^'^■■i&'S!»i^!i)^Vv^\^^<«S»!!»»^ lOGRAPHIES ^ersity of California| outhern Regional Library Facility THE GIFT OF MAY TREAT MORRISON IN MEMORY OF ALEXANDER F MORRISON ARTIST- BIOGRAPHIES. TITIAN. BOSTON: HOUGHTON, OSGOOD AND COMPANY. E\)e l^iijcrstlje Press, CambriBge, 1880. Copyright, 1877, By JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO. All RighU Reserved. « 9 * • • 7V «♦••«■ " ■ '/.• Univbrsity Press : John Wilson & Son, Cambriocb N2)3£' PREFACE. The chief authority on which this biography of Titian is based is the ponderous work on the same subject recently published in London, in two volumes, under the joint authorship of Crowe and Cavalcaselle. These gentlemen are eminent for laborious and con- scientious research, and just and temperate criticism, as is shown in their preceding volumes on the history of Italian art, which have now become classical, and are generally used as ultimate authorities. In con- nection with this work, the author has consulted and compared numerous other books relating to Titian and his paintings, — Gilbert's " Cadore," Northcote, Ticozzi, Vasari, Taine, Blanc, &c. The List of Paintings appended to this biography is the result of careful research, and will doubtless be valuable for purposes of reference. The pictures claimed as Titian's, now in New York and New Eng- land, are not included, since the writer is not familiar witli the proofs of their authenticity. It is earnestly IV PREFACE. desired that this list may be freed from errors, and that it may be corrected as often as changes occur in the locations of Titian's pictures. Any information of this kind would be gratefully received by the author, — M. F. SWEETSER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1477-1500. FAGS The Vale of Cadore. — Titian's Ancestors and his Early Life. — Venice and her Artists. — Titian studies with the Bellini . . 7 CHAPTER II. 1500-1511. Palma, Giorgione, and other Artists. — Titian's First Works. — Venetian Wars. — Aldine Academy. — The League of CambraL — Titian at Padua .18 CHAPTER in. 1512-1519. Invited to Rome. — Titian becomes Painter to the State. — Vkit to Ferrara. — Ariosto. — The Assumption, and other Paintings . j i CHAPTER IV. 1519-1523. Works for Ferrara, Ancona, and Brescia. — Homeward Journey. — Venetian Nobles. — Visit to Mantua. — Bacchus and Ariadne. — The Venuses. — The Entombment 40 CHAPTER V. 1523-1530. The Doge Gritti.— Titian's Private Life. — The Pesaro Madonna. — Aretino. — Affairs in Cadore. — Sebastiano. — Visits to Fer- rara and Mantua 51 CHAPTER VI. Death of Titian's Wife. — Removal to Casa Grande. — Pupils. — Magdalens and Minor Works. — Visit to Charles V., who en- nobles Titian. — La Bella 65 n 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. I534-IS40' 'AGB At Milan. — Duke of Urbino. — Bembo. — Aretino, and Titian's Son. — The Council punishes Titian. — "The Battle of Ca- dore," and Minor Works. — Titian's Guests .... 78 CHAPTER VIII. 1540-1545. At Mantua and Milan. — The Academy. — Vasari. — Paul III. and the Emperor. — The Farnese Family. — Northern Journeys . 89 CHAPTER IX. »S4S-'S49- Titian at Rome and Florence. — Lavinia. — Three Venuses. — Journey to Augsburg. — Portraits of Sovereigns and Nobles. — Return to Venice too CHAPTER X. 1549-1SS8. Titian's Family. — Second Visit to Germany. — Pictures for the Imperial Family. — The Doge Venier. — Death of Aretino. — " St. Lawrence " iia CHAPTER XI. »5S8-'563- Orazio's Mischance. — Pictures for Philip II. — The Villa at Cene- da. — The Pensions. — The Dianas and Religious Pictures . 126 CHAPTER XII. 1363-1377- Religious Paintings. — Vasari's Visit. — Strada. — The Vecelli Artists. — Unpaid Pensions. — Death of Sansovino. — The Plague. — Death of Titian 136 A List of Titian's Paintings now in existence, with theii Dates of Execution, and Present Locations 151 Alphabetical Index 159 ILLUSTRATIONS. TITIAN, Portrait of Titian .... Frontispiece, The Tribute-Money 28 La Bella di Tiziano 76 Lavinia, Titian's Daughter . . . .112 GUIDO RENI. The Genius of Music triumphant over Love . 20 The Archangel Michael 64 Portrait of Guido Reni 98 EccE Homo . 132 CLAUDE LORRAINE. The Musical Shepherdess 48 The Landing of ^Eneas in Italy ... 72 Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf . 96 Portrait of Claude Lorraine .... 123 TITIAN. CHAPTER I. The Vale of Cadore, — Titian's Ancestors and his Early Life. • Venice and her Artists. — Titian Studies with the Bellini. Amidst the picturesque scenery of the Vene- tian Alps, about seventy miles north of Venice, is the long and beautiful Val Cadore, which is traversed by the boiling torrent of the Piave, descending from the Alps of Carniola. On the west is Mount Antelao, 10,679 ^^^^ ^^S^* dreaded for its disastrous avalanches ; on the north is the long ridge of Marmarolo, with many sharp points and needles ; and on the east is the bold peak of Cridola, 9,000 feet high. It is a land of pale dolomite rocks, forming needle-like spires and clear-cut sierras, with profound gorges and de- files, and rapid and roaring torrents. The lower ridges are covered with luxuriant forests, above which rise vast piles of rocks, whereon the snows 7 8 TITIAN. rest for several montI"ys o' the year, even in this southern latitude. In these wild and craggy highlands the most ordinary operations of nature are beautiful or grand, — the sunset, bathing the verdurous slopes and high uplifted ledges; the storm-clouds and mist-wreaths, rolling around and insulating the pale peaks above ; or the noonday sun, piercing the deep glens, and spar- kling on the crystal waters. The region of Cadore lies near the Austrian Tyrol, and has for many centuries been subject to German and Italian masters alternately, though in sympathy with the latter. Originally a fief of the Empire, it afterwards pertained for three cen- turies to the patriarchs of Aquileia. In 1335 it reverted to a Bavarian prince ; and at a later day was added to the conquests of Sigismund of Hungary. Strong towers rise on the heights and in the Alpine passes, which were erected in those immemorial days to block the paths of invasion. But their mountains and their poverty were the strongest defences of the sturdy highland men, who were proud of their municipal rights, and governed themselves by a council which enjoyed high prerogatives. The region was thinly popu THE VECELLI FAMILY. 9 lated by a hardy and thrifty peasantry, deriving its chief support from the iron-mines, and from cutting lumber in the forests, which descended the Piave in rafts, and was used in the Venetian buildings, and the galleys of the republican fleet. The agricultural supplies were limited to the products of the dairy and the orchards ; and the grain used in the communes was purchased by the council in the richer valleys of Friuli. The first Count of Cadore, in the eleventh cen- tury, bore the name of Guecello, or Vecelli, and one of his descendants was the podestk of the district in 132 1. The grandson of this ruler married a lady whose dowry included the chapel of St. Titian of Oderzo ; and from that time the name of Titian became common in the Vecelli family. Conte Vecelli was a trusted lawyer and councillor, poor in this world's goods, but influ- ential both in his native valley and in great Venice. His son Gregorio was a wise and val- iant soldier, and a tribune of the people, captain of the " century " of Pieve, overseer of suj plies, and member of the council, — a man of high honor and influence among the people of the glens. He married a certain Lucia, and settled lo TITIAN. in one of his fatlier's cottages at Pieve, in the lane near the Piazzetta of the Arsenale. The couple had four children, — Caterina, Francesco, Orsa, and Tiziano, or Titian. Pieve di Cadore stood in the very heart of the Alpine region, with its formidable castle rising on the crest of an almost inaccessible eminence, at whose foot was the fountain-adorned munici- pal square, surrounded by massive old houses. In a quiet lane near the village is a cottage, which looks out on the castle and church, and beyond them to the broken mountains on the north, and the lofty and saw-like crest-line of the Marmarolo. In this house, which is still care- fully preserved, the great artist Titian was born, in the year 1477. Here he dwelt during his school-boy years, amidst the pure air and noble scenery of the Alps. There can be no doubt that the daily contemplation of those solemn shrines of Nature, the cloud-wreathed and snow- capped peaks, and the mysterious and bosky glens, produced an enduring impression on his mind. His subsequent achievements as the fore- most landscape-painter of the century, and the careful finish of the natural scenery in his works, TITIAN'S CHILDHOOD. ll prove that he had a very just and loving appre elation of the manifold beauties of mountain and forest. The bold peaks of the Cadorine ranges often appear in the backgrounds of his Venetian pictures, as if he could not too often recall their impressive and stately forms. Lanzi claims that the boy Titian was instructed in painting by Antonio Rossi, one of the last masters of the puerile Alpine art, who executed frescos and altar-pieces in the churches of the Vale of Cadore between 1472 and 1502. But Crowe and Cavalcaselle reject this story, and also, the pretty tradition that the lad manifested his first inclination for art by painting a Ma- donna with the juices of flowers, in such charm- ing colors as to surprise all his friends. Gilbert has recently examined this fresco, which is still preserved, and admits the probability of the truth of the tradition. The tribune, Gregorio Vecelli, owned little but his sword and his ancestral traditions, and found his family increasing about him. He re- membered that for centuries the Vecelli had been lawyers and soldiers, and had won much honor, but few ducats ; and he was now about to choose 12 TITIAAT. a profession for his son. Perhaps Titian had already manifested his love for art, either in the fresco of the Madonna or elsewhere, and thus influenced the parental decision ; for it was re- solved in the family councils that he should study painting at Venice. The young mountaineer descended the Val Piave, crossed the Lagune, and entered the City of the Sea, in the year 1488, when he was about ten years old. With what amazement must he have contemplated the archipelago of palaces, the busy traffic of the merchants, the tumultu- ous crowds on the squares, the churches, the fleets, the thronged canals ! He was placed in the care of his uncle, who lived in the city, and commenced to study with a good will. His first master appears to have been Sebastian Zuccato, the syndic of the guild of mosaic-workers, from whom he passed to the instruction of the Bellini, and the companionship of Palma and Giorgione. Venice was then at the zenith of her power, occupying a position like that of ancient Tyre, or modern England, with a population of skilful mariners, intrepid discoverers and colonists along the midland seas, and ingenious inventors anr" VENICE. 13 manufacturers. At one time she had a na\'y of forty-five galleys, and a merchant marine of thirty-three hundred vessels, and owned a fourth of the Byzantine Empire, together with Crete and the rich Levantine and Adriatic ports, and much of Northern 'Italy. Her impregnable insular position insured an easily guarded independ- ence ; and no power could insult her traders with- out bringing down a Venetian war-fleet against its ports. The oligarchy was composed of mer- chant-princes, whose galleys fought with the rival squadrons of Genoa and Pisa, or the Normans in Southern Italy, or the marauding Saracens from the African coast. Her mariners knew the seas and coasts from Iceland to Sumatra ; and formed six trading fleets annually, manned and convoyed at the public expense, and sent to Southern Russia, the Greek ports, the Armenian and Syri- an coasts, Alexandria, the Moorish cities of Spain and Africa, and the British Isles and the ports of the Netherlands. The, Venetians were the common carriers and mercantile agents be- tween Europe and the Orient, and derived enor- mous wealth from their commissions. They were superstitiously devout, delighting in religious 14 TITIAN: ceremonials, and adorning their churches and convents with lavish prodigality. Though it had been founded by St. Theodore and cherished by St. Mark, and was peopled with legends of mira- cles, the city was jealous of Rome, and refused to allow her jurisdiction, excluding ecclesiastics from the councils, electing priests by parishioners, and devolving the control of the church upon a patriarch appointed by the nobles. "Uiitil the fifteenth century the Venetians were too busy in their career of maritime discovery and commerce to give attention to literature and art. They were not indifferent to the beauties of sculpture and mosaic work, and enriched their city with masterpieces of these arts; but they were trophies of foreign wars, and not of local production. During the era of Italian anarchy, early in the fourteenth century, certain painters from the mainland and from beyond the Alps reached Venice, and exercised a strong influence upon her crude Byzantine traditions. In little more than a hundred years Venetian art reached its climax in Titian and Tintoretto, and it per- ished in the next century. The first paintings of any account were the VENETIAN ART. 15 rude historical frescos in the Hall of the Great Council ; and when these became deteriorated by time, there were no local artists competent to restore them, and the government induced Gen- tile da Fabriano and Vittore Pisano to visit the city for that purpose. Under their influence was founded the Muranese school, which combined the Umbrian mysticism with German conscien- tiousness, while the guild of painters also modi- fied their Byzantine manner. Jacopo Bellini, a pupil of Fabriano, settled at Padua, and asso- ciated himself with Donatello, the great Floren- tine sculptor. He also married his daughter to Mantegna, the foremost artist of Italy, whose frescos were the study and admiration of Raphael. Jacopo's sons, Gentile and Giovanni, were thus brought into familiar contact with two of the leading men of the century, under the guidance of the school of Fabriano, and influ- enced by the rich coloring of the Flemish artists and the Vivarini of Murano. The Bellini be- came the founders of the true Venetian school, with new realistic ideas, correct perspective, landscape effects, and the study of classic sculp- ture and nude forms. They gathered a powerful l6 TITIAN. company of disciples, and effected such a revolu- tion in art, that Venice was almost repaid for her loss of the mastery of the seas, by becoming one of the three great centres of Italian culture. When Titian entered Gentile's studio, the mas- ter was nearly seventy years old, and was distin- guished for his serious manner, scientific perspec- tive, and skilful composition. His house was adorned with many works of art, and contained a valuable collection of antiques, from which his pupils derived some knowledge of the classic. The studio was near the Rialto Square, the heart of Venice, where the schools of art and music were, near the colonnades where the patricians and merchants met, and the multitudinous booths of the bankers, traders, and commercial agents. Bellini had already finished his active labors in the Council Hall and elsewhere. In 1479 he was invited to Constantinople to paint portraits of Mehemet and the Sultana, and presented the Sultan with a picture of the decapitation of St. John. The Turk criticised the appearance of the saint's neck, and proved the validity of his objec- tion by having the head of a slave struck off in the artist's presence. Gentile found the air of EARLY STUDIES. 1 7 Constantinople oppressive after this episode, and speedily returned to Venice. Titian soon mastered the habit of minute draw- ing which characterized Gentile's style Dolce says that the venerable teacher was displeased with the youth's bold and rapid sketching, and estranged him by opposing it ; upon which he withdrew, and entered the studio of Giovanni Bellini, a younger and better painter. His style was brilliant, with boldness of touch, harmony and broad contrasts in lights and shades, sweet- ness of expression, and conscientious execution. No details of Titian's life as a pupil remain ; and it can only be inferred that he was a diligent worker and a careful observer. He was probably confined to the city during all these years, unable by reason of poverty to visit his Alpine home. From the Lagtme he could see the tall crest of Mount Antelao towering amid the dim Venetian Alps, and think fondly of the snug cottage in the Vale of Cadore, with the dear ones under its humble roof. l8 TITIAN. CHAPTER II. Palma, Giorgione, and other Artists. — Titian's First Works. — Venetian Wars. — Aldine Academy. — The League of Cam- brai. — Titian at Padua. Palma Vecchio of Bergamo was older than Titian, and was a prolific and original painter, favored by noble Venetian and Friulian families, and eminent for his portraits of women. His range was narrow, but included correct designing, vigorous coloring, and a fondness for rich sum- mer-day backgrounds. The biographers say, somewhat paradoxically, that he had three lovely daughters, but no family. Giorgione was born in the same year with Titian, near the foot of the Alps, and studied with him under Giovanni Bellini. His name means "Great George," in allusion to his noble figure and personal beauty. He was also a poet and musician, fond of pleasure, but of pure life. His paintings were dignified in character, rich in color, free and vigorous in outline, and distinguished ARTISTS AT VENICE. 19 for bold relief and an admirable blending of tints He soon abandoned the Bellinesque manner, and derived great benefit from the study of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, These three — Palma, Giorgione, and Titian — were the founders of the new school of Venetian art in its advance beyond the standards of the EelUni. Titian admired the new manner of Gior- gione, and studied his pictures carefully and secretly. He set himself to win the esteem of the rising master, who at last gave him instruc- tion in his doctrines, and employed him as an assistant. The earlier works of the young Cado- rine partook sometimes of the nature of Gior- gione's, sometimes of Palma's, and again of still other forms. His genius even then was capable of expanding in different directions, and com- passing the merits of diverse technical styles, while assimilating: their best traits. His adherence to nature was close and sometimes seductive, ignoring equally the idealism of the Greeks and the statuesque elevation of the Tuscan masters. His siyle was the consummate flower of the rising art of Venice, and not ^the development of the canons of any one studio. 20 TITIAN; The aged Antonello da Messina was then in the city, with Pino and Veneziano in his studio. He was a Sicilian by birth, and had studied at Rome and Naples, where he first saw oil-paint- ings, whose preparation was invented by Van Eyck of Bruges. He was so enamoured with the beauty of the new process, that he crossed the Alps, and dwelt with Van Eyck in his Flemish home, where he learned the secret of painting in oil. With this rich possession he returned to the peninsula, and was the first who executed oil- paintings in Italy. He settled at Venice, and in 1474 revealed the secret to the chief artists there, for which he received a pension from the State. Cima da Conegliano was then at Venice, and was already eminent as a painter of portraits and altar-pieces, whose coloring "glistens like jewels." Carpaccio was also here, competing with the Bel- lini, and designing his great series of paintings of the Martyrdom of St. Ursula. At Murano was the busy studio of the Vivarini brothers, who were descended from a long line of artists, and had been associated with certain German painters. They also had mastered the art of oil-painting, and were in hot rivalry with the Bellini. EARLY WORKS. 21 The first recorded work of Titian was a fresco of Hercules, on the front of the Morosini Palace, which is now obliterated. The portraits ex his parents, which have disappeared, were probably made during a visit to Cadore ; when he also executed the Madonna which is preserved in the village chapel. The Madonna in the Vienna Belvedere is a similar early work, and shows individuality breaking through imitation, correct drawing and finish, and infelicity of selection. The " Ecce Homo " in the Scuola di San Rocco at Venice is a meagre work of the same epoch. Other youthful works now claimed as Titian's are of doubtful authenticity. The grand picture of " Sacred and Profane Love," or " Artless and Sated Love," now in the Borghese Palace, represents two beautiful women, one naked and the other richly dressed, sitting on a marble fountain-trough, in a rich sunset landscape. It was painted about the year 1500, and one of the faces is a portrait of Violante, Palma's daughter. There is a tradition that the young artist was at this time in love with the .fair Violante. It is more certain that he was a great admirer of Palma's manner of paint- 22 TITIAN. ing, and that he showed its effect in this pic- ture. The city in which Titian's adolescence was passed was then encountering strange vicissi- tudes. The capture of Constantinople by the Turks, in 1453, marked the beginning of her decline ; and not long after she was forced to surrender Lemnos and Mantinea. In 1494-97 Naples and Florence bribed Sultan Bajazet to attack Venice; and his troops ravaged Friuli, and wrung the Morea from the hands of the Repub- lic. The Levantine trade was ruined, and its ports were closed to the Adriatic galleys. The Portuguese opening of the new sea-passage to India, and the discovery of America, now com- pelled Europe to change front to the west ; and the sceptre of commercial supremacy passed from the Mediterranean to the ocean ports, leaving the Italian cities to silence. ^ In 1495 the Republic joined the Italian alliance against Charles VIII. of France; and three years later she united with France in a war against Naples, * The Suez Canal is reviving the old glories of Venice, in our d.iys ; and, whereas her imports from India up to 1867 scarcely averaged 5200,000 annually, since 1870 they have sometimes reached $15,000,000 \ year. VENETIAN WARS. 23 Milan, and Turkey. In these contests Venetian blood and treasure were fruitlessly wasted, and the fleets were driven in or annihilated. In 1499 the Turks destroyed Grimani's fleet at Lepanto, and the next year they defeated Admiral Trevi- sani. Csesar Borgia, the unspeakably evil son of the basest of popes, now visited the city to demand certain ports of the Romagna coast, and to proclaim a crusade against the Moslems. Titian met the Borgia at this time, and painted . his portrait. In 1 501 the monk Raphael preached the new crusade, on St. Mark's Square ; and Rome, Hun- gary, and Venice prepared to attack the Turks. The commander of the Papal galleys was Jacopo da Pesaro, Bishop of Paphos ; whose kinsman, Admiral Benedetto, died of a broken heart, on account of the defeats of his nation. Before sailing, Jacopo had Titian paint his portrait, kneeling before St. Peter, to whom he is pre- sented by Pope Alexander VI. ; while in the background a fleet is seen at anchor before a fortress. This brilliant picture was once owned by Charles I. of England, at whose death it passed into Spain. In 1825 King William pre- 24 TITIAN. sented it to the city of Antwerp, in whose museum it is now kept, travel-worn and re-paint- ed, but still full of impressive beauty. In 1 50 1 Titian's grandfather, the Councillor Conte Vecelli, visited Venice, and secured the remission of a state tax on the woods and moun- tains, which was vexing the Cadorines. It is probable that he visited and encouraged his young kinsman, who was already well spoken of in the city. In 1507 the lawyer, Tiziano Vecelli, came down on another embassy, and probably used his influence for his namesake's advance- ment. During these years Titian made several visits to Cadore, on one of which he brought back his younger brother Francesco, to whom he taught the art of drawing. At this time Aldus Manutius was issuins: fresh editions of the ancient classics from his presses, beautiful in typography, and famous to this day for their precision. The free spirit of the age was suited also with a great variety of contem- porary literature, from the commentaries of the ecclesiastics to the licentious productions of the court writers. Several fonts of Greek type were made, and were manipulated by fugitl.es from THE FONDA CO FRESCOS. 2$ the Moslem invasion of Greece and Crete. Many of the chief scholars of that era sojourned at Venice, to aid in the works of these teeming presses, and founded the famous Aldine Academy, which included Linacre, Ramusius, Fra Giocondo, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Pietro Bembo, and the historian Navagero. The two last named were friends of Raphael ; and it is probable that several of these scholars met Titian during their frequent visits to Bellini's studio, and afterwards. In 1507 the State engaged Giorgione to fresco the new Fondaco de' Tedeschi, an immense structure erected as a headquarters for the Ger- man merchants, with two halls, eighty rooms, twenty-six warehouses, and a cloistered inner court. Giorgione transferred a part of this work to Titian, who decorated the south wall with large figures of Judith, a monk, a Levantine, and a nude woman, — grand frescos, which have long since yielded to the wild Tramontana winds. Giorgione adorned the remaining walls ; but his fervid spirit and resolute action were fairly sur- passed by the grander forms of Titian. Vasari and Dolce say that the master never forgave his assis';ant for thus over-matching him ; but the 26 TITIAI^. more trustworthy accounts tell of Giorgione's re- joicing at his pupil's excellence, and his graceful acknowledgment of Titian's superiority. It is certain that the young artist painted his master's portrait, and that he finished Giorgione's uncom- pleted pictures after the death of the latter. In 1508 Venice refused to allow the Emperor Maximilian to lead an army through her domains to Rome ; and he advanced from the Tyrol into the Vale of Cadore, and reduced its fortresses. During the campaign, Titian's father and brother were soldiers in the anti-imperialist ranks, and other relatives were in the Venetian secret ser- vice. Venice speedily sent four thousand men, with mountain guns and Stradiot cavalry, against the German invaders, who were soon defeated and driven back. Between 1508 and 151 1, Titian received no important orders ; for the money and energies of the people were all devoted to the great wars of the Republic. He, however, executed several brilliant and highly-finished easel-pictures, which show the strong influence of Palma, and certain iraits of Diirer, with the contemporary tendency of the Venetian artists to a transition from the EARLY MADONNAS. 2^ severe classic traditions of contour a'.id outline to a close study of nature and a sensuous richness of coloring. To this period belong two Ma- donnas, now at the Vienna Belvedere ; a Madonna and saints, in the Louvre ; the Madonna and St. Anthony, at Florence ; the Madonna at Budeigh House ; and portraits of the former Doges Mar- cello and Barbarigo. Titian at this time com- manded the services of assistants, whose work is recognized in parts of his pictures. In the beautiful Madonna and St. Bridget, now at Madrid, the master surpassed his model, Palma, both in dignity and grace, and fertility of resource. Early in 1509 the power of Venice preponder- ated in Italy, many of whose cities were held by her lieutenants. But the hostile states of Rome, Spain, France, and Germany, moved by the lust of conquest, formed the League of Cambrai, and hurled their armies against the gallant little Re- public. The Venetian army was defeated near Milan ; her Lombard, Adriatic, and Neapolitan cities were captured in quick succession ; and the Germans descended from the Tyrol, and occupied Friuli, and ravaged the Vale of Cadore. The vnsulted State then gathered her best sons, and 28 TITIAN. fell upon the invading hordes, recovering city after city, until the League was broken by inter- nal dissensions, and Venice received her own a^ain. Titian's brother Francesco was one of the most valiant of the Cadorine volunteers, and vanquished a German captain during the imperi- alist assault on Padua ; while his father was en- gaged at the defence of the Castle of Cadore, where the Germans were rudely repulsed. Fran- cesco was severely wounded, and was taken back to Venice by Titian, who had a great love for him. The " Christ of the Tribute Money " was exe- cuted before 15 n, and is now one of the choicest masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery. Scanelli says that a company of German travellers once visited Titian's studio, and praised the careful finish of Diirer's paintings, which they held as above the possibilities of the Venetian artists. The master denied that such extreme refining of details was the best aim of art, which should rather seek breadth and grandeur of expression ; yet, in order to prove that he could combine both traits, he painted this picture. It shows the youthful and divine beauty of the Saviour in con- IISIT TO PADUA. 29 trast with the dark and shaggy Pharisee, to whose crafty question He answers : " Render unto Csesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Even the fine down on the faces, the most delicate veins, the texture of the robes, may be discerned ; and the hairs in the ringlets on Christ's shoulders may be counted. The highest critical authority has proclaimed this " the most perfect easel-picture of which Venice ever witnessed the production, and the most pol- ished work of Titian." The attack of the Cambrai League was almost fatal to the art of Venice, since it drew the treas- ure and the attention of the patricians to other objects. The flight of provincial artists from the besieged cities to the capital was soon followed by a general dispersion in search of more peace- ful realms. In 151 1 Titian went to Padua, the centre of intellectual culture in the Venetian domains, and the seat of a venerable university, museums, libraries, and collections of antiquities. Here he engaged Domenico Campagnola as an assistant, and devolved most of his work upon him, as if vn contempt of the criticism of the provincial ^O TITIAN. connoisseurs. They decorated the facade of the palace of Alvise Cornaro, a wealthy and erudite patrician and patron of letters ; and executed an inferior fresco of Joachim and Anna, in the Scuola del Carmine. Another work, whose mem- ory is perpetuated oniy by a series of rude en- gravings, showing grand energy and exuberant life, was a series of frescos representing the Tri- umph of Faith, o( which Rio says that they are " a masterpiece worthy of a Christian painter." The chief works at Padua were three finely designed frescos in the Scuola del Santo, repre- senting scenes from the life of St. Anthony, whose unsatisfactory execution shows that the master slighted and disliked the art of frescoing, which was generally avoided by the Venetians. From Padua Titian and Campagnola went to Vicenza, where they made the fresco of " The Judgment of Solomon," for the courts of justice. In the following spring the master returned to Venice, and decorated the facade of the Gri- mani Palace. si: MARJC. 31 CHAPTER III. Invited to Rome. — Titian becomes Painter to the State. — Visit to Ferrara. — Ariosto. — The Assumption, and other Paint- ings. — Bordone. After destroying Cadore, in the winter of 1511-12, the Emperor made a truce with Venice, and sent his dogs of war to harry other states. The Doge and Senate instituted a splendid festi- val in honor of their deliverance from the dangers of the League ; and during this spring-time of gladness Titian returned, and executed for the canons of San Spirito a picture which symbolized the triumph of the Republic, by showing its great patron, St. Mark, enthroned an>ong other saints. This great work combines the marvellous fulness of Giorgione with the soft golden tones of Palma, and an unusual classic dignity derived from the study of the antiques at Padua. The catastrophes which had befallen the city had left Titian its foremost painter, by removing the competition of several great rivals. Sebas- 32 TITIAA'. tiano del Piombo had emigrated to Rome, and Lo- renzo Lotto to the Romagna ; Gentile Bellini was dead, Giovanni was now past ninety, and Car- paccio was too old to do much. Giorgione had sunk into a fatal despondency after his beloved had been seduced and carried away by Morto da Feltre ; and when the great pestilence which de- stroyed twenty thousand persons in Venice came, the noble and stately artist, in the flower of his years, joined the long procession of the dead. Omnivorous Rome was now drawing all the genius of Italy to her seven hills, and had already secured Raphael, Angelo, and Sebastiano. Bem- bo, who had known Titian when with the Bellini, was secretary to Pope Leo X., and invited him to the Eternal City, probably at the suggestion of the Pontiff. But Navagero persuaded the master to decline the flattering offer, aided in his argu- ments by the intense local patriotism of mediaeval Italy, and perhaps by his reluctance to compete with Raphael and Angelo, who were then at the zenith of their fame. In May, 15 13, he submitted to the Council of Ten a petition beginning thus : " I, Titian of Cadore, having studied painting from childhood STATE PATRONAGE. 33 upwards, and desirous of fame rather than profit, wish to serve the Doge and Signori, rather than His Highness the Pope and other Signori, who in past days, and even now, have urgently asked to employ me, I am therefore anxious, if it should appear feasible, to paint in the Hall of Council." He left the compensation to the discretion of the State, but demanded two assistants, and the first vacant brokership in the Fondaco de' Tedeschi ; all of which conditions were accepted by the gov- ernment. But Bellini had worked on this hall until it seemed to him a vested right, with rich perquisites ; and he hastened to secure a reversal of Titian's appointment. New intrigues followed, and Titian was re-established, but was continu- ally harassed by Bellini's plots and manoeuvres for several years. Inexplicable delays occurred in his prosecution of the work, and called out official reprimands and admonitions ; and it was many years before he finished the first painting in the hall. He received from the State a studio in the old palace of the Duke of Milan, finely situated on the Grand Canal, midway between the Doges' Palace and the Rialto, which he re- tained for sixteen years. The broker's patent in 34 TITIAN. ■ the Fondaco gave him an annuity of a hundred ducats, with exemption from taxation ; and a fur- ther reward of twenty-five ducats for the portrait of the Doge, whicli it was the official duty of the painter-broker to make. Early in 1516, Titian visited quaint old Ferrara, on the marshy plain of the Po ; the capital of a duchy subject to Venice, and ruled by Alfonso d'Este, who was generously devoted to fostering a rich exotic culture, and rivalling Urbino in attracting artists and authors. After the deso- "eting storm of the Cambrai League, Ferrara '^egan to adorn herself, and to enrich the pon- derous castle-palace, which still rises above its surrounding moats, " the finest complete middle- age fortress in Italy." Here the Duchess, the celebrated Lucrezia Borgia, ruled the court pious- ly and liberally. The Duke knew Raphael, Angelo, and other masters, and labored earnestly to get them to send him paintings for the castle. Pellegrino and the Dossi had worked in his halls ; and Giovanni Bellini painted for him a beautiful Bacchanal, to which Titian, ten years later, added a background showing the Castle of Cadore. PAINTINGS AT FERRARA. 35 Titian's first Ferrarese picture was based on a description by Philostratus, and shows a g'oup of nymphs around a statue of Venus, with winged cupids merrily playing in the orchard of sacred apples. This rare picture was a favorite study for artists ; and Domenichino burst into tears when it was carried to distant Spain. "The Three Ages " shows a quiet idyllic landscape, with two sleeping children, a handsome shepherd caressing a flower-crowned maiden, and an old man contemplating two skulls. This sub'^le alle- gory marks the innate poetry of the artist's mind, and his deep sympathy with nature. The " Noli Me Tangere," bequeathed by the poet Rogers to the National Gallery, shows the risen Christ withdrawing himself from the Magdalen. The background is full of rare tranquillity and poetic peace, spanning the deep blue of an evening sky over a quiet bay. " The Virgin's Rest " com- bines heavenly pathos and solemn grandeur ; showing the flower-bearing John and the radiant Catherine before the Virgin and Child, in a broad and beautiful sunset landscape. Charles V. kept this picture among his choicest treasures, and it is now in the National Gallery. 36 TITIAN. Titian also painted a portrait of the broad- browed and clear- eyed Alfonso d'Este, which was much admired by Michael Angelo ; and another of the majestic Duchess Lucrezia. The former is at Madrid, but the latter is lost. The portrait of Ariosto, now at Cobham Hall, was the purest and richest work of Titian's Giorgion- esque period ; and a second portrait, in the National Gallery, shows the pensive poet, long-haired and richly dressed, standing by a laurel-bush. It is said that Titian and Ariosto were godfathers to each other's children, and that they formed a league of intellect, in which "Apelles" painted "Homer's" portrait, and " Homer " consulted " Apelles " about his new poem of "Orlando Furioso." They were cer- tainly intimate with each other ; and Ariosto said, in his revised edition of the " Orlando," that Titian honored Cadore not less than Sebas- tiano did Venice, or Raphael Urbino. The old chroniclers say that the Duke paid Titian generously, lodged him in the palace, ear- ned him to and from Venice in the state-barge, made him a knight, and offered to introduce him at the Roman court. Throughout 15 17 the mas- *'THE ASSUMPTION." 37 ter corresponded with Alfonso, in the subservient Venetian manner, so different from the frank free- dom of Raphael's and Angelo's letters. Mean- time the Bishop of Adria was vainly entreating Raphael to paint his long-promised picture for Ferrara ; and the angry Duke wrote to his agent, " Go to Raphael, and tell him that it is now three years since he began to lure us with promises, . . . and that if he does not do his duty he will soon find out the mistake he has made." This also was in vain, and Alfonso ordered a Bac- chanal from Titian, for the castle-studio. The artist accepted the commission in an adulatory letter ; and his patron soon visited the Venetian studio, and gave him personal directions. " The Assumption of the Virgin," which is considered as Titian's greatest work, was first exhibited on the festival of San Bernardino, in a splendid marble frame over the high altar of the Frari Church at Venice. It shows the radiant Bride of Heaven among the clouds, surrounderl by choirs of innocent angels, reaching her arms upward through the intense glory toward the serone and welcoming face of the Eternal Father, amid His great archangels ; while the 38 TITIAN. adoring apostles stand on the shadowy earth below, and gaze upward at the beauteous appari tion. The mirthsomeness of the "Venus Wor- ship," and the melodious tranquillity of "The Three Ages," are here replaced by a reverent spirituality and a serene elevation of style, aided by wonderful technical artifices, and a masterly contrast of brightness and gloom. Admiring crowds filled the church, and proclaimed Titian the foremost painter of Venice ; and the im- perial legate offered a great price for the picture. Darkened though it is by candle-smoke, and hurt by repainting, it is still the pride of the Venetian Academy. Before 15 19 the master painted "The Annun- ciation " for the Cathedral of Treviso, showing the joyful archangel delivering the heavenly message to the Virgin, in a splendid marble palace whose portico opens on a warm Italian landscape. He also executed several frescos, now nearly obliterated, in Treviso, which had been dilapidated during its long siege by the Leaguers of Cambrai ; and used his influence in favor of Pordenone, afterwards his enemy, who had frescoed the Ravagnino Palace and PARIS BORDONE. 39 Other Trevisan buildings, but could not get his pay. The Venetian government now threatened Titian, that unless he stopped painting for other princes, and resumed and continued his works in the Doges' Palace, they should be finished at his expense. But he ignored this admonition, and leisurely continued his numerous outside com- missions and the instruction of his pupils. Among the latter was Paris Bordone of Treviso, a well-educated patrician, who was already doing famous work, and who acquired his mas- ter's manner so well that their pictures were often confounded by connoisseurs. 40 TITIAN. CHAPTER IV. Workg for Ferrara, Ancona and Brescia. — Homeward Joui> ney. — Venetian Nobles. — Visit to Mantua. — Bacchus and Ariadne. — The Venuses. — The Entombment. Late in 15 19, the Duke of Ferrara wrote an angry letter, complaining of Titian's delay on his commission ; but the imperturbable artist rejoined that he would bring it when completed, and went off to Padua. A month later he sailed up the Po, bearing the " Bacchanal," a brilliant composi- tion, full of gorgeous color and luscious charm, portraying a merry drunken orgy of Ariadne and the half-dressed Bacchantes, with the inscription : " Who drinks not over and over again, knows not what drinking is." This picture and the "Venus Worship " were removed to Rome by Cardinal Aldobrandini, in 1528; and they were presented to the King of Spain by Cardinal Ludovisi, in 1638. Rubens made line copies of them, which were car- ried from Madrid as spoils of war by Bernadotte, and adorned the royal palace of Stockholm. THE MARQUIS OF MANTUA. 41 During his annual visit to Cadore in this year, Titian decorated with arabesques a room in the hnnse of his favorite cousin Tiziano, the poet and orator, who was a person of great influence among the Cadorines. At the Carnival of 1520, the master first met the young Marquis of Mantua, who afterwards became one of his best patrons. Tebaldeo, the envoy of his uncle Alfonso d'Este, was then familiar with every canvas in Titian's studio, and doubtless brought the Marquis hither. Here he saw the " Flora," now in the Uffizi Gallery, a light and brilliant picture of a surpassingly lovely and seductively clad woman, with features of antique purity and ideal grace. It is the popular belief that this represents the mistress of Titian. After the death of Lucrezia, the Duke of Fer- rara married the humble Laura Dianti, and abandoned the intricate paths of diplomacy in favor of art and literature, and the amenities of his peaceful court. He kept up a friendly corre- spondence with Titian, who executed many com- missions for him, finding skilled workmen for the new maiolica works at Ferrara, and himself designing several maiolica vases, which were 42 TITIAN. baked in the Murano furnaces, and sent to Alfonso. In May he visited Ferrara to retouch one of his pictures, and promised to paint Bac- chus and Ariadne for his patron. Six months later he feebly excused himself for delaying the new work, on the ground that he had no canvas ; but the Duke's envoy knew that he had just fin- ished a famous " St. Sebastian " for the new Brescian altar-piece, and bluntly told him that his reasons were as artful as his pencils, and that since he had touched the money of the priests he had ceased to care for the service of Ferrara. Titian replied that the St. Sebastian was his best work, though poorly requited, and that he was willing to work for the Duke night and day, regardless of priests and monks. The wily agent persuaded him to sell the picture secretly to Alfonso, and replace it with a copy ; but the Duke declined to receive it, either from a sense of honor, or from fear of offending the Papal Legate Averoldo, for whom it had been painted. At the same time he pressed the mortified artist to finish the works which he had previously promised. Though so many princes and prelates were VISIT TO THE HILLS. 43 urging on his pencil, the master now yielded to his longing for the hill-country, and journeyed to Conegliano, at the foot of the Venetian Alps, where he received the freehold of a house in re- turn for a series of frescos on the front of the Scuola di Santa Maria Nuova. He adorned this new house with frescos, and made it a stopping- place on his long and frequent journeys to Cadore. On this excursion to the North, he probably carried the portrait of himself, which he had painted for his family ; and which, after his cousin Tiziano died, was called " common prop- erty, as the incomparable and precious gift of their relative Titian." In 1728 Zuliano, the treacherous guardian of Alessandro Vecelli, car- ried this picture to Venice, and sold it. In 152 1 the Doge Loredano died, after a stormy reign of twenty years, and was succeeded by An- tonio Grimani, a noble patrician eighty-seven years old, who had amassed enormous wealth in the Levant trade, and had bought a cardinalate for his son. While commanding two hundred Venetian ships at Lepanto, he was defeated by the Turkish fleet, and carried home in irons. After an incarceration of seven years on the 44 TITIAN. island of Cherson, in the Black Sea, he escaped to his son at Rome, where he reconciled the Pope to Venice, and was thereupon pardoned by the Republic, of which he soon became the Doge. Within two years Titian painted for him four portraits, of which three still remain at Venice, Padua, and Vienna, representing a tall, careworn, and venerable old man, with a strong and heroic face. The state portrait in the Council Hall was destroyed in the fire of 1577, and the votive pic- ture usually given to the doges was not completed until after 1550. Late in 152 1 the impatient Alfonso invited Titian to spend Christmas at Ferrara, and then accompany him on his visit of homage to the new Pope at Rome. But the independent artist de- clined these offers, and went off to Brescia, whence he returned to Venice afflicted with a severe fever. Alfonso's agent stormed about the studio for months to get his master's pictures finished, but the master answered the prince's threats with promises only. ^ In 1522 the great altar-piece which the Papal Legate had ordered for Brescia was finished, and placed in the Church of Sts. Nazarus and Celsus, WORKS FOR THE STATE. 45 where it now remains. It is in several panels, showing Christ rising in the clouds, with aston- ished sentinels around the empty marble tomb, while the right panel contains St. Roch and the wounded St. Sebastian, and the left panel has Sts. Nazarus and Celsus, the latter of whom is pointing the Legate Averoldo toward the Redeem- er. The St. Sebastian was frequently repeated by the master, and has been copied many times by other artists. During the summer the Council of Ten discov- ered that no work had been done in the Hall of the Great Council for several years, and ordered Tiiian to begin his duty immediately, or forfeit his lucrative brokership. Such a threat could not be lightly disregarded ; and the delinquent for a few weeks busied himself with the great paintings in the hall, — either " The Battle of Cadore," or " The Humiliation of the Emperor Barbarossa by Pope Alexander IH." Into the latter were intro- duced portraits of Bembo, Navagero, Sannairaro, Ariosto, and many other contemporary scholars and nobles. Still he found time to execute one of his finest portraits (now at Castle Howard) repre- senting Giorgio Cornaro, the brother of the famous 46 TITIAN. Queen of Cyprus. It shows a noble head, with clear-cut features and chestnut hair, and a rich and highly finished costume. In the same yeai he painted the official portrait of Jacopo Soranzo, a wealthy patrician who had relieved the needy State by paying fourteen thousand ducats for the office of Procurator. This picture is now in the Venetian Academy, and shows a meagre yet noble face, with piercing eyes and a white beard. The Council of Ten also granted permission for Titian to paint a picture for the French King, which was ordered and paid for by the envoy Lautrec. The fame of the master had already spread into North- ern Europe, and reached the ears of kings. The Marquis Federigo Gonzaga was the nephew of Alfonso d'Este, and the ruler of the territory of Mantua. This little principality had been kept by skilful diplomatic intrigues from the breaking storm of the League of Cambrai ; and the young Federigo succeeded to an unimpaired and prosperous heritage, and to a generous love for the fine arts. Probably he had known Titian some years earlier ; but it was not until 1523 that his agent Malatesta sent the painter to Mantua, R-ith the following letter:' "The bearer of these VISIT TO FERRARA. 47 presents is Maestro Tiziano, most excellent in art, but modest and gentle withal. He leaves many works of importance in suspense to go and kiss the hand of your Excellency, who deigned to ask me to seek him out." Gonzaga was much pleased with his visitor, and set him to work on a portrait. But Titian was unable to remain more than a week, for he had already sent his baggage and servants, with his new picture, up the Po to Ferrara ; and now he hastened down the valley to rejoin them. He bore a kind letter from the young Marquis to his uncle Alfonso, begging that he would allow the artist to return to Mantua as soon as possible. The picture which he had begun three years before, and now brought to Ferrara to finish, was the " Bacchus and Ariadne," illustrating the classic poem of Catullus, of which Titian pos- sessed a copy inscribed, Liber mihi Titiani et amicorum ccEterortimque. It shows the beautiful and half-draped Ariadne in Naxos, near the blue ^gean, fleeing from Bacchus, whose leopard- drawn chariot halts while he leaps out towards her. A boisterous troop of maenads and nympns, satyrs and fauns, issues from the adjacent grove, 48 TITIAN. filled with antique vigor and classic beauty, and impelled- in headlong progress. When Ferrara reverted to the Church, this picture was carried to Rome, and remained there until 1806, when it passed to England, and is now in the National Gallery. It has been frequently copied by Poussin, Varotari, and other eminent artists. The picture of a girl at her toilet attended by a man holding a mirror, now at the Louvre, is said to represent Alfonso and Laura Dianti, though popular traditions claim that it is Titian and his mistress. The finely-shaped and simply- :lad lady has ruddy golden hair, coal-black eyes, and clear-cut lips of a rich cherry redness. The Venetian taste, studious of the antique, and delighting in Latin poetry, inclined to the contemplation of nude forms in pictures ; and Titian was not slow to gratify this tendency. He painted the " Sleeping Venus," now at Darmstadt, which represents a graceful nude woman on rose- strewn red cushions, with one arm under her head. This work was very popular, and had many copies and replicas, several of which aie now in England. The " Venus with the Shell " shows the queen of beauty rising new-born from " THE ENTOMBMENT." 49 the sea, which ripples to her knees, and wringing her long hair, while she looks out with a piercing glance which is more conscious than innocent. This picture passed from Queen Christine's col- lection through the Orleans Gallery to the Bridge- water Gallery in London. The Darmstadt Venus shows the features of Violante, but the Bridge- water Venus introduces a new face, henceforth common in Titian's works. In July, 1523, Titian was reported as doing his stipulated task in the Council Hall ; and the authorities were doubtless pleased at even such perfunctory work, since its results were so rich. In August he received gifts from the Marquis of Mantua, and forwarded the portrait on which he had been engaged, to which the prince sent the curt reply : " We have received the picture sent by Maestro Tutiano, which pleased us very much." About the same time, the master painted the portrait of the Procurator Antonio Capello, which xo now m the Venetian Academy, sadly repainted, patched, and cleaned. In the autumn he exe- cuted "The Entombment of Christ," showing Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea bearing the divine body to the tomb, with St. John's face 50 TITIAN. blanched with horror, and the Maries filled with wild anguish. This great work is famous for rich color, weird lights and glooms, and intense focal effect, and is the last which recalls the styles of Palma and Giorgione. While in the gallery of Charles I., of England, it was instru- mental in forming the style of Van Dyck. Later in the year, he painted the glorious Ma- donna now at the Vatican, surrounded by garland- bearing angels, with six grieving saints on the earth below. The remarkable execution and classic symmetry of this work were commended by Pordenone, Vasari, and Dolce, and in later days by Goethe and Mendelssohn. THE DOGE GRITTI. $1 CHAPTER V. The DogeGritti. — Titian's Private Life. — ThePesa'"'^ Madonna. — Aretino. — Affairs in Cadore. — Sebastiano. — Visits to Fer- rara and Mantiia. Early in 1523 Andrea Gritti became Doge, at the age of sixty-eight. In 1503, while a prisoner at Constantinople, he negotiated the peace be- tween Venice and the Sultan Bajazet II. ; and while a captive of the French, after Gaston de Foix destroyed Brescia, he conducted the Treaty of Blois, and joined Francis I. against Charles V. He loved the French right well ; and when he heard in September, 1523, that the army of France had occupied San Cristofano, menacing Milan, he caused Titian to execute the fresco which still remains at the foot of the stairway to the Doges' apartments, showing a grand figure of St. Christopher wading through the Lagune near Venice, and bearing the infant Christ on his shoulder. The Gallican sympathies of the Doge were vigorously illustrated in this metaphor, which. 52 TITIAN. also exposes Titian's unfamiliarity with fresco- painting. Of the several celebrated portraits which the master painted for the Doge, those at London, Florence, and Padua alone remain. The latter portrays a stately prince arrayed in a white silk mantle and cap, with a broad forehead, an aquiline nose, and white beard and whiskers. The spring and summer of 1524 were devoted to the long-lost frescos of the Madonna and saints and the evangelists, in the Doge's chapel. Gritti rewarded his artist by giving valuable ap- pointments to his kinsmen, including the chan- cellorship of Feltre to his brother-in-law Matteo Soldano, and the inspectorship of mines to his father, Gregorio Vecelli. The master at this time was ill with a fever, with intermittent attacks, and refused to imperil his life by visiting the Ferrarese country, in the malarious marshes of the Po. Later in the autumn he ascended by barge to Ferrara, and began several pictures, at the urgent solicitation of the Duke. Somewhat later he painted " The Annunciation," which is now at the Scuola di San Rocco, in Venice, and is notable for rich coloring and broad composition. It shows the TITIAN'S HOME-LIFE. S3 prayerful and serene Virgin, kneeling at her desk, and the angel entering on a cloud. But little is known of Titian's home-life, save that he had a wife named Cecilia, who bore him three or four children between 1525 and 1530. His son Pomponio was born in 1525, and in after years became an unmitigated scapegrace and profligate. The Madonnas painted during these years of family life show that the master was familiar with the charming passages of ma- ternal tenderness and infantile affection. It is evident that his married life was of that unevent- ful character which indicates tranquil peace at home. Titian was always a gentleman, with polished manners and a charming address. His personal and social influence was therefore large ; and his circle of friends included many of the foremost men of the century, in all departments of public life. There is absolutely no proof that ne ever lived the remarkable life of dissipation which is indicated by the numerous pictures known in later days as Titian's mistresses. Gilbert argues that his possession of unimpaired strength and unfailing industry to so great an age as ninety- 54 TITIAN. nine years was a proof of the moderation of his life. Even the profligate Aretino, in his numer- ous letters to the master, is careful to avoid the ribaldry with which much of his correspondence overflows. In the spring of 1526 Titian finished the grand " Madonna di Casa Pesaro," showing the same martial prelate whom he had painted twenty-three years before when praying for victory over the Turks, now adoring the Virgin for his success. A comparison of these two pictures shows the immense gains of their author in dignity, har- mony, and unity of conception. The Virgin is seen enthroned in a magnificent temple, attended by Sts. Peter, Anthony, and Francis, and a knight bearing the laurel-decked standard of the Church ; while the members of the Pesaro family kneel below, arrayed in rich brocades, and bearing por- trait faces. This grandiose work is still kept in the Frari Church at Venice, where it had a pro- found influence on Paul Veronese and the artists of the sixteenth century. The terrible sack of Rome by the Imperial army took place in 1527; and among the artists who fled from the ruined city were Sansovino PIETRO ARETINO. 55 and Sebastiano del Piombo, who took refuge at Venice. Aretino commended them to the Mar- quis of Mantua, striking bitterly at the prevalent taste of the Italian noblesse with his statement that Sebastiano could produce pictures " that should not represent any thing holy." This un- sanctified artist soon returned to Rome ; but Sansovino remained in Venice as the architect of St. Mark's, and gained a close intimacy with Titian and Aretino, which continued for nearly thirty years. After Raphael's death, his school was disgraced by Giulio Romano, who designed a series of obscene pictures, which Marc Antonio engraved, and Aretino furnished with descriptive verses. The indignant Pope imprisoned Marc Antonio ; but Romano escaped to Mantua; and the fugi- tive Aretino became secretary to the free-lance Giovanni de' Medici, after whose death he entered the Doge's service, and also became the secret agent of the Gonzagas. Within three months he had won the lasting friendship of Titian, and became his closest friend, teaching him many artifices of diplomacy and statecraft. This re- markable man was born out of wedlock, a1 56 TITIAN. Arezzo, and never went to school. He was taken up by Agostino Chigi, the wealthy Roman banker, at whose house he met Romano, Sanso- vino. Sebastiano, and other eminent men, and soon became a satirical poet and pamphleteer, steeped in all vices, treacherous and intriguing, wielding a venal and libellous pen which dripped with poison, and selling his services to whomso- ever would bid highest arnong the princes of anarchical Italy. He boasted of living " by the sweat of his pen j " and having discovered cer- tain of the secret springs of contemporary poli- tics, and many hidden family histories, he laid nobles and sovereigns alike under tribute, so that he was called " the Scourge of Princes." In June, 1527, Titian sent portraits of Aretino and the Envoy Adorno to the Marquis of Mantua, who returned a friendly answer, saying, " I thank you, and shall hold these pictures dear for your sake. . . . When I can I shall ever be ready to do you a pleasure, and always be disposed and inclined to consult your wishes." Now for many years Francesco Vecelli had been in his noble brother's studio, and had exe- cuted several famous pictures for rural churches, ROUTE TO C ADORE. 57 besides a " Resurrection " for the Doges' Palace. Ridolfi pretends that Titian became jealous of his increasing power, and persuaded him to aban- don the study of art ; but this statement has no foundation. When his father died, in 11:27, Francesco left the Venetian studio, and occupied the old cottage at Cadore ; carrying on a desul- tory commerce in corn and timber, and eking out his income by painting a few pictures. To his home Titian often came to escape the baleful heats of the lowland summers, and to rest and grow strong in the arms of the great mountains. Let us follow his annual route, as sketched in detail in Gilbert's fascinating " Titian's Country:" Crossing the Lagune by gondola to Mestre, he rode across the gre?t Venetian plain to Treviso, rich in the works of Giorgione and Pordenone, where he had a pleasant house. Twenty miles beyond he passed Conegliano, and advanced over the white road into the Ceneda Hills, among which he had a pretty villa, near the later home of his beloved daughter Lavinia. He nevei passed Ceneda without pausing to study and admire the beautiful " Annunciation " in the Nunziata Church, which his old fellow-student, 58 TITIAN Previtali, painted before his brief life was ended. By the grim towers of Serravalle, he entered the Alpine pass, and ascended by the gloomy Lake Morto, and the mountain-walled Lake of Santa Croce, below the Government timber-reservation of the Consiglio Forest, in which he is said to have made prolonged studies of trees and wood- land scenery. The Val di Mel soon opened on the west, with its soft rural beauty and richness, whose fascinating landscapes influenced his art- scenery more than any other region. He executed several fine pictures here, in the sister-cities of Belluno and Feltre, and in Mel and Zoppb. Among the oak-forests near Casteldardo he was wont to amuse himself in hunting birds; and some of his best landscape studies were made about the sequestered mill of Colontola, three miles from Belluno. Here he sketched many of the quaint and angular dolomite peaks, resem- bling sword-blades or sharp-hewn timber-slabs, which appear in the backgrounds of some of his j^^eat pictures. The Cadore road passed near the west end of the vale, and ascended the savage defile of the Piave towards the ponderous Marmarolo, which is called " Titian's Mountain.' ALPINE JOURNEYS. 59 Beyond the dark glens of Longarone, the trav- eller at last entered the Vale of Cadore, and ap- proached the quiet hamlet and frowning castle of Pieve, in " the territory always very faithful to the most serene Republic of Venice." On one of his journeys toward Cadore, the master sketched a fine picture of a summer squall ; showing a dark wind-driven cloud sweep- ing across the landscape, which is flecked with light and shade. Other visits to the Vale were made, to prepare sketches for the picture of the Battle of Cadore. In 1527 he ascended to the remote Alpine hamlet of Zoppb, and painted the altar-piece which is still preserved there, though great offers have been made for it. At another time he was long delayed by a winter-storm at the adjacent village of Santa Lucia, in the Val Fiorentina, and rewarded the hospitality of the curate by painting for him a fresco, representing Death surrounded by symbols of earthly vanity. Titian still continued his intimacy with the Duke of Ferrara, to whom he made frequent visits, ascending the Po by barge. In January, 1528, he painted three pictures at Ferrara, and Mmplained that he only received one hundred 6o TITIAN. ducats for them, when they were worth that amount each. Early in 1528, the Brotherhood of St. Petei Martyr desired to obtain a new altar-piece, rep- resenting the death of their patron saint ; and it does not appear that they regarded any Venetian artist as paramount, for they invited the prepa- ration of competitive designs. Palma Vecchio, once Titian's friend and guide, but now his oppo- nent, was one of the unsuccessful aspirants ; and Pordenone suffered the same fate, and hencefor- ward cherished a malignant hatred towards his former leader, who was victorious in the competi- tion. Titian won the award, and was engaged for two years on the picture. He was at this time strongly influenced by the traditions of Flor- entine art, which Michael Angelo had moulded into Sebastiano's st}'le. Sebastiano del Piombo, who had dared to compete in coloring with Ra- phael himself, remained at Venice throughout the year 1528, and was probably in close com- munion with Titian, who had been his fellow- pupil in earlier years, in Bellini's studio. Sebas- tiano returned to Rome in March, 1529, but was soon succeeded by Michael Angelo, who fled "ST. PETER MARTYR." 6l from Florence to Venice in the autumn. On his way he stopped at Ferrara, and expressed to the Duke his admiration of Titian's pictures in the palace of that city. The influence of the great Tuscan is seen in the important picture then on our artist's easel. Vargas, the imperial envoy, once found him painting with a brush " as big as a birch-broom," and was told that he was deter- mined to work in a manner different from that of Raphael or Angel o, and avoid the ignominy of mere imitation. Titian remained at Ferrara during the first half of 1529, and was attended by a retinue of five persons. In March he spent a fortnight at Man- tua, to whose prince he bore a flattering letter from Duke Alfonso, speaking of his valuable ser- vices, and desiring that he should be allowed to return as soon as possible. "The Martyrdom of St. Peter Martyr" was completed late in 1529. It was one of the high- est efforts of the artist, and showed the saint prostrate beneath his assassin, with his compan- ion flying in terror, while overhead swayed the branches of an Alpine forest of gloomy and ma- jestic trees. The figures were grand, mobile, and 62 TITIAN. natural, Angelesque without strained convention- alism, and the composition was broad and impos- ing. Cellini, Rubens, the Caracci, Reynolds, and the chief artists of succeeding generations, made it an object of close study and profound admiration ; and the government enacted that any one who should dare to remove it should be put to death. In 1867 art suffered an irreparable loss by the burning of this picture, together with the chapel in which it was kept. In the winter of 1529-30 great festivities oc- curred at Bologna, when Pope Clement crowned the illustrious Emperor Charles V., and secured for Italy peace at the price of liberty. Titian's patron, the Marquis of Mantua, was with Charles throughout this joyous time ; and Vasari says that his secret agent, Aretino, secured the invitation of the artist to Bologna, where he executed a splen- did portrait of the Emperor, and received a thou- sand scudi as a guerdon. During the spring Titian sent to Mantua a portrait of the Marquis, which was placed beside Raphael's earlier portrait of the same prince. With this was sent the " Madonna del Coniglio," a refined and elevated work, which is now at the JOURNEY TO BOLOGNA. 63 Louvre. It shows a charming group, composed of the Virgin seated on the grass, with her hand on a white rabbit, while the superbly dressed St. Catherine stoops down, with Jesus in her arms, to allow Him to see the rabbit. The background is a rich and picturesque North-Italian landscape. The Marquis showed his gratification by confer- ring a benefice on Titian's son Pomponio, who was then five years old. The noble patron was himself raised to the rank of a duke, by Charles v., during the same year. During the summer Titian was sent to Bologna to paint the portrait of La Cornelia, with whom the imperial secretary had become enamoured while attending his master's frequent visits to the Pepoli Palace, during the recent festivities of the coronation. With the view of conciliating the powerful Covos, and thus winning political power, the Duke of Ferrara determined to pre- sent him with a portrait and a bust of his in- namorata, and accredited Titian to the Countess Pepoli as a gentleman and a rare and excellent painter. But the project failed utterly ; for the sculptor angrily withdrew when he found another artist also commissioned to portray his subject; 64 TITIAN. and the fair Cornelia herself fell sick, and was removed to Nuvolara. The summer-heats of the inland city soon prostrated the artist also, and he returned to Venice in a bad condition. Titian seemed to love his Alpine cottage and his sea-girt studio with an equal affection, and to feel restless and uncomfortable when duty called him to the inland cities of the plains. In several instances his enforced visits to the interior had been terminated by illness, which compelled him to return to the coast in great haste ; yet there is no record of his voyaging on the sea, and he promptly declined the Emperor's invitation to cross the Mediterranean to Africa. There is a tradition that he once visited Spain, but it is not supported by authentic proofs, and has been Ignored by his later biographers. DEATH OF TITIAN'S WIFE. 65 CHAPTER VI. Death of Titian's Wife. — Removal to Casa Grande. — Pupik. — Magdalens and Minor Works. — Visit to Charles V., who ennobles Titian. — La Bella. In August, 1530, Titian was thrown into mourning by the death of his wife Cecilia, an event which was the greatest sorrow of his Hfe. He had been unable to attend to his work during her illness, and grieved deeply and sincerely. He was comforted as far as possible by his friends and associates, but long remained discon- solate and plunged in deep melancholy. At last he took the motherless children, and hastened to the Vale of Cadore, to seek peace among the ennobling Alps ; and here he dwelt for several months in the house of his brother Francesco. To this period of seclusion are referred the comparatively inferior pictures in the churches of Candide, Vigo, and Vinigo. On returning to Venice, he brought his sister Orsa from Cadore to take care of the three young 66 TITIAN. children, — the new-born Lavinia ; Orazio, who was to be educated as a painter ; and Pomponio, who had been destined for the Church, and had received the sinecure-benefice of Medole from Gonzaga. It would perhaps have been better if Titian had labored as strenuously to teach the boy his own honorable calling. At this time Titian abandoned his old studio on the Grand Canal, and occupied a new house in the rural north-eastern part of the city, a region of pure air and of wide lawns, marshes, and gar- dens. It was a tenement in the Casa Grande, which had been erected in 1527, and was occu- pied by several families. The gardens were laid out along the Lagune, over whose long levels the island of Murano was seen, with the Ceneda hills beyond, and far away in the north the stately peak of Antelao, rising over the Vale of Cadore. Here, away from the noise of the city, and in view of his native Alps, the great master found a sweet and congenial home. The Casa Grande is still standing, in a remote quarter of Venice, but has been whitewashed and modern- ized, and shut out from the view of the Lagune by recent buildings. It was formerly much TITIAN'S PUPILS. 67 visited by art-pilgrims, but was greatly remod elled in 1863, when the famous old tree in its gar- den, which dated from Titian's time, was cut down. Among the students who labored here under Titian's direction were Bordone, Palma Giovine, Bonifazio, Moretto, the elder Bassano, the three brothers Schwnrz from Germany, and the Flem- ing Calcai. The engravers Cornelius Cort and Domenico delle Greche were added to this com- pany, and dwelt in the house. With shrewd busi- ness ability, and somewhat of unscrupulousness, the master winked at the practice of his pupils copying his pictures, and afterwards retouched their feeble imitations, and sold them as his own. During the autumn Titian sent to the Duke of Mantua the finished portrait of La Cornelia and a copy of the " St. Sebastian " of the Brescia altar-piece ; and during the next spring he for- warded him a picture of St. Jerome, representing a rugged old man kneeling before a rude crucifix in a wild mountain-land. This work was broadly treated and richly colored, and was frequently copied, the subject being then fashionable. The Duke requested that Titian should paint him a Magdalen, " as beautiful but as tearful as possi 68 TITIAN. ble," for a present to the Marquis of Guasto, a high official of the imperial court. This work was carefully executed and sent to Mantua within six weeks, and was duplicated for the Gonzagas. The Magdalen was a favorite sub- ject with the master, and he boasted that he had made over two thousand scudi from it, and found difficulty in supplying the rapid demand, even with the aid of his pupils and assistants. The general type is that of a nude young woman, with finely rounded limbs and well-modelled fig- ure, handsome face, and streaming golden hair, and the white splendor of the entire form thrown into bold relief by a dark and lonely background. The Magdalen is distinguishable from Venus only by her upturned face and tearful eyes, and other- wise is equally alluring and more orthodox. In answer to Titian's complaints, the Duke of Mantua sent him the papers of Pomponio's bene- tice ; and the master, still under Aretino's servile influence, returned a letter full of adulation and humility. He declined an invitation to visit the Marquis of Guasto at Correggio, and hastened to finish the votive picture of the Doge Gritti, showing St. Mark bringing Gritti and three saints CORREGGIO. 69 to the Virgin. This picture was lost in the con- flagration of 1577. Aretino ordered a picture oi St. John the Baptist, which he sent to Stampa, the imperialist commander at Milan, and the favorite of Sforza, the Duke of Milan, whose confidence Aretino wished to gain. He repaid his friend's labors by securing him new orders, and by judicious advertising in his writings, where he praised him as " the only rival of Nature." About this time Francesco Vecelli made his usual winter visit to Venice, and dwelt with Titian while engaged on the great frescos of San Salvador. He still continued to paint pictures for the churches of Friuli, and always welcomed Titian gladly during the months when sunshine dwelt among the Alps. Resta and Ticozzi state that Titian visited Correggio at Parma about this time ; but other- wise it is uncertain whether he ever met that grand artist, whose silvery radiance he seems to have borrowed. Correggio and Titian were mar- ried in the same year, and gave the same singu- lar name to their eldest sons. Titian and Are- tino were both acquainted with Lotto, Correggio's 70 TITIAN. disciple, and his patron, the wealthy Andrea Odoni. During the summer of 1532 the master visited Ferrara, and sketched the profile of Ariosto for an engraving in the " Orlando Furioso." He painted for the Gonzagas a gazelle which had been imported into Venice from Eg}^pt, and engaged for them a scene-decorator, who bore the singular name of " the peaceful painter." We now come to one of the most brilliant epi- sodes in Titian's life. In the autumn of 1532, after the Turks had been repulsed, the Emperor Charles V. rode into Italy to receive the homage of her princes, and check the hostile Galilean intrigues. His retinue was less splendid than the French embassies, but its members were men of high cultivation and lovers of art and litera- ture. The great Charles himself was an enthu- siastic collector of art-treasures, and visited all the masterpieces in the churches and studios. At Mantua he admired the Duke's collections of armor and paintings, and especially the portraits by Titian, whom he presently desired to paint his own portrait. The Duke wrote the following note : " Messer Tiziano, I should be very glad CHARLES V. 71 to have you near me, and beg as hard as 1 can that you come hither as quickly as you are able, which Avill do me a singular pleasure." This pressing summons was not heeded by the artist, who hastened to Bologna, and entered into direct relations with the Emperor and his court. In 1533 Charles V. sat to Titian for a portrait representing him as bareheaded and clad in armor, the first sketch for which is now in Eng- land. Another portrait, now at Madrid, shows the Emperor in a splendid gala-dress, but with all his traditional homeliness of pallid skin, red beard, long chin, upturned nose, and protruding lower lip, with redeeming calm blue eyes atid a broad forehead. This work was finished at Venice, and copied for the Duke of Mantua. The sculptor Lombardi carried Titian's paint- box at the sittings, in order to see the Emperor, and furtively maae a xcilcf portrait of him on a tablet of wax. The vigilant sovereign observed him slipping this work into his sleeve, and de- manded to see it, upon which he praised the exe- cution, and ordered it to be reproduced in marble. In May, Titian was overwhelmed with dignities, in a patent issued by the Emperor, creating him JV. TITIAN. a Count Palatine of the Lateran, of the Aulic Council, and of the Consistory, and a Knight of the Golden Spur, with the powers of appointing judges and notaries, legitimizing natural chil dreUj entering the imperial court, and other high privileges. His children were made nobles of the Empire, with the honors due to families with four generations of ancestors. The Emperor recited, that whereas Alexander of Macedon had appointed Apelles as his court-painter, and Octavian had chosen the most eminent of Roman artists, so also he rewarded the exquisite skill of the Apelles of his time by giving him the high- est honors. After this time Charles never sat to any other master ; and for every portrait that Titian painted he received a thousand scudi in gold. Among the nobles in the imperial retinue was the. veteran Marquis of Guasto, who had been summoned from the command of Lombardy, the year before, to meet the advance of the valiant and merciless Turks in the Danubian provinces of Austria. He returned victorious, and en- gaged Titian to portray his farewell to his wife, the lovely Mary of Aragon, whom Cupid, Victory CARDINAL DE' MEDICI. 73 and Hymen are endeavoring to console. This rare work is famous for its sweetness of tone, rich harmony of tints, and deep solemnity of expression. Its allegorical style was repeated in several other pictures painted by the master about this time, introducing portraits of his patrons and their wives or mistresses, attended by symbolical figures. Two of these are now in the Vienna Belvedere. Another of the luminaries of the Bologna conference was Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, recently the legate in command of the Italian musketeers, who joined the Christian princes in repelling the Turkish advance on Vienna. He was averse to priestly honors, to which he was elevated by his kinsman Pope Clement VII., and preferred literary dilettantism, and the splen- dors of non-belligerent military life. Titian painted his portrait in armor, which has disap- peared \ and also the celebrated portrait now at the Pitti Palace, showing him in the brilliant ccctume of the Magyar chieftains of Hungary, with a smooth bronzed face, crafty eyes, and the dear-cut Medici features. Ippolito urged the artist to visit him at Rome, but the invitation was not then accepted 74 TITIAN-. The Emperor was now to decide whether the cities of Modena and Reggio, held by his troops, should be given to the Pope, or to Alfonso of Ferrara, and resolved to avail himself of the desires of the latter prince to secure certain rare pictures from his gallery. Titian was chosen to indicate the best works among these treasures of art, and selected four masterpieces from the Ferrarese gallery, which were delivered to the Emperor. Alfonso's agents were pressing the ar- tist to hurry the completion of new pictures then due to their master. In the summer of 1533 Titian returned from the heated inland cities to his studio and gardens in the breezy northern suburb of Venice, and thriftily invested the profits of his labors at Bologna in an estate near Treviso, which he bought from the Benedictine monks. He was aided by the influence of the Duke of Mantua, and gave a picture of Christ as part of the pur- chase price. He also painted the altar-piece which is still in the Venetian Church of San Gio- vanni Eleemosinario, on the order of the Doge, who had recently reconstructed the building. It represents St. John the Alms-giver, Patriarch ol EMPEROR VS. KING. 75 Alexandria, richly arrayed and enthroned, giving a purse to a ragged beggar at his feet ; and com- bines the rugged grandeur of Michael Angelo's style with gorgeous coloring and unsurpassable technical skill. Though Charles V. and Francis I. were bit- terly antagonizing each other with hostile leagues of Italian states, Venice and her children refused to adhere to either, and made money out of both. The Emperor bid for Aretino's poisoned pen with a life pension ; the French King sent him a golden collar : Cardinal de' Medici presented money and rich gifts ; and Alessandro de' Medici offered him the Strozzi Palace at Florence. The unblushing parasite published a play in which he praised with equal voice these hostile princes and their gifts, and lauded also " the glorious Titian." With a similar disregard of the fitness of things, Titian painted three portraits of Francis I., the deadly enemy of the Emperor who had filled his studio with wealth and honors. These pictures were repro- duced from French medals ; and, of the two which remain, one is at the Louvre, showing .he gay sovereign before his fortieth year, with 76 TITIAN. his small eyes, pointed nose, broad brow, hea\7 jaw, fleshy cheeks, bull neck, and close-cropped black beard. The portrait of Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua, was copied by Bordone, Rubens, and many other masters, and is now in the Vienna Belvedere. The lady was at this time old and wrinkled, but caused Titian to copy a picture taken when she was in the flower of her beauty, arrayed in a superb costume. The portrait at the Pitti Palace called "La Bella di Tiziano" represents an unknown patrician maiden of rare dignity and beauty, with rich auburn hair, bewitching lips, and serene eyes which look out of the picture. " The Mistress of Titian," in the Hermitage Palace, is a picture of a beautiful girl scantily clad in an ermine-lined pelisse. A similar picture at the Vienna Belvedere is the same which the Duchess of Buckingham ex- changed with King Charles I., probably for something less pronounced in suggestion. The Duke of Urbino, a relative and frequent guest of the Mantuan Gonzagas, was now living at Venice, whose armies he commanded. He purchased a " Magdalen " and a portrait of Fran i ii TITIAN HELPS CADORE. 77 cis I. from Titian, and had him paint a " Venus " which tradition claims as a portrait of the noble Duke's innamorata. This picture is in the Flor- entine Tribune, and shows a consciously nude woman, gracefully reposing on a ruby-colored damask couch, and colored with the richest effects of art. In 1534 the Cadorine Council sent an embassy to Venice to secure the restraint of Zeno, the captain of their castle, from unlawful trading ; and Titian's influence with the Doge insured its success. The master's constant generosity toward Cadore was repaid by the steady friend- ship of its people. 78 TITIAN. CHAPTER VII. At Milan. — Duke of Urbino. — Bembo. — Aretino, and Titian'i Son. — The Council punishes Titian. — " The Battle of Ca- dore," and Minor Works. — Titian's Guests. In 1534 Charles V. brought about a marriage between the aged and decrepit Duke of Milan and Christina of Denmark, who was then twelve years old ; and the couple entered Milan with pompous ceremonies. Titian painted their por- traits, and was rewarded by a canonry for his hopeful son Pomponio, and a promise of a pen- sion from Naples. In the autumn Alfonso of Ferrara and Pope Clement VII. died ; and Paul III., a patrician of the brilliant Farnese family, became Pope. Fer- rante Gonzaga was introduced to the studio by the Duke of Mantua, and ordered two pictures. The papal nuncio at Vienna invited Titian to visit Cardinal Gloss at the episcopal palace of Trent ; and the master was again vainly sum- moned to Rome by Cardinal de' Medici, whom TITIAN AND CHARLES V. 79 Aretino called " a prince in the disguise of a car- dinal, who scented more of the purple than the frock." The triumvirate of friends, Titian, Are- tino, and Sansovino, had now admitted to their close intimacy the architect Serlio. the cameo- carver Anichini, and the philosopher Spira, and conducted their respective works in frequent dis- regard of the Doge's wishes. When Charles V. embarked on the expedition in which he conquered Tunis and humbled Bar- barossa, he desired Titian to follow and portray his battles ; but the master preferred to remain among the comforts of fair Venetia and Cadore. His generous patron. Cardinal de' Medici, started on the African campaign, but was poisoned on the way by his cup-bearer. Most of the studio- work this season was done for the Duke of Man- tua, and included the long-lost picture of Christ. After his African victories, the Emperor passed in triumph through Sicily, Rome, and Florence, to the camp of his lieutenant, De Leyva, who was about to invade France. The Duke of Mantua and Titian crossed Lombardy, and joined the imperial retinue a' Asti, in Piedmont, where the artist became acquainted with Gaztelu, afterwards So TITIAN. the envoy at Venice, Perez, who corresponded with him from Valladolid, and other Spanish grandees. The new Duke of Ferrara, Ercole II., kept up friendly relations with the studio, and royally rec- ompensed the master for his new portrait of the late Duke, painted to replace that which the Emperor had taken. Guido Rangone, the papal general, and his agent Comitolo, were now inti- mate with the triumvirate ; and Aretino had sold his venal services to France for a large annuity. He warned Alessandro de' Medici to beware of "the steel and poison of treason," but in vain, for that prince was murdered during the next month. The master was now on good terms with the world, and extended his domestic establishment by leasing the whole of the spacious Casa Grande. Here he painted splendid portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino. The former was a dash- ing and valiant prince, who had been educated at the chivalrou.s court of France, and won his duchy at the point of the sword. He was now generalissimo of the crusade of Germany, Spain, Rome, and Venice, against the Turks ; and was PIETRO BEMBO. 8l depicted in burnished armor, witli a short and wiry figure, gaunt and bronzed cheeks, and keen black eyes. His Ducliess, Eleanora, sister of the Duke of Mantua, and ruler of Urbino during his warlike expeditions, was portrayed with a slender and stately figure, in rich apparel, delicate fea- tures, and lustrous eyes with long lashes. Pietro Bembo, the foremost of Roman literati, had retired to Padua in 1522, and made the richest collections of pictures and antiques in Europe. He did not renew his ancient intimacy with Titian, either because he was offended on account of the master's refusal of his invitation to Rome, or because his warm friendship with Raphael and Angelo caused him to look slight- ingly on North-Italian art. Yet he remained on friendly terms with the great Venetian, who painted his portrait about this time, showing a high forehead, gaunt cheeks, an aquiline nose, and a long beard. Early in 1537 the Duke of Mantua sent Titian rich presents, and engaged him to paint portraits of twelve Roman emperors, which were copied from antique busts in Bembo's museum, and medals in the Mantuan collections. This series 8a TITIAN. became very popular, and was copied by Caracci, Campi, and others. The Mantuans were indig- nant when the originals were shipped to London in 1628. The English Commonwealth presented them to the Spanish ambassador, and most of them have disappeared. In the autumn Aretino devised an ingenious scheme to aid Titian to get the money due from the Emperor, and caused him to send to the Empress the picture of " The Annunciation," for which the nuns of Murano had refused to pay the price of five hundred scudi. Charles returned a present of two thousand scudi, and sent- the picture to Spain, where it disappeared. The details of this shrewd transaction were published in an open letter from Aretino to Titian. The three Vecelli children were now growing apace, under the care of their aunt Orsa. In November, Aretino wrote a pla}^ul letter to "Pomponio Monsignorino," closing thus: "It is time that you should return from the country, where there is no school ; . . . and, now that you are twelve years old, you shall write some exer- cises in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin, which will astonish the doctors, as the pictures astonish TITIAN'S PUNISHMENT. 83 the artists of Italy, which are painted by Messer your father." Standing without a rival in Northern Italy acknowledged as the prince of colorists, and master of the subtle secret of portraying nature without revealing his processes, Titian was now entering the full-fruited autumn of his glorious life. The results of his many years of close study and earnest contemplation were about to be displayed in all their fulness. The delicate finishing of his earlier pictures was replaced by a grander and freer execution, more impressive in focal effect, and more realistic in breadth of de- sign. Aretino illustrated the rapidity with which he had learned to work, by saying that he could execute a portrait as quickly as another could scratch an ornament on a chest. In 1537 the Council of Ten sharply decreed '.hat whereas Titian had for twenty years enjoyed the revenues of his- brokership without rendering due service in return, he should be compelled to refund the eighteen hundred ducats which he had thus received. The dismayed artist knew that ihis was impossible ; and immediately set to work in the Hall of the Great Council, hoping to pla- 84 TITIAN. cate the Government by his diligence. But the Council had already found a more faithful painter in Pordenone, whose earnest and careful labors had adorned many churches in Friuli, and won him a wide fame in Northern Italy. Ten years before, he had been beaten in a competition with Titian ; but his subsequent experience and his superiority in fresco-painting, together with his recent success in decorating the Golden Hall of the Library, made him a formidable rival. He had also been ennobled by the King of Hungary, and was socially equal to his great colleague. Pordenone was appointed to paint a panel adja- cent to ihat on which Titian was working. Acting thus under the double stimulus of a successful rival and angry patrons, the master executed the great picture of "The Battle of Cadore," which was burnt in 1577, but is remem- bered by several copies and engravings. It showed a body of Venetian knights charging across a stone bridge, and routing the hostile . Germans in a general melee ; while rolling flames rose over the Castle of Cadore, on the rearward crags. The figures were of life-size, and were full of strong action and grand realism. Rubens NEW PORTRAITS. 85 made a drawing of the principal group, which is preserved at Vienna. During his visits to Cadore to make sketches for the battle-ground scene, Titian found his countrymen quarrelling with the men of Belluno about boundaries, and secured for Sansovino the commission of visiting the dis- puted territory on behalf of the State. In the summer of 1538 the master went to Pe- saro with the Duke of Urbino, who was slowly dying from poison administered by emissaries of France, then in league with the Turks. He worked on the portraits of the emperors, for Mantua, and made two likenesses of the Sultan Soliman, from medals. From this time also date his portraits of Gen. Savorgnano and of the noble old veteran Giovanni Moro, a soldier of the Venetian fleet. His renewed attempts to get his dues from Naples, and to have the obnox- ious tax removed from Pomponio's benefice, were fruitless ; and Aretino's letter to the Pope, asking him to invite Titian to Rome, was unheeded. Several princes had defied Aretino; and a swarm of satirists was assailing him, one of whom, Franco of Benevento, insulted Titian in the open street, and then wrote a sonnet praising him foi 86 TITIAN. painting Aretino's portrait, to show to future ages the quintessence of the infamy of the century. But Aretino mercilessly scarified and silenced his adversaries by malignant letters, which he printed and scattered broadcast. In 1539 the Council of Ten restored the broker's patent to the master; and the sudden death of Pordenone left the patronage of the Republic to be engrossed once more by its most eminent painter, Pietro Lando was elected to the dogeship this year, and his official portrait was executed by Titian. The Marquis of Guas- to, the imperialist governor of Milan, and a great favorite of Charles V., was present at Lando's coronation, and prdered the artist to make his portrait in the act of addressing his troops. Titian confided to the Marquis his financial troubles, and secured from him a nev/ canonry for Pomponio. During the same season he painted portraits of Agostino Lando, the agent of Parma, and Cardinal Bembo, the latter of which is now in the Barberini Palace at Rome. " The Presentation in the Temple," now in the Venetian Academy, was one of the master's most gorgeous works, and one of his largest, being nc TITIAN'S FEAST. 87 less than twenty-five feet long. It shows the child Mary ascending the steps of a splendid temple, with Joachim and Anna below, the ven- erable high-priest in the portico, and groups of Catholic prelates and senators. Venetian art, rising from rude Byzantine votive pictures to the study of the antique and of perspective in Bellini and Giorgione, in this picture reaches one of its points of culmination. A contemporary work was " The Angel and Tobit," which is still kept in the Church of San Marciliano, and shows a glorious ang*el advancing towards the awe-stricken youth. In August, 1540, the Latinist Priscianese was present at a "bacchanalian feast" of delicious viands and precious wines in Titian's beautiful home at Casa Grande, in company with Aretino, Sansovino, Nardi, and other leaders of the culti- vated society of Venice. The visitor describes their discussion over the pictures in the studio until the heat of the afternoon had passed, and their enjoyment of the large and pleasant gardens. " This part of the sea, as soon as the sun went down, swarmed with gondolas adorned with beau- tiful women, and resounded with the varied har- 88 TITIAN. mony and music of voices and instruments, which till midnight accompanied our delightful supper." Such feasts were common occurrences at Casa Grande, where it seems that the household ex penses must have been large enough to rendei necessary Titian's tireless efforts to secure his just dues from the imperial pensions. In 1540 the master earned an organ to add to his luxurious surroundings, by painting the portrait of Alessandro, the organ-maker. This was followed by portraits of Vincenzo Capello, a naval officer j Elisabetta Quirini, the beautiful sister of the Patriarch ; the Duke and Duchess of Mantua, for a present to the Count Palatine of the Rhine ; and Don Diego de Mendoza, the imperial en- voy, a wealthy young noble who expended great sums on art and the fair sex. All these pictures have long since disappeared, together with scores of other paintings b}" the great master, whose loss is now deplored by the world. DEATH OF GONZAGA. 89 CHAPTER VIII. At Mantua and Milan. — The Academy, — Vasari. — Paul III. and the Emperor. — The Famese Family. — Northern Journeys. — Portraits. Late in 1540 Titian attended the funeral of his generous patron, the Duke of Mantua, one of the noblest and most intelligent princes of Italy, who had helped Raphael, Titian, Romano, and many other artists. After the solemn cere- monies at Mantua, the artist-count visited Cadore, where he gave a notaryship to one of his kinsmen. All the triumvirs were now engaged by D'Av- alos, the Marquis of Guasto. Sansovino made a bronze statue of St. Catherine, and Aretino wrote her biography ; and these were sent to the Marchioness at Milan, during the winter. In the spring Titian finished his admirable picture of the Marquis, in burnished armor, addressing a company of halberdiers. The artist received a l^ension of fifty scudi a year for this work, which is now at Madrid. go TITIAN. During the summer Charles V. entered Milan in grand state, with a brilliant retinue of prelates and nobles, being on his way to prepare the imperial fleet for the attack on Algiers, under the Prince of Salerno. Titian was present at these ceremonies, bearing letters from Aretino to sev- eral eminent nobles, and having with him the D'Avalos portrait, and a " Nativity " for Torni- ello, which was destined for the Novara Cathe- dral. He painted several portraits here, and was rewarded by the Emperor with an annuity of one hundred ducats from the Milanese treasury. In October Titian was again settled in Venice, leading a merry life with Aretino, Sansovino, and their new associate, the bookseller Marcolini. These gentlemen were the leaders of " The Academy," a cheerful club of congenial spirits which often met at the studio in the Casa Grande, and at Aretino's palace on the Grand Canal. At the carnival the brilliant company of the Calze played Aretino's new comedy of "Ta- lanta," with scenery painted by Giorgio Vasari, who had been brought to Venice for the purpose. Titian was pleased with this work, and intro- duced the young artist to the princely Cornaro TITIAN'S PORTRAITS. 91 family, for which he had just completed a pictuic of the late Catherine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, with the attributes of a saint. Several replicT.s of this favorite portrait are now in England. The votive picture of the Doge Lando has dis- appeared ; but the portrait of the daughter of Roberto Strozzi still adorns the Strozzi Palace at Florence. She was then in her tenth year, with a round face and curly hair, and a dress of white satin. On seeing this picture, Aretino wrote, " If I were a painter, I should die of despair. . . . Certain it is that Titian's pencil has waited on his old age to perform its mira- cles." The Strozzi were then the richest family in Italy, and devoted their energies to opposing the Medici at the point of the sword, and to the patronage of art and letters. In 1542 Titian produced his own portrait, now in the Berlin Museum, showing a grand and powerful face, with a high forehead, bright and spirited eyes, a finely-cut nose, and a gray beard and moustache. A similar portrait is in the UiHzi Gallery ; and an earlier one is in the Vienna Belvedere. Several others are now in England, showing the master and his friends \ 92 TITIAN. but their authenticity is doubtful. Veronese anc' Palnia Giovine also portrayed his features in certain of their great frescos. Titian now found a new Maecenas in Duke Guidobaldo II. of Urbino, the Venetian com- mander-in-chief, who divided his time between his sea-port of Pesaro and his palace at Venice, where he held court with the Duchess Julia. Here he received the leading statesmen, lite- rati, and artists of the republic, among whom passed the colloquies which Sperone published. Titian was the idol of this august coterie, as Raphael was of Castiglione's " Cortigiano ; " and in one of the dialogues Tullia said : " I hold Titian not to be a painter, — his creations not art, — but his works to be miracles; and I think that his pigments must be composed of that . wonderful herb which made Glaucus a god when he partook of it, since his portraits make upon me the impression of something divine ; and, as heaven is the paradise of the soul, so God has transfused into Titian's colors the paradise of our bodies." In March, 1542, the thrifty artist bought a mill in the Vale of Cadorc, and speculated in grain, THE FARNESE FAMILY. 93 replenishing the Cadorine magazines for muni- cipal bonds. On his return from the north he met at Conegliano the Medicean partisan Vitelli, who had been acting as a general of the Holy Roman Empire against the Turks. Aretino ex- changed laudatory letters with this dashing free- lance, and recommended him to have Titian paint his portrait. When Alfonso d'Este and Federigo Gonzaga died, in 1534 and 1540, our artist lost his noblest patrons; but in 1542 he was taken up by the Farnese family, who for many years honored themselves by advancing his interests. The head of this illustrious house was Pope Paul III., whose natural son married an Orsini, and had five children, — Alessandro, who was made a cardinal in his fourteenth year ; Vittoria, after- wards Duchess of Urbino ; Ottavio, who married the daughter of Charles V. ; Orazio, the husband of a princess of France ; and Ranuccio, who be- came Archbishop of Ragusa in his thirteenth )'ear, and cardinal a year later. While the latter was studying at the University of Padua, under the Patriarch of Aquileia and the philosopher Leoni, he was induced by Cardinal Bembo to 94 TITIAN. have his portrait painted by Titian. The two pictures in the Vienna Belvedere, called " A Young Jesuit " and " St. James the Elder," prob- ably represent Ranuccio and Leoni. The Patri- arch was highly pleased with tbi« work, and urged the master to enter the Pope's service, offering a new benefice to his son. He loved Venice too well to leave it willingly ; yet paternal affection moved him to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of the worthless Pomponio, and he con- sented to join the household of Cardinal Ales- sandro Farnese at Rome. In 1543 the master executed the canvases now in the Salute Church, showing Abraham's sacri- fice of Isaac, the murder of Abel, and David's victory over Goliath. To these were added " The Descent of the Holy Ghost," "The Four Chris- tian Fathers," and " The Four Evangelists," where Titian gives his own portrait in the face of St. Matthew. In these great figures the master is thought to have surpassed Michael Angelo, and displayed all the life of the Florentine without his statuesque formality. Charles V. was now menaced by the Protestant urinces, while his armies had been defeated by TITIAN AND THE POPE. 95 Ihe Moslems at Algiers in 1541, and at Pesth in 1542, and the Turks and the French were men- acing Italy. He visited the peninsula to confirm his alliance with Pope Paul III., who met him at Brusseto Castle, attended by forty-two cardinals and bishops, and demanded the duchy of Milan for his grandson Ottavio. Titian was summoned hither by the Pope, and was the guest of Cardinal Farnese, whose Roman receptions united the chief devotees of art and letters. He executed a fresco representing the meeting of the Emperor and Pope ; and was cordially received by Charles, who gave him a medal from which to make a portrait of the Empress, and praised his works to Aretino. This inveterate courtier, bewailing the change from a gliding gondola to a jolting horse, and declaring that he would never leave Venice again, had reached the presence of the Emperor, who treated him right urbanely. Paul III. offered Titian the lucrative position of the seal of the papal bulls, then held by Sebastian© del Piombo and Giovanni da Udine ; but the noble-hearted old man declined an arrangement which would deprive two brother artists of their support. At this time fTitian painted a wonderful por- 96 TITIAN. trait of the Pope ; a gray-bearded prelate with a tall ard gaunt figure, high forehead, bleary eyes, and thin lips. Here Flemish minuteness is com- bined with Venetian richness of coloring, and true Titianesque breadth of execution. Another remarkable picture was that of the Pope's vicious son, Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Castro, with his oily skin, sensual lips, and treacherous eyes. Car- dinal Farnese's portrait shows a downy-chinned youth in rich robes, before a violet curtain. These pictures are now at Naples, with numerous copies elsewhere, and other portraits of the same per- sons by the master. Titian returned from Brusseto to Bologna, and staid until midsummer with Cardinal Farnese, who promised him the benefice of the Abbey of San Pietro in Colle. The Archbishop of San Severino resisted this grant ; Farnese suddenly left Bologna with a fever ; and the anxious artist returned home empty-handed. Once more in his comfortable rural studio, the master began the great " Ecce Homo," where the suffering Saviour is exposed to an angry crowd, and guarded by Pilate, who has Aretino's face, while the turbaned horseman Jrielow is a por- THE COTTAGE AT MANZA. 97 trait of Sultan Soliman, and his steel-armored companion is Alfonso d'Este. It was painted for the son of Martin vander Hanna, a wealthj) Brussels merchant who had spent his money freely for the Empire, and, after being ennobled by the King of Bohemia, had settled in a palace on the Grand Canal at Venice. Henri III. tried to buy the " Ecce Homo ; " and in 1620 it was sold to the superb Duke of Buckingham, who refused an offer of thirty-five thousand dollars which the Earl of Arundel made for it. After Buckingham's murder, his son sold it for a small sum to a canon of Brussels, whence it passed, by Prafrue, to the Vienna Belvedere. About the same time Titian painted " The As- sumption," a harmonious and dignified work, now in the Verona Cathedral. It shows the serene and adoring Virgin rising on the clouds, with the startled apostles grouped around the empty tomb. Later in the summer he painted an altar-piece at the hamlet of Castel Roganzuolo, near Ceneda and the coveted Abbey of Colle. The villagers found difficulty in raising two hundred ducats to pay for his work, and gave him a stone cottage on the hill of Manza. This sweet rural nook 9 8 TITIAN. became a favorite resor*^ of the master, and com- manded a noble view of the Julian Alps, the broad and village-studded plains towards the Adriatic, and the distant campanile of Venice 'tself. The picture here painted has disap- peared ; and its place in the forlorn little church is now occupied by one of Orazio Vecelli's paint- ings. Unhappy Italy was now again under the har- row of war ; and the invading French army had defeated and slain the Marquis of Guasto at Cerisole, while Charles V, had marched into France, attended by the Papal Legate, Cardinal Farnese. After peace was declared, Titian en- deavored to renew his connection with the Car- dinal. In October the master finished the portraits of the Empress, and forwarded them with a courtly letter, attended by another from Aretino refer- ring to Titian's unpaid claims on Naples and Milan. These portraits were carried by Charles v. from Brussels to his retirement in the Convent of Yuste, after his abdication, and were after- wards copied by Rubens. One of them remains in the Madrid Museum, and shows a richly PORTRAITS. 99 dressed lady of about twenty-five, with a grave and sad face. It was one of the Emperor's dear- est treasures, and he asked to see it while he was on his death-bed. New efforts were now made by the Academy to have Titian paid for his works at Bologna ; and he and Aretino wrote extravagant letters to Car- dinal Farnese, and induced Ranuccio to do the same. They also wrote to Michael Angelo, praising his work, and seeking his aid. Gualte- ruzzi, Ottavio Farnese, Cardinal Bembo, and others at Rome, were in like manner bombarded with letters about Pomponio's sinecure. In 1545 Titian painted six portraits of mem- bers of the Duke of Urbino's coterie, including the Duke and Duchess, Morosini, Sperone, Cor- vino, and Barbaro, who became Patriarch of Aquileia and patron of Veronese and Palladio. The portrait of Aretino, in the Pitti Palace, shows an audacious face, massive forehead, large dark eyes, and gray-streaked beard. Its subject upbraided Titian for the imperfect finish of the picture, and then sent it as a present to the . Me- dicean Duke of Florence. too TITIAN. CHAPTER IX. Titian at Rome and Florence. -^Lavinia. — Three Venuses.— Journey to Augsburg. — Portraits of Sovereigns and Nobles. — Return to Venice. After the Council of Trent, in 1545, the Turk and the Gaul were at peace with the Church and the Empire ; and the Farnese Pope, Cardinal, and Dukes were concentrated at their vast Roman palace. They wished to add the attractions of art to the lustre of their princely court, and earnestly invited Titian to join them. Quirini urged him to accept, and placated the Duke of Urbino for the loss of his favorite ; and in Sep- tember Titian and his son Orazio journeyed with the Duke's retinue through Ferrara to Pesaro, whence they passed to Rome under the circum- stances indicated in Aretino's letter : " Titian bids me adore the Duke of Urbino, whose princely kindness was never equalled by any sovereign ; and he bids me do this in gratitude for the escort of seven riders, the payment of tlic TITIAN' AT ROME. lOi journey, the company on the road, the caresses, honors, and presents, the hospitality of a palace which he was bid to treafaa Ms own.''' He was warmly received -t)y the ■f'ope ^^nd Car- dinal Bembo ; and Cardinal Farnese gave him a suite in the Belvedere Palace, and appointed Vasari as his guide to Rome. That gossipping artist conducted him to the gallery of antiques, where he was greatly interested ; to Raphael's tapestries, of which he made sketches ; to the remarkable Farnesina frescos, which he affected to believe were carved in stone ; and to the Vati- can Stanze, where he severely reproved Sebas- tiano for his presumptuous restoration of the great Raphael's works. He derived much bene- fit from these studies, and expressed a regret that he had ' not visited Rome twenty years sooner. Michael Arigelo said that he would have been a paragon if he had learned in his youth to design better ; and Sebastiano declared that he might have produced masterpieces if he had come to Rome forty years earlier, and studied Angelo, Raphael, and the antiques. But their ideals of illuminating chaste Florentine designs with gorgeous Venetian coloring could never have been realized. I02 TITIAN. Angclo visited Titian at the Belvedere ; and Perino della Vaga, Sebastiano, and Viisari, though fearing lest he should compete with them in the .V3'tican decorations, were too politic to show their alarm. The master made strenuous efforts for the rich prize of the Abbey of Colle, for Pomponio, but other claimants forced it into abeyance. The new Doge Donato allowed him to remain at Rome ; and released his friend San- sovino, who was in prison for building the new Library so poorly that it fell in and caused a great loss to Venice. During his Roman sojourn Titian painted a Venus, a Magdalen, an Ecce Homo, and por- traits of the Pope and his son, Margaret of Austria, and Cardinal Farnese's daughter Clelia, all of which have disappeared. Of the two pic- tures which remain, one is an admirable portrait of the Pope and his grandsons, the Cardinal and the Duke of Castro. Though the artist was domiciled in his palace, the decrepit old Pope would give him but few sittings, and his portrait is inferior to the others, the meditative Cardinal and the crafty Duke. Paul is shown as turn- ing irritably toward the latter, with whom he TITIAN AT FLORENCE. 103 was displeased for envying his father's elevation to the dukedom of Parma. The other picture, frequently copied, and now at Naples, is a luscious and sensuous delineation of the beautiful Danae, outstretched on white cushions, and covered only with a veil, while from a brilliant cloud close above a shower of gold pieces is falling. Herein Titian surpassed even Correggio's portrayal of the classic tradi- tion, in unapproachable color and grand breadth. In the summer of 1546 the master returned by Florence, where he inspected the treasures of Tuscan art, though the Duke, Cosimo de' Medici, declined to have his portrait painted in the glowing Venetian manner. He probably visited Piacenza, and delineated its careworn and strug- gling Duke, Pier Luigi Farnese, who was slain by the imperialist assassins a year later. He was soon gladly welcomed by Aretino and his friends at Venice, and began fresh efforts with Cardinal Farnese and others to secure Colle for his son. But the Pope had joined the league against the Protestants, and the Cardinal was his legate with the German armies, while Ottavio Farnese Was levying Italian troops for the Danubian cam- ro4 TITIAN. paigns ; and Pomponio received no new re- sources for the debaucheries with which he dis- graced his ecclesiastical position. The venerable artist was consoled by the affec- tion of his honorable son Orazio and his beauti- ful daughter Lavinia, the graceful and golden- haired maiden whose portrait he painted so often as a fruit-bearing Flora or a Salome, or in other forms. Her rich portrait now at Dresden was executed in 1546, and was copied by Rubens and many other artists. He was now engaged on '* The Descent of the Holy Ghost," for San Spirito ; the official portrait of the Doge Donato ; and a breathing portrait of the valiant Giovanni de' Medici, painted from a cast of his dead face, for Are- tino. The Italian troops in Germany, after the wars with the Protestant Saxon league, were terribly scourged by fatal diseases in their winter-quarters at Ulm ; and Cardinal Farnese returned to Venice, where he frequently visited Titian, and ordered new pictures. In 1547 Vittoria Farnese married the Duke of Urbino, by whose aid Titian secured the fat Roman office of tlie Piombo, Sebastiano having ViiNUS-PICTURES. 105 vacated it by death. In the mean time, the in- dustrious and earnest young Orazio Vecelli had married, and brouglit his bride to dwell at Casa Grande. The master now produced an altar- piece for the church of Serravalle, showing the Madonna in heaven amid shining cherubim, with stately figures of Sts. Peter and Andrew below. This picture has been praised as com- bining the power and serenity of Michael Angelo with the dainty grace of Raphael and Correggio, and shows the effect of its author's studies at Rome and Florence. The " Venus and Adonis " was painted at this time, and shows the undraped queen of love reclining in a beautiful landscape, and reaching towards the departing Adonis, whose lithe and moving: figure is clad in a hunter's suit. This theme was frequently reproduced in Titian's studio, and several copies are in English galler- ies, the original being at Alnwick Castle. The "Venus and Cupid" in the Uffizi Gallery shows the white goddess in all the throbbing color and rounded grace of nature, calmly reclining on a velvet couch, with red curtains in the background, and a distant gleam of Alps in evening light io6 TITIAN. The handsome little Cupid is whispering to her, and at her feet a dog sniffs at an owl. The Venus of Madrid is a similar figure, toying with a lap-dog, with a man playing an organ at the foot of the couch. This brilliant picture probably represents a patrician and his mistress ; and was duplicated frequently, together with the Uffizi Venus. The contrast between the voluptuous Cyprian goddess and the heart-broken Man of Sorrows is world-wide ; but it was easily endured in those days of corrupt Italian society, and a church gov- erned by bastard cardinals. So we find Titian supplementing his fleshly Venus-pictures by por- traying the " Ecce Homo " of Madrid, showing the mournful bent head of Christ, bleeding under its crown of thorns. This work was done on slate, and presented to Charles V., after a copy had been made for Aretino. " Christ at Em- maus," another picture of 1547, was given by Contarini to the Republic, from whose palace it passed to the Louvre. It shows the Saviour blessing the food as He sits at table with the reverent and wondering Cleopas and Luke, while a dog and cat are bickering below. One of the yOURN'EY TO AUGSBURG. 107 numerous copies of this work is now in Lord Yarborough's gallery. During the next winter Charles V., victorious over the Protestants, but annoyed by the Pope's intrigues with France, convened the Diet of the Empire at x\ugsburg, and summoned Titian to attend him there, sending a supply of money and an outfit for the journey. The artist was then about to enter the service of Cardinal Farnese, from which he straightway implored to be re- leased, surrendering the office of the Piombo, and preferring the splendid imperial court to the emoluments of Rome. Influenced by the Duke of Urbino, the Cardinal gave his consent, and added a richer favor by confirming to the lucky artist the long-promised sinecure of the Abbey of Colle. The Venetians hastened to secure new paintings from their favorite master, believing that he would never return from beyond the Alps; but he retained his choicest composi- tions, which he carried to Augsburg, and sold to great advantage. He crossed the mountains in mid-winter, though in his seventieth year, and settled in the coldest town in southern Germany. The Count della Torre sent a letter to Cardinal lo8 TITIAN. Madruzzi, commending him as " the first man in Christendom, whom I ask you to treat as you would myself, and who is coming at the Em- peror's bidding to do work for his Majesty." He took several young assistants, including Cesare Vecelli, the son of his father's cousin, Charles doubled his pension on Milan, and or- dered its payment ; and Catani introduced him to the eminent Bishop of Arras. Augsburg was then a walled imperial city, with ancient and imposing churches and abbeys, and a broad main street lined with frescoed palace- fronts. Titian already knew the Fuggers and others of its merchant princes, who owned es- tates in Venice ; besides several nobles of the imperial court, whose lustre then illuminated the quaint old city. He wrote to Aretino about the recent suppression of the liberties of the city, as well as of the Emperor's gracious recep- tion and his portrait, with his design of endowing Aretino's daughter Austria. Titian's portrait of Charles V., now at Madrid, represents him as he rode into the battle of Miihl- berg, on the Elbe, where he defeated the Protest- au t league, and captured the Electors of Saxon) PORTRAITS OF PRINCES.' log and Hesse. He is riding a fine chestnut horse towards the gray river, and wears chain mail and burnished armor inlaid with gold ; while his gaunl and emaciated face and keen black eyes are lighted with the fire of battle. Another portrait shows him robed in black, and sitting before a hanging of golden damask at the angle of an open stone court. The cold and saturnine Charles, tortured with gout and asthma, was accustomed to dine in moody solitude, eating enormously, and afterwards listened to the jests of his courtiers with imperturbable Castilian gravity. He was called " the ghost of a Kaiser;" but his iron will and fiery intellect were not a whit weakened by physical sufferings, and he held the great sceptre right worthily. The portly and choleric Elector John Frede- rick of Saxony was held in captivity near the Emperor's home at the Fugger Palace, and stood out stubbornly against the demands of Granvelle and the Diet. Titian painted two portraits of him, one of which remains, showing a ponderous figure, with bloodshot eyes and an apoplectic face marred by a wound received at Muhlberg, yet bearing a true princely mien. no TITIAN. Chancellor Granvelle's portrait at BesanQon shows a white-bearded noble in state costume, with the chain of the Golden Fleece. Of an obscure family of Franche Comte', he had risen to the highest administrative post in Europe, and was called by Charles his " bed of rest," since he so wisely regulated the imperial policy. With his vast wealth he built a palace at Besan9on, and filled it with masterpieces by Titian, Correggio, Leonardo, Diirer, and others, which were after- wards sold by the heirs of Cardinal Granvelle. Another fine portrait represents Cardinal Ma- druzzi, Prince-Bishop of Trent, who bore to the Pope Charles V.'s order prohibiting the removal of the great Council of Trent to Bologna. This picture is preserved by the Cardinal's descend- ant, Baron Salvadori of Trent. Among the notabilities assembled at the Diet of the Empire, Titian painted many portraits, sev- eral of which perished when the Palace of Pardo was burned in i6wS. These pictures- included the warlike King Ferdinand, who rode into the battle of Miihlberg alongside his brother the Emperor; Ferdinand's daughter, the Duchess of Bavaria, and her four sisters; his sons, Maximil- AT INNSPRUCK AND MILAN. lii ian and Ferdinand ; Philibert Emanuel of Savoy, the prospective son-in-law of the Emperor ; Mau- rice of Saxony, clad in armor; the valiant and sanguinary Duke of Alva ; Granvelle, Bishop of Arras ; two minor portraits of the Chancellor ; Mary, the Queen-Dowager of Hungary ; Dorothy, the Countess Palatine ; Mary Jacqueline of Ba- den ; the Lady Christine ; Nicole, the Chancel- lor's wife ; Pirrovano, and Cattani. He also painted pictures of Prometheus, Sisyphus, Ixion, and Tantalus, at the order of Queen Mary, In October Titian went to King Ferdinand's palace at Innspruck, where he painted a group of the princesses Barbara, Helena, and Joanna, and received permission to cut lumber in the Tyrol for his buildings. On his return to Venice, his friends received him with great joy, and the Academy held ses- sions of jubilee in Aretino's palace. But Orazio had been baffled in seeking the Milanese pen- sion ; and the master made a winter journey to Milan, where he met the Crown-Prince Philip, the Duke of Alva, and Cardinal Madruzzi, but failed to get the moneys due from the Senate. ixa TITIAN. CHAPTER X. Titian's Family. — Second Visit to Germany. — Pictures for the Imperial Family. — The Doge Venier. — Death of Aretino. — "St. Lawrence." The year 1549 was filled with domestic troubles for our artist. Pomponio was in the vortex of a life of dissipation, and drew heavily on the pater- nal estate, disregarding the entreaties of his father, and laughing at the upbraidings of Aretino. The venerable Orsa died during the year, remov- ing the main-stay of the family, whom Aretino called " sister, daughter, mother, companion, and steward of the household." Lavinia's marriage with her lover, Cornelio Sarcinelli of Serravalle, was postponed at this time, because her father was unable to secure ilic Milanese pension, and could not provide her dowry. She was installed as chief of the studio-household ; and the master portrayed her in the rich picture now at Berlin, robed in flowered yellow silk, and holding a sil- ver dish heaped with fruits and flowers. Lord TITIAN'S HOME. 113 Cowper's picture of Lavinia is almost equally beautiful. Titian had recently bought the land about the Casa Grande, and embellished his gardens and house. The large hall of the upper story formed an admirable studio, accommodating the numer- ous canvases under contract, and the minor works of the students. The most notable of the few pictures of this year was a design showing the ingulfing of Pharaoh's army, which was engraved by a Spanish pupil in the studio. In 1550 France and the Empire antagonized each other in the papal election ; and when the former appeared to have won, Aretino, eager to get a cardinalate, wrote to King Henri II., and besieged Bonnivet, the French envoy, with atten- tions, also inducing Titian to paint his portrait. Suddenly the imperial interest became para- mount, and Aretino used Titian's influence with Charles V. and Granvelle to further his ends. The master was now summoned again to Augs burg, and bore with him the " Mater Dolorosa." which Charles afterwards carried to his convent- cell at Yuste. It is one of the most emotional of ^)aintings, showing intense grief in its wan face, 114 TITIAN. straining eyes, and hard-wrung hands. The moody and sickly Emperor was now meditating abdication, and had long and earnest conferences with his artist about a penitential picture for his retirement. The captive Saxon Elector had been allowed to form a little Protestant cor.rt, in which was Lucas Cranach, who painted for him every after- noon. The decay of German art was visible in his crude commonplaces ; yet Titian treated him with great courtesy, and allowed him to paint his portrait. The reason of Titian's summons was to secure a portrait of Prince Philip of Spain, an ill-shaped, ugly-faced, and gloomy-hearted youth of twenty- four, who was already showing the evil traits which brought on Spain the disasters of the Armada and the loss of the Netherlands. His father was then urging him as his successor to the impe-rial crown, and the crafty Prince wajs affecting tne dIuiT manners of the Germans. The first portrait was a large full-length, in damaskeu steel and white silk, with a face whose habitual gloom is skilfully disguised as thoughtful gravity. It was sent to London when Philip was arranging VENETIAN LIFE. X15 his marriage with Queen Mar}' of England, and she was so enamoured with the picture that even her courtiers noticed her singular conduct. It was afterwards returned to Queen Mary of Hungary, and is now at Madrid, with several fine copies elsewhere. Titian also painted portraits of Phil- ip's secretary and his favorite dwarf. In the spring the court moved to Innspruck, where the master painted King Ferdinand and his family in a large allegorical picture. At his last farewell Charles V. gave him a Spanish pen- sion of five hundred scudi ; but this long remained unpaid, like the previous grants on Naples and Milan, On his return to Venice, Titian was summoned before the Doge and Council, and narrated his experiences at court. They restored his broker- ship, which had been annulled during his ab- sence, and the duty of decorating the Council Hall. The remainder of 1552 was devoted to a needed rest, and to the cheerful symposia of the Academy. The physician Massa once asked him about the variations in his desire to work ; and the master replied that while he was eager to paint on some days, on others he could do noth- Il6 TITIAN. ing. He doubted whether this was due to the influence of the stars ; and Massa attributed it to the variations of the inner heat of the body. Only four pictures were completed in 1552, three of which, St. Margaret, the Queen of Per- sia, and a landscape, were sent to Philip of Spain. The latter was the first so-called land- scape of which the history of Italian art bears record ; for painting and literature were as yet thoroughly anthropocentic. The " St. Margaret " alone remains to our day, and shows the fair and holy maiden upholding a cross before a huge dragon who emerges from an adjacent cavern. The letters attending these pictures are in the servile language of a sixteenth-century courtier, craving permission to kiss the feet of his High- ness. The portrait of the Papal Legate, Beccadelli, shows the plump prelate in an arm-chair, with a fair high forehead, heavy lips, and a pointed beard. Titian gave this official his best work, and Aretino wrote him a sonnet, smce they wished him to release their Minorite confessor, who was then imprisoned for denying the divine origin of the confessional. IMPERIAL PICTURES. 1 1? Early in 1553 the master sent Philip his second portrait, now in the Naples Museum, showing the gloomy Prince arrayed in the unusual splendor of a doublet of white silk shot with gold. Later in the spring the Emperor heard of Titian's death, and ordered Vargas, his envoy at Venice, to re- port the particulars. He denied the rumor, and narrated the great works under way in the studio for the imperial family. Besides these, which he called " poesies," Titian was engaged on portraits of Vargas and the Prothonotary Granvelle. A replica of his official portrait of the new Doge Trevisani still remains, and shows a dull and bilious face, and a gray beard falling on a lemon-colored damask robe. In 1554 the master forwarded four new pictures to the imperial family. It is interesting to notice the tact with which he suited the diverse tastes of his patrons, and the strange facility with which his pencil was engaged at the same time on pic- tures of widely-opposed tendencies. To the sol- emn and world-weary Emperor he sent a realistic and touching picture of " The Grieving Virgin," and the great composition of " The Trinity," whose details had been elaborated in the long Il8 TITIAN. conferences at Augsburg. It is resplendentljr colored, and shows the Virgin interceding before the Father and Son for the imperial family, whose members kneel in their winding-sheets below ; while farther down is the mystic Dove, with Moses and Noah and the prophets and evange- lists. It was a favorite subject of contemplation while the ex-emperor dwelt in the Convent of Yuste, to whose chapel-altar he bequeathed it. Philip, however, removed the picture and the remains of his great father to the Escurial. With these pictures Titian sent a letter to the "Most Caesarean Majesty," complaining of the non-pay- ment of the pensions on Naples, Milan, and Spain. He " hoped that the liberal mind of the greatest Christian Emperor that ever lived would not suffer his orders to be contemned by his ministers," and suggested that the picture of the Virgin was fur- nished " with a semblance of grieving which re- flects the quality of my troubles." To the aged Queen Mary of Hung..ry the mas- ter sent a composition of " Christ Appearing to the Magdalene," a later version of the "Noli Me Tangere." The remains of this work were re- cently found in the Escurial, serving as a cover to PROFLIGATE POMPONIO. 119 an oil -jar, and so mutilated that but little idea of the picture can be obtained. To the Prince of Spain, whose many amours were scantily condoned by his rigorous church- attendance, Titian sent a " Danae," a coarse, indelicate, and realistic work, executed with wonderful power. A fine contrasting effect is made by the wrinkled hag who sits beside the couch on which the fair Danae is stretched, and greedily gathers into her apron the gold pieces falling from the ardent cloud. Of the numerous copies of this subject made by the master and his assistants, the best are now at Vienna and St. Petersburg. Philip rewarded Titian munificently for this work ; and he sent in return the luscious companion - picture of " Venus and Adonis," which reached London in a damaged state, after the Prince's marriage to the Queen of England. It is now at Madrid, and several copies are in England. Pomponio's shameless profligacy at last drove his father to sharp measures ; and he secured the revenues of one sinecure to himself, and trans- ferred Medole from his son to one of his neph- ews. To insure the favor of the people toward t20 TITIAN. his xi^-^ proUgk^ the master painted for the altar of Medole a grand picture of " Christ Appearing to the Virgin Mary," showing tlie earnest direc- tion of his mind when free from outside influ- ences. Tradition says that he remained a long time at Medole, prostrated by sickness in his nephew's rectory. The villagers saved their precious picture by concealing it in a tomb during the French Revolution. After reigning one year, the Doge Trevisani died, passing quietly away while attending mass ; and was succeeded by the generous and energet- ic Francesco Venier, for whom Titian painted the last of his portraits of the Doges. He then prepared a votive picture, which was hung over the entrance to the Hall of the Pregadi, showing the late Doge Trevisani kneeling before the Madonna. Venier also caused the artist to paint a votive picture of the Doge Grimani, who died thirty years before, showing him in steel armor, attended by St. Mark and a Venetian standard- bearer, kneeling before a beautiful v/oman who bears a cup and a cross. Some say that this is an allegory of Faith ; others, that the cross and cup symbolize Grimani's defeats and captivities ABDICATION OF CHARLES V. 121 A-fter working on this grand theme for four months, Titian abandoned it, for some unknowi? reason, leaving other hands to finish and crown it after his death. The Prince of Spain manifested his eagerness to receive the master's latest works for him, and wrote that he should order the Duke of Alva to pay the long-withheld pensions. The " Perseus and Andromeda," and several other pictures, were thereupon sent to him at Brussels. In 1555 the great Emperor abdicated his crowns and honors, and transferred the govern- ment of Spain and the Netherlands to Prince Philip, under the title of Philip II. Charles sought rest and tranquillity, and a fitting prepara- tion for death, in the remote Estremaduran Con- vent of Yuste, where he carried nine of Titian's paintings to console the long hours of solitude by reminding of those who had been dear to him, or to stimulate his meditation on sacred themes. With a quaint love of contrasts, he had two of these pictures framed with two Flemish works by Coxcie, one of Raphael's pupils. In June, 1555, the beautiful Lavinia Vecelli was married to her faithful Sarcinelli, a well-born 122 TITIAN. youth of Serravalle, and brought hi in a regal dowry of fourteen hundred ducats. The Govern- ment now chose Sansovino and Titian to name the artists for the decoration of the new Library ; and they appointed Paul Veronese, Schiavone, and others. The former was a favorite of the Academy, as Tintoretto was its enemy, and, on the completion of the Library frescos, received from Titian the golden chain of honor. During the year the master painted " St. John in the Desert," now in the Venetian Academy, with a grand stern face, weather - beaten and full of passionate fire ; a marvel of design and color. About this time the Governor of Milan appoint- ed a day to dine with Titian, who gave orders that the banquet should be prepared by his own servants, with carte blanche. He did not come till the next day after that appointed, when, find- ing the artist absent from his villa, he accused him of intentional insult, and left in high dud- geon. Late in 1556, Titian met with a great loss in the death of Aretino, who had been his warmest friend for over thirty years. During a feast at his palace, one of the guests made such an excel- DEATH OF ARETINO. 123 lent joke that he burst into a fit of immoderate laughter, and, falling back, struck his head against a corner, and soon expired. It was dubi ously reported that he lived long enough to receive extreme unction, and concluded his life with the impious jest : " Now that I am oiled, keep me from the rats." But of late years Are- tino had passed through a great change, and had ceased to write ribaldry, and consecrated his pen to preparing lives of the saints and a paraphrase of the Penitential Psalms ; so that his astonished friends at length gave him the title of " The Fifth Evangelist." Pola, however, wrote bitterly to the Governor of Milan, that " that mascarone Aretino has given up his soul to Satan, whose death, I think, will not displease many, and par- ticularly not those who are from henceforth re- lieved from paying tribute to the brute." Pola had been sent to investigate a supposed insult to the Governor of Milan on the part of Titian ; but the master apologized, and sent his son Orazio to Milan and Genoa, on a fruitless attempt at the pension. He also relented to- ivard his prodigal son Pomponio, and transferred ►o him the revenues of Sant' Andrea del Fabbro. 124 TITIAN. In 1558 Titian finished " The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," now in the Jesuits' Church at Venice, for the sepulchral chapel of Massolo, in the Crociferi Church. It is a dark night-scene, weirdly lighted by the brilliant star at which the expiring saint is gazing, by the fire of martyr- dom, and by a large cage -torch. The nude figure bound on the gridiron, and the moving soldiers about him, are delineated with an ana- tomical accuracy and a grandeur of composition equal to the best works of Michael Angelo. Another work of tremendous power, suggesting the classic group of the Laocoon, is the " Christ Crowned with Thorns," which remained in Milan until the present century, when it passed to the Louvre. The Saviour is shrinking under intense pain, while two powerful men press the thorns deep into His head with long sticks, and soldiers hold His bound wrists, and derisively kneel before the mock-royal robe of scarlet. The best portrait of this period is the " La- vinia " of Dresden, showing the artist's daughter, with her full but clearly-cut face, sparkling eyes, rosy lips, and pearl-adorned chestnut hair. Her mature and finely developed figure is robed in i TITIAN'S ENGRAVINGS. 1 25 green velvet, with one hand holding a fan, and the other grasping her skirt. Among the minor works of 1558, were the jiortraits of Rezzonico and Salvaresio, and the church-banner for San Bernardino. The por- traits still exist at Milan and Vienna ; and that of Salvaresio shows a travel-bronzed man, attend- ed by a negro boy. It is claimed that Titian added to his manifold gifts the arts of engraving on copper and wood, and of fetching. The coppar-plates which are attributed to him are large landscape-pictures, lightly but delicately outlined. His woodcuts were " The Marriage of St. Catherine," " Samson and Delilah," and, possibly, "The Triumph of Faith." Most of these works were executed in the earlier part of his career, before his time was so completely occupied by more brilliant works. 126 TITIAN. CHAPTER XI. Orazio's Mischance. — Pictures for Philip II. — The Villa at Cene- da. — The Pensions. — The Dianas, Europa, and Religious Pictures. In September, 1558, Titian's greatest bene- factor, the ex-emperor Charles V., died at the Convent of Yuste, after a long and gridual de- cline. In his last moments he gazed lovingly at the master's portrait of the Empress, and then fixed his eyes upon his picture" of the Trinity, which he looked at so long and fixedly as to alarm his physicians. Philip II. heard of his father's death while at Ghent, and secluded him- self for several weeks in the Monastery of Groe- nendale. Upon Philip's ordering the Governor of Milan to pay the arrears of the pensions which Charles had granted to Titian, Orazio was sent to receive the money, and was invited with great effusion to the palace of the sculptor Leone Aretino, who had been advanced in the world by his LETTER TO PHI UP II. 127 kinsman Pietro, through his influence with Titian and the Emperor. He had wounded several men in different ItaHan cities, but easily made new friends, and was now living in princely style. After entertaining Orazio for a month, Leone and his servants fell upon him, and in- flicted several dagger-wounds, so that he escaped to the street with difficulty, and was carried to the Falcon Inn, and attended by the Governor's surgeon. Leone had hoped to murder him, and get the two thousand ducats which he had just received on his father's account. The treacherous host was fined and banished from Milan, th(jugh Titian demanded a more rigorous punishment for him. The master now wrote to Philip, telling of his latest pictures, and saying, " In these pieces I shall put all the knowledge which God has given me, and which has been, and ever shall be, dedicated to the service of your Majesty. That you will continue to accept this service so long as I can use my limbs, borne down by the weight of age, I hope." Philip answered pleasantly, announcing the payment of the delayed pensions. In September the pictures were forwarded, with 128 TITIAN. a long letter professing the master's gladness at serving a prince who was so " like Alexander the Great in all parts that are admirable and worthy of praise." These pictures were "The Entombment," and the two Dianas, which great- ly pleased the King. The Dianas were once presented to the Crown-Prince Charles of Eng- land ; and again, in 1704, to the Maiquis of Grammont. They were bought from the Orleans Gallery for $12,500, and are now in the Bridge- water Collection, at London. " Diana and Callisto " shows the chaste god- des§ preparing for a bath in a sparkling stream, with her huntresses about her, while two nymphs bring forward the unhappy Callisto, and expose the evidence of her guilt. Copies of this picture by the master's hand are now at Vienna, in the Roman Academy of St. Luke, and elsewhere. " Diana and Action " exhibits the fair huntress, clothed only with her diadem, and surprised while bathing by the young Actneon. An attend- ant negress strives to cover her witli hastily seized clothing ; and the nymphs are trying to conceal themselves from the rash and ill-fated gazer, who throws up his hands in surprise, and droDS his unstringed bow. " THE entombment:' 129 Having satisfied Pliilip's sensual nature with the Dianas, it was necessary for Titian to cater also to his singular devoutness ; and he painted "The Entombment of Christ." This work is as superior to the same subject executed thirty years before in realistic effect and finished ex- pression, as it is inferior in coloring and chiaro scuro. Several careful copies were made by the master, one of which was presented by Venice to the Spanish premier, whence it passed succes- sively to the Duke of Buckingham, the Austrian Archduke Leopold William, and the Vienna Belvedere. These latter works were executed in Titian's eighty-second year, and are intensely realistic and exuberant, though without the mysterious sweetness of his earlier myth-paintings. They were finished with great care, grace, and chic^ and were radiant with warm summer lights. The master made frequent visits in these late years to his favorite villa among the grassy hills of Ceneda, where he had abundant opportunities to study the Alps and the grand phenomena of Nature, and prepare his dainty landscape- backgrounds. The villa was sold by Pomponio, 130 TITIAN. and is now occupied by the Fabbrio family Near by, at Serravalle, Titian's daughter dwelt -, and her father made a portrait of her as a young matron with child, marking the contrast of life and death by a skull in the foreground. La- vinia's house still stands, and retains traces of the frescos with which the master adorned it. In 1559 Francesco Vecelli died at Cadore ; and probably his loving- brother was present at the funeral, at which Vincenzo delivered a Latin eulogy. Tradition says that in Titian's altar- piece at Pieve di Cadore (most of which was painted by Orazio), the St. Andrew has the face of Francesco, and the acolyte is a portrait of the master himself. In the autumn Titian challenged a comparison with the younger artists, by painting a grand allegorical figure of " Wisdom," a laurel-crowned and half-recumbent female figure, among their choicest works in the new Library. Early in 1561 he painted a portrait of the famous Irene of Spilimberg, who had been one of his pupils, and died at the are of twenty, in high renown for classical learning, poetical inspiration, and acquirements in music and art. It is a full-length CORNARO PORTRAITS. 131 of life-size, showing a beautiful face and richly clad figure. He also prepared a companion- picture, of Irene's sister Emilia. Subsequently he painted the great Cornaro family-portrait, showing three senators and six youths of that patrician clan, around a brown-stone altar on which the Eucharist is displayed. In 1656 Al- gernon Percy, Earl of Northumberland, bought this picture from Van Dyck's estate, and it is now at Alnwick Castle. Titian wrote to Philip II., asking his opinion of the Dianas, and offered to paint the victories of Charles V., for which he seems to have pre-' pared a set of designs. He also sent Philip a picture of "The Epiphany," which is now at Madrid, and has been frequently copied. It is a picturesque genre composition, showing the Holy Family and the adoring Magi, with officers and riders, and a train of horses and camels. In 1 56 1 Titian complained that he had been forced to sacrifice his property, on account of the non-payment of his pension ; and the Genoese treasurer paid him 2,200 ducats, as the result of the King's peremptory order. Philip asked the artist to send him a picture of the Magdalen; 132 ' TIT/ Ay. and the letter of the Envoy Hernandez to his sovereign said that he was "working slowly, as is natural to a man who is past eighty," and that he was growing covetous. Of the Magdalen he wrote that " Good judges in art say that this is the best thing Titian has done." The patrician Badoer bought this picture for one hundred scudi, and the master made a copy for his royal patron. Both these have now disappeared, but several copies remain, showing a beautiful and tearful maiden, with a skull, a book, and a vase of ointment. The "Jupiter and Antiope " shows the god in the form of a satyr, lifting the covering from the white and rounded figure of the sleeping Antiope, while unobservant fauns and nymphs appear in the meadows, amid Cadorine scenery. This glvjv.'ing work was given by Philip IV. to Prince Charles of England, and is now in the Louvre. Early in 1562 Titian sent to Philip the " Christ in the Garden," which is still in the Escu- rial ; and " Europa and the Bull," which passed through the Grammont, Orleans, and Berwick Galleries, to that of the Earl of Darnlcy. He wrote to the King, saying, "I had determined to " EUROPAr 133 take a rest for those years of my old age which it may please the majesty of God to grant me; still ... I shall devote all that is left of my life to doing reverence to your Catholic Majesty with new pictures." The "Christ in the Garden" somewhat resem- bles Correggio's picture of the same subject, and shows the kneeling Saviour, and the angel bear- ing the cup of sorrows, with the three Apostles asleep on the grass near by. Europa is a lovely and scantily clad maiden sitting on the back of a flower-garlanded white bull, who is swimming proudly through the green sea, throwing a line of foaming surge before his breast. In the air are flying Cupids, and the nymphs on the distant shore bewail the loss of their companion. Orazio Vecelli had settled the estate of Fran- cesco, and Vincenzo was now retained to recover a thousand ducats which the master had loaned to the commune of Cadore. The Milanese pen- sion was again stopped in 1563, and the diplo- matic old painter painted a picture of Cardinal Gonzafra, to win his influence. Somewhat later be painted the fine portrait of himself which is 134 TITIAN. now at Madrid, with a strong and dignified mien, brilliant eyes, and snowy hair and beard. He also executed " The Crucifixion," now at Ancona ; and a picture for the patrician Guido's new chapel at Ascoli, showing the Saviour imparting the stigmata to St. Francis, with Guido kneeling below. He and the helpful Orazio also painted for the lawyer Crasso's chapel " St. Nicholas in Cathedra," with the benevolent gray-bearded bishop sitting in a cathedral choir ; and the *' St. Jerome," now in the Milan Brera, of which a replica was sent to Philip. They also painted "The Last Supper," for the refectory of San Giovanni e Paolo, which was destroyed in 157 1, when the drunken German mercenaries burnt the monastery ; and " The Nativity," for the high altar of St. Mark's, which was burnt by flarnes from the altar-candles, in 15S0. The "Venus" of St. Petersburg was the chiet v.-^rk of the year, and was several times duplicated. It shows the broadly-modelled and carefully-finished figure of Venus in a concentrated light, with jewel-decked golden hair and lustrous dark eyes, and sprightly Cupids placing garlands upon her. During the summer the Duke of Urbino pur " THE LAST SUPPER." 135 chased a large quantity of pine lumber of Titian and Orazio, and also ordered a set of designs for the decoration of his palace at Pesaro. The ?.rtist's letters to Philip II. speak of his work on the great pictures of '*The Twelve Apostles " and " The Last Supper," and ask for the exercise of "the singular benignity and clemency" of the King to renew the Neapolitan and Milanese pen- sions. He would not send the pictures until the pensions were paid, and the treasurers were slow to obey the royal orders to forward the artist's dues. The Spanish envoy wrote home that " The Last Supper " was " a marvel, and one of the best things that Titian has done," adding that the artist was in fine condition, notwithstand- ing his great age, and ready to do any thing for money. The Procurator Michele, with Titian, Tinto- retto, Veronese, Schiavone, and Sansovino, in- spected the new mosaics of St. Mark, and caused their imperfections to be corrected at the cost of the Zuccati brothers, their makers. These artists were Titiaij's friends, the sons of his first teacher in painting; and the cartoons for their mosaics had been-designed by the diligent Orazio. 136 TITIAN. CHAPTER XII. Religious Paintings. — Vasari's Visit. — Strada. — The Vecelli Artists. — Unpaid Pensions. — Death of Sansovino. — The Plague. — Death of Titian. On receipt of the Milanese pension, "The Last Supper " was forwarded to the Escurial, where the monks cut it down to fit their refectory- wall, against the protests of Navarrete, " the Titian of Spain." It shows a vast monumental hall with Christ blessing the food, and the Apos- tles earnestly conversing and watching Him and Judas, the latter of whom is rising, with the purse in his hand. Seven years were devoted to this great work, which includes thirteen life-sized figure:,, splendidly modelled and vigorously exe- cuted. He made several copies of it, one of which was finished by Stefano Rosa, the kinsman of his old gossip, Cristoforo Rosa of Brescia. In the summer he again worried Philip because the Milanese pension was paid in warrants for rice, and not in gold. From September until " THE ANNUNCIATION." 137 December he sojourned at Cadore, with his pupils Cesare VecelH, Valerio Zuccati, and Em- anuel of Augsburg, and planned the decoration of the village church. Four pictures date from 1565. "The. Trans- ■jguration," painted for and still in the Venetian Church of San Salvadore, was his only portrayal of that subject ; and shows the grand figures of Christ, Moses and Elias in the radiant air, with the three awe-stricken Apostles below. "The Annunciation," in the same church, portrays the pure fage of the Virgin sw^ept with surprise and gathering fortitude, as she gazes at the descend- ing archangel, while above her is the Dove, sur- rounded by joyful cherubim. This radiant work was ill received by the purchasers ; and the vexed artist answered their doubts by dashing in on the foreground the emphatic reiteration, Titianus Fecit Fecit. " St. James of Compostella " is the subject of another noble picture, in the Church of San Leo, with the tender face of the weary pilgrim upturned to receive the ray from heaven. The " Venus and Cupid," in the Borghese Palace, shows the white-armed goddess, rich in luxuriant hair, blindfolding the graceful Cupid, while at- tendant nymphs hold his bow and quiver. 138 TITIAN. In the winter Titian worked on the pictures for the new municipal palace of Brescia, and superin- tended Boldrini and Cort in their engraving of certain of his most popular works. He secured from the Council of Ten a monopoly of these prints, and manufactured and sent them abroad in large numbers. In May he was yisited by Vasari, on a tour from Rome, who wrote that "Titian has enjoyed health and happiness un- equalled, and has never received from heaven any thing but favor and felicity. His house has been visited by all the princes, men of letters, and gentlemen who ever come to Venice. Be- sides being excellent in art, he is pleasant com- pany, of fine deportment, and agreeable manners. . . . Titian, having decorated Venice, and, in- deed, Italy and other parts of the world, with admirable pictures, deserves to be loved and studied by artists, as one who has done and is still doing works deserving of praise, which will last as long as the memory of illustrious men." Vasari was cordially welcomed to the studio, and gave a list of its paintings, including several which have disappeared. Among them was the obscure allegory now at the Borghese Palace, TITIAN'S PROPERTY. 139 showing Minerva by the sea-side, with a shield and a red banner, and attended by a sword-bear- insr woman, while before her kneels a nude female figure, near a coil of serpents, an overturned chalice, and the wafer of the Eucharist. Another allegorical work, now at Madrid, depicts a god- dess and a band of female warriors on the beach , while on the outer sea a Turk flies before Chris- tian galleys. In the autumn of 1566, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Palladio, Salviati, and Cattaneo were elected members of the Tuscan Academy of Painting, at Florence. Titian's exemption from taxation was with- drawn in 1566, and he was obliged to give a list of his property, which included the Vecelli cot- tage at Cadore, with several fields in the Vale, two sawmills and a meadow at Ansogne, a field and cottage at Col di Manza, eighteen fields at Milare, a mortgage, two fields and two houses at Serravalle, and a cottage at Conegliano. Con- cealing his revenues from the brokership, the pensions, the lumber-business, his rich picture- contracts, and dealings with the antiquaries, he stated his annual income at loi ducats, and HO TITIAN. calmly spoke of "the smallness of his receipts, and the difficult)^ of maintaining his family." Titian next painted a clever portrait of the Antiquary Strada, now in the Belvedere, showing an aged gentleman in red doublet, near a book- laden console and a table strewn with antiques. Strada was the chief of the versatile agents who \yere gathering antiques and works of art from decadent Italian families, and selling them to the transalpine sovereigns. He had received from the Emperor the title of " Caesarian Anti- quary," with the rank of Aulic Councillor, and was in close connection with the munificent Fugger family. When Strada removed to Mu- nich, he was succeeded by Stoppio, who was on intimate terms with Titian, and repelled Max Fugger's impeachment of his skill as a connois- seur by appealing to the great Venetian. The master had frequent dealings with these antiquaries. On one occasion he received a precious casket of silver-gilt and crystal, from the Papal Chamberlain Serpa, to be turned into ready money. The Venetian Government of- fered twelve hundred crowns for it ; but the Duke of Bavaria secured it for one thousand ducats. TITIAN'S PUPILS. 141 In 1567 Tihan's pupils frescoed the Cadore church with their master's designs of the Annun- ciation, Nativity, and Assumption, with eight prophets and four evangelists. The church was destroyed in 18 13. The commune paid for the frescos with lumber, which probably went to Orazio Vecelli's lumber-yard, in the Zattere quar- ter of Venice. Orazio was of material service to his father as a business, manager and general agent of affairs. He was a busy worker in the studio, where he had received careful instruction for many years ; but lacked genius, and hence attained only a certain manual dexterity. Vasari eulogizes him as a portrait-painter, but very few of his works remain to attest his skill. Cesare and Marco Vecelli were relatives and assistants of Titian. Cesare went to Augsburg with the master, in his twenty-seventh year, and afterwards lived permanently at the Casa Grande, and prepared many pictures for the churches of Northern Italy. He was an enterprising, skilful, and shallow painter, whose relation to Titian has been likened to Giulio Romano's to Raphael. His son Fabrizio was also educated in the studio of Titian, together with Girolamo di Tiziauo, another 142 TITIAN. relative who lived at the Casa Grande. Marco Vecelli, the son of Titian's favorite cousin, en- tered the studio in the master's old age, when he aided on numerous pictures, and executed many mediocre works of his own. His son Tizianello and his nephew Tommaso were the last and least artists of the Vecelli family, and were living when the Pilgrims landed on Pl3'mouth Rock. The gay and dissipated Pomponio still led a wandering and luxurious life, nourished by his Lombard canonry, and occasionally staying for long periods at his father's house, causing no little trouble to the studio-family. Although a professional ecclesiastic, he never performed priestly duties, and yet he was once offered a bishopric. Several pictures were sent to Pesaro and Urbino during this last decade, the two best of which are now at San Francesco di Paola, in Urbino. " The Resurrection " shows Christ rising on a cloud, while one of the guards at the empty tomb shades his eyes from the celes- tial light, another grasps his lance, and two more are still asleep. " The Last Supper " has been (atally injured by washing, and is nearly obliter PICTURES FOR SPAIN. 143 ated. It portrays a square table, in an open- arched cloister, around which the Saviour and the Apostles sit in groups of threes. Two small panel-pictures of this period, representing " The Nativity," are now at Florence and Oxford. Titian was now ninety years old ; but he had not grown dull to the interests of his family, nor forgotten the arts of extracting money from obdurate patrons. He suddenly opened a fusil- lade of letters on his ancient and well-nia:h- forgotten friend, Cardinal Farnese, imploring his intercession that Pomponio might get his pension from his Imperial grants in Spain. The Cardinal's kind answer called forth fresh letters, with gifts of pictures to him and the Pope, and prayers for acknowledgment and consolation. At the same time the venerable artist was press- ing the Duke of Urbino for payment of other claims. Early in 1568 he sent to Philip II. a " Nude Venus," which has perished, and " The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," still in the Escu- rial, blackened by altar-smoke. The latter was ordered for the superb convent which Philip was building to commemorate his victory at St. Quentin, on St. Lawrence's Day, 1557. 144 TITIAN. The Brescian deputies had ordered three pic- tures for their town-hall, showing Ceres and Bacchus, Vulcan and Cyclops, and Brescia as a serene and lovely goddess ; butwhen they were done the citizens refused to pay the full price, and the bishop and referees justified them. The Brescians were not far from right when they declined to consider their municipal pictures as Titian's work, for they were mostly executed by his assistants. He was now too old for such undertakings; and knew it, so that when offering to illustrate the life of St. Lawrence for Philip II., he professed plainly that he should use his assistants. A subsequent letter to Philip, accom- panying a poor picture of " Christ and the Trib- ute Money," harps on the worn-out theme of the unpaid Neapolitan grants. The life of the master was from this time more quiet and restful ; and he began to arrange his private affairs as if he were soon to depart, concentrating his emoluments on Orazio, to whom he had his broker's patent and Milanese pension transferred. Orazio's lumber-yard at the Zattere was now very lucrative, and the com mune of Murano drew all its supplies from him. BATTLE OF LEPAATTO. 1 45 In 1570 Titian suffered a severe shock in the death of his fellow-triumvir, Sansovino, who died at the ripe age of ninety-one, while Venice was in her extremest peril. Her beach was lined with batteries, and her channels were blockaded with sunken ships ; for the hostile Turkish fleet, which had captured Cyprus and the Adriatic ports, was menacing the city itself. Titian still urged the payment of the pensions ; yet Philip sent him neither money nor orders, finding pressing need of his time and money against unfriendly France, the seething Nether- lands, and menacing Turkey. But the superan- nuated artist still fought for his rights, reminding the King that he had paid him nothing for the work done during eighteen years. He sent him fresh pictures, including the large and sensuous " Tarquin and Lucretia," which has since been owned by the Earl of Arundel, King Charles I., Louis XIV., Joseph Bonaparte, and Sir Richard Wallace. In mid-winter of 157 1, Don John of Austria, with two hundred war-ships of the Holy League, destroyed the great Turkish armada in the Gulf of Lepanto ; and exultant Venice celebrated the 146 TITIAN. victory with Te Deums and fireworks. She or- dered Titian to delineate the battle-scene in the Doges' Palace ; but he declined, and Tintoretto secured the richly rewarded commission. Philip II. sent him a design by Sanchez Coello, to be painted as a companion-piece to Charles V.'s equestrian portrait ; but the master answered that while Spain had such artists as Coello, she need not patronize foreigners. Philip insisted that he should do the work, upon which he painted the spirited picture now at Madrid, showing the ar- mor-clad King holding his babe towards a crown- bearing angel, while a bound Turk, with his star and crescent flag, kneels at the foot of the altar. At the same time, the master painted for him- self " Christ Crowned with Thorns," a powerful and richly-colored work, which Tintoretto begged of its author, and hung in his studio as a model. Rubens, Rembrandt, and Van Dyck afterwaids earnestly studied this masterpiece, which now adorns the Munich Gallery. Titian still retained a high degree of vigor and health, with his ancient enterprise and heartiness, and kept his studio filled with noble paintings, where he was often visited by eminent princes THE PLAGUE. 147 and prelates. When Cardinal Granvelle and Pacheco invited themselves to dine at the Casa Grande, he flung a purse to his steward, and bade him prepare a feast, since " all the world was dining with him." When Henri III. of France was received with royal pomp by the Venetian Republic, he visited the studio ; and the delighted artist presented him with all the pictures of which he asked the price. In 1574 he addressed the Spanish prime minis- ter, rehearsing his grievances about the pensions ; and Coello made a list of his pictures in the King's possession. This artist had visited and learned to love the venerable master. About this date he painted " Adam and Eve," now at Ma- drid, where Rubens copied it ; and an " Eve," for which Tintoretto painted an "Adam," with a background by Pozzo, and animals by Bassano. In the winter of 1575-6, Titian wrote two letters to Philip, boasting of his great age, yet appealing to the royal _^stice for resources for many years to come. But the fall City of the Sea was now crushed under a terrible affliction. The plague had broken out in 1575 ; and its ravages soon in- 148 TITIAN. creased so that a general panic ensued, and all who could fled to the mainland. The sick were deserted, no matter what their malady ; and even family ties were powerless before the general dread of contagion. The Government estab- lished hospitals on the outer islands, and ordered the destruction of infected furniture and clothing. At last it resolved to build a votive church to the Redeemer; upon which the plague was stayed, though fifty thousand persons had died, out of a population of a hundred and ninety thousand. Titian bargained for a grave in the Chapel of the Crucified Saviour, in the Frari Church, and then set to work on " The Christ of Pity," his latest and one of his noblest works. It was finished with pious care by Palma Giovine, who inscribed upon it the words. Quod Titianus in- choatum reliquit, Palma reverenter absolvit Deoq. dicavit opus. The dead Saviour is seen in the lap of the Virgin, with Joseph of Arimathea looking into His face, and the wailing Magdalen approaching, while a niche in the background contains seven lamps of crystal and statues of Moses and the Hellespontic Sibyl. On a tablet below sire portraits of the kneeling Titian and DEATH OF TITIAN. 149 Orazio. This closing work of the grand artistic century is distinguished for profound powe'- and tragic realism, with unequalled modelling and readiness of hand. The plague now reached the villa of Casa Grande ; and Titian expired suddenly, on the 27th of August, 1576. The Government and citizens were soon apprised of their great loss, and Venice was plunged into even deeper mourning. The law that victims of the plague should not be buried in the city churches was set aside, and the canons of St. Mark bore the artist's body in solemn procession to the new grave in the Church of the Frari. In 1852 the Emperor of Austria erected a vast and magnificent mauso- leum over this sacred tomb. Orazio Vecelli was carried off by the pestilence at about the same time as his father, and died in the Old Lazzaretto. The desolate villa of Casa Grande was entered by marauders, and shame- fully plundered. When Pomponio took posses- sion of the place, he found numerous valuable paintings in the studio, in various stages of completion. 15© TITIAN. " In every thing Titian's art was similar to nature. Milk feeds his babes ; he weaves the stuffs ; his animals have but just issued from the ark ; and his joy and grief are alike infectious. So long as Nature lives, Titian will also live. He is the very mirror of Nature, only that the mirror reflects whilst Titian creates." — Boschini. " Nature surrendered to Titian, and took its laws from his pencil." — Ridolji. "All that Titian's figures want is a voice; in all else they are Nature itself." — Biondo. " In imitating Nature, Titian was unsurpassed." — Armeiwio. " Three lives has Titian, — one natural, one artificial, the third eternal." — Pino. TITIAN'S PAINTINGS. 151 A LIST OF TITIAN'S PAINTINGS NOW IN EX- ISTENCE, WITH THEIR DATES OF EXECU- TION, AND PRESENT LOCATIONS. *#* The interrogation point after a title signifies t/iat ike picture is regarded as utiautJuntic by tvjo or more critics, while others accept its genuineness. . ITALY. Venice. — 77/,? Academy, — The Assumption, 1518; the Visitation; the Presentation in the Temple, 1540; Piet^. ; St. John in the Desert, 1555 ; Jacopo Soranzo, 1522; Antonio Capello, 1523; Prime di Lezze; Nineteen Panels, showing Cherubs and Evangelical s^Tnbols. Doges' Palace, — St Christopher (fresco), 1523; Madonna (fresco); the Doge Grimani and Faith, 1555. Mocenigo Palace, — The Saviour's Blessing. Casa Morosini-Gatiersburg, — The Doge Gri- mani. The Library, — Wisdom (fresco), 1559. Nardi Col- lection, — Pietro Bembo, 1537. Signor Galeazzi, — St. John. Salute Chtirch, — Descent of the Holy Ghost, eight medallions of the Fathers and Evangelists, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, David and Goliath, all done in 1 542-43 ; and St. Mark and four Saints, 1512. St. Salvadore Church, — The Transfiguration; the Annunciation, 1565. St. Sebas- tian, — St. Nicholas, 1563. St. Marciliano, — The Angel and Tobit, 1540. San Leo, — St. James of Compostella, 1565. St. Giovanni Eleemosinario, — St. John the Alms- giver, 1533 Cesuiti, — Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, 1558. Evangelical Church, — The Redeemer (?). Frari Church, — The Pesaro Madonna. Scuola di San Rocco, — Ecce Homo, before 1500; the Annunciation, 1524; Christ Bearing the Cross, before 1517. 1 5 2 TITIAN. Padua. — Giustiniani Collection,— Vic%& Grimani, 1522; Doge Gritti, 1523-8; Philip II., 1550; Francis I., 1533; Pietro Aretino, 1527. Barbarigo Palace, — Doge Barbarigo. Scuola del Santo, — Three frescos of scenes in the Life of St. Anthony. Carmini Church, — Sts. Joachim and Anna. Verona. — Pinacoteca, — Homage to Venice. Museo Civico, — Madonna. Cathedral, — Assumption, 1 543. Tre- viso Cathedral, — Annunciation, 15 18. Loreto, Koyal Pal- ace, — The Woman taken in Adultery. Urbino, Chur. 4 of S. Francesco di Paola, — The Resurrection, and the Last Supper, late works. Aquila, Palace Torres, — The Eucharist. Ascoli, — Vision of St. Francis, 1 563. Brescia, Sts. Nazaro e Celso, — The Resurrection, 1 522. Parma, Farnese Palace, — Head of Christ. Modena, Ducal Palace, — " La Moretta." Fano, — Count of Montevecchio. Lovere, Tadini Palace, — Gabriel Tadino. Bergamo, — Lady's Portrait. Zoppi Church, — Madonna, 1527. Mel Church, — St. Andrew. Belliino, — Adoration of the Magi. Candide. — Madonna. Vinigo, — Madonna. Medole, — Christ Appearing to Marj', 1 554. Cadore, — Madonna. Serravalle Church, — Madonna ; also fresco in the Casa Carneliutti. Ancona, San Domenico Church, — Madonna, 1520; Crucifixion, 1563. Matiiago, — Irene of Spilimberg and her sister Emilia, 1560. Milan. — Brera Gallery, — St. Jerome, 1363. Ambro- siana, — Epiphany ; Deposition (?) ; Hospital, — Portrait of Rezzonico, 15 58. Genoa. — Balbi Palace, — St. Jerome. Durazzo Palace, — Magdalen, 1560. Florence. — Pitli Palace, — The Saviour; the Nativity, 1567 (?) ; Marriage of St. Catherine ; Magdalen; La Bella di TITIAN'S Paintings. 153 Tiziano, 1533; Tommaso Mosti, 1524-6; Ippolito de' Me- dici, 1533; Luigi Cornaro(?); Philip II., 1553; the Doge Gritti; the Surgeon Vesalius, 1560; Pietro Aretino, 1545; Alfonso of Ferrara (?). Uffizi Gallery, — Madonna, 1511; three doubtful Madonnas; Flora, 1520; Venus, 1533; Venus, in replica ; Venus and Cupid, 1547 ; Battle of Cadore, 1537 ; Duke of Urbino, 1537; the Duchess, 1537; Catherine Cor- naro, 1542 ; Titian ; Giovanni de' Medici ; the Legate Becca- delli, 1552; Sansovino. Strozzi Palace, — Robert Strozzi's Daughter, 1541. Rome. — Barberitti Palace, — Cardinal Bembo. Borghese Palace, — Sacred and Profane Love, 1500; Cupid Equipped by Venus; Allegory, 1566; Samson; St. Dominick; and several doubtful. Capitol, — Three doubtful pictures. Co- lonna Palace, — Portrait of Panvinius, 1550. Corsini Palace, — Cardinal Farnese, 1543; Philip II.; and five unauthentic pictures. Doria Palace, — Three Ages ; Magdalen ; Alle- gory ; Man's Portrait ; Jansenius ; and seven contested pic- tures. St. Luke's Academy, — Diana and Callisto (there are seven so-called Titians in the Academy, all of which are re- pudiated by Crovpe and Cavalcaselle). Sciarra-Colonna Palace, — Madonna; La Bella di Tiziano ; Portrait. Spada Palace, — The six so-called Titians here are rejected by Cavalcaselle. Vatican Palace, — The Doge Marcello, 1 505-8 ; Madonna and Saints, 1523. Naples. — The Museum, — Charles V., 1549 ; Philip II., '553! P3.UI III. (two portraits), 1543; Cardinal Farnese, 1543; Dukeof Castro, 1543; Pier Luigi Farnese, 1 546 ; Paul HI. and his Grandsons, 1545; Magdalen, 1567 ; Jupiter and Danae, 1545. 154 TITIAN. SPAIN. Madrid Royal Museum, — Ecce Homo, 1547 ; Christ Ap- pearing to the Magdalen, 1554; the Trinity, 1554; the Epiphany, 156a; the Entombment, 1559; Christ Bearing the Cross; Ecce Homo; the Virgin's Repose, 1569; St Mar- garet, 1552; Salome and the Head of John; Adam and Eve, 1574; Madonna and St. Bridget, 1508-11; the Grieving Vir- gin, 1554; Mater Dolorosa, 1550; Allegory; Venus and Cupid, 1547 ; Venus and Adonis, 1554 ; Venus, 1547 ; Venus- Worship, before 1518; Danae, 1554; two Bacchanals, of 1519-20; Sisyphus and Prometheus (?) ; Portrait of Charles v., 1533; Charles V., 1548; the Empress, 1544; Philip II., 1550; Philip II. Presenting his Son to an Angel, 1574; Alfonso d'Este ; the Marquis of Guasto, 1541 ; Titian, 1563; a Knight of Malta. Escurial Palace, — Christ in the Garden, 1562; the .Last Supper, 1564; the Virgin's Repose, 1530; St. John in the Desert, 1556; the Martyrdom of St. I^awrence, 1568. FRANCE. The Louvre, — Christ at Emmaus, 1 547 ; Christ Derided, 1558; Christ a Captive (?) ; the Entombment, 1523; Ma- donna and Saints, 1 508-11 ; Madonna and Saints ; Madonna del Coniglio, 1 530 ; the Virgin's Repose, 1 536 ; St. Jerome, 1 531 ; Jupiter and Antiope, 1562 ; Girl and Man with Mirror, 1 523 ; Francis I., 1 533 ; Marquis of Guasto and Wife, 1533 ; Cardinal de' Medici, 1533 ; Man's Portrait ; L'Homme au Gant. Sir Ricliard Wallace, — Tarquin and Lucretia, 1570. Besattfon Museum, — Cardinal Granvelle, 1548. Nimes TITIAN'S PAINTINGS. 155 Mahon Carrie, — John ■ the Baptist. Rouett Museum, — Man's Portrait. GERMANY. Berlin Museum, — Titian; Lavinia, 1549. Seven other pictures here, claimed as Titians in the catalogue, are rejected by modem connoisseurs. Cassel, — Lavinia ; Lady's Portrait; Cleopatra (and three others held as doubtful). Potsdam, — Christ at Emmaus. Hanover, — Two portraits (?). Maye7tce, — Bacchanal (?). Stuttgart, — Three Madonnas, St. Jerome, the Magdalen, Shepherds, and a Young Man, all of which are repudiated by Cavalcaselle. Darmstadt, — Sleeping Venus, 1523; Por- trait (?). Dresden, — Christ and the Tribute-Money, 1508-11; Lavinia, 1546 ; Madonna and Saints ; Venus and Cupid, 1563 ; Lavinia, 1558; Man's Portrait, 1561; and four portraits and two other pictures which are doubtful. Mujiich, — Two Madonnas, 1 522 and later ; Ecce Homo, 1574; Charles v., 1548; Man's Portrait; Jupiter and Anti- ope ; and five so-called but unverified Titians. AUSTRIA. Vienna. - Belvedere Gallery, — Three Madonnas, all be- fore 1511 ; Ecce Homo, 1543 ; Christ and the Adulteress ; En- tombment, 1559; St. James the Elder, 1542; St. Catherine, 1568 ; two Allegories, 1533 ; Danae, 1554 ; Venus and Cupid (replica); Diana and Callisto, 1559; Suicide of Lucretia; Charles V. (?) ; Elector of Saxony, 154S; two Portraits of Titian; Vesalius; Salvaresio, 1558; the Antiquary Strada, 566; Titian's Doctor; Philip Strozzi, 1540; Benedetto Varchi, 1550; Ranuccio Famese, 1542; Titian's Mistress, 156 » TITIAN. 1533; Isabella d'Este, 1533; and ten doubtful or unautlien- ticated pictures. Academy of Arts, — Winged Cupid. Sterne Collection, — Doge Trevisani. Rosenbtrg Collection, — Doge Grimani. Ilarrach Palace, — St. Sebastian; Madonna (?). Lichtenstein Palace, — Battle Piece; Madonna (?). Czernin Palace, — Magdalen, Duke of Ferrara, and Doge Venieri (all three doubted by Cavalcaselle). Pesth Academy, — Pietro Bembo. Trent, — Cardinal Madruzzi. Gratz Gallery, — Bathslieba Bathing. Prague, — Five portraits in the Kunstverein and the Sternberg and Nostitz Palaces, none of which are accepted by Crowe and Cavalcaselle, though certain other critics affirm them. NORTHERN EUROPE. Antwerp Mtiseum, — The Pope Presenting the Bishop of Paphos to the Virgin, 1501. J\otterdam Museum, — Woman and Satyr. Brussels Mtismm, — Two doubtful pictures. Stockholm Royal Palace, -. — Cleopatra, Don Carlos, Duke of Urbino, Duchess of Ferrara, all doubted by modem critics. RUSSIA. Hermitage Palace, — Christ Bearing the Cross; Christ in Benediction ; Madonna and Magdalen ; Christ Holding the Orb (.'') ; Magdalen, 1560; Ecce Homo; Madonna; St. Sebastian; Danae; Pope Paul HI., 1543; Venus and Cupids, 1563; Cardinal Pallavicini, 1545; Titian's Mis- tress, 1533; and portraits of Lavinia, Isabella d'Este, and the Doge Gritti, held as uncertain by Cavalcaselle. The same authority declines to indorse the portrait and two Ma- donnas in the Leuchtcmbcrg collection, and also Lazarew's Ecce Homo and Count Stroganoff's Weeping Virgin. i TITIAN'S PAINTINGS. 157 ENGLAND. National Gallery, — Noli me Tangere, 1518 ; Bacchus and Ariadne, 1523; Venus and Adonis ; Christ and the Pharisee, 1568; the Holy Family; Ariosto, 1518 ; the Virgin's Re- pose, 1518; Madonna and Saints; Rape of Ganymede, Mrs. Butler-Johnstone, — St. Jerome, Madonna, Epiphany, Ariosto, and Venus, all doubted by Cavalcaselle. The late Northwick Collectio7i contained a Vitellius, Vespasian, Paul III., three portraits, Danae, Madonna, St. Jerome, and Philip II., of which all save the first are uncertified, and the last three are rejected by Cavalcaselle. Bridge-water Gallery, — The Three Ages, 1518; Venus Anadyomene, 1523; Diana and Actason, 1559 ; Diana and Callisto, 1559. Lord Elcho, — A Senator ; St. Sebastian ; Madonna, a replica ; the Resur- rection of Christ, 1522-26 ; Venus and Adonis. Buckingham Palace, — A Summer Squall. Duke of Clrueland, — The Trinity (?). Lord Overstone, — The Last Supper. Lord Cowper, — Lavinia. Holford Collectio7t, — The Duke of Milan; the Virgin's Repose, 1530; Catherine Cornaro, 1542 (?). Mr. Baring, — Charles V. Earl Brownlow, — Catherine Cornaro, 1542 ; Dianaand Actaeon ; Otho; Christ Bearing the Cross (?) ; Navagero (? ). Late Lord Ashlmrton, Magdalen, 1560; Venus and Cupid, 1563; Salome (?). There are also four pictures attributed to Titian in Lord Yarborough's collection, four at Apsley House, three at Stafford House, and four in the late Lord Malmesbury's col- lection. Dr. Waagen pronounces several of these fifteen pictures genuine, but Crowe and Cavalcaselle reject them all. Oxford, Christ Church College, — The Nativity, 1 567 ; the Saviour; the Duke of Alva(?). Cambridge, Fitz William 158 TITIAN. Museum, — Recumbent Venus, 1547. Kingston Lacy, — Savorgnano, 1 537 ; Omnia Vanitas. Orwell Tark, — Julius Caesar, 1 537 ; and two portraits, indorsed by Waagen, but rejected by Crowe and Cavalcaselle. Burleigh House, — Madonna, 1508-11. Petworth, — Three portraits. Wardour Castle, — Iiifant Christ Sleeping on the Cross. Stoke, — Holy Family (?). Lowther Castle, — Two portraits. Castle Howard, — Giorgio Cornaro, 1522; Philip II.; Dog and Cats. Chatsivorth, — Philip II. ; St. Jerome ; Mastiff and Cubs(?); St. John (?). Cobham Hall, — Ariosto, 15 16-18; Europa and the Bull, 1562; Christ in Benediction; two doubtful Venuses. Longford Castle, — Two portraits whose authenticity is contested. Alnwick Castle, — Bacchanal ; Venus and Adonis, 1547; the Cornaro Family, 1560; an Admiral; Paul III. (?) Hampton-Court Palace, — Marquis of Guasto; Alessandro de' Medici; Titian's Uncle; Ma- donna ; and nine others, held as dubious by the best critics. Viscount Powcrscourt {Ireland), — A Youth. Scotland possesses several so-called Titians, all of wliich are attributed by Crowe and Cavalcaselle to other artists, though Dr. Waagen maintains the genuineness of several of them. Hamilton Palace has five portraits; Dal- keith, two portraits ; the Edinburgh Royal Institute, three pictures ; the Glasgow Museum, a Danae ; Garscube, a St Jerome; and Longniddy Castle, a Venus. INDEX. Academy, the, 90, 115. A UtiM ajid Eve, 147. Alcline Press, 24. Au^el", Michael, 60, loi. Ajiinmciation, The, ^2. Autelaii, Mount, 7. A ntiope, 1 32. Antiquaries, 140. Autonello da Messina, 20. Aretino, 55, 75, 80,85, 95.99, "3, 122. Ariosto, 36, 70. Assam fit ion. The, 37, 97. Augsburg, 107, 1 13. Bacchnnal, 40. Bacchus and A riadne, 47. IJeccndfilli, 116. Bollini. tlie, 15, 16, 17, 32, 33. Bcmbo, Pietro, 32, 81. Bologna, 62, 71 Bordone, Paris, 39. Borjria, Cxsar, 23. Brescia, 44, 144. Cadore, 7, 26, 2S, 65, 77, 92, 130, 137, '■»' Battle pf, 26, 84. Route to, 57. Cainpagnola, 29. Carpaccio, 20, 32. Cardinal de' Medici, 73, 78. Casa Grande, 66, 80, 87, 113. (^eneda, 57, 97, 129. Charles V., 62, 70, 79, 90, 94, 98, 107, II t, 117, 121, 126. Christ at Einina7is, 106. Derided, 124. of Pity, 148. of the Triincte Money, 28. "Cima da Conegliano, 20. Coello, Sanchez, 146, 147. Conegliano, 43. Constantinople, Bellini at, i& Cortiaro Family, 45, 91, 131. Correggio, 6g. Cranach, Lucas, 114. DaTtae, 103, 119. Death of Titian, 149. D'Este, Alfonso, 34, 36. Dianas, Tlie, 128. Ecce Homo, 96, 106. Engravings, 125, 138. Entombment, The, 49, 129. Epiphany, 7 he, 131. Europa and tlie Bull, 133. Farnese Family, 93, 96, 100, 103, loj Ferdinand, King, 1 10. Ferrara, 34. Florence, 103. Fondaco de' Tedeschi, 25. Fraiuis 1; 75. Giorgione, 18, 25, 32. Gonzaga, 46, 89. Granvelle, Chancellor, ito. Grimani, Doge, 43, 120. Gritti, Doge, 51. Guasto, Marquis of, 72, 86, 89. Henri III., 147. Innspruck, iii, 115. Irene of Spilimherg, 130. Landscape, 58, 116. Last Supper, 135, 136, 142. Lavinia, 112, 121, 124, 130. League of Cambrai, 27. «S<3 i6o INDEX, Leone Aretino, 126. Lepanto, B.itile of, 145. Library of Venice, 130. Lombardi, 71. Love, Sacred and Profane, 21. Madonna, The First, 1 1 . (/<-'/ Coniglio, 62. 0/ Casa Pesaro, 54. 0/ Scrrnvalle, 105. 0/ tlie Vaticajt, 50. Madonnas, Early, 21, 27. Magdalens, 68, 132 Mantua, 46. RLanza, Col di, qj. Marinarolo, 7, 58. Mary, Queen, in, 118. Medolc, 66, 120. Milan, 90, iiq. Muranese School, 15. Noli Me Tangere, 35. Padua, 29, 40. Pal ma Vccchio, 18, 60. Paul 111., Pope. 93, 95, 102. PIiili|j 11., Ill, 114, 119, 121, 146. Pieve di (jadore, 10. Plague, The, 147. Pomponio, 53, 63, 82, 112, 142. Pordenone, 38, 60, 84. Presentation, 'flic, 86. Rome, Titian at, 100. Rossi, Antonio, 11. St. yeronte, 67. St. Lawrence, 124, 143. ,5"/. Margaret, 116. St. Peter Martyr, 6i. St. Sebastian, 42. Salute Pictures, 94. Sansovino, 51, 85, 102, 145. Saxon Elector, the, 109, 114. Stbast'.ano, 31, 55, 60, 95. Soranzo, Jacopo, 46. State Paintings, 33, 115. Strada, Antiquary, 140. Strozzi Family, gi. Three Ages, the, %$. Titian ennobled, 71. Titian's Children, 66, 82. Father, 9, 11, 28, 57. Portraits, 91. — — Property, 139. Wife, 53,65. Trevisam, Doge, i2ab Treviso, 3S, 74. Trinity, The, 117, 126. Trillin ph of Faith, 30. Turkish Wars, 22, 145. Urbino, Duke of, 76, 80, 92, 100. Val Cadore, 7. di Mel, 58. Van Eyck, 20. Vasari, 90, 101, 13S. Vccelli Family, 9, 24, 26, 141. Cesare, 141. Francesco, 24, 28, 56, 69, 150. Gre.c^orio, 9, 1 1, 2S, 57. Laviria, 104, 112, 121, 124, i3Ck RLirco, 142. Ora/.io, 104, 126, 141, 144, 149. Orsa, 65, 112. Pomponio, 53, 63, 82, 112, 14Z Tiziano, 24. Venice, 12, 22. Venier, Doge, 120. Vemus, 48, 77, 105, 119, 134. Ve7ius-\yorship, 35. Veronese, Paul, 122. Vicenza, 30. Violante, 21. Virgin's Repose, 35. Vitelli, f)3. Vivarini, The, 20. Yuste, 98, 113, 118, 131, i36> Zoppi, 59. Zuccato, 12, 135. AR TIST-BIOGRAPHIES. GUIDO RENI BOSTON: HOUGHTON, OSGOOD AND COMPANY, W^z iSibcrstiic ^rcss, ffiatniriBge. 1880. Copyright. By HOUGHTON, OSGOOD & CO. 1878. University Press : John Wilson & Son, Cambridge PREFACE. This is the first book which has been devoted to the life of Guido Reni, if we except a little pamphlet published in Bologna, about half a century since. In its preparation some aid has been received from the works of the old French and Italian art-writers, and some from the writings of modern critics. By far the greater part, however, has been derived from the Felsina Pittrice, a voluminous book about the artists of Bologna and vicinity, written by Malvasia, who was a contemporary and friend of Guido. In some cases (especially in relating anecdotes) I have trans- lated Malvasia almost literally, hoping that the an- tique quaintness of his style may be thought pref- erable to a dry modern paraphrase. At the present day Guido is out of fashion, and men decry his works as sentimental and insipid (always excepting a few pictures which compel re- spect and admiration), and exalt the productions of the Giottesque school. A century ago the Bolognese artists were held in the foremost rank, and the Pre- 3 4 PREFACE. Raphaelites were almost unheard of; and a century hence a new school of criticism may elevate new idols. In view of the instability of the criterions of excellence, I have felt at liberty to follow the hearty admiration of Malvasia and my own preferences, rather than the present vogue and the opinions of M. Taine and the London critics. In these pages poor Guido is exhibited in all phases of his strange and whimsical character, and his traits are illustrated by such a series of anecdotes and re- marks of his own as we cannot find about even our latest modern artists. Many other curious and pi- quant stories and much instructive and very dry criti- cism have been stricken out, in order to meet the Procrustean requirements of our series. The rejection of the so-called Beatrice Cenci por- trait has been done with reluctance, after a careful study of hundreds of books pertaining to Roman his- tory and art. It may be an unwelcome surprise to many readers, but the statement agrees with the opinion of the majority of art-critics. StiU the fame of our eccentric and erring, our noble and heroic Guido, does not rest on one or a dozen pictures, and he needs no dubious laurels. M. F. SWEETSER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1575-1598. PAGB The Musician's Son. — Forbidden Art. — Calvart's Teachings. — The Caracci. — A Jealous Master. — The New Theory. — Morning Labors 7 CHAPTER II. 1599-1610. First Days in Rome. — Caravagg^o. — St. Gregory's Church. — Domenichino. — The Aurora. — The Quirinal Chapel. — Paul V. — The so-called Portrait of Beatrice Cenci . . . , .33 CHAPTER III. 1610-1615. Mercantile Schemes. — 'The Massacre of the Innocents.' — Recall to Rome. — A Triumph. — The Pope's Kindness. — Frescos at Santa Maria Maggiore 43 CHAPTER IV. 1616-1621. At Bologna. — The PietJi. — The Assumption, for Genoa. — Mantuan Commissions. — At Ravenna and Naples. — Once more at Rome. — ' The Archangel Michael ' 5j 5 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. 1622-1623. r vGH Honors at Bologna. — Princely Visitors. — The Cardinals. — ' The Abduction of Helen.' — The Castelfranco Assumption. — ' The Samson.' — Minor Works 67 CHAPTER VI. Guide's Manners. — His Favorite Artists. — Pupils. — Models . . 79 CHAPTER Vn. Guide's Devoutness. — Personal Appearance. — Eating and Sleeping. — Gambling. — Literary Adulation. — Generosity , . .98 CHAPTER Vin. 1633-1642. Last Labors. — ' The Crucifixion.' — ' Ariadne.' — Pathetic Illness. — The Death of Guide 13a GUIDO. CHAPTER I. The Musician's Son. — Forbidden Art. — Calvart's Teachings. — The Caracci. — A Jealous Master. — The New Theory. — Morning Labors. The great Papal Jubilee of the year 1575 drew delegations from all parts of Italy to Rome, eager to show honor to the successor of St. Peter and to his holy city. Conspicuous among these pilgrim- bands was the Most Noble Arch-confraternity della Morte, from Bologna, a city which was most loyal to the Pontifical throne, since its occupant at that time. Pope Gregory XIII., was bom within her walls. The Senate also sent with this devout brotherhood an accomplished musician and singer, Daniele Reni, who had long been enjoying a salary from the municipality, in order that the chants and chorals of the pilgrims might be wisely conducted. 7 8 GUTDO. During this absence, Daniele's wife, Ginevra Pozzi, bore a child, who came into the world on the fourth of November, and was baptized in the Church of San Lorenzo, three days later. Barto- lorameo Marescotti and Caterina dall' Armi acted as godparents, and the name which the infant received was Guido. And when Daniele returned to Bologna, and perceived the beauty of his child, he was filled with great joy, for the Graces seemed indeed to have taken up their abode in that bright infant face. Young Guido was placed in the grammar-school of Guglielmini, where his future rival, Albano, was then his fellow-pupil. Daniele Reni practised the art of teaching singing, in addition to his other musical gifts, and soon showed his son how to sing sweetly, in the light soprano voice appropriate to his tender age. He taught him to play the harpsi- chord, the flute, and other instruments, and hoped that the genius which appeared in all his lineaments would secure him eminence in music. But the old musician's hopes were fallacious, for the child left his harpsichord as often as he dared, and spent his time in making rude sketches and forming figures from clay. Many years after- wards he thus described his early trials : — TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH. 9 " Where other youths were scolded because they were reluctant to make efforts, I was beaten by my parents because I studied too much ; and these chastisements, received for the love of learning, were dear wounds to me, and sweet incitements to search further for the object of my quest, and to possess myself of it. They took paper away from me, and I marked upon the walls. When I could no longer find there a place for my sketches, I gained at last a fresh and inexhaustible one, in the dust. They removed my lamp, that I might go to sleep, and I ingeniously provided myself with one which I kept hidden under the bed, so that I could make the night ifito day, and employ in my studies all the night and day combined." At that time the Bolognini Palace was a nursery of the arts and literature, and Daniele Reni fre- quently went there to assist with his bagpipes in the concerts, and brought his child with him. Now Dionisio Calvart, a famous Flemish painter, who had a studio and school in the palace, by some means saw certain drawings of Guide's, and they aroused his interest so thoroughly that he besought Daniele to apprentice his son to a profes- sion for which he showed such a natural aptitude. lO CUIDO. The head of the Bolognini family asked the lad which he would prefer to be, a painter or a musi- cian, and, when Guido answered promptly in favor of art, the patron urged Daniele to yield to his son's desires. There was no resisting the obvious tendency of the cliild's genius, and at last Daniele wisely con- sented to allow him to study art, with the condition that if he failed to make satisfactory progress with- in a stated period he should return to music. In the mean time, he agreed to keep up his practice on the notes, so that, if need be, he could readily resume his musical studies. It was thus, as one of his eulogists remarks, that Guido was born of music and beloved of art, and from the harmonies of the voice he passed to the concert of colors. Guido mastered the elementary departments of his chosen profession with great rapidity, and soon began to draw from the nude and from re- liefs. His master had so high an opinion of his judgment and ability that, four years later, when he was but thirteen years of age, he appointed him to give certain instructions to his fellow-pupils. He was then distinguished for a modesty and dig- nit) quite unwonted in persons of such tender age THE CARACCL II and sudden elevation, and won the respect of all his companions and* superiors. Among these fel- low-pupils were Albano and Domenichino, who had previously been with him in the parish-school, and viewed his present excellences with admiration and surprise. When he reached the age of eighteen, Guido was promoted to the painting of his master's groundworks, and also to the composition of small pictures, which were retouched by Calvart, and sold as his own works. The diligence and assi- duity of the student were thus rendered tributary to the money-making of the master, and each recognized the ruling traits of the other. The Caracci were now in full success, and had opened their academy for the free entry of who- soever wished. Guido was completely fascinated with their manner, and eagerly embraced the first opportunity of being introduced to the gentle Lodovico, who promised to remember the youth, and to aid him whenever needful. Thereafter he was wont to secretly visit Lodovico and observe him while painting, until at last the Caracci man- ner began to appear in his own pictures, and his master, detecting the foreign influence, flew into a 12 GUI DO. great rage, and rubbed out some of his most care- ful work. The lad endured 'these reproaches in silence, for many a day, until at last Calvart at- tempted to punish him for using a prohibited color, when he threw down his palette, and fled from the studio forever. In Ills twentieth year, therefore, Guido entered the school of the Caracci, and began to make out- lines, paint groundworks, and draw from subjects which they assigned him. Discarding the style of painting which he had previously acquired, he devoted himself to the acquisition of the new man- ner, in which, during the next few years, he exe- cuted several small religious compositions for the churches and nobles of Bologna. One of these was a pair of small pictures to be placed near the miraculous portrait of the Madonna, which tradi- tion says was painted by St. Luke. This quaint picture was brought from Constantinople, in the year 1160, and is still preserved in a sumptuous pilgrimage-church on the Monte della Guardia, overlooking Bologna. Guido's work was so pleas- ing to the monks that they had him paint another for their Church of St. Matthew. The praises elicited by the latter, from the Caracci and their IVITH THE CARACCI. 1 3 scholars, caused the young artist to blush with modesty and pleasure. Lodovico used to say that it was worth while to try Guido's sensitive modesty, because when his natural beauty was heightened by blushes, he became a worthy model for an angel. The master indeed drew him several times in thii- character. The venerable Abbot Sampieri had, about this time, commissioned Annibale Caracci to paint a picture, which he wished to present to a Roman prelate. Annibale executed a picture of the Depo- sition from the Cross, with such rare skill and affection that the Abbot, who was a man of refined taste, could not bear to part with it, and deter- mined to keep it himself, and have the artist paint him a copy to be sent to Rome. Guido was de- tailed to execute this worlj;, and he did it in such a manner that when it was brought to Annibale for criticism and retouching, the latter bade the Abbot take it just as it stood, saying that he could not add to it without injuring the perfection of the work. Guido always remembered his life in this school with joy, and often said that it was impossi- ble not to be profited by the Caracci, since the labors of learning were alleviated there by a con tinual play of jests, banterings, and drolleries. t4 GUIVO. Annibale was annoyed by the close scrutiny and ambitious labors of the young student, but Agos- tino and Lodovico encouraged and aided him. One day the latter had been sho\ving him how to paint httle children so that their superabundant fatness would conceal their muscles, and wher the youth had gone, Annibale cried, " Do not teach that fellow so much, or he will some day know more than the whole of us. Do you not see how, never contented, he continually searches into new matters? I know of no one more eager, more insinuating, or more careful. Remember, Lodo- vico, one day this fellow \vill make you sigh." After Raphael had passed away, the Roman school of painting fell into great weakness, weighted with chimerical devices and artifices, and degraded by a bleak and attenuated coloring. At this time Caravaggio introduced a new and sensational man- ner, abounding in deep shadows and intense lights, and in other regards showing a slavish imitation of nature. When the Roman nobles noticed and praised the works in the new manner, the artist's fame and fortune were made, and almost every gallery desired his pictures. One of these was placed in the Casa Lambertini, at Bologna, and the A NEW THEORY. IS Caracci hastened to inspect it, to see what manner of art Italy was now so praiseful of. Annibale summoned his pupils before the new wonder in art, and spoke of it in disparagement, warning them against leaving their legitimate rules for the evanescent fame of such singular produc- tions. "I well know," added he, "another method of making a fortunate hit, as well as of conquering and mortifying this fellow. To that savage coloring oppose one entirely delicate and tender. Does he use lights narrowed and falling? I would make them open and in the face. Does he cover up the difficulties of art under the shadows of night ? I would expose under the full light of noonday the fruits of erudite and learned researches. As much as he sees in nature, without destroying the good and the best, put down ; and choose and arrange the most perfect parts, so that the figures shall have compleie nobility and harmony." Guido was among the disciples who heard these words, and they appeared to him the voice of a sacred oracle, giving a certain and sufficient light along the path up which he was struggling. He entered with great earnestness upon the develop- ment of these suggestions, refining the theory with 1 6 GUIDO. prolonged studies, and earning at last the honor of being the first and fortunate introducer of the new manner. His earliest essay therein was the ' Or- pheus and Eurydice,' a picture which Lambertini had ordered from Agostino Caracci for the decora- tion of his chimney-piece, and which was after- wards sold into France. He afterwards painted a still more successful picture of the fable of Calisto, whose merit was celebrated by the famous poet Marini ; and the artist recompensed his tuneful eulogist by painting his portrait. But Guido's rapid advance did not fail to awaken the jealousy of his fellow-artists, who held that it was temerity to attempt more than the Caracci had accomplished ; reasoning that such presumptuous- ness tended towards the ruin of true art. Their zeal, the offspring of rancor and envy, finally dis- played itself in an attempt to place Guido under the suspicion of his masters, who held him in such high esteem. At last only Lodovico remained attached to the youth, and Brizio, Garbicri, and others of the rivals, united in a league of defama- tion and accusation. Guido's quiet and studious disposition was maligned as arrogance, and his numerous labors as the fruits of an insatiable EMULATION. 1 7 greediness. Incited by these skilful conspirators, the master hardened his heart against Guide, who soon saw that his rivals had triumphed, and resolved to withdraw. Now Camillo Bolognetti had a beloved nun- sister, and, being mindful to make her an accept- able present, he ordered Guido to paint the Adoration of the Magi, with thirty or more figures. When it was done, the artist demanded thirty crownsj but Bolognetti demurred, and the case was referred to the arbitration of Lodovico, who decided that the picture was the work of a novice, and that ten crowns was a good price for it. Guido bowed to this decree, but could not conceal his grief and sense of wrong, and withdrew from the studio, leaving Lodovico troubled by remorse, since he had thus mistreated his beloved pupil, not at his ovra desire, but to please the other disciples. It chanced that Lodovico at this time designed a picture of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, for the high altar of the Church of the Monks of St. John, but delayed its execution because the breth- ren would not pay the price of 200 crowns, which he demanded. Guido seized the opportunity thus afforded, and offered to do the work for half the 1 8 GUIDO. money. But Lodovico, having heard of this com- petition, hastened to conclude a bargain at any price. When Pope Clement VIII. was about to return from Ferrara to Rome, in 1598, he proposed to sojourn in Bologna for some time, and the munici- pality prepared to do him an especial honor by raising numerous triumphal arches, and covering the houses with silks, tapestries, and frescos. The two chief candidates for the task of painting these frescos were Cesi and Lodovico Caracci, and the votes were nearly divided between them, when suddenly Guido appeared as a third contestant, and was accepted as a compromise between the two hostile parties. But the difficulties encoun- tered in these paintings proved more formidable than the young artist had supposed, and he felt unsatisfied with the result. Being unacquainted with fresco-painting, he had serious difficulty with his groundwork, while it was drying, and even de- sired to reproduce the entire composition in oil. At this juncture he found two of his comrades in Calvart's studio, Ferantini and Tassoni, who taught him all the details of frescoing, — the preparation of the wall, the proper time for paint- FRESCOS OF BOLOGNA. Ip ing it, and the various changes and effects pos- sible. Guido acted frequently as Tassoni's model^ baring an arm, a log, or his chest, and showed his high appreciation by giving him his own portrait. The new frescos of Cesi, on the Registry Office, and those of Albani on the adjacent arcades, representing the history of St. Francis, alike failed to approach the grace of the Virtues and Cherubs which Guido then depicted. Another fine fresco of this time Guido executed in the great hall of the Zani Palace, composed of three life-size figures, and representing the separa- tion of light from darkness. Other pictures also he designed for Count Zani, including portraits of nine illustrious men, to be hung in the hall ; and a brilliant fresco of the fall of Phaeton and his steeds. The chief frescos were skilfully transferred from the wall to canvas, in 1840, and removed to Eng- land. In his twenty-fifth year Guido painted a picture of a Carthusian monk reading, which was long preserved at the convent (Jf the Carthusians, and is now in the Pinacoteca. But the greatest ivork of Guido during this period was the picture of St. Benedict in the Desert, in the cloister of the famous monastery of St, Michele in Bosco. Lodo- 20 GUIDO. vico and his pupils had frescoed these cloisters with scenes from the life of St. Benedict, so splendidly executed, in generous emulation, that all subse- quent artists of Bologna went hither as to a school of art. Guido invited Lodovico to view his pic- ture, before it was publicly exposed, in order to advise him as to any needful changes, and the mas- ter was thoroughly amazed at the excellence of the work. The picture showed the saint, with a face radiant in peaceful repose, issuing from a grotto on a mountain-side, and receiving the offerings of numerous country-people. One head among these frescos of the Caracci has for us a surpassing interest, and this is that of a woman wearing a graceful turban, which Guido frequently pointed out as a portrait of himself while a lad. The face is full and symmetrical, with large eyes, looking upward, and arching lips. The Ital- 'ians call this head La Turbaritina. Such is its elusive beauty that Malvasia had it drawn eighteen times, and engraved thrice, before he could get a representation worthy to put in his book. Guido made a copy of Raphael's ' St. Cecilia,' which, according to Bellori, "need not be afraid of the original," and according to the Roman artists INVITED TO ROME. 21 possessed the softness and delicacy which Rapha- el's work lacked. This work was done for Cardi- nal Facchenetti, and still remains in the Church of St. Louis, at Rome. He also made two pictures for Cardinal Sfondrato, which awakened the admi- ration of the Cavaliere d'Arpino and of Pomeran- cio. The fame of Guido's works had now spread abroad through Italy, and his Roman patrons had given him large remunerations and genefous praises. He began to desire to place himself under the pro- tection of such appreciative nobles, as well as to see his honored master, Annibale, who had now long been engaged in decorating the gallery of the Far- nese Palace with his noblest work. Being invited by Arpino and urged by his patrons, he finally con- sented to make the journey, and departed from Bologna, in company with Albano. a 2 CUJDO. CHAPTER II. First Days in Rome. — Caravaggio. — St. Gregory's Church. — Domenichino. — The Aurora. — The Quirinal Chapel. — Paul V. — The so-called Portrait of Beatrice Cenci. Immediately upon their arrival at Rome, Guido and Albano were taken in charge by Cardinal Sfondrato, formerly the Legate at Bologna, who secured rooms for them at the Monastery of Santa Prassede, whereof he was the titular Cardinal. Strangers in the Papal city, the two young men found occupation enough by day in visiting the churches and picture-galleries where the great paintings of the masters were displayed ; but their long evenings were spent in playing cards, and thus, perhaps, the foundations were laid of all Guido's subsequent misfortunes. Albano was the younger of the two, and was less known and hon- ored, wherefore a jealousy soon arose between them, and caused their separation and subsequent hostility. Guido devoted himself with intense assiduity CARAVAGGIO'S IRE. 23 to drawing and redrawing the antique statues in Rome, both with pencil and pen, and thus endeav- ored to familiarize himself with the spirit of Greek art. His first pubhc commission in Rome was for an altar-piece representing the martyrdom of St. Cecilia, which was placed in the bath-room of that saint, attached to one of the Trastevere churches. He was soon taken under the patronage of Arpino, who began to oppose him to Caravaggio, seeking for him certain contracts which had been destined for the latter. Annibale was but httle pleased to see his old pupil brought into proximity with him, and reproached Albano for having invited him, Caravaggio, indeed, fearing the comparison with a new manner so far opposed to his own, was beside himself with anger, and libelled Guido's pictures as affected and fantastic, threatening some day to meet their designer with other weapons than brush- es and pencils. He would doubtless have carried out this menace, in the rough North- Italian way, but that Guido carefully avoided meeting him, until he had gained enough powerful patrons to render an attack dangerous. Caravaggio once encountered him on the street, and cried out that if he had come to Rome with the thought of 24 GUIDO. competing with him, he was ready to meet and give him- satisfaction in any way, and that he would be taught to stay at home thereafter, and not let his foolish pride run away with him. Guido dryly answered that he came ^o Rome to paint, not to fight duels. Cardinal Borghese now commissioned Guido to paint a picture of the Crucifixion of St. Peter, foi the Abbey of the Three Fountains, near Rome, stipulating, however, that it should be done in the manner of Caravaggio. The young artist fulfilled his contract, but with a dignity and grandeur, both of composition and design, which surpassed the best efforts of Caravaggio. This picture is now preserved in the Vatican Gallery. Borghese was ^t this time engaged in restoring the venerable Church of St. Gregory, and assigned to Guido the task of frescoing two of its detached chapels. The Chapel of St. Andrew contains his picture of St. Andrew adoring the Cross, while on the way to his martyrdom, attended by soldiers and executioners, with an admirable group of frightened women and children in the foreground. Domeni- chino painted the Flagellation of St. Andrew, in the same chapel, in emulation of the work of his old DOMENICHINO'S LOVE. 25 comrade, and produced a powerful and dramatic composition. These two pictures were extrava- gantly admired, and Domenichino's was reputed at the time to be more filled with learning than the other, though less happily composed. Seme one demanded Annibale's opinion as to the rival works at St. Gregory's, and he rejoined : " That of Guido truly appears to be from a master's hand ; and Domenichino's is the work of a pupil, but of a pupil who knows more than his master." The Abbot Sampieri asked him which he thought ought to attain the greater success, Guido or Albano, and he replied : " Guido is the most God-fearing of the two." Domenichino's veneration for his old comrade knew no abatement. Every day, without fail, he left his labors at one hour before sunset, and went to Guido's house to pay his respects and homage ; when the two young masters would usually take a walk together tlirough the city streets, or out of one of the gates. In 16 10, when Domenichino executed the wonderful frescos which are still pre- served in the Abbey of Grotta Ferrata, he intro- duced a portrait of Guido into the picture repre- senting the meeting of St. Nilus and the Emperor 26 GUIDO. Otho III. He was the only one of the pupils of the Caracci who could compete with Guido, and some critics esteem him as even more noble in his works. Guido was accustomed to pay frequent visits to Domenichino's * Martyrdom of St. Agnes,' and once he was asked if it was as beautiful as the works of Raphael. ''Ten times as beautiful," he answered, " and I assure you that this is the utmost limit of excellence to which the modern pencil can attain." In 1612, Domenichino wTote to a friend : " I have seen the works of the great Guido, as things descended from heaven, and painted by the hand of an angel. Oh, what airs of paradise, what expressions of emotion, what truth and vivacity ! " Cardinal Borghese was so well pleased with Guido's pictures that he desired to make him his court-painter, with a pension and establishment accordingly. The Cavaliere d'Arpino stimulated him to carry out this project speedily, and not to weary with long delays that great genius, who would doubtless be the first artist of the century, and the head of a school which would be the model for modern art. It was then aiTanged that Guido should receive nine crowns a month, besides the THE * aurora: 27 accustomed portions of bread, wine, and wood, and twenty-five crowns every half-year for the rent of his house. His works were also to be paid for severally, in the form of presents. Guido's home was in the palace of the Senator Fantuzzi, and m his chambers there he opened an art-school which attracted scores of Roman youths. Borghese soon ordered the artist to fresco the casino of the palace which he had lately bought from the Duke Altemps, and the resulting achieve- ment was the marvellous picture of ' Aurora,' which is generally considered as Guido's masterpiece. The palace now pertains to the Rospigliosi family, and its casino is yearly visited by thousands of ad- miring travellers. Taine thus describes this noble work : " The god of day is seated on his chariot, surrounded by a choir of dancing Hours, preceded by the early momir>g Hour, scattering flowers. The deep blue of the sea, still obscure, is charming. There is a joyousness, a complete pagan ampUtude, about these blooming goddesses, with their hands interlinked, and all dancing as if at an antique fete." Fresh commissions now poured in upon the artist in such numbers that he had great difficulty to find 28 GUIDO. excuses for declining them, while many of his less fortunate fellows were lying idle. His note-book of this period contains the records of numerous sums which had been paid him in advance, -and were now returned to the would-be patrons. The hostile artists referred his reluctance to take new contracts not only to arrogance, but also to a cun- ning artifice, whereby he endeavored to keep his pictures scarce, and therefore more desired and praised. The truth was, that the rapidly succeed- ing commissions of his patrons held him continually harassed, both to satisfy them and his own stand- ards of excellence. He was next ordered to decorate the Pope's Chapel, in the new Quirinal Palace, for which he received one hundred crowns a month. But in proportion as this remuneration was promptly paid, so also the need of diligence and rapidity was in- culcated on the artist, and he grieved much at being driven to such fatigues, so that only the nights remained to himself, and even then, instead of enjoying his accustomed quiet and repose, he meditated on the designs, drew the sketches, and prepared the cartoons for the ensuing days. Among those whom he associated with himself at PAPAL HONORS. 29 the Quirinal were Campana, Antonio Caracci, and Lanfranco, who had also labored at St. Gregory's. Albano, too, was engaged here, and received twenty crowns for painting the seven children in the vault of the chapel, but was discharged by Guido because he continually complained that he and Domenichino had not received their parts of the work, as the Pope had intended. When Paul V. was accustomed to go to the Quirinal Chapel every morning to see him paint, he graciously told him once to replace his cap on his head, and for the future not to remove it before him. When Paul had departed, the artist said, " By my faith, he has hit it ! Because for the future, either he should not find me here, or else I should most certainly have kept my head covered." Some one replied that such a course would have been a great mistake. " No," said he, " I should have begged His Holiness to pardon me, feigning that the air troubled my head when bare. It is for this cause that I will never go to serve kings, because I should not wish to stand bare-headed in their presence, since such an act is not seemly for men of our profession." Although Guido was but little ambitious for 30 GUIDO. honors and praises for himself, he was the more fervent for the advantage of art, and studied con- tinually to replace it in its former dignity and honor. One day he was with the sculptor Cordieri, when the latter suddenly stepped out, and walked along by the coach of Cardinal Borghese, telling him of a new work under way. Guido refused to join his comrade, even though Borghese invited him, and when Cordieri returned to his side, he gave him a sound berating, saying that the Cardi- nal ought to have stopped for them ; that Cordieri's act had showed how power triumphs over virtue ; that he had thus made himself unworthy of the private visits which Pope Clement had paid him ; and so also he had become unfit to receive the visits of the reigning Pope, since he trotted so con- tentedly after a Cardinal's carriage. One day, when the Pope entered to see the new paintings, as he sometimes did, in a familiar way, after dinner, he found Lanfranco at work on the drapery of certain figures, and exclaimed, in an angry mood, " Now I see clearly what I have for some time suspected, that in this contract Guido applies himself to getting money as earnestly, as to the labor itself he devotes himself but coldly." THE QUIRINAL CHAPEL. 3I When the Pope returned, the next day, Guido said, "Most Blessed Father, the cuthning, sketching, and ground-painting are not the things that make these pictures what they shall be : they are only as a document of Your Holiness's, which is of no value imtil you have placed your hand to it, and affirmed it. Not only are these thoughts and designs my own, but I work over, finish, and re- touch the whole in such a manner, that if the undertaking confided to me does not succeed, I myself am content to incur your anger, which would cause me as much grief as the loss of a thousand lives." Once again the impatient Pon- tiff said, "This work protracts itself a long while. If it had been distributed among the other Bolo- gnese, it would already have been finished." The artist answered, " It would indeed have been finished, but then it would not have been from the hand of Guido." Having hastened the undertaking, much against his inclination, Guido completed it in seven months. The chapel was opened late in 1 610, to the great delight of the Pope ; and the Roman Court hastened thither to admire and praise the new achievement as a marvel of art. Malvasia says that 32 GUJDO. he cannot indorse their verdict that the chapel- frescos surpassed Angelo's ' Last Judgment ' and Caracci's frescos in the Farnese Gallery, but frank- ly adds that if indeed it falls below these in majesty and grandeur, it equally surpasses them in tender- ness and nobility. " Who will say that an earthly pencil ever executed those stories, representing the wonderful deeds of the great Mother of God, so admirably designed and colored? Who does not feel himself ravished with the sweetest ecstasies by the celestial view of so many angels, some sustain- ing and assisting the Divine Father, others with various instruments celebrating the praises of her who, in white robes, and near the Father himself, astitit Regina a dextris suis ? " The Pope entitled Guido's pictures " a little model on earth of the glory which shall be enjoyed in heaven ; " and Cardinal Barberini, who afterwards became Pope Urban VIII., wrote a Latin sonnet in praise of them. Tlie paintings in the Quirinal Palace had hardly been completed, when the Pope engaged Guido to labor on his new chapel, opposite the sumptuous Sixtine Chapel, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Mag- giore. The chief direction of the decorations here WEARY OF ROME. 33 was devolved upon the Cavaliere d'Arpino, who pressed forward the work with a speed which was as agreeable to the Pope as was the excellence of the masters engaged thereon. It was proposed that the painter wiio finished his task first should be rewarded with a chain of gold, but Guido said : " What an absurdity ! Are we horses, that the noblest should be he who first reaches the goal ? It is enough for me not to be the last in well-doing, and it is of little importance who is last in finish- ing." Guido was at this time at cross-purposes with the Papal Treasurer, who told him, one day, that his pretensions were immoderate, and that he showed Httle discretion in not remitting them ; add- ing that if such prices were to be paid, he himself would renounce his prelacy, and become a painter. " I do not quite know," answered the artist, " if you could succeed in that : I only know that as a prelate I should probably do better than you, at least in the duty of paying salaries." In spite of his successes in art, Guido at last grew weary of the envy and malice of his adversa- ries, and moreover felt a deep grief at the death of his old master, Annibale Caracci. Being also thor- oughly disgusted with his treatment by the treasurer, 34 CUIDO. Cardinal Spinola, he resolved to leave .he city, and the patronage of a Pontiff who failed to protec: his interests ; and having adjusted his household, and settled his account at the bank, he suddenly de- parted for Bologna. In the Barberini Palace, at Rome, there is a mar- vellous portrait, which has been supposed to repre- sent Beatrice Cenci, a beautiful Roman maiden of noble family, who was executed in 1599 for a justi- fiable parricide. This picture is attributed to the pencil of Guido, and, in the innumerable copies of it which have been scattered throughout the world, his name is ever thus coupled with that of the un- fortunate Beatrice, so that it is hardly too much to say that his fame in modem times is mainly based on this wonderful work. I deplore the destructive criticism of our practical age, and mourn the beau- tiful legends which have been swept away, one by one, by the dry breath of modern investigations ; and yet, in view of the facts hereinafter set forth, I cannot accept the putative title of this portrait, or attribute it to Guido's hand. The tradition has two forms, the first of which THE SO-CALLED 'BEATRICE.' 35 is that Guido was introduced into Beatrice's cell, on the night before her execution, by her lawyer^ and in the disguise of a legal writer. Perceiving him to be making a furtive sketch of her, the lady demanded to know who he was, and then professed her pleasure at being portrayed by " the celebrated Signor Guido." But can we suppose that the devoted lawyer Farinacci would have intruded upon his tortured client's last night on earth with a paltiy device of surreptitious picture-making, or that the doomed princess would have given up a part of those few solemn hours to posing before an artist ? Would Guido himself, the tender-hearted, frank, and devout youth, have descended so low as to steal her portrait, even if he could ? Furthermore, if Beatrice and Farinacci can be supposed to have entertained such an idea, the lawyer would un- doubtedly have chosen an artist of some note, and not an unknown provincial youth, not twenty-five years old, and hardly yet free from his drawings school. The second form of the tradition is that Guido sketched her while on her way to the scaffold, and afterwards made an exact portrait from the draw- ing. But such a picture, full of subtle and pro- 36 GUIDO. found expression, could not have been made during the rapid and confused march of the Papal guards, attacked as they were, at various points, by rescuing parties with drawn swords. Furthermore, the cos- tume, as well as the features, should have been exactly delineated, and the reputed portrait has white drapery, while Beatrice was executed in gar- ments of gray and violet. Wherefore, even if Guido was in Rome when the Cenci family were put to death, it seems unlikely that he could have had the connection with them that the tradition claims. But Guido did not visit Rome until several years after the execution of Beatrice, which, as we have seen, occurred in 1599. The date of his first arri- val in the Eternal City is indeed involved in great obscurity, and the chronology of his subsequent life is equally vague and uncertain. The Italian biographers, however, agree in the statements tliat he entered the school of the Caracci in 1595, where he had to unlearn his former manner, and acquire that of his new masters, devoting some years to this task. In 1598 he was so little known that he could only obtain a part of the civic fres- cos in his native town, with great difficulty, and as THE SO-CALLED 'BEATRICE.' 37 a compromise candidate between two famous mas- ters ; and even then he was so far from grounded in his art that he had to take new lessons in fresco- painting. Yet, only a year later, according to the tradition of the portrait, he was firmly established and highly reno^vned in Rome, whi<"h was then the home of many celebrated artists. Again, if he was present at the Cenci execution, it must have been for a flying visit, for during the next year he is again found at Bologna, where he painted * The Reading Carthusian,' and signed it as executed "in his twenty^fifth year." He is also credited with having executed a long line of pictures, several of which are still extant, between 1598 and his first departure for Rome ; and in those days he worked very slowly, as Pope Paul V. often complained. Four conspicuous authorities, Passed, Rosini, Lan- don, and Bolognini-Amorini, state that he first en- tered Rome between 16 10 and 161 2, but continue and confuse their narratives by describing his ensuing and prolonged difficulties with Caravag- gio and Annibale Caracci, both of whom died in 1609. It is also well known that he finished the Quirinal frescos in 16 10, and that these were the last of four great commissions wliich he then exe- 38 GUIDO. cuted in Rome. All biographers agree that his first Roman patrons were Paul V. and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, both of whom arrived at their ecclesiastical dignities in 1605, so that his arrival could hardly have been before that date. It there- fore seems likely that he first came to Rome about 1605 or 1606, and remained four or five years. That the Barberini picture is not a portrait of Beatrice is proven by a contemporary manuscript in the Cenci archives, which minutely describes her appearance ; and, besides several other points of dissimilarity with the painting, states that she had dimpled cheeks and wonderful blue eyes, while the portrait has smooth and undimpled cheeks and hazel eyes. In view of these facts it cannot even be granted that the picture is a reminiscent or an ideal work, executed by Guido in his later years, especially since there was a veritable and attested portrait of Beatrice at that time in the Villa Pamfili, which would have enabled him to avoid such great mistakes as to her features. The Barberini picture was in the possession of the Colonna family from a remote date until the beginning of the present century, and no record remains among the Colonna archives as to its history or origin. THE 'Beatrice: 39 Bunsen (in his Beschreibmig der Stadt Roni) says that the "so called " Cenci portrait is "falsely ascribed to Guido ; " and Nagler (in the Ktms tier- Lexicon) takes the same ground. Burckhardt's Der Cicerone speaks of it as " the so-called Cenci, professedly by Guido." Guerazzi, the author of the romance of Beatrice Cenci, naturally makes all that he can out of the portrait, and that is, that it is " referred to Guido's pencil by a compassionate tradition" (j)ietosa tradizione) , which is hardly a sufficient ground on which to base the claim, con- sidering how absolute is the historical and internal evidence which establishes as Guido's hundreds of his minor pictures. Story doubts that the por- trait is of Beatrice, or by Guido, and gives strong reasons for his refusal to accept the common belief. But even more weighty than these modern nega- tions are the remarkable silences of the contempo- rary biographers of the master, who neither allude to the Cenci affair, nor speak of any portrait which bears resemblance to the one now m question. Malvasia was Guido's intimate friend, and he gives a long hst of his pictures, including those then in the Colonna and Barberini Palaces, but there is no allusion to a work of this character 40 GUI DO. If he had painted the so-called Beatrice, the rare excellence thereof would have insured it conspicu- ous mention in this list. How, then, did the name of Beatrice Cenci become attached to the Barberini portrait? The answer to this question is not difficult to those who know the intensely objective character of the Roman folk-lore, and the absolute need which it feels of outward and visible objects for attesta- tion. Did the Lord Christ appear to St. Peter on the Appian Way ? Undoubtedly, for the prints of His sacred feet in the rock are still to be seen at the Church of St. Sebastian. Was St. Paul beheaded near the Ostian Road? Behold, there still flow the three marvellous fountains, which mark the places where his head bounded along the ground. The pathetic story of the Cenci was in all hearts ; and in later years, when it became needful to find some visible symbol thereof, the mysterious and pathetic face in the Colonna Palace was gradually thus elected, perhaps at first only hypothetically. In 1819 Shelley also identified it, in his tragedy of The Cenci, and Hawthorne, Dickens, Eaton, and those who came after, have told the tale as it was told to them. THE ' Beatrice: 4t But who was the lady whose features were thus marvellously portrayed ? And who was the mastei of such profound and subtle skill, whose brush prepared this amazing picture? These, indeed, are questions which may never be answered. 43 GUIDO. CHAPTER III. Mercantile Schemes. — ' The Massacre of the Innocents.' — RecaJ to Rome. — A Triumph, — The Pope's Kindness. — Frescos at Santa Maria Maggiore. GuiDO returned to Bologna in 1610, and resolved to abandon his profession. " Why should I wish," he said, " to waste my days in wrangling with nobles and contesting with court-officials, when I ought to work with gladness and quietness of soul ? What outcries do I hear every hour, about my long delays, or the exorbitance of my prices ! In little more than three years I have completed four grand works, each of which required all that time to do it justice, yet, renouncing every opportunity, and imperilling my health, I have done more than seemed ^ possible. They promised me seas and mountains, yet not only is the debt unpaid, but even my pension is complained of, which they would not do in the case of a lackey. I have in Primi's bank 2,000 crowns, and of this 800 are my profits, with which I do not know how I FORSAKING ART. 43 shall acquire the coimtships and marquisates of which they are dreaming. In France and in Spain our Primaticcios and Tibaldis have won titles and estates ; but not among us, where we see a Raphael dying, with the Government owing him so many thousand crowns that it seems more easy to give him a cardinal's hat than to pay the debt ; or where a wretched pension was denied to the son of Man- tegna, that great artist who was sought with such solicitations ; or where the unhappy Annibale Car- acci, in our own days, is so evilly entreated that he is driven to a mournful death." These were the sad and captious sentiments which Guido often expressed to his friends and admirers, who came to congratulate him on his happy return and on his bygone successes at court. He now gave himself entirely to the arrangement of the famous pictures and antiques that he had brought from Rome ; and having paid the great price of 2,000 crowns for other works of art, he sent out word that he should paint no more, except for his own amusement, but should take up the traffic in ancient pictures and designs. He said that he had frequently seen these articles pass through the hands of the dilettants, and enter the 44 GUIDO. galleries of England, France, and Holland, and that the sales were attended with great profit to the merchants. But Dionisio Calvart, his old njas- ter, upbraided him, with a paternal freedom, saying : " Such business as this is unworthy of your genius, and is fit only for tricksters and barterers." Guido's rivals, who had been dismayed at his appearance in Bologna, now reported that he had done all his wonderful works far away, at Rome, but when he returned home he became powerless ; that he dared not risk a comparison with Lodovico, or even with Brizio and Garbieri ; nay, but he shrank from com- peting with the youth Guercino, whom the Bolo- gnese were then exalting to the stars. They also spread a report that he was a man of arrogant pre- tensions, full of self-conceit and confidence, but feeble in execution. At last Guido took up his brush, as an efficient weapon against these persecutors, and accepted every commission that was offered him. He worked rapidly, with a certain masterly abandon, using methods and artifices which were esteemed as novel, because they wfere not known in the Roman and Lombard schools. But Tintoretto practised the same devices, and Guido had learned them BOLOGNA'S JEWELS. 45 while frescoing the Quirinal Chapel. He executed half-length figures for fifteen crowns each ; and for a trifling sum painted a Madonna and Child, fof the Marquis Angelelli. His first great work here was ' The Massacre of the Innocents/ for the Bero Chapel, in San Do- menico, in which he endeavored to show his com- petitors, who had published abroad that he was good only at painting single figures, that he possessed equal ability in composing groups. The mingled power and tenderness of this picture, and the vigor and skill with which such a crowd of hfe-size figures are grouped in so small a space, have made it a favorite subject of study with painters, and it has been copied hundreds of times. Stefanoni, Bolo- gnini, and others engraved this work ; and Marini composed a madrigal in its honor. It was taken to Paris by Napoleon's marshals, but is now preserved in the Bolognese Pinacoteca. His next work was the fresco of ' The Transfig- uration of St. Dominic,' in the church and over the tomb of that saint, to which he was called by the clergy in obedience to the will of the people, who insisted that no one but Guido should undertake such a sacred task. Valesio had already firescoed 46 GUIDO. in this place, and the monks erased his work, jut he cheerily said, " Who would not give up a good thing for a better one, or prefer Tasso to Ariosto ? " In the mean time the Pope wished to see Guido's excellent achievements in the new chapel, and when he heard that the artist was no longer in Rome, and that he had gone away so thoroughly dissatisfied as to have sworn never to set foot there again, he at first grieved greatly, and then flew into a frenzy of rage. The Cardinal-Nephew was sum- moned to his presence, and endeavored to condone the offence^of the Treasurer by stigmatizing Guido as "wishing to absorb more money than all the others together, laggardly in his work, incapable in judgment, and impertinent in manner." "No more, no more," cried the Pope; "we know our Guido very well, and have always found him very courteous and modest. If the painter demanded too much, what business was it of the Treasurer's ? Did he pay it out of his own money? Let Guido be given whatever he demands, if he will jeturn ; for it does not comport with our reputation to lose such a great man for the motive of avarice. Write to our Legate at Bologna to send him back to us, pledging our word to furnish him with all that he AN ANGRY CARDINAL. 47 desires." Thus Arpino reported the words of the Pope, as they were related to him by Cardinal Borghese. The Papal mandate was borne to Guido while he was frescoing the Chapel of St. Dominic, by the Cardinal-Legate himself, who was not politic enough to treat with dexterity and address ti--" artist's refusals, and spoke menacingly to him. Where- upon Guido boldly answered : " I absolutely will not go to Rome ; I had rather be torn to pieces. It is not that I do not desire once more to kiss the feet of the Pope, my most benign Prince, to whom I gladly acknowledge that all my honor and repu- tation are due. But his Ministers, continually arro- gating to themselves more than they should, do such things as I know are not only not intended by His Holiness, but are also displeasing to him." These words offended the Cardinal-Legate so deep- ly that he attempted to throw the artist into prison. But Guido had been invited by the Kings of France and Spain to reside at their courts, and he resolved to expatriate himself rather than become the inmate of a Bolognese dungeon. He therefore hid himself, until opportunity should arise for him to fly from the city. But the Marquis Facchenetti pointed out 48 GUIDO. to His Eminence how inexpedient it A^'ould be to inflict such a rigorous punishment for so shght a cause. "Prisons are for the \vicked," said the Marquis, " not for the virtuous ; a man so eminent as Guido merits no chains but those of gold. That skill which has made him unique in the world, exempts him from the penalties which might be inflicted on others." The noble Facchenetti then sought out Guido, and gained him over with sweet words ; showing him that virtue could not always contend against force, and that sometimes it ought to yield before the extravagances of the age, in order to shine gloriously in more happy seasons. "This," said he, "is an affair concerning your natural Prince, and not only that, but a Prince- Pontiff, before whose throne bow even those royal crowns to whose protection you wish to flee ; so that without the participation of His Holiness you could find no refuge there. Herein you must make a virtue of necessity, and return voluntarily, instead of being led back by force. It will indeed redound greatly to your honor and advantage, and you shall be under no further obligations to the Ministers." Guido accepted the advice of his noble protect- A ROMAN TRIUMPH. 49 or, and forthwith set out on his journey to Rome, attended by Vincenzo Rossi, a young pupil of Cal- vart. He also took with him his beloved mother, that she too might enjoy the splendors of the Papal city, and the honors which were bestowed upon her son. As he approached Rome, over the ancient Fla- minian Way, he was met, beyond the Ponte MoUe, by a long line of carriages pertaining to the Roman cardinals and princes, who vied with each other for the honor of bearing him into the city. When he appeared before the Pope, no sooner had he uttered the words, " Most Blessed Father," in beginning to excuse his refractory conduct, than Paul spared him further humiHation by saying (as Guido often told Malvasia), "What have we done to you, Sig- nore Guido, that you should desert us in such a way, when we had the most need of your work? If you have been shabbily treated, it was not our intention, and it was not a great thing to have mentioned it to us. Were you denied leave to speak to us, and with a familiarity conceded to but very few? Come, now, count it all as never having happened, and speak no more of it. Mind to serve us, and insure that we are satisfied with you, 50 GUTDO. and you shall not have need to envy any one in this court." Guido afterwards said that he stood at the foot of the throne, deeply affected and con- fused, for although the contumacious obstinacy of Michael Angelo was reproved with equal mild- ness by Julius II., yet the grim aspect of that Pon- tiff made him tremble; " Whereas ' Paul V., in speaking to me, showed a face so composed, and spoke with such gentleness, that all my inward parts were moved, and my heart was broken, when I thought how I had held him in dis- pleasure." The artist was quickly and most liberally remu- nerated for his past labors : a carriage was placed at his disposal ; frequently various delicate articles of food were sent to him, with two kinds of wine every morning from the Papal cellars. It was also arranged that he should draw eighty crowns a fort- night from the banker, besides his usual pension. He installed his mother as mistress of a house in the Via di Capo le Case, between the Piazza di Spagna and the Quirinal ; and set up a commo- dious, establishment for himself, in the Ripetta. Francesco, the Cardinal Regnant, came here so frequently to his studio, that the master at last used HOSTILE NOBLES. 51 to retire into another room, and leave word that he was out, since he held that so conspicuous a favov was full of constraint. But all these honors did not fall upon Guide without causing the courtiers to murmur at such ■ promotion shown to a mere painter, who, they said, enjoyed greater consideration than princes, and was treated more kindly in proportion as he served worse. The Treasurer, Spinola, made an outcry against him, charging that his work at Santa Maria Maggiore was perversely delayed, that he might the longer draw his pension. " The Pope is too good and too indulgent," said Spinola: "unless this fellow is stimulated with the same threat which Pope Julius made to Michael Angelo, to have him tlirown do\vn from his painting-stage unless he makes more haste, he will never live to see the end of this work." But the chapel was finished in due time, and the Pope visited it with a cortege of .princes and prel- ates, and said, " Now we know well if our Guido has told us truly." " It is true, most Blessed Father," said Arpino, " that the work followed his disposition nearly ; but it cannot be done thus, and quickly." The Pope continued to admire and praise the pic- 52 GUIDO. tures, and Arpino added, " Ours are painted ni the manner of men, but Guide's are the works of an angel." Paul repUed, " He is a great man, it can- not be denied." The master was advised to stay some time at court, since the applause attending his last work appeared to be repairing the preju- dices of the long delay and heavy expense. Ar- pino asserted that he had heard the Pope say that it was necessary now to provide Guido with a pension, and to honor him with the rank of a knight. But, finding himself cut off unseasonably from his allowance at the banker's, and desiring to avoid further trouble with the Ministers, he de- parted suddenly from Rome, and returned into his own country. His first act on arriving at Bologna was a beau- tiful tribute of respect. Wending his way to the studio of his old master, Dionisio Calvart, even as he had in early years been wont to do, he for- mally asked for the venerable artist's counsel and correction. THE GREAT PIETA. S3 CHAPTER IV. At Bologna. — The Pieti, — The Assumption, for 3«noa. — Man- tuan Commissions. — At Ravenna and Naples. — Once more at Rome. — ' The Archangel Michael.' GuiDO now resumed his frescoing in the Chapel of St. Dominic, which, when uncovered, appeared, says the old chronicler, "precisely as he repre- sented it, a piece torn out of Paradise." The paintings were long afterwards the models for fres- co-painters, and were closely studied even by Albano. Another famous composition was paint- ed by Guido about this time, for the altar of the Leoni family, in St. Thomas's Church. During the French Revolution, this picture was cut in pieces, which were sold to various amateurs. Still another great altar-piece of this period was that of ' The Holy Trinity,' which Guido executed in twenty- seven days for the new Pellegrini Church at Rome. The Senate of Bologna commissioned Guido to paint the Pieta and four patron saints of the city ; and he began his work by sketching the figure? 54 GUI DO. and putting them in the assigned places, in order that he might get the right effect of distance. When this painting was completed, it showed to the Caracci sect that he could vary his style from the delicate to the savage, and could impart an absolutely terrifying expression to his figures. The Pieta was finished in November, 1616, and the Senate paid the artist 450 crowns, and then or- dered the Gonfaloniere to present him also with a gold chain and medal. In 16 1 8 there came an order from Genoa, that one of the best artists of Bologna should \>r engaged to paint a picture of the Assumption. Guido was suggested on all sides as the one who ought to execute it, but he demanded the enor- mous price of 1,000 crowns, though Lodovico offered to do the work for 500 crowns. The younger painter received the commission, and made Lodovico aware that he had now found how to get more than ten crowns for his pictures. In this work Guido exerted himself to the utmost to show the depth of his researches and the excel- lence of his art, designing and arranging the Apos- tles in varying and unaccustomed ways, but all in such harmony that the voice of envy was silent, GUIDCS MASTER. 55 and only high encomiums were heard. When it was exposed to public view in the studio, the crowd was so great that it was necessary to protect th^e picture by refusing the people admittance except one by one ; and here the work was examined and praised by the foremost artists of Bologna. Among the most delighted visitors was old Dioni- sio Calvart, for whom Guido arranged a seat, and ordered his assistants to serve him with attention, " For he was my first and true master, to whom I acknowledge my indebtedness for all that I know." Then Guido went out and hid himself, for he had not the heart to stay and hear the praises which awaited him ; but even this did not avail to protect him from confusion, for Calvart forced his way in to his old pupil's retreat, crying, " O ray Guido, my Guido, blessed be thy hands ! " Seizing then those hands, he pressed them between his own, and ten- derly kissed them, and bathed them with tears. " You speak thus," said Guido, " to encourage me, and from inborn good nature. I beseech you rather to show me my defects, so that I may not only correct them in this work, but in the future absta'n from them in others, and thus become more worthy of your love, and do honor to you as my master." $6 GUIDO. Lodovico Caracci also came in the crowd, and after he had carefully studied the picture, he said to his followers, " In this work Guido has surpassed himself; and gives matter for thought to all who use the brush." Barbieri, Guercino, and Domeni- chino also visited the studio, and devoted hours to contemplating the new achievement. The former concluded that such a noble manner was a peculiar characteristic of the artist himself, connatural with him, and hence not imitable ; and Domenichino reported that he considered it the most perfect manner, but that it came by nature, and not by study nor the rules of art. During all these visits Guido remained hidden in a little room adjacent, whose door was covered from observation by the picture itself ; and this he did, not only to be removed from fulsome compli- ments, but also to note in what regards fault was found. He was indeed much troubled by the com- ments of Barbieri and Domenichino, and said : " What do they mean by ' a peculiar characteristic, a connatural virtue ' ? These gifts are acquired by incessant study, and wearisome labors : they are not found by chance, nor inherited while sleeping. What ' characteristic ' ? It is no other than the CLASSIC STUDY. 57 enforced and disciplined habit of repeated obser- vations on the choice of the most good and the most beautiful. These perfect ideas, which they say are revealed to me in beatific visions, are made known to whosoever seeks them, and are chiefly apparent in the beautiful heads of the antique stat- ues ; and the eight years study which I have given to these, fortifying myself in their matchless har- mony, is the only source of these so-called mira- cles of art. Glance at my early works, and say if such feebleness was prophetic of my progress, and the point to which I have arrived. I have studied more than these others have ever done, denying to my weariness the needful repose of the night, and hastening to my work before I had taken food enough for my wants." Between 16 14 and 1620 Guido was invited by the Duke of Mantua to visit his court, and paint certain frescos. But the master was then so busily engaged that he sent his best pupils, Gessi and tjemenu, vaunting that they could execute any great work, and helping them only by verbal advice. At a later day he painted four great pictures for the Duke, showing scenes in the life of Hercules. These were presented to King Charles I. of Eng- S8 GUIDO. land, and after the English Revolution found theii way into France, where they are still preserved, at the Louvre. During the same period Guido was urged to visit Ravenna, by Cardinal Aldobrandini, the Archbishop of that city ; and the advice of the Cardinal-Legate of Bologna was joined to the courteous letters of Aldobrandini. Guido therefore went to Ravenna, with Gessi and Sementi, and took also Marescotti. The painting of 'The Falling of Manna in the Wilderness,' which Lanzi calls "a perfect miracle of beauty," was the chief production of this journey, and is in the Sacramental Chapel of the Cathedral. It was executed by Guido himself, and illustrated noble ideas and well-grouped figures with a dainty and vivacious coloring, amazing the Ravennese people. In the frescos of the dome, Sementi and Gessi promptly carried out the ideas and seconded the genius of the master. Guido also painted ' Elijah fed by the Angel ' in the Cathedral ; and his pupils frescoed the ceiling of the Sacramental Chapel with a representation of Christ in Glory. In 162 1 the superb Chapel of St. Januarius, at Naples, was approaching completion, and several of the foremost artists of Italy were summoned to NEAPOLITAA' BRA VOES. 59 decorate its walls. Among these were Domeni- chino, Lanfranco, and Guido, the latter of whom took with him his assistant Gessi. But their engagement lasted only a short time, on account of the fierce hostility and appalling threats of the Neapolitan artists. Guido had designed several cartoons tor the chapel, and had commenced to fresco, when the Neapolitans began their persecu- tions. He was followed through the streets by armed ruffians ; letters came to him threatening poison and the stiletto ; and his servant Domenico was slain. For the last crime Belisario, one of the hostile artists, was imprisoned ; and his hired assas- sin, Giandomenico of Capua, was sent to the galleys. Afterwards another of Guido's men was caught by the Neapolitans, who gave him a sound drubbing, telling him that such should be the fate of every one who roamed about in cities not his own, taking the bread from the mouths of the resi- dents thereof. When the servant came home, and the marks of his cudgelling were perceived, Guido was greatly alarmed, and having written a letter of explanation and apology, he left it on a little table in one of the rooms assigned to him, and then secretly fled from Naples, swearing that he would 6o GUIDO. never again run such risks in a foreign land, vhile he was so richly employed and highly honored at home. He returned to Rome, where he remained for a long time. Guido frequently followed an example as old as the days of Zeuxis, by declining to set prices on his pictures when sought for by noblemen and wealthy persons, preferring to send the pictures as presents to them, and in return he would always receive a much larger sum, by way of a present, than he could have asked. He painted a head of a saint, for a Roman merchant, and desired to have it appraised by the artists of the city. These declared that such a work was priceless, and that they could not imagine how it had been worked out, seeing that no traces of the brush were visible, and that it appeared to have been exhaled, or breathed down, rather than painted. By the merchant's order, the banker Davia oifered a great purse to Guido, from which he was to take as much money as he liked, whereupon the master counted out the trifling sum of twenty pistoles. In his contracts for new works he always served himself by middlemen and friends, since he ab- horred the name of " price " in this profession. A REPRIMAND. 6l which, as he said, ought only to speak of presents and honorariums. In occurrences of this kind, he was careful to avail himself of polite and courteous gentlemen, using mercenaries and hired servants only for the low and domestic duties of the household. During one of his later sojourns at Rome, Guido was commissioned to paint a picture of the repulse of Attila by St. Leo, to be placed in St. Peter's Church; and the sum of 400 crowns was ad- vanced on account thereof. He wrote to a friend, " I have desired that no one shall come upon my painting-stage, not even cardinals, and the Congregation has consented." Nevertheless he waited so long that Cardinal Pamfili (afterwards Pope Innocent X.) summoned him before the Congregation, and stated the grievances against him very clearly, showing that the master should not do violence to his genius, but should strive to attain the highest excellence, considering the sov- ereign dignity of his patron and prince, and the peculiar majesty of St. Peter's Church, in which he was working. Cardinal Spinola, the Papal Treas- urer, also summoned Guido to his palace, and rudely demanded to know if he never intended to 62 GUIDO. begin the work for which he had been paid, and if he thought to trifle thus hghtly with his contracts. The artist was astounded and imbittered, and an- swered, with more piquancy than relevancy, " My Lord Cardinal, the Pope can make as many of your equals as he chooses, but to make my equals rests with no power but that of God." Guido's most malevolent failing now involved him in serious difficulties ; for he had already lost at the gaming-table the entire amount which he had received for the Attila picture. He now wished to depart from Rome, but was in great trouble because he could not repay this unearned advance and his other debts. At last he borrowed enough money, and deposited it in the Bank of the Holy Spirit, to the credit of the Reverend Fabric, after which he made the bricklayers scratch out a glory of angels which he had painted in the church, and then fled to Bologna. The Roman court, ever curious as to new events, variously discussed the affair ; some of its members excusing and defending the runaway, and upbraid- ing the fretful anxiety of Pamfili. It was even said that the Pope himself had remarked, with an arch and peaceful smile, " Pictoribus et Poesis omnia A FALSE TRADITION. 63 licent; and it is necessary to be kindly indulgent to these great men, because that excess of spirits which renders them what they are, is the same that forces them into whimsical irritation. We know how disdainful Guido can be, not only at Bologna, when we were the Legate there, and pacified him in some nonsensical quarrel with other artists, but when he had the hardihood to resist the orders of Pope Paul, summoning him to Rome. It is well known how severely he has handled even the ambassadors, whom we ourselves treated with respect. But he is right ; and all is forgiven to his great virtue, seeing there is but one Guido in the world." It is a matter of tradition that Guido was deeply offended at the advice of Cardinal Pamfili, and that he took a perpetual revenge by portraying him as Satan, under the feet of the Archangel Michael, in the picture which is now at Rome. But Guido was deeply grieved at this popular rumor, and swore to Malvasia that it was without a shadow of truth, and doubtless originated in the fancies of the Ro- man wits, or was scattered abroad by his enemies. He added that he should not have had the temerity to send such an insolent satire to Rome, especially 64 GUIDO. against so great a prelate; and if Pamfili's face gave an appearance of probability to the public reports, it was not the fault of the brush or the pencil. Guido charged Malvasia, who was about to visit Rome, to undeceive the court as quickly as possible. ' The Archangel Michael ' was painted on the order of Cardinal Sant' Onofrio, the brother of Urban VIII., who sent to Guido the measures of its proposed place, and a description of the light in which it would hang. This noble work was pre- sented by the Barberini family to the Capuchin Church, near their palace, where it still remains, having been carefully secreted while the troops of the First Napoleon occupied Rome. Hawthorne called it " one of the most beautiful things in the world, one of the human conceptions that are im- bued most deeply with the celestial." When Guido sent the ' St. Michael ' he also wrote thus : " I wish I had had the wings of an angel, to have ascended into Paradise, and there to have beheld the forms of those beatified spirits, from which I might have copied my Archangel : but, not being able to mount so high, it was in vain for me to search his semblance here below; so that I was forced to BARBERINPS CHARITY. 65 make an introspection into my own mind, and into that Idea of Beauty which I have formed in my imagination." Cardinal Barberini often excused and extenuated Guido's derelictions, attributing them to unseemly behavior of the Ministers of State, rather than to contumacy; and adducing his own case as an illustration of how, by treating the artist kindly and considerately, one might secure his efficient aid. Father Ferrari was talking one day with the Cardi- nal, and said that although he could not decorate his great book on flowers with the names of a venerable nobility, he should have those of the foremost painters of the century, among whom he placed Guido Reni as first. The Cardinal smiled, and showing him the difficulty of the undertaking, advised him to abstain from such an impracticable pretension. But Ferrari's confidential friend, the Marquis Malvezzi, was able to demand and obtain the desired favor ; and when the sketch was for- warded to Ferrari, he honored the intercession of the Marquis and the courtesy of Guido by sending the latter a present of two splendid salvers of sil- ver. Guido wrote a letter of thanks, promising to give him in return a picture, so that in colors alsc 66 CUIDO. he might have an opportunity to prove his grati- tude. Long afterwards Ferrari prayed Colonna to present his regards to Guido, and dexterously re- mind him of the promised favor. The master led Colonna to his secret chambers above, and examin- ing the sketches there preserved, both of them con- cluded that the most favorable subject to give the father was a half-length figure of Christ. Having placed it on the easel, he finished the work in a few hours, while Colonna marvelled at his velocity of operation ; and Barberini was still more amazed, and told the father that he had had better fortune with Guido than even the Pope himself; adding that such noble and high-strung souls must be sought with dexterity, not with violence. HOME HONORS. 67 CHAPTER V. Honors at Bologna. — Princely Visitors. — '"'-'* Cardinals. — ' The Abduction of Helen.' — The Castelfranco Assumption. — ' The Samson.' — Minor Works. When Guido returned to Bologna, and took up his abode there, the saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country was for once untrue, for he was adored by the people, esteemed by the nobles, and served by all. No great pubUc work was undertaken, unless approved by his advice ; nor did the cavaliers ever have a tournament or joust, without inviting him to accept a favorable place thereat. The first visits of the successive Cardinal- Legates were paid to him ; and their courtesies and offers were without limit, although he wisely restricted himself in accepting them. Cardinal Sacchetti was the only one of the Legates who could ever get him out to a dinner-party, and of this the eminent ecclesiastic never ceased to boast. Nor did any one ever pass through Bologna, however great they might be, but that they as- 68 GUIDO. teemed it as a favor if they could see Guido, md gaze upon him while he worked. When the Cardinal-Prince Charles of Tuscany was on his way to the great festival of Modena, he called upon Guido, and, pressing his hands affec- tionately, begged that he would paint something in his presence. Having ordered a fresh canvas, in about two hours the master finished a head of Hercules; and he received therefor a golden chain, enclosed in a silver casket, from which hung a medal bearing the line : " Hoc mage qtcam mufius, pignus Amoris erit.^^ Cardinal Cornari also visited the studio, desirous to see in what manner the artist developed his ideas, and in less than four hours he completed for him a head of the Blessed Virgin. The Cardinal placed a purse of sequins in his hand ; but Guido opened it and.took out a few pieces, returning the rest to his patron, who, being unable to make him accept more, drew a gold chain from the pocket of his robe, and constrained the proud artist to accept it as a present. While the French ambassador, D'Husset, was waiting in Bologna to stand as godfather to the young Count Pepcli, in the name of the Most Chris- A TRUE ITALIAN: 69 tian King, he visited Guide's studio, attended by forty carriages full of nobles. During the two hours which he spent in looking at the various pictures in these rooms, the master painted for him a Ma- donna, on whose completion the ambassador gave him a gold chain worth a hundred pistoles. The attendant nobles were profoundly amazed, and said that they envied that pencil, which could bring as much profit in two hours as a good estate could in a year. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, on his return from Germany, took pains to visit Guido, and propounded to him the question which was then ever-present to each inhabitant of plundered Italy : " Are you a Spaniard or a Frenchman ? " (in sym- pathies). The noble answer, worthy of Mazzini, was, " I am a true Italian, Most Serene Highness, since our nation has ruled both those peoples in ancient days." "Yet," urged the Duke, "if you were forced to adhere either to France or to Spain, which would you choose?" The brave artist re- plied, "That which would be the most useful, or the least pernicious, to our Italy." He very rarely returned visits, even those of great men, stating his belief that their visits were 70 GUIDO. made to the talents which God had given him, but in no sense to himself personally, wherefore he never received callers elsewhere than in the rooms where he labored. He was accustomed to paint with his mantle about him, gathered gracefully over his left arm. His pupils vied with each other to serve him, esteeming themselves fortunate to have opportunities to clean his brushes, or to hand them to him, or to prepare his palette. There were many princes and cardinals, who protected the artist, and defended him against the calumnies which were heaped upon him by the haughty and capricious, as well as by his distanced rivals. The nobles and prelates who lived or were stationed at Bologna were among his earnest de- fenders, and included Cardinals Tonti, Aldobran- dini, Sfondrati, Spada, and Sacchetti. The two last-named had a compact with him by which they might visit him at any time, and amuse them- selves as they saw fit, but without intruding any suggestions. It is related that Cardinal Sacchetti came one day, and found him half-undressed, and being shaved ; and when Guido put down the basin, and endeavored to rise; His Eminence seized the doffed garments, and swore to leave THE 'HELEN: 71 him forever, unless he sat down just as he was before. Cardinal Spada was also a skilful diplomatist with the intraci-able artist, and when Earberini urged him to solicit the completion of the picture of 'The Abduction of Helen,' some time since begun in Rome for the King of Spain, he avoided all such violence and urgency as would have hard- ened Guido against it, and showed to him that the Spanish Ambassador was about to depart from Rome, and that unless the picture was finished in time for him to take it, he should lose the opportu- nity to win the esteem of one of the greatest mon- archs of the world. Beyond that, also, he should consider his own dignity, and the honor of his country, nay, of all Italy, then in his person most rich in the virtues of art. At the same time he requested Guido to make his portrait, and by this means coming more frequently to the studio, he always paused before that great picture, appearing each time more fascinated with it, and in this way easily stimulated the artist to finish it, to please him. When it was exposed to* view in the studio, it was visited by great and admiring crowds, not only from Bologna, but even firom Lombardy and the 72 GUI DO. Romagna; and every one who saw it desired to come yet again. Annoyed by the cold reception of his picture, by the Spanish Ambassador, Guido ordered that it should be sent back to Bologna, and Cardinal Spada soon secured its sale to the Queen-Mother of France. It is now preserved in the Louvre. * The Magdalen ' was painted for the master's dear friend Rinaldi, as a remembrance of gratitude. Every time that Cardinal Spada came to Rinaldi's house, to the private sessions of the Academy, he wished that his seat should be placed opposite this Magdalen, from which he would never remove his eyes, being transported by the ecstasy of that celes- tial idea. Moreover, when it was exposed one day in a religious procession, it was accidentally touched and slightly injured by the halberd of a Swiss guard, who was driving back the crowd, and the Cardinal was so moved by fear and sorrow, that, going out quickly from between the Vice- Legate and the Gonfaloniere, he fell upon the soldier and stayed his hand. When the picture was stolen, soon after- wards, it was even suspected that Cardinal Spada knew what became of it ; and a graceful sonnet expressed a hope that the thieves, on contemplat- CASTELFRANCO'S PICTURE. 73 ing the face of the fak Hebrew penitent, would themselves be moved to contrition and restitution. Having been exhorted frequently by Spada's train-bearer to pay court at the feasts of the Cardi- nal, in recognition of the courtesies and obligations received from His Eminence, the angry artist at last cried out, "What obligations? I would not exchange my pencil for his cardinal's hat. And seeing that is the case, who can bid me to fawn upon him?" In 1623 Guido painted two pictures for Cardinal Gozzadini, who paid him 235 lire. One of these was a small Madonna ; the other (still in Bologna) was entitled Ecce Salvator Mundi, and represented the young Christ, holding a globe in both hands^ The master also copied and enlarged the head of Bindo Altoviti, from a medal made by Michael Angelo, and presented it to his generous patron, Jacopo Altoviti, the Patriarch of Antioch. Another portrait of this time represented Giacomo Meni- chino, the apothecary of Pope Gregory XV. ' The Assumption of the Virgin,' painted for the church at Castelfranco, is a beautiful composition, in which Mary appears rising on the clouds, at- tended by angels, and looking into heaven. The 74 GUIDO. penalty of excommunication was denounced against whoever should remove this picture from the church, and J:o this fact its preservation there is due. During the French Revolutionary era, one of Napoleon's generals came to Castelfranco to remove the picture to Paris; but while he was delayed at lunch in the rector's house, certain citi- zens hid Guido's picture, and replaced it with a copy. Masini, the ecclesiastic for whom the mas- ter painted this composition, stated in his Bologna Perlustrata (republished in 1666) that when the picture was first unveiled, the two candles which burned before it for two hours continuously did not decrease a single hair's-breadth, being kept intact l?y miraculous power. Another great work was the ' Samson Victorious over the Philistines,' which Guido painted for the hall of Count Zambeccari. At a later day, when certain foreigners were negotiating to buy it, Bon- compagni, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Eologna, paid 4,000 crowns for the picture. In 16S4 he bequeathed it to the Gonfaloniere and Senators of Bologna, and when that magistracy was abolished, in 1 796, the picture was placed in the Pinacoteca, where it now remains. THE SILVERSMITH. 75 The ' Cleopatra ' was painted for Count Bar- bazzi, and was a portrait of his Countess, who was " the sun of beauty." Bruni sung its praises, in the sonnet beginning " Ingenious pencil." Two beautiful companion pictures were the Judith and the David, painted for Marshal Crequy, and after- wards owned by the King of France. Marini celebrated the David in a sonnet beginning " Be- hold the Hebrew Alcides." 'The Rape of Europa' was executed for the Duke of Guastalta, who paid 700 crowns for it, intending to present it to a cer- tain Grandee of Spain. The picture of St. Roch in prison, with his dog by his side, and a comfort- ing angel above, was painted for 200 crowns. It long remained at Carpi, and is now in the Pal- ace at Modena. The ' Fortuna ' painted for the Abbot Gavotti represented an allegorical female figure, holding an open purse of money, and with a httle Cupid by her side. Several repHcas of the Fortuna were made, with variations, and are now found in the Louvre, in Rome, and also in Bologna. There was a certain Flemish silversmith, by the name of Jacobs, living in Bologna at this time, and he founded there a college for the youth of his nation. He was withal a friend of Guido, who 76 GUIDO. painted that portrait of him which is still preserved in the Flemish College. Jacobs also commissioned him to depict ' The Baptism of Christ,' which was finished and sent to Flanders in 1623. Senator Paleotti once requested him to paint a picture of the Invention of the Cross, for the Mendicant! Church, wherein so many of the art- treasures of Venice were enshrined. But Guido refused, saying that he did not know how to work in the manner of Paul Veronese, and did not wish to use the manner of Tintoretto. He kept up a long and friendly correspondence with Palma Gio- vane, who urged him to paint a Cleopatra, in rival- ship with three other half-figures, one by Palma, one by Guercino, and the third by Renieri, the painter of the Venetian RepubUc. " I could not do it," said Guido, " except for friendship's sake ; for I know that I could have no chance of success in a country that even in painters considers motives of state, and does not regard those who are not its own." These four pictures were made for the merchant Boselli, and it was soon reported in Bologna that Palma's was the favorite, and that it was placed on the Campanile of St. Mark. " Did I not tell you so," said Guido, "that in that SPECULA tion: 7 7 country the Venetian Palma would win the palm \j)alma\ ? " The merchant died soon after, and the Cleopatra was acquired by Renieri, who held it as the diamond of his collection. The rage for Guide's pictures was felt even among the common artisans, and was in part due to the great profits which some of these had made in re-selling them. For example, a small copy of Annibale's ' Charity of San Rocco,' which he had made during his youthful days, for 2 pistoles, was now sold successively for 20, 60, 100, and 130 pistoles ; the Magi, which he had received 10 crowns for, was sold for 400 ; the Eurydice, painted for Lambertini for 20 crowns, was bought by certain Frenchmen for 300 ; the Magdalen and St. Cecilia, painted for Zambeccari for 80 crowns, was bought by the Cardinal-Archbishop of Bologna for 300. The agent Gazino bought of Guido a life-size picture of St. Jerome for 300 crowns, which he sold to Sartore for 500 ; and the latter, being soon afterwards in urgent need of money, allowed a German baron to purchase it for 74c crowns. The Magdalen which Musotti acquired for 60 crowns, went for 100 to a person who re-sold it to Count Morandi of Piacenza for 116 pistoles 78 CUIDO. The * Head of St. Peter,' for which the priests ol St. Philip de Neri's Church at Fano paid 50 crowns, MacchiavelU bought for 100, and his heirs sold it to Cardinal Vidoni for 228. A fruitful cause of trouble was found in the extensive sales of works attributed to Guido, but not from his hand, being sometimes barefaced forgeries, and sometimes paintings by his scholars, which he had only retouched in giving instruction. Malvasia states that even in his day many of the nobles of Italy possessed these works, which they had bought at great prices. Titian, indeed, had countenanced this manner of deception, and sold the pictures of his pupils, scantily retouched by himself, as his own ; but Guido, as soon as he was aware of these knavish tricks, opposed himself thereto with high passion and unyielding courage, and ejected from his studio the yoimg men who had been privy to them. HIS TWO MANNERS. 79 CHAPTER VI. Guido's Manners. — His Favorite Artists. — Pupils, — Models. GuiDo's works are divided into those of the first and the second manner, and critics differ as to which is preferable of the two. Malvasia calls the first the more pleasing, and the other the more studied. Scanelli says that he adopted the second manner after seeing the rapid changes and the loss of brilliancy which befell the pictures of the Caracci. The first manner reflected those of the Ca- racci and Caravaggio, with strong lights and deep shadows, and a striving after effect is everywhere visible. The second manner was the outgrowth of his persistent efforts after grace and delicacy, which he at last succeeded in uniting with the strength which the Caracci had taught him. The master worked most carefully on the pictures of his riper years, never being quite satisfied, and showing in them the fruits of new researches, and a thousand gentle devices. He also began to blend certain &> GUIDO. livids and azures among his half-tints and flesh-col- ors, in order to convey the semi-transparency of delicate flesh when under certain lights. This was the essential feature of the second manner, which was held by some as too languid and delicate, and by others as sovereign in its tenderness and sweet- ness. Some critics attribute to him a third manner, in which they include the paintings executed after his return from Naples, when he was forced to rapid work from the need of raising money for his gam- bling debts. He won the title of " the father of facility," but at a great cost of labor. As a bee flies from flower to flower, so did Guido forage on all sides, tasting only the most exquisite and per- fect. He took from Raphael his well-proportioned figures, draped with antique costumes copied from the classic statues, although in the proper place and time he gave these a greater amplitude, ap- proaching therein the manner of Veronese. He learned to make heads of most beautiful mien ; and no one could paint children more tender and life-like, hands and feet better designed, nude fig- ures more accurate and precise, or garments more fitting and magnificent. He was always glad to LANZrS VERDICT. ■ 8l undertake pictures of the Crucifixion, to show how thoroughly he understood the human torso ; and for this reason he may be excused for sometimes introducing undraped busts into his pictures. He justly claimed to be unrivalled in the arrangement of hair and veils, and of drapery around heads, giving them ever new and more gracious fornis ; and he frequently showed his pupils, by means of tresses of hemp or silk-thread, how to arrange hair uniquely, to take it up, and to knot it, and also how to leave it in an artificial negligence, falling in blond and waving masses, as it appears in his Mag- dalens and Sibyls. The grave historian Lanzi thus speaks of our Guido : — " And in truth this artist aimed less at copying beautiful countenances, than at forming for himself a certain general and abstract idea of beauty, as we know was done by the Greeks, and this he modulated and animated in his own style. . . . There is no one action, position, or expres- sion at all injurious to his figures ; the passions of grief, terror, sorrow, are all combined with the expression of beauty ; he turns them every way as he lists, he changes them into every attitude, always equally pleasing, and every one equally en- 82 GUIDO. titled to the eulogy of displaying n every action, and in every step, the beauty which secretly ani- mates and encourages it." Guido said to Malvasia : " There is a super- human character in the countenances of Lippo Dalmasio's Madonnas, which makes me think that his pencil was moved by more than mortal skill, since he exhibited in those pure mirrors of the ideal a holiness, a modesty, a purity, and a gravity which no modem artist, however excellent or studious, has ever been able to attain to. Lippo was most devotional towards the Mother of God, whence we should not marvel that his hand so well expressed the image which he bore imprinted on his heart. He never painted her without fasting the previous evening, and receiving absolution and the Bread of Angels on- the morning after. . . . Finally, having become a Carmelite monk, he died as he had lived, in sanctity, nevermore painting for hire, but only for devotion." The master always maintained, and enforced on his pupils, a great respect for the ancient Italian painters, praising them for a certain comeliness and devotion in sacred things. He was an avowed enemy of restorers, and once when an artist was K GUIDO'S EXEMPLARS. 6^ brightening up certain time-stained frescos ol Livio Agresti, in the Church of the Holy Spirit, at Ravenna, Guido fell upon him with reproaches and blows, and forbade him to continue. He held Raphael and Correggio in the highest esteem, and after them he admired Paul Veronese, whom he called his little Paul {Paolino) . He said that whoever should unite the wisdom and justice of Raphael to the vivacity and rich coloring of Correggio, and the judgment and majesty of Veronese, would surpass all others. He praised Bagnacavallo in his paintings of children, and prided himself on having learned from his works how to make such figures plump and full of flesh, since in this regard Bagnacavallo had surpassed all his predecessors, who had painted their infants too lithe and muscular. He called Parmegiano the graceful feather, and Albert Diirer the very great master. He admired and closely studied Diirer 's engravings, and availed himself of his rich textures of cloths and hie manner of rumpling them, but avoided the German's dryness and precision in trifles. His pupfls were taught to copy the works of the Caracci, and were carefully grounded in the art of imitation without much regard to mi«?'"*^^i3e; which could be acquired by practice. 84 GUIDO. Guido usually praised his contemporaries ana rivals ; and although he did not speak well of his enemies, he refrained from openly revihng them, and contented himself with playing upon them a few pungent phrases. He said that Guercino was a great colorist, indeed he was a great man, but he did not Raphaelize ; Caravaggio was too natural- istic ; Arpino was too daring ; Albano was no painter, but a gentleman who paid attention to little thoughts, and amused himself by trifles. Domenichino and Rubens were his delights, and he often discoursed upon them most honorably, saying that, with the exception of Raphael and Veronese, no artist had ever lived who could surpass them in invention, or in the erudition of their compositions. The marine pictures of II Montagnola were highly esteemed by the master, who once purchased eight of them, and sent thirty-two pistoles to their painter. II Montagnola, however, returned half of this sum, and Guido, praising his self-control, sent him a present consisting of a bundle of drawings and designs. Guido had a vast number of pupils, of whom no fewer than two hundred became famous, including such masters as Lanfranco, Gessi, Sementi, Sirani, PUPILS. 85 and Pesarese. While he held chambers in the Pescherie, he had eighty pupils at once, represent- ing nearly every nation of Europe. But the ad- vantages attending this concurrence of disciples were almost counterbalanced by the incessant rival- ries and mutual upbraidings of the young men, who often came even to blows in the studio, and rendered it impossible for the master to work. Some of them ruined his best pictures by careless- ness, and others copied his fresh designs. Other works they secretly copied by etchings, and had the results published, as happened even in regard to the great picture of 'Fortuna.' After a time the master established a different studio for his own use, and separated his pupils into classes, which were allotted to different rooms, whither their several tasks were sent. He retained in his own presence several students, including Pietro Lauii, Lorenzo Loli, a skilful etcher and painter of altar- pieces, Giuliano Dinarelli, and Sirani, a skilful artist, in whom he reposed great confidence. Guido said that as in the school of grammar so also in that of design, each pupil should pay the master a pistole a month ; and adduced the example of Apelles, Echion, Melanthius, and others, who 86 GUIDO. were obliged to give an Attic talent to Pamphilus before he would teach them his art. He also argued that by this means the rabble, being unable to pay so much, would be excluded from the noble profession. Furthermore, since he devoted himself to teaching them, both as a matter of love and of duty, they should desire to avoid the unavaihng loss of their money and the reproaches of their parents, by coming to the studio to study, and not to make an uproar, as was common among the young artists of those days. Having been informed that all his pupils were aping his manner, he replied : " Yes, but they attach themselves to the worst traits, and neglect the best. It is designing that is difficult, but coloring is quickly attained." When it was sug- gested that they robbed his thoughts of their origi- nal importance, he added : " Let them go on in so doing ; until they take them away from me, they give me no trouble. It would indeed be annoying if they should make their own inventions, and be therein equal to me." Not only his own pupils, but the masters of other cities and schools sought to follow Guido's manner ; and among these were Maratti, Sacchi, and even I NG RATES. 87 Cortona himself, who also overcharged their works with white lead. Even Domenichino left the stronger manner of the Caraccij and imbibed the tenderness of Guido. Pesarese, who affected to rival him, finally confessed that he was inimitable, and said that every head which he painted was a miracle of the pencil. Malvasia, indeed, saw him kneel down before Guido's picture of St. Peter, and kiss it twice, saying, " This indeed is priceless, and is of more value than a great composition painted by any one else." Guido was annoyed from time to time by the discovery that he could not confide in intimate friends, grateful pupils, near relatives, or faithful servants. The benefits done to Sementi and Gessi, to whom he taught all that he could impart, •were repaid only with ingratitude ; and the feigned humility of Pesarese at least was replaced by a rash presumption and a hardy competition. His nephew, after having been pardoned many times, never ceabca to steal pictures and drawings, and even the master's clothing and the utensils of his kitchen. His servants and assistants, to whom ne vvas obliged to confide every thing after the death of his mother, manifested a detestable eagerness in 88 GUI DO. hunting up all his hidden pictures, as well as those more excellent, and counter-drawing them, by which means the world was filled with copies there- of, which often appeared before the originals were finished. " They entered the house as saints, and they came out as devils," says Malvasia; allowing themselves to become blinded by an idea that it was their duty to grow rich under a master who, though in the midst of gold, never knew delight save in being poor. The first assistant who thus abused his ser\'ice was Rognone, who, seeing the master frequently in pecuniary distress after his gambling bouts, and finding him anxious for ready money, made him small advances for pictures, and these he sold for double what he paid. But, not content with such increasing fortune, Rognone wished also to plume himself abroad with a certain vain-glory ; and Guido became indignant, and sent him away. Belcollare, a man both dexterous in art and pleasing in manners, gained such control over the master that he disposed of him at his pleasure, in- ducing him to finish only the pictures which he indicated. Belr^Uare's authority in this matter was a matter Oi public knowledge, and profited him I MODELS. 89 greatly, since many patrons had recourse to him, and gave him presents, to insure the completion of their commissions, while all others were forced to wait for years. Da Mano, a well-bom and wealthy youth, was another and a nobler helper, who made every effort to aid his master, from his own choice and genius, rather than because he needed the profession. He had no dearth of living models, in the multi- tude of youths and disciples which surrounded him. Among these were the Viohni lads, who had angelic faces ; and Savonanzi, whose physiognomy he ex- tolled as unattainable, and whose body rivalled in vigor the antique torsos, wherefore he was made to strip frequently in the studio, and served as a model for the Bacchus, in the ' Ariadne,' and in other pic- tures. The savage head of the apothecary Righe- tone was used as a model for that of Goliath, and for certain executioners in pictures of mart)Tdoms. Giacinto Dissegna sat for several heads of the weep- ing Madonna ; and the Cavalier BeUini, for Davids, St. Johns, and similar characters ; and Senator Gui- dotti, for St. Francises, especially that of the Pal- lione. There was a certain Bartoli, of the city of the 90 GUTDO. diocese of Rimini, a noble-appearing and vigorous man of 105 years of age, whose head Guido por- trayed no less than eight times. For him the mas- ter painted a most gracious Madonna, and he went about showing it to all, and receiving great charities on account thereof, until a rascal stole it from him, in the Campagna of Rome. A similiar picture was given to the priest of St, Egidio, whom Guido always welcomed heartily, and enjoyed hearing his discourses on witchcraft and magic, against which he was a skilful exorcist. Ercole Fichi was an art-student at that time, and had a symmetrical figure, a face in which beauty and fierceness were blended, and an abundance of black curly hair. Guido often lamented that this youth was not a plebeian, so that he could make him strip whenever he wished ; and he was allowed to see Fichi undraped only three times, the young man having consented thereto in hope of observing the manner in which the master painted. But Guido was cunning enough to stand his model on the other side of the canvas, so that the desired benefit did not result. His favorite nude models were the Roman San- sone, of a figure not less symmetrical than power- MODELS. 91 ful ; and in Bologna the porter Dall' Olle, and a certain Battistone. Tlie latter was an ill-made man, but all that Guido cared of him was to refresh his memory from viewing his limbs and torso, and after that he could adjust them and correct their imper fections. In the same way any head sufficed him for a model, and when he made the Madonna which he painted on holidays, for his own amusement, he had Pinno Gallinari sit for.it, and made good use of his ugly face. Being besought once by Count Aldovrandi (at the instigation of Guercino, to whom that noble was partial) to confide to him who the lady was of whom he availed himself in drawing his beautiful Madonnas and Magdalens, he made his color-grinder, a fellow of a scoundrelly visage, sit down, and, commanding him to look upward, he drew from him such a marvellous head of a saint, in that posture, that it seemed to Aldovrandi as if it had been done by magic. " My Lord Count," said Guido, " tell your Guercino that it is first need- ful to have beautiful ideas in the head of the artist, and then any model will be good enough." On this account it was, that fearing the deca- dence attending old age, and in order to maintain liis memory fresh and ready, he studied in his later 92 GUIDO. years more than he ever had before. Every even- ing, while his pupils labored together in copying from the nude and from reliefs, he gave himself to designing heads in various attitudes, hands, feet, and notions of compositions, for three or four en- tire hours. Malvasia says that he himself saw full twenty drawings made by Guido from the same leg, " all beautiful to us, and perfect, but perhaps not so to his grand intelligence, that found in it some difficulty, which we cannot penetrate, nor recog- nize." He often declared that his favorite models were the Venus de Medici and the wonderful heads in the Niobe group, yet he diversified these with such variety of manner and exquisite skill that they are hardly to be recognized. The Countess de' Bian- chi and the Countess Barbazzi were two of the most beautiful women of their time, and Guido made their portraits with great care and admiration. He afterwards availed himself of these noble and stately heads in his pictures of Lucretia, Cleopatra, and other illustrious ladies. There was a very beautiful maiden of Bologna, and Guido earnestly desired to make her portrait, but dared not propose it, because she belonged to I HIS HEADS. 93 a respectable family. So he hired a suite of rooms whose windows overlooked her house, and little by little became familiar with her parents and herself, after which he got permission to sketch her face, and drew her many times and in various attitudes. He rewarded this good damsel by giving her a life- sized half-figure of a saint, whose face was a por- trait of her own. He was not satisfied with studying antique heads, to strengthen himself in original ideas, but procured impressions from old Greek medals and cameos, to compare with the results of his researches. Also during certain religious solemnities which occurred at early hours, he observed carefully the physiogno- mies of secluded women and circumspect maidens. By such studies he gained an inexhaustible reper- tory of ideas of beauty, and was enabled to draw heads which Mengs said " surpassed all others ; " and Passeri called "faces of Paradise." Lanzi . says, " His heads were preferred by many to those of Raphael ; " Dufresnoy adds, " His heads yield no manner of precedence to those of Raphael ; " Rich- ardson calls them " almost more than human ; " and Hawthorne has written that " There is no other painter who seems to achieve things so magically and inscrutably as he sometimes does." 94 GUIDO. Better than any other artist he understood how to portray upturned faces, and he boasted that he knew a hundred ways of making heads with their eyes upturned to heaven. De Piles says that his great merit " consisted in that moving and persua- sive beauty which did not proceed so much from regularity of features, as from a lovely air he gave to the mouth, with a peculiar modesty, which he had the art to place in the eye." In painting the faces of old men he did not leave them smooth and unbroken, like others, but skilfully touched them with the appearances of age, which he had learned from the famous bas-relief common- ly called his Seneca. He made the first application of color a ground-work, upon which to sketch, in a manner devised by himself, and full of energy and skill, the hairs tossed on various sides, and arranged according to their natural position above and below, finishing the work in the highest excellence by the introduction of its proper Hghts. He claimed that he found it less easy to make good hands and feet than good heads, not on account of their intrinsic difficulties, but because they naturally called out less attention. For this reason he continually adjured his pupils to study MINUTE FINISH. 95 these parts with great care, and marvelled that the Roman artists of his time made such inferior hands and feet, when they could avail themselves of such beautiful models in the antique statues. He was once requested to instruct a youth in the art of draw- ing eyes, and answered : " I have designed miUions upon miUions of them, but yet I do not know how to make them." Afterwards Paolino, formerly his fellow-pupil with Calvart, was admiring a sketch of that master's head, when Guido demanded what he found in it so wonderful. " The eyes, which I have never been able to succeed in, although I have drawn so many," said Paolino. "I believe it," an- swered the master, " for at last I have learned how to portray them, since I have dissected eyes for the purpose." He was accustomed to say that he esteemed only those pictures which he made by bits, alluding to the nicety of their parts, which was his chief intent. A similar thought is contained in another of his aphorisms : " Those pictures may truly be called beautiful and perfect which grow every day under the sight ; since there are also those which arrest attention at first, by a certain obstreperous motion, but the more minutely they are examined, each day 96 GUIDO. more and more they are seen to be botched, and to lack dignity and perfection. The true artist should keep in a middle course, and give a suffi- ciency of motion to his figures, and only as much as is demanded by the action which they repre- sent." He also said that any one who had studied as much as he had, would have made more profit than he had been able to, and whoever wished to have this demonstrated needed only to compare his first works with those of his later years. Being interro- gated sometimes by dilettants or buyers, whether a certain one of his juvenile works really came from his hand, he would say, " Yes, it is by Guido, but by Guido when he was a silly youth." He held a firm opinion that silk was more exempt than canvas from danger of decay, and frequently used that material for his pictures. He made the discovery accidentally, when the Domin- icans exhumed the remains of the famous juris- consult. Dr. Tartagna, and on opening the cofiin, the skeleton crumbled at a touch, and the shirt of linen fell to pieces, while the silken robe remained intact. The Pallione del Voto, the Archangel Michael, and the Spilimberto Madonna, were MINERAL COLORS. 97 painted on silk, with several other notable works ; and a considerable quantity of white silk was found in the studio after the master's death. He made a liberal use of ultramarine and terra verde, by whose combination he formed delica<-'> and gentle shadings. In opposition to the masters who had preceded him, Guido freely availed him- self of white lead, though Ludovico Caracci had said that an artist should meditate for an entire year before putting down a brush-full of that paint. Yet the wisdom of this choice of material appeared later, when Guido's white lead had deepened into yellow, reducing the general coloring to a fine natural tone ; while the paintings of his contem- poraries had blackened until their high lights were entirely lost. He also resisted the tendency of the artists of the time to use heavy and unnatural shadows ; and filled his pictures with a calm and peaceful radiance, as if coming from a clear and open luminary. These Mght and brilliant works won for him, from the common people, the title of " The Painter of Paradise." 98 CUIDO. CHAPTER VII. Guide's Devoutness. — Personal Appearance. — Eating and Sleep- ing. — Gambling. — Literary Adulation. — Generosity. The fear of God was always the first principle which Guido inculcated in his pupils, teaching them also true modesty by his own example. In their conversations and merrymakings, to which he never showed himself averse, evil words were sel- dom heard, and he kept his familiar friends from such speaking. One of his familiar sayings was, that in his profession one could not do well unless he lived well, since power and virtue could not subsist in the same breast with vice. His purity of life was never impugned, nor was there ever any gossip or scandal derogatory thereto. He always appeared as a block of marble, in the presence and contemplation of the beautiful models whom he sometimes employed, and would not be left alone with them. Malvasia says that " he was watched by a hundred eyes, curious to discover something, GREA T FAITH. 99 and chiefly when he left his house after sunset ; '* but these invidious spies failed to find any cause for blame. He was most devout to the Blessed Virgin, going eveiy Sabbath, while a young man, to adore her miraculous picture \ and every evening (while in Bologna) , as long as he lived, he went without fail to the Church of Santa Maria delle Vite. Many therefore, in those days, believed that the Queen of Heaven was so charmed with his devotion, as well as his purity of life, that she deigned to appear visibly to him, — " since no painter of all the centu- ries ever knew how to represent her more beautiful at once and modest." Finding himself in bed one day, with an infirm- ity in the feet which compelled him to lie still, he heard that the image of Our Lady of the Rosary was being borne in procession through the Square ; whereupon he commanded Marco to look stead- fastly out of the window, and watch well if among the crowd he could not see Guido Reni. The attendant, fearing that *his master was delirious, exclaimed : " How can that be, my lord, if he is in bed, and cannot go out?" To which the artist, " weak in body but mighty in faith, made answer : lOO GUIDO. " This, and even greater things than this, are pos- sible to the Mother of God, my Marco." On the following morning he was well again, and hastened to Santa Maria delle Vite to offer thanks to the Blessed Virgin, bearing to her shrine two feet made of sheet-gold. While yet a child, he heard, every Christmas eve for seven continuous years, a violent knocking on his chamber door ; nor was the cause of this mys- terious sound ever ascertained. Another prognos- tic, noted by the ancient chroniclers, was in the form of a ball of fire, of the size of an egg, which awakened him every night for several years by appearing on his bed. He refused to allow any one to throw the least doubt on his devoutness. The venerable Canon Pinchiari, one of Guido's nearest friends, had com- missioned the master to retouch a copy of 'The Crucifixion,' which was about to be sent abroad, and Guido resolved to put his work on the figure of St. John, saying that that of the Virgin needed no change. But afterwards he improved the latter also, upon which the Canon thanked him, and said that he had indeed wondered that he should have shown more partiality to St. John than to the JEALOUS ORTHODOXY. lOl Mother of God. The artist made no answer, but thought deeply, and when Pinchiari came again, he received him with scant courtesy, and said, " What am I to infer from your words of yesterday? Know that I am as good a Christian and as devoted to the Virgin Mary as you or any other man. You have an evil heart ; and I renounce your friendship for ever." So saying, he drove the amazed ecclesiastic from the room, and gave him no chance to excul- pate himself, though he begged that he might be heard. Battistone, his last model, ventured one day to suggest that he had never given him any designs, and when Guido acceded to his request, most gen- erously, he promised to ascend the Monte della Guardia, and pray to the holy picture painted by St. Luke, on behalf of his master's health. " And who are you," cried the artist, " to promise me such great things ? Thou showest thyself a rogue and a knave to come to me in this way, and I hold my conscience to be as good as yours, although I am o great a sinner." He was always in great fear of sorcery and poi- soning, and for that reason he could not endure women in his house, abhorring to have any deal- I02 GUI DO. ings with them, and, when such were unavoidable, hurrying them through as rapidly as possible. Old women were his especial detestation, and he always fled from them, and lamented grievously if one of them should appear when he was about beginning or closing some commission. In his ser\^ants he sought great simplicity and good-nature, and the latter trait they found con- tinual need of. He once found a woman's shift among his clean clothes, upon which he flew into a towering rage, and ordered that all his garments should be plunged into pure water, and re-dried, and that Marco should henceforth do all his wash- ing in the house, and with his own hands. The master feared incantations from Albano, whom he charged with hating him more intensely than any other painter had ever done. He said that while he and Albano were intimate friends, at Rome, the latter was given to profound discussions about these necromancers ; wherefore he privately called him the wizard, and afterwards meeting him, he felt his hair stand on end with terror. One morning Guido was passing through the fish-market, and was being revered as usual by all the venders of fish, when one of them, a simple i WITCHCRAFT. 103 fellow, cried out, " Oh ! blessed be those hands of thine," and strove to clasp and kiss them. Draw- ing himself suddenly back, the master shouted, " Stay thyself, thou scoundrel ! Why dost thou say, ' Blessed be those hands ' ? Believest thou that I do not understand and know thee, thou sorcerer?" The terrified fishmonger crossed his arms, and begged for pardon, while Guido, seizing an iron implement lying at hand, stood fast in the act of throwing it at his breast. Finally the artist cast the weapon aside, and went away muttering. Malvasia narrates the following strange conversa- tion : " As I was one day watching Guido at his painting, he demanded of me whether a person could be bewitched in the hands so that he could no more use the brush, or could be forced to work badly ; seeing that at times he imagined in his mind and saw as present before him most beautiful conceptions, and his stubborn and wayward hands would not obey his intellect, and absolutely refused to portray the new ideas. I frankly answered No, and endeavored, as well as one so young could, to find some apparent reason therefor. Thereupon he rejoined that a Frenchman told him a secret, at Rome, by which, merely by touching one's hand I04 GUIDO. amicably, the possessor could bring upon him an incurable sickness, of which he should die, the while the slayer was protected by a certain anti- dote." Guido went one day to the Merlini Palace, to paint, and found there certain documents affixed to the wall, which aroused such a rage in his breast that he would not touch his brushes again until the offending papers were removed, by the orders of Monsignor Merlini. A laborer also came to the palace to spht wood, and Guido gathered up as many of the fragments as he could carry in his handkerchief, and took them home as a precious thing, praising the beauty of the veins in the wood. While living on the Roman Ripetta, Guido was aroused one night by hearing people fumbling along the side of his house, in search of the door. When he had challenged them, he was answered by Gala- nino, a l)rother artist, who craved a night's lodging for himself and a comrade. This being granted, Galanino entered, followed by two porters, bearing a coffin in which was the body of his son, recently deceased at Naples, and now become the comrade to whom Guido had unwittingly given shelter. The superstitious master was kept awake all night by the presence of so strange a guest. HIS HOME. 105 Guido delighted in dwelling in splendid houses, with many rooms ; and he lavished money freely to attain these ends. He was content with the ex- ternal splendor, and furnished the rooms scantily, providing them only with such things as were barely essential, and chiefly in the culinary department. Being over-persuaded once by his friends, in oppo- sition to his own tastes, he ordered twelve velvet- covered chairs and some costly ornaments, but he never had any pleasure in them, and said that he preferred to see his rooms encumbered with can- vases, rather than adorned with furniture. When some one remarked that he needed such things in order to receive worthily the visits of his great patrons, he replied, " They do me these favors as a painter, not as a cavalier ; and therefore they come to see pictures, not to appraise household goods." The place in which Guido established his studio aiiu home was the great building once occupied as a hospital, which fronted on the public square of Bologna, near the Church of San Petronio. Sev- eral other artists had their studios in this same locality. The structure is still pointed out to trav- ellers, and retains some of the frescos with which Guido adorned it. io6 GUIDO. He purchased a coach, for the use of his mother, but she did not care to go out in it, wherefore the students had the control of it ahuost ahvays, and rode daily to merrymakings and parties. At last the master sold this useless vehicle, and one of the pupils, little pleased at losing so pleasant a means of amusement, endeavored to pique him by saying that Rubens kept six carriages. The wise answer was, " We should try to imitate such great men in their virtues, not in their pomps." Several portraits of Guido are now in existence, the best of which is that which he himself painted, and which is now preserved in the Uffizi Gallery, at Florence. Another portrait, by his own hand, is in the Capitoline Gallery, at Rome ; and a third, painted when the master was quite old, by his whilom pupil Pesarese, is now in the Bologna Pinacoteca. Malvasia thus describes Guido's personal appear- ance : " He was of fair stature, well formed, and of athletic figure, thus being fitted to resist the pains and fatigues of art. Of palest complexion, with color in the cheeks, the eyes sky-blue, the nose, with the nostrils somewhat elevated, and that pulsated like that of a lion, when he was angry, — DAINTINESS. 107 in short, most handsome, well made, and of parts and members corresponding. The hands long, and the same as to the feet, faulty, somewhat, in their largeness. By nature he was melancholy, but moved at times by spirit and vivacity, and in con- sequence apt at speculations and at study, vrhich well becomes a painter ; and from all these external signs it appeared that he was born for that profes- sion. Furthermore, he breathed out a certain great- ness of character and gravity, which exceeded his rank in life, and drew forth from all, even from the nobles, a secret respect and veneration." He delighted in a scrupulous neatness, which was observable in all his belongings. His raiment was of the most excellent that was used at that time, and yet sober and quiet in tone, consisting of silk in summer and velvet and Spanish woollen in winter. His record of expenses shows that he used to pay fifty to sixty crowns for each of his mantles, and even more for the robes which his mother wore. He enjoyed precious stones, and it is recorded that he once painted a large picture of Venus, in exchange for a diamond valued at 150 crowns. Guido was moderate in eating, and confined Io8 GUIDO. himself rigorously to the two usual meals, preferring hearty and simple food to delicate and highly sea- soned dishes. Besides soup, which he ate both morning and evening, his favorite aliments were fruit, of which he took large quantities, and milk- foods, chiefly cheese, of which he kept various kinds on the table, and relished the taste very much. His bread and wine were bought in small quantities daily, at the tavern, the latter being of both the red and the wHite varieties. He drank his wine watered, and never took it at meals, pre- ferring to use pure water then. His slumber was hard and unrestful, since he only retired after midnight, when impelled by weariness, and had little care for lying down in a comfortable manner. In summer, for the most part, he rested on a couch propped up by a low stool, perhaps as a measure of self-mortification, or else to enable him to keep his throat clear. Being assailed sometimes, on summer nights, by severe coughing-spells, he would summon his servant, and, lying on his face, have his back pounded by the attendant's fists until he felt relief. Occasion- ally he felt the need of repose, on a languid sum- mer day, upon which he would throw down a HIS WRITING. 109 cartoon-sheet on the bare ground, and stretch him- self out thereon, and sleep quietly. He was accustomed to rise from bed in good season, and the first regular act of the day, which he never neglected, was to attend mass. In the early morning hours, he kept the windows closed, to shut out the noises on the Piazza ; and devoted himself to planning the compositions which he was about to begin, and refining the details for those already under way. This manner of labor, improv- ing the freshest hours of the day, was common also among the Italian poets. Guido's writing was incorrect, both as to expres- sion and chirography, wherefore Malvasia, who possessed so many of his letters, was unable to quote them, preferring to give their substance. No one would have inferred, from his diction or his handwriting, that he was a great painter, al- though such should have been the case according to his own theory, that character is shown out in penmanship. He said that " handsome and well- conducted writing denotes a composed and tran- quil spirit ; when stinted and diminutive, an ill- humored and irresolute man ; the spreading and bombastic, a proud and vainglorious man ; when tlO GUIDO. irregular and disordered, a wliimsical and eccentric brain." When he wished to correspond with great lords, he availed himself of the always willing ser- vices of Rinaldi, whom he rewarded with designs and drawings. He was a poor correspondent, and with difficulty forced himself to write, though probably for other reasons than a knowledge of his erratic chirogra- phy and orthography, which were almost universal faults in his time. Nevertheless he conducted a prolonged exchange of letters in cipher with Bon- compagni, the priest of the Chiesa Nuova at Rome, in which the two writers kept each other informed as to the current events in Italy. Another of his regular correspondents was Tassoni of Modena, some time a painter, but who afterwards retired on a beautiful rural estate which he received in his wife's dowry. Some one in Rome wrote him fre- quent letters, to which he sent no answer ; and one day he was heard complaining that he had mis- laid one of them. A friend asked him why he troubled himself about it, since he never even opened the letters ; and Guido rejoined : "Because I wish to make them all into a packet, and send it to him, so that it will serve as a sufficient and SCULPTURE. Ill silent answer, and show him in what account I hold his letters." He found much pleasure in etching, and Bartsch gives a list of over sixty plates from his hand. These are executed in a free and spirited manner, with great beauty in the heads and hands of the figures. Guido also made bas-rehefs, the most famous of which was the so-called head of Seneca, which was a favorite model in the art-schools of Bologna. He formed this work from a slave, whom he found on the Ripa, at Rome, and modelled him as he stood. While yet a youth he made the handsome statue of St. Peter, which was placed in the Church of St. Christina. He also carved a head of the Saviour, and modelled a cherub, the former of which was given to Marco, and the latter to Sirani. Many other works of this kind he also did ; and he was fond of amusing himself by modelling in clay. His early studies in music were not indeed profitless, for he retained and enjoyed much of what he had learned. He kept a harpsichord in one of his rooms, and turned to it, from time to time, to alleviate his artistic cares and to arouse his spirit. When the young pupils heard him playing 112 GUIDO. upon this rusty and venerable instrument, they used to say : " Lord Guido is at his pounding again." He was fond of amusing himself with fire, and would cease whatever business he was engaged in, whenever he heard the fagots crackling, in order to run to them and toast his hands. It was so, too, with our Allston, who kept a handful of sticks blaz- ing on the hearth, even through July and August. In his later years Guido became the prey to an inordinate passion for gambling, and lost much of that illustrious fame which had become so dear to him. Being reduced to extreme necessities by heavy losses, and having contracted debts which it was beyond his ability to pay, he gave himself to painting hasty and unworthy portraits, at unseason- able hours, and to inconsiderately finishing his his- torical and religious compositions. He abandoned everything in exchange for money ; borrowed from all his friends ; and sold his time in the studio at so much an hour. His favorite game at cards was the now obsolete primero ; and he was also fond of playing chess, and betting on the games. At one time he had saved 12,000 crowns, with which he designed to found an academy of art, but the entire amount was swept away at the gambling- GAMBLING. I13 table. One evening, when he had lost several hundred crowns on a single bet, at primero, and the other players were amazed at the coolness with which he met his misfortune, he said, " Gentlemen, these are not legs nor arms which I have lost. Provided that I return hr^^^ free and safe, every other ill luck is of little account." One night, after all his savings had been haz- arded and swept away, he made a further loss of 2,000 pistoles, for whose payment he gave his word of honor. The next morning he went betimes to the Hospital della Morte, and devoted himself to painting, with a swift hand (but moved more by contempt than by genius), the figure of the Devil, trampled under foot by St. Bruno. And while he painted, he sang, as if to temper the bitterness of his soul, in his evil posture before men. This great picture was painted for the Carthusian Monastery, near Bologna (the same which is now the city cemetery) . By this and other pictures the master gained enough money to meet his obligations, and make him once more at ease with the world. But he had hardly reached this point when he was again tempted, and lost 2,800 pistoles in a single even- 114 GUIDO. ing, wherefore the rest and repose which he should have enjoyed after his previous intense lab(/rs were denied him, and he was spurred on to fresh fatigues. Finally he fled to the house of the silversmith Jacobs, and that shrewd old man mani- fested now the same tact which had made him suc- cessful in the jewelry- trade, and thought to enrich himself with the painting of such a great master. Observing that certain Bolognese brokers bought as many of Guido's pictures as they could, at 50 crowns each, and then sent them into France, and got at least 100 crowns for each of them, and ascertaining also that that swift pencil could sketch out and finish a picture in three hours, he hired Guido for 40 crowns a day, stipulating that each day's work should consist of not less than four hours. Guido said : " These 40 crowns Avill be gained without any trouble and almost in sport, for I shall take these four hours from those which I ordinarily give to pleasure and repose, after toiling on the more important works which are under way, and whereof I shall have grown weary. If I can bring myself to muse and sketch from memory for three or four hours every evening, what a valuable course of study it will be, furnishing me with a REFORM AND RELAPSE. 1 15 good capital of fresh ideas, of which I can avail myself in the figures in my larger compositions." But this mode of labor was not of long duration, for Guido, having reformed, repented of being an hireling, and especially on account of the avidity of his employer. Such pains and humiliations taught Guido a salutary lesson, and having paid off all his debts he deposited his gains in the bank for two entire years. But this was only a truce, and not a last- ing peace ; and at the end of those two years he returned to his old vice, and began once more to play heavily. As if to deal him a harder blow than ever, fate favored him at first, and he won uninter- ruptedly every evening for three weeks. His gains amounted to 4,000 pistoles, and his friends advised him to be content therewith, to invest the money, and to forswear gambling forever. But he dis- dained all advice, and controverted these argu- ments with pungent and witty remarks, preferring to continue in his old ways. The result was, that in three evenings he lost the 4,000 pistoles, and also all the funds which he had accumulated at the bank. But the intrepid old artist showed no signs of grief, and spoke of his misfortune as a matter Il6 GUI DO. of destiny. Nay, he even rejoiced at it, with cheerful philosophy, saying, " God be praised that I am now free from the greatest vexations of the world ! Since I got those detestable winnings, I have never known peace, and I have lost the tran- quillity which I enjoyed before those 12,000 crowns came to afflict my hberty. I could no longer trust my servants, I suspected my nearest friends, and was fearful of every one. I was uneasy all day, and could not repose at night, wherefore I could not find an hour of quietness, day nor night. Now, please God, I have come out from idleness, and resumed my duties. I have lost vice, and re- won virtue. Now I shall paint more than ever, to the mortification of my enemies, who published abroad that I was so much immersed in gambling, which, in spite of them, is an honorable and just entertainment, and is called a crime only by those who have not the capital nor the spirit to practise it. I will let them see if I am not the man I once was, and also whether I cautiously sought the winnings of the gaming-table to repair the losses attendant on age, and a lost prowess, as I know that they have reported. If I shall not leave the immense hoard that I could collect, as Rubens did, whom GRIEF COMETH. II7 does that concern ? or whose affair is it ? Shall it be a matter of grief to my wife, when I have no wife? Or my sons? Or brothers? For whom then ought I to accumulate, and to what end? " With these and similar arguments he sealed ihe mouths of all, and praised that refractory inclina- tion that now more than ever took full possession of him. During a month in his rooms, and two more at the clubs, his adversaries won from him every thing which he carried there ; wherefore pledging always more and more his work, he did not refuse to accept payments on his time far in advance. His debts finally passed the limit of possibility of payment ; and it was said that how- ever far his life was prolonged, he could never have worked enough to discharge his obligations and meet his bonds. He now observed that his friends had grown cold, and the dilettants kept away from his first exhibitions ; and that in the assembhes, where he had formerly been welcomed and attended with such great courtesy, he was now shunned and feared. He prepared a number of canvases, and sat down before them, to divert his mind from its crushing cares; and also endeavored to finish ii8 GUIDO. ■ many of the incomplete works then in the studio. But wearied and confused by their multipUcity, and hotly besieged by creditors, he lost heart, and did no more than to stand musing, concentrated in himself. Sometimes he suddenly started up, and for a long time walked to and fro rapidly; and often he arose at midnight, and remained until the break of day, talking to himself and sighing, so that it was feared that he would pass into a deUrium. The brother of Cardinal Colonna asked him if he would stake one of his pictures at play against 500 crowns, and he replied : " I will put up -a thou- sand pistoles against another thousand, on the first throw, but as to pictures, certainly not. My paint- ings are not given up to the chances of luck : they are conceded only by favor." He was once chosen joint-trustee with a certain knight for the construction of a sumptuous monu- ment over the remains of the forty holy martyrs, in the famous Basilica of St. Stephen. The two com- missioners disagreed about certain details, and the knight, waxing angry, stigmatized his colleague as a plebeian. Blazing with wrath, Guido rejoined, " How a plebeian ? He is the greater plebeian ANECDOTES. ng who fails in respect to virtue. I appeal to the judgment of the princes who have esteemed and honored me so greatly, as to whether I am such as thou sayest.'" Upon which he flew to his house, and seized a brace of pistols, with which he re- turned and hunted long and eagerly for the knight, who was nevertheless prudently invisible, though reputed to be a brave and high-spirited man. One day he was crossing the Piazza, when he was struck on the shoulder by an apple, which one of the wild youths of the street had thrown at a comrade. Guido bought half a dozen apples at an adjacent stand, and slowly and softly drew near the thrower, upon whom he presently opened such a volley that the fellow fled in great dismay. At another time he was at the theatre, when the gen- tleman next to him, moving, struck him in the leg vvith his sword, upon wliich the artist exclaimed, " Keep still with thy sword ; and if thou dost not know how to manage it better, go out and buy an ox-goad in place of it." Cesare Bianchetti once sent him a superb - pres- ent of choice silks, preserves, sugars, wax candles, and perfumes, together with two great plates of various kinds of cheeses, brought from varioui I20 GUIDO. remote regions for the purpose. But the sus- picious artist returned them all, believing that Bianchetti wished to win some unfair and unworthy advantage from him. Another friend sent him a ■great cheese, of that delicious variety for which Piacenza was then famous. It was borne by two porters; and he ordered them to carry it back forthwith, saying : " This is a gift fit only for those who brought it here." He was wont to call Gessi and Sementi his lords chamberlain, and Loli and Sirani afterwards suc- ceeded to their offices. One of his standing orders to these was, that they should never respond to the questions of strangers to whom they might show the pictures, " because either they ask out of igno- rance, and it would be folly to try to rescue them from their stupidity, and make them capable ; or else they are shrewd and wish to overreach us, and it is well to show that we know how to quiz as well as they." Being interrogated by a certain great lord, as to which was the best picture he had ever painted, he said, " The one on which I am now engaged ; and if I am working on another to-morrow, it will be that ; and the day after, it will be the one I am doing then." CONVERSATION. 121 Of similar character and temper were all his sayings and responses, whence, it being supposed that his knowledge equalled his judgment, he was usually given credit for more learning than he really possessed. He had studied but little, and cared nothing for reading ; and all his earlier years had been given to his o\vn secret sketching and the musical exercises enforced by his father. One of the methods by which he held his high reputation among the learned was the rare deftness with which he turned conversations from themes unfa- miliar to him to matters of art, or about the mas- ters of his time, or the news of the day. When he had introduced his own topics, he spoke very sensibly, and with a just disposition and agreement of words, uttered in a rich, sonorous voice, which pleased all who heard. He detested a retinue of pupils or of friends, and sometimes jested, when he saw some one pass- ing, attended by such a following, " He prides himself like a peacock, with such a tail of people." Many times cavaUers endeavored to walk with him through the streets, and to enjoy his company in promenades, but he always shook them off, prefer- ring to remain in his rooms. He avoided the 122 GUIDO. crowds at the festivals, where he was always an- noyed by compliments. He sought out the less frequented streets, and traversed the remote lanes, to free himself from the reverences and salutes, which forced him to stand continually with cap in hand, and to stop a thousand times on the way, so that he used to say that he found far more com- fort in seclusion than in pastimes. At last he hit upon the happy device of remaining at home until the Ave Maria bells had announced the sunset hour, and the citizens had all retired to their houses, when he would go out and walk for an hour in the fresh evening air, usually visiting the apothecary Bortolo, to talk over the news of the world, with Zanetti and other friends. When any one tried to abuse the generous court- esy of the master, and to besiege his grace, he was apt to harden his heart against them most sternly. Marco once aroused this spirit, since, not content with the great number of pictures, designs, and re- touches which the master had made for him, he once urged him eagerly to finish a picture of an old man's head, with which, he said, he "wished to discharge a debt. " How do I enter into youi debts? " cried Guido. " Who has made this debt I ANECDOTES. , 123 I or you? Let him who has contracted it, pay it." Another day when the same was praying him to retouch a picture of St. Jerome, he said : " I wish to teach you, my Marco, how to get as many re- touclies as you ever can want, without importuning me. Study well my originals, and these will do you the service." Rosselini sent to Guide the cartoons of the Two Virtues, which the master had made at Naples for the Chapel of St. Januarius and given to him, pray- ing him to retouch them and put in the due lights, and then to send them back. But Guido said, " This Rosselini is a discontented and troublesome fellow, for he sends these cartoons to Bologna, to be returned to Naples, and in such journeys they will be ruined. Isn't he satisfied with the Venus which I painted for him, and which remunerated him fourfold for his expenditures on my account ? Take them away, since he has not known enougii vo Keep mem." The master gave the cartoons iu Da Mano, who sent them to France, and sold them there. During his later years, he sent a picture to Rome, representing the four seasons by four life-sized fig- ures, on the order of a certain embroiderer. Cor- r24 g GUIDO. tona and others said that he had demanded toe much money for this work, ^ince it was not in his former good manner, upon which he rejoined : " Yes, and for the future I shall demand a double price for this manner no longer good, seeing that every day these no-good pictures of mine are re-sold for double my prices." Whereupon he changed his price from loo to 200 crowois for each figure, saying, " Let these fellows abase their pro- fession as far as they will, yet in spite of them I shall always endeavor to sustain and uplift it." Orazii, the chamberlain of the Cardinal- Legate Sacchetti, was once in the studio, chatting with the master and watching him work, and began to praise Pietro da Cortona, who was then sojourning at th€ Cardinal's palace, while on his way to Rome. Guido moved about uneasily, meanwhile, knowing that Cortona was inimical to him ; and when Orazii said that his guest was a very saint in his habits, he replied : " I do not believe in these saintlets as long as they live and eat. Indeed, if he were such he would not hate his equals so heartily, nor seek so eagerly to discredit them, not only in their profit but also in reputation. Wherefore, if these be the deeds of a saint, I leave it to you to decide." PRIDE. 125 One of his friends told him, one day, that the exceeding dryness and heat of the summer beto- kened that a severe winter was approaching, and advised him to lay in a store of firewood betimes. Guido fancied that it was intimated that he lived pettily and penuriously, from hand to mouth, and rejoined : " If you say this for my benefi.t, you de- ceive yourself, because, the more money I spend, the more I enjoy life." When the same gentleman once praised the foresight of those who invested their money in landed estates, to provide for their old age, the artist answered : " Whoever puts his money into land, buries his liberty of thought there also, and makes his treasury in the discretion of rustics. But these matters have no interest for me, since I could live on my store of designs from henceforth till the end, without further labor." One day a certain great prince was watching Guido at his painting, when two courtiers, thinking themselves well retired from hearing, freely dis- cussed the fact that the artist kept his cap on his head meanwhile. Turning impetuously to them, he exclaimed, " I have heard you, and know now that I am as well acquainted with what is fitting as any one else. But there is much difference between a 126 GUIDO. virtuoso and a mechanic ; and moreover Pope Paul V. accustomed me to work thus with a covered head." Whereupon he removed his cap, and was about to tlirow it aside, when the Prince restrained his hand, and also asked him to pardon the indis- creet courtiers, whom he then forbade to murmur any more. Soon afterwards he began to praise Guido's beautiful manner of painting, and his rare facility, to the knights in attendance, and Count Bentivoglio answered, " He does indeed paint well, but he gambles away his money with equal ease." " And if I do," cried the artist, " I gamble away what is my own, nor do I know who can hold me to an account for it." Returning one night from the club, Guido saw some people near his house, and was filled with ap- prehension, since he had in his chest some 4,000 pistoles, which he had won in gaming. The follow- ing night he armed himself with a musket, aufi sought about the house for suspicious characters, and having met Corporal Strascino, of the city police, he assaulted him, and said that he knew his schemes and thoughts, and that unless he was care- ful, he should be denounced to the Cardinal-Legate and immured in a dungeon. The unfortunate pa- LITERARY EULOGISTS. 127 trolman in vain tried to quiet Guido, and offered his services to aid him, but without result. He abhorred the hyperbolical eulogies common among the Italian writers of his day, and frequently implored that they would abstain from the compo- sitions of this kind with which they threatened him. When Possenti published his beautiful idyl, in twenty-seven stanzas, on the master's picture of 'The Abduction of Helen,' he adopted the pseu- donyme of Incognito, in order to escape Guido's censure ; and when Senator Gessi, the noble author of "The Sword of Honor," wrote an ode to the same picture, he also signed it with an assumed name. Two of the poets defended even his scorn of literary eulogists, the one in a madrigal entitled " That Guido Reni receives greater glory from his colors than others do from their ink," and the other in the sonnet " That Guido Reni is greater than all the poets in his representations." In 1632 one of the literary academies (the Con- fuso) pubUshed a book, dedicated to the Abbot Sampieri, and bearing the illuminated title, " Praises to Signore Guido Reni." The master bought up the entire edition, and had a new title-page printed and inserted, in place of that which offended him, 128 GUIDO. and reading thus, " Praises to Certain Pictures of Signore Guido Reni." He then carried them back to the bookseller, and said, " Praises are due to God, not to men ; yet they may perhaps be accom- modated to my pictures, in so far as they may justly represent the Sanctifier, in the forms of His saints." The literati of his time gave Guido the most illustrious praises, and on the wings of their pens, as on those of his pencils, his fame won a double flight towards eternity. In the preface to his his- torical work, the Marquis Malvezzi gave him the first rank among living artists. The Abbot Sgualdi, in his "Cato of Utica," likened him to Apelles; and Bombaci likewise entitled him " the Bolognese Apelles." Minozzi wrote : "I speak of that great worker, and great master of the noblest coloring, of that modern Apelles, Guido ; whose surname being common with that of the River Reno, yet runs more steadily than any river to the sea of glory. I speak of Guido, of that great Guido, who in our days is the Plato of the silent poets, the Virgil of designers, and the Aristotle of painters." Such language, in high-flown prose and magnilo- quent sonnets, comparing Guido with Raphael, with Titian, with Rubens, Malvasia quotes from GENEROSITY. 129 scores of Italian authors, perhaps the Macaulays and Swinbumes and Emersons of their age and country, but now only unfamiliar names, with the sweet melody of their Itahan syllaJDies di-'^f^i"*»'ed from all associations. Outside of certain traits of superstition and sus picion, Guido was one of the most affable, coiu1;e- ous, and tractable men who ever Hved, being with- out rancor or malignity, haughtiness or self-interest. His rooms were always open, to all visitors, and no one was ever sent away, except upon good occa- sion. When the modest Sirani induced Marco to ask the master for some of his designs : " What nonsense ! " cried Guido. " Can he not take as many as he wishes ? Doesn't he see what account is made of them? Are they kept locked up?" No one ever came to Guido in vain, when they wanted counsel and help in art ; for he would have his turquoise-colored paper (on which he generally designed) brought, with charcoal and chalk, and would then sketch out the desired thought in several shapes. When he went to Rome the first time he gave a great number of these sketches to Tambu- rini, an honest man and his good friend, who gained a large amount of money by selling them off from time to time. ^ 130 GUIDO. Guido made many beautiful cartoons for fresco- painters to use in their compositions, drawing them for pastime on his own part, but with great profit to those who used them. Among these were the Pallas, which Tamburini painted in the • palace of Count Orsi; 'The Annunciation,' on the ceiUng of the church at Monte della Guardia; 'The Virgin and Child,' painted by Dentone, in a country-house; and the cherubs, with which Colonna decorated the Public Palace, at Cardinal Spada's order, Cavazza, Campana, and other fresco-painters, always depended on him for their best designs, and never applied in vam. Guido presented his pictures freely to such men as were congenial to him, and captivated him by their disinterested love. Among these were Sena- tor Guidotti; Barbieri, whose sons were his god- children; and the Marquis Facchenetti, to whom he gave the famous ' Batde of the Cupids and Bac- carini.' An 'Ecce Homo' was sent to the mer- chant Gnicchi, who had tenderly succored him when in distress for losses at gambling; and a Madonna to Dr. Gallerati, who had healed a wound on the artist's head, caused by a stone falling thereon from a vvindow. GENEROSITY. 131 He executed a fine fresco of cherubs in the Servites' Chapel, for a certain gentleman, who, when Guido had highly praised his wine, sent him all that he had of that vintage, as a present, together with the cask. Other pictures, all by his own hand, he gave to the Capuchin monks ; to Brizio, who brought him the letter of thanks firora the King of Poland ; and to those for whose chil- dren he stood godfather, the same pictures being sold for enough in later years to give handsome dowries to his godchildren. He never refused to hold up children at baptism, although they were brought to him by hundreds, on account of the presents which he made them. Not only his pictures, but also money, was lav- ished freely by Guido, on the objects of his charity and affection ; and many a needy family, and many a poor girl in peril, had cause to gratefully remem- ber his generosity. In a single year, he bestowed over a thousand crowns in charity, freely poured out on ^.'Cry side. Malvasia gives a list of a great number of men, both in Rome and Bologna, to whom he loaned sums of a hundred crowns and upward, out of pure esteem and affection. 13* GUIDO. CHAPTER VIII. Last labors. — 'The Crucifixion.' — 'Ariadne.' — Pathetic Ill< ness. — The Death of Guido. During the last decade of his life, troubled though he was in many ways, Guido executed several resplendent works. Among these was the great votive banner of white silk, called // Pallione del Voio, on which he painted the Madonna in glory, and the four patron-saints of Bologna. This banner was ordered by the Senate, in commemora- tion of the deliverance of the city from the plague, in 1 630 ; and was borne in the annual processions which celebrated that event. It is now carefully preserved in the picture-gallery of Bologna. Still another production of the same grade was the ' St. Job,' executed for the guild of silk-merchants, and placed in 1633 ^^ the Mendicanti Church, whence it was removed by the French during Napoleon's invasion of Italy, and has never been returned from France. '"^ssms^^^mm"'- 'THE crucifixion: 133 Guido had a particular affection for the Capu- chins of Bologna, and executed for them the cele- brated picture of 'The Crucifixion,' now in the Bologncbc Pinacoteca. Malvasia says : " It would not be believed that designing, however profound and studied, or coloring, however mellow and fleshy, could thus have represented and expressed a torso, the most natural and delicate. The head of the agonizing Redeemer, which is turned towards Heaven, as He breathes out His last words, gives us to know the Incarnate Divinity in that great act ; and the grief of the afflicted Virgin and of the beloved disciple, who grow more beau- tiful, rather than uncomely, in their grief, and the affection of Mary Magdalen, would arouse pity and compassion even in the breast of a tiger." Hillard places this above all other pictures of the cruci- fixion, "for dignity, pathos, and truth, and for intense and overpowering reality." The magnificent ' Crucifixion,' now in St. Lorenzo in Lucina, at Rome, was bequeathed to that church by the Marquis Angellili. This is the picture which Mrs. Browning calls " The piece Of Master Guido Reni, Christ on Cross, Second to nought observable in Rome." 134 GUIDO. The little city of Reggio, between Modena and Parma, was enriched by two pictures from the mas- ter's hand. One of these was 'The Crucifixion/ painted in 1639, and placed in the Church of San Stefano ; the other represented Sts. Crispin and Crispiano, and was given to the Church of San Prospero, by the guild of shoemakers. This is the same which is now in the Dresden Gallery, with Crispin presenting his brother Crispianus to the Madonna, while angels scatter flowers on the group. Guido had numerous commissions from the ultramontane sovereigns, as well as from those of Italy, and received from them letters expressing their pleasure at his works. Among these was the 'Venus,' painted for the Duke of Bavaria; the * Europa,' for the King of Poland ; and a Madonna for the King of Spain. Another was 'The An- nunciation,' which the King of France gave to the Carmelite Church at Paris, whence it ultimately passed to Hampton- Court Palace. One of the last of Guido's illustrious works was the ' Ariadne,' which was ordered for the Queen of England, and supervised by the Cardinal-Legate Sacchetti. The picture was begun in Sacchetti's palace, who courteously held the artist to his work, 'ariadne: 135 and urged him to hasten its execution, even when he felt no inspiration to paint. The chief figure in the picture was Ariadne, grieving over the departure of Theseus, and at the same time rejoicing at the arrival of Bacchus, and these conflicting emotions are portrayed with rare skill and concordance Eighteen other figures were added, to fill up the great canvas ; among which the most beautiful were the groups of Cupids, some of whom are suspending in the sky the marriage-crown of stars. The equal coupKng and similar attitudes of many of these figures gave occasion for Bernini to call this composition the processional picture ; yet it met with great applause among the literati of Bologna. The Roman Court was not less enthusi- astic, and Pope Urban VIII. had a magnificent frame of gilded copper made for it, and also com- missioned Romanelli to paint a careful copy thereof, w_}'ing that Italy should not be deprived of such a rare treasure. The picture was sent to England, and met with an unhappy fate, for during th'^ revo- lutionary period which ensued in Cromwell's sub- version of the throne, it was acquired from the Queen by a certain Mr. Emery, after whose death his scrupulous Puritan widow hastened to destroy 136 GUIDO. what she considered as a pagan and immoral pic- ture. At her command the servants fell upon the great and glowing canvas with swords and spears, and having cut it into small bits, threw these into the fire. Guido was summoned to France to paint a por- trait of the King, for which he was offered 1,000 pistoles, and 1,000 more for the expenses of his journey. He declined this invitation, simply say- ing, " I am not a portrait-painter." The master's statement was literally inexact, and probably re- ferred to the general tendency of his labors, rather than to an absolute unfamiliarity with portrait-paint- ing, for he certainly executed many portraits, in- cluding those of his mother and brother. Popes Clement and Paul, and Cardinals Borghese, Sfon- drati, Spadi, Sacchetti and Sanesio. One day Guido left a large coffer in the Hos- pital della Morte, and it was found to be filled with letters from princes, some of them thanking him for pictures, others sending commissioners, and still others inviting him to their courts. When Sirani brought this box to the master, he cried out, " For the love of God, take it away ; for it is too great a vanity to make so much account of «uch things." DECLINING. 137 He had it cast aside, and, never having sought it again, the letters were dispersed. In the summer of 1642, Guido wrote to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, profusely thanking him for a present sent on the receipt of one of his pic- tures. This letter is still preserved in the archives of the Uffizi Palace, at Florence. Ferrante Trotto urged Guido to finish 'The Resurrection of Christ,' which had been begim by Carlo Bononi, "the Caracci of Ferrara;" and in answer he said that it would be temerity for him to assume such a task, in a manner so different from his own ; and added : " I have commenced to de- cline many commissions which are offered to me, because my vigor is departing, — it may be because of the fatigue caused by so many labors, or because of my frequent journeys, or because old age is pressing upon me. It is often said, by the invid- ious, that I shall do much, and even too much, if I **omplete the works which I hav^e already begun. So that you see that both your own and my honor forbids that I shall serve you in this matter ; whence it is better that you should not devolve it upon me, rather than to have the matter fail, which might easily happen, and chiefly because I do not beheve that I shall outlive this present year." 138 GUIDO. Somewhat later he wrote thus to a friend : " I have already arrived at an age which is enough, and I swear to you that to buy a year more I would not spend an hour of the term which has been allotted to me. No one can fly from death, and I find myself already so disposed that I have no fear of its summons." It so happened, a few days later, that certain Bolognese priests ascended to his rooms, to show his works to a company of ecclesiastics who were on the way to the Holy House of Loreto. Being asked by the venerable artist, if they were all priests, one of them heedlessly replied, " Yes, sign- ore, we are all such, and so great that we can bury a dead man." The artist cried out angrily, "What a pretty conceit, and how like your kind ! Know, indeed, that I hope to live to myself bury moLt of you others." But when the priests departed, Guido was dejected, and said, " They are right ; I have no more time to abide in this world." Again, when a knight whom Senator Guidotti had brought to the studio, urged him to hasten on a half-figure which he had just ordered, he answered, " Yes, yes ; your Lordship means to say that I have but a short time to live. But we will arrange thus. I will INQUISITIVE WORKS. 139 reflect for a year to come as to whether I can serve you ; and at the end of that time I will resolve about it, if I am alive." Guide's last picture was a representation of 'The Nativity of Our Lord,' on which he was engaged at the time of his death. It was painted for the Car- thusian Convent at Naples, and is still preserved there, in the secularized Church of San Martino. Certain inquisitive Capuchins were once looking at this picture of the Nativity, and asked him if he should receive for it a thousand pieces of eight, sup- posing that they had said a great thing ; and when he told them that he should receive three thousand crowns and a present from the Prince, they were filled with wonder. He thereupon dryly remarked, " It is easy to see, good fathers, that you understand nothing but poverty." The same prying monks demanded who was the greater, himself or Guer- cino ? "I am the greater," he suddenly and warmly rejoined, "and I could give you the reasons, ac- cording to the rules of art, but you could not com- prehend them. Moreover, these three most easy statements will suffice : firstly, that my pictures sell for more than his do, and I have also taught him how to make himself well paid ; secondly, because I40 GUIDO. he fishes up my ideas, and seeks my manner, though I have never followed him and have always avoided his style ; and finally, because all the others hold to my manner, and none to his." When the monks had gone, Guido said, " I have spoken proudly, and said too much ; but a ridiculous question calls forth an impertinent answer." Malvasia thus prepares for the closing scene : — " But it is at length full time to let my Guido go out from such miseries. It is time, I say, that pass- ing to the common fatherland in the heavens, he may comprehend that true repose, that for him, as for every other traveller and pilgrim, it is foolish to hope for here below. There let him enjoy the re- ward due to his worth, his piety, and his innocent manners. There let him recognize in the Beatific Vision from what fountains of exhaustless light that little ray came that was infused from above into his pure mind, and thence, being imparted to us by imparadising his canvases, made our souls contrite and blessed." Guido at last fell sick, on the 6th of August, while the sun was in Leo. When he was unable to withstand longer the assaults of an insidious fever, he threw himself upon his bed, and seeing that \ MORIBUND. 141 he could not forbid the attendance of a doctor, he selected Cesi, the son of the artist of that name, the rather that he esteemed him as a good man than that he had skill in his profession. Cesi ordered a clyster to be applied, and when that proved beneficial, he gave the patient a cooling beverage, which refreshed his parched throat and burning inner parts. But the malady still advanced, and Cesi desired to call in other counsel, urging that the sick man was not an ordinary person, to have life hazarded on one attendant's opinion, and fiirthermore that he owed him personally a more than ordinary care. He therefore called in Doctor Ambrogisini, who declared that it was necessary to bleed the patient ; but Guido opposed this measure and resisted it, until the physicians declared at last that it was his only hope. ]\Iany knights and nobles called upon him, to console and inspirit him, and among these were the Senator Guidotti and the brother of Cardinal Sacchetti, who finally in- duced him to allow five celebrated doctors to examine the case. Guidotti and Sacchetti also persuaded him to be removed from his chambers, where he was annoyed by the noises of the Square, and his malady was augmented by the intense heat. 142 GUIDO. As soon as it was known in Bologna that he desired to be carried to other quarters, many of the noblest families of the city vied to receive him into theii houses, where he could have that loving service and those tender ministrations of women which were denied to him in his own tenement. Cardinal Durazzi endeavored also to have him conveyed to his own cool and comfortable apartments below the PubHc Palace, and opening on its gardens. But Guido refused all these offers, and chose the house of the merchant Ferri, whither he went in a horse litter, conducted by his own liveried servants, and attended by one of his assistants. When he had arrived there, he suddenly commanded that the chamber, which had been luxuriously arranged for him, should be stripped of all its furniture, save a little table, a chair, and a bed, and that the hang- ings of gilded leather should be removed. A picture, by his own hand, of the Infant Christ and St. John, had with deUcate tact been hung over his bed, but this also he ordered to be removed, saying that he did not so eagerly desire to worship images of his own creation only. He asked that a cruci- fix of wood should be suspended in its place, and this was speedily done. Here he was served and MELODIES OF PARADISE. 143 attended as a great prince, and always watched over by Ferri, who also absolutely refused to admjt of the pawning of two chains of gold, which the master had intrusted to Marco for that purpose. Nevertheless, poor Guido attempted to sally forth and take refuge at the house of his friend Bortolo, nor would he be deterred by the suggestion that that house was situated in a noisy part of the city, where wagons and passengers were continually going by. " That, indeed, is what I most desire," he said, " because I have always been used to hear the tumults and revelries on the great Square, upon which the balconies of my home looked down ; and the quietness of this rural street causes me such melancholy, that for that cause alone I feel myself a-dying." But he was retained at Ferri's house ; and to solace his weary hours, various con- certs of musical bands were ordered, and the per- formers, passing up and down the street, filled it with a grea't and continuous harmony. This device was so delicious in its effect, that players were also introduced into tlie hall near his chamber, and when they were playing their beautiful airs, Guido was seen to wipe away the tears that had fallen on his cheeks, while he cried out, " And what then will be the melodies of Paradise? " 144 GUIDO. In the mean time the Sacrament was exposed .n various churches, and many rehgious orders were supplicating in his behalf. Not only in Bologna, but also in the surrounding cities, and most of all in Rome, prayers and vows were ascending for the recovery of the greatest living artist of Italy. He himself remained intrepid and courageous, and enjoyed hearing his friends talk among themselves over the news of the world ; and being insensible of the increase of his malady, he warmly denied that he was losing his natural heat, as the doctors had alleged. There was no one who would venture to recall to him the Holy Sacraments, though he was in such grave peril ; and finally Ferri, after a long discourse, disposed him to have recourse to divine assistance. He induced him to summon, on his own account, the confessor, by whose aid, on the eve of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, he refreshed himself with the Bread of Angels, and united himself entirely to his God. He then sought pardon from Ferri for the inconvenience which he had caused by his malady ; from all the gentlemen then present, for evil words and expres- sions which he had sometimes used ; from Marco, for his occasional hard treatment, and the same EXTREME UNCTION. 145 from his other pupils. He called to him Sirani, his favorite disciple, and tenderly clasped him to his breast, exalting him above his comrades, and bid- ding him to continue in the noble way in which he had begun. This pathetic scene drew tears of affection and grief from all eyes. He was exhorted by his confessor to make a will and arrange his property, and for that cause demanded that the Senator Guidotti should be brought to him, that to his tried faith he might confide his last testament, which was, in substance, that his nearest surviving kinsman should inherit the property. When Guidotti arrived, the mori- bund artist could no longer speak, and while the Senator questioned him about various dispositions of affairs, he neither responded nor made any sign ; but when he was asked, directly and simply, if he wished that his nearest relative should be the heir, after bowing his head twice, he distinctly said, "Yes." "At last, strengthened by the Sacrament of extreme unction, drawing to his breast and lovingly kissing the crucifix, after an agony of two entire days courageously endured, in the arms of the Capuchin fathers, whom he always held in such 146 GUIDO. great veneration, he breathed out his blessed soul, at two hours of the night, on Monday, August 1 8th, 1642, which was the sixty-seventh year of his age." Albano, who had been for so many years the bitterest rival of the master, heard the news with great grief, and, turning to his disciples in the studio, said : " The world will never see another Guido." His body, robed in a Capuchin dress, was carried to the sepulchre with the greatest pomp and honor. So vast was the crowd of all ranks and ages, and the concourse to see him, both in the streets through which he was borne, and in the Church of San Domenico, where he was laid in state, that the like had not been seen before, even in the great processions wherein the city annually celebrated its deliverance from the plague. On all sides were heard the grievings of the knights, the moans of the citizens, and the weeping of the artisans, so many of whom, imploring the blessing of Heaven, remembered the benefits received from Guido, — ■ some, of their children borne by him to the holy font ; some, of daughters delivered from peril and endowed by him; some, of generdus pecuniary iids extended to them when in great need; and ENTOMBMENT. 147 some, of pictures and designs bestowed as gifts by him. Senator Guidotti then had the dead artist buried in the hereditary chapel of the Guidotti, so that at the last he could be united in death with that great man, for whom, while Uving, he had ever maintained a noble and loyal friendship. During the last months of his life, when his friends bantered him on his insatiableness in labor, he said : " I am forced to more than I know or am able, if that is possible, having been rewarded more richly than any painter of the past ages." Al- though he declined new commissions for three years before his death, in the hope of finishing the multitude of works which were akeady begun, many unfinished pictures were left in the studio when he died. Among these was the ' St. Bruno,' which the Carthusians gave to Sirani in exchange for another painting, whereupon he completed the work suc- cessfully. Another immense canvas contained the beginnings of a picture of the fable of Latona, which the King of Spain had ordered, having heard, much to his grief, how great a picture he had lost in 'The Abduction of Helen.' 148 GUIDO. There were also two groups of ladies, smaller than life, employing themselves in various labors, sewing and spinning, and perhaps representing Lu- cretia or Artemisia, and their children, yet some- what vague in meaning, and perhaps marking an attempt at Albano's manner. One of these is still preserved, in the sacristy of the Basilica at Loreto. Others were the ' Liberality ' and the ' Modesty,' for Alexander Sacchetti, which were admirably fin- ished by Sirani ; ' The Birth of Christ,' now in San Martino, at Naples ; the great picture which Dr. Zamboni bought, and, having cut out the lovely head of St. Veronica, sold it for double the price of the whole work ; and a ' St. Jerome,' which was respectfully completed by Barbieri. There were numerous outlined canvases and a crowd of valua- ble sketches and designs, with quantities of fine lake-colors and ultramarine. A careful inventory of all the contents of the studio was made, on be- half of the coming heir. Guido Signorini, a mediocre painter at Rome, was the cousin and nearest of. kin to the great master, and succeeded to his goods and chattels. Guidotti received the heir at his own house, and entertained him there while the estate was being SETTLING THE ESTATE. 149 settled, giving him also valuable advice about its affairs. Signorini could doubtless have repudiated '^anv of the alleged claims against the property, but preferred to pay them all, on statement, iri honor to his dead kinsman, being somewhat aided also by records in the hands of Sirani, Marchino, and Loli. He found that Guido's custom, during the last few years, had been, when he accepted a commission, to devote himself intently to sketching out the picture and working on it as far as the advance-money would warrant, so that in case he died suddenly, his conscience should not be aggrieved for the restitution thereof, since whoso- ever chose could take the work as left in compensa- tion for the earnest, and others could be reimbursed after a public sale of his effects. This was duly appreciated when the expected decease left the studio filled with partly-finished pictures ; for nearly every one preferred to take even the httle of Guido which he could than to have his money returned. Other creditors were quieted in a similar manner, as in the case of the merchant Ferri, who had loaned the master 3,000 pistoles, to meet his losses at the gaming-table, of which 1,000 were still un- paid, and for the satisfaction of the debt he took thirteen of these glorious fragments. ISO GUIDO. Thus honorably and fairly did Signorini meet every claim, even those which were unjust, and yet there remained to him several hundred crowns from the estate. He also came into possession of a book containing a hundred designs drawn by the hand of Raphael, which the master had purchased at Rome. The salvers, the chains of gold, and the silver candlesticks had been stolen, and were not recovered. A LIST OF THE CHIEF PAINTINGS OF GUIDO RENI, AND THEIR PRESENT LOCATIONS. *^* A few pictures -whose authenticity is doubtful are indicated by an interrogation-mark. ITALY. Rome. — Vatican Gallery, — The Crucifixion of St. Peter ; Madonna and Child. Capitolme Gallery, — ^ Redeemed Spirit ; Mary Magdalen ; St. Sebastian ; Portrait of Guide Reni. Academy of St. Luke, — Fortuna ; Cupid ; Bacchus and Ariadne. Corsini Palace, — Herodias ; the Madonna ; The Crucifixion of St. Peter; An Old Man; Sleeping Cupid; St. John; Addolorata; Ecce Homo; Contempla- tion. Spada-alla-Regola Palace, — The Abduction of Helen ; Judith; Cardinal Bernardo Spada. Sciarra-Colo}t7ta Pal- ace,— Mos&s with the Tables of the Law; Mary Magda- lene. Colonna Palace, — St. Agnes; St. John the Baptist; St. Francis. Barberifii Palace, — St. \]rh?i.n; St. Andrea Corsini; Mary Magdalen. Doria Palace, — St. Peter; Judith ; Madonna. Rospigliosi Palace, — Aurora ; Andro- meda; and other frescos. Borghese Palace, — St. Joseph. C««W«a/i'a/a<:^, — The Annunciation; The Nativity; The 152 GUIDO. Assumption; and other frescos. Church of St. Gregory,— St. Peter and St. Paul; St. Andrew adoring the Cross; and other frescos. St. Pietro in Vinculi, — Hope. St. Lorenzo in Lucina, — The Crucifi.\ion. Sta. Maria de'' Cappuccini, — St. Michael. SS. Trinita de' Pellegrini, — 'Y\i'S. Trinity. Sta. Cecilia i7t Trastevere, — St. Cecilia. Sta. Maria Maz- giore, — The Immaculate Conception; and other frescos. St. Louis, — St. Cecilia. The Minorites, — Pietk. Chiesa Nuova, — St. Philip Neri ; Ecce Homo. Florence. — Uffizi Gallery, — St. Sebastian ; Madonna ; Madonna, with Jesus and St. John ; Portrait of Guido Reni ; The Cumaean Sibyl ; Bradamante and Fiordaspina (from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso "). Pitti Palace, — Charity; Cleopatra ; St. Peter Weeping ; Bacchus ; Portrait of an Old Man ; Rebecca at the Well. Corsini Palace, — Lucre- tia ; Scenes from the " Orlando Furioso." Panciatichi Palace, — Diana; Endymion. Strozzi Palace, — David. Torrigiani Palace, — Lucretia. Bologna. — Sa7t Domenico, — Transfiguration of St. Dominic. St. Rlichele in Bosco, — St. Benedict. Mendi- canti Church, — St. Job. Tanaro Palace, — Mary Nursing Christ. Zampieri Palace, — Circe; St. Peter and St. Paul ; Bianchi Palace, — ^neas and the Harpies (fresco). Pina- coteca, — Samson Victorious over the Philistines; The Cru- cifixion (Cristo dei Cappucini) ; Madonna della Pieti (II Pallione del Voto), 1616; Madonna del Rosario, 1630; The Coronation of the Virgin, 1595; The Massacre of the Inno- cents ; St. Sebastian ; Ecce Homo ; Mater Dolorosa ; The Writing Carthusian, 1600; St. Andrea Corsini; St. John Preaching. LIST OF PAINTINGS. 153 Turin. — Pinacoteca, — St. John the Baptist ; Group gf Cupids; Renown; Lucretia. Genoa. — St. Ambrose, — The Assumption. Brignole-Sale Palace, — St. Sebastian ; Ma- donna. Balbi Palace, — Assumption of Mary Magdalen. Durazzo Palace, — A Sleeping Child. Milan. — Brera Gallery, — Sts. Peter and Paul; St. Jerome; Madonna. CoMO. — Cathedral, — A picture in the Sacristy. Padua. — Eremitani Church, — St. John the Baptist. Modena. — Ducal Palace, — Christ on the Cross; The Purification; St. Roch in Prison. Ravenna. — Cathedral, — The Falling of the Manna; Elijah in the Desert. Faenza. — Pinacoteca, — Madonna and Saints. Lucca. — Gallety delle Belle Arte, — The Crucifixion. Loreto. — The Madonna. Fano. — St. Peter'' s, — The Annunciation. Cathedral, — Christ giving the Primacy to St. Peter. Pisa. — Uppezinghi Palace, — Heavenly and Earthly Love. Siena. — St. Martino, — The Circumcision. FoRLi. — St. Girolanio, — Madonna and Angels. Pinacoteca, — Head of the Madonna. Marino. — SS. Trinity, — The Trinity. Pesaro. — St. Thomas. Pieve di Cento. — The Assumption. Naples. — Miran- da Palace, — A Picture. St. Philip Neri, — St. Francis of Assisi. St. Martino, — The Nativity. Girgenti. — Cathe- dral, — Madonna and Sleeping Christ. SPAIN. Madrid. — Royal Gallery, — The Suicide of Lucretia; Cleopatra ; An Old Man ; Portrait of a Maiden ; St. Paul ; Magdalen ; St. James ; St. Sebastian ; The Madonna de la Silla ; The Assumption ; The Martyrdom of St. Apollonia The Dead St. Apollonia; St. Jerome; St. Paul. 154 GUIDO. FRANCE. Paris. — The Louvre, — Ecce Homo ; Penitent Magdar len; Christ giving the Keys of Heaven to St. Peter; St. Sebastian; David with Goliath's Head; Fortuna; St. Fran- cis ; St. John the Baptist ; The Abduction of Helen ; Paint- ing and Design; Madonna and Child; Holy Family; The Repose in Egypt ; Mater Dolorosa ; Christ and the Samari- tan Woman; Two Madonnas; The Presentation in the Temple; Hercules and Achelous; Hercules Killing the Hydra; The Abduction of Dejanira; The Death of Her- cules; Christ in Gethsemane ; The Annunciation. Rouen. — Museum, — St. Januarius. LYONS. — Museum, — The Assumption of the Virgin ; the Annunciation. Nantes. — Musettm, — St. John and the Lamb. Angers. — Museum, — Magdalen. Marseilles. — Museum, — The Roman Charity. GERMANY. Berlin. — Museum, — Venus; Fortuna; St. Paul and St. Anthony; Mater Dolorosa. Potsdam. — New Palace, — Cleopatra; Lucretia; Madonna; Diogenes. Bruns- wick. — Ducal Museum, — Procris and Cephalus. Dresden. — Gallery, — Ninus and Semiramis ; Venus and Cupid; Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Child ; Young Bacchus ; Omphale (?) ; St. Francis of Assisi ; Ecce Homo ; St. Jerome; Ecce Homo; Madonna and Saints; Christ Crowned with Thorns; Madonna, and Sts. Crispin and Crispinianus. Leii'SIC. — Museum, — Madonna; St. John; David with the Head of Goliath. Weimar. — Museum, — Cartoons. LIST OF PAINTINGS. 155 GoTHA. — Friedenstein Palace, — Ecce Homo; Boy and Dove's Nest ; Bacchus and Ariadne ; St. Lawrence. Stuttgart. — Museum of Art, — St. Sebastian. Munich. — Old Pinakothek, — The Assumption of the Virgin ; Apollo Flaying Marsyas ; St. John the Evangelist , St. Jerome Reading ; St. Peter Repentant ; Ecce Homo. Mayence. — Electoral Palace, — The Rape of Europa. Darmstadt. — Picture Gallery, — Penitent Magdalen. SCHLEISSHEIM. — The Chateau, — Fortuna| The Toilet of Venus. AUSTRIA. \VEti-iiK. — Belvedere Gallery, — Ecce Homo; David; Magdalen ; The Presentation in the Temple ; Ecce Homo ; The Baptism of Christ; Madonna and Sleeping Christ; The Four Seasons ; Sibyl ; St. Francis ; St. John the Bap- tist; St. Peter; The Crucifixion. Academy of Art, — Ma- donna Adoring the Sleeping Christ. Schonborn Palace, — Ecce Homo; Diana. Lichtenstein Palace, — Magdalen; Charity; The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Infant Jesus Sleeping on the Cross; Magdalen; St. John the Baptist; St. Jerome; Bacchus; Cupid; Bacchus and Ariadne; The Sleeping Bacchus; The Crucifixion: The Flight into Egypt; Susannah; Sibyl. Czernin Palace,—' Holy Family ; Madonna. Prague. — Society of Amateurs, — Ecce Homo; Cupid. Nostitz Palace, — St. Francis. Pest. — Academy, — David and Abigail; The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Crucifixion; Lucretia; The Child Christ Sleeping. IS6 GUIDO. THE LOW COUNTRIES. Brussels. — Public Museum, — The Flight into Egypt A Sibyl. Antwerp. — Church of St. yaques, — Mater Dolorosa. Wuyt^s Gallery, — The Virgin ; Mater Dolorosa. The Hague. — Museum, — The Death of Abel; The Discreet Cupid. Amsterdam. — Museum, — The Penitent Magdalen. RUSSIA. St. Petersburg. — The Hermitage Palace, — The De- bate on the Immaculate Conception ; Mater Gloriosa ; St. Francis Adoring the Child Christ ; The Holy Family ; The Theological Dispute ; The Rape of Europa ; The Sewing Women ; Cupid and Psyche ; The Death of Cleopatra ; Sts. Peter and Paul in Ecstasy ; St. Jerome ; Paris and the Three Goddesses ; Adoration of the Magi ; Adoration of the Shepherds ; Madonna; The Repose in Egypt; David and the Head of Goliath. GREAT BRITAIN. London. — National Gallery, — The Coronation of the Virgin ; Magdalen ; Susannah and the Elders ; Lot and his Daughters ; Perseus and Andromeda ; The Toilet of Venus ; Ecce Homo ; St. Jerome. Bridgewater House, — The Arch- angel Michael ; The Infant Christ Sleeping on the Cross. Stafford House, — The Circumcision of Christ; Magdalen; The Race of Atalanta and Hippomenes. Devonshire House, Perseus and Andromeda. Crosvcnor Gallery, — The Na- tivity; Fortuna; St. John in the Wilderness; Madonna. LIST OF PAINTINGS. 157 MUNRO. — Europa and the Bull; Cleopatra; St. Sebas- tian. Hope, — ^\vt Triumph of Heavenly over Earthly Love. Ashburton, — Yi^2.A of Christ. Baring, — Y.ztA Homo ; St. Cecilia. Holford, — Madonna ; St. James the Elder. Phipps, — The Archangel Michael. Neeld, — Mater Dolorosa. Northwick, — Madonna and Sleeping Christ ; St. Matthew and an Angel. Lord Yarborough, — David; Salome; Child Christ Sleeping on the Cross; Mater Dolorosa. Dulwich College, — St. Sebastian ; Euro- pa (?) and five doubtful pictures. Lord Ward, — St. Se- bastian; The Death of Abel. Hampton-Court Palace, — Judith and the Head of Holofernes ; St. Francis (?) ; The Annunciation. Keddlestone Hall, — Bacchus and Ariadne. Burleigh House, — Boy and Dove ; St. Philip Neri ; Ma- donna; Sibyl; St. Peter ; St. Jerome ; Lucretia ; An Angel. Narford Hall, — Venus and Cupid. Wardour Castle,— Youth's Head. Alnwick Castle, — The Crucifixion. Dun- combe Park, — David and Abigail; Charity; Bacchus and Ariadne. Clumber Park, — Artemisia. Marbury Hall, — The Holy Family ; Midonna and Child ; The Massacre of the Innocents. Corsham Court, — Paul V. ; Madonna The Baptism of Christ (?). Mr. Bardon, — Sketch of Au rora. Mr. Anderson, — The Annunciation. Lord Norman ton, — Female Figure. Lord Caledon, — St. Matthew, Lord Wensleydale, — Fortuna. Mr. R. P. Nichols, — St Lucia; Magdalen. Lord Overstone, — Madonna; Sibyl Orleans House, — Madonna of Peace. Osterley Park,— Madonna. Wrotham Park, — Magdalen. Windsor Castle, Cleopatra and the Asp ; Volumes of Drawings ; St. Sebas- 158 GUIDO. tian ; St. Catherine. Panshanger, — The Sibyl. Longfora Castle^ — Magdalen ; Europa. Charlton Park, — The Ado- ration of the Shepherds. Cobham Hall, — Modesty and Liberality ; Salome ; St. Francis ; Magdalen. Duke of Bedford, — The Virgin Holding Doves. Stourhead House, — St. Francis ; Holy Family. Kingston Lacy, — Day, Dawn, and Night. Blaise Castle, — The Assumption ; The Crucifixion; Ecce Homo ; St. Veronica. Lou'thcr Castle, — St. Francis in Prayer. Temple Newsam, — St. John the Baptist ; St. Margaret and the Dragon. Wentworth House, — Sleeping Cupid. Alton Towers, — Magdalen ; A Bishop ; Boy and Head of St. John the Baptist. Beechwood, — St. Jerome. Gatton Park, — Madonna; A Saint and the In- fant Christ. Holkham, — Joseph and Potiphar's Wife. Badminton (Duke of Beaufort), — four pictures. Dodding- ton Park, — Madonna and Child ; Sts. Jerome and Francis ; Elmore Court, — Madonna ; St. Francis ; Virgin and Child. Charlton Park, — Ecce Homo ; The Adoration of the Shepherds. SCOTLAND. * Edinburgh. — Royal Institution, — Ecce Homo. Keir (Stirling), — St. John. Rossie Priory, — Magdalen. Pictures whose locations are not k?iown. America Giving her Treasures to Neptune ; Beauty Re- pulsing Time ; Jupiter Fighting the Titans ; The Genius of Painting ; ^neas and Dido ; The Death of Sophonisba ; The Judgment of Midas ; Apollo Playing the Violin ; Peace and Plenty ; The Abduction of Cassandra. INDEX. Abandoning Art, 42. Agents, 60. Albano, 8, 11, 22, 29, 109, 146. " Apelles of Bologna,' 128. Archangel Michael, 63. Ariadne, 134. Arpino, 26, 33, 51' ^ ,, . Assumption, The (Castelfranco) , Assumption, The (Genoa), 54. Aurora, 27. Bagnacavallo, 83. Banner Picture, The, 132. Barberini, Cardinal, 63. Barbieri, 56. " Beatrice Cenci," (?) 34- BellcoHare, 88. Best Picture, The, 120. Birth of Guido, 8. Bologna, Studio at, 105. Borghese, Cardinal, 24, 26. Boyhood's Trials, 9. Calvart, 9, 12, 44 52, 55. Caracci, 11, 13, 15, ^7, 5^- Caravaggio, 14, 23- Cardinals Rebuked, 62. Charity, 131. Charles of Tuscany, 68. Clement VII., 17. Coach, 106. Colors, 97. Comari, Cardinal, 68. Correspondence, 109. Cortona, 124. Crackling Fire, 112. Criticisms, 84. Crucifixion, The, 133. Death Cometh, 145. Death F9reseen, 137-S. Defamation, 16. Domenichino, 24, 56, 84, 8y. DUrer, Albert, 83. Etchings, iii. Evening Walks, is2. Eyes, 95. Facchenelti's Kindness, 48 Faith, 99. Favorite Artists, 83. Ferrari, 65. Flight from Rome, 34. Food, 107. Forgeries, 78. France, Invited to, 47, X30. Frescos, 18. Funeral, 146. Gambling, 62, 112, 126. Garments, 107. Generosity, 129. Gessi, 58, 59. Glad Improvidence, 125. Greek Art, 93. Guerazzi quoted, 39. Guercino, 44, 139. Hair Painting, 81. Hands and Feet, 94. Handwriting, 109. Heir, Guido's, 148. Home Honors, 67. Ingrates, 87. Italia, 69. »59 i6o INDEX. Jacobs, the Silversmith, 75, 114. ubilee. The Papal, 7. Lanzi quoted, 81. Last Sickness, 140. Literary Flatterers, 127, 128. Lying in State, 146. Manners, 79. Mantua, 57. Massacre of the Innocents, 45. Models, 89. Modesty, 13. Monk Artist, A, 82. Montagnola, U, 84. Morning Hours, 109. Mother, Guide's, 49, 50. Municipal Honors, 53. Music, 8, III. Naples, 59. Nativity, The, 139. Neatness, 107. Niobe, 92. Palatial Homes, 105. Pallione, II, 132. Pamfili, Cardinal, 61, Papal Ire, 46. Paul V.'s Mildness, 29, 49, 62. Personal Appearance, 106. Philosophy in Losses, 116. Pieta, 53. Piety ol Guido, 98. Poems of Praise, 127. Policeman, A Worried, ia6. Portents, 100. Pride, 118. Pride in Art, 30, 124. Pupils, 84. Purity, 98. Quirinal Pictures, 28-33. Ravenna, 58, io6. Reni, Daniele, 7, 10. Repartees, 121. Rest Approaching, 140. Rognone, 88. Rome, 22. Rubens, 84. Sacchetti, Cardinal, 70, 134. St. Andrew, 24. St. Benedict, 19. St. Cecilia, 20, 23. Si. Crispin, 134. St. Januarius, 58. St. Job, 132. Samson, 74. Sculptures, iii. Seclusion, 122. Sementi, 58. Sfondrato, Cardinal, 21, 33. Silent Guest, The, 104. Silk, 96. Sirani, 145. Sleeping, 108. Spada, Cardinal, 71, 72. Speculation, 77. Submission, 48. Superstition, loi. Taine quoted, 27. Transji^^uration of St. Dominic, 4S, 53- Treasurer, The Papal, 51. Trinity, The Holy, 53. Turbantina, La, 20. Venetian Invitations, 76. Weariness of Heart, 118. Woman-Hater, A, 102. ARTIST- BIOGRAPHIES. CLAUDE LORRAINE. BOSTON: HOUGHTON, OSGOOD AND COMPANY, Wsfi 2lJiiJcrsilie |3vcss, CambriBse. 1880. Copyright. By HOUGHTON, OSGOOD & CO. 1878. University Press: John Wilson & Son, Camdridgb PREFACE. It is difiScult to believe that an artist so renowned as Claude Lorraine, whose long and fruitful life was passed in such an eventful era, has, up to the present time, found no biographer. But no life of Claude can be found in the great libraries of Boston and Cambridge ; nor is there any allusion to such a work in the numerous short sketches relating to him, and published in books pertaining to art-history. The best account now accessible is the monograph of M. Edouard Meaume, pubhshed in 1 871, in the eleventh and supplemental volume of M. Edouard-Dumesnil's " Le Peintre-Graveur Fran^ais." Other biographical sketches are found in Smith's " Catalogue Raisonnd," vol. viii. ; Blanc's " Histoire des Peintres : Ecole Fran- gaise," vol. i. ; and Baldinucci's " Notizie de' Profes- sor! del Designo," vol. xiii. The history of the earlier part of Claude's life is variously told by different writers, some holding to 3 4 PREFACE. Baldinucci's version, and 'others to Sandrart's. The last-named author was a friend and companion of Claude, from jvhom he received many details as to his early life ; but the obvious inaccuracies in his work, not only as regards the great Lorraine, but also about other artists, lessen the value of the testi- mony. Baldinucci was not a contemporary writer, but obtained his information from Jean Gellee and the Abbd Joseph Gellee, the grand-nephews of the artist. The Abbe was a wealthy ecclesiastic, min- gUng in the best society of Rome; and Meaume charges him with a not unnatural suppression of the unpleasant facts of his great-uucle's early life. Baldi- nucci was a careful and conscientious writer, more accurate than Sandrart (who wrote from memory, in his old age), but usually agreeing with him as to the events of Claude's later life. Blanc, Villot, Dumes- nil, and other modern writers have preferred Baldi- nucci's version, though Meaume, the latest student of Claude's life, has found it profitable to collate both accounts. This example has also been followed in the present biography; and such items about the great landscape-painter as could be gleaned from the history of art in the seventeenth century have been added. M. F. SWEETSER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1600-1625. PAGB Oaude's Bhthplace in Lorraine. — His Family. — Journey to Frei- burg. — Arrival at Rome. — Studies at Naples. — Agostino Tassi. — The Contemplation of Nature .7 CHAPTER II. 1625-1627. Claude's Journey to Loreto, Venice, and Munich. — His Return to Lorraine. — Works at Nancy. — Yearning for Italy. — His Journey to Marseilles. — Once more at Rome 29 CHAPTER III. 1627-1632. Nicholas Poussin. — Sandrart, Claude's Companion and Biographer. — Claude's Method of Study. — The Studio at SS. Trinitk de' Monti. — Digression on American Artists 40 CHAPTER IV. 1632-1636. The Gothic Menace. — Urban VIII. — Cardinal Bentivoglio. — The Pope's Pictures. — Claude's Etchings. — The Liber Veritatis . 53 CHAPTER V, 1636-1652. Claude's Life not understood. — His Household. — The Roman Fire- works. — Cardinal Giorio. — Prince Pamfili. — The Bouillon-Claudes. — Pictures for the King of Spain 6fi 5 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. 1652-1664. PAGE Salvator Rosa and Poussin. — An Unworthy Assistant. — Pope Alex- ander VII. — The Constable Colonna 91 CHAPTER VII, . 1664-1682. The Closed Studio. — More Colonna Pictures. — Pope Clement IX. — Innocent XI. — Claude's Sickness and Death. — His Monu- ments . 107 CHAPTER VIII. Claude's Pdvate Life. — His Followers. — Classical Tendencies. — Life Work. — Figure-Painting. — Ideals. — Verdicts of Critics . 123 LIST OF PAINTINGS 141 LIST OF ETCHINGS 148 INDEX 151 CLAUDE LORRAINE. CHAPTER I. Claude's' Birthplace in Lorraine. — His Family. — Journey to Freiburg. — Arrival at Rome. — Studies at Naples. — Agostino Tassi. — The Contemplation of Nature. The great landscape-painters of the seventeenth century aided in leading the standards of art beyond the narrow limits in which they had been held by the Church and the academicians. Into the twilight of the monk's cell and the prince's castle-hall they poured the full glory of the light of the sun, and introduced the melodies of singing birds, lowing kine, rippling waters, and rustling leaves, making the life of Christendom more whole- some and natural, iu so far as art could effect such 1 change. Foremost among these new evangelists of the gospel of light and air were the three great 7 8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. painters who dwelt together at Rome, — Claude, Poussin, and Salvator Rosa. Claude Gellee was born in the year 1 600, at the little hamlet of Chamagne, in the diocese of Toul and the Duchy of Lorraine, not far from Mirecourt and only three miles north of Charmes. The house which was his birthplace is still carefully preserved, and is owned by a descendant of one of his brothers, bearing the name of Gellee. It is a picturesque old structure, near the end of the street leading to the pasturage-grounds of the commune ; and bears on its front a tablet of serpentine inscribed with the words : • " Here was born in 1600 Claude Gel Ide, called the Lorraine, who died at Rome, Nov. 25, 1682." Chamagne was the chief place of the ancient seigniory of the same name, in the old Duchy of Lorraine and the present Department of the Vosges. It stands in a beautiful situation about half a mile from the right bank of the Moselle River, on the edge of the Forest of Charmes. The present pop- ulation is about 600 ; and its mayor in 1871 was a descendant of the Gelle'e family, many of whose members now live in the vicinity. No record remains as to the occupation of A HUMBLE FAMILY. g Claude's parents, Jean Gelle'e and Anne Pedose ; but it is inferred that they were artisans or farmers in very humble circumstances. Of their large fam- ily of children, five were boys, — Jean, Dominique, Claude, Denis, and Michel. It appears that this numerous progeny entailed a heavy expense on their poor parents ; but the trials of life were met with true French light-heartedness, and the best efforts were put forth for the future welfare of the lads. Jean was apprenticed to a lucrative and hon- orable profession, wherein he appeared to advantage not long after. He bore the hereditary name which his father and grandfather had before him, and was doubtless looked to as the future mainstay of his younger brothers and sisters. The head of the Gellee family was at least suffi- ciently well-to-do and intelligent to send all his boys to school. But Claude was one of the dullest of stu- dents, and learned to read only after the most strenu- ous labor. As the uTiter of the Nobilissimce. Artis PictoricE wrote of him, — scientia valde mediocri. It soon became evident to the worthy bou7'geoh of Chamagne, that his boy was too slow-witted to become a ccholar, and that it was idle to keep him longer under the care of the pedagogue. Sandrart lO CLAUDE LORRAINE. said, in his German edition of 1675, that Claude was apprenticed to a pastry-cook ; but in his Latin edition of 1683, he said that he was placed with a painter {pictori). Beaume suggests gratuitously, that, instead of pictori, Sandrart meant to have said pistori (pastry-cook) . Sandrart goes on to tell that Claude afterwards journeyed to Rome, with a company of compatriots exercising the same profession. Now, it was very natural for young art-students to have travelled to Rome, but it is not so clear why a bevy of pastry- cooks should have undertaken such a long and arduous journey. The skill which was adequate to preparing the heavy food of the mountaineers of the.Vosges would hardly have sufficed to satisfy the epicurean cardinals of the papal court, or their fastidious fellow-townsmen. Nagler, in his Kunstler-Lexikon, adheres mainly to Sandrart's story, and gives other details. He says that Claude's father was a pastry-cook, but could not teach his stupid boy to make a pie or heat an oven. The lad's uncle then advised that he should be educated for the priesthood, in ac- cordance with the popular saying, ". If your child is good for nothing else, he will be good for THE PASTRY-COOK STORY. II the Church." But here, also, Claude's ineptitude proved an insurmountable bar, since it was almost impossible even to teach him to read. A little later he became servant to a Flemish artist, who took him to Rome ; and here, at an initiation-feast, he acquitted himself admirably as a cook. Agos- tino Tassi, a Roman artist, was present, and, havmg as much taste for pastry as for painting, hastened to engage the services of the youth to perform the offices of cook and color-grinder. In the studio of his new master, Claude felt for the first time a yearning for another and a loftier vocation ; and from stupid and thoughtless indolence, and the dull humiliation of his earher labors, he became one of the noblest aspirants for the garland of immortality. Tassi lived to see his simpleton and drudge the first painter of the age. Nagler closes his account of Claude's early life wth these words : " In his thirty-sixth year, Claude Gellee was cook- ing cutlets and grinding colors ; and ten years later, Claude Lorraine appears on the scene, the friend of the elegant Cardinal Bentivoglio, the dis- tinguished favorite of Urban VIII." The ingen- ious inaccuracy of the last sentence is seen when Sandrart shows Claude as a painter of high repute 12 CLAUDE LORRAINE. in his thirtieth year, and also when history tells as that at the time when Nagler represents the artist as the friend of Urban VIII. that Pontiff had been dead for two years. The whole story thus discredits itself. But Baldinucci states the facts of Claude's early life in a far different manner, and one which is fol- lowed in the succeeding narrative. When the boy had reached the age of twelve, his parents both died, leaving him to make his own way in the world as best he might. Jean, his elder brother, had es- tablished himself in the German city of Freiburg, beyond the Rliine, where he successfully pursued the vocations of wood carving and engraving. After the loss of his parents, Claude set out for Freiburg, to seek the protection of his prosperous kinsman, and travelled on foot and alone across southern Lorraine and through the Vosges Mountains, traversing the fair valley of the Rhine, and at last reaching the home of Jean Gell^e. We do not know his rea- sons for this journey, — whether his other brothers were too poor to support him, or his innate artistic tastes led him to prefer an apprenticeship in even the lower departments of art. For about a year the ambitious boy remained THE LACE-MERCHANT. 13 at Freiburg, laboring under the direction of his brother, and learning the elementary principles of the profession. Here he became acquainted with the use of the pencil in tracing or designing ara- besques and grotesques, and other ornaments of a simple character, while preparing for initiation into his brother's business. His latent genius developed rapidly, and he soon showed evidences of an artis- tic inspiration. But before the lad had mastered his trade, and prepared to settle down as a wood-carver of the Black Forest, Jean Gellee was visited by one of his kinsmen from the west, a lace-merchant, who was then on his way to Rome. As a result of the confer- ences of these generous and well-wishing relatives, influenced doubtless by the contemplation of the young apprentice's handiwork, it was resolved that Claude should be taken to the Eternal City, to study art in its best expression and under the most famous masters. It may be that the lace-merchant had some knowledge of art, from his long travels and his frequent intercourse with cultured persons, such as those to whom he must needs show his wares. Possibly he had been at Rome before, and was familiar with the stories of the youths who had 14 CLAUDE LORRAINE. gone thither from the Italian principaUties or from France and Holland, and had become illustrious artists and men of great estate. Claude was full of an intense longing to see and study the Roman antiques and the works of Raphael and his disci- ples ; as if he already had some vague presentiment of his destiny, and wished to prepare for it right worthily. In those days (as even now) much fine lace was made at Mirecourt, near Chamagne, as well as in other parts of Lorraine, and was carried into Italy for sale. A steady and lucrative commerce had long been maintained in this way between Rome and the Moselle valley, attended with frequent jour- neys on the part of the northern merchants. So at last the gifted and fortunate lad departed from Freiburg, and took the route to Italy, in company with the vender of laces. Out from the shades of the Black Forest, through the-vast Alps of Switzerland, across the Lombard plains, and through the superb Tuscan cities, and at last entcv- ing the august gates of Rome, — what a journey must that have been for the light-hearted boy, already filled with an earnest love of nature and a keen perception of its manifold beauties I HARD TIMES. 15 On arriving at Rome, some untoward event com- pelled the lace-merchant to leave the city abruptly - and young Claude was abandoned to his OAen re- sources, with but a narrow supply to meet his daily wants. He secured lodgings in one of the narrow and crowded streets of the most populous quarter of the city, towards the Tiber, and near that great shrine of art-pilgrimage, the Pantheon, in whose vaults lay the remains of Raphael and several of his disciples. Far, very far, from his kinspeople, friendless in a strange land, ignorant even of the language of those about him, and almost penniless, — the situation was indeed a serious one for a lad of fourteen years. But he was a true son of Lothaire's Land, and his courage never failed. He devoted every day to close and earnest study, all unaided by a master, and depending on himself alone. Applying the simple rudiments which Jean Gellee had inculcated to the contemplation and comparison of the great works of art in the Roman churches and palaces, he formulated his own rules, and acquired a con- siderable knowledge of the underlying principles of successful designing. He also applied himself to the task of copying some of the paintings which l6 CLAUDE LORRAINE. were most congenial to him, and thus gained many practical ideas as to the use of colors. The life of the young student was conducted in the simplest manner, and hedged closely with econ- omies. The funds for his support were sent by his kinsmen, and were not munificent, since their own means were narrow. Nay, it is even likely that, as Sandrart states, he earned most of the money for his daily wants, by performing the humble duties of color-grinder and general drudge in some Roman studio. Amid the surroundings of his me- nial labors, he could then be in constant contact with objects congenial to his tastes, and could hear the conversation of the masters of his future pro- fession. He chose to serve, that he might after- wards command ; and preferred a temporary humil- iation in the sacred city of his aspirations to an easy return to the life of a plodding peasant of the Moselle valley. When Claude entered Rome, it was under the rule of Pope Paul V., a prince of that noble Bor- ghese family which had fled from Siena to avoid the rule of the Medici. Paul was filled with the most exalted ideas of- the supreme exaltation of the Papacy, and held that he had been elected by the . ABANDONED. I? Divine Spirit, and that all nations an'^ Drinces should preserve a profound humility before him. He had excommunicated the entire Venetian Gov- ernment, and laid its territories under interdict ; and was even attempting to fasten Romanism upon Sweden and Russia. The doctrines of the Prot- estant Reformation Avere being extinguished from Poland and Bohemia by fire and sword, and the Counter-Reformation advanced rapidly in Germany and France by the same dread arguments. In 1618, during Claude's fourth year of Roman life, the terrible Thirty Years' War broke out beyond the Alps ; and soon afterwards the imperial Spanish armies ravaged the Palatinate of the Rhine. Dur-. ing the fluctuations of the long contest between the Catholic League and the Protestant powers, the kinsfolk of Claude sufl'ered severely, and especially in their akeady limited property. The means of communication between Italy and the belHgerent North were tlirown into confusion, and it became well-nigh impossible to forward remittances. Jean Gelle'e was therefore obliged to announce to his brother that he could send him no more money, and that he must thenceforward depend on himself alone. l8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. While Claude was thus earnestly and diligently seeking after a manner of painting which should more nearly satisfy his ideals of beauty, he came across some pictures by Goffreddo, in which superb architectural effects were combined with broad and beautiful landscapes. His fancy was straightway led captive by these glowing works ; and he re- solved to submit himself to their author, and to follow his guidance in the upward way of art. The new master was then settled at Naples, the very shrine of landscape beauty, whence he had sent his pictures to be exposed for sale at the great Roman fairs. ' Once more the indomitable boy faced Fortune bravely, and set out for Naples on foot, friendless and almost penniless. The distance was more than a hundred and fifty miles, through a dangerous and unsettled country; but it was traversed in security, and Claude at last entered fair Naples. He was animated witli unfailing zeal, and all oppos- ing discouragements gave way before him. The Neapolitan master received him into the academy at once, favorably moved, perhaps, by the earnest and simple story of the youthful art-pilgiim, or by his natural and unaffected praise of his paintings LIFE AT NAPLES. 19 seen at the Roman fairs. The ever-present urban- ity and araiabiUty of Claude stood him in good stead at this time, and won for him the kindly interest of his master. Baldinucci states that Claude's master at Naples was a certain Goffreddo or Godfrey ; and it is not easy to find out which of his copyists introduced the name of Waal, or by what authority this inter- polation was made. There was a Godfrey de Waal from Flanders, who dwelt in Italy early in the seventeenth century, and was somewhat celebrated as a professor of design; but the only mention remaining of him characterizes him as the teacher of Antonio Travi, an obscure Genoese painter. Elsewhere he is called Godfrey of Cologne. The young Lorraine remained at Naples for two years, diligently studying perspective and the art of portraying architecture, and learning how to blend his new acquisitions into harmonious concep- tions. It is not unlikely that he was forced to support himself during this period by manual bbor, as aforetime, and to repay Goffreddo's lessons by keeping his studio in order. Naples was at that time under the government of the Spanish viceroys, whose rapacity and cruelty 20 CLAUDE LORRAINE. caused universal dissatisfaction and wiath. Masa- niello was not yet risen among the wild rocks of Amalfi, to summon the kingdom to its regeneration, but was still abiding, a mere child, arrong the nide fishermen of the Salemitan Gulf. Salvator Rosa was also a child at this time, dwelling with the peas- ants of Renella. The contemplation of the peerless beauties of Nature in the environs of Naples had a profound effect upon the mind of the northern youth, and his soul was enchanted by the firmamento lucido of the old Ausonian land. Here he studied the soft violet lights deepening over the rugged flanks of Vesuvius, the mellow and dreamy atmosphere inwrapping the broad bay from Sorrento to Ischia, and the sunlight trembling through the morning mists towards Capri. Around the Gulf of Pozzuoli and along the Baian shores the ancient temples and towers of the Roman era still stood, suggesting such wide contrasts of art in desolation and nature in luxuriance as Claude often illustrated in his later works. Farther inland were the peaceful and pop- ulous plains of the Terra di Lavoro, and then the Abruzzi Mountains, wth their charming pastoral scenes amid the verdant glens. What earnest soul AGOSTINO TASSI. 21 would not be quickened before such noble pros- pects ? The tranquil brilliance of this " fragment of hea'^^n to earth vouchsafed," and the pearly and transparent air which canopied its hills, waves, and temples, produced a powerful effect on the youi.g student of art ; and in many of his pictures during the ensuing half-century, the Bay of Naples appears again and again, forming the vast and luminous background for scenes of varying but harmonious meaning. Claude returned to Rome about the year 1620, and entered the service of Agostino Tassi, with whom he was perhaps connected before the Nea- pohtan journey. Here also he continued his func- tions of color-grinder, valet, and groom, the while with an attentive mind he slowly prepared to seek a loftier flight. Agostino Tassi was a Perugian by birth, and had at this time reached the age of fifty-five, — a man of generous propensities and a joyous life, albeit partly overshadowed by the memory of an early crime. He had dwelt several years at Genoa, and devoted himself to the study of naval architecture and the phenomena of the sea, in their artistic pos- sibilities, working with the Genoese artists Genti- 22 CLAUDE LORRAINE. leschi and Salimbenc. His master was Paul Bril, the Flemish painter, who had run away from home many years before, and settled in Rome, where great success attended him, — noble patronage, popular fame, and a large papal pension. He it was who painted the enormous picture, sixty-eight feet wide, illustrating the martyTdom of St. Clement, and adorning one of the halls of the Vatican. Many landscapes issued from his studio, with views of the Campagna and the ancient ruins in the hill-towns. Tassi followed his master's teachings with great enthusiasm and intelligence, and painted a large number of landscapes, adorned with splen- did architecture and picturesque ruins, besides numerous sea-views and harbors, crowded by busy fleets and throngs of men from all nations. His work in these two departments was precisely that in which Claude afterwards attained the utmost meas- ure of success, far surpassing both Tassi and Bril. Some ^vriters are of the opinion that Tassi ar- rived at Rome while Claude was at Naples, and the latter, hearing of the famous works of the new- comer, became greatly desirous of studying under his care. Goffreddo could hardly have allowed his lovable disciple to depart without deep regrets ; and LIFE AT TASSrS. 23 it is likely that he endeavored to make his future course easy by giving him a recommendatory letter to the new master. In the year 162 1, when the cardinals of the con- clave were about to go into the session which re- sulted in the election of Pope Gregory XV., Tassi was commissioned to adorn the halls in which they were to meet with landscapes, marine views, and architectonic ornaments. He was at this time nearly sixty years old, and doubtless found his ac- tive young assistant of much service, since the cares of the household were thus removed from his mind, and he was left free to carry on the great decorative works without interruption. The affable and generous old master had already long known the ambitious spirit of his servant, and at this time gave him lessons in regular form, at least in so far as designing and the use of colors were concerned. So Sandrart says, repeating Claude's personal com- munications to him. The youth was then at the best period of hfe for earnebt an^ intelligent prac- tice, and he used his opportunities to the highest ad- vantage. There is no doubt, also, that his life in the studio, whether as color-grinder or student, was rich in advantages to him, and contributed to move 24 CLAUDE LORRAINE. and elevate his spirit and stimulate his ambition. Daily conversations were carried on here between Tassi and the chief men of the city, the nobles of Central Italy, and the princes of the ecclesiastical state ; and the humble French youth was thus con- stantly in the presence of some of the most cul- tured minds of his time. Tassi was celebrated for his rare urbanity and good-fellowship, and remained a great favorite in the best society of the city. He was feasted and caressed by the nobihty, and lived generously, receiving at his house the leaders of Roman society and culture, and entertaining them in a lordly manner. He was overwhelmed with commissions, and doubtless devolved some parts of their execution upon his willing assistant. Year by year Claude's position seems to have improved, until at last he who had entered the household as a servant dwelt there with the privileges of a son. In his case there was no phenomenal leap to the summit of the hill of Fame, but a long and labori- ous ascent, through paths oftentimes thorny and steep, through humiliations and sore privations. The details which reniain to us are vague and mea- gre ; but they show that this obscure phase of his apprentice-life was filled with such profound shad- ADVANCING. 2$ ows as only the clear and steady light of a pure ambition could illumine. The mathematical principles which Claude had learned from Goffreddo, and the sensitiveness to natural beauty awakened in his soul by the con- templation of lovely Southern Italy, were now blended and given means of expression by the efficient teaching of Tassi. With assiduous toil and unflagging zeal he had slowly attained com- mand of the manner of his master, and acquired the ability to worthily illuminate his conceptions on the glowing canvas. As soon as he was able, he estabhshed a modest little studio, and began to paint landscapes adorned with architectural monu- ments. Their pecuniary value was not great, and their author was forced to live with the utmost economy, and to meet the trials of a life of pov- erty. Yet he resisted the natural temptation to do rapid and careless work for the sake of mere money-making, and maintained his slow and steady advance in excellence. In tiicse formative days his chief study was that of out-door nature, to whose varying phases he gave the closest attention. This method of labor was ever afterwards adhered to ; and, by continual 26 CLAUDE LORRAINE. communion with tlie source of his inspiration, he avoided sinking into academic mannerism and losing the freshness of his impressions. Sandrart bears a precious testimony to the originahty of his observation of Nature ; and other ancient A\Titers, while denying that he possessed genius, concur in attributing his remarkable success to a diligent, intelligent, and loving study of the fields and hills, the sea-shore and the grove. His true master was not Goffreddo, nor Tassi, nor Poussin, but the sun, — master at once and model. With unwear}dng patience and incessant fatigues, he strove to learn well its teachings, and to catch its manifold expressions, to surprise its hidden secrets of effect, and to comprehend the caprices and the harmonies of all its diurnal prog- ress. Often and again he arose before the stars had paled their lights, and, passing under the black arches of the embattled gates, went forth upon the dark and solitary Campagna, to mark the brilliant splendors of the breaking day. So, standing on s6me remote hill, while other men slept within the guarded walls, this lonely sentinel of art watched the sparkling jewels of the aurora and the fleecy clouds over the blushing east, while the sky slowly THE ROMAN DA WN. 27 changed from glory unto glory. In delicate tints, yet full of marvellous richness, the silvery shading of the horizon passed into bands of yellow above, and these into orange, thence to vermilion, and at ' last to the violet light of the zenith. Underneati^ this pageantry of the heavens lay the Sabine Moun- tains, dark, clear-cut, and many-crested, with Palestrina fairly under the winter sunrise, and Tivoli under that of summer. From the dewy fields — now sparkling as if dia- mond-strewn — Claude would return into the awakening city, and, in the quietness of his studio, would transfer to the canvas the brilliant scene which was so vividly impressed on his memory. Before approaching the easel he had thought out the whole compass of his new work, and studied all the kindred grand effects in the wide realms of Nature. The results were rich and tranquil, em- bracing much, and full of verisimilitude. Claude inaugurated what is rightly called the golden age of the landscape-painters, whose cardi- nal principle was the careful and constant study of nature. Tassi and Goffreddo, indeed, gave him lessons in the technic of the profession ; but he borrowed nothing from them, either in manner of 28 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Study or execution. His new method, together with its many excellences, had its disadvantages of slowness and enormous labor ; and when the year 1625 arrived, although he had been in Italy for over ten years, he had won neither fame nor money. Poussin, Ruysdael, Hobbema, Cuyp, and the others who followed his example in later days, and approached him the most nearly, were led ipwards by the same long and arduous path. A PILGRIMAGE. 29 CHAPTER 11. Claude's Journey to Loreto, Venice, and Munich. — His Return to Lorraine. — Works at Nancy. — Yearning for Italy. — His Jour- ney to Marseilles. — Once more at Rome. In April, 1625, Claude left Rome, and journeyed through Venice and Bavaria to his native land. He did not go to Venice by the direct route through Florence, but made a wide circuit to the eastward to the Holy House of Loreto, the most famous pilgrimage-shrine in Italy. It is said that he was so impressed with a sense of his indebted- ness to the Blessed Virgin, in guarding him from danger and helping him upward, that he remained for several days at Loreto, giving himself to pro- longed devotional meditations. The route usually followed by pilgrims from Rome to Loreto, and now traversed by Claude, afforded a continuous panorama of wild and beauti- ful scenery, such as must have given the profound- est pleasure to the devout lover of nature. It led up the Tiber and Nera Valleys by Temi and Spole- 30 CLAUDE LORRAINE. to, and along the rich meadows of the Clitumnus to Foligno. Thence the Apennines were crossed, by the grassy plateaus of Colfiorito, surrounded by stupendous mountains, and between the wild preci- pices of Serravalle, bordered by sterile deserts. From the high crest-Hne beyond, the road descend- ed tlirough the Umbrian glens to the classic hamlets of the Roman Marches, passing ancient Camerino and San Severino, and following one of the venera- ble Latin roads down the Chienti Valley, with fre- quent glimpses of the blue Adriatic in front, and * the lofty Sibilla peaks on the south. At last the reverent pilgrim reached Loreto, on its noble hill, overlooking the mountains and the sea, and even then a shrine hallowed by three centuries of prayers. After his season of holy contemplation Claude travelled northward along the Adriatic coast and through the Romagna, and went to Venice. He is supposed to have dwelt there for some time, practising his profession busily, encouraged and patronized by the numerous wealthy connoisseurs who then lived in the city, and deriving some special instruction from the local academy of art. The superb architecture of the Venetian palaces AT VENICE. 31 must have claimed his admiring attention, and furnished abundant subjects for his pencil. But Providence had ordered that he should not remain in the fair sea-city, to anticipate the labors and triumphs of Canaletto. He doubtless studied the great works of Titian with enthusiasm, and endeavored to discover the secret of his magic coloring. It has been said by modern critics, that if Titian had devoted his life to landscape-painting he would have produced compositions not unlike those of Claude. Both of these illustrious masters had the same traits of powerful generalization, simplicity of execution, and naturalism of design. Their works are full of glow and warmth, with the true brilliancy of nature's Italian hues pervading all, mingled and softened as in the fair outer world. While sojourning in the City of the Sea, Claude executed several paintings of the scenery in its vicinity. One of these represents Venice as ap- proached from Mestre, with the wide Lagune open- ing to the east, and studded with populous islands. Le Bran stated that this work was nearly ruined by restorations, and it has now disappeared. It is impossible to say at this time whether the titles ot 32 CLAUDE LORRAINE 'A View of the Port and City of Genoa.' 'The Ancient Port of ]\Iessina,' and 'A View of Spez- zia,' are justly bestowed, or whether they are mere- ly conjectural and fanciful. When Claude left Rome it does not appear that he intended to travel beyond Italy ; but instead of returning southward from Venice he bent his steps toward Germany. He was probably influenced by tidings received during his sojourn in Venice, which told that his presence was needed in Lor- raine with regard to the affairs of the Gellde family. The artist's journey toward the home of his earlier years was not conducted under the stress of urgency ; for he took a winding and circuitous course, as if to study and enjoy the wild scenery of the Alps at various points. During the tour, he was prostrated by sickness ; and, while thus ren- dered helpless, he was plundered of all his earthly possessions by certain unsympathetic thieves. He had already made considerable money by painting pictures in the cities through which he passed ; and tliis too was taken from him. The route followed was through Trent, the city of the great council, and over the Brenner Pass to Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol. What revela- IN BA VARIA. ZZ tions of the awful grandeur of Nature were borne in upon the painter's soul, as he thus traversed the mighty Alps and the profound TjTolese defiles ! Yet no record, pictorial or written, remains to show how far these scenes impressed him ; and the mountains which appear in his compositions are always the graceful and moderate elevations of the Alban and Sabine ranges, — Soracte, Gennaro, or Monte Cavo. Ruskin has indeed proven his ina- bility to represent a distant snowy peak, by illustra- tions drawn from his works. . Claude must have devoted some time to Bavaria on his homeward journey; for he painted at least two views in the environs of Munich. The sterile plains of the Isar afforded but scanty materials for the enthusiastic artist of the bright and luxuriant Campagna ; but somehow he found wherewithal to content himself. He sojourned for some time at tne viuage of Harlaching. In 1865 King Louis of Bavaria erected a monu- ment at Harlaching, to commemorate Claude's abode there ; and the ceremonies of dedication were made picturesque by a great festival of artists. From Munich he passed eastward across Swabia, and through the Black Forest, and at last reached 34 CLAUDE LORRAINE. his native hamlet on the banks of the Moselle. It was during the latter part of the journey that he was pitilessly plundered by thieves ; so that he re- turned, after twelve years of absence, as poor as when he had departed, save in his treasures of ex- perience and remembrance. He remained at Cha- magne but a short time, and settled certain affairs of family business. After this brief visit to the home of the Gelle'es, Claude travelled to Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, and the seat of the brilliant court of the reigning Duke. It was then, as it still is, one of the fairest cities of France, full of the memorials of antiquity, and nestling under the vine-clad hills which enwall the valley of the Meurthe. Claude had a kinsman resident in the city, who received him with warm demonstrations of welcome, and gave him very material assistance. He was acquainted with Claude de Ruet, then one of the most renowned artists of Lorraine, and the head of the profession in Nancy, being the court painter to the Duke of Lorraine. De Ruct had been a pupil of Tempesta at Rome, and was tlie jealous rival of Callot. Claude was introduced to this local Raphael by his friendly kinsman ; and his works were found so AT NANCY 35 acceptable that the young disciple of Tassi was engaged by the court-painter as his assistant and coadjutor. De Riiet had been ennobled by Duke Henri II., some years before ; and had acquired great wealth and social influence at Nancy, being continually overflowed with commissions, and em- ploying several Italian artists to labor under his direction. Claude desired at this time to master the art of depicting figures, and entered De Ruet's service on the condition that he should be allowed to paint the men and animals in the forthcoming pictures, in order to improve himself in that branch of art. The litde court of Loiraine delighted in portrayals of pretentious and heroic personages in an exag- gerated classic manner, foreshadowing the appear- ance of the same style during the periods of David's degradation of French art. It io difficult to ima- gine the tender lover of graceful nature designing the cold and formal demi-gods of Lorrainese taste, with their statuesque rigidity and case-hardened flesh. The student of the beautiful passed an entire year in this manner of work, of which, fortu- nately, no vestiges now remain. Late in the year 1626 De Ruet was commis- 36 CLAUDE LORRAINE. sioned to adorn the ceiling of the CarmeUte Church with a series of colossal pictures. During the yeai in which Claude had been with him, the mastej had learned both his strong and weak points, and showed his appreciation of the former by associat- ing the young man with himself in the new works. At the same time he considered Claude as still lacking in aptitude for painting figures, and re- served that part of the pictures for himself, together with the general composition thereof. He devolved upon his associate the task of painting the archi- tectural scenery, and thus violated the previous contract. After Claude had devoted a year to this arid and unsatisfactory work in the Carmelite Church, he grew weary of the position and of the rude northern scenes and climate, and sighed for a re- turn to the grand and well-nigh sacred Campagna of Rome, so genial to art, with its over-arching blue sky and the venerable ruins along its rich yet mel- ancholy wastes. At this time an accident occurred, which intensified his desire to give up the labors which were at once so arduous and so restraining to his genius. He was being aided in a certain part of his work by a gilder, who attended him on a FAREWELL TO LORRAINE. 37 high scaffold under the ceiling of the church. By an accidental miss-step this assistant fell from the platform, and would have been instantly killed by striking on the pavement far below, but that he succeeded in grasping a projecting beam. Claude hurried down just in time to save the unfortunate man's life, for his weight was rapidly forcing the frail support from its fastenings. This alarming episode made such an impression on the sensitive mind of the artist, already persuaded that he could never become a great painter while thus laboring in dependence, that he hastened to complete the work on which he was engaged, and resolved to return to Italy as soon as possible. The mysterious charm of Rome, which has always exercised so profound a sway over the greatest artistic minds, had gained an overmastering control of his lofty soul, and led him irresistibly towards the seven- hilled city and the solemn Campagna. In the summer of 1627, he bade farewell to Lor- raine, and went thence, never to return. Yet its name and memory were ever dear to him ; and when, in later years, he had placed his name among the loftiest in the temple of Fame, it was linked with that of his fatherland, and gained a new meaning in the annals of art. 38 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Before the summer was ended the pilgrim ot art had passed down through Burgundy to Lyons, where he sojourned for a few days. Then he descended the River Rhone to Marseilles, where he was attacked with a dangerous fever, by which his life was threatened for a long time. During this time of helplessness, he was once more robbed of all his worldly effects, and left in utter poverty among strangers. But one piece of money remained to him on his recovery ; and this, with the buoyancy and fearlessness of a true child of art, he expended in the festivities of an evening of merry-making with certain new-found comrades. His only grief was that the means for the journey to Rome were gone. But he quickly cast about for fresh supplies, and sought the acquaintance of a wealthy merchant of Marseilles, who enjoyed the reputation of being a patron of the arts. From this gentleman he re- ceived a commission to paint two pictures ; and these compositions were so successfully executed that two more were speedily ordered. But Claude had no desire to settle in Marseilles, and had al- ready earned enough to carry him to that august city whose memories and promises lured him on ; wherefore he declined the new commission, and ALMA ROMA. 39 engaged passage o,; <-he first vessel departing for the Italian coast. He was not alone in the voyage, for on the same ship sailed Charles Erard of Nantes, with his father and brother, court-painters of His Most Christian Majesty, Louis XUI. They also were bound for the Eternal City, and journeyed in company with Claude. The voyage was full of alarms and terrors, for the ship was overtaken by violent tempests, inso- much that at one time the crew gave themselves up for lost ; but at last the weary travellers reached the port of Civita Vecchia, on the coast of the Patri- mony of St. Peter. It was on the day of the Feast of St. Luke, the patron saint of painters, that Claude re-entered Rome, after an absence of over two years. In the beautiful October weather which enfolds Latium with clear splendor, he crossed the fifty miles of the Campagna between Civita Vecchia and the Gate of St. Pancrazio, and once more overlooked the city from the crest of the Janiculan Hill. 40 CLAUDE LORRAINE, CHAPTER III. Nicholas Poussin, — Sandrart, Claude's Companion and Biogra- pher. — Claude's Method of Study. — The Studio at SS. Tri- nita de' Monti. — Digression on American Artists. At this time Nicholas Poussin was the leader of the artists of France residing at Rome. This famous Norman painter had based his studies on Raphael's designs, and was intimate with Philippe de Champaigne and the poet Marini. He had en- tered Italy for the third time in 1624, and settled at Rome, where he joined the party of Domeni- chino in the contest with the naturalistic disciples of Caravaggio, Here he remained for many years, closely engaged in studying the ancient statuary of the city, and acquiring fresh laurels continually. Around him gathered a noble band of artists, — Valentino, Stella, Bamboccio, Poelenburg, Sandrart, II Fiammingo, and others. It was natural that Claude also should join this goodly company, and seek the ivise counsel and worthy influence of his illustrious compatriot. poussin: 41 Blanc says that Claude and Poussin became very intimate at this time, living close to ea(:h other at SS. Trinita de' Monti. But Bonchitte, in his ad- mirable " Life of Poussin " (which was crowned by the French Academy), doubts whether the two artists were ever well acquainted with each other ; and both Bellori and Gault de St. Germain, in their biographies of Poussin, ignore even the name of Claude. It is furthermore certain that Poussin did not occupy his house at SS. Trinita until 1629, when he bought it with the dowry of his bride. Nevertheless it appears most probable that the two great landscape-painters were in some way brought together, and exerted a reciprocal influence on each other. We may imagine how, under the gen- tle yet powerful influence of Poussin, the mind of the master of Lorraine was developed into a broad- er culture, and his manner acquired a greater de- gree of majesty and distinction. The breath of the ideal, a memory of the divine Raphael, took pos- session of him by inspiration, and gave to the pupil of Goffreddo and Tassi new visions of lofty and serene beauty. Poussin's example was a conserva- tive and yet a progressive incitement to him, keep- ing his pencil from unworthy aberrations, and 42 CLAUDE LORRAINE. teaching him how best to mingle the architectural and rural components of his great compositions. It is possible that when Claude returned to Rome he was still illiterate, since his early life was so far devoted to other things that he had but little time and scant desire to attend school. If this was ac- tually the case, he took good care to repair the defect as soon as possible, by learning to read and write ; for the inscriptions on the etchings and in the Liber Veritatis were written by his own hand. Towards the year 1630 Claude became acquaint- ed with Joachim Sandrart, who in later years was his biographer and an eminent art- critic and col- lector. Sandrart had then but recently arrived from Germany, and had not yet reached the age of twenty-four. According to his owti narrative, he became very intimate with Claude, and was accustomed to accompany him on his long tours in the Campagna and among the Apennines. The two artists labored together, and communicated freely to each other the results of their studies in the art of representing nature. With a calm and complacent bonhomie Sandrart tells us that, " In seeing me portraying rocks after nature rather than from invention, Claude found my method excellent, SANDRART. 43 and profited by it so well that by indefatigable labor and an invincible stubbornness, he succeeded in making beautiful landscapes, which the amateurs bought at very high prices, and whose numbers did not suffice to satisfy their impatience." Nevertheless the naive German acknowledgea his comrade's superior abihty in depicting distant horizons, and the falling of light on the back- grounds, or the aerial perspective. He himself preferred to paint huge pictures of oddly shaped rocks, overturned trees, waterfalls, ponderous ruins, and such piles of architecture as seemed most appropriate to historical compositions. He appre- ciated Claude's ambition to illuminate his canvases with the light of immeasurable distances of sun- shine, and to portray the grandeur, gerenity, and majestic harmony of nature when the sun flooded a cloudless sky with brilliancy and warmth. Still he conceived that so far as foregrounds went he himself was the better artist, and he freely offered to paint in these parts of sundry pictures by his illustrious friend. Fortunately this proposition was decUned. The two painters, however, frequently exchanged pictures with each other, a system of transactions 44 CLAUDE LORRAINE. which was probably not without great profit to the slirewd German. He indeed tells us, with infinite relish, that Claude once gave him a morning land- scape, which he sold not long after for four hun- dred florins. This statement also proves that at that early day, the pictures of our artist brought generous prices in Rome. Sandrart describes Claude's studies at this period in the following sentences : " To get at the ground- work of his art, and to penetrate the most deeply hidden secrets of nature, he never left the fields. From the break of day until nightfall he applied himself to seize the varied aspects of the dawn and the rising and the setting of the sun. Above all, it was at the twilight hours that he studied the living model of nature. While considering tliis spectacle, he prepared his colors after the same tints that he observed ; and then, returning to his house with the colors thus made ready, he applied them to the work which he had undertaken. He devoted many years to the application of this labo- rious and difficult method, passing his days in the Campagna, and making long excursions without ever growing weary. I met him frequently in the midst of the steepest rocks of Tivoli, handling the ROME'S ENVIRONS. 45 pencil before the famous cascades, and painting not from imagination nor from inspiration, but according to that which Nature herself breathed into him. This manner of labor had such a charm for him, that he always continued to follow the same method." Occasional rich effects in exact reproductions from the environs of Rome are found in Claude's pictures, although in most cases the landscapes are idealized beyond recognition. Among the more carefully rendered transcripts of nature, are the pictures of the ' Campo Vaccino ' ; Pope Urban's 'Castel Gandolfo'; De Lonchaine's 'Peasants Driving Cattle over a Bridge,' with the rocks and temple of Tivoli, and the distant city of Rome ; 'Tobias and the Angel,' and Gayer's 'Peasant Watering Cattle,' both of which introduce the tall heights of Tivoli, and the rock-bound River Tev- erone. Passari's 'Shepherd Playing on a Pipe' depicts the same cliffs and Sibylline Temple. Others show the Lake of Nemi,' and the tranquil scenery of the Alban hills ; or the lonely watch- towers and silent ports along the sea-front of the Roman Maremma. Martial has truly said that Nature combined in the Roman territory the many 46 CLAUDE LORRAINE. beauties which she scattered singly in other places ; and these the master of Lorraine grouped in a still further concentration, and arranged them under a rich and transfiguring light. The idea has gone out that Claude never carried ■ his brushes and pencils while making his rural excursions, but bore back the images of nature in his mind, saturated with beauty, to place them upon his canvases. Sandrart, however, has given witness that he prepared his colors under the blue sky, and that he also painted certain subjects in the same manner. But the pictures of his best period are not strictly representations of nature, in the sense that they do not portray any known localities, being rather rich and idealized composi- /■ tions, arranging the best traits of various scenes upon one canvas. Though not in their entirety copied from real life, they were nevertheless alto- gether composed of studies from such life, being a careful grouping of detached types drawn from 1 nature. His studio was filled with these materials, colored sketches of all manner of trees found in Central Italy, vivid reproductions of the light and shade and twihght, the vast expanses of the deso- late Campagna, the Alban and Sabine Mountains, \ \ ^ CLAUDE'S TREES. 47 the calmly flowing streams and foaming cascades, and the gray ruins of the ancient civilizations. Sir Joshua Reynolds says that " Claude Lorraine was convinced that taking nature as he found it seldom produced beauty. His pictures are a composition of ihe various draughts which he had previously made from various beautiful scenes and prospects." Claude always kept in his studio a large painting of the country about the Villa Madama, on Monte Mario, a work finished with Flemish precision and minuteness. To this canvas he was accustomed to turn when he wished to repeat certain manners of trees and leaves, for he had included in it nearly every variety of foliage common in Central Italy. On one occasion Pope Clement IX., greatly desir- ing to possess this wonderful picture, offered to pay , for it as many gold pieces as would cover it ; but the artist declined to part with his work, even at so great a price. The trees which Claude preferred to paint in his landscapes were the chestnut and the horse-chest- nut, which are noble in contour, of well-rounded forms, and bear enlivening masses of silvery moss on their brown bark. It is easy to distinguish the species of his trees by the careful arrangement of 48 CLAUDE LORRAINE. the branches, their pecuhar clustering, and the characteristics of the fohage. Their grouping was always arranged with rare skill and symmetry, with reference to the adjacent rivers, meadows, or ruins, and preserved the satisfying balance of the scene. Sandrart says, in his quaint Germanic Latin, that the leaves of Claude's trees seemed to move and tremble at the breath of the wind. But Ruskin thinks that the bough-drawing of Claude resembles that of a boy ten years old, and that his nearer leafage is utterly false ; adding that " the foliage in his middle distances is the finest and truest part of his pictures, and, on the whole, affords the best example of good drawing to be found in ancient art." As soon as Claude's position was well assured, he took rooms near the Church of Santissima Trinita de' Monti, close to the studio of Poussin. The view from this locality is well known as one of the most magnificent of all the wonderful pano- ramas from the Roman hills, looking across the Tiber to the Castle of St. Angelo and the Vatican, and out to the gray hills of Southern Etruria. What a noble prospect to be outspread daily before the eyes of the ardent and appreciative lover oi nature I VILLA MEDICL 45 Poussin's house was at number nine, Yidnzz. della Trinita, close to that in whicli Salvator Rosa dwelt a few years later ; and the domicile of Claude was opposite that of his great countryman. These houses were on the crest of the southern extension of the Pincian Hill, where the Via Sistina widens at the head of the Spanish Stairs, and high above the Piazza di Spagna. Their facades have since been thrown down and rebuilt, and the sizes of the original domiciles are not now known. A site more favorable for the home of a lover of nature and of classic architecture could hardly be imagined. He could enjoy not only the splen- did view over the city, with its conspicuous monu- ments of so many important events in the history of humanity, but also the delicious groves and gardens of the Villa Medici, extending over, two miles, the sparkling fountains and verdant shrub- beries alternating with beds of perennial flowers and groups of stately trees. Among the shady bowers and blooming terraces were precfcus treas- ures of statuary art, — the Niobe group, the Wrest- lers, the ApoUino, and others hardly less famous. Over these elysian delights rose the Villa Medici, with its magnificent halls and stately facade. The 50 CLAUDE LORRAINE. villa was then occupied by Cardinal de' Medici, the Cardinal of Tuscany, and was the headquar- ters of his large and powerful faction. The Convent of the Trinity stood near, attached to the Church of SS. Trinita, and sheltered a goodly number of cheerful French monks, whose dark costumes mingled frequently with the brilliant Medici liver- ies on the promenades. After Claude had estabhshed his new studio on the Pincian Hill, he began, to work earnestly and continuously, and made a considerable number of brilliant pictures, which were readily purchased by the Roman amateurs and by foreign visitors. He finished all of these works with his own hand, and ventured to give them life and motion by painting figures of his own designing. At this point we cannot forbear making a digres- sion to- recall how the Piazza of SS. Trinita de' Monti, hallowed by such memories of the great masters of old, is also celebrated in the annals of American art. Seventy years ago Washington x\lls- ton lived opposite Claude's house, and enjoyed a close intimacy witli Coleridge and Thorwaldsen. Washington Irving was also a bosom-companion of AUston at this time, and resolved to become a AMERICAN ARTISTS. $1 painter himself, under the fascination of that glori- ous view over the city and its marvellous environs In the next house, where Salvator Rosa is sup- posed to have lived, were the rooms of John Van derlyn, one of the most gifted and unfortunate of American artists. He afterwards wrote to AUston, saying, " When I look back some five or six and thirty years, when we were both in Rome together, and next-door neighbors on the Trinita de' Monti, and in the spring of life, full of enthusiasm for our art, and fancying fair prospects awaiting us in after years, it is painful to reflect how far these hopes have been from being realized." At that time Fenimore Cooper was in Rome, and also J, M. W. Turner, afterwards Claude's bitterest antagonist. Fifty years ago, Horatio Greenough and Robert F. Weir lived in the house opposite Claude's, and devoted themselves to the study of art with intense application and earnestness. In 1832 Claude's studio was occupied by a transatlantic artist who might almost have restored its ancient glories. It was Thomas Cole, who had done for the Catskills and the Adirondacks what Claude had done for the Sabine and Alban Mountains, and at last re- turned home to become " the parent of true idyll. 52 CLAUDE LORRAINE. or pastoral painting in America." A man of reli- gious sanctity of character, tranquil gravity, and lofty idealism, he was 'worthy of his surroundings at Rome, which indeed stimulated him to breath- less industry. Looking from the windows over the wide landscape and the sacred city, even as Claude had looked for so many years, he was filled with rapturous inspiration, and "worked like a crazy man," as the wondering Romans said. He gave to his great predecessor the following superlative tribute : " Claude, to me, is the greatest of all landscape-painters ; and, indeed, I should rank him with Raphael or Michael Angelo." In our days George L. Brown, now one of the foremost of American landscape-painters, began his artistic career by copying Claude's pictures, working hard and living very economically in an old Roman palace. His success in this work was so great, and his enthusiasm so marked, that the fellow-profes- sionals in Rome and Florence gave him the new name of Claude Brown. It was generally admit- ted that he was able to imitate his great predeces- sor's glowing compositions with better effect than any other artist then in Italy. GOTHIC BATTALIONS. S3 CHAPTER IV. The Gothic Menace. — Urban VIII. — Cardinal Bentivoglio. — The Pope's Pictures. — Claude's Etchings. — T he Liber VerU tatis. In the year 1632 Rome was filled with terrible alarm, and her citizens were panic-stricken. The King of Sweden was advancing through Southern Germany with 30,000 Protestant troops ; and the opinionated Pope, while acknowledging that "with 30,000 men Alexander conquered the world," re- fused to take measures of defence against the victo- rious Northern armies. " Amidst the conflagration of Catholic churches and monasteries, the Pope stands cold and rigid as ice," — said the amazed Roman Curia. Meanwhile the Swedish armies over- ran Bavaria, occupied Munich, and advanced to the Tyi-ol. Their leader, Gustavus Adolphus, bore the ominous title of King of the Swedes and Goths ; /, and the apparition of new Gothic legions on the frontiers of Italy aroused terrible associations in a city which still remembered the hordes of Alaric. 54 CLAUDE LORRAIXE. Urban VIII., the ruling Pontiff at that time, came from a noble commercial family of Florence, the Barberini, and entered the service of the Ro- man Church at an early age. He was elected Pope, not without deep intriguing, in 1623, after the long battles of the Catholic restoration Avere over, and developed great vigor as a temporal prince. Of his immediate predecessors, Clement VIII. was usu- ally busied in studying the works of St. Bernard, and Paul V. occupied himself with the writings of the holy Justinian of Venice ; but Urban's table was laden with plans of fortresses and sheets of the newest poems. He destroyed so many relics of antiquity in the construction of his batteries and palaces, that the Romans mournfully proclaimed that the Barberini had demolished what even the Barbarians had spared, — Quod Barbari non fece- runt, Barberini fecerunt. The marble monuments of preceding Popes were pointed out to him, but he declared that his own should be of iron. Fort- resses arose in all the Ecclesiastical States, a naval port was established at the mouth of the Tiber, and the uproar of a crowded camp filled the Eter- nal City. The Pluguenots were being destroyed by Richeheu at La Rochelle ; the Stuarts were ruling URBAN VIII. AND BENTIVOGLIO. 55 in the British Isles; and Ferdinand II. occupied the throne of the Empire. Northern Europe was all ablaze with war, — Swedes, Cossacks, Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Germans were slaying each other everywhere, in the name of God. Nevertheless, the Pope confined his chief atten- tion to the aggrandizement of his family, amid all the storms which were roaring throughout unhappy Christendom. The conclave of cardinals made an impartial examination of the affairs of the State, after Urban's death, and reported that he had en- riched the Barberini family by over $119,000,000; an amount fivefold more stupendous in those days than in ours, considering the relative value of money. Cardinal Bentivoglio was one of the foremost men of the Roman Court, and was the confidential friend of Pope Urban VIII. He was also a learned and enlightened prelate, and had written several voluminous books. So high did he stand in the estimation of the Sacred Cnllege, that he would doubtless have been elected as Urban a successor, but for his sudden death, which occurred at the opening of the conclave in 1 644. Now, it happened that one of Claude's land- 56 CLAUDE LORRAINE. scapes was seen by Cardinal Bentivoglio, and the great diplomat quickly recognized the great painter. He ordered two pictures of similar character for his own palace. When these were finished, the Car- dinal showed them to his friend and master, Pope Urban VIII., who viewed them with great admira- tion, and summoned the artist to a personal inter- view, at which he proclaimed his superiority to other landscape-artists, and commissioned him to paint four pictures for the Papal palace. From that hour the fortune and fame of the Lorrainese went forward steadily, hand in hand. Orders poured in on all sides, from sovereigns, cardinals, and other magnates ; and the prices of Claude's works rose to such a height that none but the wealthiest could hope to possess them. The studio at SS. Trinita de' Monti was contmually visited by Rome's noblest citizens, and by the ambassadors of foreign princes. The four paintings which were executed for Pope Urban VIII. sliowed the seaport of St. Mari- nella, a harbor containing Papal galleys, and two pastoral scenes. One of the marine views is now in the Louvre, and is a sunset scene in an Italian seaport, rich in palatial architecture, and with busy URBAN 'S PICTURES. 5? groups of merchants en the shore, while the harboi is filled with vessels, and presents a scene of great commercial activity. The Louvre also contains one of Urban's pastoral pictures, with a joyous party of dancing villagers in the foreground, and numer- ous cattle browsing on the adjacent meadows. Beyond the river is a Hne of distant blue moun- tains. The other marine view portrays a level coast, with a ponderous castle lifting its towers over the sea, and small vessels in motion beyond. In the foreground is a mounted hunting party, whose chief personages are a young lady and gentleman. One of Urban's chief interests was the erection of the Papal palace at Castel Gandolfo, near Albano, which he chose as his summer residence. He spent a part of every year there, and many of his bulls were issued thence. Carlo Maderno, one of the most famous architects of St. Peter's, made the plans for the new structure, as well as for the vast Barberini Palace in Rome. Castel Gan- dolfo is still one of the few remaining possessions of the Pontiffs, having been exterritorialized by the Italian government in 187 1. 1,\ view of Urban's deep interest and frequent sojourns at this place, it was natural that he should have commissioned 58 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Claude to execute a picture in which it should be included ; and this noble work is still preserved by his descendants in the Barberini Palace. The vieU was taken from the opposite shore^ and shows the broad Alban Lake, with the castle on the bluffs beyond, and the Campagna stretching away in the distance. In the foreground is a group of Arcadi- an peasants, with a youth who is teaching a maiden to play on a pipe ; and calm-eyed cattle are seen grazing under the shade of the adjacent trees. In 1636 Claude had reached the summit of his fame, and was constantly engaged on noble works. From this year dates his finest etching, 'The Herdsman,' wherein a river is seen, flowing along the foreground of a lovely sunset landscape, with ancient ruins and umbrageous trees on the left ; and on the opposite side a herdsman, playing on a cornet, while his cattle ford the stream. The same date is given to an etching of the Campo Vaccino, or Roman Forum, as seen from the Capi- tol, including the Arch of Septimius Severus, the ruins of the temples, the Coliseum, and the Arch of Titus. This was the only etching which Claude ever made from one of his paintings ; and the pic- ture after which it was etched is now one of the ETCHINGS. 59 wonders of the Louvre. According to Claude's note on the design for this work, in the Liber Veri- tatis, it was " made for the Ambassador of France, M. de Bethune, Rome." Claude's etchings are of varying degrees of merit. Many of them show an incomparable tal- ent in the skilful showing-forth of aerial perspec- tive, and in depicting the fresh tints and changing effects of the different hours of the day. They are among the choicest ornaments of collections of engravings ; and good impressions are so rare that they bring several hundred dollars each. The designs are frequently carelessly executed, but abound in grace and naturalness. The figures of men and animals therein were executed by the master himself, and indicate his deficiency in this direction. Robert-Dumesnil's catalogue of these works included forty-two titles, and Edouard Me- aume's contains forty-four. The etchings were exe- cuted between 1628 and 1662, although only about one-half of them are dated. Some of them are marked with titles by other hands ; but the larger number were inscribed by Claude himself, in a sin- gular mingling of the French and Italian languages. His autograph is sometimes written GiUce, which 6o CLAUDE LORRAINE. is similar to the Gillius by which Sandrart spoke of him. Hamerton analyzes Claude's etchings as follows : " His superiority as an etcher is chiefly a technical superiority : he could lay a shade more delicately, and with more perfect gradation, than any other etcher of landscapes ; he could reach rare effects of transparency ; and there is an ineffable tender- ness in his handling. . . . Add to these qualities a certain freedom and spirit in his line, which served him well in near masses of foliage, and a singularly perfect tonality in one or two remarkable plates, and you have the grounds of his immortality as an etcher. He was great in this sense, but not great in range o"f intellectual perception ; and his genius at the best is but feminine. He has left 3, few un- important and weak etchings ; but he has also left half a dozen masterpieces, which the severest criti- cism must respect. One merit of his is not common in his modem successors, — the extreme modesty of his style. No etcher was ever less anxious to produce an impression of cleverness ; and his only object seems to have been the simple rendering of his ideas. He sincerely loved beauty and grace, and tried innocently for these, until his touch be- LIBER VERITATIS. 6 1 came gentler than that of a child's fingers, yet so accompUshed that the stubborn copper was caressed, as it were, into a willing obedience." So many men of rank and wealth were compet- ing for the pictures of Claude, that their prices were soon raised to a point where they were accessible only to great fortunes. Such an unexampled suc- cess was taken advantage of by numerous unprinci- pled artists of inferior grade, who boldly counter- feited his manner, and forged the magic Claudius Gellee on cold copies, and on imitations of his works composed from the originals, of which they had caught glimpses in his studio. The latter were executed by persons who pretended to be his friends, and who often watched him while painting, and were thus enabled to borrow his pecuHar tech- nic, as well as the compositions. The reputation of the master was injured by the many inferior works which were extant under his name ; and he was also frequently annoyed by persons who possessed spurious pictures, and sent them to him to be iden- tified. The Liber Veritaiis was the remedy which the master applied to this evil. It consisted of a series of drawings of all the pictures that he painted after- 62 CLAUDE LORRAINE. wards, on which he inscribed the names of the per- sons for whom they were executed, ant the places to which they were sent. Then, when any picture was brought to the studio to be identified by him, he answered, " No picture goes out of my house without having been entirely copied in this book. Be you the judge of your own doubt ; consult this book, and see if you recognize your picture there." This collection included t\vo hundred designs of surprising beauty, done in bistre, and occasionally touched up with white. After Claude's death they were preserved for a long time by his heirs, from whom they were acquired by a Frenchman, who took them to Paris, and offered the whole collection to the King. He declined to purchase the work, which was afterwards secured by the Duke of Dev- onshire, and is now carefully kept at the ducal pal- ace of Chatsworth. In 1777 John Boydell, "the father of engraving in England," published a large edition of the Liber Veritatis, the plates for which were executed in mezzotint by Richard Earlom after the Chatsworth drawings. It was issued in three volumes, at the price of ;^3i \os. a set, and met with an immense sale. The third volume con- tains a hundred studies by Claude, most of which were not reproduced in paintings. LIBER VERITATIS. 63 The Count Leon de Laborde said of the Liber Veritatis, "These two hundred designs are two hundred pictures. The paper margins ars forgot- ten, and the form of the book ; the spectator pen- etrates into remote distances, and feels himself face to face with nature. In the hand of the artist, the instrument is nothing : crayon or pencil, paper or canvas, what matters it? the soul guides the hand. In the collection of Claude, there is no design that resembles its neighbor in the manner of rendering thought : it is the crayon or the pen, Indian ink or sepia, touches of white for the lights, and paper of various colors fcfl* the basis ; but nothing which breathes of handicraft, or manner, or special pro- cesses — or rather a different manner and processes for each design, according as the twilight of morn- ing or evenmg, the sunrise and sunset, and each hour of the day illuminates the landscape, under the influence of the dispositions of his soul." Laborde has closely examined and described the original Liber Veritatis, and concludes that it was commenced in the year 1650. But Meaume thinks that its inception dates from as early a date as 1636, showing that its tenth design is the same as the * Campo Vaccino ' landscape and etching of about 64 CLAUDE LORRAINE. that date, and it is incontestable that the painting must have been done first. Baldinucci states that the idea of the Liber Ver- itatis came to the artist while he was painting four pictures which had been ordered by the King of Spain. He probably feared that the belief which was naturally arising among the Roman connois- seurs, that he frequently repeated the same compo- sition, would also attach itself to his new royal com- mission, and impair its value. The Latin name above given was probably not known to Claude himself, but its Italian equivalent was used by Bal- dinucci. The designs are not citassed chronologi- cally, and only about one-tliird are dated, the ear- liest being of 1648, and tlie latest of 1680. About fifty are without names ; and others have only the name of the city to which the picture was sent. Modem French critics repudiate the statement of Baldinucci, and the general beUef dependent thereon, that the Liber Veritatis was made for the purpose of identifying the master's own paintings and their dispositions. If tliey had all been dated, and furnished with the names of their owners, tlie theory would have been tenable ; but many are unnamed, a majority are undated, and others have LIBER VERITATJS. 65 no purchasers' names attached. There are also several paintings, incontestably Claude's, and of his best time, whose designs do not appear in the book. Furthermore, this plan gave no security against counterfeited pictures, which were necessarily ex- actly similar to the designs. It seems unlikely, then, that for over forty years the great painter ^vas constrained to reproduce his designs in the sole interest of giving proofs of authenticity to suspi- cious amateurs, especially since he failed to com- plete the records by adding in all cases the names of the purchasers, and also since he neglected to insert all his designs. Whatever doubts may be suggested as to the purpose for which these designs were made, there can be none as to the prodigious merit of the works themselves. 66 CLAUDE LORRAINE. CHAPTER V. Claude's Life not understood. — His Household. — The Roman Fireworks. — Cardinal Giorio. — Prince Pamfili. — The Bouil- lon-Claudes. — Pictures for the King of Spain. Claude resolved never to marry. Why he thus restricted himself, and declined those joys of home which his tender and affectionate spirit was so capable of enjoying, we cannot tell : there is not even a conjecture to build upon. Herein is another of the deep mysteries which enshroud the life of the great artist, and make it appear to have been so absolutely devoid of incident. Unlike his fellow-artists, he is not heard of either in the con- temporary politics, the intrigues of the rival schools of paintings, or the pohshed society of Rome. He does not appear in the Academy of St. Luke, nor in the proceedings of the French Academy of Art. Felibien, a contemporary biographer, writes volu- minously of all the artists then in the city, includ- ing both Claude's teachers and his pupils, but absolutely omits all account of the master himself. SILENT HISTORY. 67 De Piles devotes but two short pages to him, while minutely describing scores of painters who are now altogether forgotten. Amidei's " Lives of the Cele- brated Painters of the Seventeenth Century " (pub- lished at Rome in 1731) actually omits to mention his name. In the biographies of Albano, Domeni- chino, Guido, and other eminent artists who lived in the city at this time, the same silence is observed. Even Baldinucci and Sandrart find nothing to re- cord in his life after 1630, except an imperfect list of his patrons and works. Over more than half a century the mantle of silence is thrown ; and we see only the painter, and never the man. It is evident, therefore, that Claude secluded himself from the society of the city and of his brother-professionals, and gave himself up entirely to the intense, prolonged, and enthusiastic study of nature and of art. His ' frequent and protracted journeys must have taken much lime, since, if the titles of his pictures are correctly given, these travels reached from Genoa to Messina; while the tours throughout the Papal States were of almost month- ly occurrence. Out-door life was his joy, as well as his duty, and removed him from the cabals of the city and the rivalries of the artists. 68 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Probably Claude also devoted much time to study, and thus repaired the defects of his early education. Allston says that his soul was not bom until he was forty years old ; but, if this was true, it arose in a moment, full-grown, and strong in 'he possession of maturity. The pictures of the mas- ter of Lorraine exhibit evidences that their author was thoroughly conversant with history, mythology, and the Scriptural records, since all the characters portrayed in the foregrounds are correctly repre- sented as to costume, action, and aspect. This accuracy is indeed remarkable, considering the wide range of subjects which his pencil covered, and their great diversity. It has been suggested that he was continually assisted by the advice of learned friends with regard to his figures and groups ; but there are strong and sufficient reasons for rejecting this unsupported theory. But when all is said that can be imagined, and whea all existing h^-potheses on the subject have been stated, there still remains matter for deep wonderment in the seclusion of Claude from the life cf Rome, and the silence of his contempora- ries as to his manner of life and action. About the year 1636, Claude sent to Lorraine for • THE HOUSEHOLD. 69 one of his cousins of the Gelle'e family, desiring that he should come to Rome and take charge of his household. So the rustic of the Moselle valley passea down into Italy, and assumed the control of the artist's domestic establishment. He was a most efficient aid, and not only administered Claude's fortune and estate, but also acted as major-domo of the household, and even purchased the colors and implements which were used in the studio. The master was thus left absolutely free to follow his o\vn bent, without the trials of these material cares. The immigrating kinsman became a Roman resi- dent Avith great relish, and brought up a goodly family withal. His sons were much beloved by the master, and afterwards became his heirs. It is most probable that Joseph Gelle'e, the young stu- dent in theolog}-- from whom Baldinucci gathered so many facts, was one of these youths. In 1634 Sebastian Bourdon, afterwards so famous as a landscape-painter, but then only a lad of eighteen, came to Rome, and frequently visited Claude. He copied one of the great master's paintings from memory, and succeeded so admira- bly that the connoisseurs who saw it at the fair were amazed, and Claude himself was filled with aston- 70 CLAUDE LORRAINE. - ishment. Another new-comer then at Rome at this time was Sah'ator Rosa, then a boy of twenty, who had walked up from Naples over the Appian Way. Another famous artist who was closely allied with Claude was Gaspard Dughet, who afterwards adopted the name o^ his brother-in-law, Poussin. His origi- nal drj- manner was corrected and improved by the study of the master's style, and he became more skilful in depicting nature than was his renowned kinsman. The degree of Gaspard's connection with Claude is uncertain, and it is not known that he ever met him personally. The contemplation of his noble works then in the Roman palaces, glowing with all the freshness and brilliancy of their recent execution, might have been sufficient to influence the manner of the young painter. His blending of romantic architecture, idyllic groups, and stately groves, before wide expanses of open country, re- flected the manner of Lorraine, and oftentimes nearly attained its mellow and agreeable tone. One of the master's patrons at this time was Nicholas Larcher, an eminent surgeon of the city, who was also a friend of Nicholas Poussin. ' The Bagpiper ' was the subject of his picture by Claude, a sequestered scene with a beautiful river-side dell, THE BARBERINL ?! down which a peasant is driving cattle. On one side is a shepherd who is playing on a bagpipe, while he watches a flock of goats. Another of Claude's supporters was Passari, probably the same who was Poussin's intimate friend and biographer, an artist himself, and a graduate of Domenichino's studio. One of the best works which he received from the master's easel was a rich pastoral scene near Tivoli, with the exquisite natural scenery of that region charmingly portrayed. Another was a sublime twilight effect overlooking a vast area of hilly country from the summit of an eminence. The 'St. Ursula' was executed for Cardinal Barberini, but it is uncertain which, for there were three cardinals of that name, — Francesco and An- tonio, Urban's nephews, and Antonio his brother. At any rate, Claude was fortunate in receiving the patronage of a family which was then all-powerful in Rome, and whose members were to a man u<-.-lx- pying the highest attainable positions. Cardinal Antonio Barberini also acquired the large picture of ' St. George Slaying the Dragon,' a spirited work which was etched by Barriere in 1668. The great festivities with which Rome hailed the election of her king occurred in 1637, when Fer- 72 CLAUDE LORRAINE. dinand III. of Austria was advanced to that posi- tion. The chief feature of this display was a long succession of brilliant and ingenious fireworks, dis- played before the palace of the Spanish Legation, abounding in more or less obscure symbolisms, and blazoning forth the most pedantic of designs. The Piazza di Spagna and its vicinity contained forests of scaffoldings and frame-works, on which these remarkable pyrotechnics were arranged. When their time came, the Roman nights were lighted up by the broad glare, amid which the King of the Romans was represented in lines of flaming light, with numerous set pieces, in juxtaposition with exploding mediaeval towers, classic gods, and alle- gorical figures, and the omnipresent double-headed eagle of Austria. From his house high above the Piazza di Spa- gna, Claude watched the construction of the fire- works with great interest. After the festivities were over he etched eleven illustrations of the set pieces, for a book of descriptions thereof, which was pub- lished in Rome, in the Spanish and Italian lan- guages. These engravings have historical value now, on account of the exactitude with which the artist drew Ihe buildings and streets about the fire* ■ JOHN MILTON. 73 works, — the College of the Propaganda Fidei, the palace of the Spanish Embassy, the Via de' Due Macelli, and others. The author of the letter-press was Bermudez de Castro ; and the patron of the work was the Spanish Envoy, the Marquis of Cas- telrodrigo. In the autumn of 1638 Rome received a new visitor, an immortal name, but in those days less noticed than the least of the Monsignori of the Vatican. It was John Milton, in his thirtieth year, and already the author of "L'AUegro," "II Pensero- so," " Comus," and " Lycidas." He remained two months in the city, visiting the monuments of an- tiquity, and mingling freely with the academicians. Probably he met Claude at this time, since he dwelt close by him, at the Four Fountains, and in the palace of his patron, Cardinal Barberini. At this time the population of Rome was about 120,- 000 souls, including fifty noble families of a stand- ing of three centuries or over, and fifty of more recent origin. On one side were the families of the Orsini, Borghesi, Aldobrandini, Ludovisi, and Giustiniani ; and opposed to them was the tremen- dous power of the houses of the Colonna and Bar- berini. 74 CLUADE LORRAINE. Cardinal Giorio was for many years one of Claude's most appreciative patrons and friends. He was originally a schoolmaster in the sequestered Apennine hamlet of Camerino, and came to Rome on foot, so limited were his means. He took orders, and soon had the good luck to be noticed by the Barberini family, through whose influence he rose rapidly from the ecclesiastical ranks, and was made a cardinal in 1643. Not long afterwards Pope Urban died ; and Giorio, mourning his loss and deploring the woes of the queenly city, retired from the agitations of the Roman Court, and de- voted his time to study and to the adornment of his villa on the Janiculan Hill. During the next few years the pious and affable prelate made fre- quent visits to Claude's studio, and secured no less than seven recorded pictures from him, besides others which were probably included among the great number in the Liber Veritatis concerning whose disposition no mention is made. He died in 1652, and hence it is certain that his pictures were executed during a period of about eight years. In 1644 Claude delivered to him a fine picture (now in the British National Gallery), in which an Italian seaport is seen during the hot flush of a CARDINAL GIORIO. 75 summer afternoon. A line of palaces rises on the right, stretching away to the harbor-mouth, with stately towers and arches. Antique galleys are rid- ing at anchor in the harbor, at whose entrance is a massive Roman tower. Another sunset scene at a busy and splendid sea-city was painted for the same prelate, and is now at Luton House, the home ol the Marquis of Bute. 'St. Peter Deliv- ered from Prison by an Angel,' was also one of Giorio's commissions ; and still another was a small landscape, with droves of cattle, camels, and goats crossing a rustic bridge, and two herds- men in conversation in the foreground. The two finest pictures which this art-loving prel- ate ordered are now in the Louvre. ' The Landing of Cleopatra ' is a sunset view, with the magnificent galleys of the Egyptian Queen moored in a noble seaport, whose temples and groves line the shore. The Queen and her suite have just landed from sumptuous barges, and are advancing up the espla- nade ; and the sailors are putting the royal service of gold and silver into a boat in the harbor beyond. ' Samuel Anointing David as King of Israel ' is a brilliant episode on one side of a hilly landscape, with a distant bridge and a pile of buildings. The •j6 CLAUDE LORRAINE. main action takes place under the portico of a Doric temple, where the venerable prophet is pour- ing the sacred oil on the hero's head, with the family of Jesse and a group of priests adjacent. Giorio also received a fine picture of ' The Repose of the Holy Family ' in a rich rural landscape. Claude was now in the prime of life, and abode amidst continual excitements and alarms, apparently unaffected and unmoved. At this time Erythrseus thus wrote in his Eplst. ad Tyrrhenum : " The state is without law, the commonwealth without dignity. The number of armed men to be seen in the city is greater than I remember to have seen elsewhere. There is no house of any wealth but is furnished with a garrison of many soldiers ; so that, if all were gathered into one body, a large army might be formed from them. The utmost impunity prevails in the city for these armed bodies, — the utmost license. Men are assassinated all over the city ; and nothing is more commonly to be heard than that one or another man of note has been r slain." In 1644 Giambattista Pamfih was elected Pope, and assumed the title of Innocent X., restoring the Spanish power at Rome, and ruining the Barberini PRINCE PAMFILI. 11 cardinals. The Donna Olympia Maidalchina was the head of the new Papal court, and ruled the mild old Pontiff with an absolute dictation. But Innocent was left free, at least, to prosecute his designs as an assiduous builder, adorning the Capi- tohne Hill, the Lateran, the Piazza Navona, and the Pamfili Palace, within the walls, and fhe beau- tiful villa on the Janiculan Hill. Olympia's son, Prince Camillo Pamfili, had originally entered the Church, and assumed the position of Cardinal Nephew ; but soon afterwards he had an oppor- tunity to contract a marriage with the Princess Aldobrandini, one of the richest and most intel- lectual ladies of Rome, and repudiated the scarlet robes in favor of the new alliance. Camillo de- voted his leisure hours to the adornment of the new Villa Pamfili, enriching it with gardens and terraces designed by Algardi, and paintings by Claude Lorraine. Among the latter were five whose names have been transmitted to our day : ' Mercury Stealing the Herds of Admetus,' ' Priests Leading a Sacrificial Bull,' and 'The Nuptials of Isaac and Rebecca,' — all of which are still in the Doria (formerly Pamfili) Palace, — and ' A Herds- man ' and ' Mount Parnassus.' In the first-named. 78 CLAUDE LORRAINE. the chief personage is Apollo, enraptured by his own music, with the wily Mercury driving off the cattle of the Thessalian King, while a broad ex- panse of country opens beyond, banded by a river. The next is one of Claude's noblest works, replete in beauty and variety, and flooded with fresh and sparkling air. In the foreground a group of priests and priestesses is seen, leading the sacrificial vic- tim towards the temple of Apollo, whose spacious dome is upheld by double rows of columns. Be- yond these is a vast expanse of country, dotted with groves and buildings, intersected by rivers, and bounded by the broad sea. ' Mount Parnassus ' was probably painted at an earlier date, and on the order of Innocent X., while he was yet a cardinal. Here Apollo and the Muses appear on the sacred hill, near a temple and cascade, with deer browsing and swans swimming about them, and a river-god reclining on a vase. * Cephalus and Procris ' was painted for a Paris- ian gentleman in 1645, ^"^ ^^ now in the British National Gallery. It is an admirable and delightful scene, with the jealous and disguised Cephalus offer- ing presents to hi? unhappy wife, while in the outer country a herdsman appears, reclining near his cat- * JUDGMENT OF PARIS? 79 tie by the margin of a silvery stream. The com- panion of this picture is also in the National Gal lery, and shows the nymph Procris dying, while her husband mourns over her, and bewails the ruin caused by his fatal arrow. In 1645 a certain Mr. Fontany secured two fine paintings from Claude's studio. 'The Judgment of Paris ' occurs in a woody and secluded nook ; and the favored young shepherd is extending the apple towards Venus, with Minerva and Juno close by, and groups of sheep and goats browsing along the meadow. On the left is a wide expanse of undulating country, intersected by a Tiber-like stream. Claude repeated this subject several times, with different arrangements. The other Fontany picture was a delightful pastoral scene, in a clear morning light, with a young herdsman teaching a shepherdess to play on the pipe, while their oxen and goats are grazing on the adjacent meadow. Beyond are castle-crowned cliffs, a rivulet purling under a rustic bridge, a wide sweep of plains, and a. town at the base of the distant hills. The pur- chaser of these works was perhaps the celebrated NeapoHtan astronomer, Francesco Fontana, who lived from 1580 to 1656. 8o CLAUDE LORRAINE. "The Embarkation of St. Ursula" was painted in 1646, and is now in the British National Gallery. In the fresh air of a summer morning, with the long cool shadows still lying over the bay, and the vapory haze slowly dispersing, a train of palm-bearing maid- ens is descending from a superb palace towards the vessels at the water's edge. In its admirable perspective, rich composition, sumptuous architec- ture, fascinating color, and delicate gradation of tints, this is one of Claude's noblest masterpieces. Another contemporary work, now in the Louvre, and valued at ;^20,ooo, depicts an ancient seaport at sunset, fortified by towers at the entrance, and containing severa.1 vessels and boats, with a group of classic warriors. In 1647 Claude painted a broad and sunny pas- toral scene for Signor Angilino, illustrating the idyl- lic Hfe of the shepherds on the edge of the Latian hills. Among these lovely glades it was his delight to wander, contemplating the beauties of primitive life with the unchanged descendants of the old Etruscan race, and observing the same placid and peaceful rural routine which had inspired the author of the Georgics. Monsignore de Portase, one of the magnates of THE BOUILLON-CLAUDES. Z\ the Roman Curia, received at this time a morning view in maritime Latium, with cattle and herders in the foreground, and a castellated town beyond, — perhaps the cathedral-city of Porto, desolated and sohtary, or Porto d'Anzio, which has been a sum- mer-resort for fifteen centuries. Monsignore de Remasso also secured an inland scene on the Cam- pagna, with a meditative herdsman lazily watching his fat cattle. Claude's chief patron during this period was De la Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon and Prince of Sedan, the son of the Princess of Orange, and a veteran soldier of the French, Spanish, and Dutch armies. He was one of the bitterest and most for- midable enemies of Cardinal Richelieu, and at a later day was proscribed during the wars of the Fronde. Coming to Rome in 1644, he abjured Calvinism, and was appointed commander of the Papal forces, a position which he held until his return to France in 1649. In 1648 Claude painted for him the two famous pictures which are now in the British National Gallery, and have borne a conspicuous part in the recent controversy as to the degree of their author's genius. Until within thirty years Claude's reputa- 82 CLAUDE LORRAINE. tion as a landscape-painter was regarded as almost sacred and altogether unassailable, among the Brit- ish aristocracy, who held most of his works ; and the possession of one of his pictures conferred high distinction on many a sequestered country- house or manorial hall. But Turner at last boldly contested Claude's superiority, and aspersed his genius ; and made his hot wrath posthumous by be- queathing two of the finest of his own landscapes to the National Gallery, on the express condition that they should be hung between these two great com- positions of Claude's. Ruskin, in his " Modern Painters," has made a fierce attack on the ' Isaac and Rebecca,' first proclaiming it to be a villanous and unworthy copy, and then arraigning Claude in this work for the total want of magnitude and aerial distance in his mountains. * The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba ' was one of these celebrated ' Bouillon-Claudes,' which were long kept at the Duke's palace on the Quay Malaquais at Paris. They were acquired in 1804 by Erard, who sold them to Mr. Angerstein of London for $40 000 ; and they afterwards passed into the British National Gallery. 'The Queen of Sheba ' is the most beautiful of Claude's ma- THE BOUILLON-CLAUDES. 83 rines, enriched with a wonderful diffusion of light and heat, and showing the thin morning mists fading out over the undulating waves. The roval retinue is descending the steps of a stately Ionic palace, towards the boats ; and numerous vessels and small craft are seen in the harbor. Splendid palaces, fortified towers, and umbrageous groves diversify the brilliant scene. ' The Marriage Festi- val of Isaac and Rebecca ' is the second of the Bouillon-Claudes, and is rich in variety of detail, chasteness of design, and breadth of effect. In the foreground is a group of musicians, with a youth and maiden dancing on the greensward, while a translucent river flows beyond, crossed by a bridge with seven ^arches. On the left is a round- towered water-mill, among the shadowy groves ; and the distance is closed by a blue mountainous range. The same subject was repeated by the artist for Prince Pamfili, in a picture which is now in the Doria Palace at Rome, where it is called // Molino (The Mill). This noble composition is distinguished for its truth and power, limpidity and transparence, and is superior to the finest works of Ruysdael and Hobbema. During the same year Claude painted a rich pas- 84 CLAUDE LORRAINE. toral scene, with a placid river, picturesque bridges, ruins, groves, and distant hills, and in the fore- ground a herdsman playing on a pipe, and a woman compelling a dog to dance. This work was exe- cuted on an order from a gentleman of Paris, and afterwards passed into England. After Claude had attained to the dignity of a court-favorite, the pencil of the artist was kept in busy activity on many august commissions. Among the eminent patrons of the master was the King of Spain, who ordered him to paint eight landscapes, — four from New-Testament scenes, and four from the Old Testament. It is probable that the King had been apprised of the new artistic sensation by his envoy, the Marquis of Castelrodrigo. The re- cent catalogue of the Madrid Museum states that the figures in these works were painted by Gugliel- mo Cortese and Filippo Lauri ; and, if this was the case, they must have been executed towards 1650, for neither of these artists was old enough for such work before that time. Now it is well known that Philip IV. of Spain sent his court-painter, Velaz- quez, to Italy, in the year 1648, to procure pictures and statuary for the royal colhxtions, and that the gieat Andalusian artist dwelt for some time in Rome, A SPANISH COMMISSION. 85 executing this commission, — so long, indeed, as to have painted several portraits, including one of Pope Innocent X., " the ugliest of the successors of St. Peter." He remained, in fact, until 1651 ; and it was during this time, probably, that he su- perintended the large commission which Claude was executing for his royal master. One of the pictures- for the King of Spain was 'The Temptation of St. Anthony,' in which the praying saint meets his demoniac assailants near a ruined temple, in the foreground of a broad moon- light landscape. Another is ' The Finding of Mo- ses,' with a river-bank and a walled city, mountains towering beyond, and a young shepherd asleep in the foreground. The action is found in a group of eight women, with the daughter of Pharaoh, gath- ered around the new-found babe. The companion to this composition is ' The Burial of Santa Sabina,' wherein four women are seen, depositing the body in its last resting-place, with parts of ruined temples near them, and fragments of sculptures lying on the ground. The scene is evidently laid in the vicinity of Rome, that great repository of the shattered glories of the past. ' Tobias and the Angel ' is the subject of another of the Spanish pictures, the in- 86 CLAUDE LORRAINE. cident o^ the legend being only an episode in an open country prospect, with a placid river flowing through the centre, and crossed by a fortified bridge. Claude repeated this theme twice afterwards, and one of the examples showed the rocks of Tivoli in the background, with their beautiful cascade and the Temple of the Sibyl. 'The Embarkation of St. Paula from the Port of Ostia ' is one of the finest of the Spanish works, and portrays the dull little port of the Roman States, not in its decadence, but as it might have been fifteen centuries before, with its great palaces glowing in the light of a summer morning. The saindy lady and her train are descending towards the boats, ready to take ship for far-away Bethle- hem ; and the galliots in the harbor are fitted for sea. Among the other pictures by Claude now in the Madrid Museum are ' The Penitent Magdalen,' and four other works, whose figures cannot be surely named and identified, and may be either Christian or Pagan. Another patron of our artist was Philippe de Bd- thune. Count of Selles and Charost, the Envoy of France at the Papal Court. This noble diplomat had been one of the most devoted warriors of '^NEAS IN LATIUM: 87 Henri IV., and had represented France at the Court of Scotland before coming to Rome. One of the pictures which Claude painted at his order was a refulgent sunset scene, with a group of porce- lain-merchants on the shore, a harbor animated with boats and shipping, and two sumptuous palaces adorned with statues and terraces. This brilliant composition is now in the Louvre. Two very celebrated pictures which Claude painted while in the period of transition from the middle to the later manner are now preserved by the Earl of Radnor, at Longford Castle. 'The Landing of ^neas on the Coast of Latium ' typi- fies, in its vivid freshness of light and color, the beginning of a glorious and important day, and has hence received a second title, 'The Morning of the Roman Empire.' The rising sun has broken the mists of dawn, and lights the radiant sky with gorgeous hues, streaming out over the open sea. ^neas has just left his Trojan ships, in a small boat, and is approaching the rock-bound shore, on whose cliffs a magnificent temple is seen. The companion-picture is a sunset, whose lurid light falls on piles of shattered ruins, memorials of the by-gone splendor of the immortal city. Among 88 CLAUDE LORRAINE. these stately relics of the past are the Arch of Sep- tiraius Severus, the Coliseum, the Temple of Con- cord, a broken aqueduct stretching along the silent plain, and numerous other buildings on the distant hills and along the darkening Campagna. In the foreground, enhancing the gloom of the desolation beyond, are two shepherdesses and a herdsman, with a few oxen and goats. These two master- pieces are now valued at more than $40,000. Another brilliant painting of Claude's middle period was ' Apollo and the Cumsean Sibyl,' now in the Hermitage Palace at St. Petersburg. It was executed on the order of Monsignore de Massimo, a descendant of the ancient Maximi family, and one of the most skilful diplomats of the Roman Court, envoy to France and Spain, and afterwards Cardinal. The picture is a sea-shore view, on a fresh morning, with a ruined castle and a city deserted on one side, and cattle and goats browsing amid the crumbling walls. In the centre stands Apollo, robed in blue, and addressing himself to the Sibyl, who is seated before him on a fragment of architecture. The azure expanse of the open sea extends beyond, far out to the hoi'zon, flooded with light. CARDINAL CECCHINI. 89 About the year 1651, M. Verdun, a wealthy miller of Lie'ge, ordered Claude to paint him a picture ; and the result was a broad and breezy morning landscape, with distant buildings and bridges, and in the foreground a shepherdess play- ing on a pipe, with a rugged herdsman listening. The companion picture is an evening scene near a placid river, with the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine beyond, and groups of peasants near the water. These two were the most valuable works in the great Agar Collection, and are now in the Grosvenor Gallery. Cardinal Cecchini, a Roman patrician and a graduate of Perugia University, was at this time active in the Jansenist controversy, and a leader in the affairs of the city. He received from Claude's studio a brilliant marine, illustrating ' The Embarkation of St. Paulina/ which is now in the Louvre. Another large composition — representing a thronged seaport under the blaze of a splendid sunset — was executed for Giovanni de' Medici, the Cardinal of Tuscany, and still remains in the gallery which his ancestors founded at Florence. In brilliancy of coloring and richness of composi- 90 CLAUDE LORRAINE. tion, this ranks among the most magnificent of Claude's productions. Cardinal de' Medici was the master of the semi-royal establishment of the Villa Medici, whose grounds were within a stone 's- throw of Claude's studio. SALVATOR ROSA. 91 CHAPTER VI. ' Salvator Rosa and Poussin. — An Unworthy Assistant. — Pope Alexander VII. — The Constable Colonna. In the year 1652 Salvator Rosa came to Rome, after a triumphal sojourn of several years at Flor- ence, and established his home on the Pincian HiU, His new house was a large and stately one, richly furnished and adorned, and stood in the closest vicinity to those of Claude and Poussin. It is inferred that he must have been on good terms with his two great contemporaries, thus to have fixed his abode in such close juxtaposition to their studios. Thenceforwai'd two remarkable groups were daily seen by the Roman world promenading on the Pincian, or along the far-viewing terraces before the Church of SS. Trinita de' Monti. One of these was composed of gay and witty poets and artists in brilliant company, attending Salvator Rosa in his twilight ramble, and indulging in sparkling conversation and dashing repartees The 92 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Other, more sedate and sober, was formed of the disciples of Nicholas Poussin, gathered around their venerated master, and listening to his wise and oracular words as reverently as the young Athenians did to those of Plato in the groves of the Academeia. But history and tradition are alike silent as to the following of Claude, and forbear to tell if he too promenaded along these lovely gardens, attended by those who gave him homage. Per- haps we may infer from this very silence that he withdrew from such pubHc displays, and remained in his quiet and well-ordered home. Another of the mysterious reticences of history appears when we read the voluminous biographies of Salvator Rosa, and his numerous letters, and find therein no allusion to an acquaintance or even a momen- tary contact between the great Neapolitan and his neighbor and fellow-artist. Still more incompre- hensible is this silence when we remember that Claude's name is not even mentioned in Gault St. Germain's " Life of Poussin," though scores of lesser and long-forgotten men are named as the companions of the Norman painter. If the three great masters had been friends, surely such inti- POUSSIN AND ROSA. 93 macy would have been prolific in facts and inci- dents on which the biographers would have seized with avidity. Or if the three studios — fountains of light in the fast hunying twilight of art — had been arrayed against each other like hostile camps, the struggles thus inaugurated and continued would have been marked by many remarkable episodes. Still less is it possible to believe that Claude, Pous- sin, and Rosa dwelt side by side through all these years without in some way meeting and influencing each other. The silence of history is inexplicable, Blanc happily summarizes the difference between the landscapes of Claude and Poussin by saying that the latter are historical, while the former are Arcadian. The one shows us the homes of heroes and philosophers : the other portrays the haunts of shepherds and demi-gods. Poussin's landscapes are grave and stately, as if Pythagoras or Homer had advised in their composition : Claude's are sweet and peaceful, in the vein of Theocritus and the Bucohcs. When he painted the sea, it was usually peaceful ; his skies were clear, his fields are blissful, and even the domestic animals in the fore- grounds are free and happy. Elsewhere in Claude's life we obtain an occa 94 CLAUDE LORRAINE. sional gleam of light. Baldinucci gives an inter- esting anecdote, which has been overlooked by several subsequent biographers, but was long pre- served in the family of the master. It illustrates the patience of the gentle Lorrainer, and his reluc- tance to enter into angry litigation even when jus- tice was on his side. Claude's first and only pupil was a poor and crippled boy named Giovanni Do- menico, whom he had taken into the studio in pure compassion. Mindful of the benefits which he him- self had received from Tassi, while living with him in a similar manner as a servant and student, the master desired to transfer these favors, and more also, to another young and friendless lad ; and so he adopted Domenico as his art-child. The youth was lame and deformed ; but his spicit was bright and intelligent, and he learned rapidly. He was taught the arts of designing and painting, and also that of music, in which Claude was proficient. In due time he became skilled as an artist, especially in landscape themes, and was well and favorably known in the city. For twenty-five years Giovanni Domenico re- mained an inmate of Claude's studio, and received nothing but continued benefits from his generous and A RAPACIOUS INGRATE. 95 compassionate master. But when he had reached the age of forty, his patron's enemies spread the re- oort throughout Rome, that he himself painted the pictures wiiich were signed and claimed as Claude's own, and incited him to make declarations to the same effect. The vain and presumptuous Domenico believed that an opportunity had now arrived to rise on the ruins of his patron's honor ; and, forgetful of the benefactions of a quarter of a century, he joined the conspirators, and abandoned the studio. Following that, he demanded that a salary should be paid him for all the years which he had spent with Claude as charity-boy, student, and assistant. Without awaiting the vexatious processes of the courts of law, Claude determined to submit to this hateful and provoking extortion, and to satisfy the unjust claim of his heartless protege. Waiving argument or explanation, he led Domenico to the Bank of Santo Spirito, where all his funds were deposited, and had the entire amount of the claim counted out to him. The rapacious ingrate had but little pleasure of his new fortune ; for he died soon afterwards, leaving nothing by which his name might be remembered, save the record of a great wrong. That the slanders of the Roman critics 96 CLAUDE LORRAINE. were unfounded, is evident when we see that Claude's best works were done after Domenico left tlie studio. During the year 1654 Rome was electrified by the conversion of Queen Christina of Sweden, the daughter of the dreaded Gothic king, Gustavus Adolphus, who abdicated her northern throne on account of her faith in the See of St. Peter, and became an exile from her native land. She en- tered the gates of Rome in triumph ; and the Apostohc Treasury was exhausted in celebrating the event with due solemnity. Thenceforward the ex-queen held a quasi-royal court at Rome for many years, patronizing the literati and artists of the city in the most libei"al manner, and taking ad- vantage of her elegant leisure and residence at one of the great centres of European civiHzation to de- velop and exercise her lofty mind. The master has left us record of six pictures which he painted in 1654 and 1655. ^^'^^ ^^^^ dating from the first year were executed for Roman gentlemen, and are now in England. They repre- sent * Mercury and Battus ' and ' The Angel Ap- pearing to Hagar.' The works of 1655 included * The Israelites Worshipping the Molten Calf,' ' Ja- THE ABB£ JOLY. 97 cob Bargaining for Rachel,' ' Apollo Keeping the Herds of Admetus,' and ' The Abduction of Helen,' the first three of which are now in England. ' The Trojan "Women Setting Fire to the Grecian Fleet ' was painted for Gieronimo Fanese, or rather, per- haps (since Claude's orthography was rarely cor- rect), for Girolamo Farnese, a grave, candid, and sincere prelate, who held the rank of a cardinal from 1657 until his death in 1668. Herein numer- ous ships are seen at anchor in a spacious bay, and the flames are already rising from their hulls, while a group of torch-bearing women is advancing along * the shore. On the distant hills are the long en- campments of the Grecian armies. Another patron at about this time was the Abbe Joly, the eminent writer of numberless religious books, who fled to Rome during the wars of the Fronde, and remained there until Paris was once more in peace. Claude executed for him a repre- sentation of ' The Punishment of Marsyas,' wherein Apollo is directing the flaying of the presumptuous satyr, who is fast bound to a tree. An open cham- paign country stretches away beyond, crossed by a winding stream, and diversified by rocky hills. This picture is now in the gallery at Hollclaam, 9 8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. England ; anc] another composition based on the same subject, and painted by Claude for M. Perochet, is in the Russian Palace of the Hermitage. Two pictures which Claude painted in 1655 are now in London. 'The Metamorphosis of the ApuUan Shepherd,' in the Bridgewater Gallery, is an evening scene, showing a sweet Arcadian glade, with a limpid and meandering stream, luxuriant trees, and a distant bay opening among the hills. The Muses are dancing sportively, in this slirine of nature ;'and a rash shepherd who has intruded on the sacred scene is being transformed into a laurel- tree. The other picture is variously called ' David at the Cave of Adullam,' or ' Sinon brought Pris- oner to Priam,' and is in the National Gallery. It is a capital composition, full of strength and vigor, and containing numerous well-drawn figures. In April, 1655, Cardinal Chigi of Siena was elected Pope, in spite of the opposition of Mazarin, and assumed the name of Alexander VII. His pontificate lasted forty-two months ; but he gave slight attention to the administration of the tem- poral government of the States of the Church and the diplomatic intrigues with foreign powers, leav- ing these things to his cardinals. As Quirini says, POPE ALEXANDER VII. 99 he, " having devoted himself to the quiet of the soul, to a life of pure thought, with fixed determination renounced all kinds of business." Much of his time was spent in the tranquil retreat of Castel Gandolfo, on the shore of the Alban Lake; and while in Rome, his afternoons were devoted to literature and conversation with authors. He also gave great care to the architectural adornment of the city, employing the illustrious architects Ber- nini and Pietro da Cortona on magnificent public works. Under his care Bernini built the imposing colonnades around the Square of St. Peter, and Cortona embeUished the rich lirban churches. But poor Rome was still in a bad way if we may credit the complaints of her people. " The im- posts of the Barberini have exhausted the country ; the avarice of Donna Olympia has drained the court; an ameUoration was hoped for from the virtues of Alexander VII., but all Siena has poured itself over the States of the Church, and is exhaust- ing the last remnant of their strength." Cardinal Sacchetti begged the Pope to consider " oppres- sions, most holy father, exceeding those inflicted on the Israelites in Egypt ! People not conquered by the sword, but subjected to the Holy See, either by lOO CLAUDE LORRAINE. their free accord, or the donations of princes, are more inhumanly treated than the slaves in Syria or A^frica. Who can witness these things without tears of sorrow ! " It is said that Pope Alexander VII. loved Claude. During his short pontificate the master painted at least two pictures for him, 'The Rape of Europa,' now in Buckingham Palace, and 'The Battle on the Bridge.' These are both marine views, with commercial ports in the background, and full day- light falling over the scene. The legend of Europa was illustrated in two other compositions of this period, both of which show the great and powerful city of Crete in the distance, with its shipping fill- ing the harbor. At least four of the master's large pictures were finished in the year 1656, on commissions from French and Italian amateurs. The first is a repre- sefitation of a sequestered forest scene, through \\4iich a fair river flows, with its customary bridge and boat. A group of people arc preparing to cross the ford, and others are already in the water. ' Christ Preaching the Sermon on the Mount,' now in the Grosvenor Gallery, introduces the great Teacher and His apostles and hearers on the slopes CLASSIC THEMES. lOI of a steep and wooded mountain, with a f/istant prospect of tlie Lake of Gennesaret and the city of Galilee. 'The Angel Appearing to Hagar' is a broad scene, with the mother of Ishmael kneeling before the divine messenger; and in the bnrV- ground is a large city on the banks of a river, and a line of mountains closing the perspective. ' Acis and Galatea,' in the Dresden Gallery, is a breezy morning view, with the two unhappy lovers seated in a tent on the shore, and Polyphemus with his flocks on the cliffs beyond. In the background is a wide expanse of the sea, stretching out to the horizon. Two pictures executed in 1658 are now in Eng- land : the one called ' Ariadne and Bacchus,' or 'Ulysses Discovering Himself to Nausicaa,' a pure and brilliant morning scene near the maritime city of Phaeacia ; the other a repetition of ' The Rape of Europa,' with the high towers of Crete in the distance, and in the foreground the fair and coveted nymph seated on the bull. A third composition of the same date was 'The Judgment of Paris,' the shepherd and goddesses being in the foreground of a broad open landscape, which is divided by a large river. The two last-named pictures were I02 CLAUDE LORRAINE. painted for M. Courtois, or Cortese, probably the same who inserted the figures into many of Claude's landscapes. The recorded works of 1659 included two which afterwards were carried to England : ' Jacob Bar- gaining with Laban for his Daughter Rachel,' and 'The Israelites Worshipping the Molten Calf.' The former was painted for M. Delamart, and is a simple pastoral scene in a maritime country, and not far from a stately feudal castle. The othei picture shows the action of the great idolatry trans- piring in a hilly region, with Aaron leading the people. During the next year the master illustrated the fable of lo by two pictures, both of which are in England. One shows the jealous Juno confiding the white bull, into which lovely lo has been transformed, to the care of the watchful shepherd Argus ; the other introduces the wily Mercury lull- ing Argus to sleep with the somnific music of his pipe, and preparing to seize lo, and fly with her. Another picture of this same date depicts a group of rural musicians, and dancers in a shady and sequestered glade. In 1 66 1 Claude painted 'The Repose of the Holy Family in the Flight into Egj'pt,' a summer- THE R IPO SO. 103 noon scene in a landscape of rare beauty and rich- ness. A broad river flows across the picture, with clusters of high trees on its banks, and cattle graz- ing on the meadows, and traverses the base of a distant mountain-range. In the foreground the Virgin is resting with the Child, and receives fruit from the hand of a kneeHng angel, while the vener- able Joseph is standing behind. This picture was painted for a gentleman at Antwerp, and was after- wards seized by Napoleon's generals in the Hesse- Cassel Gallery, and presented to the Empress Josephine. It is now in the Hermitage Palace, at St. Petersburg. The subject was a favorite one with Claude, and ,was repeated in paintings of different arrangements for Cardinal Giorio, Count Crescenzi, Constable Colonna, and several others. Other pictures of this date were painted on commissions from prominent amateurs. One of t'^ese is 'The Decline of the Roman Empire,' with several of the most celebrated ruins of the great city, silent at sunset, while a tranquil pas- toral episode is transpiring in the foreground. This fine work is in th,e Grosvenor Gallery; but the fair rural landscape which was painted at the same time for M. Wiald has disappeared. A few t04 CLAUDE LORRAINE. months later we find the master engaged on another pastoral composition, which was ordered by an individual bearing the singular composite name of Signor Don Lee. ' Queen Esther Supplicating Ahasuerus in Behalf of the Hebrew People ' was the subject of a large picture which Claude executed in 1662, for the Bishop of Montpelier. The artist himself was ac- customed to say that this was the most beautiful work that had ever gone forth from his studio. The queen and her attendants are crossing the court towards a vast and magnificent palace built on an eminence, and approached by a noble stair- way. At its base is a river, crossed by a many- arched bridge, and winding away through a rich country-side, whose vista is closed by distant hills. In the year 1663 Claude was introduced to the attention of the Constable Colonna, the head of the most eminent and noble house of that name, and then one of the foremost officials of the Italian States. He had been Viceroy of Naples and Aragon, and in later years retired to Rome to guard the interests of his .family. He it' was who married Maria de' Mancini, Cardinal Mazarin's niece, who had hoped to be queen of France, COLONNA. 105 through the great love of the King for her. In this year of 1663, when Colonna first met Claude, his son Philip Augustus Colonna was born. ' The Flight of the Holy Family ' was the first of tlie Colonna pictures, and was one of nine repre- sentations which Claude made of that picturesque scene. The main feature is a broad and winding nver, with a ruined bridge, fishermen in a boat, and cattle drinking at the margin. The Holy "Family is advancing on the left, guided by an angel towards the land of their refuge. A replica of this work is now at Belvoir Castle, and the original was in Lord Ashburton's collection. In Febuary, 1663, Claude made a note in the so-called Liber Veritatis, to the effect that the book at that time contained 157 designs. If the Count de Laborde's theory be true, that the book was commenced in 1650, the master had executed the remarkable number of twelve pictures a year during thirteen years. * Tobias and the Angel ' was painted at this time, for Signer Dalmaque, and is now at the Russian Hermitage Palace. Another contemporary work was the ' Mercury and Battus,' a rich and charming pastoral scene, which was painted for an Antwerp io6 CLAUDE LORRAINE. gentleman, as was also an earlier and some/vhal similar work in which Mount Vesuvius appears. Mercury and Battus seems to have been a popular theme ; for a few months later the master engaged on a new composition thereof, on the order of M. Mielld. The Constable Colonna received another picture in 1664, 'The Enchanted Castle,' a highly poetic composition in which a contemplative female figure is brooding in the solemn twilight, near a vast and frowning castle, on a rocky crag over the resound- ing sea; The Bourlemont series was also enriched at this time, by a capital picture of ' Moses Behold- ing the Burning Bush,' with an immense expanse of open country beyond, stretching from the inevit- able mediaeval city and arched bridge to the re- mote sunset horizon. Tliis work is now in :he Bridge water Gallery. FAREWELL TO THE FIELDS. 107 CHAPTER VII. The Closed Studio. — More Colonna Pictures. — Pope Clement IX. — Innocent XI, — Claude's Sickness and Death. — His Monuments. In his later years Claude was tormented by the gout, and could no longer wander through the suburban plain at dawn or sunset, or in the mid- day light. But he had well learned the lesson of Nature, and the shifting play of her manifold col- ors ; and his memory was filled with the vivid ele- ments from which he formed compositions per- fumed with an ever-fresh ideality, and impregnated with the genius of antiquity. Probably his studio was hung about with sketches and designs, some of which were richly colored, incorporating the fruits of his former rambles in the open air. His house also was in a situation whence he could gain broad and inspiring views ; or by a few steps, attaining the parapet of the city wall, the Villa Borghese lay out- spread below, with its dehcious park, beloved by Raphael. Beyond the walls Claude had a small Io8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. rural vil'a of his own, where he often spent the vilU' giatura. The Liber Vcritatis failed to accomplish its sup- posed object ; for in his later years the master was annoyed beyond measure by bold plagiarists, who sometimes visited the studio, and carried away in their memories the outlines of his inchoate works. They would then hasten to transfer them to can- vas ; and frequently these hasty works were com- pleted and placed on sale before the original paint- ing was done. The vexed artist was compelled to close his house against all visitors, except a few trusty friends and patrons. Nicholas Poussin .died in December, 1665 ; and his funeral train was followed by a great procession of mourning artists. Perhaps Claude was one of these, but the marvellous silence of the chroniclers remains still unbroken. Nor is the master men- tioned in connection with the French Academy of Art, which was founded the next year by Louis XIV., and still exists as one of the chief aids to modern painting. During the year 1665 Claude was busy with new commissions, including two for M. Bourlemont, — * Cephalus and Procris ' and ' Apollo and the COLONNA PICTURES. 109 Cumaean Sibyl.' A third was executed for a Sicil- ian gentleman, and is a beautiful marine view on the Lake of Gennesaret, with Christ caUing Peter and Andrew from their boat. At the same time he illustrated sacred history still further by a drawing of Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene, a subject which was afterward modified and painted for Car- dinal Spada. The Colonna Palace was again enriched in 1666 by a new and beautiful picture of Claude's, per- haps intended for a companion to ' The Enchanted Castle.' Cupid and Psyche are enjoying their morning bath in a pellucid stream, which flows tlirough a verdant region of woods and hills, while from the mouth of an adjacent grotto a satyr and a shepherd are watching a flock of goats. The same year saw the completion of the picture of ' Er- minia Listening to the Old Shepherd,' which had been ordered by Falconieri. The venerable swain, surrounded by his children, is descanting on the pleasures of rural life ; while the fair lady stands near him, holding the bridle of her horse. This subject was treated once more by the artist, with considerable changes. Another work of 1666 was the * Mercury and Battus,' painted for Barine, and no CLAUDE LORRAINE. now in England. It is a morning scene of small size, with two rivers flowing tlirougli a broken re- gion. In 1667 Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi of Pistoja was chosen Pope, arid assumed the name of Clem- ent IX. His character was full of rare traits of excellence, such as were not usually found in the occupants of the Papal throne, — moderation, dif- fidence, purity of life, and hatred of nepotism. He retained in office the men whom his predecessor had appointed, and withheld the usual emoluments from his family and compatriots. The period of his pontificate was that of the highest development of the aristocratic sentiment in Europe, when the Spanish nobles had wrested their ancient privileges from their king, the British earls were founding their princely power on the national constitution, the French and German patricians were semi-inde- pendent, Sweden's Estates had hedged their King with rude restraints, and the nobles of Poland were in all things autonomic. In Rome itself the throne of the Pope was surrounded by a group of powerful and wealthy families, and the self-centred boldness of a monarchy was changing to the calm deliberation of an oligarchy. After the conflicts CARDINAL ROSPIGLIOSI. Ill of centuries the city at last entered an era of tran- quillity, and a fixed population replaced the whirl of new adventurers which had formerly striven for power and preference. Court etiquette was refined to the last degree, and the aristocrats of the princely families were bound in rigid ceremonial codes. This period has been railed the Golden Age of Papal Rome. While the - new Pope was but a simple Cardi- nal before his elevation to the Pontifical tlirone, Claude had painted several pictures for him. Among these was a pastoral scene with cattle and goats grazing in a meadow by a river-bank, while the herdsman sat at the foot of a tree, playing on a pipe. Another, now in England, portrayed a party of peasants attacked by ambushed banditti, — an .occurrence too common in Italy both then arid now. Still another was a seashore scene, with boats and shipping off shore, and the ruins of a temple and a coliseum nearer, with the two sisters Herse and Aglauros walking in the foreground, attended by Mercury. The latter was etched by Barriere in 1668. Rospigliosi had also been a patron of Poussin ; and one of the very few por- traits which that master executed represents hira in his ecclesiastical robes. 112 CLAUDE LORRAINE. The chief works of 1667 were full of vigor and freshness, and showed that, although the master was growing old, his hand had not forgotten its cunning. The first of these, ' The Embarkation of Carlo and Ubaldo,' was a marine view, in which the island of Capri appears. It was painted for Fal- conieri, and is now in the collection of the Earl de Grey. ' The Noon of the Day ' was another work, destined for Antwerp, and which, after being stolen from the Hesse-Cassel Gallery by the French mar- shals, is now in the Hermitage- Palace. It is a brilliant and fascinating work, with Jacob and Ra- chel at the well in the foreground. One of the noblest of the Bourlemont Claudes bears the same date, and is now in the Bridgewater Gallery. This is a serene morning scene, with a wide expanse of sea, flooded with sunshine, while the stately and_ classic figure of Demosthenes is pacing along the beach. Still another picture of this period was painted for a gentleman of Palermo, and is now in England. It is a sweet and charming pastoral, with a vast and fertile valley sloping do\vn to the distant sea, and filled with fading sunlight and cool evening shadows. In 1668 the master painted two pictures for the GERMAN ORDERS. 1 13 Count Waldestain, a German noble, and possibly a kinsman of the illustrious Wallenstein (or Wald- stein) . They represented '■ Abraham Sending away Hagar/ and 'The Angel Appearing to Hagar in the Desert ; ' the former scene being laid among classic Greek buildings, and the latter in a twilight near the seashore. Waldestain ordered two other pictures, on behalf of the Emperor of Germany, Leopold I. ; but their titles are not now remem- bered. The ' Priests Sacrificing to Apollo,' of this same year, is one of the master's largest and noblest works. This and 'The Landing of ^neas in Italy ' were purchased from Prince Altieri by Mr. Fagan, and smuggled out of Naples during a popu- lar disturbance in that city. They were landed at a port in the West of England, and sold for ^60,000 to Hart Davis. The Altieri Claudes are now at Leigh Court, near Bristol. Once more Colonna appears in the studio in 1669, and receives a classical picture of 'Diana and her Nymphs Reposing after the Chase,' now in the Naples Museum. The action transpires not far from a lake, by which are two beautiful little Greek buildings ; and the fair huntresses and theii tI4 CLAUDE LORRAINE. dogs are resting near a secluded grove. A con- temporary work, now at St. Petersburg, represents a group of peasants dancing, with an Eden-like landscape stretching away towards a broad river beyond. Again we find tribute brought from Germany tc the master's studio ; for in 1670 Francesco Piapiera, a counsellor of Ratisbon, secured a small pastoral scene from Claude, adorned with a beautiful ruined temple of the Corinthian order. Still another transcript of the rural beauty of Italy was com- pleted, during the ensuing year, for an amateur in Denmark. Of about this time also were two com- positions from the life of ^neas, — one wherein the Trojan hero and the faithful Achates are seen hunting deer ; and the other exhibiting him in his visit to Delos, with rich Graeco-Italian scenery sur- rounding the group. These pictures were painted for Falconieri and Passy le Gout, and are now in England. ' Priests Conducting a Victim to Sacrifice ' is the title of another of the Colonna pictures, dated 1672, in which a crowd of votaries appear before an enshrined statue of Venus, and the reverent ministers of the temple are advancing with the A STUDY OJ' DAWN. 115 doomed bull. Widely different in motive and treatment is the 'Jacob Wrestling with the Angel,' which was painted at the same time for the Bishoj) of YpreSj and is now in the Russian Palace of the Hermitage, Therein the weary combatants are closing their struggle, while the advancing daybreak reveals the flocks and herds of the patriarch, de- filing over the hills. In this rich study of dawning light appears the result of the artist's lonely pere- grinations over the suburban plains, ere the earliest convent-bells had sounded across the star-lit waste. In 1673 Cardinal Spada and Signor Falconieri revisited the studio with fresh commissions, attest- ing their appreciation of the works which had pre- viously been executed for them. The first resulted in a rich and glowing landscape, with a small group in the foreground which gives rise to its name, * Philip Baptizing the Eunuch.' Falconieri's pic- ture represents ' The Cumsean Sibyl Conducting .^neas to the Infernal Regions,' and combines in ito L-ctckground the Sibyl's temple at Tivoli and the island of Capri, off Naples. Both of these are now in England. The chief work of the year 1674 was executed for the Elector of Bavaria, and is still preserved in Il6 CLAUDE LORRAINE. the Munich Gallery, with a duplicate at Sr. Peters- burg It shows a maritime city at sunrise, with a triumphal arch on one side, and a line of towers guarding the harbor. The most conspicuous of the groups in the foreground is a party of workmen, preparing to load a ship with timber. Two other pictures were completed at this time, for Cardinal Massimi, and have since gone to England. The first has a level foreground, beyond which is a rocky and temple-crowned eminence, rising over a strong- ly fortified city. In front is a group of priests advancing with a white sacrificial bull, while attend- ant youths bear lambs and swans. The other is a coast view, with lofty cliffs running out to the centre, and Perseus and Cupid in converse by a purling stream, near Pegasus and a group of women. 'The Landing of ^Eneas in Italy' was painted in 1675, for Prince Altieri, and was purchased by Fagan in 1810, and transferred to England. The Trojan wanderer is standing by his ships, and par- leying with a group of Latin warriors on the shore, while tall-towcrcd Carthage rises in the distance. At the same period the master executed a small duplicate of ' The Repose of the Holy Family.' ' Dido Sliowing ^neas the Port of Carthage' is POPE INNOCENT XI. II 7 a large and imposing composition, in A^hich the fair and ill-fated Queen is standing near the portal of a noble Ionic temple, in the fresh glow of morning, and pointing her Trojan visitor to the harbor, with its fleets cf Carthaginian triremes and Trojan gal- leys. This picture is inscribed 1676, and was the last bearing a date which was delivered to the Grand Constable of Naples. Other works of Claude, however, were sent to the Colonna Pal- ace without dates, and among these were a view of the Tiber Valley and the Milvian Bridge ; and Mount HeUcon, the Hippocrene, and the Boeotian Sea. During the same year the master executed ' The Repose of the Holy Family,' for Mutio Massimi, and ' Jacob Bargaining with Laban for his Daughter Rachel,' for Francesco Mayer. In 1676 Cardinal Odescalchi of Como was elected Pope, under the name of Innocent XI., and immediately set himself to reform the abuses of the Papal Government, and to oppose the attacks of Louis XIV. of France. He had left the shores of his northern lake many years before, equipped only with sword and pistols, intending to enter a military life ; but had been persuaded to become a Roman ecclesiastic. The new Pontiff disapproved of Louis Il8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. XIV.'s exterminating war upon the Huguenots ; and when the French Ambassador entered Rome with a strong body of cavalry, he exclaimed, "They come with horses and chariots, but we will walk in the name of the Lord." He proceeded with fearless spirit to excommunicate the presumptuous Envoy, and laid the French Church of St. Louis under interdict. In 1677 the master painted a picture of the Roman Forum, or Campo Vaccino, which remained in his possession for several years, and is now in England. It portrays the melancholy pasture under which Rome's richest temples were buried, with the ruin-crowned Palatine Hill for a background. Four peasants appear in the scene, two of whom are driving a cow, and the others are sitting together. Another work of this date, painted for the Abb^ Chevalier, shows a herdsman and his dog driving cattle through a river, with a handsome villa beyond and a mountainous background. England pos- sesses two examples of the new composition exe- cuted in 1678, wherein a seaport is seen at sunrise, with its harbor guarded by wooded cliffs, and sev- eral vessels riding under the lee. Several men are busy in the foreground, preparing for the labors of THE END COMETH. 1 19 the dawning day. At this time also, the indomita- ble artist drew the ' Jupiter and Calisto,' wherein the wily god assumes the shape of Diana, in order to court the unsuspecting nymph. A grove of stately trees rises in the foreground, beyond which is a tranquil river. A brilliant picture was painted from this subject, for a Roman gentleman. At this time the master made the following mem- orandum on one of the designs of the Liber Veritatis : "Audi 10 dagouto 1677 ce present livre aupartien a moy que ie faict durant ma vie. Clau- dio Gillee dit le Lorane. A Roma, ce 23 avril 1680." This is the only title which he appears to have given to his collection of drawings. That Claude's noble life remained devoted to art until the end, is attested by a design, now in Eng- land, which bears the date of 1682. The last of the designs in the Zz^(fr Veritatis is dated 1680 j and two years afterwards he made this latest work, when far out in his eighty-second year. It repre- sents a scene from the ^neid, and is now in the collection of Queen Victoiia. Claude had been persecuted by the gout for over forty years, suffering from occasional severe altacks. In his later years the disease rapidly increased in I20 CLAUDE LORRAINE. virulence, and frequently imperilled his existence. At last, in the autumn of 1682, he was visited by an attack of extraordinary severity, which was ac- companied by an acute fever. The weakened constitution of the venerable artist was unable to resist such a complication of maladies, and he quickly passed away. His death occurred on the 2 1 St of November, 1682, when he was in his eighty-second year. Claude was buried in the Church of Santissima Trinita de' Monti, near his studio and the scene of his prolonged labors. His heirs placed on the tomb a marble tablet, bearing the inscription : — D. O. M. Claudio Gellee Lotharingo. Ex LOCO DE Camagne orto. PiCTORI EXIMIO. Qui ipsos Orientis et Occidentis Sous RADIOS IN CAMPESTRIBUS. MiRIFICE PINGENDIS effinxit. HiC IN Urbe ubi artem coluit summam laudam inter magnates Consecutus est. Obiit IX Kalend. Decembris 1682. /EtaTIS SU/E ANN. LXXXII. Joan et'Josephus Gellee Patruo Charissimo Monumentum hoc SiBI PoSTERISQrE SUIS P(JNI CUKARUNT. THE RE-INTERMENT. 121 In the month of July, 1840, during the ministry of M. Thiers, the remains of Claude Lorraine were removed from SS. Trinita de' Monti to the French National Church of San Luigi de' Francesi, near the Roman Pantheon. Here they were placed undei a monument wHich the French Government had erected for the purpose, bearing the inscription : — " La Nation Fran^aise n^oublie pas ses enfants celebres, vihne lorsqu His sont morts d, Vetranger." The re-interment was conducted with much cer- emony, under the direction of the representative of France, and was attended by all the artists then in Rome. Although Claude had received great sums of money during his half-century of busy production at Rome, he does not appear to have amassed a fortune. He was lavish in his liberality to his poor kinsmen, several of whom visited him at different times, carrying considerable sums of money back 10 their homes in Lorraine. His property at the time of his death amounted to only ten thousand scudi. M. Charles Blanc states that in 1862, the mayor of Chamagne bore the name of Claude Gellee, and 122 CLAUDE LORRAINE. claimed descent from the great artist's family. He was still carrying on tlic protracted lawsuit, which the relatives of Claude had maintained for a cen- tury and a half, against the papal authorities at Rome, seeking to recover the heritage which the great painter bequeathed to them.' For so long a period the ecclesiastical government had withheld the delivery of his property, and the suit for its recovery had been pending in the courts. CONTEMPORARIES. 1 23 CHAPTER VIII. Claude's Private Life. — His Followers. — Classical Tendencies. — Life Work. — Figure -Painting. — Ideals. — Verdicts of Critics. The private life of Claude Lorraine was alto- gether above reproach, and his character was un- impeachable. The amiability of his disposition was reflected in his pleasant face, which shows the outward signs of a sweet and tender soul, though filled with gravity and sobriety. During his lifetime many of the foremost artists of the seventeenth century dwelt in Rome, often- times in bitter feud with each other, and not un- wiUing to exchange the pencil for the stiletto. The Caracci had passed away; yet there still remained illustrious names, — Guido, Domeni- chino, Lanfranco, Albano, Du Fresnoy, II Cavaliere d'Arpino, and Pietro da Cortona. But Claude is never heard of in the bitter contentions between these envious painters, and was not claimed by either of the hostile factions. His life was thus 124 CLAUDE LORRAINE. set apart from ignoble jealousies ; and we may fairly conclude that his spirit rose above the un- worthy intrigues which agitated his contemporaries in Rome. Countless was the number of those who were inspired by Claude's example, and followed his footsteps, — some near, and others afar off. The great companies of art-students who came from all lands to Rome were filled with enthusiasm for his grand works, and strove to approach their inimita- ble splendor. For two centuries the artists of France considered him as their classic model, even imtil the new school arose, daring to illuminate the natural beauties of the North in the light of its indigenous and romantic poesy. The modem English school of landscape-painting derived no small portion of its brilliant success from the national enthusiasm for the works of Claude, which are found in every reputable collection in the island. Some historians assert that Claude had twc pupils besides the mendaciou^ Domenico ; but this opinion is not generally accepted. Hermann Swanevelt was one of these, and Courtois was the other. Swanevelt was a Hollander, who journeyed IMITATORS. 125 to Italy when quite young, and spent the rest of his life there, studying very hard, and secluding himself to such a degree that he was known as " The Hermit of Italy." Angeluccio is also spoken of as one of Claude's students, and the one on whom the great master lavished the most care \ but the early death of this artist prevented the development which might have followed. Peter Molyn came from Holland to Rome in 1662, and straightway began to imbibe the manner of Claude in painting broad landscapes enriched with temples and rivers. Latterly he developed a remarkable facility for depicting storms at sea, whence he was called // Tempesta. The same influence had previously strengthened several other Northern artists at Rome, including Jan Asselyn of Antwerp, famous for his Campagna-scenes, Henry Vandervert of Flanders, and Ernest Lairesse of Liege. Claude was never so independent of the spirit of his time as to venture to reproduce Nature pure and simple. He remained faithful to the traditions of Poussin and of French art in making the land- scapes accessory to the action of the figures in the foreground. The gorgeous sunset illuminating the 126 CLAUDE LORRAINE. vast expanse of the sea was but a background to the incident of Cleopatra descending from her galley ; a rich landscape of the Tiber valley and the Alban Mountains encloses the marriage-festival of Isaac and Rebecca ; and a delineation of the heights above Tivoli has Apollo and the Muses for its chief motive. Along the beaches in his sea-views walk stately antique figures, — now ^neas landing on the Latian shore, now Jonah approaching the high towers of Nineveh, now Demosthenes by the Gulf of Salamis. His long abode in Rome enabled the master to draw the classical adjuncts of his pictures with un- failing accuracy. Many ancient buildings, which are now demolished or dilapidated, were then standing, in all their strength of Latin architecture. The Coliseum was even then being pulled down, in order that the palaces of the nobles might be built from its materials ; and it was not until Claude had been dead for a half-century that its further de- struction was stopped by a Papal order, consecrat- ing the vast ruins to the Passion of Christ. Sur- rounded by such a wealth of Latin statuary and buildings, the artist never failed to depict classic architecture with precision ; and the rays of his A RCADIAN LANDSCAPES. 12 -J entrapped sunlight by the sea fell across the rigging of vessels which correctly reproduced the antique triremes. The princes of the Roman hierarchy therefore found their semi-pagan tastes fully gratified by Claude's compositions, wherein they could see the portrayal of Ovid's melodious stories of Psyche and Egeria, or a realization of the sweetest pas- torals of Virgil. The classical culture which had come into vogue during the reign of Leo X. was still predominant, and caused the red-robed Latin- ists to look with favor on landscapes which, seemed reproduced from the Golden Age, and religious pictures in which the saints resembled the blessed people of Arcadia, and were quite subordinated, withal, to the larger features of piles of classic architecture, and rivers and hills famous in the lit- erature of the Augustan age. In some cases, the broad and diversified landscape, as sweetly fragrant as an idyl of Anacreon, swept around scenes whose action was portrayed with such ambiguity that the people could not tell whether they were pagan or scriptural, — as in that which was indifferently called ' David at the Cave of Adullam,' or ' Sinon Brought to Priam ; ' and that other which was ia8 CLAUDE LORRAINE. equally known as 'The Idolatry of Solomon,' and * Priests Sacrificing to Venus.' In other cases it was not easy to distinguish Cleopatra firom the Queen of Sheba, as the royal lady lands from her galley on the Mediterraean shore. During the threescore years of Claude's resi- dence in Rome, he saw the foundation and aggran' dizement of several of the proudest families of the city, which speedily attained such wealth and power that all the vicissitudes of subsequent centuries have failed to affect them materially. Among these were the Borghesi, founded by Pope Paul V. ; the Ludovisi, by Gregory XV. ; the Barberini, by Urban VIII. ; the Pamfili, by Innocent X. ; and the Chigi, Altieri, and Odescalchi, by subsequent Pontiffs. He was summoned to aid in the decora- tion of the new homes of these princely houses by his rich and glowing canvases, and in other ways. It seems that the memory of his experience at fres- coing while at Nancy was evanescent, and the fright which he received there was in time forgot- ten; for he executed several large works of this character at Rome. Among these were decorations in the Cresccnzi Palace, on the square by the Pan- theon ; the Muti Palace, in the Square of the Holy DELIBERATE WORK. 129 Apostles ; and the great house of the Muzi, neal SS. Trinitk de' Monti. • The lists of Claude's paintings include aoout three hundred works, besides a hundred drawings and numerous etchings. But when we remember that these were the fruits of sixty years of uninter- rupted labor, it becomes evident that there was no undue haste here, and that abundant time was afforded for long and patient study, and elaborate care. Gaspard Poussin and Salvator Rosa were endowed with an amazing facility of execution, and occasionally painted entire landscapes, figures and all, in a single day. But their illustrious con- temporary was slower and more deliberate in his compositions, and usually devoted months to each of his pictures. Sometimes he worked steadily for a fortnight without any progress being perceptible. Most of -Claude's paintings now extant are pre- served in the pubHc galleries of Europe, and in the rich private collections of England. It is only by inspecting the ancient' catalogues of Baldinucci and the Liber Veritaiis that we can see what deplorable losses the world has suffered in the pictures which have been destroyed by fires and other accidents. Those which remain are in various degrees of 130 CLAUDE LORRAINE. preservation, although they are generally in better condition than other contemporary works, and have suffered less from the presumptuousness of the so-called restorers. At one period the master imitated Poussin in using an unfortunate tint of red for a foundation ; and the pictures painted in this manner are now of very sombre hues, deeply embrowned by time. The same mischance has happened to many of Poussin's pictures also. Claude painted with a full body of color, and used ultramarine liberally. His foundation-tint was a silvery gray, giving a rich atmospheric effect to the superimposed colors. No part of the work was slighted; and the half-tones and distances were finished as carefully and delicately as the luminous foregrounds. The execution of tTie figures of men and animals in Claude's landscapes does not correspond with the rest of the work. It is not true that he could not design nor paint these subjects (as some pre- tend), but there can be no doubt that all his long and conscientious studies failed to give him the ability to represent the human figure with the same magic power that he gave to natural scenery. Baldinucci reproaches him for portraying figures as FIGURE-PAINTING. 131 too slender and lank. The artist himself recog- nized his deficiency in this regard, and said to the purchaser of one of his compositions, " I seU you the landscape : as to the figures, I give them to you." The custom of employing other artists, more skilful in that department, to paint the figures in landscape pictures, afterwards became common, both in Italy and the Low Countries. The author of the composition contented himself with indi- cating where these accessories should be placed. Ruysdael secured the skilful pencils of Van de Velde, Ostade, and Wouverman, to enliven his landscapes with men and animals ; and many other artists, both great and small, followed the same course. When Claude was enabled to secure aid in this manner, he doubtless felt a great relief, for the execution of these accessories had always been a distasteful task to him. The coadjutor whom he chose was Filippo Lauri, the son of that Bal- dassare Lauri, of Antwerp, who had studied under Vaul Bril and settled at Rome many years before. Filippo studied with his brother and with Caroselli, and became famous for his correct and spirited figures, historical, mythological, or allegorical, and I3!2 CLAUDE LORRAINE. his careful perspective. He must have been young when he became connected with Claude, for he was not born until 1623. There is a tradition that Claude also employed Jacob Courtois, or II Borgognone, and John Miel, to add the figures to his landscapes. Courtois was from Eastern France, and after an adventurous life in the army he studied at Bologna under Guido and Albano, and then settled at Rome, where he attained a great reputation for painting vivid and spirited battle-pieces. John Miel, or Giovanni della Vite, as the Italians called him, was bom near Antwerp, and studied under Seghers and Van Dyck and aftenvards under Sacchi, at Rome. He be- came eminent as an historical and genre painter, and excelled in the delineation of pastoral groups, gypsies, hunters, and other subjects such as would be fitly surrounded by Claude's noble landscapes. Another tradition makes of Nicholas Poussin one of the figure-painters for Claude's landscapes. It is not impossible that the renowned Norman artist occasionally obliged his neighbor in this way, and inserted his classic and Raphaelesque demi-gods in the Lorrainer's open-air vistas. No traces of Pous- sin's handiwork, however, can now be recognized BEAUTY SOUGHT OUT. 133 in the existing pictures of Claude. Another ac- count states that Jaques Callot, the famous engraver of Nancy, was employed to finish the master's .^.^ires ; but Meaume has clearly proven that this is impossible. There are many drawings by Claude now extant, and they are held as almost priceless. Besides the collected sketches in the three volumes of the Liber Veritatis, the Duke of Devonshire owns no less than twenty- one original drawings by the great master. The British Museum also has a rich col- lection of these designs, including thirty-eight which were given by the bequest of Richard Payne Kjiight. Earl Spencer has fifteen more ; and several other British collections boast of their treasures of the same kind. Sometimes these are hastily outhned sketches, as if done in the open air, with limited time, but usually they are more carefully finished, and probably served as the themes for large paint- ings. Claude always sought for beauty and magnifi- cence, falling short of sublimity on the one hand, and avoiding dulness on the other. The offensive objects which so often needlessly appear in the pic- tures of the Dutch school are never met with in his 134 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Arcadian landscapes ; and even his figures, thouga sometimes ill-drawn, are in harmony with the scenes in which they stand, judiciously placed and shaded, and filled with that perfume of poetry and antiquity that the master knew so well how to im- part. The foregrounds are occupied by stately masses of foliage, and august palaces or classic ruins ; the middle distances are enriched by groves and park-like scenery, broad expanses of translu- cent water, and the long Hnes of arched aqueducts, or the hoary masses of gray towers ; and in the backgrounds a boundless expanse of rich Italian scenery sweeps away to the soft and misty hills. Of all the scenes in nature Claude's favorite was a sunset at sea, where the level light streams in red T^ radiance across the calm waters, the ripples under the light evening breeze send back myriads of sparkling reflections, and a few gauzy clouds fleck the tranquil sky. But he did not dream of the hardi- hood of the true marine-painters of the North and of the New World, who would out of these simple elements, with the addition of a lonely ship under sail or a strip of sandy beach or rocky shore, com- pose brilliant and every-way satisfactory pictures. He did not venture thus to face the unrelieved J SEA-PICTURES. 135 mystery of the outer deep, but held carefully with one hand to. the civic splendors of the ItaUan city, and regarded even the placid Mediterranean from a safe harbor-shore. Along the margin of his radiant sea he drew up lines of stately palaces, tall-col- umned porticos, terraces adorned with statuary, battlemented towers, and masses of architecture as rich and unreal as the Carthage or the Baiae of Turner's later compositions. His was never the " salt, serviceable, unsentimental sea," of Stanfield, nor Van de Velde's dark and storm-tossed German Ocean, lighted by the artillery of naval combats ; but calm Italian havens, with perennial sunlight bathing the riparian palaces in a golden glow, and sifting through the cordage of quaint old carved galleys and richly curtained state-barges. He shrank from the awful and impressive solitude of the northern seas, and peopled his shores with groups of merry and easy-going Italians, or Latin heroes, or Hebrew saints. Red Rembranesque lights fell on them from the glowing West ; and sometimes, with a charming touch of realism worthy of Flemish art, they were shown as holding their hats before their eyes, 10 avoid being Winded by the fierce level glare. Far out beyond all these, the ge^ire groups, the ar 136 CLAUDE LORRAINE. chitecture of the port, and the crowded caravels at anchor, the decUning sun sinks amid- a vast sea of splendor, oftentimes surrounded by the fairy palaces of the flame-tipped clouds. It has been well said that Claude did for nature what Raphael had done for the human face, and nowhere does this appear more clearly than in his noble marine-views. Even Ruskin says that " The seas of Claude are the finest pieces of water-painting in ancient art ; " but adds to this encomium, that " A man accus- tomed to the broad, wild seashore, with its bright breakers and free winds and sounding rocks, can scarcely but be angered when Claude bids him stand still on some paltry, chipped, and chiselled quay, with porters and wheelbarrows running against him, to watch a weak, rippling, bound and barriered water, that has not strength enough in one of its waves to upset the flower-pots on the wall, or even to fling one jet of spray over the confining stone." The great critic seems to forget that Claude did not paint the wild Baltic nor the turbulent Atlantic, but the placid Mediterranean, in the sunny and peaceful bays of Italy. Nevertheless, in at least three pictures he represented such storms as would have delighted Stanfield himself, with the surf leap- WORTHY PRAISE. 137 mg high on a rocky coast, and helpless vessels fly- ing before the gale. Again Ruskin states : " A perfectly genuine and untouched sky of Claude is indeed most perfect, and beyond praise in all qualities of air ; though even with him I often feel rather that there is a great deal of pleasant air between me and the fir- mament, than that the firmament itself is only air, ... A gift was given to the world by Claude, for which we are perhaps hardly enough grateful, ow- ing to the very frequency of our after- enjoyment of it. He set the sun in heaven ; and was, I sup- pose, the first who attempted any thing like the realization of actual sunshine in misty air." Charles Blanc says : " Claude Lorraine, in his love for nature, lent it the dignity of his radiant genius. If he painted it as noble, tranquil, and filled with Hght, it is because he had a sweet, lofty, and serene spirit, in which the subhme candor of Virgil seemed to have been bom again. Claude is the only painter who has dared to look full at the beaming face of the sun. He also, of all the land- scape-painters, is the one who best knew how to paint air, which is as necessary to the life of the landscape as respiration is to that of man." 138 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Liibke, the historian of art, has written : " Far more profoundly than these and all other masters, did Claude Gellee penetrate into the secrets of nature ; and by the enchanting play of sunlight, the freshness of his dewy foregrounds, and the charm of his atmospheric distances, he obtained a tone of feeling which influences the mind like an eternal Sabbath rest. In his works there is all the splendor, light, untroubled brightness, and harmony of the first morning of creation in Paradise. His masses of foliage have a glorious richness and freshness, and, even in the deepest shadows, are interwoven with a golden glimmer of light. But they serve only as a mighty framework ; for, more freely than with other masters, the eye wanders through a rich foreground into the far distance, the utmost limits of which fade away in golden mist." Lanzi, the historian of Italian art, sums up the verdict in saying : " Claude Lorraine is generally esteemed the prince of landscape-painters ; and his compositions are indeed, of all others, the rich- est and the most studied. A short time suffices to run through a landscape of Poussin or Rosa from one end to the other, when compared with Claude, though on a smaller surface. His landscapes pre- LANZI'S OPINIO A^. 1 39 sent to the spectator an endless variety ; so many views of land and water, so many interesting ob- jects, that, like an astonished traveller, the eye is obliged to pause to measure the extent of the pros- pect ; and his distances of mountains or of sea are so illusive, that the spectator feels, as it were, fatigued by gazing. The edifices and temples which so finely round off his compositions, the lakes peopled with aquatic birds, the foliage diver sified in conformity to the different kinds of trees, all is nature in him ; every object arrests the atten- tion of an amateur ; every thing furnishes instruc- tion to a professor, particularly when he painted with care, as in the pictures of the Altieri, Colonna, and other palaces of Rome. There is not an effect of light, or a reflection in the water, or in the sky itself, which he has not imitated ; and the various changes of the day are nowhere better rep- resented than in Claude. In a word, he is truly the painter who, in depicting the three regions of air, earth, and water, has embraced the whole uni- verse. His atmosphere almost always bears the impression of the sky of Rome, whose horizon is, from its situation, rosy, dewy, and warm." I40 CLAUDE LORRAINE Sir Joshua Reynolds held Claude as an especial favorite, and regarded his fame in landscape-paint- ing as pre-eminently excellent. Northcote reports that the great English artist once said ''that we might sooner expect to see another Raphael than another Claude Lorraine." Allston says that while one is studying Claude's pictures "the eye stops, instinctively closing, and giving place to the Soul, there to repose and to dream her dreams of romance and love." Goethe concludes the whole matter with these words : " In Claude Lorraine Nature reveals her- self for Eternal." A LIST OF THE PAINTINGS OF CLAUDE LORRAINE, NOW IN EXISTENCE, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR EXECUTION, AND THEIR PRESENT LOCATIONS. *** The interrogation-point annexed to a title signifies that some critics consider tlte picture to be of dotibtful authenticity. ITALY. Rome. — Doria Palace, — The Nuptials o£ Isaac and Rebecca (II Molino), 1648; Cephalus and Procris, 1665; The Flight into Egypt; Mercury Stealing the Cattle of Admetus ; Landscape with the Temple of Apollo. Colomia Palace, — Landscape. Barberini Palace, — Castel Gandolfo ; A Marine View. Sciarra-Colonna Palace, — Two Land- scapes. Rospigliosi Palace, — Temple of Venus. Naples. — Museum, — An Egerian Landscape ; Diana Reposing after the Chase, 1669. Florence, — Uffizi Gal- lery, — A Landscape ; Marine View, with the Villa Medici. MoDENA, — Galleria Estense, — A Landscape. Turin, — Academy, — Two Landscapes. I4» 142 CLAUDE LORRAINE. SPAIN. Madrid. — Museum, — The Burial of Santa Sabina ; Pharaoh's Daughter Finding Moses in the Nile ; Santa Paula Embarking for Palestine ; Tobias and the Archangel Ra- phael, 1663 ; The Temptation of St. Anthony ; The Penitent Magdalen ; A Pastoral Scene ; A Desert Landscape 5 A Morning Landscape ; An Evening Landscape. FRANCE. Paris. — The Louvre, — Samuel Anointing King David; The Landing of Cleopatra; Chryseis Restored by the Greeks to her Father ; ^neas and Achates, 1646; Villagers Dancing ; An Italian Seaport ; The Campo Vaccino at Rome ; A Seaport at Sunset ; The Embarkation of Santa Paulina ; A Seaport at Morning ; A Herdsman and Cattle ; A Peasant in a Wooded Landscape ; The Dancing Bagpiper ; A Pastoral Scene. Grenoble. — Museum, — Two Landscapes. GERMANY. Munich. — Pinakothek, — Abraham Expelling Hagar, 1668; The Angel Appearing to Hagar, 1668; The Musical Peasants; A Morning Scene by the Sea, 1674; A Landscape. Dresden. — Museum, — Acis and Galatea, 1656; The Flight into Egypt ; Shepherds Piping. Berlin. — Museum, — The Triumph of Silenus ; A Land scape. BELGIUM. Brussels. — Museum, — A Landscape LIST OF PAINTINGS. 143 RUSSIA. St. Petersburg. — Hermitage Palace, — Jacob and Ra- chel at the Well ('The Noon of the Day'), 1667; Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, 1672; The Punishment of Mar- syas; The Repose of the Holy Family, i66i ; Tobias and the Angel, 1663; A Pastoral Scene ; Apollo and the Cumaean Sibyl ; A Seaport at Sunrise, 1674 ; The Pilgrims to Em- maus ; Ulysses Visiting the Court of Lycomedes ; Work- men on the Shore ; A Seaport at Sunrise. Count Strogonoff, — Peasants Dancing, 1669. ENGLAND. London. — National Gallery, — The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, 1648; The Nuptials of Isaac.and Re- becca, 1648; The Embarkation of St. Ursula, 1646; A Port at Sunset, 1644; The Reconciliation of Cephalus and Procris, 1645; '^^^ Death of Procris; Narcissus and Echo; Hagar in the Desert ; A Goatherd ; David at the Cave of Adul- 1am, 1655. Bridgewater Gallery, — Moses Beholding the Burning Bush, 1664; Demosthenes on the Seashore, 1667; Morning Landscape, with Girls Dancing, 1657 ; Evening Landscape, with Cattle, 1655; The Metamorphosis of the Apulian Shepherd, 1655. Grosvenor Gallery, — The Repose of the Holy Family, 1651 ; An Evening Landscape; A Herdsman and Cattle; The Decline of the Roman Empire, 1661 ; Morning, 1651 ; The Sermon on the Mount, 1656; The Adoration of the Golden Calf; Two Shepherds at Evening; An Evening Landscape, 1651. 144 CLAUDE LORRAINE. Buckingham Palace, — The Rape of Europa. Stafford House (Duke of Sutherland), — A Landscape, with a Trumpeter. Lansdowne House (Earl of Lansdo^vne), — A Sunset Port ; Priests Sacrificing ; and five others. Holford Collection, — Morning and Evening Landscapes Apsley House, — The Embarkation of Santa Paula. Earl de Grey, — The Embarkation of Carlo and Ubaldo, 1667; two Landscapes. Lord Yarborough, — A Landscape, with two Bridges. Mr. H. A. y. Munro, — A Landscape, with Cattle, 1667. The Marquis of Hertford, — A Land- scape. The Late Baj-ing Collection, — A Landscape ; Jacob and Laban; The Sea, with Claude Drawing; A Landscape, with a Shepherd Piping; Sunset, with a Shepherd and Flocks ; .^neas Shooting a Stag. Seymour, — The Repose in Eg}'pt. R. Ford, — Castle and Stream. Marquis of Bute, — A Rural Sunset; A Marine Sunrise. Blenheim Palace, — A Mountainous Landscape. Duhe of Portland, — A Pastoral Scene. Earl of Egremont, — Jacob and Laban, 1655. Lord Cavendish, — Mount Parnassus; Mercury and Battus. Hope, — The Flight of the Holy Family. Holkham (Earl of Leicester), — The Punishment of Mar- syas; Claude Drawing, a Misty Evening, 1675-6; A Land- scape ; A Seaport, with Claude Drawing, 1652 ; Apollo and Admetus, 1655; The Temple of the Sibyl, at Tivoli, 1665; Sunrise on the Coast, 1674; A Landscape (upright); Erminia and the Shepherds; The Repose of the Holy Family, 1676. LIST OF PAINTINGS. 145 Belvoir Castle (Duke of Rutland), — A Landscape, with Water ; A Landscape, with Cattle ; Sunset on the Sea ; The Flight of the Holy Family, 1663 ; Badminton (Duke of Beaufort), — The Disciples at Emmaus ; A Landscape, with Christ Tempted in the Wilderness. Stourhead House, — Lake Nemi; A Peasant Driving Cattle. Stoke (Labouchere), — A View of Spezzia; A Wooded Landscape. Hampton Court, — A Seaport. Earl of Carlisle, — A River at Morn- ing. Morrison Collection, — The Adoration of the Golden Calf; Europa and the Bull. Windsor Castle, — A Land- scape and Ford ; A Seaport ; A Harbor Scene ; The Artist Sketching from Nature. Longford Castle (Earl of Radnor), — The Morning of the Roman Empire ; The Evening of the Roman Empire. Leigh Court (Miles), — Priests Sacrificing to Apollo, 166S ; The Landing of ^neas in Italy, 1675 ; ^ Pastoral Landscape, 1670; A Harbor Scene, 1678. Temple Newsam (Ingram), -=— A Landscape and Temple. Wentworth House (Earl Fitz- william), — A Landscape. Chatsworth, — Mercury and Ar- gus; Mercury and Battus, 1663. Altoii Towers (Earl of Shrewsbury), — Tobias and the Angel. Raley, — A Land- scape. Keddlestone Hall, — A Tower on the Tiber. Bur- leigh House, — Two Landscapes. Woburn Abbey (Duke of Bedford), — Castle St. Angelo. Dulwich Gallery, — The Embarkation of Santa Paula ; Jacob and Laban ; A Seaport. Petworth (Wyndham), — A Landscape; Palaces on the Sea- shore. Charlton Park (Earl of Suffolk), — Two Landscapes. Wickham Park (Lord Overstone), — The Enchanted Castle 146 CLAUDE LORRAINE. SCOTLAND. Dalkeith Palace (Duke of Buccleuch), — The Judgment of Paris ; A Seaport. Gosford House (Earl of Wemyss), — A Landscape. Hopctown House, — The Queen of Sheba. Garscube, — A Seaport. A. AI^Lcllan (Glasgow), — Shep- herds near a Ruin ; A Seaport at Sunrise. EX-COLLECTIONS. Lord North-wick's, — '^he Repose in Egj'pt ; A Sunset ; A Shepherd and Cattle ; A Musical Shepherd ; A Seaport ; Apollo by the Sea. Rogers, — A Lonely Shepherd at Evening. Wymi-Ellis, — A Seaport ; Mount Helicon and Apollo ; A Ferry-boat, with Herdsmen; The Roman Forum. J. Smith, — A Shepherd Playing a Pipe, 1667; A Pastoral Scene. Yates's Salesrooms, — jEneas Shooting Deer ; ^neas and the Cumaean Sibyl, 1673; Evening in a Wooded Coun- try; A Herdsman. William Beckford, — Philip Baptizing the Eunuch, 1673 > St. George Slaying the Dragon ; Christ Appearing to Mary. Sir R. Lyttleton, — A Landscape ; A Sea View. Lord Dartmouth, — A Pastoral Scene. Capt. Barrett, — Cattle Drinking. Erard, — Dido Showing Carthage to ^Eneas, 1676. Har- man, — ^neas and Anchises Visiting Delphos. Rev. W. Tower, — Mercury and Battus, 1666. W. Wells, — Mercury Lulling Argus ; Herdsman and Goats. Tracey, — Juno Con- fiding lo to Argus, 1660. Lord Palmerslon, — A Seaport, LIST OF PAINTINGS. 147 1678. Lord Cathcart, — The Campo Vaccino, 1677. Earl vf Leitrim, — A Piping Shepherd. Shepperson, — Peasants Attacked by Banditti. — Bowles, — Peasants Driving Cattle. Lord Askburton, — Two Herdsmen Talking ; The Flight of the Holy Family, 1663. Lord Tavistock, — A Rural Concert. Willett, — A Pastoral Scene. Corsham, — Pastoral Music; Peasants Driving Cattle. Robarts, — Trojan Women Burning the Grecian Fleet. Lord Grantham, — A Pastoral Land- scape. Lord Ashburnham, — A Pastoral Landscape; Ulys- ses and Nausicaa. Lloyd, — Ulysses and Nausicaa, 1645. Reynolds, — A Landscape ; Jupiter and Europa. Frankland, — The Marriage of Pan and Flora. Lord Farnborough, — A Ford, with Cattle. S. Clarke, — A Sunrise Port. — Ottley, — A Landscape; The River Tiber. Coxe, — SS. Triniti de' Monti. Sir G. Yonge, — Evening Landscape ; Morning Landscape. R. Hulse, — four Landscapes. Hibbert, — two Landscapes. Earl of Bessborough, — A Seaport. Purlin, — two Landscapes. M. Bryan, — two Landscapes. Earl of Derby, — River and Boatmen. Earl Beverley, — A Herdsman and Cattle. Dr. Fletcher, — The Tiber. J. Humble, — Messina ; A Seaport. Col. Howard, — A Waterfall. Hamlet, — A Pastoral Scene. Brown, — Mer- chandise Boats on a River. Lady Stuart, — Sailors Row- ing Ashore. Paris, — Julieime, — A Seaport. Dubois, — Shepherds and River ; Evening in the Hills. Langeac, — The Flight into Egypt. Montaleaii, — A Pastoral Scene. Pourtales, — The Arcadian Shepherds. Blondel de Gagny, — Tobias and the Angel. Trouchien, — A Landscape. De ^Calonne, 148 CLAUDE LORRAINE. A Seaport. Tolozau, — A Seaport. Prole, — A Landscape. Martini, — Jacob and Laban. Brussels, — Danoot, — The Wood-Splitters. THE ETCHINGS OF CLAUDE. «*■* M. Robert-DumesniV s Caialo^e was published in 1835, and •was carefully revised and au^nented by M. Edouard Meautne, •whose new list appeared in iSyi. The Flight into Egj'pt ; An Angel Appearing to a Man ; The Crossing of the Ford, 1634 ; The Herd at the Watering- Place; A Tempest at Sea, 1630 ; The Dance by the Water- Side ; The Shipwreck ; A Landscape with a Herdsman, 1636; The Draughtsman; Villagers Dancing under the Trees ; A Seaport, with a Beacon ; The Brigands ; A Sea- port, with a Tower ; A Landscape, with a Wooden Bridge ; The Rising Sun; Departure for the Fields; Mercury Lulling Argus to Sleep, 1662 ; A Herd Hastening through a Storm, 1651 ; The Goatherd, 1663; Apollo and the Sea- sons; Dancing to the Music of Time, 1662; A Shepherd and Shepherdess Conversing; The Rape of Europa, 1634; The Campo Vaccine, 1636; Villagers Dancing; The Herds- man and the Shepherdess ; The Three Goats ; The Four Goats. Etchings of the Fireworks at the ELEcrioN of Ferdinand IH. of Austria as King of the Romans, — A Fountain, with Neptune and a Two-headed Eagle ; The Same, with l-irger surroundings; Atlas Supporting the LIST OF ETCHINGS. 145 Globe ; The Same, with the Globe Breaking into Fireworks, and a Celestial Globe Appearing; A Square Tower, with Bastions, surrnounted with Allegorical Figures ; The Same, with Fireworks Exploding on the Tower ; The Same, with a Round Tower Appearing, Crowned with a Sheaf of Fire ; A Round Tower, Brealcing into Fireworks ; The Tower Breaks, Revealing a Statue of the King of the Romans ; The Tower Falls, and the Statue Appears alone ; The Statue Rising over four Bastions ; A Roman Square, with the Statue of the King. Crowds of People, and Marching Troops. INDEX. Abandoned in Rome, 17. Abdtiction of Helen, 97. Abrahajn Sending away Hagar, 113- Accident at Nancy, 36, 128. Accuracy, Historical, 68, 126. Acts and Galatea, loi. ^neas and Achates, 114. yEneas at Delos, 114. jEneas Landing in Italy, 113, 116. jEneas Landing in Latium, 87, Aerial Perspective, 43. Aggressive Papacy, 16. Air-Painting, 137. Alban Lake, 58, 99. Aldobrandini, Princess, 77. Alexander VII., 98. AUslon, 50, 68, 140. Alps, The, 32. Altieri Claudes, 113, 116. Ambiguity, 127. American Artists, 50. Angel Appearing to Hagar, 96, loi, 113. Angeluccio, 125. Angilino, 80. Apollo and the Cumtean Sibyl, 88, 108. Apollo Keeping the Herds, 97. Apennines, 30. Ariadne and Bacchus, loi. Aristocratic Rule, no. Arrival at Rome, 14, 39. Asseiyn, Jan, 125. bagpiper, The, 70. Baldinucci, 12, 64, 94, 130. Barberini Family, 54, 55, 71, 73, 74, 76,99. Battle on the Bridge, 100. Bavaria, 33, 115. Bay of Naples, 21. Beauty Sought out, 133. Bentivoglio, Cardinal, 55. Bernini, 99. Binh of Claude, 8. Blameless Life, 123. Blanc Quoted, 41, 93, 121, 137. Bonchitte, 41. Borgognone, II, 132. Bouillon-Claudes, 81. Bourdon, Sebastian, 69. Bourlemont, 106, 108. Boydell, 62. Brenner Pass, 32. Bril, Paul, 22, 131. British Appreciation, 81, 124. Brown, George L., 52. Burial oj" Santa Sabina, 83. Callot, 34, 133. Campagna, 26, 36, 39, 81, 88. Campo Vaccina, 58, 118. Capri, 112, 115. Castel Gandolfo, 57, 99. Castelrodrigo, 73, 84. Cecchini, Cardinal, 89. Celibacy of Claude, 66. Cephalus and Procris, 78, 108. Chamagne, 8, 34. Christ Appearing to Mary Mag- dalene, 109. Christ Callittg Peter, 109. Christ Preaching on the Mount, 100. Christina, Queen, 96. Civita Vecchia, 39. Classic Scenes, 127. Clement IX., 47, 110. Cole, Thomas, 51. Coliseum, 58, 88, 126. Colonna, Prince, 104, io5, 109, 113, 114,117. i5> 152 INDEX. Contract Broken, 36. ODrtcse, 84, 102. Cortona, Pietro da, 99. Counterfeiters, 61. Counter-Reformation, 17. Courtois, loi, 124, 132. Crescenzi Palace, 128. Crete, 100, loi. Cumazn Sibyl and yEneas, 115. Cupid and Pysche, 109. David at Adullam, 98. Dawn, 26, 44. Death of Claude, 120. De Beihune, 86. Decline of Roman Empire, 87,103. Defiance to France, 118. Demosthenes on the Shore, 112. De Piles, 67. De Portase, 80. De Remasso, 81. De Ruet, 34. Devoutness, 29. Diana and her Nymphs, 113. Dido and ^neas, 116. Domenico, 94. Donna Maidalchina, 77, 99. Drawings, 133. Dughet, Gaspard, 70. Early Studies, 13. Elector of Bavaria, 115. Embarkation of Carlo and Ubal- do, 112. of the Queen of Sheba, 82. of St. Paula, 86. of St. Paulina, 89. of St. Ursula, 80. Emperor Leopold I., 113. Enchanted Castle, 106. Enumeration of Works, 129. Environs of Naples, 20. Environs of Rome, 45. Epitaph, 120. Erard, Charles, 37. Erminia and the Shepherd, 109. Erythra;us Quoted, 76. Estate of Claude, 121. Etchings, 58-59, 72. Exchanging Pictures, 43. Falconieri, 109, 112, 114, 115. Falling among Thieves, 32, 38. Family Affairs, 32, 34, Farewell to Lorraine, 37. Famesc, 97. Felibien, 66. Figure-Painting, 35, 130. \ ircworks, 72. Flight of the Holy Family, 105 Fontana, 79. Freiburg, 12. French Academy, 108. Fresco-Painting, 36, 128. Gellee Family, 8, 32, 69, 121. Gellee, Jean, g, 12, 17. Giorio, Cardinal, 74. Goethe Quoted, 140. Goffreddo, 18, Gout, Attacks 10. of. , 107, 119. Greenough, Horatio, 51. Gustavus Adolphus, 53, 96. Hamerton Quoted, 60. Harlaching, 33. Herdsman, The, 58, 77. Hermit of Italy, THt, 125. Hill-Country Rambles, 80. Homesick for Rome, 36. Illiteracy, 42. Imitators, 61, 108. Independent Studies, 13. Influence of Claude, 27, 124. Influence of Poussin, 41. Ingratitude, 95. Innocent X., 76, 83. Innocent XL, 117. Instruction, 23. /o, 102. Irving, Washington, 50. Israelites Worshipping the Gold' en Calf, 96, 102. Jacob and Rachel, 112. Jacob Bargaining for Rachel,!^, 102, 117. Jacob Wrestling vjith the Angel, 115. Joly, Abb^, 97. Judgment of Paris, 79, loi. Jupiter and Callisto, 119. King of the Romans, 72. Laborde Quoted, 63, 105. Lace-Merchant, The, 13. Lairesse, Elrncst, 125. Landing of Cleopatra, 75. Landscapes Accessory, 125. Lanzi, 138. INDEX. 153 Larcher, 70. Lasl Drawing, 119. Lauri, Filippo, 84, 131. Liberality, 121. Liber Veritatis, 61, 74, 105, 108, 119, I29> 133- . Long Lawsuit, 122. Loreto, 29. Lorraine, 34. LUbke, 138. Lyons, 38. Maderno, Carlo, 57. lilagdalcn. The Penitent, 86. Major-domo, The, 69. Mancini, Maria de', 104. Manner of Painting, 130. Manner of Study, 44. Marriage Festival of Isaac and Rebecca, 83. Marseilles, 38. Martial, 45. Masaniello, 20. Massimo, 88, ii5. Mazarin, Cardinal, 98, 104. Medici, Cardinal de', 50, 89. Menial Labor, 16, 19, 21. Mercury atid Battus, 96, 105, 106, 109. Mercury and Herse, in. Mercury Stealing the Herds, 77, 102. Metamorphosis of the Apulian Shepherd, 98. Milton, John, 73. Moliiw, II, 83. Molyn, Peter, 125. Morning of the Roman Einpire, Mornmg Scenes, 79, 80, 81, 83, 86, 87, 88, 89, loi, 109, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118. Moses and the^urtiing Bush, 106. Moses, Finding of , 85. ■Mountains, 33, 82. MoJint Helicon, 117. Mount Parnassus, "j-j. Munich, 33. Muti Palace, 128. Mysterious Silence, 66. Nagler Quoted, 10. . Nancy, 34. Naples, 18. National Homage, 121. Nemi, Lake, 45. Moon of the Day, 112. Nuptials of Isaac and Rebecca, 77- Odescalchi, Cardinal, 117. Orphanhood, 12. Ostia, 86. Out-door Studies, 46. Pamfili, 76, 83. Papal Golden Age, 111. Parents of Claude, 9. Passari, 71. Pastoral Scenes, 57, 70, 71, 75, 78, 79,81,83,89, 102, 103, IDS, III, 112, 114. Pastry-Cook Stor^', 10. Paul v., 16, 54. Penury, 15. Philip Baptizing the Eunuch, Piapiera's Order, 114. Piazza di Spagna, 49, 72. Pilgrimage, 29. Pincian Hill, 49, 91. Porto, 81. Poussin, G., 70, 129. Poussin, N., 40, 49, 92, 108, III, 130, 132- Priests Leading a J^tctim, 77,114, Priests Sacrificitig, 113. Punishment of Marsyas, 97. Queen Esther and Ahasuerus, 104. Queen of Sheba, 82. Rape of Europa, 100, loi. Re-Interment, The, 121. Repose of the Holy Family, 76, 102, 116, 117. Reticence of History, 92. Return to Rome, 21, 39. Richelieu, 54, 81. Roman Artists, 123. Commotions, 76, 99. Evenings, 87, 103. Festivities, 71. Forum, 58, 118. Morning, 87. Nobles, 73, no, 128. Ruins, 58, 8s, 88, 89. Sky, 139. Rome, 14. Rosa, Salvator, 20, 70, 91, 129. Rospigliosi, Cardinal, no. 154 INDEX Ruskin Quoted, 33, 48, 82, 136, 137. Ruysdael, 131. St. Anthony's Tetnptaizon, 83. St. George Slaying the Dragon, 71- St. Paula, 86. St. Paulina, 89. St. Peter Delivered/rom Prison, li- st. Sabina, 85. St. Ursula, 71, 80. Samuel Anointing David, 75. Sandrart, 9, 10, 23, 40, 42, 44, 48. SS. Trinita de' Monti, 48, 91, 120. School-Days, 9. Seaports, 31, 32, 56, 74, 75, 80, 82. 86, 87, 89, 100, loi, n6, 117, 118. Seclusion, 67, 108. Sinon and Priam, 98. Sketches, 46. Slow and Steady, 24, 129. Spada, Cardinal, 109, 115. Spain, King of, 64, 84. Stormy Seas, 136. Studio, First, 25. Study of Nature, 25. Studies, 68. Success, 56. Sunrise Studies, 26, 115. Sunsets, 56, 59, 75, 80, 87, 89, 98, 103, io6, 134. Sunshine, 137. Swanevelt, 124. Swedish Army, 53. Tassi, II, 21, 94. Tempesta, II, 125. Temptation py St. Anthony, 85. Thirty Years' War, 17. Tiber Valley, 117. Titian, 31. Tivoli, 44, 45, 71, 86, 115. Tobias and the Angel, 85, 105. Trees, 47. Trojan W'oJnan Burningthe Gre- cian Fleet, 97. Turner, 51, 82. Twilight Scenes, 71, 106, 113, Ulysses and Nausicaa, loi. Urban VIII., 54, 56. Vanderlyn, John, 51. Vandervert, 125. Velazquez, 84. Venice, 31. Verdun, 89. Vesuvius, Mount, 20, 106. Villa, Borghese, 107. Claude's, 108. Madama, 47. Medici, 49. Pamfili, 77. Vite, Giovanni della, 133. Voyage, Stormy, 39. Waal, 19. Waldestain, Cotmt, 113. Weir, R. F., 51, %* The names in italics are the titles 0/ pictures. UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES LIBRARY rv V.2 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY ^s Angeles .This book is DUE i 1^""^ 'ast date stamped below. UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 290 910 9 University of California Library Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Phone Itenewals 310/835-9188 OCT 6 1997 n -"^ —T- t « ff •» ^% JAN 1 2 IPQ^ /An . i-» i i/~ t ! y U.C.LA. ART LIBRARY v.a Universi South Libri