ARTISTIC AND DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ON THE MOST REMARKABLE PICTURES IN THE BRITISH INSTITUTION EXHIBITION OE THE ANCIENT MASTERS PALL MALL MDCCCLVIII. BY GEORGE SCHARE, Jun., E.S.A., E.R.S.L. SECRETARY TO THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY ; PROFESSOR OF FINE ART AT THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE, LONDON ; AND LATE DIRECTOR AND ART-SECRETARY OF THE MANCHESTER EXHIBITION. MDCCCLVII. LONDON BOS WORTH AND HARRISON, REGENT STREET. 1858 The great interest of this exhibition, and the absence of any publication illustrative of it, induce me to offer the following brief explanatory notes of the most im¬ portant pictures collected for this year. Even to those most versed in the history and characteristics of ancient paintings, a few concise illustrative notes, under one por¬ table cover, may not be unacceptable. It has been my object to collect, and combine with dates, a few facts of the more important painters and subjects, and to include re¬ ferences to the best authorities on matters of art con¬ nected with them; Dr. Waagen, Mrs. Jameson, and Passavant especially. The pages of Yasari and other known biographers afford valuable assistance, and the universally accepted Catalogue Raisonnb of Mr. J. Smith enables me to make several important references for purposes of identification. Having undertaken this work at the eleventh hour, I was unable, from other duties, to pursue my researches as far as was desirable: but, if the design as seen by the present attempt obtains favour, the work will be continued next year; and the various owners who may contribute to the Exhibition of the Old Masters in 1859 would insure the correctness IV and extension of the future notes, by forwarding me both the names of their pictures and information respect¬ ing them beforehand. GEORGE SCIIARF, junk. Athenaeum Club. Note. — The following pictures should be looked at before leaving the Gallery : —Nos. 1. 2. 5. 00 11. 12. 17. 19. 21. 26. 28. 29. 30. 33. 34. 35. 37. 38. 39. 42. 46. 48. 50. 51. 53. 59. 62. 66. 71. 72. 78. 79. 80. 83. 88. 94. 95. 97. 99. 104. 106. 107. 119. 125. 126. 128. 131. 132. 133. 136. 141. 143. 144. 145. 146. 150. 155. 156. 159. 160. 162. 167. 168. 170. 171. 174. 175. 177. 181. 184. 185. 186. In describing the pictures I do not adopt the heraldic system of dexter and sinister, but always mean by the right and left that of the spectator when viewing the picture. When describing the action of particular figures in a painting, I use his or her right or left hand with especial care, as many mistakes on this point may easily occur. In references to the works of Dr. Waagen, Mrs. Jameson, Dr. Passavant, and Dr. Kugler, I use the initial letters for the sake of conciseness. The following editions are understood: — W. Waagen, Treasures of Art: 4 vols. 1854-57. A. J. Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art: in one vol. 1850. P. Passavant, Kunstreise : German edition, 1833. IC. Kugler’s Handbook of Italian Painting: 1855. L. Lanzi: Italian edition ; Bassano, 1795-6. V. Vasari: the last Florentine edition, 1846-56. The measurement of the pictures is given in English feet and inches, and implies only the sight-measure , namely, that which is visible within the frame. The height of the picture is always stated first. ARTISTIC AND DESCRIPTIVE NOTES 8fc. *#* The extraordinary interest of three of these Pictures induces me to commence by departure from a rule which I had laid down for myself; namely, that of classing the pictures under the names of the painters in alphabetical order. These pages are not intended to form a complete catalogue; they are only supplemental notes of the best and most interesting pictures. The latter comprise also that very important class of works which, for want of merit, attractiveness, or a knowledge of the circumstances connected with them, would otherwise he passed over. For using these pages, persons having found the name of the painter by the authorised catalogue will at once find the description by the alphabetical arrangement. Those who would refer from these pages to any particular picture will find that the number against the title corresponds with the one on the frame in the Gallery. LEONARDO DA VINCI. 7 . La Vierge aux Rockers, by Leonardo da Vinci. (Con¬ tributed by the Earl of Suffolk from Charlton Park.) An upright picture on panel with an arched top. Dimensions, 6 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 10 in. The Virgin on her knees occupies the centre of the picture. Laying her right hand on the shoulder of the youthful St. John, she presents him to the infant Saviour, who is seated low on the ground raising his B 2 right hand with the recognised gesture of benediction. An Angel supports the Divine Infant with both hands. The background is composed of a romantic land¬ scape, with deep blue sky and very heavy fantastic rocks; hence the name of the picture. The fore¬ ground consists also of brown rocks, with numerous flowers painted with astonishing minuteness and fidelity to nature. The infant St. John kneels on one knee upon a rocky eminence, and, by this means, imparts a still greater lowliness to the position of the Saviour. Leonardo seems to have derived the general arrange¬ ment of the figures in this picture from a style, of composition prevalent among artists somewhat before his time. In compositions of this nature, “ The Adora¬ tion of the new-born Saviour/’ the infant was laid low on the ground, in front, very frequently, of the stable; with the Madonna, St. Joseph, and St. John kneeling reverently around.* The costume of the Virgin consists of a deep blue mantle, fastened, like the ancient psenula, in front of the throat with a single black jewelled ornament. The deep orange lining of the mantle affords the richest piece of colour in the whole picture. Her left hand, very clumsily drawn, is raised over the head of the infant Christ with a sentiment tending to express protection. The children are both naked, excepting a slight gauze round the body of St. John. The garments of the angel are dull white and a lilac-brown tint, richly embroidered; the wings a deep brown. The general tone of the picture is very sombre, and consists * The circular picture in the room, No. 20, by Lorenzo di Credi, is an instance of it. 3 almost entirely of rich browns and a dull indigo blue. Some of the flowers in the foreground, especially the jonquils to the left, are finished with extraordinary care. The colouring of the flesh of the figures is peculiarly parchment-like, with purplish middle tints; air the embroidery and metal ornaments on the dresses are painted in yellow colour only. Gold is restricted to the ring glories round the heads, and the cross of St. John. A very fine study, on panel, for the head of the Virgin, in brown colour, belongs to Mr. Holford. It was exhibited at Manchester last year, No. 144 of the cata¬ logue. There is also a drawing for it at Chatsworth. A similar picture has long been an especial celebrity in the Museum of the Louvre; but, from certain incon¬ sistencies in the execution, many critics have entertained a doubt of its being a true original; nor is there reason to assume that Da Vinci himself executed more than the heads in this picture contributed by Lord Suffolk. Some part of the drawing, especially the junction of the body with the thigh of the Saviour, is grossly at fault; but the same peculiarity is also observable in the Louvre picture. I have no doubt that the painting before us implicitly follows the general design given in Da Vinci’s cartoon, and that the differences observable in the Louvre picture were deviations from it. As early as 1824 Mr. Buchanan advanced this the¬ ory, and wrote in the second volume of his memoirs, p. 264, of the painting now before us, “ a picture which appears to be the original of that now at the Louvre, and is very superior to it in every respect.” Dr. Waagen confirmed this opinion thirty years later. B 2 4 The Louvre picture, which formed part of the collec¬ tion of Francis I., had been at Versailles, and belonged previously to the Marquis de Sourdis. Lord Suffolk's picture was originally in the Church of San Francesco at Milan, where it formed the altar-piece of the Cappella della Concezzione, and in that locality was referred to by Lomazzo (Trattato della Pittura, lib. n. cap. xvii.). Gavin Hamilton purchased it in 1796 for thirty zecchini, and sold it to the late Lord Lansdowne, who transferred it to Lord Suffolk. The wings originally belonging to this altar-piece, and decorated with two angels of exquisite beauty,, are still at Milan, in the possession of the Melzi family. There are several important differences in the two pictures. In Lord Suffolk’s the St. John has a long gold cross in his arms, and holds the parchment inscribed “ Ecce Agnus Dei ” between his joined hands. These are not to be seen in the Louvre picture. In the latter the angel looks hard at the spectator, and points with his right hand to St. John; an action which both disturbs the unity of movement and interferes with the effect of the Madonna’s raised hand. In the picture before us the attention of the angel is devoted entirely to St. John, and both his hands are employed in supporting the body of the Divine Infant. Each head, except the angel’s, has for nimbus a ring of pure gold seen in per¬ spective. These are omitted in the Louvre picture. The gold, where applied, has a coarse and powdery look. The background here differs slightly from that of the picture at Paris. Another repetition is in the Museum at Nantes; and Dr. Waagen mentions one which he saw at 5 Naples, where the scene is laid in an open landscape, and entirely free from rocks. A similar picture, in which Christ holds a lily, was once in the Louvre, and has been engraved by Joseph Juster,with the inscription, “ Opus absolutissimum Leonardi pro Francesco Primo.” The French picture was finely engraved by Desnoyers. It is of rather smaller dimensions than the English one. (Landon, t. 5, pi. 5 ; W., vol. iii. p. 168.) The Suffolk picture is mentioned in the recent Florentine edition of Vasari, vol. vii. p. 44 ; and by M. A. F. Rio, in the second volume of L’Art Chretien, Paris, 1855, p. 99, who thinks Dr. Waagen’s critique on the Louvre picture very severe. Naglei*, vol. 5, p. 511. Remarks on the rocky background of the Louvre picture will be found in Ruskin’s Lecture on Architecture, &c. 1854, Plate xiv. p. 157, fig. 22. 5. The Virgin and Child. On panel. (Contributed by the Rev. Davenport Bromley, from Wooton Hall, Derbyshire.) Formerly in the Fesch Collection. Dimensions, 1 ft, 91 in. by 1 ft. 4J in. ' 4/ The picture is thus described by Dr. Waagen: — a 1 h e Virgin, with very delicate features, holding the Child in her arms, who is looking upwards with great animation, and holds a violet in his right hand. A delicate veil is about the body. This very beautiful picture, which was purchased by the present possessor from the Fesch Gallery, under the name of a Bernar¬ dino Luini, belongs, I am quite persuaded, to the early part of Leonardo’s residence in Milan. It shows, in every respect, a great affinity with the picture at Gatton Park, but may be somewhat earlier in date. It has the same degree of modelling, a similar tone of Hesh, the same kind of red and blue in the draperies, 6 the same arrangement in the folds, and, finally, the same very careful execution, which is most remarkable, especially in the hair. In the drawing of the figure of the Child the closest knowledge of nature is evident. The chiaroscuro on the shadowed side of the Virgin’s head is of particular delicacy, and the blending of the flesh tones of great tenderness. The beautiful land¬ scape on each side the curtain behind the Virgin shows the impression which the Lake of Como, with the snowy Alps, made on the master.”—W., vol. iii. p. 377. It is also described by A. F. Rio in the second volume of his valuable work, L’Art Chretien, p. 98. It was purchased by the present possessor at Cardinal Fesch’s Sale in 1844. 48. The Last Supper. A copy on canvas, by Marco d’ Oggione, from the famous work of Leonardo da Vinci, the size of the original. (Contributed by the Royal Academy of Arts.) Dimensions, 9 ft. 11 in. by 25 ft. 10 in. Of all scriptural subjects this is naturally one of the most popular, and of all compositions depicting it, this, by Da Vinci, has been the most frequently reproduced. Like the cartoons relating to the Acts of the Apostles, at Hampton Court, where events in which all take a more than temporal interest are narrated with perspicuity and the most unobjectionable simplicity, the Last Supper is to be seen in the dwellings of the most lowly as well as the saloons of the most wealthy. Whether for doctrinal associations or for the sake of art, en¬ gravings from these great works are ever most welcome. 7 The arrangement of the table and the position of the figures, as we see them here, were not the original device of Leonardo: in this he merely followed the traditional composition accepted by all Italian painters since the revival of art among them. A picture of the Last Supper was always considered the most appro¬ priate decoration for the refectory of a convent, which was generally a large square room, with long tables placed round three sideS of it. Between the tables and wall the monks sat at their meals, whilst the serving brethren occupied the centre of the apartment. For their convenience, no seats were placed along the outer sides of the tables. The prior and superiors of the convent sat at a long raised table, as in our College Halls, at the upper end of the room, and the picture of the Last Supper was usually placed on the blank wall facing them, whereby the painter contrived by his work to complete the arrangement of the tables on the fourth side of the room. In this manner, the Apostles being confined to one side of the table becomes intelligible. Some of the early painters placed Judas alone on the outer side of the table, and planted him on a rude three-legged stool; but Da Vinci was above such exa ggerations; he has fully succeeded in making the betrayer conspicuous by his contrasted attitude—start¬ ing back—whilst all the rest lean forward, by his peculiar physiognomy, and by his grasping the money-bag and spilling the salt. This great picture is not here seen to advantage. The spectator is not sufficiently far from it. It is also B 4 8 hung too high. Viewed at a proper distance, much that now appears hard and exaggerated would assume a very different character, a change which distance works, and which may be practically tested by looking at No. 34 in the same room. That fine Giorgione, on a close view, appears dull and hard; but, when seen at least half across the room, everything becomes luminous and mellow. The moment selected by Da Vinci is described in the 26th chapter of St. Matthew, 21st and 22nd verses: “ And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were ex¬ ceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?” The original picture was painted in oil upon a wall twenty-eight feet in length, which had not beep pre¬ pared in a proper manner. It occupied Da Vinci two years, and was completed in 1498. (Vasari, vol. vii. p. 77.) As early as 1545 it was already in a ruined state. The lower part of the figure of the Saviour was destroyed in making a door in the wall in 1652, and a shield with the imperial arms was nailed against the picture, close to the head of the principal figure. After undergoing various repairs, it was completely repainted in 1726 and 1770. (See Barry’s Works.*) The present copy was executed about 1510, whilst the original was still perfect. It was in the refectory of the Certosa at Pavia until 1750, and afterwards became the property of a grocer at Milan. Subsequently, after remaining * See Bohn’s edition of “Lectures on Painting,” edited by E. N.Wornum, p. 128 ; and also p. S35 of same volume, for a valuable essay by Fuseli on the subject before us. 9 some time in England for sale, it was purchased, at the recommendation of Sir Thomas Lawrence, by the Royal Academy, for 600/. Two heads, studies for the Saviour and St. Jude, from the Lawrence collection of drawings, have been contributed to this Exhibition (Nos. 9 and 11) by Colonel North. W., vol. i. p. 392. See Bossi, Del Cenacolo di Lionardo, &c.; Milano, 1810. Lanzi, vol ii. p. 411 ; and Bolin’s edition of Roscoe’s translation, vol. ii. p. 482, Lond. 1847. Kugler’s Italian Painting, p. 280. Mrs. Jameson’s Memoirs of early Italian Painters, ed. 1845, p. 17. Villot’s Notice des Tableaux du Louvre, 5 e edition, 1852. M. A. F. Rio, p. 113. The names of the various personages in the picture are thus given by Duppa, from a MS. in the Dominican Convent at Milan, supposed to have been Da Yinci’s own explanation, beginning on the spectator’s left hand: — The Saviour. 1. St. Bartholomew. 2. St. James the Less. 3. St. Andrew. 4. Judas. 5. St. Peter. 7. St. Thomas. 8. St. James the Elder. 9. St. Philip. 10. St. Matthew. 11. St. Jude. 12. St. Simon. This picture has been engraved by Frey, Raphael Morghen (the latter reproduced very faithfully by Dick in New York), Wagner of Berlin, and Soutman (the reverse way), after a drawing by Rubens. Many of the heads were finely engraved, full size, being traced from the originals, in the chalk manner by Dutertre assisted by various artists. These studies afford an excellent idea of the grandeur and power of expression which pervade every countenance. It is hardly necessary to allude here also to the fine engraving by Mr. J. Lewis, from Mr. Boxall’s magnificent study of the head of the principal figure, made at Milan at the express suggestion of Mr. Maberly. This engraving is most universally seen and appreciated. The Soutman engraving is a gross caricature. But a tentlike curtain in¬ troduced in the background is cleverly contrived by the contrast of the direction of the folds, to give still greater vehemence to the motion of the groups on each side. All except a simple loaf and the eucharistic cup are removed from the table. The money-bag, how¬ ever, takes the place of the overturned salt-cellar, and by the altera¬ tion serves to show the danger of any deviation from the mature thoughts of the Italian painter. 10 There are many striking differences between the engraving by Morghen and the large copy now before us. In the latter the eatables on the table are far more profuse and detailed. The viands consist of roast fowls, chestnuts, sliced lemons, round loaves, and pale red wine. The picked bones on some of the plates are detailed with singular minuteness. There are also more glass flagons on the table; one especially, in front of the Saviour, which is not introduced in the engraving. The dishes are all of polished white metal. The drawing of the head and eyes of the fourth figure from the right hand is very faulty, and the profile countenance of figure at the end of table to the right hand extremely exaggerated. In this copy every figure, except that of Judas, has a gold ring seen in perspective as a glory to the head, and triple gold rays are also perceptible issuing from that of the Saviour. Between the square black and orange patterned tapestries on the side walls are pa¬ nelled doors set wide open. The top of this picture does not include any portion of the ceiling, which is still traceable in the original, at Milan. Vinci, Leonardo da, painter, sculptor, musician, architect, engineer, author of works on painting, anatomy, mathematics, physic, &c., born at the Castel da Vinci near Florence, in 1452 ; died in France in 1519. Scholar of Andrea Verrocchio’ Michel Angelo Buonarrotti painted in competition with him in the same hall at Florence. Some of his sketch-books are in the possession of Her Majesty. He always wrote with his left hand, from right to left. Employed by the Duke of Milan to conduct the waters of the Adda to that place, a distance of nearly 200 miles. _ Invited to France, where he died, by Francis I., hut was prevented from executing any thing there by illness. His greatest work is the Last Supper, painted in oil, on the wall of the refectory of S. M. della Grazie, and now nearly effaced. A fine cartoon of a Holy Family, drawn in chalk, is also in the collection of the Royal Academy of Arts. 11 > (-PAG t v ♦ LUDOLPH BACKHUYSEN. 178 . A Sea-piece . (Contributed by R. Wynne Williams, Esq.) A charming small picture on canvas. A large boat with brown sail on a brisk sea forms the centre. A man-of-war with sailors in rigging, further to the left. Small boats with sails and a distant port oc¬ cupy the opposite side. Signed and dated L. BAKH 1696 * Backhuysen was born in 1631, at Emden His father was a government clerk, and sent the youth to Amsterdam to follow a mercantile occupation, hut the love of art prevailing, he was placed with Aldert van Everdingen. Marine, subjects especially delighted him, and in portraying the effect of a raging tempest with swell¬ ing waves Backhuysen stands unrivalled The scene of most of his pictures is laid on Y, a branch of the Zuyder Zee (called in Dutch Het ’y), to the north¬ west of Amsterdam. Backhuysen commenced etching in his seventy-first year. He died in 1709. BARBARELLI : see GIORGIONE. BARTOLOMMEO, FRA : see PORTA. BELLINI. CSZftr) 100 . A Female Head. On panel. (Contributed by R. Cholmondeley, Esq.) I cannot imagine this finely modelled head to be by any Venetian, whether Gentile, Jacopo, or Giovanni Bellini. It may with more probability be assigned to Albert Durer. The form of the letters on her dress are not Italian, but German, and the A. D. correspond with the initials of the great master I have named. 12 BEEGHEM. 63 . Mountain Scenery. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) Blue and brown in tone. Two horsemen galloping past a pedlar, seated with his pack on a bank, in the right-hand side of the picture. u- e^/4 / ev- Cu * / t & 82 . Landscape and Figures. On panel. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A small, richly painted picture. A woman on an ass, a peasant, a brown cow and goats crossing a piece of water, in left-hand corner ; high brown rocks .to the right; and a sloping path leading to a detached house in the centre. Berchem (properly spelt) of Haerlem was born in 1624 ; studied under Weeninx and Van Goyen, the contemporary of John Both. He died in 1683. His family name was Klaas. BEEGHEM AND BOTH. 68 . Landscape and Figures. On canvas. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A large and very fine picture, touched with great breadth of style. A mountain stream on the right. A muleteer, dogs, and a distant man with staff advance down a winding path on the left. An extensive plain and mountains beyond. Ihe tone of this is somewhat browner than Mr. Perkins’ No. 101. a J ? ' 77^/1 13 BERKHEYDEN, GERARD. 120. The Interior of a Church crowded with people dressed in black , listening to a sermon. On panel. ( Contributed by Lady Dover.) A few front figures, apparently stragglers who have no intention to join the service, are clothed in gayer colours. Females are seated immediately round the pulpit. Men, with their black hats on their heads, occupy the stalls and distant benches. An excellent picture. Signed and dated “Gerrit Berkheyde, 1673.” The figures were probably painted by his brother Job, who accompanied him to Italy. Gerard was born at Haerlem in 1645, and died at Amsterdam in 1693. BIRD, EDWARD, R.A. 171. Saturday Night. On panel. (Contributed by Her Majesty.) Dimensions, 2 ft. OJ in. by 2 ft. 9J in. A party of musicians rehearsing the Sunday music in a room : somewhat hard, but painted with quite the same feeling as Wilkie. A far more favourable spe¬ cimen of the skill of Bird, than the great historical scenes he sacrificed so much to produce, like his Chevy Chace and Athalia. Bird was born at Wolverhampton in 1772, and made his approaches to art at Bir¬ mingham as a decorator of tea-trays. He settled at Bristol, and died there in 1819. BOL, FERDINAND. ISO. Portrait of a Lady. On canvas. (Contributed by J. H. Mann, Esq.) A half-length, richly dressed, female figure, with 14 black feather rising high above the head-band of pearls. She raises her left hand to draw aside a black veil, and with the other supports a rich blue drapery. An excellent picture. Ferdinand Bod, both painter and engraver, was born at Dort in 1611. He became a pupil and imitator of Rembrandt. He died about 1681. BOTH. 101. A grand Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by F. Perkins, Esq., from Chipstead Place, Seven- oaks.) Dimensions, 4 ft. 1^ in. by 5 ft. 2 in. This superb picture has been described by Mr. Smith in his Catalogue Paisonne, No. 112, from which the following extract is taken : — “112. Muleteers passing through a bold rocky coun¬ try, on a fine summer’s morning. The view exhibits a wild Italian scene, composed, on the right, by masses of rock, among which bushes, docks, and flags grow luxuriantly, nourished by the moisture of a rippling stream which flows at their base. A little retired from these is a road leading across the country, at the foot of a rocky mountain, whose sides are in part clothed with bushes and trees: a cluster of young oaks stands at the side of the road, along which a peasant on a grey horse is passing, followed by another on foot, and in advance of these is a man with two laden mules coming towards the spectator, who appears to be speaking to a traveller sitting near him. A woman standing, and a boy keeping three goats, are in the group: (far) beyond these is a herdsman driving cattle down a turn in the 15 road. On the opposite side (to the left) the eye looks over a delightfully varied country to the distant hills, which sparkle with the rays of the morning sunshine. Now in the collection of Frederick Perkins, Esq., 1835.” — Smith’s Catalogue Paisonne, vol. vi. p. 212. It is signed on the mass of rock to the left, but not dated, “ Both / Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A small but exquisitely finished picture. The in¬ terior of a guard-room. An otficer stands on left-hand side. A group of talkers and smokers are gathered round some smouldering sticks and straws in the centre. Two soldiers play cards on a drum, and a third is talk- 32 ing to them on the right-hand side. Signed in the right- hand corner. Due, Jan Le, born at the Hague, in 1636 ; died in 1695. Said to have been a scholar of Paul Potter. After studying the art for some years he entered the army, and obtained the rank of captain ; he, however, resumed the palette, and became President of the Academy at the Hague. VAN DYCK. 115. Sir Thomas Hanmer. On canvas. (Contributed by General Sir A. Dalrymple, Bart.) Sir Thomas of Hanmer in ^Flintshire, cupbearer to Charles I., with ruddy complexion, full dark-brown hair, black dress, and white turn-down collar. Compare Smith’s Catalogue No. 622. Dyck, Sie Antony Van, painter and engraver, born at Antwerp in 1599; died at Blackfriars, London, in 1641. Scholar of Rubens. Went to Italy in 1621. Re¬ turned to Antwerp, by way of Paris, in 1625. Visited England first in 1627, but not being very well received he went back. He returned, at the request of Charles I., in 1632, who knighted him, and appointed him his first painter. The be¬ heading of Strafford and the dispersion of the Royal Family seriously affected the spirits of Van Dyck. His health failed and he died at Blackfriars, December 9th, 1641. Buried in old St. Paul’s. The king offered a reward of 300/. to the physician who could preserve the painter’s life. VAN EYCK. 125 t Head of a Priest. On oak panel. (Contributed by Henry Howard, Esq., of Greystoke.) Dimen¬ sions, 3J in. by 3yg- in. Little more than a head, and probably of the kneeling donor of some altar-piece; the fingers of a second person, probably a patron saint, touching the side of the head, . 33 may be seen over his right ear. Formerly in the Arundel Collection, and engraved by Hollar and by L. Vostermann, under the designation of “ Thomas-a- Becket, the martyr of Canterbury.” In the Hollar engraving, dated 1647, a sword has been introduced sticking in the head. The sword in the head was his emblem, just as the knife in the head distinguished St. Peter Martyr. (Mrs. Jameson’s Monastic Orders, p. 116.) It is inscribed “ Secundum Originate. Joh. ab Eyck ex coll. Arundel.” The print by Vostermann has no knife. It is an oval and inscribed u Effigies S. Thom® Cantua. Archiepi. Mart.” Both heads are the reverse way of the original. I cannot attribute this fragment of a larger picture to either of the Van Eycks. It may possibly be assigned to one of their followers, Justus of Ghent. FAENZA, NICCOLO DA. 25. Virgin and Child and Saints. A large picture on panel. (Contributed by A. Barker, Esq.) A nativity. The Madonna and Saints adoring the new-born infant in front of a large ruined house, sur¬ mounted with a peacock, in extensive landscape. The child lies in the centre upon a napkin spread on the grass. On the side opposite to the Virgin, and in lieu of Joseph, kneels a tonsured personage in black mantle and hood over a white dress. Two laymen kneel behind him. On the right side, facing them, D 34 kneels St. Anthony of Padua, with book and lily, and a leather strap round his waist; St. Louis, of Toulouse, with crosier, as a monastic mitred saint, and a female, probably the donor’s wife, kneel to the extreme right. In the distance, above these figures, is represented the martyrdom of St. Sebastian without the walls of Florence ; and to the left, in corresponding distance, St. Christopher, bearing the infant Saviour, appears issuing from a piece of water. The execution, especially of the foreground vegetation, is by no means commen¬ surate with the scale, importance, or pretensions of the composition. This introduction of two distinct subjects at a dis¬ tance from the main theme of the picture, illustrates Lanzi’s account of the habit of Palmezzano. (L., vol. iii. p. 35.) See note at conclusion of No. 27, page 54. FRANCESCA, PIETRO DELLA. 17. Female Portrait , life size , a profile turned to the left. On panel, in rich original frame. (Contributed by A. Barker, Esq.) The rich costume and horned head-dress merit at¬ tention. This picture is said to be a portrait of the celebrated poetess Isotta degli Atti da Rimini, the fourth wife of Sigismond Pandolfo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, who died 1468. (See Denistoun’s Dukes of Urbino, vol. i. p. 185, and vol. ii. p. 122.) This portrait, however, does not fully accord with a presumed one by the same painter in the National 35 Gallery, (No. 585 of the catalogue,) and still less with the profile on the celebrated contemporary Medallion of her by Matteo de Pastis. Pietro della Francesca was born about 1408, at Borgo San Sepolcro. He was patronised by Federigo di Montefiltro, Duke of Urbino. A fresco by him, dated 1451, still remains in the church of San Francesco, at Rimini. He became blind towards the close of his life, and was still living in 1494. GAINSBOROUGH. 133. A Gipsy Encampment. On canvas. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) Gipsies seated under magnificent trees to the left, with rich blue distant landscape beyond. A boy stand¬ ing by brown and white horses in right front corner. A rich deep-toned picture, very broadly painted, with full impasto. 140. Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by the Duke of Newcastle.) Still finer. A waggon and horses passing two fine trees, on a rising path beside a pond, form a diagonal line through the picture. Rising green banks and a church spire on the hill to the right. A group of beggars in front. 143. Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by Colonel North, M. P., from Wroxall Abbey.) Cold and silvery ; very different from the usual tone of Gainsborough. A ploughman introduced with white D 2 36 horse. A windmill in centre against the sky, which is characterised by a great mass of white and grey cloud upon a field of azure. Painted with great body of colour. 183. Landscape. Seemingly on paper surface. (Con¬ tributed by Lady Dover.) Small mellow landscape. A sandy path rising towards a village, with church spire in centre rising against the sky. Of a golden sunny tone. Thomas Gainsborough was born at Sudbury, in Suffolk, in 1727. A self-taught artist, who found his way to London, and set up there as a portrait painter at six¬ teen. His landscapes are all tinged with the homely character of his native county, but his portraits are absolutely original, and an open-air version of nature herself. In these respects he may be contrasted with Rembrandt and Reynolds. His “ blue boy” is fresh in the recollection of all who visited Manchester last year. Gains¬ borough died in 1788. GIORGIONE. 34. Three figures half length. From the Manfrini Palace at Venice. (Contributed by A. Barker, Esq.) Dimensions, 2ft. 5in., by 2ft. 6fin. A Venetian cavalier turning to a lady; on the other side a beautiful page. This is one of the thirteen finest pictures which the liberal contributor selected from that celebrated collec¬ tion. Byron’s lines upon this picture, Canto XII. of Beppo, most adequately set forth its glory: — * * * * A picture by Giorgione, Whose tints are truth and beauty at their best; And when you to Manfrini’s palace go, That picture (howsoever fine the rest) Is loveliest to my mind of all the show; 37 It may perhaps be also to your zest, And that’s the cause I rhyme upon it so ; ’T is but a portrait of his son and wife, And self; but such a woman ! love in life ! ” This picture Sir Charles Eastlake observes in a note to Kugler’s Italian Painting, part ii. p. 432, “ pos¬ sesses eminently that extreme glow of colour for which Giorgione was celebrated.” This is one of the pictures which, with all its beauties, does not attract at first sight. Even to an artist, when looked at near, it appears hard and crude, but upon withdrawing to a certain distance, all becomes har¬ monised and softened down, nay, rich and glowing. The breadth which Giorgione knew so thoroughly to secure, may tend on close inspection to impart an effect of emptiness of form. Byron observed in his journal, “ What struck me most, was the extreme resemblance of the style of the female faces in the mass of pictures, so many centuries or generations old, to those you see and meet every day among the existing Italians. The Queen of Cyprus and Giorgione’s Wife, particularly the latter, are Venetians, as it were, of yesterday; the same eyes and expression ; and to my mind, there is none finer.” See ante , p. 8. Barbarelli, Giorgio, called, from his large stature, Giorgione, born at Castel- franco in 1477 ; died in 1511. Scholar of Giovanni Bellini, and contemporary of Titian and Raphael. Is said never to have worked without a model. Died of the plague at the age of 33. GOZZOLI. 35. The Virgin and Child with Angels. A miniature painting in tempera, upon panel. (Contributed i> 3 38 by C. S. Bale, Esq., from his residence, 71, Cam¬ bridge Terrace, Hyde Park.) Dimensions, HJ in. by 8| in. Four angels hold a square canopy, with long red poles, over the seated Yirgin holding the child, which is per¬ fectly nude. St. John peeps playfully over the Virgin’s shoulder. Two angels stand with their hands folded in prayer. Two more are seen behind in profile. Nine shields are introduced within wreaths on the golden front of canopy, but they are too much worn for the devices to be made out. Dark orange trees, against a blue sky, form the background. This little picture is an exquisitely-refined specimen of Gozzoli’s manner, and shows a close approach to the style and execution of his celebrated master Angelico da Fiesole. Mrs. Jameson mentions the picture when in the possession of Miss Rogers, in Hanover Terrace: see her “ Companion to the Private Galleries of Art in London,” 1844, p. 412. It afterwards became the property of her brother, the poet. (W., vol. ii. p. 267.) Benozzo Gozzoli was born at Florence in 1424. Painted at Orvieto and Monte- falcone in continuance of works commenced by his instructor Angelico. His most extensive series of paintings is in the Campo Santo, at Pisa, covering an entire wall on one side of the quadrangle with Bible subjects, in the most brilliant colours and varied conceptions. He was greatly honoured by the citizens of Pisa, and died about the year 1485. 39 GUIDO. 13. Head of the Saviour. An oval picture on canvas. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Charl¬ ton Park.) An u Ecce Homo” Christ crowned with thorns, with upturned countenance. It is very inferior to one of the same subject bequeathed by Mr. Rogers to the National Gallery. This picture remained suspended for some time in an obscure public-house during the 11 migration” of Lord Suffolk’s pictures already al¬ luded to. 14. The Adoration of the Shepherds. A small octagonal picture, engraved by Poilly, brownish in tone, with dark shadows. The infant is laid on a square box or wooden pedestal. A shepherd makes a child kneel down in adoration. Mellow, brown, and harmonious in colour. A picture similar to it is in the Grosvenor collection, (W., vol. iii. p. 170.) Guido Reni, commonly called Guido, born near Bologna in 1675 ; died in 1642. Son of a musician, who placed him under Denis Calvart. He became afterwards a scholar and assistant of the Carracci, hut was driven by jealousy to leave them. Reduced his circumstances by a passion for gambling. (School of Bologna.) HEYDEN, VAN DER. 81. A Dutch Town. On panel. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Charlton Park.) Dimen¬ sions, 1 ft. 4 in. by lft.,8J in. View of a public square; on one side of it a well with n 4 40 the artist’s name, “ J. V. Heyden,” inscribed on the stepping-stone. Two Carmelite monks conversing with two gentlemen in the open space, and the gate of a mansion on the right hand. A minutely finished and very characteristic work of this excellent painter. Heyden, Jan van der, painter and engraver, born at Gorcum in 1657 ; died at Amsterdam in 1712. Had for his master a painter on glass. He is remarkable for the details and accuracy of his works ; is said to have used the camera obscura. To facilitate the production of his pictures he prepared engraved stamps, with which he printed on parchment and canvas, finishing them afterwards by hand, and, by a clever combination, producing an immense variety. Adrian van der Velde and Lingelbach painted figures for him. HILTON, WILLIAM, R.A. 150. Sleeping Child hy a Fountain. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) A very pleasing but artificial picture, slightly painted. Hilton, who devoted himself, at much sacrifice, to high art, was born at Lincoln, in 1786. He became keeper of the Royal Academy, and died in 1839. HOBBEMA. 00. Woody Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by J. M. Oppenheim, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 8J in. by 3 ft. 6 in. From the collection of Messrs. Oxell. A mass of trees, with foliage of thin dark leaves against the sky, appears in the centre beyond a piece of water; a man in red dress fishing on the further 41 bank in the shade. A shepherd stands talking to a man resting with basket and a dog by him: these form a group in the right-hand corner. A genuine picture but somewhat confused. The foliage small and com¬ paratively feathery in touch. Signed and dated in dark colour in front left-hand corner, “ M. Hobbema, A. 1664.” The figures in it are by Berghem. Hobbema, Mindert, painted in 1660. Friend and companion of Jacob Ruys- dael. No particulars of his life are known. The figures in his landscapes are sometimes done by Berchem, A. van der Velde, J. Lingelbach, Wouverman, &c. JARDIN, DU. 102. A Woman and Sheep. On panel. (Contributed by W, Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) Dimensions, 8 in. by 9 in. | J-. r.M A shepherdess fallen asleep under a tree; her distaff lies across her knees. Three sheep and two lambs are at her feet. Delicately tinted mountains in the back¬ ground. This very small picture was a great favourite of Sir George Beaumont. 181. Boy and Ass. On panel. The companion picture. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) The boy, holding a dog by a string, stands in an open landscape, resting his elbow on the stump of a tree. A donkey stands at a little distance to the left, and the 42 saddle lies on the ground between them. Admirably painted in very fresh mellow tones. Karel du Jardin, painter and engraver, born at Amsterdam in 1635 ; died at Venice in 1678. Visited Italy, where he studied the works of the great masters. He returned to Holland, and, though his pictures were in great demand there, he went back to Italy, where he died. KONING, DE. 142. A Landscape. On panel. (Contributed by J. Whatman, Esq. M.P.) One of the extensive horizontal views peculiar to the master. A fine, small, deep-toned landscape. Ivoning, Solomon De, painter and engraver, born at Amsterdam in 1609 ; still living in 1663. A student of the works of Rembrandt, whose style he followed. LINGELBACH, See p. 46. LIPPI, FRA FILIPPO. 21. A Group of Seven Saints. In an arched frame, on panel. (Contributed by Alexander Barker, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 11.^ in. St. Francis of Assisi, with the stigmata in hands and feet, is the extreme left-hand figure. Next follow in succession St. Lawrence, St. Cosmo, one of the two Arabian physicians, his golden medicine-box being laid on the parapet behind him, St. John the Baptist in the centre as patron saint of Florence, St. Damian, the other physician, St. Anthony, and St. Peter Martyr, the latter 43 identified by his Dominican habit, and the knife in his head. Under these figures have been recognised portraits of Savonarola, and Cosmo and Lorenzo de’ Medici. This fine picture, both in the earnestness of expression, the subdued tone of the colouring, and a certain cloudiness (sfumato) character about the forms, may be accepted as thoroughly characteristic of Lippi at his best period. This picture is wonderfully preserved. (W., vol. iv. p. 71.) Lirpi, Fra Filippo, born at Florence about 1412; died at Spoleto in 1469. He was taken prisoner when young, by the Moors, and gained his liberation by the practice of his art. He succeeded Masaccio in decorating the Carmine Chapel at Florence. His chief work is the decoration of the Duomo at Spoleto, Filippino Lippi, his son, studied under Botticelli, and became a distinguished artist. (Tuscan School.) LTJINI. 0. The Virgin and Child with St. John. On panel. (Contributed by Thos. Baring, Esq., M.P., from his residence in 41, Upper Grosvenor Street.) The figures are whole-length, with a solid brown rocky background. The Infant Saviour, astride on the Virgin’s knee, is bestowing a flower upon the youth¬ ful St. John, who receives it with one knee bent. Weak both in design and execution; sfumato in style and poor in sentiment. (W., vol. ii. p. 178.) Lcini, Bernardino, born at Luino, on the Lago Maggiore, about 1460; still living in 1530. Supposed to have been a scholar of Leonardo da Vinci, tor whose works his are sometimes mistaken. In his later works he appears to have studied Raphael. (Lombard School.) 44 MARATTI, CARLO. 39 . The Vision of St. Benedict. On canvas. (Contributed by Beriah Botfield, Esq., M.P.) Dimensions, 4 ft. 2 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. The Virgin is seated on clouds in the centre of the picture. The Infant Saviour stands at her feet and grasps the staff and scroll, which St. John is also taking hold of, and pointing at the same time to the principal figure kneeling in front, St. Benedict, in full array as Abbot of Cassino. His pastoral staff and mitre are also introduced, borne by angels, and an open book, with the words “ Auscvlta o Fili Peecepta Magistei,” before him. Immediately behind him is his emblem of the raven with a loaf. (A. J. Mon. Ord., p. 24.) The Virgin invests a young Monk, (probably St. Bernard, who was especially patronised by the Virgin,) in the white Benedictine habit, with a ring. He seems to have a cleft on the left side of his head. St. Joseph, with the lily-rod, is in the clouds immediately behind him. Numerous angels of various ages hover round the principal figures. This picture formerly belonged to Sir John Pringle, Bart., in the Isle of Wight. A 41 . Cardinal Antonio Barberino. On canvas. (Contri¬ buted by the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., from Alnwick Castle.) 45 “ Carefully painted, in a warm tone for him.” (W., vol. iy. p. 471.) Maratti, Carlo, born near Ancona, 1625 ; died at Rome in 1713. Scholar of Andrea Sacchi, and student of the works of Raphael, some of which, in the Vatican, he cleaned and restored. (Roman School.) • MOLA. 52. St. Bruno. On canvas. (Contributed by the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., from Alnwick Castle.) Unable to endure the cares and turmoils of the Court, St. Bruno retired to a desert in Calabria. He is seen lying on the ground, and looking up at a glory of cherubim in the skies. More like Salvator Rosa. “ Sketch from the well-known picture; good.” (W., vol. iv. p. 471.) St. Bruno, a monk of Cologne, was the founder and patriarch of the Carthusians. He established the order in 1084 at Chartreux, near Grenoble. Monks of this fraternity shaved their heads instead of wearing the partial tonsure adopted by others. Pietro Francesco Mola, born in 1612 ; died at Rome in 1668. Son of an architect, and scholar of D’Arpino. Influenced by Francesco Albani and Guer- cino. (School of Bologna.) MORALES. 38. u Ecce Homo.” (Contributed by F. Perkins, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. A solemn and very grand picture of the Saviour 46 bowed down, crowned with thorns, hands tied with cords, and invested with reed and a red mantle. Luis de Morales, born at Badajoz about 1509; died in 1586. Invited to Madrid by Philip II., whom he is said to have displeased by appearing before him in a very magnificent dress. When unable to paint in his old age, and in great poverty, he was pensioned by Philip. MORLAND, GEORGE. 172. Landscape , dfc. (Contributed by John Hardy, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 11| in. A fine clear study of sheep and shepherds standing against some rocks. Delicate pale blue and grey clouded sky and brilliantly lighted distant plain. Very refined in feeling. George Morland, the son of an artist, was born in 1764. His early produc¬ tions were remarkable for extreme care and elaborate finish. His pictures were very numerous, and extensive forgeries made from them. Unfortunately, Morland could not be induced to prefer refined society; he generally contrived to slip from the parlour to the kitchen. His favourite tree was the stunted pollard oak ; the animals in which he excelled were white horses, and pigs especially. He died in 1804. M0UCHER0N and LINGELBACH, 129. Landscape and Figures. On canvas. (Contributed by R. Cholmondeley, Esq., of Mount Street.) A large Italian landscape with rich trees; an ex¬ tensive plain beyond; a long road winds through the centre portion. In the foreground a woman on a white horse, and a peasant with goat-skin jacket and gourd about mounting a mule. A fine picture. 47 147. Landscape and Figures. (Contributed by F. Perkins, Esq., from Chipstead.) Dimensions, 7 ft. 3 in. by 8 ft. 7 in. A very large landscape, with the effect of Zuccarelli. Trees, blue-greenish foliage, against a light sky: the rocks below brownish. A woman, with bundle on her head and basket on arm, accompanied by a boy leading a dog, appear very large figures in front of path on the left-hand side. Two men with nets are seen across a stream in the extreme right-hand corner. The clouds are lighter and more varied than in No. 129. A very luminous effect, approaching Both, in the clear yellow atmosphere. Mouciieron, Frederick, bora at Embden in 1633; died at Amsterdam in 1686. Scholar of Asseyln. He visited France, and remained there several years. His landscapes are often enriched with figures by Adrian van der Velde and others. Lingelbach, Jan, painter and engraver, born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine in 1625 ; died at Amsterdam in 1687. He visited Paris in 1642, and after a resi¬ dence there of two years, went to Rome, where he remained eight years. He was distinguished for his landscapes, &c., in which are introduced a great number of figures and animals. He often painted the figures in the landscapes of many Dutch artists. MOUCHERON and ADRIAN VAN DER VELDE. 02. Landscape and Figures. On canvas. (Contributed by J. M. Oppenheim, Esq.) An upright picture, very soft and refined. The start of a hawking party. High trees, and a tall pedestal with orange tree in vase on it, are prominent features. Two beggars with hats in hand in the right-hand corner. (W., vol. iv. p. 291.) 48 From the collection of Mr. Sanders, of Taplow House, No. 32. of the sale catalogue. MURILLO. 1. Sleeping Saviour. On canvas. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) An exquisite picture, full of deep sentiment, pure colour, and tender feeling. The Infant Christ lies asleep on the cross, resting his right hand on a skull. A lavender-grey drapery thrown lightly round him. Two angels, among the clouds, hover over him and look down with earnest solicitude. The distant mountain landscape is especially delicate and lovely. 71 and 78. St. Justa and St. Rufina. On canvas. (Con¬ tributed by the Duke of Sutherland, K.G.) Half-length figures in pure forcible colours, mentioned by Mr. Stirling in his Spanish Painters, vol. iii. pp. 1439 and 1440. They hold the earthen jars and palm branches of martyrdom, which are the peculiar attri¬ butes of these patron saints of Seville. 99. St. Francis de Paula. On canvas. (Contributed by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P.) Dimensions, 6 ft. 6 in. by 8 ft. 3 in. A very large picture, formerly in the collection of Louis Philippe. It is hard, dark and brown in tone, 49 like Caravaggio. The Saint, with very pale light round his head, clothed in brown, grasps his stick, and stands on his brown cloak spread upon the waves of the sea. Two monks kneel on the same cloak behind him. A ship, with red flags and white sails, appears on the hori¬ zon of the deep blue sea to the left, beyond them. Three children, one of them standing, form a distinct group in the centre of the foreground. The boy in red looks to the spectator and points to the Saint. Two tall standing figures, of a young and old peasant, occupy the right- hand side. The absence of expression in the faces or significant gesture among the spectators is quite re¬ markable. It is supposed to be an early work of Murillo’s. (W., vol. iv. p. 153.) Mrs. Jameson, in her “Monastic Orders,” p. 351, says, “It is related in the legendary life of this Saint, that when he was about to cross the strait from Reggio to Messina, and the mariners refused to convey him, he spread his mantle on the waves, stepped upon it, accom¬ panied by two lay brothers, and thus they were borne over the sea, till they landed safely at Messina.” This St. Francis de Paula, of the order of St. Francis, was born in Calabria, and is the same ascetic before whom Louis XI. of France humbled himself in his dying hour. De Paula died in 1507, and was canonised by Leo X. in 1519. He became an especially popular Saint in France. Murillo, Bartolme Esteban, born at Seville in 1618; died in 1682. Scholar of Juan del Castillo, and afterwards of Velasquez. Student of the works of Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyck. Married in 1648, and was of a very devout disposition. His death was caused by a fall from a scaffold, whilst painting in the church of the Capuchins at Cadiz. (Spanish School.) E 50 NASMYTH. 151. Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by F. Perkins, Esq.) A small and exquisitely-finished scene, looking down on a river winding through a richly-wooded country. The distant horizon is broken with blue-grey moun¬ tains. The sky remarkably pure and bright. Patrick Nasmyth was born at Edinburgh in 1786. He died at Lambeth, whilst studying a thunder-storm, in 1831. NEEFS, PETER. 159 and 179. Neefs , Peter. On panel. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall. * *\ vv\ These two admirably-finished little pictures, repre¬ senting u The Liberation of St. Peter,” and the “ Inte¬ rior of a Church, with a Procession,” are mentioned in the English Connoisseur, p. 128, among Mr. Jennens’s pictures. The figures in both pictures are attributed to the elder Teniers. Peter Neefs was born at Antwerp in 1570, and a scholar of Old Steenwyck. He obtained the complete mastery of perspective. Died about 1651. NEER, VAN DER. 97. Landscape , Moonlight. On panel. (Contributed by R. Wynne Williams, Esq. A small oblong picture, very peculiar in its red and 51 blue-grey tones at first sight. It is painted on a trans¬ parent brown ground, very highly finished, and appa¬ rently in an incomplete state. The clouds are very peculiar, especially the small horizontal cloud below the moon in front of the stack of more solid and rounded forms. The central group of shipping and distant towers remarkably tender and refined. 160. A River Scene , Moonlight. On canvas. (Con¬ tributed by General Sir William Gomm, K.C.B.) A superlatively-fine work, very mellow in tone, and although dark, every part is wonderfully finished. The passage-boat party, and friends ashore greeting them, are all depicted with perfect individuality. The pris¬ matic colours round the moon are singularly truthful and delicate. Aart van der Neer, bom at Amsterdam, about 1613; died in 1683. A painter of Dutch views, with various bold effects, especially moonlight and winter. OGGIONE. See p. 6. 0RT0LAN0. 10. St. Roch , St. Sebastian , and St. Demetrius , figures full-length, life size, on panel with arched top. (Contributed by Alexander Barker, Esq.) Dimensions, 7 ft. 7 in. by 5 ft. Formerly in the parish church of Bondeno, a small E 2 52 town formerly in the fief of Este, on the road from Mantua to Ferrara. This picture is especially described by Lanzi and Scanelli. It is of a most peculiar tone, but remarkably vivid for effect of reality. The colour and massing of the shadows remind one of Maclise, whose force, if not clearness of style, is there also. The central figure of St. Sebastian is in fanciful attitude, with both arms slightly attached with cords to the lopped trunk of a tree, raised to the right. St. Roch, to the left, holds his pilgrim staff. A wicker flask, instead of the gourd, and a linen bag for a wallet, are at his feet. The dignified, contemplative figure of Saint Demetrius betokens greater power and an affinity to the sculpturesque treatment. It is iden¬ tical with a painting contributed by Dr. Wellesley to the Manchester Exhibition last year (No. 220 of the Catalogue) under the name of the Chevalier Bayard, by Giorgione. The armour is painted with astonishing truthfulness and brilliancy. Upon a paper, lying at his feet, is inscribed S. DEMET A yellow ring, not in perspective, encircles the head of each saint. The background consists of a rich landscape of high-rising rocks and trees, with cottages and people on the as¬ cending road. A cross-bow, admirably foreshortened, lies on the ground immediately below St. Sebastian, whose feet are painted with surprising mastery. This picture, as one of the Ferrarese school, by a relation of Garofalo, and by a contemporary of Raphael, deserves especial attention. It clearly marks the ten¬ dency to decadence which had even at that early time, 1525, five years after the death of Raphael, manifested 53 itself in remote places. In this picture the most com¬ plete technical mastery has been attained. The painter, we see, could represent whatever was set before him to the life; but he no longer studied to select his own themes to best advantage, or retained the genuine dramatic power. The action of St. Roch, and his countenance, also, are peculiarly insipid. Giambatista Benvenuti, commonly called l’Ortolano or the Gardener, was a cousin of Benvenuto Tisio da Garofalo, and is regarded' by Lanzi as a principal luminary of the school of Ferrara. Little is known of his life. In 1512 he studied the works of Raphael and Bagnavallo, as far as could be seen at Bologna, hut his studies were painfully interrupted by the necessity of escape from punishment for manslaughter. A picture by Ortolano, dated 1520, and in what was then con¬ sidered the old-fashioned, style of composition, was preserved in San Niccolo, at Ferrara. The work before us is supposed to have been painted in 1525, shortly before his death. Ortolano lies buried near Garofalo, in Santa Maria del Vado, at Ferrara. Important works by him in the same city are: a Holy Family in San Francesco, and a Nativity in the Public Gallery of the Palazzo del Magistrate. Many of his pictures were eagerly purchased in Rome. An Agony in the Garden by him is engraved, p. 177 of Rossini. Lanzi, vol. iii. p. 235. Dr. Roscoe’s translation, Bohn’s edition, 1847, vol. iii. p. 201, Scanelli, p. 319. Rossini, vol. v. p. 177. Nagler, Kiinstler-Lexicon, s. v. Benvenuti. OWEN, W. R.A. 170. Boy and Cat. (A diploma picture, contributed by the Royal Academy of Arts.) A farmer’s boy, in broad hat and smock frock, eating porridge out of a red bowl; a cat beside him puts her paw to it. A clever and off-hand work, painted with great breadth. Owen was born at Ludlow, in Shropshire, in 1769, and became an excellent portrait painter. Many of his works have been engraved. He was appointed por¬ trait painter to the Prince Regent in 1810. Owen had not the happy gift of com¬ bining artistic excellence with worldly dealing, and his last years were spent in bodily infirmity. He died in 1825. E 3 54 PALMEGIANI, MARCO. 27. Virgin and Saints. On panel. (Contributed by A. Barker, Esq.) A very large example of the Sagra Conversazione style of composition. The Virgin, supporting the child, is seated on the lofty pedestal of an elaborately-ornamented throne, enriched with gilt panels and bright arabesques upon them. On either side of the throne, a green and rocky landscape, St. Francis, with gold rays issuing from his stigmata, kneels on the left side, corresponding to St. Anthony of Padua, who holds a lily, on the right. Behind St. Francis stands a cardinal, with long white beard, holding a green book, but without his hat. The lion near him, however, indicates this to be St. Jerome. Next to him is St. Louis of Toulouse, having the white stole crossed on his breast. Behind St. Anthony stand St. Lucia, hold¬ ing the eyes, and a cardinal saint in purple, probably St. Bonaventura, holding a book. As a Franciscan assembly, the introduction of Bonaventura would be quite consistent. A ruined building appears behind them. St. Antony was a Portuguese by birth, and the contemporary of St. Francis, whose rules he adopted. St. Francis was the son of a rich merchant of Assisi, and died there in 1226. Palmezzano or Palmegiani, Marco, da Forli, of the Bolognese School, painted in 1503, and lived till 1537. The scholar of a celebrated master of perspective, Melozzo da Forli. Mr. Davenport, Bromley, has an altar-piece by Palmezzano, signed “ Marcus Palmezzanus pictor, Foroliviensis, mdviii.” For his habit of introducing additional subjects in his pictures, see note to No. 25 in this gallery. Vol. iii. p. 34 ; Roscoe’s translation, vol. iii. p. 30. Vasari speaks of this same painter as Marco Parmigiano da Forli. Page 839, and note (16), of Florentine edition of 1832-38. An extensive list of Palmezzano’s works is given in the last Florentine Vasari, 1855, vol. xi. p. 103. (W., vol. iii. p. 374.) 55 PANNINI, G. P. 05. Exterior of Saint Peter's at Rome. On canvas. 79. Interior of Saint Peter's at Rome. On canvas. (Contributed by the Earl of Lonsdale, from Lowther Castle.) Dimensions of each, 5 ft. 1 in. by 6 ft. 5 in. No. 79 admirably records the pleasing effect pro¬ duced in the church itself by the combination of so many richly-coloured marbles, employed for the nu¬ merous panellings. The gigantic marble boys sup¬ porting the basins of holy water, the baldacchino of the altar, the bronze throne and mosaics under the cupola, are all rendered with wonderful fidelity. The crowded figures in the outre costumes of the period give a remarkable life and spirit to the scene. 107, Interior of the Pantheon. On canvas. (Contributed by Beriah Botfield, Esq., M.P.) Dimensions, 5 ft. 3 in. by 4 ft. 4 in. A more upright picture than the preceding ones. The view is taken looking towards the door, showing the columns of the portico beyond and the clear blue sky through the ancient bronze grating over the portal. The broad-hoop costumes of the ladies, which were an ad¬ vantage in the view of St. Peter’s, become positively offensive in a classic scene like the one before us. A very admirable picture. From the collection of the Earl of Lichfield at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire. Pannint, G. P. Cavaliere, born at Piacenza, 1691, scholar of Lucatelli. A fa¬ mous painter of views and ideal rums. The figures which he introduced are ex¬ cellent. His pictures are numerous in England ; died in 1764. e 4 56 POELEMBURG. 94. Landscape with a Riposo in foreground. On panel. (Contributed by J. M. Oppenheim, Esq.) Di¬ mensions, 11 in. by 1 ft. 3 in. A gem of the first water. The scene is composed of Italian ruins and herdsmen, and cattle among them, under a beautifully soft sky. The Virgin, holding child, is seated. Joseph, in a yellow mantle, stands reve¬ rently before them. Two angels, one on a lower ground, are in attendance. The ass stands in water a little beyond. Recently purchased at the sale of Mr. Joseph Sanders’ pictures (No. 26 of Catalogue). Engraved (the reverse way) on a somewhat larger scale, when the picture was in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, by P. S. Lamborn. Poelemburg, Cornelis, born at Utrecht, 1586 ; died 1666. Scholar of Abraham Bloemart. Visited Italy, where he met with much success, and was employed by several cardinals. On his return to the Netherlands he was invited to England by Charles I.; but notwithstanding his success here he returned to Utrecht, where ho remained until his death. PORTA, FRA BARTOLOMMEO DELLA. 37. The Madonna and Child enthroned. On panel. (Con¬ tributed by the Earl of Powis.) An exquisitely-finished and lovely little picture, wrought like a miniature. The Virgin, a half-length figure, is seated with the child, and holding a book with precisely the same action as Raphael’s Madonna 57 del Cardellino at Florence. Two standing angels are raising pale yellowish-green curtains at the back. The flesh colours are too decidedly a pale crude vermilion, shaded grey. Purchased by his Lordship’s ancestor, the great Lord Clive. Engraved when in his collection by Yolpato. Bartolommeo, Bra, called also Baccio della Porta, born at Savignano, 1469; died in the convent of San Marco, at Florence, 1517. When young, he studied the works of Leonardo da Vinci. At the instigation of Savonarola, he burnt most of his studies from the nude figure. Took the habit of a Dominican friar in 1500. Became acquainted with Raphael in 1506. Raphael taught him the rules of per¬ spective, in exchange for lessons in colour. Latterly he inclined to the style of Michel Angelo. (Tuscan School.) POUSSIN, GASPAR. 103. Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by General Sir William Gomm.) The best Poussin in the Exhibition. A rich, small, very mellow landscape, figures in boats. Two naked men reclining on the bank, and a naked man fishing in the extreme right corner. 144. The Temple at Tivoli , with the Flight into Egypt , on canvas. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Charlton Park.) Dimensions, 1 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. Waagen says, “ of singular freshness and transpa¬ rency, of most careful execution.” A good mellow brown and green coloured picture. In centre of foreground is the Virgin holding the child. 58 One angel kneels in adoration, another carries a bundle and points the way. Joseph follows leading the ass. Two small naked boy angels, one with red wings, hover in the air above them. Many serious scratches are perceptible in the right-hand corner. (W., vol. iii. P-170.) Poussin, Gaspar Dughet, called Gaspar Poussin, born at Rome, 1613; died 1675. Of Prench parents, and brother-in-law to Nicolas Poussin, whose scholar he became. Is supposed to h^we been influenced by Claude Lorraine. (Prench School.) POUSSIN, NICOLAS. 111. A Bacchanalian Scene. (Contributed by Richard Buckner, Esq.) Unclassical, and not like Nicolas Poussin. 33, Acis and Galatcea. On canvas. (Contributed by J. Leslie, Esq.) No. 240 of Smith’s Catalogue, and thus described:— “ Acis and Galatasa. The lovers are represented sitting affectionately together on the sea-shore, and two cupids are raising the drapery which surrounds them, in order to conceal their tender amours. Polyphemus, the rival of the youth, is seated on a rock beyond them playing on his reed-pipe. On the opposite side are se¬ veral nereides, tritons, and cupids, wantoning in the sea; two of the cupids are close to the front, playing with dolphins, and near to these is a triton bearing a nymph in his arms, and another is seizing a nereid by the waist; two cupids soar over their heads, one of whom is 59 about to launch an arrow from his hand, and the other has discharged the weapon from his bow. — Engraved by Gamier, 3 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 4 in.” This picture was formerly at Althorp, and sold very recently at Messrs. Christies, by desire of the late Earl Spencer. Engraved in Landon, vol. i. pi. 45. 170 , A Classical Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed c ( , by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A large, rich, and very dark composition, two females in foreground, by a piece of water, the younger of them in the act of washing her feet. An old woman with a basket seated to the right. A naked youth peeps at her over a leafy bank. Engraved in Landon, vol. i. pi. 59. Poussin, Nicolas, born at Andely, in Normandy, 1594 ; died at Rome, 1665. Scholar of an artist of the name of Quintin Varin. Studied the works of Raphael and Giulio Romano. Went to Rome, 1624, where he studied the works of Titian and Domenichino. Invited to return to Prance, in 1639, by Louis XIII., who named him his first painter in ordinary, 1641. He returned to Rome in 1642, and as Louis XIII. died soon after, he remained there until his death. (French School.) PKOCACCINI, ERCOLE. 4. Holy Family. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Gopsall.) Half-length figures. The Virgin, with a book in her right hand, embraces the Divine Infant, who looks into her face with enthusiastic expression, and outstretched arms. Joseph, resting on a staff, bends forward; Eliza¬ beth appears on the other side. The composition has 60 some resemblance to Raphael's celebrated Holy Family in the Louvre, painted for Francis I. Procaccini, Ercole, called II Vecchio, born at Bologna, 1520 ; still living in 1591. His chief model was Correggio. (Lombard School.) REMBRANDT. 95. Tobit recovering his sight. On canvas. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) Dimensions, 3 ft. 11 \ in. by 3 ft. 6 in. r<~u tc/, s Crt- foocp Tobias anoints the eyes of the old man seated in a chair towards the left. The wife holds his hands. A chaudpied , box with pan of coals, on the ground beside them. The angel stands by the table on the right side, resting his left hand upon it, and grasping a stick with the other. His face is peculiarly vulgar. The folds of the white sleeve very harsh; and the architectural lines of the background roughly scratched in with the palette- knife, and filled in afterwards with a dark liquid colour. More probably the work of Bol than Rembrandt. This picture is mentioned in the Jennens collection, at p. 131, vol. i. of the English Connoisseur. A similar subject was etched by A. Marcenay, in 1755. The subject also occurs in Smith’s Catalogue, No. 52. The picture belonged to Mr. Hibbert in 1829. 100. A Goldsmith of Antwerp. On canvas. (Contributed by Sir W. F. Middleton, Bart.) Dimensions, 4 ft. 2J in. by 3 ft. 2J in. 61 It is thus described in Smith’s Catalogue Raisonne, No. 6 of Supplement: — “Portrait of an elderly man, supposed to be John Lutma, a person with a thin face, represented in a three- quarter view, having a small grey beard; his dress con¬ sists of a dark-coloured robe bordered with fur, and relieved by a white scarf or cravat round the neck: and a small cap covers his head. He is seated, resting his right hand on the fur of his mantle, and holding a bamboo cane with the other. Painted in the artist’s most vigorous style.” Exhibited in the British Gallery, 1837. 102. Rembrandt's Mother. On canvas. (Contributed by Sir William Middleton, Bart.) Dimensions, 4 ft. 2 J in. by 3 ft. 2 in. This picture, in the head at least, closely approaches the portrait of an old woman which passed from the Verstolk collection into that of Lord Overstone. It was No. 677 of the Manchester Exhibition in 1857. The picture before us is described in the Supplement to Smith’s Catalogue Raisonn^, No. 14, p. 796:— “ Portrait of an elderly lady, dressed in a black cap, descending in a point on her forehead, a black silk gown, and a dark cloak bordered with fur, relieved by a full white ruff: she is represented in a front view, seated, resting her left hand on the knob of her chair, and holding a white handkerchief in her right. This picture is singularly rich and unctuous in colour, and is a fine example of the master’s free and accomplished style.” About 4 ft. 2 in. by 3 ft. 3 in. 62 76a The Tribute Money. On canvas. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. 9 J in. Dated 1645. Formerly in the collections of M. Robit and Sir Simon Clarke; No. 81 of his sale catalogue in 1840. It became the property of Messrs. Wodburn, and was sold, at the dispersion of their effects, to Mr. Pearce. The Catalogue Raisonn4 of Mr. Smith, No. Ill, p. 47, thus describes it:— “ Tribute Money. The event here portrayed occurs in the interior of a temple, in which are assembled about sixteen persons, twelve of whom are congregated in the foreground of the scene, and among them is a Pharisee, richly habited, in the act of showing a piece of money to Jesus, who stands in the centre of the group in a profile view, with one hand slightly extended, apparently uttering that unanswerable reply, 1 Render unto CaBsar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.’ Dated 1645. This is probably the picture which was engraved by Mac Ardell at the time it was in the collection of John Blackwood, Esq.” Collection of M. Robit, 1801. 8850 fs. 352/. Ex¬ hibited in the British Gallery, 1815. Rembrandt van Rhyn, so called because born, 1606, on the banks of the Rhine near Leyden, was the son of a miller, and acquired his original notions of light and shade from the interior of his father’s mill. He studied under Jacob van Swanenburg, Pieter Lastmann, and Jacob Pinas, and became equally celebrated as a painter and engraver. In the latter capacity he strictly confined himself to his own compositions. Settled at Amsterdam in 1630, married 1634, and died there in 1669. He died, it is said, in comparative poverty, although he made large sums from time to time by the sale of his etchings. 63 REYNOLDS, SIR JOSHUA. 128. Nelly O'Brien . (Contributed by Edward Mills, Esq.) Front face, left arm resting on a pedestal. The hand most carelessly “ blocked in.” Engraved in mezzotint by Jas. Wilson, and by Spooner, Watson, and S. W. Reynolds. 156. Nelly O'Brien , in profile to left. (Contributed by Lady Dover.) In pensive attitude, with high-dressed brown hair, leaning her right elbow on blue drapery and a large stone vase. Painted in May, 1764. Dated on the frame, 1773. Engraved in mezzotint by J. Dixon, 1774, and S. W. Reynolds. 132. Maria , Duchess of Gloucester. (Contributed by G. Yernon Harcourt, Esq. M.P.) A tall oval picture. A fine earnest countenance, gazing upwards, with chin resting on hand; very sentimental in expression, and powerfully painted. See frontispiece to vol. iv. of Walpole’s Letters to Sir Horace Mann, published by Bentley 1844, for the same fine countenance when she was the Countess of Waldegrave, also vol. ii. p. 219. Engraved by S. W. Reynolds in 1823; J. Watson and Mac Ardell, 1762. A similar head, on a large scale, engraved by J. Fin¬ lay son. 64 141. Admiral Keppel. (Contributed by the Hon. Mrs. Ramsden.) Very animated, full of powerful expression; head turned to the left. A similar picture to the one for¬ merly belonging to Mr. Wright, and now in the collec¬ tion of Sir Robert Peel. Exhibited at the British Institution in 1845. Engraved by Wm. Doughty, in mezzotint, 1779. Augustus Viscount Keppel, born 1727, was second son of the Earl of Albe¬ marle. He was the friend who took Sir Joshua Reynolds abroad in 1749, first to Algiers and thence to Minorca and Italy. Mr. Burke, alluding to a portrait of the Admiral, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, calls him “ the excellent friend of that excellent man from their earliest youth, and a common friend of us both.” Keppel accompanied Anson round the world. 146. Thomas Fane , Earl of Westmoreland. (Con¬ tributed by the Earl of Westmoreland.) The Earl succeeded to the title in 1762, and this picture was probably painted two years later, when Sir Joshua was 40 years of age. It is elaborately wrought in the artist’s earlier manner, and in excellent preservation. (Comp. W., vol. iii. p. 411.) 165. Lady Beaumont. On canvas. (Contributed by Sir George Beaumont, Bart.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. ^ in. A most charming portrait, but unfortunately in bad condition from the nature of the materials employed by the artist. The effect of the blue ribbon round the neck as a set-off to the face and a contrast to the rest of her dress, composed of plain black silk and white linen, is quite extraordinary. Engraved in mezzotint by J. R. Smith, 1780, and S. W. Reynolds. 65 174. Saint Agnes. (Contributed by the Rev. C. Bu¬ chanan Riddell.) Dimensions, 2 ft. h\ in. by 2 ft. in. A rich bold study; with upturned countenance, and the usual emblems of the lamb and palm branch. Engraved in line by T. Chambers. 177. A Woody Landscape. On canvas. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 5 in. by 2 ft. 4 in. A fine rich scene, from the collection of Rogers the poet, and No. 604 of his sale catalogue. Showing a decided predilection for the glowing colour, blue mountains, and rich foliage of Titian. 181. The Marquis of Granby. (Contributed by the Duke of Newcastle.) A small sketch for the fine large picture once belong¬ ing to the Duke of Rutland; another is in the possession of Her Majesty. Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R. A., the son of a clergyman, was bom at Plympton in Devonshire, 1723. Studied under Hudson the portrait painter. Travelled in Italy and other countries, from 1749 to 1752. Founded the Royal Academy in 1768, was knighted in the same year, and died 1792. RUYSDAEL, 53. Woody Landscape. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A small picture on panel, very sombre. A girl and F 66 sheep under the tree to the right. A pool of water in the centre. .91, Sea Shore . (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) A stormy sea, and a shallow bay, with fine breakers on the shore. A church tower and stranded vessel are prominent features. Ruysdael, Jacob, born at Haarlem about 1630; died 1681. The friend and supposed to be the scholar of Berchem and Everdingen. SIGNORELLI, LUCA, 23. St George. ( Contributed by Alexander Barker, Esq.) Mounted on horseback, the Saint appears valiantly combating the dragon. The princess is making her escape in rather violent action. The dead victims of the dragon lying on the ground most daringly fore¬ shortened, clearly demonstrate the spirit of the old masters in contending with difficulties. A pretty group in the distance, amidst rocks, of the princess mounted with the victor preparatory to returning with him, should not be overlooked. (W., vol. iii. p. 126.) 23 and 30. Two Pilasters , with gilt capitals and tall panels, in each of which are painted, on blue ground, three figures, one above the other. Dimensions, 4 ft. 3J in. by 4 ft. No. .28. The uppermost figure is St. Bernard, with pen and book ; the central one St. Onuphrio ; and the 67 lowest St. Elizabeth of Hungary. See A. J, Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 445. (W., vol. ii. p. 126.) No. 30. The upper figures are Tobias and the angel with the fish. The central one, St. Jerome, or St. Bo- naventura, and the lowest St. Bernardino of Siena, holding the mysterious I.H.S tablet in his hands. These pilasters formed the sides of his altar-piece, the Descent from the Cross, in San Donino. Luca Signorelli was born at Cortona, 1440. His chief works are frescoes at Orvieto, and in the Sistine chapel at Eome. Michael Angelo borrowed several of his figures among the bold foreshortenings of his Last Judgment, a subject also painted by Signorelli. He was still living in 1524. SNYDERS. 98. Boar Hunt. On canvas. Dimensions 7 ft. 9 in. by 8 ft. A very fine picture. Four dogs besetting the boar, one thrown on his back, another bites the top of boar’s neck. Trees with bold trunks form a very important part of the scene. 106. A. fox , having killed a white cock , is attacked by a wolf. Another fox sits at a distance watching the conflict. This picture, finer still, is equally landscape in treatment; the foliage, especially a thistle, is excellently rendered. These pictures, from the Fesch collection, are contri¬ buted by Lord Kenyon. They are said also to have F 2 68 been for a time at Mr. Fletcher’s, Peel Hall, near Man¬ chester. Snyders, or Sneyders, Franz, born at Antwerp, 1579 ; died 1657. Scholar of Henrik van Balen. Friend of Rubens, in conjunction with whom he painted several pictures. Employed by Philip III. of Spain and the Archduke Albert. STEEN, JAN. 83. The Hurdy Gurdy Player. On panel. (Con¬ tributed by the Earl of Lonsdale, from Lowther Castle.) Dimensions, 2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. The musician is seated; a boy watching the keys is capital. Dancers appear in the distance ; the scene is laid in front of an inn, with the sign of “ Pecul Ha- rings.” The name of the artist is inscribed “J. Steen.” Steen, Jan, born at Leyden, 1636 ; died at Delft, 1689. Scholar of Nicholas Kunfter, a painter of historical subjects at Utrecht, and afterwards of Van Goycn, a landscape painter. He was established in a brewery, but, becoming bankrupt, was assisted to open a tavern; is said to have been addicted to great excesses, which often plunged him into poverty and distress. He relieved himself from them by the exercise of his art. TENIERS, DAVID, THE YOUNGER. 54. Playing at Bowls. On canvas. Dimensions, 1 ft. 8^ in. by 2 ft. 10J in. The courtyard of a house with a well in it. A group of peasants in foreground, to the left, throwing bowls. Under a shed, with the usual horse’s skull upon it, are numerous persons seated drinking at a table. A small but very bright picture. 69 59. Brick-making , a large open-air scene. On canvas. Dimensions, 3 ft. 6 in. by 5 ft. 7 in. A cottage to the left, in front of which is a woman scouring a kettle on a cask with a handful of straw, a man with a pipe walking away from her. In the centre, on the flat ground, is a lad laying out bricks, and further to the right is an old man moulding bricks at a rude table; a rough wheeled-sledge, for carrying the bricks, lies on the ground in front. A brick-kiln in the centre of the picture. A boy in blue jacket runs towards the old man with an empty mould. Very pale and silvery in tone, broadly painted, and with an impasto closely approaching to the style of Velasquez. 88. A Cow-shed. On canvas. Dimensions, 2 ft. 7in. by 3 ft. 9^ in. An excellent picture. A woman pouring out milk from a pan into a brass vessel. A man speaking to her over a half-closed door in left-hand corner. A boy holding a calf in the centre admirably painted. Three cows stand with their heads in the stalls: brass and earthen vessels about a table in the right-hand corner. (TV., vol. iv. p. 511.) These three pictures, of excellent quality, have been contributed by the Duke of Newcastle, from Clumber Park. . Teniers, David, the younger, born at Antwerp, 1610; died 1694. Scholar of his father, then of Adrian Brauwer, and lastly of Kubcns. The Archduke Leopold was his first protector ; he named him painter to the Court, and director of his pic¬ ture gallery. The King of Spain thought so much of Tenier’s paintings, that he constructed a gallery for their reception. He built a chateau at a village near Antwerp and Mechlin, which became the resort of the distinguished men of Belgium. F 3 70 TINTORETTO. 47. Portrait of Domino Piero Richetti. Canvas stretched on panel. (Contributed by G. Richmond, Esq., A.R.A). Seated in an arm-chair. Very fine, and powerfully painted, with solid body of colour. His name inscribed on a letter held in his right hand. The inscription seems to have suffered less by time than many other parts of the surface. Kobusti, Jacopo, called Tintoretto, born at Venice, 1512 ; died at same place, 1594. He entered the School of Titian, and was expelled his studio. He was a great admirer of Michael Angelo in design, and was gifted with remarkable ra¬ pidity of execution. The number of his works is immense. (Venetian School.) TITIAN. 12. Full-length portrait of the Emperor Charles V. On canvas. (Contributed by Mrs. Henry Dawson.) Dimensions, 6 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 10 in. An admirable work ; but unfortunately much obli¬ terated by dirt and in very bad condition. The Em¬ peror, dressed in black, with plain black cap on and gloves in left hand, stands on a black-and-white chec- quered pavement. A partridge in the left corner in front. A green curtain and plain brown background fill the rest of the picture. This is an excellent ex¬ ample of the manner in which individual peculiarities, not only of the form, but of the temperament of the person represented, can also be conveyed to the spec¬ tator. The pose of the figure before us is very similar 71 to that of his son Philip II. in the grand picture by the same artist at Naples. The Emperor Charles was born in 1500 , and was Titian’s especial patron. Portraits of the monarch by the great Venetian painter are numerous. _ One, remarkably simple and characteristic, representing him seated in a chair, is in the Pinacothek at Munich. A small picture of Charles on horseback, a study for the great picture at Madrid, belonged to Rogers the poet; it was No. 619 of his sale catalogue in 1856. The same collection included the Apotheosis of Charles V., known as “ La Gloria di Tiziano,” and now the property of Lord Harry Vane. 43. Portrait of a Physician. On canvas. (Contributed by F. Grant, Esq., R.A.) Inscribed, in large black letters upon a pedestal sup¬ porting an hour-glass, ANNO AET. XLII. M.D.LXXIIII. The chief interest of this picture consists in its having been a present from Canova to his physician. The letter from the great sculptor is attached to the back of the picture. The person represented has been called Yesalius. Painted opaquely and very different from the process usually adopted by Titian in his known works. Titian, Vecellio, born at Cadore, 1477 ; died 1576. Scholar of Giovanni Bellini. Contemporary with Giorgione, whose pictures in the ducal palace he finished at his death, in 1511. Invited to Bologna, in 1530, by the Emperor Charles V., at whose desire, it is said by some, he visited Spain. Invited to Bo¬ logna, in 1543, by Pope Paul III. He visited Rome in 1545, when he made the acquaintance of Michael Angelo, and is said to have refused the office held by Se¬ bastian del Piombo at that artist’s death, in 1547. Died of the plague in Venice, at the advanced age of 99, 1576. F 4 72 TURNER, J. M. W., R.A. 167 . Landscape , Evening. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) A tranquil scene, having, at first sight, the appearance of a Wilson. A piece of water, surrounded by dark mountains ; a large round tower and the blue sky re¬ flected in it. Turner was born 1775, and died 1851. UWINS, T., R.A. 186 . A Neapolitan Widow , mourning over her dead child , is distracted at the joyous sounds of the Carnival. (A diploma picture, contributed by the Royal Aca¬ demy of Arts.) One of those contrasts of grief and mirth which insure a certain amount of success to all who adopt it. How different would have been the treatment, had one of the earnest men called Pre-Raphaelites undertaken the same theme ! Thomas Uwins was born in London, 1790. His best pictures are scenes of Italian festas and brigand subjects. He died August, 1857. VECCHIA, PIETRO DELLA. 44 . Banditti. On canvas. (Contributed by the Duke of Sutherland, K.G.) 73 A long picture in gay colours, boldly executed, valuable for fancy costumes of the period of Giorgione and Raphael. In the centre is a group of robbers dicing on a drum. Dr. Waagen says, “very animated, and the solidly-painted colour very glowing.” (W., vol. ii. p. 61.) Pietro della Vecchia was born at Venice, 1605, and b&came a pupil of Varotari, called Padovanino. Many of bis works are taken for those of iitian and Giorgione, and Licinio or Pordenone. He was celebrated as a restorer or old pictures : hence his name. He married a Erench artist named Regmer, designe many of the mosaics for St. Mark’s at Venice, and died there 1678. VELDE, ADRIAN VAN DER. 66 . Landscape and Cattle. On canvas. (Contributed by J. M. Oppenheim, Esq.) An admirable example of all the best qualities of the master. The picture is signed on the side of the bank under the standing sheep. The date is unfor¬ tunately too much obliterated to be deciphered. Dr. Waagen pronounces it “a charming picture of the middle time of the master. Pleasing in compo¬ sition, harmonious in the clear and mildly warm tone, and of delicate rendering of detail.” (W., vol. iv. p. 292.) It is described in Smith’s Catalogue Raisonne, No. 2 of the Supplement, p. 629, as follows:— “A hilly country adorned with trees, and represented under the appearance of a cloudy evening. A shallow stream flows along the foreground, on the bank of which sits a woman, wearing a blue petticoat, washing her feet; 74 a cow on her right is slaking its thirst in the pool, and on her left are two more cows, and also a few sheep: a goat is in the meadow. About 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft. 6 in. C. From the Calviere Collection. Sold in the collection of M. Dubois, Paris, 1840, 8010 fr. (£320.)” Sold recently at the sale of Mr. Joseph Sanders’ pic¬ tures from Taplow House, No. 39 of the Catalogue. It was exhibited last year in the Manchester Exhibition, No. 769. Velde, Adrian van der, painter and engraver, born at Amsterdam, 1693 ; died 1772. Scholar of Wynants, and fellow-student of Wouverman. He was very assiduous in his study of nature. He often painted figures and animals in the landscapes of Wynants van der Heyden. VELDE, WILLIAM VAN DER. 67. A Fresh Breeze. On panel. (Contributed by J. E. Fordham, Esq.) A charming small picture. Ships on a brisk sea. Mellow, grey in tone. Marked on a floating spar W. V. V. 73. A Calm. On panel. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Charlton Park.) A beautiful clear little picture, exquisitely finished. Fishing-boats on calm water; bathers in middle dis¬ tance; large vessels lying far off. The reflections in the water wonderfully true. Formerly in the collection of the Due de Choiseul. Dr. Waagen says, “ of singular delicacy and trans¬ parency.” (W., vol. iii. p. 170.) 75 117, A Fresh Breeze. On canvas. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) From the collection of the late Dr. Fletcher, of Glou¬ cester, No. 168 of Smith’s Catalogue Raisonne, and thus described: — u A marine view represented under the effect of a gentle breeze. A Dutch coaster, a yacht, a frigate, and a sloop, besides three small boats, are sailing on different tacks. The former vessel is nearest to the spectator, and is seen approaching the front under main and jib sails, while the yacht is receding in a contrary direction. An excellent little picture 1 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. 2^ in.” The heavy mass of red-grey cloud against the pale blue sky is very remakable. William van der Velde, the younger, born at Amsterdam, 1633; died at Greenwich, 1707. Both this painter and his father William were patronised by Charles II. and James II. Both were marine painters, and distinct from Adrian van der Velde. VINCI, LEONARDO DA. For Nos. 5 and 7 see pages 5 and 1. (TU 0 .. .... 8. The Infant Saviour and St John. (Contributed by Lord Ashburton.) The two children stand with a lamb between them, yellow flag flowers, (the iris,) in the dark back¬ ground. This picture appears to me a very fine Luini; an opinion which has also the support of Dr. Waagen. (W., vol. ii. page 99.) 76 11. The Virgin and Child. (Contributed by the Earl of Suffolk, from Charlton Park.) So many uniform opinions have already been given upon this picture through medium of the public press, that it is hardly necessary for me to say more than to remark that I am not aware of any competent judge having yet pronounced it otherwise than the work of a distant follower of Da Vinci. For Life of Da Vinci, see page 10. ■ VOS, DE. 56 and 56. Portraits of a Burgomaster and his wife. (Contributed by W. J. Broderip, Esq.) They are hung too high for any pretension to a critical opinion. Their importance, however, is vouched for by the fact that they belonged to Mr. Beckford, and were hung in a conspicuous position in his Lansdowne Tower. They afterwards passed through the hands of Mr. C. T. Maud of Bath, whose collection and discrimi¬ nating judgment of art are well known to the best judges. Simon de Vos was born at Antwerp in 1603, and studied in the school of Rubens; many of his works have been taken for the productions of that great master. Sir Joshua Reynolds says, in his “ Journey to Flanders and Holland ” page 304, vol. 11. of his works, edited by Malone, “ Dc Vos was particularly ex¬ cellent in portraits, and describes one as “ so highly finished, in the broad manner or Correggio, that nothing can exceed it.” He was still living in 1662. 77 WATTEAU. §6. A Bridal Procession. (Contributed by Mrs. W. Tower.) Engraved in the magnificent series of Watteau’s works: “Les (Euvres d’Antoine Watteau, par les Soins de M. de Julienne, 2 vols., Paris,” composed of finished line engravings. Watteau, Antoine, born at Valenciennes, 1684; died 1721. Went to Paris when young, where he assisted in the decorations of the Opera House, and after¬ wards. became the pupil of an artist of the name of Gillot. He visited England in the reign of George I. (French School.) WILSON, RICHARD. 131. Morning. (Contributed by F. Perkins, Esq., from Chipstead Place.) A superb picture, with a slightly murky effect of morning mist, and devoid of any particular depths of colour. The scene represents a ruined tower on Lake Avernus. A tomb to the left in the foreground, and to the right a large fallen branch of a tree. A duplicate seems to have belonged to Lady Ford. Well known by the engraving. ( Allan Cunningham’s British Painters, vol. i. p. 203.) Etched by T. Hastings, 1824. No. 40 of a work called “ Etchings from the Works of R. Wilson.” 4to., London, 1825. s 78 137. Evening. The companion (also from F. Perkins, Esq.) More mellow in tone, and more slightly painted. The view is of Castel Gandolfo. The expanse of water broken by ruins and a bridge. People dancing in front. The sun is setting behind the castle, on rocks to the right. 43. Windsor Forest. A park scene, with rich clumps of trees, &c. (Contributed by Wynn Ellis, Esq.) Richard Wilson, the son of a Montgomeryshire clergyman, was born in 1713 ms biographer was Mr. Wright of Nottingham. In Italy Wilson became the friend of Raphael Mengs, Vernet, and Zucarelli. and on his return to England succeeded Hayman as librarian to the Royal Academy. He suffered extreme poverty and bitter treatment from his brother artists. Relief and kindness came too late. When be¬ yond hopes of alleviation from sickness a competence was left him, and he retired to his native Welsh mountains only to expire, in 1782. WOUVERMAN. 93* Landscape and Figures. On panel. (Contributed by Earl Howe, from Gopsall.) Mentioned on p. 137 of The English Connoisseur. ... .• q A small clear fresh picture. A cow lowing, on high rock, against sky, and a white horse to right. A man down, and a woman in centre. ZOFFANY. 45. King George III., Queen Charlotte , and family . On canvas. (Contributed by Her Majesty.) An elaborate composition of full-length figures, on a small scale; admirably finished, with very refined feel- 79 ing, but unfortunately, the male figures are in fancy costumes, which detracts from the interest of the sub¬ ject as genuine -portraiture. The picture is engraved by R. Earlom. Queen Charlotte is seated, with two young princesses, beside a handsome table supporting the regalia upon a cushion. The King, in white wig and pale blue satin and silver dress, stands in the centre leaning against a column. The Prince of Wales, in red, and Duke of York, in yellow, stand to the left. At the feet of the latter is seated the Princess Royal with a spaniel. On the extreme left is the Duke of Clarence, in blue, holding a white cockatoo. The distant land¬ scape consists of a park with rich trees, and a group of statuary representing combatants on a pedestal. A rich curtain and a vase of flowers above the regalia are ad¬ mirably painted, and show the variety of the artist’s powers. It is not improbable, however, that the flowers were painted by Miss Moser. 155, Queen Charlotte , two of her brothers , and some of her children. A companion picture. (Contri¬ buted by Her Majesty.) Peculiarly grey and cold in tone ; by no means equal in artistic merit to Ho. 45. The two brothers of the Queen are the Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz and Prince Ernest of Mecklen¬ burg Strelitz. The children are the Princess Royal and the Duke of Clarence. 80 ZUCCHERO. 2. Frances Knevet , Countess of Rutland. (Contributed by the Duke of Rutland.) A full length portrait, with very light brown hair and fresh complexion, resting her right elbow on a table covered with a puce-coloured cloth. The left hand is concealed in a geranium-red mantle, em¬ broidered with silver and curiously cut out at the edges. The dress is black, embroidered with gold and a profusion of lace. Red curtains are festooned at the upper corners of the picture, and the ground is covered with a Turkey carpet, in the style of Van Somer or Mark Garrard, to whom I would sooner have attributed it. The name of the Countess is inscribed in the left hand corner. THE END. LONDON I PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO, NEW. STREET SQUARE.