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BY DAVID C. PREYER
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
Publishers, Boston, Mass.
TITIAN
LAVINIA
(See page 115)
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
J) 9trt f\l < <
tfje fSeritu
alienee at
Giving a History of the Kaiser Friedrich
Museum with a Critical Description of
the Paintings therein contained, together
with a Brief Account of the National
Gallery of XIX Century Art.
By
David C. Preyer, A. M.
Author of The Art of the Vienna Galleries," " The Art of the
Netherland Galleries," " The Art of the Metropolitan
Museum," etc.
I llustr ated
Boston
L. C. Page & Company
MDCCCCXII
Copyright, 1912
By L. C. Page and Company
(incorporated)
All rights reserved
First Impression, February, 19 12
Eleetrotyped and Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds &> Co., Boston, U.S.A.
preface
The usual reference to " The Berlin Gallery,"
as the home of some famous masterpiece of the
art of painting, leads at the present day to confu-
sion. The expression originated when the Berlin
Collection of Old Masters was housed in the " Old
Museum," and Richard Muther entitled his de-
scription of these paintings (published in 1889),
" The Cicerone of the Royal Picture Gallery in
Berlin."
Since that time the Kaiser Friedrich Museum,
opened in 1904, contains the magnificent collection
of Old Masters, and a Berliner speaks of the
" Museum," or rather of " the Kaiser Friedrich,"
when he refers to the most important collection in
Berlin, and when he mentions the " Gallery " he
refers to the " National Gallery " devoted to the
paintings of nineteenth century, or so-called Mod-
ern Artists.
The same error occurs frequently in regard to
the Vienna Imperial Museum, which foreigners
# AAO** O
vi preface
still are inclined to call the Belvedere since the
art books whence they draw their information
were generally written before the new buildings in
Vienna and Berlin were completed.
This volume contains a survey of the works of
painters from the beginning of the fourteenth cen-
tury to and including those of the eighteenth cen-
tury, all of which are contained in the Kaiser
Friedrich Museum. And we continue our study
with the nineteenth century painters, whose works
are displayed in the National Gallery.
In referring to the many artists mentioned I
have rarely mentioned biographical incidents, for
these are generally well-known. But I have en-
deavoured to give with each a succinct, critical
statement to indicate their relative place in the his-
tory of art.
Untrobuctton
Berlin's most imposing buildings are grouped
at the western end of the island formed by the
Spree and its arm, the Kupfergraben. Here one
faces first the magnificent Imperial Palace, then to
the left the Dom. Through the little park, the
Lustgarten, fronting the Dom, we approach the
first one of the Museum buildings which contain
the Royal and National treasures of art and
antiquity.
This Old Museum was the first home of the
works of art owned by the Prussian royal house,
which by royal decree were selected in 1820 from
various castles and palaces for public exhibition.
This building, designed by the architect Schinkel,
was opened in August, 1830. The growth of the
museum's collections, in the course of years, de-
manded larger quarters, and the New Museum was
built in architectonic harmony and completed in
1855.
The establishment of a Gallery for XIX century
V1U
i
Lustgarten
THE MUSEUM GROUP.
Untrofcuction ix
Art in 1861 led to the erection of the National
Gallery, an edifice in the form of a Corinthian
temple, which contains that collection of modern
paintings to the consideration of which the last
chapter of this book will be devoted.
A further extension of the museum group was
had in the completion of the Pergamon Museum,
in 1901, where the great altar of Pergamon, the
products of the Schliemann excavations, and other
plastic antiquities are found.
At the extreme end of the Spree island stands
a large triangular building in Italian Baroque style,
the Kaiser Friedrich Museum. This was built be-
tween 1897 and 1903 and opened to the public
in October, 1904. The left wing of the lower floor
is devoted to one of the most important collections
of early Christian and Byzantine Sculpture, as well
as examples of early Persian and Mohammedan
art. The right wing contains examples of German
Sculpture of the Middle- Ages and the Renaissance.
Among these we find displayed the altar-paintings
and easel pictures of the German Primitives. The
outer rooms of this wing contain the works of
Italian sculptors of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
turies. In the Basilica, on the axis of the building,
we find among much statuary many Italian altar-
pieces which for their large size could not find
room in the upper galleries. In two large rooms
x flntrofcuction
in the rear of the building is displayed the collec-
tion of coins and medals which must be regarded
as the nucleus of all the royal collections, and had
already been founded in the sixteenth century by
the Elector Joachim II.
The upper floor of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum
concerns us most. Here we find the collection to
the description of which the greater part of this
book is devoted. 'About twelve hundred easel-pic-
tures offer an opportunity for the systematic and
chronological study of the most important schools
of painting. The various Italian schools, the
Flemish and Dutch, and the German schools are
well-nigh completely represented. The French,
English and Spanish schools, however, are but
sparsely shown. The hanging arrangement is ex-
cellent. The Italian schools develop chronologi-
cally in the galleries starting on the left, or Spree
side of the building from the entrance balcony, and
the Netherland schools in the galleries starting from
the right side of the entrance balcony. We will
not follow the official guide, which in its endeavour
to show us the paintings in a single round of the
galleries, starts with the early Flemings and after
reaching the rear rooms goes on, through the
Tiepolo room (48), and shows the Italian section
historically backwards. We will begin with the
Italian Primitives, and after reaching the Tiepolo
Introduction xi
room, the Spanish room (49), and Room 50, re-
trace our steps, view the German Primitives down-
stairs, and then proceed as systematically through
the right, or Dutch and Flemish wing, to end with
the Thiem Collection in Gallery 51.
(Contents
CHAPTEB
PAGE
Preface
V
Introduction
vii
I.
The Kaiser Friedrich Museum His-
tory or the Collection
i
II.
The Italian Paintings
8
III.
The Spanish Paintings .
139
IV.
The French Paintings
151
V.
The English Paintings .
160
VI.
The German Paintings .
166
VII.
The Dutch and Flemish Paintings
201
VIII.
The Royal National Gallery
259
Bibliography
3i7
Index
3i9
list of IFUustrations
PLATE PAGE
Titian. Lavinia Frontispiece
Plan of the Museum Group viii
Plan of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum . . 5
I Domenico Veneziano. Portrait of a Young
Woman 24
II Sandro Botticelli. Madonna with the Child
and Angels 50
III Piero Pollaiuolo. Annunciation .... 54
IV Luca Signorelli. Pan and the Shepherds . . 59
V Melozzo da Forli. Genius of Logic . . . 62
VI Andrea Mantegna. Presentation in the Temple 65
VII Vincenzo Foppa. Lamentation of Christ . . 68
VIII Carlo Crivelli. St. Magdalene . . . . 75
IX Gaudenzio Ferrari. Annunciation . . . 108
X Velasquez. Female Portrait 144
XI Alonso Cano. St. Agnes 148
XII Pierre Mignard. Portrait of Marie Mancini . 155
XIII Berthold. Mary and the Child. St. Peter
Martyr 169
XIV Master of the Life of Mary. Mary in the
Rose-arbour 171
XV Hans Multscher. Birth of Christ . . .175
XVI Martin Schongauer. Birth of Christ . . .177
XVII Albrecht Duber. Portrait of Hieronymous
Holzschuher 181
XVIII Hans Baldung Grien. Head of a Grey-beard . 183
XIX Hans von Kulmbach. Adoration of the Kings . 185
XX Hans Burgkmair. St. Barbara . .187
XXI Albrecht Altdorfer. Rest on the Flight to
Egypt 189
xv
xvi xtst of iriiustrations
PLATE PAGE
XXII Lucas Cranach, the Elder. Rest on the Flight
to Egypt 191
XXIII Christoph Amberger. Portrait of Emperor
Charles V 195
XXIV Hans Holbein, the Younger. Portrait of
Georg Gisze 198
XXV Jan van Eyck. Singing Angels . . . . 204
XXVI Rogier van der Weyden. Beheading of John
the Baptist 214
XXVII Dirk Bouts. Paschal Feast . . . .219
XXVIII Aelbert Bouts. Annunciation . . . .220
XXIX Maarten van Heemskerk. Portrait of a girl 223
XXX Quentin Massys. Mary with the Child 226
XXXI Peeter Paul Rubens. Portrait of a Child of
the Master 231
XXXII Cornelis de Vos. Daughters of the Artist 234
XXXIII Frans Hals. Nurse and Child . . . .237
XXXIV Rembrandt. Self -Portrait 241
XXXV Jan Vermeer van Delft. Lady with the
Pearl Necklace 251
XXXVI Nicolaas Maes. Peeling Apples . . .253
XXXVII Peter Cornelius. The Recognition of Joseph
and His Brethren 282
Plan of the National Gallery . . .284
XXXVIII Adolph Menzel. Tafelrunde in Sans-souci,
1750 285
XXXIX Franz von Defregger. Return of the Tyroler
Reserves in 1809 287
XL Karl Buchholz. Springtime in Ehringsdorf 288
XLI Rudolf Henneberg. The Wild Hunter . 290
XLII Franz Kruger. Prince Wilhelm and the Art-
ist . . 292
XLIII Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Ideal Landscape 294
XLIV Arnold Bocklin. Springday . . . .299
XLV Arnold Bocklin. The Hermit . . . . 3 01
XL VI Anselm Feuerbach. Medea's Flight . . 304
XL VII Franz von Lenbach. Portrait of Professor
Mommsen 3 11
Wfyt art of fi)t
Berlin <allmc0
CHAPTER I
THE KAISER FRIEDRICH MUSEUM HISTORY OF
THE COLLECTION
The collection of paintings of the Kaiser
Friedrich Museum had its beginning only a few
years before the London National Gallery was
started when the Angerstein Collection was bought
by the British nation in 1824. In 1820 King
Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia decided to have
a selection made of the principal Old Masters that
had been collected by his ancestors as far back as
the Great Elector, and which were kept in the
palaces and castles at Berlin, Potsdam, and Char-
lottenburg.
Gustav Friedrich Waagen, the early German
art student, who had been commissioned with the
selection, chose three hundred and seventy-eight
2 ZH Brt cf tbe Berlin Galleries
paintings, to which were added seventy-three from
the Giustiniani Collection of one hundred and fifty-
seven paintings which had been bought in Paris
in 1815 for 540,000 francs.
The next year, 1821, the Prussian Government
purchased for 700,000 Thalern ($420,000) the
collection of the Englishman Solly, who had for
years resided in Berlin, where he had been engaged
in a lucrative trade with England in ships-timber.
Solly, through his agents, had been able in a time
when, following the Revolution and the Napoleonic
wars, all property was depreciated, to acquire three
thousand pictures at very low prices. Of course
many of these were of little value, but six hundred
and seventy-seven were set aside by Waagen as
worthy of exhibition.
The Royal castles had contributed especially
Flemish and Dutch cabinet-pieces of the seven-
teenth century, as well as some fine Italians of the
Cinquecento, including a Correggio, and a few
French and German paintings. The Giustiniani
pictures belonged practically to the Italian Seicento,
while the Solly selection gave a concise review of
the historical development of the Italian schools.
The Primitives were especially strong, and to-day
these are nowhere so comprehensively shown, out-
side of Italy. The greatest treasure of the Solly
collection, however, was the set of six wings of
XTbe Raiser jfriefcricb /l&useum 3
the famous Ghent Altarpiece of Hubert and Jan
van Eyck, which Solly only a few years before
had bought for one hundred thousand francs.
After the collection had been arranged and had
been opened for public exhibition in the Old
Museum in 1831, Director Waagen, who remained
in charge until his death in 1868, patiently, but
assiduously laboured to give the Berlin Museum
the character which it has to this day retained,
and in which it excels any museum in existence,
except perhaps the National Gallery that of* a
complete presentation of the historical development
of the art of painting from its earliest beginning
until the end of the eighteenth century. To this
end he constantly endeavoured to fill up the gaps,
and he even succeeded in adding several master-
pieces to the collection. With the meagre means
which the government provided for the purpose,
and against the strong competition of the London
National Gallery whose purse was better filled, he
still secured works as the " Madonna Enthroned,"
by Andrea del Snrto, for 45,000 francs at the
Lafitte sale in Paris, in 1836; the " St. Ai thony,"
by Murillo; Titian's " Lavinia " ; Raphael's " Ma-
donna Terranuova," which he bought in Naples in
1854; and the beautiful altarpiece by Moretto.
More liberal support came to the Gallery after
the Franco-Prussian war, when all the Museums
4 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
were placed under the protectorate of the Crown
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, and Julius Meyer with
Wilhelm Bode were appointed directors.
The first act of the new directorate was the pur-
chase of the finest private collection in Germany,
that of Barthold Suermondt of Aachen, for which
the government made a special appropriation of
340,000 Thalern ($204,000). This brought an
addition of two hundred and nineteen paintings,
principally of the seventeenth century Dutch Little
Masters, together with a number of German and
Spanish pictures. By the exclusion of mediocre
work and the addition of important examples the
numerical strength of the museum collection re-
mained the same, but its artistic value was meas-
urably heightened. Thus by private purchases
were added during the seventies three Rembrandts,
notably his " Anslo," Durer's " Madonna with the
Finch," a large altar-piece by Crivelli, the
" Andromeda " and the " Bacchanal," by Rubens,
and many others.
The founding of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum
Association in 1896 materially aided Doctor Bode,
who, on the death of Julius Meyer, had become
sole Director, to purchase further valuable can-
vases. His energetic leadership has steadily in-
creased the artistic quality of the collection without
having lost sight of its educational character. To
Ube Ifcaiser jfriefcrtcb /IDuseum 5
him alone is owing the Rembrandt Room with
twenty-two examples. Durer, of whom no work
was shown before 1880, is now represented with
seven important examples. Dr. Bode's profound
THE KAISER FRIEDRICH MUSEUM.
scholarship and expertism has also resulted in
making the Berlin collection the most reliable for
its attributions.
The opening of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum,
in 1904, was the occasion for the gift of the James
6 Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
Simon collection of a number of selected early
Italian and early Netherland works, and of the
Adolf Thiem collection of seventeenth century
Dutch art.
The Galleries in the Order of Our Study
R. 29 Italian paintings of the 14th, and the first
half of the 15th centuries.
R. 30 Florentine paintings of the 15th century.
R. 31 Sculptures of the della Robbias.
R. 32 Sculpture in marble of Donatello and
Desiderio, and old Florentine paintings.
R. 33 Italian Bronze-reliefs.
R. 34 Ferrarese and Bolognese paintings.
R. 35 Lombard paintings.
R. 64 The Carpets after Raphael's Cartoons.
R. 38 Florentine paintings of the 1 5th century.
R. 37 Umbrian and Paduan paintings of the
15th century.
R. 41, 44, 43 Venetian paintings of the 15th
century.
R. 42 Venetian and Lombard sculpture, and
Venetian paintings.
R. 40 Florentine sculpture of the 15th century
in marble.
R. 39 Collection James Simon.
R. 36 Italian bronze sculpture.
XTbe Kaiser ffriefcricb flDuseum 7
R. 45 Florentine paintings of the 16th century.
R. 46 Venetian paintings of the 16th century.
R. 47 Italian paintings of the 17th and 18th
centuries.
R. 48 Tiepolo Room.
R. 49 Spanish paintings.
R. 50 French, English and German paintings of
the 18th century.
On the lower floor, in the section of German
sculpture (right wing), German Primitives.
R. 67 Diirer and Holbein.
R. 65, 66 German paintings of the 16th century.
R. 73 Loan collection.
R. 72 The Ghent Altar-wings.
R. 70, 68, 69 Netherland paintings of the 15th
and 16th centuries.
R. 62, 63, 60 Rubens, and Flemish paintings of
the 17th century.
R. 61 Loan collection.
R. 59, 58 Frans Hals, and Dutch paintings of
the 17th century.
R. 57 Rembrandt.
R. 56, 54, 53, 55, 52 Dutch paintings of the
17th century.
R. 51 Adolf Thiem collection and Flemish paint-
ings.
CHAPTER II
THE ITALIAN PAINTINGS
The distinctive character of the Berlin Museum
of Old Masters lies in its educational value. With
fewer masterpieces of the most famous painters
than are found in the older museums of Germany
it possesses the widest range of men whose work
is typical of schools and periods. From Giotto to
Tiepolo each step of artistic development in Italian
art is shown, and if not at times by the most repre-
sentative works, at least by secondary men who
indicate the influences that held sway. Italy natu-
rally is the place for the most complete study of
Italian art, but it must not be forgotten that one
has to travel from place to place to study the va-
rious schools and masters. Many museums in
Europe also may boast of more numerous examples
of different schools Vienna of the Venetians,
London of the Quattrocento but Berlin offers
the opportunity to study all the schools most com-
prehensively, if not exhaustively. This makes the
Berlin Museum the best student gallery for what
8
Ube Italian paintings 9
has been said of the Italian school refers with equal
force to the German, Dutch and Flemish schools.
We may then observe here the primitive strivings
in Italy for independent art expression of the
fourteenth century, its gradual emancipation from
Byzantine and Greek influences, and its searching
for the new light which nature reveals. We may
follow the various path-ways travelled, which gave
the Florentines pre-eminence in form and move-
ment, the Venetians in colour, and the more south-
ern schools excellence in decorative description
which, carried to excess, led to their early deca-
dence. We will recognize that the uncouthness,
the banality of the earliest men was but the sprout-
ing of buds which in time blossomed in all the floral
glory of the High Renaissance; that although
their figures are hard, dry, and destitute of grace,
they yet show in the study of the nude, in the ex-
pression of grief, in the adjustment of drapery, a real
superiority over the Gothic work of men still earlier.
We will begin then our walk through the Museum
with these earliest performers.
Room 29 Italian Paintings of the 14th, and
the First Half of the 15th Century
The centres of influence in those early days were
Florence and Siena; and although the work pro-
io Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
duced at the time was principally found on the
walls of churches in fresco, still the example of
Margaritone (1216? - 1293?) who first painted on
canvas stretched on a panel covered with plaster,
was sufficiently followed to have left such easel
pictures as are now found in transalpine mu-
seums.
This gallery offers us noteworthy examples of
both these early schools. On the long wall to the
right we select first the Florentines.
Cimabue (1240?-! 302?) was not the first of the
Italian painters, as Vasari terms him, but the last
of the Greeks according to Lanzi; for although
intelligent and skilful, and with more originality
than any of his contemporaries he was still bound
by the Byzantine pattern.
Italian art during the middle ages, such as it
was, had been pure Gothic, and not until the mid-
dle of the thirteenth century did the Pisani make
use of the Roman monuments and thereby resur-
rect the antique ideal. At the same time the
Byzantine influences helped to turn the Italians
from the great Gothic style, and to ameliorate its
sculpturesque rigidity by a desire for beauty. Thus
art became chastened and disciplined until the time
came when the dawn of humanism led the Italian
artists to turn to naturalism.
It was Giotto (1266-1337), the shepherd boy,
Ube Italian paintings n
whom Cimabue found drawing his sheep on a rock
with a sharp stone, who freed himself from the
imitation of Goths and Greeks by copying from
nature. His treatment of the chosen subjects of
sacred story became more vivid, more varied, more
animated. His drawing became simple and natu-
ral without conventional forms or settled types.
His colouring improved with varying tints. He
was the first to employ foreshortening and per-
spective; and his rudimentary use of light and
shade, whereby the shadows compel us to realize
every concavity and the lights every convexity, was
his personal contribution that laid the foundation
for the supreme excellence of later Florentine paint-
ing: the expression of form. With him the func-
tional line became suggestive, and significant, and
expressive, and although he never rendered move-
ment he suggested it admirably.
It is true that Giotto's art was puerile, it held
little more than pietistic illustration. Ruskin's
swinging of the censer before the great son of
Bondone was a misplaced enthusiasm rarely sur-
passed in its exaggerated adulation. There was a
timidity, an actual incapacity in Giotto's art which
must not be denied. There were imperfections
which cannot be made out, as Ruskin did, to be
the result of deliberate choice they were in
reality forced upon him by inexperience. Never-
12 zrbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
theless, Giotto stands out, in the infancy of art,,
as the first great teacher and leader.
Giotto's large mural paintings in the church of
Assisi, and the S. Croce of Florence impress us
with their monumental character, their processional
gravity; and this same largeness of conception is
seen even in the miniaturelike little " Crucifixion "
(1074 A) which we find here possibly the centre
panel of a triptychon. The cross towers high above
the groups below, while the noble body of the
Christ is surrounded by ten angels floating about.
The Magdalene embraces kneeling the foot of the
cross, and John supports the sorrowing Mary.
Their features are no longer conventional faces,
symbols of pious awe, but have the expression of
living beings. To the right we see the believing
Centurion among the Pharisees, and soldiers and
horsemen fill the background.
Berenson does not accept the authenticity of
this work which, however, must be ascribed to the
later years of this early master.
His favourite pupil was Taddeo Gaddi (1300-
1366), who, like all the others that followed Giotto,
could not grasp the largeness of construction of
the master, and frequently only distorted the ex-
pressiveness of his lines. A small home-altar (1079-
1081), which was also carried along on travels,
is by Taddeo. On the centre-panel is the Madonna
Tlbe fltalian paintings 13
Enthroned, holding the Child which caresses her
cheeks playfully. The throne stands as in a niche,
within a Gothic arch, and the diminutive figures
of the donors are seen kneeling at the steps. On
the narrow band outside the arch are seen the
half-figures of fourteen saints, placed one above
the other, and representing the seven holy choirs,
the lowest figures being the patrons of Florence,
Zenobius and the Baptist. The wings represent
the scenes of the beginning and ending of the
Christology. In the upper corners is found a most
delicate depiction of the legend of the children's
patron St. Nicholas, who was especially interested
in opposing the pernicious custom even current
in Italy up to a hundred years ago of selling
children in the Oriental slave markets. We see
in one corner a child serving the Sultan as page
at table, when the Saint suddenly appears flying in
the air. He takes up the child and carries him
to the poor home of his sorrowing parents on
the other wing where a happy reunion takes
place. The colouring in purple and yellow, cinnabar
and light-grey, red and violet, is of a delicate har-
mony.
Two small panels (1073, 1074) hail from a
closet-door of the Sacristy of S. Croce in Florence.
The Academy there shows twenty-two of these
panels, twelve with the life of Christ, ten with the
i4 Ube Brt ot tbe JSetlin Galleries
legend of St. Francis. They were ascribed by
Rumohr, on Vasari's authority, to Giotto, but they
do not bear in the least the evidence of the master's
large construction. One of those before us shows
in half -figures the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon
the disciples gathered in a room. The other panel
has the movements more carried out in dramatic
vigour and portrays a miracle which St. Francis
wrought in Florence, when a child that falls from
a window is restored by the Saint unharmed to
its mother.
Taddeo's son, Agnolo Gaddi (died 1396), bears
witness to the tendency, then already beginning
to prevail, towards the obvious that pleases. The
pretty, round faces of his half -figure of the
" Madonna and Child " (1040), with pretty clothes
and pretty colour are attractive but trivial. The
Madonna in half-figure was at the time still rare
in Florence.
The most gifted one of the group of Giotto fol-
lowers was Bernardo da Firenze (died after 1366),
whose identity with Bernardo Daddi is problem-
atical. Bernardo's small altarpiece with wings
(1064), with the same subjects as that of Taddeo
Gaddi, shows some progress made in the direction
of landscape perspective and facial expression.
The Sienese school shown on the right half
of this long wall lacked the strength and character
Ube Italian paintings is
expression of Giotto. It aimed rather at the ex-
pression of emotion than at perfection of form.
This may be seen in the work of the great founder
of the school, Duccio di Buoninsegna (1260-1339),
who anticipated so much that is characteristic of
all Central Italian painters, down to Raphael
the ability for decorative illustration. Duccio in
one great artistic quality, in the buoyant sparkle
of his colour, was superior to Giotto; but this
glamour of sensuous appeal cannot be compared
with the more lasting power of the Florentine
master.
A part of the predella of Duccio's large altar-
piece in the Duomo of Siena was given to the
Museum in 1884. It is a panel-painting in three
parts (1062A), the centre of which presents the
birth of Christ, flanked by the full-length figures
of Isaiah and Ezekiel. In a small hut the Mother
is seen reclining beside a table on which the bambino
lies. Angels full of joy and exaltation stand around
and lean over the low roof, while in front of the
hut a scene is shown, in smaller proportions, where
the Child is being cared for by the women that have
come to Mary's assistance. The technique, with
its greenish underpainting of the fleshstones and
the gold lines to demark the forms, is still remi-
niscent of Byzantium.
His great follower, Simone Martini (1284-1344),
i6 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
fell below Duccio in dramatic rendering of the
gospel themes. He sacrificed restraint to the ob-
vious portrayal of facile emotion. But his feeling
for beauty, grace and splendour made him a mas-
ter of magnificent colour. His " Deposition of
the Body" (1070A) formed part of a small altar-
piece, whereof the other parts are in Antwerp and
in the Louvre. The anguish and sorrow at the
grave is depicted with as much extravagance as
may even to-day be witnessed at an Italian funeral.
His brother-in-law, Lippo Memmi (died 1356),
was formed entirely under his influence. Of the
two Madonnas (1067, 1081 A) the latter is of ex-
quisite decorative quality. The slender Mother
who presses the Child against her breast grace-
fully tilts her head upon her thin neck, and with
half-closed eyelids has a dreamish look. The boy,
whose little foot she supports in her hand, has the
other foot firmly planted on her arm. He wears
a white tunic and a red mantle for the nude
Child was not yet customary and he holds a
scroll in his left hand. The childlike and yet
thoughtful expression of the face of the little one
is remarkably well rendered.
The Lorenzetti brothers, Pietro (flourished 1330)
and Ambrogio (flourished 1342), bear unmista-
kable evidences of Giotto's influence. Of Pietro
the gallery owns two scenes from the life of St.
TLbe fltaiian painting 17
Humilitas (1077, 1077A). In one he heals a nun
and raises her from her sick-bed, in the other we
witness the dying hour of the saint.
Pietro's younger brother, Ambrogio, is the re-
nowned master of the frescoes in the Palazzo
Publico at Siena. Here we find the middle part
of a triptychon (1094A) on which the birth of
Christ is shown in the conventional manner for
conventionalism was becoming the bane of the
school. Not satisfied to allow the figures of their
compositions to speak for themselves they empha-
sized the expression of their emotions by placing
turbid outpourings on scrolls and signs.
In the centre of this wall hang the life-size
half-figures of Sts. Peter, Paul and John, which
formed part of the only large altarpiece which
Ugolino da Siena (died 1339) painted for the
Church of S. Croce in Florence. Two lower parts
with Passion scenes, the Judas-kiss and the Bearing
of the Cross, are found in the London National
Gallery. These figures are intensely impressive
and fairly light up the long wall with a golden
glow.
On the short wall opposite us we find a
"Madonna" (1072), which the catalogue ascribes
to Memmi, but which is superior in vivid colouring
to Lippo's art. It is more likely by his pupil,
Bartolo di Maestro Fredi (about 1330-1410), prob-
18 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
ably the most inventive artist of this time when
Sienese art had fallen into disrepute. According
to Italian custom the Madonna is seated on the
ground, on a golden pillow upon the bright red
carpet, and her blue mantle falls down in rich
folds. The Child, unusually large, is wrapped in
a wine-red cloth over a gold-brocade undergar-
ment.
A small procession-altarpiece, such as were
carried at the top of a pole in religious pageants,
showing a " Crucifixion " (1062B), is by Francesco
di Vanuccio (active 1361-1388), a Sienese artist
of little importance.
Another pupil of Lippo Memmi was Andrea
Vanni (1332-1414), who often collaborated with
Bartolo di Fredi. A Madonna with Child, holding
fruit in its hand (1654), is by Berenson considered
an early work of this artist.
Allegretto Nuzi (died 1374) was of Fabriano,
and belonged to the Umbrian school, although
formed under Florentine influences. Umbrian art
was even more illustrative than Sienese art, seeking
only the mere reproduction of actual or ideal
reality. The Museum possesses two small panels,
a "Madonna Enthroned" (1076) and a "Cruci-
fixion" (1078), which have a refined wistfulness.
His pupil, Gentile da Fabriano (1365 ?-1427),
may well be considered the brightest ornament of
TS,bz IFtaltan paintings 19
this early Umbrian school. His " Mary with the
Child and Two Saints " (1130) is one of the most
precious treasures in this room. The Madonna
is seated on a low arm-chair between two orange-
trees. In the dusky verdure we do not see golden
fruit gleaming, but little seraphim playing on musi-
cal instruments. The most beautiful maiden, the
daughter of a prince, Saint Catharine, stands at
one side, dressed in a mantle of ermine, and facing
her St. Nicholas in his episcopal robes and mitre,
protectingly presenting the kneeling donor. There
is great naturalism, a feeling for beauty, a sense
of colour, a glowing vivacity, about this picture
which points to the advanced change in style from
Gothic to Renaissance painting. Also the nude
Child, standing on its mother's knees, is evidence
of the transition.
The further development is seen on the long
wall to our left. The first decades of the fifteenth
century cover the period of humanism, when hum-
ble faith was giving place to self-consciousness,
when people turned from the ideals of the higher
world to the more vital presence of life as it was.
Art followed the same course, and forsook its
neglect, if not hatred, of every thing that was of
the earth earthy, and found a new revelation of
beauty in nature and in man. And Fra Angelico
(1387-1455), although expressing on canvas ardour
20 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
of Christian feeling and the ecstasy of the blessed,
did this in an almost earthly festive way.
II Beato Frate Giovanni Da Fiesole, commonly
called Fra Angelico, belonged to the Piagnoni (a
name given to the followers of Savonarola, sig-
nifying weeper, mourner, or grumbler), and his
goodness, his humility, his quiet charm of manner,
and his deep piety gave him the odour of sanctity.
But Fra Angelico was above all else an artist,
and a great painter.
He must not be judged by the few pictures by
which he is most generally known by the inane
prettiness of the " celestial dolls flat as paper, stuck
fast to their gold background," playing on musical
instruments, which adorn the frame of the Madonna
dei Linajuoli. These are artistically contemptible,
inferior stuff such as even a great master may in
a moment of weakness produce, but which cannot
compare with the consummate power wherewith
he rendered form in his great achievements.
At first Giottesque in his art, he gradually de-
veloped, influenced to a certain extent by the great
Masaccio whom we shall see later. Without losing
his early exquisite grace of line, his charm of bright
harmonious colour, and his singular beauty of facial
expression, his ever-increasing love of classical art,
and his observation of nature gave him new qual-
ities. His later work has all the religious con-
XTbe Italian paintings 21
viction of his early years, but besides he draws
and models with a skill that rivals the greatest of
his Renaissance successors.
A very early example hangs here, a " Madonna
Enthroned" (60), which shows yet the somewhat
hesitating steps. Somewhat more advanced are
two small pictures about St. Francis (61, 62) which
are very attractive, especially for their light-effect,
and are also interesting because the Dominican
monk has rarely pictured the St. Francis legend.
One of his latest works, and that one of his master-
pieces, will be seen further on, in the Donatello
Room.
Fra Filippo Lippi's (1406-1468) "Mary as
Mother of Consolation" (95), with its crowd of
virginal faces, is as characteristic of this artist as
the works we shall see later. But this panel may
not be regarded as entirely by his own hand, and
the assistance of pupils must be conceded. The
merry f rater was pastor of the nun-cloister of
Prato, and so popular with his flock that all would
gladly serve as models for his pictures, from which
sad scandals resulted.
An early Veronese was Vittore Pisano, called
Pisanello (1385-1455), who was associated with
Gentile da Fabriano in the decoration of the Ducal
Palace at Venice. The small tondo " Adoration
of the Magi " (95A) shows the ceremonial visit
22 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
of the Kings with all their gorgeous retinue. The
painting has been sent from pillar to post as far as
its attribution is concerned, but careful research
has fully established its being by Pisanello. The
admirably disposed landscape-background raised the
first doubt as to its authenticity, but various de-
tails, the elaborate mantle of the page with his
back to us, the animals, notably the camel in the
shed, are found in signed drawings by Pisanello,
which leaves no doubt as to its origin. The high
tree in the middle-distance is a botanical curiosity.
The rear view of the horse is, however, typical,
for Pisanello was considered by his contemporaries
a great horse painter.
Another "Adoration of the Magi" (5) is by
Antonio Vivarini (active 1435-1470), of Murano,
one of a large family of painters on that outlying
Venetian island. This early work was painted
about 1440. The Kings descend from the reddish-
shimmering city towards the quiet valley where the
humble hut is surrounded by the golden shower
of nature's beauties.
At the exit wall we must still note two Sienese
artists of this time. Stefano di Giovanni, called
Sasseta (active 1427-1450), has a Madonna (63B)
of fine brushwork, but which in its mannered, long
drawn-out figures is exceedingly distasteful. He fell
into an eclectic following of old types and motives.
Ube irtalian paintings 23
The whimsical Giovanni di Paolo (1403-1482) has
a "Crucifixion" (1112B) of exceptional interest.
It shows excessive mobility of the figures of the
group on the right, while the group of women
on the left, although more quiet, is also agitated
with pathetic emotions.
Room 30 Florentine Paintings of the
15th Century
The paintings in this Cabinet are of small size,
but precious products of the prominent Florentine
school.
Domenico Veneziano (1405-1461) was an inno-
vator in technique in that he mixed varnish with
the distemper he used, greatly adding to the bril-
liancy of his colours. His " Martyrdom of St.
Lucia " (64) is a part of the predella of a large
altarpiece now in the Uffizi. It is an unique pres-
entation, where the young saint is kneeling in the
centre of a courtyard and the assassin comes be-
hind her to bury his knife in her back. The Praetor
of Sicily witnesses, and points directions from a
balcony. The movement of the unrushing culprit
is exceedingly well expressed and is an artistic
achievement. One should not forget to examine
the fine blue-gold frame which dates from the fif-
teenth century.
24 Ube Brt of tbe aBeritn Galleries
On the next wall hangs a fine pale portrait of
a young woman (1614, Plate 1), also by Domenico,
which is very popular. It used to be ascribed to
Piero della Francesca, but in its colour, and the
striking individuality of the face the true author
has lately been recognized. One will not easily for-
get this charming profile with the blond hair and its
dainty white cap against the light blue of a southern
sky. The contrast between the piquant line of the
face and the graceful curve of the neck is as har-
monious as a bel canto. The hair is stiffly brushed
back according to the custom of the time whereby
the forehead becomes very prominent, and the
whole face consists of clear, light planes with the
only colour in the eyes and lips. The ear is here
exposed, indicating that she is a young matron,
since it was the duty of maidens to keep the ear
covered with the veil or hair. The dress is brilliant
in its gold brocade of Luccha which was world
famous. The fair unknown is seated on a balcony
of her home; her identity was likely revealed by
her husband's portrait as a pendant, which, how-
ever, is lost.
The profile portrait was first painted in Northern
Italy, but became soon popular in Florence, where-
of we see another attractive example in a portrait
of a young woman of rare beauty (81). Her
luxuriant blond hair lies in heavy coils over the
DOMENICO
VENEZIANO
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN
Plate i
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
XTbe ITtalian paintings 25
back of her head, leaving the front hair to hang
down freely over the side of the face and the ear.
The dark blue under-bodice and the quiet deep
red over-dress form with the light flesh-colours
a happy contrast against the dark background. This
unknown young maiden was painted by someone
under Botticelli's or Ghirlandajo's influence.
Two other female portraits here are full- face.
They are by Lorenzo di Credi (1457-1536) and
by Bronzino (1502-1572), much later men.
Lorenzo's is an early work, a portrait of a young
woman in a simple laced bodice, and a small white
cap on her dark hair. A heavy circlet of coral
with a small cross of pearls is around her well-
moulded neck. While the features are by no means
beautiful they have a curious look of mingled self-
consciousness and childish ingenuousness. The sub-
scription on a scroll at the bottom of the picture,
" noli me tangere," becomes somewhat mysterious
when taken in connection with a citation from
Petrarch which is found on the back which, trans-
lated, says, " What God willed has happened ; what
God wills shall come to pass. The fear of shame
is only pride therefore I regretted what I de-
sired when I already possessed it." Someone has
interpreted this as if the portrait were that of an
Italian Margaretha whom her Faust addresses with,
" Whatever has happened, thou art pure." The
26 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
face of the young girl will bear this out, for it
has as puzzling and enigmatic an expression as
the Mona Lisa. Lorenzo was but twenty-three
when he painted this portrait and possibly he may
himself have been concerned in the affair.
A more easily understood, and thoroughly ex-
pressive counterfeit is that of the aristocratic look-
ing Eleanora of Toledo (338B), who in 1539 be-
came the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, grandduke
of Tuscany, who for forty-three years reigned in
the Pitti Palace. There she changed the demo-
cratic, informal atmosphere of the court of the
commercial city on the Arno to all the rigidity of
the Spanish-Neapolitan court-etiquette in which she
had been brought up. Her magnificent costume,
decked with pearls and jewels is in fit keeping with
the reserved, dignified, even somewhat overbearing
look in the regular features of the princess. The
portrait is the work of her court-painter Angelo
Bronzino, who had received much of the power of
his master, Pontormo, as a portrait painter.
Bronzino's portrait of her husband, Cosimo, hangs
next. The prince is shown in steel harness, his
hand resting on his helmet, which he had laid on
the stump of a tree. An olive green curtain serves
as background. The artist made numerous replicas
of this portrait.
We must still wait for the next room to see the
Ube fltaltan paintings 27
works of the first great Florentine painter of the
Early Renaissance, Masaccio, who revealed to his
age its new ideals. He left the greatest impress
upon the young men of his time, and led them from
the pietistic way of Fra Angelico to a naturalistic
realism. His famous fresco cycle in the Carmelite
Church of Florence always remained the training
school of Florentine painters.
His follower, Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), the
son of Fra Filippo and the beautiful nun Lucrezia,
was unconvincing in his work and without signifi-
cance, although his " Allegory of Music" (78A)
indicates a measure of invention. A nymph whose
draperies are ruthlessly made sport of by the
wind, is aided by two winged putti to harness a
swan. The lyre of Orpheus, the pipe of Pan, and
the flute of Silenus lie on a shady embankment,
and it is supposed that the allegory represents the
triumph of vocal music the swansong over
instrumental music. The attractiveness of the
painting, with its consumptive delicacy, lies entirely
outside the sphere of pure art and in the realm of
genre illustration.
Filippino's own pupil, Raffaelino del Garbo
(1466-1524) is a typical representative of the
decorative tendency of the school, and its passion
to show dexterity. He surrounds his " Madonna
with the Child and two music-making Angels "
28 XTbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
(90) with an ornate setting of masonry, and a
mountainous landscape in the background. It is
one of his best pieces. In the face of the Madonna,
who rests her cheek against the curly head of the
sleeping infant, speaks tenderest motherhood; one
of the cherubim has stopped playing for fear of
disturbing the child's slumbers, while the other
softly touches the lute as in a sweet lullaby. The
grouping has almost a Raphaelesque trait. Coming
at the end of the century Garbo showed the serious-
ness and modesty of the Early Renaissance in
transition to the freer style of the High Renais-
sance, still only with a glint of promise unfulfilled.
A far stronger man, and somewhat earlier, was
Verrocchio (1435-1488), even greater as a sculptor
than as a painter, whose Colleoni Memorial ranks
him with Donatello in the plastic art. His search
for form is noticeable in his painting, where the
excessive modelling of details has somewhat of a
disturbing effect. This may be seen in his " Mary
with the Child" (104A), one of his rare easel-
pictures. The sculpturesque roundness of all the
parts, the scrupulous separateness of the fingers
point to his real profession. In his landscape-back-
grounds, however, he was a decided innovator, and
he was the first to feel that a faithful reproduction
of the contours is not landscape. He felt that light
and atmosphere play an important part. To him
Ube fltaiian paintings 29
his two most famous pupils, Perugino and Leonardo
da Vinci, owe their naturalistic treatment of land-
scape.
Contemporary with him was Antonio Pollaiuolo
(1429-1498), the greatest scientific artist of the
Florentine school, who applied the science of anat-
omy to the presentation of movement. He was
above all original, borrowing little from the antique,
and exercised great influence on the next genera-
tion. Although he generally paints hideous faces
and scarcely less hideous bodies, in his " David "
(73A) we find a marked exception. Here the
young warrior has sped his stone, cut off the Giant's
head, and now he strides over it, his graceful,
slender figure still vibrating with the rapidity of his
triumph. There is lightness and buoyance in this
graceful youth, as he stands with a second stone
in his sling ready for the next enemy.
This David-motif, which was worked so often
in those days, from Donatello to Michelangelo, has
for its pendant the presentation of the female
heroine "Judith" (21), by Domenico Ghirlandajo
(1449-1494). The Jewish widow is here placed
with her maid, who carries the head of Holofernes,
in a rich Renaissance corridor, although the story
calls for an anxious fleeing from a tent in the early
morning. This was, however, a conventional pres-
entation, and Ghirlandajo, who had not a spark
30 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
of original genius, only adopted the best of what
he found in the greater masters. His only aim
was to render bright colour, pretty faces, without
significance for psychologically one could not dis-
tinguish here in this " Judith " the mistress from
the maid. His work has an undeniable charm,
is attractive and delightful, but lacks character.
Only in his portraits he rises occasionally above
mediocrity.
His brother-in-law and imitator, Sebastiano
Mainardi (died 1513) shows this by reflection, for
the three portraits which we have here by Mainardi
are attractive. They are the portrait of a Cardinal
(85); of a young man (86), with a far view
of a sea-port in the background; and especially
that of a young woman (83), where the light
profile comes out beautifully against a dark col-
umn.
We must also halt before another work by
Lorenzo di Credi, which hangs next. It is one
of his usual Adorations of the Child (100). This
one of the many pupils of Verrocchio, although
living to within the sixteenth century, never forsook
the traditions of the fifteenth. The picture is of
an ivory finish, the excessive care bestowed making
it finnicky in execution.
From this room we pass through Cabinet 31,
which contains the glazed sculpture of the della
XTbe irtaltan paintings 31
Robbia family the finest selection of work next
to that in the National Museum in Florence.
Room 32 Sculpture in Marble of Donatello
and desiderio, and old florentine paint-
INGS
Among the marbles in this cabinet we find some
important paintings of the early leaders, Fra
Angelico, Masaccio and Fra Filippo Lippi, the
pioneers of the Quattrocento, who with Ucello and
Castagno brought forth the new art expression of
the Renaissance.
The most magnificent work of Fra Angelico is
his "Last Judgment" (60), a triptychon, which
was acquired in 1884 from the collection of the
Earl of Dudley of London. In no work has
Angelico shown the breadth and richness of his
thought as in this altarpiece. Best known for the
ecstatic feeling and the sacramental earnestness
which inspired him, and which led him to the pic-
turing of angelic beauty, heavenly blitheness, vivid
portrayal of the blessed and the saints, we find
here also a Dantesque canto on the pathos of the
dies irae. The fate of the accidiosi, gulosi, iracundi,
invidi, libidinosi, is depicted with startling vivid-
ness, without the grotesque caricatures we generally
find in the work of the northern painters, Bosch,
Teniers and Cranach. But the Fra did not love the
32 TLbc Brt of tbe ^Berlin Galleries
side of evil, and this portion is subdued, with ever
diminishing figures, and forms the contrast to the
procession bf monks, saints and angels, entering the
gates of paradise. Here the master pours out his
soul in the joy of life that is hallowed by faith and
holy ardour. The rhythmic dance of angels, full
of heavenly joy and ecstacy, through the flowery
meads towards the heavenly gates, is the most beau-
tiful Fra Angelico has ever painted. This work
was the culmination of his art, painted in Rome
about 1450, and with all the feeling of the Middle
Ages it gives an expression of this feeling which
is almost modern.
It is exceedingly rare to find an easel painting
by Masaccio (1401-1427), even in Italy, for his
working-days extended only over ten years at the
age of twenty-seven he was murdered in a Roman
street. But the Berlin Museum possesses three
panels by this young genius.
Almost nothing is known of Masaccio's life.
The only estimate we can form of him as a man
is what Vasari tells about him, that he was very
absorbed and absent minded, a man who had thrown
himself heart and soul into his art, and careless
about temporal affairs. " So not because of any
vicious habits (for he was a man of innate good-
ness), but merely on account of excessive neglect
of himself, everybody called him not Thomas, his
ZTbe Italian paintings 33
real name, but Masaccio [a rough English render-
ing would be ' that poor wretch of a Tom ']. For
all that, his readiness and courtesy in helping others
left nothing to be desired."
And yet, in spite of the short period of his activ-
ity, the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in the
Carmine at Florence are regarded as having been
an accidentia for the artists that followed. For no
man more signally influenced the art of the Renais-
sance than Masaccio. His greatest achievement is
that he was the first who practised that quality in
art, for which Bernard Berenson has so aptly
used the phrase: the giving of tactile values. As
Berenson expresses it : "I feel that I could touch
every figure, that it would yield a definite resist-
ance to my touch, that I should have to expend
much effort to displace it, that I could walk
around it."
Thus Masaccio was the first to give bodily form
to his figures. Heretofore they had been flat he
gave them the illusion of being round. This new
doctrine of form, originated by Donatello, was
transferred by Masaccio to the graphic arts, and
thereby he led in that quality which became the
strongest characteristic and the greatest glory of
the Florentine school form.
Two of his panels in the Berlin Museum are the
only remains of the predella of an altarpiece, the
34 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
main panel of which is lost, which he painted for
the Church del Carmine in Pisa. On one of these
panels we have an " Adoration of the Kings "
(58A), not as crowded as Pisano's which we saw
in the first room, but with an orderly grouping of
exquisitely painted figures. The principal person-
ages are not, as is usually the case, the three Kings,
but two finely drawn figures, occupying the centre
of the scene, and representing the donors of the
altarpiece, Giuliano di Colino degli Scarsi and his
brother, in the costume of jurists of Pisa. The
manger-group on the left must have been a re-
production of the manner of its stage representa-
tion at the time. The hilly landscape with its
rolling masses binds the composition together in a
grand, yet restful manner.
In contrast with this festive scene the two views
on the other panel (58B) are oppressive. They
represent the martyrdom of St. Peter and of St.
John the Baptist. Peter is being crucified outside
the gates between the two Roman pyramids, with
his head down, as he himself desired. John is be-
ing held down to earth by the pike of a soldier,
while another soldier swings the broad sword that
shall sever John's head. The action of the murder-
ing soldiers is very expressive and has a high plane
of reality and significance. On both the panels we
must admire the strength of the young men, the
Ube fltaifan paintings 35
gravity and power of the old. Small as the com-
position is, it has all the breadth of feeling, the
firm symmetry, the austere simplicity that we find
in his large frescoes.
Still more are these new elements discernible in
the third work by Masaccio, a tondo (58C) with
finely carved frame, in imitation of a so-called
" Desco da parto," which means a plate upon which
presents and food were handed to a woman lying
in childbirth. This tondo offers one of the first
presentations of a non-biblical subject ever made.
The scene shows the interior of a house, on the
one side a rich corridor, on the other the room
where the child is born. In this room, richly hung
with tapestries, we see the mother stretched on a
couch and waited upon by servants and neighbours.
In the corridor we see* a number of women friends
approaching the door of the chamber to offer con-
gratulations. They are accompanied by two pages
blowing on heraldic trumpets rather an incon-
siderate noise to torture the ears of the young
mother and two other pages, one of whom carries
such a Desco da parto. The architecture shows
the new building style of the Early Renaissance,
which had just been introduced, already in full per-
fection.
The impression which Masaccio made upon the
younger generation of artists was so powerful that
36 TTbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
even those who at first followed the footsteps of
Fra Angelico soon fell into the example of the
great realist. Thus in the work of his greatest
pupil, Fra Filippo Lippi, we do no longer find the
pietism of the Dominican monk but a naturalism
full of material beauty. Lippi' s strongest impulse
was towards expression of the pleasant, genial,
spiritually comfortable joy of life as might be
expected from one whose sins and follies and im-
morality brought shame and disgrace on himself
and the religious order of the Carmelites with
which he was connected. At one time Abbot of
San Quirico, Lippi died an unfrocked priest.
With Masaccio we find the first bold and un-
equivocal departure from the authority of the
traditions of art recognized by all the followers of
Giotto, the first unbiased natural inspiration with
Fra Filippo Lippi we have the first direct recourse
to the individual as a substitute for the ideal. He
it was who brought the human type into art, in
exchange for that ideal but conventional type which
had been called divine. He made the Madonna a
real mother of a real baby, and gave to sacred
personages the features of living men and women.
What Burckhart calls " the most beautiful paint-
ing in the Museum," is Filippo's " Adoration of
the Child" (69), which the artist, still young,
painted for the family chapel of the Medici in
XTbe Utaiian lPatnttnas . 37
the Palazzo Riccardi. On the walls of this chapel
Benozzo Gozzoli had painted the three Magi in
the forms of the Medici themselves who came
riding in a gorgeous Oriental cavalcade towards this
altarpiece with its idyllic setting in an umbrous
woodscene. It was a new way of portraying the
worshipping Madonna, away from the stable, and
surrounded by the dark, clustering trees of a cool
forest. The attractive, winsome face of the Virgin,
robed in red and blue, bends forward over her grace-
ful, delicate hands as she looks upon the fascina-
ting babe that lies playfully among the grass and
flowers. The little John, in lambskin, holding a
small cross, and with that air of gentle sadness
which Filippo loved to give him, stands a little
way off, and the God- father himself witnesses the
scene from above, shedding illuminating rays from
the dove over the little group below.
In his middle period Fra Filippo lost much of his
delicate charm because of his study of scientific
naturalism, and the " Madonna with the Child "
(58) is by no means in as fascinating a mood as
he displayed again later on for which remember
his " Mother of Consolation " in the first room.
The Madonna before us stands in a niche, the
shell-like top of which forms the background to
her head. The type of her face is a broad oval,
with a snub nose, dolorous looking mouth, and
38 TTbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
short chin, and the child looks rather dropsical.
We note here also his principal weakness in the
bunchy, billowy draperies, which he acquired from
his first master, the Giottesque painter Lorenzo
Monaco.
Room 34 Ferrarese and Bolognese Paint-
ings of the 15th and 16th Centuries
The next Cabinet, 33, contains a number of
bronze reliefs and statuettes. We turn, however,
to the large Gallery 34, where the North Italian
artists are shown. The study of the local char-
acteristics and differences in style of the various
schools is most instructive, and shows that almost
each city in Italy had its own dialect in art.
The artists who worked in Ferrara at the art
loving court of the d'Esthe received their first teach-
ing from Padua, but soon fasten the attention by
their independent development, and peculiar fan-
tastic characteristics an exaggerated, playful,
architectonic detail and decoration; as well as the
bright glow of colours which they display even
when painting in distemper.
The magnificent altarpiece which dominates this
entire gallery is by the best of the early men,
Cosimo Tura (1430-1495), and is his renowned
masterpiece, although one of his earliest works.
Ube irtalian paintings 39
The monumental throne with its crystal columns,
ornate carving, flaming marble and golden mosaics,
is an architectural curiosity, filling almost the entire
canvas, but showing between the feet and through
the arches at the sides a beautiful, cool, light-grey
landscape of lagunes and mountains. In all the
fulness of this pictorial display sits the Virgin-
mother, with the sleeping Child on her lap, flanked
on the upper steps by St. Catharine and St.
Apollonia. The former's hair hangs loose over
a fine red garment, the latter's hair is brushed
back, and her dress is of light-green with a dark-
red bodice, her face in full light. At the foot of
the throne stand two church- fathers St. Augus-
tine with mitre, stole and crozier, and his eagle,
and St. Jerome with bald head and loose gown,
and his lion. St. Augustine is reading in a large
book, his " de civitate dei," and this city of the
future is symbolized and mirrored in the crystal
globe at his feet. The fulness of detail is astound-
ing, and is owing to the Paduan influence of
Squarcione, from whom Tura also acquired the
anatomical insistences of coarse, long joints and
knuckles.
This extraordinary anatomy becomes grotesque
in the small "St. Christopher " (1170C), where
the child is scampering on the saint's shoulders,
much in the fashion of a monkey. So is the mani-
4o Uhc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
fest exertion of the big, strong man, as he grasps
his tall staff, too apparently exaggerated. The " St.
Sebastian" (1170B) is colder and flatter in colour,
and too knotty and contorted to be agreeable to
the eye.
His contemporary, Francesco Cossa (flourished
1435-1477) is far milder and more pleasing in
a single figure which we find here, representing
"Autumn" (115A); although in his large altar-
pieces he often showed the same morbid exaggera-
tion. This Autumn picture is one of a series sym-
bolically representing the seasons or the months,
and must have been originally intended for a pal-
ace banquet-hall, and not for the Session-hall of
the Dominican Inquisition of Ferrara where the
figures last hung together. This young woman
carrying heavy field-tools and a large branch of a
grape-vine with luscious bunches is painted quite
in the modern way of Jules Breton, even with
the same low horizon of the landscape which
reaches only to her knees. This is a rolling land-
scape with fertile fields where peasants till the soil
and horsemen caper along the highways.
The principal one of this Ferrarese school was
Lorenzo Costa (1460-1535), who went early to
Bologna where he studied with Francia. We find
here two excellent works, a " Presentation in the
Temple" (112), and a "Lamentation of Christ"
Ubc fltaiian paintings 41
(115). The Temple presents the genuine interior
of a synagogue in which the details, the seven-
armed candlestick, the thora-roll, are given with
keen archaeological knowledge. Levites and temple
attendants are present with the Holy Family. A
half-nude youth brings the knife for the circum-
cision, and a girl on the other side a deep plate.
The main group of six persons stands somewhat
back on the rising steps of the altar. The colour
is restrained and reserved to a few bold, bright
tones by the side of which Tura's colours look
broken and garish. In the drawing we find also
the softening influences of the South, in the slender,
delicate forms, the grace of movement and the
charm of facial expression, as opposed to Tura's
homeliness and distortions.
Of the Ferrarese of the sixteenth century
Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo (1481-1559) still ad-
hered to the characteristic traits of the previous
century: the glowing, luminous reds, and a some-
what fantastic expression in the landscape. This
is seen in his " St. Jerome" (243), where the her-
mit kneels in the solitary place; not one of his
best works, however, for the flesh tints are de-
cidedly smoky.
Mazzolini (1478-1528) painted often small cab-
inet pieces, wherein he was more successful than
in larger compositions. His small " Holy Family
42 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin (Ballerfes
with Elizabeth and the little John" (270), and
"The Boy Jesus teaching in the Temple" (273),
are finely drawn, although the heads of the
Pharisees look much like caricatures. A large
altarpiece of the same subject (266), which Vasari
considered his masterpiece, is too motley in colour
which is dry and hard. Domenico Panetti (1460-
1512) followed the Umbrian direction of Costa.
His "Lamentation of Christ" (113) is rather flat
in colour, but excels in the rich and varied treat-
ment of the landscape.
The great Bolognese presented in this gallery
is Francesco Raibolini, called Francia (1451-1517),
who according to Raphael was equal to Perugino
and Giovanni Bellini. He may be regarded as an
intermediate link between the schools of Florence
and Venice, by uniting form and colour in a tender
harmony. He was a pure, tasteful painter,
rendered popular by his quiet, peaceful groupings
of lofty, noble feeling, and by his meticulous
finish. His early work, a "Holy Family" (125)
has still the drawing a little sharp he was a gold-
smith at first and the colour cold ; but his
"Throned Madonna with Saints" (122), of 1502,
is a fine work of deep religious motif, combined
with physical beauty of the purest type. It is not
as ecstatic as Fra Angelico's work, nor has it the
insipidity of Perugino's affectation.
Gbe fltalian paintings 43
Room 35 Lombard Paintings
In the small Cabinet around the Court we
find a few interesting examples of North Italian
painters; who all were drawn to Milan where
Leonardo da Vinci exerted his mighty influence.
This resulted in a vacillation between their earlier
adherence to the culture of the antique after the
example of the Paduans and the gracefulness and
pathetic sweetness of mood with purity of line and
warmth of colour which later characterized them.
Bernardino Luini (1475-1532), sympathetic,
charming, devoted to grace, and most susceptible
to beauty, was one of the most prominent of the
school. A follower of Leonardo from afar, but
never his pupil, he still adapted his style so closely
to that of da Vinci that their works have, until
recently, been commonly confounded. He lacks,
however, intellectuality, and his cloying sweetness
bores in the end. The " Madonna with Child "
(217), whereof the reds are varied and softly
harmonious, has been much restored and lost en-
tirely its original appearance. The Child is lightly
draped and lies in the lap of its mother, to whom it
extends an apple.
More striking is a strongly expressive profile
portrait of a Cardinal (55), by Bernardino de Conti
(active 1499-1522). The red cardinal's cloak
44 ^be Brt of tbe Berlin Oaiieries
stands out as a massive block against the black
background, while the triangle of the face with its
billows of flesh, but with keen features pursed
mouth, dilated nostrils and piercing eyes is all
the more luminous. Bernardino, together with Am-
brogio de Predis, represents in Milan the archaic
tendency of painting at a time when Leonardo
for years had already been painting in a newer
way. A " Portrait of Margherita Colleone "
(208), in a light-grey, closely fitting gown, with
wide sleeves, and a white veil over her hair, is also
from his hand.
A forerunner of decadence was Giovanni Pedrini
(active 1510-1530), a pupil of Leonardo. His
favourite theme was the repentant Magdalene,
whereof we have an example (205). His only
object apparently was to paint the charm of surface
of the smooth skin. It is not the nude painting as
we shall see it with Correggio and Titian, but such
as van der Werff, Bouguereau, and many others
produced porcelain bisque with rouge and cream.
A semi-nude " St. Catharine " (215) gives him the
same opportunity, although the scene of her mar-
tyrdom, between two teethed wheels on which
the fire from heaven is descending, adds some
pathos.
The most significant painter of Brescia was
Giambattista Moroni (1520-1578), one of the
TZbe Italian painttnas 45
strongest and most characterful portrait painters,
but uninventive and weak in his altarpieces. His
two portraits of men (167, 193) are full of a
modern spirit and treatment. They are both
dressed in black, a fashion which was then re-
placing the multi-coloured costume of the past.
With the black only green and white are used,
besides the colourful faces.
We find also in this cabinet a " Holy Family
with St. Francis " (227), by the principal Ferrarese
of the sixteenth century, Dosso Dossi (1479-1542),
who really belongs in the previous gallery. He
was richly endowed with a feeling for poetic effects
of light and colour, painted with ease and richness
of tone.
Room 64 The Carpets After Raphael's
Cartoons
Before proceeding with our discussion of the
paintings we come by the Balcony in the large
Gallery 64, between the two Courts, and view there
the Carpets that were made after Raphael's car-
toons, seven of which are to-day in the South
Kensington Museum.
Pope Leo X ordered of Raphael ten cartoons,
from which carpets were woven in 1516 by Peter
van Aelst, in gold, silk and wool. These carpets
were used on festal days to decorate the lower part
46 Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
of the walls of the Sistine Chapel, and are to this
day kept in one of the halls of the Vatican. A
second series was woven in exactly like manner,
which set came into the possession of Henry VIII
of England, and which remained until the death
of Charles I in the royal palace of Whitehall. At
the sale of the artistic treasures of the late king
the carpets were bought by the Spanish ambassador
for the Duke d'Alba and were sent to Spain, but
in 1823 they came back to England where in 1844
they were bought for the Berlin Museum.
A later repetition of six carpets of the series is
in Dresden, and other repetitions, of the seventeenth
century, are found in Madrid, Vienna and Loreto.
These, however, do not have the gold threads.
The Berlin carpets are exact replicas of those in
the Vatican.
The Cartoons from which these carpets were
woven have been called the Parthenon-sculptures
of the Renaissance, and Wolfflin has said, " they
were the treasure whence one could draw the form
expression of all human sensations; and Raphael's
fame rests principally on these performances. The
Western world had never been able heretofore to
represent conclusively the movements of astonish-
ment, consternation, the agony of sorrow and the
image of the divine."
It must be understood that the Cartoons rank
XTbe Italian paintings 47
artistically higher than the tapestries. The former
are Raphael's own drawings with their delicate
shades of colour and subtle indications of type and
character in the lines, which the weavers could not
reproduce with their materials. Time also has
faded the original glowingly rich colours, which
are now almost monochromatic. Still the group-
ing, the balance of the masses, the exquisite ex-
pression of the lines remain, and in these arazzi
we have the noble, complete product of Raphael's
mastership in composition.
The subjects woven in these tapestries are drawn
from the Acts of the Apostles, or rather represent
scenes from the lives of Peter and Paul, and it is
apparent that the object was to illustrate the rela-
tionship between the history of the Apostles and
the Papal Hierarchy.
The first carpet to the right shows " The Mirac-
ulous Draught of Fishes," where the Master with
Peter and his brother Andrew are seated in one
boat, and three fishermen in another pulling in the
nets. Peter is kneeling before the miracle-worker.
In the distance are the shores of the lake Gennes-
areth. In the foreground threei cranes stand in the
water on a shallow spot near which the wonderful
catch is made.
It is notable that the boats are proportionately
far too small to carry the human loads, which was
48 XTbe Htt of the Berlin Galleries
a peculiarity of cinquecento art, to subdue the
material to the spiritual, even though it should
contradict the facts. We note the same singularity
in Leonardo da Vinci's " Last Supper," where the
table is apparently too small for the company.
The second carpet, " Pasci Oves," Feed My
Sheep, illustrates the charge to Peter in a beautiful
grouping of the Apostles, and where the actual
flock of sheep is not omitted.
In the " Healing of the Lame " the foreportal
of the Temple is shown by a hall with heavy, turned
columns among which the multitude surges to
witness the miracle which Peter is performing.
An open square is the scene of " The Death of
Ananias," where the culprit is struck down upon
the pavement as Peter, surrounded by the Apostles,
lifts his hand to call judgment from heaven.
The " Conversion of Saul " is a far different
composition from the one we shall see in the Rubens
gallery. A long caravan stretches into the depth
of the picture, while the wildness of Saul's horse
clears a space in the foreground. The next tapestry
shows " The Stoning of St. Stephen," and the one
following, " Paul and Barnabas in Lystra," where
the apostle tears his garments because the multitude
tries to make him a subject of idolatry.
The sorcerer Elymas struck blind by Paul is
seen on the next carpet, while the last one is of
Ube Utalian paintings 49
the most impressive composition, " Paul Preaching
at Athens." Raphael indicates the Areopagus by-
fanciful Greek temple-architecture, Paul with up-
lifted hands standing on a mosaic platform in front
of a colonade. The multitude is in wrapt attention,
only Dionysius the Areopagite makes a gesture of
interest. One of the Vatican carpets, " Paul and
Silas delivered from Prison by an Earthquake,"
is missing in the Berlin set.
Room 38 Florentine Paintings of the 1 5th
Century
Continuing our study of the paintings we pass
over the balcony of the Basilica and enter the large
gallery 38, which is called the Botticelli Gallery,
because of the number of works of this great Flor-
entine shown here. The principal Quattrocento
Florentines are also represented.
Sandro di Mariano Filipepi, called Botticelli
(1444-1510), combines to a remarkable degree the
results of training and individual genius. Through
his teacher, Fra Filippo, he was imbued with the
religious feeling of Dante and Savonarola, and he
had acquired great knowledge of the antique, and
followed nature arduously. Therewith he joined
an individual conception of the value of line to
simulate movement, and no one, outside of Japan,
has been more competent to create in his decorative
50 Ube Brt of tbe 3Beritn Galleries
compositions a lineal symphony. But the religious
tendency of his early influences hampers somewhat
the full expression of his intentions. Thus his
figures often seem warped by melancholy, the types
become ill-favoured, the faces are scarcely ever
charming, or even attractive. And yet, there is an
irresistible swing to his line, with graceful curves,
almost pagan abandon, which makes all his work,
from beginning to end, intensely fascinating.
One of his most characteristic Madonnas is a
full-length figure, standing before a niched throne
(102. Plate II). The Child stands on one of the
heavily carved arms of the chair, half leaning
against the mother, and lifting its right hand in
benediction, while angels, wreathed with roses and
holding long ornamental candles entwined with
flowers, are grouped in a row on both sides. It is
the tondo which Vasari called, " cosa bellissima, ,,
and the most expressive example of his graceful,
moving line, only surpassed in his " Spring," in
the Uffizi.
Fully as beautiful, and somewhat more simple
in composition, is another tondo (102A), where
the Madonna is seated, holding the Child pressed
against her breast. The four angels on each side
hold tall lillies in their hands. Their curly heads
form a straight line above which the head of the
Madonna slightly projects. These angel heads are
SANDRO
BOTTICELLI
MADONNA WITH THE CHILD AND ANGELS
Plate ii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Utaiian paintings 51
not beautiful, yet have they peculiar, attractive
types an oval with sharply demarked cheekbones,
hooked chins, high-drawn eyebrows, and rather
voluptuous, full lips. Still Sandro is able to
put into these features a dreamy expression, an
undefined longing, a naive ingenuousness. The
Madonna's face is more beautiful, but with a sad
look in the eyes and somewhat drooping mouth.
In the St. John altarpiece (106), which was
painted in 1485 for the Bardi Capella in Santo
Spirito, Sandro has shown his skill in adding
plants, flowers, fruits, and trees to the decorative
display of an ornate marble dais with benches and
vases. Before branches of cypress, palms and
myrtle, that arch like niches over their heads,
stand the two Johns, the Baptist and the Evangelist.
Between them, elevated on the dais, is the Madonna
seated, making ready to give the Child the breast,
for which it greedily stretches out both hands.
This is perhaps the most youthful looking Madonna
ever painted with its sweet, girlish face, a white
veil resting lightly on the long, blond hair.
An early work is the "St. Sebastian" (1128),
painted for the Medici in 1473, which plainly shows
Sandro's plastic studies with Pollaiuolo, at the same
time revealing the graceful bearing of his figures.
We have ample opportunity here to compare dif-
ferent examples of the St. Sebastian-motif by
52 Zbc Hrt of tbe Berlin (Bailettes
Cosimo Tura, Liberale da Verona, Basaiti, Lorenzo
Lotto, Paris Bordone, and also by Rubens. The
one by Botticelli presents an ideal youth, in no wise
surpassed in its fine proportions, nude painting, and
attractive appearance by any of the other examples.
The loosely wound loin-cloth shines brilliantly upon
the naked limbs.
Another nude is a replica of the single figure of
" Venus " (1124), slightly altered from the " Birth
of Venus " which Sandro painted for the Villa
Cosimo de' Medici at Costello. One of the guests
of Lorenzo Magnifico was so impressed with the
beauty of the central figure that he requested of
the artist a copy, which we have now before us.
The arrangement of the hair is different from the
Florentine Venus, and being taken out of the com-
position she is standing, and not half -floating. The
black background is very original and enhances
greatly the sculpturesque appearance.
Also in portraiture, which was then becoming
popular, Botticelli distinguished himself by the
simplicity and expressiveness of his human coun-
terfeits. His "Giuliano de' Medici" (106B) is
one of the finest Quattrocento portraits in exist-
ence. This brother of Lorenzo, and younger son
of Cosimo, was murdered in a riot, when but
twenty- five, in 1478, and Botticelli painted his por-
trait, the eyelids closed to indicate his decease, with
XEbe fltalian paintings 53
the aid of an existing bust-portrait. The sharply
cut, beardless face, ringed about with the raven-
black curly locks, comes out strongly against the
green background.
The pendant to this portrait is that of a young
woman (106A), which was originally supposed to
represent Simonetta Vespucci, the young mistress
of Giuliano, but the features bear too close resem-
blance to the ideal-heads in Sandro's compositions.
It is more likely the portrait of the artist's most
favourite model, his Fornarina.
The man who with Verrocchio had exercised
most influence upon Botticelli was Antonio Pol-
laiuolo. We have already seen works of both these
men. Antonio Pollaiuolo, however, had an alter
ego in his brother, Piero. The two constantly
collaborated, and scarcely is it possible to distin-
guish their independent works.
Piero Pollaiuolo (1443-1496), like his brother,
was a goldsmith and a sculptor as well as a painter.
He had the same plastic feeling for form which
through Donatello had been impressed upon the
Florentine school. We find in him, however, an-
other Florentine peculiarity more strikingly demon-
strated than in any other of his contemporaries.
This is the feeling for space a consequence of
the life in the southern city. In the trans-alpine
north, with its cold climate, the house is a shelter,
54 ^be Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
which becomes homelike and cozy a word un-
known in Italian. In the south the people live
more out of doors, and even in the house they
want largeness and freedom and no narrow rooms,
alcoves, and stuff-hangings. Such a typical Flor-
entine interior we find in the beautiful " Annuncia-
tion " (73. Plate III) by Piero, which has an
astounding architectural perspective. From the
anteroom with its two figures the long vista of
the two halls, separated by the marble wall, ends
in a delightful view of the Arno valley on the one
side, and at the end of the other hall through a
door into another room with three angels making
music. The varicoloured marbles and onyx slabs,
the richly decorated tapestried walls, the jewels
flashing in the costumes, give a most sumptuous
appearance. Mary, with hands crossed over her
bosom, sits on the right, her long body bent for-
ward, with a blue mantle over her brown dress.
The angel, holding a lily-stalk, kneels before the
Virgin while bringing the unusual tidings. The
colours are exceptionally brilliant through the use
of transparent glazes allowing the undertones to
shine through.
We have already seen the work of Lorenzo di
Credi. A panel which follows closest the style of
his master Verrocchio is called " Mary of Egypt "
(103), a Magdalene doing penance in the wilder-
Ube irtaltan paintings 55
ness and comforted by an angel flying in the air.
The penitent is nude but entirely hidden by her
long black hair that falls profusely from her head
down to the ground. Her elderly, haggard face
still bears signs of erstwhile beauty.
Francesco Botticini (1446-1498), also of the
Verrocchio school, the master of the " Vierge
Glorieuse " of the Louvre, is the author of a
" Crucifixion " (70A) and a " Coronation of the
Virgin" (72). In the Crucifixion is noticeable
the anatomical exactness of the crucified body, the
tension of the muscles, the sagging of the trunk
and thighs so that the legs are bent outward. The
five figures surrounding the cross are most incon-
gruously dressed in gorgeous Florentine costumes;
even the archangel Raphael, one of these, is swathed
about with voluminous robes as he leads by the
hand the little Tobith, dressed as a page in the
height of fashion. Petrus Martyr is dressed in a
long black cloak over a heavy white undergarment,
with an ornamental dagger sticking in his left
shoulder. St. Lawrence, well groomed, his hair
hanging in curly locks on his shoulders, with the
tonsure on the top of his head, wears the heavily
embroidered gold and silk gown of a noble; while
St. Anthony, with long, curly white beard, is
wrapped in the toga of a senator. Two angels
floating under the arms of the cross, also in swirl-
56 TLbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
ing raiment, complete the composition which, de-
spite its incongruity, has a great sense of dignity
and is brilliant in colouring.
Towards the end of the century the Florentine
painters became much weaker, more colourful, and
more picturesque, which is always an inferior,
slightly vulgar, and even an artificial form of art.
The exquisite line-work of Botticelli was hard to
learn, and did not quite suit the taste of the time.
Added thereto was the influence of the magnificent
Portinari altarpiece of the Fleming van der Goes,
that had come to Florence in 1475. The deep glow
and constructive unity of this masterpiece seemed
to the Florentines to make their own work flat,
cold, and depressing. The eccentric Piero di
Cosimo (1462-1521) was most deeply impressed
by this new style, and he reveals this in the
" Adoration of the Shepherds " (204) which has
deep, warm colours. An earlier work, " Venus,
Mars and Amour" (107) bears still evidence of
his poetic interest in the antique. The panel is in
the shape of a casone front, but much larger, and
therefore was likely a sopraporta. The subject is
founded on a poem by Polizianos, " La Giostra,"
where Venus has just awakened and enjoys herself
with the deep sleep of the war-god. The same
theme was treated by Botticelli in a picture now
in the National Gallery. Our picture shows us
Ube Italian paintings 57
Venus lying stretched upon the ground before a
myrtle bush. Her transparent veil slightly covers
her, and Cupid, a charming boy, nestles at her side.
Mars lies in the opposite direction fast asleep,
while putti are carrying away his armour piece-
meal. Rabbits and pigeons enliven the scene which
lies in a landscape that is far ahead of the land-
scapes painted by Masaccio, Baldovinetti, or Pol-
laiuolo. It has more truth of nature and less of
the stage-setting of Masaccio, or the bird's eye view
of Pollaiuolo. The Florentines were not in the
habit of painting figures lying down, they always
stand or sit, and the figures here are far from
perfect. The body of Venus especially is not ideally
beautiful, the abdomen sags down ungracefully.
But the charm of the whole, illuminated by the
light of the rising sun, is undeniable.
A design of the "Resurrection" (75), by
Domenico Ghirlandajo, was executed by his two
brothers, Davide (1452-1525) and Benedetto
(1458-1497). Together with the side-wings (74
and 76) it formed the reverse of Domenico's altar-
piece of the Choir of S. Maria Novella in Florence,
which is now in the Pinakothek in Munich. The
work is scarcely interesting but characteristic of
the imitative methods of Domenico, and of his
tendency to descend through excessive detail to
bad taste.
58 Zte Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Two paintings by Filippino Lippi, an early and
a late one, complete our survey of this Botticelli
period. We have already seen his " Allegory of
Music," in which we noted the combination of
antique elements with new allegorical motives.
The earlier work is a "Madonna" (101), rather
too gay in colour. The later work is a " Cruci-
fixion " (96) which with its gold background and
the waxy, ascetic form on the cross has a truly
archaic appearance. It was painted under the
influence of the Savonarola period and is far re-
moved from the humanistic ideals of the time. Still
the St. Francis and Mary, who kneel at the foot
of the cross, are well painted and have all the
purity in type and graceful sentiment in pose and
feature of his earlier work.
Room 37 , Umbrian and Paduan Paintings of
the 15th Century
The influence of Florence was felt to the south
as well as to the north. The Umbrians gradually
lost their feeling for detail, their gold ornamenta-
tion, their sentiment inherited from the Sienese,
and followed more and more the Florentine way
of expressing form. The Paduans in the north
manifested most strongly the influence of the study
of the classic marbles, but also these gradually
added the nature study which the Florentines first
2 S
Zbc f talfan painting 59
introduced. Melozzo da Forli and Luca Signorelli
were the first of the Umbrians to free themselves
from the halting provincial manner. Melozzo was
the grander temperament and excelled all his pre-
cursors by his exalted ideas of the beauty of com-
position. Signorelli had the subtler and deeper
mind, and in his masterful freedom in the treat-
ment of the nude must be regarded as the fore-
runner of Michelangelo.
Luca Signorelli (1441-1523) was in feeling for
the poetry of things inferior to no man. His " Pan
and the Shepherds " (79 A. Plate IV) is one of his
most characteristic and most fascinating works.
There he essayed in antique and mythological
symbols, and the distinct, tonic value of the nude,
to depict the wonderful charm of nature. It has
been suggested that a poem of Jacopo Sannazaro
gave the inspiration for the work, which presents
Pan as the god of nature and the master of music.
In the centre we see the goat- footed Pan seated
on a rock in a fantastic landscape, the tender
crescent moon crowning his locks. He rests his
organ-flute upon his knee as he gently inclines
his head to listen to the arcadian concert that is
being rendered for him and the two bronzed
shepherds. Young Olympos is piping and Silenus,
stretched on the ground, with the beautiful young
nymph standing forward, join him on the reeds.
60 Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
The veil of evening softens all colours. The
rhythmic disposition of the figures, standing, sit-
ting, and lying down, and of front, back and side
views, is of a variety not yet seen in the art of
that day. These nudes have a certain gigantic
robustness and suggestion of primeval energy;
they have redundant life, proud carriage, massive
muscles, sinewy limbs, yet there is no coarseness
of animalism in his style. And how well Luca
succeeds in detaching his figures from the back-
ground !
Two altarwings (79) are of equal importance
and even more beautiful in colour. They flanked
at one time a coloured wooden statue of St. Chris-
topher (now in the Louvre). On the left stands
the beautiful Magdalene in a rich robe of fiery red
and gold-green, holding a splendid ointment vessel.
At her side is Sister Catharine of Siena, and at
their feet kneels the old St. Jerome, half -naked and
beating himself with a stone. On the other wing
we find the modest, lovely St. Clara, accompanied
by St. Augustine in his bishop's robe, and St.
Anthony of Padua on his knees.
Between the two wings, taking the place of the
original statue, is another example of Luca's last
years. A tondo (79B), possibly a " desco da
parto," presents a scene which has rarely been
pictured in art, a visit of Mary and Joseph with
XTbe Utaitan paintings 61
Jesus to the parents of the little John. The com-
position is exceptionally fine and well-balanced.
The two women embrace each other on the one
side, and the two old men carrying the boys fill
the other half of the tondo. The larger and
heavier man, Joseph, is coming up a step, and as
Zacharias comes to meet him the little John turns
a small silver basin over the head of Jesus an
allusion to the baptism.
From the Casa Torrigiani comes the life-size bust
portrait of a jurist with a large red biretta, with
black stola. The fleshy face is exquisitely modelled,
and the expression is thoughtful, the mouth firmly
set. In the background we see on the one side of
the head the small figures of two young men, nude,
near the ruin of a triumphal arch; at the other
side two young women, draped. Michelangelo
followed Signorelli in the introduction of such nude
figures as accessories, although with a deeper
meaning.
Melozzo da Forli's (1438-1494) paintings are
very rare, and exceedingly valuable because they
indicate the advancing steps whereby the painters
of southern Tuscany and the Romagna progressed
towards the greater freedom of the Florentines.
The visit of the Fleming Justus van Ghent to
Urbino had as great influence on the Umbrian
painters as the visit of Hugo van der Goes had had
62 XTbe Brt of tbe 3Berifn Galleries
on those of Florence. In the two paintings here
by Melozzo we note how this artist exceeded all
his predecessors in beauty and impressiveness of
composition.
Duke Frederico da Montefeltro gave a commis-
sion to Melozzo to decorate the walls of a room of
his famous library in his palace at Urbino with
allegorical presentations of the seven arts and
sciences which the University designated as non-
technical. These were Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic,
Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, and Astronomy.
Three of these, Grammar, Geometry and Arith-
metic have disappeared. The paintings of Music
and of Rhetoric are in the National Gallery, and
the remaining two, of Logic and of Astronomy
are here in Berlin.
The " Genius of Logic " (54. Plate V) is shown
in the form of a richly gowned woman stepping
down from a high throne to hand the book of
wisdom to Duke Frederico as he kneels upon the
lower step. On the other panel (54A) an elderly
woman, in cloisterlike garments, and heavily veiled,
offers an astronomical sphere to the kneeling
princely suitor, who is supposed to be Frederico's
friend, Count Ottaviano Ubaldino, whose favourite
studies were astronomy and astrology. The heads
of these personages are of imposing appearance,
the execution is broad and strong, and the excess
MELOZZO
DA
FORLI
GENIUS OF LOGIC
' Plate v
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Italian paintings 63
of detail, which so often belittles the works of
this variegated fifteenth century, is entirely lack-
ing.
Giovanni Santi (1435-1494), the father of
Raphael, proves himself in the symmetrical
churchly composition of his paintings, in the con-
stantly recurring, sentimental bending of the head,
and in the mild, weak expressions, a thorough
Umbrian. His " Throned Madonna with the
Saints" (139) suffers of dryness of colour and
weakness of characterization. The heads of the
men are expressionless, and the features of the
Madonna are haggard an 4 archaic.
Giovanni Bertucci ('active about 1513) in his
"Adoration of the Kings " (132) shows the same
insignificance with senile old men and weak youths
far removed from the strength of the Florentine
school.
In Lombardy we find the Paduan school in close
sympathy with Florence through its plastic ten-
dencies. While Florence, however, sought its
presentation of form through the study of the
living body and of nature, the University city of
Padua took more the antique sculptures for its
example. As a result the work of the Paduan
artists has rather the effect of relief than of free-
grouping. Also the architectonic and ornamental
treatment of thrones, and the decoration with
6 4 TTbe Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
magnificent details points to the imitation of the
antique.
Of Francesco Squarcione (1394-1474), the
founder of the school, we have here a " Madonna
with Child" (27 A), a half-figure under life-size,
which is reminiscent of the Madonna reliefs of
Donatello. This panel, and an altarpiece now in
the city museum of Padua, are the only works in
existence of this famous artist and student, who
exercised great influence on his many pupils. Our
Madonna is a beautiful type of face, seen in profile,
and strikingly set off in a long, black hooded mantle
against a red curtain background. The Child is
drawn with an excess of motion which is in strong
contrast to the staid quietness of the Mother. Jesus
has run to the Madonna, clasped his arms around
her neck, and cuddles his head against her cheek.
Two ornamental candlesticks upon the stone balus-
trade behind which the Mother stands are archi-
tectural, but unnecessary and disturbing details.
The greatest master of the Paduan school was
Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506). He had the
largeness of mind that looks for impressions
wherever to be found, and after his early training
under Squarcione he studied Paolo Uccello for
form, Fra Filippo for composition and space, Piero
della Francesca for perspective, while through mar-
riage with the sister of the Bellinis he received
Ube fltaltan paintings 65
impressions of the early Venetian school. But his
chief source of indebtedness was to Donatello, from
whom he took that sculpturesque insight which is
his distinguishing mark. No one ever stood more
firmly than he upon design and style for the basis
of his pictorial art. No matter how harsh his fig-
ures sometimes may be his outline is delicate and
sensitive, full of character and grace.
In the year when Donatello left Padua, and
Andrea was but twenty-five years old, he painted
the " Presentation in the Temple " (29. Plate VI),
under the inspiration of holding his first born.
The half -figures are beautifully composed in relief
against the d: : background. The lovely Madonna
is about to lay t.?'. bambino in the arms of the aged
Simeon with his silver beard. The full face of
Joseph is a powerful conception that reminds of
the stern features of an archaic mosaic. These
three heads, of Mary, Simeon and Joseph, are
of the strongest creations we have of Mantegna.
There is devotion of style, firmness of lines and
contours, solidity of colouring, a divination of the
real, if indeed these heads are not portraits
Jacopo Bellini, the grandfather of Andrea's child,
was then seventy. An early failing, which later
disappeared, is here strongly marked. All is still
pressed together in fiat layers. He puts one head
behind another without stopping to consider care-
66 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
fully enough whether there would be room for all
the bodies.
A half-size, half-length " Madonna and the
Child" (27), iagainst a blue background on which
a heavy garland of fruit and flowers, is catalogued
under Mantegna's name. The tone is rather dry,
and the effort to overcome the difficulty of fore-
shortening is apparent. The sentiment of the com-
position also is too weak for Miantegna, and the
attribution may well be discarded.
The magnificent bust-portrait of Cardinal Lodo-
vico Mezzarota (9) is as if cast in bronze, solid,
powerful, convincing. A comparison with Signo-
relli's bust of a jurist which *-.\. saw on the
opposite wall, proves how empty the broad treat-
ment of the Umbrian is as against the energetic
compactness of the Paduan. The face with its
stern features, sharply cut mouth, keen eyes, and
contracted brows, fits exactly the character of this
Prince of the Church, proud, luxuriant, over-
bearing, whose excessive assumption of worldly
splendour provoked even the protest of Pope Paul
II, who himself was by no means meekly disposed.
No broad-brimmed cardinal's hat indicates his high
place, only a choir-shirt and a red mass-garment
cover his ample chest it is the personality of the
man, the expression of Ihis character that attracts.
Two other Paduan artists are more provincial
TLbc Utalian paintings 67
in their work; they have the sculpturesque quality
without the broader vision of Mantegna.
Marco Zoppo (1440-1498) was a heavy-handed,
almost uncouth painter. His most important work,
the large altarpiece which he painted for S.
Giovanni in Pesaro is here. This " Madonna
Enthroned" (1170), with the Child and four
saints, has a heavy rock background above which
a narrow strip of sky with far-off buildings is
seen. A meaningless festoon above the throne is
silhouetted against the sky. The extraordinary
development of muscles and veins in the gigantic
figures of John the Baptist and St. Jerome, the
grotesquely fat child, and the general heaviness of
the other forms make the impression of the whole
far from attractive. The painting were best seen
through the door from the adjoining room to
moderate somewhat its aggressiveness, and to re-
duce the rawness of the flat, chalky colour.
Another "Madonna Enthroned" (1162) is by
Gregorio Schiavone (1440-1470), which also shows
the one-sidedness of the school. It is the middle
part of an altarpiece from S. Francesco in Padua.
The pose of the Madonna, which should be dig-
nified and elevated, is very artificial, her expression
is extraordinarily proud and repellent. The angels
at her side are comically plump, and the colour of
the painting cold. The artist shows an entire lack
68 Ube Brt ot the Berlin Galleries
of feeling for nature, and seems to prefer the stark
forms of stone to the supple pliability of living
flesh.
As an introduction to the Venetian school which
we shall study in the next rooms we find here a
very early work of Gentile Bellini (1426-1507),
who at one time stood under Paduan influence.
This is a "Madonna" (1180) with the Child and
Donors. The large high oval of the Virgin's face
with a hood, and the heaviness of the child, are far
from pleasing, but the two busts of the donors
which come out above the foot of the panel point
to Bellini's later accomplishment. They are ex-
pressive and well-modelled.
Rooms 41, 44, 43. Venetian Paintings of the
15th Century
In the first one of these galleries we will find the
works of the men of the so-called terra ferma, of
Vicenza, Verona, Brescia. The next gallery con-
tains the larger paintings of the Venetian school
proper, with a few Veronese. The Cabinet 43
holds the smaller Venetian works of the Early
Renaissance.
One of the early men of Brescia, who later went
to Milan and was probably the founder of the
Milanese school, was Vincenzo Foppa (about 1427-
1502). In his "Lamentation of Christ" (133.
VINCENZO
FOPPA
LAMENTATION OF CHRIST
Plate vii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
XTbe fltaiian painting 69
Plate VII) he shows himself a great master. It
is considered his best work wherein we may observe
his distinction for colour, which has pervasive
silvery greys and subdued greens with shimmering
effects. The expressions of sorrow are realistic
and not as reserved as was still customary; the
dark rock on the right acts as soundingboard to
these exclamations of woe. The painter's fantasy
is shown by portraying Jerusalem in the back-
ground in the form of an Italian city. The picture
proves to be the work of a progressive with suffi-
cient energy to be a leader.
His pupil Ambrogio Borgognone (1450-1523)
was somewhat influenced by Leonardo, and he
introduced the cool, the silvery, the light-blue into
Lombardy, whereof his two Madonnas, the one
with angels (51) the other with saints (52), bear
witness. While not conspicuous for particular
excellence in form or movement or spacing, he has
the most restrained, the most profound, the most
refined pietistic feeling, which gave him the name
of the Fra Angelico of Lombardy. His drawing
especially of glimpses of streets, mural bits, and
small figures has a synthetic abbreviation, differing
from the plastic style then used, which makes it
quite modern.
At Verona we find Francesco Morone (1473-
1529) and Girolamo dai Libri (1474-1555), both
70 XTbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
living into the sixteenth century but more allied to
the art of the fifteenth. The Madonnas (46, 46B)
of Morone, and the large Sacra Conversazione (30)
by Libri are merely of interest to study the transi-
tion from the Early to the High Renaissance.
Among all these sacred subjects we spy with
interest a " Betrothal" (1175) by an unknown
Veronese master of the neighbouring Ferrara.
The work seems to have been done under the
influence of Piero della Francesca. The exchange
of rings takes place in the open, with a hilly land-
scape in the distance. Four friends accompany
the bridegroom as they meet the bride, who with
two young maidens has just come out of doors.
The lovers are engrossed in the ceremony, while
the exchange of glances between the others shows
a division of interest. The straight up and down
lines of the folds of the close fitting garments are
not displeasing since these are relieved by the wind-
ing road in the distance. This profane Sposalizio
is very refreshing among the usual religious
compositions.
The only master of much note in Vicenza was
Bartolommeo Montagna (1450-1523), a pupil of
Mantegna, from whom he learned facility in draw-
ing. Later he was influenced by the early Vene-
tians and acquired a gentler, if not weaker manner
of composing, but the Venetian colour-supremacy
Zbc "[Italian paintings 71
materially aided the beauty of his later work. The
finest work in this room is his " Noli me Tangere "
(44B). The forms of the Christ and the Magda-
lene are weak, but the colourtone is golden. The
architectural constructions on the side, like cou-
lisses, frame the saints who are present at the
meeting. A larger altarpiece is a " Madonna
Enthroned " (44) with saints and the donor,
Bernardino da Feltre, in the robes of a Franciscan.
Da Feltre was the founder of pawnshops in Italy,
whereby he amassed a large fortune. He had this
altarpiece painted for S. Marco in Lonigo. The
round head of the Madonna with the heavy eyelids
points directly to the Venetian Vivarini.
Marcello Fogolino (active 1520-1540), of
Vicenza, is a much later man, although in his
manner he still exhibits the earlier provincialism
of the terra firma. His large " Madonna En-
throned " (47), with saints, formed part of the
main altar in S. Francesco in Vicenza.
The last picture that occupies us in this gallery
is one that introduces us to the next, for it is a
Venetian work, though of minor quality. This
" Christ at Emmaus " ( 1 ) is by Marco Marziale
(active 1492-1507), who pictures four instead of
the usual two men who sit at meat with the Master.
Muther calls attention to the German elements in
this painting, the square head of Christ, the Sla-
72 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin (Naileries
vonic type of the youngest pilgrim and of an older
one, who both remind of Lucas Cranach.
In the next room, Gallery 44, hang several large
Venetian paintings.
The Venetians stand quite apart from the rest
of the Italian schools. We know that art is an
expression of a people's character, conditions of
life, and environment, and Venice differed from
other Italian cities in almost every respect. The
Venetians were merchants, growing opulent in
trade, and concerning themselves little with the
higher ideals of culture and philosophy. Their
affluence bred in them a spirit of independence
which did not brook political or ecclesiastical inter-
ference. Their trade with the far East educated
their eyes to the rich colours the Mohammedan
world produced in dyed stuffs, mosaics and mar-
bles; while their own island home of the lagunes,
with its sunny skies and waters, developed their
love for the brilliant, glowing, and opalescent.
All these conditions impressed themselves upon
Venetian art. It acquired a worldly spirit, not one
that cared for ascetic pietism, but even in its relig-
ious painting preferred the pride of the eye to the
devotion of the soul. The splendour of lavish
living called forth the sumptuous spirit in the com-
positions of the great masters of decorative art;
while the intercourse with the East, as well as their
XLbc fltaltan paintings 73
natural surroundings, produced the gorgeous,
scintillating colour-school of Venice. The right
means were provided at the right time when the
use of oil came from Flanders in the beginning
not understood by Florence, but at once adopted
by Venice, to change the flat, dull colours of dis-
temper into the lustrous gloss of the new medium.
The earliest Venetian art was closely related to
Byzantium, but without producing any great work-
men died a natural death there are no Primitives
in the Venetian school. Not until the second half
of the fifteenth century does the art of painting in
Venice become of importance. Then two families
of artists, the Vivarini and the Bellini, laid the
foundation of the Venetian school.
The Bellinis we will meet later on. Here we find
the large masterpiece of Luigi, called Alvise Viva-
rini (flourished 1461-1503), the last of the family
whose home was in Murano, an out-lying Venetian
island. This "Madonna with Six Saints" (38) is
the most impressive composition among several
important works in this gallery. The Venetians
lived in narrow streets, there was not much room
to spare, and their churches were usually small.
Thus the chapel in which the Madonna is here
enthroned, and which is completely filled by the
six persons surrounding the throne, is rather
diminutive; and yet, by the architectonic lines and
74 ^be Brt of tbe Berlin aalleries
the general disposition, it gives the impression of
an imposing, lofty, dignified sanctum. In a loggia
with cupola and open arcades stands a beautifully
sculptured, high marble throne to which four steps
give access. On the lowest step stand two putti,
one playing the lute, which the other accompanies
with a flute. The Madonna is seated in stately
dignity upon the purple cushions, holding the nude
infant, who extends his right hand in blessing over
St. Catharine, St. Peter and St. George, with St.
Magdalene, St. Jerome and St. Sebastian, who are
arranged in strong symmetrical order at both sides
of the throne. They match each other in pairs,
the two women with the same dress, hair-arrange-
ment, gaze, gesture, lighting and colour; the sunken
down head of Peter opposes the grey-beard of
Jerome, both wrapped in flowing robes with many
folds. The opposite of the harnessed St George
to the naked St. Sebastian is the more striking.
All stand, in wrapt silence, listening to the putti's
serenade. This impression of stately, reverential
quiet is emphasized by the upper-half of the picture
with its grand architectural lines and the intarsia
of the ceiling, all empty, lofty, echoing the sweet
notes.
Another altarpiece by Alvise, only a little smaller,
"The Madonna and Four Saints" (1165), excels
in grand construction, depth of colouring, with a
ST. MAGDALENE
CARLO Kaiser Friedrich
CRIVELLI Plate vin Museum
Ube Italian paintings 75
sharp side-light, strong characterization of the
heads, and a free movement of the bodies.
Only a few pupils and followers of the Vivarini
appeared before the Muranese were merged with
the Venetians. Carlo Crivelli (1430-1493) is the
only one of these of any note. We still detect
Paduan echoes in his work, a mixture of grace
with harsh, archaic severity. His " St. Magdalene "
(1156. Plate VIII) is one of the finest of his single
figures. It combines magnificent decorative detail
with sweetness and delicacy in face and hands,
excessive affectation in the drawing, and richest
colour-play. The way the hands are drawn is
almost a mannerism with Crivelli, seen with all
his Madonnas, and also in the large altarpiece
" The Infant Christ giving the Keys to St. Peter "
(1156A), which hangs in the centre of the main
wall. The wide distinction in which Crivelli jux-
taposes his ideals of women against the barbaric
harshness of his men had never been seen, even
in the old Sienese school. The ineffable sweetness
and grace of the Virgin again with a right hand
of thin, extraordinary curved fingers surrounded
by the most brutal and debased looking saints, who
are almost smothered in gorgeous church raiment,
is the height of contrast. The whole panel is
loaded with gold, brocades, jewels and carvings.
The reckless, elusive capriciousness of the com-
76 ZTbe Hrt of tbe JSerlfn Oalleties
position is not an unmixed merit; yet it is not
difficult to sift out from a mass of irrelevant, but
still interesting detail, the passages which are worth
while. This is regarded as the artist's master-
piece of his later period, when he inaugurated the
idea to give the figures, not isolated in their sep-
arate panels, but united in a single composition in
which each takes its proper place. From the be-
ginning to the end of his career Crivelli always
painted in distemper, to which he clung with a
desperate fondness at a time when all painters
were trying oils. He did not belong to a move-
ment of progress, but in the stationary conserva-
tism of his art he attained a height in which he
rivals the greatest artists of all times and countries.
The first great follower of the Bellini in Venice
was Vittore Carpaccio (about 1455-1525), a stri-
kingly original man, who was an innovator with
grandly elaborate compositions. His " Consecra-
tion of St. Stephen" (23) is thoroughly charac-
teristic of his descriptive art. On a large square,
in the background of which some Venetian build-
ings on the one side and on the other a queerly
shaped mountain and a chapel are seen, are gath-
ered various groups. One group in the left fore-
ground consists of a number of Oriental dignitaries,
with turbans and long robes, apparently discussing
the ceremony which takes place on the right.
Ube Utaiian paintings 77
There we see on the steps of a palace the apostle
Peter, attended by one or two other apostles,
investing Stephen, and a few other young clerics
who kneel on the steps, wijh the diaconate. Sev-
eral men and women in attractive national cos-
tumes tare gathered around. The landscape, the
perspective, the architecture of the buildings, the
costumes, the colours attract us more, however,
than the spiritual meaning of the occasion. The
invention, the technical ability, the sumptuous ap-
pearance of the whole make Carpaccio a worthy
forerunner of Paolo Veronese. His " Preparation
for the Burial " (23A) is more bizarre, since the
movements of the attendants are too pronounced,
and disturb the solemn quiet which we should
expect in a Christo Morte. Unusually fine is the
perspective on the brigihtly lit heights, with a pair
of musical angels on the cliff.
Carpaccio was a true child of Venice. He has
opulent colouring, warmed by the rays of the
Venetian sun and enlivened by that gaiety with
which the very air of .the lagunes is impregnated.
The spiritual significance of his religious works
truly interprets Venetian devotion, "at once real
and devoid of pietistic rapture." He possessed
grace and dignity, a certain romantic charm, and
his wayward imagination, full of subtle and happy
surprises, always gives a pleasing satisfaction.
78 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Cima da Conegliano (1470-1518) was an equally-
lovable personality, perhaps with somewhat more
refinement, more symmetry, and simpler grace.
He is the delightful painter of Virgins who are
still serious, but conscious of their own beauty,
whose softly rounded forms are in strong contrast
to the ascetic, bony frames of the Florentines. At
times he reaches to Carpaccio's height in grandeur
of composing. This is seen in the panel which
depicts a scene in the life of St. Marc, " The
Healing of Anianus " (15). One day St. Marc
was passing over the marketplace of Alexandria
when he saw a sidewalk cobbler, Anianus by name,
who had cut himself with his awl to such an ex-
tent that the hand would seem useless for further
service. St. Marc stopped the bleeding and healed
the hand. And the legend says that the cobbler
left his last and followed the apostle, became a
Christian, and succeeded St. Marc on the bishop-
chair of Alexandria. The grouping of the heavily
turbanned and robed Orientals who witness the
miracle is very natural. One head reaching out
of a groundfloor window is a perfect type, and a
horseman, who looks like a present-day Cossack,
has halted his horse and bends forward to see over
the heads of the crowd what is going on. The
architectural lines of the buildings surrounding the
square are stately and well-proportioned.
Ubc fltalian paintings 79
But Cima was even more successful in his Con-
versazione pictures with their festive gaiety than
in his few historical works. Thus his Ancona,
"Madonna and Child" (2), has a supreme dig-
nity in the statuesque saints that stand at the foot
of the high throne, with studied correctness of
drawing. The setting is much like the one we saw
in Alvise Vivarini's work (38, opposite wall).
Best of all we find Cima in his half-length Ma-
donnas, with a natural nobility in the heads, and
picturesque landscape background. There is one
of these here (7), in which the donor's face and
clasped hands appear. The charm and vitality in
the faces and the deep autumnal colour of the
mountainous landscape make this an exceptionally
attractive little panel.
Three immediate pupils of the Bellinis in this
gallery are but weak imitators. Francesco Bissolo
(1464-1528) drove his imitation so far that many
of his works are at first readily mistaken for those
of Giambellini, but his colour is weak and warm,
not brilliant, and his characters insignificant. We
may note this in his " Resurrection of Christ "
(43). Francesco Zaganelli (active 1505-1527)
was a painter from the Romagna, but also worked
with the Bellini. His "Annunciation" (164) is
one of the earliest presentations of this subject in
a grand, ceremonial manner, instead of the earlier
80 TTbe Hrt of tbe JBerltn Galleries
surprise visit in Mary's dormitory. Here we see
the Virgin standing in a roomy, splendidly decor-
ated hall, receiving the angel, while St. Anthony
of Padua kneels in adoration, and St. John the
Baptist presents the donor. Marco Basaiti (active
1497-1527) was again a weak imitator. His " St.
Sebastian" (37) is a sweet, nerveless concep-
tion.
Both the Veronese shown in this gallery are
represented with the pictures of the same tortured
saint. The " St. Sebastian " (46A) of Liberale da
Verona (1451-1536) is the finest presentment.
The style of drawing is formed somewhat on
Mantegna's work, while Venetian influences are
seen in the colouring and background. This nude
body tied against a tree has great animal beauty,
without the usual languid emaciation wherewith
Botticelli and other early men depicted the martyr,
and revealing the deep sense for form and struc-
ture, and a certain poetical feeling as well, where-
with Liberale was endowed. The features, turned
heavenward, have a plaintive but not suffering ex-
pression. The vigorous youth fulness of the body,
pierced by arrows, and soon to stiffen in death,
is the contrasting key of the picture.
The same subject (46C), by Francesco Bon-
signori (1453-1519), reveals also the Mantegna
influence. Here the figure has a different pose and
TTbe fltalian paintings 81
is somewhat more severe in outline but equally
impressive.
In Cabinet 43 we find Venetian paintings of
smaller size. One of the earliest works of
Giovanni Bellini (1428-1516), of whom we will
see other works further on, is a " Mary with
Child" (1177), still entirely in the style of his
father Jacopo, and before Mantegna's influence
was felt. There is still a lack of freedom and
absence of grace in this half -figure, nor is the
colour as melting as in his later famous half -figure
Madonnas.
In one of the two portraits of young men, by
Antonello da Messina (1444-1493), we can readily
detect the Flemish feeling which (he acquired while,
studying the process of painting in oil colours,
which he introduced into Italy. This is a three-
quarter face of a young man (18A), beardless,
with red, fur-lined mantle and dark cap against
a black background. The other portrait (18), one
of the latest he painted, has less of this Flemish
feeling, its manner of painting is exactly like that
of a Bellini Madonna. The bust of a long-haired
youth comes above the rail of a balustrade, an
evening sky forms the background, dark overhead,
and running into a bright sunset glow towards the
horizon. The features are framed in reddish
brown hair, and the collar of a dark shirt circles
82 Zbc Hrt of tbe Berlin alleries
the neck. The face is full and well-modelled, and
has a fine reflection of the light-effect. It is a por-
trait that can easily hold its own with those of
later men.
The undoubted example in the Berlin Museum
of Giorgione (1477-1511) is also the portrait of
a youth (12A). Giorgione was one of the three
greatest pupils of Giambellini, Titian and Tin-
toretto being the other two. He was one of the
greatest of colourists, working mostly in fresco.
He died young, it is said, from grief at the deser-
tion of a fickle beauty, and but few of his easel-
pictures not a score in all are in existence.
In this portrait of a youth who looks so steadily
at the beholder we see finely marked, almost deli-
cate features, framed in a wealth of long black
hair which, parted in the middle, hangs down in
heavy locks on his shoulders, covering the ears.
A dull violet, padded doublet covers his breast as
he stands behind a stone parapet. There is a fine
blending of skilful contrasts in colour and a volup-
tuous swell of line. Says Morelli : " In it we have
one of those rare portraits such as only Giorgione
and occasionally Titian were capable of producing,
highly suggestive, and exercising over the spectator
an irresistible fascination."
Giorgione combined the refined feeling and
poetry of Bellini with Carpaccio's gaiety and love
Zbc Utaltan paintings 83
of colour, whereby his work shows the perfect
reflex of the ripened Renaissance. His contem-
poraries were at a loss for terms in which to ex-
press their admiration, and were driven to coin
words which should convey some idea of the ful-
ness of life and beauty that breathed from his
canvases. 77 fuoco Giorgionesco, " the Giorgion-
esque fire," and un certo fiammeggiar di colori,
" a certain flamelike quality of colour," became
common phrases to apply to his creations. No
wonder that the school of Giorgione numbers far
more adherents than even the school of da Vinci,
or the school of Raphael; not because of any direct
teaching of the master, but because the " Gior-
gionesque " spirit was abroad, and the taste of the
day required paintings like Giorgione's to satisfy
it.
We have already seen work of the next two
men. The Museum Verein has contributed a small
beach-scene (17A), by Cima de Conegliano, one
of the first landscapes per se, in which the small
figures of wrestling men are only accessories. It
depicts a green bend in the shore of a lake which
is enclosed in the far distance by blue mountains.
A boat is drawn upon the smooth sand, and trees
and verdure add to the beauty of the scene. The
picture grasps the meaning of landscape in its
entirety, and renders it with poetic significance.
8 4 Ube Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
The half-length "Madonna and Child" (46),
by Francesco Morone, is in the style of his ex-
ample which we saw in Room 41.
Of greater interest is a " Pieta " (4), by the
so-called Pseudo Basaiti, an assistant of Gio.
Bellini, whose work up to a short time ago was
ascribed to Marco Basaiti. This unknown artist
who, however, lately has been identified with
Andrea Busati, of whom there is a signed painting
in the Academy of Venice, was a far stronger man
than the one who for so long received the credit
of his work. In our picture of half-figures we
see the nude body of the dead Christ supported
on each side by Mary and John. The drawing of
this body is remarkably plastic, the folds of the
dresses worn by the mourners are natural, and
their faces expressive of deep grief without ex-
aggeration. The head of the Christ, fallen back-
wards on Mary's arm and slightly foreshortened,
is one of the most beautifully painted heads, such
as few Pietas may show.
Three Ferrarese painters are also shown here.
Of Francesco Francia we have already seen a large
work in Room 34. Here we find an attractive
little "Holy Family" (125), in half-figures, of
his early time, which shows still the sharp draw-
ing of his goldsmith's art. The colour is rather
cold and somewhat mixed, but the charming pose
XTbe fltalfan paintings 85
of the Child, standing on a stone breasting as Mary
holds it, with Joseph at the other side, is very
attractive.
The "John the Baptist" (112C), by Ercole
Roberti (1455-1496), the ablest follower of Tura,
looks rather haggard, well-nigh grotesque, among
these Venetians, but is as glowing in colour as any
of these. The emaciated form, girt about the loins,
stands silhouetted against the sky studying the
mystery of the cross. The homely face and shanky
limbs remind of Pollaiuolo, but the feeling for the
landscape is much further advanced. The saint
stands on a platform that looks like the roof of
a house, over the edge of which we see a lake from
which many rocky eminences protrude, the ruins
of a bridge here, a city and ships there, and moun-
tains girdling the horizon, which runs below the
middle of the painting. The upper half is filled
with a glowing evening sky, brilliantly reflected in
the waters of the lake, which gives the small panel
a rare feeling of nature. His " Mary with the
Child" (112D) is more restful in appearance.
Robertas pupil, Francesco Maineri (flourished last
half 15th century) has a "Holy Family" (1632)
quite in the same manner.
Three portraits in this cabinet belong to the High
Renaissance of the sixteenth century. Two of
these are by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), both of
86 Zbc Hrt of tbe UBecltn Galleries
young men. An early portrait (182) shows a
youth with slightly bent head, half turned to the
right and gazing straight at the onlooker. His
black barette, black doublet and mantle, show well
against a blue-green curtain. No. 320 is a mature
work of the artist's best period. The youth has
short-cut hair and a pointed beard. The black
barette and doublet come out against a red curtain,
while to the right one sees the sea with a part of
the Molo of Venice. Here the full power of por-
traiture is seen in the masterful handling.
In his portraits Lotto shows his independence.
A pupil of Alvise Vivarini, as Berenson has clearly
established, he had archaic leanings but was later
influenced by Cima de Conegliano, Bellini, Crivelli,
Raphael and others. But a distinctly individual
note is struck and a delicate psychological insight
shown when he presents the human document.
Then he displays a power of catching and per-
petuating transient emotions and delicate shades of
feeling which distinguishes him from all other
Venetian masters. Farther on we shall see one of
his religious pictures, which are marked by an in-
tense fervour; not so much of personal religious-
ness but of an exquisite sensitiveness to ecstatic
feelings and unclutchable visions.
Another fine portrait here is by Sebastiano del
Piombo (1485-1547). It represents a young
Ube Utaltan Ipatntings 87
Roman matron (259B), seated at a window, the
dark wall at the side serving as background to
her full-lighted face. She is sitting sideways, with
her face turned towards the spectator, the lustrous
bright eyes gazing at him coquettishly. The fur-
lined red velvet mantle falls off her left shoulder
and is held up to the breast by the right hand, and
in the left she holds a small basket with fruit.
Through the window is seen a charming hilly land-
scape with evening light. When this panel was
in the Blenheim Collection of the Duke of Marl-
borough it was called a Raphael, although Waagen
declared it to be by Sebastiano. The portrait was
painted in his early Roman period, about 1512, and
has still much of his Venetian manner which he
later lost when becoming a Papal court-painter.
The type of face is not Roman, but rather shows
a lady from North Italy residing at the Tiber.
Few of the beauties which Raphael has produced
can compare with the exquisite charm of these per-
fect, blooming features.
Room 42 Venetian and Lombard Sculpture,
and Venetian Paintings
In the next cabinet we find sculpture by Tamag-
nini, Laurana, and Bambaja, while the room ac-
quires colour from three large Venetian paintings
and from ceiling decorations of mythological sub-
88 Ube Brt of tbe JSerUn Galleries
jects, by Paolo Veronese, which at one time served
in the Palazzo Pisani in Venice.
There are two early examples of great impor-
tance of Giovanni Bellini. His " Death of Christ "
(28) was painted about 1460, when Giovanni
moved from Padua to Venice and there tried to
represent in colour what Donatello in Padua had
cast in bronze. He painted this subject more than
ten times, but this earliest is one of the finest, only
surpassed by the famous Pieta in the Brera of
Milan. In its pale tempera colours it does not cor-
respond with the master's later works in oil, and
yet it is suffused with the soulful meaning of all
his work. Mantegna's pathos results sometimes in
exaggerated drawing of the form, here the catas-
trophe of the heroic body of Christ, sunk together
and held up by two childish looking angels with
so ft- feathered wings, is marked with the highest
nobility upon which the peace of death is resting.
Blood gushes from the wounds, heavily hangs the
huge left hand in the small fingers of the angel-
boy, and the head has fallen backwards upon the
shoulders of his genii.
Opposite this Pieta hangs the " Resurrection "
(1177A) which at one time formed the altarpiece
in a mortuary chapel. The early Easter morning
dawns rosy red over the mountains, and the
ethereal body, holding a flag with the cross, is seen
Ubc Utaiian paintings 89
rising heavenward; but not yet in the floating
manner of the next century, but as if solidly stand-
ing on some invisible support. Below is the open
cave in the side of the hill where two watchers are
still asleep, and two of the guard, awakened, stand
stupefiedly gazing upwards at the strange appari-
tion. The women are approaching in the distance,
still unaware of the miracle wrought.
Diirer, who met Giovanni Bellini in Venice,
wrote : " I am much attached to him. He is very
old, but still the best in painting." This judgment
given while Titian was in his prime deserves the
greatest consideration, for Diirer was too broad in
his feeling to take a partial view of the art of
another painter. We may not at once subscribe
to this opinion, for most of the works we have of
Bellini are mainly the things he did to live by
the great work of his life went up in the confla-
gration of the Ducal Palace. And yet, the versa-
tility of his art, from his early days until his latest
known work of 1513 and 1514 the altarpiece in
San Giovanni Crisostomo in Venice and the
" Bacchanal " belonging to the Duke of Northum-
berland shows itself to have been a continuous
growth, an unceasing evolution. He was endowed
with profound and grandly balanced feeling, the
expression of which appeals to large and noble
sympathies. He had a dignity and serenity pecu-
90 Ube Brt of tbc JBeriin Galleries
liarly his own ; he endowed his art with a character
of moral beauty which, without actually spiritual-
izing the things of this world, displayed their
noblest and most edifying side. As to his funda-
mental types of Christ, the Virgin, and the Apostles,
they were irrevocably fixed in his imagination, their
distinguishing character being a melancholy grav-
ity. As for the Virgin, we see that she is entirely
absorbed with the presentiment of her sufferings,
and is already the Mother of the Seven Sorrows;
she was a prophetic type to which the artist con-
stantly adhered. Other artists have surpassed him
in colour, drawing or composition, as a painter
Giovanni Bellini was a great master.
Beautiful as these two works of Giambellini may
be, they do not surpass the beauty of an altar-
piece (20) in four parts, three upright panels and
a lunette, by the Pseudo-Basaiti, or Andrea Busati,
of whom we saw a Pieta in the last cabinet. He
is to be recognized by the silver light that gleams
through his colours. This work is riper than
Bellini's Easter morning. In three arched panels
stand three holy men, John the Baptist, St. Jerome,
and St. Francis, towering against the sky which
domes over a realistic landscape, full of atmos-
phere. In the lunette above we see the half -figures
of three holy women, the Virgin, holding the Child,
in the centre against the red back of a throne,
TLbe Utaiian paintings 91
flanked by St. Catharine of Siena and St. Veronica
against the blue sky in which white cumuli float.
Nothing is happening, all is quiet, restful, worship-
ful, but there is such freshness in the rich land-
scape, such quiet dignity in the pose of the figures,
such beautiful colour-harmony, that it might well
be called the finest Venetian Quattrocento painting
in the museum. The exquisite charm of this per-
fect gem leaves an indelible impression.
We note also an early " Madonna and Child "
(17), by Cima de Conegliano, and a "Madonna
with musical Angels" (40), which must belong to
the school of Alvise Vivarini. Neither the colour,
the drawing, nor the types concede a pure Venetian
origin; the angelheads remind of Mantegna, while
the landscape points to the neighbourhood of
Verona.
Room 39 Collection James Simon
We pass through Cabinet 40, filled with Floren-
tine marbles of the late fifteenth century, by
Antonio Rosselino and Mino da Fiesole. Ma-
donnas by Filippino Lippi (82), Mainardi (77),
and a portrait of a youth (78), by Botticelli add
to the decoration of the room but need not detain
us. In Cabinet 39 we find the Collection of M.
James Simon which was donated to the museum
in honour of the opening of the present building
92 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
in 1904. It consists almost exclusively of works
of the Italian Renaissance.
The earliest is a " Madonna with sleeping Child/'
by Mantegna, where the Mother's stiffly bent head
has a strong Donatellesque appearance. It is a very
early work, that seems to have been known to
Diirer when he painted the Dresden altarpiece, for
the unusual pose of the Madonna is there repeated.
A tondo, by Raffaelino del Garbo, of a Madonna
with two worshipping angels, is over-decorated, as
is usual with the artist.
Catena (died 1531), fully imbued with the
Giorgionesque spirit, has two pictures here, a " St.
Magdalene," a blonde, whose bare bosom is half
concealed by blue drapery; and the portrait of a
young lady, with a wealth of soft, long hair, partly
taken up in a white veil. They are both in the
Bellini style. The " Portrait of a Man " is by an
unknown artist who belonged to the school of
Antonello da Messina; and another man's portrait
is by Romanino (1485-1566), a finely painted head
of a forty years old savant. Agnolo Bronzino
(1502-1572) is the author of the portrait of an
aristocratic looking man, rather thinly painted but
very expressive.
An interesting genre is a " Salome," palpably by
an unknown Umbrian artist. In a high, open hall
with colonnades stands a large table behind which
Ube fltaiian paintings 93
are seated the king and four courtiers. Salome
enters very modestly, in a red garment with brocade
sleeves, and offers in the most gracious manner
the head of John the Baptist. A quaint group in
the foreground is a lanky page, a thickheaded
court-fool, a dwarf who reaches to the page's
waist, and a monkey.
Among a few old Dutch paintings we must
single out a work by Gerard David (1450-1523),
showing four saints; and two portraits, of a man
and his wife, by the Cologne artist Bartol Bruyn
(1493-1556).
The next cabinet, 36, is devoted to Bronzes of
the Italian Renaissance, among which we find the
work of Benvenuto Cellini, Sansovino, Andrea
Riccio, Ghiberti, and especially a statue of John
the Baptist, by Donatello. Then we retrace our
steps through the cabinets and enter the galleries
which contain the sixteenth century paintings of
the High Renaissance.
Room 45 Florentine Paintings of the 16th
Century
The highest development of art in Italy took
place in the sixteenth century. Of course the cen-
tury mark does not denote the dividing line between
the Early Renaissance and the High Renaissance.
Some men working towards the end of the fifteenth
94 'Gbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
century reached already forward in expression,
while some working in the sixteenth century still
retained the flavour of the fifteenth. There was
a transition period. But when art had flowered
to its highest bloom we discover just as distinguish-
ing marks between the High and the Early Re-
naissance as between the Early Renaissance and
the Gothic or Primitive period of the fourteenth
century. The Gothic period had been pietistic;
the Early Renaissance studied nature and the
antique, which materialized art with force and
character, and gave it full possession of form and
movement; the High Renaissance attained to ele-
gance, grace, beauty, and the full complement of
colour. Its ideal had become beauty, for its own
sake and regardless of its theme.
The many local schools of the Quattrocento had
with increasing intercourse of communication grad-
ually influenced and worked upon one another, and
in the Cinquecento we find but two remaining
which materially differed in aim and aspiration.
The Florentines were draughtsmen above all.
They always retained a certain severity and aus-
terity, being exact and intellectual. The Vene-
tians were more sensuous and luxurious, and sought
pictorial beauty through colour not merely the
colour of trivial decoration, but the splendour of
the sublime masses of chromatic modelling.
TEbe Utalian paintings 95
The High Renaissance is not represented in the
Kaiser Friedrich Museum to the extent of the
earlier periods, and can in no wise be compared
with the wealth of the Dresden Gallery. The Solly
Collection contained works of this period only of
the second or third rank, and the acquisition of
important examples was already difficult in the
forties of the last century when Waagen did his
utmost to fill the gaps. Since then the competition
of private collectorship made it well-nigh impossi-
ble to purchase the few valuable works that ap-
peared in the market. Still a few noteworthy
examples of the greatest men of the High Renais-
sance enable us to continue our studies of Italian
art.
On the long wall to our left on entering Gallery
45 we find a remarkable work, a " Resurrection
of Christ" (90B), that has given rise to much
controversy. The composition is an unusual one
and shows the Lord rising from the red granite
tomb, whereof the slab has been hurled aside. The
body soars, as it were, heavenward with uplifted
hands, one holding a long staff with a banneret.
The white grave-clothes flutter about the body. On
the rocky ground near the grave two youthful
saints are kneeling, looking in silent adoration, but
not with astonishment, at the rising form. To the
right is St. Lucia, recognized by the plate which
96 Zbc Brt of tbe JSerlin Galleries
she holds in her hands on which her eyes are
laid. To the left is St. Leonard, the patron saint
of prisoners, with foot-irons lying by his side. A
rock formation is built up around the tomb, while
a beautiful landscape, intersected by a twining river,
fills the background to the left.
Since this painting was acquired in 1821 with
the Solly Collection it had lain neglected in the
storage depot, until in 1884 Dr. Bode rescued it
with the attribution of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-
1519). The grounds on which Dr. Bode claimed
this attribution were strong enough to convince
many critics, although a few still regard the paint-
ing merely as a studio-work. It is certain that
the figures of the two saints are typical creations
of Leonardo. The fingers play an important role,
for the artist loves best to declare himself with
these. The characteristic profile of the young monk
occurs in many of the master's paintings and espe-
cially in his numerous drawings: the protruding,
beautifully formed chin, the finely shaped mouth
with slightly large upperlip, the perfectly modelled
skull, and the expression of the features which
show that trusting, self-losing adoration which we
find in his painting of the Last Supper. The figure
of St. Lucia also is a pure type of Leonardo. She
kneels in a noble pose, the full- formed body be-
speaking youthful health and energy; the full chin,
XTbe fltaiian paintings 97
the large mouth with the beautiful lips, the deep-
lying eyes, the magnificent neck, and the look up-
ward which is like Mona Lisa's awakening all
bear the mark of Leonardo's touch. The landscape
also is as a continuation of that in the Mona Lisa;
and the subtle charm of the colour-gamut, the
choice of olive tones next to green, the yellow with
the red it all points to Leonardo's brush.
The objections to this attribution lie against the
soaring body, although even these weaken with
constant study. We must acknowledge that the
physiognomy is insipid and weak, the wide, stark
staring of the eyes is exaggerated, and the body,
like an arrow leaving the bow, is disturbing and
unlike the fine judgment which Leonardo exercises
in his most emphatic motions. The real insignifi-
cance of this body is not in harmony with the mag-
nificent figures at the bottom of the painting, nor
with the remainder of the composition, and we may
surmise that Leonardo, who so rarely finished a
picture, left also this incomplete for a pupil to
finish with little gratifying success.
Leonardo was the earliest of the great Floren-
tines who reached that pitch of perfection which
has never been surpassed. Others may stand be-
side him on the mountain top, but none has ever
scaled a loftier height. This marvellous, many-
sided genius, who was a great mathematician and
98 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
machinist, a physiologist, a chemist, an engineer,
an inventor whose devices are still in use, like the
saws employed to-day in the quarries of Carrara
this witty, graceful poet, with the beauty of an
Apollo, was the first perfect painter among the
moderns. To paint the eternal norm of reality
shrouded in seductive ripples of enigmatic mystery
was the perfection of his achievement. He had a
feeling for beauty and significance that has scarcely
ever been approached, nothing that he touched but
turned into a thing of eternal beauty, life-commu-
nicating. His mind of power so versatile and
penetrating has created works that might elude our
grasp because of their curious questioning and
their feelings so sensitively delicate, so preter-
naturally refined they also present in most tangi-
ble shapes the most beauteous visions of the realm
of dreams.
Flanking this " Resurrection " is a large altar-
piece, "Virgin Enthroned with Saints" (246), by
Andrea del Sarto (1488-1530). It was painted
two years before his death and shows the master
in the highest fruition of his talent and powers.
The architectonic setting is a niche, in which the
Madonna, holding the child, is seated as in a shrine,
with steps ascending to this throne. Coming up
these steps, and only showing their half -figures are
St. Celsus and St. Giulia, and on the broader top-
Ube fltaltan paintings 99
step are grouped on the one side St. Peter holding
the key, St. Benedict in his white habit, with the
aged St. Onofrius, kneeling naked and bent over
a crutch. On the other side of the throne we
see St. Marc, St. Anthony of Padua, and the won-
derfully beautiful St. Catharine of Alexandria, who
also kneels, and in her beautiful gown of rich
colours forms a striking contrast to the wretched,
decrepit nude of the grey hermit.
The importance of a painting by del Sarto con-
taining twelve figures may be estimated, but the
work is still more striking for its merit than for
its size. The original and learned composition, the
elevated and grand style, the vigorous expression
are joined with that quality in which del Sarto
excelled all Florentines. He was the greatest col-
ourist among them, the only one who thought his
composition in colour, not in line. Here red, in
four fine tints, is the dominating key, and the har-
mony of the olive-green and the bright violet in
Giulia's dress is captivating. The only disturbing
element in his earlier works is here totally absent.
Often we note his figures to be obviously statu-
esque, and the voluminous draperies arranged and
rearranged, almost smothering the persons they
cover. In this highest attainment these excesses
fail, and there is a quiet reserve and dignity in
this work which made Vasari consider it to be the
ioo Zbc Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
greatest masterpiece which del Sarto has pro-
duced.
In the kneeling St. Catharine Andrea has intro-
duced his wife, Lucrezia del Fede, who was re-
nowned for her beauty, but whose coquettish-
ness and shrewishness made her the demon of the
artist's life.
The Italians called him, " il pittore senza, errori"
or " the faultless painter." They meant by this
that in all the technical requirements of art, in
drawing, composition, handling of fresco and oils,
disposition of draperies, and feeling for light and
shadow, he was above criticism. His silver-grey
harmonies and liquid blendings of cool yet lus-
trous hues have a charm peculiar to himself alone.
But he lacked what made da Vinci greater in-
spiration, depth of emotion, energy of thought.
We are apt to feel that even his best pictures were
designed with a view to solving an aesthetic
problem.
A half-length portrait of a young scholar (245),
hanging next, is by Andrea's intimate friend and
pupil Franciabigio (1482-1525), a genuine Flor-
entines whose strongly demarked lines depict with
freedom and boldness. The thoughtful, serious
face of this youth is turned full towards us. A
two-pointed, soft felt hat covers the straggling
hair. The sleeves of the black doublet are very
Zbc Italian patnttitg$ ifc
large and stand out in cumbersome folds; one
hand rests on a writing-desk, the other holds a
pen. A softly painted, dreamy evening landscape
forms the background. Another portrait of a
youth (245A), although attributed to Franciabigio,
can scarcely have come from the same hand. The
pose of the head produces a disagreeable neck-
contortion, and the expression of the face is fero-
ciously morose.
Franciabigio's pupil, Francesco Ubertini (1494-
1557), was later influenced by Leonardo. A casone
front represents the "Baptism of Christ" (267),
where the Messiah in view of a large multitude
receives the sacred rite from the Baptist. The
landscape setting is remarkably naturalistic.
A large altarpiece, " Assumption of Mary "
(249), is by Fra Bartolommeo (1472-1517), the
last of the pietists in art, whose feeling still rests
with the early men, but whose execution led peo-
ple much against his will away from the relig-
ious symbol to the admiration of sensuous beauty.
The Apostles and the Magdalene kneel around the
grave among roses and lilies as Mary ascends, sup-,
ported by the crescent and surrounded by angels
making music. There is purity and nobility of
style in this work, joined to brilliancy of colouring,
with a tendency towards employing too much red,
with truth and elegance in the draperies.
102 *&ibe Bit of ibc JSeriin Galleries
The great contribution made by Fra Bartolom-
meo to the art of Italy was in the matter of com-
position. He exhibited for the first time a
thoroughly scientific scheme of grouping based on
geometrical principles. Simple figures the pyra-
mid and the triangle, upright, inverted and inter-
woven form the basis of the composition of his
pictures, which acquire a grasp of the monumental
such as no other paintings possess. This science
of rhythmical composing communicated an impulse
which was felt by all that followed him and affected
their work to a greater or less extent. Aside of this
grand sentiment in art, however, Fra Bartolommeo
does not rank with the greater masters. His pic-
tures are the result of thought rather than of
observation. He was careless in his types, with
little characterization, slovenly drawing, and care-
less generalizing.
We will now turn to the opposite wall, to the
right of the door, which is occupied by a collection
of five of Raphael's paintings, all Madonnas of
his early period. Three of these are yet distinctly
Peruginesque, while two date from his Florentine
residence, from 1504 till 1508.
Raphael (1483-1520) is the most famous and
most beloved name in Italian art. It stands for
the ideal of spiritual beauty in human form yet
was Raffaelo Sanzio da Urbino not the greatest
Ube Italian paintings 103
artist. His genius was to please. Little more than
this is found in the best of his works, even in the
Stanza and Loggia of the Vatican, but he does
please with a grace, elegance, elevation of style
which has never been rivalled. Therefore he may-
be called the most popular artist that ever lived.
One whose popularity has never died, and whose
thousands of imitators seek to this day to win the
same public favour although with them beauty
becomes prettiness.
Michelangelo was the grander and more power-
ful; Titian and Veronese lift us with the world's
full pride and splendour; Rembrandt, Constable,
Velasquez, Turner have the noble strength that
invigorates and inspires Raphael's temperament
was Hesperidean, idyllic, and devoid of passion.
He gives us the highest gratification of intellectual
enjoyment which still leaves us calm, and never
stirs the depths of our soul.
The thing that is most worthy of admiration in
Raphael is a certain harmonious combination of
all artistic excellences, such as is but rarely seen
even in the greatest artists. In other men one gift
or another predominates, in Raphael we find the
various qualities of talented endowment incompara-
bly equipoised. And the highest expression of this
harmony is perfect beauty.
These early Madonnas which we find here are
104 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
small half -figures, such as were popular as shrines
for family devotions. They are still filled with
Umbrian sentimentality. The small, pursing
mouth, the innocently down-cast eyes, and the con-
ventional composition have nothing impressive;
some were painted after drawings of his paternal
friend Pinturicchio.
The first is the so-called " Madonna of the Col-
lection Solly" (141). The Madonna holds in her
right hand a prayerbook, and with the other she
touches lightly the little foot of the Child that sits
in her lap. The little one, playing with a gold-
finch, has turned its head and looks in the prayer-
book with a rather precociously devout expression.
In the heads we note yet a peculiar struggling with
the form. The original drawing of Pinturicchio
after which this panel was painted is in the Louvre.
A little later, about 1502, the three figure piece,
" Madonna with St. Francis and St. Jerome "
(145), was painted after the drawing by Pintu-
ricchio, now in the Albertina in Vienna, with little
modification. This is also weak, and St. Jerome
makes the conventional movement of the hand to
express astonishment which is an Umbrian stereo-
type.
In the third panel, the " Madonna della Casa
Diotelevi " (147), we find the same Peruginesque
peculiarities in the Child and the little John, but
Ube Italian paintings 105
a slight individual advancement in the Madonna,
a tall, long-necked young woman, with oval face,
round, slightly protruding eyelids, and small chin.
When Raphael came to Florence he took new
impressions. The conventional gradually disap-
peared and he began, without devotional sentiment,
to present the lovely fellowship of mother and
child. The finest one of his works in Berlin is
the "Madonna del Duco di Terranuova " (247 A),
painted about 1505. In a landscape with wooded
rocks, with a city with churches and towers in the
distance on the left, and a blue sky overhead, sits
the Madonna, looking lovingly on the Child.
Jesus is stretched in her lap and has raised himself
to accept a narrow scroll with Ecce Agnus Dei,
which the little John offers him. Mary stretches
her left hand with gentle warning towards a third
child, probably the young evangelist John, who
presses against her knee watching the other chil-
dren. We find here Raphael's first use of the
pyramidical form of composition, introduced by
Fra Bartolommeo, and which he thereafter gener-
ally adopted. The landscape is of a riper develop-
ment, and the general impression which this tondo
gives comes very near to those in Paris, London,
and Vienna.
Towards the end of his Florentine sojourn, in
1508, Raphael designed the so-called " Madonna
106 XTbe Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
di Casa Colonna" (248). The bright colour and
the absence of shadows show that the work is not
completed. Crowe and Cavalcaselle even declare
that only the drawing is by Raphael, and the paint-
ing, as far as it went, was done by a pupil. The
scene is rather animated. The Christ-child has
become quite a boy, who is no longer satisfied to
be quietly in his mother's lap, and turns and twists
to get on his feet. With one hand he takes hold
of the mother's shoulder and the other clutches the
breast-band of her dress. With amused pride she
looks down on the playing boy, while she holds the
prayerbook one of Raphael's first motives out
of harm's way. The landscape background is only
slightly indicated.
At Parma there appeared with the beginning of
the century the greatest painter, but not the great-
est artist, of the Cinquecento, Antonio Allegri,
called Correggio (1494-1534). On the wall to the
right of the Raphael wall hangs Correggio's famous
"Leda with the Swan" (218).
This is one of four paintings illustrating the
erotic Zeus mythology, which the artist painted for
the Due Frederico II Gonzaga, of Mantua. The
" Danae " hangs now in the Galleria Borghese, and
both the "Io" and the " Ganymed " in Vienna.
There is a deep cosmic significance underlying these
stories which Correggio has so graphically por-
Zbc Italian paintings 107
trayed the overshadowing, fructifying power of
the supreme, divine force descending on nature's
four elements, on Earth in Io, on Water in Leda,
on Air in Ganymed, and on Fire in Danae.
The love-scene in the Leda is played in three
parts. On one side we see Leda pursued by the
Swan whom she coquettishly repulses. In the
centre is that wonderfully conceived group of the
Swan's embrace, and then again we see her emer-
ging from the water where two maidens run to cover
her, as she is still looking back with a naive ex-
pression of gratified delight after the royal bird
which is flying away. In the left corner two little
love-gods are desporting themselves. All these
various scenic elements are united by the back-
ground of magnificent trees and foliage, the colour-
scheme being further enhanced by the light blue
and the rose of the garments of the two servant
maidens. In the marvellous colour of rosy pink
of the nude figures, the play of light and shade
through the foliage, the brilliant white of the Swan,
the deeper tones of the trees, sings the most won-
derful colour-harmony ever conceived. For Cor-
reggio was the greatest colourist, even surpassing
therein the Venetians.
Correggio introduces us to ancient grace and
pagan voluptuousness, but his wantonness is inno-
cent, because unconscious of sin, and his sensuous
io8 Ubc Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
imagining does not disturb the serenity of his soul.
He is unique in that he ventures to unite the high-
est idealism clothed in the most ardent beauty with
earthly realism in an indissoluble blend. In a way
shut off from Florence and Venice he still rivalled
in craftsmanship the greatest wielders of the brush
in either place, with faultless draughtsmanship,
unexcelled chiaroscuro, in one word the most per-
fect technique.
The pictures of the Milan group of painters are
on the wall divided by the door from the Raphael
wall.
Vincenzo Foppa had started a school in Milan
in the fifteenth century, but the Milanese always
seem to have been dependent on Florentine in-
fluences. Thus the residence in Milan of Leonardo
da Vinci, from 1482 until 1492, created a number
of followers who sought to perpetuate his type and
methods. The most characteristic example of the
school here, which shows the manner wherein
Leonardo's charm of personal presentment is car-
ried further to weakened sentimentality, is the
"Annunciation" (213. Plate IX), by Gau-
denzio Ferrari (1470-1546). The painting is of
glowing colour with a golden sheen, with deco-
rative curves and lines, and a charm of elegance that
is perhaps carried somewhat too far. The maidenly
modesty in the face of the Virgin is a lovely foil
GA UDENZIO
FERRARI
ANNUNCIATION
Plate ix
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Zbc Italian paintings 109
to the joy-bearing expression of the heavenly mes-
senger. A comparison between Plates III and IX
will show the development from the early to the
later style of treatment of this subject.
Of more independent build was Antonio Bol-
traffio (1467-1516), whose "St. Barbara" (207)
is a somewhat sterner presentation of the Leonar-
desque type. The saint, a noble, stately figure, faces
the onlooker; her hair is encircled with a graceful
diadem and flows down over her shoulders; her
dress falls in long, full folds down to the ground.
In the background is the tower from which she
was cast, according to the legend.
A closer follower again of Leonardo was Marco
d'Oggione (1470-1530), whose "St. Sebastian"
(210A), however, is not enjoyable, with the sharp,
withered tree-branches sticking into the air. The
attempt to rival Leonardo's nude painting is ap-
parent, but unsuccessful.
Leonardo's most intimate friend and heir to his
literary work was Francesco Melzi (1491-1566),
a young man of noble family. His " Vertumnus
and Pomona " (222) is the only mythological work
of these Milanese. Under an elm around which a
vine is winding sits Pomona, a lovely figure with
a transparent veil clingingly draped around her
well-moulded form. Around her mouth plays that
same quizzical smile which we find in the Mona
no Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Lisa, giving the face an indefinable charm. She
holds a small basket with fruit at her side on the
seat. The scene is taken from Ovid's Metamor-
phoses where Vertumnus, the god o-f the seasons,
in the guise of an old woman, seeks to win the
charming goddess of the garden, and when she
accepts the endearments of her elderly friend
changes into the form of a handsome youth, which
does not change the maiden's submissiveness.
One of the best pupils of Leonardo was Sodoma
(1477-1549), who after his training went south
and settled in Siena, where he somewhat revived
that old school which in early times had been so
important, but had long since gone into decay.
Still the revival of art there was but slight.
Sodoma's " Caritas " (109) is an early work of
great charm. The half -draped figure of the woman
representing Charity, who carries a small child,
while two others press at her knees, looms some-
what large and statuesque above the surrounding
landscape. The modelling is firm, and the nude
upper part of the body has fine flesh colour.
In Gallery 30 we have already seen two por-
traits by Bronzino, the late Florentine portrait
painter. Two more hang here, whereof one pre-
sents the counterfeit of Count Ugolino Martelli
(338A), a famous humanist of his time. The
young man sits in the courtyard of his palace,
Ube fltaiian Ipaintinas m
dressed in black velvet, and a barette covering his
close-cut hair. His delicate, pale hands are not
used to handle the broad-sword but fondle the
bright blue-leather binding of his incunabili.
Behind him is seen the marble statue of David,
by Donatello, which to this day is found in the
Palazzo Martelli. For nobility of conception,
purity of drawing, and delicate brushwork this is
one of the finest works in Italian portraiture.
The other portrait of a young man (338) seated
on a stone bench and holding a letter in his hand,
is as simple in composition and vital expres-
sion.
Before we leave this room we must tarry a
moment before the marble statue of the youthful
John the Baptist, which stands in the centre of
the room, and is attributed to Michelangelo (1474-
1564). It was acquired in 1875, in Italy, because
the Italians did not regard it as a genuine work
of the great sculptor a doubt still shared by a
large number of connoisseurs. The mobility of the
figure is somewhat against the attribution, even
though it might be an early work. Vasari speaks
of a statue of John of 1496, and before that year
the work of Michelangelo bears a strong depend-
ence on Jacopo della Quercia. The pose is beau-
tiful enough as the youth stands gazing at the
honey-comb which he holds in his left hand. The
n2 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
right hand is gracefully raised before his left
breast, and is said to have held the cross-staff
without which the forerunner was never seen. All
earlier statues of John have a more spiritual motif,
its absence here is a strong argument in favour of
the great master's handiwork. The beauty of the
lines, the firmness of the modelling, the strength
of the pose, despite its grace, makes one wonder
who else could have chiselled this remarkable
statue.
Room 46 Venetian Paintings of the 16th
Century
This gallery contains the Venetian paintings of
the High Renaissance. If Raphael's name has been
called the most famous and best beloved name in
Italian art, Titian's name is the greatest.
Tiziano Vecellio (1477-1576) is the supreme gen-
ius in that vast arena of pictographers who for
three centuries have created on wall and panel what
makes Italy to-day the art-palace of the world.
Titian's was not a nervous force, rather an ob-
serving one. First trained in the soulful feeling
of Giambellini's last years, then influenced by
Giorgione's soft, restful and yet free improviza-
tions, Titian quietly developed by the strength of
inherent genius to surmount ever new possibilities
that led to the ultimate perfection of his art. His
Ube Italian paintings 113
greatest power was in colour for he was a
Venetian in which from the glowing local colour
of Bellini he ascended to the marvellous chiaros-
curo of his latest work. In his technical as in his
spiritual qualities he had the greatest mastery of
art there is no faint fleck upon the sun of his
just splendour.
The Kaiser Friedrich Museum shows four works
by Titian, all portraits, and in portraiture Titian
has accomplished the greatest marvels. When we
compare the wonderfully rich, lifelike presenta-
tions by this Titan with those of others of the
greatest portrait painters, we note that in their
work always the artist himself appears with Titian
never. With van Dyck the impenitently perfunc-
tory nobility of his sitters must in the end weary;
with Rubens the ever present floridity bespeaks the
master; with Rembrandt there is a varying of ex-
pression, from the Anatomy Lesson to his last self-
portraits which is a mirror of moods; with Hals,
except in his greatest group-pictures, we always
detect bravura; even with Velasquez there is a
note of the aristocratic painter that pervades his
subjects. Titian's portraits are nature unqualified.
The persons themselves appear, just as they are,
bodily and spiritually, without emendation or addi-
tion. The reality of their existence is startlingly
convincing.
n4 TCbe Htt of tbe Berlin Galleries
He has painted himself here (163) when sev-
enty-five years old. A black velvet cap covers the
hair and frames the solid skull. The full beard
is grizzly, the bushy eyebrows hang over fiery, at-
tentive eyes. The pose, one hand resting on his
thigh, the other on the green covered table, shows
him as if seated in conversation with some one,
the lips ready to open for retort. The background
is a quiet flat colour, his silk doublet shimmers, and
a long-haired, black fur coat is thrown over his
shoulders.
As a contrast we look at the portrait of a child
(160A), the little daughter of Roberto Strozzi,
which is one of the most delightful child-pictures
ever painted. The Strozzi, one of the wealthiest
families in Italy, had to leave Florence on account
of their revolutionary activity against Cosimo de
Medici, and had sought refuge in Venice, where
Roberto had Titian paint the portrait of his
daughter in 1542. The child is about four years
old. She stands at the side of a tabouret, on
which sits her pet dog, which she fondles as she
looks with slightly turned head out of the picture.
The child is exquisitely charming with its red-
brown curl-head and chubby arms. She is dressed
in all the pomp of a rich heiress, with a frock
of white silk, a pearl string around her neck, and
a jewelled girdle from which is suspended a rattle
XLbe Utalian paintings 115
set with precious stones. Through the window be-
hind her is seen a lovely landscape of hills and
dales.
The finest female portrait Titian ever painted is
that of his daughter " Lavinia " (166 Frontis-
piece). There is little of inner feeling about the
face, and the fact that the father painted her about
the same time as Salome, which picture is now in
Madrid, suggests that he was satisfied to use her
merely as a model of blooming female beauty,
possibly being aware that no exceeding spiritual
qualities existed. As a type, however, of female
beauty she is wonderful. The girl is carrying a
large silver dish, loaded with fruit and flowers
and held high before her, and looks back at us over
her shoulder. The grace of this pose is rhyth-
mically charming. The face, although with little
expression, is very beautiful, with its big, dark
eyes, budding lips, and waving auburn hair, clasped
by a jewelled diadem.
The excellent portrait of a young man (301)
was painted some twenty-five years earlier, about
1525, and was formerly ascribed to Tintoretto,
until, being cleaned, Titian's genuine signature be-
came visible.
The portrait of the Venetian admiral Giovanni
Moro (161), which for long went by the name
of Titian, must rather be ascribed to the Fer-
n6 TTbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
rarese Dosso Dossi. Two small panels with play-
ing putti (159, 160) bear evidence of Titian's
studio.
Tintoretto, as Jacopo Robusti (1518-1592), that
other giant of the Renaissance, was called, is shown
here by six examples. This " furious painter,"
with all his clash and tumult, always working in
the white heat of passion, was a master in line
and colour. By his light-effects he changes a soli-
tude into dreamland, and the immense energy of
his figures acts as a bracing tonic to the eye weary
of what is commonplace.
His "Annunciation" (298A) gives us at once
the impression of the swish and swing of his cre-
ative power. Through a forehall we look to a
portico and thence into the distant green of meadow
and woods. The Virgin has risen from the read-
ing of a pious book to welcome unafraid the
heavenly messenger who enters on rolling clouds
in flaming fire, " Ecce ancilla domini." How far
is this big feeling and spacious conception removed
from the narrow bonds of a Quattrocento work
with its elaborate detail!
In his " Mary with the Child adored by the
Evangelists Marc and Luke " (300) he seeks to
carry us away by the mighty forms, the vivacious
composition, and the powerful contrasts of light
and shade. This work of his late period foretells
Ube fltaiian paintings 117
the errors of excess into which the later Roman
school was to fall.
His portraits belong entirely to his golden time,
full of expression, and of broad, energetic treat-
ment. The three portraits of Venetian Procurators
(298, 299, 316) were votif -paintings which the
new officials offered for the council-chamber at
their installation.
His "Luna with the Horae " (310) is a mytho-
logical composition of great decorative quality.
The half -draped figures are perfectly formed and
juxtaposed in light and shade-effect with remark-
able power.
It is one of the marvels of the history of art
that a man of such boundless productivity, such
unlimited energy, such an all-embracing improvisa-
tion, should have accomplished works many of
which are equal to Titian's it is less of a marvel
that Annibale Carracci justly said of him,
" Tintoretto is often inferior to Tintoretto."
Paolo Caliari, called Veronese (1528-1588), was
as decorative as Tintoretto, but whereas the latter
was dramatic, Paolo was scenic. The two men had
much in common, their difference in temperament
alone being accountable for the difference in their
art. The scathing impetuosity of Tintoretto made
his art passionate, daring, almost blinding. The
amiability and gentleness of Veronese led identical
n8 Ube Htt of tfoe JSerltn Galleries
qualities of art into scenes of splendour, over-
power ingly pompous, of frank and joyous world-
liness.
Veronese is shown here by four allegorical works
prepared for the banquet hall of the German
Merchants Club, the Fondaco de' Tedeschi, in
Venice: No. 303 is a conversazione between Ger-
mania, Jupiter and Fortuna; No. 304 portrays
the victory of true religion over heresy by the
aid of Saturn; No. 309 illustrates the martial
prowess of Germania, as symbolized by Minerva
and Mars; and No. 311 glorifies its musical
powers, typified by Apollo and Juno. The design
of these works has all the fertility of invention,
ingenious arrangements and disposition of light
which characterize the master, but the execution
must have been made principally by assistants, for
the colour is too flat to have been laid on by the
wielder of such a florid brush as Paolo possessed.
The men who, only in comparison with these
supreme masters, must be accorded a second rank in
the hierarchy of art are in many ways almost equal
to the greater lights. Palma Vecchio (1480-1528)
was one of these. To him especially do we owe
our knowledge of the Venetian beauties of his time
by those delightful half-figures which express the
full bloom of luxurious grace in beaming rays.
They give a reflection of abiding youth and the
Zbc Utalian paintings 119
untroubled joy of life worldly Madonnas, di-
vested of saintly folds and arrayed in all the opu-
lent splendour which fashion prescribed at the
moment, whereof rouge and bleached hair were
a part. Whether the two female likenesses (197
A and B) are portraits or ideal heads we cannot
tell. The emptiness of character which is a defect
in his known portraits does not enable us to dis-
tinguish his portraits readily from his fanciful
creations. They all give the impression of being
women who are most attractive so long as they
do not talk. The "Portrait of a Man " (174)
has more vital expression, and of two Madonnas
the earliest (31), still painted under Bellini's in-
fluence, is interesting, while the other (183) is in
the vacuous style of his handsome women.
Palma was not a great master in the full mean-
ing of the term, he had neither the weight nor the
versatility of Titian, nor the highest gifts of a
colourist like Giorgione, nor the force or impetu-
osity of a Tintoretto. But he was very little be-
hind these in the small field that he cultivated.
He was the inventor of the Santa Conversazione,
a kind of composition which quickly found great
favour in Venice. These pictures, purporting to
be the Holy Family, alone or with saints grouped
around them, are in reality nothing but representa-
tions of the Venetians at their favourite recreation,
120 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
a day's picnic in the country. But in all his work
he always betokens the superficiality of his artistic
nature.
Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), Palma's friend and
fellow-worker, is represented here with two sacred
subjects and one of his incomparable portraits. The
"Farewell of Christ to his Mother" (325) must
be a very early work, for the different style-in-
fluences to which Lotto was subjected in his years
of travel are very manifest. The kneeling Christ
and the fainting Mary are drawn with an ex-
cessive manifestation of grief, and the surrounding
figures display their sorrow in a manner that
seems decidedly affected. The perspective of the
long hall with arches and porticoes gives a distant
view of a walled garden bathed in light. Two
altarwings (323) present St. Sebastian, pierced by
arrows and bound to a tree, and St. Christopher,
on the shore of a lake carrying the Christ-child
on his shoulders. These figures, standing in
pointed architectural arches, have good colour and
are full of Venetian spirit.
The religious pictures of Lotto are marked by
an intense fervour of a peculiar, paradoxical na-
ture. His is a pathetic fancy in a most lively com-
position. His altarpieces breathe forth a lyrical,
free, and almost joyous spirit still overshadowed
by his own melancholic temperament, whereby he
Ube Italian paintings 121
gives a sense of discomfort mingled with delight
in a word, a voluptuous solemnity sets them apart
from all other sacred paintings.
But Lotto was at his best in his portraits, and
the "Portrait of an Architect" (153) is one that
in many respects comes near to Titian. The full-
bearded man stands looking at us as he holds a
scroll of paper in one hand, while the forefinger
of the other hand, which holds a draughtsman's
compass, rests lightly on the end of the scroll. It
seems as if the earnest, intellectual looking man
is explaining something about the plan he has pre-
pared. Lotto's great psychological skill makes his
portraits so marvellous.
Another portrait painter of Titian's school was
Paris Bordone (1500-1570), whose colour was
gorgeous, as seen in his large altarpiece of the
"Madonna Enthroned, with Saints" (191), al-
though it lacks truth of form. The architectural
symmetry is enlivened by the dexterous placing of
the figures. The double portrait of two men play-
ing chess (169) is better than the costume-plate
of a red-haired lady (198), with a cherry-red
gown and a white feather-barette, which is much
like Palma's work.
A very attractive, romantic picture, is by
Giovanni Busi, called Cariani (1485-1550), a
Giorgione follower, who came originally from
122 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Bergamo. The young lady, only dressed in a sin-
gle flowing robe, has left yonder castle for a walk
with her lap-dog, and has now reclined herself,
with her back towards us, in the flowery mead.
Sans gene she allows the drapery to fall from her
and leave her back, right arm and shoulder bare,
and she looks around at us with a rather self-con-
scious impertinence. She is not the least disturbed
by the exciting scenes she might view if she cared
to look at these instead of us, for in the middle
distance horsemen are fighting, in the hills a storm
is raging with thunder and lightning, and farther
yet a whole city is in flames. The picture may
well have been an illustration to one of Ariosto's
exciting poems.
The much later Francesco da Ponte Bassano
(1549-1592) is noted for his presentation of re-
ligious subjects in a very commonplace, ordinary
way. His "Good Samaritan" (314), presented
in a conventional manner, with the departing Levite
in the distance, attracts most by the genrelike treat-
ment of the minor details, principally of the domes-
tic animals. His colouring is natural and brilliant.
From the Venetian territories, Friaul, Verona,
Brescia, the men of Brescia are the most important,
of whom Moretto was the strongest. Savoldo
(1480-1548), also of Brescia, was a superficial
painter, whose " Burial of Christ " (307A) pleases
Ube Italian paintings 123
passingly by the effect of the setting sun, and
the evening shadows playing in the foreground.
His " Venetian Lady " (307) was one of the popu-
lar paintings of its day, often imitated or copied,
even by men like Ludovico Carracci, by whom there
is a copy of our picture in Warwick castle. It is
a most attractive young girl whose sweetly smiling
face peeps coquettishly from under the hood of the
brownish yellow silk mantle that covers her.
Romanino (1485-1566) was a very uneven
painter, often careless in execution. His " Pieta "
(151) is much better than the "Madonna and
Child, with Saints 5 ' (157), which is an early
work. The heavy heads, swollen bodies, and ex-
pressionless features of the saints are only slightly
redeemed by the sweetness of Mary's face and the
charm of the fluttering cherubim around her. The
Pieta excels in the exquisitely soft colouring and
the lightness and swing of the composition.
The youngest and best of these Brescian painters
was Alessandro Bonvicino, called Moretto (1498-
1554), a man who stood quite apart from later
Venetian influences, for his colour is far from
bold or striking, rather delicate and with a silvery
tone. The spirit of his work, also, is more elevated,
and reminds of Giambellini's devotion. We find
here one of his acknowledged masterpieces, " Mary
and Elizabeth in Glory" (197). Reclining on
i2 4 TTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
wide swinging clouds are Mary and Elizabeth with
the Children and surrounded by cherubim. One
of these is descending to carry a scroll to the
donor, the Abbot Arnoldi, an aged cleric of rev-
erent mien. Opposite him kneels a young frater,
who lays his hand deprecatingly upon his breast
as he looks up toward the heavenly vision. The
white robes in which they are dressed stand out
beautifully against the deep greys of the landscape
background, while the low tones of the garments
of the women rest harmoniously on the glowing
yellow of the sky.
Of his only pupil, Giovanni Moroni, we have
already seen two portraits (in Cabinet 33). A
third hangs here, the " Portrait of a Savant "
(193A), in a simple, dignified pose and quiet colour.
Two other portraits hang on the same wall; one
by Sebastiano del Piombo is the portrait of a
nobleman in the Knight's dress of the Order of
Santiago (259A), done in a noble, almost severe
style, with vigorous colouring. The other is by
Catena, a pupil of Giovanni Bellini, whom he
imitated with great facility. His portrait here of
Count Raimund Fugger (32) has quite a modern
expression.
Two paintings remain yet to be mentioned. They
are of especial interest because they are landscapes,
and painted as such. The few mythological
XTbe Utaiian paintings 125
figures introduced do not in the least detract from
the realistic scene of out-of-doors. Venice took
an early start in picturing nature for its own sake.
We recall the small coast-scene of Cima, and the
landscape in the triptychon by the so-called Pseudo-
Basaiti. With Giorgione and Titian the romanti-
cism of natural settings becomes apparent, with
Andrea Meldolla (1522-1563), called Schiavone,
its realism becomes recognized. His " Mountain
Landscape" (182A) shows a rough country with
heights and clefts and hanging rocks, and clumps
of trees scattered about. The " Wood Landscape "
(182B) is a forest spread over rolling ground.
On the one the punishment of Midas is added, but
only as an accessory, on the other Diana is hunt-
ing with her nymphs.
Room 47 Italian Paintings of the 17th
and 18th Centuries
The great age of Italian art extended from the
beginning of the artistic career of Leonardo da
Vinci to the close of the life of Titian with Raphael
as the centre. The end of the sixteenth century
brought the close of the golden era and the de-
cadence of art in Italy. It seemed that all had
been said. Invention had run dry, and those that
came after only repeated the words the masters
had spoken. And they made a selection of these
126 ZTbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Naileries
pictorial utterances. No longer were they inspired
by personal artistic feeling, they felt more the draw-
ing of popular taste. They did no longer form
that taste as the great men had done. They were
satisfied to take popular taste as they found it,
and gratify it and pamper it. So they selected
those qualities which had most appealed to the
public beauty first, and sentiment next. But
beauty at second-hand soon becomes faded and
stale, and sentiment, poured over, runs to senti-
mentality. These then became the characteristics
of painting towards the end of the sixteenth cen-
tury, and ruled throughout the next. The aim was
universal imitation, instead of purity of form and
power of personal expression. Grandeur of effect
became the ideal and so far it spelled decay in
art.
One powerful factor moulded the art of the
Seicento in a measure. After the Reformation
in the north occurred the Spanish-Catholic counter-
Reformation, and in f he renewed Catholicism
which followed the severe attacks and violent strug-
gles of Protestantism the Church fostered a new
religious enthusiasm. It did not strive for the
development of personal spiritual life, but to assert
more fully the supremacy of the Church. New
saints, new miracles, festal-days, sacred Orders
were created, the pomp and splendours of the
Ubc Italian paintings 127
Service were increased, churches were more gor-
geously adorned, and artists were urged to use
their best efforts in art but not art for art's
sake, but for the cause of the Church; to portray
its glories, the martyrdom of its saints, the
beatification of its dignitaries. Thus we find in
the religious art of the seventeenth century in Italy
a total absence of mysticism and symbolism, but
a theatrical-dramatic effect. Only such scenes were
portrayed as would arouse the feelings of adora-
tion, and instead of the Old and New Testament
narrative, or the Madonna and Child, we get the
Mater Dolorosa and the Ecce Homo, the tears and
the crown of thorns.
All this sums up the character of the Bolognese
school of that period. It has been called the school
of the Eclectics. Its members started out to " re-
vive " art, but by the strange process of selecting
various characteristics which they considered to
have been the best in different men; as Annibale
Carracci himself expressed it, by combining Michel-
angelo's line, Titian's colour, Correggio's light and
shade, and Raphael's symmetry and grace. The
concoction, devoid of the genius of the men behind
these characteristics, produced an olla podrida,
which appeared to be very delectable at first, and
was even considered high art up to within a half
century ago, but is now regarded with little interest.
128 Zhc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Since the true value of the art of Italy of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was recog-
nized when the Kaiser Friedrich Museum collection
was being developed, no special steps were taken
to increase greatly what was on hand of this period.
A number of works in Gallery 47 amply show its
tendency and the extent of its efficiency; nor does
the absence of works by Carlo Dolci and some
others mean a regrettable loss to our enjoyment.
The leader of this Eclectic school was Annibale
Carracci (1560-1609), whose influence spread
widely over Italy. His "Crucifixion" (364) bears
close relations to Correggio's work. His " Moun-
tainous Landscape " (372) bears, however, evidence
of some original conception. Few Italians ap-
preciated out-of-doors nature, except as a setting,
but Carracci loved it and even inspired his por-
trayal of it with an heroic feeling that was followed
later by Domenichino and Poussin. A proud
stronghold rears its battlements in the centre of
the picture. The big arches of a bridge span a
broad, rapidly flowing stream, leading the road
towards a clump of trees in autumnal hues, all
forming a striking contrast against the deep blue
sky. There is an attempt even to paint the soft
veil of atmosphere, which shows deep feeling for
nature's life.
His brother, Agostino Carracci (1557-1602),
Ube Utaltan paintings 129
has a portrait here of the Marchesa Guicciardini,
which is a noble presentation of the elderly lady,
dressed in grey. It is a true and simply conceived
human document, of straightforward execution,
which does not yet .savour of the Academic receipt
of the later Bolognese school.
The best-known of the Carracci pupils was
Domenichino Zampieri (1581-1641), but his style
is timid, his apparently forceful and learned com-
position imitated, and his colour weak and muddy.
Two pictures of St. Jerome (362, 376) show an
unsatisfactory treatment of the nude. Far better
is his portrait of the builder Scamozzi- (375).
The facile potboiler and gambler Guido Reni
(1575-1642) painted in his early years a few pic-
tures which show more strength of character than
he possessed later. His large altarpiece, " The
Hermits Paul and Anthony in the Desert " (373),
although by no means of excessive merit, still shows
serious purpose. The story concerns the legend
of St. Anthony who after seventy-five years of
penance considered himself the oldest hermit, when
by divine direction he visited St. Paul who for
ninety years had been living in a cave, and whom
he now acknowledged as his master. The raven
who daily brought to Paul half a loaf now comes
with a whole loaf to welcome the guest. Anthony
wears the robe of his cloister-order, while Paul's
130 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
nakedness is loosely covered by a voluminous
yellow mantle. Floating just above their heads,
on a heavy cloud, is the Madonna holding the
Child, surrounded by playing putti. The whole is
vigorously worked with strong light and shade.
But as soon as Guido had felt the pulse of his
public he poured out the stream of figures " fed
on roses," which were for long so immensely
popular, but to us seem mawkish. His " Mater
Dolorosa" (363) is a typical product of his
facility.
Francesco Albani (1578-1660) even surpassed
Guido in elegance and porcelainlike prettiness. The
" Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene "
(1618) he repeated over and over again, in a soft
and harmonious manner.
Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) was equally meretri-
cious. His Portrait of a young man (426A), with
long, curly brown hair, and magnificent lace collar
lying on his black dress, was evidently painted
to please his sitter.
While these Eclectics were holding sway at
Bologna, there arose in the South, in Naples, a
man who opposed their academic doctrines and
preached a return to nature. Caravaggio was the
leader of this movement which ended, however, in
adopting the eclectic principles, although in return
influencing ; the Bolognese to forego somewhat the
Ube Italian paintings 131
worship of the old masters and accept the teach-
ings of nature.
Michelangelo Amerighi, called Caravaggio (1569-
1609) is difficult to class in any particular school
because of his originality. There is a union in his
work of great qualities and glaring defects. His
heads are all ignoble, and his realism becomes fre-
quently repulsive. His Christ is reminiscent of
the tradition of St. Cyril, who proclaimed that
Christ was the least beautiful among the sons of
men. His colours become raw and heavy, fiery
red becomes reddish brown, cold blue is important
on his palette, yellow and brown are prominent.
He is shown here by four large paintings and two
portraits (354, 356). His "St. Matthew" (365)
is a gigantic figure, sitting with bare legs in a
Florentine chair, writing in a book with the fist
of a blacksmith, while an angel at his side does
not whisper to him the sacred inscription, but takes
hold and guides his hand. The light falling from
above makes the figures come out plastically against
the black background; but the apostle looks so
muscular, almost ferocious, that it is no wonder that
the monks took offence at such gross, vulgar real-
ism, and would not have it for the altar of their
church San Luigi di Francesi.
He is still more in his element when he depicts
the wild wailing of woe. His " Burial of Christ "
132 Ube Hrt of tbe JSeriin Galleries
(353) is almost brutal in conception, although its
earnestness and sincerity may not be denied.
These are, however, works of his later period.
In his early years he painted in quite a Venetian
manner with a golden tone, and sometimes allegori-
cal works of poetic feeling. But there was no re-
spect for the tales of antiquity, and the gods and
heroes are brought down to very commonplace,
often comic situations, and their mythological
standing is irreverently burlesqued. In his " Amour
Victor " (369) he pictures the saucy love-god
threading down with amazing unconcern all the
attributes of art and sciences, power and knowl-
edge, claiming his cupid-arts to be supreme over
them all. But in the pendant (381) we see him
slain by a black-harnessed knight with eagle wings
the meaning and moral of which is dubious.
Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) brought all these
characteristics of realism and sharp contrasts of
light and shade to bear upon the landscapes and
seapieces which he painted. In a " Stormy Sea "
(421 ) we recognize a man of energetic conception
and broad treatment. In the " Mountain Land-
scape " (421B) the dark cliffs of the Abruzzi loom
up bold and threateningly.
Luca Giordano (1632-1705) was the most com-
plete and celebrated of the Neapolitan painters, and
the last of the century. In his "Judgment of
XTbe fltaiian paintings 133
Paris" (441) he shows fresh, transparent colour,
with a lighting effect in Tintoretto's style. Paris
is seated to the left on a rock, holding the apple
and surrounded by his flock. Juno is bending over
to loosen her sandals, Minerva disrobes reluctantly,
while Venus, at the right, looks triumphantly
towards Paris, at whose heart a little cupid float-
ing over Venus is aiming an arrow. Mercury is
slinking behind a tree. As interesting, although
the composition is somewhat forced, is his " Prophet
Balaam and his Ass" (404B).
Giordano, the pupil of Ribera in Naples, was
the man who went to Spain and introduced
there Naturalistic doctrines as carried out by his
master. We must also observe a " Caritas " (358)
which hangs here, by a much earlier man, Luca
Cambiaso (1527-1585), who also had gone to
Spain, where his work inspired the few sixteenth
century Spanish artists.
The abortive revival of art by the Eclectics and
Naturalists had run its course with the close of the
seventeenth century, and art was still further
emaciated by imitation, mannerisms and excesses.
Then a last flickering of the flame was seen in
Venice during the eighteenth century. Tiepolo,
who was great beyond his age, and a few archi-
tectural painters showed works that are worthy of
praise and admiration.
134 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Giovanni Panini (1692-1768), most famous as
an etcher, laboured at Rome, and produced some
characteristic views of that city as it was in his
day, and as he imagined it to have been in olden
times. His " View of antique Roman Ruins "
(454A) is striking and romantic. Another late
Roman painter was Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787),
whose cold, classical " Betrothal of Amour and
Psyche" (504) is scarcely interesting.
In Venice Bernardo Belotto, called Canaletto
(1697-1768), was inspired by the beauty of the
city of the lagunes, and he pictured its canals,
churches and palaces with wonderful, deep colour
and brilliancy. At twenty-five years of age he went
travelling and visited Munich, Dresden, Vienna and
Warsaw, where with remarkable rapidity, which
does not, however, show in the work, he painted
numerous scenes of local interest. The two can-
vases here (503B, 503C) are graphic descriptions
of the marketplace of Pirna, a German city, in
which this Italian has caught the local flavour to
perfection.
His contemporary, Francesco Guardi (1703-
1794), had a freer brush, and the apparent sketchi-
ness of his work gives a quite modern impression,
to which the tonality of his city views contributes
greatly. His " Balloon Ascension over the Canal
of the Giudecca, Venice, in 1784" (501E) is of
XTbe fltaiian paintings 135
most interest for the fine view of the buildings
of the Queen City. Better yet is his " Canal View "
(501F) with its mirroring water filled with boats,
and the fine line of buildings running from the
right towards the far distance.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) was the
last fruit-bearing shoot of the withered tree of
Venetian art. His work bears no vestige of
decadence, it is as brilliant, as eminent, as knowing,
as any of the work of the High Renaissance of
two centuries before. It is a resonant echo of
the masterful creations of Paolo Veronese, their
beauty of architectural framework, the correctness,
charm and vivacity of their drawing, all molten
in the purple and gold of Tintoretto this is the
work of Tiepolo. He was incontestably the only
master of the decadence whose primordial qualities
of artistry seem to awaken strings that yield
wild, broken music the swan-song of Italian
art.
Tiepolo's " St. Dominic dividing the Rose-gar-
land " (459A) is the design for a ceiling painting
which is in the church Dei Gesuati, at Venice. It
is an example of the astounding talent for com-
position which characterized the master. This
power of decorative creation is amplified in the
little Cabinet 48, called the Tiepolo Room, where
twenty-two panels present allegorical-mythological
136 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
compositions, painted en grisaille on gold-yellow
ground. They furnished the decoration for a room
in a villa near Treviso, and, although in fresco,
have been transferred and exposed in exactly the
manner in which they were originally seen.
The view of a " Lady leaving her Bath " (454)
breathes the same fresh freedom as found in the
most delightful tales of Boccaccio. The buxom,
full-blooded ladies of the former Venetian period
have here, however, become the slender, high-bred,
elegant type of the later divinities. And the festive
reception of King Henry III of France (459)
in the forehall of a palace, where the magnificent
columns are decorated with vines and flowers, in-
troduces us once more into a scene of pomp and
splendour such as we see in Veronese's " Marriage
at Cana," in the Louvre.
But most characteristic of the high ideals, as well
as of the power of execution, of Tiepolo is his
"Martyrdom of St. Agatha" (459B). According
to the legend Agatha was the daughter of a prom-
inent Ancient of Palermo. In her early years she
embraced Christianity, and refused the advances
of the Stadholder Quintianus. Taken to a house of
ill- fame she resisted all the blandishments of
temptation, whereupon the Stadholder ordered his
menials to tear out her breasts with iron tongues.
This would have been subject for a gruesome
XTbe irtaiian paintings 137
spectacle by a Neapolitan naturalist. Even Sebas-
tiano del Piombo, in a painting now in the Pitti
Palace in Florence, pictures it with harrowing de-
tail. Tiepolo depicts the scene more tenderly. A
large Corinthian column rises on the left, a few
paces therefrom stands a gigantic barbarian, an
heroic type of the Visigoth, with bearskin over his
head and around his loins. Just in front and be-
tween is the maiden, of lovely if painful features,
sinking back into the right arm of a serving maid
who with her free left arm holds a large linen
sheet before the bleeding bosom, covering the lower
part of the martyr's body. Her breasts are carried
away on a plate by a page who averts his face.
Agatha sighs : " Hast thou not lain at a woman's
breast, and didst thou not receive thy first nourish-
ment therefrom?" Her nude arms and neck, and
the arms and legs of the henchman add that note
of life and beauty which the introduction of the
nude always produces. The drawing is so im-
pressively skilful and true, and the chiaroscuro
plays so masterfully through its chromatic wealth
that this composition ranks among the highest in
the true conception of art. Originally a lunette
extended above the square top, in which angels
floated around a heart with a crown of thorns,
on which the martyr's breaking eyes were bent.
Thus we have completed our review of the
138 TZbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Italian paintings in the Museum, which with all the
many lapses and vacancies still enables us to study
the growth, glory and decay of the schools of
painting in Italy.
CHAPTER III
THE SPANISH PAINTINGS
The origin of the Spanish school of painting
can be definitely traced to Italy. The statement
made in most art histories that Spain being in close
relations with the Netherlands the Spanish artists
were first taught by the Flemish is an error. This
relation was purely a monarchical one. But a close
and intimate relation did exist with Italy, where
Spain even gained a foothold in Naples; and all
through the history of the Spanish school we find
it allied, by inspiration or imitation, with Italian
art. The visits of Flemish painters, of Peter de
Kempeneer, called in Spain Pedro Campana, of
Antonis Mor, who received high royal favour, and
even of Rubens, had little influence on the Spanish
school. On the contrary we can trace quite defi-
nitely the origin of Spanish painting to the Italian
artists who had come to Avignon, to the court
of the exiled Pope, and who established a connec-
tion with Barcelona. Also the influence of the
Genoese Luca Cambiaso, by whom we saw a paint-
139
i4o Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
ing in Gallery 47, an imitator of Correggio, who
settled in Spain, of El Greco, and especially of
Ribera through his pupil Giordano, counted for
much. Most of the Spanish artists visited Italy
there is no record of anyone having studied in
Flanders where they were especially attracted by
the men who worked with sharp contrasts of col-
ours and of light and shade, notably by Cara-
vaggio.
As everywhere else the racial character of the
people stamped itself on its art, and the Spanish
school of painting may be stigmatized as religious
as were the people and more particularly
Church-religious. It has nothing to do with per-
sonal spiritual life, little with biblical thought, al-
most exclusively with the ascetic teaching of a
Church which was the bulwark of the Inquisition.
Worldly or mythological compositions do not ap-
pear; even landscape painting, wherein the Inquisi-
tion, perhaps, saw a liberal, pantheistic tendency, is
little used. Of course such a feudal state, with
Grandees and Church Princes, brought forward
portraiture of the highest order, but not until the
time of Velasquez is the secular subject chosen to
any extent. Only one man, Becerra, in the fif-
teenth century, chose mythological themes and
painted the nude but he died in the torture
chamber.
Ube Spanisb paintings 1 141
The Spanish paintings are found in Gallery 49.
They give us examples of some of the leading
men of the school.
The earliest example is by Luis de Morales (died
1586), whose "Madonna and Child" (412) at
once gives us a different type of face from any we
have thus far seen lean, haggard, and in the
eyes a weird, somnambulistic look, which even the
Child shares.
The most prominent man of the middle of the
century was Alonso Sanchez Coello (1515-1590),
called the Portuguese Titian, who at the court of
Philip II painted portraits and altarpieces. In his
pale, light, delicate brushing he reminds of the
early French portrait painter Francois Clouet. His
portrait here of Philip II (406B), in rich armour,
in his right holding the marshal's baton, is in
every way typical of the style of work that was
done at the time.
It is surprising that while Philip II of Spain was
the great peace-destroyer of Europe, the tyrannical
despot, the inspired tool of the most horrible Inqui-
sition, he was also one of the sincerest friends of
art ever known. Owing to his patronage it must
be surmised that a number of men bearing to the
full the stigmata of the school, still excelled in
artistic workmanship.
Although Juseppe Ribera (1588-1656), named
142 XTbe Brt ot tbe Berlin (Ballerfes
Lo Spagnoletto, left Valencia at an early age and
lived and died in Italy, his influence on Spanish
art can scarcely be sufficiently estimated. The char-
acteristic deep colour and low tones of the Spanish
school became more luminous and brilliant, and
its figure painting, if anything, more realistic.
Ribera himself was fascinated with the style of
Caravaggio and his violent illumination, and while
following the Italian's intense realism he betrays a
sort of instinctive ferocity. He had an astonishing
knowledge of anatomy, a rough, adventurous fan-
tasy, shown as well in his many bust pieces of
anchorites, prophets and philosophers, as in his
large compositions. In his martyrdoms he displays
all the weird, abnormal torturer's passion of a
Spanish Inquisitor. At the same time he knew
how to give the nude an unusual lifelike construc-
tion and appearance.
In the " St. Sebastian " (405B), where the saint
hangs from his wrists, bound high to two trees,
and has sunk on his knees pierced by an arrow,
Ribera has kept within the bounds of beauty. The
sharply lit, nude body, of fine modelling, has a
very plastic appearance against a night background
where the moon but faintly shines through the
clouds.
The "St. Jerome" (403), although attributed
to Ribera, is possibly an early work of his pupil
Zbc Spanisb paintings 143
Giordano, in imitation of his master's manner. The
hermit, pale and emaciated, the upper part of the
body bare, is looking in ecstasy upward as he holds
a large folio in his hands. The withered face, fur-
rowed by years of self-torture, the straggling grey
hair and long beard, the prominent veins and
muscles furnish a type of what might be called
the most popular picture in Spanish art. An old
copy of Ribera's " Martyrdom of St. Bartholo-
mew " (416), the original of which is in the Prado,
is a gruesome portrayal of agonizing torture, the
repulsiveness of which is heightened by the low
types of the faces shown, even the saint's features
resembling those of a galley-slave.
The greatest name in Spanish art is that of
Velasquez (1599-1660). Although he was in Italy
for quite a long time he is the only Spaniard who
may with justice be called to have been thoroughly
original and individual. He was a pupil of Herrera
and Pacheco, and learned much from Ribera and
Tristan, but always was and remained himself. He
was a portrait painter, pure and simple. Only four
religious compositions and a half score of secular
subjects are known to exist from his brush. But
his portraits are the most marvellous creations of
their kind only rivalled by those of Frans Hals
and Titian, surpassed by none. When we gaze
upon one of his portraits we see a human being,
144 Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
alive, breathing, real, with striking relief and per-
fect solidity; the wonderful envelopment of air
with which he- surrounds it gives a peculiar inten-
sity of illusion.
Velasquez can only be appreciated to his fullest
value in the Prado, in Madrid. Still the Kaiser
Friedrich Museum possesses two masterpieces
which give us a true conception of his power. The
best is a "Female Portrait" (413E. Plate X), a
knee-piece, where a grand dame Juana de
Miranda, according to an inscription on the back
of the canvas in rich brocade stomacher and very
wide sleeves, stands behind a chair, on the back
of which she rests her right hand. Her high
coiffure tops her somewhat square face, with its
piercing eyes and finely chiselled mouth. That
Spain is the land of beautiful women, as Prosper
Merimee in his romance Carmen would have us
believe, is little to be noticed in the paintings of
the early Spanish artists. The women which they
picture have too much manliness and hardness,
often a proud and arrogant expression, while the
utterly tasteless costumes of the time preclude the
possibility of indicating any line or form that is
pleasing.
Another portrait of a homely woman presents
"Maria Anna, Sister of Philip IV" (413C), the
wife of the King of Hungary, and later of the
VELASQUEZ
FEMALE PORTRAIT
Plate x
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
XTbe Spanisb paintings 145
Emperor Ferdinand III. It is of the master's best
period, and an exquisite example of his technical
supremacy.
A pompous looking general, Alessandro del
Borro, looks at us with a haughty superciliousness
from a life-size, full-length portrait (413A). This
used to be ascribed to Velasquez, and it has truly
the appearance of some of the artist's portraits of
warriors which are found in Madrid, but the origin
of the painting must with greater credibility be
sought in Italy of the seventeenth century. An old
copy of the Prado painting of the Court-fool, Don
Antonio the Englishman, with his large hound, is
also found here (41 3D).
Velasquez was too great to have followers, nor
were the Spanish painters after him intrinsically
able to comprehend the cool refinement and supreme
dignity with which he endows his models. His
dignity, with them, becomes arrogance, and his re-
finement and delicacy is smothered as it were by the
hot glowing of gipsy blood.
Juan Carreno de Miranda (1614-1685) was in-
fluenced by Velasquez, and for a time his assistant.
But his is a weak reflection of his master's manner.
His "Portrait of King Charles II" (407), the
last of the Habsburgs, makes this anemic boy of
twelve look like an old man. The sickly features
of the face, the general lassitude of the body, are
146 Zbc Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
an irony on the magnificent garniture of the royal
chamber where he is posed.
Miranda's pupil, Mateo Cerezo (1635-1675),
was an imitator of van Dyck's Italian manner, but
his " Crucifixion " (408B), besides the weak, al-
most sentimental look of the crucified one, can-
not omit the Spanish characteristic of heavy,
black clouds through which breaks a lurid even-
glow.
Zurbaran (1598-1662), of Seville, painted monks
and Madonnas with clearness and dramatic force.
One of his earliest masterpieces is one of a series
of four paintings, illustrating scenes from the life of
St. Bonaventura, whereof two are at present in the
Louvre and one in Dresden. In the scene before us
(404A), St. Bonaventura points to the crucifix
as the source of all knowledge, when St. Thomas
Aquinas, accompanied by several monks, visits him
in his study. The mystic Bonaventura was pro-
fessor of theology at the University of Paris, and
the great scholastic St. Thomas Aquinas, having
heard of the astounding learning and the power of
logic of the Franciscan professor, expressed a de-
sire to see his library so that he too might procure
the works that Bonaventura studied. But when
he entered the cell, the modest priest drew aside
a curtain which hung over his study-table and re-
vealed an ivory crucifix suspended on the wall. The
tlbe Spanisb paintings 147
drawing and subdued colour of the painting is very-
attractive, and the details of a seventeenth century
interior which is anachronistic to the time when
the incident occurred are very precise and en-
lightening.
Murillo (1618-1682) was the principal artist of
the South. He was of course a church-painter,
not of the bloody catastrophes of the legends of
the saints and martyrs, but of the bright, mystical
vision of the heavenly communion. His most fa-
mous painting is the high-altar in the Dom of
Seville, where the Christ-child appears before the
eyes of St. Anthony of Padua, a contemporary of
St. Francis of Assisi. In Berlin we find another
painting of this incident (414). The young monk,
interrupted in the study of the book of saints, has
raised himself from his prone position, and still
on his knees embraces the Child, covering its face
with kisses. A putto is curiously leaving through
St. Anthony's book, another holds up triumphantly
the saint's lily, his symbol of purity, and others
are floating around in the air. There is a peculiar
look upon St. Anthony's face, one which is fre-
quently found in Spanish religious paintings, a look
combining devout ecstasy with a very earthly, sen-
suous, even erotic passion. The painting-quality
of the work is exceedingly delicate, the head of
Anthony has a fine, cool colour, and the Child,
148 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
light and soft, with a bright, rosy hue in the car-
nation tints comes out beautifully against the dark
golden background. Murillo has really transposed
to St. Anthony a legend which belongs to St.
Francis of Greggio, and which Giotto had already
painted in fresco on the wall of the Franciscan
Church of Assisi.
Alonso Cano (1601-1667) was a sculptor, painter
and architect, a man of fine talent, and less dismal
than most of his compeers. His life-size painting
of "St. Agnes" (414B. Plate XI) is a beautiful
and attractive work, which well represents the
gentler emotions which sometimes inspired Spanish
art. St. Agnes, the patron-saint of purity, stands
at a table on which a lamb is lying, over which she
holds the martyr's palm. The legend tells that
she was martyred and beheaded under Diocletian
because she refused all suitors, claiming to be the
bride of the Lamb. Cano's painting gives us one
of the few beautiful female types, a young Anda-
lusian, whose large brown eyes have a penetrating
look, staring as if seeing in one glance the miracle
of suffering martyrdom and crowning glory.
Henrique de las Marinas (1620-1680) was born
in Cadiz, and the surroundings in that lively sea-
port led him to paint the scenes of animation along
its docks. A " Freighter in the Harbour " (418) is
characteristic of his brush which never omitted to
ALONSO
CANO
ST. AGNES
Plate xi
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
TLbc Spanisb paintings 149
add in his seapieces the lurid glow of the native
palette.
At the end of the seventeenth century Spain,
with the overthrow of the Habsburgs and the ascen-
sion of the Bourbons, lost its political significance.
Even its racial life seemed dormant, for in litera-
ture there were no successors to Cervantes, Lopez
de Vega, Calderon; and its art likewise was
sterile. Only towards the end of the eighteenth
century one man stands out who kept alive the
traditions of the past, notably of Ribera, and added
thereto a modernity which has made him called
the forerunner of Manet.
This man was Francisco Goya (1746-1828), who
painted the Spain of Charles III and Ferdinand
VII as truthfully as Velasquez the epoch of Philip
IV. In his painting he was a thorough Spaniard,
fond of the brutal and the bloody, often caricatur-
ing with refined sarcasm the manners and morals
of his time. But always a strong, powerful artist,
with the forced contrasts that harked back to
Ribera.
In the two bust-portraits in the Museum these
characteristics do not assert themselves. They are
rather in that atmospheric way of painting which
makes Goya the connecting link between Velasquez
and Manet. The " Portrait of an Elderly Lady "
(1619A), supposed to be the artist's mother, shows
150 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
a fine presentment of old age, but the " Portrait
of a Monk" (1619B) is notably excellent. The
broad spaces, the peculiar colour combination of
red, greyish blue and brown-grey, and the envelope
of air around this seated figure, seen to the knees,
make it remarkably lifelike.
After Goya the art in Spain failed again, and
became but a reflection this time of French
painting.
CHAPTER IV
THE FRENCH PAINTINGS
The paintings of the French school which hang
in Gallery 50, on the long wall to the right and
on the rear wall, are not many in number, nor
do they give any measurable survey of French
art.
This is all the more to be regretted because an
opportunity was offered to have at least one period
strongly represented. For Frederick the Great had
been a passionate admirer of the French paintings
of the first half of the eighteenth century, and as
well an indefatigable and discerning collector of
the works of Watteau, Lancret and Pater. But
when in 1820 the Museum collection was founded
and an opportunity was given to select paintings
from the royal collections, this Rococo school was
not regarded with any favour and only a very few
paintings of this period were taken. Since then
the royal collections have been closed and their
treasures are barred.
French painting began in the fifteenth century
IS 1
152 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
with Jean Fouquet. The most notable man in the
sixteenth century was Jean Clouet. Both were
portrait painters. The religious Primitives are
practically unknown outside of France.
With the seventeenth century the national art
awoke. At first Italian influence was strong.
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), although he spent
most of his life in Italy, still combined with an
academic method of drawing his figures which he
had acquired from the Carracci, and in which he
out-distanced them, also an original love of nature
which made him create the heroic, classic landscapes,
peopled with Greek gods which are the foundation
of the French landscape school.
The four canvases we find here by Nicolas
Poussin are truly characteristic of his work. The
best one is a " Landscape of the Roman Campagna,
with Matthew and the Angel" (478A)". All is
grand and quiet, full of expression, consecrated.
Gently the Tiber flows through the solitary plain,
with the Evangelist seated upon a ruin of the old
world, ready to herald the coming of the new dis-
pensation. Other examples are scenes from myth-
ology. In one (463), Juno is spreading the hun-
dred eyes of Argus, who lies dead at her feet,
over the tail of a peacock. A second (467) shows
the infancy of Jupiter, where he is being nourished
by the milk of the goat Amalthea, with the help
Ube ffrencb paintings 153
of two nymphs and a satyr. The third (478) gives
the figures of Helios, Phaeton, Saturn and the four
seasons in a confused mingling which leaves the
meaning beclouded. In all these works the figures
show a leaning towards Greek statues, especially
the heads are all built on a normal pattern. This
gives his figures a peculiar classic feeling, with little
animation. His thorough knowledge of antiquity
is demonstrated by the correct drawing of Roman
columns and other architectural remains. The
landscape part, however, although suffering under
the general mark of stiltedness, has still a genuine
out-of-doors feeling, and is a far advance on what
was being done in Italy.
His brother-in-law, Gaspard Dughet (1613-
1675), adopted his name Poussin, and followed
his method closely, emphasizing, however, more
fully the landscape in his compositions. In his
"Roman Mountain-landscape" (1626) the Monte
Cavo and Grotta ferrata have a wild aspect, made
joyous by golden sunlight.
Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) further developed
landscape painting, and while still classic in his
selections and sometimes even theatrical in com-
posing, yet he infused more fully the spirit of at-
mosphere, of light, and the poetry of nature in
his work. There is a feeling for beauty, free and
unhampered, which more and more supersedes the
i54 ftbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
rule of rote. A characteristic of his composition
is the placing of a heavy clump of trees, or a
temple building as a sidewing in the foreground,
whereby the background appears so much deeper.
His " Italian Coastscene " (448B) has a fine re-
ceding motif of a gently rising ground, flanked by
large trees, with the seashore and ships in the dis-
tance. The charm of it all lies in the soft, undu-
lating light of the morning sun. The few small
figures in the foreground were added by Filippo
Lauri who generally painted figures in Claude's
landscapes. A so-called " Heroic Landscape "
(428) has his usual setting, the dark sidewing of
heavy trees obtrudes to the half of the canvas,
leaving the other half for a far vista of undulating
ground.
While these men were painting in Italy a coterie
of artists were gathered in Paris at the court of
Louis XIV, whose official painter was Charles
Lebrun (1619-1690). He was the founder of the
French Academy of Painters, and not only inspired
but controlled and directed the artists who sought
public recognition. An official cachet was thereby
given to the work that was turned out for so
we may well call it. It consisted of laudatory por-
traiture and grandiose historical paintings to glorify
indirectly the reign of le Roi Soleil. The one
characteristic word that applies to all the work of
PIERRE
MIGNARD
PORTRAIT OF MARIE MANCINI
Plate xii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube jfrencb paintings 155
this period is pomposity. It applies to the large
portrait-group of the family of the banker Eberhard
Jabach (471), a noted art lover of his day, whose
collection passed in 1672 to Louis XIV and forms
to-day still an important part in the Louvre col-
lections.
Still Lebrun did not have it all his own way.
Pierre Mignard (1610-1695), who had studied in
Rome, on his return to Paris became the rival of
Lebrun in public favour. His " Portrait of Marie
Mancini " (465. Plate XII), a niece of Cardinal
Mazarin, at the age of twenty, shows with all its
grace and beauty a greater sincerity and simplicity
than the assertive work of his opponent. Largil-
liere (1656-1746) was more academic, his portrait
of his father-in-law, the landscape painter Jean
Forest (484A), is exceedingly conventional. A
still later -academic portrait painter was Antoine
Pesne (1683-1757), who became court-painter in
Berlin in 1711, and resided there until his death.
He had much to do with the garnering of many
of the valuable eighteenth century paintings which
are to-day treasured at Sans-soucy, Charlottenburg,
and other royal palaces and castles. The influence
of the later Rococo tendency is seen in the por-
traits by Pesne which we find here, of " Frederick
the Great, as a Youth " (489 ) and of the " Artist
with his two Daughters " (496B).
156 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
If any time it was the eighteenth century when
French artists were radically expressive of the
character of their period. With the death of Louis
XIV France entered upon a new era. Pomposity
and arrogance were done away with, and a new
life entered upon, less rigid, more joyous and gay,
running every note in the scale of gallantry and
coquetry, with all that was superficial and amusing.
And artists interpreted its love of pleasure, its
elegance, its easy morality. The grand style was
over, the style of mediocrity and prudery; instead
of magnificence came grace, instead of great ideals
the fantasy of love-making and masquerade
after the huge wigs and voluminous draperies of
Rigaud and Largilliere the powder and satin coats
of Nattier and Tocque. Then when the undertone
of suffering and sorrow was heard amongst all that
frivolity, as voiced in the philosophy of Diderot,
Chardin, and, in a measure, Greuze, echoed his
doctrines of humanity in their scenes of the bour-
geoisie. And again the stern thunderroll of the
Revolution called forth the classic Academicism of
David and Ingres.
The first great painter of this dramatic century
was Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). He was the
originator of the school of gaiety and trifling which
ushered in the eighteenth century. He painted ir-
responsible people passing their way through floral
Ube ifrencb paintings 157
bowers and sylvan groves, laughing and courting,
without the cares of a day. And he painted these
in a novel way, original, decorative, charming;
with a new freedom of laying on paint and using
colours, unique as compared with anything that
ever had been done in Italy.
There are four of his paintings in the Berlin
Museum. The largest of these belongs to his most
charming works. It is one of his " Fetes Cham-
petres " (474B), a motley gathering of young men
and maidens, strolling among the trees, dancing
and singing, or withdrawn for murmuring and
whispering where the doves also are cooing for
it is towards evening and later the nightingales
will be heard.
Two other paintings, pendants, give fantastic
displays of costumed gallants and ladies in masks;
the one called " Love at the French Comedy "
(468), the other "Love at the Italian Comedy "
(470). In this latter picture Watteau painted a
group of those comedians who, banished from
France by Louis XIV, were recalled twenty years
later by the light-hearted, pleasure-loving Regent,
Philippe, Duke of Orleans, and who figure so fre-
quently in Watteau's works. Gilles in white stands
in the centre playing the guitar to Columbine, and
around them the Doctor of Bologna, in black,
Harlequin with his mask, and the clown Mezzetin
158 Zbc Brt of tbe ^Berlin Galleries
holding a torch which effectively lights up this
nocturnal scene. There are also other characters
of the Italian comedy, among whom Scapin and
Brighella. " Nowhere else," writes Claude Philips,
" is Watteau's characterization of the comedy per-
sonages so keen or so humourous as here. The
piece has an irresistible buoyancy, a contagious
charm, which gives it a place apart even in his
gallery of stage pictures."
The fourth canvas shows a " Breakfast al
fresco " (474A) of two ladies with their lovers,
a work of great elegance, charm and grace.
A few minor men of that school are yet to be
noted. Jean de Troy (1679-1752) has another
breakfast scene (469), not quite so charming, and
more like the genre of the next century. Jean
Raoux (1677-1734), for the nonce, chooses a
mythological theme, " Cephalus and the wounded
Procris" (498A).
The man who during this period turned from
the gay frivolity of the do-nothing classes, and pro-
claimed, as Mirabeau was doing, the gospel of the
common people a gospel which few heeded
during his lifetime, was J. S. Chardin (1699-1779),
whose genre is now recognized as among the most
exquisite productions of the time. His example
here is a " Stillife," a subject which he always
introduced even in his figure compositions, and in
XLbc jftencb paintings 159
which he rivalled the greatest of the Dutch still-
life painters.
J. B. Greuze (1725-1805) also clung for his
models to the lower orders, but he attenuated the
effect of his work by sentimentalizing. The little
" Girl's Head " (494C), which we find here, is but
one of a great many which he turned out, full of
cloying sweetness and vapid sentiment. From
Joseph Vernet (1712-1789), otherwise known as a
marine painter, we have here a view of the ruins
of the temple of Sybil at Tivoli (484).
CHAPTER V
THE ENGLISH PAINTINGS
On the long wall in this same Gallery 50 we
find the few examples of the English school, all
acquired within the last twenty years. They are
portraits, except one, a landscape by Richard
Wilson.
The first artist is Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-
1792), the head of that eighteenth century portrait
school which has made English art famous. One
of his many self-portraits for Sir Joshua loved
to paint himself is commonplace and rather
muddy, but " Mrs. Boone and her Daughter " is a
portrait in his best style with that typical charm
which he conveys in his large canvases. His
" Kitty Fisher as Danae " has an attempt at light-
someness which never suits the somewhat ponderous
hand of the old President R. A. Although Rey-
nolds took all his good qualities in painting from
Italy and Holland, he had at the same time a faculty
of welding these in an individual way, so that his
work always speaks for itself. Without arousing
160
Ubc jEngltsb paintings 161
enthusiasm he is thoroughly convincing with the
truthful manner by which his portraits impress us.
Reynolds was by no means as great an artist as
Hogarth, Gainsborough, Constable, or Turner, but
still he was one of the greatest, despite his apparent
ignorance or carelessness in the use of pigments,
which to many inferior painters is rudimentary
knowledge. As the first real portrait painter of
the English his portraits assume the rank of his-
tory. His portraits of men are distinguished by
dignity and character, those of women and children
by a grace, a beauty and simplicity which have
seldom been equalled. He lacks poignancy, but has
a broad and happy generalization that always pro-
duces an agreeable sensation.
A portrait of "Mrs. John Wilkinson" (1638)
is by Sir Joshua's great rival, Thomas Gains-
borough (1727-1788). The two were widely dif-
fering characters. Reynolds was diligent, orderly,
methodical and guided by prudence and sagacity;
Gainsborough was careless, incautious, often
brusque, whimsical, but still a bright and lovable
man. It is easy then to define their distinction
in art. Sir Joshua's work is cogitated, determined
beforehand, decisive; Gainsborough's is more im-
provised, but carried out with a perfect harmony
of genius, labour, and developed skill. For as a
mere painter a transmuter of a paletteful of
162 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
pigments into light and air, into glowing human
flesh and waving trees he has no superior.
There are three portraits of Mrs. Robinson in the
Wallace Collection, London, by Sir Joshua, by-
Gainsborough, and by Romney. The Reynolds and
the Romney are perhaps better portraits, better
likenesses, but one will more readily forget these
two, and remember the haunting, thoughtful face
by Gainsborough, with its beautiful feathery touch
and fascinating refinement. The Mrs. Wilkinson
has the same abiding impressiveness in its brilliant
harmony of effect.
George Romney (1734-1802) was sometimes
almost equal to Reynolds and Gainsborough in
masterful portrayal of femininity, for men's por-
traits interested him little. His " Portrait of a
Lady " here has winsomeness and charm of colour.
One of his few man's portraits is also here, and is
unusually strong. Few painters have been more
essentially artistic than Romney. He had an acute
perception and emotional sympathy for what was
graceful, elegant, and beautiful, whereby his picto-
rial presentation becomes intensely fascinating and
pleasing. He lacked the depth and intellectual
energy of the learned Reynolds, the keen sensibility
and magnificent colour of Gainsborough, but he
had an adorable delicacy and delicious magic which
gave him high rank in the British portrait school.
Zbc JErxQlisb painting 163
No wonder that the cry was : " Romney and Rey-
nolds divide the town," and although the great
painter of Leicester Square affected to despise the
work of " the man in Cavendish Square," the rival
factions were very evenly divided.
The great Scotchman, Sir Henry Raeburn
(1756-1823), who is becoming more and more
appreciated, has a life-size, full-length portrait of
a man, in vigorous style and ruddy colour. Rae-
burn's method of painting was to be absolutely true
to nature, and although he possessed ideality he
never idealized in the sense of exaltation to
imagined perfection. The simplicity and honesty
of his treatment together with the boldness and
freedom of his brush work resulted in a rare com-
bination of felicity of likeness and strength of
character in the many masterful portraits he has
produced. He never falls into the weakness, oft
insipidity, to which the later men of the English
portrait school frequently descend.
A notable example of this decadent spirit was
Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), whose por-
trait of Mrs. Williams Linley has none of the
salient virility and energy which characterizes
Raeburn's work. His palpable imitation of van
Dyck with his aristocratic gentility makes him a
favourite with the Philistine, whose taste always
runs towards the pretty, and who, when viewing a
i6 4 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
glorious sunset in nature, will call it " very artistic,
indeed."
The early landscape painter Richard Wilson
(1713-1782) has here a landscape in his exact,
even finnicky style. With all his love for nature
Wilson rarely grasped its supreme spiritual beauty,
but he sought in realistic portrayal of leaf and tree
trunk to gain a realism which does not satisfy. It
lacks the breath of moisture, the enveloping atmos-
phere, the play of light, the cumbersome vitality
of plodding kine. It is hard, dry, glaring. Not
until half a century after him did English land-
scape art assert itself with the coming of Old
Crome and the Norwich School, to be brought to
its supreme expression in the work of Constable.
Herewith we have completed half of the upper
floor, and we will now retrace our steps through
the north wing to the entrance. The south wing
contains the Dutch, Flemish and German schools.
To view the paintings there systematically and
without passing from one to the other room and
then returning to the first, I suggest that we first
visit the section of German sculpture in the right
wing of the lower floor where we find the German
Primitives and continue our discussion of the Ger-
man school by visiting on the upper floor Room 67
where the works of Diirer and Holbein are found,
and Rooms 65 and 66 which contain the German
Ube Bngltsb paintings 165
paintings of the sixteenth century. Then, after
completing the German school, we may review the
remainder of the south side of the upper floor,
and devote ourselves to the Dutch and Flemish
paintings.
CHAPTER VI
THE GERMAN PAINTINGS
The earliest painting in Germany, as everywhere
north of the Alps, consisted of miniature illumina-
tion of manuscripts and wall paintings. Panel
paintings began with the thirteenth century and
consisted at first exclusively of altarpieces. The
earliest of these works, and all the Primitives up
to and including the works of the fifteenth century,
are exposed in Galleries 24, 23, and 20, in the lower
floor of the Museum.
The oldest easel painting in Germany is the
triptychon altarpiece which came from the Wiesen-
kirche of Soest in Westphalia (1216A), repre-
senting Christ before Caiaphas, the Crucifixion,
and the Maries at the Grave. Although originated
under Byzantine influence, the drawing and com-
position surpass that of any work done in Italy at
the time. The childish naivete of the early German
miniatures has already been quite overcome, and
there is a decided feeling for space composing,
such as the Florentine school did not develop until
166
Ube German paintings 167
a century and a half later. The work must date
from between 1200 and 1230, and shows how from
the beginning the racial Teutonic characteristic of
individualism becomes apparent. Especially is the
scene of the women at the grave impressive. They
approach slowly, with measured steps, and regard,
without the excessive expression of astonishment
which an Italian would have found necessary, the
appearance of the angel with outstretched wings,
holding a sceptre and pointing to the empty grave.
Here these women are German types ; in Italian
works they are conventional females, by no means
Italian. This is all the more observable since the
composition of these scenes is of Byzantine origin,
and was also copied by later Italians, notably by
Duccio in the Duomo painting in Siena.
Another Westphalian painter, fifty years later,
produced a triptychon (1216B) with the Trinity
in the centre, the Madonna on one side, and St.
John the Evangelist on the other. The figures
are not as fine and delicate as in the earlier work,
but surpass this in strength of form, and in the
large, rich folds of the draperies and mantles that
cover the figures. The Trinity contains one of
the earliest individual personifications of the God-
father, in fact this entire presentation of the Trinity
was still followed by Durer and Titian, with whom
the Father holds a presentation of the Son on the
168 TLbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Cross before Him and is overshadowed by the
Dove.
A small panel of strong Gothic appearance, which
must originally have been a door to a reliquary,
comes from a painter of the lower Rhine, and dates
from the beginning of the fourteenth century. It
shows how in the Middle Ages the religious sub-
ject was sometimes burlesqued by the emphasis of
details. In a three-seated throne, which has much
the appearance of an architectural cozy-corner, is
Mary seated in a most doleful pose, wrapped in a
magnificent brocade dress, which is, however,
plainly designed to indicate her approaching mater-
nity. In the other corner sits Joseph, dressed like
a king, but in the form of an emaciated old man
with a long white beard, and holding a crutch.
From Joseph's emphatic gesture and the demure
bearing of Mary it seems that the conversation
concerns the Immaculate Conception, and that
Joseph is incredulous of Mary's story.
All these early works are in Room 24, on the
lower floor, and in Room 23 we find those that
date from the beginning of the fifteenth century.
We note that none of the paintings we have con-
sidered are signed, neither have most of those in
this room a signature. The artists at that time,
especially in Germany, were extremely modest and
did not obtrude their identity by signing their
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MARY AND THE CHILD
BERTHOLD
Plate xiii
ST. PETER MARTYR
Kaiser Fricdrich
Museum
Ube German paintings 169
name, so that almost a score of unknowns go by
the name of Meister of the Life of Mary, Meister
of the Holy Family, and so on, names given accord-
ing to the principal works that have been identified
and classified as belonging to certain men.
An interesting work is from the brush of Meister
Berthold, who is known to have been the leading
master in Nuremberg, and to have died in 1430,
whose last name only recently has been discovered
to be Landauer. We have here two altarwings by
Landauer, the front parts sawed from the back,
making four panels. " Mary and the Child "
(1208) and "St. Peter Martyr" (1209. Plate
XIII) were the outside figures, the inside showing
"St. Elizabeth of Thuringia " (1207) and "John
the Baptist" (1210). The characteristic of the
Nuremberg school at that time was more prosaic
in feeling, but at the same time more thorough and
observant in modelling, with stronger colour, than
the Westphalian manner. The figures of the
women are slender, the well- formed heads gently
inclined, the shoulders slope down, and the begin-
nings of a very realistic presentation of the human
form are seen. The strong characterful head of
Peter Martyr points to the desire for individual-
ization. The hands, although not completely mod-
elled, are, nevertheless, strong and indicating the
joints, especially with the men. The folds of the
170 XTbe Brt ot tbe JSerlin (Galleries
garments are well arranged, apparently after those
in sculpture. The dark background with the golden
stars in our picture are a much later addition by a
restorer.
At the same time there was working in Cologne
an artist who goes by the name of Meister Wilhelm.
A remarkably fine little altarpiece with wings
(1238) shows Mary in a rose-arbour with the
saintly women. It is one of those small altarpieces
that were used in the home, and were more ideal-
istic than those intended for churches. The child
on Mary's lap bends over towards Dorothea and
scatters flowers from her basket which Catharina
seeks to catch. Margaretha and Barbara, who has
her small tower in her hand, are watching the play-
ful antics. On the wings are St. Elizabeth who
clothes a cripple, and St. Agnes gazing in the dis-
tance. A brilliant colour, through which a weak
carnation tint runs, and an expression of deep, but
joyful excitement, are the prominent traits which
attract us. Another small Madonna (1205A) has
a gold background with many graceful ornaments,
and comes from another Cologne master of the
same period.
This early Cologne school, however, did not
develop into a decisive realism until worked upon
by the influence of the old Dutch school. Without
in any way detracting from the sacredness of their
MASTER OF
THE LIFE
OF MARY
MARY IN THE ROSE - ARBOUR
Plate xiv
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Zhc German paintings 171
subjects the early Dutch and Flemish painters in-
troduced their figures into every-day life, delivered
them from the bane of the gold ground, and sur-
rounded them with the joyousness of all nature.
The sacred personages and saints are no longer
ethereal beings, but flesh and blood, real humans;
and to intensify the moral teaching of their lives
they are placed in the inner rooms of fifteenth
century furnishing, and even more frequently in
the open, with hill and dale, forest and stream,
cities and villages in the distance. This suggested
to the worshippers that the lives of these biblical
beings was not beyond them but could be followed
and imitated. This realism extended further to
the garments worn by these sacred personages, not
the non-descript robes of the Italians but the cos-
tumes of the common people; and to make them
look more like the neighbours whom everybody
knew, an effort was made for realistic modelling,
not omitting physical imperfections, even though
bordering on the grotesque.
The active commercial intercourse which existed
in that century between Cologne and the Nether-
lands by means of the Rhine, was the source of
the strong impression produced upon the art of
the Rhenish provinces. This is apparent in a mag-
nificent little altarpiece, called " Mary in the Rose-
arbour " (1235. Plate XIV. In Room 20), by the
172 TLDc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
so-called Master of the Life of Mary, who was
active in Cologne from 1463 until 1480. The
picture has the old favourite theme of the Cologne
school of a flowering arbour which we saw already
in the work of Meister Wilhelm, and which is seen
in Meister Stephan Lochner's painting of the same
subject in the Cologne museum. Mary, with an
expression of motherly pride, holds the nude Child
which stretches out its hand for the flower St.
Barbara offers him. St. Catharina is deeply en-
grossed in reading a Book of Hours, and St. Mag-
dalene holds the ointment vessel on her knee as
she points towards the venerable donor with his
two sons. At the other corner of the foreground
are the donor's wife and her four daughters, like-
wise kneeling. These two groups are all dressed
in canonical costumes, while Mary and her holy
women are richly arrayed. The faces are exceed-
ingly gentle and soft, although the pursed lips do
not make the features attractive, but the brilliant
eyes on the other hand add much to their expres-
sion. Many characteristics point to Dirk Bouts
as the inspirer of this painter of the Life of Mary.
The portraits of the donors are more in the fine
manner of the van Eycks, but the sky background
is still golden.
The "Annunciation" (1199), in two parts, is
most likely the work of the same master, although
XTbe German paintings 173
more related to the dry manner of Hugo van der
Goes. The faces are hard and expressionless, and
the garments full of crinkles, and not graceful.
The background is no longer golden, but is formed
by a veranda carried out along perspective lines.
On a bench, which runs around the two parts, we
note a red pillow and various other articles of
stillife, and a gold-embroidered tapestry hangs on
the wall.
The Master of the Holy Family, who appears
first in 1486 and is traced up to 1520, has an altar-
piece with wings (578, A. B. C). He went a step
further along the Flemish way, for instead of the
gold background we find a beautiful landscape
dwindling away to a clear blue distance. It is a
Sacra Conversazione with many saints. The types
of the faces are animated, the colours bright with
a strong reddish fleshtone, and the movements are
free without archaic stiffness. Only the folds of
the dresses are still hard and unnatural with many
unnecessary protuberances.
The Flemish influence comes out also in the
Westphalian school of Soest, whence we have a
winged altarpiece (1222, 1233, 1234). On the
main wall in Room 20), showing the "Cruci-
fixion " with many accompanying scenes : the Judas
kiss, the Carrying of the Cross, the Burial of
Christ, the Last Judgment. The artist is called the
174 TEbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
Schoppinger Meister, and he seems to have some
archaic handicaps. The drawing is sufficient in
the figures that are at rest, but where they move
they are weak and stiff ; the colour is raw, the land-
scape insignificant, and the sky of gold. The many
events preceding and following the Crucifixion are
not even separated, but all form a confusing mix-
ture. Over a hundred persons press together and
crowd each other to enact the various scenes. It
seems to be the object to make an impression by
the multitude of excited figures rather than by
quiet pathos. The artist is more restful in the
scenes depicted on the wings, especially on the
inside of the left one, with the early history of
Christ. On the outside of the wings are shown the
" Conversion of Paul " and the " Crucifixion of
Peter."
Four panels, the separated sides of two altar-
wings (1205, 1206), from a middle Rhenish
master, present " Mary with the Child, and the
Trinity." They show how far up the Rhine the
Flemish influence extended.
The Master of the Glorification of Mary was
active in Cologne between 1460 and 1490. His
"Adoration of the Child" (1235 A) is one of the
most beloved themes of the Flemish and German
schools in the fifteenth century. In the sixteenth it
is set aside for the more pompous scene of the visit
; j * **
HANS
MULTSCHER
BIRTH OF CHRIST
Plate xv
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
XTbe German paintings 175
of the three kings. Here we find the Child lying
on the ground in a ruined hut, with Mary in adora-
tion. In a half -circle around this group kneel
Joseph, holding a candle, and a number of angels.
Other angels flutter like dark-blue birds around
the roof. Two shepherds are seen in a corner, too
stupefied to act.
In Room 23 we find a large winged altarpiece
of eight panels, with scenes from the life of Mary
and the Passion of Christ (1621), by Hans
Multscher (1400-1467) of Ulm. Next to Conrad
Witz and Lucas Moser, Multscher must be re-
garded as the strongest forerunner of Schongauer.
His art with its many figures aims less to arouse
sentiment than to give a clear statement of facts,
and he succeeded therein especially by a remark-
able rendering of physiognomic expressions. The
most attractive panel is the one showing the " Birth
of Christ" (Plate XV). The crowd of peasants
pressing against the fence, presents a variety of
Bavarian types, in contrast with the Hebraic fea-
tures of Joseph, realistically portrayed with leather
gloves to protect him from the winter-cold. The
figure of the Virgin is remarkably successful, but
the child in the cradle very crude. Perspective and
planes were not yet understood, as may be seen by
the hill on which the shepherds are squatting sur-
rounded by their diminutive sheep.
176 Zbc Brt of tbe JSerlin Galleries
Another master of Ulm was Bernhard Strigel
(1460-1528). Several altarwings are found here
of this Bavarian who only within the past twenty
years has been discovered. The principal one of
his works here is a family group of the Imperial
Councillor Johannes Cuspinian (583B), which is
the work that led to the discovery of the artist's
name, who was formerly known as the Master of
the Collection Hirscher. The work suffers of weak
modelling, poorly drawn hands, and bad grouping,
but is interesting for the individual expression of
the heads and the magnificent colouring. In this
respect the altarwings with religious compositions
are less attractive. They show figures of saints
and scenes from the life of Mary (583, 606B and
C). The colour here, which has a deep red for its
foundation, is exceedingly sombre. The figures
are too much stretched, the faces disfigured by big
noses, wide mouths and small protruding chins.
They have flat feet, and the clothes flutter most
inconsistently around the square, hooky figures.
These Primitives have shown us the gradual
development of the art of painting in Germany
from the archaic beginnings, generally along
imitative lines, until by the end of the fifteenth
century a few men arose who established the art
with truly racial characteristics, and stamped it
with manifest Teutonic expression. For the works
MARTIN
SCHONGA UER
BIRTH OF CHRIST
Plate xvi
Kaiser Fried rich
Museum
Ubc German paintings 177
of these men we ascend again to the second floor,
and passing through Rooms 73, 72, 70 and 68, we
enter Room 67, where the great masters of the
German school are gathered. In the adjoining
cabinets 65 and 66 we find a few works which
chronologically belong with those in Room 67, and
which we shall consider in their proper place, since
the rooms are sufficiently close together to allow
of a combined survey.
We begin with a small altarpiece that has been
acquired within the last ten years. It is an exceed-
ingly rare work of Martin Schongauer (1455-
1491), who had most influence upon German art
by his 113 etchings, but who has also left a few
easel paintings. Schongauer was born in Colmar,
and is supposed to have been a pupil of Rogier van
der Weyden, to whom, however, he merely owes
his colouring. His conception is entirely personal,
and his composition often very cleverly designed.
The "Birth of Christ" (1629. Plate XVI) may
remind us in some respects of Flemish work, it
possesses, nevertheless, strong characteristics. For
instance, the heroic figure of Joseph places him in
a position of importance, which he scarcely ever
occupies in the many presentations of this subject,
where he is generally considered quite a negligible
quantity. Joseph's figure is perhaps the most
successful in his knightly bearing, the protector of
178 Ube Htt of tbe Berlin Galleries
the weak and helpless. The typical faces of the
two shepherds who kneel outside the shed, and of
the monk possibly the donor of the picture
who bends over them, present a strong charac-
teristic of the south German school. The Virgin
also has none of that ethereal or spiritual aspect
which the Italians always bestow upon her. She
is a very ingenuous young girl, a perfect type of a
German fraulein, with long blond ringlets hanging
down her shoulders. The two wings (1629 A and
B), although belonging to this altarpiece, were
painted by another hand after Schongauer's etch-
ings. This is also the case with a larger altarpiece,
a "Crucifixion" (562), with saints on the side-
wings.
The Ulmer master Bartholomaeus Zeitblom
(active 1484-1517) was not so strong in invention
as Schongauer, but his work is very solid and sub-
stantial, even though the paint is thin and dry.
His "Sweatcloth of Veronica" (606A), the pre-
della of an altarpiece which is now in the Museum
of Stuttgart, shows two half-length, life-size angels
who hold, spread out between them, the napkin on
which, according to the legend, the face of Jesus
was impressed when Veronica wiped his brow on
the road to Calvary. The drawing of the angels,
especially of the folds of their white dresses, is
very poor and stiff they seem to be duplicates
Xlbe (German paintings 179
reversed. But the face of the Christ is noble and
impressive. His " St. Peter" (561 A) is somewhat
archaic. The saint stands before a gold-damask
carpet, with book and key in his hands.
Max Schaffner (active 1500-1535) was another
painter of Ulm of whom little is known. His
" Four Saints " (1234B) are gracefully posed, and
bespeak a worthy artist.
The greatest of all German artists commenced
to work about the same time, with the beginning
of the sixteenth century. Albrecht Diirer (1471-
1528) was a painter of masterly ingenuity, in
whom the apogee of German art was reached.
Yet, he was by no means a faultless painter, and
there was a reason for the few weaknesses we
detect in his work. The Germans in general were
not such munificent art-patrons as the Italians were,
nor was the demand for church decoration as
extensive as it was in the south. Commissions
were comparatively few, and artists found it more
remunerative to execute their ideas on the wood-
block or the copper-plate, and by utilizing the
printing press scatter the fruits of their brain
broadcast. In these wood engravings and etchings
the German artists spoke the fulness of their talent;
therein they revealed the secret treasures of their
heart, the inventiveness of their fancy, and an
artistic potency such as was rarely seen in the
180 Ube Brt of tbe SBerlfn Galleries
Italian Renaissance. But when they did paint, the
habits of their engraving fastened themselves on
their work in oil. They showed angularity of line,
a strain of pose, a huddling of the composition and
an overloading with details, an unnecessary exact-
ness, which adds to the charm and beauty of the
parts but detracts from the painting's unity and
general impression.
Durer, the typical German master, suffers also
in these respects, and the highest estimate of his
genius we may form only by examining the large
number of crayon drawings, woodcuts and etchings
which he has produced. Therein he has revealed
himself as the pathfinder in genre and landscape,
as the great master of ornamentation and decora-
tion, as the inspired poet. His painting, which
consists only of religious subjects and portraiture,
is uneven, but at times marvellous in its technique,
its imagination, and its true German spirit. His
large religious works are in the Munich and Vienna
Museums, Berlin only possesses five portraits and
two small Madonnas.
His "Madonna of the Finch " (557F) was
painted in Venice in 1506, at the time Durer painted
his famous " Rosewreath Festival." The influence
of Bellini and the other Venetians is noticeable in
the sumptuous colouring, but the composition is
exceedingly confused. Its decorative intent and
PORTRAIT OF HIERONYMOUS HOLZSCHUHER
ALBRECHT Kaiser Friedrich
DVRER Plate xvu Mmot
Ube German paintings 181
ornamentation are excessive, and the drawing not
impeccable. The Madonna is seated in a red
covered high-back chair, resting one hand on a
book and accepting with the other a sprig of may-
flowers which the little John offers her. But
strangely she does not look at the gift but gazes
in a dreamy way to the other side, out of the pic-
ture. The nude child is seated on a large velvet
pillow that rests on Mary's lap, from which it is
surely about to slide and drop to the floor. The
finch is perched on the boy's left arm, singing away
for dear life. Two winged cupid-heads float at
the sides of Mary's head and hold a jewelled crown
over her. The landscape seen behind the throne is
a conventional one, and the round bunches of
foliage of single trees add to the confusing con-
volution of lines. All this is pointed out because
it is the most characteristic thing about Durer's
work sureness and exactitude in an orderless
array of details, and weakness in the ensemble
effect. While perfect in the portrayal of separate
parts he failed to indicate their relative importance
and value.
This failing is naturally least obtrusive in his
portraiture, where the minuteness of detail, in hair,
cloth, and flesh with its wrinkles and folds and
delicate shadows, only adds to the general aspect
of truth and lifelikeness.
182 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Diirer's best portrait here, and that a master-
piece, is the " Portrait of Hieronymous Holz-
schuher" (557E. Plate XVII), the prominent
Nuremberg Councillor, and Diirer's great friend.
One sees in this face the strong Teutonic type, a
man of affairs, a firm, noble character and imposing
personality. The reflection of the light from a
window in the pupils of the eyes heightens their
brilliancy and penetration. The minute execution
of the hair, especially that hanging over the fore-
head, and of the beard, and the delicate painting
of the fulness and hollows in the face leave, when
seen, an impression never to be forgotten.
This portrait, as well as the one of Jacob Muffel
(557D), belong to the last years of the master,
having been painted in 1526. The Muffel portrait
is not quite as attractive at first appearance, owing
to the less energetic person who sat for it. But
the masterful handling of the bluish and greenish
tinted shades around the eyes, the wrinkles and
folds in the skin of the aged burgomaster, the deep
green jacket over which the fur-lined coat is
thrown, all against a light-blue background, make
this portrait technically of equal excellence.
The " Woman by the Sea " (557G) is a portrait
of his wife Agnes Diirer, who accompanied her
husband on his trip to Venice where this portrait
was painted, as well as the one of a young girl
HANS
BALDUNG
GRIEN
HEAD OF A GREY - BEARD
Plate xviii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube German paintings 183
(5571). The former is a striking piece of colour
work. The large head of an ordinary looking
woman, a typical hausfrau, almost fills the panel,
with a background of blue sky, and a glimpse of
the sea horizon just above her shoulders. Very
little of the square cut-out, rich dress is seen, but
a broad collaret of small, brilliant sea-shells hangs
around the well- formed neck.
The second Madonna (557H) is dated 1518,
and shows Mary in prayer, gazing heavenward.
One half of the background is a red stone wall,
the other half a green curtain which gives a raw
effect to the colouring. The remaining portrait
is that of Frederick the Wise of Saxony (557C).
It is an early work, of 1496, and while it is tech-
nically worthy of the young master it is a repulsive
looking object. The Elector himself was but thirty
years old, but a very homely man. The long,
straight nose runs in a sharp point half-way down
over the upper lip, deep grooves run from the top
of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth, a heavy
frown contracts the bushy eyebrows which over-
hang sharp, piercing, dark-brown eyes. The
crinkly hair hangs down on the shoulders, and
the huge ungainly hands are crossed, resting on
the balustrade behind which the Prince is standing.
And yet, there is a fascination about this homely
subject by reason of its excellent painting quality.
184 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Diirer's pupil, Hans Schaufelein (1480-1540),
followed his master very closely. He is also at his
best in wood-engraving. His " Last Supper "
(560) is an excellent example of his style. It
shows his grey-blue colouring, the feathery treat-
ment of foliage, and the short proportions of his
figures.
Hans Baldung Grien (1476-1552) of Strassburg,
was a friend of Diirer, whom he followed in
technique, while in colour he was more influenced
by Mathias Griinewald, the " German Correggio "
as he was called, of whom no example is found
here. This is to be regretted since Griinewald must
be ranked as next to Diirer and Holbein in German
art.
Baldung's affiliation with Diirer is seen in the
"Head of a Grey-beard" (552B. Plate XVIII),
which, nevertheless, shows great individuality of
execution, the beard especially being a marvellous
piece of painting. It is a wonderfully expressive
face, full of character, keen and slightly humourous.
But Baldung was notably a colourist. This is seen
in his " Crucifixion " (603) where colour domi-
nates the whole in rich harmony. Green, whence
Baldung got his appellation, is the keynote. It
shimmers in the mantle of Mary Magdalene who
embraces the cross, and throughout the landscape,
and gives the undertone to all the many varied
HANS
VON
KULMBACH
ADORATION OF THE KINGS
Plate xix
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Uhc German paintings 185
colours which produce an effect as if one sees sun-
light pouring through a stained-glass window.
The snow-capped mountains in the distance, and
above them the dark cloudmasses form a strong
note, while the fluttering of the loin-cloth of the
Christ sounds like a pathetic cry in the hour of
agony. The gathered crowd is portrayed with all
the emotions which the scene called forth, sorrow,
horror, astonishment, indifference these all are
written on the faces of the onlookers. A winged
altarpiece (603 A), whereof the centre panel shows
the " Adoration of the Kings," looks like a rich
piece of tapestry. Here also the bright green is
seen in the mantle of the Moor, in the large cap of
the King who stands in the centre, and in the foliage
of the landscape.
These last two examples of Baldung are found
in Cabinet 65, but before examining the other
paintings there we will enter Gallery 66 to view
the work of another follower of Durer. This is
Hans von Kulmbach (1476-1522), whose master-
piece, the " Adoration of the Kings " (596A. Plate
XIX), is the principal work in this gallery. Kulm-
bach studied at first with Jacopo de Barbari, who
resided in Germany from 1500 until 1505, before
he entered Diirer's studio, and this double influence
is plainly visible in all his work. In fact, Kulmbach
was the first to be signally attracted by Italian
186 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
methods, an inclination which later developed
throughout German art, soon to cause its decay
and death. The animated groups of figures in this
composition are held together by architectural lines.
The stately arches of the ruins of a palace, through
which the blue sky and a bright, hilly landscape
are seen, form the foundation of the construction,
which is without stiff regularity and exceedingly
well arranged. Mary holds on her lap the well-
formed nude child, which runs its fingers through
the gold the eldest of the kings kneeling offers in
his cap. The group of the other king to whom his
servant offers a golden goblet is equally important,
and the kneeling Arab, and Joseph discoursing
with the courtiers form a complete balance. The
costumes are rich and resplendent, a mixture of
Oriental and Muscovite, and the work excels any-
thing of Durer's in the variety of the actions, and
the lively play of eyes and gestures. The melting
and transparent clearness of the colours, which are
put on so thinly that the grain of the wood shows
through in places, the fine transitions from light to
dark, and the soft harmony of the whole colour
scheme give this panel a jewellike appearance.
A further development of splendour in painting
a characteristic not peculiarly Germanic, but
the result of southern influences was seen in the
rise of the school of Augsburg which rivalled the
HANS
BURGKMAIR
ST. BARBARA
Plate xx
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Zbc German paintings 187
one at Nuremberg. Its principal master was Hans
Burgkmair (1473-1531), who distinguished him-
self by the grand sweep of his lines and the full
wealth of his colour. The two altarwings, one with
" St. Ulrich " (569), the patron-saint of Augsburg,
the other with "St. Barbara" (572. Plate XX),
are fine examples of his ripe and restful art with
their distinguished form and flowing brushwork.
In place of the broken curves in the dress- folds we
find here a simple, noble fall of the folds, and the
movement of the figures also has nothing of the
halting and angular constrainedness of early Ger-
man art. In the St. Barbara the excessive protu-
berance of the abdomen is curious as illustrating
the queer fashion and the ideal of beautiful form
in Burgkmair's time, which had also been the mode
a century earlier, as seen in Jan van Eyck's Por-
trait of the wife of Arnolfmo in the National Gal-
lery in London. The fish in the hand of St. Ulrich
refers to the legend that this holy man was once
caught by a messenger from the Duke of Bavaria
as he regaled himself with a luscious roast goose
on Friday, a fast-day. The page took a piece
to carry it to the Duke and accuse Ulrich of this
profanity. But when he came to Munich and
appeared at the court, the goose-bone in his hand
had changed into a fish.
Burgkmair's pupil, Jorg Breu (active 1501-
188 Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
1536), was less grand and impressive, more delicate
and idyllic in his compositions. His " Mary with
the Child and Saints" (597 A) is a picture of
decorative quality, fantastically ornamented with
putti playing in the flowery sward, and floating in
the air to place a monstrously large gold crown on
the Madonna's head.
Nearby hangs a recently acquired and not yet
catalogued example of Martin Schaffner (1480-
1541), of Ulm, consisting of four panels on which
saints and ecclesiastics are portrayed. The rich
Renaissance architecture shows that the Augsburg
influence of Burgkmair affected strongly the Ulmer
master.
This gallery is further filled with many works
of Lucas Cranach the Elder, and of his contempo-
raries; but before discussing Cranach we mustj
return to Room 67 to examine the work of Albrecht
Altdorfer (1480-1538), of Regensburg, a man
who ranks very high in German art. He was a
Romantic painter through and through, a naive,
ingenious dreamer, a poet born. He was the first
in German art who devoted special attention to
the landscape part, and who used his figures more
as garniture than as the main object in his pictures.
He has been called the father of German landscape
painting, and more specifically as the founder of
the so-called Donau-stil. How charmingly he
ALBRECHT
ALTDORFER
EST ON THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT
Plate xxi
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube German paintings 189
knows how to paint the solitude of the forest.
The bright morning sun-ray breaks through the
light-green of young firs and beeches and changes
the dew-drops into diamonds, and into jewels the
many coloured beetles that scurry through the soft
moss. No one before him had ever caught the
poetry of glades and glens.
Already the small diptychon, of 1507 (638),
which shows to the left the stigmatization of St.
Francis, and to the right St. Jerome chastising
himself in the desert, speaks strongly through the
wooded mountainscape in the background. The
" Birth of Christ " (638A) was painted five years
later and is a romantic portrayal of the Holy Night,
placed in the ruins of a dilapidated hut. The three
angels bedding the child in its crib are graceful and
sympathetic, and the other angelgroup in the sky
joins with childish awkwardness to sing the Gloria.
We find here also the gracious, animated " Rest
on the Flight to Egypt " (638B. Plate XXI). Not
an oasis in the desert is the tarrying place, but a
lake-beach with the ruins of an old Gothic home,
and in the foreground a magnificent, ornate Italian
Renaissance fountain, whereof the sculptured
centrepiece reaches high in the air. Faithful Joseph
has been gathering cherries, after first providing a
high-backed armchair for Mary. Their faces are
exceedingly homely, Mary's especially being the
igo Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin (Naileries
limit of commonplace, but the gambols of the putti
around the rim of the basin are wonderfully charm-
ing. The colour is in keeping with this decorative
theme which is more than decoration, even poetic
idealism in its highest flight.
In the next room, 65, we find three more of his
works. The " Landscape with Satyrs " (638A)
is by far the best of these, with its fantastic moun-
tains in the background and a satyr family camping
under high trees forward. The German tendency
to didactic moralizing is shown in a composition
that bears the title " Poverty sits on the train of
Riches" (638C), which has a fantastic landscape
and high castle architecture. A richly gowned
pair, on whose train a beggar family is seated,
approaches the steps of their aristocratic home and
is welcomed by the major domo with a brimming
tankard. The " Crucifixion " (638D) is in the
same general style.
The best represented German artist is Lucas
Cranach the Elder (1472-1533) of whom seven-
teen paintings are found here, three mythologies,
five portraits, eight biblical stones, and the famous
allegory, "Fountain of Youth" (593). A wide
basin of water, to which one descends by three
stone steps, has in the centre a fountain on which
stand the statues of Venus and Amour. On the
left where the ground is hard, rocky and sterile a
LUCAS
CRANACH
THE ELDER
REST ON THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT
Plate xxii
Kaiser Fried rich
Museum
Ubc German paintings 191
large number of women, most of these old, are
carried to the basin in wagons, oarts and wheel-
barrows, disrobed, and plunged into the water. To
the right in the water they appear as young girls,
who gambol and play about and do all kinds of
mischief. On that side is a large carpet spread
on the lawn to which a herald invites them to be
dressed in costly garments. Farther back a table
is loaded with good things and a banquet takes
place, after which the green and shady lanes be-
yond beckon the rejuvenated ones to cozy walks
with gallants awaiting them.- This picture, which
Cranach painted in his seventy-fifth year, is replete
with humour and exceedingly attractive in its
arrangement and colour.
By contrast we will now notice his earliest ac-
credited work, the " Rest on the Flight to Egypt "
(564 A. Plate XXII), which is at the same time
the most beautiful work which he has produced.
It still rings serious, and his later mannerisms are
not yet apparent. A strong, brilliant evening red
illuminates the sky. The parents have just halted
in the Frankish forest with its rocks and fir trees,
and at once eight angels have rushed on to welcome
the young child, to bring it water and fruit, and
amuse it with music and song. They are the little
wood-sprites who have come out of their hiding
places. The self-conscious stare and pose of Mary
i92 Ube Brt of tbe ^Berlin Galleries
and Joseph is somewhat disturbing but does not
much detract from the charm of the children's play.
Another early picture is the " St. Anne " (567A)
which used to be ascribed to Griinewald. Here
also do we find a certain imposing grandeur in the
forms, even though they be stiff in the lines. The
two women, Mary and Anne, are seated on a hewn
block of stone, while three tiny cupids hold a large
red drapery behind and over them in a somewhat
inexplicable manner. A lovely landscape is seen
stretching behind the curtain, and the colouring is
rich but quiet.
But Cranach did not fulfil his early promises,
soon he sank to the level of an artisan. He did
not have the depth of Diirer, nor Holbein's
technique, and gradually he repeated himself to
such an extent that he became conventional and
mannered. The heads of his men became expres-
sionless, and the women, with their big feet, thin
bodies, thick hips, square heads rounded off at the
corners, and oblique eyes like the Chinese, are by
no means attractive on close examination. Besides
he was weak in light and shade, his brushwork
smooth and hot, with a hard seal-red always shining
through.
Of Old Testament subjects he preferred " Adam
and Eve " (567), because he had the chance, under
biblical pretext, to paint a couple of nude figures.
Ubc German paintings 193
The scene of " Bathsheba's Footbath" (567B) is
quite naive, with David playing assiduously on the
harp while over the wall he watches Bathsheba's
ablutions.
His " Burial of Christ " (581) is one of a series
of nine passion scenes painted by Cranach and by
his son. Six of these are still in the royal castles,
while the one here, " Washing the Apostles' Feet "
(579), is by the son, Lucas Cranach the Younger
(1515-1586), who was a weaker man, although he
changed his father's deep red to a more pleasing
rosy colour.
The elder Cranach's mythological scenes were
of great variety, sometimes amusingly absurd, at
other times naive and ingenuous. The " Apollo
and Diana" (564) is quite an original conception.
Apollo with his bow and arrows in his left hand,
and in his right the inevitable and ostentatious leafy
branch, looks down on Diana, who is seated on the
back of a fine stag lying on the ground. Diana is
a charming, well- formed figure, but Apollo with
a beard ! looks like an ill-carved wooden block.
Another group is distinctly funny. " Venus and
Amour" (1190) meet in the woods, and Amour
complains of the stings of the bees who had
attacked him while stealing honey, but Venus tells
him that the wounds of his arrows are still more
painful. In this and in another Venus picture
194 XEbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
(594) Cranach overreached himself by painting
the figures life-size, which would require greater
ability to draw and richer colour, in which he
signally failed.
And Cranach was besides an indefatigable por-
trait painter, who took commissions wherever he
could. Living at the beginning of the Reformation
period he filled orders at wholesale for Luther and
Melanchthon portraits. He was the only one al-
lowed to paint Luther's portrait, and he has turned
out about fifty portraits of the Reformer. But this
did not prevent him to keep on good terms with
the other side, the princely leaders of the old faith.
He painted many years for Cardinal Albrecht von
Brandenburg, Luther's staunchest opponent. We
have two portraits of this cardinal, one as St.
Jerome (589), in a pleasant sylvan retreat, sur-
rounded by many forest animals, the other in his
Cardinal-robes (559). At the same time we have
here a portrait of Katharina von Bora (637),
Luther's wife, whom Cranach first introduced to
the Reformer. We find further portraits of Johann
Friedrich the Goodhearted (590), and of a young
Patrician (618), with a black barette and small
beard.
Cranach was an arduous worker, for not satisfied
with pouring out the large multitude of pictures of
his own invention he also copied what pleased him,
CHRISTOPH
AMBERGER
PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR CHARLES V
Plate xxiii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube German paintings 195
and his taste in this direction is indicated by a
smooth, sober copy which he made of the " Last
Judgment" (563), of Hieronymous Bosch, the
original of which is in the Academy of Fine Arts
in Vienna.
Among the other paintings in these two cabinets,
65 and 66, we must yet notice the fine burgo-
master's portrait of Johannes von Ryht (588),
by Bartholomaeus Bruyn (1493-1553), the last
of the school of Cologne. This portrait shows a
refreshing similarity to Dutch work, and his
"Madonna with the Child" (639), before whom
a Duke of Cleves kneels as donor, has some
reminiscence of van Eyck's jewellike colouring.
In his later work the artist weakened considerably
by imitating Italian painting.
Christoph Amberger (1500-1561), of Augsburg,
was one of the contemporaries of the younger
Holbein. His portrait work gives him a high
standing, only second to Durer and Holbein. The
commission which gave him his great popularity
was to paint the portrait of the Emperor Charles
V (556. Plate XXIII), at the age of thirty-two.
Sandrart, the Vasari of German artists, tells the
story that the Emperor was so well pleased with
the work that he ordered the artist paid three times
the stipulated price of twelve Thalers, and a golden
chain to be added, saying that Titian, who charged
196 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
one hundred Thalers for a portrait, could not have
done better. The pale face is characterized with
the Habsburg protruding lower lip and chin, but
it has refined features, and there is character and
will-power in the strong forehead and the steady,
level eyes.
Of greater psychological interest is his portrait
of the great savant Sebastian Minister (583), at
the age of sixty-five. Formerly a Franciscan
monk he had embraced the new faith, and was at
the time Professor of Hebrew, Theology, and
Mathematics in Basel. He was the first to edit a
Hebrew Bible, and wrote a Cosmography, one of
the first geographies which, besides describing
countries and peoples, also contained exhaustive
historical and genealogical dissertations. This in-
tellectual grey-head is seen here with a black
barette and a black mantle bordered with heavy
white fur, which stand out sharp and clear against
the green background. The presentment is ani-
mated, the handling of the brush technically perfect.
Georg Pencz (1500-1550), a pupil of Diirer, has
also done his best work in portraiture, in which
he happily combined the warmblooded realism of
his native art with the colourful vivacity of Italian
exemplars. The portraits of the painter Erhard
Schwetzer of Nuremberg (582), and that of his
wife (587), excel in the strikingly simple arrange-
Ube German paintings 197
ment and their lifelikeness. Especially the woman's
portrait, in conception, pose and bearing, has a
truly modern appearance. The portrait of a young
man (585) has none of the closeness and stilted-
ness of the Durer school, but is painted with a
free and flowing brush. The young man is seated
behind a table covered with a cloth whereof the
texture painting equals anything of the kind pro-
duced by Holbein.
Several works by unknown masters cannot be
omitted. A Niederrhenish painter, called the
Meister von Frankfort (active 1500-1520), has an
altarpiece with wings, whereof the centre panel
shows the Child seated on a bench between Mary
and Anna (575), which with its pious leaning of
the former century, still belongs to the German
Renaissance for its free and colourful treatment.
Three panels in one frame (619A) come from
the Meister von Messkirch (active 1515-1550), of
the school of Upper Swabia, a pupil of Schaufelein,
whose works were formerly attributed to Bartel
Beham. Also the Meister von Cappenberg (active
1525-1550), of Westphalia, is worthily shown by
a panel with two subjects (1193), on the left the
Annunciation, and on the right the Birth of Christ.
We have now returned to Room 67, where we
still find among the Durer paintings the works of
the last great artist of the German Renaissance,
ig8 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). While
Diirer was a draughtsman foremost, and even
when he painted drew with the brush, Holbein was
a colourist par excellence, who built in colour as
the later Florentines did. A comparison between
Diirer's Holzschuher (Plate XVII) and Holbein's
masterpiece "Portrait of Georg Gisze " (586.
Plate XXIV) will elucidate this.
Holbein was not successful while at home in
Augsburg, nor at Basel where he tried his fortune.
But in 1526 he went to London where he was wel-
comed by the German merchants' guild, whose
portraits he painted. One of these is before us,
a young man, seated in his office, surrounded by
all its paraphernalia. A magnificent Venetian glass
vase with pinks stands on the table, which subtly
indicates that Georg Gisze is a bridegroom. The
expression of his face is earnest, quiet, not medi-
tative, but that of a practical man of affairs.
Notably the painting of the details is wonderfully
exact; the texture of the costly table-carpet, the
crinkly silk sleeves, the gold, the steel, the books,
have never been surpassed by the greatest stillife
painters. And yet they do not in the least detract
from the personality of the young merchant. They
merely explain his position and occupation. It is
true that one fault may be found with the work
it lacks aerial perspective. The body of Gisze
HANS
HOLBEIN
THE YOUNGER
PORTRAIT OF GEORG GISZE
Plate xxiv
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube German paintings 199
seems cramped between the table and the wall. But
this may easily be overlooked in the magnificence
of the whole, which raises it beyond portraiture to
the highest expression of true art.
His other three portraits, one of an elderly man
(586D), and two of young men (586B and C),
are, without so many details, equally impressive
for their fine modelling, the sharp and masterful
handling of the expression, the grand and yet quiet
sweep of the composing.
Thus we have seen the sprouting, growth and
full bloom of German art, which never attracts
by the wealth, opulence and grandeur of outward
forms, such as the Italians of the Renaissance dis-
play, but which impresses us with the naive con-
ception of nature, its deep religiosity, and its
sincere sentiments. But the cancer of imitation,
the preference of foreign art above native talent,
resulted after the middle of the sixteenth century
in a state of decadence, finally leaving the artfield
fallow and barren for centuries to come.
We will now retrace our steps through the first
rooms of this side of the building, and enter again
Gallery 73 which is generally used for loan exhibi-
tions. Recently there has been placed there the
famous waxbust which has been accredited by
Dr. Bode to Leonardo da Vinci, despite many pro-
tests raised by English critics who desire the work
200 Zbc Hrt of tbe Berlin (Balleries
to be regarded as of a little-known English sculp-
tor of the middle of the last century. The fact that
inside the bust English newspapers of that time
have been discovered goes for naught, for these
may have been placed there by a restorer. The
general appearance of the bust, its Mona Lisa
smile, its mystic beauty, speak well for Dr. Bode's
attribution.
With Cabinet 72 we enter upon the study of the
Primitives of the Netherlands, both of Holland
and Flanders.
CHAPTER VII
THE DUTCH AND FLEMISH PAINTINGS
The Kaiser Friedrich Museum is of great
importance for the study of the Netherland
schools of painting. In few museums as com-
plete an array of the various painters who con-
stituted those schools may be found. Not alone
do we find here masterpieces of the men of the
first rank, but those of lower standing are as
numerously and as well represented. Most of
these works were purchased soon after the found-
ing of the museum, principally owing to Waagen's
predilection for the Netherland schools.
Although in an historical-critical sense the
Flemish and the Dutch schools of painting are
specifically and racially distinct, this fact is often
lost sight of, and thus we find here the paintings
of the Netherland schools more or less mixed. I
have endeavoured in arranging the order of our
visit to the various rooms to restore as far as
possible the separate consideration of the two. The
Primitives of the fifteenth and the painters of the
202 XLbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
sixteenth centuries, however, will have to be con-
sidered together since their works are found pro-
miscuously on the walls of the first four rooms.
It will be possible later on to be historically more
exact by following the order as indicated on the
guide printed opposite the groundplan of this floor
(see page 6).
Room 72 The St. Bavon Altarpiece of the
Brothers van Eyck
One of the richest treasures of the Museum is
part of the famous altarpiece painted by the
brothers Hubert van Eyck (1370-1426) and Jan
van Eyck (1390-1441), on the order of the Ghent
patrician Jodocus Vyt and his wife Lysbet Burlut,
and given by them as a votive offering to the
St. Bavon Church in Ghent.
This altarpiece was begun by Hubert van Eyck
about 1420, who left it unfinished at his death in
1426. In 1429 Jan van Eyck continued the work
which he completed in 1432. In 1559 King Philip
II of Spain ordered a complete copy of this mag-
nificent altar made by Michiels van Coxie (1497-
1592), which was exceedingly successful, but never
reached Spain.
The original work was for centuries in Ghent,
but unfortunately was dismembered when in 1815
six of the eight panels that composed the wings
Ube 5>utcb an& fflemisb paintings 203
were sold to the artdealer Nieuwenhuis of Brussels
for 3,000 guilders, and by him sold to the English
collector Solly for 100,000 francs, or 40,000
guilders. With the Solly collection these six panels
came to Berlin. The two panels with the nude
figures of Adam and Eve, being deemed unsuitable
for a church, had for many years been concealed
in the cellar of the Ghent cathedral, but are now
in the Brussels Museum. The original centrepiece
remained in Ghent, but that part of the Coxie copy
was acquired by Berlin in 1823. The wings of
this copy are to-day in the Munich Pinakothek and
in Ghent. The outsides of the original wings here
have been sawed from the insides so that all the
paintings are hung together (512-525).
When the wings were closed the altarpiece
showed in the upper part the " Annunciation " in
two paintings (520, 521) of Gabriel and Mary.
The lower parts of this outside showed four figures
in Gothic niches, in the centre the two Johns (518,
523), the patron-saints of the Ghent church,
painted like statues, grey on grey; and flanked on
either side by the kneeling figures of the donors
(519, 522).
When the wings were opened on Sundays and
Feastdays the view revealed the apocalyptic scene
of the "Adoration of the Lamb" (524), which
filled the entire lower part of the centrepiece.
204 Ube Brt of tbc Berlin <3alieries
Above this, in the middle division, was the God-
father (525) both are here the Coxie copies of
the original in Ghent on the left is Mary (525D)
and to the right John the Baptist (525E) here
the work of Carl Friedrich Schulz, of Gelchow,
who copied them from the originals in Ghent in
1826. A Predella, depicting Purgatory, was below
the altarpiece, but has long since been lost.
On the panels of the shutters in the upper parts,
relieved against backgrounds of blue sky, are groups
of angels, to the left the " Singing Angels " (514.
Plate XXV), to the right the " Angels around the
Organ" (515). Alongside of these panels were
the nude figures of Adam and Eve, which fail here,
the originals being in the Brussels Museum. On
the lower part of the wings are two panels on each
wing. On the left wing the " Just Judges " (512)
and the " Champions of Christ " (513), and on the
right wing the " Holy Hermits " (516) and the
" Holy Pilgrims " (517).
The conception of this monumental work must
be ascribed to the elder van Eyck, who also painted
the large figures of the God-father, of Mary, and
of John the Baptist here in copies. The entire
wings here in the original and the Adoration
of the Lamb here Coxie's copy were from the
hand of Jan van Eyck.
No such marvellous painting as this had ever
JAN
VAN
EYCK
SINGING ANGELS
Plate xxv
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube 5>utcb ant) fflemisb paintings 205
before been seen in Flanders, and when first shown
it created a oro found sensation. Crowds flocked
from far and near when the wings of the great
altarpiece were opened to see its beauties. It was
the first important oilpainting ever produced, and
its authors had carried this new method at a bound
to the highest perfection of execution, with a
complete understanding of this mechanical medium
to acquire the purest harmony of colour.
But it went further in its revolutionary power.
Not only was it technically the high standard for
the new method of painting, its spirit was new.
The van Eycks were the first to open their eyes to
the full reality of nature and human life. The
feeling of nature is in all these paintings far more
developed than it was at the same period in the
south, even with Gentile da Fabriano, or Masaccio.
And the human figures are given with an expres-
sion of life, of vital existence, so convincingly and
with such simple means that each is surrounded by
a nimbus of personal distinction.
The main thought of the altarpiece is to repre-
sent the deliverance of the human race by the
sacrifice of the Lamb. On the outside the Annun-
ciation foreshadows the approaching deliverance,
celebrated by the Church festival within, to which
knights and pilgrims come. In a green and charm-
ing landscape the mystic lamb, whose blood streams
206 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Oalieries
from its breast into a golden chalice, stands upon
an altar hung with red damask, its top covered
with a white cloth. Adoring angels with parti-
coloured wings, bearing the instruments of the
Passion, kneel around the altar in a flower-strewn
meadow, while hosts of worshippers martyrs,
popes and bishops on one side, and on the other the
virgin-saints are seen advancing through a ver-
dant country. In the foreground of the scene is
the fountain of living waters, around which are
grouped prophets and fathers of the church, to-
gether with poets and philosophers gathered from
all quarters of the globe to do honour to the Lamb
of God.
And presiding over this feast of sacrifice the
majestic figure of God the Father, somewhat over
life-size, robed in red and crowned with a triple
tiara, sits enthroned. With Him are the Virgin
and the Herald.
The angels of the heavenly choirs take part with
deep sounding organ tones for the northerners
were far advanced in church music. These singing
and musical angels are as lifelike as human beings.
There is nothing pointing to their heavenly origin.
They have no wings, nor are they wrapped in the
ethereal folds imitated from the antique. They are
presented merely as young singers and musicians,
dressed in the magnificent heavy brocades and
Ubc 2>utcb ant) jflemisb paintings 207
velvets then woven on the looms of Bruges and
Ghent, and although with heavy stiff folds still
they give for the first time the impression that
human bodies are inside these garments.
Indeed, as Sir Joseph Crowe has well said, " the
solemn grandeur of church art in the fifteenth
century never found out of Italy a nobler exponent
than Hubert van Eyck, in whose great altarpiece
a fine display of realistic truth is combined with
pure drawing and gorgeous colour, and there is a
happy union of earnestness and simplicity, together
with the deepest religious feeling. ,,
Rooms 70, 68, 69 Netherland Paintings of
the 15th and 16th Centuries
In these three rooms we find the early Nether-
land paintings displayed which we will consider in
a more or less historical order. Room 70 still
contains a number of the works of Jan van Eyck.
Jan van Eyck loved sunshine, joyousness and
the spirit that bubbles in nature and in man. Only
twice did he paint a passion scene. One of these
is in the St. Petersburg Hermitage, the other one
is here, a "Crucifixion" (525F). Suffering and
sorrow are here so strongly shown that the paint-
ing was first accredited to a Spaniard of the end
of the century. Many critics hold it for that
reason to be a work of Hubert van Eyck. Still
208 Ubc Hrt of tbe Berlin (Balieries
the beauty of the landscape and the charm of the
figures of Mary and John point to Jan, although
the work antedates the Ghent altarpiece.
The "Head of Christ" (528) is a full-face
image built on the vera icon, the so-called authentic
portrait of the Saviour which was frequently copied
in the Middle Ages. This was an archaic-cut
emerald, which was originally in possessioa of an
early emperor in Constantinople, and later was
given by Sultan Bajazed II to Pope Innocent VIII.
The immobility and severity of the face is in-
tensified by the minuteness in which the tiniest
folds and ridges in the lips are depicted.
To appreciate Jan van Eyck to the fullest extent
one must study his portraiture, wherein the national
distinction between Teutonic and Italian art is
clearest discernible. In Italian portraits the men
are proud and self-conscious, their eyes seem to
look clear and steady into a bright world. The
women, sometimes with a slight smile, are taken
apparently at the happiest moment. In the north
on the contrary there is not a vestige of sentiment,
not a shimmer of ideality, but with astounding care
the human being is presented as he exists, not in a
particle different from his usual appearance. Every
individual particularity, even to the smallest
wrinkles, is given with a fidelity that equals photo-
graphic exactness. This clear truthfulness extends
XTbe E>utcb ant) Jflemisb paintings 209
so far that sometimes we note the drawn, con-
strained expression of a person who has long been
posing. The whole object of the portrait was to
show the person as he was yesterday and to-day
and would be to-morrow, in sharpest characteriza-
tion of drawing and colour, and with the exclusion
of every stylistic peculiarity.
Jan van Eyck's "Man with the Pink" (525A),
indicating that he is a bridegroom, is a marvel of
natural, almost aggressive truth, the highest that
exact imitation could produce. The man of sixty
looks out of the picture with a sharp, keen glance.
The face is wonderful in the exact reproduction of
all its lineaments and irregularities, even the out-
standing ears are shown without any esthetic im-
provement. The hands are truly too small in
comparison with the face, but still perfect in draw-
ing, the muscle's and veins clearly indicated. Also
the bust-portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini (523A),
the Italian merchant who represented in Bruges a
mercantile house of Luccha, is remarkable for the
truth, even of its homeliness. The watery blue,
small eyes, peering from under the thin eyelids
over a long arched nose give an expression of stupid
simplicity, until the fine lines around the mouth and
nose reveal a character of breeding, keen calcula-
tion and subtle strength. Everything, however, is
also here surpassed by the painter's quality of the
2io Ubc Hrt of tbe JBerltn Galleries
whole. The accent of characterization, the lumi-
nosity of the flesh, the clear and transparent skin
that even in the shadows reveals itself against the
glowing red of the headcloth, and the fine harmony
of these colours with the olive green of the dress,
make a wonderful combination. Two other por-
traits, one of Baldwin de Lannoy, Knight of the
Golden Fleece (525D), the other a full-face, beard-
less man (523C) with a fur-lined coat, are of equal
importance.
Besides these portraits van Eyck painted several
small Madonnas, which in their miniaturelike
execution are little jewels. Also here we find the
fundamental .mark of the change in sacred figures
to the fullest reality. Against the striving of the
older masters to make their saints slender, with
gentle, ethereal features, and idealized figures, these
Madonnas are homely Netherland women, and the
child is a puny, miserable wight. But while van
Eyck deprives these personages of their abstract
purity and spiritual heavenliness, and lets them
appear like common clay, he makes up for this by
making them the centre, or rather the soul of
beautiful, natural surroundings.
In the little jewel which is the smallest painting
in the museum is shown " Mary with the Child and
the Carthusian" (523B), and despite its minute-
ness it may measure in largeness of conception with
Ube 2>utcb ant) jflemtsb B>aintfn<3$ 211
the amplest creations. In an open hall, through
whose arches a city is seen with a watered valley,
and wooded hills in the far distance, stands the
Madonna with the nude child in her arms, who
extends his hands in blessing over a kneeling
Carthusian monk. St. Barbara presents this pro-
tege. The little painting is wonderfully preserved,
and the colours light as brilliantly as if it had just
left the master's easel. All details are perfectly
shown, the lace on the baldacchino over the
Madonna's head, the people on the marketplace in
the distant city each figure there may be seen as
in life. Even the single trees on the far-off moun-
tains may be discerned, and the birds high in the
air can be recognized from their flight and shape as
wild geese. And yet this painting, only 7 y 2 x 5j4
inches, with all this execution of detail which makes
us wonder with what kind of brushes it was painted,
is by no means small and puerile, but gives as large
an impression as an altarpiece by the luminosity
which surrounds the figures with an intensity which
could rouse the envy of modern pleinairists.
A somewhat larger panel, 12 x 6, as marvellous
in its effect, is the " Madonna in the Church "
(525C). Here the Holy Lady stands full-length
in a magnificently painted cathedral interior, such
as the greatest architectural painters of the seven-
teenth century have not surpassed. Her head with
2t2 Zbc art of tbe Berlin Galleries
its golden jewelled crown reaches unto the rafters,
and is wonderful in its dignified bearing and soulful
features. Through the church windows, partly
with white, partly with stained glass, the evening
light streams with magical, poetic effect, never
surpassed by the greatest chiaroscuro painters that
came later.
The influence of the work of the brothers van
Eyck has been more powerful and has extended
further than that of any other painter who ever
lived. Technically they revolutionized the manner
of painting, and their method of oilpainting was
universally adopted. But they were also the first
to introduce humanism into the subject of painting,
and Jan was the first to give landscape its true
place in art. Few names of direct pupils in their
studio are known, but for a hundred years every
painter in the Netherlands, in Flanders or Holland,
was consciously or unconsciously influenced by the
work the van Eycks had done, although many
added thereto a sturdy independence and original
invention.
Petrus Cristus (1400-1472) was one of the
earliest of these followers, although he only partly
understood the meaning of their work. His " Por-
trait of a Girl" (532) is interesting in the light-
effect but leaves a strange impression by its homely
realism. Her hair is brushed stiffly from her fore-
XLbc 2>utcb ant) jfiemisb paintings 213
head under a prodigiously high cap, her brown,
Chinese-like eyes, the visible cheekbones, lean cheeks
and thin lips, her narrow shoulders and flat breast,
do not have an attractive appearance, while the
expression of the face mirrors a disgruntled and
self willed character. In two religious pictures (in
the next gallery, 68) Petrus strives more closely
to follow the example of van Eyck; one of these,
the "Last Judgment" (529B) being founded on
Jan van Eyck's work in the Hermitage. The other
panel (529A) is divided in two parts, the upper
showing the " Annunciation," the lower-half the
" Birth of Christ." In these works also we find
the light-effect the best factor, while the figures
are but weak, stilted imitations of the Bruges mas-
ter.
Rogier van der Weyden (1400-1464) was a
stronger man. While he could not attain to van
Eyck's skill of painting, nor his detail, nor his
colour, he was more emotional and dramatic, and
carried the humanism, the democratic feeling in
art we might call it, much farther. The Passion
scenes were his favourite topics, which he depicted
for the common people with force and pathos.
In the next gallery (69) we find his famous
"Johannes Altarpiece " (534B), showing in three
panels the birth of John the Baptist to the left, in
the centre John baptizing Christ, and to the right
214 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
the beheading of John (Plate XXVI). The por-
tals through which the scenes are displayed are
decorated with the statuettes of the apostles. The
exaggeration of expression truly makes the scene
drastic and convincing, but this is carried on also
to an exaggeration of form and movement which
makes the drawing knotty and stiff.
Next to this hangs his " Mary Altarpiece "
(524A), also in three parts. To the left is the holy
family, where Mary worships the child lying on
her knees, while Joseph sits opposite her asleep.
The centrepiece shows the lamentation of Christ,
with the stark, stiff body held in the Mother's lap.
To the right is the appearance of the risen Christ
to Mary. All these scenes are placed in Gothic
interiors, showing landscapes in the background
through porticoes.
Going back to Room 68 we view Rogier's
masterpiece, the so-called " Bladelin Altar" (535$
which he executed in the fulness of his power after
a journey to Italy. This work was commissioned
for the high-altar of the church of Middelburg, in
Zeeland, by Peeter Bladelin who from an ordinary
burgher had become the treasurer of Philip the
Good, Duke of Burgundy, and had founded that
city. The centre panel shows the Adoration of the
Child by the donor. The Madonna is dressed in
white, and the remarkably small child lies stark
ROGIER
VAN DER
WEYDEN
BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Plate xxvi
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
XTbe utcb an& jflemtsb paintings 215
naked on a whisp of straw on a northern winter
night in a ruined cabin, open on all sides. Joseph
holds a small candle, but golden light emanates
from the body of the child and the head of Mary.
By contrast with this lowliness we view on the
right wing three kings, dressed in sumptuous
splendour, kneeling in an Italian landscape, and
looking in adoration skyward where a tiny babe
is floating on a cloud. On the other wing we find
a Flemish interior where the Sibyl of Tibur shows
to the Emperor Augustus the vision of the Madonna
holding the Child seated on a balcony outside the
casemated window. In these scenes of the Holy
Night there is no room for excitement and pathos,
and the restraint the artist put on himself resulted
more agreeably than his earlier work. His weak-
ness as a draughtsman is apparent in the dispro-
portion of many parts. The head of the Madonna
is excessively large compared with the rest of the
body, and the angels worshipping with her are
diminutive dwarfs alongside of Bladelin. All
Rogier's failings and excellences are also found in
an old copy (534) of his "Descent of the Cross/'
whereof the original is in the Escorial. Returning
to Room 70 we find there still the portrait of a
young woman (545D), the portrait of Charles the
Bold, Duke of Burgundy (545), and a half-figure
of the Madonna (549A) all by Rogier.
216 Zbc Brt of tbe JBerlin Galleries
The art of the unknown Brabant painter who
goes by the name of the Master of Flemalle (active
1430-1460), but who has been lately identified as
Jacques Daret, places him in the frontrank among
the early Flemings. If Jan van Eyck was a realist
and charmed the eye with the beauty and loveliness
of his colours, if Rogier van der Weyden held the
hearts of the people with his pathos, the Flemalle
Master may be considered as the Romanticist who
depicted the sacred stories with noble and poetic
feeling. His "Crucifixion" (538A) is a notable
advance. Dark-robed angels are winging through
the air around the high cross on which the body of
ivory whiteness hangs. It is the first body drawn
with an aim to anatomical exactness. The figures
around the foot of the cross vary in giving satis-
faction. John's expression of grief by putting his
fist in his eyes is overdrawn, and the posture of
Mary Magdalene, dressed as a Saracen woman
with a large white turban, who twists her neck
awkwardly to look up at the crucified body, is far
from pleasing, but one of the most charming of
figures thus far produced is that of a young girl,
dressed in the simple gown and cloak of a burgher-
maid, who touches Mary with deep sympathy and
affection. She is a lovely child her beautiful
features, so expressive of love and woe, are finely
framed in the loose folds of her white hood. The
Ube Dutcb anb ffiemtsb paintings 217
patient care bestowed on the painting of the hands,
which is a patent mark of the van Eyck school, is
also here prominently noted.
The portrait of a man (537A), with a beardless,
fat face and tousled hair against a white back-
ground, is not beautiful to look at, but beautiful in
its technique. Another portrait (537), of a young
man, is more attractive but not so strong and
expressive.
There has recently been added a small triptych
(not yet catalogued) attributed to the Master of
Bruges who painted about 1475. It shows a monk
under the cross, who receives the crown of life
while a satyr mocks him. Saints and donors are
pictured on the sidewings.
A still further advance is seen in the work of
Hans Memlinc (1425-1495). Therein we note the
sincerity, the purity of the man ; there is tenderness
in his pathos, and an echo of the ecstatic feeling of
the Madonnas of the Middle Ages. We need but
compare the half-figure of the Madonna by Rogier
van der Weyden, in which the features are earnest,
even hard and stern, with Memlinc's " Madonna
with the Child" (528B) which hangs next to it.
Here, with the same type of face, we find greater
gentleness and charm. The same refers to his
"Madonna Enthroned" (529) of beautiful colour
and attractive landscape setting. In his portraiture
218 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
he was exceedingly strong in characterization, with
excellent flesh-painting, even seen in an early work,
the portrait of an old man (529C). But Memlinc
can only be fully appreciated in Bruges where his
masterwork, the Florein altarpiece, hangs in the
St. John's Hospital.
Contemporary with these men, in the early part
and middle of the fifteenth century, there were also
in the north, in Holland, several painters at work
in whom we recognize the van Eyck foundation,
but also the diverging tendency which later widened
and separated the Dutch from the Flemish school.
For the Flemish school gradually became more bold
and florid, while the Dutch school remained sincere
and serene.
The earliest known painter in the north was
Albert van Ouwater (active 1430-1460), of
Haarlem, who is mentioned in old records as a
great " landscape painter," but of whom only one
example is known to exist, which is found here,
and that a church interior with the " Raising of
Lazarus" (532A). While the Italians always
present this scene as taking place in the open
country with a rock tomb, here Lazarus had been
buried in the Choir of a church, as was customary
in Holland. The broken floorslab shows the open
grave whence Lazarus arises at the command of
Jesus who is surrounded by His disciples. Opposite
DIRK
BOUTS
PASCHAL FEAST
Plate xxvii
Kaiser Fried rich
Museum
TLbc Butcb an& jflemisb paintings 219
Him, at the other side of the grave, stand the
antagonists, richly dressed Pharisees, whom Peter,
standing between the groups, seeks to persuade to
believe what their eyes have seen. The Choir is
surrounded by a solid partition reaching half-way
up the columns between which it is built, leaving
a perspective view of the arches and windows of
the church behind. Through the grated door of
this partition the crowding heads of a multitude
are seen, pressing against the bars to view the
miracle. This painting, so beautiful for its colour,
light-effect and expressive drawing, was taken by
the Spaniards at the sacking of Haarlem in 1573,
and sent to Spain.
Another Haarlem painter, who received his first
instruction from Ouwater, was Dirk Bouts (1410-
1475), who settled in Louvain in Brabant when
about forty years old, where Rogier van der
Weyden had some influence on his work. His
masterpiece was an altarwork which he made for
the Peter's church in Louvain, where the central
portion, showing the Lord's Supper, is still found.
Two of the wings are at present in Munich, and
the other two are here in Berlin. These represent
the antetypes of the Lord's Supper, the feeding of
the people of Israel : " Elijah fed in the Desert "
(533), and the "Paschal Feast" (539. Plate
XXVII). This one shows six persons standing
220 XTbe Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
around a table, ready for the journey as was the
Mosaic behest, to eat the Paschal lamb. It is a
plain Dutch interior with coloured tile floor.
Alongside of Bouts' strong palette, the colours of
Rogier van der Weyden seem flowery and sweet.
The landscape in the " Elijah " panel is quietly
impressive, although the figures are rather stiff.
Two Madonnas (545B. C.) are later works, and
more in the Flemish style.
Another pupil of Ou water was Geertgen van St.
Jans (1465-1493) who died at the age of twenty-
eight. This Leyden artist has an individual place
as a landscape painter. His " John the Baptist "
(1631) is placed in a fine hilly park of soft green
verdure, with many animals roaming about. A
recently acquired and not catalogued " Mary with
the Child, and St. Michael with the Donor " is by
a pupil of Geertgen van St. Jans.
An unknown painter whose work has been found
in various places in Flanders, which all point to the
Bouts influence, has been styled the Master of the
Ascension of Mary (active before 1470). Lately
he has been identified with Dirk's son, Aelbert
Bouts. His "Annunciation " (530. Plate XXVIII)
shows him to have been more Flemish than his
father, the types of the faces are more heavy, and
the interior more ornate than we see it in the latter's
work. A comparison of the two plates may well
AELBERT
BOUTS
ANNUNCIATION
Plate xxviii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Dutcb anfc fflemisb paintings 221
help to note the distinction between the northern
and southern schools.
Before we continue with the early Dutchmen in
the next gallery, we note that three panels by
French Primitives have also found a place in Room
70. Two of these are wings of a reliquary from
the cloister of St. Omer, by Simon Marmion, a
miniature painter of the end of the fifteenth cen-
tury, who depicts here with great delicacy the
legend of St. Bertin (1645) in ten scenes, like book
illuminations. The third picture is by Jean Fouquet
(1415-1480), who also commenced as a book illus-
trator, and whose " Book of Hours " in the Chan-
tilly Museum is famous. He was the principal
French portrait painter of the fifteenth century
and a protege of the Treasurer Estienne Chevalier,
the favourite of Agnes Sorel. Fouquet painted
Estienne on a votive panel (1617), being presented
by his patron-saint St. Stephen. This portrait
would look better were it not surrounded on the
wall by the more serious and thorough work of the
northern men. By comparison the Frenchman's
work is flat, and its beauty has only a decorative
quality.
In the next room, 68, we continue! with some
early Dutchmen of the sixteenth century. The
original Hieronymus Bosch (1460-1516), who
hailed from North Brabant, has here a panel " John
222 Ube Hrt of tbe JSerlin Galleries
on Patmos " (i647A) which bears only a few-
marks of his fantastic imagery a queer freaky
creation is seen in the corner. It bears, however,
full evidence of his fine, rich sense of colour, the
delicate pink of the seer's mantle, and the blue of
the angel's robe, as well as his refreshing landscape
vision.
The most famous of the North Netherlander s
was the renowned etcher and wood engraver Lucas
van Leyden (1494-1533). Dying young he still
has taken a prominent place with the few paintings
which he has left. Three of these are found here.
With him realism, which for so long had pushed
itself forward, at last assumes full control of the
art of the century. His St. Jerome doing penance
in the desert, before a crucifix fastened to a tree
(584A), as well as the Madonna with the Child
(584B), excel in pure drawing and luminous
colours. His "Chess party" (574A) is one of
the first examples of the social genre of which the
next century was to produce so many masterpieces.
No less than ten spectators are gathered around the
two players, and they furnish a wonderful tableau
of physiognomic variety.
Jacob Corneliszoon van Oostsanen (1470-1533)
has formerly been known only as a wood engraver,
but a few of his paintings have lately been dis-
covered. A small altarpiece (607) with the
MA ART EN
VAN
HEEMSKERK
PORTRAIT OF A GIRL
Plate xxix
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Dutcb anfc JFlemisb paintings 223
Madonna and Child, sitting behind a stone breast-
work over which an Oriental carpet is thrown, in
the middle panel, and on the wings the donors with
their patron-saints, reveals a strong Renaissance
influence in its architectonic setting. The landscape
on the middle panel is beautifully carried out with
a number of small, naive genre figures.
True portrait painting was as germane in the
north as it was in the south, and Jan van Scorel
(1495-1562), who had a school in Utrecht, was
one of the leaders. His training had been received
on his wide travels and during his residence in
Rome as court-painter to the Holland-born Pope,
Hadrian VI. The Italian influence which emanated
from him did not, however, find as ready soil as
it did in Flanders during the sixteenth century,
causing the school there to decay until revived by
Rubens. Scorel's portrait of Cornelis van der
Dussen (644), the secretary of the city of Delft,
and that of a lady (1202), are simple and energetic,
of clear colour and firm modelling.
A still better work is by Maarten van Heemskerk
(1498-1574) whose "Portrait of a Girl" (570.
Plate XXIX) is a typical example of the portraiture
of the period. It is done with a slight, smooth
brush, no detail slighted, and wonderfully lifelike.
In his genre, notably mythological subjects, he
followed more closely the Italian style, as seen in
224 XTbe Hrt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
a large panel that relates the myth of Momus
(655), the god of faultfinding, who picks flaws in
everything the other gods have done, cavilling at
women, the creation of Vulcan, because they do
not have a window in their breast so that one might
examine their inner being ; at the horses of Neptune
because they have to kick with their hind heels
without seeing their enemy, and so on.
Antonis Mor (1512-1578), of Utrecht, became
famous because of his travels to England and Spain,
where he was extensively employed. The double-
portrait of the Utrecht Domheeren van Horn and
Taets (585A), seen in half-length, is a fine group
of manly men, effectively dressed in the white garb
of their order.
A small genre by Jan van Hemessen (1494-1560)
is one of the most charming productions in this
room. The artist came from near Antwerp, but
died in Haarlem. His "Gold-weigher" (65.6 A)'
shows a lovely young girl in a luxurious velvet
dress, seated at a table and weighing gold coins; a
magnificent golden goblet stands near her delicately
formed hand.
We will now enter Gallery 69 to return to the
Flemish painters. The earliest one here still belongs
to the previous century. Hugo van der Goes (1430-
1482) is best known for his large Portinari altar-
piece in the Ufrizi, a painting which next to Velas-
Ubc H>utcb anfc iflemtsb paintings 225
quez' Pope Innocent in Rome has been called the
finest in Italy. It certainly places him next to the
van Eycks as the greatest artist of the Flemish
school. He advanced on the van Eycks in revealing
new and greater wonders in colouring; and further,
his figures are even more like human beings than
the types which the van Eycks painted. His
"Adoration of the Shepherds" (1622A), a pre-
della of a lost altarpiece, excels in the contrast
between the quiet worship of the parents and angels
and the animated enthusiasm of the shepherds, yet
all so full of character. A newly acquired panel
is a composite work of van der Goes and Dirk
Bouts, and depicts the Preaching of John the Bap-
tist, who points out the Nazarene walking at the
other side of a narrow stream.
Gerard David (1450-1523) was a pupil of Hans
Memlinc, and in his early work almost as attractive
as his master. In his later years he lost much of
his charm, as may be seen in his " Crucifixion "
(573). The composition is very formal and rigid.
The sky is ashy grey, the foreground cold green,
and the far-away hills intense blue, the fleshtones
are smooth as enamel, and in the garments blue
and violet, purple and yellow are mixed truly
not a quiet, harmonious colour combination.
The Antwerp painter Quentin Massy s (1460-
1530) may be regarded as a transition painter.
226 Ubc Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
With him the early Flemish tendencies have come
to full fruition. The genre and landscape parts
are now of equal importance to the figures, but in
religious works the figures assume greater force,
and express the mobility of the members, the nature
and character of each personage becomes now the
artist's principal aim. Massys added thereto archi-
tectural backgrounds, and from this Italian example
other peculiarities of Italian painting spread, until
the indigenous Flemish art became a thing of the
past. As an example we see " Mary with the
Child " (561. Plate XXX). As the Mother kisses
her Child on the lips, her eyes are sunk into his,
her whole body and soul closes over the child, there
is human feeling displayed, real mother-love. At
the same time there is a curious mingling of Italian
elaborateness in the splendid throne, and genuine
Flemish feeling in the stillife on the table before
the group, the round loaf of bread and platter with
butter. His "Weeping Magdalene" (574C) is
even more expressive in the heartbreaking sorrow
of the penitent. A "St. Jerome'' (574B) is by
his pupil Marinus van Roymerswaele (active 1521-
1538), although formerly given to Massys. It is
still more Italian in its concentration of light,
contrasting with Flemish diffusion of light.
The most distinguished landscape painter was
Joachim Patinir (active 1515-1524), in whose
QUENTIN
MASSY S
MARY WITH THE CHILD
Plate xxx
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube 2>utcb an& jflemisb paintings 227
"Rest on the Flight to Egypt" (608) the figures
take but a secondary place, the sweeping landscape
being his main object. Still the human interest is
well cared for. Joseph is coming with a donkey
from a populous hamlet, and in another village in
the middle distance the slaughter of the innocents
is shown.
The last of these Flemings, who by study with
Leonardo da Vinci had become thoroughly Italian-
ized, was Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse (1470-1541).
His "Christ on the Mount of Olives" (551A) is
very naturalistic, with a scattered, strong light-
effect that picks out the faces, tree-tops and a float-
ing angel in a confusing manner. Also the " Mary
with the Child " (650) ; and two nude paintings,
"Neptune and Amphitrite " (648) and "Adam
and Eve in Paradise" (661), savour more of the
south than of the north. His " Portrait of a
Man" (586A) is a serious and dignified docu-
ment.
Passing from this room through Cabinet 65 we
enter Room 62.
Rooms 62, 63, 60 Rubens, and Flemish
Paintings of the 17th Century
The principal works in Room 62, which is
furnished with old Flemish furniture, will prepare
us for the large Rubens Gallery which will follow.
228 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
A few paintings by Rubens are already found here,
but some by other men must first be noted.
Flemish art had towards the middle of the
sixteenth century become Italianized and had lost
its racial characteristics, but towards the end of
the century a revival took place whereby landscape
and figures, especially of genre, were more racy
of the soil. The Frankish strain in the blood of
the populace of the South Netherlands, however,
always asserted itself it is very evident in
Rubens. Finally it caused the death of Flemish
art, soon after the powerful personality of Rubens
had been forgotten.
One of the first men to reassert independence
was Paul Bril (1554-1626), who went to Italy but
instead of following the methods taught there,
taught Italians his own views of landscape painting.
His " Mountain-goat Hunt " (714) shows a high,
majestic rock-wall over which hunted and hunters
are passing.
Only one member of the Breughel family is
represented here, Jan Breughel the Elder, called
Velvet Breughel (1568-1625), by whom we find
five examples. His technique is indicated by his
name, and especially the " Vulcan's Smithy " (678)
is a marvel of smooth, minute painting of detail.
Thousands of pieces of armour and costly objects
lie around in the cave, while Vulcan is awaiting the
XTbe Dutcb an& jf lemtsb paintings 229
visit of Venus. These are painted with every nail
and buckle and clasp showing. Just as tantalizing
in its minutiae of animal and plant life is his
"Paradise" (742).
A large double-portrait by Cornelis de Vos
(1585-1651) is a magnificent group of a married
couple, seated on a terrace of their park, dressed
in rich, patrician garments. It is a dignified pre-
sentment, elaborate in its details of an abundance
of lace adornment.
But the great master, Peeter Paul Rubens (1577-
1640) greets us here. In this and in the large
Rubens Gallery 63 and in Cabinet 60 there are
twenty-three of his works exhibited, truly not a
large number since the Munich Gallery has about
eighty of his paintings, the Prado over sixty, and
Vienna, the Louvre and the Hermitage each about
fifty. Still the Berlin collection shows the master
as completely in the various expressions of his
genius as the Museums mentioned.
Rubens found in Italy his artistic training
Michelangelo's mighty forms, Titian's brilliant
colour-glow, Veronese's grand composition were
amalgamated in him with Flemish humanism, often
with broadness of meaning, and entirely lacking in
subtlety. This is his weakness. There is nothing
suggested in his work. With a loud blare of
trumpets he marshals before us opulence of form,
230 Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
unrestrained action, mighty contrasts of passions,
sensuous abandon. But he does this with such
masterful power, such marvellous perfection of
execution, such incisive hypnotism, that places him
among the most exalted masters. Gorgeous shapes
throng around his pencil numberless, startling us
by the novel accidents of form and colour, putting
the spirit of motion into the universe, and weaving
all nature into a gay, fantastic Bacchanalian dance.
In this first room devoted to his work we find a
sketch for a mythological composition, " Shipwreck
of Aeneas" (776E), which need not occupy us
long. The small " Perseus delivers Andromeda "
(785) glows with the ardour of the hero as he
unfastens the chains. An example of his historical
painting is his " Capture of Tunis by Emperor
Charles V" (798G). It is an interesting work
because only half-finished, showing the broad,
sweeping brown lines of first drawing, and in the
middle foreground the completed group with all
its colourful pomp.
Two portraits by Rubens are also in this room.
The portrait of Isabella Brant (762A), the master's
first wife, in the sumptuous garments wherewith
the artist always bedecked her, while he generally
reveals to us the voluptuous beauty of his second
wife, Helena Fourment, with little or no drapery.
The other portrait is of his own child, his second
PEETER
PAUL
RUBENS
PORTRAIT OF A CHILD OF THE MASTER
Plate xxxi
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ubc smtcb anfc fflemisb paintings 231
boy (763. Plate XXXI), a perfect presentment of
the charm and innocence of childhood.
On entering the gorgeous Rubens Honour-gallery
63 we view on the wall between the doors the
colossal "Conversion of Paul" (762B). This is
one of the most energetic of the master's religious
compositions. A company of ten people, four of
them mounted, are suddenly thrown into the direst
confusion by the appearance of the figure of Christ
in the sky, bursting from a blinding light, and the
man who was to become the first missionary of the
Christians lies prone on the ground, stricken and
called.
The "Raising of Lazarus" (783) is beautiful
in its luxurious colour and animated figures, al-
though the master's volubility, as we might call it,
comes out in the figure of Lazarus, which stepping
out of the grave is the most robust of all. An early
work, of 1614, is the "St. Sebastian" (798H), a
vigorous youth tied to a tree, and a fine anatomical
study. The "St. Caecilia " (781) is one of his
latest works, dating from his death year, 1640. In
it the features of his wife, Helene Fourment, are
seen. She is seated, richly dressed in yellow silk,
at a small organ, surrounded by putti. Her dainty
fingers float over the keys as she is joyously looking
upward. There is nothing mystic or ecstatic about
this work, as in Raphael's St. Caecilia. Rubens
232 Ube Hrt of tbe JSeritn Galleries
was not a philosopher, nor spiritually minded. He
shows the real transport of music, which sounds
even in the green and orange-tones in luscious
harmony.
In the Rubens Cabinet 60 we find a sketch of
his large altarpiece of the Augustine Church of
Antwerp, " Mary with the Child and Saints " (780)
which is as splendid in its composition as any of the
large frescoes of Paolo Veronese. A fine " Pieta "
(798K) is also found here.
A class of subjects in which Rubens has never
been surpassed are his Bacchanalian scenes. There
the unbridled passionate fibre of the artist's nature
breaks forth in a sensuousness that often verges on
sensuality. The most famous is the " Bacchanal "
(776B, on the rear wall of Room 63), a scene of
revelry and riot where drunken Silenus lurches
forward in vinous stupor, supported by satyrs and
accompanied by Bacchantes, wantonly leaping and
beating on the tambourine. Nude children scat-
tering flowers complete a scene of careless, aban-
doned animalism, designed only to show contrasts
of colour in the light-reflections on dark and white
flesh. On a par with this Silenus wassail is the
" Diana with Nymphs, surprised by Satyrs "
(762C), somewhat more quiet in movement but
even more characteristic in sensuous action.
Naturally the antique sagas of heroes, gods and
Zbc Dutcb anfc ffiemisb paintings 233
goddesses furnished abundant subjects for our
prolific painter, on which he could lavish all the
wealth of his coloursense, and fairly revel in volup-
tuous forms. Of such we find here " Neptune and
Amphitrite" (776A), "Mars with Venus and
Amour" ( 798B ) , " Fortuna " (798C), " Androm-
eda " (776C), and "Diana's Deerhunt " (774).
A " Landscape at Sunset " (776D) shows his broad
treatment of the subject in distinction of the minute
work of the earlier men.
A replica of an original in the Vienna Gallery,
a group of four children, representing the Christ-
child, John, a little girl babe as the Church, and a
Cupid (779), is one of many repetitions Rubens
or his pupils have painted of this subject, which
are scattered among various collections.
Of the large number of pupils who hailed from
the Rubens studio only two are represented here,
Anton van Dyck (1599-1641) and Cornelis de Vos.
Of van Dyck the Museum shows seventeen ex-
amples, six portraits, two mythological and nine
religious pieces, among which the " Crowning with
Thorns" (770). This dates from his first period
and shows the powerful influence of the greater
master. Also the " Two Johns " (799) is an early
work in the style of Rubens. Two portraits, a
Genoese nobleman and his wife (782B and C),
are of van Dyck's Italian period, and have the
234 XTbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
cachet of Titian imprinted. In the cabinet we find
the portrait of Thomas Franqois de Carignan,
Prince of Savoy, which is of the same time. The
portrait of this Prince in Windsor Castle is far
superior. None of these works bear any evidence
of the refinement which later characterized van
Dyck.
By Cornelis de Vos is that one of the most
charming of all children's paintings, the " Daugh-
ters of the Artist " (832. Plate XXXII). They are
seated on the ground, in their best Sunday " bib
and tucker," and look so ingenuously at the specta-
tor that it is no wonder to be one of the most pop-
ular paintings in the Museum. De Vos was a
strong, individual artist of personal expression.
We shall find some further Flemish paintings
in the last gallery (51), but now turn again to the
Dutch school.
Rooms 59, 58 Frans Hals, and Dutch Paint-
ings of the 17th Century
From the first there had been a distinction
between Dutch and Flemish art, owing to the
different racial characteristics of the two peoples.
The political union between the north and south
provinces up to the time of the abdication of
Emperor Charles V had been merely one of being
under the same ruler, but did not establish any
Ube Dutcb ant) jfiemisb paintings 235
amenities or much intercourse between the various
districts. The South, or Flanders, with its Gallic
blood, leaned towards and soon succumbed to the
Roman influences of its Latin affiliations. The
North, or Holland, of the Teutonic race, always
voiced its spirit and manifested its individuality.
The kernel of distinction may well be summed up
in the statement that the Flemings, as did the
Italians, painted for churches and the palaces of
the rich, the Dutch painted for the home of the
burgher. Not until the end of the seventeenth
century did Dutch art succumb to outside influ-
ences, weakened and decayed.
We have seen some of the Dutch works of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but with the
beginning of the seventeenth century the golden age
dawned in Dutch art. A score of years before
Rembrandt, the greatest master, Frans Hals (1584-
1666) was born, who may be ranked only second
to Rembrandt.
Frans Hals was foremost as a portraitist; even
his delightful types of streetboys, bumboat women
and topers are intrinsically character-portraits. He
was a craftsman par excellence, succeeding by
simple means to achieve the broadest results. He
did not go into the mysteries of chiaroscuro, and
was content to surround his figures with ordinary
daylight, but therein acquired a sovereign control
236 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
over local tones in which he is only rivalled by-
Velasquez.
Ten paintings which came from his hand enable
us to study his work as comprehensively in the
Kaiser Friedrich Museum as in Haarlem, where
his large militia and regent groups are found, for
they range here in date from 1616 to 1660. The
earliest dated work" is a replica, possibly by Dirk
Hals, of an original by Frans, now in the United
States. This is "The Jolly Clover-leaf" (801D),
in which a merry Dutchman has a well-dressed
girl on his knee, while another girl standing behind
holds a wreath of sausages over his head. The
faces form a trefoil of humourous good-nature
and enjoyment.
From the years around 1625 we have two half-
lengths of a young married couple (800-801) and
of a young nobleman (801 F), in rich velvet doublet,
large black flap-hat, and immense lace-collar, who
seems to be dissatisfied with the world but tries to
make the best of it and the artist unmercifully
depicts the little success he seems to have, for the
disgruntled state of his mind is ludicrously more
apparent than the man's attempt at bonhommie.
Also the "Singing Boy" (801 A), with a long
feather in his cap, beating time with one hand, and
a flute in the other to play the interludes, is a capital
piece of character painting.
FRANS
HALS
NURSE AND CHILD
Plate xxxiii
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
ZTbe H>utcb an& jfiemisb paintings 237
Two other portraits came a few years later, of a
young man (766) and of the controversial preacher
Johannes Acronius (767). They are equally broad
in technique and expressive of vitality.
From the middle period of the artist, about 1635,
is that popular group " Nurse and Child " (801G.
Plate XXXIII). This little heiress of Ilpenstein,
in its fine flowery Dutch baby-clothes, is just as
typical and jolly as the peasant, who has been taken
in at the castle as nurse-girl, is simple and good-
natured, and rather in high feather that she may
show the young Freule to the visitors.
The famous " Hille Bobbe, the Witch of Haar-
lem " (801C) is a comic grotesque, for the large
bright pewter tankard which she grasps is not as
fleshcreeping as the bubbling pot of witchcraft.
The name is an ancient misreading of a writing on
the back of the original frame from Frans Hals'
own hand : " Malle Babbe van Haarlem " Foolish
Barbara of Haarlem. A rather poor replica of this
work is in the Metropolitan Museum of New
York.
The most monumental portrait is that of Tyman
Oosdorp (801H), a life-size, half-figure, of brusque
appearance. It dates of 1656. The knee-piece,
life-size, of an elderly man (801E) is one of his
latest works, of 1660, and is in the thin painting
of these later years, but as expressive, as sure of
2 3 s Ube Hrt of tbe JBetiin Galleries
touch, and, if anything, more refined than the
earlier work.
In this room we find also two examples by Gerard
Terborch (1617-1681), "Paternal Advice" (791)
and " The Scissors Grinder " (793). The title of
Paternal Advice was given by Goethe when he de-
scribed this picture, but it is very doubtful whether
Terborch intended to tell a story. It is plainly a
genre painting of some people meeting for an af-
ternoon liqueur and gossip, and intended to show
the fine interior of a burgher home and the shotted
silk of the dress of the lady who stands with her
back towards us. The " Scissors Grinder " is a
genre which the aristocratic painter did not often
select. A ruinous looking brick cabin flanks a
courtyard with sheds, and the workman is busy
grinding a tool for the farmer who lounges against
a post. The farmer's wife is combing her child's
hair. The detail, especially the painting of the
weathered boards and crumbling masonry is mas-
terly done, and the whole is bathed in a sunny
colourscheme, which proves the artist to have been
as much a master of outdoor effects as of interiors.
In Cabinet 58 we find a large portrait (753), by
Paul Moreelse (1571-1638), one of the group of
portrait painters just preceding Rembrandt, of
which Ravenstein, Mierevelt and de Keyzer were
members. By Thomas de Keyzer (1596-1667) we
Ubc Butcb an& jfiemisb paintings 239
find a family group (750), all the members stately
dressed in black, seated and standing around a
green-covered table. Also the portrait of an old
lady (743), by J. G. Cuyp (1594-1651) is a deft
and intimate presentation of a burgher vrouw.
A rarity is found here in two landscapes by
Adriaen van de Venne (1589-1662), a man of
whom not many works are in existence. He filled
a place in Dutch art which Velvet Breughel occu-
pied in Flanders, with this difference that van de
Venne's paintings of landscapes with little figures
are more expressive, fresher and cooler, while
Breughel's little figures are often slurred, and his
colour is dryer and hotter. The two landscapes
"Summer" (741A) and " Winter " (741B), by
van de Venne, give two realistic rural scenes ex-
pressive of the seasons, Summer with travellers
on the road, surrounded by beggars, and hunters
crossing a brook, Winter with skaters enjoying
themselves on the ice of a river with snowy banks
and a white-robed city in the distance.
Two other landscape painters of note were van
Goyen and Salomon van Ruysdael. Jan van Goyen
(1596-1656) was a man of the greatest individual
expression, who painted his Holland as he saw it,
regardless of any principle of composition vil-
lages, dunes, or cities by the riverbanks, with a
wide blue sky overhead and air to breathe. Such
2 4 o Ubc Hrt ot tbe JSerlfn (Ballertes
landscapes are his " View of Arnhem " (865D) and
"The Dunes" (865). Of Salomon van Ruysdael
(1600-1670) we have a view of the mouth of a
river (901 A), and two scenes of the flat country of
North Holland (901B,C), one from his earlier years
when he followed the style of Esaias van de Velde,
the other, twenty-five years later, in which the
influence of his nephew Jacob is easily discernible.
The large number of other paintings of the so-
called Little Masters will be seen after we have
first examined the next cabinet, exclusively devoted
to the works of the " King of Painters."
Room 57 Rembrandt
We need not be surprised that the Kaiser Fried-
rich Museum of Berlin is the place to study com-
prehensively and completely the works of Rem-
brandt (1606-1669), covering his entire creative
period, from 1627 to 1667. For Dr. Wilhelm
Bode, the greatest Rembrandt student, is in charge,
and his scholarship has contributed to the selection
of almost half of the twenty-two works assembled
here. Most of the others came from the royal
castles in 1821, where not a few had been since
1676, when the estate of the Prince of Orange was
divided.
For a critical study of the life and works of the
grand-master of painting I must refer to the chapter
REMBRANDT
SELF - PORTRAIT
Plate xxxiv
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Butcb anfc jf lemtsb paintings 241
on Rembrandt in my book on " The Art of the
Netherland Galleries." It must suffice here to
point out that in all the periods of his art the master
reached the same height. There is little or no
development in his work. He often changed his
method but always it was at the same height of
supreme excellence the work of a genius. His
earliest important work, the " Anatomy Lesson "
of 1628, and " The Syndics " of 1660, painted in
the same refined manner, are equal in artistic value,
and could be exchanged as to dates. There is a
cosmic unity in his work despite the marvellous
extent of his creative genius.
Two self-portraits of 1633 and 1634 are like the
many portraits he painted of himself about sixty
times not so much intended to perpetuate his
features but because in his own person he had
always a ready model to give an artistic presentment
of the human face and form in light-effect and
drapery. Likeness of features was to him a minor
consideration in his own case. The portrait of
1633 (808. Plate XXXIV) has long hair, a velvet
hat with green feather, a steel gorget and a golden
chain over a grey mantle. That of 1634 (810)
has a black barette, brown mantle, fur collar and
green neckerchief. The features in both are those
of a strongly self-reliant man in which the trait of
a kindly disposition is not obliterated.
242 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
This indifference for the face except as a piece
of painting is noticeable in the portrait of the
"Man with the Golden Helmet" (811A). His
elder brother, who had taken over his father's flour-
mill in Leyden and after hard work had failed, had
come to his rich painter brother in Amsterdam
about 1650 for help, and the artist had used him
as a model, principally to put on his head the golden
helmet which he had among his curiosities. And
the marvellous contrast between the magnificent
headpiece and the rugged features of a hard- worked
man does not give us so much a family picture as
the document of a grizzly old warrior. But how
much did Rembrandt love to paint that bright,
mirroring, embossed helmet, emphasized by the red
touch of velvet and contrasted with the dull tones
of the withered skin.
The portrait of his wife Saskia (812) was
finished in 1643, the year after she died. It is a
memorial in which the master depicted in loving
remembrance the features of one who had been his
greatest joy. He bedecks her with all the pearls
and jewels which he had bought for her adornment,
and a gentle smile plays over her lips that recalls to
him the sweetness of her disposition.
Hendrikje Stoffels was the friend and comfort
of his later years. The finest portrait whereby we
know her is the one before us (828B). She had
Ube Butcb ant) ffiemisb paintings 243
come in Rembrandt's household in 1647 as a plain
servant girl from the country to take care of the
young boy Titus. She went through the financial
stress which worried her master all through the
fifties, and she became to him all a woman could
be. Rembrandt could not marry her, because he
could not loose the usufruct of Saskia's inherit-
ance, nor would it have been possible for him to
make restitution to Titus of the principal, which
in the case of a second marriage he would have
been obliged to do. The Church-consistory cited
her and excommunicated her, but Hendrikje faith-
fully remained with Rembrandt as wife, nurse,
helpmeet a martyr and a heroine for love's sake.
Well did the master place the wedding-ring which
she could not wear on her finger on a ribbon
around her neck, as she is looking out of the win-
dow, her right hand leaning against the casemate,
and her left arm resting on the sill. It is a round
full face of a simple, well-meaning charm.
The most imposing portrait group is the famous
double-portrait of the " Mennonite (Baptist)
Preacher Anslo and his Wife" (828L). The
clergyman has just returned from the street and
is seated at his study-table, still with mantle and
hat on, relating something to his wife, a most
charming, prim looking, middle-aged lady, with
white coif and fluted lace collar.
244 XTbe Hrt of tbe JBeriin Galleries
In connection with this painting I would digress
a moment to propound a theory, which may sound
paradoxical, but which controverts much that
is taught in art schools and written in art criti-
cism.
One of the supreme excellences found in all the
works of Rembrandt is his composition and this
is generally understood to mean a deliberate ar-
ranging and composing of the divisions of the
picture, the placing of its light-spots and shadow-
masses, the flow of its demarking lines, the centre
of interest and subsidiary detail, and various other
phraseological minutiae, dear to the heart of aca-
demic instructors and Raphael imitators.
The matter of " Composition " is much discussed
as a foundation principle of art. It is almost raised
to the dignity of being a science, with precepts and
directions as rigid as the rule of three. Books
have been written on the subject, giving lines and
measurements and intricate designs.
Flatly there is no such a thing as composition,
in the sense of an acquired and developed dexterity,
to be taught and to be learned. Composition is
merely the manifestation of a sense of balance, of
equilibrium in the artist. He must possess what
among artisans is called a " carpenter's eye." An
eye that not only sees but feels right proportions,
and not only copies from nature but instinctively
Ube S)utcb ano fflemisb paintings 245
adjusts nature so that the masses will balance and
the lines not conflict. In the infancy of art some
extraneous rules were laid down, and we had the
classic lines of Mantegna, the architectural setting
of the. early Florentines, the pyramid form of Fra
Bartolommeo, even followed by Raphael but
great art is inspired and does not go by rote.
A proof of this we find in some of the greatest
works of the English school, where the academic
catchwords " centre of interest," " unity of de-
sign " are ignominiously ignored. For instance,
Turner's " Fighting Temeraire " can be cut in half
and make two complete pictures which is a
heinous offence against the rules of composition
yet, the Fighting Temeraire is a marvellous unit
of surpassing splendour and power. And the same
we find in all the works of Rembrandt. There is
an utter absence of the sense of composing re-
member the mixed groups of his " Nightwatch "
but his balance of form and of light and shade
is absolutely perfect. In the Anslo portrait we find
the figure of the man dominating the centre; the
black dress of his wife, made positive by the white
cap and collar, the face and hands, are to the right ;
and to the left the table on which a reading-desk,
a heavy folio and a brass candlestick, all receiving
the light of an unseen window a perfect balance
of harmonious values. All the works of Rem-
246 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
brandt, as well as the works of all the great masters,
prove that we may only speak of composition as
of a result, not as of a pons asinorum, a means to
lead thereto. Composition cannot be taught, as
mixing paint or holding the brush. It is one of
the innate gifts that makes the artist. It is not
subject to rules, but is a spontaneous expression
of artistic genius. And that inborn gift was pos-
sessed by Rembrandt more consummate, more per-
fect, than by any artist who has ever lived.
Rembrandt's portrayals of types have all the in-
dividual characterization of portraits. His " Old
Man with the Red Cap" (828J), the portrait of
a "Young Jew" (828M), and of a "Rabbi"
(828A) are fine examples of physiognomic obser-
vation, of a broad, sure handling of the brush, and
a magic management of light-effects.
The majority of Rembrandt's historical paint-
ings are of scriptural subjects, and by preference
of the Old Testament. Like all the religious
pictures of the Dutch school they were not designed
for churches, as with the Italians and Flemings,
but for the home. And, again, not there for
devotional purposes, but as reverent reminders of
the sacred story. To make these presentations
more intimate and useful for ethical application
they were dressed in the garb of popular conditions
humanized, not spiritualized.
Ube 2>utcb anfc flemish paintings 247
We find here a number of these sacred themes.
The "Vision of Daniel" (828F), the "Good
Samaritan" (812B), " Potiphar's Wife accusing
Joseph" (828H), "Susannah and the Elders"
(828E), "Joseph's Dream" (806), "John the
Baptist Preaching" (828K), and " Tobith's Wife
with the stolen Goat" (805) they are all pre-
sentations which may not lead us to worship, but
surely will make us think of the lessons these
incidents teach.
Rooms 56, 54, 53, 55, 52 Dutch Paintings of
the 17th Century
The series of galleries which we will visit in the
order above indicated contains the works of many
of the important painters of the golden age of
Dutch art, notably of the so-called Little Masters.
In the last gallery we will find still a half dozen
additional works by Rembrandt, of his earliest and
of his latest years. If the reader will refer to the
floor plan of the Gallery which appears on page
five he will find Gallery 61 indicated; this Gallery,
however, is filled with a loan collection, only tem-
porarily exhibited, so that we cannot spare the space
for a description of its contents.
The first name to be mentioned on entering
Cabinet 56 is of Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682),
one of the greatest landscapists of that century.
248 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Ruisdael, Hobbema, van Goyen, and Aelbert Cuyp
were the creators of pure landscape art. They
were the first who developed the searching of the
few Italian landscapists and of Claude Lor rain
with their striving for idealization or classic effects,
and who revealed the true inwardness of nature.
They were the first to understand fully and to
reflect clearly the peculiar poetry of landscape
and their inspiration produced Constable, Barbizon,
and the modern Dutchman. They painted simple,
uniform landscapes, which entrance by the lively
play of light and shade, colour and tone. They
were the first sky-painters but then, no country
has skies like Holland, their cloudmasses, their
manifold form and colour, the effect of bursting
sunrays and chasing shadows. Nature was not
only seen by these men, but its intimate life was
felt by them, and reproduced with a sympathy that
none had ever expressed.
To this sympathy Jacob Ruisdael added
grandeur, his colour rose to dramatic power.
Twelve examples here show him in every phase
of his expressive genius, from the earlier works
of Dutch scenery to the later works when to catch
the popular taste he followed van Everdingen's
example and painted rocks and waterfalls. Some
of his paintings are views of dunes and bleaching-
grounds such as he saw in his youthful years near
Ube Dutcb anfc jflemtsb paintings 249
Haarlem. Here he shows his mastery to give
atmospheric life, the simple clearness and wonderful
freshness of these flat stretches seen from the
eminence of the dunes. But even early his melan-
choly disposition made him turn to solitude and
sombreness, and we have the " Oakforest " (885G)
with its pool in the hollow, on which water lilies
float; the lonely hut under the heavy oaks (899C),
heavily clouded over, and sad in feeling; and the
"Ruins in the Woods" (884B). The " Village
in the Woods " (884A) is more tense in expression
with its angry sky, riven by lightning. A " View
of the Dam in Amsterdam" (885D) has that
silvery tone which sometimes lightens up his later
works.
An exceedingly rare example is one of the few
marines Ruisdael painted. This is a view of the
"Y before Amsterdam" (884), which in his time
was an arm of the Zuiderzee but now narrowed to
a canal. The choppy waves and the towering,
rolling sky; the white spray churned up by the
brown-sailed fishing smacks, the keeling vessels
farther back, all shows the heavy weather that is
blowing. The towers of Amsterdam are seen in
the distance on the right. One of his last works
is the "Waterfall" (899A), not a roaring torrent
as van Everdingen used "to paint, but a broad
stream that narrows in the middle distance and
250 Ube Brt ot tbe ^Berlin Galleries
breaks over jutting rocks. Still he seems to awaken
strings that yield wild, broken music among the
rugged trees.
The "Wooded Landscape" (886), by Meindert
Hobbema (1638-1709), is one of his quiet, deeply
felt scenes of trees and sky. It is difficult to choose
between Ruisdael and Hobbema, for the work of
each has supreme quality. The personal mood
of the spectator will have much to do with
awarding the palm, for Ruisdael appeals with
his stern strength, Hobbema with his serene
calm.
Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1698), the Dordrecht
painter of polders, meadows and streams, with
cattle and peasants, was the first painter of sun-
light as it filters through the moist atmosphere of
the lowlands. Four such scenes are depicted by
him, whereof the "River Landscape" (861B) is
one of his masterpieces. Also the " Farm "
(922C), by Adriaen van de Velde (1636-1672),
is a masterpiece of that thorough landscapist, while
his "River Landscape" (922B), with its reflec-
tions in the water of trees, a farmhouse and a fine
white horse, is especially attractive.
A beginning is made in this cabinet, 56, with the
genre painters who are so well represented in the
Museum. First, however, we note two portraits,
by Govert Flinck (1615-1660), Rembrandt's
LADY WITH THE PEARL NECKLACE
JAN
VERMEER Plate xxxv
VAN DELFT
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Dutcb an& jflemteb paintings 251
closest follower, of a young lady (813A), and by
Bartholomeus van der Heist (1613-1670), also of
a young girl (825A).
Jan Steen (1626-1679) is the jolly chronicler
who leads us to the intimate life of burgher and
boor. He introduces himself, seated in a summer-
garden (795), enjoying a pickled herring, while
his wife assists their young offspring to drink beer
out of a huge tankard. A jnumber of people are
lounging about at the long wooden tables under
the arbour regaling themselves. Also in the next
cabinet, 53, which we now enter, we see one of his
delightful gatherings. This time it is the " Bap-
tismal Feast" (795D), in the taproom of his
hostelry for Steen also kept an inn where
the family gathered around the cradle will soon
join the revelry of the company at table in the rear
of the room.
The greatest of the genre painters was undoubt-
edly Jan Vermeer van Delft (1632-1675). His
play of light, whether out-of-doors or in an interior,
is the essence of refinement and delicacy. First
we note his " Lady with the Pearl-necklace "
(912B. Plate XXXV). The full signature on this
painting was one of the means whereby Thoreau
rediscovered, a generation ago, this master who
had dropped entirely out of historical records and
was an unknown man, whose few existent works,
252 Uhc Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
about thirty-five in all, were ascribed to other
painters of his school.
Against a pale grey background the figure of
the young woman stands as she fastens about her
throat a necklace of pearls. She wears a canary
yellow jacket bordered with ermine, and a grey
skirt. In her blond hair a red ribbon is tied.
Light streams through a window in the back part
of the picture, touching the folds of the saffron
coloured curtain hanging beside it, falling on the
face and upper part of the figure of the lady, illu-
mining the wall, and so permeating the atmosphere
that even in the shadows the colours are blended
in a wonderful harmony.
His other example is an interior with a " Lady
and Gentleman" (912C), with most exquisite
tenderest gradations of silvery light pervading the
handsome sittingroom in which the light streams
through a half-open, leaded window.
The man who in refinement of feeling stands
next to Vermeer was Gerard Terborch, of whom
we saw two paintings in Room 59. He excels in
painting textures, and while his light is not so
fascinatingly plein air as with Vermeer, it is still
lovingly graded. Terborch's colour, though some-
what heavier, is still of exquisite harmony. A
number of his cabinetpieces are found here, some
of his later works of fashionable folks, others of
NICOLAAS
MAES
PEELING APPLES
Plate xxxvi
Kaiser Friedrich
Museum
Ube Dutcb ant) jflemisb paintings 253
his earlier Haarlem period of more unconventional
types. "A Young Married Couple" (791H), the
" Concert " (791G), the " Doctor's Visit " (791C),
the "Smoker" (791F), together with a few por-
traits are found here and in cabinet 54.
The one who stands on a par with Steen, Ter-
borch, and Vermeer is Pieter de Hooch (1629-
1677), famous for his contrasts of interior and
exterior light in the same composition. His
"Mother" (820B) has that perspective of rooms
whereby his highest attainment of light-manage-
ment is demonstrated. The young mother is seated
by the cradle in front of the usual Dutch bedstead
built like a closet in the wall, and through a door
at the side of the bed we look into an entry and
the corner of another room, with a larger window
and more brightly lit. De Hooch showed as much
love of detail and perfection of painting stillife as
Dou or any other of the Little Masters. In his
"Company of Officers and Ladies" (1401) he
depicted one of those social conversation pieces so
beloved by the Hollanders of his day.
The last of the genre painters who, alas, in his
later years succumbed to the Frenchified taste of
the time, was Nicolaas Maes (1632-1693). His
" Peeling Apples " (819 C. Plate XXXVI) is one
of those types of old women which he loved to
paint, and which, in technique, are fully under
254 Gbe Brt of tbe JSeriin Galleries
Rembrandt's influence. Still there is an individual
conception in his work, even when he comes nearest
to his master, which endears him to the art lover.
Surely there is nothing more captivating than the
placid old soul who sits there at the window, with
her open bible on the sill, with her spinning-wheel,
and the cruse in the niche in the wall.
Also the work of Jan van der Heyden (1637-
1712), the best architectural painter, hangs here,
with a view of a street before the Haarlem gate
of Amsterdam (1623); as well as some poultry
(876A), by Melchior d'Hondecoeter (1636-1695),
and Stillife (948D, F), by Willem Kalf (1621-
1693).
We have now reached Gallery 52, which still
contains works of the same period. First we note
a half dozen works by Rembrandt, for which no
room was found in cabinet 58. We halt before
his earliest known picture, painted in 1627, when
the artist was but twenty-one years old. This is
"The Money-changer" (828D), also called the
" Antiquary," which has all the broadness of treat-
ment and powerful chiaroscuro of his later years.
Of the next year we have " Samson and Delilah "
(812A), a different treatment of the subject from
the large one in the Count Schonborn Collection in
Vienna. An interesting composition is another
Samson picture, " Samson threatens his Father-in-
Zbc Dutcb an& jflemisb paintings 255
law" (802). Samson stands in rich oriental cos-
tume before a house and shakes his clenched fist
at his father-in-law who is putting his head out of
a window to see what disturbance is being made.
The old man's face shows his hypocritical regret
and commiseration when he exclaims, " I thought
you had quarrelled and I gave her to one of your
companions." It is an amusing coincidence that
this picture was painted in 1635, or the year after
Rembrandt married Saskia, and it may have
been a humourous reflection on the antagonism
which he had to overcome during the time of
his courtship from the side of the Uylenborch
family.
Although Rembrandt had not been long in the
Latin school of Leyden which he attended, he did
not quite forget the Greek mythology which was
taught there, and when he settled in Amsterdam
and heard that the cultured classes were interested
in classic studies and enjoyed having something
Greek in their rooms, he painted several mytho-
logical subjects. Of these we find here " The Rape
of Proserpina" (823). But his mythology is as
burlesque as Shakespeare's " Troilus and Cressida,"
and the Homeric idylism becomes with him very
realistic. There is nothing simpering about this
elopement, for the strong-muscled Dutch maiden
claws her abductor with great energy, while the
256 Tlbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
fiery steeds plunge and drag the cart along at a
furious gait.
Two works of his latest years still remain,
"Moses breaking the Tables of the Law" (811),
of 1659, and " Jacob struggling with the Angel "
(828), of the next year. Both have a strong
pathetic feeling. Of his closest pupil Govert Flinck
we have a "Casting out of Hagar " (815), which
in composition, light-effect, and brushwork shows
the schooling he had. A somewhat earlier man
was Nicolaes Elias (1590-1653), who was more
in harmony with de Keyzer, Ravenstein, Moreelse,
and the rest of that early group. His two full-
length portraits of Cornells de Graef, burgomaster
of Amsterdam (753A), and of his wife (753B)
are faithful and convincing. In the same style is
the double-portrait of a nobleman and his wife
(858), by Abraham van den Tempel (1622-1672).
Among the landscapes we single out a " Spring "
(861 G), by Aelbert Cuyp, and a characteristic
" Moonlight " (842), by Aert van der Neer (1603-
1677). Also two of the latter 's conflagrations
(840, 840A) are to be seen here. Several excellent
landscapes with figures, among which the horses
play an important part, are by Philip Wouwerman
(1619-1668), and a mythological scene, " Amarillis
hands the Prize to Myrtill " (956), an illustration
of an Italian romance of the period, is by Cornells
XTbe smtcb anfc jfiemisb paintings 257
Poelenburgh (1586-1667), one who had too much
leaning towards Elsheimer's Italian manner to be
considered a pure native painter.
Room 51 Adolf Thiem Collection, and
Flemish Paintings
The Thiem Collection is noteworthy for its many
examples of the Netherland schools of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, by men whose works we
have already studied elsewhere. The long left wall
is entirely given to many Flemish paintings, an
overflow from the Flemish cabinets.
There are several works by David Teniers the
Younger (1610-1690), one of which is a portrait-
group of the artist and his family (857), seated
on the terrace of his country place, while the artist
is playing the cello. The " Backgammon Players "
(856), the " Guardroom " (866F) and the * Flem-
ish Kirmess " (866C) are examples of his tavern
scenes, full of peasant types and jollity; while the
"Temptation of St. Anthony" (859) and the
" Tortures of the Rich in Purgatory " (866D) are
replete with the fanciful, grotesque creations in
which he followed Hieronymus Bosch.
Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), the brusque, often
somewhat coarse painter of the Rubens school,
exemplifies in his "Jolly Company" (879), his
conception of the old Flemish adage : " As the old
258 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
sing, the young peep," by having grown-ups and
children gathered around a table, loaded with
drinks and eatables, joining in song to the tunes of
a bagpipe player.
The stately, dignified portrait of the Marchesa
Geronima Spinola (787A), by Anton van Dyck,
is somewhat out of place among all these scenes
of frivolity and levity. Several stillives by Jan
Fyt (1611-1661), and by Frans Snyders (1579-
1657) are also on this long wall.
On the little wall near the exit we find a few
Flemish Primitives, a " Madonna with the Child "
(529D), by Hans Memlinc, and "Christ in the
House of Simon " (533A), by an unknown artist
of that period.
CHAPTER VIII
THE ROYAL NATIONAL GALLERY
The foundation of the Berlin Collection of nine-
teenth century art was laid when in 1861 the then
King Wilhelm of Prussia accepted the legacy of
two hundred and sixty- two paintings left him by
the late Swedish and Norwegian Consul G. H. W.
Wagener. Since that time, by gifts, legacies and
purchases, the Collection has grown to 1100 paint-
ings and cartoons, 233 sculptures, and 30,000
drawings and watercolours. The vast bulk of these
are works by German artists, for not until 1896
was any effort made to add foreign works.
The building in which this collection of modern
art was housed in 1876 was designed by Stiller,
after a sketch by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV
himself. Although its outward appearance of a
Corinthian temple is imposing, its interior is far
from suitable as a picture museum, for only two
galleries on the middle floor have sky-lights.
The hanging arrangement does not lend itself
to an historical survey of the various art tendencies
which held sway in Germany during the nineteenth
259
260 Gbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
century, for the works of men of the most diver-
ging views are often hung in the same room. The
most logical way to view the paintings in this
museum will be by beginning with the top floor,
where we shall first inspect the works of the
foreign artists, and in Rooms I and II the German
painters of the early part of the nineteenth century.
Descending to the second floor we shall find the
two great representative men, Cornelius and
Menzel, each of whom has a special Gallery, and
in the other rooms the work of the men of Dussel-
dorf and Munich, up to the time of the Secession.
In the rooms of the first floor the majority of the
paintings are by the Moderns.
We ascend then the monumental stairway to the
second floor, thence to the third floor, and pass
through Room I and a small hallway to Room III.
There we find a number of works, principally by
French artists who with more or less reason have
been called " forerunners of the Impressionists."
Whether this appellation be justifiable or not to
all, it is apparent that scarcely is there a room to
be found anywhere where the intrinsic harmony
of great art is so palpable as in this gallery. There
is not a discordant note, and works of Constable,
Diaz, Millet, Courbet hang alongside of those of
Goya, Fantin-Latour, and Daumier in symphonic
union.
Ubc IRosal National (Bailers 261
The work of Francisco Goya (1746-1828)
attracts us first. This Spaniard appeared at a time
when few artists in Europe knew how to paint.
The disease of academicism which ravaged all
Europe did not touch him, and in him we find
preserved the taste for true painting, inherited from
the Renaissance masters and bequeathed to the
schools that appeared after the first quarter of the
nineteenth century had gone by. The two examples
we find here, a " Bull-fight " and the " May-pole,"
are entirely characteristic of the strong colour, the
broad but sure brushwork, the perfect ensemble in
which Goya excelled.
Two Englishmen, although landscapists, are
thoroughly in harmony with Goya. John Constable
(1776-1837), the sincere, studious, unflinching
interpreter of nature rather than a creator
plants our feet in the midst of nature, surrounds
us with it, instead of giving us an external view
thereof. And no scenes he portrayed with such
love and fidelity as the familiar scenes of his earlier
years. Every reach of the willow- fringed Stour,
every stretch of the lanes around his father's mill,
the thatched cottages amid the woodlands were
all stored in his brain, down to the smallest details.
Two such favourite subjects are here, " Village on
the Stour " and " Mill on the Stour."
One who came nearest to Constable in his con-
262 Zbe Hrt of tbe 3BerUn Galleries
ception of out-door views, but who devoted himself
mostly to the seacoast, was Richard Parker Boning-
ton (1801-1828), whose untimely death cut short
a career of wonderful promise. His " Fishing
boats," with the chalk-rocks of Dover in the back-
ground is full of moist atmosphere and depth of
colour.
Turning to the French we find that per fervid
enthusiast of realism and naturalism, Gustave
Courbet (1819-1877). He felt nature more in-
tensely for what it is than for what it suggests.
He was absorbed in the material, physical, actual,
without unearthy voices or poetizing idealism.
Some have stigmatized him glibly as brutal and
gross, but this is beside the question merely the
self-centred judgment of the Philistine. His was
the talent of elemental strength, large, overpower-
ing, which triumphs in splendid fashion over all
imaginative shortcomings. The " Wave," here, is
a preliminary study to his famous Louvre picture,
and has much of the imposing grandeur of the
final production. The " Mill-dam " is a smaller
canvas, but also here the sentiment of reality is
equal to the realism of the technique. His " Eagle-
owl attacking a Roe " rivals as animal painting
anything produced by Fyt or Snyders.
The same spirit of real nature, but with the
tenderness and charm of a gentler soul, is found in
Ube IRopai national (Bailers 263
the " Spring-landscape," by Charles Daubigny
(1817-1878). In him we find affection for, rather
than absorption in. nature. There is less of style,
more of sentiment, of poetry in his landscapes,
which expresses itself in a manner spontaneous
and serene.
Narcisso Diaz (1807-1876) had greater elegance,
even with decorative impulse, without falling into
the quagmire of rendering his subjects with mere
superficial attractiveness. His " Wood-interior "
shows somewhat his own personal imposing of
harmonious and rich colours upon the usual sobriety
of landscape.
Thomas Couture (1815-1879), whose "Romans
of the Decadence " aroused such great expectations
which never were fulfilled, was a better teacher
than painter, and directed many Germans from
Berlin, among whom Feuerbach and others.
Feuerbach's early work can easily be traced to
Couture's " Female Head " which we find here.
Ignace Fantin-Latour (1836-1879), although
greatly admiring the Impressionists, was not much
influenced by their tendencies until late in life. The
two portraits here, a " Self-portrait " and the
" Portrait of a Lady," are yet in his early style
which was strongly saturated with the study of the
Italian masters.
Honore Daumier (1810-1879), the greatest
264 ftbe Hrt of tbe JSeritn 6alleries
caricaturist of France in the nineteenth century,
was also a strong painter, whose influence upon J.
F. Millet has been recognized. His " Don Quixote
and Sancho Panza," travelling through a rocky
gorge, the knight upon his bony steed, the corpulent
servant on a little donkey, is colourful, and has the
technique of line which this powerful draughtsman
knew how to use and to exaggerate.
In the Corridor (IV) we find a number of
foreign works and some cases with statuettes
by modern sculptors. Among the paintings we
single out a fine evening view of the beach at
Scheveningen, by H. W. Mesdag (born 1831), the
famous Dutch marine painter; and a view of
Venice, by Felix Ziem (1821-1911), which needs
no description since his scenes are familiar every-
where. Also the American painter Gari Melchers
(born 1860) is represented here by a canvas on
which his vigorous brush has depicted the mem-
bers of a Dutch fisherman's family in genrelike
simplicity. A few Belgian works by Leys, Braeke-
leer and Bossuet are thoroughly academic.
Gallery V contains principally the work of
French Impressionists, and of others who are in
sympathy with their method.
The strong, which is also the weak point of the
impressionist convention is its aim to produce the
illusion of nature rather than its reality. This
Ube IRosal National alierp 265
results in a sense of actuality and vividness such
as never before has been attempted. Its weakness
lies in the transitoriness of the impression, which
does not allow the expression of any deeper feeling
or meaning of the moment snatched and put on
canvas, or of the man who put it there. The
technical innovation which Manet introduced and
Monet carried to the highest power was to show
the colours of nature in pure tones juxtaposed, not
in their relative value, but in their actual value
when affected by sunlight. This truth of impres-
sionistic effect revealed nature incomparably vivid,
vibrant, and palpitating with the light, which here-
tofore had only been represented by the old theory
of contrast between light and shade.
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) created this great
movement, which ultimately has conquered the
schools and furnishes to-day the stamp of mo-
dernity. " In the Conservatory " shows a man and
a woman, M. and Mme. Guillemet, friends of the
artist, whom he posed on the veranda of his studio
in the Rue d' Amsterdam, before a group of exotic
plants. It is a beautiful painting, of vibrating
colour, rich, pure paint, simple composition, with
the whole picture based upon two or three values.
His " Countryhome at Rueil " has all the mys-
terious power he possessed in handling sunlight.
Claude Monet (born 1840) concentrated his
266 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
attention upon the effects of light and atmosphere,
and has caught the fleeting beauties of nature's
moods. The " View of Vetheuil," with its wind-
ing river, white churchtower peeking behind the
dark poplars, and cumulous sky, is tintillating with
sunbeams. The " View of Argenteuil," with its
straight row of cottages in the middle distance, is
a song of pure colour set in a high key. The
" Church St. Germain-Pauxerrois in Paris " gives
the animated scene of a Parisian square at the
summer noon-hour.
Pissarro, Sisley and Cezanne stand for the ex-
treme convention of the impressionists. Their
enthusiasm to execute the theory has given them a
mechanical, not an intellectual point of view.
Theirs is not a way of looking at things but of
rendering them. And to them may be applied what
Brownell has well called " a certain savagery of
the impressionists." Their pure colours, without
the tonal values which Manet employed, have often
a feeling of rawness, of elemental crudity, whereby
they lack the subtleness, the suggestiveness which
is Monet's greatest charm.
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) is shown here in
a " Countryhouse near Paris," of 1873, when he
was more reserved than he became later. Alfred
Sisley (born 1839) has also an early work in his
"First Snow in a French Village," while Paul
Ube IRopal IRational (Bailers 267
Cezanne (1839-1906), has a late "Landscape" of
broad and luminous facture. His two stillives are
exquisitely truthful.
Auguste Renoir (born 1844) is a representative
member of the original group. While less em-
phatic of the impressionist convention for the
impressionist has fallen into convention in his
outdoor work, he developed in his interiors the
extreme method of colour technique of Pissarro,
Sisley, et al. This is demonstrated by two pictures
here, his " Blossoming Chestnut-tree " and " The
Children of Vargemont " the one almost a
Fontainebleau picture except for its technique, the
other a pure plein air painting of uncompromising
colour movement. His " In Summer " presents a
girl in negligee, seated in an armchair in the garden
in full sunlight, which flecks the foliage behind her.
Edgar Degas (born 1834), although classed with
the group, has so personal an expression that his
position is rather unique than affiliated. His only
alliance with impressionists is his fondness for the
momentary aspect of things; and he found an
artistic ideal in one of the most artificial subjects
the ballet-girl. In all his works he has firmly
established the permanence of the modern thought
in art: of just values and true impressions. The
three ladies in most unconventional attitudes, in
his " Conversation," were painted from a genuine
268 Ube Brt of tbe JBerlin Galleries
and spontaneous impulse, which serves merely as
a vehicle for value-painting in colour of extraordi-
nary truthfulness.
The universal appeal which the new thought and
the new technique has made is seen in the work
of so many who by no means are classed with the
luminists. Yet plein air painting produced land-
scapes of astonishing reality, and one of those
whose conception of nature was refreshed, almost
renovated, by Manet's example was Jean Charles
Cazin (1841-1901). His "Evening Landscape
with Mary Magdalene," with its hazy glow, its
looseness of brushwork, and its poetic suggestion,
is a fine example of his work.
One of the first Belgian pleinairists is Emile
Claus (born 1849), whose " Morning in February "
shows a river-stretch through meadows, a simple
composition, which is charming for its freshness,
brightness and buoyancy.
The Swedish Anders Zorn (born 1860) is the
strongest Scandinavian representative of the Im-
pressionists, who have had such great influence
upon that northern school. Zorn's " Summer
Evening," in which a nude girl is descending the
cliff to bathe in the cool lake, excels in the perfect
drawing of the girl's figure and the luminous mor-
bidezza of the soft skin. Zorn, however, becomes
really great in his portraits, whereof " Maja " is
XTbe IRosal iRationai Gallery 269
an example. A heavy fur stole, decorated with
foxheads, rests around her shoulders, leaving part
of the bosom and the arms bare, while she has her
finely painted hands clasped around her knee.
Despite the broad brushwork there is completeness
in the modelling of the features, far superior to
Manet's faces which always contained vacant spots.
The half -opened mouth, showing the pearly teeth,
has an agreeable smile playing around its corners.
A German impressionist is Christian Landen-
berger (born 1862) whose " Boy Bathing," al-
though fine and fresh in colour, shows unfortu-
nately a leaning towards the extravagance of the
school.
The Italian Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899)
has a peculiar technical way of laying his primary
colours like threads alongside each other, relying
on the optical vision at the proper distance to mix
these to the chromatic combinations he aims at.
His " Return Homeward " is a characteristic ex-
ample, such as he painted many during his last
decade. The canvas, entitled " Sad Hours," is a
cattlepiece, with a Millet-like woman seated in the
meadow near a boiling pot. The meaning of the
title is not quite evident. The evening glow over
the horizon is remarkably clear and brilliant.
Cabinet 1 may be called the Klinger cabinet. It
introduces us to one of the great modern German
270 Ube Hrt of tbe JSeriin Galleries
artists Max Klinger (born 1857), whose early-
struggles have been crowned with present recog-
nition and success. He passed through Flaubert's
and Zola's realism to a more refined manner, to
the originality of which the Philistines became
gradually educated. The canvases here, seven in
number, formed part of the decorative wall-
paintings for the villa Albers near Steglitz. Seven
others are now in the Art Hall of Hamburg. They
are landscapes and marines peopled with Centaurs,
Tritons, etc., in Bocklin's style, but of personal
execution.
Cabinet 2 is filled with the remainder of the
foreign works. The modern Spaniards Zuloaga
and Sorolla stand out strong amongst these. The
" Spanish Peasants," by Ignacio Zuloaga (born
1870), are picturesque types, seated around a
dinner-table in the open air. The white shirt of
the one with his back to us is a marvellous piece
of painting, while the one seated behind the table,
cutting the bread held with his knotty hands, is
strongly drawn. The faces of the other two,
directly fronting us, are too coarse, almost impish,
to give us a favourable conception of the Iberian
lower-class.
Two Valencia coast scenes, one with fishermen,
the other with boys bathing are by Sorolla y Bastida
(born 1862), who is especially fortunate in his
Ubc 'TCosai national Gallery 271
sunlight effect upon moving water. Less typically
Spanish than Zuloaga, Sorolla is more inclined to
the French plein air school.
The Italian Giovanni Boldini (born 1845),
whose eccentricities in the painting of women
border on the grotesque, has here a portrait of
Menzel, painted when the great German was eighty
years. It is a serious work, in which the physiog-
nomic lines are fully emphasized, while the peculiar
pose, only the upper part of the chest with the
broad shoulders and head being shown, and the
decorative background, makes it one of the best
works Boldini has ever produced.
The Scandinavians are represented by Thaulow
and Hammershoi. Fritz Thaulow (1847-1906),
the Norwegian, is a thorough French naturalist,
with an individual mannerism which greatly added
to his popularity. His " November day in Nor-
mandy " is a fair example of his work. The Dane
Vilhelm Hammershoi (born 1864) is far more
original. His " Sunny Room " is the simplest
composition imaginable an antique mahogany
sofa standing in the corner of a room, four prints
in dark-wood frames on the wall, and right in the
front corner part of a mahogany console. But the
play of light, the reflections in the dark, shining
wood, give masterful display of values. It is a
tonal painting of great depth and richness.
272 Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
The most progressive of modern English artists
are found in the so-called Glasgow school, which
is here represented by three of its leading men.
Macaulay Stevenson (born 1860), called "the
Moonlighter " because of his preference for night-
scenes, has such an effect in the " Jairus Dike ; "
and John Lochhead (born 1866) has depicted a
" Village in Fifeshire, Scotland." Both are painted
in that modification, or rather moderation of im-
pressionism, which was peculiar to the Glasgow
school. John Lavery (born 1856) has vogue as a
portrait painter, but the " Lady in Black " here is
not attractive. The profile of the model does not
lend itself for the pose the artist gave her, while
the left hand and wrist which support the chin are
ludicrously elongated.
Only two landscapes remain to be considered.
These are examples of the modern Dutch school.
Anton Mauve (1838-1888) was the painter of
sheep and cattle in the heath, meadows or dune-
stretches of Holland. His " Landscape with
Cattle " which we find here has that hazy atmos-
phere that envelopes everything in its mysterious
folds. It has that fascinating spell which all his
paintings cast over us because of their quiet beauty,
their serenity, their cheerful joy.
The "Canal," by Jacob Maris (1837-1899), is
not properly named in the catalogue. There are no
TLbc IRosal IRationai Oaiierp 273
canals in Holland spanned by heavy stone bridges
with three arches as we see it here. This is appar-
ently a view on the River Waal, with many houses
and a large church on the further bank, and ships
lying at the docks. It is an animated, picturesque
scene. But Maris was above all a sky-painter, and
in this picture more than two-thirds of the canvas
is filled by the sky, with wind-driven cumuli
against an azure background, here and there
thickened to grey cloudmasses.
The collection of 30,000 drawings and water-
colours is found in Cabinets 3 and 4, and in Gallery
VI, Corridor VII and Gallery VIII. Almost all
the German artists who used the burin, the crayon,
or the sable brush are represented here, as well as
a number of foreign artists. We cannot commence
to describe this collection, but must leave it for
individual inspection.
Thus we have returned to Room I where we
begin our review of the works of the German school
to which the National Gallery is principally devoted,
and where we find the men of the first half of the
nineteenth century.
But before we do this it will be helpful first to
give a cursory review of German art during the
nineteenth century, so that we may be better able
to understand the group-relations of the different
men we shall meet.
274 Ube art of tbe Berlin Galleries
At the beginning of the century German art
was under the abject control of the influences of
David and the French Academy. Napoleon's
supremacy in every part of the continent of Europe
by force of arms was supplemented by a voluntary
subjection to French culture. It was Goethe who
gave the first impetus for a loosening of the bonds
by his advocacy of naturalism towards what he
called a " patriotic art." His greatest opponent
was von Schadow, the leader of the Berlin artists,
who would adhere to academic dicta, and would
have none of independently developed artists, who
turned to nature. Von Schadow's tenaciousness
triumphed, for not until after the half of the cen-
tury had passed, and long after the academic yoke
had been shaken off in France, did German art
escape the trammels of professorial dictation and
classic imitation.
For classicism was at the bottom of all German
art. Even when a group of German artists in
Rome, Cornelius, Schadow, Veit, Overbeck,
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, called the Nazarenes,
sought to revive art, it was but a striving for a
revival of the classic past. They had ambitions
like the later Pre-Raphaelites in England, only
it was Pre-Raphaelitism without poetic impulse.
They were inspired by the monumental, the ideal,
the grand, but still hidebound by the rules of
Zhc IRosal Iftattonat Wallers 275
the schools line upon line, precept upon pre-
cept.
When these men returned to Germany they dif-
fused their teaching but did not find pupils strong
enough to comprehend their meaning. Cornelius
went to Munich and founded a school which aimed
at great, grand things but accomplished little, until
under Piloty, after the middle of the century, it
developed into a school of historical painting and
large genre.
Schadow started the school of Dusseldorf about
1825, and from the first it became noted for its
academic presentation of more intimate genre, with
the sentimental, the dramatic, or the romantic
subject.
In the middle of the century French realism
stirred some of the dead bones in this dismal valley,
and Menzel must be noted as the prophet whose
teaching and example had far reaching influence.
Still the racial Teutonic characteristic of anecdotal
painting was never lost.
The birth of United Germany was also the birth
of a new art. The political alienation and the racial
antagonism consequent to the war of 1870 resulted
in a total abandonment of Paris for a number of
years, and an ambitious turning to national themes
and national surroundings. These new ambitions,
stirred by patriotic pride, may well be claimed to
276 Zbc Hrt ot tbe JSerltn Galleries
have been the true inspiration of the Modern Ger-
man School. There was no intercourse for some
time with Paris, the Mecca of art; French paint-
ings were not seen in German exhibitions for many
years. The German artists were to a large extent
thrown on their own resources, and Holland was
virtually the only country visited by them in foreign
travel. This accounts for the strong influence the
Dutch school of Israels and the Marises exerted
on so many. Then men appeared who infused new
thoughts into their work by idealizing their natural
surroundings. Men like Leibl, Liebermann, Uhde,
Thoma, worked with freedom and original concep-
tion. The Munich Secession movement, the Dachau
school of landscape painting, the vigorous plein
air work of the cattle painter Zugel, and von
Marees, Bocklin, Stuck, Klinger, Habermann fol-
lowed a way of new idealism, which ushered the
German school of painting to a front rank in
Modern art.
Our introduction to nineteenth century German
art is had in Room I with several portraits by
eighteenth century artists.
The name of Johann Heinrich Tischbein (1722-
1789) is well-known because the work of this
prolific and much-travelled artist reached France,
Holland and England even during his lifetime.
His style was moulded on that of Charles van Loo
Ube IRosal IRationai aallers 277
in whose studio he learned the accepted popular
manner of portrait painting. It is exemplified in a
portrait-group here, in which Tischbein himself
appears, and in a portrait of C. F. Robert, a Coun-
cillor of the Hessian Court. His portrait of G. C.
Lessing has the additional interest of being the
earliest known portrait of the famous poet and
philosopher, the author of Laocoon.
The painter whose name is most mentioned in
connection with this period of fallowness was
Raphael Mengs (1728-1779), whose self-portrait is
found here. Mengs was the painter of good taste
the only ideal that then held sway. His aim
was the beautiful, which he sought not so much in
nature as by the study of the antique, and the imi-
tation of Raphael's followers, the baroque of the
Maratta school. An artist of the same stamp was
Anna Therbusch (1722-1782), whose portrait of
Henrietta Herz, as Hebe, has the superficial sweet-
ness and decorative ornamentation of the decadent
Frenchmen of the time.
A far stronger man than Mengs was Anton
Graff (1739-1813). He also has here a portrait
of Henrietta Herz, a famous Jewish beauty, whose
salon was for decades a rendezvous for the cul-
tured minds of Berlin. There is more intellectuality
ennobling her beautiful features than in the sugary
sweetness which Anna Therbusch depicted. Graff
278 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
was a man who went his own realistic way with-
out concerning himself much about the quibblings
of the aesthetics. He even proclaimed in writings
the principles he designed to follow, that " man is
the highest, unexplainable miracle in creation. But
that whosoever surmounts the habituated familiar-
ity with an appearance to which he has become
accustomed, will acquire the knowledge, the science
to perceive through the features and form, through
the physiognomy, the very soul of man." This
made him a portrait painter par excellence. He
sought to put the soul of his sitter in his counter-
feit. Where Reynolds' greatness lies in the fact
that unconsciously his artist's soul supervened his
orderly artistic execution whereby he practised
better than he preached Graff's greatness lies in
that his artistic searching surmounted and pre-
dominated his brushwork. We need but look at
his self-portrait, at the portrait of Pastor Spalding,
in his chamber-cloak, or at the portrait of a lady
with a high powdered wig, to acknowledge that a
master of keen perception has painted here human
documents of great discernment and truthfulness.
The portrait of Count Preysing, by J. G. von
Edlinger (1741-1819), a contemporary of Graff,
lacks his spiritual depth, but is technically as strong
in colour impasto and broad brushwork. The por-
traits by Friedrich Georg Weitsch (1758-1828)
Zbc "Ko^al national (Bailers 279
are scarcely interesting, except the one of Alex-
ander von Humboldt, the great naturalist, which
is apparently carried forward by the inspiration
of the subject.
With Heinrich Fuger (1751-1818) we approach
the academic rule which kept firm hold on German
art for so long a period. Fuger was in Vienna
what David was in Paris, an autocrat, whose influ-
ence was felt throughout Germany until the Dus-
seldorf days of Cornelius, when it was not lost
but only slightly modified. His stately portrait of
Princess Galitzin is painted purely according to
formula, its very perfection militating against
approval. As rigidly correct and as nerveless is
the " Landscape near Partenkirchen," by Johann
Bidermann (1763-1830). Also the works of
Joseph Koch (1768-1839), Italian landscapes with
buildings, show that same idiosyncrasy of having
too much skeleton, and too little soul.
The founder of the Dusseldorf school, Wilhelm
von Schadow (1789-1862), who forsook his early
connection with the Nazarenes for a slavish fol-
lowing of David and Gros, is shown here by a
portrait of a lady, with an Italian landscape back-
ground, and a portrait-group of himself, his
brother Rudolf Schadow the sculptor, and the
Danish sculptor Thorwaldsen. Portraits of Cor-
nelius, of Overbeck, of Veit and of the landscape
280 Ubc Brt of tbe JBetltn Galleries
painter Reinhart, are by Eduard von Heuss (1808-
1880), a painter whose faithful study of Rem-
brandt, Rubens, and other old masters is evidenced
in his work.
The aims and aspirations of the so-called Naza-
renes may be studied most completely in the corner-
room II, where eight fresco paintings are exposed,
the so-called " Casa Bartholdy " paintings. These
were painted between 1816 and 1818 for the Prus-
sian Consul General Bartholdy to decorate his
Roman villa. They concern the story of Joseph's
sojourn in Egypt, and Cornelius, Overbeck, Veit
and von Schadow each contributed one or more of
these scenes.
Dissatisfied with the stern rigidness of the
Academy in Vienna, Overbeck, Pforr, Schnorr von
Carolsfeld, and other young artists left for Italy
in 1810 to seek the atmosphere which should
deliver them into freedom. They had ideals, and
what these were is indicated by their leaving Flor-
ence with its Hellenism aside, and setting their
face towards Rome with its classicism. They
gathered in an abandoned cloister, San Isidoro,
each choosing a cell, and using the Refectory as
communal workshop. Schadow and Veit soon
joined them from Berlin, and the next year Peter
Cornelius. They were pious, they would lief be
ascetic, and called themselves Nazarenes to show
Ube Ho^al National Gallery 281
their somewhat mystic spirit. Their artistic aim
was serious. Art to them had only been great when
inspired by piety, and only those artists not yet
touched by pagan influences could be followed. The
old masters between Giotto and Raphael were their
exemplars, and they considered that the great mas-
ter Raphael had erred in leaving Perugino. Of
Giulio Romano they would have nothing. Thus
linear and aerial perspective were purposely
avoided. Their colour was bright and the figures
usually flat. Schadow's presence, however, is
accountable for it that after all the academic prac-
tice was not left far out of sight which led the
way to the quick evaporation of all these high-
flowing ideals. Still, theirs was not an empty
eclecticism, but a very serious, if abortive, striving
for a new birth of art.
In the height of this enthusiasm the Casa Bar-
tholdy frescoes were painted. The selection of
Joseph's story is said to have been made because it
was decided that a sacred subject should be pre-
sented, and since the members of the group were
Jews, Protestants or Catholics most of them
went later over to Catholicism it was agreed
that in this story all could express themselves with-
out giving offense to one another's creed.
Peter Cornelius (1783-1867) painted "Joseph
explains Pharaoh's Dream " and " The Recognition
282 Zbc Hrt of tbe ^Berlin Galleries
of Joseph and his Brethren" (Plate XXXVII).
The latter painting is representative of the style
and manner of the entire group. Friedrich Over-
beck (1789-1869) painted "Joseph Sold" and
"The Seven Lean Years." Philipp Veit (1793-
1877) presented "Joseph and Potiphar's Wife"
and " The Seven Fat Years," and Wilhelm von
Schadow (1789-1862) "Jacob's Lamentation" and
" Joseph in Prison."
These paintings were considered epoch-making in
the generation following. They resulted in the
dethronement of Mengs, in the utter contempt for
French baroque and rococo style but Cornelius
came to the Dusseldorf Academy, and later to
Munich, and lost his mysticism. Schadow followed
Cornelius in Dusseldorf and founded the Dusseldorf
school ingrained academic with a romantic touch.
Overbeck became a Roman church-painter, as devout
in executing papal commissions as the early Italian
masters. And the ultimate decadence of the group
is exemplified in an " Annunciation," by Julius
Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), which hangs
at the entrance of Room I, where we now return,
and which is an exact facsimile of a Quattrocento
Italian painting.
Descending the stairway we find hanging there
an immense canvas by Hans Makart (1840-1884),
" Venice pays Homage to Catharina Cornaro." It
Ubc IRcsal Wattonal Gallery 283
is the only work by Makart in the museum, and is
a supreme effort of decorative artistry, in which
the painter has not even made use of the nude to
enhance the opulent splendour of his creation.
We will pass through the Vestibule, the Cupola
Room and the Menzel Gallery, and enter the Cor-
nelius Gallery, so that we may complete our inspec-
tion of his work. The gallery is filled with the
Cartoons, prepared by Cornelius for fresco paintings
which King Friedrich Wilhelm IV planned to use
for the decoration of a Princes' Mausoleum,
" Campo Santo," the erection of which was never
undertaken the present Dom in Berlin occupies
the space set aside for it. This gigantic task occu-
pied the time of Cornelius from 1841, when he was
called to Berlin, until the year of his death, 1877.
In it he designed to express his highest artistic ideal,
to create a Christian epic on canvas. He designed
to show in this last resting-place of princes, the
higher thought of the destiny of men, as revealed
in various places of the Apocalypse. The designs
are severe, almost to baldness, yet grandly expres-
sive. Between these main designs there were to be
eight representations of the Beatitudes. In all their
strength and in their failings we may regard these
works as the final word of the art of Cornelius
of a great master, but not a creative genius.
In the apsis of this Gallery we find five biblical
284 'Gbe Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
NATIONAL GALLERY
Second Floor
Cornelius
m
H |
Gallery
i
^r
Q
k
Menzel Gallery
I
tf
u
in
f p ^1 1
^Cupola Room
Vestibule
) (
TAFELRUNDE IN SANS - SOUCI,
1750
ADOLF
National
MENZEL
Plate xxxviii
Gallery
Zbc IRopal IRationat (Sailers 285
landscapes with figures, scenes from the life of
Abraham, by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807-
1863), the last of the followers of the Nazarenes.
With him and with Lessing romanticism commenced
to enter into German landscape.
We return now to the Gallery dedicated to the
memory of Adolf Menzel (1815-1905) who exerted
the most powerful influence on German art during
the third quarter of the nineteenth century. His
mission was to infuse into the stilted academicism
the more vigorous life of romanticism and realism,
which had then already redeemed French art. With
Menzel it always bore the stamp of Germanic indi-
viduality. With extraordinary vigour and origi-
nality of observation, with inexhaustible patience to
learn and to know, with inborn readiness for the
sure line to depict the truth honestly, with a feeling
for colour in its purity and light-absorption, wherein
he became a forerunner of the Impressionists
thus was Menzel equipped to stir, by precept and
example, German art to new fields of endeavour.
In the Menzel Room and in the corner-gallery IV
we find over two score of his works displayed.
These range from studies of horseheads, arms, fists,
military equipments, to his wonderful conversation
pieces and his historical pictures. One of the most
famous is the " Tafelrunde in Sans-souci, 1750 "
(Plate XXXVIII), a perfect mosaic of harmonious
286 Ube art of tbe Berlin Galleries
colours, and eloquent in its expressive drawing.
The young king Frederick II is seated facing us,
with those in his immediate neighbourhood listening
to Voltaire who is the second to the right of the
king. The " Flute Concert " is a composition of
equal distinction. The master's versatility is shown
when we turn to the " Balcony Room/' an interior
of simple arrangement in which, however, the play
of sunlight is of masterful handling. Then again we
note " The Iron Foundry " an heroic poem glori-
fying labour. It was a new art to represent the
working man, without the supercilious smile of the
morality painter, nor the irony of the reformer,
but in his vigorous toil, in his exertion and his
strength. In the "Berlin-Potsdam Railway,'' and
in the " Building Operations in a Meadow," we find
landscape art of the highest order. Also as a por-
traitist, as seen in the portrait of " Miss Arnold "
and in the " Evening Company," Menzel shows his
high rank.
At the entrance wall of this gallery we find a few
large battle paintings by Franz Adam (1815-1886)
commemorating the Franco-Prussian War.
Beginning with the Cupola Room we will now
make the round of the galleries on this floor. Most
of the paintings belong to the Dusseldorf and
Munich schools. There is a wearying sameness,
rarely broken, little originality, and a constant echo
Ube IRopai Wationai (BalietE 287
of foreign influences. Now and then we will meet
men who, if they do not create, at least reflect so
well, and such fine rays too, that we will gladly
admit that their originality might have been worse
than their receptivity. It is poor consolation, for-
sooth, still it will cheer us occasionally in the very
doldrums of mediocrity.
The portraits of Emperor and King Wilhelm I,
and of the Empress and Queen Augusta, by Bern-
hard Plockhorst (1825-1907) are official documents
of conventional rectitude. Plockhorst's better-
known genre was as punctilious. His stories were
always true stories, without any flight of fancy,
always perfectly proper and harmless. Two large
military paintings, by Werner Schuch (born 1843),
display graphically German victories in the French
wars of the eighteenth century.
The corner- room I is entirely filled with a collec-
tion of aquarelles, gouaches and drawings by Adolf
Menzel, among which his leaves of a Children Album
are best known and most attractive.
The Corridor which we now enter admits us to
the Dusseldorf school. The "Dice-players," by
Claus Meyer (born 1856), is worthy of a professor
at the Dusseldorf Academy. The " Salon-Tyroler,"
by Franz von Defregger (1835-1909) is well-
known through reproductions. Andreas Achenbach
(1815-1900) lends variety by a " Dutch Harbour,"
288 TLbc Hrt of tbe JSerlin Galleries
while Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808-1880) is more
energetic in a " Storm in the Eifel Country." Gil-
bert von Canal (born 1849) has a " Westphalian
Mill "of good, cool colour-effect. Christian Bokel-
mann (1844-1894), in his "Alone," is, as always,
anecdotal, and Dutch in technique. Benjamin Vau-
tier (1829-1898) also tells stories in his "First
Dancing Lesson " and " At the Sick-bed."
In Gallery II we find another Defregger, " Return
of the Tyroler Reserves in 1809 " (Plate XXXIX),
which is typical of his style, although more elab-
orate than usual. Karl Hertel (1837-1895) is
harmlessly funny in his " Young Germany at
School." Franz Adam always painted military
subjects ; he himself had taken part in the Austrian
wars with Hungary and Italy. His " Retreat of
the French from Russia " is very effective and
dramatic. We find here landscapes very prim,
detailed, and prettily arranged, by Ed. Schleich
(1812-1874), Oswald Achenbach (1827-1905),
Anton Teichlein (1820-1879), Heinrich Schilbach
(1798-1858), and Otto Dorr (1831-1868).
Refreshing among these conventional productions
is a small canvas by Karl Buchholz (1849-1889),
called "Springtime in Ehringsdorf " (Plate XL).
It is a charming scene, painted when the artist was
but nineteen, and shows great love for the bright
side of nature.
KARL
BUCHHOLZ
SPRINGTIME IN EHRINGSDORF
Plate xl
National
Gallery
Ube IRosai Iftattonal (Bailers 289
The most thorough-paced academician here, both
in technique and subject, is Johann Hasenclever
(1810-1853). His " Wineprovers in the Cellar"
is a typical work. The story tells itself, the different
expressions on the faces of the cognoscenti being
the humourous object of the artist. Also his " Read-
ingroom," which has a fine lamplight effect, reads
like a novelette.
Rudolf Henneberg (1825-1876) was a better
artist, who from his study with Couture acquired
stronger qualifications romantic colour, greater
vigour of presentation, and withal a fanciful imagin-
ing not often met with at the time. His " Pursuing
Fortune " is well-known through reproductions,
while "The Wild Hunter" (Plate XLI) is a
graphic pictograph of Burger's ballade of that
title.
In Cabinet 1 we find several works by Dresden
artists of this period, the beginning and middle of
the nineteenth century. The only noteworthy painter
apparently was Kaspar David Friedrich (1774-
1840), whose landscapes seem to have been the first
with Germanic feeling. In mountain scenery and
coast views he was equally successful.
Cabinet 2 contains the work of Munich men, but
not of those whose names have become familiar.
Karl Spitzweg (1808-1885) was lighthearted and
droll, and his humour often makes his scenes enjoy-
2 9 o Ube Brt of tbe ^Berlin (Bailertes
able. His " Streetscene in Venice " and " Ladies
bathing at Dieppe " are more serious and have good
quality. Peter Hess (1792-1871) painted the con-
ventional peasant scenes where the participants
always wear their Sunday-clothes. His " St. Leon-
ard's Festival in Bavaria " is a good example.
August Riedel (1802-1883) has some "Girls Bath-
ing," who are so very pink that one thinks of ice-
water rather than of summer-refreshment.
In Cabinet 3 are gathered the Viennese artists.
Moritz von Schwind (1804-1871) was among the
leaders in the Danube city, but his costumed groups
and commonplace recital have long lost their savour.
In " The Rose, or the Artist's Wanderings " he tries
to be humourous, with little satisfaction to the be-
holder. So is the " Adventure of the Artist Binder,"
whose sweetheart surprises him at his work, not
feverishly exciting. Ferdinand Waldmuller (1793-
1865) was a naturalist in his landscapes, and several
of these from the neighbourhood of Vienna are
quite satisfactory. Eduard von Steinle (1810-1886),
who later became teacher at the Stadelsche Institute
in Frankfort, has a portrait of his little daughter
in her school-clothes which is by no means pretty,
and yet attracts by a certain fidelity and sincerity.
It must be said that the Viennese artists of this
period surpassed all the Germans in their attempt
at realism. August von Pettenkofen (1822-1889),
w
H
t> H
Ld J
P <u
J "S
XTbe IRopal IFtational Gallery 291
with his " Gipsies Resting " furnishes a striking
example.
The fourth Cabinet is consecrated to the Berlin
painter Karl Blechen (1798-1840). Some thirty of
his pictures and sketches are found here. It is
apparent that his local connection as teacher at the
Berlin Academy is accountable for this preferential
treatment. Still we find in his work, thus early, a
feeling for pleinairism which is remarkable, and
often a violent effectiveness note his " Tree
struck by Lightning " which, though it lacks
subtler qualities, is very impressive.
Other Berlin painters are found in Cabinet 5 and
in Gallery III. Franz Kruger (1797-1875) was
famous as a horse painter, and several examples of
his work are found here. He may not be compared,
however, with the contemporary French horse
painter Horace Vernet. His academicism is espe-
cially noticeable when he adds the human figure, as
seen in "Prince Wilhelm and the Artist" (Plate
XLII) which looks like a fashionplate of riding
costumes.
The titles of the pictures of the genre painter
Eduard Meyerheim (1808-1879) tell their own
story "The King of the Sharpshooters," "The
Bowlers," " The First Step," and so on. Also his
son, Paul Meyerheim, (born 1842), now teacher at
the Berlin Academy, chooses like subjects. His
292 Ube Hrt of tbe ^Berlin (Baiierfes
" Menagerie, " with a crowd of people in a circus
tent, is slickly painted, as if this much-travelled
artist had never seen the broader and more vigorous
method of the later men. Eduard Gaertner (1801-
1877) was at his best in city views of Berlin,
whereof we find here three examples.
The best illustration of the formal, conventional
style of the entire first half of the century we will
perhaps find in a recently acquired work of Karl
Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841), who was also an
architect. This " Ideal Landscape " (Plate XLIII),
strictly built on classic lines, with all the minute
detail of leaves and twigs, and closely observing in
drawing and colour the precepts of the academy,
represents all the landscape work of that period.
The " ideal " of its title can only refer to the total
absence of any naturalism.
In Gallery III we find the literary character of
the school exemplified. The " Procession of Death,"
by Gustav Spangenberg (1828-1891) presents a
weird spectacle. A long line of people of all sorts
and conditions of life, beggar and bishop, merchant
and monk, children and cripples, follow a skeleton,
queerly dressed in a white gown, girdled, and cov-
ered with a red cloak and hood. The meaning is
as banal as the manner of painting. But such was
the style en vogue, and Ludwig Knaus (1829-1909),
the most popular artist of his day, painted in exactly
FRANZ
KRUGER
PRINCE WILHELM AND THE ARTIST
Plate xlii
National
Gallery
XTbe IRosat National (Bailers 293
the same manner. He was, however, more cheerful
of mind, and added some distinction to his very-
correct, and carefully executed compositions. His
" Children's Banquet," with the sub-title " As the
old sing, the young peep," must have been inspired
by Teniers, or Jordaens, but the old Flemish bon-
hommie is starched and laundered and made very-
presentable. Another Teniers' subject is his " Cheat-
ing at Cards," the interior of an inn with peasants
gaming. His portraits of Professor Mommsen and
of Professor Helmholtz have their interest in the
human document detracted by an excessive devotion
to the details of the furniture in the rooms. Holbein
painted such details, it is true, but somehow the
interest in Holbein's sitter always surpasses the
other parts. In the Helmholtz portrait Knaus does
not succeed in focusing our attention upon the truly-
intellectual face. We wander too easily to the
optical instrument that stands on the table, even to
the brass nails of the chair on which the professor
is seated, and to the elastics in the boots he wears.
Fritz Werner (1825-1908) shows in his "Libra-
rian " and his " Taxidermist " a slavish following
of Meissonier with whom he studied. Anton von
Werner (born 1843) follows the French military
painters Detaille and de Neuville in a scene from
the Franco-Prussian War, of course in his case
glorifying the German side. " In Quarters before
294 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
Paris, 1871 " is one of the most popular paintings
in Germany, and the coloured prints taken from it
are found in every nook and hamlet. Four or fivt
German sub-officers are lounging in the drawing-
room of a countryhouse at Brunoy smoking,
or singing, while one plays the accompaniment on
the piano. The servants of the house are grouped
at the door to listen to the impromptu concert.
Aside from its purely sentimental feature this paint-
ing is well executed and exceedingly attractive for
its drawing and colouring.
Albert Brendel (1827-1895) was a cattle painter
whose different canvases would tempt us to call him
the German Verboeckhoven they are as finnicky
and smooth as the cattle and sheep of the Belgian
artist.
Corridor I has yet some good works. Joseph
Scheurenberg (born 1846), although of Dusseldorf
training and now teacher at the Berlin Academy,
has been strongly influenced by modern tendencies.
His portraits are excellent, and his picture called
" The Lord's Day " shows some breadth of handling
in the figures and a clear treatment of the light-
effect. Karl Saltzmann (born 1847) is a distin-
guished marine painter, whose " Torpedo boats,"
in a rough sea, give a realistic presentation and
remind of the work of the American Reuterdahl.
The military paintings of Georg Bleibtreu (1828-
JLbc Ko^al IRationai Gallery 295
1892), two battles of the Austrian war, and
" Crownprince Friedrich Wilhelm before Paris,"
although intentionally portrait-groups, are well
composed and impressively executed. The portrait
of Emperor William, by Max Koner (1854-1900),
must not be passed by. It is quiet, a fine likeness,
and well posed.
Through the corner-Menzel room (IV) and the
Cupola Room we come again in the Vestibule, which
we passed through before, and we halt there before
a magnificent work by Gabriel Max (born 1840),
"Jesus heals a sick Child." Although it is still a
product of the Piloty school it, nevertheless, bears
evidence of how Max from the first laboured to
infuse realism into his work. The beautiful figure
of the divine Healer, and the adoring faith of the
mother holding her sick child, are given without
excess of emotion but with a sincere spiritual feeling.
The colouring is not striking, but in beautiful har-
mony of quiet tones.
We also notice two works by von Schwind and
Anselm Feuerbach, and in descending the stairway
to the groundfloor we pass the large, unfinished
canvas, " Death of Alexander the Great," by Karl
von Piloty (1826-1886), the great leader of the
Munich Academy, bis only work in the Museum.
Piloty was the man who led the Munich school from
its academic thralldom to the principles of the
296 Zbc Htt of tbe Berlin <3aiieries
romantic school : " colour and action," and who has
produced some of the finest historical works of
German art.
Under this canvas hangs the large painting " Huss
on the Funeralpile," by Karl Friedrich Lessing, of
whom we saw a strong landscape in the first Corri-
dor. Lessing had been a pupil of Schadow in Ber-
lin, and was fully indoctrinated in academic pre-
cepts and classic worship. He was one of the first
of the Schadow pupils to look for liberty. In his
landscapes he soon turned toward nature, as we
have seen. In his large historical compositions he
added a dramatic substratum, generally with a tragic
leaning.
At the foot of the staircase, in the dark Vestibule
of the ground-floor we find two immense canvases
whereof the strong colours alone enable us to dis-
tinguish the composition. " The Jews led to Baby-
lonian Captivity" is by E. Bendemann (1811-
1889), also a pupil of Schadow, and for ten years
director of the Dusseldorf Academy. This is an
eminent example of the Dusseldorf school, smooth,
slick-coloured, punctilious in drawing, and recalling
the prototype of German church art, the work of
the French Academician Ary Scheffer.
Gustav Richter (1823-1884) was another pupil
of the Berlin Academy, and his " Raising of Jairus'
Daughter " is in the same style as the pendant
Ube IRopal IFtational (Sailers 297
painting. The conventional manner of presenting
these subjects is such that a description of the com-
position may well be omitted it is so easily
imagined.
In the Cross-hall we find a few works of greater
interest. Julius Schrader (1815-1890) was also a
Dusseldorf man, but his large painting here of the
" Homage of the Cities of Berlin and Cologne to
the Elector Friedrich I in 1415 " leans more to the
historical penchant of the Munich school. There
is little allegory in the bald presentment of all these
apocryphal portraits of fifteenth century notabilities.
Bruno Piglheim (1848-1894) was a typical rep-
resentative of the Munich school. He strives for
what is grand and imposing, with richer, warmer
colour and more soul than the commonplace of the
more northern painters. His " Moritur in Deo " is
an original conception indeed. The Christ hangs
on the cross; but this cross has grown into the
clouds as if the earth has fallen away from the
sacredness of the scene. And it is not a dying
Christ, with limp body, drooping head, and agonized
features, but the head leans back erect against the
wood as the wide open eyes stare into the effulgence
of the lightrays that fall around him. These eyes
have an expression of the self-conscious perform-
ance of an act of sacrifice. And an archangel with
mighty pinions has swept down from above and
298 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
leans over the bleeding head to kiss away the drops
of blood. There is so much exalted thought and
modernity in this work that we need not be sur-
prised that Piglheim was one of the founders of the
Munich Secession movement, which shook the school
out of its classic formalism.
Eduard von Gebhardt (1838-1910) again was of
Dusseldorf, but his admiration for the German old
masters greatly vitalized his work. The " Ascension
of Christ " is somewhat formal in its grouping.
This may also be said of Karl Becker's (1820-1900)
"Carnival at the Doge's Palace," which has hard
and dry colour.
When we enter Room I on the right we make at
once the stride from typical German conventional
art to its freest and most poetic expression in the
work of the greatest artistic genius Germany has
produced in the last century Arnold Bocklin
(1827-1901), by whom we find here ten master-
pieces.
This present estimate of Bocklin has not been
undisputed. It was not until the fifties before any
notice was taken of his work. Then his Pan, and
his enamoured fauns, were recognized by a few as
assuring and convincing demonstrations of the cos-
mic unity between animate and inanimate creation,
that the animalism of his figures and the naturalism
of the landscapes in which they were placed, melted
Ube IRopal Battonal Callers
299
into each other to an amalgam of poetic thought.
But the Dusseldorfers laughed and Berlin held its
sides, and Count Schack of Munich who had given
Bocklin commissions would not accept his " Pieta "
and other paintings. But Bocklin's creative power,
his unique fantasy, his iridescent colour, his mastery
over romantic nature, the magic of the man, ulti-
mately conquered all antagonism.
A painting showing idealism in a combination of
nature and men is his " Springday " (Plate XLIV),
a landscape that breathes the atmosphere of awaken-
ing life the first budding of the white birches,
the newly blooming flowery sward, the rippling
water free from its icy casing, the sky in which
the clouds are driven by vernal breezes, the children
and youths announcing the fresh brightness of
existence, which the quiet note of the old man by
the trees and the dark clump of evergreens still
further emphasize. The image which Bocklin had
of nature was wonderfully clear. There is a vitality
in buds and treetrunks and flowers of the grass, a
gloss and glow of colour, a purity of artistic con-
ception which few if any artists have ever depicted.
Not a vestige of stage setting, not an echo of delib-
erate composing, but the reality of creation, which
as it were speaks to him with audible voices.
And these nature voices he soon embodied in
figures of beings which seem the final condensation
3 oo Ube Hrt of tbe JBerltn Galleries
of the life of nature itself, the tangible embodiment
of its spirit, of its life. In the " Regions of the
Blessed " we see such figures in human and mythical
form that express the essence, the condensation, the
embodied mood of nature ; they are children, bred
and borne of the landscape, and not mere acces-
sories. So in the " Centaur and Nymph," or in the
" Surf of the Sea " we do not so much find a Helenic
myth as a pantheistic nature idyl.
Bocklin also found his inspiration in sacred story,
and there he was assailed most vehemently. In 1 876
he painted the " Descent from the Cross " Christ
on the ground, supported by Nicodemus and Joseph
of Arimathea, the women and John in agony around
the body. It is noticeable that the body of Christ is
wrong in drawing. But, as Schoppenhauer has said,
" before a painting one should stand as before a
prince, waiting till he speaks, not commencing to
ask questions." Then we hark that the manner in
which Bocklin drew was not an insult to the sacred
body, but a clearer and deeper expression of sacred
feeling.
In 1882 his " Pieta " was hung over a door at
the International Exposition at Vienna, which at
least showed the compassionate tolerance wherewith
his brother artists treated the work after it had been
accepted by the jury. Sport was made of it. It
was called the rainbow, whose colours coquetted
ARNOLD
BOCKLIN
THE HERMIT
Plate xlv
National
Gallery
Ube iRosai IRattonal Gaiiers soi
with each other around unaesthetic forms. Yet it
is simple and grand the stiff, stark body of Christ
on the stone, over which the agonized mother is
huddled, and the angel appearing in the clouds,
stretching out a consoling arm. It is true, and in
the noblest sense religious. Bocklin was never a
church painter of dogmatic tenets, but no man
touches deeper the heart of religion.
His noble " Self-portrait " is here, with the grin-
ning skeleton Death playing the fiddle behind him,
to which he is listening with startled intensity. This,
and the portraits of a lady, of the singer Wallen-
reiter, and of the sculptor von Kopf, show the
master's profound intuition and illumination of
character.
Bocklin's most popular picture here is " The
Hermit" (Plate XLV). It is a simple story, full
of tender charm. In the light of early morning the
aged hermit is playing on his violin a hymn of praise
before the shrine of the Virgin. Three little angels
with rainbow-coloured wings have sped to listen to
the sweet melody. The sky has the soft violet light
of early dawn, the bit of turf is green, and here and
there bright spots of colour melt into the quiet tones
with delicious harmony.
In the next Room II we find a number of works
by Hans von Marees (1837-1887), the one who in
spirit is closest related to Bocklin, although techni-
302 Ube Brt ot tbe Berlin Galleries
cally they are far apart. They had in common the
same peculiarity of never painting from nature, but
of drinking in its spirit, impressing its forms on the
mind, and then depicting these, surcharged with
their own personal idealism.
With Marees fate was less gracious than with
Bocklin, whose last decade at least was filled with
honours. Two years after the death of Marees the
German art history by A. Rosenberg, published in
1889, did not even contain his name. Two books
which were written about him, by his friend Konrad
Fiedler, in 1889, and by his pupil, Karl von Pidoll,
in 1890, were never published. And although his
name had often been mentioned in Munich in the
fifties, as of a man of great promise, and although
he was popular with his fellow-artists when he went
to Rome, he was soon forgotten. The works which
he sent to Berlin were most indifferently received
they were not spirited, so it was said, nor well-
drawn, nor well-composed, they had no flashing
colour, in short lacked all qualities that might arouse
interest or even attract attention.
Marees' artistic ideal was to place the human form
in space, colour to him was but the expression of
that form, and light only a means to give the
openness of the three dimensions. In all his works
here this is apparent. There is a stiffness and
straightness in the " St. George," seated upon an
Ube IRopal National Gallery 303
almost wooden horse as he spears the dragon; but
the boldness of the forms, the surrounding atmos-
phere, the bigness of the landscape is striking. So
his " Three Men in a Landscape " has knotty, mus-
cular figures of nude men, standing and sitting in
an open grove, whose roundness of form is like
sculpture, and whose vitality is of human beings.
The " Roman Vineyard " has a number of queerly
drawn visitors at the tables, but the ensemble gives
a naturalistic impression of remarkable vividness.
Another landscape has a nude woman sitting on a
bank of sod, and a nude male on horseback plucking
an orange from a tree. There is even greater
apparent carelessness in drawing, a broader, slap-
ping brushwork than in the other canvases, but it
is still stronger in rugged force. While the colour
may be coarse and raw, it still vibrates with con-
tinuous shimmering. The " St. Martin," accosted
by a half -nude beggar, is carried out with greater
care. The verdict must be that the work of Marees
may sin against all the conventional rules of aesthet-
icism, notwithstanding, it is virile in its luminous
strength.
Anselm Feuerbach (1829-1880) was a strong
man of personal searching, who despite early lean-
ing to classic regularity gradually cut his own way
and became, what the critics called him, an auto-
didact. His " Ricordo di Tivoli " has the Italian
304 Ube Brt of tbe Berlin (Balleries
atmosphere and the refinement of the later followers
of Raphael. In a rocky glen, with waterfall and
bubbling pool, a young girl is seated on a ledge with
her hands clasped around her knees, her head, which
shows in profile against the clear sky, is slightly
tilted back and she gazes upward in meditation. On
a lower rock a half -draped boy reclines, playing a
guitar. The " Springtime " is in the same manner,
with four ladies, dressed in the fashion of the
sixties, scattered in a grove. The " Concert " also
is Italian, with four gowned and draped women
making music on lute and guitar under the arches
of a portico which in architecture reminds of the
Doge's Palace.
Later he became more individual and indepen-
dent. In his " Plato's Symposium " we note the
strength of the drawing, with a remarkable feeling
for the lines which gives the whole composition that
same sense of relief which we find with the Naza-
renes. The incident depicted is the gathering of
philosophers and poets at the house of Agathon for
the discussion of Eros, when Alcibiades partly
inebriated and accompanied by girls and slaves
enters and delivers an harangue in praise of his
friend Socrates.
Another characteristic of his later years comes
especially forth in his "Medea's Flight" (Plate
XLVI), which is somewhat chalky in colour, flat
|3
S
^ ft:
Ube IRosal National (Bailers 305
and reserved, and with the appearance of fresco.
The " Battle of the Amazones " was painted about
the same time, and with the energy of a Rubens in
the whirling of massed figures, it also possesses the
personal traits of Feuerbach in its hard, dry colours
and successful space-painting.
His portraiture is of a high order. The self-
portrait, and the one of his step-mother, are re-
markably vivid and clear. The lines in the brightly
lit face of the woman are crisp, and the shadows
not overemphasized. His own portrait with its
wealth of wavy hair surrounding the strong fea-
tures is sculpturesque in its well-blocked planes.
Victor Miiller (1829-1879) was another Munich
man who, while taking his first impressions from
the Piloty school, drifted off and sought his own
way, like Feuerbach, Bocklin, Marees, Thoma, and
so many others. His two examples here are some-
what diverse in subject, but the technique, broad
and bold, is readily recognized in each. The half-
figure of Salome, whose bare bosom is seen above
the head of John which she carries on a large plat-
ter, is rich ir colour with fine fleshtints, and the ex-
pression of the face, slightly averted, shows plainly
a mingling of satisfied pride and disgust. The
" Little Snow-princess with the Seven Dwarves "
presents a far different view of fantastic gaiety from
the realm of German folklore. The brush handling
306 Ubc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
is as broad and certain as in the other work, but
the colours are sprightly, and the joy-dance of the
little gnomes is drawn with great dexterity and
expression.
Hugo Habermann (born 1849) is one of the
strongest men to-day of the Munich Secession.
His example here is still in the conventional story-
telling style of his early years. A physician in his
consulting-room is examining a boy for lung-trouble,
while the anxious mother, seated on a sofa, is
eagerly watching for the verdict. In his later work
this artist shows more nervous intensity, and in
his broad, long brushstrokes, and sharp colours he
displays greater freedom from academic conven-
tion.
Gallery III contains a number of works by men
scarcely known beyond the German border. Gregor
von Bochmann (born 1850) was one of the first
to point the Dusseldorf school the way to French
romantic realism, but he chose by preference Dutch
subjects. His " Dockyard in South Holland " and
the " Reaper " are painted, however, in the pleasing
style of the French potboilers. F^'gen Kampf
(born 1861) with a village view " Eifeldorf," Hans
von Volkmann (born 1860) with a Spring land-
scape, Olaf Jernberg (born 1855) with an harvest-
scene, and Karl Vinnen (born 1863) with Cattle,
show little Teutonic character. The best work in
Zbc IRosal National Oailers 307
this style of painting here is a picturesque morning
scene in the Schwarzwald, by Emil Lugo (1840-
1902), a fellow-pupil with Bocklin of Schirmer.
Also the " Idylle," by Ludwig von Gleichen-
Russwurm (1836-1901), with its noble poplar trees
skirting a green meadow is attractive.
Eduard von Gebhardt's " Last Supper " teings
also in this room a serious, quiet work, but not
overwhelming in high, artistic quality.
Room IV is interesting because of three fine
portraits by Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904),
Germany's most renowned portrait painter. The
most impressive of these is the standing portrait of
Bismarck, truly the best of the many counterfeits
Lenbach made of the Iron Chancellor. The vig-
orous body is surmounted by a noble, well-poised
head, the furrowed features and piercing eyes are
descriptive of dominant character. Also the por-
traits of Marshal von Moltke, and of the famous
sculptor, Reinhold Begas, are worthy of the brush
of this artist who excelled in his portraits of men,
but whose women portraits are far from sincere.
An " Autumn Storm, Rapallo," by Gustav
Schonleber (born 1851), shows excellent painting
of agitated water, as the river comes roaring
through the arches of the stone bridge which spans
it. A " Fishers-village," by Hans Hermann (born
1855), a thorough academician, is pleasing and no
3o8 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
more. The " Cemetery by the Sea," by Ludwig
Dettmann (born 1865), is striking and impressive.
The flower-decked and shell-bordered graves and
crosses are in the foreground, and behind the fence
of this cemetery the dune and beach slope gently
towards the white surf of the sea.
Going through the Rotunda we enter the first
cabinet. Here we find several landscapes of pass-
able interest. The landscape by Eugen Jettel (1845-
1902) is called in the catalogue " Hungarian Land-
scape with bathing Children," but is apparently one
of the many Dutch scenes the artist frequently
painted, with a windmill, houses and trees half
concealed by a dike, and a sheet of water with a
timber-curing dock in the foreground. The chil-
dren bathing, the ducks swimming about, and the
wash hanging on the hedges, is typical of the Dutch
lowlands. A " Taunus Landscape," by Peter
Burnitz (1824-1886), has some well-painted stunted
and crooked appletrees growing in a field. The
perspective is extensive and shows houses and a
church tower in the distance. Hugo Darnaut (born
1851 ), a Viennese artist, shows a landscape in lower
Austria; while Teutwart Schmitson (1830-1902),
also of Vienna, places horses and cattle in his
wooded fields. Emil Schindler (1842-1892) was
one of the Viennese who brought French influences
to bear on the conventional art of that city. He was
ZEbe IRosal National (Bailers 309
not appreciated during his life, although later his
good example was followed. Without deserving
unbounded praise still his out-door genre had more
animation and realism than the orthodox stiffness
of the Viennese school of his time. Its attempt to
prod ice heroic, historical work was but a poor
imitation of the Piloty school, and had brought
forth but few who could compete with their western
neighbours. Schindler, in a more modest way,
painted scenes of life with great realism. In his
" Picnic in the Vienna Prater " he has put many
types of excellent characterization. The landscape
part, however, is a bald imitation of the Barbizon
manner.
Another painter of types is Gotthardt Kuehl
(born 1850), now a teacher at the Dresden Acad-
emy. His " Old Men's Home in Lubeck " has a
peculiar homelike appearance, and its inmates an
air of peaceful content.
Cabinet 2 has for its principal work the large
painting by Fritz von Uhde (1848-1910), "Come,
Lord Jesus, be our Guest." Von Uhde was one
of those, like Leibl, Liebermann, Bartels and others,
who changed his style through Dutch influence, cut
loose from the conventionalism so characteristic of
nineteenth century German art, and through the
Munich Secession movement stirred the Teutonic
school to nobler endeavours. Von Uhde's progress
310 Ube Hrt of tbe Berlin Galleries
may be marked in the works he has produced, and
successively we may trace in him the example of
Makart, Munkaczy, Bastien Lepage, until Joseph
Israels revealed to him the truths of art that most
deeply appealed to his own soul; and von Uhde
became a serious, sincere, and strong painter.
There is a realism in his work that well-nigh
becomes materialistic, and yet the meanest subject
which he chooses he elevates and enobles with a
pure feeling, simplicity and rectitude of thought.
The plain artisans into whose modest home the
Master has entered, with all their humble bearing,
are idealized by a loving faith that bows before the
divine presence. There is little of the mystic type
or symbolism in this painting, but the welcome
which the poor believers offer to the Master be-
comes very real.
Hans Thoma (1839-1909) also had great influ-
ence on German art. It was a hard struggle to
overcome the shoulder-shrugs and sneers which
greeted his work, even into the eighties, but at last
the critics and the public acknowledged the leader.
Thoma began to paint in Frankfort, where there
was no school but a company of independent artists
who allowed each his free way; and quietly our
artist developed there. From the first his work was
distinct for its sunny light-grey tone, with colours
simple and yet abundant, painted with clear delight
FRANZ
VON
LENBACH
PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR MOMMSEN
Plate xlvii
National
Gallery
Ube IRosal National Gallery 311
in their brilliancy. When he painted a piece of
nature, notably the Schwarzwald where he lived,
he gave a sense of freshness and depth of feeling
which denote an unusual intimacy with the spirit
of the landscape. His " Schwarzwald Landscape
with Goats," and the " Rhine near Sockingen " are
pure leaves out of nature's book. There is nothing
of the antique, of the classic, of the academy, in
these works ; they are not composed, nor idealized,
they are painted as the master saw, and, above all,
felt.
The next cabinet, 3, shows us several portraits.
Karl Stauffer-Bern (1857-1891) painted the like-
ness of the popular novelist Gustav Freitag; Wil-
helm Trubner (born 1851) one of his fellow-artist
Karl Schuch; Louis Eisen (1843-1899) a charm-
ing and intimate portrait of his mother. There are
here also several more portraits by Franz von Len-
bach, a pastel of Bismarck, the Chancellor Prince
Hohenlohe, Richard Wagner, and a unique por-
trayal of the famous historian, Professor Mommsen
(Plate XLVII). There is in this likeness a mar-
vellous fulness of effect reached by a modicum of
means just tinted lines, with the scarcity of some
of Rembrandt's etchings, but also with their won-
derful sureness and expressiveness. The face is
incisive in its vital look, its keen eyes and sharp
precision of modelling.
312 Zbc Brt of tbe Berlin (Balleries
The fourth cabinet gives us a view of the work
of Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900), one of the great
peasant painters of Germany. He also passed
through changes of manner as a result of his train-
ing under Piloty, and subsequent studies in Paris.
He found himself fully when he retired to the
Dachauer region of Upper Bavaria, where he laid
the foundation of the present Dachauer school of
landscape painting, without, however, himself
going as far as his followers into pleinairism. He
painted by preference the peasants around Munich.
They are not handsome or attractive, nor engaged
in any occupation. They are types, and he goes
into the details of the texture of their picturesque
dress with a passion which Holbein displayed. But
Leibl is broader in brushwork. One sees that his
ambition did not lie in the telling of a story con-
cerning the people he painted, but in the pure crafts-
manship of representing them with pigment and
brush. The " Dachauerinnen," the " Dachauer
Woman with a Child," the " Gamekeeper," the
" Hunter," the " Peasantboy," lounging in a chair,
are all types of the people, and thoroughly natural-
istic. Three portraits, especially the one of " The
Alderman," are strong performances, reminding of
the technique of Frans Hals.
Spread among these works we note a few stillives
by Karl Schuch (1846-1903), a Vienna artist of
XTbe IRopal national (Bailers 313
some repute, and two interiors of peasant cabins by
Leibl's friend, Johann Sperl (born 1840).
The next, the fifth, is the Liebermann cabinet.
Max Liebermann (born 1847) was another cham-
pion of the new art in Germany. Trained in Ber-
lin, studying in Paris where Munkaczy and also
Millet greatly impressed him, influenced by the
work of Hals and of Israels on a visit to Holland,
and later taken up with the French impressionists,
he shows somewhat of each of these tendencies in
the work he has produced, without having become
superficially imitative. There is undeniable per-
sonality in his method and his feeling, and as the
first German light-painter he incurred the hatred
of the idealistic critics, but at the same time became
the prophet of the younger generation of painters.
His light-painting was not the chiaroscuro of the
old masters, with the contrast of light and shade,
brilliancy emphasized by dark spots. His light is
tonal through mixing of white with his colours.
The critics called this, "giving his pictures milk-
baths," many never perceiving that this white of
light is everywhere in nature and saturates it. The
" Flax-spinners of Laren " and the " Cobbler's
Shop " give this light in interiors, the " Dunes near
Noordwyk " show it in all its out-doors brilliancy.
The " Geese-pluckers " is an earlier work of darker
tone, painted under the influence of Munkaczy.
314 ^be Brt of tbe Berlin Galleries
One of his strongest followers was Franz Skar-
bina (1849-1910), whose " Evening in the Village "
is finer than any Thaulow, while the " Lace-knitter
of Bruges " has exquisite charm. By no means
academic is Friedrich Kallmorgen (born 1856), at
present teacher at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts.
His " Harbour view of Hamburg " is a magnificent
scene, ruddy and luminous by the reflection of the
setting sun in the waves of the roadstead. The
houses, factories and docks, with the towers of the
city looming in the distance, are broadly painted.
His " Michaels' Church in Hamburg by Rain "
shows the artist's fondness for moisture with its
scintillating reflections.
In Room V we find still two modern men of great
strength. The " Griinewaldsee," by Walter Leisti-
kow (born 1865), shows the later reaction against
the light-painting of Liebermann and Leibl, which
with many degraded into monotony. A greater
desire for decorative quality led Leistikow to scenes
like the one before us, the bend of a lake, part of
the water brightly lit by the clear sky, and part in
deep shadow by the heavy fringe of pinetrees that
come down to the bank. It was a turning back
again from the concrete to the abstract idealism of
the middle period.
Heinrich Ziigel (born 1850), now teacher at the
Munich Academy, is a bold pleinairist. His " Cattle
Ube IRosal National Gallery 315
in a Sunny Meadow," his " Boy with a Cow," are
broadly painted, with flecks of light dotting the
canvas. His cattle is as well painted as the land-
scape, with a masterful and energetic touch.
The remaining rooms are filled with sculptures
by Hildebrandt, Begas, Rauch, and others.
THE END.
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Breughel, Jan the Elder, 228.
Bril, Paul, 228.
Bronzino, 25, 92, no.
Bruyn, Bartol, 93, 195.
Buchholz, K., 288.
Burgkmair, Hans, 187.
Burnitz, Peter, 308.
Busati, Andrea, 84, 90.
Calieri, Paolo. See Veronese.
Cambiaso, Luca, 133, 139.
Canal, G. von, 288.
Cano, Alonso, 148.
Canaletto, 134.
Caravaggio, 131, 140.
Cariani (Bussi), 121.
Carpaccio, Vitore, 76.
Carracci, Agostino, 128.
Carracci, Annibale, 128.
Carrefio, Juan de Miranda, 145.
3i9
320
Unfcex
Catena, 92.
Cazin, J. C, 268.
Cellini, Benvenuto, 93.
Cerezo, Mateo, 146.
Cezanne, 267.
Chardin, J. S., 158.
Cima da Conegliano, 78, 83,
91.
Cimabue, 10.
Claude Lorrain, 153.
Claus, Emil, 268.
Coello, Alonso Sanchez, 141.
Constable, John, 261.
Conti, Bernardino de, 43.
Cornelius, Peter, 275, 281, 283.
Correggio, 106.
Cosimo, Piero di, 56.
Cossa, Francesco, 40.
Costa, Lorenzo, 40.
Courbet, G., 262.
Couture, T., 263.
Coxie, Michiels van, 202.
Cranach, Lucas the Elder, 188.
Cranach, Lucas the Younger,
193-
Cristus, Petrus, 212.
Crivelli, Carlo, 4, 75.
Cuyp, Aelbert, 250, 256.
Cuyp, J. G., 239.
Daddi, Bernardo, 14.
Daret, Jacques, 216.
Darnaut, Hugo, 308.
Daubigny, Charles, 263.
Daumier, H., 263.
David, Gerard, 93, 225.
Defregger, F. von, 287, 288.
Degas, E., 267.
Dettmann, Ludwig, 308.
Diaz, Narcisse, 263.
Domenico Veneziano, 23.
Domenichino, 129.
Donatello, 93, in.
Dorr, Otto, 288.
Dossi, Dosso, 45, 116.
Duccio, 15.
Dughet, Gaspard, 153.
Diirer, Albrecht, 4, 89, 179-183.
Dyck, Anton van, 233, 258.
Edlinger, J. G. von, 278.
Eisen, Louis, 311.
Elias, Nicolaes, 256.
Ercole Roberti, 85.
Everdingen, van, 248.
Eyck, Hubert van, 3, 202.
Eyck, Jan van, 3, 202, 207-212.
Fantin-Latour, 263.
Feuerbach, Anselm, 295, 303.
Firenze, Bernardo da, 14.
Flemalle, Master of. See Jacques
Daret.
Flinck, Govert, 250, 256.
Fogolino, Marcello, 71.
Foppa, Vincenzo, 68, 108.
Fouquet, Jean, 152, 221.
Francia, Francesco, 42, 84.
Franciabigio, 100.
Friedrich, K. D., 289.
Fiiger, Heinrich, 279.
Fyt, Jan, 258.
Gaddi, Agnolo, 14.
Gaddi, Taddeo, 12.
Gaertner, E., 292.
Gainsborough, Thomas, 161.
Garbo, Raffaelino del, 27, 92.
Gaudenzio Ferrari, 108.
Gebhardt, E. von, 298, 307.
Geertgen van St. Jans, 220.
Gentile da Fabriano, 18.
Ghent, Justus van, 61.
Ghiberti, 93.
Ghirlandajo, Benedetto, 57.
Ghirlandajo, Davide, 57.
Ghirlandajo, Domenico, 29, 57.
Giordano, Luca, 132, 140.
Giorgione, 82.
Giotto, 10.
Giovanni di Paolo, 23.
Girolamo dai Libri, 69.
Giustiniani, 2.
Gleichen-Russwurm, L. von, 307.
Goes, Hugo van der, 56, 224.
Goethe, 238, 274.
Gossaert, Jan. See Mabuse.
Goya, Francisco, 149, 261.
Goyen, Jan van, 239.
IFnfcex
321
Gozzoli, Benozzo, 37.
Graff, Anton, 277.
Greco, El, 140.
Greuze, J. B., 159.
Grien, Hans Baldung, 184.
Griinewald, 184, 192.
Guardi, Francesco, 134.
Habermann, Hugo, 306.
Hals, Dirk, 236.
Hals, Frans, 235-238.
Hammershoi, V., 171.
Hasenclever, J., 289.
Heemskerk, Maarten van, 223.
Heist, Barth. van der, 251.
Hemessen, Jan van, 224.
Henneberg, Rudolf, 289.
Hermann, Hans, 307.
Hertel, Karl, 288.
Hess, P., 290.
Heus, E. von, 280.
Heyden, Jan van der, 254.
Hildebrandt, 315.
Hobbema, 250.
Holbein, Hans the Younger, 198.
Hondecoeter, Melchior d', 254.
Hooch, Pieter de, 253.
Israels, Joseph, 310.
Jernberg, Olaf, 306.
Jettel, Eugene, 308.
Jordaens, Jacob, 257.
Kalf, Willem, 254.
Kallmorgen, F., 314.
Kampf, E., 306.
Keyzer, Thomas de, 238.
Klinger, Max, 270.
Knaus, Ludwig, 292.
Koch, J., 279.
Koner, Max, 295.
Kriiger, F., 291.
Kuehl, G., 309.
Kulmbach, Hans von, 185.
Landauer, Berthold, 169.
Landenberger, C., 269.
Largilliere, 155.
Lavery, John, 272.
Lawrence, Thomas, 162 .
Lebrun, Charles, 154.
Leibl, W., 312.
Leistikow, Walter, 314.
Lenbach, Franz von, 307, 311.
Leonardo da Vinci, 96, 108, 199.
Lessing, K. F., 288, 296.
Leyden, Lucas van, 222.
Liberale da Verona, 80.
Liebermann, Max, 313.
Lippi, Filippino, 27, 58, 91.
Lippi, Fra Filippo, 21, 36.
Lochhead, John, 272.
Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, 17.
Lorenzetti, Pietro, 16.
Lorenzo di Credi, 25, 30.
Lotto, Lorenzo, 85, 120.
Lugo, Emil, 307.
Luini, Bernardino, 43.
Mabuse, 227.
Maes, Nicolaas, 253.
Mainardi, Sebastiano, 30, 91.
Maineri, Francesco, 85.
Makart, Hans, 282.
Manet, Edouard, 265.
Mantegna, Andrea, 64, 92.
Maratta, Carlo, 130.
Marees, Hans von, 301.
Margaritone, 10.
Marinas, Henrique de las, 148.
Maris, Jacob, 272.
Marmion, Simon, 221.
Martini, Simone, 15.
Marziale, Marco, 71.
Masaccio, 27, 32, 35.
Massys, Quentin, 225.
Master of Bruges, 217.
Master of the Glorification of
Mary, 174.
Master of the Holy Family, 173.
Master of the Life of Mary, 172.
Mauve, Anton, 272.
Max, Gabriel, 295.
Mazzolina, 41.
Meister von Cappenberg, 197.
Meister von Frankfort, 197.
Meister von Messkirch, 197.
322
Ifnfcex
Melchers, Gari, 264.
Meldolla, Andrea, 125.
Melozzo da Forli, 61.
Melzi, Francesco, 109.
Memlinc, Hans, 217, 258.
Memmi, Lippo, 16.
Mengs, Raphael, 277.
Menzel, Adolf, 285, 287.
Mesdag, H. W., 264.
Meyer, Claus, 287.
Meyer, Julius, 4.
Meyerheim, Eduard, 291.
Meyerheim, Paul, 291.
Michelangelo, in.
Mignard, 155.
Mina da Fiesole, 91.
Miranda, Juan de, 145.
Monet, Claude, 265.
Montagna, Bartolommeo, 70.
Mor, Antonis, 224.
Morales, Luis de, 141.
Moretto, 3, 122.
Moreelse, Paul, 238.
Morone, Francesco, 69, 84.
Moroni, Giambattista, 44.
Moroni, Giovanni, 124.
Miiller, Victor, 305.
Multscher, Hans, 175.
Murillo, 3, 147.
Neer, Aert van de, 256.
Nuzi, Alegretto, 18.
Oggione, Marco d', 109.
Oostsanen, Jacob Corneliszoon
van, 222.
Ouwater, Albert van, 218.
Overbeck, Friedrich, 282.
Palma Vecchio, 118.
Panetti, Domenico, 42.
Panini, Giovanni, 134.
Paris Bordone, 121.
Patinir, Joachim, 226.
Pedrini, Giovanni, 44.
Pencz, Georg, 196.
Pesne, Antoine, 155.
Pettenkofen, A. von, 290.
Piero della Francesca, 24, 70.
Piglheim, Bruno, 297.
Piloty, Karl von, 295.
Piombo, Sebastiano del, 86,
137.
Pisanello, 21.
Pissarro, 266.
Plockhorst, B., 287.
Poelenburgh, Cornells, 257.
Pollaiuolo, Antonio, 29.
Pollaiuolo, Piero, 53.
Pompeo Batoni, 134.
Poussin, Gaspard, 153.
Poussin, Nicolas, 152.
Quercia, Jacopo della, in.
Raeburn, Henry, 163.
Raibolini, Francesco. See Fran-
cia.
Raoux, Jean, 158.
Raphael, 3, 45-49, 102-106.
Rauch, 315.
Rembrandt, 4, 240-247, 254.
Reni, Guido, 129.
Renoir, A., 267.
Reynolds, Joshua, 160.
Ribera, Juseppe, 140.
Riccio, Andrea, 93.
Richter, G., 296.
Riedel, A., 290.
Robusti, Jacopo. See Tinto-
retto.
Romanino, 92, 123.
Romney, George, 162.
Rosa, Salvator, 132.
Rosselino, Antonio, 91.
Roymerswaele, N. van, 226.
Rubens, P. P., 4, 229-233.
Ruisdael, Jacob van, 247.
Ruysdael, Salomon van, 240.
Saltzmann, K., 294.
Sansovino, 93.
Santi, Giovanni, 63.
Sarto, Andrea del, 3, 98.
Sassetta, 22.
Savoldo, 122.
Schadow, W. von, 275, 279,
282.
fln&ex
323
Schaffner, Martin, 188.
Schaffner, Max, 179.
Schaufelein, 185.
Scheurenberg, Jos., 294.
Schiavone, Andrea, 125.
Schiavone, Gregorio, 67.
Schilback, K., 288.
Schindler, Emil, 308.
Schinkel, K. F., 292.
Schirmer, J. W., 285.
Schleich, Ed., 288.
Schmitson, T., 308.
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Julius,
282.
Schongauer, Martin, 177.
Schonleber, G., 307.
Schoppinger, Meister, 174.
Schrader, J., 297.
Schuch, Karl, 312.
Schuch, Werner, 287.
Schwind, Moritz von, 290,
295-
Scorel, Jan van, 223.
Segantini, G., 269.
Signorelli, Luca, 59.
Simon, James, 6, 91.
Sisley, 266.
Skarbina, Franz, 314.
Snyders, Frans, 258.
Sodoma, no.
Solly, 2, 95.
Sorolla y Bastida, 270.
Spagnoletto, Lo. See Ribera.
Spangenberg, G., 292.
Sperl, J., 313.
Spitzweg, K., 289.
Squarcione, Francesco, 64.
Stauffer-Bern, 311.
Steen, Jan, 251.
Steinle, E. von, 290.
Stevenson, Macaulay, 272.
Strigel, Bernhard, 176.
Suermondt, B., 4.
Teichlein, A., 288.
Tempel, Abraham van den,
256.
Teniers, David the Younger,
257.
Terborch, Gerard, 238.
Thaulow, F., 271.
Therbusch, Anna, 277.
Thiem, A., 6.
Thoma, Hans, 310.
Tiepolo, 135.
Tintoretto, 116.
Tischbein, J. H., 276.
Tisi, Benvenuto, 41.
Titian, 3, n 2-1 15.
Troy, Jean de, 158.
Triibner, W., 311.
Tura, Cosimo, 38.
Ubertini, Francesco, 101.
Ugolino da Siena, 17.
Uhde, Fritz von, 309.
Vanni, Andrea, 18.
Vanuccio, Francesco di, 18.
Vautier, B., 288.
Vecellio, Tiziano, See Titian.
Veit, Philipp, 282.
Velasquez, 143.
Velde, Adriaen van de, 250.
Venne, Adriaen van de, 239.
Vermeer van Delft, Jan, 251.
Vernet, Joseph, 159.
Veronese, Paolo, 117.
Verrocchio, 28.
Vinci, Leonardo da. See Leo-
nardo.
Vinnen, Karl, 306.
Vivarini, Alvise, 73, 91.
Vivarini, Antonio, 22.
Volkmann, H. von, 306.
Vos, Cornells de, 229, 234.
Waagen, G. F., 1, 3, 95, 201.
Waldmiiller, F., 290.
Watteau, A., 156.
Weitsch, G., 278.
Werner, Anton von, 293.
Werner, Fritz, 293.
Weyden, Rogier van der, 213.
Wilhelm, Meister, 170.
Wilson, Richard, 164.
Wouwerman, Philip, 256.
324
fln&ex
Zaganelli, Francesco, 79.
Zampieri. See Domenichino.
Zeitblom, Bartholomaeus, 178.
Ziem, Felix, 264.
Zoppo, Marco, 67.
Zorn, A., 268.
Ziigel, Heinrich, 314.
Zuloaga, Ign., 270.
Zurbaran, 146.
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