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.
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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 <he corpse, and
had great pride in showing that he knew all its mechanism.
The simplicity of the old religious art was rejected not because
it was false, but because it was easy ; and the dead Christ was
thought of only as an available subject for the display of
anatomy " {Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. ; Relation
between Michael Angelo and Tintoret, passim).
1227. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Marcello Venusti (Died 1579). See under 1194, p. 17.
Also St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist, with the skin of
a wild beast quaintly treated as a head-dress.
its unfinished state and neglected condition it attracted little attention, and
was bought literally " dirt cheap " by Mr. Macpherson, an English gentle-
man established as a photographer in Rome. After the dirt upon its
face had been removed, it was submitted to competent judges, who un-
hesitatingly pronounced it to be the work of Michael Angelo. The dis-
covery caused a great sensation. A law-suit was instituted against Mr.
Macpherson for the recovery of the picture, which was sequestrated pending
the decision of the Roman courts. After some years he obtained a judg-
ment in his favour, removed the picture to England, and sold it to the
National Gallery for ^2000.
ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL 17
67O. A KNIGHT OF ST. STEPHEN.
Angela Bronzino (i 502-1 572). See under 651, p. 29.
He wears the robes of his order (with a red cross bordered
with yellow), an order established by Cosimo, Duke of Tuscany,
and charged with the defence of the coasts against pirates.
The knight is a good specimen of the courtier aristocracy with
which Cosimo surrounded himself. The knights of St. Stephen
afterwards won much honour by their prowess, but they were
men of culture also : notice that this one holds a book in his
hand, which rests on a table richly carved in the taste of the
time.
1194. CHRIST DRIVING OUT THE TRADERS.
Marcello Venusti (Died 1579).
A most interesting little picture, as illustrating the decline of
Italian art subsequent to, and largely caused by, Michael
Angelo, whose pupil Venusti was, and by whom there are
drawings for this picture in the British Museum. Notice how
everything is sacrificed to violent action and contorted posi-
tions the money-changers whom Christ is driving out of the
Temple are composed as it were for a ballet of limbs. Notice
also the "debased" architectural background the absurdly
distorted pillars with their puerile capitals.
296. THE VIRGIN ADORING THE INFANT CHRIST.
Antonio Pollajuolo (1429-1498). See under 292, p. 18.
One of the pictures the authorship of which is still hotly
disputed by the connoisseurs. The same type of face occurs
unmistakably in the next picture (781). But whilst some
agree with the Official Catalogue in ascribing these two pictures
to Pollajuolo or his school, others give them both to Verocchio
or his school. 1 In any case we may notice the acquaintance
of the artist with goldsmith's work, as shown in the elaborately
jewelled brooches worn by the Virgin and the angel on the left.
781. RAPHAEL AND TOBIAS.
Antonio Pollajuolo (1429-1498).
The Hebrew legend of Tobit and his son Tobias (told in
the Book of Tobit in the Apocrypha) was a favourite one with
the Mediaeval Church, and became therefore a traditional sub-
1 See Richter, pp. 33, 34, for the Verocchio view, though he gives the
picture to a scholar only, for ' ' the artist of the Colleoni monument could not
have beeji guilty of the abnormal extension given to the lower part of the
1 8 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL
ject for painting; see e.g. in the National Gallery, besides 288 in
this room, X. 72, p. 235; XIII. 48, p. 311. Tobit, a Jewish exile,
having fallen also into poverty, and afterwards becoming blind,
prays for death rather than life in noble despair. " To him
the angel of all beautiful life (Raphael) is sent, hidden in
simplicity of human duty, taking a servant's place for hire, to
lead his son in all right and happy ways of life, explaining
to him, and showing to all of us who read, in faith, for ever,
what is the root of all the material evil in the world, the
great end of seeking pleasure before use " (Fors Clavigera,
1877, p. 31). Here we see Raphael leading the young
Tobias into Media, where he was to marry Sara, his rich
kinswoman, the daughter of Raguel. But she was haunted by
an evil spirit, who had slain her seven husbands, each on their
wedding-day, and the angel bade Tobias take the gall of a
certain fish, wherewith afterwards to heal his father's blind-
ness, and its heart and liver wherewith to drive away the evil
spirit from his bride. Tobias is carrying the fish, Raphael
has a small box for the gall. The " rising step " and the
" springy motion in his gait " are characteristic of him who was
the messenger of heaven, the kindly companion of humanity
Raphael, the sociable spirit, that deigned
To travel with Tobias, and secured
His marriage with the seven times wedded maid.
MILTON : Paradise Lost, v. 221.
1230. PORTRAIT OF A GIRL.
Domenico Ghirlandajo (1449-1494). See on p. 3.
The girl is of the same type with the same hair, " yellow
as ripe corn," and the same dainty primness as the lady in
Mr. Willett's picture, but she was perhaps of humbler station
a simple flower in her hair and a coral necklace being
her only ornaments.
292. MARTYRDOM OF ST. SEBASTIAN.
Antonio Pollajuolo (1429-1498).
Antonio Pollajuolo (the "poulterer," so called from his grand-
father's trade) is an interesting man from two points of view : first,
as an instance of the union of the arts in old times ; for he was a
working goldsmith and engraver as well as a sculptor and painter.
Secondly, he was the first artist (Vasari says) who had recourse to
Virgin's body. What should we have to say of the proportions of this
figure if she were to rise from her seat?" For at least equally strong
arguments, in favour of the Pollajuolo view, see Morelli, pp. 353-355.
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 19
dissection of the dead subject. " To the poulterer's son, Pollajuolo,
remains the eternal shame of first making insane contest the only subject
of art . . .a man of immense power, but on whom the curse of the
Italian mind in this age was set at its deepest. . . . He was the virtual
beginner of that artistic anatomy (the study of bone and muscle) which
was afterwards developed by Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo "
(Ariadne Florentina, pp. 254-256). Of this new departure in art, with
its delight in pain, the present picture is a notable example.
Notice especially in the muscles of the executioners' legs
and their effort in stretching their bows, " the pleasure which the
painter seems to take in minute, contemptible, and loathsome
things. . . . It is exactly characteristic of the madness in which
all of them Pollajuolo, Castagno, Mantegna, Leonardo, and
Michael Angelo, polluted their work with the science of the
sepulchre, and degraded it with presumptuous and paltry
technical skill. Foreshorten your Christ, and paint Him, if
you can, half putrified, that is the scientific art of the
Renaissance" {Ariadne Florentina, p. 257). How popular
this " scientific art " was in its day may be seen from the
following enthusiastic account which Vasari gives of this
picture : " A remarkable and admirably executed work, with
numerous horses, many undraped figures, and singularly beauti-
ful foreshortenings. This picture likewise contains the portrait
of St. Sebastian himself, taken from the life from the face of
Gino di Ludovico Capponi, that is. The painting has been
more extolled than any other ever executed by Antonio. He
has evidently copied nature in this work to the utmost
of his power, as we perceive more particularly in one of
the archers, who, bending towards the earth, and resting
his weapon against his breast, is employing all the force
of a strong arm to prepare it for action ; the veins are
swelling, the muscles strained, and the man holds his breath
as he applies all his strength to the effort. Nor is this the
only figure executed with care ; all the others are likewise well
done, and in the diversity of their attitudes give clear proof of
the artist's ability and of the labour bestowed by him on his
work ; all which was fully acknowledged by Antonio Pucci,
who gave him three hundred scudi for the picture, declaring at
the same time that he was barely paying him for the colours.
This work was completed in the year 1475."
593. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1 537). See under 648, p. 1 1.
20 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL
1124. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Filippino Lippi (1457-1 504). See under 293, below.
For two other more highly finished pictures of the same
subject also ascribed to this master see 592, p. 26, and III.
1033, p. 54., In the distance here are the retinues of the
kings, and anchorites at their devotions. 1
293. VIRGIN AND CHILD, ST. JEROME AND ST.
DOMINIC.
Filippino Lippi (1457-1504).
Filippo Lippi, the younger (called " Filippino," " the little
Filippo ") was the son of Fra Filippo Lippi. There is perhaps no
other case in art-history of father and son attaining such nearly equal
excellence as did the two Lippis. Owing to his father's death when
Filippino was still a boy, the latter became the pupil of Botticelli, and
so good a pupil was he that the critics are often in doubt, as explained in
the footnote below, to which master to ascribe pictures. Filippino lived
a busy and a blameless life ; and the peace and beauty of his pictures were
a reflection of his character. " Having been ever courteous, obliging,
and friendly, Filippino was lamented," says Vasari, "by all who had
known him, but more particularly by the youth of Florence, his native
city ; and when his funeral procession was passing through the streets,
the shops were closed as is done for the most part at the funerals of
princes only."
The effect of this picture is much spoiled by the dark
varnish by which it is covered. It is identified, however, by
the arms of the Rucellai family below as the one described by
Vasari as " executed in the church of San Pancrazio for the
chapel of the Rucellai family."
1 Visitors who are interested in such points of connoisseurship may be
glad of this summary with regard to the works ascribed in the Official
Catalogue to the associated painters, Fra Filippo Lippi, Filippino Lippi,
and Botticelli. The undisputed pictures of Fra Filippo are II. 248, III.
666 and 667 ; of Filippino, 293 and III. 927. The pictures 592 and
III. 1033 have marked resemblances both to Fra Filippo and to Botticelli,
and are ascribed by different critics to one or other of those masters or
their pupils. The present picture and III. 598 are often ascribed to a
pupil of Filippino ; the pictures II. 586 and I. 589 to a pupil of Fra
Kilippo. The undisputed pictures of Botticelli are III. 1034 and 1126.
The pictures III. 226 and 782, I. 275, 915 and 916, are all ascribed by
some critics to a pupil of his only ; whilst to Botticelli himself is sometimes
ascribed the portrait III. 626, classed in the Official Catalogue as
" Unknown."
ROOM 1 : FLORENTINE SCHOOL
652. CHARITY.
Francesco Salviati (1510-1563).
Francesco Rossi, called " del Salviati " from his patron, the Cardinal
of that name, studied under Andrea del Sarto. He was a great friend
of Vasari, whose life of Salviati gives a most interesting account of their
intimacy, especially of their early student days, when they "met to-
gether and went on festival days or at other times to copy a design
from the best works wherever these were to be found dispersed about
the city of Florence." In addition to this little picture Salviati is
credited by Dr. Richter with 649, p. 22, and 670, p. 17.
The usual pictorial representation of charity, as a woman
surrounded by children and giving suck, is the same as Spenser's
description of " Charissa "
She was a woman in her freshest age,
Of wondrous beauty, and of bounty rare . . .
Her necke and brests were ever open bare,
That ay thereof her babes might sucke their fill ...
A multitude of babes about her hong,
Playing their sportes, that joy'd her to behold ;
Whom still she fed whiles they were weake and young,
But thrust them forth still as they wexed old.
The Faerie Queene, i. IO. xxx., xxxi.
704. COSIMO, DUKE OF TUSCANY. 1
Angela Bronzino (1502-1572). See under 651, p. 29.
A contemporary portrait of the great Medici, the first
"Grand Duke" of Tuscany (ruled 1537-1564), who was re-
1 This is one of twenty-two pictures (701-722) presented by the Queen
to the National Gallery in 1863 "in fulfilment of the wishes of His Royal
Highness the Prince Consort." A collection (chiefly early Flemish and
German) had been bequeathed to him, and he had expressed his wish from
the first to present the best of the pictures to the nation the gift being
delayed pending the decision with regard to the site of a proposed new
National Gallery. The Prince, it maybe added, had always taken a lively
interest in the welfare of the Gallery. A most elaborate Historical Cata-
logue of all the schools of painting, prepared at his suggestion, was laid
before the Select Committee of 1853. Such a catalogue, he pointed out,
would " show the requirements of the Gallery," and " private individuals,
who might possess specimens of the masters required to complete the
collection, would thus be made aware of the want, and might be induced
to present them to the nation." Like many another valuable suggestion,
this one of the Prince Consort's lies buried in a Blue Book. Might it not
with advantage be revived, and a list of "Pictures wanted " be published
just as in Public Libraries there is often a list of " Libri Desiderati "
exhibited ?
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL
garded in his day as the very incarnation of Machiavelli's
Prince, " inasmuch as he joined daring to talent and prudence,"
and though " he could practise mercy in due season," was yet
"capable of great cruelty." No one, who notices here that
large protruding under lip of his, will doubt this last element in
his character.
1O35. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN.
Francia Bigio (1482-1524).
Francesco di Cristoforo Bigi (this picture is signed FRA CP =
Franciscus Cristophori pinxii), commonly called Francia Bigio, was
the son of a weaver at Milan, and " devoted himself to the art of
painting, not so much (Vasari tells us) because he was desirous of fame,
as that he might thus be enabled to render assistance to his indigent rela-
tions." He was at first the pupil of Albertinelli (645, p. 34), and after-
wards formed a close friendship with Andrea del Sarto, in conjunction
with whom he produced his first important work in 1513. His works
in fresco, of which Vasari tells some interesting stories, are at Florence,
and show him to have been a successful imitator of his friend. He was
also, as we see from this picture, an admirable portrait-painter an
excellence which he owed, says Vasari, to his patient and modest
industry.
The young man wears on his breast the cross of the knights
of Malta. The letter in his hand bears the date 1514. On the
parapet is an inscription : tar : vblia : chi : bien : eima (slowly
forgets he who loves well)
Dear as remember'd kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign'd
On lips that are for others ; deep as love,
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret ;
( O Death in Life, the days that are no more.
TENNYSON : The Princess.
649. PORTRAIT OF A BOY.
Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo (1494-1557).
Jacopo Carucci, commonly called Pontormo, from his birthplace of
that name (a town on the road from Pisa to Florence), was one
of the most original " characters " among those described by
Vasari. His pictures were much sought after, but "he would
never work but at such moments as he pleased, and for such
persons as chanced to be agreeable to him, insomuch that he was
frequently sought by gentlemen who desired to possess some work from
his hand, but for whom he would do nothing : yet at that very time he
would probably be employing himself zealously for some inferior and
plebeian person. To the mason Rossino, for example, Pontormo gave
a most exquisite picture of our Lady as the payment for constructing
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 23
certain chambers." Nor was this the only "absurdity" in Pontormo
that shocked Vasari. " One of the Medici had been greatly pleased
with a picture by Pontormo, and said that in reward for it he might ask
whatever he pleased and should have his wish granted. But such was,
I know not whether to say the timidity, or the too great respect and
modesty of this man, that he asked nothing better than just so much
money as would enable him to redeem a cloak which he had hastily
pledged." Many other interesting tales of Pontormo will be found in
Vasari of his love of secrecy, his curious manner of life, and the dead
bodies he kept in troughs of water, so to paint more realistically the
victims of the Deluge. This last tale is characteristic of Pontormo's
place in the history of art, which for the most part was that of an ex-
aggerated mannerist after Michael Angelo. In the National Gallery
we see him at his best. His "Joseph in Egypt " (i 131, p. 32) is men-
tioned by Vasari as his most successful work, and his portraits are
uniformly excellent.
This portrait, ascribed in the Official Catalogue to Carucci,
is given by other critics to Salviati (652), or Bronzino (650 and
670), who was Pontormo's favourite pupil. Portraits of boys
were rather a specialty of Pontormo's, and this " Red Boy "
shows much sympathetic skill.
17. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Andrea del Sarto^ (1487-1531). See under 690, p. 27.
St. Elizabeth with her son, the infant John the Baptist,
visiting the Madonna and infant Christ. It is " a Holy
Family," but except for the symbolical cross of the Baptist and
the faint circlet of golden light surrounding the Madonna's
head, there is no hint of divinity about this pretty domestic
scene. One may compare it with Raphael's earlier Madonnas,
and say
Raphael did this, Andrea painted that ;
The Roman's is the better when you pray,
But still the other's Virgin was his wife.
BROWNING : Andrea del Sarto.
1 It is proper to mention that most of the critics dispute the genuine-
ness of this picture, and consider it a copy by some scholar or imitator.
In connection with this disputed point, it may not be out of place to recall
the famous forgery in which Andrea himself played the chief part. The
Duke of Mantua coveted Raphael's portrait of Leo X., and obtained
permission from the Pope to appropriate it. The owner determined to
meet force by fraud, and employed Andrea to make a copy which was
sent to the Duke as the original. The copy, when at Mantua, deceived
even Giulio Romano, who had himself taken part in the execution of the
original a fact which might well induce some modesty of judgment in
connoisseurs.
24 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL
1O93. OUR LADY OF THE ROCKS.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1 519).
Leonardo, of Vinci (a town in the Val d'Arno below Florence), has
been called from the many-sidedness of his effort the Faust of the
Renaissance. He was painter, poet, sculptor, architect, mechanist,
mathematician, philosopher, and explorer. He also studied botany and
anatomy (there is a collection of his anatomical studies in the Royal
Library at Windsor), and was an admirable extempore performer on the
lyre. In a letter addressed to Ludovico il Moro, Prince of Milan, in
whose service he lived for sixteen years (1483-1499), he enumerates as
his chief qualification his skill in military engineering, and throws in
his art as an incidental accomplishment. " I will also undertake any
work in sculpture, in marble, in bronze, or in terra cotta ; likewise in
painting I can do what may be done as well as any man, be he who
he may." In addition to all this, he was the first scientific writer on
his art, and his Treatise on Painting is still an accepted handbook.
To this marvellous intellectual alertness he added great personal
lieauty ("the radiance of his countenance, which was splendidly beau-
tiful, brought cheerfulness," says Vasari, " to the heart of the most
melancholy "), and great physical strength. He could bend a door-
knocker, we are told, or a horse-shoe as if it were lead. Besides
his physical strength Vasari mentions his kindness and gentleness, and
tells us how he would frequently buy caged birds from the dealers, in
order to give them back their liberty. This extraordinary man was
the son of a peasant-mother, Caterina, and was born out of wedlock, his
father being a Florentine notary ; and amongst Leonardo's manuscripts
is a record of a visit to Caterina in the hospital, who soon after his
father's death had married in her own station, and of expenses paid for
her funeral. Finally, to complete the marvel, Leonardo was left-
handed. He paid, however, the penalty of greatness in undertaking
more than he could fulfil. He went once to Rome, but the Pope, Leo
X., offended him by exclaiming, "Ah ! this man will never do anything ;
he thinks of the end before the beginning of his work." (He had
made elaborate preparations for varnishing his picture before he began
it.) Many of his works were thus unfinished, and others, owing to
premature experiments in material, are ruined especially his famous
Last Supper at Milan, of which there is an original drawing at the
Royal Academy. "Leonardo's oil painting," says Mr. Ruskin, "is all
gone black or to nothing." 1
In the history of painting Leonardo stands out as the great master
of light and shade ("chiaroscuro"). There are "three methods of
art, producing respectively linear designs, effects of light, and effects
1 " Because Leonardo made models of machines, dug canals, built for-
tifications, and dissipated half his art-power in capricious ingenuities, we
have many anecdotes of him ; but no picture of importance on canvas, and
only a few withered stains of one upon a wall" (Queen of the Air, 157).
ROOM 1 : FLORENTINE SCHOOL 25
of colour. In preparing to draw any object, you will find that practi-
cally you have to ask yourself, Shall I aim at the colour of it, the light
of it, or the lines of it ? The best art comes so near nature as in a
measure to unite all. But the best art is not, and cannot be, as
good as nature ; and the mode of its deficiency is that it must lose
some of the colour, some of the light, or some of the delineation. And
in consequence, there is one great school which says, ' We will have
delineation, and as much colour and shade as are consistent with it.'
Another, which says, ' We will have shade, and as much colour and
delineation as are consistent with it.' The third, 'We will have the
colour, and as much light and delineation as are consistent with it'.
The second class, the Chiaroscurists, are essentially draughtsmen with
chalk, charcoal, or single tints. Many of them paint, but always with
some effort and pain. Leonardo is the type of them " (Compressed
from Ariadne Florentina, 18-21).
This picture, which was bought in 1880 for ^9000 from
Lord Suffolk, is held by the best critics to be the original of
the celebrated " Vierge aux Rochers " in the Louvre ; the
latter differs in some details, and is considered less perfect in
execution (see Quarterly Review, October 1886). It is en-
tirely characteristic of the master's effects of light and shade,
and of his grace and refinement in delineation. It is char-
acteristic also of his deficiency in one branch of art : he did
nothing to advance the study of landscape. " In realisation of
detail he verges on the ornamental ; in his rock outlines he has
all the deficiencies and little of the feeling of the earlier men.
The rocks are grotesque without being ideal, and extraordinary
without being impressive." " The forms of rock in Leonardo's
celebrated ' Vierge aux Rochers ' are literally no better than
those on a china plate " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i.
ch. vii. 13; Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and
Painting, p. 157).
Mother, is this the darkness of the end,
The Shadow of Death ? and is that outer sea
Infinite imminent Eternity ? *
1 Mr. Ruskin speaks under the head of typical beauty (of beauty, that
is, as typical of divine attributes) of the absolute necessity in pictures for
some suggestion of infinity. " I cannot tell whether I am allowing too
much weight to my own fancies and predilections, but without escape into
the open air and open heaven, I can take permanent pleasure in no picture.
I think I am supported in this feeling by the unanimous practice, if not
confessed opinion, of all artists. . . . Escape, Hope, Infinity, by whatever
conventionalism sought, the device is the same in all, the instinct constant "
{Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. v. 7, 8).
26 ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL
And does the death-pang by man's seed sustain'd
In Time's each instant cause thy face to bend
Its silent prayer upon the Son, while he
Blesses the dead with his hand silently
To his long day which hours no more offend ?
Mother of grace, the pass is difficult,
Keen as these rocks, and the bewildered souls
Throng it like echoes, blindly shuddering through.
' Thy name, O Lord, each spirit's voice extols,
Whose peace abides in the dark avenue
Amid the bitterness of things occult.
D. G. ROSSETTI : Sonnets and Ballads.
115O. A PORTRAIT.
Ascribed to Pontormo. See under 649, p. 22.
592. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Filippino Lippi (1457-1504). See under 293, p. 20
" Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, . . . behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is
he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen his star
in the east, and are come to worship him " (Matthew ii
1,2).
800. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Michael Angela (1475-1564). See under 790, p. 14.
The Virgin mother is seen withholding from the child Saviour
the prophetic writings in which His sufferings are foretold
Angelic figures beside them examine a scroll
Turn not the prophet's page, O Son ! He knew
All that Thou hast to suffer and hath writ.
Not yet Thine hour of knowledge. Infinite
The sorrows that thy manhood's lot must rue
And dire acquaintance of Thy grief. That clue
The spirits of Thy mournful ministerings,
Seek through yon scroll in silence. For these things
The angels have desired to look into.
Still before Eden waves the fiery sword,
Her Tree of Life unransomed : whose sad tree
Of Knowledge yet to growth of Calvary
Must yield its Tempter, Hell the earliest dead
Of Earth resign, and yet, O Son and Lord,
The Seed o' the woman bruise the serpent's head.
D. G. ROSSETTI : Sonnets and Ballads.
ROOM 1: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 27
69O. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
Andrea del Sarto (1487-1531).
Mr. Browning's poem, in which he sets forth the pathos of
the artist's life and character, is the best commentary on this
portrait. The real name of Andrea del Sarto " Andrew oi
the Tailor," so called from his father's trade was Andrea
d'Agnolo : his monogram, formed of two inverted A's, may
here be seen on the background to the left. The Italians
called him "the faultless painter :" faultless, they meant, in all
the technical requirements of painting. In drawing, composition,
disposition of draperies and feeling for light and shadow, he
was above criticism
All is silver-grey,
Placid and perfect with my art.
But men may be " faultily faultless " ; and what he lacked
was just the one thing needful the consecration and the poet's
dream, which lift many works by less skilful hands than his
into the higher region of imaginative art
There burns a truer light of God in them,
than goes on to prompt
This low-pulsed forthright craftsman's hand of mine.
Their works drop groundward, but themselves, I know,
Reach many a time a heaven that's shut to me, . . .
My works are nearer heaven, but I sit here.
And the self-reproach was not less bitter for the know-
ledge of " what might have been." There is a story that
Michael Angelo visited his studio, and said afterwards to
Raphael
" Friend, there's a certain little sorry scrub
" Goes up and down our Florence, none cares how,
" Who, were he set to plan and execute
" As you are, pricked on by your popes and kings,
" Would bring the sweat into that brow of yours ! "
Yet Andrea himself too was once pricked on by kings. Two
pictures of his had been sent to the King of France, 1 who there-
upon invited the painter to his court. And there for a time he
worked and was honoured ; but in the midst of it all he sat
reading the letters which Lucrezia, his wife, sent him to Paris.
1 It is interesting to note that the picture-dealer grievance was rife even
in those days. One of the pictures sent to France was a Madonna (now
in the Louvre) "of extraordinary beauty," but, adds Vasari (iii. 201) " the
merchants received four times as much for the work as they had paid for it
to the painter. ' '
28 ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL
" You called me and I came home to your heart " not empty-
handed either, for Francis entrusted him with money to buy
pictures, but Andrea spent it and some of his own in building
a house for her in Florence. It is her face which we see every-
where in Andrea's Madonnas, and if at any time he took his
model from any other face, there was always a resemblance to
hers in the painting
You smile ? why, there's my picture ready made !
But Lucrezia served as his model, not his ideal. She had been
married before to a hatter, but was remarkable, says Vasari,
who worked in Andrea's studio and had a grudge against her,
" as much for pride and haughtiness, as for beauty and fascin-
ation." l And
Had the mouth there urged
" God and the glory ! never care for gain . . .
" Live for fame, side by side with Agnolo !
". Rafael is waiting : up to God, all three ! "
I might have done it for you. So it seems.
It is in some such mood of communing with himself that
we seem here to see the painter ; yet there is a certain under-
current of contentment below the look of melancholy. "The
force of a beautiful face carries me to heaven :" so sang Michael
Angelo. Lucrezia dragged her husband down ; his rivals over-
came him
Because there's still Lucrezia, as I choose,
And so
the whole seems to fall into a shape
As if I saw alike my work and self
And all that I was born to be and do,
A twilight piece.
21. PORTRAIT OF A FLORENTINE LADY.
Cristofano Allori (1577-1621).
Notice the richly embroidered head-dress, resembling in
form the Venetian rolled coif or turban which often occurs in
pictures of Titian.
698. THE DEATH OF PROCRIS.
Piero di Cost mo (1462-1521).
A very characteristic work by Piero, called di Cosimo, after his
godfather and master, Cosimo Rosselli (II. 227, p. 41). Piero's
1 Lucrezia's character has, however, been whitewashed of late years :
see Gazette des Beaux Arts, December 1876 and three following months.
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 29
peculiarities are well known to all readers of George Eliot's
Romola, where everything told us about him by Vasari is care-
fully worked up. The first impression left by this picture its
quaintness is precisely typical of the man. He shut himself
off from the world, and stopped his ears ; lived in the untidiest
of rooms, and would not have his garden tended, " preferring
to see all things wild and savage about him." He took his
meals at times and in ways that no other man did, and Romola
used to coax him with sweets and hard-boiled eggs. His
fondness for quaint landscape (" he would sometimes stand
beside a wall," says Vasari, "and image forth the most extra-
ordinary landscapes that ever were") may be seen in this
picture : so also may his love of animals, in which, says Vasari,
he took " indescribable pleasure."
The subjects of his pictures were generally allegorical. In
Romola he paints Tito and Romola as Bacchus and Ariadne ;
here he shows the death of Procris, the story in which the
ancients embodied the folly of jealousy. For Procris being
told that Cephalus was unfaithful, straightway believed the re-
port and secretly followed him to the woods, for he was a
great hunter. And Cephalus called upon "aura," the Latin for
breeze, for Cephalus was hot after the chase : " Sweet air, O
come," and echo answered, " Come, sweet air." But Procris,
thinking that he was calling after his mistress, turned to see,
and as she moved she made a rustling in the leaves, which
Cephalus mistook for the motion of some beast of the forest,
and let fly his unerring dart, which Procris once had given him.
But Procris lay among the white wind-flowers,
Shot in the throat. From out the little wound
The slow blood drained, as drops in autumn showers
Drip from the leaves upon the sodden ground.
None saw her die but Lelaps, the swift hound,
That watched her dumbly with a wistful fear,
Till at the dawn, the horned wood-men found
And bore her gently on a sylvan bier,
To lie beside the sea, with many an uncouth tear.
AUSTIN DOBSON : Old World Idylls.
651. AN ALLEGORY: "ALL IS VANITY."
Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572).
Angelo di Cosimo, called II Bronzino, was born in a suburb of
Florence, of poor parents ; he became a popular artist, " nor have we any
one in our day," says Vasari, " who is more ingenious, varied, fanciful,
30 ROOM 1 : FLORENTINE SCHOOL
and spirited, in the jesting kind of verse." Vasari was a great friend
of his, and speaks in the warmest terms of his generosity and kindness.
He was a pupil of Pontormo (see 649, p. 22). In the history of Floren-
tine art he belongs to the period of decline. Mr. Ruskin cites him
as an instance of the " base grotesque of men who, having no true
imagination, are apt, more than others, to try by startling realism to en-
force the monstrosity that has no terror in itself" {Modern Painters,
vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. viii. 8).
Venus, crowned as Queen of Life, yet with the apple of
discord in her hand, turns her head to kiss Cupid, whose
wings are coloured in Delight, but behind whom is the gaunt
figure of Jealousy, tearing her hair. Folly, with one foot in
manacles and the other treading on a thorn, is preparing to
throw a handful of roses
Sweet is Love and sweet is the Rose,
Each has a flower and each has a thorn.
A Harpy, the personification of vain desire and fitful passion,
with a human face, but with claws to her feet and with a
serpent's body, is offering in one hand a piece of honey-comb,
whilst she holds her sting behind her in the other. In one
corner, beneath the God of Love, doves are billing and cooing ;
but over against them, beneath Folly, there are masks, showing
the hideous emptiness of human passion. And behind them
all is Time, with wings to speed his course and the hour-glass
on his shoulders to mark his seasons, preparing to let down
the veil which Pleasure, with grapes twined in her hair, and
with the scowl of angry disappointment on her face, seeks in
vain to lift
" Know'st thou not me?" the deep Voice cried ;
So long enjoyed, so oft misused
Alternate, in thy fickle pride,
Desired, neglected, and accused ?
" Redeem mine hours the space is brief
While in my glass the sand-grains shiver,
And measureless thy joy or grief,
When Time and thou shall part for ever ! "
ScOTT : The Antiquaiy.
589. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Fra Filippo Lippi (about 1 406- 1 469).
See under III. 666, p. 52.
Combined with Lippi's realism of representation, " there is
also an unusually mystic spiritualism of conception. Nearly
all the Madonnas, even of the most strictly devotional schools,
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 31
themselves support the child, either on their knees or in their
arms. But here, the Christ is miraculously borne by an
angel" (Fors Clavigera, 1875, p. 308).
915. MARS AND VENUS.
Sandro Botticelli (1446-1510). See under III. 1034, p. 56.
So the picture is usually called Mars, the God of War,
asleep, and the young satyrs playing with his discarded armour,
while one of them attempts to rouse him by blowing a shell.
But the subject is almost identical with that which Spenser
draws in the Faerie Queene, where Sir Guyon, the Knight of
Purity, overthrows the Bower of Bliss in which Acrasia (or
Pleasure) dwells the last and worst of Sir Guyon's trials, for
" it is harder to fight against pleasure than against pain.' ;
Note especially the expression of the sleeping youth : he is
overcome with brutish paralysis, and they cannot awaken him.
Note also the swarm of hornets issuing from the tree-trunk by
his head significant of the power that sensual indulgence has
of venomously wounding. Visitors who have been in Venice
may remember similar details in Carpaccio's picture of St.
George and the Dragon (J. R, Anderson in St. Mark's Rest,
Second Supplement, p. 20).
Upon a bed of Roses she was layd,
As faint through heat, or dight to pleasant sin ;
And was arrayd, or rather disarrayd,
All in a vele of silke and silver thin,
That hid no whit her alabaster skin . . .
The young man, sleeping by her, seemd to be
Some goodly swayne of honorable place,
That certes it great pitty was to see
Him his nobility so fowle deface . . .
His warlike armes, the ydle instruments
Of sleeping praise, were hong upon a tree . . .
Ne for them ne for honour cared hee,
Ne ought that did to his advauncement tend ,
But in lewd loves, and wastfull luxuree,
His dayes, his goods, his bodie, he did spend :
O horrible enchantment, that him so did blend !
Faerie Queene, bk. ii. 12, Ixxvii.-lxxx.
8. A DREAM OF HUMAN LIFE.
From a design by Michael Angela. See under 790, p. 14.
The naked figure, typical of the human race, and reclining
on a slippery globe, is awakening, at the sound of a trumpet from
32 ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL
above, from the dream of life to the lasting realities of eternity.
It may be the sound of the "last trump" or the call to a
" new life " that comes before. Behind his seat are several
masks, illustrating the insincerity or duplicity of a world in
which " all is vanity ; " and around him are visions of the
tempting and transitory hopes, fears, and vices of humanity.
On the right sits a helmed warrior, moody and discomfited ;
his arms hang listlessly and his face is unseen hidden
perhaps from the cruelty of War. Above him are battling
figures emblematic of Strife and Contention. A little
detached from this group is a son dragging down his parent
by the beard " bringing his grey hair with sorrow to the
grave." On the other side sits Jealousy, gnawing a heart ; and
above are the sordid hands of Avarice, clutching a bag of gold.
On the left-hand Lust and Sorrow are conspicuous ; Intemper-
ance raises a huge bottle to his lips ; and Gluttony turns
a spit (see Landseer's Catalogue of the National Gallery, 1834,
p. 41). Thus all around the figure of Human Life there wait
The ministers of human fate
And black Misfortune's baleful train ! . . .
These shall the fury Passions tear,
The vultures of the mind,
Disdainful Anger, pallid Fear,
And Shame that sculks behind ;
Or pining Love shall waste their youth,
Or Jealousy, with rankling tooth,
That inly gnaws the secret heart ;
And Envy wan, and faded Care,
Grim-visag'd comfortless Despair,
And Sorrow's piercing dart.
GRAY : Ode on a distant prospect of Eton College.
1131. JOSEPH IN EGYPT.
Pontormo (1494-1557). See under 649, p. 22.
A drama in five acts describing incidents in the life of
Joseph in Egypt (see Genesis xlvii. 1-6, 13-26; xlviii. 1-14).
( i ) On the left Pharaoh, in a white turban, and surrounded by
attendants, is met by Joseph and his brethren, who stand
before him in attitudes of supplication. The youth sitting on
the steps with a basket in his hand is a portrait (Vasari tells
us) of the painter's pupil, Bronzino. (2) On the right of the
foreground Joseph, seated on a triumphal car drawn by naked
ROOM I: FLORENTINE SCHOOL 33
children, stoops forward towards a man who kneels and
presents a petition. (3) In the middle distance there is an
animated group of men ("Wherefore shall we die before
thine eyes, both we and our land ?"). (4) On the steps leading
up to the circular building on the right, Joseph is leading one
of his sons to see the dying Jacob ; he is followed by the
"steward of the house," a conspicuous figure in a long crimson
robe. The other boy appears at the top of the steps and is
embraced by his mother. (5) Inside the room Jacob is
represented as giving his blessing to the two boys, Ephraim
and Manasseh, who are presented to him by their father. The
antique statues which adorn the building were often given by
mediaeval artists as characteristic of Egypt, from which the
art of Greece was believed to have been derived (see Richter^
PP. 36-40).
The removal of this picture has been blasted by a woman's
curse. It was painted for a Florentine noble, named
Borgherini ; and when he was exiled, the civic authorities sent
to his house to buy up all its works of art, which were to be
sent as a present to the King of France. But Borgherini's
wife received the official with "reproaches of intolerable
bitterness," says Vasari, " such as had never before been
hurled at living man : ' How then ! Dost thou, vile broker
of frippery, miserable huckster of twopences, dost thou
presume to come hither with intent to lay thy fingers on the
ornaments which belong to the chambers of gentlemen ?
despoiling, as thou hast long done, and as thou art for ever
doing, this our city of her fairest ornaments to embellish
strange lands therewith ? Depart from this house, thou and
thy myrmidons ; depart, and say to those who have permitted
themselves to send thee hither that I am here ; I, who will not
suffer that one iota shall be disturbed from where it stands.'"
The lady's angry eloquence preserved the picture only to be
afterwards seduced away, by English gold, into the Duke of
Hamilton's collection, from which it was bought for the
National Gallery in 1882.
ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL
ON THE SCREEN
645. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Albertinelli (1474-1515).
Mariotto Albertinelli, a pupil of Cosimo Rosselli, was the friend
and assistant of the painter -monk, Fra Bartolommeo. He himself,
being of an impatient character, "was so offended with certain criti-
cisms of his work," says Vasari, " that he gave up painting and turned
publican."
This picture is often now attributed to a later painter
Sogliani, 1492-1544.
275. VIRGIN AND CHILD, ST. JOHN AND AN
ANGEL.
Sandro Botticelli (1446-1510). See under III. 1034, p. 56.
A beautiful and characteristic work. " At first glance you
may think the picture a mere piece of affectation. Well yes,
Botticelli is affected in the way that all men of his century
necessarily were. Much euphuism, much studied grace of
manner, much formal assertion of scholarship, mingling with
his force of imagination. And he likes twisting the fingers of
hands about " just as he likes also dancing motion and waved
drapery (see III. 1034, p. 56) (Mornings in Florence, iii. 59).
The picture is characteristic also of two faculties which Botti-
celli acquired from his early training as a goldsmith : first, his
use of gold as a means of enriching the light (as here in the
Madonna's hair) ; and, secondly, the " incomparable invention
and delicacy " with which he treated all accessory details and
ornaments (as here in the scarves and dresses). But chiefly
is the picture characteristic of his " sentiment of ineffable
melancholy, of which it is hard to penetrate the sense, and
impossible to escape the spell." It may help one in under-
standing the spirit of such pictures to remember that in Botti-
celli there met in perfect poise the tenderness of Christian
feeling with the grace of the classical Renaissance. He was
" a Greek reanimate. The first Greeks were distinguished
from the barbarians by their simple humanity ; the second
Greeks these Florentine Greeks reanimate are human more
strongly, more deeply, leaping from the Byzantine death at
ROOM I : FLORENTINE SCHOOL 35
the call of Christ, ' Loose him, and let him go.' And there is
upon them at once the joy of resurrection and the solemnity of
the grave " l (Ariadne Florentina, 1 6 1 ; and Fors Clavigera,
1872, xxii.)
928. APOLLO AND DAPHNE.
Antonio Pollajuolo (1429-1498). See under 292, p. 1 8 .
The Greeks, seeing the perpetual verdure of the laurel,
personified it in the story of Apollo and Daphne ( = laurel),
which told how the sun-god was enamoured of her. But she,
praying to be delivered from his pursuit, was changed by the
gods into a laurel her two arms are here sprouting, just as
the god has caught her in his embrace ; and he, crowning his
head with the leaves, ordained that the tree should for ever
bloom and be sacred to his divinity (see further for the story
of Apollo and Daphne under XXII. 520, p. 61 1). The fact that
Phoebus Apollo was also the god of song has suggested a pretty
adaptation of the legend to the case of poets who sing for love
and earn the laurel wreath
Yet, what he sung in his immortal strain,
Though unsuccessful, was not sung in vain :
All, but the Nymph that should redress his wrong,
Attend his passion and approve his song.
Like Phoebus thus, acquiring unsought praise,
He catched at love, and filled his arms with bays.
WALLER.
1 Mr. Pater, in a well-known passage, gives a different explanation of
the peculiar sentiment in Botticelli's Madonnas. "Perhaps you have
sometimes wondered why they attract you more and more, and often come
although conformed to no obvious type of beauty back to you when
the Madonnas of Raphael and the Virgins of Fra Angelico are forgotten.
At first, contrasting them with those, you may have thought that there was
something even mean or abject in them, for the lines of the face have little
nobleness, and the colour is wan. For with Botticelli she too, though she
holds in her hands the ' Desire of all Nations, ' is one of those who are
neither for God nor for his enemies (see under III. 1126, p. 59), and her
choice is on her face. She shrinks from the presence of the Divine Child,
and pleads in unmistakable undertones for a warmer, lower humanity"
(W. H. Pater: Studies of the Renaissance).
You promise heavens free from strife,
Pure truth and perfect change of will ;
But sweet, sweet is this human life,
So sweet I fain would breathe it still :
Your chilly stars I can forgo :
This warm, kind world is all I know.
IONICA : Mltnnermus in CJiurch,
ROOM II
THE SIENESE SCHOOL
" SINCE we are teachers to unlearned men, who know not how to read,
of the marvels done by the power and strength of holy religion, . . .
and since no undertaking, however small, can have a beginning or
an end without these three things, that is, without the power to
do, without knowledge, and without true love of the work ; and
since in God every perfection is eminently united ; now, to the end
that in this our calling, however unworthy it may be, we may have
a good beginning and a good ending in all our works and deeds,
we will earnestly ask the aid of the Divine grace, and commence
by a dedication to the honour of the Name, and in the Name of
the most Holy Trinity" {Extract from the Statutes of tlie Painters'
Guild of Siena, 1355).
IN this room are hung the Sienese pictures, as well as some
more of the Florentine. It is of the former that a few
remarks will here be made. The school of Siena, though in
the main closely resembling that of Florence, has yet an
independent origin and a distinct character. There is a
"Madonna" at Siena, painted in 1281, which is decidedly
superior to such work as Margaritone's (IV. 5 64, p. 76). But
the start which Siena obtained at first was soon lost ; and at
a time when Florentine art was finding new directions, that
at Siena was running still in the old grooves. This was
owing to the markedly religious character of its painting,
shown in the tone of the statutes above quoted. Such religious
ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL 37
fervour seems at first sight inconsistent with the character
of a people who were famed for factious quarrels and delicate
living. 1 But " the contradiction is more apparent than real.
The people of Siena were highly impressible and emotional,
quick to obey the promptings of their passion, whether it
took the form of hatred or of love, of spiritual fervour or of
carnal violence. The religious feeling was a passion with
them, on a par with all the other movements of their quick
and mobile temperament." 2 Sienese art reflects this spirit ;
it is like the religion of their St. Catherine, rapt and ecstatic.
The early Florentine pictures, some of which are hung in this
room, are not very dissimilar ; but in Siena the same kind
of art lasted much longer. In the work, for instance, of
Matteo di Giovanni (see 1 155, p. 47), there is still the same
expression of religious ecstasy, and the same prodigal use of
gold in the background, as marked the works of the
preceding century ; yet he was contemporary with the
Florentine Botticelli, who introduced many new motives
into art. Matteo was the best Sienese painter of the
fifteenth century, and with him the independent school
of Siena comes to an end. Girolamo del Pacchia (246, p. 38)
betrays the influence of Florence ; whilst II Sodoma (IX.
1144, p. 204), who settled at Siena and had many pupils,
was not a native, and shows in his style no affinity with
the true Sienese School. Peruzzi (218, p. 40), on the
other hand, was a native of Siena, but belongs in his
artistic development to the Roman school.
1109. THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN.
Niccolo Buonacorso (Sienese : 1 4th century).
" Remarkable, amongst other things, for the wonderful
elaboration of the gold ornaments on the dresses, and the
attempt to give an Oriental character to the scene by the
introduction of the palm-tree, the carpet, and the dark-faced
player on the kettledrums. It is interesting also for its notes
1 See Dante, Inferno xxix. 121. There was, moreover, in Siena a
" Prodigal Club," and a poet of the day wrote a series of sonnets (translated
by D. G. Rossetti) " Unto the blithe and lordly fellowship."
2 History of the Renaissance in Italy, by J. A. Symonds, iii. 221,
hereafter referred to as Symonds.
38 ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL
from real life in the figure of the child, the faces of some of
the spectators in the background, the window-openings with
their poles, the figures on the right under the blind, and the
flower-pot on the sill on the left " (Monkhouse : The Italian
Pre-Raphaelites, 1887, p. i;). 1
1113. A LEGENDARY SUBJECT.
Pietro Lorenzetti (Sienese : painted 1305-1340).
Probably illustrative of some incident in the life of a saint
of Bishop Sansovino, perhaps, the patron saint of Siena in
which the forces of the Christian and pagan religions were
opposed. On one side is a pagan priest bearing a statue,
supposed, from the apple in its hand, to be that of Venus. On
the other is a Christian bishop engaged in some ecclesiastical
function.
247. "ECCE HOMO."
Mat tea di Giovanni (Sienese : 1435-1495).
Matteo, son of Giovanni di Bartolo, a mercer, was the chief Sienese
painter of his time. Some of his best pictures are still to be seen at
Siena, and part of the pavement of the Cathedral there was also
decorated by him. He afterwards settled at Naples, and was the first,
says Lanzi, to excite the painters there to attempt a less antiquated
style.
"Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the
purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, ' Behold the man ! '"
(Ecce Homo) (St. John xix. 5). In the " glory " around the
head are the Latin letters signifying "Jesus Christ of Nazareth ;"
on the outer edge of the background, " at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth" (Philippians ii. 10).
246. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Girolamo del Pacchia (Sienese : 1 477-1 535).
Pacchia lived at Siena, but studied both at Rome and
Florence. This graceful picture at once suggests the influence
of Andrea del Sarto (see I. 17, p. 23).
591. THE RAPE OF HELEN.
Benozzo Gozzoli( Florentine: 1424-1498). See under 283, p. 42.
The earliest picture in the Gallery which was painted for
domestic pleasure, not religious service. One of the earliest
1 Hereafter referred to as Monkhouse.
ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL 39
also in which a classical subject is attempted. It probably
formed the cover or end of a box, such as were often given for
wedding presents, and was no doubt a commission to the artist
for that purpose. Hence the choice of subject (which has
been variously given as the Rape of Helen and the Rape of the
Venetian Brides), and the (surely intentional) comic extra-
vagance of the drawing : the bridegroom takes giant's strides
in lover's eagerness, and the ships scud along with love to
speed them. The ludicrous unreality of the rocks and trees, con-
trasted with the beautifully painted flowers of the foreground, is
very characteristic of the art of the time (cf. 283, p. 42, and 582,
p. 47). Rocks, trees, and water are all purely "conventional"
still ; and " the most satisfactory work of the period is that
which most resembles missal painting, that is to say, which
is fullest of beautiful flowers and animals scattered among the
landscape, in the old independent way, like the birds upon a
screen. The landscape of Benozzo Gozzoli is exquisitely rich
in incident of this kind " (Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture
and Painting, pp. 157, 158).
1108. THE VIRGIN ENTHRONED.
Unknown (Early Sienese School).
1139. THE ANNUNCIATION.
Duccio (Sienese: about 1260-1340). See tinder 566, p. 46.
This picture shows us the side of Duccio on which the early
School of Siena still adhered to the traditions of Byzantine art.
For instance, the Greek method of symbolising light on
drapery is seen in the gold lines of Mary's dress, a decorative
method which Duccio was the last to use. So, too, in the
gold background which was universal in Byzantine mosaics.
This survival may be seen in all the early Sienese pictures in
the Gallery. In 1188, for instance, all the landscape back-
ground is gold ; so in 1140 are all the spaces between the
houses ; whilst 1113 resembles a brilliant mosaic with gold for
its groundwork.
1140. CHRIST HEALING THE BLIND.
Duccio (Sienese: about 12601340). See under 566, p. 46.
The departure from conventional forms, which was char-
acteristic of Duccio, is conspicuous in this picture. Each of
40 ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL
the disciples has an individual character, the entire group
representing not conventional forms but living types of men.
There is a piece of symbolism in the blind man who has
already been healed which should not escape notice. Duccio
is not content to represent the bare act of healing, but insists
further upon the efficacy of the touch of Him who was the
Light of the World, by making the blind man drop the staff of
which he has no longer need. There is another piece of
symbolism in the gradated scale by which he draws attention
to the respective dignities of his characters Christ being the
tallest in the picture, the blind man the shortest (A. H
Macmurdo in Century Guild Hobby Horse, 1886, p. 119).
1199. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Unknown (Florentine: I5th Century).
On the right is St. John ; on the left an angel with the
annunciation lily. Notice that the frame ornamented with
modelled stucco forms part of the picture, and is indeed part
of the same panel
218. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Ascribed to Peruzzi (Florentine : 1481-1537).
Baldassare Peruzzi was born at Siena, but lived chiefly at Rome,
where he imitated the style of Raphael and Michael Angelo. He was,
however, more eminent as an architect than as a. painter : he built the
famous Villa Farnesina, and on Raphael's death was appointed architect -
in-ordinary to St. Peter's. It is characteristic of the taste of the time
that what Vasari most admired in Peruzzi's buildings was " the decora-
tion of the Loggia (at the Villa Farnesina), painted in perspective to
imitate stucco work." " This is done so perfectly," he says, " with the
colours, that even experienced artists have taken them to be works in
relief. I remember that Titian, a most excellent and renowned painter,
whom I conducted to see these works, could by no means be persuaded
that they were painted, and remained in astonishment when, on changing
his point of view, he perceived that they were so."
There is a drawing by Peruzzi of this subject in pos-
session of the National Gallery. Girolamo da Treviso (VII. 623,
p. 154) made a copy of it, which is perhaps this work. The
figures of the three magi are interesting as having been portraits
of Titian, Raphael, and Michael Angelo.
ROOM II : SIENESE SCHOOL 41
248. THE VISION OF ST. BERNARD.
Fra Filippo Lippi (Florentine : about 1406-1469).
See under III. 666, p. 52.
" St. Bernard was remarkable for his devotion to the blessed
Virgin ; one of his most celebrated works, the Missus est, was
composed in her honour as mother of the Redeemer ; and in
eighty sermons from the Song of Solomon he set forth her
divine perfection. His health was extremely feeble ; and once,
when he was employed in writing his homilies, and was so ill
that he could scarcely hold the pen, she graciously appeared to
him, and comforted and restored him by her divine presence "
(Mrs. Jameson: Legends of the Monastic Orders, p. 152).
Notice the peculiar shape of the picture, the upper corners
of the square being cut away. The picture was painted (the
artist receiving 40 lire, equal now perhaps to 60, for it
and another work) to fit a space over the door of the Palazzo
della Signoria at Florence. " Have you ever considered, in
the early history of painting, how important is the history of
the frame-maker ? It is a matter, I assure you, needing your
very best consideration, for the frame was made before the
picture. The painted window is much, but the aperture it fills
was thought of before it. The fresco by Giotto is much, but
the vault it adorns was planned first . . . and in pointing out to
you this fact, I may once for all prove to you the essential
unity of the arts" (Ariadne Florentina, 59, 60).
227. ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT.
Cosimo Rosselli (Florentine : 1439-1507).
Cosimo Rosselli, the son of a mason, was one of the distinguished
painters invited by the Pope to decorate the famous Sistine Chapel.
The Pope had offered a prize for the most successful, and Vasari relates
that Cosimo, conscious of his inferiority in invention and design to
such competitors as Botticelli, Ghirlandajo, Perugino, and Signorelli,
" covered his pictures with the finest ultramarine blues, and with a good
store of gold, for he had persuaded himself that the Pope, who had
very little knowledge of art, would be thereby induced to give him the
prize." The other artists laughed, but the Pope was " taken in" and
Cosimo had the last laugh after all.
St. Jerome (A.D. 342-420) who first made the great Eastern
book, the Bible, legible in the West, by translating the Hebrew
into Latin, was one of the chief saints of the Latin or Western
Church, and was a favourite subject in Christian art ; there
42 ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL
are a dozen pictures of him in the National Gallery alone.
One of the chief events in his life is told in the left-hand com-
partment at the bottom of this picture. Jerome is tending a
sick lion, and in all the pictures of him a lion appears as his
constant companion. The story is that one evening a lion
entered the monastery, limping as in pain, and all the brethren
fled in terror, as we see one of them doing here, whilst the
others are looking on safely behind a door ; but Jerome went
forward to meet the lion, as though he had been a guest. And
the lion lifted up his paw, and Jerome, finding it was wounded
by a thorn, tended the wild creature, which henceforward
became his constant companion and friend. What did the
Christian painters mean by their fond insistance on the con-
stancy of the lion-friend ? They meant to foretell a day
" when the Fear of Man shall be laid in benediction, not enmity,
on inferior beings, when they shall not hurt nor destroy in
all the holy Mountain, and the Peace of the Earth shall be as
far removed from its present sorrow, as the present gloriously
animate universe from the nascent desert, whose deeps were
the place of dragons, and its mountains, domes of fire. Of
that day knoweth no man ; but the Kingdom of God is already
come to those who have tamed in their own hearts what was
rampant of the lower nature, and have learned to cherish what
is lovely and human, in the wandering children of the clouds and
fields " (Bible of Amiens, ch. iii. 54). The other compartments
depict incidents in the lives of St. Damasus, St. Eusebius, St.
Paula, and St. Eustachia saints associated with St. Jerome.
The picture itself shows an earlier period of his life,
when, before he settled in a monastery, but after a life of
pleasure in Rome, he left (as he himself tells us) not only
parents and kindred, but the accustomed luxuries of delicate
life, and lived for ten years in the desert in the effort to obtain
some closer knowledge of the Being and Will of God. The
saints who are made by the painter to keep St. Jerome com-
pany below are in sorrow ; the angels above, in joy. The
other kneeling figures are portraits of the patron for whom the
picture was painted and of his son.
283. VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Benozzo Gozzoli (Florentine : 1424-1498).
Benozzo Gozzoli was the favourite pupil of the " angelical
painter," Fra Angelico. From him Benozzo borrowed the devo-
ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL 43
tion in his pictures, the bent of his own mind being altogether
different. It must be remembered that " in nearly all the
great periods of art the choice of subject has not been left to
the painter ; . . . and his own personal feelings are ascertainable
only by watching, in the themes assigned to him, what are the
points in which he seems to take most pleasure. Thus in the
prolonged ranges of varied subjects with which Benozzo Gozzoli
decorated the cloisters of Pisa, it is easy to see that love of
simple domestic incident, sweet landscape, and glittering orna-
ment, prevails slightly over the solemn elements of religious
feeling, which, nevertheless, the spirit of the age instilled into
him in such measure as to form a very lovely and noble mind,
though still one of the second order " (Modern Painters^ vol.
iii. pt. iv. ch. iii. 8). So in this picture the choice of
subject was not left to Benozzo. On the contrary the figure
of the Virgin was specially directed so it appears from the
original contract, dated 1461, still in existence to be made
similar in mode, form, and ornaments to one by Fra Angelico,
now in the Florentine Academy, and it was also stipulated
that " the said Benozzo shall at his own cost diligently gild
the said panel throughout, both as regards figures and orna-
ments." The prices paid for such commissions in those days
may be judged from the fact that in the case of his great
frescoes at Pisa, Benozzo contracted to paint three a year for
10 ducats each ( = say ^100). As for Benozzo's own personal
feelings, it is easy to see with what pleasure he put in the
pretty flowers in the foreground for St. Francis, and the sweet-
faced angels behind the throne, and with what gusto he shot
the gold in their draperies. Compared with all this, the kneeling
St. Jerome and St. Francis and the other saints appear some-
what perfunctory. Notice, too, the bright goldfinches on the
alabaster steps, introduced, we may suppose, in honour of
Sweet St. Francis of Assisi, would that he were here again !
He that in his Catholic wholeness used to call the very flowers
Sisters, brothers and the beasts whose pains are hardly less
than ours !
TENNYSON : Lockslev Hall Sixty Years After.
663. THE RESURRECTION.
Fra Angelico (Florentine : 1387-1455).
Artists may be divided according to the subjects of their choice into
Purists, Naturalists, and Sensualists. The first take the good in the
44 ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL
world or in human nature around them and leave the evil ; the second
render all that they see, sympathising with all the good, and yet confess-
ing the evil also ; the third perceive and imitate evil only (Stones of
Venice, vol. ii. ch. vi. 51). Of the first class Angelico is the leading
type. His life was almost entirely spent in the endeavour to imagine
the beings of another world. His baptismal name was Guido, but he
changed it early in life to Giovanni, when he entered a Dominican
convent in Florence. He was once offered the archbishopric of his
city, but he refused it : "He who practices the art of painting," he
said, " has need of quiet, and should live without cares and anxieties ;
he who would do the work of Christ must dwell continually with Him."
He was given the name of "Angelico," and after his death that of
"Beato" (the Blessed), for his purity and heavenly-mindedness, and
it is said of him that " he was never known to be angry, or to reprove,
save in gentleness and love. Nor did he ever take pencil in hand
without prayer, and he could not paint the Passion of Christ without
tears of sorrow." By this " purity of life, habitual elevation of thought,
and natural sweetness of disposition, he was enabled to express the
sacred affections upon the human countenance as no one ever did
before or since. In order to effect clearer distinction between heavenly
beings and those of this world, he represents the former as clothed in
draperies of the purest colour, crowned with glories of burnished gold,
and entirely shadowless. With exquisite choice of gesture, and dis-
position of folds of drapery, this mode of treatment gives, perhaps, the
best idea of spiritual beings which the human mind is capable of
forming. It is, therefore, a true ideal ; but the mode in which it is
arrived at (being so far mechanical and contradictory of the appearances
of nature) necessarily precludes those who practice it from being
complete masters of their art. It is always childish, but beautiful in
its childishness " (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. vi. 4).
Angelico, it may be added, looking on his work as an inspiration
from God, never altered or improved his designs when once completed,
saying that "such was the will of God."
The weakness and the strength of the painter are alike
well seen in this picture of Christ, with the banner of the
resurrection surrounded by the Blessed. The representation
of Christ Himself is weak and devoid of dignity ; but what can
be more beautiful than the surrounding angel choirs, " with the
flames on their white foreheads waving brighter as they
move, and the sparkles streaming from their purple wings like
the glitter of many suns upon a sounding sea, listening in the
pauses of alternate song, for the prolonging of the trumpet
blast, and the answering of psaltery and cymbal, throughout
the endless deep, and from all the star shores of heaven "
{Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. v. 2 1 ). No two of
the 266 figures are alike in face or form, though each is
ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL 45
perfect in grace and beauty. 1 In the central compartment the
seraphim (red) are on Christ's right, the cherubim (blue) on
his left. In the compartment to Christ's left are, amongst
other patriarchs and saints, Abraham with the sword, Noah
with the ark, Moses with the tables of law, Aaron with his
name on his mitre, and below them St. Agnes with the Lamb,
and St. Catherine with her wheel. The martyrs bear palms in
their hands ; some wear wreaths of roses, others the crown of
thorns. In the compartment to Christ's left are the Virgin,
St. Peter with the keys, and the Evangelists. On the
extreme ends on either side are those of the painter's brother
Dominicans, in their black robes, who have joined the company
of the " Blessed."
Multitudes multitudes stood up in bliss,
Made equal to the angels, glorious, fair ;
With harps, palms, wedding-garments, kiss of peace,
And crowned and haloed hair.
Each face looked one way like a moon new-lit,
Each face looked one way toward its Sun of Love ;
Drank love, and bathed in love, and mirrored it,
And knew no end thereof.
Glory touched glory, on each blessed head,
Hands locked dear hands never to sunder more :
These were the new-begotten from the dead
Whom the great birthday bore.
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI : From House to Home.
586. MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Fra Filippo Lippi (Florentine : 1412-1469).
See tinder III. 666, p. 52.
Madonna and her babe,
Ringed by a bowery, flowery angel-brood
Lilies and vestments and white faces.
BROWNING : Fra Lippo Lippi.
Lippi belongs to a school which, "orderly and obedient
itself, understood the law of order in all things, which is the
chief distinction between art and rudeness. And the first aim
of every great painter is to express clearly his obedience to
the law of Kosmos, Order, or Symmetry " (Fors Clavtgera,
1 ' ' The many small figures which are seen here surrounded by a
celestial glory are so beautiful, " says Vasari of this picture, ' ' that they
appear to be truly beings of paradise ; nor can he who approaches them
be ever weary of regarding their beauty."
46 ROOM 11 : S1ENESE SCHOOL
1876, p. 292). The four angel-faces on one side of the Ma-
donna are matched by four on the other ; the bishop and black-
monk on one side-compartment, by the saint and black nun
on the other. Similarly at the foot of the throne the two
angels are arranged symmetrically, one facing one way, the other
the other. "You will at first be pained by the decision of
line, and, in the children at least, uncomeliness of feature,
which are characteristic, the first, of purely descended Etruscan
work ; the second, of the Florentine School headed afterwards
by Donatello. But it is absolutely necessary, for right pro-
gress in knowledge, that you begin by observing and tracing
decisive lines ; and that you consider dignity and simplicity
of expression more than beauty of feature " \Fors Clavigera,
1875, p. 308).
566. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Duccio (Sienese : about 12601340).
Duccio of Buoninsegna did much the same for the Sienese
School asCimabue (see IV. 565, p. 74), with whom he was closely
contemporary, did for the Florentine. He was the first, that
is to say, who, forsaking partly the conventional manner of the
Byzantine School, endeavoured to give some resemblance to
nature, and in religious subjects to bring down heaven to earth.
In this picture, for instance, the young Christ, instead of being
depicted in the act of priestly benediction (as in IV. 564, p. 76),
is shown as a true babe, drawing aside the veil that hides his
Mother's face. In this little incident one may thus see the
tendency which was to lead to the representation of the Mother
and Child as a Holy Family (the spectator must have
" charity of imagination " to ignore the green hue of the
Madonna's face, for reasons stated under IV. 565, p. 7 6). Above
are seen the prophets, headed by David their king, while on
either side St. Catherine * and St. Dominic adore the vision
1 So described in the Official Catalogue. But "is the female saint on
the right wing of the triptych really St. Catherine of Alexandria? Only
the beginning of the inscription on either side of the figure containing the
name can here still be deciphered. It runs thus : SCA (Saint) AL. The
reading "Catherine" thus apparently becomes inadmissible. Besides,
the emblems of this female saint are decidedly not those of Catherine of
Alexandria, who is always represented with a wheel as the emblem of her
martyrdom, while the saint in the picture before us holds in her right hand
a palm branch (?) and in her left a small cross, the emblem of confessors "
(Richter, p. 9).
ROOM II : SIENESE SCHOOL 47
of the mother of God. The Byzantine influence, on the other
hand, may be seen in the Greek type of feature and long,
slender fingers. The revelation that Duccio made of the new
powers of art was received, as was Cimabue's, with rapturous
applause, and one of his pictures was carried in procession on
a beautiful day in June to the Cathedral amidst the ringing of
bells and the sounding of trumpets ; the magistrates, clergy,
and religious orders escorting it, followed by a multitude of
citizens with their wives and families, praying as they went :
the shops were closed and alms distributed to the poor. For
that masterpiece Duccio received 16 soldi (8d.) the working
day, paid to him in monthly instalments. The city, however,
found him his materials, which, owing to the quantity of gold
used (see 1 1 39, p. 39) raised the whole cost to 3000 gold florins.
1138. THE CRUCIFIXION.
Andrea del Castagno (Florentine : 1 3 90- 1457).
A picture, impressive in its solemn gloom. The impenitent
thief writhes in agony, the suffering Christ casts his last glance
at his mother, who, with St. John the beloved disciple, stands
below in speechless grief. There is a coarse vigour in the
picture which agrees well with what we know of the painter,
who was the son of a peasant, and used, when a boy at
home, to trace rude figures on the wall. Benedetto de'
Medici discovered him whilst tending his flocks at Castagnc,
and sent him to Florence, where he afterwards lived in great
poverty. 1
582. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Fra Angelica (Florentine : 1387-1455). See under 663, p. 43.
1155. THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN.
Matteo di Giovanni (Sienese : 1435-1495).
See under 247, p. 38.
A picture in which the artist concentrates all he could
command of gaiety and joyousness in colour, expression,
action and sentiment ; and thus typical of the personal feeling,
approximating to that of a lover to his mistress, which entered
1 Vasari's story that Andrea was a fellow - worker with Domenico
Veneziano, and was so jealous because of the latter's possession of the
secret of oil painting that he murdered him, has recently been proved
absolutely false in every particular.
48 ROOM 11 : SIENESE SCHOOL
into Madonna worship. These pictures of coronations and
assumptions of the Virgin are not merely tributes of devotion
to the mother of God, but are poetic renderings of the recogni-
tion of women's queenship, of her rule not by force of law but
by tenderness and sacrifice
For lo ! thy law is pass'd
That this my love should manifestly be
To serve and honour thee :
And so I do : and my delight is full,
Accepted for the servant of thy rule.
One may read the same spirit perhaps, in the legend of St.
Thomas and the Madonna, introduced in this picture of St.
Thomas, who ever doubted, but whose faith was confirmed by
a woman's girdle. For the story is that the Virgin, taking
pity on his unbelief, threw down to him her girdle, which he is
here raising his hands to catch, as it falls from her throne, in
order that this tangible proof remaining with him might re-
move all doubts for ever from his mind :
Lady, since I conceived
Thy pleasurable aspect in my heart,
My life has been apart
In shining brightness and the place of truth ;
Which till that time, good sooth,
Groped among shadows in a darken'd place.
D. G. ROSSETTI : Early Italian Poets.
1147. HEADS OF NUNS.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Sienese : died about 1348).
The chief works of this artist (a younger brother of Pietro,
1 1 13, p. 38) are the frescoes still existing on the walls of the Town
Hall in Siena, representing good and bad government. The work
before us is a mere shattered fragment of fresco, but it is
enough to show the artist's feeling for the true portraiture that
identifies character with likeness. The nuns' faces are typical
of the strong yet tender qualities developed in a life of seclu-
sion and self-sacrifice.
1188. THE BETRAYAL OF CHRIST.
1189. THE PROCESSION TO CALVARY.
Ugolino (Sienese: painted about 1300).
Ugolino was one of the founders of the Sienese School. So great
was bis reputation that he was unanimously chosen by the Florentines,
in preference to their own artists, to paint the altar-pieces of their two
ROOM II: SIENESE SCHOOL 49
great churches ; whilst another picture that he painted for them was
credited with miraculous powers. These little pictures are portions of
the one painted by him for the high altar of Sta. Croce. The points
which have been already noticed as characteristic of his contemporary,
Duccio (see 566, p. 46), may be traced equally in Ugolino.
Notice in 1188 that the disciples are not mere conven-
tional types, but that an attempt is made to give them each an
individuality, and to express their characters on their faces.
The same expressions may be noticed again in 1189. It is
interesting, too, to observe how the first attempts of painting
(as of poetry) to express action were epic, rather than dramatic.
The painter tries to tell the whole story at once ; here is Judas
giving the traitor's kiss, there is Peter cutting off the ear of
the High Priest's servant, and beside them are all the other
characters of the story (cf. under IV. 579, p. 74). As art
advances, it becomes on the other hand dramatic ; the painter
seizes on the essential point and makes his picture out of that.
The difference may be seen by contrasting Ugolino's picture
with one of the same subject at Florence by Giotto, which Mr.
Ruskin thus describes : "See what choice Giotto made of his
moments. Plenty of choice for him in pain. The Flagella-
tion the Mocking the Bearing the Cross ; all habitually
given by the Margheritones, and their school, as extremes of pain.
' No,' thinks Giotto. ' There was worse than all that. Many a
good man has been mocked, spitefully entreated, spitted on, slain.
But who was ever so betrayed ?' . . . He paints the laying hands
on him in the garden, but with only two principal figures Judas
and Peter, of course : Judas and Peter were always principal
in the old Byzantine composition, Judas giving the kiss,
Peter cutting off the servant's ear. But the two are here not
merely principal, but almost alone in sight, all the other
figures thrown back ; and Peter is not at all concerned about
the servant, or his struggle with him. He has got him down,
but looks back suddenly at Judas giving the kiss. ' What ! you
are the traitor, then you !' 'Yes,' says Giotto; 'and you, also,
in an hour more '" (Mornings in Florence, ii. 41).
909. THE MADONNA OF THE WHITE ROSE.
Benvenuto da Siena (Sienese : 1436 about 1517).
A charming combination of older and newer " motives."
There is the gold background, true to the old Sienese traditions,
So ROOM II : SIENESE SCHOOL
but there are also the little fiddling angels, so common in
Venetian and other pictures of the time of Benvenuto's later
years. In the compartments on either side are St. Peter, and
St. Nicholas of Bari (with various adornments referring to his
story: see under VI. 1171, p. 112).
ROOM III
THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL ; FRA FILIPPO
LIPPI AND BOTTICELLI
I am poor brother Lippo, by your leave ! . . .
Yes, I'm the painter, since you style me so. ...
For me, I think I speak as I was taught ;
I always see the garden and God there
A-making man's wife : and, my lesson learned,
The value and significance of flesh,
I can't unlearn ten minutes afterwards. . . .
Why can't a painter lift each foot in turn,
Left foot and right foot, go a double step,
Make his flesh liker and his soul more like,
Both in their order ?
BROWNING : Fra Lippo Lippi.
Botticelli, the pupil of Monk Lippo, is " the only painter of Italy
who understood the thoughts of Heathens and Christians equally, and
could in a measure paint both Aphrodite and the Madonna. So that he
is, on the whole, the most universal of painters ; and, take him all in all,
the greatest Florentine workman" (RusKiN : Fors Clavigera^ 1872,
782. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Ascribed to Botticelli. (See under 1034, p. 56).
Probably only a " school picture." Most of the old masters
kept schools, or shops, in which several pupils served as
apprentices and worked at pictures under the master's directions.
The sale of such pictures under the master's name was (and is)
52 ROOM III: BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI
a very common occurrence, and even in those days forged
signatures were not unusual
666. THE ANNUNCIATION.
Fra Filippo Lippi (about 1406-1469).
This and the companion picture by the same artist (667, p. 61) were
painted for Cosmo de' Medici (this one is marked with Cosmo's crest
three feathers tied together in a ring), and are identified with a story told
by Vasari, which Mr. Browning has worked up in his poem on the artist.
Cosmo, knowing the artist's ways, kept him under lock and key that
his work might be the quicker done, but Lippi one night contrived a way
of escape ; and " from that time forward," adds Vasari, " Cosmo gave the
artist more liberty, and was by this means more promptly and effectually
served by the painter, and was wont to say that men of genius were
not beasts of burden, but forms of light." This story is only one of several
romances in Filippo's life. He lost his parents in childhood, and
was placed by an aunt in a Carmelite convent. He left it when he was
about twenty, and during an excursion at sea was taken captive by
some Moorish pirates. But after a while he found opportunity to
draw a whole length portrait of his master with charcoal on a white
wall, which the pirates deemed so marvellous that they set him at liberty.
Finally, when he was painting an altar-piece for the nuns of Santa
Margherita at Prato, he became enamoured of Lucrezia Buti, who sat
to him for the Madonna, and finally he ran off with her. He is said
to have been poisoned in the end by her relations. Filippino Lippi was
his son, and Sandro Botticelli his pupil.
The story of his life accurately reflects his character as seen in his
art. " His art is the finest, out and out, that ever monk did, which I
attribute myself to what is usually considered faultful in him, his having
run away with a pretty novice out of a convent. . . . The real gist
of the matter is that Lippi did, openly and bravely, what the highest
prelates in the Church did basely and in secret ; also he loved, where
they only lusted ; and he has been proclaimed therefore by them and
too foolishly believed by us to have been a shameful person " (Fors
Clavigera, 1872, xxii. 4; Ariadnt Florentitia, vi. 5 .) In other
words, Lippi, while true to his religion, did not shut himself out from
the world to use the theological language, he "sanctified," not
"crucified," the flesh. His pictures are "nobly religious work, ex-
amples of the most perfect unison of religious myth with faithful realism
of human nature yet produced in this world " (Fors Clavigera, 1876,
P- 187)-
Here the traditional legend of the Annunciation is faithfully
adhered to, and there is much " unusually mystic spiritualism
of conception " in the dove, the Spirit of God, proceeding in
rays of golden light from the hand of an unseen Presence ;
but the painter delights to elaborate also every element of
ROOM III ': BOTTICELLI AND LIPP1 53
human interest and worldly beauty. Note, for instance, the
prettiness of the angel's face, the gracefulness of his figure, the
sheen of his wings, and the dainty splendour of the Virgin's
chamber.
916. VENUS WITH CUPIDS.
Botticelli (1446-1510). See under 1034, p. 56.
The expression of melancholy characteristic of Botticelli's
Madonnas is not absent from his heathen goddesses either.
Notice also the roses the painter's favourite flower (see
226, p. 61).
583. THE BATTLE OF ST. EGIDIO.
Paolo Uccello (1396-1479).
A picture of great interest both from a technical and from
a moral point of view. From the former, it shows the begin-
ning of scientific " perspective " (i.e. the science of represent-
ing the form and dimensions of things as they really look,
instead of as we conceive them by touch or measurement to
be) ; the painter is pleased with the new discovery, and sets
himself, as it were, the hardest problem in perspective he can
find. Note the "foreshortening" of the figure on the ground
(objects are said to be " foreshortened " when viewed so
that we see their breadth, and not their length for example,
the leg of Titian's Ganymede in VII. 32, p. 163). So de-
voted was Paolo to his science that he became (says
Vasari) more needy than famous. His wife used to complain
to her friends that he sat up all night studying, and that the
only answer she ever got to her remonstrances was " What a
delightful thing is this perspective ! " He had another and a
softer passion : he was so fond of birds that he was called Paul
of the Birds (" Uccelli " -his family name being Paolo di Dono)
and he had numbers of painted birds, cats and dogs, in his
house, being too poor to keep the living creatures.
From the moral point of view, we may see in this picture,
says Mr. Ruskin, what a gentleman's view of war is, as
distinguished from a boor's, with mean passion and low fury
on every face. " Look at the young Malatesta, riding into the
battle of Sant' Egidio. His uncle Carlo, the leader of the
army, a grave man of about sixty, has just given orders for the
knights to close : two have pushed forward with lowered
54 ROOM III: BOTTICELLI AND LIPP1
lances, and the me'le'e has begun only a few yards in front ;
but the young knight, riding at his uncle's side, has not yet
put his helmet on, nor intends doing so yet. Erect he sits,
and quiet, waiting for his captain's order to charge ; calm as
if he were at a hawking party, only more grave ; his golden
hair wreathed about his proud white brow, as about a statue's "
(Modern Painters, vol. v. pL ix. ch. viii. 9). Another point
to notice is the type this picture affords of " the neglect
ot the perfectness of the earth's beauty, by reason of the
passions of men. The armies meet on a country road beside a
hedge of wild roses ; the tender red flowers tossing above theii
helmets, and glowing between the lowered lances." In like
manner, adds Mr. Ruskin, in the Middle Ages, when men
lived for safety in walled cities, " the whole of Nature only
shone for man between the tossing of helmet-crests ; and some-
times I cannot but think of the trees of the earth as capable
of a kind of sorrow, in that imperfect life of theirs, as they
opened their innocent leaves in the warm spring-time, in vain
for men ; and all along the dells of England her beeches cast
their dappled shade only where the outlaw drew his bow, and
the king rode his careless chase " (Modern Painters, vol. v.
pt vi. ch. i. 6).
927. AN ANGEL ADORING.
Filippino Lipjri (1457-1504.) See under I. 293, p. 20.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
CARDINAL NEWMAN.
1033. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Filippino Lippi (1457-1504). See under I. 293, p. 20.
This picture is often ascribed to Botticelli, from whom
Filippino learnt his fondness for the circular form. Every one
will recognise too the resemblance to Botticelli in the daintiness
of the dresses, the trappings of the horses (especially in the
middle of the foreground), and the other accessories (such as
the head-dresses of the Magi on the right). Vasari, indeed,
says of Filippino that " the ornaments he added were so new,
so fanciful, and so richly varied, that he must be considered the
first who taught the moderns the new method of giving variety
to the habiliments, and who first embellished his figures by
adorning them with vestments after the antique." Filippino
ROOM III: BOTTICELLI AND LfPPI 55
and later painters gave these embellishments to angels as well
as to men ; and Vasari, it will be seen, considered it altogether
an improvement. Some remarks on the other side will be
found in Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. v. 14 (" Of
the Superhuman Ideal "). " The ornaments used by Angelico,
Giotto, and Perugino (see e.g. VI. 288, p. 102), are always
of a generic and abstract character. They are not diamonds,
nor brocades, nor velvets, nor gold embroideries ; they are
mere spots of gold or of colour, simple patterns upon textureless
draperies ; the angel wings burn with transparent crimson and
purple and amber, but they are not set forth with peacocks'
plumes ; the golden circlets gleam with changeful light, but
they are not beaded with pearls, nor set with sapphires. In
the works of Filippino Lippi, Mantegna, and many other
painters following, interesting examples may be found of the
opposite treatment ; and as in Lippi the heads are usually
very sweet, and the composition severe, the degrading effect of
the realised decorations and imitated dress may be seen in
him simply, and without any addition of painfulness from other
deficiencies of feeling." In addition to the minor ornamenta-
tion, one may notice in this picture the crowded groups of
spectators which Filippino was fond of introducing. But so
harmoniously are they grouped in six principal groups that the
spectator will at first probably be surprised to hear that there
are as many as seventy figures in the picture.
626. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN.
Unknown (Florentine School : i 5th Century).
This portrait was formerly ascribed in the Official Catalogue
to Masaccio. The wish was perhaps father to the thought, for
Masaccio is a very important person in the development of art
(being the leader of the scientific movement in Florentine
painting, and also "the first man," says Mr. Ruskin, "who
entirely broke through the conventionality of his time and
painted pure landscape "), and is not otherwise represented in
the National Gallery. Mr. Wornum (the late Keeper) ascribed
the portrait to Filippino Lippi ; later critics have ascribed it
to Botticelli, who was also distinguished in portrait-painting,
which in his time was becoming increasingly fashionable.
" The waving lines in the falling hair, and the drawing of the
mouth, seem to leave no doubt that Botticelli alone is the
56 ROOM III : BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI
author of this impressive, yet simple and unpretentious, likeness
of an unknown Florentine " (Richter, p. 24).
1196. THE TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY.
Unknown^- (Florentine School : I5th Century).
Chastity clothed only in white innocence is assailed by Love.
She receives his arrows on a shield of polished steel ; the
points of the arrows break and burst forth into tiny golden
flames each temptation only causing the sacred fire of Chastity
to burn more brightly. The scene is laid in a romantic
landscape where everything is pure and beautiful. The field
is enamelled with flowers
Where the virgins are soft as the roses they twine ;
And all, save the spirit of man, is divine.
Beyond, in the bend of a river, two swans float on its tranquil
surface ; a tall oak sapling rises straight and firm, and over all
rests a clear blue sky. The picture recalls the scene in
Milton's Comus
My sister is not so defenceless left
As you may imagine ; she has a hidden strength,
Which you. remember not
Second Brother. What hidden strength,
Unless the strength of Heaven, if you mean that ?
First Brother. I mean that too, but yet a hidden strength
Which, if Heaven gave it, may be term'd her own.
'Tis Chastity, my brother, Chastity :
She that has that, is clad in complete steeL
1O34. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.
Sandro Botticelli (1446-1510).
The family surname of Sandro (Alessandro, or Alexander) was
Filipepi. " He was apprenticed when a lad to a goldsmith, called
Botticello (for he obstinately refused to learn either to read, -write, or
sum) ; of which master we know only that he so formed this boy that
1 Formerly ascribed to Botticelli an ascription which, owing to the
absence of that master's predominating facial type, as well as to the
accuracy of landscape such as he never attempted, has now been aban-
doned. But the exquisite workmanship visible only in a good light of
the shield and the quiver indicates the hand of one of the goldsmith
painters, whilst the allegorical invention and the atmosphere of imaginative
poetry have "the true Botticellian ring" (see Times, December 22, 1885).
The picture, it may be interesting to add, was sold at the Hamilton sale
for ^1420, but was bought a year or two later at the Beckett Denison sale
for the National Gallery for 966.
ROOM II I: BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI 57
thenceforward the boy thought it right to be called Botticello's Sandro,
and nobody else's (in Italian Sandro di Botticello, abbreviated into
Sandro Botticelli). 1 Having learned prosperously how to manage
gold, he took a fancy to know how to manage colour, and was put
under the best master in Florence, the Monk Lippi." The charac-
teristics of Lippi's art its union of a buoyant spirit of life and en-
joyment with simplicity and tenderness of religious feeling are seen
in the pupil, who, however, added in his turn characteristics of his own,
which are noticed under his several pictures. His range of subject was
very wide embracing Venus crowned with roses and the Virgin
crowned by Christ, the birth of Love (at Florence) and the birth of the
Saviour. " By this time he was accounted so good a divine, as well
as painter, that Pope Sixtus IV. sent for him to be master of the works
in his new (Sistine) chapel. And having thus obtained great honour
and reputation, and considerable sums of money, he squandered all
the last away ; and then, returning to Florence, set himself to comment
upon and illustrate Dante. And at this time, Savonarola beginning to
make himself heard, and founding in Florence the company of the
Piagnoni (Mourners or Grumblers, as opposed to the men of pleasure),
Sandro made a Grumbler of himself, being then some forty years old ;
fell sadder, wiser, and poorer, day by day ; until he became a poor
bedesman of Lorenzo de' Medici ; and having gone some time on
crutches, being unable to stand upright, died peacefully " {Ariadne
Florentines, Lecture VI. ; Fors Clarigera, 1872, xxii. 2-6).
The other pictures by him in the National Gallery (see
I. 915 and 275, pp. 31, 34, and in this room 1126, p. 59)
adequately represent his earlier phases ; this one completes
the story of his life obviously painted as it is under Savon-
arola's influence
Wrought in the troublous times of Italy
By Sandro Botticelli, when for fear
Of that last judgment, and last day drawn near
To end all labour and all revelry,
He worked and prayed in silence
ANDREW LANG : Ballads and Lyrics, etc.
The theological symbolism may be seen in the gesture of
1 ' ' The early Italian masters felt themselves so indebted to, and formed
by, the master-craftsman who had mainly disciplined their fingers, whether
in work on gold or marble, that they practically considered him their
father, and took his name rather than their own ; so that most of the great
Italian workmen are now known, not by their own names, but by those of
their masters (or of their native towns or villages these being recognised
as masters also) the master being himself often entirely forgotten by the
'public, and eclipsed by his pupil ; but immortal in his pupil, and named
in his name. . . . All which I beg you to take to heart and meditate on
concerning Mastership and Pupilage " (Fors Clavigera, 1872, xxii. 3, 4).
58 ROOM III: BOTTICELLI AND LIPP1
the divine Child pointing to his mouth typifying that he was
the Word of God. So at the bottom of the picture there are
devils running, at Christ's coming, into chinks of the rocks
(those who are Christ's must put away "the works of
darkness ") ; whilst the shepherds and angels embracing
signify the reconciliation such as Savonarola wished to effect
between heaven and earth. On either side of the central
group angels are telling the glad tidings " of peace on
earth, goodwill towards men." Note the symmetry in
this part of the picture ; the three Magi on the left, the
three shepherds in adoration on the right ; and in colour,
the red frock of the angel on the right, the red wings
on the left. Meanwhile in the sky above is a lovely choir
of Botticelli's floating angels, dancing between earth and heaven,
on a golden background suffused with light. The introduc-
tion in the same picture of the solemn teaching below, with
these beautiful angel forms above, suggests precisely what Mr.
Ruskin has defined to be Botticelli's position among pictorial
reformers. " He was what Luther wished to be, but could not
be a reformer still believing in the Church ; his mind is at
peace, and his art therefore can pursue the delight of beauty
and yet remain prophetic." " He was not a preacher of new
doctrines, but a witness against the betrayal of old ones, which
were on the lips of all men, and in the lives of none."
The picture was painted in 1 500 (two years after Savonarola's
death), as we learn from the inscription at the top in Greek,
which being interpreted is " This picture I, Alexander, painted
at the end of the year 1 500, in the troubles of Italy, in the half-
time after the time during the fulfilment of the eleventh of St.
John, in the Second Woe of the Apocalypse, in the loosing of
the devil for three years and a halt Afterwards he shall be
chained, and we shall see him trodden down, as in this
picture."
598. ST. FRANCIS WITH THE STIGMATA."
Filippino Lippi (1457-1504). See under I. 293, p. 20.
St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order of monks
(the Black Friars), was the great apostle of Works, whilst St.
Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order (White Friars),
was the great apostle of Faith. It was the teaching of these
two orders that gave the impetus to the church building, from
which grew the art revival at Florence in the thirteenth century.
ROOM III : BOTTICELLI ANf) LIPPI 59
" The gospel of works, according to St. Francis, lay in three
things. You must work without money, and be poor. You must
work without pleasure, and be chaste. You must work according
to orders, and be obedient." And so truly did he in his own
works exemplify the life of Christ, that, according to the legend
of the time, he received also in his own person the wounds (or
" stigmata ") of the Crucified One here visible on his hands.
(" Take my yoke upon you ; " " Take up the cross and follow
me.") "His reception of the ' stigmata ' is, perhaps, a mar-
vellous instance of the power of imagination over physical
conditions ; perhaps an equally marvellous instance of the swift
change of metaphor into tradition ; but assuredly, and beyond
dispute, one of the most influential, significant, and instructive
traditions possessed by the Church of Christ." The saint is
here represented in glory ; choirs of singing angels encompass
him ; for now " the wounds of his Master are his inherit-
ance, the cross sign not of triumph, but of trial, is his
reward" (Mornings in Florence, i. 8, 13; iii. 64). Inscribed
on the picture below are some lines from a -Latin hymn to St.
Francis, exhorting others to follow him, and to advance
as he did the standards of their king (" Let those who depart
out of Egypt follow him, and be united to him, in whom the
standards of the King come forth for us in clear light ").
The floating angels recall those by Botticelli, but the
pupil's work is not here so good : these angels seem after all
to be standing, Botticelli's to be indeed floating in thin air.
Lippi, too, learnt no doubt from him the goldsmith's work, seen
here in the indented background to the picture.
1126. THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN.
Botticelli (1446-1510). See under 1034, p, 56.
A picture with an interesting history. It was painted by
Botticelli when he was quite a young man, for Matteo Palmieri
(a prominent Florentine citizen). This Matteo and his wife are
here represented on either side of the tomb in the foreground.
The patron, according to Vasari, assisted Botticelli in working out
the design ; and between them they made some modifications
in theology, which brought them into trouble so early did
Sandro's reforming work begin. For Matteo Palmieri was the
author of a poem called "The City of Life," in which he
adopted Origen's heresy that the human race was an incarna-
tion of those angels who in the revolt of Lucifer were neither
60 ROOM III ': BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI
for God nor for his enemies. Botticelli's picture was suspected
of embodying its owner's heresy, the chapel for which it was
painted was closed, and the picture was covered up until it
left Florence for the Duke of Hamilton's collection, from
which it was bought by the nation in 1882. True or false,
this story of the heresy interprets (says Mr. Pater) much of
the peculiar sentiment with which Botticelli infuses his profane
and sacred persons, neither all human, nor all divine (see
under I. 275, p. 35 .)
The subject of the picture is the Assumption into Heaven
of the Virgin. On earth the apostles are represented gathered
around the Virgin's tomb, from which " annunciation lilies "
are growing ; while she is in heaven kneeling in adoration
before the Saviour, who has an open book inscribed with the
mystic letters A and 12 : " I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end." Around the Virgin and Christ are
all the hierarchies of heaven, arranged according to the scheme
of the theologians in three separate tiers. Nearest to Christ
are the seraphs (red), cherubs (blue), and thrones (gold) ; these
are conceived as absorbed in perpetual love and adoration round
the throne of God, and are represented therefore as with heads
only (the attribute of spirit), and wings ("swift as thought").
In relation with mankind come the remaining orders the
dominations, virtues, powers (these last with sceptres in their
hands), and in the lowest of the three tiers, archangels,
princedoms, and angels (with their wands). " The black vases
with golden borders in the hands of some of the angels are
probably meant for the ' golden vials full of the wrath of God.'
(Revelations, xv. 7). Near them there are other angels,
who in the attitude of expectation point upward with their
sticks ; while those in the lowest circle point down, and at
the same time seem to invite those who hold vials to pour them
out upon the city of Florence" (Richter, p. 28). Everywhere
amongst the angelic host are the blessed dead ; patriarchs,
prophets, apostles, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, doctors,
and virgins. Amongst the cherubs, for instance, one may
decipher St. James with the pilgrim staff, St. Andrew with his
cross, St. Peter with the key, and St. Mary Magdalen with
the casket. The angels are represented throughout as minis-
tering spirits ; and nothing in the picture is prettier than the
way in which the angels are calling upon the saints to " enter
into the joy of their Lord" ; note, for instance, the white angel
ROOM ITI: BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI 61
on the right in the lowest tier, and the saint in black and red.
She will teach to him
The songs I sing here ; which his voice
Shall pause in, hushed and slow,
And find some knowledge at each pause,
Or some new thing to know.
D. G. ROSSETTI : The. Blessed Damozel.
There are many charming single figures ; note, for instance,
two angels in the lower tier in the centre ; and all are
characteristic of the new type of angels which Botticelli
introduced forsaking entirely the conventional idealism of
earlier religious art, and substituting the waving garments and
flowing hair (suggestive of atmosphere and swiftness of motion)
which we see in Perugino and Raphael. Finally we may
notice the view of Florence and the Val d'Arno in the back-
ground
The valley beneath where, white and wide,
And washed by the morning water-gold,
Florence lay out on the mountain-side.
BROWNING : Old Pictures in Florence.
226. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH ST. JOHN AND
ANGELS.
Botticelli (1446-1510). See under 1034, p. 56.
In the background is a hedge of roses, Botticelli's favourite
flower. " No man has ever yet drawn, and none is likely to
draw for many a day, roses as well as Sandro has drawn them "
(Fors Clavigera, 1872, xxii. 2). And he painted them, just
as he painted his Madonnas, from life, and from every-day life
for even as late as forty years ago, Florence was " yet encircled
by a wilderness of wild rose." It should be noticed, further, that
there was a constant Biblical reference in the flowers which
the painters consecrated to their Madonnas especially the
rose, the emblem of love and beauty. The background in
Madonna pictures is frequently, as here, a piece of garden
trellis : " a garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse " (Song
of Solomon, iv. 1 2).
667. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINTS.
Fra Filippo Lippi (about 14061469).
Lippi's general characteristics, noticed above under the com-
panion picture (666, p. 52) may again be seen here. The
62 ROOM III: BOTTICELLI AND LIPPI
"other saints" are Sts. Francis (on the spectator's right, with the
stigmata), Lawrence, and Cosmas ; on the left Sts. Damianus,
Anthony, and Peter Martyr this last a particularly "human"
saint. Lippi was a monk himself, and drew his saints in the
human resemblance of good "brothers " that he knew. " I will
tell you what Lippi must have taught any boy whom he loved.
First, humility, and to live in joy and peace, injuring no man
if such innocence might be. Nothing is so manifest in every
face by him as its gentleness and rest." It is characteristic
of Lippi, too, that the saints should be represented sitting in
so pretty a garden. Secondly, "a little thing it seems, but
was a great one, love of flowers. No one draws such lilies
or such daisies as Lippi. Botticelli beat him afterwards in roses,
but never in lilies " (Ariadtte Florentina, vi. 9).
ROOM IV
THE EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
" THE early efforts of Cimabue and Giotto are the burning messages of
prophecy, delivered by the stammering lips of infants" (RUSKIN :
Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. i. sec. i. ch. ii. 7)-
Give these, I exhort you, their guerdon and glory
For daring so much, before they well did it.
The first of the new, in our race's story,
Beats the last of the old ; 'tis no idle quiddit.
BROWNING : Old Pictures in Florence.
WHAT, the visitor may be inclined to ask, is there worth
looking at in the quaint and gaunt pictures of this room ?
The answer is a very simple one. The room is the nursery
of Italian art. Here is the first stammering of infant
painting. Accustomed as we are at the present day to so
much technical skill even in the commonest works of art,
we may be inclined to think that the art of painting the art
of giving the resemblances of things by means of colour
laid on to wood or canvas is an easy one, of which men
have everywhere and at all times possessed the mastery.
But this of course is not the case. The skill of to-day is
the acquired result of long centuries of gradual improve-
ment; and the pictures of this room stand in the same
relation to the pictures of our own time, as the stone huts
of our forefathers to the Gallery in which we stand. The
64 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
poorness of the pictures here is the measure of the rich-
ness of others. To feel the full greatness of Raphael's
Madonna (VI. 1171), one should first pause awhile
before the earliest Italian picture here (564, p. 76), the
gaunt and forbidding Madonna by
Margheritone of Arezzo,
With the grave-clothes garb and swaddling barret
(Why purse up mouth and beak in a pet so,
You bald old saturnine poll-clawed parrot?)
But even in the earliest efforts of infancy, there is a
certain amount of inherited gift. First of all, therefore,
one should look at a specimen of such art as Italians had
before them when they first began to paint for themselves.
With the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the
Goths, the centre of civilisation shifted to the capital of the
Eastern Church, Byzantium (Constantinople). The charac-
teristics of Byzantine art may here be seen in a Greek pic-
ture (594, p. 68). The history of early Italian art is the
history of the effort to escape from the swaddling clothes of
this rigid Byzantine School. The effort was of two kinds :
first the painters had to see nature truly, instead of contenting
themselves with fixed symbols art had to become "natural,"
instead of " conventional." Secondly, having learned to see
truly, they had to learn how to give a true resemblance of
what they saw ; how to exhibit things in relief, in perspec-
tive, and in illumination. In relief: that is, they had to
learn to show one thing as standing out from another ; in
perspective : that is, to show things as they really look, instead
of as we infer they are ; in illumination : that is, to show
things in the colours they assume under such and such
lights. The first distinct advance was made by Cimabue
and Giotto at Florence, but contemporaneous with them
was the similar work of Duccio and his successors at Siena,
whose pictures (in Room II.) should be studied in this con-
nection. Various stages in the advance will be pointed out
under the pictures themselves ; and the student of art will
perhaps find the same kind of pleasure in tracing the
painters' progress as grown-up people feel in watching the
gradual development of children.
ROOM IF: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 65
But there is another kind of interest also. Wordsworth
says that children are the best philosophers ; and in the case
of art at any rate there is some truth in what he says, for
" this is a general law, that supposing the intellect of the
workman the same, the more imitatively complete his art,
the less he will mean by it ; and the ruder the symbol, the
deeper is its intention " (Oxford Lectures on Art, 1 9). The
more complete his powers of imitation become, the more
intellectual interest he takes in the expression, and the less
therefore in the thing meant. What then is the meaning of
these early pictures? To answer this question, we must go
back to consider what it was that gave the original impulse to
the revival of art in Italy. To this revival two circumstances
contributed. First, no school of painting can exist until
society is comparatively rich, until there is wealth enough to
support a class of men with leisure to produce beautiful
things. Such an increase of wealth took place at Florence
in the thirteenth century : the gay and courteous life of the
Florentines at that time was ready for the adornment of art.
The particular direction which art took was due to the
religious revival, headed by St. Francis and St. Dominic,
which took place at the same time. Churches were every-
where built, and on the church walls frescoes were wanted,
alike to satisfy the growing sense of beauty and to assist in
teaching Christian doctrine. These early pictures are thus
to be considered as a kind of painted preaching. The
story of Cimabue's great picture (see p. 75) well illustrates
the double origin of the revival of art. It was to its place
above the altar in the great Dominican church of Sta. Maria
Novella at Florence that the picture was carried in triumphal
procession ; whilst the fact that a whole city should thus
have turned out to rejoice over the completion of a picture,
proves "the widespread sensibility of the Florentines to
things of beauty, and shows the sympathy which, emanating
from the people, was destined to inspire and brace the
artist for his work" (Symonds^ iii. p. 188). The history of
Giotto is no less significant. It was for the walls of the
church of St. Francis at Assisi that his greatest work was
done. It was there that he at once pondered over the
66 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
meaning of the Christian faith (with what result is shown by
Mr. Ruskin in Fors Clavigera and elsewhere), and learned
the secret of giving the resemblance of the objects of that
faith in painting. Thus, then, we arrive at the second
source of interest in these old pictures of Florence rude
and foolish as they sometimes seem. " Those were noble
days for the painter, when the whole belief of Christendom,
grasped by his own faith, and firmly rooted in the faith of
the people round him, as yet unimpaired by alien emana-
tions from the world of classic culture, had to be set forth
for the first time in art. His work was then a Bible, a
compendium of grave divinity and human history, a book
embracing all things needful for the spiritual and civil life
of man. He spoke to men who could not read, for
whom there were no printed pages, but whose hearts
received his teaching through the eye. Thus painting was
not then what it is now, a decoration of existence, but a
potent and efficient agent in the education of the race"
(ibid., p. 196). The message which these painters had to
deliver was painted on the walls of churches or civic build
ings; and it is only there at Assisi, and Padua, and Florence,
and Siena that they can be properly read But from such
scraps and fragments as are here preserved, one may learn, as
it were, the alphabet, and catch the necessary point of view.
But why, it may be asked, did painting come to its new
birth first at Florence, rather than elsewhere in Italy?
The first answer is that painting thus arose at Florence
because it was there that a new style of building at this
time arose. The painters were wanted, as we have seen,
to decorate the churches, and in those days there was no
sharp distinction between the arts. Not only were architects
sculptors, but they were often painters and goldsmiths as
well. Giotto and Orcagna are instances of this union of
the arts. But why did the new style of building arise
specially in Florence ? The answer to this is twofold :
first, the Florentines inherited the artistic gifts and faculties
of the Etruscan (Tuscan) race. Even in late Florentine
pictures, pure Etruscan design will often be found
surviving (see II. 586, p. 45). Secondly, in the middle
ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 67
of the thirteenth century a new art impulse came from the
North in the shape of a northern builder, who, after
building Assisi, visited Florence and instructed Arnolfo in
Gothic, as opposed to Greek architecture. Thus there
met the two principles of art the Norman (or Lombard),
vigorous and savage ; the Greek (or Byzantine), con-
templative but sterile. The new spirit in Florence
" adopts what is best in each, and gives to what it adopts
a new energy of its own, . . . collects and animates the
Norman and Byzantine tradition, and forms out of the
perfected worship and work of both, the honest Christian
faith and vital craftsmanship of the world. . . . Central stood
Etruscan Florence : agricultural in occupation, religious in
thought, she directed the industry of the Northman into the
arts of peace ; kindled the dreams of the Byzantine with
the fire of charity. Child of her peace, and exponent of
her passion, her Cimabue became the interpreter to
mankind of the meaning of the Birth of Christ " (Ariadne
Florentine!, ch. ii. ; Mornings in Florence, ii. 44, 45).
215, 216. VARIOUS SAINTS. 1
School of Taddeo Gaddi (Gaddi : i3OO-about 1366).
Taddeo Gaddi was one of the best and most faithful of Giotto's
followers: art had "gone back," he used to say, "since his master's
1 These pictures, like all the rest in the room except 564 (which is on
linen cloth attached to wood) and 276 (which is in fresco), are painted in
tempera on wood. Tempera (or distemper) painting is a generic term
for the various methods in which some other substance than oil was the
medium. Various substances were thus used such as gum, glue or size,
flour-paste, white of egg, milk of figs. Cennino Cennini, who wrote a
treatise on painting at the end of the fourteenth century, professes to give the
exact method of Giotto. Egg beaten up with water was preferred by him,
except where the yellowness of the mixture injured, the purity of the colour.
The colours thus mixed were laid on to a panel (or on to a cloth stretched
over the panel) previously prepared with a smooth white ground of plaster.
And finally oil or albumen was used to go over the whole surface. This
was the practice in general use for all detached pictures until the middle of
the fifteenth century, when what is known as " the Van Eyck method"
came into vogue (see p. 275 n. )
Fresco painting is painting upon walls of wet plaster with earths of
different colours diluted with water. It is so called from the colour being
applied to the fresh wet surface of lime, but it is of two kinds : (i) fresco
secco, when the plaster of lime has been allowed to dry on the wall and is
then saturated with writer before painting ; this was the method in use till
68 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
death." But like Giotto himself, he is but poorly represented in the
National Gallery these pictures and 579, p. 74, being doubtful pro-
ductions of his school.
There is an air of settled peace, of abstract quietude, about
this company of saints which is very impressive something
fixed in the attitude and features recalling the conventual life as
described by St. Bernard and paraphrased by Wordsworth in
his Ecclesiastical Sonnets
Here Man more purely lives, less oft doth fall,
More promptly rises, walks with stricter heed,
More safely rests, dies happier, is freed
Earlier from cleansing fires, and gains withal
A brighter crown.
594. THE "HOLY MONEY DESPISERS."
Emmanuel (Byzantine : about 1 660).
This picture is the earliest in the gallery not in order of
time, but in order of artistic development. It is a genuine
Byzantine picture, an example, therefore, of the art which
prevailed in Italy from the sixth century down to about 1250,
and the influence of which survived even when the Italian
painters had developed an art of their own. The Byzantine
style of painting is distinguished by its conventionality and its
constancy. It was the recognised thing that such and such a
subject should be treated in such and such a way and no other.
There is a Byzantine Manual of Painting in a manuscript of
the eleventh century in which instructions are given not only
as to the subjects to be represented, but as to the costume, age,
and lineaments of the characters. An art of this kind was
naturally unchanging. This picture is probably only 200
years old, but if it had been painted 800 years ago, or if it
had been ordered only the other day from the monks of Mount
Athos, little difference of style would be perceptible. It is
signed in Greek " by the hand of Emmanouel, priest of Tzane,"
and there is a painter of that name who is known to have
been living in Venice about the year 1660.
after Giotto's time ; (2) buon fresco, when the colours are laid on to the
fresh plaster before it is yet dry. (The fullest account of these various
technical processes and their history is Sir C. Eastlake's " Materials for a
History of Oil Painting," a review of which by Mr. Ruskin appeared in
the Quarterly Review, and is reprinted in On the Old Road. i. 133 sq.)
ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 69
The picture is conventional in its choice of subject the
saints Cosmas and Damian being one of the subjects re-
cognised in Byzantine art. They were martyrs of the fourth
century patron saints of medicine, which they practised
without fees hence their title, the "holy money-despisers."
They are here receiving the Divine blessing. The picture is
conventional also in its treatment. Thus the attitude of the
hand is the recognised symbol whereby to express that a
figure is speaking. So too, the background is formed by a
golden plain, which is meant to represent the air or the sky.
The dark blue semicircle surrounding the bust of our
Saviour, above the two heads of the saints, has more or less
the form of the horizon, and is meant to represent the heaven
in which Christ dwells (Richter, pp. 5-7).
573. THE NATIVITY.
574. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
575. THE RESURRECTION.
Orcagna (about 1308-1368). See under 569, p. 70.
These three pictures are parts of the altar-piece, 569.
They are very rude and " conventional ": nothing can be more
absurd, for instance, than the sleeping sheep and shepherds at
the top of the Nativity; but they are interesting, if only by
comparison with later pictures of the same subjects. Such a
comparison shows how constant the traditional ways of re-
presenting these events were, and how individual choice was
shown in beautifying the traditions. Thus many of the details
in the Nativity here are similar in idea to those in Botti-
celli's (III. 1034, p. 56). So also we have the same Resurrec-
tion banner here as in Fra Angelico's (II. 663, p. 43). But
in the several manners of treating the themes there is all the
difference between art and rudeness.
276. HEADS OF ST JOHN AND ST. PAUL. 1
Giotto (1276-1337). See under 568, p. 72.
Here's Giotto, with his Saints a-praising God,
That set us praising.
BROWNING : Fra Lippo Lippi.
1 Painted in fresco secco : see footnote on p. 67.
70 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
569. THE CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.
Orcagna (about 1308-1368).
Orcagna is one of the many instances of the union of the arts in
the Middle Age. His father was a goldsmith, and he himself was dis-
tinguished alike as a painter, a sculptor, and an architect a union
which he used to note by signing his pictures "the work of ...
sculptor," and his sculptures "the work of ... painter." As a
sculptor and architect he is best known by the Loggia dei Lanzi in
Florence ; as a painter by his frescoes of the Last Judgment and
Triumph of Death in the Campo Santo at Pisa. His real name
was Andrea di Clone, but he was called by his contemporaries
Orcagna, a corruption of Arcagnuolo, the Archangel. "An intense
solemnity and energy in the sublimest groups of his figures, fading
away as he touches inferior subjects, indicates that his home was among
the archangels, and his rank among the first of the sons of men "
(Modern Painters t vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iii. 8).
This altar-piece, though a handsome piece of church
furniture, is not a favourable specimen of the master's powers.
It was painted for the church of San Pietro Maggiore, a model
of which is held by St. Peter (amongst the saints adoring on
the spectator's left). The nine smaller pictures, now dispersed
about this room (573-5, 5?6-8, 570-2), were originally placed
under the principal picture. A certain quaint uncouthness in
the picture is apparent to every one, but this should not blind
us to its wealth of expressive detail. Thus, "in the sensitive
cast of the Mother's countenance, and in the refined pose of
her figure, there is a rare degree of eloquence, such as silently
bespeaks a modesty which would shun, a humility which jyould
disallow, any sort of self-adornment. Her Lord, to whose will
she submits herself, is no less monumental in dignity of
combined power and tenderness. And in the celestial band
below, in the maidens that play and sing at the Mother's feet,
despite their quaint little almond eyes, there is a naivetd
of expression, a simplicity and animation unequalled at so
early a date. In particular she who, singing behind the
harpist, generously spends her soul in impassioned songs,
while others, agreeable to nature's truth, are singing regardless
of their song, interested only in what is around. Again, in
that dual company of holy men and women sitting about the
throne, reverence stills every feature, and a saintly singleness
of purpose keeps each eye as they look in loving adoration on
Him whose dying bought their soul's salvation, or as they lean
ROOM IV : EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 71
towards Her whose human heart petitioned them to Paradise "
(A. H. Macmurdo in Century Guild Hobby Horse, ii. 34).
7O1. THE CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.
Justus of Padua (died 1 400).
A picture of interest as being the oldest by any North
Italian painter in the Gallery the date inscribed on the
plinth below is 1367. Justus (Giusto di Giovanni) was a native
of Florence, who afterwards settled in Padua and founded his
style upon the works of Giotto in that town. None of the
pictures by followers of Giotto in the Gallery are so satisfactory
as this. "The Virgin is of a fresh type, pretty and noble also.
Amongst the saints in the centre picture that of St. Paul (on
the extreme right) is distinguished by its natural bearing.
There is, however, vigour and a sense of beauty and propor-
tion throughout this charming little work." In the panel to
the left, with the Nativity, "may be noticed the spirit of alert-
ness in the attendant waiting to wash the child, and the
statuesque design of St. Joseph ; " in that to the right, with the
crucifixion, "the figure of St. John, at the foot of the Cross, with
its fine expression of grief, and beautifully-designed drapery "
(Monkhouse, p. 23). On the reverse side of the wings are
other incidents from the life of the Virgin.
567. CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
Segna di Buonaventura (Sienese : painted 1305-1319).
A ghastly and conventional work by one of the early Sienese
painters a pupil of Duccio (see II. 566, p. 46).
576. THE THREE MARIES " AT THE SEPULCHRE.
577. THE ASCENSION.
578. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Orcagna ( about 1303-1368). See under 569, p. 70.
Parts of the altar-piece, 569.
58Oa. PART OF AN ALTAR-PIECE.
Jacopo Landini (about 1310-1390). See under 580, p. 78.
These figures formed the cuspidi, or upper pictures, of the
"Ascension of St. John" (580). In the middle is the symbolic-
representation of the Trinity (seen best on a large scale in
72 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
I. 727, p. 12) ; at the sides are the Virgin and the Angel of
the Annunciation.
670a. PARTS OF AN ALTAR-PIECE.
School of Taddeo Gaddi (Gaddi : i3OO-about 1366).
See under 215, p. 67.
These three formed the cuspidi of the Baptism of Christ (579,
p. 74). In the centre is the Almighty, on the left the Virgin,
on the right Isaiah, holding a scroll with the words (in Latin),
" Behold a virgin shall conceive."
568. THE CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.
School of Giotto (Giotto : 1276-1337).
Giotto great alike as a painter, a sculptor, and an architect was
the son of a shepherd in the country near Florence. One day when
he was drawing a ram of his father's flock with a stone upon a smooth
piece of rock, Cimabue (see 565, p. 74) happened to be passing by, and,
seeing the lad's natural bent, carried him off to be a painter. Cima-
bue taught him all he knew, and in time the pupil eclipsed his
master. Dante mentions this as an instance of the vanity of Fame :
" Cimabue thought to hold the field in painting, but now Giotto has
the cry." But another poet holds
That Cimabue smiled upon the lad
At the first stroke which passed what he could do,
Or else his Virgin's smile had never had
Such sweetness in't. All great men who foreknew
Their heirs in art, for art's sake have been glad.
MRS. BROWNING : Casa Guidi Windows.
So great was the fame which Giotto acquired by his frescoes in Florence,
that in 1298 he was sent for to do some work for the Pope. It was
for him that Giotto sent as his testimonial the famous circle drawn
with a brush, without compasses. "You may judge my masterhood
of craft," Giotto tells us, "by seeing that I can draw a circle un-
erringly." (Hence the saying, "rounder than the O of Giotto.")
Afterwards he worked at Assisi, and at Padua, where Dante visited
him. He returned to Florence in 1316, and as architect and sculptor
built the famous Giotto's Tower. Later on he visited Lucca and
Naples, but died at Florence, where he was buried with great pomp
in the Cathedral.
It was Cimabue who first attempted to represent action as
well as contemplation. Giotto went farther, and represented
the action of daily life. " Cimabue magnified the Maid ; and
Florence rejoiced in her Queen. But it was left for Giotto to
make the queenship better beloved, in its sweet humiliation."
This picture is not by the master himself, but it is characteristic
ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 73
in its greater naturalness and resemblance to human life of
Giotto's work. Cimabue's picture (565, p. 74) is felt in a moment
to be archaic beside it. Giotto is thus the first painter of
domestic life the " reconciler of the domestic with the mon-
astic ideal, of household wisdom, labour of love, toil upon
earth according to the law of Heaven, with revelation in cave
or island, with the endurance of desolate and loveless days,
with the repose of folded hands that wait Heaven's time."
The corresponding development in the direction of greater
naturalness which Giotto himself a country lad brought up
amongst the hills and fields introduced in the art of landscape
painting cannot, unfortunately, be illustrated from the National
Gallery (see on this point Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture
and Painting, p. 153). But a third development the intro-
duction, namely, of portraiture is well seen in the Heads
of St. John and St. Paul (276, p. 69) a fragment saved
from a wall-painting in the church of S. Maria Novella in
Florence, and one of Giotto's latest works. There is no
longer a mere adoption of conventional types : Giotto's apostles
are individual portraits. " Before Cimabue, no beautiful
rendering of human form was possible ; and the rude or formal
types of the Lombard and Byzantine, though they would serve
in the tumult of the chase, or as the recognised symbols of
creed, could not represent personal and domestic character.
Faces with goggling eyes and rigid lips might be endured with
ready help of imagination, for gods, angels, saints, or hunters
or for anybody else in scenes of recognised legend ; but
would not serve for pleasant portraiture of one's own self, or
of the incidents of gentle actual life. And even Cimabue did
not venture to leave the sphere of conventionally reverenced
dignity. He still painted though beautifully only the Ma-
donna, and the St. Joseph, and the Christ. These he made
living Florence asked no more: and ' Credette Cimabue
nella pintura tener lo campo.' But Giotto came from
the field ; and saw with his simple eyes a lowlier worth.
And he painted, the Madonna, and St. Joseph, and the
Christ, yes, by all means, if you choose to call them so,
but essentially, Mamma, Papa, and the Baby. And all
Italy threw up its cap ' ora ha Giotto il grido ' (now Giotto
has the cry)." A fourth development which the art of painting
owes to Giotto may be well seen in this picture. Notice the
pretty passages of colour, as for instance in the dresses of the
74 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
angels. " The Greeks had painted anything anyhow, gods
black, horses red, lips and cheeks white ; and when the
Etruscan vase expanded into a Cimabue picture, or a Tafi
mosaic, still, except that the Madonna was to have a blue
dress, and everything else as much gold on it as could be
managed, there was very little advance in notions of colour.
Suddenly Giotto threw aside all the glitter, and all the conven-
tionalism ; and declared that he saw the sky blue, the table-
cloth white, and angels, when he dreamed of them, rosy.
And he simply founded the schools of colour in Italy"
(Mornings in Florence, pt. ii. ; see, for further analysis of
Giotto's place in the history of art, Giotto and his Works in
Padua, published by the Arundel Society).
579. THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST.
School of Taddeo Gaddi (Gaddi : 1 3oo-about 1 366).
See under 215, p. 67.
In the centre is John the Baptist, baptizing Christ ; on the
left St. Peter, on the right St. Paul. In the pictures for \hzpre-
della (the step on the top of the altar, thus forming the base
of the altar-piece) is a saint at either end ; and then, on the
left, (i) the angel announcing the Baptist's birth, (2) his birth,
(3) his death, (4) Herod's feast, and (5) Herodias with John the
Baptist's head in a charger. The picture must have been the
work of an inferior scholar ; but it is interesting to notice jthat
this attempt to tell a consecutive story in his picture, as in an
epic poem, instead of a fastening on some one turning-point
in it, as in a drama, is characteristic of early art (see under II.
1 1 88, p. 49). Notice further in the central picture "how
designedly the fish in the water are arranged : not in groups,
as chance might rule in the actual stream, but in ordered pro-
cession. All great artists . . . have shown this especial delight
in ordering the relations of self-set details " (A. H. Macmurdo
in Century Guild Hobby Horse, i. 71).
565. THE MADONNA AND CHILD.
Cimabue (1240-1302).
The changes which Giovanni Cenni, called Cimabue, the
chief founder of the Florentine School, introduced into the art
of painting were twofold. In the first place, his pictures show
an increase of pictorial skit 'I. He studied when a boy under
the Byzantine artists who had been called to Florence to
ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 75
decorate the church of S. Maria Novella, but though he
imitated them, he also "improved the art (as Vasari says) and
relieved it greatly from their uncouth manner." This picture
is an early one of the master's, and has suffered much from
time. Thus in the Madonna's face, which was originally laid
in green and painted over thinly, time and restorations have
removed this over-painting, and left the green exposed (see
also Duccio's II. 566, p. 46). The green and purple of her dress
also have changed into a dusky tone ; but even so, the advance
in pictorial skill may be seen in the shading of the colours,
and' the attempt to represent the light and dark masses of the
drapery, whereas in earlier pictures the painters had been
content with flat tints. But the advance made by Cimabue
was even more in spirit than in technical skill. He combined
the contemplation of the South with the action of the North.
He gave the populace of his day something to look at and
something to love. His Madonna is still a Mater Dolorosa
" our Lady of Pain," but there is an attempt alike in her and
in the child, and in the attendant angels, to substitute for the
conventional image of an ideal personage the representation
of real humanity. It was this change that explains the story
told of one of Cimabue's works, that it was carried in glad
procession, with the sound of trumpets, from his house to the
church, and that the place was ever afterwards called " Borgo
Allegro " (the joyful quarter) a name which it bears to this
day. " This delight was not merely in the revelation of an
art they had not known-how to practise ; it was delight in the
revelation of a Madonna whom they had not known how to
love" {Mornings in Florence, ii. 48). In telling this story,
Vasari adds that "they had not then seen anything better;"
the rudeness and quaintness which are all that at first sight
are now discernible would then, it must be remembered, have
been unseen. One may recall the poet's warning not to,
Because of some stiff draperies and loose joints,
Gaze scorn down from the heights of Raffaelhood
On Cimabue's picture.
MRS. BROWNING : Casa Guidi Windaivs.
581. A GROUP OF SAINTS.
Spinello Aretino (about 1333-1410.) See p. 2.
Certainly not an adequate, and perhaps not an authentic,
specimen of a master who is better represented by the
76 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
fragments of fresco in the vestibule of the Gallery. The
saints are St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, and
St. James the Greater.
564. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SCENES
FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS.
Margaritone (1216-1293).
Margaritone, famous in his time (like so many of his successors)
for painting, sculpture, and architecture alike, was a native of
Arezzo, and was " the last of the Italian artists who painted
entirely after the Greek (or Byzantine) manner," from which
Cimabue and Giotto were the first to depart. This picture
being, according to the critics, the most important and charac-
teristic picture of the artist still remaining, should, therefore,
be carefully studied by those who are interested in tracing the
history of art. Of the Greek manner, in which art was for so
many centuries encased, one may notice, first, that there was no
attempt to depict things like life. Art, as the phrase goes, was
" symbolic," not " representative." Certain definite symbols,
certain definite attitudes, were understood to mean certain things.
Just as in earlier Greek painting white flesh, for instance, was
taken to denote a woman, black or red flesh a man ; so here
such and such attitudes were accepted as meaning that the
figure in question was the Virgin, and such and such other
attitudes that it was the Christ. Secondly, these symbols were
all expressive of various dogmas of the Church of creeds and
formulas peculiar to one sect rather than of spiritual truths
common to all Christianity.
Both characteristics may be traced in almost every line of
this picture. For instance, the humanity of Christ is not yet
even hinted at, his divinity alone being insisted upon. Thus
the young God is here represented in the form of a man-child ;
erect, with the assumed dignity of an adult, as he raises his
hand to bless the faithful. With his left hand he holds the
roll in which are written the names of the faithful saved : it is as
a judge that he comes into the world. The Virgin again is here
shown as elect of God to be the mother of God : not as the mother
of Jesus, the mother of man's highest humanity. She wears
on her head the fleur-de-lys coronet, symbol of purity and the
glory, or aureole, around her represents the acrostic symbol of the
fish, the Greek word for fish containing the initials of the several
Greek words meaning "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour."
ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL 77
Outside this "Vesica" (or "fish glory"), in the four corners, are
four Jewish symbols (Ezekiel i. 10), adopted as emblems
of the four Evangelists the Angel (St. Matthew), the Ox
(St. Luke), the Lion (St. Mark) and the Eagle (St. John).
So again, in the scenes on either side of the central piece, we
see the same gloomy theology, in which the world is thought of
solely as a place made hideous with evils, where saints are
boiled by pagans ; women slain by seducers ; children devoured
by dragons. By help of such pictured deeds of hell, men were
taught by the early church to " loathe this base world and
think of heaven's bliss." The first subject (on the spectator's
left) represents the birth of Christ in a cattle-shed ; the
second St. John the Evangelist, calm midst the cauldron of
seething oil, the martyr's uplifted hand expressing the precept,
" Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."
The third subject depicts in a rude symbolic way incidents in
the life of St. Catherine (see p. 106) her beheading, her soul's
reception by angels, and the burial of her body by two angels on
Mount Sinai. The fourth subject shows St. Nicolas appearing
suddenly to some sailors, whom he exhorts to throw overboard
a vase given by the devil. In the fifth is St. John resuscitating
the body of Drusiana, a matron who had lived in his house
previous to his departure, and whose bier he had chanced to
meet on his return to Ephesus. In the next subject St.
Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, is shown in the
fact of throwing himself into a thicket of briars and nettles, as
he rushes from his cave to rid himself of the recollection of a
beautiful woman he had once met in Rome, and whose image
now tempts him to leave his chosen solitude. In the seventh,
St Nicolas liberates three innocent men ; and in the eighth is
represented St. Margaret, patron saint of women in childbirth
whom the devil in the form of a dragon confronts to terrify into
abnegation of her Christian faith. Unable to persuade her, he
devours her, but bursts in the midst, and by power of the
Cross she emerges unhurt. It is interesting to observe that
the two consecutive acts are here shown as co-existent : a
thing frequently done, as we have seen, in early art.
Finally, another characteristic feature is the introduction
of the " grotesque " in the animals that support the throne
as a relief from the strained seriousness of the rest of the
picture (A. H. Macmurdo in Century Guild Hobby Horse, i.
21-28).
78 ROOM IV: EARLY FLORENTINE SCHOOL
570. THE TRINITY.
571, 572. ANGELS ADORING.
Orcagna (about 1308-1368). See under 569, p. 70.
Parts of the altar-piece, 569. One may notice here one of
Orcagna's limitations. " He was unable to draw the nude.
On this inability followed a coldness to the value of flowing
lines, and to the power of unity in composition ; neither could
he indicate motion or buoyancy in flying or floating figures."
Compare especially the flying angels in the two little pictures
571 and 572, with such figures as those by Botticelli (III.
1034, p. 56), and it will be seen at once how inferior Orcagna's
knowledge was.
580. THE ASCENSION OF ST. JOHN THE
EVANGELIST.
Jacopo Landini, or da Casentino (about 1310-1390).
Another of the altar-pieces (cf. 579, p. 74) which aimed at
giving the whole story of some subject, and thus recall the time
when sacred pictures were (as it has been put) a kind of " Scrip-
ture Graphic." This picture was originally in the church of St.
John at Prato Vecchio in the Casentino, where the painter was
born, and whence his common designation, Jacopo da Casentino.
In the predella pictures are, on the left, (i) St. John distributing
alms and baptizing, (2) his vision of Revelation in the island
of Patmos, (3) his escape from the cauldron of boiling oil ;
and then, as the subject of the principal picture, his ascension to
heaven, for, "according to the Greek legend, St. John died
without pain or change, and immediately rose again in bodily
form and ascended into heaven to rejoin Christ and the Virgin."
In the other small pictures and in the pilasters are various
saints, and immediately over the central picture are (i) the
gates of hell cast down, (2) Christ risen from the dead, (3)
the donor of the picture and his family, being presented by the
two St. Johns.
ROOM V
FERRARESE AND BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
"ONE may almost apply to the School of Ferrara the proud boast of
its ducal House of Este
Whoe'er in Italy is known to fame,
This lordly house as frequent guest can claim."
Guidebook.
THE Schools of Ferrara and Bologna, which, as will be
seen, are substantially one and the same, are interesting
both for themselves and for their influence on others.
Two of the greatest of all Italian painters Correggio and
Raphael may be claimed as " guests," as it were, of " this
lordly " school. Correggio's master was Francesco Bianchi
of Ferrara, a scholar of Cosimo Tura, and may possibly have
afterwards studied under Francia at Bologna ; l whilst as for
Raphael, his master, Timoteo Viti, was also a pupil of
Francia. The important influence of this school is natural
enough, for the Ferrarese appear to have had much innate
genius for art, and there is a note of unmistakable
originality in their work. Of the first or Giottesque period
of the school no pictures survive, and the founder of the
school, so far as we can now study it, is Cosimo Tura,
who occupies the same place in the art of Ferrara as Piero
1 See for Correggio's connection with the Ferrarese-Bolognese School,
Morelli, pp. 120-124.
8o ROOM V : FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
della Francesca occupied in that of Umbria, or Mantegna
in that of Padua. Look at his picture (772, p. 81) : one
sees at once that here is something different from other
pictures, one feels that one would certainly be able to
recognise that " rugged, gnarled, and angular " but vigorous
style again. Doubtless there was some Flemish influence
upon the school (see p. 81); and doubtless also the
Ferrarese were influenced by the neighbouring school of
Squarcione at Padua (see Room VIII.) But the pictures
of Tura are enough to show how large an original element
of native genius there was. The later developments of
this genius are well illustrated in this room, with the
important exception that Dosso Dossi, the greatest colourist
amongst the Ferrarese masters, is very incompletely re-
presented. His best works are to be seen at Ferrara,
Dresden, Florence, and the Borghese Palace. He has
been called "the Titian of the Ferrarese School," just
as Lorenzo Costa has been called its Perugino and
Garofalo its Raphael. Such phrases are useful as helping
the student to compare corresponding pictures in different
schools, and thus to appreciate their characteristics.
The early Bolognese School (not to be confused with the
later " Eclectic School," Room XIII.) does not really exist
except as an offshoot of the Ferrarese. Marco Zoppo (597,
p. 82) was " no better," says Morelli, p. 243, " than a carica-
ture of his master, Squarcione, and besides, he spent the
greater part of his life at Venice ;" whilst Lippo Dalmasio
(752, p. 91) was very inferior to contemporary artists else-
where. The so-called earlier Bolognese School was really
founded by the Ferrarese Francesco Cossa and Lorenzo
Costa, who moved to Bologna about 1480, and the latter of
whom " set up shop " with Francia in that town (see p. 86).
9O5 THE MADONNA IN PRAYER.
Cosimo Tura (Ferrarese : about 1420-1498).
See under 772, p. 81.
773. ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT.
Cosimo Tura (Ferrarese : about 1420-1498).
Jerome knocking at his poor old breast
With his great round stone to subdue the flesh
ROOM V : FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 81
and schooling himself into renunciation of the world, the flesh, and
the devil. In contrast to the wildness of the surroundings, the
painter introduces quite a company of birds and beasts an owl
sits in sedate wisdom above the saint, his familiar lion is walking
to the stream for water, and in the crannies and ledges are
other animals to keep him company. For it was his union of
gentleness and refinement with' noble continence, his love and
imagination winning even savage beasts into domestic friends,
that distinguished St. Jerome and formed the true monastic
ideal (see II. 227, p. 41).
772. MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Cosimo Tura (Ferrarese : about 1420-1498).
Cosimo Tura (pronounced Cosme in Ferrarese) is the first painter
of the Ferrarese School whose works have come down to us. He was
a well-to-do citizen, and, like Titian after him, dealt in timber. As
an artist he was in the service of Duke Borso of Ferrara, whose
portrait is introduced in the background of the preceding picture, and
other members of the princely house of Este. The Court of Ferrara
was then one of the most learned of Italy. A curious instance occurs
in this picture, where, on either side of the Virgin's throne, are inscribed
the Commandments, in Hebrew characters. Such inscriptions are
common in Ferrarese pictures, and point to the presence of some
Hebrew scholar or scholars. It was at this court that Cosimo came
under the influence of Flemish art as described below, for the house
of Este (which was of Lombard origin, and thus had a natural affinity
perhaps for northern art) had invited Roger van der Weyden to
Ferrara.
A picture interesting chiefly for its decorative detail,
suggestive of Flemish influence. Compare, for instance, the
ornament of the pilasters here with that of the pilasters in
Crivelli's "Annunciation" (VIII. 739, p. 184), which was painted
about the same time. " Crivelli follows the traditional lines
common to all such features from later Roman times down-
wards, while Tura's accessories are full of inventiveness and
are evidently designed for this especial picture. Thus the cup,
balls, and wing- like appendages in the pilaster are quite
original. Notice, too, the charming little ' regal,' or portable
organ, on which one angel is playing at the foot of the picture,
while the other blows the bellows, with its ivory gallery of
turned work and its whorl of pipes, curiously resembling the
arrangement of reeds in the ' sho,' or modern Japanese mouth-
organ. The general scheme of colour in the picture, also,
82 ROOM V . FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
with its contrasts of red and green, is quite apart from anything
existing in contemporary Italian art, and recalls rather a
Flemish stained-glass window of the fifteenth century " (G. T.
Robinson in Art Journal, May 1886, pp. 149, 150).
597. ST. DOMINIC AND THE ROSARY.
Ascribed to Marco Zoppo. 1
Amongst other aids to devotion instituted by St. Dominic
(1170-1221) was the Rosary (or chaplet) a string of beads
of larger and smaller size, by the use of which the faithful
secure the due alternation of " Ave Marias " with " Pater
Nosters"; the service of the Rosary consisting of 150 "Ave
Marias " with a " Pater Noster " thrown in after each ten.
82. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Ludovico Mazzolini (Ferrarese : 1481-15 30).
For better examples of this painter see farther on, 169
and 641, pp. 89, 90.
1O62. A BATTLE PIECE.
Unknown (Ferrarese: early i6th century).
1119. MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS.
Ercole di Giulio Grandi (Ferrarese : died i 531).
This painter, commonly called Ercole da Ferrara, studied under
Francia and Lorenzo Costa, to the latter of whom, indeed, this
picture was attributed in the foundling hospital of Ferrara, from which
it comes. Like Francia, Ercole combined the practice of other arts
with that of painting being a gold-beater and modeller, as well as a
painter a conjunction which is seen in this picture, with its wealth of
decorative accessories. He disputes with Garofalo the title of " the
Raphael of Ferrara," a description which this splendid picture goes
some way to justify.
A picture notable alike for its central idea and for its
wealth of decorative detail. In the group of the infant Saviour
standing on the Virgin's knees in the act of benediction, with
St. William on the right of the throne and on the left St. John
1 Signer Frizzoni, an authority on the Ferrarese School, says that this
picture is manifestly not by Zoppo, who was a native Bolognese artist
(painted 1471-1498) and a pupil of Squarcione. He assigns it to a pupil
of Cosimo Tura. On the other hand a picture a little farther on (590, p. 85),
ascribed to Tura, is said to be manifestly by Zoppo. "It would be
difficult," says Kichter, p. 59, with all the "odium artisticum," "owing
to the circulus vitiosus in which these artists have been involved by the
Official Catalogue, to suggest a solution of the bewildering confusion in the
designations. "
ROOM V : FERRARESE 6 BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 83
the Baptist, is an imaginative representation of Christianity-
the soldier of Christ, with his armour on him, but bareheaded,
and with his hand on the sword, on one side ; the saint, with
the Cross and the Book, on the other. The accessories are
full of decorative inventiveness, but every detail is full of
thought ; they are an epitome, as it were, of all the decorative
arts of the time. Note first, in the walnut wood pedestal of the
throne, that the frieze at the top is a graceful arrangement of
dolphins, emblems of love and affection, and the base, of stags
and swans (" as pants the hart for cooling streams, so pants
my soul for thee, O God "). In its central panel is an alto-
relievo in ivory, with Adam and Eve on either side of the
Tree of Knowledge. On each of the receding panels is a
white marble medallion of the turbaned head of a prophet.
On the predella below there are (i), beginning on the spec-
tator's right, the Nativity, (2) the Presentation in the Temple,
(3) the Massacre of the Innocents, (4) the Flight into Egypt,
and (5) Christ disputing with the Doctors. The ornamental
details of the marble baldacchino (or canopy), like those of the
throne, are all symbolic ; thus the archivolt is composed of
choiring cherubim separated by pots of lilies, and the spandrils
of the arch are occupied by medallions of the angel Gabriel
and the Virgin (G. T. Robinson in Art Journal, May 1886,
p. 150).
642. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.
Garofalo (Ferrarese : 1481-1559).
Benvenuto Tisi, called Garofalo * from the village of that name on
the Po to which his family belonged, has been described as "the
miniature Raphael," and his works were at one time much sought
after : hence their frequent occurrence in public galleries. He was
engaged for some time at Rome, assisting Raphael in the frescoes of
the Vatican, but ultimately settled again at Ferrara, where, according
to Vasari, who was entertained by him there, he lived a particularly
happy and busy life, being "cheerful of disposition, mild in his
converse, warmly attached to his friends, beyond measure affectionate
and devoted, and always supporting the trials of his life with patient
resignation." These trials were very heavy, for soon after he was forty
he lost the sight of one eye, and for the last nine years of his life he
was totally blind.
i " Garofano" is the Italian for "gillyflower" (or clove-pink), and
Tisi sometimes painted this flower as his sign-manual (like Mr. Whistler's
butterfly).
84 ROOM y: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
81. THE VISION OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
Garofalo (Ferrarese : 1481-1559). See under 642, p. 83.
A well-known incident in the life of St. Augustine, Bishop of
Hippo in Africa (A.D. 354-430), one of the "doctors" of the
Christian church whose writings have had a greater effect
than those probably of any one man on the beliefs and lives
of succeeding Christian ages. Whilst busied, he tells us, in
writing his discourse on the Trinity, he one day beheld a
child, who, having dug a hole in the sand, was bringing water,
as children at the seaside do, to empty the sea into his hole.
Augustine told him it was impossible. " Not more impossible,"
replied the child, " than for thee, O Augustine ! to explain the
mystery on which thou art now meditating " (" Canst thou
by searching find out God ? canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection ? It is as high as heaven ; what canst thou
do ? deeper than hell ; what canst thou know ? The measure
thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea"
Job xi. 7-9). The painter shows the visionary nature of the
scene by placing beside St. Augustine the figure of St.
Catherine, the patron saint of theologians and scholars, and in
the background, on a little jutting cape, St. Stephen, whose
life and actions are set forth in St. Augustine's writings. The
saint himself receives the child's lesson with the contemptuous
impatience of a scholar s ambition ; but all the time the
heavens whose mysteries he would fain explore are open
behind him, and the angel choirs are singing that he who
would enter in must first become as a little child, " for of such
is the Kingdom of Heaven."
170. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Garofalo (Ferrarese : 1481-1559).
Notice the rich cap in which the little St. John is dressed ;
it is not unlike those which French and Flemish children are
still made to wear as a protection from tumbles. There is a
grace in the figures of the Virgin and St. Elizabeth which recalls
Raphael. A less happy effect of his influence may be seen in
the vision of the heavenly host above, full of that exaggerated
action which marks the decadence of Italian art. God the
Father is represented gesticulating wildly, almost like an actor
in melodrama. And so with the playing angels. In pictures
of the great time they are shown " with uninterrupted and
ROOM V : FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 85
effortless gesture . . . singing as calmly as the Fates weave "
(Relation between Michael Angela and Tintoret, p. 15), but
here they are all scrambling through their songs, their hair
floating in the breeze and their faces full of excited gesture.
590. CHRIST PLACED IN THE TOMB.
Cosimo Tura (Ferrarese : about 1420-1498).
See on p. 82 n.
671. MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Garojalo (Ferrarese : 1481-1559). See under 642, p. 83.
Originally the principal altar-piece of the church of San
Guglielmo (St. William) at Ferrara. Hence the introduction
of that saint (on our left) a beautiful face, into which the artist
has put, one may think, all his local piety. The saint is in
armour, for William the institutor of the hermit order of
Guglielmites was originally a soldier, and was " given," says
one of his biographers, " unto a licentious manner of living, too
common among persons of that profession." It was to escape
from such temptations that he became a holy penitent, and
fought thenceforward in mountain solitudes as a soldier of
Christ against the flesh and the devil. Beside him stands St.
Clara, " the very ideal of a gray sister, sedate and sweet, sober,
steadfast, and demure." She gazes on a crucifix, for she too
had renounced the pomps and vanities of the world. Her
wealth of golden hair was cut off, it is said, by St. Francis ;
her fortune she gave to hospitals, and herself became the
foundress of the Order of " Poor Clares." St. Francis stands
on the other side of the throne, and beside him is " good St.
Anthony" (see under VII. 776, p. 175).
77O. LEONELLO D' ESTE.
Giovanni Oriolo (Ferrarese: painted about 1450).
Oriolo, of whom nothing more is known, "although probably by
birth a Ferrarese, was evidently," says Layard, " a pupil of Pisanello "
(see VII. 776, p. 175).
Leonello (of whom also there is a medallion portrait in the
frame of the picture just referred to), of the house of Este, was
Marquis of Ferrara, 1441-1450. His mild and kindly face
agrees well with what is known of his life. The one important
action of his reign was that of a peacemaker, when he mediated
between Venice and the King of Anjou. " He had not his
86 ROOM V: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
equal," says Muratori, " in piety towards God, in equity and
kindness towards his subjects. He was the protector of men
of letters, and was himself a good Latin scholar."
1127. THE LAST SUPPER.
Unknown (North Italian School: 1 I5th century).
A very dainty little work. Notice especially the painting
of the bas-reliefs and of the decanters.
895. PORTRAIT OF FRANCESCO FERRUCCIO.
Lorenzo Costa (Ferrarese : 1460-1535).
Francesco Ferruccio, of whom this is said to be a portrait,
was the Florentine general whose skill and patriotism shed a
lustre on the final struggle of Florence against the combined
forces of the Pope and the Emperor. He was then in command
of the outlying possessions of Florence, and had there been a
second Ferruccio within the city itself, the fortune of war
might have been different Francesco was killed in a battle
near Pistoia on August 3, 1530. In the background of this
portrait there is a view of the Piazza, della Signoria at Florence ;
and at the entrance door Michael Angelo's statue of David,
which was placed there in 1 504. Richter, p. 36, ascribes
the picture to Piero di Cosimo.
629. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Lorenzo Costa (Ferrarese : 1460-1 535).
Lorenzo Costa was a pupil of Cosimo Tura, at Ferrara, but was
soon drawn away to Bologna, where he worked with Francia. The
friendship of these two men is a good instance of the unity between
the different arts in the Middle Ages. Thus the workshop of Francia
at Bologna consisted of two stories. In the upper story, pictures were
painted under the supervision of Costa ; whilst in the lower, gold and
silver works were executed, and coins stamped, under the direction of
Francia.
This picture should be compared with the Perugino in the
next room (288, p. 102), for Lorenzo Costa has been called "the
Perugino of Ferrara," and works of his are in many galleries
wrongly attributed to Perugino. Every one will feel that there
i "A glance is sufficient to convince one that its author was he who
painted the ' Israelites gathering Manna' (1217, p. 92). In the Last 'Supper'
figures Mantegnesque all over are combined, no doubt, with a background
which is entirely in the taste of Ferrara ; but both pictures may certainly
be given to that one of the Ercoles who came under the influence of the
great Paduan " (W. Armstrong: Notes on the National Gallery, 1887, p. 13).
ROOM V: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 87
is a grace and a sweetness here which recalls Perugino.
Lorenzo, too, has Perugino's fondness for a " purist " landscape
(see p. 1 04) ; and note the curious device, peculiar to the
Ferrarese School, by which he introduces it. The Madon-
na's throne is constructed in two parts, so that between the
base and the upper part a vacant space is left, through which
we look into the open air (" Thus saith the Lord, the heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ").
180. A PIETA.
Francia (Ferrarese-Bolognese : 1450-1 517).
Of Francesco Raibolini's life the two most interesting things are
these : first, that great artist though he came to be, he never painted
a picture, so far as we know, till he was forty ; and secondly, the
intimate connection, exemplified in him, between the artist and the
craftsman. He was the son of a carpenter, and, like so many of the
greatest old masters, was brought up to the goldsmith's trade. The
name of Francia was that of his master in goldsmith's work, and was
adopted by him in gratitude. 1 He attained great skill in his trade,
especially as a die-engraver and a worker in " niello " (inlaying a
black composition into steel or silver). He was appointed steward of
the Goldsmiths' Guild in 1483, and afterwards became Master of the
Mint a post which he held till his death. In some of his earlier
pictures the hand of a goldsmith is seen in the clear outline, the
metallic and polished surface, and the minuteness of detail ; and even
on some of his later and more important works, such as 179, he
signed himself "Francia aurifex (goldsmith) Bononiensis. " It was
from Costa, the Ferrarese artist (see 629) who migrated to Bologna,
and with whom he entered into partnership, that Francia learnt the art
of painting, and thus, though a Bolognese, he is properly included in the
Ferrarese School. His work marks the culminating point of that
school, just as Raphael's 2 marks that of the Umbrian. He is the most
pathetic of painters, and in this pictufe and 179 (which originally formed
one altar-piece, painted for the church of S. Frediano at Lucca,
where, says Vasari, it was held to be of great value) we have some of his
best work.
This picture, which was the "lunette," or arch, forming the
top of the altar-piece, 179, is a "pieta," i.e. the Virgin and two
angels weeping over the dead body of Christ. The artist has
1 According to Morelli, p. 56 n., this familiar tale is legendary, Francia
being merely an abbreviation of his Christian name, Francesco.
2 Francia's friendship with Raphael, on which art historians have
based many theories and spun many interesting tales, is now discredited,
the documents in question being comparatively modern forgeries (see p.
366 of Kugler's Italian Schools of Painting, 5th edition, revised by Sir A.
H. Layard, 1887, hereafter referred to as I.ayard).
88 ROOM V : FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
filled his picture with that solemn reverential pity, harmonised
by love, which befits his subject. The body of Christ utterly
dead, yet not distorted nor defaced by death is that of a tired
man whose great soul would not let him rest while there was
still his father's work to do on earth. In the face of the angel
at his head there is a look of quiet joy, as of one who knows
that " death is but a covered way that leads into the light ;"
in the attitude and expression of the angel at the feet there is
prayerful sympathy for the sorrowing mother. The face of the
mother herself, which before was pure and calm, is now tear-
stained and sad, because her son has met so cruel a death
What else in life seems piteous any more
After such pity ?
Yet it bears a look of content because the world has known
him. She rests his body tenderly on her knee as she did
when he was a little child thus are " the hues of the morning
and the solemnity of eve, the gladness in accomplished
promise, and sorrow of the sword -pierced heart, gathered into
one human Lamp of ineffable love" (Modern Painters, vol. ii.
pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. v. 21).
771. ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT.
Bono ( Ferrarese- Veronese : painted about 1460).
In the signature of this picture, " Bono of Ferrara " an-
nounces himself " a pupil of Pisano," and the figure of St.
Jerome here much resembles Pisano's "St. Anthony" (VII.
776, p. 175). St. Jerome (for whom see 773 and II. 227, pp.
80, 4 1 ) is in the desert, deep in thought ; his lion couched at his
feet keeps his master's thoughts company as faithfully as a
scholar's dog. The desert is here shown as the Saint's study ;
notice, especially, the little table that the rock makes behind
him for his books. Mr. Ruskin says of a similar modification
of accessories to express supernatural character, in Bellini's
" St. Jerome " at Venice : " The Saint sits upon a rock, his grand
form defined against clear green open sky ; he is reading ; a
noble tree springs out of a cleft in the rock, bends itself sud-
denly back to form a rest for the volume, then shoots up into
the sky. There is something very beautiful in this obedient
ministry of the lower creature ; but be it observed that the
sweet feeling of the whole depends upon the service being such
as is consistent with its nature. It is not animated, it does
not listen to the saint, nor bend itself towards him as if in
ROOM V : FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 89
affection ; this would have been mere fancy, illegitimate and
effectless. But the simple bend of the trunk to receive the
book is miraculous subjection of the true nature of the tree ;
it is therefore imaginative, and very touching " (Modern
Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. v. 8).
169. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Ludovico Mazzolini (Ferrarese : 1481-1530).
Ludovico Mazzolini, "whose brilliant colours play through all
shades," has been called "the glowworm of the Ferrarese School."
In another of his characteristics the minuteness, namely, of his work
he resembles rather the Flemish School. Of his life little or nothing
is known ; but his interest in decorative craftsmanship is proved by
his pictures.
The background and accessories here, as well as in 64 1 , p. 90,
are particularly interesting as a record of the decorative art of
the time. A few years before the date of these pictures the
Pope Leo X. had unearthed the buried treasures of the
baths of Titus, and Giovanni da Udine rediscovered the
mode by which their stucco decorations were produced. This
method of modelling in wet plaster on walls and ceilings was
extensively used in house decoration from that time down to
the middle of the last century, but has since then been sup-
planted by the cheaper process of casting. No sooner was
Giovanni da Udine's invention known than it must have
been adopted by Ferrarese artists, for here we find Mazzolini
portraying it in the background of his picture. As in Turn's
pilaster (see 772, p. 81) the winged sphere plays a principal part
in the design, for it was a favourite badge of the ducal house
of Ferrara. Nor is it only in the plaster modelling that Maz-
zolini's interest in decorative art shows itself. The back of
the bench on which the Madonna sits is crowned by the most
delicate carving, whilst up aloft, peeping over the wall on
which the plaster work occurs, there is a choir of angels playing
on a portable organ, which is full of suggestions for decorative
design (G. T. Robinson in Art Journal ', May 1 886, pp. I 5 1, 1 52).
179. VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Francia (Ferrarese-Bolognese : 14501517)
See under 180, p. 87.
On the throne are the Virgin and her mother, St. Anne,
who offers the infant Christ a peach, symbolical, as the fruit
90 ROOM V: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
thus offered in these pictures originally was, of " the fruits of
the spirit joy, peace, and love." At the foot of the throne
stands the little St. John (the Baptist), " one of the purest
creations of Christian art," holding in his arms the cross of
reeds and the scroll inscribed " Ecce Agnus Dei " (" Behold
the Lamb of God "). The saints on our left are St. Paul,
holding a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom, and St.
Sebastian, bound to a pillar and pierced with arrows, but
his anguish forgotten now in beatitude. On our right, St.
Lawrence with his gridiron and palm-branch, and another
saint probably, in honour of the Church for which the picture
was painted, St. Frediano. On every face there is a pre-
vailing expression of faith and hope, which reflects the mind
of one of the most sincerely pious of Christian painters.
638. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS.
Franria (Ferrarese-Bolognese : 1450-1517).
For more important pictures by this master, see 179 and
1 80, pp. 89, 87. The saint with the palm-branch here will be
recognised in one of the angels in 1 80.
73. THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.
Ascribed to Ercole di Giulio Grandi (Ferrarese : died 1531).
The confused character of this picture is sufficiently shown
by the fact that whilst the official designation is as above,
other critics have called it the " Destruction of Sennacherib."
For a masterpiece by Ercole, see above, 1119, p. 82. The
ascription to him of this inferior work is decidedly doubtful.
641. THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY.
Ludovico Mazzolini (Ferrarese : 1481-1530).
A picture chiefly remarkable, like 169, p. 89, for its acces-
sories. Notice the ornamental sculpture, the paintings in imi-
tation of bronze relievo, and the modelled plaster work on the
walls.
64O. ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Dosso Dossi ( Ferrarese : 1479-1542).
Dosso Dossi, the friend of Ariosto, is one of the greatest
masters of the Ferrarese School (see above p. 80), but this
is an altogether inadequate example, if indeed it be by him at
all.
ROOM V: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 91
752. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Lippo Dalmasii (Bolognese : painted 1376-1410).
A picture by a Bolognese artist, of the Giottesque period,
Lippo, son of Dalmasius, called also " Lippo of the Madonna,"
from the many pictures like this he painted : no Bolognese
gentleman's family, we are told, was considered complete with-
out one.
669. ST. SEBASTIAN, ST. ROCH AND ST.
DEMETRIUS.
UOrtolano (Ferrarese : died about 1525).
Giambattista Benvenuti, called L'Ortolano (the gardener) from his
father's occupation, is still "a problem in art history," details of his
life being so uncertain that even the existence of him is disputed by
some critics. His life and works are generally confounded with those
of Garofalo. This picture was, until 1844, the altar-piece of the
parochial church of Bondeno, near Ferrara, where it was generally
considered the painter's masterpiece.
In the centre is St. Sebastian, tied to a tree, and pierced
with arrows ; whilst in the foreground is a cross-bow, lying
uselessly. For the story is that Sebastian was a noble youth
who was promoted to the command of a company in the
Praetorian Guards by the Emperor Diocletian. " At this
time he was secretly a Christian, but his faith only rendered
him more loyal to his masters ; more faithful in all his
engagements ; more mild, more charitable ; while his favour
with his prince, and his popularity with the troops, enabled
him to protect those who were persecuted for Christ's sake,
and to convert many to the truth. Among his friends were
two young men of noble family, soldiers like himself ; their
names were Marcus and Marcellinus." And when they were
tortured for being Christians, Sebastian, " neglecting his own
safety, rushed forward, and, by his exhortations, encouraged
them rather to die than to renounce their Redeemer. Then
Diocletian ordered that Sebastian also should be bound to a
stake and shot to death with arrows. The archers left him
for dead ; but in the middle of the night, Irene, the widow of
one of his martyred friends, came with her attendants to take
his body away, that she might bury it honourably ; and it was
found that none of the arrows had pierced him in a vital part,
and that he yet breathed. So they carried him to her house,
and his wounds were dressed ; and the pious widow tended
92 ROOM V: FERRARESE & BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS
him night and day, until he had wholly recovered" (Mrs.
Jameson: S acred and Legendary Art , 1850, pp. 343,344). This
legend was one of the special favourites with the mediaeval
painters : " the display of beautiful form, permitted and even
consecrated by devotion, is so rare in Christian representations,
that we cannot wonder at the avidity with which this subject
was seized" (ibid., p. 346). It is instructive to compare the
noble use of the legend made in this picture, in which the
great technical skill of the painter is subordinate to the
beautiful display of a sacred legend, with the " St. Sebastian "
of Pollajuolo (I. 292, p. 1 8), in which, as we have seen, the
subject is used solely and painfully for the display of such
skill. With St. Sebastian is here represented, on his left, his
contemporary, St. Demetrius. He is clad in armour, for he
also served under Diocletian, being Proconsul of Greece, and
like St. Sebastian used his high office to preach Christ On
the other side is St. Roch (for whose legend see under VII.
735, p. 149). He is a much later saint (about A.D. 1300), and
is associated with St. Sebastian as another patron of the
plague-stricken. Arrows have been from all antiquity the
emblem of pestilence ; and from the association of arrows with
his legend, St. Sebastian succeeded in Christian times to the
honours enjoyed by Apollo, in Greek mythology, as the
protector against pestilence.
1234. "A MUSE INSPIRING A COURT POET."
Dosso Dossi (Ferrarese : 1479-1 542). See under 640, p. 90.
Called a " court poet " because, one may suppose, of his
sleek and uninspired appearance; but poets do not always look
their parts, and 'tis the function of the Muse " to mould the
secret gold." But perhaps the artist has some gently sar-
castic intention, for it is but a small sprig that the Muse has
spared to the poet from her garland.
1217. THE ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA.
Ercole di Roberti Grandi (Ferrarese : I445-I495). 1
This Ercole is not to be confused (as Vnsari in his Lives confuses him)
with the younger painter of the same family (see 1 1 19, p. 82). The latter
1 This date is given on the authority of iMyani (351 .), who refers
to a document recently discovered by the director of the public gallery at
Modena.
ROOM V : FERRARESE is 1 BOLOGNESE SCHOOLS 93
was a pupil of Lorenzo Costa ; this one closely resembles Mantegna.
Thus in this picture " the lithe and sinewy form in the nude figure of the
young man, the accurate draughtsmanship, the firm modelling, the care
and study bestowed even on the tiny figures in the background, the
dramatic intention and impression of vitality, indicate a familiarity with
the works of Mantegna " (Times, July 24,
ROOM VI
THE UMBRIAN SCHOOL
" MORE allied to the Tuscan than to the Venetian spirit, the Umbrian
masters produced a style of genuine originality. The cities of the
Central Apennines owed their specific quality of religious fervour
to the influences emanating from Assisi, the headquarters of the
cttltus of St. Francis. This pietism, nowhere else so paramount,
except for a short period in Siena, constitutes the individuality of
Umbria" (J. A. SYMONDS : Renaissance in Italy, iii. 182).
Vender's a work now, of that famous youth
The Urbinate . . .
Well, I can fancy how he did it all,
Pouring his soul, with kings and popes to see,
Reaching, that heaven might so replenish him,
Above and through his art. . . .
BROWNING : Andrea del Sarto.
THE Umbrian School, unlike the Florentine, was distinctively
provincial ; painting was not centralised, that is to say, in
any great capital, but flourished in small towns and retired
valleys in Perugia, Foligno, Borgo S. Sepolcro, S. Severino,
etc. Hence the older traditions of Italian art held their
ground, and the religious feeling of the Middle Ages sur-
vived long after it had elsewhere been superseded. This
tendency was confirmed by the spirit of the district. The
little townships of Umbria begirdle the Hill of Assisi, the
hallowed abode of St. Francis, and were the peculiar seats
of religious enthusiasm. Art followed the current of life,
ROOM VI : UM BRIAN SCHOOL 95
just as it did in Florence or Venice or Padua ; and Umbria
"the Galilee," as it has been called, "of Italy" thus
produced a distinct type in painting, marked by a quality
of sentimental pietism. The influence of Siena, whose
artists worked at Perugia, must have made in the same
direction, and it is interesting to notice in this room one
picture of St. Catherine of Siena (249), and two of her
namesake of Alexandria (693, 168). It is interesting,
further, to notice how the "purist" style of landscape,
identified with this pietistic art (see p. 104), is characteristic
of the district itself. "Whoever visits the hill-town of
Perugia will be struck," says Morelli, p. 252, "with two
things : the fine, lovely voices of the women, and the view
that opens before the enraptured eye, over the whole valley,
from the spot where the old castle stood of yore. On
your left, perched on a projecting hill that leans against the
bare sunburnt down, lies Assisi, the birthplace of S. Francis,
where first his fiery soul was kindled to enthusiasm, where
his sister Clara led a pious life, and finally found her grave.
Lower down, the eye can still reach Spello and its neigh-
bouring Foligno, while the range of hills, on whose ridge
Montefalco looks out from the midst of its gray olives, closes
the charming picture. This is the gracious nook of earth,
the smiling landscape, in which Pietro Perugino loves to
place his chaste, God-fraught Madonnas, and which in his
pictures, like soft music, heightens the mood awakened in
us by his martyrs pining after Paradise." Such were the
local circumstances of the art which, beginning with the
almost grotesque pietism of Niccolb da Foligno (1107, p. 101),
led up to the " purist ideal " of Perugino and to the first
manner of Raphael.
The scattered character of Umbrian art above referred to
makes it impossible for us to trace its course historically.
From that point of view each of the local schools would have
to be treated separately. Of the local schools which were the
earliest to develop Gubbio, Fabriano, and S. Severino
the first two are not represented here at all, and the third
has only one picture (249, p. 99). The taste for art amongst
the people of Perugia was much later in developing itself.
96 ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL
Even up to 1440 they had to rely on Sienese artists; and later
still they sent for Piero della Francesca, of Borgo S. Sepol-
cro, who had studied at Florence and had greatly advanced
the science of perspective. Many of the Umbrian masters
Melozzo, Palmezzano, Fra Carnovale, Giovanni Santi, and
even perhaps Perugino, were pupils of his. The earliest
native artist of Perugia in the gallery is Fiorenzo di Lorenzo,
(1103, p. 99), who, however, owed much to the Florentine
Benozzo Gozzoli. This Fiorenzo was probably the master
of Pinturicchio. The latter worked for some time under
Perugino, who had studied under Piero della Francesco and
afterwards himself went to study in Florence. Perugino in
his turn was the master, after Timoteo Viti, of Raphael.
We have thus completed the circle of the principal
Umbrian masters. They are allied, as it will have been
seen, by teaching, to the Florentines, but they retained
a distinctive character throughout The one exception in
this respect is Luca Signorelli, who, though he was appren-
ticed to Piero della Francesca, was born nearer to Florence,
and whose affinities are far more with the Florentine than
with the Umbrian School.
912, 913, 914. THE STORY OF GRISELDA.
Pinturicchio (Perugia : 1454-1513). See under 693, p. 105.
On these three panels (ascribed perhaps rashly to Pintu-
ricchio), which were probably destined to serve as decorations
to a chest, the story of Griselda is told with much naive
awkwardness of drawing, but also with much naive playfulness
of incident. The story, told in Boccaccio's Decameron, and by
Petrarch, is also to be found in Chaucer's Clerkes Tale.
In the first picture (912) we see (i) on the extreme left, the
Marquis of Saluzzo, who is out hunting with a great retinue.
He meets Griselda, a peasant girl, who is drawing water at the
well, and falls in love with her. Next (2) on the extreme
right, is her humble barn-like dwelling, with the marquis
serenading his love from below. (3) He carries her off
with him ; and note how Griselda, who is to be modest and
humble to the end, hangs her head in " maiden shamefaced-
ness." (4) Then the marquis has her attired in gold and fine
linen, fit for a prince's bride. Her pattens and perhaps her
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 97
garters are lying discarded beside her. And so (5) in the
centre of the picture, all is ready for the wedding :
This markis hath hir spoused with a ring
Brought for the same cause, and then hir sette
Upon an hors, snow-whyt and wel ambling.
Before the second act (913) a few years are supposed to
have elapsed, (i) On the left Griselda's two children a boy
and a girl (in the likeness of two very wooden dolls) are
being carried off, as if by a villain in a transpontine tragedy.
They are supposed to have since died miserably. (2) The
marquis tires of his love for Griselda, and is divorced : in the
centre of the picture we see her giving back the wedding ring.
(3) Then. she is stripped of her fine clothes, and (4) sent away
to her father's house, but
" The smok," quod he, " that thou hast on thy bak,
Lat it be stille, and her it forth with thee."
Two young gallants, in absurd attitudes, look on in half-pitying
amusement, while nearer to us two serving-men are disgusted
at the cruel shame. (5) On the extreme right she is at home
again, tending, as before, her father's sheep.
In the last act (914), a grand banquet is prepared for the
marquis's second wedding, and Griselda is sent for to the
castle to do menial work. On the left we see her sweep-
ing ; on the right she is waiting at table. Then, on the left
again, it is discovered that the marquis's new bride is none
other than Griselda's long-lost daughter, accompanied by her
brother. They had all the while been tended in a distant city
with the utmost care. Griselda is thereupon affectionately
embraced by her husband, publicly reinstated in her proper
position, and presented to all the court as a model of wifely
obedience and patience
No wedded man so hardy be tassaille
His wyues pacience, in hope to fynde
Grisildes, for in certein he shal faille !
O noble wyues, ful of heigh prudence,
Lat non humilitee your tonge naille.
755. RHETORIC. )
756. MUSIC. J
Melozzo da For It (1438-1494).
Melozzo, born at Forli in the Romagna, near Ravenna, is classed
with the Umbrian School, both because he studied (it is believed) under
H
ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL
Piero della Francesca, and because he worked at Urbino. He is
especially praised by Giovanni Santi, who was his friend, for his skill
in perspective ; and, like many other artists of these times, he was an
architect as well as a painter.
These pictures are two of a series of seven, which were
painted to decorate the library of the Ducal Palace at Urbino.
The series represented symbolically the seven arts grammar,
rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy
which, until the close of the Middle Ages, formed the curriculum
of a liberal education. Notice in both pictures that the figures
of the learners are kneeling an attitude symbolical of the
spirit of reverence and humility which distinguishes the true
scholar (" I prayed, and the spirit of wisdom came upon
me ") ; whilst the figures representing the sciences to be
learned are seated on thrones symbolical of the true king-
ship that consists in knowledge (" And I set her before
kingdoms and thrones"), and are clothed about with pearls
and other precious stones (" She is more precious than
rubies ").
In the picture of Rhetoric (755) the youth is being taught
not to speak, but to read " You must not speak," the Queen
of Rhetoric seems to tell him, " until you have something to
say." Notice, too, that Rhetoric is robed in cold gray.
" You think Rhetoric should be glowing, fervid, impetuous ?
No. Above all things, cool."
But Music (756) is robed in bright red, the colour of delight.
The book now is closed. " After learning to reason, you will
learn to sing ; for you will want to. There is so much reason
for singing in this sweet world, when one thinks rightly of it."
Music points her scholar to a small organ " not that you are
never to sing anything but hymns, but that whatever is rightly
called music, or work of the Muses, is divine in help and
healing " {Mornings in Florence, v. 128, 134). Hanging from
the wall on the left, almost above the scholar's head, is a sprig
of bay, the Muses' crown.
913. See above under 912-914.
755. See above under 755, 756.
914. See above under 912-914.
7O3. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Pinturicchio (Perugia : 1454-1513). See under 693, p. 105.
ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL 99
11O3. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS.
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo (Perugia : 1472-1521).
These are the dates not of his birth and death (which are un-
known), but of the earliest and latest events recorded of him. In
1472 he was commissioned to paint an altar-piece, and was elected a
member of the Town Council of Perugia. In 1521 he was commis-
sioned to value some works by another painter. The resemblance of
his style to that of Benozzo Gozzoli may be seen by comparing II.
283, p. 42. See also Morelli, p. 263.
The accompanying figures are in front of the throne, St.
Francis (on the right of the Child), St. Bernardino, a saint of
Siena (on the left), and in smaller size the donor of the altar-
piece ; in the left-hand compartment St. John the Baptist;
and in the right-hand one St. Bartholomew, carrying his
familiar attribute a blood-stained knife, the instrument of his
martyrdom.
1092. ST. SEBASTIAN.
Zaganelli (Ferrarese : about 1500).
The only known work by a master who signs himself Bernardino
(of) Cotignola (in the Duchy of Ferrara). He was a brother of
Francesco Zaganelli, and is believed to have worked towards the end
of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century. For the
story of St. Sebastian, see under V. 669, p. 91.
249. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE
OF SIENA.
Lorenzo di San Severino (painted 1483-1496).
This picture is signed by the artist " Laurentius^<r second of Severino "
to distinguish himself from the earlier Lorenzo, who was born
in 1374, and who painted some frescoes at Urbino in 1416. The date
of this picture is approximately fixed by the fact that Catherine is
described on her nimbus as " saint," and she was not canonised till
1461 ; and perhaps also by the influence on Lorenzo of Crivelli
(painted 1468-1493), which has been traced in the execution of the
details : see for instance the cucumber and apple on the step of the
throne (<f. VIII. 724, p. 186, etc.)
St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) is one of the most
remarkable figures of the Middle Ages. She was the daughter
of a dyer, brought up in the humblest of surroundings, and
wholly uneducated. When only thirteen she entered the mon-
astic life as a nun of the Dominican order (St. Dominic is here
present on the right), and at once became famous in the city
for her good works. She tended the sick and plague-stricken,
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and was a minister of mercy to the worst and meanest of her
fellow - creatures. On one occasion a hardened murderer,
whom priests had visited in vain, was so subdued by her
tenderness that he confessed his sins, begged her to wait for
him by the scaffold, and died with the names of Jesus and
Catherine on his lips. In addition to her piety and zeal she
succeeded as a mediator between Florence and her native
city, and between Florence and the Pope ; she travelled to
Avignon, and there induced Gregory XI. to return to Rome ;
she narrowly escaped political martyrdom during one of her
embassies from Gregory to the Florentine republic ; she
preached a crusade against the Turks, and she aided, by her
dying words, to keep Pope Urban on the throne. But " when she
died she left behind her a memory of love more than of power,
the fragrance of an unselfish and gentle life. Her place is in
the heart of the humble. Her prayer is still whispered by
poor children on their mother's knee, and her relics are kissed
daily by the simple and devout."
The mythical marriage which forms the subject of this
picture, where the infant Christ is placing the ring on her
finger, suggests the secret of her power. Once when she was
fasting and praying, Christ himself appeared to her, she said,
and gave her his heart. For love was the keynote of her
religion, and the mainspring of her life. In no merely figura-
tive sense did she regard herself as the spouse of Christ ; she
dwelt upon the bliss, beyond all mortal happiness, which she
enjoyed in supersensual communion with her Lord. The
world has not lost its ladies of the race of St. Catherine,
beautiful and pure and holy, who live lives of saintly mercy
in the power of human and heavenly love. See further, for
St. Catherine of Siena, J. A. Symonds, Sketches in Italy
(Siena), from which the above account is principally taken.
769. ST. MICHAEL AND THE DRAGON.
Fra Carnovale (Urbino : died about 1488).
Bartolommeo Corradini was a Dominican friar, and (to judge by his
nickname, "Brother Carnival") a jovial one. According to Vasari,
Bramante studied under him, and he was himself clearly a disciple
of Pierodella Francesca, between whose angels in 908, p. 120, and the
figure of St. Michael here, there is a close resemblance.
St. Michael, the angel of war against the dragon of sin,
stands triumphant over his foe emblem of the final triumph
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of the spiritual over the animal and earthly part of our nature.
It is the most universal of all symbols. The victor is different
in different ages, but the enemy is always the same crawling
reptile. Christian art, from its earliest times, has thus inter-
preted the text, " The dragon shall thou trample under feet "
(Psalm xci. 13); and in illustrations of Hindoo mythology
Vishnu suffering is folded in the coils of a serpent, whilst
Vishnu triumphant stands, like St. Michael, with his foot upon
the defeated monster.
11O7. THE CRUCIFIXION.
Niccolb da Foligno^ (painted 1458-1499).
The pietism, characteristic of the Umbrian School generally,
is conspicuous in Niccolo, of whom Vasari remarks that "the
expression of grief in his angels, and the tears they shed, are
so natural that I do not believe any artist, however excellent
he might be, could have done it much better." In this picture
the artist seems to revel in the depiction of emotion, and (as it
were) in " piling up the agony." There is the same pleasure
here in the use of a new gift that of expressing emotion as
in III. 583, p. 53, in that of expressing perspective. 2 The central
scene of the Crucifixion is surrounded by the Agony in the
Garden, Christ bearing his Cross, the Descent from the Cross,
and the Resurrection. Note as characteristic of the genius
loci in the Umbrian School that St. Francis of Assisi is kneeling
at the foot of the cross.
11O4. THE ANNUNCIATION.
Giannicolo Manni (Perugia : 14751 544).
Notice the quaint " arabesques " on the Virgin's prie-dieu,
or praying -stool : they are characteristic of this painter, in
other things a close imitator of Perugino. Manni painted
chiefly at Perugia, of which town it is interesting to know that
he was a magistrate.
702. MADONNA AND CHILD.
DIngegno (Assisi : painted about 1484).
See under 1220, p. 106.
1 He is often called Niccolo Alunno. The origin of this mistake,
made first by Vasari, is that on one of his pictures he is described as
"Nicolaus alumnus Foligniae" (Niccolo, a native, or alumnus, of Foligno).
2 ATorelli, p. 259, remarks too on Niccol6's "tendency to exaggera-
tion which marks the inhabitant of a small provincial town."
102 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
601. "ECCE HOMO."
Lo Spagna (Perugia : painted 1503-1530).
See undet 1032, p. 106.
1O51. OUR LORD, ST. THOMAS, AND ST. AN-
THONY.
Unknown (Umbrian : i6th century).
Our Lord extends his hand and foot to the doubting St.
Thomas : " Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ;
. . . and be not faithless, but believing." To the right, resting
his hands on the shoulder of the donor of the picture, is St
Anthony of Padua, another saint who doubted " till " as the
legend (painted by Murillo) describes " in his arms," so it is
told, " The saint did his dear Lord enfold, And there appeared
a light like gold From out the skies of Padua."
929. THE " BRIDGEWATER MADONNA."
Copy after Raphael.
This is an ancient Italian copy of the original, which is in the
possession of the Earl of Ellesmere at Bridgewater House. It
belongs to Raphael's second, or Florentine, period (see p. 1 10).
288. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, MICHAEL AND
RAPHAEL.
Pietro Perugino (Perugia: 1446-1524).
Pietro Vanucci, a native of Castello della Pieve, was called Perugino
from the town of which he afterwards became a citizen. His earliest
master was probably Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, and he is known to have
also worked under Piero della Francesco. Afterwards he went to
Florence, where he studied with Leonardo da Vinci under the
sculptor Verocchio. "He there remained," says Vasari, "for many
months without even a bed to lie on, and miserably took his sleep
upon a chest ; but, turning night into day, and labouring without
intermission, he devoted himself most fervently to the study of his
profession." And in time he became himself a famous master, with
Raphael for his pupil, and "he attained to such a height of reputation
that his works were dispersed, not only through Florence and all over
Italy, but in France, Spain, and other countries." He was himself
too of a roving disposition. 1 But according to Vasari's gossip he was
very careful of his money as one who had seen such hard times might
well be ; would only paint for cash down, and on all his wanderings
carried his money-box with him. "When it is fair weather," he used to
1 See Morelli, pp. 285-291, for a record of his movements.
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 103
say, "a man must build his house, that he may be under shelter when
he most needs it." It was not, however, till late in life that he did
literally build himself a house. At the same time he married a very
beautiful girl, and is said to have had so much pleasure in seeing her
wear becoming head-dresses that he would spend hours together in
arranging that part of her toilet with his own hands. Perugino's work
is well represented in the National Gallery, and its several characteristics
are pointed out under the pictures themselves (cf. 181 and 1075, PP- l *5>
1 16). Of his life and work as a whole Mr. Ruskin gives this summary :
' ' A sound craftsman and workman to the very heart's core. A noble,
gracious, and quiet labourer from youth to death, never weary, never
impatient, never untender, never untrue. Not Tintoret in power, not
Raphael in flexibility, not Holbein in veracity, not Luini in love,
their gathered gifts he has, in balanced and fruitful measure, fit to be
the guide, and impulse, and father of all " (Ariadne Florentina, 72).
One of the most valuable pictures in the gallery alike
for its own beauty and for its interest in the history of
art. For Perugino is the final representative of the old
superstitious art, just as Michael Angelo and Raphael (in
his later manners) were the first representatives of the modern
scientific and anatomical art ; the epithet bestowed on
Perugino by Michael Angelo, goffb mlF arte (dunce, or
blockhead in art), shows how trenchant the separation is
between these two forms of artists. One may notice, then, in
this picture as a perfect example of the earlier art : first,
that everything in it is dainty and delightful, and all that it
attempts is accomplished. Michael Angelo, dashing off his
impetuous thoughts, left much of his work half done (see I.
790, p. 15); Perugino worked steadily in the old ways and in-
deed repeated ideas with so little reflection that, according to
Vasari, he was blamed for doing the same thing over and over
again. But everything is finished, even to the gilding of single
hairs. Notice also the beautiful painting of the fish. Secondly,
it is a work in the school of colour, as distinguished from the
school of light and shade. " Clear, calm, placid, perpetual
vision, far and near ; endless perspicuity of space, unfatigued
veracity of eternal light, perfectly accurate delineation of every
leaf on the trees and every flower in the fields " (notice
especially in the foreground the " blue flower fit for paradise "
of the central compartment). "There is no darkness, no
wrong. Every colour is lovely, and eveiy space is light. The
world, the universe, is divine ; all sadness is a part of harmony ;
and all gloom a part of peace." In connection with the lovely
104 ROOM VI: UM BRIAN SCHOOL
blue in the picture (which was painted in 1494-98 for the Certosa
of Pavia), one may remember the story told of an earlier picture,
how the prior of the convent for which Perugino was painting
doled out to him the costly colour of ultramarine, and how Peru-
gino, by constantly washing his brushes, obtained a surreptitious
hoard of the colour, which he ultimately restored to shame the
prior for his suspicions. Thirdly, in its rendering of landscape,
the picture is characteristic of the " purism " of older art as
compared with the later "naturalism." "The religious
painters impress on their landscape perfect symmetry and
order, such as may seem consistent with the spiritual nature
they would represent. The trees grow straight, equally
branched on each side, and of slight and feathery frame. The
mountains stand up unscathed ; the waters are always waveless,
the skies always calm." l Notice also that the sentiment of the
whole picture is like its landscape : there is no striving, nor
crying, no convulsive action ; it is all one " pure passage of
intense feeling and heavenly light, holy and undefiled, glorious
with the changeless passion of eternity sanctified with shade-
less peace." Notice lastly, how in this, as in many sacred com-
positions, " a living symmetry, the balance of harmonious op-
posites, is one of the profoundest sources of their power. The
Madonna of Perugino in the National Gallery, with the angel
Michael on one side and Raphael on the other, is as beautiful
an example as you can have" {Elements of Drawing, p. 258).
The subject of the right-hand compartment is Raphael and
Tobias 2 (for which see I. 781, p. 17); that of the left-hand one
l With regard to the "purist ideal" it should be noticed that " these
fantasies of the earlier painters, though they darkened faith, never hardened
feeling; on the contrary, the frankness of their unlikelihood proceeded
mainly from the endeavour on the part of the painter to express, not the
actual fact, but the enthusiastic state of his own feelings about the fact ;
he covers the Virgin's dress with gold, not with any idea of representing
the Virgin as she ever was, or ever will be seen, but with a burning desire
to show what his love and reverence would think fittest for her. He erects
for the stable a Lombardic portico, not because he supposes the Lombard!
to have built stables in Palestine in the days of Tiberius, but to show that
the manger in which Christ was laid is, in his eyes, nobler than the grandest
architecture in the world. He fills his landscape with church spires and
silver streams, not because he supposes that either were in sight at
Bethlehem, but to remind the beholder of the peaceful course and succeed-
ing power of Christianity " (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. 10).
For a different kind of feeling in " naturalistic " art, see under 744, p. 1 13.
4 The whole, or part, of this picture was at one time freely ascribed to
Raphael ; but Morelli, p. 289, has effectually disposed of the superstition,
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 105
is " the orderer of Christian warfare, Michael the Archangel ;
not Milton's ' with hostile brow and visage all inflamed ; ' not
even Milton's in kingly treading of the hills of Paradise ; not
Raphael's with expanded wings and brandished spear ; but
Perugino's with his triple crest of traceless plume unshaken in
heaven, his hand fallen on his crossleted sword, the truth-girdle
binding his undinted armour; God has put his power upon him,
resistless radiance is on his limbs ; no lines are there of earthly
strength, no trace on the divine features of earthly anger; trustful
and thoughtful, fearless, but full of love, incapable except of the
repose of eternal conquest, vessel and instrument of Omnipo-
tence, filled like a cloud with the victor light, the dust of
principalities and powers beneath his feet, the murmur of hell
against him heard by his spiritual ear like the winding of a
shell on the far-off sea shore." He is thus armed as the
orderer of Christian warfare against evil ; in his other character,
as lord of souls, he has the scales which hang on a tree by
his side (Ariadne Florentina, pp. 40, 265, 266 ; On the Old
Road, \. 529 ; Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. x.
4, sec. ii. ch. v. 20).
693. ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA.
Pinturicchio (Perugia : 1454-1513).
Bernardino di Betto, or the son of Benedetto, commonly called
Pinturicchio, "the little painter," was an assistant of Perugino. His
principal works are the frescoes in the Library of Siena, which re-
present the life of the Pope Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini. He is not
strongly represented in the National Gallery, for the two genuine works
by him (this and 703) are unimportant, whilst the more important
works (911-914) are somewhat doubtful. He has been called "the
Umbrian Gozzoli," and in these latter pictures there is at any rate a
kind of childlike grace and a vivacity which explain the comparison.
Vasari, who did not like Pinturicchio, describes him as somewhat of a
hack, and still more of a lover of money. "Among other qualities
he possessed that of giving considerable satisfaction to princes and
nobles because he quickly brought the works commanded by them to
an end." As for his love of money, he died of vexation, Vasari
assures us, " because a certain trunk which he had insisted on being
removed from his painting room in Siena was afterwards found to be
full of gold pieces." According, however, to a contemporary writer,
by showing, amongst other arguments, that the drawings for Tobias and
the Angel (in the Oxford University Gallery and in the British Museum)
are undoubtedly by Perugino.
io6 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
his wife left him alone in his house when ill, and he was starved to
death. l
SL Catherine of Alexandria was of all the female saints
next to Mary Magdalen the most popular : she meets us in
nearly every room in the National Gallery, and even in London,
churches and districts once placed under her protection still
retain her name. Her general attributes are a book, a sword,
and a wheel The meaning of these will be seen from the
legend of her which crusaders brought from the East. She
was the daughter of a queen, and of marvellous wisdom and
understanding. And when the time came that she should
govern her people, she, shunning responsibility and prefer-
ring wisdom before sovereignty, shut herself up in her palace
and gave her mind to the study of philosophy. For this
wilful seclusiveness her people wished her to marry a husband
who should at once fulfil the duties of government and lead
them forth to battle. But she, to prevent this repugnant union,
made one more spiritual by her mystical marriage with Christ.
And for this and other unworldly persistencies, the heathen
tyrant Maximin would have broken her on a wheel, but that
" fire came down from heaven, sent by the destroying angel
of God, and broke the wheel in pieces." Yet for all this the
tyrant repented not, and after scourging St. Catherine with rods
beheaded her with the sword, and so having won the martyr's
palm, she entered into the joy of her Lord.
122O. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD.
L'Ingegno (Umbrian : painted 1484).
Andrea di Luigi, a native of Assist, was called L'Ingegno on account
of his " talent," a description which is fully borne out by this picture,
but hardly by the other ascribed to him (702, p. 101). He is said to
have assisted Perugino in some of his works, and the resemblance to
that artist in this picture is strong. Compare for instance even so
small a thing as the dress patterns here with those in 288, p. 102, as
also the close resemblance to the "purist" landscape there described.
1O32. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.
Lo Spagna (Perugia : painted I 503-1 530).
Giovanni di Pietro, called Lo Spagna (the Spaniard), presumably
from being a native of Spain (see Room XV., p. 385), was a pupil
1 For the latest account of "poor, unappreciated Pinturicchio," see
Morelli, pp. 264-285, who makes out a strong case for attributing to him
most of the drawings in the so-called " Raphael sketch-book " at Venice.
ROOM VI: UMBR1AN SCHOOL 107
of Pietro Perugino the best, perhaps, of all his pupils who remained
untouched by other influences. Observe for the influence of Perugino's
teaching the lovely flowers in the foreground and the attitude of the
leader of the Roman soldiers on the left (like that of Perugino's
Michael in 288).
An angel bearing a chalice flies towards Christ from above
("O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me,
except I drink it, thy will be done "). On the right is Judas
with a band of Roman soldiers. On the foreground are the
three disciples sleeping (" What ! could ye not watch with me
one hour ? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation ;
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak ").
213. THE VISION OF A KNIGHT.
Raphael (Urbino : 1483-1 520).
This picture with the original pen-and-ink drawing from which it
was traced is the earliest known work of Raphael. His first (or as
it is commonly called, " Perugian ") period may be divided into two :
(i) down to about 1500, before he went to Perugia, and whilst he was
still studying at Urbino under Timoteo Viti ; (2) from 1500-1504, at
Perugia. This picture probably belongs to the former of these periods,
and if so must have been painted when Raphael was not more than
seventeen. It is unlike Perugino in several respects in the landscape,
for instance, and in the broad hand of the sleeping knight, whereas
Perugino's hands are narrower and longer. In connection, too, with
Raphael's early pupilage under a Ferrarese master, note that the figure
of Duty is like Francia's saint in V. 638, p. 90. See further on this
subject Morelli, pp. 285-340.
A young knight sleeps under a laurel the tree whose
leaves were in all ages the reward of honour ; and in a
dream of his future career he sees two figures approach him,
between whom he has to make his choice. The one on the
left speaks with the voice of Duty ; she is purple-robed and
offers him a book and a sword emblematic of the active life
of study and conflict. The other is of fair countenance and is
gaily decked with ribbons and wreaths of coral. Hers is the
voice of Pleasure, and the flower she offers is a sprig of myrtle
in bloom "myrtle dear to Venus." Raphael was thinking,
perhaps, of the Greek story which told of the choice of
Hercules. For Hercules, when he came to man's estate, laid
him down to rest and pondered which road in life to take ;
and lo ! there stood by him two women. And one of them took
up her parable and said : " O Hercules, if thou would'st choose
the smoothest and the pleasantest path, then should'st thou
io8 ROOM VI: UMBR1AN SCHOOL
follow me." And Hercules said : " Oh ! lady, I pray thee tell
me thine name." And she answered : " Those who love me
call me Pleasure, and those who hate me call me Evil." Then
the other woman came forward and said : " Oh ! Hercules,
there is no road to happiness except through toil and trouble ;
such is the gods' decree, and if thou would'st be happy in thy
life and honoured in thy death, then up and follow me." And
her name was Duty. And Hercules chose the better part,
and went about the world redressing human wrong, and was
reverenced by men and honoured by the gods
Choose well ; your choice is
Brief, and yet endless.
Here eyes do regard you
In Eternity's stillness ;
Here is all fulness,
Ye brave, to reward you.
Work, and despair not !
GOETHE, tr. by Carlyle (Past and Present].
1171. THE "ANSIDEI MADONNA."
Raphael (Urbino : 1483-1 520).
The genius of Raphael Santi (or Raffaello Sanzio, as the modern
Italians write his name) is an example of the force alike of hereditary
transmission of gifts and of surrounding circumstances. He was the
son (born April 6) of Giovanni Santi (see 751, p. 115), a painter and
poet of Urbino. The son inherited the father's aptitude for painting ;
but as Giovanni died when Raphael was only eleven, the boy's actual
teacher was Timoteo Viti, of whom there is a portrait in chalks by
Raphael in the British Museum. The young Raphael's hereditary gifts
were nurtured by the artistic atmosphere in which he lived. Urbino,
the Athens of Umbria, was at this time one of the chief centres of
artistic and intellectual life in Italy ; the ducal palace contained a fine
collection of pictures both by Italian and Flemish painters. Amongst
the latter were some by Van Eyck, and it is perhaps to this influence
that we may attribute the miniature-like care of Raphael's earliest work,
which is conspicuous in the "Vision of a Knight," and may be seen
again in the jewel painting here. An intense power of assimila-
tion of learning all things from all men characterised Raphael
throughout his life, and is one of the main causes of the width of range,
and catholicity of taste to which he owes his universal popularity.
Thus when he went (probably not before 1500) to study under
Perugino, he so quickly assimilated the style of that master that he
has been credited with some of the design and even of the work in
Perugino's masterpiece, just as some of his pictures were, says Vasari,
mistaken for Perugino's. In 1 504 he went to Florence, which was his
headquarters for the next four years. He at once took a leading part
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 109
in the artistic fraternity there, and put one great artist after another
under contribution for some special power of drawing, beauty of colour,
or grace of composition. Thus from Signorelli and Michael Angelo he
learnt to study the human form ; it was at Florence, says Vasari, that
Raphael began to study the nude and to make anatomical drawings
from dissected corpses. From Leonardo da Vinci (sketches from
whom by Raphael may be seen at Oxford) he learnt soft beauty of
expression, and it is to this master's influence perhaps that the smile
of his Madonnas may be traced. In 1508 Raphael was invited by
the Pope Julius II. to Rome, and there he spent the greater part of
his life painting, besides innumerable altar-pieces and cabinet pictures,
his famous cartoons and frescoes. And yet he was only thirty-seven
when he died. So true is it that genius is an unlimited capacity for
taking pains. His life fully reflects too that innate love of beauty
which was what fused all he assimilated into his own. "All were
surpassed by him," says Vasari, " in friendly courtesy as well as in art ;
all confessed the influence of his sweet and gracious disposition, which
was so replete with excellence and so perfect in all the charities, that
not only was he honoured by men but even by the very animals, who
would constantly follow his steps and always loved him." In morals
he was pure, and might indeed be called almost immaculate, judged by
the lax standard of his age. The Cardinal Bibiena designed his niece
for Raphael, but
Rafael made a century of sonnets,
Made and wrote them in a certain volume
Dinted with the silver-pointed pencil
Else he only used to draw Madonnas :
These, the world might view but one, the volume.
Who that one, you ask ? Your heart instructs you.
He lived a painter among princes " a model," says Vasari, "of how
we should comport ourselves towards great men," but also a prince
among painters jealous of none, kindly to all. " Whenever any other
painter, whether known to him or not, requested any assistance, he
would invariably leave his work to do him service ; and his school con-
sisting of some fifty painters, all men of ability and distinction con-
tinued in such unity and concord that all harsh feelings and evil disposi-
tions became subdued and disappeared at the sight of him." And so
when he died having impaired his constitution by a life of ceaseless
toil Rome went into a paroxysm of grief t and flocked, as he lay in
state, to catch a last sight of the "divine painter."
With regard to Raphael's position in the history of art, it is import-
ant to distinguish between his different " periods," which correspond,
as will be seen, with the divisions of his life. The National Gallery is
fortunate in having specimens of all the periods, and the import-
ance of the pictures from this point of view is noted under the several
numbers, but it may be convenient to summarise the matter briefly
no ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
here, (i) First, or Perugian period, down to 1504 which again may
perhaps be subdivided as explained above, p. 107. During this period
his works closely resemble Perugino's the most typical of them are
the "Sposalizio" at Milan, copied from Perugino's painting of the same
subject now at Caen; and the "Crucifixion" in Lord Dudley's gallery, of
which Vasari says : " If it were not for the name of Raphael written
upon it, it would be supposed by every one to be a work of Pietro
Perugino." (2) Second, or Florentine period: 1504-1508. To
this period belong the "Madonna del Granduca" at Florence, "La
Belle Jardiniere " at the Louvre, and in this country the Madonna at
Lord Cowper's (Panshanger), the Bridgewater Madonna (929), the St.
Catherine (168), and this "Ansidei Madonna." The importance of
this picture in the history of art is that it shows the transition from the
first to the second period, being dated (on the border of the Virgin's
robe below her left arm) MDVI, 1506. A glance at the Perugino No.
288 will show how much of that master's influence remains. " To his
earlier Perugian manner we ascribe," says Waagen ( Treasures of Art in
Great Britain, iii. 128), "the head of the Virgin, which, however, is
the most beautiful and noble development of this whole style, the rather
too round body of the otherwise very lovely child, the expression of
ardent yearning in St. John, as well as the position of his feet, resembling
that of St. Joseph in the ' Sposalizio, ' the cast of the draperies of the
Virgin and St. Nicholas, the use of several colours which have turned
very dark, such as the blue in the robe of the Virgin, the green in the
canopy, in the upper garment of St. Nicholas, and in the landscape, and
the use of gold in the hems, in the glories, in the two Greek borders,
and in the inscription SALVE MATER CHRISTI on the wooden
throne." Another point of special value in this picture is that, like
the Sistine Madonna, it is entirely by Raphael's own hand, no
pupil or assistant having touched it. (3) Third, or Roman period :
1508-1520. The chief works of this period are the frescoes in the
Vatican. But in this country there are the famous cartoons (at South
Kensington), and in the National Gallery the portrait of Julius II.
(27), and the Garvagh Madonna (744). The characteristics of this
period are, besides the perfection of executive power, the substitu-
tion of classical for religious motive, and the straining after dramatic
effect.
From the technical point of view, this division into three (or four)
periods is instructive, but from the point of view of motive a better
division is that between his earlier and his later work, the turning-
point being his arrival in Rome. " In his twenty-fifth year," says Mr.
Ruskin (Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and Painting, p. 213), "one
half-year only past the precise centre of his available life, he was sent
for to Rome, to decorate the Vatican for Pope Julius II., and having
until that time worked exclusively in the ancient and stern medieval
manner, he, in the first chamber which he decorated in that palace,
wrote upon its walls the Mene, Tekel, Upharsin of the arts of Christi-
anity. And he wrote it thus : On one wall of that chamber he placed
ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL
a picture of the World or Kingdom of Theology, presided over by
Christ. And on the side wall of that same chamber he placed the
World or Kingdom of Poetry, presided over by Apollo. And from that
spot, and from that hour, the intellect and the art of Italy date their
degradation. . . . And it was brought about in great part by the
very excellencies of the man who had thus marked the commencement
of decline. The perfection of execution and the beauty of feature
which were attained in his works, and in those of his greatest contem-
poraries, rendered finish of execution and beauty of form the chief
objects of all artists ; and thenceforward execution was looked for
rather than thought, and beauty rather than veracity. . . . The
mediaeval principles led tip to Raphael, and the modern principles lead
do"Mn from him." The position of Raphael in the history of art is thus
closely parallel to that of his great contemporary Michael Angelo (see
I. 790, p. 1 6). In Michael Angelo the art of Florence reached its
culmination and fell rapidly to Giulio Romano and Venusti. In
Raphael the art of Umbria was perfected, and led down to the con-
ventional sentimentalities against which the " Pre-Raphaelites " (see
p. 536) have in modern times revolted.
The "Ansidei Madonna," so called from having been painted
for the Ansidei family at Perugia, was bought from the
Duke of Marlborough by the nation for ^70,000 more than
three times the highest price ever before paid for a picture,
and equal to more than .14 per square inch. The import-
ance of the picture to the student has been partly described
above ; but to this must be added its unusual size and
excellent state of preservation, and the fact that whilst on
the one hand the National Gallery had before no ckef-d'ceuvre
of Raphael, the number of such works not already placed in
foreign galleries was very small. 1 On its own merits the
"Ansidei Madonna" is by common consent one of the most
perfect pictures in the world. It has all the essentials of the
greatest art. First it is " wrought in entirely consistent and
1 This picture and Van Dyck's" Charles the First" (X. 1172, p. 227)were
bought in 1884 from the Duke of Marlborough for 87,500. Sir F.
Burton, the Director of the National Gallery, had valued them at .115,500
and .31,500 severally. The purchase was pressed upon the Government
by all sorts and conditions of men. The Royal Academy memorialised
Mr. Gladstone, and pleaded especially for the Raphael "a work
produced in that happy period in which the reverent purity and the serene
grace of the master's earliest work are already mellowing into the fuller
dignity of his middle style. " The Trustees of the National Gallery declared
that the purchase would at once raise the collection to a rank second to
none, and superior to most, of the great Continental Galleries ; whilst a
memorial from members of Parliament of all parties, after referring to the
Raphael as the finest in point of colouring that ever came from his hand,
ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL
permanent materials. The gold is represented by painting, not
laid on with real gold, and the painting is so secure that nearly
four hundred years have produced in it no harmful change."
Secondly, " the figures are in perfect peace. Those are the
two first attributes of the best art. Faultless workmanship
and perfect serenity ; a continuous, not momentary, action, or
entire inaction ; you are to be interested in the living creatures,
not in what is happening to them. Then the third attribute
of the best art is that it compels you to think of the spirit of
the creature, and therefore of its face, more than of its body.
And the fourth is that in the face you shall be led to see only
beauty or joy ; never vileness, vice, or pain " (Relation between
Michael Angela and Tintoret, pp. 14, 15). In fulfilling these
essentials of the highest art, the picture becomes also one of
the noblest embodiments of Christianity. Raphael is above
all the painter of motherhood and childhood of the self-
forgetting love of the one, and the fearless faith of the other
the human relationship which of all others is the most
divine. On either side are two saints types both of them
of the peace of Christianity. In the figure of St. John the
Baptist on the left with his rough camel skin upon him, and
an expression of ecstatic contemplation on his face the joy
that comes from a life of self-sacrifice is made manifest ; in
that of the good Bishop Nicholas of Bari, the peace that comes
from knowledge. The three balls at his feet are a favourite
emblem of the saint : typical partly of the mystery of the
Trinity, but referring also to the three purses of gold which he
is said to have thrown into a poor man's window that his
daughters might not be portionless. Finally we may notice
how the same impression of infinite peace is conveyed by the
landscape, and especially by the open sky visible on either side
of the throne. This open sky " is of all visible things the least
material, the least finite, the farthest withdrawn from the earth
prison-house, the most typical of the nature of God, the most
suggestive of the glory of his dwelling-place. For the sky of
night, though we may know it boundless, is dark ; it is a
studded vault, a roof that seems to shut us in and down ; but
assured Mr. Gladstone that ' ' their constituents and the whole nation will
approve and applaud " a departure from " the hard line of severe economy
in order at one stroke to raise to a higher level the collection of pictures of
which the whole nation is proud, and which is a source of widespread and
refined enjoyment to the poor as to the rich."
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 113
the bright distance has no limit, we feel its infinity, as we
rejoice in its purity of light" (Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii.
sec. i. ch. v. 5). 1
744. THE "GARVAGH MADONNA."
Raphael (Urbino : 1483-1520). See imder 1 171, p. 108.
This picture known as the " Garvagh Madonna," from its
former owner, Lord Garvagh, or the " Aldobrandini Madonna,"
from having originally belonged to the Aldobrandini apartments
of the Borghese Palace at Rome belongs to Raphael's third
or Roman period, and a comparison with the "Ansidei" shows
very clearly the changes in feeling between the painter's
earlier and later manners. The devotional character of the
Umbrian School has entirely disappeared. In the "Ansidei
Madonna " the divinity of the Virgin is insisted on ; and
above her throne is the inscription " Hail, Mother of Christ."
But here the divinity is only dimly indicated by a halo. And
as the Madonna is here a merely human mother, so is the
child a purely human child. The saints in contemplation of
the " Ansidei " are replaced by a little St. John, and the two
children play with a pink. The change marked by Raphael's
third manner " was all the more fatal because at first
veiled by an appearance of greater dignity and sincerity
than were possessed by the older art. One of the earliest
results of the new knowledge was the putting away the greater
part of the unlikelihoods and fineries of the ancient pictures, and
an apparently closer following of nature and probability. The
appearances of nature were more closely followed in every-
thing ; and the crowned Queen-Virgin of Perugino sank into a
simple Italian mother in Raphael's 'Madonna of the Chair' ....
But the glittering childishness of the old art was rejected, not
because it was false, but because it was easy ; and, still more,
because the painter had no longer any religious passion to
express. He could think of the Madonna now very calmly,
with no desire to pour out the treasures of earth at her feet,
1 In this matter of the open sky also the "Ansidei Madonna" is
curiously transitional. "Raphael," says Mr. Ruskin (ibid. 10), "in his
fall, betrayed the faith he had received from his father and his master,
and substituted for the radiant sky of the Madonna del Cardellino, the
chamber-wall of the Madonna della Sediola, and the brown wainscot
of the Baldacchino. " Here we have both the Baldacchino and the open
sky behind.
I
ii 4 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
or cover her brows with the golden shafts of heaven. He
could think of her as an available subject for the display of
transparent shadows, skilful tints, and scientific foreshortenings,
as a fair woman, forming, if well painted, a pleasant piece of
furniture for the corner of a boudoir, and best imagined by
combination of the beauties of the prettiest contadinas " l
{Modem Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. 12, 13).
168. ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA.
Raphael (Urbino : 1483-1520). See under 1 171, p. 108.
This is a picture of Raphael's second period "painted about the
year 1507, to judge from its close resemblance in style to the celebrated
picture of the Entombment in the Borghese (Rome), which is known
to have been executed at that time." There are several studies for the
picture in the University Galleries at Oxford, and the finished cartoon
in black and white chalk, pricked for transfer to the panel, is ex-
hibited in the Louvre.
A perfect picture of saintly resignation. St. Catherine (for
whose story see 693, p. 1 06), leans on the wheel, the instrument
of her martyrdom, and " looks up to heaven in the dawn of
the eternal day, with her lips parted in the resting from her
pain." Her right hand is pressed on her bosom, as if she
replied to the call from above, " I am here, O Lord ! ready to
do Thy will." From above, a bright ray is seen streaming down
upon her, emblematic of the divine inspiration which enabled
her to confound her heathen adversaries. The studies existing
show the pains Raphael took with the exquisite expression ;
but the result defies analysis. ." It is impossible to explain in
language the exact qualities of the lines on which depend the
whole truth and beauty of expression about the half-opened
lips of Raphael's St. Catherine." But these lines should be
noticed as exemplifying the principle of " vital beauty " of
beauty, that is to say, as consisting in the appearance in living
things of felicitous fulfilment of function. Thus eyes and
mouths become more beautiful precisely as they become more
perfect means of moral expression. The mouth of a negro
is ugly because it is only a means of eating ; the mouth of St.
1 It may be interesting to note what Raphael's method actually was.
He writes to Count Baldassare Castiglione, in a complimentary way : " To
paint a beautiful woman, I must see several, with this condition, that your
lordship be near me to select the loveliest. But there being a dearth both
of good judges and of beautiful women, I make use of a certain idea that
comes into my mind. Whether with benefit to art, I know not ; but I
strive to form such an ideal in my mind."
ROOM VI : UMBRIAN SCHOOL 115
Catherine is beautiful for the feeling it expresses (Modern
Painters ; vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 47 ; vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i.
ch. xii. 10, sec. ii. ch. v. 21). It may be noticed, lastly, how
much the pathetic feeling of the picture is heightened by the
herbage in the foreground, and especially perhaps by the
carefully painted dandelion " clock :" " so soon passeth it away
and we are gone."
181. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH ST. JOHN.
Perugino (1446-1524). See under 288, p. 102.
If really by Perugino, 1 this must be one of his early works.
It is painted in tempera (see p. 67 .) The Flemish process
of oil-painting found its way to Venice, where Perugino is
known to have been in or about 1495, ar) d where he probably
learnt it. The superiority of the new method may be seen in
a moment by comparing the cracked surface and faded colours
of this picture with 288, which was painted when Perugino had
obtained complete mastery over the new medium, and which
is still as bright and fresh as when it was painted.
751. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Giovanni Santi (Urbino : about 1440-1494).
This picture is of interest because it is by Raphael's father. It
does not, however, give a full idea of the extent to which Raphael's
talent was hereditary, for Giovanni's easel pictures, such as this, are
inferior to his wall pictures. The young Raphael had all the advan-
tages of an atmosphere of artistic culture. Giovanni, like his father
before him, was a well-to-do burgher, and kept originally a general retail
shop, but he afterwards under the teaching of Melozzo da Forli took
to painting, and his house, if one may judge from Piero della Francesca's
visit in 1467, was a resort of painters. At the brilliant court of Duke
Federigo of Urbino, Giovanni moreover acquired a taste for literature, and
there is a long rhyming chronicle by him extant in which he describes
the Duke's visit to Mantua, and amongst other things praises greatly
the works of Mantegna, Melozzo, and Piero della Francesca. But to
see how much of Raphael's genius was original, one has only to compare
this picture by the father with its hard and not very pleasing outlines
with the soft grace of one (say 744) by the son.
Can hands wherein such burden pure has been,
Not open with the ciy " unclean, unclean "
More oft than any else beneath the skies ?
1 Mr. Ruskin said of this picture in 1847 : "The attribution to him of
the wretched panel which now bears his name is a mere insult " (Arrows
of the Chace, \. 64).
Ii6 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
Ah King, ah Christ, ah Son I
The kine, the shepherds, the abased wise
Must all less lowly wait
Than I, upon Thy state.
Sleep, sleep, my Kingly One !
1O75. VIRGIN AND CHILD, ST. JEROME, AND
ST. FRANCIS.
Perugino (1446-1524). See under 288, p. 102.
A very " Peruginesque " example full, that is, of the
peculiar sentiment and apparent affectation which caused Gold-
smith to make the admiration of him the test of absurd con-
noisseurship. 1 But " what is commonly thought affected in his
design," says Mr. Ruskin, " is indeed the true remains of the
great architectural symmetry which was soon to be lost,
and which makes him the true follower of Arnolfo and
Brunelleschi," the great Florentine builders (Ariadne Floren-
tina, 72). Here, for instance, the picture is built up on the
principle of the pyramid : every figure, and in each figure
every limb, is balanced one against the other. But, as in most
great works, the symmetry is just broken enough to avoid its
becoming monotonous : thus, SL Francis, on the right (with
the stigmata, see under III. 598, p. 58), looks not (like St.
Jerome) towards the Virgin, but away from her.
27. THE POPE JULIUS II.
Raphael (Urbino : 1483-1520). See under 1 171, p. 108.
This is a replica, or contemporary copy, of the portrait in the Uffizi
at Florence. Julius died in 1513 : the portrait belongs, therefore, to
the earlier part of Raphael's Roman period.
The portrait of a Pope of the Church militant. " Raphael
has caught the momentary repose of a restless and passionate
spirit, and has shown all the grace and beauty which are to
be found in the sense of power repressed and power at rest.
Seated in an arm-chair, with head bent downward, the Pope is
in deep thought. His furrowed brow and his deep-sunk eyes
tell of energy and decision. The down -drawn corners of his
mouth betoken constant dealings with the world " (Creighton's
1 " Upon asking how he had been taught the art of a cognoscente so
very suddenly, he assured me that nothing was more easy. The whole
secret consisted," Goldsmith said, " in strict adherence to two rules : the
one, always to observe that the picture might have been better if the
painter had taken more pains : and the other to praise the works of
Pietro Perugino" (Vicar of Wakefield, ch. xx.)
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 117
History of the Papacy}. For it was in the temporal, not in
the spiritual world that Julius lived and moved and had his
being, and became, by his combination of military and
diplomatic abilities, the most prominent political figure of his
day. But, like other great princes of the time, Julius was a
liberal and enlightened patron of the arts : it was he who laid
the foundation stone of St. Peter's, and who called Michael
Angelo and Raphael to his court. On the green hanging
which forms the background, the cross-keys of the pontifical
office are indicated, and from the two corners of the back of
the chair rise two shafts, surmounted by gilt ornaments in the
form of acorns in reference to the armorial bearings of the
Pope's family.
596. THE ENTOMBMENT OF CHRIST.
Marco Palmezzano (about 1456-1537).
This painter was a fellow-countryman and pupil of Melozzo of
Forli, who, as we have seen (under 755, p. 97), studied under Piero
della Francesca, and to that extent Marco is a member of the Umbrian
School. The present picture is not a favourable specimen of the
master.
1128. THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.
Luca Signorelli (1441-1523).
Signorelli was bom at Cortona, on the boundary of Umbria and
Tuscany. By early teaching he is an Umbrian, but in style a Floren-
tine. Indeed, his position in the history of art is that of forerunner of
Michael Angelo. He was a pupil of Piero della Francesca, with
whom, no doubt, he acquired a knowledge of the figure from anatomical
study of the nude. His frescoes in the cathedral of Orvieto 1 were
executed ten years before the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michael
Angelo, who was largely influenced by Signorelli's example. Like
Michael Angelo, Signorelli is intensely dramatic, and in pictures which
do not allow of the violent action to be found in his frescoes, his
figures seem to be instinct with suppressed action (see especially the
next picture). Signorelli is a representative also of the literary and
classical Renaissance of his time. He painted the usual religious
pictures, but did not adhere to the traditional modes, and often intro-
duced a classical element (see 1133). It is interesting to note that in
his picture of some nude Greek gods (at Berlin) the composition is
the same as in his regulation church pictures of the Madonna and
Saints. Of Signorelli's personal life there is a pleasant account in
Vasari, whose kinsman he was. He was a person of consequence in
1 The traveller will find a convenient handbook to Signorelli's frescoes
in Mr. J. L. Bevir's Visitor's Guide to Orvieto.
u8 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
his native city, going hither and thither to paint commissions, and then
returning to the discharge of his civic duties. " He lived splendidly,
in the manner," says Vasari, " rather of a noble and a gentleman than
in that of a painter." Not that he despised his profession, for he
expressly advised that his little kinsman should " by all means learn to
draw, that he may not degenerate, for even though he should hereafter
devote himself to learning, yet the knowledge of design, if not profit-
able, cannot fail to be honourable and advantageous." Of Signorelli's
own devotion to his art Vasari tells another story, which has been thus
versified
Vasari tells that Luca Signorelli,
The morning-star of Michael Angelo,
Had but one son, a youth of seventeen summers,
Who died . . .
Still Luca spoke and groaned not ; but he raised
The wonderful dead youth, and smoothed his hair,
Washed his red wounds, and laid him on a bed . . .
Naked and beautiful . . .
Then Luca seized his palette : hour by hour
Silence was in the room ; none durst approach :
Morn wore to noon, and noon to eve, when shyly
A little maid peeped in and saw the painter
Painting his dead son with unerring hand-stroke,
Firm and dry -eyed before the lordly canvas. 1
This picture is described as follows by Vasari : " In the church
of San Francesco, in Volterra, this master painted a fresco, re-
presenting the Circumcision of Christ. This also is considered a
wonderfully beautiful picture, but the Child, having been injured
by the damp, was repaired by Sodoma, whereby the beauty was
much diminished. And, of a truth, it would often be much
better to retain the works of excellent masters, though half-
spoiled, than suffer them to be retouched by less capable artists."
Vasari, however, seems to have been " anxious to place Sodoma
in a bad light whenever he could. Damp was in all probability
not the cause of the restoration of the infant Christ. It was
very likely repainted because the public of Volterra disliked the
realism with which Signorelli seems to have treated the subject "
(Richter^ p. 48). Another personal detail about the picture
is interesting. The figure of the operator is like the portrait
of himself which Signorelli introduced into his frescoes of the
Preaching of Anti-Christ at Orvieto ; the figure is, moreover,
clothed in the dress of the period and of the rich materials in
which, Vasari says, the artist took much pleasure in dressing
1 Symonds, iii. 281.
ROOM VI ': UMBRIAN SCHOOL 119
himself. Behind the central group is the aged Simeon, who
blessed God and said, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word."
1133. THE NATIVITY.
Luca Signorelli (1441-1523). See under 1128, p. 117.
A dramatic representation in one canvas of the Gospel
story told in Luke ii. 1-17. Scene I. "And it came to pass
in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled." This is re-
presented by the Roman portico behind the central group,
under which, at a long table, is seated a row of scribes, who
are entering the names of the people. Scene 2. " And Joseph
went up ... to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife . . .
and she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in the manger." This is the
subject of the central scene. But the artist, no longer bound by
conventional rules, treats his text freely. There is no manger,
but the stable is suggested by the heads of the ox and the ass
at the side ; and instead of the Babe being found " wrapped in
swaddling clothes," it is naked. Joseph, in orange and crimson
robes, is full of benevolence. The shepherds on the left are
in deep reverence. The Virgin is robed in deep blue and
green, typical of the depth and mystery of her divine love. In
the interstices of the central group are three angels with golden
hair and rainbow-hued wings " calm shining sons of morn."
Scene 3. On the left is a group of shepherds: "And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night." The angel of the
Lord is appearing unto them from heaven, and they are sore
afraid, shielding their eyes from the heavenly light. Scene 4.
On the right of the spectator, and seen through an arch of natural
rock, is a shepherd playing on the pipe. This figure suggests
the antique ; he is crowned with ivy leaves and might almost
be Orpheus. Thus, instead of representing the " Glory to God
in the highest" being sung by "a multitude of the heavenly
host," Signorelli gives us a Greek singer a variation thoroughly
characteristic of the classical revival of his time.
The landscape is also thoroughly characteristic of the medi-
aeval mind which loved the fields but dreaded the mountains.
See here, for instance, how lovingly the flowers in the fore-
ground are painted, and note the trailing ivy in the centre of the
120 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
picture, as well as the flowers and ferns ; whereas the rocks
upon which these latter grow are altogether impossible in form
and position (see Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. chs. xiv. and
xv. where the landscape of Dante, of whom Signorelli was a
close student, is analysed).
908. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.
Piero delta Francesca (Borgo S. Sepolcro : 1416-1492).
Piero della Francesca was so called after his mother : " Francesca's
Peter," for, says Vasari, " he had been brought up solely by herself, who
furthermore assisted him in the attainment of that learning to which
his good fortune had destined him." He was a native of Borgo San
Sepolcro, but studied in Florence, where it is probable that he was a
pupil of Paolo Uccello (see III. 583, p. 53). Like that master he was
a great student of perspective, which he " reduced to rules which have
hardly admitted of subsequent improvement." His resemblance to
Paolo goes farther, however, than this. One instance will be seen in
665, p. 122 ; another in 758, p. 121 ; whilst here we may notice the
excellent modelling and effect of roundness in the cheek. After study-
ing in Florence, Piero returned to paint in his native city a:.d other
Umbrian towns, until, in his old age, " the ban Of blindness struck
both palette from his thumb And pencil from his finger."
" This painting is said to be unfinished. But even minute
details, such as the pearls on the robes of the angels and on
the head-dress of the Virgin, have been worked out with an
accuracy which excites astonishment. One of the two shep-
herds, standing on the right side and seen in front, appears to
have no pupils to his eyes, and this strange fact might account
for the theory of the unfinished state of the picture. On the
other hand it seems to me to have suffered very much from re-
painting in all the flesh parts. . . . The restorer has, I believe,
forgotten to paint in the pupils of the shepherd's eyes after
having destroyed them by the cleaning of the original painting "
(Richter, pp. 1 6, 17). The beauty of the picture is in the choir
of angels, with their mouths in different attitudes of singing,
making such music sweet
As never was by mortal finger strook
Divinely-warbled voice
Answering the stringed noise,
As all their souls in blissful rapture took.
MlLTON : Hymn on Christ's Nativity.
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
Oil. ULYSSES AND PENELOPE.
Pinturicchio (Perugia: 1454-1513). See under 693, p. 105.
Penelope was wife of Ulysses, King of Ithaca, whose
wanderings after the Trojan war are told in Homer's
" Odyssey," and shown in summary in the distance of this
picture. Through the open window is seen the ship of
Ulysses, with the hero bound to the mast ; the sirens, whose
coasts he passed unhurt, are sporting in the sea ; and on an
island near is the palace of Circe, who changed his companions
into swine. In his absence Penelope was beset by many
suitors, such as are here seen clad in joyous raiment, and
was in sore straits to resist their importunity. But "some
god put it into my heart to set up a great web in the halls,
and thereat to weave a robe fine of woof and very wide ; and
anon I spake among them, saying : ' Ye princely youths, my
wooers, now that goodly Odysseus is dead, do ye abide
patiently, how eager soever to speed on this marriage of mine,
till I finish the robe . . . even this shroud for the hero Laertes,
father of Odysseus, against the day when the deadly doom
shall bring him low, of death that lays men at their length.' . . .
So spake I, and their high hearts consented thereto. So then
in the daytime I would weave the mighty web, and in the night
unravel the same" (xix. 138-150: Butcher and Lang's trans-
lation). And for the space of three years Penelope's web was
still unwoven, and the suitors were deceived ; but afterwards,
when they chid her loudly, she finished the web, and could
neither escape marriage nor devise any further counsel, for that
her son too chafed while the suitors devoured his livelihood.
But Ulysses then returned : he is now in the doorway just
entering ; and presently Penelope will take down her husband's
bow now hanging with a quiver of arrows above her head
which the suitors could not bend, but was bent by Ulysses.
1219. THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH : Part 2.
Francesco Ubertini, called // Bacchiacca
(Florentine: 1494-1557). See under 1218, p. 123.
758. PORTRAIT OF THE COUNTESS PALMA
OF URBINO.
Piero della Francesco, (Borgo S. Sepolcro : 1416-1492).
See under 908, p. 1 20.
Ascribed by Morelli to Paolo Uccello. " The treatment of the
hair recalls that of one of the portraits in Paolo's battle-piece (III.
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
583, p. 53), while Piero used to represent curls in a thin and thread-
like shape. The ornament on the left sleeve of the lady also reminds
one of the decoration on the standard" (Rithter, p. 17).
This and the other profile head ascribed to Piero (585)
"are probably the earliest specimens we have in the National
Gallery of pure portraits, i.e. pictures devoted simply to record
the likeness of an individual, first introduced as donors into
votive pictures, and next as actors in scenes from sacred
history and legend. Portraits have at length made good their
claim to a separate existence in pictorial &r\." (Monk house, p. 41).
665. THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST.
Piero della Francesco. (Borgo S. Sepolcro : 1416-1492).
See under 908, p. 120.
A picture of great interest from a technical point of view,
as showing an advancing skill, especially in perspective.
The feet of Christ are finely " foreshortened " ; the tops of the
mountains are correctly reflected on the surface of the river
in the foreground ; in the middle distance there is a fore-
shortened view of a street leading to a fortified town, and the
anatomy of the figure stripping himself for baptism is very
carefully rendered. In these technical respects Piero re-
sembles Paolo Uccello, while there is also a striking affinity
of style between the landscapes of the two painters. " The
peculiar construction of these landscapes, with steep mountains
of an uncommon type, is the more remarkable because they
are the starting-point of all the later achievements in realistic
landscape painting" (Richter, p. 16). The subject is the
baptism in Jordan. Christ, under the shade of a pome-
granate tree, is being " baptized by John in Jordan ; and
straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens
opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him "
(Mark i. 9, 10). The spiritual feeling of the scene is en-
hanced by the sweet presence of the attendant angels. It is
an old belief that angels watch over men's birth, and so too
they are represented as presiding over the new birth which is
typified by the rite of baptism.
585. PORTRAIT OF ISOTTA DA RIMINI.
Piero della Francesca ( Borgo S. Sepolcro : 1416-1492).
See under 908, p. 120.
The portrait of a remarkable woman remarkable alike in
herself and as the good spirit in the strangely contradictory
ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL 123
life of her husband. She was the fourth and last wife of Sigis-
mondo Malatesta (nephew of the Malatesta of III. 583, p. 53),
Lord of Rimini (1417-1468). Though a man of unbridled
passions, he remained from his youth to the day of his death
her devoted lover. For her he became a poet, and in her
honour he built in after years the famous church of St. Francis
at Rimini. She herself was widely celebrated for her culture,
firmness, and beauty (the high forehead so conspicuous here
was then the fashion), and when her husband was away she
governed Rimini wisely and well, nor was she ever so much as
suspected of any complicity in her husband's crimes. The
leading poets of the court wrote verses in her praise, and the
Pope declared her to be a woman worthy to be loved.
91O. THE TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY.
Luca Signorelli (1441-1523). See under 1 128, p. 117.
" This fresco painting transferred to canvas," says Richter, p.
49, " and signed with the forged inscription, LUCAS CORI-
TIUS, is a weak and much damaged production by Genga," his
assistant at Orvieto. In the foreground Cupid on his knees
is bound by maidens ; in the distance there are two other
groups, in one of which the god of love is being captured, in
the other he is led away in triumph with his arms pinioned
behind him.
1218, 1219. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN.
Francesco Ubertini, called // Bacchiacca
(Florentine: 1494-1557).
Francesco, the son of Ubertino, a goldsmith, and nicknamed II
Bacchiacca, was a friend and disciple of Andrea del Sarto ; but having
also been a pupil 'of Perugino, he is included in the Umbrian School.
These panels probably decorated the room in the house at Florence,
from which Pontormo's picture of Joseph also comes (see I. 1131,
p. 32, and cf. Vasari, ii. 396 ; iv. 492).
Several incidents occur in each of the two pictures, but the
main figures constantly recur, and we recognise them by their
dress and look (1218). On the left, in this picture, are Joseph's
brethren travelling in search of corn towards the land of Egypt,
quaint figures in fantastic dresses, with little Benjamin, a
child in a blue frock, and Reuben weeping, and another
brother trying in vain to console him. " And the famine was
sore in the land. . . . And the men took . . . Benjamin ;
124 ROOM VI: UMBRIAN SCHOOL
and rose up, and went down to Egypt" (Genesis xliii. I, 15).
On the right in the same picture is Joseph welcoming his
brothers in the portico of the palace, Pharaoh's armed guard
outside looking rather grimly and inhospitably on the in-
truders. The landscape is green and picturesque. It is
noticeable that blue (the colour of hope) is here made sacred
to Joseph and Benjamin, the children of promise, who are
in every instance dressed alike.
(1219). In the companion panel the further history of Joseph
and his brethren is depicted in three scenes or compartments,
divided by pillars. On the left are the brothers unloading the
donkey of the empty meal-jars, now to be filled through Joseph's
kindness. In the centre is Joseph making himself known
to his eleven brethren. He is gazing tenderly on little
Benjamin, who advances towards him in the foreground.
" And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph : doth my
father yet live ? " (Genesis xlv. 3). On the right are seen
the brethren departing homeward, and the mule laden with
Benjamin and the filled meal-bags is being driven off.
282. THE GLORIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN.
Ascribed to Lo Spagna (Perugia: painted 1503-1530).
See under 1032, p. 106.
Otherwise ascribed to Bertucci of Faenza, an artist who borrowed
both from the Umbrian School and from Lorenzo Costa. The
similarity to V. 629, p. 86, by the latter artist, especially in the
playing angels at the foot of the throne, is unmistakable (see Richter,
p. 52).
ROOM VII
THE VENETIAN AND ALLIED SCHOOLS 1
" THE Venetian School proposed to itself the representation of the effect
of colour and shade on all things ; chiefly on the human form.
Here you have the most perfect representation possible of colour,
and light, and shade, as they affect the external aspect of the
human form, and its immediate accessories, architecture, furniture,
and dress. This external aspect of noblest nature was the first
aim of the Venetians, and all their greatness depended on their
resolution to achieve, and their patience in achieving it " (RusKlN :
Two Paths, 20, 22).
Diego answered thus : "I saw in Venice
The true test of the good and beautiful ;
First, in my judgment, ever stands that school,
And Titian first of all Italian men is."
VELAZQUEZ, reported by Boschini, in curious Italian
verse thus translated by Dr. Donaldson.
THE general characteristics of the Venetian School, as
defined by Mr. Ruskin in the passage above quoted, may
be traced both to historical circumstances and to physical
surroundings. Thus the first broad fact to be noticed about
1 In this room are hung, besides the pictures of Venice, those of many
neighbouring towns Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, Treviso. Ail these local
schools have certain peculiarities of their own, and some of them are well
represented here. Nowhere, for instance, out of Brescia itself can the
Brescian School be so well studied as in the National Gallery. But above
these local peculiarities there are common characteristics in the work of all
these schools which they share with that of Venice. It is only these
common characteristics that can here be noticed.
126 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
the Venetian School of painting is that it is later than the
Florentine by some hundred years or more. From the
point of view of art, Venice, from her intimate connection
as a trading power with the East, was almost a Byzantine
colony. St. Mark's is a Byzantine church, her earliest
palaces are Byzantine palaces. And so, too, for painting she
relied exclusively on a Byzantine supply. It was not till
the latter end of the fourteenth century that the influence of
Giotto's works in the neighbouring town of Padua began to
rouse Venice to do and think for herself in art, instead of
letting her Greek subjects do all for her. 1 But by the time
Venetian painters had acquired any real mastery over their
art, Venice was already in a state of great magnificence ;
her palaces, with their fronts of white marble, porphyry, and
serpentine, were the admiration of every visitor. Painters
paint what they see around them, and hence at the outset
we find in the Venetian School the rendering of material
magnificence and the brilliant colours that distinguish it
throughout. Look, for instance, at the pictures by a com-
paratively early Venetian, like Crivelli (Room VIII.) ; no
other painter of a corresponding age showed such fondness
for fruits and stuffs and canopies and jewels and brilliant
architecture. And then, in the second place, there is the
colour of Venice itself, caused by her position on the
lagoons. The Venetians had no gardens ; " but what are
the purples and scarlets and blues of iris, anemone, or
columbine, dispersed among deep meadow-grasses or
trained in quiet cloister garden-beds, when compared with
that melodrama of flame and gold and rose and orange
and azure, which the skies and lagoons of Venice yield
almost daily to the eye?" (Symonds, iii. 349, 350).
But, thirdly, the sea had a further influence on Venetian
painting it caused at once their love of bodily beauty and
the kind of such beauty that they loved. Compare, for
instance, a typical Venetian "beauty," such as Paris Bordone's
1 It should, however, be remembered that " before the Venetian School
of painting had got much beyond a lisp, Venetian artists were already
expressing themselves strikingly and beautifully in stone, in architectural
and sculptural works "(see Morelli, p. 5).
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 127
( 6 7 4, p. 1 6 7 ), with one of Botticelli's (1. 9 1 5 , p. 3 1 ) : how great
is the difference between them ! Well, the sea " tends to
induce in us great respect for the whole human body; for its
limbs, as much as for its tongue or its wit. ... To put the
helm up at the right moment is the beginning of all cunning,
and for that we need arm and eye ; not tongue. And with
this respect for the body as such, comes also the sailor's pre-
ference of massive beauty in bodily form. The landsmen,
among their roses and orange-blossoms, and chequered
shadows of twisted vine, may well please themselves with
pale faces, and finely drawn eyebrows and fantastic braiding
of hair. But from the sweeping glory of the sea we learn to
love another kind of beauty ; broad-breasted ; level-browed,
like the horizon; thighed and shouldered like the billows;
footed like their stealing foam ; bathed in clouds of golden
hair like their sunsets." Then further, "this ocean-work
is wholly adverse to any morbid conditions of sentiment.
Reverie, above all things, is forbidden by Scylla and
Charybdis. By the dogs and the depths, no dreaming !
The first thing required of us is presence of mind. Neither
love, nor poetry, nor piety, must ever so take up our
thoughts as to make us slow or unready." Herein will be
found the source of a notable distinction between the treat-
ment of sacred subjects by Venetian painters and all others.
The first Venetian artists began with asceticism, just as the
Florentines did; "always, however, delighting in more massive
and deep colour than other religious painters. They are es-
pecially fond of saints who have been cardinals, because of
their red hats, and they sunburn all their hermits into splendid
russet brown" (see Octagon, 768, p. 193). Then again,
through all enthusiasm they retain a supreme common sense.
Look back, for instance, from the religious pictures in this
room, from Titian's " Holy Family " (635, p. 143), or Cima's
" Madonna" (634, p. 178), to those of the Umbrians, which
we have just left. The Umbrian religion is something apart
from the world, the Venetian is of it. The religion of the
Venetian painters is as real as that of Fra Angelico. But
it was the faith not of humble men or of mystics, not of
profound thinkers or ecstatic visionaries, so much as of
128 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
courtiers and statesmen, of senators and merchants, for
whom religion was not a thing by itself but a part and
parcel of ordinary life. " Throughout the rest of Italy, piety
had become abstract, and opposed theoretically to worldly
life ; hence the Florentine and Umbrian painters generally
separated their saints from living men. They delighted in
imagining scenes of spiritual perfectness ; Paradises, and
companies of the redeemed at the judgment; glorified
meetings of martyrs ; madonnas surrounded by circles of
angels. If, which was rare, definite portraitures of living
men were introduced, these real characters formed a kind
of chorus or attendant company, taking no part in the
action. At Venice all this was reversed, and so boldly
as at first to shock, with its seeming irreverence, a spectator
accustomed to the formalities and abstractions of the so-
called sacred schools. The madonnas are no more seated
apart on their thrones, the saints no more breathe celestial
air. They are on our own plain ground nay, here in our
houses with us." Cima places the Madonna in his own
country-side, whilst at Venice itself Tintoret paints Paradise
as the decoration for the hall of the Greater Council of the
State. The religion of the Venetian School was not less
sincere than that of others, but it was less formal, less
didactic ; for Venice was constantly at feud with the popes,
and here we come to the last circumstance which need be
noticed as determining the characteristics of the school.
" Among Italian cities Venice was unique. She alone was
tranquil in her empire, unimpeded in her constitutional
development, independent of Church interference, undis-
turbed by the cross purposes and intrigues of the despots,
inhabited by merchants who were princes, and by a free-
born people who had never seen war at their gates. The
serenity of undisturbed security, the luxury of wealth
amassed abroad and liberally spent at home, gave a physiog-
nomy of ease and proud self-confidence to all her edifices.
. . . The conditions of Florence stimulated mental energy
and turned the face of the soul inwards. Those of Venice
inclined the individual to accept life as he found it"
(Symonds, iii. 353). Hence the ideal of Venetian painting
ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL \zg
was " stateliness and power ; high intercourse with kingly
and beautiful humanity, proud thoughts, or splendid plea-
sures; throned sensualities; and ennobled appetites."
Lastly, we may trace the current of these ideas in the
historical development of the school, which may be divided,
like other schools, into three main periods. First we have
the Giottesque or heroic period, or, as it should in the case
of Venice be called, "the Vivarini epoch, bright, innocent,
more or less elementary, entirely religious art, reaching
from 1400-1480" (see farther on p. 154). Next comes
the Bellini epoch, sometimes classic and mythic as well as
religious, 1480-1520. In this period Venetian art is
" entirely characteristic of her calm and brave statesman-
ship, her modest and faithful religion." " Bright costumes,
distinct and sunny landscapes, broad backgrounds of
architecture, large skies, polished armour, gilded cornices,
young faces of fisher-boys and country girls, grave faces of
old men brown with sea-wind and sunlight, withered faces
of women hearty in a hale old age, the strong manhood of
Venetian senators, the dignity of patrician ladies, the grace-
fulness of children, the rosy whiteness and amber-coloured
tresses of the daughters of the Adriatic and the lagoons
these are the source of inspiration to the Venetians of the
second period. . . . Among the loveliest motives in the altar-
pieces of this period are the boy-angels playing flutes and
mandolines beneath the Madonna on the steps of her throne.
They are more earthly than Fra Angelico's melodists, and
yet they are not precisely of human lineage. It is not,
perhaps, too much to say that they strike the keynote of
Venetian devotion, at once real and devoid of pietistic
rapture" (Symonds, iii. 363.) Thirdly comes the epoch
of " supremely powerful art corrupted by taint of death,"
1520-1600.
This final transition may perhaps best be seen by
tracing the similar progress in the technical feature
which distinguishes the Venetian painters. They are the
school of colour. Their speciality consists in seeing that
"shadow is not an absence of colour, but is, on the
contrary, necessary to the full presence of colour ; every
K
130 . ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
colour in painting must be a shadow to some brighter
colour, and a light to some darker one all the while being
a positive colour itself. And the great splendour of the
Venetian School arises from their having seen and held
from the beginning this great fact that shadow is as much
colour as light, often much more. In Titian's fullest red
the lights are pale rose-colour, passing into white the
shadows warm deep crimson. In Veronese's most splendid
orange the lights are pale, the shadows crocus colour. . . .
Observe that this is no matter of taste, but fact. It is an
absolute fact that shadows are as much colours as lights
are ; and whoever represents them by merely the subdued
or darkened tint of the light, represents them falsely." But
in the two earlier periods above specified, the Venetians
are further " separated from other schools by their content-
ment with tranquil cheerfulness of light; by their never
wanting to be dazzled. None of their lights are flashing
or blinding ; they are soft, winning, precious ; lights of
pearl, not of lime : only, you know, on this condition they
cannot have sunshine : their day is the day of Paradise ;
they need no candles, neither light of the sun, in their cities ;
and everything is seen clear, as through crystal, far or near.
This holds to the end of the fifteenth century. Then they
begin to see that this, beautiful as it may be, is still a make-
believe light ; that we do not live in the inside of a pearl ;
but in an atmosphere through which a burning sun shines
thwartedly, and over which a sorrowful night must far pre-
vail. And then the chiaroscurists succeed in persuading
them of the fact that there is mystery in the day as in the
night, and show them how constantly to see truly, is to see
dimly. And also they teach them the brilliancy of light,
and the degree in which it is raised from the darkness ; and
instead of their sweet and pearly peace, tempt them to look
for the strength of flame and coruscation of lightning." On
the wall of this room to the right, as you face the door into
Room VIII., are three pictures in which the whole process
may be traced. First in Bellini's "St. Jerome" (694, p. 162) is
the serene light of the Master of Peace. In another Bellini
near it (726, p. 161) is a first twilight effect such as Titian
ROOM VII.: VENETIAN SCHOOL 131
afterwards developed into more solemn hues ; whilst above
them both is an example (1130, p. 160) of the light far
withdrawn and the coils of shade of Tintoret (Modern
Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch iii. ; Guide to Venetian Academy ;
Oxford Lectures on Art, 134, 173-177).
1O98. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Bartolommeo Montagna (Venetian : died 1523).
Montagna was born near Brescia and worked at Vicenza, but
studied at Venice. 1 He was a distinguished painter of his time, and
some of his pictures especially the great altar-piece now in the Brera
at Milan are worthy of Bellini or Carpaccio. There is sincere feeling
in this "Virgin and Child," in spite of acertain ungainliness ; but neither
it nor the companion picture (802) gives a fair idea of Montagna.
625. AN ALTAR-PIECE.
// Moretto (Brescian : 1498-1555).
Of the Brescian, as of the Veronese School, nowhere out of Italy are
there such good examples as in the National Gallery. ' ' The dialect of
the Brescians is very like that of their neighbours of Bergamo, but not
so harsh and rugged (see 1203, p. IS 1 ) 5 the character of the people,
too, is more lively and frank, more given to show and swagger
(Bresciani spacca-cantoni). The Brescians, wedged in between the
Veronese and Bergamese, unite, to some extent, the manly energy of
the latter with the greater vivacity and pliancy of the former" (Moretti,
pp. 396, 397). The foundation of the Brescian School was laid by
Vincenzo Foppa (see IX. 729, p. 198), whose pupil II Moretto was.
It is characteristic of the wide dispersion of the art gift in Italy that
this Alessandro Bonvicino, nicknamed " II Moretto," one of the
greatest of portrait painters, should have belonged entirely to a pro-
vincial city. He was born and educated at Brescia, where his father
was a merchant ; and with the exception of a very few pictures, he
painted only for his native town and the province of Brescia, and it is
there that nearly the whole work of his life is still to be found. Indeed
he was little known beyond the frontiers of the Brescian district, and it
is only during the last half century or so that his reputation has arisen.
His nickname of " the Blackamoor " is particularly inappropriate to his
style, which is distinguished for its silvery tones, " a cool, tender and
harmonious scale of colour which has a peculiar charm, and is entirely his
own " (Layard, ii. 577). This harmony of colour, which became charac-
teristic of the Brescian School, may be observed also in his rival, Romanino.
The principal figure is St. Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444).
He was one of the most celebrated preachers of his time :
1 See Morelli, p. 393, who dismisses the idea of an original Vicentine
School as one which "cannot be entertained at all."
132 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
hence the words on the open book which he is represented as
holding in his left hand, " Father, I have manifested thy name
to men." The Gospel which he preached was " Salvation
through Jesus Christ :" hence the circle in his right hand
with the Latin monogram "I.H.S." (Jesus the Saviour of
mankind). He came of a noble family, but the secret of his
power was his determination to live amongst the poor ones
of the earth : hence at his feet are mitres inscribed with the
names of the three cities of which he refused the bishoprics.
The attendant saints are Sts. Jerome, Joseph, Francis (to
whose order Bernardino belonged), and Nicholas of Bari.
Above is a vision of the only crown to which St. Bernardino
aspired the company of the saints, the Virgin and Child, St.
Catherine, and St. Clara Into the pervading expression of
simple and humble piety the artist has put, perhaps, something
of his own character ; for he was a man of great personal
piety, and he is said to have always prepared himself (like
Fra Angelico before him) by prayer and fasting for any im-
portant work of sacred art Something, too, of this ascetic
ideal may be seen in the attenuated figures of his saints.
802. THE MADONNA OF THE CHERRY.
Bartolommeo Montagna (Venetian : died 1523).
See under 1 098, p. 131.
1O23. AN ITALIAN LADY.
Moroni (Bergamese : 1 525-1 578).
We now come to another provincial school that of Bergamo,
distinguished, says Morelli, by " manly energy," but also by " a certain
prosaic want of refinement." See, for other Bergamese painters, Pre-
vitali (695, p. 178) and Cariani (1203, p. 151). Palma Vecchio, the
greatest of them, is not represented in the National Gallery. Giam-
battista Moroni was a painter without honour in his own country, and
when people from Bergamo came to Titian to be painted, he used to
refer them to their own countryman no better face painter, he would
tell them, existed. "No portrait-painter ever placed the epidermis of
the human face upon canvas with more fidelity, and with greater truth
than Moroni : his portraits all have a more or less prosaic look, but
they must all have had that startling likeness to the original which so
enchants the great public, who exclaim ' The very man ! just how he
looks ! ' And it was with the eyes of the great public that Moroni did
look at his subjects ; he was not a poet in the true sense of the word, but
a consummate painter. Yet, now and then, he manages to go beyond
himself, and to pierce the surface till he reaches the soul of the sitter.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 133
In such cases his portraits may rank with those of Titian " (Morelli,
p. 48). He was a pupil of II Moretto, but this picture is an example
of his manner before he came under II Moretto's influence the reddish
hue of his flesh -tints being characteristic. In his second period he
adopted the " silvery " manner of II Moretto : see 697, p. 152, and 1022,
p. 139 ; whilst for his third, or naturalistic manner, see 742, p. 158.
748. MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH ST. ANNE.
Girolamo dai Libri (Veronese : 1472-1555).
A picture "with a pedigree," being mentioned by Vasari.
" In the church of the Scala (at Verona)," he says, in his life
of the painter, "the picture of the Madonna with St. Anna
is by his hand, and is placed between the San Sebastiano of
II Moro and the San Rocco of Cavazzola (Morando)." Be-
side this latter picture (735, p. I49)the present one was, until the
last rehanging of the Gallery, still placed. Girolamo dai Libri
(of the books) was a miniature painter, and was so called from
the choral books he illuminated. In the composition of this
picture one may trace, perhaps, the influence of the dainty
work he was first accustomed to. Thus the trefoil, or clover-
leaf pattern, is followed both in the arrangement of the Virgin,
St. Anne, and the Child, and in that of the little playing
angels below. Notice the pretty trellis- work of roses on either
side, and the slain dragon at the Virgin's feet, emblematic
(the latter) of Christ's victory over the powers of evil, and (the
former) of the " ways of pleasantness " and " paths of peace "
that he came to prepare.
16. ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.
Tintoretto (Venetian : 1518-1594).
Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto (the little dyer) from the trade
of his father, is the last great master of the Venetian School and the
most imaginative of all painters. He is, however, so poorly represented
in the National Gallery that to speak of him here as he deserves would
perhaps excite little but incredulity, though this picture may give some
idea of his power of imagination. It is only in Venice that this great
master can properly be studied, and only in the works of Mr. Ruskin
that any due appreciation of his powers is to be found. 1 One or two
points, however, may profitably be mentioned which visitors who come
across pictures by Tintoret in foreign galleries should bear in mind.
1 Visitors to Venice may like to be reminded that most of Mr. Ruskin's
criticism upon Tintoret's works there, is now easily accessible in (i) The
Relation between Michael Angela and Tintoret, (2) The Stones of Venice,
travellers' edition, and (3) the reissue of the second volume of Modern
Painters.
134 ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL
First, he is the most unequal in execution of all painters. The
Venetians used to say he had three pencils one of gold, one of silver,
and a third of iron. Secondly, " when no one would pay for his
colours (and sometimes nobody would even give him space of wall to
paint on), he used cheap blue for ultramarine;" and he worked so
rapidly (Sebastiano del Piombo used to say that Tintoret could paint
as much in two days as would occupy him two years), "and on
such large spaces of canvas, that, between damp and dry, his colours
must go, for the most part." Thirdly, Tintoret "is entirely uncon-
cerned respecting the satisfaction of the public. He neither cares to
display his strength to them, nor convey his ideas to them ; when he
finishes his work, it is because he is in the humour to do so ; and the
sketch which a meaner painter would have left incomplete to show
how cleverly it was begun, Tintoret simply leaves because he has done
as much of it as he likes" {Relation between Michael Angela and Tintoret,
passim). The well-founded pride which is thus stamped on Tintoret's
art is conspicuous in his life. From the first he stood alone. He was
sent to Titian's school, but Titian dismissed him and he returned to work
out his own ideal an ideal which he wrote on his studio walls : " The
design of Michael Angelo and the colouring of Titian." For some time
he worked in poverty, often accepting commissions without pay, and
when he became famous he often worked "for nothing." For years
he painted in the Scuola di San Rocco at the rate of 100 ducats a year.
For his " Paradise " in the Ducal Palace, " the greatest picture in the
world," he was asked to name his own price, but he left it to the State,
and abated something from what they tendered. He lived aloof from
the world, seldom leaving Venice. His house, on the Fondamenta
de' Mori, is still standing, and there are stories told of the way in
which his wife, the daughter of a Venetian nobleman, tried to guard
against his unworldliness. He died at the age of seventy -six, leaving
as the record of a long life, devoted with rare single-mindedness to his
art, the remark that the art of painting was one which became ever
increasingly difficult.
A picture of particular interest in the National Gallery, being
a representation by one of the greatest of artists of the patron
saint of England. The fight of St. George with the dragon is
familiar to every one, being on the reverse of our gold sovereigns,
and in the new coinage on that of our silver crowns. " As a piece
of mere die-cutting, that St. George is one of the best bits of
work we have on our money," but a reference to its absurdities
in design will serve admirably to bring out some of the
imaginative merits of this picture. On our coins St. George's
horse looks abstractedly in the air, instead of where it would
have looked, at the beast between its legs. Here Tintoret
has admirably brought out the chivalry of the horse. Knight
and charger are alike intent upon their foe, and note that St.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 135
George wears no spurs : the noble animal nature is attuned
to his rider. But, though unspurred, St. George is every inch
a knight. His whole strength is given in the spear-thrust which
is to kill the dragon : compare this with St. George on our
coins, " with nothing but his helmet on (being the last piece
of armour he is likely to want), putting his naked feet, at least
his feet showing their toes through the buskins, well forward,
that the dragon may with the greatest convenience get a bite
at them ; and about to deliver a mortal blow at him with a
sword which cannot reach him by a couple of yards." To
understand the other touches of true imagination in Tintoret's
picture, it is necessary to recall the meaning of the legend of
St. George and the Dragon (identical with that of Perseus and
Andromeda). 1 The dragon represents the evil of sinful, fleshly
passion, the element in our nature which is of the earth, earthy.
Notice with what savage tenacity, therefore, the beast is made
to clutch at the earth. From his mouth he is spitting fire
the red fire of consuming passion. St. George is the champion
of purity : he rides therefore on a white horse, white being the
typical colour of a blameless life. He wears no helmet for
that might obscure his sight, and the difficulty in this warfare
is not so much to kill your dragon as to see him. In front of
him is the dead body of another man :
He gazes on the silent dead :
"They perish'd in their daring deeds."
This proverb flashes through his head,
" The many fail, the one succeeds."
Behind him is a long castle wall, the towers and battlements
perhaps of some great city. In many pictures of this subject
(see e.g. XIII. 75, p. 323) there are crowds of spectators on the
walls, who will cheer the knight in his struggle and applaud
him in his victory. But here the walls are deserted, and but
for the princess in the foreground, there are no spectators of
the struggle : it is one which has to be fought alone and in
secret places. The princess had been given, in the story, as
a sacrifice to the dragon, and St. George, who comes to rescue
1 For an exhaustive and interesting history of the legend see Mr. J. R.
Anderson's Supplement to St. Mark's Rest. One account, it seems, places
both Perseus and St. George in the Nile Delta. Politicians who say that
England has gone to Egypt to save that country from itself may perhaps
see some significance in this. The superstitious in such things will not
forget either that one of Gordon's names was George.
136 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
her, is thus the type of noble chivalry. " She turns away for
flight ; and if her hands are raised to heaven, and her knees
fall to earth, it is more that she stumbles in a woman's weak-
ness, than that she abides in faith or sweet surrender. Tintoret
sees the scene as in the first place a matter of fact, and paints
accordingly, following his judgment of girl nature." But in
another sense the princess of the allegory represents the soul
of man, which has to be freed from subjection to the dragon of
the flesh. And so perhaps Tintoret makes her fly, " from a cer-
tain ascetic feeling, a sense growing with the growing license of
Venice, that the soul must rather escape from this monster by
flight than hope to see it subdued and made serviceable " (St.
Mark's Rest, Second Supplement, pp. 14, 21, 33 ; Fors
Clcrvigera, 1873, xxv. and xxvi.)
24. AN ITALIAN LADY AS ST. AGATHA.
Sebastiano del Piombo (Venetian : 1485-1547).
See under I, p. 141.
The nimbus around the head indicates the saint ; the palm
branch and the pincers indicate St. Agatha, who was " bound
and beaten with rods, and her tender bosom was cruelly torn
with iron pincers ; and as her blood flowed forth, she said, ' O
thou tyrant ! shamest thou not to treat me so thou who hast
been nourished and fed from the breast of a mother ?' And
this was her only plaint." See also lower, under 20, p. 142.
11O5. THE PROTHONOTARY-APOSTOLIC, JULIANO.
Lorenzo Lotto (Treviso : 1476-1 5 5 5). 1
Lotto, though born at Treviso in the Venetian State, went up early
to Venice, where he entered Bellini's studio. For some further notes
on his life, see below under 1047, p. 163.
See for the subject under 1024 below, p. 163.
26. THE CONSECRATION OF ST. NICHOLAS.
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1528-1588).
Paolo Cagliari, called " Veronese " from his birthplace, Verona,
stands at the head of the great colourists. With him " the whole
picture is like the rose, glowing with colour in the shadows, and rising
into paler and more delicate hues, or masses of whiteness, in the lights."
1 These dates are given on the authority of Morelli, who furnishes
much fresh information about Lotto (pp. 31-40). In the Official Cata-
logue the picture is only "ascribed" to him, but there is little doubt of
its genuineness.
ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL 137
He is thoroughly Venetian too, in the tone of his mind. It is a certain
"gay grasp of the outside aspects of the world" that distinguishes him.
"By habitual preference, exquisitely graceful and playful; religious,
without seventy, and winningly noble ; delighting in slight, sweet
everyday incident, but hiding deep meanings underneath it ; rarely
painting a gloomy subject, and never a base one " (Modern Painters,
vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iii. 1 8, ch. xx. 16 ; vol. v. pt. ix. ch. iii. 27). Thus
Venetian in character, it is the Venice of his time with all its material
magnificence and pride of life of a nation of merchant princes that
Veronese everywhere paints. As his art was, so was his life. He
settled in Venice in 1554* and there, with the exception of a brief visit
to Rome in the suite of the Venetian ambassador to the Pope, he
spent the remainder of his life.
This picture, having much darkened and suffered also
from restoration, is not a fair specimen of Veronese's colour,
but is in other respects characteristic. Clearly it is the
pageantry of a Church function that fascinates the painter ;
yet there are touches of deeper meaning below the gorgeous
surface. The picture represents the consecration of Nicholas
(for whom see also VI. 1 1 7 1, p. 1 1 2) as Bishop of Myra, in Syria
(hence the turbans of the attendants). Two dignitaries of the
Church are presenting him to the patriarch, who holds aloft
the symbolical cross of the Redeemer, and with his right hand
gives his blessing. The bishop-elect abases himself meanwhile
that he may be exalted, while the angel descending with the
mitre and crozier signifies that his " call " is from above.
1O41. THE VISION OF ST. HELENA. 1
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1528-1588).
St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, made a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem, when a victory was gained by the emperor, to
recover the very cross of which she had seen a mysterious
symbol. Having reached the sacred city, she caused the soil
of Calvary to be excavated, because the Jews were accustomed
to bury the instruments of execution upon the spot where they
had been used. And there she found three crosses, and that
one which was the holy cross was distinguished from the
others by the healing of a lady of quality who was sick.
The empress divided the true cross into three parts, giving
one of them to the Bishop of Jerusalem, and another to the
1 The design of this picture, as was first pointed out by Professor
Sidney Colvin, appears to have been taken from an engraving by a follower
of Marc Antonio, in which the attitude of St. Helena is identical (see
Richter, p. 75).
138 ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL
church at Constantinople. The third she brought to Rome,
where she built for it the great basilica of S. Croce.
34. VENUS AND ADONIS.
Titian (Venetian : 1477-1576).
Tiziano Vecellio "il divino Tiziano," as his countrymen called
him is one of the greatest names in the history of painting : " There
is a strange undercurrent of everlasting murmur about his name, which
means the deep consent of all great men that he is greater than they "
(Two Paths, 57). Titian's works "are not art," said one of his
contemporaries, " but miracles ; they make upon me the impression of
something divine, and as heaven is the soul's paradise, so God has
transfused into Titian's colours the paradise of our bodies." It is not
easy, however, to point out the special characteristics of Titian, for it
is his glory to offer nothing over-prominent and to keep "in all things
the middle path of perfection." Titian's mind was "wholly realist,
universal, and manly. He saw that sensual passion in man was, not only
a fact, but a Divine fact ; the human creature, though the highest of the
animals, was, nevertheless, a perfect animal, and his happiness, health,
and nobleness depended on the due power of every animal passion, as
well as the cultivation of every spiritual tendency " (Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. ix. ch. iii., 30). And as the range of his intellectual
sympathy was wide, so was that of his executive skill. He is, indeed,
especially supreme as a colourist ; but for the rest, the very greatness of
the master lies in there being no one quality predominant in him.
Raphael's power is properly called " Raphaelesque ; " but " Titian's
power is simply the power of doing right. Whatever came before
Titian, he did wholly as it ought to be done" ( Two Paths, 57, 58, 69).
This universality of Titian's art is reflected in his life a life prolonged
far beyond the ordinary human spell, and full to the end of " super-
human toil." He was sent from his country home at Cadore to Venice
to begin his studies when quite a boy : he was only nine, it is said,
when he entered Gentile Bellini's studio. He lived to be ninety-nine,
and his life was one long education. He was nearly threescore years
and ten when he visited Rome and saw Michael Angelo, but he "had
greatly improved," he said in later years, "after he had been at Rome."
He painted until his dying hour, and is said to have exclaimed at the
last that he was " only then beginning to understand what painting
was." This continual striving after perfection, this consciousness of
falling short, is in striking contrast to the honour and glory paid to
him by others. He was painter in ordinary to the Venetian State (a
post in which he succeeded Giovanni Bellini). He was an honoured
guest at the court of Alphonso I., Duke of Ferrara, for whom he painted
the "Bacchus and Ariadne" (35). To the Emperor Charles V. he
"stood as Apelles to Alexander the Great, the only man worthy to
paint his royal master," and he was made Count Palatine and Knight
of the Golden Spur, with precedence for his children as nobles of the
Empire. The emperor's son, Philip II. (of Spain), was an equally
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 139
generous patron ; the Pope Paul III. tried hard to induce Titian to
settle in Rome ; and Henry III. of France, who visited him at his own
house, wished the picture on which the painter was then at work to be
placed over his tomb. In his house at Venice Titian lived in great
style, attracting kings and nobles and men of letters to him. There
is all the keenness of a city of merchants in Titian's business relations,
and many of the extant documents about him are petitions for further
favours and for arrears of pensions. But if he gathered like a beggar,
he spent like a prince. There is a story of two cardinals coming to
dine at his house. He flung his purse to the steward, and bade
him make ready, for " all the world was coming to dine with him."
Certain too it is that if he knocked too much at the doors of princes,
it was for the sake of his children rather than of himself. The stories of
Titian's mistresses have no certain basis ; any female portrait of his, not
otherwise identified, being labelled "Titian's Mistress." 1 At the loss of
his wife (when he was fifty-seven) he was " utterly disconsolate," says
the letter of a friend. His sister Orsa afterwards kept house for him -
"sister, daughter, mother, companion, and steward of his household,"
so Aretino described her ; and it was his daughter Lavinia whom he
oftenest loved to paint. She was ' ' the person dearest to him in all
the world," and many years after she had died (1560), in childbirth,
he describes her to Philip II. as "absolute mistress of his soul."
When she married and settled not far from Cadore, Titian often visited
her, and the house in Venice where he died looked across the lagoons
to the distant mountains of his early home.
Venus is endeavouring to detain Adonis from the chase ; but
the sun is up (see his chariot in the sky) and the young hunts-
man is eager to be off with his hounds and his spear. The
enamoured goddess caresses him, but it will be in vain. For
Cupid, the god of love, is not there : he is asleep and at a
distance, with his bow and quiver hanging on a tree ; and all
the blandishments of beauty, unaided by love, are as naught.
Even as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek'd Adonis hied him to the chase ;
Hunting he loved, but love he laugh'd to scorn ;
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-faced suitor 'gins to woo him.
SHAKESPEARE : Venus and Adonis.
1O22. AN ITALIAN NOBLEMAN.
Moroni (Bergamese : 1525-1578).
See under 1023, p. 132.
His left foot appears to have been wounded, for it is attached
by a kind of stirrup and black cord to a band above the knee.
1 See on this subject Morelli, p. 167 ., 174 ., and Layard, ii. 603 a.
140 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
It is interesting to compare this portrait with the closely corre-
sponding one by Moretto which hangs near it (1025, p. 145).
Both are excellent examples of the several masters. Both
were, no doubt, good likenesses ; but there is a suggestion of
poetry in Moretto's which one misses in Moroni's.
224. THE TRIBUTE MONEY.
Ascribed to Titian. See under 34, p. 138.
The Pharisee, hoping to entrap Jesus into sedition, asks
him whether it is lawful to give tribute unto Caesar. " Show
me the tribute money" is the answer. " Whose is this image
and superscription ? . . . Render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Titian's
great picture of this subject is at Dresden ; this is probably a
reminiscence of it by some pupil in his school.
4. A HOLY FAMILY.
Titian (Venetian: 1477-1576). See under 34, p. 138.
One of the pictures which mark the advance made by Titian
in the art of landscape. Look at the background of some earlier
Holy Family, at the " purist " landscape, for instance, of Peru-
gino (VI. 288, p. 104), and the change will be seen at once
a change from the conventional or ideal to the real and the
actual. Titian was one of the first to " relieve the foreground
of his landscapes from the grotesque, quaint, and crowded
formalism of the early painters, and give a close approximation
to the forms of nature in all things ; retaining, however, this
much of the old system, that the distances were for the most
part painted in deep ultramarine blue, the foregrounds in rich
green and brown " (Lectures on Architecture and Painting,
p. 1 58). But it is not only in the nearer approximation to
the forms of nature that Titian's landscape differs from that
of his predecessors. He was also the first l to " apprehend the
subduing pathos that comes with eventide when the sky is
all aglow with dying tints, and everything earthly is transfigured,
and the heart is strangely stirred with vague yearnings, retro-
spections, aspirations, and a consciousness that human life
and destiny are mysteriously reflected in the face of nature "
(Gilbert: Cadore or Titian 's Country, p. 33).
1 See, however, the sunset picture of his predecessor, Bellini (726, p. 161).
Connoisseurs should note that this picture is referred to by Richter, p. 85,
as bearing on the vexed question of Palma Vecchio's relation with Titian,
and showing that the latter imitated the former rather than vice versd.
See also Morelli, p. 25.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 141
1. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS.
Sebastiano del Piombo (Venetian : 1485-1 547).
The unusual size of this picture, coupled with the belief that
Michael Angelo assisted in its production, has led many art critics to
pronounce it a very grand work, 1 and their exaggerated praises have
probably weighed rather heavily on the credulity of successive genera-
tions of sightseers. But whatever be its artistic merits, the picture is
undeniably interesting in art history as an incarnation of an artist's
jealous ambition. Sebastiano Luciani (called "del Piombo" (lead),
from his holding the office of Keeper of the Leaden Seal : see further
under 20, p. 142), was originally a painter and musician at Venice, where
he studied successively under John Bellini and Giorgione. But in
1512 he was invited to Rome by the famous banker Agostino Ghigi.
Here he fell under the influence of Michael Angelo, who employed
Sebastiano to execute several of his designs, and saw in him a means,
says Vasari, of out -doing Raphael. The opportunity occurred when
the Cardinal Giulio de' Medici commissioned Raphael to paint the
"Transfiguration" (now in the Vatican), and at the same time Sebastiano
to paint this picture, on the same scale, of the Raising of Lazarus.
The pictures when finished were exhibited side by side, and there were
some who preferred Sebastiano's. " The picture was painted," says
Vasari, ' ' with the utmost care, under the direction, and in some
parts with the design, of Michael Angelo." There are in the British
Museum two original drawings by Michael Angelo which are evidently
preparatory studies for the figure of Lazarus ; but Sebastiano cannot
have painted under his friend's direction, for Michael Angelo was at
Florence at the time, and Sebastiano writes to him, "There has been
some delay with my work. I have endeavoured to keep it back as
long as possible, that Raphael might not see it before it is finished.
. . . But now I do not hesitate any more. I believe I shall not, with
my work, bring discredit upon you." The want of spontaneity, the
absence of intellectual and emotional insight, and the perpetual strain-
ing after effect which recent critics have seen in the picture, are the
reflection, perhaps, of the eager but not very noble passions which are
thus known to have inspired its production.
The time chosen is after the completion of the miracle :
" He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with
1 Thus Sir Henry Cole (" Felix Summerly") called it "doubtless the
greatest Italian painting in this country ;" Hazlitt said it was "one of the
best pictures on so large a scale that he was acquainted with ; " Waagen
pronounced it to be " the most important specimen of Italian art in
England ;" Solly called it "the second picture in the world ;" and Mrs.
Jameson saw in it a combination of ' ' the characteristic power and beauty
of the finest school of design and the finest school of colouring in the
world." For an equally uncompromising condemnation see Landseer's
Catalogue, pp. 92-119. A comparison of the various opinions expressed
on this picture forms a diverting chapter in the history of art criticism.
142 ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL
grave-clothes ; and his face was bound about with a napkin."
Jesus in the middle of the picture is uttering the words, " Loose
him, and let him go ;" with his right hand Jesus points to
heaven, as it he said, " I have raised thee by the power of
him who sent me." The three men, who have already re-
moved the lid of the sepulchre, are fulfilling Christ's command.
The grave-clothes, by which the face of Lazarus is thrown into
deep shade, express the idea of the night of the grave which
but just before enveloped him ; and the eye looking eagerly
from beneath the shade upon Christ shows the new life in its
most intellectual organ. To the left, behind Christ, is St
John, answering objections raised against the credibility of the
miracle. Farther off, behind this group, is one of the Phari-
sees, whose unbelief is combated by the man who points in
evidence to the raised Lazarus. Behind Lazarus is his sister
Martha, sickening now at what she most desired ; behind her
are other women holding their noses. 1 At the foot of Jesus is
the other sister, Mary, full of faith and gratitude
Her eyes are homes of silent prayer,
Nor other thought her mind admits
But, he was dead, and there he sits,
And he that brought him back is there.
Then one deep love doth supersede
All other, when her ardent gaze
Roves from the living brother's face,
And rests upon the Life indeed.
TENNYSON : In Memoriam, xxxii.
20. IPPOLITO DE' MEDICI AND THE ARTIST.
Sebastiano del Piombo (Venetian : 1485-1 547).
In 1531 Sebastiano received from the Pope the office of
Frate del Piombo, Monk of the Leaden Signet, which was
affixed to the pontifical diplomas. The painter is here dressed
1 It is worth noting that a similar incident (which in this picture has
greatly shocked some of the critics) is introduced in Orcagna's great fresco
of the Triumph of Death. ' ' The three kings of the German legend are
represented looking at the three coffins containing three bodies of kings,
such as themselves, in the last stages of corruption. . . . Orcagna disdains
both poetry and taste ; he wants the facts only ; he wishes to give the
spectator the same lesson that the kings had, and, therefore, instead of
concealing the dead bodies, he paints them with the most fearful detail.
And then, he does not consider what the three kings might most gracefully
do. He considers only what they actually, in all probability, would have
done. He makes them looking at the coffins with a startled stare, and one
holding his nose" (Lectures on Architecture and Painting, pp. 209, 210).
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 143
in the black robe of his office ; on the table are two parch-
ment-deeds, with Sebastiano's hand on the seal of one of them,
and the picture thus represents, perhaps, the ratification of the
appointment by his friend and patron, the Cardinal Ippolito
de' Medici. The artist's portrait of himself agrees very well
with what Vasari says of his character. He was a painter
more of necessity than of choice, and when once he received
his valuable sinecure he forsook his palette for the lute, and
people found it very hard to get any work out of him. He
much preferred talking about pictures, says Vasari, to executing
them. He was " of a very full habit," and young painters who
resorted to him " rarely made any great profit, since from his
example they could learn little beside the art of good living."
But he was a thoroughly good fellow, and a kindly withal. A
better or more agreeable companion never lived ; and when
he died he commanded that his remains should be carried to
the tomb without any ceremony of priests and friars, and that
the amount which would have been thus expended should be
distributed to the poor, for the love of God : and so was it
done. But in one branch of art, adds Vasari, Sebastiano was
always ready to work, namely, in painting portraits, such as
this, from the life. " In this art he did certainly surpass all
others in delicacy and excellence so much so that when
Cardinal Ippolito fell in love with the lady Giulia Gonzaga,
he sent Sebastiano with four swift horses to her home for the
purpose of taking her portrait, and in about a month the artist
completed the likeness, when, what with the celestial beauties
of that lady, and what with the able hand of so accomplished
a master, the picture proved to be a most divine one." No. 24,
p. 136, was formerly thought to be the portrait in question.
635. THE "REPOSE."
Titian (Venetian : 1477-1576). See under 34, p. 138.
One of the pictures painted by Titian for the King of Spain
(it has the Escurial mark on the back of it). The subject is
the familiar Repose of the Holy Family, during their flight
into Egypt. The introduction of St. John the Baptist, and
St. Catherine l embracing the Holy Child, and in the distance
1 ' ' The piece of St. Catherine's dress over her shoulders is painted on
the under dress, after that was dry. All its value would have been lost,
had the slightest tint or trace of it been given previously. This picture, I
144 ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL
the angel appearing to the shepherds, serve as the sign-manuals
to mark the sacred subject. For the rest it is a simple
domestic scene, laid amongst the hills of Titian's country, near
Ceneda, on the way to Cadore. " To this Ceneda scenery I
would assign those charming mixtures of woodland and plain,
those sweeping intermingling lines of hill, here broken by a
jutting rock, sinking there into the sudden depth of bosky
shades, which are another characteristic of Titian's land-
scape. The play of light and shade over such a country,
throwing out now this, now that, of the billowy ranges as they
alternately smiled in sunshine, or frowned in shadow ; now
printing off a tower or a crag, dark against a far-off flitting
gleam, now touching into brightness a cottage or a castle ; he
specially delighted to record. ... It must have been from the
village of Caverzano, and within an easy walk from Belluno,
that he took the mountain forms, and noted the sublime effect
upon them of evening light, introduced in the ' Madonna and
St. Catherine.' The lines of hill and mountain are identical
with a record in my sketch-book, and the sharp-pointed hill,
almost lost in the rays, is one of the most familiar features in
the neighbourhood of Belluno " (Gilbert : Cadore, pp. 36, 59).
Mr. Gilbert makes another interesting remark, which may be
verified in this picture with its flocks of sheep, as well as in
270, p. 152, with its farm buildings: "Another characteristic
of Titian's landscape, and new in his time, is his perception of
its domestic charm the sweetness of a home landscape. A
cottage, a farm, a mill, take the place with him of the temples,
towers, and lordly palaces of town-bred painters. . . . Honest
travellers on a country track, or sleeping in the shade ; the
peasant going forth to labour, or returning with his tools ; the
high -roofed, quaintly gabled farm, with its nondescript sur-
roundings, and all set snugly on the bosky knoll . . . these
are his favourite subjects. But they never would have been
so to a thorough Venetian. They show us the man of the
hills the breezy, happy hills: the man of many pleasant
memories, upon the sward, beside the brook, under the bending
boughs : the man who carried no city apprehensions, or city
squeamishness to country places, but was at home anywhere
under the broad heaven " (ibid., p. 60).
think, and certainly many of Tintoret's, are painted on dark grounds ; but
this is to save time, and with some loss to the future brightness of the
colour" (Modern Painters, voL v. pt. viii. ch. iv. 17 .)
ROOM VI I: VENETIAN SCHOOL 145
1025. AN ITALIAN NOBLEMAN.
// Moretto (Brescian : 1498-1555). See under 625, p. 131.
A true character portrait, a picture of a soul as well as of
a face. It is an Italian nobleman with all the poetry and
aspiration of chivalry. On his scarlet cap he bears his proud
device a medallion in gold and enamel of St. Christopher
bearing the infant Saviour the ideal of Christian chivalry :
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of one of these,
ye have done it unto me."
35. BACCHUS AND ARIADNE.
Titian (Venetian : 1477-1576). See under 34, p. 138.
A picture which is at once a school of poetry and a school
of art. It is a translation on canvas of the scene described
in Catullus, where Bacchus, the wine-god, returning with his
revel rout from a sacrifice, finds Ariadne on the seashore,
after she had been deserted by Theseus, her lover. Bacchus
no sooner sees her than he is enamoured and determines to
make her his bride
Bounding along is blooming Bacchus seen,
With all his heart aflame with love for thee,
Fair Ariadne ! and behind him, see,
Where Satyrs and Sileni whirl along,
With frenzy fired, a fierce tumultuous throng ! . . .
There some wave thyrsi wreathed with ivy, here
Some toss the limbs of a dismembered steer . . .
Others with open palms the timbrel smite,
Or with their brazen rods make tinklings light.
Carmen Ixiv. : Sir T. Martin's translation.
Nothing can be finer than the painter's representation of
Bacchus and his rout : there is a " divine inebriety " in the god
which is the very " incarnation of the spirit of revelry."
" With this telling of the story," says Charles Lamb (Essay on
Barrenness of the Imaginative Faculty in the Productions of
Modern Art), " an artist, and no ordinary one, might remain
richly proud. . . . But Titian has recalled past time, and
made it contributory with the present to one simultaneous
effect. With the desert all ringing with the mad cymbals
of his followers, made lucid with the presence and new offers
of a god, as if unconscious of Bacchus, or but idly casting
her eyes as upon some unconcerning pageant, her soul
L
146 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
undistracted from Theseus, Ariadne is still pacing the solitary
shore, in as much heart-silence, and in almost the same local
solitude, with which she awoke at daybreak to catch the
forlorn last glances of the sail that bore away the Athenian."
But though as yet half unconscious, Ariadne is already under
her fated star : for above is the constellation of Ariadne's
crown the crown with which Bacchus presented his bride.
And observe in connection with the astronomical side of
the allegory the figure in Bacchus's train with the serpent
round him : this is the serpent-bearer (Milton's " Ophiucus
huge") translated to the skies with Bacchus and Ariadne.
Notice too another piece of poetry : the marriage of Bacchus
and Ariadne took place in the spring, Ariadne herself being
the personification of its return, and Bacchus of its gladness ;
hence the flowers in the foreground which deck his path.
The picture is as full of the painter's art as of the poet's.
Note first the exquisite painting of the vine leaves, 1 and of
these flowers in the foreground, as an instance of the " constant
habit of the great masters to render every detail of their
foreground with the most laborious botanical fidelity " : " The
foreground is occupied with the common blue iris, the aquilegia,
and the wild rose (more correctly the Capparis spinosa) ;
every stamen of which latter is given, while the blossoms
and leaves of the columbine (a difficult flower to draw) have
been studied with the most exquisite accuracy." But this
detail is sought not for its own sake, but only so far as is
necessary to mark the typical qualities of beauty in the object.
Thus " while every stamen of the rose is given because this
was necessary to mark the flower, and while the curves and
large characters of the leaves are rendered with exquisite
fidelity, there is no vestige of particular texture, of moss, bloom,
moisture, or any other accident, no dewdrops, nor flies, nor
trickeries of any kind ; nothing beyond the simple forms and
hues of the flowers, even those hues themselves being simplified
and broadly rendered. The varieties of aquilegia have in
reality a greyish and uncertain tone of colour, and never attain
1 " If you live in London you may test your progress accurately by the
degree of admiration you feel for the leaves of vine round the head of the
Bacchus in Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne " (Elements of Drawing, p. 82).
Another technical beauty referred to in the same book (p. 77 n. ) is " the
points of light on the white flower in the wreath of the dancing child-faun."
Similarly, "the wing of the cupid in Correggio's picture (IX. 10, p. 203) is
focused to two little grains of white at the top of it "
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 147
the purity of blue with which Titian has gifted his flower. But
the master does not aim at the particular colour of individual
blossoms ; he seizes the type of all, and gives it with the utmost
purity and simplicity of which colour is capable." A second
point to be noticed is the way in which one kind of truth has
often to be sacrificed in order to gain another. Thus here
Titian sacrifices truth of aerial effect to richness of tone tone
in the sense, that is, of that quality of colour which makes us
feel that the whole picture is in one climate, under one kind of
light, and in one kind of atmosphere. " It is difficult
to imagine anything more magnificently impossible than
the blue of the distant landscape ; impossible, not from its
vividness, but because it is not faint and aerial enough to
account for its purity of colour ; it is too dark and blue
at the same time ; and there is indeed so total a want of
atmosphere in it, that, but for the difference of form, it would
be impossible to tell the mountains intended to be ten miles
off, from the robe of Ariadne close to the spectator. Yet
make this blue faint, aerial, and distant; make it in the
slightest degree to resemble the tint of nature's colour ; and
all the tone of the picture, all the intensity and splendour, will
vanish on the instant" (Modern Painters, vols. i., xxvii., xxx.
(Preface to Second Edition), pt i. sec. ii. ch. i. 5, pt. ii. sec. ii.
ch. i. 1 5 ; vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. ix. 1 8 ; vol. v. pt ix. ch. iii. 31;
Arrows of the Chace, i. 58). We may notice lastly what Sir
Joshua Reynolds points out (Discourse viii.), that the harmony
of the picture that wonderful bringing together of two times
of which Lamb speaks above, is assisted by the distribution of
colours. " To Ariadne is given (say the critics) a red scarf,
to relieve the figure from the sea, which is behind her. It is
not for that reason alone, but for another of much greater con-
sequence ; for the sake of the general harmony and effect of
the picture. The figure of Ariadne is separated from the great
group, and is dressed in blue, which, added to the colour of
the sea, makes that quantity of cold colour which Titian thought
necessary for the support and brilliancy of the great group ;
whicrrgroup is composed, with very little exception, entirely of
mellow colours. But as the picture in this case would be
divided into two distinct parts, one half cold, and the other
warm ; it was necessary to carry some of the mellow colours
of the great group into the cold part of the picture, and a part
of the cold into the great group ; accordingly, Titian gave
148 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
Ariadne a red scarf, and to one of the Bacchante a little blue
drapery."
It is interesting to know that this great picture took Titian
three years, off and on, to finish. It was a commission from
the Duke of Ferrara, who supplied canvas and frame for it,
and repeatedly wrote to press for its delivery : it reached
him in 1523.
932. A KNIGHT OF MALTA.
Unknown (Italian : i6th century).
This portrait which came to the National Gallery from the
Wynn Ellis collection was formerly in that of King Louis
Philippe, when it was ascribed to Sebastiano del Piombo.
036. PORTRAIT OF ARIOSTO.
Titian^ (Venetian : 1477-1576). See under 34, p. 138.
A portrait of one of the greatest of Italian poets by one of
the greatest of Italian painters. Titian and Ariosto (1474-
1533), who were nearly contemporaries, were also intimate
acquaintances. Ariosto commemorates the painter in this poem
as one " who honours Cadore not less than Sebastiano del
Piombo and Raphael honour Venice and Urbino." About
1516 Titian went to Ferrara, when Ariosto was also there,
and it may have been then that Titian painted this portrait.
The painter returns the poet's compliments, places leaves
of laurel behind him the proper background for a poet, and
paints them with exquisite care. 2 There is some sensuality
in the poet's face, but there are also the "mildness and
clemency," " the modesty and independence " which are
celebrated in his written epitaph.
1 Both the ascription of this picture to Titian, and its title as a portrait
of Ariosto, are now disputed (see Richter, p. 85). With regard to the
latter point Titian made a drawing for the woodcut in the 1532 edition
of the Orlando Furioso. That woodcut rather resembles the ' ' Titian's
portrait of Ariosto " in Lord Darnley's collection than this one. On the
other hand this portrait answers to the one described by Ridolfi as being
by Titian, and it may have been painted, as suggested above, in 1516,
whereas the drawing for the woodcut would probably have been taken
fifteen years later, when Ariosto was nearly at the end of his life.
2 "The relative merit of the great schools of figure design might, in
absence of all other evidence, be determined, almost without error, by
observing the precision of their treatment of leaf curvature. The leaf-
painting round the head of Ariosto by Titian, in the National Gallery,
might be instanced" (On the Old Road, i. 719, hereafter referred to as
o. o. #.)
ROOM VI I: VENETIAN SCHOOL 149
816. THE INCREDULITY OF ST. THOMAS.
Cima da Conegliano (Venetian: painted 1489-1517).
See under 300, p. 156.
A picture interesting amongst other things for its history.
It was painted as a commission for a religious fraternity,
for the altar of their patron saint, St. Thomas, at Porto-
gruario (near Conegliano). The price paid for it was equal
to about 17 sterling, at that time representing a consider-
able sum. For 328 years it remained in its original place;
it was then removed by the local authorities, and in 1870
was sold to our Government. When bought it " was greatly
disfigured by various repaints, and was otherwise in bad
condition. Judicious cleaning and restoration (by Mr. Wm.
Dyer) have brought out its fine qualities. The heads are
highly expressive and some of the figures ... of great dignity "
(Layard, i. 325).
735. ST. ROCH WITH THE ANGEL.
Paolo Morando (Veronese : 1486-1522).
Paolo Morando, otherwise known as Cavazzola (his father was
Taddeo Cavazzola di Jacobi di Morando), was a pupil of Morone (see
285, p. 189). He " infused a higher life, and a fine system of colouring
into the Veronese School, making thus a great advance upon his
contemporaries, and preparing the way for Paul Veronese. . . . He
shows, as Dr. Burckhardt has justly observed, ' a marvellous transition
from the realism of the fifteenth century to the noble free character
of the sixteenth, not to an empty idealism ' " {Layard, i. 270).
His masterpieces are still in his native Verona, and nowhere else,
except in the National Gallery, can he be studied.
St. Roch (who may be known for a saint by the halo round
his head) is the patron of the sick and plague-stricken. The
legend says that he left great riches to travel as a pilgrim to
Rome, where he tended those sick of the plague, and by his
intercession effected miraculous cures. Through many cities
he laboured thus, until at last in Piacenza he became himself
plague-stricken, and with a horrible ulcer in his thigh he was
turned out into a lonely wood. He has here laid aside his
pilgrim staff and hung his hat upon it, and prepared himself to
die, when an angel appears to him and drops a fresh rose on his
path. There is no rose without a thorn, and no thorn in a
saint's crown without a rose. He bares his thigh to show his
wound to the angel, who (says the legend) dressed it for him.
l$o ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
whilst his little dog miraculously brought him every morning a
loaf of bread.
234. A WARRIOR ADORING THE INFANT CHRIST.
Unknown l (Venetian : School of Bellini).
Observe, for the technical merits of this picture, the horse-
bridle : " An example of true painter's work in minor detail ;
unsurpassable, but not, by patience and modesty, inimitable "
(Academy C T otes, 1875, p. 48). As for the subject, the warrior
portrayed is nameless. This is suggestive ; it is not a peculiar
picture, it is a type of what was the common method of Venetian
portraiture. " An English gentleman, desiring his portrait,
gives probably to the painter a cho- v e of several actions, in
any of which he is willing to be represented. As for instance,
riding his best horse, shooting with his favourite pointer,
manifesting himself in his robes of state on some great public
occasion, meditating in his study, playing with his children, or
visiting his tenants ; in any of these or other such circum-
stances, he will give the artist free leave to paint him. But in
one important action he would shrink even from the suggestion of
being drawn. He will assuredly not let himself be painted pray-
ing. Strangely, this is the action which, of all others, a Venetian
desires to be painted in. If they want a noble and complete
portrait, they nearly all choose to be painted on their knees "
(Modern Painters, voL v. pt. ix. ch. iii. 15). Notice also the
little dog in the corner "one of the little curly, short-nosed,
fringy-pawed things which all Venetian ladies petted." " The
dog is thus constantly introduced by the Venetians (in
Madonna pictures) in order to give the fullest contrast to the
highest tones of human thought and feeling. . . . But they saw
the noble qualities of the dog too all his patience, love, and
faithfulness . . . ," and introduced him into their sacred
pictures partly therefore in order to show " that all the lower
creatures, who can love, have passed, through their love, into
the guardianship and guidance of angels " (Modern Painters, vol.
v. pt. ix. ch. iii. 21, ch. vi. 14 ; Fors Clavigera, 1877, p. 31).
287. LUDOVICO MARTINENGO.
Bartolommeo Veneziano (painted 1505-1530).
The Martinengo family seems to have patronised this painter, as
the Senator Count Martinengo, of Venice, possesses as an heirloom a
1 Ascribed to Catena by Morel li, p. 151.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 151
small picture by the master which is signed " Bartolommeo mezzo
Veneziano e mezzo Cremonese." The present picture is signed
" Bartolom. Venetus," so that he was perhaps a Cremonese by birth
and a Venetian by artistic training, being probably a pupil of
Giovanni Bellini (see Morelli, p. 138).
A portrait of a young man, at the age of twenty-six (as the
inscription tells us), in the costume of the Compagnia della
Calza (the guild of the stocking).
1203. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Giovanni Busi, called Cariani (Bergamese : about 1480-1541).
Notice the rustic type of the Madonna ; she is a daughter of
the mountains the mountains above Bergamo from which the
painter came, and which figure in the background. The
picture is a characteristic piece of provincial art ; the expres-
sion of " a simple, sturdy, energetic mountain-folk who do not
always know how to unite refinement and grace with their
inbred strength and vigour " (Morelli, p. 4).
277. THE GOOD SAMARITAN.
Jacopo da Ponte, called // Bassano (Venetian : 1 510-1 592).
Jacopo da Ponte, called Bassano from his native town, was nearly
contemporary with the great Tintoretto. But while the latter was the
last of the Venetian painters in the great style, what gives Bassano a
distinguishing place in the history of art is that he was the first Italian
genre painter a painter, that is, du genre has, painter of a low class of
subjects, of familiar objects such as do not belong to any other
recognised class of paintings (as history, portrait, etc. ) : see for instance,
his picture, XIII. 228, p. 308. This and the other picture by him in
this room, 173 (p. 169), are only incidentally characteristic in this respect.
The wounded Jew, who had fallen among thieves, is beneath
the shadow of a great rock. The Levite is behind, engaged
in sanctimonious prayer. The good Samaritan is busy in good
works. He has brought out his flask and is raising the Jew to
place him on his mule. The picture is of additional interest as
having been a favourite with Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom it
once belonged, and who is said to have kept it always in his studio.
93O. THE GARDEN OF LOVE.
School of Giorgione (Venetian : early 1 6th century)
So ascribed in the Catalogue. " But, we venture to ask, Is
this really an Italian picture ?" (Richter, p. 87). At any rate
it must not be taken as typical of Giorgione.
152 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
697. PORTRAIT OF A TAILOR.
Moroni (Bergamese : 1525-1578).
See under 1023, p. 132.
A " speaking portrait." " The tailor's picture is so well
done," says an old Italian critic, "that it speaks better than an
advocate could." A portrait that enables one, moreover, to
realise what was once meant by a "worshipful company of
merchant tailors." He is no Alton Locke no discontented
" tailor and poet ;" neither is he like some fashionable west-end
tailor, with ambitions of rising above his work. He is well-to-do
notice his handsome ring ; but he has the shears in his hands.
He does the work himself, and he likes the work. He is
something of an artist, it would seem, in clothes : his jacket
and handsome breeches were a piece of his work, one may
suppose ; and the artist has caught and immortalised him, as
he is standing back for a minute to calculate the effect of his
next cut.
270. NOLI ME TANGERE !
Titian (Venetian : 1477-1576). See under 34, p. 138.
A picture of the even-song of nature and of the evening of
a life's tragedy. " The hues and harmonies of evening " are
upon the distant hills and plain ; and whilst the shadows fall
upon the middle slopes, there falls too " the awful shadow of
some unseen Power" upon the repentant woman who has been
keeping her vigil in the peaceful solitude ; at the sound of her
name she has turned from her weeping and fallen forward on
her knees towards him whom she now knows to be her master.
She stretches out her hand to touch him, but is checked by
his words ; as Christ, who is represented with a hoe in his hand
because she had first supposed him to be the gardener, bids
her forbear : " touch me not," " noli me tangere," ' for I am
not yet ascended to my Father : " it is not on this side of the
hills that the troubled soul can enter into the peace of for-
giveness.
632. A SAINT.
Girolamo da Santa Croce (Venetian : painted I 520-1 5 50).
Girolamo was one of the weaker pupils of Giovanni Bellini ; called
Santa Croce from the village of that name near Bergamo, where he was
born.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 153
280. THE MADONNA OF THE POMEGRANATE.
Giovanni Bellini (Venetian : 1426 1 5 1 6).
Giovanni Bellini (often shortened into Giambellino) the greatest
of the fifteenth - century artists "the mighty Venetian master who
alone of all the painters of Italy united purity of religious aim with
perfection of artistical power" 1 belonged, it is interesting to note, to
a thoroughly artistic family. His father, Jacopo, drawings by whom
may be seen in the British Museum, was an artist of repute ; his elder
brother Gentile (see 1 2 1 3, p. 1 59) was another, whilst their sister married
Mantegna (Room VIII). By blood every inch an artist, so was he
also in character. His life was one long devotion to his art. He
lived to be ninety, and showed to the end increasing knowledge and
power. Albert Diirer wrote in 1506, when the grand old man was
eighty, that " though very old he was still the best painter in Venice." 2
The picture hung near this (189, p. 155), one of his best portraits, must
have been painted about the same time, for Leonardo Loredano only
became Doge in 1501. Bellini's largest works, which once decorated
the great Council Chamber in the Doge's Palace, were destroyed by
fire in 1577- The documents referring to these works show the terms
on which he worked. He was engaged at a fixed rate of salary to
work ' ' constantly and daily, so that said pictures may be completed as
expeditiously as possible, with three assistants, also paid by the State,
to render speedy and diligent assistance." One of these assistants was
Carpaccio (see 7S> P- I 57). I n later years he had a very large band of
pupils amongst them the great Giorgione and Titian. With the
latter he was on terms of warm friendship, and his last work (a com-
panion piece to Titian's "Bacchus and Ariadne," now in the Duke of
Northumberland's gallery at Alnwick) was left for Titian to finish.
Bellini's long life covers the end of one period and the beginning of
another in the history of Italian art. In point of technique this is so :
his earliest works are in tempera, his later ones in oil the use of which
medium he learnt perhaps from Antonello da Messina. It is so also
in motive. " The iridescence of dying statesmanship in Italy her
magnificence of hollow piety, were represented in the arts of Venice
and Florence by two mighty men on either side Titian and Tintoret,
1 Arrows of the Chace, \. 66 ; see also Morelli, p. 361.
2 This letter of Diirer's gives an interesting glimpse into the art life of
the time. ' ' I have many good friends among the Italians, who warn me
not to eat and drink with their painters. Many also of them are my
enemies ; they copy my things for the churches, picking them up when-
ever they can. Yet they abuse my style, saying that it is not antique art,
and that therefore it is not good. But Giambellini has praised me much
before many gentlemen ; he wishes to have something of mine ; he came
to me and begged me to do something for him, and is quite willing to pay for
it And every one gives him such a good character that I feel an affection for
him. He is very old, and is yet the best in painting ; and the thing which
pleased me so well eleven years ago has now no attractions for me "
(Catalogue of Standard Series in the Ruskin Drawing School, p. 7).
154 ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL
Michael Angelo and Raphael. Of the calm and brave statesman-
ship, the modest and faithful religion, which had been her strength, I
am content to name one chief representative artist at Venice, John
Bellini." The years of change were 1480-1520 (roughly speaking
those of Raphael's life). "John Bellini precedes the change, meets
and resists it victoriously to his death. Nothing of flaw or failure is
ever to be discerned in him " {Relation behueen Michael Angelo and
Tintoret, pp. 11-13). His position is thus unique : he was the meeting-
point of two ways : as great in artistic power as the masters who
came after, as pure in religious aim as those who went before. He is
great also for the extraordinary variety of his powers ; and though it is
only in Venice that he can be rightly gauged, the National Gallery is
fortunate in having more of his works than can be seen anywhere else
north of the Alps.
A prophetic sense of the Saviour's sufferings is signified by
the symbol of the pomegranate
Pomegranate, which, if cut deep down the middle,
Shows a heart within blood-tinctured, of a veined humanity.
MRS. BROWNING : Lady Geraldine's Courtship.
Years pass and change ; mother and child remain.
Mother so proudly sad, so sadly wise,
With perfect face and wonderful calm eyes,
Full of a mute expectancy of pain :
Child of whose love the mother seems so fain,
Looking far off, as if in other skies
He saw the hill of crucifixion rise,
And knew the horror, and would not refrain.
Love in Idleness (1883).
623. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Girolamo da Treviso, the younger (Venetian : 1497-1544).
A picture more interesting to us perhaps for the painter's
history than for its own merits. For Girolamo, who, as we shall
see, was a man of travel, " did not remain faithful to the tradition
of art as professed at Venice and Treviso, and might be called
rather a forerunner of the eclectic schools. . . . The head of
St. Paul is apparently copied from Raphael's picture of St.
Cecilia in Bologna. In the types of other figures, in the
colouring and in the landscape, we perceive the influence of
Dosso Dossi and of Garofalo" (Richter, p. 87). The picture
is, however, called by Vasari (iii. 287) " the best of his works :
it represents the Madonna with numerous saints (Joseph,
James, and Paul), and contains the portrait of the person
by whom the painter was commissioned to execute the work."
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 155
It was painted at Bologna, but Girolamo, finding himself not
sufficiently appreciated, " repaired to England, where he was
so favoured by certain of his friends, who recommended him to
the king (Henry VIII.), that he was at once appointed to the
service of that monarch. Presenting himself to the English
sovereign accordingly, Girolamo was employed, not as painter,
but as engineer, and having given proofs of his ability in
various edifices, copied from such as he had seen in Tuscany
and other parts of Italy, the king admired them greatly. Nay,
furthermore, his majesty rewarded the master with large gifts,
and ordained him a stipend of four hundred crowns a year,
giving him at the same time opportunity and permission to
erect an honourable abode for himself, the cost of which was
borne by the king." Girolamo had, however, to erect also some
bastions at Boulogne, and there " he was struck by a cannon-
ball, which came with such violence that it cut him in two as
he sat on his horse. And so were his life and all the honours
of this world extinguished together, all his greatness departing
in a moment."
189. THE DOGE LEONARDO LOREDANO.
Giovanni Bellini (Venetian : 1426-1516.) See under 2 80, p. 1 5 3.
A magnificent portrait of one of the greatest men of the
Venetian Republic. Leonardo, the 67th Doge, held office
from 1501 to 1521. He belonged to one of the most ancient
and noble families in the State, and Venice, under his rule,
was one of the Great Powers of Europe as the league of
Cambrai formed against him sufficiently shows. There is all
the quiet dignity of a born ruler in his face " fearless,
faithful, patient, impenetrable, implacable every word a
fate" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. ix. i).
808. ST. PETER MARTYR.
Giovanni Bellini * (Venetian : 1426-1516).
See under 280, p. 153.
A fancy portrait of a jolly comfortable-looking Dominican
monk a faithful portrait doubtless. His face is painted as it
really was, " wart and all," but it has pleased him to be
1 "By Gentile Bellini, and not by Giovanni, as stated in the Catalogue.
The latter artist drew the ear of a different shape than did his brother,
Gentile" (Morelli, p. 10 .) If so, the signature is forged or altered.
156 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
represented in the character of Peter, a famous member of his
order (see Octagon, 41, p. 192).
633. A SAINT.
Girolamo da Santa Croce (Venetian : painted 1520-1550).
See under 632, p. 152.
3OO. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Cima da ConegUano (Venetian: painted 1489-1517).
Giovanni Battista Cima, of Conegliano, was rightly named
after his native place for he loved it so well that he introduced
its hilly landscape into most of his pictures, as into this. There
is something very pretty in the way in which the earlier
Venetian masters placed their Holy Families in their own fields
and amongst their own mountains (compare, e.g., the Madonna
in the Meadow, 599, p. 178), thus imagining the Madonna and
her child not as a far-away sanctity in the sky, but as an actual
presence nigh unto them, at their very doors. 1 "There has
probably not been an innocent cottage-home throughout the
length and breadth of Europe during the whole period of vital
Christianity, in which the imagined presence of the Madonna has
not given sanctity to the humblest duties, and comfort to the sorest
trials of the lives of women ; and every brightest and loftiest
achievement of the arts and strength of manhood has been the
fulfilment of the assured prophecy of the poor Israelite maiden,
' He that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name ' "
(Fors Clavigera, 1874, P- IO 5)-
777. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Paolo Morando (Veronese : 1486-1522). Seeunder 735, p. 149.
A picture of great beauty, which goes far to justify the title
of " the Raphael of the Veronese School " by which Morando
has been distinguished (Richter, p. 73). Every visitor will
be struck by the unpretentious simplicity of conception, the
rich colours and the sweet faces with just a dash of Raphael-
esque affectation. It is interesting to note that Morando was
almost exactly contemporary with Raphael, while his art ex-
hibits a maturity developed under totally different circum-
stances (Layard, i. 271).
1 The feeling which one may thus find in these paintings of four centuries
ago still lingers amongst the Italian peasantry, as readers of Miss Alexander's
Roadside Songs and Chrisfs Folk in the Apennine (both edited by
Mr. Ruskin) will know.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 157
1123. VENUS, ADONIS, AND MYRRHA.
Unknown^ (Venetian : i6th century).
A picture of the golden age they are no mortal lovers that
we see : he with passionate gaze, she half yielding and half
coy. They are Venus and her favourite Adonis. In the back-
ground to the right and left of the principal figures may be
seen several small groups. On the right is a woman fleeing
from a man who pursues her, sword in hand ; these represent
Myrrha and her father Cinyras. Farther on the woman is on
her knees ; here Myrrha is praying to the gods to transform
her
. . . Since my life the living will profane
And since my death the happy dead will stain,
Some other form to wretched Myrrha give,
Nor let her wholly die, nor wholly live.
A third group shows the answer to her prayer: she is
transferred into the myrrh tree, whose "precious drops her
name retain," while the wood-nymphs receive her new-born
babe, Adonis. In the background on the left is represented
the death of Adonis ; Venus is lamenting over his body and
changing his blood into the anemone (Times, July 26, 1882).
For the story of Myrrha, see Dryden's translations from Ovid's
Metamorphoses.
750. THE DOGE GIOVANNI MOCENIGO.
Carpaccio (Venetian : 1450-1522).
This picture is by no means a worthy representation of Vittore
Carpaccio, who was the best of all Bellini's pupils, and who of late
years has been singled out by Mr. Ruskin as the best of all Venetian
painters. It is only at Venice that he can be seen. Mr. Ruskin's
estimate of his powers, and description of his leading pictures, will be
found in his Guide to the Academy at Venice, p. 16 and passim ; St.
MarKs Rest (Supplements), and Fors Clavigera, 1872, xx. ; 1873,
xxvi.; 1876, pp. 329, 340, 357, 381; 1877, p. 26; 1878, p. 182. An
earlier reference is in the Oxford Lectures on Art, 73. Some of
Carpaccio's Venetian pictures are now being reproduced in chromo-
lithograph by the Arundel Society.
This picture was commissioned by Giovanni Mocenigo
(who reigned over Venice 1477-1485), to be presented by him,
according to the custom with reigning doges, to the Ducal
1 When in the Hamilton collection, this picture was ascribed to
Giorgione, and some critics still accept the ascription : see Times, July 26,
1882. Others strongly dispute it : see Richter, p. 87.
i $8 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
Palace. The scene selected represents the doge kneeling
before the Virgin and begging her protection on the occasion
of the plague of 1478. The gold vase on the altar before the
throne contains medicaments, for which, according to the
inscription below, a blessing is invoked : " Celestial Virgin,
preserve the City and Republic of Venice and the Venetian
State, and extend your protection to me if I deserve it." Behind
the doge is his patron saint St. John, on the opposite side is
St. Christopher. The setting thus chosen for the doge's
picture is characteristic. " The first step towards the ennobling
of any face is the ridding it of its vanity ; to which aim there
cannot be anything more contrary than that principle of
portraiture which prevails with us in these days, whose end
seems to be the expression of vanity throughout, in face and
in all circumstances of accompaniment ; tending constantly to
insolence of attitude, and levity and haughtiness of expression,
and worked out farther in mean accompaniments of worldly
splendour and possession. . . . To which practices are to be
opposed . . . the mighty and simple modesty of ... Venice,
where we find the . . . doges not set forth with thrones and
curtains of state, but kneeling, always crownless, and returning
thanks to God for his help ; or as priests, interceding for the
nation in its affliction " (Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i.
ch. xiv. 19).
699. AGOSTINO AND NICCOLO DELLA TORRE.
Lorenzo Lotto (Treviso : 1476-1 555). See under 1105
and 1047, pp. 136, 163.
Agostino was Professor of Medicine in the University of
Padua ; he holds a copy of " Galen," the most celebrated of the
ancient medical writers, in his hand. It was for Niccolo, however,
according to the inscription, that the picture was painted ; and
Signor Morelli (its former owner) thinks that Agostino's portrait
must have been inserted at a later time, for " it is placed
very awkwardly in the background" (p. 37 .)
742. PORTRAIT OF A LAWYER.
Moroni (Bergamese : 1525-1578). See under 1023, p. 132.
An excellent example of the painter's third or naturalistic
manner. There is an ease of attitude and an absence of
constraint which makes the portrait transparently natural.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 159
1213. PORTRAIT OF A PROFESSOR.
Gentile Bellini (Venetian : 142 7-1 507).
Gentile's high reputation is shown by the fact that, when in
1479 the Sultan Mehemet applied to the Venetians to send him
a good painter, he was deputed by them to go to Constantinople.
His visit there was marked by a well-known incident. He showed
the Sultan a picture of Herodias's daughter with the head of John
the Baptist. The Sultan objected to the bleeding head as untrue
to nature, and to prove his point ordered a slave to be beheaded in
Bellini's presence. The painter fled from the scene of such experiments,
but the influence of his visit is to be seen in the oriental costumes
which he was fond of introducing into his pictures (as in the studies in
the British Museum and the library of Windsor Castle). Easel pictures
by Gentile are very scarce ; his principal works are at Venice, and are
the most valuable record extant of the city as it was in his time.
A portrait of Girolamo Malatini, Professor of Mathematics
in Venice (notice his brass compasses), who is said to have
taught Gentile and his brother Giovanni the rules of per-
spective. " The portrait fully justifies the fame that Gentile
had acquired as a painter of portraits, and shows him the
forerunner of Titian " (Layard, i. 306).
1202. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Bonifazio, the elder (Venetian : about 1490-1540).
Signer Morelli (pp. 184-194) disentangles from the confusions of art-
historians and critics three different painters of this name. Of the
earliest of them he says : " His bright conception and the light grace-
fulness of his figures never belie his narrower home, Verona, yet as a
technician he is an out-and-out Venetian. " The description applies very
accurately to the present picture, which used formerly to be ascribed
to Talma Vecchio, to whose studio in Venice Bonifazio must have
come from Verona to study.
On the right is St. Catherine holding a fragment of her
wheel, while the youthful St. John the Baptist, standing on
another fragment, stoops to kiss the infant Christ's foot an
action symbolical of the kingship of the Saviour (" Thou hast
put all things under him "). On the left is St. James with
his staff, borne always by him as the first of the apostles who
departed to fulfil the Gospel mission, and dressed as a pilgrim
Campostella, where his body was reputed to be, being in
the middle ages a favourite place of pilgrimage. Behind St.
James is St. Jerome. Notice the significance of the incident
in the middle distance a shepherd asleep, while a wolf is
I6o ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
devouring a sheep (" But the Good Shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep ").
268. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1528-1588).
See under 26, p. 136.
A striking example of the old symbolical conception,
according to which the adoration of the Magi the tribute of
the wise men from the East to the dawning star of Christianity
was represented as taking place in the ruins of an antique
temple, signifying that Christianity was founded upon the ruins
of Paganism.
1130. CHRIST WASHING HIS DISCIPLES' FEET.
Tintoretto (Venetian: 1518-1584). See under 16, p. 133.
Some remarks made by Mr. Ruskin on another version by
Tintoret of the same subject are not inappropriate to this dark
and probably faded picture. 1 " One circumstance is notice-
able as in a considerable degree detracting from the interest
of most of Tintoret's representations of our Saviour with His
disciples. He never loses sight of the fact that all were poor,
and the latter ignorant ; and while he never paints a senator
or a saint, once thoroughly canonised, except as a gentleman,
he is very careful to paint the Apostles in their living inter-
course with the Saviour, in such a manner that the spectator
may see in an instant, as the Pharisee did of old, that they
were unlearned- and ignorant men ; and, whenever we find
them in a room, it is always such a one as would be inhabited
by the lower classes. . . . We are quickly reminded that the
guests' chamber or upper room ready prepared was not likely to
have been in a palace, by the humble furniture upon the floor "
(Stones of Venice, Venetian Index, under "Moise", Church of St. ")
In front is St. Peter, placing his foot in a brazen basin and
bending forward with a deprecating action in contrast to
which is the look of cheerful, and almost amused alacrity on
the part of him who came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister. Behind are other disciples pressing forward with
reverent curiosity. Another, in the right-hand corner of the
foreground, has raised his foot on a bench and is drying it
with a cloth. To the left a female attendant holds a taper,
1 It came from the Hamilton sale (1882), and was bought for the small
price of .157 : ios.
ROOM VI 1 : VENETIAN SCHOOL 161
whilst in the background are other figures, one of whom
reclines before a fire.
726. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.
Giovanni Bellini (Venetian : 1 426-1 5 1 6)
See under 280, p. 153.
An early work of the master, painted probably about 1455
(half a century earlier than the Doge's portrait, 1 89, p. i 5 5), but
interesting as showing the advance made by him in landscape.
" We see for the first time an attempt to render a particular
effect of light, the first twilight picture with clouds rosy with
the lingering gleams of sunset, and light shining from the
sky on hill and town the first in which a head is seen in
shadow against a brilliant sky " (Monkhouse : The Italian Pre-
Raphaelites, p. 73).
812. THE DEATH OF ST. PETER MARTYR.
Giovanni Bellini (Venetian : 1426-1516).
See under 280, p. 153.
For the story see Octagon, 41, p. 192. The picture, one of the
painter's latest works, is interesting, first, for its skill in land-
scape. It is a true piece of local scenery that Bellini paints,
"all Italian in masses of intricate wood and foliage, in plain,
mountain, and buildings, and glowing, not under direct sun-
shine, but with the soft suffusion of southern light " (Layard,
i. 312). Notice, secondly, Bellini's compliance, so far as the
subject admitted, with one of the conditions of the greatest
art, "serenity in state or action." "You are to be inter-
ested in the living creatures ; not in what is happening to
them. ... It is not possible, of course, always literally to observe
this condition, that there shall be quiet action or none ; but
Bellini's treatment of violence in action you may see exempli-
fied in a notable way in his ' St. Peter Martyr.' The soldier is
indeed striking the sword down into his breast ; but in the face
of the Saint is only resignation and faintness of death, not
pain that of the executioner is impassive ; and, while a
painter of the later schools would have covered breast and
sword with blood, Bellini allows no stain of it ; but pleases
himself with most elaborate and exquisite painting of a soft
crimson feather in the executioner's helmet " (Relation be-
tween Michael Angela and Tintoret, p. 16).
M
1 62 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
694. ST. JEROME IN HIS STUDY.
Ascribed to Giovanni Bellini}- See under 280, p. 153.
Besides translating the Bible, St. Jerome (see II. 227, p. 41)
is famous as one of the founders of the monastic system, " of
the ordered cell and tended garden where before was but the
desert and the wild wood," and he died in the monastery he
had founded at Bethlehem. This picture shows us the inside
of monastic life. St. Jerome, with the scholar's look of quiet
satisfaction, is deep in study ; his room has no luxury, but is
beautiful in its grace and order ; the lion, who seems here to
be sharing his master's meditation, and the partridge peering
into the saint's slippers, speak of the love of the old monks for
the lower animals ; and the beautiful landscape seen through
the open window recalls the sweet nooks which they every-
where chose and tended for their dwelling. The effect of the
whole picture is to suggest the peaceful simplicity of the old
religious life in contrast to the " getting and spending " with
which we now " lay waste our powers."
The picture belongs to what Mr. Ruskin has called the
" Time of the Masters," who desire only to make everything
dainty and delightful. " Everything in it is exquisite, complete,
and pure ; there is not a particle of dust in the cupboards, nor
a cloud in the air ; the wooden shutters are dainty, the candle-
stick is dainty, the saint's blue hat is dainty, and its violet
tassel, and its ribbon, and his blue cloak, and his spare pair of
shoes, and his little brown partridge it is all a perfect quint-
essence of innocent luxury absolute delight, without one
drawback in it, nor taint of the Devil anywhere " ( Verona and
its Rivers, reprinted in O.O.R., i. 66 1). For another specimen
of this "pictorial perfectness and deliciousness," see VI. 288,
p. 1 02 (especially the compartment with Raphael and Tobit).
As for the partridge, this is frequently introduced into
sacred pictures, especially those of the Venetian School. There
is a pretty legend of St. John which perhaps accounts for it,
and which makes its introduction very appropriate in the
picture of a recluse. St. John had, it is said, a tame partridge,
which he cherished much, and amused himself with feeding
and tending. A certain huntsman, passing by with his bow
and arrows, was astonished to see the great apostle, so vener-
1 Other critics ascribe this, with 234, p. 150, to Catena, one of Bellini's
numerous followers.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 163
able for his age and sanctity, engaged in such an amusement.
The apostle asked him if he always kept his bow bent. He
answered that would be the way to render it useless. " If,"
replied St. John, " you unbend your bow to prevent its being
useless, so do I thus unbend my mind for the same reason "
(Mrs. Jameson: Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 100).
1024. AN ITALIAN ECCLESIASTIC.
Moroni (Bergamese : 1525-1578). See under 1023, p. 132.
The letter in his hand is addressed to himself, and tells
us that he is Ludovico di Terzi, Canon of Bergamo, and an
Apostolic Prothonotary. These latter functionaries, of whom
there are still twelve in the Roman Church, are the chiefs of
what may be called the Record Office of the Church. It is
their business to draw up the reports of all important church
functions, such as the enthronements of new popes and public
consistories. It is an office of much dignity as this holder
of it seems to be fully conscious, and the prothonotaries rank
with bishops in the Church.
32. THE RAPE OF GANYMEDE.
Titian (Venetian: 14771576.) See under 34, p. 138.
Ganymede so the Greek story ran was a beautiful Trojan
boy beloved of Jupiter, and was carried off by an eagle to
Olympus to be the cup-bearer of the gods. Which things,
say some, are an allegory for " those whom the gods love
die young," and are snatched off, it may be, in sudden death,
as by an eagle's swoop.
Flushed Ganymede, his rosy thigh
Half-buried in the Eagle's down,
Sole as a flying star shot thro' the sky.
TENNYSON : Palace of Art.
1047. A FAMILY GROUP.
Lorenzo Lotto (Treviso : 1476-1555).
See under 1105, p. 136.
Portraits of the artist himself, his wife and two of their
children. The pleasant, homely character of the scene is also
true to the life. For Lotto, who was one of Bellini's many
pupils, was a very upright and Christian man, Vasari says, and
was of a very retiring, as well as religious, disposition. Unlike so
many of his contemporaries, he never sued the favour of the
mighty, but passed the greater part of his long life in the still-
164 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
ness of a convent cell, among Dominican monks. 1 When at
last he was very old and had almost entirely lost his voice, he
was supported by a religious charity, to which he had left his
possessions. The peaceful inwardness of Lotto's life was
reflected in his art. His portraits "have all that refined,
inward elegance of feeling which marks the culminating point
in the last stage of progressive art in Italy, and which is prin-
cipally represented by Leonardo da Vinci, Lotto, Andrea del
Sarto, and Correggio ; whereas the elegance of Bronzino in
Tuscany, and of Parmigiano in North Italy, is an outward
affected one, which has nothing to do with the inner life of the
person represented, and therefore characterises the first stage
of declining art " (Morelli, pp. 36-40).
299. PORTRAIT OF AN ITALIAN NOBLEMAN.
// Moretto (Brescian : 1498-1555). See under 625, p. 131.
This painter is conspicuous, says Lanzi {History of Paint-
ing in Italy, Bohn's edition 1847, ii. 181), for his "skill
in imitating every kind of velvet, satin, or other cloth, either
of gold or silver." His portraits are remarkable, as has been
noticed under 1025, p, 145, for their poetic insight. He is not
content with producing an obvious likeness in the flesh; he
strives at portraying or suggesting some spiritual idea in all
his sitters. These characteristics are conspicuous in the present
picture. Thus notice, first, the splendid brocades. Then
secondly, how the painter tells you not only that this was what
the sitter looked like, but what was his character. On the cap
is a label inscribed with a motto in Greek : " by the desire of
the extreme." This is interpreted as referring to the desire of
the sitter, Count Sciarra Martinengo Cesaresco (a noble family
of Brescia, still distinguished at the present day) to avenge the
death of his father, who had been assassinated. The desire of
the extreme, the activity of a restless spirit, was with the Count
to the end, and he died fighting in France in the campaign which
ended in a defeat of the Huguenots at the battle of Moncontour,
October 3, i 569.
1 There is a letter extant by Pietro Aretino which throws a pleasant
light on Lotto's friendship with Titian. " Titian writes to me from Augs-
burg," says Aretino to Lotto, "that he embraces and greets you, and he
adds, that his delight in seeing his works praised by the emperor would be
doubled if he could show them to you, and talk them over with you "
(April, 1548).
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 165
294. THE FAMILY OF DARIUS.
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1528-1588).
See under 26, p. 136.
This picture " the most precious Paul Veronese," says Mr.
Ruskin, "in the world" is, according to another critic, "in
itself a school of art, where every quality of the master is
seen in perfection his stately male figures, his beautiful
women, his noble dog, and even his favourite monkey,
his splendid architecture, gem-like colour, tones of gold and
silver, sparkling and crisp touch, marvellous facility of hand
and unrivalled power of composition." 1 The glowing colour
is what strikes one first : of all pictures by Veronese this is
the best preserved. It is a splendid example too of what the
historical pictures of the old masters were. The scene re-
presented is that of the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the
Great, surrounded by his generals receiving the submission of
the family of the defeated Persian King Darius ; but in his
treatment of the scene Veronese makes it a piece of contem-
porary Venetian life. "It is a constant law that the greatest
men, whether poets or historians, live entirely in their own
age. . . . Dante paints Italy in the thirteenth century ;
Chaucer, England in the fourteenth ; Masaccio, Florence in the
fifteenth ; Tintoret, Venice in the sixteenth ; all of them utterly
1 Layard, ii. 621. Similarly Mr. Ruskin says: "The possession of
the Pisani Veronese will happily enable the English public and the English
artist to convince themselves how sincerity and simplicity in statements of
fact, power of draughtsmanship, and joy in colour, were associated in a per-
fect balance in the great workmen'in Venice ' ' ( Catalogue of the Turner Sketches
and Drawings, 1858, p. 10). As an instance of Veronese's "economical
work " a sure sign of a great painter Mr. Ruskin refers to ' ' the painting of
the pearls on the breast of the nearer princess, in our best Paul Veronese.
The lowest is about the size of a small hazel-nut, and falls on her rose-red
dress. Any other but a Venetian would have put a complete piece of
white paint over the dress, for the whole pearl, and painted that into the
colours of the stone. But Veronese knows beforehand that all the dark
side of the pearl will reflect the red of the dress. He will not put white
over the red, only to put red over the white again. He leaves the actual
dress for the dark side of the pearl, and with two small separate touches,
one white, another brown, places its high light and shadow. This he does
with perfect care and calm ; but in two decisive seconds. There is no dash,
nor display, nor hurry, nor error. The exactly right thing is done in the
exactly right place, and not one atom of colour, nor moment of time spent
vainly. Look close at the two touches, you wonder what they mean.
Retire six feet from the picture the pearl is there !" (Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. viii. ch. iv. 18).
166 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
regardless of anachronism and minor error of every kind, but
getting always vital truth out of the vital present . . . Tin-
toret and Shakespeare paint, both of them, simply Venetian
and English nature as they saw it in their time, down to the
root ; and it does for all time ; but as for any care to cast them-
selves into the particular ways and tones of thought or custom
of past time in their historical work, you will find it in neither
of them, nor in any other perfectly great man that I know of"
(Modern Painters^ vol. iii. pL iv. ch. vii. 19, 20). Thus here
Veronese simply paints a group of living Venetians of his
time, 1 dog, monkey and all. Alexander, in red armour, is
pointing to his friend Hephaestion, who stands a little behind
on his left, and whom the captives had at first mistaken for
the king. The queen -mother implores his pardon, but
Alexander tells her that she has not erred, for that Hephaestion
is another Alexander. The principal figures representing
these different characters are, however, all contemporary
portraits, of the Pisani family, 2 it is said, for whom the
picture was painted, and in choosing this scene of Alexander
in one of his best moments Veronese was expressing his ideal
of Venetian nobility and refinement So too the dresses, to
which the picture owes so much of its splendour, are the
Venetian dresses of the period. It may be interesting, lastly,
to remark that something of the magnificence in the picture
itself attaches also to the circumstances of its painting.
Veronese having been detained by some accident at the Pisani
Villa at Este, painted this work there, and left it behind
him, sending word that he had left wherewithal to defray
the expense of his entertainment. As the Pisani family
ultimately sold it to the National Gallery in 1857 for ^13,650,
Veronese's words were decidedly made good. It may be
interesting to add that the negotiations for its purchase ex-
tended over nearly four years. Vast sums had been offered
1 An even more striking instance is to be found in Veronese's picture of
the Last Supper, now in the Academy of Venice. Here too he introduced
his favourite dog, as well as dwarfs and armed retainers. He was
summoned before the Inquisition for such irreverent anachronisms ; and the
account of his cross-examination is most amusing and instructive reading.
A translation will be found in the appendix to Mr. Ruskin's Guide to
the Academy at Venice,
2 Richter, p. 74, disputes this. The kneeling girls are, he believes, the
artist's daughters, whom he has also introduced into a picture in the Louvre,
and the courtier presenting them is Veronese himself.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 167
for the picture in former centuries, and within the previous
thirty years sovereigns, public bodies, and individuals had all
been competing for it.
674. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Paris Bordone (Treviso : i 500-1 570).
A splendid specimen of this painter's portraits, and a type
of the face which meets one in nearly every Gallery of Europe ;
for Bordone (a native of Treviso, but a scholar for a short time
of Titian at Venice), who had a great vogue as a lady's portrait
painter being specially invited to France to paint the ladies
of the court had yet a way, says Ridolfi, of making such
works appear more like fancy portraits than individual portraits.
This one is of a girl of the Brignole family of Genoa, aged
eighteen, according to the inscription. The type is that of
a cruel and somewhat sensual beauty the eyes, especially,
being, "like Mars, to threaten or command "
Cold eyelids that hide like a jewel
Hard eyes that grow soft for an hour ;
The heavy white limbs, and the cruel
Red mouth like a venomous flower.
SWINBURNE : Dolores.
3. A CONCERT.
Titian (Venetian : 14771576). See under 34, p. 138.
The young man in the red velvet cap plays on the violon-
cello ; the other on the oboe, of which only the reed is
visible. The other three are vocalists. The master is keeping
time, and is intent on the boy pupil. The young girl, with her
hand on her husband's shoulder, is waiting to chime in, and
looks far away the while to where the music takes her. " In
Titian's portraits you always see the soul, faces ' which pale
passion loves.' Look at the Music-piece by Titian it is 'all
ear,' the expression is evanescent as the sounds the features
are seen in a sort of dim chiaroscuro, as if the confused
impressions of another sense intervened and you might easily
suppose some of the performers to have been engaged the night
before in
Mask or midnight serenade
Which the starved lover to his mistress sings
Best quitted with disdain.
IlAZLiTT: Criticisms on Art, edition 1843, P-io.
Perhaps it is indeed a travelling party of musicians practising
168 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
for a serenade. Certainly one thinks of this picture as one
reads of a supper party at Titian's house. " Before the tables
were set out, we spent the time in looking at the life-like figures
in the excellent paintings of which the house was full, and in
discussing the real beauty and charm of the garden, which
was a pleasure and a wonder to every one. It is situated in
the extreme part of Venice upon the sea, and from it may be
seen the pretty little island of Murano, and other beautiful
places. This part of the sea, as soon as the sun went down,
swarmed with gondolas adorned with beautiful women, and
resounded with varied harmonies the music of voices and
instruments till midnight " (Priscianese, describing a visit to
Titian in 1540: cited in Heath's Titian, "Great Artists"
series, p. 53).
1O31. MARY MAGDALENE.
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (Brescian : about 1485-1548).
She is approaching the sepulchre, before which is a vase of
ointment on a square stone for she had " bought sweet spices,
that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the
morning, . . . they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of
the sun" (Mark xvi. i, 2). "A vein of realism, combined
with the mystery of his deep colours and half-lights, is seen in
the picture of a woman shrouded in a mantle in the National
Gallery" (Layard, ii. 585).
637. DAPHNIS AND CHLOE.
Paris Bordone (Treviso : 1 500-1 570).
See under 674, p. 167.
Daphnis and Chloe, a shepherd and shepherdess, whose life
and love in pastoral simplicity was a favourite Greek story, are
about to be crowned by Cupid with a wreath of myrtle. " And
not only then but ever after the greatest part of their life was
pastoral. They purchased large flocks of sheep and goats.
They relished no food so savourly as milk and fruit ; and their
son they called Philopoemen, that is, a lover of shepherds,
and their daughter Agelea, which signifies one that delights in
flocks and herds " (From the Greek of Longus).
Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.
MARLOWE : The Passionate Shepherd to his Love.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 169
595. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Battista Zelotti (Veronese : 1 532-1592).
Zelotti was one of Paul Veronese's scholars, and would
seem to have shared the master's skill in painting pretty
dresses. One of the many pictures in the Gallery from which
the so-called "aesthetic" or "high art" gowns of the present
day have been copied.
173. PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN.
facopo da Ponte, called // Bassano (Venetian: 1510-1592).
See under 277, p. 151.
A fine portrait somewhat recalling Rembrandt in style of
a very refined face. In the vase beside him is a sprig of myrtle.
This painter is fond of introducing such vases : see one in 277.
In the principal street of Bassano, where the artist was born
and, after studying at Venice, continued to live, such vessels
may still be seen placed out for sale.
297 THE NATIVITY.
// Romanino (Brescian : about 1485-1566).
Girolamo Romani was a native of Brescia and the son of a painter ;
his family belonged originally to the small town of Romano, in the pro-
vince of Bergamo : hence his name, "Romanino." Like Moretto (whose
rival he was), he was little known outside the district of Brescia ; but he
studied at Venice, where he took Giorgione for his pattern. His best
works are remarkable for a brilliant golden colouring, which is unfortun-
ately not conspicuous in this picture.
This altar-piece was painted (in 1525) for the church of St.
Alexander of Brescia, the figure of whom is introduced below
in the left. He is in armour, for he was a Roman warrior who
died as a Christian martyr. Above him is St. Filippo Benizio, a
man of noble family, who was one of the chief propagators of
the Monastic order of Servites, or servants of God. On the
right, above, is St. Gaudioso, a bishop of Brescia ; and below,
St. Jerome.
1 70 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
SCREEN I 1
97. THE RAPE OF EUROPA.
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1 528-1 588).
See under 26, p. 136.
(A study for a larger picture now at Vienna.) Jupiter,
enamoured of Europa, a Phoenician princess, transformed him-
self into a white bull, and mingled with her father's herds
whilst she was gathering flowers with her attendants. Europa,
struck by the beauty and gentle nature of the beast, caressed
him, and even mounted on his back. Two of her attendants
are here assisting her, while a third remonstrates with her on
her foolhardiness. Europa is replying that she has no fears.
The amorous bull meanwhile is licking her foot. He is
garlanded with a wreath of flowers, which is held by his
master Cupid, forming thus the leading-string of Love. With
the other hand Cupid has " taken the bull by the horn ;" whilst
above, two little winged loves are gathering fruit and scattering
roses. In the middle distance Europa and the bull appear
again, about to enter the sea ; whilst farther on, the bull is
swimming with her toward the land. For the story goes that
as soon as Europa had seated herself on his back Jupiter
crossed the sea and carried her safely to the island of Crete,
and from this rape of Europa comes the name of the
continent to which she was carried.
1239, 124O. THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS.
Girolamo Mocetto (Venetian : painted 1 484-1 493). 2
Mocetto was a native of Verona, but a pupil of Giovanni
Bellini at Venice. He was " one of the earliest," says Lanzi
(ii. 167), "and least polished among Bellini's disciples." And
it is interesting to contrast the accomplished and beautiful
work of the master (1233) with the almost ludicrous imperfec-
tions of these two pictures by the pupil. Notice especially the
absurd attitude of the attendant to the left, in 1239 ; and in
1240, the expression of grief in the mother. It is, however,
difficult to understand (as a writer in the Athenceum was the
1 The screens in each room are numbered in this Catalogue in the order
of their position, as seen by visitors entering from the preceding room.
2 These are the years of two dated pictures by him.
ROOM VII : VENETIAN SCHOOL 171
first to point out) "why 1239 is labelled 'the Massacre of
the Innocents,' while it obviously represents the judgment of
Solomon. The king sits on our right on a throne in a covered
courtyard ; behind him are numerous spectators. On our left
a soldier with his left hand holds a child suspended in mid-air,
in his right hand is a falchion. In the centre another soldier,
kneeling, is about to stab a child ; behind him is the outline of
part of a figure, doubtless of the mother, who has pounced
upon the executioner and stopped his weapon." But Mocetto,
whatever his imperfections as a painter, was an " all-round "
artist. He left behind him some engravings on copper, and
" was also the painter of the great window in the church of SS.
Giovanni e Paolo (Venice), which, although badly restored, still
remains a magnificent work" (Layard, i. 332).
1233. THE BLOOD OF THE REDEEMER.
Giovanni Bellini (Venetian : 1426-1516).
See under 280, p. 153.
The recent addition of this picture to the Gallery enables
the visitor to gauge the variety of Bellini's powers. The same
hand has given us subjects of intense religious conviction, like
the "Agony in the Garden" (726); sunny pictures of pure
devotional sentiment, like the "Virgin and Child" (280);
scenes of frank paganism, like the Bacchanal at Alnwick
Castle ; noble portraits of senators, like the " Doge Loredano "
(189); delicate landscape work, like the "Peter Martyr"
(812); and here a mystico-devotional picture, recalling such
reminiscences of mediaeval mysticism as are found in many of
our hymns
Come let us stand beneath his Cross :
So may the blood from out his side
Fall gently on us drop by drop.
Jesus our Lord is crucified.
" A cold sky with underlit clouds suggests the still and
solemn hour of early dawn, a fitting time for the advent of this
weird and livid apparition. Gaunt, bloodless, and with at-
tenuated limbs, the Redeemer, we recognise, has passed
through the Valley of 'the Shadow of Death' not victoriously;
there is no light of triumph in the lustreless eyes ; no palm
nor crown awaits this victim of relentless hate, the type of
infinite despair and eternal sacrifice" (Times, September 19,
1887). Note, too, the symbolic conception in the decoration
172 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
of the wall. The marble panels are decorated with bas-reliefs
of satyrs and heathen divinities celebrating pagan sacrifices
a suggestive background to the sacrifice which consecrated the
religion of Christ
SCREEN II
673. "SALVATOR MUNDI."
Antonello da Messina^ (Venetian : 1444-1493).
Christ as " the Saviour of the world " stands with his
fingers on the edge of a parapet, giving the blessing and
gazing into eternity. A picture of interest as being the earliest
known work (it is dated 1465) of Antonello, of Messina in
Sicily, who is famous as the man by whom the art of painting
in oils, as perfected by the Van Eycks (see XI. 186, p. 275), was
introduced into Venice. Antonello learnt the art probably from
the Flemish painters, who are known to have been at Naples in
the middle of the fifteenth century. This picture, both in con-
ception and in the ruddy complexion peculiar to the school of Van
Eyck (see XI. 222 and 290, pp. 274, 276), suggests a Flemish
influence. Notice also t\\e penttmenti (or corrections) : the right
hand and border of the tunic were originally higher, and their
forms, obliterated by the painter, have now in course of time
disappeared. This again shows the hand of an inexperienced
artist. Later on Antonello settled in Venice, where he perhaps
imparted his secret (which, however, was no secret) to the
brothers Bellini, 2 and in his turn imbibed Venetian influences
(see for instance 1141).
1166. THE CRUCIFIXION.
Antonello da Messina (Venetian : 1444-1493).
The third in date of Antonello's pictures in the Gallery
1477, two years later than the very similar picture at Antwerp.
Notice the harmonious colouring, and the expression of
abandon and lassitude, following more poignant grief, in the
Virgin's attitude, with her arms falling down on each knee.
1 The interesting account of Antonello given by Vasari is now dis-
credited by the most competent critics (see especially Morelli, pp. 376-390).
2 It is interesting also to note the cartellino, or little card at the foot
of the picture, on which Antonello inscribes his name and the date.
This cartellino was taken as a model by Giovanni Bellini and subsequent
Venetian artists (see e.g. 189 and 280).
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 173
1141. SUPPOSED PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST.
Antonello da Messina (Venetian : 1444-1493).
The second in date of Antonello's pictures 1474, by which
time he had assimilated the Venetian manner. The portrait
is the more interesting from the probability that it is of the
painter himself. The inscription which so stated is said to
have been sawn off by a former owner to fit the picture into
a frame. " It is the likeness of a man who is entirely self-
possessed, nowise an idealist, yet one who would never be
prompted to impetuous action. He has plenty of intelligence ;
nothing would escape those clear gray eyes ; scarcely, how-
ever, do they seem as if they would penetrate below the out-
ward show of things. Considered from a technical point of
view, the same subdued feeling is apparent. In the Louvre
masterpiece (which this picture at once recalls), Antonello
evidently braced himself for a supreme effort ; in the National
Gallery portrait we have an excellent example of his powers
at his best period " (Times, May 31, 1883).
631. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Francesco Bissolo (Treviso : painted 1500-1 528).
By one of Bellini's pupils and imitators. Observe the rich
dress of a Byzantine stuff embroidered with strange animals,
such as one sees in the old mosaics at Venice. The lady
wears too a long gold chain, as the Venetian women do to
this day.
1121. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN.
Unknown (Venetian : time of Bellini).
This portrait, when it hung in Hamilton Palace, used to be
called a Leonardo. Mr. Armstrong (Notes on the National
Gallery, p. 24)gives it unhesitatingly to Basaiti (see 599, p. 1 78).
1106. THE RESURRECTION.
Francesco Mantegna (Paduan : about 1470-1517).
Francesco was the son, pupil, and assistant of his father
Andrea. This and 639 are apparently companion pictures.
639. "NOLI ME TANGERE"
Francesco Mantegna (Paduan : about 1470-1517).
For the subject, see 270, p. 152.
174 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
1160. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Unknown (Venetian : time of Bellini).
736. A VENETIAN SENATOR.
Francesco Bonsignori l (Veronese : 1455-1519).
A portrait of a senator, from the life, " in his habit as he
stood," a branch of art in which this painter excelled. He
has been called indeed "the modern Zeuxis," after the famous
Greek painter whose painted grapes deceived the birds. For
so life-like were Bonsignori's pictures says Vasari in his
entertaining account of this painter that on one occasion a dog
rushed at a painted dog on the artist's canvas, whilst on
another a bird flew forward to perch itself on the extended
arm of a painted child.
1120. ST. JEROME IN THE DESERT.
Cima da Conegliano (Venetian : painted 1489-1517).
See under 300, p. 156.
Another of the numerous St. Jerome pictures : see under
694 and II. 227, pp. 162, 41. The saint has his usual com-
pany of animals. His lion is frowning, somewhat with the
same expression as in 227 as if to deprecate the penance
which his master is about to inflict on himself. On the branch
of the tree above is a hawk, looking on with the expression of
a superior person one quite too sagacious to countenance
such madness. Notice lastly the serpent which crawls from
beneath the rock on which the Cross is placed.
SCREEN III
281. ST. JEROME READING.
Marco Basaiti (Venetian : painted 1500-1520).
The scenery, says Gilbert (Cadore, p. 42), is that of Serra-
valle in Titian's country Serravalle, " the true gate of the hills,"
with walls and towers rising steeply on the hill-side. The
way in which the old masters thus consigned their saints and
anchorites to the hill-country is very typical of the mediaeval
view of landscape. " The idea of retirement from the world for
1 Called incorrectly, by Vasari, Monsignori.
ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL 175
the sake of self-mortification . . . gave to all mountain solitude
at once a sanctity and a terror, in the mediaeval mind, which
were altogether different from anything that it had possessed
in the un-Christian periods. . . . Just in so much as it appeared
necessary for the noblest men to retire to the hill-recesses
before their missions could be accomplished, or their spirits
perfected, in so far did the daily world seem by comparison to
be pronounced profane and dangerous ; and to those who
loved that world, and its work, the mountains were thus
voiceful with perpetual rebuke. . . . And thousands of hearts,
which might otherwise have felt that there was loveliness in
the wild landscape, shrank from it in dread, because they
knew that the monk retired to it for penance, and the hermit
for contemplation " (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch.
xiv. 10).
776. ST. ANTHONY AND ST. GEORGE.
Vittore Pisano (Veronese : 1380-1451).
The earliest picture of the Veronese School in the Gallery.
Vittore Pisano, or Pisanello, a pupil probably of Altichiero, an older
master of the Veronese School, was famous as the inventor of a method
of casting medals ; but though better known now as a medallist, in his
own day he was equally famous as a painter. In the frame of this
picture are inserted casts from two of his medals, and it will be noticed
that the lower one a profile of himself is inscribed Pisanus Pictor,
Pisano the Painter. The medal above is that of Leonello d'Este, his
patron, for whom this picture was probably painted, and whose portrait
by a pupil of Pisano hangs in Room V. (770, p. 85). Another evidence
of Pisano's practice as a medallist will be noticed in the gilt embossed
work of St. George's sword and spurs.
The subject of the picture a meeting between St. George
and St. Anthony, with a vision of the Virgin and Child above is
not to be found in the legends of the saints. But St. George
appears to have been a favourite subject with the artist
probably because of the way in which his armour lent itself
to medallion-like treatment. There is a good instance of frank
anachronism in the large Tuscan hat of Pisano's own day
which he quaintly makes St. George wear. Perhaps too
the painter chose St. George partly because he involved
a horse and a dragon, and Pisano, says Vasari, "took
especial pleasure in the delineation of animals." This
may have given him a weakness for the boar of good St.
Anthony the hermit saint whose temptations have passed into
1 76 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
a proverb. The saint carries a bell, for " it is said that the
wicked spirits that be in the region of the air fear much
when they hear the bells ringen," and a staff, another means of
exorcising the devil ; whilst the boar, now tamed into service,
is symbolical of the demon of sensuality which St. Anthony
vanquished. And here perhaps we find the clue to the idea in
the picture. For the dragon whom St. George slew represents
the same sensual enemy. St. George conquered by fighting,
St. Anthony by fasting. The two saints now meet when " each
on his course alone " has " worked out each a way." The old
man, whose life has been spent in struggle, greets the triumphant
youth with curious surprise ; and St. George too, with the
thoughtful look on his face, will have much to say and learn.
But over them both, as to all who overcome, the heavens open
in beatific vision ; for though there be diversity of gifts, it is the
same spirit.
269. A KNIGHT IN ARMOUR.
Giorgione (Venetian : 1477-1511).
Giorgio Barbarelli, of Castelfranco, called Giorgione from his hand-
some stature, 1 is one of the greatest of the old masters, and exercised
a greater influence upon the artists of his time than any other painter (see
Morelli, p. 42). His greatness cannot, however, be seen here ; though
this one little picture of his has a certain interest as being a highly-
finished-study for the knight (St. Liberale), in his altar-piece at his native
Castelfranco one of his acknowledged masterpieces, and, according to
Mr. Ruskin, one of the two best pictures in the world. 2
Notice "the bronzed, burning flesh" of the knight "the right
Giorgione colour on his brow " characteristic of a race of sea-
men {Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v. ch. r. 19, and
see above, p. 127).
1 "Born half-way between the mountains and the sea that young
George of Castelfranco of the Brave Castle : Stout George they called
him, George of Georges, so goodly a boy he was Giorgione " (Modern
Painters, voL v. pt ix. ch. ix. i).
2 Lecture at Oxford, 1884 (reported in the Pall Mall Gazette,
November 10). A reproduction of the picture is published by the Arundel
Society. The authenticity of this study has been called in question, but on
somewhat inconclusive grounds. Thus Richter, pp. 86, 87, points out how
highly finished it is, and that in certain respects it differs from the figure
in the altar-piece. He concludes therefore that it is a later copy. But do
artists never make elaborate studies? and is not an artist as likely to vary
his design, as a copyist his model ?
ROOM VI I: VENETIAN SCHOOL 177
1134. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Liberate da Verona (Veronese : 1451-1536).
A picture of interest to students of art history, like other Veronese
pictures in the Gallery, because of the scarcity of such works out of
Verona itself. It is only there that the first period of Veronese art
can be studied, but the National Gallery affords better opportunities
than any other foreign collection for the comparative study of Veronese
masters of the second period. One of these is this Liberale, who
began life as a miniaturist. "No school of painting in Italy, except
the Florentine, shows so regular and uninterrupted a development, from
the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, as the graceful School of
Verona. If we look, for example, at some of the oldest frescoes at St.
Zeno's, if we examine the pictures of ... Liberale, Domenico Morone
(Octagon 121 1, 1212, p. 190), Girolamo dai Libri (748, p. 133), . . .
and then when we come ... to Paolo Veronese, we find everywhere
the same cheerful, amiable, and graceful character looking out of each of
these works of the Veronese School. The Veronese do not penetrate so
deep into the essence of art as the Venetians, but they are, with few
exceptions, more gracious and serene, and to this day the population
of this beautifully-situated town is reckoned among the cheeriest and
gayest of all Italy (Veronesi, mezzo matti) " (Morelli, pp. 394,395).
1173. AN UNKNOWN SUBJECT.
Unknown * (Venetian : I5th or i6th century).
Another picture of the golden age (cf. 1123, p. 157) such as
Giorgione, we are told, loved to paint " men and women enjoy-
ing the golden tranquillity ; here is seen the haughty lion, there
the humble lamb ; in another part we behold the swift flying
hart, with many other terrestrial animals." The picture before
us precisely agrees with this general description, but the par-
ticular subject of it is unknown. A child, it would seem, is
being initiated into some order of the golden age he is being
dedicated, perhaps, to a life of song, for the stately person-
age on the throne wears the poet's crown of wild olive, whilst
the young man on the steps below him lightly touches a lute,
and has books by his side. The page bears a rich dish of
fruits and herbs, for the golden age is vegetarian ; whilst fawns
and a leopard, with a peacock and other birds, attend the court
of the king of song.
1 When in the Bohn collection, this picture was ascribed to Giorgione.
For some interesting remarks on its possible authorship and subject, see
the Times, December 22, 1885, where resemblances in this picture to pictures
of Carpaccio and Pordenone, as well as of Giorgione, are pointed out.
N
178 ROOM VII: VENETIAN SCHOOL
634. THE MADONNA OF THE GOLDFINCH.
Cima da Conegliano (Venetian: painted 1489-1517).
See under 300, p. 156.
SCREEN IV
599. THE MADONNA OF THE MEADOW.
Marco Basaiti (Venetian : painted 1 500-1 520).
This pretty little picture, thoroughly Venetian in its purity of
colour, was formerly attributed to Giovanni Bellini, with whom
Basaiti was contemporary. It is now attributed by some
critics to Catena. Mr. Armstrong {Notes on the National
Gallery, p. 24) draws attention to the similarity in the baby's
hands here and in 234, p. 150, which also is now very generally
attributed to Catena. The correct settlement of disputed points
of attribution like this is highly important for the history of
painting, but meanwhile the very fact of such disputes has
a useful significance, as showing what is meant by the old
" schools " of painting. Individual peculiarities are only dis-
covered by minutest examinations ; but beneath such differences
there are in each school similarities of treatment and concep-
tion which come from common traditions and common teach-
ing, and which cause critics of equal intelligence to attribute
the same pictures to different masters of the school.
695. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Andrea Previtali (Bergamese : 1480-1528).
A picture by one of Bellini's numerous pupils a provincial
from Bergamo, "a dry, honest, monotonous" painter (see
Morelli, pp. 178-181, and under 1203, p. 151).
ROOM VIII
THE PADUAN SCHOOL
" Padovani gran dottori " (the Paduans are great scholars)
Italian Provero,
PADUA, more than any other Italian city, was the home of
the classical Renaissance in painting. It was at Padua,
that is to say, that the principles which governed classical
art were first and most distinctly applied to painting. The
founder of 'this learned Paduan school x was Squarcione
(1394-1474). He had travelled in Italy and Greece, and
the school which he set up in Padua on his return filled
with models and casts from the antique enjoyed in its day
such a reputation that travelling princes and great lords
used to honour it with their visits. It was the influence
of ancient sculpture that gave the Paduan School its
characteristics. Squarcione was pre-eminently a teacher
of the learned science of linear perspective ; and the study
of antique sculpture led his pupils to define all their forms
severely and sharply. "In truth," says Layard, "the
peculiarity of this school consists in a style of conception
and treatment more plastic than pictorial." This character-
istic of the school is pointed out below under some of
Mantegna's pictures, but is seen best of all in Gregorio
1 The earlier Paduan School, represented in the National Gallery by one
picture, 701 in Room IV., p. 71 was only an offshoot from the Florentine.
i8o ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL
Schiavone (see especially 630 in the adjoining Octagon
room, p. 193). A second mark of the classical learning of the
school may be observed in the choice of antique em-
bellishments, of bas-reliefs and festoons of fruits in the
accessories. This characteristic is noticeable in nearly
every picture in the room. For a third and crowning
characteristic of the school the repose and self-control of
classical art the reader is referred to the remarks under
Mantegna's pictures. With Mantegna the school of Padua
reached its consummation. Two pictures doubtfully
ascribed to a son of his are hung in Room VII (639 and
1 106, p. 173). Crivelli's pictures are hung here, for he too
is believed to have been a pupil of Squarcione. But after
Mantegna the learning of Padua must be traced not in
native painters, but in its influence on other schools.
6O2. A "PIETA."
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
Carlo Crivelli, a native of Venice, lived most of his life at Ascoli
near Naples. He thus lived somewhat outside the artistic world of
his time, a fact which serves to explain the rather conservative character
of his art. Thus he adhered to tempera painting, and did not attempt
the new medium. Moreover there is a vein of affectation in his pictures
which contrasts strongly with the naturalistic tendency in contemporary
Venetian art. Owing to a little touch of vanity in the painter we
are able to date many of his pictures. For it is known that he was
knighted in 1490, and so proud was " Sir Charles " of his new honour
that he signed all subsequent pictures "Carlo Crivelli, Knight." 724
in this room, p. 186, is probably the first he finished after the reception of
the coveted honour. The National Gallery is, as will be seen in this
room, particularly strong in Crivelli's works including specimens of
all kinds, from this small and prettily pathetic picture to large altar-
pieces.
1145. SAMSON AND DELILAH.
Andrea Mantegna (Paduan : 1 43 i-i 506).
Andrea Mantegna, the greatest master of the Paduan School, has
a commanding name in art history, so much so that many writers
describe the epoch of painting (from 1450 to 1500 and a little
onwards), of which he was one of the chief representatives, as the
Mantegnesque period. He was born at Vicenza, 1 and, according to
Vasari, was originally, like Giotto, a shepherd boy. Like Giotto, too,
he early displayed great aptitude for drawing, so much so that when
1 Layard, i. 283 ., is the authority for this statement.
ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL 181
only ten years old he was adopted by Squarcione as son and pupil.
It was Squarcione's intention to make him his heir, but Mantegna
married a daughter of Jacopo Bellini, Squarcione's rival; "and when
this was told to Squarcione he was so much displeased with Andrea
that they were ever afterwards enemies." Mantegna, however, soon
found powerful friends. In 1460 he went, at the invitation of the
Marquis Ludovico Gonzaga, to the court of Mantua, and there he re-
mained till his death, as painter-in-ordinary at a salary of ,30 a year
with the exception of two years spent in painting for Pope Innocent
VIII. Though in the service of princes, Mantegna knew his worth,
and was wont to say that " Ludovico might be proud of having in him
something that no other prince in Italy could boast of." He liked,
too, to live in the grand style of his age. It appears that he spent
habitually more money than he could afford, and after his death his sons
had to sell the pictures in his studio for the payment of his creditors.
Still more was he a child of his age the age of the revival of classical
learning in his love for the antique. He spent much of his money in
forming a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, and the forced
sale of its chief ornament, a bust of Faustina, is said to have broken
his heart. These classical antiquities were not merely the foibles of a
collector, but the models of his art. He was " always of opinion,"
says Vasari, "that good antique statues were more perfect and dis-
played more beauty in the different parts than is exhibited by nature."
Of some of his works what Vasari adds is no doubt true that they
recall the idea of stone rather than of living flesh. But Mantegna
studied nature closely too ; for, as Goethe said of his pictures, ' ' the
study of the antique gives form, and nature adds appropriate movement
and the health of life."
Samson, whose giant's strength lay in his hair, fell into the
toils of Delilah (Judges xvi.), who delivered him to his enemies
by cutting off his hair as he lay asleep. On the trunk of the
olive tree behind, Mantegna has carved the moral he drew
from the tale : " foemina diabolo tribus assibus est mala peior "
(woman is a three -times worse evil than the devil). 1 But
though Mantegna has taken his subject from the Bible, his
treatment of it is in the classical spirit. " Apart from the fact
that her attention is directed to the mechanical operation,
Delilah's expression is one of absolute and entire unconcern.
Look of cunning, or of deceit, or of triumph there is none.
Mantegna was not the man to shirk expression when he
1 I cannot find any authority for the interpretation of " tribus assibus
peior" given above, which yet seems to be what Mantegna must have
meant. A well-known Latin scholar suggests, on the other hand, that
' ' tribus assibus " should be taken with ' ' foemina " as an ablative of price,
referring to Delilah's venality : "a woman who will sell herself for three
pence is worse than the devil."
1 82 ROOM VII I: PADUAN SCHOOL
deemed the subject required it ; probably, therefore, he left
the features impassive in obedience to the formula of a certain
school of antique sculpture, that all violent emotion should be
avoided" (see Times, June 18, 1883).
668. THE BEATO FERRETTI.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 180.
The Beato Ferretti (to whose family the late Pope Pius IX.
belonged) kneels in adoration, and as he prays a vision of the
Virgin and Child (surrounded by the " Vesica " glory, see IV.
564, p. 76) appears to him. In the upper part of the picture is
the festoon of fruit, which was nearly always introduced in this
painter's works.
8O7. MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 180.
This picture (like 724) is signed by " Sir Charles ": it is
dated 1491. It bears the painter's sign-manual also in the
fruits and the vase of flowers. The giver of the picture (which
was dedicated to the Virgin, and which, as recorded in a Latin
inscription below, cost no inconsiderable sum) is kneeling, in
the habit of a Dominican nun, at the foot of the throne. On
the Madonna's left is St. Sebastian, pierced with arrows and
tied to a pillar, but with the happy look of " sorrow ended "
on his face. On her right is St. Francis. Near his feet are
some flowers and a snail typical of the kindness and humble-
ness of the saint, of whom it is recorded that " he spoke never
to bird nor to cicala, nor even to wolf and beast of prey, but
as his brother," and who thus taught the lesson " Never to
blend our pleasure, or our pride, With sorrow of the meanest
thing that feels " ( Wordsworth).
274. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Andrea Mantegna (Paduan : 1431-1506).
See under 1 145, p. 180.
" One of the choicest pictures in the National Gallery,"
exquisite alike in painting and in sentiment. " Being in an
admirable state of preservation, it enables us to become ac-
quainted with all the characteristics of Mantegna's style, and
ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL 183
above all to enjoy the refinement in his rendering of the human
forms, the accuracy in his drawing, the conscientiousness in
the rendering of the smallest details " (Richter, p. 66). For
the latter point notice especially the herbage in the foreground.
Mantegna, says Mr. Ruskin, is "the greatest leaf- painter of
Lombardy," and the " exquisite outlines " here show " the
symmetry and precision of his design" (Catalogue of Educa-
tional Series, p. 52). Very sweet is the expression of mingled
humility and tenderness in the mother of the Divine Child.
On her right stands St. John the Baptist, the great preacher
of repentance ; on her left Mary Magdalen, the woman who
repented. The Baptist bears a cross, and on the scroll
attached to it are written the words (in Latin), " Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." The
Magdalen carries the vase of ointment the symbol at once of
her conversion and her love (" She brought an alabaster box
of ointment, and began to wash his feet with tears. . . . And
he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven ").
8O4. MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED.
Marco Marziale (Venetian : painted 1492-1507).
See under 803, p. 186.
This picture was painted seven years later (1507) than 803,
which it resembles in the bright mosaics of the vault and the
interesting design on the robe of the bishop on the left.
Notice the little angel playing the mandolin on the steps of the
throne, characteristic of the earlier Venetian painters.
9O2. "THE TRIUMPH OF SCIPIO."
Andrea Mantegna (Paduan : 1431-1506).
See under 1145, p. 180.
One of the grisailles, or pictures in gray and brown, of
which Mantegna in his later years painted very many, and to
multiply which he took to engraving. In its subject the
picture is a piece of ancient Rome, and shows " that sincere
passion for the ancient world which was the dominating
intellectual impulse of his age." No other works of the time,
it has been said, are so full of antique feeling as Mantegna's.
Botticelli played with the art of the ancients and modernised
it ; Mantegna actually lived and moved in it (Woltmann and
Woermann : History of Painting, translated by Clara Bell, ii.
378). Mantegna's classical scholarship, too, is abundantly
184 ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL
shown in the details of this picture, which is full of allusions to
Latin authors and history. The Triumph of Scipio, it may
be briefly explained, consisted in his being selected by the
Senate as " the worthiest man in Rome," by whom alone so
the oracle decreed must Cybele, the Phrygian mother of the
gods, be received. It was "an honour," says Livy, with the fine
patriotism of Rome, " more to be coveted than any other which
the Senate or people could bestow." On the left, the image of
the goddess is being borne on a litter, and with it the sacred
stone alleged to have fallen from heaven. It was an unusual
fall of meteoric stones that had caused the Romans to consult
the oracle in B.C. 204, during Hannibal's occupation of Italy,
and the oracle had answered that the Phrygian mother must
be brought to Rome. This goddess, worshipped under different
forms in many parts of the world, was a personification of the
passive generative power in nature, and from this time forward
she was included among the recognised divinities of the Roman
State. In the centre of the picture Scipio and bis retinue are
receiving her ; whilst Claudia, a Roman lady, KaS thrown herself
before the image. Some slur had attached to her reputation,
but she had proved her innocence by invoking the goddess
and then drawing off from a shoal in the harbour of Ostia,
with the aid of only a slight rope, the vessel which bore the
sacred image.
749. THE GIUSTI FAMILY OF VERONA.
Niccolo Giolfino (Veronese : painted 1486-1518).
Two groups of family portraits, originally in two pictures,
which formed the predella of an altar-piece : hence the upward
look of some of the faces.
739. THE ANNUNCIATION.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 1 80.
Mary is kneeling in her chamber; the angel of the Annuncia-
tion (beside him Emidius, the patron saint of Ascoli, with a
model of the city in his hand) is outside in the court, but she
cannot see him, for a wall stands between them " a treatment
of the subject which may be intended to suggest that the angel
appeared to her in a dream." The rest of the picture is very
characteristic, in two features, of mediaeval art. First, it was
never antiquarian : it did not attempt to give a correct historical
setting^ under VI I. 294,p.i65). Nomediaeval painter made the
ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL 185
Virgin a Jewess ; they nationalised her, as it were, and painted
her in the likeness of their own maidens. So too their scenery
was the likeness of their own homes and their own country.
Here for instance is a " perfectly true representation of what
the architecture of Italy was in her glorious time ; trim, dainty,
red and white like the blossom of a carnation, touched with
gold like a peacock's plumes, and frescoed, even to its
chimney-pots, with fairest arabesques, its inhabitants, and it
together, one harmony of work and life " (Guide to the
Venetian Academy ', p. 21). And secondly, the picture shows
the pleasure the painters took in their accessories, and the
frank humour free at once from irreverence and from gloom
with which the Venetians especially approached what was
to them a religion of daily life. Notice especially the little girl
at the top of the steps on the left, looking round the corner.
9O4. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Gregorio Schiavone (Paduan : painted about 1470).
See in the Octagon Room, under 630, p. 193.
284. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Bartolommeo Vivarini (Venetian : painted 14501499).
One of the earliest Venetian pictures in the Gallery. Of
Bartolommeo Vivarini (the brother of Antonio, see Octagon,
768, p. 193) it is recorded that he painted (in 1473) the first oil
picture that was exhibited in Venice. This one, however, is
in tempera. " The figures in Bartolommeo's pictures are
still hard in outline, thin (except the Madonna's throat, which
always, in Venice, is strong as a pillar), and much marked
in sinew and bone (studied from life, mind you, not by
dissection) ; exquisitely delicate and careful in pure colour; in
character, portraits of holy men and women, such as then
were. There is no idealism here whatever. Monks and
nuns had indeed faces and mien like these saints, when
they desired to have the saints painted for them" (Guide to
the Venetian Academy, p. 6).
9O6. THE MADONNA IN ECSTASY.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 1 80.
The latest of Crivelli's dated pictures in the Gallery (1492),
and remarkable for the deep colours which mark the artist's
highest powers. Notice the usual hanging fruit and the pot of
186 ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL
roses and carnations the flower most often seen in Venice to
this day.
724. OUR LADY OF THE SWALLOW.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 180.
Full of the dainty detail which characterises the Venetian
pictures of this time. Notice the fruit placed everywhere
about the Virgin's throne ; and above, the swallow hence the
name of the picture, " Madonna della Rondine," and the vase
of flowers. Notice also the beautiful dress pattern. The
accompanying saints are St. Jerome and St. Sebastian.
788. ALTAR-PIECE.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 180.
This is the earliest of the eight pictures by Crivelli in the
National Gallery the date 1476 being conspicuously written
on the border underneath the Madonna's feet. One of the
painter's weaknesses his dislocation of the hands is
noticeable in the Madonna. So too is his affectation, which,
however, is redeemed by its effect of unconsciousness. His
fancy for fruit, also, may be noticed on the throne in this
central compartment. The order of the other subjects (from
the spectator's left to right) is as follows : Top row : St
Peter Martyr, St. Lucy, the archangel Michael and St.
Jerome ; Second row : St. Francis, St. Andrew, St. Stephen,
St Thomas Aquinas ; Lower row : St. John Baptist, St.
Peter, St. Catherine, St. Dominic.
8O3. THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.
Marco Marziale (Venetian : painted 1492-1507).
An example which shows what wealth of interest there is in
the National Collection. It is only by a second-rate painter
of the Venetian School Marco was one of the assistants
engaged to work under Giovanni Bellini in the decoration of
the Ducal Palace, and whilst Bellini received sixty ducats a year,
Marco received only twenty-four ; but no picture in the Gallery
is richer than this in decorative design. Note first the varied
and beautifully-designed patterns in the mosaics of the church
recalling one of the domes of St. Mark's. Then the lectern,
covered with a cloth, and the delicately-embroidered border,
wrought in sampler stitch, deserve close examination. The
ROOM VIII: PADUAN SCHOOL 187
cushion above this, and the tassels, formed of three pendent
tufts of silk hung on to a gold embroidered ball, offer good
decorative suggestions to the trimming manufacturer. Attached
to the front of the lectern is a label or " cartellino," setting forth
that " Marco Marziale the Venetian, by command of that
magnificent knight and jurisconsult the learned Thomaseo R.,
made this picture in the year I 500 ;" as it is probable that
this was the first important commission Marco ever obtained on
his own account, there is little wonder that he wrought the
record so elaborately. This " Thomaseo R." was Raimondi,
a knight of the order of Jerusalem ; a man of considerable
note in Cremona as a lawyer and poet. His portrait occupies
the fore-front of the right-hand corner of the picture, his set
features recalling the lawyer rather than the poet. It is his
mantle, however, which best repays notice a sumptuous robe
of raised red velvet, such a fabric as Venice was then winning
industrial renown by weaving. The very pretty pattern is of
the so-called " pomegranate form," and occurs also on the
mantle of the donor's wife, who occupies a corresponding
position on the left-hand side of the picture. The cope of
Simeon the high priest is very pretty also : the wild pink
being largely introduced (for notice of other points, see further
the interesting article by G. T. Robinson in the Art Journal,
June 1886). "It will thus be seen that this one picture
brings before us a great number of suggestions in design
for various technic arts ; at least half a dozen patterns exist
in the ornaments of the mosaic work of the vaults ; five or
six patterns of embroidered or woven borders will be found
in it, as many designs for diapered or other surface decoration,
examples of beaten metalwork and of bookbinding, besides the
carved wood lectern."
OO7. ST. CATHERINE AND MARY MAGDALENE.
Carlo Crivelli (Venetian : painted 1468-1495).
See under 602, p. 180.
1125. SUMMER AND AUTUMN.
Andrea Mantegna (Paduan : 1 43 i-i 506).
See under 1145, p. 180.
Summer holds a sieve for sifting the corn which she ripens.
Autumn, the season in Italy of the vintage, raises a goblet of
wine to her lips.
THE OCTAGON ROOM
OVERFLOW FROM VENETIAN AND VERONESE
SCHOOLS, ETC.
1241. CHRIST PREACHING IN THE TEMPLE.
Pedro Campana (Flemish-Italian: 1503-1580).
The painter of this picture forms an interesting link in the history
of art. " In Spain the influence exercised over the national school by
the northern Gothic masters, was weakened at an early stage by the
Italian Renaissance. Strange to say, a Fleming, who had learned his
art in the school of Michael Angelo, was the chief instrument by which
Italy asserted her power. Peter de Kampeneer, to whom the Spaniards
gave the name of Pedro Campana, was bom in Brussels. He left
Italy, where he had enjoyed the protection of Cardinal Grimani, for
Seville (1548), where he founded an academy." Luis de Morales
(see XV. 1229, p. 375) is said to have been among his disciples. " In
1560 he returned to his native city, and became official painter to the
Brussels tapestry workers. His masterpiece, a ' Descent from the
Cross, ' is in the Cathedral of Seville. In Spain it was called ' The
Famous Descent from the Cross of Seville,' and the historian Bermudez
asserts that Murillo was never tired of admiring it " (Wauters : The
Flemish School, pp. 184-186).
778. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Martino da Udine, called Pellegrino da San Daniele *
(Venetian: died 1547).
On the right of the throne is St. James, with his hand on
1 For the biography of this inferior painter, corrected by the latest
THE OCTAGON ROOM 189
the shoulder of the donor of the picture ; on the left St. George,
with the dead dragon at his horse's feet.
285. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Francesco Morone (Veronese : 1473-1529).
"A fair example of the brilliant colouring of the school." Fran-
cesco was the son of Domenico Morone (1211 and 1212), the fellow-
worker of Girolamo dai Libri (VII. 748, p. 133), and the master of
Morando (VII. 735 and 777, pp. 149, 156).
1135, 1136. THE CLEMENCY OF TRAJAN.
Unknown (Veronese School : I5th century).
These two panels, which clearly formed two sides of an
ornamental box, represent a favourite subject with Italian
painters of the period. The story is that an ancient widow of
Rome stopped the Emperor Trajan as he was about to proceed
on one of his foreign expeditions, and asked for justice against
the murderers of her son, who is here seen lying dead on the
roadway. Trajan suggested that she should wait till his
return. She replied that the emperor might be killed in
battle. " Then," said Trajan, " my successor will attend to
the business." "But why," she urged, "not decide the case
at once ? " The emperor on second thoughts did so, and the
second panel shows him on the judgment seat. He called
the culprits before him, spared their lives, but made them pay
heavy damages to the widow. This incident was engraved,
together with the record of his military victories, on Trajan's
column. The Pope Gregory, noting it there, prayed (the
story goes) that the good emperor's soul might be released
from hell, and his prayer was granted
The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall nourish when he sleeps in dust.
1165. ST. HIPPOLYTUS AND ST. CATHERINE.
II Moretto (Brescian: 1498-1555). SeeunderVll. 625, p. 131.
Two saints who were not divided in the manner of their
martyrdom, and who are united therefore on the painter's
canvas. Each holds the martyr's palm. St. Catherine places
her left hand on the hilt of a sword the instrument by which
researches, see Morelli, pp. 18-23. It is interesting to note that, like two
or three other Venetian painters, he combined the trade of artist with that
of timber merchant.
igo THE OCTAGON ROOM
she was ultimately beheaded, whilst her foot rests upon the
wheel on which she was to have been torn to death, had not
an angel from heaven broken it. St. Hippolytus's death was
not unlike that which had been devised for St. Catherine. He
is clad in armour, for he was the soldier stationed as guard
over St. Lawrence (see XI. 747, p. 277), but he is represented
as bareheaded, and with his face upturned in reverence, for that
" he was so moved by that illustrious martyr's invincible
courage and affectionate exhortations that he became a
Christian with all his family." Wherefore he was tied to the
tails of wild horses and torn to death. On the fragment of
stone in the foreground is an inscription in Latin, telling by
what death the two saints glorified God " Membris dissolvi
voluerunt ne vinculis divellerentur aeternis :" they chose to be
torn limb by limb rather than by renouncing their faith to be
thus torn hereafter by eternal chains. The members of the
body are the chains of the soul, and the martyrs freed them-
selves from temporary fetters rather than submit to the fetters
of everlasting punishment.
1211, 1212. FETES AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE
MARQUIS OF MANTUA AND ISABELLA D'ESTE.
Domenico Morone, called Pellacane (Veronese : born 1442,
still living 1508).
Scenes in the brilliant court life of the time. Isabella
d'Este and her husband Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of
Mantua, were both great patrons of the arts. The collection
of Isabella in particular contained examples of the most
renowned artists of the period, and correspondence of hers is
extant with connoisseurs who assisted her in their acquisition.
Domenico Morone, called Pellacane, the dog-skinner, from his
father's occupation, may have been present at the marriage
ceremony, which took place in 1490; but at any rate these
little pictures are of historical interest as contemporary illustra-
tions. The scene in both is a tilt court, with its seat of
honour in the middle. In the first the knights are tilting, the
marquis being on his throne and the seats filled with ladies.
In the second the tilting is over, courtiers and ladies are
dancing in the side compartments ; whilst in the centre a
knight in full armour, but bareheaded, awaits his award of
victory from Isabella and her husband, who are standing on
the dais. There is much artistic merit in the sprightly way
THE OCTAGON ROOM 191
in which such momentary actions as that of the page going to
spring over the partition in 1212 are rendered (see Times,
July 24, i!
CORIOLANUS, VOLUMNIA, AND VETURIA.
Michele da Verona (Veronese : born 1470, still living 1523).
For Michele, who was a pupil of Domenico Morone (see under
121 1), see Morelli, p. 54.
Coriolanus, a noble Roman, so called from Corioli, a city
of the Volscians he had taken, bore himself haughtily, and
was banished. Nursing his revenge, he threw himself into
the arms of the Volscians, determined henceforth to bear
himself " As if a man were author of himself, And knew no
other kin," and advanced at their head upon Rome. The
Romans, in terror, endeavoured in vain to appease him, and
at last sent out his wife, Volumnia, with her child, here kneel-
ing before him, and his mother, Veturia (Volumnia in Shake-
speare's play), to intercede. In their presence " the strong
man gave way ; he throws himself on his knee, and is restored
once more to human love "
Like a dull actor now,
I have forgot my part . . . O, a kiss
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge !
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss
I carried from thee, dear ; and my true lip
Hath virgin'd it e'er since. You gods ! I prate,
And the most noble mother of the world
Leave unsaluted : sink, my knee, i' the earth.
SHAKESPEARE : Coriolanus, Act v. Sc. 3.
1212. See under 1211 above, p. 190.
11O2. THE CHEVALIER ANDREA TRON.
Pietro Longhi (Venetian : 1702-1762). See XIII. iioo, p. 314.
The portrait of " a procurator of St. Mark's," a dignity in
the Venetian State second only to that of doge. The procu-
rators were charged with the legal administration of all the
affairs of St. Mark's, and their official palaces (the Procuratie)
adjoined the church. They were further charged with the care
of orphans, and with the administration of others who cared to
put themselves " in chancery." The office was thus not unlike
that of an English Lord Chancellor, and there is a "grand
motherliness " about this procurator that makes one think he
192 THE OCTAGON ROOM
must have discharged some of his duties well. The broad
golden stole over his shoulder shows him to have been also a
knight of the order of the Stola <fOr0, as the Procurator's stole
was of crimson velvet.
41. THE DEATH OF PETER MARTYR.
Ascribed to Cariani. See under VII. 1203, p. 151.
"Peter Martyr was general of the Dominicans in 1252, a
most powerful person in the Holy Inquisition, and a violent
persecutor for what he deemed the true faith, which made him
many inveterate enemies. There was one family in particular
which he had treated with excessive cruelty, and their relations,
who were in the army, were so enraged by Peter's barbarity
that they resolved to revenge themselves. . . . Having been
informed that he was to make a visit to a distant province in
pursuit of some wretched heretics, who had been denounced
to the inquisition, they lay in wait for him in a wood, through
which they knew he must pass, in company with one person,
a friar of his convent ; here they attacked him, cleft his skull
with a sabre, and left him dead on the spot " (Mrs. Jameson :
Handbook to the Public Galleries, 1842, i. 70). The man was
afterwards regarded as a martyr and canonised ; and here too,
notice that he is made to see the angels as he dies. For
another and a more pleasing picture of the same subject, see
VII. 812, p. 161.
1048. PORTRAIT OF A CARDINAL.
Unknown (Italian : i6th century).
Painted on copper. The picture, says Richler, p. 104,
" seems to be by a Flemish artist, under the influence of late
Italian painters. The probability is that it was executed in
Italy, and this would add some special interest because it would
prove that, as early as the second half of the sixteenth century,
painting on copper became known in Italy. No great master
of any Italian school has made use of this material, which seems
to have been first adopted in the school of Antwerp."
272. AN APOSTLE.
Giovanni Antonio Licinio, called Pordenone
(Venetian: 1483-1539)-
An unimportant work, ascribed somewhat doubtfully to a
great painter, a student of Giorgione and Titian.
THE OCTAGON ROOM 193
931. THE MAGDALEN.
Paolo Veronese (Veronese : 1528-1588).
See under VII. 26, p. 136.
The Magdalen she who had sinned much, but who was
forgiven because she loved much is represented at the Saviour's
feet, laying aside her jewels, and thus renouncing the vanities
of the world.
768. ST. PETER AND ST. JEROME.
Antonio Vivarini, also called Antonio da Murano
(Venetian : died 1470).
One of the earliest Venetian pictures, the Venetian School
thus being a century later than the Florentine (see p. 126). It
was at the adjacent island of Murano (where most of the
Venetian glass is now made, and which was once the resort of
the wealthier Venetian citizens) that an independent school first
developed itself, Antonio and his brother Bartolommeo(see VIII.
284, p. 185) being natives of that place. But for some time the
painters were rather craftsmen than artists, as one may still
see in this picture, where St. Peter's key is embossed in
goldsmith's fashion.
ON A SCREEN
63O. MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS.
Gregorio Schiavone (Paduan : painted about 1470).
A picture of historical interest, as being the earliest in the
Gallery of the Paduan School. Gregorio, the Sclavonian (i.e.
Dalmatian), though not, one must think, a very good artist,
was proud of his master, and this picture is signed (on the
little card below the throne) u the work of Schiavone, the
pupil of Squarcione." That master's style was distinguished, as
we have seen (p. 179), by its sculpturesque quality; and in
the works of a somewhat clumsy pupil like Gregorio (" this
Dalmatian clodhopper," Morelli calls him) one sees this
tendency carried to excess ; the outline of the Madonna's face
here, and still more in VIII. 904, p. 185, is quite grotesquely
sharp. Another characteristic of the school is exemplified in
both Gregorio's pictures the choice, namely, of antique
embellishments, of bas-reliefs, and festoons of fruit, in the
accessories. Thus note here the bas-relief behind the
Madonna's chair, and in 904 the festoons of fruit upon the
arch.
ROOM IX
CORREGGIO AND THE SCHOOLS OF LOMBARDY
PAINTERS of "the loveliest district of North Italy, where hills, and
streams, and air, meet in softest harmonies " (RusKlN : Queen
of the Air, % 157).
'Twere pleasant could Correggio's fleeting glow
Hang full in face of one where'er one roams,
Since he more than the others brings with him
Italy's self, the marvellous Modenese !
BROWNING : Bishop Blougrants Apology.
NOWHERE in the Gallery are we confronted so sorely as in
this room with the confusions which the loose use of the
term " school " has caused in the history and criticism of
art Sometimes the term is used with reference only to the
place where such and such painters principally worked.
Thus Raphael and Michael Angelo, together with their
followers, are sometimes called the " Roman School."
But Rome produced no great native painters : she was
merely a centre to which painters were drawn from
elsewhere. So too when the phrase " Milanese School "
occurs, it generally means Leonardo da Vinci and his
immediate pupils, because, though a Florentine, he taught
at Milan. Sometimes, again, the term " school " is used as
mere geographical expression. Thus under " Lombard
School " are often included (as in this room, for convenience
in hanging) the painters of Parma, simply because Parma
ROOM IX : LOMBARD SCHOOL 195
is contiguous to Lombardy. A third use of the term school,
however, is that in which it means "a definite quality, native
to the district, shared through many generations by all its
painters, and culminating in a few men of commanding
genius." Such a definite quality is generally marked by
" a special collection of traditions and processes, a particular
method, a peculiar style in design, and an equally peculiar
taste in colouring all contributing to the representation of
a national ideal existing in the minds of the artists of the
same country at the same time." This is the use of the
term which is suggested by the main arrangement of the
National Gallery, and which is at once the most instructive
and the most interesting.
Following this principle in the case of the present room,
we must first dispose of the pseudo- Lombards the
Cremonese, namely, and Correggio. The pictures belong-
ing to artists of Cremona are, as will be seen below,
practically Venetian. Correggio and his imitator Parmi-
giano are more difficult to deal with. The truth is that
Correggio stands very much apart (see below, p. 200) ;
but if he must be labelled, it seems best to follow
Signer Morelli and class him, on the score of his early
training, with the Ferrarese. Coming now to the genuine
Lombard School, one sees by looking round the room that
it is by no means identical with Leonardo da Vinci. He
himself was a Florentine, who settled at Milan, and whose
powerful individuality exercised a strong influence on
succeeding painters there. But before his coming, there
was a native Lombard School with artists scattered about
in the towns and villages around Milan, and with a distinct
style of its own a style of spirituality and purity of aim
which contemporary schools had greatly lost It is not
difficult to see some reasons for this style. First, the
Lombard School of painting was late in arising. The
building of Milan Cathedral and the Certosa of Pavia in
the first part of the fifteenth century directed the art-
impulse of the time rather to sculpture, and it was not till
about 1450 that Vincenzo Foppa came from Brescia and
established the principal school of painting at Milan.
196 ROOM IX : LOMBARD SCHOOL
Other schools started with spiritual aims, which wore off, as
it were, under the new pleasure of sharpening their means
of execution ; but the Lombards first took up the art when
it had already been reduced to a science. And then most
of the painters were natives, not of some large capital, but
of small towns or country villages. Thus Luini was born
on the Lago Maggiore, and the traditions of his life all
murmur about the lake district But he learned technique
at Milan; and thus came to "stand alone," adds Mr.
Ruskin, " in uniting consummate art power with untainted
simplicity of religious imagination" (see references under
1 8 below, p. 199).
With regard to the historical development of the school,
it was founded, as we have seen, by Vincenzo Foppa, " the
Mantegna of the Lombard School." Borgognone, his
pupil, was its Perugino. Then came Leonardo from
Florence, and the school divides into two sets those who
were immediately and directly his imitators, and those who,
whilst feeling his influence, yet preserved the independent
Lombard traditions. The visitor will have no difficulty in
recognising the pictures of Beltraffio, Oggionno, and Martino
Piazza as belonging to the former class. Solario, Luini,
and Lanini are more independent. Lastly Sodoma, a
pupil of Leonardo, went off to Siena and established a
second Sienese School there, which is represented at the
National Gallery by Peruzzi (II. 218, p. 40).
8O6. THE PROCESSION TO CALVARY.
Boccaccio Boccaccino (Cremonese : about 1460-1524).
This picture, says Layard, ii. 389, is "not characteristic of Boc-
caccino's manner, and is probably by another hand."
For some remarks on the subject of this picture see under
I. 1143, p. 13.
286. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Francesco Tacconi (Cremonese : painted 1464-1490).
The only signed picture by this painter still in existence. He was
a native of Cremona and worked there : he and his brother pleased
the Cremonese so much by painting in the Town Hall that the
artists were given an exemption from taxes. But he may be classed
as a Venetian, for he was an imitator of Giovanni Bellini. This
ROOM IX : LOMBARD SCHOOL 197
picture at once recalls Bellini's VII. 280, p. 153, and is in fact a copy
of a Madonna by that painter in the Chiesa degli Scalzi at Venice.
1O77. ALTAR-PIECE (dated 1501).
A mbrogio Borgognone (Lombard : about 1455-1524).
Ambrogio Borgognone, called also Ambrogio da Fossano (from his
birthplace in Piedmont) was a pupil of Foppa in Brescia. He was
distinguished as an architect as well as a painter, and was employed
on the fagade of the Certosa of Pavia. In painting he has been called
" the Perugino of the Lombard School ;" there is a tenderness of feeling
in his works and a somewhat sentimental expression in his figures (as
for instance in the Virgin here) which recalls the style of that Umbrian
master.
A picture of the " man of sorrows." On either side of the
infant Christ are shown the scenes of his suffering
In stature grows the Heavenly Child,
With death before his eyes ;
A Lamb unblemished, meek and mild,
Prepared for sacrifice.
For sacrifice but also for redemption, and so above the
throne are the angels of God, playing the glad music of death
swallowed up in victory. In the right-hand compartment is
Christ bearing his cross ; in the left his agony in the garden.
The three disciples are here crouched asleep lower down, and
behind a wall are the Roman soldiers, whilst from above an
angel brings a cup with a cross, two spears, and a crown of
thorns in it : " Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup
from me : nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And
there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening
him " (Luke xxii. 42, 43).
298. THE TWO ST. CATHERINES.
A mbrogio Borgognone (Lombard : about 1455-1524).
For St. Catherine of Alexandria, see under VI. 693, p. 105 ;
for St. Catherine of Siena, under VI. 249, p. 99. Each of
them was proclaimed the spouse of Christ for the love they
bore him. And Borgognone here places them on either side of
the Madonna's throne the princess of Alexandria, crowned and
robed in red, with her wheel of martyrdom, on the right hand,
the nun of Siena on the left, while the infant Christ extends
his hands and gives a ring to each in token of their marriage.
198 ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL
729. THE ADORATION OF THE KINGS.
Vincenzo Foppa (Lombard : 1425-about 1492).
Foppa " II Vecchio " (the elder) as he is called to distinguish him
from another painter of the same name is an important person in the
history of art. Born at Brescia, but removing in early manhood to
Milan, he " holds both in the School of Brescia, and especially in that
of Milan, the same place that the mighty Mantegna does at Padua,
Cosimo Tura at Ferrara, Piero della Francesco in Umbria," etc.
(Morelli, p. 398). He is said to have been a scholar of Squarcione.
Like Piero he was an authority on perspective, and many painters
studied under him.
Traces of the older style of work, from which Foppa freed
his school, may here be seen in the embossed ornaments in
gilt stucco. Notice the daintiness of the picture throughout :
the pretty flowers in the foreground, the splendid brocades of
the kneeling king, the birds and weeds on the ruined stable.
In the background are the star and city of Bethlehem.
700. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Bernardino Lantni (Lombard : 1 5o8-about I 578).
Lanini was a native of Vercelli, and a scholar of Gaudenzio Ferrari.
There is an altar-piece by him at Borgo Sesia, near Varallo ; his prin-
cipal works are frescoes in the Cathedral at Novara.
1O52. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN.
Unknown (Lombard : 1 5th or early 1 6th century).
18. CHRIST AND THE PHARISEES. 1
Bernardino Luini (Lombard : about 1475-1529).
Bernardino, "dear little Bernard," the son of Giovanni Lutero,
called Luini from-his birthplace, Luino on the Lago Maggiore, is per-
haps, says Mr. Ruskin, "the best central type of the highly-trained Ital-
ian painter," being "alone in uniting consummate art-power with un-
tainted simplicity of religious imagination. " " The two elements, poised
in perfect balance, are so calmed and restrained, each by the other,
that most of us lose the sense of both. " Next to nothing is known of
his life beyond journeys to various places in the lake district Lugano,
Legnano, and Saronno, to paint frescoes. " We have no anecdotes of
him, only hundreds of noble works. Child of the Alps, and of their
divinest lake, he is taught, without doubt or dismay, a lofty religious creed,
and a sufficient law of life, and of its mechanical arts. Whether lessoned
by Leonardo himself, or merely one of many, disciplined in the system of
1 The title usually given to this picture, ' ' Christ Disputing with the
Doctors," cannot be correct, for the figure of Christ is too old for an
incident which occurred when he was twelve years old.
ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL 199
the Milanese School, he learns unerringly to draw, unerringly and endur-
ingly to paint " . . . "a mighty colourist, while Leonardo was only a fine
draughtsman in black, staining the chiaroscuro drawing like a coloured
print." Luini's " tasks are set him without question day by day, by men
who are justly satisfied with his work, and who accept it without any
harmful praise or senseless blame. Place, scale, and subject are
determined for him on the cloister wall or the church dome ; as he is
required, and for sufficient daily bread, and little more, he paints
what he has been taught to design wisely and has passion to realise
gloriously : every touch he lays is eternal, every thought he conceives
is beautiful and pure" (Queen of the Air, 157; Catalogue of the
Educational Series, p. 43 ; Oxford Lectures on Art, 73, 92). This
picture, formerly ascribed to Leonardo, belongs to Luini's second period,
when he was under the influence of that master. To his third and
independent manner belong the frescoes at Milan, Saronno, and Lugano,
and the three pictures in Como Cathedral (Morelli, pp. 435-438).
Christ is arguing with the Pharisees, but he wears the
tender expression of the man who " did not strive nor cry,
neither was his voice heard in the streets." The dis-
putant on the extreme right with the close -shaven face and
firm-set features has his hand on a volume of the Scrip-
tures, and is taking his stand (as it were) on the letter of the
law. The one on the extreme left on the other hand, is almost
persuaded. In contrast to him is the older man with the
white beard, who seems to be marvelling at the presumption
of youth. The remaining head is the type of the fanatic ;
"by our law he ought to die." This picture, besides its
splendid colouring, is a good instance of that law of order
or symmetry which is characteristic of all perfect art. The
central figure faces us ; there are two figures on one side,
balanced by two on the other ; the face in the left corner looks
right, that in the right corner looks left, whilst to break any too
obtrusive symmetry the head of Christ itself inclines somewhat
to the left also.
15. ECCE HOMO !
Correggio (Parmese : 1494-1534).
Antonio Allegri, called Correggio from his native village of that name,
is one of the greatest and most distinctive of the old masters. What
is it that constitutes what Carlyle calls the " Correggiosity of Correggio "?
It is at once a way peculiar to him amongst artists, of looking at the
world, and an excellence, peculiar to him also, in his methods of
painting. Correggio " looked at the world in a single mood of sensuous
joy," as a place in which everything is full of happy life and soft pleasure.
The characteristics of his style are "sidelong grace," and an all-per-
200 ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL
vading sweetness. The method, peculiar to him, by which he realised
this way of looking at things on canvas, is the subtle gradation of
colours, a point, it is interesting to note, in which of all modern
masters Sir Frederick Leighton most nearly resembles him (Art of
England, p. 98). Correggio is, indeed, " the captain of the painter's
art as such. Other men have nobler or more numerous gifts, but as a
painter, master of the art of laying colour so as to be lovely, Correggio
is alone" (Oxford Lectures on Art, 177). The circumstances of
Correggio's life go far to explain the character of his style. He was
the son of a modest, peaceful burgher family, and unlike Raphael and
Michael Angelo, his life was spent in Correggio and Parma, away from
the intellectual movements and political revolutions of his time.
Ignorant of society, unpatronised by princes, his mind was touched by
no deep passion other than love for his art, and " like a poet hidden
in the light of thought," he worked out for himself the ideals of grace
and movement which live in his pictures (see Symonds, iii. 339). Of
the details of his life little is known, but he seems to have been
constantly employed, and the stories Vasari tells of his poverty are
disproved by the adequate payments he is known to have received.
" Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and
the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the Man /"
Ecce Homo! (John xix. 5). Over the domain of tragedy
Correggio with his pretty grace and sentimentality had little
sway. In this respect he has been called " the Rossini of paint-
ing. The melodies of the Stabat Mater are the exact ana-
logues in music of Correggio's voluptuous renderings of grave or
mysterious motives " {Symonds, iii. 340). Thus here it is rather
a not-unpleasant feeling of grief than any profound sense of
sorrow or resignation that the painter expresses ; but within
these limits the picture is a very effective one. " The features
of Christ express pain without being in the least disfigured by
it. How striking is the holding out of the fettered hands, as
if to say, ' Behold, these are bound for you ! ' The Virgin
Mary, who, in order to see her son, has held by the balustrade
which separates him from her, sinks with grief into the arms
of Mary Magdalene. Her lips still seem to tremble, but
the corners of the mouth are already fixed, it is involuntarily
open ; the arched eyelids are on the point of covering the closing
eyes ; the hands with which she has held fast let go the balus-
trade " (Waagen : Treasures of Art in Great Britain, i. 327).-
To the right is a Roman soldier, robust and rugged, yet with a
touch of pity in his look ; whilst to the left, standing just within
the judgment hall, is Pilate, the Roman proconsul, with a mild
look of self-satisfaction on his face as of the man who
ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL
" washed his hands " of the affair and left the populace to do
with Christ as they would.
23. "THE VIRGIN OF THE BASKET."
Correggio (Parmese : 1494-1534). See under 15, p. 199.
A celebrated and characteristic work of the master. A
comparison of it with Raphael's great Madonna or any of those
of the earlier masters (e.g. Bellini) will show in a moment
wherein the peculiarity of Correggio consists. There is no
religious sentiment in the picture at all. The mother has none
of the rapt look of the woman who " laid these things in her
heart," and the child has no prophetic sense of future suffering.
There is nothing to mark the picture as representing the Holy
Family except the introduction of Joseph, the carpenter, in the
background. It is a picture painted solely in the " religion
of humanity," and full only of artless grace and melodious
tenderness. The child is full of play and fun ; the mother (with
the household basket which gives the picture its name " La
Vierge au panier ") is dressing him, and has just succeeded in
putting his right arm through the sleeve of his little coat, and
is endeavouring by gentle stratagem to do the same with the
left ; but something has caught his fancy, and she shares in his
delight, smiling with all a young mother's fondness at the way-
wardness of her curly- haired boy. It is a pretty domestic
scene all the prettier from the probability that it was a piece
of the painter's own home life, for the picture was painted just
after the birth of his first child. The picture was bought for
the nation in 1825 for ^3800 " a sum that would cover the
little panel with sovereigns just twenty-seven times over."
33. THE VISION OF ST. JEROME.
Parmigiano (Parmese: 1503-1540).
A picture of great interest both for itself and for the circumstances
under which it was painted. Francesco Maria Mazzola, called
Parmigiano from Parma, his birthplace, was painting it at Rome in
1527 when the city was sacked by the army of the Emperor Charles V.
under Constable Bourbon. So intent, says Vasari, was our artist- on
his work that "when his own dwelling was filled with certain of
these men, who were Germans, he remained undisturbed by their
clamours, and did not move from his place ; arriving in the room there-
fore, and finding him thus employed, they stood confounded at the
beauty of the paintings they beheld, and, like good and sensible men as
they must have been, they permitted him to continue his occupation."
Parmigiano had other narrow escapes in his career, which ultimately
203 ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL
came to a bad end, owing, Vasari says, to his forsaking painting for
alchemy, " since he believed that he should make himself rich much more
rapidly by the congelation of mercury than by his art." The chequered
life of the artist finds a parallel in the varying fortunes of his reputation as
an artist. He was an imitator both of Correggio and of Michael Angelo
here, for instance, the head of the infant Christ recalls the former
master, the figures of St. Jerome and St. John recall the latter ; and in
his own day was held to have imitated them successfully, whilst Vasari
adds that " the spirit of Raphael was said to have passed into
Parmigiano." Of one of his works Reynolds, two hundred years
later, expressed himself " at a loss which to admire most, the correctness
of drawing or grandeur of conception." But the fashion in art has
changed since Reynolds's day, and modern critics have found Parmi-
giano's work "incongruous," " insipid," and "affected." This difference
of opinion is well exemplified in the case of this picture. Vasari calls it
" singularly beautiful," and its subsequent popularity is attested by the
number of copies of it extant (visitors on Student's Days will still often see
copyists at work on it). But other critics have attributed its fame " more
to its defects than its beauties" (Passavant), and have found it
" mannered and theatrical " (Mrs. Jameson), and "a pernicious adapta-
tion of an incongruous style" (Dr. Richter).
Leaving the visitor to form his own judgment, we may remind
him that the subject is a supposed dream of St. Jerome when
doing penance in the desert. He is asleep on the ground
doing penance, it might seem from his distorted position, even
in his sleep, with a skull before him and a crucifix beside him.
He is in the same desert where John the Baptist once preached,
and thinking, we may suppose, of him, St. Jerome sees him in
vision with his camel skin about him pointing upwards to
the sky. There is the Virgin Mary seated as queen of
heaven on a crescent moon, with a palm branch in her hand
the symbol now, not of martyrdom, but of victory over sin
and death. And on her knee is the Divine Child, who rests
his right hand on a little book on the Madonna's lap. It is a
volume, we may suppose, of the Scriptures which St. Jerome
had translated, and the vision thus foreshadows the time when
it should be said unto him, " Well done, thou good and faithful
servant ; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
76. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.
After Correggio. See under 15, p. 199.
This is a copy of a picture in the Duke of Wellington's
gallery at Apsley House, which was taken in Joseph
Buonaparte's carriage at the battle of Vittoria, returned to the
King of Spain, and by him presented to the Great Duke.
ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL 203
1O. MERCURY, VENUS, AND CUPID.
Correggio (Parmese : 1494-1534). See under \ 5, p. 199.
One of the most celebrated works in the Gallery " the
two pictures which I would last part with out of it," Mr.
Ruskin once said, " would be Titian's Bacchus and Cor-
reggio's Venus." It is a great picture first because it is
true to nature. " Look at the foot of Venus. Correggio made
it as like a foot as he could, and you won't easily find any-
thing liker. . . . Great civilised art is always the representa-
tion, to the utmost of its power, of whatever it has got to show
made to look as like the thing as possible " (Queen of the Air,
163). Notice, too, the roundness of effect produced in the
limbs by the gradation of full colours, the reflected lights, and
the 'transparent shadows. The "chiaroscuro" is so clever
that you can look through the shadows into the substance.
As for the subject of the picture, Mercury, the messenger
of the gods (dressed therefore in his winged cap and sandals),
is endeavouring to teach Cupid (Love) his letters, of which,
according to the Greek story, Mercury was the inventor.
Venus, the Goddess of Beauty and the Mother of Love, looks
out to the spectator with a winning smile of self-complacent
loveliness and points us to the child. She has taken charge
meanwhile of Cupid's bow (from which he shoots his arrows
into lovers' hearts), and is herself represented (as sometimes
in classical gems) with wings, for Beauty has wings to fly
away as well as Time and Love. The picture is sometimes
called the Education of Cupid, but Love learns through the
heart and not through the head, and " if you look at this
most perfect picture wisely, you will see that it really ought
to be called ' Mercury trying, and failing, to teach Cupid to
read,' for indeed from the beginning and to the end of time,
Love reads without letters, and counts without arithmetic "
(Fors Clavigera, viii. 238).
This famous picture has had a strange, eventful history. It
was included in Charles I.'s collection, and hung in his
private rooms at Whitehall. When he was beheaded and his
pictures were sold, it passed through several collections, and
ultimately into that of Murat, King of Naples. Upon his fall
from power his wife took it with her when she escaped to
Vienna. During the congress of sovereigns in 1822 her
chamberlain communicated with the ministers of all the powers
204 ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL
with a view to the sale of this and another Correggio (15).
Russia was negotiating for the purchase of them when Lord
Londonderry, hearing by mere accident of the affair, went to
the chamberlain, paid the larger price against which Russia
was holding out, and despatched his courier post haste to
Vienna to convey the treasures to England. An attempt was
made to stop him, but they reached this country almost before
the Russians had heard of the purchase. 1
1144. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Bazzi, called // Sodoma (Lombard : 1477-1 549).
The confusion in the use of the word "school" (see above p. 194)
is again illustrated in the case of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (sometimes
wrongly given as Razzi), called also II Sodoma. He spent mdst of
his life at Siena, and is often grouped therefore with the Sienese
school. But he was born at Vercelli, in Piedmont being the son of
a shoemaker and " ripened into an artist during the two years he
spent at Milan with Leonardo da Vinci" (1498-1500). Sodoma is
therefore, says Morelli, p. 428, to be reckoned as one of the
Milanese -Lombard School. " Nay, I believe I should not be far wrong
were I to maintain that the majority of the better works ascribed to
Leonardo in private collections are by him. . . . Young Bazzi while
at Milan seems to have taken Leonardo for his model, not only in art,
but even in personal appearance and fancies. All his life he loved to
play the cavalier, and, like Leonardo, always kept saddle-horses in his
stable, and all kinds of queer animals in his house." Vasari gives an
amusing, though probably apocryphal, account of his excesses, and
represents him as a lewd fellow of the baser sort, with whom no
respectable person would have anything to do. But Raphael so
respected Bazzi and his work that he introduced his portrait
(erroneously called Perugino's) by the side of his own in his celebrated
fresco of the " School of Athens." But at any rate Sodoma was a
careless jovial fellow dividing his time between the studio and the
stable ; and when cash ran short or a horse ran wrong, he would meet
his liabilities with a hastily dashed off picture. This very Madonna
may perhaps have paid off a racing debt.
1 The two pictures were bought by the nation in 1834 for ^11,550.
This sum was then thought a very large one, and the trustees fortified
themselves with the opinion of experts. Amongst these Sir David Wilkie,
R. A., wrote, "It is certainly a large sum for two pictures ; but giving this
difficulty its due weight, I would decidedly concur in giving this sum
rather than let them go out of the country, considering the rarity of such
specimens even in foreign countries, and their excellence as examples of
the high school to which they belong, to which it must be the aim of every
other school to approach."
ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL 205
692. ST. HUGO OF GRENOBLE.
Ludovico of Parma (Parmese : early :6th century).
The crozier shows him to be a bishop, and it is inscribed
S. VGO. This is St. Hugo (died 1132), who was Bishop of
Grenoble when St. Bruno founded the Chartreuse, and who
often resided amongst the Carthusians. Doubtless he was not
an unwelcome visitor, for he had the power, it is said, of con-
verting fowls into fish, which it was lawful to eat For forty
years, it is further told of him, he had haunting doubts on the
old, old question of the origin of evil. The good bishop re-
ferred them at last to Pope Gregory VII., who greatly com-
forted St. Hugo by assuring him that such doubts were only
sent to try his virtue and faith in the providence of God in
permitting evil in the world.
923. A VENETIAN SENATOR.
A ndrea Solario (Lombard : about 14601520).
Andrea belonged to an artist family, the Solari (of Solaro, a village
near Saronna) ; one of his brothers, Christopher, was an architect and
sculptor, and from him perhaps Andrea learnt his superb modelling of
the head a point which is conspicuous in this picture, and in which
he surpassed all his contemporaries. His repute in his own time is
attested by the journey he made to France in 1507. The Cardinal
George of Amboise desired to entrust the decoration of a chapel to
Leonardo ; but Leonardo was too much taken up with hydraulic works
at Milan to accept the commission, and the Cardinal's representative
sent Andrea in the great man's place (Morelli, pp. 63-68).
This picture "was ascribed to Giovanni Bellini before it
entered the National Gallery, and dilettanti might well mistake it
for a work of Antonello da Messina. There seems to be little
doubt that the picture was painted by Solario at Venice, where
he went in 1490 in company of his brother. . . . The firmly drawn
portrait of the senator, with its minutely executed landscape in
the background, reveals plainly that he there became an ardent
follower of Antonello " (Richter, p. 99).
12OO, 12O1. GROUPS OF SAINTS.
Macrino tfAlba (Lombard: painted about 1500).
Macrino d'Alba, a native of Alba in Piedmont, otherwise called
Giangiacomo Fava, belongs to the pre-Leonardo period, having been
a pupil probably of Vincenzo Foppa (729, p. 198).
In the first group (1200) are St. Peter Martyr (for whom see
Octagon, 41, p. 192), with the knife and plenty of blood on his
2o6 ROOM IX ': LOMBARD SCHOOL
head, and a bishop in full robes. In the second (1201), St.
Thomas Aquinas looking with an almost comic squint at a cruci-
fix, and John the Baptist. On the pages of St. Thomas's book
are the words in Latin, " I have kept the commandments of my
father;" on those of St John the Baptist, " Behold the Lamb
of God, that taketh away the sins of the world."
734. A MILANESE LAWYER.
Andrea Solatia (Lombard : about 1460-1520).
See under 923, p. 205.
A portrait (dated i 505) of the artist's friend, a Milanese
lawyer, whose name, John Christopher Longoni, is written on
a letter in his right hand. He wears the gown and cap (not
unlike that still worn by French " advocates ") of his profession.
Observe the landscape background here quaintly peopled with
prancing dogs and horses on the left, and servants in red
pushing off boats on the right with which the old painters,
like some of our modern photographers, were fond of flattering
their subjects. But in this case the subject is well entitled to
his " setting," for he is a nobleman as well as a lawyer,
and the background is perhaps studied from his country seat.
On the bottom of the panel is a Latin inscription which, literally
interpreted, runs, " Not knowing what you have been or what
you may be, may it for long be your study to be able to see
what you are," i.e. by looking at this picture of yourself a
neatly-turned compliment at once to the painter and his subject :
the picture is to last for many a long year, and the lawyer for
many a long year is to grow no older. Or is the inscription
also meant to describe the lawyer's character in words, as the
portrait does in colours a man not troubled overmuch with
what has been or what may be hereafter, but one who is keenly
alive to what he is, and who pours all his powers into the
tasks and interests of the present ?
120O.
See above under 1201, p. 205.
779, 78O. FAMILY PORTRAITS.
Ambrogio Borgognone (Lombard : about 1455-1524).
See under 1077, p. 197.
On the left (779) a group of nine men, above them a hand,
probably of some patron saint ; on the right (780) a group of
thirteen women, kneeling (apparently) by the side of a tomb
ROOM IX: LOMBARD SCHOOL 207
studies of character drawing. These pictures are painted on
silk (now attached to wood), and were originally part of a
standard.
728. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Beltraffio (Lombard : 1 467-1 5 1 6).
An interesting work both for its own sake and as being by
an amateur. Giovanni Antonio Beltraffio came of a noble
family in Milan (his epitaph is in the Brera) and filled public
offices there. He was not a professional painter, but neither
was he a mere dilettante; he boarded in Leonardo da Vinci's
house, and his pictures are all executed with great care (Morelli,
pp. 425-428). The child with its quaint belly-band, and still
more the gentle but slightly languishing grace of the mother,
at once recall Leonardo.
780.
See above under 779, p. 206.
1152. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
Martino Piazza (Lombard : early 1 6th century).
A good example of one of the many Lombard painters on
whom Leonardo da Vinci's influence was predominant. Com-
pare not only the type of countenance but the impossible rocks
with those in I. 1093, p. 24. For the subject of the picture
see XIII. 25, p. 316.
1149. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Marco cFOggionno (Lombard : i47O-about 1549).
A characteristic picture by one of Leonardo's oldest pupils.
The imitation is obvious, but so is the pupil's inferiority.
There is a sad want of grace in the child's straining after the
blue-bell, and in its top-knot of hair.
753. ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS.
Altobello Melone (Cremonese : painted about 1500).
There is, as we have seen, no native and independent school of
Cremona. Melone was a pupil of Romanino (see VII. 297, p. 169) at
Brescia.
Two of Christ's disciples are walking after his death and
burial to Emmaus. The risen Christ " drew near, and went
with them. But their eyes were holden, that they should not
know him" (Luke xxiv. 16). The painter makes excuses for
zo8 ROOM IX : LOMBARD SCHOOL
the disciples not recognising their master by naively dressing
him as a tourist with an alpenstock.
43T Visitors who wish to complete their survey of Italian art as re-
presented in the National Gallery, before examining the works
of other schools, should now pass to Room XIII., where the
later Italian pictures are hung.
ROOM X
. . . Artists should descry abundant worth
In trivial commonplace, nor groan at dearth
If fortune bade the painter's craft be plied
In vulgar town and country !
ROBERT BROWNING : Gerard de Lairesse.
THE Dutch and Flemish schools are not at present, owing
to want of space, completely separated in the National
Gallery. The pictures of the early Flemish School are, how-
ever, arranged together in Room XL, under which room
some general remarks on that school will be found. We
take up the story here at the point where it leaves off there,
and proceed to discuss the Dutch School as well as the
later developments of the Flemish. The confusion between
Dutch and Flemish art is, it may first be remarked, historical.
Just as Flanders derived its earliest artistic impulse from
Germany (see p. 259), so did the Dutch derive theirs from
the Flemings. In the two first periods of Flemish art,
Dutch art runs precisely parallel with it. These periods
are, on the Dutch side, very sparsely represented in the
National Gallery. 713 and 714 (both in XII., pp. 273,
270) may be taken as examples of the former religious
period. Engelbertsz, the painter of 714, was born in
1468 the year in which the Flemish Thierri Bouts finished
p
2io ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
some of his best known pictures. Mostaert, the painter of
713, died in 1556, and was the last of the "Primitives"
in the Dutch School. During the sixteenth century a new
development began in both schools. This is the period
of Italian influence, of the " Romanists " or " Italianisers,"
as they are called, represented on the Flemish side by
Bernard van Orley and Mabuse (655, 656 : both in XL,
pp. 271, 280) ; on the Dutch by More (XI. 1094, p. 261)
and Steenwyck (1132, p. 251).
At the end of the sixteenth century, however, a national
movement began in both schools corresponding closely to
political changes. In 1598 the Archduke Albert and his
consort Isabel established what was almost an independent
State in the Spanish Netherlands ( = roughly Flanders, or
the modern Belgium). The " Spanish fury " was at an end,
the Inquisition was relaxed. Albert and Isabel eagerly
welcomed artists and men of letters, and the exuberant art
of Rubens responded to the call. This is the third and
great period in the Flemish School the succession being
carried on by Rubens's pupils, Van Dyck and Teniers.
Rubens, the greatest master of the Flemish School, was
born in 1577. The birth of the corresponding great period
in Dutch art is almost exactly contemporaneous. For it
was in 1579 that the "Union of Utrecht "was effected,
whereby the Dutch "United Provinces" ( = roughly what
is now Holland) were separated alike from the Spanish
Netherlands and from the Empire, and that Dutch inde-
pendence thus began. Within the next fifty years nearly
all the great Dutch painters were born de Keyser, Cuyp,
Rembrandt, Terburg, Bol, Berchem. In characteristics,
as well as in chronology, Dutch art was the direct outcome
of Dutch history. This art has come to be identified in
common parlance, owing to its chief and distinguishing
characteristic, with what is known as ''genre painting,"
the painting, that is, which takes its subject from small
incidents of everyday life. Three historical conditions
combined to bring this kind of painting into vogue. First,
the Reformation. The Dutch, when they asserted their
independence, were no longer Catholics but Protestantism
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 211
despised the arts, and hence the arts became entirely
dissociated from religion. There were no more churches
to ornament, and hence no more religious pictures were
painted, 1 whilst religious rapture is superseded by what one
of their own critics describes as " the boisterous outbursts
which betoken approaching drunkenness " (Havard : The
Dutch School, p. i2). 2 Secondly, the Dutch were Repub-
licans. There was no reigning family. There were
no palaces to decorate, and hence no more historical or
mythological pictures were in demand. This point of dis-
tinction may best be remembered by the supreme contempt
which the great King Louis XIV. of France entertained for
the genre style. Eloignez de mot ces magots, he said, " take
away the absurd things," when some one showed him some
works by Teniers. But the " plain, simple citizens " of
the United Provinces did not want their faces idealised
hence the prosaic excellence of Dutch portraiture, nor had
they any ambition to see on their walls anything but an
imitation of their actual lives of their dykes, their court-
yards, their kitchens, and their sculleries. Thirdly, the
Dutch were a very self-centred people. A certain obstinate
tenacity to their own ways was at once their weakness and
their strength. Their artists were wonderfully laborious,
wonderfully skilful in execution ; but strangely lacking in
imagination, strangely limited in their range. Hence on
the one side their fondness for genre. " With the Dutch,"
says Sir Joshua Reynolds (Discourse iv.), "a history piece
1 This statement, like all others in so short and general a summary as
can alone be here attempted, is of course only broadly true.
2 It is interesting to note that this spirit of anti-religious revolt is what
fascinated Heine in Dutch pictures. ' ' In the house I lodged at in
Leyden there once lived," he says, " the great Jan Steen, whom I hold to
be as great as Raphael. Even as a sacred painter Jan was as great, and
that will be clearly seen when the religion of sorrow has passed away. . . .
How often, during my stay, did I think myself back for whole hours
into the household scenes in which the excellent Jan must have lived
and suffered. Many a time I thought I saw him bodily, sitting at his
easel, now and then grasping the great jug, 'reflecting and therewith
drinking, and then again drinking without reflecting.' It was no gloomy
Catholic spectre that I saw, but a modern bright spirit of joy, who after
death still visited his old workroom to paint many pictures and to drink "
(Heine's Prose Writings, Camelot Series, p. 67).
212 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
is properly a portrait of themselves ; whether they describe
the inside or outside of their houses, we have their own
people engaged in their own peculiar occupations ; working
or drinking, playing or fighting. The circumstances that
enter into a picture of this kind, are so far from giving a
general view of human life, that they exhibit all the minute
particularities of a nation differing in several respects from
the rest of mankind." Hence on the other side their
fondness for landscape, a landscape excellent in many
ways, but cabin'd, cribbed, and confined, like their own
dykes. "Of deities or virtues, angels, principalities, or
powers, in the name of our ditches, no more. Let us have
cattle, and market vegetables" (Modern Painters, vol. v.
pt ix. ch. vi. u).
202. DOMESTIC POULTRY.
Melchior de Hondecoeter (Dutch : 1 636- 1 69 5).
" A beautiful brood of young chickens in the foreground.
The cock was Hondecoeter's favourite bird, which he is said
to have taught to stand to him in a fixed position as a model "
(Official Catalogue).
24O. CROSSING THE FORD.
Nicolas Berchem (Dutch : 1620-1683).
Berchem, like Both, is one of the Dutch painters who lived rather
after the great period of Dutch art, and had lost touch of the purely
national spirit. He is an Italianiser ; and although his pictures were
mostly painted in Holland, they were generally of Italian scenes. The
mannerism and monotony of his works accord with what is told of his
life. In 1665, when at the height of his reputation, he sold his labour
to a dealer, from early in the morning to four in the afternoon, for ten
florins a day. His wife, it appears, kept the purse, and is said to have
doled him out very scanty supplies, a precaution which was perhaps
necessary, as Berchem had a weakness for Italian drawings, his collec-
tion of which sold at his death for 1 2,800 florins.
154. THE MUSIC PARTY.
David Tenter s^ the younger (Flemish : 1610-1694).
Teniers, though a Fleming by birth, belongs rather to the Dutch
School in style being one of the principal genre painters, of whom
most of the other leading masters are Dutch. His art stands, how-
ever, in direct relation to that of the Flemish painters preceding him,
through the want of spiritual motive common to him and to them.
But Teniers and the genre painters carry this banishment of spiritual
ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 213
motive a step farther. ' ' Rubens often gives instructive and magni-
ficent allegory (e.g. 46, p. 243) ; Rembrandt, pathetic or powerful
fancies, founded on real Scripture reading, and on his interest in the
picturesque character of the Jew. And Van Dyck, a graceful rendering
of received scriptural legends. But (with Teniers) ... we lose, not
only all faith in religion, but all remembrance of it. Absolutely now
at last we find ourselves without sight of God in all the world. . . .
Farthest savages had, and still have, their Great Spirit, or, in extremity,
their feather-idols, large-eyed ; but here in Holland we have at last got
utterly done with it all. Our only idol glitters dimly, in tangible shape
of a pint pot, and all the incense offered thereto, comes out of a small
censer or bowl at the end of a pipe." The place of Teniers in
art history is, therefore, so far as the ideals of art go, that he is, par
excell'jice, " the painter of the pleasures of the ale-house and card-
table" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. 10, n ; ch. viii.
1 1 ). This limitation of subject is the more deliberate and the more
significant for its contrast to the social standing of the artist himself.
It is doubtful whether he ever entered Rubens's studio, but he
married Velvet Breughel, a former ward of Rubens's, who acted as
witness at the marriage. He was refined in person, enjoyed the
highest patronage, and was the friend of courtiers and princes. The
Archduke Leopold-William, Governor of the Netherlands, appointed
him his private painter, and gave him an office in his household.
Queen Christina of Sweden and Philip IV. of Spain were also amongst
his patrons. Yet he remained throughout life essentially the painter
of the pot-house.
In what then does the merit of his pictures consist ? It is in the
honesty of his manner. He "touched with a workmanly hand, such
as we cannot see rivalled now ; " and he seems " never to have painted
indolently, but gave the purchaser his thorough money's worth of
mechanism." 1 Hence it is that. Sir Joshua Reynolds, though con-
demning Teniers's vulgarity of subject, yet held up his pictures as
models to students who wished to excel in execution.
This and the companion picture, 158, are good illustrations
of what has been said above. The human specimens are
ugly and vulgar ; the pottery is pretty, and beautifully painted.
Notice for instance the " aesthetic " jug in each picture.
1 Mr. Ruskin goes on, however, to point out that this " patient merit
or commercial value in Dutch labour " is by no means inconsistent with
that insensitiveness which is the soul of vulgarity. On the contrary ' ' the
very mastery these men have of their business proceeds from their never
really seeing the whole of anything, but only that part of it which they
know how to do. Out of all nature they felt their function was to extract
the grayness and shininess. Give them a golden sunset, a rosy dawn, a
green waterfall, a scarlet autumn on the hills, and they merely look curiously
into it to see if there is anything gray and glittering which can be painted
on their common principles" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. viii. i).
214 ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
239. A MOONLIGHT SCENE.
Aart van der Neer (Dutch : 1619-1682).
A good example of "the penetrating melancholy of moon-
light" for which this painter (a native of Amsterdam) is
famous.
158. BOORS REGALING.
Tenters (Flemish: 1610-1694). See under 154, p. 212.
166. A CAPUCHIN FRIAR.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
775. AN OLD WOMAN (dated 1634).
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
An old lady, eighty-three years of age (as the inscription
shows), painted by Rembrandt when he was twenty- seven.
His mother was from the first a favourite sitter of his, and
hence, perhaps, the affectionate fidelity with which he always
painted the wrinkled faces of old age.
223. DUTCH SHIPPING.
Ludolf Bakhuizen ( D utch : 1631-1708).
Bakhuizen comes second in the succession of Dutch sea-painters to W.
Vandevelde, and the reader is referred to the remarks on that painter (see
under 1 50, p. 2 1 5) for the general characteristics of them both. Whereas,
however, Vandevelde preferred calms, Bakhuizen preferred storms,
and even "voluntarily exposed his life several times," says a com-
patriot, " for the sake of seizing, in all its horrible reality, the effects
of rough weather" (Havard : The Dutch School, p. 255). It cannot
be said, however, that the result was very successful. There is, adds
the same critic, a hardness about his forms and a want of transparency
in his colours "which cannot be counterbalanced by the fury of up-
heaved waves or the furious driving of the heavy clouds across the sky."
Bakhuizen, before he took to painting, was successively a book-keeper
(his father was town - clerk of Emden) and a writing-master. Perhaps
it is to his experience in the latter capacity that the hardness and
" peruke-like " regularity of his waves are due. In his own day,
however, his sea-pieces were very greatly esteemed. The King of
Prussia was among his patrons, and the Tzar, Peter the Great,
frequently visited his studios, and even himself took lessons of him.
He was also an etcher, and the British Museum possesses a fragment
of a sketch-book of his.
106O. TWO VEDETTES ON THE WATCH.
Wowwerman (Dutch : 1619-1668). SeeunderXll. 878, p. 292.
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 215
15O. A GALE AT SEA.
Will em Vandevelde^ the younger (Dutch : 1633-1707).
William Vandevelde, the younger, was the son of an artist of
the same name, and the two together were the most famous sea-
painters of their time. The father was specially commissioned by the
East India Company to paint several of their ships. The son was for
a time engaged in painting the chief naval battles of the Dutch. In
1675 they were both established in England, living at Greenwich, as
painters to King Charles II., who granted each of them a pension of
;ioo a year; the father "for taking and making draughts of sea-
fights;" and the son "for putting the said draughts into colours."
The Vandeveldes, thus employed, ."produced," says Macaulay,
"for the king and his nobles some of the finest sea-pieces in the
world." "The palm," says Walpole, "is not less disputed with
Raphael for history than with Vandevelde for sea-pieces." But in no
branch of art has the English School of this century made more con-
spicuous advance than in sea-painting, and those who are fresh from
reminiscences of Turner or Lee, or, amongst living artists, of Hook and
Moore and Brett, will hardly be inclined to agree at this day with
such high praise of Vandevelde. "It is not easily understood," says
Mr. Ruskin, " considering how many there are who love the sea,
and look at it, that Vandevelde and such others should be tolerated.
Foam appears to me to curdle and cream on the wave sides, and
to fly flashing from their crests, and not to be set astride upon them
like a peruke ; and waves appear to me to fall, and plunge, and
toss, and nod, and crash over, and not to curl up like shavings ; and
water appears to me, when it is gray, to have the gray of stormy air
mixed with its own deep, heavy, thunderous, threatening blue, and
not the gray of the first coat of cheap paint on a deal door."
" It is not easy to understand," perhaps, but two helps towards
understanding may be mentioned in Mr. Ruskin's own words. First,
previous painters including even the Venetians, sea-folk though they
were had -all treated the sea conventionally. Vandevelde and his
fellows, at any rate, endeavoured to study it from nature. Bakhuizen,
as we have seen, like Turner after him, used to go to sea in all weathers,
the better to obtain "impressions." Hence the Dutch sea -painting
did mark an advance, and how great was its influence on later artists
and sea-lovers we know from the case of Turner, who " painted many
pictures in the manner of Vandevelde, and always painted the sea
too gray, and too opaque, in consequence of his early study of him."
And this gray and opaque rendering of the sea by the Dutch was to
some extent due to natural causes. "Although in artistical qualities
lower than is easily by language expressible, the Italian marine painting
usually conveys an idea of three facts about the sea, that it is green,
that it is deep, and that the sun shines on it. The dark plain which
stands for far-away Adriatic with the Venetians, and the glinting
swells of tamed wave which lap about the quays of Claude, agree in
216 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
giving the general impression that the ocean consists of pure water,
and is open to the pure sky. But the Dutch painters, while they
attained considerably greater dexterity than the Italian in mere de-
lineation of nautical incident, were by nature precluded from ever
becoming aware of these common facts ; and having, in reality, never in
all their lives seen the sea, but only a shallow mixture of sea-water
and sand ; and also never in all their lives seen the sky, but only a lower
element between them and it, composed of marsh exhalation and fog-
bank ; they are not to be with too great severity reproached for the
dulness of their records of the nautical enterprise of Holland. We
only are to be reproached, who, familiar with the Atlantic, are yet ready
to accept with faith, as types of sea, the small waves en papillate and
peruke-like puffs of farinaceous foam, which were the delight of Bak-
huizen and his compeers" 1 (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v.
ch. i. 20 ; vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii. 30 ; On the Old Road, i. 283 ;
Harbours of England, p. 1 8).
1O74. AN OYSTER SUPPER.
Dirk (brother of Frans) Hals (Dutch : 1589-1656).
149. A CALM AT SEA.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707). See under 150, p. 215.
1OO4. AN ITALIAN LANDSCAPE.
Nicolas Berchem (Dutch : 1620-1683). See under 240, p. 212.
1002. FLOWERS, INSECTS, AND FRUIT.
Jacob Walscapfielle (Dutch : painted about 1675).
1 An amusing instance of the nai've ignorance of the sea which under-
laid much of the excessive admiration of Vahdevelde is afforded by Dr.
Waagen, for many years director of the Berlin Gallery, and author of
Treasures of Art in England. At the end of a passage describing his
"first attempt to navigate the watery paths," he says: "For the first
time I understood the truth of these pictures (Bakhuizen's and Vande-
velde's), and the refined art with which, by intervening dashes of sun-
shine, near or at a distance, and ships to animate the scene, they produce
such a charming variety on the surface of the sea." " For the first time ! "
exclaims Mr. Ruskin (Arrows of the Chace, i. 16, 17), "and yet this
gallery -bred judge, this discriminator of coloured shreds and canvas
patches, who has no idea how ships animate the sea until charged
with the fates of the Royal Academy he ventures his invaluable person
from Rotterdam to Greenwich, will walk up to the work of a man whose
brow is hard with the spray of a hundred storms, and characterise it as
1 wanting in truth of clouds and waves.' " Dr. Waagen, it should be
explained, had, on the strength of his first " navigation of the watery
waves," pronounced Turner's works inferior in such truth to Vandevelde.
Clearly Dr. Waagen, more fortunate than most of our foreign visitors,
had a calm crossing.
ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 217
1O01. HOLLYHOCKS AND OTHER FLOWERS.
Jan van Huysum (Dutch : 16821749).
See under 796, p. 238.
1222. A STUDY OF FOLIAGE, BIRDS, AND
INSECTS.
Otto Marcettis (Dutch : 1613-1673).
One may doubt whether lovers of bird and insect life will
appreciate such a picture as this, in which specimens are
brought together in so dark a corner of decaying wood. Birds
and butterflies beautiful as they are by themselves, and insects
serviceable as each is in its place, are here placed in combina-
tion, suggesting nothing so much as a happy hunting-ground
for the witches' cauldron.
187. THE APOTHEOSIS OF WILLIAM THE TACI-
TURN OF HOLLAND.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
A sketch of a picture in the possession of the Earl of Jersey
at Osterley Park.
956. AN ITALIAN LANDSCAPE.
Jan Both (Dutch : 1 6 10-1662).!
Jan Both, the son of a glass-painter, was one of the first ' ' Italianisers "
in landscape. He travelled in Italy, always in the company of his
brother Andries, until the latter, returning from a supper party at Venice,
fell from his gondola and was drowned. Unlike Rubens, who even at
Genoa painted only the Netherlands, Both always adopted Italian
scenery. The influence also of Claude, whose works he would have
seen at Rome, is very perceptible in Both's pictures.
Both is often praised for faithful representations of
"southern luxuriance" and a "seeming fragrance of atmosphere."
It may be so. But it is at any rate interesting to compare
Both's version of the scenery of the Italian lakes with more
modern renderings such, for instance, as BridelFs "Lake
Como," XX. 1205, p. 527. Visitors who know the scenery
will be able to decide for themselves which version is truer to
nature.
1 He died in 1662, or after. The date 1656, given in the Official
Catalogue, must be a mistake, for an engraved portrait of him published
at Antwerp in 1662 is inscribed "Jean Both, good and well-respected
landscape painter, staying now at Utrecht, his native town."
218 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
63. AN EVENING LANDSCAPE.
Albert Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691).
Cuyp was born at Dort, was a brewer by trade, and was a citizen of
importance. As a painter, however, he had little reputation in his
own country, and,'as is the case with so many of the Dutch masters, it was
in England that he was first appreciated. Even in 1750 one of his
pictures sold for thirty florins ; in 1876 one fetched at Christie's ^5040.
The high esteem in which his works are thus held is justified alike
by their own merits and by his important position in the history of
landscape art. He is, in the first place, the principal master of pastoral
landscape " representing peasant life and its daily work, or such scenery
as may naturally be suggestive of it, consisting usually of simple land-
scape, in part subjected to agriculture, with figures, cattle, and domestic
buildings." Secondly, Cuyp has been called the "Dutch Claude," for
he was the first amongst the Dutch to " set the sun in the sky." " For
expression of effects of yellow sunlight, parts might be chosen out of
the good pictures of Cuyp, which have never been equalled in art." It
is svmsfit'ne, observe, that Cuyp paints, not sun colour. "Observe this
accurately. Those easily understood effects of afternoon light, gracious
and sweet so far as they reach, are produced by the softly warm or
yellow rays of the sun falling through mist. They are low in tone,
even in nature, and disguise thecolours of objects. They are imitable even
by persons who have little or no gift of colour, if the tones of the picture
are kept low and in true harmony, and the reflected lights warm. But
they never could be painted by great colourists. The fact of blue and
crimson being effaced by yellow and gray, puts such effect at once out
of the notice or thought of a colourist. " The task of painting the sun
colour was reserved for Turner ; yet Cuyp's pictures had a great
influence over him. " He went steadily through the subdued golden
chord, and painted Cuyp's favourite effect, 'sun rising through
vapour,' for many a weary year. But this was not enough for him.
He must paint the sun in his strength, the sun rising not through
vapour. If you turn to the Apollo in the ' Ulysses and Polyphemus '
(XXII. 508, p. 620), his horses are rising beyond the horizon you see
he is not ' rising through vapour,' but above it ; gaining somewhat of
a victory over vapour, it appears. The old Dutch brewer, with his
yellow mist, was a great man and a good guide, but he was not Apollo.
He and his dray-horses led the way through the flats cheerily, for a
little time ; we have other horses now flaming out ' beyond the mighty
sea" " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. i. 19 ; vol. v. pt. ix.
ch. xi. 3, 4).
An interesting study in what is called " truth of tone " may
be made with this picture by which is meant the "exact
relation and fitness of shadow and light, and of the hues of all
objects under them ; and more especially that precious quality
of each colour laid on which makes it appear a quiet colour
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 219
illuminated, not a bright colour in shade." Now with regard
to this Mr. Ruskin says, " I much doubt if there be a single
bright Cuyp in the world, which, taken as a whole, does not
present many glaring solecisms in tone. I have not seen many
fine pictures of his which were not utterly spoiled by the
vermilion dress of some principal figure, a vermilion totally
unaffected and unwarmed by the golden hue of the rest of the
picture ; and, what is worse, with little distinction between its
own illumined and shaded parts, so that it appears altogether
out of sunshine, the colour of a bright vermilion in dead, cold
daylight. . . . And these failing parts, though they often
escape the eye when we are near the picture and able to dwell
upon what is beautiful in it, yet so injure its whole effect that
I question if there be many Cuyps in which vivid colours
occur, which will not lose their effect and become cold and flat
at a distance often or twelve paces, retaining their influence only
when the eye is close enough to rest on the right parts without
including the whole. Take, for instance, the large one in our
National Gallery. (Seen at a distance) the black cow appears
a great deal nearer than the dogs, and the golden tones of the
distance look like a sepia drawing rather than like sunshine,
owing chiefly to the utter want of aerial grays indicated through
them " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. i. 1 1 ,
19).
981. A STORM AT SEA.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707). See under \ 50, p. 215.
See also under XII. 819, p. 283 another piece of rough
weather.
1168. PORTRAIT OF A JESUIT.
Willem van der Vliet (Dutch : 1584-1642).
An admirable portrait by a rare master, and the only speci-
men in the Gallery by a Delft artist a town as active in
painting, as in the pottery which is still sought after by collectors.
The Jesuit father, here depicted with so much quiet truth and
skill, is a good representative of the great order which had at
that time saved the Papacy. He is a student, but the crucifix
is ever on his books. " The Jesuits appear," says Macaulay,
" to have discovered the precise point to which intellectual
culture can be carried without risk of intellectual emancipation."
But he turns round from his book and looks with a smile of
220 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
tender sadness on the spectator he is ready to read your
heart and to give you sympathy in return for confidences.
38. THE ABDUCTION OF THE SABINE WOMEN.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640).
Peter Paul Rubens, born on the festival of Saints Peter and Paul
(hence his Christian name), is the chief glory of the Flemish School,
and one of the great masters of the world. It is impossible to walk
round any gallery where there are good specimens of his work and not
to be impressed at once with his power. Here, one feels, is a strong
man, who knew what he wanted to paint, and was able to paint it.
Whatever moral or poetical feelings he had or had not, he was at
any rate master of the painter's language, 1 and this language is itself
" so difficult and so vast, that the mere possession of it argues the man
is great, and that his works are worth reading." "I have never
spoken," says Mr. Ruskin elsewhere, "and I never will speak of
Rubens but with the most reverential feeling ; and whatever im-
perfections in his art may have resulted from his unfortunate want of
seriousness and incapability of true passion, his calibre of mind was
originally such that I believe the world may see another Titian and
another Raphael, before it sees another Rubens." Rubens affords in fact
" the Northern parallel to the power of the Venetians." Like the Vene-
tians, too, he is a great colourist. The pictures by the later Northern
painters which here, hang around his are dark and gloomy ; his are all
bright and golden. He is like Paul Veronese, too, in his "gay grasp of
the outside aspects of the world." 2 His pictures in this Gallery embrace
a wide range of subjects some peaceful, others tumultuous some re-
ligious, others profane, but over them all is the same gay glamour.
"Alike, to Rubens, came subjects of tumult or tranquillity, of gaiety
or terror ; the nether, earthly, and upper world were to him animated
with the same feeling, lighted by the same sun ; he dyed in the same
lake of fire the warp of the wedding-garment or of the winding-sheet ;
swept into the same delirium, the recklessness of the sensualist, and
rapture of the anchorite ; saw in tears only their glittering, and in
torture only its flush." A fourth characteristic, which also cannot fail
to lie perceived in a general survey of Rubens's pictures in the Gallery,
remains to be noticed. In all his exuberant joyousness is a strain of
coarseness, "a want of feeling for grace and mystery." There is an
1 Mr. Ruskin's analysis of Rubens's technical method, which is here
omitted as foreign to the scope of this handbook, will be found in his re-
view of Eastlake's History of Oil Painting, now reprinted in On the Old
Road, i. 133-205.
8 ' ' The conditions of art in Flanders wealthy, bourgeois, proud, free
were not dissimilar to those of art in Venice. The misty flats of Belgium
have some of the atmospheric qualities of Venice. As Van Eyck is to the
Vivarini, so is Rubens to Paolo Veronese. This expresses the amount
of likeness and difference" (Symonds, iii. 362 .)
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 221
absence everywhere of refinement and delicacy, a preference everywhere
for abundant and excessive types. 1 Madonnas, goddesses, Roman
matrons have all alike a touch of grossness.
It is instructive to notice how, in all these respects, the art
of Rubens was characteristic of the circumstances of his life and
time. In the first place, though he travelled in many lands, Rubens
remained to the end a Fleming, every inch of him. 2 "A man long
trained to love the monk's visions of Fra Angelico, turns in proud and
ineffable disgust from the first work of Rubens which he encounters
on his return across the Alps. But is he right in his indignation?
He has forgotten that while Angelico prayed and wept in his olive
shade, there was different work doing in the dank fields of Flanders ;
wild seas to be banked out ; endless canals to be dug, and boundless
marshes to be drained ; hard ploughing and harrowing of the frosty
clay ; careful breeding of stout horses and fat cattle ; close setting of
brick walls against cold winds and snow ; much hardening of hands
and gross stoutening of bodies in all this ; gross jovialities of harvest
homes and Christmas feasts which were to be the reward of it ; rough
affections, and sluggish imaginations; fleshy, substantial, iron-shod
humanities, but humanities still ; humanities which God had his eye
upon, and which won, perhaps, here and there, as much favour in his
sight as the wasted aspects of the whispering monks of Florence.
(Heaven forbid it should not be so, since the most of us cannot be
monks, but must be ploughmen and reapers still.) And are we to
suppose there is no nobility in Rubens's masculine and universal sym-
pathy with all this, and with his large human rendering of it, Gentle-
man though he was, by birth, and feeling, and education, and place ;
and, when he chose, lordly in conception also ? He had his faults,
perhaps great and lamentable faults, though more those of his time
and his country than his own ; he has neither cloister breeding nor
boudoir breeding, and is very unfit to paint either in missals or annuals ;
but he has an open sky and wide-world breeding in him, that we may
not be offended with, fit alike for king's court, knight's camp, or
peasant's cottage." It is thus that Rubens was a child of Flanders.
But he was also a child of the intellectual time in which he lived.
He was born at a time, says Mr. Ruskin, when the Reformation had
been arrested his father, curiously enough, had fled from Antwerp as
a Reformer, but afterwards returned to Catholicism. "The Evan-
gelicals despised the arts, while the Roman Catholics were effete or in-
sincere, and could not retain influence over men of strong reasoning
power. The painters could only associate frankly with men of the world,
and themselves became men of the world. Men, I mean, having no
belief in spiritual existences, no interests or affections beyond the grave.
1 Rubens would have agreed, one may think, with that saying of
Blake's (in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell), " Exuberance is Beauty."
2 See, for a further instance of this, what is said of Rubens's landscapes
below under 66, p. 232.
222 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
Not but that they still painted Scriptural subjects. Altar-pieces were
wanted occasionally, and pious patrons sometimes commissioned a
cabinet Madonna. But there is just this difference between men of
this modern period, and the Florentines or Venetians that, whereas
the latter never exert themselves fully except on a sacred subject, the
Flemish and Dutch masters are always languid unless they are profane."
Rubens was thus a man of the world. When a boy he was for some
time page in the family of a countess at Brussels. But his bent to-
wards art was too strong to be gainsaid. When only twenty -two he
was already a master-painter in the Antwerp Guild. Two years later
he went to Italy, and for eight years he was in the service of the Duke
of Mantua. An excellent Latin scholar, he was also proficient in
French, Italian, English, German, and Dutch. These gifts procured
him diplomatic employment. In 1603 "the Fleming," as they called
him, was sent on a mission to Spain. In 1608 news of his mother's
illness reached him, and he hastened home, when he was appointed
court-painter to the Archduke Albert, then Governor of the Nether-
lands. In 1620 he visited Paris, at the invitation of Mary de' Medici
(a sister of the Duchess of Mantua). In 1628 he was sent on a
mission to Philip IV. of Spain, and in the following year he was sent
to Charles I. of England. Here he was knighted, and was given an
honorary degree by the University of Cambridge. But wherever he
went Rubens continued to paint, and his diplomacy he considered as
mere recreation. ' ' The painter Rubens," he is reported to have said of
himself, "amuses himself with being ambassador." "So said one with
whom, but for his own words, we might have thought that effort had been
absorbed in power, and the labour of his art in its felicity." How hard
he laboured is known by the enormous number of his works between
2000 and 3000 which still survive, by the large fortune he amassed,
and by the great request in which his talents were. ' ' Whatever work
of his I may require," wrote a celebrated Antwerp printer, "I have
to ask him six months before, so as that he may think of it at leisure,
and do the work on Sundays or holidays ; no week days of his could I
pretend to get under 100 florins."
Finally, it is interesting to know that his success and his courtly
life were consistent both with gentleness and goodness. Like other
great artists, Rubens is conspicuous for " a quite curious gentleness and
serene courtesy. . . . His letters are almost ludicrous in their unhurried
politeness. He was an honourable and entirely well-intentioned man,
earnestly industrious, simple and temperate in habits of life, high-
bred, learned, and discreet. His affection for his mother was great,
his generosity to contemporary artists unfailing." He was twice
married. In 1626 his first wife, Isabella Brant, died. Four years
later he married Helena Fourment, a beautiful girl of sixteen, the
living incarnation of his feminine type. "At the time of his second
marriage Rubens was fifty-three years of age. He led a serious, happy,
retired life. His leisure time he devoted to his family, to a few friends,
to his correspondence, his collections (lately discovered in Paris), and
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 223
his rides" (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. IS> sec. ii.
ch. ii. 12 ; vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. i. 2 ; vol. iv. pt. v. ch. i.
17 ; vol. v. pt. viii. ch. iv. 21, pt. ix. ch. vi. 1-9 ; On the Old
Road, i. 185, 1 86 ; Stones of Venice, vol. i. App. 15 ; Wauters, The
Flemish School, p. 214).
For the story of the Sabine women see under XIII. 644,
p. 330. Notice the daring anachronism of the painter, who
represents the antique Sabines as coarse women in Flemish
costumes of the seventeenth century, struggling in the arms
of bearded ruffians.
152. AN EVENING LANDSCAPE.
Aart van der Neer (Dutch : 1619-1682).
Aart (Arthur) van der Neer is the Dutch painter of " the
hues and harmonies of evening." Before the door of the
country house are a lady and gentleman, who have come out
as if to gaze on one of such effects. This is one of the
largest of his pictures which is the more valuable as the
figures are by Cuyp, whose name is inscribed on the pail ; but
239, p. 214, is perhaps more attractive.
672. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669).
Rembrandt Harmens called also Van Rhyn, from having been
born on the banks of the Rhine has a place apart by himself in the
history of painting. He is the great master of the school of chiaroscuro
- of those, that is, who strive at representing not the colours of objects,
but the contrasts of light and shade upon them. " If it were possible
for art to give all the truths of nature, it ought to do it. But this is
not possible. Choice must always be made of some facts which can
be represented, from among others which must be passed by in silence,
or even, in some respects, misrepresented. . . . Rembrandt always
chooses to represent the exact force with which the light on the most
illumined part of an object is opposed to its obscurer portions. In
order to obtain this, in most cases, not very important truth, he sacri-
fices the light and colour of five-sixths of his picture ; and the ex-
pression of every character of objects which depends on tenderness of
shape or tint. But he obtains his single truth, and what picturesque
and forcible expression is dependent upon it, with magnificent skill
and subtlety." 1 Rembrandt "sacrifices the light and colour of five-
1 To further understand Rembrandt's principle of choice, contrast that of
Veronese. ' ' He, on the contrary, chooses to represent the great relations
of visible things to each other, to the heaven above, and to the earth
beneath them. He holds it more important to show how a figure stands
relieved from delicate air, or marble wall ; how as a red, or purple, or
224 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
sixths of his picture." This is inevitable. For both the light and
the darkness of nature are inimitable by art. "The whole question,
therefore, is simply whether you will be false at one end of the scale
or at the other, that is, whether you will lose yourself in light or
in darkness. . . . What Veronese does is to make his colours true to
nature as far as he can. What Rembrandt does is to make his
contrasts true, never minding his colours with the result that in most
cases not one colour is absolutely true." 1 An exception however
must be made. For he often " chose subjects in which the real
colours were very nearly imitable, as single heads with dark back-
grounds, in which nature's highest light was little above his own."
Rembrandt's principle of light and shade thus led him to often
choose such portraits, but its influence did not end there. His love of
darkness led also to a loss of the spiritual element, and was itself the
reflection of a sombre mind. He was particularly fond of dark scenes,
lighted only by some small spot of light. "To Rembrandt," says a
former Keeper of the National Gallery (Wornum : Epochs of Painting,
p. 421, ed. 1864), "belongs the glory of having first embodied in art
and perpetuated these rare and beautiful effects of nature." Mr.
Ruskin takes up this sentence, and replies : "such effects are indeed
rare in nature ; but they are not rare, absolutely. The sky, with the
sun in it, does not usually give the impression of being dimly lighted
through a circular hole ; but you may observe a very similar effect any
day in your coal-cellar. The light is not Rembrandtesque on the
current, or banks, of a river ; but it is on those of a drain. Colour is
not Rembrandtesque, usually, in a clean house ; but is presently
obtainable of that quality in a dirty one. And without denying the
pleasantness of the mode of progression, which Mr. Hazlitt, perhaps
too enthusiastically, describes as attainable in a background of
Rembrandt's, ' you stagger from one abyss of obscurity to another,' 2
I cannot feel it an entirely glorious speciality to be distinguished, as
Rembrandt was, from other great painters, chiefly by the liveliness of
his darkness, and the dulness of his light. Glorious or inglorious, the
white figure, it separates itself in clear discernibility, from things not red,
nor purple, nor white ; how infinite daylight shines round it ; how
innumerable veils of faint shadow invest it ; how its blackness and
darkness are, in the excess of their nature, just as limited and local as its
intensity of light : all this, I say, he feels to be more important than
showing merely the exact measure of the spark of sunshine that gleams on
a dagger-hilt, or glows on a jewel" (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch.
iii. 'i6).
1 Yet Rembrandt's pictures are often more deceptive look more like
reality than others which are really more true. Why? It is because
' ' people are so much more easily and instinctively impressed by force of
light than truth of colour. . . . Give them the true contrast of light, and they
will not observe the false local colour " (Modern Painters, vol. iv. pt. v.
ch. iii. 12).
a See 45, p. 230, the picture on which Hazlitt makes this remark.
ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 225
speciality itself is easily and accurately definable. It is the aim of
the best painters to paint the noblest things they can see by sunlight.
It was the aim of Rembrandt to paint the foulest things he could see
by rushlight." One may see something of this darkness of choice in
the way in which the light is gone out in religious pictures by Rem-
brandt in the "abysses of obscurity" in 45, p. 230, in the rushlight
Adoration of the Shepherds in 47, p. 233. Mr. Ruskin associates it
also with a characteristic contrast in his conception of domestic life.
Veronese painted himself and his family as worshipping the Madonna.
Rubens painted himself and his family as performing the Madonna.
" Rembrandt has also (at Dresden) painted himself and his wife in a
state of ideal happiness. He sits at supper with his wife on his knee,
flourishing a glass of champagne, with a roast peacock on the table."
" It is the best work I know of all he has left ; and it marks his
speciality with entire decision. It is, of course, a dim candle-light ;
and the choice of the sensual passions as the things specially and for
ever to be described and immortalised out of his own private life and
love, is exactly that ' painting the foulest thing by rushlight ' which I
have stated to be the enduring purpose of his mind."
Rembrandt's life is not at variance with what has thus been said
of his art. The greatness of his technical skill is indisputable, as is
also the sense of power about his work. These two characteristics
are reflected in his life a life of hard labour, yet of a certain aloofness,
and of restricted vision. He was born at Leyden, the son of a
miller, 1 and from a very early age set himself to etch and sketch
the common things he saw about the mill. In 1631 he moved
to Amsterdam, and lived a quiet burgher life. He never travelled,
even within Holland ; but his taste in art must have been catholic.
He formed a large collection of old armour, engravings, and pictures,
which included works by Giorgione and Palma Vecchio. There
is no evidence in support of the greed with which he has been too
long credited. Rather was he too extravagant. His wife, Saskia
van Ulenburg, whom he married in 1634, had brought him a con-
siderable fortune. She died in 1642. In 1654 he had a child by his
servant, and two years latej he was declared bankrupt. His collections
were sold and he was stripped even of his table linen. In his life, as
in his art, there were heavy shadows ; but the light shines out in his
undaunted perseverance. For it was in the later years of his life, when
he was moving from one humble abode to another, that some of his
greatest works were produced {Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch.
iii. 1 6 ; vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iii. 11-19 ; v l- v - pt- ' x - cn - v i- IO '
On the Old Road, i. 498-505).
1 ' ' His father's mill was, doubtless, Rembrandt's school ; the strong
and solitary light, with its impenetrable obscurity around, the characteristic
feature of many of Rembrandt's best works, is just such an effect as would be
produced by the one ray admitted into the lofty chamber of a mill from the
small window, its ventilator" (Wornum: Epochs of Painting, 1864, p. 419).
Q
226 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
" This portrait, dated 1 640, describes the man well strong
and robust, with powerful head, firm and compressed lips and
determined chin, with heavy eyebrows, separated by a deep
vertical furrow, and with eyes of keen penetrating glance,
altogether a self-reliant man, who would carry out his own
ideas, careless whether his popularity waxed or waned" (J.
F. White in Encyclopedia Britannicd).
243. AN OLD MAN (dated 1659).
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1640). See under 672, p. 223.
A noble picture of the dignity of old age.
49. THE PORTRAIT OF RUBENS.
Van Dyck (Flemish : i 599-1 64 1 ).
Sir Anthony Van Dyck, the most distinguished of Rubens's pupils,
is one of the many great artists whose gifts showed themselves almost
from birth. He was the son of a glass-painter ; at ten he had already
begun to paint ; at fifteen he entered Rubens's studio, and at nineteen he
was himself a "master." For five years (1620-25) ^ e was travelling
and painting in Italy, with letters of introduction from Rubens ; and
on his return to Antwerp he at once became the great court-painter of
his time. Queens visited him in his studio, and the nobility of three
nations considered it an honour to be painted by him. He twice
visited London in 1620 and 1627, before he finally settled there in
1632. On his first presentation to Charles I. he obtained permission
to paint the king and queen. He was appointed painter to the court,
was knighted, and received a pension of ^200. A town-house was
given him at Blackfriars, and a country - house at Eltham. He
"always went magnificently dressed, had a numerous and gallant
equipage, and kept so good a table in his apartment that few princes
were more visited or better served." For seven years Van Dyck worked
at the portraits of the English aristocracy with indefatigable industry.
Nearly half of all his known pictures are in this country (a large
collection of them was brought together at the Grosvenor Gallery in
1887), but in the National Gallery he is at present incompletely repre-
sented : there are no pictures by him here either of women or of
children, in both of which he excelled. The last two years of his life
were mainly spent in travelling with his young wife, the grand-
daughter of Lord Ruthven. He died when only forty-two, and was
buried in the old church of St. Paul's.
The characteristics of Van Dyck's art will easily be gathered from
the circumstances of his life. He is essentially the painter of princes.
No more in him than in the other later Flemish artists is there any-
thing romantic, anything spiritual. The difference between him and
Teniers, for instance, is accidental rather than essential. They lived,
says Mr. Ruskin, " the gentle at court, the simple in the pot-house ; and
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 227
could indeed paint, according to their habitation, a nobleman or a
boor, but were not only incapable of conceiving, but wholly unwish-
ful to conceive, anything, natural or supernatural, beyond the precincts
of the Presence and the tavern" (Art of England, p. 44). What dis-
tinguishes Van Dyck is the indelible mark of courtly grace and refine-
ment which he gives to all his sitters. Nowhere clearer than in his
portraits does one see the better side of the " Cavalier " ideal.
A portrait of special interest as having been much prized by
Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom it formerly belonged. When
Mr. Angerstein bought it, the great Burke is said to have
congratulated him on possessing Sir Joshua's " favourite
picture." It is commonly called "The portrait of Rubens,"
but the principal figure does not greatly resemble the well-
known face of Rubens ; it is more probably a portrait of Luke
Vostermann, a celebrated engraver of the time. He is
discoursing, it would seem, on some point of art, suggested by
the little statue which a man behind is holding.
51. A JEW MERCHANT.
Rembrandt (Dutch: 16071669). See tinder 672, p. 223.
One of the " heads of the people " whom Rembrandt saw
around him ; for the street in which he lived at Amsterdam
swarmed with Dutch and Portuguese Jews. " In rendering
human character, such as he saw about him, Rembrandt is
nearly equal to Correggio, Titian, Tintoret, Veronese, or
Velazquez ; and the real power of him is in his stern and
steady touch on lip and brow, seen best in his lightest
etchings, or in the lightest parts of the handling of his
portraits, the head of the Jew in our own Gallery being about
as good and thorough work as it is possible to see of his "
(Academy Notes, 1859, p. 52).
1172. CHARLES THE FIRST.
Van Dyck (Flemish : 1599-1641). See under 49, p. 226.
This famous picture was one of many equestrian portraits
of Charles I. which Van Dyck painted at his court. It was sold
after Charles's death for a paltry sum by the Parliament, and
in 1885 was bought by another Parliament from the Duke of
Marlborough for the great price of ,17, 500.*
It is a courtier's portrait of the idol of the cavaliers a
portrait of the good side of a bad king. Notice first the promi-
1 For some particulars of the purchase, see under VI. 1171, p. in.
228 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
nence given to the noble horse (cf. under 156, p. 247), almost
to the point of clumsiness. Then in Charles himself, note the
stately bearing, the personal dignity, the almost feminine
refinement. It is a portrait of personal courage with no
suspicion of any fatal want of presence of mind ; of dignity
with the obstinacy, which was its reverse side, left out. In
such a portrait " of a Cavalier by a Cavalier " Van Dyck's work
is invested with an enduring pathos for all Englishmen. One
remembers only, in looking upon this picture of him, Charles's
graces, not his faults. One thinks of him as the man who
" nothing common did, nor mean, upon that memorable scene."
And so considered, how eloquent becomes the isolation in which
the painter has here left him. With him, indeed, is Sir Thomas
Morton, his equerry, but the king does not see him. Bare-
headed he sits, gazing into futurity.
679. THE PORTRAIT OF AN ASTRONOMER.
Ferdinand Bol (Dutch : 1611-1681).
A picture, sitter unknown, by the most distinguished of
Rembrandt's pupils in portraiture. The sitter is conjectured
to be an astronomer, from the globes on the table before him
and from the look on his face as of a man dwelling among
the clouds.
50. ST. AMBROSE AND THEODOSIUS.
Van Dyck (Flemish : 1599-1641). See under 49, p. 226.
A copy, with some variations, of a large picture by Rubens
now at Vienna. The subject is that described by Gibbon
(ch. xxvii). The Emperor Theodosius, for a massacre of the
inhabitants of Thessalonica, was excommunicated by Ambrose,
the Archbishop of Milan. " The emperor was deeply affected
by his own reproaches, and by those of his spiritual father ;
and, after he had bewailed the mischievous and irreparable
consequences of his own rash fury, he proceeded, in the ac-
customed manner, to perform his devotions in the great church
of Milan. He was stayed in the porch by the Archbishop ;
who, in the tone and language of an ambassador of heaven,
declared to his sovereign that private contrition was not
sufficient to atone for a public fault, or to appease the justice
of an offended Deity. Theodosius humbly represented that
if he had contracted the guilt of homicide, David, the man
after God's own heart, had been guilty not only of murder,
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 229
but of adultery. ' You have imitated David in his crime, imitate
then his repentance,' was the reply of the undaunted Ambrose."
Observe as an instance of picturesque ornament properly
introduced in subordination to the figure subject, the robes of
St. Ambrose. " Tintoret, Titian, Veronese, Rubens, and
Van Dyck would be very sorry to part with their figured stuffs
and lustrous silks ; and sorry, observe, exactly in the degree of
their picturesque feeling. Should not we also be sorry to have
Bishop Ambrose without his vest in that picture of the National
Gallery ? But I think Van Dyck would not have liked, on the
other hand, the vest without the bishop. And I much doubt
if Titian or Veronese would have enjoyed going into Waterloo
House, and making studies of dresses upon the counters "
(Stones of Venice ', vol. i. ch. xx. 13).
732. A CANAL SCENE.
Aartvan der Neer ( Dutch : 1619-1690). Seeunder 152, p. 223.
19O. A JEWISH RABBI.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 16071669). See under 672, p. 223.
See also under 51, p. 227.
52. PORTRAIT OF GEVARTIUS. 1
Van Dyck (Flemish: 1599-1641). See under 49, p. 226.
A portrait of treble interest for its own excellence, its
painter, and its subject. In point of execution it has often
been described as one of the finest portraits in the world.
"The painting of the flesh," says Mrs. Jameson, "the light
firm touch, the definite marking of each feature, are the wonder
and .despair of modern portrait painters." West, a former
President of the Royal Academy, copied it, and to this day
no picture in the Gallery is more often copied by students.
Their preference is justified by that of the painter himself, who
" used to consider it his masterpiece, and before he had gained
his great reputation carried it about with him from court to
court, and patron to patron, to show what he could do as a
portrait painter." Its greatness lies not only in its painting of
a face, but in its representation of a character. The sitter is
not Gevartius, but Cornelius van der Geest, an amateur of the
arts and a friend of Rubens and Van Dyck. It is the grave
1 This title, although it is not correct, is retained as the one under which
the picture is widely known.
230 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
learning of a scholar, the gentle refinement of an artist notice
especially " the liquid, living lustre of the eye " that Van
Dyck here puts before us.
194. THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.
Rubens (Flemish: 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
At the wedding of Thetis and Peleus an apple was thrown
amongst the guests by the Goddess of Discord, to be given to
the most beautiful. Paris, the Trojan shepherd, was ordered
by Jupiter to decide the contest. He is here seated with
Mercury, the messenger of the gods, at his side, about to
award the apple to Venus. On the right of Venus is Juno,
with her peacock at her feet ; on the left, Minerva, with her owl
perched behind her. Paris thus chose Pleasure, instead of Power
or Wisdom ; and from his choice came, the story adds, all the
troubling of domestic peace involved in the Trojan War. The
Goddess of Discord, already assured of her victory and its
consequences, hovers in the clouds above, spreading fire and
pestilence.
The picture, it will thus be seen, is purely legendary and
symbolic. Yet note how " realistic " is the painter's treatment.
The spiritual goddesses are as substantial as any figures of
flesh and blood. An exactly opposite method of treatment was
exemplified in Mr. Watts's "Judgment of Paris," exhibited at the
Grosvenor Gallery in 1887. Paris was left out, for does not
every lover have the same choice to make for himself ? and the
goddesses were soft visionary forms of purely ideal beauty
(cf. Modern Painters^ vol. Hi. pt. iv. ch. viii. 7).
901. A LANDSCAPE.
Jan Looten (Dutch : died about 1681).
Looten is said to have visited England in the reign of Charles II.,
in order (as a countryman of his explains) " to initiate the English into
the beauties of Dutch landscape." The process was successful, for
many large pictures by Looten are (or were) in English country-seats.
The figures in his landscapes were sometimes painted by Berchem.
45. THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
A tour de force in the artist's speciality of contrasts of light
and shade. Notice how a succession of these contrasts gradu-
ally renders the subject intelligible. " The eye falls at once
upon the woman, who is dressed in white, passes then to the
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 231
figure of Christ, which next to her is the most strongly lighted
and so on to Peter, to the Pharisees, to the soldiers, till at
length it perceives in the mysterious gloom of the Temple, the
High Altar with the worshippers on the steps" (Waagen :
Treasures of Art in Great Britain, i. 353).
This picture, which was painted in 1644 for Jan Six, the well-
known patron of Rembrandt, passed eventually into the posses-
sion of Mr. Angerstein. The poet Wordsworth, describing a visit
he paid to the Angerstein collection, wrote to Sir George Beau-
mont in 1808: "Coleridge and I availed ourselves of your
letters to Lawrence, and saw Mr. Angerstein's pictures. The
day was very unfavourable, not a gleam of sun, and the clouds
were quite in disgrace. The great picture of Michael Angelo
and Sebastian (VII. i, p. 141) pleased me more than ever. The
new Rembrandt has, I think, much, very much, in it to admire,
but still more to ivonder at rather than admire. I have seen
many pictures of Rembrandt which I should prefer to it. The
light in the depth of the temple is far the finest part of it :
indeed, it is the only part of the picture which gives me very
high pleasure ; but that does highly please me " (Memorials
of Coleorton, ii. 49).
1137. PORTRAIT OF A BOY. 1
Ascribed to Isaac van Ostade (Dutch : 1621-1657).
Isaac, born at Haarlem, was the younger brother of Adrian van
Ostade, with whom he remained as pupil till 1641, when he set up in
business on his own account. There is a record of a transaction of
his in that year which throws an interesting light on the picture-dealing
world of the day. In 1 643 a dealer summoned him for breach of a con-
tract made in 1641 to deliver six pictures and seven "rounds" for twenty-
seven florins. Part of Isaac's defence was that his pictures had since
risen in value. The case was referred to the Painter's Guild, which
decided that he must perform his contract, but that the number of the
' ' rounds " should be reduced to five and the price of the whole be
increased to fifty florins.
A boy of eleven so the inscription on the right-hand
corner states Mr. Pater's Sebastian van Storck, it might be.
"With all his appreciation of the national winter, Sebastian
was not altogether a Hollander. His mother, of Spanish
descent and Catholic, had given a richness of tone and form
1 The picture is dated 1650. The Official Catalogue, which ascribes it
to Ostade, puts the date of his death as 1649 which is absurd. It seems,
however, that he really died in 1657.
232 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
to the healthy freshness of the Dutch physiognomy, apt to
preserve its youthfulness of aspect far beyond the period of
life usual with other peoples. This mixed expression charmed
the eyes of Isaac van Ostade, who had painted his portrait at
one of those skating parties, with his plume and squirrel's tail
and fur muff, in all the modest pleasantness of boyhood "
(Imaginary Portraits, p. 92).
2O4. DUTCH SHIPPING.
Bakhuizen (Dutch: 1631-1708). See under 223, p. 214.
66. A LANDSCAPE: AUTUMN MORNING.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
Rubens " perhaps furnishes us with the first instances of
complete, unconventional, unaffected landscape. His treatment
is healthy, manly, and rational, not very affectionate, yet often
condescending to minute and multitudinous detail ; always,
as far as it goes, pure, forcible, and refreshing, consummate
in composition, and marvellous in colour " (Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 15). Notice especially the sky.
" The whole field of ancient landscape art affords, as far as we
remember, but one instance of any effort whatever to represent
the character of the upper cloud region. That one instance is
the landscape of Rubens in our own Gallery, in which the
mottled or fleecy sky is given with perfect truth and exquisite
beauty" (ibid., vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iii. ch. ii. 9). Rubens's
skill in landscape was partly due to fondness for the scenery
he depicted. This picture was painted when he was at
Genoa, but it is a purely Flemish scene a broad stretch
of his own lowlands, with the castle of Stein, it is said, which
was afterwards his residence, near Mechlin, in the back-
ground, with Flemish waggon and horses fording a brook,
and with a sportsman in the immediate foreground, carrying
an old-fashioned firelock, intent on a covey of partridges.
"The Dutch painters are perfectly contented with their flat
fields and pollards ; Rubens, though he had seen the Alps,
usually composes his landscapes of a hayfield or two, plenty
of pollards and willows, a distant spire, a Dutch house with
a moat about it, a windmill, and a ditch (ibid., vol. iii. pt.
iv. ch. xiii. 20). The Dutch painters agreed, in fact, with
the Lincolnshire farmer in Kingsley's Alton Locke, whom Mr.
Ruskin goes on to quote : " none o' this here darned ups and
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 233
downs o' hills, to shake a body's victuals out of his inwards,"
but " all so vlat as a barn's vloor, for vorty mile on end
there's the country to live in !"
This picture is one of four " seasons." (Spring is in Sir R.
Wallace's collection, Summer and Winter are in the Royal
collection at Windsor.) It was presented to the nation by Sir
George Beaumont. The painter Haydon, describing a visit
to Sir George at Coleorton, writes : " We dined with the Claude
and Rembrandt before us, breakfasted with the Rubens land-
scape, and did nothing morning, noon, or night but think of
painting, dream of painting, and wake to paint again." The
picture is referred to also by Wordsworth in a very interesting
passage. " I heard the other day," he writes to Sir George
Beaumont, " of two artists, who thus expressed themselves upon
the subject of a scene among our lakes : ' Plague upon those
vile enclosures ! ' said one ; ' they spoil everything.' ' Oh,'
said the other, ' I never see them.' Glover was the name of
this last. Now, for my part, I should not wish to be either
of these gentlemen, but to have in my own mind the power of
turning to advantage, wherever it is possible, every object of Art
and Nature as they appear before me. What a noble instance,
as you have pointed out to me, has Rubens given of this in that
picture in your possession, where he has brought, as it were, a
whole county into one landscape, and made the most formal parti-
tions of cultivation, 'hedgerows of pollard willows, conduct the
eye into the depths and distances of his picture : and thus, more
than by any other means, has given it that appearance of im-
mensity which is so striking" {Memorials of Coleorton^ ii. 135).
948. A LANDSCAPE: A SKETCH.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
47. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
A characteristic piece of " Bible by candle-light." There
is, however, something spiritually instructive, as well as techni-
cally skilful, in the way in which such light there is all proceeds
from him who came to be the light of the world : compared
with this divine light that in the lantern of the shepherds
pales and is ineffectual. The picture is dated 1646.
234 KOOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
920. ORPHEUS.
Roelandt Savery (Dutch : i 576-1639).
A not very poetical rendering by a Dutch painter who
lived long at the court of the Emperor Rudolph II. at Prague
of the poetical legend of the power of music :
You shall perceive them make a mutual stand,
Their savage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze
By the sweet power of music : therefore, the poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods ;
Since nought so stockish, hard, and full of rage,
But music for the time doth change his nature.
Merchant of Venice, Act v. Sc. i.
289. "THE NIGHT WATCH."
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
A small copy of a large picture now at Amsterdam, which,
though it represents a daylight scene, has so darkened that it
is called the " Night Watch." The subject is a piece of every-
day life of the time a group of the citizen guards, the volun-
teers of the town, just returning, apparently from a shooting
match. The principal figures are all portraits, and the names
are written on the back of the picture. The captain was
Franz Banning Cock, hence the picture is sometimes called
the " Banning Cock Company."
238. DEAD GAME.
Jan Weenix (Dutch : 1 644- 1719).
Jan Weenix, the younger, was born at Amsterdam the son of
another painter of "still life," Jan Baptista Weenix, and is usually
considered the best of all Dutch artists in this style. He was much
employed by John William, elector of the Palatinate, and the money
value of his pictures has steadily increased.
A stag, a couple of hares (a speciality with this artist), a
heron, and a fowling piece.
207. THE IDLE SERVANT.
Nicolas Maas (Dutch : 1632-1693).
Maas (as he is generally called, although he signed his name Maes)
was a pupil of Rembrandt, and is distinguished from most of the Dutch
genre painters by his richer colouring. In the later years of his life he
seems to have become chiefly a portrait painter. He died at Amster-
dam, where he had settled in 1678, and where he was employed by
most of the distinguished personages of his time.
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 235
In the background is the family at dinner. The waiting-
maid comes to the kitchen to serve the next course the
duckling, perhaps, which a cat is stealing- and finds the cook
of Sancho Panza's philosophy : " Blessings on him who in-
vented sleep, ... the food that appeases hunger, the drink
that quenches thirst, . . . the balance that equals the simple
with the wise."
794. A DUTCH COURTYARD.
Pieter de Hooch (Dutch: 1632-1681).
De Hooch (or De Hooghe) " one of the glories of the Dutch
School, is also one of the glories of England," for it was here
that his great merits were first discovered, 1 and that three-
fourths of his pictures are now preserved. " There are," says
Mr. Ruskin (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. viii. 1 1 ),
whilst tracing the general insensitiveness of the Dutch School,
" deeper elements in De Hooghe, sometimes expressed with
superb quiet painting." The present picture is a case in point.
The whole picture, in its cheerful colour and dainty neatness,
seems to reflect the light of a peaceful and happy home, in
which everything is done decently and in order. They are no
rolling stones, these Dutch burghers, but stay-at-home folk,
whose pride is in the trimness of their surroundings. Every
day, one thinks, the good housewife will thus look to see that
the dinner is duly prepared ; every day the husband will thus
walk along the garden, sure of her happy greeting.
72. LANDSCAPE WITH TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
For the story of Tobias see under I. 781, p. 17.
685. SHOWERY WEATHER.
Meindert Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1708).
Hobbema, who disputes with Ruysdael the place of best Dutch
landscape painter, was his pupil. Ruysdael was an intimate friend of
Hobbema, and the works of the two are sometimes remarkably alike.
Like Ruysdael, too, Hobbema was a painter without honour in his
own country, and nine -tenths of his known works are in England,
where he was first appreciated. Even a hundred years ago his
pictures were not much sought after ; recently one of them sold for
1 In his own country, a fine picture by him sold so late as 1765 for
only 450 florins. In 1817 it fetched 4000 florins, whilst in 1876 the
Berlin Gallery paid j6ooo for one of his pictures.
236 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
as much as .4000. He lived in Amsterdam, and died in poverty in
the same street as Rembrandt.
In spite, however, of the resemblance to Ruysdael above noted,
Hobbema's best and most characteristic works (see especially XII. 830,
p. 289, one of the very best of them all) are quite distinct. Ruysdael is
the painter of the solitude of nature, of rocks and waterfalls ; Hobbema
of the Dutch ' ' fields with dwellings sprinkled o'er. " The pervading
tone of Ruysdael is dark and sombre ; that of Hobbema is drowsy and
still. A second characteristic of Hobbema is his fondness for oak
foliage, and a certain " nigglingness " in his execution of it. See e.g.
XII. 832, 833, pp. 291, 287. "They (Hobbema and Both) can paint
oak leafage faithfully, but do not know where to stop, and by doing too
much, lose the truth of all, lose the very truth of detail at which they
aim, for all their minute work only gives two leaves to nature's twenty.
They are evidently incapable of even thinking of a tree, much more of
drawing it, except leaf by leaf; they have no notion nor sense of
simplicity, mass, or obscurity, and when they come to distance, where
it is totally impossible that leaves should be separately seen, being
incapable of conceiving or rendering the grand and quiet forms of
truth, they are reduced to paint their bushes with dots and touches ex-
pressive of leaves three feet broad each." "No word," Mr. Ruskin
elsewhere adds, " has been more harmfully misused than that ugly one
of 'niggling.' I should be glad if it were entirely banished from
service and record. The only essential question about drawing is
whether it be right or wrong ; that it be small or large, swift or slow,
is a matter of convenience only. But so far as the word may be
legitimately used at all, it belongs especially to such execution as this
of Hobbema's execution which substitutes, on whatever scale, a
mechanical trick or habit of hand for true drawing of known or intended
forms." A second objection to Hobbema's method may be mentioned
besides its " trickiness." His "niggling" touch is extended from the
foreground to objects farther off, and thus "a middle distance of
Hobbema involves a contradiction in terms ; it states a distance by
perspective, which it contradicts by distinctness of detail " (Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. v. 17, sec. vi. ch. i. 22 ; vol. v.
pt. vi. ch. v. 6).
989. WATERMILLS, WITH BLEACHERS.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1 638-1 708). See under last picture.
628. A WATERFALL.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 162 5-1 682).
The works of Jacob van Ruysdael, who is usually accounted the
greatest of the Dutch landscape painters, are remarkable for two
specialities. First : his painting of falling water (the name Ruysdael
appropriately signifies foaming water). "Ordinary running or falling
water may be sufficiently rendered, by observing careful curves of
ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 237
projection with a dark ground, and breaking a little white over it, as
we see done with judgment and taste by Ruysdael " (Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v. ch. i. 2). 1 Secondly : he is remarkable for a
certain solemn love of solitude, and this love of nature in itself, undis-
turbed by the incidents of daily life, distinguishes him from most of his
contemporaries, and accounts, perhaps, for his popularity in more
modern times.
The sense of isolation perceptible in his pictures is in keeping also
with what we know of his life. He was born at Haarlem, the son of
a picture-dealer and framemaker, but became a citizen of Amsterdam.
He remained unmarried in order, it is said, to promote the comfort of
his aged father. He belonged to the sect of the Mennonites, who
enjoined on their disciples strict separation from the world. In Ruys-
dael's case the world also separated itself from him. His talents were
ignored by the public of his day, and in 1681 he was admitted into
the town's almhouse at Haarlem, where he died in the following year.
His views are mostly taken from the northern provinces of the
Netherlands ; the Norwegian scenery which he introduced in many
of his later works being studied probably from sketches by Van
Everdingen.
209. THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.
Both and Poelenburg (Dutch). See under 956 and 955,
pp. 217, 249.
The landscape by Both, the figures by Poelenburg. For
the subject of the Judgment of Paris, see under Rubens, 194,
p. 230.
1 " Ruysdael's painting of falling water," adds Mr. Ruskin (ibid., 21),
' ' is generally agreeable ; more than agreeable it can hardly be considered.
There appears no exertion of mind in any of his works ; nor are they
calculated to produce either harm or good by their feeble influence. They
are good furniture pictures, unworthy of praise, and undeserving of
blame." It is interesting to compare this somewhat faint praise from
Mr. Ruskin with the gushing words of another critic. ' ' Where is the
traveller," asks M. Charles Blanc, " familiar with the impressive beauties
of mountainous countries, who cannot find them in the pictures of Ruys-
dael? At the foot of those steep rocks how the water falls, foams, and
writhes round the ruins it has brought down ! It dashes forward from the
right, from the left, and from the background of the picture towards the
gulf which draws it in ; it rushes down, I was going to say, with a hollow
noise, for in fact one imagines one can almost hear it. We see it gliding
down the slippery rocks, dashing against the rough bark of the trees, and
gushing down the rugged bottom of the ravine. We fancy we feel the cold
and humid spray falling on our faces. . . . But such is the power of genius,
that after having seen in all its magnificent reality the spectacle which the
artist has reproduced on a piece of canvas some few inches in magnitude,
nature seems to us less grand and less startling than the work of
Ruysdael."
238 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
796. A VASE OF FLOWERS.
Jan van Huysum (Dutch : 1682-1749).
Van Huysum is one of the best-known painters of what is called
"still life," i.e. flowers, fruit, game, etc. The meaning of this kind
of art becomes clearer when one remembers that the painting of still
life in Holland was originally applied only to signboards. Inn-keepers
and game-dealers had pictures of grapes or game as their "signs," and
many pictures which now figure in collections were originally painted
for that purpose.
Peonies, iris, hyacinths, polyanthus, narcissus, carnations,
convolvulus, roses, apple blossom, and other flowers and fruits.
1OO7. A ROCKY LANDSCAPE.
Jan Wils (Dutch : about 1635).
The painter of this picture was a master of Berchem, and
lived at Haarlem. The figures are supposed to have been put
in by Wouwerman.
627. A WATERFALL.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under 628, p. 236.
1096. A HUNTING SCENE.
Jan Weenix (Dutch : 1640-1719). See under 238, p. 234.
The characteristic " note " of vulgarity in Dutch art comes
out sharply in the choice of incident in this picture. No
painter with any true feeling for animals, or any fine zest
for sport, could select the moment when his sportsman
becomes a butcher, or make the principal incident in " a
hunting scene " the cutting up of a dead deer.
1053. A CHURCH AT DELFT.
Emanuel de Witte (Dutch : 1607-1692).
Witte was a native of Alkmaar, but settled at Delft, where he pro-
bably met another architectural painter, Dirk van Delen. "An exact
knowledge of perspective, a perfect conception of light and shade, and
a delicacy of execution which reveals every detail without degenerating
into dryness, figures well drawn and sufficiently picturesque . . . are
the qualities which distinguish his works " (Havard : The Dutch School,
p. 245). His fondness for church architecture did not conduce to
prudence of life, and, overwhelmed with debt, he committed suicide.
Notice the anti-Pauline practice of the worshippers (" Every
man praying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
But every woman that prayeth with her head uncovered, dis-
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 239
honoureth her head''' i Corinthians xi. 4, 5). Here it is the
women who are "uncovered," the men who are "covered."
157. A LANDSCAPE : SUNSET.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
For Rubens's landscapes see under 66, p. 232. " It is to be
noted, however, that the licenses taken by Rubens in particular
instances are as bold as his general statements are sincere. . . t
In the Sunset of our own Gallery many of the shadows fall at
right angles to the light " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i.
ch. vii. 15).
8O5. PEELING PEARS.
Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694). See under 154, p. 212.
From the point of view of subject, one of the most "low
art " pictures in the Gallery. See also the " Dutch Housewife "
(XII. 159, p. 299). This is genre painting at the lowest scale
of "dignity."
986. THE WATERMILLS.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under 628, p. 236.
817. TENIERS'S COUNTRY-SEAT AT PERCK.
Tenters (Flemish: 1610-1694). See under 154, p. 212.
"A perfect type of the Unromantic Art which was assailed
by the gentle enthusiasm of the English School of Landscape.
It represents a few ordinary Dutch houses, an ordinary Dutch
steeple or two, some still more ordinary Dutch trees, and most
ordinary Dutch clouds, assembled in contemplation of an
ordinary Dutch duck-pond ; or, perhaps, in respect of size, we
may more courteously call it a goose-pond. All these objects
are painted either gray or brown, and the atmosphere is of the
kind which looks not merely as if the sun had disappeared for
the day, but as if he had gone out altogether, and left a stable
lantern instead. The total effect having appeared, even to the
painter's own mind, at last little exhilatory, he has enlivened
it by three figures on the brink of the goose-pond two gentle-
men and a lady, standing all three perfectly upright, side by
side, in court dress, the gentlemen with expansive boots, and
all with conical hats and high feathers. In order to invest
those characters with dramatic interest, a rustic fisherman
240 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
presents to them, as a tribute, or, perhaps, exhibits as a
natural curiosity, a large fish, just elicited from the goose-pond
by his adventurous companions, who have waded into the
middle of it, every one of them, with singular exactitude, up
to the calf of his leg (Art of England, pp. 209, 210, 211).
59. THE BRAZEN SERPENT.
Rubens (Flemish: 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
" It is interesting to observe the difference in the treat-
ment of this subject by the three great masters, Michael Angelo,
Rubens, and Tintoret. . . . Rubens and Michael Angelo made
the fiery serpents huge boa -constrictors, and knotted the
sufferers together with them. Tintoret makes . . . the serpents
little flying and fluttering monsters, like lampreys with wings ;
and the children of Israel, instead of being thrown into con-
vulsed and writhing groups, are scattered, fainting in the fields,
far away in the distance. As usual, Tintoret's conception,
while thoroughly characteristic of himself, is also truer to the
words of Scripture. We are told that ' the Lord sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the people ; ' we are
not told that they crushed the people to death. And, while
thus the truest, it is also the most terrific conception. . . . Our
instinct tells us that boa-constrictors do not come in armies ;
and we look upon the picture with as little emotion as upon
the handle of a vase, or any other form worked out of serpents,
when there is no probability of serpents actually occurring "
{Stones of Venice: Venetian Index, " Rocco, Scuola di San,"
No. 24).
1221. "DARBY AND JOAN."
Abraham de Pape (Dutch : painted about 1650).
242. THE GAME OF BACKGAMMON.
Tenters (Flemish: 1610-1694). See under 154, p. 212.
746. A LANDSCAPE WITH RUINS.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under 628, p. 236.
1008. A STAG HUNT.
Ascribed to Pieter (father of Paul) Potter (Dutch :
1595-about 1660).
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 241
71. A PARTY OF MULETEERS.
Jan Both (Dutch : 1610-1662). See under 956, p. 217.
A reminiscence doubtless of one of Both's journeys in the
Italian lake district. One may recall the reminiscence of Italy
by another Northern traveller
Know'st thou the mountain bridge that hangs on cloud ?
The mules in mist grope o'er the torrent loud,
In caves lie coil'd the dragon's ancient brood,
The crag leaps down and over it the flood :
Know'st thou it, then ?
'Tis there ! 'tis there
Our way runs ; O my father, wilt thou go ?
MIGNON'S song in Wilhelm Meister :
Carlyle's translation.
67. THE HOLY FAMILY AND ST. GEORGE.
Rubens (Flemish : 15771640). See under 38, p. 220.
On the left are the usual incidents of a " Riposo," or
Repose in Egypt. St. Joseph is asleep, and the mule browses
on the bank of the stream, whilst John the Baptist and
attendant angels play with the Lamb. The Holy Child is on
its mother's knee, and to them St. George is presenting his
proselyte, the heathen princess whom he had saved from the
dragon (see under VII. 16, p. 133). The dragon, now bridled
with her girdle, follows her meekly, and St. George, as he
introduces her to the mysteries of Christianity, plants the
banner of the Faith. With the holy mother is St. Mary
Magdalen a penitent sinner herself, like the heathen princess,
whom she now ushers into the Holy Presence.
Such appears to be the subject. As for the "manner in
which it is treated, it is interesting to know that the figures
are portraits of the painter himself and his family. Rubens "is
religious, too, after his manner; hears mass every morning, and
perpetually uses the phrase 'by the grace of God,' or some other
such, in writing of any business he takes in hand ; but the tone
of his religion may be determined by one fact. We saw how
Veronese painted himself and his family as worshipping the
Madonna. Rubens has also painted himself in an equally
elaborate piece. 1 But they are not -worshipping the Madonna.
They are performing the Madonna, and her saintly entourage "
{Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. 9).
1 Mr. Ruskin is here speaking of the somewhat similar "St. George"
picture in the Church of St. James at Antwerp.
R
242 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMJSH SCHOOLS
279. THE HORRORS OF WAR.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
" Mars leaving the temple of Janus l open, is held back by
Venus, while Europe bewails the inevitable miseries of war ;
but he is drawn on by the Fury Alecto, who is preceded by
Plague and Famine ; the figure on the ground with the
broken lute represents Concord overthrown. Mars and the
two female figures behind him are said to be the portraits of
Rubens and his two wives " (Official Catalogue).
155. THE MONEY CHANGERS.
Tenters (Flemish: 1610-1694). See under 154, p. 212.
A man and his wife usurers, we may suppose counting
their money. There is all the miser's misery in the withered
careworn faces, all the miser's greed in the thin, tremulous
hands. The man alone seems not quite to like some trans-
action which they are discussing; the woman Portia's pre-
rogative of mercy being reversed seems to be thinking, "Come,
man, don't be a fool : a bond is a bond."
57. THE CONVERSION OF ST. BAVON.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
Bavon, a noble of Brabant, in the seventh century, having
determined to renounce the pomps and vanities of the world (his
retinue is to be seen on the right), is met on the steps of the
convent church by the bishop who is to receive him into his
new life. To the left his goods are being given away to the
poor, and above is a group of ladies returning thanks for the
noble penitent's conversion.
1012. PORTRAIT OF A MAN.
Ascribed to Matthew Merian, the younger
(Flemish: 1621- about 1687).
The painter to whom this portrait has recently been ascribed, was
a native of Bale, the son of an engraver and glass-painter. He is said
to have been the pupil of Van Dyck, Rubens, and Sandrart alter-
nately ; and he was employed as a portrait painter by most of the
distinguished persons of the time in Germany.
1 The doors of the temple of "two-headed Janus" at Rome were
always thrown open when the State was at war, and only closed in time of
peace.
ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 243
278. THE TRIUMPH OF JULIUS (LESAR.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
One of the fruits of Rubens's visit to Italy. This picture
was in Rubens's possession at his death, and is described in
the inventory as " Three cloathes pasted uppon bord, beinge the
Triumph of Julius Caesar, after Andrew Mantegna, not full
made." Mantegna's procession (somewhat similar to the
Triumph of Scipio, VIII. 902, p. 183) was painted for the Duke
of Mantua, and is now at Hampton Court.
Any one who cares to see by a single illustration what
" classic purity of style " means, should compare Mantegna's
original with this transcript by Rubens. " The Flemish painter
strives to add richness to the scene by Bacchanalian riot and
the sensuality of imperial Rome. His elephants twist their
trunks, and trumpet to the din of cymbals ; negroes feed the
flaming candelabra with scattered frankincense ; the white oxen
of Clitumnus are loaded with gaudy flowers, and the dancing
maidens are dishevelled Maenads. But the rhythmic pro-
cession of Mantegna, modulated to the sound of flutes and soft
recorders, carries our imagination back to the best days and
strength of Rome. His priests and generals, captives and
choric women, are as little Greek as they are modern. In
them awakes to a new life the spirit- quelling energy of the
Republic. The painter's severe taste keeps out of sight the
insolence and orgies of the Empire ; he conceives Rome as
Shakespeare did in Coriolanus" 1 (Symonds, iii. 274).
1050. A SEA VIEW.
Bakhuizen (Dutch : 1631-1708). See under 223, p. 214
737. A WATERFALL.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under 628, p. 236.
46. THE BLESSINGS OF PEACE.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
This picture was presented in 1630 to King Charles I. by
Rubens, when he came to England as accredited ambassador
for the purpose of negotiating a peace with Spain. After the
death of Charles, the Parliament sold the picture for ^100.
It then went to Italy, whence it was ultimately bought by the
1 The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle
That's curdied by the frost from purest snow
And hangs on Dian's temple.
244 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
Marquis of Stafford for .3000, and by him presented to the
National Gallery. 1
The circumstances under which the picture was painted
give the clue to its meaning. Rubens came to urge Charles
to conclude peace, and here on canvas he sets forth its
blessings. In the centre of the picture is the Goddess of
Wisdom, with Minerva's helmet on her head, her right hand
resting on her spear, now to be used no more. Before her
flies War, reluctantly, as if he dared not resist Wisdom, yet
employing his shield, in order to still shelter Discord, with her
torch now extinguished. Last of all in the hateful train is
Malice, whose very breath is fire, and who " endeth foul in
many a snaky fold " in the serpent's folds, which ever attend
the hostilities of nations. Beneath Minerva's protection sits
Peace enthroned, and gives the milk of human kindness for
babes to suck. From above, Zephyrus, the soft warm wind,
descends with the olive wreath the emblem in all ages of
public peace, whilst at her side stands the "all-bounteous Pan,"
with Amalthea's storied Horn of Plenty. A band of happy
children, led by Love (whose torch, now that Discord's is gone
out, burns aloft), approach to taste the sweets of Peace, and
to minister to abundance. In the train of Plenty comes
Opulence, bringing goblets, wreaths of pearl and other treasures,
1 Mr. Ruskin, writing to the Times in 1847, said of the then condition
of the picture, ' ' I have no hesitation in asserting that for the present it is
utterly, and for ever partially, destroyed. I am not disposed lightly to impugn
the judgment of Mr. Eastiake (that is, the then Keeper and subsequent
Director, the late Sir C. L. Eastiake), but this was indisputably of all the
pictures in the Gallery that which least required, and least could endure, the
process of cleaning. It was in the most advantageous condition under which
a work of Rubens can be seen ; mellowed by time into more perfect harmony
than when it left the easel, enriched and warmed, without losing any of
its freshness or energy. The execution of the master is always so bold
and frank as to be completely, perhaps even most agreeably, seen under
circumstances of obscurity, which would be injurious to pictures of greater
refinement ; and, though this was, indeed, one of his most highly-finished
and careful works (to my mind, before it suffered this recent injury, far
superior to everything at Antwerp, Malines, or Cologne), this was a more
weighty reason for caution than for interference. Some portions of colour
have been exhibited which were formerly untraceable ; but even these have
lost in power what they have gained in definitiveness, the majesty and
preciousness of all the tones are departed, the balance of distances lost.
Time may, perhaps, restore something of the glow, but never the sub-
ordination ; and the more delicate portions of flesh tint, especially the back
of the female figure on the left, and of the boy in the centre, are destroyed
for ever" (Arrows of the Chace, i. 56, 57).
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 245
whilst behind is Music, playing on her tambourine to celebrate
the arts of peace. Last of all in the foreground is a leopard
not hurting or destroying any more, but playful as a lamb
All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail ;
Returning Justice lift aloft her scale ;
Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,
And white-rob'd Innocence from heaven descend. . . .
No more shall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes. . . .
The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead,
And boys in flowery bands the tiger lead.
POPE : Messiah.
125. IZAAK WALTON (1593-1683).
Jacob Huysman (Dutch : 1656-1696).
Huysman was one of the many foreign artists who settled in
England under the Stuarts. He obtained considerable employment
as a portrait painter, in spite of Sir Peter Lely's rivalry ; one of the
portraits among the " Windsor Beauties," now at Hampton Court,
was painted by him.
A portrait of the retired city hosier who became famous as
the author of the Complete Angler. It was painted for his
family (with whom it remained till it was presented to the
National Gallery in 1838), and was engraved in one of the
later editions of the book (1836). Izaak Walton "that
quaint, old, cruel coxcomb " (as Byron, who was no fisherman,
called him) lived to be ninety : his fishing did something,
one may expect, to keep him in the vigorous health which is
here stamped on his face. " The features of the countenance
often enable us,", says Zouch in the Memoirs of Izaak Walton
(cited in M. E. Wotton's Word Portraits of Famous Writers,
P- 3 2 3)) "to form a judgment, not very fallible, of the
disposition of the mind. In few portraits can this discovery
be more successfully pursued than in that of Izaak Walton.
Lavater, the acute master of physiognomy, would, I think,
instantly acknowledge in it the decisive traits of the original,
mild complacency, forbearance, mature consideration, calm
activity, peace, sound understanding, power of thought, dis-
cerning attention, and secretly active friendship. Happy in
his unblemished integrity, happy in the approbation and
esteem of others, he inwraps himself in his own virtue. The
exaltation of a good conscience eminently shines forth in this
venerable person."
246 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
212. A MERCHANT AND HIS CLERK.
Thomas de Keyser (Dutch : about 1595-1679).
A very interesting picture by one of the chief forerunners
of Rembrandt in the art of portrait painting interesting chiefly
as showing us, in a particular instance, the condition of social
and political life out of which the Dutch art of the seventeenth
century arose. The merchant has his globes before him : he
was one of those who had built up the riches of his country by
foreign trade. But he is a man of taste as well as of business,
and the two things are closely united. 1 His office is itself
hung with rich tapestry, and amongst the implements of his
trade, his plans and books and maps, is a guitar. " The
United Provinces, grouped together by the Convention of
Utrecht (1579), . . . concentrated the public functions in the
hands of an aristocratic middle class (such as we see them in
Terburg's historical picture, 896, p. 2 5 1 ), educated and powerful,
eager for science and riches, bold enough to undertake every-
thing, and persevering enough to carry their enterprises to a
successful conclusion. The brilliant heroism, implacable will,
and indefatigable perseverance which had aided the people to
recover their liberty and autonomy were now directed to other
objects. . . . Their shipbuilders covered the seas with vessels,
a legion of adventurous sailors went forth in all directions to
discover distant shores or to conquer unknown continents. . . .
Gold was now to be found in plenty in the country which
hitherto had been poor, and with the influx of riches, taste,
luxury, appreciation of the beautiful and love of Art were
developed " (Havard : The Dutch School, p. 62).
757. CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN.
Unknown (Dutch : School of Rembrandt).
This is one of the nation's conspicuously bad bargains. It
was bought in 1866 as a Rembrandt and at a Rembrandt
price C7ooo), but was soon recognised as being only a work
by some pupil. It is easy to be wise after the event, but
it certainly seems strange that the connoisseurs of the time,
1 Another instance of this intimate union of art with business may be
seen in the number of Dutch artists of the period who themselves held
municipal office. See, for instance, Terburg (864, p. 285) and Delen(XII.
1010, p. 296). Cuyp, it is worth remembering too, was a brewer. Many
of the Italian painters also were men of business and of official standing.
Thus Titian was a timber merchant ; whilst Manni, Perugino and Pin-
turicchio were all magistrates.
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 247
even if technical differences had escaped them, should not have
seen a lack of Rembrandt's power about this work.
156. A STUDY OF HORSES.
Van Dyck (Flemish : 1599-1641). See under 49, p. 226.
An interesting sketch as illustrating Van Dyck's affection
for the horse. " In painting, I find that no real interest is
taken in the horse until Van Dyck's time, he and Rubens doing
more for it than all previous painters put together. Rubens
was a good rider, and rode nearly every day, as, I doubt not,
Van Dyck also. The horse has never, I think, been painted
worthily again, since he died" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt.
ix. ch. vi. 22).
The particular choice of subject in this sketch shows further
in its literary connection a lover of the horse. The subject, as
we know from the words equi Achillis on a scroll in the left
corner of the picture, is the horses of Achilles, said for their
swiftness to be the sons of the wind Zephyrus : in the upper
part of the picture is a sketch of a zephyr's head. " The
gentleness of chivalry, properly so called, depends on the
recognition of the order and awe of lower and loftier animal-life,
. . . taught most perfectly by Homer in the fable of the horses
of Achilles. There is, perhaps, in all the Iliad nothing more
deep in significance there is nothing in all literature more
perfect in human tenderness, and honour for the mystery of
inferior life, than the verses that describe the sorrow of the
divine horses at the death of Patroclus, and the comfort given
them by the greatest of the gods. 1 You shall read Pope's
translation ; it does not give you the manner of the original,
but it entirely gives you the passion
" Meanwhile, at distance from the scene of blood,
The pensive steeds of great Achilles stood ;
Their god-like master slain before their eyes
They wept, and shar'd in human miseries . . .
Nor Jove disdain'd to cast a pitying look,
While thus relenting to the steeds he spoke :
' Unhappy coursers of immortal strain !
' Exempt from age, and deathless now in vain !
1 It is interesting that another contemporary man of letters, the
late Matthew Arnold, singled out these same lines for special praise : " no
passage in poetry," he said, "has moved and pleased me more" (Fort-
nightly Review, August 1887, p. 299).
248 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
' Did we your race on mortal man bestow,
' Only, alas ! to share in mortal woe?' . . -
He said, and breathing in th' immortal horse
Excessive spirit, urg'd them to the course ;
From their high manes they shake the dust, and bear
The kindling chariot through the parted war. "
(Fors Clavigera, 1871, ix. 13.)
237. A WOMAN'S PORTRAIT.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
Of interest as being one of the painter's last works. It is
dated 1666.
1014. THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. LAWRENCE.
Adam Elzheimer, called also Adamo Tedesco (German settled
in Italy: 1578-1620).
St. Lawrence (for whose legend see XI. 747, p. 277) is being
prepared for martyrdom. Beside him there is an image of Caesar,
unto whom will be rendered Caesar's due the saint's life ; but
over his head is an angel from heaven, for unto God will go
the saint's soul. The emperor is crowned on earth ; the angel
brings the saint a palm branch, an earnest of the martyr's
crown in heaven.
659. PAN AND SYRINX.
Johann Rottenhammer (German : 1564-1623).
The nymph Syrinx, beloved by Pan and flying from his
pursuit, takes refuge among some bulrushes. The god, think-
ing to grasp her, finds only reeds in his hand
And while he sighs his ill-success to find,
The tender canes were shaken by the wind,
And breathed a mournful air, unheard before,
That, much surprising Pan, yet pleased him more.
DRVDEN, from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
He formed the reeds into a pipe, hence the name of Syrinx
given to the " Pan's pipe," see XIII. 94, p. 309.
924. A GOTHIC INTERIOR.
Picter Neefs (Flemish : i 57o-about 165 1).
" Neefs did for the Roman Catholic Churches of Antwerp
what, thirty years later, Emanuel de Witte was destined to
do for the Protestant Churches of Delft" (see 1053, p. 238).
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 249
994. A STREET IN A TOWN.
Jan van der Heyden (Dutch : 1637-1712).
See under XII. 866, p. 289.
955. WOMEN BATHING.
Cornells van Poelenburg (Dutch : i 586-1667).
This painter, a native of Utrecht, visited Italy, and studied the
works of Elzheimer (1014, p. 248). "On his way home he painted
for the Court at Florence ; and was received with great consideration
when he returned to his native country, which was before 1649 : for
in that year he was made principal of the Painter's Guild at Utrecht.
Charles I. had invited him to England, but in vain" (Dulwich Cata-
logue). The figures in Both's landscape, 209, p. 237, are by him.
797. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under 53, p. 218.
This excellent portrait serves to remind us that, unlike most
of his fellow landscape painters, Cuyp could paint his own
figures. Indeed we have seen that he sometimes painted them
in others' landscapes, see above 152, p. 223.
1O61. DELFT: SCENE OF AN EXPLOSION.
Egbert van der Poel (Dutch : died about 1690).
One of the many views painted by this artist of the explosion
of a powder mill at Delft, October 12, 1654. One might
think the mill exploded specially to be painted, so neatly and
in order is everything represented.
1O95. PORTRAIT OF ANNA MARIA SCHURMANN.
Jan Lievens (Dutch : 1607-1663).
Lievens " is one of the band of Dutch painters who visited England.
He set out for London in 1630, then settled at the Hague, where it is
said he died insolvent. Although he was the comrade of Rembrandt,
with whom he always preserved bonds of friendship, he conceived a
strong admiration for Van Dyck during his stay at Antwerp, traces of
which are to be found in his portraits " (Havard : The Dutch School,
P- "5)-
221. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669).
Compare 672, p. 223. That was painted when he was about
thirty; this, thirty years later. We see here the same features,
though worn by age ; the same self-reliant expression, though
broken down by care.
250 ROOMX: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
954. A LANDSCAPE.
Cornells Huysman (Flemish : 1648-1727).
This landscape painter settled in Mechlin, and hence is sometimes
called " Huysman of Mechlin."
1021. PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN.
Frans Hals (Dutch : 1584-1666).
Not a characteristic example of one of the merriest and
brightest-witted of all the Dutch portrait painters.
1OOO. THE ESTUARY OF A RIVER.
Bakhuizen (Dutch : 1631-1708). See under 223, p. 214.
54. A WOMAN BATHING (dated 1654).
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under 672, p. 223.
"Those who have been in Holland," says Mrs. Jameson,
" must often have seen the peasant-girls washing their linen
and trampling on it, precisely in the manner here depicted.
Rembrandt may have seen one of them from his window, and
snatching up his pencil and palette, he threw the figure on the
canvas and fixed it there as by a spell." Possibly, however,
the picture may be a Susannah a subject of which Rembrandt
was fond.
963. A SKATING SCENE.
Isaac -van Ostade (Dutch : 1621-1657)-
See under \ 137, p. 231.
A scene such as Isaac van Ostade (the younger brother and
pupil of Adrian, XII. 846, p. 290) specially loved combining
"all the delicate poetry with all the delicate comfort of the frosty
season " a season expressive " of a perfect impassivity, or at
least of a perfect repose " (Pater : Imaginary Portraits, p. 9 1 ).
SCREEN I
998. SINGING A DUET.
Schalcken (Dutch : 1643-1706). See under 199, p. 252.
A lover holds a guitar, his mistress some music ; on the
table is a rose
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 251
If love were what the rose is,
And I were like the leaf,
Our lives would grow together
In sad or singing weather . . .
If love were what the rose is
And I were like the leaf.
SWINBURNE : A Match.
1132. THE VESTIBULE OF A LIBRARY.
Hendrick Steemvyck (Dutch : 1550-1604).
" This painter first established himself in Antwerp, where he found
numerous pupils, notably Pieter Neefs (924, p. 248) ; but he finally
fixed himself at Frankfort, where he died. He has with reason been
regarded as having perfected the architectural style of painting. It is
to him that we owe those first interiors, which later became a speciality
among various painters. He was the first also to give in painting the
effect of light thrown from candles and tapers on architectural forms.
As the creator of a new style he merits to be recorded " (Havard : The
Dutch School, p. 53).
A picture for architects to look at. It is the interior of a
vestibule giving access to a library, and is full of inventive-
ness. Notice, too, how beautifully the accessories the table-
cloth, the vase of flowers, etc., are painted.
896. THE PEACE OF MUNSTER.
Terbitrg (Dutch : 1608-1681). See under XII. 864, p. 285.
One of the " gems " of the National Collection " priceless "
because not only of its great artistic merit, but of its unique
historical interest. It is an exact representation by a con-
temporary Dutch painter of one of the turning-points in Dutch
history the ratification, namely, by the delegates of the Dutch
United Provinces, on r 5th May 1684, of the Treaty of Miinster,
with which the eighty years' war between Spain and the United
Provinces was concluded, altogether to the advantage of the
latter. The clerk (in a scarlet cloak) is reading the document.
The plenipotentiaries are standing nearest to the table. Six of
them, holding up the right hand, are the delegates of the
United Provinces ; two, with their right hands resting on an
open copy of the Gospels, are the representatives of Spain. One
of the Dutch delegates and one of the Spanish hold copies of
the document, which they follow as it is being read by the
clerk. The brass chandelier, it is interesting to note, still
hangs in the hall at Miinster. The painter has introduced his
own portrait among the figures on the left, in three-quarter
252 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
face, behind the officer who stands with one arm resting on the
chair of the third Dutch delegate (counting from the left). Dur-
ing his lifetime Terburg did not part with the picture. It passed
at one time into the possession of Prince Talleyrand, and by a
curious coincidence was hanging in the room of his hotel,
under the view of the Allied Sovereigns, at the signing of the
treaty of 1814. After several more changes of hands it was
bought in 1868 by the late Marquis of Hertford for ,8800
equivalent, the curious in such things may like to know, to
nearly ^24 per square inch of canvas ; at his death it came
into the possession of Sir Richard Wallace, who presented it
to the nation in 1871.
199. LESBIA AND HER SPARROW.
Godfried Schalcken (Dutch : 1643-1706).
A picture in illustration of a Latin poem, as befits a painter
whose father was headmaster of a Latin school (at Dort).
Lesbia is weighing jewels against her sparrow, which she loved
better even than her own eyes
Mourn, every Venus, every Love !
Gallants gay, mourn every one !
My darling had a favourite dove,
That she did prize
As her own eyes
Her dove is dead and gone.
G. R., from Catullus, iii.
192. PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF.
Gerard Dou (Dutch : 1 6 1 3-1 67 5).
This jolly-looking portrait is by no means a tell-tale face, for what
specially distinguishes Dou (or Dow) is the patient industry which he
devoted to his work. He was the son of a glazier at Leyden, and at
fifteen entered the studio of Rembrandt, who was then himself only
twenty. He lived nearly all his life in his native town. The German
painter Sandrart relates that he once visited Dou's studio and admired
the great care bestowed by the artist on the painting of a broomstick. Dou
remarked that he would still have to work at it for three days more.
The history of his pictures is a remarkable instance of industry
rewarded. In his lifetime an amateur of the name of Spiering used to
pay him one thousand florins a year in itself a good income for the
mere privilege of having the first offer of his pictures ; and since his
death their value has steadily increased.
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 253
SCREEN II
LENT BY THE DUKE OF NORFOLK
CHRISTINA OF DENMARK, DUCHESS OF
MILAN.
Hans Holbein, the younger (German : 1497-1543).
Hans Holbein, called the younger to distinguish him from his
father of the same name, who was also a celebrated painter, 1 is closely
identified with England, and at least seventy first-rate pictures by him
are, it is calculated, in this country. Curiously, however (and un-
fortunately), none of them as yet belong to the National Gallery, and
if it were not for this portrait, generously placed here on loan, he
would be entirely unrepresented. 2 This example shows something of
his skill as a portrait painter a branch of art in which he has never,
perhaps, been excelled. It was, however, painted hurriedly, as ex-
plained below ; whereas, what chiefly distinguishes most of Holbein's
portraits (some of which may be seen at Hampton Court) is the per-
fection of every accessory, which at the same time was never allowed
to interfere with resemblance. But Holbein was not merely a portrait
painter. Few artists have equalled him in majestic range of capacity.
His " Madonna" at Darmstadt (the better known copy of which is at
Dresden) is one of the great religious pictures of the world. He was
also a fresco painter, a designer for glass painting, and a draughtsman
for woodcuts, his designs of the " Dance of Death " being the typical
expression in art of the spirit of the Reformation.
Holbein was a native of Augsburg. He settled early in life at
Bale. In 1526, leaving his wife and child behind him, he set out for
England, with letters from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More. From
1528-1532 he was again in Bale, whilst in the latter year he returned
to England, where he remained for the rest of his life, being carried off
by the plague in 1543. From 1536 onwards he was in the service of
Henry VIII., whose high opinion of Holbein is recorded in the king's
rebuke to one of his courtiers for insulting the painter : ' ' You have
not to do with Holbein, but with me ; and I tell you that of seven
1 Two other members of the family are known as painters Ambrosius,
brother of the younger Hans ; and Sigmund, brother of the elder. A
portrait ascribed to the latter is in Room XI. (722, p. 279).
2 It is the duty of every one who has the opportunity to echo the pious
wish expressed by the Quarterly Reviewer (October, 1886) that "the
Barbers' Company, following the example set by the Duke of Norfolk,
may be induced to deposit in the National Gallery their well-known
picture by this master, both for the enjoyment of the public and for its safe
custody " The picture in question represents Henry VIII. enthroned and
granting a charter to the Company of Barber-surgeons.
254 ROOM X: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
peasants I can make seven lords, but not one Holbein."' Holbein was
a jovial man, it is said, much to Henry's liking, but with a deep under-
current of seriousness, as befitted the friend of Erasmus and More.
(For Mr. Ruskin's estimate of Holbein, see Sir Joshua and Holbein,
reprinted in On the Old Road, vol. i., and Ariadne Floretitina, passim.)
Amongst Holbein's duties as painter to Henry VIII. was
that of taking portraits of the ladies whom he proposed in turn
to wed. After the death of Jane Seymour, the first favourite
was the lady before us " Christina of Denmark, the young
relict of the Duke of Milan, and the niece of the emperor. The
duchess was tall, handsome, and though a widow not more than
sixteen." Holbein was despatched to paint her portrait, and
she gave him a sitting of three hours only at Brussels. The
portrait, it would seem, did not make the king and his minister
less anxious for the match which, however, was broken off, it
will be remembered, after long negotiations, by the hostility of
the emperor. The duchess, in spite of her tender years, seems
and the picture does not belie the supposition to have had
a character of her own. The story of her reply " that she had
but one head, but that if she had two, one should be at the
service of his Majesty," is, indeed, now discredited ; but her
actual answer, " You know I am the emperor's poor servant,
and must follow his pleasure," was, in the light of subsequent
events, equally to the point. The English Ambassador
specially reported " her honest countenance and the few words
she wisely spoke " (see Froude's History of England^ ch. xv.)
SCREEN III
1195. THE BIRTH OF VENUS.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220.
A finished study for a salver which was executed in silver
for Charles I. " The central oval shows a goddess borne along
and attended on the surface of the waves by nymphs and
tritons ; sea gods and goddesses, riding on aquatic monsters, dis-
port themselves in the broad flat border surrounding the central
panel. Rubens may be said to have here surpassed himself
in those qualities of movement and brilliant execution, in which
he was unrivalled. His form, often florid in contour, although
always supple, has here a grace and beauty entirely in harmony
ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 255
with the classic theme, and the personages are inspired with
that immortal gaiety which has so rarely found expression,
save in the work of the master's contemporary, our national
poet, since it vanished at the final decay of Greek art and
literature. Of a piece with the delightful imaginative qualities
so prodigally lavished on the present panel is the truly
marvellous execution. The hand has played over the surface
with a lightness and delicacy surprising even to those familiar
with the touch of the master in his first sketches for important
compositions. The method employed is simple and direct ;
the figures have been outlined in pen and ink, then a general
glaze has been spread over the entire surface, on which the
forms were modelled in white and gray, the ultimate result
being a warm silvery tone" (Times, December 22, 1885).
This picture, which was sold at the Hamilton sale (1882)
for .1680, was bought for the nation three years later at the
Becket Denison sale for 672.
1243. PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN.
(Dutch School : i;th Century.)
SCREEN IV
1114-1118. THE FIVE SENSES.
Cogues (Flemish : 16141684). See under ion, p. 256.
Coques pays a pretty compliment to one of his fellow-artists,
Robert van Hoecke (who, like a greater man, Leonardo,
was an authority on fortifications as well as a painter), in
painting his portrait as typical of " Sight." The figures in the
rest of the series, if portraits, have not been identified.
1O55. A VILLAGE CARD PARTY.
Hendrick Rokes, surnamed Sorgh (Dutch : 1621-1682).
A characteristic panel by an imitator of Teniers. The
game rests with the woman, who is not going to play, it would
seem, till the score is settled.
985. SHEEP AND GOATS.
Karel du Jardin (Dutch : 1625-1678).
See under XII. 828, p. 290.
256 ROOM X : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
1O11. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Cogues (Flemish : 1614-1684).
There is unfortunately no female portrait by Van Dyck in
the Gallery ; otherwise it would be seen at a glance how faith-
ful an imitation on a reduced scale l this is of that master's
ideal of feminine " elegance." There is a certain artificial
simplicity, very characteristic of the time, in the combination
of the lady, with her sumptuous white satin and the elaborate
architecture behind her, and her pet lamb.
1056. "A KISS IN THE CUP."
Hendrick Rokes, surnamed Sorgh (Dutch : 1621-1682).
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine ;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup
And I'll not look for wine.
BEN JONSON : To Celia.
680. THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES.
Van Dyck (Flemish : 1599-1641). See under 49, p. 226.
" One of the too numerous brown sketches 2 in the manner
of the Flemish School, which seem to me rather done for the
sake of wiping the brush clean than of painting anything.
There is no colour in it, and no light and shade ; but a certain
quantity of bitumen is rubbed about so as to slip more or less
greasily into the shape of figures ; and one of St. John's (or St.
James's) legs is suddenly terminated by a wriggle of white
across it, to signify that he is standing in the sea" (Art of
England, p. 44). Mr. Ruskin notices the picture as an ex-
ample of the art which was assailed by the Pre-Raphaelites.
A word -picture of the same scene in the Pre-Raphaelite
manner, with its literal and close realisation, will be found in
Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. 16.
1 Burger describes the works of Coques as ' ' Van Dyck's seen through
the wrong side of the glass." Another critic as " Van Dyck's in i8mo."
3 It is a sketch from a picture by Rubens at Mechlin.
ROOM XI
THE EARLY GERMAN AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
" WHY is it, probably, that Pictures exist in the world, and to what
end was the divine art of Painting bestowed, by the earnest gods,
upon poor mankind? I could advise once, for a little ! To
make this poor authentic earth a little memorable for us. Flaying
of St. Bartholomew, Rape of Europa, Rape of the Sabines,
Piping and Amours of goat-footed Pan, Romulus suckled by the
Wolf : all this and much else of fabulous, distant, unimportant,
not to say impossible, ugly and unworthy shall pass. But I say,
Herewithal is something not phantasmal ; of indisputable
certainty, home-grown " (CARLYLE : Friedrich, bk. iv. ch. vi.,
slightly altered).
THE Early Flemish and German schools are by no means
so completely represented as the nearly contemporary
schools of Italy ; but there are enough pictures to bring
out the characteristics of the northern art. Nothing can
be more instructive, and convincing of the value of art as a
means of national autobiography, than to compare the
early pictures in this room en bloc with those in any of the
Italian rooms (say Gallery VI.) No one can fail to be
struck at once by the contrast between what Mr. Ruskin
has called " the angular and bony sanctities of the North,"
and "the drooping graces and pensive pieties of the South."
This is the first distinguishing character of the early
northern art : there is no feeling, or care, for beauty as
s
258 ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
such. Look round the room, and see whether there is a
single face which will haunt you for its beauty. Look
at the pictures which interest you most, choose out the
brightest and the most exquisitely finished : and see if it
is not an almost defiant absence of beautiful feature that
characterises them. What, then, is it that gives these
pictures their worth and has caused their painters to be
included amongst the great masters of the world ? Look
at some of the best, and the more you look the more you
will see that their goodness consists in an absolute fidelity to
nature in dress, in ornaments, and especially in portraiture.
Here are unmistakably the men and women of the time,
set down precisely in their habit as they lived. In this
grim, unrelenting truthfulness these pictures correspond
exactly to the ideal which Carlyle himself a typical
northerner lays down, in the passage above quoted, for
the art of painting.
Look at these pictures and at the Italian again, and
another obvious difference is apparent. The Flemish pictures
are on the whole much smaller. This is a fact full of
significance. In the sunny South the artists spent their best
energies in covering large spaces of wall with frescoes ; in
the damp climate of the North they were obliged to paint
chiefly upon panels. The conditions of their climate were
no doubt what led to the discovery of the Van Eyck method
(described under 186, p. 275 tf.), the point of which was a
way of drying pictures rapidly without the necessity of ex-
posure to the sun. It was a method only applicable to work
on a small scale, but it permitted such work to be brought
to the highest finish. This precisely suited the painstaking,
patient men of the Low Countries. Hence the minute-
ness and finish which characterise their work. Moreover,
" every charm that can be bestowed upon so small a surface
is requisite to intensify its attractive power; and hence
Flemish painters developed a jewel-like quality of colouring
which remained peculiar to themselves." . . . Further,
the Van Eyck method, requiring absolute forethought and
forbidding any alterations, tended to a set of stock sub-
jects treated more or less in the same way. " Thus the chief
ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 259
qualities of the Flemish School may be called Veracity of
Imitation, Jewel-like richness of Colour, perfection of Finish,
emphasis of Character, and Conservatism in design. These
indeed are virtues enough to make a school of art great in
the annals of time, even though they may never be able to
win for it the clatter of popular applause. The paintings of
Flanders were not, and were not intended to be, popular.
Flemish artists did not, like the Italians, paint for the
folk, but for the delight of a small clique of cultured and
solid individuals. They painted as their employers worked,
with energy, honesty, and endurance; they cared not for
beauty of the more palpable and less enduring kind, but
they cared infinitely for Truth " l
Such are the general characteristics of the Early Flemish
School. Passing now to its historical development and to
its relations with the schools of Germany, we may distinguish
three successive periods, (i.) The birthplace of painting as
a separate art in the North was on the Lower Rhine, at Maas-
tricht and Cologne. Of this school of the Lower Rhine
the only specimen in the Gallery is 687, p. 265. It is pro-
perly grouped with the Early Flemish School, because in the
fourteenth century most of the Flemish artists were Germans
from the valley of the Rhine. (2.) Later on, however, the
great development in the prosperity and wealth of the Low
Countries the land of the Woolsack and the Golden Fleece,
led to the growth of a native art. Just as at Venice (see p.
126) the people, busy with their trade, preferred for along
time to buy rather than produce their works of art, but
afterwards settled down and made works for themselves, so
in Flanders the German art came to be superseded by a
native Flemish art. The Early Flemish School, covering
roughly the period 1400-1500, was the result, the most im-
portant masters being Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Bouts,
David, and Memling. (3.) It was now the turn of this
school to influence that of Germany. The Flemish masters
were great travellers, and the German masters were no
doubt attracted to Flanders by the great technical skill there
1 W. M. Conway : Early Flemish Artists and their Predecessors on the
Lower Rhine, 1887, ch. iii., hereafter referred to as Conway.
260 ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
in vogue. Hence we now come to a second period in
German painting marked by Flemish influence. There is
less of the mysticism and more realism ; but with the
realism there is an element of brutality and ugliness. 707
and 1049 are typical German pictures of this period (see
pp. 271, 266).
Finally, it will be noticed, as the visitor goes round the
room, that many of the pictures are either altogether " un-
known" or are attributed to artists whose names are not
given, and who are merely described as the " master " of
such and such other pictures. This is an interesting and
characteristic point Of individual painters of the Early
German School, and for the most part of those of the
Early Flemish, very little is known. They seldom signed
their names, 1 and the works of the fifteenth century were in
the next two centuries treated with neglect. Hence both the
attribution of these pictures, and the lives of the painters to
whom they are attributed, are still very uncertain. A second
reason for this uncertainty is to be found in the Guild
system, which was very strict amongst the northern artists.
Painting, to the mediaeval mind, was a craft like any other,
and was subject to the same rules. The Guild educated
the artist and bought his materials, and even when he
emerged into mastership, stood in many ways between him
and his patron. Hence pictures were often regarded as the
work not of this or that individual, but of this or that Guild.
Hence too the quiet industry and the uncompetitive patience
of these Early Flemish painters. " It was not merely the
result of chance that the brothers Van Eyck invented their
peculiar method of painting by which they were enabled to
produce pictures of almost unlimited durability and of unsur-
passable finish, provided sufficient care were bestowed upon
the work. The spirit of the day and the method of the
day were reflections one of another. . . . Take any picture
of this old Flemish School, and regard it carefully, you will
1 The letters often found on pictures, which for a long time excited the
curiosity and imagination of critics, are now fully explained as the initials not
of the painters but of the patrons (see Wauters : The Flemish School,
p. 61).
ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 261
find that only so do its beauties strike you at all. . . . The
old Flemish artists did always the thing that was within their
powers, striving indeed by daily industry to increase the
strength of those powers, but never hoping either by luck or
momentary insanity to attain anything unattainable by patient
thought and long-continued labour. ' Patient continuance
in well-doing ' was the open secret of their success "(Conway,
ch. ii.)
1094. PORTRAIT OF A MAN.
Sir Antonio More (Flemish : 1512-1578).
Antony Moro (commonly known in this country as Sir Antonio
More, although, when and by whom he was knighted does not appear)
succeeded Holbein as the principal portrait painter settled in England.
He was in Queen Mary's service 1554-1558. " More's style," it has
been said, " so much resembles that of Holbein as to frequently create
a doubt to which of them a portrait is to be attributed ; but he is not
so clear and delicate in his colouring, perhaps from having painted so
much in Spain, as that master." Finally he settled at Brussels. He
studied first under Schoorel (720, p. 270) and afterwards in Italy.
1231. PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN.
Sir Antonio More (Flemish : 1512-1578).
" A man in the prime of life, attributed to Sir Antonio Moro ;
the signature is perhaps apocryphal. There is little doubt,
however, that the attribution is correct ; the manipulation
shows all the prodigious power of Moro. His capacity for
seizing character and the fine tone of his flesh colour are all
here. The execution suggests the brilliant study of Hubert
Goltzius, by Moro, in the Brussels Gallery. That masterpiece
was stated to have been painted in an hour ; the present head
bears every indication of almost equally rapid brush work.
Probably the master's hand is to be found only in the head,
the dress bearing strong signs of modern method of execution "
(Times, September 19, 1887).
195 A MEDICAL PROFESSOR.
Unknown (German School).
The interest of this picture lies in the history of its purchase.
It was bought by the trustees in 1845, on the advice of the
then Keeper, as a Holbein. " The veriest tyro might well
have been ashamed of such a purchase " (Arrows of the CAace,
\. 65) ; and very much ashamed the trustees were, when im-
262 ROOM XI : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL
mediately after the purchase the hoax was discovered. There
and then they subscribed ^100 between them, which they
offered to M. Rochard, the dealer, " to induce him to annul
the bargain, but he declined, and there was an end of it." l
184. JEANNE D'ARCHEL.
Sir Antonio More (Flemish : 1512-1578).
See under 1094, p. 261.
The young lady, aged eighteen, is of the famous house of
Egmont. Notice the handsome brocade of her gown.
719. THE READING MAGDALEN.
Hendrik Eles* (Flemish : about 1480-1550).
An early work by Henry Bles, a scholar or imitator of
Patinir (see 945, p. 263), called by the Italians "Civetta"
(the owl), on account of the owl which he often adopted as his
monogram. (See for the subject under 654, p. 267.)
1232. PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN.
Heinrich Aldegrever (Westphalian \ f Lorn i 502,
still living in 1 5 5 5).
" Aldegrever, or Aide Grave, who was born in Paderborn in 1502,
formed himself under Diirer, and settled in Soest, where he was still
living in 1555. He is a son of the Renascence, but he has not
altogether escaped the old Franconian stiffness and provincialism. . . .
His real strength is in engraving. . . . He worked also as a goldsmith,
and his ornamental designs are numerous. We also know of a small
number of woodcuts by him" (Woltmann, ii. 234). His pictures are
very rare. The flower and ring which figure in the best known
portrait by him at Vienna are again met with here, but this picture is
less stiff and formal than that.
7O6. PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE.
The Master of the Lyversberg Passion (German :
died about 1490).
A picture by the unknown painter of a series of Passion
pictures, formerly belonging to Herr Lyversberg of Cologne,
characteristic of the German School after the Flemish influence.
The sky background is gilt as in the old German pictures,
1 See Report of Select Committee on the National Gallery, 1853, p. 432,
where the whole story will be found very frankly told in Sir C. Eastlake's
evidence.
2 Van Mander says that his nickname was Met de Bles (with the fore-
lock), but as he signs himself Henricus Blessius, it is probable that Bles
was his real name.
ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 263
but the types of the figures are Flemish. Notice the quaint
pointed shoes, and the touch of realism in making the foot of
Simeon, as he advances to receive the child from its mother,
come half out of his slipper.
1089. MADONNA AND CHILD WITH ST.
ELIZABETH.
Unknown (Early Flemish : I5th century).
291. PORTRAIT OF A GIRL.
Lucas Cranach (German-Saxon: 1472-1553).
An interesting study of female costume, rather than female
beauty, by Lucas Sunder, called Cranach from his birthplace,
one of the chief of the early German painters after Diirer the
most famous artist of his day, and the close friend of Martin
Luther. Notice in the lower left-hand corner the painter's
mark a crowned serpent, the arms granted to him by one of
the Electors of Saxony, to three of whom in succession he was
court painter.
945. ST. AGNES ADORING.
Ascribed to Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
Patinir (born at Dinant, but settled in Antwerp) was styled by
Albert Diirer, who stayed with him when in Antwerp, "Joachim the
good landscape painter." What distinguishes his landscape is its
greater expanse, as compared with earlier works. The Flemish
painters preceding him were mostly content with the narrow domestic
scenery of their own Maas scenery. But Patinir's pictures "embrace
miles of country, and open on every side. . . . Some far-away cottage
by the river-side, some hamlet nestling against a remote hill -slope,
some castle on a craggy peak, blue against the transparent sky such
objects were a joy to him. . . . Moreover, with Patinir the fantastic
element was of much importance. He wished his landscapes to be
romantic. . . . He would have precipitous rocks. . . . His river
must pass through gorges or under natural archways ; his skies must
be full of moving clouds ; his wide districts of country must present
contrasts of rocky mountain, water, and fertile plains. . . . He saw
also the grandeur of wild scenery, and strove, though not with perfect
success, to bring that into his pictures, showing thereby the possession
of a foretaste of that delight in nature for her own sake, the full enjoy-
ment of which has been reserved for the people of our own century "
(Conwtiy, pp. 299, 300).
St. Agnes, the young martyr virgin, attired as a
Pensive nun, devout and pure,
Sober, steadfast, and demure,
264 ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
kneels before the infant Christ, for " knowest thou not that
Agnes has been a Christian from her infancy upwards, and the
husband to whom she is betrothed is no other than Jesus
Christ ? " The infant Christ holds a coral rosary in his hand,
for he would crown her with jewels compared with which all
earthly gifts are as dross.
264. A COUNT OF HAINAULT AND HIS PATRON
SAINT.
Ascribed to Gerard van der Metre (Early Flemish). 1
The count and the confessor. The count, attired as a
monk, is praying. Behind him is his patron saint (St.
Ambrose), holding a cross in one hand, a scourge in the other.
More important, however, than the penitence of the count is
the splendour of the robes. The picture is a good illustration
of the love of jewellery characteristic of the time. " That this
love of jewels was shared by the painters is sufficiently shown
by the amount and beauty of the jewelled ornaments introduced
by them into their pictures. Not only are brooches and clasps,
sceptres and crowns, studded with precious stones, but the
hems of garments are continually sewn with them, whilst
gloves and shoes of state are likewise so adorned " (Conway,
p. 121).
261. ST. COSMAS, ST. DAMIAN, AND THE VIRGIN.
The Meister von Liesborn (Early German- Westphalian :
about 1465).
See under 260, p. 268 ; and for Saints Cosmas and Damian,
see under IV. 594, p. 68.
664. THE DEPOSITION IN THE TOMB.
Roger van der Weyden (Early Flemish: I4oo-about 1464).
See under 653, p. 267.
An unfinished picture on linen and in tempera very
characteristic in subject and treatment of the northern art.
Coupled with their absence of feeling for the beautiful there is
in the work of these artists a strange fondness for death for
1 Nothing is yet really known about this painter except the bare fact
of his existence, nor have any pictures of his been certainly identified. He
is commonly spoken of as an immediate follower of Van Eyck, and the
Official Catalogue gives his dates as "about 1410-1474." Others class him
with Memling's contemporaries, and give his dates as " about 1450-1512 "
(see Wauters : The Flemish School, p. 91).
ROOM XI ' : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 265
agonies, crucifixions, depositions, exhumations. " It is not that
the person needs excitement, or has any such strong perceptions
as would cause excitement, but he is dead to the horror, and a
strange evil influence guides his feebleness of mind rather to
fearful images than to beautiful ones, as our disturbed dreams
are sometimes filled with ghastlinesses which seem not to arise
out of any conceivable association of our waking ideas, but to
be a vapour out of the very chambers of the tomb, to which the
mind, in its palsy, has approached " (Modern Painters^ vol. iv.
pt v. ch. xix. 1 6). Thus in painting such subjects as this the
Italians endured the painfulness, the northern artists rejoiced
in it compare for instance V. 180, p. 87. And in so doing
they were only meeting the wishes of their patrons. There is
a contract, for instance, still in existence in which it is expressly
stipulated that the form of our Lord in a picture ordered at
Bruges shall be painted " in all respects like a dead man."
1O84. THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.
Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
See under 945, p. 263.
295. OUR SAVIOUR AND THE VIRGIN.
Quentin Metsys 1 (Flemish: 1466-1530).
Metsys, the first of the great Antwerp painters, was the
last who remained faithful to the traditions of the early
Flemish School. The gold background recalls the earliest
Flemish pictures in the Gallery. The figure of our Saviour re-
sembles the " Salvator Mundi " of Antonello da Messina (VII.
673, p. 172) the Italian painter who introduced the Flemish
influence to his country.
1O81. A MAN AT PRAYER.
Unknown (Early Flemish : i 5th century).
Probably a portrait of the donor of an altar-piece, of which
this picture formed one compartment.
687. ST. VERONICA.
Meister Wilhelm of Cologne (Early German School :
died 1378).
A work of interest as being by the first artist who emerges in the
North as an individual painter painting before his time being a mere
1 Often written Matsys, but Metsys is the signature on his triptych at
Brussels.
266 ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
appendage of other arts and the work solely of guilds. This "Master
William," who is mentioned in an old chronicle as having " painted a
man as though he were alive," was a native of Herle, near Cologne,
and attained a prominent position in the latter town.
The subject of this picture is the compassionate woman
whose door Christ passed when bearing his cross to Calvary.
Seeing the drops of agony on his brow she wiped his face
with her napkin, and the true image ( Vera Icon : hence her
name) of Christ remained miraculously impressed upon it
the Christ-like deed thus imprinting itself and abiding ever
with her. The subject of the picture gives it a further
historical interest as being suggestive of the mystics, the
" Friends of God," as they called themselves, who were
preaching in the Rhine Valley at this time, and under whose
influence this early school of painting arose. " The mystic is
one who claims to be able to see God with the inner vision of
the soul. He studies to be quiet that his still soul may reflect
the face of God" 1 even as did the cloth of St. Veronica.
1O49. THE CRUCIFIXION.
Unknown (German- Westphalian : 1 5th- 1 6th century).
A good example of the strength and weakness of this
German art. What is good are the clothes, which are very
quaint and various. The figures show a ghastly enjoyment
of horror and ugliness : notice especially the crucified thief on
the left.
944. TWO USURERS.
Marinns -van Romerswael (Flemish : painted 1521-1560).
One inserts items in a ledger ; the other puzzles over the
particulars of some business transaction. Marinus of Romers-
wael (his birthplace), also called " de Zeeuw " (the Zeelander),
was fond of this subject, the composition of which he seems to
have borrowed from Quentin Metsys, by whom also similar
pictures are common. It is a powerful realisation of what
Mr. Ruskin calls the new Beatitude, " Blessed are the merci-
less, for they shall obtain money."
1O87. THE MOCKING OF CHRIST.
Unknown (Early German : i 5th century).
Mr. Conway (p. 202) says of the Lyversberg Passion what
is equally applicable to this picture, and indeed to most of the
1 Beard's Hibbert Lectures, cited by Conway, p. 27.
ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 267
German art of the same period (cf. e.g. 1049, p. 266). "The
Passion, as conceived by this painter, was a scene for the dis-
play of brutality rather than the exhibition of heroism. The
enduring Christ is not the subject of the pictures, but the tortur-
ing villains that surround Him. The figure of Christ does not
dominate the rest ; the vile element seems always victorious."
654. THE MAGDALEN.
Ascribed to Roger van der Weyden (Early Flemish :
I4oo-about 1464). See under 653 below.
Known for the Magdalen by the small vase at her feet
emblem, in all the religious painters, of the alabaster box of
ointment " the symbol at once of her conversion and her
love." In these "reading Magdalens" she is represented as
now reconciled to heaven, and magnificently attired in
reference to her former state of worldly prosperity. " It is
difficult for us, in these days, to conceive the passionate
admiration and devotion with which the Magdalen was regarded
by her votaries in the Middle Ages. The imputed sinfulness
of her life only brought her nearer to them. Those who did
not dare to lift up their eyes to the more saintly models of
purity and holiness, the martyrs who had suffered in the cause
of chastity, took courage to invoke her intercession " (Mrs.
Jameson : Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 205). Hence the
numerous Magdalens to be met with in nearly every picture
gallery : in art decidedly there has been " more joy over one
sinner that repenteth than over ninety-and-nine that need no
repentance."
1O82. THE VISIT OF THE MADONNA TO ST.
ELIZABETH.
Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
See under 945, p. 263.
653. HUSBAND AND WIFE. 1
Ascribed to Roger van der Weyden (Early Flemish :
I4ooabout 1464).
This painter was born at Tournai, where he was known as Rogelet
de la Pasture. He afterwards went to Brussels, where he assumed his
1 This picture, as well as 654, 711 and 712, is ascribed in the Official
Catalogue to Roger van der Weyden the younger (1450-1529). Subsequent
researches have, however, shown this to be wrong. Roger the younger
268 ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
Flemish name, and where in 1436 he was appointed town painter. He
was the chief master (as a teacher, that is) of the early Flemish School.
It was he who carried Flemish art into Italy (see p. 8 1 ), where he was
in 1449-1450. Nearer home, the school of the Lower Rhine in its later
time was an off-shoot of his school : and farther up the river, Martin
Schongauer, at Colmar, was an immediate pupil of his. He set the
fashions in several subjects -such as descents from the cross, and
hundreds of followers imitated his designs. What gave his art this
wide currency was the way in which it united the older religious feel-
ing, from which Van Eyck had cut himself adrift, with the new
naturalism and improved technique which Van Eyck had introduced.
His French blood, too, gave his art an element of vivid emotion, which
was lacking in the staid control of Van Eyck. He is especially praised
for his " representations of human desires and dispositions, whether
grief, pain, or joy." He thus painted for the religious needs of the
people at large ; and though an inferior artist, enjoyed a far wider in-
fluence than Van Eyck.
This picture, commonly called " The painter and his Wife,"
is delightfully typical of the Flemish ideal both in man and
woman " the man shrewd and determined, the woman sweet
and motherly." " The virtue of honest strength, which made
the men of Flanders the merchant princes of Europe, was
the virtue whose traces the artists of Flanders loved to
observe. . . . They care little for mystery, little for pity, little
for enthusiasm. . . . They love a man whose visage tells of
the strength of his character, who has weathered the buffetings
of many a storm, and bears on his visage the marks of the
struggle" (Con-way, p. 104).
26O. ST. JOHN, ST. SCHOLASTICA, AND ST.
BENEDICT.
The Meister von Liesborn (Early German- Westphalian :
painted about 1465).
This and the companion panel (261, p. 264) are part of an
altar-piece originally in a church at Liesborn, near Minister in
Westphalia. The sweet but feeble faces, with the gold back-
grounds, recall the earliest Lower Rhine School, of which the
Westphalian School was an offshoot. The saints originally
stood beside the cross : hence their melancholy expression.
was a great-grandson of Roger the elder, and was not born till about 1505
(see genealogy in Wauters : The Dutch School, p. 60). The four pictures
are here therefore ascribed to the elder Roger ; they were probably painted
in his school.
ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 269
St. Scholastica was the first Benedictine nun, the sister of St.
Benedict himself.
657. A DUTCH GENTLEMAN AND LADY.
Jacob Cornelissen or Cornelisz (Dutch : painted 1506-1526).
Presumably a husband and wife the donors, we may suppose,
of an altar-piece. Their patron saints attend them. St. Peter
lays his hand approvingly on the man's shoulder. The woman,
as " the weaker vessel," seems to be supported by St. Paul.
It should be noticed that in sacred and legendary art these two
saints are almost always introduced together St. Peter, with
the keys, representing the church of the converted Jews, St.
Paul that of the Gentiles : his common attributes are a book
(denoting his Epistles), and a sword, signifying the manner of
his martyrdom, and being emblematic also of " the good fight "
fought by the faithful Christian with " the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God."
717. ST. JOHN ON THE ISLAND OF PATHOS.
Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
See under 945, p. 263.
The evangelist on the island of Patmos writing the
Revelations out of an ink-horn held by an eagle (the symbol of
the highest inspiration, because he soared upwards to the con-
templation of the Divine), which an imp is attempting to steal.
In the sky above are the revelations themselves : " And there
appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars. ... And there appeared another
wonder in heaven ; and behold a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads "
(Revelation xii. I, 3).
708. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Unknown * (Early Flemish : 1 5th century).
The Madonna offers Christ an apple symbol of the
forbidden fruit, and thus of the sin in the world which he
came to remove.
1 Formerly ascribed to Margaret van Eyck.
270 ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
7O9. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Ascribed to Hans Memling. See under 686, p. 274.
" In Flemish pictures the varnish was incorporated with
the surface colours, and cannot be removed without destroying
at the same time the very fabric of the work. For this reason
all attempts to, what is called, restore, or clean pictures of the
Flemish School, result only in the destruction of the work,
and by this means many fine pictures have, for all practical
purposes, perished. . . . (This picture) is a lamentable ex-
ample" (Cemvay, p. 119).
720. A "REPOSE" (see XIII. 160, p. 313).
Jan van Schoorel (Dutch : 1495-1 562).
Schoorel, so called from his birthplace, belongs to the second
period of Dutch art, and was one of the most successful of the
"Italianisers" (see p. 210) ; but neither this nor 721 is a good or
indeed a certain specimen. He was a poet and musician as well
as a painter, and studied under Albert Diirer.
716. ST. CHRISTOPHER.
Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
See under 945, p. 263.
One of the earliest attempts in painting to tell the beautiful
legend of Christopher (the Christ bearer), the hermit ferryman
who, " having sustained others in their chief earthly trials, after-
wards had Christ for companion of his own." The best account
of the legend of St Christopher is to be found in Miss"
Alexander's Roadside Songs of Tuscany, edited by Mr. Ruskin,
illustrated with " the most beautiful and true designs that have
ever yet been made out of all the multitude by which alike the
best spiritual and worldly power of Art have commended to
Christendom its noblest monastic legend."
1083. CHRIST CROWNED WITH THORNS.
Unknown (Early Flemish : i 5th century).
714. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Comelis Engelbertsz (Dutch : 1468-1533).
Engelbertsz was one of the earliest oil painters at Leyden, and is
said to have been the master of Lucas of Leyden.
721. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Jan van Schoorel (Dutch : 1 49 5- 1 562). See under 720 above.
ROOM XT : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL 27 1
655. THE READING MAGDALEN.
Bernard von Orley (Flemish : i4go-about 1542).
This painter, who studied in Raphael's school, was a designer
for tapestry (the staple industry of Brussels in his time) and
stained glass, as well as what is now exclusively called an
artist, and had all a designer's care for little things. There are
some tapestries by him in the great hall at Hampton Court.
Notice the prettily designed cup in ivory and gold symbolical
of the box of precious ointment offered by the Magdalen to
her Lord. For the subject see 654 above, p. 267.
718. CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
Hendrik Bles (Flemish : about 1480-1550).
See under 719, p. 262.
1O86. CHRIST APPEARING AFTER HIS RESUR-
RECTION.
Unknown (Early Flemish : i5th century).
Notice the empty tomb, visible through the half- opened
door in the background with the Roman soldier asleep beside,
and an angel above it.
715 THE CRUCIFIXION.
Joachim Patinir (Early Flemish : died 1524).
See under 945, p. 263.
7O7. ST. PETER AND ST. DOROTHY.
Master of the Cologne Crucifixion (Early German School :
early i6th century).
Part of an altar-piece, the rest of which is in the Munich
Gallery, by an artist whose name is unknown, and who is there-
fore called after his principal work. It has been well said of
him that "he succeeded in giving an intense expression of
transient emotion to the faces ; but by endeavouring to lend a
sympathetic action to the whole figure, he has exaggerated the
action into distortion" (Woltmann, ii. 224). This is con-
spicuously the case here. Look, for instance, at the comic
contrast between St. Peter's big foot and St. Dorothy's pointed
little shoe between what is almost a leer on his face and
the 'mincing' affectation on hers. St. Peter is distinguished
of course by the keys ; St. Dorothy by the basket of flowers
272 ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
the flowers which she sent to Theophilus in token of the truth
of the faith in which she died : " carry these to Theophilus,
say that Dorothea hath sent them, and that I go before him
to the garden whence they came and await him there " (see
Mrs. Jameson : Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 336, ed. 1850).
1O85. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Unknown (School of the Lower Rhine : 1 5th century).
A picture of the same school as 706, p. 262, but the Flemish
influence is here more discernible. In the background is a
church lighted from within. The heads are very ugly (notice
the saint in the left compartment), but the execution, especially
of the accessories, is very delicate.
774. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Ascribed to Hugo van der Goes (Flemish : died 1482).
On the Madonna's right is St. Peter ; on her left St. Paul,
an arrangement common in early art, St. Peter and St Paul
being the two chief apostles on whom the Church of Christ is
built. St. Paul offers a pink to the infant Christ. Flowers
were consecrated to the Virgin, and the early painters chose
those they liked best to be emblems of love and beauty.
The picture is doubtfully given to Van der Goes an artist
whose only certainly known picture is the altar-piece in the
hospital of S. Maria Nuova in Florence, and is by some
ascribed to Bouts (see under 783, p. 277).
658. THE DEATH OF THE VIRGIN.
Martin Schongauer 1 (German-Swabian : i45o-about 1488).
A little work that will hardly serve to bear out the fame of an
artist who was known to his contemporaries as " the glory of painters "
and "Martin the Beautiful." He was born at Colmar, but probably
studied under Roger van der Weyden. He was equally famous as a
painter and as an engraver : in the latter branch he is best represented
at Bale, but there are also prints of his in the British Museum.
The " absolute joy in ugliness," which Mr. Ruskin finds
most strongly exemplified in some of those prints (Modern
Painters, vol. iv. pt. v. ch. xix. 18), is not altogether absent
from this picture. A more unpleasant bedchamber, with its
unseemly crowd of fat bustling apostles (notice the old fellow
1 ' ' Doubtfully ascribed " (Official Catalogue). " By an artist of his school,
with considerable variations, from his famous print of the Death of the
Virgin" (Sidney Colvin).
ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 273
puffing away at a censer on the left), it would be hard to
conceive. One is glad to escape through the open window to
the pretty little view of the square.
713. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Jan Mostaert (Early Dutch : 1474-1555).
One of the few specimens in the Gallery of the first period
of Dutch art, when it was still following the traditions of the
Early Flemish School. See p. 209 and cf. 714, p. 270.
1045. A CANON AND HIS PATRON SAINTS.
Gerard David (Early Flemish : I46o-about 1523).
An admirable work by a painter whose name has only
recently come to light. He was born in Oudewater, a small
town in the south of Holland, but moved to Bruges, where he
became a member of the Painters' Guild, and painted several
pictures for the Town Hall. This picture was originally the
right wing of the reredos, presented to the collegiate church
of St. Donatian, at Bruges, by Bernardino de Salviatis, canon,
who is here represented with his patron saints St. Bernardino
of Siena behind him, St. Donatian in advance of him, and St.
Martin to the left. It was St. Martin who shared his cloak
with the beggar, and here in the distance to the left in com-
pliment to the canon's generosity is a beggar limping towards
the group, asking alms. Notice the wood through which he
walks. David " was the first painter to think of the shadow-
giving nature of trees. Trees had for many years formed a
favourite subject for backgrounds, but even by Memling they
were rather conventionally rendered, one by one, not grouped
into woods, and seldom brought into the foreground. Here
we have a wood brought near us, with its domed canopy of
foliage above, and its labyrinth of trunks buried in sylvan
twilight below" (Con-way, p. 298).
711. "MATER DOLOROSA."
Ascribed to Roger van der IVeyden, (See under 653, p. 267).
"It was a common custom with Roger's followers to copy
single heads out of their master's large groups. Such single
heads always have gold backgrounds, usually dotted over with
little black dashes" (Conway, p. 275). This and the com-
panion panel (712) are no doubt instances, and the heads
selected for reproduction are typical of that fondness for the
ugliness of pain which has been noticed (see under 664, p. 264)
274 ROOM XI : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL
as characteristic of the northern mind. Notice how prominently
the tears in the sorrowing mother here, and the blood and tears
in the " Ecce Homo" (in 712, p. 277), are made to stand out.
686. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Hans Memling (Early Flemish : 1435-about 1495).
Of the life of Hans Memling (often wrongly called Hemling) next
to nothing is known the romantic biographies of him which were
once current having now been proved false. He is supposed to have
been a pupil of Roger van der Weyden, and is known from the town
records to have been settled in Bruges in his own house in 1479. He
must have been a citizen of some wealth, for in the next year he was
one of those who contributed to a city loan. If his life was like his
art, it must have been gentle and peaceful. Memling is one of the
leading members of the " Purist " School (see p. 44), the Fra Angelico,
one may say, of Flanders.
In front is a portrait of the donor of the picture. On the
Virgin's left is St. George with the dragon not a very dread-
ful dragon, either "they do not hurt or destroy" in the
peaceful gardens that Memling fancied. Notice how the
peaceful idea is continued in the man returning to his pleasant
home in the background to the left. The Virgin herself is
typical of the feminine ideal in early Flemish art. "It must
be borne in mind that the people of the fifteenth century still
lived in an age when the language of symbols was rich and
widely understood. . . . The high forehead of the Virgin and
wide arching brows tell of her intellectual power, her rich long
hair figures forth the fulness of her life, her slim figure and tiny
mouth symbolise her purity, her mild eyes with their drooping
eyelids discover her devoutness, her bent head speaks of hu-
mility. The supreme and evident virtue which reigns in all
these Madonnas is an absolute purity of heart. . . . Painters of
the period, almost without exception, seek to express the presence
of this quality. For its sake they smooth away many a
wrinkle, and suppress many a bright charm. They often
destroy the individuality of their subject, but they never fail to
present her as calm and pure " (Convoy, pp. 109, 1 10).
222. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Jan van Eyck (Early Flemish : ijSs-about 1440).
See under next picture.
One of Van Eyck's obviously truthful portraits, so highly
finished that the single hairs on the shaven chin are given.
ROOM XI : EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 275
On the upper part of the frame is the inscription, " Als ich
kan " as I can, the first words of an old Flemish proverb,
" As I can, but not as I will," an inscription beautifully illus-
trative of a great man's modesty ; accurately true also as a
piece of criticism. No pictures are more finished than Van
Eyck's, yet they are only "as he can," not as he would.
" Let all the ingenuity and all the art of the human race be
brought to bear upon the attainment of the utmost possible
finish, and they could not do what is done in the foot of a fly,
or the film of a bubble. God alone can finish ; and the more
intelligent the human mind becomes, the more the infiniteness
of interval is felt between human and divine work in this
respect " (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. ix. 5).
186. PORTRAITS OF JAN ARNOLFINI AND HIS
WIFE.
Jan van Eyck (Early Flemish : 1385-about 1440).
The Van Eycks Hubert, the elder brother, and Jan were natives
of Maesyck (Eyck-sur-Meuse), and are famous as being the artists to
whose ingenuity the first invention of the art of painting in oils was for
a long time ascribed. The probability is that although the practice of
mixing oil with colours was employed for decorative purposes in
Germany and elsewhere long before their time, they were the first to so
improve it as to make it fully serviceable for figure-painting. 1 The
art of oil painting reached higher perfection in many ways after their
time ; but there is no picture in the Gallery which shows better than this,
1 Up to the time of the Van Eycks the general process of artistic
painting for detached pictures was tempera. In this method (as we have
seen, p. 67 n. ) the colours, after being ground with chalk, were laid on with
a medium of water, white of eggs, juice of unripe figs, or some similar
substance. Some kind of oil varnish was, however, often laid on after-
wards, and a few Italian artists sometimes tried to mix their colours with
oil in the first instance ; but the results cannot have been satisfactory, for
even Crivelli, who died in 1495, was still exclusively a painter in tempera.
The objection to tempera, so far at any rate as northern countries were
concerned, was that it suffered from the damp. Thus in an old retable in
Westminster Abbey, so painted, the painting has flaked off. The objec-
tion to the early attempts at using oil as a medium was that it took a long
time to dry. This caused Van Eyck incessant annoyance ; his knowledge
of chemistry led him to make experiments, and at last he obtained a medium
which hastened the drying without the necessity of exposure to the sun.
This medium was probably a mixture of linseed and nut oils. This
method is different from that now called oil-painting. Now the colours
are laid on by an oily medium, and when the picture is finished the whole
surface is protected by a transparent varnish. Then the varnish was incor-
porated with the surface colours (see Conway, p. 119 ; Wauters, p. 35).
276 ROOM XI : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL
one great capacity of oil painting its combination, namely, of "imperish-
able firmness with exquisite delicacy " (On the Old Road, i. 141).
This picture of a Flemish interior is as spruce and clean
now (for the small twig broom did its work so well that the good-
man and his wife were not afraid to walk on the polished floor
without their shoes), as it was when first painted five hundred
years ago. This is the more interesting from the event-
ful history the picture has had. At one time we hear of
a barber-surgeon at Bruges presenting it to the Queen-regent
of the Netherlands, who valued it so highly that she pensioned
him in return for the gift. At another it must have passed
again into humbler hands, for General Hay found it in the room
to which he was taken in 1815 at Brussels to recover from
wounds at the battle of Waterloo.
For the delicacy of workmanship note especially the mirror,
in which are reflected not only the objects in the room, but
others beyond what appears in the picture, for a door and two
additional figures may be distinguished. In the frame of the
mirror, too, are ten minute pictures of the ten " moments " in
the Passion of Christ. Notice also the brasswork of the
chandelier, and the elaboration of the painter's signature above
it. This signature (in Latin), "John van Eyck was here,"
exactly expresses the modesty and veracity which was the key-
note of his art. The artist only professed to come, to see, and
to record what he saw. Arnolfini was the representative at
Bruges of a Lucca firm of merchants, and Van Eyck gives us a
picture of the quiet, dry, business folk exactly as he found them.
Van Eyck, it is interesting to note, though he lived mostly at
Bruges, spending infinite pains on his pictures, was not with-
out a sight of the great world, for in 1428 he accompanied
an embassy which his patron, the Duke of Burgundy, sent to
Spain. The duke was devoted to him, was godfather to his child,
and paid a dowry for his daughter. But never was there an artist
less puffed up. " Jan van Eyck was here." " As I can, not as
I would." Such signatures are the sign-marks of modesty.
29O. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Jan van Eyck (Early Flemish : 1385-about 1440).
See under last picture.
A portrait of a friend of the artist, for it is inscribed " Leal
Souvenir " and a true recollection it obviously is, and was the
more acceptable, one likes to think, for being so. "It is not
ROOM XI : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL 277
the untrue imaginary Picture of a man and his work that I
want, . . . but the actual natural Likeness, true as the face
itself, nay, truer in a sense, Which the Artist, if there is one,
might help to give, and the Botcher never can" (Carlyle,
Friedricli}.
712. "ECCE HOMO!"
Ascribed to Roger van der Weyden. (See under 653, p. 267.)
See under 711 above, p. 273.
747. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST AND ST. LAWRENCE.
Ascribed to Hans Memling. See under 686, p. 274.
St. Lawrence may nearly always be distinguished by his
gridiron the emblem of his martyrdom. He was a pious
deacon of the Christian Church, who was put to death by the
Romans. A new kind of torture was, says the legend, pre-
pared for him. He was stretched on a sort of bed, formed of
iron bars in the manner of a gridiron, and was roasted alive.
" But so great was his constancy that in the middle of his
torments he said, ' Seest thou not, O thou foolish man, that I
am already roasted on one side, and that, if thou would'st have
me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other ?' Then
St. Lawrence lifted up his eyes, and his pure and invincible
spirit fled to heaven."
7O5. STS. MATTHEW, CATHERINE, AND JOHN.
Stephan Lochner (Early German: died 1451).
Three figures, full of innocent fervour and graceful senti-
mentality, by " Meister Stephan " a native of Constance, who
settled in Cologne, and whose work has the stamp of the
early Cologne School (see 687, p. 265). His chief work is the
so-called Dombild, now in Cologne Cathedral : " Item. I
gave two white pennies," says Albert Diirer in his diary, " to
see the picture that Master Staffan of Cologne painted."
783. THE EXHUMATION OF BISHOP HUBERT.
Ascribed to Thierri Bouts (Early Flemish : i42o-about 1475)
Thierri Bouts called by early authors Thierry, or Dierik of Haarlem,
from the name of his native town, and by modern writers Thierri Stuer-
bout, in consequence of a confusion of persons, now rectified was
town's painter of Louvain, and a pupil probably of Roger van der
Weyden. His principal works are now in the Brussels Museum. This
picture formerly ascribed to Jan van Eyck, to Van der Meire, or to
278 ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL
Justus of Ghent is probably not by him ; pictures in the Gallery
attributed to him by the latest critics are 774 and 943, pp. 272, 282.
St. Hubert was originally a nobleman of Aquitaine,
much addicted to all worldly pleasures, and especially
to that of the chase. But one day in Holy Week, when
all good Christians were at their devotions, as he was
hunting in the forest of Ardennes, he encountered a milk-
white stag bearing the crucifix between his horns. Filled with
awe and astonishment, he renounced the pomps and vanities
of the world, turned hermit in that very forest of Ardennes,
was ordained, and became Bishop of Liege. So the legend
runs, embalming, we may suppose, the conversion of some
reckless lover of the chase, like the wild huntsman of the
German legend. And at Liege he was buried, but thirteen
years afterwards his body was disinterred, and lo ! it was found
entire : even the episcopal robes in which he had been interred
were without spot or stain. A century later the body was re-
moved from Liege and reinterred in the abbey church of the
Benedictine monks of Ardennes. The Emperor Louis le
De"bonnaire assisted at the translation of the relics, and the
day was long kept as a festival throughout this part of Flanders.
This is the subject of the present picture. On the altar be-
hind the principal group stands a shrine, on which is a little
figure of St. Hubert with his hunting-horn. The royal per-
sonage assisting represents Louis le De"bonnaire. The picture
is of wonderful beauty, finished in every part (abridged from
Mrs. Jameson: Sacred and Legendary Art, pp. 431, 432).
Though it is thus an historical picture, the artist takes the
figures from his own time, and the heads, like miniatures in
character and delicacy of expression, are doubtless portraits
the whole scene being a picture of a Flemish Cathedral on
some festival day. Notice, as a particularly interesting little
piece of life, the man flattening his nose against the pillar
on the left, with a jeering expression, as if he " didn't half
believe it all." It is a piece of living grotesque, exactly such
as meets one in the sculptured stones of a mediaeval cathedral
itself " peeping round the corner at you and lurking in secret
places, like a monk's joke whispered in church " (Conway,
p. 17)-
1088. THE CRUCIFIXION
Unknown (German School : i6th century.)
ROOM XI: EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL 279
1O79. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Unknown (Early Flemish : 1 5th century).
" The National Gallery possesses one of the best of David's
authenticated works (1045, p. 273), and a comparison be-
tween it and the "Adoration of the Magi," numbered 1079,
goes far to prove them to be by one hand. Compare, for
instance, the figure of the beggar in the one picture with that of
St. Joseph, in shadow behind the Virgin, in the other. And
the evidence of style is confirmed by a curious discovery that
I happened to make one bright day, when the glass was off
the latter picture. Low down in the left-hand corner the word
OUVVATER is written in a way that precludes the notion of
forgery, for it has been scratched with, perhaps, the butt end
of a brush, while the paint was still wet, so that the red under-
painting shows through the letters. David was born at Ouwater,
or Oudewater, about 1450, and did not migrate to Bruges till
1484 " (Armstrong : Notes on the National Gallery, p. 29).
1O78. THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS.
Unknown (Early Flemish : i 5th century).
722. A LADY'S PORTRAIT.
Ascribed to Sigmund Holbein (German : 1465-1 540).
A German housewife with a characteristic mixture about
her of sentimentality (for she holds a forget-me-not in her hand)
and of austerity (for there is something forbidding, surely, in
those terribly angular fingers of hers).
696. MARCO BARBARIGO.
Ascribed to G. van der Metre (Early Flemish).
See under 264, p. 264.
He was Venetian Consul in London in 1449, and holds in
his hand a letter addressed to him there. He was subsequently
elected Doge, but died (in 1486), after holding the office for
six months. It is recorded of him as Doge that he was a
specially mild-tempered and good man a character which is
not belied in this portrait of him in his earlier days.
1151. THE ENTOMBMENT.
Unknown (Early Flemish : i 5th century).
" Belongs rather to the school of Germany, for it is a copy,
in colour, of Martin Schongauer's engraving of the ' Entomb-
ment'" (Armstrong : Notes on the National Gallery, p. 29).
ago ROOM XI : EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL
71O. PORTRAIT OF A MONK.
Unknown^ (Early Flemish : I5th century).
1O8O. HEAD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
Unknown (Early German : I5th century).
The introduction of children's faces in the character of
mourning angels to so ghastly a subject is very characteristic
of the love of horror common to the Flemish and German
Schools.
1036. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Unknown 2 (Early Flemish or Dutch : 1 6th century).
A picture, it might be, of Hamlet with the skulls : " That
skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once." In his left
hand he holds a flower: "there's pansies, that's for thoughts."
266. THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS.
Lambert Lombard (Flemish : i 505-1 566).
Not an interesting picture by a very cultivated and interesting man,
who travelled in Italy in the suite of Cardinal Pole, and there made
Vasari's acquaintance.
656. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Mabuse (Flemish : about 1470-1532).
Jean Gossaert, called Mabuse from the town in Hainault (now in
France) where he was born, is interesting in the history of art as the
man who began the emigration of Flemish painters to Italy. He set
out in 1 508 in the suite of Philip of Burgundy, and remained in Italy
about ten years.
The sitter here is of the Flemish national type, but the
Italian influence may be seen in the Renaissance architecture
of the background.
246. PORTRAIT OF A SENATOR.
Albrecht Diirer (German : 1472-1 528).
Diirer is the greatest of all German artists : and in all the character-
istics of his art he is the central representative of the German spirit,
" its combination of the wild and rugged with the homely and the tender,
its meditative depth, its enigmatic gloom, its sincerity and energy, its
iron diligence and discipline." The range of his powers is shown not
only in his works that survive, but in the estimation in which he was
1 Formerly ascribed to Van der Goes.
1 ' Probably by a Flemish master contemporaneous with Holbein, to
whom it was formerly ascribed " (Official Catalogue).
ROOM XI: EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL 281
held by his contemporaries. When he went to Venice they "praised
his beautiful colouring," Bellini honoured him with his friendship,
"and he was everywhere treated," so he wrote, "as a gentleman."
Raphael sent him some drawings, on one of which this note in Diirer's
handwriting may still be seen : " Raphael of Urbino, who has been so
highly esteemed by the Pope, drew these naked figures, and sent them
to Albrecht Diirer in Nuremberg to show him his hand." He was a
writer as well as an artist. " Painting," said Melanchthon, " was the
least of his accomplishments;" whilst of his personal qualities Luther
bore testimony when he wrote : "As for Diirer, assuredly affection bids
us mourn for one who was the best of men. . . . May he rest in peace
with his fathers : Amen ! "
He was born at Nuremberg the son of a goldsmith and the third
of eighteen children and Albert of Nuremberg he remained to the end
the painter of a city distinguished for its "self-restrained, contented,
quaint domesticity. " His first training was from his father in the gold-
smith's trade ; next, when fifteen, he was apprenticed for three and a
half years to Wohlgemuth, the chief painter of the town ; and lastly
came his Wanderjahre, a long course of travel and study in foreign
lands. In 1494 he settled down at Nuremberg, and there, with the
exception of a visit to Venice in 1505-1506 (see p. 153 .), and to the
Netherlands in 1520-1521, he passed the remainder of his life in the
busy and honoured exercise of the various branches of his art. He had
married, at the age of twenty-three, a well-to-do merchant's daughter.
The stories which have long passed current with regard to her being
imperious, avaricious, and fretful, have been entirely discredited on
closer knowledge of the facts. The marriage was childless, but hus-
band and wife lived throughout on terms both of affection and com-
panionship. As for examples of Diirer's work, the widely- spread
prints of the "Knight and Death" and the "Melancholia" give the
best idea of his powers of imagination ; while in actual specimens of
his handiwork in drawing, the British Museum is the second richest
collection in the world. Of his paintings, which are very rare, the
most important are at Vienna; but in England, besides this portrait,
there is another at Hampton Court, and others are in the possession of
the Marquis of Lothian and the Duke of Northumberland respectively.
This old man, strong and yet melancholy, is precisely true
to Diirer's favourite type of human strength founded on labour
and sorrow. And the choice of this type is characteristic of
his mind. With the Reformation came, says Mr. Ruskin, " the
Resurrection of Death. Never, since man first saw him face
to face, had his terror been so great." Nothing shows the
character of men of that time so clearly as the way in which
they severally met the King of Terror. " It haunted Diirer
long ; and the answer he gave to the question of the grave
was that of patient hope ; and two-fold, consisting of one
282 ROOM XI: EARL Y FLEMISH SCHOOL
design in praise of Fortitude, and another in praise of Labour.
. . . The plate of ' Melancholia ' is the history of the sorrow-
ful, toil of the earth, as the ' Knight and Death ' is of its
sorrowful patience under temptation " (Modern Painters, vol.
v. pt. ix. ch. iv.)
046. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Mabuse (Flemish : I47o-about i 532). See under 656, p. 280.
943. A PORTRAIT.
Ascribed to Hans Memling. See under 686, p. 274.
This portrait, which is dated 1462, has long been called
Memling's portrait of himself, l but is now called by others
Bouts's own portrait (see 783, p. 277). Whether of Memling or
of Bouts, the face bespeaks a gentle, humble, pious, laborious
soul.
1063. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Unknown (Early Flemish or Dutch : i6th century).
1O42. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Catharina van Hemessen (Flemish : painted about 1550).
By a lady artist, herself the daughter of an artist, Jean
Sanders, surnamed Van Hemessen from his native village.
1 This is unlikely, for he died in 1495, presumably young, since his
children were then still minors, and this portrait is of a man certainly of
not less than thirty, which at the lowest would make Memling sixty-three
when he died. " It is," says Mr. Armstrong (Notes on the National Gallery,
p. 28), "pretty surely the work of Dirck Bouts. Compare it with the
Madonna numbered 774, and ascribed to Van der Goes. In conception,
in chord of colour, in technical manner, the similarity is so complete
between them as to leave room, in my mind, for very little doubt as to the
identity of their authors. And this Madonna is by Dirck Bouts, as no
one who has examined his 'Last Supper' in the church of St. Pierre at
Louvain can doubt. . . . Mr. W. M. Conway, who was the first, I
fancy, to recognise Bouts in all three of these pictures, drew my attention
to a curious peculiarity of his : he goes out of his way to paint hands. In
his ' Last Supper ' many hands are displayed that might quite naturally
have been hidden, and we find the same thing in this portrait."
ROOM XII
THE DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS (Continued}
819. OFF THE MOUTH OF THE THAMES.
Bakhuizen (Dutch 1631-1708). See under X. 223, p. 214.
ON representations of rough weather by this painter and
Vandevelde, Mr. Ruskin writes as follows : " If one could
but arrest the connoisseurs in the fact of looking at them
with belief, and, magically introducing the image of a true sea-
wave, let it roll up through the room, one massive fathom's
height and rood's breadth of brine, passing them by but
once, dividing, Red Sea-like, on right hand and left, but at
least setting close before their eyes, for once in inevitable truth,
what a sea-wave really is ; its green mountainous giddiness of
wrath, its overwhelming crest heavy as iron, fitful as flame,
clashing against the sky in long cloven edge, its furrowed
flanks, all ghastly clear, deep in transparent death, but all
laced across with lurid nets of spume, and tearing open into
meshed interstices their churned veil of silver fury, showing
still the calm gray abyss below ; that has no fury and no voice,
but is as a grave always open, which the green sighing mounds
do but hide for an instant as they pass. Would they, shuddering
back from this wave of the true, implacable sea, turn forthwith
to the papillotes ? It might be so. It is what we are all doing,
more or less, continually" (Harbours of England, p. 19). In
284 ROOM XII : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
default of the actual sea- wave, the visitor may be recommended to
look next at Turner's rough seas (XXII. 472 and 476, pp. 595,
597). Such a comparison will show how much of the roughness
in the Dutch pictures is due to mere blackness, how little to
any terror in the forms of the waves, such as Turner depicts.
872, 873. THE COAST OF SCHEVENINGEN.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707). SeeunderX. 150, p. 215.
These two pictures afford good illustrations of what has been
said before of the way in which this painter's version of the
sea was coloured by that " mixture of sand and sea-water "
which belongs to his native coasts. How firmly indeed the
Dutch shallows had hold of his mind is shown by the fact that
though he often set himself to paint the North Sea and the
English Channel, which, as we know, are not seldom rough, he
yet almost invariably painted them calm.
835. COURT OF A DUTCH HOUSE.
Pieter de Hooch (Dutch: 1632-1681). SeeunderX. 794, p. 235.
A courtyard at Delft : superbly painted, and a good picture
of Dutch home life of its neatness, its cleanliness, its quiet,
and its content. Notice over the entrance a commemorative
inscription, partly covered already by vine leaves, dated 1614.
The day's work is done, and the wife stands in the porch,
waiting for her husband's return ; a servant brings down the
child "too into the courtyard to greet its father. " It is natural
to think your own house and garden the nicest house and garden
that ever were. . . . They are a treasure to you which no money
could buy, the leaving them is always pain, the return to
them a new thrill and wakening to life. They are a home and
a place of root to you, as if you were founded on the ground like
its walls, or grew into it like its flowers " (Fors Clavigera, 1876,
P. 50-
876. A GALE.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1 633-1 707). See under X. i 50, p. 2 1 5.
818. COAST SCENE.
Bakhuizen (Dutch : 1631 -1708). See under X. 223, p. 214.
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 285
865. A COAST SCENE.
Jan van der Cappelle (Dutch : painted about 1650-1680).
Of this painter nothing is known beyond the fact that, on
the occasion of his marriage in 1653, he received the freedom
of the city of Amsterdam. One may connect with this fact
the state barge, introduced in some of his pictures, or the
corporation barge, it may be, much resembling the barges
belonging to the City and the City Companies which not long
ago might still be seen on the Thames at London, and some
of which may now be seen, transformed into College barges,
at Oxford.
873. See above under 872, p. 284.
864. THE GUITAR LESSON.
Gerard Terburg (Dutch : 1 608- 1 68 1 ).
A good specimen of Terburg's skill in " conversation
pieces"; for a more important work by him see X. 896, p. 251.
This painter, it is interesting to know, was a great traveller,
and carried on his profession, amongst other places, in England.
He eventually married and settled at Deventer, where he be-
came burgomaster : a full-length portrait of him in that capa-
city is in the Museum at the Hague.
853. THE TRIUMPH OF SILENUS.
Rubens (Flemish: 1577-1640). See under X. 38, p. 220
For the subject see under XIII. 93, p. 308.
839. THE MUSIC LESSON.
Gabriel Metsu (Dutch : born 1630, died after 1667).
Metsu is one of the genre painters who are now appraised most
highly sums of 2000 and ^3000 severally having been recently given
for pictures of his. Though, like most of his fellow-artists, he was fond
of painting tavern scenes (see, e.g. 970, p. 298), yet he was also one of
the painters of high life and the drawing-room (as here) like Terburg
and Netscher. Next to nothing is known of the circumstances of his
life. His talent is an instance of hereditary transmission, both his
father and his mother having been painters.
Hortensio. Madam, before you touch the instrument,
To learn the order of my fingering,
I must begin with rudiments of art ;
To teach you gamut in a briefer sort, . . .
And there it is in writing, fairly drawn.
286 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
Bianca, Why, I am past my gamut long ago.
Hortemio. Yet read the gamut of Hortensio.
Bianca [Reads], " ' Gamut ' I am, the ground of all accord,
'A re,' to plead Hortensio's passion ;
' B mi,' Bianca, take him for thy lord,
' C fa ut,' that loves with all affection :
' D sol re,' one clef, two notes have I :
' E la mi,' show pity, or I die."
Taming of the Shrew, Act iii. Sc. i.
884. SAND DUNES.
Jan Wynants (Dutch : 1615-1679). See under 971, p. 301.
It is not uninteresting to notice as strangely in keeping
with the poor and hard country here depicted that in nearly
every picture by Wynants (see 883, 971, 972) there is a dead
tree. That Dutch painters were alive to the beauties of
vegetation, the oaks of Ruysdael are enough to show ; but to
Wynants at least nature seems to have been visible only as a
destroying power, as a rugged and conflicting force, against
which the sturdy Hollander had to battle for existence as best
he might.
852. THE CHAPEAU DE FAILLE.
Rubens (Flemish : 1577-1640). See under X. 38, p. 220.
One of the best known and most be-copied pictures in the
Gallery. Its fame among artists " depends to no slight extent
on its being a tour de force. The head is painted in reflected
light, so as to come as near as may .be to Queen Elizabeth's
shadowless ideal, and painted almost entirely in three pig-
ments " (Armstrong : Notes on the National Gallery, p. 31). It
is known as the Chapeau de Faille (straw-hat), but Chapeau
de Foil (beaver-hat) would be more correct. The expression
of the subject is as much a tour de force as the technical
treatment
I know a maiden fair to see,
Take care ! . . .
She gives a side-glance and looks down,
Beware ! beware ! . . .
She has a bosom as white as snow,
Take care !
She knows how much it is best to show,
Beware ! beware !
Trust her not,
She is fooling thee !
LONGFELLOW : from the German.
ROOM Xri : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 287
856. THE MUSIC MASTER.
Jan Steen (Dutch : 1626-1679).
A work of some humour by one of the most celebrated of
the Dutch genre painters a man, too, of peculiar life, for he
was the son of a brewer, and afterwards combined the trades
of painter and publican. The music- master is sadly bored
with the exercises of his pupil at the harpsichord, but his
disgust is fully shared by the young brother whose turn is to
come next, and who is bringing a lute into the room.
869. A FROST SCENE.
A drian Vandevelde (Dutch: 16391672).
Adrian, the brother of William (the elder), the marine painter,
was a pupil of Wynants, and showed his talent very early. " Wynants,"
said that painter's wife, when the young Adrian entered his studio,
"you have found your master." In his painting of animals he re-
sembles Paul Potter. He spent much of his time in inserting figures
in the landscapes of the leading artists of the day.
829. A STAG HUNT.
Jan Hackaert (Dutch : about 1636-1700).
The figures are attributed to Berchem.
870. SHIPPING IN A CALM.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1 633-1 707). See under X. i 50, p. 2 1 5.
A dogger, with hanging sail, in the foreground; behind it
a frigate.
849. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
Paul Potter (Dutch : 1625-1654).
Paul Potter is the best Dutch cattle painter, and a remarkable
instance of precocious talent, some of it hereditary (for his father was
a painter) being a clever painter and etcher at the age of fourteen. He
was, it will have been noticed, only twenty-nine when he died. Though
he was excellent in his way, Mr. Ruskin calls attention to a certain
defect of feeling in his treatment. He " does not care even for sheep,
but only for wool ; regards not cows, but cowhides. He attains great
dexterity in drawing tufts and locks, lingers in the little parallel ravines
and furrows of fleece that open across sheep's backs as they turn ; is
unsurpassed in twisting a horn or pointing a nose ; but he cannot
paint eyes, nor perceive any condition of an animal's mind except its
desire of grazing" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. 12).
833. A FOREST SCENE.
Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1708). See under X. 685, p. 235.
288 ROOM XII : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
868. THE FORD.
Adrian Vandevelde(Du\.c\i : 1 639-1 672). See under 869, p. 287.
826. FIGURES AND ANIMALS.
Kurd du Jar din (Dutch : 1625-1678). See under 828, p. 290.
871. BATHING AT LOW WATER.
Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1 707). See under X. i 50, p. 215.
Incidentally a good study in the "philosophy of clothes."
The painter hits off with much humour the essential difference
between those who regard man as " by nature a naked animal "
seen in the naked bathers and those who regard him as
emphatically "a clothed animal" seen in the prim old
gentleman who gets himself carried on a man's back. Inter-
mediate between these two classes are those who use clothes
as a convenience, but are not entirely subject to them such,
for instance, is the comfortable old fellow smoking his pipe
and wading home, not without obvious contempt for the old
gentleman riding, as aforesaid, in ignominious slavery to his
" Sunday best."
834. A DUTCH INTERIOR.
Pieter de Hooch (Dutch : 1632-1684). See underX. 794. p. 235.
Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen . . .
Let the toast pass ;
Drink to the lass ;
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for a glass.
School for Scandal, Act iii. Sc. 2.
This picture is interesting as enabling us to discern the
painter's technical process. " The more luminous parts of it,
such as the costumes of the two men at the table, are painted
in semi-opaque colour over a brilliant orange ground. Here
and there the orange may be seen peeping out, and its presence
elsewhere gives a peculiar pearliness to the tints laid upon it.
De Hooch painted very thinly. In this picture the maid
with the brazier is an afterthought. She is painted over the
tiles and other details of the background, which now show
through her skirts. Before she was put in, this space to the
right was occupied by an old gentleman with a white beard
and moustache, and a wide-brimmed hat, all of which can be
descried under the brown of the mantelpiece " (Armstrong :
Notes on the National Gallery, pp. 36, 37).
ROOM XII : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 289
842. A GARDEN.
Frederic de Moucheron (Dutch : born 1633, died after 1713).
882. A LANDSCAPE.
Wouwerman (Dutch : 16191668). See under 878, p. 292.
827. FORDING THE STREAM.
Karel du Jardin (Dutch : 1625-1678). Seeunder 828, p. 290.
83O. THE AVENUE, MIDDELHARNIS.
Hobbema (Dutch: 1638-1708). See under X. 685, p. 235.
Perhaps the best rendering of a Dutch village in the
Gallery beautiful alike in its general effect and in the
faithful way in which every characteristic of the country is
brought out. Note the long avenue, a High Street, as it were,
of lopped trees, to lead the traveller to the village ; the bright
red roofs, suggestive already in the distance of the cheerful
cleanliness he will find ; the broad ditch on either side of the
road the land reclaimed from the water, and the water now
embanked to fertilise the land ; the neat plantations, allot-
ments it may be, each as trim and well-kept as a lawn ; and
lastly, the nursery-garden on the left, in which the gardener,
smoking, like the true Hollander, as he works, is pruning some
grafted trees.
866. A STREET IN COLOGNE.
Jan van der Heyden (Dutch : 1 637-17 1 2).
Van der Heyden (or Heyde), who has been called, from
the minute neatness of his workmanship, "the Dou of archi-
tectural painters," 1 was one of the first Dutch artists to devote
himself to that class of subject. It was a result no doubt of
the Italianising tendency of the time. " It would seem that
they required to be initiated in this style by the views of
foreign market-places and squares with which the Italianising
painters had decorated the saloons of Amsterdam, and that in
the presence of this invasion of forums and piazzas they ex-
claimed, ' Have we not streets, squares, and monuments to
paint ?' " (Havard : The Dutch School, p. 238). Of course they
had ; and no works of the time are more interesting than these
minute historical records. Here, for instance, is a view in the
background of the then unfinished tower of Cologne Cathedral,
1 Mr. Ruskin speaks of him as an artist ' ' first-rate in an inferior line "
(On the Old Road, i. 558).
U
290 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
surmounted by the old crane. The figures in the picture are
attributed to Adrian Vandevelde.
88O. ON THE SEA SHORE.
Wouwerman (Dutch : 1619-1668). See under 878, p. 292.
828. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
Karel du Jardin (Dutch : 1625-1678).
Du Jardin was a pupil of Berchem, and, like him, painted
Italian scenery. He travelled much in Italy, lived for some
time at Rome, and died in Venice. He was an industrious
engraver as well as a painter. It has been said of him that
his works are " excellent when they are not detestable," a
remark which is well exemplified in two pictures in this room.
The other one (827, p. 289) is at once vulgar in incident and
unpleasant in colour. This one has a true Italian air, and there
is a touch of almost pathetic humour in the contrast between
the cow and the woman. It is the beast that has its eyes on
the sunset and enjoys the benediction of the evening hour.
The woman is cumbered with much serving, and spins with
her back to the light.
846. THE ALCHYMIST.
Adrian van Ostade (Dutch- 1610-1685).
Adrian, who studied under Frans Hals at Haarlem, was the elder
brother of Isaac (X. 1137, p. 231). Their father was a weaver.
Under the three-legged stool is a paper on which is written
a warning of the vanity of the alchymist's labour oleum et
operam perdis : " you are wasting your cost and pains " a
warning not unjustified in a painter's mouth, for more than
one old master devoted the end of his life to the fruitless
task of making gold (e.g. Parmigiano, see IX. 33, p. 202).
The English painter, Romney, too, dabbled in alchemy when
he was a young man, and in his declining years sketched a
melodrama representing the progress of an alchymist in quest
of the philosopher's stone.
883. A BEGGAR BY THE ROADSIDE.
Jan Wynants (Dutch : 1615-1679). See under 971, p. 301.
Like others of the professed Dutch landscape painters,
Wynants did not paint his own figures. Those in this and
the next picture are attributed to A. Vandevelde.
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 291
832. A VILLAGE WITH WATERMILLS.
Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1708). See under X. 685, p. 235.
822. AN EVENING LANDSCAPE.
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under X. 53, p. 218.
Another excellent example of the hazy, drowsy effect in
which Cuyp excelled. " A brewer by trade, he feels the quiet
of a summer afternoon, and his work will make you marvel-
lously drowsy. It is good for nothing else that I know of;
strong, but unhelpful and unthoughtful. Nothing happens in
his pictures, except some indifferent persons asking the way of
somebody else, who, by their cast of countenance, seems not
likely to know it. For further entertainment, perhaps, a red
cow and a white one ; or puppies at play, not playfully ; the
man's heart not going even with the puppies. Essentially he
sees nothing but the shine on the flaps of their ears " (Modern
Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. chap. vi. 12).
867. THE FARM COTTAGE.
Adrian Vandevelde (Dutch : 1639-1672).
See under 869, p. 287.
861. A COUNTRY SCENE.
Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694). See under X. 154, p. 212.
836. A VIEW IN HOLLAND.
Philip de Koninck (Dutch : 1619-1689).
This painter is the only pupil of Rembrandt who took
exclusively to landscape painting. One may presume that his
pictures had aristocratic purchasers ; for, unlike the painters
of " pastoral landscape," he is fond of introducing persons of
distinction here it is a hawking party ; in 974, p. 298, a
carriage-and-six with outriders.
841. A FISH AND POULTRY SHOP.
Willem van Mieris (Dutch : 1662-1747).
Decidedly an "artistic" shop: notice the elaborate bas-
relief (as also in 825), with marine subjects suitable to a fish-
monger's, below the shop- window, and the handsome curtain
ready to serve as shutters. The picture is sometimes called
"The Cat," from the cat eyeing the duck whose head hangs
from the window-sill.
292 ROOM XII : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
825. A POULTERER'S SHOP.
Gerard Dou (Dutch: 1613-1675). See under X. 192, p. 252.
Notice the bas-relief below the counter: cf. 841 above.
878. "THE PRETTY MILKMAID."
Philips Wouwerman (Dutch : 1619-1668).
Wouwerman whose pictures may nearly always be told by a white
horse, which is almost his sign-manual is selected by Mr. Ruskin as
the central instance of the "hybrid school of landscape." To under-
stand this term we must recall his division of all landscape, in its relation
to human beings, into the following heads : ( I ) heroic, representing an
imaginary world inhabited by noble men and spiritual powers Titian ;
(2) classical, representing an imaginary world inhabited by perfectly
civilised men and inferior spiritual powers Poussin ; (3) pastoral,
representing peasant life in its daily work Cuyp ; (4) contemplative,
directed to observation of the powers of nature and record of historical
associations connected with landscape, contrasted with existing states of
human life Turner. The hybrid school of which Berchem and
Wouwerman are the chief representatives is that which endeavours to
unite the irreconcilable sentiment of two or more of the above-mentioned
classes. Thus here we have Wouwerman's conception of the heroic in
the officers and in the rocky landscape ; of the pastoral in the pretty
milkmaid, to whom an officer is speaking, and who gives her name to
the picture. So again the painter's desire to assemble all kinds of
pleasurable elements may be seen in the crowded composition of an
adjoining picture (879, p. 293). Wouwerman is further selected by Mr. .
Ruskin as the chief type of vulgarity in art meaning by vulgarity,
insensibility. He introduces into his pictures see, for instance, 879
every element that he thinks pleasurable, yet has not imagination
enough to enter heartily into any of them. His pleasure is " without
a gleam of higher things," and in his war-pieces there is "no heroism,
awe or mercy, hope or faith." With regard, finally, to the execution,
it is " careful and conscientious," the tone of his pictures generally
dark and gray, the figures being thrown out in spots of light l
(Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. viii.)
The picture is known after the milkmaid whom the officer
is chucking under the chin, whilst the trumpeter takes a
sarcastic pleasure, we may suppose, in sounding all the louder
the call " to arms."
855. A WATERFALL.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
1 "There is no good painting," Mr. Ruskin says of a Wouwerman at
Turin, "properly so called, anywhere, but of clever, dotty, sparkling,
telling execution, as much as the canvas will hold" (ibid. 8).
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 293
847. A VILLAGE SCENE.
Isaac -van Ostade (Dutch : 1621-1657).
See under X. 1137, p. 231.
879. THE INTERIOR OF A STABLE.
Wouwerman (Dutch : 1619-1668).
The profusion of pleasurable incident in this picture has
already been noticed (see under 878, p. 292) in connection with
Wouwerman's bent of mind ; but notice also how the crowded
composition spoils the effect of a picture as a picture. Clearly
also it will spoil the stable-keeper's business. He eyes the
coin which one of his customers is giving him with all the
discontent of a London cabman, and has no eye to spare for
the smart lady with her cavalier who are just entering the
stable. This is a good instance of what has been called
" Wouwerman's nonsense-pictures, a mere assemblage of things
to be imitated, items without a meaning " (W. B. Scott : Half-
hour Lectures on Art, p. 299).
831. THE RUINS OF BREDERODE CASTLE.
Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1708). See under X. 685, p. 235.
" Unfortunately, Hobbema has allowed some one, apparently
Wyntrank, to put a few ducks into the foreground. They are
not wanted, and the manipulation required to fit them in has
caused the lower part of the picture to darken disagreeably"
(Armstrong : Notes on the National Gallery, p. 38).
848. A SKATING SCENE.
Isaac-van Ostade (Dutch: 1621-1657). SeeunderX,<)63,p. 250.
82O. LANDSCAPE WITH RUIN.
Berchem (Dutch : 1620-1683). See under X. 240, p. 212-
881. GATHERING FAGGOTS.
Wouiverman (Dutch : 1619-1668). See under 878, p. 292.
862. THE SURPRISE.
Tenters (Flemish: 1610-1694). See under X. 154, p. 212.
Hardly an instance in which " vice itself loses half its evil
by losing all its grossness." It is a very vulgar intrigue. The
294 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
husband courts without passion ; the maid-servant " stoops to
folly " without grace ; the wife surprises the lovers without
dignity.
837. THE HAY HARVEST.
Jan Lingelbach (Dutch : 1622-1687).
Though a German by birth, Lingelbach is included amongst the
Dutch painters ; for he lived chiefly in Amsterdam, and was largely
employed in inserting the figures in the landscapes of Wynants and
others.
854. A FOREST SCENE.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
823. ON THE MEUSE.
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under X. 53, p. 218.
Notice the reflections. Cuyp "is a man of large natural
gift, and sees broadly, nay, even seriously ; finds out a
wonderful thing for men to find out in those days that there
are reflections in the water, and that boats require often to be
painted upside down " (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt ix. ch.
vi. 12).
843. BLOWING BUBBLES.
Gaspard Netscher (Dutch : 1 639-1684).
Netscher, one of the chief painters of Dutch "high life," had a
somewhat eventful career. He was born at Heidelberg, which was
then being besieged. His mother, after seeing her two elder children
die of hunger before her eyes, escaped with Gaspard through the investing
lines to Arnheim. The boy was intended for a doctor, but took to
painting and studied under Terburg. In 1659 he started on a tour to
Italy, but at Bordeaux he fell in love with a girl from Liege, whom he
married. He settled at Bordeaux, but his pictures, such as this, which
are now so much valued, then brought him but slight remuneration.
He returned to Holland, and was there rapidly acquiring fame, when he
died at the age of forty-five.
863. THE RICH MAN IN HELL.
Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694). See under X. 154, p. 212.
The sequel to the story of Dives and Lazarus. " And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the
angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, and was
buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments "
(Luke xvi. 22, 23).
ROOM XII : DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 295
951. THE GAME OF BOWLS.
David Temers, the elder (Flemish : 1582-1649).
This artist is less memorable for his own works, which are mediocre,
than as the founder of a family of painters (see Wauters : The Flemish
School, p. 299), and the father of the celebrated David Teniers (the
younger). He was a member of the Antwerp Guild of Painters, but
spent ten years at Rome.
1003. DEAD PARTRIDGES AND OTHER BIRDS.
Jan Fyt (Flemish : 1609-1661).
957. GOATHERDS.
Jan Both (Dutch : 1610-1662). See under X. 956, p. 217.
997. SCOURING THE KETTLE.
Godfried Schalcken (Dutch : 1643-1706).
See under X. 199, p. 252.
964. A RIVER SCENE.
Jan van der Cappelle (Dutch : painted about 1650-1680).
See under 865, p. 285.
962. DORT (THE "SMALL DORT").
961. DORT (THE "LARGE DORT").
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under X. 53, p. 218.
2O5. ITINERANT MUSICIANS.
/. W, E. Dietrich (German : 1712-1774).
1OO6. HURDY-GURDY.
Berchem (Dutch : 1620-1683). See under X. 240, p. 212.
Berchem, as we have seen, was an " Italianiser," and here
introduces us to one of the exports of that country
Far from England, in the sunny
South, where Anio leaps in foam,
Thou wast reared, till lack of money
Drew thee from thy vine-clad home.
CALVERLEY : Fly Leaves.
965. RIVER SCENE WITH STATE BARGE.
Jan van der Cappelle (Dutch : painted about 1650-1680).
See under 865, p. 285.
296 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
949. LANDSCAPE WITH GIPSIES.
David Tenters, the elder (Flemish : 1582-1649).
See under 951, p. 295.
984. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
Adrian Vandevelde (Dutch : 1639-1672).
See under 869, p. 287.
977. A SEA PIECE.
Willem Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707).
See under X. 150, p. 215.
1O1O. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE.
Dirk van Delen (Dutch: about 1607-1670).
A picture by a very rare master interesting to students of the
history of architectural taste. In 992, p. 297, we are shown the
struggle between the old Gothic style and the new Renaissance
architecture ; here we see the full victory of the latter. Dirk
van Delen lived at Arnemuyden in Zeeland, of which town he
was burgomaster, and it is curious to see how completely the
Italian style had taken possession of him. He will not be
defrauded, even by considerations of distance, of any of his
details, and every statue and ornament is shown us as minutely
as if it were on the level of the eye. The classical style has
pervaded too the fountain : note the gilt bronze group of
Hercules and the Hydra.
953. THE TOPER.
David Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694).
See under X. 154, p. 212.
968. THE PAINTER'S WIFE.
Gerard Dou (Dutch : 1613-1675). See under X. 192,^252.
999. BY CANDLE LIGHT.
Godfried Schalcken ( D utch : 1643-1706).
See under X. 199, p. 252.
798. CARDINAL RICHELIEU.
Philippe de Champaigne (French : 16021674).
This picture was painted for the Roman sculptor Mocchi to
make a bust from, hence the two profiles as well as the full
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 297
face. Over the profile on the right are the words (in French),
"of the two profiles this is the better." In this profile
the compressed lips, the merciless eyes, the iron -gray hair
and prominent nose bespeak the great Cardinal Minister of
Louis XIII., and the maker of France, who summed up his
policy and his character in the words, " I venture on nothing
without first thinking it out ; but once decided, I go straight
to my point, overthrow or cut down whatever stands in my way,
and finally cover it all up with my cardinal's red robes." In
the full face one sees rather the man who was also a princely
patron of the arts and artists (of De Champaigne amongst their
number), and the founder of the French Academy.
993. A LANDSCAPE.
Jan van der Heyden (Dutch : 16371712).
See under 866, p. 289.
991. THE BROKEN TREE.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
992. ARCHITECTURAL SCENE.
Jan van der Heyden (Dutch : 1637-1712).
See under 866, p. 289.
Classic v. Gothic. An interesting picture of the architect-
ural tendency of the time the classical Palladian architecture
of stone rising over the ruins of the red brick Gothic of earlier
times. The same mixture of the old and the new in juxta-
position not altogether unlike what is here represented may
be seen in the town of Abingdon (Berks), where Inigo Jones's
market-hall, built about the time of this picture, towers above
the red bricks of the humbler and earlier styles.
1017. A WOODY LANDSCAPE.
Unknown (Flemish: dated 1622).
" The landscape is probably by Josse Mompers " (Official
Catalogue), an Antwerp artist who lived 1564-1635.
978. A RIVER SCENE.
Willem Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707).
See under X. 150, p. 215.
A state barge in the centre ; trumpeters sounding a salute
on either side in other vessels.
298 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
982. A FOREST SCENE.
Adrian Vandevelde (Dutch : 1639-1672).
See under 869, p. 287.
980. DUTCH SHIPS OF WAR.
Willem Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707).
See under X. 150, p. 215.
950. VILLAGE GOSSIPS.
David Tenters, the elder (Flemish : 1609-1661).
See under 951, p. 295.
979. A STIFF BREEZE.
Willem Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1707).
See under X. 150, p. 215.
973. SAND BANK.
Jan Wynants (Dutch : 1615-1679).
See under 971, p. 301.
975. THE STAG HUNT
Wouwerman (Dutch: 1619-1668). See under 878, p. 292.
970. THE DROWSY LANDLADY.
Gabriel Metsu (Dutch: born 1630, died after 1667).
See under 839, p. 285.
O sleep ! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole.
983. A BAY HORSE.
Adrian Vandevelde (Dutch : 1639-1672). See under 869, p. 287.
974. DISTANT VIEW OF ANTWERP CATHEDRAL.
Philip de Koninck ( D utch : 1619-1689).^ under 8 3 6, p. 2 9 1 .
43. CHRIST TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under X. 672, p. 223.
A sketch for a composition which Rembrandt etched and
also drew (see in the British Museum).
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 299
159. THE DUTCH HOUSEWIFE.
Nicolas Maas (Dutch : 1 632-1693). See under X. 207, p. 234.
"There are few pictures in the National Gallery," says
C. R. Leslie {Handbook for Young Painters, p. 243), " before
which I find myself more often standing than at this." Its
great attraction, he adds, is "the delight of seeing a trait of
childhood we have often observed and been amused with in
nature, for the first time so felicitously given by art." The
Dutch housewife sits intently engaged in scraping a parsnip,
whilst the child stands by her side " watching the process, as
children will stand and watch the most ordinary operations,
with an intensity of interest, as if the very existence of the
whole world depended on the exact manner in which that
parsnip was scraped."
995. A WOODY LANDSCAPE.
Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1709). See under X. 685, p. 235.
988. AN OLD OAK.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
153. THE LITTLE NURSE.
Nicolas Maas (Dutch : 1632-1693). See under X. 207, p. 234.
In this nursery of yours,
Little sister, little brother,
Are you gentle, are you good,
Do you love one another ?
JANE TAYLOR.
967. DUTCH SHIPPING.
966. A RIVER SCENE.
Jan van der Cappelle (Dutch : painted about 1650-1680).
See under 865, p. 285.
1O13. GEESE AND DUCKS.
Hondecoeter (Dutch : 1636-1695). See under X. 202, p. 212.
99O. A WOODED PROSPECT.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
300 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
987. A ROCKY TORRENT.
Ruysdael (Dutch : 1625-1682). See under X. 628, p. 236.
952. THE VILLAGE F^TE.
David Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694).
See under X. 154, p. 212.
A "bank holiday" scene in drab with a good deal of
beer, and a little fighting, and penny flags : surely the world
is much the same all the world over. A very minute and care-
fully done picture too ; and it is all the more interesting
therefore to notice (for the fact can hardly not have been inten-
tional) that amongst all the village folk here assembled, there is
hardly one pretty or happy face. Rather "A mark in every
face I meet, Marks of weakness, marks of woe." In the fore-
ground are Teniers and his party, with his little boy leading a
greyhound, and the girl of this party is almost the only pleasant
face in the picture. The painter, one begins to suspect, had
not much real sympathy with his " village scenes " after all ;
and perhaps the demand for such scenes on the part of his
aristocratic patrons was only a kind of vicarious " slumming "
an anticipation of the fashionable craze of a later age.
96O. THE WINDMILLS.
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under X. 53, p. 218.
958. OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF ROME.
Jan Both (Dutch : 1610-1662). See under X. 956, p. 217.
976. A BATTLE.
Wouiverman (Dutch : 1619-1668). See under 878, p. 292.
In Wouwerman's battle-pieces, says Mr. Ruskin, there is
" nothing but animal rage and cowardice " with which he con-
trasts the noble battle-piece by Paolo Uccello (see 1 1 1. 5 8 3, p. 53).
" It is very singular," he adds, " that unmitigated expressions
of cowardice in battle should be given by the painters of so
brave a nation as the Dutch. Not but that it is possible
enough for a coward to be stubborn, and a brave man weak ;
the one may win his battle by a blind persistence, and the
other lose it by a thoughtful vacillation. Nevertheless, the
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 301
want of all expression of resoluteness in Dutch battle-pieces
remains, for the present, a mystery to me. In those of
Wouwerman, it is only a natural development of his perfect
vulgarity in all respects " (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch.
viii. 8-10).
959. A RIVER SCENE.
Jan Both (Dutch : 1610-1662). See under X. 956, p. 217.
1OO5. PLOUGHING.
Berchem (Dutch : 1620-1683). See under X. 240, p. 212.
971. A LANDSCAPE.
Jan Wynants (Dutch : 1615-1679).
Spelt also Wijnants. He was probably born about the year 1615,
as his earliest pictures bear the dates 1641 and 1642. He was still
living in 1679, as one of his paintings in the Hermitage of St.
Petersburg bears that date. In October 1642 the registers of St.
Luke's Guild at Haarlem mention a Jan Wijnants as dealer in works of
art ; this probably refers to the painter.
" Wijnants painted only landscapes. He looked at nature, so to
speak, through a diminishing glass. A sandy bank (see 973, p. 298) is
introduced in the foreground of most of his pictures. Wouwerman,
Adrian Vandevelde, and Lingelbach painted the figures in his land-
scapes" (Richter : Dulwich Catalogue, pp. 185, 186).
211. A BATTLE-PIECE.
Johan van Huchtenburgh (Dutch : 1646-1733).
For some remarks on a similar Dutch battle-piece, see under
976, p. 300.
877. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
Van Dyck (Flemish : 1599-1641). See under X. 49, p. 226.
The portrait of an artist and a man of refinement. Notice
especially the long, tapering fingers delicate almost to the
point of feminineness. They are very characteristic of Van
Dyck's work, who, indeed, drew all his hands from one model :
the same delicate fingers may be seen in the so-called " por-
trait of Rubens " (X. 49, p. 226). In giving this delicacy to all
sitters Van Dyck fell no doubt into mannerism ; in giving it to
302 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
great artists such as himself he was entirely right. Palmistry
assigns fine, tapering fingers to " artistic temperament," and
rightly, for fine fingers are necessary for fine work. " The art
of painting, properly so called, consists in laying on the least
possible colour that will produce the required result ; and this
measurement, in all the ultimate that is to say the principal
operations of colouring, is so delicate that not one human
hand in a million has the required lightness" (Two Paths,
Appendix iv., where much interesting matter on this subject will
be found).
1009. THE OLD GRAY HUNTER.
Paul Potter (Dutch : 1625-1654). See also 849, p. 287.
969. A FROST SCENE.
Aart van der Neer (D utch : 1619-1 690).
See under X. 152, p. 223.
972. A LANDSCAPE.
Jan Wynants (Dutch : 1615-1679). See under 971, p. 301.
SCREEN I
821. A FAMILY GROUP.
Gonzales Cogues (Flemish : 1614-1684).
A characteristic work of " the little Van Dyck " (see under
X. ion, p. 256). Notice the youngest child in the go-cart,
which is being pushed by another of the children, whilst the
oldest sister, as befits her years, is playing the guitar. And
the little dogs, as befits them, are sporting in front. It is
pretty of the painter or his sitters to include them in the family
group.
844. MATERNAL INSTRUCTION.
Netscher (Dutch : 1639-1684). See under 843, p. 294.
Notice in the background, over a cupboard, hanging in a
black frame, a small copy of Rubens's " Brazen Serpent," now
in this collection (X. 59, p. 240).
ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS 303
845. A LADY AT A SPINNING WHEEL.
Netscher (Dutch : 1639-1684). See under 843, p. 294
84O. A LADY FEEDING A PARROT.
Frans van Mien's (Dutch : 1635-1681).
This painter, the son of a goldsmith and the pupil of Gerard Dou,
is known as "Old Franz," to distinguish him from his grandson of
that name, who, like his son William (see 841, p. 291), was also a
painter.
824. A RUINED CASTLE.
Cuyp (Dutch : 1605-1691). See under X. 53, p. 218
838. THE DUET.
Gabriel Metsu (Dutch: born 1630, died after 1667).
See under 839, p. 285.
SCREEN II
875. A LIGHT BREEZE.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1 707). See under X. 1 50, p. 2 1 5.
Two doggers in the foreground ; behind one of them, a
Dutch frigate.
857, 858, 859, 86O. SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN,
WINTER.
Tenters (Flemish : 1610-1694). See under X. 154, p. 212.
Very interesting little pictures, as characteristic of the entire
want of poetry in Teniers's art. Compare Mantegna's. version of
Summer and Autumn (VIII. 1125, p. 187), or recall Botticelli's
lovely vision of Spring at Florence, and one sees in a moment
the difference in art between poetical imagination and vulgarity.
To Teniers, Spring " the sweet spring, the year's pleasant
king " is only a man carrying a flower-pot. Summer " all
the sweet season of summertide " suggests nothing but a man
holding a wheat- sheaf. Autumn "season of mists and
mellow fruitfulness " brings him only a first glass of wine ;
and Winter " white winter, rough nurse, that rocks the dead
cold year " only a second.
304 ROOM XII: DUTCH AND FLEMISH SCHOOLS
850. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Rembrandt (Dutch : 1607-1669). See under X. 672, p. 223.
Notice the typical " Rembrandt collar."
874. A CALM AT SEA.
W. Vandevelde (Dutch : 1633-1 707). See underX. i 50, p. 2 1 5.
A Dutch frigate and a small English cutter becalmed.
ROOM XIII
THE LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
" THE sixteenth century closed, like a grave, over the great art of the
world. There is no entirely sincere or great art in the seventeenth
century " (RusKiN : Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii.
20).
" THE eclectic schools endeavoured to unite opposite partialities
and weaknesses. They trained themselves under masters of
exaggeration, and tried to unite opposite exaggerations. That
was impossible. They did not see that the only possible
eclecticism had been already accomplished ; the eclecticism of
temperance, which, by the restraint of force, gains higher force ;
and by the self-denial of delight, gains higher delight " (RUSKIN :
Two Paths, 59).
WE now come to works representative of the decay of the
various schools which we have already surveyed exhibited
not, as is the case in many continental galleries, side by
side with works of the golden age of Italian art, but hung
together in a room devoted to its decadence. It is in-
teresting to notice that the lower repute in which these
painters are now held is of comparatively recent date.
Poussin, for instance, ranked Domenichino next to Raphael,
and preferred the works of the Carracci to all others in
Rome, except only Raphael's, and Sir Joshua Reynolds
cited them as models of perfection. Why, then, is it that
x
3o6 ROOM X III: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
modern criticism stamps the later Italian Schools as schools
of the decadence? To examine the pictures themselves
and to compare them with earlier works is the best way of
finding out ; but a few general remarks may be found of
assistance. The painting of the schools now under consider-
ation was " not spontaneous art. It was art mechanically
revived during a period of critical hesitancy and declining
enthusiasms." It was largely produced at Bologna by men
not eminently gifted for the arts. When Ludovico Carracci,
for instance, went to Venice, the veteran Tintoretto warned
him that he had no vocation. Moreover "the painting
which emerged there at the close of the sixteenth century
embodied religion and culture, both of a base alloy. . . .
Therefore, though the painters went on painting the old sub-
jects, they painted all alike with frigid superficiality. If we
examine the list of pictures turned out by them, we shall
find a pretty equal quantity of saints and Susannahs, . . .
Jehovahsand Jupiters, . . . cherubs and cupids. . . . No-
thing new or vital, fanciful or imaginative, has been breathed
into antique mythology. What has been added to religious
expression is repellent, . . . extravagantly ideal in ecstatic
Magdalens and Maries, extravagantly realistic in martyrdoms
and torments, extravagantly harsh in dogmatic mysteries,
extravagantly soft in sentimental tenderness and tearful piety.
... If we turn from the ideas of the late Italian painters to
their execution, we shall find similar reasons for its failure
to delight or satisfy. Their ambition was to combine in one
the salient qualities of several earlier masters. This ambition
doomed their style to the sterility of hybrids " (Symonds, vii.
403). For it must be observed that "all these old eclectic
theories were based not upon an endeavour to unite the
various characters of nature (which it is possible to do), but
the various narrownesses of taste, which it is impossible to
do. . . . All these specialities have their own charm in their
own way ; and there are times when the particular humour of
each man is refreshing to us from its very distinctness ; but
the effort to add any other qualities to this refreshing one in-
stantly takes away the distinctiveness " (Two Paths, 58). It
was not an attempt to unite the various characters of nature.
ROOM XII I: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 307
On the contrary, " these painters, in selecting, omitted just
those features which had given grace and character to their
models. The substitution of generic types for portraiture,
the avoidance of individuality, the contempt for what is
simple and natural in details, deprived their work of attract-
iveness and suggestion. It is noticeable that they never
painted flowers. While studying Titian's landscapes, they
omitted the iris and the caper-blossom and the columbine,
which star the grass beneath Ariadne's feet. . . . They be-
gan the false system of depicting ideal foliage and ideal
precipices that is to say, trees which are not trees, and
cliffs which cannot be distinguished from cork or stucco.
In like manner, the clothes wherewith they clad their
personages were not of brocade, or satin, or broadcloth,
but of that empty lie called drapery . . . one monstrous
nondescript stuff, differently dyed in dull or glaring colours,
but always shoddy. Characteristic costumes have dis-
appeared. . . . After the same fashion furniture, utensils,
houses, animals, birds, weapons, are idealised stripped,
that is to say, of what in these things is specific and vital " 1
(Symonds, vii. 405).
With regard to the historical development of the
declining art whose general characteristics we have been
discussing, it is usual to group the painters under three
heads the Mannerists, the Eclectics, and the Naturalists.
By the first of these are meant the painters in the several
schools who succeeded the culminating masters and imitated
their peculiarities. We have already noticed, under the
Florentine School (see p. 9), how this "mannerism" set
in, and all the other schools show a like process. .Thus
Giulio Romano shows the dramatic energy of Raphael and
Michael Angelo passed into mannerism. Tiepolo is a
" mannerised " Paolo Veronese, Baroccio a " mannerised "
Correggio. Later on, however, and largely under the
1 It was this false striving after ' ' the ideal, " as Mr. Symonds points
out (pp. 406, 407), that caused Reynolds, with his obsolete doctrine about
the nature of "the grand style," to admire the Bolognese masters. For
Reynolds's statement of his doctrine see his Discourses, ii. and iii. , and
his papers in the Idler (Nos. 79 and 82) ; for Mr. Ruskin's destructive
criticism of it, see Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. i.-iii.
308 ROOM XII I: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
influence of the "counter -Reformation" the renewed
activity, that is, of the Roman church consequent on the
Reformation, a reaction against the Mannerists set in.
This reaction took two forms. The first was that of the
Eclectic School founded by the Carraccis at Bologna in
about the year 1580. This school so called from its
principle of " selecting " the qualities of different schools -
includes, besides the Carraccis themselves, Guido Reni, Dom-
enichino, Sassoferrato, and Guercino. The last-mentioned,
however, combined in some measure the aims both of the
Eclectics and of the other school which was formed in protest
against the Mannerists. This was the school of the so-
called Naturalists, of whom Caravaggio (1569-1609) was the
first representative, and whose influence may be traced in
the Spanish Ribera (see Room XV.) and the Neapolitan
Salvator Rosa. They called themselves " Naturalists," as
being opposed to the " ideal " aims alike of the Mannerists
and the Eclectics ; but they made the fatal mistake a
mistake which seems to have a permanent hold on a certain
order of minds, for it is at the root of much of the art-
effort of our own day that there is something more " real "
and " natural " in the vulgarities of human life than in its
nobleness, and in the ugliness of nature than in its beauty
(see below under 172, p. 327, and under Salvator Rosa
passim).
228. CHRIST AND THE MONEY CHANGERS.
Bassano (Venetian : 1510-1592). See under VII. 277, p. 151.
Christ is driving out from the House of Prayer all those who
had made it a den of thieves money-changers, dealers in
cattle,- sheep, goats, birds, etc. A subject which lent itself con-
veniently to Bassano's characteristic genre style.
93. SILENUS GATHERING GRAPES.
Annibale Ca.rra.cti (Eclectic-Bologna : 15601609).
Annibale Carracci, younger brother of Agostino and cousin of
Ludovico, was one of the three masters of the Eclectic School at
Bologna. He was the son of a tailor and was intended for the business,
but went off to study art under Ludovico. After studying at Parma
and Venice he returned to Bologna, but left in 1600 to paint by com-
mission in the Farnese Palace at Rome where " he was received and
ROOM XIII : LA TER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 309
treated as a gentleman," we are told, "and was granted the usual table
allowance of a courtier." This was thought worthy of remark, for he
was boorish in his manner, fond of low society and eaten up with
jealousy.
Silenus in a leopard skin, the nurse and preceptor of
Bacchus, the wine-god, is being hoisted by two attendant fauns
so that with his own hands he may pick the grapes. This and
the companion picture, 94, originally decorated a harpsichord.
94. BACCHUS PLAYING TO SILENUS. 1
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 1 560-1609).
A clever picture of contrasts. The old preceptor is leering
and pampered, yet with something of a schoolmaster's gravity,
"half inclining to the brute, half conscious of the god."
The young pupil like the shepherd boy in Sidney's Arcadia,
" piping as though he should never be old " is " full of simple
careless grace, laughing in youth and beauty ; he holds the
Pan's pipe in both hands, and looks up with timid wonder,
with an expression of mingled delight and surprise at the
sounds he produces " (Hazlitt : Criticisms upon Art, p. 6).
624. THE INFANCY OF JUPITER.
Giulio Romano (Roman : 1498-1546).
Giulio Pippi, called " the Roman," was born at Rome and was
Raphael's favourite pupil ; to him Raphael bequeathed his implements
and works of art. But the master could not also bequeath his spirit,
and in Giulio's works (such as 643 and 644, pp. 326, 330, which, how-
ever, are now attributed to a pupil), though " the archaeology is admir-
able, the movements of the actors are affected and forced, and the whole
result is a grievous example of the mannerism already beginning to
prevail " (Woltmann and Woermann : History of Painting, ii. 562).
"Raphael worked out the mine of his own thought so thoroughly, so
completely exhausted the motives of his invention, and carried his
style to such perfection, that he left nothing unused for his followers.
... In the Roman manner the dramatic element was conspicuous ;
and to carry dramatic painting beyond the limits of good style in
art is unfortunately easy. . . . For all the higher purposes of
genuine art, inspiration passed from his pupils as colour fades from
1 Authorities differ between this title and ' ' Pan teaching Apollo to play
on the Pipes." Certainly there is the " Pan's pipe," but then if it is Pan
he ought to have goats' legs and horns. The fact that the picture is a com-
panion to ' ' Silenus gathering Grapes" makes also in favour of the description
given in the text above.
3io ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
Eastern clouds at sunset, suddenly " (Symonds, Hi. 490, 491). In 1523
Giulio entered the service of the Duke of Mantua, and besides execut-
ing a very large number of works in oil and fresco, he was distinguished
as an architect and rebuilt nearly the whole town. Vasari made his
acquaintance there and admired his works so much that Giulio deserved,
he said, to see a statue of himself erected at every corner of the city.
An illustration of the classic myth of the infancy of Jupiter,
who was born in Crete and hidden by his mother, Rhea, in
order to save him from his father Saturn (" all-devouring
Time "), who used to devour his sons as soon as they were born,
from fear of the prophecy that one of them would dethrone
him. In the background are the Curetes " who, as the story
is, erst drowned in Crete that infant cry of Jove, when the
young band about the babe in rapid dance, arms in hand to
measured tread, beat brass on brass, that Saturn might not get
him to consign to his devouring jaws " (Lucretius, Munro's
translation, ii. 629). 1
136. LANDSCAPE WITH RUINS.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See undergo, p. 316.
The artist, " disgusted with his first profession (of scene
painter), removed," we are told, " while still young to Rome,
where he wholly devoted himself to drawing views from nature,
and in particular from ancient ruins " (Lanzt, ii. 3 1 7). This
is no doubt one of the results. There is something effective
in the sculptured lion who sits sedate among the ruins some-
thing of the idea expressed by the Persian poet
They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep.
1054. A VIEW IN VENICE.
Francesco Guardi (Venetian : 171 2-1793).
Guard! was a scholar and imitator of Canaletto.
An interesting record of Venetian costume notice the
crinolines and the big wigs a hundred years ago.
1 S. Palmer, the artist, and friend of William Blake, wrote of this pic-
ture, ' ' By the bye, if you want to see a picture bound by a splendid
imagination upon the fine, firm, old philosophy, do go and look at the
Julio Romano (Nursing of Jupiter) in the National Gallery. That is pre-
cisely the picture Blake would have revelled in. I think I hear him say, As
fine as possible, Sir 1 It is not permitted to man to do better I ' " (Memoir
of Anne Gilchrist, p. 59).
ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 311
1157. THE NATIVITY.
Bernardo Cavallino (Neapolitan : 1622-1654).
A very unpleasing picture by a pupil of Stanzioni (who was
a rival of Spagnoletto).
48. TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL.
Domenichino (Eclectic-Bologna : 1581-1641).
Domenico Zampieri was a scholar of the Carraccis. Like Agostino,
he was invited to Naples, and like him incurred the hostility of the
trade unionism of the Neapolitan painters. The notorious triumvirate
of these painters, the " Cabal of Naples," were suspected of causing
his death. At Rome also, where, he worked for some years, he was
much persecuted by rival artists. Accusations of plagiarism were
levelled at him, and his more pushing competitors "decried him to
such a degree that he was long destitute of all commissions." It is
interesting to contrast the conditions of (literally) "cut-throat compe-
tition," under which the Italian painters of the decadence worked, with
the Guild System of the Flemish (see p. 260), and the honourable time
and piece work of the earlier Italians.
For the story of Tobias and the angel see I. 781, p. 17.
22. ANGELS WEEPING OVER THE DEAD CHRIST.
Guerdno (Eclectic-Bologna: 1591-1666).
An interesting work by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called
Guercino, the Squintling, from an accident which distorted his
right eye in babyhood. He attained to much fame and wealth
in his day ; but was self-taught, and the son of humble parents,
his father being a wood-carrier, and agreeing to pay for his
son's education by a load of grain and a vat of grapes
delivered yearly. In art-history Guercino is interesting as
showing the blending of the Eclectic style of the Carraccis with
the Naturalistic style of Caravaggio. In the motives of his
picture one sees reflected the Catholic revival of his day,
" the Christianity of the age was not naive, simple, sincere,
and popular ; but hysterical, dogmatic, hypocritical, and
sacerdotal. It was not Christianity indeed, but Catholicism
galvanised by terror into reactionary movement " (Symonds,
vii. 403). A comparison even of this little picture in its some-
what morbid sentiment with such an one as Crivelli's VIII.
602, p. 1 80 with its deeper because simpler feeling well
illustrates the nature of the change.
3t2 ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
214. CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.
Guido (Eclectic-Bologna : 1 57 5-1642). See under 196, p. 321.
In pictures of this subject two distinct conceptions may be
noticed. In some the coronation of the Virgin is, as it were,
dramatic ; the subject is represented, that is to say, as the
closing act in the life of the Virgin, and saints and disciples
appear in the foreground as witnesses on earth of her corona-
tion in heaven. 1155 in Room II. p. 47 is a good instance of
this treatment. This picture, on the other hand, shows the
mystical treatment of the subject the coronation of the
Virgin being the accepted type of the Church triumphant.
The scene is laid entirely in heaven, and the only actors are
the angels of the heavenly host. Notice the carefully sym-
metrical arrangement of the whole composition, as well as the
charming faces of many of the angel chorus.
198. THE TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY.
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : i 560-1609).
See under 93, p. 308.
The legend of the temptation of St. Anthony, here realisti-
cally set forth, is the story of the temptations that beset the as-
cetic. In the wilderness, brooding over sin, he is tempted ; it is
only when he returns to the world and goes about doing good
that the temptations cease to trouble him. St. Anthony lived,
like Faust, the life of a recluse and a visionary, and like him
was tempted of the devil. ' Seeing that wicked suggestions
availed not, Satan raised up in his sight (again like
Mephistopheles in Faust) the sensible images of forbidden
things. He clothed his demons in human forms ; they hovered
round him in the shape of beautiful women, who, with the
softest blandishments, allured him to sin." The saint in his
distress resolved to flee yet farther from the world ; but it is
not so that evil can be conquered, and still " spirits in hideous
forms pressed round him in crowds, scourged him and tore him
with their talons all shapes of horror, ' worse than fancy ever
feigned or fear conceived,' came roaring, howling, hissing,
shrieking in his ears." In the midst of all this terror a vision
of help from on high shone upon him ; the evil phantoms
vanished, and he arose unhurt and strong to endure. But it
is characteristic of the love of horror in the Bolognese School
that in Carracci's picture the celestial vision does not dissolve
ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 313
the terrors. Nay, the pointing and sprawling angels in attend-
ance on the Saviour seem themselves to be part of the same
horrid nightmare.
160. A "RIPOSO."
Pietro Francesco Mola (Eclectic-Bologna : 16121668).
Mola, a native of Milan, and the son of an architect, studied first
at Rome and Venice, but afterwards at Bologna returning ultimately
to Rome, where he held the office of President of the Academy of St.
Luke.
The Italians gave this title to the subject of the Holy
Family resting on the way in their flight to Egypt, " the
angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying,
Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into
Egypt."
11. ST. JEROME IN THE WILDERNESS.
#zV/<9 (Eclectic-Bologna : 1575-1642). See under 196, p. 321.
For St. Jerome, see II. 227, p. 41.
936. THE FARNESE THEATRE, PARMA.
Ferdinando Bibiena (Bolognese : 1657-1743).
A scene in the theatre with Othello being played. The pit
is unseated : it is a kind of " promenade play."
942. ETON COLLEGE.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
Painted during the artist's English visit, 1746-1748, perhaps
in the same year (1747) that Gray published his well-known
ode
Ye distant spires, ye antique towers
That crown the watery glade,
Where grateful Science still adores
Her Henry's holy shade.
1192, 1193. SKETCHES FOR ALTAR-PIECES.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venetian : 1696-1770).
" Touched in with all the brilliant, flashing, dexterous
bravura of the last of the rear-guard of the Venetians. The
pictorial art of Venice finished with Tiepolo, and it seemed as
if he was resolved it should not die ignominiously, for in spirit
and gaiety he was little inferior to Veronese himself. He had
not the stronger qualities of his model ; Veronese's grasp of
314 ROOM XIII: LATER H^ALIAN SCHOOLS
character, his air of nobility, his profound and imaginative har-
monies of colour are wanting in the eighteenth century painter.
It must be confessed also that the graces of the latter are too
obviously borrowed ; he has caught the trick of Veronese rather
than assimilated his style. The two pictures recently added
to the Gallery are compositions of four or five figures each,
representing bishops and saints, with attendant boys and the
usual child-angels in the clouds. The manipulation indicates
a full brush and fluent colour. Tiepolo required a large
canvas to display his skilful handling to the best advantage "
(Times, December 22, 1885).
1100. A SCENE IN A PLAY.
Pietro Longhi (Venetian : 1702-1762).
Pietro Longhi, who studied in Bologna, but afterwards settled in
his native Venice, has been called "the Italian Hogarth," but he is
greatly inferior in every respect to that painter. Moreover he was not
a satirist like Hogarth, and there is more truth in the description of
him as "the Goldoni of painters" Goldoni, the popular playwright,
with whom Longhi was nearly contemporary, and who, like him, just
reflects " the shade and shine of common life, nor renders as it rolls
grandeur and gloom."
The engraved portrait on the wall is inscribed " Gerardo
Sagredo di Morei," and perhaps the picture is a group of the
Sagredo family, in whose palace in Venice Longhi is known
to have worked. The family preferred, perhaps, to be taken
in the characters of a scene in a play of Goldoni's or some
other popular writer just as in the " Vicar of Wakefield "
they resolved to be drawn together, in one large historical
piece. " This would be cheaper, since one frame would serve
for all, and it would be infinitely more genteel ; for all families
of any taste were now drawn in the same manner."
935. A RIVER SCENE.
Salvator Rosa (Neapolitan : 1615-1673).
See under 1206, p. 317.
937. VENICE: SCUOLA DI SAN ROCCO.
Canaletto 1 (Venetian : 1 697-1 768). See under 939, p. 316.
The principal building is the Scuola of the religious
fraternity of St. Roch " an interesting building of the early
1 The figures are by Tiepolo (see above under 1192, p. 313).
ROOM XII I: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 315
Renaissance (i 517), passing into Roman Renaissance," and,
" as regards the pictures it contains (by Tintoret), one of the
three most precious buildings in Italy" (Stones of Venice,
Venetian Index). From the adjoining Church of St Roch,
the Holy Thursday procession of the Doges and Officers of
State, together with the members of the Fraternity, is advancing
under an awning on its way to St. Mark's. Notice the carpets
hung out of the windows a standing feature, this, in Venetian
gala decorations from very early times (see, for instance, VIII.
739, p. I84). 1 Notice, also, the pictures displayed in the open
air a feature which well illustrates the difference between the
later " easel pictures " and the earlier pictures intended to serve
as architectural decorations. "A glance at this picture is
sufficient to show how utterly the ordinary oil painting fails when
employed as an architectural embellishment. Pictures which
were to adorn and form part of a building had to consist of
figures, separated one from another, all standing in simple and
restful attitudes, and all plainly relieved against a light
ground" ( Con way : Early Flemish Artists, p. 270). Apart
from one of the conditions of early art thus suggested, the
picture is interesting as showing how in the eighteenth century
in Italy, as in the thirteenth, art was part and parcel of the life
of the people. Cimabue's pictures were carried in procession ;
and here in Canaletto's we see Venetian " old masters " hung
out to assist in the popular rejoicing.
94O. See below under 939, 940, p. 316.
1193. See above under 1192, p. 313.
11O1. MASKED VISITORS AT A MENAGERIE.
Pietro Longhi (Venetian : 1 702-1 762). See under 1 100, p. 3 14.
A characteristic glimpse of Venetian life a hundred years
ago. " At that time," it has been said, " perhaps people did
not amuse themselves more at Venice than elsewhere, but
they amused themselves differently. It is this seizing on
peculiarities, on local and characteristic details, that makes
Longhi's little canvasses so curious." Here he shows us two
ladies in dominoes, escorted by a cavalier, at a menagerie.
The trainer exhibits a rhinoceros to them.
1 Visitors who have been to Venice will remember that " Carpaccio
trusts for the chief splendour of any festa in cities to the patterns of the
draperies hung out of windows" (Bible of Amiens, p. 3).
316 ROOM XI11 : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
25. ST. JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS.
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : i 560-1609).
See under 93, p. 308.
" And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was
in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel " (Luke i.
80). In his left hand is the standard of the Lamb, the symbol
of his mission, for which he is preparing himself in the desert
solitude, while with his right he catches water in a cup from a
stream in the rocks, symbolical of the water by which that mis-
sion, the baptism unto repentance, was to be accomplished.
939, 940. VENICE : THE PIAZZETTA, AND THE
DUCAL PALACE.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1 768).
Antonio Canale, commonly called Canaletto, was born in Venice,
lived in Venice, and painted Venice. The numerous pictures by him in
this room should be compared at once with Turner's Venetian pictures.
It is impossible to get a more instructive instance of the different im-
pression made on different minds by the same scenes. Canaletto drew,
says one ofhis admirers (Lanzi, ii. 317), exactly as he saw. Well,
what he did see we have shown us here. What others have seen,
those who have not been to Venice can discover from Turner's pictures,
from Shelley and Byron's verse, or Ruskin's prose. " Let the reader
restore Venice in his imagination to some resemblance of what she
must have been before her fall. Let him, looking from Lido or
Fusina, replace, in the forest of towers, those of the hundred and
sixty-six churches which the French threw down ; let him sheet her
walls with purple and scarlet, overlay her minarets with gold, . . .
and fill her canals with gilded barges and bannered ships ; finally,
let him withdraw from this scene, already so brilliant, such sadness
and stain as had been set upon it by the declining energies of more
than half a century, and he will see Venice as it was seen by Canaletto
(as it might have been seen by him, Mr. Ruskin means) ; whose
miserable, virtueless, heartless mechanism, accepted as the representa-
tion of such various glory, is, both in its existence and acceptance,
among the most striking signs of the lost sensation and deadened
intellect of the nation at that time. . . . The mannerism of Canaletto
is the most degraded that I know in the whole range of art. Professing
the most servile and mindless imitation, it imitates nothing but the
blackness of the shadows ; it gives no single architectural ornament,
however near, so much form, as might enable us even to guess at its
actual one ; ... it gives the buildings neither their architectural beauty
nor their ancestral dignity, for there is no texture of stone nor character
of age in Canaletto's touch ; which is invaribly a violent, black, sharp,
ruled penmanlike line, as far removed from the grace of nature as from
ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 317
her faintness and transparency : and for his truth of colour let the
single fact of his having omitted all record whatsoever of the frescoes,
whose wrecks are still to be found at least on one half of the unrestored
palaces, and, with still less excusableness, all record of the magnificent
coloured marbles" (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 30).
Stated in the fewest words, the difference between Canaletto and the
others is this : To Canaletto Venice was a city of murky shadows, to them
it is a city of enchanted colour. But his pictures satisfied the taste of his
time, as the great number of them still extant testifies. Moreover his
fame extended beyond his own country. There was an English resident
at Venice who engaged Canaletto (who started in life at his father's pro-
fession, that of scene painter) to work for him at low prices, and then
used to retail the pictures at an enormous profit to English travellers.
At last Canaletto came to England himself, and was given many com-
missions ; but after two years he returned to Venice, as it was still
Venetian pictures that his patrons wanted. How completely the public
taste has now changed is shown by the fact that the Venice of all the
most popular painters to-day, of whatever nation, is the Venice of
Ruskin and Turner. Canaletto's pictures, however, will always possess
one element of interest, apart from any fluctuations in taste. Within
his limits they are historical records of the appearance of Venice in
his time ; and as more and more of the old Venice is destroyed,
Canaletto's pictures will increase in interest.
Canaletto's representation of the central spot of Venice. In
939 is the Piazzetta, the little Piazza or square, in front the
church of St. Mark, with its bell towers ; on the left are the mint
and library ; on the right is the ducal palace. This appears
again in 940, with the famous column of St. Mark, patron
saint of Venice, while beyond it is the Ponte della Paglia,
the Bridge of Straw, " so called because the boats which
brought straw from the mainland used to sell it at this place,"
the prisons, and the Riva degli Schiavoni the chief quay in
Venice, called after the Sclavonian (or Dalmatian) settlers.
12O6. LANDSCAPE AND FIGURES.
Salvator Rosa (Neapolitan : 1 6 1 5-1673).
There is perhaps no painter whose life is more accurately reflected in
his work than Salvator. Look for a moment at 84 on the next wall,
p. 322. Conspicuous in that picture are a withered tree on the right
and a withered tree on the left : they are typical of the painter's
blasted life, and "indignant, desolate, and degraded art." He was
born near Naples, the son of an architect and land-surveyor. In early
youth he forsook his fathers business and began secretly to learn painting.
At seventeen his father died, and Salvator, being one of a large and poor
family, was thrown on his own resources. He " cast himself carelessly
318 ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
on the current of life. No rectitude of ledger-lines stood in his way ;
no tender precision of household customs ; no calm successions of rural
labour. But past his half- starved lips rolled profusion of pitiless
wealth ; before him glared and swept the troops of shameless pleasure.
Above him muttered Vesuvius ; beneath his feet shook the Solfatara.
In heart disdainful, in temper adventurous ; conscious of power, im-
patient of labour, and yet more of the pride of the patrons of his youth,
he fled to the Calabrian hills, seeking, not knowledge, but freedom.
If he was to be surrounded by cruelty and deceit, let them at least be
those of brave men or savage beasts, not of the timorous and the con-
temptible. Better the wrath of the robber, than enmity of the priest ;
and the cunning of the wolf than of the hypocrite." It was in this
frame of mind that he sought the solitudes of the hills : "How I hate
the sight of every spot that is inhabited, " he says in one of his letters.
It was thus that he formed the taste for the wild nature which dis-
tinguishes his landscapes. It is said indeed that he once herded for a
time with a band of brigands in the Abruzzi. " Yet even among such
scenes as these Salvator might have been calmed and exalted, had he
been, indeed, capable of exaltation. But he was not of high temper enough
to perceive beauty. He had not the sacred sense the sense of colour;
all the loveliest hues of the Calabrian air were invisible to him ; the
sorrowful desolation of the Calabrian villages unfelt. He saw only
what was gross and terrible, the jagged peak, the splintered tree, the
flowerless bank of grass, and wandering weed, prickly and pale. His
temper confirmed itself in evil, and became more and more fierce and
morose ; though not, I believe, cruel, ungenerous, or lascivious. I
should not suspect Salvator of wantonly inflicting pain. His constantly
painting it does not prove he delighted in it ; he felt the horror of it,
and in that horror, fascination. Also, he desired fame, and saw that
here was an untried field rich enough in morbid excitement to catch
the humour of his indolent patrons. But the gloom gained upon him,
and grasped him. He could jest, indeed, as men jest in prison-yards
(he became afterwards a renowned mimic in Florence) ; his satires are
full of good mocking, but his own doom to sadness is never repealed."
It is characteristic of the man that the picture on the reputation of
"Which he went up from Naples to Rome was "Tityus torn by the
Vulture." At Rome, besides his fame as a painter, he made his mark
as a musician, poet, and improvisators He cut a brave figure in the
Carnival, and his satires were bold and biting. Partly on this account
he afterwards found it well to leave Rome for Florence, where he formed
one of the company of " I Percossi " (the stricken) of jovial wits and
artists who enjoyed the hospitalities of Cardinal Carlo Giovanni de'
Medici. But in spite of his merry-making he knew (as he says in a can-
tata) " no truce from care, no pause from woe." He ultimately died of the
dropsy, having shortly before his death married the Florentine Lucrezia,
who had borne him two sons. "Of all men whose work I have ever
studied," say Mr. Ruskin, in summing up his career as typical of the
lives which cannot conquer evil but remain at war with, or in captivity to
ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 319
it, "he gives me most distinctly the idea of a lost spirit. Michelet calls
him, ' Ce damne Salvator,' perhaps in a sense merely harsh and violent ;
the epithet to me seems true in a more literal, more merciful sense,
'That condemned Salvator.' I see in him, notwithstanding all his
baseness, the last traces of spiritual life in the art of Europe. ... All
succeeding men . . . were men of the world ; they are never in earnest
and they are never appalled. But Salvator was capable of pensiveness,
of faith, and of fear. The misery of the earth is a marvel to him ;
he cannot leave off gazing at it. The religion of the earth is a horror
to him. He gnashes his teeth at it, rages at it, mocks and gibes
at it. He would have acknowledged religion, had he seen any that was
true. . . . Helpless Salvator ! A little early sympathy, a word of true
guidance, perhaps, had saved him. What says he of himself?
' Despiser of wealth and of death.' Two grand scorns : but, oh, con-
demned Salvator ! the question is not for man what he can scorn, but
what he can love " (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. iv. See also
vol. i. pt. i. sec. ii. ch. ii. 9 ; vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii. 21; vol. v.
pt. ix. ch. viii. 14. For a full record of fact and romance about this
painter, see Lady Morgan's interesting Life and Times of Salvator Rosa ;
London, 1855).
A good example of Salvator's scenic effects in landscape.
The sense of power in the painting, the " vigorous imagination,
the dexterous and clever composition" of Salvator are well
shown ; but " all are rendered valueless by coarseness of feel-
ing, and habitual non-reference to nature." For instance, take
first his hills : " A man accustomed to the strength and glory of
God's mountains, with their soaring and radiant pinnacles, and
surging sweeps of measureless distance, kingdoms in their
valleys, and climates upon their crests, can scarcely but be
angered when Salvator bids him stand still under some con-
temptible fragment of splintery crag, which an Alpine snow-
wreath would smother in its first swell, with a stunted bush or
two growing out of it, and a volume of manufactory smoke for
a sky." Then look closely at the clouds : " Now it may,
perhaps, for all I know, be highly expedient and proper in art,
that the variety, individuality, and angular character of nature
should be changed into a mass of convex curves, each precisely
like its neighbour in all respects, and unbroken from beginning
to end ; it may be highly original, masferly, bold, whatever
you choose to call it ; but it is false. I do not take upon me to
assert that the clouds which in ancient Germany were more
especially and peculiarly devoted to the business of catching
princesses off desert islands, and carrying them to enchanted
castles, might not have possessed something of the pillowy
320 ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
organisation which we may suppose best adapted for functions
of such delicacy and despatch : but I do mean to say that the
clouds which God sends upon his earth as the ministers of
dew, and rain, and shade, and with which he adorns his
heaven, setting them in its vault for the thrones of his spirits,
have not, in one instant or atom of their existence, one feature
in common with such conceptions and creations." And lastly
look at the trees : " It appears that this artist was hardly in
the habit of studying from nature at all, after his boyish rambles
among the Calabrian hills ; and I do not recollect any instance
of a piece of his bough-drawing which is not palpably and
demonstrably a made-up phantasm of the studio, the proof
derivable from this illegitimate tapering being one of the most
convincing. The painter is always visibly embarrassed to
reduce the thick boughs to spray, and feeling (for Salvator
naturally had acute feelings for truth) that the bough was
wrong when it tapered suddenly, he accomplishes its diminu-
tion by an impossible protraction ; throwing out shoot after
shoot until his branches straggle all across the picture, and at
last disappear unwillingly where there is no room for them to
stretch any farther. The consequence is, that whatever leaves
are put upon such boughs have evidently no adequate support,
... or, if the boughs are left bare, they have the look of the long
tentacula of some complicated marine monster, or of the waving
endless threads of branchy sea-weed, instead of the firm, uphold-
ing, braced, and bending grace of natural boughs. I grant that
this is in a measure done by Salvator from a love of ghastli-
ness. . . . But even where the skeleton look of branches is
justifiable or desirable, there is no occasion for any violation
of natural laws. I have seen more spectral character in the
real limbs of a blasted oak than ever in Salvator's best
monstrosities ; more horror is to be obtained by right combin-
ation of inventive line, than by drawing tree branches as if
they were wing-bones of a pterodactyle " {Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 5, sec. iii. ch. iii. 7, sec. vi. ch.
i. 1 1 ; vol. ii. pt. in. sec. ii. ch. ii. 19).
210. VENICE: THE PIAZZA DI SAN MARCO.
Guardi (Venetian : 1712-1793). See under 1054, p. 310.
Notice the effect of light on the church of St. Mark at the
end of the square : " Beyond those troops of ordered arches
there rises a vision out of the earth, and all the great square
A' OM XIII : LA TER ITALIA N SCHO OLS 321
seems to have opened from it in a kind of awe, that we may
see it far away; a multitude of pillars and white domes,
clustered into a long low pyramid of coloured light " (Stones of
Venice, vol. ii. ch. iv. 14).
85. ST. JEROME AND THE ANGEL.
Domenichino (Eclectic-Bologna : I 581-164 1 ).
See under 48, p. 311.
For St. Jerome, see under II. 227, p. 41. The apparition of
the angel implies the special call of St. Jerome to the work
of translating the Scriptures.
934. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Carlo Dolci (Florentine : 1 6 1 6-1 686).
Carlo Dolci, the son of a Florentine tailor, is, like his contemporary
Sassoferrato, a good instance of the affected religious school described
above (see p. 306). He was of a very retiring and pious disposition,
much given, we are told, to melancholy. Every one who looks first at
the pictures of similar subjects by earlier Italian artists will be struck
by something sentimental and effeminate in Dolci's conceptions.
Similarly in his execution there is an over -smoothness and softness,
corresponding to "polished" language in literature (see Modern
Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. ix. 7).
196. SUSANNAH AND THE ELDERS.
Guido Rent (Eclectic-Bologna : i 575-1642).
Guido Reni, a native of Bologna, was a pupil of the Carraccis, and
worked for twenty years in Rome, and afterwards in Bologna. "As
a child he was very beautiful, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fair
complexion. He was specially characterised by devotion to the
Madonna. On every Christmas - eve for seven successive years,
ghostly knockings were heard upon his chamber door ; and every
night, when he awoke from sleep, the darkness above his bed was
illuminated by a mysterious globe of light. In after life, besides being
piously addicted to Madonna-worship, he had a great dread of women
in general and witches in particular. He was always careful, it is
said, to leave his studio door open while drawing from a woman "
(see Symonds, vii. 380). To the temperament thus indicated we may
trace the half - effeminate, half -spiritual character of some of his works
the " few pale rays of fading sanctity," which Mr. Ruskin sees in
him (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. iv. 4). In later life his
effeminate eccentricity amounted to insanity, and he gave himself wholly
up to the gaming table. To extricate himself from money troubles he
sold his time, says his biographer, at a stipulated sum per hour, to
certain dealers, one of whom tasked him so rigidly as to stand by him,
watch in hand, while he worked. How different from the honourable
322 ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
terms on which the earlier masters worked ! How easy to understand
the number of bad Guides in the world !
" A work devoid alike of art and decency " (Modern Painters,
vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. xiv. 24). For the circumstances
of its acquisition see below under 193, p. 324.
84. MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN.
Salvator Rosa (Neapolitan : 1615-1673).
See under 1206, p. 317.
An illustration of ^Esop's fable of the dishonest woodman
who, hearing of the reward which an honest fellow-labourer
had obtained from Mercury for not claiming either the gold or
silver axe which the god first offered, threw his axe also into
the water, hoping for like good fortune. Mercury here seen
standing in the stream showed him a golden axe. He claimed
it, and the god having rebuked him for his impudence, left him
to lose his axe and repent of his folly. The painting of the
picture is conspicuous for that want of sense for colour, noted
above as fatally characteristic of Salvator. " There is on the
left-hand side something without doubt intended for a rocky
mountain, in the middle distance, near enough for all its
fissures and crags to be distinctly visible, or, rather, for a great
many awkward scratches of the brush over it to be visible,
which, though not particularly representative either of one thing
or another, are without doubt intended to be symbolical of
rocks. Now no mountain in full light, and near enough for _
its details of crags to be seen, is without great variety of deli-
cate colour. Salvator has painted it throughout without one
instant of variation ; but this, I suppose, is simplicity and
generalisation ; let it pass : but what is the colour ? Pure
sky blue, without one grain of gray, or any modifying hue
whatsoever ; the same brush which had just given the bluest
parts of the sky has been more loaded at the same part of the
pallet, and the whole mountain thrown in with unmitigated
ultramarine. Now mountains can only become pure blue
when there is so much air between them that they become
mere flat dark shades, every detail being totally lost : they
become blue when they become air, and not till then. Con-
sequently this part of Salvator's painting, being of hills per-
fectly clear and near, with all their details visible, is, as far as
colour is concerned, broad, bold falsehood, the direct assertion
of direct impossibility." In connection with Salvator's want
ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 323
of sense for colour one should take his insensitiveness to other
beauty. For instance his choice of withered trees, which are
here on both sides of us, " is precisely the sign of his preferring
ugliness to beauty, decrepitude and disorganisation to life and
youth " {Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 4 ; vol.
v. pt. vi. ch. viii. 7).
77. THE STONING OF ST. STEPHEN.
Domenichino (Eclectic-Bologna: 1581-1641).
See under 48, p. 311.
9. "LORD, WHITHER GOEST THOU?"
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 1560-1609).
See under 93, p. 308.
The apostle Peter, according to a Catholic tradition, being
terrified at the danger which threatened him in Rome, betook
himself to flight. On the Via Appia our Saviour appeared to
him bearing his cross. To Peter's question : Domine quo vadis ?
("Lord, whither goest thou?") Christ replied, "To Rome, to
suffer again crucifixion." Upon which the apostle retraced
his steps, and received the crown of martyrdom. So much for
the subject. As for its treatment, the note of almost comic
exaggeration in St. Peter's attitude will not fail to strike the
spectator ; and " there is this objection to be made to the
landscape, that, though the day is breaking over the distant
hills and pediment on the right hand, there must be another
sun somewhere out of the picture on the left hand, since the
cast shadows from St. Peter and the Saviour fall directly to
the right" (Landseer's Catalogue, p. 193).
75. ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.
Domenichino (Eclectic-Bologna : 1581-1641).
See ^tnder 48, p. 311.
Compare this conventional representation of the subject with
the imaginative one by Tintoretto (VII. 16, p. 135). Amongst
points of comparison notice the absence of anything terrible in
the dragon, the crowd of spectators (on the walls in the distance),
St. George's helmet ; and where is his spear ?
2OO. THE MADONNA IN PRAYER.
Sassoferrato (Eclectic r 1605-1685). See under 740, p. 324.
324 ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
193. LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS LEAVING SODOM.
Guido (Eclectic-Bologna : 1575-1642). See under 196, p. 321.
This and the companion picture (196) are interesting as
being two of the nation's conspicuously bad bargains. The
purchase of them at very high prices, ^1680 and ^1260, was
indeed one of the grievances that led to the Select Committee of
the House of Commons, 1853, and to the subsequent reconstitu-
tion of the Gallery. " Expert " witnesses declared before the
Committee that these two pictures ought not to have been
bought at any price or even accepted as a gift. Mr. Ruskin
had sometime previously written to the Times about them
as follows : " Sir, if the canvasses of Guido, lately introduced
into the Gallery, had been good works of even that bad
master, which they are not, if they had been genuine and
untouched works, even though feeble, which they are not, if,
though false and retouched remnants of a feeble and fallen
school, they had been endurably decent or elementarily instruc-
tive, some conceivable excuse might perhaps have been by
ingenuity forged, and by impudence uttered, for their introduc-
tion into a gallery where we previously possessed two good
Guides (n and 177, pp. 313, 327) . . . but now, sir, what
vestige of an apology remains for the cumbering our walls
with pictures that have no single virtue, no colour, no drawing,
no character, no history, no thought ?" (Arrows of the Chace, i.
64, 65).
163. VENICE : A VIEW ON THE GRAND CANAL.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
The Church, that of S. Simeone Piccolo, was built in
Canaletto's time. " One of the ugliest churches in Venice or
elsewhere. Its black dome, like an unusual species of gas-
ometer, is the admiration of modern Italian architects " (Stones
of Venice, vol. iii. Venetian Index, s. -v. Simeone).
138. ANCIENT RUINS.
Giovanni Paolo Pannini (Roman : 1691-1764).
740. MADONNA AND CHILD.
Sassoferrato (Eclectic : 1 605- 1 68 5 ).
Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato from his birthplace,
not far from Urbino, is generally described as a follower of the Carracci,
ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 325
but he seems to have been chiefly a copyist of Titian and Raphael.
He also copied Perugino. Compare Sassoferrato's Madonnas with the
earlier models, and the distinction between sentimentality and sentiment
becomes plain.
28. SUSANNAH AND THE ELDERS.
Ludovico Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 1555-1619).
Ludovico is famous in art history as the founder of the Eclectic
school of Bologna. Disgusted with the weakness of the Mannerists
(of whom Baroccio, 29, p. 328, was the best), he determined to
start a rival school, and enlisted the services of his two cousins,
Agostino and Annibale, for that purpose. Their object, as expressed
in a sonnet by Agostino, was to be to " acquire the design of Rome,
Venetian action, and Venetian management of shade, the dignified
colour of Lombardy (Leonardo), the terrible manner of Michael Angelo,
Titian's truth and nature, the sovereign purity of Correggio's style, and
the just symmetry of Raphael." Ludovico, who was the son of a
Bolognese butcher, 1 was a man of very wide culture and of great
industry. He superintended the school, at first conjointly with his
cousins, afterwards alone, from 1589 to his death.
A less objectionable rendering than most, of the story of
Susannah in the Apocrypha a story for all time, setting forth
as it does the way in which minions of the law too often prey
upon the innocent, and the righteous condemnation that the
people, when there are just judges in the land, mete out to the
offenders. Two judges, "ancients of the people," approached
Susannah and threatened to report her as guilty unless she
consented to do their bidding. She refused, and was reported
accordingly. Judgment had well-nigh gone against her, when
Daniel arose to convict the elders of false witness, and they
were straightway put to death. It is the moment of Susannah's
temptation that the artist here depicts. " It is," says Hazlitt.
(p. 5), "as if the young Jewish beauty had been just surprised
in that unguarded spot crouching down in one corner of the
picture, the face turned back with a mingled expression of
terror, shame, and unconquerable sweetness, and the whole
figure, with the arms crossed, shrinking into itself with be-
witching grace and modesty." But Hazlitt never took notes,
and Susannah's arms are not crossed nor is her expression
quite so naive as he describes.
1 In the little-known collection in the Library of Christ Church, Oxford,
there is a powerful but unpleasantly realistic picture of a butcher's shop
by one of the Carracci, which is perhaps a family portrait.
326 ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
643. THE CAPTURE OF CARTHAGENA.
Ascribed to Rinaldo Mantovano (Roman : early 1 6th century).
This and the companion picture, 644, p. 330, formerly ascribed to
Giulio Romano, are now ascribed to Rinaldo of Mantua, one of the
scholars whom Giulio formed when at work in that city. Rinaldo is
mentioned by Vasari as the ablest painter that Mantua ever produced,
and as having been "prematurely removed from the world by death."
In the upper compartment is represented the capture of
New Carthage by the Roman general, Publius Cornelius
Scipio, B.C. 210. He distinguished himself on that occasion
by the generosity with which he treated the Spanish hostages
kept there by the Carthaginians. This is the subject of the
lower compartment. Among the hostages was a girl hardly
represented here as in the story, " so beautiful that all eyes
turned upon her " whom Scipio protected from indignity and
formally betrothed to her own lover : who is here advancing to
touch the great man's hand, and when they brought thank-
offerings to Scipio, he ordered them, as we see here, to be
removed again: "accept them from me," he said, "as the
girl's dowry" (Livy, xxvi. ch. 50).
66. LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES.
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 15601609).
See under 93, p. 308.
941. VENICE: THE GRIMANI PALACE.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
This palace situated on the Grand Canal and used until
lately as the post-office was built in the sixteenth century by
San Micheli, and is " the principal type at Venice, and one of
the best in Europe, of the central architecture of the Renais-
sance schools ; that carefully studied and perfectly executed
architecture to which those schools owe their principal claim
to our respect, and which became the model of most of the
important works subsequently produced by civilised nations.
... It is composed of three stories of the Corinthian order
(/>. in which the ornament is concave, distinguished from Doric,
in which it is convex), at once simple, delicate, and sublime ;
but on so colossal a scale that the three-storied palaces on its
right and left only reach to the cornice which marks the level of
its first floor " {Stones of Venice, vol. iii. ch. ii. I, 2). Buildings
in the same style in London are St. Paul's and Whitehall.
ROOM XII I: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 327
177. THE MAGDALEN.
Guido (Eclectic-Bologna : i 575-1642). See under 196, p. 32 1.
Just such a picture as might have suggested the lines in
Pope's epistle on " The Characters of Women "
Let then the fair one beautifully cry,
In Magdalen's loose hair and lifted eye ;
Or dress'd in smiles of sweet Cecilia shine,
With simpering angels, palms, and harps divine ;
Whether the charmer sinner it, or saint it,
If folly grow romantic, I must paint it.
Just such a picture, too, as Guido turned out in numbers.
" He was specially fond," says one of his biographers, " of de-
picting faces with upraised looks, and he used to say that he
had a hundred different modes " of thus supplying sentiment-
ality to order.
174. PORTRAIT OF A CARDINAL.
Carlo Maratti (Roman : 1625-1713).
Carlo Maratti (called also Carlo delle Madonne, from the large
number of Madonna pictures that he painted) was an imitator of
Raphael, and for nearly half a century the most eminent painter in
Rome. The portrait of a cardinal should have come kindly to him,
for he was in the service of several popes, and was appointed super-
intendent of the Vatican Chambers by Innocent XL
172. THE SUPPER AT EMMAUS.
Caravaggio (Naturalist: 1569-1609).
Michael Angelo Merigi is called Caravaggio from his birthplace of
that name, near Milan. His life was not out of keeping with the
characteristics of his art as described below. He had, we are told, an
ungovernable temper, and led a roving life of not very reputable ad-
ventures.
One notices first in this picture the least important things
the supper before the company, the roast chicken before
Christ. Next one sees how coarse and almost ruffianly are
the disciples, represented as supping with their risen Lord at
Emmaus (Luke xxiv. 30, 31). Both points are characteristic of
the painter, who was driven by the insipidities of the preceding
mannerists into a crude "realism," which made him resolve to
describe sacred and historical events just as though they were
being enacted in a slum by butchers and fishwives. His first
altar-piece was removed by the priests for whom it was painted,
as being too vulgar for such a subject. " It seems difficult
328 ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
for realism, either in literature or art, not to fasten upon ugli-
ness, vice, pain, and disease, as though these imperfections of
our nature were more real than beauty, goodness, pleasure, and
health. Therefore Caravaggio, the leader of a school which
the Italians christened Naturalists, may be compared to Zola"
(Symonds, vii. 389).
127. VENICE: THE SCUOLA BELLA CARITA.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
An interesting piece of "old Venice." Beyond the canal
is what is now the National Gallery of Venice the Academy
of Arts but was in Canaletto's time still the Scuola della
Carita, the conventual buildings of the Brotherhood of our
Lady of Charity. Notice the green grass in the little square :
the Campo, as it is called (the field), is now covered with
flagstones (there is a sketch of this spot among the Turner
drawings given by Mr. Ruskin to the University Galleries at
Oxford : see Guide to the Venetian Academy, p. 34).
63. LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES.
Annibale Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 1 560-1609).
See under 93, p. 308.
This picture was originally in the Giustiniani Palace at
Rome ; hence the figures are supposed to represent (as stated
on the frame) Prince Giustiniani and his attendants returning
from the chase.
29. "OUR LADY OF THE CAT."
Federigo Barocci, called Barocrio (Umbrian : 1528-1612).
An admirable example of the decline of Italian art. The
old religious spirit has entirely vanished, and the Holy Family
is represented as worrying a bird with a cat ! John the
Baptist holds the little goldfinch ; while the Madonna
expressly directs the attention of the infant Christ to the fun.
" See, the cat is trying to get at it," she seems to say.
Behind the bird, the painter, in unconscious irony, has placed
the Cross. The visitor who wishes to see how far Italian art
has travelled in a hundred years should compare this picture with
such an one as Bellini's (VII. 280, p. 153), or with one of
Raphael's, of whom Baroccio was a fellow-countryman. The con-
necting link should then be seen in Correggio (IX. 23, p. 201),
upon which master, as well as upon Raphael, Baroccio formed his
ROOM XII I: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS' 329
style. With Bellini or Perugino, the motive is wholly religious.
With Raphael it is intermingled with artistic display. Correggio
brings heaven wholly down to earth, but yet paints his domestic
scene with lovely grace. Baroccio brings, one may almost say,
heaven down to hell. 1 and uses all his skill to show the infant
Saviour's pleasure in teasing a bird. But the artist only
embodied the spirit of his time. Baroccio was one of the
most celebrated painters of his day, and his biographer
(Bellori) writes of him that "his pencil may be said to have
been dedicated to religion : so devout, so tender, and so
calculated to awaken feelings of piety are the sentiments
expressed in his pictures.''
933. BOY WITH A BIRD.
Alessandro Varotari, called Padovanino (Venetian :
1590-1650).
Contrast with this child caressing a dove Baroccio's Christ
teasing a bird. Padovanino (so called from his birthplace,
Padua) lived much at Venice, and shared perhaps the
Venetian's fondness for pigeons the sacred birds of St.
Mark's, which are kept and fed in the great square to this day
at the public charge.
271. "ECCE HOMO!"
Guido (Eclectic-Bologna : i 575-1642). See under 196, p. 321.
For the subject, see under IX. i 5, by Correggio, p. 200. It
was from Correggio that the Eclectics borrowed the type of face
for this subject which was a favourite one with them; but notice
how much more they dwell on the physical pain and horror,
how much less on the spiritual beauty, than Correggio did.
70. CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS.
Alessandro Var atari, called Padovanino (Venetian:
15901650).
Cornelia, a noble Roman lady, daughter of the elder Scipio
Africanus, and mother of the Gracchi, was visited by a friend,
who ostentatiously exhibited her jewels. Cornelia being asked
to show hers in turn, pointed to her two sons, just then
returning from school, and said, "These are my jewels."
1 See Blake's Auguries of Innocence.
330 ROOM XIII : LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
644. THE RAPE OF THE SABINES.
Ascribed to Rinaldo Mantovano (Roman : early 1 6th century).
See under 643, p. 326.
Romulus, the founder of Rome so the story goes had
collected a motley crew of men about him, and demanded women
from the neighbouring states wherewith to people his kingdom.
And when they refused, he determined to take them by
stratagem. He appointed a day for a splendid sacrifice, with
public games and shows, and the neighbouring Sabines flocked
with their wives and daughters to see the sight. He himself
presided, sitting among his nobles, clothed in purple. At a
signal for the assault, he was to rise, gather up his robe, and
fold it about him. Many of the people wore swords that day,
and kept their eyes upon him, watching for the signal, which
was no sooner given than they drew them, and, rushing on
with a shout, seized the daughters of the Sabines, but quietly
suffered the men to escape. This is the subject of the upper
compartment of this picture. But afterwards the Sabines
fought the Romans in order to recover their daughters. The
battle was long and fierce, until the Sabine women threw them-
selves between the combatants and induced them to ratify the
accomplished union with terms of friendship and alliance.
This is the subject of the lower compartment the interven-
tion of the Sabine women in the right-hand part, the re-
conciliation in the left.
60. ST. JOHN PREACHING IN THE WILDERNESS.
Pietro Francesco Mola (Eclectic-Bologna : 1612-1668)
The last, and greatest, herald of Heav'n's King,
Girt with rough skins, hies to the desert wild : . . .
There burst he forth "All ye whose hopes rely
On God ! with me amidst these deserts mourn ;
Repent ! repent ! and from old errors turn."
Who listen'd to his voice, obey'd his cry ?
Only the echoes, which he made relent,
Rung from their flinty caves Repent ! repent !
DRUMMOND OF HAWTHORNDEN : Flowers of Zion.
1O59. VENICE: SAN PIETRO IN CASTELLO.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
A humble church, typical of the humble origin of Venice,
a city founded on the sands by fugitives. The church
stands on one of the outermost islets, where, in the seventh
ROOM XI II: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 331
century, it is said that St. Peter appeared in person to the
bishop of Heraclea, and commanded him to found, in his honour,
a church in that spot. " The title of Bishop of Castello was first
taken in 109 1 ; St. Mark's was not made the cathedral church till
1 807. . . . The present church is among the least interesting
in Venice ; a wooden bridge, something like that of Battersea
on a small scale, connects its island, now almost deserted, with
a wretched suburb of the city behind the arsenal ; and a blank
level of lifeless grass, rotted away in places rather than trodden,
is extended before its mildewed fagade and solitary tower"
{Stones of Venice, vol. i. Appendix iv.)
88. ERMINIA AND THE SHEPHERD.
Annibcde Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna: 1560-1609).
See under 93, p. 308.
A scene from the " Jerusalem Delivered " by Carracci's con-
temporary, Tasso. Erminia from the beleaguered city of
Jerusalem had beheld the Christian knight, Tancred, whom she
loved, wounded in conflict. Disguised in the armour of her
friend Clorinda, wearing a dark blue cuirass with a white mantle
over it, she stole forth at night to tend him. The sentinels espy
her and give her chase. But she outstrips them all, and after
a three days' flight finds herself amongst a shepherd family,
who entertain her kindly. The old shepherd is busy making
card-baskets, and listening to the music of his children. Their
fear gives place to delight as the strange warrior, having dis-
mounted from her horse and thrown off her helmet and shield,
unbinds her tresses and discloses herself a woman
An old man, on a rising ground,
In the fresh shade, his white flocks feeding near,
Twig baskets wove ; and listen'd to the sound
Trill'd by three blooming boys, who sat disporting round.
These, at the shining of her silver arms,
Were seized at once with wonder and despair ;
But sweet Erminia sooth'd their vain alarms,
Discovering her dove's eyes and golden hair.
" Follow," she said, " dear innocents, the care
Of heaven, your fanciful employ ;
For the so formidable arms I bear,
No cruel warfare bring, nor harsh annoy
To your engaging tasks, to your sweet songs of joy."
From Landseer's Catalogue^ p. 214.
332 ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS
938. VENICE : REGATTA ON THE GRAND CANAL.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
A state regatta a pastime which owes its origin to Venice
in honour of the visit to the city of the King of Denmark in
1709. In the centre of the canal are the gondoliers, racing;
to the sides are moored the spectators, the gala barges of the
nobles conspicuous amongst them. The variegated building
on the left is a temporary pavilion for the distribution of
prizes. These regattas at Venice took the place of our royal
processions here. " Wherever the eye turned, it beheld a vast
multitude at doorways, on the quays, and even on the roofs.
Some of the spectators occupied scaffoldings erected at
favourable points along the sides of the canal ; and the patrician
ladies did not disdain to leave their palaces, and, entering
their gondolas, lose themselves among the infinite number of
the boats " (Feste Veneziane : quoted in Howells's Venetian
Life, ii. 69). Another custom in which we have begun to
imitate the Venetians, and which may be seen in this picture,
is that of hanging out carpets and stuffs by way of decorations.
" The windows and balconies," says the same account, " were
decked with damasks, stuffs of the Levant, tapestries, and
velvets ;" a very old Venetian custom : see under 937, p. 315.
191. THE YOUTHFUL CHRIST AND ST. JOHN.
Guido (Eclectic-Bologna: 1 575-1642). See under 196, p. 321.
St John is charming in the beauty of boyhood. In the
youthful Christ the painter has striven after something more
" ideal," and has produced a namby-pamby, goody-goody face
characteristic of the artist's narrow creed.
1O58. VENICE : THE CANAL -REGGIO.
Canaletto (Venetian : 1697-1768). See under 939, p. 316.
One of the principal water-ways, after the Grand Canal, in
Venice. The picture is a good instance of this painter's
method of representing water. He " covers the whole space of it
with one monotonous ripple, composed of a coat of well-chosen,
but perfectly opaque and smooth sea-green, covered with a
certain number, I cannot state the exact average, but it varies
from three hundred and fifty to four hundred and upwards, ac-
cording to the extent of canvas to be covered, of white concave
ROOM XIII: LATER ITALIAN SCHOOLS 333
touches, which are very properly symbolical of ripple. 1 ... If it
be but remembered that every one of the surfaces of those
multitudinous ripples is in nature a mirror which catches,
according to its position, either the image of the sky, or of
the silver beaks of the gondolas, or of their black bodies and
scarlet draperies, or of the white marble, or the green sea-weed
on the low stones, it cannot but be felt that those waves would
have something more of colour upon them than that opaque
dead green. . . . Venice is sad and silent now to what she
was in his time ; but even yet, could I but place the reader at
early morning on the quay below the Rialto, when the market
boats, full-laden, float into groups of golden colour, and let him
watch the dashing of the water about their glittering steely heads,
and under the shadows of the vine leaves ; and show him the
purple of the grapes and the figs, and the glowing of the scarlet
gourds, carried away in long streams upon the waves ; and
among them, the crimson fish-baskets, plashing and sparkling
and flaming as the morning sun falls on their wet tawny sides ;
and above, the painted sails of the fishing-boats, orange and
white, scarlet and blue, he would not be merciful to
Canaletto any more " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v.
ch. i. 1 8, 19).
1 The visitor should contrast Canaletto's painting of still water with
Turner's (see under XIX. 535, p. 630).
jt3T Visitors who have made the tour of the Italian Schools, and now
wish to examine the Northern Schools historically, should go (i)
to Room XI., and then (2) to Rooms X. and XII.
ROOM XIV
THE FRENCH SCHOOL
Whate'er Lorraine light-touched with softening hue,
Or savage Rosa dastfd, or learned Poussin drew.
THOMSON.
OF the pictures in this room nearly all the more important
are the works of three masters Claude and the two
Poussins. It is of them, therefore, that a few general
remarks will here be made. It should be noticed in the
first place how very different this French School of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is from the French
School of to-day. The latter school is distinguished for
its technical skill, which" makes Paris the chief centre of
art teaching in the world, but, also, and still more markedly,
for its "excessive realism and gross sensuality." "A few
years ago," adds Professor Middleton, " a gold medal was
won at the Paris Salon by a ' naturalist ' picture a real
masterpiece of technical skill. It represented Job as an
emaciated old man covered with ulcers, carefully studied
in the Paris hospitals for skin diseases." There could not
be a greater contrast than between such art as that and the
" ideal " landscapes of Claude, the Bacchanalian scenes of
Poussin, or the soft girl-faces of Greuze.
Confining ourselves now to Claude and the Poussins
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 335
with whom, however, the contemporary works of Salvator
Rosa (in Room XIII.) should be studied, we note that in
spite of considerable differences between them they agree
in marking a great advance in the art of landscape painting.
The old conventionalism has now altogether disappeared ;
there is an attempt to paint nature as she really is. There
are effects of nature, too, not shown in any earlier pictures,
and here painted for the first time, graceful effects of
foliage, smooth surface of water, diffusion of yellow sunlight.
In some of these effects Claude has never been surpassed ;
but when his pictures are more closely examined, they are
found to be vitiated by two faults. First, they are untrue
to the forms of nature. Trees are not branched, nor rocks
formed, nor mountains grouped as Claude or Poussin re-
presents them. Secondly, their whole conception of land-
scape, and especially of its relation to human life, is debased
by the " classical ideal," to which as far as possible they
made their pictures approach. This " classical " landscape
is "the representation of (i) perfectly trained and civilised
human life; (2) associated with perfect natural scenery,
and (3) with decorative spiritual powers, (i) There are
no signs in it of humiliating labour or abasing misfortune.
Classical persons must be trained in all the polite arts, and,
because their health is to be perfect, chiefly in the open air.
Hence the architecture around them must be of the most
finished kind, the rough country and ground being subdued
by frequent and happy humanity. (2) Such personages
and buildings must be associated with natural scenery,
uninjured by storms or inclemency of climate (such injury
implying interruption of the open air life) ; and it must be
scenery conducing to pleasure, not to material service ; all
cornfields, orchards, olive-yards, and such-like being under
the management of slaves, and the superior beings having
nothing to do with them ; but passing their lives under
avenues of scented and otherwise delightful trees under
picturesque rocks and by clear fountains. It is curious,
as marking the classical spirit, that a sailing vessel is hardly
admissible, but a galley with oars is admissible, because
the rowers may be conceived as absolute slaves. (3) The
336 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
spiritual powers in classical scenery must be decorative;
ornamental gods, not governing gods ; otherwise they could
not be subjected to the principles of taste, but would de-
mand reverence. In order, therefore, as far as possible,
without taking away their supernatural power, to destroy
their dignity . . . those only are introduced who are the
lords of lascivious pleasures. For the appearance of any
great god would at once destroy the whole theory of
classical life ; therefore Pan, Bacchus, and the Satyrs, with
Venus and the Nymphs, are the principal spiritual powers
of the classical landscape" (abridged from Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. ix. ch. v. 1-8).
A survey of the pictures in this room will suffice to show
how accurately this description covers the work of Claude
and Poussin. But it may finally be interesting to point out
how entirely their ideal accords with the prevailing taste
and literature of their time. The painting of Claude and
Salvator precisely corresponds to what is called "pastoral
poetry, that is to say, poetry written in praise of the
country, by men who lived in coffee-houses and on the
Mall * . . . the class of poetry in which a farmer's girl is
spoken of as a ' nymph,' and a farmer's boy as a ' swain,'
and in which, throughout, a ridiculous and unnatural refine-
ment is supposed to exist in rural life, merely because the
poet himself has neither had the courage to endure its hard-
ships, nor the wit to conceive its realities. . . . Examine the
novels of Smollett, Fielding, and Sterne, the comedies of
Moliere, and the writings of Johnson and Addison, and I
do not think you will find a single expression of true delight
in sublime nature in any one of them. Perhaps Sterne's
Sentimental Journey, in its total absence of sentiment on
any subject but humanity ... is the most striking in-
stance ; . . . and if you compare with this negation of feel-
ing on one side, the interludes of Moliere, in which shepherds
1 Elsewhere Mr. Ruskin speaks of "Twickenham classicism" (with a
side allusion, of course, to Pope) "consisting principally in conceptions
of ancient or of rural life such as have influenced the erection of most of
our suburban villas" (Pre-Raphaelitism, reprinted in On the Old Road,
283).
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 337
and shepherdesses are introduced in court dress, you will
have a very accurate conception of the general spirit of the
age. 1 It was in such a state of society that the landscape
of Claude, Caspar Poussin, and Salvator Rosa attained its
reputation. It is the complete expression on canvas of the
spirit of the time. Claude embodies the foolish pastoralism,
Salvator the ignorant terror, and Caspar Poussin the dull
and affected erudition " (Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture
and Painting, pp. 163-167). The reputation thus gained
survived almost into the present century, until Wordsworth
in poetry and Turner in painting led the return to nature,
and the modern school of landscape arose.
N.B. Visitors should here make a slight deviation from their
usual " left to right" progress round the rooms, and look first
at the tivo pictures " on the line" to the right on entering. The
reason for this will be immediately explained.
12. ISAAC AND REBECCA, OR "THE MILL" 2
Claude (French 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
This and the Claude on the other side of the door (14) are
of peculiar interest as being the two which Turner selected for
1 In a later lecture on landscape (delivered at Oxford and reported in
the Pall Mall Gazette, December 10, 1884) Mr. Ruskin cited Evelyn
(who was nearly contemporary with Claude) as another case in point :
"We passed through a forest (of Fontainebleau)," says Evelyn, "so pro-
digiously encompass'd with hideous rocks of white hard stone, heaped one on
another in mountainous height, that I think the like is nowhere to be found
more horrid and solitary." Then he describes Richelieu's villa, with its
" walks of vast lengths, so accurately kept and cultivated that nothing can
be more agreeable," and its "large and very rare grotto of shell-work, in
the shape of satyrs and other wild fancies." "He has pulled down a
whole village to make room for his pleasure about it" making a solitude
and calling it delight. And then, lastly, Mr. Ruskin read an account of
how Evelyn took his pleasure in the Alps, passing through the " strange,
horrid, and fearful craggs of the Simplon Pass." It is interesting to note
how long this ignorance of mountains lasted, even amongst painters.
James Barry, the R.A,, was "amazed at finding the realities of the Alps
grander than the imaginations of Salvator," and writes to Edmund Burke
from Turin in 1766 to say that he saw the moon from the Mont Cenis five
times as big as usual, " from being so much nearer to it " ! (Arrows of the
Chace, i. 22, 23)
2 The picture is inscribed " Mariage d'Isaac avec Rebecca," but it is
a repetition with some variations in detail of the Claude know as // Molino
(The Mill) in the Doria palace at Rome. Mr. Ruskin characterises this
Z
338 KOOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
" the noble passage of arms to which he challenged his rival
from the grave." He left two of his own pictures to the nation
on the express condition that they should always hang side by
side as they are hanging to-day with these two by Claude. 1
To fully discuss the comparative merits of the pictures would
be beyond the scope of this handbook ; the whole of the first
volume of Modern Painters was written to establish the superi-
ority of Turner. 2 We can only select a few leading points.
"The greatest picture is that which conveys the greatest number
of the greatest ideas." Let us try this picture by that test.
Take first what Mr. Ruskin calls " ideas of relation," by
which he means "the perception of intellectual relations, includ-
version of the subject as a "villanous and unpalliated copy." "There is
not," he adds, "one touch or line of even decent painting in the whole
picture ; but as connoisseurs have considered it a Claude, as it has been
put in our Gallery for a Claude, and as people admire it every day for
a Claude, I may at least presume it has those qualities of Claude in it
which are wont to excite the public admiration, though it possesses none
of those which sometimes give him claim to it ; and I have so reasoned,
and shall continue to reason upon it, especially with respect to facts of
form, which cannot have been much altered by the copyist " (Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iii. ch. i. 9, sec. iv. ch. ii. 8).
1 The following is the text of this portion of Turner's will : " I give
and bequeath unto the Trustees and Directors for the time being of a certain
, Society or Institution, called the ' National Gallery' or Society, the following
pictures or paintings by myself, namely Dido Building Carthage, and the
picture formerly in the De Tabley collection. To hold the said pictures or
paintings unto the said Trustees and Directors of this said Society for the
time being, in trust for the said Institution or Society for ever, subject,
nevertheless, to, for, and upon the following reservations and restrictions
only ; that is to say, I direct that the said pictures or paintings shall be
hung, kept, and placed, that is to say, always between the two pictures
painted by Claude, The Seaport and Mill." The "picture formerly in
the De Tabley collection " is the "Sun rising in a Mist," 479. Turner
bought it back at Lord de Tabley's sale at Christie's in 1827 for ^514 : IDS. ,
and ever afterwards refused to part with it. The other picture, the
Carthage (498), was returned unsold from the Academy, and Turner
always kept it in his gallery. His friend Chantrey used to make him
offers for it, but each time its price rose higher. "Why, what in the
world, Turner, are you going to do with the picture?" he asked. "Be
buried in it," Turner replied a remark he often made to other friends.
2 It is not perhaps without significance that up to 1857 Claude's name
nearly always appears in the lists of ' ' pictures most frequently copied "
given in the Director's Annual Reports. In that year Turner's pictures were
exhibited. In the very next year Claude disappears from the list, and
Turner heads it (with the "Old Te'me'raire, " XXII. 524, p. 613). From
that time to this Claude has hardly ever been amongst the most frequently
copied masters, but Turner has always been.
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 339
ing everything productive of expression, sentiment, character."
Now from this point of view this picture is a particularly clear
instance of Claude's " inability to see the main point in a
matter " or to present any harmonious conception. " The fore-
ground is a piece of very lovely and perfect forest scenery, with
a dance of peasants by a brook side ; quite enough subject to
form, in the hands of a master, an impressive and complete
picture. On the other side of the brook, however, we have a
piece of pastoral life ; a man with some bulls and goats tumbling
headforemost into the water, owing to some sudden paralytic
affection of all their legs. Even this group is one too many ; the
shepherd had no business to drive his flock so near the dancers,
and the dancers will certainly frighten the cattle. But when
we look farther into the picture, our feelings receive a sudden
and violent shock, by the unexpected appearance, amidst
things pastoral and musical, of the military ; a number of
Roman soldiers riding in on hobby-horses, with a leader on
foot, apparently encouraging them to make an immediate and
decisive charge on the musicians. Beyond the soldiers is a
circular temple, in exceedingly bad repair ; and close beside it,
built against its very walls, a neat watermill in full work. By
the mill flows a large river with a weir all across it. The weir
has not been made for the mill (for that receives its water from
the hills by a trough carried over the temple), but it is particularly
ugly and monotonous in its line of fall, and the water below
forms a dead-looking pond, on which some people are fishing in
punts. The banks of this river resemble in contour the later
geological formations around London, constituted chiefly of
broken pots and oyster-shells. At an inconvenient distance
from the water-side stands a city, composed of twenty-five
round towers and a pyramid. Beyond the city is a handsome
bridge ; beyond the bridge, part of the Campagna, with frag-
ments of aqueducts ; beyond the Campagna the chain of the
Alps ; on the left, the cascades of Tivoli. This is, I believe,
a fair example of what is commonly called an ' ideal ' land-
scape ; i.e. a group of the artist's studies from Nature, in-
dividually spoiled, selected with such opposition of character
as may ensure their neutralising each other's effect, and united
with sufficent unnaturalness and violence of association to ensure
their producing a general sensation of the impossible. Let us
analyse the separate subjects a little in this ideal work of
Claude's. Perhaps there is no more impressive scene on earth
340 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
than the solitary extent of the Campagna of Rome under
evening light. ... A dull purple poisonous haze stretches level
along the desert, veiling its spectral wrecks of massy ruins, on
whose rents the red light rests, like dying fire on defiled altars.
The blue ridge of the Alban Mount lifts itself against a solemn
space of green, clear, quiet sky. Watch-towers of dark clouds
stand steadfastly along the promontories of the Apennines.
From the plain to the mountains the shattered aqueducts, pier
beyond pier, melt into darkness, like shadowy and countless
troops of funeral mourners, passing from a nation's grave. Let
us, with Claude, make a few ' ideal ' alterations in this land-
scape. First, we will reduce the multitudinous precipices of the
Apennines to four sugar loaves. Secondly, we will remove the
Alban Mount, and put a large dust-heap in its stead. Next
we will knock down the greater part of the aqueducts, and leave
only an arch or two, that their infinity of length may no longer
be painful from its monotony. For the purple mist and
declining sun, we will substitute a bright blue sky, with round
white clouds. Finally, we will get rid of the unpleasant ruins
in the foreground ; we will plant some handsome trees therein,
we will send for some fiddlers, and get up a dance, and a
picnic party. It will be found, throughout the picture, that the
same species of improvement is made on the materials which
Claude had ready to his hand. The descending slopes of the
city of Rome, towards the pyramid of Caius Cestius, supply
not only lines of the most exquisite variety and beauty,
but matter for contemplation and reflection in every fragment
of their buildings. This passage has been idealised by Claude
into a set of similar round towers, respecting which no idea
can be formed but that they are uninhabitable, and to which
no interest can be attached beyond the difficulty of conjectur-
ing what they could have been built for. The ruins of the
temple are rendered unimpressive by the juxtaposition of the
watermill, and inexplicable by the introduction of the Roman
soldiers. The glide of the muddy streams of the melancholy
Tiber and Anio through the Campagna is impressive in itself,
but altogether ceases to be so when we disturb their stillness
of motion by a weir, adorn their neglected flow with a hand-
some bridge, and cover their solitary surface with punts, nets,
and fishermen. It cannot, I think, be expected, that land-
scapes like this should have any effect on the human heart,
except to harden or to degrade it ; to lead it from the love of
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 341
what is simple, earnest, and pure, to what is as sophisticated and
corrupt in arrangement, as erring and imperfect in detail. So
long as such works are held up for imitation, landscape painting
must be a manufacture, its productions must be toys, and its
patrons must be children" (Modern Painters, vol. i., preface
to Second Edition, pp. xxxvi.-xxxix.)
Take now the " ideas of truth " in the picture the percep-
tion, that is to say, of faithfulness in a statement of facts by
the thing produced. And first (i) for truth of colour. "Can
it be seriously supposed that those murky browns and melan-
choly greens are representative of the tints of leaves under full
noonday sun ? I know that you cannot help looking upon all
these pictures as pieces of dark relief against a light wholly pro-
ceeding from the distances ; but they are nothing of the kind,
they are noon and morning effects with full lateral light. Be
so kind as to match the colour of a leaf in the sun (the darkest
you like) as nearly as you can, and bring your matched colour
and set it beside one of these groups of trees, and take a blade
of common grass, and set it beside any part of the fullest light
of their foregrounds, and then talk about the truth of colour of
the old masters ! " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch.
ii. 5). (2) Next for truth of chiaroscuro. Claude neglects
that distinctness of shadow which is the chief means of express-
ing vividness of light. Thus " the trunks of the trees between the
water-wheel and the white figure in the middle distance, are dark
and visible ; but their shadows are scarcely discernible on the
ground, and are quite vague and lost in the building. In nature,
every bit of the shadow, both on the ground and building, would
have been defined and conspicuous ; while the trunks them-
selves would have been faint, confused, and indistinguishable,
in their illumined parts, 1 from the grass or distance " (ibid., ch.
iii. 4). (3) Thirdly, for truth of space. In nature everything
is indistinct, but nothing vacant. But look at the city on the
right bank of the river. " I have seen many cities in my life,
and drawn not a few ; and I have seen many fortifications,
fancy ones included, which frequently supply us with very new
1 " So in N. Poussin's ' ' Phocion " (40, p. 363), the shadow of the stick on
the stone in the right-hand corner, is shaded off and lost, while you seethe
stick plainly all the way. In nature's sunlight it would have been the direct
reverse : you would have seen the shadow black and sharp all the way
down ; but you would have had to look for the stick, which in all proba-
bility would in several places have been confused with the stone behind it "
(ibid).
342 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
ideas indeed, especially in matters of proportion ; but I do not
remember ever having met with either a city or a fortress
entirely composed of round towers of various heights and sizes,
all facsimiles of each other, and absolutely agreeing in the
number of battlements. I have, indeed, some faint recollection
of having delineated such a one in the first page of a spelling
book when I was four years old ; but, somehow or other,
the dignity and perfection of the ideal were not appreciated,
and the volume was not considered to be increased in value by
the frontispiece. Without, however, venturing to doubt the
entire sublimity of the same ideal as it occurs in Claude, let us
consider how nature, if she had been fortunate enough to
originate so perfect a conception, would have managed it in its
details. Claude has permitted us to see every battlement, and
the first impulse we feel upon looking at the picture is to count
how many there are. Nature would have given us a peculiar
confused roughness of the upper lines, a multitude of inter-
sections and spots, which we should have known from experience
was indicative of battlements, but which we might as well have
thought of creating as of counting. Claude has given you the
walls below in one dead void of uniform gray. There is nothing
to be seen or felt, or guessed at in it ; it is gray paint of gray
shade, whichever you may choose to call it, but it is nothing
more. Nature would have let you see, nay, would have com-
pelled you to see, thousands of spots or lines, not one to be
absolutely understood or accounted for, but yet all character-
istic and different from each other ; breaking lights on shattered
stones, vague shadows from waving vegetation, irregular stains
of time and weather, mouldering hollows, sparkling casements :
all would have been there ; none indeed, seen as such, none
comprehensible or like themselves, but all visible ; little
shadows and sparkles, and scratches, making that whole space
of colour a transparent, palpitating, various infinity" 1 (ibid., ch.
v. 7). (4) Lastly, the picture entirely ignores truth of moun-
tains. And this in two ways. First, there is a total want of
magnitude and aerial distance. " In the distance is something
white, which I believe must be intended for a snowy mountain,
because I do not see that it can well be intended for anything
else. Now no mountain of elevation sufficient to be sheeted
with perpetual snow can by any possibility sink so low on the
1 Compare on this point G. Poussin's "Abraham and Isaac" (31,
P- 359)-
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 343
horizon as this something of Claude's, unless it be at a distance
of from fifty to seventy miles. At such distances . . . the
mountains rise from the horizon like tranparent films, only dis-
tinguishable from mist by their excessively keen edges and
their brilliant flashes of sudden light ; they are as unsubstantial
as the air itself, and impress their enormous size by means of
this aerialness, in a far greater degree at these vast distances,
than even when towering above the spectator's head. 1 Now,
I ask of the candid observer, if there be the smallest vestige
of an effort to attain, if there be the most miserable, the most
contemptible, shadow of attainment of such an effect by Claude ?
Does that white thing on the horizon look seventy miles off ?
Is it faint, or fading, or to be looked for by the eye before it
can be found out ? Does it look high ? Does it look large ?
Does it look impressive ? You cannot but feel that there is
not a vestige of any kind or species of truth in that horizon ;
and that however artistical it may be, as giving brilliancy to
the distance (though as far as I have any feeling in the matter,
it only gives coldness), it is, in the very branch of art on which
Claude's reputation chiefly rests, aerial perspective, hurling
defiance to nature in her very teeth. But there are worse
failures in this unlucky distance. . . . No mountain was ever
raised to the level of perpetual snow without an infinite multi-
plicity of form. Its foundation is built of a hundred minor
mountains, and from these, great buttresses run in converging
ridges to the central peak. . . . Consequently, in distant effect,
when chains of such peaks are visible at once, the multiplicity
of form is absolutely oceanic ; and though it is possible in near
scenes to find vast and simple masses composed of lines which
run unbroken for a thousand feet or more, it is physically
impossible when these masses are thrown seventy miles back
to have simple outlines, for then these large features become
mere jags and hillocks, and are heaped and huddled together
in endless confusion. . . . Hence these mountains of Claude,
having no indication of the steep vertical summits which are
characteristic of the central ridges, having soft edges instead
1 One may compare with Mr. Ruskin's description the similar one by
Tennyson of a distant view of Monte Rosa
How faintly-flush'd, how phantom-fair,
Was Monte Rosa, hanging there
A thousand shadowy-pencill'd valleys
And snowy dells in a golden air.
The Daisy.
344 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
of decisive ones, simple forms instead of varied and broken
ones, and being painted with a crude raw white, having no
transparency, nor filminess, nor air in it, instead of rising in
the opalescent mystery which invariably characterises the
distant snows, have the forms and the colours of heaps of
chalk in a limekiln, not of Alps " (ibid., sec. iv. ch. ii. 8, 9).
479. THE SUN RISING IN A MIST.
/. M . W. Turner, R.A. (English : 1775-1851). See p. 574.
This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1807,
and belongs therefore to his first period (see p. 588), which
was distinguished by " subdued colour and perpetual reference
to precedent in composition." This effect of sunrise in a mist
was a favourite one with Dutch painters, and Turner, when he
went to the sea-shore, painted it in the Dutch manner. A time
was to come when he would paint the sun rising no longer in
a mist. Yet from the first, the bent of his own mind was
visible in his work. He paints no such ideal futilities as are
pointed out above in Claude's picture, but fishermen engaged
in their daily toil. One of his father's best friends was a
fishmonger, whom he often visited : " which gives us a friendly
turn of mind towards herring-fishing, whaling, Calais poissardes,
and many other of our choicest subjects in after-life." He was
the painter not of " pastoral indolence or classic pride, but of
the labour of men, by sea and land " (Modern Painters, vol. v.
pt. ix. ch. ix.)
498. DIDO BUILDING CARTHAGE.
/. M. IV. Turner, K.A. (English : 1775-1851). See p. 574.
From the technical point of view this is not one of Turner's
best pictures. It was exhibited in 1815, and belongs therefore
to his first period, when he had still not completely exorcised
"the brown demon." The picture, says Mr. Ruskin, "is quite
unworthy of Turner as a colourist," " his eye for colour
unaccountably fails him," 1 and "the foreground is heavy and
evidently paint, if we compare it with genuine passages of
Claude's sunshine " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch.
vii. 45, sec. ii. ch. i. 13, ch. ii. 18).
1 It may be worth noting that, according to the son of Turner's
friend, Trimmer, this picture "had an entire new sky painted at the
desire of Lawrence and other brother artists, who, when he had altered it,
said the picture was ruined " (Thornbury's Life of Turner, i. 175).
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 345
But there is a noble idea in the picture. Dido, Queen of
Carthage, surrounded by her people, and with plans and papers
about her, is superintending the building of the city which was
to become the great maritime power of the ancient world.
" The principal object in the foreground (on the left) is a group
of children sailing toy boats. The exquisite choice of this
incident, as expressive of the ruling passion which was to be
the source of future greatness, in preference to the tumult of
busy stone-masons or arming soldiers, is quite as appreciable
when it is told as when it is seen, it has nothing to do with
the technicalities of painting ; a scratch of the pen would have
conveyed the idea and spoken to the intellect as much as the
elaborate realisations of colour. Such a thought as this is
something far above all art ; it is epic poetry of the highest
order. Claude, in subjects of the same kind (see the next
picture), commonly introduces people carrying red trunks with
iron locks about, and dwells, with infantine delight, on the
lustre of the leather and the ornaments of the iron. The
intellect can have no occupation here ; we must look to the
imitation or to nothing. Consequently Turner arises above
Claude in the very first instant of the conception of his picture,
and acquires an intellectual superiority which no powers of the
draughtsman or the artist (supposing that such existed in his
antagonist) could ever wrest from him " {Modern Painters, vol.
i. pt. i. sec. i. ch. vii. 2).
14. SEAPORT: QUEEN OF SHEBA.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See tinder 1018, p. 348.
This seaport inscribed in the right corner " La Reine de
Saba va trouver Salomon " is usually ranked as one of
Claude's masterpieces. The picture which Turner selected to
vie with it is, on the other hand, not one of his best. Yet
Turner starts with at least one great advantage : there is no
thought in his rival's work. The queen is starting for a distant
expedition, and was going in great state (she went " with a
very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in
abundance, and precious stones ") ; yet the prominent incident
in the picture is the carrying of one schoolgirl's trunk.
She is going by sea, and is setting out in the early morning
(for the sun is represented only a little above the horizon) ; *
1 Amongst the curiosities of criticisms are the differences between
experts as to whether this is a morning, or an evening, effect. Contra-
346 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
yet she has no wraps, nor even a head-dress. So much for
the general idea of the picture. The " tame waves " are
beautifully painted, but show Claude's usual limitation. "A
man accustomed to the broad, wild sea-shore, with its bright
breakers, and free winds, and sounding rocks, and eternal
sensation of tameless power, can scarcely but be angered when
Claude bids him stand still on some paltry chipped and
chiselled quay, with porters and wheel-barrows running against
him, to watch a weak, rippling, bound and barriered water,
that has not strength enough in one of its waves to upset
the flower-pots on the wall, or even to fling one jet of spray
over the confining stone " l (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii.
sec. i. ch. vii. 5). Claude's ships, too, and his conception of
sea-ports generally show a strange want of true imagination.
His ships, "having hulls of a shape something between a
cocoa-nut and a high-heeled shoe, balanced on their keels on
the top of the water, with some scaffolding and cross-sticks
above, and a flag at the top of every stick, form perhaps the
purest exhibition of human inanity and fatuity which the arts
have yet produced. The harbours also, in which these model
navies ride, are worthy of all observation for the intensity
of the false taste which, endeavouring to unite in them the
characters of pleasure-ground and port, destroys the veracity
of both. There are many inlets of the Italian seas where
sweet gardens and regular terraces descend to the water's
edge ; but these are not the spots where merchant vessels
anchor, or where bales are disembarked. On the other hand,
there are many busy quays and noisy arsenals upon the shores
of Italy ; but queens' palaces are not built upon the quays,
nor are the docks in any wise adorned with conservatories or
ruins. It was reserved for the genius of Claude to combine
the luxurious with the lucrative, and rise to a commercial ideal,
in which cables are fastened to temple pillars, and lighthouses
adorned with rows of beanpots " (Harbours of England, pp.
17, 1 8). Notice, lastly, the "atrocious error in ordinary per-
spective " in the quay on the left on which the figure is sitting
dictory opinions on the point were submitted to the Select Committee of
1853, but as the picture had been "restored," each side was able to
impute the difficulty of deciding to the "ruinous" nature of that
operation.
1 It may be interesting to note on the other side that Dr. Waagen
(whose experience of the sea is given on p. 216 .) finds the waves in this
picture to ' ' run high," and to be " extraordinarily deep and full. "
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 347
with his hand at his eyes 1 (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. i. sec.
i. ch. v. 5, pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. ii. i).
660. A MAN'S PORTRAIT.
Francois Clouet (French : about 1510-1574).
Frangois Clouet, like his father Jeannet before him, was court
painter to the King of France. Jeannet was, however, probably a
Netherlander, and Franois remained faithful to the old northern style
of painting. This and the other portrait ascribed to him (i 190, p. 368)
might well be taken for works of the Flemish School.
947. A PORTRAIT.
Unknown,
36. A LAND STORM.
Caspar Poussin (French : 16131675).
See under 31, p. 359.
The one gleam of light breaking through the clouds falls
on the watch-tower of a castle, perched on a rock " a stately
image of stability," where all things else are bent beneath the
power of the storm. The spirit of the picture is, however,
better than its execution. Take, for instance, the clouds.
They are mere " massive concretions of ink and indigo, wrung
and twisted very hard, apparently in a vain effort to get some
moisture out of them " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec.
iii. ch. iv. 6). In the tree forms, again, Mr. Ruskin sees a
concentration of errors. The foreground tree is "a piece of
atrocity which, I think, to any person who candidly considers it,
may save me all further trouble of demonstrating the errors of
ancient art. I do not in the least suspect the picture ; the
tones of it, and much of the handling are masterly ; yet that
foreground tree comprises every conceivable violation of truth
which the human hand can commit, or head invent, in drawing a
tree, except only that it is not drawn root uppermost. It has no
bark, no roughness nor character of stem ; its boughs do not
grow out of each other, but are stuck into each other ; they
ramify without diminishing, diminish without ramifying, are
terminated by no complicated sprays, have their leaves tied to
their ends like the heads of Dutch brooms ; and finally, and
chiefly, they are evidently not made of wood, but of some soft
elastic substance, which the wind can stretch out as it pleases,
1 Compare for equally defective perspective the covered portico in 30,
P- 352-
348 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
for there is not a vestige of an angle in any one of them.
Now the fiercest wind tftat ever blew upon the earth could not
take the angles out of the bough of a tree an inch thick. The
whole bough bends together, retaining its elbows, and angles,
and natural form, but affected throughout with curvature in
each of its parts and joints. . . . You will find it difficult to
bend the angles out of the youngest sapling, if they be marked ;
and absolutely impossible, with a strong bough. You may
break it, but you will not destroy its angles. And if you watch
a tree in the wildest storm, you will find that though all its
boughs are bending, none lose their character but the utmost
shoots and sapling spray. Hence Caspar Poussin, by his bad
drawing, does not make his stem strong, but his tree weak ; he
does not make his gust violent, but his boughs of Indian-
rubber" (ibid.) vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. i. 12, 13).
236. CASTLE OF SANT' ANGELO, ROME.
Claude Joseph Vernet (French : 1714-1789).
Vernet (grandfather of Horace Vernet, and himself one of
the most celebrated of French artists) lived for twenty years
in Rome, and here gives us the past and present of the
Imperial City as he saw it Behind is the castle which the
Emperor Hadrian had built for his family tomb, in which were
buried several of the Emperors after him, and the history of
which in the Middle Ages was almost the history of Rome
itself. In front is a fete on the Tiber, with a fashionable
crowd in crinolines watching the boats tilting on the river.
1O18. A CLASSICAL LANDSCAPE.
Claude Lorraine (French : 16001682).
Claude Gelee was born, the son of humble parents (to the end he
was an unlettered man), in a house which may still be seen in the
village of Champagne in the Vosges, and thus derives his name of Lor-
raine from his native province. He was brought up, it is said, as a
pastry-cook, but he entered the household of Agostino Tassi, a Perugian
landscape painter, at Rome, in the capacity of general factotum, and
from him received his first instruction in art. Subsequently he travelled
to the Tyrol and to Venice the influence of which place may be seen
in the "gentle ripples of waveless seas "in his Seaports. After working
for some time at Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, he returned in October
1627 to Rome, and there settled down for the remainder of his life.
The house which he inhabited may still be seen at the angle of the
streets Sistina and Gregoriana. Of his life at Rome many interesting
particulars are given by his friend Sandrart, a German painter, who
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 349
was for some years his companion. " In order," says Sandrart, " that
he might be able to study closely the innermost secrets of nature, he
used to linger in the open air from before daybreak even to nightfall,
so that he might learn to depict with a scrupulous adherence to nature's
model the changing phases of dawn, the rising and setting sun, as
well as the hours of twilight. ... In this most difficult and toilsome
mode of study he spent many years ; making excursions into the
country every day, and returning even after a long journey without
rinding it irksome. Sometimes I have chanced to meet him amongst the
steepest cliffs at Tivoli, handling the brush before those well-known
waterfalls, and painting the actual scene, not by the aid of imagination
or invention, but according to the very objects which nature placed
before him." 1 (One of these sketches is now in the British Museum.)
On one expedition to Tivoli, Claude was accompanied, we know, by
Poussin,but for the most part he lived a secluded life; "he did not, "says
Sandrart, "in everyday life much affect the civilities of polite society."
Such seclusion must partly have been necessary to enable Claude to
cope with the commissions that crowded in upon him. For the Pope,
Urban VIII. , he painted the four pictures now in the Louvre, and the
three succeeding popes were all among his patrons. So was Cardinal
Mazarin and the Duke of Bouillon, the Papal Command er-in-Chief,
for whom amongst other pictures he painted two (12 and 14) in this
Gallery. England was a great buyer of his works : nineteen were
ordered from here in 1 644 alone ; and commissions came also from
Denmark and the Low Countries. One sees the pressure of a busy man
in the number of "stock" subjects which he repeated. He suffered
much too from forgers, and it was partly to check the sale of fictitious
Claudes that he prepared his " Liber Veritatis" a collection of draw-
ings of all his pictures, now in the possession of the Duke of Devon-
shire. Two hundred and seventy more of his drawings may be seen
in the British Museum. For his figures, however, he was glad of out-
side help, and many painters put these in for him. The soft, pensive,
and almost feminine charm which characterises his landscapes well
agrees with what we know of his life. He was passionately fond of
music. To a little girl, "living with me and brought up in my house
in charity," he bequeathed much of his treasures. He had received
also a poor, lame lad into his house, whom he instructed in painting
and music, and who rewarded him by demanding arrears of salary for
" assistance." Towards his poor relations he was uniformly generous,
and when Sandrart left him it was a nephew from the Vosges whom he
called to keep house for him.
With regard to the characteristics of Claude's art, his general
position in the history of landscape painting has been defined above,
1 ' ' When they went to nature, which I believe to have been a very
much rarer practice with them than their biographers would have us sup-
pose, they copied her like children, drawing what they knew to be there,
but not what they saw there " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch.
i- 7).
350 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
and some further points of detail are noticed under his several
works. Here, however, it may be convenient to give Mr. Ruskin's
summary of the matter, (i) Claude had a fine feeling for beauty of
form, and is seldom ungraceful in his foliage. His tenderness of con-
ception is especially shown in delicate aerial effects, such as no one
had ever rendered before, and in some respects, no one has ever done in
oil colour since. But their character appears to arise rather from a
delicacy of bodily constitution in Claude than from any mental sensi-
bility ; such as they are, they give a kind of feminine charm to his
work, which partly accounts for its wide influence. To whatever their
character may be traced, it renders him incapable of enjoying or painting
anything energetic or terrible. Thus a perfectly genuine and untouched
sky of Claude is beyond praise in all qualities of air. But he was in-
capable of rendering great effects of space and infinity. (2) As with
his skies, so too with his seas. They are the finest pieces of water
painting in ancient art. But they are selections of the particular
moment when the sea is most insipid and characterless. (3) He had
sincerity of purpose ; but in common with the other landscape painters
of his day, neither earnestness, humility, nor love, such as would ever
cause him to forget himself. Hence there is in his work no simple or
honest record of any single truth, and his pictures, when examined with
reference to essential truth, are one mass of error from beginning to
end. So far as he felt the truth, he tried to be true ; but he never
felt it enough to sacrifice supposed propriety, or habitual method, to it.
Very few of his sketches and none of his pictures show evidence of
interest in other natural phenomena than the quiet afternoon sunshine
which would fall methodically into a composition. One would suppose
he had never seen scarlet in a morning cloud, nor a storm burst on
the Apennines. (4) He shows a peculiar incapacity of understanding
the main point of a matter, and of men of name is the best instance
of a want of imagination, nearly total, borne out by painful but un-
taught study of nature, and much feeling for abstract beauty of form,
with none whatever for harmony of expression. (5) Yet in spite of all
his deficiencies Claude effected a revolution in art. This revolution
consisted in setting the sun in heaven. We will give him the credit of
this with no drawbacks. 1 Till Claude's time no one had seriously
thought of painting the sun but conventionally ; that is to say, as a red
or yellow star, (often) with a face in it, under which type it was con-
stantly represented in illumination ; else it was kept out of the picture,
or introduced in fragmentary distances, breaking through clouds with
almost definite rays. Claude first set it in the pictorial heaven (col-
lected from Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 3, 5, 14,
sec. iii. ch. i. 9, ch. iii. 13-15, 17 ; vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 18 ;
1 But Mr. Ruskin does not quite keep his promise. ' ' If Claude had
been a great man he would not have been so steadfastly set on painting
effects of sun ; he would have looked at all nature, and at all art, and
would have painted sun effects somewhat worse, and nature universally
much better " (.\fodern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii. 23).
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 351
vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii. 22, 27, and Appendix i. ; vol. v. pt. ix. ch.
v. 10, ii).
A characteristic example of Claude's classical compositions
as described above (p. 335). It is one of his late works, being
dated 1673 ; the names of Anchises and tineas occur.
2. CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
For the story of Cephalus, who is here receiving from
Procris the presents of Diana, the hound Lelaps, and the fatal
dart with which she was killed, see under I. 698, p. 28. As for
the landscape, Mr. Ruskin cites this picture as an instance of
the " childishness and incompetence " of Claude's foregrounds.
" I will not," he writes, " say anything of the agreeable compo-
sition of the three banks, rising one behind another from the
water, except only that it amounts to a demonstration that all
three were painted in the artist's study, without any reference
to nature whatever. In fact, there is quite enough intrinsic
evidence in each of them to prove this, seeing that what
appears to be meant for vegetation upon them, amounts to
nothing more than a green stain on their surfaces, the more
evidently false because the leaves of the trees twenty yards
farther off are all perfectly visible and distinct ; and that the
sharp lines with which each cuts against that beyond it are not
only such as crumbling earth could never show or assume, but
are maintained through their whole progress ungraduated, un-
changing, and unaffected by any of the circumstances of varying
shade to which every one of nature's lines is inevitably subjected.
In fact the whole arrangement is the impotent struggle of a
tyro to express by successive edges that approach of earth
which he finds himself incapable of expressing by the drawing
of the surface. Claude wished to make you understand that
the edge of his pond came nearer and nearer ; he had probably
often tried to do this with an unbroken bank, or a bank only
varied by the delicate and harmonious anatomy of nature : and
he had found that owing to his total ignorance of the laws of
perspective such efforts on his part invariably ended in his
reducing his pond to the form of a round O, and making it look
perpendicular. Much comfort and solace of mind in such un-
pleasant circumstances, may be derived from instantly dividing
the obnoxious bank into a number of successive promontories,
352 ROOM XIV : FRENCH SCHOOL
and developing their edges with completeness and intensity "
(Modern Painters, vol. i. pL ii. sec. iv. ch. iv. 17, 18).
3O. SEAPORT: THE EMBARKATION OF ST.
URSULA.
Claude (French: 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
The best Claude in the Gallery, for it is a perfect example of
his chief merit the painting of quiet skies. As for the subject :
St. Ursula, a beautiful and gifted Sicilian princess, was sought
in marriage by a prince of Britain ; but having already dedicated
herself to Christ, she made a condition that before her marriage,
she, with eleven thousand attendant virgins, should be permitted
for the space of three years to visit the shrines of the Saints.
This being permitted, the maidens started on a miraculous
voyage. Guided by angels they proceeded as far as Rome,
where pagans having plotted their death, on their further journey
to Cologne they were martyred by the barbarians besieging that
city. Here in the picture they are represented as embarking
on their three years' voyage.
95. DIDO AND AENEAS.
Caspar Poussin ( F rench : 1613-1675).
See under 31, p. 359.
Dido, Queen of Carthage, enamoured of the Trojan ^neas,
the destined founder of Rome, sought to detain him by strategy
within her dominions. The goddess Juno, who had espoused
Dido's cause, contrived that a storm should befall when the
Queen and her guest were on a hunting party
A pitchy cloud shall cover all the plain
With hail and thunder and tempestuous rain . . .
One cave a grateful shelter shall afford
To the fair princess and the Trojan lord.
DRYDEN'S Virgil, ALn. iv. 119.
This is the moment represented in the picture. In front
of the cave a Cupid holds the horse of tineas, and two others
are fluttering above. High in the clouds is Juno, accompanied
by Venus, who had contrived all this for Dido's undoing.
As for the execution of the picture, "the stormy wind blows
loudly through its leaves, but the total want of invention in the
cloud-forms bears it down beyond redemption. Look at the
wreaths of cloud (?), with their unpleasant edges cut as hard
and solid and opaque and smooth as thick black paint can
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 353
make them, rolled up over one another like a dirty sail badly
reefed" 1 (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iii. ch. iv. 23 ;
vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 18).
65. CEPHALUS AND AURORA.
Nicolas Poussin (French : 1594-1665).
The life of Nicolas Poussin may be summed up in the cry of
yEneas, Italiam petinms we make for Italy. He was born in
Normandy, of a noble family, and when eighteen went to Paris.
Here he became acquainted with Courtois, the mathematician, whose
collection of Italian prints fired him with a desire to go to Rome.
This devotion to Rome became from that day the leading point alike
in his life and in his art. After several unsuccessful efforts to get
there, he fell in at Lyons with the poet Marini, who took him into
his employ, and in whose company he found himself at last, in 1624,
in Rome. Here he suffered both poverty and sickness. He was
nursed by a compatriot, Dughet, whose daughter, when his affairs
were more prosperous, he married. His success was largely due to
the patronage of the Cardinal Barberini, and in 1 640, on his return to
Paris, he was introduced by Cardinal Richelieu (for whom amongst
other pictures he painted 63, p. 328, in this Gallery) to Louis XIII. The
king appointed him his painter-in-ordinary, with a salary of ^120 and
rooms in the Tuileries, but three years later, disgusted with the
intrigues and jealousies of Paris, and being anxious to rejoin his wife,
he returned to Rome, where he continued full of work for the
rest of his life. His house on the Pincian, adjoining the church of
the Trinita, may still be seen, and he is buried in the church of St.
Lorenzo.
It is Rome which gives the leading idea also to Poussin's art. He
has been called the " Raphael of France ;" and certain it is that at a
time when the local art of France was purely decorative in character,
he returned, and strenuously adhered, to classical traditions. Already
at Paris he had studied casts and prints after Raphael ; and when he
first went to Rome he lived with Du Quesnoy ("II Fiammingo "),
under whom he learnt the art of modelling bassi-relievi. His profound
classical learning has caused him to be called "the learned Poussin."
"He studied the beautiful," says his biographer, "in the Greek
statues of the Vatican." " He studied the ancients so much," says Sir
Joshua Reynolds, " that he acquired a habit of thinking in their way,
and seemed to know perfectly the actions and gestures they would use
on every occasion." His learning went, however, farther than this
in its influence on his art. His idea, says Lanzi, was that of "philos-
ophy in painting ; " and in one of his letters Poussin illustrates the
idea from the Greek theory of " modes " in music. If a subject were
serious, it should be painted in the Doric mode ; if vehement, in the
1 See also the remarks on the companion storm piece, 36, p. 347.
2 A
354 ROOM XI V: FRENCH SCHOOL
Phrygian ; if plaintive, in the Lydian ; if joyous, in the Ionic. 1 This
classical learning of Poussin was the source at once of his strength
and of his weakness as an artist. On the one hand, it often made his
work wonderfully harmonious and impressive. Thus in the Ionic
mode, his Bacchanalian pictures in this Gallery and elsewhere are
nearly the best representations in art of the Epicurean ideal of life, of a
world in which enjoyment is the end of existence. " His best works,"
says Mr. Ruskin, "are his Bacchanalian revels, always brightly
wanton, full of frisk and fire ; but they are coarser than Titian's, 2
and infinitely less beautiful. In all minglings of the human and
brutal character he leans on the bestial, yet with a sternly Greek
severity of treatment." Again, in more serious Doric mode, he is
" the great master of the elevated ideal of landscape." He does not
"put much power into his landscape when it becomes principal ; the
best pieces of it occur in fragments behind his figures. Beautiful
vegetation, more or less ornamental in character, occurs in nearly all
his mythological subjects, but his pure landscape is notable only for its
dignified reserve ; the great squareness and horizontality of its masses,
with lowness of tone, giving it a deeply meditative character : " see
especially 40, p. 363. On the other hand, he had the defects of his train-
ing. It made him too restrained and too cold. " His peculiarities are,
without exception, weaknesses, induced in a highly intellectual and
inventive mind by being fed on medals, books, and bassi-relievi instead
of nature, and by the want of any deep sensibility." Thus he "had
noble powers of design, and might have been a thoroughly great
painter had he been trained in Venice ; but his Roman education kept
him tame ; his trenchant severity was contrary to the tendencies of his
age, and had few imitators, compared to the dashing of Salvator and
the mist of Claude. These few imitators adopted his manner without
possessing either his science or invention ; and the Italian School of
landscape soon expired. . . . This restraint, peculiarly classical, is
much too manifest in him ; for, owing to his habit of never letting
himself be free, he does nothing as well as it ought to be done, rarely
even as well as he can himself do it ; and his best beauty is poor, in-
complete, and characterless, though refined." Finally, his " want of
sensibility permits him to paint frightful subjects without feeling any
1 See Lanzi, i. 477, and a paper by Mr. R. Heath in the Magazine
of Art for September 1887, where Poussin's theory is illustrated from his
pictures in the Louvre. English readers may be reminded that Poussin is
particularly well represented in the Dulwich Gallery.
2 Elsewhere Mr. Ruskin says of Poussin, " Whatever he has done has
been done better by Titian." Also, "the landscape of Nicolo Poussin
shows much power, and is usually composed and elaborated on right
principles, but I am aware of nothing that it has attained of new or peculiar
excellence ; it is a graceful mixture of qualities to be found in other masters
in higher degrees. In finish it is inferior to Leonardo's, in invention to
Giorgione's, in truth to Titian's, in grace to Raphael's {Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 14).
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 355
true horror ; his pictures of the plague are thus ghastly in incident, some-
times disgusting, but never impressive :" see 165, p. 358 (collected from
Modern Painters, vol. i. preface p. xxv. , pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 14 ; vol.
ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 19 ; vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xviii. 28 ; vol. v.
pt. ix. ch. v. 17).
None of the "learned" Poussin's pictures in the Gallery
shows so well as this how steeped he was alike in the know-
ledge and in the feeling of Greek mythology. Cephalus was
a Thessalian prince whose love of hunting carried him away at
early dawn from the arms of his wife Procris (see under I. 698,
p. 28). Hence the allegorical fable of the loves of Cephalus
and Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, and her attempt to rival
Procris in his affections. Cephalus here half yields to Aurora's
blandishments, but a little Cupid holds up before him the por-
trait of his wife and recalls her love to his mind. Behind is
Aurora's car, in which she is drawn by the white -winged
Pegasus across the sky. But Pegasus, with that intermingling
of many ideas which is characteristic of all Greek myths, is
also "the Angel of the Wild Fountains: that is to say, the fastest
flying or lower rain -cloud, winged, but racing as upon the
earth." 1 Hence beside him sleeps a river-god, his head resting
on his urn. But the mountain top is tipped with dawn ; and
behind, one sees a Naiad waking. Farther still beyond, in a
brightening horizon, the form of Apollo, the sun -god whose
advent follows on the dawn, is just apparent, his horses and his
car melting into the shapes of morning clouds. 2
19. NARCISSUS AND ECHO.
Claude (French: 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
Narcissus, a beautiful youth, was beloved by the nymph
Echo, but he spurned her love, and when she pined away she
was changed into a stone which still retained the power of
voice. But Narcissus, seeing his own image reflected in a
fountain, became enamoured of it, and when he could never
reach his phantom love he killed himself for grief, and the
1 See Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. vii. ch. iv. 13.
- Mr. Ruskin (ibid., vol. ii. pt iii. sec. ii. ch. iv. 16) notices this
treatment of Apollo under the head of " Imagination Contemplative," as
an instance of an imaginative abstraction ' ' in which the form of one thing
is fancifully indicated in the matter of another ; as in phantoms and cloud
shapes, the use of which, in mighty hands, is often most impressive, as in
the cloudy-charioted Apollo of Nicolo Poussin in our own Gallery, which
the reader may oppose to the substantial Apollo, in Wilson's Niobe," see
XVII. no, p. 442.
356 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
nymphs who came to burn his body found only the " short-lived
flower " that bears his name. Here, half hidden in the trees,
we see the
Naiad hid beneath the bank,
By the willowy river-side,
Where Narcissus gently sank,
Where unmarried Echo died.
lonica.
In the details of its foliage, Mr. Ruskin instances this
picture as showing Claude's ignorance of tree structure. " Take
the stem of the chief tree in Claude's Narcissus. It is a very
faithful portrait of a large boa-constrictor with a handsome
tail ; the kind of trunk which young ladies at fashionable
boarding schools represent with nosegays at the top of them
by way of forest scenery." Again, "observe the bough under-
neath the first bend of the great stem, ... it sends off four
branches like the ribs of a leaf. The two lowest of these are
both quite as thick as the parent stem, and the stem itself is
much thicker after it has sent off the first one than it was before.
The top boughs of the central tree, in the ' Marriage of Isaac
and Rebecca' (12, p. 337), ramify in the same scientific way"
{Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. i. 7, 9).
OO3. CARDINAL FLEURY.
Hyacinthe Rigaud (French : 1659-1743).
A portrait, by a celebrated painter of the time, of the
famous tutor, and afterwards prime minister, of Louis XV.
It is eminently the " pacific Fleury," who strove to keep
France out of war and starved her army and navy when she was
forced into it, that we see in this amiable old gentleman the
scholar and member of the Academy, who completed what is now
the National Library of France rather than the statesman.
1O1, 1O2, 1O3, 1O4. THE FOUR AGES OF MAN.
Nicolas Lancret (French : 16901743).
Very interesting historical records as showing the ideal of
life at the French court in the time of the regent Orleans
and Louis XV., for Lancret was a friend and imitator of
Watteau, and painted like him to suit the taste of the day.
He was elected a member of the French Academy of Painting
in 1719, and Councillor in 1735. In " Infancy " (101) children,
in the gayest clothes and garlanded with flowers, are at play
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 357
under a stately portico life being not so much a stage as a
game, and all the men and women (in that sense) "merely
players." To what should children, thus educated, grow up but
to the pomps and vanity of life, as shown in "Manhood" (103) ?
The adornment of the person is the chief occupation, it would
seem, of the dwellers in " the Armida Palace, where the inmates
live enchanted lives, lapped in soft music of adulation, waited
on by the splendours of the world." And "Youth" (102) is like
unto manhood. The business of life is pleasure on the green-
sward, with shooting at the popinjay! "Old Age" (104) has
no place in such a philosophy of life. One old man is indeed
attempting a last amour. The other caresses a dog, while
the old women sleep or spin. But in " Old Age " the painter
changes his scene from the court to common life ; the thought
of old age is banished, it seems, from the high life of princes.
" In short," wrote an English observer at the time when this
picture was painted, " all the symptoms which I have ever met
with in History, previous to all Changes and Revolutions in
government, now exist and daily increase in France " (Lord
Chesterfield : see Carlyle's French Revolution, bk. i. ch. ii.)
5. A SEAPORT AT SUNSET.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
An instance of false tone (cf. under Cuyp, X. 53, p. 218).
" Many even of the best pictures of Claude must be looked
close into to be felt, and lose light every foot that we retire.
The smallest of the three Seaports in the National Gallery is
valuable and right in tone when we are close to it, but ten yards
off it is all brickdust, offensively and evidently false in its
whole hue." Contrast " the perfect and unchanging influence of
Turner's picture at any distance. We approach only to follow
the sunshine into every cranny of the leafage, and retire only to
feel it diffused over the scene, the whole picture glowing like a
sun or star at whatever distance we stand, and lighting the air
between us and it " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch.
i. 20).
62. A BACCHANALIAN DANCE.
Nicolas Poiissin (French : 1594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
Whence came ye, jolly Satyrs ! whence came ye,
So many, and so many, and such glee ?
Why have ye left your forest haunts, why left
Your nuts in oak-tree cleft ?
358 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
" For wine, for wine we left our kernel tree ;
For wine we left our heath, and yellow brooms,
And cold mushrooms ;
For wine we follow Bacchus through the earth ;
Great god of breathless cups and chirping mirth !
Come hither, lady fair, and joined be
To our mad minstrelsy !"
KEATS : Eiidymion.
Lent by the Earl of Dufferin.
HEAD OF A GIRL.
Greuze (French : 1725-1805). See under 206, p. 361.
Black-stoled, black -hooded, like a dream.
TENNYSON.
61. LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
The history of this picture is curiously interesting as show-
ing the passion in an earlier generation for Claude. It belonged
to Sir George Beaumont, who valued it so highly that it was,
we are told, his travelling companion. He presented it to the
National Gallery in 1826, but unable to bear its loss begged
it back for the rest of his life. He took it with him into the
country, and on his death, two years later, his widow restored
it to the nation. The figures are differently interpreted as
representing The Annunciation, The Angel appearing to
Hagar, or Tobias and the Angel.
165. THE PLAGUE AT ASHDOD.
Nicolas Poussin (French : 1 594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
The Philistines having overcome the Israelites removed the
ark of the Lord to Ashdod, and placed it in the temple of
their god Dagon. " And when they of Ashdod arose early
on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the
earth before the ark ..." (seen here in the temple to the right).
" But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of
Ashdod, and he smote them with a loathsome plague "(i
Samuel v. 4, 6).
The picture a ghastly subject ghastlily treated is yet a
good instance of Poussin's learned treatment. Everywhere
the intention to express alarm is obvious, and in the foreground
are figures fleeing the infection, with nose and mouth muffled.
ROOM XIV : FRENCH SCHOOL 359
Others are engaged removing the dead and dying, while in
the centre are the dead bodies of a mother and child ; another
child approaches the mother's breast, but the father stoops
down to avert it. A similar group to this occurs in a design
by Raphael, " II Morbetto," and was also in the celebrated
picture by Aristides which Alexander the Great, at the sack of
Thebes, claimed for himself and sent to his palace at Pella
(Wornum : Epochs of Painting, p. 47, ed. 1864).
31. THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC.
Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675).
Nicolas Poussin, who had no children, adopted his wife's brother,
Caspar Dughet, who thus took the name of Poussin. Caspar was
Nicolas's pupil, but Claude also "contributed," we are told, "to his
instruction." In his prime he worked so fast that he would often, we
are told, ' ' finish a picture in a day " ! There is more serious feeling
in his landscapes, more " perception of the moral truth of nature,"
and "grander Teachings after sympathy" than in those either of
Nicolas or of Claude. It is impossible to look at many of his pictures
in this Gallery without sharing the sense of grandeur and infinity in
nature which inspired them, and hence it is that from Caspar's own
time till now they have enjoyed "a permanent power of address to the
human heart." On the other hand, scarcely less obvious are the
deficiencies in his art. " They are full," says Mr. Ruskin, "of the most
degraded mannerism ; " first and foremost, in his search of a false
sublimity, he painted every object in his picture, vegetation and all, of
one dull gray and brown ; and too many of his landscapes are now
one dry, volcanic darkness. And secondly, he had a total want of
imagination in seizing the true forms of natural objects, so that some
passages of his landscapes are, as we shall see, perfect epitomes of the
falseness to nature in the painters of that age l (collected from Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 3, 14 ; vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i.
ch. v. 12, sec. ii. ch. ii. 18 ; vol. iv. pt. v. ch. xvi. 24).
These remarks cannot be better illustrated than in the
present picture. Abraham and Isaac the former with a
lighted torch, the latter with the wood are ascending the hill
on the right to the sacrifice ; while Abraham's two servants
await his return below. The whole spirit of the picture is
" solemn and unbroken," in perfect harmony with the subject.
But it is kept from being a really grand picture by the " hope-
1 Caspar was particularly untruthful in his representation of leaves (see
98, p. 367). It is interesting therefore, as showing how long it passed for
truth, to note that Lanzi (i. 481) singles out this point for special praise :
' ' Everything that Caspar expresses is founded in nature ; in his leaves he
is as various as the trees themselves."
360 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
less want of imagination " in the forms of the clouds, the
colour of the sky, and the treatment of the distant landscape.
These painters, says Mr. Ruskin, looked at clouds " with utter
carelessness and bluntness of feeling ; saw that there were a
great many rounded passages in them ; found it much easier to
sweep circles than to design beauties, and sat down in their
studies, contented with perpetual repetitions of the same
spherical conceptions, having about the same relation to the
clouds of nature, that a child's carving of a turnip has to the
head of the Apollo. . . . Take the ropy, tough-looking wreath
in the ' Sacrifice of Isaac,' and find one part of it, if you can,
which is not the repetition of every other part of it, all together
being as round and vapid as the brush could draw them "
(Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iii. ch. iii. 8). Equally
deficient is the colour of the sky. " It is here high noon, as is
shown by the shadow of the figures ; and what sort of colour
is the sky at the top of the picture ? Is it pale and gray with
heat, full of sunshine, and unfathomable in depth ? On the
contrary, it is of a pitch of darkness which, except on Mont Blanc
or Chimborazo, is as purely impossible as colour can be. He
might as well have painted it coal-black ; and it is laid on with
a dead coat of flat paint, having no one quality or resemblance
of sky about it. It cannot have altered, because the land horizon
is as delicate and tender in tone as possible, and is evidently un-
changed ; and to complete the absurdity of the whole thing, this
colour holds its own, without graduation or alteration, to within
three or four degrees of the horizon, where it suddenly becomes
bold and unmixed yellow. Now the horizon at noon may be
yellow when the whole sky is covered with dark clouds, and only
one open streak of light left in the distance from which the
whole light proceeds ; but with a clear, open sky, and opposite
the sun, at noon, such a yellow horizon as this is physically
impossible. . . . We have in this sky (and it is a fine picture,
one of the best of Caspar's that I know) a notable example of
the truth of the old masters, two impossible colours impossibly
united ! . . . Nor is this a solitary instance ; it is Caspar
Poussin's favourite and characteristic effect " (ibid., vol. \. pt ii.
sec. iii. ch. i. 10). Lastly, the same want of truth is shown
in the wide expanse stretching away to the distance. " It is
luminous, retiring, delicate and perfect in tone, and is quite
complete enough to deceive and delight the careless eye to
which all distances are alike ; nay, it is perfect and masterly,
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 361
and absolutely right, if we consider it as a sketch, as a first
plan of a distance, afterwards to be carried out in detail. But
we must remember that all these alternate spaces of gray and
gold are not the landscape itself, but the treatment of it ; not
its substance, but its light and shade. They are just what
nature would cast over it, and write upon it with every cloud,
but which she would cast in play, and without carefulness, as
matters of the very smallest possible importance. All her
work and her attention would be given to bring out from
underneath this, and through this, the forms and the material
character which this can only be valuable to illustrate, not to
conceal. Every one of those broad spaces she would linger
over in protracted delight, teaching you fresh lessons in
every hair's breadth of it, and pouring her fulness of invention
into it, until the mind lost itself in following her ; now fringing
the dark edge of the shadow with a tufted line of level forest ;
now losing it for an instant in a breath of mist ; then breaking
it with the white gleaming angle of a narrow brook ; then
dwelling upon it again in a gentle, mounded, melting undula-
tion, over the other side of which she would carry you down
into a dusty space of soft crowded light, with the hedges and
the paths and the sprinkled cottages and scattered trees mixed
up and mingled together in one beautiful, delicate, impenetrable
mystery, sparkling and melting, and passing away into the
sky, without one line of distinctness, or one instant of vacancy " l
(ibid., vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. v. 8).
206. THE HEAD OF A GIRL.
Jean Baptiste Greuze (French : 1725-1805).
To understand the great reputation which Greuze enjoyed in his
day one should remember, besides the prettiness of his pictures in them-
selves, the contrast which they afforded in their subject matter to the art
around them. Look, for instance, at 1090, p. 370, and 1 01-104, p. 356,
in this room. Those pictures are nearly contemporary with Greuze's, and
are typical, the first of the mythological, the latter of the courtliness,
and all of the sensuality, of the current art of the time. The return to
nature, the return to simple life and sounder morals, which inspired Rous-
seau, found expression in Greuze's domestic scenes and sweet girl faces.
"Courage, my good Greuze," said Diderot of one of Greuze's pictures
of domestic drama, "introduce morality into painting. What, has not
the pencil been long enough and too long consecrated to debauchery
and vice ? Ought we not to be delighted at seeing it at last unite
1 Compare on this point Claude's "Isaac and Rebecca," 12, p. 342.
362 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
with dramatic poetry in instructing us, correcting us, inviting us to
virtue?" * Greuze's art, in comparison with what was around it, was
thus simple, natural, moral. Yet one sees now that something of the
artificiality, against which his pictures were a protest, nevertheless affected
them. For instance there is an obvious posing in this picture, just
as there is a touch of affectation in 1 1 54, p. 368. Decidedly, too, Greuze
" invests his lessons of bourgeois morality with sensuous attractions."
There is neither the innocence nor the unconsciousness in the girls of
Greuze that there is in those of Reynolds or Millais.
The life of Greuze is interesting for the curious instance it affords of
the inability, which so many eminent men have shown, to know in
what direction their best powers lay. Greuze's reputation rested on
his genre painting on his rendering of domestic scenes or faces ;
but his ambition was to figure as an historical painter. His one
picture in this style " Severus and Caracalla" (in the Louvre)
was painted in 1 769 as his diploma work for the French Academy
of painting, and when on his formal reception they praised him for "his
former productions, which are excellent," and shut their eyes to this
one, which was unworthy alike of them and of him, he was greatly
incensed and ceased to exhibit. Greuze, who was born at Macon,
in Burgundy, died at Paris in the Louvre in great poverty, having
squandered his large earnings by extravagance and bad manage-
ment (Lady Dilke's article in Encyclopedia ritannica, and Morley's
Diderot, voL ii. ch. iii.)
What wert thou, maid ? thy life thy name
Oblivion hides in mystery ;
Though from thy face my heart could frame
A long romantic history.
Transported to thy time I seem,
Though dust thy coffin covers
And hear the songs, in fancy's dream,
Of thy devoted lovers.
How witching must have been thy breath
How sweet the living charmer
Whose every semblance after death
Can make the heart grow warmer !
CAMPBELL : Lines on a picture of a girl by Greuze,
1 The view Diderot thus took of Greuze's art suggests the importance of
historical perspective in criticism. Pictures, like everything else, should be
judged with reference to contemporary circumstances, as well as by the
standard of our own time. From the former point of view Greuze, as we
have seen, is a moralist in painting. From the latter Mr. Ruskin suggests
the consideration "how far the value of a girl's head by Greuze would be
lowered in the market if the dress, which now leaves the bosom bare, were
raised to the neck" (Modern Painters, voL iii. pt. iv. ch. v. 7).
ROOM XIV ': FRENCH SCHOOL 363
58. A STUDY OF TREES.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
4O. LANDSCAPE: PHOCION.
Nicolas Poussin (French : i 594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
"The work of a really great and intellectual mind, one of
the finest landscapes that ancient art has produced " (Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. i. 8), its excellence con-
sisting in the perfect harmony of the landscape with the
subject represented, and thus marking the painter's sense of the
dependence of landscape for its greatest impressiveness on
human interest. In the foreground to the left is Phocion "the
good" the incorruptible Athenian general and statesman, con-
temporary with Philip and Alexander the Great, of whom it is
recorded that he was " never elated in prosperity nor dejected
in adversity," and " never betrayed pusillanimity by a tear nor
joy by a smile." He wears an undyed robe, and is washing
his feet at a public fountain, the dress and action being
thus alike emblematic of the purity and simplicity of his life.
In entire keeping with this figure of noble simplicity is the
feeling of the landscape in which " all the air a solemn stillness
holds."
In detail, however, the picture is deficient in truth of nature.
It is false, first, in tone. Thus " the first idea we receive from
this picture is that it is evening, and all the light coming from
the horizon. Not so. It is full noon, the light coming steep
from the left, as is shown by the shadow of the stick on the
right-hand pedestal ; for if the sun were not very high, that
shadow could not lose itself half-way down, and if it were not
lateral, the shadow would slope, instead of being vertical. Now
ask yourself, and answer candidly, if those black masses of
foliage, in which scarcely any form is seen but the outline, be a
true representation of trees under noonday sunlight, sloping
from the left, bringing out, as it necessarily would do, their
masses into golden green, and marking every leaf and bough
with sharp shadow and sparkling light. The only truth in the
picture is the exact pitch of relief against the sky of both trees
and hills ; and to this the organisation of the hills, the intricacy
of the foliage, and everything indicative either of the nature of
the light, or the character of the objects, are unhesitatingly
sacrificed. So much falsehood does it cost to obtain two
apparent truths of tone!" (ibid.') Next, it is false in colour.
364 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
Thus " in the upper sky the clouds are of a very fine clear
olive-green, about the same tint as the brightest parts of the
trees beneath them. They cannot have altered (or else the
trees must have been painted in gray), for the hue is harmonious
and well united with the rest of the picture, and the blue and
white in the centre of the sky are still fresh and pure. Now
a green sky in open and illumined distance is very frequent,
and very beautiful ; but rich olive-green clouds, as far as I am
acquainted with nature, are a piece of colour in which she is not
apt to indulge " (ibid., vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 5).
42. A BACCHANALIAN FESTIVAL.
Nicolas Poussin (French : 1594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
A realisation of the classic legends of mirth and jollity, pre-
cisely in the spirit of Keats's ode On a Grecian Urn
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady ?
What men or gods are these ? What maidens loath ?
What mad pursuit ? What struggle to escape ?
What pipes and timbrels ? What wild ecstasy ?
1057. A RIVER SCENE.
Claude Joseph Vernet (French : 1714-1789).
See under 236, p. 348.
An unimportant picture. The famous series of French sea-
ports which Vernet was summoned by Louis XV. from Rome to
paint are to be seen in the Louvre.
68. A VIEW NEAR ALBANO.
Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675). See under 31, p. 359.
" A woody landscape " which in nature would be a mass
of intricate foliage "a mere confusion of points and lines
between you and the sky. . . . This, as it comes down into
the body of the tree, gets closer, but never opaque ; it is always
transparent, with crumbling lights in it letting you through to
the sky ; then, out of this, come, heavier and heavier, the
masses of illumined foliage, all dazzling and inextricable, save
here and there a single leaf on the extremities : then, under
these, you get deep passages of broken irregular gloom, passing
into transparent, green -lighted, misty hollows ... all pene-
trable and transparent, and, in proportion, inextricable and
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 365
incomprehensible, except where across the labyrinth and
mystery of the dazzling light and dream-like shadow, falls, close
to us, some solitary spray, some wreath of two or three motion-
less large leaves, the type and embodying of all that in the rest
we feel and imagine, but can never see.
" Now, with thus much of nature in your mind, go to Caspar
Poussin's ' View near Albano.' It is the very subject to unite all
these effects, a sloping bank shaded with intertwined forest.
And what has Caspar given us ? A mass of smooth, opaque,
varnished brown, without one interstice, one change of hue, or
any vestige of leafy structure, in its interior, or in those parts
of it, I should say, which are intended to represent interior ;
but out of it, over it rather, at regular intervals, we have cir-
cular groups of greenish touches, always the same in size, shape,
and distance from each other, containing so exactly the same
number of touches each, that you cannot tell one from another.
There are eight or nine and thirty of them, laid over each other
like fish-scales ; the shade being most carefully made darker
and darker as it recedes from each until it comes to the edge
of the next, against which it cuts in the same sharp circular line,
and then begins to decline again, until the canvas is covered,
with about as much intelligence or feeling of art as a house-
painter has in marbling a wainscot, or a weaver in repeating an
ornamental pattern. What is there in this, which the most
determined prejudice in favour of the old masters can for a
moment suppose to resemble trees ? It is exactly what the
most ignorant beginner, trying to make a complete drawing,
would lay down ; exactly the conception of trees which we
have in the works of our worst drawing-masters, where the
shade is laid on with the black lead and stump, and every
human power exerted to make it look like a kitchen grate
well polished ' Jl (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. i.
16-19). A further "untruth of vegetation" is the perpe-
tration of the bough at the left-hand upper corner. This is " a
representation of an ornamental group of elephants' tusks, with
feathers tied to the end of them. Not the wildest imagination
could ever conjure up in it the remotest resemblance to the
bough of a tree. It might be the claws of a witch, the talons
of an eagle, the horns of a fiend ; but it is a full assemblage of
every conceivable falsehood which can be told respecting
1 See also the next picture, 98, in which the tree is said by Mr.
Ruskin to be " a mere jest " compared to this.
366 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
foliage, a piece of work so barbarous in every way, that one
glance at it ought to prove the complete charlatanism and
trickery of the whole system of the old landscape painters "
(ibid., 7).
98. VIEW OF LA RICCIA.
Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675). See under 31, p. 359.
This picture and the scene of it the ancient town of Aricia,
about fifteen miles from Rome, famous in Roman legend, and
Horace's first stopping place on his journey to Brindisi are
described by Mr. Ruskin in an often-quoted passage of Modern
Painters : " Whether it can be supposed to resemble the ancient
Aricia, now La Riccia, close to Albano, I will not take upon
me to determine, seeing that most of the towns of those old
masters are quite as much like one place as another ; but, at
any rate, it is a town on a hill, wooded with two-and-thirty
bushes, of very uniform size, and .possessing about the same
number of leaves each. These bushes are all painted in with
one dull opaque brown, becoming very slightly greenish towards
the lights, and discover in one place a bit of rock, which of
course would in nature have been cool and gray beside the
lustrous hues of foliage, and which, therefore, being moreover
completely in shade, is consistently and scientifically painted
of a very clear, pretty, and positive brick red, the only thing
like colour in the picture. The foreground is a piece of road
which, in order to make allowance for its greater nearness, for
its being completely in light, and, it may be presumed, for the
quantity of vegetation usually present on carriage-roads, is given
in a very cool green gray ; and the truth of the picture is com-
pleted by a number of dots in the sky on the right, with a
stalk to them, of a sober and similar brown. 1
" Not long ago, I was slowly descending this very bit of
carriage road. . . . The noon-day sun came slanting down
the rocky slopes of La Riccia, and their masses of entangled
and tall foliage, whose autumnal tints were mixed with the wet
verdure of a thousand evergreens, were penetrated with it as
with rain. I cannot call it colour, it was conflagration. Purple,
1 It should be noted that this, as well as very many other pictures,
has of late years been cleaned. Thus 98 and 68 (in 1880), 36 and 40
(in 1868), have been "cleaned and varnished." 31 was "relined, re-
paired, and varnished " in 1878 ; 161 was " cleaned and repaired " in
1868.
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 367
and crimson and scarlet, like the curtains of God's tabernacle,
the rejoicing trees sank into the valley in showers of light,
every separate leaf quivering with buoyant and burning life ;
each, as it turned to reflect or to transmit the sunbeam, first a
torch and then an emerald. Far up into the recesses of the
valley, the green vistas arched like the hollows of mighty waves
of some crystalline sea, with the arbutus flowers dashed along
their flanks for foam, and silver flakes of orange spray tossed
into the air around them, breaking over the gray walls of rock
into a thousand separate stars, fading and kindling alternately
as the weak wind lifted and let them fall. Every glade of
grass burned like the golden floor of heaven, opening in sudden
gleams as the foliage broke and closed above it, as sheet-
lightning opens in a cloud at sunset ; the motionless masses
of dark rock dark though flushed with scarlet lichen, casting
their quiet shadows across its restless radiance, the fountain
underneath them filling its marble hollow with blue mist and
fitful sound ; and over all, the multitudinous bars of amber and
rose, the sacred clouds that have no darkness, and only exist to
illumine, were seen in fathomless intervals between the solemn
and orbed repose of the stone pines, passing to lose themselves
in the last, white, blinding lustre of the measureless line where
the Campagna melted into the sea. Tell me who is likest this,
Poussin or Turner?" (vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 1-3).
Mr. Ruskin further instances the picture as an example of
"untruth of trees." It is an elementary law of tree structure
that stems only taper when sending off foliage and sprays.
" Therefore we see at once that the stem of Caspar Poussin's
tall tree, on the right of the ' La Riccia,' is a painting of a carrot
or a parsnip, not of the trunk of a tree. For, being so near
that every individual leaf is visible, we should not have seen,
in nature, one branch or stem actually tapering. We should
have received an impression of, graceful diminution ; but we
should have been able, on examination, to trace it joint by
joint, fork by fork, into the thousand minor supports of the
leaves. Caspar Poussin's stem, on the contrary, only sends
off four or five minor branches altogether, and both it and they
taper violently, and without showing why or wherefore ; without
parting with a single twig, without showing one vestige of
roughness or excrescence ; and leaving, therefore, their un-
fortunate leaves to hold on as best they may. The latter,
however, are clever leaves, and support themselves as swarming
368 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
bees do, hanging on by each other" (ibid., vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi.
ch. i. 6 ; and cf. vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 18).
119O. A BOY'S PORTRAIT.
Ascribed to Francois Clouet (French : about 1510-1574).
See under 660, p. 347.
This picture was presented to the Gallery by Mr. G. F.
Watts, R.A., and it is interesting to note the sage-green back-
ground which Mr. Watts has sometimes employed in his own
portraits.
1154. GIRL WITH A LAMB.
Greuze (French: 1725-1805). See under 206, p. 361.
Be always like the lamb, so mild
A sweet and pure and gentle child.
Old Nursery Song.
An unfinished study characteristic of the touch of affecta-
tion often visible in Greuze's pictures of simplicity. Children
fondling pet lambs are a favourite motive in art, but its treat-
ment is seldom free from affectation. See, for instance,
Murillo's St. John, XV. 176, p. 380, and compare the fine lady
with her lamb in X. ion, p. 256.
6. DAVID AT THE CAVE OF ADULLAM. 1
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
David, in front of the cave, "longed and said, ' Oh that one
would give me to drink of the water of Bethlehem, which is by
the gate ! ' And the three mighty men brake through the host
of the Philistines (seen in the valley), and drew water out of the
well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and
brought it to David " (2 Samuel xxiii. 15, 16). With regard to
the landscape, the picture is a good instance at once of Claude's
strength and weakness. Thus " the central group of trees is a
very noble piece of painting " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii.
sec. iv. ch. ii. 8). On the other hand the rocks, both in the
left corner and in the right, are highly absurd. " The
Claudesque landscape is not, as so commonly supposed, an
idealised abstract of the nature about Rome. It is an ultimate
condition of the Florentine conventional landscape, more or
less softened by reference to nature " (ibid., vol. iii. pt. iv. ch.
xviii. 27). So, too, "the brown foreground and rocks are as
1 Called also " Sinon before Priam" (sneid, ii. 79).
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 369
false as colour can be : first, because there never was such a
brown sunlight, for even the sand and cinders (volcanic
tufa) about Naples, granting that he had studied from these
ugliest of all formations, are, where they are fresh fractured,
golden and lustrous in full light, compared to these ideals of
crags, and become, like all other rocks, quiet and gray when
weathered ; and secondly, because no rock that ever nature
stained is without its countless breaking tints of varied vegeta-
tion " (ibid., vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. ii. 1 6).
161. AN ITALIAN LANDSCAPE.
Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675). See under 31, p. 359.
A recollection probably of the mountain scenery in North
Italy possibly near Bergamo. The spray of foliage prominent
on the left is very characteristic of Caspar. " One of the most
remarkable characters of natural leafage is the constancy with
which, while the leaves are arranged on the spray with exquisite
regularity, that regularity is modified in their actual effect.
For as in every group of leaves some are seen sideways, form-
ing merely long lines, some foreshortened, some crossing each
other, every one differently turned and placed from all the
others, the forms of the leaves, though in themselves similar,
give rise to a thousand strange and differing forms in the
group. . . . Now go to Caspar Poussin and take one of his
sprays, where they come against the sky ; you may count it all
round : one, two, three, four, one bunch ; five, six, seven,
eight, two bunches ; nine, ten, eleven, twelve, three bunches ;
with four leaves each ; and such leaves ! every one precisely the
same as its neighbour, blunt and round at the end (where every
forest leaf is sharp, except that of the fig-tree), tied together
by the stalks, and so fastened on to the demoniacal claws above
described (see under 68, p. 365), one bunch to each claw"
{Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. i. 16, 17).
1159. THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM.
Caspar Poussin (French : 1613-1675). See under 31, p. 359
A very impressive picture in spite of the somewhat grotesque
angel who accosts Abraham and points him to the Almighty
seated in the clouds above (Genesis xii.) And indeed it is
in his skies that Caspar points us to the Infinite in the open
sky, stretching far away into that yellow horizon. To what
does this strange distant space owe its attractive power?
2 B
370 ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL
" There is one thing that it has, or suggests, which no other
object of sight suggests in equal degree, and that is Infinity.
It is of all visible things the least material, the least finite, the
farthest withdrawn from the earth prison-house, the most
typical of the nature of God, the most suggestive of the glory
of his dwelling-place. For the sky of night, though we may
know it boundless, is dark ; it is a studded vault, a roof that
seems to shut us in and down ; but the bright distance has no
limit, we feel its infinity, as we rejoice in its purity of light. . . .
Of the value of this mode of treatment (i.e. the rendering of
open sky) there is a further and more convincing proof than its
adoption either by the innocence of the Florentine or the ardour
of the Venetian ; namely, that when retained or imitated from
them by the landscape painters of the seventeenth century,
when appearing in isolation from all other good, among the
weaknesses and paltrinesses of Claude, the mannerisms of
Caspar, and the caricatures and brutalities of Salvator, it yet
redeems and upholds all three, conquers all foulness by its
purity, vindicates all folly by its dignity, and puts an uncom-
prehended power of permanent address to the human heart
upon the life of the senseless and the profane" 1 {Modern
Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. v. 5, 1 2).
91. VENUS SLEEPING, SURPRISED BY SATYRS.
Nicolas Poussin (French : 1 594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
55. THE DEATH OF PROCRIS.
Claude (French : 1600-1682). See under 1018, p. 348.
See for this subject under I. 698, p. 28.
1O0O. PAN AND SYRINX.
Francois Boucher (French : 1704-1770).
A good example of the sensual art of the time, by an artist
who was the idol of his day, and made an enormous income out
of his popularity. For a less gross version of the same
subject see X. 659, p. 248.
39. THE NURSING OF BACCHUS.
Nicolas Poussin (French : 1 594-1665). See under 65, p. 353.
The wine -god is represented in infancy, nursed by the
nymphs and fauns of Eubcea, and fed not on milk but on the
1 See, however, for some deductions afterwards made from this esti-
mate, ibid., vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iii. 6, 7.
ROOM XIV: FRENCH SCHOOL 371
juice of the grape. " The picture makes one thirsty to look at
it the colouring even is dry and adust. The figure of the
infant Bacchus seems as if he would drink up a vintage he
drinks with his mouth, his hands, his belly, and his whole
body. Gargantua was nothing to him " (Hazlitt : Criticisms
on Art, p. 33).
102O. GIRL WITH AN APPLE.
Greuze (French : 1725-1805). See under 206, p. 361.
A cloud of yellow hair
Is round about her ear.
She hath a mouth of grace,
And forehead sweet and fair.
AUSTIN DOBSON : A Song of Angiola.
1O19. THE HEAD OF A GIRL.
Greuze (French : 1725-1805). See under 206, p. 361.
I will paint her as I see her . . .
With a forehead fair and saintly,
Which two blue eyes undershine,
Like meek prayers before a shrine.
Face and figure of a child,
Though too calm, you think, and tender,
For the childhood you would lend her.
Mrs. BROWNING : A Portrait.
64. RETURN OF THE ARK FROM CAPTIVITY.
Sebastien Bourdon (French: 1616-1671).
A picture of which the subject and the merits alike must,
in its present condition, be taken on authority only. It was
a great favourite with Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom it once
belonged. He cited it, together with a picture by Salvator
Rosa, to the students of the Academy (Discourse xiv.) as an
instance of " the poetical style of landscape," calling particular
attention to the "visionary" character of "the whole and every
part of the scene." The subject is the return of the ark by
the Philistines to the valley of Bath-shemesh, as described in
i Samuel vi. 10-14. The painter was one of the original
twelve anciens of the old French Academy of painting, of which
he died rector ; he had formerly been painter to Queen Christina
of Sweden, to whose country he had fled as a Protestant.
ROOM XV
THE SPANISH SCHOOL
"FOR the learned and the lettered," says a Spanish author in the
reign of Philip IV., ''written knowledge may suffice ; but for the
ignorant, what master is like Painting? They may read their
duty in a picture, although they cannot search for it in books."
" WHAT we are all attempting," said Sir Joshua Reynolds, " to do with
great labour, Velazquez does at once."
NONE of the great schools of painting is so scantily repre-
sented in the National Gallery as the Spanish, although
the works in this room by its greatest master, Velazquez, are
of exceptional excellence in quality and of exceptional
interest as illustrating the progress of his art. The deficiency
in Spanish pictures is not peculiar to London. "Spain,"
said Sir David Wilkie, " is the Timbuctoo of artists." The
Spanish School of painters and their history are still only
half explored, and can only be fully studied in Spain itself.
" He who Seville (and Madrid) has not seen, has not seen
the marvels great " of Spanish painting.
There are, however, enough examples of the school
here to make some few general remarks desirable. The
first point to be noticed is this, that all the painters repre-
sented in the room (with two exceptions) are nearly con-
temporary. The period 1588-1682 covers all their lives.
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 373
They are four of the chief painters of Spain, and they all
reach a high level of technical skill. This fact suggests at
once the first characteristic point in the history of the
Spanish School. It has no infancy. 1 It sprang full-grown
into birth. The reason of this was its Italian origin. The
art of painting, except as purely decorative, was forbidden
to the Moors; and it was only in 1492, when the banner
of Castile first hung on the towers of the Alhambra, that
the age of painting, as of other greatness, began for Spain.
But the very greatness of Spain led to Italian influence in
art. The early Spanish painters nearly all found means of
going to Italy (Theotocopuli, 1 1 2 2, p. 381 was born there
in 1548), and the great Italian painters were constantly
attracted to the Spanish court.
But though Spanish art sprang thus rapidly to perfection
under foreign influence, it was yet stamped throughout with
a thoroughly distinctive character. In the first place the
proverbial gravity of the Spaniard is reflected also in his art
Look round this room, and see if the prevailing impres-
sion is not of something grave, dark, lurid. There is here
nothing of the sweet fancifulness of the early Florentines,
nothing of the gay voluptuousness of the later Venetians.
The shadow of the Spaniard's dark cloak seems to be over
every canvas. Then secondly, Spanish painting is intensely
" naturalist." Velazquez exhibits this tendency at its best :
there is an irresistible reality about his portraits which makes
the men alive to all who look at them ; Murillo exhibits
it in its excess : his best religious pictures are spoiled
by their too close adherence to ordinary and even vulgar
types.
Both these characteristics are partly accounted for by a
third. Painting in Spain was not so much the handmaid,
as the bondslave, of the Church. As the Church was in
Spain, so had art to be monastic, severe, immutable. " To
have changed an attitude or an attribute would have been
a change of Deity." Pacheco, the* master of Velazquez, was
1 This statement, though broadly true, requires, of course, much modifi-
cation already in the light of early Spanish architectural and missal
painting ; and as the subject is further investigated, will probably require still
374 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
charged by the Inquisition to see that no pictures were
painted likely to disturb the true faith. Angels were on no
account, he prescribed, to be drawn without wings, and the
Blessed Virgin, in the Immaculate Conception, was always to
be dressed in blue and white, for that she was so dressed
when she appeared to Beatrix de Silva, a Portuguese nun,
who founded the order called after her. One sees at once
how an art, working under such conditions as these, would
be likely to lose the play of fancy and the love of beauty
which distinguish freer schools. And then, lastly, one may
note how the Spanish church tended also to make Spanish
art intensely naturalistic. Pictures were expected to teach
religious dogmas and to enforce mystical ideas : the Im-
maculate Conception, for instance, is an especially Spanish
subject. But, in the inevitable course of superstition, the
symbol passed into a reality This was more particularly
the case with statues. Everything was done to get images
accepted as realities. To this day they are not only painted
but dressed : they have, like queens, their mistress of the
robes, and ladies appointed to make their toilets. It was
inevitable that this idea of art as something which was not
to appeal to the imagination, but was to pass itself off as a
reality should extend also to Spanish painting. How far
it did so is best shown in a story gravely related by Pacheco.
A painter on a high scaffold had just half finished the figure
of the Blessed Virgin when he felt the whole woodwork on
which he stood giving way. He called out in his horror,
" Holy Virgin, hold me," and straightway the painted arm
of the Virgin was thrust out from the wall, supporting the
painter in mid-air ! When a ladder was brought and the
painter got his feet on it, the Virgin's arm relapsed and
became again only a painting on the wall. One need not
go farther than this story to see the origin of the realistic
character of Spanish art, or to understand how Murillo,
although often the most mystic of all painters in his con-
ceptions of religious subjects, was also the most naturalistic
in his treatment of them (see W. B. Scott : Murillo and the
Spanish ScJwol of Painting).
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 375
232. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.
Velazquez (1599-1660). See under 1 129, p. 376.
An early work of the painter, 1 in his first manner, when it
was founded on the style of Ribera and Caravaggio. A glance at
172 in an adjoining room (XIII., p. 327) will show the similarity
in a moment. " No Virgin ever descended into Velazquez's
studio. No cherubs hovered around his pallet. He did not
work for priest or ecstatic anchorite, but for plumed kings and
booted knights ; hence the neglect and partial failure of his
holy and mythological pictures holy, like those of Caravaggio,
in nothing but name groups rather of low life, and that so
truly painted as still more to mar, by a treatment not in
harmony with the subject, the elevated sentiment " (Ford :
Handbook for Travellers in Spain). In the distance is the
guiding angel as the star of the Epiphany ; but there is little
adoration in the rough peasant group. It is, however, a
pretty piece of observation of child nature that makes Velazquez
paint the boy offering his animals to the infant Christ. One
remembers George Eliot's " young Daniel " (in Scenes of
Clerical Life), who says to Mr. Gilfil, by way of making friends,
" We've got two pups, shall I show 'em yer ? One's got white
spots."
1229. VIRGIN AND CHILD.
Luis de Morales (\ 509-1586).
Luis de Morales was born at Badajos, and is one of the most native
of Spanish artists. He did not resort to Italy, such foreign influence
as is discernible in him being rather that of the Flemings ; and the
religious sanctity of his work won him the surname of "the Divine."
He was very largely commissioned by churches and convents, and his
fame spread over Spain. He was called to the court of Philip II. in
1 563, but was dismissed as soon as he had painted one picture, and
thereafter he fell into great poverty. He had appeared at court, it is
said, " in the style of a grand seigneur" which seemed to the king and
his courtiers absurd in a mere painter, and was the cause of their
disfavour. Some years later, however, the king, learning of his
poverty, granted him a pension. In his earlier period, Morales painted
crowded compositions with numerous figures ; in his later, smaller
pictures, such as the one before us.
1 ' ' The Venetians and Velazquez are never wrong, at least after his
style was formed ; early pictures, like the ' Adoration of the Magi ' in our
Gallery, are of little value " (Two Paths, Appendix i.)
376 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
1129. KING PHILIP IV. OF SPAIN.
Velazquez (1599-1660).
Don Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez was born at Seville of
well-to-do parents his father's name being Silva, his mother's Vel-
azquez. His talent for drawing quickly showed itself, and when only
twenty he married Juana, the daughter of his second master, Pacheco
(his first being another painter of Seville, Herrera). Pacheco's house,
says one of the Spanish historians, was " the golden prison of painting,"
and it was here that Velazquez met Cervantes, and obtained his first
introduction to the brilliant circle in which he was himself to shine.
In Pacheco's company he went in 1622 to Madrid, where he had
influential friends, and next year he was invited to return by Olivares,
the king's great minister. Olivares persuaded the king to sit to Vel-
azquez for his portrait. The portrait was a complete success, and the
painter stepped at once into fame and favour. This immediate success
is characteristic of his extraordinary facility. "Just think," says Mr.
Ruskin, " what is implied when a man of the enormous power and
facility that Reynolds had, says he was ' trying to do with great labour '
what Velazquez 'did at once.'" Velazquez shows indeed "the highest
reach of technical perfection yet attained in art ; all effort and labour
seeming to cease in the radiant peace and simplicity of consummate
human power" 1 (Two Paths, % 68; Fors Clavigera, 1876, p. 188).
From the time of this first portrait of Philip IV. onwards, the life
of Velazquez was one long triumph. He was not only the favourite
but the friend of the king. He was made in succession painter to the
king, keeper of the wardrobe, usher of the royal chamber, and cham-
berlain, and offices were also found for his friends and relations. He
lived in the king's palace on terms of close intimacy, painting the king and
his family in innumerable attitudes, and accompanying him on- his royal
progresses. When our Charles I., then Prince of Wales, visited Madrid
in 1623, Velazquez painted his portrait, and figured in all the royal
fetes held in the English prince's honour. The Duke of Buckingham,
it would seem, was also his friend, and Velazquez saw something too of
Rubens, when the latter came on his diplomatic mission to Madrid
(see p. 222). In 1630 he obtained permission to travel in Italy, and
the journey was important to him as marking the beginning of his
maturer style. He travelled with recommendations from the king,
and wherever he went Venice, Ferrara, Rome, Naples, he was
received with all the honours accorded to princes. His second visit
to Italy was in 1648, when the king sent him to buy pictures
1 Similarly Raphael Mengs, a later Spanish painter, said of Velazquez
that he appears to have painted with his will only, without the aid of his
hand. Of the striking truth of Velazquez's portraits, there is this story
told. A certain Admiral Pareja had been ordered to sea ; the king entering
Velazquez's studio soon after and seeing, as he thought, the admiral in the
corner, exclaimed, " What, still here?" But it was not the admiral, it was
his portrait by Velazquez.
ROOM XV ': SPANISH SCHOOL 377
with the view of forming a Spanish Academy. At Rome he painted
the portrait of the Pope (Innocent X.), which made so great a mark
that it was carried in triumphal procession, like Cimabue's picture of
old. His royal master, however, became impatient for his return, and
he hurried back to Madrid, after giving commissions to all the leading
artists then at Rome. On his return he was given fresh honours and
offices especially that of Quarter Master, whose duty it was to super-
intend the personal lodgment of the king during excursions. It was
the duties of this office which were the immediate cause of his death.
He accompanied the king to the conference at Irun on the " Island
of the Pheasants " which led to the marriage of Louis XIV. with the
Infanta Maria Teresa. There is a picture of him at Versailles by the
French artist Lebrun, which was painted on this occasion. The
portrait, sombre and cadaverous looking, was no doubt true to life ;
and when Velazquez returned to Madrid, it was found that his exertions
in arranging the royal journey had sown the seeds of a fever, from
which after a week's illness he died. Seven days later his wife died of
grief, and was buried at his side.
Though Velazquez spent all his life, as we have seen, amongst the great
ones of the earth, no trace of vanity or meanness is discernible in his
character. Mr. Ruskin (Two Paths, 62, 65) connects his sweetness
of disposition with the truthfulness which was characteristic of his art.
" The art which is especially dedicated to natural fact always indicates
a peculiar gentleness and tenderness of mind, and all great and successful
work of that kind will assuredly be the production of thoughtful, sen-
sitive, earnest, kind men, large in their views of life, and full of various
intellectual power . . . (One instance is Reynolds). The other painter
whom I would give you as an instance of this gentleness is a man of
another nation, on the whole I suppose one of the most cruel civilised
nations in the world, the Spaniards. They produced but one great
painter, only one ; but he among the very greatest of painters, Vel- .
azquez. You would not suppose, from looking at Velazquez's portraits
generally, that he was an especially kind or good man ; you perceive
a peculiar sternness about them ; for they were as true as steel, and the
persons whom he had to paint being not generally kind or good people,
they were stern in expression, and Velazquez gave the sternness ; but
he had precisely the same intense perception of truth, the same mar-
vellous instinct for the rendering of all natural soul and all natural form
that our Reynolds had. Let me, then, read you his character as it is
given by Mr. Stirling (afterwards Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell) : ' Certain
charges, of what nature we are not informed, brought against him after
his death, made it necessary for his executor to refute them at a private
audience granted to him by the king for that purpose. After listening
to the defence of his friend, Philip immediately made answer, " I can
believe all you say of the excellent disposition of Diego Velazquez."
Having lived for half his life in courts, he was yet capable both of
gratitude and generosity. . . . No mean jealousy ever influenced his
conduct to his brother artists ; he could afford not only to acknowledge
378 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
the merits, but to forgive the malice of his rivals. His character was
of that rare and happy kind, in which high intellectual power is com-
bined with indomitable strength of will, and a winning sweetness of
temper.'" Nothing shows his character better than his treatment of
Murillo, who came to Madrid, an unfriended youth, in 1640. Velazquez
received him to his house, gave directions for his admission to all the
galleries and for permission to copy, presented him to the king, pro-
cured him commissions, and offered him facilities for making the journey
to Rome.
The chief characteristics of Velazquez's art have been already in-
cidentally alluded to. His style, in its maturity, is distinguished by
unerring facility and by the closest fidelity to natural fact. And then,
lastly, this truthfulness had its reward in making Velazquez distinguished
also amongst all Spanish painters by the sparkling purity of his colour.
"Colour is, more than all elements of art, the reward of veracity of
purpose. ... In giving an account of anything for its own sake, the
most important points are those of form. Nevertheless, the form of the
object is its own attribute ; special, not shared with other things. An
error in giving an account of it does not necessarily involve wider error.
But its colour is partly its own, partly shared with other things round
it. The hue and power of all broad sunlight is involved in the colour
it has cast upon this single thing ; to falsify that colour, is to mis-
represent and break the harmony of the day : also, by what colour it
bears, this single object is altering hues all round it ; reflecting its own
into them, displaying them by opposition, softening them by repetition ;
one falsehood in colour in one place, implies a thousand in the neigh-
bourhood. . . . Hence the apparent anomaly that the only schools of
colour are the schools of Realism. . . . Velazquez, the greatest
colourist, is the most accurate portrait painter of Spain " (Modern
Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. xi. 8 .)
The king is younger here than in 745, p. 383 ; hanging from
his chain is the order of the Golden Fleece. Notice also that
the head is not so minutely painted here as in 745 ; that being a
bust portrait would be seen near, this being a full-length would
naturally be placed above the level of the eye. The smaller
picture might be called, in the art-slang of to-day, " a harmony
in black and gold ; " this, from the shimmer on its lace and the
flashing on the rapier hilt, " a harmony in black and silver."
197. A WILD BOAR HUNT.
Velazquez (i 599-1660). See under 1 129, p. 376.
A very interesting picture, both for the sparkling brilliancy
of its execution and for the truth with which it reproduces
the court life of the time. Philip IV. was as fond of the
chase as he was of the arts ; and here we see some state
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 379
hunting-party in a royal enclosure (such as was arranged,
no doubt, for the pleasure of our Charles I. when he visited
Madrid), with an array of huntsmen and guards, and magnificent
carriages for the ladies of the court. Notice also the two
splendid dogs near the left-hand corner. Velazquez is very
great in painting dogs ; he "has made some of them nearly as
grand as his surly kings " (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix.
ch. vi. 13). With regard to the execution of the picture
(which was bought in 1846 and was alleged to have been
damaged in cleaning) Mr. Ruskin wrote : " I have seldom
met with an example of the master which gave me more delight,
or which I believed to be in more genuine or perfect condition.
. . . (The critic's) complaint of loss of substance in the figures
of the foreground is, I have no doubt, altogether groundless.
He has seen little southern scenery if he supposes that the
brilliancy and apparent nearness of the silver clouds is in the
slightest degree overcharged ; and shows little appreciation of
Velazquez in supposing him to have sacrificed the solemnity and
might of such a distance to the inferior interest of the figures in
the foreground. . . . The position of the horizon suggests, and
the lateral extent of the foreground proves, such a distance be-
tween the spectator and even its nearest figures as may well
justify the slightness of their execution. Even granting that
some of the upper glazings of the figures had been removed,
the tone of the whole picture is so light, gray, and glittering,
and the dependence on the power of its whites so absolute,
that I think the process hardly to be regretted which has left
these in lustre so precious, and restored to a brilliancy which
a comparison with any modern work of similar aim would
render apparently supernatural, the sparkling motion of its
figures and the serene snow of its sky " * (Arrows of the Chace,
\. 58-60).
1 This was written in 1847. In 1853 some "horrible revelations"
were made about the picture before the Select Committee on the National
Gallery. Mr. Ruskin turned out to be curiously wrong, but also curiously
right. He was wrong ; for so far from the picture being " in genuine and
perfect condition," a considerable portion of the canvas, as we now see it,
turned out to be not by Velazquez's hand at all. Lord Cowley, its former
owner, had sent it to a Mr. Thane, a picture dealer, to be relined. A too
hot iron was used, and a portion of the paint entirely disappeared. Thane
was in despair. The picture haunted him at nights. He saw the figure of
it in his dreams becoming more and more attenuated until it appeared at
length a skeleton. He was near going mad over it, when a good angel
came to his rescue in the shape of Lance, the flower and fruit painter
380 ROOM XV : SPANISH SCHOOL
176. ST. JOHN AND THE LAMB.
Murillo (1618-1682).
Barlholome Esteban Murillo, the most widely popular of the
Spanish painters, was himself sprung from "the people." He was
born of humble parents in Seville, and his earliest attempts at art were
pictures for fairs. He is also believed to have supplied some of the
Madonnas which were shipped off by loads for the convents in Mexico l
and Peru. A turning point in his artistic career came, however, when
a certain Pedro de Moya came into the studio of Murillo's uncle,
Castillo. De Moya had been studying under Van Dyck in London.
Van Dyck's style was a revelation to Murillo, who determined forth-
with to start off on the grand tour. First, however, he went to
Madrid, where Velazquez helped him greatly (see p. 378). His
studies here were so successful, and his popularity became so great
that the foreign journey was abandoned. He married a lady of fortune,
his house became a centre of taste and fashion, commissions poured in
upon him, and in 1660 he formed the Academy of Seville. His life
was as pious as it was busy. He was often seen praying for long
hours in his parish church, and in his last illness (which was brought
on by his falling, in a fit of absence of mind, from a scaffold) he was
carried every day to the church of Santa Cruz to pray before a
"Descent from the Cross." "I wait here," he said to the sacristan
who asked one day if he were ready to go, " till the pious servants of
our Lord have taken him down."
Murillo was thus one of the last sincerely religious painters a class
(see p. 509), who offered to restore the missing parts out of his head. So
far Mr. Ruskin was decidedly wrong. But he was also right. The parts
which Lance painted in " out of his head " were the groups on the left of
the foreground, and some of the middle distance. "I endeavoured," he
says, " to fill up the canvas, such as I supposed Velazquez would have done ;
and I had great facility in doing that, because if there was a man without a
horse here, there was a horse without a man there, so I could easily take his
execution as nearly as possible, and my own style of painting enabled me
to keep pretty near the mark" (!). But the high lights of the sky, he
particularly added, were untouched by him. So that there Mr. Ruskin was
right. The picture, when restored to its owner, gave complete satisfaction,
and Lance's share in it was kept a secret. A year or two later he must
have felt a proud man. The picture was being exhibited at the British
Gallery. In front of it Lance met two cognoscenti of his acquaintance.
" It looks to me," he said, testing them, "as if it had been a good deal
repainted." " No ! you're wrong there," they said ; " it is remarkably free
from repaints."
1 " In some of the convents (in Mexico) there still exist, buried alive
like the inmates, various fine old paintings . . . brought there by the
monks" (Dublin National Gallery Catalogue). The Spanish influence
gave birth, moreover, to a native Mexican School of painting, said to be of
considerable merit.
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 381
which, " after a few pale rays of fading sanctity from Guido, and brown
gleams of gipsy Madonnahood from Murillo, came utterly to an end "
(Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. iv. 4). But it was ''''gipsy
Madonnahood : " there is an entire want of elevation in his religious
types, and the peasants whom he painted as beggars or flower-girls he
painted also as angels or Virgins. This mingling of the common with
the religious alike in subject and treatment was no doubt a principal
reason of his great popularity in his own country. 1 His vulgarity of
treatment in his favourite beggar subjects is best seen in the Dulwich
Gallery ; of his religious style, the pictures here are characteristic ex-
amples. There is a certain " sweetness " and sentimentality about
them which often makes them immensely popular. The French in
particular are subject to a furore for Murillo, his ".Immaculate Con-
ception," now in the Louvre, having been bought in 1852 for .23,440
the largest sum ever given up to that time for a single picture. 2
With children, too, Murillo is nearly always a great favourite. A
maturer taste, however, finds the sentiment of Murillo overcharged,
and the sweetness of expression an insufficient substitute for elevation
of character. One charm however his pictures have which no criticism
is likely to take away : they are all stamped with the artist's individ-
uality, there is never any mistaking a Murillo.
An interesting illustration of the substitution of the
palpable image for the figurative phrase. The mission of
St. John the Baptist was to prepare the way for Christ, to
proclaim to the people "Behold the Lamb of God !" Murillo
makes the standard of the Lamb, with those words upon it, lie
upon the ground below ; but he further represents the young
St. Baptist as embracing an actual lamb.
1122. ST. JEROME. (See II. 227, p. 41-)
Domenico Theotocopuli (1548-1625).
Theotocopuli, called also "II Greco," and supposed to
have been of Greek descent, was born in one of the Venetian
1 "Murillo, of all true painters the narrowest, feeblest, and most
superficial, for those reasons the most popular" (Two Paths, 57 .)
"the delight of vulgar painters (as Murillo) in coarse and slurred
painting merely for the sake of its coarseness, opposed to the divine finish
which the greatest and mightiest of men disdained not" (Modern
Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. x. 3).
2 The French partiality for Murillo is traditional, dating back to
Marshall Soult's time, from whose collection the "Immaculate Conception"
was bought. Murillos were his favourite spoils from the Peninsular War.
"One day, showing General G his gallery in Paris, Soult stopped
opposite a Murillo, and said, ' I very much value that, as it saved the
lives of two estimable persons.' An aide-de-camp whispered, 'he threat-
ened to have both shot on the spot unless they gave up the picture
(Ford's Handbook}.
382 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
States, but migrated in early life to Spain, where most of his
works are now to be found. The inscription on the book,
"Cornaro act suae 100-1566," is interpolated.
74. A SPANISH PEASANT BOY.
Murillo (1618-1682). See under 176, p. 380.
Look at this and the other little boy near it (176), and
you will see at once the secret of Murillo's popularity. " In a
country like Spain he became easily the favourite of the crowd.
He was one of themselves, and had all the gifts they valued.
Not like Velazquez, reproducing by choice only the noble and
dignified side of the national character, Murillo could paint to
perfection either the precocious sentiment of the Good Shep-
herd with the lamb by his side, or the rags and happiness of
the gipsy beggar boy" (W. B. Scott's Murillo, p. 76)
Poor and content is rich and rich enough.
230. A FRANCISCAN MONK.
Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1662).
Of all the Spanish pictures in the Gallery this is the most
characteristic, and the most suggestive of that subserviency of
painting to the Church, which distinguishes the Spanish School.
Zurbaran was a pupil of the painter priest Juan de Roelas,
of Seville, and it is a piece of the religious life around him
that we have here before us. Seville was at that time the
most orthodox city in the most Catholic country, at every
corner of the streets there were Franciscan monks, with
prayers or charms to sell in exchange for food or money.
" For centuries in Spain country people bought up the monks'
old garbs, to use them in dressing the dead, so that St. Peter
might pass them into heaven thinking they were Franciscans.
It was in the streets and convents of Seville therefore that
Zurbaran found his models. This picture was bought for the
National Gallery from the Louis Philippe sale in 1853. When
the gallery of Spanish pictures to which it formerly belonged
was inaugurated in the Louvre, "what remained most strongly
in the Parisian mind, so impressionable and so bias/, was not
the suavity of Murillo, nor the astonishing pencil of Velazquez,
making the canvas speak and palpitate with life ; it was a
certain ' Monk in Prayer ' of Zurbaran, which it was impossible
to forget, even if one had seen it only once. On his knees, in
a poor garb of gray-brown, worn and patched, his visage lost
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 383
in the shadow of his hood, the monk implores the mercy of
the Christian God, God soft and terrible. The hands, pallid
and emaciated, hold the death's head, and the eyes are lifted
to heaven ; he seems to say, " Out of the depths have I cried
to Thee, Lord, Lord" (C. Blanc, cited in W. B. Scott's
MurillO) p. 55).
745. KING PHILIP IV. OF SPAIN.
Velazquez (i 599-1660). See under 1 129, p. 376.
Few kings have left so many enduring monuments of
themselves as Philip IV., whose face figures twice on these
walls and meets one in nearly every European gallery. It is a
face which, once seen, is not soon forgotten. Velazquez, as we
have said, caught its expression at once, and by comparing the
face in its youth (1129, p. 376) with its middle age here, one can
almost trace the king's career. In youth we see him cold and
phlegmatic, but slender in figure, graceful and dignified in bearing,
and with a fine open forehead. But the young king was bent
on ease and pleasure, and his minister Olivares did nothing to
persuade him into more active kingship. The less pleasing
traits in his character have, in consequence, come to be deeper
impressed at the time of this later portrait. He was devoted
to sport, and the cruelty of the Spaniard is conspicuous in the
lip more underhung now than before. In the growth of the
double chin and yet greater impassiveness of expression, one
may see the traces of that " talent for dead silence and marble
immobility " which, says the historian, " he so highly improved
that he could sit out a comedy without stirring hand or foot,
and conduct an audience without movement of a muscle,
except those in his lips and tongue." It is not the face of a
great ruler ; but it is one which rightly lives on a painter's
canvas, for no king was ever at once so liberal and so enlightened
a patron of the arts as he. Himself too he was something
of an artist ; and the best-known piece of his painting tells a
pretty story, which it is pleasant to remember in front of
Velazquez's portraits of him. Velazquez painted once his own
portrait in the background of the king's family (the " Maids of
Honour" Las Meninas now at Madrid). "Is there any-
thing wrong with it ? " Velazquez asked. " Yes," said the king,
taking the palette in his hand, "just this " and he sketched
in on the painter's portrait the coveted red cross of the order
of Santiago.
384 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
1148. CHRIST AT THE COLUMN.
Velazquez (i 599-1660). See under 1 129, p. 376.
An intensely dramatic rendering of the central lesson of
Christianity. The absence of all decorative accessories con-
centrates the attention at once on the figure of the Divine
sufferer bound by the wrists to the column. His hands are
swollen and blackened by the cords ; the blood has trickled
down the shoulder so terrible was the punishment and the
scourges and rod have been flung contemptuously at his feet.
Yet abnegation of self and Divine compassion are stamped
indelibly on his countenance, as he turns his head to the child
who is kneeling in adoration. The guardian angel behind bids
the child approach the Redeemer in prayer (hence the
alternative title that has been given to the picture, "The
Institution of Prayer"). From the wise and prudent the lessons
of Christianity are often hidden, but Christ himself here reveals
them unto babes. " He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace
was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed " (For an
interesting discussion of this picture, see the Times, August 16,
1883).
13. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Murillo (1618-1682). See under 176, p. 380.
This picture known as the Pedroso Murillo, from the
Pedroso family in whose possession it remained until 1810 is
one of the painter's last works, painted when he was about
sixty, and is characteristic of what is known as his third, or
vaporoso manner. 1 It is characteristic also of his religious
subjects. The look of child-like innocence in the head of the
young Christ is very attractive, although the attitude is un-
deniably " stagey." The heads of the Virgin and St. Joseph
also are good instances of Murillo's plan of " supplying the
place of intrinsic elevation by a dramatic exhibition of senti-
ment " (W. B. Scott).
235. THE DEAD CHRIST.
Giuseppe Ribera, called Spagnoletto ( 1 598-1 648).
Ribera is a leading artist amongst what are called the Naturalisti
or Tenebrosi (an alternative title, curiously significant of the warped
1 His first manner is called frio, or cold ; his second warm, or calido,
and the third, from its melting softness, vaporoso. The first style is generally
ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL 385
and degraded principle of the school, as if " nature " were indeed only
another name for " darkness"). l His life was like his art, being " one
long contrast between splendour and misery, black shadow and shining
light " (Scott). He made his way when quite a youth to Rome,
where one day, as he was sketching in the streets, dressed in rags and
eating crusts, he was picked up by a cardinal and taken into his house-
hold. They called him in Italy by the name Lo Spagnoletto, the little
Spaniard (to distinguish from Lo Spagna, the Spaniard, see VI. 1032,
p. 1 06). But Ribera could not brook the cardinal's livery, and stole away
into poverty and independence again. He especially studied the works
of Caravaggio, and went afterwards to Parma to study Correggio.
Then he moved to Naples, where a picture dealer discovered his
talent and gave him his daughter in marriage. A large picture of the
Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, which he painted about this time,
was exhibited by the dealer on the balcony of his house, and created
such a furore that the Spanish Viceroy, delighted at finding the painter
to be a Spaniard, loaded him with appointments and commissions.
This was the making of Ribera's fortune. He soon became very
wealthy never going out but in his carriage, and with an equerry to
accompany him, and so hard had he to work to keep pace with his
orders that his servants were instructed at last to interrupt him when
working hours were fairly over. He kept open house entertaining
Velazquez, for instance, when the later visited Naples in 1630; but
though lavish he was yet mean, and together with two bravos formed
a cabal, which by intimidation and intrigue kept all other painters out
of work in Naples. But his life ended, like his pictures, in darkness.
His daughter was carried off by one of his great friends, Don Juan of
spoken of as lasting up to 1648, the second up to 1656, but he did not so
much paint in these different manners at different times as adapt them to
the different subjects severally in hand.
1 Mr. Ruskin, in his classification of artists from this point of view, calls
them "sensualists," reserving the traditional title "naturalists" to the
greatest men, whose " subject is infinite as nature, their colour equally
balanced splendour and sadness, reaching occasionally the highest degrees
of both, and their chiaroscuro equally balanced between light and shade."
This class represents the proper mean. In excess on one side are the
"purists" (Angelico, Perugino, Memling, Stothard), who " take the good
and leave the evil. The faces of their figures express no evil passions ; the
skies of their landscapes are without storm ; the prevalent character of their
colour is brightness, and of their chiaroscuro fulness of light. " Then in
excess on the other side are the "sensualists" (Salvator Rosa, Caravaggio,
Ribera), who "perceive and imitate evil only. They cannot draw the
trunk of a tree without blasting and shattering it, nor a sky except covered
with stormy clouds ; they delight in the beggary and brutality of the human
race ; their colour is for the most part subdued or lurid, and the greatest
spaces of their pictures are occupied by darkness" (Stones of Venice, vol.
ii. ch. vi. ) Elsewhere Mr. Ruskin speaks of Caravaggio and Ribera as
" the black slaves of painting" (Ekments of Drawing, p. 317).
2 C
386 ROOM XV: SPANISH SCHOOL
Austria, and Ribera was so overwhelmed with grief that he left Naples
and was never more heard of. 1
The Virgin, accompanied here by St. John and Mary
Magdalen, is weeping over the dead Christ the subject termed
by the Italians a PietH. It is instructive to compare this
Spanish treatment of it with an Italian Pieta, such as Francia's
V. 1 80, p. 87. How much more ghastly is the dead Christ
here ! How much less tender are the ministering mourners !
244. A SHEPHERD WITH A LAMB.
Spagnoletto (1598-1648). See under 235, p. 384.
741. THE DEAD ORLANDO.
Ascribed to Velazquez? See under 1129, p. 376.
The closing scene, according to one of the many legends, in
the history of that "peerless paladin," Orlando, or Roland,
who was slain at the battle of Roncesvalles, when returning
from Charlemagne's expedition against the Saracens in Spain.
Invulnerable to the sword, he was squeezed to death by Bernardo
del Carpio. He lies, therefore, prostrate, but fully dressed and
armed, his right hand resting on his chest, his left on the hilt
of his famous sword. Over the dead man's feet there hangs
from a branch a small brass lamp, the flame of which, like the
hero's life, has just expired. On either side are the skulls and
bones of other " paladins and peers who on Roncesvalles died."
1 This is the story told by Domenico, the Neapolitan historian.
According to Cean Bermudez, following Palomino (the Spanish historian),
Ribera died at Naples honoured and rich.
* ' ' Velazquez has left a great number of striking pictures, each contain-
ing a single figure. The Count de Pourtales, in the collection at Paris,
(from which this picture was bought in 1865), has an excellent specimen
of one of these studies, called ' The Dead Orlando ' " (Stirling's Annals oftht
Artists of Spain, 1848, p. 680). Other authorities ascribe the picture to
Valdes Leal (1630-1691), whose most celebrated picture (at Seville) is called
" The Two Dead Men."
ROOM XVI
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL : REYNOLDS AND
GAINSBOROUGH
" WHATEVER is to be truly great and truly affecting must have on it the
strong stamp of the native land. Not a law this, but a necessity,
from the intense hold on their country of the affections of all
truly great men. All classicality, all middle-age patent reviving,
is utterly vain and absurd ; if we are now to do anything great,
good, awful, religious, it must be got out of our own little island '
(RUSKIN : Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 37).
" OF the modern mind in England you may take Sir Joshua and
Gainsborough for not only the topmost, but the hitherto total,
representatives ; total, that is to say, out of the range of landscape,
and above that of satire and caricature. All that the rest can do
partially, they can do perfectly. They do it, not only perfectly,
but nationally ; they are at once the greatest, and the Englishes!,
of all our school" (RusKiN : The Art of England, Lecture iii.)
Is there an English School at all ? In the fullest sense of
the term, there certainly is not. Every visitor who, after
studying any one of the Italian Schools or the Dutch
School, walks through the rooms devoted to the " English
School," * cannot fail to be struck by the absence of uni-
1 The term "English School" seems permissible in the National
Gallery, inasmuch as there are also national galleries for Scotland and for
Ireland. Moreover, the number of Scottish pictures here is inconsiderable,
and though several of the painters represented were Irishmen, they all
settled early in life in London.
388 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
formity in the latter. Instead of one general type of picture,
modified only by individual peculiarities, he will find in the
English rooms almost as many styles as there are painters.
Here and there, indeed, if the collection of English pictures
were more completely representative, traces would be found
of common methods of technique, as well as of common
ideals, amongst little groups of painters. There is a " Pre-
Raphaelite School," for instance (see p. 536), and a "Nor-
wich School" (see p. 496). But, taking all the English
pictures together, one cannot detect any uniformity of
method and style, such as would justify the application, in
the strict sense, of the term " English School." It were a
subject of great interest, which cannot, however, be pursued
here, to determine why this is so. For one thing, there has
been no such general diffusion of artistic taste amongst the
English, as there was in mediaeval Italy : hence there have
been no general principles of art to which every English
painter was constrained to submit. Neither has there been
any attempt at systematic teaching within the artistic sect
itself. Most of the leading English artists have studied in
the Royal Academy schools, but the Academy has neither
discovered nor enforced any definite and permanent code of
artistic law. After leaving the Academy schools, the painters
have generally gone their own way ; the system of long and
severe apprenticeship to an established master, which was the
rule in Italy, has been almost entirely unknown in England.
Some of the evil effects of our English licence in art matters
will be obvious to every spectator. Take, for instance, the
two greatest painters in two specially English branches of
art Reynolds in portraiture, and Turner in landscape. In
charm there are very few Italian pictures against which
Reynolds's will not hold their own ; but whereas the Italian
pictures are still, after three or four or five centuries, as fresh
and firm as when they were first painted, Reynolds's, after less
than one century, are already fading away before our eyes.
" Reynolds filled the Halls of England," says Mr. Ruskin,
"with the ghosts of her noble Squires and Dames." But
alas ! they are now too many of them the ghosts of ghosts.
With Turner's pictures the case is stronger still. In im-
ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 389
agination and in gift for colour he is as great as any old
master ; yet, in what is after all the elementary business of
a painter the laying of colour durably on canvas the
"modern painter " is palpably inferior even to Canaletto. Nor
is it only in technique that the evil effect is seen. It appears
also in a certain indefiniteness of aim. " Tired of labouring
carefully," says Mr. Ruskin of Turner, "without either
reward or praise, he dashes out into various experimental
and popular works makes himself the servant of the lower
public, and is dragged hither and thither at their will ; while
yet, helpless and guideless, he indulges his idiosyncracies
till they change into insanities ; the strength of his soul in-
creasing its sufferings, and giving force to its errors ; all the
purpose of life degenerating into instinct ; and the web of
his work wrought, at last, of beauties too subtle to be under-
stood, his liberty, with vices too singular to be forgiven
all useless, because magnificent idiosyncracy had become
solitude, or contention, in the midst of a reckless populace
instead of submitting itself in loyal harmony to the Art-laws
of an understanding nation. And the life passed away in
darkness ; and its final work, in all the best beauty of it,
has already perished, only enough remaining to teach us
what we have lost" (Queen of the Air, isS). 1 Such is
the effect on painters of the highest power ; in the case of
inferiors, it is more disastrous still. "Under strict law,
they become the subordinate workers in great schools,
healthily aiding, echoing, or supplying, with multitudinous
force of hand, the mind of the leading masters : . . . helpful
scholars, whose work ranks round, if not with, their master's,
and never disgraces it." But in England few, if any, of the
great men have formed schools in which lesser men might
be trained, nor has there been any consistency of public
taste to guide their choice. Hence that " mania of eccen-
tricity " which always strikes the foreign student of English
painting. Hence also the "high purpose but warped
power " of men of original talent, like Haydon and Barry
1 Those who wish to look into this matter more fully should refer also
to The Cestus of Aglaia, reprinted in O. O. R., vol. i. 3 J 9. 3 2 .
and the Appendix to The Art of England.
390 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
and Blake (p. 467). Hence the inconsistency of aim which
led Wilkie to waste the second period of his life in giving
the lie to the work of the first (p. 490). And hence, too,
the strange deficiencies in a man of great gift like Maclise
(p. 520).
Such are some of the principal characteristics which the
visitor may note, in going round the English rooms, as
results of the absence of any English School in the strict
sense of the term. But in another sense there certainly is an
English School. Not only do the separate manifestations of
English art form a considerable and noteworthy whole ; but
considered broadly, they reflect many aspects of the national
mind. In the first place that seriousness of purpose,
that predominance of the moral element, which has been
said to distinguish the English character, is very conspicuous
in English art " The only great painters in our schools of
painting in England have been either of portrait Reynolds
and Gainsborough ; of the philosophy of social life
Hogarth ; or of the facts of nature in landscape Wilson
and Turner. In all these cases . . . the success of the
painter depended on his desire to convey a truth, rather than
to produce a merely beautiful picture ; that is to say, to get
a likeness of a man, or of a place; to get some moral
principle rightly stated, or some historical character rightly
described, rather than merely to give pleasure to the eyes.
Compare the feeling with which a Moorish architect decor-
ated an arch of the Alhambra, with that of Hogarth painting
the ' Marriage a la Mode,' . . . and you will at once feel
the difference between art pursued for pleasure only, and for
the sake of some useful principle or impression" (Inau-
gural Address at the Cambridge School of Art , p. 23). But
this seriousness of purpose is not confined to the great men
enumerated by Mr. Ruskin. Note, in going round the
English rooms, the historical pictures those, that is, that
seek to revive past history for us (such, for instance, as E.
M. Ward's) ; the historical pictures in another sense that
of marking contemporary incident or domestic drama (such
as Wilkie's and Mulready's and Frith's); the literary
pictures, which illustrate famous English authors (such as
ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 391
Leslie's and Maclise's) ; the landscapes and seascapes ; the
portraits note all these, and then see how very few are left
over 1 Landseer's pictures of animals, too, are not only
studies in natural history, but are most of them made
moreover to point a moral or adorn a tale. And even that
" painter's painter," Etty, whose works might seem to aim
solely at sensuous beauty, strove in all things, he tells us,
" to paint some great moral on the heart." In the present
day, foreign influences have to some extent introduced
other ideals. But both decorative and sensuous forms of
art are in England exotics, and there is nothing as yet to
show that the movement in such directions is not a back-
water, rather than a progressive stream. Whilst on the other
hand the one indisputably efficacious and permanent
influence in this generation that, namely, which was
exerted by the Pre-Raphaelites tended in the old direc-
tion, founded as it was on seriousness in aim and
sincerity in conception. And not only does the general
ideal of English art reflect the seriousness of the English
character, but its limitation of range and its specialities
of subject are also thoroughly national. Thus we have
shown little excellence in purely decorative design. This
is partly the result of our being such a " practical " people,
and partly due to the absence of any hereditary art discipline.
Again, the English School is conspicuously deficient in the
highest fields of ideal or theological art. Such deficiency
is natural in a nation " the vast majority of whose readers
have probably never succeeded in getting quite through the
only two great epic poems in their language," and which
moreover has always had a keen delight in the burlesque
a condition fatal to excellence in ideal art. " But we need
not feel any discomfort in these limitations of our capacity.
We can do much that others cannot. Our first great gift
is the portraiture of living people," of which there are so
many splendid examples in this room. Our second gift is
"an intense power of invention and expression in domestic
drama." The large number of English artists who have
devoted their best talents to the illustration of English authors
is a striking instance of the national character of our art.
392 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
"Thirdly, in connection with our simplicity and good-
humour, and partly with that very love of the grotesque
which debases our ideal, we have a sympathy with the lower
animals which is peculiarly our own." Landseer, for
instance, may almost be said to have revealed the dog as a
subject for art. Fourthly, English art has a quite special
skill and interest in landscape. And lastly, no other school
has shown the same felicity and fidelity as ours in the
painting of the sea and the ships, that are the elements of
England's greatness (Oxford Lectures on Art, 13-17 ; and
cf. Harbours of England, p. 6).
To this description of the characteristics of the English
School, it remains to add some general outline of its his-
torical development. So far as the pictures in the National
Gallery go, the English School begins in the middle of the
last century, 1 with the already accomplished work of Hogarth
in domestic drama, Wilson in landscape, Reynolds in por-
traiture, and Gainsborough in both. But English art did
not of course spring up full-grown in the reign of George
III., like Athena from the head of Zeus. For the real
first-fruits of the artistic gifts of our race, the student must
go to the Gothic cathedrals, or the paintings on the walls of
the Chapter House at Westminster. These and other such
paintings were done in the thirteenth century, and are
at least equal to any done by contemporary artists in Italy.
Much beautiful early English work is to be seen, too, in
missals, miniatures, and glass painting. But with the next
century there comes a complete pause of English pictorial
art, until its revival under George III. Mr. Ruskin sug-
gests as one reason for this pause, 2 "that the flat scenery and
severer climate, fostering less enthusiasm and urging to more
exertion, brought about a practical and rational tempera-
ment, progressive in policy, science, and literature, but
wholly retrograde in art." Other and historical reasons may
be found first in the poverty and anarchy brought about by
the French wars and the wars of the Roses ; and then, when
1 With the exception of a portrait by Dobson recently purchased,
XVII. 1249, p. 441.
y See ^fo^icm PaixttrsjnA. iv. pt. v. ch. xx. for a discussion of the subject.
ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 393
wealth and artistic interests began to revive, in the importa-
tion of foreign painters. Just as a Venetian doge took pride
in bringing eastern workers and eastern pillars to Venice, so
the English kings took pride in alluring foreign artists to
their court. And so, as the Italians dwarfed early Spanish
and French painting, the Dutch and Germans dwarfed our
native talent. Thus Mabuse was one of the glories of
Henry VII.'s reign ; Holbein, of Henry VIII.'s; Sir A. More,
of Mary's ; and Rubens and Van Dyck, of Charles I.'s. In
Charles II. 's reign Lely and the two Vandeveldes were the
chief painters. All along there had indeed been native
artists as well some of them " painters to the king," such
as were Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) and Isaac Oliver
(1555-1617), the celebrated miniature painters; George
Jamesone (1586-1644), called by Walpole the "Scottish
Van Dyck;" William Dobson (1610-1646), called by
Charles his "English Tintoret;" Robert Walker, Cromwell's
painter ; and Richard Gibson (1615-1690), the dwarf. But
it was only when the kings and nobles began to employ
exclusively English painters that native art had any chance
of full and free development. The foundation in this sense
of the modern English School dates from the reign of
Queen Anne, when Sir James Thornhill was commissioned
to paint the dome of St. Paul's. The Italian, Sebastian
Ricci (see Addenda, 85 1, p. 66 1), who had hoped for the com-
mission, left the country in disgust, and the English School
began to hold the field. From what has been already said
of the individual character of English painters, the reader
will see that its subsequent history hardly admits of the
general treatment followed in the case of the other schools,
it is the history rather of the succession of separate painters
than of general tendencies. But a few generalisations may
be attempted as suggestions towards a connected view of
the English rooms, (i) Sir James Thornhill was Hogarth's
father-in-law, and Hogarth is the Giotto of the English
School. English art begins under him, as the art of every
nation begins, with reflecting the life of the times. The turn
of his mind was dramatic and satirical, and he took therefore
to drawing, for the delight of society, its deformities and
394 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
weaknesses. (2) Reynolds was a courtier, and his artistic gift
took the one form which, in a Protestant country which had
abjured the religion that gave motives to early art else-
where, it could take namely, contemporary portraiture.
Down to the end of the century, this is the line along which
the main current of English art went. Reynolds formed no
school ; but Gainsborough, Romney, Lawrence, Hoppner,
Jackson, Raeburn, and Opie were all his rivals or suc-
cessors in the portraiture of the English nobility and gentry.
These artists were all dead by 1830. (3) To them succeed
two different sets of painters the one continuing, in a fresh
field, the traditions of Hogarth ; the other endeavouring to
carry forward those of Reynolds. Of the former class,
Wilkie may be taken as the central example. It was a true
piece of criticism which made Sir George Beaumont desig-
nate him as Hogarth's successor (see p. 490). Wilkie and
the other genre painters of the period had not Hogarth's
spirit of satire ; but they had the same dramatic instinct as
he, the same fondness for everyday life. As for the
manner of this group, it was a direct heritage from the
Dutch. It will be seen in the notices of the several painters
how many of them studied from Dutch models,. " and it re-
quires little proficiency in criticism," says Mr. Hodgson, R.A., 1
" to detect the influence of Ostade in Wilkie or of Metsu in
Mulready." Many of the painters in this group lived on
after 1850, but that may roughly be taken as the terminal
date. (4) Contemporaneous with them were the " his-
torical " painters. Reynolds himself had tried historical and
ideal painting, for which portraiture is the proper prepara-
tion. He had failed, and those who succeeded him failed
worse. Many of the pictures under this head have now
been removed from the Gallery. Copley remains, but
West, Barry, and Haydon have gone. (5) With the year
1850 begins a new era in English art The International
Exhibition of 1851 gave it a great impetus, and the Pre-
Raphaelite movement a fresh direction. Of strictly Pre-
1 Fifty years of British Art, as illustrated by the Pictures and Drawings
in the Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition, 1887, p. 13, hereafter referred
to as Hodgson.
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 395
Raphaelite pictures there are as yet only two in the gallery
(XX. 563 and 1210, pp. 539, 536); and very few pictures
subsequent to and indirectly influenced by the movement,
can here be studied. (Turner, it should be understood,
will be separately treated.) One new feature, however, in
which the Pre-Raphaelites shared, may be noticed in some
of the pictures in the gallery which were painted between
1850 and 1870. This was a reaction from the low key
of colour, and predominance of bitumen, in the Dutch
masters. " Impressed," says M. Chesneau, 1 " by the
weary monotony of neutral tints, they wished to strike
out a new line, and find some fresh method. In their justifi-
able horror of bitumen, therefore, they gave themselves up
to a perfect glut of colouring. This new epidemic raged
from 1850 to 1870. In the pictures of the English School
there was then a blinding clash of colour, a strife of incon-
gruous hues ; no softening tints, everywhere harsh tones set
side by side with unexampled barbarity ; blues and greens,
violets and yellows, reds and pinks, placed in most cases
quite by chance." The solution of the problem of harmon-
ising colours in a high key has been the task of the best
living English painters. (6) Lastly, the progress of landscape
remains to be noticed. The founder of the English School
here in method in the loving study, that is, of nature
was Wilson ; but he worked, like Callcott after him, under
foreign influences. The first man who struck out a more
distinctively English line in landscape English in subject,
realistic in treatment was Gainsborough ; and from him
the succession is direct to Constable and the Norwich
School. Greater than them all, and uniting in the course
of his career the tastes and strength of them all, is Turner,
whose place in the history of English art will subsequently
be discussed. No sketch of English art, however rough,
should be concluded without a reference to water-colour
painting, which is one of the chief glories of the English
School. But no historical study of this branch of our
i The English School of Painting, 1885, p. 108, hereafter referred to
as Chesneau. "Any of my pupils," says Mr. Ruskin (Art of England,
p. 144), " may accept M. Chesneau's criticism as my own.
396 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
national art will be possible to the general public until, when
the organisation of the national art treasures is taken
seriously in hand, the Turner collection is promoted from
the cellars of Trafalgar Square, and the drawings by
other masters, now dispersed at South Kensington and the
British Museum, are brought together and united with
those in the custody of the National Gallery.
760. PORTRAIT OF A PARISH CLERK.
Thomas Gainsborough, RA. (1727-1788).
Gainsborough, the rival of Reynolds in portraiture, and of Wilson
in landscape, was born at Sudbury in Suffolk. His father was a
crape merchant ; from his mother, who was skilful in flower painting,
he inherited, perhaps, his artistic talent. He was sent to a grammar
school kept by his uncle, but was fond of playing truant. On
one occasion he escaped by forging a note from his father, " Give
Tom a holiday." "Tom will one day be hanged," said his father
on hearing of the trick. But on seeing the drawings done by the
truant, he varied his prediction : " Tom will one day be a genius."
His youthful facility was indeed remarkable. He was the means one
day of convicting a would-be orchard-stealer of felonious intent : the
boy was sketching in the garden, and instantly caught the likeness of
a man who was looking over the wall at a tempting pear-tree. His
parents decided to give the boy his bent, and when fifteen he was
sent up to London to study. For three years he was with Hayman,
then a painter of repute ; and afterwards he set up in Hatton Garden
on his own account painting both landscapes and portraits. But
meeting with little success he returned home, and busied himself with
sketching from nature. When only nineteen he married Margaret
Burr ; she brought him a fortune of 200 a year, and they took a
house in Ipswich. Here he soon obtained work largely owing to
the good offices of a Mr. Thicknesse, whose first introduction to the
artist well illustrates Gainsborough's skill. Walking in a friend's
garden, Thicknesse saw a melancholy face looking over the wall.
" The poor fellow has been standing there all day," he was told,
much to his astonishment, until it was explained that the fellow was
only a painted sentinel set up by Gainsborough. In 1760 Gains-
borough removed at Thicknesse's suggestion to Bath, where he soon
found so many patrons that he raised his price for portraits to eight,
and ultimately to forty, guineas (or one hundred guineas for a full
length). He exhibited also at the Royal Academy, and there is a
pleasant story of the terms on which his pictures travelled. Wiltshire,
the carrier, refused to take any money for conveying them to London.
" I admire painting too much," he said ; and Gainsborough used to pay
him in Gainsboroughs " instead of in cash. The artist was always
lavish in giving away his pictures. To one lady he is reported to
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 397
have given no less than twenty of his drawings, though she was so
little of a connoisseur as to paste them up over her dressing-room
wall. He was passionately fond of music ; and he gave his famous
" Boy at a Stile" in exchange fora solo on the violin ! The inde-
pendence of Gainsborough agrees well with the character of an
enthusiastic lover of the arts for their own sake. A pompous lord
was sitting for his portrait, and after elaborately composing himself,
begged the artist not to overlook a dimple on the chin. " Confound
the dimple on your chin," said Gainsborough, and refused to put
another stroke to the portrait. His quarrel with the Academy shows
the same impetuous independence. He was offended by the bad
position given to his " Three Princesses," withdrew that and his other
pictures, and never exhibited there again. This was in 1784. He
had settled in London in 1774, in a portion of Schomberg House in
Pall Mall, and, good Tory that he was, had quickly gained the favour
of the king and court. Between Reynolds and himself there was the
coolness of jealousy. Reynolds had given him one sitting, but Gains-
borough would never finish the portrait. Unlike Reynolds, he had
little taste either for aristocratic or for learned society. " He loved,"
we are told, " to sit by the side of his wife during the evenings, and
make sketches of whatever occurred to his fancy, all of which he
threw below the table, save such as were more uncommonly happy,
and these were preserved and either finished as sketches or expanded
into paintings." In summer he had lodgings at Hampstead, for the
sake of the green fields. In February 1788, whilst hearing the trial
of Warren Hastings, he felt a chill in his neck, which proved to be
the beginning of cancer, and he died in August of the same year. A
few days before his death, he wrote to Reynolds expressing a wish to
see him once more before he died. Reynolds came, and bent his ear
to catch Gainsborough's failing words. They were these: "We are
all going to Heaven, and Van Dyck is of the company," words which
" we may take for a beautiful reconciliation of all schools and souls
who have done their work to the best of their knowledge and
conscience." Gainsborough was buried in Kew Churchyard where a
plain slab alone, according to his express instructions, marks his
grave and Reynolds bore his pall.
Of Gainsborough as a landscape painter, there is something said
under a picture farther on (109, p. 408). With regard to his por-
traits, a certain resemblance to those by Reynolds is what probably
first strikes most spectators. They were contemporaries, and all the
little peculiarities of the age often too the actual sitters are the
same in pictures by them both. They trod the same path, side by
side, each courted by the English aristocracy ; and both treated their
subjects with exquisite talent. Moreover, "both Reynolds and Gains-
borough, bred in country villages, learned there the country boy's
reverential theory of 'the squire,' and kept it. They painted the
squire and the squire's lady as centres of the movements of the
universe, to the end of their lives " (Modem Painters, vol. v. pt. ix.
398 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
ch. ix. 7). Yet beneath the surface there are decided differences
between their portraits, resulting largely from the differences in their
bringing-up. Reynolds received a classical education, and treatises
on painting, together with classical models, formed his earliest training
in art. It was finished in Italy, where he set himself to copy and to
analyse the old masters. Gainsborough, on the other hand, as we have
seen, ran wild in his native woods. " It is by the artifice of a perfect
science," says M. Chesneau, "that Reynolds obtains such striking effects
in his portraits. He forged for his own use a complete armoury of
weapons, a magazine of rules and well-tried systems. . . . Gains-
borough, on the other hand, regards his model in the same way as he re-
gards nature. It is the model which, in each new work, furnishes him
with fresh artistic ideas. . . . He strove to take in all that was noble and
pure in his sitters, and thus, without flattering, he gives to every work
produced by his hand a particular character of ideal dignity combined
with truthfulness. . . . Moreover, it is to the human countenance
that he devotes all his attention ; he shows us, not only the model,
but the soul of the model, which, like a divine melody, permeates the
whole picture. Lastly, there is observable in most of his portraits an
especial charm of pathetic tenderness, a tinge of melancholy, which it
is difficult to attribute to all the persons that have sat to him. It
must be, then, from himself that it emanates, and so appears in his
portraits as it does in his landscapes." 1 This last characteristic pointed
out by M. Chesneau is noticed also by Mr. Ruskin, who speaks of
" deep-thoughted, solemn Gainsborough," " pure in his English feeling,
profound in his seriousness, graceful in his gaiety." " A great name his,
whether of the English or any other school." Great because, finally,
he was " the greatest colourist since Rubens." "Gainsborough's power
of colour (it is mentioned by Sir Joshua as his pecular gift) is capable
of taking rank beside that of Rubens ; he is the purest colourist, Sir
Joshua himself not excepted, of the whole English School ; with him,
in fact, the art of painting did in great part die, and exists not now in
Europe. ... In management and quality of single and particular
tint, in the purely technical part of painting, Turner is a child to
1 The English School, pp. 22-40. " There is far more to be learnt,"
adds M. Chesneau, "from the works that Gainsborough has left us than
from the rules laid down in Reynolds's Discourses." In one well-known
instance Gainsborough set himself to refute in practice Reynolds's theories.
Reynolds had laid down the principle that blue cannot be used in a
picture as the dominant colour, and also that the most vivid tints ought to
be placed in the centre of the painting. Gainsborough painted his " Blue
Boy " in defiance of both rules, and it is one of his admitted masterpieces.
It should be noticed in connection with, and to some degree in modifica-
tion of, what M. Chesneau says about Gainsborough's spontaneity, that he
"applied himself to the Flemish School," and "occasionally made copies
from Rubens, Teniers, and Van Dyck, which it would be no disgrace to the
most accurate connoisseur to mistake, at the first sight, for the works of
those masters" (see Reynolds's Discourses, xiv.)
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 399
Gainsborough. ... His hand is as light as the sweep of a cloud, as
swift as the flash of a sunbeam. ... His forms are grand, simple,
ideal. . . .He never loses sight of his picture as a whole. ... In
a word, Gainsborough is an immortal painter" (Modern Painters,
vol. i., preface to 2d ed. p. xix. ., and pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 17).
The "charm of pathetic tenderness and tinge of melan-
choly," noticed above as characteristic of Gainsborough's
portraits, is not absent from the face of the parish clerk, who
raises his eyes from the Bible in front of him to look toward
the light ; and hears, like Longfellow's " Village Blacksmith,"
one may think
. . . the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.
It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise !
This picture is one of those given by Gainsborough to the
carrier Wiltshire. The sitter was Edward Orpin, parish clerk
of Bradford in Wiltshire.
111. PORTRAIT OF LORD HEATHFIELD.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
Sir Joshua, the first President of the Royal Academy, was born in
Devonshire, at Plympton Earl, where his father (a " Parson Adams "
in real life) was a schoolmaster. His pictures are remarkable for the
impression of facility they give, and much of the talent which produced
them was, it is clear, innate. " Done by Joshua out of pure idleness,"
wrote his father over a drawing which the boy had done in his exercise-
book. " While I am doing this," wrote Joshua himself of his drawing,
a few years later, "lam the happiest creature alive." The artistic
instinct must have been very strong in the lad to surmount the
obstacles of circumstance. "I am inclined to think," says Mr.
Ruskin, "considering all the disadvantages of circumstances and
education under which his genius was developed, that there was
perhaps hardly ever born a man with a more intense and innate gift
of insight into human nature than our own Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Considered as a painter of individuality in the human form and mind,
I think him, even as it is, the prince of portrait painters. Titian
paints nobler pictures, and Van Dyck had nobler subjects, but neither
of them entered so subtly as Sir Joshua did into the minor varieties of
human heart and temper ; and when you consider that, with a frightful
conventionality of social habitude all around him, he yet conceived the
simplest types of all feminine and childish loveliness; that in a
northern climate, and with gray, and white, and black, as the principal
400 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
colours around him, he yet became a colourist who can be crushed by
none, even of the Venetians ; and that with Dutch painting and
Dresden china for the prevailing types of art in the saloons of his day,
he threw himself at once at the feet of the great masters of Italy, and
arose from their feet to share their throne I know not that in the
whole history of art you can produce another instance of so strong, so
unaided, so unerring an instinct for all that was true, pure, and noble "
( Two Paths, 63). It was some time before Reynolds had the oppor-
tunity of studying his favourite Italian masters in their own country.
When he was eighteen he was sent up to London to study under Hudson
(see XVII. 1224, p. 443) ; after two years he had made such good
progress as to estrange his master. After a year spent at Plymouth,
he came up to London again ; but upon his father's death he returned
in 1746 to Plymouth, and, with his sisters to keep house for him,
established himself there as a portrait painter. The urbanity of
manner which distinguished him through life soon won him friends
and patrons. Amongst these was Lord Edgcumbe, who introduced
him to Captain Keppel (see 886, p. 414). Keppel was about to sail for
the Mediterranean, and knowing how much Reynolds's mind was set
on going to Italy, offered to take him on board his own ship, the
Centurion. In May 1749 they set sail, and till the end of the year
Reynolds stayed with the Governor of Minorca, painting portraits.
He thus obtained the necessary funds for his Italian tour, and for two
years he studied in Rome. Of his first impressions there he has left
us a minute account, recording especially his original disappointment,
his humility (it was necessary, he says, to become before the great
masters "as a little child"), his subsequent enthusiasm, and his
diligence in studying and copying. He paid for this diligence dearly,
for he caught a bad cold in the Vatican corridors, and thus contracted
the deafness from which he suffered throughout life. From Rome he
went to Parma, Florence, and Venice ; and though he did not say so
much about the pictures at these cities, there can be no doubt that
they influenced his own art far more than those at Rome. At Parma
he came under Correggio's influence, of which there is record in the
St. John of his Holy Family (78, p. 654), copied from Correggio's
Cupid (IX. 10, p. 203). At Venice he learnt yet more ; indeed,
one may suspect that though Raphael and Michael Angelo served to
grace his Discourses, Titian was his real flame. " To possess a real,
fine picture by that great master," he once said, "I would willingly
ruin myself." Having thus "cast himself at the feet" of the great
masters of Italy, Reynolds returned to London in 1752 "to share their
throne." He settled first in St. Martin's Lane, afterwards in Great
Newport Street, and finally (from 1 760 onwards) in Leicester Square,
where his house, No. 47, may still be seen, nearly opposite to the site
of Hogarth's. Lord Edgcumbe busied himself to obtain clients for
Reynolds, and the results of his Italian studies soon made themselves
apparent. His portraits were unlike those of a previous generation.
"Ah, Reynolds," said a rival of the old school, "this will never
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 401
answer : you don't paint in the least like Sir Godfrey Shakespeare in
poetry and Kneller in painting, damme ! " But Reynolds hit the taste
of the town for all that, and his studio soon became crowded, says
one of his biographers, ' ' with women who wished to be transmitted as
angels, and men who wished to appear as heroes and philosophers."
From this time forward Reynolds's life was one of unbroken success ;
other painters arose from time to time to divide his popularity Opie,
Gainsborough, Hoppner but Reynolds's supremacy was never seriously
threatened. In 1768, when the Royal Academy was founded, he was
elected President by acclamation, and was knighted by the king an
honour which has ever since been offered to the holder of that office.
In 1773 he was made a D.C.L. of Oxford, and was elected Mayor of
Plympton, a distinction, he told the king, that gave him more pleasure
than any he had ever received, "excepting that which your majesty so
graciously conferred on me." One can trace Reynolds's rising reputa-
tion in his ascending scale of prices more clearly than in external
honours. His price for a head was originally five guineas; in 1755
he raised it to twelve. Five years later it was twenty-five ; and he
then moved into his big house and set up his famous grand chariot,
with the four seasons painted on its panels. Ten years later the price
for a Reynolds's portrait was thirty-five guineas, whilst in his later years
it was fifty. The painter's industry may be judged from the fact that
at a time when his price was twenty-five guineas, he told Johnson that
he was making ^6000 a year. He received six sitters a day, and
calculated upon being able to paint a portrait in four hours. He kept
prints of all his pictures in a portfolio, and allowed his sitters to select
therefrom the style they preferred. He was not above a little gentle
falsehood, which, however, he "discreetly touched, just enough to
make all men noble, all women lovely : ' we do not need this flattery
often, most of those we know being such ; and it is a pleasant world,
and with diligence, for nothing can be done without diligence, every
day till four (says Sir Joshua), a painter's life is a happy one ' " (Sir
Joshua and Holbein, reprinted in 0. 0. R., i. 233). There was,
however, high effort behind this happy diligence. " Labour," Sir
Joshua told the Academy students, " is the only solid price of fame,
and there is no easy method of becoming a great painter." And what
he preached, he practised. " Whenever a new sitter came to him for a
portrait," says his pupil, Northcote, "he always began it with a full
determination to make it the best picture he had ever painted." To
industry in his own pursuit, Sir Joshua added a high sense of public
duty. The Academy dinners were started by him, and his famous
Discourses are a collection of the addresses he delivered to the
students at the annual prize -giving. The burden of his advice was
" study the old masters ;" and that examples might not be wanting, he
offered the Academy his collection of pictures at a very low price an
offer which they declined. A quarrel with the Academy, of which
this refusal was perhaps the outcome, was the one embitterment of his
life. The quarrel was over the election of a Professor of Perspective,
2 D
402 ROOM XVI ': REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
in which they chose Fuseli instead of his candidate, Bonomi. This
was in 1789, and in the same year his eye-sight failed him. His final
Discourse was delivered December 10, 1790 ; he was afterwards seized
with a liver complaint, and after a long illness, "borne," said Burke,
" with a mild and cheerful fortitude," he died, on February 23, 1792.
He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, by the side of Sir Christopher
Wren, and hi eulogy was written by Burke, who spoke of him as
" one of the most memorable men of his time, and the first Englishman
who added the praise of the elegant arts to the other glories of his
country."
What, then, precisely is it that Reynolds added, or introduced, to
the art record of his country ? First and foremost the gift of " portraiture
of living people a power so accomplished in him that nothing is left
for future masters but to add the calm of perfect workmanship to his
vigour and felicity of perception " (Oxford Lectures on Art, 15). It
is interesting to connect this gift of faithful portraiture in Reynolds's
case, as in that of Velazquez (see p. 377), with charm of character.
"The swiftest of painters," he was also "the gentlest of companions."
" Two points of bright peculiar evidence are given by the sayings of the
two greatest literary men of his day, Johnson and Goldsmith. Johnson,
who, as you know, was always Reynolds's attached friend, had but one
complaint to make against him, that he hated nobody : ' Reynolds,'
he said, ' you hate no one living ; I like a good hater !' Still more
significant is the little touch in Goldsmith's ' Retaliation.' You
recollect how in that poem he describes the various persons who met
at one of their dinners at St. James's Coffee-house, each person being
described under the name of some appropriate dish. You will often
hear the concluding lines about Reynolds quoted
He shifted his trumpet, etc. ;
less often, or at least less attentively, the preceding ones, far more
important
Still born to improve us in every part,
His pencil our faces, his manners our heart ;
and never, the most characteristic touch of all, near the beginning
Our dean shall be venison, just fresh from the plains ;
Our Burke shall be tongue, with a garnish of brains ;
To make out the dinner, full certain I am,
That Rich is anchovy, and Reynolds is lamb."
( Two Paths, 64). But if Reynolds's gift of veracity in portraiture was
thus primarily due to his largeness of mind and gentleness of temper,
it was cultivated by habits of close attention. Johnson, in talking to
Boswell of their common friend, laid stress on both points. " Sir
Joshua Reynolds, sir," he said at one time, "is the most invulnerable
man I know ; the man with whom if you should quarrel you would find
the most difficulty how to abuse." "I know no man," he said at
another time, " who has passed through life with more observation
ROOM XVI ': REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 403
than Sir Joshua." And so said Sir Joshua himself. "The effect of
every object that meets a painter's eye may give him a lesson, provided
his mind is calm, unembarrassed with other objects, and open to
instruction." It was by this close observation that Sir Joshua
cultivated his faculty of catching a true likeness. But. to this he added
a second requisite of great art namely, keen perception of beauty.
"The grace of Reynolds" has passed almost into a proverb; "his
portraits," said Burke, "remind the spectator of the invention and the
amenity of landscape. In painting portraits he appeared not to be
raised upon that platform, but to descend upon it from a higher sphere."
And then, whilst thus true and beautiful, Reynolds's work is magnificently
skilful. He is " usually admired for his dash and speed. His true merit
is in an ineffable subtlety combined with this speed. The tenderness of
some of Reynolds's touches is quite beyond telling " (Modern Painters,
vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iv. 1 6 .) So, then, we have in Reynolds the three
motives which must be present in all great pictorial art. ' ' He rejoices
in showing you his skill ; and those of you who succeed in learning
what painter's work really is, will one day rejoice also, even to laugh-
ter that highest laughter which springs of pure delight, in watching
the fortitude and the fire of a hand which strikes forth its will upon
canvas as easily as the wind strikes it on the sea. He rejoices in all
abstract beauty and rhythm and melody of design ; he will never give
you a colour that is not lovely, nor a shade that is unnecessary, nor a
line that is ungraceful. But all his power and all his invention are
held by him subordinate, and the more obediently because of their
nobleness, to his true leading purpose of setting before you such like-
ness of the living presence of an English gentleman or an English lady,
as shall be worthy of being looked upon for ever " (Oxford Lectures on
Art, 1 02). But Reynolds, it should be noticed finally, had to the
full the defects of his qualities. "How various the fellow is," said
Gainsborough of him. But though various within his range (look for
instance from this portrait of a veteran, across the room to the infant
Samuel in prayer), that range itself was curiously limited. He painted
English gentlemen and English ladies and English children to perfec-
tion ; but he seldom painted anything else. He was for ever preaching
the praises of an art loftily ideal in its character ; but though he ends
his last lecture in the Academy with " the name of Michael Angelo," he
" never for an instant thought of following out the purposes of Michael
Angelo, and painting a Last Judgment upon Squires, with the scene
of it laid in Leicestershire" (Fors Clavigera, 1874, p. 197, and cf.
O. 0. R., i. 223-225). There is, however, a more serious draw-
back than Sir Joshua's limitation of range. Compare him with
the best of the old masters, and it will be seen that beside theirs his
work, " at its best, is only magnificent sketching ; giving indeed, m
places, a perfection of result unattainable by other methods, and
possessing always a charm of grace and power exclusively its own ;
yet, in its slightness addressing itself, purposefully, to the casual
glance and common thought eager to arrest the passer-by, but care-
404 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
less to detain him ; or detaining him, if at all, by an unexplained en-
chantment, not by continuance of teaching, or development of idea"
(O. O. R., i. 230). The want of permanence in Sir Joshua's pigments,
to which allusion has already been made, was largely due to his frequent
experiments. He was convinced that the old masters had some secret
which the modems had lost, and he even cut some of their pictures to
pieces to try and find it. " The wonder is," said Haydon, with reference
to some of Reynolds's experimental substances, "that the pictures did
not crack beneath the brush." They are cracking all too fast now.
When a collection of them was exhibited at the Grosvener Gallery in
1884, "it was seen," said Mr. Ruskin, " broadly speaking, that neither
the painter knew how to paint, the patron to preserve, nor the cleaner
to restore " (Art of Englattd, p. 248). The visitor who feels in a
less stern mood, may prefer Sir George Beaumont's conclusion. Even
a hundred years ago it was complained that Sir Joshua "made his
pictures die before the man." "Never mind," said Sir George, "a
faded portrait by Reynolds is better than a fresh one by any one else."
" Lord Heathfield in the full uniform of a Lieutenant-General,
magnanimously and irrevocably locking up Gibraltar," a very
fine and characteristic example of Reynolds's method of
portraiture. He rarely represents his characters in fixed
postures, but sets them " in the midst of active life as if simply
interrupted by the artist's arrival." Thus here he shows us the
famous General Elliott (who was raised to the peerage for his
successful defence of Gibraltar against France and Spain), 1
standing as firmly planted as the rock itself, with the keys of
the fortress, which he locked up, grasped tightly in his hand.
The air is full of smoke, but the sturdy veteran stands unmoved
amidst it all. " These are the touches of genius, because they
are so perfectly characteristic of the individual. Herein lies
the secret of the lasting interest attaching to so many of his
works, which are yet only portraits " (Chesneau : The English
School, p. 26). " It is remarkable," adds Mr. T. H. Ward
(English Art in the Public Galleries, pp. 19, 20), "that two
eminent artists at least have left on record their opinion of this
masterpiece, which, as Northcote says, ' seems to have silenced
instead of exciting envy.' ' It is highly probable,' wrote James
Barry, Sir Joshua's soured and disappointed rival, ' that the
picture of Lord Heathfield, the glorious defender of Gibraltar,
would have been of equal importance (with the picture of Mrs.
Siddons) had it been a whole length ; but even as it is, only a
1 For a picture of the siege itself, see 787, p. 450.
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 405
bust, there is great animation and spirit, happily adapted to
the indications of the tremendous scene around him, and to
the admirable circumstance of the key of the fortress firmly
grasped in his hands ; than which imagination cannot conceive
anything more ingenious or heroically characteristic.' And
Constable, again, though for him to praise Sir Joshua is
nothing so exceptional speaks of the picture as 'almost a
history of the defence of Gibraltar. The distant sea, with a
glimpse of the opposite coast, expresses the locality, and the
cannon pointed downward, the height of the rock on which the
hero stands, with the chain of the massive key of the fortress
passed twice round his hand, as to secure it in his grasp.
He seems to say, 'I have you, and I will keep you.'" But
the limitation in Reynolds's powers, of which mention has
been made above, is not perhaps wholly absent even here.
Mr. Ruskin once instanced this portrait as showing Reynolds's
incapacity to conceive heroism. " He could conceive a most
refined lord or lady, but not a saint or a Madonna ; and his
best hero, Lord Heathfield, is but an obstinate old English
gentleman after all. Gainsborough takes very nearly the
same view of us. Hogarth laughs at us or condemns us.
... Is it not a rather strange matter that our seers or
painters, contemplating the English nation, cannot, all of them
put together, paint an English hero ? 1 Nothing more than
an English gentleman in an obstinate state of mind about keys ;
with an expression which I can conceive so exceedingly stout a
gentleman of that age as occasionally putting on, even respect-
ing the keys of the cellaret. Pray consider of it a little, good
visitors, whether it is altogether the painter's fault or anybody
else's!" (Academy Notes, 1859, pp. 20, 21). The portrait
was painted in 1788, when Lord Heathfield was sixty-five.
683. MRS. SIDDONS (1755-1831).
Gainsborough (1727-1788). See under 760, p. 396.
A portrait of the great English actress, Sarah Kemble, Mrs.
Siddons, taken in her twenty-ninth year, the year after Reynolds
painted her as the Tragic Muse. It was in that year, when
she was at the height of her fame, that Johnson saw her :
"neither praise nor money," he said, "the two powerful
corruptors of mankind, seemed to have depraved her!" In
1 Compare Carlyle's remarks on the inability of another popular
English painter to realise ' ' the hero as priest," cited at p. 568, on XXI. 894.
406 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
the stately face depicted by Gainsborough severe even in its
beauty one sees stamped the character of the actress who
turned the heads of half the town, but never herself lost her
self-restraint, and who was as celebrated for the blamelessness
of her private life as for her command of passion on the stage.
" One would as soon think of making love to the Archbishop of
Canterbury," said one of her admirers. The strong sharply-
defined features repeat the tale of her hardness and haughti-
ness. " Damn it, madam," said Gainsborough, after working
at this portrait for some time in silence, " there is no end to
your nose." Equally marked and yet more characteristic is
the jaw-bone : "The Kemble jaw-bone !" exclaimed the actress
herself, laughing ; " why it's as notorious as Samson's ! " One
should note, too, the finely- formed eyebrows : their extreme
flexibility was one of the secrets of her art, and lent expressive
aid to eyes brilliantly beautiful and penetrating. She was " a
daughter of the gods " ; in stature " divinely tall," and of equal
grace and dignity in her movements. " She behaved," said
Miss Burney, describing a party at which she had been present,
"with great propriety, very calm, modest, quiet and unaffected.
She has a very fine countenance and her eyes look both
intelligent and soft She has, however, a steadiness in her
manner and deportment by no means engaging. Mrs. Thrale,
who was there, said, ' Why this is a leaden goddess we are all
worshipping.' " Miss Burney with the frizzly head, and Mrs.
Thrale, who " skipped about like a young kid," clearly thought
the stately queen of tragedy not quite "in the mode." In
her toilette the actress herself takes credit for her departure
therefrom. Sir Joshua Reynolds, she says, "approved very
much of her costumes," of her hair " so braided as to ascertain
the size and shape of her head," whilst " my short waist, too,
was to him a pleasing contrast to the long stiff" stays and hoop
petticoats which were then the fashion." One can see from the
beautiful use made of the costume in this picture that Gains-
borough also found Mrs. Siddons's taste pleasant to a painter's
eye. And it was a faithful likeness as well as a charming
picture. " Two years before the death of Mrs. Siddons," says
Mrs. Jameson, " I remember seeing her when seated near this
picture, and looking from one to the other ; it was like her still
at the age of seventy." For another portrait of Mrs. Siddons,
see XXI. 785, p. 570; and for one of her husband, XXI. 784,
P- 559-
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 407
Lent by tfie Dilettanti Society.
HIS OWN PORTRAIT WHEN FORTY-THREE (1766).
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.RA. (1723-1792).^ under 1 1 1 , p. 399.
312. LADY HAMILTON AS A BACCHANTE.
George Romney (1734-1802).
Romney is one of the great English artists who is least adequately
represented in the National Gallery. The two heads here are indeed
beautifully representative of his skill in this sort ; but " few artists,"
said his friend Flaxman, " since the fifteenth century, have been able
to do so much in so many different branches," and for his historical
and poetic works the student has to look elsewhere. Romney was
born at Beckside, Dalton - in - Furness, the son of "honest John
Romney " a cabinet-maker, and at an early age showed talent in de-
signing and wood-carving. At twenty-one he was apprenticed to an
indifferent painter, Steele, and for some years he painted in the North
going from house to house for a job. In 1762 he went to London,
leaving his wife, whom he had married when he was twenty-two,
behind him at Kendal. He never called her to share in his success,
though he made her an annual allowance ; nor did he return to her
till he came "to die at home at last" in 1798. For ten years he met
with varying success in London, and then he spent two years in Italy,
studying much from the nude model at Rome. On his return to
London he established himself in Cavendish Square, in a house after-
wards occupied by another painter, Sir Martin Shee, P.R.A. Romney
for a time divided the town with Reynolds. " There are two factions
in art," said Lord Thurlow, "and I am of the Romney faction." The
remark is said to have much annoyed Reynolds, who could never brin^
himself to refer to his rival except as " the man in Cavendish Square."
Romney himself, it should be noted, never exhibited at the Royal
Academy, and was therefore ineligible as a member. Besides his por-
traits, from which Romney made a very large income, he painted many
large historical compositions, and his head was full of others yet larger
and more ambitious. " I have formed a system of original subjects,"
he wrote in 1794, "moral and my own, and I think one of the
grandest that has been thought of but nobody knows it. Hence it
is my view to wrap myself in retirement and pursue these plans."
The words apply, says one of his biographers, to all periods of his life ;
he was always dreaming and sketching. Much of this wandering of
the fancy must be attributed to Hayley, the poet, and friend of
William Blake, who was for ever plying Romney with flattery and
suggestions. Cowper and Gibbon were also amongst the artist's
friends. In 1796 he carried out his idea of retirement by taking a
house at Hampstead on Holly Bush Hill. He added " a whimsical
structure " to it, and " filled his study and galleries," says Flaxman,
"with fine casts from the most perfect statues, groups, basso-relievos,
4 o8 ROOM XVI ': REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
and busts of antiquity. He would sit and consider these in profound
silence by the hour ; and, besides the studies in drawing or painting
he made from them, he would examine them under all the changes of
sunshine and daylight ; and with lamps prepared on purpose at night,
he would try their effects from above, beneath, and in all directions,
with rapturous admiration." His health had, however, for some time
been failing ; he had worn himself out partly by incessant application :
he often worked, says his son, thirteen hours a day. In 1798 he was
seized with a paralytic stroke, and returned to his wife at Kendal. It
was when she was nursing him through a fever forty -three years
before that he had fallen in love with her, and she nursed him tenderly
again ; but he never entirely regained his powers, and sinking at last
into imbecility died in 1802.
Much of Romney's life was bound up with the face of this
all too-lovely woman
Rosy is the west, rosy is the south,
Roses are her cheeks, and a rose her mouth.
Emma Lyon, or " Mrs. Hart," was a professional model
the mistress of Charles Greville and of Nelson, the wife of
Sir William Hamilton (see p. 422), and the source of half the
charm associated with the name of Romney. He painted her
in every attitude and every character, and his infatuation for her
knew no bounds. "At present," he wrote to Hayley in 1791,
" and the greatest part of the summer, I shall be engaged
in painting pictures from the divine lady ; I cannot give her
any other epithet, for I think her superior to all womankind."
1O9. THE WATERING PLACE.
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788). See under 760, p. 396.
It is recorded that Reynolds once, at an Academy Banquet, proposed
the health of Gainsborough as "the best landscape painter," and that
Wilson (of whose presence Reynolds was unaware) added, "and the
best portrait painter." Neither of them was far wrong, for to Gains-
borough there belongs also the distinction of being the founder of the
English School of landscape. Wilson, as we shall see, was an
" Italianiser" and an imitator. But Gainsborough was English both
in his subjects and in his treatment of them. " He did not wait until
a spirit from on high should influence him under other skies ; he never
left his island ; and the Suffolk woods always seemed to him the most
beautiful in the world." The same limitation, indeed, of subject which
may be noticed in the figure-pieces of him and Reynolds, appears also
in Gainsborough's landscapes : " no noble natural scenes, far less any
religious subject : only market-carts ; girls with pigs ; woodmen going
home to supper ; watering-places ; gray cart-horses in fields, and such
like" (Sir Joshua and Holbein, in O. O. R. t i. 227). In his
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 409
treatment of these simple Suffolk subjects, Gainsborough was true to
that fidelity to nature which has ever since characterised the English
School of landscape. Here too, however, there are limitations to
be noticed. We have seen how the old masters (see for instance
Titian's "Bacchus and Ariadne," VII. 35, p. 146) bestowed much
delicate and affectionate care on their foregrounds ; " and on this their
peculiar excellence I should the more earnestly insist, because it is of
a kind altogether neglected by the English School, and with most
unfortunate results ; many of our best painters missing their deserved
rank solely from the want of it, as Gainsborough. . . . He has great
feeling for masses of form and harmony of colour ; but in the detail
gives nothing but meaningless touches ; not even so much as the
species of tree, much less the variety of its leafage, being ever discern-
ible. . . . Their colour, too, is in some measure dependent on a
bituminous brown and conventional green, which have more of science
than of truth in them " (Modern Painters, \ol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii.
9, 17 ; Elements of Drawing, p. 164).
The differences between Gainsborough's landscapes and
those of his contemporary Wilson are easily discernible from a
comparison of this picture with those of Wilson in the next room.
Sir George Beaumont hit off the main difference very happily
when he said " Both were poets ; and to me the Bard of Gray
and his Elegy in a Country Churchyard are so descriptive of
their different lines that I should have commissioned Wilson to
paint a subject from the first, and Gainsborough one from the
latter." Sir George did not give his commission ; but Gains-
borough's picture of the watering-place at evening is quite in
the spirit of Gray's lines
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
888. JAMES BOSWELL, THE BIOGRAPHER OF
JOHNSON.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (1723-1792). Seeunderi i i,p.399-
One of those portraits that verifies " the saying of Hazlitt,
that ' a man's life may be a lie to himself and others : and yet
a picture painted of him by a great artist would probably stamp
his character.' The thin nose, that seems to sniff the air for
information, has the sharp shrewdness of a Scotch accent.
The small eyes, too much relieved by the high -arched eye-
brows, twinkle with the exultation of victories not won an
expression contracted from a vigilant watching of Dr. Johnson,
4 io ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
who, when he spoke, spoke always for victory ; the bleak lips,
making by their protrusion an angle almost the size of the
nose, proclaim BoswelFs love of ' drawing people out,' a thirst
for information at once droll and impertinent ; but which finally
embodied itself in a form that has been pronounced by Lord
Macaulay the most interesting biography in the world ; the
ample chins, fold upon fold, tell of a strong affection, gross,
and almost sottish, for port wine and tainted meats ; (whilst
the whole portrait expresses) . . . the imperturbable but artless
egotism, the clever inquisitiveness, which have made him the
best-despised and best-read writer in English literature"
(LittelFs Living Age, cited in Mabel E. Wotton's Word
Portraits of Famous Writers, 1887). The circumstances
under which the portrait was painted are as characteristic of
Boswell as the features themselves. Boswell, as every one
knows, was, like Johnson, a friend of Reynolds and a fellow-
member of "the club." In 1785 Boswell wrote to Reynolds
as follows : " My dear Sir The debts which I contracted
in my father's lifetime will not be cleared off by me for some
years. I therefore think it unconscientious to indulge myself
in any article of elegant luxury. But in the meantime, you
may die, or I may die ; and I should regret very much that
there should not be at Auchinleck my portrait painted by Sir
Joshua Reynolds, with whom I have the felicity of living in
social intercourse. I have a proposal to make to you. I am
for certain to be called to the English bar next February,
Will you now do my picture, and the price shall be paid out
of the first fees which I receive as a barrister in Westminster
Hall ? Or if that fund should fail, it shall be paid at any rate
in five years hence, by myself or my representatives." The
letter was found in Reynolds's papers endorsed with his signa-
ture and the words, " I agree to the above conditions."
Reynolds did his friend a further service by making his brush
"be to his faults a little kind," as any one may see who com-
pares this not unpleasant portrait with Sir T. Lawrence's
pencil sketch (prefixed to the fifth volume of Croker"s Boswelt),
or Miss Burney's ill-natured portrait in words.
1068. "THE PARSON'S DAUGHTER."
George Romney (1734-1802). See under 312, p. 407.
A rosebud, set with little wilful thorns,
And sweet as English air could make her.
TENNYSON : The Princess.
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 411
1198. MR. HENRY BYNE.
Lemuel F. Abbott (1760-1803).
Lemuel Abbott (he added the name of Francis afterwards, possibly
out of compliment to his master, Francis Hayman) was the son of a
Leicestershire parson. In 1780, after two years with Hayman, he set
up on his own account in Caroline Street as a portrait painter. He
did heads only, and amongst his sitters were Cowper and Nelson. He
made a very unhappy marriage and died insane.
Mr. Byne, a country gentleman of Carshalton, Surrey, was
first cousin to the General Byne of Kent who fell at the battle
of Bergen-op-Zoom (1814).
3O5. SIR ABRAHAM HUME, BART., F.R.S.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
An intimate friend of the painter. He died in his ninetieth
year in 1838. This portrait was painted about 1780, when
therefore he was thirty-one. Like Sir Joshua, he was a great
collector of " Old Masters." His collection consisting chiefly
of Italian pictures bought at Bologna and Venice from 1786
to 1800 was dispersed in 1824; it was particularly strong
in Titian, a notice of whose " Life and Works " was published
by Sir A. Hume in 1829. He had also a famous collection of
minerals, especially of diamonds (an account of which was
published in 1816). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society in 1775, his certificate stating that he was "a gentle-
man particularly conversant in natural history and mineralogy."
His interest in the latter led him to assist in founding the
Geological Society, of which he was Vice-President from 1 809
to 1813.
925. "GAINSBOROUGH'S FOREST."
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1785). See under 760, p. 396.
So the engraving from this picture was lettered the scene
being the woods and village of Cornard in Suffolk. Sir George
Beaumont's comparison of Gray's elegy to Gainsborough's land-
scapes (see under 109, p. 408) again comes forcibly home to one
before this picture of an English wood, with the rustics at work
or at rest in the foreground, and the view of the village church
through the trees.
412 ROOM XVI ; REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
1197. DAVID GARRICK (1716-1799).
Ascribed to Johann Zoffany, R.A. (1733-1810).
Zoffany, by descent a Bohemian, by birth a German, was one of
the original members of the Royal Academy. He came to England in
1758, and met with considerable success, more especially for his
theatrical portraits. For seven years he was in Lucknow ; he returned
to England with a large fortune and settled at Kew, where he died.
A portrait of the actor of whom Pope said " he never had
his equal, and will never have a rival," and whose death
" eclipsed," said Johnson, " the gaiety of nations." He was
great alike in tragedy and comedy : hence in the emblematic
trophy below are introduced both the tragic and the comic
mask. In the actor's face the artist has well caught an ex-
pression of momentarily suspended mobility. This mobility
made Garrick a difficult subject to draw. He and his
brother actor, Foote, went to Gainsborough for their portraits ;
who tried again and again without success, and dismissed them
in despair : " Rot them for a couple of rogues," he said ; " they
have everybody's faces but their own." Goldsmith makes the
same point in his well-known lines
Here lies David Garrick describe me, who can,
An abridgement of all that was pleasant in man . . .
On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting ;
'Twas only that when he was off he was acting.
With no reason on earth to go out of his way,
He turn'd and he varied full ten times a day.
1O44. THE REV. SIR HENRY BATE DUDLEY, BART.
71 Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1785). See under 760, p. 396.
The Rev. Henry Bate was born in 1745, an d educated at
Cambridge. He took the name of Dudley in 1781 on suc-
ceeding to some property under an uncle's will. He was a fore-
runner in the last century of the "church and stage guild."
There was, however, in this handsome gentleman more of the
stage than of the church. He was originally curate of Hendon,
and was a notorious man of pleasure about town a bruising
Christian, who fought duels (over pretty actresses) one moment,
and wrote slashing articles the next. He was the first editor
of the Morning Post (established in 1772), and was the
accepted theatrical censor of the day. He was a great friend of
Garrick, who sent him in 1775 to Cheltenham to report on
Mrs. Siddons. He was himself the writer of some ephemeral
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 413
plays, as well as of sermons ; and charges were made against
him of adultery as well as of simony. It was one of his
enemies who said of another portrait of him, with a dog, by
Gainsborough, that " the man deserved execution and the dog
hanging." Dudley, however, was on intimate terms with the
Prince Regent, afterwards George IV, by whom he was made
a baronet in 1812 and a Prebend of Ely in 1816.
885. THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (1723-1792). Seeunden 11^.399.
Of this composition, in which "he mingles his reminis-
cences of Titian with his own mannerisms," Sir Joshua painted
several versions. There is another at St. Petersburg and a
third at the Soane Museum. The other title is " Love un-
binding the zone of Beauty "-
To Chloe's breast young Cupid slyly stole,
but by the side of Love, pursuing Beauty only, is the snake's
head in the grass.
107. THE BANISHED LORD.
SirJoshuaReynolds,P.R.A. (1723-1792). Seeunderi I i,p. 399.
Perhaps a study, like 106, for Sir Joshua's "Count
Ugolino." The title " The Banished Lord " was given to the
picture when it was engraved, and well suits the mingled
expression of dignity and mildness, of melancholy and courage,
shown in the face.
162. THE INFANT SAMUEL.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. ( 1 723-1792). Seeunder 1 1 1, p.399.
" I wish," wrote Hannah More to her sister, describing
a private view of Sir Joshua's pictures for the Academy
Exhibition of 1776, "you could see a picture Sir Joshua has
just finished of the prophet Samuel on his being called. ' The
gaze of young astonishment' was never so beautifully expressed.
Sir Joshua tells me that he is exceedingly mortified when he
shows this picture to some of the great ; they ask him who
Samuel was. I told him he must get somebody to make an
oratorio of Samuel, and then it would not be vulgar to confess
they knew something of him."
With joy the guardian Angel sees
A duteous child upon his knees,
And writes in his approving book
Each upward, earnest, holy look.
4 i4 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
Light from his pure aerial dream
He springs to meet morn's orient beam,
And pours towards the kindling skies
His clear adoring melodies.
KEBLE : Lyra Innocentium.
306. PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF.
SirJoshuaReynolds^P.R.A. (1723-1 79 2 )- Seeunderi 1 1 ,p. 399.
This portrait, painted for Mrs. Thrale, shows the painter
in his early prime. " In stature he was somewhat below the
middle size ; his complexion was florid ; his features blunt and
round; his aspect lively and intelligent; and his manners calm,
simple, and unassuming" (Allan Cunningham).
106. A MAN'S HEAD.
SirJoshuaReynolds,P.R.A. (1723-1792). Seeundern i,p. 399.
One of the painter's studies for the head of Count Ugolino
(Dante, Inferno, Canto xxxiii.), in the picture (exhibited at the
Academy in 1773 and now at Knole) of him surrounded by
his children in the tower of Pisa, where they were starved to
death. Sir Joshua's model for this character was a pavior,
named Wilson.
802. ROBINETTA.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (i 723-1792). See under 1 1 i,p. 399.
A fancy portrait of the Hon. Mrs. Tollemache.
Sweet pet it was : the darling bird
Knew her as well as she her mother :
It never from her shoulder stirred,
But hopped about,
And in and out,
Nor twittered to another (G. R. , from Catullus).
886. ADMIRAL KEPPEL.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R.A. (1723-1792). Seeunderm^.^g.
A characteristic portrait of the bluff old admiral with his
hand on his sword and the sea behind him whose courage
and good-nature made him, we are told, "the idol of the
people, and possessed, in a greater extent than any officer in
the Service, of the affection of the Navy." He was born in 1725,
and after serving with distinction under Anson was appointed in
1749 to the command of the Mediterranean Squadron, with
instructions to repress the Algerian pirates. It was on this occa-
sion that Keppel picked up Reynolds at Plymouth and took him
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 415
to the Mediterranean. Keppel was only twenty-four, and when
he went to the Dey of Algiers, that monarch said, " I wonder
at the English king's insolence in sending me such a foolish,
beardless boy." Keppel with the dare-devil pluck that distin-
guished him, replied, " Had my master supposed wisdom to be
measured by length of beard, he would have sent a he-goat."
After a long life of active service Keppel was in 1778 tried
by court-martial on a charge of incompetence or cowardice ;
but he was acquitted, amidst great popular rejoicings, and de-
clared by the court to have acted as " a judicious, brave, and
experienced officer." In gratitude for the professional assistance
he received from Dunning, Erskine, and Lee (who were his
counsel), and the sympathy given him by Burke, Keppel had
four portraits of himself painted by Reynolds to present to his
four friends. This portrait, painted in 1780, is presumably one
of them. Keppel was made a peer in 1782 and died in 1786.
887. DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R.A. (1723-1792). Seeunfferin,p.^gg.
" The memory, of other authors," says Macaulay, " is kept
alive by their works. But the memory of Johnson keeps many
of his works alive. The old philosopher is still among us, in
the brown coat and the metal buttons" thanks chiefly to
Boswell, but not a little to his other good friend Reynolds.
Johnson had his portrait taken many times. He condemned
the reluctance to sit for a picture as an " anfractuosity of the
human mind." Reynolds alone painted him four times, two of
the four pictures being undertaken at Mr. Thrale's request.
In the first of these two, Sir Joshua painted him holding a
manuscript near his face a reference to his short-sightedness,
which Johnson did not like. " It is not friendly," he said, " to
hand down to posterity the imperfections of any man." A few
years later Sir Joshua painted another portrait of him for Mr.
Thrale. This is the one now before us, and as it was accom-
plished without any bickerings we may take it as " the author's
own portrait." It was painted in 1772, when Johnson was
sixty-three, and ' at the zenith of his fame," when Reynolds
was forty-nine, and at the best of his powers. There can be no
question of the likeness. The importance of truth and baseness
of falsehood were inculcated, Sir Joshua once said, more by
Johnson's example than by precept, and all who were of the
Johnsonian school were remarkable for a love of truth and
416 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
accuracy. Here then is a truthful portrait of Johnson's " large,
robust, and unwieldy person " his countenance " naturally of
the cast of an ancient statue, but somewhat disfigured by the
scars of St. Vitus's dance." But Reynolds has here handed him
down to posterity with his imperfections suggested rather than
expressed. The convulsive motions are subdued, the deafness
and blindness are hinted at only in the contraction of the face.
In his clothes, too, Johnson is here made to figure, out of
compliment to the Thrales, in his " Sunday best," his coat not
uncleanly, his wig fresh powdered, and his buttons of metal,
" Streatham best," one should call it rather, for it was at Mrs.
Thrale's suggestion, Boswell tells us, that Johnson got better
clothes and " enlivened the dark colour, from which he never
deviated, by metal buttons." As for his wig, Mr. Thrale's
butler always had a better one ready at Streatham ; and as
Johnson passed from the drawing-room when dinner was an-
nounced, the servant would remove the ordinary wig and replace
it with the newer one. Mr. Thrale, it may be interesting to add,
paid thirty-five guineas for this portrait. When it changed hands
in 1816, it fetched ^378. It used to hang in the Portrait
Gallery which Mrs. Thrale described in a rhyming catalogue
Gigantic in knowledge, in virtue, in strength,
With Johnson our company closes at length ; . . .
To his comrades contemptuous we see him look down
On their wit and their worth with a general frown.
678. STUDY FOR A PORTRAIT.
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1785). See under 760, p. 396.
The finished picture, for which this is a study, was a full-
length portrait of Mr. Abel Moysey (he was afterwards a Welsh
judge, and deputy-king" s-remembrancer), when a young man.
It was done no doubt during Gainsborough's Bath period, for
which town Mr. Moysey was at one time M.P. The tinge of
melancholy noticeable in so many of Gainsborough's portraits is
just perceptible here, where the young man leans his head on
his hand and seems to look forward into the future.
891. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
A duplicate of this picture, known as the " Hon. Mrs.
Musters and Son," is at Colwick Hall, Notts, the residence of
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 417
the Musters family. " The present beauty," wrote Miss Burney
in 1779, "is a Mrs. Musters, an exceeding pretty woman, who
is the reigning toast of the season." A portrait of the same
lady without the child was engraved in 1825, from a picture
at Holland House, and erroneously described as Mrs. C. J.
Fox.
Lent by the Dilettanti Society.
PORTRAITS OF MEMBERS OF THE DILETTANTI
SOCIETY.
Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
In 1734 "some gentlemen who had travelled in Italy,
desirous of encouraging at home a taste for those objects which
had contributed so much to their entertainment abroad, formed
themselves into a society under the name of The Dilettanti,
and agreed upon such resolutions as they thought necessary
to keep up the spirit of the scheme." The name " Dilettante "
has fallen into disrepute since the Society was founded, and
come to mean little more than a trifler. But these Dilettanti
were amateurs and connoisseurs in the old sense of both
terms ; men, that is to say, who loved the arts and knew about
them, and had in some ways serious purpose in promoting them.
They established art -studentships, and it was largely through
their influence and patronage that the Royal Academy came
to be founded. They sent out archaeological expeditions and
undertook the publication of learned works. Thus in 1775-1776
a year before these portraits were painted the Society
published some Travels in Asia Minor and in Greece, under-
taken by Dr. Chandler at a cost to them of ^2500. For
" dilettanti " of a less serious kind Reynolds had scant courtesy
When they talk'd of their Raffaelles, Correggios, and stuff,
He shifted his trumpet, and only took snuff.
But he was painter to this Dilettanti Society, and his two
portraits of its members in this room prove his sympathy with
their characters and objects. The way in which the Society
raised funds for its costly undertakings shows the good-fellow-
ship that prevailed among its members. There were ordinary
subscriptions and also fines paid by members " on increase of
income by inheritance, legacy, marriage, or preferment." At
the time when these portraits were taken the Society had
2 E
418 ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
rooms at the " Star and Garter" in Pall Mall, and it is at one
of its meetings there, held to examine curiosities (gems, they
seem in this case to be), and discuss points of connoisseurship,
that we must suppose the scene before us to be laid. The
members represented are (beginning with the head lowest on
the left) : (i) Lord Mulgrave, a naval officer, who in 1773 had
published an account of his voyage to discover the North- West
Passage ; (2) above him, Lord Dundas ; (3) lower down again,
the Earl of Seaforth ; (4) above him, Charles Francis Greville,
Esq., M.P. ; (5) a little higher again, John Charles Crowle,
Esq., Secretary to the Society at the time ; (6) below him, the
Duke of Leeds ; and (7) to the extreme right, Sir Joseph
Banks, elected President of the Royal Society in 1777. A
year later he was elected a member of " the club," in which
connection Johnson speaks of him as " Banks the traveller, a
very honourable accession." He had accompanied Captain
Cook on his first voyage round the world, as naturalist ; and
had subsequently equipped a vessel at his own expense to
explore Iceland. He is further entitled to grateful memory as
having bequeathed his library and collections to the British
Museum.
889. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under in, p. 399, and 306, p. 414.
3O7. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
Child of the pure unclouded brow.
In no respect is the continuity of Christian art so remark-
able as in the beautiful representation of children. It is "a
singular defect in Greek art, that it never gives you any con-
ception of Greek children. . . . But from the moment when
the spirit of Christianity had been entirely interpreted to the
Western races, the sanctity of womanhood in the Madonna,
and the sanctity of childhood in unity with that of Christ,
became the light of every honest hearth, and the joy of every
pure and chastened soul ; . . . and at last in the child-angels
of Luca, Mino of Fesole, Luini, Angelico, Perugino, and the
first days of Raphael, it expressed itself as the one pure and
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 419
sacred passion which protected Christendom from the ruin of the
Renaissance. Nor has it since failed ; and whatever disgrace
or blame obscured the conception of the later Flemish and
incipient English schools, the children, whether in the pictures
of Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, or Sir Joshua, were always
beautiful. An extremely dark period indeed follows, . . . [but
again there] rises round us, Heaven be praised," in the
illustrations of Kate Greenaway and the pictures of Millais,
recollections many of them of Sir Joshua, " the protest and
the power of Christianity, restoring the fields of the quiet
earth to the steps of her infancy" (Art of England, pp. 137,
138). Another characteristic of English art, distinguishing it
from classical, may be noticed in this picture : the spirit is
studied rather than the flesh, the face rather than the body.
" Would you really," Mr. Ruskin asks the classicists, " insist on
having her white frock taken off the ' Age of Innocence ' ; . . .
and on Lord Heathfield's (in.) parting, I dare not suggest,
with his regimentals, but his Order of the Bath, or what else ?
... I feel confident in your general admission that the
charm of all these pictures is in great degree dependent
on toilette ; that the fond and graceful flatteries of each master
do in no small measure consist in his management of frillings
and trimmings, cuffs and collarettes ; and on beautiful flingings
or fastenings of investiture, which can only here and there be
called a drapery, but insists on the perfectness of the forms it
conceals, and deepens their harmony by its contradiction.
And although now and then, when great ladies wish to be
painted as sibyls or goddesses, Sir Joshua does his best to
bethink himself of Michael Angelo, and Guido, and the Light-
nings, and the Auroras, and all the rest of it, you will, I
think, admit that the culminating sweetness and Tightness of
him are in some little Lady So-and-so, with round hat and
strong shoes" (Art of England, pp. 85-87). In place of the
strong shoes we have, however, here, two pretty " feet beneath
her petticoat, Like little mice stealing out."
79. THE GRACES DECORATING A STATUE OF
HYMEN.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (i723- I 79 2 )-
See under in, p. 399-
A fancy portrait of the three beautiful daughters of Sir
William Montgomery. The Hon. Mrs. Gardner, mother of
420 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
the Earl of Blessington (who bequeathed the picture to the
nation), is in the centre ; on the left, the Marchioness Town-
shend ; on the right, Mrs. Beresford. " The Miss Mont-
gomery s," says Moore in his Memoirs, " to whose rare beauty
the pencil of Sir Joshua has given immortality, were among
those whom my worthy preceptor most boasted of- as pupils ;
and I remember his description of them long haunted my
boyish imagination as though they were not earthly- born
women, but some spiritual 'creatures of the element.'" It
is exactly in this spirit that Sir Joshua has painted them.
" Great, as ever was work wrought by man. In placid strength,
and subtlest science, unsurpassed ; in sweet felicity, incom-
parable. If you truly want to know what good work of
painter's hand is, study those two pictures * from side to side,
and miss no inch of them : in some respects there is no execu-
tion like it ; none so open in the magic. For the work of
other great men is hidden in its wonderfulness you cannot
see how it was done. But in Sir Joshua's there is no mystery :
it is all amazement. No question but that the touch was so
laid ; only that it could have been so laid, is a marvel for ever.
So also there is no painting so majestic in sweetness. He is
lily -sceptred : his power blossoms, but burdens not. All
other men of equal dignity paint more slowly ; all others of
equal force paint less lightly. Tintoret lays his line like a
king marking the boundaries of conquered lands ; but Sir
Joshua leaves it as a summer wind its trace on a lake ; he
could have painted on a silken veil, where it fell free, and not
bent it. Such at least is his touch when it is life that he
paints: for things lifeless he has a severer hand. If you ex-
amine the picture of the Graces you will find it reverses all
the ordinary ideas of expedient treatment. By other men
flesh is firmly painted, but accessories lightly. Sir Joshua
paints accessories firmly, flesh lightly ; nay, flesh not at all,
but spirit. The wreath of flowers he feels to be material ; and
gleam by gleam strikes fearlessly the silver and violet leaves
out of the darkness. But the three maidens are less sub-
stantial than rose petals. No flushed nor frosted tissue that
ever faded in night-wind is so tender as they ; no hue may
reach, no line measure, what is in them so gracious and so
fair. Let the hand move softly itself as a spirit ; for this is
1 This one and the " Holy Family" (78), which latter, owing to its bad
state of preservation, is no longer publicly exhibited : see p. 654.
ROOM XVI: REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 421
Life, of which it touches the imagery" (Sir Joshua and Hol-
bein, in a O. R., i. 221-223). Yet there is a shadow upon
the fair flowers of Sir Joshua's fancy. The three daughters, as
we have seen, all made " good matches," and the painter with
that graceful flattery of his, pictures them as Graces decorating
a statue of the God of Marriage. But " the world round these
painters had become sad and proud, instead of happy and
humble ; its domestic peace was darkened by irreligion, its
national action fevered by pride. And for sign of its Love, the
Hymen, whose statue this fair English girl, according to
Reynolds's thought, has to decorate, is blind, and holds a
coronet" (Oxford Lectures on Art, 183).
890. GEORGE IV. AS PRINCE OF WALES.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under in, p. 399.
" To make a portrait of him at first seemed a matter of
small difficulty. There is his coat, his star (and ribbon of the
Garter), his wig, his countenance simpering under it. ...
But this George, what was he ? I look through all his life,
and recognise but a bow and a grin. I try and take him to
pieces, and find silk stockings, padding, stays, a star and blue
ribbon . . . and then nothing. ... I suppose he must have
been very graceful. There are so many testimonies to the
charm of his manner, that we must allow him great elegance
and powers of fascination. He and the King of France's
brother, the Count d'Artois, a charming young prince who
danced deliciously on the tight-rope . . . divided in their
youth the title of first gentleman in Europe " (Thackeray : The
Four Georges').
182. HEADS OF ANGELS.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792)
See itnder in, p. 399.
A sketch of five cherub heads portraits in different views
of the daughter of Lord William Gordon, by whose wife the
picture was presented to the National Gallery very character-
istic of " the grace of Reynolds " : " that is to say, grace con-
summate, no painter having ever before approached Reynolds
in the rendering of the momentary loveliness and trembling
life of childhood, by beauty of play and change in every col-
our and curve " (Academy Notes, 1 858, p. 34). " An incompar-
422 ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH
ably finer thing than ever the Greeks did. 1 Ineffably tender in
the touch, yet Herculean in power ; innocent, yet exalted in
feeling ; pure in colour as a pearl ; reserved and decisive in
design ... if you built a shrine for it, and were allowed to see it
only seven days in a year, it alone would teach you all of art
that you ever needed to know" (Queen of the Air, 176).
Lent by the Dilettanti Society.
PORTRAITS OF MEMBERS OF THE DILETTANTI
SOCIETY.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
See the companion picture, p. 417. The members here
represented are (beginning with the head lowest on the left) :
(1) Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart., M.P., well known in his
day for his benevolence, patriotism, and upright character ;
(2) above him, Sir John Taylor, Bart., F.R.S. ; (3) lower
down again, Stephen Payne Gallwey, Esq., ; (4) below in the
centre Sir William Hamilton ; (5) above him, holding up a
glass, Richard Thompson, Esq. ; (6) above to the extreme
right, W. Spencer Stanhope, Esq. ; and below, (7) John Lewin
Smith, Esq. The most distinguished of the party is Sir
William Hamilton, who was for many years British Ambassador
at the Court of Naples, and who in 1782 married the beautiful
Emma Lyon whose portrait now hangs on the opposite wall
(312). Amongst other books, he wrote several volumes on
Etruscan antiquities, 'and Reynolds marks his speciality by
placing an Etruscan vase on the table before him.
301. VIEW IN ITALY.
RichardWilson^R.A. (1714-1782). SeeunderXVlI. 304^.430.
1 ' ' Finer than ever the Greeks did. " It may be interesting to add that
elsewhere Mr. Ruskin cites this sketch as a typical instance of Gothic, as
contrasted with Greek art. "A final separation." he says, "from the
Greek art, which can be proud in a torso without a head, is achieved by the
master who paints for you five little girls' heads, without ever a torso"
(Art of England, p. 87). Besides "the face principal, instead of the
body," another typical contrast to Greek art (and through it, Florentine)
may be noticed in the fact that Reynolds lets the ringlets of his cherubs
float loosely in the air, instead of arranging them in "picturesque"
regularity (see on this subject Catalogue of the Educational Series, p. 45).
ROOM XVI : REYNOLDS AND GAINSBOROUGH 423
754. PORTRAITS OF TWO GENTLEMEN.
Sir Joshna Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under 1 1 1, p. 399.
A charming portrait of two young connoisseurs of the time,
painted in 1778-1779, when one was twenty-eight, and the
other twenty-four. They are here shown as kindred spirits,
brought together by their common love of the arts ; but their
subsequent careers were tragically different. The elder man,
on the spectator's left, is the Rev. George Huddesford, who in
his youth was a painter, and a pupil of Sir Joshua. But he
afterwards settled down into the cultivated college don and
country parson, became a D.D., and a fellow of his college
(New College, Oxford), and divided his leisure between college
affairs and writing comic and satirical pieces (" Salmagundi,"
" Topsy-Turvy," etc). He was born in 1750 and died in 1 809.
His companion has more inspiration in his face, and a certain
wild look which was not belied by his after life. He is Mr.
John Codrington Warwick Bampfylde, who was born in 1754,
of an old Devonshire family, and was educated at Cambridge,
where he wrote some pretty sonnets. He is said to have been
of a very amiable disposition, and to have been beloved by all
who knew him. In one of his sonnets he says of himself
I the general friend, by turns am joined with all,
Lover and elfin gay, and harmless hind ;
Nor heed the proud, to real wisdom blind,
So as my heart be pure, and free my mind.
But he afterwards went mad, owing, itjs said, to a hopeless
passion an explanation which finds some countenance in his
amorous verses, and he died in a private asylum at the age
of forty-two. There is a little record of the friendship between
the two men in Huddesford's Poems (1801), in which are
included a few " written by an abler pen than my own " : they
are by Bampfylde. In Bampfylde's own poems, too, there is a
sonnet written after dining at Trinity, Oxford ; this was on a
visit doubtless to Huddesford, whose father was President of
Trinity.
ROOM XVII
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL : HOGARTH AND WILSON
" I WAS pleased with the reply of a gentleman, who being asked which
book he esteemed most in his library, answered, ' Shakespeare ' ;
being asked which he esteemed next best, replied 'Hogarth.'
His graphic representations are indeed books ; they have the
teeming, fruitful, suggestive meaning of words. Other pictures
we look at, his we read" (CHARLES LAMB: On the Genius
and Character of Hogarth}.
" I BELIEVE that with the name of Richard Wilson, the history of
sincere landscape art, founded on a meditative love of Nature,
begins for England " (RusKlN : The Art of England, Lecture vi.)
1097. A LANDSCAPE.
Unknown.
Attributed, when presented by the trustees of the British
Museum, to Wilson (see under 304, p. 430).
1161. MISS FENTON AS "POLLY PEACHUM."
William Hogarth (1697-1764).
Apart from the intrinsic merit of his pictures, Hogarth should be
especially interesting as the first man of genius in the native British
School. He was born in London, the son of a Westmoreland school-
master, who had come to the capital and worked as a literary hack.
" The love of mimicry common to all children," says William Hogarth
in the Memoranda which are the chief material for his biography,
" was remarkable in me ; " and his inclination for art caused his father
to apprentice him to a silver-plate engraver in Cranlxiurne Street,
ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON 425
Leicester Square. At the age of twenty-three he set up in business on
his own account, engraving crests and the like. At this time, to rise
to the height of copper-plate engraving was, he tells us, his highest
ambition, and gradually he obtained work as a book - illustrator ;
amongst other work of the kind, he engraved twelve prints for Butler's
Hiidibras. He was always on pleasure bent, and owed his artistic
training less to schools than to cultivating his natural powers of observa-
tion. One may picture him roaming about the streets of London,
storing up oddities and characters in his memory, and now and then,
when something particularly fantastic struck him, stopping to make a
thumb-nail sketch. It is told, for instance, how one day in a public-
house he saw two drunken women brawling. One of them rilled her
mouth with brandy and spirted it in the eyes of her antagonist.
" See ! see !" said Hogarth to his companion, taking out his sketch-
book and drawing her, " look at the brimstone's mouth." This sketch
was afterwards worked up in his "Modern Midnight Conversation."
But besides these studies from nature, Hogarth seems to have worked
in the school of Sir James Thornhill, serjeant-painter to the king, and
in 1729 he clandestinely married the great man's daughter. He settled
in lodgings in South Lambeth, and for three or four years painted
small "conversation pieces." He also obtained some repute as a
portrait painter. The work, however, which first established his fame
was the series of the "Harlot's Progress." He had two convincing
proofs of its success. It reconciled his father-in-law to him. " Very
well ! very well ! " Sir James exclaimed on being shown the work ;
" the man who can make works like this can maintain a wife without
a portion." More than this, the " Harlot's Progress " called forth that
sincerest form of modern flattery : the prints which he executed from
his designs were extensively pirated. Amongst Hogarth's other claims
to the gratitude of artists is this, that he succeeded a few years later
(1735) in inducing Parliament to pass an Act recognising a legal
copyright in designs and engravings. The "Harlot's Progress" was
immediately followed by the "Rake's Progress" (now in the Soane
Museum), and as these works are similar in scope and design to the
" Marriage a la Mode " in this Gallery, it is worth while to notice the
reasons which induced him, he says, to " turn his thoughts to painting
and engraving subjects of a modern kind and moral nature."
thought," he says, "both critics and painters had, in the historical
style, quite overlooked that intermediate species of subjects which may
be placed between the sublime and the grotesque. I therefore wished
to compose pictures on canvas similar to representations on the stage.
In these compositions, those subjects that will both entertain and
inform the mind bid fair to be of the greatest public utility, and must
therefore be entitled to rank in the highest class." Hogarth did not,
however, obtain recognition " in the highest class." The world bought
his engravings, but not his pictures. But he sometimes obtained large
prices for his portraits; "for the portrait of Garrick," he says, "
received more than any English artist ever before received for a single
426 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
portrait " (.200) ; and he had occasional commissions for sacred and
historical subjects. In 1753 he appeared as an author (see below,
under 112, p. 444), and in 1757 he succeeded his father-in-law as Serjeant-
painter, a post to which he was re-appointed on George III.'s accession.
In 1733 he had moved to a house in Leicester Fields, where he lived
for the rest of his life ; he is buried at Chiswick, where he had a villa.
For thirty years he was incessantly busy with his pictures, his prints,
his squibs and satires. His character may be read in his speaking
portrait of his own face in this. Gallery (112), and in the epitaphs of
friends. Garrick's is the best known, but Johnson's best sums up the
artist's life
The hand of him here torpid lies
That drew the essential forms of grace :
Here closed in death the attentive eyes
That saw the manners in the face.
The most striking feature in Hogarth's art is involved in what has
just been said. He is often described as being " more of a satirist
than an artist " ; but this is hardly so. He was a satirist because he
was so faithful an artist. What he did (as a critic of our own day puts
it) was to " hold up to every class Nature's unflatt'ring looking-glass."
Hogarth had, as we have seen, a direct moral intention in his
holding up of nature's glass ; and herein is perhaps the secret of his
greatness (see p. 390). But whilst the greatest English artists have
never followed art for the sake of pleasure only, on the other hand no
great artist ever followed art without pleasure. Hogarth is no excep-
tion to this rule. "There is seldom wanting in his works,"
says Coleridge, "some beautiful female face; for the satirist in him
never extinguished that love of beauty which belonged to him as an
artist." Look, for instance, at the "yielding softness and listless
languor" in the figure of the bride (113), or at the delicacy of drawing
in that of the girl at the quack doctor's (115). And then, secondly,
note in the whole " Marriage & la Mode " series the infinite inventive-
ness of the artist. "The quantity of thought," says Charles Lamb,
"which Hogarth crowds into every picture, would alone unvulgarise
every subject which he might choose." The connoisseurs of the
historical style and the grand style have been very severe upon Ho-
garth's incursions into that field ; but his " Sigismonda " (1046, p. 429)
is admirable alike for its command of expression and its colour.
A portrait of the actress Lavinia Fenton who took the
town by storm at the first representation of Gay's " Beggar's
Opera" (January 29, 1728), in the part of Polly Peachum,
the simple heroine
Roses and lilies her cheeks disclose,
But her ripe lips are more sweet than those
who, in order to escape the worse fate designed by her parents,
marries a dissolute young gallant with many wives already
ROOM XVII : HOGARTH AND WILSON 427
("How happy could I be with either, Were t'other dear charmer
away"). In the end, after many hair-breadth escapes from
the gallows, he makes the faithful Polly happy. Miss Fenton
herself made a great match in the end. Ballads had been
written in her honour declaring that
Of all the belles that tread the stage,
There's none like pretty Polly,
And all the music of the Age,
Except her voice, is Folly.
So much was the actress identified with her part that the
name of Polly clung to her witness Gay's letter to Swift, in
1728, announcing her marriage: "The Duke of Bolton has
run away with Polly Peachum, and settled ^400 a year on her."
And later Walpole wrote : " The famous Polly, Duchess of
Bolton, is dead, having, after a life of merit, relapsed into her
Pollyhood." When young, she was described as " very accom-
plished, a most agreeable companion, with much wit and good
strong sense, and a just taste in polite literature."
119. A LANDSCAPE FROM "AS YOU LIKE IT."
Sir George Beaumont, Bart, (1753-1827).
Sir George Rowland Beaumont, seventh baronet of a very ancient
family, has a double claim to the grateful memory of all visitors to the
National Gallery. He was largely instrumental in the original estab-
lishment of the Gallery, and he was the friend and patron of many
old masters of the British School. When Lord Liverpool was de-
bating whether or not to buy the Angerstein collection for the nation,
Sir George went to him and said, " Buy them and I will add mine."
The bribe was accepted and duly paid, and though Beaumont was
himself a painter of some ability, the country could better spare the
paintings he made than the paintings he gave. The extent of his gift
can be seen on reference to Index II, and it was not a gift that cost him
nothing. How sincerely and even passionately he loved his pictures
is shown, among other things, by the pretty story attaching to one of his
Claudes, which has already been told (see XIV. 61, p. 358). But Beau-
mont was as much and as sincerely devoted to artists as to pictures. Sir
Joshua, and Lawrence, and Chantrey, were all amongst his friends.
He had taken lessons from Wilson, whom he regarded as a greater
even than his favourite Claude, and to whom he was much attached.
His kindness and generosity to young artists were unbounded. He
supported Jackson (see p. 531) ; he was one of the first to detect and
encourage the genius of Wilkie (see p. 490) ; and he was a generous
patron of Haydon. Nothing gives a better insight into the life of the
cultivated country gentleman of the time than the recollections in
Haydon's Autobiography of visits to Sir George at Coleorton. His
relations with the poets of the day are known to every one through
428 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
Wordsworth's sonnets, dedications, and inscriptions, and may now he
read in the Memorials of Cohort on (edited by Professor Knight, 1887).
As a painter, Beaumont had some taste and imagination. He was
educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, and cultivated his taste
for painting on a tour which he made in Italy, shortly after his marriage
to a lady who shared both his refinement and his generosity. His
house at Grosvenor Square was a meeting -place for all who were
interested in the arts ; but what he best loved was to gather painters
and poets around him at Coleorton, his country-seat in Leicestershire.
" Sir George painted," says Haydon, " and Lady Beaumont drew, and
Wilkie and I made our respective studies for our own purposes. At
lunch we assembled and chatted over what we had been doing, and at
dinner we all brought down our respective sketches, and cut up each
other in great good humour." That Sir George had some faculty of
calling out imagination is shown by the fact that an early picture of his
suggested Wordsworth's beautiful lines on " Peele Castle." Several of
Wordsworth's other poems were in their turn illustrated by Sir George
Beaumont Of the many eulogies which his contemporaries have
written of him, none is more interesting than Scott's, for it not only
praises his character and his painting, but adds a significant tribute to
his powers as an art critic. "Sir George Beaumont's dead," writes
Scott in his Diary, February 14, 1827, "by far the most sensible and
pleasing man I ever knew ; kind, too, in his nature, and generous ;
gentle in society, and of those mild manners which tend to soften the
causticity of the general London tone of persiflage and personal satire.
As an amateur painter he was of the very highest distinction ; and,
though I know nothing of the matter, yet I should hold him a perfect
critic in painting, for he always made his criticisms intelligible, ami
used no slang."
Like every critic, no matter how judicious, Sir George
Beaumont exercised the right of departing in practice from
his own precept. This picture is an instance being a re-
presentation of a scene from Shakespeare, a kind of subject
of which, in a letter to Haydon, Beaumont "always doubted
the prudence." The scene is that in Act ii. Scene I of As
You Like It, where the Duke, about to go and kill venison,
confesses that it irks him to gore the poor dappled fools, and
the " First Lord " replies that the melancholy Jaques also (part
only of whose figure is here seen) " grieves at that." They
had only to-day stolen behind him as
he lay along
Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out
Upon the brook that brawls along this wood ;
To the which place a poor sequester'd stag,
That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a hurt,
Did come to languish.
ROOM XVII ; HOGARTH AND WILSON 429
1046. SIGISMONDA AND GUISCARDO.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under 1 161, p. 424.
A picture with an interesting history. Hogarth had a stand-
ing feud with the connoisseurs of his day and their admira-
tion of the old masters. He determined to show that he was
as good as they ; and when Sir Richard Grosvenor gave him a
commission in 1759, he chose for his subject Sigismonda,
a picture of which, ascribed to Correggio, had just sold
at an auction for the then high price of ^oo. 1 The subject
is from one of Boccaccio's tales (translated by Dryden) which
tells how Sigismonda, the daughter of Tancred, Prince of
Salerno, secretly loved and married Guiscardo, a poor but noble
youth, page to her father. Tancred, having discovered the
union, caused Guiscardo to be strangled, and sent his heart in
" a goblet rich with gems, and rough with gold " to Sigismonda :
Thy father sends thee this to cheer thy breast,
And glad thy sight with what thou lov'st the best.
Sigismonda accepted the gift and took a poisoned draught ;
and as she prepared to die, wept over her lover's heart
Her hands yet hold
Close to her heart the monumental gold.
Hogarth took much trouble with his picture his handsome
wife sitting to him, it seems, for Sigismonda, and sent it for his
patron's approval. Sir Richard Grosvenor, not liking the
picture, shirked out of the bargain on the ground that though
it was " striking and inimitable," " the constantly having it
before one's eyes would be too often occasioning melancholy
ideas to arise in one's mind, which a curtain's being drawn
before it would not diminish the least." Hogarth revenged
himself in poetry for the insult to his painting : " I own," he
wrote
He chose the prudent part
Rather to break his word than heart,
And yet, methinks, 'tis ticklish dealing
With one so delicate in feeling.
1 Hogarth's contempt was more for the connoisseurs than for the old
masters whose names they took in vain. "The connoisseurs and I are at
war you know," he said to Mrs. Piozzi ; "and because I hate them, they
think I hate 7Y/*a and let them !" The present case is in point. 11
Sigismonda sold as a Correggio was really by Funm (one Of the
"people of importance in their day " in Mr. Browning's Parleying^
430 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
The picture remained on the artist's hands, and when he died
he enjoined his widow not to dispose of it for less than ^500.
She kept his wish, but at the sale of her effects it fetched only
fifty-six guineas. Time, however, has now avenged Hogarth's
reverses. It was sold at Christie's in 1807 for 400 guineas
slightly more than the sum paid for the alleged Correggio which
it was painted to out-do. It was afterwards bequeathed to the
nation, and now hangs, as we see it, opposite to Hogarth's
most famous works.
316. LAKE SCENE IN CUMBERLAND.
Philip James de Lout her bourg, R.A. (1740-1812).
An unimportant work by a French artist (born at Strassburg, educated
at Paris), who settled in London, where he became scene painter to
Garrick at $oo a year, and a few years later R.A. He was remark-
able chiefly for versatility ; for, besides stage scenery, he painted portraits,
landscape, seascape, still life, and battles. To these various duties he
added that of ' ' faith healer " a business which he carried on with
pecuniary success in his house (near Garrick's) facing the river at Chis-
wick Mall. The combination of this trade with a faculty for painting,
which was manifold but never first-rate, recalls to one, as applicable to
de Loutherbourg, the epigram of Martial, " All pretty, nothing good,
my man, Makes a first-rate charlatan."
1162. THE SHRIMP GIRL.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under 1161, p. 424.
A sketch from the life, taken perhaps on a holiday jaunt
such as the one when " Hogarth and four friends set out, like
Mr. Pickwick and his companions, for Gravesend, Rochester,
Sheerness, and adjoining places. One of the gentlemen noted
down the proceedings of the journey, for which Hogarth and
Scott (whose portrait hangs close by, 1224) made drawings.
The book is chiefly curious at this moment from showing the
citizen life of those days, and the rough jolly style of merriment,
not of the five companions merely, but of thousands of jolly
fellows of their time " (Thackeray's English Humourists).
One catches something of the contagion of such merry open-air
life in this vigorous sketch of the jolly fish-wife, crying her
wares, with her basket and measuring mug on her head.
304. LAKE AVER N US.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782).
Wilson has a double claim upon our interest he was the first
English landscape painter of any importance, and he was one of
ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON 431
the " teachers of Turner " (seep. 647). He was born, not as the other
founders of the English landscape school, in the Eastern counties,
but in Wales. He was the son of a Welsh parson, and having shown
some early taste for drawing, his first pictures were done with burnt
sticks on white walls, a rich kinsman took him up to London and
placed him under an obscure portrait painter. One of Wilson's portraits
may be seen in the National Portrait Gallery : it is of the Prince of
Wales and the Duke of York, and shows therefore that he had attained
some celebrity in this branch of art. At the age of thirty-six he had
saved enough money to realise the dream of his life and go to Italy.
At Venice the artist Zuccarelli urged him to take to landscape painting,
and at Rome the French painter Vernet (see p. 348) asked for one of
Wilson's pictures in exchange for one of his own. Wilson stayed in
Italy six years, and on Vernet's recommendation obtained several
commissions. "Don't talk of my landscapes alone," Vernet used to
say to English purchasers, "when your own countryman, Wilson,
paints so beautifully." In 1757 he returned to London and lodged in
Covent Garden. His "Niobe" (no, p. 441), painted two years later,
won him some repute. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768,
he was one of the original members, and he afterwards obtained the post
of librarian. The small salary, attached to this post, alone kept him
from starvation. His pictures ceased to sell ; pawnbrokers were his
principal patrons, and even they turned at last. One broker, when
asked to take yet another, pointed to a pile of landscapes and said :
"Why, look ye, Dick, you know I wish to oblige, but see! there are
all the pictures I have paid you for, these three years." Neglect such
as this embittered Wilson's temper, but did not make him forsake his
own ideals. Artists used to come and advise him to adopt a more
popular manner. He would hear them out ; and when they left, pour
forth volleys of contemptuous wrath, and go on with his painting. The
one continually bright spot in his life seems to have been the friendship
of Sir William Beechey (see p. 546), at whose house he was ajrequent
guest. But other occasional pleasant glimpses of " Poor Dick," as they
called him, occur in the memoirs of the time. Garrick used sometimes
to drop in to supper, and send a bottle of wine to replace the pot of
porter which Wilson affected. " Mister Wilson," said Mrs. Garrick,
at a party to which he had been invited to meet Johnson, Sterne, and
Goldsmith, "is rough to the taste at first, tolerable by a little longer
acquaintance, and delightful at last." Towards the end of his life he
came, by the death of a brother, into the possession of a small property
in Wales, whither he retired from a wretched lodging in Tottenham
Court Road ; but his strength began to fail, and after a few years he died.
The neglect from which Wilson suffered in the later years of his hf
1 As an instance of critical foresight, it may be interesting to cite " Peter
Pindar's " prophecy of Wilson's fame in a century to follow
Till then old red-nosed Wilson's art
Will hold its empire o'er my heart,
By Britain left in poverty to pine.
432 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
may be accounted for by the style of his art. Gainsborough, though
thirteen years younger, was rising into fame and leading a reaction
from the " classical landscape " to one which was English in subject,
and more realistic in treatment. Wilson, on the other hand, studied in
Italy, and even there, saw not Italy as she was, but the Italy of Claude,
Poussin, and Vernet. " Had he studied under favourable circumstances,
there is evidence of his having possessed power enough to produce an
original picture ; but, corrupted by the study of the Poussins, and
gathering his materials chiefly in their field, the district about Rome, a
district especially unfavourable, &s exhibiting no pure or healthy nature,
but a diseased and overgrown flora, among half-developed volcanic
rocks, loose calcareous concretions, and mouldering wrecks of buildings,
and whose spirit I conceive to be especially opposed to the natural
tone of the English mind, his originality was altogether overpowered ;
and though he paints in a manly way and occasionally reaches exquisite
tones of colours, and sometimes manifests some freshness of feeling (as
in the 'Villa of Maecenas," 108, p. 440), yet his pictures are in gene-
ral mere diluted adaptations from Poussin and Salvator, without the
dignity of the one, or the fire of the other " (Modern Painters, vol. i.
pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 17). The extent to which Wilson carried the
Italianising process is well shown by the incident of his dealings with
George III., who had given him an order for a view of Kew Gardens.
Instead of painting the reality, Wilson substituted an Italian scene
illumined by a southern sun. The king failed to recognise any resem-
blance to Kew, and returned the picture.
A picture of special interest ; the subject being one which
laid great hold on Turner's imagination. The Lake Avernus
by him in this Gallery (XIX. 463, p. 647) is one of his early
works, painted long before he had been to Italy, and was no
doubt an imitation, or rather a reminiscence (for Turner never
copied his original), of Wilson's picture of the scene.
1O64. ON THE RIVER WYE.
Richard Wilson, RA. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
267. LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
A characteristic example of Wilson's " Byronic " way of
looking at Italy : it was for him always a land with lovely dis-
tances, but with a sarcophagus or a ruin in the foreground.
But, honest Wilson, never mind ;
Immortal praises thou shaft find,
And for a dinner have no cause to fear
Thou start' st at my prophetic rhymes :
Don't be impatient for those times ;
Wait till thou hast been dead a hundred years.
ROOM XVII : HOGARTH AND WILSON 433
Wilson spent much of his time at or near Rome, and there is
the same spirit in his paintings of Italian scenery that Byron
afterwards expressed in poetry
The Niobe of nations ! there she stands,
Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe;
An empty urn within her wither'd hands,
Whose holy dust was scatter'd long ago.
675. PORTRAIT OF MARY HOGARTH.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under 1 161, p. 424.
The elderof the artist's two sisters the family likeness to him-
self (see 1 12, p. 444) is unmistakable. The portrait was painted
in 1746, when Hogarth was a prosperous man, and his sisters
were living unmarried in a ready-made clothes shop in Little
Britain. He " loved them tenderly," we are told, supported
them generously, and, as we see, painted their plain, honest
faces.
314. OLD WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.
Samuel Scott (died 1772).
" The best marine painter of his time in England, was bora early
in the eighteenth century. Walpole says of him : ' If he was but
second to Vandevelde in sea pieces, he excelled him in variety, and
often introduced buildings in his pictures with consummate skill.
His views of London Bridge, of the quay at the Custom House, and
others, were equal to his marines, and his figures were judiciously
chosen and admirably painted ; nor were his washed drawings inferior
to his finished pictures.' Scott, says Dallaway, 'may be styled the
father of the modern school of painting in water colours.' He died
of the gout, October 12, 1772 " (Official Catalogue).
This bridge was built by Charles Labelye, a Swiss, at a
cost of ^390,000: it was commenced in 1739, and opened
to the public in 1750. The first stone was laid by Henry,
Earl of Pembroke. (The present bridge was begun in 1860.)
1174. THE WATERING PLACE.
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788).
A sketch for the larger picture, XVI. 109, p. 408.
3O3. A VIEW IN ITALY.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
One of Wilson's favourite Italian compositions sometimes
called " Hadrian's Villa," from the Roman ruin on which the
modern hut has been built.
2 F
434 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
3O2. A ROMAN RUIN.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
313. OLD LONDON BRIDGE, 1745.
Samuel Scott (died 1772). See under 314, p. 433.
" This bridge, of which the last remnant was removed in
1832, was commenced by Peter of Colechurch in 1176, and
occupied thirty-three years in building. The houses as seen
in the picture were built after the great fire in 1666, and they
were all removed between the years 1754 and 1761. The
view is seen from the Surrey, side " (Official Catalogue).
1071. A ROCKY RIVER SCENE.
Richard Wilson (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
Something of the "idealising" which distinguishes Wilson's
landscapes may be seen in this little picture. It is a rocky
river scene, yet the " river is not a mountain stream, but a
classical stream, or what is called by head gardeners ' a piece
of water.' " a
1016. A PORTRAIT OF A GIRL.
Sir Peter Lely (Dutch : 1617-1680).
Lely, the court painter of the reign of Charles II., by whom he was
knighted, was a native of Holland ; his father's name was Van der
Vaes, but the son took the nickname of Le Lys or Lely (from the lily
with which the front of his father's house was ornamented), as a surname.
He was born in Westphalia, but settled in England in 1641, the year
of Van Dyck's death, on whom he modelled his style. It was Lely who
is said to have painted Cromwell, " warts and all," but he easily ac-
commodated himself to the softer manners of the Restoration. The
rich curls, the full lips, and the languishing eyes of the frail beauties of
Charles II. may be seen at Hampton Court. Lely was " a mighty
proud man," 2 says Pepys, " and full of state." The painting of great
ladies was a lucrative business, and his collection of drawings and
pictures sold at his death for ^26,000, a sum which bore a greater
proportion to the fortunes of the rich men of that day than ,100,000
1 Catalogue of the Turner Gallery, p. 6, where, in describing Turner's
" View in Wales " (466, now at Stoke-upon-Trent), Mr. Ruskin remarks
that the view is ' ' idealised and like Wilson, and therefore has not a
single Welsh character."
2 But also a man of humour. A nobleman said to him once, " How
is it that you have so great a reputation, when you know, as well as I do,
that you are no painter?" "True," replied Lely, "but I am the best you
have. "
ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON 435
would bear to the fortunes of the rich men of our time. He was
struck with apoplexy while painting the Duchess of Somerset, and was
buried at St. Paul's, Covent Garden.
The courtly affectation which distinguishes Lely's portraits
is not absent from this little girl. She is feeding the parrot,
but obviously takes no interest in it not even troubling indeed
to look at it. Her concern seems to be only to hold up her
flowing frock (or " simar ") prettily and to point her fingers
gracefully.
1153. A FAMILY GROUP.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under 1 161, p. 424.
A characteristic family party (the Strodes) in the " age of
bag-wigs and of flowered dresses." It is as persons of some
consequence that the artist paints them. The gentleman to the
left is their learned friend, Dr. A. Smith, Archbishop of Dublin,
who is represented with an open book. The family butler, too, is
introduced (pouring water into the tea-pot). It is a household
where everything is done in good style even to the books
bound solemnly " to pattern " (in the background to the left).
But Hogarth was not to be done out of his joke, and he puts
it accordingly into the dogs, which keep their distance at either
side of the room, and look unutterable things at each other.
113-118. THE MARRIAGE A LA MODE.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under 1161, p. 424.
A series " representing," said Hogarth in his original prospectus,
' ' a variety of modern occurrences in high life. Particular care is taken
that the whole shall not be liable to any exception on account of
indecency or inelegancy, and that none of the characters shall be
personal. " As an accurate delineation of the surroundings of the high
life of the eighteenth century, the pictures have never been assailed, and
they are thus historical paintings of the utmost value for just as
Reynolds rose "not by painting Greek women, but by painting the
glorious little living ladies this, and ladies that, of his own time," so
did Hogarth rise " not by painting Athenian follies, but London follies "
(Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and Painting, p. 220). True
to their own time in the scenes and accessories, and in their moral, writ
so that he who runs may read, the pictures are true to all time, the
tragedy of ill-assorted and mercenary marriages being one that has a
perpetual "run": it is marriage in a "mode" that never changes.
But famous as the pictures have since become for this double interest,
in Hogarth's own day they could scarce find a purchaser. They were
in " Carlo Maratti " frames, which had cost him twenty-four guineas.
436 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
Yet when he put them up to auction, the only bid was ;no. The
sale was to close at mid-day. " No one else arrived," says the pur-
chaser, a Mr. Lane, of Hillingdon, near Uxbridge, "and ten minutes
before twelve, I told the artist I would make the pounds guineas.
The clock struck, and Mr. Hogarth wished me joy of my purchase."
Mr. Angerstein, from whose collection they came into the National
Gallery, bought them fifty years later for ^138 1.
113. SCENE I : THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT.
Negotiations for the marriage, whereby the alderman is to
get a title for his daughter, and the old earl is in return to be
relieved from his mortgages. There is a meaning perhaps in
the " plan of the new building," which the lawyer is holding
up at the window, the earl, too, hopes to build up his house
by this money-match; and notice throughout the care with which
the artist marks his characters and tells his story : there is not
a single stroke thrown away. Thus pride and pomposity
appear in every accessory surrounding the gouty old earl.
" He sits in gold lace and velvet as how should such an earl
wear anything but velvet and gold lace ? His coronet is
everywhere : on his footstool, on which reposes one gouty toe
turned out ; on the sconces and looking-glasses ; on the dogs ;
on his lordship's very crutches ; on his great chair of state,
and the great baldaquin behind him, under which he sits
pointing majestically to his pedigree, which shows that his race
is sprung from the loins of William the Conqueror. He con-
fronts the old alderman from the city, who has mounted his
sword for the occasion, and wears his alderman's chain, and
has brought a bag full of money, marriage-deeds, and thousand-
pound notes for the arrangement of the transaction pending
between them. Whilst the steward (a Methodist, therefore a
hypocrite and a cheat, for Hogarth scorned a papist and a
dissenter) is negotiating between the old couple, their children
sit together, united but apart " like the two pointers in the
foreground, joined in a union of chains, not of hearts. The
young lord a fop in his dress and something of a fool in his
face is admiring his countenance in the glass, with a reflected
simper of self-admiration
Of amber-lidded snuff box justly vain,
And the nice conduct of a clouded cane.
His bride is twiddling the marriage ring on her pocket-
handkerchief, with a look of " listless languor and tremulous
ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON 437
suspense," while she listens to the lawyer Silvertongue, who
has been drawing the marriage settlements, and is represented
with "a person, and a smooth dispose, framed to make
women false." The girl is pretty, but "the painter, with a
curious watchfulness, has taken care to give her a likeness to
her father, as in the young viscount's face you see a resem-
blance to the earl, his noble sire. The sense of the coronet
pervades the picture, as it is supposed to do the mind of its
wearer. The pictures round the room are sly hints, indicating
the situation of the parties about to marry. A martyr is led
to the fire ; Andromeda is offered to sacrifice ; Judith is going
to slay Holofernes. There is the earl himself as a young
man, with a comet over his head, indicating that the career of
the family is to be brilliant and brief."
114. SCENE II : MARRIED LIFE.
How brief, we begin to see in this epitome of their married
life. My lord takes his pleasure elsewhere than at home,
whither he returns in the morning, tired, and tipsy the jaded
face of the debauchee lecturing on the vanity of pleasures as
audibly as anything in Ecclesiastes. The nature of his pleasure
is soon scented out by the little dog, which (like an enfant
terrible) finds the tell-tale girl's cap in his master's pocket.
He sits in an attitude of reckless indifference even to the wife
whom he finds yawning over her breakfast. She has been up
all night playing at cards in the inner room, where, though the
daylight is streaming in, a sleepy servant is but now putting
out the candles. There is again a piece of sly satire
in the " old masters' " pictured saints of old, looking down on
the latter-day dissipation. The old steward, with a parcel of
bills and a solitary receipt, leaves the room in despair.
Notice, too, in the foreground the violin, which has played its
part in the evening's dissipation. Hogarth did not love the
fashionable music craze of his day, as we shall see again
presently.
115. SCENE III : AT THE QUACK DOCTOR'S.
Here we have further evidence of the husband's profligacy :
to his ruined fortunes he now adds a wasted constitution. He
rallies the quack and the procuress for having deceived him.
The quack treats him with insolent indifference. As for the
procuress (who might do for a picture of Mrs. Sinclair in
438 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
Clarissa Harlowe\ " the commanding attitude and size of this
woman, the swelling circumference of her dress, spread out
like a turkey cock's feathers, the fierce, ungovernable, in-
veterate malignity of her countenance, which hardly needs the
comment of the clasp-knife to explain her purpose, are all
admirable in themselves, and still more so as they are opposed
to the mute insensibility, the elegant negligence of the dress,
and the childish figure of the girl who is supposed to be her
protigfo" This latter figure is one of Hogarth's masterpieces.
" Nothing can be more striking than the contrast between the
extreme softness of her person and the hardened indifference of
her character. The vacant stillness, the docility to vice, the
premature suppression of youthful sensibility, the doll-like
mechanism of the whole figure, which seems to have no other
feeling but a sickly sense of pain show the deepest insight
into human nature." 1
116. SCENE IV: IN THE COUNTESS'S DRESSING-
ROOM.
By the old earl's death the heroine, we now learn, has
attained the summit of her ambition. She has become a
countess : the coronet is over her bed and toilet -glass. She
ranges through the whole circle of frivolous amusements, and
her morning lev/e is crowded with persons of rank, while her
lover, the young lawyer Silvertongue, makes himself very much
at home, and presents her with a ticket of admission to a
masquerade such as is depicted on the screen behind him.
On the wall to the left is the picture of a lawyer, the evil
genius of the piece, looking down as it were on his handiwork.
Notice, too, the coral on the back of the countess's chair,
telling us that she is a mother, and is neglectful of her maternal
duties. In the group of visitors, Hogarth's satire is seen at its
best every form of ridiculous affectation being shown in turn.
First we have the preposterous, overstrained admiration of the
lady of quality ; then, the sentimental, insipid, patient delight
of the man, with his hair in paper, and sipping his tea ; next,
the pert, smirking, conceited, half-distorted approbation of the
figure next to him, and, lastly, a transition to the total insensi-
bility of the round face in profile. So, too, the gross, bloated
1 A different, and more painful explanation of this, the only obscure
picture of the series, is given by C. R. Leslie, R. A., in his Young Painters'
Handbook, p. 132.
ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON 439
appearance of the Italian singer is well relieved by the hard
features of the instrumental performer behind him, which might
be carved out of wood and suggests the wielder of a wooden
touch. Hogarth had good reason for satirising the Italian
singers ; for whilst his pictures went, as we have seen, " for an
old song," the fashionable world was literally throwing gold
and diamonds at the feet of its favourites in the Italian opera.
The negro pages were another fashionable hobby (cf. XXI. 430,
p. 562). Notice how the gay, lively derision of the one playing
with the statuette of Actason forms an ingenious contrast to
the profound amazement of the other at the rapture of his
mistress. If further instances be needed of the artist's infinite
activity of mind, one may observe how the papers in the hair of
the bride are made to suggest a wreath of half-blown flowers,
while those on the head of the musical amateur very much
resemble horns, which adorn and fortify the lack-lustre ex-
pression and mild resignation of face underneath. Finally
note the sanguine complexion and flame-coloured hair of the
female virtuoso. The continuing of the red colour of the hair
into the back of the chair has been pointed out as one of those
instances of " alliteration in colouring" of which these pictures
are everywhere full.
117. SCENE V: THE DUEL.
After the masquerade. The husband becomes aware of
the infidelity of his wife, and finds her with her paramour in a
disreputable house. A duel ensues, and the earl is mortally
wounded. The countess kneels in passionate entreaty for
forgiveness ; and while her paramour endeavours to escape
through the window, the "watch" arrives to take him into
custody on a charge of murder.
118. FINALE: THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS.
She dies by her own hand in her father's house overlooking
the Thames. The bottle which contained the poison is on the
floor, close to "Counsellor Silvertongue's last dying speech,"-
showing that he has been hanged for the earl's murder. The
apothecary, a picture of petulant self-sufficiency, rates the
servant for having purchased the poison. This fellow's coat
and yellow livery are as long and melancholy as his face ; the
disconsolate look, the haggard eyes, the open mouth, the comb
sticking in the hair, the broken, gapped teeth, which, as it
were, hitch in an answer, everything about him denotes the
440 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
utmost perplexity and dismay. There is no expression of grief
except on the part of the dying woman's baby-child, and the
old nurse who holds it up for a last kiss. As the tragedy
began sordidly, so does it end ; and the avaricious father like
the hound that seizes the opportunity to steal the meat from
the table carefully abstracts the rings from his dying daughter's
fingers. (Much of the above description is borrowed from
Thackeray's English Humourists and Hazlitt's Criticisms on
Art.)
108. THE VILLA OF MAECENAS, AT TIVOLI.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
A proper subject for an artist to paint for a patron being
the villa of the great art patron of the Augustan age. This
picture was painted for Sir George Beaumont. The artist
painted four other pictures of the same subject ; the first of
the series was for the Earl of Thanet, who, going one day with
Wilson from Rome to Tivoli in company with Lord North,
was so much struck with the beauty of the spot that he com-
missioned the artist to paint it for him. Wilson chose his
point of view, but his patron asked to have Horace's " Bandu-
sian fountain," which is really some miles above Tivoli, intro-
duced to increase the poetic interest Here, therefore, issuing
from the rock on the left, is the celebrated stream represented :
thus once more verifying the poet's prophecy (Horace's Odes,
iii. 13, translated by Conington)
Thou too one day shall win proud eminence
'Mid honour'd founts, while I the ilex sing,
Crowning the cavern, whence
Thy babbling wavelets spring.
Horace's villa stood behind the trees on the left, fronting
that of Maecenas. The building to the right of the latter,
among the cypresses, was a Jesuit convent ; the temple
beneath was built in honour of the river-god Tiber.
Wilson's representation of this celebrated spot is marked
with much impressiveness of feeling ; but the picture is typical
also of the defects of his style. Notice the "two-pronged
barbarisms in the tree on the left." Wilson's tree-painting is
false ; " not because Wilson could not paint, but because he
had never looked at a tree." The whole picture, too, is "con-
structed on Wilson's usual principle ; the shadows, that is
to say, are nearly coal-black, and the darks all exaggerated to
ROOM XVII : HOGARTH AND WILSON 441
bring put the lights." His " foregrounds are opaque, heavy, and
bituminous, whilst large trees with thick black foliage stand on
either side. From such a frame, arranged like the dark hall
of a diorama, the light shines out brightly and creates some
illusion. Suppress the surrounding and the charm disappears "
(Catalogue of the Turner Gallery, pp. 6, 9, 54-; Two Paths,
Appendix, i n.; and Chesneau's English School of Painting,
P- " 3)-
1249. ENDYMION PORTER.
William Dobson (English: 1610-1646).
"Dobson, sometimes called 'the English Van Dyck,' was bom in
1610, and was articled to Sir R. Peake, a painter and picture dealer,
with whom Dobson 's chief education Consisted in copying the works of
Van Dyck and Titian ; he seems to have had some instruction also from
Franz Cleyn, the German, who conducted the King's tapestry works at
Mortlake. One of these copies had been noticed by Van Dyck himself,
who recommended the young painter to the notice of Charles ; and
after Van Dyck's death Charles made Dobson his sergeant-painter and
groom of the privy-chamber. His career was, however, short ; he got
into difficulties at the outbreak of the Civil War, and was imprisoned
for debt. He lived many years at Oxford, but died in St. Martin's
Lane, London " (Wornum : Epochs of Painting, p. 496).
A portrait of the Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles I.,
the friend of Ben Jonson and of Herrick (who addresses one
of his Hesperides to Mr. Endymion Porter). " Dobson's
imperfect artistic training allowed him to perpetrate errors
which are almost childish, and which mar the effect of work
that is often good in colour and solid in execution. Here
the boy's face and the hare are admirable ; the principal
figure is dignified, and the scheme of colour harmonious ;
but a landscape composed of a shapeless tree stuck on a
hill, and accessories like the astounding capital supporting the
inane laurel-crowned bust are vulgarities on a level with the
art of the sign-painter" (Times, June 4, 1888).
HO. THE DESTRUCTION OF NIOBE'S CHILDREN.
Richard Wilson, R.A. (1714-1782). See under 304, p. 430.
A rocky landscape, into which Wilson has introduced figures
from classical story after the manner of Claude and Poussin.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, when lecturing at the Royal Academy on
Gainsborough, contrasted that master's common sense with
Wilson's habit "of introducing gods and goddesses, ideal
442 ROOM XVII: HOGARTH AND WILSON
beings, into scenes which were by no means prepared to
receive such personages." As an example he instanced this
picture (which, like the " Villa of Maecenas," its companion,
was painted for Sir George Beaumont), by " our late ingenious
academician, Wilson." " In a very admirable picture of a
storm, which I have seen of his hand, many figures are
introduced in the foreground, some in apparent distress, and
some struck dead, as a spectator would naturally suppose, by
the lightning ; had not the painter injudiciously (as I think)
rather chosen that their death should be imputed to a little
Apollo, who appears in the sky, with his bent bow, and that
those figures should be considered as the children of Niobe. . . .
The first idea that presents itself, is that of wonder, at seeing
a figure in so uncommon situation as that in which the
Apollo is placed ; for the clouds on which he kneels have not
the appearance of being able to support him ; they have
neither the substance nor the form fit for the receptacle of a
human figure ; and they do not possess, in any respect, that
romantic character which is appropriated to such an object,
and which alone can harmonise with poetical stories" (Dis-
course xiv.) Sir Joshua remarks that to manage a subject of this
kind, a mind "naturalised in antiquity," like that of Nicolas
Poussin, is required ; and it is instructive to compare " the
substantial and unimaginative Apollo here with the cloudy
charioted Apollo in Poussin's 'Cephalus and Aurora'" (XIV. 65,
p. 355) {Modern Painters^ vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. iv. 16).
As for the story : Niobe, proud of her seven sons and seven
daughters, " presum'd Herself with fair Latona to compare,
Her many children with her rival's two." Latona, stung by
Niobe's presumptuous taunts, entreated her children, Apollo
and Diana, to destroy those of Niobe : " So by the two were
all the many slain."
309. THE WATERING PLACE.
T.Gainsborough,R.A. (1727-17%$). SeeunderXVl. 109,^408.
Another version of one of Gainsborough's favourite
subjects
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight.
A "CONVERSATION PIECE." *
Unknown.
1 This picture is not yet numbered or described in the Official Cata-
logue (June 1888).
ROOM XVII : HOGARTH AND WILSON 443
1076. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN.
Unknown.
Supposed to be the poet Gay, the author of the Fables and
the Beggar's Opera (see 1161, p. 426). "In the portraits of
the literary worthies of the early part of last century, Gay's
face is the pleasantest perhaps of all. It appears adorned
with neither periwig nor night-cap (the full dress and n/gltgd
of learning, without which the painters of those days scarcely
ever portrayed wits), and he laughs at you over his shoulder
with an honest boyish glee an artless sweet humour. . . .
Happy they who have that sweet gift of nature ! It was this
which made the great folks and court ladies free and friendly
with John Gay which made Pope and Arbuthnot love him,
and melted the savage heart of Swift when he thought of him "
(Thackeray's English Humourists).
1223. OLD WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.
Samuel Scott (died 1772). See 314, p. 433-
1224. PORTRAIT OF SAMUEL SCOTT.
Thomas Hudson (1701-1779).
A picture of double interest first as the portrait by one
artist of another (for Scott, see 314, p. 433). and secondly, as an
example of Reynolds's master. Like Reynolds, Hudson was a
native of Devonshire, and it was through a mutual friend that
the young Reynolds was placed in Hudson's studio. Hudson
was the fashionable portrait painter of the day ; and when after
two years with him, Reynolds's pictures began to meet with
applause, he parted company with his too -promising pupil.
Reynolds accepted the disagreement as a blessing in disguise ;
for otherwise, he said, it might have been difficult for him to
escape from Hudson's tameness and insipidity, and from " the
fair tied-wigs, blue velvet coats, and white satin waistcoats"
which his master bestowed liberally on all customers. Scott,
however, as a fellow artist, was allowed, it seems, to preserve
his individuality and even his ntgligt dress : as a marine
painter, he is represented holding a drawing or print of a sea-
piece. Hudson, it may be noted, estimated the value of his
own teaching a good deal higher than Reynolds did. When
Reynolds came back from Italy, with the bold and dashing
execution which distinguished him from his predecessors,
Hudson's remark was, You don't paint so well, Reynolds, as
when you left England."
444 ROOM XVII : HOGARTH AND WILSON
112. HIS OWN PORTRAIT.
William Hogarth (1697-1764). See under \ 161, p. 424.
" His own honest face, of which the bright blue eyes shine
out from the canvas and give you an idea of that keen and
brave look with which William Hogarth regarded the world.
No man was ever less of a hero ; you see him before you, and
can fancy what he was a jovial, honest, London citizen, stout
and sturdy ; a hearty, plain-spoken man, loving his laugh, his
friend, his glass, his roast-beef of old England" (Thackeray's
English Humourists'). One may see a little of his life and
character in the accessories also. He puts in his favourite
pug, "Trump," by his side, and rests his picture on books
by Shakespeare, Milton, and Swift. The choice is significant.
Like Swift, Hogarth was "an English Humourist"; he aspired
sometimes to work, like Milton, in the grand style ; whilst for
the general aim of his work, his ambition was to be a Shake-
speare on canvas : " I have endeavoured," he says, " to treat
my subjects as a dramatic writer ; my picture is my stage, my
men and women my players, who, by means of certain actions
and gestures, are to exhibit a dumb show." Finally, there is
a chapter of his life told on the palette, in the lower corner to
the left, with the " Line of Beauty and Grace " marked upon
it, and the date 1745. "No Egyptian hieroglyphic," he says,
" ever amused more than my Line of Beauty ' did for a time.
Painters and sculptors came to me to know the meaning of it,
being as much puzzled with it as other people." Hogarth
explained the mystery in 1753 by publishing his Analysis of
Beauty, in which he propounded the doctrine that a winding or
serpentine line was the source of all that is beautiful in works
of art. The jovial, serio-comic character of the man, as one
sees it in his face, is well illustrated by the epigram in which
he quizzed his own book
" What ! a book, and by Hogarth ! then, twenty to ten,
All he's gained by the pencil he'll lose by the pen."
" Perhaps it may be so howe'er, miss or hit,
He will publish here goes it is double or quit."
*3T The western doors in this Room lead doivn a side staircase into
the Entrance Hall, and thus form an exit from the Gallery.
The -visitor, who wishes to see the rest of the English School,
should return into Room XVI. and thence proceed into the
East Vestibule.
EAST VESTIBULE 445
EAST VESTIBULE
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Continued}
684. RALPH SCHOMBERG, M.D.
T.Gainsborough, R. A. (1727-1785). Seeun<terXVL76o,p.3g6.
Dr. Schomberg belonged to the family of Field- Marshal
Duke Schomberg (killed at the Battle of the Boyne), whose
house in Pall Mall was taken by Gainsborough. The doctor was
something of a courtier, and had his portrait taken in a court
suit of velvet, with his cocked hat and cane in his hand.
144. BENJAMIN WEST, P.R.A.
Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. (1769-1830).
Lawrence " the second Reynolds," as he was called by his
admirers, 1 or "an attenuated Reynolds," as he is called by later critics
was one of the infant prodigies of art. His parents were gentlefolk
who had fallen on bad times, and at the date of his birth his father
was landlord of the Black Bear at Devizes. When the boy was only
five, he was already on show both for his drawings and his powers of
recitation. ' ' Come now, my man, " said Garrick once, when putting
up at the inn and listening to the boy's performances, " bravely done !
whether will ye be a painter or a player ?" At nine he was able un-
aided to copy the most elaborate pictures, and soon after ten he earned
money in different provincial towns as a taker of portraits in crayons.
" His studio before he was twelve years old was," we are told, "the
favourite resort of the beauty and fashion and taste of Bath : young
ladies loved to sit and converse with the handsome prodigy; men of
taste and vn-tu purchased his crayon heads, which he drew in vast
numbers, and carried them far and near, even into foreign lands, to
show as the work of the boy-artist of Britain." The child in Lawrence's
case was father of the man. His success when he came up to London
was instantaneous, and for forty years he was the idol of fashionable
society. At nineteen, he had already been received into favour at
court. At twenty-two, he was elected "a supplemental A.R.A."
(the limit of age in ordinary cases being twenty-four), and four years
later he was elected full R.A. He had already been appointed painter
to the king. In 1820, upon the death of West, he was unanimously
elected President of the Academy. His manners to the lady-sitters
who flocked to him were all too fascinating, and he was even suspected
of undue attentions to the Princess of Wales, who had asked him to stay
in her house whilst painting her. He wrote the prettiest of notes and
1 They have Reynolds himself with them. "This young man," he is
reported to have said of Lawrence, " has begun at a point of excellence
where I left off."
446 EAST VESTIBULE
paid the neatest of compliments. He was an admirable reciter, and
passed round copies of verses. But he was not merely a lady's man.
Byron has celebrated his praises as an artist : " Were I now as I
was, I had sung What Lawrence has painted so well " ; and in one of
his letters has noticed " Lawrence's delightful talk." The painter's
affection for his own family, to whom he made handsome allowances,
was never weakened, and there are many pleasant records of his
generosity to young artists. He was on the Continent in 1818-1819,
painting various foreign princes for the series of portraits which the
king commissioned him to take after the conclusion of the French
War, and which now hang in the Waterloo Gallery at Windsor. It
was on a visit to Sir Robert Peel, with whom he was on intimate terms
of friendship, that Lawrence was seized with the illness from which he
soon afterwards died in his house at 65 Russell Square. He was buried
with much pomp Peel being one of the pall-bearers in St. Paul's, be-
side Reynolds and Barry and West.
Lawrence is seen at his best in his male portraits, especially those
where he was not burdened by freaks of passing fashion in costume. 1
In his pictures of women and children, especially those which belong to
his earlier years, there was often a meretricious affectation which gave the
point to the remark of the poet Rogers, "Phillips (see XX. 183^.529)
shall paint my wife and Lawrence my mistress." Lawrence, at the
beginning of his career, had been introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds.
" ' Study nature more, the old masters less,' was his advice to Lawrence,
advice exactly opposite to that given by him to many another student,
but advice," adds Mr. Humphry Ward (English Art in the Public Gal-
leries, p. 46), "which showed that he had at once detected the real dan-
ger that lay in the path of the young aspirant. Unluckily the hint was not
taken, and thecleverest portrait painter of the time thecleverest, indeed,
that appeared in England for two generations parted ever more widely
from nature as he grew in power and fame, till he became identified with
Court, and the style of the Prince Regent, and the falseelegance and the false
sentiment of that day." Fortunately, however, for Lawrence's public fame,
his male portraits are so far confined in the National Gallery to sitters
West, Angerstein, Romilly who did not expose him to his besetting sin.
A characteristic portrait of Lawrence's predecessor in the
presidential chair, of the most ambitious and least successful,
perhaps, of all noted English painters. The portrait was taken
for the Prince of Wales in 1 8 1 1 , when West was seventy-three.
But the venerable painter is represented as still intent on big
1 " Utterly unlike Reynolds or Gainsborough, particularly the latter,
who, although never giving in to any freak of fashion, yet so quickly
and always found some safe means to represent it by which it might be
divested of its ephemeral character, Sir Thomas Lawrence himself sets the
fashion ; he paints on a canvas that will last for centuries a style of dress,
a particular cut of coat, which will only last for a day " (Chesneau :
The English School, pp. 52, 53).
EAST VESTIBULE 447
designs. On the easel beside him is a sketch of Raphael's
cartoon of the Death of Ananias one of those large com-
positions which West attempted to imitate, either in historical
or Biblical story, on ever larger scale as he grew older. The
fortunes of his pictures are one of the curiosities in the history
of taste. In his lifetime his fame was very great. When he died
he was buried in full state in St. Paul's, and his biographer
declared that " he was one of those great men whose genius
cannot be justly estimated by particular works, but only by a
collective inspection of the variety, the extent, and the number
of their productions." Lawrence's portrait of the " great man,"
still intent in his old age on great things, has a pathetic interest
when one contrasts the verdict of posterity with royal patronage
and contemporary fame. Twenty years after his death some
of his pictures, for which he had been paid 3000 guineas, were
knocked down at a public sale for i o ; and such of his pictures
as had been presented to the National Gallery have now been
removed to the provinces. West's life (which is more interest-
ing than his art) may be read in Allan Cunningham, vol. ii.
He came of an old Quaker family, which had emigrated to
America in 1715, and was born in Pennsylvania in 1738.
When he was twenty-two, some friends and relatives clubbed
together to send him to Italy. In 1763 he settled in London,
sent for the girl he had left behind him in Pennsylvania,
married, won the favour of George III., was one of the original
members of the Royal Academy, and in 1792 succeeded
Reynolds as president. The knighthood which is offered to all
holders of that post was declined by West. Mrs. Moser was
a candidate against him, but only received one vote, that of
Fuseli, who met the remonstrance of a brother academician by
declaring that " he did not see why he shouldn't vote for one
old woman as well as another." West's best claim to remem-
brance in the development of English art is that he was the
first to introduce modern costume into the representation of
contemporary history an innovation which created much stir
in artistic circles at the time, and called forth at first the
protests of Reynolds.
1146. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Sir Henry Raeburn, R. A. ( 1 7 5 6- 1 8 2 3 ).
Raeburn has been called "the Scotch Reynolds," and it is pleasant
to know that he was kindly received by the great English painter.
448 EAST VESTIBULE
After serving an apprenticeship to a jeweller in Edinburgh, he came up
to London and made the acquaintance of Sir Joshua, who urged him
to go to Italy, and offered him both introductions and funds for the
purpose. Raeburn, however, had married a rich widow, and with her
he resided for two years in Italy. He then established himself as a
portrait painter at Edinburgh, and soon "led the fashion" there, much
as Sir Joshua did in London. In 1822 he was elected R. A. (A.R.A
in 1812), knighted and appointed " His Majesty's Limner for
Scotland." There was an exhibition of 325 portraits by him
in Edinburgh in 1876, which included nearly all the eminent
Scottish men and women of two generations ago. " I heard a story,"
says Mr. R. L. Stevenson, in his essay on the exhibition (in Vir-
ginibus Puerisque), "of a lady who returned the other day to
Edinburgh, after an absence of sixty years : ' I could see none of my
old friends,' she said, 'until I went into the Raeburn Gallery, and
found them all there.' " It is much to be hoped that before long there
may be more than this one picture in the National Gallery by the great
Scottish portrait painter of whom the patriotic Wilkie, in recording his
impressions of Madrid, said that " the simple and powerful manner of
Velazquez always reminded him of Raeburn."
The lady is a member of the Dudgeon family : " gowned
in pure white," "half light, half shade, She stands, a sight to
make an old man young."
143. PORTRAIT OF LORD LIGONIER.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A, (1723-1792).
See under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 399.
This distinguished officer, of whom there is a monument in
Westminster Abbey, was a French Huguenot by birth, but was
educated in England and at an early age entered the British
army. He fought at Blenheim and at Marlborough's other great
battles. He was knighted (Sir John Ligonier) after the battle
of Dettingen, in which he commanded a division under George
II. He was afterwards made a peer, field -marshal, and com-
mander-in-chief. He died in 1770 at the age of ninety-two.
At the battle of Laffeldt in 1747 he rescued the allied army
from destruction by charging the whole French line at the head
of the British dragoons. Reynolds, with his usual felicity,
painted him therefore on horseback and in action. The
portrait is one of Reynolds's earlier works, its date being
about 1760, and was one of the painter's favourites. Ac-
cording to an anecdote told by Nollekens, Reynolds, at a
sale of prints, was once expatiating to a friend on the ex-
traordinary powers of Rembrandt, and proceeded to observe
WEST VESTIBULE 449
that the effect which pleased him most in all his own pictures
was that displayed in his Lord Ligonier on Horseback;
the chiaroscuro of which he found, he said, in a rude wood-
cut upon a half-penny ballad on the wall of St. Anne's church,
in Princes Street.
681. CAPTAIN 1 ORME.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792).
See under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 399.
Richard Orme (Coldstream Guards) was aide-de-camp, with
Washington, to General Braddock (with whom he was a great
favourite), in America during the campaign of 1755. He is
described by his comrades as " an honest and capable man,
who made an excellent impression on all he encountered."
He was wounded in the attack on Fort Duquesne on July 9,
1755, an d shortly afterwards returned to England. This
portrait was taken in 1761, and Sir Joshua paints him on
foot, as one whose fighting days were over ; for in 1756 Orme
married the Hon. Audrey Townshend and retired into private
life. He died in 1781. His MS. journal of the campaign is
in the British Museum, having been presented by George IV.
JCJT The visitor should now descend the steps. Ascending those
opposite, he "will come into the West Vestibule, which leads
to the remaining rooms of the English School.
WEST VESTIBULE
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Continued}
789. A FAMILY GROUP.
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1785).
See under XVI. 760, p. 396.
This picture " the best Gainsborough in England known
to me," says Mr. Ruskin (Art of England, p. 2 1 1 .) is a
group of the family of Mr. J Baillie, of Ealing Grove one of
the many such groups that Gainsborough and Reynolds were
employed to paint. " The two great the two only painters
of their age happy in a reputation founded as deeply in the
heart as in the judgment of mankind, demanded no higher
1 So he was commonly called, though in fact he never rose above the
rank of lieutenant.
2 G
450 WEST VESTIBULE
function than that of soothing the domestic affections ; and
achieved for themselves at last an immortality not the less
noble, because in their lifetime they had concerned themselves
less to claim it than to bestow " (Sir Joshua and Holbein, in
O. O. R., i. 229).
787. THE SIEGE AND RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR
(1782).
John Singleton Copley, RA. (1737-1815).
It is interesting that the painter of this and many another memorable
scene in English history should have been an American colonist, and
the son of an Irish mother. Copley was born at Boston in the year
before that in which another celebrated historical painter, Benjamin
West, was born in Pennsylvania. West became famous in England
earlier of the two, and it was largely owing to his friendly encouragement
that Copley came over to this country in 1774. He was, however, by
that time known on this side of the water, having sent pictures over to
the Academy, and he was in large practice as a portrait painter at
Boston. From London he proceeded to Italy, and after a year's travel
and study returned to London and established himself at 25 George Street,
Hanover Square. West procured him patronage, and in 1777 he was
elected A. R. A. His "Death of Chatham "(XVI 1 1. 100^.485), painted
a year later, proved a great success, and in 1783 he was elected R.A.
As one might guess from his works, Copley was a great reader being
especially fond of history. He preferred books, we are told, to exercise,
and as he lived to the age of three score years and eighteen, it cannot
be said that his habits injured his health. The same capacity for hard
work and the same hardy constitution were present in his distinguished
son, Lord Lyndhurst, who was four times Lord Chancellor of England,
and lived to be ninety-two.
This is a sketch for the large picture (25 ft. by 22 J) in the
Guildhall which Copley was commissioned to paint by the Court
of Common Council. The scene represented is the famous
repulse of the floating batteries towards the end of the siege which
Gibraltar, under the command of Sir George Elliott (afterwards
Lord Heathfield, see XVI. 1 1 1, p. 404), sustained from the com-
bined land and sea forces of France and Spain during the years
1779-1783. The attack here depicted was made on September
13, 1782 ; the floating batteries planned by an eminent French
engineer at a cost of half a million sterling were supplemented
by gun-boats. " The showers of shot and shell," says Drink-
water, who was present, " which were directed from their land
batteries, and, on the other hand, from the various works of the
garrison, exhibited a scene of which perhaps neither the pen nor
WEST VESTIBULE 451
the pencil can furnish a competent idea. It is sufficient to say,
that 400 pieces of the heaviest artillery were playing at the
same moment ; an instance which scarcely occurred in any
siege since the invention of those wonderful engines." The
Count d'Artois (afterwards Charles X.) hastened from Paris to
see the capture of the place, and arrived in time to see instead
the total destruction of the floating batteries. " In this picture,"
says Allan Cunningham, 1 " Copley introduced many portraits :
the gallant Lord Heathfield himself is foremost in the scene of
death ; and near him appear Sir Robert Boyd, Sir William
Green, chief-engineer, and others. The fire of the artillery has
slackened ; the floating batteries, on whose roofs thirteen-inch
shells and showers of thirty-two-lb. balls had fallen harmless
at ten o'clock in the forenoon, are now sending up flames on all
sides ; whilst the mariners are leaping in scores into the sea, and
English officers are endeavouring to rescue the sufferers from
the burning vessels."
308. MUSIDORA BATHING HER FEET.
T. Gainsborough, RA. (1727-1785).
See under XVI. 760, p. 396.
This is the only " nude " that Gainsborough ever painted.
The picture illustrates the lines from Thomson's Summer
. Thrice happy swain !
A lucky chance, that oft decides the fate
Of mighty monarchs, then decided thine.
For, lo ! conducted by the laughing loves,
This cool retreat his Musidora sought ;
Warm in her cheek the sultry season glowed,
And rob'd in loose array, she came to bathe
Her fervent limbs in the refreshing stream.
1128. TITANIA AND BOTTOM.
H. Fuseli (1741-1825).
This is perhaps the best picture ever painted by the eccentric Anglo-
Swiss Henry Fuseli (or Fuessli). "What do you see, sir?" he asked
once of an Academy student ; " you ought to see distinctly the true
image of what you are trying to draw. I see the vision of all I paint
and I wish to heaven I could paint up to what I see." In this re-
mark Fuseli well hit off his character as an artist. He was full of
i Lives of the most eminent British Painters, etc., five vols., 1829, else-
where referred to as Allan Cunningham.
452 WEST VESTIBULE
enthusiasm and of literary interest ; but chiefly, no doubt, from want of
early training, was generally feeble, and nearly always careless in trans-
ferring what he saw to canvas. His visions, too, were eccentric :
"painter in ordinary to the devil," he used to be called ; and as for
nature, "damn nature," he was heard to say, " she always puts me out."
He was the son (the second of eighteen children) of a Zurich painter,
and divided his early years between the classics and the study of prints
from the old masters. His versatility (amongst other things he was
ambidextrous) was expressed by his friend Lavater, the physiognomist,
who, when Fuseli was going to London to seek his fortune, said to him,
" Do but the tenth part of what you can." He reached London when
he was twenty-one, and having already given proof of his capacity by
translating Macbeth into German, soon obtained hack-work from
editors and journalists. But having received encouragement in his
drawing from Sir Joshua, he went abroad for eight years to study art.
On his return to London in 1 799 he painted several pictures for the
Shakespeare Gallery, and others from Milton and Gray ; whilst he
volunteered assistance to Cowper in the work of translating Homer.
Fuseli was very proud of his linguistic accomplishments, and fond of
airing them to the confusion of his less learned brothers in art. " I
can speak Greek, Latin, French, English, German, Danish, Dutch,
Icelandic and Spanish," he said, " and so let my folly or my fury get
vent through my nine different avenues." He was elected A.R.A. in
1788, R.A. in 1790, Professor of Painting 1799, and Keeper in 1803.
Many are the stories told of his bursts of fury generally accompanied
with sarcasm and "damns" in this latter post; but he was liked by
the students, says C. R. Leslie, who was one of them. " It would have
required a Reynolds to do justice to the intelligence of his fine head.
His keen eye, of the most transparent blue, I shall never forget. " He
was a great favourite among ladies ; and at the meetings at Johnson's, the
bookseller, where for forty years he was a conspicuous figure, Mary
Wollstonecraft (whose portrait hangs in the next room) fell in love with
him when he was fifty. The flirtation not unnaturally displeased the
painter's admirable wife a model whom he married in 1788.
" Sophia, my love," he said, byway of appeasing her, " why don't you
damn ? You don't know how much it would ease your mind."
Sophia's mind was probably better eased by Mary Wollstonecraft's
departure not long afterwards for France. Fuseli had many friends
also amongst his fellow-artists chief among whom was Lawrence.
" Is Lawrence come, is Lawrence come?" were his last words. He lies
buried near his friend in St. Paul's.
This is one of the pictures which Fuseli painted for Alder-
man Boydell's "Shakespeare Gallery" in Pall Mall. The
scene is from A Midsummer Nighfs Dream (Act iv. Sc.
i), where Titania, Queen of the Fairies, under the spell of her
husband Oberon's magic arts, takes the weaver Bottom (to
WEST VESTIBULE 453
whom the mischievous elf Puck has given an ass's head) " for
her true-love." The place is Fairyland, on the
. . . bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.
Titania hangs lovingly over her hideous monster ; and the
wood is filled with her vassals " The cowslips tall her pen-
sioners be," they and all the blossoms contain little fairies,
some of them with lovely baby-faces smiling from the flower-
calyxes which form their hoods. A little elf's face (Moth's) peers
up from the ground from beneath a large moth which is its body.
The attendant fairies stand on either side behind Titania,
and seem to look sadly o.n at her delusion : but one mis-
chievous sprite in the foreground is enjoying it, while laughingly
holding a little withered gnome in a leash. Peaseblossom,
Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed, their companions, have
been ordered to
Be kind and courteous to this gentleman ;
Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes,
Feed him with apricocks and dewberries.
Titania. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head,
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.
Bottom. Scratch my head. ... I have an exposition of
sleep come upon me.
Titania. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms . . .
So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist ; the female ivy so
Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.
O, how I love thee ! how I dote on thee !
677. LEWIS AS THE "MARQUIS" IN "THE MID-
NIGHT HOUR."
Sir Martin Shee, P.R.A. (1770-1850).
It is interesting that the only picture by Shee in the Gallery should
be of an actor, for the painter himself had connections with the stage.
He came of an old Irish family, and it was Burke who introduced him,
when he came from Dublin to London in 1789, to Reynolds. His
own suavity and good manners were even better introductions to the
portrait painter's clientele, and he soon met with distinguished patrons.
In 1798 he was elected A.R.A., and having married, moved into
Romney's old house in Cavendish Square. In 1800 he became R.A ;
whilst in 1805 he published a volume of verse (followed in 1809 and
454 WEST VESTIBULE
1814 by others), which called forth praise from Byron in his English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers
And here let Shee and genius find a place,
Whose pen and pencil yield an equal grace :
While honours, doubly merited, attend
The poet's rival, but the painter's friend.
The honour of the presidency of the Academy, to which he was elected
upon Lawrence's death in 1830, did not, however, strike the public as
particularly well merited, for as a portrait painter Shee had been
eclipsed by such men as Hoppner, Jackson, and Raeburn, whilst
Wilkie was marked out by the popular verdict for the post. The
general feeling of surprise was embodied in an epigram of the time
See Painting crowns her sister Poesy !
The world is all astonished \- so is Sheet
For the business and functional duties of the presidency, Shee was, how-
ever, admirably fitted. His connection with the stage was less happy.
In 1824 he produced a tragedy called Alasco, of which the scene was
laid in Poland. It was accepted at Covent Garden, but the licenser
refused his sanction on the score of alleged treasonable allusions ; and
Shee was thus robbed of the unique distinction of having produced an
acted play, as well as having painted portraits of actors.
William Thomas Lewis, known as " Gentleman Lewis " from
the elegance of his deportment, was the leading light comedian
of his time. He first appeared at Covent Garden in 1773, and
became deputy manager there in 1782, afterwards starting
theatres of his own at Manchester and Liverpool. He is here
" made up " in the character of the Spanish marquis, the hero
in The Midnight Hour, a comedy adapted by Mrs. Inchbald
from the French, who ultimately wins his lady-love by the
stratagem of lending her his clothes, and thus getting her irate
guardian to turn her out of doors as a male intruder.
ROOM XVIII
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Continued]
CONSTABLE'S PALETTE.
For Constable, see 1 235, p. 459. This palette was presented
to the Gallery in 1887 by Miss Isabel Constable.
1242. STIRLING CASTLE.
Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1 840).
There are few cases on record of such evenly dispersed hereditary
gifts as the Nasmyth family presents. Alexander Nasmyth was
originally a pupil of Allan Ramsay. Then after several years' study
at Rome, he settled at Edinburgh as a portrait painter. The only
authentic portrait of Burns is by him, and the poet was often his
companion on country rambles. For Nasmyth was an ardent lover of
nature ; and (like Gainsborough) if he painted portraits for money, he
painted landscapes for love. He was also a scene painter, and in that
capacity came across Roberts and Stanfield. The former said that he
founded his style on Nasmyth's scenery for the Glasgow theatre ; and
the latter recorded Nasmyth's advice to him as follows : "there's but
one style an artist should imitate, and that is the style of nature."
But Nasmyth had other occupations still. He was the son of an
architect and builder, and both inherited and transmitted a taste for
mechanics. Not only did his son Patrick inherit much of his father's
artistic talent, but all his five daughters were artists of genuine ability.
Their brother James, of steam-hammer fame, has a greater renown than
any of them, but his genius too was inherited. He is himself a most
accomplished draughtsman in pen and ink, while his father, Alexander
Nasmyth, was hardly less famous in his day as an architect and an
456 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
engineer than as a painter. He is responsible for most of the New
Town of Edinburgh, and was also the inventor of the " Bow-and-
String " Bridge. It is interesting to recall before this picture of
Stirling Castle a picture which justifies Wilkie's praise of the artist
as the " founder of the landscape school of Scotland, and the first
to enrich his native land with the representation of her romantic
scenery" that the same hand also contrived the mechanism by which
the arch of Charing Cross railway station was constructed 1 Fine art
and mechanical art are not always divorced, it seems. One more
point of interest may, in conclusion, be noted before this picture of
Stirling. James Nasmyth, in his autobiography, records "a most
delightful journey" which he made with his father in 1823. They
went to Stirling, as his father had received a commission to paint a view
of the Castle. In order to ensure greater accuracy, James Nasmyth
(who was then fifteen) was told off to make detailed sketches of archi-
tectural " elevations " and so forth. Is this the picture which thus
links the fame of father and son ?
There is a simplicity of treatment which gives much im-
pressiveness to this picture of
The bulwark of the North,
Gray Stirling with her towers.
It is ordinarily said that Patrick Nasmyth, the son, " greatly
improved on the style of his father," but this is certainly not
the verdict which will suggest itself to visitors, who now have
the means of comparing on the same walls the work of the
father and son. Alike in the greater dignity of his subject and
in the broader manner of his treatment, the father decidedly
bears off the palm.
1030. THE INSIDE OF A STABLE.
George Morland ( 1 763-1 804).
Said to be the stable of the "White Lion" at Paddington, an
hostelry which was opposite the house where Morland lived for some
time, and in which the ne'er-do-weel artist spent many of his days. He
came of an artistic family, and it was the absurd way in which his
father exploited the boy's precocious talents alternately confining him
closely to work, and indulging him with luxurious living that sowed
the seeds of his future dissipation. During the period of his residence
at Paddington "he was visited by the popular pugilists of the day, by
the most eminent horse-dealers, and by his never-failing companions,
the picture merchants. He was a lover of guinea-pigs, dogs, rabbits,
and squirrels ; he extended his affection also to asses. At one time he
was the owner of eight saddle horses, which were kept at the ' White
Lion'; and that the place might be worthy of an artist's stud he
painted the sign where they stood at livery with his own hand " {Allan
ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL 457
Cunningham, ii. 227). Accounts of his queer tastes and low manner
of life may be read in several biographies, which came out soon after
his death to meet the curiosity for scandals about the artist. He had
married a daughter of the artist, J. Ward, but she separated from him ;
and after a life of dissipation, duns, and debts, he died in a spunging-house
in Coldbath Fields. Morland is one of several cases in the history of
art in which a sordid life is combined with lovely work. This picture
is sometimes called the painter's masterpiece ; but besides mere pictures
of animals, he painted many charming domestic scenes, " little idyls of
rustic life, which pointed so many of his personally unpractised morals,
and adorned so many of his unheeded tales." (For an estimate of Morland
on his better side, the reader is referred to Mr. G. H. Boughton's notice
in English Art in the Public Galleries and Mr. Wedmore's Studies in
English Art.)
374. VENICE : THE PILLARS OF THE PIAZZETTA.
R. P. Bonington (1801-1828).
"I have never known in my own time," wrote Sir Thomas
Lawrence, " an early death of talent so promising, and so rapidly and
obviously improving." Richard Parkes Bonington, of whom this
was said, died of consumption when his fame in England was only
beginning. In France, however, he already enjoyed a high reputation,
having obtained a gold medal for his picture in the Salon of 1824
the year in which Constable won a like honour. Bonington had
indeed received his artistic education in Paris, where he had resided
since he was fifteen. It was in 1824 that he travelled in Italy, and
stayed for some time in Venice, making sketches for this and other
pictures which he afterwards exhibited at the British Institution.
When the first of them appeared there, Allan Cunningham relates how
a critic and connoisseur came up to him in a sort of ecstasy and said,
" Come this way sir, and I will show you such a thing a grand
Canaletti sort of picture, sir, as beautiful as sunshine and as real as
Whitehall."
To the right is the Dogana (or custom-house) ; between
the pillars are seen the domes of the church of Sta. Maria
della Salute ; and to the left is the corner of the library. The
Piazzetta, the open space on which the pillars stand, is so
called to distinguish it from the Piazza the larger open space
in front of the church of St. Mark. Of the two granite pillars,
the one is surmounted by the bronze lion of St. Mark, the
other by the statue of St. Theodore, the Protector of the
Republic. "They are to Venice, in fact, what the Nelson
column would be to London if, instead of a statue of Nelson
and a coil of rope on the top of it, we had put one of the four
evangelists and a saint, for the praise of the Gospel and of
458 ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL
Holiness trusting the memory of Nelson to our own souls"
(St. MarKs Rest, ch. i. ii.) The pillars were brought by the
Doge Domenico Michael as spoils from his victories in the
East, early in the twelfth century, and were erected in their
present position in 1 1 80. The statue of St. Theodore was
placed on the column in 1.329 ; the lion of St. Mark, a work
of later date, was carried to Paris in 1797, but restored to its
original position in 1816.
380. A COTTAGE, FORMERLY IN HYDE PARK.
Patrick Nasmyth (1786-1831).
Patrick, the son of Alexander Nasmyth, was born in Edinburgh, but
when about twenty settled in London, and for the most part "painted by
preference the footpaths, hedges, common pasture-grounds, and dwarf
oaks of the outskirts of London." He exhibited at the Academy, and
was one of the original members of the Society of British Artists. His
life was one ef solitude and suffering, from which he sought refuge in strong
drink as well as in the beauties of nature. He became deaf from an
illness in his boyhood, and having lost the use of his right hand from an
accident, painted with his left. He caught his death of a cold con-
tracted when out sketching ; and when he lay dying in his lodgings
at Lambeth, his last request, we are told, was that he might be raised
in his bed to see a passing thunder-storm. Nasmyth, when he came
up to London, was a close student of the Dutch landscape painters, and
the name that has been given him of " the English Hobbema," or the
"English Ruysdael" (see for instance 1177, p. 483), sufficiently char-
acterises his art.
1182. A SCENE FROM MILTON'S "COMUS."
C. J?. Leslie, R.A. (1794-1859).
See under XX. 403, p. 514.
Comus, son of Circe and Bacchus, was master of all the
arts of sorcery and all the excesses of wanton revel. And he
enchanted all travellers who passed through the wood wherein
he dwelt, with his mother's and his father's wiles. One day it
chanced that a lady was travelling in the wood with her two
brothers, and while they stepped aside to fetch berries for her,
Comus in the guise of a shepherd offered her shelter in his
cottage, and conducted her to his palace of sorcery. Here we
see her seated in the Enchanted Chair, while Comus holding
his magic wand and garlanded " with rosy twine " offers her
wine in a crystal glass, which will turn those who drink of it
into monsters. The lady shrinks from his advances and refuses
the fatal cup
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 459
Comus. Nay, Lady, sit ; if I but wave this wand,
Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabaster,
And you a statue, or, as Daphne was,
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.
Lady. Fool, do not boast ;
Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind
With all thy charms, although this corporal rind
Thou hast immanacled, while Heaven sees good.
The picture is a study for (or from) Leslie's fresco in the
Buckingham Palace summer-house, for which Landseer did
another scene from Comus (see XXI. 605, p. 548). " I have been
very busy," writes Leslie in July 1843, "painting a fresco, a
first attempt, in a little pavilion in the gardens of Buckingham
Palace. I was asked to do this by the Prince, and there are
seven other artists engaged in the same way Maclise, Land-
seer, Sir Charles Ross, Stanfield, Uwins, Etty, and Eastlake.
Two or three of us are generally there together, and the Queen
and Prince visit us daily, and sometimes twice a day, and take
a great interest in what is going on. The subjects are all from
Comus, and mine is Comus offering the cup to the lady."
1O66. ON BARNES COMMON.
/. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under next picture.
1235. THE HOUSE IN WHICH THE ARTIST
WAS BORN.
John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837).
Constable, who was a boy of nine when Gainsborough died, and, like
him, a native of Suffolk, carried on Gainsborough's work of portraying
the common aspects of " English cultivated scenery, leaving untouched
its mountains and lakes." One sees in Constable's pictures exactly
what the poets have sung as characteristic of lowland England of
Tennyson's "English homes," with "dewy pastures, dewy trees."
He was born at East Bergholt, on the Stour the son of a miller who
had two wind-mills and two water-mills (one of which may be seen in
his pictures, XX. 327 and 1207), and it was in Suffolk villages that he
learned first to love, and then to paint, what he saw around him. He
has himself described the scenes of his boyhood, which he was fond
of saying made him a painter : "gentle declivities, luxuriant meadow-
flats sprinkled with flocks and herds, well cultivated uplands, with
numerous scattered villages and churches, with farms and picturesque
cottages." "I love every stile," he says in another letter, "and
stump, and lane in the village ; as long as I am able to hold a brush,
I shall never cease to paint them." There are many other passages
in his writings which show in what affectionate and reverent spirit he
460 ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL
approached his work. He was particularly fond of painting the
spring and early summer. " All nature revives," he writes, " and
everything around me is springing up and coming into life. At every
step I am reminded of the words of Scripture, ' I am the Resurrection
and the Life."' "The landscape painter," he said in one of his
lectures, " must walk in the fields with an humble mind. No
arrogant mind was ever permitted to see nature in all her beauty. If
I may be allowed to use a very solemn quotation, I would say most
emphatically to the student, ' Remember now thy Creator in the days
of thy youth.'" "The feelings of Constable with respect to his art
might," says Mr. Ruskin, "be almost a model for the young student."
He painted English scenery, and he painted it in a simple, vigorous,
unaffected way. "His works," continues Mr. Ruskin, "are to be
deeply respected, as thoroughly original, thoroughly honest, free from
affectation, manly in manner, frequently successful in cool colour, and
realising certain motives of English scenery with perhaps as much
affection as such scenery, unless where regarded through media
of feeling derived from higher sources, is calculated to inspire "
(Modern Painters, Preface to second edition, p. xxxix. ., and
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 18). It was the spectacle
in Constable's work of homely scenes painted in a simple way
that caused his pictures to make so much sensation in France, where
the " ideal " style of landscape, as practised by Claude and Poussin,
had been until then in vogue. 1 " What resemblance," the Paris-
ian critics cried in despair, " can you find between these paintings
and those of Poussin, whom we ought always to admire and imitate ?
Beware of this Englishman's pictures ; they will be the ruin of our
school, and no true beauty, style, or tradition is to be discovered in
them." The warning was not misplaced, for to Constable, it is now
admitted, the modern French school of landscape is largely due.
Constable reported this adverse French criticism himself, and added, "I
am well aware that my works have a style of their own, but to my
mind, it is exactly that which constitutes their merit, and besides, I
have ever held to Sterne's precept, ' Do not trouble yourself about
1 A less fortunate result of Constable's influence was the adoption and
exaggeration of his somewhat blurred forms. " His tree drawing, for
instance, is," says Mr. Ruskin, "the kind of work which is produced by
an uninventive person dashing about idly with a brush, . . . and as repre-
sentative of tree form, wholly barbarous . . . wholly false in ramification, idle
and undefined in every respect ; it being, however, just possible still to discern
what the tree is meant for, and therefore the type of the worst modernism
not being completely established " (Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch.
ix. 13 ; vol. iv. pt. v. ch. v. 19). This is why Mr. Ruskin elsewhere
expresses "regret that the admiration of Constable, already harmful
enough in England, is extending even into France." " Constablesque "
is only one stage removed from "blottesque," from "the blotting and
blundering of Modernism " (see Modern Painters, vol. iii. Appendix i. ;
and Two Paths, Appendix i.)
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 461
doctrines and systems, go straight before you, and obey the promptings
of nature.' " The style of Constable is indeed very strongly marked ;
he is one of the most easily recognisable of painters, and the fact
suggests an important principle of criticism. The aspects of nature
are infinitely various. Many painters may set themselves with equal
fidelity to paint nature as they see it, yet each of them will see it
differently. Take for instance Gainsborough and Constable. Both
lived in Suffolk and loved Suffolk, and each with the same love of
truth went straight to the fountain-head with the one desire of
representing faithfully what they saw. Yet there is no possibility
of mistaking Gainsborough's Suffolk for Constable's. " Sweetness,
grace, and a tinge of melancholy shed their softening charm over
Gainsborough's. Through the clouds one imagines a soft sky ; no
hard or sharp angles are visible ; the too-vivid colours tone themselves
down, subject to his unconsciously sympathetic handling ; every
smallest detail breathes of the serenity which issued from Gains-
borough's own peaceful temperament " (Chesneau : The English
School, p. 141). What Constable on the other hand saw in nature
is summed up in Fuseli's sarcasm, " I am going to see Constable;
bring me mine ombrella" "Fuseli's jesting compliment," says Mr.
Ruskin, "is too true; for the showery weather in which the artist
delights misses alike the majesty of storm and the loveliness of calm
weather ; it is greatcoat weather, and nothing more. There is strange
want of depth in the mind which has no pleasure in sunbeams but
when piercing painfully through clouds, nor in foliage but when
shaken by the wind, nor in light itself but when flickering, glistening,
restless, and feeble." Some of the narrowness of Constable's choice
was due to his passion for chiaroscuro. "No chiaroscuro ever was
good, as such, which was not subordinate to character and to form ;
and all search after it as a first object ends in the loss of the thing
itself so sought. One of our English painters, Constable, professed
this pursuit in its simplicity. ' Though my pictures should have
nothing else, they shall have chiaroscuro.' The sacrifice was accepted
by the fates, but the prayer denied. His pictures had nothing else ;
but they had not chiaroscuro" 1 (Academy Notes, 1859, p. 53). Not
quite nothing else, as we have seen. But undoubtedly when his works
are compared with Turner's, they are found very narrow in their
range. And it is just this narrowness, this restriction to common
aspects of nature, that ensures Constable's popularity. For " there are
some truths easily obtained, which give a deceptive resemblance to
Nature ; others only to be obtained with difficulty, which cause no
1 " It is singular to reflect what that fatal Chiaroscuro has done to art,
in the full extent of its influence. It has been not only shadow, but
shadow of Death ; passing over the face of ancient art, as death itself
might over a fair human countenance ; whispering, as it reduced it to the
white projections and lightless orbits of the skull, ' Thy face shall have
nothing else, but it shall have chiaroscuro ' " (Modern Painters, vol. iii.
pt. iv. ch. x. 20 n. )
462 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
deception, but give inner and deeper resemblance. These two
classes of truths cannot be obtained together ; choice must be made
between them. The bad painter gives the cheap deceptive resem-
blance. The good painter gives the precious non-deceptive resemblance.
Constable perceives in a landscape that the grass is wet, the meadows
flat, and the boughs shady ; that is to say, about as much as, I
suppose, might in general be apprehended, between them, by an intelli-
gent fawn, and a skylark. . . . Even those who are not ignorant, or
dull, judge often erroneously of effects of art, because their very
openness to all pleasant and sacred association instantly colours what-
ever they see, so that, give them but the feeblest shadow of a thing
they love, they are instantly touched by it to the heart, and mistake
their own pleasurable feelings for the result of the painter's power.
Thus when, by spotting and splashing, such a painter as Constable
reminds them somewhat of wet grass and green leaves, forthwith they
fancy themselves in all the happiness of a meadow walk " (Modem
Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. x. 3 ; vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iii. 6).
Of Constable's life, the most interesting thing to note is its remark-
able fidelity to his art. His early years were a long struggle to realise
his ideals. At school he excelled in nothing but penmanship. 1 " Come
out of your painting room," the master used to say when the lad's
attention wandered from his books. But his true painting room was
in the fields, where he used to sketch with a village plumber named
Dunthome. His father designed him for the Church, but afterwards
put him in charge of one of his mills an apprenticeship which was of
great value to Constable, as leading him to study the sky. In a letter
written many years later, Constable, in describing his sky studies,
significantly remarks on the importance of the sky even in everyday
life for practical purposes. From the mill he passed in 1796 to the
Academy Schools, but though dissatisfied with his progress, he never
lost hope. "I feel more than ever convinced," he wrote in 1803,
" that one day or other I shall paint well ; and that even if it does not
turn to my advantage during my lifetime, my pictures will be handed
down to posterity." "Mark what I say," he said to a friend
thirty years later ; " they accuse me of sprinkling my pictures with a
whitewash brush. But the time will come I may not live to see it,
but you may when you will find that my pictures will kill all the
others near them. These whites and glittering spots which they dislike
1 It is interesting to know that Gainsborough shared Constable's fond-
ness for good penmanship. ' ' I have heard him (Gainsborough) say that
the sight of a letter written by an elegant penman pleased him beyond ex-
pression, and I recollect being with him one day when the servant brought
him one from his schoolmaster in Suffolk, which, after reading, he held at
a distance, as John Bridge the jeweller would a necklace, first inclining his
head upon one shoulder and then on the other, after which he put it upon
the lower part of his easel, and frequently glanced at it during the time he
was scraping the colours together upon his easel " (J. T. Smith : Nollekens
and his Times, i. 186).
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 463
will tone down, and, without losing their purpose, time will harmonise
them with the rest" (Atheneeum, March 10, 1888). In 1815 he married
a girl whom faithful in love as in art he had loved since he was a boy.
In 1819 he was elected A.R. A., but not till 1829 full R.A. In 1820 he
removedfrom Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, to WellWalk, Hampstead,
the better to study his favourite skies. He died suddenly in London,
when coming away from his "dear old Somerset House" (where the Aca-
demy was then housed). In his latter years he inherited money through
his wife, which made him independent of any professional earnings ;
but many of his best works remained on his hands for years, and the
majority of those he sold were bought by personal friends. But all
the while that he was waiting for acceptance, he never became bitter.
Equally admirable was the catholicity of his taste. He had, as he
said, a style of his own, and was a rebel from all the scholastic rules
of his time. 1 Yet he admired what was great in those whose work
was different from his own, no less than the work of those with whom he
was artistically in sympathy. Sir George Beaumont, to whom Con-
stable, like so many artists, was indebted for help, had shown him the
little Claude, now numbered 61, p. 358, and he was greatly delighted
with it. Many years later he wrote to his friend, Archdeacon Fisher,
' ' I looked into Angerstein's the other day : how paramount is Claude ! "
"Cozens is all poetry," he exclaimed. " Did you ever see a picture
by Turner," he asked, "and not wish to possess it?" "I cannot
think of it even now," he said of one of Gainsborough's landscapes,
" without tears in my eyes." So true is it what Mr. Ruskin says, that
" he who walks humbly with nature will seldom be in danger of losing
sight of art. He will commonly find in all that is truly great of man's
works something of their original, for which he will regard them with
gratitude, and sometimes follow them with respect " (Modern Painters,
vol. i., Preface to 2d ed., p. xxxix. .)
How much Constable loved his home we have just seen ;
and one sees further, in looking at this rough but effective
sketch, from the very simplicity of his favourite scenes, how
sincere was his affection. It is further interesting to compare
this and the other small Constables in this room with his
larger pictures in the next room ; these here, though not free
from the " blottesque," are painted more broadly, and without
that spottiness of touch which led the critics to talk of " Con-
stable's snow."
1 The system is best exhibited in Sir George Beaumont's rules. His
first question on seeing a landscape used to be, "Where is your brown
tree?" His second is shown in the following story. " ' I see,' he said,
looking at a picture by Constable ' your first and your second light, but
I can't make out which is your third.' Constable told this to Turner, who
said, ' You should have asked him how many lights Rubens introduced.
464 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
343. THE WOODEN BRIDGE.
Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, R.A. (1779-1844).
Callcott was originally a choir boy at Westminster Abbey, and is
said to have derived his first impulse to become a painter from
seeing Stothard's illustrations to Robinson Crusoe, He entered the
Academy Schools, and also studied under Hoppner, was elected A, R.A.
in 1806, and R.A. in 1810. In 1837, in which year he had departed
from his usual groove of landscape, cattle, and marines, and exhibited
" Raphael and the Fornarina," he was knighted, and a few months
before he died was appointed Keeper of the Queen's Pictures. " On
the works of Callcott," says Mr. Ruskin, "high as his reputation
stands, I should look with far less respect ; I see not any preference
or affection in the artist ; there is no tendency in him with which we
can sympathise, nor does there appear any sign of aspiration, effort, or
enjoyment in any one of his works. He appears to have completed
them methodically, to have been content with them when completed,
to have thought them good, legitimate, regular pictures ; perhaps in
some respects better than nature. He painted everything tolerably,
and nothing excellently ; he has given us no gift, struck for us no
light, and though he has produced one or two valuable works, of which
the finest I know is the Marine in the possession of Sir J. Swinburne,
they will, I believe, in future have no place among those considered
representatives of the English School " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii.
sec. i. ch. vii. 18). His work is not represented at its best in the
National Gallery. Many of his other pictures have fetched large prices,
though the tendency in his fame, as thus measured, seems now, as Mr.
Ruskin predicted, to be downward. Thus an English landscape,
with Cattle by Landseer, sold in 1863 for 3000 guineas, but in 1883
for ^1470. Personally, Callcott was much esteemed by a very numer-
ous circle of friends, one of whom described his career as "resembling
one of those softly illuminated and gently flowing rivers he often sym-
pathetically painted."
A scene described (with a curious piece of final bathos) by
Leigh Hunt
A wooden bridge, a hut embowered, a stream
That calmly seems to wait the dredger's will ;
Horses with patient noses in a team ;
A wife, babe holding, yet laborious still ;
A burst of sunshine, cloud-racks, wide and chill
'Tis a right English and a pleasant scene
To duteous eyes, and eke the ducks, I ween.
1245. CHURCH PORCH, BERGHOLT, SUFFOLK.
J. Constable, RA. (1776-1837). See under 1235,^459.
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 465
381. THE ANGLER'S NOOK.
Patrick Nasmyth (1786-1831). See under 380, p. 458.
1O69. THE MYTH OF NARCISSUS.
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834).
Thomas Stothard, who is best known for his book illustrations, but
who is well represented also in the National Gallery, is the chief "purist "
of the English School the Angelico of England. 1 "The vignettes
from Stothard," says Mr. Ruskin, "however conventional, show in
the grace and tenderness of their living subjects how types of innocent
beauty, as pure as Angelico's, and far lovelier, might indeed be given
from modern English life, to exalt the conception of youthful dignity
and sweetness in every household" (The Cestus of Aglaia, in O. 0. R.,
i- 53^)- In such pictures, too, as this, one sees the same "singular
gentleness and purity of mind" as in Fra Angelico (see p. 43). "It
seems as if he could not conceive wickedness, coarseness, or baseness ;
every one of his figures looks as if it had been copied from some creature
who had never harboured an unkind thought, or permitted itself an ignoble
action. With this intense love of mental purity is joined, in Stothard,
a love of mere physical smoothness and softness, so that he lived in a
universe of soft grace and stainless fountains, tender trees, and stones
at which no foot could stumble. " He seems, as Mr. Ruskin elsewhere
puts it, to "baptise all things and wash them with pure water"
(Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. xiv. 20 ; vol. iii. pt. iv.
ch. vi. 5 ; cf. Stones of Venice, vol. ii. ch. vi. 52). But this
purism implies by its very nature a certain weakness, as that of "a
fugitive and cloistered virtue," and hence " nothing can be more pitiable
than any endeavour by Stothard to express facts beyond his own sphere
of soft pathos or graceful mirth " (Modern Painters^ vol. iii. loc. cit. )
The life of Stothard was in keeping with the shrinking purity of
his art. He was very busy always, but never strikingly successful.
He lived in the same house in London for fifty years (28 Newman
Street), and whenever he was not at work was taking long walks,
during which he filled his sketch-books with hints from the streets
or fields. He married young and had a large family. But quiet
domestic content rather than passionate love was his constant ideal.
After attending his wedding ceremony he spent the afternoon, it is
said, in quietly drawing in the schools, and, on leaving, requested
a fellow-student to accompany him "to a family party." "Do come,"
he said, "for I have this day taken unto myself a wife." His letters
1 Mr. Ruskin thus compares him to Angelico, Turner compared him to
Giotto. "Turner proved the sincerity of his admiration," says Leslie
(Recollections, i. 130), "by painting a picture in avowed imitation of
him. While retouching it in the Academy, Turner said to me, 'If I
thought he liked my pictures half as well as I like his. I should be satisfied.
He is the Giotto of England.'"
2 H
466 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
in after years to his wife are composed in a singularly minor key ; his
great pleasure in coming home, he said, would be to see the children
" in their best bibs and tuckers." Five of his children died in infancy,
and two of those who grew up, afterwards died under very painful cir-
cumstances ; but grief did not interfere, any more than pleasure, with the
even tenor of his laborious days. Even his physical infirmity agrees with
his character. In early life he was very delicate, and afterwards he
was very deaf. He was regular in his attendance at meetings of the
Academy, but on coming away would say to a friend, " What have we
been doing ?" He was in the world, but not altogether of it just as
in his art he treated worldly themes, but touched them with spiritual
grace. The incidents of his life were few and uneventful. He was
bom in Yorkshire, the son of an innkeeper in Long Acre, and received
most of his schooling in country schools. When a lad he was a de-
signer of flowered brocades for a Spitalfields silk -weaver. Harrison,
the editor of the Novelisfs Magazine, happened to see some of the
designs, and detecting the boy's talent, at once employed him on the
Magazine. His designs quickly became the fashion, and soon no book
was considered complete without " numerous illustrations by T. Slot-
hard." The increasing necessities of his family made him willing to
accept work " of too minute an order," says his enthusiastic biographer
and daughter-in-law, Mrs. Bray, " for a painter of his master mind and
hand ; for instance, such commissions as designing for pocket-books,
ladies' fashions, sketches of court balls and amusements, royal huntings,
and for ordinary magazines and play books." In 1778 he became a
student at the Academy. In 1791 he was elected A. R. A., in 179411. A.,
and in 1812 Librarian. Flaxman, Blake (until their quarrel, see p.
481), Rogers, Constable, and Leslie were amongst his friends. His
fellow -academicians thought highly of him, but aristocratic patrons such
as Sir G. Beaumont had ignored him, and he never therefore received
very large prices for his works. His designs are said to be as many as
5000, of which more than 3000 were engraved in various publications ;
there is a large collection of his prints in the British Museum.
The mountain nymph Echo, who had loved the fair Nar-
cissus, listens amongst the trees but hears no voice ; whilst
Naiads and Dryads (nymphs of the river and the forest) find
not the lovely boy, but the flower into which he was changed,
the
. . . narcissi, the fairest amongst them all,
Who gaze on their eyes in the stream's recess
Till they die of their own dear loveliness.
SHELLEY : The Sensitive Plant.
1244. BRIDGE AT GILLINGHAM, SUFFOLK.
J. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under 1235, p. 459.
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 467
1110. THE SPIRITUAL FORM OF PITT GUIDING
BEHEMOTH.
William Blake (1757-1827).
William Blake is one of the most original figures in the history of
British art. In the first place he was a poet as well as a painter.
Many of his lyrics are of singular and striking beauty ; and some of
his other poems " have much more than merit ; they are written with
absolute sincerity, with infinite tenderness, and, though in the manner
of them diseased and wild, are in verity the words of a great and wise
mind, disturbed, but not deceived, by its sickness ; nay, partly exalted
by it, and sometimes giving forth in fiery aphorism some of the most
precious words of existing literature. " Not only, however, was Blake,
like Rossetti, a poet as well as a painter ; but in his best-known pro-
ductions, beginning with the Songs of Experience, he combined the
verse and design in an entirely original way which was revealed to
him, he says, by his brother Robert in a vision of the night. Rising
in the morning, Blake sent out his wife with the only half-crown they
possessed to buy materials. " On small plates of copper, and with
the stopping-out varnish of engravers, he wrote the verses, and out-
lined the designs which occasionally intermingled with the text. The
rest of the surface was then eaten away with acid, leaving the text and
outlines in relief. From these he took impressions in any tint he chose,
using colours ground by himself in common glue. He taught his wife
to help him in the process, and even to aid him in illuminating the
designs after the original drawings. She further performed the part of
bookbinder. Copies of this little work are now rare. But those
who may have the good fortune to see a fine example of it, coloured
by Blake's own hand, cannot but be carried away by the prismatic
beauty of each page " (Official Catalogue). Of the beauty of the book
these pictures unfortunately give little idea. The "Pitt," however,
is a fair example of the third great point which distinguishes Blake
namely, his weird power of imagination. The neglect and poverty to
which, as we have seen, was due the unique beauty of his illustrated
poems, were here disastrous to his effectiveness as an artist. The
question has often been debated whether or not Blake was insane. He
was undoubtedly insane in the sense that he lived in "a conscientious
agony of beautiful purpose and warped power." He was "driven into
discouraged disease by his isolation, and found refuge for an entirely
honest heart from a world which declares honesty to be impossible,
only in a madness nearly as sorrowful as its own the religious mad-
ness which makes a beautiful soul ludicrous and ineffectual " (Eagle's
Nest, 21 ; Fors Clavigera, 1877, p. 32 ; Queen of the Air, 159 ;
Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. xvi. 10 . ; and Cestus of Aglaia,
in O.O.R., i. 448).
It is, however, the taint of insanity thus engendered which gives
its piquancy to Blake's career, and has in these days provided food for
468 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
the cult that has sprung up about him. He was the son of a hosier,
who kept shop at 28 Broad Street, Golden Square, and his father en-
couraged his early love for art by sending him to a drawing school in
the Strand. When fourteen he was apprenticed to an engraver, Basire,
with whom he remained for seven years. He then set to work on his
own account, engraving for publishers, and occasionally sending pictures,
which were exhibited, but not sold, to the Academy. In 1799 he was
introduced to Cowper's friend, Hayley, who lent him a cottage at
Felpham, near Bognor, where he spent four happy years. On his
return to London he found but deepening neglect only occasionally
relieved by gleams of patronage from friends, such as Dr. Bell, and John
Linnell, the artist. He died in great poverty in lodgings at 3 Fountain
Court, Strand. From his early youth he had been a seer of visions
and a dreamer of dreams. Walking in Peckham Rye, when he was
only eight or ten, he "looked up and saw a tree rilled with angels."
Amongst the tombs of Westminster Abbey the ghosts of departed
kings and heroes appeared to him in vision. When he walked in the
garden at Felpham by night he saw "a fairy funeral" "a procession
of creatures of the size and colour of green and gray grasshoppers,
bearing a body laid out on a rose leaf." " Dear Sculptor of Eternity,"
so he writes to Flaxman from Felpham, " Heaven opens here on all
sides her golden gates ; her windows are not obstructed by vapours ;
voices of celestial inhabitants are here distinctly heard." It is easy to
understand how a mind, attuned like this, became in the midst of a
perverse and unsympathetic world more and more thrown in upon
itself, and how its imaginations more and more overpowered a plastic
faculty which had received little training and less appreciation ; so
that in the end Blake as artist " produced, with one only majestic
series of designs from the Book of Job, nothing for his life's work
but coarsely iridescent sketches of enigmatic dream " (Ariadne
Florentina, Appendix, p. 240). At least one other thing, how-
ever, we owe to Blake the example of a pure-hearted and single-
minded life, such as can hardly be paralleled in the history of art. He
was h&t-tempered, but forgiving ; unrecognised, but uncomplaining.
He had to make many an unsuccessful application to publishers and
patrons. " Well, it is published elsewhere," he would quietly say,
"and beautifully bound." The fortune of life, as the world counts,
was all against him. But his own reckoning was very different.
There is a pretty story of a rich lady who once brought her daughter
to see him. The old man stroked her hair, and said, " May God make
this world to you, my child, as beautiful as it has been to me !" He
had no children of his own, but the devoted sympathy of his wife
sustained him to the end. When he was dying his eyes rested on her.
" Stay 1" he cried, " keep as you are ! you have been ever an angel to
me : I will draw you !" and so he died, singing songs to his Maker so
sweetly that when she stood to hear him he looking upon her most
affectionately and said, " My beloved, they are not mine. No ! they are
not mine."
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 469
To understand this " iridescent sketch of enigmatic dream,"
one must refer to the description which Blake himself gave of
it when he exhibited it with other pictures " Poetical and
Historical Inventions" in 1809. It was a companion picture
to the " Spiritual Form of Nelson guiding Leviathan," and
Blake said of them in his Descriptive Catalogue : " Clear-
ness and precision have been the chief objects in painting these
pictures. . . . (They are) a proof of the power of colours
unsullied with oil or with any cloggy vehicle. . . . Oil, being a
body itself, will drink or absorb very little colour, and changing
yellow, and at length brown, destroys every colour it is mixed
with, especially every delicate colour . . . This is an awful
thing to say to Oil Painters ; they may call it madness, but it is
true. . . . One convincing proof among many others that these
assertions are true is, that real gold and silver cannot be used
with oil, as they are in all the old pictures and in Mr. B.'s
frescoes." Here, then, we see the first point of view from
which the artist means us to look at this picture. We are to
look at it as a piece of decorative colour. The picture has
probably changed a good deal since it left " Mr. B.'s " studio,
the gold having scaled off in places. But it is still possible
to admire the green and gold tones of Pitt's robe, catch-
ing here and there a red reflection from the flames that rise
round and behind Behemoth ; the flash of red and gold in the
nimbus ; and the iridescent colour with which the monster's
head is illuminated. " In expressing conditions of glaring and
flickering light, Blake is greater than Rembrandt " (Elements
of Drawing, Appendix, ii. p. 352). But the picture is an
" enigmatic dream " as well as an " iridescent sketch." The
Spiritual Forms of Pitt and Nelson are " compositions of a
mythological cast," said Blake in his Catalogue, " similar to
those Apotheoses of Persian, Hindoo, and Egyptian Antiquity
which are still preserved on rude monuments, being copies from
some stupendous originals now lost, or perhaps buried till some
happier age. The Artist having been taken in vision into the
ancient republics, monarchies, and patriarchates of Asia, has
seen those wonderful originals, . . . from which the Greeks
and Hetrurians copied Hercules Farnese, Venus of Medicis,
Apollo Belvedere, and all the grand works of ancient art. They
were executed in very superior style to those justly admired
copies, being with their accompaniments terrific and grand in
the highest degree. The Artist has endeavoured to emulate
470 ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL
the grandeur of those seen in his vision, and to apply it to
modern Heroes, on a smaller scale. . . . Those wonderful
originals seen in my visions were some of them one hundred
feet in height ; some were painted as pictures, and some carved
as basso-relievos, and some as groups of statues, all containing
mythological and recondite meaning, where more is meant than
meets the eye. The Artist wishes it was now the fashion to
make such monuments, and then he should not doubt of having
a national commission to execute these two Pictures on a scale
that is suitable to the grandeur of the nation, who is the parent
of his heroes, in high-finished fresco, where the colours would
be as pure and as permanent as precious stones, though the
figures were one hundred feet in height." We have seen how
Blake spent much time sketching in Westminster Abbey,
and it was no doubt there that these visions of monuments to
dead heroes appeared to him. The idea of this mythological
composition in honour of Pitt may well have come to him in
the shadow of " the stately monument of Chatham," above
which " his effigy, graven by a cunning hand, seems still, with
eagle face and outstretched arm, to bid England be of good
cheer, and to hurl defiance at her foes." The/<?rw of Blake's
allegory was decided by his familiarity with the Book of Job, to
the illustration of which he devoted the best work of his life.
Behemoth is there typical (Job xl. 1 5, 1 9) of the monstrous
beasts of the world whom the Almighty, who created, alone can
tame : " Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee ; . . .
he is the chief of the ways of God : he that made him can make
his sword to approach unto him." Pitt, on the other hand, is
described by Blake as " that Angel who, pleased to perform the
Almighty's orders, rides on the whirlwind directing the storms
of war. He is ordering the Reaper to reap the Vine of
the Earth, and the Ploughman to plough up the Cities and
Towers." With these explanations it is easy to see that the
picture is an allegory of the power of statesmanship (Pitt) in
controlling the brute forces of the world (Behemoth). " The
earth bursts into flame at the touch of the ploughshare, and
from behind the flames cannons are discharged upon a group
of flying figures, at the back of which is seen a great building
on fire. Beneath the figure of the reaper another group is being
shot down by musketry, while a terrible rain, lit up as by
lightning, falls from heavy clouds." In the nimbus or glory
around Pitt's head are various flying and falling figures the
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 47 i
idea being, perhaps that of Horace's line : delirant reges
plectuntur Achivi : the glory of a patriot minister finds a lurid
reflection in the sufferings of a people. Higher up are several
spheres, and a star, recalling Shelley's lines in Hellas,
Kings are like stars ; they rise and set, they have
The worship of the world, but no repose.
Chorus.
Worlds on worlds are rolling ever
From creation to decay,
Like the bubbles on a river,
Sparkling, bursting, borne away.
But they are still immortal
Who, through birth's orient portal
And death's dark chasm hurrying to and fro,
Clothe their unceasing flight
In the brief dust and light
Gathered around their chariots as they go.
The form of Pitt himself (not unlike the portraits of him) is
full of dignity, as of one doing " the Almighty's orders " :
" Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, and arm thy-
self with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath ;
and behold every one that is proud, and abase him." In his
right hand is a cord or bar of iron : " Canst thou draw out
leviathan with an hook ? or his tongue with a cord that thou
lettest down ?" In Behemoth notice the eye, or other spot, in
his belly : the eyes of brute beasts are in their stomachs, and
of Behemoth it is written : " his force is in the navel of his
belly."
1O37. WELSH SLATE QUARRIES.
" Old" Crome (1768-1821).
John, called "Old" Crome to distinguish him from his eldest son
J. B. Crome, who was also a landscape painter of repute, was the son
of a Norwich weaver, and was for a time a doctor's errand boy.
Afterwards he was apprenticed to a coach and sign painter, and
coming across a collection of Dutch and Flemish pictures in the
neighbourhood, attained so much proficiency that he was able to
establish himself as a drawing master. An idea of his large practice
may be obtained from the fact that he required to keep two horses to
go his rounds. He seldom exhibited in London ; but occasionally
went up there on visits staying, when he did so, with Sir W. Beechey,
who had befriended him from the first. Crome had married young,
and had a large family ; and could spare only the leisure from his work
as a drawing master to paint pictures. In 1803 he founded the
472 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Society of Norwich Artists ; but even then was not above the humblest
of odd jobs. There is a receipt of his in existence, dated May 27,
1803, for i : is. for "Painting Ye Lame Dog," and 55. for
"Writing and Gilding Ye Maid's Head." Only once did Crome
give himself the luxury of a foreign journey. This was in 1814, when
he went to Paris, and his letters thence to his wife show a simple and
homely disposition. " I shall make this journey pay," he says ; "I
shall be very cautious how I lay out my money. I have seen some
shops. They ask treble what they will take ; so you may suppose
what a set they are." Crome's affection for his art is well illustrated
by the record of his dying words. "When evidently wandering,"
relates Mr. Wodderspoon (J. Crome and his Works, 1876), "he put
his hands out of bed and made motions as if painting, and said,
' There there there's a touch that will do now another, that's
it beautiful !' and the very day of his death he earnestly charged
his eldest son, who was sitting by his bed, never to forget the dignity
of art. 'John, my boy,' he said, 'paint, but paint for fame; and if
your subject is only a pig-stye dignify it.' " He painted mostly from
the scenery around his native Norwich, and the chief impressiveness
of his pictures arises from the feeling of solitude which he makes
them convey. This picture, for instance, of desolate hills, on which
men work at the quarry, creates a forcible impression of loneliness and
labour.
1237. VIEW ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH.
/. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under 1235, p. 459.
Particularly interesting from the cattle which the artist has
introduced peacefully grazing. The scene is curiously similar
to that of which we are told as having been Landseer's first
studio. That painter used to be taken, when a mere child, to
Hampstead Heath, where, thirty years ago, " the creatures
grazed or stood as nearly in a state of nature as civilisation
permits to any of their kind in England."
348. VIEW ON THE DUTCH COAST.
Sir A. W. Callcott (1779-1844). See under 343, p. 464.
Presumably a copy from a Dutch picture, as the costume
of the figures belongs to an earlier period.
1236. HAMPSTEAD HEATH: "THE SALT-BOX."
J, Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under 1235, p. 459.
A view taken from " The Judges' Walk," or farther on in
the same direction, looking towards Hendon, with Harrow-on-
the-Hill in the distance. Next to his native Suffolk, Constable
loved Hampstead Heath, on which he passed so many years of
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 473
his life. Suffolk sufficed to teach him the beauties of " dewy
pastures, dewy trees," but the critics all agree in seeing fresh
charms in his pictures after he had come to love the H amp-
stead skies. If there be any who are unconvinced of the
desirability of preserving the Heath as a health resort for
London, they should be confronted with the blue distances and
breezy spaces of this and the companion picture (1237) which
Miss Isabel Constable has presented (1887) to the Gallery.
1065. SKETCH OF A CORNFIELD.
John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under 1235, p. 459.
1179. A LANDSCAPE.
Patrick Nasmyth (1768-1831). See under 380, p. 458.
318. A WOODLAND DANCE : " FETE CHAMPETRE."
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834). See under 1069, p. 465.
" Again with feathered feet we bound,
Dancing in a festive round ;
Again the sprightly music warms,
Songs delight, and beauty charms !
Debonair, and light and gay,
Thus we dance the hours away."
1181. ON THE SEA-SHORE.
William Mulready, R.A. (1786-1863).
See under XX. 394, p. 497-
1208. WILLIAM GODWIN (1756-1836).
/ Opie, R.A. (1761-1807).
John Oppy, or Opie, as he called himself, was born near Truro, the
son of a carpenter. From a very early age he was distinguished by
skill in arithmetic and penmanship, whilst his love of drawing, though
sternly repressed by his father, was encouraged by his mother. He
attracted the attention of Dr. Wolcot (the satirist, " Peter Pindar ),
who was then practising as a physician at Truro. He took the boy in
his household, and after some lessons in portrait painting brought him
up to London. Wolcot showed him off as the self-taught " Cornish
Wonder." His first picture at the Academy was exh.bited in 1782 ;
he was made R.A. in 1787. For some time he was the talk of the
town. " He was a peasant," says Allan Cunningham, and therefo,
a novelty ; he could paint, and that was a wonder. So eager were tl
nobility and gentry to crowd into his gallery (in Orange Court,
Leicester Fields), that their coaches became a nuisance ; and the painter
jestingly said to one of his brethren, 'I must plant cannon at my
door to keep the multitude off.'" This fever soon reached Us cold fit.
474 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
But a little while, and not a coroneted equipage was to be seen in his
street, whereupon Opie applied himself with the greater diligence to im-
prove both his drawing and his culture. " Other artists," said his rival
Northcote, "paint to live; Opie lives to paint." "Mr. Opie," said
Home Tooke, " crowds more wisdom into a few words than almost any
man I ever knew." " Had Mr. Opie turned his powers of mind," said
Sir James Mackintosh, " to the study of philosophy, he would have
been one of the first philosophers of the age. " Instead of that he
painted portraits and amongst them this one, of the first political
philosopher of the age. In 1805 he was made Professor of Painting
at the Academy. His lectures were afterwards published, and amongst
his other writings, we should here remember, was a Letter advocating
the formation of a National Gallery. He died of congestion of the
brain, and was buried by the side of Reynolds, in St. Paul's. He was
twice married. His first marriage, to the daughter of a pawnbroker,
was unhappy, and he had to sue for a divorce. His second wife, who
long survived him, was the Amelia Opie whose tales and poems had
much vogue with lady readers of a generation or two ago.
A portrait exactly corresponding to the written descriptions
of the great " philosophical radical " the remarkable man who,
starting from Calvinism, ended in free thought, and who,
though advocating free love, was himself the most passionless
of men. " In person," says S. C. Hall, in his Memories of
Great Men, "he was remarkably sedate and solemn, re-
sembling in dress and manner a dissenting minister rather than
the advocate of ' free thought ' in all things religious, moral,
social, and intellectual ; he was short and stout, his clothes
loosely and carelessly put on, and usually old and worn ; his
hands were generally in his pockets ; he had a remarkably large,
bald head, and a weak voice ; seeming generally half asleep
when he walked, and even when he talked. Few who saw
this man of calm exterior, quiet manners, and inexpressive
features, could have believed him to have originated three
romances Falkland, Caleb Williams, and St. Leon, not yet
forgotten because of their terrible excitements ; and the work,
Political Justice, which for a time created a sensation that was
a fear in every state of Europe. . . . Southey said of him,
in 1797, 'He has large noble eyes, and a nose oh! most
abominable nose.' "
926. THE WINDMILL.
Old Crome (1768-1821). See under 1037, p. 471.
A scene probably on the same desolate Household Heath,
near Norwich, that is painted in 689, p. 476. There is something
ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL 475
even more impressive here, from the addition of the man going
wearily home from his work, of the donkeys types of plodding
labour, and of the windmill painted not in the pleasant
" picturesqueness of ruin," but in the solitude of serviceable-
ness. "There is a dim type of all melancholy human labour
in it, catching the free winds, and setting them to turn
grindstones. It is poor work for the winds ; better indeed,
than drowning sailors or tearing down forests, but not their
proper work of marshalling the clouds, and bearing the
wholesome rains to the place where they are ordered to fall,
and fanning the flowers and leaves when they are faint with
heat. Turning round a couple of stones, for the mere
pulverisation of human food, is not noble work for the winds.
So, also, of all low labour to which one sets human souls. It
is better than no labour ; and, in a still higher degree, better
than destructive wandering of imagination ; but yet, that
grinding in the darkness, for mere food's sake, must be
melancholy work enough for many a living creature. All
men have felt it so ; and this grinding at the mill, whether it
be breeze or soul that is set to it, we cannot much rejoice in "
(Modern Painters, vol. iv. pt. v. ch. i. n a passage
describing a not dissimilar mill by Turner, set, as this one is,
" dark against the sky, yet proud, and on the hill-top "). One
may deepen one's impression from the picture by remembering
that Crome himself must many a day have returned home on
his pony by the pathway yonder from his " grinding at the
mill " as a drawing master.
725. AN EXPERIMENT WITH THE AIR-PUMP.
Wright of Derby (i 734-1 797)-
"Joseph Wright, commonly called from his birthplace, Wright of
Derby, was born in 1734 ; his father was an attorney and town-clerk
of Derby. In 1751 he visited London, and entered the school of
Hudson, the portrait painter, the master of Reynolds. He established
himself as a portrait painter at Derby, but acquired his reputation by
fire or candle-light subjects, in which he especially excelled. 1 In 1773
he married, and went with his wife and John Dowman, the painter,
to Italy, where he resided for two years, chiefly in Rome.
the good fortune while at Naples to witness a fine eruption of Mount
Vesuvius, of which he painted an effective picture ; he also painted the
i Wright on one occasion offered to exchange works with Wilson.
"With all my heart," said Wilson ; " I'll give you air, and you will give
me fire."
476 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
periodical display of fireworks from the Castle of St Angelo at Rome,
known as the Girandola. In 1775 ne returned to England with his
family (a daughter was born in Rome), and set up at first at Bath ; but
not finding the success he anticipated, he removed in 1777 to Derby,
where he was well known and better appreciated ; and there he
remained until his death in 1797. In 1782 he was elected an
associate of the Academy ; but finding Edmund Garvey, a landscape
painter, elected to the full honours before him, in 1784 he withdrew
his name from the Academy books. Like Hogarth and Copley,
Wright painted in the solid old English method, and his pictures are
still in perfect preservation " (compressed from the Official Catalogue).
A family party is grouped round a table to see an experi-
ment with the air-pump, which was still somewhat of a novelty
in England. "The experimenting philosopher is in the act of
restoring the air to an exhausted receiver, into which a parrot
has been placed to experiment upon. The bird is just recover-
ing its vitality, to the great relief of two young girls present,
who thought it dead. The light proceeds from a candle,
concealed from the spectator by a sponge in a glass bowl of
water" (Official Catalogue).
689. MOUSEHOLD HEATH, NEAR NORWICH.
Old Crome (1768-1821). See under 1037, p. 471.
"A work the simplicity of which is so great that only a
master could have imparted to it any character. It represents
a vast slope of pale verdure, which, from a foreground covered
with flowering grass and heath, rises rapidly towards the sky.
Great golden clouds float on the rounded summit of the hill.
There is nothing more. With so little subject as this, Crome has
yet given the truest representation of solitude and stillness. In
this plot of ground, which not a breath of wind ruffles, not a
sound disturbs, one might imagine oneself as far from the
busy town as anywhere in the world. It is the desert in its
majesty" (Chesneau : The English School^ pp. 122, 123).
1167. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT GODWIN.*
/. Opie, R.A. (1761-1807). See under 1208.
A portrait of the remarkable woman famous as the author
of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and as the mother
1 The portrait was bought as such at the sale of Mr. W. Russell's pictures
in 1884 ; but Mr. C. Kegan Paul whose Life of William Godwin is well
known wrote to the Times (January 6, 1885) as soon as the picture was
hung, throwing doubt upon its authenticity. Mr. Paul, after comparing
it with another portrait of her by Opie which is in Sir Percy Shelley's
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 477
of Shelley's second wife. She is represented reading, as befits
one so thoughtful and intellectual ; but there is much womanly
tenderness in the face also, and the portrait seems to reflect
the brief period of calm that followed her marriage to Godwin
(1796) and ended her stormy life (1759-1797). It must
have been not long after this portrait was taken that she died
in giving birth to the daughter, who, with her mother, was
afterwards to be immortalised in Shelley's verse
They say that thou wert lovely from thy birth,
Of glorious parents thou aspiring child.
I wonder not for One then left this earth
Whose life was like a setting planet mild,
Which clothed thee in the radiance undefiled
Of its departing glory.
The Revolt of Islam.
129. JOHN JULIUS ANGERSTEIN.
Sir 71 Lawrence, P.R.A. (1760-1830).
See under 144, p. 445.
A portrait of particular interest for its own excellence, for
the connection of the sitter with the National Gallery, and for
the relations between him and the artist. Lawrence was closely
attached, as we shall see, to Angerstein, and " has expended
his best powers on this portrait of the keen-spirited, sagacious
old man. In the individual truth of nature and of character,
in careful finish and brilliance and depth of colouring, he never
surpassed it" (Mrs. Jameson). As for the sitter himself, it
is somewhat curious that the man who in a sense founded the
National Gallery of England should have been a Russian.
Angerstein was born at St. Petersburg, but settled in England
when he was fifteen, and from an under-writer at Lloyd's rose
by his abilities and assiduity to be one of the chief merchants
and bankers of his time. Policies which he took up were by
possession, and the authenticity of which is undisputed, pronounced
it to be certainly not a genuine portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft. The
face, he said, was like, but much older ; and he concluded that it was an
early forgery, perpetrated for the engraving in the Monthly Mirror in 1796.
Sir F. Burton, the Director of the Gallery, replied ( Times, January 7,
1885), saying on the contrary that the two portraits were unmistakably
alike. In Sir Percy Shelley's she is apparently about twenty-five ; here she
is nearer forty. Her hair is doubtless powdered in the fashion of the time.
She died when she was thirty-eight ; and Sir F. Burton concludes that this
was the portrait painted for Godwin by Opie, Sir Percy Shelley's being an
earlier one.
478 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
way of distinction called "Julians." He helped to establish
the modern " Lloyd's," and procured the passing of an Act
forbidding shipowners to re-baptize unsea worthy vessels. He
devised a scheme of State lotteries, and otherwise played an
important part in high finance. In 1811 he retired on a
princely fortune, and spent his life between his house in Pall
Mall and his country -place at Blackheath. He was well
known as a philanthropist and a man of private generosity,
but better still as an amateur of the arts. His famous collec-
tion, which formed the nucleus of the National Gallery, and
contained (as may be seen from Index II.) many of its greatest
treasures, was formed with the assistance of Benjamin West
and Sir T. Lawrence. Of the latter he was a great friend and
patron, and Lawrence was further attached to him in business
relations. The painter was a spendthrift and a wretched man
of business. He started his professional career deeply in
debt, and in spite of his large income he never got out of it.
It was to Angerstein that he used to apply for "accommodation,"
and his income was at one time entirely mortgaged to the
banker to liquidate large advances. Angerstein died in 1823,
at the age of eighty-eight, and by his will directed that his
pictures in his Pall Mall house should be sold. It was the
purchase of them by the State that formed the nucleus of the
National Gallery.
323. THE RAFFLE FOR A WATCH.
Edward Bird, R.A. (1762-1819)
A scene in a country tavern, such as the artist himself has doubt-
less often observed, for he was the son of a journeyman carpenter,
and was brought up as a japanner. It was genre subjects, such as these,
by which he first made his reputation ; but on coming up to London
and being elected R.A. (1814), he took to historical compositions,
of which two of the most important may now be seen at Stafford
House.
1238. SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY (1757-1818).
Sir T. Lawrence, P. R.A. (1760-1830). See under 144, p. 445.
" Lawrence made coxcombs of his sitters," it has been said.
But the expression here in its mingled benignity and penetra-
tion is worthy of the great lawyer by whose eloquence and
mild insistence the barbarity of our penal code was first abated.
ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL 479
1163. THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS (after Chaucer).
T. Stothard (1755-1 834). See under 1069, p. 465.
The Pilgrims, now safely on their way from the Tabard at
Southwark, are ambling along, in the fresh spring morning,
through the pretty fields of Peckham and Dulwich, such as
they were in Stothard's time when he made expeditions to the
Old Kent Road to get his local colour. The Miller, " stout
carl" that he is, is riding away well to the front
A whit cote and a blew hood werede he,
A baggepipe wel cowde he blowe and sowne,
And therewithal he broughte us out of towne.
After him, turning round to the company, rides the Host
A large man he was with eyghen stepe.
The artist has selected the moment when the Host stops his
steed, and holding up the lots in his hand, proposes the re-
counting of Tales to beguile the time. Then, riding five
abreast, come (beginning with the farthest from us) the Doctor
of Physic, clad in " sangwyn," and with a grave, stern look,
as suited one who "knew the cause of every maladye."
Next to him we recognise the Merchant by his "forked beard"
and " Flaundrisch bevere hat." Then, after the pale-faced
Serjeant-at-Laiv, rides the fat, jolly Franklin the well-to-do
paterfamilias
Whit was his berde, as is the dayesye.
Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.
Well lovede he by the tnorwe a sop in wyn.
Last in this line is the " verray perfight gentil Knight? great in
battles and victories, but without parade. Exactly behind the
Knight is the Reeve (or bailiff), he
. . . was a sklendre colerik man,
His berd was schave as neigh as evere he can.
He has fallen behind his line, for " evere he rood the hyndreste
of the route." By the side of the Knight, but nearer to us,
rides his Son, "the yung Squyer, a lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,"
who, it is easy to see, thinks a good deal of himself, and loves
to show his prowess in riding. Behind him is his servant, the
Yeman," clad (like Robin Hood) in Lincoln green, and a
pleasant fellow he looks, in his picturesque array
A Cristofre on his brest of silver schene.
An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene.
4 8o ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL
Then comes another group riding five abreast the figure
farthest from us being the Ploughman; and next to him is his
brother, the poor Parson of a town
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
And in adversite ful pacient ; . . .
But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
He taughte, but first he folwede it himselve.
Beside the parson is the Nun's Priest, fat and rubicund, and
then comes the Nun in holy converse with her superior, the'
lady Prioress, " Madame Eglentyne." In the next company,
farthest from us, is the pale-faced student, the Clerk of Oxen-
ford
Fox him was levere have at his beddes heede
Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reede,
Then robes riche, or fithele, or gay sawtrie.
Next to him ndes the Manciple : his face is not shown, for
Chaucer does not describe him : he is looking round, no doubt,
at the Wife of Bath, the centre of general attraction. So also
is Chaucer himself, who comes next. Stothard painted this
picture from a portrait of the poet preserved in the British
Museum, and done probably by Thomas Occleve, Chaucer's
scholar. In front of this group, with his back towards us, is
the Shipman
A daggere hangyng on a laas hadde he
Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.
Then, easily recognisable, is the Wife of Bath. She seems
too young, indeed, " for the merry dame who had buried five
husbands ; but the artist has well contrived to make it evident
that her talk and laugh are loud, by their attracting the atten-
tion of those who are riding before and behind her, as well as
of the persons closest to her." Her dress makes a pretty and
necessary spot of colour in the group
Bold was hire face, and fair, and reed of hewe. . . .
Uppon an amblere esily sche sat,
Ywympled wel, and on hire heed an hat
As brood as is a bokeler or a targe.
Stothard used to tell his friends jocosely that he liked to
take his stand near the the Wife of Bath, listening to her
pleasant and witty sayings. " You will find me," he would say,
" resting by the bridle of her steed." He has represented her
as laughing and coquetting with the Pardoner, who follows
behind, his face radiant with smiles
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Ful lowde he sang, Com hider, love, to me. ...
This pardoner hadde heer as yelwe as wex,
But smothe it heng, as doth a strike of flex. . .
A vernicle hadde he sowed upon his cappe.
His walet lay byforn him in his lappe,
Bret-ful of pardoun come from Rome al hoot.
Behind this couple comes the Sompnour (or crier of the
court), with his " fyr-reed cherubynes face." He wears a gar-
land, as a follower of Bacchus, for
Wai lovede he garleek, oynouns, and ek leekes,
And for to drinke strong wyn reed as blood.
Next comes the Monk, " a lord ful fat and in good poynt."
His companion, nearer to us, is the Friar
... a ful solempne man . . .
Ful sweetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun.
In the rear of the procession follow the traders, in their
liveries, " of a solempne and a gret fraternite*"
An Haberdasshere and a Carpenter,
A Webbe, a Deyere, and a Tapicer.
Last of all rides the Cook, refreshing himself on the way
Wei cowde he knowe a draughte of Londone ale.
ThecircumstancesunderwhichStothardcame to paint thispic-
ture form an interesting chapter in the history of artists'quarrels.
The original idea of painting the Pilgrimage was Blake's. He
was at work on his design, and was soliciting subscriptions for
the engraving from it, when Cromek, the engraver, happened to
come in. He praised the design ; and being of Fuseli's opinion
that " Blake was damned good to steal from," went off to
Stothard and commissioned him to paint the same subject,
which Stothard thereupon put in hand. Blake was furious with
Cromek and with Stothard also whose warm friend he had
been, but who he now rightly or wrongly believed was privy
to Cromek's piracy. The breach between them was never
healed. Stothard's picture was finished first, was exhibited
in May 1807, and proved very popular. There is an
interesting criticism of it in a letter by Hoppner, the artist,
who went to see it and wrote (May 30, 1807) to a friend:
"This intelligent group is rendered still more interesting
by the charm of colouring, which, though simple, is strong,
2 I
482 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
and most harmoniously distributed throughout the picture.
The landscape has a deep-toned brightness which accords most
admirably with the figures ; and the painter has ingeniously
contrived to give a value to a common scene and very ordinary
forms, that would hardly be found by unlearned eyes in the
natural objects. He has expressed, too, with great vivacity
and truth, the freshness of morning at that season when nature
herself is most fresh and blooming the spring ; and it requires
no great stretch of fancy to imagine we perceive the influence
of it on the cheeks of the fair Wife of Bath, and her rosy com-
panions, the Monk and the Friar. In respect of the execution
of this very pleasing design, it is not too much praise to say,
that it is wholly free from that vice which painters term manner;
and it has this peculiarity besides, which I do not remember to
have seen in any picture ancient or modern, namely, that it
bears no mark of the period in which it was painted, but might
very well pass for the work of some able artist of the time of
Chaucer. The effect is not, I believe, the result of any
association of ideas connected with the costume, 1 but appears
in primitive simplicity, and the total absence of all affectation
either of colouring or pencilling." Blake's picture was not
exhibited till May 1 809 ; but it is interesting to note that in
the engraving, Blake forestalled his forestaller. His plate was
published in 1 8 1 o the plate from Stothard, after many vicis-
situdes, in 1813. The latter had, however, a great vogue,
though Stothard himself received nothing for it. For this,
the original picture, he was paid 60 ; it was bought at the
Leigh Court sale in 1884 for ^800.
733. THE DEATH OF MAJOR PEIRSON,
(January 6, 1781).
/. S. Copley, R.A, (1737-1815). See under 787, p. 450.
" The French invaded Jersey, stormed St. Helier, took
the commander prisoner, and compelled him to sign the
1 It is worth mentioning, however, that Stothard took great pains with
his costumes, armour, etc., studying them from MSS. in the British
Museum and from monuments of the period. Blake, in criticising the
critic, remarks that ' ' Mr. H. 's " only just observation was calling the group
' ' a common scene and very ordinary forms, " ' ' for it is so, and very
wretchedly so indeed." " The scene of Mr. S. 's picture," adds Blake, "is
by Dulwich hills, which was not the way to Canterbury ; but perhaps the
painter thought he would give them a ride round about, because they were
a burlesque set of scarecrows, not worth any man's respect or care."
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 483
surrender of the island. Major Peirson, a youth of twenty-
four (upon whom the command then devolved), refused to
yield, collected some troops, charged the invaders with equal
courage and skill, defeated them with much effusion of blood,
but fell himself in the moment of victory, not by a random
shot, but by a ball aimed deliberately at him by a French
officer, who fell in his turn, shot through the heart by the
African servant of the dying victor. It is enough to say in
praise of any work that it is worthy of such a scene. The
first print I ever saw was from this picture. ... I was
very young, not ten years old ; but the scene has ever since
been present to my fancy. I thought then, what I think still,
on looking at the original that it is stamped with true life
and heroism : there is nothing mean, nothing little, the fierce
fight, the affrighted women, the falling warrior, and the
avenging of his death, all are there " (Allan Cunningham, v.
176). The picture was one of Copley's many "Graphic" or
" Illustrated" accounts of memorable scenes in the great war
of his time, and was a commission from Alderman Boydell.
It was subsequently bought by Lord Lyndhurst, who lived on
in his father's house and made it his object to collect his
father's pictures. At the sale of his collection in 1864 it was
bought for the National Gallery.
1177. A LANDSCAPE.
Patrick Nasmyth (1768-1831). See under 380, p. 458.
A picture of some interest from being dated 1831 the
year of the artist's death. In his choice of subject Nasmyth
returned home, as it were, to die the view here shown being
apparently that of a Scotch torrent.
1246. A HOUSE AT HAMPSTEAD.
/ Constable, R.A. (1776-1837). See under 1235, p. 459.
A good instance (in the trees) of the " blottesque " style
which modern art owes, in so large a measure, to Constable,
(see p. 460, n.)
1164. THE PROCESSION FROM CALVARY.
William Blake (1757-1827). See under 1 1 1 o, p. 467.
"The body of Christ, with composed, finely chiselled
features, is borne on a flat bier by four apostles, the foremost
being no doubt John. Nicodemus, a venerable bearded man,
walks midway by the bier, bearing the vase of spices ; the
484 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Virgin and the two Maries follow. The glimpses of the archi-
tecture of Jerusalem have a Gothic character (as introduced by
Blake even in the Job series) ; the three crosses appear in the
distance, under a blue sky streaked with yellow. The whole ex-
pression of the subject is serene and sustained, rather than mourn-
ful" (W. M. Rossetti, in Gilchrist's Life of Blake, 1863, ii. 228).
322. A BATTLE: A SKETCH.
T. Stothard) RA. (1755-1834). See under 1069, p. 465.
1185. NYMPHS AND SATYRS.
T. Stothard, RA. (1755-1834). See under 1069, p. 465.
1067. A QUARRY WITH PEASANTS.
George Morland (1763-1804). See under 1030, p. 456.
320. DIANA BATHING WITH NYMPHS.
T. Stothard, R.A. (1775-1834). See under 1069, p. 465-
107O. CUPIDS PREPARING FOR THE CHASE.
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834). See under 1069, p. 465.
" Stothard's children, whether real or mythologic, are
almost always delightful, and designed with an intimate
knowledge and affection. See the fresh vivacity of this Cupid
sounding his horn ; the earnest and boyish sturdiness of the
little fellow with the long staff behind him ; the grip which the
curly-headed boy in front has of the dog's neck it is all bold,
simple, and alive : while in the city, on a hill in the distance, is
the touch of poetic colour and mysterious suggestion that lifts
the whole scene into the region of romance " (F. Sitwell, in
English Art in the Public Galleries, p. 51).
438. WOOD CUTTERS.
John Linnell (1792-1882).
Linnell was the son of a carver and gilder in London, and was
thus early thrown amongst artists. His first instructors were West
and Varley, and he afterwards entered the Academy Schools." In
1813, when he was toiling at portraits, miniatures, and engravings, he
was introduced to Blake, whom he asked to help him. He remained
to the end the chief friend and stay of Blake's declining years ; it was
he who commissioned Blake to do both the Job and the Dante series,
and he did many other services to Blake and his wife. Another
intimate friend of LinnelFs was Mulready, with whom he lived for a
time. Linnell is now best known for his landscapes, generally of some
quiet English scene made impressive by sunrise or sunset effects or
ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL 485
storm (as in XX. 439, p. 499), but fifty years ago he was more famous for
his portraits of Peel and Carlyle amongst others, several of which he
afterwards engraved. He also published other illustrated ' ' Galleries, " as
well as several works on Biblical criticism, to which he devoted much
of his leisure. He was a frequent exhibitor at the Academy, but was
never elected to its membership, and late in life he is said to have
refused the offer of Associateship. He was, however, able to sell his
pictures for large sums, and in 1852 he removed to a property which
he purchased at Redhill. Mr. Ruskin, writing in 1 848 of a picture by
Linnell, referred to the close study pursued by him " through many
laborious years, characterised by an observance of nature scrupulously
and minutely patient, directed by the deepest sensibility, and aided by
a power of drawing almost too refined for landscape subjects, and only
to be understood by reference to his engravings after Michael Angelo "
(Modern Painters, vol. ii. , Addenda).
An open space in the outskirts of Windsor Forest, such as
Pope has described
There, interspers'd in lawns and opening glades,
Thin trees arise that shun each other's shades.
SO. THE MARKET CART.
T.Gainsborough, RA. (1727-1788). SeeunderXVl. 760,^396.
897. A VIEW AT CHAPELFIELDS, NORWICH.
Old Crome (1768-1821). See under 1037, p. 471.
311. COUNTRY CHILDREN.
T.Gainsborough,R.A. (1727-1788). See under XVI. 760,^396.
1178. A LANDSCAPE.
Patrick Nasmyth (1768-1831). See under 380, p. 458.
A characteristic piece of the park scenery on the outskirts
of London in Hertfordshire, perhaps which Nasmyth loved
to paint.
100. THE EARL OF CHATHAM'S LAST SPEECH
(April 7, 1778).
/. S. Copley, R.A. (1737-1815). See under 787, p. 45-
The scene represented took place in the old House of Lords
(the Painted Chamber) on the occasion of the debate upon
an address moved by the Duke of Richmond against the
further prosecution of hostilities with the American Colonies.
The portraits of the Duke and of the other fifty-three peers-
all in their state robes may be made out from the explan-
atory key below the picture. Chatham was bitterly opposed
to the " dismemberment of the Empire ;" and in spite of failing
486 ROOM XVIII: ENGLISH SCHOOL
health and growing infirmities, which had for some time caused
him to absent himself from Parliament, resolved to come
down and speak against the Duke of Richmond's motion.
" When the Duke had spoken, Chatham rose. For some time
his voice was inaudible. At length his tones became distinct
and his action animated. Here and there his hearers caught
a thought or an expression which reminded them of William
Pitt. But it was clear that he was not himself. He lost the
thread of his discourse, hesitated, repeated the same words
several times, and was so confused that in speaking of the Act
of Settlement he could not recall the name of the Electress
Sophia. The House listened in solemn silence, and with the
aspect of profound respect and compassion. The stillness
was so deep that the dropping of a handkerchief would have
been heard. The Duke of Richmond replied with great
tenderness and courtesy ; but while he spoke, the old man was
observed to be restless and irritable. The Duke sat down.
Chatham stood up again, pressed his hand on his breast, and
sank down in an apoplectic fit Three or four lords who sat
near him caught him in his fall. The House broke up in
confusion. The dying man was carried to the residence of one
of the officers of Parliament, and was so far restored as to
be able to bear a journey to Hayes. At Hayes, after linger-
ing a few weeks, he expired in his seventieth year " (Macaulay's
Essays : " The Earl of Chatham ").
This picture, commonly called " The Death of Chatham,"
was immensely popular at the time it was painted, and its early
history is interesting as giving one of the first instances of the
" one picture shows " now so common. The innovation was
by no means relished ; and Sir William Chambers, the architect,
wrote to Copley on the subject as follows : " No one wishes
Mr. Copley greater success, nor is more sensible of his merit
than his humble servant ; who, if he may be allowed to give
his opinion, thinks no place so proper as the Royal Exhibition
to promote either the sale of prints or the raffle for the picture,
which he understands are Mr. Copley's motives ; or, if that
should be objected to, he thinks no place so proper as Mr.
Copley's own house, where the idea of a raree-show will not be
quite so striking as in any other place, and where his own pres-
ence will not fail to be of service to his views." This sarcasm
did not interfere with the success of the exhibition ; and when
Bartolozzi's engraving from the picture was published, 2500
ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL 487
copies were sold within a few weeks. The picture was pre-
sented to the nation by Lord Liverpool the minister under
whom the National Gallery was founded.
321. " INTEMPERANCE."
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834). See under 1069, p. 465.
This is the sketch for one of the large compositions
which Stothard, fresh from studying Rubens, painted at
Burghley, the seat of the Marquis of Exeter, during the
summers 1799-1802. The subject is "Mark Antony and
Cleopatra," surrounded with various allegorical figures, and the
moment chosen is when Cleopatra, in one of the feasts given
to Antony, at Alexandria, melted pearls into the cups to make
the entertainment more sumptuous.
1O72, 1O73. THE EARL OF CHATHAM'S LAST
SPEECH.
/. S. Copley, R.A. (1737-1815). See tinder 787, p. 450.
These two sketches in monochrome are preparatory studies
for the large picture above (100, p. 485).
31O. WOODY LANDSCAPE: SUNSET.
T. Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788).
See under XVI. 760, p. 396.
Yet another " watering-place" (cf. XVI. 109 and XVII. 309,
pp. 408, 442). As a landscape painter, Gainsborough is like the
rustics of Gray's Elegy; "his sober wishes never learned to stray"
beyond the gentle scenery of his Suffolk home. " He was well
read," he once wrote, " in the volume of Nature, and that was
learning sufficient for him;" and he preferred the old, old chapter
that he knew to opening new pages in the book. " He painted
portraits," he said at another time, " for money, and landscapes
because he loved them." They often indeed returned to him
from the exhibitions unsold, "till they stood," says Sir W.
Beechey, " ranged in long lines from his hall to his painting
room." This picture was among them, being one of those
that were included in the sale of his effects in 1789.
1158. HARLECH CASTLE.
James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859)-
James Ward, a distinguished animal and landscape painter, born in
Thames Street, London, was originally placed with J. R. Smith, the
engraver, and afterwards with an elder brother, William, also an
488 ROOM XVIII : ENGLISH SCHOOL
engraver. This was the branch of art which he first practised, but he
subsequently took to painting, and became a disciple of Morland, whose
sister he married, whilst Morland married Miss Ward. Besides studying
with Morland, Ward also attended diligently at a school of anatomy.
" The effect of this course of study," says Mr. Boughton (English Art in
the Public Galleries, p. 68), " became immediately apparent in his work.
There was perhaps, if anything, an over -insisted -on correctness and
hardness at first in his reaction against Morland's looser and lighter
style. There was no longer any hesitation in the structural parts of
bone or muscle ; the vagueness, the generalisation, and the convenient
masses of shadow had given place to a hard and fast definition of
correctness worthy of a professor of anatomy. " This over-insisted-on
anatomy is very conspicuous in his cattle-pieces, see XX. 1 175, p. 495,
and 688 (staircase, p. 648). But " he saw too," adds Mr. Boughton,
" by the same process of analysis, deeper and with a more geological
eye beneath the surface of landscape. He looked upon nature no
longer as a vague bit of background to his figures or animals, to be
generalised into a fitting and helping bit of colour scheme ; he saw it
with large inquiring eyes, and found in the older masters of nobly
selected and treated landscape, like Titian, Rubens, and Rembrandt
a more sympathetic grasp and treatment." Ward was elected
A.R.A. in 1807, and R.A. in 1811.
" Full of observation and movement. A prostrate tree-
trunk is a prominent figure in the scene, for it seems almost
human. The brawny woodman who has felled it still hacks at
its sprawling limbs. A great, heavy-wheeled timber waggon
writhes and crunches down the hill, laden with hewn logs. In
a curiously small space we see the struggling contorted team
of powerful horses dragging at their heavy load. Old women
are gathering faggots with real movement and interest, and far
away stretches ' a lusty plaine, abundant of vitaille,' that re-
minds one of Chaucer's description of his magnificent Italian
landscape" (G. H. Boughton, A.R.A., in English Art in the
Public Galleries, p. 69).
Room XIX. is devoted to part of the Tttrner Collection. In
order to see the whole of that collection together, visitors will
find it more convenient to now proceed to Rooms XX. and
XXI. ; after which they will find themselves in Room XXII. ,
where the principal Turner Pictures are hung. They can then
retrace their steps to the remaining Turner Pictures in Room
XIX. , from which room is the exit from the Gallery.
ROOM XX
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL (Continued)
446 THE PRIDE OF THE VILLAGE.
J. C. Horsley, R.A. (born 1817: still living).
John Callcott Horsley son of the well-known musician, and grand-
nephew of Callcott, the artist first appeared as an exhibitor at the
Academy in 1839 with the present picture. He was elected A, R.A.
in 1855, and R.A. in 1864. He has also been identified with the
cause periodically advocated in the Times newspaper by the " British
Matron." He is now Treasurer and Trustee of the Academy, and has
taken an active part in promoting the annual exhibitions of the " Old
Masters." The fresco of "Religion" in the House of Lords was ex-
ecuted by him in 1845. "There is always a sweet feeling in Mr.
Horsley's pictures," says Mr. Ruskin (Academy Notes, 1856, p. 25) ;
and this, like the one of which he then spoke, " is an old story, but
prettily told."
" She never even mentioned her lover's name, but would lay
her head on her mother's bosom and weep in silence. In this
way she was seated between her parents one Sunday afternoon ;
the lattice was thrown open, and the scft air that stole in
brought with it the fragrance of the clustering honeysuckle which
her own hands had trained round the window. A tear trembled
in her soft blue eye. Was she thinking of her faithless lover ?
or were her thoughts wandering to that distant churchyard
into whose bosom she might soon be gathered ?" (Washington
Irving's Sketch Book).
490 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
99. THE BLIND FIDDLER.
Sir David Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841).
Wilkie, the most celebrated of British genre painters, is particularly
well represented in the National Gallery this and the next picture being
admirable specimens of his first manner, and the "John Knox" in the
next room (894, p. 567) one of the best-known in his second manner.
In this latter style he appears as what is called an ' ' historical painter ; "
but it is in his earlier style, when he set himself with minute fidelity to
paint what he himself had seen, that he is in the only true sense an
historical painter, and it is as such that he has the best claim to remem-
brance. Regarding Wilkie from this point of view, every visitor who
has previously been through the Dutch rooms will recognise the resem-
blance to the work of that school. " I have seen some pictures by
Teniers," Wilkie wrote when he first went up to London, " which for
clear touching certainly go to the height of human perfection in art."
Wilkie borrowed pictures by Teniers and Ostade whenever he could ;
and whilst he was painting this picture of the " Blind Fiddler" he had a
Teniers all the time on his easel. And in the opinion of his contempor-
aries, the disciple out-did the master. Jackson the artist (see 1 24, p.
531) was once present (in 1806) when Sir George Beaumont and Lord
Mulgrave were praising the Dutch School. " I will find you a young
Scotsman," he said, " who is second to no Dutchman that ever bore a
palette on his thumb." He took them to see the " Village Politicians "
the first important picture that Wilkie had painted, and they " were so
electrified with it that they each gave him a commission " one for the
" Blind Fiddler," the other for the " Rent Day." What Jackson said
of Wilkie's work was that it was " quite equal to Teniers in handling,
and superior in the telling of the story." An artistic critic of our own
time makes this same point. In Dutch genre pictures, he says, " though
the figures represented are living figures, they are silent and still, and
will remain still, and might so remain for ever. . . . English pictures
are equally true as mere presentment, and true with the magic of motion.
. . . The Dutch artist shows exactly what he saw ; English work unites
you with the artist's feeling, and carries you with his thought " (Mr.
Woolner, in English Art in the Public Galleries, p. 131). Compare
Wilkie's " Village Festival "here with Teniers's "Village Fete"(XII. 952,
p. 300), and the truth of the criticism will at once become apparent. The
other painter with whom it is interesting to compare Wilkie is Hogarth.
When Sir George Beaumont became possessed of Hogarth's maul-stick
he resolved to retain it until he should find a genius worthy of the gift.
No sooner did he see the "Village Politicians" than he hastened to
transfer it to Wilkie. The points of resemblance between the artists
are obvious their attention to the life of their own day, their shrewd-
ness of observation, their minute wealth of detail, their sense of humour.
"But of what shades and differences," says Bulwer, "is not humour
capable ? Now it loses itself in terror, now it broadens into laughter.
What a distance from the Mephistopheles of Goethe to the Sir Roger
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 491
de Coverley of Addison, or from Sir Roger de Coverley to Humphrey
Clinker ! What an illimitable space from the dark power of Hogarth
to the graceful tenderness of Wilkie. Wilkie is the Goldsmith of painters,
in the amiable and pathetic humour, in the combination of smiles and
tears, of the familiar and the beautiful. He is the exact illustration of
the power and dignity of the popular school in the hands of a master ;
dignified, for truth never loses a certain majesty, even in her most
familiar shapes." It was in rendering the actual life around him that
Wilkie became great. "Wilkie was an historical painter, Chantrey an
historical sculptor, because they painted, or carved, the veritable things
and men they saw, not men and things as they believed they might
have been, or should have been. But no one tells such men they are
historical painters, and they are discontented with what they do ; and
poor Wilkie must needs travel to see the grand school, and imitate the
grand school, and ruin himself " (Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture
and Painting, p. 219).
These two periods in Wilkie's art correspond with two in his life,
though the change from the former to the latter was occasioned by
a desire to improve his health more than to improve his style. He
was the son of a Scottish minister, and was born at Cults, on the banks
of Eden Water. His talent for drawing was developed very early,
and the direction it was to take was shown by the picture he painted
at home when he was nineteen. It was of "A Country Fair at
Pitlessie"; "for which I have the advantage," he wrote, "of our
herd boy and some children who live about the place as standers, and
I now see how superior painting from nature is to anything that our
imagination, assisted by our memory, can conceive." Wilkie intro-
duced his father also, and the minister was much scandalised at being
shown talking to a publican, until it was suggested that he was
warning the man of the wickedness of drink. The young man sold
this picture for .5, came up to London, and studied at the Academy
schools. The story of his student days industrious and thrifty, but
happy and full of aspiration, and of his friendship with Haydon, is
one of the pleasantest chapters in the history of British art. His
"Village Politicians" was exhibited in 1806, and was very favourably
noticed in the papers. "I was in the clouds," says Haydon, "hurried
over my breakfast, rushed away, met Jackson, who joined me, and we
both bolted into Wilkie's room. I roared out, ' Wilkie, my boy, your
name's in the paper !'' Is it rea-al-ly,' said David. I read the
puff we huzzaed, and taking hands, all three danced round the table
until we were tired." Next day the friends went arm-in-arm to the
gallery. There was no getting near the picture, "sideways or edge-
ways." Wilkie, pale as death, kept saying: "Dear, dear, it's just
wonderful." From this time forward his success was assured and
continuous, though it is worth noting that the prices he obtained for his
pictures were very moderate ; indeed, his modesty in this matter was
proverbial. For his celebrated " Rent Day " he asked 50, but was
paid \ 50 ; the picture subsequently sold for 2000. Wilkie's relations
492 ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
with Haydon afterwards cooled, but more because Haydon was soured
by failure than because Wilkie was corrupted by success. He was
elected A.R.A. in 1809, and R.A. in 1811 ; and was as much in re-
quest in social circles as in artistic. Amongst his other friendships was one
dating from student days, with Collins, the painter (see 352, p. 508),
a friendship commemorated in the name of his godson, Wilkie Collins.
In 1823 Wilkie was appointed "Limner for the King in Scotland,"
and this was the culminating point in his career, for next year
misfortunes came thick upon him. Some of his dearest friends died,
he suffered heavy losses from a commercial breakdown, and was
afflicted with serious nervous debility. It was for the sake of his
health that in 1825 he set out for three years' travel on the continent.
His ambition to succeed in the grand style was already formed, for
he had begun his "John Knox" in 1822, but it was his foreign tour
and the admiration he thus conceived for the old masters, especially
for Correggio, Rembrandt, and Velazquez, that caused him to now
appear exclusively as an historical and portrait painter. In 1830, on
the death of Sir Thomas Lawrence, Wilkie succeeded him as " Painter
in Ordinary to the King." He was also a candidate for the presidency
of the Academy, but obtained only one vote, that of his friend Collins.
But the royal favour did not desert him. He was knighted by
George IV. in 1836, and next year, on the accession of Queen
Victoria, was commanded to paint Her Majesty's First Council
(exhibited at the "Old Masters," 1887). In 1840 he again set out in
search of health this time to the East. He went to Constantinople,
the Holy Land, and Egypt. He complained of illness while at
Alexandria, and on June i, 1841, he died suddenly on board the
Oriental steamer, off Gibraltar. The picture of his burial at sea
(XIX. 528, p. 637), which Turner exhibited at the Academy next
year, was typical of the deep impression that his loss made upon
the nation.
This picture was painted for Sir George Beaumont, as
described above, in 1807, when the artist was twenty-two, and
is full both of the elaborate detail and of the humorous obser-
vation that distinguish Wilkie's earlier work. " Music hath
charms " in the farmhouse as well as in the hall The
mother tosses her baby to the tune of the fiddle ; the father
snaps his fingers ; the boy mimics the musician ; and the girl
listens intently, not pleased, it would seem, at her brother's
tricks. Even the dog is intent upon the music, though he
does not quite relish, perhaps, an intrusion which distracts all
attention from him. The one discordant note, as it were, is
the group of the fiddler's wife and child, who have no ear
for the music : there is a touch of shrewd observation in thus
making those alone unmindful of the music for whom it is not
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 493
an art, but merely the means to a meal. But, indeed, the whole
picture was studied closely from the life. Wilkie, when
painting it, had one eye on the Teniers which hung, as
mentioned above, on his easel, but another on the live model.
The hands of all the figures were painted from Wilkie's own,
and the girl leaning over the back of the chair is said to be very
like what the artist himself was at the time, " a raw, tall, pale,
queer Scotchman," as Jackson described him. The subject of
the picture had already been introduced by Wilkie as one of
the incidents in his picture of " Pitlessie Fair," and there is a
humorous piece of home recollection, perhaps, in the sketches
of the human and animal form pasted on the wainscot "behind
the hope of the family artist and musician of equal power "
(Arrows of the Chace, i. 10). For Wilkie, when a very small
boy, used to decorate the walls of his nursery with his
sketches ; he " could draw," he says, " before he could read,
and paint before he could spell." Notice also, in the right-
hand corner, the spinning-wheel and distaff, of a type still made
here and there by Scottish workmen.
453. INTERIOR OF A HIGHLAND COTTAGE.
Alexander Fraser (1786-1865).
Fraser, like Wilkie, whose assistant he was, was a student in the
" Trustees' Academy " at Edinburgh. He was an Associate of the
Royal Scottish Academy, and an exhibitor from 1823 to 1848 of
pictures in the style of Wilkie at the Academy in London.
122. THE VILLAGE FESTIVAL.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under 99, p. 49.
The title originally given to the picture was " The Ale-
house Door," and the host on the left serving two guests (one
of them a portrait of Listen, the actor) might stand for a
personification of John Barleycorn
Inspiring, bold John Barleycorn,
What dangers thou canst make us scorn !
In the centre of the picture is a country fellow, divided
between the dangerous invitations of his companions and the
appeal of his wiser half
On ae hand, drink's deadly poison
Bare ilk firm resolve awa',
On the ither, Jean's condition
Rave his very heart in twa.
494 ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
On the other side of the picture is an elderly woman sternly
contemplating her " fou " and hopelessly impenitent son. The
painter's treatment of such incidents in the Festival is
characteristic of the contrast between him and Hogarth.
Wilkie is " a pleased spectator," as Mr. Austin Dobson puts it,
rather than "an angry censor." From the technical point of
view, the picture is commonly blamed on the ground that the
figures are too small for the extent of canvas. It was finished.
in 1811 for Mr. Angerstein, and cost Wilkie much labour.
The allusions in his Diary to studies for it are frequent, and
begin as early as 1808. In 1812 it was included in an ex-
hibition of his pictures which Wilkie held in Pall Mall. The
exhibition was not a financial success, and the " Village
Festival " was distrained for rent an incident, it is said, which
gave the painter the first idea of his subsequent picture of
" Distraining for Rent"
425. SIR THOMAS MORE AND HIS DAUGHTER.
/. R. Herbert^ R.A. (born 1810 : still living).
This veteran artist, who has done much injury to his reputation of
late years by exhibiting at the Academy after his hand has lost its
cunning, was born at Maldon, in Essex, where his father was Controller
of Customs. He entered the Academy Schools in 1826, and was at
first well known as a portrait painter. Some of his best subsequent
work as an historical painter is to be seen in the Peers' Robing Room
and Committee Rooms at the House of Lords. He has been R.A.
since 1 846, two years later than the exhibition of this picture.
Sir Thomas More, author of Utopia, the friend of Erasmus
and Holbein, and Lord High Chancellor of England, was im-
prisoned in the Tower for thirteen months on a charge of
treason, for having refused to take the oath of allegiance and
subscribe to the supremacy of Henry VIII. as head of the
Church. During his imprisonment he saw from the prison-
windows, as here shown, three monks going to execution pre-
cursors of the fate which not many days after, as he full well
knew, was to overtake himself
1 ' Sir Thomas More being now prisoner in the Tower, and one daye
looking forth at his window saw a father of Syon, and three monkes,
going out of the Tower to execution, for that they had refused the oath
of supremacy ; whereupo, he, languishing it werewithdesire to beare them
company, said unto his daughter Roper, then present, ' Looke, Megge,
doest thou not see that these blessed fathers be now going as cheerfully
to theyr deathes as bridegrooms to theyr marriage ? by which thou
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 495
mayst see, myne owne good daughter, what a great difference there is
between such as have spent all theyr dayes in a religious, hard, and
penitential life, and such as have in this world like wretches (as thy
poore father here hath done) consumed all theyr tyme in pleasure and
ease'" (Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More).
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage ;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage.
RICHARD LOVELACE.
317. A GREEK VINTAGE.
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834).
See under XVIII. 1069, p. 465.
This picture was sent by Stothard to the Academy exhibi-
tion of 1821 his choice being directed as usual, his daughter-
in-law tells us, by his having a frame that happened to fit this
particular canvas. At the " private view " Lawrence and
Flaxman expressed their enthusiastic admiration of it. Keats's
" Ode to a Grecian Urn " had been published a year or two
before in a periodical called the Annals of Fine Arts. Had
Stothard seen it, and thence derived his inspiration ?
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never can'st thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve ;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair ! . . .
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new ;
More happy love ! more happy, happy love !
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting and for ever young.
1175. REGENT'S PARK, 1807.
James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859).
See under XVIII. 1 158, p. 487.
The present Regent's Park was only commenced in 1812,
from the designs of Nash, the architect, who had lately finished
Regent's Street (both street and park being called, of course,
after the Prince Regent). This view, taken five years pre-
viously, with its herd of cattle, exactly agrees with the descrip-
tions of the extensive tract of pasture land called Marylebone
Park Fields, out of which the present park was formed.
496 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
" Down to the commencement of the present century, it had
about it all the elements of rustic life ; indeed, the locality
seems to have been but little altered then from what it was
two centuries previously, for in Tottenham Court, a comedy by
Thomas Nabbs in 1638, is a scene in Marylebone Park, in
which is introduced a milkmaid whose song testifies to the
rural character of the place
What a dainty life the milkmaid leads,
When o'er these flowery meads
She dabbles in the dew,
: And sings to her cow,
And feels not the pain
Of love or disdain.
She sleeps in the night, though she toils all the day,
And merrily passeth her time away.
THORNBURY : Old and New London, v. 263.
1204. THE VALLEY OF THE YARE.
James Stark (1794-1859).
Stark, one of the group of painters known as the Norwich School,
was the son of a master dyer in that city, and was articled to "Old
Crome," under whom he remained for three years. In 1817 he entered
the Academy Schools, and soon after exhibited successfully at the
British Institution ; but was obliged, owing to bad health, to return to
Norwich and refrain for some years from work. In 1830 he returned
to London, removing in 1840 to Windsor, where the adjoining wood-
land and river scenery furnished the subjects for many of his later
pictures. These, however, were less excellent than those of the Norwich
period, when he was under the immediate influence of Crome. The
present picture is an admirable specimen of Stark's earlier style. What
were the qualities aimed at by the leader of the Norwich School, is
shown in a quaint letter which Crome wrote to Stark in 1816. "I
cannot let your sky go by," says Crome, " without some observation.
I think the character of your clouds too affected, that is, too much of
the character of some of our modern painters, who mistake some of
our great masters : because they sometimes put in some of those round
characters, they must do the same ; but if you look at any of their
skies, they either assist in the composition, or make some figure in the
picture, nay, sometimes play the first fiddle. I have seen this in
Wouwerman's and .many others I could mention. Breath (breadth)
must be attended to if you paint. . . . Trifles in nature must be over-
looked that we may have our feelings raised by seeing the whole
picture of a glance, not knowing how or why we are so charmed. I
have written you a long rigmarole story about giving dignity to what-
ever you paint I fear so long that I should be scarcely able to under-
stand what I mean myself: you will, I hope, take the word for the
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 497
deed, and at the same time forgive all faults in diction, grammar,
spelling, etc."
A scene near Thorpe, Norwich, showing
... a full-fed river winding slow
By herds upon an endless plain,
The ragged rims of thunder brooding low,
With shadow-streaks of rain.
. . . the reapers at their sultry toil.
In front they bound the sheaves.
TENNYSON : Palace of Art.
328. THE FIRST EARRINGS.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under 99, p. 490.
II faut souffrir pour etre belle.
The difference between Wilkie's later and earlier manner
will be perceptible in a moment by comparing this picture,
painted in 1835, with the one immediately below it (921), which
is dated 181 1.
921. BLIND MAN'S BUFF.
Sir D. Wilkie^ R.A. (1785-1841). See under 99, p. 490.
This is the original sketch (exhibited at the Academy in
1812) for the large picture of the same subject which was
painted for the Prince Regent, and exhibited in the following
year. The sketch was bought by one of Wilkie's earliest
patrons, the Earl of Mulgrave.
394. FAIR TIME.
William Mulready, R.A. (1786-1863).
Mulready, who is probably most widely known by the " Mulready
envelope," which he designed for the Post Office in 1840, is usually
accounted the best English genre painter after Wilkie. He showed
his bent very early in life. He was born at Ennis, in Ireland, the son
of a leather-breeches maker, and the histoiy of his early years was
narrated by William Godwin (in The Looking Glass). By the time he
was ten "he drew little groups of boys at hoops or marbles, and
girls about the same size, with infants in their arms, looking on and
observing the sport." For more than sixty years he continued to draw
these "little groups." "I hardly know," wrote Mr. Ruskin in 1851,
"how to speak of Mulready : in delicacy and completion of drawing
and splendour of colour, he takes place beside John Lewis and the
Pre-Raphaelites ; but he has, throughout his career, displayed no de-
finiteness in choice of subject. He must be named among the painters
who have studied with industry, and have made themselves great by
doing so ; but, having obtained a consummate method of execution, he
2 K
498 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
has thrown it away on subjects either altogether uninteresting, or above
his powers, or unfit for pictorial representation. . . . Mulready, there-
fore, while he has always produced exquisite pieces of painting, has
failed to do anything which can be of true or extensive use. He has,
indeed, understood how to discipline his genius, but never how to
direct it" (Pre-Raphaelitism t in O. 0. R., i. 271). Perhaps it is the
want of importance in his subjects that has made Mulready's reputa-
tion so variable. " Some years ago, " says Mr. Woolner (English Art in
the Public Galleries, p. 126), "while talking of Mulready with a dis-
tinguished artist, I spoke of him with that affectionate reverence I had
always felt and had always been taught to regard him (with) by those
wiser and more experienced than myself, when the artist remarked that
he was surpised to hear me speak in that manner, as I was the first
person able to appreciate poetical art he had ever known to praise
Mulready." In 1849 his " Woman Bathing " was considered the " gem
of the Academy." In 1884 it was knocked down at Christie's for 105
guineas. Mulready's own life had its ups and downs. He made an
early and an unfortunate marriage, and was often hard pressed for
money. But his industry was unfailing. He executed many elaborate
studies for all his pictures, and his rate of work was very slow the
average number of pictures which he exhibited a year being only two.
He was a member of the Academy for nearly fifty years, and was a
most zealous and efficient teacher. His robust health, too, was re-
markable, and he was still drawing in the Life School of the Academy
two days before he died, at the age of seventy-seven. Two of his
Academy studies may be seen in one of the Water Colour Rooms.
This picture of two tipsy men returning from a fair was
originally exhibited at the Academy in 1809, when Mulready
was twenty-four. The present background was added thirty-
one years later, when he again exhibited the picture.
378. THE NEWSPAPER.
Thomas S. Good (1789-1872).
This painter was a contemporary and imitator of Wilkie. He was
brought up as a house painter, married a wife who afterwards came
into some money, and lived all his life in the town of Berwick, where
he was born. He was a friend of Bewick, the wood-engraver, an ex-
cellent portrait of whom by Good is in the Museum of the Natural
History Society at Newcastle.
354. THE WINDOW," called also " A DUTCH GIRL."
G, S. Newton, R.A. (1794-1835). See under 353, p. 535.
919. STUDY OF A BOY.
T. S. 0^(1789-1872). See under 378, above.
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 499
607. HIGHLAND DOGS.
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873). See under 1226, p. 505.
A sketch on copper for the engraved frontispiece of Mr.
Scrope's book on deer-stalking (1839).
439. THE WINDMILL.
John Linnell (1792-1882). See under XVIII. 438, p. 484.
452. THE FRUGAL MEAL.
John F. Herring (1795-1865).
A study of three horses' heads by a painter who knew them well,
for Herring, who was a self-taught artist, was originally a stage-
coachman, and for four years drove the "York and London Highflyer."
Mr. Frith, by the way, acknowledges in his Autobiography great assist-
ance in the high-mettled racer (in the "Derby Day," 615, p. 524)
from Herring, " one of the best painters of the race-horse I have
ever known. "
4O7. VENICE: THE CANAL OF THE GIUDECCA.
Clarkson Statifield, R.A. (1793-1867).
William Clarkson Stanfield is remarkable as amongst the first of
our painters to introduce that faithful painting of ships and shipping
which has ever since distinguished the English School. He differs
from the painters of earlier schools in his thorough knowledge both
of the sea itself and of ships ; whilst he differs from Turner in missing
somewhat of the majesty and mystery of the sea, 1 and from later
painters, like Mr. Henry Moore, in missing somewhat of the sea-colour.
"He is," says Mr. Ruskin, "the leader of the English Realists, and
perhaps among the more remarkable of his characteristics is the look
of common sense and rationality which his compositions will always
bear, when opposed to any kind of affectation. He appears to think of
no other artist. What he has learned, has been from his own acquaint-
ance with, and affection for, the steep hills and deep sea ; and his
modes of treatment are alike removed from sketchiness or incompletion,
and from exaggeration or effort " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec.
i. ch. vii. 36). He is thus taken by Mr. Ruskin as the typical
instance of a "modem painter" of marine subjects, as contrasted with
the ignorance of sea form amongst the old masters. "The works of
Stanfield evidently, and at all times, proceed from the hand of a man
who has both thorough knowledge of his subject, and thorough acquaint-
1 " He is," says Mr. Ruskin, "a definer, as opposed to Copley Fielding,
because, though like all other modems, he paints cloud and storm, he will
generally paint all the masts and yards of a ship, rather than merely her
black bows glooming through the foam ; and all the rocks on a hillside,
rather than the blue outline of the hill through the mist " (Modern Painters,
vol. iv. pt. v. ch. iv. 2 n. )
Soo ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
ance with all the means and principles of art. . . . The local colour
of Stanfield's sea is singularly true and powerful, and entirely inde-
pendent of any tricks of chiaroscuro. . . . His surface is at once
lustrous, transparent, and accurate to a hair's-breadth in every curve ;
and he is entirely independent of dark skies, deep blues, driving spray,
or any other means of concealing want of form, or atoning for it. He
fears no difficulty, desires no assistance, takes his sea in open daylight,
under general sunshine, and paints the element in its pure colour and
complete forms." And thus "one work of Stanfield alone presents
us with as much concentrated knowledge of sea and sky, as, diluted,
would have lasted any of the old masters his life." But, on the other
hand, Stanfield's pictures, though correct, are wanting in charm. His
architecture, for instance, is "admirably drawn but commonly wanting
in colour." His sky is "apt to be cold and uninventive, always well
drawn, but with a kind of hesitation in the clouds whether it is to be
fair or foul weather ; they having neither the joyfulness of rest nor the
majesty of storm. Their colour is apt also to verge on a morbid
purple," and generally, he is "wanting in impressiveness " (Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iiL ch. iii. 27, sec. v. ch. ii. IO, ll).
The correctness of Stanfield's painting of the sea was based on
personal knowledge. He was born of Irish parents at Sunderland,
and commenced life as a sailor. When he was still quite young he
met with an accident which disabled him from active service ; and,
forming at the same time an acquaintance with Douglas Jerrold, he was
employed to paint the scenes for Jerrold's theatrical entertainments.
In 1818 he was appointed scene painter at the old "Royalty," a
sailors' theatre. Subsequently he held similar appointments with
David Roberts (see p. 555) at the " Cobourg" in Lambeth, and finally
at Drury Lane, where his drop scenes were much admired. He soon,
however, began to exhibit pictures, and brought back sketches from
journeys to Italy and Holland, which he alternated with purely marine
pictures. He was elected A.R.A. in 1832, and R.A. in 1835; and
from the latter year to his death was a regular exhibitor at the
Academy. He was in request too for annuals and similar publications
which were then in vogue, whilst his friendship with Jerrold and
Dickens threw him so much into literary and artistic circles that he
came, it has been said, to take the position as a painter of the sea that
Landseer took, about the same time, as a painter of animals.
The canal is that separating the main city of Venice from
the Giudecca, a crescent -shaped island said to derive its
name from the number of Jews who lived upon it, and now
inhabited chiefly by the poorer citizens. The quay on the
Venice side of the canal is the " Fondamenta delle Zattere;"
the church is that of " Sta. Maria del Rosario." 1 This part of
1 The Official Catalogue calls it the " Church of the Jesuits." This is a
mistake. The church of the Jesuits (Gesuiti) is in a different part of
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 501
Venice is largely given up to shipping, the canal being that in
which most of the large trading vessels lie at anchor. In the
background, away to the west, is a distant view of the Alps ;
but Stanfield's picture, though in other respects very accurate
in its detail, is uncharacteristic in colour, and gives neither the
opalescent hues of Venetian atmosphere nor the deep blues
and reds of Venetian distances. The visitor will find it in-
structive to compare this picture with Turner's, XIX. 534, p. 63 5.
451. THE TIRED SOLDIER.
F. Goodall, R.A, (born 1822 : still living).
Mr. Frederick Goodall was born in London, being the son of
an eminent engraver, and was brought up originally to his father's
profession. He first exhibited at the Academy in 1839, when he
was only seventeen. The present picture was exhibited three years
later, and purchased by that judicious patron, Mr. Vernon. The
other picture by Mr. Goodall in this Gallery (450, p. 524, also bought by
Mr. Vernon) was exhibited in 1847, and greatly extended the artist's
reputation. He was elected A.R.A. in 1853, R.A. in 1863, and is
still a constant exhibitor at the Academy in later years, principally of
religious pictures.
'Tis a little thing
To give a cup of water ; yet its draught
Of cool refreshment, drained by feverish lips
May give a thrill of pleasure to the frame
More exquisite than when nectarian juice
Renews the life of joy in happiest hours."
TALFOURD.
412. THE HUNTED STAG (exhibited 1833).
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873). See under 1226, p. 505,
"Or deer and deerhounds in a mountain torrent. The
stag has crossed a lake, and still worried by two hounds, is
falling with them down a rocky torrent. Inevitable death is
forcibly pictured in the head of the stag" (Official Catalogue).
Landseer's love of animals is shown in nothing more than in
his insistance always upon the nobler side of sport, which,
just as war calls out heroism in man, calls out heroism in
animals. Compare any stag-hunting scene by Landseer with
one by the Dutch painters, such, for instance, as X. 1096,
0238, and the difference between noble and vulgar treatment
will at once be perceived. It may be interesting to add that
Venice altogether on the Fondamenta Nuova. This church on the canal
of the Giudecca stands on the site of a church built in 1493 by the Gesuatt,
a distinct religious society which was suppressed in 1668.
502 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
in spite of his numerous pictures of all kinds of sporting
subjects, Landseer was not himself a keen sportsman. " In
truth," says Mr. Stephens (Sir Edwin Landseer, pp. 83, 84), "he
often carried the gun as an introduction to the sketch-book.
... On one occasion the gillies were astonished, just as a
magnificent shot came in the way, to have Sir Edwin's gun
thrust into their hands, with ' Here, take, take this,' hastily
ejaculated, while the sketch-book was pulled out. The
gillies were often disgusted by being led about the moors,
walking, with more sketching than shooting ; and they
grumbled dreadfully in their own tongue ; ' but,' said one of
them, ' Sir Edwin must have had some Gaelic in him, for he
was that angry for the rest of the day, it made them very
careful of speaking Gaelic in his hearing after.' "
614. THE BATHER.
William Etty, R.A. (1787-1849).
Etty enjoys a high place amongst British painters as one of the best
colourists. Almost alone indeed amongst the painters of his time had
he any feeling for truth of flesh colour : look, for instance, from this
picture to the violet-powder in Maclise's flesh-painting (XXI. 422, p.
564), or the brick-dust in Ary Scheflfer's (XXI. 1 1 70, p. 553), and Etty's
superiority will at once become apparent. In his own day, however, he
had to wait long, as we shall see, for recognition. " Example had been
given," wrote Mr. Ruskin in 1848, "by two of our academicians,
Mr. Mulready and Mr. Etty, of a splendour based on the Flemish
system (of oil painting), and consistent, certainly, in the first case, with
a high degree of permanence ; while the main direction of artistic and
public sympathy to works of a character altogether opposed to theirs,
showed fatally how far more perceptible and appreciable to our present
instincts is the mechanism of handling than the melody of hue "
{Review of Eastlake's History of Oil- Painting, in 0. O. /*., i. 202).
And this melody of hue goes far to redeem Etty's painting of the nude
from taint of grossness. "The purity of flesh -painting depends, in
very considerable measure, on the intensity and warmth of its colour.
For if it be opaque, and clay cold, and devoid of all the radiance and
life of flesh, the lines of its true beauty, being severe and firm, will
become so hard in the loss of the glow and gradation by which nature
illustrates them, that the painter will be compelled to sacrifice them
for a luscious fulness and roundness, in order to give the conception of
flesh. . . . But the mere power of perfect and glowing colour will, in
some sort, redeem even a debased tendency of mind itself. . . . Much
may be forgiven to Rubens ; less, as I think, to Correggio. . . .
Beneath which again will fall the works devoid alike of art and decency,
as that 'Susannah* of Guido, in our own Gallery (XIII. 196, p. 321) ;
and so we may descend to the absolute clay of the moderns, excepting
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 503
always Etty ; 1 only noticing in all how much of what is evil and base
in subject or tendency, is redeemed by what is pure and right in hue
that I do not assert that the purpose and object of many of the
grander painters of the nude, as of Titian, for instance, were always
elevated, but only that we, who cannot paint the lamp of fire within
the earthen pitcher, must take other weapons in our left hands"
(Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i. ch. xiv. 20-24).
That the "purpose and object" Etty proposed to himself were
elevated, is plain from his own words. His first inclination, he says in
his Autobiography, was towards landscape : " The Sky was so beautiful,
and the effects of Light and Cloud. Afterwards, when I found that all
the great painters of Antiquity had become thus great through painting
Great Actions and the Human Form, I resolved to paint nothing else.
And finding God's most glorious work to be WOMAN, that all human
beauty had been concentrated in her, I resolved to dedicate myself to
painting, not the draper's or milliner's work, but God's most
glorious work, more than ever had been done before." That Etty's
purposes were sincere is proved by the remarkable perseverance and
single-mindedness of his life. He was the son of a Methodist ginger-
bread maker at York, and after some indifferent schooling was
apprenticed at eleven and a half to the printer of the Hull Packet.
Here he endured seven years' bondage, occupying his leisure time with
drawing. By the generosity of a London uncle, a gold-lace merchant,
he was then enabled to enter the Academy Schools, where Collins,
Wilkie, Haydon, Leslie, and Constable were amongst his fellow-
students, and also to enter Lawrence's studio for a year as a pupil.
He worked for years with extraordinary diligence, but uniform ill
success. It was not until 181 1 that he had a picture accepted for exhi-
bition, nor until 1821 that he made any mark (with his " Cleopatra").
He then travelled for some time in Italy, painting principally at
Venice, " the birthplace and cradle of colour, the hope and idol of
my professional life." Here his skill was quickly appreciated. " He
paints with the fury of a devil," said the Italians, " and with the sweetness
of an angel," and they elected him an honorary member of the Venetian
Academy. On his return home in 1824 he exhibited " Pandora," and
was elected A.R.A. and four years later R. A. His devotion to the
Life School at the Academy was so great that he declined even then
to desist from his studies : " If my continuing to paint in the Life
School is considered derogatory to an academician, let them not make
me one, for I shall not give it up." He still obtained but poor prices
1 In his last edition of Modern Painters, vol. ii. (1883), Mr. Ruskin
takes back this exception. "Not in the least excepting him," he says in
a footnote. ' ' This sentence, I fear, is mere politeness to a painter then
living ; and it ought to have been explained as only meaning that his
colour was not 'absolute clay.' " See also vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. i. 12,
where reference is made to ' ' the earthiness and opacity which all the
magnificent power and admirable science of Etty are unable entirely to
conquer." And cf. Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and Painting, p. 219.
504 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
for his pictures, and it was only in 1834 that he was able to repay his
brother (a partner in the gold-lace business) the final instalment of
.4000 advanced to him during his artistic career. Etty was unfor-
tunate in love and never married. A niece kept house for him for
twenty-three years at the river end of Buckingham Street, Strand. He
was a man of notoriously good life and retiring habits his two passions,
next to his art, being tea and York Minster. He died in his native
city, from the excitement and fatigue in connection with the exhibition
of his works at the Society of Arts in 1849. His life was written by
Gilchrist, the biographer of Blake a book, said Carlyle, which " I
read with unusual satisfaction ; a book done in a vigorous, sympathetic,
vivacious spirit, and promising me delineation, actual and intelligible,
of a man extremely well worth knowing."
This picture (exhibited 1844) is one of many versions of a
favourite subject with Etty the bather standing listening, " at
the doubtful breeze alarmed."
4O0. THE LAKE OF COMO.
Clarkson Stanfield, RA .(1793-1867).
See under 407, p. 499.
This picture, like the same painter's Venice, is deficient in
the charm of colouring which is the glory of Como (contrast in
this respect 1205, p. 527). The scene is that described in
Rogers's Italy
. . . and now the purple mists
Rise like a curtain ; now the sun looks out,
Filling, o'erflowing with his glorious light
This noble amphitheatre of hills ;
And now appear as on a phosphor sea
Numberless barks, from MILAN, from PAVIA ;
Some sailing up, some down, and some at rest ;
Lading, unlading, at that small port-town
Under the promontory its tall tower
And long flat roofs, just such as CASPAR drew,
Caught by a sun-beam starting through a cloud,
A quay-like scene, glittering and full of life,
And doubled by reflection.
1111. WHERRIES ON THE YARE.
/. S. Cotman (1782-1842).
John Sell Cotman is best known for his etchings and water-colour
drawings (a collection of which may be seen at South Kensington) ;
but he also held a distinguished position amongst the members of the
Norwich School. He was the son of a well-to-do linen draper at Nor-
wich ; and after receiving his early education at the Grammar School
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 505
there, went up to London and studied drawing in company with Turner,
Girtin, and others. In 1807 he returned to Norwich, and was a large
contributor to the Norwich Society of Artists which was founded in that
year. From 1812 to 1823 he lived at Yarmouth, to be near his friend
Dawson Turner, the antiquary, in conjunction with whom he produced
works of " architectural antiquities." In 1834 he was appointed draw-
ing master at King's College School, London, a post which Turner's
peremptory advice to the Governors secured him. He died in Hunter
Street, Brunswick Square, having suffered severely during the last years
of his life from mental depression. In connection with this picture it
is interesting to know of Cotman's love for all things nautical. " He
had been as a boy and lad to Cromer, and had watched intently cliffs
and waves, and such small boats as could be beached on the stormy
coast, with such as could come alongside of the primitive plank -jetty.
A little later in his life at Yarmouth, shipping from all the seas was
easily within his study, and it is told how he had small models made
for him of all craft, from rowing boat to brig " (Wedmore : Studies in
English Art, p. 146).
759. THE REMORSE OF JUDAS.
Edward Armitage, R.A, (born 1817 : still living).
Mr Armitage was educated in France and Germany. At the age of
twenty he entered the studio of Paul Delaroche at Paris, when he was
selected to assist in the decoration of the Hemicycle of the School of
Fine Arts. He has executed some extensive frescoes in Westminster
Palace, and has presented another to the Roman Catholic Church of St.
John at Islington. He was elected A.R.A. in 1867, R.A. in 1872,
and Professor of Painting in 1875, in which post he has since been
succeeded by Mr. J. E. Hodgson. This picture, which was exhibited at
the Academy in 1866, was presented by the painter to the National
Gallery in the same year.
" Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that
he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I
have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And
they said, What is that to us? see thou to that" (Matthew
xxvii. 3, 4).
1226 A DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF THE
HUMANE SOCIETY."
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873).
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer the chief modern painter of the dog-
is a typical representative of the English School. The " sympathy
with the lower animals which is peculiarly our own " is indeed so strong
in him that the chief weakness of his pictures consists in the animals
being made too human. " In our modern treatment of the dog, of
So6 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
which the prevailing tendency is marked by Landseer, the interest taken
in him is disproportionate to that taken in man, and leads to a some-
what trivial mingling of sentiment, or warping by caricature, giving up
the true nature of the animal for the sake of a pretty thought or pleasant
jest. Neither Titian nor Velazquez ever jest ; and though Veronese jests
gracefully and tenderly, he never for an instant oversteps the absolute facts
of nature. But the English painter looks for sentiment or jest primarily,
and reaches both by a feebly romantic taint of fallacy, except in one or
two simple and touching pictures, such as the ' Shepherd's Chief
Mourner ' " (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. 20). In fact
Landseer is " much more a natural historian than a painter ; and the
power of his works depends more on his knowledge and love of ani-
mals, on his understanding of their minds and ways, on his unerring
notice and memory of their gestures and expressions, than on artistical or
technical excellence. He never aims at colour ; l his composition is
always weak, and sometimes unskilful ; and his execution, though
partially dexterous, and admirably adapted to the imitation of certain
textures and surfaces, is far from being that of a great Painter attained
by the mastery of every various difficulty, and changefully adapted to the
treatment of every object " (Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii.
ch. iv. ii .) It is in virtue of his fidelity to nature that Mr.
Ruskin claims Landseer as a " Pre-Raphaelite " (see p. 536). " I
need not point out," he says, " to any one acquainted with his earlier
works, the labour, or watchfulness of nature which they involve, nor
need I do more than allude to the peculiar faculties of his mind. It
will at once be granted that the highest merits of his pictures are
throughout found in those parts of them which are least like what had
before been accomplished ; and that it was not by the study of Raphael
that he attained his eminent success, but by a healthy love of Scotch
terriers" (Pre-Raphaelitism, in O. O. A, i. 272).
But to " the healthy love of Scotch terriers " must be added
hereditary taste for art. Landseer belonged to a family of artists. His
father was John Landseer, the engraver, and author (amongst other
art-books) of a Catalogue to the National Gallery, which has occasionally
been cited in these pages. Henry Landseer, a brother of John, was
also an artist. Of John Landseer's sons, Thomas, the eldest, was the
celebrated engraver, to whose skill Edwin's work owes much of its pop-
ularity. Charles, the second son, was an R.A. (see 408, p. 518); whilst
three daughters were all of them artists of ability also. What dis-
tinguished Edwin amongst this artistic family was his extraordinary
precocity : able drawings of his are in existence (some of them at the
South Kensington Museum) done when he was nine and even five years
1 So M. Chesneau (English School, p. 98) says: "There are some
of his works of which one must see the engravings and avoid the pictures,
for fear of being hopelessly disenchanted ; they vanish away under a sort
of veil of gray dust spread, as if purposely, on the surface of the picture
which does away with all effect, all relief, and every appearance of life."
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 507
old. He began to exhibit at the Academy when he was thirteen : two
pictures, of a mule and some dogs respectively, appearing in the 1815
catalogue as by " Master E. Landseer, Honorary Exhibitor." It was
soon after this that he entered the Academy Schools : "Where is my
little dog boy ?" Fuseli, the Keeper, used to say. As soon as he was
twenty-four he was elected A.R.A., and four years later R.A. But
long before he received the former honour he was a celebrated and
popular painter. He had had a work purchased by Sir George Beaumont
which in those days constituted a sort of hall-mark for a painter
as early as 1818, when he was only sixteen, and a year or two before
he was elected A. R.A. Sir Walter Scott had invited him to Abbotsford,
"where," said his friend Leslie, relating the circumstance, " he will make
himself very popular, both with the master and mistress of the house,
by sketching their doggies for them." In connection with Landseer's
precocity, one should mention the extraordinary facility of his powers
when they reached his prime (see under 409, p. 510). He was, however,
no exception to Reynolds's rule that ' ' labour is the only price of solid
fame, and there is no easy method of becoming a great painter." His
father did indeed give the boy his bent, but he trained it carefully from
the first. He directed his son's practice, says Mr. Wornum, to nature,
so that ' ' as soon as he could hold a pencil with some steadiness, the
boy was sent or accompanied into the fields to draw from sheep, goats,
and donkeys." Some allusion has already been made to young
Landseer's early sketching, under a picture of Hampstead Heath
(XVIII. 1237, p. 472), the spot which was his first school of art. He
had another master in Haydon. He and his brothers Charles and
Thomas had the run of Haydon's studio, but though he made copies of
dissections by Haydon he was not a regular pupil in the way that his
brothers were. Early as was his fame, it was not till he was twenty-two
that Landseer left his father's roof : up to that time his father even
managed his commissions and fixed his prices for him. In 1825
he moved to 18 St. John's Wood Road, the house in which he
lived for the rest of his life, and which, since his death, has been
occupied by another cattle painter, Mr. Davis, R.A. Besides his
fame as a painter, Landseer was in great request socially. " From his
early youth," says his friend, Mr. Frith, "he had been admitted to
the highest society, and no wonder, for in addition to his genius, which
was exercised again and again for the ' great,' either in ornamenting
their scrap-books or in the more important form of pictures for which
they paid him very inadequately he was the most delightful story-teller
and the most charming companion in the world. He also sang delight-
fully. In speaking, he had caught a little of the drawl affected in high life,
and he practised it till it became a second nature." He was in high
favour at court, and the Queen and the Prince Consort used to make
etchings from his designs. He was the friend of Sydney Smith and
Dickens and most of the celebrities of his day. The prices he obtained
for his pictures were large (Mr. Vernon gave him ^1500 for "Peace"
and "War" in this collection), and those for the copyright with a
508 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
view to engraving were larger still. In 1850 he was knighted, in
1867 the Lions, which were commissioned from Landseer in 1859,
were placed in Trafalgar Square. Upon Sir C. Eastlake's death in
1867 Landseer declined to be proposed as President of the Academy.
He was awarded medals of distinction at the Paris Exhibition in 1855,
and at Vienna in 1873. In the last few years of his life he suffered
from nervous weakness and failing mental powers. He was given the
honour of a public funeral in St. Paul's.
" The large Newfoundland dog, with a black head and a
white muzzle, reclines on the last stone of a quay, while the
summer ripples slowly rise at the sea-wall, where the mooring
ring catches the lapsing wavelet as it runs along the stone."
" The likeness of the dog," adds Mr. F. G. Stephens, " is a
wonderful representation ; this may be truly said, notwithstand-
ing all that can be averred in respect to the chic and dexterity
of the painter. The earnest expression, the semi-human pathos
of the dog's eyes, is not less effective than truthful. He lies in
the broad sunlight, and the shadow of his enormous head is cast
sideways on his flank as white as snow. He looks seaward
with a watchful eye, and his quickness of attention is hinted at
by the gentle lifting of his ears. The painting of the hide, here
rigid and there soft, here shining with reflected light, there like
down ; the masses of the hair, as the dog's habitual motions
caused them to grow ; the foreshortening of his paws as they
hang over the edge of the quay, induce us to rank it with the
painter's masterpieces." The picture is so familiar from en-
gravings that probably many visitors will be surprised to hear
that it is a very recent addition to the National Gallery. The
dog represented, named " Paul Pry," belonged to Mrs. Newman
Smith. Landseer noticed him carrying a basket of flowers,
and, struck with the beauty of the animal, asked permission to
paint him. The picture, which was exhibited at the Royal
Academy in 1838, was bought by Mr. Smith, who bequeathed
it, subject to the life interest of his wife, to the National Gallery,
which acquired it in 1887.
395. CROSSING THE FORD.
W. Mulready, R.A. (1786-1863). See under 394, p. 497.
352. THE PRAWN CATCHERS.
William Collins, R.A. (1788-1847).
This artist (the son of an Irish picture dealer and the father of
Wilkie Collins, the well-known novelist) was a thorough Londoner,
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 509
and ' ' in his country lanes, cottage doors, sweeps of landscape, and
sea-side views, he presents," it has been said, " the ideal of all a tired
citizen would wish to behold when enjoying his annual holiday. And
it is this ability to satisfy the wholesome and natural craving of so
many of his countrymen that has made his works deservedly popular.
' Happy as a King,' children riding on the gate of a lane, gives the
artist's view of country life as fully as any one of his known works ;
but it would be impossible to name any of his shore scenes that could
take precedence of others, as they are all fresh with salt waves, and
breathe an odour of sea- weed " (T. Woolner in English Art in the
Ptiblic Galleries, p. 122).
1186. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
John Glover (1767-1849).
" Glover, a native of Leicestershire, began life as a writing master ;
but in 1805 removed to London, and contributed to the exhibitions of
the Society of Painters in water colours. He subsequently travelled
abroad, and after studying in the Louvre painted a large oil picture
which attracted the attention of Louis XVIII. and procured the painter
a gold medal. In 1820 he held a private exhibition of pictures in
Bond Street, and sold some of them for large prices. In 1831 he
emigrated to Tasmania, and painted many pictures of local scenery.
During the later years of his life he appears to have ceased from
painting and passed his time in religious study " (Official Catalogue).
A typical piece of English lowland scenery, with " cattle
grazing in the water'd vales "-
For me this freshness in the morning hours,
For me the water's clear tranquillity :
... the brook whereby the red kine meet
And wade and drink their fill.
JEAN INGELOW: Honours.
443. A FRUIT PIECE.
George Lance ( 1 802- 1 864).
Lance is the most distinguished still -life painter amongst the
English old masters. It is strictly to the old masters that he belongs-
as any one will see by comparing this piece with similar pieces by th
Dutch masters in rooms X and XII. He was born near Dunmow
in Essex, and was the son of an officer in the yeomanry. After an
unsuccessful attemot to tie him down to a manufactory, he came up a
a lad to London 'and wandered one day into the British Museum.
There he saw three young men sketching from the Elgin garbles each
of whom, he observed, signed himself Pupil of Haydon.
one of them (it was Charles Landseer) for Haydon's address and went
next morning early, to inquire his terms. '< Show me what you can
do, my boy," said Haydon, < and if there 1S talent m you I will take
you for nothing." This was the beginning of seven years' study und
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Haydon. His first picture, exhibited in 1822, was bought by Sir
George Beaumont, and his still-life pieces were afterwards very popular.
Haydon allowed his pupil to follow his bent, but Lance occasionally
painted historical pictures, and of his "Velazquez touch "we have
already heard (see XV. 197, p. 380 .)
4O9. SPANIELS OF KING CHARLES'S BREED.
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873). See under 1226, p. 505.
This picture (exhibited in 1832) "most fortunately il-
lustrates the perfect command of the brush, and the extra-
ordinary facility which long-continued and severe studies gave
to the painter. It is sometimes styled 'The Cavalier's Pets.'
The dogs were pets of Mr. Vernon's, and the sketch was made
in his house as a commission to Landseer, but, after a short
sitting, not continued for some time. One day Mr. Vernon
met the artist in the street, and reminded him of the com-
mission. Two days later the work, as it now appears, was
delivered at Mr. Vernon's house, although it was not begun when
the meeting happened. 1 It is due to not more than two days'
labour, and a triumph of dexterity in brush working, showing
as much facility as the ancient fresco painters exhibited when
they dealt with and completed an important head of a man in
one day. The sweeping touches by which the feather in the
felt hat is expressed, have been placed with exquisite precision,
and deserve the most careful consideration of all students and
amateurs in dexterous art. This kind of execution, of which
Landseer's pictures exhibit innumerable illustrations, is magi-
cal. . . . Both the dogs in Mr. Vernon's picture came to
violent ends. The white Blenheim spaniel fell from a table
and was killed ; the true King Charles fell through the
railings of a staircase in his master's house, and was picked up
dead at the bottom" (Stephens ; pp. 64, 65).
431. THE DISGRACE OF LORD CLARENDON.
E. M. Ward, R.A. (1816-1879).
Edward Matthew Ward, a nephew, on his mother's side, of Horace
and James Smith (the authors of Rejected Addresses), was born in
Pimlico, and entered the Academy Schools in 1835. I n 1836 he
went to Rome, where he remained nearly three years, afterwards study-
ing fresco painting under Cornelius at Munich. This study served
him in good stead when, in 1852, he was commissioned to paint
eight historical frescoes for the corridor of the House of Commons.
1 A somewhat different version of this story is given in Mr. Frith's
Autobiography, i. 319.
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 511
His " Dr. Johnson," now in this gallery, was exhibited at the Academy
in 1845, an( i secured him his election as A.R.A. in the following year.
In 1855 he was elected R.A. Ward was a friend of Mr. Frith, who
says of him that he was " a well-read man, an admirable talker, and a
wonderful mimic." For some years, however, before his death he was
subject to intense depression of spirits, which culminated in insanity.
" He did not lack talent, but unfortunately, from the point of view of
technique, his painting exhibits all the defects commonly seen in the
pictures of the epoch ; it is heavy, without solidity, while its colour is
depressingly sombre" (Chesneau : The English School, p. 104 .)
A sketch for the picture in Lord Northwick's Collection.
The scene is the departure of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon,
Lord Chancellor under Charles II., after his last interview with
the king at Whitehall Palace, 1667. Clarendon was at the
time the best hated man in the country. The king hated him
for his stubborn opposition to the royal usurpations ; the
Commons hated him for his equally stubborn opposition to
any extension of their prerogatives ; whilst the Court
hated him for the austerity of his morals. " He missed
no opportunity of showing his scorn of the mimics, revellers,
and courtesans who crowded the palace, and the admonitions
which he addressed to the king himself were very sharp, and,
what Charles disliked still more, very long." Hence it was
that the king determined to dismiss him, and the Commons
to impeach him. He has now been in to plead his cause in
vain with the king, and is descending the garden steps, on his
way to fly the country. The retiring figure in the middle
distance, of which the back only is seen, represents the king.
Various courtiers, among whom is conspicuous the king's
mistress, Lady Castlemaine, are in the balcony, exulting in
the disgrace of the fallen minister. " This day," writes Pepys
(Diary, August 27, 1667), " Mr. Pierce, the surgeon, was with
me, and tells me how this business of my Lord Chancellor's
was certainly designed in my Lady Castlemaine's chamber,
and that when he went from the king on Monday morning
she was in bed (though about twelve o'clock), and ran out in
her smock into her aviary looking into White Hall garden,
and thither her woman brought her her nightgown, and stood
blessing herself at the old man's going away, and several of
the gallants of White Hall (of which there were many staying
to see the chancellor's return) did talk to her in her bird-cage,
among others, Blancford, telling her she was the bird of
passage."
512 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
393. THE LAST IN.
W. Mulready, R.A. (1786-1863). See under 394, p. 497.
A truant, the "last in" at school, comes timidly in, while
the schoolmaster ironically takes off his hat and makes the
defaulter a humble bow.
There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule,
The village master taught his little school.
A man severe he was, and stern to view ;
I knew him well, and every truant knew :
Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face ;
Full well they laughed with counterfeited glee
At all his jokes, for many a joke had he ;
Full well the busy whisper, circling round,
Conveyed the dismal tidings when he frown'd.
GOLDSMITH : The Deserted Village.
359. THE LUTE PLAYER.
W. Etty, RA. ('1787-1849). See under 614, p. 502.
When with sweet notes I the sweet lute inspired,
Fond fair ones listen'd, and my skill admired.
4O5. THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (October 2 1, 1 805).
Clarkson Stanfield, R.A. (1793-1867).
See under 407, p. 499.
A sketch for the large picture which the artist was com-
missioned to paint for the Senior United Service Club.
"The picture represents the centre of the combined fleet, at
half-past two o'clock, about an hour and a half after Lord
Nelson received his death wound. The Victory, the ship which
bore his Lordship's flag, after sustaining a heavy fire from four
of the enemy's ships, is in the act of disengaging herself from
the Redoubtable, a French 74, at that time lashed alongside the
Temeraire, a British 98, and at the moment the Fougueux,
another French 74, became the prize of the latter. On the left
of the spectator is Vice-Admiral Collingwood, in the Royal
Sovereign, with her prize, the Santa Anna, totally dismasted,
and the other ships of the lee division. On the right of the
Victory is the Bucentaur, a French 80, Admiral Villeneuve's,
with her main and mizen masts shot away, and the Santissima
Trinidad, a Spanish four-decker, both ships unmanageable
wrecks" (Royal Academy Catalogue, 1836).
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411. HIGHLAND MUSIC (exhibited 1830).
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873). See under 1226, p. 505.
" An old Highland piper appears to have mischievously inter-
rupted the frugal meal of a group of five hungry dogs by a
sudden blast of his ' bagpipes.' The variety of effect of the
Highland music' on the different dogs is very striking. A
blind-eyed little terrier to the left seems disposed to put a stop
to the interruption, another has set up an accompaniment of his
own ; the two hounds appear to be disposed to hear the tune out,
and the fifth, with his eyes turned up to the old piper, appears to
thoroughly appreciate the stirring strains " (Official Catalogue).
344. THE BENIGHTED TRAVELLER.
Sir A. W. Callcott (i 779-1 844). See under XVIII. 343, p. 464.
A small sketch for a picture exhibited at the RA. in 1832.
426. THE TRUANT.
Thomas Webster, R.A. (1800-1886).
Webster was born in Pimlico and brought up at Windsor, his father
holding an appointment in the household of George III. Having
shown an early taste for music, he was placed in the choir of the
Chapel Royal, St. James's, a few years after Callcott. He determined,
however, to become a painter, and in 1825 entered the Academy
Schools. He soon made a hit with his village scenes, the style of
genre to which he remained faithful throughout his long life. He was
elected A. R.A. in 1840, and R.A. in 1846. " Men of my generation,"
says Mr. J. E. Hodgson, " have long been familiar with the kindly face,
the long snow-white hair, of a veteran artist who, from time to time, would
emerge from his retreat at Cranbrook in Kent, and make his appearance
at the Royal Academy amongst men who might have been his children.
. . . There was a beautiful soul in the old man, a spirit of extreme purity
and kindliness, of sincere love for the humble virtues and simple joys
which he depicted. . . . His art has a neatness and precision, a limpid
translucent quality of colour which is in strict keeping with the nature
of the conception" (Fifty years of British Art, p. 18).
This picture, exhibited at the Academy in 1836, depicts
. . . the whining school-boy, with his satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. As you Like It, Act ii. Sc. 7.
389. THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE.
George Jones, R.A. (1786-1869).
There are three interesting things about this painter. In the first
place the Vernon Collection, which forms so large and valuable a part
2 L
514 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
of the National Gallery, was formed chiefly on his advice. Secondly,
he was the intimate friend, and one of the executors, of Turner. The
friendship between the two artists is illustrated by the history of this
picture, which was exhibited at the Academy in 1832. Jones had told
Turner what he was painting, and the latter replied, "A good subject;
I'll do it also." Jones said he was going to do it kit-cat size, upright,
on panel. Turner said he would do the same, "but remember that
if I come into your room while you are painting the subject, you hide
it instantly." The picture which Turner painted by way of aping his
old crony is now in the Gallery, but being in bad preservation, is not
publicly exhibited (5 1 7, p. 658). Thirdly, Jones is one of the few instances
of fighting painters. He was the son of an engraver, and was trained as
a boy to art ; but afterwards threw up art for arms, and served as an
officer of militia through the Peninsular war. He was also in Paris in
1815 during the occupation of the Allies. He then turned his warlike
experiences to good effect, and a picture of the Battle of Waterloo
procured him his election as A. R.A. in 1822. Another battle-piece
by him, exhibited in 1829, hangs on the east staircase (391, p. 649).
He was elected R. A. in 1 824, and from 1 840- 1 850 was Keeper, having
previously been Librarian.
Nebuchadnezzar pointing to Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego walking in the furnace
" Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in
haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three
men bound into the midst of the fire ? They answered and said unto
the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men
loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt ; and
the form of the fourth is like the Son of God " (Daniel iii. 24, 25).
403. UNCLE TOBY AND WIDOW WADMAN.
C. R. Leslie, R.A. (1794-1859).
Charles Robert Leslie (father of Mr. G. D. Leslie, R.A.) is one of
the best of English artists in that class of genre painting which concerns
itself, not like Wilkie's with contemporary life, but with literary illus-
tration. He had much sympathetic imagination, enabling him to enter
into the spirit of the authors he illustrated ; an unerring refinement,
which kept him from offending good taste ; and above all, great skill in
giving subtleties of expression. " There has perhaps never been a
greater master than Leslie," says Mr. Ruskin, "of the phases of such
delicate expression on the human face as may be excited by the slight
passions and humours of the drawing-room or boudoir. . . . His
subtleties of expression are endlessly delightful. . . . The more I learn
of art, the more respect I feel for Mr. Leslie's painting, as such ; and for
the way it brings out the expressional result he requires. Given a certain
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 515
quantity of oil colour, 1 to be laid with one touch of pencil, so as to pro-
duce at once the subtlest and largest expressional result possible, and there
is no man living who seems to me to come at all near to Mr. Leslie, his
work being, in places, equal to Hogarth for decision, and here and
there a little lighter and more graceful, Hogarth always laying his colour
somewhat in daubs and spots" (Academy Notes, 1855, p. 30; 1857,
p. 22 ; 1859, p. 19). Besides his skill as a painter, Leslie made claim
to distinction as an author . For three years ( 1 848- 1 85 1 ) he was Professor
of Painting at the Academy, and he afterwards (1855) published his
lectures under the title of A Handbook for Young Painters a rash pro-
ceeding, says Mr. Ruskin, for "the power over slight and passing
expression is always a separate gift, eminently possessed by many
caricaturists, and it has never, I believe, in a single instance been con-
sistent with any understanding of the qualities of the highest art."
Other books, about which there is less reason for difference of opinion,
are Leslie's Life of Constable (1845), with whom he had a long and
warm friendship, and his interesting Autobiographical Recollections
(edited by Tom Taylor, 1860).
It is an interesting coincidence that Leslie, a great painter of literary
illustration, began life as a bookseller's apprentice. He was born in
Clerkenwell, of American parents, who returned when he was five to
Philadelphia. The circumstances of his call to the career of art are
not unlike those of Maclise's (see p. 520). The town of Philadelphia
had gone mad over the arrival of the celebrated actor, G. G. Cooke.
By the good offices of a friendly scene painter, Leslie saw the great
man in Macbeth, and made a likeness of him. Bradford, Leslie's
employer, was so much struck by it that he raised a subscription for
sending the young man to study art in Europe. In 1811 Leslie
arrived in London, and entered the Academy Schools. He came with
plenty of introductions, and soon found himself among friends, chief
amongst whom were Washington Irving, and Newton the artist.
" Nothing could be more agreeable," he says, "than my daily inter-
course at this period. We visited in the same families, chiefly
Americans resident in London, and generally dined together at the
York Chop House, in Wardour Street. Delightful were our excursions
to Richmond or Greenwich, or to some suburban fair, on the top of
a coach." In 1821 Leslie was elected A.R.A., in 1826 R.A. In
1825 he had married, and in 1833 the prospect of a settled income
induced him to accept an appointment as Professor of Drawing at the
Military Academy of West Point, New York. After five months,
however, he returned to London, and continued to contribute regularly
to the Academy exhibitions. He lived on friendly terms with all the
artists and connoisseurs of the day such as Wilkie, Constable,
1 Of oil-colour as a means of conveying expression, that is ; not as
itself conveying a pleasurable sensation. In the colour gift, in this latter
sense Leslie was deficient. " It is, of course, not well coloured, ' ' says Mr.
Ruskin of one of his best works ; it is " meagre and cold.'
Si6 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Stothard, Turner, Sidney Smith, and Rogers ; whilst his chief patron
was Lord Egremont, for whom the first version of the " Sancho Panza "
(XXI. 402, p. 544) was painted. There are pleasant anecdotes of his visits
to Lord Egremont at Petworth, both in his own Autobiography and in Mr.
Ruskin's Dilecta (contributed by his elder son, R. C. Leslie). Very
pleasant, too, are the glimpses of Leslie's home life, of his quiet little
house in St. John's Wood, of his affection for his children, and his love
of flowers. " He had a very pretty habit," says his son, G. D. Leslie,
"of going into the garden before breakfast and picking either a honey-
suckle or a rose his favourite flowers and putting them in a glass on
the mantel-shelf in his painting-room. I hardly ever saw his room in
the summer without these flowers."
A scene from Sterne's Tristram Shandy. Behind hangs a
plan of Dunkirk ; but widow Wadman has also a plan of
campaign for capturing Uncle Toby in his sentry-box
'"I am half distracted, Captain Shandy,' said Mrs. Wadman,
holding up her cambric-handkerchief to her left eye, as she approach'd
the door of my Uncle Toby's sentry-box ; ' a mote, or sand, or some-
thing, I know not what, has got into this eye of mine ; do look into
it : it is not in the white.' ... I see him yonder, with his pipe
pendulous in his hand, and the ashes falling out of it, looking, and
looking, then rubbing his eyes and looking again, with twice the
good nature that ever Galileo looked for a spot in the sun. . . . ' I
protest, madam,' said my Uncle Toby, ' I can see nothing whatever in
your eye.' 'It is not in the white,' said Mrs. Wadman. My Uncle
Toby looked with might and main into the pupil."
" Inimitable Jack Bannister," says Tom Taylor, " one of
the pleasantest of actors, most genial of companions and
kindest of men, and a genuine lover of art into the bargain,
sat for the Uncle Toby ; and it would be hard to find a better
model for him. This picture is perhaps the best illustration of
Leslie's perfect taste. In his hands the widow becomes so
lovable a person that we overlook the fierceness of the
amorous siege she is laying to Uncle Toby's heart ; while
Uncle Toby himself is so thoroughly the gentleman so unmis-
takably innocent and unsuspecting and single-hearted that
the humour of the situation seems filtered of all its grossness."
444. "THE DEVIL TO PAY."
Augustus L. Egg, R.A. (1816-1863).
Egg was the son of a gunmaker in Piccadilly. He learnt drawing
first at the private academy of Mr. Sass, in Charlotte Street, Blooms-
bury, and afterwards as a student at the Academy. He first exhibited
there in 1838, entering at once upon the line of the higher genre in
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 517
which he afterwards became distinguished. He was elected A.R.A.
in 1848, and R.A. in 1860. He was a great friend of Mr. Frith, with
whom he made more than one continental trip. He lived at Ivy
Cottage, at the corner of the Queen's Road, and was famous for his
dinner parties, at which such men as Dickens, Leech, Mark Lemon,
and Mulready used to assemble. He was fond of acting and appeared
in Dickens's private theatricals.
A scene from Le Sage's Le Diable Boiteux. Patricio, a dis-
solute young Spaniard, has met two ladies of the town, and taken
them off to breakfast at a tavern. " Sir," says the host, " what
would you please to eat ? I have crammed chickens, partridges of
Leon, pigeons of Old Castile, and more than half a ham of
Estremadura." The ladies fell greedily upon the meat, while
Patricio feasted on the beauties of his friend. One of the
ladies lays her claws upon the partridges that remained in the
dish, and crams them into a linen pocket under her petticoat.
The game is continued until the larder is cleared, and at last
Patricio calls for the reckoning, which amounted to fifty reals.
He puts his hand into his pocket, and finding but thirty reals
there, he is forced to pawn his rosary, adorned with silver
medals, to meet the account (from The Devil on two Sticks,
1778, ch. viii.)
404. ENTRANCE TO THE ZUYDER ZEE.
Clarkson Stanfield, R.A. (1793-1867).
A good specimen of Stanfield's " true salt, serviceable, un-
sentimental sea." See under 407, p. 499.
424. IN A JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.
Solomon A. Hart, R.A. (1806-1881).
Hart, a native of Plymouth and a Jew by race, was the son of a
goldsmith, and began his professional career as a miniature painter.
The present picture, painted in 1830, was one of his earliest subject
pictures. He was elected A.R.A. in 1836, and R.A. in 1840.
acquaintance with the history and technical practice of his art was very
considerable, and from 1854 to 1863 he succeeded Leslie as Professor
of Painting at the Royal Academy. In 1865 he was elected Librarian
to the same institution, an office which he held until the close of his
life discharging its duties with zeal and ability. Indeed it is not too
much to say that to his untiring energy in the acquisition and arrange-
ment of publications, whether English or foreign, bearing on the
subject the Royal Academy owes the excellence and usefulness of Us
present library. For some years he was Curator of the pictures in
Greenwich Hospital ; and one of the Art Examiners to the Science
and Art Department at South Kensington " (Official Catalogue).
5i8 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
" The five books of Moses, here called the Law, contained
fifty-three sections, so that by reading one on each Sabbath,
and two in one day, they read through the whole in the course
of a year ; finishing at the Feast of Tabernacles (in October),
which they called the Rejoicing of the Law. The Jewish
doctors, to show their reverence for the Scriptures, always
stood when they read them, but when they taught the people
they sat down " (Burder's Oriental Customs),
6O4. DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE.
Sir E. Landseer, RA. (1802-1873). See under 1226, p. 505.
" The noble blood-hound of the Duke of Grafton's breed
(exhibited 1839), who calmly regards an approaching person,
has received on terms of intimacy a snappish little Scotch
terrier, whose irritability is not soothed by grand companion-
ship. The big dog's name was 'Grafton,' a name of his
family ; that of the little one is unknown to fame " (Stephens,
P- 79).
408. CLARISSA HARLOWE IN THE SPUNGING-
HOUSE.
Charles Landseer, R.A. (1799-1879).
Charles, elder brother of Edwin Landseer, was a pupil of Haydon,
and entered the Academy Schools in 1816. He first exhibited at the
Academy in 1828, and was elected A.R.A. in 1842, and R.A. in
1845, his pictures being mainly "historical." From 1851 to 1873
he was Keeper of the Academy.
The unfortunate heroine of Richardson's romance (the
story of whose cruel injuries, at the hands of the rake
Lovelace, lacerated the hearts of half the ladies of England
a century ago) has just been carried to the debtors' prison
by the infamous procuress's orders, and is now kneeling in
prayer in a tattered bedroom. The drawing of a gibbet on
the walls, with some other indications, tell of the calling of
the last occupants :
"A bed at one corner, with coarse curtains tucked up at the
feet to the ceiling; because the curtain rings were broken off; a
coverlid plaguily in tatters ; the windows dark and double-barred,
the tops boarded up to save mending ; an old, tottering, worm-eaten
table ; on the mantel-piece an iron shove-up candlestick, and near that,
on the same shelf, an old looking-glass, cracked through the middle. . . .
And this, thoti horrid Lovelace, was the bedchamber of the divine Clarissa !
. . . She was kneeling in a corner of the room, near the dismal window,
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 519
against the table, her back to the door ; her arms crossed upon the
table, the forefinger of her right hand in her Bible. She had perhaps
been reading in it, and could read no longer. Paper, pens, ink, lay
by her book on the table. Her dress was white lustring, exceeding
neat. ... Her head-dress was a little discomposed ; her charming
hair in natural ringlets, but a little tangled, irregularly shading one
side of the loveliest neck in the world, as her disordered rumpled
handkerchief did the other. Her face, how altered, yet lovely in
spite of all her griefs and sufferings, was reclined upon her crossed
arms " (compressed from Richardson's Clarissa, book 6, letter 66).
1O40. A RIVER SCENE.
William J. Miiller (1812-1 845).
Miiller, whose father, a German, was Curator of the Bristol
Museum, and the author of some books on natural history, was
apprenticed at fifteen to J. B. Pyne, the landscape painter, and from
that time to his early death never departed from the habit of studying
nature closely. " I paint in oil on the spot," he wrote from Wales in
1842 (the year before the first volume of Modern Painters was
published) ; ' ' indeed, I am more than ever convinced of the actual
necessity of looking at nature with a much more observant eye than
the most of young artists do, and in particular at skies ; these are
generally neglected." His earliest pictures were of the country around
Bristol. In 1833 he first exhibited at the Academy, but neither then,
nor at any period of his career, were his pictures well hung there.
In 1834 he travelled in Switzerland; in 1838 in Greece and Egypt,
settling on his return in London. After various other excursions he
set out in 1843 for Lycia with the expedition undertaken by Sir
Charles Fellowes for the Dilettanti Society ; the collection of sketches
and drawings which he made on this expedition is now in the British
Museum. " After two detentions in quarantine on the return
journey, he writes : ' I want to paint it's oozing out of my fingers.
I covered the walls of the lazaretto at Smyrna ; and at Malta they
would not let me.' His passion for art consumed him before his
time. . . . His strength gave way ; the heart was affected, and
while his brother, who nursed him tenderly, was setting his palette
for him, he fell back and died at the age of thirty-three. He had
worked until the very last. When he could no longer go out to
sketch, he brushed a fresco on the walls of his room, and was
painting from the flowers and fruit his friends sent him when he died "
(F. Sitwell, in English Art in the Public Galleries, pp. 155, 156).
A scene, apparently in Scotland, "land of the mountains
and the flood," very typical of the modern interest in wild and
solitary landscape, such as the mediaeval painters avoided
altogether, or only introduced as scenes of terror or penance,
and not as itself beautiful or conducive to such gently serious
thought as the poet finds in
522 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
in his pictures. As to colour, he gave it up altogether ; and when
any reference was made to the old masters or the National Gallery,
Maclise expressed his contempt in much the same words as those of
another mistaken clever R.A., who would 'like to burn them all from
Moscow to Madrid.'" The absence of truth and nature in Maclise's
colouring of flesh will be obvious to any spectator as soon as it is
pointed out. Another defect on which Mr. Ruskin lays stress is
Maclise's painting of hair (a defect conspicuous both in the Countess here
and in Ophelia in XXI. 422, p. 564) : " If Mr. Maclise looks fairly, and
without any previous prejudice, at a girl's hair, however close to him,
and however carefully curled, he will find that it verily does not look
like a piece of wood carved into scrolls, and French-polished after-
wards. ... It is not often that I plead for any imitation of the work of
bygone days, but, very seriously, I think no pupil should be allowed
to pass the examination ordeal of our school of painting until he had
copied, in a satisfactory manner, a lock of hair by Correggio. Once
let him do that with any tolerable success, and he would know to the
end of his life both what the word ' painting ' meant ; and with what
flowing light and golden honour the Maker of the human form has
crowned its power, and veiled its tenderness" (Academy Notes, 1857,
pp. 12, 13). To Maclise's absence of truth must be added a certain lack
of distinction and a stageyness which make his Shakespearean pictures
unpleasant to those familiar with the poet. 1 There is much truth in
some advice which Sir George Beaumont once gave to Haydon.
" For my part," he said, " I have always doubted the pmdence of
painting from poets. This is particularly applicable to painting from
Shakespeare, when you not only have the powerful productions of his
mind's pencil to contend with, but also the perverted representations
of the theatres." The " perverted representations " in this case are
hardly those of the stage ; it is the impression left on the mind by
such actresses as Miss Ellen Terry that makes Maclise's wooden
figures additionally unsatisfying.
Mr. Frith attributes Maclise's defects, we have seen, to his too
scanty training and too quick success. He was, indeed, no more than
nineteen 2 when he made a happy hit with a drawing of Sir Walter
Scott, then on a visit to Cork, which attracted the poet's attention and
induced Maclise to open a studio. He was the son of a respectable
tradesman at Cork, and had a respectable education in that town,
being particularly distinguished for proficiency in English literature and
history. He was then sent to a bank, but found time to learn some
anatomy at a surgeon's. By 1827 he had saved enough money to go
1 "Nothing, perhaps, can more completely demonstrate the total
ignorance of the public of all that is great or valuable in Shakespeare
than their universal admiration of Maclise's Hamlet " (Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt i. sec. i. ch. i. 2 n. )
J Or, according to his own account, fourteen. Maclise used to say he
was born in 1811 ; but the register of the old Presbyterian Church at Cork
fixes 1806 as the date.
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 523
over to London and join the Academy Schools. Next year he made
another hit with a sketch of Charles Kean (the younger), taken at a
Drury Lane "first night." At the Academy Schools he carried
everything before him, and in 1829 the first picture he exhibited a
' ' Malvolio " (of which this is a replica) brought him at once into fashion.
From that year onwards he was a regular exhibitor at the Academy,
often sending six or seven pictures in one year. He was elected
A. R. A. in 1834, and R. A. in 1840. His labours in Westminster
Hall had a bad effect on his health, and the death of his sister, who
kept his house, in 1865, further shattered him. He declined the
Presidency of the Academy in that year, and five years later died of
acute pneumonia at his house in Cheyne Walk.
From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act iii. Sc. 4.
Olivia whose "red and white" the painter has hardly fol-
lowed " Nature's cunning hand" in "laying on" is seated in
her garden, thinking sadly of her unrequited love for Viola.
Her maid Maria stands behind her, chuckling over the trick
she has played upon Malvolio, Olivia's steward, by bidding
him, in a letter pretending to be from her mistress, come with
a smiling face, and " remember who commended thy yellow
stockings and wished to see thee cross -gartered." "Yond
gull Malvolio does obey every point of the letter that Maria
dropped to betray him : he does smile his face into more lines
than is in the new map with the augmentation of the
Indies "
Olivia. How now, Malvolio !
Malvolio. Sweet lady, ho, ho.
Olivia. Why, how dost thou, man ? what is the matter with
thee?
Malvolio. Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs.
Olivia. God comfort thee ! Why dost thou smile so and kiss
thy hand so oft ?
427. A DAME'S SCHOOL.
T. Webster, R.A. (1800-1886). See under 426, p. 513.
In every village marked with little spire,
Embowered in trees and hardly known to fame,
There dwells in lowly shed and mean attire
A matron old, whom we schoolmistress name,
Who boasts unruly brats with birch to tame :
They, grieven sore, in piteous durance pent,
Awed by the power of this relentless dame,
And ofttimes on vagaries idly bent,
For unkempt hair, or task unconned, are sorely snent.
o HEN STONE.
522 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
in his pictures. As to colour, he gave it up altogether ; and when
any reference was made to the old masters or the National Gallery,
Maclise expressed his contempt in much the same words as those of
another mistaken clever R.A., who would 'like to burn them all from
Moscow to Madrid.'" The absence of truth and nature in Maclise's
colouring of flesh will be obvious to any spectator as soon as it is
pointed out. Another defect on which Mr. Ruskin lays stress is
Maclise's painting of hair (a defect conspicuous both in the Countess here
and in Ophelia in XXI. 422, p. 564) : " If Mr. Maclise looks fairly, and
without any previous prejudice, at a girl's hair, however close to him,
and however carefully curled, he will find that it verily does not look
like a piece of wood carved into scrolls, and French-polished after-
wards. ... It is not often that I plead for any imitation of the work of
bygone days, but, very seriously, I think no pupil should be allowed
to pass the examination ordeal of our school of painting until he had
copied, in a satisfactory manner, a lock of hair by Correggio. Once
let him do that with any tolerable success, and he would know to the
end of his life both what the word ' painting ' meant ; and with what
flowing light and golden honour the Maker of the human form has
crowned its power, and veiled its tenderness" (Academy Notes, 1857,
pp. 12, 13). To Maclise's absence of truth must be added a certain lack
of distinction and a stageyness which make his Shakespearean pictures
unpleasant to those familiar with the poet. 1 There is much truth in
some advice which Sir George Beaumont once gave to Haydon.
" For my part," he said, " I have always doubted the pmdence of
painting from poets. This is particularly applicable to painting from
Shakespeare, when you not only have the powerful productions of his
mind's pencil to contend with, but also the perverted representations
of the theatres." The "perverted representations" in this case are
hardly those of the stage ; it is the impression left on the mind by
such actresses as Miss Ellen Terry that makes Maclise's wooden
figures additionally unsatisfying.
Mr. Frith attributes Maclise's defects, we have seen, to his too
scanty training and too quick success. He was, indeed, no more than
nineteen 2 when he made a happy hit with a drawing of Sir Walter
Scott, then on a visit to Cork, which attracted the poet's attention and
induced Maclise to open a studio. He was the son of a respectable
tradesman at Cork, and had a respectable education in that town,
being particularly distinguished for proficiency in English literature and
history. He was then sent to a bank, but found time to learn some
anatomy at a surgeon's. By 1827 he had saved enough money to go
1 "Nothing, perhaps, can more completely demonstrate the total
ignorance of the public of all that is great or valuable in Shakespeare
than their universal admiration of Maclise's Hamlet " (Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. i. sec. i. ch. i. 2 n. )
* Or, according to his own account, fourteen. Maclise used to say he
was born in 1811 ; but the register of the old Presbyterian Church at Cork
fixes 1806 as the date.
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 523
over to London and join the Academy Schools. Next year he made
another hit with a sketch of Charles Kean (the younger), taken at a
Drury Lane "first night." At the Academy Schools he carried
everything before him, and in 1829 the first picture he exhibited a
' ' Malvolio " (of which this is a replica) brought him at once into fashion.
From that year onwards he was a regular exhibitor at the Academy,
often sending six or seven pictures in one year. He was elected
A. R. A. in 1834, and R. A. in 1840. His labours in Westminster
Hall had a bad effect on his health, and the death of his sister, who
kept his house, in 1865, further shattered him. He declined the
Presidency of the Academy in that year, and five years later died of
acute pneumonia at his house in Cheyne Walk.
From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act iii. Sc. 4.
Olivia whose "red and white" the painter has hardly fol-
lowed " Nature's cunning hand " in " laying on " is seated in
her garden, thinking sadly of her unrequited love for Viola.
Her maid Maria stands behind her, chuckling over the trick
she has played upon Malvolio, Olivia's steward, by bidding
him, in a letter pretending to be from her mistress, come with
a smiling face, and "remember who commended thy yellow
stockings and wished to see thee cross -gartered." "Yond
gull Malvolio does obey every point of the letter that Maria
dropped to betray him : he does smile his face into more lines
than is in the new map with the augmentation of the
Indies "
Olivia. How now, Malvolio !
Malvolio. Sweet lady, ho, ho.
Olivia. Why, how dost thou, man ? what is the matter with
thee?
Malvolio. Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs.
Olivia. God comfort thee ! Why dost thou smile so and kiss
thy hand so oft ?
427. A DAME'S SCHOOL.
T. Webster, R.A. (1800-1886). See under 426, p. 513.
In every village marked with little spire,
Embowered in trees and hardly known to fame,
There dwells in lowly shed and mean attire
A matron old, whom we schoolmistress name,
Who boasts unruly brats with birch to tame :
They, grieven sore, in piteous durance pent,
Awed by the power of this relentless dame,
And ofttimes on vagaries idly bent,
For unkempt hair, or task unconned, are sorely snent.
SHENSTONE,
524 ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
450. A VILLAGE HOLIDAY OF THE OLDEN TIME.
F. Goodall, R.A. (born 1822 : still living).
See under 451, p. 501.
When the merry bells ring round,
And the jocund rebecks sound,
To many a youth and many a maid,
Dancing in the chequered shade ;
And young and old come forth to play
On a sunshine holiday.
MILTON'S L? Allegro.
615. THE DERBY DAY.
W. P. Frith, R.A. (born 1819 : still living).
Mr. William Powell Frith, the most widely popular painter of his day,
was born at Aldfield in Yorkshire, his father being a servant at Studley
Royal, and afterwards landlord of the Dragon Inn at Harrogate. His
family were from the first anxious to make an artist of him, his own
inclination, however, being to the trade of auctioneer. He was
educated at a private school near Dover, and in 1835 entered Mr.
Sass's drawing school at 6 Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury a school
which has the honour of turning out many of our best painters, Sir
John Millais amongst the number. Here Mr. Frith for two years drew
from the antique, afterwards passing into the Academy Schools. He
obtained some little occupation as a portrait painter in country houses,
and his first picture subjects were from Scott and Shakespeare one of
these, a " Malvolio," was hung at the Academy in 1840, the same year
in which Maclise's " Malvolio" (423, p. 520) was exhibited. It was
Maclise whom Mr. Frith set himself at this period to imitate, his great
difficulty, as he tells us, being to think of subjects. A picture of
" Dolly Varden" secured him the friendship of Dickens, and in 1844
he was elected A.R.A. In 1852 he was elected R.A. in succession
to Turner. It was in this year that he first attempted a subject in
modern life, to which he had always felt impelled, but from which the
difficulty of dealing with modern costume had long deterred him.
His first great success in this line was with " Ramsgate Sands " in
1854. This was followed by "The Derby Day," "The Railway
Station," "The Marriage of the Prince of Wales," "The Road to
Ruin," "The Race for Wealth," "For Better or for Worse," and
"The Private View." Of late years Mr. Frith has returned to
literary and historical subjects, but it is on his pictorial mirrors of
modern life that he justly bases his claim to fame. The limits of
that fame were thus defined by Mr. Ruskin in criticising the present
picture, which is admittedly the painter's masterpiece: " I am not sure
how much power is involved in the production of such a picture as
this ; great ability there is assuredly long and careful study con-
siderable humour untiring industry all of them qualities entitled to
high praise, which I doubt not they will receive from the delighted
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 525
public. It is also quite proper and desirable that this English carnival
should be painted ; and of the entirely popular manner of painting,
which, however, we must remember, is necessarily, because popular,
stooping and restricted, I have never seen an abler example. The
drawing of the distant figures seems to me especially dexterous and
admirable ; but it is very difficult to characterise the picture in accurate
general terms. It is a kind of cross between John Leech and Wilkie,
with a dash of daguerreotype here and there, and some pretty seasoning
with Dickens's sentiment" (Academy Notes, 1858, p. 20).
A scene on the race-course at Epsom in May 1856 Blink
Bonnie's year, in days when gambling-tents and thimble-rigging,
prick-in-the-garter and the three-card trick had not been stopped
by the police. " The picture shows us," says a fellow-acade-
mician, "as Hogarth did, what the life of our great metropolis
is like. The races on Epsom Downs, the great saturnalia of
British sport, bring to the surface all that is most characteristic
of London life. In this picture we can discern its elements,
its luxury, its wealth, its beauty and refinement, its respecta-
bility and its boredom, its hopeless, unspeakable misery. All
its sad tales are told, from that of the jaded Traviata seated
in her carriage to the thimble-rigger's accomplice, luring a silly
countryman to lose his money, and the hungry young acrobat,
who forgets all about his somersault in the cravings of his poor
empty little stomach. Though Mr. Frith does not intentionally
pose as a moralist in this picture, its truth and its wealth of
incident answer the same purpose. We are surrounded by
evils, many of them past cure, and not of our own making.
It must needs be that offences come, and not only woe but
utter discomfort and ennui must come to those by whom they
come so it is written, and so it fares with this mad world-
and here is the sign of it !" (J. E. Hodgson : Fifty Years of
British Art, p. 23). Of the origin, production, and reception of
the picture, Mr. Frith gives a very interesting account in his
Autobiography. He came back from Epsom in 1856 con-
vinced that the scene offered "abundant material for the line
of art to which I felt obliged, in the absence of higher gifts, to
devote myself; and the more I considered the kaleidoscopic
aspect of the crowd on Epsom Downs, the more firm became
my resolve to attempt to reproduce it." Mr. Frith began to
transfer his mental notes to canvas, and after making numbers
of studies from models for all the principal figures, P r epared
small sketch of the whole composition. Mr. Jacob Bell saw
526 ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
it, and at once commissioned the artist to paint a large picture
from it. The price was to be ^1500 ; while for the copyright
for the engraving Mr. Frith obtained another ^1500. The
sum was large ; but the picture involved an immense amount
of labour, and a very large number of models. For the main
incident, that of the acrobat and his hungry little boy, the
artist found what was wanted in the Drury Lane pantomime ; but
the young gentleman's idea of sitting being to throw somer-
saults, Mr. Frith acquired their dresses and put them on
professional models. His friends and children were also put
largely under contribution. The lady in a riding-habit in
the left-hand corner is "that witty, charming creature, Miss
Gilbert," who also figures in Landseer's " Pretty Horse
Breaker." With regard to the racing element, " my deter-
mination to keep the horses as much in the background as
possible did not arise," says Mr. Frith, "from the fact of my
not being able to paint them properly, so much as from my
desire that the human being should be paramount ; still it was
impossible to avoid the steeds and their riders altogether.
There I found my friend Tattersall of great service. He pro-
cured an excellent type of the jockey class a delightful little
fellow, who rode a wooden horse in my studio, and surprised
me by his endurance of a painful attitude, that of raising him-
self in his stirrups and leaning forward in the manner of his
tribe." When at last, " after fifteen months' incessant labour,"
the picture was ready for the Academy of 1858, Mr. Frith tells
us how Maclise spoke of the "gem -like bits of the beautiful
mosaic you have so skilfully put together," and how, when the
exhibition was opened (then in Trafalgar Square), the Queen
" instead of, as she invariably did, looking at the pictures in
their order according to the Catalogue, went at once to mine ;
and after a little while sent for me and complimented me in
the kindest manner. ... It was on this occasion that the
Prince Consort surprised me exceedingly by his intimate
knowledge of what I may call the conduct of a picture. He
told me why I had done certain things, and how, if a certain
change had been made, my object would have been assisted.
I put many of the Prince's suggestions to the proof after the
close of the exhibition, and I improved my picture in every
instance." The verdict of the Queen was endorsed by her
people. So great was the crowd round " The Derby Day " that
a rail had to be fixed up to protect it an attention that had
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 527
been paid to no picture since Wilkie's " Chelsea Pensioners "
in 1822. "People three or four deep before the picture,"
reported the owner to the artist, " those in front with their
faces within three or four inches of the canvas. The nature of
the picture requires a close inspection to read, mark, learn and
inwardly digest it ; and from what I have seen, I think it not
unlikely that some of the readers will leave their mark upon it,
unless means be taken to keep them at a respectful distance."
The critics and some of the painter's academic brethren were
not equally enthusiastic. "There is no hope for art in this
country," said one of them, " when the people are so besotted
as to crowd round such a thing as that." " That thing of
yours," said another, " is very popular ; but I intend next
year to exhibit Monday Morning at Newgate, the hanging
morning, you know. I shall have a man hanging, and the
crowd about him ; great variety of character, you know. I
wonder you never thought of it"
815. DUTCH BOATS AT FLUSHING.
P. J. Clays (Belgian: born 1819; still living).
Pierre Jean Clays is a native of Bruges. He studied art in Paris
under Gudin, and afterwards settled at Brussels, where in 1851 he re-
ceived a gold medal. He has frequently exhibited at the French Salon,
and is a chevalier of the Legion of Honour as well as of the Order of
Leopold. For a long time, says a French critic, "the sea, or rather
the water, has had no interpreter more exact than Clays : he knows its
clearness, and he knows how to render the little noisy waves, all bathed
in li"ht." " He does not paint the sea," says another, " but the Scheldt
where it widens, and those gray and light waters that bear you on a
steamer from Moerdyk to Rotterdam. With a profound feeling for
these things he expresses the humidity of the skies of Western Flanders,
the sleep of the calmed waters, or the caressing, and sometimes menacing,
of the breeze which makes the little uneasy waves stride around the
barees loaded to the brim." Some of his pictures have fetched very
large prices one having sold in New York for 3550 (Miss Clements
and Lawrence Hutton : Artists of the Nineteenth Century).
1205. LAKE COMO: VARENNA.
Frederick Lee Bridell (i 83 i-i 863).
This talented painter, who died of consumption, was a native of
Southampton, and at first self-taught. His genius s detected by a
local picture -dealer, who gave him commissions which enabled him
o go abroad for purposes of study. He exhibited at the Academy
n 1859, and went to the Italian Lakes-a visit which resulted
528 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
(besides other pictures) in this one. It was presented to the Gallery in
1886 by his widow. Many of his pictures were commissions from Mr.
Wolff of Southampton, who formed a Bridell Gallery there.
The scene is the slope, with woods of sweet chestnut, above
Varenna "a tangled mass of woods, of light and shade."
Below is " the green blue of the waters, clear as glass, opaque
through depth." To the left, in the extreme distance, is the
crest of Monte Rosa, "flushed and phantom -fair." It was
from an opposite spot on the lake that Longfellow, looking
over to Varenna, wrote the lines
I ask myself is this a dream ?
Will it all vanish into air ?
Is there a land of such supreme
And perfect beauty anywhere ?
Sweet vision ! Do not fade away ;
Linger until my heart shall take
Into itself the summer day,
And all the beauty of the lake.
447. DUTCH BOATS IN A CALM.
E. W. Cooke, RA. (1811-1880).
One of the very numerous sea-pieces of the same kind which
Edward W. Cooke, who was of Dutch descent and who visited
Holland fifteen times, was constantly producing. His father was well
known as an engraver of Turner's pictures, and he himself was at first
largely employed in similar work. He also studied botany, geology,
and architecture, and became a fellow of several learned societies.
He was elected A.R.A. in 1851, and R.A. in 1864. His pictures are
very numerous ; and amongst other "quarries across the foam" hunted
by him are Venice, Spain, and Egypt.
448. THE BOAT HOUSE.
E. W. Cooke, R.A. (1811-1880).
241. THE PARISH BEADLE.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under 99, p. 490.
" And an officer giveth sufficient notice what he is, when he
saith to the party, ' I arrest you in the king's name ' ; and in
such case the party, at their peril, ought to obey him " (Burns's
Justice of the Peace). Such was the quotation in the Academy
Catalogue when the picture was exhibited in 1823. There is
no doubt that the officer has given due notice to the party of
Savoyards of his importance as a minister of the king ; but the
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 529
black-eyed woman with the hurdy-gurdy seems half inclined to
resist him. It is characteristic of Mr. Bumble (who was a fat
and choleric man) that he should have seized the small boy
for his especial charge. The picture is interesting technically,
as being the first which Wilkie painted in the larger and bolder
manner which characterised his later works. Wilkie's usual
dog is impressed into the service of the strolling minstrels ; the
monkey was painted, Wilkie tells us in his Diary, from one
at Exeter Change (then a large menagerie, on the site of the
present Exeter Hall).
342. COWS GRAZING: EARLY MORNING.
Sir A. W. Callcott, R.A. (1779-1844).
See under XVIII. 343, p. 464.
331. NEWSMONGERS.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under 99, p. 490.
" Wilkie is one of those happy natures, neither gloomy nor
dreamy nor enthusiastic, who have the good sense to think
that everything is arranged for the best in the best of all
possible worlds. Public calamity does not affect him ; he
lives in the midst of a little group of persons who do not suffer
by the fall of empires, and who often hear nothing about
national catastrophes until everything is once more in order.
The newspaper may be read in those parts, but it is that of
last year, and one cannot get very sad or cry long over ancient
history " (Chesneau : The English School, p. 89).
183. SIR DAVID WILKIE.
Thomas Phillips, R.A. (1770-1845).
Phillips was originally a glass painter, and afterwards a painter of
historical subjects; but from 1796 his pictures were almost entirely
portraits, of which he exhibited 339 in the Academy. He was elected
A. R.A. in 1804, and R.A. in 1808 ; whilst from 1825 to 1832 he was
Professor of Painting. He was a friend of Wilkie (one of whose last
letters was to him), and upon Wilkie's death he presented this portrait
to the National Gallery.
Painted in 1829, when Wilkie was forty-four, and was
already broken in health. He had just returned from his three
years' residence abroad, but he looked, says Haydon, " thinner
and seemed more nervous than ever; his keen and bushy
brow looked irritable, eager, nervous, and full of genius. . . .
He looked gaunt and feeble. God knows what to make of
Wilkie's health." One sees something of Wilkie's nervous
2 M
530 ROOM XX ; ENGLISH SCHOOL
temperament in this portrait, but still more of the modesty and
good humour of a man who had no enemies and many friends,
and of whom Scott said " no man possesses more justly the
general esteem and affection."
81O. PARDON DAY IN BRITTANY.
Charles Poussin (French : born 1819 ; still living).
M. Pierre Charles Poussin was a pupil of L. Cogniet, and has been an
exhibitor at the French Salon since 1842, but has never obtained a
prize. Many of his pictures have been, like this one, of scenes in
Brittany. He has not exhibited since 1882.
The scene is that of a f6te held in honour of Notre Dame
de Bon Secours of Guingamp in Brittany, on the 2d of July in
every year. Pope Paul V. in 1619 granted a plenary indul-
gence to all persons " who truly confessed and communicated,
who shall visit the said church of Notre Dame de Guingamp
on the day and fete of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, which it is the custom every year to celebrate on the 2d
day of July ; who shall devotionally pray for the preservation
of concord and peace among all Christian princes ; who shall
render hospitality to the poor pilgrims ; who shall make peace
with their enemies, and snail promote it amongst others shall,
in short, sweetly bring into the way of salvation some unfortu-
nate and erring soul." An English visitor published a long
account of the fete in the Standard of July 5 and following
days in 1870, describing "the frank but sedate festivity" and
" merry-making under the trees." That was twenty years after
this picture was painted. Meyerbeer's opera of Dinorah refers
to a similar festival.
13O. THE CORN FIELD.
/. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837).
See under XVIII. 1235, P- 459-
This picture known sometimes as " The Corn Field," some-
times as " The Country Lane " was presented to the Gallery
by an association of gentlemen who bought it of Constable's
executors. The scene depicted is very characteristic of the
painter, being just such as Mrs. Browning describes as typical
of lowland England
I learnt to love that England . . .
such an up and down
Of verdure, nothing too much up or down,
A ripple of land ; such little hills, the sky
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 531
Can stoop to tenderly and the wheatfields climb ;
Such nooks of valleys . . .
Fed full of noises by invisible streams ;
And open pastures . . .
at intervals
The mystic oaks and elm-trees standing out
Self-poised upon their prodigy of shade.
Aurora Leigh.
1207. THE HAY WAIN.
/. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837).
See under XVIII. 1235, p. 459.
This picture was exhibited at Somerset House in 1821.
Twelve months later it was at the British Institution, but at
neither place did it find a purchaser. In 1823 a French
dealer offered Constable ^70 for it. This was refused ; but
in 1824 the painter sold both it and "A Lock" to the same
man for .250, throwing in a small picture of Yarmouth. The
two larger landscapes were hung in that year's " Salon," where
they made a great stir among artists, and won a gold medal
from the king, and called forth the criticisms already alluded
to (see p. 460). The spot represented is the same as in 327,
one looking up, the other down the Stour. There is a fresh-
ness in the landscape which explains what the French critics
said : " Look," they cried, " at these pictures by the English-
man. The ground seems to be covered with dew."
327. THE VALLEY FARM.
/. Constable, R.A. (1776-1837).
See under XVIII. 1235, P- 459-
The farmhouse on the banks of the Stour is that known as
Willy Lott's house a veritable "haunt of ancient peace,"
for of Willy Lott, who was born in it, it is said that he lived
more than eighty years without having spent four whole days
away from it. Constable lived in London, but it was his
Suffolk home that he loved to paint
. . . the lovely laughter of the wind-swayed wheat,
The easy slope of yonder pastoral hill.
JEAN INGELOW : Honours.
124. THE REV. WILLIAM HOLWELL CARR.
John Jackson, R.A. ( 1 7 7 8- 1 8 3 1 .)
A portrait of one of the principal benefactors of the National
Gallery, by an artist who owed his training to the generosity of another.
532 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Jackson was the son of a tailor in Yorkshire, of Methodist inclinations.
Sir George Beaumont, seeing the promise in some of his earlier sketches,
received the young man into his town house and gave him an annual
allowance of .50 to enable him to study at the Academy. Jackson
made good use of his opportunities, and became A.R.A. in 1815, R.A.
in 1817. He painted the portraits of several of his brother academicians,
and otherwise enjoyed a large practice in this branch of art, being
especially noted for his speed of hand : he was able, it is said, to turn
out a finished portrait in six sittings of an hour each.
The present portrait was painted by Mr. Carr's direction, in
order to be included in his munificent gift to the Gallery,
particulars of which may be gathered from Index II., and which
included fine pictures by Titian, Claude, Tintoret, Andrea del
Sarto, Rembrandt, and the Poussins. Mr. Carr was an absentee
country clergyman who held a rich living, married a rich wife,
and devoted himself and his fortune to the arts. He was
educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he was elected to a
fellowship. It was when travelling in Italy on the strength of
this fellowship that he began to form his collection of pictures.
From 1797-1820 he exhibited, as an "honorary exhibitor" at
the Academy, a series of landscape views done by himself.
He died in 1830, at the age of seventy-two, in his house at
Devonshire Place, and his pictures came next year into the
National Gallery by his bequest.
429. THE PATHWAY TO THE VILLAGE CHURCH.
Thomas Creswick^ R.A. (181 1-1869).
Creswick a native of Sheffield, who settled in London and had a
career of uniform success as a landscape painter, broken only by some
years of heart disease at the end is entitled to particular mention as
having in his early practice set an example, then much needed, of diligent
sketching out of doors. To this practice must be attributed his success
in rendering such sunny aspects of woodland England as we see in this
picture. Mr. Ruskin instances Creswick as a typical " modern painter "
not of the first class, in the faithfulness of his study from nature, in con-
trast to the conventional untruthfulness in old masters such as Poussin
(see under XIV. 68, p. 364). Creswick's is " the work of a man who has
sought earnestly for truth : and who, with one thought or memory of
nature in his heart, could look at the two landscapes, and receive
Poussin's with ordinary patience? . . . Creswick has sweet feeling,
and tries for the real green too, but, from want of science in his shadows,
ends in green paint instead of green light " (Modern Painters, vol. i.
pt. ii. sec. vi. ch. i. 20, 34).
A young girl pauses at the stile
The " why " is plain as way to parish church.
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 533
918. FISHERMAN WITH A GUN.
T. S. Good (1789-1872). See under 378, p. 498.
A coast scene near the painter's home, at Berwick the
fisherman on the look-out for sea-gulls.
398. HAIDEE: A GREEK GIRL.
Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, P.R.A. (1793-1866).
Sir Charles Eastlake, though he was President of the Royal
Academy (elected 1850), is more interesting, in a handbook to the
National Gallery, as a Keeper, than as a painter, of pictures. On the
death of Mr. Seguier, the original Keeper of the Gallery, in 1843,
Eastlake was appointed to succeed him. This office he resigned in
1847, partly in consequence of the outcry raised in the newspapers
against the management of the Gallery, and in particular the purchase
of the spurious Holbein (see p. 261). The history of the dispute may
be read in the fullest detail in the Report of the Select Committee of
1853, an impartial study of which shows that whatever blunders may
have been committed were principally due to the system of divided
responsibility. In 1855 the management of the Gallery was entirely
reorganised, and Sir Charles Eastlake (who was already, in virtue of
his being P.R.A., an ex-officio trustee) was appointed Director at a
salary of ;iooo, an office which he held, being re-elected every five
years, till his death. The chief feature of the new scheme was the
grant of an annual sum, to be expended at the discretion of the Director
in the purchase of pictures. Up to 1855 the total number of pictures
purchased for the Gallery from its foundation in 1824 was only ninety-
six ; during Sir C. Eastlake's directorate the number was 155. A
reference to Index II. will show what the pictures bought during 1855-
1866 were, and their prices. The most notable purchases were the
great Perugino, the great Paul Veronese, the Fra Angelico, the Gar-
vagh Raphael, and Gainsborough's " Mrs. Siddons." But Sir C. East-
lake's purchases in prosecution of which he used to make an annual
tour on the continent comprised 1 1 1 masters, in eight different schools,
and extended over a period of seven centuries. In these generally
judicious purchases he was assisted by his wide knowledge of the history
of painting. His Materials for a History of Oil Painting * is still the
standard work on the subject, and he also edited a translation of
Kugler's Italian Schools of Painting. His literary and official work
interfered with his professional practice as an artist, and the total num-
ber of pictures exhibited by him was only ninety-six. These were chiefly
either historical, or of subjects suggested by his early residence for four-
teen years in Italy. He was a native of Plymouth, and was educated
(like Sir Joshua Reynolds) at the Plympton Grammar School. He
1 A review of this book by Mr. Ruskin one of his only two anonymous
articles appeared in the Quarterly, and is reprinted in On the Old Road,
vol. i.
534 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
was then for a short time at the Charterhouse, and after studying under
Haydon became a pupil at the Academy Schools. In 1817 he went
to Greece and Italy. In 1827 he was elected A.R.A., in 1830 R.A.
In this latter year he returned from Italy to London, residing first in
Upper Fitzroy Street and afterwards in Fitzroy Square. He is
described as "a man of unassuming and rather courtier-like bearing,"
and he discharged his official duties with much dignity and tact. His
son is the present Keeper of the National Gallery.
This picture (exhibited at the Academy in 1831) is a trans-
lation to canvas of Byron's Haide"e, " the greatest heiress of
the Eastern Isles" (see Don Juan, Canto ii.)
Her brow was overhung with coins of gold
That sparkled o'er the auburn of her hair. . .
. . . Her dress was many colour'd, finely spun ;
Her locks curl'd negligently round her face,
But through them gold and gems profusely shone ;
Her girdle sparkled, and the richest lace
Flow'd in her veil, and many a precious stone
Flash'd on her little hand ; . . .
She wore two jellicks one was of pale yellow.
Of azure, pink, and white, was her chemise
'Neath which her breast heaved like a little billow ;
With buttons form'd of pearls as large as peas,
All gold and crimson shone her jellick's fellow ;
And the striped white gauze baracan that bound her,
Like fleecy clouds about the moon, flow'd round her.
441. A BASKET OF FRUIT AND A BIRD'S NEST.
G, Lance (1802-1864). See under 443, p. 509.
Very skilfully painted especially the raspberries. Notice
also particularly " the little pitted speck " in the pear and the
drops of moisture upon the apple. Herein Lance shows his
kinship with the Dutch flower and fruit painters. " In every
flower-piece of pretension, by the masters of that old school,
two accessory points of decoration are never absent. The first
of these is the dew-drop, or rain-drop it may be two or three
drops, of either size, on one of the smoothest petals of the
central flower. This is always, and quite openly, done to show
how well the painter can do it, not in the least with any enjoy-
ment of wetness in the flower. The Dutchman never got a wet
flower to paint from. He had his exquisite and exemplary poppy
or tulip brought in from the market, as he had occasion, and
put on its dew-drops for it, as a lady's dressing-maid puts on her
diamonds, merely for state " (Notes on Prout and Hunt, p. 14).
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 535
353. YORICK AND THE GRISETTE.
G. S. Newton, R.A. (1794-1835).
Gilbert Stuart Newton was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, whither
his parents had fled from Boston when the British were expelled by
Washington. He came to England in 1818 and entered the Academy
Schools. He was first known as a portrait painter, but afterwards took
to genre subjects. He was a great favourite in society, and his friend
Leslie complained that their intercourse wa$ too often interrupted by
Newton's social engagements. He was elected A.R.A. in 1828, and
R.A. in 1832. He became insane and died three years later in an
asylum at Chelsea. He was especially noted for his colouring.
" Newton," said Leslie, " is blessed with an exquisite eye for
colour;" and Washington Irving, who, while in England was the
friend of them both, wrote in 1834: "Newton has for some years
past been one of the most popular painters in England in that
branch of historical painting peculiarly devoted to scenes in familiar
life. His colouring is almost unrivalled, and he has a liveliness of
fancy and quickness of conception, and a facility and grace of execu-
tion, that spread a magic charm over his compositions."
From Sterne's Sentimental Journey. Mr. Yorick, the
king's jester, has entered an open shop to ask the way to the
Opera Comique : would the lady tell him ? " ' Most willingly,'
said she, laying her work down upon a chair next her. ... I
will not suppose it was the woman's beauty, notwithstanding
she was the handsomest grisette, I think, I ever saw, which
had much to do with the sense I had of her courtesy." So
sensible was he of it that he came back to ask the way again.
The shop-boy was going in that direction with a parcel of
gloves ; he should show the way. " 'Apropos] said I, ' I
want a couple of pairs myself.' The beautiful grisette rose up
when I said this, and, going behind the counter, reached down
a parcel, and untied it : I advanced to the side over against
her : they were all too large. The beautiful grisette measured
them one by one across my hand. It would not alter the
dimensions." Notice the quiet humour in the pug beside the
chair : he has a scent, it would seem, for the sentiment of
gloves.
1039. ON THE SOMERSET DOWNS.
Thomas Barker (1769-1847).
Thomas Barker, commonly known as "Barker of Bath," was the
son of a painter who settled in that town. The son found a valuable
patron in Mr. Spackman, a coach-builder, who furnished him with
means to go to Rome. He afterwards settled in Bath, where his
536 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
works are still principally to be seen, and where he found ample
patronage. Some of his pictures of landscapes and rustic subjects
attained a wide popularity, and were copied on to pottery, cottons,
and linens. He made a fortune, and his chief work is an historical
fresco, which he painted in his house at Sion Hill, Bath.
SCREEN I
1210. "ECCE ANCILLA DOMINI."
D. G. &usr/// (i 828-1 882).
Dante Gabriel Rossetti the head of the romantic movement in
modern English poetry, and of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in English
painting was born in London, the son of Gabriel Rossetti, an Italian
patriot, and commentator upon Dante, who was at the time Professor
of Italian at King's College. Like all the members of his family, young
Rossetti had innate taste and interest in art, but in the direction which
his art took Gothic instead of Classic he was the outcome of English
influences. He never doubted, says his friend, Mr. Holman Hunt, of
his call to exceptional effort in life ; and from the time when he was
not more than nineteen or twenty he began to exercise a powerful in-
fluence on many of the foremost minds in art and literature of the
time, such as Mr. W. Morris, Mr. Holman Hunt, Mr. Burne-Jones,
Mr. Swinburne, and Mr. George Meredith. He was the leading
spirit in the little band comprising, beside himself, his brother W. M.
Rossetti, Millais, Woolner, J. Collinson, and F. G. Stephens who
associated themselves under the name of the " Pre-Raphaelite Brother-
hood." To the general public, however, he was little known as a
poet until 1870, when his Poems and Ballads were published, or as a
painter till the year after his death, when a collection of his works were
exhibited at Burlington House for he lived almost as a recluse, and
seldom exhibited any pictures. From eight to fifteen he was at King's
College School. He then studied art successively at Mr. Gary's studio
in Bloomsbury, at the Academy, and in the studio of Mr. F. Madox
Brown. In 1849 he exhibited his first oil picture, "The Girlhood of
the Virgin," and in the following year he painted the present picture.
In 1860 he married his model, Miss Elizabeth Siddall, who died two
years later, and in whose coffin he buried the manuscript of his poems.
In the later years of his life he suffered from insomnia and depression of
spirits : he yielded too much to chloral, and died at Birchington-on-
Sea at the age of fifty-four.
This picture is admirably illustrative in its sincerity and
simplicity of the aims of the Pre-Raphaelite school, whilst at
the same time it is wholly free from the affectations peculiar
to Rossetti which characterise his later works. Mr. Ruskin,
ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL 537
who was the earliest literary advocate of the Pre-Raphaelites, 1
defined their leading principle as the resolve "to paint
things as they probably did look and happen, and not,
as by rules of art developed under Raphael (hence the
name ' pre, or before Raphaelite '), they might be supposed
gracefully, deliciously, or sublimely to have happened." To
understand the meaning of the change, compare, for instance,
the Virgin in this picture waking from her sleep on a pallet
bed, in a plain room, startled by sudden words and ghostly
presence which she does not comprehend, and casting in her
mind what manner of salutation this should be, with the
Madonnas of the old masters " dressed in scrupulously folded
and exquisitely falling robes of blue, with edges embroidered
in gold (see III. 666, p. 52), kneeling under arcades of ex-
quisite architecture, and receiving the angel's message with
their hands folded on their breasts in the most graceful positions,
and the missals they had been previously studying laid open
on their knees" (see VIII. 739, p. 184). The angel Gabriel
is appearing to the Virgin to announce unto her the birth
of a son, Jesus. The Virgin rises to meet him "Ecce
Ancilla Domini," " Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it
unto me according to thy word." " Rossetti's ' Annunciation '
differs," says Mr. Ruskin, " from every previous conception
of the scene known to me, 2 in representing the angel as
1 In a preface to an Annotated Catalogue of the Millais exhibition (by
Mr. A. Gordon Crawford), Mr. Ruskin wrote (January 22, 1886) as
follows : "I must in the outset broadly efface any impression that may be
given by it of my criticisms having been of any service to the Pre-
Raphaelite School, except in protecting it against vulgar outcry. The
painters themselves rightly resented the idea of misjudging friends that I
was either their precursor or their guide : they were entirely original ii
their thoughts, and independent in their practice. Rossetti, I fear, even
exaggerated his colour because I told him it was too violent ; and, to this
very day, my love of Turner dims Mr. Burne-Jones's pleasure in my
praise."
2 Upon the originality of thought displayed in this picture Mr. H
man Hunt has expressed himself as follows: "We will not presume i
concert to lay down the law about his merits, but I think there is no reason
why I should not state my own view about one of his paintings which I
saw at the National Gallery a few weeks since. It was a copying day.
had gone in mainly to see the new Raphael, and I had seen it, and h
enjoyed the contemplation of many more of our precious possessions, th<
naturally which were new most arresting my attention. In turning about
to see that I was in nobody's way, the picture of The Annunciation, by
Rossetti, seemed to speak to me long- forgotten words. I approach
538 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
waking the Virgin from sleep to give her his message. The
Messenger himself also differs from angels as they are commonly
represented, in not depending, for recognition of his super-
natural character, on the insertion of bird's wings at his
shoulders. If we are to know him for an angel at all, it must
be by his face, which is that simply of youthful, but grave,
manhood. He. is neither transparent in body, luminous in
presence, nor auriferous in apparel ; wears a plain, long, white
robe ; casts a natural and undiminished shadow, and al-
though there are flames beneath his feet, which upbear him,
so that he does not touch the earth, these are unseen by the
Virgin. She herself is an English, not a Jewish girl, of about
sixteen or seventeen, of such pale and thoughtful beauty as
Rossetti could best imagine for her. She has risen half up,
not started up, in being awakened ; and is not looking at the
angel, but only thinking, with eyes cast down, as if supposing
herself in a strange dream. The morning light fills the room,
and shows at the foot of her little pallet-bed, her embroidery
work, left off the evening before, an upright lily. Upright,
and very accurately upright, as also the edges of the piece of
cloth in its frame, as also the gliding form of the angel, as
also, in severe foreshortening, that of the Virgin herself. It
has been studied, so far as it has been studied at all, from a
very thin model ; and the disturbed coverlid is thrown into con-
fused angular folds, which admit no suggestion whatever of
ordinary girlish grace. So that, to any spectator little inclined
towards the praise of barren 'uprightness,' and accustomed
on the contrary to expect radiance in archangels, and grace in
Madonnas, the first effect of the design must be extremely
displeasing. . . . But the reader will, if careful in reflection,
discover in all the Pre-Raphaelite pictures, however distinct
was being copied by two ladies, and I felt at once that they had made a
wise selection. The living merit of the work made it stand out as among
the most genuine creations in the gallery, and I distinctly concluded that
there was no painting there, done by hands so young as Rossetti's were
when he did that, which could be compared to it. He was twenty-one
at the time. Raphael was twenty-four when he painted the Ansidei
Madonna. Raphael's picture, although of course more complex, and
having special value as containing evidence of the steps by which he
reached his final excellence, is not to be compared to it for the difficulty of
the attempt, or for the artistic discrimination of form, and there is no hint
of the power of expression which Rossetti's work gives." (Address on
the occasion of the unveiling of the Rossetti Memorial Fountain, printed
in the Pall Mall Budget, July 21, 1887.)
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 539
otherwise in aim and execution, an effort to represent things as
they are, or were, or may be, instead of, according to the prac-
tice of their instructors and the wishes of their public, things
as they are not, never were, and never can be: this effort
being founded deeply on a conviction that it is at first
better, and finally more pleasing, for human minds to con-
template things as they are, than as they are not. Thus,
Mr. Rossetti, in this and subsequent works of the kind, thought
it better for himself and his public to make some effort towards
a real notion of what actually did happen in the carpenter's
cottage at Nazareth, giving rise to the subsequent traditions
delivered in the Gospels, than merely to produce a variety in
the pattern of Virgin, pattern of Virgin's gown, and pattern of
Virgin's house, which had been set by the jewellers of the
fifteenth century" (The Three Colours of Pre-Raphaelitism, in
O. O. R., i. 312-318 ; see also The Art of England, Lecture i.)
SCREEN II
379. LANDSCAPE WITH LYCIAN PEASANTS.
W. J. Mtiller (1812-1845). See under 1040, p. 51 9.
A view taken, no doubt, on one of the artist's Eastern
journeys. In the distance is Mount Massicytus.
563. JERUSALEM AND THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHA-
PHAT.
Thomas Seddon (1821-1857).
Seddon, born in the parish of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, was the
son of the eminent cabinet-maker, and was brought up to his father's
business, devoting himself more particularly to the designing of
furniture. He subsequently adopted painting as his profession, and
was a devotee of the strictest sect of the Pre-Raphaelites, of which Mr.
Holman Hunt was, and is, the most illustrious member. In 1849, when
he went on his first sketching tour to Bettws-y-Coed, we see the spirit
in which he approached his art. He was in the company of several
artists, and was much surprised at their thinking a day enough for a
sketch, for which to him weeks seemed all too few. He applauded too,
says his biographer, " the heroic resolution of an amateur who declared
he would give himself three weeks' hard labour to endeavour to draw one
single branch of a tree properly, and would only go on drawing if he
found he succeeded in that attempt." In 1853 he accompanied Mr.
Holman Hunt to the East, whence he returned in 1854 with two
540 ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL
finished pictures, the " Pyramids of Ghizeh," and this one of Jerusalem,
which was painted on the spot, and took five months' continuous work
in its execution. " After visiting every part of the city," he wrote from
Jerusalem, " and surrounding country to determine what I would do, I
have encamped upon the hill to the south, looking up the valley of
Jehoshaphat ; I have sketched the view which I see from the opening of
my tent. I am painting from one hundred yards higher up, where I see
more of the valley, with the Tombs of the Kings and Gethsemane. I get
up before five, breakfast, and begin soon after six. I come in at twelve
and dine, and sleep for an hour ; and then, about two, paint till sunset. "
During all this time Seddon camped out sleeping in a deserted tomb
in the Field of Aceldama, on the Hill of Evil Counsel. On his return
to London, Seddon opened an exhibition of his Eastern sketches at
14 Berners Street (March-June 1855). "Mr. Ruskin came," he
writes, "and stayed a long time. He was much pleased with every-
thing and especially 'Jerusalem,' which he praised wonderfully; and
in good truth it is something for a man who has studied pictures so
much to say, ' Well, Mr. S., before I saw these, I never thought it
possible to attain such an effect of tone and light without sacrificing truth
of colour.'" Shortly afterwards Seddon, who resided at 27 Grove
Terrace, Kentish Town, married. In 1856 he had another exhibition
of his works, this time at Conduit Street. In the autumn of that year
he set out for a second journey to the East, but was seized with
dysentery and died at Cairo, where he is buried. A committee was
formed in London consisting of Mr. Ruskin, Mr. Ford Madox-
Brown, Mr. Holman Hunt, Mr. W. M. Rossetti, and others to
arrange an exhibition of his works and promote a memorial, which
was to consist of the purchase of this picture from his widow for 400
guineas and its presentation to the National Gallery. Mr. Ruskin,
speaking at a conversazione at the Society of Arts on behalf of the fund,
said " that the position which Mr. Seddon occupied as an artist
appears to deserve some public recognition quite other than could be
generally granted to genius, however great, which had been occupied
only in previously beaten paths. Mr. Seddon's works are the first
which represent a truly historic landscape art ; that is to say, they are
the first landscapes uniting perfect artistical skill with topographical
accuracy ; being directed, with stern self-restraint, to no other purpose
than that of giving to persons who cannot travel trustworthy know-
ledge of the scenes which ought to be most interesting to them.
Whatever degrees of truth may have been attained or attempted by
previous artists have been more or less subordinate to pictorial or
dramatic effect. In Mr. Seddon's works, the primal object is to place
the spectator, as far as art can do, in the scene represented, and to
give him the perfect sensation of its reality, wholly unmodified by
the artist's execution." The question before them, he added, was
" whether they would further the noble cause of truth in art, while
they gave honour to a good and a great man, and consolation to those
who loved him ; or whether they would add one more to the victories
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 541
of oblivion, and suffer this picture, wrought in the stony desert of
Aceldama, which was the last of his labours, to be also the type of his
reward ; whether they would suffer the thorn and the thistle to choke
the seed that he had sown, and the sand of the desert to sweep over
his forgotten grave." In response to this appeal a sum of ^"600 was
raised ; the picture was duly presented to the National Gallery, and
the balance of the money was given to Mrs. Seddon as a further tribute
of respect to her husband's memory (Memoirs and Letters of the late
Thomas Seddon, Artist. By his brother, 1858).
The foreground from which the view of Jerusalem is taken
is the southern summit of the Olivet mountains which " stand
round about Jerusalem," known as the Hill of Evil Counsel,
whereon the chief priests "bought the potter's field to bury
strangers in " with Judas's thirty pieces of silver. The sleeping
figure under the pomegranate tree represents the painter's
Syrian servant, resting during the heat of the day. Facing
the spectator on the left are seen the modern walls of
Jerusalem, and the mosque of El-Aska on Mount Moriah,
supposed to be on the site of the ancient Temple. "As now
the dome of the mosque El-Aska, so then must have risen the
Temple-tower ; as now the vast enclosure of the Mussulman
sanctuary, so then must have spread the Temple-courts ; as
now the gray town on its broken hills, so then the magnificent
city, with its background long since vanished away of
gardens and suburbs on the western plateau behind. Immedi-
ately below was the valley of the Kedron, here seen in its
greatest depth as it joins the valley of Hinnom, and thus
giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only
on its eastern side its situation as of a city rising out of a
deep abyss." * Below the walls of the city are the terraces of
Mount Zion and the village of Siloam. Running north and
south is the valley of the Kedron, identified with the valley of
Jehoshaphat or of the Divine judgment, long regarded by
Christian and Mussulman pilgrims as the destined scene of
the judgment of the world. On the east of the valley is the
ridge of the Mount of Olives, with the garden of Gethsemane
3 Dean Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, 1873, p. 193). But the same
peculiarity sometimes strikes the spectator as he looks at the city in this
view of it from the south. I was once standing before this picture when
two French visitors came up to it. They missed the inscription, and gave
the picture only a momentary glance. "What can it be ?" asked one of
them. "Why, it must be a recollection of Monaco, of course." replied
his friend.
542 ROOM XX : ENGLISH SCHOOL
sloping down to the valley, and nearer to the spectator the
" Mount of Offence," so called from Solomon's idol-worship.
"I am told," wrote the artist (June 10, 1854) in describing
the view represented in his picture, " that, a month ago, the
Mount of Olives was covered with beautiful flowers ; now they
are all over, and, as most of the corn is cut, it is rather bare.
It is dotted over with scattered olive trees which, in our
Saviour's time, were probably thick groves, giving a good
shelter from the heat of the sun. Its present look is peculiar ;
the rock is a light-gray limestone, showing itself in narrow
ledges all up the sides ; the soil is whitish, and the grass, now
burned to a yellowish colour on the ledges in narrow strips,
forms altogether a most delicate and beautiful colour, on which
the gray-green olives stand out in dark relief. The evening
sun makes it at first golden hued, and afterwards literally, as
Tennyson writes, ' the purple brows of Olivet.' "
The topographical accuracy of the picture has been noticed
in Mr. Ruskin's words above. Anything short of it would have
seemed sacrilege to the painter. The spirit in which he set
himself to depict the Holy City comes out very clearly in the
same letter from which we have just quoted. " Besides the
beauty of this land," he writes, " one cannot help feeling that
one is treading upon holy ground ; and it is impossible to
tread the same soil which our Lord trod, and wander over His
favourite walks with the apostles, and follow the very road
that He went from Gethsemane to the Cross, without seriously
feeling that it is a solemn reality, and no dream." It was one
of the dearest wishes of his heart that this picture should find
its way to the National Gallery. He had offered it to a
gentleman, who expressed a wish to purchase it, for a lower
sum than he would otherwise have taken, on the condition that
he would promise to leave it to the nation on his decease ; and
he left behind him a memorandum of plans for a larger version
of the same subject to be placed in some public gallery, so as
to give the public a " correct representation of the very places
which were so often trod by our Redeemer during His sojourn
on earth." One cannot have a more instructive lesson in
Pre-Raphaelitism than by comparing this picture painted in
such a spirit and depicting a scene as it really looks with Sir
Charles Eastlake's representation, in the next room (397, p. 5 54),
of the scene as he supposed it might gracefully and prettily
have looked. The latter version will often attract more than
ROOM XX: ENGLISH SCHOOL 543
Seddon's, the clear blue sky and complete absence of atmo-
sphere here being in particular a block of offence to those
unacquainted with the East. But the very unattractiveness of
the true scene is not without significance. " The first view of
Olivet impresses us chiefly by its bare matter-of-fact appearance ;
the first approach to the hills of Judaea reminds the English
traveller not of the most, but of the least, striking portions of
the mountains of his own country. Yet all this renders the
Holy Land the fitting cradle of a religion which expressed
itself not through the voices of rustling forests, or the clefts of
mysterious precipices, but through the souls and hearts of men ;
which was destined to have no home on earth, least of all in
its own birthplace; which has attained its full dimensions only
in proportion as it has travelled farther from its original source,
to the daily life and homes of nations as far removed from
Palestine in thought and feeling as they are in climate and
latitude ; which, alone of all religions, claims to be founded not
on fancy or feeling, but on Fact and Truth" (Stanley : Sinai and
Palestine, p. 156).
ROOM XXI
ENGLISH SCHOOL (Continued)
231. THOMAS DANIELL, R.A.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under XX. 99, p. 490.
Thomas Daniell, born 1749, was the son of an inn-keeper
at Chertsey, and had been apprenticed to an heraldic painter.
In 1784 he set out with his nephew William for India, where
he stayed for ten years, and acquired a competence as a
landscape painter. There is an Indian landscape by him in
this room, 899, p. 562. On his return to London he set to work
on the publication of six large volumes of Oriental Scenery,
the plates being executed by himself and his nephew. He
published many other illustrated works of architecture and
travel, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society as well as R.A.
He died at Kensington at the age of ninety-one.
402. A SCENE FROM "DON QUIXOTE."
C. R. Leslie, R.A. (1794-1859). See under XX. 403, p. 514.
This picture, exhibited in 1844, is a repetition (for Mr.
Vernon), with some slight alterations, of a picture painted for
Lord Egremont, and exhibited in 1824, when the following
quotation was affixed
" First and foremost I must tell you I look on my master, Don
Quixote, to be no better than a downright madman, though sometimes
he will stumble upon a parcel of sayings so quaint and so lightly put
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 545
together, that the devil himself could not mend them ; but in the main,
I cannot beat it out of my noddle but that he is as mad as a March
hare. Now because I am pretty confident of knowing his blind side,
whatever crotchets come into my crown, though without either head or
tail, yet can I make them pass on him for gospel. Such was the answer
to his letter and another sham that I put upon him the other day, and is
not in print yet, touching my lady Dulcinea's enchantment ; for you must
know, between you and I, she is no more enchanted than the man in
the moon " (Don Quixote, vol. iii. ch. xxxiii. , Shelton's translation).
" In the expressions of the actors, says Tom Taylor, " the
painter has caught the very spirit of the scene. Sancho, half-
shrewd, half-obtuse, takes the duchess into his confidence,
with a finger laid along his nose ; his way of sitting shows
that he is on a style of seat he is unused to. Chantrey (the
sculptor) sat to Leslie for the expression of the Sancho, and
his hearty sense of humour qualified him to embody the
character well. The duchess's enjoyment breaks through the
habitual restraint of her high breeding and the grave courtesy
of her Spanish manners in the sweetest half-smile a triumph
of subtle expression. The sour and literal Dona Rodriguez is
evidently not forgetful how Sancho, on his arrival, had desired
her to have a care of Dapple. The mirth of the whispering
waiting- maid culminates in the broad sunshiny grin of the
mulatto-woman. All the accessories are painted with the nicest
sense of propriety. Petworth was a treasure house to Leslie
of old-world wealth in furniture, jewellery, china, and toilet
ornaments ; and during his visits there he made careful and
numerous studies of such objects."
620. A RIVER SCENE.
F. R. Lee, R.A. (1799-1879), and T. Sidney Cooper, R.A.
(born 1 803 : still living).
One of the results of an artistic partnership which began about
1848, and continued for many years ; the present picture was exhibited
in 1855. The cattle are by Mr. Cooper, whose works are still familiar
to visitors at the Academy ; the landscape by Frederick Richard Lee.
He was originally a soldier, but left the service owing to delicate
health, and entered as an Academy student in 1818. He became a
regular exhibitor at the Academy from 1827 onwards, being elected
A.R.A. in 1834, and R.A. in 1838. His pictures were chiefly land-
scapes, but in later years he exhibited some successful sea-pieces-
such as " Plymouth Breakwater " in 1856 (see for Mr. Ruskin's estimate
of the painter Academy Notes, 1856, p. 22 ; and Modern Painters,
vol. i., Preface to second edition, p. xix. .)
2 N
546 ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL
A broad river at evening, with cattle added by Mr.
Cooper
. . . The dews will soone be falling ;
Leave your meadow grasses mellow,
Mellow, mellow ;
Quit your cowslips, cowslips yellow ;
Come uppe Whitefoot, come uppe Lightfoot,
Quit the stalks of parsley hollow,
Hollow, hollow.
JEAN INGELOW : High Tide.
120. JOSEPH NOLLEKENS, R.A. (1737-1823).
Sir William Beechey, R.A. (1753-1839).
It is somewhat curious that this should be the only picture by
Beechey in the National Gallery, for he had surpassed all painters up
to his time in the number of his contributions to the Academy, having
exhibited 362 portraits there including those of nearly all the famous
and fashionable personages of the time. At the age of nineteen he
had left a notary's office at Stowe in Gloucestershire and come up to
London to be articled to a solicitor, but as a matter of fact he went off
to the Academy Schools, and rapidly made himself a great name as a
portrait painter. In 1793 he was elected A.R.A., and was appointed
portrait painter to the Queen. In 1798 he painted a picture (now at
Hampton Court) of a Royal Review in Hyde Park, which procured him
his election as R.A. and the honour of knighthood. He is not one of
the great portrait painters, but his works are adequate and vigorous,
and are another instance of the general excellence of the English School
in this branch of art.
Nollekens is one of the most curious figures in the history
of English art. He was for more than half a century the
fashionable sculptor of his time the predecessor in this respect
of Sir Francis Chantrey. Kings, statesmen, actors, authors,
beauties, all sat to him. He restored the " Townley Venus "
and many other ancient sculptures ; he executed also many
mythological groups of his own, and his mural monuments
were in great request. But he was a rough, vulgar, uneducated
man ; and, in spite of some latent kindness of heart, was a
confirmed miser. He left behind him a fortune of .200,000,
his executors being Sir William Beechey and a former ap-
prentice, Mr. J. T. Smith. The latter gentleman had expected
more than the .100 bequeathed him for his trouble, and
avenged himself by writing an ill-natured but exceedingly en-
tertaining work on his old friend {Nollekens and his Times,
1828). A more friendly life is contained in Allan Cunningham's
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 547
book. In these works the visitor may read how " old Nolly,"
or " little Nolly," drove a splendid trade at Rome by doing up
old sculptures for new ; how he boasted to Lord Mansfield of
having smuggled, in one of his busts, the lace ruffles that he
went to court in, and how he saved by living on the scraps he
called " Roman Cuttings " ; and how when his wife Mary, who
surpassed him in frugality, hoped he was not going to ask some
visitors to dinner, he promised " never to encourage that sort
of thing : let them get their meals at home." But there was
one distinguished visitor who was always admitted Dr.
Johnson to wit, who used to back "his friend Joe Nollekens to
chop out a head with any of them," and say that " Mary might
have been his if little Joe had not stept in." Many too are
the anecdotes of Nollekens and his sitters and his models.
Something of the old man's miserliness and rough originality
may be traced in this portrait.
432. THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE.
E. M. Ward, R.A. (1816-1879). See under XX. 431, p. 510.
The earth hath bubbles, as the water hath ;
And these are of them.
A scene in Change Alley in 1720 "when the South Sea
Company were voting dividends of fifty per cent, when a
hundred pounds of their stock were selling for ^noo, when
Threadneedle Street was daily crowded with the coaches of
dukes and prelates, when divines and philosophers turned
gamblers, when a thousand kindred bubbles were daily blown
into existence, the periwig-company, and the Spanish-jackass-
company, and the quicksilver-fixation-company " (Macaulay's
Essays). "The crowds were so great indoors," adds Lord
Mahon (History of England), " that tables with clerks were set
in the streets. In this motley throng were blended all ranks,
all professions, and all parties, churchmen and dissenters,
whigs and tories, country gentlemen and brokers. An eager
strife of tongues prevailed in this second Babel ; new reports,
new subscriptions, new transfers flew from mouth to mouth ;
and the voices of ladies (for even many ladies had turned
gamblers) rose loud and incessant .above the general throng."
Our greatest ladies hither come
And ply in chariots daily,
Or pawn their jewels for a sum,
To venture it in Alley. Ballad of (he Time.
548 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
356. "YOUTH ON THE PROW AND PLEASURE
AT THE HELM."
W. Etty, R.A. (1787-1847). See under XX. 614, p. 502.
This picture (exhibited 1832) is a transfer to canvas
of the picture in Gray's Bard of the lull before a storm, of
pleasure before destruction
Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows,
While proudly riding o'er the azure realm
In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ;
Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm ;
Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway,
That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his ev'ning prey.
6O5. THE DEFEAT OF COMUS.
Sir E.Landseer,R.A. (1802-1873). See under 'XX. 1226,^505.
The victims of Comus's sorceries (see XVIII. 1 182, p. 458)
assumed, as the potion worked its spell, " the inglorious like-
ness of a beast." But the attendant spirit, sent by Jupiter to
befriend the innocent, warns the two brothers, who had lost
their sister in the wood, that she is in the power of Comus,
and instructs them to " rush on him : break his glass, And
shed the luscious liquor on the ground." One of them is here
seen rushing in with his spear and overturning the monsters in
the doorway on the right. The glass has been dashed to the
ground, and Comus, in the centre of the picture, throws up his
magic wand in despair. One of his revel rout still clings
appealingly to him, for those who drink of his cup " all their
friends and native home forget, To roll with pleasure in a
sensual stye." The picture is a sketch painted for the Queen
in 1843 for a fresco in the summer-house at Buckingham
Palace. The task set before Landseer was curiously opposite
to the natural bent of his genius. At other times he painted
beasts as half human, here he had to paint men and women as
half beasts : but he makes their* faces human still : notice, for
instance, the tears in the eyes of two of the female monsters.
922. A CHILD WITH A KID.
Sir T. Lawrence, P. R.A. (1760-1830). See 144, -p. 445.
A portrait of Lady Giorgiana Fane at the age of five, dated
1 800. The affectation of the " setting " the child being made
to stand on a bank by a tub of clothes with a kid in the water
by her side is characteristic of Lawrence's taste, whose
ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL 549
children will hardly bear comparison with those of Reynolds
and Gainsborough. The circumstances of the painter's own
early life perhaps had something to do with it : having been a
show boy himself, he made show children of his little sitters
also.
603. THE SLEEPING BLOODHOUND.
SirE.Landseer>R.A. (1802-1873). SeeunderXX.i226,p.$o$.
Another instance of Landseer's astonishing rapidity of work
(see under 409, p. 510). The hound, called "Countess," be-
longed to Landseer's friend, Mr. Jacob Bell. "She was lying one
night on a balcony awaiting her master's return. She heard the
wheels of his gig in the distance, and in leaping down missed
her balance, fell between twenty and thirty feet, and died during
the night. Next morning (Monday), her master to'ok her to
Landseer in hopes of securing a sketch of the old favourite,
who had long been waiting for a sitting. The sight of the un-
fortunate hound, Mr. Bell said, suddenly changed an ex-
pression of something approaching vexation (at the interrup-
tion of his work) into one of sorrow and sympathy, and after
the first expression of regret at the misfortune, the verdict was
laconic and characteristic : ' This is an opportunity not to be
lost ; go away ; come on Thursday at two o'clock.' It was
then about midday, Monday. On Thursday, two o'clock, there
was 'Countess' as large as life, asleep, as she is now"
(Stephens, pp. 75, 76).
1142. THE AUGUST MOON.
Cecil G. Lawson (1851-1882).
Cecil Lawson was one of the most promising artists who have been
affected by the recent movement in English art towards landscape for
the sake of landscape, rather than landscape as the frame for some
definite human interest (see Chesneau's English School, p. 256). He
was the youngest son of Mr. William Lawson, of Edinburgh, a portrait
painter; and "having shown an early taste for art, he studied its
technicalities under his father's guidance, and while still a boy devoted
himself to landscape." He first drew in black and white for maga-
zines. Afterwards he exhibited at the Academy in 1870 a view of
Cheyne'Walk, Chelsea (where he resided). He continued to exhibit
at the Academy for some years, but when the Grosvenor Gallery was
opened, exhibited there this picture was at the Grosvenor in 1 880.
His early London pictures met with much success, but he was a
member of none of the art societies, and his later pictures of pure land-
scape did not meet with equal acceptance : this one was presented to
550 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
the National Gallery by his widow in fulfilment of his wish. He had
married in 1879 ; and a few years later his health declined. He went
to the South of France, but returned no stronger, and died at Brighton
at the early age of thirty-one.
A wide stretch of plashy country painted at Blackdown,
near Haslemere, in Surrey, where the painter lived for some
time after his marriage
... a glimmering land
Lit with a low large moon.
TENNYSON : Palace of Art.
621. THE HORSE FAIR.
Rosa Bonheur (French : born 1822 ; still living).
Mdlle. Rosalie Bonheur, usually called Rosa Bonheur, the most
talented of French animal painters, was born at Bordeaux. Her
father was an artist, and when the family afterwards settled in Paris
she used to frequent the streets and abattoirs to draw all kinds of
animals. She first exhibited at the Salon in 1841, and was decorated
with the Legion of Honour in 1865. A still higher compliment was
paid her in 1870-1871, when, during the siege of Paris, her studio and
residence at By, on the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau, were spared
by the special order of the (then) Crown Prince. For many years she
regularly attended horse fairs both in France such as she has here
depicted and abroad, adopting as a rule men's costume in order to
carry out her studies and purchases without attracting attention. Mr.
Frith relates how when he and Sir John Millais went to lunch with
her in 1868, they were met at the station by a carriage, the coachman
appearing to be a French Abbe. " The driver wore a black broad-
brimmed hat and black cloak, long white hair with a cheery rosy face.
It was Rosa Bonheur, who lives at her chateau with a lady com-
panion, and others in the form of boars, lions, and deer, who serve as
models. "
This picture is a repetition from a larger one of the same
subject, which, for its vigour and spirit, is one of the artist's
most celebrated productions. Mr. Ruskin, whilst praising the
artist's power, calls attention to " one stern fact concerning
art " which detracts from her full success. " No painter
of animals ever yet was entirely great who shrank from paint-
ing the human face ; and Mdlle. Bonheur does shrink from it.
... In the Horse Fair the human faces are nearly all dex-
terously, but disagreeably, hidden, and the one clearly shown
has not the slightest character. Mdlle. Bonheur may rely
upon this, that if she cannot paint a man's face she can
neither paint a horse's, a dog's, nor a bull's. There is in
every animal's eye a dim image and gleam of humanity, a
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
flash of strange light through which their life looks out and up
to our great mystery of command over them, and claims the
fellowship of the creature, if not of the soul. I assure Mdlle.
Bonheur, strange as the words may sound to her after what
she has been told by huntsmen and racers, she has never
painted a horse yet. She has only painted trotting bodies of
horses" (Academy Notes, 1858, pp. 32, 33).
416. MR. ROBERT VERNON.
H. W. Pickersgill, R.A. (1782-1875).
Henry W. Pickersgill was the son of a silk-weaver at Spitalfields.
He had from boyhood a strong love of painting, and for nearly three-
quarters of a century was connected with the Academy, first as
student, then as exhibitor (from 1806 onwards), as A. R.A. in 1802,
R.A. in 1826, and Librarian in 1856. He exhibited in all 363 pictures
at the Academy, mostly portraits, which included a large proportion
of all the eminent persons of his time.
This portrait, taken in 1846, is said to be "a striking and ex-
act likeness " of Mr. Vernon (i 774-1849), who is entitled to the
grateful remembrance of every visitor as one of the largest
benefactors that the National Gallery has had. Up to the
year 1847 it contained only fofty-one pictures of the British
School; but on December 22 of that year Mr. Vernon
presented by deed of gift his collection of 157 pictures, all,
with only two exceptions, by painters of the British School.
Mr. Vernon had been as generous a patron in forming the
collection as he was munificent in giving it away. He was
a horse-dealer who made his money by supplying the army
during the Wellington wars. Of the fortune thus amassed, he
spent at least .150,000 on the works of contemporary artists.
He was one of the band of amateurs more numerous half a
century ago perhaps than now, who collected works of art,
" influenced (as Mr. Frith says) by the love of it, and not by
the notion of investment so common in the last few years."
He made it a rule always to buy from the painters themselves,
and not from dealers. He was always anxious too, to find out
and encourage rising talent. "There is a gentleman here,"
wrote Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1829 to a young artist in
Rome whom he befriended, " who is desirous of having two
small pictures of you, at your own price and subject. He is
not in the circles of fashion, but known to almost all our artists
by his liberal patronage and gentlemanly conduct. His name
552 ROOM XX 7: ENGLISH SCHOOL
is Vernon." But with a view of making his gallery repre-
sentative of the best work of his time, he was in the habit,
" from time to time, and at an immense sacrifice of money, of
' weeding ' his collection, never, however, parting with any
man's work whom he did not purpose (and for him to purpose
was always to perform) commissioning to execute a more
important subject in his improved style. His merit, however,
was not confined to this more direct and public patronage of
art and artist. He was a patron in the least ostentatious
sense of the term. Many are the cases in which he befriended
an artist because he was an artist, and without any direct
expectation of reaping the fruits of his well-timed benevolence.
Nor was his unostentatious munificence confined to his
favourite pursuit. He expended large sums in charity, public
and private, and it was his pleasure to exercise that highest
kind of charity which does not consist in the mere giving of
money, but in the giving it under circumstances which make
the gift of more value" (Gentleman 's Magazine, 1849, vol.
xxxii.) Mr. Vernon is here painted with a pet spaniel similar
to one of those which he commissioned Landseer to paint for
him ( XX. 409, p. 510.)
608. ALEXANDER AND DIOGENES.
Sir E. Landseer, R. A. (1802-1873). Seeunder'XX. 1226, p. 505.
The celebrated Greek cynic is said to have shown his
contempt for riches by taking up his abode in a large tub.
Plutarch relates that Alexander visited him when in his tub
at Corinth, and said to him, " I am Alexander the Great ; "
"and I am Diogenes the Cynic," replied the philosopher.
" What can I do for you ? " said the king. " Stand out of
the sunshine," said the cynic. Alexander, struck with the
remark, to reprove those of his courtiers who were ridiculing
the uncouth rudeness of the Greek philosopher, said, " If I were
not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes." Landseer " per-
sonifies Diogenes by a dingy, meditative little beast in inferior
condition of health and of poor belongings. He appears to be
a farrier's tyke, to judge by the box of nails, with its thumb-
hole, and the hammer, which lie before the tub ; and he is
undoubtedly of abstemious habits, if we may judge by the
' rope ' of onions and the herbs suspended at the side of his
place of shelter, and the potatoes which lie on the flag-stones.
Alexander, the big white bull-dog, with his military collar,
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 553
stands before the tub, and regarding its cynical occupant
askant, knits his brows not a dog's action, by the bye at once
inquiringly and with hauteur. The courtiers are commonplace ;
two are whining, with hypocritical mouths turned down, the
one has upcast eyes, the other is self-absorbed in meditation,
and with his eyes dreamingly half-closed, occupies part of the
background. A greyhound of the gentler sex, whose collar is
decorated with a hawk's bell, and who is herself a courtier, is
courted by the sneaking little spaniel, with his set smile on his
lips, and adulatory eyes as lustrous as globes of glass. A con-
tumelious spaniel of another breed is near, and, with nose
upturned and scornful, looks at the more scornful and not
less insincere cynic, who, with greater pride, tramples on the
pride of Alexander" (Stephens, pp. 91, 92). "Politicians,"
says Mr. Bell, by whom the picture was bequeathed to the
National Gallery, "and persons having a lively imagination,
may see in Alexander the type of a successful bully, who has
fought his way in the world by physical force, and has a sovereign
contempt for moral influence. His motto is ' vi et armis,' in
support of which propensity he has obtained a few scars.
Nevertheless he is quite ready at any moment
To fight his battles o'er again,'
And thrice to slay the slain.
Among his followers may be traced the portraits of a num-
erous class of persons who are always to be found in the wake
of lucky adventurers, looking out for any share of the spoil
which chance or flattery may bring within their grasp" (De-
scriptive Catalogue of Pictures, etc., exhibited at the Marylebone
Institution, etc., 1859).
1170. ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST. MONICA
Ary Scheffer (French-Dutch: 1795-1858).
An artist who once enjoyed a great vogue (a version of this picture
was bought in 1845 by the ex-Queen of the French for ,61000), and
whose pictures are historically interesting for their extraordinary abs<
of the colour-sense. Ary Scheffer's pictures, says Mr. Ruskm (Acadtm
Notes 1858,0. 4o),aredesigned"onthe assumption that thenoblest idea
of colour is to be found in dust," and what he said in 1846 of the
German School is equally true of Ary Scheffer : " Brightness of colour
is altogether inadmissible without purity and harmony ; and the sacred
painters must not be followed in their frankness of unshadowed colour
unless we can also follow them inits clearness. As far as I amacquaintet
with the modern schools of Germany, they seem to be entirely ignorant
554 ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL
of the value of colour as an assistant of feeling, and to think that hard-
ness, dryness, and opacity are its virtues as employed in religious art ;
whereas I hesitate not to affirm that in such art, more than in any other,
clearness, luminousness, and intensity of hue are essential to right im-
pression" {Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. v. 15). Ary
Scheffer, whose father was court painter at Amsterdam, was born at
Dordrecht. On the death of his father in 1 809 his mother removed to
Paris, and he became a pupil of Pierre Guerin. In 1 826 he became
drawing master in the Orleans family, and for the rest of his life he
was attached to them. In 1830, in company with Thiers, he brought
Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, to Paris ; in 1848 he helped the
king to fly, and went with him to Brussels. The events .of the next
few years shocked him so much that for a time he ' ' could neither
paint, eat, nor sleep," and he ceased altogether to exhibit. His best
known works are "Paolo and Francesca" (1822), and "Dante and
Beatrice" (1839). The former of these sold in 1842 for over ^2000 ; but
at the posthumous exhibition of his works, held shortly after his death,
his reputation suffered greatly, and at subsequent sales the prices paid
for his pictures went down with a rush. Their sentimentality made
them popular for a while, but it could not save them from the condem-
nation due to their commonness of thought and poverty of colour.
To illustrate the popularity which Ary Scheffer enjoyed
forty years ago, it may be interesting to cite what Mrs. Jameson
said of this picture : "I saw in the atelier of the painter, Ary
Scheffer, in 1845, an admirable picture of St. Augustine and
his mother Monica. The two figures, not quite full-length,
are seated ; she holds his hand in both hers, looking up to
heaven with an expression of enthusiastic undoubting faith ;
' the son of so many tears cannot be cast away ! ' He also is
looking up with an ardent, eager, but anxious, doubtful
expression, which seems to say, ' Help thou my unbelief.'
For profound and truthful feeling and significance, I know few
things in the compass of modern art that can be compared to
this picture" {Sacred and Legendary Art, 1850, p. 186).
397. CHRIST LAMENTING OVER JERUSALEM.
Sir C. Eastlake, P.R.A. (1793-1866)
See under XX. 398, p. 533.
The " refined feeling and deep thoughtfulness " which
characterise Sir C. Eastlake's works, rather than any other
merits, are conspicuous in this carefully thought-out picture.
Christ is seated upon the Mount of Olives, and the disciples
have " come unto him, saying, Tell us, when shall these things
be ?" He laments over Jerusalem : " How often would I have
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 555
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not !" (Matthew xxiii.
37, 38 ; xxiv. 3). Near the hen is a woman leading a child,
and carrying a vessel of water on her head ; and in the middle
ground is a shepherd with his flock ; for it was to be when
they should say " Peace and safety," that sudden destruction
should come upon them (i Thessalonians v. 3). The wood-
man's axe, one sees, has been already struck into the root of
the tree.
4O1. THE CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, ANTWERP.
David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864).
Roberts was the chief architectural painter of his day. "The
fidelity of intention and honesty of system of Roberts," says Mr.
Ruskin, " have always been meritorious ; his drawing of architecture
is dependent on no unintelligible lines or blots, or substituted types ;
the main lines of the real design are always there, and its hollowness
and undercuttings given with exquisite feeling ; his sense of solidity of
form is very peculiar, leading him to dwell with great delight on the
roundings of edges and angles ; his execution is dexterous and delicate "
(Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 35). Of his skill in this
respect, his other picture in this gallery the "Cathedral of Burgos" (on
the Screen, 400, p. 572), painted in 1835, thirteen years earlier than
this one is a better example, for "he had a great gift of expressing
the ins and outs of Spanish balconies and roofs, and the hollow work
of complex tracery. . . . His old painting of the spires of Burgos
Cathedral of its turreted chapter-house, the tombs of Ferdinand and
Isabella, etc., involved points of interest and displays of skill which his
later subjects seldom contained or admitted" (Academy Notes, 1859,
p. 1 8). The present picture was a commission from Mr. Vernon.
Roberts was the son of a shoemaker (born at Stockbridge, near
Edinburgh), and showed early taste for art, but his father wanted him to
stick to the cobbler's last. As a kind of compromise, we may suppose, he
was apprenticed for seven years to a house-painter and decorator. He
devoted his evenings to artistic painting, and for some years divided
his time between house decorating and scene painting appearing also
sometimes as an actor in pantomime. In 1820 he made Clarkson Stan-
field's acquaintance, and at his advice began exhibiting as an artist. In
1822 he moved to London, and obtained appointments with Stanfield
as a scene painter. In 1826 he went to Normandy, and a picture of
Rouen Cathedral that he exhibited in that year at the Academy laid the
foundation of his fame as an artist. In 1832-1833 he visited Spain ;
in 1838 the East. The sketches made on these, as on other foreign
tours, were afterwards engraved in Landscape Annuals and other
illustrated volumes. In 1831 he was elected President of the Society
of British Artists, in 1839 A.R.A., in 1841 R.A. ; and in 1858 he
5$6 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
was presented with the freedom of the city of Edinburgh. In 1863
several of his pictures were sold at the dispersal of the Bicknell
Collection, and fetched five, and sometimes even ten, times the prices he
had been paid for them twenty years earlier. He was painting a view
of St. Paul's when he was stricken with apoplexy, and died the same
day.
" The church, as it at present exists, is a work of the
seventeenth century. The original church, which was attached
to a Dominican convent, was destroyed in 1 547. The marble
altar is by Pieter Verbrugghen, the younger ; the altar-piece,
by Cornells Cels, was painted in Rome in 1807" (Official
Catalogue).
1169. MRS. ROBERT HOLLOND.
Ary Scheffer (French-Dutch : 1795-1858).
See under 1170, p. 553.
A portrait of the lady an English resident in Paris, and a
friend of Ary Scheffer who sat to him for St. Monica. The
two pictures were bequeathed to the Gallery by her husband.
12O9. THE VAGRANTS.
Frederick Walker, A.R.A. (1840-1875).
This highly gifted artist was born in London and educated at the
North London School. " At the age of sixteen we find him copying
from the antique sculptures in the British Museum. This, we may
suppose, was his first step in art education, and it is in a way significant
of certain qualities in his design that he was always very careful to
cultivate and to preserve. Throughout the whole of his career the in-
fluence of Greek art was a real and permanent force in the direction of
his talent, and it doubtless served, even in the treatment of domestic
themes, to save him from the dangers which beset so many painters of
genre" (J. Comyns Carr: Frederick Walker, p. 15). Walker next
entered an architect's office ; but in 1858 joined the Academy Schools,
and soon got employment as a draughtsman for wood -engraving.
Thackeray noticed his skill, and commissioned him to illustrate Philip.
Some interesting records of Walker's association with the novelist will
be found in the essay by Mr. Comyns Carr from which we have just
quoted. In 1863 Walker exhibited for the first time at the Academy.
This picture was exhibited in 1868. In 1873 the state of his health
compelled him to winter in Algeria. He returned to a cold English
spring, and gradually becoming weaker, died of consumption in Scotland
a few years after his election as AR.A. "In Walker," says Mr.
Hodgson, who knew him intimately, " I was often struck by a strange
petulance and irritability out of all proportion with its exciting cause.
The trifles which he knew so well how to dignify and make important
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 557
in his art were allowed to have too much influence upon his life. Con-
scious, probably, of the taint of hereditary disease, he took a gloomier
view of life." We see then that Walker's mood was stern ; and we
have seen his devotion to the antique. His originality in English art
consists in the way in which he interpreted (as Millet has done in
France) the grave beauty of rustic labour, showing all its stern reality,
and yet endowing it (as in the figure of the tall gipsy woman here) with
something of the grace of antique sculpture. To this it may be added
of Walker's pictures that " their harmonies of amber-colour and purple
are full of exquisite beauty in their chosen key ; their composition
always graceful, often admirable, and the sympathy they express with
all conditions of human life most kind and true ; not without power of
rendering character which would have been more recognised in an in-
ferior artist, because it would have been less restrained by the love of
beauty" (Arrows of the Chace, i. 174)-
This picture was purchased in 1886 from the Graham
Collection, which also included the "Bathers" by the same
artist. There was some discussion with regard to the
selection of the " Vagrants " for acquisition by the National
Gallery. It may be interesting to cite Mr. Swinburne's opinion
on the subject. Writing of the "Vagrants," which was ex-
hibited at the Royal Academy in 1868, Mr. Swinburne said:
" Mr. Walker's picture of Vagrants has more of actual
beauty than his Bathers of last year ; more of brilliant skill
and swift sharp talent it can hardly have. The low marsh with
its cold lights of gray glittering waters here and there, the
stunted brushwood, the late and pale sky, the figures gathering
about the kindling fire, sad and wild and worn and untameable ;
the one stately shape of a girl standing erect, her passionate
beautiful face seen across the smoke of the scant fuel ; all these
are wrought with such appearance of ease and security and
speed of touch, that the whole seems almost a feat of mere
skill rather than a grave sample of work ; but in effect it is no
such slight thing " (Essays and Studies, p. 366).
606. SHOEING.
Sir E. Landseer, K.A. (1802-1873).
See under XX. 1226, p. 505.
This picture, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844, is a
collection of portraits. The bay mare, "Old Betty," who
belonged to Mr. Bell, stands exactly as she was accustomed to
appear "at ease" and without a halter an appendage which
she would never tolerate. She was so fond of being shod, we
558 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
are told, that she would go of her own will to the farrier. The
ass, the bloodhound (" Lama "), and the man are also portraits.
"The painting of the mare," adds Mr. Stephens, "is worthy of
Landseer's peculiar skill ; her skin is glossiness itself." In
connection with this point Mr. Ruskin has written as follows,
under the head of " Imagination Contemplative " : " There is
capability of representing the essential character, form, and
colour of an object, without external texture. On this point
much has been said by Reynolds and others, and it is, indeed,
perhaps the most unfailing characteristic of great manner in
painting. Compare a dog of Edwin Landseer with a dog
of Paul Veronese. In the first, the outward texture is wrought
out with exquisite dexterity of handling and minute attention
to all the accidents of curl and gloss which can give appearance
of reality ; while the hue and power of the sunshine, and the
truth of the shadow, on all these forms are neglected, and the
large relations of the animal, as a mass of colour, to the sky or
ground, or other parts of the picture, utterly lost. This is real-
ism at the expense of ideality ; it is treatment essentially un-
imaginative. With Veronese, there is no curling nor crisping,
no glossiness nor sparkling, hardly even hair ; a mere type of
hide, laid on with a few scene-painter's touches ; but the essence
of the dog is there ; the entire, magnificent, generic animal
type, muscular and living, and with broad, pure, sunny daylight
upon him, and bearing his true and harmonious relation of
colour to all colour about him. This is ideal treatment. The
same treatment is found in the works of all the greatest men ;
they all paint the lion more than his mane, the horse rather
than his hide " (Modern Painters^ vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. iv.
n). In a note to this passage Mr. Ruskin added (ed.
1 846), " I do not mean to withdraw the praise I have given,
and shall always be willing to give, to pictures, such as the
Shepherd's Chief Mourner, and to all in which the character
and inner life of the animals are developed. But all lovers of
art must regret to find Mr. Landseer wasting his energies on
such inanities as Shoeing, and sacrificing colour, expression,
and action to an imitation of a glossy hide."
814. DUTCH BOATS IN A CALM.
P. J. Clays (Belgian : born 1819; still living).
See under XX. 815, p. 527.
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 559
413. PEACE.
SirE.Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873). See under XX. 1 2 26, p. 505.
The scene of Peace is very effectively placed on Dover Cliff
the eminence that commands " the streak of silver sea " which
enables " happy England " to live, if she will, in peace. " The
cannon has been tumbled from its place, and is here topsy-turvy
on the grass ; in its harmless muzzle a pretty lamb is grazing ;
other sheep and a few goats are browsing near ; close by are
three bright-faced, heedless children, the shepherds of the flock,
one of whom has placed grass in the cannon's mouth for the
lamb" (Stephens, p. 89) a new version of "the lion lying
down with the lamb." In its whole conception, indeed, the
picture is most interesting as a fresh and simple treatment of a
theme at other times embodied in ancient allegories. " ' For
Peace,' cried Diderot to La Grenee, ' show me Mars with his
breast-plate, his sword girded on, his head noble and firm.
Place standing by his side a Venus, full, divine, voluptuous,
smiling on him with an enchanting smile ; let her point to his
casque, in which her doves have made their nest.' Is it not
singular that even Diderot sometimes failed to remember that
Mars and Venus are dead, that they can never be the source
of a fresh and natural inspiration, and that neither artist nor
spectator can be moved by cold and vapid allegories in an
extinct dialect P 1 If Diderot could have seen such a treatment
of La Grende's subject as Landseer's Peace, with its children
playing at the mouth of the slumbering gun, he would have
been the first to cry out how much nearer this came to the
spirit of his aesthetic method than all the pride of Mars and
all the beauty of Venus" (John Morley : Diderot, ii. 69, ed.
1886). Visitors to the National Gallery will find it even
more instructive to contrast Landseer's "Peace" and "War"
with Rubens's actual picture (X. 46, p. 243) than with Diderot's
suggestion for one.
784 WILLIAM SIDDONS.
/. Opie, R.A. (1761-1807). See under XVIII. 1208, p. 473-
The man who for thirty-three years was known to the
world as "the husband of Mrs. Siddons" a part wh.ch h
i With the pictures of Watts and Burne- Jones to refute us. is not this
rather a rash assertion? So far from mythology tang exhausted
motive of art, its full capacity is only **P^*J*t*"f
(See Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. vm. 7 ! and Art of England,
Lecture ii. )
560 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
played to better purpose than those he assumed on the stage.
The Rev. H.Bate Dudley(seeXVI. 1044, p. 412), when engaging
the young couple on Garrick's behalf, reported the husband as
being "a damned rascally player, though seemingly a very
civil fellow." He was a Birmingham apprentice, who had
joined the Kembles' provincial company of players. Before
Sarah Kemble was seventeen she had fallen in love with
him. " He was just the man," says her latest biographer,
"to fascinate a young and high-spirited girl: good-looking,
calm, sedate, even-tempered, not over burdened with brain-
power, and with not too much will of his own." They were
married in 1773, when Sarah was nineteen ; and the marriage
was a very happy one. Mrs. Siddons was greatly attached to
her children, and her husband besides being a handy man of
business protected her from the dangers of her calling.
Towards the end of his life Siddons suffered much from
rheumatism, and found it necessary to live away from his wife
at Bath. At the beginning of 1808 she spent some weeks
with him there ; left him apparently much better, to perform
an engagement at Edinburgh ; but hurried back on hearing
that he was again worse. He died on March n. "May I
die the death," she wrote to Mrs. Piozzi, " of my honest,
worthy husband ; and may those to whom I am dear re-
member me when I am gone as I remember him, forgetting and
forgiving all my errors, and recollecting only my quietness of
spirit and singleness of heart."
399. THE ESCAPE OF THE CARRARA FAMILY.
Sir C Eastlake, P.R.A. (1793-1866).
See under XX. 398, p. 533.
An episode from the history of the Italian Republics.
Francesco Novello di Carrara, last Lord of Padua, having
been forced to yield to Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of
Milan, was for some time detained by the latter at Milan. He
was then sent to Cortazon, near Asti, where he lived as a
plain country gentleman with his wife and family. But the
Duke "of Milan stationed men in ambush to kill him which
when Francesco heard, he determined to fly for his life. Ac-
cordingly, in the month of March, 1389, he left suddenly, with
his wife and a few servants, and arrived after many dangers
at Monaco, whence he afterwards set out for Florence.
Here we see him " toiling along steep mountain paths, support-
ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL 561
ing his wife at the edges of precipices," whilst the followers
of the Duke of Milan are in sight in the valley below
(from Sismondi's Histoire des Republiques Italiennes du Moyen
Age, vii. 285, 288). From the technical point of view one is
struck by the conflict of reds and pinks in the colouring,
characteristic of the "glut of colouring" in which English
painters at this period indulged (see Chesneau : The English
School, p. 1 08).
428. COUNTRY COUSINS.
R. Redgrave, R.A. (born 1804: still living).
Mr. Richard Redgrave, the son of a manufacturer, entered the
Academy Schools in 1826, and for a time was a drawing master. In
1840 he was elected A.R.A., and in 1850 R.A. He is best known,
however, by his Century of Painters, which he published in conjunction
with his brother Samuel in 1866, and for his connection with South
Kensington. For many years he was art-assessor, as it were, to Sir
Henry Cole. He was instrumental in the foundation of Schools of
Art and in the other undertakings, in some of which he has held
official appointments, associated with Sir Henry Cole's name. In
1858 he was also appointed Surveyor of Crown Pictures, but this post,
as well as his other appointments, he resigned in 1880.
The unwelcome intruders from the country are mere objects
of curiosity to their town relatives
A little more than kin, and less than kind.
414. WAR.
Sir E. Landseer, R.A (1802-1873).
See under XX. 1226, p. 505.
After the battle. "A cottage is in ruins, lurid smoke
dashes the still sunny walls with shadows, the torn roses of the
porch shine in the desolation, a dying horse and his dead rider
lie near the door ; a second horse and a second dead man lie
close to the others " (Stephens, p. 90).
437. THE FISHERMAN'S HOME.
Francis Danby, A. R.A. (1793-1861).
This painter, chiefly distinguished for his sunset scenes, though it
was on the strength of an historical composition that he was in 1825
elected A. R. A. , was born and educated in Ireland, and was for some
time a drawing master at Bristol. He afterwards came up to London,
had one of his pictures bought by Sir T. Lawrence, and thus attracted
public attention. He resided for several years in Switzerland, and
afterwards at Lewisham, and finally near Exmouth. " The works of
2 O
562 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
Danby, as I remember them forty years ago," says Mr. Madox Brown
(Magazine of Art, February 1 888), "enjoyed an immense reputation,
and were credited with all sorts of qualities, while many people
admired them in preference to Turner's pictures." Many of the
"solemn and beautiful works" mentioned by Mr. Madox Brown are,
however, now in a ruined condition ; and the present picture can only
be seen on exceptionally bright days.
609. "THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE."
Sir E. Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873).
See under XX. 1226, p. 505.
From the popular tale so called, founded on a trial in the
French Causes Ce"ttbres, which Rossini adopted in his opera,
the Gazza Ladra. "A pretty Belgian girl, with a gay red
cap on her head, has come a-milking ; the cow is willing, and
turns with affectionate docility to her friend ; but the girl,
whose expression is happy, is ardently listening to her lover,
who, leaning against a post, sighing and longing, speaks to
her. Thus far she neglects her immediate duties. She is
supposed to get into further trouble because, having placed a
silver spoon in one of the wooden shoes at her side, she did
not observe how a malicious magpie pilfered the treasure"
(Stephens, pp. 97, 98).
899. VIEW ON THE NULLAH, BENGAL.
Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1748-1837).
For Daniell, see under Wilkie's portrait of him, 231,
P- 544-
430. DOCTOR JOHNSON IN LORD CHESTER-
FIELD'S ANTE-ROOM.i
E. M. Ward, R.A. (1816-1879). See under XX. 431, p. 510.
An incident founded on Lord Chesterfield's neglect of John-
son during the progress of his Dictionary, the first pros-
pectus of which he had dedicated to his lordship. " The world
1 This picture attracted much attention at the time of its first exhibition.
It is interesting to note that it was a Johnson picture which was also one of
Mr. Frith's great successes. This was the "Before Dinner at Boswell's
Lodgings," which was exhibited in 1868 and sold in 1875 for ^4567, the
largest price ever paid at that time for a picture by a living artist.
"There was a period in English history," says Mr. Hodgson (Fifty Years
of English Art, p. 22), "when the great lexicographer held the same
position with artists that trumps do with whist players ; the rule was, when
in doubt about a subject, play Dr. Johnson."
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 563
has been for many years amused," wrote Boswell in his Life of
Johnson, " with a story confidently told, and as confidently re-
peated with additional circumstances, that a sudden disgust was
taken by Johnson upon occasion of his being one day kept long
in waiting in his lordship's ante-chamber, for which the reason
assigned was, that he had company with him; and that at
last, when the door opened, out walked Colley Gibber ; and
that Johnson was so violently provoked when he found for
whom he had been so long excluded, that he went away in a
passion, and never would return." Johnson's own reference to
the incident is contained in the letter which he wrote, on the
completion of the Dictionary, to Lord Chesterfield : " Seven
years, my lord, have now passed since I waited in your
outward rooms, or was repulsed from your door ; during which
time I have been pushing on my work through difficulties of
which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to
a verge of publication, without one act of assistance, one word
of encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I
did not expect, for I never had a patron before." Notice the
various devices by which the painter embodies Johnson's sense
of disgust. The waiting is tedious : one of Johnson's com-
panions in misfortune is yawning, another winding up his
watch. Yet the indignity is greater for Johnson than for any
other of my lord's petitioners ; he is the cynosure of all eyes ;
whilst those who have been preferred to him regard him with
the insolent curiosity of coxcombs.
1029. THE TEMPLES OF P^STUM.
William Linton (1791-1876).
" Linton was born at Liverpool, and was at first placed in a
merchant's office there, to draw him from his fancy for painting, but
to little purpose; he persisted in his choice, and in 1817, having
got three landscapes into the Royal Academy exhibition, he was
sufficiently encouraged. He made tours in Wales and in the Highlands
of Scotland, painting many views. He eventually made several
continental excursions, and produced some pictures of the most
remarkable places, as this view of ' The Temples of Psestum.' He died
in London. He was a member of the Society of British Artists"
(Official Catalogue).
Poseidonia (the original Greek name of the place) "was
founded in the sixth century before Christ, by colonists from
Sybaris. Three centuries later the Hellenic element in this
settlement was submerged by a deluge of recurrent barbarism.
564 ROOM XXI ': ENGLISH SCHOOL
Under the Roman rule it changed its name to Paestum, and
was prosperous. The Saracens destroyed it in the ninth
century of our era ; and Robert Guiscard carried some of the
materials of its buildings to adorn his new town of Salerno.
Since then the ancient site has been abandoned to malaria and
solitude. The very existence of Paestum was unknown, except
to wandering herdsmen and fishers coasting near its ruined
colonnades, until the end of the last century. Yet, strange to
relate, after all these revolutions, and in the midst of this total
desolation, the only relics of the antique city are three Greek
temples, those very temples where the Hellenes, barbarised by
their Lucanian neighbours, met to mourn for their lost liberty.
. . . Beneath the pediment of Paestum's noblest ruin, I could
not refrain from thinking that if the spirits of those captive
Hellenes were to revisit their old habitations, they would change
their note of wailing into a thin ghostly paean when they found
that Romans and Lucanians had passed away, that Christians
and Saracens had left alike no trace behind, while the houses
of their own avr^Xioi Oeoi dawn-facing deities were still
abiding in the pride of immemorial strength. Who knows
whether buffalo -driver or bandit may not ere now have seen
processions of these Poseidonian phantoms, bearing laurels and
chanting hymns, on the spot where once they fell each on the
other's neck to weep " (J. A. Symonds : Sketches and Studies
in Italy).
422. THE PLAY SCENE IN "HAMLET."
D. Maclise, R.A. (1806-1870). See under XX. 423, p. 520.
The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
The play being enacted in the background shows the act of
murder by pouring poison into the ear " 'tis a knavish piece
of work," Hamlet had explained to the king, his uncle, " but
what of that ? your majesty and we that have free souls, it
touches us not : let the galled jade wince, our withers are
unwrung." And the galled jade does wince ; very palpably,
as Hamlet lying in front and intently observing sees full well ;
behind Ophelia, who is seated on the left, is Horatio, watching
the king also, as Hamlet had bidden him
Hamlet to Horatio. There is a play to-night before
the king ;
One scene of it comes near the circumstance
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 565
Which I have told thee of my father's death :
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle . . .
Give him heedful note ;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face.
Macready, the actor, who took a great interest in this
picture of the scene by his friend Maclise, passed a curious
criticism upon it. "To Maclise;" he writes in his Diary
(April 5, 1842), " and was very much pleased to see his grand
picture of Hamlet, which was splendid in colour and general
effect. With some of the details (!) I did not quite agree,
particularly the two personages, Hamlet and Ophelia." This is
praising a picture of Hamlet "with Hamlet left out." But
indeed the figure of Hamlet here is entirely without any
suggestion of that subtle mixture of jesting madness with grim
earnest, of sickly irresolution with righteous anger, which is
the point of the character ; whilst in Maclise's Ophelia there
is nothing surely, either of the charm which makes her
weakness the more pitiable, or the passion which makes her
subsequent madness explicable.
1156. ON THE OUSE, YORKSHIRE.
George Arnald, A.R.A. (1763-1841).
Arnald was elected A.R.A. in 1810, and in the following year his
name appears in the Academy Catalogue as "Landscape Painter to
H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester." In 1812 he exhibited a view of
Coleorton, Sir George Beaumont's place, and from this time forward
he was a regular contributor to the Academy ; but in 1820 and 1826
his name is absent from the Catalogue. He travelled and painted on
the Continent, and among the results of his labours is a series of views
on the Meuse, engraved in mezzotint from his drawings, and accom-
panied by descriptive text written by the author.
34O. HOME FROM MARKET.
Sir A. W. Callcott, R.A. (1779-1844).
See under XVIII. 343, p. 464-
346. ENTRANCE TO PISA FROM LEGHORN.
Sir A. W. Calkott, R.A. (1779-1844).
See under XVIII. 343, P- 464-
On the right is a portion of the quay of the Arno, with the
buildings about the gate leading into the city from Leghorn.
566 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
The old tower, now destroyed, flanks the western bridge (now
replaced), and was a remnant of the days when Pisa was a
strong city with command of the river and the neighbouring
seas. This view was taken about 1833.
898. LORD BYRON'S DREAM.
Sit C. L. Eastlake, P.R.A. (1793-1866).
See under XX. 398, p. 533.
This picture was painted at Rome in 1823 in illustration of
the poem, " The Dream," which Byron had written at Diodati
in 1816, and in which he had embalmed the story of his first
love
There was a mass of many images
Crowded like waves upon me, but he was
A part of all ; and in the last he lay
Reposing from the noontide sultriness,
Couch'd among fallen columns in the shade
Of ruin'd walls that had survived the names
Of those who rear'd them ; by his sleeping side
Stood camels grazing, and some goodly steeds
Were fastened near a fountain ; and a man,
Clad in a flowing garb did watch the while,
While many of his tribe slumber'd around.
9OO. THE COUNTESS OF OXFORD.
John Hoppner, R.A. (1759-1810).
It is much to be regretted that Hoppner is only represented in the
National Gallery by a single portrait ; for he is the greatest of all
the followers of Reynolds. Like another painter, Callcott, he was
originally a choir-boy ; but he had court connections (his mother was
a German lady-in-waiting), and on the strength of a pension from the
king he entered the Academy Schools. In 1 782 he won the gold medal ;
in 1783 he was elected A.R.A., and two years later R.A. Patronised
by the Prince of Wales, he soon became a fashionable portrait
painter, the Whig ladies making a point of sitting to him, just as the
Tory ladies sat to Lawrence. " You will be sorry to hear," wrote the
latter painter to a friend, when Hoppner was dying, "that my most
powerful competitor, he whom only to my friends I have acknow-
ledged as my rival, is, I fear, sinking into the grave. . . . You will
believe that I sincerely feel the loss of a brother artist, from whose
works I have often gained instruction, and who has gone by my side
in the race these eighteen years." Hoppner, who resided in Charles
Street, at the gates of Carlton House, was a man of wide culture and
information, and was something also of a poet, having published in
1805 a volume of verse translations from Eastern Tales.
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 567
A portrait, taken when she was twenty-three, of Jane Eliza-
beth, daughter of the Rev. J. Scott, and wife of the fifth Earl
of Oxford exhibited at the Academy in 1798, and bequeathed
by her daughter, Lady Langdale, in 1873. It is interesting
before so good a specimen of Hoppner's work to recall what
was the artist's own ideal for his portraits of beautiful women.
" The ladies of Lawrence," said he, " show a gaudy dissolute-
ness of taste, and sometimes trespass on moral, as well as
professional, chastity." For his own he claimed, by implication,
purity of look as well as purity of style. " This sarcastic remark
found wings in a moment, and flew through all coteries and
through both courts ; it did most harm to him who uttered it ;
all men laughed, and then began to wonder how Lawrence,
limner to perhaps the purest court in Europe, came to bestow
lascivious looks on the meek and sedate ladies of quality about
St. James's and Windsor, while Hoppner, limner to the court
of the young prince, who loved mirth and wine, the sound of
the lute, and the music of ladies' feet in the dance, should, to
some of its gayest and giddiest ornaments, give the simplicity
of manner and purity of style which pertained to the quaker-
like sobriety of the other. Nor is it the least curious part of
the story that the ladies, from the moment of the sarcasm of
Hoppner, instead of crowding to the easel of him who dealt in
the loveliness of virtue, showed a growing preference for the
rival who 'trespassed on moral as well as on professional
chastity'" (Allan Cunningham, v. 247).
894. THE PREACHING OF JOHN KNOX.
(June 10, 1559).
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under XX. 99, p. 49-
The scene represented took place in the parish church of St.
Andrews when the great Reformer had returned to Scotland
after thirteen years of exile, and joined the Congregation,
as the Protestants were called the lay leaders of the party,
mostly noblemen, being known as the Lords of the Congregation
Undismayed by the threats of the archbishop, Knox preached
before them, and such was the influence of his doctnne, that
the provost, bailies, and inhabitants harmoniously agreed to set
up the Reformed Worship in the town." Close to the pulpit,
(which is a drawing of the one in which Knox actually preached,
Wilkie having discovered it in a cellar), on the right of Knox,
568 ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL
are Richard Ballenden, his amanuensis, and Christopher
Goodman, his colleague; and in black the Knight Templar,
Sir James Sandilands, in whose house the first Protestant
Sacrament was received. Beyond, in red cap and gown, is
that famous scholar of St. Andrews, the Admirable Crichton.
Under the pulpit is the precentor, with his hour-glass. The
schoolboy below is John Napier, the inventor of logarithms.
On the other side of the picture are Lord James Stuart, after-
wards Regent Murray ; and the Earls of Glencairne, Morton,
and Argyll, whose countess, the half-sister of Queen Mary, and
the lady in attendance upon her, form the chief light of the
picture. Above this group are the Archbishop of St. Andrews,
the Bishop of Glasgow, and Quinten Kennedy, who maintained
a public disputation with Knox ; Kennedy is whispering to the
archbishop, while a "jackman,"a retainer of the Cathedral, stands
ready with the harquebuss, waiting the signal of the archbishop
to fire upon the preacher. The Admirable Crichton, however,
has his eye upon the jackman, and his hand on his sword,
though his mind seems with Knox. In the gallery are the
provost, the bailies, and some professors. At the back of it
is a crucifix, attracting the regard of Catholic penitents, and in
the obscurity above is an escutcheon to the memory of Cardinal
Beaton.
The picture, though only completed (for Sir Robert Peel) in
1832, was commenced (for Lord Liverpool) ten years before.
It was indeed in its conception Wilkie's first important attempt
in his second manner. The minute Teniers-like execution of
his earlier pictures is exchanged for a broader handling ; and
instead of being historical, in the sense of painting the actual
events of his own time, Wilkie joins the army of " historical
painters " who are so called from painting their ideas of the
events of former times. Carlyle refers to this picture as a
typical instance of the worthlessness of historical painting in
this latter sense. " There is not the least -veracity" he says,
" even of intention, in such things ; and, for most part,
there is an ignorance altogether abject. Wilkie's ' John Knox,'
for example : no picture that I ever saw by a man of genius
can well be, in regard to all earnest purposes, a more perfect
failure ! Can anything, in fact, be more entirely useless for
earnest purposes, more unlike what ever could have been
the reality, than that gross Energumen, more like a boxing
Butcher, whom he has set into a pulpit surrounded by
ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL 569
draperies, with fat-shouldered women, and play-actor men in
mail, and labelled Knox ' ?" (Project of a National Exhibition
of Scottish Portraits, in Miscellanies, people's ed., vii. 1 34).
Carlyle's criticism upon the " boxing butcher" is the more inter-
esting from the fact, probably unknown to him, that his old friend
Edward Irving was the model from whom Wilkie drew his
conception of Knox. Wilkie went to hear Irving preach in
London ; and the preacher, " tall, athletic, and sallow, arrayed
in the scanty robe of the Scotch divines, displaying a profusion
of jet-black glossy hair reaching to his ample shoulders,"
unconsciously sat to the painter for the study of John Knox.
Some of Carlyle's blame may therefore be shifted to the
model, whose " performances did not inspire me with any
complete or pleasant feeling ; there was a want of spontaneity
and simplicity, a something of strained and aggravated, of
elaborately intentional, which kept jarring on the mind"
(Carlyle's Reminiscences, Norton's ed., ii. 135). Visitors who
cannot endorse Carlyle's condemnation of the picture may
comfort themselves with Scott's praise, not indeed of the picture
in its final state (which he probably never saw), but of the
first sketch for it. " I recollect," writes Collins, " Wilkie
taking a cumbrous sketch in oil, for the picture of John
Knox, all the way to Edinburgh, for Sir Walter Scott's
opinion. I was present when he showed it to him ; Sir Walter
was much struck with it, as a work of vast and rare power."
1O91. THE VISION OF EZEKIEL.
P. F. Poole, R.A. (1806-1879).
Paul Falconer Poole was bom at Bristol, and was strictly self-
taught. " A self-taught painter," said Constable, " is one taught by a
very ignorant person;" and to this cause must be attributed the
faultiness in the execution of Poole's pictures his claim to distinction
resting rather on the ambitious flights of his fancy. He passed through
many hardships in early life, but ultimately attained much success. He
first exhibited at the Academy in 1830, was elected A.R.A. in 1846,
and R.A. in 1860.
" And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a
great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber . . . came the
likeness of four living creatures " (Ezekiel i. 4, 5).
Of this picture, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in
1 87 5 at the same time as one by Mr. G. F. Watts, called " Dedi-
cated to all the Churches," Mr. Ruskin said : " Here at least are
570 ROOM XXI: ENGLISH SCHOOL
pictures meant to teach. . . . Though this design cannot for a
moment be compared with the one just noticed (Mr. Watts's) in
depth of feeling, there is yet, as there has been always in Mr.
Poole's work, some acknowledgment of a supernatural influence
in physical phenomena, which gives a nobler character to his
storm-painting than can belong to any mere literal study of the
elements. But the piece is chiefly interesting for its parallelism
with that "Dedicated to all the Churches " in effacing the fearless
realities of the elder creed among the confused speculations of
our modern one. . . . The relation between this gray and soft
cloud of visionary power (in Mr. Watts's picture) and the
perfectly substantial, bright, and near presence of the saints,
angels, or deities of early Christian art, involves questions of
too subtle interest to be followed here ; but in the essential
force of it, belongs to the inevitable expression, in each period,
of the character of its own faith. The Christ of the thirteenth
century was vividly present to its thoughts, and dominant over
its acts, as a God manifest in the flesh, well pleased in the
people to whom He came ; while ours is either forgotten ; or
seen, by those who yet trust in Him, only as a mourning and
departing ghost. . . . (So with regard to this picture) the
beasts in Raphael's vision of Ezekiel are as solid as the cattle
in Smithfield ; while here, if traceable at all in the drift of the
storm-cloud (which it is implied, was all that the prophet
really saw), their animal character can only be accepted in
polite compliance with the prophetic impression, as the weasel
by Polonius. And my most Polonian courtesy fails in decipher-
ing the second of the four not living creatures " (Academy
Notes, 1875, pp. 10-12).
785. MRS. SIDDONS.
Sir T. Lawrence P. R. A. (1760-1830). See under 144, p. 445.
A portrait of the great actress in middle age, demurely
dressed, and with matronly frontlets. Of the same lady, in her
youth and beauty, there is elsewhere in the Gallery a glorious
picture by Gainsborough (XVI. 683, p. 405). Lawrence was
an old friend of Mrs. Siddons, who had sat for him when young
in the characters of Zara and Aspasia. In spite of some idle
gossip which accused him of simultaneous flirtations with both
Mrs. Siddons's daughters, Lawrence remained on friendly terms
with the family to the end, and this portrait was bequeathed to
the Gallery by one of the daughters.
ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL 571
616. JAMES II. RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE
LANDING OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.
E. M. Ward, R.A. (1816-1879). See under XX. 431, p. 510.
The king is in his palace at Whitehall, where a messenger
has just arrived (his departing form is seen in the left-hand
corner) with the news of the Prince of Orange having at last
landed at Torbay, November 5, 1688 (see XIX. 369, p. 634).
" The king turned pale, and remained motionless ; the letter
dropped from his hand ; his past errors, his future dangers
rushed at once upon his thoughts ; he strove to conceal his
perturbation, but, in doing so, betrayed it ; and his courtiers,
in affecting not to observe him, betrayed that they did " (Sir
John Dalrymple's Memoirs). In the left-hand corner of the
room is the Earl of Feversham, the incompetent commander-
in-chief of James's forces. With him are the notorious Judge
Jeffreys ; Father Petre, the intriguing Jesuit ; and opposite to
him, the Papal Nuncio. Beside the king is Churchill (after-
wards Duke of Marlborough), who was soon to desert him.
The Lord Justices, etc., whom James had summoned to his
council, are grouped in the corner to the right. The queen is
at the king's side, and in front is the baby prince, whose
birth as foreshadowing a Catholic succession had hastened
the coming of the Prince of Orange. To the left, listening
round the corner, is a courtier, preparing, one may expect, to
desert the setting for the rising star less faithful than the
hound whom the painter has introduced to give contrast to this
part of the composition.
SCREEN I
1038. A SNOW SCENE.
W. Mulready, R.A. (1781-1863). See under XX. 394, P- 497-
A design for a Christmas Card, it might have been with
the letterpress suggested by the group of rustics in the fore-
ground
The rich man in his jovial cheer,
Wishes 'twas winter throughout the year ;
The poor man 'mid his wants profound,
With all his little children round,
Prays God that winter be not long !
MARY HOWITT.
572 ROOM XXI : ENGLISH SCHOOL
1112. MRS. ANN HAWKINS.
John Linnell (1792-1882). See under XVIII. 438, p. 484.
917. NO NEWS.
T. S. 0^(1789-1872). See under XX. 378, p. 498.
1176. A LANDSCAPE.
Patrick Nasmyt/t(i786-i83i). See underXVlll. 380, p. 458.
1184. A FRUIT-PIECE.
G. Lance (18021864). See under XX. 443, p. 509.
1225. THE ARTIST'S FATHER AND MOTHER.
Thomas Webster, RA. (i 800- 1 886). See under XX. 426, p. 5 1 3.
Painted to commemorate their golden wedding. " The unity
of earthly creatures is their power and their peace ; not like
the dead and cold peace of undisturbed stones and solitary
mountains ; but the living peace of trust, and the living power
of support ; of hands that hold each other and are still "
{Modern Painters ; vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. i.,ch. 6. 2).
SCREEN II
4OO. THE CATHEDRAL AT BURGOS.
D. Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864). See under 401, p. 555.
The Gothic Cathedral of Burgos, the capital of old Castile,
was commenced early in the thirteenth century ; but was not
completed till some centuries later. The staircase in the north
transept, which forms the chief feature in this picture, communi-
cates with the upper tower ; for Burgos stands on the declivity
of a hill, the summit of which was originally crowned by a castle,
built at the command of Alphonso III. When in process of time
the Moors receded gradually to the south of the city, the higher
parts were abandoned for a lower position towards the plain, so
that the street which is now the highest was formerly the
lowest in the place ; and the Cathedral is thus so situated
that the whole of the north flank of the edifice, more particularly
the transept itself, is partially buried by the declivity of the hill,
while that to the south is clear and overlooks the whole city.
ROOM XXI ': ENGLISH SCHOOL 573
330. A WOODY LANDSCAPE.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under XX. 99, p. 490.
One of the few landscapes that Wilkie occasionally painted.
" I certainly wish," he wrote to Sir George Beaumont, " to get
practice, and to obtain some kind of proficiency in landscape ;
but my ambition is not more than that of enabling myself to
paint an out-door scene with facility, and in no respect what-
ever to depart from my own line."
442. RED CAP.
G. Lance (1802-1864). See under XX. 443, p. 509.
1183. A LANDSCAPE.
Patrick Nasmyth (1786-1831). See under XVIII. 380, p. 458.
319. CUPID CARESSED BY CALYPSO AND
HER NYMPHS.
T. Stothard, R.A. (1755-1834). See under XVIII. 1069, p. 465.
329. THE BAGPIPER.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841). See under XX. 99,?. 49.
ROOM XXII
THE TURNER GALLERY
" THERE is no test of our acquaintance with nature so absolute and
unfailing, as the degree of admiration we feel for Turner's painting.
Precisely in the degree in which we are familiar with nature,
constant in our observation of her, and enlarged in our under-
standing of her, will his works expand before our eyes into glory
and beauty " (RUSKIN : Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. vi. ch.
" 4)-
"TURNER will one day take his place beside Shakespeare and Verulam :
a third star in that central constellation, round which, in the
astronomy of intellect, all other stars make their circuit. By
Shakespeare, humanity was unsealed to you ; by Verulam, the
principles of nature ; and by Turner, her aspect. All these were
sent to unlock pne of the gates of light, and to unlock it for the
first time. But of all the three, though not the greatest, Turner
was the most unprecedented in his work. Bacon did what
Aristotle had attempted ; Shakespeare did perfectly what ^schy-
lus did partially ; but none before Turner had lifted the veil from
the face of nature ; the majesty of the hills and forests had received
no interpretation, and the clouds passed unrecorded from the face
of the heaven which they adorned, and of the earth to which they
ministered " (RusKiN : Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and
Painting, p. 181).
TURNER is by common consent the greatest landscape
painter that ever lived. But very different opinions are
held upon the question wherein his greatness consists.
Is it in truths that he recorded, or in visions that he
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 575
invented ? Is it the real beauties of nature that he puts
before us, or is he great for adding
The gleam,
The light that never was on land or sea,
The consecration and the poet's dream ?
Again there is this further question to be asked with
regard to Turner's greatness. The first thing that will
strike every one, on looking round this room, is the contrast
between the dark and heavy pictures on the wall to the left
and the bright and aerial pictures opposite. Is Turner
great for the former, or the latter ? In his own day the
common opinion was to divide his work into two portions,
one sane, the other insane, and to acknowledge his great-
ness in his canvases in drab, but to deny it to those in
scarlet and gold. The object of the following remarks is
to provide some clue to the perplexities which thus beset
the visitor to the Turner Gallery.
In the first place, Turner's greatness consists in this :
that he stands at the head of the naturalistic school of
landscape. We have seen how, with the old masters of
Italy, landscape was either treated in a purely conventional
way, or given an entirely subordinate importance. The
Giottesque painters who first sought to give some resem-
blance to nature in their backgrounds painted on this
recipe : " The sky is always pure blue, paler at the horizon,
and with a few streaky white clouds in it ; the ground is
green, even to the extreme distance, with brown rocks pro-
jecting from it ; water is blue streaked with white. The
trees are nearly always composed of clusters of their proper
leaves relieved on a black or dark ground." In the next
periods, " distant objects were more or less invested with a
blue colour ; and trees were no longer painted with a black
ground, but with a rich dark brown or deep green. But
rocks and water were as imperfect as ever, and the forms of
rocks in Leonardo's 'Vierge aux Rochers' (I. 1093, p.
25) are no better than those on a china plate. The most
satisfactory work of the period is that which most resembles
missal painting, i.e. which is fullest of beautiful flowers and
animals scattered among the landscape, in the old indepen-
576 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
dent way, like the birds upon a screen (see, for instance,
Benozzo Gozzoli, II. 591, p. 38). Correggio and Titian
carried the advance farther (see under VII. 4, p. 140) ; but
there were still no effects of sunshine and shadow ; and the
clouds, though now rolling in irregular masses, and some-
times richly involved among the hills, were never varied in
conception or studied from nature." The next step was to
do away with, conventionalism altogether. The attempt
was made by Claude, the two Poussins, and Salvator Rosa ;
but it failed in the manner and for the reasons that we
have already discussed (see p. 335). The reaction against
the artificial and pastoral school of landscape, which in
literature is seen in Scott, Byron, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley
and Tennyson, is in painting first seen in its perfection in
Turner. " He was the first painter to draw a mountain or
a stone, no other man having learned their organisation, or
possessed himself of their spirit. He was the first painter
to draw the stem of a tree, and the first to represent the
surface of calm, or the force of agitated, water." Turner
did all this with scientific accuracy not because he was
himself learned in science, 1 but because of his genius for
seeing into the heart of things and seizing their essential
forms and character (see p. 610). And this is what is, or
should be, meant by saying that Turner's landscape is
"ideal." "The true ideal of landscape is precisely the
same as that of the human form ; it is the expression of
the specific, not the individual, but the specific character of
every object in its perfection." And observe that Turner
not only did each of the things above described, but
did them all. " Every landscape painter before him had
acquired distinction by confining his efforts to one class
of subject. Hobbema painted oaks ; Ruysdael, waterfalls
and copses ; Cuyp, river or meadow scenes in quiet after-
noons ; Salvator and Poussin, such kind of mountain
1 He was, however, much interested in science. Dr. M'Culloch, the
geologist, was delighted with his acute mind, and said, ' ' That man would
have been great in any and everything he chose to take up ; he has such a
clear, intelligent, piercing intellect." He was fond, too, of discussing
optics ; and late in life he was for some time a constant visitor at Mr.
Mayall's, the photographer, who initiated him in the processes of that art.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 577
scenery as people could conceive who lived in towns in the
seventeenth century. But Turner challenged and van-
quished each in his own peculiar field, Vandevelde on the
sea, Salvator among rocks, and Cuyp on Lowland rivers ;
and having done this, set himself to paint the natural
scenery of skies which, until his time, had never been so
much as attempted. He is the only painter who has ever
drawn the sky, not the clear sky which was painted
beautifully by the early religious schools, but the various
forms and phenomena of the cloudy heavens : all pre-
vious artists having only represented it typically or par-
tially, but he perfectly and universally." An examination
of the skies in the Turner rooms will show that there
are almost as many different effects of sky of sunrise,
sunset, sunshine, storm, and rain, as there are pictures.
Further, he is the only painter who has perfectly represented
the effects of space on distant objects. Next to his skies
there is nothing so peculiarly " Turnerian " as his distances.
Look at such pictures as 497 and 516, pp. 606, 603;
and see if anywhere else in the Gallery there are such vistas
fading away into incomprehensible dimness, but retaining
always their gradation of light as they recede into the
distance. Leslie, the artist, once gave Turner a commission
for an American friend, and had to explain to him after-
wards that the purchaser thought the picture indistinct.
"You should tell him," replied Turner, "that indistinct-
ness is my forte" It was Turner's forte, but it is also
nature's rule, with whom nothing is ever distinct and nothing
ever vacant (see p. 611). The fulness and mystery of
Turner's distances is conspicuous in his landscapes, but the
truth of it will perhaps be understood better in observing
the distant character of rich architecture, than of any other
object. "Go to the top of Highgate Hill on a clear
summer morning," says Mr. Ruskin, "and look at West-
minster Abbey. You will receive an impression of a
building enriched with multitudinous vertical lines. Try to
distinguish one of those lines all the way down from the
one next to it: you cannot. Try to count them: you
cannot. Try to make out the beginning or end of any one
2 P
578 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
of them : you cannot. Look at it generally, and it is all
symmetry and arrangement. Look at it in its parts, and it
is all inextricable confusion. Am not I, at this moment,
describing a piece of Turner's drawing, with the same words
by which I describe nature? . . . Turner, and Turner
only, would follow and render on the canvas that mystery
of decided lines, that distinct, sharp, visible, but unintelli-
gible and inextricable richness which, examined part by
part, is to the eye nothing but confusion and defeat, which,
taken as a whole, is all unity, symmetry, and truth." So,
again, Turner is the first painter who fully represented the
beauty of natural colour. The full 'truth he could not give.
For "take a -blade of grass and a scarlet flower, and place
them, so as to receive sunlight, beside the brightest canvas
that ever left Turner's easel, and the picture will be extin-
guished." Again, it was Turner who for the first time
gave the full beauty of sun-colour. He began with imita-
tions of Claude and Cuyp in painting the sun rising through
vapour (XIV. 479, p. 344), but he ended with painting
such visions of the sun in his glory as in the " Temeraire "
or the " Ulysses " (see under X. 53, p. 218). And "the
peculiar innovation of Turner was the perfection of the
colour chord by means of scarlet. Other painters had
rendered the golden tones, and the blue tones of sky ;
Titian especially the last, in perfection. But none dared to
paint, none seemed to have seen, the scarlet and purple.
Nor was it only in seeing this colour in vividness when it
occurred in full light, that Turner differed from preceding
painters. His most distinctive innovation as a colourist was
his discovery of the scarlet shadow." This was Turner's
innovation, but it was not his invention. " We are only to
paint," he said, "what we see." A friend once asked him
incredulously whether he painted his clouds from nature.
Turner eyed him with an angry frown and growled out,
"How would you have me paint them?" This, then, is
Turner's first claim to greatness. He is the painter of the
truth and beauty of natural scenery.
But if this be so, why, it may be asked, do Turner's
pictures often look, at first sight, so different from nature ?
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 579
And why, if one knows some particular spot painted by
Turner, does it fail to immediately recall the reality ? For
two reasons, both of them lying at the root of art criticism.
In the first place, the whole truth of any visible scene can
never be portrayed on any single canvas. There are
some truths, easily obtained, which give a deceptive resem-
blance to nature ; others only to be obtained with difficulty,
which cause no deception, but give inner and deep resem-
blance. Turner's peculiarity is that he perceives more of
this latter kind of truth than other painters. Take one
instance from his mountains. One truth about mountains
is that they stand out in such and such relief from a clear
sky that is an effect which many of the earlier painters
gave. But what Turner saw also in the hills was their
multitudinousness the valleys and gulleys, the forests and
pastures, that fill their hollows or curve their sides.
" Invention, colour, grace of arrangement, we may find in
Tintoret and Veronese in various manifestation ; but the
expression of the infinite redundance of natural landscape
had never been attempted until Turner's time; and the
treatment of masses of mountain in the 'Daphne' (520,
p. 610) is wholly without precursorship in art." The
more one looks at that picture the more one sees the
multitude of truths expressed by it, but the very expres-
sion of them deprives it of any immediate appearance of
deceptive imitation. And this sacrifice of lesser truths
to greater is especially necessary in the field which
especially distinguishes Turner's pictures. If one had to
characterise the aim of his artistic ambition in a single
word, one would say that it was to gain a complete know-
ledge and reach a complete representation of light in all its
phases. 1 But " it is wholly impossible to paint an effect of
sunlight truly. It never has been done, and never will be.
For the sun is red fire, as well as red light " : nature's
highest light is incomparably above any light possible to the
i Chesneau : The English School, p. 149. But what, it may well be
asked, of these dark pictures on the left ? They were studies in the style
of earlier painters with a view of perfecting his knowledge. "When
these clever imitations were exhibited to the public, he was declared to be
a master by the leading judges of the day. Turner only smiled to himself,
S8o ROOM XXII: THE TURNER CALLER Y
artist. Hence all resemblances to sunshine must be obtained
by sacrifice. "De Hooch, Cuyp, Claude, Both, Richard
Wilson, and all other masters of sunshine, invariably reach
their most telling effects by harmonies of gold with gray,
giving up the blues, rubies, and freshest greens. Turner
did the same in his earlier work. But in his later work he
reached magnificent effects of sunshine colour." Indeed
he alone has painted nature in her true colours, but his
effects seem unnatural because he cannot contrast these
colours duly with the sky : on the summit of the slope of
light nature evades him. This limitation in the capacities
of painting is the first reason for Turner's unnaturalness.
The second is to be found in the very functions of painting.
A picture cannot be as much as a window ; but it ought
not to be a mere window, even if it could. It is to
be, not a transcript, but a work of art the representation
of a scene not as any one might see it, but as the artist
himself saw it. A fellow-artist once complained to Turner
that, after going to Domodossola, to find the site of a par-
ticular view which had struck him several years before, he
had entirely failed in doing so : " it looked different when
he went back again." " What," replied Turner, " do you
not know yet, at your age, that you ought to paint your
impressions?" The faculty of receiving such impressions
strongly and reproducing them vividly is precisely what
distinguishes the poet whether in language or painting.
The function of an artist is to " receive a strong impression
from a scene and then set himself as far as possible to re-
produce that impression on the mind of the spectator of
his picture." His aim is to "give the far higher and
deeper truth of mental vision, rather than that of the
physical facts, and to reach a representation which, though
it may be totally useless to engineers or geographers, and,
when tried by rule and measure, totally unlike the place,
shall yet be capable of producing on the far away beholder's
and, unhindered by either flattery or criticism, slowly but surely continued
in his course towards the attainment of his purpose. At the time when
others said of his work, ' That is perfection ! ' he was saying of himself,
' I have just done with leading strings, and am beginning to walk
alone.'
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 581
mind precisely the impression which the reality would have
produced." 1 Turner is in this sense the greatest of all im-
aginative landscape painters. First because, as we have
already seen, his insight into the truth and beauty of nature
was greater than other men's. Secondly, because of his
prodigious memory. "It was thought that he painted
chiefly from imagination, when his peculiar character, as
distinguished from all other artists, was in always drawing
from memories of seen facts." Every one who came across
him on his sketching tours was struck alike by his con-
scientiousness in observing phenomena, and by his power of
recalling them. He would generally take only the roughest
notes of scenes or effects, often mere pencil memoranda,
many thousands of which, similar to those exhibited in the
Water-colour Rooms, were found in his portfolios and
sketch-books after his death. But "there is not one
change in the casting of the jagged shadow along the
hollows of the hills, but it is fixed on his mind for ever ;
not a flake of spray has broken from the sea of cloud about
their bases, but he has watched it as it melts away, and
could recall it to its lost place in heaven by the slightest effort
of his thoughts."
But there is a further element of greatness in Turner's
pictures. He not only saw nature in its truth and beauty,
but he saw it in relation and subjection to the human soul.
This is what makes his works so picturesque, the essence of
which is a sublimity not inherent in the thing depicted, but
caused by something external to it, especially by the ex-
pression of suffering, pathos, or decay. It is the depth and
breadth of his sympathy with the spirit of the things he
depicted that make Turner's landscapes so great. But
though wide in range, this sympathy was uniform in
1 The distinction between the prosaic and poetic treatment of landscape
in literature may be perceived in a moment by comparing Wordsworth's
"The Thorn," in which he sinks to such land-surveying as
I've measured it from side to side,_
"Tis three feet long and two feet wide
with the magnificently imaginative description of the yew trees, "The
Fraternal Four " of Borrowdale, to which he rises in the "Excursion.
reading the former poem one may remember Turner's horror of being what
he said Wilson called "too mappy."
582 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
tendency. "The distinctive effect of light he introduced
was that of sunset ; and of sunset fading on ruin. None
of the great early painters drew ruins except compulsorily.
The shattered buildings introduced by them are shattered
artificially, like models. There is no real sense of decay ;
whereas Turner only momentarily dwells on anything
else than ruin." This is characteristic of the tone of his
mind. He paints the loveliness of nature, but with the
worm at its root ; for he ever connects that loveliness with
the sorrow and labour of men. Look round this room and
note the spirit of the pictures The Destruction of Sodom,
The Women of Egypt mourning for their First Born, The
Ruin of Italy, The Decay of Carthage. Even in his view
of daily labour there is the same feeling of solemnity and
humiliation. Note the shipwrecks : pictures of the utmost
anxiety and distress of which human life is capable ; and
the weariness of man and beast with those who plough the
fields. His mythological subjects have the same spirit
The Goddess of Discord, Medea slaying her Children,
and Apollo's gift of Immortality but not of perpetual Youth.
And especially is " this dark clue discernible in the intensity
with which his imagination dwelt always on the three great
cities of Carthage, Rome, and Venice Carthage in con-
nection especially with the thoughts and study which led to
the painting of the Hesperides' Garden, showing the death
which attends the vain pursuit of wealth ; Rome showing the
death which attends the vain pursuit of power ; Venice, the
death which attends the vain pursuit of beauty. How strangely
significative, thus understood, those last Venetian dreams of
his become, themselves so beautiful and so frail ; wrecks of
all that they were once twilight of twilight ! " And, as if
there should be no doubt of the essential unity of motive
underlying all his work, there is the manuscript poem from
which he produced mottoes for his principal pictures, and
which he entitled the " Fallacies of Hope." There are critics
who dispute, or deny, the moral motive in Turner's pictures ;
he painted the beauty of nature, they say, " for art's sake."
So the critics said in his own day ; and it was the knowledge
that it was said, that made him anxious to reinforce his
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 583
meanings by some other medium than the art of painting.
But he was a man of no literary education. He tried when
he was in middle age to learn Latin, and when he was
an old man to learn Greek ; whilst all his life he struggled
to' become articulate in verse. But though very fond of
poetry, he was entirely devoid of the literary gift. His
letters are barely intelligible, his speeches and lectures were
hopelessly involved, and it beat the best legal talent of the
country to extract any definite meaning from his will. But
he found an effective means of communication to those
who have ears to hear, in his earnest desire to arrange
his works in connected groups, and his evident inten-
tion with respect to each drawing, that it should be con-
sidered as expressing part of a continuous system of
thought. He drew not separate views, but " River Scenery,"
"Rivers of France," "Harbours of England." "Silent
always with a bitter silence, disdaining to tell his meaning,
when he saw there was no ear to receive it, Turner only
indicated this purpose by slight words of contemptuous
anger, when he heard of any one's trying to obtain this or
the other separate subject as more beautiful than the rest.
'What is the use of them,' he said, 'but together?'"
Still more eloquent was his resolve, at whatever pecuniary
sacrifice, to leave a connected series of his works to the
nation. He refused two offers of ,100,000 for the
contents of his gallery at Queen Anne Street, and ^5000
for the two "Carthages." A distinguished committee,
including Sir Robert Peel, offered to buy these pictures for
the nation ; but he refused, because he had " already willed
them." This will (or rather codicil), dated 1832, be-
queathed all his finished pictures (except the two which
were to be hung beside two Claudes) to the National
Gallery, " provided that a room or rooms are added to the
present National Gallery, to be, when erected, called
Turner's Gallery." The public owes an additional debt of
gratitude to Turner for his foresight in making this condi-
tion, 1 for his water-colour drawings, which came to the
1 A later codicil made this bequest further conditional on the ' ' Turner
Gallery" being "provided or constructed" within ten years of his death.
584 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
nation without conditions, are not properly exhibited to this
day. And it was only because the oil pictures would have
otherwise been forfeited, that due provision was at the last
legal moment made for them, and that the "Turner
Gallery " became an accomplished fact instead of another
"Fallacy of Hope."
It is often said that Turner's life was a contradiction to his art.
But this is not so. That which cometh out of a man can only proceed
from what the man himself is, and in the case of Turner, as in that of
other great painters, some knowledge of his life and character is
indispensable to the true appreciation of his art. We have
seen how the secret of his art on its expressional side was his
sympathy and large - mindedness ; and we shall see presently how
largely his technical mastery was founded on the patient study of other
men's work. And this is precisely in accord with what we know of
his character. " Having known Turner," says Mr. Ruskin, "for ten
years, and that during the period of his life when the brightest qualities
of his mind were, in many respects, diminished, and when he was
suffering most from the evil-speaking of the world, I never heard him
say one depreciating word of living man, or man's work ; I never saw
him look an unkind or blameful look ; I never knew him let pass,
without some sorrowful remonstrance, or endeavour at mitigation, a
blameful word spoken by another. Of no man but Turner, whom I
have ever known, could I say this. " ' ' The severest criticism he
was ever known to make," 1 says Mr. Frith, "was on a landscape
which every one was tearing to pieces. He was forced to confess that
a very bad passage in the picture, to which the malcontents drew his
attention, was a poor bit." Haydon, whose whole life was passed
in war with the Royal Academy, drew back suddenly in the
midst of one of his most violent expressions of exultation, and said,
" But Turner behaved well and did me justice." And he did a great
deal more than justice. Once, when he was on the Hanging
Committee for the Academy exhibition, a picture by Bird had great
merit, but no place for it could be found. Turner took down one of
his own pictures, sent it out of the Academy, and hung Bird's in its
He died in 1851. His will was proved in the following year, and was
for four years in Chancery. In 1856 the Court of Chancery awarded the
pictures and drawings to the National Gallery. The latter (19,000 in
number) were sorted, and in part arranged for exhibition, by Mr. Ruskin,
and are now in the Water-colour Room in the basement of the Gallery.
The pictures, after a selection of them had been exhibited in Marlborough
House, were placed in the South Kensington Museum, whence they were
removed in 1861 to the National Gallery.
1 A nearer approach to severity perhaps, was the criticism he passed
when he was taken to see the pictures of Thomson, a Scottish artist, at
Edinburgh. " You beat me in frames," was Turner's only remark.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 585
place. "Match that, if you can, among the annals of hanging
committees." In 1826 Turner's picture of Cologne, with its brilliant
sky, was hung between two portraits by Lawrence, which it effectually
killed. He passed a wash of lamp-black in water-colour over the
whole sky, and utterly spoiled his picture for the time. "Poor
Lawrence was so unhappy," he said, "it'll all wash off after the
exhibition." It was for the benefit too of his fellow-artists that Turner
intended the bulk of his fortune, the will in which he propounded his
scheme "for the Maintenance and Support of Male Decayed Artists"
having been made as early as 1831. This was the one purpose about
which, in all his subsequent codicils, he never changed his mind ; it
was also the one purpose which the Court of Chancery did nothing to
carry out. It is clear from what has been said, that Turner's nature
was at bottom both kindly and generous. But some sketch of his
life is necessary to show how it was crossed by dark clouds, and how
these reacted on his art. Joseph Mallord William Turner was born
in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, in a house now pulled down. He
was the son of a barber, and his father intended him very properly for
his own profession. Of regular literary or moral education he seems to
have had next to none. More than most boys therefore, he was thrown
back on the influences of his surroundings. Mr. Ruskin traces
recollections of Covent Garden in his foregrounds, "which had always
a succulent cluster or two of green-grocery at the corner" (see under 501,
p. 626). So also he "never got free of market-womanly types of hum-
anity." It was the seamy side of nature and of man that he saw, but
with it he acquired understanding of and regard for the poor. And of
great significance was his fondness for the river for "that mysterious
forest below London Bridge better for the boy than wood of pine or
grove of myrtle." Of his earliest sketches, made in pencil and
Indian ink when he was a boy, a large proportion consists of careful
studies of stranded boats ; and amongst the contents of his neglected
portfolios, sorted after his death by Mr. Ruskin, were large quanti-
ties of drawings of the different parts of old Dutch shipping. All
this was beneficial, in training him to love and understand the sea ; but
such intercourse with the sailor world did not tend to refine his habits,
and the older he grew the more he adopted the sailor's morality. Of
home influences the boy had none or none that were for good. Of
his mother we hear nothing ; and "all that dad ever praised me for,"
he said in after years, "was saving a halfpenny." This absence of
home influence intensified a natural disposition to secretiveness which
he had already shown in boyhood, and which grew upon him with
years. He was ungainly in appearance and deficient in address, and
was more and more driven in upon himself. Meanwhile his artistic
education was more fortunate. His bent was very soon manifested,
and " a sketch of a coat of arms on a silver salver, made while his father
was shaving a customer, obtained for him, in reluctant compliance with
the admiring customer's advice, the permission to follow art as a profes-
sion. He had, of course, the usual difficulties of young artists to en-
586 ROOM XX II : THE TURNER GALLERY
counter, and they were then far greater than they are now. But Turner
differed from most men in this, that he was always willing to take any-
thing to do that came in his way. He did not shut himself up in a
garret to produce unsaleable works of 'high art,' and starve, or lose his
senses. He hired himself out every evening to wash in skies in Indian
ink on other people's drawings, as many as he could, at half-a-crown
a night, getting his supper into the bargain. ' What could I have done
better?' he said afterwards: 'it was first-rate practice.' Then he
took to illustrating guide-books and almanacs, and anything that
wanted cheap frontispieces. . . . And there was hardly a gentleman's
seat of any importance in England, towards the close of the last
century, of which you will not find some rude engraving in the local
publications of the time inscribed with the simple name W. Turner."
Of his early patrons, the most useful to him was Dr. Monro "the
good doctor," as he always called him, who allowed him to copy his
Old Masters ; of his companions, the most useful was Girtin, the
water-colour painter. "Had Tom Girtin lived," he used to say, "I
should have starved." It was in water-colour that Turner first painted ;
and he continued to sketch in water-colour throughout life. By 1789
he had begun to paint in oils, and was admitted as a student at the
Academy which, says Mr. Ruskin, "carefully repressed his perception
of truth, his capacities of invention, and his tendencies of choice, whilst
the one thing it ought to have taught him, viz. the simple and safe
use of oil colour, it never taught him." But it was at any rate quick
to recognise his merit. In 1797 a visit to Yorkshire proved the turning-
point of his career. The pictures painted on his return were imme-
diately successful, and in 1799 he was elected A. R.A. In 1802 he
became R.A., and in 1806 he was appointed Professor of Perspec-
tive. In 1799 his address was 64 Harley Street, where he seems
to have bought himself a house. In 1812 he built a house in
Queen Anne Street West (No. 47), which he retained until his
death, and where he had a gallery for the private exhibition of
his pictures. From 1800 onwards his life was one of unremitting
labour, broken by sketching tours at home and abroad. To the
Royal Academy exhibitions alone he sent 257 contributions, a very
large number, when the size and importance of the works are con-
sidered. His water-colour drawings are innumerable. They are also
unsurpassable in delicacy : yet Mr. Ruskin has calculated that he must
sometimes have produced them at the rate of one a week. 1 Very many
of these drawings were prepared for the engravers and booksellers ; and
1 The quantity and quality of Turner's work are facts to which due
weight has not been given by his biographers. A welcome correction is
supplied in the article on Turner in the Encyclopedia Britannica by Mr.
George Reid. ' ' The immense quantity of work accomplished by Turner
during his lifetime, work full of the utmost delicacy and refinement, proves,"
says Mr. Reid, ' ' the singularly fine condition of his nervous system, and is
perhaps the best answer that can be given to the charge of being excessively
addicted to sensual gratification."
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 587
it is to the fortunate coincidence of Turner and the English School of
line-engravers being contemporaneous, that he owed much of his fame
and probably most of his wealth. 1 In his dealings with the engravers
the spirit of the petty tradesman which Turner inherited from his
father came out unpleasantly. On the other hand, with regard to his
pictures, he was the reverse of grasping. He was often punctiliously
moderate in the prices he charged, and was quite depressed when he
had sold a picture : "I have been parting with one of my children,"
he would say. In its social aspects, the life of Turner during all this
time was "a strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." At home he
was an unamiable recluse ; abroad he was sociable and merry.
Part of his secretiveness was due to the fact that he had a skeleton in
his cupboard. "He made his home," says his latest biographer,
" the scene of his irregularities, and by entering into intimate relations
with uneducated women, cut himself off from healthy social influence,
which would have given daily employment to his naturally warm heart
and prevented him from growing into a selfish, solitary man " (Monk-
house, p. 77). But to his father at least Turner always remained de-
votedly attached. From about 1795, till his death in 1 830, the old man
constantly lived with his son. He used to stain the canvases and varnish
the pictures, which made Turner say that his father " began and finished
his pictures for him." It was partly no doubt for his father's sake that
Turner built a house at Twickenham, which was one of his addresses
from 1814 to 1826, and where he spent some of the most healthy and
pleasant years of his life. His father used to come up to Queen Anne
Street every morning to open the gallery, and was much exercised over
the expense of the journey, until he persuaded a market-gardener to
bring him up in his vegetable cart, for a glass of gin a day a story
which throws suggestive light on the domestic economy of the Turnerian
menage. But when away from home Turner, though eccentric, was
very sociable. He had many friends, and was respected by them all.
Chief among those who were friends and patrons in one, was Mr.
Walter Fawkes, of Farnley Hall, situated upon the shores of Wharfe,
about a mile and a half from Otley. For a quarter of a century Turner
was a constant guest there, no family festival being considered com-
plete without him; and upon Mr. Fawkes's death in 1825 friendly
relations were kept up by his son, " Hawkey," until Turner himself
died. Another house where Turner often visited on terms of similar
friendship was Lord Egremont's at Petworth of which there are two
reminiscences in this Gallery (XIX. 559, 560, pp. 642, 646). Another
of his friends records that "Turner was fond of children, and children
discovered it and were fond of him." And " it will not be thought in
1 For the "Antwerp : Van Goyen looking for a Subject," painted in
1833, Turner received .315. In 1863 the picture sold for 2635, and ii
1887 for 6825. These figures are typical of the comparatively small
sums which Turner received for his pictures, and of their enormous
enhancement in value since his death.
588 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
after years," says Mr. Ruskin, "one of the least important facts con-
cerning him, that, living at his cottage at Twickenham he was nick-
named ' Blackbirdy ' by the boys, because of his driving them away
from his blackbirds' nests." Equally convincing is the evidence of
Turner's warmth of heart. He " could never make up his mind to
visit Farnley after his old friend's death, and he could not speak of the
shores of the Wharfe but his voice faltered." By his fellow -artist
friends he seems to have been universally loved. "He was very
amusing," says Mr. C. R. Leslie, "on the varnishing, or rather
the painting days, at the Academy. Singular as were his habits for
nobody knew how or where he lived his nature was social, and at our
lunch on those anniversaries he was the life of the table." And then
from such recollections as these, one has to turn back to his sordid soli-
tude in his own home. Truly in his life, as in his art, Turner embodied
the joy and the sadness of the world " the rose with the cankerworm
at its root." The gradual deterioration of his moral nature has been
already hinted at. But it was complicated by the growing isolation in
which he found himself as an artist ; and we now pass therefore to a
sketch of his artistic development, which the foregoing outline of his
life and character will better enable us to understand.
" The works of Turner are broadly referable to three periods,
during each of which he wrought with a different aim, or with different
powers." The following observations are, for the most part, confined
to his oil-pictures in this gallery, but it should not be forgotten that
Turner can only be fully understood by studying his oil-pictures in
connection with his water-colour drawings. (i) In his first period
(1800-1820), or period of apprenticeship, "he laboured as a student,
imitating successively the works of the various masters who excelled in
the qualities he desired to attain himself." The pictures of this period
have three characteristics. First, they are imitations. Thus the ' ' Car-
thage " (XIV. 498, p. 344) was an imitation of Claude ; the " Hes-
perides" (477, p. 592) of Poussin ; the " Clapham Common" (XIX.
468, p. 640) of Morland ; and his early sea pieces were imitations of
Vandevelde. But '* though they nearly all are imitations, none of
them are copies. . . . Instead of copying a Vandevelde, he went to the
sea, and painted that, in Vandevelde's way. Instead of copying a
Poussin, he went to the mountains, and painted them, in Poussin's way.
And from the lips of the mountains and the sea themselves he learned
one or two things which neither Vandevelde nor Poussin could have
told him ; until at last, continually finding these sayings of the hill and
waves on the whole the soundest kind of sayings, he came to listen to no
others." The second characteristic of his manner is the "firm, sometimes
heavy, laying on of the paint. " A general glance at the pictures hung on
the left wall of this room sufficiently shows that. The reason for it is
partly " mere unskilfulness (it being much easier to lay a heavy touch
than a light one), but partly also in the struggle of the learner against
indecision, just as the notes are struck heavily in early practice (if
useful and progressive) on a pianoforte. But besides these reasons,
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 589
the kind of landscapes which were set before Turner as models, and
which, during nearly the whole of this epoch, he was striving to
imitate, were commonly sober in colour and heavy in touch. Brown
was thought the proper colour for trees, gray for shadows, and fog-
yellow for high lights. " Thirdly, the pictures in Turner's first manner
are distinguished by their absence of colour. 1 They are all painted " on
the same principle, subduing the colours of nature into a harmony of
which the key notes are grayish-green and brown ; pure blues and
delicate golden yellows being admitted in small quantity as the lowest
and highest limits of shade and light ; and bright local colours in
extremely small quantity in figures or other minor accessories." (2) In
the second period (1820-1835) Turner "worked on the principles which,
during his studentship, he had discovered ; imitating no one, but fre-
quently endeavouring to do what the then accepted theories of art required
of all artists namely, to produce beautiful compositions or ideals, instead
of transcripts of natural fact." The pictures belonging to this second
period are technically distinguished from those of the first in three
particulars. First, "colour takes the place of gray. . . . The im-
mediate cause . . . was the impression made upon him by the
colours of the continental skies (during his foreign tour in 1820).
When he first travelled on the Continent (1800) he was comparatively
a young student ; not yet able to draw form as he wanted, he was
forced to give all his thoughts and strength to this primary object.
But now he was free to receive other impressions ; the time was come
for perfecting his art, and the first sunset which he saw on the Rhine
taught him that all previous landscape art was vain and valueless, that,
in comparison with natural colour, the things that had been called
paintings were mere ink and charcoal, and that all precedent and all
authority must be cast away at once, and trodden under foot. He cast
them away: the memories of Vandevelde and Claude were at once
weeded out of the great mind they had encumbered ; they and all the
rubbish of the schools together with them ; the waves of the Rhine swept
them away for ever ; and a new dawn rose over the rocks of the Sie-
bengebirge." Secondly, "refinement takes the place of force. He
had discovered that it is much more difficult to draw tenderly than
ponderously, and that all the most beautiful things in nature depended
on infinitely delicate lines." Thirdly, "Turner saw there were more
clouds in any sky than ever had been painted ; more trees in every forest,
more crags on every hill-side ; and he set himself with all his strength to
proclaim this great fact of Quantity in the universe." (3) In the third
period (1835-1845), "his own strong instincts conquered the theories of
art altogether. He thought little of ideals, but reproduced, as far as he
could, the simple impressions he received from nature, associating them
with his own deepest feelings." But many of the works of this period
are quite unworthy of him. This was the result partly of the isolation
i " But in slight and small drawings of the period, some play of colour
begins to show itself. "
590 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
in which he found himself. The public and the critics no longer
understood him, and " the spirit of defiance in which he was forced to
labour led him sometimes into violences from which the slightest ex-
pression of sympathy would have saved him. The new energy that
was upon him, and the utter isolation into which he was driven were
both alike dangerous, and many drawings of the time show the evil
effects of both ; some of them being hasty, wild, or experimental, and
others little more than magnificent expressions of defiance of public
opinion. Goaded by the reproaches cast upon his work, he would
often meet contempt with contempt, and paint, not as in his middle
period, to prove his power, but merely to astonish or defy his critics." 1
Mr. Frith, in his personal reminiscences of Turner, tells two stories,
which, taken together, show very clearly the spirit of mingled bitter-
ness and jest in which much of his work in this period was done. At
an Academy lunch, Reinagle said he was going to make his fortune,
and would give all his friends commissions. Then looking aside at
Turner, who sat next to him, he added, "And I will give you a com-
mission if you will tell me which way to hang the picture up when I
get it." " You may hang it just as you please," said Turner, " if you
will only pay for it." Turner, adds Mr. Frith, "used to ridicule his
own later works quite as skilfully as the newspapers did. For ex-
ample, at a dinner where I was present, a salad was offered to Turner,
who called the attention of his neighbour at the table (Lord Overstone)
to it in the following words : ' Nice cool green in that lettuce, isn't it ?
and the beetroot pretty red not quite strong enough, and the mixture,
delicate tint of yellow that. Add some mustard and you have one of
my pictures" (Frith's Autobiography, i. 130, 131). And often, no
doubt, Turner " would play with his Academy work, and engage in
colour tournaments with his painter friends ; the spirit which prompted
such jests or challenges being natural enough to a mind now no longer
in a state of doubt, but conscious of confirmed power. But here,
again, the evil attendant on such play, or scorn, becomes concentrated
in the Academy pictures ; while the real strength and majesty of his
mind are seen undiminished only in the sketches which he made
during his summer journeys for his own pleasure, and in the drawings
he completed from them." Especially did he derive fresh inspiration
from his visits to Venice, and from his journey to Switzerland in 1 840
or 1841. The drawings referable to that journey, and the best pictures
of the third period, mark the culmination of his work. " The perfect
repose of his youth had returned to his mind, while the faculties of
imagination and execution appeared in renewed strength ; all conven-
tionality being done away by the force of the impression which he had
received from the Alps after his long separation from them. The
1 It is interesting to note how this phase of Turner's temper has often
been reflected in his disciple. Many of Mr. Ruskin's passages of most
cutting irony and most startling paradox seem to have been written to
confound a perverse generation, or confuse a purblind critic.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 591
drawings are marked by a peculiar largeness and simplicity of thought
most of them by deep serenity, passing into melancholy." " Formerly he
painted the Victory in her triumph, but now the old Temeraire in her
decay ; formerly Napoleon at Marengo, now Napoleon at St. Helena ;
formerly the Ducal Palace at Venice, now the Cemetery at Murano \
formerly the Life of Vandevelde, now the Burial of Wilkie. "
The period of decline was from 1845 to 1851. "In 1845 his
health gave way, and his mind and sight partially failed." He still
occasionally dined with his friends, and was as merry and sociable at
such gatherings as ever; but he repulsed every attempt made to
penetrate into his domestic secrets. " There never was yet," says Mr.
Ruskin, "so far as I can hear or read, isolation of a great spirit so
utterly desolate." Mr. Ruskin's own enthusiasm never, he tells us,
gave Turner any pleasure ; whilst he felt bitterly even Mr. Ruskin's
failure sometimes to understand him. He was extremely sensitive too
to criticism. "A man may be weak in his age," he said once, at the
time when he felt he was dying, "but you should not tell him so."
Such isolation as this, adds Mr. Ruskin, "may be borne, and borne
easily, by men who have fixed religious principles, or supporting
domestic ties. But Turner had no one to teach him in his youth, and
no one to love him in his old age. Respect and affection, if they
came at all, came unbelieved, or came too late. Naturally irritable,
though kind, naturally suspicious, though generous, the gold grad-
ually became dim, and the most fine gold changed, or, if not changed,
overcast and clouded." As his end approached the isolation became
impenetrable. Friends sought to find him out, but he was full of
devices for eluding their kindly search. Even his old housekeeper
failed to discover his whereabouts until, in turning out a pocket of an
old coat, she came upon a letter directed to him, and written by a
friend who lived at Chelsea. She went to the place and found him
in a miserable lodging by the river-side, where he had been living
under an assumed name with a Mrs. Booth, and had passed amongst
the neighbours for a broken-down old admiral. But at the last
the gold which was mixed with Turner's clay shone out brightly.
He would often, during his last illness, rise at daybreak, and go
up to the railed -in roof to see the sun rise. "The sun is God,"
were almost his last words ; and "the window of his death-chamber
was turned towards the west, and the sun shone upon his face in its
setting, and rested there as he expired." 1
1 All the passages in the above notice of Turner's life and work which
are included in quotation marks are taken (except where otherwise speci-
fied) from Mr. Ruskin's books. It would be tedious to enumerate the
particular references ; but the most important passages are Modern
Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. chs. ix., xi. , xii. ; Pre-Raphaelitism, reprinted in
O. O. R., vol. i. 195-225 ; Edinburgh Lectures on Architecture and
Painting, Lect. iii. ; and Notes on the Turner Gallery (1856-1857), passim.
A satisfactory life of Turner still remains to tie written. Thornbury's book
592 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
474. THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.
"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim-
stone and fire . . . and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain,
and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the
ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she be-
came a pillar of salt" (Genesis xix. 24-26).
Painted 1 805. Of this and the other pictures of Turner's
first period, which are hung high and are in bad condition, it
is impossible to see anything except on particularly bright
days ; on such days it is worth while examining them, in order
to notice how, even whilst Turner was imitating the old
masters, he made a vigorous effort to realise scenes as they
might in truth have happened. Compare, for instance, this
grimly realistic version of Lot and his daughters leaving the
burning city, with such a conventional and uncharacteristic one
as Guido's (XIII. 193, p. 324). One sees by such comparisons
what is meant by the statement that Turner is " the head of the
Pre-Raphaelite School" (cf. p. 537).
477. THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES.
The three daughters of Hesperus dwelt in the Gardens of
the West, which were protected by a great dragon, and had
charge of the golden apples, the gift of Earth to Juno on her
wedding day. To them,
All amidst the gardens fair
Of Hesperus, and his daughters three,
That sing about the golden tree,
comes the Goddess of Discord, to choose the apple which was
to cause the contention of the Judgment of Paris (see X. 194,
p. 230). This story, like most Greek myths, had two distinct
meanings one natural, the other moral, and both may be traced
in Turner's picture. 1 "As natural types, the Hesperides, or
Maidens of the West, are representatives of the soft western
(cited elsewhere as TTtornbury), though full of interest, is not a life so much
as a collection of ill-assorted and too often unverified materials for one.
Mr. Monkhouse's Life'm the "Great Artists" series (cited elsewhere as
Monkhouse) is unduly weighed with controversial matter, but gives most of
the known facts about Turner.
1 It is often objected that Turner had no deep mythological meanings
in these classical compositions, for that his only source of inspiration was
probably Lempriere's Classical Dictionary. Such criticisms show a want
of acquaintance with that excellent book, for the author nearly always adds
to his bald versions of the myths an interpretation according to his lights
of their natural and moral meanings.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 593
winds and sunshine ; whilst the dragon is the representative
of the Sahara wind, or Simoom, which blew over the garden from
above the hills on the south, and forbade all advance of cultiva-
tion beyond their ridge." And thus in Turner's picture "a
clear fountain is made the principal object in the foreground,
a bright and strong torrent in the distance, while the dragon,
wrapped in flame and whirlwind, watches from the top of the
cliff." The moral significance of the story lies deeper. " The
Hesperides, in this sense, are the nymphs of the sunset.
They are called the Singing Nymphs, and are four : Brightness,
Blushing, the Spirit of the Hearth, and the Ministering Spirit. O
English reader ! hast thou ever heard of these fair and true daugh-
ters of Sunset beyond the mighty sea ? And was it not well to
trust to such keepers the guarding of the golden fruit which the
Earth gave to Juno at her marriage ? Juno, the housewives'
goddess, to whom the earth presents its golden fruit, which she
gives to two kinds of guardians. The wealth of the earth, as the
source of household peace and plenty, is watched by the
Singing Nymphs. But, as the source of sorrow and desolation,
it is watched by the Dragon. He is the representative of the
consuming passions Child of Malignity and Secretness the
flame-backed dragon, sleepless, the demon of all evil passions
connected with covetousness, that is, of fraud and rage and
gloom. Note the serpent clouds floating from his head, the
grovelling and ponderous body, the grip of the claws, as if they
would clutch (rather than tear) the rock itself into pieces.
One of the essential characters of the creature is its coldness
and petrifying power ; this in the demon of covetousness must
exist to the utmost ; breathing fire, he is yet himself of ice.
Draw this dragon as white instead of dark, and take his claws
away, and his body would become a perfect representation of
a great glacier, there being only this difference, that his
shoulders have the form, but not the fragility, of ice." l It re-
mains to explain the Goddess of Discord. " Turner derives his
conception of her from Spenser (' Als as she double spake, so
heard she double '). Following all the circumstances of decre-
pitude and distortion, through hand and limb, with patient
1 For some further remarks upon this dragon as ' ' an anticipation of the
grandest reaches of recent inquiry into the form of the dragons of the old
earth " and therein as " one of the most curious exertions of the imagina-
tive intellect with which I am acquainted in the arts," see Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. ix. ch. x. 1 8, and Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 24.
2 Q
594 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
care, he has added one final touch of his own : the nymph
who brings the apples to the goddess offers her one in each
hand ; and Eris, of the divided mind, cannot choose."
Turning now to the landscape, the reader should note that
the picture (exhibited in 1 806) is " the first composition in
which Turner introduced the mountain knowledge he had
gained in his Swiss journey (of 1802). It is a combina-
tion of these Swiss experiences, under the guidance of Nicolas
Poussin, whose type of landscape has been followed throughout."
Note first " the impossibilities of mountain form into which
the wretched system of Poussin's idealism moulded Turner's
memory of the Alps. It is not possible that hill masses on this
scale should be divided into these simple, steep, and stone-like
forms. Great mountains, however bold, are always full of
endless fracture and detail, and indicate on the brows and
edges of their cliffs, both the multitudinousness and the deeply
wearing continuance of the force of time, and stream, and
tempest." Secondly, note " the enormous torrent which rushes
down behind the dragon above the main group of trees. In
nature that torrent would have worn for itself a profound bed,
full of roundings and wrinkled lateral gulphs. Here, it merely
dashes among the squared stones, as if it had just been turned
on by a New River Company. And it has not only had no effect
on its bed, but appears quite unable to find its way to the bottom,
for we see nothing more of it after it has got down behind the
tree tops. In reality, the whole valley beneath would have
been filled by a mass of rounded stones and debris by such a
torrent as that." Thirdly, "when the streams are so lively in the
distance one might at least expect them not to be stagnant in
the foreground, and if we may have no orderly gravel walks,
nor gay beds of flowers in our garden, but only large stones and
bushes, we might surely have had the pleasantness of a clear
mountain stream. But Poussin never allowed mountain streams ;
nothing but dead water was proper in a classical foreground ;
so we have the brown pool with a water-lily or two, and a con-
ventional fountain, falling, not into a rocky trough or a grassy
hollow, but into a large glassy bowl or tureen." Fourthly, " it
is not a work in colour at all. It is a simple study in gray and
brown, heightened with a red drapery, and cooled with a blue
opening in the sky. 1 Indeed, unless we were expressly assured
1 The above passage is from Notes on the Turner Gallery (p. 20),
where Mr. Ruskin adds, with reference to the sombre colour of the picture,
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 595
of the fact, I question whether we should have found out that
these were gardens at all, as they have the appearance rather
of wild mountain ground, broken and rocky ; with a pool of
gloomy water ; some heavy groups of trees, of the species
grown on Clapham Common (XIX. 468, p. 640) ; and some
bushes bearing very unripe and pale pippins approaching in no
wise the beauty of a Devonshire or Normandy orchard, much
less that of an orange grove, and, least of all, of such fruit as
goddesses would be likely to quarrel for. It is another notable
proof of the terrible power of a precedent on the strongest
human mind, that just as Vandevelde kept Turner for twenty
years from seeing that the sea was wet, so Poussin kept Turner
for twenty years from seeing that the Alps were rosy, and that
grass was green" (Notes on the Turner Gallery, pp. 19-26,
Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. x., "The Nereid's Guard").
5OO. THE FIELD OF WATERLOO (June 18, 1815).
Exhibited in 1818, with the following quotation from Byron
(Childe Harold, iii. 28) affixed in the Catalogue
Last noon beheld them full of lusty life,
Last eve in beauty's circle proudly gay,
The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife,
The morn the marshalling in arms, the day
Battle's magnificently stern array !
The thunder-clouds close o'er it, which, when rent,
The earth is cover'd thick with other clay,
Which her own clay shall cover, heap'd and pent,
Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent !
472. CALAIS PIER. ENGLISH PACKET ARRIVING.
Exhibited in 1803, and the first-fruits therefore of the
painter's first foreign tour (1802). "Turner evidently loved
"Possibly the Goddess of Discord may have had something to do with the
matter and the shadow of her presence may have been cast on la
bough 'and golden fruit ; but I am not disposed to attribute such a piece
of Ir fetched fancy to Turner at this period." But in the last volume of
Modern Painters, published three years later, Mr. Ruskin adopts this dis-
carded hypothesis, and says : " The reason of the gloom extending, not to
Se dragoE only, but also to the fountain and tree of golden fruit ,s this
Although the Hesperides, in their own character, as the nymphs of dom
iov areentirely bright, yet seen or remembered in sorrow or in the presence
5 discord they deepen distress. Euripides describes their entirely happy
character but to Dido in her despair they recur under another aspect, and
Spenser makes the fruit grow first in the garden of Mammon" (pt. ix. ch.
X. 22, 23).
596 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
Calais excessively. There are at least five studies by him of
it ... records of successive impressions, as plainly written as
ever traveller's diary." This was " what he saw when he had
landed, and ran back directly to the pier to see what had
become of the brig. The weather had got still worse, the
fishwomen were being blown about in a distressful manner
on the pier head, and some more fishing-boats were running in
with all speed." " It may be well to advise the reader that
the ' English packet ' is the cutter in the centre, entering the
harbour ; else he might perhaps waste some time in trying to
discover the Princess Maude or Princess Alice through
the gloom on the left The figures throughout will repay
examination ; none are without individuality and interest. It
will be observed, perhaps, that the fisherman at the stern of
the boat just pushing from the pier, seems unreasonably
excited in bidding adieu to his wife, who looks down to him
over the parapet ; but if the spectator closely, examines the
dark bottle which he shakes at her, he will find she has given
it him only half full of cognac. She has kept the rest in her
own flask. The sky is throughout very noble, as well as the
indication of space of horizon beyond the bowsprit of the vessel
outside the harbour. (On a dark day the finer passages on this
side of the picture are, however,- quite invisible.) But the
picture is still painted nearly on the old Wilsonian principles :
that is to say, the darks are all exaggerated to bring out the
lights (the post for instance, in the foreground, is nearly coal-
black, relieved only with brown) ; all the shadows are coal-
black, and the grays of the sky sink almost into night effect.
And observe, this is not with any intention of giving an
impressive effect of violent storm. It is very squally and
windy ; but the fishing-boats are going to sea, and the packet
is coming in in her usual way,, and the flat fish are a topic of
principal interest on the pier. Nobody is frightened, and there
is no danger. The sky is black only because Turner did not yet
generally know how to bring out light otherwise than by
contrast." Notice particularly the fish : they are the first
indication in Turner's work of colour properly so called. Note
"the careful loading and crumbling of the paint to the focus of
light in the nearer one ; and the pearly, playing colour in the
others." Turner himself, it is interesting to know, regarded
these fish as bearing the sign-manual of his power of colour.
" Several years after he had painted the picture, he went to the
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 597
engraver to examine the progress of a plate from it. He stood
before the picture for some moments ; then laughed, and
pointing joyously to the pearly fish wrought into hues like those
of an opal, said, 'They say that Turner can't colour!' and
turned away " (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 8 ; and Prc-
Raphaelitism, in O. O. R., i. 290, 293).
47O. THE TENTH PLAGUE OF EGYPT.
"And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the
first-born in the land of Egypt. . . . And Pharaoh rose, he and all the
Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not a
house where there was not one dead " (Exodus xii. 29, 30).
Exhibited in 1802, and painted in imitation perhaps of
Poussin's Plagues. The subject was included in the Liber
Studiorum, and a glance at the drawing (Water-colour Room,
Liber Studiorum, No. 9) will assist the spectator in deciphering
the picture. The inclusion of the subject in that collected
series of his works is significant. " Turner was the painter
of the sorrow of men : ruin of all their glorious work, passing
away of their thoughts and their honour, mirage of pleasure,
Fallacy of Hope; gathering of weed on temple step; gaining
of wave on deserted strand ; weeping of the mother for the
children, desolate by her breathless first-born in the streets of
the city, desolate by her last sons slain, among the beasts of
the field (' Rizpah,' 464, now at Liverpool) " (Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. ix. ch. ix. 21).
476. THE SHIPWRECK.
Painted in 1805, and originally purchased by Sir John
Fleming Leicester, afterwards Lord de Tabley. Lady Leicester
having lost a favourite nephew at sea, was unable to bear the
associations called up by the picture, and Turner exchanged it
for the " Sun rising in a Mist "(XIV. 479, p. 344), which he after-
wards bought back in order to present to the nation. Looking
at Turner's pictures, as they should be looked at, as forming one
great whole, the visitor will find it instructive to look alternately
from the "Shipwreck" to the " Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
(516, p. 603), or the Caligula's Palace" (512, p. 608). Here,
there is the utmost anxiety and distress of which human life is
capable ; in the " Childe Harold," the utmost recklessness and
rapture. Here, nature is an infinity of cloud and condemnation ;
in the other two pictures, an infinity of light and beneficence.
598 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
Here the work of man is in its lowest humiliation the wreck
disappearing from the sea like a passing shadow : in the
" Caligula," the work of man is in its utmost pride. Time, here,
has death and life in its every moment : in the " Childe
Harold" it exists only to be laughed away. Yet in all three
pictures alike there is death and ruin. In those of Italy, the
boughs wave, and the sun lightens, and the buildings open
their glorious gates upon the track of Pride and Pleasure : and
here, the sea asks for, and the heavens allow, the doom of
those in whom we know no evil. The pictures were not
indeed painted with any thought of their comparison or
opposition ; but they indicate two opposite phases of the
painter's mind, and his bitter and pitying grasp of this
world's ways. The " Shipwreck" is only one of many in which
he strove to speak his sympathy with the mystery of human
pain. The others are definitely painted as an expression of
the alluring paths of pleasure. 1
With regard to the painting here, it marks an advance on
the " Calais " chiefly in " the more delicate and mysterious
gray instead of the ponderous blackness." The picture was
painted doubtless in imitation of Vandevelde, but the render-
ing of the sea is " far in advance of anything that had
been done before." It is wonderful in its rendering of the
action of waves ; and notice the " exact truth of the lines of
the wake of the large boat running back to the left from her
stern : very few painters would have noticed these. But
neither the lustre of surface, nor nature of the foam still less
of the spray are marked satisfactorily. Turner's sympathies
were given to the rage of the wave, not to its shining ; and as
he traced its toss and writhe, he neglected its glow. The
want of true foam drawing is a worse fault ; none of the white
touches in these seas have, in the least, the construction or
softness of foam ; and there is no spray anywhere. In reality,
in such a sea as this of the ' Shipwreck,' the figures even in
the nearest boat would have been visible only in dim fragments
through the mist of spray ; and yeasty masses of spume would
have been hanging about the breakers like folds of cloth, and
fluttering and flashing on the wind like flights of birds.
But there is a worse fault than the want of spray. Nobody is
1 Mr. Ruskin made his comparison with the " Phryne " (522, now at
Oldham), but as this latter picture is now removed, I have adapted his
words to two of the pictures still in this gallery.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 599
wet. Every figure in that boat is as dry as if they all were
travelling by waggon through the inland counties. Nothing can
show more distinctly the probationary state of Turner's mind at
the period. I used once to think Homer's phrase, ' wet water,'
somewhat tautological ; but I see that he was right, and that
it takes time to understand the fact." Note further that " the
crew of the nearer boat prove infinitely more power of figure-
painting than ever landscape painter showed before. Look
close into it : coarse it may be ; but it comes very nearly up
to Hogarth in power of expression. Look at that ghastly
woman's face and those helpless arms ; and the various torpor
and terror, and desolate agony, crushed and drenched down
among the rending planks and rattling oars. Think a little
over your 'landscapes with figures.' Hunt up your solitary
fishermen on river-banks ; your Canaletto and Guardi crowds
in projecting dominoes and triangular hats ; your Claudesque
nymphs and warriors ; your modern picturesque groups of
striped petticoats and scarlet cloaks ; and see whether you can
find one piece of true action and emotion drawn as that boat's
crew is, before you allow yourself again to think that Turner
could not paint figures" 1 (Notes on the Turner Gallery,
pp. 10-19).
490. SNOWSTORM : HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY
CROSSING THE ALPS.
This picture, now hardly visible, was exhibited in 1812,
when Turner appended to it in the Catalogue his first extract
from his " MS. Poem," the " Fallacies of Hope "the lines
having reference to the pillage of Saguntum in 219 B.C., and
Hannibal's expedition into Italy across the Alps in the
following year
Craft, treachery, and fraud, Salassian lorce
Hung on the fainting rear ; then plunder seized
The victor and the captive, Saguntum's spoil
Alike became their prey ; still the chief advanc'd,
Looked on the sun with hope ; low, broad and wnn.
While the fierce archer of the downward year,
Stains Italy's blanched barrier with storms.
In vain each pass, ensanguined deep with dead,
Or rocky fragments, wide destruction roll'd.
Still on Campania's fertile plains he thought
But the loud breeze sobb'd, Capua's joys beware.
1 See on this subject under 502, p. 617.
6oo ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
The idea was suggested to Turner partly by a picture of
the same subject by J. Cozens, partly by a storm at Farnley. 1
" One stormy day," says Mr. Fawkes, " Turner called to me
loudly from the doorway, ' Hawkey, Hawkey ! come here,
come here ! Look at this thunderstorm ! Isn't it grand ?
isn't it wonderful ? isn't it sublime ? ' All this time he was
making notes of its form and colour on the back of a letter.
I proposed some better drawing-block, but he said it did very
well. He was absorbed he was entranced. Presently the
storm passed, and he finished, ' There ! ' said he, ' Hawkey ;
in two years you will see this again, and call it Hannibal
Crossing the Alps'" (Thornbury, ii. 88).
480. THE DEATH OF NELSON (October 21, 1805).
" A magnificent picture in his early manner (exhibited 1808),
being remarkable in many ways, but chiefly for its endeavour
to give the spectator a complete map of everything visible in
the ships Victory and Redoutable at the moment of Nelson's
death-wound." The battle is represented as seen from the
mizen starboard shrouds of the Victory. To the right is the
Redoutable, and beyond that the Te~mraire, the Bucentaur, and
the Santa Trinidada. ' Nelson has just fallen, and has been
carried down from the quarter deck, having been struck by a
musket shot from a rifleman in the mizen fore-jib of the
Redoutable. The midshipman who afterwards shot the rifle-
man is preparing to fire.
Turner was doubtless at Margate, on the 22nd of December
following, when the Victory arrived there with the body of
Nelson, "and vowed that Trafalgar shall have its tribute of
memory some day. Which, accordingly, is accomplished once,
with all our might, for its death ; twice, with all our might, for
its victory (556, p. 603) ; thrice, in pensive farewell to the old
Thne'raire (524, p. 613), and, with it, to that order of things"
(Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 78 ; Modern Painters, vol. v.
pt. ix. ch. ix. 8).
493. THE DELUGE (exhibited 1813).
Meanwhile the south wind rose, and with black wings
Wide hovering, all the clouds together drove
From under heaven . . .
... the thicken'd sky
1 See Monkhouse, p. 67.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 601
Like a dark ceiling stood, down rushed the rain
Impetuous, and continued till the earth
No more was seen. MILTON'S Paradise Lost.
481. SPITHEAD : BOAT'S CREW RECOVERING AN
ANCHOR.
Exhibited 1809. The buoy on the left marks the spot
where the Royal George went down.
513. THE VISION OF MEDEA.
Painted in Rome in 1829, and exhibited at the Academy in
1831, this picture belongs to Turner's " second period " the
period of colour, of which the first gleams are discernible in the
picture below (488). The following quotation, which Turner
affixed in the Catalogue, shows how the story of Medea connected
itself in his mind with his haunting conception of the " Fallacies
of Hope "
Or Medea, who in the full tide of witchery
Had lured the dragon, gained her Jason's love,
Had fill'd the spell-bound bowl with /Eson's life,
Yet dash'd it to the ground, and raised the poisonous snake
High in the jaundiced sky to writhe its murderous coil,
Infuriate in the wreck of hope, withdrew,
And in the fired palace her twin offspring threw.
For Medea, a princess of Colchis, and a mighty enchantress,
had lulled to sleep the dragon which guarded the Golden Fleece
(471, p. 608) when Jason came in search of it, and so she had
won his love. And for ten years they lived in married tender-
ness, till Jason proved unfaithful to her, and she, infuriate in the
wreck of hope, killed her two children ; and having harnessed
the dragons of evil passions, which once she had lulled to sleep,
she fled through the air and went her way. She is here
represented " performing an incantation ; on the ground by
her side are the three Fates ; immediately above and behind
them appears to be her dragon-chariot with her twins ; the
chariot is also represented in the clouds above to the left,
where Medea is again seen in the act of throwing her children
into the fired palace below " (Official Catalogue).
488. APOLLO AND THE PYTHON.
This mythological picture appeared five years after the
"Hesperides" (477, p. 592) "another dragon this time not
triumphant, but in death-pang, the Python slain by Apollo.
602 ROOM XX II: THE TURNER GALLERY
Not in a garden this slaying, but in a hollow, among
wildest rocks, beside a stagnant pool. Yet instead, of the
sombre colouring of the Hesperid hills, strange gleams of blue
and gold flit around the mountain peaks, and colour the clouds
above them. The picture is at once the type, and the first
expression, of a great change which was passing over Turner's
mind." That change (see p. 589) was from darkness to
light. " He had begun by faithful declaration of the sorrow
there was in the world. It is now permitted him to see also
its beauty. He becomes, separately and without rival, the
painter of the loveliness and light of the creation. Of its
loveliness : that which may be beloved in it, the tenderest,
kindest, most feminine of its aspects. Of its light ; light not
merely diffused, but interpreted, light seen pre-eminently in
colour." In the colouring of this picture are the first signs of
such a change. " You will see there is rose colour and blue
on the clouds, as well as gold." And the subject of the picture
is a type of the change. The victory portrayed is " over
vapour of many kinds; Python -slay ing in general. Look
how the Python's jaws smoke as he falls back between the
rocks : a vaporous serpent."
The subject is the killing of the Python-dragon by Apollo,
who
To preserve the fame of such a deed
For Python slain, the Pythian games decreed.
Apollo is in the act of shooting, and the figure is perhaps
the best of any in Turner's pictures, 1 while the rocks and trees
are convulsed with the dying struggle of the monster
Envenom'd by thy darts, the monster coil'd,
Portentous, horrible, and vast, his snake-like form :
Rent the huge portal of the rocky den,
And in the throes of death, he tore
His many wounds in one, while earth
Absorbing, blacken'd with his gore. 2
1 ' ' There is one figure which is admirable, that of Apollo. I do not
know whether the great French artist, M. Gustave Moreau, has ever seen
this life-like painting, but whenever he does he will appreciate the genius
of one of his ancestors " (Chesneau : The English School, p. 151).
2 These were the lines which Turner put to the picture in the Academy
Catalogue, ascribing them to " Callimachus. " But there is little doubt
that they were of his own composition. They are not from Callimachus,
but are a combination of the descriptions of two of Ovid's dragons the
Python {Metamorphoses, book i.) and the dragon destroyed by Cadmus
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 603
" This monster, the Python, or corrupter, is the treasure-
destroyer, where moth and rust doth corrupt, the worm of
eternal decay. Apollo's contest with him is the strife of purity
with pollution ; of life with forgetfulness ; of love with the grave.
I believe this great battle stood, in the Greek mind, for the
type of the struggle of youth and manhood with deadly sin
venomous, infectious, irrecoverable sin. Well did Turner
know the meaning of that battle ; he has told its tale with fear-
ful distinctness. The Mammon dragon was armed with
adamant ; but this dragon of decay is a mere colossal worm :
wounded, he bursts asunder in the midst, and melts to pieces
rather than dies, vomiting smoke a smaller serpent -worm
rising out of his blood. Alas, for Turner ! This smaller
serpent-worm, it seemed, he could not conceive to be slain "
(Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. xi.) The same " serpent-
worm " may be seen in other of Turner's pictures ; e.g. in 505,
p. 624.
556. THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (Oct. 21, 1805).
A sketch of a larger picture the second of the series
"painted at different times, but all illustrative of one haunting
conception, of the central struggle at Trafalgar " (see under 480,
p. 600). The large picture was presented by George IV. in
1829, for whom it was painted, to Greenwich Hospital, where
it still hangs in the Painted Hall. " It is a broadside view,
and represents the Redoutable as sinking, though it did not really
sink till the next night. Turner has, in fact, with epical
grandeur, crowded together the events of several different
hours" (see Thornbury, i. 292, and Ruskin's Harbours of
England, p. 16, for some interesting stories about the large
picture. " I can't make English of it, sir," said one old
Greenwich pensioner of it, "I can't make English of it."
"What a Trafalgar !" exclaimed another, "it's a damned deal
more like a brickfield !").
516. CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE.
One of the most important pictures in the rooms both for
its own beauty and as showing the drift of the painter's mind.
" Turner painted," says Mr. Ruskin, " the labour of men, their
(book iii). ' ' Something very like a javelin, Cadmus's weapon is sticking
in the dragon, and has reappeared after being painted out
house, pp. 68-72).
604 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
sorrow, and their death. This he did nearly in the same tones
of mind which prompted Byron's poem of 'Childe Harold '; and
the loveliest result of his art, in the central period of it, was an
effort to express on a single canvas the meaning of that poem.
It may now be seen, by a strange coincidence, associated
with two others, ' Caligula's Bridge ' (5 1 2, p. 608) and ' Apollo
and the Sibyl ' (505, p. 622) ; the one illustrative of the vanity
of human labour, the other of the vanity of human life." The
general motives of the picture are described in the quotation
from Byron which Turner himself affixed to it
And now, fair Italy
Thou art the garden of the world, the home
Of all art yields and nature can decree
Even in thy desert what is like to thee ?
Thy very weeds are beautiful, thy waste
More rich than other climes' fertility,
Thy wreck a glory, and thy ruin graced
With an immaculate charm which cannot be defaced.
Childe Harold: iv. 26.
In the spirit of these lines Turner set himself to paint the
ancient ruin, the mediaeval convent and walled town, the
modern life and the sun going down alike upon the glorious
wreck of the past, and upon the fascinating out-door life of the
present Italy. It is interesting to go from this painted poem
done in 1832, when Turner was fifty-seven to see him, "as
a boy, at work with heavy hand and undiverted eye, on the
dusty Clapham Common road" (XIX. 468, p. 640), or as a young
man watchful of Jason's footstep over the dry bones to the
serpent's den (471, p. 608). "Age usually makes men prosaic
and cold ; but in Turner the course of advancing mind was
the exact reverse of this. And thus the richest and sweetest
passages of Byron, which usually address themselves most to
the imagination of youth, became an inspiration to Turner in
his later years : and an inspiration so compelling, that, while
he only illustrated here and there a detached passage from
other poets, he endeavoured, as far as in him lay, 1 to delineate
the whole mind of Byron."
1 " The illustration is imperfect," adds Mr. Ruskin, "just because it
misses the manliest character of Byron's mind ; . . . and, beautiful as
the dream may be, Turner but joins in the injustice too many have done
to Byron, in dwelling rather on the passionate than the reflective and
analytic elements of his intellect. . . . Turner was strongly influenced,
from this time forward, by Byron's love of nature ; but it is curious how
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 605
With regard to Turner's treatment of his subject, "the
landscape on the right-hand portion of the picture is ex-
quisitely beautiful founded on faithful reminiscences of the
defiles of Narni, and the roots of the Apennines, seen under
purple evening life. The tenderness of the mere painting, by
which this light is expressed, is not only far beyond his former
work, but it is so great that the eye can hardly follow the
gradations of hue ; it can feel, but cannot trace them. On
what mere particles of colour the effect depends, may be well
seen in the central tower of the distant city, on the hill beyond
the bridge. The side of it turned away from the light receives
a rosy reflection from the other buildings in the town ; and
this reflection will be found, on looking close, to be expressed
with three touches of vermilion, laid on the blue distant
ground, the touches being as fine as the filament of a feather.
It is very interesting to walk back from this ' Childe Harold'
to the ' View on Clapham Common,' and observe the intensity
of the change of subject and method : the thick, plastered, rolling
white paint of the one, and the silvery films of the other ;
the heavy and hot yellow of the one, and the pale rosy rays of
the other, touched with pencillings so light, that, if the ground
had been a butterfly's wing, they would not have stirred a
grain of its azure dust." Beautiful, however, as the picture
still is, it is now only a ghost of its former self. Whether from
the too light glazing of one colour over another, or from the
mixing of colours chemically discordant, or from some other
cause, this (like most of Turner's greatest pictures) has largely
lost its original effect. " What amount of change has passed
upon it may be seen by examining the bridge over the river on
the right. There either was, or was intended to be, a draw-
bridge" 3 or wooden bridge over the gaps between the two ruined
piers. But either the intention of bridge was painted over,
and has penetrated again through the disappearing upper
colour; or (which I rather think) the realisation of bridg<
was once there, and is disappearing itself." Notice lastly the
drawing of the stone pine. "Those in the 'Bay of Baue
unaware he seems of the sterner war of his will and intellect ; and how
Sttle this quiet and fair landscape, with its del.cate rum and softened hght
does n reality express the tones of thought into which Harold falls oftenest
fn that watchful and weary pilgrimage" (Notes on the Turner Gallery^
?aV For a further statement of Mr Ruskin's est.mate of Byron, the reader
may refer to Fiction. Fair and Foul, in O.O.R., vol. 11.
606 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
(505, p. 623) have no resemblance to the real tree, except
in shade and heavy-headedness. But this pine has something
of the natural growth of the tree, both in its flatter top and
stiffer character of bough : and thus, though the leaves are not
yet right pine leaves, naturalism is gradually prevailing over
idealism. . . . But through all these phases of increasing
specific accuracy, the bough drawing, considered as a general
expression of woody character, is quite exquisite. It is so
delicate in its finish of curves, that, at first, the eye does not
follow them ; but if you look close into the apparently straight
bough, the lowest and longest on the left of this pine in the
' Childe Harold,' you will find there is not a single hair's
breadth of it without its soft changes of elastic curve and living
line. If you can draw at all accurately and delicately, you
cannot receive a more valuable lesson than you will by out-
lining this bough, of its real size, with scrupulous care, and
then outlining and comparing with it some of the two-pronged
barbarisms of Wilson, in the tree on the left of his ' Villa of
Maecenas'" (XVII. 108, p. 440) (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt
ix. ch. xi. 26 ; Notes on the Turner Gallery, pp. 47-54).
473. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Exhibited in 1 803. " A bad imitation of Reynolds ; an
uninteresting picture, except as showing the extraordinary
daring and versatility of the painter's mind, and his uncertainty
as yet in what road to direct his genius" (Thombury, i. 264).
497. CROSSING THE BROOK.
A view of the Tamar which divides Devonshire and Corn-
wall, looking towards Plymouth, with the bridge above
Calstock in the middle distance. One of the culminating
works in the artist's first period " glorious in composition, and
perfect in all that is most desirable and most ennobling in art."
Note the beautiful expression of "tender diffused daylight over
a wide and varied landscape. The painting of the middle
distance, i.e. the river-side, the bridge, the brewery, the wooded
bank traversed by glistening brook and shadow -crossed
pathway, is admirable in ease of execution and suggestion of
detail. Beyond, the river winds seaward in soft lines of gray
light. Above all, the summer cloud rises and spreads itself
along the slow -moving currents of upper air with exquisite
buoyancy " (A. W. Hunt in English Art in the Public
Galleries, p. 77). In sentiment the picture is full of the
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 607
painter's enjoyment of the loveliness of quiet English scenery.
"We shall see nothing finer than this if we stay till sundown,"
said Turner, as some wide distance such as this burst upon his
view, " because we can't ; let us go home." The picture
was exhibited in 1815. His tour to Plymouth was made in
1812, in company with Mr. Cyrus Redding, who has left an
interesting account of the way in which Turner's glance
" commanded in an instant all that was novel in scenery, and
stored it in his memory with wonderful felicity, placing his
pictorial memoranda on a sheet of letter-paper, quite unin-
telligible to others." One of these memoranda a sketch for
the tree on the left may be seen in the Water-colour Room
(First Period, No. 16 : see Mr. Ruskin's Catalogue, p. 8).
" Meeting him in London one morning," continues Mr.
Redding, " he told me that if I would look in at his gallery
I should recognise a scene I well knew, the features of which
he had brought from the west. I did so, and traced, except
in a part of the front ground, a spot near Newbridge, on the
Tamar, we had visited together" (Thornbury, i. 204). Mr.
Hunt notices as an example of Turner's love of local truth,
and his way of accepting and finding use for it, " the foreground,
which provokes the thought of composedness more than any
other part of the picture (for the stones in the stream have a
look of classical polish about them). The square, smooth
blocks of granite tell of a quarry close by, well worked in his
time and may be seen at this day with the brook flowing
amongst them." On the other hand " the facts of an actually
existing scene have been a little overmuch bent, like the fir-
tree bough on the left, to the painter's will. The vision of
that extreme distance involves exaggeration of the height of
the ground from which the view is gained, and this exaggeration
is perhaps the cause of a slight look of compression in the
thicket on the near hill- side, which we seem able to see
through, and over, and under, in a slightly confusing way."
And note lastly, that like the other pictures in Turner's first
period, it is " scarcely to be looked upon as a piece of colour ;
it is an agreeable, cool, gray rendering of space and form, but
it is not colour, being, indeed, painted in nothing but gray,
brown, and blue, with a point or two of severe local colour in
the figures " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii.
42, sec. ii. ch. ii. 18, sec. vi. ch. i. 1 5 ; Pre-Raphael-
itistn, in a a R., i. 276).
608 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
471. JASON IN SEARCH OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
This picture, exhibited in 1802, is one of the earliest to show
Turner's increasing power in his first period, for it is full of the
imagination and love of horror which formed some of the most
important elements in his mind. The serpent, the guardian of
the Golden Fleece, has been drugged to sleep by the charms of
Medea (cf. 513, p. 60 1), and the moment represented is when
Jason stealthily passes by the terrible monster. " In very
sunny days a keen-eyed spectator may discern something in the
middle like the arch of an ill-built drain." This is a coil of the
dragon, beginning to unroll himself. Mr. Ruskin notices this
showing only a part of the dragon's body, and thereby increasing
our awe, as an instance of Turner's " penetrative imagination,"
of his power, that is, of seizing the main point of a thing and
disdaining the rest. The following passage refers to Turner's
drawing of the same subject (see in the Water-colour Room,
Liber Studiorum, No. i) ; but applies also, though not so
strongly, to this picture its.elf :
" No far forest -country, no secret paths, nor cloven hills; nothing but
a gleam of pale horizontal sky, that broods over pleasant places far
away, and sends in, through the wild overgrowths of the thicket, a ray
of broken daylight into the hopeless pit. No flaunting plumes nor
brandished lances, but stern purpose in the turn of the crestless helmet,
visible victory in the drawing back of the prepared right arm behind
the steady point. No more claws, nor teeth, nor manes, nor stinging
tails. We have the dragon, like everything else, by the middle. We
need see no more of him. All his horror is in that fearful, slow,
grinding upheaval of the single coil. . . . Further, observe that the
painter is not satisfied even with all the suggestiveness thus obtained,
but to make sure of us, and force us, whether we will or not, to walk
his way, and not ours, the trunks of the trees on the right are all cloven
into yawning and writhing heads and bodies, and alive with dragon
energy all about us ; note especially the nearest, with its gaping jaws
and claw-like branch at the seeming shoulder ; a kind of suggestion
which in itself is not imaginative, but is imaginative in its present use
and application, for the painter addresses thereby that morbid and
fearful condition of mind which he has endeavoured to excite in the
spectator, and which in reality would have seen in every trunk and
bough, as it penetrated into the deeper thicket, the object of its terror "
{Modern Painters, vol. ii. pt. iii. sec. ii. ch. iii. 13).
512. CALIGULA'S PALACE AND BRIDGE.
The Bay of Baiae seems to have impressed Turner deeply
as the chief site of the ruins of the luxury and power of Rome.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 609
In the " Apollo and the Sibyl " (505, p. 622), exhibited in 1 823,
he painted it as the scene of Apollo's gift of love, but not of
immortality; in this picture, exhibited in 1831, it is the scene
of another "Fallacy of Hope" children sporting with goats
upon the ruins of the palace and bridge which were the
monument of a Roman emperor's pride and power. 1 For
Caligula, in order to confute a prophecy that he would no
more be emperor than he could drive his chariot across the
Bay of Baias, had constructed a bridge of boats from the mole
at Puteoli across the bay to Baias, upwards of three Roman
miles, and he both rode and drove over it. Yet
What now remains of all the mighty bridge
Which made the Lucrine like an inner pool,
Caligula, but massy fragments left
As monuments of doubt and ruined hopes,
Yet gleaming in the morning's ray, that tell
How Baise's shore was loved in times gone by.
Fallacies of Hope.
Mr. Ruskin calls this composition "a nonsense picture," and
it is worthy of note that Turner has here mistaken his text.
Caligula's bridge was a temporary one of boats ; but Turner
has assumed that a solid structure, similar to that of the
mole (which Antoninus Pius restored), was continued com-
pletely across the bay.
558. A FIRE AT SEA.
An unfinished picture, and no longer in the state in which
Turner left it. "Very often," says Mr. Ruskin, "the first
colour, richly blended and worked into, is also the last ; some-
times it wants a glaze only to modify it ; sometimes an entirely
different colour above it. Turner's storm-blues, for instance,
were produced by a black ground with opaque blue, mixed with
white, struck over it. In cleaning the 'Hero and Leander'
(521, now at Glasgow), these upper glazes were taken off,
and only the black ground left. I remember the picture when
its distance was the most exquisite blue. I have no doubt
the ' Fire at Sea ' has had its distance destroyed in the same
manner" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. viii. ch. iv. 18).
" On the right is seen the flaming ship, burning to the water's
1 The goats were introduced (according to Thornbury, i. 319), with
Turner's consent, by Mr. E. Goodall, the engraver. But see under 492,
p. 626.
2 R
610 ROOM XXII ': THE TURNER GALLERY
edge ; on the left is the boisterous sea ; in the centre is a vast
raft crowded with human beings, men, women, and children,
while others are already washed by the waves from their pre-
carious refuge. A mother is vainly endeavouring to recover
her child, floating away from her ; some have already given
way to despair ; one terrible looking figure, which seems lashed
to the raft, stands out in appalling relief against the dark sky ;
others are battling against the elements ; some are exerting
themselves strenuously for the common good ; two men in the
centre are endeavouring to fix a mast, and many others are
striving with oars and spars to keep the raft clear of the burning
ship ; all are threatened by both the fire and the storm, alter-
nately drenched by the one and scorched by the other ; fire
rains upon them from above, and the waves are opening to
engulf them below. One great wave threatens imminent
destruction to many. Yet the calm moon peeping between
the black clouds, and showing where the beneficent sun is still
shining, restores our confidence in the stability of things,
reminds us how partial and momentary are these terrible
calamities which visit the world, and revives hope. The con-
trast between the fire and the illumined waves, and the black
sea and sky beyond, has a most powerful effect" (R. N.
Wornum : The Turner Gallery, p. 91).
52O. APOLLO AND DAPHNE.
One of the most important pictures of Turner's third period,
and full of his naturalism. Note first the beauty and truth of the
mountains. "By looking back to the 'Hesperides' (477, p. 592),
and comparing the masses of mountains there with these, the
naturalism of the last period will be easily felt. All these moun-
tains are possible nay, they are almost reminiscences of real
ranges on the flanks of Swiss valleys ; the few scattered stones
of the ' Hesperides ' have become innumerable ridges of rock ;
the overhanging cliffs of the ' Hesperides ' have become possible
and beautiful slopes ; the dead colours of the ' Hesperides ' are
changed into azure and amber." Indeed, though Turner was
not a geologist, his unerring certainty of perception here makes
him see the facts of mountain form with geological accuracy.
" The mountains on the left descend in two precipices to the
plain, each of which is formed by a vast escarpment of the
beds whose upper surfaces are shown between the two cliffs,
sinking with an even slope from the summit of the lowest to
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 611
the base of the highest, under which they evidently descend,
being exposed in this manner for a length of five or six miles.
. . . Look also at the mountain on the right. It is simple,
broad, and united as one surge of a swelling sea ; it rises in
an unbroken line along the valley, and lifts its promontories
with an equal slope. But it contains in its body ten thousand
hills. There is not a quarter of an inch of its surface without
its suggestion of increasing distance and individual form. First,
on the right, you have a range of tower-like precipices, the
clinging wood climbing along their ledges and cresting their
summits, white waterfalls gleaming through its leaves ; not, as
in Claude's scientific ideals, poured in vast torrents over the
top, and carefully keeping all the way down on the most
projecting parts of the sides ; but stealing down, traced from
point to point, through shadow after shadow, by their
evanescent foam and flashing light, here a wreath, and there
a ray, through the deep chasms and hollow ravines, out of
which rise the soft rounded slopes of mightier mountain, surge
beyond surge, immense and numberless, of delicate and
gradual curve, accumulating in the sky until their garment of
forest is exchanged for the shadowy fold of slumberous morning
cloud, above which the utmost silver peak shines islanded and
alone. Put what mountain painting you will beside this, of
any other artist, and its heights will look like mole-hills in
comparison, because it will not have the unity and the
multiplicity which are in nature, and with Turner, the signs of
size." This truth of space is indeed noticeable throughout the
picture. Nothing is empty, yet nothing is distinct Notice, for
instance, the capital lying on the foreground. "Not one jag of the
acanthus leaves is absolutely visible, the lines are all disorder,
but you feel in an instant that all are there. And so it will
invariably be found through every portion of detail in his late
and most perfect works." Observe also, in the vegetation, the
masses which " enrich the heap of ruin with embroidery and
bloom."
It remains to explain the meaning of the figures, and their
relation to the landscape. " Daphne was the daughter of the
river Peneus, the most fertilising of the Greek rivers, by the
goddess Terra (the earth). She represents, therefore, the
spirit of all foliage, as springing from the earth, watered by
rivers ; rather than the laurel merely. Apollo became
enamoured of her, on the shore of the Peneus itself, that is to
612 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
say, either in the great vale of Larissa, or in that of Tempe.
The scene is here meant for Tempe, because it opens to the
sea : it is not in the least like Tempe, which is a narrow
ravine : but it expressed the accepted idea of the valley as far
as Turner could interpret it, it having long been a type to us
moderns of all lovely glens or vales descending from the
mountains to the sea. The immediate cause of Apollo's
servitude to Daphne was his having insulted Cupid (proud of
his achievement in the destruction of the Python, 488, p. 60 1),
and mocked at his arrows. Cupid answered simply, ' Thy bow
strikes all things, Apollo, but mine shall strike Thee? The
boy god is seen in the picture behind Apollo and Daphne.
Afterwards, when Daphne flies and Apollo pursues, Ovid
compares them to a dog of Gaul, coursing a hare the grey-
hound and hare Turner has, therefore, put into the foreground.
When Daphne is nearly exhausted, she appeals to her father,
the river Peneus, ' gazing at his waves,' and he transforms
her into a laurel on his shore. That is to say, the life of the
foliage the child of the river and the earth appeals again
to the river, when the sun would burn it up ; and the river
protects it with its flow and spray, keeping it green for ever.
So then the whole picture is to be illustrative of the union of
the rivers and the earth ; and of the perpetual help and delight
granted by the streams, in their dew, to tfye earth's foliage.
Observe, therefore, that Turner has put his whole strength
into the expression of the roundings of the hills under the
influence of the torrents ; has insisted on the loveliest features
of mountain scenery when full of rivers, in the quiet and clear
lake on the one side, and the gleaming and tender waterfalls
on the other : has covered his foreground with the richest
foliage, and indicated the relations of the whole to civilisation
in the temples and village of the plain " (Modern Painters, vol.
i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch. v. 14, sec. iv. ch. iii. 6, 16 ; vol. iv.
pt. v. ch. xvii. 42, 48 ; vol. v. pt. vi. ch. x. 20 ; Notes on
the Turner Gallery ', pp. 57-59).
536. FISHING BOATS BRINGING A DISABLED
SHIP INTO PORT RUYSDAEL.
Exhibited in 1844, and interesting, first, as an instance of
Turner's respect for earlier painters, even when he had long
attained to mastery ; for the Port Ruysdael was a fiction of the
painter, invented to do honour to Jacob Ruysdael, the celebrated
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 613
landscape painter (see under X. 628, p. 236). Secondly, it is in
itself among the most perfect sea pictures Turner ever produced
perfect in its " expression of the white, wild, cold, comfort-
less waves of northern sea " and " especially remarkable as
being painted without one marked opposition either of colour
or of shade, all quiet and simple even to an extreme. The
shadow of the pier-head on the near waves is marked solely by
touches indicative of reflected light, and so mysteriously that
when the picture is seen near, it is quite untraceable, and
comes into existence as the spectator retires. It is instructive
as a contrast to the dark shadows of his earlier time " (Modern
Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v. ch. iii. 37).
524. THE FIGHTING TJLM&RAIRE TUGGED TO
HER LAST BERTH TO BE BROKEN UP, 1838.
The flag which braved the battle and the breeze,
No longer owns her.
Exhibited at the Academy in 1839, with the above lines
cited in the Catalogue. Of all Turner's pictures in the National
Gallery this is perhaps the most notable. For, first, it is " the
last picture he ever painted with perfect power the last in
which his execution is as firm and faultless as in middle life ;
the last in which lines requiring exquisite precision, such as
those of the masts and yards of shipping, are drawn rightly
at once. When he painted the ' Temtrcdre ' Turner could,
if he had liked, have painted the ' Shipwreck' (476, p. 597) or
the 'Ulysses' (508, p. 619) over again; but when he painted
the ' Sun of Venice' (XIX. 535, p. 629), though he was able
to do different, and in some sort more beautiful things, he
could not have done those again. His period of central
power thus begins with the 'Ulysses' and closes with the
' Tt'meraire: The one .picture, it will be observed, is of
sunrise, the other of sunset. The one of a ship entering on its
voyage, and the other of a ship closing its course for ever.
The one, in all the circumstances of the subject, unconsciously
illustrative of his own life in its triumph, the other, in all the
circumstances of its subject, unconsciously illustrative <
own life in its decline. Accurately as the first sets forth h
escape to the wild brightness of nature, to reign amidst all
her happy spirits, so does the last set forth his returning to die
by the shore of the Thames." And besides having been pamte
6 H ROOM XX II: THE TURNER GALLERY
in Turner's full power, the " Tdmtraire " is of all his large pic-
tures the best preserved. Secondly, the subject of the picture is
both particularly, and generally, the noblest that in an English
National Gallery could be. The Ttmtraire was the second
ship in Nelson's line at the Battle of Trafalgar ; and this
picture is the last of the group which Turner painted to illustrate
that central struggle in our national history. The part played
by the Ttmtraire in the battle will be found detailed below.
And, generally, she is a type of one of England's chief glories.
" It will always be said of us, with unabated reverence, ' They
built ships of the line.' Take it all in all, a Ship of the Line is
the most honourable thing that man, as a gregarious animal,
has ever produced. By himself, unhelped, he can do better
things than ships of the line ; he can make poems and pictures,
and other such concentrations of what is best in him. But as a
being living in flocks, and hammering out, with alternate strokes
and mutual agreement, what is necessary for him in those
flocks, to get or produce, the ship of the line is his first work."
And as the subject was the noblest Turner could have chosen, so
also was his treatment of it. " Of all pictures of subjects not
visibly involving human pain, this is, I believe, the most pathetic
that was ever painted. The utmost pensiveness which can ordi-
narily be given to a landscape depends on adjuncts of ruin : but
no ruin was ever so affecting as this gliding of the vessel to her
grave. A ruin cannot be (so), for whatever memories may be con-
nected with it, and whatever witness it may have borne to the
courage and the glory of men, it never seems to have offered itself
to their danger, and associated itself with their acts, as a ship of
battle can. The mere facts of motion, and obedience to human
guidance, double the interest of the vessel : nor less her
organised perfectness, giving her the look, and partly the
character of a living creature, that may indeed be maimed in
limb, or decrepit in frame, but must either live or die, and
cannot be added to nor diminished from heaped up and
dragged down as a building can. And this particular ship,
crowned in the Trafalgar hour of trial with chief victory pre-
vailing over the fatal vessel that had given Nelson death
surely, if ever anything without a soul deserved honour or
affection, we owed them here. Those sails that strained so
full bent into the battle that broad bow that struck the surf
aside, enlarging silently in steadfast haste, full front to the
shot resistless and without reply those triple ports whose
ROOM XXII : THE TURNER GALLERY 615
choirs of flame rang forth in their courses, into the fierce
revenging monotone, which, when it died away, left no answer-
ing voice to rise any more upon the sea against the strength of
England those sides that were wet with the long runlets of
English life-blood, like press -planks at vintage, gleaming
goodly crimson down to the cast and clash of the washing
foam those pale masts that stayed themselves up against the
war-ruin, shaking out their ensigns through the thunder, till sail
and ensign drooped steeped in the death-stilled pause of
Andalusian air, burning with its witness-clouds of human souls
at rest, surely, for these some sacred care might have been left
in our thoughts, some quiet space amidst the lapse of English
waters ? Nay, not so. We have stern keepers to trust her glory to
the fire and the worm. Never more shall sunset lay golden
robe on her, nor starlight tremble on the waves that part at
her gliding. Perhaps, where the low gate opens to some cottage-
garden, the tired traveller may ask, idly, why the moss grows
so green on its rugged wood ; and even the sailor's child may
not answer, nor know, that the night-dew lies deep in the war-
rents of the wood of the old Temdraire." And, lastly, the
pathos of the picture the contrast of the old ship's past
glory with her present end ; and the spectacle of the
"old order" of the ship of the line whose flag had braved the
battle and the breeze, yielding place to the new, in the little
steam-tug these pathetic contrasts are repeated and enforced
by a technical tour de force in the treatment of the colours
which is without a parallel in art. And the picture itself thus
combines the evidences of Turner's supremacy alike in imagina-
tion and in skill. " The old masters, content with one simple
tone, sacrificed to its unity all the exquisite gradations and
varied touches of relief and change by which nature unites her
hours with each other They gave the warmth of the sinking
sun, overwhelming all things in its gold, but they did not give
those gray passages about the horizon where, seen through its
dying light, the cool and the gloom of night gather themselves
for their victory. . . . But in this picture, under the blazing veil
of vaulted fire, which lights the vessel on her last path, there is
a blue, deep, desolate hollow of darkness out of which you can
hear the voice of the night wind, and the dull boom of the dis-
turbed sea ; the cold deadly shadows of the twilight are gather-
ing through every sunbeam, and moment by moment as you
look, you will fancy some new film and faintness of the night
616 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
has risen over the vastness of the departing form " (compiled
from Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 46 ., sec.
ii. ch. i. 2 1 ; Harbours of England, p. 1 2 ; and Notes on the
Turner Gallery, pp. 75-80).
Finally a few words about the history of the picture itself
may be interesting. The subject of it was suggested to Turner
by Clarkson Stanfield (who himself, it will be remembered, had
painted a " Battle of Trafalgar," XX. 405, p. 5 1 2). They were
going down the river by boat, to dine, perhaps, at Greenwich,
when the old ship, being tugged to her last berth at Deptford,
came in sight. " There's a fine subject, Turner," said Stanfield.
This was in 1838. Next year the picture was exhibited at the
Academy, but no price was put upon it. A would-be purchaser
offered Turner 300 guineas for it. He replied that it was his
" 2oo-guinea size " only, and offered to take a commission at
that price for any subject of the same size, but with the
"TJmfrazre" itself he would not part. Another offer was sub-
sequently made from America, which again Turner declined.
He had already mentally included the picture, it would seem,
amongst those to be bequeathed to the nation ; and in one of
the codicils to his will, in which he left each of his executors a
picture to be chosen by them in turn, the " Ttmeraire " was
specially excepted from the pictures they might choose. 1
1 Mr. W. Hale White recently drew up for Mr. Ruskin, from official
records, the following history of the Ttmtraire. To him and to Mr.
Ruskin I am indebted for permission to insert the history here. It will be
seen that Turner was right in calling his picture the "Fighting TtnUraire,"
and the critic who induced him to change the title in the engraving to the
'''Old Timtraire" wrong:
"The Ttmtraire, second rate, ninety-eight guns, was begun at Chatham, July
1793, and launched on the nth September, 1708. She was named after an older
Tfmeraite taken by Admiral Boscawen from the French in 1759, and sold in June
1784. The Chatham Ttmtrairf9ia& fitted at Plymouth for a prison ship in 1812, and
in 1819 she became a receiving ship and was sent to Sheerness. She was sold on the
i6th August 1838, to Mr. J. Beatson, for .5530. The Ttmtraire was at the battle
of Trafalgar on the 2 ist October 1805. She was next to the Victory, and followed
Nelson into action ; commanded by Captain Eliab Harvey, with Thomas Kennedy
as first lieutenant. Her main topmast, the head of her mizenmast, her foreyard, her
starboard cathead and bumpkin, and her fore and main topsail yards were shot away ;
her fore and main masts so wounded as to render them unfit to carry sail, and her
bowsprit shot through in several places. Her rigging of every sort was cut to pieces ;
the head of her rudder was taken off by the fire of the Redcnttablc ; eight feet of the
starboard side of the lower deck abreast of the mainmast were stove in, and the whole
of her (juarter-galleries on both sides carried away. Forty-six men on board of her
were killed, and seventy-six wounded. . . . The Ttmfraire was built with a beak-
head, or, in other words, her upper works were cut off across the catheads ; a peculiarity
which can be observed in Turner's picture. It was found by experience in the early
part of the French war that this mode of construction exposed the men working the
guns to the enemy's fire, and it was afterwards abandoned." " It has been objected,"
adds Mr. White, "that the masts and yards in the picture are too light for a ninety-
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 617
561. MOUNTAIN GLEN.
Unfinished. The story of Diana and Actseon is slightly
sketched in, in the foreground.
5O6. CARTHAGE: DIDO DIRECTING THE EQUIP-
MENT OF THE FLEET.
Another of the numerous pictures of Carthaginian history
which Turner painted a subject which had taken a deep
hold of his imagination ; partly because of the type he saw in
Carthage of the vain pursuit of wealth, partly because she was
a prototype to him of the naval empire of England. The al-
ternative title was the " Morning of the Carthaginian Empire ;"
and notice that in this picture, exhibited in 1828, the same
incident of children sailing toy-boats (in the foreground to the
right) is introduced as in the " Dido Building Carthage," or
"Rise of the Carthaginian Empire" (XIV. 498, p. 344), ex-
hibited thirteen years previously. The companion picture, the
"Decline of the Carthaginian Empire" (499), exhibited in 1817,
is now at Manchester.
5O2. ENGLAND: RICHMOND HILL, ON THE
PRINCE REGENT'S BIRTH-DAY.
Which way, Amanda, shall we bend our course ?
The choice perplexes. Wherefore should we choose ?
All is the same with thee ; say, shall we wind
Along the streams ? or walk the smiling mead ?
Or court the forest glades ? or wander wild
Among the waving harvests ? or ascend,
While radiant summer opens all its pride,
Thy hill, delightful Shene ?
THOMSON.
The figures here especially that of the giraffe-like lady to
the left of the central group are amongst the worst that
Turner perpetrated; but the badness of his figure-drawing
must already have attracted every visitor's attention. What is
curious, is that his figures became worse as his pictures became
i-!^s a t7^^
^^h^ri:^^
Smb. e^tence Meslrs! Castle, the shipbreakers of Millbank, have the two figures of
Atlas which supported the sterngallery.
618 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
better. Thus in his earlier works his figure-drawing is often
vigorous and effective, see, e.g. the " Calais Pier" (472, p. 596)
and the " Python " (488, p. 602). This picture was exhibited in
1819, and belongs to his first manner, but the figures in pictures
of twenty years later are no better, and are far more incomplete.
With regard to which matter, the reader may minimise the
offence caused by this singular defect if he remembers the
following considerations pointed out by Mr. Ruskin. First,
as far as the want of drawing (as distinguished from bad
drawing) goes, that is necessary in order to give truth of
space : "for it is totally impossible that if the eye be adapted
to receive the rays proceeding from the utmost distance, and
some partial impression from all the distances, it should be
capable of perceiving more of the forms and features of near
figures than Turner gives." Secondly, it may be doubted
whether really good figure-painting, which can only be attained
by long application, is possible to a great landscape-painter ;
and if not, is it not as well to make no laborious attempt ?
This explains the sketchiness, but not the awkwardness, of
Turner's figures which remains inexplicable by the side of
his exquisite sense of grace and proportion in other forms.
Constantly, for instance, he makes the head a foot too high, as
in the figure of Apollo in the "Bay of Baiae" (505, p. 622): legs
that will not join the trunk are frequent also ; but his favourite
mismanagement of all is the putting one eye an inch or two
higher than the other. " All that I can guess," says Mr.
Ruskin, " is that he had got so much into the habit of weaving
natural forms rocks, boughs, and waves into exactly the
shapes that would best help his composition, that when he
came to an unsubduable form in man or animal, he could not
endure the resistance, and lifted features out of their places, as
he would have raised or dropped one window in a tower, whose
equalities tormented him, and wrung a neck as remorselessly
as he would have twisted a bough, to get it into the light or
shade he wanted " {Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch.
iv. 8 ; Notes on the Turner Gallery, pp. 6I-67). 1
1 The following passage from Mr. Frith's Autobiography (i. 130) is
interesting in this connection : ' ' Many a time I have benefited by Turner's
wonderful knowledge of light and shade ; and though I confess the draw-
ing of the figures in his pictures is often funny enough, he was quick to
see and point out errors in the action and drawing of mine, and more than
once he has taken his brush and corrected a piece of foreshortening that had
mastered me."
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 619
5O8. ULYSSES DERIDING POLYPHEMUS.
Ulysses having escaped from the monster Polyphemus by
blinding him when he slept, is putting out to sea at sunrise. 1
Close into shore are the remains of the fire in which Ulysses and
his companions heated the olive staff with which they put out the
monster's eye. The sailors flock up the masts to unfurl sail ; the
oars are thrust out to force the galley forward ; the flags
one bearing Ulysses's name, the other depicting the siege of
Troy flaunt boastfully, whilst in the distance is the rest of
the fleet, ready to join in the flight. Ulysses himself, being
now safely off to sea, waves the blazing olive tree and taunts
the distant giant. The gods assist Ulysses in his flight, and a
shoal of sea -nymphs urge his vessel on. Meanwhile the
monster Polyphemus is seen sprawling his huge bulk on the
top of the cliff
While raging he repeats his cries,
With hands uplifted to the starry skies.
This, says Mr. Ruskin, is the central picture in Turner's
career, the one, that is, in which his special powers are seen
in their perfection ; " and it is in some sort a type of his own
destiny. He had been himself shut up by one-eyed people
he had seen his companions eaten in the cave by them (many
a painter of good promise had fallen by Turner's side in those
early toils of his) ; at last, when his own time had like to have
come, he thrust the rugged pine-trunk, all a-blaze (rough
nature, and the light of it), into the faces of the one-eyed
people, left them tearing their hair in the cloud-banks, got out
of the cave in a humble way, under a sheep's belly (helped by
the lowliness and gentleness of nature, as well as by her
ruggedness and flame) and so got away to open sea as the
dawn broke over the Enchanted Islands."
The time, it should be noted, " is necessarily morning the
Cyclops had been blinded as soon as he slept ; Ulysses and
his companions escaped when he drove out the flock in tl
early morning, and they put instantly to sea.
what gloomy and deeply coloured tones of the lower cnmson
clouds and of the stormy blue bars underneath them, are
always given by Turner to skies which rise over any s
i The Official Catalogue originally described the picture as a sunset
and theLSfn^lpprehensiono'cursin Mr. Monkhou^ ^ecent L ,of
Turner, where, in describing this picture, he speaks of the dym{
620 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
of death, or one connected with any deathful memories. 1
But the morning light is unmistakably indicated by the
pure whiteness of the mists, and upper mountain snows, above
the Polyphemus ; at evening they would have been in an
orange glow. Moreover in the distance is Apollo, his horses
are rising beyond the horizon (see under X. 5 3, p. 2 1 8), but above
it, gaining somewhat of a victory over vapour, it appears." (The
chariot and horses of the God of Day were once, Mr. Ruskin
tells me, more visible than they are now.) " The white column
of smoke which rises from the mountain slope is a curious
instance of Turner's careful reading of his text (I presume him
to have read Pope only) 2
The land of Cyclops lay in prospect near,
The voice of goats and bleating flocks we hear,
And from their mountains rising smokes appear.
Homer says simply : ' We were so near the Cyclops' land,
that we could see smoke, and hear the voices, and the bleating
of the sheep and goats.' Turner was, however, so excessively
fond of opposing a massive form with a light wreath of smoke
(perhaps almost the only proceeding which could be said with
him to have become a matter of recipe) that I do not doubt
we should have had some smoke at any rate, only it is made
more prominent in consequence of Pope's lines. The Cyclops'
cave is low down at the shore where the red fire is and,
considering that Turner was at this time Professor of
Perspective to the Royal Academy, and that much outcry has
lately been raised against supposed Pre-Raphaelite violations
1 ' ' The very sign in heaven itself, which, truly understood, is the type
of love, was to Turner the type of death. The scarlet of the clouds was
his symbol of destruction. In his mind it was the colour of blood." So
he used it in the " Fall of Carthage" (499, now at Manchester). Note
his own written words, "While o'er the western wave the ensanguined
sun, etc." Other instances are the drawing of Goldau, the Slave-ship,
the Napoleon at St. Helena and the Tdmtraire (524) (see Modern
Painters, vol. iv. pt. v. ch. xviii. 24 ; vol. v. pt. ix. ch. xi. 31 .)
2 Thornbury relates a story in this connection which is amusingly
characteristic of "the secretive sort of fun" with which Turner "loved to
mystify busy-bodies and dilettanti." Turner was at a dinner-party
where this picture was the theme of some idle talk. "Come now," said
Turner, " I bet you don't know where I took the subject from." " From
the Odyssey, of course," replied his fellow-guest. "Odyssey !" grunted
Turner, bursting into a chuckle ; ' ' not a bit of it ! I took it from Tom
Dibdin. Don't you know the lines
He ate his mutton, drank his wine,
And then he poked his eye out."
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 621
of perspective law, I think we may not unwarrantably inquire
how our Professor supposed that that Cyclops could ever have
got into that cave. For the naval and mythological portion of
the picture, I have not much to say : its real power is in its
pure nature, and not in its fancy. If Greek ships ever
resembled this one, Homer must have been a calumnious and
foul-mouthed person in calling them continually ' black ships ' ;
and the entire conception, so far as its idealism and water-
carriage are concerned, is merely a composition of the Lord
Mayor's procession with a piece of ballet-scenery. The
Cyclops is fine, passionate enough, and not disgusting in
his hugeness ; but I wish he were out of the way, as well as
the sails and flags, that we might see the mountains better.
The island rock is tunnelled at the bottom on classical prin-
ciples. The sea grows calm all at once, that it may reflect the
sun ; and one's first impression is that Leucothea is taking
Ulysses right on the Goodwin Sands. But, granting the local
calmness, the burnished glow upon the sea, and the breezy
stir in the blue darkness about the base of the cliffs, and the
noble space of receding sky, vaulted with its bars of cloudy
gold, and the upper peaks of the snowy Sicilian promontory,
are all as perfect and as great as human work can be. This
sky is beyond comparison the finest that exists in Turner's
oil paintings. Next to it comes that of the 'Slaver,' and
third, that of the ' Te'mfraire'" (Notes on the Turner Gallery,
pp. 46, 47). These skies of Turner's have the same gorgeous
colouring that Shelley loved (cf. under XIX. 548, p. 633)
Half the sky
Was roofed with clouds of rich emblazonry,
Dark purple at the zenith, which still grew
Down the steep west into a wondrous hue
Brighter than burning gold.
Julian and Maddalo.
461. MORNING ON THE CONISTON FELLS.
Ye mists and exhalations that now rise
From hill or streaming lake, dusky or gray,
Till the sun paint your fleecy skirts in gold,
In honour to the world's Great Author rise
MILTON : Paradise Lost, bk. v.
This picture, now invisible, was exhibited in 1798, and
these lines were the first poetical motto given by Turner
picture of his. " There is a strange ominousness as
622 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
about much that great men do in the choice of it. Consider
how these four lines express Turner's peculiar mission as
distinguished from other landscapists ; his mind was set from
the first, it would seem, on rendering atmospheric effects "
(Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 32 ; Modern Painters, vol. v.
pt. ix. ch. x. 3).
505. THE BAY OF BAI^E, WITH APOLLO AND
THE SIBYL.
Waft me to sunny Baiae's shore.
This quotation, put by Turner to the picture when he
exhibited it in 1823, marks that spirit of exultation in the
splendour and gladness of the world which was characteristic
of his second period (see p. 589). It is a picture of one of
the most beautiful spots in Italy "the bay with the gracious
splendour of blue sea, which made the Roman nobles build
palaces round it." Horace celebrated it as without a rival in
the world : nullus in orbe sinus Baits pralucet amcem's (Epist.
i. i, 83), and on a stone to the left Turner puts another tribute
from Horace : liquidce placuere Bai<z (Odes iii. 4, 24). The
castle of Baiae, from which the bay takes its name, is seen on
the right ; and on the opposite side, is the distant Puzzuoli, the
Puteoli of the Romans. But in the details it is a Baias of
Turner's own creation, 1 which he has bathed with all his
loveliest light, and upon which he has lavished all his powers
of rendering the exceeding intricacy of nature's foregrounds.
Mr. Ruskin says of this picture, and of the " Mercury and
Argus " (now in a foreign collection) : " Often as I have paused
before these noble works, I never felt on returning to them as
if I had ever seen them before. . . . For the foregrounds of
Turner are so united in all their parts that the eye cannot
take them by divisions, 2 but is guided from stone to stone
1 There is an interesting story attached to the "splendid falseness" of
the scene. Turner's friend, Jones, having discussed the picture with a
traveller fresh from the spot, wrote on the frame splendide mendax.
Turner saw it, and laughed. His friend told him that where he had
planted some hills with vineyards, there was nothing in reality but a few
dry sticks. Turner smiled, and said it was all there, and that all poets
were liars. The inscription remained on the frame of the picture for
years ; Turner never removed it ( Thornbury, i. 229).
2 ' ' The following procedure will, I think, under these circumstances, be
found serviceable. Take a stiff piece of pasteboard, about eight inches
square, and cut out in the centre of it an oblong opening, two and a half
inches by three. Bring this with you to the picture, and standing three or
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 623
and bank to bank, discovering truths totally different in
aspect according to the direction in which it approaches them,
and approaching them in a different direction, and viewing
them as part of a new system every time that it begins its
course at a new point " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. iv.
ch. iv. 29). True to nature in its infinite variety, it is
true also in its rendering of the refinement of natural forms.
" Examine, for example, carefully, the drawing of the brown
tendrils and lighter leaves which encompass the stem of the
tree on the left, then the bough drawing, spray by spray, in the
trees themselves, then the little bit of bay underneath the Castle
of Baise, just close to the stems ; go afterwards to the ' View
of Clapham Common ' (XIX. 468, p. 640), and you will feel the
change sufficiently (from Turner's first to his second manner).
There is a curious sign, however, of the remaining influences
of the theories of idealism on Turner in the treatment of the
stone pines. . . . He takes a stone pine to begin with, and
keeps its general look of close shade and heaviness of mass ;
but as boughs of stone pine are apt to be cramped and rugged,
and crampedness and ruggedness are un-ideal, he rejects the
pine nature in the branches, and gives them the extremities of
a witch elm ! " (cf. under 516, p. 605).
Turning now from the details of the landscape to the general
sentiment of the picture, one may notice in it a strange sense
of desolation. " The gods sit among the ruins, but do not
attempt to mend any, having apparently come there as tourist
gods. Though there are boats and figures on the shore, and
a shepherd on the left, the greater part of the landscape is very
desolate in its richness full of apples and oranges, with
nobody to eat them ; of pleasant waters, with nobody to drink ;
of pleasant shades, with nobody to be cool ; only a snake and
a rabbit for inheritors of all that dominion of hill and forest :
we perceive, however, with consternation, by the two streams
which have been diverted from the river to fall through the
four feet from it, according to your power of sight, look through the
opening in the card at the middle distance, holding the card a foot or t>
from the eye, so as to turn the picture, piece by piece, into a series of s
subjects. Examine these subjects quietly, one by one ; sometimes ho
the opening horizontal, sometimes upright, according to the bit you are
examining, and you will find, I believe, in a very little while, that each of
these small subjects becomes more interesting to you, and seems tc
more in it, than the whole picture did before" (Notes on the Turn,
Gallery, p. 41).
624 ROOM XX II: THE TURNER GALLERY
arches of the building near the bridge, that Nobody must have
succeeded in establishing a mill among the ruins. Concerning
which, it must be remembered that, though Turner had now
broken through accepted rules of art, he had not broken
through the accepted laws of idealism ; and mills were, at this
time, necessary and orthodox in poetical landscape, being sup-
posed to give its elements, otherwise ethereal and ambrosial,
an agreeable earthy flavour, like truffles in pies " (see, for in-
stance, Claude's equally ideal mill, XIV. 12, p. 337). But if we
examine the two figures in the foreground, "we shall presently
accept this beautiful desolation of landscape with better under-
standing." It is a picture of the Bay of Baiae ; of the sunshine
of the south, that is, and of the beauty of the earth. But also
of " the story of Apollo and the Sibyl," that is, " of wasted
splendour, of haggard beauty, and of abiding fear." For " this
Cumasan Sibyl, Deiphobe, was in her youth beloved by Apollo,
and when he promised to grant her whatever she would ask,
she took up a handful of earth, and asked that she might
live for as many years as there were grains of dust in her
hand. She obtained her petition, and Apollo would have
given her also perpetual youth, in return for her love ;
but she denied him, and wasted into the long ages
known at last only by her voice. We are thus led to think
of her here, as the type of the ruined beauty of Italy ;
foreshowing, so long ago, her low murmurings of melancholy
prophecy, with all the unchanged voices of her sweet waves
and mountain echoes." And there is another lesson of the
vanity of human life in the picture still. The fable seems to
have made a strong impression on Turner's mind. He had
painted Lake Avernus long ago (XIX. 463, p. 647), and he
painted it again in " The Golden Bough " (37 1, now at Dublin).
In that picture, as in this, there is a snake in the foreground
among the fairest leafage, a type of the terror, or temptation,
which is associated with the lovely landscapes. " In the midst
of all the power and beauty of nature, he still saw this death-
worm writhing among the weeds. A little thing now, yet enough :
Apollo giving love ; but not youth, nor immortality " (Notes
on the Turner Gallery, pp. 38-43 ; Modern Painters, vol. v. pt.
ix. ch. xi. 12, 26).
486. WINDSOR.
Painted about 1 8 1 o.
ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY 625
523. AGRIPPINA LANDING WITH THE ASHES
OF GERMANICUS.
Exhibited in 1839, when Turner put the following lines in
the Catalogue
The clear stream
Aye, the yellow Tiber glimmers to her beam,
Even while the sun is setting.
Agrippina was the mother of Caligula and the widow of
Germanicus. Her husband had died of poison at Antioch,
and she brought home his ashes in an urn. Turner trans-
fers the landing of Agrippina from Brindisi to Rome, and gives
us here his restoration of the Triumphal Bridge and Palace
of the Caesars. " There was once," wrote Mr. Ruskin in
1856, "some wonderful light in this painting, but it has
been chilled by time " (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 68).
5O4. ROME: THE ARCH OF TITUS AND THE
CAMPO VACCINO, SEEN FROM THE
COLOSSEUM.
Painted about 1820, from a sketch made in Rome in 1819,
but never exhibited.
This was the Roman Forum.
ROGERS.
The Forum, where the immortal accents glow,
And still the eloquent air breathes burns with Cicero !
The field of freedom, faction, fame, and blood :
Here a proud people's passions were exhaled,
From the first hour of Empire in the bud,
To that when further worlds to conquer failed.
There is given
Unto the things of earth, which Time hath bent,
A spirit's feeling ; and where he hath leant
His hand, but broke his scythe, there is a power
And magic in the ruin'd battlement,
For which the palace of the present hour
Must yield its pomp, and wait till ages are its dower.
BYRON : Chi Me Harold, iv. 112, 113, 129.
492. A FROSTY MORNING: SUNRISE.
The rigid hoar-frost melts before his beam.
THOMSON'S Seasons.
Exhibited in 1813, and one of the best of the pictures in
Turner's first manner. The ground sparkles with frost, a,
2 S
626 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY
the tall, spindly, bare tree conveys a sense of cold. The tone
is beautifully soft, mellow, and subdued. The yellow, cloud-
less sky, the crushed crisp grass, and the dead weeds are all
perfectly painted" (Thornbury, \. 295). Mr. F. E. Trimmer,
the son of Turner's old friend and executor, gives the following
reminiscences about this picture. Turner, when living at
Richmond, had, " besides his boat, a gig and an old horse ; an
old crop-eared bay horse, or rather a cross between a horse
and a pony. In this gig he used to drive out sketching. He
has immortalised his old Crop-ear in his ' Frosty Morning.'
Both horses are taken from Crop-ear. Turner could not paint
a horse ; still, he has been very happy in catching the stiffness
of old Crop-ear's forelegs, and on this subject of horses, I once
asked Turner, long afterwards, if Gilpin had not painted the
horse in ' Hannibal Crossing the Alps,' and he said it was his
own design, and that no painter had ever touched any picture
of his. The Frost Piece was one of his favourites. Once
he talked of giving it to my father, who greatly prized it. He
said he was travelling by coach in Yorkshire, and sketched it
en route. There is a stage-coach in the distance that he was
on at the time. My father told me that when at Somerset
House (in the Academy Exhibition) it was much brighter,
and made a great sensation. It was over the fireplace in his
gallery. The girl with the hare over her shoulders, I have
heard my father say, reminded him of a young girl whom
he occasionally saw at Queen Anne Street, and whom, from
her resemblance to Turner, he thought a relation. The same
female figure appears in his ' Crossing the Brook '" (497,
p. 606).
501. THE MEUSE: ORANGE-MERCHANTMAN
GOING TO PIECES ON THE BAR.
Exhibited 1819. Boats are unloading the wreck, and
fishermen picking up oranges in the river. A propos of
Turner's boyhood in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, with
" magnificence of oranges in wheelbarrows round the corner,"
Mr. Ruskin remarks how the painter never forgot his early
impressions. " Enchanted oranges gleam in Covent Gardens
of the Hesperides (477) ; and great ships go to pieces in
order to scatter chests of them on the waves " (Modern Painters,
vol. v. pt. ix. ch. ix. 4).
-ROOM XXII : THE TURNER GALLERY 627
494. DIDO AND vENEAS LEAVING CARTHAGE ON
THE MORNING OF THE CHASE.
One of Turner's twenty Carthaginian pictures, and one of
the first of his works in which he introduced his favourite
stone pines. The "brown demon," as Mr. Ruskin calls it,
is very conspicuous in this and the next picture. They were
both exhibited in 1814, when the following lines were given in
the Catalogue to this one
When next the sun his rising light displays,
And gilds the world below with purple rays,
The Queen, /Eneas, and the Tyrian Court
Shall to the shady woods, for sylvan game, resort.
DRYDEN'S Mnrid, bk. iv.
495. "APULEIA IN SEARCH OF APULEIUS."
Exhibited at the British Institution 1814, when the refer-
ence in the Catalogue was to Ovid's Metamorphoses)- In the
foreground are Apuleia and her companions, and some
peasants reposing in the shade of a tree. In this part of the
foreground is inscribed on the picture, Apuleia in search of
Apuleius, learns from the swain the cause of his metamorphosis ;
whilst one of the peasants is pointing to the name Apuleius
carved in the bark of a tree. For the story was that a shepherd
of Apulia (Appulus pastor, wrongly called Apuleius by Turner)
invaded the haunts of some dancing nymphs and insulted
them so grievously that he was changed into a wild olive tree
for his rudeness. Turner adds to the story that his wife went
in search of him, and learnt, as described above, the reason of
his transformation
He mocked the nymphs with imitated bound,
With rustic coarseness both of word and deed ;
Nor was he silenced till he met his meed :
1 The reference is to Book xiv., 517-526 ("Appulus has ilia pastor,"
etc). Apuleia and Apuleius are characteristic misreadings by Turner of
his text, and have caused much confusion in descriptions of this picture.
In translations of Ovid the shepherd is called "a shepherd of Apulia."
Turner evidently took the name of the country for the name of a woman,
and confounded ' Appulus ' ' with ' ' Apuleius " (the author of the Metamor-
phosis, or the Golden Ass). This ingenious solution of the difficulty is
taken from Mr. Monkhouse's Turner, p. 69 (who. however, is hardly
correct in speaking of ' ' the story of Appulus ").
628 ROOM XXII: THE TURNER GALLERY.
Bark clasped his throat and silenced his rough tongue,
And now the oleasters . . .
In bitter berries and rough saps retain
The rudeness of Apulia's shepherd swain.
Visitors should now retrace their steps through Rooms XXI.
and XX. Leaving Room XX. by the door in the right-
hand corner, facing them, they -will find tJiemsetves in
the second Turner room.
ROOM XIX
THE TURNER GALLERY (Continued)
458. PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF WHEN YOUNG.
Said to have been painted about 1802, when Turner would
have been twenty-seven, but the portrait surely shows a younger
man than that. Indeed he looks decidedly younger here than in
the portrait by Dance, which was taken in 1800. It is clear
from both portraits that in his youth he was not so entirely
unprepossessing in person, or negligent and dirty in dress, as
he afterwards became. Notice the intelligent blue eyes, which
all observers remarked in him ; the prominent nose, very con-
spicuous in the silhouette farther on in this room (p. 640), but
here concealed by being taken full-face ; the strong chin, and
the somewhat sensual mouth. He wears the fashionable
double waistcoat of the period, with full white neckerchief.
535. THE "SUN OF VENICE" GOING TO SEA.
A picture which Mr. Ruskin described, when it was
exhibited in 1843, as "faultless," and to which he after-
wards referred as "best representing" the painter's "entire
power.' It does so because it represents just what is most
characteristic of, and peculiar to, Turner. Thus, observe, in
his painting of the boat, his unerring instinct in seizing upon
the essential character of a thing. The " Sun of Venice " (Sol
di Venezia\ it should first be explained, is supposed to be the
name of the fishing boat. " I have actually seen," says Mr.
630 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
Ruskin, " this name on a boat's stern. The nomenclature is
emphasised by a painting of Venice, with the sun rising, on
the main sail of the boat, which is itself a little vignette. The
compliment to the Venetian fisher as an artist is, however, a
little overstrained. I have never seen any elaborate landscape
on the sails, but often the sun, moon, and stars, with crosses
and chequer patterns sometimes a saint or madonna, rather
more hard-featured than mainland saints. But in all the in-
numerable paintings of Venice, old and modern, no notice
whatever had been taken of these sails, though they are exactly
the most striking feature of the marine scenery around the city, 1
until Turner fastened upon them, painting one important picture,
the ' Sun of Venice,' entirely in their illustration. And he
paints both them and the boat perfectly. The sails are true in
form and set, and exquisitely wrought in curve. Nothing could
be more faithful than the boat in the exact height of the boom
above the deck, the quartering of it with colour, the hanging
of the fish-baskets about the bows, and the blaze of colour
which the artist elicits from the right use of these circumstances.
For the Venetian boat, when its painted sails are at full swell in
sunshine, is as beautiful as a butterfly with its wings half-
closed." Then notice another characteristic, the painting of the
water. "No man ever painted the surface of calm water but
Turner." " The peculiar power of the picture is the painting
of the sea surface, where there are no reflections to assist it.
A stream of splendid colour falls from the boat, but that occupies
the centre only ; in the distance the city and crowded boats
throw down some playing lines, but these still leave on each
side of the boat a large space of water reflecting nothing but
the morning sky. This is divided by an eddying swell, on
whose continuous sides the local colour of the water is seen, pure
aqua-marine (a beautiful occurrence of closely observed truth).
But still there remained a large blank space of pale water to
be treated ; the sky above had no distinct details, and was pure
faint gray, with broken white vestiges of cloud ; it gave no
help therefore. But there the water lay, no dead gray flat
paint, but downright clear, playing, palpable surface, full of
indefinite hue, and retiring as regularly and visibly back and
1 Since Turner's time they have been a favourite motive in Venetian
pictures. And they are still a prominent object at Venice a faded like-
ness "in lowly lustre" of the old Venetian galleys painted with divers
colours, and " far seen in pleasant splendour."
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 631
far away, as if there had been objects all over to tell the
story by perspective." 1 Then notice, thirdly, "the marvellous
brilliancy of the arrangement of colour, rendering it," says Mr.
Ruskin, "one of Turner's leading works in oil." And lastly,
it is characteristic of the prevailing melancholy of his mind.
" There seemed through all his life to be one main sorrow and
fear haunting him a sense of the passing away, or else the
destructive and temporary character, of beauty. The choice of
subject for a clue to all his compositions, the ' Fallacies of
Hope,' marked this strongly ; and he would constantly express
an extreme beauty where he meant that there was most
threatening ' and ultimate sorrow." This sentiment was
marked in the present picture by the quotation adapted from
Gray's " Bard " which Turner affixed to it
Fair shines the morn, and soft the zephyr blows,
Venezia's Fisher spreads his painted canvas gay
Nor heeds the Demon who in grim repose
Expects his evening prey. 2
(Put together from Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii.
46, sec. v. ch. iii. 1 1 ; Stones of Venice, vol. i. App. 2 ; St.
MarKs Rest, p. 5 ; Harbours of England, p. 5 ; and Notes on
the Turner Gallery, pp. 7 J -73-)
465. MOUNTAIN SCENE.
An unimportant early work, painted about 1800.
37O. VENICE.
There is a glorious city in the sea,
The sea is in the broad, the narrow streets,
Ebbing and flowing ; and the salt sea-weed
Clings to the marble of her palaces.
ROGERS'S Italy.
Turner's first Venetian picture, exhibited in 1833, and
bought by Mr. Vernon for 200 guineas a price whi
i "The sea was once exquisitely beautiful; it is not very severely
injured, but has lost much of its transparency in the green npp es
sky was little more than white flake laid with the pallet-knife : it
darker, and spotted, destroying the relief of the sails (Notes on
^SSZS have revised his.own additions to Gray in the
Catalogues as he did his pictures on the wall, with much d.scomnUir
die primer and the public. " The lines, as printed, were as follows, both of
ve readings being included in some of the catalogues-
Fair shines the morn and.soft the zephyrs blow a gale
Venicia's fisher spreads his painted sail, etc.
632 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
Turner seems to have thought a large one : "if they will have
scraps," he said, "they must pay for them." In the fore-
ground, to the left, is " Canaletto painting" (such was Turner's
" sub-title " to the picture). This choice of incident is character-
istic of Turner's respect for his predecessors in art (cf. " Port
Ruysdael," XXII. 536, p. 612). He respected them and imitated
them, but finally challenged them all in turn ; and having now
come to Venice, he challenges Canaletto in his turn. It is
very instructive to compare the two painters' versions of
Venice, and to note the different kinds of truth they convey.
" The effect of a fine Canaletto (see, for instance, XIII. 941, p.
326), is, in its first impression, dioramic. .. . Every house has its
proper relief against the sky every brick and stone its proper
hue of sunlight and shade and every degree of distance its
proper tone of retiring air. Presently, however, we begin to
feel that it is lurid and gloomy, and that the painter, com-
pelled by the lowness of the utmost light at his disposal to
deepen the shadows, in order to get the right relation, has lost
the flashing, dazzling, exulting light which was one of our chief
sources of Venetian happiness. . . . But what more there is in
Venice than brick and stone what there is of mystery and
death, and memory and beauty what there is to be learned or
lamented, to be loved or wept we look for to Canaletto in vain."
Next look at Clarkson Stanfield's Venice (XX. 407, p. 499).
In that picture " we are further still from anything like Venetian
tone ; all is cold and comfortless, but there is air and good
daylight, and we will not complain. And now let us look into
the buildings, and all is perfection and fidelity ; every shade
and line full of feeling and truth, rich and solid and sub-
stantial stone ; every leaf and arabesque marked to its
minutest curve and angle, the marble crumbling, the wood
mouldering, and the waves splashing and lapping before our
eyes. But it is all drawn hard and sharp, there is nothing to
hope for or to find out, nothing to dream of or discover ; we
can measure and see it from base to battlement, there is
nothing too fine for us to follow, nothing too full for us to
fathom. This cannot be nature, for it is not infinity." Finally,
look at Turner, " and thank heaven we are in sunshine again
and what sunshine! not the lurid, gloomy, plague-like oppres-
sion of Canaletto, but white flushing fulness of dazzling light,
which the waters drink and the clouds breathe, bounding and
burning in intensity of joy. That sky it is a very visible in-
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 633
finity, liquid, measureless, unfathomable " l {Modern Painters,
first edition, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. i. ch. vii. 7, 9, 10). This
picture is a good example of Turner's rendering of full Venetian
light. His rendering of the dream-like mystery of the sea-city
is better observed in the later Venetian pictures in this room.
548. QUEEN MAB'S GROTTO.
Exhibited in 1846, when the lines given by Turner in the
Catalogue were
Frisk it, frisk it, by the moonlight beam.
Midsummer Nighfs Dream.
Thy orgies, Mab, are manifold.
MS. " Fallacies of Hope."
A piece of painted poetry, which is of special interest as
definitely suggesting what must already have occurred to
many visitors, namely, the affinity between Turner's imagination
and Shelley's. Look back at the large pictures in Turner's
latest manner, with "their vast landscape melting into indefinite
distance," 2 and see if they do not recall the light and aerial
descriptions which abound in Shelley's Prometheus, where
The spirits of the mind
Voyage, cloudlike and unpent,
Through the cloudless element.
Or look again at Mr. Ruskin's description of the double
tones in the Ttontraire" (XXII. 524, p. 615); does it not
read like a version of some scene in Shelley, which is luminous
and radiant while it is yet
i This picture was hung at the Academy next a view of Ghent, by
Turner's old friend, George Jones, R.A. On varnishing day a
Academy, Turner said to him: "Why, Joney, how blue your sky is
but I'll out-blue you." And immediately scrambling upon a box jok
and chuckling, ^deepened the sky of his Venice with a jcumbteof uhra-
marine. " I've done you now, Georgey," he said, as he ^passed on
Another picture. In his absence, as a joke, Jones J
great man, and instantly set to work and paint
^^ ( 2^ A j of the sky, and v ast realms ; of
634 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
Dim and dank and gray,
Like a storm-extinguished day,
Travelled o'er by dying gleams ?
In this picture the affinity between the poet in verse and the
poet on canvas is closer still. Turner refers to A Midsummer
Nights Dream (though the line he quotes is not to be found
there), and his conception of the fairy's grotto seems to be
compounded from that play, and from Mercutio's speech in
Romeo and Juliet
O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and . . .
. . . gallops night by night
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love.
Turner's picture was called " incomprehensible " and " a riddle,"
and he was told (like Mercutio) : " thou talk'st of nothing "-
to which he might have made Mercutio's answer
True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air.
But in the realisation of his dream, Turner's grotto is that of
Shelley's " Queen Mab " (a personification of the imaginative
power) rather than of Shakespeare's. The details indeed are
different, but does not the general effect of this picture
strangely resemble Shelley's description of Mab's palace ?
When those far clouds of feathery purple gleam
Like islands on a dark blue sea ;
Then has thy fancy soared above the earth,
And furled its wearied wing
Within the Fairy's fane.
Yet not the golden islands
That gleam amid yon flood of purple light,
Nor the feathery curtains
That canopy the sun's resplendent couch,
Nor the burnished ocean-waves
Paving that gorgeous dome,
So fair, so wonderful a sight
As Mab's etherial palace could afford.
369. THE PRINCE OF ORANGE, AFTERWARDS
WILLIAM III., LANDING AT TORBAY,
(November 5, 1688).
Exhibited in 1832, and bought by Mr. Vernon, when the
following note was given in the Catalogue, showing once more
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 635
Turner's interest in ships : " The yacht in which His
Majesty sailed was, after many changes and services, finally
wrecked on Hamburgh sands, while employed in the Hull
trade."
"A soft breeze sprang up from the south, the mist dispersed, the
sun shone forth, and under the mild light of an autumnal noon the fleet
turned back, passed round the lofty cape of Berry Head, and rode safe
in the harbour of Torbay. . . . The disembarkation instantly
commenced. Sixty boats conveyed the troops to the coast. The
Prince soon followed. He landed where the quay of Brixham now
stands a fragment of the rock on which the deliverer stepped from
his boat has been carefully preserved, and is set up as an object of
public veneration in the centre of that busy wharf" (MACAULAY's
History of England ', ch. ix.)
118O. CLIVEDEN ON THE THAMES.
A view looking across the river, on the famous Cliveden
reach, above Maidenhead. Painted probably about 1815,
when Turner was living at Twickenham, and was fond both of
sketching and fishing on the Thames.
534. APPROACH TO VENICE, LOOKING TOWARDS
FUSINA. 1
The scene is on the Giudecca Canal, by which in old days
the traveller approached Venice from Fusina, seen here on the
horizon
The path lies o'er the sea, invisible ;
And from the land we went
As to a floating city, steering in,
And gliding up her streets as in a dream,
So smoothly, silently.
ROGERS'S Italy.
The point of view is nearly the same as in Clarkson
Stanfield's picture (XX. 407, P- 499), and it is very instructive
to compare the two versions of the same scene. Topographic
Stanfield's is accurate, whereas Turner's is imaginary.
is in reality no church which could be included m 1
2 35 SL ZZtSEZZSff** <*- - -
Turner Gallery, p. 73).
636 ROOM XIX : THE TURNER GALLERY
view. " The buildings on the right are also, for the most part,
imaginary in their details, especially in the pretty bridge which
connects two of their masses." Yet essentially Turner's version
of Venice is the liker of the two. He has seized on the
characteristic forms and colours, and thus realised completely
the spirit of the scene. " Without one single accurate detail,"
says Mr. Ruskin, " the picture is the likest thing to what it is
meant for the looking out of the Giudecca landwards, at
sunset of all that I have ever seen. The buildings have, in
reality, that proportion and character of mass, as one glides up
the centre of the tide stream : they float exactly in that strange,
mirage-ful, wistful way in the sea mist rosy ghosts of houses
without foundations ; the blue line of poplars and copse about
the Fusina marshes shows itself just in that way on the
horizon ; the flowing gold of the water, and quiet gold of the
air, face and reflect each other just so ; the boats rest so, with
their black prows poised in the midst of the amber flame, or
glide by so, the boatman stretched far aslope upon his deep-
laid oar. . . . One of the strongest points in Turner's Venice
painting is his understanding of the way a gondola is rowed,
owing to his affectionate studies of boats when he was a boy,
and throughout his life. No other painters ever give the thrust
of the gondoliers rightly ; they make them bend affectedly
very often impossibly flourishing with the oar as if they stood
up merely to show their figures. Many of our painters even
put the oar on the wrong side of the boat. The gondolier on
the right side of this picture, rowing the long barge, is exactly
right, at the moment of the main thrust. Nevertheless,
considered as a boatman, Turner is seriously to be blamed for
allowing the fouling of those two gondolas in the middle of the
picture, one of which must certainly have gone clear through
the other before they could get into their present position."
"Take it all in all," adds Mr. Ruskin, "this is the best Venetian
picture of Turner's which is left to us. ... The upper clouds
were always dark purple, edged with scarlet ; but they have
got chilled and opaque. The blue of the distance has altered
slightly, making the sun too visible a spot ; but the water is
little injured, and I think it the best piece of surface-painting
which Turner has left in oil-colours " {Notes on tJte Turner
Gallery, pp. 73-75. For the last point cf. under 535, p. 630 ; and
for some remarks on the truth and beauty of the " purple dashes
of cloud-spray," see Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. vii. ch. ii. 1 6).
__
482. THE GARRETEER'S PETITION.
Exhibited at the Academy in 1809, with the following lines
affixed m the Catalogue
Aid me, ye powers ! O bid my thoughts to roll
In quick succession, animate my soul ;
Descend my Muse, and every thought refine,
And finish well my long, my long-sought line.
A poet in his attic consuming the midnight oil " Notice
the Hogarthian touch in the plan of Parnassus and a table of
Jasts pasted on the garret wall : the poet cultivates the Muses
without breaking his fast. For the Muses seldom come when
sorest bidden " ; Turner himself was to petition them all his
life, but his long-sought line was never finished well, and the
ambition to become a poet except in colour remained a
" Fallacy of Hope " to the end.
528. PEACE: BURIAL AT SEA OF THE BODY OF
SIR DAVID WILKIE.
The midnight torch gleam'd o'er the steamer's side,
And Merit's corse was yielded to the tide.
" Fallacies of Hope."
A picture of great interest, as showing Turner's depth of
feeling for an old comrade. Shortly after Wilkie's death (see
p. 492), Turner said to his friend Jones, " I suppose no one
will do anything to commemorate Wilkie ? " " I shall pay a
humble tribute," replied Jones, " by making a drawing repre-
senting his funeral." " How will you do it ? " " On the deck
of the vessel, as it has been described to me by persons
present, and at the time that Wilkie's body was lowered into
the sea." " Well," said Turner, " I will do it as it must have
appeared off the coast." And he did it at once, this picture
being exhibited at the Academy in the following year (1842),
under the title and with the motto given above. Notice the
touch of false sentiment in the " funereal and unnatural black-
ness " of the sails. Stanfield objected to this at the time, and
Turner with characteristic obstinacy replied, " I only wish I
had any colour to make them blacker." " It is very like
Turner," says Jones, who tells the story, " to have indicated
mourning by this means, probably retaining some confused
notions of the death of yEgeus and the black sails of the
returning Theseus."
638 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
483. LONDON FROM GREENWICH PARK.
Painted in 1809, and engraved for the Liber Studiorum
(No. 33). " I never know whether most to venerate or lament
the strange impartiality of Turner's mind, and the vast
cadence of subjects in which he was able to take interest.
Who could have supposed, that a man capable of climbing
those crags of Atlas, would be found next year sauntering in
Greenwich Park : that from the fiery dragon he would have
turned to peaceful fauns and hinds from the rolling of the
Atlantean storm-clouds to the smoke of London chimneys from
the apples of the Hesperides to the Cider Cellar. So it is,
however. He does not show one whit less care, patience, or
exertion of power in painting this reach of the river round the
Isle of Dogs, than that cataract down the cliff of dragons : nay,
in some respects, the Deptford distance is the more elaborate,
and certainly the more skilful, for Turner at this time understood
it better" (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 26). The picture
was originally in the possession of Mr. Fawkes of Farnley,
but was afterwards exchanged by the painter. Mr. Stopford
Brooke gives the following description of Turner's " voiceless
thought, as I imagined it to have been "
The river is a highway of the nations. It is London, and not
Greenwich that I draw, and commerce and not war is the source of
London. And there she lies along the horizon, filling it from end to
end, the mysterious city, full of an impassionating attraction ; and rolling
over it, the smoke which tells of home, and human labour, and
incessant life below. So, I will make the smoke beautiful, and bathe
St. Paul's in it and all the spires, and wreathe it into the loveliest lines
I can draw, and make it the plaything of the wind, until, borne away
to the right where the city ceases, it is swept upwards to lose itself
in the heavens. But its lighter and fantastic curves are not quiet
enough for thought, nor grave enough. So I will dispose above it the
clouds of heaven, and their lines shall be various, but firm in ordered
array and soft as wind-blown shadows ; and higher still there shall be
a space of peaceful sky with floating clouds spun into delicate threads
of gold, to tell of that which may sit afar in stillness above the
smoke and stir of this dim spot (Notes on the Liber Studiorum,
1885, p. 89).
813. FISHING BOATS IN A STIFF BREEZE.
" A stormy sky and a heavy sea ; a view of a town on the
coast, and some ships at anchor in the distance. In the
foreground, a buoy, and a small boat with four fishermen, who
appear to wish to put their fish on board one of the sailing
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
639
boats near them. This example is in the style of Turner's
pictures of about the year 1801 " (Official Catalogue).
526. THE NEW MOON.
Exhibited in 1840. Sands at low water, at sunset, with the
new moon above the moon being represented by "a white
button of paint." :
478. THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
Exhibited at the Academy in 1 807, when Turner described
it as "A Country Blacksmith disputing upon the price of Iron,
and the price charged to the Butcher for shoeing his Pony.''
The picture "seems to have been painted in emulation of
Wilkie, 2 and perhaps convinced Turner of his weakness in
more delicate figure drawing, and delivered him for ever to the
teaching of the clouds and hills" (Notes on the Turner
Gallery, p. 67). Yet Turner seems to have had an affection
for the picture, for he bought it back at Lord de Tabley's sale
in 1827 for
469. SEA PIECE.
An unimportant and no doubt early work, painted pre-
sumably about 1800.
475. VIEW OF A TOWN : A SKETCH.
561a. A MOUNTAIN STREAM.
One of the very numerous sketches, in various stages of
completion, which were included in Turner's bequest.
1 The pictures in Turner's Gallery became latterly most dilapidated.
"Mr. E. Goodall tells me," says Thornbury, "that in one picture
particularly, a great white button of paint that had stood for the sun had
dropped off. ' I think some one has picked it off intentionally, ' he could
not help saying. 'I think he has,' replied Turner, quite unmoved"
(ii. 178).
2 There is a story (told in A. A. Watts's Memoir) of Turner's trying
to eclipse Wilkie by brightening the colours of this picture. ' ' The writer of
the Life assures us that ' there is no doubt of the correctness of the story ; '
but there happens to be just as much doubt of it as may arise from the
fact of there being no bright colours in the ' Blacksmith's Forge. ' It was
indeed painted in emulation of the 'Village Politicians,' but Wilkie's picture,
exhibited in 1806, could not sustain severe injury from the colour of
Turner's, exhibited in 1807" {Catalogue of the Sketches and Drawings by
Turner, etc., 1858, p. 38, n. ) Wilkie's " Blind Fiddler" was exhibited in
1807, but was not hung next to this picture.
640 ROOM XIX : THE TURNER CALLER Y
459. MOONLIGHT: A STUDY AT MILLBANK.
This study was exhibited at the Academy in 1797, at which
time Turner's pictures were nearly all architectural. " Turner
was not in existence as a painter," says Mr. Ruskin, " before
1800. That is to say, there was nothing in his drawings or
oil paintings before that year which gives definite promise of
any extraordinary excellence." " This example is an imitation
of the Dutch moonlights, but closely studied from the real
moon, and very true in expression of its glow towards the
horizon : for the rest, its heavy and leaden sky, feeble execu-
tion, and total absence of apparent choice or arrangement
in the form of boats and buildings, as they make it singular in
demerit, so they make it precious, as an example of the unpre-
sumptuous labour of a great man in his youth. And the
Trustees have judged well in showing it among these mighty
pictures : for the sorrowful moonlight on the Thames and its
gloomy city, as it was his youth's study, was one of the last
sights which sank before his dying eyes " {Notes on the Turner
Gallery, p. 4). A little west of the spot from which this view
was taken is the cottage, near Cremorne pier, in which Turner
died.
468. VIEW ON CLAPHAM COMMON.
"The manner of this painting (done about 1802), though
still leaning to Wilson's, is much complicated with that of
Morland, whom Turner was studying about this time, very
admiringly. The somewhat affected rolling and loading of
the colour in the sky is founded altogether on Morland. Never-
theless this picture is really a study from Nature ; possessing
therefore some noble qualities of tree form. It is evidently
left unfinished in the foreground " {Notes on the Turner Gallery,
P- 6).
TURNER'S PALETTE.
This palette (according to the document affixed) was
presented by Turner in 1824 to Mr. George Cobb, to whom
also the note in Turner's handwriting was addressed.
SILHOUETTE OF TURNER.
Taken by stealth on board the City of Canterbury steam-
boat, September 23, 1838, when Turner was sixty -three.
Turner once sat for his portrait in his youth (to Dance), but
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 641
never afterwards. " If he had his portrait taken," he said,
" people would never believe he painted his own pictures."
530. SNOW STORM: STEAMBOAT OFF A HAR-
BOUR'S MOUTH MAKING SIGNALS, IN
SHALLOW WATER, AND GOING BY THE
LEAD.
Exhibited in 1842 under the above title. Notice the pre-
cise particulars given, to which Turner added in the Catalogue,
" The author was in this storm the night the Ariel left Har-
wich." The use of the term "author" instead of "artist" is
the more significant from the following explanation, which
Turner once gave to a visitor who was admiring the picture. " I
did not paint it to be understood," he said, " but I wished to
show what such a scene was like ; I got the sailors to lash me to
the mast to observe it ; I was lashed for four hours, and I
did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it if I did.
But no one had any business to like it." And the critics did,
not like it ; it was described by one of them as a " mass of soap-
suds and whitewash." " Turner was passing the evening,"
says Mr. Ruskin, " at my father's house on the day this criti-
cism came out ; and after dinner, sitting in his arm-chair by
the fire, I heard him muttering low to himself at intervals,
' Soapsuds and whitewash ! ' again, and again, and again. At
last I went to him, asking, 'why he minded what they said?'
Then he burst out ' Soapsuds and whitewash ! What would
they have ? I wonder what they think the sea's like ? I wish
they'd been in it.' "
" Few people, comparatively, have ever seen the effect on
the sea of a powerful gale continued without intermission for
three or four days and nights ; and to those who have not, I
believe it must be unimaginable, not from the mere force or
size of surge, but from the complete annihilation of the limit
between sea and air. The water from its prolonged agitation
is beaten, not into mere creaming foam, but into masses of
accumulated yeast, 1 which hang in ropes and wreaths from
1 ' ' The picture marks how far the sense of foaming mystery, and
blinding whiteness of surf and salt, then influenced Turner's conception
of the sea, rather than the old theories of black clouds relieving terminated
edges of waves. The sea is, however, even so not quite right : it is not
yeasty enough : the linear wave-action is still too much dwelt upon, and
confused with the true foam" (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 15).
2 T
642 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
wave to wave, and, where one curls over to break, form a
festoon like a drapery from its edge ; these are taken up by
the wind, not in dissipating dust, but bodily, in writhing,
hanging, coiling masses, which make the air white and thick
as with snow, only the flakes are a foot or two long each ; the
surges themselves are full of foam in their very bodies, under-
neath, making them white all through, as the water is under a
great cataract ; and their masses, being thus half water and
half air, are torn to pieces by the wind whenever they rise, and
carried away in roaring smoke, which chokes and strangles
like actual water. Add to this, that when the air has been ex-
hausted of its moisture by long rain, the spray of the sea is
caught by it, and covers its surface not merely with the smoke
of finely divided water, but with boiling mist ; imagine also the
low rain-clouds brought down to the very level of the sea, as I
have often seen them, whirling and flying in rags and frag-
ments from wave to wave ; and finally, conceive the surges
themselves in their utmost pitch of power, velocity, vastness,
and madness, lifting themselves in precipices and peaks,
furrowed with their whirl of ascent, through all this chaos ;
and you will understand that there is indeed no distinction left
between the sea and air ; that no object, nor horizon, nor any
landmark or natural evidence of position is left ; that the
heaven is all spray, and the ocean all cloud, and that you can
see no farther in any direction than you could see through a
cataract. Suppose the effect of the first sunbeam sent from
above to show this annihilation to itself, and you have the sea-
picture of the Academy, 1842, the 'Snowstorm,' one of the
very grandest statements of sea-motion, mist, and light, that
has ever been put on canvas, even by Turner. Of course it
was not understood ; his finest works never are : but there was
some apology for the public's not comprehending this, for few
people have had the opportunity of seeing the sea at such a
time, and when they have, cannot face it " (Modern Painters,
vol. i. pt. ii. sec. v. ch. iii. 38 ; vol. v. pt. ix. ch. xii. 4 n. ;
Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 15.)
559. PETVVORTH PARK: TILLINGTON CHURCH
IN THE DISTANCE.
Painted in 1829 and unfinished. A view of Lord Egre-
mont's park, where Turner spent many pleasant visits, painting
and fishing. In the foreground to the left is a chair which the
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 643
artist may have taken out from the house when he was watching
the sunset and making some of his notes of the " effects." The
effect here depicted is that of " the moment before the sun
sinks, when his light turns pure rose-colour, and when this
light falls upon a zenith covered with countless cloud-forms of
inconceivable delicacy, threads and flakes of vapour, which
would in common daylight be pure snow-white, and which give
therefore fair field to the tone of light. There is then no limit
to the multitude, and no check to the intensity, of the hues
assumed. The whole sky, from the zenith to the horizon, be-
comes one molten mantling sea of colour and fire ; every black
bar turns into massy gold, every ripple and wave into unsullied
shadowless crimson, and purple, and scarlet, and colours for
which there are no words in language and no ideas in the mind.
. . . There is no connection, and no one link of association
or resemblance, between those skies and the work of any mortal
hand but Turner's " (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. ii. sec. ii. ch.
" 7).
485. ABINGDON, BERKSHIRE.
Painted about 1810. "A very beautiful example of the
painter's most skilful work in his first period : the main lesson
to be derived from it being the dignity of the simplest objects,
when truly painted, under partial concealment by aerial effects.
They must be truly painted, observe, first ; the forms given
must be studied with exquisite care, but veiled as far as is
needful to give them largeness and mystery. To so singular
an extent will the forms of things come out gradually through
the mist as you look long at Turner's effects of this kind, that
many of his admirers have thought that he painted the whole
scene first, with all its details, and then threw the mist over it.
But it is not so ; and all efforts to copy Turner on such a plan
will end in total discomfiture. . . . The misty appearance is
given by resolvedly confusing, altering, or denying the form at
the moment of painting it ; and the virtue cf the work is in the
painter's having perfectly clear and sharp conception of all that
he chooses to confuse, alter, or deny : so that his very confusion
becomes suggestive, his alteration decorative, and his denial
affirmative : and it is because there is an idea with and in not
under every touch, that we find the objects rising into existence
as we gaze" (Notes on the Tttrner Gallery, pp. 27, 28).
644 ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY
511. VIEW OF ORVIETO.
Painted at Rome in 1829, and exhibited at the Academy
next year. " Once a very lovely picture, and still perfect in
many parts : the tree, perhaps, the best bit of foliage painting
in the rooms " (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 47). The
picture brings out admirably, too, the chief characteristic of
Orvieto, namely its situation on a sheer rock. " On the road
from Siena to Rome is the town of Orvieto. . . . None who see
it from a distance can fail to be struck with its imposing aspect,
as it rises from the level plain upon that mass of rock among
the Apennines. Orvieto is built upon the first of those huge
volcanic blocks which are found like fossils embedded in the
more recent geological formations of central Italy. . . . Their
advanced guard, Orvieto, stands up definite and solid, an
almost perfect cube, with walls precipitous to north and south
and east, but slightly sloping to the westward. At its foot rolls
the Paglia, one of those barren streams which swell in winter
with the snows and rains of the Apennines, but which in
summer time shrink up and leave bare beds of sand and
pestilential cane - brakes to stretch irregularly round their
dwindled waters. The weary flatness and utter desolation of
this valley present a sinister contrast to the broad line of the
Apennines, swelling tier on tier from their oak-girted base-
ments, set with villages and towers, up to the snow and cloud
that crown the topmost crags. The time to see this landscape
is at sunrise ; and the traveller should take his stand upon the
rising ground over which the Roman road is carried from the
town the point, in fact, which Turner has selected for his
vague and misty sketch in our Gallery" (J. A. Symonds :
Sketches in Italy).
491. HARVEST DINNER, KINGSTON BANK.
The Thames at Kingston, reapers at their dinner. Painted
about 1809. It is noticeable as showing the breadth of
Turner's sympathies that he painted not only shipwrecks and
fires at sea, but canal boats and river barges. " A certain
class of entirely tame subjects were treated by him even with
increased affection after he had seen the full manifestation
of sublimity. He had always a great regard for canal boats,
and instead of sacrificing these old, and one would have
thought unentertaining, friends to the deities of storm, he
seems to have returned with a lulling pleasure from the foam
ROOM XIX: THE TURNER GALLERY 645
and danger of the beach to the sedgy bank and stealthy barge
of the lowland river. Thenceforward his work which in-
troduces shipping is divided into two classes ; one embodying
the poetry of silence and calmness, the other of turbulence and
wrath" (Harbours of England, p. 24).
496. BLIGH SAND, NEAR SHEERNESS.
Painted in 1809, but not exhibited till 1815, when Turner
refused to sell it to his old detractor, Sir George Beaumont. " It
is a fine picture of its class ; and has more glow in its light, and
more true gloom in its dark, than the great sea-pieces we have
already seen (XXII. 472 and 476, pp. 595, 597). But the
subject is wholly devoid of interest : the fishing-boats are too far
off to show their picturesque details ; the sea is too low to be
sublime, and too dark to be beautiful ; and the shore is as
dull as sand can be " (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 30).
538. RAIN, STEAM, AND SPEED.
Exhibited at the Academy in 1844. A picture of great
interest, as being not only (what Mr. Monkhouse calls it)
" the boldest attempt to represent abstract ideas in land-
scape that ever was made," but also the first and greatest
attempt to elicit beauty out of a railway-train. 1 " The Great
Western Railway" was Turner's sub-title, and the bridge is
perhaps a recollection of Maidenhead. Notice the devices
which the artist employs to aid his representation of speed
the puffs of steam gradually diminishing as they recede, and
the little hare running at full speed before the engine. The
" driving " rain contributes too, to the effect as also does the
contrast with the little boat on the river. By way of letting us
into " the very pulse of the machine," Turner makes his engine
open in front which is certainly an eccentric proceeding in a
train going at full speed. Six years before this picture was
painted, a train had beaten record by making the journey from
Birmingham to London at an average speed of twenty miles
an hour ; but the train here represented is a goods train.
1 Mr. Frith (i. 120) thus describes the Duke of Wellington before this
picture: " Unperceived, I watched the duke's puzzled expression as he
read the quotation from the 'Fallacies of Hope.' He then looked
steadily at the picture, and with a muttered 'Ah! poetry!' walked on."
But there was no quotation from the "Fallacies of Hope," so that the
poetry the duke saw with puzzled disgust was all in the picture.
648 THE STAIRCASE
In Venice, Tasso's echoes are no more,
And silent rows the songless gondolier ;
Her palaces are crumbling to the shore,
And music meets not always now the ear :
Those days are gone but Beauty still is here.
States fall, arts fade but Nature doth not die,
Nor yet forget how Venice once was dear,
The pleasant place of all festivity,
The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy.
Childe Harold, iv. 3.
IS" From this room a staircase leads to the exit from the Gallery.
On this staircase, and on a corresponding one opposite, there
are the following pictures :
WEST STAIRCASE
688. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
James Ward, ^.^.(1769-1859). See underXVlll. 1 158,^487.
This picture, which is usually accounted the artist's master-
piece, was painted in 1 820-1 822 at the suggestion (as he himself
informs us) of West, in emulation of Paul Potter's famous
picture of a Bull at the Hague. It was through a connection
with the Royal Agricultural Society that Ward was led to take
to animal painting, and it was somewhat from the Agricultural
Show point of view that he seems to have painted all his
animals. The fine Alderney cattle here were the property of
one of his chief patrons, Mr. John Allnutt, of Clapham.
EAST STAIRCASE
MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES
1043. GORDALE SCAR, YORKSHIRE.
James Ward, R.A. ( 1 769-1 8 59). See under XVI II. 1 1 58, p. 487.
A chasm in the limestone cliffs, about a mile from Malham.
" I saw it," says Gray, " not without shuddering ;" and Words-
worth described it as
Gordale chasm, terrific as the lair
Where the young lions crouch.
Here the artist introduces cattle and deer, to bring out the
height of the scar that towers above them.
THE STAIRCASE 649
BUST OF MANTEGNA.
After Sperandio.
This is a plaster cast from a bust of Mantegna, in the
Mantegna Chapel, Basilica of St. Andrew, at Mantua. It was
presented in 1883 by Mr. H. Vaughan.
811. TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL.
Salvator Rosa (Neapolitan : 1615-1673).
See under XIII. 1206, p. 317.
A " wild rocky landscape " (for the subject of Tobias, who is
in the water holding the fish, see I. 781, p. 17), hardly discernible
in its present place for anything beyond the general sense of
savage power which Salvator's works always convey. Salvator,
says Mr. Ruskin, is " a good instance of vicious execution,
dependent on too great fondness for sensations of power,
vicious because intrusive and attractive in itself, instead of
being subordinate to the results and forgotten in them"
(Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. i. sec. ii. ch. ii. 9).
391. THE BATTLE OF THE BORODINO.
(September 8, 1812.)
G.Jones, R.A. (1786-1869). See under XX. 389, p. 513.
The battle after which Napoleon entered Moscow, only to
have to retreat. To the right is Napoleon, dismounted, watching
the result of an attack made on the great redoubt of the
Russians. " A column of French infantry is ascending the
eminence, supported by light cavalry on its left ; and on its
right cuirassiers are led by Caulaincourt, who forced the
redoubt, but was slain in the struggle against the persevering
courage of the Russians. On the left Murat is advancing and
encouraging the troops" (Official Catalogue).
SCULPTURES AND MARBLES
On the staircases, in the Entrance Hall, and elsewhere, are
the following sculptures and marbles :
SIR DAVID WILKIE, R.A. Statue, in marble, by Samuel Joseph.
Presented to the National Gallery by an association of gentlemen
in 1844.
650 SCULPTURES AND MARBLES
THETIS AND HER NYMPHS, RISING FROM THE SEA, TO CONDOLE
WITH ACHILLES ON THE LOSS OF PATROCLUS. Alto-rilievo in
marble, by Thomas Banks, R.A. Presented to the National
Gallery in 1845 by the sculptor's daughter, Mrs. Forster.
WILLIAM MULREADY, R.A. Bust, in marble, by Henry Weekes,
R.A. Presented by an association of gentlemen in 1866.
BUST OF THOMAS STOTHARD, R.A., marble, by Henry Weekes,
R.A. Presented by an association of gentlemen in 1868.
BUST OF Mr. ROBERT VERNON, by W. Behnes. Presented to the
National Gallery by Her Majesty the Queen, H.R.H. the Prince
Consort, and the noblemen and gentlemen whose names are
inscribed on the pedestal.
BUST OF NAPOLEON I., bronze. Bequeathed by P. C. Crespigny,
Esq., in 1851.
BUST OF Mr. WYNN ELLIS. Presented by his nephew, Mr. H.
Churchill, in 1878.
BUST OF WILLIAM BEWICK the painter (1795-1866), by John
Gibson, R.A. Bequeathed by his widow, Mrs. Bewick, in 1871.
Also the following marbles, which formed part of the Vernon
Collection :
1. HYLAS AND THE WATER NYMPHS. A group in marble, executed
in Rome, by John Gibson, R.A., b. 1791, d. 1866.
2. BUST OF THE MARQUIS OF WELLESLEY, Governor -General of
India, by John Bacon, R.A., b. 1740, d. 1799.
3. BUST OF SIR WALTER SCOTT, Bart.j by Sir Francis Chantrey,
R.A., b. 1782, d. 1841.
4. BUST OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE CANNING, after
Nollekens, by E. H. Baily, R.A., b. 1788, d. 1867.
5. BUST OF SIR ISAAC NEWTON, after Roubilliac, by E. H. Baily,
R.A.
6. BUST OF Dr. SAMUEL JOHNSON, from a cast in the possession of
the sculptor, by E. H. Baily, R.A.
7. BUST OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, after Nollekens, by E. H.
Baily, R.A.
S3T The water-colour collection is in the basement, to which access is
obtained by the staircase in the east corner of the Entrance
Hall. Admission is free, but visitors are required to enter
their names and addresses in a book kept for that purpose. A
few miscellaneous pictures, enumerated belou>, are also hung
in the basement.
BASEMENT: MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES 651
BASEMENT ROOM I
MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES.
37. GROUP OF HEADS.
After Correggio. (See under IX. 15, p. 199).
This, and the companion picture (7, p. 652), are probably
copies by Annibale Carracci from Correggio's compositions in
the church of S. Giovanni at Parma (Layard, ii. 631).
661. THE MADONNA DI SAN SISTO.
After Raphael. (See under VI. 1171, p. 108).
A tracing from the original picture by Raphael at Dresden,
by Jakob Schlesinger (1822).
148. THE TRIUMPH OF GALATEA.
Agostino Carracci (Eclectic : 1557-1602).
Agostino Carracci was the elder brother of Annibale (XIII. 93, p. 308),
and cousin of Ludovico (XIII. 28, p. 325). It was he who composed the
sonnet in which the aims of the " Eclectic School," founded by him and
his two relatives, are set forth (see p. 325). He was a man of learning,
and superintended the theoretical instruction of the school. His
pictures are rare, but he was also distinguished as an engraver.
A cartoon for a fresco in the Farnese Palace at Rome.
The frescoes themselves were the work of Annibale. The
sea-nymph Galatea is borne on the ocean by Glaucus, preceded
by Triton blowing his horn, and surrounded by Nereids and
Cupids on Dolphins.
382. HEAD OF A NEGRO.
John Simpson (English : 1782-1847).
Simpson was a portrait painter of repute, and during the latter years
of the life of Sir T. Lawrence was that master's principal assistant.
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1793.
Karl Anton Hickel (German : 1749-1798).
This picture and one of " Sion House " belong to the
National Portrait Gallery, and are only deposited temporarily
at Trafalgar Square. This bird's-eye view of the House of
652 BASEMENT: MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES
Commons was painted by Hickel in London in 1793, an d was
presented by the Emperor of Austria, in 1885, to Lady Paget
(the wife of the British Ambassador of Vienna) for the
National Portrait Gallery.
MEN DESTROYED BY DRAGONS.
B. Sprangher (Flemish : i 546-1628).
Bartholomew Sprangher, born in Antwerp and trained in Italy,
was the head of the colony of Flemish artists who settled at the Court
of the Emperor Rudolph II. at Prague. He had previously been
painter to the Pope Pius V., by whom he was employed to execute
many large and important works. " We have some difficulty, now, in
understanding the reputation which this artist undoubtedly enjoyed in
his own time. In his works generally the mannerism of design and
the eccentricity of the attitudes are enhanced by the bad taste of the
colouring and total absence of colour " (Wauters : The Flemish School,
P- 193)-
THE INTERIOR OF SION HOUSE.
Marcus Gheerardt (Flemish : 1561-1635).
Mark Gheerardt, the younger, was the son of another painter of the
same name (called Garrard in England), whom he succeeded as painter
to Queen Elizabeth. The Gheerardts came from Bruges, but settled in
England, where most of their works are to be seen.
This picture was purchased for the National Portrait
Gallery (to which institution it belongs) at the Hamilton sale
in 1882 for ^2520 the largest sum hitherto paid by that
Gallery for any single picture. The picture then bore the name
of the Spanish painter, Pantoja de la Cruz ; but this inscription
was shown to be a forgery by Mr. Scharf, the Director, who
assigned the work to its true author, Gheerardt. It represents
the conference held in London in 1604, for the Ratification of
the Treaty for Peace and Commerce between England and
Spain. On the right are the English Commissioners ; on the
left the six Commissioners for the King of Spain and the
Archdukes of Austria.
7. GROUP OF HEADS.
After Correggio. (See under IX. 15, p. 199).
See under the companion picture, 37, above, p. 651.
BASEMENT: WATER-COLOURS 653
BASEMENT ROOMS II. AND III
THE TURNER WATER-COLOUR COLLECTION
A catalogue of these drawings and sketches, "cast into
progressive groups, with explanatory notes," has been
written by Mr. Ruskin, and may be bought of the attendant
in these rooms, or obtained from Mr. George Allen, Orpington
(price is.)
BASEMENT ROOMS IV. AND V
THE WATER-COLOUR ROOMS
In these rooms there are a series of twenty-three draw-
ings by De Wint and ten by Cattermole, bequeathed to the
National Gallery by the late Mr. John Henderson ; seven
crayon studies by Gainsborough, presented by Mr. Thomas
Birch Wolfe; two drawings by Blake, presented by Mr.
Geo. Thos. Saul; two Academy studies from life by
Mulready, presented by the Society of Arts ; a chalk draw-
ing by A. Raffaelle Mengs, bequeathed by Miss H. Kearsley;
and seventeen studies in crayon or monochrome by Rubens
and Van Dyck, purchased with the Peel Collection.
Also the following drawing, included in the Vernon
Collection :
456. COUNCIL OF WAR AT COURTRAI.
Louis Haghe (English : 1806-1885).
This artist was born at Tournai, but in 1823 settled in England,
where he proceeded, in conjunction with Day, the lithographer, to
produce many illustrated works. He was for several years President
of the Institute of Painters in Water-colours.
The Council is sitting in .the Town Hall at Courtrai (West
Flanders) ; notice the rich carvings of the chimney-piece.
ADDENDA
UNDER this head are included a few pictures which are
still retained in the National Gallery, but which are not at
present (June i, 1888) hung in rooms open to the public.
78. THE HOLY FAMILY.
SirJ. Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792)
See under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 399.
This picture had fallen into such a bad state of preservation
that it has not latterly been exhibited to the public, but it is
very widely known from engravings, etc. The picture is full
of " the grace of Reynolds " and of his mastery of the painter's
art "As showing gigantic power of hand, joined with utmost
accuracy and rapidity, the folds of drapery under the breast of
the Virgin are, perhaps, as marvellous a piece of work as could
be found in any picture, of whatever time or master." But the
picture is very instructive also, as showing Reynolds's limita-
tions (see under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 405). Compare this group with
any similar one by the old Italian masters, and it will be felt
at once that " beautiful as it is, this Holy Family has neither
dignity nor sacredness other than those which attach to every
group of gentle mother and ruddy babe." Reynolds indeed
could not paint a Madonna, " for surely this dearest pet of an
English girl, with the little curl of lovely hair under her ear, is
not one." 1 Mr. Ruskin notes, further, how, "owing to the
1 Charles Lamb is more severe than Mr. Ruskin. " Here," he says,
" for a Madonna Sir Joshua has substituted a sleepy, insensible, un-~
ADDENDA 655
utter neglect of all botanical detail, this ' Holy Family ' has
lost every atom of ideal character, and reminds us of nothing
but an English fashionable flower-garden ; the formal pedestal
adding considerably to this effect " (Sir Joshua and Holbein,
in O. O. R., i. 221-236 ; Modem Painters, vol. i. preface to 2d
ed., p. xxviii.)
1O5. A SMALL LANDSCAPE.
Sir George Beaumont (1753-1827)
See under XVII. 119, p. 427.
A little picture, now in very bad condition, of a wooded
stream, with mountains in the distance, and a stormy sky.
123. A LANDSCAPE: BY MOONLIGHT.
Edward Williams (English : 1782-1855).
This artist (a nephew of James Ward, R.A.) was the son of an
engraver, and combined the trade of carver and gilder with miniature
and landscape painting.
136. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Sir T. Lawrence, P. R.A. (English: 1769-1830).
See under 144, p. 445.
A portrait of the wife of Mr. Francis Robertson of Brighton.
139. RELIGION ATTENDED BY THE VIRTUES.
Angelica Kaufmann, R.A. (English : 1741-1807).
This artist was born in Switzerland, but in 1766 came to England,
where she was received with great distinction, and two years later was
elected one of the original members of the Academy. She knew all the
celebrities of the day, and Sir Joshua Reynolds was ever her " firmest
friend." Her work, which was immensely popular (especially in
engravings), has indeed a faint and faded resemblance to Sir Joshua's ;
but her pictures no longer meet a popular craze or command high
prices, and she is now best remembered for her romantic story, which
has been so prettily idealised in Miss Thackeray's Miss Angel.
140. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Bartholomew van der Heist (Dutch : 1613-1670).
Little is known of the life of this painter (who appears to have
studied under De Keyser, X. 212, p. 246) except that he resided con-
stantly at Amsterdam, and was in good practice there as a portrait
motherly girl one so little worthy to have been selected as the mother of
the Saviour, that she seems to have neither heart nor feeling to entitle her
to become a mother at all."
ADDENDA
UNDER this head are included a few pictures which are
still retained in the National Gallery, but which are not at
present (June i, 1888) hung in rooms open to the public.
78. THE HOLY FAMILY.
Sir J. Reynolds, P. R A. (1723-1792)
See under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 399.
This picture had fallen into such a bad state of preservation
that it has not latterly been exhibited to the public, but it is
very widely known from engravings, etc. The picture is full
of " the grace of Reynolds " and of his mastery of the painter's
art. "As showing gigantic power of hand, joined with utmost
accuracy and rapidity, the folds of drapery under the breast of
the Virgin are, perhaps, as marvellous a piece of work as could
be found in any picture, of whatever time or master." But the
picture is very instructive also, as showing Reynolds's limita-
tions (see under XVI. 1 1 1, p. 405). Compare this group with
any similar one by the old Italian masters, and it will be felt
at once that " beautiful as it is, this Holy Family has neither
dignity nor sacredness other than those which attach to every
group of gentle mother and ruddy babe." Reynolds indeed
could not paint a Madonna, " for surely this dearest pet of an
English girl, with the little curl of lovely hair under her ear, is
not one." 1 Mr. Ruskin notes, further, how, "owing to the
1 Charles Lamb is more severe than Mr. Ruskin. " Here," he says,
" for a Madonna Sir Joshua has substituted a sleepy, insensible, un-~
ADDENDA 655
utter neglect of all botanical detail, this < Holy Family ' has
lost every atom of ideal character, and reminds us of nothing
but an English fashionable flower-garden ; the formal pedestal
adding considerably to this effect " (Sir Joshua and Holbein,
in O. O. R., i. 221-236 ; Modern Painters, vol. i. preface to 2d
ed., p. xxviii.)
105. A SMALL LANDSCAPE.
Sir George Beaumont (1753-1827)
See under XVII. 119, p. 427.
A little picture, now in very bad condition, of a wooded
stream, with mountains in the distance, and a stormy sky.
123. A LANDSCAPE: BY MOONLIGHT.
Edward Williams (English : 1782-1855).
This artist (a nephew of James Ward, R.A.) was the son of an
engraver, and combined the trade of carver and gilder with miniature
and landscape painting.
136. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Sir T. Lawrence, P. R.A. (English: 1769-1830).
See under 144, p. 445.
A portrait of the wife of Mr. Francis Robertson of Brighton.
139. RELIGION ATTENDED BY THE VIRTUES.
Angelica Kaufmann, R.A. (English : 1741-1807).
This artist was born in Switzerland, but in 1766 came to England,
where she was received with great distinction, and two years later was
elected one of the original members of the Academy. She knew all the
celebrities of the day, and Sir Joshua Reynolds was ever her " firmest
friend." Her work, which was immensely popular (especially in
engravings), has indeed a faint and faded resemblance to Sir Joshua's ;
but her pictures no longer meet a popular craze or command high
prices, and she is now best remembered for her romantic story, which
has been so prettily idealised in Miss Thackeray's Miss Angel.
140. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Bartholomeus van der Heist (Dutch : 1613-1670).
Little is known of the life of this painter (who appears to have
studied under De Keyser, X. 212, p. 246) except that he resided con-
stantly at Amsterdam, and was in good practice there as a portrait
motherly girl one so little worthy to have been selected as the mother of
the Saviour, that she seems to have neither heart nor feeling to entitle her
to become a mother at all."
656 ADDENDA
painter. He had a part in founding the Painters' Guild there, whilst
his likeness of Paul Potter at the Hague (1654), and his partnership
with Bakhuizen, who laid in the backgrounds of some of his pictures
in 1668, indicate a constant companionship with the best artists of the
time. He married at an advanced age, and had one son, who also
painted portraits, but with little success. His masterpiece is in the
Museum at Amsterdam. It contains thirty-five portraits, whole length,
and represents a banquet given by a company of the civil -guard of
Amsterdam, in commemoration of the Peace of Munster, in 1648. Sir
Joshua Reynolds, in his Journey to Flanders and Holland, says of that
work that it "is, perhaps, the first picture of portraits in the world,
comprehending more of those qualities which make a perfect portrait
than any other I have ever seen." Whilst delighted with Van der
Heist, Sir Joshua was disappointed by Rembrandt ; and certainly
" Van der Heist attracts by qualities entirely differing from those of
Rembrandt and Frans Hals : nothing can be more striking than the
contrast between the strong concentrated light and the deep gloom of
Rembrandt, and the contempt of chiaroscuro peculiar to his rival, except
the contrast between the rapid sketchy touch of Hals and the careful
finish and rounding of Van der Heist."
147. CEPHALUS AND AURORA.
Agostino Carracci (Eclectic-Bologna : 1 557-1602).
See under 148, p. 651.
A cartoon, like the companion picture (148), for a fresco in
the Farnese Palace. Cephalus, while on a hunting expedition
on Mount Hymettus, is forcibly carried off by Aurora.
167. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.
Peruzzi (Sienese : 1481-1537). See under II. 218, p. 40.
A drawing in chiaroscuro, which was engraved by Agostino
Carracci in 1579, of the same composition as in 218.
178. SERENA AND THE RED CROSS KNIGHT.
William Hilton, R.A. (English : 1786-1839).
Hilton, born at Lincoln, was the son of a portrait painter, and
studied under J. R. Smith, the engraver. He was elected A.R.A. in
1813, R.A. in 1819, and Keeper in 1827. "Already, in 1803, he
appeared as an exhibitor at the Academy, and very soon acquired
distinction for his choice of subject, his refined taste in design, and a
harmonious and rich style of colouring, though, from an injudicious
method of mixing and applying his colours, his pictures are now
rapidly perishing The use of asphaltum seems to be the chief cause
of this mischief" (Wornum's Catalogue).
A large picture illustrating Spenser's Faerie Queene, book
vi. canto viii.
ADDENDA 657
225. BEATIFIC VISION OF THE MAGDALEN.
Giulio Romano (Roman : 1498-1 546).
See under XIII. 624, p. 309.
A semi -circular fresco, showing the Magdalen borne up-
wards by angels to witness the joys of the blessed.
315. THE INSTALLATION OF THE ORDER OF
THE GARTER.
B. West,P.R.A. (English: 1738-1820). See under 144, p. 446.
333-336. EDITH AND HAROLD.
W. Hilton, R.A. (English : 1786-1839). See under 1 7 8, p. 6 5 6.
No. 333 is a very large picture, showing Edith and the
monks discovering the dead body of Harold after the battle of
Hastings. Nos. 334-336 are studies of heads for 333.
355. DULL READING.
Andrew Geddes, A.R.A. (English: 1789-1844).
Geddes, a native of Edinburgh, and a friend of Wilkie, was chiefly
a portrait painter, but he also painted landscapes and a few historical
pieces. He was elected A. R.A. in 1832.
A portrait of Terry, an actor, and his wife, who was a sister
of Patrick Nasmyth (see XVIII. 380, p. 458). The wife has
read her husband to sleep.
454. STUDY OF A FEMALE HEAD.
E. V. Rippingille (English : 1798-1859).
507. SCENE FROM BOCCACCIO.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
This picture, as well as most of those by Turner which are
not publicly exhibited, belongs to the worst period of his
Academy pictures (see p. 590). It is, says Thornbury (i. 306),
" a careless, sketchy, and unpleasing picture in imitation of
Stothard, called ' Boccaccio relating the tale of the Birdcage.'
The trees of the glen are pleasantly grouped, but the figures are
bad, and the distant white castle is very crude and glaring.
' No such story as the Birdcage is in the Decameron] says Mr.
Wornum ; but I perfectly remember the obscene story to which
Turner alludes reservedly in his title." "Of the peculiar, and
almost the only serious weakness of Turner's mind with respect
to figures this," says Mr. Ruskin,"and the 'Shadrach, Meshach,
2 U
658 ADDENDA
and Abednego' (517, below), are very lamentable instances.
Except as subjects for curious study, they are of no value what-
soever " (Notes on the Turner Gallery ', p. 43).
51O. PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
Exhibited at the Academy in 1830. A very unsuccessful
picture on the text :
" And when Pilate saw he could prevail nothing, but that rather a
tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the
multitude, saving, I am innocent of the blood of this just person ; see
ye to it " (Matthew xxvii. 24).
514. WATTE AU PAINTING.
/. M. W. Turner, R,A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
This and the following picture (515) were exhibited at the
Academy in 1831. The full title was " Watteau Painting:
Study by Fresnoy's Rules "
White, when it shines with unstained lustre clear,
May bear an object back, or bring it near.
These two lines are a translation from Du Fresnoy's Latin
poem on the Art of Painting a work which Dryden translated,
and Sir Joshua Reynolds annotated. The picture is only
interesting as showing Turner's study of the precepts and
practice of his art : note the introduction of an artist's name
into the title (cf. under XXII. 536, p. 612).
515. LORD PERCY UNDER ATTAINDER, 1606.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
A poor picture, showing Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, and
Dorothy Percy, visiting their father, Lord Percy, when he was
under attainder on suspicion of being implicated in the Gun-
powder Plot interesting only as showing the persistence with
which, in spite of failure, Turner attempted figure subjects.
517. THE FIERY FURNACE.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
Exhibited in 1832, and painted in friendly rivalry with
Jones's picture (see under XX. 389, p. 514). The figures are
very bad (see under 507, p. 657); but "there is a smirched
blackness and sweeping flame about this small picture that is
very grand, obscure as all else in it is" (Thornbury, i. 321).
ADDENDA 659
529. WAR. THE EXILE AND THE ROCK LIMPET.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
Exhibited in 1842, as a companion to "The Burial of
Wilkie" (XIX. 528, p. 637), which Turner called "Peace."
The picture represents Napoleon on the shore of St. Helena
at sunset, watching a solitary shell. " Once a noble piece of
colour, now quite changed just at the focus of light where the
sun is setting, and injured everywhere. The figure is not,
however, in reality quite so ill-drawn as it looks, its caricatured
length being in great part owing to the strong reflection of the
limbs, mistaken by the eye, at a distance, for part of the limbs
themselves. The lines which Turner gave with this picture
are very important, being the only verbal expression of that
association in his mind of sunset colour with blood before
spoken of (under XXII. 508, p. 620)
Ah ! thy tent-formed shell is like
A soldier's nightly bivouac, alone
Amidst a sea of blood. . . .
. . . But you can join your comrades.
M.S. " Fallacies of Hope."
The conceit of Napoleon's seeing a resemblance in the limpet's
shell to a tent, was thought trivial by most people at the
time ; it may be so (though not to my mind) ; the second
thought, that even this poor wave-washed disc had power and
liberty, denied to him, will hardly, I think, be mocked at " l
(Notes on the T^^rner Gallery, pp. 70, 71).
531. SHADE AND DARKNESS. THE EVENING
OF THE DELUGE.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
This and the companion picture (532) were exhibited in
1843, when "Turner, tired now of plain sober truth, or deter-
1 The picture was ridiculed at the time of its appearance by Thackeray,
and also parodied in Punch, which called it ' ' The Duke of Wellington and
the Shrimp (Seringapatam, early morning)
And can it be, thou hideous imp,
That life is, ah ! how brief, and glory but a shrimp ! "
These criticisms hurt Turner sorely, says Mr. Ruskin, and his want of
articulateness (see p. 583) had its tragic side. But the comic critics were
not without excuse, for Mr. Ruskin himself records how Turner ' ' tried hard,
one day, for a quarter of an hour, to make me guess what he was doing in the
picture of Napoleon, before it had been exhibited, giving me hint after hint
in a rough way; but I could not guess, and he would not tell me"
(Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. xi. 30 n. )
660 ADDENDA
mined to puzzle and astonish by prismatic experiments a public
that would not buy his pictures and did not comprehend his
genius (see p. 590), launched out into some of his wildest
dreams" (Thornbury, i. 347).
532. LIGHT AND COLOUR. THE MORNING AFTER
THE DELUGE.
/. M, W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
545. WHALERS.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
Exhibited in 1845 Turner's first picture of a subject,
suggested by Beale's Natural History of the Sperm Whale,
which he repeated twice in the following year (546, now at
Nottingham, and 547, now at Glasgow).
549. UNDINE GIVING THE RING TO MASAN1-
ELLO, FISHERMAN OF NAPLES.
/ M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
Undine, a water-spirit, was sent to live with an old fisher-
man and his wife, to console them for the loss of their daughter.
She grew up a beautiful girl, full of tricks and waywardness ;
but without the gift of a soul : that she might not have until
some noble knight should love her well enough to marry her.
When the marriage was to be performed, her adopted parents
produced a ring, but Undine exclaimed, " Not so ! my parents
have not sent me into the world quite destitute ; on the
contrary, they must have anticipated with certainty that such
an evening as this would come." And so saying she left the
room and reappeared with a ring (De La Motte Fouqud's
Undine). Of this and the two following pictures marking the
period of Turner's decline, Mr. Ruskin wrote : " They occupy
to Turner's other works precisely the relation which Count
Robert of Paris and Castle Dangerous hold to Scott's early
novels" (Notes on the Turner Gallery, p. 75). The " Undine,"
in particular, was much ridiculed at the time of its exhibition.
Mr. Gilbert a Beckett called it " a lobster salad " a similitude
which Turner himself once applied to his own work (see p. 590).
550. THE ANGEL STANDING IN THE SUN.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574-
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a
loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come
ADDENDA 66 1
and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ; that
ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of
mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and
the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great"
(Revelation xix. 17, 18).
551. THE HERO OF A HUNDRED FIGHTS.
/. M. W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851). See on p. 574.
A picture, now at least, quite undecipherable, suggested by
the German invocation upon casting the bell, called in England
" Tapping the Furnace."
600. THE BLIND BEGGAR.
John Laurens Dyckmans (Flemish : 1811-1888).
" A blind old man is standing in the sunshine by a church
door : before him is a young girl, who is holding out her hand
for alms to the passers-by ; an old lady coming from the
church is feeling in her pocket for a sou ; some other figures
are seen in the porch at their devotions before a crucifix.
Painted at Antwerp, signed./. Dyckmans, 1853" (Official
Catalogue).
601. GERALDINE.
Sir William Boxall, R.A. (English: 1800-1879).
Boxall, who was born at Oxford and educated at Abingdon, was a
portrait painter of considerable repute in his day. He was elected
A. R.A. in 1851, and R.A. in 1863. He was also Director of the
National Gallery from 1865 to 1874, the purchase of the Peel collec-
tion being the most notable event of his term of office.
613. UNCLE TOBY AND WIDOW WADMAN.
C. R. Leslie, R.A. (English: 1794-1859).
A repetition, painted in 1842, of No. 403 (see Room XX.
p. 514).
765. MAW-WORM.
R. Smirke, R.A. (English: 1752-1845).
Robert Smirke, the principal of the early English genre painters,
was a native of Cumberland, and originally a painter of coach panels.
He was educated at the Academy schools, and was elected R.A. in
1 793, but he seldom exhibited there, being chiefly employed as a book
illustrator.
A scene from Bickerstaffe's play of the Hypocrite, Act ii.
Sc. i , adapted from Colley Gibber's Non-Juror.
662 ADDENDA
851. VENUS SLEEPING.
Sebastiano Ricci (Venetian : 1659-1734).
For a reference to this painter, see p. 393.
893. THE PRINCESS LIEVEN.
Sir T. Lawrence, P.R.A. (English : 1769-1830).
See under 144, p. 445.
A small bust portrait, from the Peel Collection.
996. A CASTLE IN A ROCKY LANDSCAPE.
Hobbema (Dutch : 1638-1708). See under X. 685, p. 235.
1O15. FRUIT, FLOWERS, AND DEAD BIRDS.
Jan van Os (Dutch : 1744-1808).
Prominent amongst the flowers is the red cockscomb.
A picture by the most distinguished flower painter of his
time, and characteristic, in an interesting particular, of Dutch
pictures of this kind generally. " If the reader has any
familiarity with the galleries of painting in the great cities of
Europe, he cannot but retain a clear, though somewhat monot-
onously calm, impression of the character of those polished
flower-pieces, or still -life pieces, which occupy subordinate
corners, and invite to moments of repose, or frivolity, the
attention and imagination which have been wearied in admiring
the attitudes of heroism, and sympathising with the sentiments
of piety. Recalling to his memory the brightest examples of
these ... he will find that all the older ones agree,
if flower-pieces in a certain courtliness and formality of
arrangement, implying that the highest honours which flowers
can attain are in being wreathed into grace of garlands, or
assembled in variegation of bouquets, for the decoration of
beauty, or flattery of noblesse. If fruit or still-life pieces, they
agree no less distinctly in directness of reference to the
supreme hour when the destiny of dignified fruit is to be ac-
complished in a royal dessert ; and the furred and feathered
life of hill and forest may bear witness to the Wisdom of
Providence by its extinction for the kitchen dresser. Irre-
spectively of these ornamental virtues, and culinary utilities, the
painter never seems to perceive any conditions of beauty in
the things themselves, which would make them worth regard for
their own sake : nor, even in these appointed functions, are
they ever supposed to be worth painting, unless the pleasures
ADDENDA 663
they procure be distinguished as those of the most exalted
society" (Notes on Prout and Hunt, pp. 10, n, where Mr.
Ruskin goes on to contrast with this Dutch ideal the simple
pleasure in the flowers and fruits for their own sake which
marks W. Hunt's still-life drawings).
1187. A SKETCH OF RUSTIC FIGURES.
Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (1785-1841).
See under XX. 99, p. 490.
A study (in pen and ink) for (or from) a group in the
picture of the "Village Festival," XX. 122, p. 493. Under-
neath is a scrap of paper on which is written : " Sent by D.
Wilkie, 15 Aug. 1811."
1191. THE LOSS OF THE "ROYAL GEORGE"
(August 29, 1782).
J. C. Schetky (1778-1874).
John Christian Schetky (descended from an old Transylvanian
family) was born in Edinburgh, and studied art under Alexander
Nasmyth (XVIII. 1242, p. 455). He afterwards held appointments as
drawing-master at various military and naval colleges, and was marine-
painter in succession to George IV., William IV., and Queen Victoria.
The scene represented is the sinking of the Royal George,
of 100 tons, at Spithead, when Admiral Kempenfeldt and his
800 men were drowned, as told in Cowper's well-known
poem
It was not in the battle ;
No tempest gave the shock ;
She sprang no fatal leak,
She ran upon no rock.
A land breeze shook the shrouds,
And she was overset ;
Down went the Royal George,
With all her crew complete.
On the left is the Victory, firing guns of distress, and
hoisting the signal for " Boats to assist ship in distress with all
speed."
1247. THE CARD PLAYERS.
NicolasMaas (Dutch: 1632-1693). Seeunder X. 207,?. 234.
This picture, recently purchased at the Monson sale, was
stated by the auctioneer to be by Rembrandt, but there is little
664 ADDENDA
doubt that it is really by his disciple, Maas ; though, as it is
larger than most of the known works by that master, other
critics have ascribed it to another pupil of Rembrandt named
Carl Faber, or Fabricius, as he was also called, who was, un-
fortunately, killed, with his parents and family, in an explosion
of gunpowder. " In any case it is unmistakably of the Rem-
brandt school, and owes its inspiration to the method of pre-
sentation peculiar to the master. From every technical point
of view it is first-rate. It is infused with the largeness of style,
the just appreciation of character, and the glowing colour to be
found in Rembrandt's matured works. . . . The subject is a
young man and woman seated at a table and playing at cards.
The figures are life-size, and reach to below the knees. It is
the turn of the girl to play. She regards her hand in evident
perplexity, doubtful which card to throw down. The man is
apparently sure of his game. He wears a black furred cloak
covering a gray and silver doublet ; probably he is an officer
in the army. The girl is dressed in a red gown, slashed at the
sleeves ; her fair hair is suffused with golden light. A brown
table-cloth and the base of a column in the background, the
rest being lost in gloom, complete the materials of the picture "
(Times, June 4, 1888).
1248. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
Bartholomeus van der Heist (Dutch : 1613-1670).
See under 140, p. 655.
A lady of the Braganza family, in a richly painted blue
brocade dress and pearl necklace, holding a feather in her
hand.
125O. CHARLES DICKENS.
D. Mactise, R.A. (English: 1806-1870).
See under XX. 423, p. 520.
[There is also in the possession of the Gallery, but not yet
accessible to the public, a collection of forty-five small water-
colour copies, by the late W. West, from " Old Masters "
principally, in the Prado Gallery at Madrid. The collection
was presented in 1886 by Dr. E. J. Longton, of Southport.]
APPENDIX I
INDEX LIST OF PAINTERS
IN the following list all the painters represented in the National
Gallery are enumerated. Painters only represented by pictures
belonging to, but now removed from, the Gallery are not in-
cluded. The painters are given in alphabetical order, and are
cited by the names by which they are most commonly known.
But where such names differ from the proper patronymics, the
latter are also given, with references to the former.
Pictures by unknown artists will be found under the general
head " Unknown," classified according to the schools to which
they severally belong.
In the case of painters represented by several pictures, the
first reference after each name is to the page in the Handbook
where some general account of the painter will be found. The
subsequent references are to the room in which each picture
is at present hung (June i, 1888 : but see note on p. xxi.), to
the official number on its frame, and to the page in the Hand-
book where the picture is described.
>-' ABBOTT, L. F., xvi. 1198, p. 411.
Agnolo, Andrea d'. See Sarto.
Albertinelli, Mariotto, i. 645, p.
34-
Aldegrever, H. , xi. 1232, p. 262.
Allegri. See Correggio.
'Allori, Cristofano, i. 21, p. 28.
Alunno. See Foligno.
/Angelico, Fra Giovanni, p. 43 ; ii.
582, p. 47 ; 663, p. 43.
Armitage, Edward, xx. 759, p. 505.
Arnald, George, xxi. 1156, p. 565.
666
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
Assisi, Andrea di, p. 1 06 ; vi. 702,
p. 101 ; 1220, p. 106.
BACHIACCA, II, vi. 1218, 1219, p.
123-
/ Bakhuizen, Ludolf, p. 214 ; x. 204,
p. 232; 223, p. 214; 1000, p.
250 ; 1050, p. 243 ; xii. 818, p.
284; 819, p. 283.
Barbarelli, G. See Giorgione.
Barbieri. See Guercino.
/ Barker, T., xx. 1039, p. 535.
Barocci, F., xiii. 29, p. 328.
Basaiti, Marco, p. 178 ; vii. 281, p.
1745 599. P- 178.
/ Bassano, II, p. 151 ; vii. 173, p.
169; 277, p. 151 ; xiii. 228, p.
308.
Bazzi. See Sodorna.
/Beaumont, Sir. G., p. 427; xvii.
119, p. 427; Addenda, 105, p.
655-
^ Beechey, Sir W., xxi. 120, p. 546.
J Bellini, Gentile, vii. 1213, p. 159.
v Bellini, Giovanni, p. 153; vii. 189,
p. 155; 280, p. 153; 726, p.
161 ; 808, p. 155 ; 812, p. 161 ;
1233, P- 171-
ascribed to, vii. 694, p. 1 62.
School of, vii. 234, p. 150.
Beltraffio, ix. 728, p. 207.
Benvenuti, Giov. Battista. See Or-
tolano.
Benvenuto da Siena, ii. 909, p. 49.
* Berchem, p. 212 ; x. 240, p. 212 ;
1004, p. 216 ; xii. 820, p. 293 ;
1005, p. 301 ; 1006, p. 295.
Betto. See Pinturicchio.
Bibiena, F., xiii. 936, p. 313.
Bigio, Francia, i. 1035, p. 22.
Bigordi. See Ghirlandajo.
Bird, Edward, xviii. 323, p. 478.
Bissolo, F., vii. 631, p. 173.
J Blake, William, p. 467 ; xviii. 1 1 10,
p. 467 ; 1164, p. 483.
Bles, Hendrik, p. 262; xi. 718, p.
271 ; 719, p. 262.
Boccaccino, Boccaccio, ix. 806, p. 1 96.
VBol, Ferdinand, x. 679, p. 228.
Bonheur, Rosa, xxi. 621, p. 550.
Bonifazio (the elder), vii. 1202, p.
159-
y Bonington, R. P., xviii. 374, p. 457.
Bono di Ferrara, v. 771, p. 88.
Bonsignori, F., vii. 736, p. 174.
Bonvicino. See Moretto.
fordone, Paris, p. 167 ; vii. 637,
p. 1 68 ; 674, p. 167.
, Borgognone, Ambrogio, p. 197;
ix. 298, p. 197; 779, 780, p.
206 ; 1077, p. 197.
yBoth, Jan, p. 217 ; x. 71, p. 241 ;
209, p. 237; 956, p. 217; xii.
957. P- 2955 958, P- 300; 959,
p. 301.
^Botticelli, p. 56 ; i. 275, p. 34 ;
915, p. 31 ; Hi. 226, p. 61 ; 916,
p. 53; 1034, p. 56; 1126, p.
59. See also pp. 20 ., 56 .
ascribed to, 782, p. 51.
VBoucher, F., xiv. 1090, p. 370.
/Bourdon, S., xiv. 64, p. 371.
^ Bouts, Thierri, p. 277; ascribed to,
xi. 783, p. 277. See also xi.
774, p. 272 ; 943, p. 282.
, Boxall, Sir W., Addenda, 60 1, p.
66l.
VBridell, F. L., xx. 1205, p. 527.
/ Bronzino, Angelo, p. 29 ; i. 650,
p. 10 ; 651, p. 29 ; 670, p. 17 ;
704, p. 21.
Buonacorso, N., ii. 1109, p. 37.
Buonarroti. See Michelangelo.
Busi, Giovanni. See Cariani.
CAGLIARI, Paolo. See Veronese.
JCallcott, Sir A., p. 464; xviii.
343, p. 464 ; 348, p. 472 ; xx.
342, p. 529; 344, p. 513; xxi.
340, p. 565 ; 346, p. 565.
yCampana, Pedro, Octagon, 1241, p.
1 88.
,/Canaletto, p. 316; xiii. 127, p.
328; 135, p. 3'o; 163, p. 324;
937, P- 3'45 938, p. 332; 939,
p. 316; 940, p. 315; 941, p.
APPENDIX I : INDEX OF PAINTERS
667
326; 942, p. 313; 1058, p.
332 ; 1059, p. 330.
Cappelle, Jan van der, p. 285 ; xii.
865, p. 285 ; xii. 964, 965, p.
295 ; 966, 967, p. 299.
Caravaggio, xiii. 172, p. 327.
Cariani, vii. 1203, p. 151.
ascribed to, Octagon, 41, p. 192.
Carnovale, Fra, vi. 769, p. 100.
v Carpaccio, vii. 75> P- I 57-
^Carracci, Agostino, Basement, 147,
656; 148, p. 651.
Carracci, Annibale, p. 308 ; xiii. 9,
p. 323; 25, p. 316; 56, p. 326;
63, p. 328 ; 88, p. 331 ; 93, p.
308; 94, p. 309; 198, p. 312.
v' Carracci, Ludovico, xiii. 28, p. 325.
Carucci, Jacopo. See Pontormo.
Casentino. See Landini.
,/Castagno, Andrea del, ii. 1 1 38, p. 47.
Catena (?). See p. 150 .
Cavallino, Bernardo, xiii. 1157, p.
3"-
Cavazzola. See Morando.
Cenni. See Cimabue.
Champaigne, Philippe de, xii. 798,
p. 296.
Cima da Conegliano, p. 1 56 ; vii.
300, p. 156; 634, p. 178; 816,
p. 149; 1 120, p. 174.
i. 'Cimabue, iv. 565, p. 74.
Cione, Andrea di. See Orcagna.
/ Claude Lorraine, p. 348 ; xiv. 2,
p. 35i; 5, P- 3575 6, p. 368;
12, p. 337; 14, P- 345; 19, P-
355; 30, p. 352; 55. P- 37o;
58, p. 363; 61, p. 358; 1018,
p. 348.
Clays, P. J., p. 527; xx. 815, p.
527 ; xxi. 814, p. 558.
Clouet, Fr., xiv. 660, p. 347.
ascribed to, xiv. 1190, p. 368.
- Collins W., xx. 352, p. 508.
Cologne Crucifixion, Master of, xi.
707, p. 271.
V Constable, J., p. 459 ; xviii. 1065,
p. 4735 Io66 I2 35> P- 4595
1236, 1237, p. 472; 1244, P-
466; 1245. P- 464; 1246, p.
483; xx. 130, p. 530; 327,
1207, p. 531.
"'Cooke, E. W. , xx. 447, 448, p. 528.
Cooper, T. S., and K R. Lee, xxi.
620, p. 545.
Copley, J. S., p. 450; West Vesti-
bule, 787, p. 450 ; xviii. loo, p.
485 5 733. P- 482 ; 1072, 1073,
p. 487.
*Coques, Gonzales, p. 256 ; x. 101 1,
p. 256; 1114-1118, p. 255; xii.
821, p. 302.
Cornelissen, Jacob, xi. 657, p. 269.
Corradini. See Carnovale.
/Correggio, p. 199 ; ix. 10, p. 203 ;
15. P- 199; 23, p. 201.
copy after, ix. 76, p. 202 ;
Basement, 7, p. 652 ; 37, p. 651.
Cosimo, Piero di, i. 698, p. 28.
Costa, Lorenzo, p. 86 ; v. 629,
p. 86 ; 895, p. 86.
Cotignola. See Zaganelli.
^Cotman, J. S., xx. mi, p. 504.
v Cranach, Lucas, xi. 291, p. 263.
redi, Lorenzo di, p. n; i. 593,
p. 19 ; 648, p. ii.
k^Creswick, T., xx. 429, p. 532.
^Crivelli, p. 180 ; viii. 602, p. 180 ;
668, p. 182; 724, p. 186; 739,
p. 184; 788, p. 1 86; 807, p.
182 ; 906, p. 185 ; 907, p. 187.
^Crome ("Old"), John, p. 471;
xviii. 689, p. 476 ; 897, p. 485 ;
926, p. 474; 1037, p. 471.
\,Cuyp, A., p. 218; x. 53, p. 218;
797, p. 249; xii. 822, p. 291;
823, p. 294 ; 824, p. 303 ; 960,
p. 300; 961, 962, p. 295.
'DALMASII, LIPPO, v. 752, p. 91.
v'Danby, F., xxi. 437, p. 561.
Daniell, T., xxi. 899, p. 562.
t /David, Gerard, xi. 1045, p. 273.
Delen, Dirk van, xii. 1010, p. 296.
Dietrich, J. W. E., xii. 205, p. 295,
/Dobson, W., xvii. 1249, p. 441.
Dolci, Carlo, xiii. 934, p. 321.
668
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
v'Domenichino, p. 311; xiii. 48, p.
3' i ; 75.77. P- 323; 85, p. 321.
Dono, Paolo di. See Uccello.
Dossi, Dosso, p. 90 ; v. 640, p.
90; 1234, p. 92.
^ Dou, Gerard, p. 252 ; x. 192, p.
252 ; xii. 825, p. 292 ; 968, p.
296.
y Duccio, p. 46 ; ii. 566, p. 46 ;
1139. P. 39; "40, p. 39-
Dughet, Caspar. See G. Poussin.
^ Durer, Albert, xi. 245, p. 280.
Dyckmans, Addenda, 600, p. 66 1.
/ EASTLAKE, Sir C. L., p. 533 ; xx.
398, P- 533 5 xxi. 397, p. 554 ;
399, p. 560 ; 898, p. 566.
/Egg, A. L., xx. 444, p. 516.
Elzheimer, Adam, x. 1014, p. 248.
Emmanuel, iv. 594, p. 68.
'Engelbertz, xi. 714, p. 270.
Ercole da Ferrara. See Grandi.
t Etty, W., p. 502; xx. 359, p. 512;
614, p. 502 ; xxi. 356, p. 548.
Eyck, Jan van, p. 275 ; xi. 186, p.
275 ; 222, p. 274 ; 290, p. 276.
FAVA, Giangiacomo. See Macrino
d'Alba.
Filipepi, Sandro. See Botticelli.
Foligno, Niccoloda, vi. 1 107, p. 101.
Foppa, Vincenzo, ix. 729, p. 198.
Forli, Melozzo da, vi. 755, 756, p.
97-
Francesca, Piero della, p. 120; vi.
585, 665, p. 122; 758, p. 121 ;
908, p. 1 2O.
Francia, p. 87 ; v. 1 79, p. 89 ;
1 80, p. 87 ; 638, p. 90.
Fraser, A., xx. 453, p. 493.
f Frith, W. P., xx. 615, p. 524.
y Fuseli, H., West Vestibule, 1228,
P- 45-
Fyt, Jan, xii. 1003, p. 295.
\j GADDI, Taddeo, School of, p. 67 ;
iv. 215, 216, p. 67; 5793, p.
72 ; 579, P- 74-
/Gainsborough, T., pp. 396, 408; xvi.
109, p. 408 ; 678, p. 416; 683,
p. 405 ; 760, p. 396 ; 925, p.
411 ; 1044, p. 412; xvii. 309,
p. 442; 1174, p. 433; East
Vestibule, 684, p. 445 ; West
Vestibule, 308, p. 451 ; 789, p.
449 ; xviii. 80, p. 485 ; 310, p.
487; 311, p. 485.
Garofalo, p. 83; v. 8 1, 170, p.
84; 642, p. 83; 671, p. 85.
/Geddes, A., Addenda, 355, p. 657.
Gellee, Claude. See Lorraine.
Gheerardt, M., Basement, p. 652, a
picture on loan.
Ghirlandajo, Domenico, North
Vestibule, p. 3 ; i. 1230. p. 18.
Ghirlandajo, Ridolfo, i. 1143, p.
13-
Giolfino, Niccolo, viii. 749, p. 184.
^Giorgione, vii. 269, p. 176. See also
pp. 157 ., 177 n.
School of, vii. 930, p. 151.
Giotto, p. 72 ; iv. 276, p. 69.
School of, iv. 568, p. 72.
Glover, John, xx. 1186, p. 509.
Goes, Hugo van der, ascribed lo,
xi. 774, p. 272.
Good, T. 8., p. 498; xx. 378, p.
498; 918, p. 533; 919, p. 498;
xxi. 917, p. 572.
yGoodall, F., p. 501 ; xx. 450, p.
524; 451, p. 501.
Gossaert, Jan. See Mabuse.
yGozzoli, Benozzo, p. 42 ; ii. 283,
p. 42; 591, P- 38-
Grandi, Ercole di Giulio, v. 1119,
p. 82.
ascribed to, v. 73, p. 90.
Grandi, Ercole di Roberti, v. 1217,
p. 92. See also p. 86 n.
VGreuze, Jean Baptiste, p. 361 ;
xiv. 206, p. 361 ; 1019, 1 020,
p. 371 ; 1154, p. 368; also a
picture on loan, xiv. p. 358.
/Guardi, Francesco, xiii. 210, p.
320; 1054, p. 310.
VCuercino, xiii. 22, p. 311.
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
669
/Guido Reni, p. 321 ; xiii. n, p.
313; 177, P- 3 2 7; 191, P- 332;
i93> p- 3 2 4; 196, p. 321 ; 214,
p. 312; 271, p. 329.
HACKAERT, Jan, xii. 829, p, 287.
Haghe, Louis, Basement, 456, p.
653. .
Hals, Dirk, x. 1074, p. 216.
vHals, Frans, x. 1021, p. 250.
Hart, S., xx. 424, p. 517.
v Heist, B. van der, p. 655 ; Addenda,
140, p. 655 ; 1248, p. 664.
Hemessen, Catharina van, xi. 1042,
p. 282.
Hemling. See Memling.
Herbert, J. R. , xx. 425, p. 494.
v/ Herring, J. F., xx. 452, p. 499.
/Heyden, Jan van der, p. 289 ; x.
994, p. 249 ; xii. 866, p. 289 ;
992, 993. P- 297-
Hickel, K. A., Basement, p. 651,
a picture on loan.
Hilton, W., Addenda, 178, p. 656;
333-336, p. 657.
V Hobbema, M., p. 235 ; x. 685, p.
235 ; xii. 830, p. 289; 831, p.
293 5 832, p. 291 ; 833, p. 287 ;
995, p. 299; Addenda, 996, p.
662.
v Hogarth, W., p. 424; xvii. 112,
P- 4445 1 13-"8, p. 435; 675,
P- 4335 I0 46, p. 429; "53,
p. 435; 1161, p. 424; 1162,
p. 430.
y Holbein, Hans (the younger), x. p.
253. See also xi. 195, p. 261.
Holbein, Sigmund, ascribed to, xi.
722, p. 279.
Hondecoeter, x. 202, p. 212; xii.
1013, p. 299.
/ Hooch, Pieter de, p. 235 ; x. 794,
p. 235 ; xii. 834, p. 288 ; 835,
p. 284.
/Hoppner, J., xxi. 900, p. 566.
, Horsley, J. C., xx. 446, p. 489.
Huchtenburgh, J. van, xii. 211, p.
301.
^Hudson, T., xvii. 1224, p. 443.
Huysman, Cornelis, x. 954, p. 250.
-Huysman, Jacob, x. 125, p. 245.
Huysum, Jan van, p. 238 ; x. 796,
p. 238 ; 1001, p. 217.
INGEGNO, L'. See Assisi.
.JACKSON, J., xx. 124, p. 531.
, Jardin, Karel du, p. 290 ; x. 985,
p. 255 ; xii. 826, p. 288 ; 827,
p. 289 ; 828, p. 290.
/Jones, George, p. 513; xx. 389,
p. 513 ; Stairs, 391, p. 649.
./Justus of Padua, iv. 701, p. 71.
KAUFMANN, Angelica, Addenda,
139, P- 655.
Keyser, Thomas de, x. 212, p. 246.
Koninck, Philip de, p. 291 ; xii.
836, p. 291 ; 974, p. 298.
LANCE, George, p. 509 ; xx. 443,
p. 509 ; 441, p. 534 ; xxi. 442,
p. 573 ; 1184, p. 572. See also
xv. 197, p. 379 n.
VLancret, xiv. 101-104, p. 356.
Landini, Jacopo, iv. 580, p. 78 ;
580 a, p. 71.
vLandseer, Charles, xx. 408, p. 518.
, Landseer, Sir E., p. 505 ', *x. 409,
p. 510; 410, p. 520; 411, p.
513; 412, p. 501; 604, p. 518;
607, p. 499; 1226, p. 505; xxi.
4i3 P- 559 5 4*4, P- 56i ; 603,
P. 549 5 605, p. 548 ; 606, p.
557 ; 608, p. 552 ; 609, p. 562.
/Lanini, B., ix. 700, p. 198.
^/Lawrence, Sir T., p. 445 ; East
Vestibule, 144, p. 445 ; xviii.
129, p. 477; 1238, p. 478;
xxi. 785, p. 570; 922, p. 548;
Addenda, 136, p. 655; 893, p.
662.
Lawson, Cecil, xxi. 1142, p. 549.
v'Lee, F. R., and T. S. Cooper, xxi.
620, p. 545.
,/Lely, Sir Peter, xvii. 1016, p. 434.
670
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
/ Leslie, C. R., p. 514; xviii. 1182,
p. 458; xx. 403, p. 514; xxi.
402, p. 545.
Liberate da Verona, vii. 1 1 34, p.
177-
Libri, Girolamodai,vii. 748, p. 133.
Licinio. See Pordenone.
Liesborn, the Meister von, p. 268 ;
xi. 260, p. 268 ; 261, p. 264.
vLievens, Jan, x. 1095, p. 249.
/Lingelbach, Jan, xii. 837, p. 294.
^Linnell, John, p. 484; xviii. 438,
p. 484 ; xx. 439, p. 499 ; xxi.
1 1 12, p. 572.
'/Linton, W. xxi. 1029, p. 563.
j Lippi, Filippino, p. 20 ; i. 293, p.
20; 592, p. 26; 1124, p. 20;
iii. 598, p. 58; 927, p. 54;
1033, p. 54. See also p. 20 n.
v Lippi, Fra Filippo, p. 52 ; i. 589,
p. 30 ; ii. 248, p. 41 ; 586, p.
45 ; iii. 666, p. 52 ; 667, p.
6 1. See also p. 20 n.
Lochner, Stephan, xi. 705, p. 277.
Lombard, Lambert, xi. 266, p. 280.
^-Longhi, Pietro, p. 314; Octagon,
1 102, p. 191; xiii. 1 100, p.
314; iroi, p. 315.
Looten, Jan, x. 901, p. 230.
Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, ii. 1147, p.
48.
Lorenzetti, Pietro, ii. 1113, p. 38.
Lorenzo, Fiorenzo di, vi. 1103, p.
99-
Lorraine. See Claude.
Lotto, Lorenzo, p. 136; vii. 699,
p. 158; 1047, p. 163 ; 1105,
p. 136-
J Loutherbourg, P. de, xvii. 316, p.
430.
Luciani, Sebastiano. See Piombo.
Luigi, Andrea di. See Assisi.
^'Luini, Bernardino, ix. 1 8, p. 198.
Lyversberg Passion, Master of the,
xi. 706, p. 262.
v MAAS, NICOLAS, p. 234 ; x. 207,
p. 234; xii. 153, 159, p. 299.
Maas, Nicolas, ascribed to, Addenda,
1247, p. 664.
^Afabuse, p. 280 ; xi. 656, p. 280 ;
946, p. 282.
v Maclise, D., p. 520; xx. 423, p.
520; xxi. 422, p. 564; Addenda,
1250, p. 664.
Macrino d'Alba, ix. 1 200, 1 20 1, p.
205.
Manni, Giannicolo, vL 1104, p.
IOI.
v'Mantegna, Andrea, p. 180 ; viii.
274, p. 182; 902, p. 183;
1125, p. 187; 1145, p. 180.
Mantegna, Francesco, vii. 639,
1106, p. 173.
Mantovano, Rinaldo, p. 326 ;
ascribed to, 643, p. 326 ; 644,
P- 330.
v Maratti, Carlo, xiii. 174, p. 327.
Marcellis, Otto, x. 1222, p. 217.
* Margaritone, iv. 564, p. 76.
Marinus van Romerswael, xi. 944,
p. 266.
Martino da Udine. See San Daniele.
Marziale, Marco, p. 186 ; viii. 803,
p. 1 86 i ; 804, p. 183.
Masaccio (?), iii. 626, p. 55.
Matteo di Giovanni, p. 38; ii. 247,
p. 38; 1155, p. 47-
Mazzola, Francesco. See Parmigiano.
Mazzolini, Ludovico, p. 89; v. 82,
p. 82; 169, p. 89; 641, p. 90.
v Meire, Gerard van der, p. 264 ;
ascribed to, xi. 264, p. 264 ; 696,
p. 279.
Melone, Altobello, ix. 753, p.
207.
/Memling, Hans, xi. 686, p. 274.
ascribed to, xi. 709, p. 270 ;
747, p. 277 ; 943, p. 282.
' Merian, Matthew, jun., ascribed to,
X. IOI2, p. 242.
Merigi. See Caravaggio.
N Messina, Antonello da, p. 172 ; vii.
673, p. 172; 1141, p. 1735
i i 66, p. 172.
SMetsu, Gabriel, p. 285 ; xii. 838,
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
P- 335 839, P- 285; 970, p.
298.
,/Metsys, Quentin, xi. 295, p. 265.
./Michelangelo, p. 14 ; i. 8, p. 31 ;
790, p. 14 ; 809, p. 26.
Michele da Verona, Octagon, 1214,
p. 191.
Mieris, Franz van, xii. 840, p. 303.
Mieris, Willem van, xii. 841, p. 291.
Mocetto, G. vii. 1239, 1240, p.
170.
Mola, P. F., p. 313; xiii. 69, p.
330; 160, p. 313.
Montagna, B., p. 131 ; vii. 802. p.
132 ; 1098, p. 131.
./ Morales, Luisde, xv. 1229, p.* 375-
j Morando, Paolo, p. 149; vii. 735>
p. 149; 777, p. 156.
/ More, Sir Antonio, p. 261 ; xi.
184, p. 262; 1094, 1231, p.
261.
/Moretto, II, p. 131 ; vii. 299, p.
164; 625, p. 131; 1025, p.
145; Octagon, 1165, p. 189.
^ Morland, G., p. 456; xviii. 1030,
p. 450 ; 1067, p. 484.
Morone, Domenico, Octagon, 1211,
1212, p. 190.
Morone, Francesco, Octagon, 285,
p. 189.
^ Moroni, Giambattista, p. 132 ; vii.
697, p. 152; 742, p. 158;
1022, p. 139; 1023, p. 132 ;
1024, p. 163.
Mostaert, Jan, xi. 713, p. 273.
Moucheron, Frederic de, xii. 842,
p. 289.
^ Miiller, W. J., p. 519 ; xx. 379, p.
5395 I0 4, P- 5*9-
Mulready, W., p. 497 ; xviii. 1181,
p. 473; xx. 393, p. 512; 394,
P- 497 5 395. P- 508 ; xxi. 1038,
P- 571.
- Murillo, p. 380; xv. 13, p. 384;
74, p. 382; 176, p. 380.
v NASMYTH, A., xviii. 1242, p. 455.
v Nasmyth, Patrick, p. 458 ; xviii.
380, p. 458; 381, p. 465; 1177,
p. 483; 1178, p. 485; 1179, P-
473; xxi. 1176, p. 572; 1183,
P- 573-
Neefs, Pieter, x. 924, p. 248.
Neer, Aart van der, p. 214; x.
152, p. 223; 239, p. 214; 732,
p. 229 ; xii. 969, p. 302.
^Netscher, Gaspard, p. 294 ; xii.
843, p. 294 ; 844, p. 302 ; 845,
P- 303.
^/Newton, G. S., p. 535; xx. 353,
P- 535 ; 354, P- 498.
OGGIONNO, Marco d', ix. 1149,
p. 207.
,/Dpie, J., p. 473; xviii. 1167, p.
476; 1208, p. 473; xxi. 784,
P- 559-
vOrcagna, p. 70 ; iv. 569, p. 70 ;
570-578, pp. 69, 71, 78.
Oriolo, G., v. 770, p. 85.
vOrley, Bernard van, xi. 655, p.
271.
*OrtoIano, L', v. 669, p. 91.
Os, Jan van, Addenda, 1015, p.
662.
/Ostade, A. van, xii. 846, p. 290.
t . Ostade, Isaac van, p. 231 ; x. 963,
p. 250 ; xii. 847, 848, p. 293.
ascribed to, x. 1137, p. 231.
PACCHIA, Girolamo del, ii. 246,
P- 38.
Padovanino, xiii. 70, 933, p. 329.
Palmezzano, Marco, vi. 596, p.
117.
Pannini, Giovanni Paolo, xiii. 138,
p. 324.
Pape, Abraham de, x. 1221, p.
Parma, Ludovico da, ix. 692, p.
205.
./Parmigiano, ix. 33, p. 201.
/Patinir, Joachim, p. 263 ; xi. 715,
p. 271 ; 716, p. 270; 717, p.
269 ; 1082, p. 267 ; 1084, p.
265.
6 7 2
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
Patinir, Joachim, ascribed (a, xi.
945, p. 263.
Perugino, p. IO2 ; vi. 181, p. 115 ;
288, p. 102; 1075, p. 116.
/ Peruzzi, Baldassare, p. 40 ; Addenda,
167, p. 656.
ascribed to, ii. 2 1 8, p. 40.
t/ Pesellino, Francesco, i. 727, p. 12.
v Phillips, T., xx. 183, p. 529.
Piazza, Martino, ix. 1152, p. 207.
y Pickersgill, H.W., xxi. 416, p. 551.
Piero della Francesca. See Fran-
cesca.
Piero di Cosimo. See Cosimo.
Pietro, Giovanni di. See Spagna.
J Pinturicchio, p. 105; vi. 703, p.
98 ; 693, p. 105 ; 911, p. 121 ;
912-914, p. 96.
v/ Piombo, Sebastiano del, p. 141 ; vii.
I, p. 141 ; 20, p. 142; 24, p. 136.
Pippi. See Romano.
Pisano, Vittore, vii. 776, p. 175.
Poel, Egbert van der, x. io6i,p. 249.
Poelenburg, C. van, x. 955, p. 249.
See also x. 209, p. 237.
i Pollajuolo, Antonio, p. 18; i. 292,
p. 18; 296, p. 17; 781, p. 17;
928, p, 35.
Ponte, Jacopo da. See Bassano.
/ Pontormo, p. 22 ; i. 649, p. 22 ;
1131, p. 32.
ascribed to, i. 1150, p. 26.
/ Poole, P. F., xxi. 1091, p. 569.
Pordenone, Octagon, 272, p. 192.
Potter, Paul, p. 287 ; xii. 849, p.
287 ; 1009, p. 302.
v/ Potter, Pieter, ascribed to, x. 1008,
p. 240.
Poussin, Charles, xx. 810, p. 530.
Poussin, Caspar, p. 359 ; North
Vestibule, p. 2 ; xiv. 31, p. 359 ;
36, p. 347 J 68, p. 364 ; 95, p.
352; 98, p. 366; 161, p. 369;
"59. P- 369-
y Poussin, Nicolas, p. 353 ; xiv. 39,
p. 370 ; 40, p. 363 ; 42, p. 364 ;
62, p. 357 ; 65, p. 353 ; 91, p.
370 ; 165, p. 358.
Previtali, Andrea, vii. 695, p. 178.
, Sir H., East Vestibule,
1146, p. 447.
Raibolini. See Francia.
^/Raphael, p. 108 ; vi. 27, p. 116;
213, p, 107; 1 68, p. 114; 744,
p. 113; 1171, p. 108.
- copies after: Basement, 66 1, p.
651 ; vi. 929, p. 102.
Redgrave, R., xxi. 428, p. 561.
Rembrandt, p. 223 ; x. 45, p. 230 ;
47, P- 2335 Si. P- 227; 54, p.
250; 72, p. 235; 166, p. 214;
190, p. 229 ; 221, p. 249 ; 237,
p. "248 ; 243, p. 226 ; 289, p.
239 5 672, p. 223 ; 775, p. 214 ;
xii. 43, p. 298 ; 850, p. 304.
- School of, x. 757, p. 246.
Reni. See Guido.
Reynolds, Sir J., p. 399 ; xvi. 79,
p. 419; 106, p. 414; 107, p.
413; in, p. 399; 162, p. 413;
182, p. 421 ; 305, p. 411 ; 306,
p. 414; 307, p. 418; 754, p.
423 ; 885, p. 413 ; 886, p. 414 ;
887, p. 415 ; 888, p. 409 ; 889,
p. 418; 890, p. 421; 891, p.
416; 892, p. 414. Also three
pictures on loan, pp. 407, 417,
422 ; East Vestibule, 143, p.
448; 68 1, p. 449; Addenda,
78. p. 654.
Ribera. See Spagnoletto.
Ricci, Sebastiano, Addenda, 851,
p. 66^. /<; <, *\
Rigaud, Hyacinthe, xiv. 903, p.
356.
Rippingille, E. V., Addenda, 454,
P- 657.
Y Roberts, David, p. 555 ; xxi. 400,
p. 572 ; 401, p. 555.
Robusti, Jacopo. See Tintoretto.
Rokes, Hendrik. See Sorgh.
Romanino, II, vii. 297, p. 169.
^ Romano, Giulio, p. 309 ; xiii. 624,
p. 309; Addenda, 225, p. 657.
Romerswael. See Marinus.
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
673
Romney, G., p. 407; xvi. 312, p.
407 ; 1068, p. 410.
v ' Rosa, Salvator, p. 317; xiii. 84,
P- 322; 935, p. 314; 1206, p.
317 ; Staircase, Sir, p. 649.
*/ Rosselli, Cosimo, ii. 227, p. 41.
\ Rossetti, D. G., xx. r2io, p. 536.
Rossi, Francesco. See Salviati.
Rottenhammer, J., x. 659, p. 248.
i^ Rubens, P. 1 P., p. 220; x. 38, p.
220; 46, p. 243; 57, p. 242;
59, p. 240 ; 66, p. 232 ; 67, p.
241 ; 157. p- 239; 187, p. 217;
194, P- 230 ; 278, p. 243 ; 279,
p. 242; 948, p. 233; 1195, p.
254 ; xii. 852, p. 286 ; 853, p.
285.
^ Ruysdael, Jacob van, p. 236 ; x.
627, p. 2j ; 628, p. 236 ; 737,
p. 243 ; 746, p. 240 ; 986, p.
239 5 989. P- 236 ; xii. 854, p.
294 5 855, p. 292 ; 987, p. 300 ;
988, 990, p. 299 ; 991, p. 297.
SALVI. See Sassoferrato.
fc/ Salviati, Francesco, i. 652, p. 21.
San Daniele, Pellegrino da, Octagon,
778, p. 188.
San Severino, Lorenzo di, vi. 249,
p. 99.
Santa Croce, Girolamo da, p. r52 ;
vii. 632, p. r52 ; 633, p. 156.
v Santi, Giovanni, vi. 75r, p. 115.
Sanzio. See Raphael.
Sarto, Andrea del, p. 27 ; i. r7, p.
23 ; 690, p. 27.
Sassoferrato, p. 324 ; xiii. 200, p.
323 ; 740, P. 324.
Savery, Roelandt, x. 920, p. 234.
Savoldo, G. G., vii. ro3i, p. 168.
Schalcken, Godfried, p. 252 ; x.
199, p. 252; 998, p. 250; xii.
997. P- 295 5 999. P- 296.
V Scheffer, Aiy, p. 553; xxi. 1169,
p. 556; ri70, p. 553.
/"Schetky, J. C., Addenda, irgr, p.
663.
Schiavone, Gregorio, p. 193; viii.
904, p. 185; Octagon, 630, p.
193-
Schongauer, Martin, xi. 658, p. 272.
/Schoorel, Jan van, xi. 720, 72r, p.
270.
Sciarpelloni. See Credi.
Scott, Samuel, p. 433; xvii. 313,
P- 4345 3*4> P- 4335 1223, p.
443-
^eddon, T., xx. 563, p. 539.
Segna di Buenaventura, iv. 567,
P- 71.
v'Shee, Sir Martin, West Vestibule,
6 77, P- 453-
viSignorelli, Luca, p. 117; vi. 910,
p. 123; 1128, p. rr;; "33, p.
rig.
^Simpson, J., Basetnent, 382, p.
651.
Smirke, R., Addenda, 765, p. 66 1.
/Sodoma, II, ix. rr44, p. 204.
Solario, Andrea, p. 205 ; ix. 734,
p. 206 ; 923, p. 205.
Sorgh, x. 1055, p. 255 ; ro56, p.
256.
Spagna, Lo, p. ro6 ; vi. 69 r, p.
102 ; 1032, p. 106.
ascribed to, vi. 282, p. 124.
Spagnoletto, p. 384 ; xv. 235, p.
384 ; 244, p. 386.
Spinello Aretino, p. 2 ; North Ves-
tibule, 1216, r2r6 A and B, p. 2 ;
iv. 581, p. 75.
/Sprangher, B., Basement, p. 652, a
picture on loan.
Stanfield, Clarkson, p. 499 ; xx.
404, p. 517; 405, p. $r5; 406,
p. 504 ; 407, p. 499.
('Stark, James, xx. 1204, p. 496.
Steen, Jan, xii. 856, p. 287. See
also p. 211 n.
Steenwyck, Hendrick, x. 1 1 32, p.
251-
Stephan. See Lochner.
Stothard, T., p. 465; xviii. 3r8,
p. 473; 320, p. 484; 321, p.
487 ; 322, p. 484; 1069, p. 465 ;
1070, p. 484; ri63, p. 479;
2 X
674
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
1185, p. 484; xx. 317, p. 495;
xxl 319, p. 573.
Sunder. See Cranach.
T ACCOM, FRANCESCO, ix. 286, p.
196.
^Teniers, David (the elder), p. 295 ;
xii. 949, p. 296; 950, p. 298;
951, p. 295.
Teniers, David (the younger), p.
212; x. 154, p. 212; 155, p.
242 ; 158, p. 214 ; 242, p. 240 ;
805, p. 239; 817, p. 239; xii.
857-860, p. 303 ; 861, p. 291 ;
862, p. 293 ; 863, p. 294 ; 952,
P- 300 ; 953, P- 296.
Terburg, Gerard, p. 285 ; x. 896,
p. 251 ; xii. 864, p. 285.
Theotocopuli, Domenico, xv. 1122,
p. 381.
Tiepolo, G. B., xiii. 1192, 1193,
P- 313.
./ Tintoretto, p. 133 ; vii. 1 6, p. 133 ;
1130, p. 1 60.
Tisi, Benvenuto. See Garofalo.
j Titian, p. 138; vii. 3, p. 167; 4,
p. 140; 32, p. 1635 34, p. 138;
35, p. 145; 270, p. 152; 635,
p. 143 ; 636, p. 148.
ascribed to, vii. 224, p. 140.
Treviso, Girolamo da, vii. 623, p.
154.
Tura, Cosimo, p. 81 ; v. 590, p.
85 ; 772, p. 81 ; 773, p. 80 ;
905, p. 80. See also p. 82 .
Turner, J. M. W., p. 574 ; xiv.
479, 498, p. 3445 xix. 3 6 9.
p. 634; 370, p. 631 ; 458,
p. 629; 459, p. 640; 463, p.
647 ; 465, p. 631 ; 468, p. 640 ;
469, p. 639; 475, 478, p.
639; 482, p. 637; 483, p.
638 ; 484, p. 646 ; 485, p. 643 ;
489, p. 646; 491, p. 644 ; 496,
p. 645; 511, p. 644; 526, p.
639 5 S 28 , p. 637 ; 530, p. 641 ;
534, P- 635 ; 535, p. 629 ; 538,
p. 645 ; 544, p. 647 ; 548, p.
633 5 559, P- 642 ; 560, P- 646 ;
561 A, p. 639; 813, p. 638;
1180, p. 635 ; xxii. 461, p. 621 ;
470, p. 597 5 471, P- 608 ; 472,
P- 5955 473, P- 606; 474, p.
592 ; 476, p. 597 ; 477, P- 592 ;
480, p. 600 ; 481, p. 60 1 ; 486,
p, 624 ; 488, p. 601 ; 490, p.
599 ; 492, p. 625 ; 493, p. 600 ;
494, 495, P- 6 27 ; 497, P- 606 ;
500, p. 595 ; 501, p. 626 ; 502,
p. 617; 504, p. 625; 505, p.
622 ; 506, p. 617 ; 508, p. 619 ;
512, p. 608; 513, p. 601 ; 516,
p. 603; 520, p. 610; 523, p.
625; 524, p. 613; 536, p. 612;
556, p. 603 ; 558, p. 609 ; 561,
p. 617 ; Addenda, 507, p. 657 ;
510,514,515,517^.658; 529,
531, p. 659 ; 532, 545, 549, 550,
p. 660 ; 551, p. 661.
UBERTINI, Francesco. See Ba-
chiacca.
Uccello, Paolo, iii. 583, p. 53.
Udine, Martino da. See San
Daniele.
yUgolino da Siena, ii. 1188, 1189,
p. 48.
Unknown :
British, xvii. 1076, p. 443 ; 1097,
p. 424. See also p. 442.
Dutch and Flemish, x. 1243, p.
255; 117, P- 297.
Early Flemish, xi. 708, p. 269 ;
710, p. 280 ; 1078, 1079, p.
279; 1081, p. 265 ; 1083, p.
270 ; 1086, p. 271 ; 1089, p.
263 ; 1151, p. 279.
Early Flemish or Dutch, xi. 1036,
p. 280 ; 1063, p. 282.
Early German, xi. 1080, p. 280;
1085, p. 272 ; 1087, p. 266.
Ferrarese, v. 1062, p. 82.
Florentine, ii. 1199, p. 40; iii.
626, p. 55 ; 1196, p. 56. See
also p. 20 n.
French (?), xiv. 947, p. 347.
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
675
German, xi. 195, p. 261 ; 1088,
p. 278.
Italian, vii. 932, p. 148; Octagon,
1048, p. 192.
Lombard, ix. 1052, p. 198.
North Italian, v. 1127, p. 86.
Sienese, ii. 1108, p. 39.
Umbrian, vi. 1051, p. 102.
Venetian, vii. 1121, p. 173;
1123, p. 157; 1160, p. 174;
H73. P- 177-
Veronese, Octagon, 1135, 1136,
p. 189.
Westphalian, xi. 1049, p. 266.
VAN. [Dutch and Flemish painters,
to whom " Van " is prefixed,
should (if not found here) be
looked for under the initial
letter of their surname, e.g., Van
Eyck, under Eyck],
Yandevelde, Adrian, p. 287 ; xii.
867, p. 291 ; 868, p. 288 ; 869,
p. 287 ; 982, p. 298 ; 983, p.
298 ; 984, p. 296.
\, Vandevelde, Willem (the younger),
p. 215; x. 149, p. 216; 150,
p. 215 ; 981, p. 219; xii. 870,
p. 287; 871, p. 288; 872, p.
284; 873, p. 285; 874, p. 304;
875. P- 303 5 876, p. 284 ; 977,
p. 296 ; 978, p. 297 ; 979, p.
298 ; 980, p. 298.
Van Dyck, p. 226 ; x. 49, p. 226 ;
50, p. 228; 52, p. 229 ; 156,
p. 247; 680, p. 256; 1172, p.
227 ; xii. 877, p. 301.
Vanucci, Pietro. See Perugino.
Varotari. See Padovanino.
Vecellio. See Titian.
Velazquez, p. 376; xv. 197, p.
378; 232, p. 375; 745. P- 383 5
1129, p. 376; 1148, p. 384.
ascribed to, xv. 741, p. 386.
Veneziano, Bartolommeo, vii. 287,
p. 150-
Veneziano, Domenico, p. 12 ; i.
766, 767, p. 12 ; 1215, p. 13.
Venusti, Marcello, p. 17; i. 1194,
p. 17 ; 1227, p. 16.
Vernet, C. J., p. 348 ; xiv. 236, p.
348 ; 1057, p. 364.
Verocchio (?). See p. 1 7 n.
Veronese, Paolo, p. 136; vii. 26,
p. 136; 97, p. 170; 268, p.
160; 294, p. 165; 1041, p.
137; Octagon, 931, p. 193.
''Vinci, Leonardo da, i. 1093, p. 24.
Vivarini, Antonio, Octagon, 768,
.P- 193-
Vivarini, Bartolommeo, viii. 284,
p. 185.
Vliet, Willem van der, x. 1168, p.
219.
^WALKER, F., xxi. 1209, p. 556.
Walscappelle, J., x. 1002, p. 216.
v'Ward, E. M., p. 510; xx. 431,
p. 510; xxi. 430, p. 562; 432,
p. 547; 616, p. 571.
vWard, James, p. 487; xviii. 1158,
p. 487; xx. 1175, p. 495;
Staircase, 688, 1043, p. 648.
Webster, T., p. 513; xx. 426, p.
513; 427, p. 523 ; xxi. 1225,
P- 572.
Weenix, Jan, p. 234 ; x. 238, p.
234 ; 1096, p. 238.
/West, B., p. 446, Addenda, 315, p.
657-
Weyden, Roger van der (the elder),
p. 267 ; xi. 664, p. 264.
ascribed to, xi. 653, 654, p.
267; 711, p. 273; 712, p. 277.
I Wilkie, Sir D., p. 490 ; xx. 99,
p. 490; 122, p. 493; 241, p.
528; 328, p. 497; 331, p. 529;
921, p. 497; xxi. 231, p. 544;
329, p- 573 ; 330, P. 573 ; 894,
p. 567 ; Addenda, 1187, p. 663.
William of Cologne, xi. 687, p. 265.
Williams, E., Addenda, 123, p.
655-
Wils, Jan, x. 1007, p. 238.
/Wilson, R., p. 430; xvi. 301, p.
422; xvii. 108, p. 440; no,
6;6
APPENDIX I: INDEX OF PAINTERS
p. 441 ; 267, p. 432 ; 302, p.
434; 303. p- 433; 304, p- 430;
1064, p. 432 ; 1071, p. 434.
See also xvii. 1097, p. 424.
Witte, Emanuel de, x. 1053, p.
238.
Wouwerman, Philips, p. 292 ; x.
1060, p. 214; xii. 878, p. 292 ;
879, p. 293 ; 880, p. 290 ; 881,
p. 293; 882, p. 289; 975, p.
298 ; 976, p. 300.
Wright of Derby, xviii. 725, p. 475.
vWynants, Jan, p. 301 ; xii. 883,
p. 290; 884, p. 286; 971, p.
301 ; 972, p. 302 ; 973, p. 298.
ZAGANELLI, vi. 1092, p. 99.
Zampieri. See Domenichino.
Zelotti, Battista, vii. 595, p. 169.
v'Zoffany, ascribed to, xvi. 1197, p.
412.
Zoppo, Marco, ascribed to, v. 597,
p. 82.
Zurbaran, F., xv. 230, p. 382.
APPENDIX II
INDEX LIST OF PICTURES
IN this Index all the pictures belonging to the National Gallery are enumer-
ated in the order of the numbers given to them on the frames and in the Official
Catalogues.
Following the title and painter of each picture, is a reference to the page in this
Handbook on which the picture is described, as well as to the room in the Gallery in
which it is at present hung (June i, 1888).
Several pictures belonging to the National Gallery have, however, been removed
on loan to other institutions (under a Treasury Minute, 1861, and the "National
Gallery Loan Act," 1883). These pictures are distinguished in the Index'by their
titles being printed in italics ; whilst the name of the institution, or (in the case of
provincial galleries) the name of the town, in which they are now to be seen, is
stated in the fifth column. Several other pictures, though still retained in the
National Gallery, are not at present hung in the public rooms : these pictures are
referred to, in the "Room" column, as ''Addenda" under which head they are
described in the Handbook.
In the next two columns, the manner and date of each picture's acquisition are
given. The names are those of the persons from whom the pictures were purchased,
or by whom they were given or bequeathed.
In the last column, the prices paid for all the purchased pictures are given.
The dates of the appointment of successive Keepers or Directors are also given at
their proper places in the Index, so that the curious reader may discover the use
made by these officers of the funds at their disposal. It should, however, be remem-
bered as already stated (see pp. xvi., 533) that up to 1855 the responsibility for
purchases rested rather with the Trustees and the Treasury than with the Keeper.
The following is a summary of the cost of the pictures purchased up to the end
of 1886, beyond which time the figures are not available
6;8
APPENDIX II : INDEX OF PICTURES
PURCHASED out of PARLIAMENTARY GRANTS.
PURCHASED
out of PRIVATE
BEQUESTS.
s.
d.
f,
V.
d
38 pictures (Angerstein Collection) 57,000
O
o
15 pictures
Clarke Fund
4,016
13
it
31
(Lombardi-Baldi ) 7,035
<>
o
12 ,,
Lewis ,,
4,838
1^
"
33
(Beaucousin ,, ) 9,205
1
i
'5 ,
Walker
9,010
to
77
(Peel 75,000
q
o
7 ..
Wheeler
2,557
to
a
306
(Smaller Purchases ) 267, 174
s
2
(Blenheim Collection ) 87,500
II
o
487 pictures at a cost of . 502,914
3
6
49 pictures at a
cost of
20,423
in
a
It will be seen from this table that 536 pictures in all have been purchased at .1
total cost of .523,337 : 13 : 6, showing an average cost for each picture of about
,97 S- Pictures purchased out of private bequests are distinguished in the following
Index, from the others, by their prices being printed in italics.
A. Mr. Angerstein's Collection (38 pictures) was purchased in one lot for 57,000.
(1) Nos. 9, 35, and 62 were purchased together for .9000.
(2) Nos. 10 and 15 were purchased together for 11,500.
(3) Nos. 13 and 59 were purchased together for .7350.
(4) The Kruger Collection (64 pictures) was purchased in 1854 by, and on the responsibility of,
the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gladstone), for 2800. Seventeen of them were
originally hung in the Gallery ; 10 were sent to Dublin ; and the remaining 37 were sold at
Christie's in 1857, and realised 249 : 8s., or 6 : 145. each. Of the 17 originally hung in the
gallery, all but 4 were weeded out in 1862, the rejected pictures being divided between Dublin
and the Science and Art Department.
(5) Nos. 280, 285, and 286, together with five others deposited in the National Gallery of Ireland,
and two which were sold at Christie's for 130 : gs., were purchased from the Baron Galvagna,
Venice, for .2189 : 16 : 10.
(6) The Lombardi-Baldi Collection (Florence), 31 pictures, was purchased in one lot for .7035.
(7) The Beaucousin Collection of 46 pictures (13 of which were not kept for the Gallery), was pur-
chased at Paris in one lot for .9205 : 3
(8) The Peel Collection of 77 pictures and 18 drawings was purchased in one lot for .75,000.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
1
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G.=Given.
B.= Bequeathed.
When
Price.
Mr. William Seguier was appointed Keeper in 1824.
i
Raising of Lazarus .
S. del Piombo
'4'
VII.
P. Angerstein . .
1824
A
2
Cephalus and
Claude .
35 *
XIV.
P. . .
tt
,,
Procris
3
A Concert . . Titian
167
VII.
P
M
4
Holy Family . .
140
.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
5
Seaport . . . Claude .
357
XIV.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
6
Cave of Adullam . ,,
368
1t
IJ. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
7
Group of Heads . After Correggio
652
Basement.
P. Angerstein . .
1824
A
8
Dream of Human Michael Angclo
3 1
i.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
Life
9
" Dominequo vadis"
An. Carracci
323
XIII.
P. Hamlet
1826
10
Mercury, Venus, Correggio
203
IX.
P. Ld. Londonderry .
1834
and Cupid
ii
St. Jerome
Guido Reni .
3'3
XIII.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
12
Isaac and Rebecca .
Claude .
337
XIV.
P. Angerstein . .
1824
A
13
Holy Family .
Murillo .
384
XV.
P. Bulkeley Owen .
1837
(3)
14
Seaport .
Claude .
345
XIV.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
15
" Ecce Homo!"
Correggio
199
IX.
P. Ld. Londonderry .
1834
(2)
16
St. George &Dragon
Tintoretto
'33
VII.
H. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
>7
Holy Family .
A. del Sarto .
23
I.
B.
"
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
679
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
Sj
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
Vhen
Price.
18
Christ and the
3. Luini.
98
IX.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
Pharisees
19
Narcissus and Echo
Claude .
55
XIV.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
20
ippolito de' Medici
S. del Piombo
42
VII.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
and S. del Piombo
21
Portrait of a Lady .
Allori .
28
i.
B.
ii
22
Dead Christ .
Juercino
ii
XIII.
B. . .
23
La Vierge au Panier
Correggio
01
IX.
P. M. Perrier .
1825
^3,800
2 4
Portrait of a Lady .
S. del Piombo
36
VII.
3. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
25
St. John in the
An. Carracci .
316
XIII.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
Wilderness
26
St. Nicholas .
P. Veronese .
36
VII.
G. Brit. Inst. .
1826
2 7
Julius II.
Raphael .
16
VI.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
28
Susannah
L. Carracci .
325
XIII.
P.
Jf
J(
29
" Madonna del
Baroccio
328
H
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
Gatto"
3
St. Ursula
Claude .
352
XIV.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
31
Sacrifice of Isaac .
3. Poussin
359
,,
P.
,,
32
33
Rape of Ganymede
Vision of St. Jerome
Titian
Parmigiano
163
2OI
VII.
IX.
P. . .
G. Brit. Inst. .
1826
"
Venus and Adonis .
Titian
I 3 8
VII.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
35
Bacchus & Ariadne
.
MS
M
P. Hamlet.
1826
(*)
36
Land Storm .
G. Poussin
347
XIV.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
Group of Heads
Aft. Correggio
Basemen
P. .
37
38
39
Rape of the Sabines
Nursing of Bacchus
Landscape: Phocion
Rubens .
N. Poussin
220
37
363
X.
XIV.
P.
B. G.J.Cholmondeley
G. SirG. Beaumont .
1831
1826
"
41
Death of Peter
A sc. foCariani
192
Oct.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
42
Martyr
Bacchanalian Scene
N. Poussin
364
XIV.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
43
Deposition from
Rembrandt .
298
XII.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
Cross
CJiarity .
Giulio Romano
S. Kens.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
44
45
Woman taken in
Rembrandt
230
X.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
Adultery
47
Blessings of Peace .
Adoration of the
Rubens .
Rembrandt .
243
233
G. Lord Stafford
P. Angerstein .
1828
1824
A
Shepherds . .
48
Tobias & the Angel
Domenichino .
3"
XIII.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
49
Portrait of Rubens .
Van Dyck .
226
X.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
5
St. Ambrose and
n
228
,,
P. .
n
Theodosius
52
Jew Merchant
Portrait of Gevartius
Rembrandt
Van Dyck .
227
229
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
P. Angerstein .
1826
1824
A
53
54
55
56
Evening Landscape
Woman Bathing .
Death of Procris .
Landscape
Cuyp .
Rembrandt .
Claude .
An. Carracci .
218
250
37
326
XIV.
XIII.
P.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
1826
1831
St. Bavon . .
Rubens .
242
X.
B. ,.
11
57
58
59
60
Study of Trees
The Brazen Serpent
Tcnver of Babel
Claude .
Rubens .
Leandro
363
240
XIV.
X.
Dublin
G. SirG. Beaumont .
P. Bulkeley Owen .
B. Col. Ollney .
1826
1837
(3)
Bassano
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
Landscape
Bacchanalian Dance
Landscape
Return of the Ark
Cephalus & Aurora
Landscape
Holy Family .
View near Albano
Claude .
N. Poussin
An. Carracci .
S. Bourdon
N. Poussin
Rubens .
G. Poussin
358
357
328
353
232
241
364
XIV.
XIII.
XIV.
X.
XIV.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
P. Hamlet.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
B. G.J.Cholmondeley
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
P. Angerstein .
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1826
1831
1826
1831
1826
,824
,831
(0
A
69
70
71
72
St. John Preaching
Cornelia & her Jewe
Muleteers
Tobias & the Ange
P. F. Mola .
Padovanino .
Both
Rembrandt
33
329
24
23
XIII.
X.
B'. Col. Ollney .
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1837
1826
1831
68o
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
c*
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
ft
which
Hung.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
Who,
Price.
S
B. = Bequeathed.
73
Conversion of St.
Asc. foErcoled
90
V.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
Paul
Giulio Grandi
74
Spanish Boy .
Murillo .
382
xv.
G. M. Zachary .
1826
75
St. George & Dragon
Domenichino .
323
XIII.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
76
77
Christ's Agony
Stoning of Stephen
Aft. Correggio
Domenichino .
202
323
IX.
XIII.
P. Angerstein .
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1824
1831
78
Holy Family .
Sir J. Reynolds
654
Addenda
G. Brit. Inst. .
1828
79
So
The Graces .
The Market Cart .
Gainsborough
419
485
XVI.
XVIII.
B. Lord Blessington .
G. Brit. Inst. .
1837
1828
81
Vision of St. Augus-
Garofalo
84
V.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
tine
82
83
Holy Family .
Phineus .
Mazzolini
N. Poussin
82
Dublin
B.
G. Gen. Thornton .
n
1837
A
84
Mercury & Wood-
Salvator Rosa
322
XIII.
P. George Byng
^1,680
man
85
St. Jerome
Domenichino
321
M
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
86
The Entombment .
L. Carracci
S. Kens.
B. Col. Ollney .
1837
87
Perseus .
Guido . .
Dublin
G. William IV. .
1836
88
Erminia .
An. Carracci .
33'
XIII.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
89
Portraits
S us term an s .
Dublin
P
M
9
Venus and Graces .
Guido .
Edin.
G. William IV. .
1836
9 1
Sleeping Venus
N. Poussin
37
XIV.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
92
Cupid and Psyche .
Aless. Veronese
S. Kens.
B. Col. Ollney .
1837
93
Silenus .
An. Carracci .
308
XIII.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr.
1831
94
Bacchus and Silenus
m
309
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
95
Dido and Aeneas .
G. Poussin
352
XIV.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
96
Ecce Homo . .
Copy of Cor-
S. Kens.
B.
reggio
97
Rape of Europa
P. Veronese .
170
VII.
B.
98
La Riccia
G. Poussin
366
XIV.
B.
99
The Blind Fiddler .
Sir D. Wilkie .
490
XX.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
oo
Death of Chatham .
J. S. Copley .
485
XVIII.
G. Lord Liverpool .
1828
01
Infancy . .
Lancret .
356
XIV.
B. Col. Ollney .
1837
02
Youth .
II
B.
3
Manhood
n
II
B.
M
04
Age
B.
5
Landscape
SirG. Beaumont
655
Addenda
G. Lady Beaumont .
1828
06
Man's Head .
Sir J. Reynolds
4*4
XVI.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
7
The Banished Lord
t>
4*3
G. Rev. W. Long .
08
Maecenas's Villa
R. Wilson .
44
XVII.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
09
The Watering Place
Gainsborough
408
XVI.
G. Ld. Farnborough .
1827
IO
Niobe .
R. Wilson .
44 1
XVII.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
II
Lord Heathfield .
Sir J.Reynolds
399
XVI.
P. Angerstein . .
1824
A
12
His Own Portrait .
Hogarth
-f-H
XVII.
P. n
n
,,
13-
Marriage "a la
ii
435
II
P. . .
lf
,,
18
Mode"
'9
Landscape
SirG. Beaumont
427
G. Lady Beaumont .
1828
20
J. Nollekens, R.A. .
Sir W. Beechey
546
_XXI.
G. Rev. R.E. Kerrick
1835
21
Cleotnbrotus .
B. West .
Liverpool
G. W. Wilkins, R.A .
1827
22
The Village Festival
Sir D. Wilkie .
493
XX.
P. Angerstein .
1824
A
23
Moonlight
E.Williams .
655
Addenda
B. Col. Ollney .
1837
24
Rev. W. H. Carr .
I. Jackson
S3'
XX.
B. Rev. W. H. Carr .
1831
25
Izaak Walton .
Huysman
245
X.
B. Rev. Dr. Hawes .
1838
26
Pylades andOrestes
B. West .
Glasgow
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
1826
27
View in Venice
Canaletto
328
XIII.
G. Sir G. Beaumont .
28
29
3
William Wyndham
John J. Angerstein
The Cornfield
Sir J. Reynolds
Sir T. Lawrence
J. Constable .
477
53
N. P. Gal.
XVIII.
XX.
B. G. J. Cholmondeley
G. William IV. .
B. Bought by Subs.
1831
1836
1837
3'
Ckrist Healing the
B. West .
Notting-
G. Brit. Inst. .
1826
Sick
ham
3 2
33
The Last Supper .
Portrait of an Actor
I. Hoppner .
Glasgow
N. P. Gal.
G. George IV. .
G. Mr. Sergt. Taddy
1828
1837
34
Landscape
Decker .
S. Kens.
B. Col. Ollney .
35
Landscape with Ruins
Canaletto
3'
XIII.
G. Col. Ollney .
n
36
Portrait of a Lady .
Sir T.Lawrence
655
Addenda
G. F. Robertson
"
APPENDIX II : INDEX OF PICTURES
681
.- o Room ir
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
8^3 I which
P. = Purchased.
Whe
Price.
j3 Huns.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
'37
138
Landscape .
Ancient Ruins
Von Goyen .
Pannini .
324
S. Kens.
XIII.
B, Col. Ollney .
B. ,
1837
139
140
141
Religion: an Allegory A. Kaufmann
Portrait of a Lady . Van der Heist
Palace of Dido . Steenwyck
655
Addenda
Dublin
B. J. Forbes
B. Col. Ollney .
B.
1835
1837
142
143
/. Kembleas Hamlet Sir T.Lawrence
Lord Ligonier. . Sir J. Reynolds
448
N. P. Gal
E. Vest
G. William IV. .
G.
1836
144
B. West, P.R.A. . ! Sir T.Lawrence
445
G.
"
HS
Portrait of a Man
A sc. to Van der
Heist
Ed'in.
B. Col. Ollney . '.
1837
146
View on i/ie Maas .
Abraham Stork
S. Kens.
B.
H7
Cephalus and Aurora' Ag. Carracci .
656
Addenda
G. Ld. Ellesmere
148
Galatea .
651
Basement
G.
149
A Calm . . .
Vandevelde .
216
X.
B. Ld. Farnborough .
1838
15
A Gale .
215
B.
151
Leda
P. F. Mola .
.'.'i
B.
"
152
Evening Landscape | Van der Neer
223
X.
B.
"
'53
The Little Nurse . Maas
299
XII.
B.
*f
'54
A Music Party . ; D. TeniersQr.)
212
X.
B.
"
155
Money-changers . ,,
242
B.
156
Study of Horses . Van Dyck
247
B.
157
Landscape
Rubens .
239
B.
158
Boors Regaling
D. Teniersdr.
214
B.
'59
Dutch Housewife . Maas . ~ .
299
XII.
B.
160
A"Riposo" . . P. F. Mola .
313
XIII.
B.
161
Landscape
G. Poussin
369
XIV.
B.
162
Infant Samuel
Sir J. Reynolds
413
XVI.
B.
163
View in Venice
Canaletto
3 2 4
XIII.
B.
164
Holy Family .
Jordaens
Dublin
G. D. of Northumbd.
"
165
Plague at Ashdod .
N. Poussin
358
XIV.
G.
166
Capuchin Friar
Rembrandt .
214
X.
G.
167
Adoration of Magi .
B. Peruzzi .
656
Addenda
5. Lord Vernon
1839
168
St. Catherine .
Raphael
114
VI.
P. Beckford
169
Holy Family .
Mazzolini
89
V.
P. . .
J
^7,35
170
,,
Garofalo
84
P-
'7 1
Sir J. Soane .
J. Jackson
N. P. Gal.
G. Brit. Inst. .
172
Supper at Emmaus
Caravaggio .
327
XIII.
G. Lord Vernon
J 73
Male Portrait . >
11 Bassano
69
VII.
G. H. G. Knight .
J 74
A Cardinal . . C. Maratti
327
XIII.
j.
I7S
John Milton .
Van der Plaas
N. P. Gal.
G. C. Lofft.
176
St. John & the Lamb
Murillo .
380
XV.
P. Sir S. Clark .
840
3,100
177
178
The Magdalen
Serena & the Knight
Guido
W. Hilton .
27
656
XIII.
Addenda
P. . .
j. Bought by Subs. .
841
43010
179
Virgin and Child .
Francia .
89
V.
?. Duke of Lucca
180
A Pietk .
8?
3
H
3>5
181
Virgin and Child .
Perugino
15
VI.-
?. Beckford
800
182
Heads of Angels
Sir J. Reynolds
21
XVI.
5. Lady W. Gordon .
183
Sir D. Wilkie
T. Phillips .
20
XX.
G. The Painter .
,,
184
Jeanne d'Archel
Sir A. More . [ 262
XI.
P. Col. Baillie .
858
200
Sir C. L. (then Mr.) Eastlake was appointed Keeper in 1843.
185
Sir W. Hamilton .
Sir J. Reynolds
N. P. Gal.; Lent Brit. Mus.
1843
1 86
Portraits of Jan
Jan van Eyck
275
XI.
P. General Hay
1842
630
Arnolfini & Wife
187
Apotheosisof William
Rubens .
217
X.
P. Lord Eldin .
1843
200
the Taciturn
188
Mrs. Siddons .
Sir T.Lawrence
N. P. Gal.
G. Mrs. Fitz Hugh .
()
189
The Doge Loredano \ Gio. Bellini .
'55
VII.
P. Beckford
1844
630
190
A Jewish Rabbi
Rembrandt
229
X.
P. J. Harman .
,,
473 I'
191
Christ and St. John
Guido
332
XIII.
P. . .
40910
192
His own Portrait .
Gerard Dou .
252
X.
P. .
"
'3'S
1 This picture does not appear in the Official Catalogue ; nor can I find any trace, in the Directors'
Annual Reports, of what was done with it.
682
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
Paee in
this Book,
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
'93
Lot & his Daughters
Guido .
324
XIII.
P. Penrice. . . .
1844
1,680
194
'95
Judgment of Paris .
A Medical Professor
Rubens .
German School
230
261
X.
XI.
P
4,200
630
P. Rochard
1845
,96
Susannah & Elders
Guido .
321
XIII.
P. Penrice.
1,260
197
Wild Boar Hunt .
Velazquez
378
XV.
P. Lord Cowley
1846
2,200
198
St. Anthony .
An. Carracci .
312
XIII.
P. Ld. Dartmouth .
787 10
199
Lesbia .
Schalcken
252
X.
B. R. Simmons .
200
Madonna
Sassoferrato .
323
XIII.
B. . .
2OI
Seaport .
C. J. Vernet .
Dublin
B. . .
202
Domestic Poultry .
Hondecoeter .
212
X.
B.
203
Conventual Cliarity
Van Harp
S. Kens.
B.
204
Dutch Shipping
Bakhuizen
232
X.
B.
205
Itinerant Musicians
Dietrich .
295
XII.
B.
2O6
Head of a Girl
Greuze .
361
XIV.
B.
207
The Idle Servant .
Maas .
234
X.
B. . .
208
Landscape
Breenberg
S. Kens.
B. . .
"
209
Judgment of Paris .
Both&Poelen-
237
X.
B.
210
View in Venice
burg
Guardi .
320
XIII.
B.
211
A Battle .
Huchtenburgh
301
XII.
B.
J I _
Merchant and Clerk
De Keyser
246
X.
B
Mr. Thomas [/wins, R.A., was appointed Keeper in 1847.
213
214
Vision of a Knight .
Coronation of Virgin
Raphael .
Guido
107
VI.
XIII.
P. Rev. T. Egerton .
B. W. Wells .
1847
1,050
215
Saints .
j Sch. of
3 67
IV.
G. W. Coningham .
1848
216
>
(TaddeoGaddi
()
G.
217
William Woollett .
Gilbert Stuart
N. P. Gal.
G. H. Farrer .
1849
218
Adoration of Magi .
B. Peruzzi
4
H.
G. E. Higginson .
219
Dead Christ .
Asc. to Razzi .
S. Kens.
G. SirW.C.Trevelyan
i
Landscape with
G. Poussin
2
N. Vest.
G. G. P. Pusey
|(
Figures
*
n
2
If
G.
220
John Hall .
Gilbert Stuart
N. P. Gal.
G. H. Graves and Co.
1850
221
His own Portrait .
Rembrandt
249
X.
P. Visct. Midleton .
1851
430 10
222
A Man's Portrait .
Jan van Eyck
274
XI.
P.
365
223
A Gale .
Bakhuizen
214
X.
B. C. L. Bredel
224
The Tribute Money
Asc. to Titian .
140
VII.
P. Marshal Soult
18*52
2,604
225
Vision of the Mag-
Giulio Romano
657
Addenda
G. Ld. Overstone
n
dalen
226
Virgin and Child .
Botticelli
61
in.
P. J. H. Brown
1855
331 13
227
S. Jerome
Cosimo Rosselli
41
H.
P. Conte Ricasoli
114 17
228
Christ and the
II Bassano
308
XIII.
G. P. L. Hinds .
1853
Money-changers
229
Renj. West, P.R.A.
Gilbert Stuart
N. P. Gal.
G. J. H. Anderdon .
230
231
A Franciscan Monk
T. Daniel!, R.A. .
Zurbaran
SirD. Wilkie.
382
544
XV.
XXI.
P. King Louis Philippe
B. Miss M. A. Fuller
'83?
265
232
Adoration of the
Velazquez
375
XV.
P. King Louis Philippe
'853
2,050
Shepherds
233
William Pitt
J. Hoppner .
N. P. Gal.
G. G. Moffat . -,.
234
Warrior adoring
Sch. o/Bellini
150
VII.
P. S. Woodburn
,,
525
Infant Christ
"35
236
Dead Christ .
Castle of St. Angelo
Spagnoletto .
C. J. Vernet .
384
348
XV.
XIV.
G. D. Barclay .
G. Lady Simpkinson
237
A Woman's Portrait
Rembrandt .
248
X.
B. Lord Colborne .
1854
238
Dead Game .
Jan Weenix .
234
B.
239
Moonlight Scene .
Van der Neer
214
-
B.
1(
240
Crossing the Ford .
Berchem
212
lf
B.
,,
241
The Village Beadle
Sir D. Wilkie
528
XX.
B.
"
1 The donor was informed when he offered these two pictures that they were too large, in view pi
the limited wall-space then at the disposal of the Gallery, to be placed in the rooms to which the public
were admitted. The pictures were presented on those terms, and appear to have never been numbered
or incorporated in the Official Catalogue.
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
683
.si
Room in
How Acquired.
No. SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
a^
which
P. = Purchased.
When
Price.
-
Hung.
G. = Given.
~
B. = Bequeathed.
242 Game of Back-
D. Teniers(Jr.)
240
X.
B. Lord Colborne .
1854
gammon
243 | An Old Man .
Rembrandt .
226
B.
244 Shepherd with Lamb
Spagnoletto .
386
XV.
"
245 A Senator
Albert Durer .
280
XI.
P. M. de. Bammeville
"
fit."
246 , Madonna and Child
Pacchia .
38
II.
P.
"
Q2 8
247 "EcceHomo"
M. di Giovanni
P.
"
248
249
Vision of S. Bernard
Marriage of S. Ca-
therine of Siena
Filippo Lippi .
Lorenzo di S.
Severino
99
VI.
P.
P-
",
55 '3
400
393 IS
250
Four Saints .
Meisterv. Wer-
den
S. Kens.
P. HerrKrugerMinden
"
(4)
251
P.
252
Conversion of S.
Edin.
P-
M
"
Hubert
"
253
Mass of S, Hubert
S. Kens.
P.
254
Three Saints .
Meister v. Li-
P-
"
esborn
255
i,
.
P.
256
The Annunciation
Ed'i'n.
P.
257
The Purification .
^
S. Kens.
P.
258
Adoration of Magi
M
Edin.
P-
259
Christ on the Cross
B
S. Kens.
P.
260
Three Saints .
tj
268
XI.
P.
261
>
264
P.
262
The Crucifixion .
Sch. of
S. Kens.
P-
263
Coronation of the
The younger,,
Dublin
P-
Virgin
164
Penitent and Saint .
Asc. to Van
264
XI.
P.
der Meire
265
Virgin and Child .
Ludger zum
S. Kens.
P-
M
Ring
266
The Deposition from
Lambert Lom-
280
XI.
P- ,,
the Cross
bard
267
Landscape
R. Wilson . 432
XVII.
B. Mr. &MissGamons
Sir C. L. Eastlake, P.R.A., was appointed Director in 1855.
268
Adoration of Magi .
P. Veronese .
160
VII.
P. Sig. Toffoli .
1855
1,977
269
A Knight in Armour
Giorgione
176
B. Samuel Rogers
270
" Noli me Tangere " Titian .
152
B. .
J?
271 " Ecce Homo" . ; Guido
320
B.
272 An Apostle . . Pordenone
j y
192
Oct.
G. Cav. Vallati .
273 i John Smith
SirG. Kneller
N. P. Gal.
G. W. Smith .
1856
274
2 75
Virgin and Child .
Virgin and Child .
A. Mantegna .
Botticelli
182
34
VIII.
i.
P. Sig. Roverselli
P. G. Bianconi .
1855
1,125 2
159 i 6
2^6
277
Sts. John & Paul . Giotto .
The Good Samaritan 11 Bassano
69
IV.
VII.
P. Samuel Rogers
P.
1856
78 5
241 o
278
Triumph of Csesar .
Rubens .
243
X.
P.
,,
1,102
2 79
Horrors of War
242
B
P.
2IO
280 Madonna and Child Gio. Bellini .
'53
VII.
P. Baron Galvagna .
1855
(5)
281
St. Jerome Reading Marco Basaiti
'74
Jt
P. M. Marcovich
43 13 i
282
Glorification of the Asc. to Lo
124
VI.
P. LordOrford.
1856
651
Virgin
Spagna
283
284
Virgin and Child .
Madonna and Child
BenozzoGozzol:
B. Vivarini .
42
185
11.
VIII.
P. Casa Rinuccini
P. Conte degl" Algar-
1855
137 16 8
97
otti
285
M
F. Morone
189
Oct.
P. Baron Galvagna .
(5)
286
Tacconi .
196
IX.
P.
ft
287
288
289
LodovicoMartinengol B. Veneziano .
Virgin and Child . Perugino
The Night Watch . Rembrandt .
150
102
2 34
VII.
VI.
X.
P. Conte G. Pisani .
P. Duke Melzi .
B. Rev. T. Halford .
1856
185?
48 10
3,571 8 7
290
A Man's Portrait . \ Jan van Eyck
276
XI.
P. H. Carl Ross
189 ii
291
Portrait of a Girl . Lucas Cranach
263
,,
P. Lord Shrewsbury.
,,
50 8
.292
St. Sebastian . . i Pollajuolo
18
I.
P. Marchese Pucci .
"
3,155 4 6
68 4
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
Pape in
this Book.
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
Whe
Price.
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
33
3<H
305
306
37
308
39
310
3"
312
3'3
3M
3'5
316
3i7
3i8
3i9
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
33i
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
34i
342
n
344
345
346
347
348
349
35
351
Virgin and Child .
Family of Darius .
Christ and Virgin .
Virgin Adoring
The Nativity .
The two S.Catherine
An Italian Noble-
man
Madonna and Child
View in Italy .
Roman Ruin .
View in Italy .
Lake Avernus
Sir Abraham Hume
His own Portrait .
Age of Innocence .
Musidora
Watering Place
Landscape
Country Children .
Lady Hamilton
Old London Bridge
Westminster Bridge
The Installation
Lake Scene
Greek Vintage
Woodland Dance .
Cupid & Calypso .
Diana Bathing
Intemperance .
A Battle .
The Raffle .
Countess ofDamley
John Fawcett
Miss Stephens
The Valley Farm .
The First Earrings
The Bagpiper.
Landscape
Newsmongers
" Peep-o'-Day "
Edith and Harold .
Study of a Head .
Cupid Disarmed .
Abraham's Servant
Wood Nymph
Home from Market
Coast Scene ,
Cows Grazing
The Wooden Bridge
The Benighted Tra-
veller
Littlehampton
Entrance to Pisa .
Dutch Ferry .
Coast of Holland .
Flower Girl .
The Dead Robin .
Happy as a King .
Filippino Lipp
P. Veronese .
?uentinMetsy
ollajuolo
11 Romanino .
Borgognone .
11 Moretto .
Cima i^t
R. Wilson .
Sir J/Reynolds
Gainsborough
G. Romney .
S. Scott .
B. West .'
?. Loutherbourg
T. Stothard .
E. Bird . !
SirT. Lawrence
J. Jackson
J. Constable .
Sir D. Wilkie .
W. Hilton !
T. Phillips !
Sir A. Callcott
H. Howard .
H. Thomson .
W. Collins .
20
165
265
17
169
197
164
156
422
434
433
43
411
4M
418
45i
442
487
485
407
434
433
657
430
495
473
573
484
487
484
478
531
497
573
529
657
565
529
464
5'3
565
472
i.
VII.
XI.
I.
VII.
IX.
VII.
XVI.
XVII.
XVI.
W. Vest.
XVII.
XVIII.
XVI.
XVII.
Addenda
XVII.
XX.
XVIII.
XXI.
XVIII.
Liverpool
N. P. Gal.
XX.
XXI.
XX.
Dublin
Addenda
Oldh'am
Leicester
P. Cav. Gius. Rucellai
P. Conte V. Pisani .
P. King of Holland .
P. Sig. Contugi
P. Conte Aweroldi .
P. Sig. Taddeo .
P. Henfry.
P. M. Roussele
G. Vernon .
G.
1857
it
1858
1847
627 8
13,650
137129
455168
804
430
360
339 65
G. ...
G.
"
G.
G.
G.
G.
G.
G.
"
G.
G
G
G
G
G. ....
G
G.
?!
1)
G.
G. .
G. . . .
G. . .
G. . . .
"
G
G. .
G.
G. .
;
G. .
G.
G. ...
G.
G.
G. ...
G. . . .
G. .
G. . . ,
G. ...
G. . .
G. . .
ton
XXI.
Man-
chester
XX.
XVIII.
XX.
^iverpool
XXI.
G. . . <
G. . . r
G. . .
U. If *
G
r
oi ',','. '.
11
>i
ham
XVIII.
Stockport
Man-
chester
Dundee
_,
3. H
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
685
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
1
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
Wh
Price.
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
3 6 7
368
369
37
S? 2
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
39
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
Prawn Catchers
Yorick & the Grisetu
The Window .
Dull Reading .
Youth and Pleasure
A Persian .
Candaules
The Lute Player .
The Dangerous
Playmate
Headof Christ
Christ and Mary
Magdalen
1 1 Duetto
W. Collins .
G. S. Newton
A. Geddes
j W. Etty .
508
53
49
65
54
Si
634
63
457
498
539
458
465
651
649
S"
497
508
554
533
560
572
555
544
XX.
Addenda
XXI.
Leicester
Oldham
XX.
Warring-
ton
Sheffield
Glasgow
Dublin
Notting-
ham
Stockport
Liverpool
Stockport
N. P. Gal.
XIX.
Dublin
Leicester
Dundee
XVIII.
Notting-
ham
Stockport
Sheffield
XX.
XVIII.
5asement
Man-
chester
Glasgow
Oldham
Man-
chester
Dundee
Sheffield
XX.
Coventry
Staircase
Oldham
XX.
Dublin
XXI.
XX.
XXI.
XX.
G. Vernon .
G. .
G.
184
oooo 00*000 oo oo oooooo
Window in Venice .
The Magdalen
Bathers .
Infant Bacchus
T. Morton
William III. land-
ing at Torbay
Venice .
The Golden Bough .
Venice: theDogana
A robs dividing Spoil
Pillars of Piazzetta .
Spaniards and Per-
uvians
Juliet and tlie Nurse
Falstaff&*Mrs. Ford
The Newspaper
Lycian Peasants
A Cottage
The Angler's Nook
A Negro.
Vigilance
The Philosopher .
De Tabley Park .
Council of Horses ,
Claret Vintage
Le Chapeau de Brig-
and
The Fiery Furnace
Lady Godiva .
Battle of Borodino .
Utrecht
The Last in .
Fair Time
Crossing the Ford .
The Young Brother
Christ Lamenting
over Jerusalem
Haide'e: a Greek Girl;
Escape of the Carrara
Family
Burgos Cathedral .
Church of St. Paul, '
Antwerp
Sancho Panza and
the Duchess
Uncle Toby and
Widow Wadman
SirM. A.'shee
J. M.W.Tumer
Sir W.' Allan .
R. P. Bonington
H. P. Briggs .
G. Clint . !
T. S. Good .
W. J. Muller .
P. Nasmyth .
J. Simpson .
H. Wyatt
J. WaVd . '.
T. Uwins
G. Jones
W. Mulready '.
Sir C. L. East-
lake
D. Roberts .
C. R. Leslie .
G. .
G. .
G.
G. .
G.
o'o ooo ooooo
G.
G. . . .
G. .
G. .
G
G. . . .
G. . . .
G. . . .
G. .
G. .
3.
~j
_
'
G. . . .
686
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
^'s
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
404
4S
406
407
The Zuyder Zee
Battle of Trafalgar .
Lake of Como .
Venice
C. Stanfield .
517
512
504
499
XX.
G. Vernon .
G
G.
G. ...
1847
408
Clarissa Harlowe .
C. Landseer .
Sr8
G. ...
'*
409
Spaniels .
Sir E. Landseer
510
G
410
411
412
413
High Life and Low
Life
Highland Music
The Hunted Stag .
Peace
520
513
501
559
XXI.
G
G.
G. ...
G. ...
;
414
415
416
41?
418
419
War
A Dialogue at
Waterloo
Mr. Robert Vernon
A Syrian Maid
The Cover Side
Showery Weather .
H. W. Pickers-
gill
F. R. Lee .
56i
551
Dublin
XXI.
Warring-
ton
Notting-
ham
Glasgow
G. .
G
G
G. .
G. .
G.
"
420
421
422
Stepping Stones
The Hop Garland .
Play Scene in Hamlet
W. F. Wither-
ington
D. Maclise .
s'fi'i
Warring-
ton
Oldham
XXI.
G
G.
G. ...
,,
4 2 3
424
42 I
426
427
428
Malvolio and the
Countess
Jewish Synagogue .
Sir Thomas More .
The Truant .
A Dame's School .
S. A. Hart
J. R. Herbert
T. Webster .
R. Redgrave .
520
517
494
513
523
Srti
XX.
XXI.
G. .
G
G
G
G
G. ...
429
430
43 1
432
433
The Pathway to the
Village Church .
Dr. Johnson in the
Ante-room of Lord
Chesterfield
The Fall of Clarendon
South Sea Bubble .
T. Creswick .
E. M. Ward .
Penry Williams
S3 2
562
5o
547
XX.
XXI.
XX.
XXI.
Notting-
G
G
G.
G. . .,-s^
G. . . v
-
434
Italian Peasants .
ham
Leicester
G.
435
Milking Time
T. S. Cooper .
Warring-
G. . . .
436
437
438
439
Cattle, Morning .
Fisherman's Home .
Woodcutters .
The Windmill
F. Danby
J. Linnell
T. Lane .
56i
484
499
ton
Stoke-on-
Trent
XXI.
XVIII.
XX.
Stockport
G. . . .
G. . . ..
G. . . .
G. .
G. ,, . . .
;;
44 *
Fruit
G. Lance
534
XX.
G
M
Red Cap
573
XXI.
G. .
443
444
445
Fruit
Le Diable Boiteux .
A. L. Egg !
F. R. Pickers-
509
5i6
XX.
Glasgow
G. .
G. .
G. . . .
.,
446
447
448
449
Sclaunder
The Pride of the
Village
Dutch Boats .
The Boat House .
Lord Wm. Russell
gill
J. C. Horsley .
E. W. Cooke .
489
528
XX.
Man-
G. .
G. .
G. . . .
G. . . .
450
451
in the Tower
A Village Holiday .
The Tired Soldier .
F. Goodall .
524
501
chester
XX.
G
G. ...
The Frugal Meal .
J. F. Herring
G
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
687
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
H
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
453
Cottage Interior
A. Fraser
493
XX.
G. Vernon .
1847
454
Female Head . . .
E.V.Rippingille
657
Addenda
G. .
455
A Capuchin friar
Liverpool
G
456
Council of War at
L. Hag'he
653
Basement
G. .
,,
Court rai
457
The Surprise .
C. M. Dubufe
Liverpool G. ,,
,,
453
Portrait of Himself.
J. M.W.Turner
629
XIX.
B. The Painter .
1856
459
Moonlight
H
640
,,
B
,,
460
Buttermere Lake .
f|
Stockport
B. .
,,
461
Coniston Fells
SJ
621
XXII.
B. .
462
Cattle in Water .
,,
Warring-
B
ii
ton
./Eneas with Sibyl .
H7
B.
464
Rizpah .
"
Liverpool
B. . .
465
Mountain Scene
631
XIX.
B
,,
466
View in Wales
Stoke-on-
B
,,
Trent
467
Sandpit .
H
Oldham
B.
,,
4 68
Clapham Common .
,,
640
XIX.
B. . .
n
469
Sea Piece
639
,,
B. .
!!
470
The Tenth Plague
,,
597
XXII.
B. .
II
471 Jason
,,
608
J,
B. .
II
472 1 Calais Pier
,
595
,,
B
II
473
474
The Holy Family .
Destruction of Sodom
'
606
592
"
B. .
B
H
475
View of a Town
(
639
XIX.
B. .
II
476
The Shipwreck
,
597
XXII.
B. .
11
477
The Garden of the
,
592
,,
B. ,, .
II
Hesperides
4/S
Blacksmith's Shop .
,,
639
XIX.
B. ,
II
479
480
Sun Rising in a Mist
Death of Nelson .
344
600
XIV.
XXII.
B. , . .
B. , . .
l8S3
1856
'
481 Softhead .
601
B. ,
||
482
The Garreteer's Pe-
637
XIX.
B. ,
l>
tition
483
London from Green-
,,
638
1)
B
o .
wich
646
B. ,
'
484
485
486
Abingdon, Berkshire
Windsor .
643
624
XXII.
B. ,
B. ...
'
487
Ruin, -with Cattle .
n
Sheffield
B. ,
1
488
Apollo & the Python
,,
601
XXII.
B. ,
>
489
Avalanche
,
646
XIX.
B. ,
'
49
Hannibal crossing
,
599
XXII.
B. ,
1
the Alps
491
492
Kingston Bank
Frosty Morning
j
644
625
XIX.
XXII.
B. ,,
B
ii
493
The Deluge .
'
600
627
"
B. ,, . .
B.
494
495
Dido and ^t/neas .
Apuleia in Search of
,
B
>'
Apuleius
496
497
498
Bligh Sand
Crossing the Brook .
Dido building Car-
645
606
344
XIX.
XXII.
XIV.
B. ,,
B.
B
1853
499
thage
The Decline of Car-
B.
l8 5 6
thage
Chester
500
The Field of Waterloo
ii
595
XXII.
B. n
II
501
Orange - Merchant-
,,
626
,1
B. n
l>
502
53
man going to Piece;
Richmond Hill
Rome, front the
617
Liverpool
B
B.
;;
Vatican
504
The Arch of Titus .
625
XXII.
B. ii
55
The Bay of Baiae .
"
622
"
B. ii
688
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
l
fi|
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Trice.
506
507
Carthage
Scene from Boccaccio
J. M.W.Turner
6.7
657
XXII.
Addenda
B. The Painter .
B.
1856
508
Ulysses deriding
(J
619
XXII.
B
;i
Polyphemus
59
The Loretto Necklace
Dundee
B.
510
Pilate washing his
,,
658
Addenda
B
Hands
5"
View of Orvietq
f>
644
XIX.
B.
5"
Caligula's Palace and
608
XXII.
B.
)(
Bridge
5'3
The Vision of Medea
601
B.
514
Watteau painting .
M
658
Addenda
B
SiS
Lord Percy under at-
,,
B.
tainder
5i6
Childe Harold's Pil-
603
XXII.
B
grimage
5i7
The Fiery Furnace .
M
658
Addenda
B.
.
518
Heidelberg Castle .
B.
"
Trent
519
Regulus leaving
,,
..
Dublin
B
Rome
520
Apollo and Daphne .
610
XXII.
B.
n
521
Hero and Leander
,,
Glasgow
B.
t ,
522
Phryne going to the
,,
Oldham
B.
,,
Bath
523
524
Agrippina
The Teme>aire
625
613
XXII.
B.
B.
525
Bacch us and A riadne
M
Sheffield
B.
Jt
526
The New Moon
,,
639
XIX.
B
M
527
Venice, Bridge of
Leicester
B
Sighs
528
Burial of Wilkie .
i
637
XIX.
B.
j
529
The Exile and the
659
Addenda
B. . .
Rock Limpet
53
Snowstorm
J(
641
XIX.
B.
,,
53i
The Evening of the
,,
659
Addenda
B.
Deluge
S3 2
The Morning after
660
B. ...
the Deluge
533
The Opening of the
,,
Dublin
B
Walhalla
534
Approach to Venice
,,
635
XIX.
B.
535
The "Sun ofVenice "
629
,,
B. . .
going to sea
536
Port Ruysdael
612
XXII.
B.
,,
537
Van Tromp .
Sheffield
B. . *,?*
538
Rain, Steam, & Speed
645
XIX.
B.
539
Venice, the Giudecca
"
Dublin
B.
JJ
540
54i
Venice, the Quay .
Venice, Noon .
Liverpool
Warring-
B.
B. . .
ton
542
CA7
Venice, Sunset
Venice * Going to the
M*an-
B.
B.
J*T J
Ball
"
chester
544
Venice : Returning
647
B. . .
from the Ball
"
545
Whalers .
660;
Addenda
B.
c 4 6
Whalers.
B. . ' ;
3^*-'
11
ham
547
Whalers boiling
,,
Glasgow
B. . .
Blubber
548
Queen Mab's Grotto
633
XIX.
B.
549
Masaniello
(J
660
Addenda
B. . .
550
The Angel in the Sun
M
f ,
B.
551
Tapping the Furnace
"
661
"
B. . i
"
APPENDIX II : INDEX OF PICTURES
689
si
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
Q
Sri
which
Hung.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
When
Price.
B. = Bequeathed.
552
jEneas and Dido .
J. M. W. Turner
66 1
Man-
B. The Painter .
1856
chester
553
Mercury and jQLneas
,,
Plymouth
B.
,,
Inst.
554
The Trojan Fleet .
Man-
B.
,,
chester
555
The Visit to the Tomb
Stockport
B.
556
Battle of Trafalgar
J?
603
XXII.
B.
,,
557
Richmond Bridge .
,,
Dublin
B.
,,
558
Fire at Sea
u
609
XXII.
B.
,,
559
Petworth Park
642
XIX.
B.
,,
560
Chichester Canal .
?J
646
,,
B.
,,
561
Mountain Glen
H
617
XXII.
B.
,,
561 A
A Mountain Stream
639
XIX.
B.
,,
562
Harvest Home
Plymouth
B.
Inst.
563
564
Jerusalem
Virgin and Child .
T. Seddon .
Margaritone .
539
76
XX.
IV.
G. Subscription .
P. Lombardi Baldi
'857
1847
(6)
Gal.
565
Madonna and Child
Cimabue
74
, (
P- n
,,
,,
566
()
Duccio .
46
II.
P.
,,
,,
567
Christ on the Cross
SegnadiBuon-
7 1
IV.
P-
ii
i
aventura
568
Coronation of the
Sch. of Giotto
72
,,
P.
i,
n
Virgin
569
n
Orcagna .
70
,,
P. i,
ii
n
57
The Trinity _ .
n
78
P.
,,
11
571
Angels Adoring
,
'
P. ,i .
P
"
"
572
69
P. i.
tt
,
573
574
Adoration of Magi .
i
,
P. n
,
575
The Resurrection .
i
,,
,
P. i,
ii
>
576
The three Maries .
ii
71
,
P.
ii
i
577
The Ascension
ii
,,
,
P. n
ii
i
578
579
The Holy Spirit .
The Baptism of
ScA.'ofT&ddeo
74
1
P- ii
P. ,i
,',
'
Christ
Gaddi
579 A
580
Assumption of St.
Jacopo da Ca-
72
78
M
P.
P. ,i
',',
580 A
John
sentino
7i
P. ,i
,,
,,
Saints . .
SpinelloAretino
75
,,
P.
ii
a
582
583
Adoration of Magi .
Battle of Sant'
Fra Angelico .
Paolo Uccello
47
53
II.
III.
P. it
P.
"
',',
Egidio
584
Various Saints
Sch. of A. del
Edin.
P. n
ii
a
Castagno
585
Isotta da Rimini .
P. della Fran-
122
VI.
P.
"
"
cesca
586
587
588
Madonna and Child
Saints
St. Mark and St.
Filippo Lippi .
Sch. of .
45
n.
Edin.
Dublin
P.
P. i,
P. .1
(|
';';
Augusttne
589
59
59 1
592
Virgin and Child .
Christ in the Tomb
Rape of Helen
Adoration of Magi .
Cosimo Tura .
BenozzoGozzol
Filippino Lippi
3
85
38
26
I.
V.
II.
j.
P. it
P. ,i
P. i>
P.
';;
594
Virgin and Child
St. Cosmas and St.
Lor. di Credi .
Emmanuel
19
68
IV.
P. n
P. n
',',
',;
595
596
597
598
Damian
Portrait of a Lady .
The Entombment .
St. Dominic .
St. Francis
BattistaZelotti
Palmezzano .
Asc. to Marco
Zoppo
Filippino Lippi
169
117
82
58
VII.
VI.
V.
III.
P. Sig. Menchetti .
P Sig. Gismondi
P. Marchese G. Cos
tabili
P. i,
1858
^214 18
537 47
> 202 l6 10
2 Y
690
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
rf
E
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
WhM
Price.
599
Madonna of Meadow
Marco Basaiti
178
VII.
P. Sig. A. Farina .
1858
641 9 4
600
The Blind Beggar .
Dyckmans
661
Addenda
B. Miss Jane Clarke
1859
601
Geraldine
SirW. Boxall.
M
G. J. Kenyon .
602
APietk .
Crivelli .
1 80
VIII.
P. Cav. Vallati .
303
603
Sleeping Bloodhound
Sir E. Landseer
549
XXI.
B. Jacob Bell .
(J
604
Dignity and Impu-
,,
5i8
XX.
B.
dence
603
The Defeat of Comus
548
XXI.
B.
606
Shoeing .
n
557
M
B.
607
Highland Dogs
|f
499
XX.
B.
608
Alexander and Dio-
552
XXI.
B.
genes
609
610
Maid and Magpie .
Bloodhound and
Chas. Landseer
562
Liverpool
B.
B.
Pups
611
Pillaging a Jew's
Dundee
B.
''
House
612
The Sacking of
M
Sheffield
B.
Basing House
6'3
Uncle Toby and
C. R. Leslie .
661
Addenda
B.
Widow Wadman
614
The Bather .
W. Etty .
502
XX.
B.
615
The Derby Day .
W. P. Frith .
524
B.
616
James II.
E. M. Ward .
57 1
XXI.
B.
617
Bibliomania .
W. Douglas .
Glasgow
B.
618
The Foundling
G. B. O'Neill .
Liverpool
B.
619
Evening in the
Meadows
Lee and Cooper
"
B.
"
620
River Scene .
545
XXI.
B.
621
Horse Fair
Rosa Bonheur
55
B.
622
(See note below) J
623
Madonna and Child
Girolamo da
'54
VII.
P. Ld. Northwick .
472 10
Treviso
624
625
Infancy of Jupiter .
An Altar-piece
Giulio Romano
11 Moretto
309
131
XIII.
VII.
P.
P.
920
577 10
626
627
Portrait of a Man .
Waterfall
Florentine
Ruysdael
55
238
III.
X.
P.
P. Count Stolberg .
108 3
1,187 '5 6
628
)f
236
M
P.
1,069 *5 3
629
Madonna and Child
Lorenzo Costa
86
V.
P. M. Reiset .
880
630
631
Portrait of a Lady .
G. Schiavone .
Bissolo .
i93
'73
Oct.
VII.
P. Beaucousin Coll. .
P.
1860
(7)
632
A Saint .
Girolamo da
152
tl
P.
M
Santa Croce
633
156
_
P.
n
634
Madonna of Gold-
Cima da Cone-
178
19
P. ,,
,,
finch
gliano
635
The "Repose"
Titian .
T 43
,,
P.
M
,,
636
Portrait of Ariosto .
n
148
tl
P.
H
,,
637
Daphnis and Chloe
Paris Bordone
1 68
()
P.
,,
638
Virgin and Child .
Francia .
90
V.
P.
M
tl
639
"Noli me tangere"
F. Mantegna .
*73
VII.
P.
tl
640
Adoration of Magi .
Dosso Dossi .
90
V.
P.
lt
M
641
The Woman taken
Mazzolini
9
tt
P.
H
,,
in Adultery
642
Christ's Agony
Garofalo
83
P.
H
n
643
The Capture of Car-
Asc. foRinaldo
326
XIII.
P.
,,
thagena
Mantovano
644
The Rape of the Sa-
__
33
P. -I
,,
bines
645
Virgin and Child .
Albertinelli .
34
I.
P.
n
646
Si. Catharine
Asc. to R.
S. Kens.
P.
M
,,
Ghirlandajo
647
St. Ursula .
"
"
P-
"
"
I No, 622 appears to have been missed in the official numbering.
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
691
_-K
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
&
which
P. = Purchased.
When
Price.
!
Hung.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
648
649
650
Virgin and Child .
Portrait of a Boy .
Portrait of a Lady .
LorenzodiCredi
J. da Pontormo
An. Bronzino .
II
22
TO
I.
P. Beaucousin Coll. .
P.
P.
1860
(7)
651
All is Vanity .
M
29
P.
"
652
Charity .
Salviati .
21
P.
"
653
Portraits of himself
Asc. to Van der
267
XI.
P. ;> \
"
"
and Wife
Weyden
"
"
654
The Magdalen
J?
p.
655
B. Van Orley
271
p.
"
656
A Man's Portrait .
Mabuse .
280
p.
"
"
657
Husband and Wife
J. Cornelissen
269
p.
"
"
658
The Death of the
Martin Schon-
272
p.
"
Virgin
gauer
"
"
659
Pan and Syrinx
Rottenhammer
2 4 8
X.
p.
660
A Man's Portrait .
Fr. Clouet .
347
XIV.
P- ,,
"
661
A Tracing of the
After Raphael
651
Basement
G. Colnaghi and Co.
]|
"
" Madonna di San
Sisto "
662
Neapolitan Peasants
Penry Williams
Stoke-on-
B. Mrs. Huskisson .
M
Trent
663
The Resurrection .
Fra Angelico .
43
ii.
P. Sig. G. Valentini .
3,500
664
Entombment of
R. Van der
264
XI.
P. Guicciardi Family
M
120 14 6
Christ
Weyden
665
Baptism of Christ .
P. della Fran-
122
VI.
P. Sig. Uzielli .
1861
241 10
cesca
666
The Annunciation .
Filippo Lippi .
52
III.
G. Sir C. L. Eastlake
.
667
St. John the Baptist
M
61
P. A. Barker .
and Saints
668
The Beato Ferretti .
Crivelli .
182
VIII.
P.
2,500
669
St. Sebastian, St.
L'Ortolano
91
V.
P. . .
Roch, and St.
Demetrius
670
A Knight
An. Bronzino .
'7
I.
G. G. F. Watts, R.A.
671
Madonna and Child
Garofalo
8s
V.
P. Conte A. Mazza .
1860
763 1 6
672
His own Portrait .
Rembrandt .
223
X.
P. MM. deRichemont
1 86 1
800
673
" Salvator Mundi "
Ant. da Messina
172
VII.
P. Cav. Isola .
Jt
160
674
Portrait of a Lady .
Paris Bordone
167
,,
P. Duca di Cardinale
,,
257*3 '
675
Mary Hogarth
Hogarth
433
XVII.
B. R. Frankum.
,,
676
Paufs Wharf
J. A. Sleap .
Glasgow
B
677
Lewis the Comedian
Sir M. A. Shee
453
W. Vest.
B. T. D. Lewis .
1863
678
Study for a Portrait
Gainsborough
416
XVI.
G. Messrs. Moysey .
1861
679
An Astronomer
F. Bol. .
228
X.
G. Miss E. A. Benett
1862
680
The Miraculous
Van Dyck
256
M
P. Cav. Carelli .
1861
220
Draught of Fishes
681
Captain Orme
Sir J.Reynolds
449
E. Vest.
P. R.Williams.
1862
2IO
682
Punch .
B. R. Haydon
Leicester
B. Dr. Darling .
683
Mrs. Siddons .
Gainsborough
4S
XVI.
P. Major Mair .
1,000
684
Dr. Ralph Schomberg
,,
445
E. Vest.
P. J. T. Schomberg .
H
1,000
685
Showery Weather .
Hobbema
235
X.
P. G. H. Phillips .
,,
1,575
686
Madonna and Child
Memling
274
XI.
P. J. P. Weyer.
,,
759
687
The Sancta Veronica
William of
265
(J
P. . .
,,
165
Cologne
688
Alderney Cattle
James Ward .
648
Staircase
P. G. R. Ward .
,,
1,500
689
Mousehold Heath .
Old Crome .
476
XVIII.
P. W. Yetts .
,,
420
690
His own Portrait .
Andrea del
27
i.
P. Sig. N. Puccini .
270 2
Sarto
691
Ecce Homo .
Lo Spagna
IO2
VI.
B. Sir W. Moore
,,
692
St. Hugo of Grenoble
Ludovico da
205
IX.
B.
,,
Parma
693
St. Catherine .
Pinturicchio .
105
VI.
B.
694
St. Jerome in Study
Asc. to Gio.
162
VII.
P. Manfrini Gallery,
"}
Bellini
Venice
\
695
696
Madonna and Child
Marco Barbarigo .
Previtali .
Asc. to G. Van
I 7 8
279
XI.
P.
P- i,
"J
1,047 '^ 2
der Meire
)
692
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
-No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
Si
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G.= Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
697
Portrait of a Tailor
Moroni .
152
VII.
P. Sig. F. Frizzoni de
1862
^320
Salis
698
The Death of Procris
Piero di Cosimo
28
i.
P. Sig. F. Lombard! .
171 63
699
Agostino and Nic-
Lorenzo Lotto
158
VII.
P. Sig. G. Morelli .
320
colo Delia Torre
700
The Holy Family .
Lanini
198
IX.
P. G. H. Phillips .
1863
1,200
701
Coronation of the
Justus ofPadua
7i
IV.
G. Her Majesty
Virgin
702
Madonna and Child
L'Ingegno
IOI
VI.
G.
H
73
Pinturicchio .
98
,,
G.
M
704
Portrait of Cosmo I.
An. Bronzino .
21
i.
G.
M
705
Three Saints .
Stephan Loch-
277
XI.
G.
,,
ner
706
The Presentation
Master of the
262
G.
Lyversberg
Passion
707
St. Peter and St.
Master of the
271
G.
,,
Dorothy
Cologne
Crucifixion
708
Madonna and Child
Early Flemish
269
,,
G.
,,
709
tt
Asc.t0Mem\\ng
270
,,
G.
M
710
A Monk .
Early Flemish
280
,,
G.
n
711
Mater Dolorosa
Asc. to R. Van
273
,,
G.
,,
der Weyden
712
" Ecce Homo"
M
277
,,
G.
7'3
Madonna and Child
Jan Mostaert.
273
,,
G.
((
7'4
Mother and Child .
C. Engelbertsz
270
,,
G.
7 T 5
The Crucifixion
J. Patmir
271
,,
G.
M
716
St. Christopher
u .
270
,,
G.
M
717
St. John. in Patmos
269
,,
G.
((
718
The Crucifixion
Hendrik files .
2 7 I
G.
719
The Magdalen
262
G.
,,
720
A "Repose" .
Schoorel .
270
G. ,
,,
721
Portrait of a Lady .
G.
,,
722
Portrait of a Lady .
Asc. to Sig-
279
G.
mund Holbein
723
(See note below) 1 .
724
Madonna della Ron-
Crivelli .
1 86
VIII.
P. Conte L. de Sanctis
1862
2,182 II 5
dine
726
The Air-Pump
Christ's Agony
WrightofDerby
Gio. Bellini .
475
161
XVIII.
VIK
G. E. Tyrrell .
P. Rev. W. Davenport
1863
630
Bromley
727
The Trinity .
Pesellino
12
I.
P.
2,100
Madonna and Child
Beltraflfio
207
IX.
P.
462
729
730
Adoration of Kings
Sir Guyon
Foppa .
T. Uwins
198
Notting-
P. .1
B. A. Pellatt .
127 I
ham
73'
Loch-an-Eilan
Thomson of
,,
B. Mrs. A. Thompson
1864
Duddingston
73 2
Canal Scene .
A. VanderNeer
229
X.
P. Lord Shaftesbury.
800
733
The Death of Major
J. S. Copley .
482
XVIII.
P. Lord Lyndhurst .
1 ,600
Peirson
=734
A Milanese Lawyer
Andrea Solario
2O6
IX.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
1863
636 39
735
St. Roch and the
Paolo Morando
149
VII.
P. Dr. C. Bernasconi
1864
Angel
1 880
736
A Venetian Senator
Bonsignori
'74
P. ,,
j
737
Waterfall
Ruysdael
243
X.
B. J.M. Oppenheim .
738
Incident in a Battle
C. P. Tschag-
Oldham
B.
,
geny _
739
The Annunciation .
Crivelli .
184
VIII.
G. Lord Taunton
f
740
Madonna and Child
Sassoferrato .
324
XIII.
P. Sig. Jenne, Venice
t
380
A Dead Warrior .
Asc. to Vel-
386
XV.
P. Pourtales Coll., Paris
1865
1,549 4 6
azquez
1 No. 723 appears to have been missed in the official numbering.
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
693
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
n-^
JM
=
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G.= Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
742
Portrait of a Lawyer
Moroni .
158 vii.
P. Pourtales Coll.,
1865
5*8 8 6
Paris
743
Sir D. Brewster
Sir J. W. Gor-
N. P. Gal.
G. H. G. Watson .
don
744
" Garvagh Madonna"
Raphael .
113 vi.
P. Lord Garvagh .
9,000
745
Philip IV. of Spain
Velazquez
383
XV.
P. M. Emm. Sano .
)
746
Landscape, with ruin
Ruysdael
240
X.
P.
(>
( '
747
St. John and St.
Asc.toMemling
277
XI.
P.
,,
480
Lawrence
748
Madonna and Child,
Girolamo dai
133
VII.
P. The Conti Monga,
1864
}
with St. Anne
Libri
Verona
>i,58o
749
75
The Giusti Family .
The Doge Gio.
N. Giolfino .
Carpaccio
184
157
VIII.
VII.
P.
P. Conte A. Mocenigo
1865
)
3,400
Mocenigo
75i
Madonna and Child
Giovanni Santi
"5
VI.
P. Sig. M. Gualandi .
,,
120
752
Lippo Dalmasii
9 1
V.
P.
400
753
On the road to Em-
Altobello
207
IX.
P. Conte C. Castel-
1864
3 20
maus
Melone
barco, Milan
Sir William (then Mr.) Boxall was appointed Director in 1866.
754
Portraits of Two
Sir J. Reynolds
423
XVI.
G. Mrs. Beaumont .
1866
Gentlemen
755
7t;6
Rhetoric .
Melozzo da Forli
97
VI.
P. W. Spence .
P. ,, .
"
j- 600
/ J 1J
757
Christ Blessing Little
Children
Sch. of Rem-
brandt
246
X.
P. Herr Suermondt .
7,000
758
Countess Palma of
Piero della
121
VI.
P. Sig. Egidj .
,,
160
Urbino
Francesca
759
760
Remorse of Judas .
Parish Clerk .
E. Armitage .
Gainsborough
5|
39 6
XX.
XVI.
G. The Painter .
P. J. Wiltshire .
1867
3251
761
from "Don Quixote"
R. Smirke
Stoke-on-
Trent
G. Captain and Mrs.
Lambert
"
762
n
>i
,,
G.
,,
763
,,
,,
G.
764
,,
G.
,,
765
Maw-worm
.
661
Addenda
G.
,,
766
Head of a Saint
Dom. Veneziano
12
I.
P. Lady Eastlake
,,
27 10
767
Jt
,,
P. ,i
n
27 10
768
St. Peter and St.
Antonio Vivar-
193
Oct.
P. ,,
i>
40
Jerome
ini
769
St. Michael and the
Fra Carnovale
100
VI.
P. ,,
>
50
Dragon
77
Leonello D'Este .
Giovanni Oriolo
85
V.
P. ,,
n
25
771
St. Jerome
Bono
88
,,
P.
n
55
772
Madonna and Child
Cosimo Tura .
8r
,,
P.
160
773
St. Jerome
.
80
,,
P.
n
75
774
Madonna and Child
Asc. foVander
272
XI.
P.
225
Goes
775
An old Woman
Rembrandt
214
X.
P. ,,
H
1,200
776
St. Anthony and St.
Vittore Pisano
175
VII.
G.
777
778
George
Madonna and Child
Paolo Morando
Pellegrino da
'56
1 88
Oct.
P. Count L. Portalupi
P. Sig. V. Azzola
fj
900
112
779
780
Family Portraits .
San Daniele
Borgognone .
206
IX.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
P. i.
;;
{ 160
781
782
783
Raphael and Tobias
Madonna and Child
Exhumation of St.
Pollajuolo
^.sc.toBotticelli
Asc. /oThierri
17
51
277
I.
HI.
XI.
P. Count Gallt Tassi
P.
P. Lady Eastlake .
i8'o8
J- 1,000
1,500
Hubert
Bouts
784
Mr. W. Siddons .
J. Opie .
559
XXI.
B. Mrs. C. Combe .
"
785
786
Mrs. Siddons .
The Raising of Laz-
Sir T.Lawrence
B. R. Haydon
57
Plymouth
G! R. E/Lofft .
M
arus
694
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
^i
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
787
Siege of Gibraltar .
J. S. Copley .
450
W. Vest.
P. W. Grist
1868
400
788
An Altar-piece
Criyelli .
1 86
VIII.
P. G. H. Phillips .
,,
3.360
789
A Family Group .
Gainsborough
449
W. Vest.
B. A. Baillie .
M
790
791
The Entombment .
The Nun
Michael Angelo
H.W. Pickers-
14
i.
Stoke-on-
P. R. Macpherson .
G. The Painter.
"
2,000
gill
Trent
792
The IVoodtnan
T. Barker
Notting-
G. R. E. Lofft .
,,
ham
793
Destruction of
J. Martin
Man-
P. C. Buttery .
1869
2OO
Pompeii
chester
794
Dutch Courtyard .
P. de Hooch .
2 35
X.
P. M. Delessert
)(
1,722
795
The Worship of
G. Cruikshank
Bradford
G. The Painter's
Bacchus
Friends
796
Vase of Flowers
J. van Huysum
238
X.
P. C. J. Nieuwenhuys
900
797
A Man's Portrait .
A. Cuyp .
249
X.
P. ,,
900
798
Cardinal Richelieu .
P. de Cham-
296
XII.
G. A. W. Franks .
paigne
799
A- Lady as Hebe
B West .
Glasgow
B. Miss Worrell
800
Relief of Lucknorui .
G. Jones
Coventry
G. The Painter .
1870
801
Passage of Ganges
n
ff
G.
,,
at Cawnpore
802
Madonna of the
B. Montagna.
132
VII.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
1869
180 18
. Cherry
803
The Circumcision .
Marco Marziale
186
VIII.
P.
n
1,005
804
Madonna and Child
183
(J
P. ,
M
502 10
805
806
Peeling Pears .
The Procession to
D.Teniers(jr.)
B. Boccaccmo
239
196
X.
IX.
P. G. H. Phillips .
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
1870
600
300
Calvary
807
Madonna and Child
Crivelli .
182
VIII.
G. Marchioness of
n
Westminster
808
809
810
St. Peter Martyr .
The Holy Family .
Pardon Day in Brit-
Gio. Bellini .
Michael Angelo
C. Poussin
53
VII.
I.
XX.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
P. Ld. Taunton
G. R. E. Lofft .
'
280
2,000
tany
811
Tobias and the Angel
Salvator Rosa
649
Addenda
G. Wynn Ellis .
H
812
Death of P. Martyr
Gio. Bellini .
161
VII.
G. Lady Eastlake .
>f
813
Fishing Boats
J.M.W.Turner
638
xix.
B. J. M. Parsons
,,
814
A Calm .
P. J. Clays .
558
XXI.
B.
,,
815
816
Flushing .
The Incredulity of
Cima da Con-
527
'49
XX.
VII.
B.
P. Hospital of St.
1871
1 ,800
St. Thomas
egliano
Francesco
817
The Chateau of
D. Teniers(jr.)
239
X.
P. C.J. Nieuwenhuys
1,000
Teniers at Perck
818
Coast Scene .
Bakhuizen
284
XII.
P. Sir Robert Peel .
M
(8)
819
Mouth of the Thames
n
283
P.
,,
820
Landscape with Ruin
Berchem
2 93
P.
821
A Family Group .
Gon. Coques .
302
,
P.
,
822
823
Evening Landscape
On the Meuse
A. Cuyp.
291
294
'
P.
P.
'
824
Ruined Castle
33
(
P.
!
825
826
Poulterer's Shop
Landscape, Animals
Gerard Dou .
K. du Jardin .
292
288
1
P.
P.
'
827
The Ford
ii
289
J
P.
,
828
Landscape & Cattle
.
290
J
P.
.
829
Stag Hunt
Jan Hackaert
287
,
P.
,
830
The Avenue .
M. Hobbema .
289
,
P.
,
831
Brederode Castle .
293
f
P. i,
,
832
Water Mills .
ii
291
t
P.
,
833
Forest Scene .
.
287
P.
-
834
Dutch Interior
P. de Hooch .
288
J
P.
,
83S
Court of a House .
284
t
P.
836
View in Holland
P. de Koninck
291
P.
p
837
Hay Harvest .
J. Lingelbach
294
-
P. n
,
838
The Duet
G. Metsu
303
P.
839
The Music Lesson .
285
'
P.
"
'
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
695
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
s-g
|?
*s
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B.= Bequeathed.
When
Price.
840
Lady feeding Parrot
F. van Mieris
33
XII.
P. Sir Robert Peel .
1871
(8)
841
Fish & Poultry Shop
W. van Mieris
291
u
P.
M
842
jarden Scene .
F. Moucheron
289
M
P.
tt
843
Blowing Bubbles .
G. Netscher .
294
,
P.
,
844
Maternal Instruction
)> i
302
,
P.
,
845
Spinning Wheel
n
303
,
P.
,
846
The Alchymist
A. van Ostade
290
,
P.
,
847
Village Scene .
I. van Ostade
293
,
P.
,
848
Skating Scene
Jf
,
P.
,
849
Landscape & Cattle
Paul Potter .
287
(
P.
,
850
Man's Portrait
Rembrandt
304
t
P.
t
851
Venus Sleeping
Seb. Ricci
661
Addenda
P. ,
t
852
' ' Chapeau de Paille "
Rubens .
286
XII.
P.
,
ii
S 5 3
Triumph of Silenus
ii
285
,,
P.
,
854
Forest Scene .
J. Ruysdael .
294
,
P.
,
855
Waterfall
i
292
,
P.
,
,,
856
857
The Music Master .
The Four Seasons .
Jan Steen
D. TeniersGr.)
287
33
'
P.
P.
;
il
858
P. ,
Jt
859
i)
,,
fi
,
P.
,,
,,
860
B
tt
n
j
P. ,
i>
tt
861
Country Scene
291
,
P.
862
The Surprise .
,,
293
,
P. ,
,,
,,
863
Rich Man in Hell .
,,
294
,
P.
,,
864
The Guitar Lesson .
Terburg .
285
,
P.
,,
865
Coast Scene .
Van der Cap-
,
P.
,,
,,
pelle
S66
Street in Cologne .
Van der Heyden
289
,,
P.
,,
i,
867
Farm Cottage.
A. Vandevelde
291
,,
P.
1,
,,
868
The Ford
J?
288
u
P.
u
j,
869
Frost Scene
;
287
,
P.
,,
,,
870
Shipping in a Calm
W. Vandevelde
,
P.
ii
,
371
Bathing .
,,
288
,
P. ,
,,
,
872
Shipping off theCoast
284
,
P. ,
,
i
873
,,
285
i
P. ,
i
i
874
A Calm at Sea
,,
34
,
P. ,
i
,
875
A Light Breeze
33
,i
P. ,
i
i
876
A Gale .
,,
284
,,
P. ,
i
,
877
His own Portrait .
Van Dyck
301
,,
P.
i
,
878
" Pretty Milkmaid "
Wouwerman .
292
,
P.
,,
,
879
Interior of a Stable.
j,
293
,
P. ,
i
i
880
On the Sea Shore .
290
,
P. ii
i
i
881
Gathering Faggots .
,,
293
i
P. ii
i
882
Landscape
,,
289
i
P. ,,
i
883
Beggar by Roadside
J. Wynants .
290
i
P.
>
i
884
Sand Dunes .
.
286
,
P. ,,
i
i
885
The Snake in the
Sir J. Reynolds
413
XVI.
P.
t
i
Grass
886
Admiral Keppel
414
n
P.
ii
887
Dr. Johnson .
,,
415
11
P. i
n
888
James Boswell
,,
409
i,
P. i
ii
889
His own Portrait .
,,
418
,,
P. ,
i
ii
890
George IV. as P. of
,,
421
,,
P. i
ii
Wales
891
Portrait of a Lady .
416
it
P.
I
ii
892
Robinetta
M
414
n
P. ,
11
ii
893
Princess Lieven
SirT. Lawrence
662
Addenda
P. ,
n
^
894
895
896
897
JohnKnox Preaching
Francesco Ferruccio
ThePeace of M unster
Chapel- Fields, Nor-
Sir D. Wilkie
Lorenzo Costa
Terburg .
Old Crome
567
86
251
485
XXI.
V.
X.
XVIII.
P. ,
B. Sir A. Sterling .
G. Sir R. Wallace .
B. H. F. Chorley .
1872
898
wich
Byron's Dream
Sir C. L. East-
566
XXI.
B. T. Howard .
lake
899
On the Nullah
T. Daniell .
562
"
B. Mrs. Mansfield .
"
696
APPENDIX II : INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
1
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
Wh, n
Price.
900
901
902
Lady Oxford .
Landscape
Triumph of Scipio .
J. Hoppner .
Jan Looten
A. Mantegna .
566
230
183
XXI.
X.
VIII.
B. Lady Langdale .
B. Mrs. J. H. Jewer
P. Captain Vivian
1873
i
Sir Frederick W. (then Mr.) Burton was appointed Director in 1874.
903
Cardinal Fleury
Rigaud .
356
XIV.
G. Mrs. Charles Fox.
1874
904
Madonna and Child
Schiavone
185
VIII.
P. A. Barker .
189
905
Madonna in Prayer
Cosimo Tura .
80
V.
P. ....
)
84 10
906
Madonna in Ecstacy
Crivelli .
185
VIII.
P.
577 10
907
St. Catherine and
ii
187
_
P
,,
2IO
Mary Magdalene
908
The Nativity .
P. della Fran-
120
VI.
P- ii
,,
2,4'S
cesca
'909
The Madonna of the
Benvenuto da
49
II.
P. . .
558 12
White Rose
Siena
910
The Triumph of
Luca Signorelli
123
VI.
P-
,,
840
911
Chastity
Ulysses and Penelope
Pinturicchio .
912
The Story of Griselda
96
f)
p. ;, : :
2IO
913
,,
ii
p.
,,
241
914
,,
ii
L.
)(
p.
,,
273
Mars and Venus
Botticelli
3'
I.
p.
1,050
916
Venus with Cupids
No News
T. S. 6'ood .'
53
572
III.
XXI.
p.
B. Mrs. M. E. Good
1,627 IO
918
Fisherman with Gun
.
533
XX.
B.
M
919
Study of a Boy
11
498
Uj
B. . .
lf
920
921
Orpheus .
Blind Man's Buff .
R. Savery
Sir D. Wilkie
234
497
X.
XX.
B. S. J. Ainsley
B. Miss Bredel .
1875
922
Child with a kid .
Sir T.Lawrence
548
XXI.
B. Lady G. Fane
923
A Venetian Senator
Andrea Solario
205
IX.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
tt
1 ,880
924
Gothic Interior
Pieter Neefs .
248
X.
G. H. H. Howorth .
n
925
" Gainsborough's
Gainsborough
4"
XVI.
P. Watts Russell
,,
/,zo7 to
Forest "
926
The Windmill
Old Crome .
474
XVIII. ''
P. Watts Russell
1875
23'
927
928
929
Angel Adoring
Apollo and Daphne
" Bridgewater Ma-
Filippino Lippi
Pollajuolo
After Raphael
54
35
102
III.
I.
VI.
B. Wynn Ellis .
B. .
B.
1876
donna"
930
The Garden of Love
Sch. of Gior-
15'
VII.
B
,,
gione
931
The Magdalen
P. Veronese .
193
Oct.
B
( j
932
933
A Knight of Malta
Boy with Dove
Italian School
Padovanino .
148
329
VII.
B. " . .
B.
934
Madonna and Child
Carlo Dolci .
321
B.
,,
935
River Scene .
Salvator Rosa
n
B
,,
936
Famese Theatre,
Ferd. Bibiena
313
B.
,,
Parma
937
Scuola di San Rocco
Canaletto
3M
)(
B.
( ,
938
Regatta on the Grand
ii
332
1
B. . . ' .
Canal
939
Venice : Piazzetta .
3l6
II
B.
,,
940
The Ducal Palace .
3'5
B.
,,
The Grimani Palace
ii
326
t>
B. . .
,,
942
Eton College .
ii
3'3
,,
B. . .
943
A Portrait
Asc. toMemlmg
283
XI.
B. . .
,,
944
Two Usurers .
Marinus van
266
B
Romerswael
945
St. Agnes
J. Patinir
263
M
B.
,,
946
A Man's Portrait .
M abuse .
282
,,
B.
,,
947
ii
Unknown
347
XIV.
B. . .
,,
,..-
Landscape
Rubens .
233
X.
B. . .
"
1 The central portion of this triptych was bought in 1874 f r s 2 5- The two side panels were
bought in 1878, at the sale of Mr. Barker's pictures, for ,33 : i2s., and were added to the central
compartment under the same number (909).
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
697
e-g
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
""" c
which
Hung.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
Whe
Price.
^s
B. = Bequeathed.
949
950
Landscape : Gipsies
Village Gossips
D.Teniers(sen.
296
29!
XII.
B. Wynn Ellis .
B.
1876
951
Playing at Bowls .
ii
295
"
B.
"
952
A Village Fete
D. Teniers(jr.)
300
fl
B.
||
953
The Toper
296
B.
954
A Landscape .
Corn. Huys-
250
X.
B. . .
II
man
955
956
Women Bathing .
Italian Landscape .
Poelenburg .
J. Both .
249
217
B.
B.
957
Goatherds
m
295
XII.
B.
'
958
Outside Rome
300
B.
959
River Scene .
n
301
B.
1
960
Windmills
A. Cuyp . 1
300
B.
961
The "Large Dort"
n
295
XII.
B. , . .
962
The " Small Dort "
B.
963
Skating Scene
I. van Ostade
250
X.
B.
1
964
River Scene .
River Scene, with
Van derCappelle
295
XII.
B. , . .
B. ,
Barge
966
967
Dutch Shipping
River Scene .
>>
299
'
B.
B.
"
968
His Wife's Portrait
Gerard Dou .
296
B. . .
"
969
A Frost Scene
A.VanderNeer
302
B.
970
The Drowsy Land-
Metsu
298
B. .
lady
971
Landscape
Wynants
301
M
B.
H
972
i*
^
302
B. . .
973
Sandbank
)
298
B.
974
Antwerp Cathedral
De Koninck .
B. . .
975
Stag Hunt
Wouwerman .
B.
976
Battle Scene .
309
B
977
Sea Piece
W. Vandevelde
296
B.
978
River Scene .
297
B.
979
A Stiff Breeze
298
B. .
980
Dutch Shipping
tj
-
B.
981
A Storm at Sea
j
219
X.
B
982
Forest Scene .
A. Vandevelde
298
XII.
B. .
983
Bay Horse
t
B
984
Cattle .
Jf
296
B.
985
Sheep and Goats .
Du Jardin
255
B. . .
986
Watermills
Ruysdael
239
B.
'-987
Rocky Torrent
300
XII.
B.
'
988
An Old Oak .
299
B
989
Bleachers
236
Ki
B.
t
990
991
Wooded Prospect .
The Broken Tree .
299
297
XII.
B. . .
B. . .
992
Gothic and Classic
VanderHeyden
II
B
lt
Buildings .
993
Landscape
,,
()
B
B.
tl
994
Street in a Town .
249
X.
B
tj
995
Woody Landscape .
Hobbema
299
XII.
B. .
rj
996
Castle on a Hill
662
Addenda
B. ,,'
997
Scouring the Kettle
Schalcken
295
XII.
B
H
998
The Duet
250
X.
B. . .
999
Candle Light .
296
XII.
B. . .
|
IOOO
An Estuary
Bakhuizen
250
B. ,, . .
IOOI
Flower Piece .
Van Huysum .
217
B. .
,
IOO2
Walscappelle .
216
B. . .
,
1003
Dead Birds .
Jan Fyt .
295
XII.
B
,
1004
Italian Landscape .
Berchem
216
X.
B. . .
,
1005
Ploughing
n
301
XII.
B. , .
,
1006
Hurdy-Gurdy
ii
295
B. ,
,
1007
1008
Rocky Landscape .
Stag Hunt
Jan Wils
Pieter Potter .
238
240
X.
X.
B. ,
B. ...
'
1009
An Old Gray Hunter
Paul Potter .
302
XII.
B. ,
1
698
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
g*
^S
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
IOIO
Architecture of the
Dirk van De-
296
XII.
B. Wynn Ellis .
1876
Renaissance
len
1 01 1
Portrait of a Lady .
Gon. Coques .
256
X.
B.
ii
IOI2
A Man's Portrait .
Asc. to Merian
242
n
B.
ii
IOI3
Geese and Ducks .
Hondecoeter .
299
XII.
B.
1014
St. Lawrence .
Elzheimer
248
X.
B.
n
IOIS
Fruit and Flowers .
Jan Van Os .
662
Addenda
B.
1016
Portrait of a Girl .
Sir P. Lely .
434
XVII.
B.
M
1017
A Woody Landscape
Flemish .
297
XII.
B.
n
1018
Classical Landscape
Claude . .
348
XIV.
B.
.
1019
Head of a Girl
Greuze .
37 1
_.
B.
,,
1 020
Girl with an Apple .
i
B.
M
IO2I
A Woman's Portrait
Frans Hals .
250
X.
P. F. A. Keogh
f>y
TO22
An Italian Nobleman
Moroni . .
139
VII.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
,,
}
1023
An Italian Lady
ii
132
,,
P.
,,
1024
An Italian Ecclesi-
ii
!6 3
,,
P. ,.
f- 5,000
astic
1025
An Italian Nobleman
11 Moretto
MS
P.
J
1026
Troilus and Cressida
J. Opie . .
Man-
B. G. Silk
1834
chester
IO27
Ariel
H. Singleton .
Coventry
B. The Painter
1840
1028
Manto and Tirtsias
ii
Leicester
B.
,,
IO29
IO3O
Temples of Paestum
Inside of a Stable .
W. Linton
G. Morland .
563
456
XXI.
XVIII.
B.
G. T. Birch Wolfe .
1876
1877
IO3I
1032
Mary Magdalene .
Christ's Agony
Savoldo .
Lo Spagna
1 68
1 06
VII.
VI.
P. Sig. G. Baslini
P. Fuller Maitland .
1878
35
2,000
I33
1034
Adoration of Magi .
The Nativity .
Filippino Lippi
Botticelli
$
III.
P.
P.
i)
800
1,500
35
Portrait of a Man .
FranciaBigio.
22
I.
P.
5o
1036
A Man's Portrait .
Early Flemish
280
XI.
P.
,,
350
">37
Slate Quarries
Old Crome
47'
XVIII.
P.
J(
500
1038
A Snow Scene
M already
571
XXI.
P.
M
200
i39
Somerset Downs .
T. Barker
535
XX.
P.
,,
IOO
1040
River Scene .
W. J. M Oiler.
5 J 9
pj
P.
lt
300
1041
St. Helena .
P. Veronese .
J 37
VII.
P. Novar Collection .
3 1465
1042
A Man's Portrait .
C. Van Hem-
283
XI.
P. J. C. Wallace
60
essen
1043
Gordale Scar .
James Ward .
648
Staircase
P. Lord Ribblesdale .
1,500
1044
Rev. Sir H. Bate
Gainsborough .
412
XVI.
G. T. Birch Wolfe .
1877
Dudley
1045
A Canon and his
G. David
2 73
XI.
B. W. B. White
1878
Patron Saints
1046
1047
Sigismonda
A Family Group
Hogarth
Lorenzo Lotto
429
163
XVII.
VII.
B. J. H. Anderdon .
B. The Misses Solly .
1879
1048
Portrait of a Car-
Italian School
192
Oct.
P. W. C. Spence
1878
225
dinal
1049
1050
The Crucifixion
A Sea Piece .
Westphalian .
Bakhuizen
266
243
XI.
X.
G. E. Shipperdson
B. The Misses Solly .
1847
1879
1051
OurLord.St.Thomas,
UmbrianSchool
102
VI.
B.
and St. Anthony
1052
Portrait of a Young
Lombard School
198
IX.
B.
ii
Man
1053
I nterior of a Church
De Witte
2 3 8
X.
B.
>f
iS4
View in Venice
Guard! . .
310
XIII.
B. J. Henderson
i55
Village Card Party
Sorgh .
255
X.
B.
1056
' ' A Kiss in the Cup "
ii
256
,,
B.
,,
1057
A River Scene
C. J. Vernet
364
XIV.
B.
,,
1058
On the Canal Reggio,
Canaletto
33 2
XIII.
B.
,,
Venice
1059
San Pietro in Cas-
11
33<>
,,
B.
,,
1060
Two Vedettes .
Wouwerman .
214
X.
B.
,,
ro6i
Explosion at Delft .
Van der Poel .
249
M
B.
,,
1062
A Battle Piece
Ferrarese
82
V.
P. W. B. White
7916
1063
A Man's Portrait .
Early Flemish
282
XI.
P. J. H. Anderdon .
"
63
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
699
ai
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
u5
which
P. = Purchased.
Whe
Price.
c - ~
Hung.
G. = Given.
-
B. = Bequeathed.
1064
1065
1066
On the River Wye .
A Corn Field .
On Barnes Common
R. Wilson .
J. Constable .
432
473
XVII.
XVIII.
P. J. H. Anderdon .
P.
p_
1879
27 6
27 6
1067
A Quarry
G. Morland .
484
"
p'
"
37 16
1068
The Parson's Daugh
ter
G. Romney .
410
XVI.
p. ", ;
n
4 2
378
1069
Narcissus
T. Stothard .
465
XVIII.
p.
no 5
1070
Cupids
484
P.
1071
1072
A Rocky River Scene
Death of Chatham .
R. Wilson '.
J. S. Copley .
434
487
XVII.
XVIII.
p.
p.
37 i"
19 19
33 I2
'o?3
1074
'075
1076
An Oyster Supper .
The Virgin & Child
The Poet Gay(?) .
Dirk Hals '.
Perugino
English School
216
116
443
X.
VI.
XVII.
P! E. C. Hill . !
P. Baron de la Penna
P. J. H. Anderdon .
54 12
80
3,200
57 T 5
1077
1078
An Altar-piece
The Deposition
Borgognone .
Early Flemish
197
279
IX.
XI.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
B. Mrs. J. H. Green .
1880
1,200
1079
The Adoration
t
B.
1080
The Head of St.
Early German
280
B.
John the Baptist
1081
Man Praying .
Early Flemish
265
B.
(i)
1082
The Visit of the
J. Patinir
267
B.
Virgin to St. Eliza-
beth
1083
Christ crowned with
}I
270
(I
B.
Thorns
1084
1085
Flight into Egypt .
Virgin and Child .
Early German
265
272
B.
B.
1086
Christ appearing to
Early Flemish
271
M
B.
the Virgin
1087
Mocking of Christ .
Early German
266
B.
1088
The Crucifixion
German School
278
B.
1089
Virgin and Child .
Early Flemish
263
B.
1090
Pan and Syrinx
Boucher .
37
XIV.
G. Mrs. R. Hollond .
1091
The Vision of Ezekie
P. F. Poole .
569
XXI.
B. The Painter .
1879
1092
St. Sebastian .
Zaganelli
99
VI.
P. Sig. F. Sacchi
1880
60
1093
Vierge aux Rochers
L. da Vinci .
24
I.
P. Lord Suffolk.
Jt
9,000
1094
Portrait of a Man .
Sir A. More .
261
XI.
G. British Museum .
1095
Anna Maria Schur-
Jan Lievens .
249
X.
G.
mann
1096
A Hunting Scene .
Jan Weenix .
238
,,
G.
Jt
1097
1098
Landscape
Virgin and Child .
English School
B. Montagna .
424
XVII.
VII.
G.
P. Sig. G. Baslini .
1 88 1
200
1099
(See note below). 1
IIOO
Scene in a Play
P. Longhi
3*4
XIII.
P.
.
5
I IOI
Menagerie
.
3 J 5
P.
50
1 102
The Chevalier An-
ii
191
Oct.
P. Sig. .M. Guggen-
300
drea Tron
heim
HO3
Virgin and Child .
Fiorenzo di
99
VI.
P. Marchese Monaldi
H
)
Lorenzo
r 1,361 ii
1104
The Annunciation .
Manni .
IOI
P.
,,
j
IIO5
The Prothonotary
Lotto
136
VII.
P. Sig. M. Guggen-
(J
600
Apostolic, Juliano
heim
1106
The Resurrection .
F. Mantegna
173
'
P. A. W. Thibaudeau
,,
300
1107
The Crucifixion
Niccol6 da
IOI
VI.
P. Sig. A. Castellani .
n
1
Foligno
> 1,200
1108
Virgin Enthroned .
Early Sienese
39
II.
P.
,,
1
1109
Marriage of the Vir-
Buonacorso .
37
,,
P. C. F. Murray
n
80
gin
IIIO
Spiritual Form of
W. Blake
467
XVIII.
P. S. Palmer .
100
Pitt
IIII
Wherries on the Yare
J. S. Cotman .
504
XX.
P. W. Cox
315
III2
Mrs. Ann Hawkins
Linnell .
572 xxi.
G F. Piercy
1882
1113
A Legendary Subject
P. Lorenzetti .
38
II.
G. C. Fairfax Murray
"
1 No. 1099 appears to have been missed in the official numbering.
;oo
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
-4
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price.
1114
The Five Senses
Gonzales
255
X.
P. DeBusdiGisignies,
1882
V
(Sight)
Coques
Brussels
HIS
,, (Hearing)
(j
P.
1116
(Feeling)
..
f|
,,
P.
,,
- A9'o o 8
1117
(Smell)
,,
H
()
P.
,,
1118
(Taste)
P
n
1119
The Virgin & Child Ercole di Gui-
82
V.
P. Marchese Strozzi .
,,
2,970
with Saints lio Grandi
II2O
St. Jerome in the Cima da Con-
'74
VII.
P. Duke of Hamilton
M
493 1
Desert
egliano
II2I
Portrait of a Young
Venetian School
'73
,,
P-
,,
525
Man
1122
1123
St. Jerome
Venus and Adonis .
Theotocopuli .
Venetian School
'57
XV.
VII.
P.
P.
336
1,417 10
1124
Adoration of Magi .
Filippino Lippi
20
I.
P.
1,627 10
II2S
Summer & Autumn
A. Mantegna
187
VIII.
P.
,,
'785
H26
The Assumption
Botticelli
59
III.
P.
4,777 10
1127
The Last Supper .
North Italian .
86
V.
P.
630
H28
The Circumcision .
Luca Signorelli
"7
VI.
P.
3,150
1129
Philip IV. of Spain .
Velazquez
376
XV.
P.
6,300
1130
Christ washing his
Tintoretto
1 60
VII.
P-
'57 lo
Disciples' Feet
II3I
Joseph in Egypt
J. da Pontormo
32
I.
P.
M
315
1132
A Vestibule .
H. Steenwyck
25'
X.
P.
I
204 15
"33
The Nativity .
Luca Signorelli
"9
VI.
P. Italy .
i
l,iOO
"34
Madonna and Child
Liberale .
'77
VII.
P. Chevalier Fabris .
PI
)
"35
1136
) Trajan & the
f Widow
Veronese School
189
Oct.
P. n
>240
"37
Portrait of a Boy .
I. van Ostade
231
X.
P.
,,
840
1138
The Crucifixion
A. del Castagno
47
II.
P. C. F. Murray
, ,
'37
"39
The Annunciation .
Duccio .
39
,,
P. Florence
,,
1140
Christ healing the
,,
P.
ii
f 178
Blind
)
1141
His own Portrait
A.-da Messina
'73
VII.
P. Genoa .
1,040
1142
The August Moon .
Cecil Lawson .
549
XXI.
G. Mrs. C. Lawson .
'883
"43
The Procession to
R. Ghirlandajo
13
I.
P. Marchese Antinori
1,200
Calvary
"44
Madonna and Child
11 Sodoma
204
IX.
P. C. F. Murray
JF
160
"45
Samson and Delilah
A. Mantegna .
1 80
VIII.
P. D. of Marlborough
tt
2,362 10
1146
Portrait of a Lady .
Sir H. Raeburn
447
E. Vest. B. R. Dudgeon .
"47
Heads of Four Nuns
A. Lorenzetti .
48
n. P. Cav. P. Lombard!
n
45
1148
Christ at the Column
Velazquez
384
XV.
G. Sir J. Savile Lumley
"49
Madonna & Child .
Marco d'Og-
207
IX.
P. Manfrini Gallery,
,,
150
gionno
Venice
1150
Portrait of a Man .
Asc. taPontormo
26
I.
P. C. F. Murray
;J
5
1151
The Entombment .
Early Flemish
279
XI.
P. Sig. G. Baslmi .
(
So
"52
St. John the Baptist
Marti no Piazza
207
IX.
P. Sig. P. Vergani .
,
240
"53
A Family Group
Hogarth
435
XVII.
B. Rev. W. Finch .
,
"54
Girl with a Lamb .
Greuze .
368
XIV.
B. Mme. Helmholtz .
f
"55
The Assumption
M. di Giovanni
47
II.
P. Sig. Griccioli
,
2,100
1156
On the Ouse .
G. Arnald
565
XXI.
P. London . V
1884
105
"57
The Nativity .
Cavallino
3"
XIII.
G. W. Pilkington .
If
"58
Harlech Castle
James Ward .
487
XVIII.
P. London
()
3!
"59
Calling of Abraham
G. Poussin
369
XIV.
P. Leigh Court Coll. .
M
'.995
1160
Adoration of Magi .
Venetian School
'74
VII.
P.
,,
383 5
1161
Miss Fenton as Polly
Hogarth
424
XVII.
P.
II
840
Peachum
1162
The Shrimp Girl
43
P.
262 to-
"63
Canterbury Pilgrims
T. Stothard '.
479
XVIII.
P.
M
44'
1164
The Procession from
W. Blake
483
II
G. F. T. Palgrave .
,,
Calvary
1165
St. Hippolytus&St.
11 Moretto
189
Oct.
G.
,,
Catherine
1166
The Crucifixion
A.-da Messina
172
VII.
P. London
350
1167
MaryWollstonecraft j J. Opie .
476
XVIII.
P. W. Russell .
,,
231
1
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
701
jd
Room in
How Acquired.
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
i^a
which
P. = Purchased.
When
Price.
-"' .-
Hung.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
1168
1169
Portrait of a Jesuit
Mrs. Robert Hollond
W.vanderVliet
Ary Scheffer .
219
556
X.
XXI.
P. W. Russell .
B. R. Hollond .
1884
.241 '0
1170
St. Augustine and St. ,,
553
B.
Monica
1171
1172
"Ansidei Madonna " Raphael.
Charles the First . Van Dyck
108
227
VI.
X.
P. D. of Marlborough
P.
1885
70,000
17,500
"73
Unknown Subject . Venetian School
177
vii. P. Bohn Collection .
*35
"74
The Watering Place Gainsborough
433
XVII.
B. Mrs. E. Vaughan .
"75
Regent's Park, 1807 James Ward .
495
XX.
B.
1176
Landscape . . P. Nasmyth .
572
XXI.
B.
"77
>>
483
XVIII.
B.
1178
.
485
M
B.
n
"79
>
473
B,
1180
Cliveden-on-Thames J. M.W.Turner
635
XIX.
B.
1181
On the Sea Shore . W. Mulready .
XVIII.
B.
1182
Milton's " Comus"
C. R. Leslie .
458
t
B.
"83
Landscape
P. Nasmyth .
573
XXI.
B.
M
1184
A Fruit Piece . . G. Lance
572
H
B.
"85
Nymphs and Satyrs T. Stothard .
484
XVIII.
B.
1186
Landscape . . J. Glover
59
XX.
B.
!
1187
Rustic Figures . Sir D. Wilkie .
663
Addenda
B.
j
1188
The Betrayal of Ugolino da
48
n.
P. Fuller Russell Coll.
\
Christ Siena
\. 26 r
1189
The Procession to ,,
Jf
P.
H
j
Calvary
1190
Portrait of a Boy .
Asc. to Clouet
368
XIV.
G. G. F. Watts, R.A.
1191
The loss of H. M. S. J. C. Schetky .
663
Addenda
G. The Misses Treve-
Royal George
nen
1192
Design for an Altar- G. B. Tiepolo
313
XIII.
P. Beckett-Denison .
\
piece
l~ IO2 Jj
"93
3*5
P.
n
)
"94
Christ driving out
M. Venusti .
fj
i.
P- >,
M
066
the traders
"95
Birth of Venus . Rubens .
254
X.
P- ,,
|(
672
1196
Triumph of Chastity Florentine
56
in.
P. Genoa .
,,
500
"97
David Garrick . Asc. to Zoffany
412
XVI.
B. N. D. Garrick
n
1198
Mr. Henry Byne . L. F. Abbott .
4"
,,
G. Miss C. Lippincott
"99
Madonna and Child Florentine
40
II.
P. Milan .
,,
170
1 200
Group of two Saints Macrino d' Albn
205
IX.
P.
I2OI
n
P.
,,
T
I2O2
Madonna and Child
Bonifazio
159
VII.
P.
1886
J20
I2O3
Cariani .
P. ,,
42O
1204
Valley of the Yare . James Stark .
496
XX.
P. Stark .
,,
4OO
I2O5
Lake of Como . F. Lee Bridell
527
G. Mrs. Bridell Fox .
I2O6
Landscape& Figures Salvator Rosa
317 xiii.
B. Mrs. F. Ricketts .
1207
I208
The Hay- Wain . J. Constable .
William Godwin . J. Opie .
531 xx.
473 XVIII.
G. H. Vaughan. .
P. London . . ,,
'5
I2O9
The Vagrants . . F. Walker
556 xxi.
P. Graham Sale .
1,858 10
1210
" Ecce Ancilla D. G. Rossetti
536 xx.
P. . .
,,
840
Domini "
1 311
Marriage Fete at
Domenico
190
Oct.
P. Milan .
,,
Mantua
Morone
1212
191
P.
t)
1213
Portrait of a Pro-
Gentile Bellini
'59
VII.
P. . .
1,200
fessor
1214
Coriolanus, Volum-
Michele da
191
Oct.
P
M
nia, and Veturia
Verona
.
1215 Madonna and Child Dom.Veneziano
13
I.
G. Earl of Crawford
1216
A
} F A a nUs theRebelS P inell Aretin0
2
N. Vest.
G. Sir H. Layard .
1217
Israelites gathering
Ercole di Ro-
9 2
V.
P. London
tffO
Manna
berti Grandi
1218
TheHistory of Joseph
F. Ubertini .
123
VI.
P. . .
I ^,/j-o
1219
"
"
121
"
P. . .
"
'
702
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
No.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
i
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Price
I22C
Madonna and Child
L'Ingegno
106
VI.
P. London
1886
1221
" Darby and Joan "
A. de Pape .
240
X.
P. Blenheim Coll. .
&5*
1222
1223
Study of Foliage, etc.
Old Westminster
Otto Marcellis
Samuel Scott .
217
443
XVII.
G. I. Whitworth Shaw
P. London
IS 15
Bridge
1224
Samuel Scott .
T. Hudson .
P. .
t>5
1225
The Artist's Father
T. Webster .
S? 2
XXI.
B. The Painter .
and Mother
1226
" A Distinguished
SirE. Landseer
505
XX.
B. Newman Smith .
1887
Member of the
Humane Society."
I27
Virgin and Child .
M. Venusti .
16
I.
P. Lewis Fund .
1228
Titania and Botlom
Fuseli . .
45'
W. Vest.
G. Miss J. Carrick
H
Moore
1229
Virgin and Child .
Luis de Morales
375
XV.
G.
I23O
Portrait of a Girl .
D. Ghirlandajo
18
I.
P. Walker Fund
1231
Portrait of a Gentle-
Sir A. More .
261
XI.
P-
,,
man
1232
1233
The Blood of the
H. Aldegrever
GiovanniBellini
262
171
VII.
P.
P, Clarke Fund.
Redeemer
'234
A Muse inspiring a
Dosso Dossi .
92
V.
P
fl
Court Poet
"35
The House in which
Constable
459
XVIII.
G, Miss Isabel Con-
M
the Artist was born
stable
1236
The "Salt -box,"
D
472
n
G.
Hampstead Heath
'237
View on Hampstead
ii
G.
Heath
1238
Sir S. Romilly
Sir T. Law-
478
B. Charles Romilly .
rence
1239
Murder of the In-
G. Mocetto .
170
VII.
1888
nocents
I24O
1241
Christ in tn"e Temple
P. Campaiia .
188
Oct.
P.
"
1242
I2 43
Stirling Castle
Portrait of a Gentle-
A. Nasmyth .
Dutch School
455
255
XVIII.
X.
man
1244
Bridge at Gilling-
Constable
466
XVIII.
G. Miss Isabel Con-
,,
ham
stable
1245
Church Porch, Berg-
464
II
G.
H
holt
1246
House at Hamp-
,/
483
II
G.
n
stead
1247
1248
The Card Players .
Portrait of a Lady .
Asc. /oN. Maas
Van der Heist
663
664
Addenda
P. Gallon Park Sale .
P. Col. Everett.
1249
Endymion Porter .
W. Dobson .
XVII.
P. Gatton Park Sale .
1250
Charles Dickens
Maclise .
664
Addenda
B. Sir E. R. Jodrell .
"
APPENDIX II: INDEX OF PICTURES
703
PICTURES DEPOSITED ON LOAN AND OTHER ITEMS NOT
NUMBERED.
SUBJECT.
PAINTER.
B\
&&
fi|
Room in
which
Hung.
How Acquired.
P. = Purchased.
G. = Given.
B. = Bequeathed.
When
Christina of Den-
Holbein .
253
X.
Lent by Duke of Norfolk
1880
mark
Constable's Palette .
455
XVIII.
G. Miss Constable .
1888
Turner's Palette
640
XIX.
G. Mr. H. Nibbs .
1883
Silhouette of Turner
House of Commons,
K. A. Hickel .
651
Basement
Lent by Nat. Port. Gal. .
1885
.'793
Sion House, 1604 .
M. Gheerardt
652
Men destroyed by
B. Sprangher .
,,
(J
Dragons
His own Portrait .
Sir J.Reynolds
407
XVI.
Lent by Dilettanti Society
1886
Dilettanti Society .
,,
4 1 ?
,,
A Conversation Piece
English School
422
442
XVII.
..1 '
"
GiovannaTornabuoni D. Ghirlandajo
3
N. Vest.
Lent by H. Willett .
1888
Head of a Girl
Greuze .
358
XIV.
Lent by Earl of Dufferin .
1
I can find no trace of this picture in the Directors' Annual Reports.
THE END
Printed by R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh.
A History of Miniature Art. With Notes on Collectors and Collections.
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will begin in October the publication of
a new and cheaper Edition of the most popular of
Mr. KINGSLEY'S Books. The new Edition will be
printed in Crown 8vo, from entirely new type,
and will be issued in Monthly Volumes, price
35. 6d. each, in the following order :
Westward Ho! With a Portrait . . . Oct. 1888.
Hypatia. .", , ". ;:'-'. Nov.
Yeast . . '."" .... Dec.
Alton Locke . . '. . " . . .Jan. 1889.
Two Years Ago . . . ...-;:/.. . Feb.
Hereward the Wake . "y . . .March,,
Poems . . . L .. ... "... ... . .April
The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my
Children . . . ........,- _.,. . May .,
The Water Babies ; a Fairy Tale for a Land-
Baby . . ' ..,'' .,,. " ",_ . . .June
Madam How and Lady Why; or First Lessons
in Earth Lore for Children . - . v ' -July
At Last ; a Christmas in the West Indies . . Aug.
Prose Idylls, New and Old . . . Sept.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON.
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