FTom the Uhrary ' TH E BRITISH GALLERY 0 F PICTURES. THE BRITISH GALLERY OF PICTURES, SELECTED FROM THE MOST ADMIRED PRODUCTIONS OF THE IN GREAT BRITAIN; ACCOMPANIED WITH DESCRIPTIONS, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL. By the late HENRY TRESHAM, R. A. PROFESSOR OP PAINTING IN TUB HOYAI, ACADEMV, And WILLIAM YOUNG OTTLEY, Esq. F.S.A. THE EXBCL-TIVE PAHT UMDEH THE MANAGEMEKT 01' PELTRO WILLIAM T03IKINS, Esq. HISTORICAL ENGRAVER TO HER MAJESTY. itoniion : PRINTED BY BENSLEY AND SON, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, PATERNOSTER ROW; CADELL AND DA VIES, STRAND; AND P. W. TOMKINS, NEW BOND STREET. 1818. TO THE KING. SIRE, The utility of cultivating the arts of elegance, the delight they afford the human mind, the importance they maintain in the empire of commerce, the splendour they diffuse round a Throne dignified by the protection of genius and the support of virtue, were considerations which impelled us to solicit the privilege of laying at our Sovereign's feet 1!D!)e 15rttis!) (Waller? of ^^tctures: A work commenced under the Royal patronage, and with permission humbly dedicated to your Majesty, by Your Majesty's Most faithful subjects, (Did dutiful servants, London, THE PROPRIETORS. April 8, 1808. TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, PATRON; HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES, VICE PATRON; THE EARL OF DARTMOUTH, PRESIDENT ; AND THE REST OP THE NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN, GOVERNORS OF THE BRITISH INSTITUTION FOR PROMOTING THE FINE ARTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. LIST OF ENGRAVINGS FR()i\l THE OLD MASTERS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME. PAINTERS. Giotto di Bondone DomenicoGhirlandajo . . . . Rajfaello Ttaffaello Raffacllo GiuUo Romano Andrea del Sarlo Giorgione da Castel Franco Renvemito da Garofolo . . JBaroccio Niccolo Ponssin Claudio Lorenese Parmigiano Schidone Gjiido Reni Guercino Rubens -Adrian Vander-Werf .... Ctnjp Adrian Van Ostade D. Teniers, Jun Gerhard Dow JVouwermana Serghem Paul Potter SUBJECTS. Two Heads of Apostles . . . The Madonna and Child . . . The Madonna and Child . . . The Holy Family, called La Belle Vierge The Madonna, Infant Christ, 1 and St. John ) The Holy Family with St. John The Madonna, Infant Christ, -i Elizabeth, and St. John. . ) Gaston de Foix The Vision of St. Augustine. . La Madonna del Gatto Children at Play Mid-Day Marriage of St. Catherine. . . . The Horn-Book Lot and his Daughters Christ in the Sepulchre The Woman taken in Adultery The Incredulity of St. Thomas An Aquatic Fete at Dort .... The Interior of a Cottage. . . . The Bonnet Vert Gerhard Dow The Village Festival The Happy Shepherds Evening IN THE POSSESSION OF ENGRAVERS. Samuel Rogers; Esq. . . Thomas Cheesman. Hon. C. F. GreviUe. . M. A. Bourlier. f P.W. Tomkins, Historical Engra- Henry Hope, Esq < t ver to her late Majesty. Marqids of Stafford. . Ditto. Ditto .... Freeman. Adm. Lord Radstock P. W. Tomkins. T/te Rev. TV. H. Carr Ditto. Earl Carlisle A. Cardon. The Rev. W. H. Carr P. W. Tomkins. Ditto A. Cardon. Earl Grosvenor R. Woodman. Ditto J. H. Wright. JFm. Morland, Esq.. . J. S. Agar. Earl Ashburnham . . . . R. Cooper. Marquis of Lansdowne Schiavonetti. Adin. Lord Radstock T. Cheesman and P. W. Tomkins. Heitry Hope, Esq A. Cardon. f E. Sciiven, Engraver to H. R. H. Henry P. Hope, Esq. < , -r, . ( the Pnnce Regent. fT. Medland, Engraver to H.R.H. 3iarquis of Stafford . . < , . \ the Prince Regent. Jerem. Harman, Esq. A. Cardon and Wm. Bond. Ditto R. Cooper. Marquis of Stafford. . E. Scriven. Henry P. Hope, Esq. John Scott. Earl Grosvenor Ditto. Ditto Ditto. TWO HEADS OF APOSTLES. IN THE COLLECTION OF SAMUEL ROGERS, ESQ. LONDON. i&amtcD bp dgtotto Di JBonDone. If we trace the early history of painting and sculpture among the moderns, we shall find that the small state of Tuscany, single handed, contributed more towards their restoration and establishment, in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, than all the rest of the vast continent of Europe besides ; and that there is scarcely an artist on record who efiected any material improvement in those arts during that long period who was not one of her citizens. Vasari dates the revival of painting from Giovanni Cimahue, a Flo- rentine, soon after the middle of the thirteenth century: during several previous centuries that art had existed in a state of torpor rather than of active life, and its rude professors, copying each other and repeating by routine the same meagre forms, the same subjects, and the same tra- ditional compositions, without an attempt at improvement, had by degrees reduced it to the lowest state of degradation. Cimabue was the first to free himself from this thraldom, and assisted, as there is reason to believe, by his observation of the hitlierto neglected remains of an- cient sculpture, so far improved upon the style which he had derived from certain Greek artists, his masters, as to merit from posterity the glorious title of restorer of painting. Giotto di Boudone, the author of the interesting specimen now before us, was rescued by Cimabue from the obscurity of a shepherd's cottage. He had accustomed himself from infancy, self-taught, to design after nature ; he ever afterwards adhered to the practice, and it was the basis of his style. His figures are always unaffectedly varied in their distribution, attitudes, and expressions, according to the subject they are employed to represent, and a certain easy gracefulness is every where apparent in them. Anatomical correctness iu drawing the human figure, the niceties of perspective, and the difficult task of fore- shortening with exactness, besides some other accomplishments of the art which might be mentioned, made no part of the business of a pain- ter of this early period, and were, indeed, little studied until near the middle of the fifteenth century. Nevertheless, the works of Giotto here and there exhibit attempts at merit of these kinds which deserve praise; especially in the way of linear perspective, in which part of the art, although the rules of it were as yet quite unknown, he has sometimes succeeded in producing effects not very remote from those of nature. In the two great essentials of painting, invention and expression, Giotto has, even until now, had few equals ; and his pictures commonly tell their stories so well, as to relieve an attentive spectator from the usual task of inquiring concerning the subject. Amongst the many considerable performances of Giotto enumerated by Vasari was a chapel in the church of the Carmelites at Florence, painted by him in fresco with stories of St. John the Baptist. The work remained entire until the year 1771) when the church was so greatly injured by fire as to render it necessarj' that it should be rebuilt. Upon this occasion a place in the new plan was given to the celebrated chapel by Masaccio, which had escaped the flames : but it was found necessary to take down that of Giotto, which had indeed suffered considerably in the conflagration. Before this was done, however, Mr. Patch, an Eng- lish artist, then at Florence, made slight drawings of the whole, which he afterwards published, and also caused several of the groups of heads to be preserved, by sawing the pieces from the wall. The fragment now presented to the reader is one of these, and was taken from the compartment in which the burial of St. John was represented. The heads have great merit; but the circular glories or diadems around them give to the picture an air of gothicism, from which, but for that circumstance, it would be found in a great measure e.\empt. This was no fault of Giotto. The custom was one of venerable antiquity, and was continued with modifications until the sixteenth century. This specimen, which, as has been said, is painted in fresco on the wall, was brought to England by the late Hon. Charles Francis Greville. The late Mr. Townley possessed two or three other pieces saved from the same chapel. Painted in fresco on the wall, measures 1 foot 7 i iiiclies, by 1 foot 7i inclies in width. Size of the Engraving, 5 f inches, by 5f incl)cs. Drawn by Satcliwell, and engraved by Tliomas Chcesman, with the permission of tlie Proprietor. THE MADONNA AND CHILD. FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE THE HON. THOMAS GREVILLE, LONDON. iBainteD bp aoomtmto (15l)irIanti8io. W^Ho would suppose, on viewing the works of Ghirlandajo, drily precise as they are in outliue, timid in respect of invention, and cold in their colouring ; — that such an artist had been the tutor of him, whose sublime and varied conceptions, embodied in forms of the most grand and energetic character, excite our wonder in the Chapel of Sixtus in the Vatican ! And yet there is reason to believe, that the rigid mode of study practised by the artists of the fifteenth century, and especially by tliose of Florence, amongst whom Ghirlandajo ranked as one of the most eminent, was in reality the best qualified to pave the way for the splendid epocha of painting which immediately followed. The meagre, but pure and correct, design of those early masters, formed an excellent school for the education of the youth of the succeeding century ; for it is found by experience, to be more easy for the student to improve the slender forms of an original which is placed before him, by adding a certain fulness and undulation of outline, than to reduce the super- fluities of an exaggerated contour within just limits. Thus the tremen- dous but learned style of design, which had been gradually perfected by Michelangiolo, and especially adopted by him in his Fresco of the Last Judgment, soon degenerated, in the hands of the numerous imitators of that great artist, into aff'ectation and ponderous absurdity : and although, after a time, the painters of Florence discovered their error; still the task of tracing back their steps proved so far from easy, that they may he said to liave forfeited, in the attempt, the little energy of style that still remained amongst them, rather than to have re- established the art in its pristine integrity. The remains which still exist of the Art, in the early stages of its progress towards perfection, are therefore not only entitled to be viewed with indulgence of their faults, but to command our respect. Their defects, unaccompanied by the dazzling imposture of more modern schools of painting, cannot mislead ; their beauties may always be studied with advantage. The specimen before us is to be considered not as an historical representation, but as a picture intended to be purely votive. The Madonna kneels with modest dignity before the divine Infant; whose future sufferings, and ultimate dominion in Heaven and on Earth, are figuratively expressed by the Globe, surmounted by a Cross, which he holds in his hand. An attendant Angel devoutly watches over him, ready to perform his wdl ; and above is seen a celestial group, rejoicing in the birth of the child who was to give light unto all nations, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. The distinguishing characteristics of this picture are simplicity of composition, of outline, and of colouring. The figure of the Infant is well drawn, and its countenance is expressive of a certain purity of nature, well suited to the subject, and which is not often to be found so well represented, among,st the multifarious paintings of Holy Families, by the more recent artists of the Italian Schools. Painted on board ; size of tlic Engraving, 7i inches. Drawn by W. W. Hodgson, and engraved by M. A. Bourlier, with the permission of the Proprietor. MAiDOP^A .xQd CHIUJD) ■ JIKlEl^liY M€>m !ES;/ 1 foot 9 inches. Size of tlie Engraving 8 inches by lOJ. Drawn, witli permission, by P. Violet. Engraved by R. Woodman. M I D-D A Y. IN THE COLLECTION OF EARL GROSVENOR, L 0 ND 0 N. ^amttti i)j Clatitito iLorcttese. It is recorded of Claude that, from an early period of his career, his talents were so universally appreciated, that he was unable, by the most unremitting- application to his art, during the course of a long- protracted life, to satisfy the general avidity to possess his pictures. Of him, more than of any landscape painter that ever lived, it might be said, that he dipped his pencil in the rainbow, and transferred its magic hues, in all their endless variety of combination, to his canvass. He gave to water its depth, its coolness, its lustre, and its transparency; he represented the due gradations of vapour in his distances; he distinguished by characteristic touches ihe different hours of the day, and was the first, and perhaps the last, who may be said to have painted air. To this perfection in colouring he joined a more perfect knowledge of bnear perspective than was, perhaps, ever possessed by any other artist; the different plains of his landscapes come forward or recede with a truth of effect bordering on illusion; every object keeps its just place; every thing appears reality. A late Italian writer observes, that a large landscape of Poussin or Salvator is seen in half the time that is required to examine the beauties of even a small picture by Claude. " The latter," he adds, " amuses the spectator in a hundred different ways : it leads his eye through so many channels whether by land or water, and calls his attention to so many objectsworlhy of remark, that he feels, as it were, obliged, as when actually travelling, to stop occasionally to take breath ; it opens to his view so great an extent of distant country, that he almost anticipates the fatigue of a long journey."* Nor are the near objects of his pictures less worthy of * Lanui. " Storia Plttorica." praise ; the leafage of his trees possesses all tiie lightness and the variety of nature; and the herbs in his foregrounds are finished with delicacy and truth of pencil. Such are the beauties of hislandscapes, which may indeed be said to have no fault, except what is sometimes occasioned in them by the too lavish an introduction of ill drawn and unappropriale figures. The picture before us, whilst it displays in a most eminent degree the beauties of Claude's pencil, is free from such defect. The Goat- herd and his nymph, surrounded by their flock, and beguiling the sultry hours of the day by listening to the sound of the flute, are most happily introduced in the foreground. These figures, by the force of their colouring, throw back the distant scenery with increased effect, at the same time that, without distracting the attention of the spectator from the beauties of the landscape, they serve toge- ther, with the smaller figures scattered here and there in the middle ground, to enliven the whole. The rapid declivity leading from the foreground to the river is expressed with consummate ability. Here, protected from the rays of the sun by the overshafiowing foliage of a large tree, a group of cattle are seen browzing on the banks of the stream, or bathing in the transparent fluid. In the ofFskip, on the right, are the remains of an ancient village delightfully situated on a woody eminence, and behind are a picturesque mountain and a water-fall. The broad expanse of the river continues on the left, where, in the middle distance, it is bordered by a magnificent city, and traversed by a bridge. Beyond these objects the eye wanders over the uncertain forms of an extensive distant country bounded in the horizon by lofty mountains. Further to expatiate on the merits of this exquisite picture would be a misapplication of language. The annexed engraving will convey an accurate idea of the beauties of its composition. Of its colouring, they alone, who are conversant with the finest productions of the Artist's magic pencil, can form a just estimate. Tfiis Picture is painted on canvass, ^feet 9 inches hy $ feet 3 incites. Size of the Engraving 13^ inches by 9 inches. Drawn by W. M. Craig, and Engraved by J. H. Wriglit, With the permission of the Proprietor. THE MARHIAGE OF ST.CATHERINE. IN THE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM MORLAND, ESQ. M.P. LONDON. jSatnteD bp jSarmisiano. r ARMiGiANO excelled in the delineation of the pleasing passions : to an abundance of taste he united a clear judgment; his works teem with the delicate gradations of sentiment, and possess that fascinating grace which results from unrestrained propriety of action. Of Italy it has been remarked, " the devotion of that warm soil is tenderness, not sublimity." Hence the repetition of infant sweetness in the Bambino, the spotless beauty of the Madonna, and the visions of the fair enthusiast. The mystical niarriage of Catherine has been a favourite subject of the painters and tlieir employers. To the first it afforded materials for an agreeable combination of the graces of Art ; while the latter, not unfrequently, encouraged the legendary tale as tending to excite in the unpractised bosom of a daughter, where the family were numerous, a desire to embrace the seclusion of a cloister. At the first glance it might be imagined, that through inadvertence, the Painter suffered the Bambino to place the ring on a finger of the right hand of the bride; but Antonino, the biographer of the Saint, asserts the supposed ceremony to have thus occurred. The finger and the ring are preserved in the Church of Saint Catherine, in the Strada Giulia at Rome, and are carried in procession annually on the second Sunday of May. The Saint was a native of Siena ; she suffered mar- tyrdom A. D. 1380, in the thirty-third year of her age. This cabinet picture is characterised by breadth of effect, executed with freedom, and displays the easy and insensible swell of chastised variety, combined witli the mild harmony of colouring appropriated to refinement and elegance. The principal light falls on St. Catherine ; her yellow drapery brightens up the composition ; while with virtuous softness she gazes on the infant bridegroom, he, with healthy playful- ness, looks up for the approbation of the Madonna, whose action and tone are kept as unobtrusive as possible. The introduction of a second, and a contiary light through the window of a chamber in the back- ground, has been praised as an early instance of the happy management of a novel incident : the admission of an old man's head in the corner, at the bottom of the picture, is not so easily accounted for, and yet a similar liberty was a common practice of the Master. The family name of Parmigiano was Mazzuoli : he acquired his popular appellation from Parma, the place of his nativity. He went early to Rome, where he was received as an accomplished professor ; but, like other votaries of the Arts, retired soon after the Spaniards had sacked that magnificient city. This celebrated Painter attained his thirty-sixth year, a year less than was granted to the divine Raffaello, whose spirit was said to be transfused into Pakmigiano. This highly valued performance formerly graced thePrince Borghese's Gallery at Rome, where it was purchased by WiUiam Young Ottley, Esq. and by that gentleman brought to England. Painted on board, 20 inclies high by 22i inches wide. Size of tlie Engraving, 6i inches by 8i inclies. Drawn, with permission, by W. W. Hodgson. Engraved by J. S. Agar. THE HOUN-BOOK. IN THE COLLECTION OF THE EARL OF ASHBURNHAM, LONDON. l^mxm 33artoloinmeo ^djiUone. Amongst the most captivating pictures of every great master, we may safely class those small easel-pieces, upon which, in the moments of relaxation from laborious study, the painter employs his pencil to give permanence to some accidental beauty of nature, or indulges it in the grateful task of embodying some long cherished idea; unshackled by the will of a patron ; unmindful of the applause or censure of the world; That which is done with ease is commonly the best ; and a work which an artist executes with pleasure to himself, will seldom fail to occasion delight in others. The picture before us is the oflspring of one of these happy moments: and it is probable that Schidone, whilst painting it, was no more mindful of the future and universal praise which awaited his performance, than was the little country girl his model, whose un- affected attitude and animated countenance he has so well delineated. The subject of the piece needs no connnent. The young student is busily employed in getting her lesson by heart, that she may be ready, when called upon by the master; and her mind is so entirely occupied- by her present laudable purpose, as to render her almost nnconscious of the importunities of a boy, who is seen behind, touching heron the shoulder, and apparently endeavouring to persuade her to throw aside her Horn-book, and go to play. As the unsuccessfid solicitations of the little idler serve but to testify the persevering diligence of the girl; so his figure, the head and right hand of which only are represented, being kept in a low and unobtru- sive tone of colouring, answers tlic doiii)le purpose of enriching ihe picture, and of throwing forward the figure of the young female with increased force of effect. Tiie two smaller figures in the hackgrouud are in like manner purely accessorial ; and, indeed, Schidone has evi- dently considered the piece as the representation, not of a group, but of a single figure; and has anticipated in its execution the rule of Du Fresnoy and Reynolds, that, when a picture consists of a single figure only, that figure should be contrasted in its limbs and drapery with a great variety of lines and colours, so as to be as much as possible a com- position of itself. This variety i.s displayed in the figure before us, and happily without the least infringement of that simplicity of character which the subject required. The broad light upon the linen cap and sleeves, is admirably connected with the smaller mass of light upon the white linen in the basket, by means of the light upon the right arm, and the straw-coloured apron ; and the brighter light upon the Horn-book, contrasted by the bold projecting shadow thrown upon it by the figure, produces a sur- prising effect. The red characters interspersed upon the Horn-book, and the scarlet cushion in the basket, serve to enliven the whole, and at the .same time to give delicacy to the tints of the flesh ; whilst the dark and chastened blue of the girl's dress assists the chiaroscuro of the piece, and is the means of preserving a due balance of cold and warm colour throughout the picture. This beautiful little specimen of the talents of Schidone was formerly in the collection of the King of Naples at Capo di Monte. It was brought to this country by the late Sir William Hamilton, at whose sale it ivas purchased by the father of its present noble possessor. Painted on tjoard: 1 foot 2 inches by 1 foot 11 inches ; size of the Engraving o| inches by Qii inches. Drawn bj P. W. Tomkins, Engraver to IJer Majesty, and engraved by Robert Cooper, with Llie permission of Lire Proprietor. i LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS. IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF L ANSDOWNE, LONDON. i&ainteD bp BtaDe. As wenaturally listen with complacency to theeloquence that would per- suade us of what we desire should prove true ; so, in painting, the charms of the pencil seem to shine forth with increased lustre whenthe suhject it is employed to express is one upon which the mind may dwell with pleasure. If the subject be not of this class, the greatest exertions of the artist's talents must fkil to produce a work to which the eye can often return with unalloyed debght : we may, indeed, admire the skill displayed in the grouping, drawing, or colouring the different objects it contains ; but, after these merits are become familiar to us, our gratification will experience a check, and be followed by a feeling of regret that so much ability was wasted in the representation of that which it had Jjeen better not to represent at all. The truth of this remark, as it relates to that style of painting which is imitative of scenes in connnon life, must be felt by all who have been accustomed to view large collections of Dutch pictures, and who will sometimes have turned with disgust, propor- tionate perhaps to the truth of the delineation, from the highl3-wrouoht painting of a surgeon dressing a wound, or the distorted features of a patient under the operation of the tooth-drawer. It is honourable to Ostade, whose work we are now contemplating that he never evinced a forgetfulness of the dignity of his art by such a misapplication of its powers. The cottage fire-side, the country fair or the festivity of a village wedding, furnished him with materials for pictures which, as they represented busy man in his moments of hap- piness, were, on that account alone, well calculated to please : and as, to this good sense in the choice of liis subjects, he joined a degree of per- fection in the executive departments of the art which few have attained, it is not surprising that the genuine productions of his pencd should have been held in the highest estimation hy all true lovers of painting. The Picture before us may be safely affirmed to be one of the finest specimens extant of the Painter's talents. The figure of the peasant who, after peacefully enjoying liis homely meal, sits with arms reclined on the table, watching the eagerness of the child to olrtain the bauble which the old woman holds beyond its reach, is full of nature and expression; as is also the figure of the rustic, who has just taken his pipe out of his mouth, that he may join in applauding the infantine exertion. The little girl playing with the dog, and the boy lolling at the win- dow, constitute a most agreeable episode, or second group, winch, be- sides otherwise enlivening the scene, serves to connect the cham of light, as well as of colour, from the open casement to the principal group — the napkin on the three-legged table being the focus of the picture. It is impossible to do justice to the professional skill displayed in every part of this beautiful little performance. The most ex(iuisite delicacy of pencilling is the least of its merits. Each object is so chosen and so placed as to serve the triple purpose of enriching the composition, assisting in the formation of the masses of light and shadow, and keeping up that variety, and at the same time due balance of warm and cold tints throughout, whereby the greatest richness and vigour of colouring are united to harmony of effect. This picture was formerly in the Collection of the Duke of Praslin. The signature of Ostade, with the date 1661, is inscribed on the right hand, at the bottom. Painted on panel, 14inche5,by 125 inches. Sizoof tlioEngraving,ll|inches, by lOJ inches. By permission, drawn by T. W. Strutt. Engraved by A. Cardon and Wm. Bond. THE BONNET VERT. IN THE COLLECTION OF JEREMIAH HARMAN, ESQ. LONDON. ^SainttU bp MM^ 'Ctnttrs, fun. J. o have been praised by Rubens, and eulogised by Reynolds, would exalt the reputation of a Painter in any School of Art. The arrangement of the parts, the colouring, and general effect of this picture, justify the deliberate encomiums of these great men, and proclaim Tenters worthy of the celelirlty attached to his name. Although the chaster beauties of form and grace are in a great measure excluded from subjects of this class, they undoubtedly admit of character. Here the features and attitude of the figure in the pink jacket are peculiarly marked by the expression that results from the voluptuous indolence of enjoyment, — an enjoyment in unison with feelings of the practised inhalers of the fumes of tobacco. It seems almost superfluous to dwell on the representation of inci- dents so familiar, where characteristic traits of truth are combined with the silvery or best manner of the master. The work is distinguished by a smart and spirited touch; no laboured littleness enfeebles the imi- tation; facility and fidelity unite, while the simplicity and natural ex- pression in the heads of the boors may be said to invest vulgarity with a charm. The grey and warm colours that pervade the prominent Actors, and their appendages, are contrasted by the receding cool tints diffused over the card-players near the fire-place : nor is the attitude of the sitting figure in the fore-ground, lighting his pipe, devoid of detailed precision ; the breadth occasioned Ijy the whiteness of his linen is well applied and supported; the paper and chalk on the inverted old barrel are of use. The head of an attendant peeping through the window, to receive orders from the guests, may be accounted for by recollecting that the staircase of a Cabaret on the continent is placed on the outside of the house. The original title, " The Smokers," has been changed by universal consent to the Bonnet Vert, to distinguish tliis performance from one of the same subject, and from the same pencil, named the Bunnet Rouge. In both pictures the tliree principal figures are nearly alike ; the varia- tions are confined to the back ground, which, in the latter, is more extended, and occupied by additional characters. The picture was one of the choice collection of Mr. Lvs of Brussels, from which it passed through the hands of Mr. Bryan to the present possessor. David Teniers enjoyed the advantage of the early precepts of his father, on whose manner he formed his own : but his good sense led him to improve his style from the example and precepts of more en- lightb. ' ' Painters. Painted on panel, 15^ inclies, by 14f inches. Size of the Engraving, II5 inches, by lOi} inciies. By permission, drawn by T. W. StruU. Engraved by Robert Cooper. GERHARD DOW. IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF STAFFORD, LONDON. ^ainteD bj> (gnljarU Bote. If the epic flights of imagination are delightfully seductive, the modest pursuit of truth is not without its charms ; in this gratifying career no painter has been more successful than Gerhaiid Dow. This painting is of the usual size of the master's works, and is, perhaps, equal in point of effect, and certainly superior in point of finishing, to any production of his pencil in this Country. The details are treated with clearness, simplicity, and truth, united to a delicacy of touch and vigour of tone that excite an astonishment, which, in the present instance, must be acknowledged to be a tribute of Taste. With regard to the subject, it has been always considered as the likeness of Gerhard Dow himself. Ou comparing it with his Head in Houbraken's Lives of the Painters, the resemblance, though taken at a different period of his life, is sufficiently strong to decide on the authenticity of the portrait. The scene is a chamber f urnished with books and globes, where the Painter has retired for relaxation; the fascinations of the pencil are changed for the pleasures of the violin. The expansive light from the window displays a mild atmosphere ; every thing is in perfect harmony, nor is the most trivial incident without its use ; the winding staircase affords a depth of shade which gives infinite value to the light diffused over the other parts of the picture, wliile the countenance of the accomplished Artist expresses a tranquillity of thought in unison with the sentiments of the Poet — " By music, minds an equal temper know, " Nor swell too high, nor sink too low." — Pope. According to the date on the picture, 1637, Dow was twenty-four when he painted it. His eye seems to have had a microscopic power, hut constant application so much impaired his sight, that in his twenty- fifth year he was under the necessity of using spectacles. After re- ceiving the first rudiments of design, he had the good fortune to he admitted into the school of Rembrant: here he continued only three years. His peculiar lient of mind induced him to paint with a patient pencil, on a small scale, yet to the precepts of Rembrant he was in- debted for the art of preserving breadth with detail; and his distin- guished attainments prove how deeply he was inqiressed by the force, justness, and commanding manner of that Master. It is said that his usual practice was to paint the objects of his study by the aid of a concave mirror. This highly esteemed Cabinet Pictnre formerly belonged to Mr. Lad- broke of Portland Place, and had been for a length of time in his family; about sixteen years ago, it was purchased at Christie's Rooms, by the late Duke of Bridgevvater. The Engraving is [he full Size of the Piiijiting, which is on Panel, 13-; inches high, by 94 inches wide, partly concealed by ihc frame. Drawn by W. M. Craig, Painter in Water Colours to Her Majesty, and Engraved by E. Sciuven, Engraver to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, with the pernjission of the l^roprietor. I THE VILLAGE FESTIVAL. IN THE COLLECTION OF HENRY PHILIP HOPE, ESQ. LONDON. 3$m\ttXi t)j? ^Ijtltp Woiitocrmans. This picture, in addition to those numerous beauties which it may boast in common with other capital productions of the artist's pencil, has the good fortune to possess a quality wherein many of them are deficient: namely, a certain simplicity of arrangement and eflcct, in consequence of which, notwithstanding the multiplicity of the constituent parts, the intention of the whole is readily understood upon a first view. The sub- ject is a village festival, which is honoured by the visit of two gentlemen and a lady, the inhabitants, we may suppose, of some neighbouring Chateau, in tbe conrse of their morning ride. The composition, although wanting neither in animation nor variety, is one of less bustle than Wouwermans commonly atlopted for his larger works. It presents an agreeable proportion of action anfl l epose; and the tranquil gratification expressed in the figures and countenances of the noble visitors, upon witnessing the harmless revelry of the rustic assemblage, imparts a charm to the mind of the spectator which the introduction of a more numerous and busy group in that part of the picture would not have effected. The group on the right, more especially the admirable figure of the arentleinan seen in a back view, and the white horse whereon he is o mounted, receives the principal light. The light is conducted, by means of that reflected on the distant river, to the more central parts of the foreground, where it strikes with less vivid rays upon two or three of the more prominent figures of the carousing peasantry ; the remainder of that group, together with the hovel on the left extremity of the piece. being judiciously represented in a low and subdued tone of colouring, which is accounted for by a dark overshadowing cloud, seen in part at the top of the picture on that side. The result of this arrangement of the clair-obscure is favourable to the whole: the delicate tinls of the sky and the distant landscape, recede with the greater trutii of efl'ect, whilst the group on the right, which the painter intended to be the focus of his picture, acquires additional brilliancy, and starts from the canvas with increased force. The above observations relate to the economy observed by the artist in the general composition and effect of liis picture. An attempt to enu- merate the beauties of its details, would involve a repetition of those many encomiums which have deservedly been bestowed upon the talents of Wouwermans by each of the numerous writers upon the subject of painting, who have lived since his time. Suffice it to say, that the figures and other objects are beautifully varied in their grouping, and designed with his accustomed correctness of outline; that every part is finished with the most extjuisite delicacy, and at the same time freedom of penciling, and that the whole is in his finest style of colouring. The great reputation of the collection of Dutch and Flemish pic- tures, which was long since made at Amsterdam by the ancestors of Mr. H. P. Hope, (and of which the picture under consideration forms a part,) is too well known to require comment. This specimen of the abilities of Philip Wouwermans was purchased at the sale of the celebrated cabinet of Braamcamp in 1771 ■ It is scarcely necessary to add that it has ever been deemed one of the artist's most perfect performances. Painted on canvas, 2 foet 9i Inches hij \foot Hi Inches. Size of llie Engraving 14^ inclies, by 10$ inclics. By permission, drawn by W. M. Craig, and Engraved by John Scott. THE HAPPY SHEPHERDS. IN THE COLLECTION OF THE EARL OF GROSVENOR, LONDON. This picture may be justly termed an imitation of nature, very nearly approaching to perfection in all its parts ; but it is, notwithstanding, less striking, upon a first view, than many other pictures, far its inferior in aggregate merit. Nicely balanced in composition, and clair-obscur, and chastely harmonious in colouring, it steals its way to the affections of the spectator by slow and imperceptible approaches : like soft melody, which, though ill calculated to arouse the warrior to martial enterprise, gradually awakens in his bosom the gentle but more grateful sentiments of love. The landscape presents a well-chosen assemblage of agreeable objects : a picturesque cluster of trees; a winding road; a rivulet, gliding through a richly-wooded vale interspersed with farm-houses, and traversed by a rustic bridge; a chateau, delightfully situated on an eminence; and, in the distance, a village spire. The cows and sheep reposing in the fore- ground, the goats brousing amidst the tufted rocks, and the sportive group of shepherds and shepherdesses dancing to the music of the flute, are in unison with the surrounding scenery ; the whole is a representa- tion of pastoral felicity; all nature seems to wear the smile of gladness. In the general economy of this picture, as well as in the execution of its numerous details, Berghem appears to have liad an eye to the works of Claude Lorrain ; and although the style of country it was intended to exhibit, admitted not the introduction of those classical objects, which, in the paintings of the great Italian artist, often call to our mind the dreams of Arcadia ; still does the picture, on the whole, bear so much of his general character, that it would be no easy task to point out a work of any painter of the Dutch or Flemish school so well adapted, or more worthy, to hang as the companion to a fine production of his match- less pencil. The colouring is rich and glowing, without being gaudy ; the effect of light and shadow is broad, powerful, and tranquil; and the perspective is so skilfully managed, that the eye is conducted into the picture, as when viewing nature through the medium of the camera obscura. This capital specimen of the versatility of Berghem's powers was, until within these few years, in the possession of the well known con- noisseur, Mr. Agar, at whose death it was purchased, with the rest of that gentleman's estimable collection, by its present noble owner. This Picture is painted on canvas, 6 feet llj inches, b3' 4 feet 10 inches bare ; Size of the Engraving 14| inclies, by 10§ inches. Drawn by W. M. Craig, and engraved by J. Scott, will] the permission of the Proprietor. EVENING IN THE COLLECTION OF EARL GROSVENOR, LONDON. i0atntel) bp jSaul }&otter. "W^HEN the sun breaks out in gleams, there is sometliing that delights and surprises in every object brightened by its Ijeains, and which were before only visible. This caljinet picture owes, in a great measure, its attraction to the magic of the pencil having arrested those gleams, and diffused the charms of sun-shine over a picture rendered valuable from being a transcript of nature, embellished by the beauties of art. The scene is laid near a grange, or the dairy farm ; a row of pollard willows, though unfavourable in their shortened forms, produce an admirable effect by their lengthened sliadows thrown across the fore-ground ; liere a gi'oup of cows, delineated and coloured with all the characteristics of truth, evince the superior excellence of the Master as a painter of cattle; they are what a pastoral poet would describe, and what few but a Paul Potter could have painted. On the extremity of the retiring flat scene, half concealed in trees, .stands the chateau of the gentleman and lady, who have made an excursion to enjoy the serenity of the evening at this tranquil spot : a cowherd, " whistbng for want of thought," and a milk-maid attending to her rural occupation, are in character with the simple scenery. The Italians, when they speak of sun-shine, are lavish in their encomiums, and with reason : the pleasing impression produced by the sudden effects of his rays, accord with the observation of an accomplished connoisseur ;* — " Sun-shine, when it * Uvedale Price, Esq. gilds some object of a sober tint, is like a smile that lights up a serious countenance." The picture was painted for M. Vander Linden Stengelant, of Dort, and i-emained in his possession till the year 1750; at which period it became the property of a Parisian collector. About ten years back it was purchased at a public sale by Mr. Crawford, of Amsterdam, for nearly the sum of one thousand four hundred pounds sterling : this gentleman sent the valuable performance to his brother, who sold it to the present noble possessor : it is considered one of the most disting uished productions of the Master. There is a picture in the possession of the Prince of Hesse that contends for superiority. The building in the distance is supposed to have been the Palace of Ryswick, belonging to the Prince of Oi-ange, where the peace of Ryswick was signed in 1697- Travellers, who have lately visited the Hague by this route, say there is very little change in the scenery ; the striking- alteration is tlie liouse in the distance Ijeing down, and an obelisk erect- ed in its place. Notwithstanding tlie care bestowed on the details of this picture, and the marks of strict application that pervade the works of the Master, he delighted to paint in a circle of friends, while the labour of study seemed to him a source of amusement. It is a pleasing duty to dwell on the personal character of Paul PoTTEii : he was regular in liis conduct, of an amiable disposition, and no less entertaining than elor|aent in conversation ; uniting the manners of polished society with the merits of an excellent painter : it is much to be regretted tluit he died at the early age of twenty-nine. Painted on panel, 1 foot 3f inches higli, by 1 foot TJ inches long. Size of the Engraving, llj^ inches high, by 14 inches long. By permission, drawn by W. M. Craig. Engraved by J. Scott. ''if i