UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AI URBANACHAMPA1GN STACKS CENTRAL CIRCULATION AND BOOKSTACKS The person borrowing this material is responsible for its renewal or return before the Latest Date stamped below. You may be charged a minimum fee of $75.00 for each non-returned or lost item. Theft, mutilation, or defacement of library materials can be causes for student disciplinary action. All materials owned by the University of Illinois Library are the property of the State of Illinois and are protected by Article 1 6B of Illinois Criminal Law and Procedure. TO RENEW, CALL (217) 333-8400. University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign MAY 1 3 2005 When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. LI 62 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/companiontomostOOjame PRIVATE GALLERIES OF ART IN LONDON. COMPANION MOST CELEBRATED PRIVATE GALLERIES OF ART IN LONDON. CONTAINING V ACCURATE CATALOGUES, ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY, FOR IMMEDIATE REFERENCE, EACH PRECEDED BY AN HISTORICAL & CRITICAL INTRODUCTION, WITH A PREFATORY ESSAY ON ART, ARTISTS, COLLECTORS, & CONNOISSEURS. BY MRS. JAMESON. THE GALLERY OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. THE GROSVENOR GALLERY. THE COLLECTION OF THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE. THE COLLECTION OF THE RT. HON. SIR ROBERT PEEL. THE COLLECTION OF MR. ROGERS. LONDON SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 1844. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR ROBERT PEEL, BART. &c. &c. &c. THIS VOLUME IS WITH HIS KIND PERMISSION VERY GRATEFULLY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. CONTENTS. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Plan of the work. — A sketch of the history of collectors and col- lections of pictures in England, from the Earl of Arundel to the present time. — The taste which prevailed in the beginning of the last century. — Collections formed between 1760 and 1790. — The Orleans Gallery. — The plunder of Italy, Spain, and the Nether- lands, during the late wars. — The collections and galleries formed in England between 1795 and 1840. — Those dispersed, and those at present existing. — The advantage of numerous scattered col- lections. — The injury and disadvantage of amalgamating, if it were possible, all these collections in one. — The reciprocal duties of those who have galleries and those who visit them. — Collections of English pictures Those of Mr. Sheepshanks and Mr. Vernon. — Pedantry of connoisseurship as regards the old masters. — Their true value and character. — Advantage of a taste for art. — Prefer- ences, and predilections. — Taste of the women. — The difference between a liking for pretty things, and the feeling and compre- hension for art. — Conclusion p. xvii THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. Introduction. — Formation of the gallery by George III. — Purchase of Sir Francis Baring's collection. — Valuation by Mr. Seguier. — General remarks on the Dutch painters. — How classed and cha- racterized. — Their power to impart pleasure. — Advantage of cul- tivating a catholic taste in art. — Remarks on Rembrandt. — His character as a painter. — Remarkable specimens of Rembrandt in the gallery.— Of English painters 4 viii CONTENTS, Catalogue Raisonne p. 1 1 Painters particularly characterized : — Greuze . p 12 A von flcforlc* on JjQ Nain 13 Potter Watteau 14 Rubens 38 Backhuvsen „ . . . . 15 Jan Steen . 46 Berghem . . * . . 15 Teniers 48 151 Both .... . ... 17 ... 52 Cuyp .... . ... 17 ... 55 A. Vander Velde . ... 56 W. Vander Velde . ... 58 Durer .... ' ... 23 Vander Werff ... 59 . ... 25 ... 60 . 63, 159 . ... 29 Wilkie Pictures in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle. — Canaletto . 73 THE BRID GE W ATE R GALLERY. Introduction, — Obligations of the Author to this gallery. — Its cele- brity. — Its refining influence on the public taste. — Its formation : sale and division of the Orleans gallery. — Remarkable pictures in this gallery by Raphael and Titian. — The Carracci school. — Acquisition of the Carracci and Giulio Romano drawings by Lord Francis Egerton. — The painters of the Carracci school charac- terized, generally and individually. — Remarks of Mr. Hallam on this school; compared with Tasso. — Other painters whose works may be studied in this gallery — Nicold Poussin, Teniers, Italian and Dutch landscape painters p. 79 Catalogue Raisonne 96 Painters particularly characterized : — Albano p. 95 The Carracci 97 Claude 101 Delaroche 103 Guercino 107 Guido 107 P. Veronese 112 Polidoro 113 N. Poussin 114 Raphael 119 CONTENTS. IX Schiavone p. 125 Tintoretto 127 Titian. . . . 128, 129, note Vernet 132 Jansens p. 141 Teniers 151 Wynants 159 Liverseege 162 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. Introduction. — Description of the picture gallery at Stafford House. — Most remarkable pictures in it. — The Murillos. — " Titian's School- master." — The Van Dycks — the Borgia. — The Rape of Proser- pine. — Lawrence, Etty, Winterhalter, Edward Bird, Landseer. — General view of the Spanish school. — Its nationality. — Compari- son of Spanish with Italian and Flemish art. — Essentially lyric and dramatic. — Magic of execution. — Excellence in portraiture. — Murillo characterized. — Alliance of Spanish art with Catholicism. — Its legendary spirit. — At once mystic and sensual — Spanish gal- leries of art p. 167 Catalogue Raisonne ] 78 Painters particularly characterized : — Bassano p. 179 Cano -181 Clovio 183 Domenichino 185 Guercino 186 Gherardo delle Notti . . . 188 Moroni 190 Murillo 190 Niccolo dell' Abate . . .193 Parmigiano 194 Spagnoletto 198 Subleyras . . . . . .199 Tintoretto 199 Zuccaro 202 Zurbaran 202 Durer 204 Orrizonte 207 Rothenhamer 208 Allston* 212 Phillips 216 Pelegrino 194 The Cabinet Le Noir. — Its formation. — Some account of its founder. — Number of curious, beautiful, and authentic portraits contained in it. — Its value to the historian and antiquarian. — Particular enumeration and account of some of the most remark- able portraits p. 217 * Washington Allston died at Boston, while these sheets were going through the press, in June, 1843. X CONTENTS. THE GROSVENOR GALLERY. Introduction. — Its celebrity as one of the sights of London. — Early influence of pictures on the mind. — Founded by the first Earl Grosvenor. — Additions since his time. — Acquisition of the Agar collection.— Important pictures Rubens, his genius, character, works ; his school and influence. — Works of Rubens in the gal- lery. — The great pictures from Loeches. — Hazlitt's critique on them. — His other pictures. — Claude, his character and works. — Gaspar Poussin. — Other celebrated pictures in the gallery enu- merated p. 227 Catalogue Raisonne . 243 Painters particularly characterized: — Andrea del Sarto . . . p. 243 . . 244 , 244 Bellini .... 267 . . 252 Gainsborough . 276 and note THE COLLECTION OF THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE. Introduction. — Formation of the gallery by the present Marquess. — Dispersion of the former Lansdowne gallery. — Predominance of the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds. — His character and genius. — State of art previous to his time. — Development of those faculties of mind which gave the mental character to his works. — Richardson's description of the aims of a portrait painter. — In- fluences of other minds on that of Reynolds — Johnson and Burke. — His faults as an historical painter.— Important pictures by him in this gallery. — Compared with other English portrait painters, p.287 Catalogue Raisonne 299 Painters particularly characterized : — Luini p. 303 Hackert 315 El Mudo 304 Ruysdaal 318 Piombo 306 Wynants 321 CONTENTS. xi The Sculpture Gallery at Lansdowne House ... p. 332 Note and Corrections, — The Venus of Canova (p. 336) is not a copy, but an original statue, executed by Canova for Lucien Buonaparte, from whom it was purchased by Lord Lansdowne, for 1300?. It varies slightly from the Venus of the Pitti Palace. Since it has been in Lord Lansdowne's possession, Canova had it again at his own request, and it received some additional finish from the sculptor's hand. The valuation of the Antique Marbles, left by the first Mar- quess of Lansdowne, was 8000/., not 6000/., as stated by mistake at p. 334. While these sheets were going through the press, Lord Lans- downe has added to his collection of sculpture the statue of Dorothea, executed by Mr. J. Bell, and exhibited in the British Gallery in the Spring of 1844. THE COLLECTION OF SIR ROBERT PEEL. Introduction. — Formation of the collection. — Its character. — Reasons of the popularity of the Dutch school. — General view of the Dutch landscape painters. — Painters of home scenery. — Characters of Cuyp, Hobbema, Ruysdaal, and others. — Painters of foreign scenery. — Both and Pynaker The fancy paysagistes. — Marine painters. — Sir Thomas Lawrence's pictures in this gallery. — His character as a painter. — Original letter addressed by him to the author, on his own style of painting p. 341 Catalogue Raisonne 350 Painters particularly characterized: — Franz Mieris . . . . p. 356 Wilhelm Mieris . . . .357 Netscher 358 Ostade 359 xii CONTENTS. THE COLLECTION OF MR. ROGERS. Introduction. — Observations on the love of pictures. — The art of selecting and arranging a small collection of pictures. — The formation of this collection characteristic of its possessor. — True criticism as relates to pictures The principle false that a painting is excellent in proportion as its beauties are intelligible to people in general. — What is called colouring, particularly illustrated in this collection. — Observations on the colourists, so distinguished. — Certain pictures pointed out as epitomizing the characteristics of the greatest painters — Titian, Tintoretto, Annibal Carracci, Ru- bens, Guido.— The triumph of Julius Caesar p. 383 Catalogue Raisonne of the pictures. — Articles of virtu in the pos- session of Mr. Rogers ... * 391 Note on some valuable pictures in the possession of Miss Rogers, p. 412 A CATALOGUE OF THE PORTRAITS CONTAINED IN THE FOLLOWING GALLERIES. Q. G. — The Queen's Gallery. B. G. — Bridgewater Gallery. S. G. — Sutherland Gallery. G. G. — Grosvenor Gallery. L. G. — Lord Lansdowne's Gallery. P. G. — Sir Robert Peel's Collection. R. G. — Mr. Rogers' Collection. SOVEREIGNS AND ROYAL PERSONAGES, CHRONOLOGICALLY arranged. miniatures R.G.p.410 Prince of Salerno. L. G. 16 Pope Clement VII. B. G. 117 Henry Stuart, Lord\ Darnley Isabella of Arragon Joanna of Arragon Queen Elizabeth . Princesses of Spain. Q. G. 193 Mary Queen of Scots. S. G. 1 1 6 Eleonora di Toledo. Miss Rogers Doge of Venice. B. G. 67 Doge of Venice. S. G. 95 Frederic, King of Bohemia. B. G. 162 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. B. G. 163 Children of the Elector Palatine. Q. G. 192 Charles I. and Henrietta Maria. Q. G. 69 Charles I., profile. B. G. 292 Queen Henrietta Maria. L. G. 93 Anne Hyde, Duchess of York. Q. G. 186 Philip IV. of Spain. B. G. 122 Elizabeth, Queen of Spain. S. G. 144 Don Balthazar, Prince of Astu- rias. R. G. 34 XIV CATALOGUE OF PORTRAITS. Peter the Great. Q. G. 185 James, Duke of Cambridge. Q. G. 194 William III. Q. G. 70 Queen Mary. Q. G. 71 Benedict XIV. S. G. 90 Duke of Gloucester. Q. G. 197 George III. Q. G. 198 Queen Charlotte. Q. G. 199 Duke of Cumberland. Q. G. 200 Duchess of Cumberland. Q.G.201 Duchess of Brunswick. Q.G. 188 George IV. and the Duke of York, when children. Q.G. 196 George IV. as a boy, and his Sister. Q. G. 195 Duke of York. Q. G. 189 Princesses Augusta and Matilda. Q. G. 191 Princesses Mary, Sophia, and Amelia. Q. G. 190 Napoleon at St. Helena. P. G. 83 Queen Victoria. Q. G. p. 75 ; R. G. 70 STATESMEN, CHURCHMEN, AND MILITARY OFFICERS, ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. Earl of Aberdeen. P. G. 97 Lord Abinger. P. G. 121 Earl of Arundel. S. G. 154 Olden Barne veldt. Q. G. 101 Anthony of Burgundy. S. G. p. 222' Count Federigo da Bozzola. L. G. 33 George Canning. L. G. 140 George Canning. P. G. 96 Earl of Clanwilliam. S. G. 183 Colbert. S. G. 19 Andrea Doria. L. G. 47 Lord Dover. S. G. 170 Earl of Eldon. P. G. 93 Fenelon. Q. G. 187 Luigi Gonzaga. L. G. 2 H. Goulburn. P. G. 110 Francis Horner. L. G. 151 W. Huskisson. P. G. 98 The Jesuit. S. G. 46 Marquess of Lansdowne. L.G.138 Earl of Liverpool. P. G. 95 Lord Lyndhurst. P. G. 109 Giovanni de' Medici. L. G. 3 Marchese di Mirabella. L. G. 94 Don Justino Neve. L. G. 28 Count-Duke Olivarez. L. G. 57 Son of the Duke d' Olivarez. B. G. 123 William Pitt. P. G. 82 Lord Stowell. P. G. 94 Lord Chancellor Thurlow. S. G. 189 Sir Robert Walpole and his first wife, Catherine Shorter. L.G. p. 340 Duke of Wellington. P. G. 92 CATALOGUE OF PORTRAITS. XV ARTISTS A ALPHABETIC^ Andrea del Sarto. L. G. 43 Sir G. Beaumont. P. G. 106 Dr. Buckland. P. G. 118 Edmund Burke. P. G. 114 Lord Byron. P. G. 117 Francis Chantrey. P. G. 84 Cleveland, the Poet. B. G. 293 Cowley. P. G. 101 Cuvier. P. G. 108 Sir Humphry Davy. L. G. 144 Dobson. P. G. 81 Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. Miss Rogers Flaxman. L. G. 133 Henry Fuseli. P. G. 100 Gerard Douw. B. G. 156 Sir H. Halford. P. G. 120 Hemmelinck. R. G. 38 Dr. Johnson. P. G. 113 Philip Kemble. P. G. 86 D AUTHORS, LY ARRANGED. Mieris, F. B. G. 187 Arthur Murphy. P. G. 115 Otway. P. G. 74 Alexander Pope. L. G. 134 Rembrandt. Q. G. 93 Rembrandt. B. G. 211 ; L. G. 79 ; R. G. 40 Sir J. Reynolds. Q. G. 180 Rysbrach. P. G. 124 Salvator Rosa. L. G. 39 ; G. G. Sansovino. L. G. 17 Robert Southey. P. G. 99 Lawrence Sterne. L. G. 162 David Teniers. B. G. 164 Velasquez. L. G. 56 ; B. G. 124 Wilkie. P. G. 125 Robert Wood. B. G. 181 W. Wordsworth. P. G. 107 Wycherley. P. G. 104 FEMALE : ALPHABETIC^ Lady Anstruther. L. G. 154 Mrs. Baldwin. L. G. 166 Countess of Berkeley. L. G. 153 Chapeau de Paille (Mdlle Lun- dens. P. G. 34 *Ginevra, the wife of the artist. S. G. 176, and L. G. 129 Lady Evelyn L. Gower. S.G. 182 ORTRAITS, LY ARRANGED. Countess Grosvenor. S. G. 184, 186 Nell Gwyn. P. G. 103 Lady Hamilton, as a Bacchante. L. G. 167 ; as a Gipsy, 168 Countess of Ilchester and her Daughters. L. G. 1 52 Countess of Kildare. P. G. 102 * Theodore von Hoist, the painter of this portrait, a man of extraordinary but unregulated genius, died in February, 1844. xvi CATALOGUE OF PORTRAITS. Marchioness of Lansdowne. L. G. 139 Duchess of Mazarin and St.Evre • mond. B. G. 196 Countess of Middlesex. B.G. 179 Miss Morris (Hope nursing Love) L. G. 158 Donna Maria de Padillas. L.G.27 Lady Peel. P. G. 89, 90 Miss Peel. P. G. 85, 91 Mrs. Porter. S. G. 175 Marchesa Ricciarelli. L. G. 40 Mrs. Sheridan as St. Cecilia. L. G. 161 Duchess of Sutherland. S.G.I 82 Mrs. Woffington. L. G. 127 Note Lord Francis Egerton has lately added several remark- able pictures to his collection. Among them, Christ crowned with thorns — Correggio. A head only, and differ- ing from the famous head in the possession of Earl Cowper — that being seen in front; in this the head is turned off to the left, some- what declined, with a languid, almost dying expression. A Baptism of Christ — School of Perugino. A very fine Portrait of Velasquez. The Duke of Brunswick at the ball at Brussels the night before the battle of Waterloo, by Wilhelm Hensel, of Berlin ; and many pictures by modern English painters, GENERAL INTRODUCTION. A PREFATORY ESSAY ON ART, ARTISTS, COLLECTORS, AND CONNOISSEURS. I call this book a Companion, not a Guide to the gal- leries of art ; too sensible of its many deficiencies to give it a title implying a degree of responsibility, as well as an amount of completeness, to which it has no pretension. But the reader, in turning over these pages, will find that I have here endeavoured to unite the attractions of a plea- sant companion and a safe guide; to arrange information methodically, for immediate reference, like plants in a botanic garden; yet now and then to wander into " the pleasure grounds and haunts of ease" of reflection or fancy; to combine the convenience and order of a book of reference, with a certain degree of amusement and interest arising from new illustrations of thought and criticism. In the arrange- ment of the pictures, I have aimed at the combination of two advantages — first, .a simple, intelligible classification; and, secondly, the facility of reference afforded by a dic- tionary. Thus each catalogue is divided into three sec- tions: the first containing the Italian, Spanish, and French schools; the second, the Flemish, Dutch, and German schools; and the third, the painters of our own country. The names in each section are alphabetically arranged, and the pictures by each painter under his name. There is also a general catalogue of all the known and interesting b Xviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. portraits contained in the several collections included in this volume. A volume, containing a similar analysis of the collections of the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Ashburton, Mr. Hope, Mr. Neeld, Mr. Munroe, and some others, would complete the work. There can be no doubt of the value and convenience of such a register, not only for present, but for future pur- poses; but its value must consist mainly in its accuracy as a register, and not on its attractions as a critical work, and I have at least endeavoured to be accurate. I say, endea- voured, for as to achieving complete accuracy, those alone can tell who have tried how difficult is the mere attempt; those alone can tell who have tried what it is to hunt a fact, mis-stated, through a dozen volumes — to trace a name mis-spelt — to ascertain a date — to decide between opposing authorities — to compare disputed points — or, hardest task of all ! to knock down a charming theory or a pretty story with a dry row of figures — to take from gome favourite picture its pretensions to authenticity, and stick a doubt or a lie on the face of it. I have had the courage to do this, in some flagrant instances, where I could have no doubt. Where there was a doubt in my mind, I acted on the principle of legal justice and mercy — I gave the benefit of that doubt. We must take it for granted that in many cases, a Titian, a Paul Veronese, &c, means simply a Venetian picture, of the style and time of Titian or Veronese. I firmly believe, for instance, that half the pictures which bear Titian's name, were painted by Boni- fazio, or Girolamo de Tiziano, or Paris Bordone, or some other of the Capi of the Venetian school, which produced such a swarm of painters in the sixteenth century. An approach to accuracy is all I can pretend to; and if the reader but knew all, it is some merit. Another matter of difficulty and delicacy may be here alluded to. Nothing can exceed the kindness, the polite GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xix and prompt attention, the willing aid, I have received from all those whose pictures I have here attempted to register. I have to acknowledge it gratefully — the more gratefully, because I have felt from the first, that not only it is impos- sible to flatter, but impossible even to satisfy the proprietor of a fine collection, by any catalogue raisonne of his pic- tures, however accurate or laudatory; and this for reasons which have nothing to do with the mere pride of the owner in that which is his own, but with worthier and deeper feelings, in which we can truly sympathize. All who pos- sess fine pictures, and really love them, are familiar with minute beauties, which it is a mortification to have passed over. Every good picture (by which I mean every pic- ture which has something good in it) is not mere surface and colour; it has a countenance, like the countenance of a friend, or a lover, of which certain expressions are re- vealed only to certain eyes, at certain moments. Then there are the associations of long acquaintance; accidental gleams of lamp or sunshine have lighted up the shadowy nooks, and startled the eye with revelations of hidden beauty and meaning; — or, in hours of lassitude and sorrow — hours when the " fretful stir unprofitable" of this painful, actual world, has hung heavy on the spirit — the light break- ing from behind the trees, or far-off distance, stretching away, away, and leading the fancy after it, till it melts into Elysium, — or rural groups — revels of satyrs or clowns — or face of pure-eyed virgin or serene saint — has arrested the troubled course of thought, and stamped a consecration on certain pictures, which it would be a pleasure to see com- memorated, but which no accidental visitor can enter into. " I cannot express to you," said a most distinguished states- man of the present day, as we stood together in the midst of his beautiful pictures — " I cannot express to you the feel- ing of tranquillity, of restoration, with which, in an interval of harassing official business, I look round me here." And b 2 XX GENERAL INTRODUCTION. while lie spoke, in the slow, quiet tone of a weary man, he turned his eyes on a forest scene of Kuysdaal, and gazed on it for a minute or two in silence — a silence I was care- ful not to break, — as if its cool, dewy verdure, its deep seclusion, its transparent waters stealing through the glade, had sent refreshment into his very soul ! And then, again, there is some one favourite picture, preferred, not so much for its intrinsic merit, but because it has been obtained with difficulty, — has been competed for, conquered from some rival amateur, — or it is a recent acqui- sition, and " the honeymoon is not yet over" — or it has been picked up for a trifle, and turned out a prize — or it has been rightfully or wrongfully doubted and abused, conse- quently has assumed an exaggerated value and importance in the mind of the possessor, even from the force of con- tradiction — who knows? Now one cannot well put these delightful dilettante fancies into a catalogue raisonne, but how truly, deeply, cordially, one can understand and sym- pathize with them! The original plan was to have prefaced the whole with a history of English collections and collectors, filling up the outline of Dr. Waagen; such a thing well and completely done, would occupy a volume of itself, and certainly form a very amusing and edifying expose of our national pro- gress in matters of taste. A brief sketch, or chronicle, such as the limits of a preface confine me to, will, however, prepare the mind of the reader for the details given in the historical and critical introductions to each gallery. Foreigners and critics love to flout at English taste: it is therefore a curious fact, and one we have reason to be proud of, that the earliest instance on record of any pri- vate individual indulging a taste for art, was our own Lord Arundel. I believe he was the first collector, of private rank, in civilized Europe. It was not till the end of the fifteenth century that painting, from being wholly eccle- GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxi siastical, began to be devoted to civil and social purposes — that portraiture came into fashion, and that composi- tions from the classical poets, and small decorative and devotional pictures, began to be painted. Even these, up to the end of the sixteenth century, were very rare; and most of the panel paintings of this time which remain to us have been cut from the doors of cabinets and presses, the friezes of bedsteads, the tops of harpsichords, and other pieces of furniture. Pictures must have multiplied, and become articles of trade, as well as common for mere decorative purposes, before the idea of collecting those most remarkable could have suggested itself. The Vene- tians and the Flemings first made pictures articles of com- merce. As early as the fifteenth century a few Flemish pictures were imported into Italy, and bought as curiosities ; and in the middle of the succeeding century we find the Bassano family carrying on a sort of manufactory of small pictures, recommended by their splendid colours, and various, though low and common-place treatment. These were dispersed through Italy, and sold at fairs as articles of commerce, much like the Dutch and Flemish pictures of the same and succeeding periods. More than a cen- tury later, we hear of the Feria — the markets for pictures, at Cadiz and Seville, where the young Murillo sold his wares. I find no mention of collectors of pictures, and founders of picture galleries, before the middle of the sixteenth cen- tury, and then they were all princes of the sovereign houses of Italy — the Medici, the Gonzaga, the Este, and the Farnese families. It is true that there had previously existed collections of works of art, if not of pictures: witness Isabella D'Este, and her cabinet of gems and antiques at Mantua, open to the learned and to artists, before the time of the Medici, and before Lorenzo's famous Acca- demia; but she was a sovereign princess. I can find no XXII GENERAL INTRODUCTION. example of any private individual indulging this costly, magnificent taste, previous to that of the Earl of Arundel. He appears to have been, not only the first Englishman, but the first subject in Europe, who, out of his own private fortune, and inspired by a genuine feeling of their beauty and value, collected round him ancient and modern works of art, as statues, busts, ancient inscribed marbles, gems, drawings, pictures, chased work in gold and silver, everything, in short, which the Italians class under the general name of virtu. Lord Arundel was, in fact, the first virtuoso not only of his own country but his own time. I never look at his portrait by Van Dyck, in the Sutherland Gallery, with its thoughtful, melancholy, refined expression of countenance, without a deep interest; and those works of art which he obtained have, through association with his name and fate, a value, to my fancy, beyond their own. The Laughing Boy, by Lionardo da Vinci, now, I believe, in the possession of Mr. Beckford; Raphael's Little St. George, now at Petersburg ; the Pomfret marbles, at Oxford ; the antique statues and busts, at Wilton ; the Marlborough gems, famed throughout the world — formed only a part of the Arundel collection. The Duke of Buckingham followed Lord Arundel — but it is almost an injustice to name them together! "What was taste and enthusiasm in Arundel, was sheer vanity and ostentation in Buckingham. What a proof we have of the spirit which actuated Buckingham, in one anecdote of him! Arundel had employed William Petty, uncle to that Sir William Petty, who was the ancestor of the present Mar- quess of Lansdowne, to collect antiques for him in Greece and Syria. Buckingham, then all-powerful, gave a similar commission to Sir Thomas Roe, English ambassador at Constantinople, and instructed him, at the same time, to throw every possible obstacle in the way of Petty ! Dalla- GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxiii way relates the anecdote.* He does not quote his autho- rity, but one can believe anything of Buckingham-r-at once so haughty and so servile — so magnificent and so mean ! At Paris and at the court of Madrid he had made the acquaintance of Rubens, and persuaded the painter to cede to him the collection of pictures, gems, antiques, &c, formed by himself when in Italy, and since his return. Rubens sold the whole to him for 10,000/., reluctantly, as it appears, for he did not want the money; and as for Buckingham, he scarcely lived to call himself possessor of the treasures he had coveted. Assassinated a few months after (in 1628), many of his pictures were dispersed. King Charles, Lord Arundel, and Lord Montague, purchased several from the family; others descended to his young son, the Duke of Buckingham. The old catalogue of this collection, published by Bathoe, is now lying before me; it contained 220 pictures; among them, three by Raphael, three by L. da Vinci, nineteen by Titian, seventeen by Tintoretto, and thirteen by Rubens himself. It is clear that, previous to 1643, the works of art accu- mulated in England were of the highest value and im- portance. The gallery of Charles I. was unequalled by that of any crowned head.f No subject in Europe pos- sessed such treasures as had been collected by Arundel and Buckingham. But then came the deadly struggle between Charles and his Parliament: all these precious objects were lost, dispersed, and went to enrich and adorn foreign capitals. Charles's collection was confiscated, and sold, Of Lord Arundel's, a portion was sold in Holland, for his subsistence; the rest scattered among different members of his family : and as for the rich collection of the Duke of * " Anecdotes of the Arts in England." t For a particular account of the Royal collections in England from Charles I. to the present time, see the " Companion to the Public Galleries." xxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Buckingham, part was sold in the Netherlands, for the maintenance of the young duke, some pictures were pawned to Sir Peter Lely, the rest were confiscated by Parliament. The next private collection of which we hear anything, was that of Sir Peter Lely. He had purchased a number of pictures, drawings, &c, from the widow of Van Dyck. On the sale of King Charles's collection, and the disper- sion of the Duke of Buckingham's, he obtained others. His collection might be termed magnificent, for a private individual; it contained 167 pictures, 26 by Van Dyck, and many by Titian and Rubens. The original drawings possessed by Lely were also particularly valuable. Many of those I have seen in Lawrence's collection bore Lely's mark on them, and must have been part of the plunder of the cabinets of Charles I. and Arundel. There is a pas- sage in Roger North's Life of Lord Guildford, which, for its quaint and forcible expression, dwells in the memory. He was an intimate friend of Lely; and after telling us that he had a whole magazine of original sketches of the best masters, he adds, " and drawings, likewise, of divers finishings, which had been the heart of great designs and models ." If Roger North had been a dilettante of the first water, he could not have expressed better the peculiar value and sentiment and significance of a genuine drawing. But to proceed with our chronicle. What had been taste in Arundel, magnificence in Buckingham, science in Lely, became in the next century a fashion, subject to the freaks of vanity, the errors and absurdities of ignorance, the impositions of pretension and coxcombry. The great Duke of Marlborough filled Blenheim with pictures — the fruit of his campaigns — the gifts of cities and princes — and the Blenheim collection remains to this day one of the finest in England. Sir Robert "Walpole, the minister, formed a large collection at Houghton; after his death, purchased by the Empress Catherine, for 30,000/., and GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXV now at St. Petersburg. Luckily, some of the finest Van Dycks — those of the Wharton family — had been sold pre- viously to the Duke of Devonshire; they used, within my memory, to adorn Devonshire House; but are now among the glories of that glorious palace, Chatsworth, where they are empanelled in the dining-room. Richard- son, the painter, whose admirable book on his own art met in his time with more scoffers than readers, left a collection of drawings and pictures, sold in 1747.* In 1758, was sold by auction, a collection formed by Sir Luke Schaub, a merchant and banker, the Anger stein of his time. It pro- duced 8000/. Among his pictures was the Sigismunda of the Duke of Newcastle. The price given for it, (400gs., a large sum in those days,) provoked Hogarth to wrath and envy, and a vain competition which covered him with ridi- cule. Others of Sir Luke Schaub's pictures were, the Christ healing the Lame Man, now in the Queen's Gallery ;f " The Tent of D arms," in the Grosvenor Gallery ;J and Yan Dyck's small study for the portrait of Venetia Digby.§ Another great collector in the beginning of the last century was Sir Andrew Fountaine, of Narford, whose descendant, the pre- sent Mr. Fountaine, has inherited the elegant tastes of his an- cestor. Dr. Mead, the physician, had at this time a very good collection, dispersed on his death in 1754. General Guise bequeathed his pictures, 220 in number, to Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1 765. A Mr. John Barnard, of Berkeley Square, possessed at this time sixty-six pictures. A certain Mr. Jennens, then of Ormond Street, could boast of the possession of 358 pictures. Mr. Bourchier Cleeve, of Foot's Cray, in Kent, possessed seventy-seven pictures : among them the two large pictures of Salvator Rosa, now in the Gros- * The drawings, 474g in number, sold for 1966;. The pictures for about 700/. t No. 132. t No. 41. § It was lately in the possession of Sir Eliab Hervey. The large picture is at Windsor, No. 6. b 3 XXVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. venor Gallery; the Pordenone, in the Sutherland Gallery; the Jan Steen and the Van Dyck, in the Queen's Gallery ; and eight sea pieces of Vander Yelde. In the collection of Sir Gregory Page were two fine pictures by Rubens, now in the Grosvenor Gallery, and twelve pictures of the His- tory of Cupid and Psyche, now at Hampton Court ; also, I believe, the two great Landscapes by Francesco Mille, now in the Bridgewater Gallery. This Sir Gregory Page was a personal friend and great admirer of Adrian Vander Werff, and had twelve of his best pictures: eight were purchased for the Louvre, at the price of 33,000 fs. ; one is now in Her Majesty's Gallery.* All these collections were formed previous to 1765, about which time the first Earl Grosvenor laid the founda- tion of the magnificent Grosvenor Gallery. The collec- tions of the Duke of Devonshire, at Devonshire House, of Lord Methuen,! of Agar Ellis, if the first Marquess of Lansdowne§ and Lady Holderness,|| were formed between 1760 and 1790. Mr. Hope, of Amsterdam, brought over his fine gallery of Dutch pictures from Amsterdam to England about 1790. This enumeration goes to prove that the purchase of pictures had by this time become a fashion. But was it anything more? In looking over the catalogues it is im- possible not to feel, that with no want of money or zeal, there was a want of elevated taste, as well as a want of knowledge. " A Landscape," Claude; " a Holy Family, " Raphael; a "sea-piece," Yander Yelde; "an Old Man's Head," Rembrandt; " a Riposo," Ludovico Carracci or * No. 162. The pictures of Sir Gregory Page Turner were sold at Black- heath in 1816. t Now at Corsham. X Merged in the Grosvenor collection. See p. 229. § Sold and dispersed. See p. 28/. jj Sold in 1802. She was by birth a Dutch woman, and possessed, by pur- chase or inheritance, many exquisite pictures of the Dutch school. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxvii Carlo Cignani ! ! " Hector and Achilles," Nicholas Poussin or Peter Festa ! ! " A Landscape, with a Magdalen in it," Albani or Breemberg!! " Conversation, with dancing," Annibal Carracci; and so on, page after page. What reliance can be placed on such an absurd nomenclature? In those days, when a great or rich man built a house, " some demon whispered, Yisto! have a taste!" and forth- with he gave an order to the connoisseur of the day, some Mr. Dalton, or Mr. Smith, to buy him pictures and antiques, in the same spirit, we may presume, as Prince KorkasofFs order to his bookseller : " Buy me a library : large books at bottom — small books at top!" In the midst of all this quackery and ignorance, there was still something truly respectable in the wish to possess books and pictures as an appendage to rank, instead of horses, diamonds, ribbons, and uniforms. The wish to possess is followed by delight in the possession. What we delight in, we love; and love becomes in time a discriminating and refined appreciation. In time — but it must be allowed that the progress to such refinement was, and is, in this cold, working-day country of ours, wondrous slow. Let us turn again to the old catalogues. It is clear, that in the middle of the last century the elder Italian masters were considered gothic and barbarous. Every Venetian portrait was " a Titian," and every hard-looking German head " a Holbein." The Bassani were popular; but the Carracci and their school — Domenichino, Guido, Guercino, Albano — seem to have been most sought after, and their names almost as ridiculously misapplied as those of Raphael and Correggio. The feeble and superficial masters of the later degenerate schools of Italy abound — Carlo Dolce, Carlo Maratti, Pietro da Cortona, Giordano, Lucatelli, and such gentaccia. Yet such, it should seem, was the fashion everywhere. Not in France, nor even in Italy, where the productions xxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. of a better age, of the highest style of art, were at hand for comparison and reference, did a better feeling exist. And we must needs allow, that for Claude, for Nicolo and Gaspar Poussin, for Salvator Rosa, there has existed in England a real taste, for it was not merely a fashion. The predilection for Claude — dating from early in the last cen- tury, when Frederic Prince of Wales bought them where- ever they were to be met with — has been such, that, I believe, all the best pictures and drawings of that prince of landscape painters are, with few exceptions, now in this country. Of the Flemish school, Rubens, and above all, Van Dyck, from his long residence in England, were most frequently met with ; yet Sir J oshua Reynolds tells us, that in the early part of the last century, the man who should have placed Van Dyck above Kneller would have been scoffed at; and we all know the story of the gentleman who employed a painter to wig his Van Dycks. But to proceed with our chronicle. The French Revolution, and the breaking out of the continental wars, changed the whole aspect of things as regarded art and the taste for art in this country. Our first acquisition was the Orleans Gallery. In the history of this famous gallery, its formation, its dispersion, there is something which strongly excites the imagination. It was founded by the infamous Regent-Duke of Orleans. In ten short years, — that is, between the period of his acces- sion to the Regency in 1714, and his death in 1723, he brought together a collection of pictures which can only be compared with that of Charles I. He was all-powerful; he had the revenues and patronage of a great monarchy at his disposal; he had a really fine taste, and was himself no mean artist. Into his gallery were swept many important collections. In the first place, that of Queen Christina, which contained forty-seven pictures of the highest class, several of which had belonged to our Charles I. ; those of GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxix the Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin; those of the Dues de Grammont, de Noailles, de Hautefeuille ; those of Colbert, Marquis de Seignelai, son of the great minister; of Tam- bonceau, de Launay, the Abbe Descamps, and M. de Chan- telou. The old catalogue of the Palais Royal, published in 1724, includes four hundred and ninety-one pictures, of which the descriptions and measurements are sufficiently exact to enable us to identify them. The genuineness of about twenty has been disputed; ten out of the sixteen Raphaels, seven out of thirteen Correggios, and four out of twenty-nine Titians, have been in these more critical times pronounced doubtful or spurious. The Regent died in 1723 — before the pictures he had coveted were all hung up — before he could have seen some of them — before the catalogue, which was to make his gallery famous and envied through all Europe, was printed. The son of this accomplished, but most abandoned and vicious prince, was a weak, but a conscientious bigot. He has been consigned to the detestation and ridicule of all lovers of pictures, for wreaking his pious fury on the Correggios — the Leda, the Io, and the Danae. To confess the truth, (though the confession will savour of prudery to those who lay down the principle that beauty is in itself a consecration, and that to the pure all things are pure,) I have not made up my mind to condemn him absolutely. We must remember that the bulk of those who visit a public gallery are not critics in art; in what is vicious and sensual as well as beautiful, they will see the vice as well as the beauty, perhaps only the vice. I am not sure that the loss to the world would have been very great, if those mutilated Correggios had never been restored; and the memory of Correggio had surely been fairer had he never painted them. But enough of this. The next Duke of Orleans, the Regent's grandson, was a common-place man : he did not cut up his pictures, certainly; he scrupled to XXX GENERAL INTRODUCTION. disfigure them or to sell them; he only cared nothing about them. Many were locked up during his whole life, and inaccessible. His son, the wretched Philippe Egalite, had neither taste nor scruples nor conscience. To raise money for political purposes, in the beginning of the French Revolution, he sold, first, the Italian portion of his pictures for 750,000 francs (18,500/.), and then the Flemish and Dutch pictures for 350,000 francs, about 9000/., something less than half their value. M. Laborde de Mereville, the purchaser of the Italian portion, con- veyed his pictures to England, where, being without any resource, he mortgaged them for 40,000/. The Dutch and Flemish pictures were brought over later, 1798, by Mr. Slade. The history of the gallery subsequent to its arrival in England, is given at length in the introduction to the Bridge water Gallery, p. 81. Then followed the plunder of Italy, i. e., the French plundered — we purchased. The public plunderers have since been obliged to disgorge; whereas we, who only excited to plunder, and paid for plunder, have the law on our side, and retain as wealth what our wealth acquired. I use the word tve, but the truth is, that we, in our national capacity, as a government, did nothing. The French commissaries, the bankers and English consuls at Rome, Venice, and Genoa, were those who paid and profited. The best and most immediate result of the importation of the Orleans Gallery was, that it spread everywhere an interest about art — it made pictures a profitable speculation at tl\e very moment when an opportunity offered for pursuing those speculations, such as the world had never beheld since the invasion of Greece by the armies of Mummius. For though Napoleon affected to confine his exactions to national or royal treasures, the fortunes of nobles and individuals became so insecure, that pictures, as the most moveable property, were first converted into money : convents and GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxxi churches secretly negotiated the sale of altar-pieces and other treasures, which had been consecrated by the worship of ages. If at this time the taste or fashion had run in favour of the earlier Florentine, Umbrian, and Venetian schools, we might have amassed precious things ; but we knew not their value. Perhaps it is a mercy that we were still in the shadow of ignorance; for otherwise, when all reverence and all order were for the time set aside, we might have had the frescoes of Angelico or Ghirlandajo torn down, and sold by the square foot in Pall Mall. Where fashion and the wish to possess predominated over taste and veneration, such a proceeding had been possible. No such desecration did, however, take place. The French stabled their horses in the refectories of con- vents, and in the oratories, rich with the most gracious and glorious creations of human genius; or they smeared with smoke and dirt the heads of apostles and saints, but they did not cut them out of the walls or panels, as they cut the miniatures by hundreds out of the illumi- nated MSS. They left the walls standing, to rot with damp, or to be whitewashed, or to be built up, or to be treated in any other way which the hopelessness or reck- lessness of an impoverished and oppressed people might allow ; meantime, the palaces of the Barberini, Borghese, Pamfili, Colonna, Falconieri, Lancelotti, and Spada princes, were despoiled by English gold. Carraccis, Claudes, Poussins, arrived by ship-loads. One stands amazed at the number of pictures introduced by the enterprise of private dealers into England between 1795 and 1815, during the hottest time of the war. Not from Italy only ; from Holland and from Belgium came the choicest pic- tures of their native artists. It is honourable to us, that the taste — or the fashion — for the works of Hobbema and Cuyp, and the high prices now given for their works, arose out of the predilection of the English amateurs for those XXX11 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. charming painters. They were little valued in their own country, and not at all in others, till towards the end of the last century. Then — as if all this were not enough — the war broke out in Spain. Pictures which the national pride and bigotry had guarded with jealous and zealous care — which royal edicts and stringent laws had forbidden to be removed or exported, suddenly became booty — became merchandise. Sanctuaries and palaces gave up their hidden treasures. The law was then that " those should rob who had the power;" that those who had not, should buy. Thus the Murillos travelled somewhat circuitously through Marshal Soult's gallery into that of the Duke of Sutherland ; and thus the great Rubenses of the convent of Loeches find themselves dwelling in the halls of Grosvenor House. But, if we except some works of Velasquez and Murillo — no Spanish pictures came from Spain, and our acquaintance with the Spanish schools is still very limited.* Since the sale of the Orleans Gallery, some other foreign collections have been sent over to England to be disposed of — that of M. de Calonne, in 1 795 ; that of Lucien Buona- parte, in 1816; of Talleyrand, in 1817; that of the Duchesse de Berri, in 1837; and, in 1840, the gallery of the Duke of Lucca; which last turned out rather an unfortunate spe- culation ; the pictures did not realize half the sum expected for them.f Of the collections and galleries formed during this period, from 1795 to 1840, we may find the enumera- * The first instance of a Spanish picture sold in England, was in 1693, when Lord Godolphin bought, at the sale of Lord Mellefont's pictures, a group of Beggar Boys, by Murillo, for eighty guineas, a purchase which caused much astonishment at the time. Lord Mellefont, ruined by his adherence to the Stuart cause, had brought some valuable pictures from Rome and Madrid, where he had represented James II. as envoy. t The two Francias were sold to the National Gallery, for 4500J. ; the " Ma- donna delle Candelabre," to Mr. Munroe, for 1500/. The Duke of Sutherland, Lord Lansdowne, and Mr. Hope, were also purchasers. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXxiti tion in Dr. Waagen's book, and that of Buchanan.* The most important were those of Mr. Angerstein, Lord Farn- borough, the Rev. Holwell Carr, and Sir George Beaumont, now merged in our National Gallery, (the first by purchase, the last three by will;) those of Henry Hope, Watson Taylor, Mr. Ottley, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Solly, Harte Davis, Dowager Lady Stuart, Sir Simon Clarke, Lord Charles Townshend, Sir Charles Bagot, Sir Abraham Hume, Mr. Hibbert, Sir Francis Baring, Mr. Beckford, of Fonthill, Coesvelt — all sold, divided, or dispersed; those of the Duke of Bridge- water, the Marquess of Stafford, the Earl of Carlisle, Earl Cowper, and Thomas Hope, which remain entire, though the contents have been varied by new purchases, and the owners changed by inheritance or otherwise: and those of the Marquess of Bute, the Earl of Radnor, the Duke of Wellington, the Marquess of Lansdowne, Lord Ash bur- ton, Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wells, of Redleaf, Mr. Miles, of Leigh Court, Mr. Neeld, Mr. Huysch, and Mr. Munroe, of Park-street. Mr. Holford, a gentleman who has lately succeeded to a large fortune, has shewn much taste, as well as a munificent spirit, in his purchases of pictures and drawings. Besides these, which are, properly speaking, collections, there are few of the houses of our nobility which do not contain some good pictures. In referring to the vast number of first-rate pictures now in England, scattered through many houses and gal- leries — in distant counties — in remote country seats — in town houses, shut up half the year — I have heard the wish expressed, that these treasures were assembled in one place — in one national gallery, easily and constantly acces- sible to all. I cannot say I sympathize with the wish; no: not if the object could be effected without wrong to individuals, and with advantage to the pictures themselves, * Memoirs of Painting. XXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. would I wish this. True, it is excruciating to see into what hands fine works of art have fallen, by fate, fortune, or inheritance ; and how often some titled or untitled Goth, indifferent or negligent, has become the very unworthy depositary of treasures which are, in some sort, a posses^ sion and glory to the whole civilized world. But the evil is transient, or exists only in particular cases — the good is certain and general. God forbid that our country should be so unpoetized! Of all the utilitarian theories of the practical men of this time, this is to me the most distaste- ful. If instances of indifferent possessors are numerous, the churlish ones are very few indeed. One hears a great deal of nonsense talked upon this subject, as if a picture were buried, because we have to make a pil- grimage to it. The truth is, that every man who pos- sesses beautiful and valuable pictures, has a natural long- ing for sympathy in his possession — the wish that others should profit, should admire, perhaps envy. It is un- doubtedly true, that should he choose to shut up his doors, he has the power and the right to do so. How far he is right to assert that right, is another question ; and yet it is a wonder to me sometimes that it has not oftener been asserted. With the deepest conviction of the moral obli- gation and responsibility of those who possess the means of improving and refining their cotemporaries, I have felt the deepest disgust for the manner in which I have seen the gracious feeling and intention abused. We can all remem- ber the public days at the Grosvenor Gallery and Bridge - water House. We can all remember the loiterers and loungers, the vulgar starers, the gaping idlers, we used to meet there — people, who, instead of moving amid these wonders and beauties, " all silent and divine," with rever- ence and gratitude, strutted about as if they had the right to be there ; talking, flirting, peeping, and prying ; lifting up the covers of chairs, to examine the furniture ; touching GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXXV the ornaments — and even the pictures ! Now English re- sidences are not like the great, empty, unfurnished, uncar- peted palazzi of the Italian nobles. Can we wonder that men of taste — Englishmen, who attach a feeling of sanctity to their homes — should hate the idea of being sub- jected to such vulgar intrusion, merely because they have a Kaphael or a Rubens of celebrity ? I know not, for my own part, more than one or two isolated instances in which admission has been refused to an artist or a stranger who came properly introduced, or whose name was known. Such things, when they do occur, must be accidental, or if not, they ought to be denounced by opinion, like every other ungentlemanly act — and they are so. Wilkie remarks, in one of his letters, that, through- out his travels, modern pictures and the works of the old masters were never found together in the same room; seldom in the same collection. Modern artists, he adds, with much naivete, seem content with the exclusion. When the late Duke of Bedford intended to collect modern pictures, he first parted with his old pictures. Collectors of English pictures, like Mr. Sheepshanks and Mr. Vernon, generally confine themselves to such; nevertheless, I do not hesitate to say that a visit to either collection would cure some connoisseurs and amateurs of my acquaintance of their exclusive dilettanteism* Mulready, for instance, is as great, as poetical, on a small scale, as if he covered acres of canvas. He is as powerful and large in his drawing, as the best designers of the best times of Italian art. It is true that his fine taste in drawing is sometimes oddly con- trasted with the grotesque sentiment of his subjects; yet there are pictures of his, not more than a few inches square, which, in their intense feeling, as well as in breadth of * Mr. Sheepshanks possesses about one hundred pictures, selected with ex- quisite taste. Among- them, nineteen by Leslie, ten by Mulready, and nine by Edwin Landseer. XXXvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. drawing and felicity of execution, remind me of some of the lyrics of Goethe. And Eastlake, with his profound and re- fined sentiment, and his noble, intellectual aims ; and Edwin Landseer, the painter of life in every form, as dexterous and as accomplished in the use of his materials as Rubens himself; and Leslie, whose pictures are like bouquets of flowers to the eye, and in their grace and feeling melting like fragrance into the soul ! — who has understood, and felt, and painted Shakspeare as he has? — I mention only these four as contrasted with each other. How many more are amongst us, our cotemporaries — English, and better in being so, than if they were second-hand Italians — of whom we might say they have only to die to be appre- ciated. If one among them drop away from the bright circle, like Constable, or Harlowe, or poor Bonnington, or Wilkie, see how their productions rise immediately in esteem and in value ! Perhaps it is not much comfort to an artist conscious of his own powers, that after he has struggled through a laborious existence, his pictures will be objects of competition to rich amateurs, when their patronage can no longer save or help him; subjects of eloquent criticism, when praise can reach him no more. Yet is not this the natural, the inevitable course of things ? The pictures of a living artist can never be what so many seek in pictures, an investment for money. It has been truly said, that if we now possessed painters who were really equal to Raphael, Van Dyck, Titian, Claude, or Teniers, " yet they could not, nor ought they to, be thought of in the same manner, because there could not be the same proof of it, nor the same confidence in the opinion of a man and his friends, or of any one generation, as in that of successive generations and the voice of posterity. If it be said that we pass over the faults of the former, and severely scrutinize the excellences of the latter, this is also right and necessary, because the one have passed their trial, and the others are upon it. If w GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXXVii we forgive or overlook the faults of the ancients, it is because the j have dearly earned it." On the other hand, the cant of ignorant depreciation has done more harm, has fostered more self-conceit and more carelessness among our living artists, than the adulation of certain partisans and admirers : it has made them, while they worked for money, despise opinion; and they have helped to deprave the taste they have in their hearts despised. How seldom have the most distinguished of the men I have alluded to, painted up to their own power! " Ma poiche paga il volgo sciocco" — we all know the rest. But better, brighter, times are at hand; let us hope so: and of one thing let us be assured, that such times w r ill not come by the vain attempt to pull down the grand old mas- ters from " their pride of place," or by accomplishing this, if it were possible. True, there has been much nonsense, pedantic jargon, infinite unmeaning stuff, talked about them, enough to confound simple-minded people, and make them doubt whether there be any truth whatever in the admiration they have for ages excited. I have been asked more than once whether this was not merely a got-up taste and nothing in it, after all, but mere cant and verbiage ? Let it not be believed ! If the great painters, like the great poets, had not derived their power from on high — if their art was indeed only a thing of mechanism, of schools, and styles, and so forth, and had not its elements in our universal nature — they had not been the wonder, the solace, the delight of successive ages. They had long ago been consigned to dust and lumber rooms. If there were not some principle of truth and life in them, beyond what mere form and colour could give, they had not remained precious to us in their ruin and decay. " They are not good be- cause they are old, but old because they are good." If a person of a candid and cultivated mind, not deficient in sensibility, is brought before a picture bearing a high $ XXXViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. value, and inscribed with some musically-sounding and magnificent name, and sees nothing in it to justify its celebrity, let him not hastily conclude that there is nothing in it; nor as hastily give up the point, and profess "to have no taste for old pictures :" still less affect the admira- tion he does not feel — there is stupidity as well as false- hood in that. Let him rather inquire, and try to under- stand on what this consecration rests — on what this cele- brity is founded. There are pictures of little intrinsic beauty or merit, which yet have great value and interest; they mark the transition from one style to another, or they mark a particular phase in the life of the individual painter, or they illustrate a certain aspect of faith, of civil- ization, of morals, in the country which produced them. Boundless, beyond what the uninitiated can imagine, are the associations connected with a taste for the fine arts ! — the widening of the horizon round us, as knowledge grows out of love, and the clear vision perceives and embraces the relation which exists between things appa- rently distant and dissimilar ! But do such taste, such knowledge, such extended vision, come at once, or by chance ? They are more frequently the acquisition of a whole life. A preference for some particular school of art, is often an indication of character; an exclusive predilection for a particular school is sometimes an accidental bias, grafted on a natural taste; sometimes a merely artificial, conven- tional taste, or habit of liking. Where there is quickness of perception, and a strong natural sensibility to beauty, combined with opportunities of study and observation, there will be preferences, arising out of indestructible, inborn sympathies, but hardly exclusive tastes. I remem- ber a time when I did not like Rubens; when his coarse women and glaring colours absolutely repelled me; when the revels of drinking boors, and ladies and gentlemen GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xxxix eating oysters, girls " chopping onions," and so forth, appeared to me unredeemed common-place and vulgarity; and the merest daub of an Italian picture, which realized to my mind some poetical image or association, would have been preferable to the Jan Steen which Lord Francis Egerton is so happy as to possess. Those were " our salad days, when we were green in judgment;" but to prefer the J an Steen to the fresco of Heliodorus, or the cartoons — it would be like preferring Hudibras to Homer! Better far, I admit, the honest preference of J an Steen to Raphael, of Hudibras to Homer, than the sentimentality of affected con- noisseurship — the " Correggiosity of Correggio," and such affectations; but no one must be allowed to regard their own arbitrary preferences as tests of excellence. Let us ever keep in mind that there must be some criterion to appeal to, higher, and more fixed, than the power of feeling and asso- ciation, which varies in every individual. Art is reduced very low, when artists are driven to rely on mere common- place associations. Hence it is that we are overwhelmed with tableaux-de-genre, and things painted for art-unions and annuals. What have we now for the grandeur and the grace of the heroic and ideal in art? A bridesmaid weep- ing in white satin, " Gems of beauty," and " Flowers of loveliness," or such trash, cherished by the namby-pamby taste of our fine ladies, on whose tables you find these wretched, wiry things, with their mean contours and con- ventional prettinesses. No wonder that the admirers of such should think the Delphic Sibyl " masculine," and denounce the Hours, in Guido's Aurora, as " coarse." I do not hesitate to say, that the false, the frivolous taste of women, has had a permanently injurious effect on art and artists, and that their better education in this respect is likely to do much good. There is an immeasurable dif- ference between the mere liking for pretty pictures, the love of novelty and variety, and the feeling and compre- xl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. hension of the fine arts, their true aim and high signifi- cance; still the capacity to discriminate as well as to feel is given to many, and I would raise such from love up to knowledge, until " What was a speck expands into a star, Demanding life to be explored." THE PRIVATE GALLERY OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE. £3- Visitors are admitted only by an Order from the Lord Chamberlain, and during the absence of Her Majesty from the Palace. INTRODUCTION. The pictures which now constitute the private gallery of her Majesty at Buckingham Palace, were principally collected by George IV., whose exclusive predilection for pictures of the Dutch and Flemish schools is well known. To those which he brought together here, and which formerly hung in Carlton House, her present Ma- jesty has made, since her accession, many valuable addi- tions; some purchased, and others selected from the royal collections at Windsor and Hampton Court; others ha\e been added by Prince Albert, from the collection of the late Professor D' Alton, of Bonn. The pictures, excepting the royal portraits, are hung in a gallery constructed especially for their reception when Buckingham House was altered for the residence of George IV. ; it runs from north to south through the body of the edifice, and forms a corridor opening into suites of apartments on either side. It appears to me too lofty, and the light not well contrived for such small and delicate pictures. Each picture has the name of the painter and the title by which it is known attached to it legibly, but as they are neither numbered nor classed, I have, for the sake of present and future reference, arranged the pictures in the gallery according to the classification adopted through- out this volume, and already explained; and added thereto a list of the Royal Portraits, which are now hung in the state rooms adjoining the gallery, and to which the visitors are usually admitted. b 2 4 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. George IV. began to form his collection about the year 1802, and was chiefly guided by the advice and judgment of Sir Charles Long, afterwards Lord Farnborough, an accomplished man, whose taste for art, and intimacy with the King, then Prince of Wales, rendered him a very fit person to carry the royal wishes into execution. The importation of the Orleans gallery had diffused a feeling — or, it may be, a fashion — for the higher specimens of the Italian schools, but under the auspices of George IV. the tide set in an opposite direction. In the year 1812, the very select gallery of Flemish and Dutch pictures collected by Sir Francis Baring, was transferred by purchase to tihe Prince Regent. Sir Francis Baring had purchased the best pictures from the collections of M. Geldermeester of Amsterdam (sold in 1800), and that of the Countess of Holderness* (sold in 1802), and, except the Hope gallery, there was nothing at that time to compare with it in England. I have heard that Mr. Seguier, valued this collection at eighty thousand pounds; but the exact sum paid for it I do not know — certainly much less.f Before and since that time, the known predilection of the monarch for works of the Dutch school, the high, and what Dr. Waagen terms (rather equivocally) the "princely" prices paid for this class of pictures, and which have since been kept up by fashion and the picture dealers, have almost emptied the celebrated cabinets of Holland. The most valuable masterpieces once in the collections of Braamcamp, van Slingelandt, Geldermeester, Smeth van Alpen, Greffier Fagel, the Due de Choiseul, the Due de Praslin, Pou- * She was a Dutchwoman by birth, and it appears that several of her finest pictures had descended to her as heir-looms. f 24,000/. is the sum which has heen stated to me, on what I con- sider high authority. INTRODUCTION. 5 lain, and latterly those of the Due de Berri, Talleyrand, Calonne, have found their way to England, and the ac- quisitions made by collectors here now comprise some of the most exquisite and valuable productions of a school of art which, though more easily comprehended and re- lished than the ideal creations of the great poet-painters of Italy, is yet not always well understood or justly appre- ciated ; not even by those who are astonished, delighted, or diverted by the power of imitation, the delicate and minute execution, and the grotesque humour displayed in some of these marvellous performances. The Dutch painters, properly so called, are those who flourished in the Low Countries, particularly at the Hague, Ley den, Amsterdam, and Haarlem, towards the end of the sixteenth and throughout the seventeenth century, com- prising a period of about 120 years: and here, as in the Italian schools, we find the earliest, the best, and the latest, the worst painters of their class. In the highest rank we place J an Steen, Teniers, and Adrian van Ostade, as delineators of plebeian character and life ; Terburg, Netscher, and Eglon Yander Neer, as painters of elegant social life ; Gerard Douw, Gabriel Metzu, and Franz Mieris, as the most refined portrayers of common life and domestic incident ; De Hooghe, and Yander Hey den, as imitators of purely natural effects of perspective and light. Hobbema, Ruysdael, Adrian Yander Yelde, and Cuyp, stand perhaps at the head of a long list of landscape painters ; Paul Potter was confessedly the greatest cattle painter, as Wouvermanns was the best painter of equestrian subjects, in the world; and, for sea pieces merely, Wilhelm Yander Yelde and Ludolf Backhuysen are considered unrivalled. All these painters, however they might differ in the selection of their subjects, and in the individual manner of treatment (easily discriminated by a little practice and observation), had taken that direction which 6 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. had been given to the national taste and genius by the influence and example of Rubens. They were dis- tinguished generally by two characteristics — 1st, the most lively and intense perception of natural forms and effects, and 2dly, the development of the faculty of colour. Some finished more, and some less, but all were exquisite imi- tators and colourists. The degree of intellectual power and moral sentiment which each brought to bear upon and direct this wonderful mechanical skill, varies considerably. In Gerard Douw and Franz Mieris we have mind as well as mechanism ; and in Wilhelm Mieris and Slingelandt, we have the mechanism without the mind. The observer admitted into this beautiful gallery, will find here excellent opportunities for immediate comparison : he will feel these characteristic differences, and will do well to note the causes and results. A descriptive catalogue of a gallery of Dutch pictures must needs be dry and full of repetitions, for the reasons given by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who has summed up their merits in his usual masterly style. " One would wish," he says, " to be able to convey to the reader some idea of that excellence, the sight of which has afforded so much pleasure; but as their merit often consists in the truth of representation alone, whatever praise they de- serve, whatever pleasure they give when under the eye, they make but a poor figure in description. It is to the eye only that the works of this school are addressed ; it is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that what was intended solely for the gratification of one sense, succeeds but ill when applied to another. A market woman with a hare in her hand, a man blowing a trumpet, or a boy blow- ing bubbles, a view of the inside or outside of a church, are the subjects of some of their most valuable pictures; but there is still entertainment, even in such pictures; however uninteresting their subjects, there is some plea- INTRODUCTION. 7 sure in the contemplation of the truth of the imitation. But to a painter they afford likewise instruction in his profession; here he may learn the art of colouring and composition, a skilful management of light and shade, and, indeed, all the mechanical parts of the art, as well as in any other school whatever. The same skill which is prac- tised by Eubens and Titian in their large works, is here exhibited, though on a smaller scale. Painters should go to the Dutch school to learn the art of 'painting, as they would go to a grammar school to learn languages : they must go to Italy to learn the higher branches of know- ledge. We must be contented to make up our idea of perfection from the excellences which are dispersed over the world. A poetical imagination, expression, character, or even correctness of drawing, are seldom united with that power of colouring which would set off those excel- lences to the best advantage ; and in this, perhaps, no school ever excelled the Dutch. An artist, by a close exa- mination of their works, may in a few hours make himself master of the principles on which they wrought, which cost them whole ages, and perhaps the experience of a succes- sion of ages, to ascertain." Here Sir J oshua Reynolds speaks chiefly of the value of such works in the eye of a painter, as studies in the prac- tical part of his profession; but the best among them can also impart exceeding delight to the cultivated taste of an amateur. The beautiful conversation pieces of Netscher and Terburg, are like scenes of elegant comedy or domestic fiction. I could no more endure to see Teniers, or Jan Steen, or even the coarse Brouwer, sacrificed to Titian and Guido, than I would wish to have Hudibras, the Rape of the Lock, or Congreve's comedies expunged from our literature, because we possess a Shakspeare, a Milton, a Spenser. Though we love Claude, and revel in his Arca- dian fictions, " beautiful as a wreck of Paradise," should 8 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. we therefore be insensible to the delicious rural feeling of Hobbema, or the breezy freshness of Vander Velde? This were pitiable. It is good, as I have said before, to culti- vate as far as possible a catholic taste in the fine arts; though the individual temperament must necessarily deter- mine our preferences, and the amount of pleasure enjoyed through our sympathies. In the foregoing remarks on the Dutch painters, I have said nothing of Rembrandt, because he stands alone as the creator of a style apart. Some of his finest works adorn the Queen's Gallery, and give us an excellent opportunity of studying " this mysterious and extraordinary being," for such he truly was, and undoubtedly a genius of the first class, in whatever is not immediately related to form or taste; " for, in spite of the most portentous deformity and vulgarity, and without considering the spell of his chiaro- scuro, such were his powers of nature, such the grandeur, pathos, and simplicity of his composition, from the most elevated and extensive arrangement to the meanest and homeliest, that the most untutored and most cultivated eye, plain common sense and the most refined sensibility, dwell on them equally enthralled."* " Rembrandt's enormous faculty of imagination is not more remarkable than the singular and original direction of his extraordinary powers. He is the very king of shadows, — , Earth-born, And sky-engendered — son of mysteries ! a poet-painter, if ever there was one ! He reminds me* of the prince-sorcerer, nurtured 6 in the cave of Domdaniel, under the roots of the sea.' Such an enchanted 'den of darkness' was his mill and its skylight to him; and there, magician-like, he brooded over half-seen forms, and his * See Fuseli's notes to Pilkington's Lives of the Painters, INTRODUCTION. imagination framed strange spells out of elemental light and shade. Thence he brought his unearthly shadows; his dreamy splendours ; his supernatural gleams ; his gems, flashing and sparkling with internal light ; his lustrous glooms ; his wreaths of flaming and embossed gold ; his wicked, wizard-like heads — turbaned, wrinkled, seared, dusky ; pale with forbidden studies, solemn with thoughtful pain, keen with the hunger of avarice, and furrowed with an eternity of years ! I have seen pictures of his, (such is the Wise-Men's Offering, in this gallery,) in which the shadowy back-ground is absolutely peopled with life. At first, all seems palpable darkness — apparent vacancy; but figure after figure emerges- — another, and another; they glide into view, they take shape and colour, as if they grew out of the canvas ; even while we gaze, we rub our eyes, and wonder whether it be the painter's work or our own fancy. " Of all the great painters, Rembrandt is perhaps least understood ; the admiration bestowed on him, the immense prices given for his pictures, is, in general, a fashion — a mere matter of convention, like the price of a diamond. To feel Rembrandt truly, it is not enough to be an artist or an amateur picture-fancier; one should be something of a poet too."* What is most extraordinary about him is, the intense impression of nature, of a presence — a reality which comes upon us from amidst this world of light and shadow : — I see a mighty darkness Filling the seat of power, and rays of gloom Dart round, as light from the meridian sun, Ungazed upon and shapeless — neither limb, Nor form, nor outline ; yet we feel it is A living spirit. Those who would understand and feel the poetry of * Visits and Sketches. A. J. B 3 10 INTRODUCTION. Rembrandt, should look at the " Christ in the Garden" and the "Wise Men's Offering" here; the ' ' Visitation ' of the Grosvenor Gallery, and the " Woman taken in Adul- tery" of the National Gallery. The specimens of Rubens and Van Dyck are excellent, but do not present sufficient variety to afford an adequate idea of the wide range of power of the first of these great painters, nor of the particular talent of the last. On the other hand, the works and style of Gerard Douw, Teniers, Jan Steen, Adrian and Wilhelm Yandervelde, Wouver- manns, and Berghem, may be more advantageously studied in this gallery than in any other I have visited, for the specimens of each of these masters are many in number, various in subject, and good in their kind. Of Mieris and Metzu, there are finer specimens at Mr. Hope's and Sir Robert Peel's; and the Hobbemas and Cuyps must yield to those of Lord Ashburton and Lord Francis Egerton. But, on the whole, it is certainly the finest gallery of this class of works in England. The collection derives addi- tional interest from the presence of some pictures of the modern British artists — Reynolds, Wilkie, Allan, Newton, Gainsborough. It is, however, only just to these painters to add that not one of their pictures here ought to be con- sidered as a first-rate example of their power. I wish I could add the name of Edwin Landseer, one of the few modern painters whose pictures would not suffer by juxta- position with this particular school of art ; but though he has painted many pictures for the Queen, none of them are as yet placed in the gallery. I reserve some further observations on the Dutch and Flemish schools, and particularly the characteristics of the Dutch landscape painters, till we review the collections of Mr. Hope and Sir Robert Peel. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 11 Jtattan, dpanuft), attfc ffixmcf) CLAUDE (Gelee de Lorraine), b. 1600; d. 1674. [In poetical landscape unequalled ; of his particular style and merits the single specimen here, though very beautiful, can convey no adequate idea ; he is best studied in our National Gallery, (see First Series, p. 25,) and in the Bridgewater and Grosvenor Galleries, where he will be found characterized at large.] 1 A Landscape. — The figures represent the story of 1 Europa. The scene is a bay or inlet of the sea, with several vessels of an antique form riding at anchor, and a round tower protecting the entrance to the port. A promontory on the right, crowned with tufted trees, is relieved against the clear sky; a light breeze sends the waves dancing to the shore, and the whole scene appears to breathe the coolness and freshness of a summer morn- ing. The nymph and three of her attendants, with the snow-white bull, are seen approaching the margin of the sea, others of her companions are reclining under some trees. This very beautiful picture was painted about the year 1665, for Pope Alexander VII. (Chigi.) The drawing is in the "Liber Veritatis," No. 136. It was successively in the collections of Madame Bandeville and Lord Gwydir; from the latter collection it was purchased in 1829, for George IV., at the price of 2000 guineas. There is a repetition of a smaller size, in the possession of James Morrison, Esq., somewhat varied in the details and figures; another, also varied, was once in the collection of Sir Joshua Reynolds. There is an etching by Claude of this 12 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, subject, and an engraving by Vivares, both differing in some of the details from this picture. C. 3 ft. by 4 ft. (Smith's Cat 136.) GREUZE (Jean Baptiste), b. 1734 ; d. 1807. [This French painter of conversation pieces, and scenes from do- mestic life, has the merit of being at least an original painter, and excellent in his way ; and originality and excellence in an inferior department are better than imitation and mediocrity in the highest. He was the inventor of his own manner, which was at first ridiculed as trivial ; the young painter, discouraged, set off to Rome, looked at Michael Angelo and Raphael, and attempted heroics ; — failed utterly, and, returning to the peculiar bent of his own genius, became himself a model in his way. But though the pathos and naivete of expression in some of his best pictures can scarcely be exceeded, and the dramatic effect, in some of his scenes, is very attractive, he is de- cidedly national in taste, and some of his subjects recall, too much, the grouping and sentiment of a French vaudeville ; nor is the fashion which now obtains for his pictures sack extravagant prices a pleasing sign of the prevalent taste,] 2 La Trompette. — A mother with three children in the 1 interior of a cottage. She is rebuking, by a look, the eldest boy, lest he should disturb the sleep of the younger by blowing his penny-trumpet, evidently a new toy. There is great truth of expression in this little cottage incident; the colouring, is very lovely and tender, and the precision of drawing in all the forms, and the careful execution, distinguish this beautiful little picture from those sketchy bits of sentiment by Greuze, so commonly met with. At a sale at Paris, in 1783, it sold for 96/. Purchased by the king in 1815, for 180 guineas. P. 1 ft. 1 1 in. by I ft. 7 in. Engraved by L. Cars, under the title " La Silence." (Smith's Cat 57.) GRANET (Francois Marius). Born at Aix, in Provence : now living at Paris, (1842.) [A French painter of architecture and interiors, remarkable for his skill in effects of light and perspective. He emulates Peter de Hooghe THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. in the means he employs, but has chosen a higher and more imagi- native class of subjects.] 3 Franciscan Friars — at Morning Service in the choir 1 of their Church. The most consummate knowledge of aerial perspective, combined with much character in the treatment of the heads, and much solemnity and dignity in the composition, render this picture one of the most striking and valuable works of the painter. It is, however, too monotonous and cold in colour, and in the tricky and illusive effect like scene-painting. Painted for George IV. C. 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 10. LE NAIN (Antoine and Louis). [Two brothers, natives of Laon, in France, painters of scenes of low and familiar life ; they passed their lives together, and painted always in concert, so that it has become impossible to distinguish them in their works. Much more allied to the Dutch than the French school, in the choice of their subjects, and the unaffected feeling for truth and nature in the manner of treating them, they have yet the merit of being perfectly original in their way, for they preceded the eminent Dutch genre painters of the seventeenth century ; dying at an advanced age, and within two days of each other, 1648.] 4 The Young Gamblers. — From the Aldobrandini 1 Palace, according to Mr. Seguier; but it seems strange. 1 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. TITIAN (Tiziano Vecelli), b. 1477 ; d. 1576. 5 A rich, wooded Landscape. — A Herdsman with a l flock of sheep. This must formerly have been a beautiful picture, but has turned very dark, and has suffered much. Upright 3 ft. 9 in. by 3 ft. 2 in. VENUSTI (Marcello), b. at Mantua, 1515; d. 1576. [This painter, who produced no original work of any great value or celebrity, is remarkable for the extreme beauty of his small pictures from the designs of Michael Angelo, whose grand cartoons he re- duced, and gave them all the attraction of colour and delicate execution. The specimen here is an example.] 14 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 6 A Pieta. — The Virgin seated at the foot of the cross, 1 supports the dead Saviour, whose arms are sustained by a boy-angel on each side. Painted from the well-known de- sign of Michael Angelo, engraved by Bonasoni; of which there exist many repetitions by Yenusti and others. The original study was in the Lawrence collection of drawings. Purchased by George IV. for 800 guineas. P. 18 in. by 11 in. WATTEAU (Antoine), b. 1684; d. 1721. [A French painter of elegant fancy subjects and conversation pieces, Carnival scenes, and fetes champetres, in a style invented by himself, and which resembles nothing, in art or nature, but a masquerade, or a French ballet. In this sort of fantastic pastoral he excelled, and by the variety of fancy in his inventions, and the exquisite charm of his pencilling and colouring, reconciles us to his theatrical pretti- nesses and artificial graces. ] 7 A Fete Champetre. — Ten figures ; among which are 1 conspicuous a lady with a child seated in front, and a lady and gentleman seated on a bank behind. C. 1 ft. 7 J in. by 1 ft. ll£ in. 8 A Fete Champetre. — Ten figures — in front, a young 2 lady with a dog ; further back, a gentleman seated — a lady leaning on the back of his chair ; beyond, a gentleman playing on the flute. Both these pictures are full of fanciful gaiety, while the airy delicacy of the background har- monizes with the figures. C. 1 ft. 2 in. by 11 in. 9 A Scene from Moliere. — Ten figures. Monsieur de 3 Pourceaugnac surrounded by his pretended wives and children. The two lovers are seen behind. Etched by the Comte de Caylus and finished by Joullain. C. 1 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. 10 Harlequin and Pierrot. — A carnival scene. Ten 4 figures. Pantaloon is seen entering in front from the right; beyond, a lady seated with a book, Harlequin at her side THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 15 is endeavouring to engage her attention; Pierrot is seen behind. C. 1 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. These four pictures have been long in the Royal collec- tion, and may have been painted for George L, in whose reign Watteau was in England. 1 1 Le Baiser. — Three figures ; a gentleman playing the 5 guitar: a lady and gentleman seated; he is attempting to embrace her. About 12 in. by 9 in. BACKHUYSEN (Ludolf), b. at Embden, 1631 ; d. 1709. [As a painter of sea-pieces, excellent ; and if not equal to his co- temporary, Wilhelm Vander Velde, it is because his talent is rather more restricted, and at the same time more unequal ; his forte lies in the representation of stormy waves and troubled skies. He painted generally on a larger scale, and with more breadth of pencil and less brilliance and delicacy of tint than Vander Velde. There is but one picture of his in this gallery, but it is of a very high quality.] 12 A Gale — off the mouth of the Brill, in Holland, with 1 the town of the same name in the distance. A coasting vessel, under main and jib sails, is seen scudding along in front; among the other vessels which are seen in motion far and near, a fishing-boat is conspicuous, in which three men are busy hauling up their nets. Purchased from the collection of Count Pourtales, in 1826, for George IV., at the price of 420/. C. 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 11 in. (Smith's Cat 69.) BERGHEM (Nicholas), b. 1624 ; d. 1683. [The landscapes of Berghem are mostly inventions, so unlike the nature around him — the swamps and fertile flats in the neighbour- 16 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. hood of Haarlem, where he resided — that there can be no doubt he visited Italy early in life, though the fact is not ascertained. Berg- hem has been called poetical, but he appears to me rather a fanciful than a poetical painter. Notwithstanding their extreme beauty, there is a factitious character in his works which makes it tiring to look at many of them in succession ; yet the gem-like brilliance of some of his best, the spirit and finish of his little pastoral groups, the loveliness of his atmospheric effects, lend them a great charm. The manner in which he introduces a spot of brilliant colour into his foregrounds — generally a scarlet jacket or petticoat — is almost peculiar to himself. No painter has been more successfully imitated, for he was a decided mannerist, and spurious Berghems abound. All the pictures attributed to him here are particularly fine, and certainly genuine.] 13 Landscape. — View over a wide tract of country, \ traversed by a river. A group of peasants with cattle, among whom a woman on a grey horse is the most conspi- cuous, on a bank in the foreground ; an old tower on the right. The effect of evening and of distance is admirably expressed in this picture; dated 1655. P. 1 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat 224.) 14 The Rush-gatherers. — A hilly landscape, with a river 2 on the left; in the foreground animals and figures. Three women with rushes, and two cows, are conspicuous. The effect is that of a warm summer evening. C. 1 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 2j in. (Smith's Cat 227.) 15 A Mountainous Landscape — with a large river; in 3 the foreground three peasants (one on horseback) with their flock; a second group of cattle is seen near the water. The effect is that of soft evening light, almost twilight. Baring collection. C. 2 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 226.) 16 Landscape. — An open country, bare of trees. In the 4 foreground a herd of four cows, an ass, and a sheep, with a herdsman on horseback and two on foot ; other groups of cattle in the middle distance; the trunk of a tree among some rocks in the foreground. A late picture of the master, and the animals particularly excellent. C. 2 ft. 3^ in. by 3 ft. (Smith's Cat 229.) THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 17 17 The Ford. — In a mountainous landscape, a shepherdess 5 carrying a kid, and accompanied by a goat and a dog, is wading through a clear stream, in which two cows are standing; a horse is seen ascending a hill, the rider has been obliterated by some restorer, or omitted by the painter. An elegant little picture in effect and execution ; dated 1650. Holderness and Baring collections. C. 1 ft. 1^ in. by 1 ft. 4j in. (Smith's Cat. 225.) 18 A Landscape — divided by a river, the distance closed 6 by blue mountains. In the foreground, a traveller seated with his dog ; beyond, a female peasant on horseback, a drover, and some cows. Charming for the clear, cool, morning effect. Baring collection. P. 10 in. by 12j in. (Smith's Cat. 228.) BOTH (Jan), b. 1618; d. 1656. [One of the famous Dutch landscape painters. He painted the scenery of Italy, in which country he resided, generally with the warm, glowing effect of a summer sunset. The word romantic comes into the mind when looking at Both's landscapes, which are frequently mannered in colour, and laboured and finical in execution ; but when really fine, are very fine. He is characterized at length in the Cata- logue of the National Gallery, First Series, p. 95.] 19 St. Philip baptizing the Eunuch. — The incident l is represented in a grand mountainous landscape. The saint is seen standing on the bank of a noble river, while queen Candace's chamberlain receives from him the rite of baptism. The impasto is particularly rich and free for Both; the effect is (as usual) that of a glowing sunset, in which the warm, vapoury light of a sultry summer evening is perfectly expressed. Bought from the collection of Smeth van Alpen, in 1810; sold to George IV. by the picture- dealer, La Fontaine, for 1550/. C. 4 ft. 2 in. by 5 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 47.) CUYP (Albert), b. at Dort, 1606 ; d. about 1672. [A landscape and cattle painter of consummate ability, and the truest, purest feeling for nature. To come upon one of Cuyp's pic- tures after looking at Berghem and Both, is like opening a door and 18 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. stepping out into the fresh air — into heaven's own light and earth's own verdure.* It was not till a century after his death that he began to be appreciated in his own country or known out of it, and it should seem that he rather painted for love of his art, than lived by the practice of it. There are reasons for supposing that he was by trade a brewer, but this is not ascertained.] 20 The Trooper. — A cavalier (supposed to represent Cuyp himself) stands at the head of a noble grey charger, adorn- ing the bridle with a blue ribbon; a large dog crouches behind. Painted in the brightest morning light, extremely clear, and with a full body of colour. The background is formed by a landscape, with an encampment. It is con- sidered a masterpiece. 3 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 10. (Smith's Cat. 241.) 21 A Grey and a Brown Horse — held by a negro, 2 while the riders are in conversation ; near them are two dogs, and some cows in a verdant meadow in the middle distance. The river Rhine, with a town and lofty hills, close the background. All the objects are illuminated by the warm light of a fine evening. This fine picture was sold from Lord Rendlesham's col- lection in 1806, for 500 guineas. C. 4 ft. 9 in. by 7 ft. 4 h in. (Smith's Cat. 112.) 22 Landscape. — Supposed to represent the environs of the 3 Rhine. A horseman is conversing with a shepherd under a group of trees ; near the shepherd are his child, his dog, and a flock of sheep. The effect is that of a summer evening, and some buildings are faintly seen through the sultry haze on the receding hills. The careful execution, the brightness of the tone, approaching to the silvery, which is unusual with Cuyp, and the beautiful composition, make this picture one of the most pleasing by this master. It was formerly (1785) in the collection of Yon Slingelandt, and was brought to England in 1800. It was then sold for 288/. Baring collection. C. 3 ft. 4 in. by 5 ft. (Smith's Cat 22.) * See First Series, pp. 81 and 445, where this charming painter is further . characterized. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 19 23 Landscape. — Three cows in a meadow bounded by 4 thickets, with the town of Dort on the other side of a piece of water. Not a very excellent or pleasing picture. The neck of the grey cow forms a very unpleasing line, and the foreground is heavy and dark in the tone. C. 4 ft. 4 in. by 6 ft. 7J in. (Smith's Cat 243.) 24 Landscape. — A group of four cows, (two lying down, 5 and two standing) by the side of a clear river ; near them, the herdsman and his wife, seated on a bank ; other cows in the water, near the ruins of a castle ; some ducks in the foreground. It is a most faithful and pleasing representation of Dutch scenery, painted with remarkable freshness and clearness ; altogether a most charming pic- ture, in Cuyp's best style. Baring collection. C. 3 ft. 1 in. by 4 ft. 4£ in. (Smith's Cat. 242.) 25 A Gentleman and Lady — riding in a forest, appa- 6 rently portraits. Purchased in 1811, for 50 guineas, from the collection of Philip Hill, Esq. P. 2 ft. 3h in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 245.) 26 Two Cavalry Soldiers — one of whom has dismounted, 7 and is talking to a peasant. In the foreground a dog asleep. The head of one of the horses is rather small. The execution is otherwise careful, and the effect of the warm evening light masterly. P. I ft. 21 in. by 1 ft. 5j in. (Smith's Cat 244.) 27 Ducks on a River. — Life size. From Lord Hertford's 8 collection. % C. 1 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 11 J in. (Smith's Cat 246.) 28 View On the River Dort. — A transport, with many 9 persons on board, on the point of lying-to ; other vessels beyond it, at different distances. Though this picture, from the masterly treatment, reminds us of the fine work of Cuyp in the Bridgewater gallery, it is much inferior in 20 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. composition. The transport makes too uniform and dark a mass, and occupies too much of the entire picture. Baring collection. C. 3 ft. 11 in. by 4 ft. 8 in. (Smith's Cat. 247.) DOUW (Gerard), b. 1613 ; d. 1680. [Of all the finishers of the Dutch school this was the best ; for to the most marvellous delicacy of execution, he added a certain breadth and force, a feeling for nature in tone and effect, and a power of con- veying character, which render his pictures most valuable. I have seen some of his heads which, if they were magnified to life size through a glass, would still be large in style, and true as Van Dyck himself.] 29 Interior. — A pretty girl, standing -at a bow window, is 1 busy scouring a pan. This little picture has been engraved by Wills, under the name of " La Menagere." It was formerly in the collection of the Prince de Conti, of M. de Beaujon, and of Geldermeester; sold from the last in 1801, for 176/. Baring collection. P. 6 J in. by 5 in. (Smith's Cat. 43.) 30 The Hacllis d'OgnonS. A girl chopping onions in 2 a tub ; a boy by her. Highly finished in a warm tone, with a striking effect of light and shade ; dated 1646, and mentioned by Descamps. It has passed through the collec- tions of Gaignot, the Prince de Conti, the Due de Praslin, and M. Geldermeester, whence it was sold to Sir T. Baring, in 1801, for 360/. P. 7 J in. by 6 in. (Smith's Cat 33.) 31 A Grocer's Shop — viewed through an arched window. 3 A woman is weighing out raisins to a young girl ; there are three other figures and numerous objects, exquisitely finished. On the window-sill are gingerbread, sugar, and other articles ; on the outside of the window, a bas-relief, with children; dated 1672. The heads are pleasing and natural ; the tone very warm ; and in this respect it is pre- ferable to the picture of the same subject in the Louvre. P. From the Choiseul collection. 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. in. (Smith's Cat. 23.) THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 21 32 A Woman at an Arched Window — watering a car- 4 nation. On one side of the window hangs a pair of scales, on the other a bird-cage. Formerly at Windsor. It has been in the Royal collection for at least a hundred and fifty years. See King William's Catalogue, 1697. M.S. P. 11 in. by 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 50.) 33 The Sick Chamber. — A lady, habited in a cap and a 5 bed-gown of white satin, richly trimmed with fur, is seated in an arm chair ; a doctor stands on her left hand, feeling her pulse, and at the same time examining the contents of a bottle ; a female behind the lady's chair. The composition nearly the same with that of Gerard Douw's famous picture in the Louvre — " La Femme Hydrophique." Purchased by George IV. for 1000 guineas. P. 12 in. by 9j in. 34 All Interior. — A mother is nursing her infant by the 6 fireside ; behind her is a young girl, who appears to be amusing the child; in the foreground a cradle; on the right is a cat. Brought from Paris by M. La Fontaine, and sold by him to George IV. as a work of Gerard Douw. It is with more reason ascribed to Slingelandt. P. 16 in. by 14 J in. (Smith's Cat of Slingelandt' 's, 24.) 35 The Fruit Seller. — An elderly woman is bargaining for 7 grapes ; on the ground a basket of peaches, and a melon, &c. From the Choiseul collection. P. 17 in. by 13 J in. 36 Head of an Old Man — in a circular frame. 8 DU JARDIN (Karel), b. at Amsterdam, 1635 ; d. at Venice, 1678. [Another Dutch painter of landscape and cattle, not so simply true to nature as Cuyp and Adrian Vander Velde, but more so than Both or Berghem. His pictures are not numerous, and unequal, for he led a dissipated, restless life ; but his best pictures, those painted in Italy, are precious for sentiment, beauty, and the most sparkling and finished execution. He painted a few small sacred and historical subjects very cleverly. They are considered curiosities, as differing so much from his usual style.] 22 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 37 Landscape. — In a bare, mountainous country, a shep- 1 herd is sitting on a hill, his back to the spectator; an ox and an ass are standing near, a sheep and a lamb are re- posing. As picturesque in the conception as elegant in the execution. Baring collection. P. 1 ft. Jin. by 1 ft. 4j in. (Smith's Cat. 102.) 38 The Game at Dibbs. — Two youths gambling, a mule- 2 teer standing by, leaning on his beast. In the background a high building, near which a woman is washing linen in a stone cistern. C. 1 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat. 103.) 39 Cattle Piece.— A cow lying down in a meadow, with 3 her calf standing by her ; a sunbeam glancing from a clouded sky, falls on a shepherd boy who is sleeping on the brow of a hill. The refined feeling of pastoral beauty, and the effect of the light, make this exquisite little picture as attractive in sentiment as the execution is perfect. Baring collection. P. 10 J in. by 11 J in. (Smith's Cat. 101.) 40 Cattle Piece. — A brown and a white cow in a meadow, 4 kept by a peasant boy, who is cutting himself a stick from a tree. The effect is that of an approaching shower. Formerly in the Choiseul Gallery, and sold from that of M. Robit, in 1801, for 197/. P. 14 in. by 13 in. (Smith's Cat. 16.) 41 Italian Scene. — A peasant boy is loading his ass with 6* the manure he has collected; his dog is near him. Italian buildings in the background. The effect is that of a warm evening light. This little picture is celebrated : in 1 750, it was sold from the collection of the Count de Vence for 251; in 1776, from that of Blondel de Gagny, for 80/.; in 1784, from that of the Comte de Merle for 98/. I do not find what price was last paid for it, probably three times the sum last named. P. 11 in. by 9 in. Engraved by Watelet, of a large and also of a small size. (Smith's Cat. 8.) THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 23 DURER (Albert), b. at Nuremberg, 1474 ; d. 1528. [The cotemporary of Raphael, and in original and creative talent not inferior, only with him it took an entirely different direction. He painted from the scriptures, and from common and familiar life ; in the former, earnest and true, even when least dignified, and sometimes sublime, from the intense feeling of moral grandeur which existed in his own mind ; in his portraits and familiar subjects won- derfully significant, energetic, and animated ; in his colouring vigorous and bright, and in finish of execution careful and elaborate. Apt to be hard and dry in effect, deficient in grace, and not always correct in drawing, especially in fore-shortening, he may yet be classed with Leonardo and Michael Angelo as one of the profoundest thinkers in his art, and with Raphael in fertility of invention and poetical power. 42 Altar Piece, in Three Parts. — A small and exqui- l sitely beautiful votive altar piece, consisting of a centre, and two folding doors, painted inside and outside. In the centre is the principal subject, representing the Holy Virgin, seated on a raised throne, and holding the infant Saviour, to whom she presents her breast. She wears a rich coronet, and her long golden hair flows down on her shoulders. Her dress is a dark purplish brown, trimmed with fur; over this, red drapery. The infant Christ turns from her to the right, where kneels St. Dominic, in the habit of his order, his hands folded in adoration, and bear- ing a rich crozier ; on the other side, St. Anthony of Padua, in black, holding a book and a crozier. The throne is raised two steps, and elaborately orna- mented. In the back ground, a landscape; in the fore- ground, in the centre, a vase, containing an iris and a lily. The lily is generally consecrated to St. Anthony, but I do not know why the iris is allotted to St. Dominic. The heads of all the figures (that of Christ excepted) are painted with consummate skill, the finishing of the ornaments and accessories wonderfully beautiful; the colouring at once vivid and delicate. The doors which enclosed this little masterpiece are painted inside and out, and these are framed separately. On the interior the figures are so disposed that when the doors are opened, they appear in the act of adoration before 24 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. the Virgin, in the centre. On the right, the donor, appa- rently a German of official rank, kneels with clasped hands, holding a rosary; he wears a crimson gown trimmed with dark fur : behind him St. John the Evangelist, holding in his left hand a book, on which is the Lamb and cross, to which he points with his right. Background, architecture and landscape with a tower on a hill. On the opposite side, so as to appear on the left of the Virgin, kneels the wife of the donor, in a white coif, also with a rosary in her clasped hands. Behind her, a female saint, wearing a pink turban, with a jewel in front, and coming under the chin; she is in a bright green vest, with pink sleeves, and light drapery, of a pearly grey. The heads in these two compartments beautifully painted; the colouring brilliant; the extremities faulty, particularly the foot of St. John, which is very ill drawn. The third painting, which I suppose to be the exterior of these doors, represents in one picture divided down the centre, the head of an old man without a beard, in a crimson gown trimmed with rich fur, and his head covered with a sort of cowl; a book lies open before him, but his attention is fixed on some money he is counting with his left hand; in his right he holds up a skull, which seems to be grinning at him in mockery. A paper hanging against the wall, on which is an inscription in monkish Latin. P. A., each door 2 ft. 5 in. by 9 in. This very beautiful and curious relic was brought here from Kensington. It belonged to Charles I., and is, I pre- sume, the same picture which is in King James's catalogue, 1054, " Our Lady with Christ in her lap, with a coronet on her head; two Fryars by them, and two doors."* GONZALES COQUES, b. 1618 ; d. 1684. Antwerp. [This painter, supposed to haye been an amateur, painted small portraits and conversation pieces in an exquisite style. He was much admired in his life time by our Charles I., so that several of his pictures were early brought to England.] * After King Charles's death it had been sold out of the palace of Wimbleton, to a Mr. Jackson, for 301., and was restored to the Royal collection in the next reign. See the Inventory of the Sale, MS. in the British Museum. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 25 43 A Family Group. — A gentleman of distinction, with 1 his wife and four children, (all evidently portraits*), are assembled on the marble-paved terrace of a chateau. In the back ground a charming bit of landscape. This mas- terpiece excels in refinement and sentiment, in delicacy of execution, and lucid colouring, all other works of the master, and in the composition and the general power, looks like a Van Dyck viewed through a diminishing glass. Purchased for George IV., from the collection of Lord Radstock, in 1826, for 465 guineas. C. 1 ft. 9j in. by 2 ft. 4 in. GRAET (Bernard), b. 1628 ; d. 1709. 44 The Family of the Burgomaster Six. — Small full l length portraits, in the style of Gonzales Coques, beauti- fully executed. I do not recollect to have seen in England any other picture by this very rare painter. C. 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. HALS (Frank), b. 1584; d. 1666. [An excellent portrait painter, cotemporary with Mirevelt and Van Dyck.] 45 Portrait of a Gentleman — half length, holding a i glove. C. 3 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 10. HOBBEMA (Minderhout), dates uncertain; he painted between 1650 and 1670. [It is singular that scarcely anything should be known of this Minderhout Hobbema, but his uncouth name. His pictures remain to enchant us nearly two hundred years after he stole from the world unnoticed and obscure, leaving behind him no token that he existed but his works, which nourish with an immortal spring of loveliness and verdure and rural beauty. No one ever conveyed that dewy freshness, that presence of air, life, and light, mingled with the soft * From the coat of arms on the yellow curtain behind, supposed to be the Verbiest family. C 26 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. pervading quiet, the depth of leafy shade, the secluded tranquillity of rural existence, like this painter ; but the two specimens here are not first rate.*] 46 A Woody Landscape — with a water-mill, and some 1 farm houses. Very charming; but the shadows rather darker, less tender, than is usual with Hobbema. P. 1 ft. 9 J in. by 2 ft. (Smith's Cat 113.) 47 Landscape. — The vicinity of a Dutch hamlet. A road 2 enlivened with many figures, among which a lady and gen- tleman on horseback are conspicuous. As usual, embower- ing trees, with foliage which seems to wave and whisper in the summer air. A sunbeam falling on the fence produces a beautiful effect; but, as in the last picture, the shadows are here and there heavier than in Hobbema's best works. P. 2 ft. 3 J in. by 2 ft. 9j in. (Smith's Cat. 114.) HOOGHE (Peter de), painted from 1650 to 1670. [A painter of interiors with figures, the parlours and back yards of Dutch houses, who, as a mere imitator of natural effects of day- light and perspective, may be pronounced inimitable. Of his life and personal history, nothing whatever is known.] 48 The Card Party, — Three gentlemen and a lady assem- 1 bled at a table near the broad window of an apartment, are playing at cards and drinking wine. Through a door, a maid is seen crossing a court-yard, with a pitcher and some pipes ; behind her is a house, and an arched passage leading into a garden. A work of the highest class in its parti- cular style ; the effect of sunshine wonderfully true, and the execution very broad and free. Signed, and dated 1 658. Purchased in 1825, for 600/., by Smith, the picture- dealer, of the Baron von Mecklenburg, and sold by him the following year to George IV.")* C. 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. Ij in. (Smith's Cat 48.) * See the Catalogue of Sir Robert Peel's collection. t So says Mr. Smith ; according to Mr. Seguier, it is from the collection of M. Pourtales. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 27 49 The Court-yard of a House. — A woman is spinning l at the door; a maid brings a pail and a pitcher of water. The effect of an evening sun very striking. The brick red rather too predominant in the colouring. Purchased for George IV., at the price of 400 guineas. C. 2 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 27.) HONDEKOETER (Melehior), b. 1636; d. 1695. [A Dutch painter of domestic animals, game, &c. He has the merit of being most eminent in his particular line.] 50 Live Fowls and a Dog — in a landscape. From the 1 collection of Sir F. Baring. C. 3 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 9 in. JANSSENS (Cornelius), b. 1597 ; d. 1665. [See First Series, p. 177.] 51 A View of Greenwich Park — with the Palace in l the background, and in front King Charles I., walking with his Queen and children, attended by the Lord Cham- berlain, Philip, Earl of Pembroke. In the old palace of Greenwich, (destroyed about 1675,) King Charles kept his collection of sculpture. Painted for Charles I. ; by whom and by J ames I. J ans- sens was employed. In the old catalogue of King J ames's pictures, it is No. 1027, and not there attributed to Jans- sens; but very likely to be by him, as there are several in- stances of his grouping small portraits in landscapes. M ABUSE (Johan Gossaert), d. 1532. [This remarkable painter, cotemporary with Albert Durer and Raphael, was one of the very best among the old German painters of history and portrait. He came over to England some time about 1499, in the latter part of the reign of Henry VII., and painted several pictures for the king. See First Series, p. 168.] 52 St. Matthew called from the Receipt of Custom, l c 2 28 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. — This picture is evidently the same which belonged to King Charles I., and stands designated in his catalogue as " a very old defaced curious altar-piece, upon a thick board, where Christ is calling St. Matthew out of the custom house, which picture was got in Queen Eliza- beth's days, in the taking of Calus Malus, in Spain.* Painted upon a board, in a gilded arched frame, like an altar-piece ; containing ten big figures, less than half so big as the life, and some twenty-two afar off, less figures. Given to the King." It is No. 949 in King James's cata- logue, but in neither is any painter's name affixed. It was lately removed from Kensington Palace to Hampton Court, whence it was brought here. It has been very skilfully repaired, and is attributed, with every appearance of reason, to Mabuse. P. 6 ft. by 5 ft. 7 in. MAES (Nicholas), b. 1632; d. 1693. [A painter of scenes of familiar life on a small scale. He generally chose his subjects from the lowest classes of society, and the com- monest occupations of domestic life. The picture here, besides being admirable as a painting, is more refined in subject than is usual, and the best I have seen, except one in the Bridgewater gallery.] 53 Interior. — A young woman, with her finger on her lip, l and in a listening attitude, is stealing down a dark winding staircase. She appears intent on surprising her servants, who are carousing by the light of a lantern in an adjoining cellar : a cat is sitting on a chair. It is impossible to describe the naive and significant expression of the woman, while the warmth of tone and depth of the chiaroscura are worthy of Rembrandt. Signed and dated 1665. Bought for George IV. in 1811, for 150 guineas. P. 2 ft. 4 in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 7.) * Cadiz is here meant, which was stormed and taken by the Earl of Essex in 1596. From the above account of the picture, it was probably plundered from one of the churches at Cadiz. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 29 METZU (Gabriel), b. 1615; d. 1658. [Of this elegant painter, I regret to say that little is known, and that little is sad. He is said to have injured his health by too close application to his art, and to have died under a painful operation. His small conversation pieces are distinguished by graceful feeling in the choice of his subjects, and he painted with a freer and more sparkling touch than either Mieris or Gerard Douw, though he did not finish quite so elaborately.] 54 A Young Girl selling Grapes — to an old woman, 1 who is leaning on the latch of the house door. Very pleasing and spirited in character, and in the tone of colour like Gerard Douw. It is in Metzu's earlier manner. Originally from the collection of M. Nyman, of Ley den. Sold in 1806 for 252/., and in 1807 bought for 180 guineas, by Lord Hertford, who ceded it to George IV. P. 18 in. by 14 in. (Smith's Cat 50.) 55 Interior. — A gentleman, seated near a harpsichord, is 2 tuning his violoncello ; a lady, with a music -book in her hand, is coming down stairs ; another gentleman is seen above, in a corridor. The composition of this picture is disagreeable and scattered ; the painting admirable. Baring collection. C. 2 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. 6 J in. (Smith's Cat. 45.) 56 Portrait of Metzu. — He is seen at a window, half- 3 length, holding his brushes and palette in his right hand, and a piece of chalk in his left ; on the window-sill is the cast of a head, and a tablet, on which he appears to have been drawing. A chef d'ceuvre in his best style. The head being kept in shadow, while the rest of the figure is light, produces a novel and charming effect. Arched top. P. 15 in. by 12|. (Smith's Cat 73.) 57 Interior. — A lady, in a crimson corset trimmed with 4 ermine, holds her guitar in one hand, and with the other takes a glass of wine, presented to her by a cavalier behind : a salver, with cakes, on the table, P. 15 in. by 12£ in. 30 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 58 A Girl at a Window, holding up a bunch of grapes. 5 Baring collection. P. 12 in. by 11 in. (Perhaps Smith's Cat. 16.) 59 " Le Corset Bleu." — A repetition of the celebrated 6 picture now in the collection of Mr. Neeld. P. 15 in. by 12 in. (Smith's Cat. 8.) MIEL (Jan), b. 1599 ; d. 1664. [In his best pictures an imitator of Bamboccio. He also painted history, but indifferently.] 60 An Italian Mountebank — with many other figures, l C. 2 ft. by 2 ft. 4. MIERIS (Franz), b. 1635; d. 1681. [A painter of small portraits, and scenes from social life on a small scale, composed and finished with the most exquisite delicacy and taste. Of all the pictures here attributed to this rare and elegant painter, there exist better duplicates elsewhere.] 61 A Boy at a Window blowing Bubbles. — A l female in the background: quite exquisite, and, I presume, a portrait. Dated 1663. Repetitions of this picture are in the gallery at the Hague, and elsewhere. P. 9 in. by 7h in. (Smith's Cat. 5, 6.) 62 A Lady feeding a Parrot. — She is dressed in a 2 crimson jacket, trimmed with white fur. Duplicates are in the gallery at Munich, and in Sir Robert Peel's collection. 63 A Gentleman smoking. — A girl presenting a glass 3 of wine to him. Figures, half-length. A copy of this picture hangs in the gallery, — very good ; but less brilliant in the touch, heavier in the middle tints and shadows, as may be seen on a comparison of the two. P. 8 J in. by 6£ in. 64 A Lady — seated, with a spaniel in her lap ; a cavalier 4 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 31 behind is attempting to pinch its ear ; in front, another little dog. P. 11 in. by 8 in. (Smith's Cat. 4.) MIERIS (Wilhelm), d. 1747. [The son of the preceding, his scholar and imitator, but without the genius and taste of his father, without his spirited freedom of touch and elegance of fancy ; he was, however, a most laborious finisher, and solely for this merit are his tame pictures valued.] 65 The Fruiterer's Shop. — A woman is bargaining with 1 an old man for chesnuts at an arched window, wherein are exhibited for sale a variety of fruits, vegetables, herrings, and other objects; in front, to the right, a mouse is nib- bling at an apple. Marvellously but coldly elaborate. P. about 18 in. by 14 in. (Smith's Cat. 65.) 66 An Interior. — An elegantly dressed lady seated near a 2 table, on which are oysters and other objects, is drinking a glass of champagne, presented by a gentleman who holds a bottle; a negro servant is seen entering behind; a beau- tiful Turkey carpet, and other accessories. Baring collection. P. 18 in. by 15 J in. (Smith's Cat. 66.) 67 A Dutch Family. — A woman nursing her infant; her 3 husband stands behind, with a pipe in his hand ; a boy, leaning on the head of the cradle, looks up in his mother's face. The best and most feeling picture I remember to have seen by Wilhelm Mieris. The colouring is too cold for Franz Mieris, otherwise it is more like him. Sold from the Holderness collection, in 1802, at the price of 99/. 15s. Baring collection. P, 13 in. by 11 in. (Smith's Cat. 36.) MOLINAER (Jan). [Nothing is known of him but his works. He painted in the style of Adrian van Ostade, to whom, however, he is much inferior.] 68 A young Peasant Girl crossing a Brook. 1 2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. 32 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. MYTENS (Daniel), b. at the Hague; d. about 1656. [This old and excellent Dutch portrait painter was in the service of James I. and Charles I., and left England soon after the arrival of Vandyke, by whom he was wholly eclipsed.* His style is rather dry and formal, but careful and true to nature.] 69 King Charles I. and Queen Henrietta Maria. — l Full-length figures in a small picture. The king stands at one side of a table on which is the regalia; the queen, holding her infant son, is seated on the opposite side. This picture must have been painted about 1627, a short time before Mytens left England. It was last in the collection of Greffier Fagel; sold in 1801, for 48/. 6s. P. 1 ft. 6. in. by 1 ft. 11 in. NETSCHER (Caspar), b. at Heidelberg, 1639 ; d. 1684. [An elegant painter of small portraits and conversation subjects. He studied under Terburg, whose style he emulated.] 70 King William III. — when Prince of Orange; a battle 1 in the back ground. A small whole-length portrait, bought at the sale of the Duke of York's pictures, for George IV. P. 19 in. by 15 in. 71 Mary, Princess of Orange — when a young girl; with 2 a guinea-pig. Small, and not quite full-length. (I doubt the authenticity of this as a portrait.) P. 18J in. by 15 in. OSTADE (Adrian van), b. at Lubeck, 1610; d. 1685. [The subjects selected by Adrian van Ostade generally exhibit in- door scenes of domestic comfort and enjoyment, or out-door scenes of rural plenty and repose, and are distinguished by sentiment and truth in conception and character, and by the softest harmony of colour and chiaroscuro. His younger brother, Isaac van Ostade, who painted chiefly out-door scenes of the same character, did not equal him in the rich depth of his effects of light and colour, but excelled him in drawing and impasto.'] * Vide First Series, pp. 177, 184. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 33 72 Dutch Courtship* — A woman, with a glass of wine in 1 her hand; a boor lays his hand gently on her shoulder. Baring collection. P. 9 in. by 7^ in . 73 An Interior, — A woman seated, with a child in her 2 arms; a man opposite to her holds a basin of soup, another man is behind; figures, three-quarters. This picture is an instance of that subdued harmony of effect, and that feli- citous conception of character which characterise the painter. Sold from the Geldermeester collection, in 1800, for 119/. P. 13 in. by 12 in. (Smith's Cat. 198.) 74 Dutch Boors, smoking and drinking. — Five at 3 a table in front, a man and woman behind. Dated 1665. Baring collection. 14 in. by 12 J in. (Smith? 's Cat. 90.) 75 Dutch Boors playing at backgammon. 4 P. 12 in. by 14 in. 76 Dutch Boors smoking and regaling. — Six figures. 5 Dated 1667. Baring collection. 9j in. by 8 in. (Smith's Cat 67.) 77 A Dutch Family. — A mother seated with her child in 5 her lap; it is playing with a doll; the father looks on with affectionate pleasure. A boy is eating soup, and a dog, with his feet on a stool, appears to be petitioning for part of it. A beautiful little picture for the homely truth of the sentiment, and the management of the light, which comes through a window overshadowed by a vine; dated 1668. This picture, which is a remarkable example of the domestic turn of the painter, came from the collection of Smeth van Alpen, of Rotterdam, from which it was sold for 450/., and was subsequently in the possession of M. Schmidt, of Amsterdam, whence it was brought to England, and sold at M. La Fontaine's sale for the nominal price of 1000 guineas — perhaps half the sum was really given for it. Baring collection. P. about 1 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat. 146.) c 3 34 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 78 A Peasant- woman. — For Ostade, uncommonly pleas- 7 ing in the character and expression, and painted with the greatest delicacy of tone and freedom of touch; date, 1668. P. 16 in. by 11 in. 79 Interior— with a group of five boors and a woman at 8 table, and two children playing. Dated 1656. Baring collection. P. 15 in. by 12| in. (Smith's Cat. 199.) 80 Interior — with a music party; a group of three men and 9 a woman; behind stands a boor with a pipe, and beyond them five other persons conversing over a fire. Dated 1656. Baring collection. P. 17 in. by 20 h in. (Smith's Cat. 200.) OSTADE (Isaac van), b. at Lubeck, 1617; died young. 81 Halt of Travellers — before an inn by the roadside. 1 Among a great number of figures, the most conspicuous is a lady about to enter a post -waggon or diligence, drawn by a white horse; she is assisted by a gentleman, and a poor cripple is near them begging. This is not one of Isaac van Ostade's finest pictures in point of execution, but is very rich and animated as a composition. Sold from the Geldermeester collection, in 1800, for 126/. Baring collection. P. 2 ft. 8 in. by 3 feet 7 in. (Smith's Cat. 35.) 82 A Peasant's Family — (two men, a woman, and three 2 children) assembled before the door of a house, listening at their ease to the performance of an old fiddler. Ad- mirable for character and precision of drawing, and beau- tifully painted. P. 15 in. by 12 in. (Smith's Cat 60.) POELEMBURG (Cornelius), b. 1586; d. 1660. [A Dutch painter, employed much by our Charles I. His little artificial landscapes have been compared, not unaptly, to " glazed china ware."] 83 A Landscape — with antique ruins and figures. ] Baring collection. C. 12 in. by 16 in. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 35 POTTER (Paul), b. 1625 ; d. 1654. [As a painter of cattle, unequalled for the individual portrait-like fidelity of his representations, the beauty and truth of his aerial effects, and the delicacy and elegance of his execution. As he died at the age of 29, and left not more than 100 pictures, their rarity enhances their value, and it is seldom that they are to be purchased.] 84 A Young Bull and Two Cows in a Meadow. — I One of the cows lies in the foreground ruminating, while the bull, standing near an old stem of a tree, bellows; in the extensive flat landscape a waggon. Signed and dated 1649. A work of the first rank in its kind, for truth to nature, freedom and breadth of drawing and execution, and the powerful effect of light and shade. The cattle are of a size not common in Paul Potter's pictures. P. 2 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. in. (Smith's Cat. 70.) 85 Two Huntsmen on horseback — halt before a farm- 2 house. One of them, who appears by the richness of his dress to be a person of distinction, makes a servant fasten his stirrup. A woman is standing at the door; an old man, sitting near her, wipes his forehead. The huntsmen have two dogs with them. More feeble in the drawing : the head of one of the horses in particular is a failure ; but for the finished execution, for the glow of colour, indicating the heat of the day, a picture of the first rank. Sold by Lord Pendlesham to the King for 450 guineas. P. 1 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft. 4j in. (Smith's Cat. 25.) 86 Two PigS — lying down, with their hind legs tied toge- 3 ther. So devoid of art and taste in the arrangement, that, notwithstanding the admirable painting, we are unwilling to ascribe it to Potter. Sold from the collection of M. van Slingelandt, at Dort for 121 florins (10Z.) P. in. by 1 ft. fin. (Smith's Cat 39.) 87 A Landscape — with a large stable and barn on the 4 right; a boy crying with terror, is running out with two puppies in his arms, a third he has let fall, the enraged mother having seized him by the flap of his coat. Within 36 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. the stable are two horses, and near it two cows, one of which a woman is milking. On the right hand, houses and trees; on the left, meadows with cattle grazing. This little bit of the drama of common rural life, most pleasing in the composition and admirable in the execution, is mentioned by Descamps; and after passing through the celebrated collections of Lormier, Braamcamp, Ran don de Boisset, and Geldermeester, was sold in the year 1800 for 10,450 florins (940/.), and valued in the Baring collection at 1600/. It deviates, however, in some respects from the usual manner of the master. The cows have not only a different, and (especially in the heads) rather more elegant character, but are, besides, not so thoroughly well modelled. Though the name of the artist in a picture, without his proper qualities, proves nothing, yet it is singular that neither the name nor the date are found here, which are usually conspicuous on all the more considerable works of Paul Potter. Dr. Waagen thinks that this picture is one which the artist left unfinished at his death, and which was afterwards completed by his scholar, Albert Kloup. P. 1 ft. 91 in. by 2 ft. 6£ in. (Smith's Cat. 19.) REMBRANDT (Van Rhyn), b. 1606 ; d. 1674. [This great painter has been fully characterized in the Introduction to this gallery, p. 8.] 88 Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen in the 1 Garden. — Called a "Noli me tangereT At the entrance of the sepulchre, in which the two angels are perceived, Mary Magdalen adores the Saviour, who appears as a gardener, with a hat on his head, and a spade in his hand. This composition exhibits, in a striking degree, that wild originality peculiar to Rembrandt, that poetry in the feeling and treatment, which so completely overcomes the vulgarity of the forms and characters. The deep shadow of the cavern tomb, the dimly-seen supernatural beings within it, the breaking of the dawn over the distant city, are abso- lutely sublime. This fine picture was purchased in 1736, by the Elector of Hesse Cassel, of Madame de Reuver, was seized by the French in 1806, and presented to the THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 37 Empress Josephine. It hung in her apartments at Mal- maison till the year 1816, when it was brought to England, and sold to George IV. for 1200 guineas. Signed and dated 1638. P. 2 ft. by 1 ft. 7 in. {Smith's Cat. 103.) 89 The Adoration of the Magi. — A very rich and sin- 2 gular composition. One of the wise men, with two of his attendants, is kneeling before the infant Saviour in swad- dling clothes, held by the Virgin -mother. The Virgin is a vulgar Dutch frau ; the holy Child has a sort of droll expression, like that of a changeling imp : — yet is it a marvellous picture! The expression of reverence and devo- tion in the heads of three Magi, though the countenances are ordinary, is very striking and natural : — the gorgeous group sparkles and dazzles with a gem-like splendour ; the impasto being so rich in some parts as to approach relief. The rest of the personages are kept in deep shadow, and the crowd of figures approaching through the transparent gloom behind, is wonderfully managed. Signed and dated 1657. Sir Francis Baring purchased this picture in Holland, and it is said that 5000/. have been refused for it. It was purchased by the King in 1815, for 2800/. P. 4 ft. by 3 ft. 5 in. (Smith's Cat. 61.) 90 The Ship-builder and his Wife. — A ship-builder, 3 occupied in making a drawing of a ship, is interrupted by his wife, who enters the room with a letter. Portraits ; three-quarters, life size ; both figures dressed in black, with white collars. Painted when the artist was in his twenty-seventh year, and justly celebrated as one of his finest pictures in the portrait style. The simple, life-like expression of a momentary action is wonderfully true to nature, and the broad full light, and the delicate feeling, colour, and execution, are inconceivably beautiful. Dated 1633. Purchased from the collection of Smeth van Alpen, in 1810, for 1485/., and sold the following year, at an ad- vanced price, to George IV., then Prince of Wales. C. 3 ft. 10 in. by 8 ft. 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 161.) 38 the queen's gallery. 91 The Burgomaster Pancras and his Wife. — She 4 is habited in a yellow silk dress and rich ornaments, and bending towards her mirror, is in the act of fastening her ear-ring ; her husband standing by, in a hat and feathers, holds a chain of pearls. Three-quarter figures, life size. The composition is not interesting ; but the clear golden tone of colour, the drawing, which is particularly delicate for him, and the life-like air of the heads, are all most worthy of admiration. This picture was sold from the collection of Henry Hope, Esq., in 1816, for 286 guineas. C. 5 ft. 1 in. by 6 ft. 5 in. (Smith's Cat. 298.) 92 Portrait. — A fair middle-aged woman, with a fan in her 5 hand, richly dressed in a point lace handkerchief and splendid jewels; she is standing at a window ; seen half- length. A superlative picture, in his delicate golden tone of colour. Dated 1641. Brought to England by M. Nieuwenhuys in 1814, and sold to Lord Charles Towns- hend. At his sale in 1819, purchased for the king, at the price of 720 guineas. C. 3 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. (Smith's Cat. 511.) 93 Portrait of Rembrandt — at the age of thirty-six. 6 One of the best of the portraits of himself, of which he painted at least forty -three. Baring collection. P. 2 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. (Smith's Cat. 200.) 94 Portrait of a Jewish Rabbi. — Half-length. 7 Baring collection. C. 3 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 5 in. (Smith's Cat. 264.) RUBENS (Peter Paul), b. at Cologne, 1577 ; d. at Antwerp, 1640. [" One may begin by disliking Rubens, repelled by the general coarseness of his forms, the occasional vulgarity of his ideas, and the florid excess of his colour ; but one must end by standing before him in ecstasy and wonder. In the multifarious creations of his pencil, embracing almost every aspect of life and nature, what amazing ver- satility of power is displayed in the conception of his subjects ! what fertility of invention in their various treatment! what ardent, breathing, blooming life ! what pomp and potency of colour and light have been THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 39 poured forth on his canvas ! If he painted heavy forms, he at least gave them souls, and animated them -with all his own exuberance of vitality and volition. No painter but Raphael has equalled him in dramatic poTver — in the art of connecting, by sympathetic action and passion, his most complicated groups, and with them, in spirit, the fas- cinated spectator."* His pictures in this gallery afford an opportunity of studying him under almost all the aspects v>-hich art or nature suggested to his fertile fancy and ready hand — history, portrait, land- scape ; and the first to which I shall direct attention, is one of those magnificent pasticci, blending history, allegory, poetry, into one splendid creation, in which Rubens delighted, and painted as none other ever did before or since.] 95 Pythagoras. — A large composition of eleven figures, 1 full length and life size ; with fruit and animals painted by Franz Snyders. Pythagoras is seated under a tree, apparently recom- mending temperance to his disciples, three of whom, with line thinking heads, stand on his right hand. To the left are nymphs, plucking fruits from the branches, and fauns are visible, peeping through the foliage in the background, while along the foreground is poured forth a profusion of fruits, as if flung from the lap of Plenty. The men, as is usual with Rubens, are full of masculine energy and thought; the women painted with, all his characteristic luxuriance. The manner in which every variety of colour is here brought together under the broad daylight, producing an effect at once the most gorgeous and the most harmonious, is per- fectly wonderful. The whole picture glows like a bed of flowers, and conveys just that impression which the painter wished to give of light and life, of happy luxuriant nature, and grand and beautiful humanity. Judging from the style of the execution, which is in Rubens's latest manner, I should presume this picture to have been painted, in conjunction with his friend Snyders, about 1635. He kept it in his own possession, as he did many other pictures which he particularly liked, for he was rich, and loved his art even more for its own sake, than for the wealth and honours it had procured him. In * Preface to the Essay on the Life and Genius of Rubens. 40 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. the list of his effects left at his death, this picture is No. 168, and called "Pythagoras, with fruit by Snyders." When his collection was sold after his death by his widow, " Madame la Douairiere Rubens," (as Michel politely styles her,) the Emperor, the King of Spain, the King of Poland, the Cardinal de Richelieu, and other great personages, sent agents to Antwerp, to make purchases ; and apparently the Pythagoras was bought for the King of Spain, for we next hear of it in the Palacio Nuevo, at Madrid, where Madame de Humboldt saw it, and mentions it in her notes, with strong expressions of admiration, particularly of the fine painting in the women introduced.* It is easy to imagine how it came into the possession of its next possessor, Joseph Buonaparte, when he was king of Spain. I am informed that he presented it to his physican, Dr. Stokoe, after his recovery from a dangerous illness, and that this gentleman brought it to England about 1838. It was exhibited in the British Gallery in 1839, and excited great admiration ; but the large size unfitting it for any private collection, made it difficult to find a purchaser, until her Majesty, in 1841, was pleased to add it to her col- lection, and to place it where it can be seen to the greatest possible advantage, though its most appropriate situation, considering the subject, would be the upper end of a spa- cious banqueting-room. C. 8 ft. 6 in. by 12 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 492, under the title of Numa Pompilius.) 96 A Landscape — called the Farm of Lacken (in French, 2 la Prairie de Lacken.) A hilly landscape, diversified with clusters of trees, a pool of water, cattle, and figures; a church is seen on a hill in the distance. " This picture," says Dr.Waagen, "transports us in fancy to the fertile fields of Brabant, in the neighbourhood of Brussels. The fresh green of the trees, the dewy verdure of the rich meadows, glisten in the sunbeams ; among the figures in the foreground, two peasant girls, one of whom is carrying a basket of fruit on her head, are particularly attractive. No landscape by * Vide Dr. Waagen's Essay on the Life and Genius of Rubens. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 41 Rubens can be compared to this one in the careful execu- tion, the power, brilliance, and delicious freshness of the colouring." With all the merit here described, and which there is no denying, this is not to me a pleasing landscape ; it is surely one of the most prosaic transcripts of nature which even Flemish art can shew. It was among the pic- tures left by Rubens in his own gallery, and descended with the Chateau de Paille to M. von Haveren. After the death of the latter, his family demanded 30,000 francs for it; it fell into the hands of M. Aynard, who sent it to England in 1821, when it was purchased by Lord Farn- borough for the King at the price of 1600 guineas. P. 2 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat 817.) 97 The Assumption of the Virgin. — A small, finished 3 study for the large altar-piece painted for the Cathedral at Antwerp, and now in the Musee at Brussels. The Virgin, clothed in light-blue drapery, has the right hand raised, the left extended, and her countenance directed upwards. The figure and expression are unusually majestic. A company of twelve angels are floating amid clouds beneath her, in every variety of attitude ; above are cherubim adoring. In the lower part of the picture are repre- sented the apostles and holy women visiting the deserted tomb. This picture is most delicately painted by the hand of Rubens throughout, which is not the case with the large picture of the same subject. It was formerly in the col- lection of Count D'Arcy, then in the possession of Sir Simon Clarke, from whom it was purchased, in 1802, for 410 guineas. P. 3 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. (Smith's Cat. 162.) 98 St. George and the Dragon. — This picture is a 4 very signal instance of the dramatic and picturesque style in which Rubens treated these saintly legends and allegories, and the courtly and fanciful significance he could impart them. The scene is a rich landscape, representing, in the back ground, a distant view of the Thames and Windsor or Richmond, as it then stood. Near the centre is St. George, with his right foot on the neck of the vanquished 42 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. dragon, presenting to the daughter of the king of Selene, the fair Princess Cleodolinde, the end of the girdle which she gave him to bind the monster, (these circumstances are from the antique legend;) the saint and the princess are portraits of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria. Near to the spectator, on the left, is a group of four females be- wailing the ravages of the beast, exhibited in the dead bodies lying near them, and from the sight of which two infants recoil with horror. Behind, the squire of the saintly knight is seen, mounted and armed cap-a-pie, and bearing his banner with the red cross; a page holds his horse; beyond them is seen a group of persons on a high bank, and others mounted on trees, who survey the scene; and on the other side, three females, who are embracing each other, and, as the French catalogue has it, " temoignent par leur attitudes une frayeur melee de joie." Two angels from above descend with the palm and the laurel to crown the conqueror. The history of this picture is interesting ; it was painted by Rubens during his visit to England, and in King Charles' catalogue it is designated as " the great St. George which the king bought of Mr. Endymion Porter;" but there is a tradition that Rubens presented it to the monarch, and the complimentary nature of the subject confirms this account. On the dispersion of the royal collection, it was taken to Paris, and purchased by the Due de Richelieu; it then passed into the possession of the Duke of Orleans, and when the Flemish part of the Orleans Gallery was sold in England, in 1798, it was bought by Mr. Morland for 1000 guineas, and sold by him to George IV. Thus one revo- lution sent it out of the country, and another revolution sent it back to us. C. 4 ft. 11 in. by 7 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat. 563.) 99 Pan and Syrinx. — Pan is represented as bounding 5 down a bank in pursuit of the nymph, who has thrown her- self among the reeds for refuge. A picture of great ani- mation in the design, and most richly coloured. From the collections of the Due de Montesquieu and Walsh Porter. P. 24 in. by 2 ft. 11 in. There exists a smaller sketch of the same subject. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 43 100 A Man with a Hawk— called " The Falconer :" life 6 size, three-quarters. This is a genuine portrait, though the name of the individual cannot be ascertained. It re- presents a Flemish gentleman in a black vest, a white fall- ing collar, and a hat looped up on one side; he has a hawk on his hand. It is remarkable for its life-like simplicity, and the lightness and freedom of execution, the feathers of the hawk, for instance, which look as if a breath would ruffle them, have been done by a few strokes of the brush. This picture was formerly in the collections of the Due de Praslin, and M. Geldermeester ; from the last it was sold in 1800, for 364/. to Sir F. Baring. C. 4 ft. 7 in. by 3 ft. 5 in. (Smith's Cat 695.) 101 The Family of Olden-Barn eve] dt — Composition of 7 seven figures. The moment represented is that wherein the son of Barne veldt, having heard of the intention of Prince Maurice to arrest his father on his appearance at the council of state, remonstrates against his going. Barne- veldt persisted in doing his duty, was arrested, and after an iniquitous trial, beheaded in the year 1617, at the age of 72. In front, the aged Barneveldt is seated in an arm-chair; the figure seen half-length, and the face in profile ; his right hand rests on the arm of his chair, the left is on his breast; beyond, is his son, a martial-looking figure, wear- ing a crimson cap and feather, and resting both hands on the pummel of his sword. According to Schlegel, this re- presents the eldest son of Barneveldt, Willi elm, Lord of Stoutenburg, who afterwards entered into a conspiracy to revenge the death of his father. In the back ground we see a female in bed, the head only visible, which is that of a sick or dying person; an attendant is presenting a basin, and another is weeping behind; other apparatus of a sick- room in front, while behind the chair of Olden-Barneveldt, and in the foreground, are two female figures, representing Time and History, holding a crown of laurel over the head of the devoted patriot. I take this explanation of the subject from the account 44 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. drawn up by A. W. Schlegel, a high authority in every department of literature and art. He avers that no con- noisseur in art can doubt for a moment that this is a genuine picture of Rubens, and the subject the above-mentioned incident from the life of Barneveldt. That Rubens and Barne veldt were personally acquainted with each other is highly probable ; and it is also possible that he might have painted a picture in honour of a man whom he esteemed, and for the gratification of his bereaved family. The mingling of real life with poetical allegory is also like him ; but I confess I have some doubts as to the authenticity of the picture. If by Rubens, it must have been painted about 1620 — 1625, in the very zenith of his powers, and it certainly does not resemble any picture of his produced at that time. More than this I cannot venture to say, not having had any opportunity of examining the picture closely. It was purchased in 1840, by H. R. H. Prince Albert, from the collection of the late Professor D'Alton, of Bonn. C. 5 ft. by 7 ft. 5 in. RUYSDAEL (Jacob), b. 1630 ; d. 1681. [One of the most admirable of the Dutch landscape painters. He excelled in the representation of foliage, verdure, cascades, and cool dewy effects of spring time and morning.] 102 Landscape. — A cottage and windmill, with bleaching 1 grounds, and beyond these, cottages; a man and a boy, followed by a dog, are approaching a woman and a child : the aspect that of a cloudy day. Once in the collec- tion of the Earl of Halifax, and last from that of Walsh Porter. 2 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat 102.) SCHALKEN (Godfrey), b. at Dort, 1643 ; d. at the Hague, 1706. [This painter came to England twice, and was much patronised by King William III. and his court. He painted small fancy and fami- liar subjects, particularly effects of artificial light, successfully, but THE QUEEN 9 S GALLERY. he is not a pleasing painter, and possessed little mind or refine- ment. His best work, " The Wise and Foolish Virgins," is at Munich.] 103 Le Roi Detrousse. — -A game in which the person who 1 incurs the forfeit is deprived of his upper garments. In a company of four women and three men, one of the latter has incurred the penalty; he is seated on the ground, with a smiling countenance. Merriment and bashfulness are admirably expressed, according to the circumstances, in the several persons; and while the delicacy of the execution ap- proaches that of his master, G. Douw, the tone of the colour is, for him, of remarkable depth, clearness, and warmth. Formerly in the possession of Louis XVI.; purchased in 1803, from the collection of Walsh Porter, Esq. for 390 guineas. 2 ft. If in. by 1 ft. 7 Jin. (Smith's Cat 2.) i 104 A Musical Party. — The artist himself and his family 2 assembled round a table. He accompanies on the violin the singing of his wife and a gentleman, while two other gentlemen are listening to the performance. This composi- tion is distinguished by its happy arrangement, delicacy, and truth of expression. It was in the Geldermeester collection, whence it was sold in 1800 for 73/., and in 1807 to the King, for 230 guineas. 2 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. 7 in. Engraved by Wille, under the title of " le Concert de Famille." (Smith's Cat 4.) 105 A Lady — holding a candle in one hand, and with the 3 other putting aside a curtain, half-length. Sold from the Le Brun Gallery in 1811. Brought to England by M. Nieuwenhuys, in 1814; afterwards in the collection of Lord Charles Townshend, from which, in 1819, it was purchased for the King at 255 guineas. It is considered a chef cPceuvre in its way. P. 13 in. by 10 in. (Smith's Cat 52.) 46 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. SLINGELANDT (Peter Van), b. at Leyden, 1640; d. 1691. [A disciple of Gerard Doirw, who exceeded him in laborious and minute finishing, and surpassed him in patient application ; in other respects every way inferior. He worked so tediously, that he could paint few pictures, and they are consequently rare.] 106 Interior. — A lady making lace, seated at a table near 1 an open window : her child lies covered in the cradle. This picture, which was formerly at Cassel, and afterwards in the apartments of the Empress Josephine, at Malmaison, was subsequently sold as a Gerard Douw, to Maximilian, King of Bavaria; after his death, sold again under the same name, in 1826. I ft. 7 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. {Smith's Cat. 5.) See also No. 34. STEEN (Jan), b. 1636; d. 1689. [Among the Dutch painters of low life, Jan Steen is particularly- distinguished by his invention, his broad comic power, and the ex- pression of individual character. His early pictures are neat and finished ; he was then imitating Mieris : his second manner is his best : his latest works shew the effect of a dissipated life, in their coarseness of feeling, and carelessness of execution. Sir Joshua Reynolds says of Jan Steen, that if with his genius he had had better models in point of taste, he might have ranged with the great pillars of art— a position which might be questioned. I doubt, for one, whether any models, or any education, would have made a Raphael of Jan Steen. One of his best pictures, now (or lately) in the posses- sion of Mr. Beckford, " The Effects of Intemperance," is a striking and eloquent moral lesson ; Hogarth never painted anything finer in point of humour, and it has the advantage of being good-humour. It should be engraved by or for the Temperance Societies. Mr. H. Munro, of Park-street, has one of nearly equal excellence and signi- ficance, the " After Dinner Nap."] 107 A View into an Interior — where an elegantly dressed 1 girl, sitting at the side of a bed, is drawing on a stocking; by her side a spaniel. On a table covered with a rich cloth stand a casket with pearls, a candle and an essence bottle. Dated 1663. So unlike Jan Steen is it in the choice of the subject, and the peculiar elegance of the execution, THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 47 and the cool, tender, harmonious colouring, which resembles Mieris, as to render it a very remarkable picture of the master. From the famous collection of the Chevalier Verhulst and sold to George IV. by M. de la Hante, who brought it from Paris. C 2 ft. 2 in. 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 32.) 108 A Dutch Merry-making. — A group of eleven per- 2 sons playing cards, singing, and diverting themselves in various ways. Jan Steen himself is playing the violin, and at the same time looking round at a young woman! Very harmonious in the composition, and beautifully and carefully executed, though rather brown in the tone of colour, which is a common fault with Jan Steen. C. 2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. (Smith's Cat 88.) 109 A Dutch Revel. — Apparently a wedding feast. In an 3 alehouse, a number of people are eating, drinking, and dancing A picture full of tipsy jollity, and droll humour, and at the same time delicately finished. Baring Collection. C. 2 ft. by 2 ft. 5j in. (Smith's Cat. 191.) 110 Twelfth Night.— "Le Eoi boit." The attention of 4 seven persons is directed to the king of the feast, who is just emptying his glass. A youth is apparently vociferating the salutation "le roi boit," whence the name of the picture- m all ten figures. A picture of great, but vulgar humour.' bold from the collection of W. Willett, Esq. in 1813 for 265/. ^ ' P. 1 ft. 4 in. by 1 ft. in. (Smith 9 * Cat. 97.) 1 1 1 A Village Revel. — A company of peasants indulging 5 in most riotous mirth before a public-house, situated on a canal; seven more merry feUows arrive in a boat. A rich composition, carefully executed, but brownish in tone, as usual. ' C 3 ft. 7 in. by 4 ft. 10 in. (Smith's Cat. 6.) i 12 The Card-players— (said to be portraits of Jan Steen, 6 48 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. Wouvermanns, and Heimskirk,) a party of four men and one woman. C. 1 ft. 51 in. by 1 ft. 3 in. (Smith's Cat. 190.) TENIERS (David), (called sometimes the younger, to distinguish him from his father, more frequently styled Old Teniers,) b. at Antwerp, 1610; d. at Brussels, 1694. [The class of subjects which Teniers studied, and in which he ex- celled — the merry-makings of boors, village fairs, grotesque scenes of common life, and the interiors of guard-rooms and surgeons' shops, &c. — become elevated and precious in our estimation, from the con- summate skill with which he treated them, the humorous incident, and the variety of character he introduced into them, and the un- equalled delicacy and elegance of the execution. He was himself an accomplished gentleman, living in affluent circumstances, yet seems to have entered into all the jollity and vulgarity of plebeian and peasant life with as much zest as intelligence. I have already ob- served on one peculiar attraction in the pictures of Teniers — the con- trast between the burlesque, low comedy, and sometimes utter vul- garity, of his scenes and groups, and the spirituel elegance of the treatment. This gallery affords an opportunity of studying him fully in his earlier and later manner of execution and every different style of his versatile pencil. See this painter more fully characterized in the First Series, pp. 148, 450.] 113 Four Boors — at a table, two of whom are playing at 1 cards. Painted in a light, clear, yet warm tone, and with the most delicate and spirited touch, and executed, un- doubtedly, between 1640 and 1647, therefore in the best time of the master. As an example of one of his peculiar merits — finished delicacy of execution — perhaps the most perfect in this collection. Sent to Sir Francis Baring as a present from Spain. 9 in. by 11 in. (Smith's Cat. 491.) 114 A Village Fete. — About thirty-one figures. Near the 2 walls of a chateau, boors are dancing, the seigneur du vil- lage and his family looking on. A most brilliant picture, in which Teniers (who added to original genius the power of imitating other masters with extraordinary skill) has, in THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 49 the noble group, approached the style of Gonzales Coques. Signed and dated 1645. This masterpiece, which was originally painted on the cover of his own harpsichord, was sold from the Geldermeester collection, in 1800, for 4000 florins (360/.) Baring collection. P. 2 ft. 8 in. by 4 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 496.) 115 A Village Fete. — In the court of a rustic ale-house 3 about fifty persons are dancing, eating, and drinking. The attention is particularly drawn to a couple dancing to the sound of a bagpipe. In arrangement, design, and spirited execution, one of his finest pictures ; perhaps a little heavier in the tone than is usual in his best time. Signed and dated 1649. Purchased of M. de la Hante for loOO guineas, and formerly in the gallery of the Prince of Orange.* C. 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 10. (Smith's Cat. 498.) 1 16 A Village Fete. — Composition of about forty figures, 4 some drinking, others dancing. A young man is collecting alms for the poor — an ancient Flemish custom on such occasions. An admirable picture, for the aerial perspective and general delicacy of the execution. Bought for the Prince Regent in 1811, for 1650 guineas. P. 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. (Smith's Cat. 387.) 117 A Village Fair. — At a table sixteen boors are drinking ; 5 two men, hors de combat, are led off by their wives ; three couple are dancing to the music of a bagpipe. A capital picture, for droll humour as well as clear and beautiful colouring. Sold from the Poulain gallery, in 1780, for 360/., then in the cabinet of the Comte de Vaudreuil, whence it was sold in 1784, for 440/. Baring collection. P. 2 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 178.) 118 A Village Fete. — About thirty figures. A company 6 of boors dancing, eating, and drinking, in the court-yard of an ale-house. The composition scattered, the treatment * According to Smith. Yet it seems the same picture which Mr. Seguier men- tions as sent from Madrid and sold for 1600 guineas. D 50 THE QUEEN ? S GALLERY. slight, the figures of a larger size than usual, and the tone heavy and dark, like Adrian Brouwer. C. 4 ft. 1 in. by 6 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 196.) 119 " Le Tambour Battant. ' 9 — Interior of a guard-room; 7 a detachment of the civic guard, with a drummer beating to arms ; in the foreground, a standard and various weapons. A rich picture, admirable for the composition and execu- tion. Once in the Choiseul gallery. Dated 1657. Sold in the collection of Walsh Porter, in 1803, for 280/. C. 1 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 388.) 120 Interior. — A spacious kitchen; an old woman is busy 8 peeling turnips: in front, various fruit and vegetables and kitchen furniture. The fruit and vegetables painted by Peter Snayers. The familiar vulgarity of the subject is here elevated by the careful and beautiful workmanship. Holderness and Baring collections. P. 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat. 497.) 121 A Landscape — with steep rocks, two men in conversa- 9 tion on a road to the right. A little picture excellently painted in a bright warm tone, yet most delicate and true. Sent from Spain to Sir Francis Baring. P. 9 in. by 11 in. (Smith's Cat. 371.) 122 A Landscape. — (The companion.) A rocky scene, 10 with three figures in front. 123 Les Pecheurs Flamands. — Four fishermen engaged 11 in their employment on a sea-coast. An admirable picture for truth, and light, and air, shewing how well this versa- tile and gifted artist could paint subjects of this kind. Formerly in the Poulain Gallery, latterly in that of Walsh Porter. Purchased in 1812, for 430 guineas. C. 2 ft. 10 \ in. by 3 ft. 9 \ in. (Smith's Cat. 69.) 124 Landscape. — Before a large farm house, a gentleman, 12 supposed to be Teniers himself, and two ladies, in conver- sation with the gardener. The chateau is seen behind, on THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 51 the farther side of a canal. This picture resembles in sub- ject the celebrated Teniers in the Grosvenor Gallery, but is very inferior. C. 3 ft. 1 in. by 6 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat 258.) A Lady — supposed to be the wife of the painter, in a hat, 1 3 playing the guitar; behind, two children blowing bubbles: half-length figures. From the Orleans Gallery. 12 in. by 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 336.) The Alchymist in his Laboratory. — He is seated 14 at a table, holding a book; two figures busied at a fur- nace behind; in front to the right of the spectator, a large red earthenware jar. The whole painted with consum- mate skill. Baring collection. P. 10 in. by 14j in. (Smith's Cat. 325.) TERBURG (Gerard), b. 1608 ; d. 1681. [A charming painter of elegant conversation pieces, and scenes and groups from the higher classes of artificial life, in the seventeenth century. He excelled in painting dress, costume, and particularly white satin, which he generally introduced in some part of his pic- tures.] A Young Lady reading a Letter to her Mother, i — The fair, graceful girl, in a white satin dress, standing, holds the letter; the mother is seated at the opposite side of the table, dressed in a blue jacket, trimmed with ermine ; she has ceased writing to listen; a page approaches with a golden dish and ewer; in the foreground, a spaniel lying on a velvet chair. The whole group quite exquisite for the unaffected elegance of the conception, and the indescribable harmony and brilliance of the painting; the light falling on the young girl's head is most beautifully managed. The picture has, besides, the merit of being in excellent preser- vation — almost untouched. Purchased from the Gelder- meester collection, in 1800, by Sir Francis Baring, for 450/. C. 2 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 29.) D 2 52 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 128 A Girl sitting at a Table — habited in a purple velvet 2 dress, trimmed with ermine, is invited by a gentleman near her to drink a glass of champagne. Finished with great delicacy, but a little pale in the flesh tints; it has been retouched in parts. Formerly in the collection of the Abbe le Blanc. C. 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 26.) VANDER HEYDEN (Jan), b. 1637 ; d. 1712. [An incomparable painter of small pictures representing towns, edifices, streets : in which the union of two excellences, rarely com- bined — minute finish in the execution, and freedom and truth in the general effect — shew us how these wonderful old Dutchmen felt the nature which was before their eyes, till the most prosaic and common place objects became, under their hands, as poetical and miraculous as nature herself. The pictures of Vander Heyden are rare, and bear a high value.] 129 A View of a Dutch House — and other buildings, by I the side of a canal, with figures by Adrian Yander Yelde, among which two men in a boat are the most striking. Yery clear, and, at the same time, with all the minute exe- cution for which the painter is remarkable; the trees not so stiff as is usual with him. 130 View of a Dutch Town. — In a space before it many 2 figures by A. Yander Yelde. In this otherwise pretty picture, the incorrectness and stiffness of the trees injure the effect. Both from the Baring collection, and of the same size. P. 1 ft. 7 in. by 1 ft. 11 in. (Smith's Cat. 6 and 7.) VAN DYCK (Anthony), b. 1599, at Antwerp; d. 1641, in London. [Van Dyck, as a portrait painter, has been characterised in the Introduction to the Royal Galleries, (First Series, p. 184.) It is at Windsor he is best appreciated, in the splendid collection of his portraits assembled there. This gallery affords the opportunity of studying him as an historical painter, in which he never reached the highest grade. Two of his pictures here are among the finest of his works in this department. The first is full of elegance, the second full of THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 53 vigour and character ; both are deficient in lofty and poetical feeling. The portrait (134) is not a striking specimen of his peculiar merit as a portrait painter, in which only Titian excelled him.] 131 The Marriage of St. Catherine. — Fi gures life size, 1 three-quarters. The Virgin Mary, seated, holds the infant Saviour on her knee, before whom St. Catherine is bend- ing in adoration, while he is about to place the nuptial ring on her finger; her left hand, holding the palm branch, rests on the wheel, the broken instrument of her torture. The Virgin holds a wreath of flowers in her right hand, ready to crown the saint and martyr. This is a picture of superlative excellence. In general, Van Dyck's Virgins are more elegant than lovely, and more lady-like than poetical; but the exceeding beauty and grace of this figure, has obtained for the picture the distinguishing appellation of la plus belle des Vierges. The infant is divinely painted ; the head of the saint inferior to the rest. Both the St. Catherines of legendary fame were said to have mystically espoused the Saviour in a vision. The introduction of the wheel (the instrument of her mar- tyrdom,) generally distinguishes the St. Catherine of Alex- andria, from St. Catherine of Sienna. This fine picture was formerly in the collection of a famous amateur, the Chevalier de Burtin, of Brussels. On his death it was brought to England, and sold to the King, in 1820, for 2500 guineas.* C. 4 ft. by 3 ft. 10 in. {Smith's Cat 234.) 132 Christ healing the Lame Man. — A composition of 2 five figures, life size, three-quarters. The Saviour, whose figure and attitude are exceedingly fine, is in the act of saying, " Take up thy bed, and walk." The healed man is bending in gratitude and adoration before him. The dra- matic power displayed in this fine picture, and the unusual breadth and vigour of execution, have caused it to be attri- buted to Eubens. It has always been valued at a high price. * According to M. Seguier, sent -to -England, by M. Burtin, and sold for guineas. 54 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. Formerly (about 1738) in the gallery of the Chevalier Verhulst, and afterwards in that of Smeth van Alpen, whence it was sold, and brought to England by M. de la Fontaine, who sold it to the King, in 181 1, for about 3000/.* Engraved by P. de Jode. C. 3 ft. 10 in. by 4 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat. 235.) 133 A Study of Three Horses — with their riders; sup- 3 posed to be an original sketch for the portrait of the Mar- quis de Moncada on horseback, now in the Gallery of the Louvre. In 1766, this sketch was in the possession of Bouchier Cleeve, of Foots' Cray. Purchased from the gal- lery of Sir George Young, by Sir F. Baring. P. 1 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. (Smith's Cat 236.) 134 Portrait of a Man in black — with a small falling 4 collar, holding a book. VANDER MEULEN (Antoine Francois), b. 1634; d. 1690. [A painter who followed the landscape school of Rubens, and was in the service of Louis XIV., for whom he painted battle-pieces, &c. His best works are admirable for vigour and animation.] 135 Louis XIV. with his Staff. i C. 2 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. 11 in. 136 The building of the Palace of Versailles. — The 2 architect (Mansard) shewing his designs to the king. 3 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. 137 The Palace of Maeli. — Purchased for George IV., at 3 Paris. 3 ft. 10 in. by 5 ft. 10 in. 138 An Encampment. 4 3 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 8 in. * Seguier. The price at which I find it marked in La Fontaine's catalogue is 346*. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 55 139 An Encampment. 2 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 2 in. 5 140 The March of an Army. 6 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. 141 Louis XIV.- — with his attendants, in a landscape. 2 ft. 9 in. by 3 ft. 8 in. 7 142 Robbers attacking a Caravan. s 2 ft 9 in. by 3 ft. II in. 143 A Battle — in which a bridge is contested. Bought for 9 George IV., at the sale of the Duke of York's pictures. 3 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 7 in. 3 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 8| in. 145 Halt of Soldiers — at an inn door. 11 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft 10 in. 146 A Hawking Party. — Louis XIV., attended by the 12 Prince de Conde, as " Grand Fauconnier." Purchased for George IV., at Paris, 3 ft 9 in. by 4 ft 9 in. 147 The Orangerie at Versailles. — Purchased for 13 George IV., at Paris. 3 ft. 10 in. by 5 ft 10 in. VANDER NEER (Eglon), d. at Dusseldorf, 1703. [As a painter of elegant conversation pieces, this rare painter (rare in this style) seems to have imitated Caspar Netscher, but finished even more highly. He appears to have gained a maintenance prin- cipally by painting small portraits in oil. He was one of the painters patronized by the Elector Palatine, John- William, the same who was so fond of Vander Werf. The finest picture of Eglon Vander Neer I have seen in England is " the Lady and Page," now (1842) in pos- session of Mr. Huisch.] 144 Louis XIV. and his Staff. 10 56 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 148 The Death of Cleopatra. — Group of four figures, l treated in the Dutch manner — that is, in the worst taste as regards conception, and with extreme beauty in the me- chanical execution. From the Braamcamp collection. P. 1 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat 8.) 149 A Music Party. — A lady seated, in a landscape, play- 2 ing the guitar; a gentleman behind, with a music-book. P. 14 in. by 12 in. VANDER NEER (Arnold, or rather, Arthur), b. 1619; d. 1683. [Celebrated as a painter of moonlight and evening effects. Per- haps the most beautiful example of his art is in our National Gallery, No. 152. In his manner of feeling and treating nature, allied to Cuyp, who appears to have been his friend.] 1 50 Evening. — A view in Holland, on the bank of a canal; 1 a waggon and horses proceeding along the road ; to the right, a chateau and trees; a city in the distance. C. 3 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 10 in. VANDER VELDE (Adrian), b. 1639; d. 1672. [As a painter of small landscapes, representing rural scenes, with cattle and groups of figures, quite unequalled, if we consider the va- riety of fancy displayed in his subjects, the precision and elegance of his drawing, the tender loveliness of his tints, the sentiment of re- pose diffused through his soft evening scenes and pastoral home- steads. His manner of feeling and treating these subjects is quite peculiar to himself. This gallery affords an excellent opportunity of studying the works of Adrian Vander Velde, containing seven very fine pictures, though perhaps not one of them equal to the wonderful " Evening Scene" in Mr. Hope's gallery.] 151 A hilly Landscape — with the ruins of a castle; two i cows, one of which is drinking, stand, with a goat, in a pool of limpid water; a shepherdess is filling her pitcher, and conversing with a man on a grey horse. An exquisite picture, conveying the impression of a spring afternoon, with all its balmy freshness and repose. Dated 1659. It THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 57 passed from the Geldermeester collection into that of Sir F. Baring. C. 1 ft 8 in. by 1 ft 5J in. (Smith's Cat. 109.) 152 The Sea-shore of Schevening — near the Hague, 2 with picturesque groups of persons of various rank, and a post waggon; shipping in the distance. In the delicacy of the drawing, colouring, and general effect, one of his most beautiful works. Dated 1660. Sold from the collection of the Countess of Holderness to Sir Francis Baring, in 1802, for 155 guineas. C. 1 ft. 2| in. by 1 ft 7 in. (Smith's Cat. 79.) 153 Cattle at Pasture. — In a meadow, richly grown with 3 trees, several cows, sheep, goats, and one horse, are graz- ing ; near them, two shepherdesses, one of whom is milking a ewe : the effect is that of a fine evening. Warmly, yet most delicately painted. Dated 1664. Formerly in the famous Braamcamp collection; and sold last from the Gel- dermeester collection, for 44 11. Baring collection. C. 1 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 14.) 154 A Dutch Dairy-farm — with a hovel and a few trees; 4 in the foreground a woman milking a goat ; another woman, with a child in her arms, is conversing with her. Charm- ing altogether, and very characteristic of the painter in the sentiment of peaceful rural life and the beautiful work- manship. Dated 1666. Baring collection. 13 in. by 10 in. (Smith's Cat. 113.) 155 A Hunting Party. — A company of sportsmen, on 5 horseback and on foot, are passing over a meadow ; they have just started for the chase; among them is seen an ele- gantly dressed female, mounted on a white palfry. The effect is that of a bright summer morning. In this rich and beautiful little picture, the artist has shewn his skill in the drawing of the horses and dogs, which are very animated. In point of execution, one of his most finished works. Dated 1666. From the collection of Lord Rendlesham. P. 1 ft 6 in. bv 1 ft (Smith's Cat. 5.9.) D 3 58 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 156 Cattle in a Woody Landscape. — In the foreground 6 a stream of water ; a woman, leaning on a heifer, con- verses with a shepherd ; a dog and a goat are drinking ; a cow and a calf are lying down. A beautiful bit of quiet pastoral life. Dated 1668. Purchased in 1810, for 7650 florins (688/.), from the collection of Smeth van Alpen. Purchased by George IV. in 1811.* 2 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. 7 in. (Smith's Cat. 5) 157 The Shepherd. — In a woody landscape, a shepherd is 7 watching his flock, and reposing under trees illumined by the evening sun ; his dog is by his side. In the foreground an ass and two red cows are lying down. A composition of idyllic beauty; a late picture of the master. P. 1 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 4J. (Smith's Cat. 112.) VANDER VELDE (Wilhelm, the younger), b. 1633; d. 1707. [As a painter of small sea pieces never yet equalled. In his best pictures the liquid motion of the waves, the buoyant movement of the vessels which float upon them, the gradations of light and distance, the breezy air and suspended clouds, are rendered with the utmost feeling for general truth and nature, and the most wonderful delicacy of execution. He and his father, the elder Vander Velde, were for several years in England in the service of Charles II.] ] 58 A Calm. — A sea coast, enlivened by vessels at various 1 distances, grouped and disposed with the most picturesque effect. In the foreground, on the right, a yacht, with the richly-gilt stern towards the spectator, and on the right, two fishermen in the water, busied about their boats. In another boat a man is seated, smoking his pipe. One of the most perfect pictures of the kind existing. Dated 1669, when Yander Velde was in his twenty-sixth year. Sold in 1811, from the collection of Smeth van Alpen, for 270/. P. 2 ft. by 2 ft. 4J in. (Smith's Cat. 82.) * At the nominal price of 1800 guineas. Many other pictures put up at La Fontaine's sale, having been previously purchased by the King, were bought in at immense nominal prices. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 59 1 59 A Calm. — The mouth of a river. Yachts, and a variety 2 of smaller craft, are distributed over the scene. In the foreground is a six-oared boat, with a party of persons of distinction. They appear to have just quitted a royal yacht, from which another boat, also filled with people, is coming to land. The water is wonderfully clear ; the painting of the whole most beautiful. From the Gelder- meester collection. Baring collection. C. 2 ft. by 2 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat 51.) 160 A Gale. — The sea much agitated. Among the vessels 3 are two men of war, one of which, as it rides the swelling waves, seems to sink and rise as we look. Never was motion so inimitably conveyed. The bluish-grey tone is like Backhuysen ; the execution and finish unequalled. C. 2 ft. by 2 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 178.) 161 A Breeze. — A fisherman is on the point of putting oif 4 from shore ; he is assisted by two others. The sea is agitated by a light breeze, and overshadowed by gathering clouds ; two small coasting vessels, a frigate, and small craft in the distance. Dated 1671. Sold from the col- lection of the Countess of Holderness to Sir F. Baring. C. 1 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 9j. (Smith's Cat 177.) VANDER WERF (Adrian), b. 1659 ; d. 1722. [A painter of small historical compositions in a style laboriously smooth and finished. In this respect his pictures are curiosities, and as such have been much admired, and once sold, like gems, at the most extraordinary prices ; but the total want of truth and feeling, the insipid uniformity of feature in his lifeless, bloodless, mindless personages, render him to me one of the most insufferable of painters. I should prefer to his cold insipid elegance, the coarsest of Adrian Brouwer's drinking bouts. Vander Werf was greatly patronised by the Elector Palatine John William, and in his collection, now forming part of the Munich gallery, there are thirty-nine of his pictures.] 162 The Roman Charity . — Full length figures. 1 P. 2 ft. by 1 ft. 5f in. (Smith's Cat 88.) 60 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 163 Lot and his Daughters. — One of the daughters is 2 reclining at his side ; the other, bending over, presses the juice from a bunch of grapes into his cup. A disagreeable subject, which Vander Werf has repeated several times, and which becomes, if not more agreeable, at least less offensive under his ice-cold, delicate pencil. Duplicates are at Dresden and Potzdam ; formerly in the collections of the Due de Choiseul and the Prince de Conti. Purchased last from the collection of M. de Calonne, for 300/. P. 1 ft. 5 J in. by 1 ft. 2 in. (Smith's Cat. 55.) 164 Two Children with a Guinea-pig. — Figures half- 3 length ; a piece of rich Turkey carpet in front. I presume, portraits. Baring collection. About 12 in. by 10 in. WOUVERMANNS (Philip), b. at Haerlem, 1620; d. 1668. [Of Philip Wouvermanns, Sir Joshua Reynolds says, that " he is one of the few painters whose excellence in his particular department is such as leaves us nothing to wish for." He painted scenes of hunting and hawking, horse-fairs, farriers' shops, camp-scenes, skir- mishes of cavalry, sea-shore scenes, and halts of travellers before old mansions and picturesque inns. All these are compositions, for it is the characteristic of Wouvermanns, as of Berghem, that he never conveys the impression of having painted from nature and reality ; in this respect they contrast strongly with Cuyp and Hobbema. The number of pictures painted by Wouvermanns, in a short life, is per- fectly amazing, (upwards of five hundred,) and their infinite variety of subject, and the fertility of fancy and invention displayed in them, even more surprising, for he was never known to repeat the same subject ; there exists no duplicate of any of his pictures. He had a first, second, and third manner, all distinguishable. The first is a little tame and heavy, comparatively; the second, free and vigorous; and the third more delicate in the touch and silvery in the tone of colour.* His brother, Peter Wouvermanns, imitated him, but is very inferior. * See this painter further characterized in the Catalogue of the Dulwich Gallery (First Series), p. 456. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 61 165 A Landscape. — Two gentlemen and a lady, mounted, 1 have halted to refresh themselves at an inn door; the cava- lier not drinking is the portrait of the artist. A boy lifts up a child, which seems terrified at two dogs fighting. Very clear in the colouring, and remarkably delicate in the ex- ecution. From the collections of the Earl of Besborough and Lord Rendleshani. C. about 2 ft. by 2 ft 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 469.) 166' A Horse Fair. — A very rich picture, most exquisitely 2 finished, especially the figure of his favourite grey horse, which is admirable. A procession of five children, with drums and trumpet, and a carriage drawn by a goat, with a child in it, are charming. The general effect is rather grey. This was one of the pictures brought from Hesse Cassel by the French, and presented to the Empress Jo- sephine. It was sold from the Malmaison collection, in 1816, to the king, for 800 guineas. C. 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 470.) 167 Five Cavalry Soldiers — halt before some tents to 3 take refreshment. The trumpeter blows his instrument, another discharges a pistol — whence this picture is known by the name of le Coup de Pistolet. There are many other figures, among which is a lame beggar, with a woman at his side, approaching the group of soldiers. In composi- tion and delicacy of touch this is one of the finest pictures of Wouvermanns. It has passed through some celebrated gal- leries — those of Le Brun, Nogaret, and Tolozan — and was sold to the king for 399 guineas, from Mr. Hamble's collection. P. about 1 ft, 4 in. by 1 ft. 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 158.) 168 A Farmer's Waggon — attacked by robbers, is obsti- 4 nately defended by the owners. The conception is very animated and dramatic, the expression of the heads mas- terly. In the execution, too, it is a fine picture, in his second, brownish manner. From the Le Brun and Gel- dermeester collections : brought from Brussels in 1814, and sold to the king. P. 1 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 3 in. (Smith's Cat. 111.) 62 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 169 A Hawking Party. — Two gentlemen and a lady halt o at an inn, before which there is a travelling carriage, a woman pouring out liquor for a cavalier, and other persons. This picture, painted in a silvery tone, has a harmony of keeping, a delicacy of execution, which are seldom met with even in Wouvermanns. Engraved by Le Bas. P. 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. (Smith's Cat. 255.) 170 A Hay Harvest. — A boat, and a waggon with four 6 horses, are laden with hay. In the middle distance are the mowers; in front, two huntsmen on foot with dogs, a beggar, and a youth bathing. Like the former, in the artist's third manner, but still more tender in the harmony of the colouring, still more delicate in the touch. From the collection of Smeth van Alpen, and sold at Rotterdam, in 1810, for 379Z.; brought to England by M. La Fontaine, and sold to the king in 1811. C. 2 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. (Smith's Cat. 256.) 171 A Horse Fair. — On the right a horse kicking; a man 7 flogging it. A rich composition, carefully executed; but in many parts too dark.* 172 The Farrier's Tent — in which a horse is shod. Before 8 it several women. Most exquisitely finished. 14 in. by 12J in. 173 A Skirmish of Cavalry. — Most probably by Dirk 9 Stoop, f as it has neither the character of Wouvermanns in the horses, nor his peculiar touch. C. 2 ft. 7 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. WEENIX (Jan), b. 1644 ; d. 1719. [ An excellent painter of game, animals, and still life, which he treated with great fancy and picturesque effect, and generally on a * This picture corresponds in subject, but not in size, with Sir Charles Bagot's picture. (Smith's Cat. 286.) t Dirk Stoop, to whom the picture No. 173 is attributed by Dr. Waagen, was an eminent painter of subjects in the style of Wouvermanns and Van Laer, and born about 16 10. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 63 large scale. The father, old Weenix, painted in almost every style. The son is more eminent in his own confined and uninteresting sphere.] 174 A Hare and other dead Game. l Baring collection. C. about 3 ft. by 2j ft. WYNANTS (Jan), b. at Haerlem, 1600; d. 1677. [As a painter of small landscapes, remarkable for the beautiful aerial perspective and individual truth of the foregrounds and foliage, quite unequalled. Out of a few docks or thistles, a tree, and a sand bank, he could make a picture. Generally speaking, his productions display neither selection nor fancy, and are, as far as regards subject, monotonous and insipid; but interesting, and sometimes wonderful for their general truth of effect, as well as their accuracy in particular delineation. He formed many scholars, among whom the two most eminent were Philip Wouvermanns and Adrian Vander Velde.] 175 A Hawking Party — in a hilly landscape; the figures 1 by Wouvermanns. The effect of the aerial perspective in this lovely little picture is so exquisite that it is like look- ing at a real scene through a diminishing glass. The union here of the two masters is also particularly happy; the great clearness, peculiar to Wynants, admirably expresses the freshness of morning; and in delicacy of touch, he has successfully emulated Wouvermanns. On the other hand, the tender, cool tone of the latter harmonizes, far better with Wynants than the warm tone of Adrian Vander Velde, who likewise frequently painted the figures in his landscapes. From the collection of Walsh Porter. P. 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 124.) Pfofccm ffiuglfelj ^rf)00t. ALLEN (Sir William, R. A.), knighted in 1842. [A native of Scotland. As a painter of tableaux de genre, and small historical pictures, remarkable for their dramatic spirit and truth of character, eminently distinguished. Some of his compositions contain a great number of figures.] 64 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, 176 The Orphan Daughter. — The subject of this picture i was suggested several years before it was painted, but it appears to have taken its present form in the mind of the artist on the death of Sir Walter Scott. The apartment is copied from the one in which Sir Walter died. The figure is intended to represent his daughter Anne, near the vacant chair of her father, wnqm she survived, as it is well known, only a few weeks : the attendant is not a portrait. This interesting little picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy, in the year 1834, when it excited much attention and sympathy, both from the subject, and the feeling and beauty of the execution. It was purchased by King William IV. C. 2 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft .4 in. Engraved. NEWTON (Gilbert Stuart), b. at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, 1795 ; d. in London, 1835* [As a painter of fancy conversation pieces, and subjects from artificial life, very eminent.] 177 The Duenna.- — A young girl, rebuked by her gouver- 1 nante, turns away with a pouting air, while the latter closes the window. An early and not very good specimen of the powers of this elegant painter.* About 2 ft. by 1 ft. 6 in. REYNOLDS (Sir Joshua), b. at Plymouth, 1723; d. in London, 1792. [In this gallery Sir Joshua Reynolds appears chiefly as an historical painter, and in this department his harmonious colour, his intense feeling for beauty and truth in their general effects, could not always atone for the want of severer and loftier conception, nor for the feebleness and carelessness of his drawing.] 178 The Death of Dido. — Three figures, life size. On 1 * See the Catalogue of Lord Lansdowne's collection. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 65 the departure of ^Eneas, Dido mounts the funeral pile, and after stabbing herself with his sword, dies in the arms of her sister Anna. (JEneid, b. iv.) " Through all the town the dismal rumour spread. — Her sister hears, and, furious with despair, She beats her breast," and tears her yellow hair. 'Bring water — bathe the wound, while I in death Lay close my lips to hers, and catch the flying breath.* Thrice Dido tried to raise her drooping head- Thrice op'd her heavy eyes, and saw the light ; But having found it, sicken'd at the sight, And clos'd her lids at last in endless night. Then Juno, grieving that she should sustain A death so ling'ring, and so full of pain, Sent Iris down, to free her from the strife Of labouring nature, and dissolve her life. Downward the various goddess took her flight, And drew a thousand colours from the light." This picture was exhibited in the year 1781. It was among the pictures sold by auction after the death of Sir Joshua, and bought by his niece, the late Marchioness of Thomond, for 2007. On the sale of her pictures in 1821, it was purchased for George IV* €. 4 ft. 9 in. by 7 ft 9 in. 179 Cymoil and Iphigenia. — Figures, life-size. From 2 Boccacio's tale, versified by Dryden. The idiot and clown, Cymon, sees for the first time Iphigenia asleep, and is sud- denly inspired, by the power of new-born love, with gen- tleness, generosity, and the wish to overcome his own deficiencies. Of all the subjects which romantic poetry has offered to the painter, this is one of the most beautiful, and affords the finest material in the way of form, character, colour, and accessories: it is very beautifully treated in this picture, which was presented to George IV. by the Marchioness of Thomond, niece to the painter. €. 4 ft. 7 in. by 5 ft. 7 in. 66 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 1 80 Portrait of Himself. — The original head, in spectacles, 3 painted at the age of fifty, and of which there are several repetitions. Presented to George IV. by the Marchioness of Thomond. C. 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. WILKIE (Sir David), b. in Scotland, 1785 ; knighted by William IV., 1836 ; d. at Gibraltar, 1841. [This distinguished painter had two entirely different manners. He began by imitating the Dutch masters, or rather — for he was no imitator — aiming at the same kind of excellencies, lively repre- sentations of low and familiar life, spirited character, and light, delicate finish. In this style is the picture here, " Blind Man's Buff;" and " The Village Festival," and " Blind Fiddler," in the National Gallery. After his travels in Italy and Spain, his talent took an opposite direc- tion ; he aimed at a higher range of subjects, more powerful colour, and richer effects. He painted history and portraits, and sometimes on a large scale ; but these are not his best works ; and latterly he became sketchy and feeble in drawing, streaky in handling, and heavy in the tone of colour. He remains, however, one of the best painters of modern times in power and versatility. Besides the pictures hung in the gallery, her Majesty possesses several others by Wilkie, among which are — The Guerilla taking leave of his Confessor, The Guerilla's Return, The Guerilla Council, Queen Victoria at her First Council, The Penny Wedding, The Maid of Saragossa, The Pifferari, and The Princess Doria washing the Feet of the Pilgrims.] 181 George IV. entering the Palace of Holy rood — l on the occasion of his visit to Scotland, August 5, 1822. The Duke of Hamilton, first peer of Scotland, in the plaid of the Earls of Arran, presents the keys of the palace, of which he is hereditary keeper. On the right of the King is the Duke of Montrose ; at the entrance of the palace, the Duke of Argyll, hereditary keeper of the house- hold ; behind him, Sir Alexander Keith bears the crown of Robert Bruce ; to the left of the picture, the Earl of Hope- toun, in the dress of the royal archers; and near him, Sir Walter Scott, in the character of historian or bard. This picture, painted by command of George IV. in THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 67 1830, is not a pleasing picture, nor a good specimen of the powers of Wilkie, who appears to have been trammelled by his subject. C. 6 ft. 4 in. by 4 ft. 182 Blind-man's Buff. — Composition of 28 figures, ex- 2 cellently painted in Wilkie's earlier and better style. Signed and dated 1812. The finished sketch for this picture is now in the possession of Charles Bredel, Esq. ZOFFANY (John) * b. 1732. [A native of Frankfort-on- the- Maine, who came over to England about 1766, and was patronised by George III.] 183 The Interior of the Florentine Gallery — with 1 portraits of some of the most distinguished connoisseurs and amateurs of that time, and miniature reminiscences of the most celebrated works of art in the Florence Gal- lery. Conspicuous are the Venus of Titian, Raphael's St. John, Madonna della Seggiola,f and Madonna del Car- dellino ; Guido's Mater Dolorosa, and Cleopatra ;| Correggio's Virgin and Child, the Wrestlers, the Venus de Medicis, &c. Among the personages introduced are ZofFany himself exhibiting to Lord Cowper Raphael's Virgin and Child : J behind Lord Cowper is Sir John Dick, and on the right the Earl of Plymouth, and the late Earl of Dartmouth ; in front is Mr. Lorain Smith, making a sketch of one of the statues ; in the centre, the keeper, Mr. Bianchi, is shewing the celebrated Titian Venus to the following persons — Sir Horace Mann, the Earl of Winchelsea, Mr. Watts, Mr. Doughty, Mr. Patch, Bruce the traveller; and sitting in front, dressed in black, the Hon. Felton Hervey. Purchased from the artist by George III. C. 3 ft. 11 in. by 5 ft. * As he practised his art chiefly in England, and was a member of the Royal Academy, I have classed him with the English painters, t Now in the Palazzo Pitti. t This is the celebrated Raphael which Lord Cowper purchased from the painter, by an annuity of 200/. a-year. It is now in the collection at Pan- shanger. 68 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 184 The Royal Academy in 1773.* — In the centre is 2 Sir Joshua Reynolds, holding his trumpet to his ear,f ap- parently in conversation with Francis Hayman, the librarian, who is sitting down on his right; on the left of Sir Joshua, the celebrated Dr. W. Hunter, Professor of Anatomy, with his hand on his chin; next to Hunter is Bartolozzi, the engraver; beyond him Carlini, and behind, and leaning against the chimney, is Richard Wilson, the landscape painter. Below, viewing the living model preparing for the students, are Samuel Wale, R. Yeo, F. Zuccarelli; George M. Moser, the Keeper, is placing the figure; and near him are Edward Penny, Peter Toms, J N. Hone; and on the left side of the picture, in front, are Edward Birch, Joseph Nollekens, Richard Cosway, and W, Hoare; in the immediate front, Charles Cotton. § On the right hand of Sir Joshua, are the following members, viz. — the secretary, T. M. Newton, Esq.; Sir W. Chambers, architect; John Richards, landscape painter; W. Tyler, Thomas Sandby, Paul Sandby, Dominick Serres, marine painter; Jeremiah Meyer, George Barret, Joseph Wilton, sculptor; Benjamin West, Tan Chet Gua, a Chinese painter; Cipriani, John Gwyn. On the left of the picture, in front, sitting down with his palette in his hand, is ZofFany, the painter, between whom and Hayman is Mr. Mason Chamberlain. Against the wall are the portraits of the two female academicians, Angelica Kauffman, and Mrs. Mary Moser. j| Purchased by George III. 3 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. PORTRAITS IN THE YELLOW DRAWING ROOM. (Over the doors three oval portraits, forming rather a * About five years after its institution in 1/68, and the first year that its meet- ing's were held in Somerset House. f " When they talked of their Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff, He shifted his trumpet, and only took snuff." t He was employed by Reynolds and West to paint in draperies. § Cotton painted the panels of carriages, and Wale painted signs. 11 As the principal value and interest of these two pictures consists in the genuineness of the cotemporary portraits, it is to be regretted that they hang so high — almost out of sight. Many other most interesting pictures here, of small and delicate subjects, are under the same disadvantage. the queen's gallery. 69 curious trio to have met together here, and why selected it were difficult to guess. I have heard that they were cut to fit their present places.) KNELLER (Sir Godfrey), b. 1649 ; d. 1723. The Czar Peter the Great. — Extremely fine; painted when he was in England, for "William III. LELY, (Sir Peter), b. 1617 ; d. 1680. Anne Hyde — Duchess of York, daughter of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and mother of Queen Mary and Queen Anne. RIGAUD (Hyacinth), (?) b. 1659; d. 1745. Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray. GREEN DRAWING ROOM. RAMSAY (Allan), b. 1713 ; d. 1784. [Son of the author of " The Gentle Shepherd," and much patronised by George III. " There was Ramsay, of whom Sir Joshua used to say that he was the most sen- sible of all the painters of his time, but he has left little to shew it ; his manner was dry and timid." — Norihcote.~] The Duchess of Brunswick — sister of George III. DANCE (Nathaniel), R.A., b. 1730; d. 1811. [" Dance (he that was afterwards Sir Nathaniel Holland) drew the figure well, gave a strong likeness, and a certain studied air to his portraits ; yet they were so stiff and forced, that they seemed put into a vice." — NorihcoteJ] The Duke of York — brother of George III. COPLEY (John Singleton), b. 1737; d. 1815. [A native of Boston, in America, who came over to England in 1776. He painted history and portrait; drew correctly; but was in 70 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. general cold and defective in colour. He was father of the first Lord Lyndhurst.] 1 90 The three Princesses, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia, daughters of George III., when children. — Group, life size, with dogs and parrots, in a garden; one of Copley's finest pictures in arrangement and colour; it was formerly at Windsor. " Copley painted so slowly and tediously, and required such long sittings, that when he was at Windsor, painting this picture, the attendants, children, dogs, and parrots, became equally wearied: the attendants complained to the queen, the queen complained to the king, and the king complained to West, who had obtained the commission for Copley, and succeeded in con- vincing the king that the painter must be allowed to go on his own way and take his own time." The result is certainly a most beautiful picture. COTES (Francis), b. 1735; d. 1770. [A painter of portraits in oil and in crayons ; in the last he excelled.] 191 The Princesses Augusta (afterwards Duchess of Brunswick) and Matilda (the unfortunate Queen of Denmark), daughters of George II. — Full-length figures, with musical instruments. Very ele- gant. Over the door leading to the Throne Boom. 192 Portraits of the three eldest Children of the Elector Palatine and Elizabeth, daughter of James I. — Formerly in the possession of James I., to whom it was sent from Heidelberg : brought here from Kensington. It stands thus exactly described in Charles I.'s catalogue : — " The picture wherein is painted the red and white rose above the Palsgrave's three first-born children, at Heydelberch, being only heads in three several oval places, in an all-over gilded frame." No painter's name. This picture has been erroneously supposed to represent the three children of Henry VII., of which we have authentic portraits wholly different from these. THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 71 MORE (Sir Antonio), b. at Utrecht, 1519 ; d. 1576. [A celebrated portrait painter of his time, who was in England in the time of Philip and Mary. His style has something of the warm glow of the Venetian school, combined with the rigid drawing of the German school.] 193 Two Princesses of Spain — Donna Clara Eugenia Isabella (afterwards so celebrated as Governess of the Low Countries), and Donna Caterina (afterwards Duchess of Savoy), daughters of Philip II., when children. C. 4 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 10 in. In King Charles's Catalogue ; where it is said to have been given to Charles I. by Lord Ancram. Over a door, WRIGHT (Michael?) 194 James, Duke of Cambridge — son of James II. ? 195 George IV. and his Sister, the Queen of Wur- temburg, when Children. 196 George IV. and his Brother, Frederick, Duke of York, when Children. 197 The Duke of Gloucester — son of Queen Anne, who died at the age of eleven, in 1699: in the robes of the Garter. THE DINING ROOM. Nine royal portraits, all full length. GAINSBOROUGH (Thomas), b. 1727 ; d. 1788. 198 King George III. 199 Queen Charlotte. — Very elegant. 200 Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland. 72 the queen's gallery. 201 Anne, Duchess of Cumberland. — Lady Anne Luttrel, daughter of the Earl of Carhampton, and widow of Christopher Horton, Esq. ; married to the Duke in 1771. Exceedingly elegant; the face beautiful. VAN LOO (Jean Baptiste), b. 1684 ; d. 1746. [A French portrait painter, who was in England about 1737.] 202 Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of George III. 203 The Princess of Wales, his Consort. KNELLER (Sir Godfrey), b. at Lubeck, in 1648 ; d. in London, 1723. 204 King George II. 205 Queen Caroline. LAWRENCE (Sir Thomas), b. 1769 ; d. Jan. 7, 1830. 206 King George IV. in his Robes. — A repetition of the picture at Windsor. STATE DRAWING ROOM. Over the Door. VAN DYCK (Anthony). 207 King Charles I. and Queen Henrietta Maria. — Half-length, in the same picture ; she is presenting to him a crown of laurel. A picture well known from the fine engravings which exist of it, by Van Voerst, Cornelius Yischer, and Vertue. In King Charles's time it hung in Somerset House. After his death I find it in the inventory of the sale — " The King and Queen, together with a laurel leafe, sold to Mr. Jackson for 60/." It is not in King James's catalogue, nor can I find how it has since been restored to the royal THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 73 collection. Charles I. had a miniature copy of it by Hos- kins, which Walpole says he had seen in the possession of the Duchess of Somerset. DAWE (George, R.A.) 208 The Princess Charlotte of Wales —Died 1818, Full length. WILKIE (Sir David), b. 1785 ; d. 1841. 209 The Duke of Sussex — in the Highland costume. Full length. Another portion of the private collection of the Queen, to which visitors are occasionally admitted, is arranged in the grand corridor in Windsor Castle which runs round two sides of the quadrangle, and opens into the private apart- ments of the sovereign; it is therefore very properly closed against all intrusion, and only in the absence of her Majesty may be visited by an especial ticket of admission from the Lord Chamberlain. George IV. placed here a selection of pictures chiefly of domestic interest, as hunting scenes and reviews, in which are introduced different members of the Brunswick family ; some portraits of his personal friends, chiefly by Reynolds and Lawrence, and a few of noted historical personages. But the great ornament of this gal- lery is the collection of the works of Canaletto, purchased by George III. from Mr. Joseph Smith, English Consul at Venice in the preceding reign. Antonio Canale, or as he styled himself, II Canaletto, was the son of a poor Venetian scene painter. From his father he obtained his intimate knowledge of perspective; his feeling for aerial effect and picturesque treatment of his subjects, he owed to his studies at Rome. Smith found him in poverty, and engaged him to paint for him for a certain term of years, at a very low salary, and sold his pictures at a high price to the English who visited Venice: the best he kept for himself; and the collection thus formed, with many pictures by Zucca-* E 74 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. relli, and a number of valuable prints, drawings, and gems, he brought to England, and sold to George III. for 20,000/. Three pictures, views on the Thames, painted by Cana- letto after he came to England in 1746, have been added; but while in England he fell into a habit of painting dingy skies, and never afterwards coloured so finely. There are here forty -five of his pictures, of every size, from a few inches to four or five feet in length, and as a collection of the finest works of a painter never yet equalled in his particular department, this is unrivalled. One or two I must point out, as of particular interest and excellence : — the " Boat race on the Grand Canal;" the two little pictures of the interior of St. Mark, exquisite for effect and colour; and the " Giant's Staircase," reminding us of Faliero; the " Arch of Titus," and the " Arch of Constantine." The spirit, power, and brilliance of Canaletto, render more striking the insipid prettiness of Zuccarelli. This last painter, a native of Tuscany, also made a fortune by English patronage. He was over here in 1 752, and was one of the first members of our Royal Academy. There are sixteen of his landscapes here of various sizes, the smallest being the best. These, with the nine large pic- tures by him in the state rooms at Windsor, painted chiefly after his arrival in England, make twenty-five of his works in the royal collection. Among the other pictures one or two may be pointed out as curiosities. For example, the very interesting pic- ture of the ball given at the Hague to Charles II. just be- fore he embarked for England, in 1660, containing nearly two hundred heads of remarkable personages of that time. Boscobel House and woods, where Charles II. took refuge ; painted for him by Streater; Hogarth's view of the Mall about 1742; Queen Anne in the House of Lords, with the Duchess of Marlborough standing behind her chair, by Tillemans; the marriage of George III. and Queen Charlotte, a sketch by Reynolds; George III. going to the House of Lords, 1761, a sketch by Hogarth. Among the portraits there are several which have a value beyond that of family or historical interest. That of Walter Scott, for instance, painted by Lawrence for THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. 75 George IV., in which, however, the painter has refined away that dash of heartiness and rusticity which was so characteristic of the man. Another is the elegant portrait of Lady Melbourne, in a hat, and holding a book, by Cosway, whose portraits in oil, and life size, are very uncommon. Her son, the present Lord Melbourne, when William Lamb. — By Hoppner. Garrick, in the character of Kitely (in " Every Man in his Humour.") Portraits of Garrick and his wife, in the same picture. Frederick, Prince of Wales, and three of his sisters, performing a concert, by Nollekens, (father of Joseph Nollekens, the sculptor.) The following portraits have also both a public and private interest : — The great Duke of Marlborough. — Sir Godfrey Kneller. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.— Ditto. The Earl of Eglinton. — Sir Joshua Reynolds. William, Duke of Cumberland. — Ditto. Dr. Manners Sutton, Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Markham, Archbishop of York. Both by Hoppner. William Pitt. Three quarters ; his hand on a paper inscribed — " Redemption of the National Debt." George Canning. Full length. Lord Chancellor Thurlow. Lord Chancellor Eldon. The Duke of Devonshire. The Princess Charlotte, when a child about four years old. The present Queen of Portugal, when a child. Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire, and her child. Copy after Reynolds. Sir William Curtis, Alderman. — All these by Lawrence. Queen Victoria seated in her coronation robes. Small full length. — Sir George Hayter. The present Sultan. — Sir David Wilkie. e 2 76 THE QUEEN'S GALLERY. Lord Keith. Sir David Dundas. — Owen, Sir William Congreve. — Lonsdale. Admiral Paine. — Hoppner. Lord Erskine. — Reynolds. Cosway, the painter. — Reynolds. James II., when young. — Dobson. (Very fine.) Louis XIV. — Mignard. William III. and the Duke of Schomberg, on horseback. — By Old Wych. (Very bad and wooden.) Edward, Duke of York, brother of George III. Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, his Duchess (Lady Anne Horton), and her sister (Lady Elizabeth Lut- trel). — By Gainsborough. There is, besides, a fine collection of busts, ranged on pedestals, the whole length of the gallery, which, with the splendid bronzes, cabinets, &c., form a coup oVozil of great and striking magnificence. THE COLLECTION OF LORD FRANCIS EGERTON, KNOWN AS THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 23» When this celebrated collection was arranged at Bridgewater House, where a suite of galleries had been erected for the purpose, one day in the week, during the months of May, June, and July, was set apart for the reception of Visitors, who were admitted by tickets only. Bridgewater House having been lately {in 1841) pulled down, in order to be rebuilt on a more mag- nificent and extended scale, the pictures are for the present dispersed through the rooms of a temporary private residence, where very few of them can be seen to any advantage. INTRODUCTION. " And here we stand, not only with the sense Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts, That in this moment there is life and food For future years.'* Wordsworth. The Bridgewater Gallery is to me — as to how many others ! — a long -remembered, clear, and familiar haunt, sanctified by the memories and delights of younger days. Since the age of sixteen — when the world of art, and with it a rich new world of thought, sensation, wonder, burst upon my dazzled fancy, through which unguided I went about grop- ing amid excess of light, as others grope in darkness — since then the most delightful contemplations have been associated with this and the Grosvenor Gallery, to both of which I had when young, easier and more frequent access than is usual. Thankful let me here express myself for such grace, accorded perhaps unconsciously, but bearing lasting fruit. Without entering into the question how far a man has or has not a right to do what he likes with his own, if it be true that we shall be held responsible for the use or abuse of every good gift entrusted to us, what can be said of the possessor of a magnificent gallery, who shuts it up from all participation, but that he is the worst of misers? The wretch who hoards his gold is bad enough, but what shall be said of him who shuts up fountains of thought and enjoyment from the thirsty heart fainting on the dry dusty path of common life ? How can he know — how can any one estimate how far such refreshment of the spirit may tell on the issues of life, and influence the mo- tives of action? We do not live by bread alone, and he 80 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. who made us speaks to us through the magnificent gifts of those whom he has selected and endowed to keep the fire burning on the altar, whether they be prophets, or poets, or painters. Sir Joshua Reynolds once said of a picture gallery, that it was " hung round with thoughts :" — true ! and not thoughts only, but memories, hopes, aspirations: — not merely story or scenery represented in form, or shape, or colour, but " The sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused." — the revelation of mind, not merely as a voice — a sound — but as a palpable presence. Books and pictures are each a world, round which " our pastime and our happiness may grow ;" though as to happiness, perhaps 'tis going too far — I do not know. At all events, art is one of the best and safest, and most lasting pleasures which in this weary changeable world we are glad to make the substitutes for happiness. I remember that on entering the Bridgewater Gallery after a long absence, all things so changed within and without, I could almost have burst forth in the elo- quent apostrophe of a fellow enthusiast — " Thou, O divine Bath of Diana, with deep azure dyes, with roseate hues spread by the hand of Titian — art still there, another, yet the same, that thou wert five and twenty years ago !" Yes, there stands amid a bevy of graceful forms, fair and stately above the rest, the majestic Diana, goddess-like in anger ; — there shrinks the poor Calisto, swooning away, bowed " with penetrative shame." There in the delicious Allegory of human life, the Arcadian shepherd still listens to the minstrelsy of love, and she leans on him in all the tender innocence of the golden age; and there they sit, amid the rich unfading landscape — " Fair youth, beneath those trees thou canst not leave Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare !" There still bends in immortal loveliness and purity, the INTRODUCTION. 81 Madonna of Raphael, pausing to bless the greeting of the divine boys ; and there still in the pictures of Claude, " Earth breathes in one great presence of the spring." Though seasons have come and gone, and autumnal leaves been shed and swept away, there has not faded one tint from those blue distances and ever sunny skies, and perpetual pomp of groves, and garniture of fields ! No, they remain the same: the eye may be dimmer that gazes on them, but they are bright as ever; the slow, softening, imperceptible change wrought by Time — who lays his hand so gently on them, as though awed by their perfection* — only endears them the more to the fancy. Whether we love pictures as representations of beauty or truth, or as emanations of mind; in every province of ideal or imitative painting there is here sufficient to form the uncultivated, or enchant the cultivated taste. Yet, not merely because of the value, variety, and interest of its contents ; not merely that, through the munificent spirit of its late, and the generous and enlightened views of its present owner, it has been the most accessible of the private galleries in London, does the Bridgewater col- lection take the first rank, but its history is so connected with the history of the progress of art in England, as to render it peculiarly interesting. Of all the private col- lections, it will be found to be the one which has had the most favourable, the most refining influence on the public and individual taste. Some account of the formation and dispersion of the Orleans Gallery has already been given. The Italian part of the collection had been mortgaged for 40,000/. to Her- man's banking house, when Mr. Bryan, a celebrated col- lector and picture-dealer, and author of the " Dictionary * " For time hath laid his hand so gently on her, As he too had been aw'd." Joanna Baillie. E 3 82 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. of Painters," induced the Duke of Bridgewater to purchase the whole as it stood for 43,000/. The pictures, amount- ing to 305, were then valued separately by Mr. Bryan, making a total of 72,000/., and from among them the Duke selected ninety-four of the finest, at the prices at which they were valued, amounting altogether to 39,000 guineas. The Duke subsequently admitted his nephew, the Earl Gower, and the Earl of Carlisle, to share his acquisition, resigning to the former a fourth part, and to the latter an eighth of the whole number thus acquired. The exhibition and sale of the rest produced 41,000/. ; consequently, the speculation turned out most profitably; for the ninety-four pictures, which had been valued at 39,000/., were acquired, in fact, for 2000/. The forty- seven retained for the Duke of Bridgewater were valued at 23,130/. The recompence was fully merited ; for if these public-spirited noblemen had not come forward, and, on the mere chance of not losing by the bargain, purchased and kept the whole collection together for a time, these treasures would have been carried out of England, dispersed, or lost, instead of diffusing an improved taste through the whole country.* The Duke of Bridgewater already possessed some fine pictures, and after the acquisition of his share of the Orleans Gallery, he continued to add largely to his col- lection, till his death in 1803, when he left his pic- tures, valued at 150,000/., to his nephew, George, first Marquess of Stafford, (afterwards first Duke of Suther- land.) During the life of this nobleman, the collection, added to one formed by himself when Earl Gower, was * In Barry's works is a paper entitled " Remarks on the Paintings of the Orleans Gallery, exhibited 179s, at 88, Pall Mall." These remarks are mostly of a technical kind j more useful to the artist than interesting to the general reader. Some passages I have extracted and placed in the form of notes ; for the opinions and criticisms of such a man, whether we subscribe to them or not, are always valuable and instructive. INTRODUCTION. 83 placed in the house in Cleveland-row, and the whole known then, and for thirty years afterwards, as the Stafford Gallery, became celebrated all over Europe. On the death of the Marquess of Stafford, in 1833, his second son, Lord Francis Leveson Glower, taking the surname of Egerton, inherited, under the will of his grand-uncle, the Bridgewater property, including the collection of pictures formed by the Duke. The Stafford Gallery was thus divided : that part of the collection which had been acquired by the Marquess of Stafford fell to his eldest son, the present Duke of Sutherland ; while the Bridgewater Collection, properly so called, devolved to Lord Francis Egerton, and has resumed its original appellation, being now known as the Bridgewater Gallery. I have -already adverted to the charm and advantage which this gallery possesses, in the variety and excellence of its contents, and to the opportunity it affords for study- ing and placing in immediate comparison, not only different schools and styles of art, but the individuality of different painters, and their manner of conceiving and treating the same class of subjects. There is a deficiency of examples of the older Italian and German schools ; but from the time of Raphael, the series is more complete than in any private gallery I know, not excepting the Lichstenstein Gallery, at Vienna. To possess one Raphael, is to go crowned and crested among collectors. It is to have one's house converted into a shrine. But here — superfluence of riches ! — are four Raphaels. We may go stand before the Cartoons, till we participate in their greatness; we may come here and learn to feel other qualities of this great and gifted artist, which not less reach the heart; the full significance of that blending of spiritual and virgin purity, with the tenderest maternal love, of which the imaginative type, refined through suc- cessive painters, was perfected by Raphael. Well might Charles Lamb say that the race of Virgin-Mary painters is 84 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. extinct : — is extinct ! — was extinct, three centuries ago. Raphael was the last who painted the " Madre di Dio. ' Of his successors, some have given us beauty ; others, majesty ; with more or less tenderness, meekness, and grace: not one among them has embodied the divine. The distinction may be here seen and felt. Here, too, another great painter may be studied — Titian. But, as illustrating the Venetian school, he stands alone ; and the opportunity of tracing, in his great forerunners, Bellini and Griorgione, the influences which formed his early style ; and in his Venetian compeers and successors, the influences exercised by himself, is wanting. The beautiful " Allegory of Life" is an instance of Titian's most poetical style, and of the purest simplicity in conception. The " Diana and Acteon," and the " Diana and Calisto," are conceived, on the contrary, with the utmost luxuriance of fancy. It is lamentable that the latter picture has suf- fered so dreadfully from injudicious treatment, that the har- mony of the colouring has been nearly effaced ; yet the vivid beauty of the composition remains. The portrait of Clement VII. bears out Titian's fame in portraiture, though it is not his best work in this style. Of his brave old compeer, Tintoretto, there are two magnificent portraits. The Lombard painters are not well represented, there being nothing of importance from the schools of Correggio and Lionardo da Vinci. The Carracci school can nowhere be studied to more advantage. The great Pieta of Ludovico> is, I think, the grandest example in the world of that combination of various excellences which this painter and his scholars aimed at and achieved — fine drawing, fine colour, fine chiaroscuro, great solemnity of sentiment, with something a little too academic in attitude and effect. Turning from this, we have the St. Gregory, of Annibale Carracci ; — a picture full of technical merit of every kind, but in its cold magnificence a signal example of what the Carracci INTRODUCTION. 85 school so often wanted — depth and simplicity of feeling, and elevation of purpose. The same observations apply to the " Danae," by the same master, most admirable as a picture — as an example of design and colour ; but surely a very prosaic version of a subject which, if it be not very poetical, is very disagreeable — a subject which, in the more refined treatment of Titian and Correggio, is only too attractive. The fourth great picture, Guido's " Assumption of the Virgin," is a perfect example of those beauties by which he is usually characterised — elegance in the forms, grace and sentiment in the heads and expression, and pearly delicacy of tone. It is of his best time, also, for in his later pictures his grace became mannered, and his delicacy faded into coldness and insipidity. Guercino's "David and Abigail," the fifth great example of this school, is one of the most important pictures of this master, whom I can often praise sincerely without ever liking heartily. The historical pictures by Domenichino are unimportant, but characteristic. By Elizabeth Sirani there is here a " Magdalen," life size. I am not aware that there is any more important picture from her hand to be found out of Bologna, her native place ; though the Duke of Suther- land has also several of her graceful works. In the year 1836, Lord Francis Egerton added to his collection one hundred and fifty original drawings by the three Carracci, and eighty by Giulio Romano, which formed part, and only a small part, of Sir Thomas Lawrence's glorious cabinet of drawings, perhaps unequalled in the world.* * The price set upon the Carracci drawings was 1500/., and on those of Giulio Romano, 800/., and the sale was announced to the public in the following advertisement: — " The proprietors of the Lawrence gallery have the honour of announcing the sale of the sixth exhibition, and also of the Giulio Romano part of the fifth, to a nobleman equally renowned for his splendid gallery of pictures, and his consummate knowledge of the arts. This sale is particularly satisfactory to Messrs. Woodburn, as the drawings are very likely to be placed in a locality where at convenient days they will be accessible to artists and amateurs, and thus fulfil the desire of the late highly-talented possessor of this splendid cabinet. — S. and A. Woodburn, April, 1836." 86 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. Of the drawings by Giulio Romano, seventy-two* are mounted for the portfolio ; the rest are in frames. The only picture by G. Romano in this gallery is a very in- ferior specimen of his powers ; whereas the drawings teem with all that exuberance of imagination and energy of pencil for which he is celebrated. Some of his sketches really look as though they had come from the hand of one of those heaven-assailing, huge-fisted Titans, pictured in his own frescoes at Mantua. There is a study here of a giant about to be crushed by a rock, and other designs for the Palazzo del Te : first thoughts, full of fire and grandeur. Others have a tenderness and elegance not unworthy of his master, Raphael — for instance, the "Psyche receiving the Vase from Proserpine." But the Carracci drawings, from their number, variety, and beauty, are of paramount importance. Not more than sixty-two have been mounted on sheets for the portfolio ; the remainder are framed and distributed for the present through various corridors of his lordship's residence. These, with the numerous pictures of their school contained in this collection, afford an excellent opportunity of appre- ciating what they have, and what they have not, done for art. Their drawings, moreover, have an individuality and interest which do not belong to their pictures. The sentiment of Ludovico, and the serious devotional turn of his mind, are displayed in his designs, which are almost all sacred subjects, generally studies for the Virgin and Child. His two cousins, Agostino and Annibal, adopted his principles and his style, but modified by the personal cha- racter of each. Agostino's designs breathe the classical acquirements, and poetical and somewhat capricious tem- perament of the man. He has left few pictures, and is most celebrated as an engraver. Yet who, in these noble drawings — in the gigantic hand, sketched with a pen, in emulation of Michael Angelo — in the colossal breadth and vigour of treatment of the grand cartoon for the "Galatea" INTRODUCTION. 87 of the Farnese Palace — would have divined the engraver by profession ? One of Agostino's most interesting draw- ings is the portrait of his son Antonio, who studied art in the school of his uncle Ludovico, and after giving pro- mise of great excellence, died young. Lord Lansdowne has a beautiful little picture attributed to him, and in the Louvre is a picture of " The Deluge," (No. 935) admirable for feeling and execution.* Annibal, with less sentiment than Ludovico, and less poetry of soul than " il bizarro" Agostino, is yet the most celebrated, the most popular, and most versatile painter of the three. His drawings in this collection evince, even more than his pictures, that power and variety in compo- sition and character which distinguish him. His studies from the life, and his landscapes, are among the finest. One of the most curious and interesting is a slight sketch, the first thought for the famous Holy Family, at Windsor, called II Silenzio (Windsor Gallery, No. 121), so often copied and engraved. It would require a volume apart to analyse and criticise these drawings. I will therefore only add that the selected and combined excel- lences of the Carracci painters may here be studied and admired, undepraved by that mannered, second-hand look, which we sometimes see in their best pictures. f The " system of plagiarism" on which they avowedly worked, and which only the union of genius with judgment could have rendered endurable, is set forth in a famous sonnet by Agostino Carracci, the most accomplished of the three kinsmen. As I shall have frequent occasion to refer to this sonnet, it is given here, once for all. * There was a fifth Carracci, Francesco, also a painter, a younger brother of Annibal and Agostino, and pupil of Ludovico, whose affection and instructions he repaid by the most detestable ingratitude. This man died miserably in an hospital at Rome. t Two of the finest and most valuable of these drawings, the " Galatea" of Agostino, and the " Aurora" of Annibale, were presented by Lord Francis Egerton to the National Gallery, shortly after the purchase was made in 1336. 88 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. Chi farsi un buon pittor brama e desia II disegno di Roma abbia alia mano, La mossa coll' ombrar Veneziano, E il degno colorir di Lombardia. Di Michel Angiol la terribil via, II vero natural di Tiziano, Di Coreggio lo stil puro e sovrano ; E di un Raffael la vera simmetria. Del Tibaldi il decoro e il fondamento, Del dotto Primaticcio 1' inventare, E un po' di grazia del Parmigianino. Ma senza tanti studi e tanto stento, Si ponga solo V opre ad imitare Che qui lasciocci il nostro Niccolino." " Let him who wishes to be a good painter acquire the design of Rome, Venetian action, and Venetian manage- ment of shade ; the dignified colour of Lombardy ; the terrible manner of Michael Angelo ; Titian's truth and nature, the sovereign purity of Correggio's style, and the just symmetry of a Raphael ; the decorum and well- grounded study of Tibaldi ; the invention of the learned Primaticcio, and a Utile of Parmigianino's grace. But without so much study and weary labour, let him apply him- self to imitate the works which our Nicolo (delF Abate) has left us here." I give the sonnet as quoted in Lanzi, who calls it " pit- toresca veramente piu che poetico." The translation is that given in Kugler's Hand-book — I believe, by Mr. Eastlake. This excellent artist and critic remarks, in a note, that during the last century the names of the Car- racci were pronounced with greater reverence than at present. " The eclectic principle of these very skilful painters, so plausible in itself, had continued to influence succeeding artists of all nations who professed to follow the Italian taste; but the end proposed, as might be expected, was never again so fully attained, and the Carracci were and still are the unapproached representatives of the eclectic school. The change in more recent times, with regard to the homage paid them, has, however, been owing to a change of principle. It has been felt that, in the THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 89 attempt to combine the excellences, however great, of various minds, the chief recommendation of human pro- ductions, viz. the evidence of individual character, the moral physiognomy, which in its sincerity and passion atones for so many defects, is of necessity wanting." I should point out, as signal examples of the truth of this criticism, the St. Gregory of Annibal Carracci, in this "gallery (No. 16), the Danae* (18), and the St. John (19); also the two pictures by Ludovico (10 and 11). Lanzi mentions a great altar-piece by Annibal Carracci, in which the Virgin is in the manner of Paul Veronese ; the Infant in that of Correggio; the St. John an imitation of Titian; the St. Catherine, of Parmigiano. But if, in this predominant principle of selection and imitation, there be something that strikes us as conventional and factitious, under another and perhaps a higher point of view the school of the Carracci was not a mere factitious combination of anomalous ingredients ; it was stamped with a character of its own, and presents to us the true reflec- tion of the religion and literature of that age. That these painters, and particularly Ludovico, approached sacred subjects with some faith in their reality and significance, cannot be doubted ; yet the simple piety of the apostles and disciples of Christ was not more distinct from the spirit of Catholicism in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, than the pure religious feeling and naivete of a Perugino or a Frate Angelico from the pompous dignity and elaborate grace, mingled with a kind of vulgar conventional fami- liarity, of the later Bologna school. A pagan and classical spirit had seized upon the domains of art from the beginning of the sixteenth century, owing principally to the influence of the Medici. In the seventeenth, the church reconquered her spiritual influence over painting, but in doing so, im- parted to it " an ecclesiastical and sacerdotal, rather than a religious character." In Kanke's History of the Popes are some excellent remarks on the character and tendency 90 INTRODUCTION, of the Carracci school with reference to the church. Its affinity to the then reigning school of poetry has been pointed out by Mr. Hallam, in one of those fine passages of reflective criticism, which throw such gleams of light over his " History of the Literature of the Middle Ages." " It would," he says, "be an affected expression to call Tasso the founder of the Bolognese school. Yet it is evident that he had a great influence on its chief painters, who came but a little after him. They imbued themselves with the spirit of a poem so congenial to their age, and so much admired in it. No one, I think, can consider their works without perceiving both the analogy of the place each held in their respective arts, and the traces of a feeling caught directly from Tasso as their prototype and model. We recognise his spirit in the sylvan shades and voluptuous forms of Albano and Domenichino ; in the pure beauty which radiates from the ideal heads of Guido; in the skilful composition, exact design, and noble expression of the Carracci." Mr. Hallam adds, " that the school of Bologna seems to furnish no parallel to the enchanting grace and diffused harmony of Tasso; and we must, in this respect, look back to Correggio as his representative." I should say, however, that if we were to select among painters one only as the representative of Tasso, we should find his principal characteristics in Ludovico Carracci ; his religious and tender sentiment ; his correct and noble style ; his flowing sweetness ; his somewhat artificial grace and grandeur; his " want of self- springing invention," and studied imitation of older poets, even to the adaptation of whole lines and phrases into his own compositions.* * Just before the time of Ludovico, Bembo had restored the poetical school of Petrarch, so long exploded for an affected imitation of the classics. " The poets of this age," says Muratori, "had in general a just taste, wrote with elegance, employed deep, noble, and natural sentiments, and filled their compositions with well-chosen ornaments. " This, too, was the age of descriptive poetry. The Italians, especially of the latter part of the sixteenth century, " are profuse in the song of birds, the murmur of waters, the shade of woods; they are distin- guished by a certain pastoral character belonging to the decline of art, and INTRODUCTION. 91 Though differing greatly in personal character, these three kinsmen were all enthusiasts in their vocation. Ludovico, who began life a slow, thoughtful, melancholy boy, (it was said of him, while he studied in the atelier of Fontana, that " he was more fit to grind colours than to use them,") early conceived and deliberately pursued, through his whole career, one lofty aim — that of restoring his art from the degraded state into which it had fallen in the hands of the mannerists*. He associated his cousins, Agostino and Annibal, in his views; and when he was seized with doubts and fears, and had nearly sunk under the opposition and vituperation of his adver- saries, they, though inferior to himself, encouraged and supported him. Lanzi says expressly, that if Annibal and Agostino had fallen into other hands, they might have been painters, but that painting through their means would never have advanced one step. It is also too true that Agostino and Annibal have left certain works which shew that they could prostitute their art most disgracefully and heathen- ishly. The mind of Ludovico was higher pitched. The three together pursued one purpose, united, yet emulous of each other : they breathed a new life into art ; they gave to it an impress, which it retained through two centuries. Their scholars and imitators were patronised and enriched ; they themselves " scorned delights, and lived laborious days and it appears that all three died unmarried, ill remunerated, and poor. great attention to the secondary and seducing beauties of style." How com- pletely this spirit was reflected in the school of landscape painting which sprung up in Italy at this time, is exemplified by the Carracci and their immediate fol- lowers — Grimani, Paul Brill, Claude, Poussin. The critic adds, in speaking of the beauties of Italian poets of the same period — "They have something of the voluptuous charm of the evening ; unfortunately, they generally presage a dull twilight or thick darkness of creative poetry," which sentence seems to me to complete the parallel. Vide " Hallam's Literature of the Middle Ages," vol. ii., ch. v. * The degenerate imitators of Michel Angelo and Raphael, who swarmed at Florence, Rome and elsewhere, everywhere but at Venice, from about 1560 to 1600. One of the best of them, and distinguished by his violent opposition to the Carracci, was Giuseppe Cesare d'Arpino. 92 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. Nicolo Poussin is another painter whose noble genius maybe here appreciated. The series of "The Seven Sacra- ments," and the " Moses striking the Rock," rank among the most renowned of his works. Weak and hard as he sometimes is as a colourist, how rich and true are some of the groups in this last picture ! Always this painter leaves me impressed with the triumph of mind over material : in his works, whether landscape or history, it is the presence of thought awakening thought which characterises him. Of the Flemish and Dutch schools, all the pictures are most select and characteristic. Though I can never bring before me Vandyck's " Madonna" but as a portrait of a beautiful woman with her child on her knee, it is not the less a most admirable picture. The little historical picture by Rubens affords an opportunity of contrasting him with the Italian school. Rembrandt has seldom been more poetical in his own way than in " The Prophetess Hannah and her son Samuel." There are here eight pictures by Teniers, of which the " Seigneur du Village" is considered a chef cCceuvre ; and of the other great painter of Dutch humour, Jan Steen — we have here " The Schoolmaster," likewise a chef d'ceuvre. It appears to me that one great difference between these two wonderful men consists in this : — that while Teniers always conveys to you an impression of his own superiority to the sort of life he represents, he imparts to you the same feeling — that of an amused spectator of the rustic revels, not a partaker in the feast. I must add, that I never saw a picture of Teniers in which the unequalled workmanship did not claim a large part of my admiration and attention, it is so wondrously felicitous and animated. But J an Steen makes you feel as when reading the Jolly Beggars of Burns — a sort of uproarious, frolicksome, reeling sympathy with the broad fun and reckless enjoyment going forward; and his execution — free, mellow, unctuous, and without pretension — harmonises with his subjects. The "Schoolmaster" is not a INTRODUCTION. 93 picture of revelry, but something better still, and quite un- forgetable: not unlike Burns, too, in the simplicity of the sentiment, blended with truth and humour of detail. Gerard Douw, Metzu, Mieris, and the other exquisite finishers of the Dutch school, are all to be found here. By the first, an Interior with his own Portrait — a renowned picture; and before quitting these miracles of skill, I must mention one picture which should be studied as perfect in its way — the " Girl Sewing," by Nicholas Maas. I was never more impressed by the power there is in nature and in art to dignify the homely and common-place, than when looking on this little picture. It is like J an Steen's " School- master," unforgetable. Then how rich in landscapes is this gallery — and almost every picture, in every style, a chef oVceuvre! The three Claudes are all celebrated. The picture by Cuyp appears to me as a production of art, and in all that the painter intended and achieved, quite equal to Claude. There is too generally a kind of built-up magnificence in the land- scapes of the Carracci school, as if the mountains and trees were put together to make scenery, as in a theatre, which does not quite please my own particular fancy. Dearer to me Gaspar, with his rich umbrageous woods, his " Selve amene e beate" and Hobbema andRuysdaal. The visitor may look round, and compare, and choose. And here are Berghem, Both, Wouvermanns, and all the rest of the Dutch {ancy-paysagistes, brilliant as cut gems — nature too elabo- rately fashioned into art — but beautiful notwithstanding, sparkling to the fancy as to the eye. Another attraction of this Gallery, is the opportunity it affords of studying some rare painters, seldom found even in public collections, except in those of their native places. The " St. John," by Luis de Vargas, shows that the great gusto of the Florentine school had wandered into Spain, though overpowered soon after by the inveterate naturalism 94 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. of the Seville school. Lorenzo Lotto, the Venetian, is also little known, and his picture here is an interesting evidence of the extensive influence which Giorgione (young as he was when he died, heart-broken, they say, because Morto da Feltre had carried off his mistress^) exercised on the painters of his time ; and here is an exquisite little portrait by Ary de Voys, and a picture by Schagen, and a " St. Joseph" by Moreelze. These are names we sometimes meet with, and it is always interesting to an amateur to be able to associate with these names some definite idea of the individual style and power, instead of those vague and com- mon-place descriptions in catalogues and biographies, which seldom take hold of the memory. But this gallery has yet another attraction, owing prin- cipally to the taste of its present possessor; it contains some excellent works of modern English painters. Near to the famous " Rising of the Gale," by Yander Yelde, hangs the " Gale at Sea," by Turner, not less sublime, not less true to the grandeur and the modesty of nature — that modesty which in his later works he has so wildly overstepped; and by Edwin Landseer, the beautiful original of a com- position which the art of the engraver has made familiar to the eye, the " Return of the Hawking Party," a picture which has all the romance of poetry and the antique time, and all the charm and value of a family picture. Nor can I pass, without particular notice, one of the most celebrated productions of the modern French his- torical school — " Charles I. in the Guard Room," by Paul Delaroche. A truly grand picture, which Lord Francis Egerton has added to the gallery since 1838. It would be pleasant to go on thus, abandoning parti- cular criticism for general reflection, yielding up the mind to all the associations, and comparisons, and reveries, which suggest themselves to the spirit which, thankfully contem- plative, wanders, though it be in memory only, through THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 95 this Paradise of art. But time and space are limited : we turn to leave, and turning, pause once more before the Madonna del Passeggio: — " How shall we part, and whither wander down Into a lower world? How shall we breathe in other air, Less pure, accustomed to immortal fruits?" Etaltan, J*>pantel), antf dfrmcfj 39amta*£L ALBANO (Francesco), b. 1578 ; d. 1660. Studied under Guido. Bologna S. [A painter who without one element of strength or greatness, one touch of true or earnest feeling, painted agreeable pictures, in which the slender graceful figures, have all a pretty pastoral air: the landscapes are pleasing, airy, and arcadian ; the colouring tender and brilliant. His faults are a total want of mind and variety in concep- tion, and the most wearying insipidity and uniformity in form and in expression. Hence it is that some of his mythological subjects, his Nymphs and Cupids, Oreads, and Dryads of the grove, are some- times very charming ; his scripture pieces generally intolerable ; and, on the whole, excepting Vander Werf, I know not any painter of celebrity with whom one becomes so quickly and so easily satiated as with Albano.] 1 Salmacis and Hermaphroditus. — The landscape rather dark. In the Orleans gallery since 1721 ; previously in the possession of the Abbe de Camps. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 60 guineas. C. 1 ft. 6 J in. by 2 ft. 4 in. 2 A Holy Family. — The Virgin seated in a landscape. She holds the infant Christ on her right arm; behind the infant are two angels kneeling. St. Joseph, leaning on an antique pedestal, ornamented with bas-reliefs, which repre- sent a woman giving children some drink from a cup. For Albano, excellent. In the Orleans gallery, since 1721; previously in the possession of M. de Nancre. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater. C. 1 ft. 10 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. 96 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. ALESSANDRO VERONESE (Turchi), b. 1580; d. 1650.* [A Venetian painter, who painted small historical subjects in a clever, finished, but spiritless style. He is the Italian Vander Werf.] 3 Joseph and Potiphar's Wife. — A small picture on black marble, very brilliant and finished, but as usual, cold in conception, mannered and licked in execution, f From the Orleans Gallery; it had previously belonged to the Due de Bourbon. 1 ft. 4 in. by 1 ft. 7 in. BASSANO (Leandro), b. 1558 ; d. 1623. Venetian S. [One of the Da Ponte family of painters, of which old Bassano was the first and best.] 4 The Last Judgment. — An instance of the common- place, injudicious treatment of elevated subjects, common to the Bassano family. There is here no grandeur, nothing that belongs to the awful consummation of divine justice; but an immense crowd of minute figures in a small space, very happily arranged for effect, and highly finished. From the Orleans Gallery; formerly in the possession of M. de Bertillac. C. 2 ft. 3j in. by 1 ft. 8 in. BORDONE (Paris), b. 1500; d. 1570. [This Venetian painter ex- celled in his portraits of women, but is feeble and common-place in composition.] 5 A RipoSO. — The Holy Family in a rich poetical land- scape; finely coloured. C. 3 ft. 3 J in. by 4 ft. 11 J in. BORGOGNONE, b. 1621 ; d. 1676. [A Frenchman, and celebrated painter of battle pieces, whose real name was Jaques Courtoise, and who being a native of Burgundy, is * The biographers differ with regard to the date of the birth and death of this painter. t " Nothing can be better than the drawing, colouring, relievo, and natural air, and even beauty, of the naked parts, and nothing can be less interesting, colder, or more insipid, than the general effect of this picture, both on the eye and on the mind. The mischief of the mean, frittered, cold blue and purple draperies, and the dull, dark nothing in the background, destroy and disgust you with the two portions of animation afforded in the naked parts." — Barry. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 97 Italianised into Giacomo Cortese, and II Borgognone. He studied and painted at Rome.] 6 A Grand Landscape — Finely composed, but some- what heavy in the treatment. Such pictures of the master are extremely rare, for he was a battle painter by profession. C. 3 ft. by 4 ft. 2 in. 7 A Combat of Cavalry. The companion — 8 A Charge of Cavalry — near the walls of a fortified town. C. 15 in. by 2 ft. 10 in. CALVERT (Denys), b. 1555 ; d. 1619. [This painter, called in Italy Dionisio Fiamingo (Dennis the Flem- ing,) was of Antwerp, but passed nearly the whole of his life at Bologna, and is sometimes styled the founder of the Carracci school,* but this is hardly correct. Domenichino, Guido, and Albano, all studied under him, but quitted him for the instruction of Ludovico Carracci, whose principles they adopted.] • 9 The Entombment.f c. 1 ft. 5j in. by 1 ft. 2 in. CARRACCI (The). Bologna School. [These painters, at a time when art was on the decline, regene- rated it in some measure, and founded a school at Bologna, which the German critics distinguish as the " Eclectic." They professed to work on a system which should combine the study of the antique with the study of nature, and add thereto the different merits of the most celebrated schools ; the drawing and expression of the Italian and Roman schools, the colouring of the Venetians, the chiaroscuro and morbidezza of Correggio. This seemed to promise well ; it is just what all academies aim to teach; but the result of this system, even in the palmy days of the Bologna school, has been an inferior style of art. Great technical excellence, but a want of singleness and * See James's History of the Italian Schools. t This is the same picture which in Young's Catalogue of the Stafford Gal- lery is attributed to Daniel di Volterra. F 08 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. individuality of feeling, a want of spiritual elevation; and while their productions are often delicate, graceful, majestic, they seldom appeal to the higher faculties of the soul.] CARRACCI (Ludovico), b. 1555; d. 1619. 10 The Descent from the Cross. — Six figures, life size. The dead Saviour extended in front, Mary Magdalen supports his right arm; the Virgin is fainting in the arms of a woman, another is behind; St. John stands opposite ; above the whole a glory. Landscape background. In this picture, one of the most important of the Carracci school, the figure of the dead Saviour is most admirable.* The other figures, particularly the St. John, are academic and theatrical. The management of the light on the head of the Magdalen, is in imitation of Correggio, whom Ludo- vico Carracci studied and idolised; and the hands of the Virgin recal, in their peculiar attitude and expression, the hands of the Virgin in Correggio's " Ecce Homo," in the National Gallery. Formerly in the possession of the Dukes of Modena; in the Orleans collection since 1721. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 400 guineas. C. 7 ft. 9 J in. by 5 ft. 1 J in. 11 The Dream of St. Catherine. — Five figures, life size. The Saint is asleep, reclining her face on her left hand. The Virgin with the infant Christ appear to her in a vision. Two angels are behind St. Catherine; one gazes up at the Virgin, the other adores the infant Christ. Sky background, with cherubs. An admirable picture. In the character and attitude of St. Catherine, we recog- nise the studied imitation of Correggio. 4 ft. 3 in. by 3 ft. 5 in. 12 St. Francis. — The saint, in an ecstasy of devotion, is * " The shadows on the thighs and other parts, are too dense, sooty, and black, and in many places so much confounded with the background, as to be absolutely lost ; but for everything else, for whatever is of the highest import- ance, and gives the least value in the adaptation of form and expression, for the taste of the form, the happy chiaroscuro, the extreme and almost unique verity, the head, body, arms, nay, indeed, the whole Christ, is of the utmost conceivable perfection, whether unitedly or separately considered ; in like man- ner, the foot also, and beautiful head of the Magdalen." — Barry. THE BRIDGEWATER. GALLERY. 99 sustained by two angels; another angel is seen above, play- ing on the viol. 2 ft. 4 in. by 1 ft. 3 in, 13 A Pieta. — A small study for an altar piece, which com- bines, with great beauty of arrangement and effect, and cor- rect drawing, that refined feeling which Ludovico Carracci so often evinces. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. 14 The Madonna and Christ, with St. Jerome and Mary Magdalene. — A fine copy of the famous picture of Correggio, at Parma. 1 5 The Marriage of St. Catherine. — A small copy of the picture by Correggio. Formerly in the possession of the Countess De Foix. CARRACCI (Annibal), b. 1560; d. 1609. 16 St. Gregory at Prayer. — He is kneeling on a crimson cushion, surrounded by eight angels ; the Holy Ghost descending on him from above. Large altar piece ; figures, life size. This picture proves with what success Annibal Carracci could generalize the style of Correggio, adding to his grace of attitude, and management of light and shade, his own fine drawing. It also proves that a picture may have every merit of execution, and remain wholly uninteresting. It was originally painted by command of the Cardinal Sal- viati, as an altar piece for the church of San Gregorio, at Rome, and was brought from that city at the period of the French revolution, by Mr. Day ; exhibited in London, 1801 ; bought by Lord Radstock, and purchased from him by the late Marquis of Stafford. P. 8 ft. 8 in. by 5 ft. J in. 1 7 The Vision of St. Francis — or, St. Francis adoring the infant Christ. The Virgin holds in her arms the infant Christ, who extends his hand to bless St. Francis. The saint, half fainting in an ecstasy of devotion, is sustained by an angel. In the background, a portico of the Doric order, and landscape. In the distance, St. Joseph leaning on his ass. f 2 100 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. In the Orleans Gallery since 1721, previously in the possession of M. de Lannay. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 500 guineas. Copper. 1 ft. in. by 1 ft. 2j in. 18 Danae. — Life size. In front and on the right stands a Cupid, who, having emptied his quiver of all his arrows, is filling it with the gold which falls from above. On the left, a vase, decorated with figures in relief. In this picture there is no trace of the influence of Cor- reggio ; but in ' the colour and conception Annibal was emulating the Venetian school, in the ample form, the rich, careful execution, and the imitation of life. The background landscape is quite in the taste of Titian. Purchased from the Orleans Gallery. C. 5 ft. 7 in. by 9 ft 3 in. 1 9 St. John the Baptist. — He is pointing to the Messiah, who appears in the background. The figure is a specimen of academic drawing ; the attitude strained and disagree- able; coloured in a reddish tone; the landscape very fine. In the Orleans Gallery since 1721, previously in the possession of M. Paillot. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 300 guineas. Copper. About 20 in. by 18 in. 20 St. John the Baptist. — Figure, full length, life size, as a child, sleeping on the camel's skin, one arm thrown over his head, the other holds the cross. Landscape back- • ground, which has turned rather dark. In the Orleans Gallery since 1721, previously in the possession of M. de Nancre. C. 3 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 4 in. 21 Christ 011 the Cross. — In front, a skull and bones ; the background, landscape. Painted, as Barry supposes, before Annibal came to Rome, and while the mellow Vene- tian colouring was yet warm on his recollection. Orleans Gallery. P. 2 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft. 3. 22 Diana and Calisto. — Eight figures in a landscape. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 101 Diana, seated on some drapery, holds a javelin, and with the other hand points with indignation to Calisto, whose shame is apparent. A nymph is taking off the sandals of Diana.* In the Orleans Gallery since 1721, previously in the collection of M. de Tamboneau. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater at the valuation of 1200 guineas, f C. 2 ft. 10J in. by 3 ft. 4£ in. CIGNANI (Carlo), b. 1628 ; d. 1718. Bologna S. [A scholar of Albano, but very unlike him, ranking among the very best of the second-rate Italian masters. His finest works are on a large scale, and in fresco.] 23 A small " Noli me Tangere.' St. John, xx. 17. Christ, habited in blue drapery, and holding the spade, (by which in painting it is usual to express the mistake of Mary Magdalen — " she took him for the gardener,") gently repels the Magdalen, who is kneeling at his feet ; near her, the box of ointment. In the Orleans Gallery since 1721. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 80 guineas. Copper. 12 in. by 7i in. CLAUDE DE LORRAINE, b. 1600; d. at Rome, 1674. [Of Claude, the greatest painter of ideal landscape, I have already spoken at length.J A poet by nature, he belonged to no school, but passed nearly the whole of his life at Rome, where he arrived a poor, friendless youth, and rose to reputation by his own talent. The four pictures here will convey to the mind, what no words could express- — that imaginative power, and sense of harmonious beauty " From which his fields and groves ever renew Their green and golden immortality."] * " Annibal," says Mr. Ottley, " seems to have been obliged to his brother Agostino for the pretty group of the two nymphs seated in the corner in front, which is to be found in one of Agostino's engravings." t Dr. Waagen decidedly attributes this fine picture to Domenichino, from its resemblance to the famous " Diana" of the Borghese Palace. Some of th attitudes and heads in that picture are here repeated. t See First Series, p. 27. 102 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 24 A Landscape. — Morning. A little picture, painted with the utmost delicacy and feeling. One of his finest in point of execution: although the herd of cattle is, as usual with him, ill drawn, it contributes to the pastoral effect of the composition. 15 in. by 18 in. (Liber Veritatis, 101.) 25 Landscape. — Morning ; with the story of Apuleus, who, having intruded on the dances of the wood-nymphs, is transformed into a wild olive. Painted rather later than the preceding picture, and with rather less detail of execution. Most exquisite for the classical and poetical character of the scenery, and soft, cool harmony of the morning effect. Painted, 1657, for M. de la Garde. Pur- chased in Italy, by Sir Paul Methuen, for the Duke of Bridgewater. C. 3 ft. 4 in. by 4 ft. 4j in. (Liber Veritatis, 142.) 26 Landscape. — Evening. Moses before the burning bush. The incident, however awful, is here, of course, subor- dinate, and merely serves to give a name to a most lovely landscape, representing a rich diversified scene, with flocks and herds, wooded and rocky in the foreground, and stretching far away into immeasurable distance. It is considered one of Claude's masterpieces. C. 3 ft. 4 in. by 4 ft. 4J in. (Liber Veritatis, 161.) 27 Landscape. — Morning. The companion. The beams of the morning sun illumine the dark blue sea, broken only by some distant islands, and gently rippled by the breeze; two vessels are riding at anchor; in the foreground, the ruins of a magnificent Greek portico. The mingled grandeur and beauty of this scene is heightened by the feeling of solitude conveyed by the lonely figure of an old man, pacing along the shore, as if in meditation. The figure is supposed to represent Demosthenes studying by the sea-shore, and hence the picture has been called " De- mosthenes." One of the finest works of Claude, in the poetry of the conception, and magical beauty of the exe- cution and colouring. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 103 This picture and the last, with the famous " Morning" and " Evening," in the possession of Lord Radnor, were painted in 1664, for M. de Bourlemont, from whom they passed into the possession of Mr. Clarke, and then into that of the Hon. Edward Bouverie, who sold these two to the Duke of Bridge water, and left the other two to the Earl of Radnor. C. 3 ft. 8J in. by 5 ft, in. (Liber Veritatis, 171.) CORREGGIO, (After him. ) 28 The Virgin and Child. — An old and very good copy of the little Correggio, called the " Vierge au Panier," now in the National Gallery. In the Orleans collection since 1721. (For two other fine copies after Correggio — " The Marriage of St. Catherine," and the " St. Jerome," see Ludovico Carracci.) DANDINI (Vincenzio), b. 1607 ; d. 1675. Roman S. [There were four painters, kinsmen, of this name. The first, Cesare, belonged to the Florentine school ; the other three studied in the later Roman school of Pietro da Cortona. Vincenzio was the best of the four Lanzi, vol. i., p. 230.] 29 The Holy Family. — Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. DELAROCHE (Paul), b. at Paris, 1797. [An eminent French painter, now living at Paris (1842). He is considered at the head of the modern French historical school. He seems to have a pre- dilection for subjects borrowed from English history; besides the grand picture here, may be mentioned " Lord Strafford going to Execution," in the possession of the Duke of Sutherland ; " Crom- well gazing on the dead body of King Charles," now at Nismes ; " Lady Jane Grey on the Scaffold ;" " The Murder of the Princes in the Tower," and " The Death of Queen Elizabeth :" the two last in the Luxembourg Gallery.] 30 Charles I. — in the guard-room, insulted by the soldiers of Cromwell. Composition of eight figures in front, and four in the background. King Charles is represented 104 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. seated in an attitude of dignified tranquillity, with an ex- pression in the face of deep but calm suffering. Some half intoxicated troopers are around him, one of whom is puffing the tobacco smoke in his face ; another is raising a glass, as if drinking "Destruction to the monarchy, success to the parliament !" The King's faithful attendant, Herbert,* is seen to the right, leaning against the chimney, his hands folded and pressed together, as if restraining with difficulty the grief and indignation swelling at his heart. This last figure appears to me the finest, in point of expression and sentiment, in the picture, though that of King Charles is very fine. I have never been able to reconcile myself to the incident of the soldier puffing the smoke in the face of the royal sufferer ; and how far the vulgarity of the in- cident befits the style of high historic art, is a question of grave import, into which I will not enter here. The pic- ture, in all other respects, is admirable ; conceived with great dramatic power, and painted with consummate skill. The scene represented took place on the 27th of January, 1649, on the last day of the king's trial, and two days before his execution. Signed and dated 1838. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. C. 10 ft. by 12 ft. 6 in.t DOMENICHINO (Zampieri), b. 1581 ; d. 1641. Bologna S. [One of the most celebrated painters and the best colorist of the Carracci school. In his feeling for nature, true and earnest, but apt to be heavy : in point of sentiment and character, noble and pure, * William Herbert, who attended his last remains to the grave, and to whom he gave his copy of Shakspeare, still preserved in the Queen's Library at Windsor. ' f. The source whence the painter derived his first inspiration may be found, 1 presume, in the following passages of Guizot's " Histoire de la Revolution d'Angleterre :" — "Ace moment des soldats l'entourerent et l'enlevant de la barre, Pemmererent avec violence jusqu'au lieu oh l'attendait sa chaise : il eut a subir, en descendant l'escalier, les plus grossieres insultes ; les uns jetaient sur ses pas leur pipe allumee j les autres souffiaient la fumee de leur tabac au visage ; tous criaient a ses oreilles — ' Justice ! execution! ' " — Vol. ii. p. 409. " Les cheveux de Charles avaient blanchi; l'expression d'une tristesse ha- bituelle s'etait unie a la fierete de ses regards j son maintien, sa voix — tous ces traits revelaient une ame toujours hautaine et pourtant vaincue ; ^galement incapable de lutter contre sa destinee, et de s'en laisser abattre, touchant et singulier melange de grandeur sans force, et de pr^somption sans espoir !" — Vol. ii. p. 349. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 105 but with little variety. He seems to have had but one type for his female saints, sybils, and heroines, of which the head here (33) is a good example. ] 31 Christ bearing his Cross. — He is represented as sinking under his burden. A small composition of eight figures, somewhat scattered in effect. Once in possession of the Marquis de Seignelay (son of the famous minister, Colbert), whence it passed into the Orleans Gallery, and was purchased for 800 guineas. Copper. 1 ft. 11 in. by 2 ft. 3\ in. 32 St. Francis. — The saint is kneeling before a crucifix, in an ecstasy of adoration. His companion is looking on him through the trees ; above, a glory ; the expression of religious rapture very fine ; the colouring clear and har- monious. 1 ft. 8 \ in. by 1 ft. 3 J in. 33 Head of Saint Agnes. — Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. 34 Grand Landscape. — In the foreground to the right, two men and a boy ; in a bark on the left, a fisherman, throwing fish into a cask ; and behind him, on the bank, a woman reclining, holding flowers and a guitar ; a child, with roses in its hand, behind her ; in the middle distance, on the farther bank of the river, a flock of sheep. A grand and beautiful composition. Purchased by the Regent Duke of Orleans, from the collection of M. de Hautefeuille ; and from the Orleans Gallery by the Duke of Bridge- water, at 500 guineas. C. 2 ft. 8 \ in. by 6 ft. 4 in. 35 Grand Landscape. — In the background, a rocky mountain, and a castle at the foot of it ; fishermen casting their nets, and women washing linen in a stream ; to the left, a cascade, over which a rustic bridge, and two figures crossing it. 1 ft. llj in. by 2 ft. 8, In these landscapes, and generally in the landscapes of the Bologna school, there is, with much of grandeur and picturesque form, some- F 3 106 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY, thing conventional and mannered in design, and opaque and heavy in colour. Compare these landscapes, and those of Annibal Carracci, Borgognone and Bolognese, with the Claude and the Cuyp, which will illustrate the remarks at p. 93. GESSI (Francesco), b. 1588; d. 1649. [A Bolognese painter, pupil and imitator of Guido.] 36 A Magdalen — with the emblems of faith and mortality. 37 The Virgin at her Devotions. — Bust, with the hands crossed over the bosom; in the Guido style. C. 2 ft. in. by 1 ft. 8£ in. 38 The Birth of St. John. 10 in. by 8 in. GHISOLFI, (Giovanni), b. 1623 ; d. 1683. Milanese S. [A painter who excelled in architecture and perspective.] 39 A Magnificent Palace — and other buildings, near a sea port. 40 A View of a Triumphal Arch — and other buildings. GIULIO ROMANO (Pippi), b. 1492 ; d. 1546. Roman S. [The most celebrated of the scholars of Raphael, yet most unlike him in the quality of his genius ; full of imaginative power, yet apt to be coarse, extravagant, and sensual.] 41 The Nursing of Hercules. — Juno awaking, snatches the sucking Hercules from her breast. The action of the principal group is very awkward and unintelligible. Two boys in the background, and two satyrs, are better. From the Orleans Gallery. P. 3 ft. 11 in. by 3 ft. GUARDI (Francesco), b. 1707 ; d. 1793. Venetian S. [A pupil of Canaletto.] 42 View on the Grand Canal at Venice. — Showing THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 107 the churches of San Giorgio Maggiore, and Santo San- tissimo Redentore. 43 Seven small and beautiful views of V enice and the shores of the Adriatic. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton, at Rome, in 1840. GUERCINO (Barbieri da Cento), b. 1590; d. 1666. Bologna S. [One of the most distinguished among the followers of the Carracci ; standing, in some respects, between Guido and Caravaggio ; in his earlier works leaning towards the strong, deep-toned, often coarse manner of Caravaggio, and in his later manner affecting the lighter and more tender style of Guido. Guercino displayed often great energy and truth in conception of character, as well as powerful colour and striking effect, and now and then deep feeling and pathos,* but he is much more frequently heavy and common-place, and at times exaggerated, and even vulgar.] 50 David and Abigail. — A large rich composition ; figures life size. Once in the possession of the Cardinal Mazarin ; afterwards in the Orleans Gallery, from which it was pur- chased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 800 guineas, f C. 9 ft. 4 in. by 11 ft. The original drawing in pen and bistre for this picture is in the possession of Lord Francis Egerton. It is a finished study, of exceeding beauty, measuring 2 ft. by 2 ft. 6 in., and, to my own taste, preferable to the great picture, which is said to have been painted for his patron, Cardinal Ludovisi, about 1640. 51 Saints adoring the Trinity. — Small study for an altar piece. GUIDO (Reni), b. 1574 j d. 1642. Bologna S. [The most famous of all the scholars of the Carracci. He began by imitating Caravaggio. who was the fashion at that time, and painted strongly, and somewhat coarsely ; but taking the advice of Ludovico Carracci, he assumed a * As in the famous Ragar of the Brera, at Milan. t " A very excellent picture, and in many respects one of his best. Some parts exquisitely treated, as the head and neck of Abigail, which have the grace and delicacy of Guido : yet the effect of the whole, as a whole, is scattered, and wants unity of interest and colour." — Barry. The figure and attitude of David appear to me vulgar and swaggering. 108 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. totally different style, soft, tender, and delicate, and which was in accordance with his own nature. This manner carried too far, became at last rather cold and insipid. Of his two pictures here, the first is one of his most perfect, the last one of his grandest works.] 52 The Infant Christ sleeping on the Cross. — Background landscape. A lovely little picture. From the Orleans Gallery. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater, for 300 guineas. Copper, 8 in by 10 J in. 53 Altar Piece. — The Assumption of the Virgin. # — Life size. The figure of the Virgin, star-crowned, beau- tifully relieved by an intense glory of amber light, and cherubs around, is standing on a crescent sustained by three cherubs beneath; on either side a seraph, with hands folded on the bosom, and upward looks, adoring. Painted in his softest and most silvery tones, and one of his finest works in this, his latest manner; but it must be allowed that the extreme delicacy of effect, in a picture on so large a scale, gives an impression of feebleness. The heads have that " Elysian grace," which exemplifies the expres- sion used somewhere in reference to Guido — " they look as if fresh from Paradise." About 9 ft. by 6 ft. Purchased by Lord F. Egerton. It was for- merly in the collection of the Prince of Peace, and obtained from Spain by the Chevalier Bourke, who sold it to Mr. Watson Taylor. 54 The Archangel Michael. — Copy after the celebrated original by Guido, now in the church of the Capucini at Rome. LANFRANCO (Giovanni), b. 1581 ; d. 1647. [One of the worst painters of the Carracci school.] 55 The Vision of St. Francis. — The saint is sleeping; the skull, rosary, and crucifix before him. One angel plays on the violin, others support him. A small picture, of deep and sober colouring. * So called ; but the subject is properly an Immaculate Conception, or as it is styled in Italian art, La Madre Purissima. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 109 LAURI (Filippo,) b. 1623; d. 1694. Roman S. [Filippo Lauri painted small cabinet pictures, which are in general very fanciful and elegant. He was a great friend of Claude Lorraine.] 56 A Group of Three Cupids — buoyant in air, and en- circled with flowers, painted by Mario da Fiori. P. 11 in. by 10J in. 57 Bacchus and Satyrs, p. nj in. by 8j in. 58 A Riposo. — The Virgin and Joseph and infant Sa- viour. She is about to dress her child, attended by angels, who are preparing the attire. On copper, 1 ft. 8j in. by 1 ft. 3f in. LOTTO (Lorenzo), flourished 1513—1554. Venetian S. [Originally a scholar of Bellini ; he imitated first Giorgione, and afterwards studied the style of Lionardo da Vinci. These different influences appear in his different pictures.] 59 The Virgin and Child — with four saints; figures half- length. LUINI (Bernardino), b. about 1480 ; d. after 1530. Milanese. [The best scholar of Lionardo da Vinci, to whom his works are often attributed.] 60 A beautiful Female Head — looking off to the right. From the Orleans Gallery, where it was attributed to Lionardo. 13 in. by 9| in. MOLA (Gian-Battista), b. 1620; d. 1661. Roman S. [A painter of whom little is known, and, according to Lanzi, not of the same family as his more celebrated namesake, Pier Francesco Mola, but a Frenchman by birth, who studied under Albano.*] 61 The Baptism of Christ. — An angel is removing the drapery of the Saviour. C. 2 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 8| in. MONZANI (Filippo). f 62 Cephalus and Procris. * Mr. Young', in his Catalogue, calls him the brother of Francesco Mola. t I find this name in no authority which 1 have had the means of consulting. 110 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. MURILLO (Bartolonieo Esteban), b, 1618 ; d. 1682. [Head of the Seville school. See Cat. of the Sutherland Gal.] 63 The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. — A spirited study for a large picture. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. 64 The Good Shepherd.— Copy after Murillo, by Alexis Grimoux, a clever but profligate Frenchman, who excelled as a copyist, and died in 1740. This picture had the re- putation of being the original, till the arrival in England of the real Murillo, formerly in the collection of Sir Simon Clarke, from which it was sold to Baron Rothschild for 3900 guineas. ONORIO (MARIANI, or MARINARI), b. 1627 ; d. 1715. Flo- rentine S. [A relation and scholar of Carlo Dolce.] 65 The Salvator Mundi — a youthful Christ, half-length, holding a globe. 66 The Holy Virgin — with a book in her hand. Both octagon, on copper, 9j in. by 7 J in. PALMA (Vecchio), fl. 1515— 1545. Venetians. [Cotemporary with Titian, and, like him, formed by the works of Bellini and Giorgione.] 67 A Doge of Venice. — Figure three quarters, seated in an armchair, holding his gloves in his left hand; the background a crimson curtain. Formerly in the collection of Queen Christina, from whom it passed into the Orleans Gallery. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 400 guineas. C. 3 ft. 10 in. by 3 ft. 1 in. 68 A RipoSO. — The Holy Family in a landscape; a shep- herd and a lamb are near.* Deep, beautiful colour. 2 ft. by 3 ft. * The shepherd is probably St. John, who, in the older Venetian pictures, is often represented as a youth or man, while the Saviour is represented as an infant. See No. 5, the Riposo of Paris Bordone. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. Ill 69 A Holy Family.— St. John caressing the infant Sa- viour; St. Joseph asleep; in the foreground, two rabbits- In treatment and colouring, very like Titian. 3 ft. 2 in. by 3 ft. 8 in. According to Dr. Waagen, these two pictures are not by Palnia Vecchio, though certainly Venetian, and of his time. PANNINI (Giampolo), b. 1691 ; d. 1758. Roman S. [An admi- rable painter of architecture and perspective, in which he introduced figures and other accessories with great taste and skill. The two great pictures here are considered his masterpieces.] 70 The Piazza — in front of St. Peter's, with the carriage of the Pope, Benedict XIV., attended by the carriages of the Cardinals, Nobles, and Foreign Ministers, and a vast crowd of attendants and spectators on foot. Signed and dated 1756. 71 Interior — A lofty apartment, round which are hung views of all the most celebrated antique edifices and ruins in Rome. In front Pannini himself is represented copy- ing the Nozze Aldobrandini. Purchased by Lord F. Egerton at Rome, in 1840. C. 5 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft. 3 in. each. PARMIGIANO (Francesco Mazzuoli), b. at Parma, 1503 ; d. 1540. [See the Sutherland and Grosvenor Galleries.] 72 Cupid shaping his Bow. — A repetition of a cele- brated subject, of which the original is in the gallery at Vienna, and painted, it is said, for the Chevalier Bayard. I know not in painting a happier version of the antique spirit than this figure.* In the Orleans Gallery since 1721; previously in the collection of Christina of Sweden and in the Bracciano Gallery. Set apart for the Duke of Bridgewater, at 700 guineas. C. 4 ft. 5f in. by 2 ft. 5 in. * " This Cupid has all the excellence that can be wished for, as to the gusto, purity, vigour, drawing, and relievo, without any exaggeration of grace or sen- timent, and seems to want nothing but a variety and harmony resulting from a background more connected with the other parts than can be afforded by the dull, uniform, dark mass of nothing upon which Cupid and the two heads are stuck." — Barry. 112 THE BRIDGEWATEEt GALLERY. 73 The Virgin, with Christ, St. John, and the Magdalen. — St. John caresses the infant Christ, who is seated on the knee of the Virgin. Grace is one of the characteristics of Parmigiano, yet in this picture the Virgin is stiff, and almost ugly. P. 2 ft. 5j in. by 2 ft. 2 in. PAUL VERONESE (Paolo Cagliari), b. 1530; d. 1588. Venetians. [In that scenic and decorative representation of historical and sacred subjects, which Sir Joshua Reynolds called the " ornamental style," this painter had no equal. Magnificence is his characteristic ; but with a luxury of fancy in design and colour, which only Rubens has emulated, there is more dignity than in the Flemish painter. The pictures here do not fully illustrate his most striking characteristics.] 74 The Judgment of Solomon. — Composition of twenty-one figures. From the Orleans Gallery ; 60 guineas. C. 6 ft. by 8 ft. 9 in. 75 Venus bewailing the Death of Adonis.— Figures, life. size. From the Orleans Gallery, formerly in the col- lection of Queen Christina ; purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater at 150 guineas. C. 4 ft. 9 J in. by 5 ft. 7. PERUZZI (Baldassare), b. 1481 ; d. 1536. School of Raphael. [He was a famous painter in fresco and perspective. His archi- tectural and scenic effects were perfect illusions, and deceived even Titian. His small easel pictures are very rare.] 76 The Wise Men's Offering. — Small composition ; nineteen figures in front, others in the background. In the centre, a Corinthian portico, through which we per- ceive a mountainous landscape ; the Virgin seated, holding the infant Christ ; St. Joseph near her, on the left ; the three kings, with their attendants, occupy the foreground ; one of the magi is kneeling and presenting gifts. On a mountain in the background, the three kings are seen re- turning, and to the left, the shepherds are approaching ; thus uniting the three periods of time in the same picture. This is a licence on which much criticism has been ex- pended; but it appears to me, on just grounds, admissible, THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 113 particularly in sacred and poetical subjects. From the Orleans Gallery. P. l ft. 4 in. by l ft. 8 in. PIETRO DA CORTONA (Berettini), b. 1596 ; d. 1669. Roman S. [One of the latest and worst painters of the Roman school, who may be said to have completed its degradation by his florid meretri- cious compositions, and a sort of mechanical dexterity in the manage- ment of light and colour. Without style or feeling, he was the great, the fashionable painter of his day, patronised by popes and princes.] 77 The Adoration of the Shepherds. — A pretty little bright picture. Oval, on slate. 8 in. by 10J in. POLIDORO (da Caravaggio), b. 1495 ; d. 1543. Roman school. [He began life as a poor boy, employed to carry the prepared mortar to the fresco painters. In this situation Raphael noticed him, and took him under his tuition. He was afterwards distinguished as a painter of groups, friezes, and arabesques, a Vantique, in which he displayed a most elegant and classical taste. Charles I. had a series of small friezes in chiaroscuro by him, which are now at Hampton Court. Polidoro was murdered by robbers, while yet in the prime of life and powers.] 78 The Passage of the Red Sea. — While the Egyptians are overwhelmed, the Hebrews return thanks to Moses ; the figure of Moses being taken from that of St. Paul preaching #t Athens, in Raphael's cartoon.* P. 11 in. by 21 in. [In the style of Polidoro, and certainly of the Roman school, is the following.] 79 A Frieze — divided into two compartments by a temple in * Upon a brown ground, the outlines and lights of the figures are marked with a brighter colour, so that the whole picture looks like that coarse style of exterior fresco painting, called by the Italians " Sgraffitto," in which Polidoro excelled. For this purpose the wall was covered with a dark colour, and when * that was dry, a lighter colour was laid over it. Now, as we draw with chalk on coloured paper, so the artist took a pointed iron tool, and with that scratched his figures in such a manner that the upper coat, where he had made a stroke, was removed, and the lower dark colour appeared in his outlines and hatchings, and shewed them very distinctly. — Dr. Waagen. 114 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. the centre; on either side a procession of nymphs, who ap- pear to be approaching the temple with offerings, bearing boughs of myrtle, &c; in all twenty-seven figures. The style of this little picture is very pure and beautiful. It has apparently ornamented a piece of furniture. P. 7 in. high, by 2 ft. 5 in. in length. POUSSIN (Nicolo), b. 1594 ; d. 1665. [As Poussin was a native of France, he is claimed by the French school ; but the truth is, he be- longed to no school — or, if to any, to the Italian, in a general sense. Essentially poetical in mind, severely classical in his taste, when this noble painter failed in truth of conception, it was in subjects where the antique is out of place, as in many of his scripture subjects, which are generally treated far more in the classical than in the religious spirit. In keeping as far as possible from the common-place — the vulgar — the forced — he fell at times into the opposite fault — a cold and studied correctness. He was a man of mild and modest temper, devoted to his art, and ambitious only of the honours it conferred.] The Seven Sacraments of the Christian Church according to the Roman ritual, represented in a series of seven pic- tures. Poussin painted this series twice, with considerable variations. The first set, rather smaller in size, was painted about the year 1636, for his friend and patron, the Cava- liere del Pozzo, and is at present in the collection of the Duke of Rutland, at Belvoir Castle. The second set, on a larger scale, was executed for his friend, M. de Chante- lou. He began with the picture of " Extreme Unction," which, though the last of the series, was the first which was painted, and sent to Paris in 1644; and completed his task with the picture of " Marriage," which was sent to Paris in 1648. The series should be considered in the following order: — 80 Baptism. — Illustrated by the baptism of the Saviour in the Jordan. Composition of twenty figures, assembled on the bank of a river. St. John is in the act of pouring water from a cup on the head of Christ, who kneels before him ; the dove is seen descending from above. With this principal action the other groups around are connected by THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 115 corresponding action and expression : some exhibit all the enthusiasm of faith ; others, a pious humility ; others look thoughtful or doubtful ; others are struck with sur- prise by the miraculous incident. The figure in front, whose attention has been arrested in the act of drawing on a stocking, is taken from Michael Angelo's famous cartoon of the " Soldiers bathing in the Arno." The landscape is very fine, harmonising, by its calm solemnity of effect, with the subject represented. This picture was the third of the set forwarded to M. de Chantelou (in January, 1647). The courier to whose care it was entrusted was killed on the road. 81 Confirmation. — The scene is a spacious temple. The officiating priest, clothed in white robes, is seated on the left of the spectator, in the act of signing with the token of the cross, the brow of a young man kneeling before him. Another youth kneeling, and a girl with her hands clasped, appear to be waiting their turn. Near the foreground is seen a mother explaining the import of the ceremony to her son, and beyond these, a graceful group of women. One of these, the figure in the yellow mantle, is of remarkable and surpassing beauty. In the background are other figures, officiating ministers, and youths and maidens preparing for the ceremony. As a composition, this is one of the grandest of the series, but the harmony of the colouring has been quite destroyed. It was the second of the series completed and sent to Paris in 1646. 82 Marriage. — -Illustrated by the espousals of Joseph and Mary. A composition of about twenty-four figures. The scene is a spacious temple, opening into the city behind. Joseph and Mary, crowned with white roses, kneel before the officiating priest, who is placing the ring on her finger. The attitudes of the bride and bridegroom are remarkable for simple antique grace, and the whole picture is distinguished by it s beautiful arrangement and com- position, but, as in the former example, the colouring quite spoiled and blackened. It was the last of the series painted by Poussin, and forwarded to M. de Chantelou in 1648. 116 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 83 Penance. — The subject is illustrated by the expia- tion of the Magdalen, on the occasion of our Saviour's visit to Simon the Pharisee. Christ is reclining in a blue vest and scarlet mantle ; Mary Magdalen, kneeling, has anointed his feet with precious ointment, and is wiping them with her hair. Simon looks towards the Saviour with animated doubtful inquiry; and He, with his hand benignantly extended to the penitent, seems to say — " Wherefore her sins, which are many, are forgiven her." * This picture is not so perfect, as to drawing and com- position, as some others of the series, but the colours are better preserved. It was completed and sent to Paris in June, 1646. It appears that he received for this picture, and probably, therefore, for each of the others, the sum of 250 Roman crowns. 84 The Ordination. — The subject is illustrated by the charge to St. Peter, as first bishop of the Catholic church. Christ delivers to him "the keys of the kingdom of Heaven ;" St. Peter bends one knee before him. St. John, wearing a green tunic, is on the left ; St. Matthew, in a white dress, is pointing upwards ; the other disciples are standing round. The landscape and architecture in the background are admirable ; ~ and the picture, being painted on a light background, has not suffered much in colour. In the composition, Poussin had to compete with Raphael, and with no discredit to himself ; only, as I have already observed, his apostles are too like heathen philoso- phers. Barry remarks the taste, grandeur, and breadth of style of the draperies in this picture. It was the fifth of the set completed by Poussin, and was sent to Paris about the autumn of the year 1647. 85 The Last Supper. — The scene is a spacious room, illuminated by a lamp, and adorned with pilasters, from two of which some drapery is suspended as a screen. In the centre of a large table is the Saviour, holding the cup, and around him the apostles, reclining in the antique fashion. Judas is seen quitting the room. (John, xiii. 26.) THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 117 This is a most admirable picture for the arrangement, drawing, and expression, but the shadows are now too black and opaque, and it has suffered more than the rest. It was the sixth of the series completed, and was sent to M. de Chantelou at the end of the year 1647. 86 Extreme Unction. — A dying man, surrounded by his family and friends, receives the last solemn sacra- ment of the catholic church. A priest bending over him is attended by a youth, bearing a torch in his hand and a book under his arm; his relatives and friends are seen in various attitudes of grief and devotion. The wife holding out the unconscious infant to receive a last blessing from the dying man is a beautiful incident; the young woman abandoned to grief at the foot of the bed is perhaps the " eldest daughter of her father's house." In this picture, also, the dignity and pathos and religious solemnity of the treatment cannot be too much praised; but the effect of light, which may once have been good, is quite spoiled, and the masses blackened and heavy. It was the first picture of the series painted by Poussin, and was sent to Paris in 1644.* On the death of M. de Chantelou, the Regent Duke of Orleans purchased these pictures out of his gallery for 120,000 francs. On the arrival of the Orleans Gallery in England, they were estimated at 700/. each, and were ac- quired by the Duke of Bridge water. Notwithstanding the faults which have been pointed out, they rank among the most celebrated works of the painter. C. 3 ft. 10^ in. by 5 ft. 8 J in. each picture. 87 Moses Striking the Rock. — Composition of nineteen figures in front. To the left of the spectator, a rocky mountain, near which stand Moses and Aaron; Moses is seen in profile smiting the rock, and Aaron is apparently addressing the people, and at the same time pointing to the * " Ce tableau fut un de ceux qui lui plut beaucoup lors qu'il ne faisait que de l'^baucher; il ecrivit qu'en vieilissant, il se sentait plus que jaimais enflamme du desir de bien faire ; et comme il formait toujours ses pensees sur ce quHl avait lu des tableaux des anciens peintres Grecs,\\ manda, que ce devoit etre un sujet tel qu'Appelle avait accoutume d'en choisir, lequel se plaisait a representer des personnes mourantes." — Felibien, 118 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. miraculous gush of water. On the same side, but close to the front, are a man and woman kneeling by the stream ; the former, habited in a yellow mantle, is drinking with avidity from a vase; the latter from a cup. To the right of the spectator, and in the foreground, is a charming group of a mother giving drink to her children, while the father is returning thanks. (An exquisite repetition of this group is in the Grosvenor Gallery.) In the distance, various groups of people — some fainting with thirst, resigned or despairing ; others with the most animated expression of eagerness, hope, gratitude. This most beautiful picture — rich and poetical as a com- position, and adding to this merit, so characteristic of the master, the rarer attraction of clear, warm, and harmonious colouring — is one of the finest which Poussin ever pro- duced. It was painted at Rome about 1636, and Felibien thus mentions it in his Chronicle of Poussin's pictures : — " II fit pour M. de Gillier, qui etait aupres du Mareschal de Crequy, cet excellent ouvrage ou Moyse frappe le Pocher, et qui apres avoir ete dans les cabinets de M. de ITsle Sourdiere, du President de Bellievre, de M. de Dreux, est aujourd'hui (i.e. 1688) un des plus considerables ta- bleaux que Ton voye parmi ceux du Marquis de Seignelai." From his gallery it passed into the Orleans Gallery, with which it came to England, and was acquired by the Duke of Bridgewater, at the valuation of 1000 guineas. C. 3 ft. 2| in. by 4 ft. 4} in. Engraved by Baudet and Dambrun. GASPAR POUSSIN (Dughet), b. 1613; d. 1675. {Vide First Series, p. 27, 60 ; and the Grosvenor Gallery.) 88 Landscape. — A fertile valley, encompassed by hills. 19 in. by 12 in. 89 Landscape — intersected by a river. 17 in. by 14| in. Both of exquisite beauty — the very haunts of poetry. 90 A Mountainous Landscape — under the effect of a violent storm. From the Colonna Palace, which contained some of the finest works of Gaspar. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 119 91 A grand Landscape. — The mountainous tract in the environs of Tivoli. Two figures in front, one lying down. It has unfortunately become very dark, probably from being painted on the dark red ground which has been the perdition of so many of his pictures. 3 ft. 4 1 in. by 4 ft. 5 in. RAPHAEL (Rafaele Sanzio, or Santi), b. 1483 ; d. 1 520. Roman school. [It is as difficult to characterize this wonderfully endowed painter as it is to characterize Shakspeare ; he takes the same rank in art that Shakspeare takes in literature. Standing quite alone in the versatility as well as the greatness of his powers— unequalled in poe- tical dignity, grace, and expression, as in fertility of invention — one is as tired of tacking epithets to his name as to that of Shakspeare ; and the "divine" and the "immortal" are words which rather ex- press our own adoration than his desert ; — add the personal qualities of the man — his bright, gentle, generous spirit — his modesty, his beauty of person, his young life crowned with glory, and his early death in the blaze of his fame, which still shines on without dimness or eclipse, and shall do so while the universe endures. Be it re- membered, that to judge of Raphael's genius by one of his lovely Virgins, would be as if we measured the powers of Shakspeare — of him who gave us Lear, Othello, Hamlet — by the garden scene in Romeo and Juliet.] 92 The Holy Family — -(La Vierge au Palmier.) In a circle. The Virgin Mary is seated under a palm-tree, the head gracefully turned, so as to be seen nearly in profile. She holds on her knee the infant Redeemer, part of her veil being wound round his body so as to sustain him, while he takes, with the most naive expression of pleasure, some flowers which J oseph, kneeling, presents to him. The form of the child is exceedingly beautiful, both in the contour and the delicate modelling of the surfaces; and the figures are very distinctly relieved against a landscape background and a bright horizon. The whole design is remarkable for its pure and graceful sentiment; the adoration of the aged foster-father, the offering of the fresh flowers, the delighted expression of the child as it looks up in his face and grasps the flowers with both his little hands, and the maternal tenderness of the Virgin, all blend into that combination of 120 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. animated action and simple grace with intense devotional feeling, which belongs, among painters, to Raphael only. The gold borders on the crimson vest and blue mantle of the Madonna are vestiges of the ancient school of painting, from which he had not yet emancipated himself ; but we have also that depth of religious feeling which he had ac- quired in the school of his master, Perugino, and never afterwards lost. This picture is supposed to be one of two Madonnas which Raphael painted at Florence (in 1506) for his friend Taddeo Taddei, in gratitude for the kindly offices of that noble Florentine. The other picture, Passavant identifies with the beautiful Madonna at Vienna, which, by the order of Maria Theresa, (as I was there informed,) was brought from the castle of Ambras, in the Tyrol, where it had remained for about a century. It had been purchased from the Taddei family at Florence. The picture before us has, unfortunately suffered much injury, not only in the ope- ration of being transferred from panel to a rather coarse can- vas, but by injudicious cleaning and repairing. It was a tradition in the Orleans family (communicated by the present King of France to the late Duke of Sutherland), that this celebrated picture descended, in the course of inheritance, to two old maids, who, not being able to agree about the possession of it, actually rent it in two.* It survived this verdict a la Solomon, and fell next into the possession of the Count de Chiverni, then into that of the Marquise d'Auraont, who sold it to M. de la Noue, for 5000 francs, and stipu- lated for a copy by Philippe de Champagne, for the church of her convent (Port Royal) ; the original then passed into the gallery of Tambonneau, and into that of M. de Vanolles, from which it was purchased by the Duke of Orleans. The Duke of Bridgewater purchased it at the valuation of 1200/. C. 3 ft. 4 in. diameter. A sketch in pencil for the Madonna and Child, with the head only of Joseph, was in the Lawrence collection. The picture has been engraved many times. (1.) By * Some lover of the marvellous added, that one half of the picture was after- wards found in an inn in Switzerland, used in the kitchen as a board for chop- ping herbs ; and some lovers of the marvellous have been found to credit and repeat the manifest absurdity. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 121 Gilles Rousselet, in 1656, with the inscription, Flores apvarverunt in terra nostra. (2.) By Jean Raymond, (reversed,) for the Crozat Gallery, 1729. (3.) By Massard, in the Orleans Gallery. (4. ) By Huber, and others. I know of one copy only, ascribed to Fra Bartolomeo, and now in the possession of Count Czernichew. 93 The Virgin and Child. — Distinguished as "La plus belle des Vierges;" and by Passavant, as " The Madonna of the Bridgewater Gallery. The Virgin, half length, seated, in blue drapery, is contemplating, with the softest expression of affection, the infant Saviour extended in her lap, while he looks up fondly in her face. She sustains him with the right hand ; the left is pressed to her bosom. This picture, also, has been transferred from panel to canvas, and has suffered even more in the process ; still we have all the sentiment of the design, which can neither be obliterated nor mistaken. Nothing can exceed in loveliness the position and form of the infant. The undulating line from the shoulder to the foot is a perfect exemplification of Hogarth's "Line of Beauty." The colouring, too, is very delicate ; and though the surface has been rubbed down by cleaning, and it has been here and there visibly retouched, it has not suffered from repainting. As in the St. Catherine of the National Gallery, the impasto is so thin, that in some places the first outline in chalk is perceptible through the paint, and it is interesting to trace the deviations from the original design.* This picture was painted about 1512, when Raphael was in his twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh year. For whom it was originally painted does not appear. It was purchased out of Italy, by Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, (son of the great minister,) and from his collection passed into the Orleans Gallery, whence it was purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater, at the valuation of 3000/. This Madonna has always been celebrated, and ancient repetitions of it, by painters of Raphael's school, exist in many galleries — in the Museum at Berlin ; at Frankfort ; * Such a deviation is termed in art a " Pentimento." G 122 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. in the Palazzo Pallavicini at Genoa ; and in various Ger- man collections. The best is in the Royal Gallery at Naples., There is a first sketch with a pen in the Florence collection of drawings. The engravings are numerous. (1.) By Larmessin, for the Crozat Gallery. (2.) By Romanet, for the Orleans Gallery. By Boulanger, F. Poilly, Heinzmann, Nic. Guidetti, 1827, Bouchon, 1832, and by others. Transferred from panel to canvas by Hacquin. 2 ft. 7^ in. by 1 ft. 10 in. 94 A Holy Family. — Styled in French, " La Belle Vierge de Raphael," and in Italian, " La Madonna del Passeggio." The Virgin, standing in a landscape, lays one hand on the head of the infant St. John, who is approaching the young Redeemer in an attitude of reverence, and is about to kiss him. The action of the Virgin's hand is that of gently pressing down the head of St. John, as if to indi- cate the homage due from him to her divine Son. In the background, St. J oseph is seen walking ; hence the Italian designation of the picture. This beautiful composition of Raphael must have early attained great reputation, for there are few of his pictures of which so great a number of ancient copies exist. M. Passavant and Dr. Waagen doubt whether Jhis identical picture was painted by Raphael's own hand, and ascribe the execution, which differs somewhat from Raphael's pe- culiar manner, to Giovanni Penni (H Fattore), one of his most distinguished pupils. These critical doubts can de- tract nothing from the value of the picture, as it is the finest of the subject now known to exist, nor from the im- pression produced by the exquisite grace and saintly love- liness of this divine group. " The eager, child-like worship of the young St. John ; the dignified, yet still child-like and tender sweetness of Christ ; the soft maternal air of the Virgin bending over them, noble, matronly, and elegant, can hardly be surpassed." The figure appears to me the most noble and dignified of all Raphael's Virgins. With the exception of some inconsiderable chips in the wood, which have been filled up with paint, the picture is in THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 123 most excellent preservation. Its traditional biography is interesting. It was given by one of the Dukes of Urbino to Philip IL, King of Spain,* and by him to the Emperor Rodolph II., a great fancier of pictures in his time. After the capture of Prague, Gustavus Adolphus carried off this and many other valuable pictures and works of art to Sweden. His daughter Christina inherited it, and took it with her to Italy ; she had by that time acquired a taste for art, and this picture, while in her possession, and for some time afterwards, was defended by a glass. She be- queathed it to her favourite, Azzolini, and subsequently it was purchased, with the rest of her gallery, by Don Livio Odescalchi, Duke of Bracciano. In this collection Richard- son saw it in 1721. Soon after this period it was bought, with many others from the same collection, by the Regent Duke of Orleans. On the arrival of the Orleans Gallery in England, it fell to the share of the Duke of Bridge - water, and was valued at 3000/. P. 33 in. by 23 in. Repetitions of this lovely composition exist in many galleries. In the Museum at Naples ; in the possession of Carlo Sanquirico, at Milan ; at Rome, in the Palazzo Al- bani ; at Citerna, in the church of the Franciscans ; in the Lichtenstein Gallery at Vienna ; in the possession of Lord Scarscale. Engraved by Larmessin, for the Crozat Gallery ; by Pesne (reversed) ; by Guttenberg, for the Orleans Gallery ; by Legrand, Heath, Tomkins, Pietro Anderloni ; also a large old engraving (reversed), anonymous. 95 The Virgin and Child. — Styled La "Vierge au Linge," and " La Vierge au Diademe," and sometimes "Le Sommeil de Jesus." The Virgin, kneeling, lifts the veil from the sleeping infant ; the young St. John at her side is worshipping, with clasped hands. The ruins in the background have been recognised as those in the Vigna Sacchetti, near St. * The French folio Catalogue of the Orleans Gallery says that the King of Spain presented it to Gustavus Adolphus — a most unlikely present from the kingly head of the Catholic church to the champion of Protestantism. G 2 124 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. Peter's at Rome. This picture was formerly in the pos- session of Sir Joshua Reynolds, but how or where he ac- quired it does not appear. It is an old and very fine repe- tition of the original, painted by Raphael at Rome, about the year 1508 or 1509, soon after his return from Florence, and now in the Louvre. 2 ft. 2j in. by 1 ft. 7 in. ROSA (Salvator), b. 1665 ; d. 1673. Neapolitan S. [" Savage Rosa," as Thompson called him, and his love of the wildest, strangest, most fantastic forms of natural scenery, and of the representations of robber-life, brigands, battles, soldiers, give him a claim to the epithet. When he treated history or sacred subjects, it was still in the same strikingly picturesque style.] 96 A grand Landscape. — Jacob watering his flocks. One of those pictures which have turned so dark, that we can but lament over what they have been. Purchased in Italy, by Sir Paul Methuen, for the Duke of Bridgewater. C. 6 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 4 in. 97 " Les Augures" — a romantic scene on the coast of Calabria. A beautiful picture, differing in execution from the usual style of the master, being very clear and bright in effect, and finished with great care and delicacy in every part. Formerly in the collection of the Due de Praslin.* SALERNO (Andrea Sabbattini da), b. 1485 ; d. 1550. [One of Raphael's most distinguished scholars, who received his first education in the old Neapolitan school (that of the Donzelli), and afterwards studied at Rome, but for a short time only. His works are scarcely known out of Naples, and the best of them, ac- cording to Kugler and Rumohr, come very near to Raphael's style before 1513.] 98 St. Catherine — full-length figure. * A Holy Family, attributed to S. Rosa in Smith's Catalogue of this gallery, is here omitted ; it is not genuine, and being also a bad picture, has been put aside. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 125 99 St. Rosalie — full-length figure. Both purchased by Lord F. Egerton at Naples, in 1823. They formed the wings of an altar-piece. 6 ft. by 2 ft. 2 in. SARTO (Andrea del), b. 1448; d. 1530. Florentine school. [Of this wonderful painter it may be said, that to be ranked with the great master spirits in art, he wanted only a higher moral feeling.] 100 A Holy Family. — The Virgin seated in a landscape, not quite full-length, holds the infant Christ, standing with one foot on her lap. Little St. John, with the reed cross, is seen behind, on the left of the Virgin. 4 ft. 1 in. by 5 ft. 2 J in. ? School of Andrea del Sarto. \Q\ The Infant Saviour and St. John holding a Cross. Pur- chased by Lord F. Egerton. SCARZELLINO (da Ferrara), b. 1550; d. 1621. [Studied at Venice, under Bassano.] 102 Christ and his Disciples at Emmaus. From the Orleans Gallery. 2 ft. 2\ in. by 2 ft. J in. SCHIAVONE (Andrea), b. 1522, in Dalmatia; d. 1582. [Although this painter is distinguished among the painters of the Venetian school by a feeling for simplicity in composition and ar- rangement, and his pictures are rendered effective by the richness of the chiaroscuro, these merits hardly make amends for a general want of expression in the heads of his personages, and frequent in- correctness of drawing — faults which arose from his extreme poverty, which obliged him to work hastily, and left him but little time for the severer studies of his profession.] 103 Christ before Pilate. — Seven figures, half-length, life size. In the Orleans Gallery since 1721; formerly in the collection of Queen Christina. Purchased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 250 guineas. 4 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 1 in. 104 The Marriage of St. Catherine. — Five figures, with architecture. 2 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 4 in. (See also No. 118.) 126 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. In both these pictures the characteristics of Schiavone are strongly marked. (See Titian, No. 118.) SCHIDONE (Bartolomeo), b. 1560 . d. 1616. [The best pictures of Schidone are at Naples. He imitated Cor- reggio, and often with better success than in the example here.] 105 The Virgin teaching the Infant Christ to read. — This picture once belonged to Coypel, the French painter, who sold it to the Duke of Orleans. 12J in by 10j in. SEBASTIAN DEL PIOMBO, b. 1485; d. 1547. (See National Gal, No. 1.) 106 The Entombment. — Small composition of eight figures. The dead Saviour is extended on a stone; the figure, fore- shortened, is sustained by St. Peter and St. John. Mary Magdalen behind; the Virgin swooning. From the fine drawing and general grandeur of style, supposed to be painted from a design of Michael Angelo. The head of the Virgin fainting is wonderfully fine and sublime in its pathos. 2 ft. 5 in. 1 ft. 10 in. SIRANI (Elisabetta), b. 1638 ; d. 1664. Bologna S. [Imitated Guido ; she painted very like him, and, as Lanzi informs us, had a school of female disciples at Bologna. She died poisoned, at the age of twenty-six.] 107 The Magdalen — contemplating the emblems of her faith and mortality. Figure, life size; not quite full-length; one hand on her bosom. Very beautifully painted, but defective in the expression, which is not that of the re- conciled or the repentant sinner, but smiling, and rather insipid. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. IL SPAGNOLETTO (Giuseppe Ribera), b. in Spain, 1589 ; d. 1656. [One of the best of the Caravaggisti ; the manner of Caravaggio harmonizing with his own powerful yet gloomy temperament. He lived and practised his art in Naples.] 108 Christ disputing with the Doctors — in the Temple. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 127 Eight half-length figures, very noble and original in the conception, and excellent in the painting. This fine picture was once in the collection of the Archduke Leopold, at Brussels, the greatest part of which is now at Vienna; and how this picture passed from the Brussels Gallery into the Orleans Gallery does not appear. 3 ft. 11 in. by 5 ft. 7 in. TIARINI (Alessandro), b. 1577 ; d. 1658. [Of the Carracci school, and distinguished merely by a certain elegance of execution.] 109 The Holy Family. — -A small, delicate picture. TINTORETTO (Giacomo Robusti), b. 1512 ; d. 1594. [He united great strength of shadow with the rich, warm Venetian colouring, which combination gives a peculiar character to his pic- tures ; but, hurried away by his impetuosity of temper, his fertility in conception, and facility of execution, he is apt to be coarse, exaggerated, and mechanical. His portraits, particularly of men, are admirable, next to those of Titian, but not generally so intellectual and dignified.] 110 Portrait of a Venetian Gentleman — holding open a large book. Three quarters, in black. Quite admirable. From the Orleans collection. Purchased for 60 guineas. 111 The Presentation in the Temple. — Small sketch. C. About 12 in. by 18 in. 112 The Entombment. — Nine figures, not quite life size. The body of the Saviour is carried by four men, preceded by two women who carry torches. The Virgin swooning, in front ; one woman supports her head, another is at her feet : the whole of this principal group is full of movement, power, and rich effect. In the background, landscape; Mount Calvary at a distance. There was formerly an angel above, but the upper part of the picture has been cut off*.* Formerly at Madrid, then in the Orleans Gallery. Pur- chased by the Duke of Bridgewater for 600 guineas. C. 6 ft. 9 in. by 5 ft. (about). Vide Gallerie du Palais Royal, p. 121. 128 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. TITIAN (Tiziano Vecelli), b. 1477 ; d. 1576. [This glorious painter, having carried to the utmost possible per- fection the qualities cultivated by Bellini and Giorgione — i. e. the expression of life through the medium of colour — stands not only at the head of his own school of art — the Venetian — but for the intense feeling and true imitation of nature under every aspect, remains hitherto unsurpassed.] 1 13 The Four Ages of Life. — Youth and Manhood are expressed by the girl seated with her lover, the flutes in her hand expressive of harmony ; the simple grace of attitude in both, and the expression of purest tender- ness and innocence, render this one of the loveliest idyllic groups which art has ever produced ; there is a touch of soft melancholy, which, in the midst of life and love, seems to melt into the heart like music. Opposite to these are two Infants sleeping, while Cupid steps lightly over them without disturbing their slumbers. Far in the background sits Old Age, contemplating two skulls which lie near him, and present the image of death, the close of all. The landscape, with its rich green foliage and blue sky, harmonizes with the principal group, and breathes all the freshness and fulness of life. Never was an allegory more intelligibly and beautifully treated. The whole is a piece of poetry in the truest sense : it is like a Greek lyric or idyll; while the melting harmony of the colour is to the significance of the composition what music is to the song. Giorgione was the inventor of these poetical and pictorial lyrics, and has left several of them. Titian, we find, painted this picture in the early part of his life, for his friend Giovanni di Castelli, at a time when the example of Giorgione exercised a strong influence over him in every branch of his art.* Queen Christina acquired it during her residence in Italy, for 1000 sequins. It passed with her pictures into the Bracciano collection, and thence into the Orleans Gallery. The Duke of Bridgewater retained it for 600 guineas. C. 2 ft 12 in. by 4 ft. 11. * According to another account it was painted later, for the Peronei family, but the picture bears internal evidence, in conception and execution, of being an early work. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 129 A copy of the picture is in existence, which was in the collection of the Louvre, and there ascribed to Giorgione. It has been engraved several times. (1.) Under the title of " Tityrus and Amarillis ; an Allegory of Human Life." The inscription states the picture to be in the pos- session of Jerome Manfrini, at Venice. V. Le Fevre del. et sculp., 1680. (2.) By Simon Ravenet, for the Orleans Gallery. (3.) By Gottifredo Saiter ; and anonymous. 114 Diana and Actseon. — Composition of eight figures, two-thirds the size of life. The moment chosen is that in which Actaeon first discovers the goddess, and before she has sufficiently recovered from the surprise of insulted mo- desty to think of vengeance. The companion — 115 Diana and CalistO. — Composition of eleven figures. The moment is the discovery of Calisto's shame. The figure of Diana is here most beautiful and dignified ; the goddess, extending her right arm, points indignantly to the fainting figure of the unhappy Calisto, who is sup- ported in the arms of her companions. In the Actason, the effect is that of morning ; in this picture we have the glow of evening. Both are inscribed with the name of the painter, Titianus F., in gold letters ; and, according to Vasari, they were painted for Philip II. of Spain, when Titian was about seventy. Wonderful old man ! — when with other men the blood is frozen and the hand palsied, he lived and worked on through his own intense sympathies with love and life ! Though these pictures have some of the faults of Titian in the drawing and composition, they are, notwithstanding, enchanting, from the glow of the colouring, the animation and breadth of the treatment, and the rich poetry of the landscape. It is lamentable to see how the harmony of the colour has been destroyed — more, it should seem, by inju- dicious treatment than by time. When brought to England with the Orleans collection, they were purchased by the Duke of Bridgewa^er for 5000/. 5 ft. 11 in. by 6 ft. 4 in.* * " These two pictures are perfect studies in the Venetian art of colouring-. The figures seem grouped for the effect of colour ; the most striking contrasts G 3 130 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY, 116 Venus rising from the Sea. — Styled " La Venus a la Coquille." The figure seen three-quarters, and less than life : she is pressing the water from her hair. Sky background : the shell floating near her has given its title to the picture. The spirit of the antique, the classical, the ideal, is not here; this might be a lovely mortal woman rising from her bath. It is in Titian's earlier manner, exceedingly well drawn, most easy, graceful, and ample in the figure ; the colouring rich and deep, which, until the harmony was somewhat spoiled by cleaning, must have been admirably set off by the cold blue sky and water. For- merly in the collection of Queen Christina, then in the Orleans Gallery. C. 2 ft. 5 in. by 1 ft. 11 in. are struck out, and then a third object, a piece of drapery, an uplifted arm, a bow and arrows, a straggling weed, is introduced to make an intermediate tint, or carry on the harmony. Every colour is melted, impasted into every other, with fine keeping and bold diversity. Look at that indignant, queen-like figure of Diana, (more, perhaps, like an offended mortal princess than an im- mortal goddess, though the immortals could frown and give themselves strange airs,) and see the snowy, ermine-like skin ; the pale, clear shadows of the deli- cately formed back ; then the brown colour of the slender trees behind, to set off the shaded flesh ; and last, the dark figure of the Ethiopian girl behind, com- pleting the gradation. Then the bright scarf, suspended in the air, connects itself with the glowing clouds, and deepens the solemn azure of the sky; Action's bow and arrows, fallen on the ground, are also red j and there is a little flower on the brink of the bath, which catches and pleases the eye, satu- rated with this colour. The yellowish grey of the earth purifies the low tone of the figures where they are in half shadow ; and this again is enlivened by the leaden-coloured fountain of the bath, which is set off (or kept down in its proper place) by the blue vestments strown near it. The figure of Actseon is spirited and natural ; it is that of a bold, rough hunter in the early ages, struck with surprise, abashed with beauty. The forms of some of the female figures are elegant enough, particularly that of Diana in the story of Calisto ; and there is a very pretty-faced girl mischievously dragging the culprit forward ; but it is the texture of the flesh that is throughout delicious, unrivalled, sur- passingly fair. The landscape canopies the living scene with a sort of proud, disdainful consciousness. The trees nod to it, and the hills roll at a distance in a sea of colour. Everywhere tone, not form, predominates ; there is not a distinct line in the picture, but a gusto,- a rich taste of colour is left upon the eye, as if it were the palate ; and the diapason of picturesque harmony is full to overflowing." — Hazlit. This passage of glowing criticism is almost as fine a specimen of colouring as the picture it describes : he adds, " We are ashamed of this description, now that we have made it, and heartily wish somebody would make a better." Barry's admiration is expressed with simple energy — 4 ' One must felicitate the country on the acquisition ; at least I feel happy myself in the reflection that I am now likely to live in the same town, and to have frequent access to these pictures." THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 131 1 1 7 The Portrait of Clement VII. — (Giuliano de'Medici, elected Pope in 1523; died 1534.) Half-length, seated; supposed to have been painted in 1530, at Bologna, whither Titian had attended the Emperor Charles V. on the occa- sion of his interview with the Pope. From the Orleans Gallery; formerly in the possession of M. Amelot. 118 The Last Supper. — Copy by Schiavone, from a cele- brated picture painted by Titian for Philip II., in 1564, and now at Madrid. 119 Danae. — Copy by Partridge. VALENTIN (Moise), b. 1600; d. 1632. [A Frenchman by birth, who lived and practised his art in Italy, and is called by the Italians " Monsieur Valentino ;" one of the best of the Caravaggisti, as those are styled who imitated the strong manner of Caravaggio.] 1 20 A Company of Musicians. — Five half length figures: very spirited and powerful. 3 ft. 8 in. by 5 ft. VARGAS (Luis), b. 1502 ; d. 1568. [A native of Seville, who studied under Perino del Vaga, and afterwards practised his art in his native city. The frescoes of the Giralda at Seville are by him.] 121 St. John the Baptist — seated on a bank, with a cup in one hand, and a reed cross in the other. Life size. Background, landscape. There is a grandeur in the draw- ing worthy of the Roman school. C. about 6 ft. 2 \ in. by 4 ft. VELASQUEZ (Don Diego), b. 1599; d. 1660. [The greatest of the Spanish painters ; admirable in every style, but especially in por- traiture. See the Introduction to the Duke of Sutherland's collection.] 122 Philip IV. of Spain.— Small full length figure. 123 Portrait. A natural son of the Duke d'Olivarez. Full length, life size. Very Spanish and elegant; the head ad- mirably painted. He holds in his right hand the badge of an order, in his left hand a hat and feathers. All the lower part of the picture sketchy, and apparently left un- finished. Formerly in the collection of Count Altamira, 132 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. which was sold at Madrid in 1823. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton.* 124 Head of Velasquez. f — Extremely fine. VERNET (Claude Joseph), b. at Avignon, 1714; d. at Paris, 1789. [This French painter of landscape and sea views, studied for 20 years at Rome, and was a scholar of Lucatelli, whom he far sur- passed. His compositions are often full of poetical feeling, and his views from nature true and beautiful in the effects of light and air ; but he is apt to be heavy and cold in colour, and somewhat theatrical and conventional in his design and mode of treatment. His ships, too, are not constructed with the scientific correctness of the Dutch marine painters.] 125 A Storm . — View from the shore, looking seaward, during a violent tempest, and shipwrecked figures in front ; a castle on a lofty rock in the distance. It is too much like a got- up scene. C. 3 ft. 2 J in. by 4 ft. 5 in. 126 A Calm. — A view of the coast of Naples, with fisher- men and other figures; a calm misty morning. C. 2 ft. 2J in. by 4 ft. 5 in. ZUCCARO (Federigo), b. about 1543; d. 1609.J [The two Zuccari were second-rate painters of the Roman school, of versatile talent, but no great elevation of genius. Federigo was * The story of Don Henry Philip de Guzman, son of the famous minister of Spain, is related towards the end of " Gil Bias," (B. xii.) We are there told how the Count-Duke suddenly adopts the uneducated and hitherto neglected boy, and obtains for him the order of Alcantara : how Gil Bias sends for a tutor, tailor, dancing-master, &c. ; and Velasquez, though not mentioned by Gil Bias, would naturally be employed to paint the portrait of the newly adopted son. I have mentioned elsewhere the friendship of Olivarez for the noble painter, and the devotion of the latter to his patron, a devotion which was proved in the dis- grace as well as in the prosperity of the minister. The figure in this picture is that of a youth of 18 or 19, the countenance grave, with nothing in the ex- pression or air which bespeaks the parvenu. Gil Bias tells us that though the youth could scarcely read or write, " II semblait avoir toujours £te ce qu'il etait devenu par hazard." Olivarez was disgraced and banished soon after, and we hear no more of the young Don Henry, which may perhaps account for the unfinished state of the picture. t A fine head of Velasquez, and a head of the Duke d'Olivarez, are in the collection of Lord Lansdowne, which see. t According to Lanzi, and the best authorities. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 133 in England in the reign of Elizabeth. See the Hampton Court Gal- lery, No. 41.] 127 A Head of a Young Girl. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. ZUCCARO (Taddeo), b. 1529 ; d. 1566. Roman S. 128 The Transfiguration. 1 ft. ii£ by 2 ft. 6 in. dFlcmtel), JButd), ant* ©erman SPamttrS. ARTOIS (Jacques), b. 1613; d. 1665. [An admirable Flemish landscape painter, scholar of Jan Wildens.] 129 A Woody Landscape — with a group of figures in the foreground. The figures by Teniers. 10 in. by 14 in. ARY DE VOYS, b. Leyden, 1641. [I have not seen more than three or four pictures by this very rare and elegant artist, who painted small portraits and fancy subjects. He married, when young, a rich wife, and abandoned the practice of his art.] 130 Portrait of a young Student.— Small half-length, in a plain grey doublet, flowing hair, and point lace cravat, holding a book. Most spirited and delicate. P. 7 J in. by 5f in. 131 A young Man reading a Ballad to a young Woman. Half-length figures. P. 9| in. by in. ASSELYN (Jan), b. 1610, at Antwerp; d. 1660. [This painter studied first under Isaac Van Ostade, and Esais Vander Velde, but soon after went to Italy, and took to imitating Karel Dujardin, who, though much younger than himself, was the painter in vogue.] 1 32 A Landscape. — View on the Tiber, with a lofty bridge, (the " Ponte Molle,") and cattle and figures preparing to ford a stream, l ft. 5 J in. by 1 ft. 10 J in. 134 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. BACKHUYSEN (Ludolf), b. 1631, at Embden; d. 1709, at Am- sterdam. [As a marine painter second only to Wilhelm Vander Velde. Seep. 15.] 133 A View on the River — off Amsterdam, with seve- ral vessels and boats, among which two large mer- chantmen in full sail, and a yacht. Near the front is a small boat with four men in it, and on the opposite side, two fishing boats. 4 ft. by 5 ft. 1 in. (Smith's Cat 116.) 134 A View off the Texel — with a strong breeze and cloudy weather. A Dutch coaster, under main and fore- sails, bending to the gale, and receding from the spectator; beyond, a low line of coast. On the opposite side, a lighterman lowering sail, and in the distance, five large ships approaching harbour. Signed and dated 1670. In these effects of overcast sky and agitated water, Back- huysen excelled, and this is an example of his power. C. 2 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 7 J in. (Smith's Cat 117.) BLANKHOF (Jan Trinitz), b. 1630; d. 1670. [A Dutch marine painter, who passed some time in Italy.] 135 A View on the Coast of Genoa — during a fresh breeze. C. 2 ft. 8j in. by 4 ft. 2j in. BOCKHORST (Jan van), [Langen Jan,] b. 1606. Imitated Van Dyck. 136 Study for an Altar-piece. — The Assumption of the Virgin. In the lower part of the picture are the twelve Apostles surrounding the vacant tomb. 23 in. by 13. BOTH (Jan and Andrew), b. about 1610, at Utrecht. See p. 17. [These brothers are as inseparable as the Siamese twins. I re- member no example of a picture ascribed to one only ; but it seems generally allowed that Andrew painted the figures, and Jan Both the landscapes.] 137 A View in Italy. — A mass of rocks, near which a horseman on a grey horse, holding the reins of a mule, THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 135 and halting while another man reposes by the road side ; beyond these, another man mounted on an ass, another ass near him. The effect is that of a glowing summer evening. P. 11J in. by 14f in. (Smith's Cat 101.) BREUGHEL (Jan) [the Velvet Breughel], b. 1589; d. 1642. 138 The Conflagration of a City by Night. — Pur- chased by Lord Francis Egerton. BEGA (Cornelius), b. at Haarlem, 1620; d. 1664. [A clever pupil and imitator of Ostade.] 139 The Interior of a Cottage — with a woman nursing a child, and two other persons near her. From the collection of Greffier Fagel. BERGHEM (Nicholas Klaas), b. 1624, at Haerlem; d. 1683. [Nature, as represented by Berghem, always reminds me of a fine lady dressed to act in a pastoral, having a sort of Phillis and Cloe look, combined with the most artificial elegance ; very charming, notwithstanding. See p. 15.] 140 A Landscape.— The effect is that of a gusty, rainy at- mosphere. A hawking party of one lady and three gen- tlemen, and two sportsmen netting birds, enliven the scene. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. (Smith's Cat. 284.) 141 Landscape — A rocky scene; in front, a woman upon an ass with its foal, and a herdsman with three cows. The effect is a glowing evening after sunset : most clear and brilliant. Purchased, in 1801, for 320 guineas. P. 9 in. by 12 in. The companion picture, sold at the same time by Mr. Purling, was bought by George IV., and is No. 18 in the Queen's Gallery. 142 Landscape. — -A view over a flat open country, with a river crossed by a long bridge. In the foreground a hawking party; a lady on a grey horse, with a falcon on 136 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. her hand, being conspicuous. Cattle and herdsmen behind. This is considered one of the most charming and perfect works of the master. Formerly in the collections of M. van Slingelandt and M. de Calonne; from the latter it was sold, in 1795, for 50 guineas. P. 1 ft. 2| in. by 1 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 84.) 143 Landscape. — A river flowing round the base of a rocky hill clothed with bushes ; in the foreground, a satyr and two nymphs. Two cows and several goats are near them, and other figures and cattle in the distance. Very delicate. Berghem, though so unreal, seldom introduces mythology into his pictures. C. 1 ft. 7| in. by 1 ft. \\\ in. (Smith's Cat 283.) 144 Landscape. — Evening; rocky scenery, with trees and bushes; a broad road passes in front, along which a woman on an ass laden with sacks, and several other figures, with four oxen, seem returning homeward after the labours of the day. C. 2 ft. \ ic. by 2 ft. 7 in. (Smith's Cat 282.) BREKLENKAMP (Quilenus), fl. about 1650. [A scholar of Gerard Douw.] 145 The Interior of a Cottage — with an old woman fry- ing pancakes. BROUWER (Adrian), b. at Amsterdam, 1608 ; d. 1640. [There is an "onction" in Brouwer's pictures, as in those of Jan Steen, which shew them both to have had a thorough enjoyment of the scenes they represent] 146 A Company of Boors singing. 147 A Hilly Landscape — with a cottage, and a few stunted trees. Extremely spirited, and, in the execution and effect of light, resembling Rembrandt. The antique frame, adorned with flowers, by Daniel Seghers. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton in Russia. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY, 137 CRAESBECK (Joseph), b. about 1608, at Brussels. [This painter of low-life subjects was a pupil and friend of Adrian Brouwer, whose portrait, painted by him, is in the Louvre.] ] 48 A Peasant — dressing a wound in his head. P. 1 ft. 7 in. by 1 ft. 2j in. CUYP (Albert), b. at Dort, 1606 ; d. about (or after) 1672. [I can add nothing here to what has been already said of this most delightful painter, who brings nature home to our hearts, as he seems to have felt her in his own. See p. 17.] 149 The Landing of Prince Maurice at Dort. # — A view on the Maes, near Dort, under the aspect of a fine summer's morning. On the right a large passage boat in full sail, thronged with passengers, seems advancing slowly through the calm liquid water. On the opposite side, a ten-oared boat, in which are Prince Maurice and other persons of distinction ; while three trumpeters standing on the poop, in rich liveries, sound their instruments, which are answered by salutes from the fort and several of the ships. Two other boats filled with people, are also near, and beyond are numerous vessels extending along the whole line of coast to the opposite side of the river, where a low distant hill bounding the horizon, seems half dissolved in the morning light. A picture of wonderful beauty, and the most celebrated work of the painter. It appears to me to stand alone in this class of art. One may feel, but never describe, the mingled charm of life, and movement, and festive magnificence — the glow of the morning sun- shine — the liquid, yielding, transparent waters. From the collection of Van Slingelandt, 1785, 160/. At this time, I suppose 5000/. or 6000/. would not pur- chase it, even were it to be sold. C, 3 ft. 9J in. by 5 ft. 6j in. Engraved by J. Fittler, and by Med- land and Bailey, in aquatinta, very effectively. (Smith's Cat 12.) * I do not know why this picture is styled the landing of Prince Maurice. If it be a Prince Maurice, it is John Maurice of Nassau, who, on his return from Brazil, in 1644, brought back a fleet loaded with treasure, and was re- ceived on his landing in Holland, with great honour and festivity. 138 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 150 Landscape.— Evening; with the ruins of a building called Konigsvelt, on the right; on the opposite side travellers halting at an inn. P. l ft. 5j in. by 2 ft. 6| in. (Smith's Cat 62.) 151 Landscape — with a grove of trees, near which is a gen- tleman in conversation with peasants. P. l ft. 5 in. by l ft. 9 J in. From the Calonne collection. (Smith's Cat 227.) 152 Landscape. — View of the ruined castle of Konigsvelt, in Holland. In the foreground a gentleman on a grey horse, and a herdsman keeping cows. P. 1 ft. 5| in. by 2 ft 6j in. (Smith's Cat 41.) 153 Landscape — with a meadow, and water, cows, horses, ducks, and geese. Near a cluster of trees on the left, a woman milking. C. 4 ft. 6 in. by 5 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 225.) 1 54 Landscape. — A pastoral scene. Two cows near a rock, and a herdsman playing on a pipe. The effect is that of evening sunshine. C. 3 ft. by 3 ft. 9 in. (Smith's Cat 226.) DECKER (Francis), fl. about 1660. [An imitator of Ruysdael, of whom nothing further is known.] 155 Landscape.— View on a river, with cottages. Pur- chased by Lord Francis Egerton from the collection of Mr. Watson Taylor. DOUW (Gerard), b. at Leyden, 1603; d. 1680. [Pupil of Rembrandt. See p. 20.] 156 Portrait of Himself — when about twenty-two years old. He has mustachios, and a little tuft of beard. A cap casts a shadow over the upper part of his face, and he wears a dark grey cloak with a small white collar. It is a complete Rembrandt in miniature; the same freedom, the same style of effect, with his own delicate finish. Bought at the Hague, by Smith, the picture dealer, and sold to Lord F. Egerton for 70 guineas. P. 6j in. by 5 in. (Smith's Cat 97.) 157 A Woman at an arched Window — selling herrings to a young girl. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 139 1 58 Interior of a Study — with Gerard Douw himself seated at a table, and holding a violin. He appears to have just ceased playing, and is looking round. A globe and music book on the table, and various utensils, books, &c, are scattered on the floor. Dated 1647. One of the most ex- quisite works of the painter. P. 12f in. by 9f in. Arched top. (Smith's Cat. 102.) DUSART (Cornelius). [A very successful imitator of Adrian van Ostade.] 159 The Interior of a Cottage — with boors gambling. 160 A Dutch Cabaret — with boors regaling. Both 16j in. by 13 in. FYT (Jan), flourished at Antwerp, 1652. 161 A Mastiff Dog — chained to his kennel, just beyond the reach of his food; a picture which, from its spirit and ex- cellence, was once attributed to Velasquez : but very un- pleasant. C. 1 ft. 9 J in. by 2 ft. 1| in. GONZALES COQUES, b. 1618 ; d. 1684. (See p. 23.) [A charming painter of portraits and fancy pieces on a small scale.] 1 62 Frederick, Elector Palatine, King of Bohemia.— Small full length, in black. 1 63 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia — daughter of James I. Small full length in blue. Each 13 in. by 10^ in. I think it not unlikely that these little portraits were painted for Charles I. 164 Portrait of David Teniers. — Small half length, in black. Extremely fine. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton from Watson Taylor's collection. HALS (Frank), b. at Malines, 1584 ; d. 1666. [An excellent portrait painter, contemporary with Van Dyck.] 165 Portrait of a Woman — in a large full ruff. In the style of Eembrandt. 140 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. DE HEEM (Cornelius), b. 1623. [An excellent painter of fruit, flowers, and still life.] 166 A Fruit Piece. — Composed of grapes, peaches, &c. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton at Madrid. A variety of Fruit — grouped on a table. HOBBEMA (Minderhout). See p. 25. 167 A Water Mill — with adjacent buildings. Remarkable for the absence of foliage, except a few stunted bushes. A man is casting a net into the stream, and a woman washing linen on the steps which lead down to the canal. Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton in 1822, from the collection of M. de St. Victor, of Roan, for 112/. P. 14 in. by 20J in. {Smith's Cat 51.) 168 Landscape — called " The Woodcutters," with cottages among clustering trees. 2 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. (Smith's Cat. 2.) 169 Landscape. — A road leading to a village, of which the spire is seen above the trees in the background. In front, a cart, and two horses in a pond drinking, &c. 2 ft. 8 in. by 1 ft. 11 J in. HONDEKOETER (Melchior), b. at Utrecht, 1636 ; d. 1695. [In his limited range of art, unequalled. This man had in his nature the same sort of sympathy with poultry that Roos had with sheep.] 170 Domestic Poultry, and other Birds. HUGHTENBURG (Jan van), b. 1646 ; d. 1733. [A painter employed by Prince Eugene to paint his campaigns. In general very spirited.] 171 A Rencontre of Cavalry. — Supposed to represent one of Prince Eugene's battles with the Turks. 1 72 The Burning and Pillage of a Town by a Party of Cavalry. Both pictures, C. 1 ft. by 15 J in. THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 141 HUYSMAN (Cornelius, of Malines), b. 1648 ; d. 1727. 173 Landscape. — A woody scene, with figures. J 74 Landscape. 1 — Labourers reposing. Copper. 9^ in. by 12 in. JANSENS (Abraham), b. 1569 ; d. 1631. [A Flemish painter of great name and fame until eclipsed by Rubens : unable to compete with his great rival, he is said to have given himself up to idleness and dissipation, and so died. His pic- tures are seldom met with out of Flanders, and the one ascribed to him here, doubtful.] 175 The Interior of a Kitchen — with a woman scouring a pot. DU JARDIN (Karel), b. at Amsterdam, 1635 ; d. at Venice, 1678. [He had a style of his own, which partook of that of his ± in. by 8 in. {Smith's Cat. 664.) 244 The Traveller. — A peasant, in a scarlet jacket, with a basket at his back, going up to a woman who is stand- ing at a cottage door ; a cluster of trees beyond. Very pleasing in effect, though slightly painted. P. 1 1 in. by 9 in. (Ascribed to the Elder Teniers.) 245 Game of Nine-pins. — Ten figures; eight peasants in the court-yard of a cabaret, one of whom, in a red jacket, is stooping to throw the ball. A woman, with a jug in her hand, entering at a door in the background. P. 10J in. by 14 in. (Smith's Cat 661.) TERBURG (Gerard), b. at Zwol, 1608 ; d. 1681. [A most elegant painter of fancy subjects, taken from the higher classes of society.] 246 Interior. — A young girl, in white satin drapery — as usual marvellously painted — stands with her back to the spectator, holding a music book. To the right are two h 3 154 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. persons seated; a gentleman, in a listening attitude, and an elderly lady, drinking a glass of wine; a table, with a red cover, to the left. TILBORGH (Gilles), b. 1625. [A scholar and successful imitator of Teniers.] 247 A Rustic Wedding— with numerous figures. Iii this chef d'ceuvre of the artist, he has introduced his own por- trait, with those of his wife and child ; they are represented standing in front. 4 ft. 4j m. by 6 ft. 4 in. 248 Peasants Regaling — at the door of a cottage. VANDER CAPELLA (Jan). [Fl. towards the end of the seven- teenth century. An excellent marine painter.] 249 The Ferry. — A view on a river in Holland, with boats, &C. P. 2 ft. 4f in. by 3 ft. 6j in. VANDER HE IDE N, b. at Gorca, 1637; d. 1712. (See p. 52.) 250 A View of a Town in Holland — with a canal, drawbridge ; a boat in front, with two men in it. The figures by Adrian Yander Yelde. P. 1 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. -J in. (Smith's Cat. 24.) VANDER LEEUW. [An imitator of Adrian Vander Velde.] 251 Landscape — with a herd of six cows in a meadow. VANDER NEER (Arnold, or Artus), b. 1619 ; d. 1683. [A landscape painter, famous for his moonlight effects.] 252 A View in Holland — by moonlight. 253 A Dutch Village — and the surrounding country, by moonlight. VANDER NEER (Eglon), d. 1703. (See p. 55.) 254 The young Drummer. — The portrait of a beautiful boy, in a rich dress, and a bird of paradise in his cap; he is beating a drum; figure half-length. A most elegant and exquisite picture. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 155 VANDER VELDE (Adrian), b. 1635; d. 1672. [A most charm- ing painter of out-door rural scenes. See p. 56.] 255 A Meadow — in which are two cows, a sheep, and a woman milking. A small picture, with that characteristic air of repose which we seldom miss in his pictures. VANDER VELDE (Wilhelm), b. 1633 ; d. 1707. [Unequalled as a marine painter. See p. 58.] 256 Naval Battle. — Engagement between the English and Dutch fleets in 1666, which continued during four days, and left the victory doubtful. The English fleet was com- manded by the Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert ; the Dutch by Admirals de Ruyter and Yan Tromp. On the right, and in front, is the Royal Prince, of ninety-two guns, commanded by Sir George Ascough, Admiral of the White, which was burnt during the engagement. This picture, one of the finest and most interesting of the master, was in the Geldermeester collection, and sold from that of Walsh Porter, in 1803, for 410 guineas. C. 2 ft. 5 J in. by 3 ft. 5^ in. (Smith's Cat 219.) 257 Naval Battle. — Small repetition of the same action, under a different aspect. P. 13J in. by 17 in. 258 The rising of a Storm — off the coast of Holland. A fishing boat in front ; at a distance, a ship of war riding at anchor, and other vessels. A grand animated picture. C. 4 ft. 4j in. by 6 ft. in. (Smith's Cat 1.) 259 The Entrance to the Brill — with a light breeze. Near the middle and in front, a fishing smack under main and jib sails, and two merchant vessels are farther off on the right; others are seen in the distance. 12| in. by 14 in. (Smith's Cat 220.) 260 A Calm. — Early morning. On a tongue of land, in front, a man is shrimp fishing ; farther off, two men in a boat, and in the distance, a ship of war firing a salute. A most beautiful little picture. In the collection of the Prince de Conti, 1777. P. 10 in. by 8} in. (Smith's Cat 8.) 156 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. A View off the Texel. — A storm off a rocky shore, with a large ship of war firing guns of distress. C. 1 ft. A\ in. by 1 ft. 3£ in. (Smith's Cat. 216.) A fresh Breeze. — In front is a fishing boat, represented with great effect, in the moment of putting about in order to change her tack. P. 12| in. by 14 in. VANDER WEYDE (Roger), d. 1529. [Of this old Flemish pain- ter little is known. In the Berlin Museum there is a " Descent from the Cross," painted by him, and dated 1488.] 263 The Descent from the Cross. — A small composi- tion of ten figures on a gold ground. Hard and formal, in the style of the age; but the heads full of expression, and finished with great delicacy. VAN DYCK (Antony), b. 1598 ; d. 1641. [Scholar of Rubens. See First Series, p. 184.] 264 The Virgin and Child. — The Virgin, seen (three quarters) in a scarlet vest, with blue sleeves and a blue mantle, holds the infant standing on her knee, supporting him with both hands ; he extends his right hand to her bosom ; her countenance, with a divine expression of hope and confidence, is raised towards heaven, as if mentally devoting her child " to do the will of his Father." Brought to England about 1790, by Bradshaw Pearson, Esq., who sold it to the Duke of Bridgewater. Van Dyck repeated this beautiful subject several times. There is one at Blenheim; another at Dulwich; another at Dresden. The picture here is allowed to be the finest of all. It is to be regretted that it has been painted on panel, and that it has split down the body of the Saviour, and through the drapery of the Virgin. P. 4 ft. 7 in. by 3 ft. 4 in. (Smith's Cat. 263.) VAN HARP. (Dates uncertain.) [A Flemish genre painter ; scholar of Rubens, as it is supposed, but scarcely anything is known of his personal history.] 265 A company of Boors regaling. — Five men and two women. P. 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 6J in. 261 262 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. 157 VAN HUYSUM (Jan), b. 1682; d. 1749. (See Grosvenor Gallery.) 266 A Flower Piece. P. 1 ft. 3§ in. by 1 ft. fin. (SmitKsCat. 108.) VAN LINT (Peter), b. 1609. [It seems uncertain whether the pic- ture here under this name be by Van Lint or Jan Lys. Both painters were natives of Antwerp, and resembled each other in style.] 267 A Concert. — Seven figures grouped round a table. P. 1 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. VAN OS (Jan), b. 1744; d. 1808. [An eminent Dutch flower painter.] 268 Fruit and Flowers — in a vase placed on a marble slab. A pine apple on the summit of the group. Signed P. 2 ft. lOf in. by 2 ft. 3j in. VAN THULDEN (Theodore), b. 1607 ; d. 1676. 269 The Three Kings. — Three half-length figures, in most gorgeous apparel. Copy after Rubens, of whom this painter was an eminent scholar. C. 3 ft. 5 in. by 2 ft. 11 in. VAN TOL. [Imitated Gerard Douw.] 270 An Elderly Woman — at a window, catching fleas in her dog. P. 12 in. by 9 in. 271 The Sleeping Musician. — Seated; not quite full length. He has fallen asleep with a large jug before him. P. 11 J in. by 8 J in. 272 An Old Man reading. 273 An Old Woman reading. — Both half-length figures. P. 8 in. by 6j in. VLIEGER (Simon de), b. 1612. [An excellent Dutch marine pain- ter, who is said to have been the teacher of a greater man than him- self— Wilhelm Vandervelde.] 274 View off the Coast of Holland. — (Probably Sche- vening, near the Hague.) P. l ft. 9 in. by 3 ft. 2 in. 158 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. VICTOR (Jan), fl. 1640. [A scholar and imitator of Rembrandt] 275 The Parting of Tobias from his Family.— Old Tobit is giving him instructions as to his journey ; the mother sits by at her spinning wheel. Very simple and pleasing. Of all the Scripture stories, that of Tobias surfers least by being treated in the Dutch style. 1 ft. 7 in. by 1 ft. 11| in. WATERLOO, b. about 1618. [Celebrated for his etchings. His pictures are rare.] 276 A Road through a Wood. — A swineherd in front, C. 1 ft. 9| in. by 2 ft. H in. WILDENS (Jacob), b. 1584; d. 1644. [One of the best landscape painters of the Rubens school.] 277 A Landscape. — A river flowing through a forest; in the foreground, a bridge over a torrent. Very wild and grand. P. 2 ft. in. by 3 ft. 4 in. WOUVERMANNS (Philip), b. 1620; d. 1668. [I have already characterized this fertile and clever painter, and his brilliant, airy, animated, but artificial and rather mannered com- positions. See p. 60.] 278 Landscape — with a hawking party; conspicuous is a man in red, on a grey horse; two men are reposing on a bank. From the collection of Capt. Baillie. 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 4j in. 279 Landscape. — -Grooms watering horses at the foot of a bridge, over which is passing a cart loaded with hay. 19j in. by 17 in. (Smith's Cat 418.) 280 Landscape.— View on the bank of a canal, in which boys are bathing; in front, peasants are unloading a hay cart, and others occupied with horses. Excellent. P. 1 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. 281 The Disasters of War. p. i ft. 4 in. by 1 ft. 7 in. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 159 WOU VERM ANNS (Peter). [Brother of the foregoing.] 282 A Horse Fair. — -A woman and child seated on a log in the foreground; a village steeple seen behind. 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. WYCK (John), b. 1640; d. 1702, in England. [A Dutch painter, who came to England, and was patronized by Charles II. and William III. Several of his pictures are in the Royal collection at Windsor.] 283 The Horrors of War. — A party of cavalry and other soldiers halting before a heap of slain, whom they are stripping and rifling. C. 1 ft. 10^ in. by 3 ft. 4 in. WYNANTS (Jan), b. 1600; d. 1670. (See p. 63.) [A Dutch painter of small finished landscapes, in which the scenery is seldom interesting ; the workmanship and the accuracy of imitation, combined with a free, airy touch, and beautiful effect of air and light, forming all their merit, unless when the minute figures are painted in by such artists as Wouvermanns, Lingelbach, or Vander Yelde. In the three following, the figures are by Adrian Vander Velde.] 284 A Landscape — with peasants driving cattle on a road. C. 1 ft. 8 J in. by 2 ft. lj in. 285 Landscape. — A wooded hilly scene, with figures; two men fishing; a broken tree in front. 2 ft. 1| in. by 2 ft. 9j in. 286 Landscape. — A winding road, on which are a man and a woman driving cattle. C. 1 ft. 8^ in. by 2 ft. 1^ in. (Smith's Cat. 60.) 287 Landscape — with buildings and figures, the last painted by Lingelbach; a large half-withered tree, almost without branches and leaves, is seen in front. A picture which, from its size and varied subject, is remarkable, for VTynants. C. 3 ft. 4^ in. by 4 ft. 3§ in. (Smith's Cat. 121.) o 160 THE BRIDGE WATER GALLERY. ffilofcern (ZEnglfei), antr <&txmm painters;. — BLAKE. 288 Dead Game and Wild Ducks. — Purchased by Lord Fran- cis Egerton. BOXALL (W.), living in 1843. 289 Two Studies of Female Heads. BRIGGS (H. P.), R.A., living in 1843. 290 Scene from Count Fathom. — A wounded Austrian officer preparing to shoot a female marauder on the field of battle. An early picture of the artist, who has since de- voted himself to portraiture. CALCOTT (Sir Augustus), R.A., living in 1843. 291 A View on the Rhine. DOBSON (William), b. 1610; d. 1646. [An excellent English por- trait painter in the service of Charles I. He succeeded Van Dyck as sergeant-painter, and groom of the chamber to the King, in 1642.] 292 Head of Charles I. — Seen in profile, looking down. A spirited study. 293 Portrait of Cleveland, the Poet.* — Purchased by Lord Francis Egerton. DEIGHTON. 294 The Death of Nelson. — The deck of the Victory, during the battle of Trafalgar, 1805. GAINSBOROUGH (Thomas), b. 1727; d. 1788. (See the Gros- venor Gallery.) 295 A Study for a Family Picture. — A gentleman, three ladies, and three children, grouped in the foreground of a woody landscape, on the right of which are two youths * John Cleveland was strongly attached to Charles I., and a writer of satires, poems, and pamphlets in defence of the royal cause, for which he suffered im- prisonment under Cromwell. He was at Oxford with King Charles, at the same time with Dobson, in 1642, when this picture was probably painted. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 161 returning from the chase; and in the background a young lady and her attendant, on horseback. 296 Cows in a Meadow. HENSEL (of Berlin), living in 1843. 297 Christ meditating on his Mission. — Small full-length figure. HOLLAND. 298 View of Greenwich Hospital. HURLESTONE. 299 Armida and a Cupid. 300 A Peasant Girl of Sorrento. KNELL (W. A.), living in 1843. 30 1 Evening in the Downs. A little picture of striking effect. Purchased in 1842. LAUDER (R. S.), living in 1843. 302 Scene from the Bride of Lammermoor. LANDSEER (Edwin), R.A., now living, 1843. 303 A Dog, with a dead Stag, and other dead Game. — An early picture. 304 The Return of the Hawking Party. — Composition of six figures, containing portraits of Lord and Lady Francis Egerton, and two of their children, with attendants, horses, dogs, &c. A beautiful picture, well known from the popular engraving by Cousins. Painted and exhibited in the year 1838. LAWRENCE (Sir Thomas), P.R.A.,b. 1769 ; d. 1829. 305 Study of a Female Head, (one of the Siddons family.) Very fine; in his early manner. LEE (Frederick Richard), R.A., now living, 1843. 306 Landscape. — St. George's Hill, Oatlands, with Windsor Castle in the distance. A group of mole-catchers in the foreground. Signed and dated, 1840. 162 THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. LINTON (W.), living in 1843. 307 View on the Coast of Southern Italy. LIVERSEEGE (Henry,) b. 1803; d. 1832. [This young painter was the son of a workman in a cotton manufactory at Manchester. As a painter of scenes and groups from familiar life or works of fic- tion, conceived with great dramatic power, character, and expression, he had attained high excellence and reputation, when he died at the early age of twenty-nine.] 308 Hamlet and his Mother, in the Closet Scene. MILBOURNE. 309 A Sea View during a Fresh Breeze. — Purchased by Lord F. Egerton. NEWTON (G. S.), R.A., b. 1794 ; d. 1835. 310 A Young Lady, hiding her face in deep grief. — On the ground at her feet, a letter on black-edged paper. One of the artist's best pictures. A duplicate is in the possession of the Earl of Chesterfield. POOLE (P. R), now living, 1843. 311 Two Children at a Stile. — A very pretty little picture. RETNAGLE (Ramsey Richard), R.A., living in 1843. 312 A Landscape — representing an extensive view over an open country. REYNOLDS, (Sir Joshua), b. 1723 ; d, 1792. 313 Portrait of a Lady. Full length. RIPPINGILLE (E. V.), now living, 1843. 314 A Brigand's Wife. SIMSON (W0, living in 1843. 315 Hagar and Ishmael. — Exhibited in 1842. STONE (Frank), living in 1843. 316 A Girl and her Lover. — The subject is taken from the Lay of Elena, in Taylor's Philip van Artevelde.* C. 3 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 10 in. * This charming little picture was exhibited in the Gallery of the British In- stitution, in 1841. It was immediately purchased by Mr. Rogers, (whose ap- proving choice would stamp a value on any picture,) and by him ceded to Lord F. Egerton. The original sketch for the female figure was from the beautiful head of Mrs. Norton. THE BRIDGEWATER GALLERY. 163 TURNER (T c W. M.), R.A., now living, 1843. 317 Sea View — with a gale, and a heavy rolling sea. Three Dutch fishing-boats are near the front, and some ships of war appear in the distance. A most admirable picture, in the earlier and better manner of the painter. C. 5 ft. by 7 ft. WILSON (Richard), R.A., b. 1714; d. 1782. 318 A Landscape — with a river flowing at the base of a high hill; two figures seated in the foreground. 319 Landscape. — Niobe.* — A subject often repeated by the painter. There is one in the National Gallery, another in the possession of Mr. H. Munroe. * This picture, or rather this subject, gave occasion to a criticism, rather severe, yet not wholly unjust, in Sir Joshua Reynolds's " Discourses:" but he did not love Wilson. See his fourteenth discourse. NOTE. Since the foregoing sheet was printed, I find that two of the pictures mentioned no longer form part of this collection : — 101 The Infant Saviour and St. John. 140 Landscape, by Berghem. THE COLLECTION OF THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND, AT STAFFORD HOUSE, STYLED THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. INTRODUCTION, Some account of the formation and division of the old Stafford Gallery has already been given in the catalogue of the Bridgewater Gallery, properly so called. On the death of the late Duke of Sutherland, in 1833, the family pictures, and those acquired by him when Earl Gower and Marquess of Stafford, fell to his eldest son, the present Duke. This collection, properly the Sutherland Gallery, has been recently enlarged by the purchase of several grand and interesting pictures, and is now arranged in the Duke's magnificent mansion, or rather palace, principally in a gallery built for their reception; while the cabinet pic- tures and the Dutch masters, are distributed through the apartments. They are in general seen to great advantage, being well hung, and well lighted. I except those in the long corridors on either side of the grand hall, which are mostly decorative pictures, of no great mark or value, and are only seen when the house is lighted up. The picture gallery in Stafford House, is not only the most magnificent room in London, but is also excellently adapted to its purpose, in the management of the light, and the style of decoration. There is no colour but the dark rich crimson of the furniture, the walls being of a creamy white, the ornaments of dead and burnished gold. The length of the gallery is 126 feet, by 32 feet in width. The central division, 45 feet in length, is illuminated by a vast lantern, 48 feet from the ground; the two ends are each 24 feet in length, by 24 in height. On one side of the 168 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. central division are hung the two great pictures by Murillo, " The Angels' Visit to Abraham," and " The Return of the Prodigal Son." Each picture is surmounted by the bust of Murillo, crowned by two reclining genii, life size, bearing palms. These pictures are of unequal merit. In the first-named, a superhuman subject is treated in a most sublunary fashion ; the last, in which a subject altogether earthly and domestic is rendered sublime through energy of conception and feeling, may be pronounced, with reference to the style of art, perfection. Certainly in point of truth of expression, and in execution, Raphael himself never ex- ceeded it. Placed thus together, these two fine pictures are invaluable exemplifications of the Seville school, of all that Murillo could do, and all that lay beyond the limit of his powers — I will not say of his genius, for that I believe to have been capable of reaching at whatever lay between heaven and earth; but with him, as with Raphael, the form of the manifestation was determined by extraneous influences.* Of this more hereafter. Opposite to the Murillos, hang some of the finest pictures in the collec- tion; for instance, that wonderful portrait called " Titian's Schoolmaster," which every painter must look at with a sort of desperation; — at least I know not one who would dare to stand before it and whisper even to himself, " an- ch'io sono pittore !" I recollect only two heads which have left a similar impression of inimitable excellence and mira- * I should not think of naming the two painters together, hut that others have done so ; and, in truth, if we divide all painters into the two comprehen- sive classes, the Idealists and the Naturalists, Raphael will stand at the head of the first, and Murillo at the head of the last. To my own taste, he is far above Rubens. In the travels of the Marquis de Custine, ('* L'Espagne sous Ferdi- nand VII.") are some very eloquent and just remarks on the genius of Murillo. He says, — " Je le crois aussi grand peintre que Raphael, mais il n'est pas un aussi grand homme." " Raphael dedaigne de flatter l'ceil, quoiqu'il ne le blesse jamais. Murillo le flatte et le blesse pourtant quelquefois. Raphael a peint comme les Grecs ont bati ; la noblesse de ses ceuvres est due a la source d'ou decoulent ses idees ; et la noblesse de Murillo est due au but ou tendent les siennes." This is better far than the cut and dried criticism one usually meets with. INTRODUCTION. 169 culous truth, the Velasquez in the Aguado Gallery, and Titian's portrait of Violante Palma, in the Florence Gal- lery.* Northcote used to say, that when he encountered a poor or mediocre picture, he felt inclined to burn his pen- cils and canvas in a fit of discouragement and disgust; but after looking at one of Vandyck's or Titian's heads, he would go home and paint cheerfully the live-long day. One can understand this; but here even such generous emulation stands abashed, annihilated, and all the hyper- boles of admiration are common-place. Van Dyck's famous portrait of that princely patron of art, the Earl of Arundel, is here — much effaced by cleaning; but the Van Dycks and Titians have this advantage, that scrub them as you will, you can never scrub the life out of them. They have a tenacity of vitality which is in the conception, and will remain while a scrap of colour — an eye, a lip — survives on the canvas. I wonder sometimes how certain picture restorers can ever dare to lay their hands on such things. I wonder they are not paralysed, like the executioner when he was going to behead Mon- mouth. Some other fine portraits on this side of the room, should be pointed out to the visitor; that of the young Venetian, with his aristocratic head, by Parmigiano; " the Artist," by Van Dyck; the good Pope Benedict, by Subleyras, a painter rarely met with in England; and above these the " St. Gregory," by Guercino; and a picture attributed to Velasquez, representing St. Francis Borgia, when Duke of Gandia, at the door of the Jesuits' convent; a picture to which the story of Gandia, so well told in a recent number of the Edinburgh Review, has lent a modern interest. At the south end of the Gallery, hangs a singularly fine picture, the masterpiece of Gherardo delle Notti; another picture * Called " Titian's Flora." I 170 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. well known in the history of art, the " Muleteers" of Cor- reggio; and the great picture of Delaroche, " Lord Strafford going to Execution." At the north end, I will merely point out the " Rape of Proserpine," by Nicolo dell' Abate, the painter celebrated in Agostino Carracci's sonnet,* and of whom I know but one other example in England. It is interesting, as a specimen of a rare and celebrated master, and as illustrating the bold drawing, the poetical fancy, the pagan taste, and altogether mannered style of his par- ticular school, the followers of Giulio Romano. At this end of the Gallery are several Spanish pictures — a small one by Alonzo Cano, four by Zurbaran, and one by Ribera — to these I shall return presently. Meanwhile the reader or visitor will do well to consider them attentively, or look forward to the description in the catalogue. The examples of the Dutch paysagistes are few, but first-rate. I can only point out here, the Wood Scene, by Hackert, and an inimitable little Landscape by Van Goyen; there is no first-rate example of Rubens, and no Rembrandt. Not the least attraction of this collection, is the number of beautiful pictures by modern English artists, several of which rank as master-pieces of the respective painters; as, for instance, the full-length of the present Duchess of Sutherland with her daughter, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, which, for the dignity and elegance of the subject, and the harmonious beauty of the treatment and colouring, stands beyond comparison the first of his works. The Bacchanalian scene, by Etty, is as full of vigorous life and colour as Titian himself ; the " Day after the Battle of Chevy Chase," by Edward Bird, is one of the best and most expressive pictures left by that painter; while to the picture of " Lord Stafford and Lady Evelyn Gower," by Edwin Landseer, I might merely refer as the original of * See the Introduction to the Bridg-ewater Gallery. INTRODUCTION. 171 the fine and popular print, by Cousins, if any engraving could give the mingled gaiety, and brilliance, and softness of colour, which charm us in this lovely group. I must observe, however, that the little early picture of Wilkie is not very good as a specimen. By Eastlake there is no picture. There is a gorgeously beautiful composition by Winterhalter, a repetition of his " Decameron." But without dwelling further on isolated examples of excellence, I must return to the Spanish pictures, and as no other gallery in England to which I have as yet had access, contains so many and various productions of this school, I shall throw together here some observations on Spanish art generally, and the Seville school particularly, which may be referred to hereafter, when we have to speak of Lord Lansdowne's and Lord Ashburton's Murillos. The Spanish masters are divided into two schools, of essentially different character — the school of Andalusia, or of Seville, as it is usually styled, and that of Valencia. Of the former, the principal painters are Yelasquez, Murillo, Zurbaran, and Alonzo Cano, (whose exquisite paintings are rare, from his devotion to sculpture, in which he also excelled,) the two Herreras, Carduccio, Castillo, &c. Of the school of Valencia, are Juanes, called the Raphael of Spain ; Ribalta; his pupil Ribera, (II Spagnoletto,) &c. Of these two schools, the first more exclusively lays claim to the title of Spanish, its masters having rarely quitted Spain; whereas the painters of the school of Va- lencia were formed on the Italian models, and most of them had studied in Italy. There are in this collection, five pictures by Murillo, one of which is justly classed with the master-pieces of art; four by Francisco Zurbaran, the Caravaggio of the Seville school — one of them singularly interesting; one by Alonzo Cano; one, very fine and characteristic, by Ribera; another, very interesting, attributed to Velasquez, i 2 172 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. I can understand preferences, but I have no sympathy with exclusive predilections in art. I know there are amateurs who affect to despise, others who do really despise and dislike the Spanish school. All who have cultivated a decided taste for the spiritual and ideal painters, and the grand designers of the second period of Italian art, and in particular the cognoscenti learned in the classical produc- tions of the cinque-cento school, are disgusted by the want of style in the Seville painters. On the other hand, the " general" — the public — to whom G-ian Bellini, and Perugino, and Michael Angelo, and even Raphael, are " caviare," adore the popular and intelligible beauties of Murillo ; can understand the spirit and truth of Velasquez, and feel all the gloomy pathos of Ribera or Zurbaran. But however tastes may differ, there is one point of view under which the Spanish school is interesting to every re- flecting mind — its nationality. It is true that the productions of Dutch and Flemish art bear also the stamp of nationality; that is, they reflect truly the manners, the costume, the exterior and household existence of a commercial, comfort -loving people; but the Spanish school is national in a far profounder sense. The basis of Dutch art, whatever may be the subject treated, is the mere imitation of life through the visible and actual. The basis of Italian art, from its earliest aspirations to its latest aberrations, is still the classical; it is Greece and Rome over and over again, modified more or less by the religious and intellectual spirit of the age, and the indivi- dual character of the painter; but the basis of Spanish art is the Gothic and the Moorish, fused together by a fervid but gloomy spirit of Catholicism. In Flemish art, the predo- minant external impress is given by the real; in Italian art by the ideal; in Spanish art by the human. I can find no other word by which to convey what I mean here — the INTRODUCTION. 173 expression of life through sensation, and emotion, and passion, prevailing over abstract mind, grandeur, and grace. Spanish art, even in its highest religious form, appeals to our human sympathies, more than to our intellect or our veneration; clothes the most awful mysteries of our faith, as well as the deepest feelings of our nature, in forms the most familiar, which yet are redeemed from all vulgar asso- ciation by the intensity and propriety of the expression; and is stamped throughout with that bigotry, that mysti- cism, that earnestness of credulity, which, in the 16th and 1 7th centuries, distinguished the Catholicism of Spain from the Catholicism of Italy and the Low Countries. Its spirit is otherwise essentially lyric and dramatic, not like that of the Florentine or Roman school, epic. When grand — and both Murillo and Cano are sometimes wonderfully grand — they are grand in fragments and passages, in single heads or figures, and through the concentration of all their power, into some particular effect, some particular sentiment; in short, through intensity of purpose and feeling ; never or at least very rarely, through nobleness of conception, correctness of taste, or grandeur of form. What is called style, is not a characteristic of the Spanish painters. On the other hand, one of their chief merits, of Murillo espe- cially, is their wonderful command over the material of art, — a magic of execution, quite original and peculiar. When the Italian school was just rising to its height of excellence, oil painting had been lately invented; the best among the painters of its golden age were trying experi- ments. The Spaniards came a century later, and applied with miraculous effect the technical skill they had learned from the Dutch and Flemings. It is true they had no tra- ditional types of form and character on which to improve and refine, like the Italians ; no antiques to study. They were restricted in the choice of subjects, and a law of the inquisition forbad the representation of nudity; but they 1/4 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. had nature before them, around them — the glowing vigorous nature of their southern clime. The students in the Seville academy began where others end — by painting, not drawing. The exquisite truth of imitation — all the mechanical secrets of colour, light and shade, and aerial effect — all the dexterity of hand which the Dutch applied on a small scale, and to the most trivial and often base subjects, the Spaniards ap- plied on a large scale, and to the grandest subjects, which, let it be observed, gained nothing in sublimity by this illu- sive truth of effect — rather lost. Yet the tendency and principle of Spanish art being the appeal to our sensibilities, the skill of the execution certainly heightened this power into a kind of enchantment- — a fascination. Look at the " Pro- digal Son" here ; it will exemplify all that has been said. It is the most difficult thing in the world to describe the pictures of Murillo or Juanes, and the most unsatisfac- tory when done, for they are addressed chiefly to the feeling and to the eye; their beauties are those of senti- ment, colour, countenance, execution. They must be seen to be appreciated, engraving gives no adequate idea of them ; and for this reason it is that we see so very few engravings after the Spanish masters.* Hence, too, they excelled in portraiture ; some, as Ve- lasquez, combining the excellences of the Venetian and Flemish styles. I recollect a portrait in the Louvre, that of his own daughter, by Domenico el Greco, which I should have taken for a Titian — lovely ! As to Murillo, original in portraiture as in everything else, his style was no style but that of nature — a noble unconscious simplicity — as different from the chivalrous elegance of Vandyck, as from the " senatorial dignity" of Titian. For instance, the por- trait of Don Faustino Neve, at Bowood; and the head (No. 50) in this Gallery. * Of all painters, those of the Carracci school are best rendered by engravings. INTRODUCTION. 175 Wherever there is genius, there must be individuality, not merely of conception but of manner; and the works of the Spanish painters are strongly marked by their personal character. Murillo seems to have been, like Raphael, dis- tinguished by his amiable disposition, his serene temper, his quick sympathies, his generosity, humility, piety — nay, every virtue under heaven is ascribed to him by his cotem- poraries and biographers. His favourite subjects were those of a benign cast; Christ as the Good Shepherd, the Madonna bending to the intercession of saints, guardian angels stooping to the assistance of mortals, works of cha- rity and mercy. The tenderness and brightness of tint, the soft carnations and lucid effects which he substituted for the powerful colouring of his precursors in art, are also characteristic of the man. In the representation of beauty he has been excelled, never in the expression of counte- nance. His angels and children equal those of Correggio. His virgins, hovering in a flood of glory, " with downcast eyes beneath the Almighty Dove," are not mere symbols, (like the everlasting Madonnas of the Carlo Dolces and Carlo Marattis,) but visions, heavenly apparitions, almost palpable to feeling as to sight.* His saints are not abstrac- tions of certain Christian virtues, but men; — men of flesh and blood; men of sorrow and sin; men who have wrestled with the Evil One and conquered; men who have seen the doors of Paradise opened — who in blissful visions have held the Infant Godhead in their arms.f In the represen- tation of the monkish character, Zurbaran perhaps excelled all others. His cowled Carthusians, with dark deep -set eyes and thin lips, haggard with penance and fasting — his missionary fathers, his inquisitors and jesuits, convey the strongest idea of physical self-denial and the consciousness of * His Madonna of the Leuchtenberg Gallery, struck me at the time, and lives in my memory, as the most beautiful creature I ever beheld ; yet it has, like all his heads, the air of a portrait. t This vision of St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua, is a favourite subject of painting. See No. 22. 176 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. their holy calling. Ribera's martyrs and penitents are " strong to bear and mighty to suffer." In the Spanish pic- tures, the representations of the Saviour are generally of a painful character — he is crowned with thorns, bleeding on his cross, dead in the arms of weeping angels, or of his desolate mother. Morales excelled in the first, Cano in the second, Ribera in the last-named subject; and it must be allowed that they have exhausted the resources of art in depicting horrors. The more harmonious and gentle spirit of Murillo sought the pathetic, where others gave only the appalling ; as in that wonderful vision, the dying Redeemer stooping from the cross to embrace St. Francis.* It is, as I have already observed, the peculiar stamp of the national temperament — the fusion of Moorish and Gothic chivalry with the gloomy yet imaginative super- stition of the age, which, apart from all connoisseurship, lend a strong, a vital interest to the productions of the Spanish painters. We are constantly reminded that the land of Juanes and Alonzo Cano, of Murillo and Zur- baran, was the land of St. Dominic, of Loyola, of St. Francis Xavier, of St. Theresa. Religious art became poetry among the Italians ; among the Spaniards it became life. Everywhere we see the prevalent religious spirit, compounded of the mystic and the sensual — of extatic love-trances, and demon -tempters — of visions of Paradise, autos-da-fe, and the inquisition. f The Spanish superstition of the 1 7th century, takes us back in thought to that of the Italians in the 14th; miracles were almost as rife, and the lives of some of their painters read like the legends of their saints .J * In the Church of the Capuchins at Seville. t One of their great painters was a familiar of the inquisition. % For instance, it is gravely related in the life of Juanes, that after he had finished a beautiful picture of the Virgin, he drew back to examine his work at a proper distance, and in doing so, would have fallen back over the edge of the scaffold, if the Madonna he had just painted had not stepped out of the canvas to his rescue. Having performed this miracle, she retired back to her place. See also the life of Beccerra, in " Cumberland's Spanish Painters." INTRODUCTION. 177 Such, and so deep, was the impress of the church on Spanish art. The influence of the court did not interfere with this tendency, but well performed its part, by lavish- ing honours as well as patronage on its professors. During two centuries, the kings of Spain were distinguished by a love of painting and painters ; inherited, as it should seem, from their ancestor, Charles V. The friendship of Philip II. for Titian and Coello, that of Philip III. for Zurbaran and Carducha; that of Philip IY. for Velasquez and Rubens, and the admiration of Charles II. for Murillo, are matters of history;* their familiar and confidential intercourse with the artists of their courts, is the only interesting aspect under which history has represented these bigoted and degenerate princes. My acquaintance with Spanish literature is too limited to enable me to point out its affinity with Spanish art. As far as I can judge, the poet^ -^^Spain have never been illustrated by her painters ; her fflRpsfri ^owe little or nothing to her poets. Calderon was the cotemporary of Murillo, and the intimate friend of Alonzo Cano;f and his mystic and religious comedies are very like the Spanish pic- tures in conception, but not in treatment. Nothing can be more simple than the style of treatment in the Seville school; Murillo's sins against good taste are frequent, but never those of exaggeration or affectation: the reverse is the general character of the Spanish literature of that time. I never saw nor heard of a Spanish picture, of which the subject was taken from Don Quixote or from Spanish his- tory, except one or two royal progresses and battles, painted for Philip IV.$ Velasquez in his portraits, and in some * Charles III. by an edict prohibited the exportation of Murillo's pictures from Spain. t The portrait of Calderon, by Cano, is in the Louvre. t There are upwards of 400 pictures in the Spanish Gallery of the Louvre, of which two only are of profane subjects, and both by Ribera. There are more than fifty monks and martyrs by Zurbaran only. i 3 * 178 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. of his smaller pictures, has given us an idea of the costume and manners of the Donnas and Cavaliers of his time, and subjects from the lowest class are common. The mozos and the aguaderos are as true to life and character as the boors of Ostade and Teniers ; but wide is the difference — as wide as the space between Andalusia and the fens of Holland. This sketch of the character and tendency of Spanish art, slight and inadequate as it is, may perhaps assist the reader to a better and more sympathetic understanding of the pictures here, those in the Dulwich and National Gal- leries, and those in other collections hereafter described. In conclusion, I must confess that I have no predilec- tion for this school of art, as a school. Many Dutch and Flemish pictures together weary the attention and the eye; many Spanish pictures together oppress the spirits. I never spent two hours together in the Spanish Gallery of the Louvre, or in the Aguado Gallery, or that of Soult, which I remember in its palmy days, without a feeling of dejection and lassitude difficult to describe. The gloomy monotony of the subjects, and yet more of the treatment, is to me, after a while, painful and fatiguing. On the other hand, to meet in a gallery of pictures one or two fine examples of this original school — such as the " Madonna" of the Leuchtenberg Gallery, the " St. Thomas" at Lord Ashburton's, the portrait of Neve at Lord Lans- downe's, the Aguadero of the Duke of Wellington, the " Andalusian Boys" at Dulwich — how refreshing, how de- lightful ! how the eye and fancy together are fixed and fas- cinated! Turn once more to the " Prodigal Son" here — is it not like gazing on a real scene as reflected in a mirror? This assemblage of many figures strikes us with the feeling of a presence quite as much as one of Titian's almost breath- ing heads. What trace is here of the hand of man, of the painful iteration of touch upon touch, line upon line? - THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 179 Those beings were created, not painted. They live and move in circumambient air; an atmosphere interfused with light and shadow floats round them, beyond them. The son, in an agony of humiliation and penitence, sinks at the feet of his parent; and even while the supplication yet trembles on his lips, the father folds him trembling to his forgiving heart. Never was a divine lesson more divinely illustrated ! Those pictures which formed part of the old Stafford Gallery, are distinguished by S. G., placed after the description. ALESSANDRO VERONESE (Turchi, called also L'Orbetto), b. 1580; d. 1650. [Distinguished among the later Venetians by his correct drawing and careful, smooth finishing, but apt to be heavy in effect, and not an interesting painter. See p. 96.] 1 Christ and the Woman of Samaria. — Figures life size, and not quite full length. From the gallery of Count Lecchi, at Brescia. The Marchese D'AZEGLIO, (living in 1842.) [A nobleman of Milan, distinguished for his various accomplishments, and author of the popular romance of " Ettore Fieramosca."] 2 Landscape. — A scene in the civil wars in Tuscany. 3 Landscape. — A scene from Ariosto. Two large pic- tures. BASSANO (Giacopo da Ponte), b. 1510 ; d. 1592. [This Venetian painter passed his life chiefly at Bassano, a little country town, where he and his four sons set up a kind of manufactory of pictures ; painted everything— history, sacred and profane ; genre, portrait, still life: — but treated all subjects in the same familiar style, without taste or selection, seldom rising to dignity or sentiment, but quite original and peculiar in the vivid brilliancy of his colour, and a cer- 180 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. tain management of effect, which render his pictures popular and attractive. The two pictures here sufficiently illustrate his manner.] 4 The Beasts entering the Ark. — Crowded with figures and animals, all admirably well painted, but dis- posed without taste, and, as a scripture subject, treated with a vulgarity approaching to levity. Noah's wife is seen in the foreground, carrying a bushel of eggs, and lamenting over one which has fallen and lies smashed on the ground; behind her sits a monkey holding her distaff. From the Orleans Gallery. S. G. 5 The Presentation in the Temple — by torch-light. A small composition of twelve figures, remarkable for the depth and vividness of colour, though these are the cha- racteristic beauties of Bassano ; and even more remarkable for the pleasing composition. From the Orleans gallery, and purchased by the Marquess of Stafford for 100 guineas. From the Orleans Gallery. 1 ft. 6f in. by 1 ft. 10J in. S. G. BASSANO (Leandro). 6 A Fete Champetre. — Many figures in a landscape ; in front, a gentleman playing the guitar to a lady. School of BELLINI, the Founder of the Venetian School. 7 Holy Family, with Saints. — A composition of eight figures, less than life. The Virgin holding the infant Christ; St. John as a youth, Mary Magdalen, St. Cathe- rine, and another female saint. St. Peter adoring the in- fant Christ, and a man in a secular habit, holding a book, is seated on the right. A beautiful early Venetian picture, of the time and school of Gian Bellini, which Dr. Waagen attributes decidedly to Pietro degli Ingannati, cotemporary with the Bellini. It appears to me not unworthy of Gior- gione. C. 2 ft. 11 in. by 4 ft. 8 in. IL BOLOGNESE (Gian Francesco Grimaldi), b. 1606 ; d. 1630. [A painter of grand landscapes, in the style of Annibal Carracci.] 8 A Landscape. — A bridge crossing a rapid stream, THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 181 which falls in a cascade in front; a man seated on a rock angling. From the collection of Lord Dacre. 2 ft. 4 J in. by 3 ft. 3 in. S. G. CAMBIASI (Luca), b. 1527 ; d. 1585. [A Genoese painter, whose best works are to be seen in the Ge- noese palaces and churches. He was called to Spain by Philip II. to assist in painting the Escurial, and died there. His picture here is an example of confused, mannered composition.] 9 Venus lamenting the Death of Adonis — Cupid standing by. Three figures, life size. C. 4 ft. If in. by 3 ft. 2J in. S. G. CANALETTO (Antonio Canale), b. 1697 ; d. 1768. (See p. 73.) 10 Two large Views of Venice. — (In the Grand Hall.) Each 8 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft. 10 in. 11 Two smaller Views. CANO (Alonzo), b. 1600 ; d. 1676. [This artist, a native of Granada, excelled equally as painter, sculptor, and architect. Hence, and not from any similarity in style, he has been called the Michel Angelo of Spain. He was remarkable for his passionate and turbulent character and various adventures.] 12 The Ancient of Days — half-length, holding in the left hand a globe. A small but beautiful picture, grandly- conceived, with an effect of colour somewhat like Correggio, but not so fused, delicate, or transparent. CARRACCI (The). Bolognese S. [For a general character of these painters, see the Introduction to the Bridgewater Gallery, p. 86.] LUDOVICO CARRACCI, b. 1555; d. 1619. 13 Christ crowned with Thorns. 14 The Holy Family. — Three figures, life size; to the left of the Virgin is the globe, enwreathed by a serpent, which holds an apple in its mouth. The infant Christ is 182 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. seated on the base of a column ; Joseph seen behind, points upwards to a cross in the sky. ANNIBAL CARRACCI, b. 1560; d. 1609. 15 A RipoSO. — Two angels adoring the holy infant; St. Joseph, behind, is fastening his ass to a tree. A most beautiful and valuable little picture. From the Orleans gallery, at the price of 700 guineas. P. 1 ft. 8£ in. by 2 ft. \ in. S. G. 1 6 St. Margaret. — -Figure life size. She is leaning on a pedestal, pointing upwards with the right hand; in the left she holds a book; one foot on the dragon. Fine landscape background.* 17 St. Stephen receiving the Crown of Martyrdom. — Eight angels above. A small, finished study, in an oval, about 5 in. by 4 in. AGOSTINO CARRACCI, b. 1558; d. 1601. 18 The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew. — A small picture, in which this horrible subject is treated with un- usual delicacy. It belonged to King Charles I.f C. 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 2£ in. S. G. CHAMPAGNE (Philipe de), b. 1602; d. 1674. [A French painter of history and portrait; in the latter depart- ment excellent, in history rather cold and mannered. He was a good deal influenced by Nicold Poussin, though not exactly his pupil.] * St. Margaret, according to the leg-end, suffered martyrdom at Antioch, about the 3rd century A. C. Being- attacked by Satan in the form of a dragon, she vanquished him by holding up the crucifix, (allegorical of the conquest of Faith over Sin.) Hence she is usually represented with the Dragon chained or prostrate at her feet. She is the subject of many beautiful pictures — one by Raphael in the Louvre. The above picture by Annibal, is well known from the fine engraving after it by Bloemart, (1603.) t It is described in his Catalogue — " A piece of St. Bartholomew, with both his hands tyed up to a tree, where they are flaying his skin ; thereby a com- mander on horseback, and three other figures, and an angel over his head, crowning him with a garland. Painted upon cloth, in a black frame. Brought from Germany by Sir Robert Anstruther, and given to the king. Supposed to be done by one of the Carracci." THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 183 1 9 Portrait of Colbert — the famous Minister in the reign of Louis XIV. ; half length, in black dress and falling collar, small beard and mustaches. The features express shrewd- ness, penetration, and self-complacency, rather than large capacity or mental dignity; and the hands, which are very peculiar, also convey the impression of weakness. Beauti- fully painted in a bright tone. C.2 ft. 5iin.by 1 ft. 11 in. S. G. CIGNANI (Carlo), b. 1628 ; d. 1712. [A scholar of Albano, one of the best of the later Bolognese school.] 20 St. Anthony of Padua — adoring the infant Saviour. A small picture. CIRO FERRI, b. 1634 ; d. 1689. [One of the last of the degene- rate Roman school.] 21 The Virgin and Child. — The infant sleeping. A pretty picture of this class. C. 1 ft. 6f in. by 1 ft. 3 in. CLAUDE de Lorraine, b. 1600 ; d. 1674. 22 Landscape. — An arch in the distance, a large tree in front, and a shepherd piping. i6j in. by 12 in. CLOVIO (Don Giulio), b. in Dalmatia, 1498 ; d. 1578. [The most celebrated painter in the miniature style of the sixteenth century, and employed by Pope Paul III. and Pope Pius V., in the illumination of missals and other MSS. In his works he com- bined with exceeding minuteness of finish the large style and some- what pagan sentiment caught from his first master, Giulio Romano.] 23 A Miniature — of exquisite beauty, representing the Holy Family. St. Anna on a throne ; the Virgin seated on her knees, holding the infant Saviour, to whom St. John presents a kid; on one side St. Jerome, on the other, St. Catherine ; groups of angels above, — in all, twenty-eight figures, in the compass of 5\ in. by 4 in. CORREGGIO (Antonio Allegri), b. 1494; d. 1534. (I can add nothing to what I have said of the character and works of this great painter. See First Series, Nat. Gall., p. 35.) 184 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 24 The Infant Christ, with the heads of the Virgin and Mary Magdalen. — Study from (or for) the cen- tral group of the famous St. Jerome, at Parma.* It is worthy of observation that in the head of Christ, Correggio has sought to blend a superhuman grandeur and energy with perfectly infantine form and feature, and has succeeded. The passive sweetness, the adoring languishment in the two female heads, are in exquisite contrast. This lovely picture was purchased by the Duke of Sutherland at Parma, where it was exhibited in the gallery. It formed part of a property divided among several heirs, l ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 4 in. 25 The Muleteer. — A celebrated little picture, in a style of composition quite unusual with the painter. It repre- sents merely a loaded mule and an ass, with their drivers, passing through a landscape, executed with great spirit and breadth of touch, in a sketchy manner. It is said to have been painted by Correggio for a sign. Once in the collec- tion of Queen Christina ; afterwards in the Orleans gal- lery, whence it was purchased by the Marquess of Stafford, for eighty guineas. C. 2 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. llf in. S. G. DELAROCHE (Paul). [A French painter, now living at Paris, and considered at the head of the French historical school. See p. 103.] 26 Lord Strafford going to execution. — Composition of four figures, life size. Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, so conspicuous in the troubled times of Charles I., being impeached by the Commons, Charles reluctantly, and against his con- science, signed the warrant for his execution, impelled by fear of consequences to himself ; and the Earl was beheaded on the 12th of May, 1641. On leaving the Tower, where Archbishop Laud was at that time imprisoned and waiting * The great picture represents St. Jerome presenting his works to the Virgin 5 the figures full length. It was painted about 1525, for Briseis, a noble lady of Parma, widow of Orazio Bergonzi, for the price of 80 golden crowns, and was by her presented to the church of St. Antonio Abbate, in 1528. It is now in the Academy of Parma. There is a fine copy by L. Carracci, in the Bridgewater Gallery, No. 14. THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 185 his sentence, Strafford knelt down before the grated window of his cell, and asked his blessing, which the prelate gave him through the bars.* This is the incident represented in this picture, which has certainly transcendant merit of con- ception and execution. The fault, as a painting, appears to me to be a want of concentration and depth of effect — a general flatness in the tone and treatment. In the careful forms, in the attention to character in the heads, and in accuracy of detail, it is a model for our native painters. C. 8 ft. 2 in. by 9 ft. 9 in. The companion, Charles I. in the custody of the Sol- diers, is in the possession of Lord Francis Egerton. DOMENICHINO (Zampieri), b. 1581 ; d. 1641. Bologna S. [One of the three most celebrated of the immediate followers of the Carracci (the other two were Guido and Guercino). Domenichino, through a depth of moral feeling and sincerity of purpose, reached sometimes to great elevation in his conceptions, though not gifted with a very vivid or fertile imagination ; the little picture here is an instance.] 27 St. Catharine of Alexandria — receiving from an angel the palm of martyrdom ; in the background, the "broken wheels and dismayed executioners. Small full- length figure. 2 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 8 in.f GENNARO (Benedetto) ; d. 1715. [A nephew of Guercino.] 28 A Young Man reading — half length. GUARDI (Francesco), b. 1712 ; d. 1793. [A late Venetian painter, a pupil of Canaletto, and like him he painted perspective views of the architecture and canals of Venice.] 29 Scene under a Portico — with figures. The portico of the Doge's Palace at Venice. GUIDO (Reni), b. 1565 ; d. 1642. Bologna S. [One of the most celebrated of the scholars of the Carracci ; not generally distinguished by power, or depth, or simplicity ; almost * See Guizot's " Histoire de la Revolution Anglaise," and Southey's " His- tory of the Church." t For the legend of St. Catherine, see First Series, p. 105. 186 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. always by elegance, as in the " Atalanta ;" or by sentiment, as in the " Magdalen," a subject in which he excelled, and invariably gave us the reconciled saint, rather than the repentant sinner.*] 30 The Magdalen — Head only, looking up, and part of the right hand ; in colour delicate, and not too cold. 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft. 7 in. S. G. 31 Atalanta. — She stoops to pick up the golden apples which Hippomenes had flung before her, to delay her in the race. An exquisite little study for the large picture which is in the royal palace at Naples. 32 The Circumcision. — A composition of eleven figures, in a circle. 33 Head of an Old Woman in a white coif — said to be the mother of Guido. GUERCINO, b. 1590 ; d. 1666. Bologna S. [The reverse of ^Cuido, distinguished by power much more than by sentiment or elegance. A peasant by birth, he did not begin to paint till he was near manhood, and at first imitated the dark effec- tive manner of Caravaggio, afterwards the Carracci and Guido, though he did not study under them. There is even something rustic and coarse in his conception of character, now and then mingled with an earnestness, a pathos, and dignity, arising from the real worth and deep capacity of feeling in the man, though he remained to the end of his life uncultured, and as Passeri calls him, " rozzissimo."] 34 St. Gregory. f — He is seated on a throne, looking up- wards, his hand on an open book, in act to turn the leaves. The Holy Ghost, in form of a dove, descends upon him. To the left of the pope, St. Anthony of Padua, with the lily ; to the right, and more in front, St. Dominic, holding a book. J Behind St. Gregory, an angel playing * Guido's Madonnas and Magdalens are all copies from the antique, and the model for his Magdalens was one of the daughters of Niobe. t Pope in 590, and distinguished in history as Gregory the Great. He was a most extraordinary man, and had many claims on the gratitude of posterity ; the greatest, perhaps, the abolition of legal slavery throughout all Christian Europe. t These saints have also been supposed to represent St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, the celebrated Jesuit fathers. THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. 187 on the viol ; two infant angels above, and in front another infant angel holds the tiara. Sky background. This is a grand picture, in the energetic and rather coarse manner of Guercino, when he was imitating Cara- vaggio. Probably painted by order of Pope Gregory XV. (Ludovisi,) or his nephew, the Cardinal Ludovisi, a great patron of Guercino, and who affected, in honour of his uncle, a particular reverence for St. Gregory. It was brought from Spain by Mr. Fabier. 35 St. Grisogono — borne aloft by angels into heavenly glory. The figures colossal, and painted with powerful effect. One angel carries as a trophy, the sword with which the saint was beheaded (under Dioclesian, a.d. 287); another bears the palm of martyrdom. This is a celebrated picture, described minutely by Pas- seri, ( Vita di Guercino, p. 376,) and alluded to by Lanzi, as among the finest works of the painter. It formerly adorned the soffitta of the church of San Grisogono, in Trastevere, and was painted for the Cardinal Scipio Bor- ghese, (nephew of Pope Pius V.,) who restored and adorned the church from which he took his title of Cardinal di San Grisogono. It was brought to England by Mr. Day, and now forms the centre of the ceiling of the picture gallery here. 36 A Landscape. — An antique archway on the left, with several small figures. Cool, light general effect and spi- rited touch. GRANET (Francois Marius), now living, 1843. See p. 12. 37 The Alchymist. — A small picture. GUDIN (Theodore). [An excellent French painter of marine sub- jects, now living, 1843.] 38 A Sea Piece. LE NAIN (Louis), d. 1648. See p. 13. 39 Group of Children listening to an old Piper. Copper, 10 J in. by 12 in. S. G. 188 THE SUTHERLAND GALLERY. GHERARDO DELLE NOTTI, (Gerard Honthorst,) b. 1592 ;