII. Schools of the Netherlands and Germany: XI. X. XII. Spanish School: XV. French School: XIV. British School: XVII. XVI., East and West Vestibules, XVIII. XX. XXI. XXII. XIX. If the Handbook be used in this order, the reader will find a con- tinuous guide to the history of the different schools of painting repre- sented in the Gallery. The pictures are arranged in this Handbook in the order in which a visitor, going round each room from left to right, will actually encounter them on the walls. This order has been revised up to June i, 1888 ; but re-hanging, consequent on accessions and other causes, is some- times adopted. If therefore any picture is not found in its proper place in the Handbook, visitors should look out its number in the NUMERICAL INDEX (Appendix II.), where a reference is given to the page on which each picture is described. The numbers given to pictures in this Handbook, and the painters to whom they are ascribed, correspond in all cases with those given on the frames and in the Official Catalogues. In references to pictures, the Roman numerals (I. -XXII.) refer to the rooms in which the several pictures are hung, the others (1-1250) to the numbers on the frames. Visitors desiring to see the -works of some particular painter should consult the INDEX OF PAINTERS (Appendix I.), where references to all the pictures by each painter, and to a summary of his life and work, will be found. References to books in the following pages are, except where other- wise stated, to the works of Mr. Ruskin. Wherever possible, the references to his books are by sections and paragraphs instead of by pages, so as to make them applicable to all the different editions. PLAN OF THE ROOMS. x^ WM'Okins 1838 E.M.Ba Mr.J. Taylor f88-j NORTH VESTIBULE Florentine School, ROOM I Florentine School. ,, II Sienese School. ,, III Florentine School. IV Early Florentine School. V Ferrarese and JBolognese, Schools. V\l~mbrian School. VII Venetian &* A Hied Schools. ,, VIII Padnan Scliool. OCTAGON. Venetians? Allied Schools, etc. ROOM IX Lombard Schools. n X Dutch 6r> Flemish Schools. XI Early Flemish School. XII Dutch 6r> Flemish Schools. ,. XIII Later Italian Schools. ,', KlV/-renc/t School. XVSfantsA School. ROOMS XVI-XVIII ) Enlish EAST & WEST VESTIBULES'- - ROOMS XX, XXI School. XIX, XXII Turner Gallery. Scale 40 60 80 100 Feet NORTH VESTIBULE ON entering the Gallery from Trafalgar Square, and ascending the main staircase, the visitor reaches the North Vestibule. The architecture of the Entrance Hall and Vestibule is worth some attention, for here is the finest collection of marbles in London. Many distant parts of the world have contributed to it. The Alps, from a steep face of mountain 2000 feet high on the Sim- plon Pass, send the two massive square pillars of light green " cipollino " which form the approach to the Vestibule from the Square. Their carved capitals are of alabaster from Derbyshire, whilst the basis on which they stand are of Corrennie granite from near Aberdeen. The square blocks of bluish gray beneath the columns come from New Zealand. Ascending the stone steps, the visitor should notice the side walls, built up of squares of " giallo antico," which was brought from the quarry at Simittu, in the territory of Tunis. This is a case of a quarry rediscovered by a railway. It had been long known that Rome was full of the beautiful "giallo antico," sometimes yellow, some- times rosy in colour, but always of exquisite texture and even to work. It had come from the province of Africa ; but it was not till a Belgian engineer, working on the railway then being made from Tunis to the Algerian frontier, observed at Simittu a half-consumed mountain with gaps & B NORTH VESTIBULE clearly marked from which the last monoliths had been cut, that the work of the Romans was resumed. Now a Belgian company sells " giallo antico " similar to that used in Augustan Rome, and no more beautiful specimen of it could be seen than that used for the side walls of the stair flight before us. The cornice above the "giallo antico" walls is of " pavonazzetto " from the Apennines, near Pisa, and the same marble forms the base of the red columns. These splendid columns come from quarries near Chen- ouah, just west of Algiers, which were first opened by the French some twelve years ago. Red Etruscan is the un- meaning trade name of this jasper-like stone, which is also used for door frames all through the new rooms (I., II., III., V., VI.) with very sumptuous effect Standing in the Vestibule and looking back, the visitor will see two LANDSCAPES WITH FIGURES by Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675). There will be better opportunities of studying this painter presently (see Room XIII.) On the left wall of the Vestibule are hung 1216, 1216 a&b. THE FALL OF THE REBEL ANGELS. Spinello Aretino (Florentine : about 1333-1410). These fragments of a fresco, 1 now transferred to canvas, are of particular interest from the following mention of it by Vasari. He relates how Spinello Aretino, after executing important works in various cities of Italy, returned to his native city, Arezzo, and very shortly settled down to decorate the 'church of St. Maria degli Angeli. The subject chosen was certain stories from the life of St. Michael. "At the high altar," says Vasari, 2 " he represented Lucifer fixing his seat in the North, with the fall of the angels, who are changed into devils as they descend to the earth. In the air appears St. Michael in combat with the old serpent of seven heads and 1 For an explanation of this term see p. 67 . 5 Bonn's edition (5 vols.) of 1855, vol. i. p. 269. The references to Vasari are made throughout to that edition. NORTH VESTIBULE ten horns, while beneath and in the centre of the picture is Lucifer, already changed into a most hideous beast. And so anxious was the artist to make him frightful and horrible that it is said such is sometimes the power of imagination that the figure he had painted appeared to him in his sleep, de- manding to know where the painter had seen him looking so ugly as that, and wherefore he permitted his pencils to offer him, the said Lucifer, so mortifying an affront ?" The vision appears to have had a fatal effect on the painter, for it is stated that he only survived the shock a short time. Some years ago the church of the Angeli was dismantled, and the greater portion of the frescoes perished. Sir A. H. Layard, who was passing Arezzo at the time, was fortunately able to secure a large piece of the principal fresco. The fragment is from the centre of the composition, and contains a portion of the figure of Michael and six of the angels following him. The archangel, with raised sword, is striking at the dragon ; his attendants, armed with spears and swords, thrust down the demons. The type of face, with its long, oval, elongated eyes and blown-back hair, is suggestive of the Sienese development of the art of Giotto. Besides these figures, Sir A. H. Layard was able to save a portion of the decorated border of the fresco (1216 A & B). Times, July 24, 1886. On the right wall of the Vestibule is hung the following picture Lent by Mr. Henry Willett. GIOVANNA (DEGLI ALBIZI), WIFE OF LORENZO DE TORNABUONI. Domenico Ghirlandajo (Florentine : 14491494). Domenico was the son of a goldsmith Tommaso Bigordi del Ghirlandajo so called for his skill in making garlands, as the head- dresses of gold and silver worn by Florentine maidens were called. He was brought up to his father's trade, and "was to the end of his life a mere goldsmith, with a gift of portraiture " (Mornings in Flor- ence, ii. 26). He was the first to introduce portraits into "historical" pictures for their own sake, and his series of frescoes in S. Maria Novella is particularly interesting for the numerous portraits of his friends and patrons, dressed in the costume of the period and introduced into scenes of Florentine life and architecture. "There is a bishop," says Vasari, "in his episcopal vestments and with spectacles on his nose " Ghirlandajo was the first master who ventured to paint a figure wearing spectacles "he is chanting the prayers for the dead ; and the NORTH VESTIBULE fact that we do not hear him, alone demonstrates to us that he is not alive, but merely painted." The artist himself takes a less exalted view of his portraits than the enthusiastic critic ; for on the inscription here (dated 1488) he says, with a pretty compliment to his sitter, " If art could but paint the manners and the mind, then would this picture be the most beautiful in the world." The picture in question is probably the original portrait by Domenico Ghirlandajo for the figure of the lady, who appears three times in the above-mentioned frescoes. They were executed for Giovanni Tornabuoni (father of Lorenzo), and were completed in 1490. The lady is popularly known as " Ginerva da Benci," by which name Longfellow refers to her in one of his posthumous poems And lo ! the lovely Benci Glides, with folded hands, Across my troubled sight, A splendid vision. Giovanni's only married son was Lorenzo, and it is likely enough that Lorenzo's wife should have been introduced into the frescoes. In the Louvre there are two frescoes, attributed to Botticelli, which were taken from a house at Fiesole, formerly the residence of Lorenzo Tornabuoni. The first of these frescoes is a portrait of the husband, Lorenzo, receiving the Sciences ; the latter of his wife, Giovanna, receiving the Graces. In that fresco she is wearing the coral necklace which hangs on the wall in this picture. 1 1 I am indebted for the above particulars to the kindness of Mr. Willett. The picture was bought by him ten years ago from a private family in France, some of the members of which had in former times been collectors. A full discussion of the picture will be found in the Pro- ceedings of the Society of Antiquaries for March 14, 1878. Here, as in some other cases, I take the liberty of borrowing from some contribu- tions of my own to the Pall Mall Gazette. ROOM I THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL " THIS is the way people look when they feel this or that when they have this or that other mental character : are they devotional, thoughtful, affectionate, indignant, or inspired ? are they prophets, saints, priests, or kings? then whatsoever is truly thoughtful, affectionate, prophetic, priestly, kingly that the Florentine School lived to discern and show ; that they have discerned and shown ; and all their greatness is first fastened in their aim at this central truth the open expression of the living human soul " (RusKiN : Two Paths, 21). Each face obedient to its passion's law, Each passion clear proclaimed without a tongue. ROBERT BROWNING : Pictor Ignotus. " GREAT nations write their autobiographies in three manu- scripts ; the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others; but of the three, the only quite trustworthy one is the last." The reason for this faithfulness in the record of art is twofold. The art of any nation can only be great "by the general gifts and common sympathies of the race ;" and secondly, "art is always instinctive, and the honesty or pretence of it there- fore open to the day" (St. Mark's Rest, Preface). It will be seen from the remarks made under Room IV. how Floren- ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL tine art in its infancy was thus the record of the times out of which it sprang. In this room and in Rooms II. and III., where other Florentine pictures are hung, we may trace the history of Florence in succeeding stages. The first thing that will strike any one who takes a general look at the early Florentine pictures and then at this room, is the fact that easel pictures have now superseded frag- ments of fresco and altar-pieces. Here at once we see reflected two features of the time of the Renaissance. Pictures were no longer wanted merely for church decoration and Scripture teaching ; there was a growing taste for beautiful things as household possessions. And then also the influence of the church itself was declining; the exclusive place hitherto occupied by religion as a motive for art was being superseded by the revival of classical learning. Benozzo Gozzoli paints the Rape of Helen (Room II.), Botticelli paints Mars and Venus, Piero di Cosimo paints the Death of Procris, and Pollajuolo the story of Apollo and Daphne. The Renaissance was, however, "a new birth " in another way than this ; it opened men's eyes not only to the learning of the ancient world, but to the beauties of the world in which they themselves lived. In previous times the burden of serious and thoughtful minds had been, " The world is very evil, the times are waxing late ;" the burden of the new song is, "The world is very beautiful." Thus we see the painters no longer confined to a fixed cycle of subjects represented with the traditional surround- ings, but ranging at will over everything that they found beautiful or interesting around them. And above all they took to representing the noblest embodiment of life the human form. Some attempts at portraiture may be perceived in the saints of the early pictures in Room IV. ; but here we find professed portraits on every wall. This indeed was one of the chief glories of the Florentine School " the open expression of the living human soul." This widening and secularising of art did not pass in Florence, as we know, without a protest; and here, too, history is painted on the walls. Some of the protest was silent, as Angelico's (Room II.), who painted on through ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL a later generation in the old spirit ; some of it was vocal, in the fiery eloquence of Savonarola, whose influence may be seen in Botticelli's work (III. 1034, p. 57). But the development went on, all protests notwith- standing ; for as the life of every nation runs its appointed course, so does its art ; and the second point of interest in studying a school of painting is to watch its successive periods of birth, growth, maturity, and decay. In no school is this development so completely marked as in the Florentine, which for this reason, as well as for its priority in time, and therefore influence on succeeding schools, takes precedence of all others. The first period covering roughly the fourteenth century, called the Giottesque, from its principal master is that in which the thing told is of more importance than the manner of telling it, and in which the religious sentiment dominated the plastic faculty. Frag- mentary examples of this Giottesque period in the art of Florence will be found in Room IV. In the second period, covering roughly the fifteenth century, and called by the Italians the period of the quattro-centisti?- the artist, be- ginning as we have seen to look freely at the world around him, begins also to study deeply with a view to represent nature more exactly. One may see the new passion for the scientific study of the art in Paolo Uccello (III. 583, p. 53), who devoted himself to perspective ; and in Pollajuolo (292, p. 1 8), who first studied anatomy from the dead body. It is customary to group the Florentine artists of this scientific and realistic period under three heads, according to the main tendencies which they severally exhibit. The first group aimed especially at " action, movement, and the expression of intense passions." The artist who stands at the head of this group, Masaccio, is, unhappily, not represented in the National Gallery, but the descent from him is represented by Fra Filippo Lippi, Pesellino, Botticelli, Filippino Lippi. The second group aimed rather at "realistic probability, and correctness in hitting 1 It should be noted that the Italian terms quattro-cento and cinque- cento correspond with our fifteenth (1400-1500) and sixteenth (1500-1600) centuries respectively. ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL off the characteristics of individual things," and is repre- sented by Cosimo Rosselli, Piero di Cosimo, Ghirlandajo, Andrea del Sarto, Francia Bigio. Thirdly, some of the Florentine School were directly influenced by the work of contemporary sculptors. Chief amongst this group are Pollajuolo, Verocchio, himself a sculptor, not represented in the gallery, 1 and Lorenzo di Credi. We come now to the third stage in the Florentine, as in every other vital school of painting. This period witnesses the perfection of the technical processes of the art, and the attempt of the painter to " raise forms, imitated by the artists of the preced- ing period from nature, to ideal beauty, and to give to the representations of the sentiments and affections the utmost grace and energy." The great Florentine masters of this culminating period are Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo. The former is especially typical of this stage of development. "When a nation's culture has reached its culminating point, we see everywhere," says Morelli, 2 "in daily life as well as in literature and art, that grace* comes to be valued more than character. So it was in Italy during the closing decades of the fifteenth century and the opening ones of the sixteenth. To no artist was it given to express this feeling so fully as to the great Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps the most richly gifted man that mother Nature ever made. He was the first who tried to express the smile of inward happiness, the sweetness of the soul." But this culminating period of art already contained within it the germs of decay. The very perfection of the technical processes of painting caused in all, except painters of the highest mental gifts, a certain deadness and coldness, such as Mr. Browning makes Andrea del Sarto (1487-1531) be conscious of in his own works ; the " faultless painter " as compared with others less technically perfect but more full of soul (see under 690, p. 27). Moreover the very fasci- 1 But see under 296 in this room, p. 17. 3 Italian Masters in German Galleries, p. 124. By Giovanni Morelli. Translated from the German by Mrs. L. M. Richter, 1883. Hereafter referred to as Morelli. 3 Well said: but it remains to be asked, whether the "grace " sought is modest, or wanton ; affectionate, or licentious (J. R.) ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL nation of the great men, the pleasure in imitating their technical skill, led to decay. Grace soon passed into insipidity, and the dramatic energy of Michael Angelo into exaggerated violence. One mannerism led to another until the "Eclectics" (see Room XIII.) sought to unite the mannerisms of all, and Italian art, having run its course, became extinct. 1 The growth and decay of painting described above is connected by Mr. Ruskin with a corresponding growth and decay in religion. He divides the course of mediaeval art into two stages : the first stage (covering the first two periods above) " is that of the formation of conscience by the discovery of the true laws of social order and personal virtue, coupled with sincere effort to live by such laws as they are discovered. All the Arts advance steadily during this stage of national growth, and are lovely, even in their deficiencies, as the buds of flowers are lovely by their vital force, swift change, and continent beauty. The next stage is that in which the conscience is entirely formed, and the nation, finding it painful to live in obedience to the precepts it has discovered, looks about to discover, also, a com- promise for obedience to them. In this condition of mind its first endeavour is nearly always to make its religion pompous, and please the gods by giving them gifts and entertainments, in which it may piously and pleasurably share itself; so that a magnificent display of the powers of art it has gained by sincerity, takes place for a few years, and is then followed by their extinction, rapid and complete exactly in the degree in which the nation resigns itself to hypocrisy. The works of Raphael, Michael Angelo, and Tintoret, belong to this period of compromise in the career of the greatest nation of the world; and are the most splendid efforts yet made by human creatures to maintain the dignity of states with beautiful colours, and defend the doctrines of theology with anatomical designs." It is easy 1 Not by its own natural course or decay ; but by the political and moral ruin of the cities by whose virtue it had been taught, and in whose glory it had flourished. The analysis of the decline of religious faith quoted below does not enough regard the social and material mischief which ac- companied that decline (J. R. ) ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL to see how the progress in realism led to a decline in religion. " The greater the (painter's) powers became, the more (his) mind was absorbed in their attainment, and complacent in their display. The early arts of laying on bright colours smoothly, of burnishing golden ornaments, or tracing, leaf by leaf, the outlines of flowers, were not so difficult as that they should materially occupy the thoughts of the artist, or furnish foundation for his conceit ; he learned these rudiments of his work without pain, and employed them without pride, his spirit being left free to express, so far as it was capable of them, the reaches of higher thought. But when accurate shade, and subtle colour, and perfect anatomy, and complicated perspective, became necessary to the work, the artist's whole energy was employed in learning the laws of these, and his whole pleasure consisted in exhibiting them. His life was devoted, not to the objects of art, but to the cunning of it ; and the sciences of composition and light and shade were pursued as if there were abstract good in them ; as if, like astronomy or mathematics, they were ends in themselves, irrespective of anything to be effected by them. And without percep- tion, on the part of any one, of the abyss to which all were hastening, a fatal change of aim took place throughout the whole world of art In early times art was employed for the display of religious facts ; now, religious facts were employed for the display of art. The transition, though imperceptible, was consummate ; it involved the entire destiny of painting. It was passing from the paths of life to the paths of death " (Relation between Michael Angela and Tintoret, pp. 8, 9, and Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. n. See also under VI. 744, p. 113). 65O. PORTRAIT OF A LADY. Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572). See under 651, p. 29. " In the rich costume of the sixteenth century," says the Official Catalogue, and the portrait therein resembles the one we have already passed in the Vestibule, in which the Lady is in the equally rich costume of the fifteenth century. It is interesting that the first pictures which meet the visiloi ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL in the Gallery should be thus distinguished. For it is a remarkable thing how much great art depends on gay and dainty gowns. Note, first, in going round these rooms, how fondly all the best painters enjoy dress patterns. " It doesn't matter what school they belong to Fra Angelico, Perugino, John Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoret, Veronese, Leonardo da Vinci no matter how they differ in other respects, all of them like dress patterns ; and what is more, the nobler the painter is, the surer he is to do his patterns well." Then, note as following from this fact, how much the splendour of the pictures that we most admire depends on splendour of dress. " True nobleness of dress is a necessity to any nation which wishes to possess living art, concerned with portraiture of human nature. No good historical painting ever yet existed, or ever can exist, where the dresses of the people of the time are not beautiful : and had it not been for the lovely and fantastic dressing of the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, neither French, nor Florentine, nor Venetian art could have risen to anything like the rank it reached " (see, e.g. under VII. 294, p. 1 66). And with regard to this nobleness of dress, it may be observed lastly how " the best dressing was never the costliest ; and its effect depended much more on its beautiful and, in early times, modest, arrangement, and on the simple and lovely manner of its colour, than on gorgeousness of clasp or embroidery " (Cambridge Inaugural Address, p. 1 1 ; A joy for ever, 54). 648. VIRGIN AND CHILD. Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537). Lorenzo Sciarpelloni was called (like so many of his fellow-artists) after his first master, Credi, a goldsmith by trade ; but he afterwards studied with Perugino and Leonardo under Verocchio. Like his master, he was a sculptor as well as a painter, and Verocchio in his will requested that Lorenzo might finish his famous statue (at Venice) of Bartolommeo Colleoni. Lorenzo was one of the few men who lived through the Renaissance without swerving from the religious traditions of earlier art, and even without being much influenced by his fellow-pupils though in his grave and sweet Madonnas there is yet a suspicion of the side-long look, half sweet, half sinister, and of the long, oval face, which distinguish Leonardo. He was a disciple of Savonarola, and burnt his share of pictures in the famous bonfire. " He was a very careful and laborious workman, distilling his own oils and grinding his own colours ; and when he was working he would ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL suffer no movement to be made," says Vasari, "that would cause dust to settle on his pictures." What Vasari adds about him may be partly seen in this and the companion picture (593, p. 19), with their bright colouring and pretty distances : " His works were finished with so much delicacy that every other painting looks but just sketched and left incomplete as compared with those from his hand." The adoration of the Virgin was a favourite subject with him ; the spirit is that of the old Carol O Lamb, my love inviting, O Star, my soul delighting, O Flower of mine own bearing, O Jewel past comparing. My Child, of might in-dwelling, My Sweet, all sweets excelling, Of bliss the Fountain flowing, The Dayspring ever glowing. 727. THE TRINITY. Francesco Pesellino (1422-1457). Francesco, called Pesellino to distinguish him from his grandfather Pesello, by whom he was brought up, was a pupil of Fra Filippo Lippi. This picture shows the conventional Italian representation of the mystery of the Trinity. The Son on a crucifix is supported by the Father, whilst the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovers over the head of the Son. 766, 767. HEADS OF SAINTS. Domenico Veneziano (Died 1461). Though Domenico describes himself as Venetian (as on the signature to 1215), he worked at Florence, and his works belie any connection with Venetian art. The works by his hand we possess give no evidence of his being an oil painter, but he is known to have used oil, and indeed was celebrated as one of the earliest Italian painters, in that medium (see under II. 1138, p. 47 n. ) Of Domenico's works, except a fresco now in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence, the National Gallery possesses all that have escaped destruction. These two heads, together with the finer Madonna, hanging between them, were all originally frescoes on a tabernacle in the Canto (street corner) de' Carnesecchi in Florence, and were for centuries exposed to wind and weather. The central portion was transferred to canvas in 1851. ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL 13 1215. MADONNA AND CHILD. Domenico Veneziano (Died 1461). The Madonna, on a throne of red porphyry and green serpentine, holds the Son of Man on her knees ; whilst from God above, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a flying dove. The sweet and stately lady stands, as it were, midway between God and man, thus realising that Vision in the heart of each, Of justice, mercy, wisdom, tenderness To wrong and pain, of knowledge of their case ; And these embodied in a woman's form, That best transmits them pure as first received From God above her to mankind below. BROWNING. 1143. THE PROCESSION TO CALVARY. Ridolfo Ghirlandajo (1483-1561). Ridolfo Bigordi was the son of Domenico Ghirlandajo (see for the origin of this name p. 3). One may see a trace of goldsmith's work also in this bright picture by Domenico's son. Later on Ridolfo came under the influence of Raphael, who, says Vasari, was much at- tached to him, and employed him to fill in part of the blue drapery in the " Belle Jardiniere " (Louvre). An early work by Ghirlandajo, painted when he was twenty- two, and under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci (see Morelli, p. 346). One of the pictures in the Gallery which are addi- tionally interesting from being mentioned and praised by Vasari who, by the way, was himself a friend of Ridolfo. " In the Church of St. Gallo," says Vasari, " he depicted our Saviour Christ, bearing his Cross and accompanied by a large body of soldiers ; the Madonna and the other Maries, weeping in bitter grief, are also represented, with San Giovanni and Santa Veronica, who presents the handkerchief to our Saviour ; all these figures are delineated with infinite force and animation. This work, in which there are many beautiful portraits from the life, and which is executed with much love and care, caused Ridolfo to acquire a great name ; the portrait of his father is among the heads, as are those of certain among his disciples, and of some of his friends Poggino, Scheggia, and Nunziata, for example, the head of the latter being one of extraordinary beauty." It is interesting in this connection to notice that the procession to Calvary was one of the regulation subjects with mediaeval painters (see for a picture of it, some I 4 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL two hundred years earlier, II. 1189, p. 48), and familiarity bred contempt for the pathos of the scene ; it became a mere opportunity for variegated compositions, and curiously enough two of the brightest pictures in the Gallery (this and IX. 806, p. 1 96), are of this subject. For the story of St. Veronica see XI. 687, p. 266. 790. THE ENTOMBMENT OF CHRIST. Michael Angela (1475-1564). See also 809, p. 26. Michelangelo (commonly anglicised as above) Buonarroti (which, surname, however, is commonly dropped) was at the age of thirteen ap- prenticed for three years to Domenico Ghirlandajo, to whom the picture 809 was formerly ascribed. He was the rival of Raphael ; and amongst the artists who were present at the unveiling of his great statue of David were Perugino, Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, Leonardo da Vinci, and Filippino Lippi. He lived through the fall of Rome and Florence, and survived into the decadence of Italian art. In the many-sidedness of his genius he may be compared to Leonardo da Vinci. He was at once painter, sculptor, architect, and man of action, beingappointed commissary-general of the fortifications at Florence in 1 529. The greatness of his work was reflected in that of his character. 1 He passed most of his life at Rome, amidst the petty intrigues of a debased Court ; but he never placed his self-respect in jeopardy. Filial duty, too, was one of the mainsprings of his life. He lived most sparingly, and sent all the money he could save to support his father's family at Florence. "Whence they must pray God," he says in one of his letters, "that all his works may have good success." He was proud, and would brook no insult ; and when Pope Julius left him with unpaid marbles and workmen on his hands, he mounted his horse and rode off to Florence. There are many stories, too, of the quiet sarcasm with which he would " reproach men for sin." " What does the raised hand denote ?" Julius asked of a statue of him- self. " You are advising the people of Bologna to be wise," was Michael Angelo's reply. With all this, however, he was for the most part above the jealousy of other artists, and when he was appointed architect of St. Peter's he refused to permit any material alteration of Bramante's design, though Bramante had perpetually intrigued against him. Michael Angelo was a poet also (his sonnets have been translated by Mr. J. A. Symonds), his poetry being mostly inspired by Vittoria Colonna, widow of the Marquis of Pescara, to whom late in life he became attached, and whose friendship was, until her death in 1547, the solace of his life. He has left passionate regrets that when called to her death -lied he had only kissed her hand and not her face also. To the greatness of his reputation as an artist two tributes may here be 1 And on his countenance. He had a strong bar-of tone over his eyes, the sign of intellectual power ; hence Tennyson speaks (see In Memoriam, LXXXVII. ) of " Over those ethereal eyes, The bar of Michael Angelo." ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 15 mentioned. Raphael "thanked God that he was born in the days of Michael Angelo, and Sir Joshua Reynolds says, in his Discourses, that " to kiss the hem of his garment, to catch the slightest of his perfec- tions, would be glory and distinction enough for an ambitious man." The spectator who comes with such praises sounding in his ears to this picture will probably be much disappointed, and he will be right. For, in the first place, the picture is one of Michael Angelo's few oil paintings a vehicle which he did not like, and of which he said that it was only fit for women and children. Then, secondly, the picture, like so many of his works, is unfinished. In this connection a point which has been noticed in his sculpture may also be observed in some of the figures, both here and in 809 : " When once your attention is directed to this point, you will perhaps be surprised to find how many of Michael Angelo's figures, intended to be sublime, have their heads bandaged. If you have been a student of Michael Angelo chiefly, you may easily have vitiated your taste to the extent of thinking that this is a dignified costume ; but if you study Greek work instead, you will find that nothing is more important in the system of it than a finished disposition of the hair ; and as soon as you acquaint yourself with the execution of carved marbles generally, you will perceive these massy fillets to be merely a cheap means of getting over a difficulty too great for Michael Angelo's patience." The authenticity of this picture has, it should be said, been much disputed, but the balance of authority is decidedly in its favour, and it exhibits numerous characteristics of the master's style. 1 1 See Richter's Italian Art in the National Gallery, 1883, hereafter referred to as Richter, p. 44, where a resume^ of recent criticism and a facsimile of the Albertina drawing will be found. Signer Frizzoni, cited with approval by Richter, says : " Although the composition seems to me not in the least attractive, nor even successful (and for this very reason the picture might have been left unfinished), yet I cannot but consider it to be an original, and moreover, a specially interesting one, and worthy of being looked at closely by those who wish to study the master in the numerous characteristic features of his style. In my opinion it is an early work by him ; and this becomes evident especially from the purity and delicacy in the features of one of the Maries, standing on the right side, in which, if I am not mistaken, the pure types of his first master, Domenico Ghirlandajo, are much more perceptible than Buonarroti's own grand style. In other parts, however, the sculpturesque manner of modelling peculiar to him is not less noticeable in the muscles, sturdy as usual, and in the prominent rendering of the corpse." The history of the picture is interesting. It was formerly in the gallery of Cardinal Fesch, which was sold and dispersed after his death. From 16 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL Thus, in the third place, we may notice among the char- acteristics that marked the approaching decline of Italian art the artist's disregard of charm and beauty. The body is now principal, instead of the face. " Take the heads from a paint- ing of Angelico, very little but drapery will be left ; drapery made redundant in quantity and rigid in fold, that it may con- ceal the forms, and give a proud or ascetic reserve to the actions, of the bodily frame. Bellini and his school, indeed, rejected at once the false theory, and the easy mannerism, of such re- ligious design, and painted the body without fear or reserve, as, in its subordination, honourable and lovely. But the inner heart and fire of it are by them always first thought of, and no action is given to it merely to show its beauty. Whereas the great culminating masters, and chiefly of these, Tintoret, Correggio, and Michael Angelo, delight in the body for its own sake, and cast it into every conceivable attitude, often in violation of all natural probability, that they may exhibit the action of its skeleton and the contours of its flesh." And lastly, whereas "Correggio and Tintoret learn the body from the living body, and delight in its breath, colour, and motion, Michael Angelo learned it essentially from