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The

Burlington Magazine

for Connoisseurs

Illustrated ^ Published Monthly

Volume XI— April to September 1907

LONDON

THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, LIMITED

17 BERNERS STREET, W.

NEW YORK : ROBERT GRIER COOKE, Inc., 307 FIFTH AVENUE

PARIS: SHIRLEYS LTD., 9 BOULEVARD MALESHERBES

BRUSSELS : LEBEGUE & CIE, 46 RUE DE LA MADELEINE

AMSTERDAM : J. G. ROBBERS, N. Z. VOORBURGWAL 64

LEIPZIG : FR. LUDWIG HERBIG (Wholesale Agent), 20 INSELSTRASSE

KARL W. HIERSEMANN, 3 KONIGSSTRASSE

FLORENCE : B. SEEBER, 20 VIA TORNABUONI

BASLE : B. WEPF & CO.

LOMDOX

raiinxo by soi-thwood, sunn ako co., Lra

«} UID >M LONO ACRT, W.C.

CONTENTS OF VOL. XI

PAGE

Portrait of a Young Man by Hals ......... 3

The Case for Modern Painting. By a Modern Painter : —

Part I .......... .

Part II— The R.I. and R.B.A

Part III — The Royal Water-Colour Society ....

Part IV — The Royal Academy and the New English Art Club

Part V — The Ideals of Modern Germany .....
The Modern House and the Modern Picture : A Reply. By A. Clutton-Brock
The Slip Decorated Dishes of Chirk Castle. By M. L. Solon .
The Florentine Temperament. By G. T. Clough .....
The Fisherwomen : A Colour-Print by Hokusai .....

A Note on Colour-Printing in China and Japan. By Laurence Binyon
The So-called 'Janina ' Embroideries. By Louisa F. Pesel.
The Bodegones and Early Works of Velazquez. By Sir J. C. Robinson, C.B. : —

Part II

Part III — The Altar-piece of Loeches. .....

Some Old Silver Plate in the Possession of Lord Mostyn. By E. Alfred Jones
The Painters of Denmark .........

Notes on an Early ' Persian ' Bowl and ' Rice-Grain ' Wares. By R. L. Hobson

London Leaded Spires — III. By Lawrence Weaver, F.S.A.

Chardin ............

A Copy of Van Dyck by Gainsborough .......

A Portrait Bust of Agrippina. By Cecil H. Smith .....

A Crucifixion, by Konrat Witz of Basel. By Claude Phillips

Professor Joseph Strzygowski on the Throne of St. Maximian at Ravenna, and on
the Sidamara Sarcophagi. By Eugenie Strong ....

An Early Valencian Master at South Kensington ....

Theory, engraved by Blake after Reynolds. By Katharine A. McDowall
The Representation of the British School in the Louvre. By Percy Moore Turner
II — Gainsborough, Hoppner, Lawrence ....

Past Excavations at Herculaneum. By Ethel Ross Barker .

The Water-colour Method of Mr. William Callow .

A Note on Water-colour Technique. By Roger E. Fry .

The Gold Medals of Abukir. By Dr. A. Koester

Dutch and Flemish Furniture. By R. S. Clouston .

A 3>ian with a HaVck, by Henry Wyatt .....

The History of Tapestry. By C. H. Wylde ....

The Origin of the Early Stained Glass in Canterbury Cathedral. By Clement
Heaton ..........

A New Book on the PoUaiuoli. By Dr. Wilhelm Bode .

Some Mezzotints by MacArdell and Valentine Green. By Dr. Hans W. Singer
The Marble and Ceramic Decorations of the Roman Campanili. By J. Tavenor
Perry .........•••

Hans Wydyz the Elder. By Dr. Rudolf F. Burckhardt ....

iii

77
156

204

345

13
16

23
28

39
318

ICO

109

1 1 1

1 12

136
144
160
161
162
163
170
171

172
181
182

209
212

CONTENTS OV \'OL. X\— Continue,/

Egypt and the Ceramic Art of the Nearer East. By A. J. Butler, D.Litt. .

A Picture by Corot ......•••••

T^ Cotfugf, by r. W. Watts

A Portrait by Bartolommco \'cntto .....••••
Notes on Pictures in the Royal Collections. Hy Lionel Cust, M.V.O., F.S.A.

X — Franco-Flemish School : 7Vv Dhifie Mother

Where did .Michelangelo Learn to Paint ? By C. J. Holmes ....
Nathaniel Bacon, .\rtist. By H.H. Prince Frederick Duleep Singh .
The Jiuni-TennO of Takuma Ch6ga. By Professor R. Petrucci

The Book Cyphers of Henri M. By Cyril Davenport

James Daret.' By W. H. J. Wealc' '

Claude. By Roger \i. Fry .........

Notes on the Dra\vings of Claude. By C. |. H.

Bruges and the Golden Fleece Celebrations. By Francis M. Kelly

The New Van Dyck in the National Gallery. By Lionel Cust, M.V.O., F.S.A. .

Sixteenth Century Embroidery with Emblems. ByM.Jourdain

The Spires of Rome. By J. Tavenor-Perry .......

The Life of a Dutch Artist. By Dr. W. Martin. VI — How the Painter Sold
his Work ...........

A Drawing by Rembrandt in the Collection of the Duke of Devonshire
5\V//y O'Brien, by Sir Joshua Reynolds .......

A Neglected Point in the Early History of Enamel. By Edward Dillon
A ^iadonna by Antonio da Solario and the Frescoes of SS. Severino e Sosio at
Naples. By Dr. Ettore Modigliani .......

Some English Portraits by Carl Vogel von Vogelstein. By Dr. Hans W. Singer
Editorial Articles : —

Regent Quadrant ..... ....

Our National Collections. The Whistler Memorial

The Trend of the Art Market .......

The Progress of American Collecting .....

Notes on Various Works of Art : —

A Sketch by Rubens ; The Picture at Chatsworth ascribed to John
Van Eyck (W. H. J. W'cale) ; Recent Discoveries in Venice
(Alethea Wiel) ; Charles Lotz (Dr. Kammerer) . . . -45

The Miniature by CJentile Bellini, found in Constantinople (F. R.
Martin) ; German Ironwork ; A Sketch by Rubens ; The Umbrian
I'ixhibition at Perugi.-; (Milziade Magnini) ; The Bury St.
Fdmunds Pageant ; Letter to the Editor (Dr. Wilhclm Schmidt) . 115
k4 Shepherd and Two Nymphs, by Palma Vecchio ; A Wax Model

attributed to Michelangelo. (C. J. H.) 188

Guardi and Tiepolo (George A. Simonson) ; yl Mon Making ff'ine,
by Chardin ; The Rebuilding of the Campanile of S. Mark's
(.Methea Wicl) ; Master Hare, by T. Gainsborough . . . 247
A Picture of the Tournai School (C. J. H.) 328

PAGE

221

226

231

235
236

242

243

244
267

275

315

325
326

350

357

370

373

376
382

65
67

135

203

CONTENTS OF VOL. XI— Continued

Notes on Various Works of Art (continued) : —

The Proposed Turner Gallery. The British Museum Print Room
T/je Abbey of S. Berlin, by R. P. Bonington ; Head of' the Horse whose
Rider has overthrown Heliodorus: a fragment of a cartoon by Raphael
(C. J. Holmes) ; The Revenge of Tomyris : a composition after the

PAGE

331

master of Flemalle (George

Sobotka); C. N. Cochin's second
' Traicte des manieres de

revision of Abraham Bosse's

(A. M. Hind)

Art in America : —

A Pastel by J. S. Copley

Notes on the Widener Collection : —

I — Frans Hals : The Lady with a %o-c

n — A Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza

Cassone Fronts in American Collections : —

Part IV

Part V

Spring Exhibitions .......

A Liberalized Academy ......

Recent Additions to the Collection of Mr. Henry C. Frick
Current Events .......

Art in France. By R. E. D.
Art in Germany. By H. W. S.
Letters to the Editor : —

August F. Jaccaci ......

G. T. Clough ; Frank Jewett Mather, jun .

Sidney Colvin and Claude Phillips

E. J. van Wisselingh .....

A. Van de Put ; A. J. Butler ; Gerald Parker Smith

graver

Art Books of the Month
Recent Art Publications .

384
. . 58

. 129

• 130

. 131

- 339

• 199

• 341
Article I . 397

403

55' 123, 193, 263, 335
56, 124, 198, 260, 335, 404

46
190
249

331

391

48, 118, 191, 249, 331, 392

. 122, 258, 395

LIST OF PLATES

PACE

Frontispiece: Young Man with Maiulolinc ;

K T, ,,.- n .K a

Tlic I ^n (>aiiiting : —

PUii. • ind the Infant Bacchus ; by

CM ' 5

Hate II— I : I 1 .i|>crdp; by Wilham Nichol-
ion. FircMclc ; by J. F. Shannon, A.R.A.
(in the cxhibuion of the International

Socictv) ^. .'

Ilalc III— Pencil DrawinR: Head of a Girl;
by A. K. J »in (in the exhibition i)f the

Intertutif : \) "

The Slip Dect : los of Chirk Castle :—
llatc I '7

n.'.r II 20

1 en at Waib-NoHam. From the

' -^Mit bv Mokusai (in the possession
(■ \V. Ormsby Gore) ... 29

The S»;i.un.<i Janina ' Eml>roidcrics : —

Plate I — I. Curt.-iJn, probably Anatolian (in
ll '. • '"' I rt Museum). 2. Oriental

S ri;i aiitl Albert Museum).

3. 1c:j". Miivli i-.mbroiclcry (in the Vic-
toria and Ailnrrt Museum). 4. Portion of
Ik>khara Curtain (in the Victoria and

All^rt Museum) 35

Plate II— 5. Kmbroidcry (in the collection of
Miss Louis.1 F. I'csel). 6. Three Scarf ends
(in the collection of Ur. Karo). 7. Two
nieces of 'Janina' Embroidery (in the
Victoria and All>crt Museum). 8. Cushion
Cover from Skyros (in the |TOssession of
the Old Orient, Athens). 9. Portion of a
Valance (in the collection of Mr. G.
Dickins). 10. Double Darning on Linen (in
Ihe jvjsscssion of the Old Orient, Athens) . 38
The IVHloKoncsand Early Works of Velazquez : —
I. The Kitchen ; attributed to Velazquez (in
the collection of Sir Frederick Cook. Hart.).
a. The Fij^ht at the Fair ; attributed to
Vcln/iinrr :\-.<\ I'acheco (in the collection of
S 'inson) . . . . .41

ASkc ,:—

The Keconciliation of Henry of Navarre .in 1
Henry III (from the sketch in the posess-
sion of Mr. Frank Sabin) .... 44
A Pastel Portrait bv J. S. Copley : —

Pastel Portriit of Nancy Harrell . . .44

A \V' r '!i a Frying P.in ; by Chardin. . 64

Some ' r Plite in the possession of L.'jrd

M. .ly:. -
PLite I — I. Welsh Harp ; beiKlif. 6^ inches.
". Ewer for Rose-water I 2) ; height,

J iiM lic<.. 4. Silvcr-gili i,.in Flagon

I London, 1601-2. 5. Jacobean

Ilalc 11— <!m. TankartI ; by Anthony Nelmc,
UmjH I) (,h. Tankard, 16S3.4. 7. Montcith
Howl ; piobibly by John Ix>ach, 1697.8.

K41 rill', .1 T iI,' \i„,,.r <i\rM.n. »b. L.-ile

(I41
S
I
I

9«-9- l^*- Late
t Mirror. 9.

i^<...i.M> i.ml, Sauceboats,
Salvers and Castuis . . . 7J

PAGE

Plate III — 2. Rose-water Dish, diameter 19^
inches. 10. Eighteenth-century Candlesticks 75
The Case for Modern Painting : —

A Winter's Dawn ; by Alfred East,P.R.B.A. . 79
Notes on an Early ' Persian ' Bowl and ' Rice-
grain ' Wares : —
1. Persian Bowl ; depth, 5-3 inches. 2. Side
view of (i) ; height, 3 inches. 3. Fragment
from Rhages. 4. Fragment from Fostat.
5. Chinese Porcelain Bowl. 6. Gombroon

Bowl 85

London Leaded Steeples: —

Plate I— I. Horham Hall. Tha.\ted. 2. Christ's

Hospital, Abingdon. 3. Barnard's Inn Hall,

London, now the Mercers' School . . 88

Plate 11— 4. Turret Roof, Hampton Court.

5. S. Benc't, Pauls Wharf, with S. Paul's

Cathedial beyond 91

Plate III — 6. S. Edmund, Lombard Street.
7. S. Nicholas, Cole Abbey. 8. S. Philip,
Birmingham. 9. National Gallery, London 94
A Copy of Van Dyck by Gainsborough : —

Charles I, by Gainsborough, after Van Dyck
(in the possession of Messrs. Shepherd Bros.) 97
A Portrait Bust of Agrippina .... 101
A Crucifixion, by Konrat Witz of Basel (in the

collection of the Rev. Lewis Gilbertson) . 105

Professor Josef Strzygowski on the Throne of St.
Ma.ximian at Ravenna, and on the Sidamara
Sarcophagi : —

Figure from the Sarcophagus in the collection
of Sir Frederick Cook, Bart. . . .108

An Early Catalan Master : —

The Adoration of the Magi, by Lo fil de
Mestre Rodrigo (lent to the National Gallery
by the Victoria and Albert Museum) . . 108
Notes on the Wiclener Collection : —

Bianca Maria Sforza, by Ambrogio de Predis ;
Lady with a Rose, by Frans Hals. (In the
collection of .Mr. P. A. B. Widener) . -125
Cassone Fronts in American Collections : —
The Voyage of Aene.as, Florentine School.
Visit of the Queen of Slieba to Solomon,
Florentine School. (Inthejarves collection,
Yale University, U.S.A.) .... 128
A Man with a Hawk ; by Henry Wyatt (in the

collection of Mr. Eugene Glaenzer) . . 134
The British School in the Louvre : —

Plate 1 — Mr. and Mrs. Angerstein ; by Sir T.

Lawrence (in the Louvre) .... 139
Plate II— I. Master Hare ; by T. Gains-
borough. 2. M.iry Palmer, Countess of
Inchicjuin ; by Sir T. Lawrence (in the

Louvre) 143

Past E.xcavations at Herculaneum : —

Plate I — Bronze bust of Dionysus from Hcr-

cul.ineum (in the Naples Museum) . .145
Plate 11 — Bronze bust of (?) Sajipho from

Hcrculaiietim (in the Nai^les Museum) . 148
Plate HI — Bronze horse from Herculaneum

(in the Naples Museum) .... 151
Plate IV — Bronze bust of Hcraclitus from
Ilcrculaneuni (in the Naples .Museum). 154

LIST OF FLATES— continued

PAGE

Plate V — Archaic Apollo ; bronze bust from
Herculaneum (in the Naples Museum) . -157
The Gold Medals of Abukir :—
Medals of Alexander and Olympias (in the
Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin) . . 165
Dutch and Flemish Furniture : —
Seventeenth-century Chairs (in the Rijks-

museum, Amsterdam) 165

The Origin of the Ancient Stained Glass in
Canterbury Cathedral : —
I. Ornament round the medallions in the
central window to the north-west of the
' Crown ' (Becket window). Presumed
earliest example of mosaic diaper ground.
2. Window at Sens. 3. East window,
Canterbury ....... 177

A New Book on the Pollaiuoli : —

Madonna and Child ; by Piero Pollaiuolo (in
the Strassburg Gallery) .... 180

Two Nymphs and a Shepherd ; by Palma
Vecchio (in the collection of Mr. Claude

Phillips) i86

A Wax Model attributed to Michelangelo (in the

British Museum) 186

Art in Germany : —
Plate I — I. Sixteenth-century cup of Nurem-
berg workmanship (in the possession of the
City Council, Leipzig). 2. Sixteenth-
century jewel (in the Museum of Applied

Arts, Leipzig) 168

Plate II — Silver-gilt salver by Elias Geyer,
1610 (in the Green Vault, Dresden) . 195

Evening on the Lake ; from the painting by

Corot 202

The Case for Modern Painting : —

Mother and Child ; by A. Ambrose McEvoy
(in the exhibition of the New English Art

Club) 207

Hans Wydyz the Elder : —

Plate I — I. Adam and Eve; boxwood, about
6 in. high (in the Historisches Museum,
Basel). 2. Eve : side view ; about 6 in. high
(in the Historisches Museum, Basel) . . 213
Plate II— I. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian ;
boxwood, about 7|^in. high (in the Kaiser
Friedrich Museum, Berlin). 2. The Adora-
tion ; A.D. 1505 ; wood, half life-size (in the
cathedral of Freiburg in Breisgau) . . 216
Plate III — I. Christ Crucified ; boxwood, Sin.
high (in the Historisches Museum, Basel).
2. Christ Blessing ; wood, half life-size (in
the cathedral, Freiburg in Breisgau) . .219
Portrait of an Unknown Man, by Bartolommeo

Veneto (in the Borghese Gallery, Rome) . 227
The Cottage ; by Frederick W. Watts ; hitherto
attributed to Constable (from the painting

in the Louvre) 230

Notes on Pictures in the Royal Collections : —
Virgin and Child; Franco- Flemish school (in
the collection of H.M, the King at Bucking-
ham Palace) 233

FACE

Nathaniel Bacon, Artist : —

I. Sir Nathaniel Bacon ; by himself (in the
collection of the carl of Verulam). 2. Sir
Nathaniel Bacon ; by himself (in the col-
lection of Mr. Bacon of Raveningham) . 237
The Jiuni-Tenno of Takuma Choga : —

I. Futen; by Takuma Choga. 2. Rasatsuten ;
by Takuma Choga. 3. Nitten ; by Takuma
Choga (in the collection of Professor R.

Petrucci) 240

A Man Making Wine; by Chardin (in the posses-
sion of the university of Glasgow) . . 246
Art in Germany : Drinking Vessel ; by Elias

Geyer 261

Landscape Study by Claude (in the University

Galleries, Oxford) 266

Claude :—

Collotypes : —

View of a Town (from the drawing in the
University Galleries, Oxford) . . . 269

Landscape Study (from the drawing in the
University Galleries, Oxford) . . . 273

Sunset (from the drawing in the University

Galleries, Oxford) 277

Half-tones : —

Plate I — Study of Shipping (from the drawing
in the British Museum) .... 281

Plate II — Study of Trees and Hills (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 284

Plate III — The Arch of Constantine (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 285

Plate IV— Study of Sunlit Trees (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 288

Plate V — A Garden at Sunset (from the draw-
ing in the British Museum) .... 289

Plate VI — A Windy Evening (from the draw-
ing in the University Galleries, Oxford) . 289

Plate VII— A Tree in the River at Tivoli (from
the drawing in the British Museum) . . 292

Plate VIII— A Road between High Banks
(from the drawing in the British Museum) . 292

Plate IX — Study of Rocks and Trees (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 293

Plate X — Landscape Study (from the drawing
in the University Galleries, Oxford) . . 296

Plate XI — A Tower on the Coast (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 299

Plate XII — View of Tivoli (from the drawing
in the British Museum) 302

Plate XIII— The Tiber above Rome (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 303

Plate XIV — Nocturne (from the drawing in
the British Museum) 306

Plate XV — Rapid Siudy of Trees (from the
drawing in the British Museum) . . . 307

Plate X\'I— Landscape Composition (from the
drawing in the collection of Mr. J. P.
Heseltine, No. 30) 310

Plate XVII — Landscape composition (from the
drawing in the collection of Mr. J. P.
Heseltine, No. 33). . . .311

Plate XVIII— The Tower 01 B.b 1 (from the
dr.iwing in the British Museum) -314

Vll

LIST OF ?L\TES— con finue J

PACE

PAOB

Tlic
I.

(i:i the collcc-
1 . , Hart.), a. The

\ :: \ ; . I>v Alonso Cano

, -r urn) .

Ttic Vry:—

Ttic Marchc»c > ■ by

Van Dyck . „ . . ' "*

Maw I', ntui D. ColiuKhi and Cu., and
kicssrv M. Knocdicr and Cu.) .
A Picture of the Tournai School : —
TJic VifKin and St. John. Fragment of a
Picture of ttic Touriiai Scho:>l (by pcrmis-
c Governing Body of Christ Church,

3^'

324

329

'cry with Emblems: —
_;ing to Lord Falkland
(in the Victoria and Albert Museum) . . 329
Casione Fronts in American Collections : —

I. The Garden of L<jve, Florentine Sciiool.

a. The Tournament in the Piazza St. Croce,

Florentine School (in the Jar\'es collection,

Yale University, U.S.A.) . . . .338

Nelly O'Brien; by Sir Joshua Reynolds (in the

Wallace collection) 344

The Life of a Dutch Artist :—

Plate I — I. Painter and Connoisseur; by
Frans \'an Mieris the elder (in the Dresden
Gallery) 35^

FM.-IIC II— a. Interior of a picture gallery; by
D.ivid Teniers the younger .... 359

PLitc III— 3. Selling pictures in the market;
detail from a picture by David Vinckboons
(in the Brunswick Gallery). 4. Picture shops
in a public builtling ; tict.iil from a picture
by a Dutch master of circa 1610 (in the
Wiirzburg Museum) 362

Plate IV — 5. The Exclianj^e at Amsterdam,
with a picture shop ; by Berckheyde (in the
Muieum, Frankfort-on-Main) . . . 365

Plate V— 6 and 7. Interiors of a bookseller's
and art dealer's shop ; from dravvinj^s by
S.ilomon de Br.ay, i6j8 (in the Print Koom,
Amsterdam). 8. The Qu.ack Doctor, with
a picture shop in the background (in the
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). 9. Piince
Eugene of Savoy visiting the picture dealer,
Jan Pielcrsz Zoomer, at Amsterdam ; from a
sketch by P. van den Berge (in the Print

Room, Amsterdam) 3^

A Drawing by Rembrandt in the Collection of the

Duke of Devonshire 37^

A Matlonna by Antonio da Solario : —

Virgin and Child, by Antonio da Sol.irio (in

the Naples Gallery) 377

Some English Portraits by Carl Vogel von

Vogelstein : —

I. Queen Victoria. 2. John Gibson. From

drawings by Cirl Vogel von Vogelstein (in

the Print Room, Dresden) .... 380

The Abbey of S. Berlin, by R. P. Bonington (in

the Xottingh.im Art Gallery). . . . 385
Head of the Horse whose Rider h.xs overthrown
Ileliodorus ; a fragment of a cartoon by
Raphael (in the University Galleries, Oxforcl) 385
The Revenge of Tomyris : —

I. Fifteenth-century copy of a composition
attributed to the master of Flem.-iUe (in the
Royal Gallery, Berlin). 2. Late sixteenth-
century copy of the same composition (in
the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna) . . 388
Recent Additions to the collection of Mr. Henry
C. Frick: —
Plate I — Fishing boats entering Calais Har-
bour ; by J. M. W. Turner (in the collection

of Mr. Henry C. Frick) 399

Plate II — Le Lac ; by Corot (in the collection of

Mr. Henry C, Frick) 402

Plate III — rhe Vill.age of Becquigny ; by
Tlifcodore Rousseau (in the collection of
Mr. Henry C. Frick) 405

Vlll

Jiutui ■ I til fi a iHi tti4iiitt< 1 1 in

!ie clever ular IV'

at oar tct

M for use, noi t

^ PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN BY HALS r*.

glass introduced a second

autumn
fetching

HE brilliant portrait
reproduced in photo-
gravure ^ is that which
created some stir in the
of 1906 by
the price of
three thousand eight hundred guineas in a
Dublin auction. After the sale it was sent
to London, and within an hour from the
time it was unpacked it had changed hands
at a largely increased figure. Hardly a week.
had elapsed when its second purchaser was
induced to sell it in Paris by the offer of a
still greater price, and since then it has
found a fourth owner. The work, as the
reproduction may indicate, is a brilliant
example of the clever and popular Master
of Haarlem, but its attractiveness cannot
be judged by any reproduction in black
and white, since its special characteristic
is the richness and force of its colour.
The sitter's cloak was of greyish violet,
his sleeve crimson, the curtain behind
olive green, while the mandoline, the
orange and the brilliant green of the

>We are indebted for the loan of the photograph to the
courtesy of Messrs. Dowdeswell.

a secona series of
delightful contrasts, to which the effect of
bright sunlight gave a new force.

Colour, as a rule, was sparingly used by
Hals in his portraits of single persons.
Sometimes, indeed, he seems to work with
a palette of black, white and yellow, as in
Earl Spencer's magnificent portrait lately
seen at Burlington House, employing red
only when the sitter's complexion abso-
lutely called for it. That he could use
colour brilliantly when he chose, the great
T)oelen groups at Haarlem testify, the
earliest of the four having much of the
suffused glow of Venetian painting, while
the latest depends upon a more vivid and
striking harmony of pale blue, strong deep
brown and brilliant yellow. Yet it is
not upon his power as a colourist that
the master's reputation depends, but upon
the wonderful swiftness and decision of
his hand and the accuracy of his eye,
which could arrest the momentary glance
upon a sitter's features, and so catch those
effects of vivacious personality in which
he is unsurpassed even by Titian and Van
Dvck.

Arthur Symons wrote to
the following effect : ' The

THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING

^ BY A MODERN PAINTER <^

N a recent article Mr. Whatever the shortcomings of the exhibi-
tion gallery, the critics have tried hard to
leave no excuse for confusion or uncertainty
in looking at the Old Masters. In the
case of modern art, they have been of
less service. Too ready to chat with
Velazquez, they have been chary of having
it out with the living painters.

Yet, surely, it would be worth their
while. To the student or amateur, modern
art appears a hopeless tangle. He finds
himself besieged by invitations to visit a
hundred galleries, where a thousand artists
are exhibiting pictures of infinite variety
both in subject and manner. Much of the

whole of the world's paint-
2?i»jing, the works of to-day
V — ^and of all the centuries, is
flung pell-mell at our feet : wc have to
plunge into it head foremost. ... A
picture gallery is always of the nature of
a warehouse ; it is a conglomerate thing,
meant for use, not for delight ; and to
learn anything in it through the eyes is as
difficult as to learn anything vital in a
schoolroom.' That is perfectly true, so
far as the works of to-day are concerned.

The Burungton Uagazixi. No. 49, Vol. XI— April, 1907

z
as

a
o
X

destiny. At the International, earnestness
has no need to struggle : it is famous and
well-fed, and it meets its fashionable visitors
with the well-bred air of an equal who
expects courteous recognition but would
disdain patronage.

Here and there, of course, we note a
half-hearted member, who wishes to be
independent but cannot quite get rid of
the idea that it would be very nice to sell
a picture, and that ever so Httle a com-
promise with the popular idea of prettiness
would not hurt his work, and might
entice a purchaser. Mr. J. J. Shannon,
for example, has not managed to rid
himself of the taint of Burlington House.
His oval picture of War (187) is an
admirable piece of design, and the best
piece of colour, perhaps, he has ever
planned. The youthful Millais might have
painted the subject so, but he would never
have stooped to smooth and ' prettify '
the faces so lamentably. Mr. Shannon
has ruined thereby his chance of producing
a picture which would have outlived him.
His other picture. Fireside (126), represents
in some ways a more serious effort. In
one or two figures its true character and
vitality are sacrificed to prettiness, but
there is once more a definite effort at
design, and at design, perhaps, of a more
complex order than that obtained in the
War. The subject is well arranged, the
handling clever, the colour pleasant.
Why, then, does the work fail to satisfy
permanently ?

Is it not because in some curious way
it is ' all-overish ' ? Nothing in par-
ticular seems to have interested Mr.
Shannon. The subject is well arranged,
but as a pattern it is distracted by too
many small glints of light on silky dresses
and glittering ornaments. The colour is
everywhere clever and pleasant, but strikes
no definite note, as does the War. There

The Qase for Modern Painting

is just enough of portraiture in the two
ladies on the left to make them suggestive
of life, but the seated man and the girl in
front are empty abstractions. We jump
from one point of semi-interest to another,
but find nothing to which we can hold
with complete satisfaction.

His namesake, Mr. C. H. Shannon,
also sends two pictures. One of them,
the Portrait of Mrs. Stephen (150), is
admirable in design, in colour, in painting,
and in sympathy with the character of the
sitter. Compared with some other por-
traits in the gallery, it may appear to lack
vitality, but it has a taste and good-
breeding that the others have not, while
such fresh and vivid passages of still life
as the flowers prove that the artist has
stayed his hand from deliberate choice
and not from any lack of accomplish-
ment.

His large picture of The Golden Age
(109) attempts much more, but actually
achieves less, unless the attempt itself is
allowed to count as achievement. It is a
commonplace of criticism to accuse Mr.
Shannon of imitating others — Watts,
Titian, Van Dyck and Velazquez being the
favourite standards of the critics. I
suppose in this case they would add
Giorgione to the list, for if poesie of this
kind are painted at all, a reference to the
inventor of them is natural. Yet here
there is an effort to do more than
Giorgione tried to do : to harmonise a
larger group, to obtain a more austere and
definite rhythm, to blend the deep, luscious
colour of Venice with the sunlight of
impressionism. Critics have found fault
with the drawing of some of the figures,
but against these few defects the excellence
of the painting might well be set o'S.
Then, if in Giorgione's Fetes-Champctres
the characters are doing little, in Mr.
Shannon's they are doing nothing. That

The Qasc for Alodcrn Pain ti fig

perhaps is the privilege of the Golden
•\'^e, yet a picture is none the worse for a
:^niHcant motive. The rhythm of the lines,
again, is not quite successful ; the cutting
of the hranchcs to fit the outline of the
cliffs has an awkward look. What tells
most against the picture, however, is the
treatment of the sunlight. The sunspots
arc realistic enough in tone and colour,
but the shadowed spaces round them are
not ; they arc picture colour, not nature
colour. The result is inharmonious to the
eye and unsatisfying to the intelligence.

Mr. Shannon's powers were really better
illustrated at the one-man show held just
before the International Society opened its
doors ; and in the Hermes with the Infant
''Bacchus we sec him at his best. Here
there is no unlucky compromise with
realism. The whole subject is viewed as
a splendid decorative panel, but decorative
effect is not gained by any sacrifice of
vigour, life or movement. The piece is
academic in the best sense of the word ;
that is to say, it has the unity, order and
completeness that come of deliberate
science, but vitality and character have
not evaporated in the process of synthesis,
nor even humour, for the vinous deter-
mination on the face of the baby god is
most felicitously rendered, and indicates
that if Mr. Shannon chose to descend more
frequently from his lofty pedestal, the
charge of emptiness with which his detrac-
tors answer his admirers' eulogies might be
laughed out of court. No one denies that
Mr. Shannon paints gorgeous, dignified
and harmonious pictures, and when, as in
this instance, he admits the element of
racy, vigorous life, he produces what in
any other age would have been called a
masterpiece. I can imagine it, ever so
delicately toned by time, hanging in the big
Venetian room at Trafalgar Squarc,and quite
holding its own even in that exalted society.

Life and vitality, however, arc the fashion
at present, and Mr. C. H. Shannon's paint-
ing will have to wait probably several
years for popular recognition. Mr.
Nicholson and Mr. John have arrived
at once. The large portrait of ^liss
Alexander (123) by the former is a bold
experiment in spacing which might well
have been carried out a quarter of its
present size. The 'Taper Cap (161) has a
pleasant, whimsical humour, and is, so far
as it goes, most excellently and directly
painted. Yet once more the unpleasant
feeling strikes one that any man so clever
as Mr. Nicholson might do more with his
talent. The Paper Cap is a clever and
complete fragment of character study, but
if it is the most important thing Mr.
Nicholson had to exhibit, it is evident
that his gifts of hand and eye, of design
and colour and brushwork, are retained at
the price of the strenuousncss of such
artists as Mr. Shannon. Whistler paid
heavily in the same coin for his refinement,
so the speculation is admissible.

If Mr. John's talent be taxed in a similar
way it is at least a talent that can afibrd
to pay taxes. Other men seem to find
themselves — if they ever do — with pain and
labour : Mr. John comes to his own at once
— and a queer, wild domain it is. Like Mr.
Nicholson, he indulges in portrait sketches
in oil, and he seems to make them without
deliberation or plan, as other men make
hasty sketches on paper ; but when the
thing is done, there is the person, as dread-
fully alive and alert as Hogarth's Shrimp
Girl. He has, too, a barbaric charm of
colour, as the Washing Up (loi) shows,
but his drawings keep ahead of his
paintings.

Of the two drawings in the South
Room, No. 68, executed in red and black
chalk, is the more outwardly attractive, and
has that obvious skill in the rendering of

-<i

ni(,iM

the sheen of glossy hair and the subtler
contours of the head and throat that we
should expect from some accomplished
Frenchman. The pencil-drawing No. 67,
however, is the one which best stands the
test of acquaintance ; indeed, there is
something almost uncanny in its humanity,
its savageness, its swiftness, its intensity.
As a mere feat of rendering with the
utmost economy of line the quality of a
woman's hair, the modelling of a woman's
face, and the expression of a woman's eyes
and mouth, it amounts almost to jugglery ;
but the impression conveyed of personality,
almost alarmingly close and real, is without
a parallel in modern work. Another
exquisite pencil-drawing of the same kind
was included in the exhibition of the
Society of Twelve. In type as well as in
treatment it recalled Leonardo, but in the
present case that influence has been com-
pletely absorbed and made part of Mr.
John himself. Is there not a saying that
a dragon, to come to his full strength, must
swallow another dragon ? That is what
Mr. John seems to have done.

The £ase for Modern Painting

The editor's conditions as to length for-
bid my touching upon several interesting
features of the exhibition — perhaps I may
be allowed to return to them later — but I
think the four artists I have chosen for
study fairly represent four prominent
groups of artists working in England at
present. Mr. J. J. Shannon is one of the
most accomplished members of a large
group who try to combine those antipa-
thetic elements — good art and popular
success. Mr. C. H. Shannon belongs to
the few for whom art counts for more even
than life. Mr. Nicholson is, perhaps,
the chief of the numerous body who have
a talent for art and a keen eye for the life
of to-day ; being thus assured of the sup-
port both of painters and the public, they
can take things easily, and so turn out
much that is clever and lively, but little
or nothing that is great. Most people
would class Mr. John with Mr. Nicholson:
it is possible, however, if his development
continues, that posterity will place him, as
all great draughtsmen have to be placed, in
a class by himself.

THE MODERN HOUSE AND THE MODERN PICTURE— A REPLY

;A. BY A. CLUTTON-BROCK cK,

HE February number
of The Burlington
Magazine contained an
interesting article on this
subject, signed ' S. E.,'
upon which I should
like to say something, not so much in
disagreement as in comment. ' S. E.' states
the obvious fact that people of moderate
means now buy fewer pictures than they
used to buy ; and he thinks the reason is
that they prefer to spend their money on
other kinds of decoration and ornament,
' on metal, glass, wall-papers, textiles,
pottery,' etc. He also says that many

rooms now are so covered with patterns
that no picture could be properly seen in
them ; and he goes on to point out that a
good picture is really a finer kind of deco-
ration than any frieze or wall-paper, since
' it possesses far greater intricacy, variety
and subtlety of design than any mechani-
cally repeated pattern can possess,' to say
nothing of its appeal to the imagination,
its ' association with the great things of
heaven and earth, which, whatever the
sophists may say, does distinguish the
world's great pictures from its clever ones.'
Finally, he comes to the conclusion that
' the effort to substitute inferior forms ot

The ^ I Oil cm House a Nil the cMoclem Picture

decoration for the highest form is likely
to lead to a general lowering of the public
taste, and to further difliculties for the
unfortunate painter.'

Now, this conclusion is the point which
I wish to discuss ; but first of all I will say
a word about the excessive use of patterns
upon the walls of rooms, I agree that
many people do not buy pictures now
because they spend their money on other
kinds of ornament, and very likely some
of them prefer patterns of all kinds to
pictures. But I do not think that those
who use patterns excessively arc prevented
by good taste from hanging pictures against
their patterns; in the first place, because
their excessive use of pattern proves that
their taste is not good enough to be
governed by such considerations, and in
the second because the abuse of patterns
was just as bad, if not worse, fifty or sixty
years ago, when people bought pictures
freely. But, further, there is now a strong
reaction against patterns of all kinds, and
many people prefer distempered walls and
plain papers. The stencilled frieze begins
to remind one of rart tiouveau ; stained
glass is discredited ; and cretonne draperies
are no longer indiscriminately employed to
hide a multitude of sins. Yet even the
people who prefer plain surfaces do not
buy paintings to decorate them ; they
rather buy china or glass ornaments, and
if they have pictures at all, they choose
etchings or lithographs.

These ficts seem to prove that paintings
arc little bought now, not because rooms
are decorated so as to be unfit for their
display — for nothing could have been more
unfit for the display of pictures than the
ordinary middle - Victorian room — but
because people have ceased to care for
paintings as a form of decoration. And
the reason for the change of taste is, I
believe, because the ordinary modern

picture has no decorative qualities. It is
true, of course, that the ordinary picture
fifty years ago had no decorative qualities
either ; but then no one looked for deco-
rative qualities in anything, in wall-papers
any more than in pictures ; no one then,
I suppose, when he bought a picture, ever
asked himself whether it would be an
agreeable object on his walls. But since
then the decorative sense has been slowly
reviving, and it seems to grow stronger
every year. The revival has produced
many follies and a great deal of ugliness
that seems to us now worse even than the
ugliness that it superseded. Decorative
art, like all other kinds of art, is subject to
the incessant dangers of commercialism.
Sound principles misunderstood and mis-
applied to please mere whims of fishion
produce results almost more infuriating
than what is manufactured on no principle
whatever. We must expect in these days
that if a good thing is liked, a thousand
bad imitations of it will appear at once.
But the bad imitations prove that the
goodness of the original is in some dim
way recognized ; and even commercial
' art ' products are attempts to imitate
sound principles of design and a right use
of materials, although the imitation usually
ends in parody.

The decorative revival does mean
this : that people have begun to ask
themselves wliether their ornaments, and
even their objects of use, are beautiful
in themselves. They no longer look for
illusive representation of facts in wall-
papers or carpets or china ; they only look
for colours or patterns that please them ;
and in that they are right, although they
may often be pleased with the wrong
things. But this habit of looking disin-
terestedly at colours and patterns has also
affected their judgment of pictures — in
many cases, no doubt, quite unconsciously.

The u^dodern House and the Modern Picture

They are not so fond of illusive represen-
tations of reality, even in pictures, as their
fathers were, or of dramatic and sentimental
excitements. Even in pictures they look
for pleasing patterns and colours ; and they
very seldom find them, for the ordinary
picture has been but httle affected by the
decorative revival, and very few painters
ever even ask themselves whether their
pictures would be pleasant objects on the
walls of any room. I am not speaking
now of the best painters, most of whom —
in England, at any rate — are making a
determined effort not to subordinate beauty
of design and craftsmanship to the repre-
sentation of fact : I am speaking of the
great majority whose works one sees at the
Academy and other ordinary exhibitions.

These, if they have any aim beyond
the imitation of reality, paint so that their
pictures may not suffer in the violent
competition of exhibitions. They design
and colour a picture as if it were a poster;
and so it is no more fit to hang in a room
than a poster would be. Now, the ordinary
second-rate painter who was a Florentine
contemporary of Botticelli, or a Venetian
contemporary of Titian, did his best to
supply pictures that should be agreeable
ornaments to a church or a room. He was
not very good, perhaps, at the representa-
tion of fact, but he knew how to make a
pretty design and how to give his paint an
agreeable texture. In fact, he supplied
articles which were what his public wanted
and could use, and therefore he found a
ready market. The ordinary modern
second-rate painter supplies articles which
no one wants and no one can use, and
therefore he does not find a ready
market.

This is not altogether his fault. We exact
from pictures now so complete an illusion
of reality that a painter of ordinary powers
exhausts them all in producing the illusion,

and has no energy left to make his picture
beautiful. The result is that most modern
pictures are painted entirely without joy
and without purpose. They are 'done by
hand,' but they have all the dullness of
machine-made articles ; and the conse-
quence is that they cannot compete even
with machine-made decoration in which
the designer has expressed some sense of
beauty and some pleasure in his work.
Therefore, for painters of ordinary powers
there seem to be only two alternatives.

The first is that they should do what
' S. E.' says many of them have done
already : give up painting and become
craftsmen ; and this surely would be a
natural and sensible course. Many men
who have become painters from a sincere
love of art are not gifted enough to excel
in painting, but might do good work as
craftsmen. A man who can only paint
a very stupid picture might make a
very intelligent piece of jewelry, for
crafts of this kind are much less difficult
than painting, and demand less intellectual
power. In the great age of Italian art
painting was a craft and the crafts were
arts ; and only the most gifted craftsmen
usually became painters. Now the cratts
are not regarded as arts and painting is
not regarded as a craft ; the consequence
of which is that many men who might be
good craftsmen are bad painters. A
change from this state of things can only
be fot- the better.

The other alternative is that the second-
rate painter should aim at a less complete
illusion of reality, while trying to make his
pictures more beautiful ; that is to say,
that he should regard painting more as a
craft. Now there are, of course, many
difficulties and dangers about this course.
There is the danger that his pictures may
become empty and evasive. There is
the difficulty of learning painting as a

»5

The Modern House and the Modern Picture

craU when there is no one to teach it as a
craft.

Still these difficulties and dangers
might be surmounted in time. What
is needed is that the painter shall get
a new and a clearer aim ; that he shall
think of his pictures as ornaments, not
only as representations of reality. ' S. E.'
says that a picture should be chosen or
designed with reference to the room in
which it is to hang. It cannot always be
designed for a particular room, though
that might be done far more often than it
is ; but it can be designed, like a good
piece of china, so that it will be a reason-
able ornament to a reasonable room. And
if the painter had this ornamental purpose
always in his mind, he would surely find
it easier to hit upon a principle of selection
among the facts to be represented than he
does at present. There can be no principle
of selection without an object, and most
pictures at present are painted without an
object, and therefore upon no principle of
selection. This is the real reason why the
standard of illusion has become so exacting.

People who do not know what they want
to sec in a picture demand to sec every-
thing. But now that we begin to know
better what we want to see, we are growing
less eager to see everything. Let the
greatest artists show us all that they can ;
let their designs be enriched with the
fullest possible representation of reality.
But let the lesser painters only give us what
we n>av want to see in our rooms — and that
is not a dull imitation of what we can see
any day by looking out of window, but
something that is at least a picture, with
some beauty of design and colour and
texture.

The fact is, not that people have given
up buying pictures, but that they have
begun to wish for pictures once again ;
and since most modern pnintings arc not
pictures at all, that is the reason why they
will not buy them. When painters begin
to produce pictures, they will begin to
sell them ; and if the revival of decorative
art induces them to paint pictures, it
will do much good even to the art of
painting.

THE SLIP DECORATED DISHES OF CHIRK CASTLE

^ BY M. L. SOLON c9^

I IK briiigiii)4 into light of a
1 cm. likable set of huge dishes
of co.irse pottery, exhumed
from the precincts of an old
Welsh castle wherein tliey
liad been left imdisturbcd for
iivertwo centuries, makes it
opportune to review once
more .ill tli.il h.1-. come to our knowledge concern-
ing a still imperfectly studied period in the history
uf English ceramics.

In \>Si^ Chirk Castle, a mediaeval stronghold,
had 1 the property of Sir Thom.is Myddel-

ton, whtj wa> fater to Ix; Lord Mayor of

London. 1 o record the fact that all through the
turmoil of the Revolution Sir Thomas had
remained loyal to his king, will not be found
>rrcle\'ant to our subject. Two days before the
battle of Worcester, Charles II is said to have
been his guest ; the bed in which he slept has

been preserved up to this day. About ten years
ago, on the recommendation of a visitor to the
castle who had chanced to have a peep at some
curious dishes scattered all over the place, I took a
special journey to Chirk for the purpose of making
a thorough examination of them all. They
numbered fifteen at the time — I hear that two of the
most important ones have since been accidentally
destroyed. Some of them were standing on high
shelves of the dark corridors of the castle ; but
the majority had been fixed, with hea\'y iron
cramps, against the white-washed walls of a small
dairy, elegantly equipped for the gratification of the
Arcadian tastes entertained by one of the ladies of
the family. From the little v.ilue that seemed to
have always been attached to these dishes, 1 could
infer that no record h.id been kept of any other
pieces of the same kind which, now disappeared,
might originally have ni.-ide part of this extra-
ordinary set. What remains of it has, with two

SLIP IlECOKAIEIl PIS1U> rKi>M vlHNK C,»>tl^
IX THE LOMAX COLLKCTIO.V. f«-\TE I

St.lP UecOKATED IIISIIK^ KKOM (.IIIUK (.ANfLli
IS THE LOMAX COLLECTION. I'l-ATE II

exceptions, lately passed — against very substantial
consideration — into the hands of Mr. Charles J.
Lomax, A.M.Inst.C.E., of Bolton (Lanes.). By his
kind permission, I have been enabled to renew my
acquaintance with these interesting specimens, and
on the same occasion to inspect and admire many
other choice specimens of the same period in the
possession of this passionate collector of pre-
VVedgwood English pottery.

A descriptive list of the Chirk dishes must take
precedence over the collateral consideration I will
venture to present in connection with their manu-
facture and the enigma of their presence in the
place. They comprise the following subjects : —

King Charles II in the tree. The head appears
between the branches, and the trunk is flanked
by the Lion and the Unicorn. Signed Thomas
Toft (fig. I).

Heraldic double-headed eagle. Dated 1705 and
signed James Toft (fig. 2).

Figure of a lady, holding a flower in each hand.
Signed Ralph Simpson (fig. 3).

Figure of a king, accompanied with the initials
G. R., the G standing probably for Gulielmus.
Signed Ralph Simpson (fig 4).

Another figure of a king with the letters W. R.,
Wilhelmus rex. Also signed Ralph Simpson

(fig 5)-
A lion of highly conventional design. Signed

Ralph Simpson (fig. 8).

A grotesque face supported by an ornamentation
of more than usually clumsy design, signed or
inscribed John Osland. The presence of the
monogram T. T., placed in the centre of the dish,
might suggest a possible attribution to Thomas
Toft.

Two heads, with ornaments in the usual Toft
style, on a small dish ; uninscribed.

Finally : three dishes covered with elaborate
slip designs ; without names or dates (figs. 6 and 7).

Two more dishes, one with the figure of a
Cavalier, signed Ralph Toft, and another with a
king holding a shield, inscribed William Taylor,
have remained at the castle. The above specimens,
including the two others said to have been acci-
dentally destroyed, bring their number to fifteen.

All the foregoing examples differ only in the
design from the pieces of the same order preserved
in our museums. They are, likewise, formed of
a coarse reddish earth, coated over on the inside
with white clay of a finer quality. To this white
ground a rich yellow tint has been imparted,
after the firing, by the galena or sulphide of lead
with which it has been thickly glazed. Red ochre
and manganese ore, diluted w-ith water, served to
trail on the surface quaint and often elaborate de-
vices. Out of the small vessel of a specially contrived
shape in which it was contained, the liquid, or slip,
as it is called, was let to escape through the narrow
aperture of a quill. In this way the deft hand of

Slip T>ecorated T>ishes

the operator could form thin and neat lines, broad
patches or minute dots. This simple process,
known as ' slip decoration,' may be said to repre-
sent the art of pottery painting in its most primi-
tive and rudimentary expression. It was practised
long before the painting brush came into use;
the coloured clays, employed in their natural state,
constituted the sole available pigments. The
prehistoric earthen vessels of Mycenae are boldly
dashed over with ornamental strokes of red and
brown clays. Improved by the Roman figulus,
the slip process was then turned to greater advan-
tage. To him is due the invention of the small
hand-vessel, with a narrow quill fixed in the
spout, from the use of which the English potter
was, in after ages, to obtain such effective
results.

Considered as isolated efforts, and chiefly in
the light of their decorative aspect, the slip
decorative pieces produced in England towards
the latter half of the seventeenth century are well
worthy to engross the attention of the ceramic
collector. Let us forget that the drawing of the
figures could scarcely be more incorrect, and that
the accompanying ornamentation is of a decidedly
nondescript style ; if we bear in mind the unpro-
pitious conditions under which the work was
accomplished, we realise that it could scarcely
have been othersvise. Moreover, while imparting
to the design the captivating character of all the
works of primesaiilt, these shortcomings take
nothing away from our undefinable enjoyment of
the subtle and yet powerful harmonies created by a
happy combination of colours. The rough gem
stands before us as a treat to the eye ; in its
chromatic variegations rests its chief power of
attraction. Obviously, the humble artizan who is
responsible for these uncouth performances was
entirely unacquainted with the ad\*ance that the fine
arts were then making in his own countr\'. He knew
nothing of the carvings, pictures and engravings
already familiar to people of average education.
His anomalous 'slip work' does not seem to
have arisen from anything made before, nor
was it to open the way to further improvements
conducted in the same direction. Just as we see
this particular style of slip decoration when it had
assumed unprecedented pretensions in the earliest
figured dishes, so do we find it at the moment
w-hen it came abruptly to an end. It is strange to
remark that, at that time, Van Dyck was painting
his superb and life-like portraits of Charles I,
and that engraved likenesses of kings and noble-
men were beginning to be freely circulated. Yet
the poor drudge of the village pot-works could
devise no better expression of royal majesty tlian
these quaint effigies evolved from his torpid imagi-
nation. Why should we not mercifully take the
design for what it stands for, and see in it the
delineation of a graphic symbol, rather than an

Slip T>ecoratcd T>ishes

impotent attempt at rendering a realistic present-
ment, whiclj was never intenHrH ? HowlK-it, it
is evident that the ! i^rtd with

such ambiti'ius en; , ', 'J" their

appearance, sufficient admiration to suscitate to
the maker a number of ser\-ile imitators. In the
works of Thomas, Ralph and James Toft. William
and George Taylor, Kalpli Simpson and others,
wc notice the repetition of the same trellis border,
stnngs of olive-shaped l>eads, and sprays of
unrecognizable flowers, while the faces of the
clumsy figures arc outlined in the same super-
conventional manner. In short, the technical
anrl ornamental treatment are so much alike in
ev that, were it not for the \-ariety of

n.i iribed on the rim of the dishes, we

might take them all .is being the work of the same
hand. Thom.is Tof t— wlio has signed the greater
number of examples— is, however, considered as
the originator of this particul.ir style. Successful
as it had l->ccn, the practice of it does not seem to
hi ■ \ for more than a few years. On the

in; .n of more modern and refined processes,

slip decoration was no longer employed for the

E reduction of exceptional pieces. It continued to
e, and is still used, however, in the manufacture
of common crockery.

We must now resume our examination of the
Chirk Castle specimens. The presence of so many
rough e.irthenware dishes among the select and
costly appointments of the abode of a wealthy
gentleman is not easily accounted for. How did it
come to pass that these essentially plebeian platters
found their way into this aristocratic place ? Unable
to answer the question with the assistance of local
tradition or the production of documental evi-
dences, I will venture to present a few conjectures
which — if not worth anything better — will at any
rate afford scope for further discussion.

It would be difficult to believe that one of the
members of the Myddelton family had once been
so fond of these incongruous ornaments as to have
pi; ' the dishes at a distant place, and formed

at :i of them in his own castle. On the

other hand, wc may understand that the obscure
craftsman of the neighlxiurhood who had sur-
passed himself in this exceptional exhibition of his
ability was more than fully alive to the value of
thcbC would-be masterpieces. The notion that
they were intended for presentation naturally
offers itself to our mind. Assuming that some
large pot-works — just as they are known to have
existed all over the principality of Wales — were
situated on the Chirk estate, we might take these
dishes as having been the lawful tribute offered
by the tenant to the landlord. In many ancient
Ic 1 1 of a pot-works, a clause was inserted

pi _ for the yearly presentation of some

choice examples of the lessee's handicraft in
addition to the payment of the rent. To find

Thomas Toft a tenant of Sir Thomas Myddelton
is, I confess, somewhat perplexing. We have
l>een, so far, accustomed to associate his name
with the slip ware of Burslem and Hanley. Toft is a
patronymic common enough in the StafTordshire
Potteries, where the family still counts many
representatives. But the occasional migration of
some bearer of the name into other localities has
nothing to surprise us, when we remember the
erratic proclivities of the old operative potter. It
is not at all improbable, for instance, that one of
the Tofts may have been at work at York towards
the end of the seventeenth century. In the York
museum is a Staffordshire tyg, inscribed Thomas
Toft and ELISABETH POOT, a unique specimen.
On another occasion I have reproduced a fine
dish with a figure of the duke of York, excep-
tionally signed Thomas Toft, in cursive letters, in
the central part of the piece. A place in the city
is still called Toft Green.

A few points militate in favour of a local origin
being ascribed to the Chirk dishes. Only in this
curious set does the name of one James Toft
appear in association with those of his namesakes
Thomas and Ralph. This hoarding of the kins-
men's works upon the spot suggests the probability
of their having once worked together in the
vicinity. By the subject of Charles in the tree,
represented on one of the dishes, we are reminded
of the long-tried loyalty of Sir Thomas Myddelton
to his sovereign, and we are led to believe that this
subject had been selected and treated with special
care by the potter in order that, on being pre-
sented to his noble patron, the gift should be all the
more appreciated. A still more important fact
comes to support the hypothesis of a Welsh
manufacturer. It is that all — or nearly all — the
slip dishes with trellis borders have been found
in Wales. Perhaps the most remarkable among
them is that preserved in the Chester Museum.
It bears the royal arms with the motto : DiEV et
MON DROI ; is inscribed: FlLEP Heves 1671
Elesabath Heves, and signed : Thomas Toft.

I have had occasion to inspect many heaps of
fragments dug out from the site of old pot-works
in the Potteries, and as far as I can recollect I
have never seen a single instance of the trellis
border. The larger part of the slip ware w:ls com-
posed of fragments of dishes, either of dark brown
ground decorated with traceries of yellow cl.iy
(or of reversed effect) or of buff colour, the
ground of which was in many cases impressed
with an incised scheme of ornamentation, par-
tially tilled in with red and brown clays.

A theory has been submitted to me by which
the Chirk dishes would h ive been brought over
from the Potteries by the IJiddulph branch of the
Myddelton family when these latter left StafTord-
shire to take possession of Chirk Castle. I must
say that the arguments 1 have unfolded above

stand strongly against my accepting the
suggestion.

Huge earthenware dishes, remarkable for an
inordinate display of ostentatious decoration, are
no longer made nor used ; the purposes they
served in olden times have vanished from
modern life. In all the ancient examples that
come under our notice we recognize a decided
pretension on the part of the maker at producing
a work out of the common, the superior article, so
to speak, ' that money cannot buy.' That they
were, in most cases, intended as presentation
pieces is clearly made manifest, even in the
instances when an appropriate inscription does
not exactly indicate the destination. Presented as
a votive offering to some influential patron, they
accompanied and supported a request for the
granting of a special favour. More frequently, an
extra dish of unwonted workmanship was the
annual compliment paid by the pot-maker to some
of his best customers in the retail trade, on the
settlement of a profitable account. Exhibited in
the centre of his shop-window, the show-piece
stood so strikingly out from the bulk of domestic
articles that it arrested the attention of the passer-
by. The royal coat of arms, or the figure of the
king, was the favourite motive of decoration. A
represention of Adam and Eve in the Garden of
Eden was a suitable present to be offered to a
fruiterer and pottery dealer, the subject figuring in
the arms of the company. This accounts, pre-
sumably, for so many English Delft dishes being
found painted with ' The Temptation.' A similar
custom prevailed in France, at the same period,
between manufacturers and merchants ; of this,
inscribed pieces supply ample evidence. In the
Rouen museum is a red and yellow dish bearing
the following inscription : Chez Nicolas Foff's
A Savignies. a Monsieur Sentier Marchant a
Rouen, 1742. But for the French inscription,
one might take the piece as being English.

In the household of the old French faiencier,
oval dishes of exceptional dimensions were
made to celebrate some memorable event
in the annals of the family, such as a marriage or

Slip Uecorated Irishes

the birth of a son and heir. I remember to have
heard, many years ago, from some aged craftsmen,
of the painted dish upon which they made their first
appearance in public having been carefully carried
in it and deposited triumphantly upon the
table at the close of the christening banquet.

The old chronicles of Germany record the
particular purpose served by uncommonly large
dishes on the occasion of the wedding of the rich
as well as of the poor. Placed on a stand at the
entrance of the festive hall, they offered an invit-
ing receptacle in which each guest was expected
to drop such trinket, jewel, sum of money or
other gift as he meant to bestow upon the newly
married couple. I do not know whether such a
custom has ever existed in England, but I feel
inclined to believe that, in some village churches,
the earthen platter was often handed round as an
alms dish.

A full list of the various applications these
essentially ornamental dishes may have been put
to, is not to be attempted. I trust I have said
enough to warrant the opinion that they were not,
as a rule, manufactured as regular articles of trade.
The value that their possessors seem to have
always attached to these odd pieces has greatly
contributed to their being preserved to us, when
domestic vessels of the same period have almost
completely disappeared.

The passing of the Chirk dishes into the hands
of Mr. C. J. Lomax has only come to increase
a collection already rich in choice examples of
slip decorated ware. Among the dishes it con-
tained already I may mention the following : —

A mermaid, signed Ralph Toft (fig. 9).

A pelican ' in her piety,' signed Ralph Simpson
(fig. 10). This latter has the usual trellis border.

The same subject, unsigned ; with heads, alter-
nating with the letters W R, on the border.

To these should be added a number of brown
dishes with yellow traceries of a later period. A
four-handled tyg, dated 1636, and two slip
decorated and inscribed posset cups, are worthy
of special notice in the small group formed by the
pieces of form.

THE FLORENTINE TEMPERAMENT
^ BY G. T. CLOUGH nk»

I OR a private person to delegate
his choice of a wife to a friend or
'relative, must appear to a mind
ruled by sentiment the height of
ahsiu'dity; but in the opinion of
I fifteenth-century Florentine it
fwas a distinctly reasonable pro-
iCLcding. And this vicarious
suitorship, which commended itself as prudent to
a resident citizen, became compulsory hi the case

of an exile, who desired when he married to
strengthen, by union with a fellow countrj-woman,
the tics that bound him to his native country.
Such was the position in which the future founder
of the Strozzi Palace, Philip, and his luother
Lorenzo Strozzi, found themselves, while sulJering
in their youth at Naples from the animosity of the
Medicean government, and depending upon their
widowed mother for all their home news and the
protection of their Florentine interests. With

The Florentine Tewperament

wliat cap;icity ami dcvulion Alixaiulia cliscluiigcd
these duties, and what zeal she tlircw into the

Crosecution, first of her daughttrs', and then of
er sons', marriage negotiations is related for us in
the seventy-two letters from her hand which wcowc
to the care of Ces;irc Guasli. The preparation of a
bride's new home among the Florentine fopolo
grasso was, as we shall find in the course of this
narnitive, tlic signal for a h(jst of commissions to
her car\'ers and painters, of which the results have
come down to us in bas-reliefs and cassonc panels;
but the spirit in which the preliminary overtures
tomatrimonv, here unfolded lor us, were conducted,
bears a still closer relation to the held of aesthetics.
In the prosiiic strain that we here find governing
the transactions of the Strozzi family at the most
romantic crisis of a man's or woman's career, we
discover the source of the scientific and natural-
istic direction, so strongly insisted upon by Mr.
Ik-renson, which w.is taken by some of Florence's
most characteristic painters. The sternly practi-
cal and business-like spirit which gave this nation
of shopkeepers its early commercial pre-eminence,
speeding its agents to the shores of the Levant,
and planting its depots in PVancc and Spain,
in Bruges and Ix)ndon, had, when it devoted
itself to art, the defects inseparable from its
virtues. To the predominance of this prosaic
clement in the F'lorentinc character we may
ascribe Uccello's perspective foreshortening and
Pollajuolo's obtrusion of anatomy. Nor is it
perhaps extrav.igant, to trace to the same influence
the diversion of Ghirlandajo's achievement, from
the field of epic distinction, to that of milder
anticipation of the great Dutch portrait painters.
Ale.x;indra's first letter, addressed to her son
Pliilip at his relatives' bank in Naples, shows her
to us radi.mt with satisfaction at the engagement
of her eldest daughter to Marco Parcnli, a rich
silk merchant of Florence. Catharine's dowry is
to lie i,ooo florins. The money had been lodged
in two separate instalments during her childiiood
in the State Dowry Fund, a characteristically
Italian institution, combining chance with provi-
dence, by which a parent gained a considerable
increase on his investment, if his child livctl to the
full term of a fi.\ed period, but was mulcted, if she
died, of half his deposit. Unfortunately, the
second moiety of Catharine's dowry would not
fall due for another three years, so Alexandra is
obliged, on behalf of the family, to advance the
sum deficient, because, as she expresses it, ' the man
who wants a wife always wants money,' and, pretty
as Catli.irine is — the finest girl in Florence in the
general opinion — she h.is been unable to find any
candidate for her hand who would marry her at
once, and wait for the half of her dowry. There
was no time to be lost, for Catharine w.is sixteen,
an age which Italian mothers looked upon as the
threshold of hopeless spinsterhood ; so they must

do the best they could. The riskiness of the
family's pecuniary venture presented itself afresh
two years later, when the young wife was expect-
ing, with some natural anxiety, the arrival of her
first baby, and we find Alexandra consulting her
son as to the prudence of insuring his sister's life
for the probable period of her confinement, lest,
as she puts it, ' we should lose both property and
person at one blow.' Mark, the husband, took a
very sanguine view of his wife's prospects, and
thought it a pity to throw away such a large sum
as the 12 florins insurance would cost them, but
Alexandra is disposed 'to make things quite
certain,' and spend the money. Her view of the
best course to be taken prevailed, but happily the
event justified the husband's anticipations. To
the merits of that husband everything that wc
learn of his character bears witness. A greater
match, as regards social position, than good Parenti
could, Alexandra thinks, have been obtained if the
family finances could have produced another 400 or
500 florins of dowry, but hardly one that promised
greater happiness to her daughter. Certainly,
Mark was the most generous of bridegrooms.
' Only say what you want,' he tells his intended,
and if he objected to waiting three years for
500 florins of the dowry, he spent more than 400
upon her for the betrothal ceremony, in crimson
silk robes of the finest quality from his own looms,
in a chaplet of pearls and feathers, and two ropes
of pearls for a head-dress. In the fitting of her
new home he was equally lavish, Domenico
Vencziano, Giuliano da Maiano, and a brother of
Masaccio's, each having a share in the coffers and
shrine that adorned it.

The political cloud, that hung over the bride's
family, made it advisable that the wedding cere-
mony, judged by the Florentine standard, should
be a quiet one ; but the items of the wedding
breakfast, entered in Mark's journal, amount to
466 lire, with an extra payment for trumpeters,
lifers, and performers on the harp and flageolet.
From the same authority we get particulars of the
bride's dress, consisting of an upper and under
robe of crimson velvet, which took 42 hraciia of
material, costing 170 florins. Both robes were
trimmed with gilt sequins, and were 'tailor made'
by Andrea di Giovanni, who received the relatively
small sum of 14 /m* and 10 soldi as his share of
the expenditure. Upon her head the bride wore a
chaplet of pc.icock's eye feathers, which was
further aclorncd with six ounces of pearls and
certain gilt ' IreiucLutti' — pendants that vibrated.
If by the side of this dazzling figure we place the
bridegroom, wearing a costume h.irdly less bizarre in
its character, and group with them a throng of gaily
dressed friends and relations, wc shall get a picture
of Catharine's wedding procession as the painters
of cissoni would give it us. Thirty-four years
later — years for the Parenti couple of the

greatest domestic felicity — Mark had to con-
front these festive entries in his journal, with the
record of the death of his wife, and her burial in
the Florentine Duomo. ' May God receive her soul,
he adds, ' as I have every reason to believe he will,
in view of a life so noble in its kindliness, and a
course of conduct so upright and attractive.'

Catharine's younger sister, Lessandra, was the
next of Alexandra's children whose marriage
pressed for settlement, and here again she gives
the money element the chief place in the discus-
sion of an event so gravely affecting her daughter's
happiness. Some delay occurred in the initiation
of proceedings, owing to the prevalence of the
plague in 1450, which drove all the better class of
householders from the city, so that Alexandra
had been unable to get her daughter, as she says,
' out of her house,' and meet her son in Rome as
soon as she expected ; but in December we learn
that the business has been entrusted to Giovanni
della Luna and Antonio Strozzi, and that Alex-
andra is prepared to augment her daughter's
dowry of 1,000 florins by 200 from her own
pocket, if the merits of the candidate are such as
to justify the expenditure. Alexandra's agents
were fairly prompt in the discharge of their duties,
for in April Philip is told that his sister had been
engaged during the previous month to Giovanni
Bonsi, a young man of good character and ability ;
that the dowry is fixed at 1,000 florins; and that
his mother is thoroughly satisfied with the
arrangement. It was not in Bonsi's favour that
he had six brothers, the patriarchal conditions of
Italian domestic life making such a circumstance
rather a serious consideration for a young girl
entering a household ; so Alexandra is careful to
explain that her daughter will be the head of a
separate home of her own. The Florentine
income-tax returns, however — those pathetically
self-depreciative records, which furnish us with so
much useful information on the domestic life of
the Renaissance — give us some particulars about
the Bonsi family which may account for the
withdrawal of Alexandra's addition to,the amount
of her daughter's dowry. From these we learn
that Bonsi's age was thirty-seven — twenty years
greater than that of his bride — and that he was
saddled with a half-witted, illegitimate son of
servile extraction. Certainly, from the point of
view of worldly prosperity, Lessandra's marriage
did not turn out a very successful one. When,
fifteen years later, the Strozzi brothers formed a
project of opening a wool business in Florence,
of which Bonsi was to have the management,
Alexandra is obliged to tell them that his debts
are more than the 200 florins he confesses to
owing; and that, with eight mouths to be filled,
the family resources are so low, and the wife's
stock of clothing so scanty, that she is obliged to
sit half-dressed while mending her under-garments ;

The Florentine Temperament

so that, if he had the handling of money, there
would be some danger of his proving a defaulter.
That Bonsi's poverty, however serious, was not
desperate, is to be inferred from the fact that part
of his wife's dowry had been left in the State
bank, and that, the value of the shares having risen
considerably, he at one time proposed to sell them,
with a view, should the stock fall, to a rc-purchase.
This, his brother-in-law, Parenti, who in the ethics
of finance seems to have had Ruskinian proclivi-
ties, objected to as an immoral transaction ; so
the question was referred to Philip at Naples for
decision. It does not appear to have occurred to
either of the parties that, on a financial point of
this character, a banker could hardly be impartial.
Having thus, for good or evil, settled her two
daughters in homes of their own, Ale.xandra could
devote all her energies to promoting the marriages of
her exiled sons. This, however, she was to find a
much more difficult matter, not only from the
unwillingness of such fathers of families, as could
give good dowries, to send their daughters out of
the country ; but still more, owing to the reluc-
tance of Philip and Lorenzo to sacrifice the free-
dom of single life for the advantages of the most
attractive companionship. Philip, to whose
conversion to compliance in the matter Alexandra
now chiefly directed her arguments, appears not to
have been very happy in his experience of his
friends' matrimonial relations, for he has to be
told that the devil— /.c, the fair se.x— is not so black
as he's painted, and that the world would soon come
to an end, if mankind generally regarded the
marriage tie with his trepidation. So a hunt over
Florence for a wife for the exile by mother, sisters
and brothers-in-law was instituted, and in March,
1465, we hear that ' a number of girls have been
examined, who possessed the requisite qualifica-
tions, including the most desirable relationships.'
The circumstances of none of these, however,
proved sufficiently attractive to satisfy the family's
requirements, only inferior specimens of Floren-
tine maidenhood being prepared to go out to be
the wife of an exile, and it is not till July that
Alexandra is able to report that a certain Francesco
Tanagli had made promising overtures to Parenti
and that an interview had taken place, the details
of which she gives to her son with her usual
shrewdness of obser\'ation. ' He '—i.e., Tanagli—
' had Mark with him to his house, and called the
girl down in her petticoat for him to see ; offering
at the same time to show her to me, as well as to
Catharine, any day that might be convenient.
Mark says she's good looking, and, as far as he could
judge, a lady-like girl ; and we're told that she's
sensible and capable, for she has a large household
to manage, there being 12 children— 6 bo>-s and 6
girls ; and from what I hear, she has the whole
of the family on her shoulders, for the mother is
always in the family way, and not good for much

The Florentine Temperament

at any time' ' Get your jewels ready,' she con-
tinues, rather precipitately, 'and sec that they're
fine enough, for a wife is found foryuu. A woman
wlio is beautiful, and wife to Filippo Strozzi, must
have hand>onic jewelry, if your reputation, which
is so hij^h in other respects, is not to suffer.' Here
Alexandra is a little premature. A year and a half
were to p.iss, and much of Arno's water to run
under the Ponte V'ecchio to the sea, before her
desires were to be realized, and she w:is to see her
son married to a charming and excellent young
ladv, who was not ' la Ixiia Tanagii.' In the
meantime, however, Alexandra's description of her
son-in-law's interview with the young lady was
supplemented by a long letter to Philip from
Parenti himself, in which he tells him, that, having
'examined all Florence,' and considered his require-
ments upon the two theories of his remaining abroad,
and the termination of his banishment, they had,
owing to the singular scarcity of marriageable
maidens, been obliged to reduce the eligible candi-
dates to two: a daughter of Donato Adimari's, pos-
sessing a dowry of 1,500 florins, which they feared
would make her parents look higher than an exile for
a husband ; and the Tanagii maiden, about whom
their only fear was that the dowry might prove
less than Philip would be ready to accept. He
then proceeds to describe the young lady's height,
relatively to that of his own wife, Catharine ; to
praise the shapeliness of her form and the fineness
of her skin ; and to say that her facial attractions,
while not equal to those of two F"lorentine ladies
of their acquaintance, whom he names, would
quite bear comparison with those of Madonna
Hyppolita, who had lately passed through
Florence, on her way to Naples, to become the
bride of the duke of Calabria. Surely Philip
would be content if his bride were the equal of
the wife of a king's son in beauty. He concludes
with an appeal to Philip to give him the lowest
figure he will accept as dowry, promising that his
doing so shall not impair the writer's efforts to
obtain the largest sum that can possibly be
squeezed from the family.

Parenti's account of Tanagli's daughter's merits
had not, it appears, quite satisfied Alexandra, in
spite of the confident tone of her letter, that the
best possible wife was being secured for her son,
for we find her going morning after morning to
early mass at the Duomo, in the hope of seeing
the Adunari girl who was in the habit of attending
it. There, one morning, she comes upon an
unknown maiden, whose personal attractions, as
well as she could judge— for she admits that she
stared the poor girl quite out of countenance —
created a highly favourable impression. ' Though
without any paint, and wearing low-heeled shoes,
both face and stature were prepossessing. Her
features were delicate, lier walk and general
appearance that of a girl who w.ib wide

awake, not hea\7 and sluggish.' When the
owner of these personal ad\-antages proves to be,
not the Adimari girl whom Alexandra had come
to scrutinize, but her Tanagii rival, can we wonder
Alexandra is convinced that Heaven is helping
them in the search for a partner for Philip, and
that in this cathedral beauty she has found her
ideal daughter-in-law ? Letter follows letter to
Naples during the weeks of August, extolling the
merits of the young lady, who, in addition to her
personal advantages, is said to have a dowry of
1,000 florins, of which it is hoped the Council will
not deny the payment to an exile. Philip, however,
is determined not to be hurried at this crisis of his
fortunes. One of his Neapolitan relatives had,
against the advice of all his friends, married a
madcap Florentine lady, and so spoiled her, by
excessive admiration, that she brought disgrace
upon herself and her husband. Alexandra does
her best to dissipate the effect of this unfortunate
precedent. ' A man,' she says, ' if he is a man,
and does not let himself get blindly devoted to his
wife, can always make her do her duty as a
woman.' And she does not think this girl is a
giddy girl, for she, Alexandra, has not only passed
the house frequently herself, but also sent friends
on the same errand, and they do not see her head
fixed all day at the window, a clear proof of her
sobriety of character. So if Philip will buy
the jcwelrj', she will begin preparing the
bride's outfit, whether it is to be made accord-
ing to the Florentine or the Neapolitan fashions
— only, of course, she thinks the former the
prettier. Also, when he has a wife, he will
want a slave girl to be her maid: either a
Russian, a Circassian, or a native of Tartary.
The Russians are the prettiest, but there is more
work to be got out of a Tartar.

But at this point of her letter, in comes Parenti
with a blow to all their hopes. He has just seen
Tanagii, who has spoken in a very frigid manner
about the match, objecting that it was a serious
matter to send his daughter such a long distance
from Florence, and to a house that, in regard to
privacy, was ' no better than an inn.' Either he is
disgusted with the Strozzi family's procrastination,
or he has some better offer under consideration.
No need now, therefore, for either Alexandra or
her son to think further about jewels or wedding
outfit. Mark must give him any further informa-
tion he may desire ; for she, poor lady, is at her
last gasp of endurance, having worked so hard,
and all to no purpose. Mark's only contribution
towards Philip's consolation is the fatalist one,
that marriages are made in heaven. If Philip's
' marriai^e h;is not been made in heaven, it is
absurd for them to worry about it ; if it has been
so made, it will be sure to be accomplished.'

Alexandra's despondency was not of long
duration; though she vows she will only believe

in her son's marriage, wlien she actually sees it
celebrated. The Adimari girl is, she finds, known
very favourably to her sister, and Tanagli p'ere is,
it seems, more eager about the business than
Mark thought him; but, at this point, matters tend
to get complicated by the intrusion of Philip's
only surviving brother, Lorenzo, as a candidate for
matrimony. Philip, too, must have written show-
ing greater resolution in the direction of compli-
ance with his mother's wishes, for she writes to
both brothers, congratulating them upon the
decision they have come to ; believing it to be
in accordance with God's will, and hoping
that Philip especially 'will not make any more
difficulties, nor spend more ink over the
business.' Her idea is that Philip, who is 37,
should have Tanagli's daughter, who is over 18,
and his brother the Adimari girl, who is 14. They
are, she adds, the prettiest girls they are likely to
meet with, and possessing the strongest recom-
mendations; but, having both of them been
negotiated with for Philip, ' I don't know,' she
says, ' whether they will be ready to change, and
give the Adimari to you, Lorenzo.' Five weeks
later we find the cards shuffled, and the Tanagli
lady warmly recommended to Lorenzo, as not
only beautiful herself, but likely to be the mother
of beautiful children; while Adimari's daughter,
whose interests are represented by a Canon
Dieciaiuti, has been inspected and approved of
from the windows of the house opposite her own
for Philip.

The slackness displayed by the Strozzi brothers
in their response to their mother's solicitations must
be ascribed, not only to the reasons mentioned
above, and to the hesitation any prudent man
would feel about binding himself irrevocably to
companionship with a girl of whose personality
he had only second-hand information, but to the
hope ever present to their minds, under the
fluctuating conditions of Florentine politics, that
their banishment might any day come to an end,
and they be able to prosecute their search for wives
under more favourable conditions. Eager as their
mother was to see them happily settled — so eager
that she tells them she had gravely compromised
her own and her relatives' future in purgatory by
parsimony in masses, in order that she might have
more money to leave to them and their children —
she is prepared to give a certain amount of weight
to this side of the question. There could be no
doubt, she says, that the discord then prevailing in
Florence exercised a most prejudicial effect upon
the marriage market. And, so far as Lorenzo is
concerned, she is disposed to think that the delay
of a year or two might not be unadvisable ; not
only on account of the reigning extravagance in
female attire, which permits a girl to carry all her
fortune upon her back in silk and jewelry, but
because by that time the political aspect of afYairs

The Florentine Temperament

may have changed, and ' men's minds be at peace,'
so that it will not be thought, as it now is, sheer
waste of money to give a dowry to the wife of an
exile.

The course of public events justified Alexandra's
anticipations. Less than two years had passed
from the date at which they were written, before
the ban was taken off Philip and his brother, and
we find Philip writing to his mother from Siena,
one snowy day in November, that he would be
with her the evening of the following Sunday,
and hoping she will give him something better
than sausages for supper. What course the mar-
riage negotiations had taken in the meantime, and
why that excellent young woman, whom we
have known as Tanagli's daughter, failed to
attract either of the brothers, are points as to
which we learn nothing from Alexandra, for a
regrettable hiatus of three years occurs in the docu-
ments preserved for us ; and, when they resume
their story, the future founder of the Strozzi
Palace had been married more than a twelvemonth
to the beautiful Fiammetta Adimari, and a baby,
named Alphonso, after his godfather the king of
Naples, was following his grandmother about the
house 'like a chicken after a hen.'

A letter of Fiammetta's, written in the second
year of their union, to her husband at Naples,
testifies to the amiability of the young wife, and
to the autocracy exercised by Florentine mothers-
in-law. In it she tells Philip that she had been
' allowed ' by Alexandra to attend the second and
fourth days' festivities of a friend's wedding, and
caught a chill in consequence, for which she has
had to send for the doctor. If Philip 'wants her
to recover, he must tell her, when she may expect
him to return, and see that it is not a fib, as hixs
been the case on some former occasions.'

How important an element, in the Florentine
political game, were the new relationships formed
by marriage, we see from a letter of Parenti's to
Philip, congratulating him on the birth of a
daughter, in which he tells lum not to feel any
regret at the sex of the child, as a girl can be
married sooner than a boy, and thus enable him
to form advantageous political connections.

With the marriage in 1470 of her son Lorenzo
to Antonia Baroncelli, Alexandra's matrimonial
projects came to an end, and, as if these had been
not less her support than her life's mission, m the
following year came her death and burial in Sta
Maria Novella. She was thus prevented seeing
more than the earliest of the numerous additions
which, by his two wives, Philip made to the
Strozzi family-tree, and, by a period of eighteen
years, from being present at his foundation of the
stately palace, which still stands as a monument
of the wealth and pride of Florence's merchant
princes. . .

Both in the story of the marriage negotiations

The Florentine Tewpernniefjt

here described for us, and in the frequent
references to family aflairs, not all to her
credit, with which Alexandra's correspondence
is largely concerned, we see the results of
that shrewdly business-like and practical turn of
character, wliich was a potent factor in Florence's
public and domestic trans.ictions. The positif
temper, which animated l>er statesmen, raised a
small republic, which was not, like Venice, a sea
power, and was markedly destitute of military
c;ipacity, to a position almost of equality with the
great powers of Europe ; but this attribute, which
wiis so slnnuiative in tiie market and the council
chamlxrr, proved a drag on the wheels when the
realm of fancy was invaded. Its prosaic in-
fluence, upon an important body of her painters,
makes Florence an exception to Burckhardt's

general commendation of the Renascentine
painters as having 'the tact to follow external
reality, not into every detail, but only so far as
that the higher poetic truth might not suffer from
it '; and the magnitude of her achievement viewed
as a whole — second only to Greek sculpture in most
authorities' estimation — justifies an examination,
like that here attempted, of features in her social
and intellectual condition that may have led to her
partial failure. In making the attempt, 1 do not
of course claim that the Florentines had a mono-
poly among the inhabitants of the peninsula,
either of the positif quality, or of the marriage
system to which it gave emphasis ; but, looking
for the probable cause of their lapse from idealism,
1 find it in a preponderance of this particular
characteristic.

^ THE FISHERWOMEN cK>
COLOUR-PRINT BY HOKUSAI

LTHOUGH the subject of the
print is one not uncommon in
Japanese art — women fishing
\nr tmuihi — it would be par-
donable if the eye unac-
customed to Japanese art gave
it a very different significance.

^^_^^^_ ,There is something archaic in

llic lung curved prow of the boat ; there is a touch
of romance in the misty sea dotted with islands —
of adventure in the suddenness with wliicli the
boat seems to shoot into the picture behind the
jagged, weed-grown rocks — that leads the mind far
away from Japan and its fisher-folk to the Aegean
and its first explorers, to Ulysses and the Sirens, or

' Where the echoing oars of Argo first
' Slaillcd the uiiknuwn sea.'

The print' belongs to the series of the Iliiudrcd
Poems, a series published a year or two later than
the Thirty-six Vines of Fuji — that is to say, about
the year 1831, when the artist was more than
seventy years of age.

judging from internal evidence, we must place
the lltimTrcd Poems among the latest of Hokusai's
landscape dc-signs. In this series he seems to
have tired of the grand simplicity which is the
prevailing note of the Thirty-six Vicxvs of Fuji, and
to have wished to shake himself free of the material
limitations of subject matter which he had to face
in designing the H'titerfills and the Ihiii^cs. In
the Hundred Poems Hokusai could design just as
he pleased, unfettered by any question of topo-
graphical correctness, and he did not fail to take
advantage of his liberty.

The designs of the lluudred Poems are thus
among the most pu/zling, complicated and attrac-
tive in the whole of Hokusai's work. In them his

' We arc indebted in the owner, the Hon. W. Orinjby Gore,
(or permluion to reproduce it.

invention has absolutely free scope, and his
knowledge is ai its culminating point. Soon after
their execution he was compelled to fly from Yedo
to Uraga, owing to the misdoings of a grandson,
and on his return in 1836 he found the city suffer-
ing from a terrible famine, which reduced him to
a pitiable state, accentuated in the following year
by a fire which destroyed his house and his
drawings. From these successive blows his art
never quite recovered, and, though he displays
magnificent power even so late as 1850, he has lost
the range, if not the grandeur, of his former out-
look upon nature.

It needs a moment's thought before we recognize
in this design of The Fishciivomen the same prin-
ciples of construction as those seen in the Views
of Fuji. The summit of our pyramidal mass is no
longer the snow-capped crest of the great volcano,
but tiie head of the topmost fisherwoman in the
group on the right. The sweep of the largest
wave accentuates the solidity of the group ; the
struggling figures in the water below give it further
support ; while the sense of motion is splendidly
enhanced by the sharp curve of the boat topping
the wave, and carrying the eye on to the smaller
boat on the left and the group of islands stretching
aw.iy into the sea beyond, which, with its level,
restful expanse, serves as contrast to and relief
from the intersecting curves of the swelling waves,
pitching craft and fantastic rocks in front. The
materials and the pictorial symbols of oriental art
differ from ours, but its conceptions, even when
they appear most fanciful and arbitrary, seem
capable of reference to the same elementary
principles of design as those which De Piles and
Burnet deduce from the great European masters.
All that Hokusai, perhaps, can claim is that he
conceals his secret more adroitly.

C. J. H.

■ISHERWOMEN AT WADA NO HARA.

/•Vii/il /Ae- Culoiir !'•

A NOTE ON COLOUR-PRINTING IN CHINA AND JAPAN

BY LAURENCE BINYON

VERY student of
Japan

the arts of
incalculable
arts owe to

knows the
debt which those
\K lQixi3^\()7China and the Chinese; fresh

\\ L//7J \^l Y^^ooiso{\\?irti\\\\^ys occuvYxng
\M ris>// rK< I even where least suspected.
In one department, that of
I colour-prints, it is generally
assumed, however, that the Japanese have been
independent of the Continent. Writers on
Japanese woodcuts allude to the existence of the
art of colour-printing in China, but no study has
been given to the Chinese examples, and very few
have been noticed or recorded. Those who have
made enquiries in China itself, find, I believe, at
the present day the greatest difficulty in procuring
or hearing of specimens. One might infer there-
fore that the art was never pursued by the Chinese
beyond the tentative and experimental stage.
The examples of colour-woodcuts which are here
described for the first time prove, however, that in
the seventeenth century they had already developed
the technical side of this art to its furthest point.

Knowing that among the Sloane collections of
drawings of natural history, costume, etc., now in
the British Museum, were some from Oriental
sources, and following up likely clues in the class-
catalogues of the MSS. Department, 1 found
several volumes containing Chinese drawings
and colour-prints. Among the latter the most
important are a set of twenty-nine woodcuts,
measuring iijxi4jin. The subjects are either
flowering sprays, boughs of fruit (mostly with
birds or insects) or arrangements of flowers and
fruit in baskets or porcelain vases. A few are of
vases with flowers, grouped with books, scrolls,
coral, etc. An examination of these prints shows
that besides black, which is used for the outline
block, and also to a slight extent in masses, no
less than twenty-two colours have been employed.'
Twelve colours were produced by one printing,
viz. : Gamboge, an earth yellow, a blue, a grey,
three different greens, a greenish primrose colour,
a brown, a brownish purple, red lead, and the red
produced from the safflower, familiar in Japanese
prints as bcni ; while ten colours were produced
by superimposed printings, viz. : Orange (red
lead over gamboge), orange {beui over earth-
yellow), crimson (brownish purple over beni),
deep red {beni over beni), green (bkie over
gamboge), green (light green over blue), purple
(blue over beni), and purple (brown over blue);
also green over black and purple over black.
The colours are often gradated by skilful wiping
of the block. In many of the prints elaborate
ganffrage is used, the outlines of petals, etc.,

» Not all on one print, of course. For help in identifying the
pigments, I am indebted to the special knowledge of Mr. S.
Littlcjohn.

being delicately embossed. This has produced
bad creases in the paper, which is a kind of rice-
pulp paper used in China for printing books,
greatly inferior to the beautiful soft paper used
by the Japanese print-makers. Much of the beauty
of a Harunobu or Utamaro woodcut is due to the
sympathetic quality of the paper, into the sub-
stance of which the colours have sunk: but in
these Chinese prints the paper, which is very thin,
white and brittle, has not taken the colours kindly;
and the untoned whiteness of it makes the beui,
especially, look harsh and quite different from
what it appears in Japanese examples. Apart
from the question of paper, we are bound to
acknowledge that these woodcuts show a complete
mastery of the resources of colour-printing, such
as we do not find in Japan till after 1765. These
Chinese prints were brought home from the East
by Kaempfer in 1692-3, and passed from his collec-
tions to those of Sir Hans Sloane; they have been
in the museum since its foundation, and are as
fresh and clean as if printed yesterday.

The question now arises : Why, if the Chinese
had developed the art of colour-printing so far,
did the Japanese at a later date begin again at the
beginning, only reaching the multi-colour-print with
Harunobu in 1765, through the various stages of
hand-colouring, stencilling, etc. ? It seems
incredible that this should have happened if the
Chinese prints had been known in Japan. And
yet it was in Japan that the prints in question were,
in all probability, bought by Kaempfer, since he
sailed to that country from Batavia and returned
to the same port, not visiting China (so far as is
known) at all ; and in the same volume in which
the colour-prints were (they have now been trans-
ferred to the Print Room) was a set of Japanese
paintings from the same source. Moreover, we
have tangible proof that Chinese colour-prints
were known in Japan during the first half of the
century. Anderson (' Japanese Woodcuts,' p. 8)
mentions the fine Chinese album of birds and
flowers, chiefly after Ming painters, dated 1701,
in the collection of Mr. W. C. Alexander. Now
copies from the subjects in this album were pub-
lished by 0-c7ka Shunboku in two volumes, dated
1746. Shunboku worked in Os;ika, and published
albums as early as 1707, but I do not know what
is his earliest work in colours ; the book in ques-
tion was published in his old age. Through the
kindness of Mr. Alexander, and of Mr. Arthur
Morrison, who owns the 1746 edition of
Shunboku's book (Mr. Alexander also has a later
edition in three volumes), I have been able to
compare these two specimens of colour-printing.

The Chinese book is superior in technique, but
the Japanese has suffered from changes in the
pigments. The green tints were mostly produced
by printing indigo over gamboge, and the indigo

Qolour-Vrifjting />/ Qhina and yapan

• I th.it the foh;igc, etc., is now ot
from yillow to grey ; and the same
change probably accounts for the fading of purple
to a warm brown. None the less, the colour-
printing is both delicate and elaborate, and quite
equal to that of the books of similar character by
Kitao Mas:tvo^hi, who was not born till 1761.

1' - to have proved that

the >! in colour-printing

dati-s irom 1743 or 174J at earliest. But, as
Mr. Morristin argues, the book of Shunboku's in
his posse'^^ion m.ikcs it very hard to believe that
such a full development of the art could liave
taken place in two or three years, and moreover
•hat in this c.ise at any rate the Japanese
11 took the Chinese for a model. Among
readers of The BrKLiXGTO.v .Magazine may be
some collectors who will bt able to bring forward
further evidence : for instance, a book of
Shunboku's d;ited earlier than 1746 and printed in
colour*. It would be strange if this should be
the ;iecimen in colour of the many books

he 1 i. Japanese traditions all point to the

beginning of the eighteenth century, rather than the
middle, as the date of the first experiments; and in
spite of Mr. Fenollosa's authority, this older view
seems to be the better attested, as well as
intrinsically the more probable.

To return to China. Though so little appears
to have survived in the way of colour-prints, I
believe the real explanation of this is not their
scarcity but their commonness. Everybody knows
how rare are old English broadsides, which were
produced for the same sort of public as colour-
prints in the Ear East. What masses of Japanese
prints would have perished but for the demand
for them in Europe ! Now in an album in the
Sloaiie collection I found a single large Chinese
colour-print of the size and shape of the Japanese
kakemono-ye. Though fine and effective — it is a
print of a fish among weeds in water — it is
obviously a cheap production, and doubtless only
a specimen of what was produced in great pro-
fusion. Not that I mean to maintain that China
is likely to haveliad anything at all comparable with
the school of colour-print artists which flourished
so enormously in Japan. This art could never
have had the same vitality in China, since there it
was regarded simply as a means of reproducing
paintings ; whereas the Ukiyo-y6 artists designed
with the wood-block in view, and the co-operation
of designer, engraver and printer produced results
of unsurpassable beauty. But I wish to point
out that in this, as in so many other points,
China has been unduly neglected by students of
Japanese art.

THE SO-CALLED 'JANINA' EMBROIDERIES

BY LOUISA F. PESEL

HE task of classifying the
Linbroideries found in the
b-iicaars of Constantinople,
Cairo and Athens would be
t comparatively easy one, if
it were possible to accept
implicitly the word of the
dealers as to the provenance
oi tiRii speciiiHiis. This is, however, far from
being the case, as they group together at least four
or tive difierent varieties under the general name
of Janina. If all the work that goes by this name
diet indeed come from the capital of Epirus, then
its women must assuredly go down to posterity as
the most diligent of their se.x. The size of the
group, its infinite v.iriety in colour, workmanship
and design, make it a peculiarly interesting one to
study, but its complexity adds greatly to the
difficulty of sub-division. For the sake of clear-
ness, it will be lu'st, therefore, to consider the
x-arious details separately: to compare the points of
resemblance, to trace the constructional lines on
which the |iatlerns are built and to take note of
colours and stitches, before we attempt to proceed
to the di-' .--i ■! of their original locality.

The 1 I'hs here reproduced are taken

from speciaiLiia of so-called Janina, and demon-

strate clearly the diversity of type included under
this name. Fig. 4' is an exception, as it is part
of a Bokhara curtain, and is included here to show
what much of the Central Asiatic work is like, as
it is highly probable that the work under discussion
received suggestions as to colour, design and
workmanship from Eastern sources, from
Bokhara and from Persia. It will be noticed
that the designs in all these examples have been
drawn out upon the linen in the first instance,
as their outlines are not determined by the web
of the material. They have not the rectangular
appearance of much of the work examined in the
previous article, nor have they that solid effect
produced by the use of very heavy silk. The
silk is of a much finer quality, and the material
upon which they are worked is also lighter in
texture, as a general rule. Detail pattern within
the larger piittern is to be seen in many cases.
This is obtained by what is known as ' voiding ' ;
see fig. I,' where the small flowers within the
larger rounded ones and the markings on the

'No. 966—1889. Victoria and Albert Museum. Portion of
Dokhara curtain. Worked in crimson and d.irk hluc-grcen,
some pale blues, pinks and yellows. Slitches, di.igonal
couching and chain.

* No. 59 — 1891. Victoria and Altiert Museum. Curtain in
blue and red, surface darning, protxibly Anatolian.

The so-called ' yanina ' Embroideries

stem are the result of leaving plain or void
the linen ground. The spots in fig. 8 'are the
result of the same method. In some instances
the pattern, instead of being left void, is filled
in in another colour or colours — a treatment
which, though apparently different, is in reality
only an elaboration of the same idea. The flower
centres in fig. 3 'would have been equally effective
had they been voided.

Figs. 6,' 7,^ 8, 9,' and 10" all show the same
appreciation of the value of the outline of one
mass within another ; whilst figs. 2^ 4, 7 and 8
all emphasize the decorative use of the serrated
line, directly opposed to an unbroken one. A
device which is frequently employed is to discon-
nect the different parts of the design. This makes
the pattern look as if it had been prepared as a
stencil, but instead of giving it a careless and
unfinished appearance, it only renders the whole
effect less hard and rigid. (See figs, i, 7, 8 and 10.)

A very favourite form of design is the spray,
which is repeated once or more, as may be
required, either side by side along a line for a
border (fig. 9), or in all directions for an 'all over'
pattern (fig. 3), according to the projected purpose
of the embroidery. This sprig or spray type is of
three forms. One is seen in fig. 3 : it is
nearly symmetrical ; flowers fill the four corners
and the centre, and leaves occupy the three
intermediate spaces, whilst the main stem fills
the fourth lower space. The corners might
possibly be occupied by large leaves, and
flowers fill the alternate spaces, but in either
case this disposition of two contrasting masses
is always maintained. The second form of
spray is shown in fig. 9 ; in it the large masses
fill the centre and corners, and the idea of
contrast is retained, but the stem, instead of
being symmetrical and balanced, is curved and
often very thin in proportion to the size of
the flowers. The third variety is seen in fig. 6

» Belonging to ' Old Orient, Athens,' from Skyros. Long
cushion cover. Worked in double darning in crimson, yellow,
pale blue and cinnamon.

* No. 90—1897. Victoria and Albert Museum. Worked in
very fine silk in close tent stitch in pile blues, pinks and greens.

' Three pieces belonging to Dr. Karo. Originally worked as
scarf ends, since employed as sleeves for the peasant women.
All in double-darning and alike on both sides. Fine tinsel and
gold is introduced.

» No, 790—1896. Victoria and Albert Museum. Surface
darning in red and blue, with some yellow and green, on a line
open linen. Janina.

No. 506 — 1877. Surface darning in several colours, red and
blue predominating. Possibly portion of a cushion. Janina.

' Belonging to Mr. G. Dickins. Portion of a valance worked
in surface darning in reds and greens; outline in black. The
narrow edging in white and colours is both characteristic and
effective.

''Old Orient, Athens.' Crimson, vellow, pale blue, cinna-
mon and pale green. Worked in double darning on linen,
originally as border for a bed cover.

•No. 263-1896. Victoria and Albert Museum. Hand-
worked in red and blue and green and yellow in oriental
stitch ; outline in black.

in the second and third towel ends ; in this
there is generally only one large flower or detail on
a curved stem, and small leaves or flowers are
placed along the stem. The small leaves are often
worked in two colours alternately, as in the centre
example of fig. 6. The predominant idea is still
the contrast obtained by the use of large and small
masses. When several sprays are repeated, it is a
common practice to transpose the colours used.
This gives the effect of a much bigger palette, for a
blue flower being where a red one was, it is not
immediately evident that the red was used for leaves
in the previous spray, whereas now the leaves are
blue.

A point that is noticeable in nearly all these
embroideries is the high degree of convention-
alization which has been arrived at, probably
through many centuries of work, added to a strong
love of traditional methods. The forms are taken
from flowers and leaves, which they remotely
resemble ; but from what flower or leaf is not
immediately obvious, and often it is only after
much consideration that one realizes what the
original is likely to have been. The idea of growth
is generally suggested, and in that they are logical,
but otherwise any leaf form is used with any
flower as long as it fulfils its decorative purpose."

The construction seen in the narrow borders in
figs. I and 2 — flower and leaf alternately on a
continuous waved stem — occurs in a number of
specimens, and the forms composing the borders
are to be found in oriental work. The long o\-al
leaf filled with detail is seen in the cone form
prevalent in Indian and Persian work, whilst the
variety open at the point like a tulip is reminiscent
of Persian feeling and workmanship (figs. 7 and 8).
The centre portion of the curtain in fig. i is
designed on lines which follow a more or less
regular curve ; a single flower or spray grows from
each side of the stem alternately, but the main
stem being dropped each time, the flowers appear
to be arranged diagonally, to the great improve-
ment of the design as a whole.

Colour and stitch seem to some extent to be
linked together, perhaps because certain dyes were
procurable in the districts where certain stitches
were in common vogue. There are two or even
three distinct sets of colouring which pre\-ail.
besides endless variations upon them. A usual
one contains a verv clear fresh blue and a clear
red in about equal'proportions, whilst pale green,
pale cinnamon and biscuit colour are added m
much smaller quantities. This combination of
colours is often adopted for large hangings, such

" In Salonika I examined a number of good specimens of
so-called lanina. Some of them were evidently late work .ind
showed easily distinguishable peas, etc They .ire the only
instances 1 have seen where the Howers were frankly naiuTil-
istic, and they certainly were not as effective as thise which
were rigidly convention.il.

The so-called ^yatiifia'' Embroideries

as curtains, bed covers, etc. (fig. i) ; for bands, as
in the upper one in tig. 7 ; and constantly for the
hcax-j' regular sprays on the towel and s;ish ends.
The red and blue type of colouring is either
worked with a surface darning stitch (fig. i and
fig. 7), or with a stitch more solid in appearance,
double-darning, which is alike on both sides.
Fig. 2 shows an example of the strong-coloured
class, for the colours are deeper in tone, and the
greens are more marked. It is worked in oriental
stitch, and a fine black silk has been used for the
outline, which can be seen in some places. It is,
however, diflicult to sec, as it h;is worn away
through age, for it was probably dyed with vitriol,
which, according to an old island dyer, rotted the
silk. The design in fig. 2 fills an oblong shape,
which is reversed so that the leaf curves alternately
to the right and to the left. This shape and its
reversal suggest that it might have been adapted
from a tile design. A number of borders were
constructed on these lines, and all are alike in that
they show very little of the linen ground. They
are usually in strong colours, with much green
introduced, but unlike fig. 2 are worked in long,
loose double-darning stitch (see stitch in fig. 5),"
and they were, it is said, worked originally to
decorate the ends of the women's aprons when
peasant costume was more universally worn.

Of the less vigorously coloured varieties perhaps
the most characteristic is that known as ' fad '
Janina. Pigs. 8 and 10 are both of this type and
arc in the usual fine double-darning stitch. The
red in these is much softer and darker, a wine-
coloured crimson, as compared with the real red
of the first-named class ; with it a mustard yellow
is used in about equal proportions, and in lesser
quantities pale blue, cinnamon and black. This
combination of colours is unusual and is easily
recognized by the predominant yellow. The design
is often a 'powdering' made up of elaborately-
patterned birds, like those in fig. 10, and of cone-
shaped ornaments like the flowers under the claws
of the bird and those in fig. 8.

Liist, there are the endless, many-luied, pale-
coloured varieties into which silver and gold are
often introduced (fig. 6). They are usually worked
in some fine close stitch, which is alike on the
face and on the reverse side. F"ig. 3 is worked in
tent stitch, and sometimes double cross-stitch is
used. Perhaps the most usual method of obtain-
ing the close effect is the following, which, though
it appears complicated on paper, in actual practice
is exceedingly easy to manipulate. Small stitches
are placed di.igonally, as if they were the upright
hncs of a flight of steps, the silk on the wrong
side pa-sing at right angles ; on the return the
intermediate uncovered spaces are filled in, that is,
the tread of the steps is completed ; the second

" RclnnKini; to L. F. Pesel. Worked in many colours in loose
double-darning and outline stitches.

diagonal row is worked by passing the silk in and
out from point to point of the zig-zag and back in
the alternate spaces. We have now formed a
series of triangles. Set corner to corner and alike
on both sides, and by repeating these indefinitely
the whole surface is covered and a diagonal ribbed
effect is produced.

There appear to be three ranges of colour in
common use: the red and blue, the crimson and
yellow, and the many coloured pale-shaded
varieties; whilst there are three or four stitches
generally employed with them, single surface
darning, double-darning alike on both sides, and
one or two forms of fine canvas stitch. The
sub-division of the work into small groups accord-
ing to design, stitches and colour is easy; but it is
ditticult, even after four years' serious study of the
subject in Greece, to assign each group to its
particular locality. This is, perhaps, to be
accounted for by the fact that some new examples
are usually produced to disarrange all previous
classification at the moment when most of the
difficulties appear solved. Hoth fig. 5 and fig. 8
were such perplexing examples. Fig. 8 is a
specimen found on the island of Skyros, one of a
collection of a dozen or more which is known to
have belonged to an island family for over 200
years (at least) and which was only now sold
because of a bad harvest. It is identical in
colouring and workmanship with fig. 10, which is
certainly of the type most usually considered as
Janina. Some of the other examples in the
collection closely resemble the narrower strip in
fig. 7, and many of them are strongly reminiscent
of Persian work. As some good Persian and
Rhodian plates were sold at the same time by this
family, it seems almost certain that the motives in
the embroideries were suggested by pottery. One
specimen is clearly Rhodian needlework, and
detail has evidently been added at a later date by
the Skyros islander.

Fig. 5 is one of five specimens which opened
up a variety of new problems. They were brought
in to a dealer in Athens, with the assurance that
they were very old Janina, and yet they differ
widely from the accepted type. This example was
certainly worked under strong Turkish influence,
as the Cyprus trees show. The same narrow
border occurs on two of the others, whilst their
centres are totally different, one being like the
closely worked dark bands embroidered for aprons
referred to above, while the other has large
serrated peonies, which are absolutely unusual.
Fig. 5 also closely resembles two examples in the
South Kensington Museum, which are, on the
other hand, like the work done in Turkish
territory, or in the islands off the coast of Asia
Minor. It is probable that the example repre-
sented in fig. 5 was worked by Europeans, possibly
Greeks, living in Turkish territory, and that fig. 2

(3) TENT STITCH EMIiUOlUEKY

IN- THE VICTOIilA AXU AI.IIERT MISEIM

(4) I'OKTIOX OF UKKHAKA tlRTAIN

IX THE VICTORIA AXI) Al.liKKT MI^KI \I

(I) CI'KTAIX, PKOIIAIU.V AXATOI.IAN

IV THE VKTOKIA AX1> AI.UFUT Ml'SFlM

(21 OKIKNTAL >UUli

IX THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MlSFl M

TIIK SO-CALIF
PI ATE I

MHKOIDERIEj

>^- -.¥^igi

SvM^

The so-called ' yanina ' Embroideries

and similar pieces were worked by dwellers in
some Balkan state, because the stitch is known
in that district, as it occurs in Bulgarian em-
broidery, in which the same leaf form is also to
be found.

Dr. Sarre in his Rehe in Klein Asicn gives some
account of the embroidery he found in the
interior, and the examples he shows are closely
allied to what is found in Anatolia and in Turkey
in Europe, the Balkans, and in parts of Greece.
The work he saw was used for the same purposes :
as curtains, bed covers, sash and towel ends. The
use of the same stitches prevails, and the colourings
are alike, as both the blue and red and the many
hued pale varieties are found. The crimson and
yellow 'fad' Janina and the very vigorous
colouring of some of the northern examples are
thus the only missing types.

This leads to the following conclusions : That
the big red and blue darned curtains, such as
fig. I, were probably made on the mainland,
where there would be the greatest wealth, and

might go by the name of Anatolian ; that
examples such as fig. 3 were also worked in
Asia Minor, possibly as far south as S>Tia ; whilst
smaller scarves, sashes and covers in the same
style were copied also in the islands off the coast
(fig. 6) and in Turkey. The very fine pieces with
Cyprus trees and houses arc certainly Turkish,
and were worked in all parts of the empire.
Specimens such as fig. 2 and fig. 5 come from
the northern portion of the empire, but were in
all likelihood not worked by Turks.

What is left to call Janina proper ? It becomes
a very small amount compared with the original
group. There remain the smaller red and blue
single-darned examples worked as borders (figs. 7
and 9) and table covers, the double-darned sash
and towel ends, and the ' fad ' crimson and
yellow work in the very close double-darning
(figs. 8 and 10). Even this last may, on further
examination, have to be taken away and given to
Skyros, which would render ' true Janina ' a very
rare and precious article.

THE BODEGONES AND EARLY WORKS OF
VELAZQUEZ— II. BY SIR J. C. ROBINSON, C.B.

THE KITCHEN

O those who are not familiar
with ' Cosas de Espana ' —
Spanish things and ways —
this composition may seem
to require an explanation of
the apparently incongruous
association of objects, animate
and inanimate, brought to-
gether in picturesque confusion. In reality the
picture is supposed to represent an outhouse or
ante-room to the kitchen of a country posada — open
winter and summer to the outer air, the temporary
place of deposit of water-jars, pitchers, metal
cooking pots of all kinds, etc., the larder for the
time being, and a free warren for domestic fowls
and sometimes the tame goat or the pet merino
sheep. Here again the favourite artifice of the
painter is seen admirably illustrated by a vista of
the kitchen beyond, with its cooking stove and
open window with a woman looking out of it.
Need it be said again that this recurrent motive,
making its first appearance in the Martha and
Mary and repeated in the present work, forms a
connecting link with the crowning works of the
immortal artist — Las Hilandcras and Las Mcninasf
In all these compositions it is displayed as a
pictorial artifice, intended to illustrate the grada-
tion of atmospheric effect — the clothing of every
object depicted with a surrounding atmosphere,
gradated with infinite subtlety and truth to
nature ; it is the aerial effect, d anibicntc of the
Spanish writers, felt and understood but uncx-

plainable and difficult to define in words. Perhaps
there is only one other painter who has succeeded
in expressing this supreme quality of art in the
same degree, combined at the same time with
perfect appreciation of the artificial rendering of
light and shade— need it be said that artist was
Rembrandt? Concerning this analogy, it seems
to the writer rather strange that hitherto no one
appears to have thought of "instituting a parallel
between these two great contemporary luminaries
of the world of art.

Born within a year of each other, in different
and widely separate countries, which moreover dur-
ing their entire lives were agitated by a continuous
warfare and religious discordance, it is not
surprising that there is no evidence that the
two painters ever knew anything of each other or
even saw any of each other's productions. The
analogies in their works are surely, then, all the
more surprising.

This picture may be considered as the culminat-
ing work of the hcdcgon period of Velazquez (the
direct analogv', in all technical respects, with the
same characteristic features of the Beggar nith the
Wine Bottle, previously described, stamps it with
certainty as belonging to the same period)
immediately antecedent to the remoral of the
painter to Madrid.

THE FIGHT AT THE FAIR

The strange chances of the s.ales by auction at
Messrs. Christie's could not be better exemplified
than by a recital of the circumstances of the s.ile
of the picture last described and that now m

Early Jl'^orks of Velazquez

question. Both pictures saw the light in the sale
of the collection of Mr. Reginald Cholmondelcy,
of Condovcr Hall, Shropshire, on March 6th, 1897 ;
but whereas the former work realised the respect-
able price of ;^i,407, the latter w;is 'knocked
down' for £i(i 15s. 6<1. only. The reason for
this strange cliscrepancy, however, is obvious. It
is that the first-named picture was truly described
in the auction catalogue as 'by Velazquez,'
whereas the latter work was simply described
as of the ' Flenush school."

In default of any information as to their
previous history, an indication afforded by the

[>rescnt picture shows, however, that it could not
lave left Spain earlier than towards the end of the
i8th or beginning of the 19th century, since the
car\'ed and gilded frame in which it is placed is of
a ch.iracteristic Spanish tyjie, evidently made for it
in the country at the period mentioned. There
can Ix- little doubt that lx)th pictures were brought
to England during, or shortly after, the war, when
they probably came at once into the possession of
the Shropshire squire whose ancestral walls they
for a time adorned.

These two pictures are the largest known
bcilfi^on pictures of the painter, and that they
were painted nearly at the same time, perhaps
contemporaneously, is obvious. There is, however,
a qualihcation to be made ; in the present work
there is unmist.akable evidence of the employment,
in portions of the picture, of another and a
weaker hand than that of the master himself.
To this evidence reference will be made further
on.

Meanwhile it should be noted that there is in
these pictures an obvious analogy, denoting an
unquestionable acquaintance on the part of the
artist with certain works of contemporary Flemish
painters, notably of the two well-known and
eminent still life and animal painters, Snyders and
de Vos — and the cause is not far to seek. Philip
III, during whose period the earlier works of
Velazquez were e.xeculed, had been an especial
patron of the two Flemish painters, and the royal
palaces had l>een adorned with numerous pictures
from their hands.

Furthermore the taste for their works had
become an established one amongst the wealthy
Spanish nobility — their canvases of large dimen-
s: ' nti.illy decorative in their nature, were

■I ;it and probably less costly substitute for

the tapestry hangings which had hitherto clothed
the vast saloons and g.illeries of the Spanish
nobility. Many such works, in fact, remain to
this day where they were originally placed, in the
royal pal.ices and great liouses of Spain.

Vel.i/que/., however, although to some extent
prompted by the production of these works, was a
conscious and independent rival, not an imitator, of
Uieir painters. In the present picture we see him, in

fact, breaking entirely new ground. Here, for the
first time, in addition to the splendid profusion of
inanimate objects, introduced for purely decorative
effect, we have, superadded and skilfully interwoven
with the fundamental scheme of the work, a
definite story of life-like human action, charac-
terised by admirable dramatic effect and passionate
expression. The young Spanish painter had im-
proved upon his models. Vehizquez, in fact, was no
imitator ; if he condescended to borrow from
his contemporaries, the world at large was the
gainer.

It is reasonable to suppose that Velazquez, whose
artistic horizon previous to his first visit to
Madrid had been very limited, found a vastly
augmented field of view opened to him when he
saw the works of foreign masters, amongst whom
were the Flemish boilcf^on painters, De Vos and
Snyders, fellow subjects with himself of the crown
of Spain.

On this supposition it is clearly to be inferred
that the kitchen picture at Richmond and the
present work were the result of his visit to Madrid,
and were commenced in Seville immediately after
his return in 1622. They were probably the most
elaborate and arduous undertakings which the
painter had until then taken in hand.

It has been said that the present work shows the
co-operation of another and a weaker hand than
that of the master himself. The feebly drawn,
characterless and thinly painted central figure of
the peace-maker, and several of the heads in the
background, are so entirely unlike and so inferior
in every respect to those in the rest of the compo-
sition, as to render it certain that, although the
master himself doubtless invented and drew them
on the canvas, they must have been actually painted
by another iiaiid. May not that hand have been
that of Pacheco ?

On the supposition, then, that the composition,
originating in rivalry with the Flemish still life
pictures which Velazquez had seen on his first visit
to Madrid in 1622, was t.iken in hand immediately
on his return to Seville, this great canvas may well
have been unfinished when he was suddenly called
to Madrid in the following year.

It is needless to describe the picture — it tells its
own story. A quarrel at a market or a fair has
brought on one of those sudden tumults to which
Spanish people arc subject. Fortunately in this
rendering the ever-ready uavnjo makes no
appearance, and there is nothing in it to detract
from the humorous nature of the subject.

As regards the admirable painting of the dead
game, fruit, etc., it should again be pointed out
that they were evidently painted by the same hand
.as the corresponding details in the kitchen picture,
and equally that the pots and pans in The luglit tit
lite I'iiir and those in the SlruuiiJ picture aie the
work of one and the same hand.

THt KHCHKX, ATTNIBLTKU TO VELAZlJlh:/

l.\ THE COLLECTION OF SIR IREUERICK COOK, bAST.

THE FIGHT Al IMl. 1 \1K. ATTRlliLTEl) TO VELWyUEZ AND I'ACHFCO
IN THE COLLECTION OF SIR J. C. ROUISSON, C.H.

Z V.

- a

<ii

'j r

^ NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART cK>

A SKETCH BY RUBENS
A LITTLE sketch in oil on panel which, by the
courtesy of the owner, Mr. Frank Sabin, we are
permitted to publish, should be of some interest
to students of Rubens. It is obviously related to
the famous series of paintings in the Louvre,
executed to celebrate the marriage of Henri IV
with Marie de' Medici, and may be regarded as a
sketch for one of those compositions which was
never carried out. The incident recorded is the
reconciliation of Henry of Navarre with Henry 1 1 1
after the assassination of Henry of Guise. The
king of Navarre went to this meeting in full
armour, as the sketch records, and behind the two
monarchs rage figures symbolizing the hostility of
the League, which just two month later was to
result in the assassination of one of them, and
thereby open the way to the kingdom of F"rance
for the other.

THE PICTURE AT CHATSWORTH AS-
CRIBED TO JOHN VAN EYCK
I HAVE read Mr. Marks's letter in your last num-
ber with much interest and think he has cleared
up the mystery. The enthronement of Saint
Thomas and the inscription being on one panel, it
would appear that they were either painted by the
same person or that the inscription is painted over
something else. It is quite clear that it was
copied from that on the portrait No. 222 in the
National Gallery and therefore when both paint-
ings were either in Lord Arundel's possession or in
that of the person from whom he acquired them.
Lord Arundel had a mania for Anglicising pic-
tures, e.g. the 7'cra e/figics of St. Thomas, and the
so-called Departure of St. Ursula. He had also
a cup which is described as the Cup of Saint
Thomas, I think now at Corby Castle. It would
be interesting to have a proof of its genuineness.
But to return to the two Chatsworth paintings.
Who can have painted them? I can only think of
one person by whom they may possibly have been
executed. Dirk Barentsz, alias Theodore Bernardi,
of Amsterdam, who came to England in 15 19 and
seems to have remained here. He worked for
churches in Sussex and Hampshire. There is a
series of panel pictures by him at Amberley Castle
and other works at Boxgrove priory church and in
the palace and cathedral, these last the most ambi-
tious. It is now more than forty years ago since
I saw them and therefore cannot give any opinion
as to similarity of treatment, but it would certainly
be interesting to ascertain whether they point to
a common origin. W. H. J. \Ve.4LE.

RECENT DISCOVERIES IN VENICE
Ever since the fall of the Campanile of S. Mark's
in Venice in 1902, the work of restoration both in
private and public buildings has gone on steadily
and quietly. Every one of the chief churches, S.

Mark's itself ; SS. Giovanni e Paolo ; the Frari,
and San Francesco della Vigna are in the hands
of architects and masons, and some years must
elapse ere they will be finished and free of
scaffolding and other obstructions. The Ducal
Palace is also undergoing a very thorough over-
hauling, and in many a place interesting and
unexpected discoveries are being made. In one
direction a hidden window has revealed how the
kitchen could be spied on, and any attempt to
tamper with the Doge's food or poison him could
be controlled by those who were careful for the
safety of the head of the state. Another discovery,
in the prisons, was that of a stone in the wall of
one of the cells with a quantity of small holes all
round and about it, which had been drilled by the
luckless victim inside, who must have worked for
years to obtain release. Did he ever gain it, we
wonder ? And was it an act of grace, or the
friendly hand of death which freed him in the
end ? We shall probably never know, for all
research to discover who this prisoner was has so
far proved in vain. The most strange and inter-
esting discovery, however, is one made in a room
which is now part of the Museo Archeologico, but
served as the bedroom of the Doges till the reign of
Andrea Gritti in 1523. This room has a high alcove
facing the windows, and under this alcove the bed
always stood. Beyond the wall against which
the bed was placed was a room set apart for the
Doge's attendant, and it is in this room that only
a few months ago two narrow staircases were
found between these two rooms. These staircases
led up to a narrow galleiy whence, on removing
two panels in the alcove, the intruder could look
down on the Doge and ascertain for himself that
he was really in bed, and not either absent
' without leave ' or engaged in transactions that
might be considered nefarious. Tradition had
long hinted at the existence of these staircases
and the supervision said to have been exercised
over Venice's ' Dux,' but not till last October,
when the staircases were found, did tradition
give place to certainty' and the legend become an
established fact. Standing in the Doge's room, it
is easy to see in the alcove which were the two
movable panels, but the staircases have been walled
up again and all trace of their existence, and of
the suspicious distrust which was practised on their
prince by Venetians of old, has been entirely swept
away. Alethe.x Wiel.

CHARLES LOTZ

Dr. K.\mmerer, of Budapest, asks us to insert
the following note :

The 'Art .Affairs in Germany,' in the February
number of The Blrlington M.\g.\zine, con-
tained a reference to the ' Museum of Fine .Arts'
at Budapest. This museum was founded as a
millenary memorial of Hungary's existence and, .is

U^tes on Various J forks of t4rt

cvcrsthin^; rcl.itcd with it refers to Hungary and
Hiirij^.iriaij ciukavoiirs in Hungarian art culture,
it strikes mc as incorrect to see it mentioned in
connection with the Austrian Emperor and the
German Empire.

This national foundation does not, however,
exclude the recojjnition and appreciation of results
and successes obtained atiroad ; moreover, their
ol>servation is, in the interests of Hungarian art
culture, one of its aims. Thus in the modern
ct)llcction of the museum, foreign art, such as the
English, French, German, Austrian, Dutch, Italian
and Spanish paintings, are represented in greater
numlxr than in any other collection in Europe.
This is explained by the remote situation of
Hungary and the endeavour to keep in touch
with the art progress of the rest of Europe.

For example, especial pains, and indeed great and
extraordinary means, have been employed during
the last years to secure worthy representation of

English painters and graphical art. However,
national sentiment demands honour for the
native art of its own country, and above all for
those who, by their own wish, remained with
their art in the service of their country.

Such a giant among artists was Charles Lotz, one
of the greatest talents of his century. If he
remained with his work — which consisted mostly
of immovable frescoes — in his own country and
made no effort for a more remunerative European
estimation, that only entitles him to a higher degree
of national appreciation, and worthy protection of
his memory and art. Certain it is, however, that
the analogy of the later purchase of the work with
that of the famous Adolf Men/.el occured to no
one. Meiizel with his historical direction was of
influence upon his nation, whilst Lotz, rambling
in the free groves of mythology and symbolism,
never desired to bring forth and nourish feelings
either chauvinistic or political.

^ LETTER TO THE EDITOR c*^

MR. JOHNSON'S VAN EYCK

To the Editor o/The Burlington Magazine.

Sir, — In his brief answer to the letter of Mr.
Rickctts, published in the September issue of the
HiKl.lNGTON, Mr. Mather pointed out an error of
Mr. Kicketts's based upon your reproduction of
the Van Eyck, Si. Ftuiicis Receiving the Stigmata,
in the Johnson collection. To one who knows
the picture, and values Mr. Ricketts's judgment, it
is evident that the original is unknown to him.
Photographing so finely finished a miniature
work (14 X 12 centimetres) is an extremely difficult
task, and, the photograph sent you being not quite
successful, your reproduction could be little more
than a diagram giving certain valuable facts, but
misleading as to others, and inadequate to convey
a sense of the quality of the work. Prom the
Turin example, if only because of its larger size
(28x33 centimetres), it was easier to get a good
result, and Alinari's photograph is a model of
what a black-and-white translation of an original
in colour can be ; therefore, in so far as photo-
graphy can do so, it furnishes an excellent basis
of study. I doubt whether an examination of
these two photographs would justify Mr. Ricketts's
conclusions, but with the Alinari reproduction in
hand, and the Johnson panel under my eye, I
venture to think that were Mr. Ricketts in my
l.ice he would give the very same reasons in
avour of the Philadelphia example that he has
given in favour of the Turin picture. While
noting a most significant fact which has escaped
him — that in the larger picture brother Leo has
two right feet, the careless copyist having failed to
observe that the friar's legs arc crossed, and to

note the sole to the left foot in the original, the
Johnson picture — a comparison of the feet of
St. Francis is, for purely artistic reasons, as con-
vincing evidence of the Turin example being a
copy, and not a very good one. In it the hands
of the Saint have become puggy and entirely
lacking in the determinate, expressive drawing,
the unmistakable Van Eyck air of the hands in
the little picture, where the head of Francis,
beautiful in colour, is drawn and modelled in a
masterly way. Sir Martin Conway and Mr.
Wealc, who know well both pictures, agree both
with Mr. Fry and the writer that in the Johnson
example this face is expressive and full of
character.* It certainly has a grave, earnest in-
dividuality which is entirely lacking in the enlarge-
ment, where the folds of the drapery, the rocks,
which in the small picture arc firmly eerits, vouliis,
have lost their decision, their vitality and are tiioui
and inexpressive. But, as Mr. Hymans has
pointed out,' it is the distance which is admirable
in the Johnson picture, and there most clearly
does the Alinari photograph show the inferiority
of the larger example. Who but Van Eyck could
have realized in so beautiful and authoritative a
manner the contrast of airy sunshine in the back-
ground with the warm gold brown tone of the
foreground, where a scene of enormous spiritual
importance is taking place ? In one picture there
is a subtle, perfect rendering of the conception ; in

' ' The Turin r'*-''"^^ is most cerl.iinly .in enlargement of
Mr. Johnson's panel. The Saint's (ace has less individuality, his
left hand and feet are weaker, etc.'— Weale.

'The admirable (ace 01 St. Francis is a countenance \-isibly
inspired.' — Sir Marlin Conwav.

» • Ga/ctlc del lleaiix-Arts,' 1888. Vol. xxxvii, p. 78, etc.

Mr. John G. JohnsorPs Van Eyck

the other heaviness and gaticherie, the earmarks of
the copyist. In the way tiic planes are established,
the sense of distance, the forms and outlines of
the mountains, in the town big as a thumbnail,
and which in spite of the minutest detail is a big
thing holding together, in the ensemble as in the
detail, the sense of exquisite quality which
permeates the Johnson picture is absent from the
Turin example. To find an equivalent to such
delicacy of touch allied to such precision, to the
luminosity, the grave beauty of this scene, one
must go to the background of the Vierge an
Donatenr in the Louvre, and to that of ih&Madonna
with Saint Anne in the collection of Baron G. de
Rothschild in Paris. Lastly there is no such
spottiness in the original as Mr. Ricketts saw in
the reproduction, but all students are familiar with
photographs of the central panel of the Adoration
of the Lamb showing a spottiness which does not
exist in the original.

When in the possession of Lord Heytesbury the
small panel was seen by VVaagen and by Crowe,
who both attributed it to Van Eyck.' It was
exhibited at the British Institution in 1865 and in
1886 at Burlington House, when Sir J.C. Robinson
and Mr. Weale among others wrote at length
about it in the Times. * But none of these
writers have seen it in its present restored con-
dition. The additions on the four sides having
been removed, the panel, which was 24 X 16
centimetres, is now 14 x 12, and the composition
within the frame is as the artist intended it. The
unhappy repaints have been (because most care-
fully perhaps not entirely) removed, but the
original work of the upper part of Leo's body and
his head, which had been so coarsely repainted
that even the outlines were lost, and of the head
and face of St. Francis, which had been baUifies
with brutal repaints, was found in excellent con-
dition when these additions were removed.

Is the Johnson example by Hubert or by Jan ?
The Adornes will, so much cited, seems to me still
equivocal, at least in the French translation Mr.
Hymans gives of the old Flemish text : ' Je Itigue
i chacune de mes filles, Marguerite et Louise,
toutes deux religieuses. Tune au convent de
Chartreuses pres de Bruges, I'autre a Saint Trond,
un petit tableau representant Saint Francois
dii au pinceau de Jan Van Eyck. . . .' Mr.
Hymans was puzzled and wondered about the

' Waagen 'Treasures.' London, J. Murray, 1854-7, Vol. iv,

P- 389.

Crowe in his revision of Kuglcr (London, J. Murray, 1S74, p. 67)
says the picture ' is remarkable lor its solid .md delicate execution,
the deyvth and fullness of its warm tone.'

* The Atheiiaiim of J.muary yth, 1886, calls it 'a jewel which
has found pKice within two feet of the Hoor, although even the
place of honour would not be too good for its merits or its rarity.'

Sir J. C. Robinson's letter is too long to be quoted, but to show
how he valued the quality of the worl; it need only be said that
if it should be found th.it Van Eyck was not its author, it must,
in his opinion, be given by gener.il acclaim to Antoiicllo d.»
Messina.

exact meaning' (was the reference to one or two
pictures ?), until, hearing for the first time of the
little picture, he went to see it in 1886 at London
and came to the conclusion that the Heytesbury
and the Turin were the two pictures named in
the will. But the Turin example was labelled
Flemish school until 1883, when the Adornes will
brought attention to it, Knackfuss strongly
doubts its authenticity, and Mr. Weale, who had
seen and studied it before, but has examined it
again and closely of late, wrote to the writer that
it surely is a copy painted after Jan's death. The
question is further complicated by the fact that
the pictures could not have been painted for
Adornes, who was only fifteen years old when
the master died in 1440. Agreeing that the will
meant two pictures, the lack of quality of the
Turin enlargement and its evidence of gauche
copying are after all decisive in precluding any
possibility of its being Jan Van Eyck's handi-
work. And but for the will, 1 doubt that the
Johnson example should have been given to Jan,
for it has a depth of feeling, a profound reccuille-
inent which have been associated with Hubert,
and Hubert alone. Sir Martin Conway concurs
in that opinion. The fact that it was bought at
Lisbon when Lord Heytesbury was ambassador
to Portugal, and the presence of the palmetto
(chamaerops hiiinilis), which is found below latitude
43 and is common in Southern Spain and
Portugal, made Sir Charles Robinson and Mr.
Alfred Marks, among others, think it the work
of Jan because of his having gone to Lisbon in
1428 in company with Messirede Roubaix to paint
the portrait of La Belle Portugalaise — Isabel of
Portugal — the intended bride of his patron, Duke
Philippe le Bon of Burgundy. While the ordon-
nances given by Philippe on Jan's behalf tell,
besides this mission to Portugal, of ' loingtains
voiaiges,' of ' pelerinages ' and ' estrangeres
marches,' we know of no documents proving
that Hubert ever travelled. Yet the consensus
of expert opinion is that other pictures in which
the palmetto appears, the Three Marys of the Sir
Francis Cook collection, the Fountain of the Living
Waters known to us by its copy in the Prado, the
panel in the Copenhagen Royal Gal lerj-, are his work
and not that of Jan. Sir Martin Conway, who
believes Hubert to have been a painter of mini.i-
tures who took to painting pictures on panel in
his newly invented or perfected method, thinks
the Johnson picture an example of Hubert's
miniature style applied to oil p.iinting. and there-
fore a verv early work. In the town of the back-
ground Mr. Hymans recognises Assisi, which is
represented in the same way as on a plate in
M. Plon's book* and in a painting of SI. Sebastian

' Hy. Hym.ans in ' Bulletin dcs Commissions Ro>-aln d'.Art
et d'.-VrchCologiede Belgique,' 1883.
• 'St. Kr.incisd' Assisi,' J'aris, 18^5 p. 80.

) 47

Mr. John G. Johnson's ran Eyck

by Niccolo Aliinno, iK-longing to the AbW Wolff,
at Calcar. How did the artist get this view ? At
any rate, the snowy Alps in the distance bear
further proof that the work could not be that of a
man who had spent his life in the Low Countries.

Mr. Weale has also pointed out that in the
Johnson example the Saint and Leo are repre-
sented in the habits of the reformed Franciscans:
brown for the choir brother, black for the lay
brother,' and that the reformed Franciscans were
not introduced into Flanders until the end of the
fifteenth century. In the Turin picture both
habits are grey, which may suggest that the
original was painted south and that the copy was

t xh it of \.eo was thought bvSir J. C. Robinson

to be t!,. .lie habit ol a BUcktrur (TAr Timts, February

I, 1886).

executed in Flanders before the end of the fifteenth
century, when the Franciscans there were Grey-
friars. It is regrettable that its being on this side
of the ocean makes it little likely that the best
authorities will see it in its restored condition and
solve the many and interesting problems it brings
up.» August F. Jaccaci.

• If is worth noting that the will of Anselm Adomes, Lord of
Corlhing, which is dated February loth, 1476, after mentioning
the legacy of the picture (or pictures) by Jan Van Eyck stated
that on the shutters with which the picture was for were)
provided there should be painted his portrait and that of his
deceased wile, Marguerite Van der Bank. As Adornes was
starlingon a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, it is therefore clear that
the portraits could not be painted from life. Mr. Hymans thinks
that they were painted by Memlinc. At any rate he has found
the drawings of these portraits in the coUetiion of Count
Thierry de Leinburg-Stirum. (Gazette des Beaux-Arts cited above

^ ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH cAj

THE.^RTOF THE NETHERLANDS

TAPISSERIES ET SCfLPTURES BRUXELLOISES.
Far Joseph Destree. Bru.xelles : G. V^n Oest.
^'r- 75-

This magnificent publication by the Keeper of the
Roj'al Museum of Instructive and Decorative Art
is a memorial of the remarkable exhibition held at
Brussels in 1905. Such memorial exhibitions as
this make it possible to collect together works of
art which in no other circumstances could be seen
or studied in connection with each other, as the
example set by the Burlington Fine Arts Club in
England has for many years conclusively shown.
As was natural in Brussels, tapestries were the
most striking feature of the exhibition, their im-
portance being increased by loans from private
collectors, not only in France and Belgium, but
in England and America — South Kensington
Museum, Lord Iveagh and Mr. Pierpont Morgan
being prominent contributors.

With a sense of method which is too often
wanting in those who compose works of this kind,
M. Destrde has arranged the tapestries in chrono-
logical order, so that with the aid of his sumptuous
publication we are enabled to follow the course of
tapestry- weaving from the second half of the
fifteenth to the eighteenth century. As the editor
points out, it is to the inBuence of Hugo van der
Goes rather than to that of Kogier van der
Weyden th.it we should look in connection with
the authorship of the two early t.apestries lent by
the Gobelins Factory. Among the most remark-
able of the other e.arly pieces are the famous
Rovaume des Cicux in Mr. Pierpont Morgan's
collection and the Presentation of Jesus Christ in
the possession of M. Martin Leroy,'-,botli showing
an unusual delicacy of workmanship, as well as a
certain refinement of type, which point to a French
designer. We have to go to the series illustrating

the histor>' of the Virgin, lent by Spain to the
Paris Exhibition of 1900, to find anything of
similar quality. Difficult problems are raised by
the interesting piece in twenty-six panels, from
the cathedral of Aix, which dates from the year
151 1, and was once part of the decorations of
the cathedral of Canterbury but was sold in Paris
during the Commonwealth for the ridiculous price
of twelve hundred crowns. Once more we find
ourselves in agreement with the editor, who doubts
the theory that the designer was Quentin Matsys :
the attribution to the school of Brabant seems
much more prudent.

It is impossible to discuss in detail the
remainder of the tapestries illustrated, more than
thirty in number, though a word of praise must
be given to the excellence of the plates, and
especially to those which are reproduced in
colour. The colour and quality of the old tapes-
tries are not easy things to match, but those who
fail to be pleased with the portion of the Baibsheba
belonging to the city of Brussels, which is
reproduced here, must indeed be hard to satisfy.
The elaborate carved altarpieces of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries arc less attractive from an
artistic point of view, although from their close
relation to the painting of the period, as well as
from the extraordinary skill displayed in their
execution, they have an uncommon interest for
students. In them we see the Flemish instinct
for richness of ornament and wealth of detail
running riot, until the result, with all its spirited
observation and dramatic character, ceases almost
to be sculpture at all. As typical examples of this
transformation of sculpture into painting we may
quote the panels representing the martyrdom of
St. Adrien from the church of Boendael, Ixelles.
Infinitely preferable as sculpture are the three
noble figures which surmount the branches of the
Pascal candlestick at I^au, which succeed in
being at once simple and passionate. The candle-

stick, which is of brass, was made in 1483 by
Renier Van Thienen.

Le Genre Satirique dans la Peinture Fla-
MANDE. Par L. Maeterlinck. Deuxieme
edition, revue, corrig^e et considerablement
augraentce. Bruxelles : G. Van OesL Fr. 10.
Whilst the title chosen for this pleasantly written
if diffuse account of the lighter side of south
Netherlandisii art was, doubtless, a convenient
one, ' Les Genres Satiriques ' would have better
described the conabination the author had in view,
and would have avoided needless ambiguity in a
language so expressive of artistic and critical
nuances as the P^-ench. Here we have pure satire
or caricature, the grotesque, and a large — an un-
duly large — admixture of 'scenes de mcKurs,' their
ingredients comic in very varying proportions.
In spite of the similarity of the means employed,
and their dependence for results upon the object of
their application only, their combination for his-
torical purposes seems to give an inflated presen-
tation and a false perspective to each. In a treat-
ment of the subjects ranging from the Romans
to the nineteenth century, the objective seems ever
changing, whilst the material studied, though
testifying that the mediaeval Netherlander had an
eye no less keen for the grotesque than his neigh-
bours, does not very well prepare us for the
extraordinary phenomena of Bosch and the
Brueghels. One would be content to commence
the tale but a little previous to them, or to make a
selection of the items that really lead up to their
appearance, and to cut the padding. And a
tendency discernible it would have been well to
guard against : the disposition to find the comic
in what is not and never was intended to be
comical or grotesque. In our view, there is
absolutely no trace of either in the well-known
miniature ' Le due de Berry a table ' (' Trcs Riches
Hemes'), here illustrated, or in those chosen from
the calendar of the same MS. It is true that in
the former case M. Maeterlinck spies the ' note
comique ' only in the toy dogs admitted by the
duke among the dishes on his board, but the case
is poorly presented that requires such witnesses.
In connection with the Arnolfini and their picture,
the author indeed avoids the pitfall of making the
Luccan merchant and his lady employ John van
Eyck to caricature them, though we are to infer
that the painter did so unconsciously — or of what
value is M. Maeterlinck's remark that the pair
and their chattels form ' une page charmante de
la vie familiale au moyen age, pleine d'observations
amusantes faisant cerlaincmcnt songcr a nos
inimitables peintres satiriques llamands ' ? On a
point of mere accuracy, also, can both the Arnol-
fini be described as ' venant d'ltalie ' ?

To the occivsional nakedness of the land must,
we suppose, be attributed the inclusion, upon

T'he Art of the Netherlands

very slight pretexts, of extraneous matter in both
text and illustrations : Durer, Schongauer, Beham,
etc., the reproductions after whom could well
have been spared for larger-scale blocks of works
really important to the argument. The fact that
M. Maeterlinck's page measures 10 X 7 inches did
not prevent the use, for plates, of blocks 3^ X 2i
(pi. x), 4i X 3 (p!. xliv) and 2J X 4 (pi. li), the
latter from a work in the Ghent Museum !

The author's method is the safest under the
circumstances : descriptive and expository ; but
his references leave one a little in doubt as to the
scope and nature of his own researches. A ' Liste
des Manuscrits consultes ' refers to works in four-
teen libraries : seven in the Low Countries, five
French, the British Museum and the Vatican ;
but the Ypres Kuerbouc (p. 59) is omitted — and
can it be that a journey to Italy has only re-
vealed to him two works worth citation in that
country ?

The patronizing tone occasionally adopted with
regard to savants of repute (' comme le dit fort
bien Sir E. Maunde Thompson ') is amusing in
a work which one cannot help regarding as
largely a compilation. A. V. D. P.

L'EcoLE Belge de Peintlre. 1830-1905.

Par Camille Lemonnier. Bru.xelles: G. Van

Oest. Fr. 20.
The art of modern Belgium, at least in its niost
striking manifestations, has made its reputation
in Paris, and is thus commonly confounded with
the art of France. That, at least, is the case with
Belgian painting. Belgian sculptors have been
more successful in retaining their nationality, not
only where, as in the case of Lambeaux, we can
trace something of the old full-blooded Flemish
spirit, but where, as with Constantine Meunier,
we meet with a gravity and austerity that have
nothing in common with the general tradition of
the race. The triumphs of the earlier painters of
the century, such as Wappers and Gallait, were
Belgian in character and were gained in Belgium,
while in the succeeding age, that of Leys and De
Brackeleer, the national character was even more
strongly marked, so much so that these might
fairly be called the representative Belgian m.isters
of the century. Alfred Stevens was in reality the
child of his adopted city, Paris. M. Camille
Lcmonnicr's study of the gradual development of
Belgian painting is a careful piece of writing,
supplemented by a number of good reproductions,
among which two — an example of Leys and the
frontispiece after Stevens's L<« riii/f— tell with
particular force. It is perhaps rather too crowded
with names and facts for the purpose of the
general reader, especially since many of the
painters dealt with h.ive little historical interest,
and none at all from the artistic point of view ;
but it has the merit of being thorough, and

The Art of the Netherlands

thoroughness in books of such importance is more
valuable than any generalizations, however facile.

Fernand Khnopff. Par L. Dumont-Wilden.

brusscis : G. Van Ocst.
As the author points out, Khnopfl is an isolated
phenomenon in the art of modern Belgium.
While his contemporaries immerse themselves in
the life of their age and country, he is a recluse;
while they revel in tangible and material subjects,
he muses in the world of allegory and suggestion.
The text of this book is really less instructive than
the excellent illustrations, for while it explains the
painter's theory of himself, we have to trace the
growth of his work almost entirely from the
pictures. KhnopfT is not a popular artist : even in
his own country he inspires, perhaps, more
curiosity than affection. W'c might even doubt
the sincerity of his work, did we not remember
that, though he differs outwardly from his country-
men, it is from his Belgian blood that he draws a
certain preference for complete materialization,
which, while it sets off his technical cleverness, is
a drawb.ick when he tries to paint the invisible.
Without models, as his dry-points prove, he be-
comes amateurish and feeble ; when working from
the model he is hard, precise and cold. His
recollections of Tissot, Gustave Moreau, and of
English ^^;ir<; painting of the eighties have not
taught him what constitutes a really good picture,
and he is satisfied with his work ; these seem to be
the causes of his failure to reach the complete
success which such a talent might attain under
happier auspices. It is unfortunate that his excur-
sions into landscape have not been more frequent,
for it is in this field and in the portraiture of
children that the various elements of his nature
combine most harmoniously.

Van Dyck. By Lionel Cust, M.V.O. London :
G. Bell. 5s. net.

This condensed version of Mr. Gust's monumen-
t;il work on Van Dyck is one of the most
satisfactory volumes lol Messrs. Bell's well-known
series. It is hardly four years since Mr. Cust
published another small book on Van Dyck,
which is now, we believe, out of print ; but the
fact need not be much regretted, for the present
work is a great improvement upon the earlier one.
In that the effort to compress great knowledge
into a small compass was evident; in this the
author works freely, as one who has his knowledge
well in hand, and can estimate exactly how much
the space allotted to him will contain without
Ixing too tightly packed. If any fault could be
immd it would be tli.it the book keeps almost too
I lonely to its two central themes, Van Dyck's
pci-.on;il history and his oil paintings, so that no
space is left to discuss the followers and pupils

with whom he is frequently confused, or to deal
in any fullness with his etched work or his admir-
able drawings. Nor would one or two illustrations
of this side of his talent have been amiss, if only
to act as relief to the long series of paintings.

COLLECTIONS OF PICTURES

TABLEAtx Ink'dits ou Peu Connus. Tir^s dc
Collections Franfaises. 56 Planches en
Phototypie avec Notices et Index. Par
Salomon Reinach. Paris: Ldvy.
This is a book of no common interest. M. Salo-
mon Reinach has done good service to the cause
of art in many ways, and, though the origin of
this handsome work must be traced to his great
scheme for making a record of all existing pictures,
the result is far from being a mere scrapbook.
With but few exceptions, the fifty-six plates illus-
trate paintings upon which criticism has not yet
said the last word, the arguments for and against
the attribution of each picture are carefully
summed up in the editor's notes, while the plates
are large enough and clear enough for those who
do not know the originals to obtain a fair idea of
them, and to form an opinion upon the points at
issue.

The volume might thus almost be termed an
introduction to modern expert criticism, and we
have been particularly struck with the soundness
of judgment displayed by the editor in deciding
between the conflicting views of the authorities he
quotes. There are but few cases in which we find
it possible to question his conclusions, and it is
only here and there that w-e can supplement even
in the smallest degree his amazing range of know-
ledge. In connection with the portrait of Bianca
Maria Sforza (36) it may be mentioned that there
is a much superior portrait of the same kind in
the collection of Mr. P. A. Widener, of America,
which is possibly identical with that which
Dr. Bode studied eight years ago in the Lippmann
Collection. There can be no shadow of doubt as
to the authenticity of the Negro by Rembrandt at
Hertford House, though it is far from being one
of his more attractive works, and it bears no
resemblance in handling to Plate 47, which we
agree with M. Reinach in attributing to Dou.
Perhaps the most difficult of all the problems set
by M. Reinach is the authorship of M. Richten-
berger's Portrait il'iin Miisicicii. The eyes are not
drawn by a Venetian, nor are the hands drawn by
a Florentine, and the suggestion of Cavazzola is
one which without seeing the original it is dillicult
to accept. To sum up, those who wish to get an
idea of the men whom modern critics are inves-
tigating, J.icob of Amsterdam, Jean Prevost,
Cornelis Engelbrechtsen, Hieronymus Bosch,
Bastiano Mainardi, Botticini, and the like, will find

M. Reinach's book a storehouse of valuable
documents and guesses.

Gemalde Alter Meister, im Besitze seiner
Majestat des deutschen Kaisers. Parts
XIII-XVIIl. Berlin: R. Bong. Mks. 5 per
part.
This magnificent publication maintains the high
standard with which it set out. To the fifteenth
and sixteenth parts Dr. Bode contributes an
essay on the Dutch School as represented in the
Imperial collection, and this is followed by a
discussion on the French School from the pen
of the editor, Dr. Paul Seidel. It is, of course, in
French pictures that these German collections
are peculiarly strong, and the large photogravures
do justice to the masterpieces of Watteau and
his followers which they contain ; but the examples
of the Flemish School are also of surpassing
importance and interest to those who know how
difficult it is to distinguish between the works
of the group of powerful artists who worked
round Van Dyck and Rubens. A fine portrait by
Flinck, and a delightful Foiiiilain-nyiiiph by
Cranach are among the other attractions of these
instalments, whose all-round excellence we
cannot praise too highly.

Unveroffentlichte Gemalde Alter Meister
Aus DEM Besitze des baykrischen Staates.
Herausgegeben von Dr. Ernst Bassermann-
jordan. I. Band. Die Schlossgalerie zu
Aschaffenburg. Frankfurt : H. Keller.

Dr. Jordan's purpose is to illustrate the pictures
in Bavaria which deserve publishing but which
hitherto have not been reproduced. The first
instalment of his labours deals with the collection
at Aschaffenburg, and in accordance with the
editor's views it omits pictures, such as the
Rembrandt, which are already well known, but
devotes fifty plates to careful reproductions of
specimens of minor masters of undoubted authen-
ticity. Thus if we miss Rembrandt we find
specimens of his forerunners: Elshcimer, Last-
man and Pynas, and of his last pupil, Aart de
Gelder, whose ten pictures illustrating the Passion
are perhaps the most conspicuous feature of the
portfolio. Several of the compositions are striking,
but even the best of them show how wide in
reality was the gulf that separated the master from
the pupil. The specimen of Lastman is a very
good one and proves that he was by no means the
empty and incompetent performer that popular
biography makes him out to have been. Among
the most interesting of the early works is the fine
Sloiiiit<< of SI. Slcf^hcii of the sciiool of Michael
Pachers : a powerful and vigorous work which
should be studied in connection with the two
similar pictures at Augsburg. Examples of Albert
Cuyp, Jordaens, Cornelis de Vos and some

Qollections of T^ictures

admirable specimens of Dutch landscape are the
most interesting things among later paintings.
Dr. Jordan has carried out his purpose excellently,
and the next section of his work will be awaited
with interest.

Die Galerien Europas. Heften X— XIV.

Leipzig : Seeman. Mks. 4.
VVe have already praised the previous parts of
this attempt at publishing a popular series in
colour of the masterpieces in the great European
galleries at a moderate price. There is no doubt
that the three-colour process has passed the point
at which its products were useless for purposes of
study ; and, though in these reproductions the tone
is still too yellow sometimes, the series ought to
be most useful to students as a supplement to
good photographs. The selection, too, is catholic,
almost too catholic, perhaps, for popular success
in England, where interest is concentrated on a
few great names, and where masters of the second
rank are unduly neglected.

The Art of the Dresden Gallery. By
Julia de Wolf Addison. London : G. Bell.
6s.
Roman Picture Galleries. A Guide and Hand-
book to all the Picture Galleries in the
Eternal City. By Alice Robertson. London:
G. Bell. 2S. net.
The perfect handbook to any great galler>' will
not be written till the chief critics have agreed
upon some artistic Cowper-Temple compromise
between their divergent doctrines. Pending
that desirable consummation, a handbook must
either be the statement of an individual judgment
or a compilation of second-hand verdicts by
other authorities. The book on the Dresden
Gallery, in common with the other volumes of
the series to which it belongs, follows the latter
plan, and exhibits its inherent weakness. The
Dresden Gallery covers so wide a field that even
a thoroughly well-equipped writer would approach
with diffidence the task of compiling a catalogue
raisoiuie in narrative form. Our author, however,
makes the attempt boldly, quoting with equal
seriousness Morelli and F. P. Stearns, Bcrenson
and G. B. Rose, and passing with obvious relief
from stereotyped praises of Titian and Rembrandt
to the expression of genuine liking for Munkacsy
and Hoffman. The book is apparently of
American extraction, and displaj-s all the width of
reading and racy profusion of language which its
origin suggests. Its popular character is em-
phasized bv more than forty illustrations.

Miss Robertson's catalogue of tiio ten chief
Roman picture galleries is .»s Ci.>nci>c .»s tliat on
Dresden is gossiping, while its handy size .and
methodical arrangement have a very practical
object.

Collections of Pictures

The briet criticisms on the pictures, in the author's
words, 'eschew the tyranny of preat names,'
indeed, they arc so independent as to make their
originality re. * ' ' . Titian's Baptism in the
Capitol, for . i< not allowed a single

asterisk, and 1-. licsci 1 quite insignificant

work as a whole': > ,..":> Oanac and the

interesting portrait m the liorghese given to
Giorgionc by Morelli fare no better, yet Pinturic-
chio can win two asterisks and Perugino three.
Nor . - lacking ; yet if the proofs of the

next ^ read by some competent scholar,

the excellent idea underlying the book would have
a fair chance of success.

PL.\TE AND GOLDSMITH'S WORK

The Plate ok the Diocese of Bangor. By E.
Alfred Jones. London : Bemrose and Sons.
1906. I OS. 6d. net.
Important publications like the present are re-
minders of how much remains to be learnt con-
cerning the art history of our own country. The
roc.irches of Mr. Alfred Jones have already con-
tributed to the general knowledge, and the present
work makes known a fine mazer bowl of the time of
Edward IV, the existence of which in a remote
church in Wales was unsuspected, and a superb
L ilice dating from about 1 500, which has to

1 to the forty or so now known. The only

other chalice found in the principality is not only
one of the finest in existence, the date about 1230,
but it is inscribed with the artificer's name,
Nichohis of Hereford, in the Irish fashion. Of
the far less interesting ' fair chalices' of Elizabeth's
rci.i^n, but twenty-eight are in use in the diocc*se,
but within recognized limits these present consider-
able variety. The silver for these was most
frequently obtxiined by melting gothic chalices,
with a charge of a few shillings per oz. for
refashion. Some are especially interesting as
bearing rare Chester marks. The earliest of these
dates from 15^1 and the most usual makers'
marks are the birds' heads and the initials T. L.

Of far more interest is the plate made originally
for secular use, but given to the church from time
to time fors;icred use. Thus Mr. Jones discovered
in the little church of Penmynrj'dd an example,
dated 1570, of the rare gilt tazza-shaped drinking
cups, which now fetch about ;^" 1,000 when brought
to the hammer. A rarer and perhaps even more
valuable gilt cup and cover is owned by the church
at Llanbadrig. This, with its cover, forms an
elongated ov.il, gadrooned or fluted in a primitive
way by the application at intervals of vertical
and tapering half-niund wiri-s. These extend half
way up the Ixjwl, the ground between them Inking
roughened by the short hyphen-like dashes so
characteristic of early Elizabcth.in work, with an
effect not unlike stretched knitting or drapery.
Above is a band of the same with borders of trefoils

and sprigs. The cover is similarly ornamented and
surmounted by a rayed disc and turned finial, and
the stem is balustered on a high foot. But for a
somewhat similar uncovered cup in a church in
Somersetshire this would be absolutely unique.
Another elliptical cup on high baluster stem barely
fails within the reign of Elizabeth, 1601, but has
had a high steeple-crowned cover added ten years
later. The Beddgelert chalice is the gift of the
maker. Sir John Williams, goldsmith to the king,
and is inscribed 'Donum Johannis Williams auri-
ficis regis. 1610,' and engraved with a coat of arms
and figures of the three Marj's. A number of secu-
lar uncovered cups with bell-shaped bowls and
balustered stems of the reigns of James I and
Charles 1, occasionally with engraving, are in use
in the diocese. The tendency to revert to pre-
Reformation forms, so often seen under Archbishop
Laud, is evidenced here by a chalice with gothic
foot but with rather deeper bowl than the tradi-
tional.

The oldest flagons in the diocese are of the
Canette form, the best being at Bangor Cathedral,
presented by Sir William Roberts in 1637. With
these is a valuable secular salver of 1683, engraved
in the Chinese taste, and presented by Viscount
Bulkeley.

It would be to the interest of village churches
to dispose of very valuable secular plate for the
benefit of parish funds. It is too often kept in
an unlocked vestry, or in the parsonage — some-
times under the bed for safety — frequently still
without its custodians being aware of its value,
and therefore far from adequately insured. Some
security should at the same time be given that rare
specimens should not pass out of the country.
There is probably a greater wealth of old silver
in England than in any other country, Germany
alone excepted, but under present conditions a
student would spend the greater part of his
life in endeavouring to see it. J. S. G.

Urs Graf. Ein BeitragzurGeschichte der Gold-
schmiedekunst im XVI lahrhundert. By
Emil Major. Strassburg : Heitz. 15s. net.
Graf was a talented roisterer who led his wild
life and played his pranks with a zest ; and the
exuberance, audacity and sensuality of his nature
are reflected in his drawings, which belong, with
those of the more finely gifted Nicolaus Manuel,
to the most characteristic productions of the
Swiss school. Artists of his generation wielded
sword and dagger as readily as graver and pen,
and he has left us vivid sketches of the rough
camp life of the mercenaries on Italian campaigns.
But the craft which he exercised first and foremost
at Solothurn and Basle was that of the goldsmith.
His work on metal has almost wholly perished
and his 'monumentum aere perennius' is on
paper, but Herr M.ijor has found considerable

Plate and Goldsmith's IVork

materials for reconstructing out of designs and
nielli the characteristics of Graf's achievements
as an engraver of daggers and scabbards, a maker
of pendants and medallions, of reliquaries, mon-
strances, chalices and drinking vessels, and as a
cutter of dies for the coins of Basle, and of tools
for decorating bookbindings. All this material,
amply illustrated and analyzed, adds largely to
what has already been written about Urs Graf,
chiefly by His, as an engraver and designer of
woodcuts. On this side of his activity also Herr
Major, incidentally, throws new light, though he
does not attempt a complete catalogue of his
work in black-and-white. The principal new
contribution is a careful account of the initials
designed by Graf for the Basle printers, a subject
neglected by His. The biography of the unruly
artist is as complete as documents can make it ; we
hear all about his love match with Sibylla von
Brunn, his infidelities, his imprisonments for debt
and brawling, and a love poem of his composition
preserved in print. The monograph forms a valu-
able addition to our knowledge of art at Basle
before the outbreak of iconoclasm. C. D.

The Edwardian Inventories for Huntingdon-
shire. Edited by Mrs. S. C. Lomns from
transcripts by T. Craib. Pp. .\xx., 58.
Longmans. 1906. los.

As Henry VIII had destroyed the monasteries
and despoiled the cathedrals, when his son was in
need of money his council naturally turned first
to the chantries and then to the parish churches.
The time of the latter having come, the pri\7
council ordered ' that for as muche as the Kinge's
Majestic had neede presently of a masse of money,
therefore commissions shall be addressed into all
the shires of England to take into the Kinge's
handes suche churche plate as remaigneth to be
emploied unto his highnes use.' An inventory was
first to be made, together with a report of any
sales which had already been effected and of any
thefts of plate which might come to the know-
ledge of the commissioners. The commissioners
for Huntingdonshire made a good many reports
of sales ; chalices, bells, and other things had
been sold to provide money for various objects,
such as repairing the ' dyke in the fen,' repairing
the highway, making a pulpit, ' whittying and
scripturing ' the church, ' glassing the windowes,'
repairing the steeple. Sometimes the sale was
made to find money for the poor, and twice
it is recorded that the poor-box was broken into
and the money taken. The commissioners noted
what was left, and early in 1553 the greater part
of it was sent to the Tower to be melted down,
only bare necessaries being left to the churches.
This is the second volume of inventories published
by the Alcuin Club : the first, which contained
those relating to Bedfordshire, was noticed in

The Burlington Magazine for November, 1905.
The club proposes to print and publish as soon
as practicable all such inventories still e.visting ;
when complete the series will certainly be of
considerable value not only to the ecclesiologist
but to the historian as well. And the volumes will
not be without interest to the general reader, who
will gather from them how great must have been
the wealth of English churches in plate and
textiles, and how thorough was the effort made to
destroy all that savoured of the old religion.

E. B.

MISCELLANEOUS
Reproductions from Illumin.ated Manuscripts
in the British Museum. Series I. British
Museum. 55.
In the last three years Messrs. Berthaud, of Paris,
have issued under the direction of Mr. Omont, of
the Bibliotheque Xationale, a series of admirable
portfolios of collotj-pes of mediae\'al MSS. which,
being sold at a very moderate price, have had an
instant success, and have done much to familiarize
students with some of the masterpieces of ancient
French art existing in Paris. Such an example
was bound to be followed by the custodians of
other great libraries, and as the public support has
proved it to be a commercially sound undertaking
it is to be hoped that all the great national collec-
tions of Europe and others of less importance will
by degrees be illustrated in this way. It is not too
much to say that where illuminated manuscripts are
concerned a page of illustration is worth ten
pages of written description, and that a catalogue
of such works aiming at completeness should
contain at leiist one reproduction of every book
described, if possible of the actual scale of the
original.

Dr. G. F. Warner, to whom students are already
deeply indebted for the rearrangement, extension,
and careful labelling of the illuminated manu-
scripts exhibited at the British Museum, ra.aking
the series for the first time an educational one of
the utmost importance and an invaluable guide to a
knowledge which cannot be acquired from text-
books, has now followed the lead of his Parisian
confrere by issuing a similar portfolio illustrating
this well-chosen series. The visitor to the museum is
thus enabled not only to examine the books in the
cases but to buy for the verj- moderate price of
five shillings fitU- reproductions of the pages that
he has been studving, which fifty will shortly be
followed by another fifty at the s;i'me price, whereby
his memory of what he has seen will be kept
fresh and his interest in the subject stimulated.

If he be a serious student he will compare the
reproductions with other reproductions and with
books in other collections. Xos. VII and XIII
will recall a Prudentius and a Book of Hours at
Cambridge; Xo. XV is closely related to the

e///7 Books of the SMo/it/i

famous Marco Polo in the Bodleian; No. XXII is
allicJ to two Ixioks at Vienna; No. XXXI is
by the siime hand ;is the Vak-riiib Maximus of
which reproductions have lately been issued
under the auspices of Dr. Warner and Mr. Yates
Thompson; No. XV HI closelv resembles the
covenant of a later Doge of Venice that was
illustrated in the catalogue of the Sneyd sale.

As to the collotypes themselves thev must be
pronounced a credit to all concernecf, the only
drawb.itk Ix-ing one which Dr. Warner admits in
his introductory note — i.e., the reduction of
scale, which is in some cases considerable. The
descriptions leave nothing to he desircd/and the
only feature of the production which is open to
criticism is the type selected for the letterpress.
This type is ugly, and might with advantage be
changed in the subsequent issues which Dr.
W:u-ner promises us, and which are certain of a
hearty welcome. S. C. C.

Leonardo da Vinci. Thoughts on Art and Life.
Translated by Maurice Baring. Boston : The
Merrymount Press. |6oo.
It is impossible not to compare this edition of
Leonardo's writings with that recently produced
by Mr. Edward McCurdy, although the aims of
the two are quite distinct. Mr. McCurdy was
largely interested in Leonardo's attitude towards
science. Mr. Baring's book forms the first part
of a series, 'The Humanists' Library,' the aim of
which is to illustrate the culture of the Renais-
sance. In Mr. McCurdy's book Leonardo
appeared as a pioneer in physiology and optics
and geology; in the Humanists' Library, he is
in the company of Diirer and Erasmus, of Petrarch
and Philip Sidney.

The introduction by Mr. Lewis Einstein, the
editor of the series, shows us Leonardo as an
embodiment of the Renaissance attitude towards
art and science, towards abstract speculation and
practical life, and recognizes fully how much the
uncertain political conditions of Italy had to do
with narrowing or rendering abortive the results
of the vivid energies then at work. The trans-
lation is readable and appropriate in tone, but
is rather less accurate and scholarly, where we
have tested it, than was Mr. McCurdy's. The
selection of extracts, too, is less complete than his,
the text being based on a reccntly-pulilishcd Italian
edition which covered the ground much less com-
pletely than did the English translation.

On the other hand, the book is admirably adapted
for those who desire no more than a general
acquaintance with Leonardo, and would like to
have their memorial of him in the most perfect
possible form. No praise can be too high for
the printing, the paper, and the type— the
almost perfect fount designed by Mr. Herbert
Home, m which, so far as we remember, only one

book h.is hitherto been printed. The label on
the back of the volume is the single feature of
which we are dubious.

Le CouvENT DE St. Jean A Munster dans les
GrisoNS. Par Joseph Zemp, avec la collab-
oration de Robert Durrer. Genex-a : Atar.
This publication of the Societe Suisse des Monu-
ments Historiques is of singular interest. The
Convent of St. John is a foundation of the
Carolingian epoch — legend, indeed, ascribes its
foundation to Charlemagne himself — situated on
the eastern border of Switzerland, on the old
route over the Wormser Joch, which was once a
rival of the Brenner. From the architectural
standpoint alone the convent is of remarkable
interest, but its importance as a specimen of
Carolingian construction is enormously enhanced
by the discovery of a series of fresco paintings
contemporary with its foundation. These were
seriously damaged by fire at the end of the 15th
century, and were hidden and in part effaced by
the rebuilding of the roof. The frescoes illustrate
the history of David and Absalom, and display a
curious mixture of styles, for in them we see the
ornaments and conventions of Ravenna carried
out with the ruder and more forcible touch of a
northern workman. As an addition to the exist-
ing documents bearing upon a most difficult yet
cardinal period of Art history, the discovery
cannot be over-estimated.

Behind the Veil. Written by Ethel Roll
Wheeler. Illustrated by Austin O. Spare.
David Nutt. 6s. net.
The little sketches that compose the letterpress of
this book, most of them reprinted from the weekly
reviews, are interesting enough in themselves; but
they require an abler hand than that of Mr. Austin
Spare to justify their appearance in the form of an
illustrated book. It is possible that Mr. Spare may
be capable of better things, and if so he would be
well advised to attempt them : but Beardsley's robe
is far too baggy for him. R. D.

Drawings Illustrative of ' John Inglesant.'
By Lady Jane Lindsay. London : Dickinsons,
£2 12s. 6d. and ^^3 5s.
To the ranks of distinguished women artists,
which include such names as the Empress Fred-
eric, the marchioness of Lome, the duchess of
Rutland, Countess Gleichen and, in a past genera-
tion, the Hon. Mrs. James and the Lady Diana
Beauclerk, the name of Lady Jane Lindsay must
now be added as one who has proved herself an
illustrator of no mean capacity and considerable
attainment. Women have usually been more
fortunate in the purely derivative forms of art
than in work which demands an original or
creative talent, and in the present instance it is as a
commentary on a famous novel that Lady Lindsay's
drawings are to be judged most favourably. It

seems, indeed, unlikely that Shorthouse him-
self would have wished for a more enthusiastic
or more sympathetic interpreter ; and, especially
in her wash drawings, the artist has contrived just
that atmosphere of romantic unreality which is so
pleasant a feature in her original. It only remains
to say that the plates, twenty-four in number, are
all admirably produced.

NEW PRINTS

The latest of the Medici Prints is a reproduction
of the charming Portrait of a Lady in the Poldi
Pezzoli Museum, which after passing successively
under the name of Piero della Francesca and
Verrocchio is now, by the latest writer on the
subject, given to Antonio Pollajuolo. As in the
case of the previous plates, the reproduction is
surprisingly good, a special word of praise being
desen'ed by the quality of the blue background. It
should prove the most popular of all the plates which
Messrs. Chatto and Windus have issued so far.

The Caxton Publishing Company are issuing a
large mezzotint by Mr.T. Hamilton Crawford of the
Rokeby Velazquez. It is a thoroughly sound and
capable rendering of an exceedingly difficult sub-
ject— a very slight lack of crispness in the draperies,
and of modelling in the lower part of the Cupid's
body and on the foot of the recumbent Venus
being the only points in which it falls short of
completely rendering the original. In common
with all other modern mezzotints, the plate has a
certain deadness of tone, which the great mezzo-
tinters of the eighteenth century avoided by their
freedom and decision of handling. Possibly the
introduction of photogravure is responsible for this
increase of caution, but we fancy that, if any
modern mezzotinter had the pluck to throw photo-
graphic ideals to the winds and work as an
independent interpreter, he would not lack support.

Messrs. Hanfstaengl send a hu'ge photograviue
of Las Mciiiuai, a specimen of the eighty-four
plates which will be included in their forthcoming
publication on the Prado. The plate has most
successfully avoided the heavy shadows to which
the process is liable, and as each part of the

<A. ART IN

OUNT POTOCKI has lent
to the Louvre a portrait by
'r^embrandt of the artist's
brother. I have not yet been
able to see the picture, but 1
understand that it is a very fine
.xample of the master's later

_ ^period. It h.is been placed in

the new Salle Rembrandt at the end of the long gal-
lery, where M. Leprieurhasarranged ononeside the
paintings of Rembrandt himself and on the other
fine works by his pupils. The excellent collection

Art Books of the Month

projected work will contain six of the plates for
the sum of fifty shillings, they cannot be called
expensive.

From the same publishers we have received a
specimen plate of a Greuze Album. The plate
is pretty, and the process — photogravure printed
in colour — not only demands a high degree
of skill from the operators, but also suits Greuze
better than it might suit a greater colourist.

CATALOGUES, REPORTS, ETC.
Foremost among the Catalogues of the month
is that of Mediaeval and Later Manuscripts issued
by Mr. Karl Hierseraann at the price of lo marks.
The contents range from works of the tenth
century to the manuscript of a sonata by Beeth-
oven, and include a number of oriental specimens.
The catalogue is illustrated by twenty-six
plates. Three of the handsome sale catalogues
of Messrs. F. Muller of Amsterdam illustrate the
excellent modern pictures sold by their firm
during March, among them an exquisite Sunset by
Uaiibigny, apparently painted from Chateau
Gaillard. Messrs. Gilhofer and Ranschberg of
Vienna send their illustrated catalogue (3
kronen) of the remaining works of Franz Gaul,
including a very large collection of works on
costume. The sale lasted from March 18-23.
Mr. M. Nijhoff's new catalogue consists almost
entirely of works dealing with the fine arts.
A most careful list of corrections and addi-
tions to the list of Chodowiecki's prints is
issued by Mr. Wilhelm Engelmann of Leipzig at
the price of 5 marks, and from the Gesellschaft zur
Verbreitung klassischer Kunst of Berlin comes a
most useful catalogue by Bruno Jacobi of photo-
graphic reproductions of works by Rembrandt.
The Board of Education have issued a well
illustrated report on the National Competition
for 1906 at the price of three shillings, while
from .'\inerica we have received the Report
of the Librarian of Congress, and the interesting
illustrated Bulletinsof the Boston and Pennsyl\-ania
Museums, the former containing reproductions of
three magnificent screens by Korin.

FRANCE Hk,

of works by Rembrandt which the Lountc
possesses is now seen to much greater ad\-antage
than was formerly the case. There is some hope
that Count Potocki's picture m.iy find a perma-
nent home in the great national collection.

The annual report of the Soctfle lUs amis ilii
Louvre, which is now ten years old, shows that
the societv is still doing admirable work. It
presented to the Louvre during last year, among
other works of art. five statues which were
formerly in the abbey of Maubuisson. Two of
these are very fine examples of the fourteenth

E S^

Art />/ Fnuicc

century — the monumental cffi/iies of Charles IV
and his queen Jeanne d'Evreux, by Jean dc Li^^c.
There is also a charming fourteenth-century angel,
a Virgin of the liftLcnth century (apparently one
of the figures from a rood-loft), and a kneeling
donor of the sixteenth century. The balance-
sheet of the society shows that it was able to
secure these very beautiful sculptures for the
cMi i/ingly low price of 10,000 francs. They
. t placed in the museum for the first time
on February i5th, the day on which the Salle
Kembrandt was opened. The society h;is now 2,347
members, a net increase of 2 28over the previous year.
In addition to the gifts of the society as a body,
the Lou\Te was enriched during 1906 by a large
number of gifts from individual members. The
most imporUmt of these is, of course, the splendid
collection which M. Moreau-Neiaton has pre-
sented to the n.ition, which has been placed for
want of space in the Pavilion de Marson, where
the Musce des Arts dtcoratifs is housed. The
Morcau-N'elaton collection contains 190 pictures,
w.iter-colours and drawings, anti includes seven
m.ignilicent Corots and very fine examples of
Dil.icroix, Decamps, Manet, Monet, Sisley,
I'lsaarro, Puvis de Chavannes, Carriere and
Kantin-Latour.

The s.'ile of the first part of the Viau collection
on March 4th showed that the painters of
the impressionist school are more popular
than ever, or at least more fashionable. Some
of the prices were quite ridiculous, notably those
of 19,000 and 14,200 francs paid respectively by
the Prince de Wagram and the Marquise de
Ganay for two pictures by Cezanne. The
picture bought by the Marquise de Ganay {Paysage

deli-) fetched 1,400 francs at the Choquet sale in
1899, and that is about its reasonable \'alue.
The prices paid for Kenoir also seem to me ab-
surdly cxaggenited : La Tonnelle fetched no less
than 26,000 francs, and Ingiinic 25,100. The
l.itter was bought by Messrs. Bernheim, so no
doubt the price was its market value.

Daumier is in another category, and nobody
was surprised that the Herlin Museum should have
given 28,100 francs for Lc Draiiie. But it was very
surprising that paintings by Monet and pastels by
Degas fetched less tli.in the expert's valuation.
The vagaries of the artistic public are always con-
spicuous in the auction-room, and certainly
commercial and artistic value did not coincide
when the Fruits of Cezanne fetched a higher price
than the Danseiiaes an foyer of Degas or Le%
Glaiiom of Claude Monet.

The group of thirty-two painters and sculptors
who formerly called themselves the Soc/V/^ Nomrlle
held their annual exhibition in the Galerie
Georges I\tit during the last fortnight of March.
As usual the exhibition was interesting, and con-
tained a large proportion of good work. Mr.
Sargent was represented by five pictures, and Mr.
Jacques Blanche by no less than ten, including a
most interesting portrait of Mr. Thomas Hardy,
two brilliant portraits of Englishwomen and his
portrait of Aubrey Beaidsley. M. Blanche is,
perhaps, too much influenced nowadays by the
English School of the eighteenth century, which
contends with that of Whistler in his more recent
paintings. I am not sure that he has improved on
his earlier work. The quiet seascapes of Mr.
Ulmann deserve notice ; their qualitv is excellent.

R. E. D.

cA. ART IN GERMANY cA>

At the lx;ginning of this year a Uhde exhibition
was arranged in Munich by the Secession, which
rendered a fairly exhaustive account of the life-
work of this m;Lster, who stands now upon the
threshold of his sixtieth year. Uhde acquired
fame and his position in German art in Munich,
which capital he settled in after his student's years.
He is a Saxon by birth, and there lies perhaps
more significance than one would at fust suppose
ill the fact that this reformer of Biblical ii.iinting
happens to be a son of the country in which thegreat
religiousreformation took place almost five centuries
ago. Strangely enough, Uhde's art met with more
oppositi<m in the land of his birth than any-
where else. It is only quite l.itely that the S.ixons
liave Ix'gun to take pride in tlieir countryman.
And now, although they have yielded precedence
to the people of Munich, they have at least followed
suit with a iiolable Uhde exhibition of their own
held at Dresden during the past month. It may
have been not quite as fine as the one at Munich,

but it was by no means a mere repetition thereof,
as it contained many works which had not been
sent to Munich.

The show gave a fairly good survey ol this
remarkable artist's labour, though half a dozen at
leiist of his most important canvases were missing.
The development of Uhde's art appears strange
enough when we see it thus spread out before us.
It was only in his twenty-ninlh year that he took
to painting seriously at all, abandoning a military
career for it. One of the earlii-st paintings
exhibited here, A Tititon Horseman (dated 1879),
displays a wonderfully passionate coloration and
energetic style that almost recall Daumier. He
then became the scholar of Muiikacsy, and, while
under him, quite sunk any individuality of his
own in an imitation of his teacher's qualities.
Then he revolted and fell in with the modern
picin-air movement. There are some excellent
Uhdes painted in the beginning of the eighties
which will hold their own beside Bastien Lepage.

Art in Germany

He seems to have drifted with the stream, and
gradually grew more flat, grey and uncom-
promisingly/)/c/«-fl/r-j' in his tone values.

But a sudden break came as he turned to
religious art. The purely artistic issues of his style
did not change at ftrst, but they scarcely attracted
any notice alongside the sensationally novel
manner of conception which his rendering of
Gospel subjects betrayed. It was a wonderful
inspiration, and one of the feats of art during the
past century, suddenly to strip religious art of all
archaeological trimmings and to present the soul
and spirit of the New Testament in such a manner
that eveiy one could at once grasp their essence :
that no one need first adjust his or her powers of
perception to an appreciation of historical truths.
Paintings like Komm Hcvr Jesus (Berlin), The
Last Supper (the first version), Jesus and the
Apostles at Eiiinuius, The Seniioii on the Mount, Suffer
the Little Children to Conic /(///d vI/l* (Leipzig), the
two splendid versions of On the JVay to Betlilehcni
(Munich), and the wonderful triptych of The
Nativity (Dresden), especially as it appeared in its
original form in 1888, with perhaps a few others,
are extraordinary achievements and will, judgecl
from many different points of view, never fail to
keep the name of Uhde bright in the memory of
all time.

The inspiration, however, was not accompanied
by an unlimited energy, a boundless capacity for
subduing untractable themes. His attempts to
'modernize' the story of Tobit and the Angel,
of the Good Samaritan, of the Three Magi on
their way to Bethlehem, and many others which
he approached during the nineties, do not appear
to me convincing or successful. Unless I am
mistaken, Uhde himself must have felt somewhat
the same way on the subject, for he has com-
pletely abandoned religious painting. He turned
first to portraits, then to open-air genre subjects
in which he aims at an altogether different tech-
nique and coloration from what he used to
employ. Whatever our opinion on these depar-
tures may be, it is scarcely doubtful that they will
not play the important role in the history of
German painting which Uhde's art during the
eighties of the last century did.

During March Leipzig harboured three impor-
tant exhibitions: the black-and-white show of
the Deutsche Kiinstlerbund, the Klinger exhibi-
tion at the Kiinstverein in the Museumbuilding,
and the exhibition of old Leipzig silversmith work
and German sixteenth-century' tapestries at the
Museum of Applied Arts. The staff of this latter
establishment has been very successful of late in
arranging exhibitions which throw a flood of
light upon some branches of German art which
have scarcely been looked into as yet. The por-
celain exhibition which took place List year dis-
closed the existence of a number of central German

potteries of the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries which had been totally forgotten. It
was a matter of surprise to students to see what
an amount of good and interesting porcelain had
been produced in factories whose names they had
not even heard of. The present exhibition is
scarcely of less interest, showing, as it does, to
what high grade of perfection the art of the silver-
smiths had been pushed at Leipzig, and supply-
ing us '-with a number of artists' names, etc.,
heretofore unknown. I hope to be able to give
a longer account of some of the most important
features of the exhibition next month.

To the director of the Buchgewerbe Museum at
Leipzig is due much thanks for securing the black-
and-white show of the Deutsche Kunstlerbund,
and for the great care with which he arranged an
effective and good display. During the nineties
of the last centui-y an uncommonly large amount
of superior black-and-white work was produced
in Gerniiwiy. A notable degree of freshness was
introduced through the circumstance of several
important masters turning either to the etcher's or
the lithographer's art, which they had hitherto
neglected. After a while, however, their interest
waned: they seem in many cases simply to have
wanted to try their hand at the thing, and as soon
as they found out what could be achieved with
the needle, the knife and the lithographer's
crayon, their curiosity was satisfied, as it were.
Many of the important painters have all but given
up black-and-white again, and the first years of the
new century have not brought us as much new
talent as we could have wished for. Taking
everything into consideration, the present Leipzig
exhibition contained rather more good work by
new- men than was to be expected. I was particu-
larly struck by some excellent, delicate black-
line woodcuts by C. Weidemeyer of Worpswede,
and by the very powerful colour-etchings of Olaf
Lange, now living at Dachau, near Munich.
Miss Emily Lengnick of Dresden sent a fine
drawing of a misty day in London, and Miss
Julie Wolfthorn of Berlin some exceedingly
attractive drawings, a small portrait slightly remin-
iscent of Boutet de Monvel's touch among them.
Perhaps the best work among the younger artists
consists of the woodcuts in colour, all of which
are more or less dependent upon Japanese art
and upon Orlik. Siegfried Berndt of Dresden
should lie named in this connection.' Of course
there is a lot of good work by the older men
such as Baum, P. Behrens, Cissarz, O. Fischer,
O. Grciner, C. Grethe, L. v. Holm.in, H. Hiibner.
Kalckreuth, Kollwitz, Leistikow, Meyer-B.isel,
Munch, Orlik, Pankok, Schlittgcn, SchmoU von
Eisenwerth, A, Sohn-Kethcl, Strerael, H. Wolff,

' I,. H. Jun.snickcl, of Vienna, prixluces some exlraordinar>-
ilrawiiiys hviiieans ol a special teehniqucol hisown elaboration,
which combines stencilling with brush-splutler work.

Art in Germany

etc., whose reputation has been established
before now.

The Klinger exhibition, arranged to celebrate
thf .irtist's fiftieth birlhd.iy, \v;is held in rooms of
the niuscuni, which dosscnscs all the most impor-
tant sculptures by his hand, a great stock of
splendid drawings, a complete set of his etchings,
and the most painter-like, at least, of hiscanvxses,
the l.'hcurc-hlcnc. Of paintings there were, be-
sides the Vula belonging to the Dresden Gallery,
all the dectir.itidns for the Villa Vogel now de-
slroyed, and a numl>cr »)f more or less important
sketches, with some of the small early works
{Jhe Embassy, The litkk ll'all, etc.). The large
pictures : The fiulfinienl of Paris, The Cniciftxion,
and Chrisl in dlyinhus, would have rounded the
show ofT completely, but could not be secured.
The array of work thus displayed was imposing
enough ; all the more, when one reflects that

the artist, as sculptor and draughtsman certainly,
is still at the height of his powers.

The Royal Print Room at Berlin may probably
lay claim to having the best collection of Goya's
black-and-white work in the world now. I have
already reported some time .ngo important Goya
acquisitions there, and recently a collection
formed long .ago has been secured, which con-
tained old sets of some of the series of which it
w;is supposed no prints earlier than those pulled
for the San Fernando Academy existed. Of the
seventeen lithographs by Goya, most of them
excessively rare, Berlin now possesses all but five,
among them Lefort 265, 274, 276, 277, and
v. Ix»ga 277. Some further great rarities are The
Flijiht into Egypt (I^fort 227), Man in a Sicing
(Lefort 250), and the Blind Strect-Singcr (Lefort

255)-

H. W. S.

^ ART IN AMERICA c^

A PASTEL BY J. S. COPLEY
TlIK portrait reproduced in this numlicr (p. 44) is
interesting ;is an example of Copley's work in pastel
at the end of his American period, when he had
attained as great a degree of technical skill as was
possible without a more ample knowledge of art
th.in America could furnish. The pastel was made
between the marriage of the sitter, Nancy Barrell,
in 1764 and her death in 1771. (A family tradition
says in 1768, when the lady was twenty-four.)
Copley left America in 1774. Though simpler
and less important than his elaborate full-length
portraits in oil, the head shows how much the
artist was able to le.arn in colonial Boston. He
had known the works and may have received the
advice uf men like Blackburn and Smyhert, but
he must have acquired more from his stepfather
Peter Pelham, who had been a fairly good mezzo-
tint engraver in England and who continued to
practise his art in Boston when occasion pre-
sented. Copley himself produced a mezzotint plate
when he w.as sixteen, and the engraver's training
shows in his feeling for laborious, accurate draw-
ing ;is well .as in his black shadows and somewhat
raw colour. Blackburn often has more grace of
colour and composition, but Copley laboured
unremittingly to draw his sitters exactly .as they
stood before him.

He w.as thirty-seven when lie linally went
abroad, and the long years of labour had had
their reward. He painted portraits admirable
in a certain bare sincerity. His style was not
in the least like that of the English painters
he was afterwards to .associate with. Even
after he had settled in England, his sincerity
and thoroughness of drawing long per-
sisted, and arc personal to him. They vanished

at last, when, thinking that he had discovered the
medium of the Venetians, he painted much like
the other successors of Reynolds. His best work
was done soon after his arrival in England, when
he had assimilated the graces that he saw about
him, and yet had not lost his earlier merits. The
heads in his Family Picture or even in the Death
of Chattuini have a thoroughness and exactness of
drawing greater than any contemporary English
work, and comparable in a way with some of
David's portraits.

His drawings in coloured chalks, to use the
accurate and descriptive term employed in the
artist's day, are much rarer than his oil paintings,
not only because he employed the medium
less frequently, but also from their perishable
nature. The good condition of the present
example may be attributed to its having remained
an honoured heirloom in the family for which
it was originally painted. The portrait is on
paper pasted on canvas, and the treatment shows
a thorough knowledge of the medium. The
]iastcl is well rubbed into the ground, and the
finishing of the flesh is entirely with the stump.
The lights of the eyes, the string of pearls, the
lace pattern, and the lights in the dress are put in
minutely with the point. The hair is particularly
well done, carefully and accurately drawn with no
flufliness or vagueness, and yet in spite of the
complete rendering of detail forming a single
effective mass of a pleasant dark brown. The
shadows of the flesh, as in all the artist's
portraits of the time, are too dark and bricky,
though this is less disagreeable in the softness of
a pastel than in oil. A slight trace of brickiness
may even be detected in the rest of the face, the
carmines, if there ever were any to give it softness,

Art in America

having long since faded ; but as a whole the flesh
tones in the light are luminous and soft, and the
general colour scheme is delightful. The back-
ground is blue, the dress a delicate, warm grey
with a blue gauze scarf fastened to the right
shoulder, a bit of orange drapery showing at the
right, and a blush rose fastened in the corsage.
The blue is the same throughout, even the leaves
of the rose being done with it— a rich, deep colour
like indigo, with which the large masses of the
dark brown hair, the luminous flesh and the warm
grey dress form a simple but pleasing harmony.

The drawing is like all Copley's drawing of his
American period : serious, sincere and laborious,
though the more facile medium makes it less dry
and hard than in his paintings. Many of his
contemporaries in England or France could have
made a prettier picture from his sitter, but few
would have so convinced us that his sitter was a
charming person. The hair combed back shows
a high, well-rounded forehead which promises
intelligence, while the low corsage gives a glimpse
of physical perfection also. The eyes look brightly
from a delicate, mobile face, and there is a slight
pout which is not marked enough to detract from
the air of breeding and stateliness which is partly
of the time but partly also of the sitter.

It is pleasant to know by more than usually
ample evidence that the lady corresponded to her
portrait. Anna Pierce Barrell (known to her
contemporaries as Nancy Barrell) was by birth
and marriage connected with the best of the sturdy
little colonial society whose views and deeds have
influenced, in a way that they could not remotely
imagine, the future of a continent. Her father,
Joseph Pierce, a man of good family, was a noted
physician of Portsmouth, N.H., who accompanied
the Louisberg Expedition as chief surgeon. Her
husband, Joseph Barrell, was a man even more
prominent and typical of his time. He fairly
represents the culmination of the cultured, dignified
colonial life made possible by increased wealth, but
destined to be destroyed or materially changed by
the wave of democratic equality following our
independence and the French Revolution. He
was a wealthy merchant of the old, ample sort,
more dignified even than his British prototype,
for he had no nobility or gentry above him.
Apart from his business his ideals were those of
the English country gentleman. A certain historic
importance attaches to him, since he with some
others fitted out the ship Colnnibia which was sent
round the Horn up the west coast to Puget Sound,
where sealskins were bought and exchanged in
China for tea. She was the first ship to carry the
American flag around the globe, and the first to
enter and navigate the Columbia River, to which
she gave her name. From the landing at the
mouth of the river in 1792 came the Lewis and
Clarke expedition a dozen years later, and finally

the claim by the United States to the possession
of the whole North-west Territory.*

Samuel I sham.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in
Philadelphia divides with the younger Carnegie
Institute in Pittsburg the honour of holding the
most important annual exhibition in the country.
That just closed, the one hundred and second in
its annals, was more largely retrospective than
usual, and was remarkable for the greater import-
ance of the figure pieces as compared with the
landscapes, which, however, were freer from
cleverness, more varied and individually expressive.
A majority of them were the work of Pennsyl-
vanians, and in Philadelphia the query arose : Is
there a Philadelphia school of landscape painting ?
As yet, the artistic ideals of the figure painter in
this country seem incomplete — the questions of
technical rendering, accurate drawing, colour
which is true if not necessarily brilliant or beauti-
ful, ;;kilful handling, etc., are still the important
ones with him. He is not concerned with style,
unity, with that higher composition which makes
a picture the rounded and complete expression of
an artistic idea. The foreign critic might well
consider nearly all these figure pieces as careful
studies for parts of important compositions. The
feeling for Ic style or ior genre are equally lacking.
The modern methods, in their evident want of
every interest, excepting that of the eye, in the
subject, in an apparent absence of the seriousness
and studious care which mark the works of the old
Dutch masters, tend to put the American paintings
in a class apart. It seems as if, having taken up
art, and having learned mostly in France that it is
absolutely necessary to paint well, the artists have
taken to ' painting,' to the exclusion of even.'thing
else. Fortunately they have not confined them-
selves to one method ; though, at present, there
seems to be a general preference for those which
are qualified as impressionistic, some of the high-
est honours are reserved for artists who, like Mr.
Dewing, are very far from following the painter of
the Olvinpie. This catholicity is a hopeful sign.

Rather curiously, the landscapists and the
sculptors proceed on different lines from the
figure painters. While the last strive to render
their temporary model in the accidental corner
with the adventitious porcelain jar and the casual
Turkey rug ati pied de la leltir, tiie landscape men
are not in the least concerned with the hard facts
of botany and geology, nor so verj- much with
those of atmosphere and light as they pretend. It
is the storv told by the screen of trees across the
middle distance, with the broken meadow in the

» By virtue of the sterling qiialilies Mr. Isham has pointed
out, the portrait lias authority ; it also i< humane and svmp.>thetic
to a r.ire degree. But it seems to me th.it Mr. Isham s judicious
and authoritative appreciation leaves somethiMg to be said
perhaps o( the very great .irlistic charm, the Ireshncss and
morbuUzzj, of this ra'uable example.— A K. J.

tArt ifi America

foreground and the grey sky beyond, the snggcs-
tion, the mood, the xspiration, the melancholy,
that concern them ; quite unlike the others— the
materialists — they arc pantheists, poets, dreamers.
Likewise the sculptors — some of the younger ones,
at le.Lst— have advanced so far that their civili/a-
tion, under the not altogether wholesome influence
of Kodin and Meunier, has reached the pessimistic,
the decadent, stage. Even the animal sculptors
portray, with much skill, the tragedies, and even
the humour, of the situations in which their four-
fiMited clients are supposed to find themselves. It
might be s;iid that our figure p.iinters were the
least intellectual of our artists. This holds good
of the portrait painters — m whose case it is least
excusiible. The temptation to make an arrange-
ment of your sitter, to show the hniruia of your
painting — .as in the sleeve of the gown of the Rev.
kndicott Peabody, by Sargent, in this exhibition—
or an ingenious affectation of an accessory — as in
the tea-service of Miss Beauxs portrait of Mrs.
John F. Lewis — this temptation overcomes the
best of them. The fatal hold which a mannerism
of any kind may take upon a good painter is well
known. But few of these portraitists have fol-
lowed Manet's advice to paint a portrait as you
would a landscape — which means something else
than what he meant— subordinating cveiything to
the rendering of the expression, the sentiment, the
char.icter of the central themes. There are ex-
ceptions ; and one of them in Philadelphia that
w;ls most welcome was Akkii Weir's extremely
simple but nobly serious and competent portrait
of his wife, standing in a white gown in a summer
evening landscape. That of Joseph Wharton, by
Julian Story, h;is sincerity of character, and so has
Charles Hopkinson's honest group of two little
girls sitting for their portraits and duly impressed
with the seriousness of the situation.

John La P'arge — who is, naturally, quite exempt
from the qualiticationsset forth above — exhibited
his familiar Viiit of Xicodcuiiis to Christ ; Mr.
Dewing, also, a characteristic Lady li'ith a Lute ;
and Mr. Philip Hale, a younger man, a graceful
nude hgure, '///t' Spirit of Antique Art, in which
something of liis theme had really informed his
brush. Kenyon Cox, who is of the moderns, but
not with them, sent his portrait of Maxfield
Parrish, the artist, and a study of a wild goose.
Miss Cassatt's two canvases indicated something
of her later methods, in which is a tendency to
greater suavity of expression and brusluvork,
without the sacrifice of the virile qualities which
distinguish her. Childe Hass;mi, also, apparently
aware that the extreme methods are not necessarily
unavoidable, attains the peculiar distinction of his
compositions, his rendering of light and vibratory
colour, with a minimum obtrusion of the pecu-
liarities of techiiiipie. In the unacademic group,
the two most prominent of the younger figure

painters are Robert Henri and William J.
Glackens, to whom the vivid and quite per-
suading presentation of the object voulit — not
without good drawing and close study of values
and tones— is the main consideration. Most of
the Academy's prizes were awarded in this group
— the Hcatricc of W. Sergeant Kendall, a strong
piece of painting, w;us purchased from the Temple
Fund ; the Temple Gold Medal was awarded to
Willard L. Metcalf for his charming Golden Screen
of trees ; the Jennie Lesnan Gold Medal for the
best landscape in the exhibition, to Ernest Lawson,
for his River in Winter, very strong and full of
air. Two of these awards went to young women
— the Walter Lippincott Prize of I300 to Miss
Marion Powers, for her young girl's Tea Party,
and the Mary Smith Prize of lioo to Miss Mary
Smyth Perkins, for her Herd of Cows. Special
mention must be made of the landscapes of Joseph
Davol, those of Edward W. Redfield, the two can-
vases of Jerome Myers, and the characteristic ////J/j
Cliff, Coast of Maine, by the veteran Winslow Homer.
The great development of our architectural and
monumental sculpture dates from the World's
Fair of 1893. There, in the most typical of
American cities, in dirty, smoky Chicago, beehive
of feverish commercial activity, that had grown
with extraordinary rapidity, w;is the ideal place
for such a show. Side by side with its huddle of
nakedly utilitarian buildings, with here and there
attempts (some of them very good) at aesthetic
refinement, which added an advertising value to
business buildings and gave a distinctive note to
private dwellings, there rose 'The White City,' the
most magnificent as well as the most needed
of object-lessons to our people. Pioneers and
descendants of pioneers, settled in that great West
and middle West which less than seventy, less
than fifty, less than twenty years before had been
the wilderness, and whose lives had been filled
with the immediate problems of pioneering and
industry, came to it with fresh, eager minds, and
with deep reserves of spiritual and imaginative
force. They received this lesson from the old
civilizations of the Mediterranean not merely in
the most enthusiastic spirit, but with a simple, an
almost childlike reverence. The few who could
judge had only admiration for this realization of
classical beauty created in less than two years ;
and, whatever its shortcomings, the people were
as wise as the wisest in not seeing them. The
compelling refinement, the harmony of ensemble
and details, were to the American people a superb
revelation, a dream made tangible. And the
psychological mood helped the impression, so that
it was and has remained le coup dc foudre, the
event which opened to them a new world. It was
an experience that had long been planned and
looked forward to. They came prepared to
appreciate and enjoy because of their intense pride

Art in America

in the Fair as Americans, because of the sacrifices
the visit entailed for the majority ; perhaps to
many of them it was not unHke what the visit to
the circus is to children. At any rate, from the
prosaic iiiilieu in which they were fighting the
battle of life, from the wooden houses of the
prairies, the ranches, the mines, the new settle-
ments, they came to their own big Chicago, and
there they entered a fairyland where everything
was orderly, distinguished, wonderful. First of
all, the charm of colour was indescribable ; on the
beautiful sand, by the turquoise waters of the
great lake and under the blue sky, the buildings
rose in dazzling stateliness amidst the restful
greenery of grass and trees, the brilliant sunshine
emphasizing the white of the walls with transparent
purple shadows. The gay notes of flowers and of
the thousands of flags fluttering in the breeze
helped the festive ensemble. The large, spacious
walks of ideal cleanliness were thronged with
people, who were in the same mood, with eyes,
ears, mind drinking in the joy of it all.

This great adventure (as Mr. James would say)
of the American people has had an immense
influence for good which was bound perforce to
show weak points. After our fashion of practical
people, having taken to heart tlie great lesson,
we resolved to put our new knowledge to material
account at once. One of the striking features of
the Chicago Exposition had been the many
examples of monumental statuary distributed
over the buildings and grounds. The collection
was improvised for the occasion, built of
perishable stuff, suflicient, even very good, for its
purpose, and it was invaluable in educating our
people to the fact that the art of sculpture
covered a larger field than that of statues of
politicians and soldiers, to which it had been
almost exclusively restricted in America. After
the Exposition nothing has been easier for the
architects than to get the necessary moneys
appropriated from cities, states and Federal
governments for the lavish use in our public
buildings all over the country of architectural and
monumental sculpture. That the demand for
such imaginative and decorative works has been
great may be inferred from the number of
American sculptors foreign-born who have settled
here since 1893. We have used this sort of
sculpture in and out of place, and the result,
as might have been anticipated and is now seen,
is largely unsatisfactory. We have made the sad
gain of much permanent sculpture which is of the
same character as the improvisations of the
Chicago World's Fair. That these heroic, colossal,
historical impersonations which have been so
much in demand require a rare temperament and
a particular technical training this Pennsylvania
Academy exhibition proved conclusively. The
very men who failed in the big things show their

unexpected qualifications for smaller work :
figurines, busts, reliefs, etc. ; and the 134 pieces
by American sculptors shown there form an
interesting and promising exhibit.

Among the many one-man exhibitions of the
last two months that of Alden Weir showed that
the artist was coming into his own, not merely in
material matters like purchasers and medals, but
in a more serene, assured and no less personal
expression. His work had at all times commanded
the respect of artists, but, a searcher always, he
had oftentimes plunged into technical experiments
which to the public unjustly seemed due to a
desire to be eccentric and to do something new at
any cost. If these experiments were not satisfac-
tory they always contributed something of value
to his equipment, and now to such excellent figure
pieces as the Black Hat, the Grey Gown and the
Green Bodice, with their pure and luminous colour
not too much sophisticated with tonal effects, are
added the recent landscapes, expressing with a
sober simplicity the beauty and the mysterious
grandeur of the aspects of nature that appeal to
him above all, the characteristically green land-
scape of our Eastern seaboard dozing in the
heated atmosphere of summer days.

Two veterans, Dwight Tryon and T. W. Dewing,
whose pictures are never seen at the regular exhibi-
tions, showed a number of their works together at
the Montrose Gallery. The little figure pieces of
Mr. Dewing prove him to be still faithful to his
exquisite and sophisticated formula ; and the
charm of the slender, shadowy, always silent
sitters, the beauty of the general tonality, the dusky,
not too transparent shadows and the unique air of
aloofness and distinction continue to characterize
the work of one of our most distinguished
figure painters. Mr. Tryon's landscapes would
have been seen to better advantage alone. In the
small marines and landscapes exhibited, so subtle
is his charm of colour, of suggestion, that any
neighbour is disturbing. It is difficult, and not in
the least necessary, to decide whether the painter
has always bettered his previous work ; represen-
tation of the mood of nature is so clearly though
so softly expressed that we do not wishtoconsitler
whether the wave in the middle distance is in
the middle distance, whether the dark purple of
the sea beach in the foreground is beautiful per se,
etc. A small memorial exhibition of Twachtman's
works at the Lotus Club makes one realise, some
years having passed since the artist's death, that he.
like his friend Th. Robinson, has an assured aiul
very high place in American art. It would have
been most interesting to compare side by side
these Twachtmans with theTrj'ons : the ditTerence
between the individualities of these landscape poets,
the New England austerity and subdued sentiment
of the one and (he radiant charm of tender,
tremulous colour of the other.

Art in ' 4 m erica

So many circumslanco combine to oppose the
disengagement of the artistic perception from the
daily environment, the accidents of tunc and place,
that the development of the taste of a community
is pt-rforce of slow progress. It would seem,
li IS if the ad\-;»ncc in the path of right

.,[ ...n of art in America was made visible

by such significant straws in the wind ;is the very
general and lively interest in the exhibition at the
Metropolitan Museum of such pictures as Manet's
Le GuiUirisk, the three examples of Monet and
the one of Piss;irro loaned by Mr. William Church
<> ! rn. the .S//>v/ of Rembiaiidt loaned by Mr.
liu.dore M. Davis, and the two superb Frans
Hals portraits loaned by Mr. I. I'icrpont Morgan.
The same holds true of'other large cities than .New
York. And it is not that art is becoming the
f.ishion, but that we have reached the st.ige of our
national development when art is Iwginning to be
a vital part of our intellectual and emotional life.
Formerly an exhibition of such pictures would
have appealed to but the special and restricted
circle of collectors and art lovers ; at present the
interest manifested is widely distributed, in fact it
is common to all people of cultivation. As testi-
fied by the intelligent work inaugurated in the
schools of Boston, New York, etc., our conception
of civic duty is growing to embrace the import-
ance of the elevatingand relining inlluencc of art.
Our civic pride is awakened by the development
of our museums. As the Englishman is proud of
the National Gallery, the Frenchman of the Louvre
the German of the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, the
New Yorker values the Metropolitan Museum, not
only as an admir.d^le, but as a most necessary, in-
strument of our civilization. The Bostonian has
the same feeling, and he has had it longer ; and in
Chicago, whose name seems associated in Europe
only with what is ugly and coarse, a gallant little
band of unselfish citizens, working quietly s<j;/i /(/»;-
hours OH lioinf<elles, giving generously of their time
as well as of their money, has succeeded in making
of the Chicago Art Museum a powerful factor in
the life of the population of our Middle States.

Auction sales of pictures are full of human
interest and eminently ht subjects for philosophical
reflections, but to draw c<jnclusions from them as
to general standards of taste and commercial
values is obviously not quite safe. What may
justly be said of the most important sale of the
winter thus far, that of the Henry collection of
Barbizon pictures in New York at the end of

Ianuary, is that it strikingly showed the continued
ligh consideration in which ex.miples of this school
are held among some of our collectors. The prices
were very liigh, and, in some instances, record ones,
the thirty canv;ises bringing a total of ^352,800,
which makes an average of nearly |i 2,000 each.

Sen.itor W. A. Clark securetl one of the two
Duprfci — Tiiiliglil, for 113,300 ; one of the four

Rousseaus, Siinlii^lil, for ?2 1,600 ; and two of the
seven Corots, The A'/jvr and The Glade, for |20,6oo
and $24,000 respectively. Yet the best of the
Corots, Manhs : Premieres /eiiilles — a little smaller
example than the others, it is true, but of the
rarest and most exquisite quality — sold for the
lowest price, $7,000. Senator Clark, after bidding
up to $63,000 for one of the two Troyons, Le
Reloiir t'l III Ferine, allowed it to go for $65,000 to
a New York dealer representing a Philadelphia
hnancier, who thus made his sensational Jebiil in
our Christie's, the American Art Association. This
extraordinary price is, I believe, the highest ever
paid for a picture in an American auction sale —
the price of $66,000 paid for Meissonier's
Friedland at the sale of the A. T. Stewart collec-
tion in 1887 included also a water-colour portrait
of the painter by himself.

In contrast with the Henry sale was that of
the pictures and studies of the late Eastman
Johnson in February. The highest prices obtained
were $810 each for the thoroughly good little
genre, Embers, for which the artist had received a
gold medal at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposi-
tion, and for the crayon portrait of a famous
national ligure, Mrs. Dolly Madison, the widow
of our foiyth President, drawn in 1846 at her
Washington residence, and possessing a particular
historical value. The Metropolitan Museum se-
cured one of the artist's versions of his well-known
Corn Hnsking. So excellent an example as the
Play me a Tune, well drawn, soundly painted and
full of atmosphere — the rendering of the figure
of the Nantucket wrecker standing listening behind
the painter's wife at the piano, and of the crockery
cupboard against the wall, worthy of a seventeenth
century Dutch little master — brought only $275 !
The career of Eastman Johnson is a long and
honourable one. Born in Maine in 1824, he
commenced the practice of his art by drawing
crayon portraits. Later, his forceful artistic
temperament and sound lechnitpie manifested
themselves as well in his robust, virile por-
traits as in the best of his story-telling genre.
His portraits remain as worthy presentations of
our distinguished men in public affairs, literature,
the arts ami business for a period of ne.irly sixty
years. Both as an artist and a m.m he was one
of the important figures of our world. And yet
this good painter, with a distinctive American
appeal in the choice »)f his genre subjects, with
his long and honourable record as one of the
upholders of the American school of portraiture,
makes but a pitiful appe.iraiice when put to the
test of an American auction room. However, such
extreme judgments are inv.iriably reversed. That
the Friedland would bring infinitely less now than
it did in 1887 is certain, and there is no doubt that
the work of Eastman Johnson will eventually
secure proper appreciation in our auction rooms.

cA^ EDITORIAL ARTICLES .*.-
REGENT QUADRANT

HE int of the

shop who are

oppo^ ;r. Norman

Shaw's most handsome
and artistic pl.in for the

rebuilding ot ^ nt

pens up an old qu< of

iplc which ought t have been

sectied long ago. Of rccjiit years the

■ ~ , , ■-..-. ...

....^r-

been in ^

es so

obviously disastrous to art, t

ver-

diet i ir of the n ■

art for

art's j.:i<v^ ii.isbeen l?- '

1. It is.

however, with son^

) that we

venture to question tf e

justice of

that verdict.

The experience oi

that the greatest wor

\\orld knows were not

working with untran

in to

produce whatever their

H" "■■'•e rather the re^u^^

ms of their art ■

imposed upon them fron:

'' >s to speculate, for r

tr.c ife w'^i-k of Mich' '

. c

he-- r uer than it is

. . . — to

'' '.^rk when he pleased a!.d how he

•d. We might indeed have mherited

number of isolated pieces of

^ut we should cc' ■''■ have

1 ng of the Siitine t./ ^ The

norc we think of it, the more must we

be struck by the fact that the world's

''"" ' :ks of art have been produced

: .ho were compelled to conform

) local needs and conditions, and often to
'lie caprices of inartistic patrons.

If we compare the works so prodiicetl

with those produced under the influence

•f the modcin idea, art for art's sake, the

comparison cannot fail to be greatly to

Tn BUKUMTOS MtiMOH*. No. ja, Vo(. Zl— M.iy, 1907

er.

t -^ cf

^ - - - -:'t,

tends to produce small easel pictures,
c d in fancy but lacking

p. --- - .. .,

sight were less free ; ,c.

The same comparison would apply to
other forms of art in

T • ' -I

f i * ^ I- f^ -1 V n o , \ r^ r .- 1 K i 1 ^ . . r- . , .

painting has gone so far that even the
painters of easel pictures no longer feel

b ' " '^rm with r' ' ,t

^ .:h pictures .. . . . ,:ig

in dwelling-houses ought to fulfil.

Does not the much debated case ot the
n ' 'ure of the Q '
p.-.-. .., the same !
seem to have an a; n

which, as architecture pure and simple, is
i but in the quest for

c lowf- • - ■ ^ ■ ' ■

nt of :. ._

t, been made entirely
' its destmed purpose. Now

si nt, after

which cvposej^.
t

That the or
aesthetic allv -.u-
Nev ' ' ■

out .. .

authorities should sc
pplication of the P

Messrs.!

principle of open shop-lr

T^gent Quadrant

and combined wonderfully well, with
handsome and imposing architecture, and
there seems no reason whatever why the
compromise which has been so successfully
effected in one case should not be effected
in another.
The principal disadvantage of Mr. Norman

Shaw's grand scheme is stated to be the
restriction of window space and light by the
slightly recessed windows, by the arching of
their tops, and by the large area devoted to
their numerous and massive rusticated piers.
Now in Messrs. Waring's two of these
defects are avoided, and the third is reduced
to a minimum, by adopting the girder
principle of construction, which it is mere
pedantry to vituperate. Messrs. Waring's
architect has done away with the arches, and
has gained the whole height of the ground
floor for his shop windows.

Secondly, he has given his windows a
very moderate degree of recession, so that
their contents are brought into full light,
and an uninterrupted view of them is
possible from a short distance. Thirdly, he
has not lost the appearance of stability by
doing away altogether with the massive
piers ; but by reducing their number, as the
girder principle enabled him to do, by
increasing their size and by bringing them
into more definite relation with the main
lines of the structure above, he has succeeded
in retaining an effect of stability combined
with an effect of lightness.

To this arrangement only one objection
from an aesthetic point of view seems
possible, and that is that rigid horizontal and
vertical lines on the ground floor are sub-
stituted for the delightful effect of an arcaded
front. In considering this objection, how-
ever, two considerations must be borne in
mind. First, that a building in the street is
rarely or never seen in isolation, but has
always in front of it the varied and shifting
foreground of street traffic, which serves at

once as a contrast and a screen to the lower
part of any structure seen behind it. It is
for this reason that the entirely dreadful
shop-fronts of plate glass with concealed
supports, which are beloved by bad archi-
tects, do not annoy us more than they do
when seen under normal conditions. It is
not until we happen to pass when a street is
nearly empty that they appear wholly in-
adequate to sustain the ponderous erections
above them, and convey that feeling of
instability which it is almost the first
function of true architecture to remove.

Now the Quadrant actually adjoins the
great focus of west-end traffic, so that there
is no fear of its lower storeys being seen in
isolation. Again, the rectilinear lines or
the ground floor lose much of their stiffness
if suitably decorated, and if their rigidity be
connected and contrasted with a more fluent
style in the upper part of the building.
The circular windows, the arches and the
luxuriant decoration of the upper part of
the Waring building form a most effective
contrast to the firmer lines below, and yet
blend with them well owing to the skill
with which the lines of the rusticated piers
are carried up into the superstructure.

We are driven to these conclusions with
some regret. Mr. Norman Shaw's is per-
haps the best attempt that has yet been
made to design a great English street in
a worthy manner. No praise can be
excessive for the design in itself, yet it
evidently does not fulfil the practical needs
of the Quadrant. If it be forced upon
the leaseholders, art may score a tem-
porary triumph, but it will be at the cost
of a reaction against good architecture
on the part of business men which will
make the task of beautifying London even
more difficult than it is already. We trust
that the Commissioners for Woods and
Forests will not overlook this aspect of the
matter.

^ OUR NATIONAL COLLECTIONS rik»

HE Government is to be
congratulated upon the
statement made in Parlia-
ment by Mr. Harcourt
on April 8th that the
spaces available for the
extension of the National Gallery and of
the Tate Gallery would not be occupied
by other buildings. As The Burlington
Magazine has frequently pointed out, any
other decision would have been disastrous
to the cause of art in England, because the
mistake once made would have been irre-
parable. Our congratulations are the more
sincere because the temptation to subor-
dinate the apparently unsubstantial interests
of art to the obviously substantial
interests of utilitarianism must always be
strong. Anyone, however, who seriously
considers the question cannot fail to sec
that the material profit derived from national
patronage of the arts is rapidly increas-
ing with the increase of civilization. In
coming to this decision, Mr. Harcourt
has therefore not only done signal service to
the intellectual needs of the country, but has
done a very good stroke of business.

The very pertinent questions asked in
the House on April i8th by Mr. Middle-
more and Mr. L. Jones as to giving the
Trustees of the National Gallery the power
to reconsider unsuitable pictures purchased
out of the Chantrey Fund, and as to
carrying out the recommendations of the
Lords Committee of 1904, tend even more
directly to the public advantage. Since

in these cases none of the material objections
can be urged which might have been
urged against the reservation of land for
public galleries, wc have no doubt the
Government will show an equally wise
sympathy towards them. That the
Trustees of the National Gallery should be
compelled to accept pictures which they
consider unworthy of our great collection
is an administrative anomaly that ought
not to exist.

We note with pleasure that the Director
of the National Gallery is taking steps to
emphasize the unique quality of our ex-
amples of the work of Rubens by devoting
a room almost entirely to them, and that
the nation has been fortunate enough to re-
ceive, among other recent gifts, a specimen
of the work of Mr. Holman Hunt which
will be, in the future, a far more worthy
and characteristic record of him than the
much discussed Lady of Shalott.

As the Treasury grants for the purchase
of works of art have grown more
and more inadequate, the generosity
of private subscribers and of private donors
has steadily increased, and these separate
efforts are being more and more unified
by the National Art Collections Fund.
At present the strength of the Fund has
been somewhat lessened by the splendid
activity which culminated in the purchase
of the Rokcby Velazquez, but we hope
the public will come forward at the Fund's
annual meeting on April 25th and repair
this honourable exhaustion.

^ THE WHISTLER MEMORIAL Hk»

IT is fitting that themonu-
jment to Whistler should be
•executed by the greatest of
.living sculptors, who suc-

**^^yi iv ^'-w*-^^*^^^^ \\\m. as president of
^T"" V ^^^ — t^thp International Society ;
nor could a more suitable place be found

for it than Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where
Whistler lived, worked and died. M.
Rodin's sketch is already prepared, and
indicates that the monument will take the
form, not of a portrait, but of a large
symbolic figure, with a relief or bust ot the
artist upon the base.

The Jr/iistler Memorial

Now that controversies are over, and the
achievements of the nineteenth century can
be viewed in true perspective, we sec how
great in rcahty was the service which
Whistler rendered to the art of the world
and how sound was the philosophy under-
lying his wit.

The cost of the Memorial is estimated
at >r2,ooo, of which some two-thirds has
already been promised ; and since the plan
makes an appeal to the national pride of

America, as well as to that of England,
there should be no difficulty in obtaining
the modest sum that remains to be sub-
scribed. The idea of erecting replicas of
the monument in America and Paris should
the subscriptions admit of it, cannot be
too highly commended in the case of one
in whose fame three great nations may
rightly claim a share.'

' It may be added for the benefit of any who have not yet sent
their subscriptions that the Hon. Secretaries of the Fund arc
Mr. William Heinemann and Mr. Joseph Pennell.

SOME OLD PLATE IN THE POSSESSION OF LORD MOSTYN

^ BY E. ALFRED JONES rJk»

Wales suggesting it as the probable source

MONG the artistic and
historic treasures preserved
at the ancient seat of the
Mostyn family at Mostyn
Hall, North Wales, not
the least interesting and
valuable is the collection of old English
plate, which, though small, includes several
choice specimens.

Of the highest historic value, especially
to Welsh archaeologists and historians, is
the miniature silver harp with nine strings,
6^ inches high (fig. i), which is defi-
nitely known to have been in the possession
of Lord Mostyn's predecessors since the
reign of Elizabeth. This relic of the
national Eisteddfod of Wales had been
offered as a challenge prize at Caerwys in
I 568, and the original charter of Elizabeth
granting permission to hold this peculiarly
Welsh festival at that little Flintshire
town is still in possession of Lord Mostyn,
the Mostyn family having enjoyed the
right for centuries of retaining custody of
the bardic chair and other relics and regalia
of the national Eisteddfod. The harp
has every appearance of provincial, ratiicr
than of London, workmanship, and it
may be that a Chester craftsman wrought
it, the close proximity of that city to

of origin. It bears neither marks nor
inscription. The back of the harp, from
the reeded band to the bottom, is of sub-
sequent date and of different workmanship
to the other parts, and would seem to
have been added in the eighteenth century.
Lord Mostyn is fortunate in the
possession of a remarkably fine parcel-gilt
rose-water dish and ewer of large size
(figs. 2 and 3). The circular dish,
igi inches in diameter, has a raised plat-
form in the centre, upon which the ewer
stands, decorated with two shaped,
scrolled panels with grotesque masks and
rosettes in relief, separated by two em-
bossed pomegranates in circular strap-work
frames, the spaces between being occupied
by festoons of embossed fruit on a matted
surface. The Mostyn-Gloddaeth arms,
finely enamelled, in a fiuted frame, occupy
the centre of the platform. The depression
of the dish is engraved at intervals with
eight plain strap-work ornaments, trefoil
in form, filled with conventional ara-
besques, similar arabesques appearing on
the outer edges of these trefoil ornaments.
The rim is embellisheil with four shaped
panels witli grotesque masks and rosettes
like those in the centre of the dish, with

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the addition, however, of short, indented
lines on the panels. Wide double strap-
work bands, filled with the arabesques
common to Elizabethan plate, occupy
the spaces between the panels. The edge
of the rim is decorated with a narrow
band of delicate foliage in slight relief.
The companion ewer has a plain tapering
body engraved around the centre with a
double intersecting strap-work band, filled
with arabesques, a small spray being
engraved above and below each intersec-
tion. The plain four-sided spout, which
is engraved with plain strap-work, con-
tinued from the body, but without the
arabesques, has a covered heart-shape
aperture at the top. The depressed
domed cover is decorated with embossed
masks in panels, pomegranates and fruit,
as on the dish. It has, however, lost the
print from the centre — doubtless enamelled
with the arms. The borders of the cover,
lip, and of the low plain foot are decorated
with delicate foliage in slight relief, ex-
actly like that on the edge of the dish.
The back of the handle is divided into
two concave sections by raised ribbing.
The thumbpiece is composed of two plain
balls on intertwining stems. Its dimen-
sions are : Total height, 8j in. ; height of
body, 6| in. ; diameter of mouth, 5 in. ;
diameter of foot, 4| in.

Both the dish and the ewer are stamped
with three marks, a reversed impression of
which is reproduced here, a lion's head

crowned, turned to the left ; a small

tM^% black-letter q in a plain square shield,

£^ and a confused mark. The tradition

.5^ handed down with these two pieces

is that they were given to a member
of the Mostyn family by Henry VII, when
carl of Richmond, after his escape from
Mostyn Hull. The general decoration,
however, precludes the possibility of
assigning so early a date to them. The

Lord Mostyri^s Silver

marks remain so far unidentified. It
is with some hesitation that the theory is
advanced by the writer that this fine dish
and ewer were wrought in England by a
foreign, perhaps a Flemish, silversmith,
about 1530 to 1550. The ewer closely
resembles in form the well-known English
specimen of 1545-6 given by Archbishop
Parker to Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge. The short foot of both these ewers
gives way to a higher and more ornate stem
and foot in the succeeding type of Eliza-
bethan ewer, as may be seen in the one of
1562-3 at Winchester College,^ and in that
of 1 574-5 belonging to Lord Newton.

Two fine examples of silver-gilt Eliza-
bethan flagon-tankards (fig. 4) are
included here. The tapering cylindrical
bodies are entirely covered with engraved
scroll foliage, rosettes and various flowers,
and grotesque animals issuing from flowers.
Though apparently exactly alike, the
decoration is slightly different in arrange-
ment and size, and in the form of the
animals. The curved spreading bases,
below the plain moulding, are engraved
with plain strap-work ovals, separated trom
the edges by a narrow band of ovals in
relief, as on the lips, the edges being deco-
rated with conventional ovolo work. A
shield bearing the Mostyn-Gloddaeth
arms is engraved in the front ot each
flagon. The slightly domed covers,
which are surmounted by reel-shape
pedestals, ornamented with ovolo work,
and crowned with plain knobs on cut-rayed
tables, are engraved with similar designs
to that on the bodies, and the edges have
plain ovals in relief, as on the bases and
lips. The hollow scrolled handles arc
engraved with arabesques, and the thumb-
pieces are formed of winged terminal
figures. Total height, 13^ in. ; height of

' Illustrntcd and described in THE BuiUSGTOX Macaxixe,
Vol. II, rP- '51 ^(1 '5^-

Lord Mostyti's Siher

bodies, lo^ in.; diameter of mouths, 4 in. ;
diameter of bases, 6 in. Both bear the
London date-letter for 160 1-2, and the
maker's mark, lA, in a plain shield.

These flagons arc followed in point of
date by two Jacobean gilt cups with
' steeple ' covers. The body of the earliest
(fig. 5^) is engraved with strap-work and
tulips on a granulated surface, leaving the
lip plain. The same scheme of decoration
is repeated on the domed cover, which is
surmounted by a plain circular platform
with ovolo mouldings, supporting a
pierced three-sided pyramid, with three
scrolled dragon brackets, crowned by a
figure of a warrior holding a plain shield,
which is engraved with a crest — a lion
rampant. The plain vase-shape stem is
supported by three brackets, like those on
the pyramid, and is joined to the cup and
the base by ovolo collars between flat-
rayed discs. The high foot, with ovolo
mouldings at the edge, is engraved with
acanthus leaves on a granulated surface.
A large shield bearing the Mostyn-
Gloddaeth arms is engraved in front.
It is inscribed on the lip ' Poculum ex dono
Robti Jones London Mercat Sci/sor
illustrissima? domui de Mostyn et heredib®
ipius mipptum, Anno 1610.' Total
height, 20J in. ; height of cup, i 2 J in. ;
diameter of mouth, 5 in. ; diameter of
base, 4A in. London date-letter for
1610-1 1. Maker's mark, TI, with a star
below in a plain shield.

The other cup (fig. 5/^) differs in the
style of the decoration ; the bowl is em-
bellished with three oval strap-work panels
containing an embossed dolphin in each, two
of the panels being separated by an embossed
escallop shell with scrolls on a matted
surface, and the other by a plain escutcheon.
An embossed laurel band divides the panels
from the fluted and scaled work along the
lower part of the cup. The vase-shape

stem, slightly engraved with vertical and
wavy lines, is supported by three animal
scroll brackets, and is joined to the cup
and the base by ovolo collars between
irregular knotted discs. The high foot is
encircled by an engraved laurel band, the
upper part being engraved with acanthus
foliage and the lower with alternate flutings
and scales on a matted surface, ovolo
mouldings finishing the edges of the foot.
The domed cover has three similar dolphin
panels, each divided by an escallop, and it
is surmounted by a low circular platform
with ovolo mouldings, upon which rests a
three-sided pyramid pierced with fleurs-
de-lis, supported on three scrolled termi-
nal figure brackets, and with three
small scrolled brackets at the top.
Total height, igjin. ; height of cup,
\2\m.\ diameter of mouth, fin.; dia-
meter of base, \\ in.

An interval of fifty-six years separates
this Jacobean cup from a piece of plate
of Charles II period — namely, a large,
plain, massive rose-water dish, with a wide
rim, dated i 669-70, 23 inches in diameter.

Lord Mostyn owns three good tankards:
one of the year 1698-9 (fig. 6d),
made by Anthony Nelmc, has a plain
moulding around the lower part of the
body, and a graduated beading applied to
the shoulder of the handle, and another
beading to the flat cover from the double-
volute thumbpiece ; while the other (fig.
tb)^ dating from 1683-4, has a plain
cylindrical body and a flat cover. The
third tankard, which is of the same form
as the latter, but considerably smaller, is
chiefly interesting from the fact that it
was made in 1690-2 by Nathaniel Bullen
of Chester. This is engraved with the
arms of Savage of Cheshire.

The magnificent ebony clock with
parcel-gilt mounts made at a cost of
>ri,5oo for William III by Thomas

(2) ROSE-WATER DISH, DIAMI:TER I9J INCHES

■4 t '1

F 1 -r-

1 .iy^m^'m T

^^^^^^^^ %

(jo) ElGUTlitNTlI CENTURY CANDLESTICKS

SOME OLD SILVER PLATE l\ THK
POSSBS&IOM OF LORD MUSTVN. PLATE III

Tompion, inherited by the present owner
from the earl of Romncy through the
earls of Leicester, was exhibited by Lord
Mostyn in London a few years ago, and is
illustrated and fully described. -

The fine Monteith bowl (fig. 7)
has two bold lion mask handles and a
removable rim. The body, which rests on
a low gadrooned foot, is decorated with
large plain panels formed of hollow scrolls,
finished at the tops with chased acanthus
leaves, the surface between being granu-
lated ; garlands of tulips in slight relief
suspend at intervals from the edge. The
scalloped rim is embellished with
cherubs' heads. A. rare feature of this
bowl is the presence of a small plain
circular cup with scrolled handle, and
fitted with a hook for attaching to the
rim, doubtless for use as a ladle. The
bowl is engraved with the arms, crest and
motto of the Vaughans of Corsygedol,
Merionethshire. The diameter is 131 in.,
and the height 9 in. It bears the Lon-
don date-leter for 1697-8, and the maker's
mark Le, in a shaped cartouche, probably
for John Leach. The maker's mark only
appears on the little cup.

The fluted silver toilet mirror, sur-
mounted by a scrolled and foliated pane}
I2jins. high (fig. Sa), dates from 1698-9

"' Old Silver Work,' plate .xcii, ed. by J. Starkie Gardner, 1903.

Lord Mostyn* s Silver

and was made by Pierre Harache ; and the
other toilet mirror with concave silver
frame, scrolled at the top, and surmounted
by an oval panel, loj in. high (fig. 8*^),
though not marked, dates no doubt from
the end of the seventeenth century. A
large and massive two-handled cup and
cover, with strap-work decoration, made
by the well-known David Willaume in
171 i-i 2, though not illustrated, is worthy
of inclusion here. Among the later plate at
Mostyn Hall, space will only permit of
a brief mention. It includes a small
plain bowl with two handles and a cover
with three scrolled feet, 1 71 5-1 6 ; a
pair of plain sauceboats with two handles
and spouts, 1733-4; a hclmet-shapc
cream-jug engraved with strap-work and
foliage, circa 1730; a pair of small plain
salvers, 6J inches square, 1739-40; and
a set of three castors, embossed with foli-
ated scrolls and twisted acanthus foliage,
1742-3 — all illustrated in fig. 9.

To these may be added a number of
candlesticks (fig. 10), including a pair,
plain and octagonal in form, of French
origin, early eighteenth century (no. i); a
set of four, richly decorated with foliage,
scrolls and scales, the stem being embel-
lished with four medallions of Roman
emperors and empresses, 1749-50 (no. 5) ;
and others of 1745-6, 1767-8, etc.

Royal
bodies

^ THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING cA,

BY A MODERN PAINTER

II— THE R.I. AND THE R.B.A.

HE two old-established usually looked for. Neither has in these

days quite the reputation it once possessed.
Yet the two arc constituted on such an
entirely different basis that the causes of
their decline cannot be quite the same.

Experience shows that all art movements
which have any success at all succeed most
completely when they are young and

societies which are now
holding their spring ex-
hibitions — the Royal
Institute of Painters in

Water Colours and the

Society of British Artists — are not
in which new and striking-genius is

The £ase for Modern Pain ting

c ithusiaitic, though their success is r.ircly
recognized at the time by the public. Later,
when the public has discovered the move-
ment and begun to patronize it, its pioneers
are old, and their followers have never quite
the same strength and enthusiasm. The
movement may have become popular, but
it has contracted a mortal disease, and the
length of its life is a matter of constitution
and of accident.

Let me make my meaning clear by one
ortwoillustrations. The powerful tradition
of Reynolds and Gainsborough had already
lost its first vigour when it was popularized
by the talented group of men who worked
round Lawrence ; yet so strong was its
constitution that it lived a degraded and
fashionable life till it was killed by the
Preraphaelites,

The Preraphaelites themselves painted
their best pictures in the first flush of their
youth, when their name was anathema to
the rest of the art world. By the time
they had conquered prejudice their own
work was on the down grade. The talent
of Burne-Jones and Morris, great as it was,
could not restore the lost excellence, while
those who followed in the next generation
hardly count at all.

At the Royal Institute the main tradition
purports to be that of the old-fashioned
English water-colour school. Yet it is
now more than a century since Girtin and
the youthful Turner built up the main
structure of the school on the foundation
laid by Cozens ; and though the tradition
was enriched later by the example of men
like Cox, De Wint and Cotman, it has
had its day. Those who continue to follow
it can never be more than a faint echo of
their predecessors.

The figure painters suffer most because
their predecessors were not of quite the
same rank as the landscape painters, and so
stand the process of dilution even worse

than they. Here and there among the
landscapes a clever touch or a fortunate
subject gives an idea of freshness. The
landscapes of Mr. Claude Hayes, for
example, may b e only pleasant echoes of
the work of stronger men, but taste in
colour, simplicity of plan and cleanness ot
touch give them an air of distinction, slight
though they be. Mr. Arthur Severn and Mr.
Ernest E. Briggs have chosen admirable
mountain subjects (Nos. 194 and 41 5), each
with a certain natural grandeur,which, if not
emphasized by the method of rendering, is
at least not eff^aced by it. These works,
with Mr. Bernard Evans's Cannock Chase
(40), are among the best things in the gallery.
The younger members of the Institute,
as is natural, are trained in a difl^erent and
more modern school, in which the ideals
of the Impressionists are not unknown.
Yet, like their elders, they are not pioneers.
They have got their knowledge second-hand,
and their work has a similar lack of
emphasis. Mr. W. W. Collins in a view of
Lincoln (301) and Mr. R. B. Nisbct in a
pretty little sketch (366) come nearer tosuc-
cess than does Mr. Charles Dixon in his
ambitious To"iver ^BrUge (356). Though
the photographic cleverness of this last is
wonderful, Mr. Dixon has not learned to
omit unessential details and so has not made
a picture. Last, one or two illustrators and
poster designers introduce a spirited note.
Mr. Hassall's large scene from the ' Pilgrim's
Progress' (403) is the most striking of these
exhibits, and fails only from an excess of
literalness. Had the accessories, the benches
and costumes, been treated more slightly,
the heads would have told even better
than they do, and the drawing might have
kept the crispness proper to a drawing.
Mr. Tom Browne understands his medium
better. I may add that Mr. Caparne's
landscape (442), chaotic as it is from lack
of definite structure, strikes the eye quite

A WINTER'S DAUX, BY ALFRED EAST, I'.R.li.A.

THE CASE FOR Mi>DER\ PAISTIXC

pleasantly among so much that is careful,
conscientious and tame.

If the painters at the Institute mav be
broadly divided into two groups, those at
the R.B.A. must be divided into a dozen.
The R.B.A. has always been catholic: at
any rate, a society that has had Whistler,
Wyke Bayliss and Mr. Alfred East as its
presidents cannot be accused of fanaticism
or narrowness. Indeed, we might ask
why a society which does, in its way, try
to keep abreast of the times does not enjoy
a very much greater reputation.

I fancy the answer must be that suc-
cess in art comes to those who are ahead
of their time, not to those abreast of it.
As we have seen, it is always the first men
in a new movement who count the most
with posterity ; and perhaps the R.B.A.
has sought new inspiration a little too late,
except in the historic case of Whistler.

In choosing Mr. Alfred East it has at least
chosen a president who can paint a better
picture than any of the members, which
is no small subject for congratulation ; but
to achieve complete salvation a society
needs more than even that. It needs the
preacher of a new gospel.

Yet if Mr. East had painted many
pictures like his Winter s 'Dawn (p. 79)
he might almost be deemed such an
evangelist. In that picture we have a
solemn effect of nature knit into a coherent
and impressive design, and rendered with
the straightforward handling, and with
more than the usual harmony of colour,
that we expect from Mr. East. Faults,
indeed, there may be. It is questionable
whether the gleam of light on the snow
is necessary to the design ; whether the
tree and figure in the foreground answer
quite happily to the sweeping curve of the

The £ase for Modern Painting

upper sky ; whether the actual paint is not
thicker and less translucent than it need
have been. But these are details. The
fact remains that the picture is a notable
effort at serious landscape painting made in
a time when such efforts are almost
unknown.

Another winter scene (195), by Mr.
Elmer Schofield also shows considerable
force andgood planning; there iscvidenceof
real feeling in the work of Mr. D. Murray
Smith, though it would be infinitely better
if he could omit yellow for a time from his
palette. Mr. Elphinstone's Night (241) is
well seen and spaced, if somewhat clumsily
painted ; Mr. Wynford Dewhurst's colour
in No. 226 is of unusual charm, and there
is a large landscape by Mr. Tom Robertson
(246) which on a twelfth of its present
scale would be pleasant company. Among
the other pictures those of Mr. Lewis G.
Fry are the most interesting in their attempt
to combine realism with bigness of design.
Some convention such as sketching on a
grey ground in the manner of Hogarth,
where the ground is freely left to do duty
for all minor gradations of tone, might
enable the artist to master a few of the diffi-
culties he at present tries to contend with.
Mr. Foottet's peculiar woolly mannerism
prevents a gift of original colour from telling
as it might do on a smaller scale and with
a happier technique. Even now he arrests
the eye longer than do the rank and file of
the exhibitors, who seem to have nothing
of their own to say, and to say rather feebly
the little they have borrowed.

That, indeed, is the general fault of the
Institute also. Both societies need over-
hauling ; but the more elastic constitution
of the R.B.A. seems to give it the better
chance of effecting the purge.

(T^o be contiuuca.)

^ THE PAINTERS OF DENMARK f#w

HE previous exhibitions :it
the Guildhall have usually
carried us hack to the past.
The exhibition of Danish
painting not only concen-
trates our attention on the
present, but does so in a
curiously striking manner.
Froiu tlic lUDincnt we enter the tirst room
we are conscMnis of being in a strange yet
familiar atmosphere, of being confronted with
an art which differs from that of all the other
artistic nations of Europe, with one partial excep-
tion, in that the impress of PVance is not indelibly
stamped upon it. Wc see of course here and
there, especially in the room devoted to the earlier
Danish m;isters, works which are based on French
models, but these are few in number and of
secondary importance. The bulk of the painting
has a distinctive character which is like nothing
but the Royal Academy of the eighties and
nineties, or its .antithesis, the New English Art
Club of to-d.iy. We can in fact at the Guildhall
see ourselves, or part of ourselves, as in a mirror,
flecked perhaps by some differences in racial char-
acter and local conditions, but still giving a
reflection that is faithful enough to be startling.

At the beginning of our list it is true we hesitate
for a moment before a most able work in the
manner of Henner, and across the end of the
room stretches one of those vast scenic pieces that
were once produced on demand by every country
in Europe ; yet, let us but imagine for a moment
that the first gallery contains the work of exhibitors
at the Royal Academy, and behold, we can put an
English name to nearly every picture there. No.
2 becomes an excellent Cope ; No. 5 is a Logs-
d;iil ; No. 7 a Briton Riviere b:ised on the relief
at the British Museum ; No. q a Herkomer ; No.
10 is rather too good for a Calderon (is it also a
Riviere?) ; No. 15 seems too good for any other
Academician but Orchardson, yet the style is not
quite his ; No. 16 is a Joseph Clark; No. 18 by
an outsider ; No. 19 is a Gotch ; No. 20 a Kemp
Welch ; No. 27 is a good early Dyce ; No. 29 an
unusual and artistic Stanhope Forbes ; No. 30 is
a Stacey Marks, at the transition from his Pre-
raphaelite days ; No. 32 is F. R. Lee's master-
piece ; No. 33 is rather a poor Hook ; No. 35 is
a Vicat Cole ; No. 36 a Hacker ; No. 37 a Philip ;
No. 38 a Farquharson ; and so on ad in/ntitiiin.
Kroycr's excellent and artistic portrait (26) and
the works of Paulsen are the re;il things which
stand out from the rest as having something
besides conscientiousness to recommend them.
In the next gallery, however, Kroyer (whose large
portrait group is admir.ibic of it kind) turns into
Mr. St.mhope Forbes, and Prof. Tuxen into Mr.
B.icon, while Baron Arild Rosenkran^, after
toying with French religious art, is transformed in
Gallery HI into Miss Eleanor Fortescuc Brickdale.

Gallery IV is devoted to the older masters, and
contains a number of hard and dry paintings, not
a few positively bad ones, many that are interest-
ing, and a few that are good. Pilo's portrait of
Frederick V is a thing to laugh at. Jens Juel is
rather more capable, and sometimes, as in Nos. 210
and 219, has a singular resemblance to Romney's
earlier style. Jensen's portrait of his mother
(216) is another sound and accomplished picture
in a rather dry manner. The same might be said
of the Interior (235), by the short-lived Bend/,
which, with all its minuteness, is not devoid of
space and air. .An excellent study of the Theatre
of Marcellus by Ernst Meyer (187), the hard,
honest works of the pioneer Eckersberg, and the
landscape by Lundbye (169), which might pass
for an early Constable, are also worth notice.

It is, however, in Gallery III that the pictures
are hung which have attracted the greatest general
interest. If we may continue our comparison
with British work, the atmosphere in this gallery
is that of the New English Art Club, or, rather, of
a certain section of it. The little group which
includes Mr. Rothenstein, Mr. Orpen, Mr. and
Mrs. MacEvoy, and Mr. Shepherd has found
inspiration in De Hooch and Vermcer of Delft.
The group of Danish artists of which Paulsen,
Holsoe and Hammershoi are the leaders has done
exactly the same thing, and began doing it earlier.

Of the three, Holsoe perhaps has the least
individuality, yet such a thing as his Interior (118)
would compare not unfavourably with the very
best modern English work of the kind.

Hammershoi is an artist of larger ambitions,
with whom the passion for spacing amounts
almost to a mania. A considerable portion of
his exhibits, including his landscapes, should be
termed studies or exercises in spacing rather than
pictures, yet they are not always quite successful
even as studies. Quiet and reticence are rare and
delightful qualities in art, but, like everything else,
they pall when they are too openly advertised, and
Hammershoi advertises them consistently. One
feels in the presence of such a work ;is the
Sunbeam in CItristiansand that simplicity is
become theatrical ; besides, the girl's head might
have been better painted. Even the charming
Open Doors seems only an exceedingly clever and
original ' symphony in white' ;ifter such an intro-
duction, and lacks the significance it might possess
were it an isolated experiment by some artist who
was not always content to work so. Hammershoi's
technical powers are considerable, and though
they just fall short of the complete accomplish-
ment we expect from a gie.it painter of j^enre, they
are yet enough to place him definitely among those
whose names are renumbered, while his ostenta-
tious modesty m.iy in.ike him as popular here as he
is in Denm.irk.

The two bedroom scenes by Paulsen (Nos. 115
and 117) display a greater, if less striking, talent.

Indeed, in the whole exhibition there are, perhaps,
no pictures so complete and satisfying. The
design in each is more subtle and complex than
that of Hammershoi, the lighting not inferior, the
technique infinitely more certain, learned and
skilful. Such admirable qualities of substance,
handling and sensitive colour would be hard to
match in modern art, yet they are employed so un-
obtrusively that they have been generally overlooked.

The Painters of l^enmark

The Danish Exhibition is thus a thing of no
little interest and importance, but to English
visitors the interest will be intensified by the
curious parallelism with English art to which we
have referred. In the latter period we
have to admit that the Danes outstripped us,
at least in point of priority. In the former we
may have surpassed them j but the victory has
proved a barren one.

NOTES ON AN EARLY 'PERSIAN' BOWL AND ' RICE-GRAIN '

WARES
«A. BY R. L. HOBSON ct^

^t:d

X view of the coming exhibition
of Persian pottery at the Bur-
lington Fine Arts Club, particular
interest attaches to the little bowl
acquired last year by the British
Museum and now on view in
^^^f^^table-case A in the Ceramic
^ '•Gallery. It appeals to our atten-
tion not merely by the refinement of its creamy
white and semi-translucent ware, the unwonted
restraint of the painted design and the airy grace
of the ' rice-grain ' ornament, hut still more be-
cause it opens up a number of half-solved problems
and throws a slender but welcome ray into the
twilight that obscures the early history of the
pottery of the Near East. Its form and decora-
tion are given in figs, i and 2 ; but a more
intimate examination shows that it has the soft
white friable body common to all the early Near-
Eastern wares, and in no way differing from the
potsherds found in the ruins of Rhages, in Persia,
and Rakka, in Syria, and in the rubbish mounds
of Fostat or Old Cairo. The alcaline glaze is
clear and colourless, but age has subdued its
glittering surface, giving it the texture of sugar-
icing rather than glass : it has run to a considerable
depth in the hollow of the bowl within, but seems
to have shrunk away from the foot outside in con-
gealed wrinkles. The walls are thin and slightly
translucent, and end in a conical projection which
is hidden by the foot-rim. The central decoration
is outlined in brown and washed in with pure rich
blue, both under the glaze, and the rim is edged
with brown and dabs of blue ; while on the sides
is a band of cable pattern outlined with the grav-
ing tool and pierced with round holes which were
afterwards tilled in with transparent ghize.

This last feature, added to the translucency of
the body, tempts one at first sight to class the liowl
with a comparatively modern pottery known in
England as Gombroon ware, to which we shall
return later ; but the form, the brushwork and
the colours used stamp it at once as a product
of remoter times. Nor can it be ranked with
the so-called Persian ' porcelain ' of the reign of

Shah Abbas (1587-1628), from which it differs in
everything except translucency. To what period,
then, should we assign it ? The shape recalls the
fragmentary bowls from Rhages and Fostat ; the
technique is that of the enamelled blue bowl, its
neighbour in the museum, which is certainly not
later than the fourteenth century. The paste and
the colours tell the same tale. The brown outlines
and blue washes are a feature of the pottery found
at Rakka, a city on the upper reaches of the
Euphrates, which was destroyed by Khulagu Khan
and his Mongol hordes on their march from
Bagdad to Aleppo in 1259, the fate of Persian
Rhages forty years before. The drawing of the
hare recalls the animals painted in lustre on the
thirteenth-century tiles from Veramin in Persia.
On the other hand, the slight nature of the decora-
tion is unusual on the wares of this time, and we
miss the close floral patterns and crowded scrolls
that usually surround the central subject. Their
absence is, however, not surprising on such a
piece as this, where the beauty of the translucent
creamy ware would be lost beneath a weight of
ornament. If a parallel is wanted, it can be found
in the isolated birds and animals that relieve and
at the same time enhance the fine ivory surface of
the thirteenth-century Saracenic caskets in the
Victoria and Albert Museum.

Rakka, Rhages, Veramin — these names sum up
almost all our knowledge of early Persian and
Syrian wares, a slender total still, in spite of the
undoubted progress made in recent years. Thirty-
years ago all was vague and obscure beyond the
sixteenth century. Since then excavation on the
sites of these ancient cities has opened up fresh
springs of information, carrying us back at least
three centuries. Dated specimens, unfortunately,
have seldom appeared, and none are earlier than
.\.D. 1 217. They display, however, an art already
mature, and one which cannot reasonably be
supposed to lie either a mushroom growth or a
momentary outburst of splendour. Logic demands
that many of the linely potted, painted and lustred
fragments from the ruins of Rhages, destroyed in
1220, belong to vessels made and used m the

Notes on an Early ' Persian ' Bowl

previous century. But even conjecture lialts at this,
as far as concerns Persia, at any rate, where the
arts, revivinji after tlie destructive wave of Arab
conquest, had scarcely jjained suflicient strength
before the twelftli century to admit of any notable
advance in the potter's craft. In Kyypt, however,
it was otherwise, and we must look to Egypt for
the j»erms of that ceramic skill which afterwards
throve so conspicuously in Persian and Syrian
soil. In the ha/aars of Old Cairo, as early as
A.D. 104J, Nasir i Khusrau saw ' pottery of every
kind, so fine and so translucent that one s:iw
through the walls of a vessel the hand applied to
the e.xterior. They made bowls, cups, dishes and
other objects. They decorated them with colours
recalling those of a stuff named bougalemoun, the
tints of which x-aried according to the position in
which a vessel was held.' ' Clearly a translucent
ware painted in lustre. The testimony of Nasir i
Khusrau cannot reasonably be questioned. His-
torian, traveller and geographer, he is now regarded
by competent authorities as identical with one of
Persi.Vs greatest poets ; and when such a man
states positively in plain prose what he saw at
Cairo, we have no right to doubt his accuracy.
As well disbelieve Lord Byron when he describes
in his letters some striking object in Greece or
Italy. We may then rest assured that the Old
Cairene potters were able to make in the eleventh
century a fine ware, translucent and lustred, and
no doubt not less remarkable than the bowl now
under discussion. Conversely it is improbable
that Nasir i Khusrau had seen anything similar
during his previous journeys through Persia and
Syria ; otherwise he could hardly have failed to
mention if. Twenty-si.x ye.ars after the Persian
traveller's visit, Fostat and Old Cairo were given
over to the flames by the victorious Giaour ;
partially rebuilt, they were pillaged in 1250 by a
Mameluke Sultan ; and since then the greater part
of the site has been used as a dumping ground for
the rubbish of the New Cairo. The successive
strata of debris have been patiently searched by
Dr. Fouquet, Henry Wallis and others ; and
Dr. Fouquet, who has published an invaluable
study of the pottery unearthed in his excavations,
claims to have discovered one piece which could
compare with Nasir i Khusrau's description.
Two others of the same class seem to have
re;»ched him from ' a certain place ' in Syria.
More may yet be discovered, but even one
fragment is a valuable witness to the truth of
Nasir i Khusrau's words, and adds strength to the
assumption that the art of making fine pottery in
the middle ages, including translucent, lustred and,
of course, painted wares, developed in Egypt and
spread thence int<j Syria and Persia.
That there exists a certain relationship between

' Voyage de Nasir i Khasrau, translated from the Arabic by
Ch. Scheler, p. 151.

our bowl and the translucent ware of Old Cairo
scarcely admits of doubt, but how distant and
how direct is the descent are questions which
cannot yet be s;itisfactorily answered. In the
first place no trustworthy account of its discovery
sur\'ives, and its reputed Persian origin rests only
on the vague assertion of an oriental dealer.
There is nothing in the paste, glaze, colours or
style of decoration incompatible with either
Persian, Syrian or Egyptian provenance. The
' rice-grain ' band is equally inconclusive, as will
be seen immediately, so that we must be content
to regard it for the time being as an early example
of what Polonius might have called Perso-Syro-
Egyptian pottery, and an important link with
those wonderful bowls which arrested the Persian
traveller's attention in the eleventh century.

But the interest of the bowl does not stop here.
Unique as an almost perfect specimen of ' rice-
grain ' ware at this early date, it bids fair to decide
the origin of this exquisite decoration. The
expression 'rice-grain,' inadequate as it is in many
cases, is practically the only term we have to
describe the ornament on the sides of the bowl.
It may be defined as a transparent pattern in an
opaque or semi-opaque body formed by cutting
out small sections of the paste while it is still soft
and plastic, and allowing the clear glaze to fill up
the holes. The simplest and the most usual
application of this process is in a kind of con-
tinuous star pattern, the rays formed of pointed
oval excisions which were likened by the P'rench
to grains of rice, whence their name a gniiiis-ilc-
n'z and our borrowed ' rice-grain.' In figs, i and 3,
however, the excisions are circular, and in fig. 4
they conform to the arabesque design. As a rule, a
colourless glaze is employed, but from the earliest
times the effect was varied by the admixture of
some colouring oxide, as in fig. 4, where the glaze
is stained with blue. On Chinese porcelain the
' rice-grain ' process is used in various ways, on
pure white ware, or in the midst of enamelled
decoration where it may serve to light up the
foliage, blossoms or fruit of a tree, or more happily
still to glaze the windows of a house. The so-
called Gombroon wares rely on it entirely for their
fairy-like lightness. Like the Chinese, this latter class
dates from the eighteenth century ; but it is only
recently that the Japanese have succeeded in sub-
duing their stubborn materi.ils to this subtle process
which they now employ under the picturesque name
of Hotaru-de or ' fire-fly style.' On European
porcelain its charming possibilities were proved
by a F"rench potter at the hist Paris Exhibition;
but the inevitable cost of an art that demands so
much skill and tnste prevents its being lightly
adopted by our manufacturers. That the idea
originated in the Near East and not in China is
demonstrated by our bowl, though recent writers
on oriental porcelain have been content to leave

(0 I'KKSUN- liOWL, DEPTH 53 INCHES; (j) SIHK
VIKW OK (1), HEKiHT 3 INCHES ; (3) KRACMEXT
EROM RHAIIES ; (4) KRAllMENT KRO.M EOSTAT ; (5)
CHINESE I'OKCELAIN UUWL ; (6)GOM»ROON IKlWl.

xoTBs OX Av r*«{:v 'v^

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Notes on an Early ' Persian ' Bovcl

the question unck'ciclcci, following the inconclusive
statement that appeared in the Pranks Catalogue
of 1876. At that time indeed there was no
evidence to warrant a decision; for although no
Chinese example could be traced with any
probability further back than the eighteenth
century, it was equally impossible to assign an
earlier date to Gombroon ware, the only Near-
Eastern representative of the ' rice-grain ' class
then known. All doubts, however, might have
been dissipated a few years later had we realized
the importance of such fragments as figs. 3 and 4,
which were discovered at Rhages and Fostat.
These two precious remnants of once lovely vessels
have awaited for nearly twenty years in the British
Museum the ccjming of their more fortunate
contemporary, who now proudly affirms what
they in their fragmentary state could barely hint.
Meanwhile our increased knowledge of Chinese
porcelain, so far from claiming a greater antiquity
for the ' rice-grain ' wares of the Far East, tends to
place their introduction in the reign of Ch'ien-
lung (1736-1795) or at the earliest in that of
Yung-cheng (1723-1735). Marked examples
usually bear the date of the former emperor or
that of his successor Chia-ch'ing (1796-1820).
A typical specimen is shown in fig. 5, which has
the unusually full inscription underneath — Chia-
ch'ing san nien ssu yiieh chi jih Wang Sheng-kao
chih (made by Wang Sheng-kao at the end of the
fourth month of the third year of Chia-ch'ing).
It illustrates the process as applied to true por-
celain, showing the same effect of airy lightness as
on the softer Persian material, with the addition of
cleaner cutting and greater precision : a doubtful
advantage from the aesthetic standpoint, and one
which only serves to emphasize the artistic superi-
ority of the deliciousiy soft and creamy, but no
doubt less practical Persian ware.

For purpose of comparison an example of Gom-
broon ware is given in fig. 6, and it is time that
some explanation was made of this term, which
has been so freely used throughout. The particular

pottery to which the epithet Gombroon has
been consecrated by general u^age in England is a
creamy white and highly translucent substance,
described by Mr. Burton in his recent book on
porcelain as a kind of ' artificial porcelain appar-
ently made of pipeclay and glass.' It is undoubtedly
a kindred material to fig. i, though its body is of
closer grain and considerably harder. The decora-
tion is invariably of the 'rice-grain ' order, some-
times relieved by slight ornament in black over the
glaze or underglaze blue. The few dated pieces
known belong to the eighteenth century, and the
manufacture seems to have lasted into the nine-
teenth. No serious evidence has been adduced to
show that it was made at the town of Gombroon,
and the name, as in the case of Nanking china and
Imari porcelain, is borrowed, no doubt, from the
place of export. Gombroon is a port opposite
Ormuz, in the Persian Gulf, where the English
East India Company established a station about
the year 1600, and wares of many kinds, including
Chinese porcelain and Persian pottery, were
shipped at this entrepot for our home markets.
Writing in 1698, Martin Lister compares the
porcelain of St. Cloud with ' the Gombroon ware,
which is, indeed, little else than a total vitrification,'
and Horace Walpole some sixty years later cata-
logues among his china at Strawberry Hill
' two bnsins of the most ancient Gombroon
china, a present from Lord Vere, out of the
collection of Lady Elizabeth Germaine.' The
context of both these references implies something
distinct from Chinese porcelain, and yet of a
translucent and porcellaneous nature — conditions
that would be perfectly satisfied by the so-called
Persian porcelain of the Shah Abbas period, to
which 1 have already alluded. It is, indeed,
unlikely that either writer refers to what is now
called Gombroon ware, and which we can only
define as a charming product of some unascer-
tained part of Persia, a remote but worthy
descendant of the ' rice-grain ' pottery of Rhages
and Old Cairo.

LONDON LEADED STEEPLES.— Ill
«A^ BY LAWRENCE WEAVER, F.S.A. cK,

HE leaded domes and
lanterns of Wren's London
churches are not only of
great intrinsic interest, but
have an important place in
the development of the roof
idea as applied to towers.
The dome of simple curve is
a frankly foreign element in English architecture,
and became acclimatized only by slow stages.
With the cupola of ogee curve it was different. The
genius of native building accepted with enthu-

siasm the ungeometrical and flowing line when
it arrived by way of the ogee, in the first h.ilf of
the fourteenth century. For a time it was supreme,
and rioted freely and sometimes absurdly, but
mostly in such decorative positions as were
afforded by niches .iiid tombs. Hoix-lessly
bad structurally, the ogee arch w;is rarely
powerful enough in its attractiveness to t.ike
other than a decorative place. In English
mediaeval architecture at least, it never allected
external roof lines until Perpendicuhu^ times, and
then only in rather trivial ways. At King's

L.o»dou headed Steeples

College Chapel, C.iinhrid^^r, which was biiildin)^
from 1446 to 1540, the coiiki turrets linish with
ogee finiaK, and these, and others like them, wiic
the forerunners of the numerous ogce-rooftd
turrets of the early Kenaiss;ince, such as those at
Hampton Court and at Abbott's Hospital,
Guildford. Even in the case of the example at
King's College, however, there is obviously no
intention seriously to employ curves in roof work.
Such tinials are decorative trivialities, employed
to finish rather unimportant elements, such as
corner turrets. We have still no evidence of a
desire to introduce curves into tlie crown of a
tower. Where a tower was to be topped with a
notable fe;»ture, a spire composed of straight
lines in one combination or another was the
only treatment (I except such towers as S. Giles,
Edinburgh, and the Cathedral, Newcastle, where
cur\ed flying buttresses uphold a spirelet, but these
from their rarity can scarcely be regarded as
traditional).

The development of Perpendicular tower build-
ing tended greatly to the elimination of the spire, as
in the Somersetshire churches, where the wealth of
pierced parapet and pinnacle took the spire's place.

Had the provision of a stage above the tower
proper remained an organic essential of the treat-
ment of church towers, perhaps something in the
nature of a great domed lantern would have been
evolved in late Perpendicular times on the lines of
the lead cupolas on the turrets of Hampton Court.
As it is, we have to wait for the full tide of the
Renaissance before the dome comes into its own,
and to look to Sir Christopher Wren in particular
for its noblest expression.

The description ' lantern ' applied to such
steeples as St. Bcne't, Paul's Wharf, deserves
attention. The original purpose of a lantern is
obviously to give light, and the notable lead lan-
tern of Horham Hall, near Thaxted, Essex (fig. i),
is the l^est possible example of this use. It is, in
fact, a beautiful architectural expression of the
same need as is scn-ed by the range of vertical roof
lights in a modern billiard-room. At Horham
Hall the provision of light is the first consideration,
and the craft of the plumber is spent on emphasizing
the window openings by vigorous vertical and
cross lines rather than on beautifying the roof.
Horham Hall was built at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, and there is nothing in the
design of the lantern to contradict so early a date.

At Christ's Hospital, Abingdon, Berks (lig. 2),
the lights of the lantern were untouched by the
plumber, who spent his energies on the ogee roof,
with no little help from the smith on the vane.

The hospital was founded in 1553, so the lan-
tern, dated 1707, marks a period' of renewed ac-
tivity. A pleasant feature of this Abingdon lantern
is the placing of lead ornaments on the roof itself.
About half way up, gilded crowns stand out and

bre.ik the ogee outline, and are doubtless examples
of many like decorative gaieties which have gone
from other roofs with the passage of time and
thoughtless repair. Abingdon is rich in lanterns,
for theextiuisite m.iiket house built by Christopher
Kempster, who worked under Wren at S. Paul's,
has a lantern of great delicacy of detail.

The leaded lantern of Barnard's Inn Hall, now
the Mercers' School (lig. 3), is probably as perfect
an example as can anywhere be found of the right
adjustment of the elements of light-opening and
roof. The point where the tip of the ogee joins
the finial has been very clumsily repaired, but
even with this blemish the composition is
altogether delightful. It is complete plumber's
work. There is no shirking of the technical
difficulties involved in sheeting with lead the
mullions of the lights (as at Abingdon, where the
wood is left unprotected), and the proportion
between the cusped openings and the sturdy
mullions could not be bettered.

This lantern, however, is purely an architectural
feature. It does not light the hall, and may be
regarded, therefore, as of the type of roof fleche,
a beautiful example of which was illustrated in
The Bi'RLiNGTON of August 1906. The ceiling
of the hall is comparatively modern, and it may
be that there was in the original ceiling an
opening below the lantern, which would in that
case have senxd to ventilate. The ' lantern ' idea
is altogether absent from the exquisite lead turret
roofs of Hampton Court (fig. 4). The richness of
treatment there, the wealth of crocket and
pinnacle and the great applied roses, make the
roofs worthy successors of the most decorative of
English lead spires, that of East Harliiig, Norfolk.

The composition is simple and natural. The
lower octagonal stage takes up the lines of the
brick turret, and is surmounted by an ogee cupola.
As in Barnard's Inn lantern, the feeling is wholly
gothic, though the rather nondescript shape of the
eight little finials gives an uncertain touch and
indicates the arrival of new motives. The marked
neglect by Wren of the decorative possibilities of
ornamental leadwork cannot be more acutely
recognized than by comparing the wealth of detail
in the Hampton Court turrets with the sobriety of,
say, the lantern of S. Bene't, Paul's Wharf.

Fine detail there is at S. Bene't's, but it is in the
wooden cornice mouldings. The leadwork is
subsidiary and protective. In Wren's most orna-
mented steeple, S. Edmund's, Lombard Street, the
decorative urns arc apart from the structure. At
Hampton Court the orn.mient is organic and has
relation to the lines of the roof.

Turning now to Wren's use of the dome in
connection with the lanterns surmounting church
towers, possibly his finest woik is at S. Bene't,
Paul's Wharf.

There is a peculiar interest attaching to this

— f-

('j) s. H

(7) S. XKMOI.AS, Ciil.E AllllEY

(■H) S. I'llll.ll-, IIIKMIXr.llAM

(9) \ATI(iN,\l. tiM.I.KMV
I liVliliV

LONIHIX LCADRD STRKPI.KS
I'LATK III

church, as Wren's i^re.it predecessor, Inigo Jones,
was buried in the pre-P"ire church in 1651. Un-
happily, his monument was destroyed when the
church fell to the flames. The church was
re-built by Wren in 1685, and, apart from the
exquisite lead lantern, the whole building is a
miracle of sane and simple art. The photograph
(tig. 5) is of happy effect in showing the little lan-
tern of S. Bene't against the bulk of S. Paul's.
It is impossible, within the compass of this article,
to do more than touch on this, the greatest of all
English leaded domes. It is not, moreover, in the
same category as the lanterns of the City churches,
with which I now deal in completing my slight
survey of Wren's leaded steeples. They all meet
the same architectural need, of furnishing a suit-
able crown to a square tower. At S. Paul's the
plan below the dome is circular, and is altogether
stti generis.

1 have in earlier articles insisted on the texture
value in lead roofing of the rolls, which make the
junction between adjoining sheets of lead. At
S. Paul's, Wren has emphasized this surface
treatment by having the lead dressed over great
moulded ribs. It is a purely constructed decora-
tion, but of interest as suggesting the value which
Wren attached to texture.

When writing of domes, one cannot forbear
reference to the greatest of all leaded domes,
those of the Church of The Holy Wisdom at
Constantinople, or avoid some comparison of the
characters of Byzantine and Renaissance domes.

Perhaps the outstanding features of Wren's
more conscious art are the elaborate lanterns
surmounting the domes proper, and the fact that
where the dome is seen also from the inside, as at
S. Paul's, the inner and outer lines do not agree,
the inner line being, of course, to a much flatter
curve. In the case of lanterned domes sur-
mounting towers, as at S. Bene't's, this discrepancy
does not arise, as the inside of the dome is not
visible. It goes, however, to show that Wren's
chief idea in S. Paul's dome was to create an
architectural feature dominating London, and to
establish a relationship between the cathedral and
the steeples of the parish churches, ratlier than to
provide a roof to the crossing.

The dome and lantern of the destroyed
of S. Bene't Fink bore a marked

church
general

likeness to those of S. Bene't, Paul's Wharf, but
with one notable difference.

At S. Bene't F'ink the cupola was square on plan,
wheras at Paul's Wharf we have a true dome,
circular on plan. Wren here goes about his work
in a straightforward way. There is no attempt to
mask the change from square to round by corner
v.ises or any like device which might have
tempted a lesser man, and the steeple is by so

London Leaded Steeples

and demolished in 1844. 't stood on the south
side of Threadneedle Street, where the late
Mr. Peabody now sits in bronze. The cupola
with lantern was a fine feature of one of Wren's
most ingeniously planned churches. The site
forbade a rectangular plan, so Wren turned it into
a decagon and attached the tower to its western
face. It will be noted that this lantern, though
similar in design to that of S. Bene't, PaiJ's
Wharf, is smaller in proportion to the cupola, and
the cupola lights are less important. The illustra-
tion (fig. 10) shows what London has lost in losing
S. Bene't Fink.

By way of comparison with Wren's treat-
ment of leaded domes and lanterns, 1 illustrate
Archer's tower of S. Philip, Birmingham (fig. 8).

much the gainer in breadth and simplicity.
S. Bene't Fink was rebuilt by Wren

1673

FIG. 10. SAINT BENE'T FINK

LiOfiiiou Leaded Steeples

The tower proper is certainly the finest part of
this spendid composition, but the dome is a very
notable achievement. It m.iy be felt that the
columns supporting the small cupola are a little
attenuated and the balcony railing rather trivial
in detail, but, taken altogether, the dome bears
comparison with all but Wren's best work. The
detail of Archer's Icadwork is full and careful.
The columns supporting the cupola are cased in
lead, which is heavily seamed at the joints. The
capitals have elaborate acanthus leaves in gilt cast
Icjid, and the b.ases are cast in rings and fitted
round the columns. S. Philip's is altogether a
notable church in a city not too notable for
architectural beauty.

The leaded dome of the National Gallery (fig. 9)
is very different, but very interesting. Built as
late as 1839 by Wilkins, the dry classic detail of
the leadwork is almost as far removed from
Wren's straightforward, rather thoughtless manner
as from the luxuriant crocketting of the best
mediaeval work. It shows an appreciation of the
N'alue of pattern on bold curved surfaces, even if
it fails altogether of an understanding of the right
treatment of lead roofs.

Finally, I return to the two Wren lanterns which
defy classification perhaps more vigorously than
any other of his church steeples.

The lanterns of S. Nicholas, Cole Abbey, and
S. Edmund, Lombard Street, may be grouped
together by their likeness in curious outline. Ifhe
former was re-built in 1677 and the latter in 1690.
Both are very characteristic work, examples of
Wren's wealth of invention. The lantern of
S. Nicholas (fig. 7) has been a good deal abused
and not altogether without reason. Wren's use of

a railed balcony at S. Martin, Ludgate, was a
bold stroke which is justified in the result.
Hardly so much can be said for the like feature
at S. Nicholas, Cole Abbey, and above it Wren
seems to have lost himself in a kind of architec-
tural marine store. At S. Edmund, Lombard
Street (fig. 6), the lantern is coherent, if a little
fretted by (he number of flaming urns. It is
moreover of admirable proportion, the lantern
with its louvrcd lights forming a satisfactory stage
between the tower and the concave spire sur-
mounting it. The word 'spire' in connection
with S. Edmund sounds almost ridiculous.
Perhaps in none of his steeples did Wren break
away more violently from traditional treatment.
It is unfortunate that S. Edmund is so little
visible. It is only from St. Clement's Lane that it
can be seen at all satisfactorily. PVom Lombard
Street the steeple is hardly within sight, so narrow
is the street and so lofty the tower.

In closing this third article on London's leaded
steeples, I may perhaps be allowed to be grateful
to the Editor for giving me so much space for a
too little studied branch of Wren's work. The
stone steeples, such as S. Mary-le-bow and
S. Bride, have been illustrated and described a
thousand times, but of the leaded steeples there
has been some neglect. I can only regret that
it has not fallen to an abler and more experienced
hand than mine to attempt to fill the gap, and to
establish some kind of relationship between the
lead steeples of the Renaissance and those of
gnthic times.'

' My thanks lor permission to reproduce illustrations ate due
to Mr. W. Niven, F.S.A. (fig. lo), and to Mr. J. C. Brand (fig. 8)
Fi?s. I to 4 are fron my collection of leadwork photographs
taken by Mr. Galsworthy Davie.

cA^ CHARDIN r*^

Ik the word sensation may be used in connection
with any exhibition of the quality of that recently
held at Whitechapel, then the revelation of the
three paintings by Chardin, in the possession of
the university of Glasgow, may be described by
that term. The Woman uilh a Fiyiiiii Pan, which
we reproduce in photogravure, was perhaps the
most generally attractive of the three, but all
possessed those qualities which make Chardin's
name count for more and more as our know-
ledge of painting grows.

We are gr.idually recognizing that Chardin is
one of the world's most perfect oil-painters. He
uses the medium with an appreciation of its
peculiar qualities as sensitive as that of Velazquez ;
he knows exactly how much to say and stops

when he has said it ; his outlook upon nature is
at once broad and searching ; his sense of tone
and atmosphere is infallible ; his taste in colour
impeccable — and he blends all these gifts so
happily that the Dutch masters seem petty in
comparison, and the modern genre painters poor
in quality or clumsy in touch. There is a curious
resemblance to Millet in the subject chosen for
illustration, both in the actual things represented
and the spirit with which they are rendered, yet
Chardin's simplicity differs from that of Millet in
that it is more equ.ible. He looks on the world
with a calm gaze, Millet with an eye that is im-
passioned,perhaps even indignant. Millet may thus
clutch us more vigorously, but it is the quiet firm-
ness of Chardin that will hold our attention longest.

^ A COPY OF VAN DYCK BY GAINSBOROUGH Hk»

The interesting version of Van Dyck's equestrian
portrait of Charles I, which is one of the most
striking features of Messrs. Shepherd's Spring Ex-

hibition, is given by gcner.il but not quite uni-
versal consensus of authority to Gainsborough.
That it is not by Van Dyck himself is tolerably

LllAKLES 1, BY GAINSBOROUGH, AKThK VAX U\CK
l.N THE POSSESSIO.S OF MESSRS. SHEPHERD BKOS.

c// Qopy of Van T>yck by Gainsborough

clear from a comparison witli the famous picture of
the subject in the National Gallery, and the less
known preliminary version at Buckingham Palace.
The treatment of the head is sufficient evidence
againsttheauthorship of Van Dyck, apart from such
details as the treatment of the foliage of the large
tree on the right, or the smaller one in the middle
distance to the left, and the excessive thinness of
the pigment, which has not the peculiar richness
of Van Dyck.

Yet if we reject Van Dyck we have no real
altern;itive but Gainsborough. None of Van
Dyck's immediate followers had the lightness of
hand this picture displays ; no subsequent artist
except Gainsborough inherited so much of his
style and sentiment. His admiration for Van
Dyck is shown by his famous saying on his death-
bed ; Reynolds in his Fourteenth Discourse
expressly states that Gainshorf)ugh made copies
after Van Dyck which bore a striking resemblance
to the originals ; and his position at court as one
of the favourite painters of George III would give
him constant access to at least one of the two ver-
sions of this famous picture by Van Dyck. At
Hampton Court there isa vei"y fine copy by Gains-
borough of a Rembrandt portrait ; a second turned
up, if we are not mistaken, in a London sale-room
some half-dozen years ago, and was evidently
regarded as an original. A photograph of a copy
of a third Rembrandt (No. 775 in the National

Gallery), which was submitted to us in 1905, also
appeared to be from Gainsborough's hand. The
copies of Rubens and Teniers mentioned by Rey-
nolds are no longer known, and Messrs. Shepherd's
picture seems to be the single extant work which
may be a copy after Van Dyck.

Distinctive marks of Gainsborough's style may
be noted in the transparent handling of the ex-
tremities of the large trees, a handling which
resembles water-colour in its fluidity, whereas the
foliageof Van Dyck is laid in with firm flaky touches
that recall the manner of Titian. The thistle in
the right foreground has its e.xact analogy in the
portrait of General Honeywood recently seen at
Burlington House ; indeed the whole of the
picture to the extreme right is absolutely in Gains-
borough's manner, for here, owing to the altered
shape of the canvas, he had to rely upon his own
powers of invention to fill the added space.
Countless other details might be adduced which
point to the same conclusion, but to a painter the
harmonies of turquoise and silver grey in the sky
and the superb audacity of the lustrous bronze of
the horse will be evidence enough that we have
here the work of a supremely gifted and accom-
plished colourist. The field of conjecture being
thus limited, the style would point definitely
to Gainsborough, and to Gainsborough alone,
even if no collateral evidence were forthcom-
ing.

PORTRAIT BUST OF AGRIPPINA.
;A^ BY CECIL H. SMITH r*^

lections
Rome,
notable
material

HEN one thinks of por-
traiture as practised by
Greek and Roman artists,
one's mind naturally turns
to the life-size busts or
statues in marble or
iironze which occupy a

large space in most col-

and especially in the great galleries at
Tlie habit of making representations of
people on a small scale and in other
; was probably already in vogue to a cer-
tain extL-nt among the successors of Alexander,
as ail outcome partly of the growing taste for^V/i/v
in all its phases ; but it was left to the artists of
the early Roman Empire to develop it more fully.
The most familiar form is that of the small por-
trait busts in onyx or chalcedony, usually from two
to four inches high, which are sometimes att.iched
to a circular disc of the same material, and which
are usually considered to be [^luilinii- — that is, de-
corations for horse trappingsor furniture, or similar
purposes. Possibly the idea may liave grown out of
the art of cameo-cutting. From the cameo in high
relief to the pitalcra is but a step, and indeed the

pluiliTii with its disc background is only an exag-
gerated cameo. And so we find that in the Aug-
ustan age, when the art of engraving portraits in
cameo was at its zenith, small busts in precious
stone are of not uncommon occurrence.

A bust of this description has just been acquired
for the British Museum, thanks to the generosity
of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous ;
it is figured in two views on page loi.'

It is a portrait bust of a Roman lady of the
first century A.D., car\-ed in plasma (root of
emerald of a rich cool transparent green). 'The nose
and both ears are slightly damagetl, but except for
these minor abrasions, the entire surface is prolvibly
as fresh now as it w;is on the day it w.is finished.
The neck is broken away at the shoulders, so that
it cannot now be determined whether the head
formed part of a full-length statuette. Probably it
was carved as a bust, and may h.ive betn intended
to staiul in a setting ol some other material, metal
or ivi>ry, in which the drapery and shoulders were
suggested : liiis probability is increased by the fact
that the underside of the neck has been drilled to

'T(>crenderin>;s of the full face and proiile are pholc»i:raphed
from a cast in which the nose is cn^riincntally rcitorcJ.

A Portrait Bust of Agrippina

receive a dowel. Thf lobes of the ears liavc been
pierced, probably for the attachment of gold
earrings.

Among all the sculptures of antiquity which
challenge a comparison with it, this bust stands
pre-eminent, not only for the consummate art
which characterizes it, but in the exquisite beauty
of its material. The use of plasma for gem-
engraving was hardly known to the Greeks, and
seem'^ to have come into vogue under the first Roman
emperors ; but the gems which have come down
to us in plasma are mostly small intaglios : I
know of only one other example of a larger
sculpture in this material, and that is a fragment
in the collection of the late Mr. Wyndham Cook :
this gives the forehead and eyes with part of the
hair of a woman's head on an almost identical
scale, which seems to be from a portrait of the
same personage, but which is of very inferior
workmanship.

The British Museum head was published in ' Le
Musee," 1905, p. 192, as a representation of Livia. A
comparison, however, with the coin types shows
that neither the features nor the stvle of head-dress
agrees with this interpretation, but that it must
certainly be attributed to Agrippina, the wife of
Germanicus. I have given the full-face and profile
views of the hearl with nose restored, side by side
with the portrait of Agrippina as she appears in a
bronze coin in the British Museum struck by
Caligula in her memory ; it can hardly, 1 think,
be doubted that the two are identical, and that the
similarity of the style points to the coin and bust
being contemporary.

The head may thus be claimed as belonging to the
greatest age of portraiture, and is a portrait of the
chief lady of her time. That it was in antiquity
an object greatly prized is probable from the
selection of the material and from the enrichment
with earrings ; but most of all, from the nobility
of the art. I know of no portrait of any age, of
any material or size, which is more impressive for
a certain quiet dignity and liugeness of style :
idealized it is, no doubt ; but the breathing human
form is there, and the living sentient force of
character, with the emotions that moulded it, arc
in a subtle way suggeste<l : pathos, loyalty, a
modicum of ambition, perhaps, the habit of com-
mand, and above all a distinction which is only
enhanced by the exquisite material in which the
bust is car\-ed. It is the work of a master-hand.

These are the qualities which we should a priori
have predicated for a portrait of Agrippina. Among
all the historical personages of the early Roman
Flmpire, she stands pre-eminent as the most pic-
turesque and attractive personality of her sex : at
a period when moral laxity in high places had
become the mode, and the wives and daughters f)f

100

Caesars were no longer above suspicion, the wife
of Germanicus figures as a shining example of
those virtues which had marked the Roman matron
of a sterner age. Of her earlier life we know little,
save that she was born about B.C. 14, the daughter
of M. Agrippa and lulia, and thus claimed
Augustus as her grandfather. After her marriage
she accompanied her husband on his campaigns
and seems to have been the devoted sharer of his
fortunes in more than name : for there seems no
reason to discredit the story that in his absence,
after a disaster to the Roman arms, she restored
order among (he panic-stricken and mutinous
legions, and saved the command by sheer force of
will. The rest of her story reads like a Greek
tragedy : the hand of fate, or rather of Tiberius,
was he;i\7 against her ; the loss of her husband
(done to death as she thought at the instance of
Julia) was followed by the death of her two sons ;
and then, the miserable existence at Rome, poisoned
by the atmosphere of cruelty, suspicion and intrigue
which hung around the court of Tiberius ; and,
last act of all, the imperial indictment for high
treason, her banishment, and death by self-imposed
starvation (A.D. 33).

Tacitus says in the 'Annals' (v. 4) that when
the charge was brought against her before the
Senate, a popular demonstration was made before
the Curia in her favour, and that the people carried
elifigies of Agrippina and of her eldest siui. The
episode is significant on the one hand of the
popularity which was probably one of the causes
of her downfall ; but it also shows that portraits
of her made at this date may be looked for, in
spile of the imperial disfavour. After Tiberius's
death, when her son Caligula had assumed the
purple, he brought her ashes from the island of
her exile to Rome, and struck the coin here shown,
which is inscribed on the reverse : MEMORI.AE
AGI^IFPINAK. This again might have been
(and probably was) an appropriate occasion for
the execution of portraits of her ; it does not
greatly matter to which of the two dates we assign
our bust, for the difference in time is very small,
and the features of Agrippina were probably well
known. Indeed, it is strange to find among the
marble busts which have come down to us how
very few can be definitely assigned to her. The
well-known bust in the Capitol is the only one
which gives a really satisfactory resemblance to
the coins ; and as a characteristic portrait it is not
the equal of the plasma.

' Ingens animi, et quae virilibus curis feminarum
vitia exuerat ' : such is the half-grudging praise
w'hich the historian bestows on Agrippina. In
looking at the newly acquired masterpiece, we
may well believe this was true, and yet be tempted
to add a panegyric of a more positive kind.

A CRUCIFIXION, BY KONRAT WITZ OF BASEL
^ BY CLAUDE PHILLIPS cA?

MUST in the first place make
the confession that until the very
interesting and unusual little
panel here reproduced was
shown to me by its owner, the
Rev. Lewis Gilbertson, I had not
*»"N^yi R^^tJ devoted any especial attention to
St'^J y-^t^Hip few extant works of Konrat

Witz, one ot the most individual German painters
among those who worked in the first half of the
fifteenth century, and as such to be ranked in
merit and importance, though not by reason of
any closer artistic bond, with the somewhat earlier
Lukas Moser of Rottweil, with the contemporary
Meister Francke of Hamburg, and as one of the
immediate precursors of Stephan Lochner, the
master of the unique Donibild of Cologne, several
figures of male saints in which strongly suggest the
influence of Konrat Witz. I knew, indeed, the ex-
tensive series of panels by him in the Basel Museum,
all of them belonging to a great retable now dis-
membered ; I knew the curious Si. Mary Magdalene
and St. Katharine in the gallery at Strassburg, and
had re-made acquaintance with this work, so much
more accomplished in technique than it looks at
first sight, in the recent Dusseldorf Exhibition of
Primitive German Art. I knew also, but had not
for some years seen, the little Holy Family in a
Church of the Naples gallery. In hazarding the
ascription of this little panel to Konrat Witz,
I rely chiefly, however, on the admirable series of
articles devoted to the subject by Dr. Daniel
Burckhardt of Basel. The most important of
these is contained in a sumptuous and unfor-
tunately very scarce work, the ' Festschrift zur
Erinnerung an Basel's Eintntt in den Bund der
Eidgenossen.' The full account and description
that it gives of all works by Konrat Witz then (in
1901) known to exist is completed by a series of
excellent reproductions, which are luckily on a
relatively large scale. The point of departure, the
foundation, indeed, of Dr. Burckhardt's demonstra-
tion, is the one work by Konrat Witz — putting aside
certain recently discovered fragments of the Basel
retable — that I have not yet seen, and unfortunately
the one which is of the most crucial importance in
connection with my present attribution. This is the
altarpiece executed for the Chapel Notre-Dame des
Macchabees, of Geneva, by the master, in 1444,
as a commission from Franfois de Mies, nephew
of Cardinal Jean de Brogny, two large and impor-
tant wings belonging to which have survived, not
unharmed by Calvinistic vandalism, and are now
in the little-visited Musce d'Archeologie attached
to the university of Geneva.

One of these panels bears the inscription : 'hoc
opus pinxit magister conradus sapientis (sic) de
basilea MCCCCXLiiil '— ' this work was painted by
Master Konrat Witz of Basel in 1444.' It is in

this very year that I would place the Crucifixion
here reproduced. In his 'Studien zur Geschichte
der Altoberrheinischen Malerei' (' Jahrbuch der
Koniglich Preuszischen Sammlungen,' 27"" Band,
s. 179), Dr. Burckhardt, in introducing two hitherto
unrecognized fragments of the Basel retable— an
Angel of the Annnnciation a.nd -dn Ecclesia — gives
new information of high importance with re-
gard to the life and career of Konrat Wit^, and
also as to his father, Hans Witz, whom he
identifies with that ' Hance de Constance, paintre,'
who in his early days had resided in France
(at Nantes), and in 1424-25 had been in the
service of the splendour-loving Philippe le Bon,
duke of Burgundy, by whom in those years he
had been sent on missions to Paris and Bruges.
The essential dates of the two painters' lives are
thus, for the first time, more or less precisely fixed,
and the course of their development is, from extant
works, at least indicated, though obviously many
gaps remain to be filled up. Another contribution
to the subject is the article 'Zu Konrat Witz,'
written by Herr Robert Stiassny in the same
'Jahrbuch' (27'*' Band, s. 285). This introduces
yet another important fragment of the Basel
retable, a Queen of Sheba before King Solomon,
which is to be found in the rich collection of
Count Hans Wilczek, at Schloss Kreuzenstein in
Lower Austria. There may be other literature of
importance on a subject with which German art
and German connoisseurship is just now so much
concerned, but, if so, I am not acquainted with it.
The dimensions of the little Crucifixion now
introduced by me are: height i3iin. by length
10} in. (sight measure), or in decimal notation,
height 0'34 by length 0"26. It is painted on
panel in what is known as the old Flemish technique,
that is in oils, on a tempera foundation painted upon
a ground of white chalk or gesso. In a good many
places, alas 1 the surface is defaced and this gesso
ground is clearly visible. But the little p.anel has
suffered no material restoration, and intheuninjured
parts, which are fortunately many, the painting
has an enamel-like consistency, an unimpaired
freshness and brilliancy. It is the astonisiiingly
vivid and realistic treatment of the landscape
background, the in the first half of the fifteenth
century hardly to be paralleled feeling for
atmosphere and aerial perspective, which first led
me to the idea that the Crucifi.vion might be by
Konrat Witz. Had he not in the Sliniculotis
Draught of Fishes of the Geneva altarpiece — as can
be seen even in a photographic reproduction —
shown himself a landscapist not more tii.ui equalled
in truth :md finesse of observation, though surp.is-od
in beauty and variety, by the brothers Van Eyck
themselves? In hardly any other painting of this
early date would it be possible to point to sucii
graded colour and true perspective of cloud in .i

103

A ^Qrucifixioti^ hy Kotirat JVin

sunset sky, to such obser\'ation of light in its play
upon the surfaces of water, to such accurate
notation of rock-form, of tree and shrub, to so
spirited a rendering of the intinitesimal figures
grouped on the sward and under the trees, and of the
boats which dot the lake both in the nearer and
the farther distance. The toucli in the trees in our
picture is identical with that to be noted in the
Genera piece ; the rendering of rock-formation is
identical with that in the less subtle and less well-
preserved 67. Clirislof'lu-r, which forms part of the
Hasci retable ; the same curious treatment of
loose stones, pebbles and shrubs distinguishes both
l.mdscapcs. These scarcely visible yet thoroughly
understood and mouvcutentc groups of figures to
which I have just referred are a feature of both —
and are to be found nowhere else, so far as I am
aware. Some difficulty may be felt at first in recon-
ciling the types, the facial peculiarities, the draperies
of the various figures with those in the accepted
paintings of Konrat Witz ; but a nearer examination
will, I think, aid the careful investigator to get
over these. And then the accepted works of
the Basel master are not so easy at first sight to
reconcile with each other.

The strange, mask-like faces, the curious hieratic
gestures and attitudes of the figures which fill the
panels of the Basel retable belong to an earlier
period of Konrat Witz's practice, and only with
some effort, with some good will, can be made to
fit in with the conception of the painter formed
from the Geneva panels. And again, the little Holy
Family in a Church of the Naples gallery shows an
elongated type of head in the Holy Women which
accords better with the types in this Crucifixion
than with those in the Basel and Geneva pictures.
The kneeling figure in that panel of the Basel
retable which, perpetuating an ancient legend,
represents the centurion Antipater before Julius
Caesar, bears a really startling resemblance, not-
withstanding an entire divergence of motive, to
the kneeling figure of the donor in our panel.

Though the artistic idiosyncracy of the painter of
the Crucifixion — whoever he may be — is of the
strongest, and too definite to be wholly dominated
by that of any predecessor or contemporary, he
betrays unmistakable marks of certain influences —
and of just those that the Konrat Witz evolved for
us by Dr. Burckhardt might be expected to
undergo. The tnisc-en-sc'cnc, and, indeed, the
whole conception, will at once remind the student
of the Van Eycks, and more perhaps of Hubert
than of Jan. Unless I am greatly mistaken, there
is here to be traced a strong reminiscence — to put
the case as moderately as possible — of the little
Crucifixion by Hubert Van Eyck (but not entirely
from his hand) which is in the collection of Baron
Franclietti, at Venice, and is reproduced in the
' Jahrbuch der Kuniglich Preuszischen Samm-
lungen ' (26'" Band, s. 113). The Virgin and St.

104

John in Hubert's picture may well have suggested
those, in feeling, and even in aspect, very similar
figures in our Crucifixion. Still nearer is the
crucified Christ, however, to the corresponding
figure in the representation of the subject by the
Mastcrof Flemallewhich isnowin the Kaiscr-Fried-
rich Museum, at Berlin. And this master's name
has often been mentioned of late in connection
with that of Konrat Witz — especially in con-
nection with liis Si. Mary Magdalene ami SI. Kath-
arine at Strassburg, which has many technical
peculiarities in common with the work of the
strong, austere Fleming, who stands midway be-
tween the Van Eycks — but nearer to Hubert
than to Jan — and Van der Weyden. The resem-
blance of Witz's Holy Family in a Church, at
Naples, to the productions of Jan Van Eyck, and
particularly to the 'Madonna of Ince-Hall,' has
been pointed out l)oth by Dr. Burckhardt and
Herr Stiassny. The painter of this Crucifixion is
sometimes a master of facial expression, as in the
exquisitely pathetic Christ, and the Holy Women
who mourn with a quietude so touching ; but
sometimes, as in the figure of the donor (so Eyck-
like in pose and in the treatment of the splendid
crimson robe), he falls back upon the mask-like
treatment of face and features that so repels us at
first in the Basel retable. The flesh-tints are in
every case but one those very pallid ones, slightly
heightened with a delicate carmine, to which Dr.
Burckhardt has called attention, the face of the
dead Christ being absolutely pallid and the head
inclined sideways and forward, like a broken lily.
The one element of the little picture which h;is
no direct analogue in the German, or indeed in
the specifically Flemish, art of the time is this
group of the Holy Women, who stand finely
draped and rhythmic in attitude at the foot of the
Cross. The Virgin herself is rolled all in lucent
azure, the ligiire to the left in citron yellow with
white head-gear, that on the right in brilliant
uncompromising scarlet, similarly relieved. This
scarlet is indeed the one false chromatic note in
what would otherwise be a beautiful harmony.
It is not a Flemish or a German colour — nor are
the draperies, indeed, P'Icmish or Teutonic in
fold : the whole conception of this particular
group has something alien about it. If we re-
member, however, that Hans Witz, the father of
Konrat, was that ' Hancc dc Constance' who, while
in the service of the duke of liurgundy, must have
become acquainted with the Italo-French or Italo-
Burgundian art of such men — Netherlanders in
origin, though not in training — as Melchior Broe-
derlam and Jean Malouel (or Malwel), and may
have known, moreover, that of the great Pol
dc Limbourg and his brothers ; if we bear in
mind that this 'Hance' w;is thus necessarily
steeped in the traditions of the art practised
in France and Burgundy in the first years of

THE CklClUXluN, UY KliNKAf WIl/ ol UV^KL

IX TIIK aiLLECTlOX OK THK WKV. LEWIS GILIIERTSON

- 3

z a

J ui

_ o

A ^Qrucifixion^ by Konrat JVitz

the fifteenth century, we shall, I think, under-
stand. Konrat VVitz, too strong an individu-
ahty to be a conscious eclectic, in the later
sense of the word, is nevertheless — even as we
thus have him, perhaps imperfectly, before us —
perceived to be an ultra-sensitive, whom, on the one
hand the art of the Van Eycks, and perhaps of their
kinsman, the Master of Hemalle, but on the other
the Italo-French modes as practised by the Nether-
landers acclimatized in France, have affected. But
for all that, he consults nature at first hand, and most
lovingly^-coming nearer to her in some respects
than any man of his time, and surprising in his
naive and necessarily tentative way some of her
most secret beauties. To find a parallel for this
treatment of landscape in German painting, it is
necessary to pass on until one comes, some sixty
years later, to Albrecht Diirer — nay, to pass on
beyond this mighty, unflinching realist to Altdorfer,
whose landscape art has just this lyrical Stiinmiing
that the greatest of German masters does not, in his
treatment of nature, command. All along I have
been assuming, although I cannot at present go
beyond assumption, that we have in the beautiful
lake scene which constitutes the background of
the Cnicitixion a study from some inlet of the

Lake of Geneva. It is on this ground, but also on
that of the relative maturity of the technique
generally, that I have put forward the year 1+44 —
the year of Konrat Witz's residence at Gene\'a,
and that of the great altarpiece of Notre-Dame des
Macchab(;es — as the date of our picture.

But according to Dr. Burckhardt, he resided
between the years 141 2 and 1427 at Constance.
Should it be proved that this lake-view gives the
painter's immediate impression not of theCJenfersee
but the Bodensee, wc should be compelled to put the
date of the Crucifixion back some seventeen years at
least, and it would then stand forth a still more
remarLable product of primitive German art
Taking into consideration the points of technical
and other resemblance belween the landscape of
the Crucifixion and that most remarkable one of
the Miraculous Draught of Fishes at Gene\'a, I
cannot believe that any such period of years
divides them, or that the former panel belongs to
the earlier phase of Konrat Witz's style. For all
its primitive freshness and its delightful savour of
the art that seeks itself as it ad\-ances, 1 cannot but
believe that this is one of the last of the Basel
master's works, painted at his zenith, as it is
shown in the Geneva panels.

PROFESSOR JOSEF STRZYGOWSKI ON THE THRONE OF
ST. MAXIMIAN AT RAVENNA, AND ON THE
SIDAMARA SARCOPHAGI
^ BY EUGENIE STRONG c*^

I E\V mediaeval works of art are
nnore justly admired than the
'ivory throne of St. Maximian,
preserved in the treasury of the
cathedral at Ravenna. The
^panels of the e.\terior are
idorned with scenes from the
(Uld and New Testaments, and
altoicl a Ntnkiiif^ u-xample of narrative art. On the
front of the throne the four evangelists are grouped
in pairs to either side of John the Baptist, each
figure being placed in a niche formed by two
columns surmounted by an arch in shell form.
Though the throne cannot be earlier than the
sixth century A.D., the classic poses and the
drapery of all five saints are evident reminiscences
of a period when the human figure was the main
problem that occupied sculptors. It is on these
front figures, then, that Strzygowski has been
shedding fresh light in a paper read on his behalf
by the compiler of this note at a recent meeting
of the Hellenic Society, and published in the .April
numlx'r of the 'Journal of Hellenic Studies' (pp. 99-
122).

Strzygowski, the distinguished champion of
Graeco-oriental influence in late antique and in

mediaeval art, had already in his work on
Mschatta' claimed the throne as the product of a
Graeco-Syrian art centre like Seleukia, or more
probably Antioch. But this was on the ground
that the forms and the style of ornament presented
marked analogies to Graeco-Sjxian art. He now
goes a long way towards definitely establishing his
theory by pointing out that the five saints arranged
in three larger and two intermediate narrower
niches are clearly connected with the five figures —
similarly spaced and, moreover, disposed within
similar shell niches — which form a constant feature
in the decoration of the long side of certain
Graeco-Asiatic sarcophagi known as the ' Sidaraara
group ' from the provenance of the largest
example.' These monuments range in date from
the Antonine period (e.g., the ' marri.ige sarco-
ph.agus ' in the PaI;izzo Kiccardi) to the third and
fourth centuries. They are all rem.-irkable for
their hca\7 architectural forms and luxuriant
decoration. When Stfitygowski first drew attention
to their importance in his book, ' Orient oder Rom ,

' In ' Jjhrbuch dcr KOniglich Preussiichen Kuiuliammlaoceo'
for IQ04.

•C<. ' Monuments Piof I.K. Plates x>ij-xix (with text by Th.
Rcinach).

109

T^rofessor yoscf Strzygowski

(1901), he was mainly concerned in proving the
oriental character of the ornament, where effect is
no longer dependent on modelling and consequent
diffused light and shadow, hut where the liorer
has supplanted the chisel, so that modelling
becomes of secondary importance, while the flat
surfaces stand out in sharp contrasting colour
against the deep black hollows. This Might and
dark ' style Strzygowski believes originated in
Mesopotamia, whence he also derives another
characteristic feature of both sarcophagi and
throne — namely, the shell-niche. This niche, so
typical at a later date of the art of Islam, occurs
neither in Greek nor Egyptian architecture,
whereas ' the ancient soil of Mesopotamia is the
original home of the brick wall divided on the
outside by flat, on the inside by rounded, niches'
— a style of wall construction which, ' translated
into stone, lirst makes its appe.irancc in the great
temple buildings and Xyinphaca of Syria and Asia
Minor.' Presumably, therefore, it is to an art
centre influenced by this region that we should
refer the group of sarcophagi which developed the
niche motive ;is its type, and monuments which,
like the K.ivenna throne, retain this motive as late
as the sixth century.

So far Strzygowski had said little concerning
the figures, which, though at times sufficiently
powerful and vivid, were yet, on the majority of
sarcophagi, executed in a summary and even
coarse m.inner. Some two years ago, howe\'cr, I
chanced, in the collection of Sir Frederick Cook
at Kichmond, upon certain fragments of singular
lx;auty which had evidently belonged to a
Sidamara sarcophagus, though they surpassed all
known examples both in style and technique.
I at once communicated to Strzygowski the
existence of these fragments, and by their help he
now set himself to examine the statuary motives
on this class of sarcophagi, and showed that, in
opposition to the oriental character of the orna-
ment, the figures betrayed a purely classic tradition
deriving directly from PrrLxiteiean and even
Pheidian models. The sarcophagi may be as late
as the third or fourth century, yet, strangely
enough, the prototypes of the figures are found
neither in the Hellenistic art of the first century
A.D., nor in the baroque ol Rhodes or of Pergamon,
but mainly in the art of the fourth century B.C.
Among the Richmond fragments are examples of
the nude which come near to the Ucniics of
Praxiteles, and draped figures which are closely
akin to the Muses on the basis from Mantinea,
to the 'mourning women' on the famous sarco-
phagus found at Sidon, in Syria (Lcs Pkurcuscs),
and to the lovely veiled figure at Dresden known
as the Matron of llcrciilancuin. From these
observ.itions Strzygowski concludes that the
sarcophagi which thus exhibit u purely classic
tradition alongside of a distinctly oriental system

I 10

of decoration have their origin neither in Greece
nor in Rome, nor even in Ephesus or any other
district of Western Asia Minor, but in the Graeco-
Asiatic angle which lay nearest to Mesopotamia,
and had Antioch as its art centre, from whence
the closely cognate Ravenna throne must also
derive.

Strzygowski also succeeds in explaining the
remarkable arrangement of the figures within
three niches and two narrower connecting inter-
spaces, that obtains on both throne and sarcoph.igi.
The clue to the arrangement he finds in the
beautiful fragment of an ivory diptych, with the
archangel Michael standing at the top of a flight
of steps (British Museum). From the nature of
its technique and ornament, it is easy to surmise
that this ivory also has a Syrian origin ; in the
treatment of the drapery it evinces points of
contact with the throne of Maximian, while, like
both throne and sarcophagi, it shows the typical
arrangement of a single figure within a niche.
But it also presents a new and unique feature in
the six steps which lead up to the height of the
bases of the columns. Now, as Strzygowski
shows, the figure, if kept in the plane of the top
step, would have been thrown back into
shadow, and thus lost its significance ; or if pro-
jecting forward, as actually happens, the lower
part of the body would naturally recede
towards the background. To obviate this diffi-
culty, the sculptor has placed his figure with
the feet covering three steps at a time, in a posture
which is frankly impossible. Whence comes this
unsuitable motive ? The solution of the problem
Strzygowski finds in those Pompeian wall-paint-
ings of the fourth style, which derive from the
architecture of the Greek theatre, and in which
the figures, placed within a doorway on a flight
of steps, are imitated from actors on the stage.
An analogy to this interpretation is afforded by
that of Karl Holl,' who detected in the sculp-
tured screen, or ikoitostasis of the orthodox church,
a survival of the f^roskciiion or scaciiac froiis of the
ancient theatre, and suggested, accordingly, that
characteristic features of the Greek liturgy such as
the €r<ro5o« are none other than the acts of the
Hellenic drama. With the help of the Pompeian
paintings, moreover, the architectural setting on
sarcophagi and throne becomes clear. The three
larger niches represent the actual doors of the
stage wall, and the narrower niches the interspaces
between the doors.

It is naturally only in a great city that the
motives of stage architecture could influence
painting and sculpture, and in this fact Strzy-
gowski finds a further proof of the Antiochene
origin of his sarcophagi, of the throne, and also
of the British Museum ivory, 'in which the
motive of the theatre steps has been so strikingly

* ' Archiv fiir Rcligionswissenschalt,' ix, p. 36J f.

preserved.' F"or at Antioch we find united the
various characteristics that manifestly influenced
this whole series of monuments ; it was a brilliant
and luxurious city where the drama would flourish
and the theatres would be magnificent ; it was a
Greek art centre and yet was in close contact
with the further orient.

Such are the main points in Strzygowski's thesis
of an Antiochene school, represented by the
Sidamara sarcophagi and by certain Christian
ivories. One question, however, forced itself upon
me as I translated or read his paper, and must
have occurred, I think, to many who were present
at the meeting. How, namely, does Strzygowski
explain the existence, as late as the third or fourth
century a.d., of a school of sculptors who ccjuld
so refashion ancient classical types that Strzy-
gowski himself, in the presence of the Richmond
fragments, feels reminded, in one case, of a statue
of Our Lady in the Annunciation of some gothic
cathedral ; in another, of a figure on Or San
Michele, or on Giotto's Campanile ; in yet a third,
of a prophet conceived by some master of like
power and originality to Donatello ? Strzygowski
searches for the prototypes of these figures in a
remote past, because, he says, such creations ' are
incredit)le in the Roman period.' At the same
time, so profound an art critic as Strzygowski
need scarcely be reminded that, in any work of
art, the type reproduced accounts only very
partially for the total effect. He himself shows,
in the present paper, that a classic model of
supreme excellence like the original of the Million
of Herctilaucuni can in the hands of artists less
inspired than those of the Richmond sarcophagus,
degenerate into mere caricature.* Copying at its
best is only academic : its highest quality is
accuracy; but the most skilful copyist's work even
of Augustan or Hadrianic times certainly carries
no suggestion of the spontaneous vitality of either
a Giotto or a Donatello.

Now Strzygowski, in opposition to Riegl or to
♦'journal of Hellenic Studies,' 1907, p. io6.

Professor jfosef Strzygowski

Wickhoff, has formed so low an estimate of the
creative power of the late antique that his brilliant
theory of an old tradition of classic figure sculpture,
surviving in the cultivated cities of Sjxia, seems
inadequate to explain such phenomena as the
Richmond figures, which, as he himself admits,
are ' creations ' in the true sense of the word.
Nay, even the persistence of a tradition of figure
sculpture is incomprehensible if we are to accept
Strzygowski's assertion, repeated in many books
and articles, that Hellas and Hellenism succumb
to the influence of the orient, whose progress is
marked, according to him, by the disappearance
of the figure in favour of mere ornament. Yet the
Sidamara sarcophagi, the Rivenna throne, the
ivory diptych with the archangel, are all e.xamples
— ranging from the second to the sixth century
A.D. — that show figure and ornament in dis-
tinguished and even triumphant alliance. If the
beautiful Richmond fragments induce Professor
Strzygowski to think more highly of the creative
ability of the period which he is himself daily
re-discovering, it must be counted as not the least
of their merits.

Two side issues that arose in connection with
the paper may be mentioned here. The existence
of the beautiful but unknown fragments at Rich-
mond show once more the unexplored and unsus-
pected wealth of our English private collections,
a point to which I ventured to draw attention in
my introductory remarks. On the other hand.
Miss Gertrude Bell, the distinguished Syrian
traveller, in commenting on Strzygowski's theories,
took occasion to point out that, in view of the
growing recognition of Syriii as one of the most
influential art centres of antiquity, England should
now attempt to create an adequate Graeco-Syrian
collection. At Berlin, for instance, in the Kaiser
Kriedrich Museum, the admirable facade of
Mschatta can be studied pnictically in its entirety,
and Strzygowski's recent contributions alone show
what an impulse this great typical monument has
given to Graeco-oriental research in Germany.

^ AN EARLY VALENCIAN MASTER cK:

HE absence of early Spanish
paintings from our national
collection is in some measure
compensated for by the exis-
tence of two examples of the
Valencian school among the
treasures of the Victoria and
Albert Museum.

The great altarpiece pur-
chased in 1864, depicting the lAfc and Ma>t\tdom
0/ St. Gt^orgc us pillion of Ara^on, is well known,
doubtless, to most visitors to' the museum. The
other painting, acquired in the following year, is an
Adoiaiion of the .Uw;'/. signed ' Lo Fil de Mostre

Rodrigo,' and is at present loaned to the National
Gallery. Both works typify currents in the artistic
production of the Mediterranean side of Spain in the
fifteenth century : the ;Utarpiece, in wh.it m.ay be
called thegothic style, reflects, as do also many paint-
ings from the adjacent Catalonia, South German in-
fluence, but in scenes of unp.iralleled and terrible
intensity ; the Adoration, now reproduced for the
first time,' is a complex presentment by a native
temperament of non-Spanish elements — of a

' Pl.ilc, r->Ke ">8- '" Kijno's ' Cjlalogue of the .\rt Objectj
of Sp.inish I'roJuctioii in the S. Keiuinston Museum." l!'7l. the
approximate aire of this work is nivcn 15511 8 in. in heichl.
411. 104 in. in width. It is in oil upon panel. no« upon cmtm
as is there sl.ited.

I I I

An Early Valencian blaster

passably Netherlandish Madonna, of Italian Re-
naissance ornament and edifices of divers styles
and nationalities.

The Holy Family is depicted before and to the
left of a ruined buildinj; intentled to be of classical
architecture. The Hlessi-d \'irgin, who bears the
Infant Christ upon her rij;ht knee, is clad in a red
dress and a voluminous pale fjreen mantle ;
lieyond them Joseph leans upon his staff within
a doorway. 1 he kiieelinji king wears a red tuiiic
worked with various devices in f^old, over a robe of
tl.irk j^reen brocade, with black sleeves, and the ends
of his lonj^ 'false' sleeves of linen are tied
together at the back. His companions stand
upon the right of the picture ; the second
king is in a dark golden rolie trimmed with ermine,
a long red mantle and a hat of the same colour,
within the brim of which a crown is fixed, and
upon which there hangs a medal ; the third wears
a kind of dalmatic of striped red and gold, worked
with gold and sewn with pearls, and a fanciful
turb.an-helmet, in which is set a cameo. The
scene is watched from a staircase leading to the
upper storey of the ruin by two youthful ligures.
At the b.-ick, a semi-circular loggia with fluted
cupola looks out upon an estuary with shipping,
upon the further side of which, at the foot of a
mountain, stands a walled city. Among the trees
upon the near bank is a ruined tower, and nearer
still is a troop of horsemen, one of whom carries a
banner of St. George. At the extreme right of the
picture a five-stf)ried circular structure stands
upon some high ground ; on the left, in a hilly
landscape, a stag is being hunted and a horseman
crosses a bridge.

The colour-scheme, though rich, is a subdued one ;
the artist's realism is shown, not only in his choice
of types, but in the rendering of shadows and
effects of light and shade. In general effect the
work is powerful and accomplished, though the
drawing, of the hands more especially, leaves much
to be desired.

Extremely valuable when it is remembered how

divided as to a Spanish attribution might be the

verdict of connoisseurship, is the signature on the

stone upon which the Madonna rests her feet. Of

the painter that signed himself in Valencian dialect'

' Lo Kil de Mestre kodrigo,' absolutely nothing is

known. His artistic genesis can only be surmised

from the internal evidence of the work itself, in

the light of what is known of the Italian and

Northern influences at work at Valencia in the

late fifteenth century. It were rash, however, to

insist upon such points as the introduction of

' In the uae of the Caslil an form ' Kodrigo ' may lie the key
lo Ihr arlist's eximction.

cl.xssical architectural forms and antique reliefs
side by side with Italian arabesque panels of the
developed Renaissance, and with the pointed roofs,
gables and the half-timbered structure seen through
the loggia. Better evidence of the artist's acquaint-
ance with the work of foreigners is his knowledge
of the technique of oil-painting. In its arrangement
the composition recalls a panel of the once splen-
did alfarpiece of the Constable Pedro of Portugal
(in the Nluseum of Antiquities at Barcelona), which
dates from 1464-66.' From a comparison of the
two works it appears probable that the ' Son of
Master Roderick ' grouped his eight figures after
those of the Barcelona picture. There the
Madonna is upon the left, the kings face her on
the right, and two small figures watch the scene
from a door and a window high in the background.
The only substantial alterations in the grouping are
that St. Joseph stands behind the ^iadonna and
that the ox, the ass and a horse are introduced into
what is a somewhat narrower composition.

Striking details of the work are the strongly
marked types that do duty for the three kings. As,
doubtless, they are portraits, one may be pardoned
for suggesting an identification of perhaps the most
individual of the three. The lineaments of the
second king — he is seen three-quarter face — bear
a strong resemblance to those of James II of
Aragon (1458-79) in a portrait reproduced in
Carderera y Solano's ' Iconografia Espanola.'* As,
however, the date of this Adoration would appear
to be circa 1500, the portrait, if of this monarch,
would be a posthumous one.

The history of the panel cannot be carried back
earlierthan 1853. It is doubtless the work described
by Passavant,' the property of an Italian ecclesiastic
at Valencia ; he supposed the painter to have been
son of the Master Rodrigo who in 1494-5 executed
the lower range of choir-stalls, with carved panels
depictingthe conquest of Granada, in the cathedral
of Toledo. Carderera also appears to have been
acquainted with a work or works of the artist and
his father."

'Reproduced in Sanpjre y Miguel's ' L03 Cu,itrocentis(as
Cat.il.ines," ii. 58.

*Vol. ii, pi. 4''>. This w.irk U in the possession of the ducal
house of Villahcrmos.i at Madrid.

*• Die Chi i-ittiche Kunsf in Spanion,' p. 85.

• 'Discursos praticables del nobilisimo Arte de la Pintura.. .
por Jusepc Marlincv,' pp. 5-6. i>W). The pissai;c in question
(' of Lo FiIj de Mcstrc l<i>dri;j > and of his fa her there exists a
valuable painting in which lirnier draiighlmanship and greater
strtnglli of colour are .ipp.ireni, ') in hipdesslv garbled in Baron
de Alcahali y do .Mosqucra's * Uiccionario biogralico dc
Artist.as V'alencian.as, ' pp. 28J-4, 1897. Carderera is there
quoted to the effect that several previously mentioned anonymous
works arc by Mestre Kodrigo. The truth would appear to be
that the Utter, if a painter, has no artistic existence apart from
lh.it impi ed by his son's appellation.

I 12

THEORY, OR THE GRAPHIC MUSE

ENGRAVED BY BLAKE AFTER REYNOLDS

cA^ BY KATHARINE A. McDOWALL r*^

I \ V^ engraving here repro-
duced forms the frontispiece
of Prince Hoare's ' Inquiry
into the Requisite Cultivation
and Present State of the Arts
of Design in England' (1806),
a rare volume not in the
British Museum, interesting
in itself and doubly interesting as containing this
unrecorded work of Blake after a design by his
Antichrist of Art, Sir Joshua Reynolds. How
Blake came to make this — his only and at first
sight unaccountable — reproduction of a Reynolds,
and to take his share in a volume which exalts
Strange and WooUetf, Reynolds and the portrait
painters — the very engravers and artists whrise style
he abhorred— is an inquiry the answer to which
throws some light on an obscure period of his
life and the little-regarded friendships of those
years.

But first, considering the rarity of the book, a
word as to its contents may not be out of place.
It consists of three sections. Part I, 'Of the
Advantages arising from the Culti\'atit)n of the
Arts, and of the Methods most conducive to their
Advancement,' deals with the 'influence of the
Arts on the morals of a people ' ; Part 1 1 deals with
the ' Establishment, Design, and Progress of the
Royal Academy of Arts, and its Annual Exhibi-
tions'; Part III, 'Of the Powers of English
Genius, conducive to Excellence in the Arts,' with
the history of Art in England and its chief
exponents in ii.iinting, sculpture, architectuic .uul
engraving. REYNOLDS, as Hoare usually prints

him, is hailed as the greatest European painter of
his day ; Gainsborough is only ' placed above the
common level of industrious talent' ; but perhaps
the most interesting remark in the book is the
statement that ' the F"rench are become collectors
of English prints,' and, a little further on, that the
'annual sum, amounting from fifty to a hundred
thousand pounds,' formerly paid by English
collectors for French engravings, has now been
diverted to the works of English engravers.

Turning to the problematical connection of the
names of Blake and Reynolds, we find that from
1 804- 1 809, as may be inferred from the almost
complete cessation of engraved work, the former
was busied with the designs for Blair's ' Grave,'
and with most of those pictures which, in the
latter year, formed the famous exhibition for
which the Descriptive Catalogue was written.

Between 1805 and 1817 no original engraving
by him is known, and of hackwork in the shape
of engravings after others' designs none is recorded
by Mr. W. M. Rossetti between 1804 and 1809.
The frontispiece, therefore, forms a link between
the years in which he was believed to have laid
aside the graver and that in which he again took
it up. Why then, once more, should he have
resumed it amid the pressure of other work in
order to reproduce a picture by that artist whom,
artistically speaking, he most hated ? The key ti>
the problem lies in some sentences of Blake's
letters to Hayley, which reveal the interesting fact
that in 1804 Blake was in constant correspondence
with the author of the book. Prince Hoare. The
occasion of this intimacy is unknown, for none of
their earlier letters have been preser\-ed ; perhaps
they met at the Academy, where, as late as 1817,
Blake was to be found drawing from the antique.
Be this as it may, on February 23rd, 1804, we find
him writing to Hayley: 'I inclose likewise the
" Academical Correspondence " of Mr. Hoare the
painter, whose note to me I also inclose. For I
did but express to him my desire of sending you a
copy of his work, and the day after I receivet.1 it,
with the note expressing his pleasure in your wish
to see it. You would he as much delighted with
the man as I assure myself you will Ix' with his
work.' The book referred to is Hoare's ' Extracts
from a Correspondence with the Academies of
X'ienna and St. Petersburg on the Cultivation of
Painting, Sculpture and .Architecture,' published
by him as Foreign Secretary to the Roral
Academy in 1802 (his predecessor in that office,
by the way, was no less a person than James
Boswell). .-\ month or two later (.April 7th and
27th) Blake, again writing to Hayley, gives stime
details of a proposed scheme, '.is yet an entire
secret between Mr. P. (Sir Richard' Phillips the

I I

Theory^ or the Graphic ^luse

publisher '), Mr. H. and myself, for a new Review,
which may be call'd a Defence of Literature
a;;.iin5t those pests of the press, and a bulwark for
j^iiiiiis, which shall, with your good assistance,
disperse those rebellious spirits of En\7 and
Malignity." The review never took shape, but
when Hoare's new book was ready for the press
the publisher was Richard Phillips, the engraver
William Ulake.

Hut no amount of friendly intercourse would
h.ive induced Blake to engrave a work of Reynolds'
for a IxHjk on art had he not thoroughly approved
of the work in question. He must have recognized
that the voice of the Foreign SecreLiry of the
Royal Academy could be heard in the land when
that of William Blake, Victor Igiiotiis, was
inaudible, and so have been ready to do his part
wlien Hoare declared before the world that art
was not a toy in the hands of the great, but a
living power, conferring honour on those who
worked with and for her, instead of being
honoured bv their patronage. In his attitude on
this point indeed, Hoare deser\'es to be called the
Ruskin of the Georgian era. His criticisms of
contemporary .irt may be inadequate, his enthu-
siasm for the Carracci raise a smile, but his claim
to rank among those who in an age of blindness
have eyes to see is expressed in the concluding
sentences of the ' Inquiry,' a call to Englishmen to
awake from their apathy and to be ' the first in the
solemn restoration of the ARTS of DESIGN to the
illustrious purposes they have, once in the world,
achieved; by the public authorized direction of
their powers to utility and social civilization ; by
the dedication of them to national virtue and
glory.'

Turning to the frontispiece, 'sketched from the
picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds on the ceiling of
the Library of the Ropl Academy,' we find
before us a somewhat difficult problem. The
original picture, painted by Reynolds for the
ceiling of the new Somerset House in 1779, was
set in an ov.il frame, and considered the principal
ornament of the rooms assigned to the Academy.
An anonymous critic cited by Mr Graves
('Catalogue of the Works of Sir Joshua
Reynolds," Vol. iv, p. 1480 zz) describing the
apartments in Somerset House, wrote of it :
'The piece possesses a most beautiful light-
ness, and the figure seems rather to hover on the
air than to have any settled seat.' Theory, as the
figure is here called, sits poised on airy clouds,
clad in loose draperies of bluish white, and hold-

'(!• her, and sheriff of London,

an iir rist. He w-is, like BLilcc, a

' :" .■ ' r scllinR P.iinc's
n his principles,

'- v. Inch m.iny dis-

jlcd, wai a bulwark of the Radical
I .tiire. Hi* subsequent acceptance of

a Liii^lillti«>d and &liiicvalty arc difficult to reconcile with his
previous career.

ing in her right hand a scroll bearing the inscrip-
tion ' Theory is the Knowledge of what is truly
N.ATVRE,'' while her left supports her upturned
head. When the Academy migrated first to the pre-
sent National Gallery, afterwards to Burlington
House, the picture, released from its o\-al frame,
went with them, and down to the year
1906, hung in the Diploma Gallery between Marco
d'Oggiono's copy of the Lnst Supper and Poole's
Wounded Fugitives, with Maclise's cartoon for the
Battle of Waterloo and G. V. Watts's Death of Cain
for near and most inappropriate neighbours. It
has now been removed to the Council Room.

Three smaller versions of the Theory are known,
the whereabouts of which cannot now be traced,
though it is much to be hoped that they may some
day emerge from obscurity ; to these we shall return
later. So far the history is plain enough, but with
the engraving issued by J. Grozer in 1785, si.x
years after the original was painted, dimculties
arise.' Grozer represents it as it then was, let into
an oval on the ceiling of Somerset House, but on
the right arm of the figure appears a bracelet,
and from her head a pair of compasses protrude
like horns, while her scroll reads 'Theory of
painting.'

What was the authority for these changes ?
Two explanations are possible : {a) that with the
sanction of Sir Joshua the bracelet and compasses
were introduced by the engraver for decorative
reasons, while the inscription was shortened from
motives of convenience ; (6) that he was working
from one of the other replicas, which, as Mr. Graves
has pointed out to me, were in Reynolds's studio
at the time. On the whole it seems probable that
Grozer was engraving from the actual ceiling, as
the bracelet is absent in his first proof, and must
therefore have been a deliberate addition, probably
to break the long line of the right arm ; the com-
passes, however, are present in the first as well as
the final state, and to account for them is far from
easy. They may, however, have appeared in one
of the replicas, and have been incorporated with
the more important version.

One more puzzle reinains, namely, the three con-
flicting titles of the picture, one of which was used
during the artist's lifetime, the two last shortly
after his death. The evidence for the three is as
follows : —

(i) Theory.

{a) 1780, the anonymous writer of the
' Description of the Apartments at
Somerset House,' already cited.
{b) 1785. Grozer's engraving,

' Blake in his cngravinR has omitted all but the hrst word, '
obviously to do awav with the unsatisfactory effect of a crowded
inscription in an outline drawing on a small scale.

• The engraving by S. \V. Reynolds (i8jo) is a mere repro-
duction of Grozer, and is therefore no independent authority for
the bracelet and compasses, although, curiously^ enough, the
title is altered to Dai^n.

114

(c) 1796, when a replica was sold at Green-
wood's as Theory of the Arts. (The same
replica was sold at Christie's in 1868 as
Theory of Painting.)

(d) 1845. Catalogue of The British
Institution, No. 163.

(e) The apparently continuous tradition of
the Royal Academy.

(ii) Design.

(a) A second replica sold at Greenwood's

in 1796.
(6) The engraving by S. VV. Reynolds, a
small reproduction of the Grozer en-
graving under an altered title. This
name has been adopted by most modern
writers on Reynolds,
(iii) The Graphic Muse.

1806, in the present volume. Prince
Hoare was then Foreign Secretary of
the Royal Academy and an enthusiastic
admirer of Reynolds.
Each of the engravings, it will be seen, gives the
picture a different name ; and the frontispiece, the
only one whose title is unsupported by other autho-
rities, is likewise the only one true to the original in
omitting the bracelet and compasses. Although a
mere outline sketch, its greater dignity is due, first to
that quality of line which was Blake's special gift,
secondly to the absence of the oval in which the
picture was then set, and in which it was otherwise
engraved. In his attempt at restoring the shape,
Blake proves that he had never seen the original
apart from the oval frame, by making the picture
look sqiiarer than is really the case ; the en-
graving therefore does not represent the actual
shape, only that which would be inferred from the
misleading form of the oval. Another conse-
quence is that Blake, not having seen- the clouds
hidden under the frame, has filled in the corners
with cloud-forms of his own, with breaks that
suggest such depths beyond as appear in the pages
of the America rather than the vague melting
lines of the original.

Technically, the lines of the engraving, broad in
the shadows, finer in the lights, with a slight use
of stippling for inner markings, recall a phnise
applied by Burne-Jones to the works of Michel-
angelo, ' he uses a pen as if it were a chisel,' and
illustrate Blake's own description of his style in
the Public Address prefixed to the engraving of
the Canterbury Pilgrims, ' not smoofh'd up, and

Theory^ or the Graphic Muse

niggled, and poco-pen'd and all the beauties paled
out, blurred and blotted ' in the style of Blake's
artistic enemies, Strange and Woollett, ' but drawn
with a firm and decided hand like Michael Angelo,
Shakespeare, and Milton.' Blake's Graphic Muse
suggests a nobler than Reynolds, and is sifter to
the Sibyls of the Sistine rather than a frigid
eighteenth century allegory.

Hoare's ' Inquiry,' then, is a rare volume con-
taining criticism sometimes worth reading, sug-
gestions even now worth considering ; but its
chief interest lies in its frontispiece, in the problem
of the name and attributes of the oiiginal picture
— above all, in the connection of the names of
Blake and Reynolds. In 1804 we find Blake
snatching a few moments from 'engraver's hurry,
which is the worst and most unprofitable of all
hurries,' to tell Hayley of his plans for a literary
review to be conducted by Hoare and himself
(with occasional help from Hayley, if the poet will
be so good) in collaboration with the proposed
publisher, Phillips. Two years later, when Blake
had apparently laid aside the graver, and the
project for a review has come to nothing, we find
him engraving the frontispiece for a book written
by Hoare and published by Phillips, which
claimed for art with the voice of authority what
Blake demanded in an imknown tongue, a highc-r
place than she had yet attained in England. .And
if Reynolds's Theory, graceful as she is, seems to
us an unworthy embodiment of Hoare's appeal,
we may recognize in the engraving an instance of
Blake's readiness to give up personal prejudices in
the cause of art, as well as an illustration of that
creed which, in theory at least, Reynolds shared
with him, a belief in the artistic supremacy of
Michelangelo.

Note.— Tlirougli tlie kindness of Mr. Algernon Grave*. FS A.,
I ti.-\ve recently seen a new piece of evidence (the c ' :-

ing reproduction of the 77i<rory) that the bracelet an.!
whether due to the taste of J. W. Grozer, or adapt c

of the sm.iUer replicas, were never present in the i

the sketchbook of the painter Kdward Francis Bu: . . . :i
of the author of ■ Evelina") once the property of the late Arch-
deacon Burney, is a drawing of the Th^ry as it appeared on
the ceiling of Somerset House ; against the drawing i~ written
' Library, 1780.' As in the case of the engravini;^, the liciire
has a squat and ungraceful look, too broad for it- ' ' ■ ' e
to its position on the ceiling of the Library and il

frame (not indicated by Burney) which cut off c

cloud-setting of the original ; but the sketch, p«i«
ous and .accurate even to the indic.ition o( the ;;

inscription on the scroll, conveys a truer idc-i of il

than any of the engravings, while its date gives il . -■

historical value.

^ NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART c*^^

THE MINIATURE BY GENTILE BELLINI
FOUND IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Last year' I communicated to this paper a short
notice regarding a remarkably fine miniature by

' See The BurusgtonMagazine, Vol. IX, page 14S

Gentile Bellini, which I hid loiitul in Constan-
tinople. If had . I Ttirkish inscription: 'Work of
Ibii Muezzin who is a celebrate<:l m.ister among
the Fr;inks.' I left it to the linguists to decipher
these cryptic words, but I felt convinced th.^t
sooner or later the correct reading would be

^tcs on Various JTorks of z.4rt

discovered and that it would confirm my opinion
that it stood for Gentile Bellini.

Dr. Sarrc of Berlin, who published an interesting
article about the miniature in the A'. Preitssischer
KumlsiJiniiiliiiig in Berlin, w;is at that time of a
similar opinion. He has now published a short
supplementary article in the last number of the
same journal, the followin;^ extract from which
is most interesting, ;is it actually proves that Ibn
Nfuezzin stands (or and means Bellini. He writes
as follows : —

'A short time after the publication of my
article, Professor Heinrich Brockhaus in Florence
wrote to me saying that according to his opinion
Ibn Mucz/in was no other than Gentile Bellini;
the proof was in the following transcriptions : —

Bellini = ibn bellin

bellin=/iTtAAir

/iTt\Aa'=/ioiitffti' (muezzin)

bellini=-ibn muezzin

The Persian translation of Bellini (son of Bellin)
into Ibn Bellin needs no comment. Regarding
the second transcription, Professor Gardthausen
of Leipzig (one of the greatest authorities on
Greek epigraphy), to whom I communicated the
suggestion of Dr. Brockhaus, has been kind
enough to give me the following explanation :
' The Greek at that time pronounced, just as now-
a-days, the /3=v. I cannot say for certain how
ancient this transcription is ; in any case it may
lie supposed to date from the fifteenth or sixteenth
century, .and that is what is of importance for our
present purpose.' The word 'Bellin' could therefore
not be written in Greek otherwise than as liViXXii:
But the Greek letter t was at that time written in
a form very much like the Greek v or the Latin w,
and could easily have been misread as ov. The
letters X ;ind C show also in our day a certain
similarity which was still greater in the fifteenth
century. Hence it was possible that the word
fiTTiWiv could be read as /tovtffii' without any
difhculty.

1 imagine the whole thing happened as follows:
on the miniature there was an inscription in
Greek letters, either on the back or somewhere on
the margin, that it w;is a work of the celebrated
Krankish master Bellini, or rather Ibn Bellin.
This inscription threatened to disappear or to be
cut away when, at the end of the sixteenth century,
tlie owner cut down the edges and pasted it into
an album.

This man had no idea of the personality of
Gentile Bellini or of his short stay in the Turkish
aipital once, a hundred years before. Deceived by
the prefix ' Ibn ' which suggested an oriental name,
he read instead of /irtAAif the word out of his
own language and familiar to him, /io>'«CC"', and
thus on the small label which he put on instead of
the old inscription, the famous Krankish master

ii6

Bellini or Ibn Bellin became the mysterious Ibn
Muezzin, i.e., the son of the prayer-caller.

Thanks to the brilliant interpretation of the
inscription made by Heinrich Brockhaus we have
therefore now full proof of the former hypothesis.
We possess in the charming miniature portrait of
the young Turkish calligrapher an undoubted
original of Gentile Bellini dating from the time of
his visit to the court of the Sultan in the year
1479-80.' F. R. Martin.

GERMAN IRONWORK

The Fine Art Society may be congratulated on an
unusual and attractive exhibition. The e.xplanatory
note contributed by Mr. A. Wallace Rimington to
the catalogue draws attention to a recent great
awakening in Germany to the beauty of the
national ironwork. It may fairly be said that no
such awakening is needful in this country. Our
museums, and notably South Kensington, have
long been active in acquiring rich examples, but
the bulk of the best of them are foreign. The
exhibition is catholic and spread over a long
period. The later Renaissance work is not very
interesting or representative, but the mediaeval and
early Renaissance locks, handles, hinges, etc., are
a liberal education in the best work of the smith.

The outstanding features of the work are the
amount of tooling and engraving on the fiat surfaces
and the general absence of punched ornament
when compared with contemporary English work.
There is also in the locks a greater application of
pierced and repousse work to the face of the
frames. The general impression one takes is that
the German craftsman got a bigger effect for his
labour than his English brother.

The bulk of the collection consists of the smaller
objects, but the larger things have peculiar beauty,
notably some gratings. In one round-headed
example a delightful effect is won by the inter-
lacing of round rods curled and twisted in a sober,
delicate fashion. There are also a few grilles made
by piercing simple patterns in sheet iron, and the
effect is helped by some engraving on the strap-
work that remains. One that has been gilt and
outlined in brown has a delightful appearance
now that time has dimmed it.

There is a great number of key escutcheons of
all periods, and we are struck by the great size of
some of them, in fact by their undue proportion
to the .actual keyhole.

Another marked difference from English work
is the absence of handle roses such as we have at the
Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick, where tracery work is
cut in strong relief out of the thickness of the plate.

Altogether the exhibition is a most \-aluable one
for all interested in the metal-working crafts.
We suppose it is too much to hope that it will
be acquired by the South Kensington Museum.
Probably it will fall to an American millionaire.

H^/es on P^arious IVorks of Art

Having once got it into England we shall regret
if it goes out again.

A SKETCH BY RUBENS
With reference to the sketch by Rubens in the
possession of Mr. F"rank Sabin, which was repro-
duced in the April number of Tm-: Bi,'KLiNf;TO\'
Magazine, Mr. Claude Phillips points out that it
is not connected with the famous series of paint-
ings in the Louvre, but with a projected series
represented the lijc of Henri IV which was never
carried out, but for which similar sketches of
other subjects e.xist at Hertford House.

THE UMBRIAN EXHIBITION AT
PERUGIA

The works of art created by the Umbrian genius
are now collected and exhibited in the Historic
Palazzo de' Priori, where they find an asylum well
adapted to their origin and their traditions. The
response to tJiis admirable idea of certain eminent
art lovers was universal, while the Pope, the
Governor, and private collectors, both Italian and
foreign, have sent and are continuing to send
objects of artistic interest. From Assisi come
tapestries, by special permission of the Pope, and
the silver plate from San Francesco, which hitherto
was difficult to see, since it was shut up in the
cupboards of the sacristy, and has never before
appeared in an exhibition. From Foligno come
pictures by Alunno ; from Spello, together with
other paintings, the marvellous Virgin which
Pinturicchio painted in his youth ; from Monte-
falco pictures by its painter Melanzio ; from
Gualdo, by its painter Matteo ; from the republic
of San Marino several pictures of the Umbrian
school ; from Paris some precious pictures by
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo and by Perugino ; from
Gubbio paintings and a tazza by Maestro Giorgio ;
from Deruta other paintings by Alunno and a
pavement of the year 1524, found some months
ago, which from its originality and the skill spent
on it is unique of its kind and constitutes the
greatest attraction in the section of ceramics.
From every other country town in Umbria, such
as Rieti, Corciano, Spoleto, Terni, Narni, where
the Renaissance artist wandered, leaving traces of
his skill, come pictures by Bernardino di Mariotto,
by Tiberio d'Assisi, liy Piero della Francesca and
by others so that the whole of Umbrian art, from
its beginning to its highest development, is amply
represented.

Superb copes, damasks and brocades come from
the churches, convents and monasteries, with
specimens of lace and Perugian fabrics with tigures
of animals, grifVms and other symbols, which have
been found in priv.ite collections ;ind ought to
restore to the Umbrian weavers a reputation
unrecognized by many and by others under-
estimated. 1 have not sp ice to speak of the arms,
the medals, the seals and the coins of Todi, Gubbio,

Spoleto and other towns, constituting the collection
of Umbrian numismatics, which will hardly be
brought together again.

Interesting, too, is the show of gold and silver
smiths' work, of bronzes and the splendid chalices
of the twelfth century, the monstrances, and
especially the silver crosses with chiselled and
enamelled ornaments of the masterly design and
delicate execution of the celebrated Giulio Danti
and Roscietto, who are not at present as well
known as their merit de-serves. Intaglios, coffers
and sarcophagi of the fifth and sixth centuries
form another section, and not less worthy of
admiration are the illuminated books contributed
by libraries, convents and Benedictine monasteries,
once so numerous in Umbria.

The exhibition has also a section devoted to
modern artists, in which reproductions of antiques
of value and artistic interest are shown in appro-
priate surroundings, and the majolica factory which
has existed in Deruta for the last five hundred
years will decorate one of the finest rooms with a
pavement. Milziade Mag.ni.ni.

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS
The British Committee of the 'Golden Fleece'
Exhibition at Bruges, which is to open on
June 15th, invite those who possess important
objects or relics immediately connected with the
Order or its members, and would be willing to
lend them, to communicate with the hon. secretary
at 47 Victoria Street. Portraits, especially when
displaying the collar and badge of the Order, arc
desirable, except in the case of Charles V and
Philip II, of whom adequate represenUitions ha\-e
already been secured.

An exhibition of unusual interest will be held on
June 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the gardens of Aubrey House,
Campden Hill, by permission of Mr. William
C. Alexander. The exhibits will comprise
antique lace, embroidery, miniatures and other
objects of artistic or historic v;due, and among
the contributors and moving spirits will be Mrs.
Herringham, Mr. George Salting, Lady La)-ard
and Mr. Fitzhenry. The beautiful gardens of
Aubrey House will be open to visitors, and there
will be performances of maypole and morris
dances during the exhibition. The hon. >ecretary
is Miss R. F. .Alexander, and there is a strong
committee, including Mr. W. G. Rawlinson and
other well-known art lovers.

It seems probable that the folk-play to be acted
in the .Abbey Grounds, Bury St. Edmunds during
the week from Monday, lulv 8th, to S.iturd.»v, July
13th, will be the best that' Mr. Louis N. Parker
h.i-i vi-t produced. As .it SherlHirne and W.irwick,
the work ol preparation — the making of costumes
.iiid properties, the designing of the scenes and all
the other branches of the enormous activity
necessary to produce a spectacle of this kind — has

^tes ON Various Jf'^orks of Art

been carried out by the people of Bury St. Edmunds
itself, so that the pageant will be a genuine result
of the working of the corporate spirit of the town.
The scene of the play will be the ground of the
ruined ablx-y where St. Edmund was buried. It
is needless to say, pcrh.aps, that one of the most
important episodes will be the martyrdom of St.
Edmund by tlic Danes, and the discovery of his
head in the forest miraculously guarded by a wolf.
A later episode shows tiie translation of his body
from I^)ndon back to the abbey and its burial
with great pomp in the shrine. Episode IV will
interest readers of Thomas Carlylc, as it deals with
the Abbot Samson who is the central figure of his
' Fast and Present" ; while later episodes carry the
story to the dissolution of the abbey. Bury St.
Edmunds being so close to London and possess-
ing so many relics of its historic past, besides the
attractions offered by the pageant, the attendance
promises to be even greater than that at Sherborne
or at Warwick ; and it may perhaps be pointed
out that any artistic clTort which enlists in this
manner the service of all classes, and is a direct
expression of local patriotism, is worthy of the
attention of all who believe that art was not
intended only for the few.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To Ihe Editor of The Burlington Magazink.

Dear Sir,— In The Burlington Magazine
Jan. 1907, p. 243f., Mr. Claude Phillips attributes
with sagacious arguments the little Pifiiig Faun at
Munich and the Tcmpcsla di Marc at Venice to
Palma Vecchio. Please to remark that I, in the
' l\epertorium fiir Kiinstwissenschaft,' 1900, p.
394f., and (with illustrations) in the ' Monatsber-
ichte fiir Kunstwissenschaft," Miinchen, 1902, p.
426, have already expressed the same opinion. For
the rest, it is perhaps not without interest to remark
that Mimdler ascribed the F'aun not with all
precision to Palma Vecchio ; his words are only :
(he is) worthy of the youth of Tizian or Palma
Vecchio, ' der jugend des Tizian oder Palma
vecchio wiirdig.' Cf. ' Recensionen und Mittei-
lungen iiber bildende Kunst,' Wien, 1865, p. 365.

I have the honour to remain. Dear Sir,
Yours truly, qr. WiLHELM SCHMIDT.

[Mr. Claude Phillips wishes us to say that he was
unacquainted with the two articles in question, but
is glad to hud that he is in agreement with Dr.
Schmidt.]

^ ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH f#c

DRAWING AND PAINTING

Alfred Stevens et Son CEuvke. Par Camillc
Lemonnier. Suivi des Impressions sur la
Peinture par Alfred Stevens. Brussels : G.
Van Oest. bo francs.

It must be nearly thirty years since M. Camille
Ixmonnier first wrote of Alfred Stevens. Then
Stevens seemed to be at the height of his fame ;
now he is dead, and for the artists of to-day, though
not for collectors, is hardly more than uiaj^iti
nomitiis umbra. Stevens indeed might almost be
said to have died with the Second Empire, although
his success outlasted it for more than ten years
and his life for more than thirty. It is with the
toiletlis of the court of the Empress Eugenie that
his name will be everlastingly associated, it was in
her circle that his talent shone most genially, and
it is for that reason perhaps that M. Lemonnier's
magnificently illustrated book is a memorial rather
than a biography.

On the painter's early life and on those brilliant
years Ix-fore Sedan our author writes with his
accustomed e;use and sympathy, but when the
period of trouble and disappointment sets in the
record grows more imcertain, like the reputation
of Stevens hiniself. Perhaps the sti>ry was not an
easy one to tell in woids, yet none the less we are
sorry that the opportunity for telling it was not
taken. Whatever our ideals of painting, we have
to adroit that Stevens was a consummate master of

118

his craft, and in a memoir so splendidly produced
as this, the story of his latter years might well have
been told as clearly as is that of his youth and
early manhood. The fine series of large reproduc-
tions omits his later and weaker paintings with
much better reason ; for we are thereby enabled
to trace the painter's course from the beginning
to the culminating point of his career, and are
made possessors of the cream of his work.

The ' impressions sur la Peinture,' a collection
of scattered thoughts on art put together about the
year 1886, is a document which resembles in many
respects the utterances of Whistler. We find in
both artists the same high concern for the
independence and the technical perfection of their
craft, the same disdain both for untrained
naturalism and uninspired chissicism. ' II faut
formuler esthetiquementet non imiter servilement.'
' Bien que le soleil donne la vie a la couleur, il est
brutal en picin midi et devient anticoloriste.'
' En regardant la palette d'un peintre on sait a qui
Ton a altaire.' 'II f.iut apprendre a voir comrne
en musique on apprend a entendre.' ' J'aimerais
micux avoir peint quatre vessies et mie palette
commc Chardin que I'Entrec d'AIexandre a Baby-
lone de Lebrun.' And lastly we may quote a
sentence which sounds like a premonition of the
writer's own fate : ' Si Ton pleure la niort prema-
turee d'un peintre, il faut aussi quelquefois pleurer
celui qui, pour son art, vit trop age.'

C. J. H,

Original Drawings ok the Dutch and
Flemish School in the Print Room of
THE State Room at Amsterdam. Parts
9-10. London : Williams and Norgate.
£1 15s. per part.

These two parts complete Dr. Mocs's sumptuous
publication, which should he invaluable as a work
of reference to all collections containing Dutch
and Flemish drawings. These last instalments
are among the most interesting of all, for they
contain specimen drawings by some of the most
famous of the artists of the Netherlands — Gerard
Terborch, Jan Steen, Paul Potter, Ferdinand Bol,
Adriaen van Ostade, Snyders, and the elder
Breughel — while the landscape painters are repre-
sented by examples of VVynrmts and Hobbema.
As in a previous part, Lcly appears as no unworthy
successor to Van Dyck, his study of the robes of
the Chancellor of the Garter having a largeness of
style which many of the others lack. Among the
portraitists Crispin de Passe, Jacob de Gheyn,
J. Wiericz and B. W. Vaillant figure promi-
nently, so that there is no lack of variety in the
selection. What gives it peculiar value, however,
is the extraordinary skill with which the facsimiles
have been executed. For all practical purposes
they are equal to the originals, whether the method
imitated be chalk or pen-and-ink or water-colour,
and we have still so much to learn in the critical
study of the Dutch school that these reproductions
of authentic specimens have a value quite apart
from their intrinsic excellence.

We wish someone would undertake the same
patriotic task on behalf of our English draughts-
men.

PeruginO; By Edward Hutton. London: Duck-
worth. 2S. net.

Mr. Hutton makes no claim to completeness for
his little essay on Perugino, but the subject is one
to which his temper is naturally sympathetic, and
the result, though it contains little that is novel,
gives a fair picture of the artist both in his strength
and his weakness. Mr. Ilutton's style is well
adapted to convey that sense of vast height and
recession, of airy tranquil space, to which Perugino
owes most of liis charm; yet with all this
sympathy, he is no blind admirer ; indeed, he
perhaps slightly underrates Perugino's marked
skill as a painter. Ruskin's liking for the cheerful
burly Mich.iel in the Nation. il Gallery was no
sentimental caprice,

MISCELLANEOUS

The Brasses of Fnc.i.and. liy Herbert W.

Macklin, M..\. London : Metluien and Co.

1907. 7s. 6d. net.
So little that is new about monumental brasses
has come to light since the Rev. H. H.iincs

T^ra'Viing and Painting

published the final edition of his work on the
subject in 1861 that the fact of its being out of
print is the only justification for the volume under
notice.

It is an open secret that one of our best-known
authorities has long been engaged upon a new
edition of Haines, but until it sees the light, as we
hope it soon will, students must be content with
such a book as Mr. Macklin's.

This is not Mr. Macklin's first essay in the field,
since he published an elementary manual of
monumental brasses seventeen years ago which is
still in print. But the volume before us takes a
wider view, and is based upon a different plan,
by which the brasses are dealt with under particu-
lar epochs styled Edwardian, Plantagenet,
Lancastrian, Yorkist, Tudor and Elizabethan. It is
doubtful what advantage is gained by such an
arrangement, since neither the style of the
memorial nor the changes of costume and armour
correspond with such epochs.

Apart from this the book is fairly well done,
though somewhat unequal in places, and the
ecclesiastical sections, as usual, are rather amateur-
ish. Mr. Macklin is also hardly careful enough
in his versions of the inscriptions, and the attempt
to print them in a contracted form has produced
a large crop of blunders. There is further no
need in a book like this to wrestle with ' genouil-
li6res,' 'coifs de mailles,' ' infulx ' and other like
terms when simple English equivalents can be sub-
stituted with advantage.

The illustrations on the whole are excellent and
well chosen, but we should have liked more done
after the style of the Buslingthorpe and Trotton
brasses, which show the slab as well. Sir John
Dabernoun the elder deserves a better figure, while
those on p. ^y from King's Sunborne are far too
large.

Pr.actical Wood Carving. By Eleanor Rowe.
London : B. T. Batsford. 7s. 6d. net.

The author's experience as manager of the School
of Art Wood Carving at South Kensington, h.is
been of good service to her in the compilation of
this admirable manual. The stress she lavs on
the constructive element in woodwork is com-
mendable, while the selection of examples leaves
nothing to be desired in either \"ariety or aesthetic
interest. Indeed if art could be taught at all by
the means of books, it could be taught by such a
book as this, in which experience .md common
sense are inspired by good taste. It is natural,
perhaps, in a work of this kind that speci.U atten-
tion should be p.iid to the richer forms of ornament,
rather th.m to those periods in which the carver
restricted himself to designs b.ised upon the per-
fect sp.acing of simple lines and gei^metricil forms
in which the purely ornamental is rcducetl to a
minimum. This apparently simple work ojiens

119

Art Books of the Month

up problems more complex than those witli which
the average student is capable of dealing, and the
author has doubtless done right m limiting herself
to the side of the art of wood-carving from which
it may be most plc.is;uitly and readily approached.
It is a book ever>'onc interested in the subject
ought to possess, and descr\-es a more extended
notice than we have space to give.

Stidien aus Klnst IND Geschichte. P'ricd-
rich Schneider: zum siebzigsten Geburtstage
gcwidmet von seinen Freunden und Verehr-
ern. Freiburg im Breisgau : Herdersche
Vcrlagshandlung. 50 m.
The name of Friedrich Schneider is not so well
known in England as in Germany. Few scholars
and critics have had so much influence, both
inspiriting and guiding, as the priest of Mainz,
in honour of whose seventieth birthday this stout
and handsome quarto has been compiled by more
than fifty of of his friends and admirers. His
writings have not achieved European notoriety,
because, as Dr. Joseph Sauer points out in his
introduction, Schneider's ideal is not the volume,
but the newspaper article and the monograph;
and his influence has been exerted by these means,
by his written 'opinions' and conversation,
and his personal force. Architecture, liturgiology,
ecclesiology, archaeology and many other
branches of learning have been his province,
and the bibliography compiled by Erwin Hensler
reveals a great v.iriety of subjects handled in
a very large number of articles. The status
and organization of modern art, moreover, have
received his attention, and general topics have
been handled by liim with breadth and wisdom.
The contents of this volume of tributes are
too varied to be even commented on in the
space at our disposal. It must suffice to say that
they deal with a great number of the studies
fostered by the recipient of the volume, and arc
mostly written by the leading scholars and con-
noisseurs of Germany.

Manl'ale d'Arte Decorativa. Antica e Mod-
ERNA. Alfredo Melani. Milano : Hoepli.
12 lire.
This excellent and profusely illustrated little speci-
men of Hoepli's Art Manuals has much to
commend it to students of Italian art, for it sums
up in a convenient form the history of decorative
art so far as it is concerned with Italy from the
pre-classical period right up to the present day.
More than that it can hardly be said to do.
The art of the East of all periods, the art of the
Aegean on non-Italian shores and islands, and the
art of Western and Northern Europe are touched
upon but lightly, or not at all. On the other hand
the Etruscans, the F^omans of the Empire, the
lx)mbards, and the mixed civilization of Sicily
receive proper attention ; and since the book covers

so much ground which is comparatively speaking
little known, we may pardon many omissions in
fields w hich have already been traversed again and
again by others.

The Thames kkom Chei^sea to the Nore.
Drawn in lithography by T. R. Way, with
descriptive text by W. G. Bell. John Lane.
42s.
It was laid down by one of Whistlers critics that
the Thames is beautiful from Maidenhead to Kew,
but not from Battersea to Sheerness ; and though
much water has flowed under the bridges since
Whistler began to study the river, they still suffer
from a tendency of the modern artist, which, in the
fluvial sense at any rate, is upward. Mr. Way's
devotion to the Master has carried him far, and
successfully, in the other direction, and he has
published a series of thirty lithographs of the lower
Thames, which is as admirable as it is refreshing.
A dinner at Greenwich, a week-end in the powder
magazine at Purfleet and several sunny afternoons
at Gravesend and Rotherhithe are the sum of my
own experiences down stream, but 1 doubt if there
are many Londoners who are so widely travelled
even as this, or the charms of the lower river would
be much more talked about than they are. As it
is, Mr. Way's pictures must come almost as a sur-
prise— for even those views of the London that
everybody knows have something in them that is
not likely to be seen by every passer-by, though
they are explicit enough not to bewilder, in his
treatment of buildings and boats, indeed, and in
scenes crowded with detail, Mr. Way seems a
little too anxious, as it were, to get everything in.
His view is too objective : and for this reason the
earlier plates are not quite so happy as when he
gets nearer the sea ; but this distinction is perhaps
more obvious than real, and certainly does not
detract from the value and charm of such a series
as, amid the vast multitude of the three-colour
plates of pastoral prettiness, is more than welcome.
The Tower Bridge, it must be confessed, does
not lend itself readily to artistic treatment, and
iron steamboats are formidable objects at close
quarters; but even with these Mr. Way copes very
successfully, and bv the time we have got into such
delectably smooth waters as are the foreground m
The Estiuiry and The Lif<ht at the Nore, we feel
that our journey has been all the more pleasant
for not having missed any of it out. Of Chelsea,
it is true, Mr. Way has given us nothing— perhaps
in deference to Whistler, or because since W histlers
time so much has been swept away and replaced by
modern improvements. In this connexion the
drawing by Whistler exhibited by the International
Society is worth noticing, as it is a note of the
Albert Bridge at Chelsea, in course of construction
in 1 87 1, seen from beneath the famous old Batter-
sea Bridge. R- ^•

120

Costume : Fanciful, Historical and Thea-
trical. Compiled by Mrs. Aria. Illustrated by
Percy Anderson. Macmillan. ids. 6d. net.

'Lacki.n'G the pen of the historian and the science
of the psychologist, 1 have chosen the easier and
more humble role of the gossip.' Though the
reader will not find this touch of modesty till she
reaches the last page but one of this book, she
will have guessed the substance of the remark
long before. Mrs. Aria's book is fanciful and thea-
trical ; it is not historical or scientific. It adds
nothing to the stock of knowledge on the subject
of costume, and aims only at distributing in a
chatty, sprightly, even an arch fashion, some scraps
of that knowledge over a wider field. We can
recommend it heartily to those who have fancy
dress balls to go to and are not satisfied with the
suggestions given about Christmas time in the
fashion papers. Since the book aims at neither
history nor science, there is no call to examine its
accuracy. The fact that it is prettily printed in
brown ink and illustrated with pretty drawings in
wash or water-colour by Mr. Percy Anderson will
outweigh with the readers for whom it is in-
tended any possible misstatements in the te.xt or
lack of references to authorities for the illustra-
tions.

The Sign of the Cross in Western Litur-
gies, by the Rev. Ernest Beresford-Cooke.
Alcuin Club Tracts VI 1. London: Longmans.
1907. Pp. iv, 32. IS. 6d. net.

This is a quasi-theological treatise on the liturgi-
cal use of the sign of the cross, notably in the
Roman canon of the Mass. A detailed examina-
tion of it would be unsuitable for these colums, and
we must confine ourselves to saying that there is no
apparent connection between the subject-matter
of the pamphlet and the object for which the club
exists, ' the promotion of the study of the history
and use of the Book of the Common Prayer.'
But it should prove interesting reading to the
bishops, who, as a consequence of the letters
of business issued to convocation by the Crown,
are preparing rubrics for the regulation of An-
glican ceremonial. E. B.

RUBAIYAT OF Omar Khayvam. Translated by
Edward FitzGcrald. Introduction by Joseph
Jacobs. Designs by Frank Brangwyn, .A.K.A.
Gibbings and Co. 6s.

Mr. Bkangwvn's well-known sympathy with the
orient might Ic.ul us to hope that in liini wo should
find at last the ideal illustrator of Omar. But the
volume before us shows that his vision is, after all,
only one-sided. Like Kipling, he deals with tiie
dazzle of the east, rather than with the static, per-
fumed beauty that broods over the great Persian
epic. The vigorously-coloured sketches which

Art Books of the Mofith

accompany the present edition might therefore
appear to better advantage in some other con-
nection.

Manchester Sketches. Frank L. Lambert
Manchester Guardian. 2s. 6d.

Mr. Lambert is, on the whole, happy in the
choice of picturesque spots in Manchester which
he has made for reproduction in this book of
sketches. They certainly lose nothing at the
hands of the artist, for these excellent drawings
suggest an air of distinction and cleanliness
which it could not truthfully be said is apparent
in all these picturesque corners. The reproduc-
tions are well done and on a good scale. L. D.

CATALOGUES, REPORTS, ETC.

Continental art sales during the past month
have been of unusual importance if we may judge
by the handsome illustrated catalogues we have
received. The earliest in date is the Huybrechts
collection, which was sold at the Salle Forst at
Antwerp on the 8th and 9th of the month. The
principal masters of the Belgian school were
all represented, a fine example of Alfred Stevens
being, perhaps, the most attractive work. There
were also a number of specimens by Old Masters
of the Dutch and Flemish schools. Messrs.
Frederik Muller of Amsterdam have held three
important sales, the first dealing with the objects
of art in the Monchen collection, which included
fine porcelain and several exquisite e.xamples of
sculpture. The second sale was of a similar
character, but dealt with works from many
different pri\'ate sources, splendid pieces of orien-
tal porcelain being a prominent feature. The
third sale, lasting from April 30th to May 2nd,
will be the most important of all, as it deals with
the Old Masters in the Monchen, Bonne\-al and
Hoogendijk collections. Specimens of L. Blondt-cl
and other early masters, together with a numh>er of
fine pictures of the Dutch school deserve speci.-U
notice, but the examples are so numerous that we
cannot particularize without being unfair. Messrs.
William Morris send us a most attractive hand-
book illustrating their fabrics, tapestries and
furniture, together with interesting illustrations of
houses and public buildings which they ha\-e de-
corated, including StanmoreHaIl,South Kensington
Museum, Lord Carlisle's house in Pal.ice Green,
and St. James's Palace. The thirty-first .anrui-vl
report of the Museum of Fine .Arts, Bost'Mi. trlU
the same tale of progress as its prevL
those who have t.iken the trouble t
recently published handb>ook of the museum,
which we noticed a few months ago, will recog-
nize how important the collection liAS now
become.

1 .: I

uk. RECENT ART PUBLICATIONS* c^

AKT HISTORY
8pi«oelbefo (W.). Gc«:hichtc der AeRyptiJchen Kunst.

(9X6) Leipzig (Hiiirich), 3 m. 88 pr-, illustrated,
litsoz (A.). L'Arl Uvzanlin a lExposition dc Grotlaferrata.

(iax8) Rome (DancM). 16 1. 196 pp illustrated.
HANNOVF.K (E.). Dan.sche Kunst des ncun/clmten J.ihrhunderts.

111X8) Leipzig iSccmannlM '"■ 168 pp., illu^lr.itecl.
STEPHAS (E ). Sud,cckunsl. Hcit.:.«e zur Kunst des B.smarck-
Archil^U und zur Irncschich.e dcr Kun.t uberhaupt.
(11x7) Berlin (Kcimerl, 6 m. Illustrated.
TOPOGRAPHICAL WORKS
KALINKAfE.). Ant.ke Ucnkmalcr in Hul,;aricn. (:2X9 Vienna
(Hflldcr). I'ubli,l,ed by the • U..lkankom,inssion o( the
mperial Academy of Sciences. Illustrated. ..,.,„.

BUkS-CHET (A.). Les enceintes roma.ncs de la Gaule. <-tudc sur
loriKine d'un gr.md nombre dc villcs (ranvai^es. (loXO)
Pari< rLeroux) Ktr. Illustrated. „ . ,.

MAUCERt(E^|. Taor^mina. (..X») Bergamo (Istituto d'Arl.

crafiche). 1. 5 Illustrated. . „ ,

LEP^iY (L.). Krakau. (10x7) LeiP'iS (Seemann). 3n>-

•lleruhmteKunststalten,' 120 illustrations.
Dehio (G.I. Handbucli dcr dcut.'ichen Kunsldenkmalcr. II.
Nordostdeutschland. (7X51 Berlin (W.ismuth), 4.50 m.
BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS AND MONOGRAPHS
RAOOlL M) The Women Artists of Bologna. (9X6) London
(Methuen), 7s. M. net. Contains : Catcnn.i dei \ igri,
Properzi.V de' Rossi. L-ivinia Kontana, blisabctta Sirani.

Gei»be"ko"(M.'). Die Munsterischen Wiedertaufer ""d A'^e-
grever eine ikonograpt;isclie und numisniatische btudie.
(10x6) Str.isburg(Heitz), 12m. IS plates.

MElti (I). Die Werke des Mcd.ailleurs Hans ^rcl in Basel.
1894-1906. (II X7) Zurich (Krcy). 6 pbtcs

Majok(E 1 Urs Graf, tin Bcitrag zur Gcschichtc dcr Gold-
^ch.niedekunst im' 16 Jahrhundert. (10X7) Sfasburg

Ki)H "(p')^' ' Max Kilnger. (10x8) Leipzig (Breitkopf & Hartel),

18m. Illustrated. .. ,• • u

Burger (K ). Francesco Laurana, eine Studie zur ilalienischen
Quattroccntoskulplur. (12x8) Strasburg (Hcilz). 20 m.
•17 plates, . _ ..

Ebenstkin (E.). Der Hofmaler Frans Luycx, cm Bcitrag zur
Gcschichtc der Malcrei am ocsterreichischen Hofe
(i6x u) Vienna (Tempsky) ; Leipzig (Kreytag). A part of
the Austrian Imperial • Jahrbuch" ; 68 illustr.itions.
Tacobsen (R.). Carcl Van Mander (1548-1606), dichter en

proz.-ir.chriivcr. (10x6) Rotterdam (Brusse), 3.50 fl.
Buri;er. (K.) Sludien zu MichtUngclo. (12x8) iatrasburg

(Hcitz), 3 m. 6 pl.ilcs. .

Calvert (A. K.). Murillo. A biography and appreciaUon.

(8X5) London (Uine), 33. 6d. net. Illustnitcd.
KSAHP (K.). Perugino. Ci"X7) Leipzig (Knackfuss), 4 m.
no illustrations.

ARCHITECTURE
Stikois (R.). a History of Architecture : Having special
regard to the natural artistic results of construction and
Ih.isc methods of design which arc the result of abstract
thinking and of ihe pure sense of form. Vol. I, Antiquity.
(10x7) New York (B.aker St Taylor Comp.any); London
(Balsf..rd), 25s. net. Phototypes and proces-i illustrations.
ErRARD (C) and GaVET (A.). L'Ait Byzantin. Vol. III.
Ravenne ct Pomposc : San Vital ct I'abbaye des B6n6-
diclins. ('8x12) Paris (Gaillard), Mofr.
Gerola (G.), Monumeiiti veneti nell' Isola di Crcta. Vol. I.
(14 X 10) Venice (Rosen), 60 I. In 2 parts. 670 pp. Illus-
lialcd. . ,_

BOCSER (H.). Die Grundriss-Disposition der zwcischifligen
Zentralbaulcn bis zur Mitte des IX Jahrhundcrts. Die
Grunilriss-DispoBition der Aachcner Pfal/.kapcllc und ihrc
Vi.rgangcr. (tox7) Strasburg (Heit/,), each 3 m. Illus-
trated. „ .. .
Miller (S.). De dom van firecht. (i.^Xi.t) Utrecht (Brciicr),
25 II- 30 plates, including the sculptured details, monuments,
old views of the cathcdial. etc., with text.
PAINTING
Ml TIIER (K.). The History of Painting, from the fourth to the
early nineteenth century. Translated from the German
and edited, with annotations, by G. Kriehn. 2 vols.
(9X6) Ix)ndon (Putnam), 21S. net. Illustrated.
•Sizes iheightxwidtli) in inches.

UKEi.as ( \ ) and Sciimidt-Degener (F.) Die grossherzogliche
GcmUlde-Galerie im Augusteum zu Oldenburg. (21 X 16)
Old.-iiburg(Oncken), 150 m. 41 plates.

VKNTURI (L.) Le origini della pittura vencznna, 1300-1500.
(10x7) Venice (Istituto vcncto dArti grafichc), 1. 30.

Mr<5oz'(A I II Codice Purpurco di Rossano e il frammento
sinopense. (19x15) Rome (Uanesi), 100 1. 21 plates. 16

Ricc'i" (C )°" La Pinacoteca di Brera. (12x9) Bergamo
(Istituto d'Arti grafichc). 50 fr- 263 illustrations.

R0BERT.-0N (A.). Roman Picture Galleries : a guide and hand-
book to all the picture galleries in the Eternal City.
(7X4) London (Bell). . ui- j

Furcv-Rav.sauu (M). Proces-vcrbaux des Asscmblecs du
Inrv elu par les artistes txposanis au Salon de 1791 pour la
distribution des prix d'encouragement. Public d'apres le
m.anuscrit original. (9x16) Paris (Schcmit). 5 fr.

Descriptive catalogue of Ihe portraits of naval commanderi,
representations of nav.il actions, etc., exhibited m the
Painted H ill, and at the Roy.-il Naval Museum. Greenwich.
100 pp., 3d.

SCULPTURE

Legrain (G ). Catalogue gOn ral des Antiquitcs Tgyptienncs du
Musee du C.iire : Statues ft Statuettes dc Rois etdc par-
ticuhcrs. Vol.1. (14x10) Leipzig (Hiersemann); London
(QuarilchI, 70 fr.

Billard (.M.). Les Tombcaux des Rois sous la Terrcur.
(8X5). P.iris (Perrin). 3.50 fr. Illustmted.

Catalogue raisonn6 dc la Collection Martin Le Roy. Fascicule
III • Bronzes tt objets divers, par G. Migeon : Mobilier,
par L. Metman. (17x12) Paris (printed for the owner).

Birch t'vv.'^dc G.). The History of Scottish Seals. Vol. II.

Ecclesiastical and Monastic Seals. (10x8) Stirling

(Mackay), 12s. 6d. net. Illustr.itcd.
Head (B.V.). Catalogue of the Greek Coinsof Phrygia. (9x6)

London (British Museum). 53 plates. ^ , „ . ■

DOMANIG (K ). Die dcutsche Mcdaillc in Kunst und kulturhis-

torischcr Hinsicht. (15x10) Vienna (Schroll). 63 m.

871 phototype leproduclions.

ENGRAVING
BoccHoT (H.). Bibliotheqiie Nation.ile. Departcmcnt des

Kstampes. Pieces choisies dc Tecole franvaise. (18x13)

Paris (Foulard). 100 photogravures.
DeltfiliL). Lc Peintie Graveur lUustrO. Vol.11. Charles

Meryon. (13x10) Paris (the Author, 22 Rue des Bons-

Enfants), 14 fr. Illustrated. ..,:,».

Etchings of William Strang, A.R.A. Introduction by I-. New-
bolt. (12x9) Loudon (Ncwncs's 'Gre.it Etchers ), 7s. bU.

net. 48 plates.

CERAMICS
Stern (E. von). Das Museum dcr Kaiscrlich Odcssacr Gesell-

schaft fur Gcschichtc und Altertumskunde. P.art II .

Theodosia und seine Kcr.amik. (14x11) Fi.inkfurt a.M.

(Haer). Text in German and Russian. 10 plates.
Stieda (W). Die keramische Industrie in Bavern wahrend

des XVII. Jahrhundcrts. (12x8) Leipzig (Tcubner), 8 in.

MISCELLANEOUS
Dillon (E.). Glass. (10x7) London (Methuen's 'Connoisseurs

lihrirv'^ 2sS net. Illustrated.
c5>sJ;etov(eT Dutch and Flemish Furniture. (12X8)

London (Hoddcr* Moughton). 42s. net. Illustr.ited.
Burlhigton Vine Arts Club. Exhibition of English Embroidery

c"ed prior to the middle of the sixteenth century.

lilustnited C.it.alogue. (16x12) London (printed for the

riiihi ?o plates, 10 in colour.
Tones (E. A.) The Old Church Pl.atc of the Isle of Man. (11x8)

I ondon (Bcmrose), los. 6d. net. I'l.itcs. „ .. . .

Hrvus (1). Die liturgische Gewandnng im Occident und

drieni nach Urspnmg und EntwickUing. Vcrwcnduiig und

Symbolik. (11x7) Kreiburg im Breisgau (Herder). 30 m.

vu.Kl'i'f (Rev H. W.). The Brasses of England. (9X3)
{:I;ndoi, (Methuens < Antiquary's Books ), 7». 6d. net.

r»vLo"s"DlGL) The Essentials of ^Esthetics in Music,
Poct?y,* i'ainting. Sculpture and Architecture. (8X6)
London (Murray), 101. 6d. net.

122

Ferrari (F.). L'Orcficeria in Aquila. (rox6) Guardiagrele

(Palmerio). i6 pp.
Henning (K.)- Dcr tlclm von Baldenheim und die verwandten

Helme des friihcn Mittclalters. (iix8) Strasburg (Trub-

ner),6m. Illustrated.
Official Catalogue of the Museum of Artillery in the Rotunda,

Woolwich. 2f)2 pp. IS. 6d.
Miinchener-Jahrbuch der bildcnden Kunst. Hcrausgegeben

von L. von Buerkel. Vol. 1, 1906. (12X9) Munich

(Callwey). Illustrated.

BOOKS RECEIVED

ROMAM Picture Galleries. Alice Robertson. G. Be'l &

Sons. 2s. net.
The Brasses of England. Herbert \V. Macklin. Mcthuen

& Co. 7s.6d.net.
Sir Edward Buhne-Jo.\es (second series). George Newnes,

Ltd. 3s. 6d. net.
Practical Wood Carving. Eleanor Rowe. B. T. Batsford.

7s. 6d. net.
A HisTOKY OF Tapestry. W. G. Thompson. Hoddjr &

Stoughton. £2 2s. net.
Die Galekien Eukopas. Lieferungs, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

E. A. Seemann. Leipzig. M.4e.ich.
Pictures and their Value. Turner & Robinson, Eltham.

6s. net.
Glass. Edward Dillon, M.A. Methuen & Co. 25s. net.
The Old Church Plate of the Isle of iMan. E. Alfred

Jones. Bernrose & Sons, Ltd. los. 6d. net.
Dutch and Flemish Furniture. Esther Singleton. Hodder

& Stoughton. £z 2s. net.
Venice. Beryl de Stilincourt and May Sturge Henderson.

Illustrated by Reginald Barratt, A.R.W.S. London : Chatto

& Windus. los. 6d. and i.i is. net.
Manuale d'Artk Decorativa Antica e Mooerna. Alfredo

Melani. Milano : Ulrico Hoepli. 12 lire.
The History of Painting fko.m the Fourth to the Early

Nineteenth Century. Two vols. Richard Muther,

Ph.D. Translated from the German by George Krichn,

Ph.D. London : G. P. Putnam's Sons. 2 vols. 21s.net.
A Guide to the Paintings in tuf. Florentine Gallehies.

Maud Cruttwell. London : J. M. Dent & Co. 3s. 6d net.
Gemalde Alter Meister. 19, 20 and 21 Lieferungs. Berlin:

Rich. Bong. 5 m. each.

^n Booh of the Month

Saint George, Champion of Christendom and Patros Saikt
OF England. E. O. Gordon. London : Swan Sonncn-
schcin & Co., Ltd. 21s. net.

Reproductions from Illuminated Makuscrikts isf the
British .Museum. Scries ii. 50 platei. British Maseam.

58.

MAGAZINES RECEIVED
La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosite (Paris). Onze Kanst.
March and April (.Vtnsterdam). La Kas^egna Nazionale,
March and April (Florence). L'Arte, Mirch and April
(R)mel. Oie Kunst, .March and April (.Munich). M^jnals-
berichte uber Kunstwis^enschaft und Kunsihandel (Munich).
Gazette des Beaux-.Arts, .March and April (Paris). Bollctino
d'Arte. March and April (Rome). Bulletin du Norddcut^cher
Lloyd (Paris). The Fortnightly Review, March and April.
The Albany Review. The Independent Review. The
Nineteenth Century and After, March and April. The
Contemporary Review, March and April. The Monthly
Review, March and April. The Cra/lsmnn, March and
April (.\'ew York). Fine Art Tiade Journal, March and
April. Review of Reviews, March and April. The Kokka
(Tokyo). Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum (Phila-
delphia). The Studio. The Badminton Magazine. The
Commonwealth. .Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Revue
de I'Art Chretien (Parisl. Blatter fiir Gemaldekunde.
Febru iry and Mjrch. Repcrtorium fur Kunslwisscnschaft
(Berlin). Augusta Perusia, January-February' (Perugia).

CATALOGUES
Nachlass Franz Gaui- Gilhofer 4 Ranschburg. Vienna.
Nachtrage und Berichtigungen zu Daniel Chodowieckij.

Samtliche Kupferstiche. VVilhclm Engelmann, Leipzig.
Aquarelles, Collection T. Frederik .Muller & Cie, Amsterdam.
Manusckipte des Mittelalters und spatereb Zeit.

Katalog 330. Karl W. Hiersemann, Leipzig.
Morris and Co. London and Merton Abtwy. Surrey.
Collection d'Antiquites forme'e par M. Ioseph Moschen

\ La Haye. Frederik Muller & Cie, Amsterdam.
Antiquit^s et Objets d'Art dependant de plusicubs

provenances et successions a Ghrosingue, La Hays,

Amsterdam, Harlem, etc. Frederick MiiUer 4 Cie,

Amsterdam.

^Jr^ ART IN FRANCE c^

BRILLIANTLY fine after-
noon attracted a larger crowd
than ever to the vcrnissage of
the ' New Salon ' on April 13th;
' it was difficult to see the pic-
tures, but those who had been
round before knew that the loss
,was not verj' serious. Mediocrity
is the nok- ol this year's show at the Beaux-Arts.
1 do not say that there is nothing striking : that
epithet is the appropriate one for the enormous
canvas representing a wooden lady driving tandem
two wooden horses painted purple in an impossible
street with wooden trees of impossible colours, to
which the jury has for some unaccountable reason
devoted several square metres of wall-space.
There are, too, many other examples of the ecole
folic escaped from the Salon d'Automnc, and alas !
they too often rub shoulders with banality. It is
to be hoped that the Societc des .Artistes Fran^'ais,
which will open its doors to the public on the tirst
of May, will (as was the case last year) make a
better show than its rival.
The sale of the collection of the late M.

Charpentier, the well-known publisher, on .April 1 1 th
showed the same advance in the prices of the
Impressionist school and of Renoir in particul.-ir
that was shown at the Viau sale last month.
Indeed it made a 'record' for Renoir, whose
picture La Famillc Charpentier was, after a long
conflict, assigned to M. Durand-Ruel for 84,000
francs. .As ten per cent, h.is to be added to the
prices at which the lots are knocked down, the
actual price paid was £3,(iS^- '' i^* necessary to
remember that the picture for which this princely
sum was given is, by common consent, the finest
that Renoir ever painted. There are mmours,
alas ! that it will pass into a famous .American
collection. Another picture by the s.ime .irtist,
also one of his best, though smaller and less
important, fetched the quite moderate price of
14,050 francs.

That old masters, particularly of the eighteenth
centurv, have not suffered by the Impressionist
competition is shown by a sale on April i6th of
two pri\-ate collections containing nothing of the
first rank and much very far below it, which
realized (including the ten per cent, addition^ more

'-3

Art in France

than ;^i 2,000. But we shall have a better oppor-
tunity of jiuli^injij how tlie eifjhteenth century
stands on May i^tli, 14th and 15th, when the
well-known collection of the late M. Mulbacher
will come under the hammer. The great sale of
the year, however, will be that of the collection
and stock of M. Charles Sedelmeyer, who is
retiring from business and intends, it is said, to
sell everj'thing without reserve. This sale will
take place in four instalments, each occupying
three days. The sale of the pictures of the French
and English schools will begin on May 16th ; that
of the Dutch school of the seventeenth century on
May 25th ; the Primitives will be dispersed on
lune 3rd and following days; and on June 12th

will begin the sale of the modern pictures and
drawings. M. Sedelmeyer has, it is well known,
a considerable number of pictures attributed to
Constable, one of which he presented to the
Louvre. The attribution of this picture, The
W'iiiilntill, was discussed in the March number of
Thk Burlington Magazine (Vol. X, page 342).
One of the most interesting exhibitions now
open in Paris is that of P'rcnch portraits anterior
to the eighteenth century at the Bibliotht^que
Nation.ile. It is an inverted sequel to the excellent
exhibition of eighteenth-century portraits held last
year. There are paintings, drawings and minia-
tures ; and some portraits of PVench personages by
foreign artists are included.

cA^ ART IN GERMANY <^

DAY or two after I had
despatched my last month's
note on the new Goya prints
in Berlin, there appeared an
idmirable catalogue raisontic
of the etched and lithographed
work of Goya, written by Dr.
J. Hofmannof Vienna. Collcc-
tiii.-. ol Goya .ire well aware of the difficulties
connected with the pursuit of their hobby. Not
only is there a mass of exceedingly rare work to
be considered : there are also a lot of forgeries,
copies, and, above all, reprints. Many of Goya's
prints scarcely exist in any shape but that of
reprints, which were pulled long after the artist's
death. These differ greatly in value, and Dr.
Hofmann's book for the firstlime describes lucidly
and cirefuliy not only all the 'states' (some of
them never before recorded), but also the charac-
teristic marks of all the different impressions or
reprints of the 'sets,' down to those which the San
Fernando Academy issues in our own day. There
are also eighteen collotype facsimiles of unique
and excessively rare proofs.

The Dresden Gallery has added two interesting
canvases by v. Uhde to its collection. The one is
an early picture, painted during Uhde's first pkin-
air period, and represents soldiers practising
drumming. The other was painted only a few
years ago and represents the painter's daughters
playing with a dog in an arbour. At the same
time three further paintings were purchased : one
a landscape by liantzer, painted eight or ten years
ago, when he was president of the ' Secession '
here, which h;is long ago died ; and two works by
painters of the first half of the nineteenth century
who are receiving considerable attention now in
consequence of the Berlin Centenary Exhibition.
One is a half-length of a female with a vase of
flowers before her, and these are painted with an
amount of love and studiousness not generally
directed to still-life subjects in those times. The

124

other is a charming landscape by Schnorr von
Carolsfeld, painted at an early age in Vienna : the
foreground is supposed to show the artist himself
in company with several friends, Ludwig von
Beethoven among them. The brush-work is hard
and uninteresting, as was usual in those years, but
the coloration and tonality of the picture are fascin-
ating, as well as the straightforward, honest way
of looking at nature, embodied here.

The time of the great German print auctions is
coming upon us. This year there will be four,
as Mr. Helbing, of Munich, has likewise managed
to secure a collection of more than ordinary
interest for disposal. Everywhere there is an un-
usual number of uncommon prints put up for sale,
and this, rather than the presence of especially fine
impressions, seems to characterize this year's
auctions. At Helbing's there are some good
Diirers and Rembrandts, a couple of excellent
Claude Gelld-es in first state, and quite a number
of rather rare Little Masters. Some of these are
present in excellent impressions, but the v.alue of
others is considerably impaired by their having
been re-margined and restored, which, even when
it has been done with such stupendous cleverness
as in several cases is to be seen here, depreciates
the value of a print in the eyes of many collectors.

Messrs. Amslerand Ruthardt's (Berlin) catalogue
offers a splendid selection for the general collector.
Among the 'delicacies' I note two G. A. da Brescia
(B. 21 and 68), Diirer's third ex-libris for J. Stabius,
three first states and a trial proof of Claude Gellee,
Filippo Lippi's Crucifixion (B. 15), no less than
fourteen Isiahel van Meckcnem, Moretto's
Calumny, Montagna's Virgin (B. 7), The 'Utile'
Executioner by Prmcc Rupert, five Schongauers,
a Burgkmair chiaroscuro {B. 40), an unusual lot
of Van Dyck's ' iconography ' prints of works by
the masters of PVencn portrait engraving, and
of colour-prints by Ploos \-an Amstel.

Mr. Boerncr's (Ixipzig) collection does not quite
rival the one he sold hist year, but it is fairly select

Art in Germany

and embraces such excellent things as J. Amman's
Coligny (A. 2), the Andrea-Mantegna Triumphal
Procession 7villt tlie title and the columns, a fine
Kiiiglil, Death and tlic Dn'il and an excellent set
of the Life of Mary by Diirer, besides an imde-
scribed woodcut, St. Jerome in his Cell, attributed to
him, an undescribed Elsheimer, one of the rare
Hirschvogel landscapes (B. 74), eleven Israhel van
Meckenem, two very scarce Master S. and a scarce
Master of St. Erasmus (possibly a copy !), some
magnificent nielli (four by Peregrino da Cesena),
four uncommonly good portraits by Rota, four
Schongauer, an excellently preserved Xativity in
the maniere criblec and a scarce Abel Stimmer
portrait.

It is some time since so many fine nielli have
been put up for sale within a fortnight as now,
for Mr. H. G.Gutekunst's (Stuttgart) catalogue also
contains nine superior specimens. Gutekunst's
sale perhaps still leads them all in the matter of
interest and in the high quality of the prints
oflered. This applies more particularly to the
amount of German (and French ?) fifteenth-cen-
tury work represented in his catalogue. I note
further, the rare Sebald Beham (B. 76 and 151),
J. Bink's Lansquenet (B. 78), Burgkmair's Celtes
(Pass. 118), the exceedingly scarce chiaroscuro St.
Thomas in four sheets after Corrcggio, Diirer's
Triumphal Arch and Chariot and some further
rare Diirer woodcuts, the Hirschvogel landscape
(B. 63) and an undescribed Lautensack landscape,
the rare Lucas van Leidens, B. 145, and woodcut
B. 12, Mantegna's Bacchanal (B. 19), ten Israhel

van Meckenem, two Schongauer, the Wenzel von
Olrnutz copy after Durer (B. 50), etc. There is,
besides, a second part, embracing modern work
and books, in which there occur many rare proofs
by Klinger and Stauffer Bern.

A new museum building is being built at Munster
(Westphalia) : the architect was Hermitnn Schadt-
ler of Hanover. The east front is decorated with
a statue of St. George on horseback by Lederer,
the author of the fine Bismarck monument in
Hamburg. One hall is furnished with stained
glass windows by Melchior Lechter, a native of
Munster, and Bruno Paul has decorated one of
the rooms.

The Museum of Applied Arts at Leipzig has
received as a gift from Dr. Schulz his collection of
Persian and Asiatic antiquities : the Persian minia>
tures are said to be especially noteworthy ;
further, from Dr. Mobius a number of Japanese
bronzes; and from Dr. Hans Demiani the com-
plete decorations and furniture of a Directoire
room (1795), which had been preserved pretty
intact up till now in one of the houses on the
Bruhl, in Leipzig, the street in which Richard
Wagner was born.

The late Max Oppenheim, of Mayence, be-
queathed his picture gallery, estimated at j^'j.^oo
value, to this town, and a further ;^5,ooo for the
purchase of old Netherlandish pictures.

The ' Secession ' Gallery in Munich, mentioned
some time back in these columns, has within the
short period of its existence already acquired
fifty-four paintings. H. W. S.

^ ART IN AMERICA ^

NOTES ON THE WIDENER COLLECTION

I— F'RANS HALS: THE LADY WITH A

ROSE

At first glance the portrait of a woman with a
rose, reproduced on page 125, might be taken for
a Terburg of small dimensions ; more deliberate
observation would show that it could only be a
Hals of exceptional elegance and beauty, and on
the scale of life. It would be hard, l' think, in
the entire wnvre of the Haarlem master to find an
example of equal suavity and distinction. A
flavour of the pothouse and kitchen hangs about
most of the portraits by Hals. He chose to see
the patrician life about him rather in its robustness
and broad geniality than in the refinement we
divine from such painters as Vermeer, De Hooch
or Terburg. At best he gives us a vision of a
burgher world dressed obviously in its Sunday
clothes, or travestied in the half-knightly livery of
a guild. In the present case he seems to have
been fascinated liy the charm of a thing seen,
without, perhaps, realizing how foreign the subject
was to his average mood. Nature, as Whistler

justly observed, has ways of 'catching up.'
Occasionally she will present even a realist with a
composition ready made, challenging not his
temperament, which on principle he holds in
abeyance, but merely the skill of his recording
hand. In some such manner, perhaps, we should
explain this picture, which would otherwise seem
a kind of miracle of elegance amid the m.asterly
transcripts and caricatures of the great technician.
Hals's chronology is still so imperfectly under-
stood, and the dated Doelen pictures afford
criteria so little applicable to smaller and pri\-ate
work, that to fix a year for a portrait is a h.xzardous
undertaking. In the present instance we may
safely say that our picture belongs neither to his
youth nor to iiis extreme old age. It evidently
must have followed the Corporation picture of
1633, for before that time he w;is simply incapable
of such swift synthetic handling of the stuffs and
laces In f.ict, all this work is so broad and sure
that I am inclined to set the portrait at the time
when his brartira w;is fully ilevelojHiI — ;is late, say,
as the fifties. The sobriety of the modelling is
that of conscious restr.iint, not of plodding

129

Art in ^4mcrica

deliberation. All the details are painted with a
simplicity and maalria quite of his best. With
practically no pigment but black and white, the
artist achieves not only a {general effect of colour,
but also an extraordinary denotation of textures
and suggestion of local colour. In a certain
restrained brilliancy it recalls the portrait of a
Capt:iin at the Hermitage, which I know only from
a photograph, and the superb pair of portraits,
said to be that of the painter and his wife, in the
Metropolitan Museum, New York. Without
attempting a closer dating for a picture the
criticism of which is yet to be made, any time not
much earlier or later than 1650 seems probable.
My own guess, based on such an extraordinary
morccan as the foreshortened left cuff, would be
the later decade. The picture was bought about
a year ago by Mr. Widencr from Durand-Ruel.
As to its provenance, nothing has been divulged.

F. I. M.

II— A PORTRAIT OF BIANCA MARIA
SFORZA

When a princess sat to an early Milanese portrait
painter she might safely put aside the fear of
flattery. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a
more impersonal inventory of Bianca Maria
Sforza's features and favourite jewels than that
which Arabrogio de Predis placed on this panel
about the time of her marriage with the Emperor
Maxamilian in 1493. But the portrait is not
without a kind of hieratic charm. It looks forward
curiously to the triumphs that Velazquez was to
wring from the impossible accoutrements of Inter

Erincesses of the Austrian connection. If one
ad to choose a single profile to represent the e;irly
Milanese school, one would not go far wrong in
taking this, so competent is it in characterization,
so minute and faithful in detail, so perfect in point
of preservation. It is my sense of its exceptional
interest that leads me to reproduce it here, altliough
it is already known to professional students of
Italian art through Dr. Bode's article ' Ein Bildniss
der zweiten Gemahlin Kaiser Ma.xamilians, Bianca
Maria Sforza, von Ambrogio da Predis ' (Jahrb. d.
Preuss. Kunstsammlungen, vol. x, p. 71). This
article was accompanied by an excellent photo-
gravure. Dr. Bode there established the identity
of the subject on the basis of a later drawing of
Bianca by Ambrogio, in the Academy at Venice.
The picture was at that time in Berlin, probably
in the Lippman collection, where it certainly was
at a later date. It is now one of the most valued
possessions of Mr. P. A. B. Widener, Elkins Park,
Pa. This sort of painting bears process reproduc-
tion so well that no comment seems to be necessary
except perhaps to note the eminently Milanese
character of all the jewellery — similar 'table'
stones in half barbaric setting appear in all the
female portraits of the Sforza circle— and the

130

family motto, ' Merito et tempore,' on the massive
pendant that hangs from the fillet. Whoever is
interested in this matter of the jewels, or indeed
in the strange pre-nuptial and post-nuptial fate of
Bianca, should consult Felice Calvi's excellent
monograph ' Bianca Maria Sforza Visconti . . . e
gli Ambasciadori di Lodovico il Moro,' Milan, 1888.
There is an inventory of the young bride's jewels,
including many strings of pearls, some of which
we may see in this picture. Since none of the
costlier pieces noted as wedding gifts appear in the
picture, one may infer that it was painted before
the wedding in November, 1493. It was on this
occasion, it will be recalled, that the full-sized
model of Leonardo da Vinci's equestrian statue of
Francesco Sforza was set up under a triumphal
arch. Lomazzo's description of the bride seems a
little flattering, but is borne out by the sentiment
of this girlish profile. He writes ' Yw dolcissima
di ciera, di statua di corpo lunga, di viso ben
formato e bella, negli altri lineamenti del corpo
graziossima e ben proporzionata, ma gracili.'

Through the kindness of Mr. Bernhard Beren-
son I learn of another portrait of the young
empress, in the collection of the Countess Arco-
nati-Visconti at Paris.' It is in many respects a
pendant to the Widener picture, and is persuasively
attributed by Mr. Berenson to Bernadino dei
Conti. The ascription will, I think, hardly be
challenged. In fact, one rarely finds a portrait
that proclaims its paternity so unequivocally. All
profiles of this class have a strong technical re-
semblance to one another, but this head displays
a certain brusqueness in the chiaroscuro which
we shall find again, I think, quite unmistakably
in the kneeling figures of Lodovico Sforza and his
wife, in the 13rera altarpiece. The picture was
surely painted some years after Bianca's marriage,
for the forms have all become larger and more
matronly than in the girlish presentment by
Ambrogio de Predis, and the whole effect is of
maturity. 'Gracili' no one can call her any
longer. To surmise at what time before her
death in 15 10 this portrait was painted would be
the merest guesswork. One may perhaps safely
infer that at least five or six years must have
elapsed since the wedding. It may not be amiss
to recall that Bianca kept a painter in ordinary.
In December, 1493, she writes about him to
Lodovico II Moro, but unhappily calls him
merely 'el nostro Pinctore' (Calvi, p. 49). If we
had his name, however, we might be no nearer
the painter of this profile, for Bianca's unpopular
Italian following at Innsbruck was notoriously
subject to change. I have not seen this picture,
and so can only suggest that the pendant attached
to the fillet seems to correspond to a ' gioello '

' This portrait has recently been reproduced in ' Tableaux
incdit!> oil pcu connus ; tires des collections Kran^aiscs,' by
Salomon Kcin.ich, I*.«ris : Levy, 1907. See THE Bl'RUNOTO.n
Magazine, April, 1907, p. 50.

■

in the bridal inventory — ' facto cum la divisa del
faciolo ; cum uno balasso grande tavola, cum uno
diamante grosso.a facete di sopra, et una perla
grossa pendente.' One may note also the impresa
of three laurel leaves in the upper right hand
corner, the significance and date of which may
possibly be known to some antiquarian reader of
this magazine. F. J. M.

CASSONE FRONTS IN AMERICAN COL-
LECTIONS—IV

The Voyage of Aeneas and the Building of
Carthage :,The Visit of the Queen of Sheba
TO Solomon— jARVEs Collection, Yale Uni-
versity.
Besides the Diana and Aclacon by Jacopo del
Sellaio which we have already reproduced, the
Jarves^ collection at New Haven includes five
important cassone pictures of the Florentineschool.
Two of these are companion pieces — the scenes
from Virgil's Aeneid— and of the others, one, the
Garden of Love, attributed to Gentile da Fabriano,
but obviously Florentine and from the atelier of
some close follower of Massacio, is, while of rare
iconographical and archaeological interest, not quite
of first-rate artistic quality in its class. There remain
the very fine and important Tournament in the
Piazza S. Croce, the consideration of which we
are compelled to postpone, although it should
properly be of especial value to European students,
and the Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon,
a more conventional example of less vivid histori-
cal significance. We reproduce this work and one
of the two Aeneid panels (page 128), and may say
here that the Tournament (No. 45) belongs to the
same school as the Aeneid pictures, and is, indeed,
perhaps even an earlier example by the same hand,
so that a description of the latter will serve to give
an idea of the former.*

The connoisseurship of the field and period to
which our New Haven ij^noti belong is not easy.
While essentially native, the industrial painting of
the early and middle quattrocento in Florence
seems to have some technical affiliation with tre-
cento traditions of decoration. The little birth-
plate with a date, 1428, in the Bryan (De Montor)
collection, at the New York Historical Society, is
a sort of Spincllesque transitional work, and an
occasional motive from Verona or from miniature
painting may creep into the minor examples at
times. But the best examples are fundamentally
of contemporary local inspiration and are frankly
concrete, objective and representative in intention.
Masaccio's Uranian ray becomes prismatic in
passing through the parti-coloured minds of his

• In the description of the cassone panels by Jacopo del
Sellaio, in TiiK Huri.ington MAiiAziNE for December, 1906, the
Jarves collection is misprinted as the ' James ' collection.

* Photographs of the Jarves pictures may bo obtained from
Mr. H. V. Randall, photographer, Hartford. Connecticut, I'.S A.

y^rt in America

subordinate followers. A wedding or a joust
is enough to set the fancy free. No academic
intellectual or consciously humanbtic problems
disturb these idyllic improvisatori. They have an
eye to the main ornamental chance, the mise en
scene, : and they even surpass the classic and
monumental masters in a panoramic and descrip-
tive way, because their aim is lower. It is a
narrow art but often extraordinarily beautiful.

The more important painters of the time, in
fact, do not help us much to classify or explain
these unknown decorators. Even Uccello, whose
naive naturalism and kaleidoscopic formulas
obviously count for a good deal with his contem-
poraries, does not explain overmuch. One can-
not be sure of anything as belonging to his actual
atelier, although his influence is frequent enough.
There are other /od of stylistic initiative which are
as yet obscure. I should say that three or four
rather important masters in this field, of whom
one is the painter of the Adimari-Ricasoli Xozze
at Florence, while another has some relation to
Neri di Bicci, and still another may be conjecturally
inferred in Domenico Veneziano's technical region,
remain to be discovered ; and the apprentices are
legion. Pesellino is too sheer and classic a
searcher after perfection to help us much in our
classifications, and most of this work seems entirely
independent of Lippi's influence.

It is evident that the pair of chest-paintings at
New Haven ascribed to Uccello and representing
scenes from Virgil's Aeneid (43-44) arc by the
artist who executed the chief embellishments of a
pair of cassoni lent by the earl of Crawford to
the Exhibition of Early Italian Art, held at London
in the winter of 1893-94.

Various mannerisms — the st^'le is distincdy a
fixed and repetitive one — bring such works as
Lord Crawford's Apollo and Daphne panels and
the Virgilian pieces at Yale together. The dainty
celestial personifications— apt translations of an
Augustan attitude toward mythologj- — the types of
old men, which seem clues to stylistic deri\-ation,
but which baffle my connoisseurship, the long
swinging stride of the figures, more in Domenico
Veneziano's than in Uccello's vein, perhaps, and
the treatment of the extremities, may be comp.u-ed.
European students, no doubt, know much more
work by this m;ister, and even who he is. One
recalls the pair of cassoni in the Correr Museum
at Venice, which are of rather Uccellesque
character, but my notes are quite inadequate
except to point out th.it this art seems related in
a deri\'ative way to a [iresumably earlier, more
colouristic and distinctly finer group of pictures,

' New G.illery, 104, 114. Other handj sc«m to have been
cng.igcd on some of the pjncU. The mjrriJ);c scene oi 104.
for inst.tnce, is ne.ir to J.(cv)p^> del Sellaio in ttvle. T'- -' •"^\.
ing but r.<thcr aniorphiuis nude tii;urcs on the ».i .re

b.ickcd by the sp.in^lcd Nkics 01 Neri di Uicci and . . : . x-
tional iiMstcrs.

>3»

t//r/ /;; America

the exact focus of inspiration for which is to mc
as obscure as it is certainly independent of any of
the classical masters. I have unfortunately not
seen the superb h'onnding, of Carlhage of the
Kestner Museum at Hanover, which seems a
prototype of our version of this subject in the
Jarvcs collection. We shall hope for an identifica-
tion of some of the actual pictorial records in this
style of painting — perhaps of that Tournament in
which Loren/o bore a lance and for which
Verrocchio designed the standards — before
venturing upon further stylistic classifications. .

The Vosafi_c of Aeneas at New Haven is a finely
composect panorama of sea and landscape in which
the Storm and the L;inding in Africa arc the chief
incidents. The spirit of the piece is, of course,
idyllic rather than truly epical, but the dullest eye
must respond to the gorgeous spectacle of the
shattered fleet. This bright visual staccato passage
is admirably harmonized in the general scheme,
and the background of the landing, with its
mcdiae\-ally horrid cliffs, its ' long retreat ' of island
cove, its definite rainbow and low sun behind the
cypresses, will help to disprove the popular notion
that the Florentine painters cared little for land-
scape.

The secondary motives follow Virgil closely,
except of course for the decorative licence of
changing the sequence and the emphasis a little.
The story begins with Juno's celestial spying of
the fleet and her descent to Aeolus, who sits like a
hermit of the Thebaid in his riven cave — a
mordant bit of stencilling. The winds, conven-
tional Ucccllcsque grisailles, and the rather
Biccesque Neptune rebuking Eurus and Zeph-
irus, a deiis ex iiiacliiita, do not detain us from the
more moving accidents. In the exquisite ending
appears Venus, below as huntress and above as
veritable little lady goddess. Our artist contrives
to suggest his characters and much of the atmo-
sphere of the hexameters. It is fine illustration
if not literal.

The central theme of the companion picture is
the plea of llioneus before Queen Dido in the
Temple of Juno, with Aene;is and his faithful
friend in the background, musing on the pictured
taJe of Troy. The building of Carthage is treated
as an accessory to this fine ceremonial piece. The
hunting episode of the previous day introduces
the panorama, and a foreground passage, smaller
in scale than the rest, seems to represent the com-
ing of Cupid in the disguise of Ascanius, who
enters the temple at the left. The story ends with
two minor motives, one the prefigured altac
moeitia Romae ever present in the pictorial mind
of Renaissance as of mediaeval Italy ; the other a
banauet scene in the open, which the classical
scholar will recognize, but which escapes my
mythological memory. Are there swine or wolves
in the background ? One must know the story

to say." The juncture of the architecture and
landscape in this picture, although not so splendid
as in the example at Hanover, is masterly.
What decorators these men are !

The execution of these pictures is not that of a
creative pioneer in form ; it is mnemonic and
derivative, but it is still professional, vivid and very
refined. The colour, after all sorts of rough usage,
retains the velvety, ' crumbly ' blush of the
tempera. The general effect is a low-toned, dim
and pearly cobweb-like subtlety of surface with
dark bluish-greenish greys of sky and sea, with
gleams of gold and the decorative repetitions and
dappling of bright vermilion, a dash on every lip,
and of pinks, and of assertive reds on the roofs.
These tacltcs and the yellow lights and ver-
milion shadows in the draperies are characteristic
of a large number of cassoni of the style and
period which are not reminiscent of Domenico
Veneziano's more vibrant tonality but belong
more to Uccello's technical milieu I should say.
One recalls the Adimari-Ricasoli Xozzezi Florence ;
but our master has not the attack or the large
handling of such an artist.

The Visit of the Queen of Sheha io Solomon (69)
belongs to the same stylistic region as our Aeneid
panels. 1 had once thought it by the same hand
as those, and it is not far away and is of the same
class, but of a less felicitous and infectious species.
A detailed description is not necessary, as the
composition is quite conventional. The general
tone of the picture is a quiet grey, recalling the
Domenico Vcncziano type of colour-scheme, but
having no immediate connection with Domenico,
or of course any of his draughtsmanship. Greenish
blacks make up the darks with greenish sky and
plenty of gold in the draperies, the wings of the
cupids and the garlands. Pinks and vermilions
warm a lovely harmony ; but this piece does not
carry or intrigue as do the Aeneid pictures, nor
has it any of the splendour of the Tournament.
I have a note on the Juggler Performing, in the
University Galleries at Oxford, as perhaps to be
connected with this New Haven work. But the
Oxford fragment is a far finer thing.

1 may add for American students the note that
the Metropolitan Museum has now adequate
photographs of typical European cassoni of the
fascinating time — the golden industrial age — to
which our Jarves cx.unples belong. 1 am indebted
to the curator of the Yale University Gallery for
some technical suggestions, and may refer here to
Mary Logan's valuable article on ' Compagno di
Pesellino ' ' for an aperfu of certain decorative
examples of the class which we have considered.

\\\ R.

'Surely llic scene rcprccn ted is that in wliicli lulus fuUils the
prophecy hy his jesting remark ' Kn ! eliam intnsiis consumi-
nius ! ' ; and thc° animals in the backfiround are the famous
while sow with hrr (arrow o( nine ? — ICd. HuilinKlon.

♦ ■Gazette des Beaux-Aru,' T. 26. July-Dec , 1901.

132

/'r.

1^ EDITORIAL ARTICLE r^
D OF THE ART MAI

;> has, by private collector mi?hr h' -v tn cr,n\nrtc

nt, been with them in the h

r\e so far, a victory by ' vv

■■-'- ■' ■ ''X

iic private collect -p
in has immensely

''•■■ • It

the quality of a

It <

the

.-.,. .. ,it

more a

if not apparently in
pic-
- .m
■le

»>c the

)y an
>f kec'

th^ stick t)l
s

.ther a ,
s could only be

. ■- 1 J 1 1 [ ■ . 1 1. I

r see clever men trying t
indolence on the strcr
n gained by early efforts, while

!y incf - -r -ht be '

, i into , _ ..., where i.

' not jostle and hamper their bcttcrcS.
At present the acumen in these matter
to lie pri 1 ■ ". with the dealers.

, 'P'^ tition

-.c is no dc. . . .it t'
I the last few years, c.
improved apparatus of n t
creased facilities u.'
chief dealers fir b*.;
were in the past. K\"^\} u

.1 an
and ii

J. let i

ic ground of authenticity is rn

I
c>

^e at

still

r
s

TlU BURURCTUII UAOAXlKt. :,■,

^ EDITORIAL ARTICLE Hkr
THE TREND OF THE ART MARKET

HE art season has, by
common consent, been
rather a dull one so far.
The prevalent apathy
may be ascribed to motor-
cars or to bridge, to lack
of Tariff Reform or to the South African
war, as our tastes or politics suggest ; but
the fact remains. Yet in such buying and
selling as has taken place one or two
symptoms have shown themselves that are
of good augury for the future.

In the sale-rooms, for example, there is
more and more a tendency for prices to
be ruled by the quality of a work of art
rather than by the name it bears. A bad
work by a famous artist fetches little, an
attractive one by an unknown man may
be the subject of keen competition ; and
the underlying principle is now applied
even to the work of living masters. It
may seem unkind to beat an artist with
the stick of his most felicitous productions.
Yet that is what Time will do inexorably,
when it sifts a man's best work from the
mass ; and if our taste anticipates Time, it
is not altogether a bad thing for the artist.
If artists could only be sure that the
public taste would discriminate at once
between good work and bad, we should
no longer see clever men trying to sell the
fruits of indolence on the strength of a
reputation gained by early efforts, while
the really incompetent might be dis-
couraged into private life, where they
could not jostle and hamper their betters.
At present the acumen in these matters
seems to lie principally with the dealers.
There is no doubt that the competition
of the last few years, coupled with an
improved apparatus of reference and in-
creased facilities of travel, has made the
chief dealers far better judges than they
were in the past. Even ten years ago the

The Burungton Uagazine. No. ji. Vol. XI— June, 1907

private collector might hope to compete
with them in the sale-room, and snatch
a victory by superior knowledge. Now
the position is fast being reversed, and the
dealer has learnt his business so well that
the private collector's chance of a bargain
has immensely diminished.

This is not wholly a disadvantage. It
may make collecting less of a sport, but
it certainly makes it more stable as a
pursuit. In London, if not apparently in
Paris, the days of the 'speculative pic-
ture ' are numbered, and no honest man
can regret the fact. Half the trouble
that has been caused by the sale of
dubious works of art has been caused
by imperfect knowledge on the part of
the seller. He bought as a speculation,
and salved his uncertain conscience with
that convenient phrase when he passed on
the speculation to some one else, at a profit.

Recently, knowledge has become so
general that no one with a reputation to
lose will touch the speculative picture at
any price. Yet the collector can still
indulge his sporting instincts, for the
amicable contest which was once fought on
the ground of authenticity is rapidly coming
to be decided on the ground of taste. It
the dealer underrates the charm or rarity
of a work of art, the collector will still be
able to get it cheaply. If the dealer over-
rates them, he will find it left on his hands,
or will have to sell it at a loss.

The one serious feature of the situation
is the extravagant prices which the finest
things command. The man of moderate
means has thus been frightened away from
Old Masters, and nothing short of an utter
collapse in prices will tempt him to return.
His patronage, in flict, is being diverted.
The enormous increase in the number,
equipment and prosperity of furniture and
bric-a-brac shops indicates one of the

I ;

.>3

The Trend of the Art ^larket

channels into which business has been
steadily flowing. The events of the past
two years indicate that a second channel
is fast widening — namely, that of modern
art.

This may seem fantastic to those who
visit our large exhibitions, where not one
picture in twenty finds a purchaser ; but
large exhibitions tend more and more to
make popular reputations for artists rather
than bread and butter. The sales we
refer to are chiefly of small things — metal
work, jewellery, pottery, etchings, draw-
ings, small bronzes, small pictures. They
are effected at small exhibitions and one-
man shows ; they benefit only a limited
number of picked men, picked by the
judgment of a dealer or by the obvious
preference of the public, more usually by
both working in combination. On these
few picked men a number of modest
collectors arc beginning to specialize, and
the artists outside their ranks can hope

only for casual patronage. Two exhibi-
tions are often seen side by side in the
same gallery ; that of the picked man is
thickly dotted with red stars, while the
next room may not record a single sale.

In fact, the same process of selection is
at work among the moderns as among the
Old Masters, only its outward manifesta-
tions are less obtrusive. Human vanity will
continue to provide the portrait painter
with a living, but the prospects of the
rank and file of non-portraitists are not
encouraging. The principle which selects
the completely fit rejects utterly even the
tolerably fit, and will do so even more
ruthlessly when dealers and collectors
learn to judge modern work as accurately
as they now judge Old Masters. After all,
it is only the fittest that really count ;
the rest deserve our sympathy, but not
our assistance, except in finding a trade
that suits them better than that of the
working artist.

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE BRITISH SCHOOL IN

THE LOUVRE

^ BY PERCY MOORE TURNER ^k,

II— GAINSBOROUGH, HOPPNER, LAWRENCE

'ERHAPS on the whole the
most popular of our Eng-
lish painters in France is
I Gainsborough. His bril-
liancy and facility have
always appealed strongly
tu tlic taste ut the French. As far as
technique is concerned he most nearly
approached their own artists of the same
period, and yet retained throughout his
career a characteristically Fnglish tempera-
ment. It is astonishing, then, that no
portrait by him is to be found in the
Louvre. Lack of funds and the high
price now set upon a worthy example can

136

certainly be urged to-day as a reason for
the authorities not adding a master so
desirable ; but it is to be hoped that one
of the numerous collectors of the English
school in France will one day repair the
deficiency. A fine male portrait would
worthily represent him, and this could be
secured for a comparatively moderate sum.
The only two pictures which bear his
name in the catalogue are the landscapes
in the La Caze collection. They each
carry a label, however, only attributing
them to Gainsborough. That they arc
not by his hand can hardly be doubted by
any one having even a superficial acquaint-

The Tiritish School in the Louvre

ance with the master. In the first place, the
compositions are not his ; they are ill-
balanced and academic, and are evidently
the work of one who had not studied nature
at first hand.

Whatever may be the faults of Gains-
borough as a landscape painter, a lack of
acquaintance with nature cannot be urged
against him. We know how from his
youth his chief delight was to go out into
the fields sketching every object which
attracted his attention. The mannerisms
which he acquired, and which are par-
ticularly evinced in the pictures of the
Ipswich and Bath periods, were due in no
small measure to his study of Wynants.
His trees are nobler than the Dutchman's
and are built with a knowledge far surpass-
ing his, but they are just as much founded
on him as are the skies which float above
them. There is always the impression
in his works, however, that here was a
man who was striving to see nature with
his own eyes and would one day accom-
plish great things.

In these two pictures in the Louvre
the trees are handled with a conventional
formality of which he was incapable.
Then, again, Gainsborough was never
guilty of such lack of truth as the intrusion
of the hill in the background of one of
the pictures. This fact alone would be
convincing evidence that the picture had
not been painted from or even founded on
nature. It represents an essentially pastoral
country, and one in which it would be
quite impossible for such a sharp hill to
arise so suddenly. The sky is theatrical
to a high degree, and bears no relation
to the landscape. With such light and
regularly disposed clouds, the dramatic
effects of light and shadow we find here
would be impossible. The two pictures
are hung too high to venture a decided
opinion as to their author, but the hand-

ling strongly resembles that of Zuccharelli.
They have many of his peculiarities of com-
position, too, and these two facts lead one
strongly to suspect him as their author.

The name of Gainsborough's great
contemporary, Reynolds, has until quite
recently been absent from the Louvre, but
two pictures are now hung with his name
attached. T\\t SMaster Hare, which Baron
Alphonse de Rothschild left to the French
nation in 1905, is quite satisfactory in
many respects. It is one of those charming
studies of child life in which the first
President reigned supreme. The painting
of the head and hand leaves little to be
desired, and if one could have wished for
the dress to be more accurately drawn,
there are many passages which amply
compensate us for this deficiency.

With regard to the other picture ascribed
to Reynolds (Portrait of a LuiJyJ one can
hardly speak so appreciatively. That this
ill-drawn and vulgar picture has nothing to
do with Reynolds can be seen at a glance.
It is, moreover, covered with re-paints, and
there are modern additions made here and
there to the composition. I am inclined
to look upon it as an early nineteenth-
century or perhaps a late eighteenth-cen-
tury portrait which has been worked
upon in comparatively recent years. I
arrive at this conclusion because the can-
vas is undoubtedly of the period I have
mentioned, and there are certain traces of
old paint which could well be ot the same
date as the canvas. The trees of the
background are without any semblance of
form, and are handled in the most amateurish
fashion. The painting of both the arms
and the face betrays the hand of a man who
not only had no knowledge of Reynolds's
methods, but was incompetent as an artist
himself.

It is quite a pleasure to turn from this
picture to the portrait o( Sir John Stanley.

^Z7

The British School in the Louvre

Here we have a characteristic example
of a good period of Romney. There is
that sense of ease about the pose which
the master knew well how to give. The
figure is splendidly drawn, the foreshorten-
ing is accurate, and the head is painted
with energy and vigour. As an instance
of Romncy's care in treating accessories —
witness the chair and the book lying on
the ground — this portrait will he hard to
beat.

It is unfortunate tliat Rachurn is not
worthily represented in the Louvre. The
so-called ^T* or trait of an Old Sat/or, whilst
remarkably clever and certainly of English
origin, is not, in my opinion, from his
hand. The peculiarly forcible but com-
plicated treatment of the mouth and chin
are in a manner quite foreign to Rachurn.
I am at a loss to suggest a name for the
picture. There are many points which
resemble the work of Gilbert Stuart very
closely, but I fail to recognize his hand in
the hair and eyes. The other group, Mrs.
Maconochk dmi ChiU, is probably the work
of Rachurn, although many have not
hesitated to doubt it. But it lacks all
those qualities which have caused the
reputation of Raeburn to rise so steadily
among our British painters. It is very
difficult to say what has happened to this
picture ; parts of the background and the
shadows are so dark that they cause the
broadly treated faces and hands to stand
out in a glaring manner from the canvas.
I cannot call to recollection any other
picture by him in which a similar effect
can be observed, and it is probable there-
fore that it has suffered some injury. But
quite apart from this, the bad drawing
nearly everywhere displayed in it gives
quite an erroneous impression of Raeburn's
powers.

Nor can Iloppner be said to fare much
better. Certainly the better of the

'38

two pictures is the Countess of Oxford.
This in many ways demonstrates the
characteristic strength and weaknesses of
a master who is to-day somewhat over-
rated. The sweet, even sugary, treatment
of the face shows ais once again how much
happier Hoppner was in painting a woman
than a man. But what a difference we
observe betwixt his superficial sentiment-
ality and the masculine vigour of Reynolds
and Gainsborough! He has the trick of
placing a passably good-looking woman
in the most advantageous position for
displaying her good points and hiding the
bad, and he further knows how to suit
the surroundings to the portrait. The
Countess oj Oxford is an example of this :
she is placed in a slightly leaning position,
with a landscape background which throws
the colour of her cheeks and hair into
pleasing prominence.

The other group of a lady and a child
in a landscape has been doubted ; but I am
still inclined to think that it is from the
hand of the master. When one remembers
the array of mediocre portraits which are
to be found still in the possession of
English families boasting a perfect and
undisturbed pedigree from Hoppner, one
learns not to judge all of his achievements
by the highest standard; nevertheless the
picture is of such poor quality and in
such inditfercnt condition that it seems a
pity it has crept into the Louvre.

We can now turn to a master with
whose representation we can be better
satisfied. The French have always liked
Lawrence. His dashing and brilliant hand-
ling has had for them an immense fascination.
He was, indeed, a great artist, and carried
certain parts of technique further than any
of our English portrait painters. In fact,
he impresses one as a man whose atten-
tion was riveted upon pyrotechnics and
who lost sight of the fact that brush-

MK. AM) MKS. ANCERSTKIN, liY SIK r. I..\\VKEXCE
IN Till-: lAllVKK

TMR IIKITISH !<CIUH>L IS' TIIC lOCYKI
I'LATK I

a
o

, . H
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- ;j

a: :*

The British School i?i the Louvre

work is only the means to an end. Hence
his portraits lack soul, and throughout his
career he displays a diabolical and artificial
cleverness bordering on the vicious.

It is unfortunate for the reputation of
our school that Lawrence should have
obtained such a hold upon the esteem of
French collectors. I think that by yield-
ing to his fascination they have missed the
very essence of those qualities for which
our painters arc pre-eminent. But of
Lawrence at his best we could not have
a better example than the wonderful por-
trait of ^Mr. John Julius <t4ngcr stein and
his Wife. In brilliance it recalls in no small
measure that most amazing of all Law-
rence's pictures, reprehensible as it is in
many points of technique, the full-length
portrait of Miss Farren. There is a strong
analogy of treatment in the hair of Mrs.
Angerstein and that of Miss Farren,
whilst the similarity of the painting of
the dress is most marked. The head of
Mr. Angerstein is a noble piece of painting,
and contrasts strongly with the more
delicate painting of that of his wife.

Of the two latest arrivals of Lawrence,
the portrait oi Mary 'Calmer is unquestion-
ably the better, and has many passages
which arc quite delicious. In hand-
ling and posture it bears a strong re-
semblance to the portrait of Mrs. Siddons
in the National (iailery. There is the
same liquidity of the eyes and vigorous
painting of the cheeks and nose. Wc
cannot therefore regret its entrance into
the Louvre, as it well represents Lawrence
at a time when he was not so artificial
and mannered. The other portrait of a
man is undoubtedly by him, but is not
a picture of high quality. The Lord
IVhitWorth in the long gallery has fallen
into very bad state. It is, however,
quite an ordinary example of Lawrence.

Of the other English portraits, the so-
called Brother and Sister is a pretty example
of Sir William Beechcy, whilst the portrait
of l^rincess Charlotte^ in spite of apparent
re-painting of the head, is a fair specimen
of the art of Allan Ramsay.

The woman in white which the Louvre
gives to Opie is a good picture, but I fail
to trace the vigorous, even dramatic, hand-
ling of the master.

I had not space in my last month's article
to finish the review of the landscapes. A
composition representing the valley of a
river with rocky banks and mountains in
the distance is given to Richard Wilson.
It is certainly founded upon him ; but in
the first place, the trees in the foreground
are painted with a minuteness foreign to
Wilson, and the same may be said of the
timid handling to be observed in the middle
distance. Moreover, there is no intervening
atmosphere betwixt the bank upon which
we stand and theclilf in the middle distance.
This is placed against the sky with crude-
ness, and the untransparent water with its
falsities of rcfiexion and of colour, together
with a certain lack of knowledge in the
drawing of the hills, are, in my opinion,
conclusive proofs that this picture, though
contemporary with him, cannot be from
his hand. The Morland has, I am glad to
say, now had the label removed from it,
though it retains its place in the catalogue ;
it is nothing more than a bad copy.

It is a matter deeply to be regretted, not
only by those French amateurs who know
the English school so well, but by ourselves,
who would like our Englishmen to hold
their place worthily in the Louvre, that
such examples should have crept in. We
tccl sure that future i^pportunities will not
be neglected, and that finally wc shall
occupy our just place in the great French
gallery.

'43

PAST EXCAVATIONS AT HERCULANEUM
<A^BY ETHEI. ROSS BARKER rJk»

I RING the last six
AT^ i)i__N\\ x 'iionths projects have been
\/^ rN^ m \iiisciisscil in the Italian
papers for further exca-
vations at Ilcrculancum,
»iR-arlv tlie whole of which
city -still lies buried beneath the adjacent
towns of Portici and Resina.

It may be interesting at this moment
to give a brief account of previous excava-
tions, and of the unequalled treasures ot
art which they reveal.

At the eruption of a.d. 79, Hercu-
laneum was overwhelmed by a torrent of
liquid mud. Subsequent eruptions, of
which the distinct strata are visible, have
buried the city to a depth varying from
60 to 100 feet beneath a solidified mass
which frequently is as compact as marble.
Excavations, which have been carried
on intermittently from 1709 to 1876, have
brought to light a theatre, a basilica and two
curiae, two temples, a large country villa, an
area of 300 by 150 perches at Resina with
houses and streets ; and, probably marking
the limits of the city, two sepulchres.
The confusion in the records renders it
probable that other temples and a forum
mentioned are only rediscoveries of a
portion of buildings which had been re-
buried after excavation. We are led to
conclude that Herculaneum was a long
narrow city of medium size, built with
its major axis parallel to the sea, and with
its streets at right angles to each other.
On its history, as a Greek colony, and
then as a Roman colony, we cannot dwell
here.

Since we are able to explore about three-
fourths of the ancient city of Pompeii,
Herculaneum has not contributed much
that is new to our knowledge of the
architecture of the period. The works
of art, however, which have been found,

far surpass, in quality and quantity, any-
thing found at i'ompeii. The majority of
the works are in the National Museum at
Naples. The number of bronze statues
found is stated to be 128, of marble statues
24. There are in addition nearly a hundred
busts, and a large number of statuettes,
vases, tripods and candelabra of graceful
form, with the designs that were the
inspiration of the Renaissance.

Excavations were carried on by means of
low narrow tunnels, on each side of which
small areas were dug out, to prevent the rock
collapsing. Under these circumstances any
accurate knowledge of the plan of the build-
ings is difficult to obtain. Further, excava-
tions at first were carried on solely with a
view to extricating works of art. Walls
of buildings were ruthlessly pierced and
stripped of marbles and frescoes; statues
were removed, and all knowledge of their
locality was lost : they were then freely
' restored.' Even at a period when the
engineers in charge made notes and plans of
the discoveries, these were carelessly kept,
and many have been lost. Moreover, the
only part of Herculaneum which has not
been reburicd is a portion of the theatre,
and the houses at Resina.

In 1709 and 171 3 the prince d'Elba^uf,
general of the Austrian army, after sinking
a shaft at Portici, came upon the back of a
building, afterwards identified as the theatre
of Herculaneum. Of the statues ami
precious marbles extracted, several went
out of the country.

Excavations were resumed in the
theatre in October 1738 and carried on
till 1776, with intermissions, by engineers
appointed by Charles III of Spain. First
a portion of the outer wall was dis-
covered, then a staircase and portions of
the cavca, consisting of twenty-one tiers
of seats, the upper three being divided by

144

UKONZli BUST OF UIUNYSL'S IKUM llliNCL LAXEIM
IN THE NAPLES MUSEUM

PAST EXCAVATIONS AT MERCULANEl'M
1'L.VTK I

liUuSil. Ul>I Ol ( ) sMTIln m<-'.M lltHi-l i-ANtl M
IN Tilt NATLIS MVMIM

I'AST WtCAVATIoS* AT lltRCfUNeUM
rLAT»v II

Past Excavations at Herculaneum

a corridor from the lower eighteen. Round
the top of the seats ran a corridor with
marble-covered pedestals for columns,
suggesting that this corridor was a covered
way. In 1742 to 1751 a small portion
of the orchestra was discovered, paved with
thick slabs oi giallo antico, and the front of
the pulpitum. From 1762 to 1765 the
scena^ portions of the caleea, and the outer
wall were explored.

The theatre was built of brick, and tufa
stuccoed, and encrusted, within and without,
with precious marbles. The outside was
adorned with arches borne on pilasters :
a marble cornice ran round it, and traces
of colour were found. The seats and
stairs were of lava. We have two printed
plans left us out of some twenty made at
the time. In general plan the building
is not unlike other theatres known to us,
and in the proportions of the orchestra and
proscenium it is rather of the Roman than
the Greek style. The theatre was of
medium size, the total diameter measuring
177 feet, the diameter of the orchestra
29 feet.'

It was richly adorned with statues in
marble and bronze, which not only stood
in niches outside and inside, but also
crowned the outer wall, and stood on the
wall surmounting the ca')>ea, and adorned
the columned portico at the back of the
theatre, and the various entrances. The
force of the mud torrent overthrew and
shattered the majority. We have remain-
ing to us three marble statues wearing
the toga, some half-dozen bronze statues
of emperors and citizens, and some beauti-
ful female figures, draped, many of them
being portraits of the ladies of the house-
hold of M. Nonius Balbus.' We have
fragments of a superb gilt bronze chariot
and horses, and half a dozen inscriptions.

' The theatre at Ephesus has a diameter of 495 feet ; Ihc
larye theatre at Pompeii, 202 feet.
' Three of these statues are in Dresden Museum.

After a descent of a hundred steps, and
much groping along low-vaulted, damp,
cold corridors by the glare of the torch-
light, we can see all that has been
excavated. Only a few fragments of
white marble, a delicately sculptured piece
of frieze, the acanthus leaves of some
pilaster, stained green with the damp, still
cling to the naked walls ; and the section
of the tiers of seats, the portion of the
scena, the orchestra entrance, all give the
impression of being hewn out of the rock.

About 600 feet S. W. of the theatre is the
basilica, which measures 228 by 132 feet.
It was discovered in 1 762. It is surrounded
by a wall with forty-two engaged columns
in all, and inside, and parallel, another row of
columns, the two supporting the roof of a
covered portico. The floor of the basilica
is two feet lower than this raised walk.
Along the shorter end are five entrances,
adorned with pilasters, on the arch of
which stood five equestrian statues, of
which two only remain to us, the statues
of M. Nonius Balbus, father and son.

At the opposite end is a recess, where
stood three marble statues : one of Ves-
pasian in the middle, and two headless
figures, seated in curule chairs on each
side ; both are of great beauty. The
two niches at each side of the recess
were adorned with frescoes, Hercules \fitb
Teiephus suckled by the Hiiul and Theseus
Victor o'^er the Miiiiotaur, and contained
two beautiful bronze statues, nine feet
high, of Nero and Germanicus.

At each side of the portico entrance
stood great pedestals for statues, and on
the half-columns, between each of the
engaged columns of the wall, stood alter-
nately a bronze and a marble statue.
These have mostly perished. Many in-
scriptions were also found here. The
outside was covered in marble. The
columns were of brick, covered with

149

Past Kxcazatioris at Hcnulaneum

stucco. The interior was painted in
fresco ; most of this is now in Naples
Museum.

Quite near the basilica were two small
buildings identified as curiae' or as temples.
Let into the marblc-lincd inner walls of
these curiae were bronze inscriptions with
the names of magistrates of the city.

In June 1750 excavations were begun
in the west end of the garden of the
' House (if the Papyri,' and were carried on
to the year 1762. The 'House of the
Papyri ' is a magnificent country villa of
the late Republican period. The main
axis lies parallel to the sea. The general
plan is similar to houses of the same
period in Pompeii, though on a larger
scale, and with certain additions. We
have the atrium, aloe, peristyle and tab-
linum. There is a second peristyle to the
right of the atrium, and rooms beyond
this. There is an unusually large garden,
measuring 310 feet by 104 feet, extending
to the left of the villa, with a circular
cxIxJra at the end, which had a beautiful
marble floor. In the garden was a great
pond, measuring 219 feet by 23I feet.
Many of the floors in the villa were of
coloured marbles or of mosaic. The fluted
columns of the peristyle were of stuccoed
brick. The water supply, judging by the
many lead pipes and innumerable foun-
tains, must have been abundant.

House and garden were adorned with
statues and busts. There were thirty
bronze busts, sixteen bronze statues, fifteen
marble busts and seven marble statues.

Among these are some of the loveliest
bronzes in Europe, including the Mer-
cury in Repose, The Discoboli, The Drunken
Faun, and five fine Doric figures generally
kncnvn as The Dancers. Of the busts,
some are lovely ideal heads, some realistic
portraits. Here also were discovered the

* Jorio, ' NoUic tugli icavi di ErcoLuio ' (Naples, 1837).
150

rolls of papyri from which the villa takes
its name. The greatest number were found
in the room known as the library. This
room was floored with marble, contained
four inscribed busts, of Epicurus, Her-
marchus, Zeno and Demosthenes, and many
cases in inlaid wood for papyri. The rolls
resembled lumps of charcoal, and many
were thrown away as such. When some
characters were observed on one of them,
these carbonized rolls were discovered to
be papyri. A monk. Father Piaggio,
invented a machine for unrolling them, and
for some 1 20 years scholars were busy in the
work of deciphering and editing. Some
original rolls, opened and unopened, exist
in the Bodleian and in the British Museum.
The results of so much labour are a little
disappointing. Three-fourths of the library
consist of the works of the third-rate
Epicurean philosopher, Philodemus of
Gadara. His pupil, and later his patron
for thirty years, was Lucius Calpurnius
Piso, whose daughter married Julius Caesar.
It is mainly on the evidence of the rela-
tions between these men' that Piso has
been identified as the owner of the villa,
and the house has frequently been called
' the Villa of the Pisos.' The evidence,
however, does not seem quite conclusive.

In 1750 a building resembling a colum-
barium, such as we see in Rome, was found
toward the S.E. It was a vaulted room,
entered by a staircase containing eight
niches with the cinerary vases in their
place. It belonged to the Nonia family,
and was six feet long.

In 1757, towards the S.W. of tlic
basilica, a temple was discovered with a
marble inscription, stating that it was
restored by Vespasian to the Mother of
the Gods. The vault was painted with
stars on a white ground. The cella
measured over fifty-one feet in length. In

* Cicero, ' In Pisoncm ' and elsewhere.

IIKON/Ii; llUUSE IkOM HICIOJLLANEI.M
IN THK NAPLES Ml'SKlM

PAST EXCAVATIONS AT HERCllASEtU
PI_\TE III

UM<»/t. Ill 'T '•> Ml HX' Lll' ■> 1 ■.■■■■

fAfft MMVATIOX* AT MKUCDLAXH'M
riJ»T* IV

Past Excavations at Herculancum

1759 a second temple was discovered
quite near. Some beautiful bronze tri-
pods, censers and candelabra were found
here.

The houses and streets which were ex-
cavated at Resina (i 828-1 837) were only
thirty-six feet beneath the surface. All the
streets are narrow, except one, which
measures sixteen feet across, and is paved
with blocks of lava. Of the houses little
remains but naked walls. The general
plan resembles those at Pompeii. The
floors were of coarse mosaic. The
walls were nearly all painted in fresco,
consisting usually of tiny medallions and
friezes of cupids, beasts, birds, and
flowers painted on a large monochrome
panel, which was generally of the well-
known ' Pompeian ' red, or a beautiful
glazed black.

In the well-known ' House of Argus '
were found busts of Diana and Apollo and
some frescoes. Out of some 400 frescoes
in Herculaneum, now in Naples Museum,
only a dozen are life-size pictures, and
these come from public buildings.

The importance of the Herculaneum
discoveries lies in the character and con-
dition of the antique bronzes. Compared
with some of these, the Marcus Aurciius
of the Capitol is modern, the Boxer in the
Baths of Diocletian a piece of brutal
realism of a late period of Greek art, the
exquisite bronzes of the Etruscan Museum
in Florence mere fragments. We have
nothing really comparable with them except
the bronze horses of St. Mark's at Venice.

Perhaps the most striking of these
bronzes, in some respects, are the five
aActresses or Dancers which were found in
the southern portico of the garden of
the House of the Papyri. They are
certainly Greek, and possibly originals.
The pose and balance of the figures
are graceful; the Doric robes fall in

straight, stiff folds, yet reveal the curves
and lines of the form beneath : the variety
and realism in the treatment of the
hair is admirable, and if the enamel eyes
that have been inserted scarcely add to the
beauty they certainly enhance the life-like
effect of the fine, stately figures. For sheer
beauty, the so-called Head of Dionysus or
Head of l^lato (p. 145) is unsurpassed.
The expressive head might well be that of
the greatest of the pre-Christian mystics,
or of Dionysus, pondering over the
mysteries known to the initiate, and
revealed under the fierce symbolism of the
Bacchic revels. The treatment of the
beard and the abundant hair that seems to
resist the gentle pressure of the broad
fillet that binds it, the modelling of the
cheek and brow and the delicate curves
of the lips are a revelation in the art of
bronze working.

Passing over many life-like portrait-
busts, we come to a series of ' ideal heads,'
and under this category might well come
several busts to which names have been
applied without any foundation. They are
all Greek in type ; they are all of ideal
beauty ; they are all different in technique
— in the treatment of the hair, in the
proportions of the fice. They are all
different in type — including the effeminate,
oriental beauty of the so-called Ptolemy
Soter, the inexpressive loveliness of the
slightly heavy-jawed, low-browed, wide-
eyed youth, the T)oryf>/jorus, and the
Archaic Apollo {^. 157), whose significance
almost makes us forget its beauty. The
head, with its brooding eyes, with its
extraordinary vitality expressed even in
the wild locks that cluster about the neck,
seems the one perfect expression ot the
sun god, of the god of swift death, of
the god who inspired the raving priestess
on her tripod. This head was found in
the garden of the House of the Papyri,

^Sl

Past Excavations at Ilcnulaficuni

which possibly belonged, as \vc have seen,
to Lucius Calpurnius Piso. On the coins
of the Calpurnian family appears a de-
vitalized and conventionalized version of
this head.

The marbles discovered in Hcrculaneum
do not possess the unique interest ot the
bronzes. The two ccjuestrian statues of
Balbus, father and son, are interesting
because, with the exception of the
Marcus .lurc/ius, such statues are almost
unknown till we come to the days of
Donatello's great statue in Padua.

Such discoveries in the past awaken
keen anticipation as to the results of future
excavations. The zeal and enterprise or
the Italian government renders it possible

that immediate excavations may be under-
taken in Italy, and that Merculaneum is
to be the spot selected. What treasures
might not a second 'villa' yield.? In
her buried ruins Italy holds the history of
the ancient world : she was the inspiration
of the middle ages : she was the foster-
mother of the Renaissance ; and in this
twentieth century all Europe is ready to
sympathize with her in her arduous enter-
prise, which may reveal fresh visions of
beauty — may add, as it were, a few
more letters to those unwritten words
that shall spell for us some more of
the secrets of history and archaeology.
Such discoveries belong to no nation, and
no time.

Ill

THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING

^BY A MODERN PAINTER r#^
-THE ROYAL WATER-COLOUR SOCIETY

S we saw last month, the
Royal Institute has fallen
upon evil times. The
Koyal Society of Painters
ill Water-Colours has been
^inore fortunate. Among
all London societies it is, perhaps, the most
successful from the money point of view ;
and its success, in many respects, is well
merited, liy avoiding the temptation to
become a large society, and to admit the
work of ' outsiders,' the R.W.S. has suc-
ceeded, year after year, in making its shows
more select than any big exhibition could
be, and has never become so narrow-minded
as to exclude the talented innovator. The
consequence is that the society represents
the best water-colour art of several distinct
periods, beginning with the delightful
washed drawings of the veteran, Mr.
William Callow, passing to the stippled
work of the seventies and eighties, and

.56

ending with such ultra-moderns as Mr.
Rackham, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Sargent.

For this reason alone the exhibitions of
the R.W.S. are worth visiting, because in
them the student of water-colour can trace
the whole development of the art from its
classical period to the present day. How
evenly public patronage is shared by the
various schools is indicated by the fact that
Mr. Rackham and Mr. Callow seem able
to sell their drawings with equal facility.
If decline is anywhere noticeable, it is in
the case of the painters of the seventies and
eighties.

Thisdccline is not altogether undeserved,
for the class of drawing which it affects is
in reality much the same as that which is
shown at the Institute, and is open to the
same ol>iections. It is, indeed, nothing more
than a faint echo of what has been done
much better in a previous age, with a
little sentimentality thrown in. The

<^«

^.7V

AKCIMIC A1'()I.[.0. liHONXK lU ST H«)M HKKUULAXIi L .1
IN TIIK XAI'LES MUSEIM

living tradition of the art of the water-
colour is thus represented by Mr. Callow
on the one side and by the moderns on
the other. With Mr. Callow's work I
need not deal at length, for there cannot
be two opinions as to the charm of the
fresh and simple workmanship. It is our
one link with the age of Cotman, Cox and
De Wint, of which Mr. Callow is the last
survivor. Thus it possesses some qualities
of which we have lost the secret, and it
would seem as if its rediscovery would
have to be left to another age.

Nor is Mr. Sargent an easy master to
follow. His certainty of eye and hand
are personal gifts which could only be used
by some one who was equally brilliant ;
and not the least depressing features of
modern exhibitions are the attempts made
to work in Mr. Sargent's manner by
painters who have not a tithe of his talent.
Mr. Cameron and Mr. Rackham would
be easier models to imitate, though few
could claim the scientific breadth of the
one or the elvish detail of the other.

Mr. Rackham's work in particular
seems to possess every quality that makes
for permanence. The addition of a lively
pen-line and a delicate brown tone to
an arbitrary scheme of coloration makes
his method practically' a new one, while
his sense of colour contrast and colour
harmony is not less acute than his eye for
human grace and oddity alike. Few
men living are so consistently delightful,
hardly any are so truly prolific — that is to
say, possess Mr. Rackham's capability for
turning out composition after composition,
each crammed with invention, and each
quite different from the last. No living
artist better deserves success,

(To be

The £ase for Modern T^ainting

Mr. D. Y. Cameron's activities cover
a much wider range of material, but are
really narrower in scope. He is, perhaps,
the first of our living etchers of landscape ;
at least his prints command the widest
market. His oil paintings are always
among the best things of their kind
at the exhibitions or the International
Society, and his water-colours for
some years have been very prominent
features in Pall Mall East. In the present
exhibition of the R.W.S. he is not seen
quite at his best ; nevertheless his drawing
is of such a scholarly breadth and boldness
of plan as to separate it at once from the
work of men who have never tried to
'bring off' a grand and simple design.
The colour experiments of Mr. Louis
Davis and the excellent interior by Mr.
H. S. Hopwood (205) were also
interesting.

Mr. Callow, Mr. Sargent and Mr.
Rackham are, therefore, the three
outstanding personalities, yet even
without their help the R.W.S. would
still be a strong body as societies go
nowadays.

It possesses the almost unique merit of
concentration, and is apparently free from
the jealousies which mar the work of larger
art groups. Hence it can be at once con-
servative and liberal-minded ; indeed, less
successful bodies would do well to consider
the common-sense principles which under-
lie its constitution. There is more
in such principles than most people

imaguie.

The constitution of the Royal Academy
presents a much more difficult problem, and
I must defer my notes upon its present
exhibition till next month.

continued.)

159

rilK WATFR COI
cji^ MR. W ILM.

O much interest is now
It.ikcn in technical pro-
i-csscs that no apology is
needed for giving some
.iccount of the practice of
ftlic water colour artist
\\a;> hnrn in the year 1811, who
worked through the period when that art
reached its culminating point, and still
continues to ex hi hit.

In the annual shows of the ' Old ' Water
Colour Society the drawings of Mr.
William Callow have been a remarkable
feature for very many years. In the ficc
of body colour and every device that the
ingenuity of modern water colour artists
has discovered to obtain greater power
and force, these modest wash drawings
have more than held their own, and even
the brilliant mastery of men as great as
Mr. Sargent cannot extinguish their more
retiring dignity.

Owing to Mr. Callow's great age (he
will celebrate his ninety-sixth birthday
this month) his account of his method
was put into the form of answers to
questions, which are reprinted literally.

Do you use ordinary Whatman, or some
other paper ?

I have always used Whatman's paper
for drawings, but Harding's for sketches,
and absorbent paper for experiments only ;
of late years Whatman's paper has not
been so good.

Do you prefer paper to be non-absor-
bent or semi-absorbent ?

I prefer hard paper, non-absorbent.

Do you tone the paper either by stain-
ing or washing with some colour ?

Neither. No preparatory work what-
ever ; I commence with the tint required.

What palette do you work with ?

My palette consists of Blues, Reds,
Yellows, and Browns — viz.,

160

OUR METHOD OF
\M C.\LLOW r*^

Iiuiigo, French Blue, and Cobalt.
Lake, Light Red, and Vermilion.
King's Yellow, Gamboge, and

Yellow Ochre.
Burnt Sienna, Madder Brown, and

Vandyke Brown.
Sepia, Raw Umber, and Raw
Sienna.

Have you iliscarded any colours as lack-
ing in permanence ?

No, I have strictly kept to those
mentioned.

Do you use cake, moist, or tube colours?

Moist colours in pans.

Do you prefer the colours of any par-
ticular maker ?

I have always used Winsor and
Newton's, and for teaching purposes a box
was named akcr mc containing the colours
I used in teaching.

Do the modern colours differ from those
of the same name used in your early
career ?

Yes, the modern colours are moist,
while formerly they were hard and had to
be rubbed previous to using ; it was a
long process, but I think the colours were
purer from the process of rubbing.

Do you build up your drawings upon a
monochrome foundation .?

I have no knowledge of monochrome.

Do you leave each wash to dry before
adding the next, or do you work into the
colour while wet ?

After applying the first tint, my work
is left to dry before applying the next.

Do you wash your drawing with pure
water between the application of each layer
of colour, removing the moisture with
blotting paper, or do you apply the second
and subsequent washes when the paper is
perfectly dry ?

My drawing is washed with pure
water between each tint, and allowed to

The Water Qolour Method of Mr. JVilliam Qallow

dry before the second and subsequent tints
are put on ; no blotting paper ever being
used.

If you worlc dry, how do you avoid
hard edges ?

By softening w^ith brush and water.
A flat brush is best for use in washing.

Do you use any medium except plain
water — such as gum ?

No, nothing but clear water.

Has your practice changed in recent
years ?

No, I have always throughout my
career worked on the same principle.

Did it differ materially in any point
from that of Cox and De Wint }

I have no knowledge of the methods
used by Cox and De Wint, but feel sure
the general principle was the same with
most painters of that period — viz., washing
and repetition of tints, by which method
the solidity required was obtained. Other
methods resorted to by early painters to

obtain solidity and texture were rubbing
with a damp cloth, and the use of a scraper
to obtain the high lights ; a sponge was also
used for the same purpose. Most of the
high lights in the foreground were wiped
out with a wet brush and handkerchief to
obtain what was required for richer colour
of foreground, such as leaves, trees, etc.
Indiarubber was used for the same purpose.
Much was done by this process to obtain
effects.

The modern style of water-colour
painting, and the change that has taken
place in style and method, I attribute to the
introduction of opaque or body colours.
This was formerly against the rules of the
R.W.C. Society, and I think Harding was
the first to break through this rule.

I am unable to give an unbiassed opinion
of present-day methods, as owing to my
great age and rapidly failing sight I have
not visited London exhibitions for some

^ears.

A NOTE ON WATER COLOUR TECHNIQUE
^ BY ROGER E. FRY cK>

ASH drawings — for,
whetlier rightly or no, I
have no interest in water
colour ' painting ' — tlie
attempt to reproduce in
the medium of water
colour something of tlie
solid relief and actuality
whicli are iiaUual lo oil painting — wash-drawing
depends, I lielieve, more upon the quality of
the paper than anything. And herein lies the
supreme dilliculty for the modern draughtsman,
that he cannot easily obtain a really" suitable
paper, the modern water colour paper having
been gradually ' improved ' so as to enable the
artist to obtain all manner of effects except the
essential one of the beauty of the pure transparent
wash. Upon different papers the same colour will
produce totally dissimilar effects of colour and
tone. With a good paper it will lie with perfect
evenness (no granulation), with perfect precision
but without the least hardness of edge, and should
tlierefore require no subsequent washing, which
in my opinion is fatal to perfect quality. A paper

of this kind is of course somewhat absorbent. It
will not allow of wiping out or indeed any altera-
tion, but it should not be spongy and soft; it should
have a firm texture, and it should not be so absorbent
that the tone of the wash alters materially in
drying. It is true that some absorbent p.ipers
which do dry lighter, or rather become suddenly
dark when wetted, produce the most beautiful
quality, but the artist's dilTiculties are thereby so
much increased that few will be willing to risk
the danger of frequent failure.

The paper that Girtin used seems to me to have
been as near to perfection for wash-drawing as
anything that has been made. Soon after his
time came the disastrous ' improvement ' of the
' woven ' instead of the ' laid ' paper ; and artists
like Turner, who were obsessed with a desire to
exceed the limits of the wash drawing, to become
painters in water-colour, pressed it into their
service until the modern water-colour paper
became universal. In conjunction with other
artists I have endeavoured to get Girtin's paper
copied by an experienced paper-maker. Our
success has not been complete, but 1 believe the

l6l

A Note Of] neater colotn' Tr(h/i(j//r

papt-r which is sold l>y Mr. Percy Yoiinj^ is more
.iincn.ihlc to l>c.ititikil \vash-dra\vinj» tli.in any
other modern paper I have met witn. But in
the meanwhile, until the real thinj^ is ajjain
manufactured, the artist who is f.istidious alx)ut
such thinjjs as the combination of atmospheric
t|iiality and precision in his washes must have
recourse to such old paper as he cxn lay hands
on. In using this he will have to face many risks
which the rej^ular practitioner will dislike. One
sheet may dififer from another in quality, so that a
treatment which succeeds perfectly with one will
fail entirely with another ; a sheet m.iy develop
under the wash hidden defects, sudden spots of
;jre:iter or less ahstjrbency, foxin/^ and other
implcLsant surprises ; but whenever he gets a
jierfect sheet the artist will have his reward.

It will of course be apparent that the kind of
wash dniwing I have in view imposes upon the
artist very rigid limitations in the so-called
' rendering of ii.iture.' With the paper that gives
the fuiest quality of w.ish, all alteration is out of
the question: no wiped-out lights, not even a tint
washed lighter, can be expected. The artist's
formula must therefore Ix; very simple, very
jirecise, and his treatment spontaneous and direct.
He m.iy find it necess.iry to treat his theme in
three distinct parts : to render it first as contour
either in pen or pencil; then as chiaroscuro by
working his shadows in neutral tints; and finally as
colour. VoT anything like an impressionist treat-
ment of the whole effect in one operation, the
problem will become too difficult.

IJiit I believe that the very limitations of such
a method as I suggest make really in the direction
of a more purely artistic vision, of one in which
any crass naturalism is impossible, in which the
selection of the significant and central facts is
more deliberate and sure.

W.iter-colour drawing is, I think, destined to
play an increasing part in modern art, as wealth
and the taste for art become more disseminated
among l!ie middle classes, since the heaviness and
material quality of our oil paintings lit with
dilliciilty into the lighter and more delicate
schemes of decoration possible to the semi-
detached householder, who will never own large
oak-panelled halls. Such a man, if he become a
patron of painting at all, will soon find how
difficult it is to decorate his house with oil paint-
ings, in which pale colours and high keys are
rarely successful, and will inevitably turn to water-
colour. And if this happens, we may in time rid
Kuropcan art of a certain redundancy of material
which has for long f)bsessed it, and may get to
learn from the art of China and Jap.m that there
is more expression in line c.illigraphy than
in elaborate realization of natural texture
and completeness of effect. We might even
learn once again, what Kurope h;is lorgotlen
for five centuries, that a method of composition
which is freed from the tyranny of perspective,
and which obeys only the desire for complete
expressiveness of the idea, is at once more free
and more logical than that which we so inevitably
practise.

THE GOLD MEDALS OF ABUKIR
^ BY DR. A. KOESTER cK:

MOXGST the many objects
\^liieli have recently been found
111 Kgypt, the gold coins and
iiied.ils found near Abukir are
specially worth notice. The
iiill particulars of the finding
' 'f this treasure have unfor-
iiinately never come to light,
h'l i; w.t iliM.M\i I, d by chance and secretly (lug
up by native field labourers. Some time after
there had lieen talk al)out a great number of
Koman gold coins, ingots of gold and Greek gold
medals having Ix-en found, thi-se objects suddenly
appeared in the art-tr.ide in Paris. Syrian anil
American dealers and a woman from the IC.ist
went singly to the art-dealers and the museums,
and offered for sale eighteen exceptionally large
gold medals (diameter 2 to 2^ inches), which were
in a splendid state of prescrv.ition. They asked f.ibu-
lous sums, and seemed to be in a great hurry.
Through the mysteriouslxhaviour of these orientals
and the excitement and haste with which they

162

exhibited the objects, but most of all through some
peculiarities in the technique as well :ls in the
design of the gold medals, the art-dealers became
suspicious ; the mcd.ils were thought to be clever
imitations, and nobody was anxious to buy them.

After a short time the medals were back in Egypt,
with the exception of four, which h. id been offered
for sale to the museum of Ikriin. Dr. Dressel,
who has recently discussed these gold med.ils at
length in the ' Abhandlungcn dcr Akademie der
Wissenschaften,' recognized that they were un-
doubtedly genuine, aiul he succeeded in acquiring
them for the collection of coins in Berlin.

The designs on these med.ils are connected with
Alexander the (ii eat and his house. On the obverse
of two of them Alexander's head is presented: on
one with the royal diadem, on the other in his
coat of mail and helmet, after the style of the
coins of Lysimachus. On the reverse sides a
goddess of victory is represented. She stands in
a four-horse chariot, and holds in her left hand
the branch of a palm-tree, in her right the reins.

The goddess of victory on the second medal
stands with her foot on a hehiiet, and is gazing at
a shield richly ornamented with figures. Opposite
to her is a trophy under which two prisoners are
sitting : to the left a man with a beard, clothed
after the manner of barbarians, with his hands in
fetters ; to the right a woman, evidently in deep
sorrow, wrapped in her cloak.

These interesting and rich designs are obviously
to be interpreted as a glorification of the conquest
of Asia by Alexander the Great, hinted at by the
figure characterized as a barbarian. A double-axe,
the characteristic weapon of the Amazons, which
is included in the trophy, indicates the victory
over the war-like viragos who, according to the
legend, still dwelt in Asia in the daj's of
Alexander.

The third gold medal (fig. i) shows us quite a
new and very remarkable likeness of Alexander.
It is a half-length, full-face picture of the king,
with long hair, standing up in the well-known way
and falling upon his shoulders like a mane. In
the treatise above referred to, Dr. Dressel says
of this head of Alexander : ' There is no human
likeness on the thousands of antique coins and
engraved stones preserved to us which could be
compared with this as regards the interpretation
and the description of personality. There may be
some artistically more perfect likenesses and some
which distinguish themselves by their more keenly
felt and more harmoniously executed characteriza-
tion, but not one that could move us more deeply
and make us realize more vividly the greatness
and the importance of the personage represented.'

It has been inferred from the shield and the
spear that it may be Alexander fighting, yet this
face, though expressing energy and noble bearing,
hardly expresses the agitation of a fight, and we
have in this portrait not Alexander fighting but
Alexander the hero.

On the reverse of this medal is represented
again the goddess of victory with the trophy.

The Gold Medals of Abukir

The design on the fourth gold medal follows
the likenesses of Alexander in a natural way. It
is a charming female bust portrait of Olympias,
the mother of the great king (fig. 2). On the
re%'erse we see a Nereid borne through the waves
by a sea-bull. This design is intimately connected
with the likeness of Olympias on the obverse, for
the mother of Alexander was descended from the
Aeacides, who traced their descent back to the sea-
goddess Thetis, and the Nereids belong to the
suite of this goddess.

The reverse of the next medal is also very
interesting. The youthful Alexander, adorned
with the royal diadem, sits on a bench. In a
sleeveless cliiioti, the arms covered with bracelets,
the goddess of victory sent by Miner\-a stands before
him, handing weapons to him, as to the future
conqueror of the world. She presents to the
young hero the helmet, the mark of distinction of
the commander, and beside her stands the big
round shield, on which Achilles is represented,
dragging Penthesilea behind him : Achilles with
Penthesilea evidently hints at Alexander's task of
subduing Asia by Hellenic culture.

The designs on the other gold medals are also
connected with Alexander and his house, so that
we have before us a continuous series. By
comparison with other coins it has been ascertained
that these medals were originally prizes of victory,
distributed at the Olympian games in Macedonia
(a.d. 274) in remembrance of Alexander the Great.
In all probability these prizes were gained by an
Egyptian athlete, who took them back with him
to his native land. Great numbers of these prize
medals were distributed in ancient times, and that so
few have come down to us is mainly owing to the
fact that they were of gold and were melted down
later. Besides the medals of Abukir only four
other prize medals are known to us, three from a
gold-find in Tarsus, and a smaller one, which is at
present in Cambridge. All of these medals are of
eminent scientific as well as artistic importance.

DUTCH AND FLEMISH FURNITURE
^ BY R. S. CLOUSTON Hk?

ISS SINGLETON is to be
most warmly congratulated
on her latest book.' Her
careful treatment is so well
known that before we open
the pages of ' Dutch and
Flemish Furniture ' we
have the comfortable assur-
ance that we shall not find a heterogeneous jumble
of facts and fiction collected at random from the
most untrustworthy sources. The only possible fear
is that Miss Singleton, like so many others, should

I'Dutch and Flemish Furniture.' Hodder and Stoughton,
42s. net.

have traded on her reputation, and given us
something which, though distinctly good, would
fall below her own standard. There is, however,
no such backsliding, but rather the reverse. After
reading and re-reading the book I am impressed
with the distinct advance made in style, interest
and scientific treatment. No one with the faintest
love for the subject can fail to be interested, and
nobody of average intelligence can read the letter-
press, comparing it with the illustrations, and fail
to arrive at a knowledge of the different periods
and the growth of styles. This comparison might
certainly have been made somewhat more easy.
There are two classes of illustrations, plates and

163

l^utc/i lUiJ Flemish Furfiiturc

figures, and the latter arc diOicult to find. The
figures sometimes occur in pages by themselves,
while at others they surround the object re-
protluced in the plate. As lK)th pl.ites and tigures
selduni fate their descriptions anil, nideed, are
often widely reiuovetl from them, it would greatly
facilitate tlie study of the b<H)k if the pages
opposite which they may be found were given in
the text, it would also In; well, for purposes of
reference, if the page or pages in which the
illustr.ition is mentioned were given either in the
index or on the plate. I 'late XXVI I, for instance,
whicli faces page 148, is merely mentioned in page
152, but is fully discussetl on page 252. The
index also omits the figures, except such of them
as occur in the plates. The matter is so admirable
that, in the future editions which I feel conlident
will Ik- required, I shall hope to see my suggestion
used.

In this book there is a \';ist amount of the
original research we have come to expect from
Miss Singleton. ' In my attempt,' she tells us in
her preface, ' to reconstruct Dutch and Flemish
interiors of past days, I have consulted not only
histories, memoirs, and books of travel, but wills
and inventories as well.' This is no empty boast.
There are p.iges and pages filled with such
notes, and others teeming with the names and
dates of the old workers. Yet no one need be
afraid of dryness. Miss Singleton has the faculty
of treating hersubject scientifically and exhaustively
and yet making her book interesting reading. The
long lists which occur every here and there arc
necessities for the expert ; but there is no compul-
sion on the ordinary reader to wade through them
unless he feels so disposed. The historical portions,
on the other hand, are not only integral parts of
the subject, but are so brightly written that they
can scarcely be passed over by any one.

What seems to me the chief fault of the book is,
after all, only a virtue exaggerated. It is impossible
to succeed in any art work without enthusiasm.
Miss Singleton has scored a success where another
writer of equal knowledge might have failed
through her possession of this quality. She is,
however, occ;isionally inclined to be carried away
by her subject and to forget that the effect of
apprcxiation is heightened by sympathetic criticism.
I cannot, for instance, understand how Miss
Singleton, whose taste is indisputable, should say
of a very childish design that it has 'directness
and simplicity worthy of a liotticelli.' Nor can
one quite follow her when she writes : 'Many an
oliscurc monk put all that is beautiful and fanciful
in his nature into the production of carvings in
stone and wood that have never been surjiassed.'
She is also inclinetl, somewh.it naturally perhaps,
to ' drag in ' America. In wh.it is otherwise (Jiie of
the iK-st (if not the best) accounts of the causes
which led to the Kenaissance bhe interpolates the

164

statement th.it 'America was shortly to be discovered,
and before long exotic woods were to end the
exclusive sway of walnut and oak.' For any one, like
the present writer, who has a bad memory for dates,
it is useful to connect the discovery of America
with the early d.iys of the Renaissance ; but the
one had ;is little to do with the other as the
man in whose birthday it happens to occur affects
an earthquake. Miss Singleton knows just as well
as I can tell her that mahogany was not used,
except in a scattered and experimental way, for
over two centuries, nor s;ilinwood, the next most
common, for nearly three. I must also take excep-
tion to the statement that Grinling Gibbons was a
Dutchman. He was born in London in 1648, and
though he seems to have had some connection
with Holland either by blood or early residence
(his biographers vary on the point), his style was
formed in England and is as purely English as it
is possible for art to be.

To imply, even by suggestion, that these careless
statements are representative would be, to use
Charles Reade's phr.isc, to employ the ' sham sample
swindle.' They are merely instances of the very
occasional l.ipscs from cultured criticism to special
pleading.

The general treatment and scheme of this book
could scarcely be better or more lucid. It com-
pletely justifies its title in that it is a liiilory, not
merely a collection of finecxamples with descriptive
notes. The illustrations arc not only good in
themselves but evince great selective care. So
typical are they tli.it a very creditable knowledge
of the subject could be attained by merely studying
the plates without reading one word of the letter-
jiress. In plates III and IV we have the two chief
phases of fifteenth-century decoration. The first
is a Flemish ilnssoir which is covered from top to
bottom with figures and scroll work carved in
relief. It is a very magnificent piece of furniture,
but somewhat unrestful to the eye. The credence
on pLile IV from the Cluny Museum is, on the
other hand, a very admirable specimen of the
more reserved work of the times. Plate VIII is a
sixteenth-century cabinet of the time when
Flemish workmen adopted the Renaissance and
followed its feeling with fidelity. This phase
could scarcely be permanent. The style is loo
cold and too unlike a home to suit northern
nations, who are compelled to spend much of their
time indoors, and tlie Flemish workmen very
soon adapted the new ideas to the require-
ments of their customers, of which the
nriitoire from the Rijksmuseum (plate XV) is a
fine ex.imple. In it we can sec the foundation
of our Fnglish Tudor, which m.iny good judges
consider our best period. This is a f.iir s.unple
of what the tyro can learn by a few minutes of
intelligent stiuiy.

I would not be understood to dejireciafe the

THK GOLD MEDALS OF AIUKIN. MKDALS Hi' ALEXANDER AND OLVMPIAS
IX THE KAISER ERIEDRILH MUSEIM, BERLIN

DLTCM AND FLEMISH FIKXITIKE. SEVENTEENTH CEXTLRY CHAIRS
IN THE RUKSMUSEL'M, AMSTERDAM

i"" ,>l-^^

inmsr*^ vrajjjffii'i

SIXTKKXTII IKSTI KY JKWKL

IN THE MISKIM ol- Al'I'LIKI) AKFS, I.Kll'/ll.

HIXTKKNTH (.KNTl KV IKil III.K til'

l>»' M UKVIIKKIi WiiMKMANHllll'

IN THE fuVlKSJllON OF THE CITY tOt'NCIL, LFII'/Hi

AKT IN <;FRMANY
l-I.ATK I

T^utch and Flemish Furniture

letterpress. For the sake of brevity I have,
regarding these examples and their lesson, given
my own views in my own words. I was certainly
not compelled to do so by any weakness in the
text. All of it is lucid, most of it is bright, and
here and there it rises to the poetic. At other
times a still more difficult thing is achieved in the
combination of interest with condensation.

' The plain box, or chest, was the origin of all
the developments of mediaeval furniture. It had
many uses ; it contained the treasures and valu-
ables of the lord ; it was used as a packing-case or
trunk for travelling ; with supports at the four
corners and back, and arms added above, it served
as a chair or settle w-ith a seat that could be lifted
on hinges ; raised also on legs and supplied with a
dais, it became a dressoir, credence, or sideboard ;
chest-upon-chest, superimposed, developed into
the annoire ; and, finally, supplied with a head
and front rail and made comfortable with mattress
or pillows, it served as a bed.'

The chapter on the Burgundian period is par-
ticularly interesting, the picture drawn of the
magnificence of the courts of Philip the Good
and Charles the Bold — most of it from con-
temporary sources — being most impressive, while
the effect of the art workers of Burgundy on other
countries, especially on Spain, is well and clearly
established.

Considerable space is devoted to tapestries, with
which the Low Countries supplied all Europe,
even Italy. Italian patrons, however, did not
appreciate the strongly realistic designs of the
northern weavers, and usually supplied cartoons
by Raphael or Romano, which, naturally, had a
' great influence upon the Flemish tapestries.'

I have seen it stated, though where I cannot at
the moment remember, that the art of burning
paintings into glass was first discovered and
practised in Italy. The following quotation
which Miss Singleton gives from Guicciardini
(1567) would seem to settle the point : — 'They
(the Flemings) invented the mode of burning them
into glass, so as to be safe from the corrosion of
water, wind, and even time . . . and the
Flemings also invented the manner of making
leaden casements.' Considerations of space prevent
me from following Miss Singleton through her
chapter on the Renaissance ; but I cannot
forbear quoting another paragraph : —

' In the second period of the Renaissance, the
general effect is more severe and geometrical ; the
projections are more restrained, and the general
form of furniture more rectangular. The vertical
lines are more conspicuous than the horizontal
lines ; and columns with elongated shafts and
delicate flutingsor grooves replace human figures
that in the first period of the Renaissance act as
uprights and supports.'

Anyone with- taste and knowledge can look

critically at a style, but it is a special gift to be
able to classify one's knowledge. Miss Singleton's
ability in this particular adds enormously to the
value of her book, and saves it from becoming a
mere catalogue of facts, which, but for such
passages, it might easily have been.

In treating of the seventeenth century Miss
Singleton's professed purpose is to reconstruct the
Dutch home, and in this she most certainly suc-
ceeds. There is nothing with which real fault can
be found as regards the ' scientific ' treatment of
this portion, but it does not seem to me to
be of quite the same high order in this par-
ticular as the former parts. She is a little
afraid, not of her subject or her knowledge of it,
but of saying what has been said before, even
though it might be novel to the majority of her
readers. She makes it very clear that the style of
the Decadence, brought by Rubens from Rome
(and thereafter known by his name), affected Flem-
ish painting, architecture and ornament, but she
leaves the effect on furniture unconsidered. If
any one knows what this was it is Miss Singleton ;
and I confess that I should have been glad of
more definite information on the subject.

In her reconstruction of the Dutch home Miss
Singleton, very rightly, makes considerable use of
the pictures of the period. I have had occasion to
mention in the pages of The Burlington Magazine
the untrustworthiness of our English artists as re-
gards current furniture design. "The Dutch 'Little
Masters,' on the contrary, were almost painfully
realistic in matters of fact. Moreover, the whole
nation was (to use a northern phrase) ' house-
proud,' and the combination of the two proclivities
renders the paintings of the period actual and
dependable evidence, while the reproductions
add in no small degree to the artistic value of the
book.

Though I do not consider these chapters, from
one point of view, to be quite up to Miss Single-
ton's own highest standard, I can, as a student
of English furniture, vouch for the fact that they
are even more interesting, for in the seventeenth
century our workmen copied Dutch models more
closely than they did those of Flanders in the
Tudor period. By kind permission of the
publishers, Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton, I
reproduce plate XXXI II (page 165), which shows
three chairs from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam,
of which I give Miss Singleton's description. Of
that on the left she says : ' Chairs of this fashion
were extremely popular in the Low Countries
and in England during the second half of the
seventeenth century. In all probability, they
originated in the Netherlands, and became familiar
and favourites with the exiled Cavaliers between
1640 and 1660 : and at the Restoration the style
w-as imported into England.' The middle chair
' belongs to the end of the seventeenth century . . .

169

l^utch and Flemish FurNiture

the propoitioiis of the scat, wliicli is stuffed aiul
covered witli velvet, f;isteiied with sm.iU f)riiss naik,
is quite modern.' That to tfje ri>»ht is ' a Dutch
arm cliair ' of the !>;»mc Rcner.il form as a desijjn
Riven from the ilesij»ns of Crispin dc P.isse about
the middle of the century.

Of Kn;{lish furniture at the end of the seven-
teenth century Miss Simpleton justly says: 'At
this jK-riod Enjjlish and Dutch tastes were identi-
cal.' She is, by the way, the first, so far as my
readinjj goes, to do more than merely mention
Daniel M.irot, a French refugee brought over from
Holland by William, whose style affected certain
phases of Knglish furniture, particularly mirrors,
for some time.

Miss Singleton adds a chapter on the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries in Holland, which,
though interesting, has little historical value.
Tlie author has been careful throughout to mention
every influence of Dutch and Flemish fiuniture
art on Knglish workmen up to the time of Queen
Anne. She frankly acknowledges such foreign

influences on Dutch designs as the Italian
and the French, and one fails to understand
how, with her knowledge of English eighteenth-
century design, its effect on the Dutch should
be omitted.

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century,
and for some time after, Knglish furniture art
came well to the front. Nowhere w.is it more
studied thin in Holland. I nee and Mayhew,
and also the brothers Ad.im, published their letter-
press in French as well as Knglish, and there was
a large continental sale for their books as well as
those of Hepplewhite and Sheraton. Of Sheraton's
' Drawing Book ' there was actually a reprint,
while a French publication of i8lo is evidently
b.ised on his later designs.

There are, unfortunately for the collector, ship-
loads of Dutch furniture on Hepplewhite and
Sheraton lines. They are seldom, if ever, of the
same excellence as their models ; but at least they
are better than the Dutch cabinetmakers were, at
the period, capable of originating.

A J^U43<^ JVITH .A H^WK
^ BY HENRY WYATT c*^

IIK admirable work which
we reproduce as frontispiece
to the present nimibcr is a
striking instance of the diffi-
culty which surrounds any
critical study of the English
school of painting. Here we

have a picture which in spirit

and .accomplislunent is of the highest degree of
excellence, and only falls short of the work of the
supreme masters of portraiture from lack of the
gravity with which they invest their sitters. Yet this
Man u'llU a Ihiwk is the work of a painter whose
name will be unknown to ninety-nine out of a hun-
dred of oiir readers, and who even in his own day
h.id but little reputation. Those who care to turn to
Mr. Algernon Graves's monumental work will lind
a list of Henry Wyatt's exhibits at the Royal
Academy iK-tween the years i8i7 and 1838, and
Hryan's Dictionary contains a short suniin iry of
the few f.icts of his life which are recorded,' and
mentions pictures by him at Chester, Gl.isgow and
Manchester. In no other c.ises, however, with
which we arc acquainted, does \Vyatt touch the
level which he reaches in the Man u'illi a Ilaivk;
indeed, but for the inscription on the back of the
c^inv.is, the painting might well have passed for the

' Henry Wyalt »•.« born .it Thickbroom, nc.ir Lichfield, in
I7<X. He ttudieil in the Ac.i<lemy nihooU and t>ccainc .liiiisUnl
lo Ijwrcncc. In the yejr 1X17 helcll l»nd<iii.iiKl pr.iL'tiicd .in
a |^>rlrait painter in Hirinin(;bain, l.iver|HH>l and M.inchc!>trr
vuctc^Mvcly. l-rom 1825 lo 1HJ4, lie was agiln in l.ondi>n,
leaving it fur l.caniingtoni n 1835. He died at I'rotwich in 11(40.

170

work of Lawrence, nay, for one of his masterpieces.
In the absence of any other identilication it is per-
missible to suggest that this picture may be the same
as that exhibited in the Academy of 1835 under
the title of Vigilance, though the style is Uiat of a
somewhat earlier date.

Wy.itt worked in the studio of Sir Thomas
Lawrence as assistant, and the importance of the
assistance he rendered may be estimated by the
f.ict that Sir Thomas paid him a sal.ary of ^^300 a
year. This sum, and the skill displayed in this
picture, warrant the assumption, not only that
Wyatt had far more to do with Lawrence's por-
traits than is commonly suspected, but also
that there must have been numberless works from
his hand which now p;iss under his master's
name. Ever since the days of Lely, the Knglish
school has been full of this anomaly of pupils
who have done work which was in no way
distinguishable from that of their masters, or w.is
actually superior to it ; and when some critic
is born who will distinguish for us between the
work of Lely and his various assist.ints, and decide
who was the architect of the Houses of Parliament,
he may, perhaps, hope also to distinguish the
work of Sir Thomas Lawrence from that of Henry
Wyatt. Till tlun Wyatt must remain what he
was in his lifetime — magni nominis umbra.'

' Since the .ilxivc was written, the excellent Potlrait of Miss
Crfiilorrr has fetched J.Xj" francs in llie Sc<lehncyer sale, so
perhaps Wy.ilt may s<x>n l>c rescued from the oblivion which
has shrouded him su loni;.

THE HISTORY OF TAPESTRY
^ BY C. H. WYLDE ^

R. THOMSON has pro-
duced a work' which will
probably for many years
hold the position of being
the standard work in the
English language on one of
the oldest and most impor-
.tant of the handicrafts
practised by civilized man from the earliest
ages. As the author states in his preface,
' notwithstanding the keen and growing interest
in tapestries and the fact that they constitute most
precious acquisitions to the art collector, there has
been hitherto no text-book of exclusively English
production to explain them.' While Mr. Thomson
has removed this reproach from his countrymen,
he has at the same time brought together with
immense pains and untiring research all the
knowledge on the subject available in the
numerous foreign works on tapestry, weaving
them together with many new facts gleaned from
a thorough scrutiny of the documents in our
national archives and in private possession.

The author commences his book with the
assumption that the reader knows nothing at all
about the subject, and, tracing the evolution of
tapestry from the savage art of wattle-plaiting
and basket weaving, initiates us into the simple
technicalities of the tapestry craft, carefully
explaining the mysteries of warp and woof with
the help of two excellent diagrams. Having
arrived at a clear understanding as to the nature
and characteristics of his subject, he starts from
the very infancy of the art, that is to say as far
back as any evidence exists to show that it was a
recognized and regularly practised handicraft.
Dating from the period of the lake dwellings in
Switzerland, a fragment of coarse flaxen material
has been found proving the existence of the art
of weaving at this early time in man's history,
while complete dresses of the bronze age have
been found at Troenhoi, in Jutland. Weaving,
in fact, appears to have been an art quite as
general in its distribution among the early races
of mankind as pottery-making, for we iind it
practised among people so widely separated
as the ancient Egyptians, Peruvians, natives of
Borneo, Greeks and Chinese — thus proving that,
in the same way as pottery, it was a naturally
evolved craft wherever man had emerged from
the primitive state.

Passing over the interesting sketch given by our
author of the art of tapestry weaving during
ancient times in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the
Near East, including the luxurious and magnificent
period of the Saracens, we come to an interesting

' A History of Tapestry from the earliest times until the
present day. W. G. Thomson. Hodder and Stoughton.
£2 28. net.

and instructive chapter on the progress of the art
in Western Europe through the early ages up to
the fourteenth century, in which is shown the
great share taken by the Church in the fostering and
protection of the liberal arts during a period largely
given over to war and rapine. When we consider
the wealth and power attained by the ecclesiastical
bodies during the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
it is not to be wondered at that the best work was
carried on under the shelter of the monasteries ;
and it was not until the crusades had brought the
nobility into familiar intercourse with the mag-
nificence of the East, and inoculated the sovereigns
and wealthy classes with a keen desire for an
ostentatious display of costly hangings, that the
craftsmen were provided with patronage sufficient
to make them independent of the parent Church.
This movement was largely responsible for the
change of style from Romanesque to Gothic, and
from the representation of sacred subjects to
mythological.

From early times tapestry hangings were in
common use in England, and the hall, which
always formed the principal room of the Anglo-
Saxon house, was hung with tapestry called in the
Anglo-Saxon tongue ' Wah hroegel ' or ' Wah
rift,' that is ' wall clothing.' These are described
in the seventh century as being of purple and
other colours, and frequently enriched with figures
and scenes from the histories of heroes.

As might be expected, the productions of the
looms of the Flemish town of Arras during the
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
occupy a considerable amount of space in
the book before us. Although Arras was
thoroughly established as one of the principal
seats of the industry in the thirteenth century,
it was not till the beginning of the fifteenth
century, when Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy,
took the cause of the tapestry weavers of the
town under his own patronage, and by grants of
money and liberal commissions encouraged the
craft, that the tapestries of Arras became world
famous. Philip not only furnished his magnificent
castle and princely town residences with costly
hangings, but had no scruple in submitting
specimens as worthy of the acceptance of the
mightiest of potentates. The inventory taken in
1420, in the reign of John the Fearless, duke of
Burgundy, and published by the Count de Laborde
and by M. Alexandre Pinchart, is also included
by Mr. Thomson, and affords us a very good idea
of the extent and importance of the Arras factory
at that period ; there is also a list taken from the
register of the town, 1423- 1467, of the names of
the craftsmen employed. 'The death of Charles
the Bold, duke of Burgundy, in 1476, and the
capture by Louis XI of Arras in 1477, brought
about the ruin of that town, and although Charles

171

The History of Tapestry

VIII of France, in 1484, attempted to revive the
industry by restorinj^ to Ihe town all the ancient
rights anil priviit^'es, the destruction had been too
thoroughly carried out lor the attempt to have any
appreciable result. With the fall of Arras is
marked the end of the first period in the history
of European tapestry. Passing over to this
country, we find that England in the early part
of the fifteenth century, although by no means
a great manufacturer of tapestries, was, owing
to the enormous amount of booty seized during
the French wars, probably better furnished with
tapestries than any Continental power, probably
the finest collection in the country being that of
the king, Henry V, of which the inventory,
taken after his death in 1422, is given by Mr.
Thomson in full and forms an interesting and
instructive document. We cannot pass over this
period without a reference to the splendid tapestries
in Hardwicke Hall belonging to the duke of Devon-
shire, the finest examples of the fifteenth-century
productions preserved in England. They are four
Ml numl>er, and all deal with hunting subjects.
We believe their restoration is due to the initiative
of the late Mr. Arthur Strong ; two of this series are
very eflectivcly reproduced in colour in the
volume Ix'fore us. Comparing them with others
of known Flemish origin, Mr. Thomson is
probably correct in attributing them to Arras or
Tournai manufacture of about the middle of the
fifteenth century.

The si.xteenth century is important in the history
of tapestry as marking the great change in the
style of the Brussels work introduced by Raphael's
cartoons, the compositions becoming much more
dramatic and pictorial where they had hitherto
Ix-en crowded and formal, partaking in fact far
more of the nature of pictures or frescoes than
of hangings. Mr. Thomson marks his account
of the history of tapestry manufacture during
the seventeenth century with a very exhaustive
tre-atise on the Mortlakc factory, besides a general
description of other factories in England, in
addition to a copy of the inventory of the sale of

the royal collection of t.ipestrics, 1649-1653, an
instructive list occupying forty-four p.iges.

The most import. uit event on the continent
during the same century was the establishment of
the Gobelins factory in Paris, about 1662, by Louis
XIV. This establishment appears to have taken a
position in the art world as important as that
attained by the Sevres porcelain factory in the
eighteenth century. It employed, under the
direction of Charles le IJnui, all the clUe of artistic
France, and, like Sevres, had its first period of
brilliancy, succeeded by a time of quiet and
uneventful prosperity, alternating with periods of
depression.

A very valuable chapter in Mr. Thomson's book
is the last, which is devoted to a record of all the
marks known to have been used by the tapestry
makers of Europe since the regulation brought
into force by the corporation of taf>issiers in
Brussels in 1528, making it obligatory that every
piece of more than six ells made in the town
should be marked. This chapter alone makes the
book indispensable to every collector antl student
of tapestries.

In concluding our remarks on this work we must
express the opinion that Mr. Thomson has laid
a deep debt of obligation upon the artistic and
literary world for the laborious and careful work
which he has produced. If any improvement were
possible, we would suggest that a very useful addi-
tion would have been a bibliography with the
names of the books and authorities quoted in the
fo(jtnotes ; a useful chajiter might also have been
added on the technical distinctions and character-
istics of the productions of the various periods
and factories. The author, however, has thoroughly
fulfilled his task, namely, to give a complete and
clear history of tapestry manuhicture. He has been
very ably seconded by the publishers, Messrs.
Hodder and Stoughton, who have spared no
expense in producing a sumptuous volume, which
both by tiie clearness of the letterpress and the
copious illustrations greatly enhances the value of
the work.

THE ORIGIN OF THE EARLY STAINED GLASS IN

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL
^ BY CLEMENT HEATON cK>

t)uiy.irei)l 1
them about

172

l\OM the resemblance existing
l>ctween the windows at Canter-
luiiy. Sens and Chartres, it has
been concluded they are by the
line hand. (Westlake, 'History
■ I Design', vol. i. pp. 57, 108, 1 10.)
\ccording to this theory, the
windows in the choir at Canter-
a date of about I220. This would place
forty-five years after the date when the

reconstruction of the choir was begun by William
of Sens. It is, further, suggested that the whole
work was done at Chartres or Sens, and sent to
England, so that these windows are French thir-
teenth century work placed merely at Canterbury.
This is regarded as more probable than that a
French artist came to England.

That the glass at Canterbury, Sens and Chartres
is by the same hand there is scarcely room for
doubt. The analogies are too numerous. The

Stained (jiass in Qanterbury Qathedral

choice of subject, the setting out of the general
design, the painting and drawing, the composi-
tion of the ornament — all point to this conclusion.
But were they made out of England and sent
here ? and, if so, when were they made ? was

certainly somewhat inferior — and the earliest thir-
teenth century work, there is every reason to believe,

Sketch of the Stiff Angular Drapery of the Earlier Work at Canterbury

North Side.

Second Window in the Western Part of Choir,

there a central school at Sens or at Chartres
whence large quantities were sent out and fixed at
a distance ? Various points seem to preclude
acquiescence, and though in these matters of
craftsmanship of early times it is almost impossible
to see clearly, it may be useful and interesting to
put the matter again in the scales in view of fresh
light which has been brought from later studies.

The contrary view suggested is this : that the
series began at Canterbury, was continued at Sens
and concluded at Chartres ; the same artist and
school working first at Canterbury, and then at
the other places. Hence it follows that the glass
is Anglo-French in origin — being executed in
England, and beginning in date soon after the
fire, 1 175. It would thus not only be English
made, but be twelfth century work, and we shall
see that it would fill a gap in the history of the
art, and be a link supposed to be irreparably lost.

Let us look at what remains at Chartres Cathedral.
We have in the west front three immense win-
dows of admittedly twelfth century work, of
the same origin as that of S. Denis, and on
the south side a panel of the same date in a sur-
rounding of thirteenth century work (the whole
known as ' La belle Verri^re '). This is all there
is of that date, and a slight comparison with any
of this and all the other windows, which are thir-
teenth century, reveals a complete difference of style
both in design and technique. The work in the
choir is probably later than that of the nave — it is

would be only a few years after the building of
the nave after the fire in 1206. The glass in the
nave, then, is of the earliest part of the thirteenth
century and some half-century later than the win-
dows in the west end. Hence there is a complete
break in time ; and in style it is equally distinct.
It is another thing, while we find there, after this, a
continuous progression for some time.

The question then arises : How can it be
supposed that whereas we have no evidence that

Early Type of Head at
Canterbury. Second Win-
dow in the Western Part of
the Choir, North Side.

Type of Head in
East Window,
Canterbury.

they were working at glass from 1145 to 1200 at
Chartres, there was so important a workshop there

Stained CJ/ass /// Cnutcrbury Qathcdral

Ih.il IIh V woiiUI hiiiij; \vii)<in\v> l.irj^i- in si/e and
very niimiTons so far over land and over sea
to CanUrbury ? Further, it is quite impiissihle that
there could have lx;cn a sudden jump from the
twelfth century work to that of the thirteenth
century as we see it at Chartrcs : clearly, then,
there must have been some transitional work
j<oinf» on eNcwhere. Hut it was not at Sens, so
far as evidence existinj^ can enable us to judge ;
for there the e:»rly windows are all of one kind.
But while we iind no existing transitional work at
Chartrcs and Sens, we shall sec that the work at
Canterbury is transitional in every way.

If we look at the earliest wuulows in the
ablx.y of S. Uenis, near I*aris, of which some
now in silii are known to have been made in
1145, we Iind the glass to he of the same
character as that at the west end at Chartres,
as has long been recognized. This was
executed at S. Denis, as Abbot Suger tells us.
Therefore, there may have been other works

TyiM; o( l)r.->pcry peculiar to
the I-atcr Work o( Ciiitcr-
bury. Lowest Medallinti of
East Window.

aflen\-ards made in this locility which would
afford tlie necessary transition. S. Uenis is
only a few miles from Paris, and tliere in 1162
was commenced Notre-Dame, whose windows
(now destroyed) must have been a con-
tinuance of those at S. Denis, so that
glass painting was in execution at Paris
when the great fire at Canterbury
destroyed the choir in 1175.

The original Norman building of
l^tnfranc, the first Norman archbishop
of Canterbury, was built 1070-1077.
I'ulled down by Anselm in io9<), if was
rebuilt by the priors, Ernulf and Conrad,
and was decorated with great mag-
nificence, and consecrated in 1130.
Kadmer s.iys 'he erected it so mag-
nificenlly that nothing like it could
Ik- seen in Kngl.ind, either for the
brilliancy of its stained glass windows, the beauty
of its marble pavement or the many coloured
picturc-s.' The windows were, tlieii, anterior to

•74

the S. IX-nis work, .md as the m.irble pavement
seems to point to a connexion with S. Keim of
Reims, it may be that the glass also came from
there. For it is at Reims that we find one of
the few earliest records of stained glass (the
windows for the cathedral, built from 969 to
988). As Suger brought strangers to do his work
at S. Denis, from the same part may have come
wf)rkeis to Canterbury.

None of these windows, however, remain, and all
those extant are posterior to the lire in 1 175, which
w.is thirteen years after the commencement of
the building of Notre-Dame at Paris. Already in
1 180 a hoarding of planks was put across the
choir at Canterbuiy and in it were glass windows.
Would it not be reasonable to suppose that glass
workers were brought from Paris to Canterbury —
as they had been to S. Denis and to York ? This is
in accordance with all that Theophilus would lead
us to suppose was the usual practice, and he
wrote, it is argued, at this very time. In 1179
Trinity Chapel was commenced, and Becket's
crown was completed in 11S4 — fourteen years
after his death, when Canterbury had already
become a renowned centre of pilgrimage.

Here came crowds from all parts, bringing
money they did not take back. The shrine was
rich in gold and precious stones, many of
enormous value. Louis V'll of PVance and
Richard Co-uir de Lion were among other poten-
tates who came there, and many must have
presented gifts, as did Louis, king of France.
Can it be supposed that for years and years, from
1 1 84 till 1220, nothing was put in the windows,
when four years after commencing to build they
already had placed some in a temporary hoarding ?
That the shrine with its gold and jewels was to be
seen by candlelight behind hoardings forover thirty
years, waiting till a school had been established at
Chartres ? It is impossible ; and the more so as
wc have no evidence that an important series of

Sketch of Drapery at Ssni, dr.iwn in Flowing Lines similar to the Later
Work at Canterbury.

windows was ever made so far away, and a great
deal to establish tlie contrary practice.

We are led, then, to conclude that the windows

Stained Qlass in (Canterbury Qathedral

were made at Canterbury, and we may suppose
that an artist came from Paris to make them,
though he may have come from Reims or some
other centre, for we know nothing.
Nothing is known of glass-working at Sens
until after the fire in 1185, which, as at
Canterbury', destroyed the choir. Then we
find the fine series now existing, which is
certainly the same in origin as the work
at Canterbury. May it not be supposed
that the master at Canterbury left there
for Sens, and that he started afresh there
after the fire ? Facts and dates are
such as to make us think this was the
case ; and there is nothing to render it even im-
probable. In which case, these windows are by
him, executed soon after 1 185. Now, fifteen years
after this date, in 1206, another manifestation of
the same fire-fiend wrought havoc at Chartres, this
time in the nave. But in fifteen years an able
worker and assistants could have executed all we
find at Sens ; so he may very well have left there
to go to Chartres, as he had left Canterbury some
years before. If he had first left France when
twenty-three years of age he would have been
about forty-five or fifty by this time and have
reached a mature point in a long evolution of his
work. Hence he would have been able at once
on arriving at Chartres to execute works indi-
cating the ripe experience we actually find there.
He would before sixty have been able to produce
the glorious masterpieces in the nave and north
transept there, but not to do more. The choir
windows would be by pupils, and this corre-
sponds with a certain falling off observable.
He would naturally go on with the exploits of St.
Thomas both at Sens and at Chartres, if coming
thence from Canterbur}' ; but can we imagine him

A great objection against the idea of the work
having been postponed at Canterbury is found in
the fact that in 1204 the monks were chased away

Ornamental
Foliage, Canterbury.

Ornamenttl
Foliage, Sens.

Ornament at Canterbury ;

the same found at Sens.

(Third window from the

' Crown,' North Side).

Border from Canterbury
of the same type as that
of Sens.

beginning at Chartres the history of a Canterbury
saint and going on with it afterwards at Canterbury
itself ?

from Canterbury ; the bishops had fled, and (he
country was under interdict for five years. Can
we imagine that after having been content with a
makeshift ever since 1184, they would at or after
such a time of upset, begin tilling the windows at
Canterbury ? This would be a new miracle to
record. But it was just at this time that the
power of Philippe Auguste was rising ; while all
was upset at Canterbury, at Chartres all was peace
and prosperity, and the unknown 'master of Can-
terbury ' would have been able to work there in
quiet, and with abundant means and encourage-
ment.

It may be suggested that such backward and
forward intercourse between England and the
continent would be unlikely : and so at any other
time it might. But at the end of the twelfth century
there was very little distinction between Island and
Continent, owing to the wide supremacy of the
kings of England in western Europe and the
continual intercourse of ecclesiastical persons, who
were equally at home on both sides of the water.
Englishmen occupied prominent positions abroad,
and Normans ruled in many a monastery through-
out England. The very stone of Canterbury
Cathedral was drawn from Caen.

There is, then, no real objection from this
source ; and lastly, we find in the technical exami-
nation of the glass itself many reasons to establish
the view we have been led to take.

At this period, architecture and the allied arts
were in a fluid condition. The 'Gothic'architecture
was evolving out of the earlier Romanesque; or
rather, in reality, local styles of work were slowly
emerging out of ideas and traditions brought from
an Eastern district. Nothing was more certain to
happen than that stained glass, which may be said
to be a luminous wall and so part of the architec-
ture itself, should be profoundly modified also.
We have pointed out elsewhere that glass painting
arose out of enamelled work, and that its practice
was dependent on the thick iron bars which gave
it support, on which, as the point of departure, was
based the whole scheme of design. At S. Denis
these bars are crossed upwards and horizontally in
straight line^, and circles and squares alternately

^7S

Stained (jlass /// Qafitcrhury Qathcdral

fill in the spaces bo furmcd, with little pieces of
ornament in the corners ; while a broad border
surrounds the whole. Now this is exactly what is
found in the westernmost window in the choir,
i.e. in the position wliich would Ik' the probable
commencement of the series. It is, then, attaciied
very closely to the S. Denis work by its scheme of
jjeneral arranj^ement, but it is nevertheless differ-
entiated therefrom by several of its elements. It
is different as to its ornament, which is no longer
Romanesque, but decidedly on the way to becoming
naturalesque, albeit worked in the siime strict early
technique pertaining to this epoch. The design
of the little pieces of ornament filling in the
spaci-s Ixrtween the squares and circles is special
to the three works we are considering — being
bunches of foliage although not naturally drawn
leaves. It is different as to the figures, which
arc partly like and partly unlike those of the
S. Denis work. The timid archaic clr.'iwing
and painting of the heads has disappeared along
with the angular zig-z.ag drapery. Hut the features
are yet highly distinctive, and the drapery is yet stiff;
both, like the ornament, are only on their way to
bcc(jming naturalesque. There is, then, a decided
advance on the earlier work found in France,
and one may see also the change going on even at
Canterbury. For if we compare the two western-
most windows with those in the crown, we arc
struck by two things : we feel that though they
are the same work at bottom — no fresh commence-
ment— yet they are not at the same stage. The
work in the crown is drawn and painted diffcrcnlly
and the heads are not so distinctive — fuller but freer
— and the drapery has become looser nnd flowing,
filling the spaces on the blue ground with greater
ease. This difference in the details accompanies
a difference of scheming ; for the iron bars are
now bent, and the alternate squares and circles
within straight bars are giving way to a more com-
plex arrangement, while the ornamental design
becomes more elaborate and flowing, tlunigh yet
of the s;ime type of detail.

It is, in fact, apparently as if, during a certain
time, a few artists had gone on evolving their
style in quiet labour — just ;is they would, indeed,
were our view correct. It is possible that the
original artist who started the scheme left the
later windows to be completed by the others he
had trained, an idea suggested by certain weak-
nesses in the drawing of the c.ist window, weak-
nesses which seem improbable from the hand of
the designer of the wi-stern wiiulows, or those at
Sens, which are superb in every way. But the
Sens windows and those at Chartres are schemed
on the lient bar system, and the bent bars are more
elaborate even than at Canterbury. If we compare
these windows with those, say,of LaSaiiile Chapelle
at Paris (i i^io) we shall feel at once the fitrce of
this movement. Here all the bars are bent elabo-
rately, .md all the Romanesque element of design

176

h-as ili^ippearcd. For the rinceaux have given place
to mosaic grounds, the pearl borders to a line
border. So what we have at Canterbury is half-
way between S. Denis and La Sainte Chapelle.

The mosjiic ground, which is so characteristic
of the middle of the thirteenth century, is just found
in one of the later windows at Canterbury, very
modestly introduced. It is found again at Sens ;
but at Chartres the grounds of half the windows
are in riiiccaiix and half arc in mosaic. There is,
then, no doubt about the evolution here. And
if arose from the material itself : this form is
distinctly a ^/</ss design easier to execute than the
flowing lines of the rinceaux. And ;us the designers
gaineci experience, this legitimate means of acceler-
ating work would naturally be adopted.

The last point we must mention is one of con-
siderable importance. It will be noticed that
all through the windows at Canterbury there are
many inscriptions. These inscriptions are scratched
out of black pigment on white or yellow, and in
Lombardic letters. They run lotiutl the panels
as well as across them, although in some cases
ornamental bands similarly scratched out take their
place round the panels. Now in the glass of S.
Denis and Chalons-sur-Marnc this feature is very
noticeable. It is equally char.acteristic of the
Rhenish works in enamel executed where learning
was cultivated. It is clear, then, that we have here a
strong point of attachment to the tvJ/7/ts/ typcof glass,
andthat these windowsare essentially twelfthcentury
in spirit. F"or at Sens there is very much less of the
inscription— while a peculiar crown-like design used
to replace it is found pretty often, which design
is found, so far as \vc are aware, nowhere else
except at Canterbury and Salisbury. At Ch.irtres
there is still less writing : it had ceased to be the
fashion. At La Sainte Chapelle there is none.

Such are the facts, which we may thus sum up.
The glass at Canterbury is work executed in
siln by an artist coming from France, who
started working soon after 1173, beginning at the
west part of the choir. He continued for some
years, leaving for Sens soon after 1185, where he
worked on the spot till he left for Chartres in 1206
or soon after, at which place he died, leaving pupils
to complete the numerous works done up to 1260.
The 'style' so created is the PVench 'variety'
created out of the earlier Romanesque work com-
ing from an eastern direction to S. Denis, which
variety afterwards spread to Rouen, Bourgcs,
La Saint Chapelle and innumerable other places.

' The unknown master of Canterbury' is one of
the greatest artists of the middle .ages. It remains
for further study to determine what was the origin
of the Romanesque style in glass, out of which this
subsequent development grew, from which also
spr.mg another growth to the South of Cliartres —
to be arrested however, by the f.ivour shown to
the C interlnny dep.u ture, which in the thirteenth
century bec;uue the dominant French style.

■; a p

Pi
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a =■ H

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5 f^ = S

3 -3 ? ^

-7

U.M»>\N-A AND CHILD, IIV PIEKO ItlLLAItOLO
l\ TMK sT«,\»>iUl'mi (iAI.I.F.KY

A SKW lliMiK ON THK foLtAll'i'Ll

A NEW BOOK ON THE POLLAIUOLI
^ BY DR. WILHELM BODE ^

ISS CKUTTWELL'S book
on Antonio Pollaiuolo,'
which would be more
justly entitled 'Antonio
;uid Piero Pollaiuolo,' as
the younger brother is
treated nearly as fully as
,the elder, was preceded
by her book on \'crrocchio. The mistaken view
under which that book was written at once
precludes a sound and independent judgment of
the Pollaiuoli, who as artists are so closely akin
to Verrocchio that they are often confounded
with him. The existence of this new book is
explained by one sentence in the preface — i.e.,
'But to one critic — Mr. Bernhard Berenson — I
owe much.'

All that can be attained througii diligence and
care in this new book Miss Cruttwell has attained.
Records and chronicles, etc., have been quoted
with the utmost accuracy and thoroughness.
Though it might have been more concise and is
entirely lacking in individual criticism, the whole
conception is simple and clear. Miss Cruttwell
follows her master blindly except in a few minor
points. It is only a modest attempt at inde-
pendence to assert, for instance, that a coat-sleeve
in some particular picture, and similar details,
suggest the workmanship of Antonio.

The circulation of such books, which are
regarded by the public as the results of the latest
scientific research, only impedes the progress of
art history, since all their theories are enounced
with an air of absolute infallibility.

To begin with, the certainty with which the
authoress divides the paintings between Antonio
and his brother is not justifiable. We certainly
know, from Antonio's own testimony, that
Piero collaborated in two of the most important
works. The Labours of Hercules for Lorenzo de '
Medici and the tombs of the Popes — that is, at the
beginning and at the end of his artistic career.
We also know that Piero had his own workshop,
and received commissions for paintings, and even
for sculpture, on his own account.

The signed and authenticated pictures were either
painted by Piero or in collaboration with him,
and we must therefore rather ascribe the paintings
known by tradition as Pollaiuolo to Piero, and
attribute to Antonio only those pictures that differ
from Piero's authentic works, such as the altar-
piece at San Gimignano and the Virtues in the
Uffizi. However, of these there are only the small
picture of Apollo and Dapliite in London, the
still smaller Labours of Hercules in the Uffizi,
and perhaps also the little Da-iid in Berlin,

'Antonio Pollaiuolo. By Maud Cruttwell. London:
Duckworth and Co. ; New York : Charles Scribner's Sons.
73. 6d. net.

which probably are sketches for pictures not
completed, or carried out by Piero.

It is hardly permissible for Miss Cruttwell to
attribute whichever of the paintings pleases her
best to Antonio and the rest to Piero. Even if the
design and supervision of the workmanship of
the two principal altarpieces in the Uffizi and the
National Gallery are undoubtedly Antonio's,
his brother Piero is the author of pictures
such as the Ascension of St. Mary of Egvpt in
Staggia, the great Madonna in the Strassburg
Gallery (a painting hitherto unnoticed in art
literature and of which we give a reproduction,
p. 180) and the St. Sebastian in the Pitti Palace
attributed to Barbari since the time of Morelli,
who ascribed to this third-rate artist qualities of
far greater and most diverse painters.

Even a painting like the much injured landscape
of The Rape of Deianira in Yale University, U.S.A.
(formerly Jarves collection in Florence), seems to
me, to judge by the shaky delineation of the figures
and the sketchy landscape, only to be drawn by
Antonio and carried out by Piero. Another pic-
ture in American possession which is attributed
by the authoress to Antonio — viz., the great fresco
of St. Christopher in the Metropolitan Museum — is
not of Florentine origin at all but of the Siennese-
Umbrian school, as is shown by the landscape.

Concerning the portraits known as Pollaiuolo's,
Miss Cruttwell shows a deplorably deficient
critical sense and a defective eye ; for though she is
rightly able to assign to Piero the portraits in the
Uffizi and the Hainauer collection, which conform
both in drawing and colouring to his authenticated
paintings, she is also able to attribute to a Pol-
laiuolo (though Antonio) the portrait of the young
wife of Giovanni de'Bardi in the Poldi-Pezzoli
Museum, and another, the portrait of a lady in
quite similar style in the Berlin Gallery, to Piero
della Francesca. Morelli's pupils take too little
count of colour, like their master. Instead of
the oily pigments, the dull carnations and the deep
colouring of the Pollaiuoli, we see here a bright-
ness of carnation, light shadows, a freedom of
style and a splendour of colour such as only
Venice could transmit to Florence. Beyond
doubt, Domenico Veneziano, the master of Piero
della Francesca, is the painter of these delightful
portraits, which, to judge by the costumes, must
have been painted about 1450.

Miss Cruttwell's criticism of the plastic art of
the Pollaiuoli is particularly unfortunate. Here
she had no master whom she could implicitly
follow, for the Morelli school ignored plastic art.
Thus Miss Cruttwell, as already shown in her book
on Luca della Robbia, tries to effect a compromise
between the most conflicting opinions ; she decries
first one author and th^n his adversary, always
with an air of infallible assurance and great

181

A Ncvo Rook on the TolIa'iuoJi

scientific pretention. So it i-. lure, wlicre l.ick o(
authority leaves authenticity a m itter for dispute.
The small bronzes now attributed bv all connois-
seurs to Antonio PoUaiuolo have, in MissCruttwcU's
opinion, little or no connexion with hini : tlie jjrand
Hercnlti fifjiire of the Beit collection shows the
style of Bandinelli, and the David in Naples is
influenced by Michelangelo I The terr.icotta
l\\iil of CliarUi Vlll of France in the HarjjcUo, a
weak. possibly North Italian, 'fake,' is descrilxjd as
decidedly Florentine, and eventually pronounced
to be a forgery by H.istianini. In the Ihtst of a
Youth, now usually named Picro di Lorenzo de'
Me<lici, and one of the finest Florentine portrait
busts of the last quarterof the fiffecnthcentury, most
closely allied to Benedetto da Majano, the autho-
ress discovers great incapacity and want of
anatomical structure, and ascribes it to Piero
Pollaiuolo. And what can one say to her
proclaiming Lcon.ardo's grand composition

7'ii/i'MSV to be the work of Antonio Pollaiuolo !
Similar objections may bu* raised agiinit the
attribution of the dr.iwings to Antonio and Piero,
in spite of their having been classified by the
master of the authoress for all time.

Without wishing to offend, I should like to be
permitted to ask in the interest of our science,
whether these numerous books and pamphlets,
written by diUltanli of both sexes who wish to
demonstrate their love of art, were not better left
unwritten. It is true that in Germany also such
books are not wanting ; above all, we have that
popular literature bearing the name of Richard
Muther which is well known and still esteemed
by the English public — books in which people are
amused by stories of the so-called perverted ways
of artists, while art itself is treated with incredible
superficiality and frivolity. Therefore it is not for
me to complain of the literature on art produced
in England.

SOME MEZZOTINTS

BY M.AcARDELL AND VALENTINE
GREEN

^ BY DR. HANS W. SINGER cK>

were not in
believe will

PON cataloguing the works of
icse masters in the possession
t the two Dresden collections
Aith the two standard books by
Mr. Goodwin and Mr. Whitman
m hand, I soon collected a
goodly lot of supplementary
notes, which these gentlemen
a position to furnish, and which 1
prove of interest to amateurs, print-
rooms and collectors. It is impossible to publish
an absolutely complete and final c.italogue of any
man's work, and if TiiK Hi K!.iNuro\ Magazink
accepts as one of its m.iiiy praiseworthy aims
the publication from time to time of such notes,
preparatory or supplementary to the critical
cat.alogues, it will doubtless make itself still more
indispcns;ible to the art-loving public than it
.already is.

I should like to prefix just a few lines bearing
ujxjn the subject of catalogues in a general w.iv.
Both the above lists are arninged in chronolo-
gicil order. Now, althougli the only f;iscinating
way to become acquainted with an artist is to study
his work chronologicilly, and although print-
rooms arrange their collections in accordance with
the lists or critical catalogues, still these latter
should not be elaborated on the chronological b.isis.
For criticil citalogues .ire finding lists, and there
must be one hard and fast system that will apply to
.all cases (such as the system that Heineken and
B.artsch set up, but unfortunately did not always
adhere to) which precludes the possibility of the

182

order once established ever being deranged by
.additions or interpolations. If ever a case proved
cle.arly the in.advisability of setting up lists on a
chronological b.asis, it is the present case of my
additional notes to Mr. Whitman's catalogue of
Valentine Green. I furnish a dozen or so of dates
with which he was unacquainted, and which totally
upset his catalogue. For example, Tlu- Roiiuiii
Charily he ranges now as No. 280, ' Engraved by
1793,' whereas it was published June 20th, 1785,
and in a second edition of his book would have to
receive the number 244. This is one instance out
of a great number, and my additions alone will
compel him totally to rearrange his catalogue
against a second edition, liut it is a matter of
great inconvenience to collectors, if they are
suddenly compelled to quote a print, which they
have become used to speak of as No. 280, under
an altogether different number. Print-rooms
would have to rearrange their sets after each new
discovery.

Now it is plain that a subject list cannot be
deranged this way. 1 describe a I'isitalioit by
Van der Werff witli which Mr. Whitman does not
seem to h.ive been acquainted. In a second
edition of a catalogue on the subject-plan, he
would simply insert it after the \'isitation by
Kubens, which he catalogues, giving the Wm der
Werff print the number 263a, if the Kubens
picture had the numlKr 263.

Anyway, chronological lists are possible only in
comp.ir.itively few cases. Most prints are undated,
and who is going to write tjie chronoloj^ical

Mezzotints by MacArdell and Valentine Green

catalogue of the work of such men as Diirer and
Rembrandt, each of whom has produced dozens
of prints as to the date of which scarcely two men
agree ? It would be of supreme interest if chrono-
logical catalogues of such geniuses were possible,
but is there any interest attached to the chronology
of reproductive engravers like MacArdell or Green,
whose work looks pretty much alike at the
beginning and at the end of their career?

If there is really not the least reason for coun-
teracting the usefulness of a catalogue by
arranging it chronologically in the case of mere
reproductive engravers, there is — nowadays at
least — no longer any reason even in the case of
creative artists of prime importance. The complete
work of such masters as Rembrandt and Diirer
exists nowadays in the shape of perfect facsimile
reproductions. This circumstance allows us to
cater for both tastes, and there are print-rooms
which to-day arrange their Rembrandt (etc.)
originals according to the correct subject system,
while a second set (facsimile reproductions) is
arranged according to a chronological system —
yes, even two sets according to two different
authorities. I repeat : there are few artists of such
importance that it would interest us at all to follow
their development by the aid of a chronological
arrangement. The whole business of cataloguing,
however, must be suited to the great majority of
cases and not to the few exceptions.

There is, at the present moment, a special reason
to urge the point. For it appears that a critical
catalogue of Durer's woodcuts is preparing — a
thing we are most painfully in need of. It would
be extremely unfortunate if the excellent authority
who is at work upon it should render his catalogue
practically useless to those principally interested
in it (the print-rooms and collectors) by adopting
a chronological arrangement. Let him lay down
his views on this part of the subject at the end of
the book, by appending a list of the numbers simply
arranged in accordance with his chronolog}'.

In the following notes Pr. R. signifies Royal
Print Room, Dresden ; Coll. Fr. Aug. II signifies
Collection formed by H.M. King Frederick
August II of Saxony.

I— Anxotatioxs to Mr. Goodwix's Catalogue
OP" MacArdell

No. 9— T state : Witli date ' 1749 • after ' fecit ' (Pr. R.).

II state : Date effaced.

No. 1 1 — In the Pr. R. copy the word reads ' Constaple ' : traces
of the price '2s.' in scratched letters are visible ;
possibly this is an aI state ?

No. 14 — II state : The engraver's name is partly erased. The
name of the town reads ' Maldon.' The bit of
waistcoat visible up at neck shows five buttons at I.
and six buttonholes at r, sides.

III state : Engraver's name reads ' Ja McArdell
fecit ' ; name changed back (r) into ' Maiden ' ; four
buttons to 1. and five buttonholes to r.

No. 37— On the Coll. Fr. Aug. II copy ' I. McArdell' appears
in engraved lettering.

Xo. 42— III state: Address altered to ' Sold by F. Vivares, at
the Golden Head Newport Street Leicester Fields.'

No. 136 — lA state (intervening between Goodwin's I and II
state) : 'Tho. Hudson Pinxt. Jas. McArdell Fecit."
in engraved italics (Coll. Fr. Aug. II).

II (or III ?) state : After the inscription ' Pr. is. 6d.
in scratched lettering.

No. 151 — III state : One must take exception to Mr. Goodwin's
description of this state ; ' plate re-worked ' is no
better information than none at all, only more
aggravating.

No. 164 — Al state : Before price in scratched letters ; pos,sibly
after the scratched lettering was effaced or worn
off, then it would be Ia state. This can only be
decided after comparing a first state with the
Dresden copy.

No. 186— On Coll. Pr. Aug. II copy the word reads ' Pientre ' ;
if Mr. Goodwin's description of II state is accurate,
this would accordingly be Ia state, before correction
of this word into ' Peintre.'

No. 204— The painting is, of course, not by Antonio Allegri, but
by Furini, which should have been mentioned.

III state: In engraved lettering 'Coregio pinxit
J. McArdell fecit. Ghismonda. Boccaccio Giornata
quarta. Novella I. Done from the Original in the
Collection of Lady Schaub. Sold by Edwd.
Fisher in Leicester Fields, & by Ryland & Bryer
in Cornhill.' There is possibly still another state
before Ryland and Bryer's address.

No. 212 — Either Mr. Goodwin has overlooked the ' Js. Mc..\rdell
Fecit. ' or there are three states : I before any inscrip-
tion, II with inscription before engraver's name,
and III with inscription and engraver's name.

No. 214— III state: In engraved lettering, 'Rembrandt pinxt.
J. McArdell fecit. Tobias with the Angel. From
the Original in the Collection of Mr. Reynolds.'

Xo. 215— I state: Inscription space not yet cleaned ; in scratched
letters, ' Rembrandt pinxit J. M. Ardell fecit.'

No. 217 — II state: Address changed into 'Sold by E. Fisher,
Engraver, at the Golden head in Leicester Square,
and by Ryland & Bryer, at the King's Arms in
Cornhill, London.'

Xo. 218 — II state: In engraved lettering, ' Skalken Pinxt. Js.
Mc.irdel fecit Cupid and Psj-che Done from an
Original in the Possession of Mr. Sangar.'

No. 225— The title is ' Health ' (and not ' Lady with a Fan ') ; the
plate has its distinct title just as Xo. 219 has.

No. 230 — II state : Inscription engraved in lower border reads,
' I Molenaar Pinxt. Js : McArdell Fecit. Sold at the
Golden Head in Covent Garden (Pr. R. and Coll. Fr.
Aug.).' There is not the slightest reason for doubting
the authenticity of this print.

Not catalogued by Goodwin— Romeo and Juliet, after Wilson —
Juliet kneels over Romeo's body in front of the
tomb, and turns back to Friar, who lights up her face
with a lantern. To the left the moon appears half-
hid behind clouds, and below it the dead twdy of
Paris. On the right-hand side one sees a page with
a torch, and trees. Engraved lettering, 'Jas.
McArdell Fecit. Romeo and Juliet, Act V. Scene IV.
Sold by Js. McArdell at the Golden Head in Covent
Garden. Price 5s.' Plate 14? by 17} (subject
13J by 17I). This is the first state of a plate which
R. Houston re-worked, and which J. Ch. Smith
describes rather inaccurately under No. 153 in his
catalogue of Houston's mezzotints. On comparing
a photograph of the Dresden proof with a copy of
the Houston print for me, my friend Mr. Dodgson
discovered that among Houston's changes there is
the addition of a lamp under the arch in the centre.
(Pr. R.)

1 1— Axxot.\tioxs to Mr. Whitman's C.vtalogue
OF Greex
The Pr. R. possesses 56 of Green's mezzotints ;
the Coll. Fr. Aug. II a superb collection of 117, em-
bracing two that Mr. Whitman does not catalogue,

183

Mezzotints by MacAnhll and Vale n tine Gncn

and twcntv-six first states amonc these a majjnil'i-
ccnt proof of the Lady Betty Delme.

No. 35- I sLile : Inscriplion spare not vcl cleared ; in ncmlchcl
Icttcf*. 'Calh. Read rint''- inihlish d hy I.
H<iydcll Chcar^'«'c Keby. 17. 177J Val, Green
fecit.' (Pr. H)

No. 67 — Ia Btatc : The title it en^rnfol in open letterii, and .inns
engraved ; all tlie rc»t is vrii/i /«•</, but the dale is
alrr-irtv altered to ' M.irch J5th.' (Coll. Kr. Aug )

No. 87— > 1 plioii .III iWdeM.jl. (Coll. Kr. Au^.)

No. »<>— : Ah directed to r., f.acinK slightly

11 '; lir, rich (ur-triinmrd dress ;

d iin I. shoulder iiiuliT r. arm.

Slu li.md, and places her r. upon

iL I5|byii4. In scralchi-d letters, sp.acc not quite
cleared, ■ E. V. Cal/e pinxit l*ublish"d Dc-c. 27th,
1770 by J. Bovdell Cheapsidc. Val Green fecit.'
l*robably a first state. (Pr. K. and Coll. Kr. AuR.)

No. 104— On the Pr. K. copy the inscription at the cud reads
' K.A.S." If .Mr. Whitman transcribes correctly,
there would be accordingly a l\ state before alteration
of K.A.S. into K.Sj\.

So. loj — On I state, Kr. Aug. II copy, the inscription is in
i<r,itcli(it not ckhot letters: possibly this is only a
lapsus calami on p. 90, I. 17.

N". 131— The Coll. Kr. Aug. 11 has p<issibly an intcrmcdi.ile
sl;>te. ' L. K. AbNitt Pinxit,' ' Seipsum Sculpsit ' and
the .nddress arc in italics, ' Valentine Green ' in
capitals, filled in ; the date is written ' Oclr. iWh ; '

No. 165 — 1 slate : Hefore Title. Artists' names etc. and line of
publication in scratched letters along lower border
of subject. (Coll, Kr. Aug. and Pr. R.)

No. 166— I state : Inscriplion engraved, "B. West pinxt. V.denlinc
Green fecit Klislia restores to life the Shunamitcs
Son. Done from the Original Picture by .Mr. West, in
the possession of the Kight Honi>ur.able I^rd Gros-
%'cnor. Sold by Ryland, Hrycr, & Co. at the Kings
Arms, Cornhill. si/e of tfie picture 3ft. ^in. by
4ft. Jin." (Coll. Kr. Aug. Il.l
tl state: Plate retouched. Urypoint work in hair of
woman and child. The stars on the cover of the
lounge, nr)l.ably those near the child's knees, had a
white spot in the centre in I state, but are now dark-
ened and covered up. Names etc. in fine lettering
(like Whitman I).
Ill stale : Kull engraved inscription with capita's of
title' filled in.' ' Painted by H. West, Historical painter
to his .Majesty. Engraved by V. Green Engraver to
his NLijesty and the Elector Palatine. Eli^lia Restores
To Lite the Shunamile's Son Krom the Origin. il
Picture in the Collection of the Right Honourable
L<-)rd Grosvcnor. Published J.any. 1st. 177H by John
Hoydell Engraver in Cheapsidc London.' (Pr. R )

No. 171 — I sliite : Inscription space not yet cleared ;
in scratched letters ' \\. \Kc%X. pinxit. PuMish'd by
I. Iloydcll, Chi-apsidc Jany. isl. 177a Val. Gretn
fecit' (Coll. Kr. Aug.) — Alexander is sitting, as well
xs directed, towards r.

No, 174 — Ia state : Inscription space not yet cleared ; in
scratched letters, ' Jos. Wright pinxit Publi-.h'd
Dcccmr. iHlh. 177.;. by J. Boydell, Cheapsidc V.
Green fecit ' (Coll.Kr.Aug.il.)

No. 176— I stale : There appears to have been a slate with
scr.iped lellermg. traces of whidi arc visible ujidcr
the scratched lettering in II.

II stale: With scratched lettering (Whitman I) and
the title HANNIUAL scraped ui the centre below.
(Pr. R.)

III state: whole plate carefully relnachcd. On the
left fof)t of the priest with the curvcil sl.iff there arc
at each joint oi the Iocs with the foot two or three
slight hori/onl.il drv|>oinl lines. The inscription
has become slightly indislincl, and the title
HANNIBAL entirely obliterated by rerocking.
(Coll Kr. Aug. II.)

No. 177 — The words ' Mcl/olinto . ; . Majesty ' arc enclosed

in br.ackets (Coll Kr. Aug II.)
No. i;8— ■ B. West pinxit ' is scraped, the rest of inscription

scratched. (Coll. Kr. Aug II.)

No. 1/9—1 stale ' Before separate inscription plate. (Coll. Fr.
Aug. II)

No. 184— II (III i) state: Engraved inscription, title in capitals
filUJ III 'Angelica Kauffmann pinxit. V. Green,
Engraver in Metzotinto to his Majesty fecit.
Madonna And Child. Krom an Original Picture
painted by .Mrs. Angelica K.iuffman. I>>ndon :
Printed for Robt. Saver ft J. Bennett, Printseilcrs,
No. 53 ill Kleet Street ; as the Act directs, 20«h
Deer. 1774.' (Pr. R. .and Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No. 189 — I st.ale : Inscription space not cleared ; scr.atchcd
lettering ' Edwd Penny pinxit Professor of P.ainting
to the Ro>-al Ac;ideniv V. Green Engraver in
Mct/otinto to his Majeslv fecit Publised by
R. Saver and I. Bennett Kleet Street March the
J2ndi'775' (Coll.Kr.Aug.il.)

No. 194 — I state : Inscription in siT;itclied and open letters,
same as in II, except read 'V. Green' for 'Val:
Green,' ' slung ' for ' Slung,' commas after ' Majesty,'
' Bovdell ' and no comma ;ifter ' Picture.' (Coll. Kr.
Aug.' II)

No. 197 — I st;ite : Inscription in scratched and open letters on
uncleared space; ' B. West, Historical Painter to his
Majesty Pinxit Published by J : Boydell, Engraver
in Cheapsidc, May 27th. 1776. V. Green, Engraver
to his Majesty, and to the Elector Palatine, fecit '
then ■ Eraslratus . . . Grosvenor ' as in II stale, but
publication line not repealed. (Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No, 198 — I stite : Inscription space not cleared; in scratched
letters, 'Painted by G. Carter Publish'd by R.
Saver & J. Bciinet, No. 53, Kleet Street, June 6th.
:776. Engrav'd by V. Giecn, Engr. to his Majesty,
& to the Elr. Palatine.' (Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No. 102— 1,\ stale : Willi inscripliiai lightly engraved. ' Painted
by B. West. Historical P.iinter to his Majesty Pub-
lish'd by J. Boydell. Engraver. Cheapsidc May 19th,
1777 Engraved by V. Green. Engraver to his
Majesty, & the Elector Palatine.' (and title engraved
in open caps.). 'Daniel Interpreting To Belshatrar
The Writing On The Wall.' (Pr. R. and Coll. Fr.
Aug II.)

No. 104— I state: Inscription space only partly cleared; in
scratched and open letters, ' Sir P. Lely pinxit
Engraved by V. Green, Engr.aver to his M.ajesty
and to the Elector Palatine Pamela and Phyloclea.
Sec Sidney's Arcadia Published Novr. 17th. 1777.
by W. Shropshire, No. 158, New Bond Street.'
II itate : Pl.ate badly relouched ; sp.ice cleared and
inscription engraved, ' Sir P. Lely pinxt.

( Kngrav'd by V. Green, Engraver to his
( Majesty, to the Elector Palatine.
Pamela and Phyloclea. Here nor Treason ... I
harlwur here. Sydney's Arcadia,' and same publi-
cation line as in I stale, except that it is engraved.
(Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No. 207— 111 state: Lettering engraved, ' Painted by B West
Historical I'ainler to his Majesty Engr.aved by
V. Green Engraver to his M ijcsty & the Elector
Palatine. Kidelia and S|iiran/a. Published Novr.
9th. 1778. by John Boydell, Engraver, in Cheapsidc.'
(Pr. R.) Possibly this is a IV slate, and there is a
III with ' Kidelia and Spiranza ' in open letters.

No. 209— The Pr. R. possesses an impression of the sec-<ind
pl.ite. There are >i/»<r men in the N>at. Kull en-
graved inscriplion, ' P;iinted by John Singleton
Copley, R.. A. Elect. Engrav'd by \ . Green, Me//o-
tiiito Engraver to his Majesty, & lo the Elector
P.il.ilinc '
A Youth Rescued From A (repeated in French)

Shark
This Representation . .

its Pursuit

Engraved from the Original .... oliedicnt Servt:,

V. Green.
Publish'd May 31st,, 1779, by V. Green, No. 39.
Newman Street, Oxford Street. Sc vend a I^indrcs ,
dies les Krcres Torre, Marchands d'Estamps.'

No. 213 — I Hiate : Inscriplion sp.ace not cleared; in scratched
letters, ' S. Gilpin pinxit Val. Gieeii (ccit.' (I'r. R.)
II state: Kull engr;ivtd insciiption, 'S. Gilpin pinxt.

184

A SHKfllEKI) AMI TWO NYMI'HS, ilY I'ALMA VKCCHIU

WAX MiiIlEL ATTRIIIl'TKb T<J MICHKLAN'bKLli
IN TMR IlklTI-iH ML'StlM

Mezzotints by MacArdell and Valentine Green

Pubd. by I. Wesson, in Litclifield Street Soho. V.
Green fecit Gulliver addressing; the Houyhnhnms,
supposing them to be Conjurors. See Gullivers
Voys. p. 220. from the Original Picture, in the
Possession ot John Wesson ' In both states Gulli- No. 230-

ver's name appears in scraped letters on his box.
No. 214 — Size of subject, 17J by 14. Helen, seated and directed
towards 1., looks down at naked Cupid to r., who is
pointing a dart at her left breast, and extends her
hand towards Paris at 1. In background to r. a
female attendant rests her hands on a vase. No. 231 — A

I state: In scratched letters, 'Angelica Kauffmann pinxit

V. Green Engraver in Metzotinto to his Majesty
fecit. London, Publish'd by R. Sayer and J. Bennett
No. 53 Fleet Street, as the Act directs, ist. October,
1774.' (Coll. Fr. .\ug. II.)

II state : Full engraved inscription, ' Angelina Kauff-
mann pinxit. V. Green, Met/otinto Engraver to his
Majesty, fecit. Paris and Helen Directing Cupid to
inflame each others Heart with Love. Done from
an Original Picture Painted by Mrs. Angela. Kauff-
mann. London : Printed for R. Sayer & J. Bennett, No. 234 — '
No. S3, Fleet Street, as the Act directs, ist Octor.,
177+.' (Pr.R.)

No. 221 — Piter is directed towards 1. ; between h'm and Christ
there is a woman pointing at P. and looking at
Christ. A soldier's head is visible at extreme r. hand No. 237 — '

side, beside Christ. Subject, 19I by 20. Full en-
graved inscription, ' Painted by B : West, Historical
Painter to his Majesty Engrav'd by V : Green,
Mezzotinto Engraver to his Majesty, & to the Elector
Palatine Peter having denied Christ. St, Luke,
Chap : 22, v : 61. From the Original Picture, in his
Majesty's Possession. Publish'd May ist. 1780, by
V.Green, No. 29, Newman Street, Oxford Street.' No. 239 —

The plate accordingly should not be entered before
1780.

No. 222 — Eli, semi-bald and white-haired, seated and directed to

1., turns his head down to r., where Samuel, as a

child, addresses him with uplifted r. hand. Censers,

vases, etc., on altar to 1. ; the bases of 2 pillars

■ appear to r. Monogram C T under crown below

subject; 25J by 19J in. Full cngmved inscription. No. 241 —

'Painted by J: Singleton Copley, R:A. Elect. En-
grav'd by V„ Green, Mezzotinto Engraver to his
M.ajesty, & to the Elector Palatine. Samuel No. 243—

declareth to Eli the Judgements of God upon his
House.' Follows reference to Tst Book Samuel, and
dedication to the Elector Charles Theodore. ' Pub-
lish'd Septr. 2ist, 1780, by V: Green, No. 29, Newman
Street, Oxford Street.' (Pr. R.) There seems to
have been a later state, with the following inscription No. 246—

added to 1. below : ' Engraved From "The Original
Picture, In The Possession Of Nicholas Ashton,
Esqr.'

No. 223 — ! state : The inscription in scratched letters, the title No. 247—

in open capitals. Below it the Dedication to the
King in two lines. Below this, also scratched,
'Painted by B. West, Historical Painter to his
Majesty, 1780 Publish'd May ist. 1781, by V.
Green, No. 29 Newman Street, Oxford Street
Engrav'd by V. Green, Mezzotinto Engraver to his No. 25S

Majesty, and to the Elector Palatine. 1781 '. Further,
in scratched letters, three lines, in lower r. hd. No. 262

corner, ■ Engraved from the Original Picture the
Altar Piece of the Caihedral of Winchester.'
(Pr. R.)
II s-tate : Plate retouched, and is now heavy and dark.
The inscription in r. hd. corner all but obliterated.
In publication line ' Green, No. 29,' altered to
' Green & Son ' ; • London ' added alter ' Oxford
Street.' (Coll. Fr. Aug. II.)

No. 228— I slate : The dedication, names of ai lists, date of pub-
lication and address in two long lines of scratched
capitals extending across whole length of plate.
II state: Above these two lines in scratched and
scrcifcd capitals, 'Christ Blesses Little Children.'
(Coll. Fr. Aug. II.)

No. 229— II state: With engraved inscription, 'Painted . . .
Elector Palatine—" like Patience . .. Grief," Shake-

-I

spear's Twelfth Night. Publish'd June 4th. 1783 by
V. Green, No. 29, Newman Street, Oxford Street, &
Sold by J. Brydon, No. 7, opposite Northumberland
House Charing Cross London.' (Coll. Fr. .-^ug. II.)

II (or III ?) state : With engraved lettering, the capitals
of title being filled in. Below subject there is in
centre the monogram T.C, under Crown, etc.
The publication line reads ' , . . Brydon, Print-
seller, No. 7, Charing Cross, opposite Northumber-
land house, London.' (Coll. Fr. Aug. II.)
little girl, sealed and directed to 1., looking front,
dressed in white, leans her r. arm on a sarcophagus (?)
to 1., and rests her head with sad expres-ion upon
it. Her 1. hand on r. wrist ; white ribbon in hair.
12J by 9J. In cngr.aved letters ' Painted by R, JI.
Paye Engrav'd by V. Green, Mezzotinto Engraver
to his Majesty & to the Elector Pal.atine. Child
of Sorrow, Publish'd .\ugust 12th. 1783, by V.
Green No. 29, Newman Street & Sold by J, Brydon
Printseller, No. 7, Charing Cross, London.' (Coll,
Fr. Aug. II.)

The description reverses the order: St. John is the
younger man running ahead of the other.

II state; With full inscription engraved in it dies, the
title in open capitals, and ' V. Green & Son ' in
publication line. (Coll. Fr. .\ug II.)

This is a companion piece to No. 234. The originals
of both were ' Painted for the Great East Window
of St. George's Chapel, Windsor.' Title in open
capitals ' The Three Mary's Going To The
Sepulchre.' I7i by 9^. Published ' June 4th, 1784.'
Public .tion line, etc., same as No. 234, II state:
Therefore the copy before me (Coll. Fr, .\ug. II)
is probably also a II st;ite.

There are probably three states. I ; Inscription in
scratched letters and incomplete. II : Full engraved
inscription, the tide in open capitals. Ill: Capitals
filled in. This is the state both Dresden collections
have. The plate looks worn and retouched. The
publication linereads ' Publish'd Jany. 3tst„ 1784, by

V. Green, No. 29 , & bold by J.

Brydon . . . (etc.) ..."

III state : Add under address ' Se vend chez les Freres
Torre Marchandsd'Estampes' (unless Mr. Whitman
has overlooked this in his description of II state).

■Venus holds Cupid in her lap. 1 state : Full inscrip-
tion in scratched and open letters, including "From the
Original Picture in the Possession of Sir Abraham
Hume, Bait.,' and closing wMth ' Se vend chez les
Freres Torre, Marcliands d'Estampes, a Londre.'
(Coll. Vr. Aug. II.)

II state: Full inscription engraved 'Painted by J.
Opie Engrav'd by . . . (etc.) ... A Winter's
Tale.' The address is the same as in I state, but
is engraved in italics. (Coll. Vx. .Aug. II.)

II state : The same inscription as in I state, but
engraved, and read ' and to' instead of ' & to ' and
'Torre' instead of 'Torre.' The capitals are here
filled in, and if there are impressions with open
capitals, as is likelv, this would be a III state.
(/^>/(/.)

(.') state ; The title in French and English is
engraved in oficii capitals. (CjII. P"r. .Vug. II.)

Inscription reads towards end, ' . . . . to His Majesty
& the Elector Palatine.'

II (?) state ; with engraved publication line, below,
' Published January ist ; 1790, by V. & R. Green No.
29 Newman Street, Oxford Street, London.'

I cannot understand why ' The Visitation ' and the
'Presentation in the Temple' are put off in a note
and not descrilied, and as>igncd their distinct num-
btr. Each of these subjects measures 35I by iij.
The engraved title of the former runs ' Painted by ^.
P. Rubens Engraved by V. Green Metzotinto En-
graver to his 'Majesty & to the Elector Palatine'
' The Visitation ' : of the latter the same, except title,
which is 'The Pre;entatioii In The Temple.' On
each plate, reference to original as on centre piece,
and publication line as given above (11 state) for
centre piece. (Coll. Fr. Aug. II.)

187

Mezzotints by ^lacArdcIl lUiil J ^ a I entitle Green

No. j6j— The orijjinal pninting is now No. 1166 in Ihc Old
I'in.tkothck .tt Munich.
II sUte : Full, eiiKr.ivcd inscription, with title in
English .ind Krench in open capiLils. D.iie jllcrcd
lo 'Published |uly l»t : i?');. by V. ft K. Grtcn,
No: 14, rcrcySlrcrt. London ' (Ihul)

No. 174 — Published Nov. ist, 1791. Kull cnjjr.ivcd inscription,
' Tainted by Luc.« Giordano. EnKr.ivcd by V.
Green Mer/otinto EnKravcr to His Majesty ft to the
Elector Palatine. Christ Templed In The Desert,
Jesus-Chri>t Tenic D.ms Lc Wscrt. In Monsr. :
PiifaKc's CaLiloguc ol tlie Dusscldorf G.illcry, this
Subject is No : 153 Published .N'ovr : i>t : 1792 by
v. * R. Green Newman .street, Dmdon.' Titles
in open letters : Monogram CT under crown, in the
centre of inscription space. (In both Dresden coll.)

No. 273 — Was not publi>heJ before 1796. The Original is now
No. 81J in the Old I'inakothck at Munich. Kull
cnj^vcd inscription, with the CT monogram in the
middle .ind the titles in open letters: ' I'aintcd by
Iord.iens. Engraved by V. Green Mc/zotinto
Engraver to his Majesty ft to the Elector Palatine.
The Sat)T And The Traveller, Lc Satyrc Et Lc
Voyageur.' Dedication to Charles Thcixlorc in two
lines, signed ' Kupert Green ' ; further ' In Monsr:
Pigage's Catalogue of the Dusseldorf Gallery this
Subject is No : Jo8. Published Jany : 1st : 1796 by
Kupert Green No. 13, Uerncrs Street, London.
(Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No J77— The original painting is now No. 727 in the Old
Pinakothek at Munich. Kull engraved inscription
with title in open letters, and Monogram CT under
crown in centre : ' Painted by P. 1". Rubens.
Engraved by V. Green, Me«otinto Engraver to his
Majesty, ft the Elector Palatine Castor And Pollux
Carrying Oft The D.iughters Of Leucippus. Castor
Et Pollux Enlcvant Lcs Filles De Leucippc. In
Monsr. Piagage's {sic .') Catalogue of the Dusseldorf
Gallery, this subject is No. 244. Publi^shcd June 3rd ;
1701, by V. & K. Green, Newman Street, London.
2ij by 20.' (Coll. Kr. Aug. II.)

No. 278 — The original painting, now ascribed to a pupil of
Van Dyck, is No. 8(^ in the Old Pin.ikothek at
Munich. Full engraved inscription, title in open
letters, with monogram CT under crown in centre :
' Painted by Anthony Vandyke Engraved by
V. Green Mei/"tinto Engraver to his .Majesty ft t •
the Elector Palatine Antiope, Sleeping, Surpri/ed
By Jupiter In The Form Of A Satyr. Jupiter Sous
I,a Forme D'un Satyre, Surprcnaiit Antiope
Endormie.' Follows a long dedication to Charles
Theodore signed by both Greens, and the note (as in
No. 277) referring to Pigage's Catalogue, No. 22.
Further 'Published J.iny : 2nd : 1792: by V. & K.
Green Newman Street, I-ondon."

No. 280 — Cimon, chained in a prison ccM, is scitcd directed to r. ,
and Lakc« Pero's breast. She is half kneeling
towards I., and stands in the middle of the picture.
Her infant lies with linger in mouth behind her. In
the background a circular window through which
two s<>ldiers look in upon the scene. 23} by 18
Full engraved inscri. tion, tit'e in open letters
' Painted by Chevr. A. Vanderwerff Engrav'd by
V. Green Mcuotinto Engraver to his M.ije!>ty ft
to the Elector Palatine. ' Koman Clurily. From
the original i'iciurc in the Possession of Edmund
Antrobus, Esqr. Publish'd June 20th, i7f<5, by V.
Green ft Son No. 29, .\ewm.in Street, Oxford Street,
London. Sc vend che/, lei Frercs Torre, Marchandi
des Estampcs.' (In Ixilh coll.)
No. 287 and aJt8— The inscriptions run, ' W. Marlow Pinxit.
Published Fcbry. 20th. 1777, by J. Boydcll, Cheap-
side. Engraved by V. Green and F. Jukes ' (whom
Whitman does not mention here). ' View Near
Klack Friers Bridge ' (and ' View Near Westminster
Bridge '). ' From a Picture in the Possession of
David Garrick, Esqr:' (Both Dresden coll.)
^•'>- 317 — There is a cart with two horses near it at left-hand
side of plate : a woman and a boy are near the
princip.il fabric (ruin) to r. Engraved inscription
runs, ' Drawn by B: Mayor. Engrav'd by V. Green,
& F. Jukes. Wenlock-.Vbbey, Shropshire. An-
tiquities, No: 6. Publish'd Octr: ifith: 1779, by
V. Green . . . Oxford Street.' (Pr. R.)
No. 318 — There is a man to be seen on a small wooden bridge ;
three cows are being driven past the gate. Engraved
inscription, ' Painted by M„ A. Kooker, A: Engrav'd
by V. Green, ft F. Jukes St: Augustine's Gate,
Cantcrburv. Antiquities, No: 5,' and publication
line as in N j. 317. Il'r. K )
Not catalogued bv Whitman — 'The Visitation' after A. Van der
Wcrff (now No. 454 in the Old Pinakothek at Munich).
To the left and l)ehind, Zacharias and Elizabeth : to
the right and in front, M.iry and Joseph. Mary wears
a hat of plumes, shaped somewhat like a sunllower.
23J by |6J. Full engraved inscription, English and
French title in i>pen capitals, with monogr.iin C T
under crown, just like No. 277, etc., the Pigagc
catalogue No. having been 222. At end, ' Published
M.irch isl: 1794 by V. & K. Green, No: 13, Berners
Street London.' (Coll. Fr. Aug. II.)
Not catalogued by Whitman — 'The .\scension.' after A. Van der
Werff (now No. 457 in the Old I'inakothck at Munich).
Christ, above, almost undraped, mounts to heaven
towards r. Below there are the .-Vpostlcs. three of
them standing to 1., the remainder, of whom the
m.ijority kneel, tor. Companion piece to the List, with
inscription corresponding in every detail lo the
inscription on the ' Visitation,' the Pigage catalogue
No. having been 234. {Ibiii.)

Jk^ NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART cK»

A SHEPHERD AND TWO NYMPHS, BY

I'ALMA VECCHIC)
By a remarkable coincidence the Keeper of the
WalLicc Collection has just discovered a Venetian
picture which bears the closest po-^siblc relation
to the fine exainple of J.icopo P.ilina the Elder,
in the possession of Mi-ssrs. Dowdeswi 11, which he
described in the February miinb<.r of TllK 15i ki.ing-
TON Magazine. A comparison of tin- lepiodiictinn
of Mr. Claude Phillips's recent (ind with the photo-
gravure of the Dowdcswell picture will at once
indicate their conne.vion. Yet in some material
points there is a pronounced iliffercncc.

In Ihc first place the satle of Mr. Phillips's

188

picture is smaller, the whole panel measuring 26J
inches by 47 inches, while the figures in the
Dowdcswell picture arc life size or nearly so.
The handling, too, is more summary in the newly
discovered work, so summary indeed that it h;is
the appearance of a rapidly executed decorative
panel, done almost nii premier cotif^ to fill up a
space in some scheme of decoration by one iiiknt
upon richness of general effect i.ither than upon
finish or accuracy of detail. In the Dowdeswell
picture P.ilma is careful to the verge of softness ;
in that now reproduced he is careless and free
almost to excess. Not only are the l.indscape and
the sky swept in with broad succulent layers of

rich colour, but the figures are treated with the
same laxity of finish, so that we find passage after
passage that will not stand close examination.

On the other hand, the decorative force of Mr.
Phillips's panel is wonderful. The tones through-
out have Palnii's customary blend of coolness
with glowing heat, and the painting being alia
prima, they tell with the greatest possible force.
This shows with singular effect in the landscape,
which is lit up by a blaze of evening sunlight.
The upright trunks when closely examined
are no more than a glaze of transparent brown
over the white ground. Seen at a little distance
they assume just the fiery glow with which tree
stems redden at sunset, a glow which is heightened
by the golden green of the foliage behind them.
The flash of light on the river bank is also
delightfully rendered.

The introduction of these sudden and unex-
pected passages of naturalism recalls Giorgione,
just as it is in Giorgione's latest works, the
Giovanelli Tempest and the Louvre Fete Cliampeire,
that we find the origin of the female figures.

On the exact relation of the groups in this work
to those well-known compositions it is needless to
dwell. The reproduction sufficiently illustrates their
close relationship. The figure of the shepherd,
too, is purely Giorgionesque both in conception
and colour. Yet the broad flat treatment of
the planes, the quality of the flesh tints, and,
more than all, the pale golden hair of the nymphs,
exactly resembling that of TJie Three Sisters at
Dresden, point to Palma almost conclusively.
Cariani, the only other possible name that could
be suggested, paints more thickly, his touch is more
blunt, his sense of colour less personal.

As Mr. Phillips pointed out in his previous
article, the date of Giorgione's death compels us
to regard the Dowdeswell picture as one painted
after the year 1510. Mr. Phillips's work must also
therefore be later than 15 10, yet it is earlier
in date than Messrs. Dowdeswell's example.
A comparison of the two pairs of nymphs
will show that in every way the conception
in the latter work is more fully thought out, the
reminiscence of Giorgione is less direct, the pose of
the figures is more studied, the draperies are more
skilfully disposed to soften and relieve the flesh
tones. Mr. Phillips's picture, in short, is not only
the more hasty in execution, but the earlier in
date.

The defects and the beauty of this interesting
panel are alike explained if we assume that it was
executed in haste, as part of a decorative scheme,
by the elder Palma shortly after the year 1510,
when the memory of the last works of the dead
Giorgione was still green, and that afterwards he
revised and enlarged the two figures of the
nymphs into Messrs. Dowdeswell's picture.

C. J. H.

Notes on Various Works of Art

A WAX MODEL ATTRIBUTED TO
MICHELANGELO

The Keeper of the Department of Mediaeval
Antiquities at the British Museum has recently
brought to light two small models of considerable
interest. B Vth appear to be Florentine works of
the sixteenth century ; indeed the larger of the
two, an upright male torso, is so characteristic
of the manner of Baccio Bandinelli that it may
fairly be ascribed to him. The smaller model
of wax, which we illustrate on approximately
the scale of the original (p. 186), raises a more diffi-
cult and important question. It recalls so clearly
the great recumbent figures of the Medici tombs that
we are compelled to ask whether it is derived from
them, or whether it can be one of the preliminary
studies for them from Michelangelo's own hand.

The second hypothesis is the more daring, but
there is something to be said in its favour. The
model has obvious peculiarities, such as the imper-
fection of the lower limbs and the vagueness of
the upper portion of the trunk. For these
peculiarities, however, we find almost exact parallels
in the model for a Hercules and Caciis in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, and the resemblance
is so close that both models may well be the work
of the same hand.

The model at the Museum differs] very consider-
ably from the brooding figure oiTniliglit with which
it may be connected.' The marble giant is built
on a more heroic and massive scale, the muscular
development being everywhere emphasized in the
most forcible way, while the little wax figure has
an almost Hellenic restraint and naturalness. Its
very peculiarities and imperfections suggest
inevitably that it is a study made directly from the
living model, while in the Ticiliglit this personal
human element is buried under the contours
appropriate to a generic superhuman type.

In asking ourselves how the difference may be
explained, we are compelled to recognize that
Michelangelo's studies from the life, whether in
wax or on paper, are almost always naturalistic in
the extreme. It is not until he comes to carry
out the finished work that he gives free play to
his imagination by emphasizing and accentuating
those portions and planes of the figure which are
essential for the expression of the particular ideal
he has in mind. The process is one which M.
Rodin has explained through the most eloquent
of his biographers, and will, therefore, be familiar
to all students of sculpture.

Contemporary admirers of Michelangelo, how-
ever, did not understand his secret. They built
up their idea of human form upon the master's
finished work, instead of going back to the natural

' A certain resemblance to one of the magnificent unfinished
figures of slaves intended for the tomb of Julius II, but which for
many years adorned the grotto in the Boboli Gardens, will also
be noticed.

189

A irax Model attributed to Michelangelo

forms on which lie founded (h;it work. TakiiiiJ
the emphaiis and accent, wliich he u^cd for pur-
poses of specific expression, as jjencral conditions
of the j»rand style, they employed them indis-
criminately in the place i>f nature. The result
was the inllited mannerism in which tiie j4re.1t
period of Italian sculpture came to an end, and it
IS vain to seek amon>» these later artists for any
sincere naturalism such as this study exhibits.

The model at the Museum can thus hardly he a
contemporary version of Michel.mfjclo's statue.
Ha«l It iK-en so, it could not have failed to retain
some liint of that statue's heroic development.
Nor, considerinj; its style, can it be attributed to
an earlier d.ite than iNtichelanjjelo's. The fact
that it has been in the British Museum for many
years' in company with a model that is obviously
from the hand of Bandinelli tells equally strongly

»The iiukUIs were purch.TiccI in 1859 from the Huon.irroli
collection. That reproduced here will be found in t.nbic case F
in the Mediaeval K<H)m. That in terra colta by Handinclli
will be found in wall case 45 on the same side of the room,
bearing Michelangelo's name.

cA^ LETTERS TO

THE FLORENTINE TEMPEH.AMENT

7o the Editor of TW. BlRLiNGTON MaG.\zine.

Dear Sik,

Permit nie to make two slight additions to
my sketch of the Strozzi marriages in your April
number. A reference to the Prussian Jahrbuch
for 1902, courteously suggested by Dr. Warburg,
contributor of an "article on the relations of
Flemish and Florentine art, points to the identih-
cation of mv Tanagli heroine with a Catarina
Tanagli, whi'i in 1466 married Angelo Tain, a
partner with Tomm;iso Portinari in the Bruges
branch of the Medicean banking-house. The
proximitv and prioritv of date of this marriage to
that of Philip and Fiammetta Adimari helps to
explain his f.iilure to win a bride so warmly
praised by his mother. Further, I should like to
strengthen my presentment of the unromantic
nature of the Strozzi m.irriage negotiations by an
incident drawn from a privately printed life of
Filippo Strozzi, in which his son tells us that,
when no longer suiTering from the restrictions of
exile, he engaged iiimself to his second wife, a
Florentine lady living in Milan, 'without ever
seeing her, or having any other information about
her' than the commendation of the F"lorentiiie
ambassador.

G. T. Clolgh.

against the theory of forgery. It must not be
forgotten also that the naturalism underlying
Michelangelo's art is a discovery of the last two
decades, and that a forger or imitator, previous to
tlie nineties, would certainly have imitated the more
obvious and emphatic side of the master's style.
Even tlie supposition that it is a copy of some
other model by Michelangelo is hardly admissible,
for certain passages, such as the tense muscles of
the abdomen, are handled with the power and
certainty of which only a great sculptor is capable.
Of these qualities, and of the massive, rhythmic
sweep of the figure, the reproduction gives no
adequate idea, and those who are interested in
the matter will do well to examine the original.
Whether the whole group of models with which
this piece may be associated is from Michel-
angelo's hand must be left for those to decide who
have made a more intimate study of the master.
On this subject, as on that of the tempera panels
in the National Gallery, criticism has not yet
spoken finally. C J. H.

THE EDITOR c^

A PORTRAIT OF BIANCA MARIA SFORZA
To the Editor of The BiKLiXGTOX Magazi-ne.
Deak Sik,

In my notes on two Milanese portraits of
Bianca Maria Sforza, in the May number, I made
no attempt to cite the considerable literature on
the subject. The catalogue of the Milanese
exhibition at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in
1898 should certainly have been mentioned in
connexion with the Wideiier portrait, as well as
Dr. Seidlitz's article on Ambiogio de Predis in
the Austrian Jatulutch last year. A correspondent
informs me that the Arconati-Visconti portrait was
reproduced in the Rasscgiia d'Arte of 1902, in Les
Arts, in 1903, and discussed by Mr. HerlH;rt Cook
in The BiKLiNGTON for 1904, p. 200.

This note gives me an opportunity to return to
the portrait of Carlo di Alessandro Pitti, in the
Johnson collection, Philadelphia, which was
published in this mag:izine last August. Mr.
Herbert P. Home promptly attacked the date on
the picture (1540), and 1 could only vouch for a
correct reading of the inscription. Mr. Home
brought cogent biographical reasons for rejecting
this date (which was addetl later, possibly to make
the picture pass for a Bronzino) in favour of one
of 1580. A single visit to the portrait rooms of the
UlTizi has converted me to Mr. Home's view, for
the picture is palpably the work of F"ederigo
Zuccheri. Fkank Jewett Mathek, JLN.

^ ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH cK,

Meisters Genialde im 196

CORREGGIO. Des

Abbildungen.

Gronau. Stuttgart and Leipzig: Deutsche

Verlags-Anstalt. 6 marks.

Herausgegeben von

Georg

In his modest preface Dr. Gronau refers to the
difficulties which surround the study of Correggio.
In this volume of that invaluable series ' Klassiker
del- Kiimt ' he may claim that he has done his
utmost to remove them. A set of nearly two
hundred plates arranged in chronological order
by such a scholar is in itself something consider-
able, while in his brief notes and in an excellent
introduction Dr. Gronau places before the student
of Correggio just the facts about the master's life
and work that he ought to know. The notes,
indeed, are so much up to date that they refer to
an article published in The Burlington Mag.azine
during the current year.

Perhaps the most interesting question in con-
nection with Correggio's life is that which touches
Vasari's statement that Correggio never visited
Rome. The more we study his work in compari-
son with that of Raphael and Michelangelo the
more does the conviction grow upon us that the
gulf between his so-called Albiiica Madonna
(c. 1518^ and the frescoes ot S.Giovanni Evangel-
ista is inexplicable except on the theory that he had
seen the work of the great Roman decorators at
more than second-hand. The dome of the Chigi
chapel in S. Maria del Popolo is in this connexion
hardly less vivid evidence than the Sistine ceiling,
and there is a gap in the Correggio documents
between March 1518 and January 1519 which
would allow time for the visit at which Dr.
Gronau hints. The Camera di S. Paolo would
then become the first essay by Correggio in the
new manner after his return, a preparation for the
grander effort made in the dark dome of S. Gio-
vanni Evangelista, and its date would be I5i9and
not 1518.

The collection of early works attributed to
Correggio is of particular interest, though on
grounds of style we do not always agree with Dr.
Gronau as to their order. The Uffizi picture is
placed first of all, yet it is much more mature both
in handling and feeling than several of the works
placed after it, such as Nos. 2 and 7. Nos. 24 and
26 also seem to be out of their true places.

C. J. H.

Florentine Galleries. By Maud Cruttwell.

London : J. M. Dent and Co. 3s. 6d. net.
A SHORT time ago we noticed two recent hand-
books of great foreign galleries. We have now a
third attempt to cater for this long-felt want, and
may say at once that the latest book marks a
distinct advance upon its predecessors. If the
remaining volumes of Messrs. Dent's series ' The
Art Collections of Europe ' reach the standard of

the first one, they should be secure of steady
success.

The author of the book before us is well
equipped in point of scholarship, the size is
handy, the printing is good, the little illustrations
are just what are wanted to keep the memory
fresh, the book covers three of the most interest-
ing galleries in the world, and the price is
moderate. Even in matters of detail we have few
faults to find. Miss Cruttwell is somewhat hard
upon Vasari, for the tendency of recent scholar-
ship has been to prove him more frequently right
than earlier critics supposed. It would have been
more correct, for instance, to describe his story
about Leonardo painting the Angel in Verrocchio's
Baptism as ' open to question ' rather than as
' erroneous,' and we have noticed several other
positive statements of the same kind, which in the
present state of criticism cannot be regarded as
certain.

The Edinburgh Parthenon and the Scottish
National Gallery. An Appeal to the Scottish
People. By William Mitchell, S.S.C. Edition
de luxe. A. and C. Black, and Bernard
Quaritch.

This is a reissue in a handsome quarto of the
letters written by Mr. Mitchell to the Edinburgh
Evening Xcics in August 1906 and issued in book
form in December last, when it was distributed far
and wide by means of a pecuniary vote by the
Corporation of Edinburgh. The question with
which it deals was shelved for all practical purposes
for the moment by the passing of the National
Galleries (Scotland) .Act of December 1906, which,
as our readers will remember, took away the con-
trol of the Scottish National Gallery from the old
Board of Manufactures, to give it to a body of
seven trustees appointed by the Secretary of State
for Scotland, settling also incidentally the question
of the housing of the pictures in the possession
of the Scottish nation. The proposal, therefore,
made by Mr. Mitchell, and ardently backed by
Mr. Sydney Humphries, was not destined to be
adopted, in spite of their strenuous efforts ; but it
is well that the volume before us should be issued,
partly because it is in itself a thing of beauty,
partly as a reminder that a large and influential
party of the Scottish people consider with some
justice that they have been unfairly treated in the
matter by Parliament and the executive. Both the
financial history of the 'Equivalent' and the sad
tale of the National Monument as it stands — un-
finished and forlorn — are outside our scope; the
reader of Mr. Mitchell's pamphlet will find them
clearly stated there. The important and interesting
point is: What do Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Humphries,
and their supporters propose to do with this record
of embittered international feeling and surrendered
endeavour of the days of the Regency? Briefly, they

191

Art Books of the Month

puiposc to remove its stijjina and devote it to a
iKitir cause by making it tlie Nati<)nal Gallery of
Scotland. The complete plans drawn out hy Mr.
Henry K. Kerr, A.K.I.U.A., and published in their
original and amended forms in the book before us,
prove that the practical side of the question has
bci-n fully considered. Completed and titled out,
theNational Monument will look likethe P.irfhcnon
in its prime, and will contain ii\zf^ feet of hneal
hanging sp.ice, well lighted from top anil sides, and
having room also for side-lighted galleries for
sculpture. The addition, at the south-east corner
of the Parthenon, of the Hall of Music for which
the Lite Mr. Usher left a sum of ;^'50,ooo, and of
a small gallery at the north-east corner, are in-
cluded in the measurements given above ; and Mr.
Kerr's plans leave no doubt that the wluile scheme
would provide a prospect worthy of the unique site
offered by the Calton Hill.

Venice. By Beryl de Sclincourt and May Sturge
Henderson. Illustrated by Reginald Barratt,
A.R.W.S. Pp. viii, 185. C'hatto and Windus,
1(^7. I OS. 6d. net.

This is not a guidebook, though in tlic two
chapters headed ' Venetian Waterways ' the
authors suggest an itinerary by which the visitor
to Venice may see the more notable sights in the
most commodious way. Another chapter is
devoted to the minor islands of the lagoon, and
a fourth to the artists of the Venetian Renaissance
— men 'endowed with a profound understanding
and divination of human character.' These are
the chapters more especially devoted to the
tourist : in the remaining ones the authors
endeavour to lay bare the soul of Venice, and the
attempt is crowned with a not inconsiderable
measure of success. It is perfectly true that the
great Venetians were giants, and that the histcjry
of Venetian greatness is the history of men who
strenuously devoted themselves to the mastery of
life's laws. No less is it true that ' the greatness of
Venice w.as coincident with the greatness of her
trade.' This perhaps is what make^ the history of
Venice so f.iscinating to Engli>hmen. It has
lx:en s;iid that the Knglish are a nation of shop-
keepers: again and again the Venetian chroniclers
reminded their compatriots that the foundation of
the glories of Venice was her commerce, and that
they too were ' a nation of shopkeepers.' Like
England ag.iin, Venice was accused of egoism, of
bemg selli-.li and calculating. Not that her
methods, any more than those of England, were
tinged more deeply with selfishness than those of
her neighbours : her singularity lay in the skill
with which she wielded weapons everywhere in
use. These points are elaborated by Mrs. de
Selincourt and Mrs. Henderson, and there is
much to be learnt from their thoughtful work,

192

which may be studied with advantage not only by
those about to visit Venice but also by those to
whom Venice and her history are not unknown.
The pictures are quite pretty, and more atmo-
spheric than most things of the kind. E. B.

Poems by Wordsworth. Selected, with an
Introduction, by Stopford A. Brooke. Illus-
trated by Edmund H. New. Methucn.

O.NE aspect at least of Wordsworth's genius has
found an illustrator ex.ictly adapted to it. The
sober sincerity of such drawings as that of Mr.
New might perhaps be expected to do justice to
such subjects as Rydal Mount and the unpretentious
architecture of Gnismere and Hawkshead, the
garden subjects, too, might well come within the
scope of his talent ; but the mountain scenery of
the Lake District would seem to call for the art of
the painter, for evanescent tones and impalpable
transitions. Mr. New, however, has faced these
dilliculties, and h;is emerged from the struggle
triumphant. The two views looking up the
Easel. lie Valley, and that of Stone Arthur from
Grasmere, have just that blend of pastoral quiet
with mountain grandeur which is characteristic
of Wordsworth's country, while the stormy
panorama from Tarn Hows looking towards the
Langdale Pikes comes near to achieving still
more. The volume is well printed, and makes
altogether a most ple;ising edition.

English Furniture Designers of the
Eighteenth Century. By Constance
Simon. London : Batsford. 15s. net.

Two years ago (May, 1905) we spoke at some
length of the original research on which this
book was founded. We need not therefore repeat
our commendatit)n when the volume is reissued
by another publisher, but m.ay add that, besides
being handsome and accurate, it is now distinctly
clie.ip.

BOOKS RECEIVED

RuNSTGESCHiciiTLiciiE MuN'ocKAriiiiuS VI. Andrcas Aul>crt.
Lcipzij; : Karl W. Hicrscin.inii. M. 36.

Krench FuRNiri'RE. Andie S.iglio. George NcwnM, Ltd.
^i. 6d. net.

The Laxdscapes of G. F. Watts. George Ncwnes. Ltd.
3s. 6d. net.

The EoiNiaRGH I'artiiknos' and ti'E Scottish Naticsal
Gallery. Willi.\in MiUlicll, S.S.C. A. & C. Black, and

Hern:ird \1u:irilLli.

The History of Modern Painting. Four vols. Rictuu'd
Mulhcr, rii.D. J. M. Dent * Co. /3 3s. net.

Curregcio. Giorg Gronau. Verl.)gs-Ansl.-ill. Stultgart and
Leipzig. M.6.

Poems iiy Williau Wordsworth. Selected, with an intro-
duction, hy St'ipford A. lirixike. Illustt.'ited by Edmund
H. New. Melliuen 4 C). 7^, Od. net.

Sir William IIkechey, R.A. W. Huberts. Duckworth A Co.
7s. 6il. net.

Books l^ceived

Roman ScutPTrRE. Mr?. Arlhiir Strong, LL.D. Diickwoith

& Co. los. net.
The Colouk or London. W. J. Loftie, F.S A. Illustrated by

Yoshio Markino. Chatto & Windus. 20s. net.
A Series of Twelve Delft Pl.\tks Illustkatixg the

Tobacco Ixdustky. Presented by |. H. Kit/.-Henry to the

Victoria and Albert Museum. Wyinan & Sons.
The Frescoes i.\ the Chapel at Eton College. Montague

Rhodes James, LL.D. Spottiswoode & Co. 7s. 6d.
Raphael in Ko.\ie. Mrs. Henry Ady. Seeley & Co. 2s. net.
Axtoine Watteau. Claude Phillips. Seeley & Co. 2s. net.
The Society or Artists and the Free Society. Algernon

Graves, F.S. .A. George Bell & Sons. £t, 3s. net.
Michelangelo. Dcs Meisters Werke in 166 Abbildungen. Frit^

Knapp. Verlags-Anstalt. Stuttgart and Leipzig. M. 6.
Titian. Des Meisters Gemalde in 260 Abbildungen. Oskar

Fischel. Verlags-.Anstalt. Stuttgart and Leipzig. ISI. 6.
DiJRER. Des Meisters Gemalde Kupferstiche und Holzschnitte.

Valentin Scherer. Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart and Leipzig.

M. 10.
Die Bildende Kunst der Gegknwart. Joseph Strzygowski.

Quelle & Mener, Leipzig. M. 4.

MAGAZINES RECEIVED
The Quarterly Review. The Edinburgh Review. The Bad-
minton. The Nineteenth Century and After. The Fort-
nightly Review. The Contemporary Review. The National
Review. The Albany Review. The Monthly Review.
The Rapid. The Review of Reviews. The Fine Art
Trade Journal. The Commonwealth. Museum of Fine
Arts Bulletin (Boston). The Craftsman (New York). La
Rassegna Nazionale (Florence). Kokka (Tokyo). Bollettino
d'Arte (Rome). La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosite
(Paris). Bulletin du Norddeutscher Lloyd (Paris). Onze
Kunst (Amsterdam). Die Kunst (Munich).

CATALOGUES
Tableaux Anciens d6pendantdes Collections [os. Monchen

A La Have. Frederik Muller & Cie, Amsterdam.
MusiK : Kirch engesang, Weltliche Musik, Alts Seltene

MusiK Wekke, Autograi'Hen Wagner, Mozart. Katalog

121. Ludwig Rosenthal, Miinchen.
Livres rares et curieux. Catalogue 79. Loescher & Co.,

Rome.

cA^ ART IN FRANCE cA?

THE ENGLISH PICTURES IN THE
SEDELMEYER SALE

The pleasure that all Englishmen must feel at the
increased appreciation in France of the British
school is mingled with regret that so many of the
English pictures in French collections are quite
unworthy of the great names attached to them.
This was the case with many of the English pic-
tures in the collection of M. Charles Sedelmeyer,
which were sold in Paris on the i6th and 17th of
May and realized, with the additional ten per cent.,

;^73,46o, an average of ;4'437 ^O'" ^'^^ ^^^ ''^^^•
This must be considered a high average in view of
the quality of the collection as a whole. It is
worthy of note that, although the principal London
dealers were represented at the sale, only about
half a dozen lots were knocked down to English
buyers. It is also reported in Paris that a certain
number of pictures were bought in.

It was the general opinion of the English
dealers and collectors present at the Sedelmeyer
sale that the English pictures fetched on an
average at least double the amount that they
would have fetched at Christie's ; and they showed
the courage of their convictions by abstaining
from purchasing. A considerable number of the
pictures went to Germany, but the highest price at
the sale was paid by a French dealer who bought
the portrait of Miss Tiglie by Romney for ;^"7,ooo ;
it is a good picture, but it would hardly have
fetched more than ;^5,ooo at Christie's. A Belgian
private collector paid the equally excessive price
of £s<l-° for the portrait of Mrs. Jcuncs Moiitcith
by Raeburn. These were two of the best pictures
in the collection ; the prices paid for some of the
others, though actually less, were relatively far
higher, and some of them positively ludicrous.
There have been few sales at which the average
prices so far exceeded the reasonable value of the
pictures. Several of the French pictures in the

collection also fetched high prices, but these were
more reasonable.

There were, of course, some good things among
the 168 pictures ; perhaps the finest of all was the
portrait of Mrs. Pattison by Raeburn (124), an
elderly lady in a white dress seated in a landscape.
The handling of this stately picture is remarkably
strong ; and, although one knows Raeburns of even
finer quality, it is sufficiently characteristic to be
well worth the 123,200 frs. paid for it (the price in
all cases is given with the additional ten per cent).
The Portrait of Mrs. fames Montcitli, a young and
attractive woman, was rather dear at 143,000 frs.,
but is, nevertheless, a good example of Raeburn's
art. Of the six other pictures to which Raeburn's
name was attached, one is certainly by him, the
Portrait of an Old Man (122), which fetched only
2,145 f''S- O'l the other hand, for the unattractive
Colonel Ramsay and his Wife (123), exhibited at
Burlington House in 1895, someone paid no less
than 117,700 frs., or at least it was knocked down
at that price.

By far the best of the twelve pictures assigned
to Romney was the portrait of Miss Tiglic (145) ;
outside the wonderful portraits of Lady Hamilton,
this is perhaps as good a Romney as could be
found ; it was sold for 176,000 frs. Cnpid and
Psyche (156), a fair example of Romney as a
painter of classical subjects, fetched the very
low price of 5,170 frs., and Lady Hamilton as
Ariadne{iY^), which must be accepted as authentic,
40,700 frs., a high price considering its bad
condition. The portrait of Miss Fagnani (after-
wards Lady Hertford) as a child (150) is also an
authentic work of the master ; it sold for 35,200
frs. Another picture which can safely be
given to Romney , the Portrait of Joint Danes
(151), fetched only 2,200 frs., but it is unpleas-
ing and in bad condition. Of the seven others,
the so-called Portrait of the Artist's Brother (155),

•93

Art in France

sdIcI lor i,J^5 li-»., would M-fin to he a woik of
Wright of IJfiliy ; tlic Poilnnl lyj Miyi (ioic (147),
which fetched 57,200 francs, cannot fiavc been
painted less than twenty years after Komney's
deatli ; and Duphiiis tuiil Chloc (153) is an even
later picture, hut it fetched only 1,650 frs.

Of the six portr.iits assijjned to Gainsborough
only two, tlie Porlraii of Miss Hooiic (70) and the
Poilniil of n Man (6«j, can Ix; said to he at all
representative, but both were very much over-
cleaned ; tlie former fetched 48,100 frs., and the
latter 1,025 frs. On the other hand the so-
ailled Porlitiil of a Piiiiiiss lioytil (09) was sold or
bt)uj^ht in at 47,300 frs., although it was the
most strikin;^ example of the way in which j^reat
names are taken in vain. It may he a youthful
work of Gainsborough Dupont, and is certainly
wortli less than the Poilniil of Miss Ed/^nr (72),
catalojiueil only as ' attributed ' and sold for 825
frs., but quite possibly a work of the master's
Ipswich period, though in bad condition. The
two landscapes cataloj^ued under Gainsborou-^h's
name (74 and 75) fetched only 1,760 frs. and
3,025 frs. respectively, and were certainly not
worth more. The former was the older and the
Ix-tter of the two, the latter appeared to be a good
example of Barker.

There were eight portraits catalogued under
Hoppner's name, of which the best by a long way
w.is that of Miss Raiiic (86), certainly an authentic
work and a fairly good one; it fetched 112,200
frs. No. 88, which fetched 12,760 frs., may
be the work of Hoppner, but is not a portrait of
Mrs. Jonliiii. The portrait of Mis. Home, for-
merly in Lord Grimthorpe's collection, was dear at
85,800 frs.; it may be the work of lloppner,
but, if so, it is a poor example. Of the others the
less said the lx;tter ; they fetched prices varying
from 2,750 to 11,000 frs.

Among the ten pictures given to Lawrence in
the dialogue w.is one of the best jiortraits in the
collection, the large group representing CliaiUs
liiniiy and his luo Dniifllitcrs (97), which, although
it is over-cleaned in parts, gives a very fair idea
of Lawrence's powers, though not at his best. It
W.IS sold for 121,000 frs. One other may be
an authentic work by I>;iwrence, the portrait of
Miss liruiniiiil (98), which fetched 7,810 frs., a
low price. The astonishing price of 29,810 frs.
was paid for a picture called The Countess of
Diirnlcy (loi), the attribulion of which to Uiwrence
was at any rate courageous. The portraits of
Caroline Pry ,ind Miss Croiker(i)() and 100) were
dear even at 5,940 and 8,800 frs., since they are
copies of well-known originals and should not
have iK-en descrilxd in the dialogue ;is a ' sketch '
and a ' replica.' Nor can it lie said that the live
other pictures in this group, which were soUl at
prices ranging from 1,595 to 6,930 frs., were at all
clieap.

194

The >ixteen pictures which ln)re the name of
Keynolds were nearly all in bad condition, but
there were three of undoubted authenticity : the
portrait of Loitt Mnl^rave as a child (130), 16,830
frs. ; the Pi>»7»'<j»7 o/<» iV</H (133), 7,040 frs.; and
the portrait of General Stringer Lawrenee (141),
the best of this group, which fetched only 3,080
frs. — ;m extremely low price, although the picture
is by no means hr?.t-rate. Two other pictures
went cheaply, namely, the Porlraii of Ihe Marquis
ofGraiihy (140), 5,610 frs., and the Yoniif^ Woiiian
tcilh a Mii/f (137), 4,180 frs. ; the latter, however,
was i]uite ruined by restoration. It is difhcult to
understand how the name of Reynolds became
attachetl to the portrait of Mrs. Schindlerin (129),
an excellent copy, apparently by the Rev. William
Peters, of the picture painted for the duke of
Dorset and engraved by J. R. Smith, which is, or
was imlil lately, in the colleofion of I^)rd Sack-
ville at Kiiole. The Seclelm<-yer copy is certainly
not worth 66,000 frs., the price paid for it, and
should not have been described in the catalogue
.IS the picture engraved by Smith. The sketch for
the Yoiilh of Hercules in the Hermitage (143) is,
.iccordingto the catalogue, accepted by Sir Walter
Armstrong, but it is at least doubtful, and is not, in
om- opinion, wdrth more than the 2,090 frs. paid ft)r
it. The remaining nine pictures were liberally paid
for at prices ranging from 792 to 19,800 frs., the
latter price being given for a portrait of a child,
Laily .\laiy Soinersel (139), which is so completely
repainted that it is impossible to say what it may
once h.ive been.

01 the pictures by minor artists a genuine study
by Ktty (64) fetched only 220 frs., while two
others, certainly not from his brush (65 and 66),
fetched 550 and 891 frs. respectively. Two p.is-
tels erroneously attributed to Russell (157 and 158)
brought 5,500 and 7,590 frs., and were very dear at
those prices. A good example of Wyatt, Por-
tniit of Miss Grealore.v (168), was knocked down at
3,850 Irs.

The works by landscape painters ought
to have been the most important part of
the collection, since they included no less than
fourteen pictures catalogueil under the name of
Hnnington and thirty-one catalogued under that
of Constable. It is, therefore, with regret that we
are obliged to to say that not a single one of these
cm be said with certainty to be the work of
Honington, and only one can be certainly given to
Constable — Xo. 24, one of Ihe numerous sketches
for the fi7<7ic Farm in the National Gallery, which
fetched (if it was sold) 7,810 frs. The ugly
incompetent C///7(/ icilh a Goat (36) might possibly
he a very early production of the artist. It is
impossible to conjecture the reasons which led to
the attribution to Constable of such productions
as The UoallniiUler's l'ri;(/(32), the Vale of Deilham
(34) or tlie Farm (38), which bear no resemblance

- z

Art in France

to his work and are not even imitations of it.
Yet No. 34, a quite worthless picture, was bought
by a purchaser with a Scottish name for 13,750
frs. The other three mentioned fetched much
lower prices, only 2,420 frs. being given for No.
32 in spite of the doubtless accurate statement in
the catalogue that it was formerly in the collection
of Mr. Eustace Constable, grandson of the
painter, who inherited it from his aunt. What
can one say of the superficial and (in spite of its
studied freedom) laboured picture. The Valley of ihc
Stoiir (23), or the Banks of tit e Si our {22), which
were knocked down at the astonishing prices
respectively of 32,450 and 35,200 frs. ? The other
pictures of this group all fetched prices which
would have been ridiculously small had their
attribution to Constable been at all plausible, but
which were in fact in many cases excessive.

Of the pictures ascribed to Bonington the best
was a view of Caen (11), one of that large group
of clever English landscapes which it is difticult
to attribute to any particular artist ; it comes as
near to the work of William Havell as any other.
It fetched 3,135 frs. The Chateau cle Falaisc
(13), sold for 2,750 frs., is interesting since it
shows us F. W. Watts, who usually imitated
Constable, working in the manner of Bonington.
His characteristic handling of trees is to be seen
both in those above the bridge and in the group
on the left of the composition ; the figure in red
hanging over the bridge is also typical. The
Return of the Fishing-boat (12) may be by T. M.
Richardson, but is certainly not by Bonington,
and the signature is not genuine ; it fetched
5,280 frs. The interiors (6-10) are by artists
working at the time and under the influence of
such men as Newton, Egg and C. R. Leslie : one
might be b}' Newton himself. These five fetched
quite low prices, from 1,012 to 2,970 frs., and they
are not worth more. A picture catalogued as by
Turner, The Lake of Thnn (161), does not need
discussion ; it was dear at 7,480 frs.

M. Sedelmeyer has the distinction of being one
of the very few French collectors owning pictures
of the Norwich school, of which he has one or
two interesting examples. The Stark (160), which
was sold at the low price of 3,410 frs., is a good
example of the transition between that artist's
Norwich and Windsor periods, and the picture by
Joseph Stannard (159) is interesting as the work
of a master little known even in England ; it
fetched only 1,155 ^i"^- On the other hand,
the picture catalogued under the name of George
Vincent (162) and sold for 1,925 frs. has nothing
to do with him ; and No. 57, ascribed to John Sell
Cotman (called 'James ' in the catalogue), is cer-
tainly not by him and is probably from the brush
of Joy of Yarmouth — it was, however, not dear
at 330 frs. The large landscape ascribed to John
Crome (58), which fetched only 3,135 frs., is

obviously a copy of a picture by Philips de Koninck,
but there are certain points in the technique very
like Crome, and we incline to the opinion that it
is one of the numerous copies that he made of
the Dutch masters. The canvas ascribed to ' the '
younger Crome (59) and sold for 506 frs. can
hardly be by one of Crome's sons ; it is apparently
the work of an amateur, probably a pupil of the
elder Crome.

The collection contained two excellent and
luminous little landscapes by Morland : a view of
Freshwater Bay (116), sold for the very low price
of 880 frs., and The Skaters (109J, which fetched
4,950 frs. One other of the nine works ascribed
to Morland is certainly genuine, the Dog and
Pheasant (117), which was fairly cheap at 1,771 frs.
The Woodcniter's Repose (112), which fetched
1,870 frs., is a characteristic work of J. R. Bigg.

1 o sum up, the Sedelmeyer sale has been an
example of the truth of M. Thiebault-Sisson's
recent remark in the Temps that much remains to
be learned about that English school in France.
And with all due respect to the eminent critic, his
own article on the Sedelmeyer collection was no
less striking an example.

English and French pictures of the eighteenth
century fetched high prices in the Muhlhacher
sale. The Muhlbacher collection contained seven
examples of Fragonard,sorae of which were of very
fine quality. A charming little picture. La resistance
inntile, only 10 inches by 13 inches, fetched no
less than 62,100 frs., which, with the additional ten
per cent., comes to about ^"2,750. Another picture,
slightly larger, Dites done, s'il vons plait, was sold
for about ^1,070 ; and a portrait of a young
man, 18 inches by 14 inches, for £1,770. A little
Watteau, 12 inches by 8 inches, changed hands
at £1,336, and many of the pictures by Boilly,
Mme. Guiard and Mme. Vigee-Lebrun fetched
high prices.

The second part of the Sedelmeyer sale, held
on May 25th, 27th and 28th, included 219 pictures
by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century.

A very beautiful and important landscape by
Daubigny, La Moisson, has just been placed in the
Louvre in the large gallery devoted to modern
French art. It cannot strictly be called a new
acquisition, as it has been the property of the State
for more than half a century. The picture was
painted in 1851 and exhibited in the Salon of the
following year, whence it was acquired by the
State. Probably because Daubigny was not con-
sidered at that time an artist of sufficient importance
to be represented in a national museum, the
picture was hung in a room of the Ministry of
Justice in the Place Vendome, where it remained
until the other day in an extremely neglected
condition. Its rescue is due to the initiative of
M. Clemenceau, who, since he became Prime
Minister, has made it his business to rout out

197

Art iti France

works of ait lium tin- curniTs t)f Govcriimfiil
oflici's and tnin>ftT them to more suitable homes.
He h;is also succeeded in placing in the Musi-e
des Arts Decoratifs some remarkalMy fine pieces
of cijjhtecnth century furniture from the same
Ministry-, includinj^ the famous table of Choiseul.
La Moissoii, w Inch w is in a very dirty condition,
has been carefully cleaned, and now makes a
superb pendant to Uaubigny's beautiful Piiiilciiif>s,
painted a few years later.

It cannot Iv said that the salon t)f the Societe
des Artistes Kran<,\iis reaches a hij^her level than
that of the Societe Xationalc. Even the sculpture,

though as usual it is biaiitifully ananged, fails to
rise above mediocrity, and there is nothing which
stands out as of striking merit. Perhaps the best
picture in the exhibition is the portrait by M.
Alexis Vollon of a typical I^arisian woman, which
is a brilliant piece of work in a somewhat different
style from that which M. Vollon usually gives us.
There are several enormous canvases of a more
or less blood-curdling description ; one of these,
Lc PUihstnl, has considerable artistic merit and is
certainly a good piece t)f painting, but it is hard
to conjecture the purpose for which it is destined.

R. E. D.

cA^ ART IN GERMANY c^

V would really seem at times
ill, it art is the only interest alive
111 the world to-day. At any rate
ilic manner in which continually
iRW devices arc planned for
^reading art and making it
)^^^^y\ Nj^^Z^i*^-'*^'" f'e home of multitudes, if
xyT'^J \ L^,.,,t of every man, is surprising.
One ot the llc^l plans is the sending out of loan
exhibitions by the big museums. The Dresden
Gallery was one of the lirst in Germany to engage
in this, and its loans were not limited to a few
provincial museums throughout Saxony. Old
paintings of a decorative character have been sent
to schools, town halls and other public buildings,
where they can be seen by thousands who else
would probablv st.iiul a slight chance of becoming
acquainted with old art. In my private opinion,
even though nearly 250 pictures have thus been
sent out of the gallery, still more might be done
in this direction. Some of the Dutch painters of
the seventeenth century are represented at Dresden
by fifty and sixty works, half of which could well
l>e sp.ired for a year at a time, and might help to
give pleasure and spread culture with more effect
than they do now. The g.illery at Stuttgart has
just begun to adopt the system of loan exhibits of
this kind in Wiirtlemberg.

A gentlem.m by the name of Robert Erdmann
recentlv proposed a plan by which an astonishing
dissc-mination of art could be attained. Starting
from tlic sound considenition that one needs
leisure and quiet to enjoy art, he says wc rarely
have these in museums or exhibition rooms ; we
h.ive them le.illy nowhere but in our own homes.
We get pianos and typewriters on hire — why not
paintings on hire ? Many a man who cannot
afford to be a jiatron on account of the smallness
of his income, could in this way manage to
beautify his home ; he could make his selections
at the exhibitions, the dealers' galleries or even
the artists' studios. A lot t)f work which now lies
aliout unsold without bringing its originator any
profit would at least give him a return of interest.

198

As almost all of our paintings are no longer house-
bound— that is to say, painted for special sur-
roundings, ;is they were in the days of the
Renaissance — there could not even be any
acsthetical objections raised.

One of the new fine hotels near the Brandcn-
burger Thor at Berlin has commissioned some
artists of first standing to do cert.iin etchings,
engravings and lithographs for the place. These
are to be used instead of the ordinary chromo or
photographic horror, for the decoration of the
rooms ; and, what is more, the plates, etc., become
the exclusive property of the hotel company,
which will pull only the number of proofs they
need for their own est.iblishnient, no more. When
hotel companies begin to patronize art in such a
higli-haiuled fashion, the milleiiniiim has come
indeed.

The student-corporations at the universities
constitute a decided feature in the social life of
Germany. Many of them are very large and wealthy,
and possess grand club-houses at Heidelberg,
Bonn, etc. It seems that they arc not to be spared
cither : art is coming upon tliem, too. A body of
artists and art-historians, former university men, h;is
concluded that there is a great field for the art
worker here, as the student is in daily need of
numerous specialities, which are ugly and tawdry
now, but which might be gotten up with taste and
a view to art culture. So the student-corpora-
tions will be acsthcticized next. Men of such
reputation as Piizaurck, the director of the
Stuttgart Arts and Crafts Museum, Lichtwark of
H.imburg, and artists like Carlos Grethe, Emil
Orlik, H. I'.mkok, Riemcrschmid, etc., are on the
committee.

The bestowal of the rank of professor upon
W. liter Leistikow in Berlin is another sign,
indicating that the emperor's opinions on modern
art are gradually changing to more favourable
ones. Leistikow has for many years been almost
more tyjiically a representative of the Berlin
Secessionist movement than Lieberin.imi himself.
He has painted a number of wonderful landscapes,

Art in Germany

choosing his subjects from the surroundings of
the capital, and fin ding beauty and poetry, where
heretofore no one seemed inclined even to search
for anything of the sort. Originally his handling
was boldly decorative, and even now that his
style has mellowed considerably, his work retains
its distinctively personal note. We rejoice at the
distinction as having been bestowed upon an
artist so worthy of it, and as a proof of the better
feeling which the Prussian government now
entertains towards the younger school.

At Bremen an open-air museum is planned,
such as have been already opened in various
Scandinavian towns. An epitome of the local
culture and art from the earliest down to the present
days isto be offered in a park dotted with old peasant
houses, etc. The Austrian government has pur-
chased for the ' Modern Art Gallery ' at Vienna :
Cottet, Mass in Brittany ; Evenepoel, Rtiiiniing
from Work ; and M. Liebermann, House at Edam.
Two new acquisitions of the museum at Stuttgart
are: L. v. Hofmanns, At the Seashore, and an
Interior by Robert Breyer.

The exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts
in Leipzig, mentioned in these columns two months
ago, has made famous the names of at least two
craftsmen, the tapestry-weaver Seger Bombeck

and the silversmith Elias Geyer, who up till now
are hardly mentioned in handbooks. We are
able to reproduce (pp. i68 and 195) some of
the work of Geyer, who became master silver-
smith at Leipzig in 1589. As many as 120 of
his cin-fs d'cvuvre were collected, many of which,
beside their aesthetical value, were interesting
from the workmanship point of view. The
magnificent gilt salver here reproduced, for
example, is richly chased, with the horses, masks
and parts of the animals soldered on. An all but
complete set of the medals and coins of Hans
Reinhart was also on view. Other silversmiths,
whose work has been identified by the help of this
exhil:)ition are : F. Finsinger, P. G. and H. H.
Haussmann, A. Kauxdorf, J. and Sebald Krump-
holz, B. and M. Lauch, E. Osterholtt, J. Pauly,
J. Peissler, etc. The large and important tapestries
by Seger Bombeck, who lived at Leipzig from
about 1540 to 1560, were a revelation, inasmuch
as little else but the work of Flemish and French
establishments of this date has come to light so far.
Another Leipzig tapestry worker of the sixteenth
century appeared in the person of Egidius
Wagner ; and many further specimens from East
and South German workshops were likewise
exhibited. H. W. S.

^ ART IN AMERICA cf^

Of the two important annual spring exhibitions
held in New York that of the Ten Painters at the
Montross Gallery, mucii the smaller of the two, was
the more interesting. Its smallness (twenty-nine
can\^ses) was one of its great advantages ; but
that this was not a conclusive advantage is shown
by the fact that a representative canvas, the Old
Church at Lyme, by Childe Hassam, one of the Ten,
appeared among the most important of the Spring
Academy exhibition, and was there strikingly
impressive in its soft brilliancy of colour. It is
doubtless true that, while a Corot or a Cazin would
still maintain its superiority amongst the array of
pictures of a Salon, the difficulties attending the
just appreciation of such a picture in such
surroundings, the sufficient separation of it from
such a milien, the real seeing of it there, would be
greatly increased. There were pictures, difficult
to take cognizance of, on the crowded walls of the
Academy exhibition which would have compelled
and retained the attention if placed in choice
company in a room of moderate size, against a
quiet delicate background and with sufficient space
around them. The question therefore is not at all
of the wisdom of the merger of the Society of
American Artists with the Academy so much as of
the wisdom of the Salon kind as against the
individual, or very small, exhibition of paintings.

Generally speaking, the figure work at the
Academy was reminiscent of the tendencies and

technical methods of the European schools,
particularly the French ; and the familiar imitations
of Mr. Sargent were not lacking. The personal
note, when found, was rarely forceful, nor was it
often expressed in adequate term.s. There was
more attention than achievement ; the ii pen pris,
the merely clever, the sometimes accidental and
superficially happy results, were generally accepted
as quite satisfactory. On the other hand, there
also was a total absence of the vulgar, ugly and
degenerate eccentricities which abound in many
modern continental exhibitions. The landscapes
were better than the figure pieces — more attractive,
more personal, and in conception and in ex-
pression they had a distinctly American character.
The elegiac mood pervaded many of the low-toned
grey and brown harmonies — thin, yet agreeable to
the eye. But there was much serious work, by
men of power who are seeking to express their
individual preferences in a manner of their own.
Such dignified canvases as Ben Foster's Interior
of a Pine Grove, painted soberly, of great richness
of tone and colour, and with a grave, dramatic and
poetical quality ; as Childe Hassam's old Church,
already referred to ; and as Ballard Williams's The
Gorge, were among the best of these. The newer
men: Mr. Redfield, Mr. Lawson, Mr. Rosen-
showing in their work more force than charm —
challenged the spectator's eye with their mosaic of
positive brush strokes, demanding of him if this

199

Jlrt in America

be not as tnithfiil ami inspiring a rendering as that
of the Uteral painters who try to match closely
every tone, colour and form in the subject before
tluin.

Mr. Mctcalf's work of late years displays both
ardour and vers.itility. His views of the quasi-
Greek portico of his l>oarding-house in an old
viilagi.* of Mass;ichusctts, seen in the soft splendours
of a ' May night,' was one of the noteworthy
can\-ases of tlie Kxhibilion of the Ten, and has
iK-en purchased by the Corcoran Clalleryof Wash-
ington. It had a charm quite other but no less pcr-
su.isive than that of its neighbours from tiie brush
of Childe Hass.nn, and it was as happily conceived
and executed. With charm, the landscapes of
Alden Weir had a deeper thoughtfulness, and made
a more serious, moving and lasting impression.
Edmund Tarbell's uiihnished -Vtu' Kii!<ltiiiil Interior
is a^V///v of rare simplicity, with that thoroughly
good painter's Tuie feeling for the ' envelope,' the
atmosphere, the distribution of light, which makes
one think of Vermeerof Delft. And in this collec-
tion of moderns, of younger men seeking to better
the methods taught in the old schools, it was appa-
rently the mission of Joseph De Camp to demon-
strate that there is no reason why new wine
should not be put in old bottles. Notwithstanding
the advantage of being seen in the small exhibition,
Mr. Reid's contribution told of little else than
facile superficiality. Those of the new member
of the Ten, Mr. Chase, striking his usual eclectic
note, stopping short of being, and seemingly of
wanting to be, real things, jarred with their
entourage.

At the Academy, the sculpture was conlined to
small piecc-s — much of the work being that of
young women, who even capture prizes from the
men at important competitions (the ollicial one
recently held for the bronze doors of the chapel
of the Naval Academy at Annapolis was won by
Miss Evelyn li. Longman). In the bronze
statuettes one found not unfrequently displayed
the minor qualities— delic.icy of imagination,
grace, careful modelling, and th.it thoroughness of
knowledge which is not dependent upon finish
and detail for fullness of expression.

Of the many smaller exhibitions, that of the
portraits of Miss Ellen Emmet, should be noted.
in them the young artist displayed a sureness of
vision and vigour of rendering, most marked
perhaps — in the men's portraits — in those of Mr,
St. Gaudens, Colonel Dupont and Admiral Cowles.
Her gifts, particularly her grasp of character, are
uncommon, but her colour, with a tendency to
brickiness, is conventional — certainly not dis-
tinguished. Mr. Henry Golden Dearth's land-
scapes— nocturnes and iuminiius twilights —at the
Oehme Rooms, showed vaiiety of range, breadth
of style and research for beauty and truthfulness
of tone.

We are precluded from giving even a catalogue
of exhibitions outside of New S'ork, as it would
well nigh fill the pages of the magazine. Of these
the most important was perhaps that of water-
colours in I'hiladelphi.i, with some live hundred
widely different works of our representative men
and of such foreigners as Rene Menard, Lucien
Simon, Gaston Latouche and Alexander Robinson.
Mr. Wilton I^ockwood had some twenty of his
portraits shown in an e.xhibiticjn of his own at
Providence, R.I. By conscientiously subordinating
all his brilliancies of colour, like a distracting
briivtira of rendering, Mr. Lockwood with his ex-
cellent technical ability succeeds in presenting the
type and character of his sitter in the quietest, most
persuasive of manners. He seems — iv (/«/' nest
pas coniinnn nowadays — to \tc concerned with the
personality of his sitter rather than iiululging in
some fads for his own personal amusement and
benefit — at the expense of his sitter. . r,- i

The new exhibition arranged by the Print
Department of the New York Public Library in
the Lower Hall of the Lenox Library building is
composed of book-plates and other engravings by
Edwin Davis French. Mr. Kiench, wIk) died last
summer, was originally an engraver on silver. In
1894 he turned his attention to the engraving of
book-plates, and thereafter practiailly devoted him-
self to it. In the dozen years left him he
executed 284 book-plates, as well ;is a number of
other engravings, including a series of views for
the Society of Iconoplules, title-pages for 'Andre's
|ournar ami 'Lamb's Letters,' issued by the
liibliophile Society (Boston), and illustrations for
books. The Library possesses most of his works,
the collection having been begun by the late S. P.
Avery, continued by Mr. French, ami still further
added to by others. This colkction well illus-
trates the line ipialities of Mr. French's art, and
the calm beauty of decorative line that charac-
terizes his designs. Paul Lemperly's catalogue of
his book-plates, issued as early as 1899, was
continued in manuscript for the Library by Mr.
French himself. This volume has also l>een
placed on exhibition, with some portraits which
throw light on the personal side of this able
artist.

The exhibition of American work in the print
galleries on the floor above has already resulted
in 'some additions to the Library's collection.
Etchings by S. F. W. Mielatz (iiiduding that of
the Poe cottage), A. Koopm.m ami Charles H.
Miller, wood engravings by Timothy Cole (proofs
of the 'Spanish Painters' series, recently com-
pleted in the Century), examples of modern
wood engraving gathered by T. D. Sugdeii, book-
plates by W. F. Hopson, and photographs of
recent sculpture by J. Scott Hartley, are among
these recent gifts.

200

( III /n '"J '■/' ''"'' -ftl^'f
/V,-„. //ir y/iii,i/i,iii /•?/ fyorrrt

j^ EDITORIAL
)F A

.^;

ake stock of t

terprise '

1. In

ns made by the gre

rons which from tim

, there

..■..- .., -upe, Asi.. .

not always of the fi'

Ives, but pes

portance in the aj:

_ ,,. atofCi

re enthusiastically stuti
.erica ; certainly nowhere
I by such C( ■
'»■■■. The ivj:....
e to us from A
cate how very consider
)n of treasures of this '^

1 with '- '• ^ ""

•i and

ihe monumental w-
pictures in Amt
-, to which th
have been cc... ...

three years, and of \
cnt is now on the
proves that in tnc
..-:..;.., ■^ •-■■•r-ican

■nc

!th

II.

.in art

. lire
ady

net
re.

:u-
in-

the

he first
publi-
cise of
private

conspicuously
than their museums have been
:er of archaeology and oriental

Vrf fhoiiv^h wc may envy America the

masterpieces which would

be an attraction to any great gallery in

ARTICLE cK,

iCAN COLLECTING

Europe, we need not regard her p,
with too much alarm. Now and then, as
• of the Rokeby Velazquez, a
■^ ■'' unique in*^— - "r- come
r for e two

ompelled to engage in
competition. Yet so far as
- :rned, the works of the
-- , such as Titian and

Ni chelangelo, are, with very few excep-
tions, contained in European galleries, from
they are never likely to pass ; and
..nc may be said of the great bulk of
'vnrk of the no less rare primitive
When we come to later painting,
and pr .Ueries of Europe

. . K.

™ugh. Nor in the
igy can America

'' '.t of r •

Reynolds or <
department r
cvi- ■

to : i^ean mu.,

already h' .■ the chief relics of

ancient art, and recen - ion has placed

limits on the A archaeological

treasure-trove m ire.

There would . e seem to be no

reason for fearing American competition
on public grounds, although there can be

no doubt that it bears ha^'' -

private collectors. At the :
contents of English houses are still so im-
perfectly known that from time to time
m.;-

mai .. L .. , .^.. ...-.^... ..- . -■

If our a.: i can but organize and

husband our resources to meet these great
occasions, we may be content to see a fair
share r '' ■ - '-- ••-— -^ • •-••■• ^^ • ^ ■'■■-:•-
ol the !

astic patronage they owe their eii
money value.

"pn BUKUXGIOK HAOUtir*. No. ft. Vol XI— Julj, 1937

«A^ EDITORIAL ARTICLE cK>
THE PROGRESS OF AMERICAN COLLECTING

H E progress of collecting
in America is so com-
monly regarded as a
danger to collecting in
Europe that it is not
amiss from time to time
to take stock of the results that the wealth
and enterprise of America have actually
attained. In addition to the huge acquisi-
tions made by the great American art
patrons which from time to time feature
in the newspapers, there has been a steady
outflow from Europe, Asia and Africa of
objects, not always of the first importance
in themselves, but possessing a distinct
importance in the aggregate. Nowhere,
perhaps, are European and Egyptian
archaeology and the art of China and Japan
more enthusiastically studied than in
America ; certainly nowhere is their study
backed by such corporate and private
generosity. The handbooks and bulletins
which come to us from American museums
indicate how very considerable the accu-
mulation of treasures of this kind is becom-
ing, and with how much energy it is being
arranged and classified. On the other
hand, the monumental work upon the
capital pictures in American private col-
lections, to which the principal scholars of
Europe have been contributing for the last
two or three years, and of which the first
instalment is now on the eve of publi-
cation, proves that in the case of
European painting American private
collectors have been no less conspicuously
successful than their museums have been
in the matter of archaeology and oriental
art.

Yet, though we may envy America the
possession of masterpieces which would
be an attraction to any great gallery in

Europe, we need not regard her progress
with too much alarm. Now and then, as
in the case of the Rokeby Velazquez, a
work of art of unique interest may come
into the market for which the two
hemispheres are compelled to engage in
friendly competition. Yet so far as
painting is concerned, the works of the
supreme Italians, such as Titian and
Michelangelo, are, with very few excep-
tions, contained in European galleries, from
which they are never likely to pass ; and
the same may be said of the great bulk of
the work of the no less rare primitive
masters. When we come to later painting,
the public and private galleries of Europe
have still at least a sufficiency of examples
of men like Rembrandt or Van Dyck, or
Reynolds or Gainsborough. Nor in the
department of archaeology can America
ever hope, even with the best of fortune,
to surpass Europe, European museums
already hold securely the chief relics of
ancient art, and recent legislation has placed
limits on the exportation of archaeological
treasure-trove in the future.

There would therefore seem to be no
reason for fearing American competition
on public grounds, although there can be
no doubt that it bears hardly upon our
private collectors. At the same time, the
contents of English houses are still so im-
perfectly known that from time to time
masterpieces will inevitably come into the
market which England ought to retain.
If our authorities can but organize and
husband our resources to meet these great
occasions, we may be content to see a fair
share of our treasures pass into the keeping
of the friendly competitor to whose enthusi-
astic patronage they owe their enhanced
money value.

TBB BDHLINGTON UAGAZINB, No. 52, Vol. XI— July, 1907

203

THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING

CA.BY A MODI RN PAINTER r*^

IV— THE ROYAL ACADEMY AND 1 HE NEW ENGLISH

ARi CLUB

I I.W'K now tried to review
the tciuieiicies and prospects
of the leading art societies
in England, with the excep-
tion of two. But those
two, the Royal Academy
and tlic New English Art Club, are
among the most important ofall. Nothing
could be more diametrically opposed than
their respective constitutions, ideals,
and worldly circumstances. The Royal
Academy owns a historic tradition
beginning with the great founders of
the English School, a palace in Picca-
dilly, a large invested capital, and a social
reputation which, if steadily decreasing, is
still considerable. The New English Art
Club is more than a century younger;
not one Londoner in a hundred could
point the way to its humble gallery in
Dering Yard; though its reputation with
the critics stands high, it is practically
unknown to the general public, and, even
if its fortune has been far greater than
appearances suggest, it cannot possess the
accumulated wealth of an old corporation
like the Royal Academy.

The two Societies differ no less widely
in their constitutions. Turn to the Hrst
page of the Royal Academy Catalogue
and you will see its principalities and
powers arrayed in all their glory. Yet
many of the names, including those of all
the Associates, count for nothing in matters
of government. The whole of the power
of the Academy lies vested in the President
and Council, and against their decision
even the unanimous protest of the remain-
ing members (not to mention the Asso-
ciates) would be impotent. The Council
is made up of members who serve in
rotation, and nearly all are advanced in

years ; so the Royal Academy is not only
an oligarchy but an oligarchy of old men.
The New English Art Club, on the
other hand, is a democracy of the most
uncompromising kind. Everything and
everybody seems to be dependent upon
popular election — that is to say, by out-
siders as well as members. I wonder if
any other art society in the world gives
the casual exhibitor a voice in the conduct
of its affairs.'' The abstract of the Club's
constitution, as given in its catalogue,
does not say on what principle the Hon.
Secretary is elected, unless he be elected
annually with the rest of the E^xecutive
Committee, but no one else in the Club
seems to hold any kind of permanent
office. There is no President, only a
Committee and a Selecting Jury: the one
elected annually by the members, the
other by the whole body of exhibitors at
the previous exhibition. A comparison
with two or three old catalogues proves
tliis election to be no farce, for the names
are different each year, and the old con-
stantly vanish to make room for the young.
Constitutions so diametrically opposed
cannot be expected to produce the same
results. The splendid quarters and imposing
array of the Academicians are admirably
adapted to attract the public; their age and
experience are equally adapted to the social
and business side of art. Year after year
they are able to give sumptuous banquets
and crowded receptions, as well as to fill
their galleries with visitors, while at the
same time, in such matters as the Chantrey
Trust, they have proved themselves strong
enough even to defy Parliament. No
other institution in Engl.unicouUl, 1 believe,
have defended such a diflicult case with
absolute impunity.

204

Yet the weight of years which gives
the President and the Council experience
in managing Parliament and the public is
a serious disadvantage when they have to
deal with art. Few men, even among the
greatest, have retained their faculty of
painting in old age ; fewer still, perhaps,
have retained breadth of judgment enough
to be fair to their juniors. The ruling
powers at Burlington House are thus for
the most part painters whose day has long
been over, and in their attitude to the
work, of younger generations they are,
with all the goodwill in the world,
constantly found to be at fault. The con-
tinued dissatisfaction over -the Chantrey
purchases is a case in point, while the
former failing is very clearly marked in
the present exhibition at Burlington
House. There, with the exception of the
ubiquitous Mr. Sargent and a single portrait
by Mr. Orchardson, the forty Academicians
contribute nothing that is noticeable, all
the good work being admittedly either by
outsiders or by the younger Associates.

It is, indeed, evident that the present
constitution of the Academy does not
make sufficient provision for the infusion
of younger blood into its counsels. The
mere fact that a painter and critic such as
Mr. Clausen has no longer any official post,
and is not entitled to make his voice
heard in the deliberations of the Council,
speaks for itself. Yet the Academy could
hardly have pursued a career which, on
the whole, has been distinctly successful,
had it not possessed sources of strength
which go far to counterbalance the heavy
disadvantages imposed upon it by the fact
that its constitution is out of date.

To begin with, its established prestige
gives it a certain momentum which no
constitutional hindrances can check at
once. Then, it opens its doors to outsiders ;
and the magnificent galleries at its disposal,

The Qase for Modern T^ainting

coupled with the fact that it hangs pictures
two and three deep, enable it to exhibit a
larger number of works than any other
English society. It also is wide in its
scope, for it includes many other arts
besides oil-painting. Sculpture, water-
colour drawing, etching, engraving and
architectural design can all be received,
with the result that the Academy attracts
to itself the greatest possible variety of
contributors. The case of architecture is
specially notable. The Academy is the
single body which caters for architects, so it
receives year after year the majority of
the good designs that are made in the
country — and the architectural room, in
consequence, is always one of the best
features of the show. The enormous
number of exhibits accepted in other
departments, together with the weakness
of the selecting body to which we have
alluded, tends to make the main portion
of the exhibition a miscellaneous aggre-
gate, rather than a collection of well-
chosen works. Also the competition on
the crowded walls makes every painter try
to outshine his neighbour, with disastrous
results on the general tone and colour of
the pictures exhibited.

These two defects, quite apart from the
arbitrary and often unsympathetic ruling
to which they are subjected, year after
year tend to drive conscientious artists to
attach themselves to smaller societies.
Yet the miscellaneous character of the
show, its comprehensiveness, and even its
gaudy colouring, make it specially attrac-
tive to the general public, who like to get
plenty to look at for their money ; and,
without presuming to prophesy, I believe
that in a few years the income of nine
Royal Academicians out of ten will be
derived from entrance fees and catalogues
and not from bona fide sales.

The New English Art Club with its

205

The £ase for Modern Paiutin^

democratic constitution has not this
dc-mocratic patronage. Dependent upon
the popular control of the young, it tends
year after year to give prominence to artists
who are making their reputations, but
who, as soon as they have made them, pass
on to the honours and titles which await
them in grander societies. Two or three
notable figures, it is true, remain unshaken
pillars of the Club year after year, but round
them moves a constantly changing group
of clever young men, whose attachment to
the institution seems less devoted. So
the New English Art Club is dominated
by men who arc engaged in making their
reputations : the Academy by men whose
reputations are a matter of ancient history.
Novelty, however, is not beloved of the
British public, and the consequence is
that the New English Art Club never
inspires quite the same confidence in the
public that they derive from older — and,
may I say, stodgier? — institutions.

Yet in what might be termed an
aggregate of brilliant experiments there
is always some work to be seen which
will grow more Amious with time. And,
therefore, although the public docs not visit
the New English Art Club, the collectors
do, and it has the reputation in its small
way of being one of the best galleries for
selling in all London. A large proportion
of the members, though young men, are
people who have made a certain name for
themselves in one way or another, so that
the outsider who gets a picture accepted
is sure of hanging in good company.

while, if rejected, he has the consolation
of being rejected by artists whose work, in
one way or another, he is bound to respect.
Nor is the Club narrow in its tastes, if
I may judge by the present exhibition,
where works by impressionists pure and
simple hang cheek by jowl with the very
latest thing in the manner of the old
masters. This return to the methods of
a bygone age is perhaps the most
significant feature in modern English
exhibitions. Time after time, the New
English Art Club has been the forerunner
of movements which have afterwards be-
come the general fashion. Indeed, its com-
parative lack of success as compared with
more conventional institutions is probably
due to the fact that it is always several
years in advance of its time. It anticipates
movement after movement ; but before
time has been allowed for each movement
to be accepted and made successful, it has
passed on to some fresh innovation. If
this supposition be true, we may expect
in a few years to see in other exhibitions
a revival of traditional methods of drawing
and painting, such as that which is now
foreshadowed by the little exhibition in
Dering Yard.

[ Uy the courtesy of the artist, ^[r. A. A. McEvoy, wc are
en iblcd to reproduce .in example of the cl.iss of p.tintiog at the
New English Art Club to which our contributor refers. It will
be seen at once th.it in this Mother iiin/ Cliilii the .irtisfs aim has
been to combine something of a modern feeling for light and
air with the scientific technique of the great genre painters of
Holhnd. Other exanples of this interesting form of art will
be remembered by those who happened to see Mr. McEvoy's
recent exhibition at the galleries of Meisrs. C.irfax. The
method employed offers a singular combin.ition of advantage*,
sinceit enables the painter to get much of the vibrant qu.ility of
light obtained by the lmpressioni>ts without losing the power
of delic.ite and sensitive manipulation of the brush on which
all grcit painting in the past has depended. — Ed.]

206

MOTHER AND CHILD, BY AMBROSE MCEVOY

IX THE EXHIBITION OF THE NEW ENGLISH ART CLUB

--?

THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING

THE MARBLE AND CERAMIC DECORATIONS OF THE

ROMAN CAMPANILI

u*^ BY J. TAVENOR-PERRY cf^

HE stately but mouldering
brick towers which were once
the campanili of mediaeval
Rome have never received
from architects or archaeo-
logists the attention which,
for their beauty and their
associations, they have de-
ser\-ed. But painters have always appreciated
them as valuable accessories to their compositions ;
and they may be foimd, like notes of emphasis, in
the landscapes of the
Poussins, of Claude, and
of many others. They are
but modern as compared
with the venerable ruins
among which they stand,
but ancient as compared
with the rococo palaces
and 'gimcrack churches
of Gesu ' with which they
are, perforce, too often
incongruously associated ;
and they have now to be
sought for behind the
screens of huge and
commonplace edifices, a
mere Parisian veneer, with
which the new streets
of Rome are bordered,
where lie hidden the sole
relics of an age not only
long past but long for-
gotten.

Much obscurity hangs
over both the origin and
the date of these towers ;
and, although not the
immediate subject of this
article, it is necessary to
know something of their
history properly to appre-
ciate the peculiarities of their decorations. Their
erection has been usually assigned to the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries ; but their origin and
sova^ of the existing remains undoubtedly belong
to a much earlier period. Their fate was, in
many respects, paralleled by the more modern
case of the towers of Auvergne and Velay, which
were destroyed or dismantled by the revolutionary
agents at the close of the eighteenth century, and
in the former half of the nineteenth century were
gradually restored to their original conditions.
Cattaneo ' says that he is unable to trace in any
detail of the campanili evidence of their erection

1 ' L'Architecture en Italie,' par Raphael Cattaneo. Traduc-
tion par M. le Monier.

FIG. 4. S. FRAN'CESCA
ROMANA, ROME

--'-^^

before the eleventh century ; but it 'must be
remembered that, with the exception of the surface
decorations, they are built entirely of materials
from the ruins of older buildings, ancient bricks
and ancient marble, and that there is nothing but
the workmanship itself to give a clue to the date
when the work was done. So far as the mere
brickwork is concerned there is nothing either in
the walling itself or in the arrangement of the
cornices to distinguish it from the work of later
imperial times; and the same sort of walling is

found in the ' Casa di
Crescenzio,' which is the
oldest private building of
the middle ages erected
in Rome," and was built
certainly not later than
the eleventh century.' The
classical character of the
design of these towers,
so symmetrical in their
proportions and arrange-
ments, is such as can
scarcely have been the
product of so late an age
as that commonly as-
signed to them. Towers
for use and ornament
were common in imperial
times, and that their
form was closely akin to
that of the mediaeval
campanili is shown by the
model of one on a
stucco relief recendy
discovered among the
ruins in the Farnesina
gardens on the banks of
the Tiber.* But besides
the support of analogy,
there are, not only direct
documentary evidence,
but actual remains, which go to prove the
erection of such buildings at a very early date.
Pope Stephen II, about 755, built a bell-tower
to the atrium of the basilica of S. Peter, which
he is stated to have overlayed with gold and
silver ; and a tower was built to S. Maria in
Cosmedin by Adrian I about 780.' Withm
an upper stage of the tower of S. Prassede
are the remains of some archaic paintmgs
contemporary with and representing some events

2 ' History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages,' by Fer-
dinand Gregorovius.

^ For ornamental details of this building see Serous d Agin-
court. ' Histoire de I'Art par les Monume:its.'

* • Pagan and Christian Rjm;,' by Rjdolfo Lanciani.

' Gregorovius.

FIG. 1. SS. OlOVANXI
E PAOLO, ROME

209

^decorations of the T^man Qawpamli

which occurred diirinjj the pontificate of I*:isclial I,
alxjiit 820, which point to the erection of tlic
tower itself at some previous date.* Tliesc
examples are quite sufficient to show that, what-
ever may be the date of the towers now standinj,',
the custom of building such towers begins at
least as early as the eighth century-. There
arc, undoubtedly, definite records of the building
of campanili at much later dates, many if not
most of which may have been restorations, as in
the case of y\uvergne. Thus the church of S.
M.iria in Trastevere, to the bell-tower of which wc
shall have again particularly to refer, seems to
have l>een entirely rebuilt by Pope Innocent 11
about 1 140.

It has been assumed, perhaps too hastily, that
even if towers earlier than the twelfth century did
once exist, they had perished in the disorders of
the troublous times of the tenth and eleventh
centuries, and more particularly in the devastations
attributed to the Normans and Saracens under
Koliert Guiscard. But the dilapidation of two
centuries on buildings so simple and so solid could
not be very considerable, and the mischief wrought
by Guiscard's raid on the monuments of the city
may have been much exaggerated. When he
entered Rome by the Flaminian Gate on the 28th
May 1084, his aim was to rescue the Pope as
quickly ;is possible from his captivity in S. Angelo,
and, this done, he forced his way through a hostile
population, avoiding as far as possiiilc ail large
buildings from which he miglit be attacked, across
the Campus Martius, through the Via Lata, skirting
along the cast side of the imperial fora and the
Coliseum, to the Lateran Palace by liic Via Caeli-

riGS. 5 AND 6. BACINI FRUVI &S. CilOVANNI
E PAULO, ROME

montana. During this difficult march his troops
were too much occupied in their own preservation
to do more wilful damage than was caused by the
fires which broke out along their line of progress ;
and it was only when, three days afterwards, the
citizens rose and attacked them in the Lateran
that, in retaliation, any delinile destruction was
attempted, liut even then this w.is conliiK-d to
the comp.ualively sni ill .ire.i which l.iy within easy
re.ich of Gmscard's he.idquarters. The portion ol

the Caelian lying iKMween the I^ileran and the
Coliseum, along the Caput Africae, at lh.it time
thickly populated, w.as burnt, and with it the ancient
churchc-sof S. Clementeand SS. QiiattroCoronali;
and the whole city was given up to pillage. But
tile armed bands which r.iided the churches, and
carried o(T as many captives for slavery as they
could, were too intent, in the short sp.ice of time
at their dispos;il, on acquiring their spoil, to waste
their energies on the destruction of bricks and
mortar. Within three weeks of their entry they
retired .again across the Campagna ; and it is
impossible to believe that in that short time the
N'ormans of Guiscard wrought the havoc done by
the landsknechts of PVundsberg in the nine months'
sack with which Charles V closed the history of
mediaeval Rome.

These campanili may be roughly described as

•'Lc dnc naove canip.inc di Cjinnid >2lio,' by
Ctncellicri ; also ' L« Chicsc di Rjini, by Mariano

Frances JO

Armellini.

FIGS. 7 A\0 8. B\CISI FROM S. FRANCESCA
KOMANA, ROME

'all alike,' although in the number of their storeys,
the proportions of their p.arts or the grouping of
their openings each tower differs from the rest.
But the characteristic features of their squareness,
the arrangement of their stages, and the rich and
boldly projecting cornices which crown each
storey, make them a type of tower unknown in the
romanesque architecture of Italy outside Rome
or its immediate precincts. They were built at
first solely for the purposes of utility, and such
slight decorative features as they possess, such as
the cornices and window openings, were the result
of the adaptation by their builders of the modes
of construction they found in the ruined edifices
around them. The objects for which they were
built were two-fold ; first to form a stronghold for
the protection of the treasure of the church in the
times of disorder which so frequently disturbed
the city, and, second, to provide a suitable place
for hanging the church bells. From an early date,
however, some attempt at embellishment, beyond
the constructional decoration of the cornices, was
m ule, as is implied in the dcscrijition of the ovcr-
l.iynig ol the bell-tower of S. I'eter's with gold
and silver ; but whatever the iiatuie of this e.irly
ornament.ition may have been, no remains of it
liave survived to tiiis d.iy. The remains of deco-
ration which still form part of the existing cam-
panili are mainly constructional, as but few portions

210

^Decorations of the Roman Qampanili

of the plating with which they were, in part at
least, encrusted still adhere to their crumbling
walls. The structural marble decorations consist
of the little corbels forming the principal part

roundels of majolica ; of these the latter appear
not only to have been the first to be used but to
have continued in use until the period when
mediaeval gave place to Renaissance architecture.

FIG. 3. S. MARIA IN
TRASTE\TERE, ROME

S. PIDENZIAXA,

FIG. 2. S CROCE IN
GERUSALEMME, ROME

of the cornices, which were once used in a
similar way in the brick cornices of the later
imperial buildings, and may still be seen on the
remains of the Thermae of Diocletian ; and of
the columns placed between the window open-
ings of the upper stages. These latter were of
white marble taken from the ruins of ancient
buildings, and selected mainly for their decorative
effect. Thus we find that Leo IV used a little
column on which was a Greek inscription to
Serapis for the adornment of a window in the
campanile of S. Peter's ; ' and the fluted shafts in
the tower of S. Maria in Cosmedin and the spirally
decorated shafts of those of S. Giovanni Laterano
are similar examples of such use.

The niches which appear on a few of the towers
must also be classed with the constructional
oramentation, since they are also formed of
ancient marble corbels and shafts. They were
intended as protections or shrines, not for statues
as is generally supposed, since there is neither
ledge nor corbel on which a figure could be placed,
but for pictures, painted or in mosaic, of the
Blessed Virgin. These niches are found on the
towers of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (fig. i), S. Croce
in Gerusalemme (fig. 2), S. Maria in Trastevere
(fig. 3), and S. Francesca Romana, once
S. Maria Nuova (fig. 4), which has two.
The paintings and mosaics have all disappeared
from them except from that of S. Maria in Tras-
tevere, where in a niche of a peculiar form is a
much faded mosaic of the Madonna and Child
dating perhaps from the time of Eugenius 111.

Of the applied or encrusted decorations there
are two kinds, the one consisting of discs or slabs
of marble or porphyry, and the other of hacini or

'• Gregorovius.

When first the idea of employing such a mode of
decoration sprang into existence cannot be deter-
mined, but the suggestion made by Fortnum* that
it was due to the use of inlaid stones and enamelled
discs in goldsmiths' work seems borne out by the
overlaying of S. Peter's bell-tower with silver and
gold. The use of bacini as a decoration seems to
have occurred first at Pisa in the eleventh century,
or perhaps still earlier at Pesaro, where pottery
works were being carried on in the time of
Theodoric.^ There is nothing to show when first
they were placed on the Roman campanili, but it
seems pretty clear from the evidence of the
buildings themselves that they were an after-
thought, since no place was formed constructively
to receive them on the face of the walls ; and where
they have been let into the brickwork it has only

FIG. 9. ROUNDEL FROM
S. MARIA MAGGIORE,
ROME

FIG. 10. CROSS FROM
S. FRANCESCA ROMANA
ROME

been roughly cut away to form a sinking, as in the
case of the disc under the niche on the tower of

8 ' A Descriptive Catalogue of the Majolica, etc., at South
Kensington,' C. D. E. Fortnum.
9 ' Archaeologia,' XLII. Notes on bacini.

21 I

T^ccoratiotis of the T^wati Qawpariili

SS. Gioxiuini c Paolo. These haciui arc of two
sorts ; the carher in point of date arc mch as those
on the towers of S. Francef'Ca kcmana and
SS. Giovanni e Paolo, which are cnamclkd dishts
of v.tiying dtsif^ns, and the later ones arc merely
roundels of ^la/ed tirra cotia, frequently set
in riii{;s of f^l;i/ed britkwoik, as at S. Maria
Maj^giore. The four examples whicli we illus-
trate of the former class (figs. 5 to 8) seem
to lie covered with a lead glaze and tinted
yellow, brown and green in flow colours not un-
like some late productions of the Wedgwood
factories. The ctTect of them in the sunlight is
most brilliant ; but the metallic iridescence which
they show seems to be due to the decomposition
of the glaze which has taken place in the lapse of
years. They do not appear to have been specially
made for the positions they occupy, e.xcept perhaps
in the case of one dish, of which we give an illus-
tration (fig. 5), which shows in a pattern of
indigo on an apple-green ground the sword and
crown of martyrdom symbolic of the saints on
whose church it appears. The later roundels are
slightly hollowed discs generally glazed in a green
colour, set sometimes in a ring of plain brickwork
as at S. Croce in Gerusalemme and SS. Kufina e
Seconda, and would seem to be of the same date
as the restored or rebuilt towers to which they are
attached. Those on the tall bell-tower of S. Maria
Maggiore (fig. 9), which is of late date and differs
from the normal type of Koman campanili, are

properly set into the brickwork, much of which is
coloured and glazed, and evidently formed part of
the original construction of the tower.

Sometimes in association with the haciui, but
more generally by themselves, thin slabs of marble
and porphyry were empU)yed as an encrusted
ornament. The supply of such material in Rome
was practically inexhaustible, and early in the
eleventh century a school of marble masons sprang
up in the city who developed the mosaic art till
it came to perfection in the hands of Vassilectus
and the Cosimati. These slabs were of various
shapes, such as circular and oblong, and some-
times in the form of crosses, formed perhaps as
the material in hand permitted, and they seem to
have been affixed to the towers without much
regard for symmetry. Generally they are merely
placed on the face of the brickwork, but frequently
the edges were guarded by a projecting rim of
tiles as shown by the porphyry cross on S. Fran-
cesca Romana, of which we give an illustration
(fig. 10).

When complete, these decorations of marble
and m.'ijolica must have presented a happy and
even brilliant effect. IJut they are now fast dis-
appearing ; and though, as in the case of S.
Pudenziana (fig. 11), some attempts have been
made to replace the marbles, most of the towers
present but a forlorn appearance, scarred with the
patches and empty settings from whence their
ornaments have fallen.

HANS WYDYZ THE ELDER
^ BY Dr. RUDOLF F. BURCKHARDT .ai

X the Historisches Museum at
I '..iscl there is a gem of German
iiiDdelling on a small scale, a
little boxwood group of Adam
ciiul Jive (plate 1), from the
Ainerbach collection.
l^<tJ The (iguies — each about 6 in.
j^^^^Q :i height* — both stand on small

l)lotk>., the surlace of which is made by means of
fine incisions to give the impression of gr.iss.
Upon each of these little grass plots, between the
feet of the figures, is inscribed a letter — in the
case of Adam an H and in that of Eve a W —
without doubt the initials of the artist. These
small blocks .ire set in a larger block of lime wood,
which is treated as broken-up, rocky ground.
Above, on the left, a tree trunk is introduced.
it is ch.iracterized distinctly, by fl.it, irregularly
car\'ed grooves, as an upward climbing growth.
The trunk is forked at .ibout the height of Adam's
neck. The serpent's head' lies over this fork, its

' Tran»Uletl by I-. I. Armstrong.

* Ad.un li 6 ill. Iiigli ; Eve in 5t in. Iiich.

> MiC licad (4 llic ser|>cnt is broken olf.

body hanging perpendicularly, so that the skin
takes on fine cross folds.

Hehiiul the back of Adam, Eve has reached for
the apple. She holds it grasped in her outstretched
right hand, whilst she stands firmly planted on the
right side of the pedestal, almost full face, with the
upper part of her body bent back, and inclines her
charming little head, with its wonderful softly
waving masses of hair, to the left towards Adam,
and smiles at him. She rests her left hand on her
hip.

Adam, too, stands firmly planted on both feet,
but the artist h.is given tension to his figure by
placing his left foot at right angles to his right.
The forward bend of his body incre;uses this
tension, which reaches its full expression in the
turn of his head sideways towards Eve. His right
hand hangs down, holding an apple, while the
raised left* hand emphasizes the passionate words
which liis open mouth seems to whisper.

* The left arm has l)ccn broken at the elbow, .ind mended
later, rouj-lily though corrcilly. The finger-tips of Ihc h.ii.dare
broken off. They probably held an apple, something like the
Eve ol MciL

212

z
o

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:? X

2 S

> ?

Q 5

TIIK MAUrVK.l.JM OF ST. shll V>1 IAN. UoWVuul). AUOl. T 71 INCIILS UK. II
IN TIIK KVISEK FKIRURICII Ml'SEl'M, IIF.ULIN

TIIK ADORATION. A.Il. I505, WOOD, HALF LIFK-SI/H
IS THF. LATHFDBAI.. FRFIhl'KO IN IIRKISdAU

lUNs WVDY^ THE Et.nFK
I'l.ATF II

Every one will admit that the group is a German
work, dating from the beginning of the sixteenth
century. Every one, too, on seeing the group,
will be involuntarily reminded of the boxwood
statuettes of Adam and Eve by Konrad Meit of
Worms at Gotha.

Both artists show a reckless naturalism and a
similar keenness in the observation and represen-
tation of nature.^ Both omit the fig-leaves,
although it was customary to give them in the
current art of the period. Our master copies the
female model exactly as it appeared before him, in
the easiest possible attitude, with the feet at right
angles to each other, and the upper part of the
body bent backward, an attitude common in the
art of that time.

In the male model he does not even slur over a
defect, the projecting joint of one of the toes of
the left foot — the signature, as it were, of a per-
fectly faithful imitation of the model.

Otherwise, however, the two masters are utterly
different. Even in their choice of models, they
show an interest in opposite kinds of figures.
Meit likes a fleshy figure with fat legs, broad hips,
narrow shoulders, round head, and soft curves in
the movements of the joints. Our master chooses
a spare, muscular body ; he makes the joints stand
out, and throws the limbs into abrupt, angular
positions. Even though in his modelling of Eve
he betrays a delicate sense of the lustre ofthe skin,
what attracts him above all else as a factor in
expression is the play of the muscles beneath the
skin, which in Meit are covered by a layer of
fat.

It is, however, in their composition that their
different temperaments are fully revealed. Meit
carves two quiet figures, loosely connected by
gentle gestures, giving in spite of their small-
ness an impression of size, and carried out in the
modelling with wonderful velvety softness. Our
master makes his figures formal and not nearly so
finished in their modelling ; but genuine passion
combines them into a single group. At the same
time he shows, like Meit, a great sense of beauty, a
thing as a rule not often united with the impulse
to expression and with reckless naturalism. This
is shown even in the curly head of Adam, but
above all in the charming little head of Eve, with
the coiffure not to be found in the German plastic
art of that period (plate i). Parted in the
middle, the hair falls down the back in a soft,
only slightly waved mass, from both sides of the
temples, covering the upper part of the ears. At
the top of the brow a ribbon is placed round the
head, fastened at the back by a fourfold twist,
above which part of the hair is taken up and waves
upwards in a lightly curling mass, ennobling the
outline of the head, while below it the hair falls in

"Reproduced in the ' Jahrbuch d. K. Preuss Kunstsammlung,'
1901 (p. viii), considered by Bode to date from 1510.

Hans JVydyz the Elder

two parted masses down tiie back, towards the left,
following the movement of the head.

If Meit's treatment of the body and his velvety
modelling declare him a genuine native of the
Lower Rhine, the characteristics described above
point to the Upper Rhine as the home of our
master.

Since so small a boxwood group is very fragile,
and since also it belonged to the Amerbach col-
lection, we may safely assume that it was made at
Basel. A lucky chance led also to the interpre-
tation of the initials H.W.

In the cathedral of Freiburg in Breisgau, a few
hours from Basel, there stands on the left as one
enters the choir a carved altar with the Adoration
of the Three Kings in half life-size modelling in
the round (plate 2). In the middle, in front
of the manger, sits the Madonna on a bench.
She holds out the naked Child towards the old
king, who is kneeling on the ground on the right,
whilst from the left the second king approaches,
with a dachshund at his feet. Behind the group
stands Joseph, who is balanced by the young
Moorish prince on the extreme right. The hair
and flesh are coloured after nature, and the
garments are gilded.

The movement of the bodies, especially that of
the king on the left; the turn of the heads, especially
that of Joseph ; the lovely face of the Madonna,
and the treatment of the ground,? all remind one
immediately of the Adam and Eve group. An
inscription high up on the right of the manger
proved the connexion. It runs : ' 1505 I O H.
WYDYZ,' the H and the W being carved exactly
as in the Adam and Eve. Further investigation
elicited the fact that the altar comes from the chapel
of the Baslerhof near the Kaiserstrasse at Freiburg
in Breisgau.*^ The Basel chapter had bought this
house in 1590 from the Sturzel family, and had
settled in it with the property which the Basel
Council had not confiscated and which had not
been destroyed by the iconoclasts. Thus this
altar of Hans Wydyz has also a special historical
value as one of the few works which were not the
victims of the Basel iconoclasm.

Beneath the signature of Wydyz is written :
' Verg. d 105 Dom. Glaenz. 1823,' that is : 'gilded
by T. D. Glaenz.' The process, however, did not
stop at gilding only, but implies thorough
restoration. The background is certainly new ;
but the most important thing, the group of the
Adoration, and the artist's inscriptions are without
doubt quite intact.
The baldacchino which overarches the Adoration

8 The assumption that the altar comes from Basel is strength-
ened by the wings, entirely decayed, which are in the charge
of the custodian of the cathedral. Outside on the left, Peter ;
on the right, Paul ; inside on the left, the Emperor Henry, with
a good picture of the Basler Munster, the Pfalz, and the Rhine
enlivened by ships ; on the right, St. Pantalus. The painting,
or the painting-over in the manner of Bock is dated i6oi.

217

Hiuis nyjjz the Elder

is crowned by three wooden figures, Chrisl
helween Mary and John. I reproduce the figure
of Christ (plate 3), not on account of its
artistic quahty, but because it permits a small,
nobly formed crucifix in the B;iscl historical
museum, also from the Amcrbach colltclion, to
be ascribed to Hans Wydy/. The ri->en Christ,
with both hands lifted iil benediction, has the
s:ime type of face, the same treatment of the liair,
as the kings in the Adoration.

The treatment of the body shows a striking
resemblance to that of the Adam (plate i) ; the
feet, the shape of the knees, the three horizontal
folds on the belly, and the chest formation are the
same, though the Christ is more roughly shaped,
larger, and meant to be looked at from below. At
any rate, the Christ is also the work of Wydyz. If
we now compare this figure with our Christ
Crncilud (plate 3), we may ascribe this also to
Wydyz. Both shcnv the same type of face, the
same straight, longish nose, the same shaped
beard, the same treatment of the hair, the same
crown of thorns. Similarities are also shown in
the loin cloth with frilled border. The prominent
chest, the belly and the knees are modelled quite
differently because of the entirely different move-
ment, the strained hanging position. Perhaps,
too, the Crucifi.\ is a rather more mature work.
In any case, it belongs to the noblest small scale
sculptures of the time. The figure gains still
further interest from the two unfinished pieces
from the same hand and the same origin, which
throw a new light on the creation of a small
sculpture of this kind, and give pleasure to every
artist and lover of art (plate 3).

These three works of Wydyz— the Adoration,
the Adam and Eve, and the Christ Crucified —
belong to the same plane of development. The
Adoration is of 1505, the .Idain and Eve more or
less contemporary with it, the Christ Crucified
probably a little later. These works surely origi-
natedat Basel. It isprobableth.atseveralotherworks
of Wydyz were destroyed by the iconoclasts. In
the State archives, where Dr. Kudolf Wackern.igel
was so kind as to make inquiries, no further trace
oi Wydyz was to be found. Up to the present I
hare not been able to determine any artistic
conne-vion with Hans Weidiz of Strasburg, the
so-called Petrarch master. For that reason I call
the Wydyz who was working at Basel in 1505
Hans Wydyz the Elder.

A later work, showing a much more mature
style, can be pointed out in the almost equally
large bo.xwood group of the Martyrdom of St.
Seoastian'' (plate 2) in the Kaiser Kriedrich
Museum at Berlin.

In the middle of a low pedestal, which is treated
as rocky ground of slaty cleavage, stands Sebastian

'> Bought in 1904 as the work o( a Ratitbon master, com-
puted to <l.ite from 15J5.

218

(71 inches h'gh), bound to a tree trunk. On the
left is an archer (6 inches high), a Czech with a
bald skull and a long moustache, wearing a leather
collar and a long undergarment with hanging
sleeves ; on the right a warrior (6 inches high) in
a coat of mail and puffed and slashed doublet
sleeves, with his plumed hat on his back. Both
wear broad-toed (bull-nose) shoes.

The movement of the group begins on the left,
in the archer. The artist has represented him
after the string has been loosed and the arrow has
flown. He still holds his hand level with his
right shoulder ; his two fingers still remain just as
they were when they let the string fly. He still
holds his left arm stiffly stretched out, but his
fingers have gripped the bow more tightly to meet
the shock of the loosened string ; and now that
the arrow h:is been shot, head and shoulders have
fallen back into full face instead of profile. An
echo of this is found in the billowing folds of the
long garment. The Czech, like a born archer, has
fulfilled his function in a cool, matter-of-fact way,
and the slightly fluttering hanging sleeves give a
certain grandezza to the movement.

His arrow has pierced the neck of Sebastian.
Shuddering with pain, the martyr turns his head
up and away from his tormentor with a wild jerk
which tosses his long hair upwards. He plants
his left foot firmly on the ground and strives to
raise the upper part of his body. But he is tightly
pinioned, and in poignant contrast to the impotent
straining upward of the body, the voluminous loin
cloth glides freely in manifold twists down to the
ground on the right.

On the right stands the warrior, full face, with his
head only turned towards Sebastian. His playfully
raised hand seems to emphasize his words of
mockery. He is a figure of slight importance in the
execution, chosen only to balance that of
the archer ; yet a subtle choice, for as regards the
general impression both the side figures are of
equal value, with their free, lively outline making
a striking contrast to the bound form of the
prisoner.

A comparison of the .idam and the Sebastian
indicates that the B.isel and Berlin groups are
from the same hand. Both show the satiie type
of head, both in the form of the skull and in details
such as the chin, the mouth, the nose, the setting
of the eye, and the curly hair. Both show the
same build of body, the s.une emphasis of the
muscles, the same impulse to movement and the
same turn of the neck.

The same hand is further fully indicated by
details which could hardly be found represented
with such similarity even in artists of the same
school and the same temperament : the treatment
of the curls radiating from the crown, the forma-
tion of the nipples, the carefully executed hairs
which in the figure of Sebastian are visible even

~ o

3 »1

above the loin cloth, tlie laborious imitation of
the veins in hand and leg, and last, the fine parallel
cross-folds of the skin, produced at knee and heel
by the straining of the leg.

The Sebastian, of course, is a much more mature
work. Both the leg which supports the body and
that which is bent backward are definitely modelled
throughout. The movement of the body betrays
the study of Italian works of art. The modelling
is much richer, although subordinated to the
general movement.

If we place the Basel group at 1505, the Sebastian
probably dates from about twenty years later. A
more definite date cannot be assigned it in the
present conditions of our scanty knowledge of
German plastic art of the sixteenth century.
Similar costumes are found until the close of the
forties.

Related to the Sebastian is the Crucifixion
(this was already recognized on the occasion of
the Dusseldorf Exhibition in 1902') ; the slightly
bronzed boxwood group of Christ Bctivecn the
Thieves, owned by Herr W. Clemens of Munich
(reproduced in the 'Zeitschrift fur christliche
Kunst,' 1902, p. 373), and the figures of Mary and
John, owned by Frau Reichenheim of Berlin (re-
produced in ' Renaissance Ausstellung,' Berlin,
1898, p. 62). As in the Sebastian, the principal
figure, that of Christ (7 in. high), is larger than the
side figures of the thieves (6 in. high) ; the model-
ling of the body is of similar development ; the
treatment of the hair, the formation of the nipples
and of the parallel folds in the skin is just the
same. The crosses of the thieves should be
placed slanting towards the cross of Christ, not
' Friedlander and Voege kindly called my attention to this.

Ha/^s Wydyz the Elder

as shown in the reproduction, in a parallel line.
Only thus is value given to the painfully agitated
bodies of the thieves in full contrast to the Christ,
whose quiet solemnity is strikingly impressive :
His nobly shaped head droops, for His sufferings
are over.

The style of both of these late works of Hans
Wydyzthe Elder, particularly in the freely fluttering
robes, is so absolutely that of Central Bavaria" that
we may safely place his later activity there.

We have now tried to arrange in order a few
works of the till now unknown Hans Wydyz the
Elder. The Adam and Eve and the Sebastian,
up till now the known masterpieces of the
earlier and later period of Wydyz, we have en-
deavoured to make especially familiar to the
reader by means of detailed description, in the
hope that this essay may incite collectors and
directors of museums to search amongst their
treasures for further works of Hans Wydyz the
Elder.

These small boxwood groups, which were pro-
bably made for the pure pleasure of the artist and
not to order, often reveal a capacity for
expression, a nobility of conception, and a beauty
of form, joined to a quality of modelling which
we rarely find in the same perfection in large
works. This small scale modelling belongs to
the most beautiful and original creations of
German art.

' Compare the saints of the Frauenkirche at Munich
Chiistopher, Kasso and George in wood, painted about 1540
(Reproduced in ' Kunstdenkmale des Konigreichs Bayern '
Vol. I, Plate 142, Munich ' Jahrbuch dcr tjildenden Kunst,'
I, page 124), and the Lamentation over Christ by Hans
Leinberger, (Munich ' Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst ' I, page
n6). The figures by Lorg Hering in Eichstatt also show the
same swirling drapery.

EGYPT AND THE CERAMIC ART OF THE NEARER EAST
^ BY A. J. BUTLER, D.Litt. cK>

criticism,

array of choice pieces.

HE collection of Persian,
Rhodian and Damascus ware
at the Burlington Fine Arts
Club is probably the finest
of its kind ever got together
from private sources. One
feels the exhibition to be a
place rather for enthusiasm
so sumptuous and splendid

charming

their
variety of colour, design and technique. But the
monotony with which most of the objects are
labelled ' thirteenth century ' or ' sixteenth century '
suggests some historical problems to which criti-
cism may well be directed ; and I propose here,
after a short notice of particular specimens, to
deal, however imperfectly, with some of those
questions which students in this branch of art are
bound to raise — questions mainly concerning the

origin of the various types exhibited and the dates
at which the several manufactures flourished.

Mr. Read, in his able and lucid introduction to
the catalogue, shows how far the study of the
subject has advanced, and how much remains to
be accomplished. Dated pieces on which to base
a chronology of the art are lamentably few, and
where this is the case the temptation to generalize
from them is great. Broadly speaking, the cata-
logue classifies early Persian tiles and vessels as
thirteenth century, later Persian as seventeenth
century, and Rhodian and Damascus ware as
sixteenth century. So great is Mr. Read's authority
that to differ from him is a presumption which
nothing but a real desire to further inquiry can
extenuate. But it seems hard to believe, for
example, that the two albarelli (Nos. 6 and 10 in
Case A) are of the same date as Nos. i and 4,
from which they differ in body, in glaze, in style,

221

Egypt a fid the Qaam'u Art of the Nearer East

in tone — indeed, in almost even*' p.irticiil.ir. Wli.it
is the evidence for puttinjj tliese pieces alike in the
thirteenth centur)' ? Would it not be s;ifcr to pnt
Nos. 6 and lo down as sixteenth century, and
Nos. I and 4 as eleventh or twelfth century — the
turquoise glaze and still-black ornament recalling
the early pottery of Fustat ? Again, is it quite
certain that the brilliant ruby lustre shown in D 9
is as late as seventeenth century, when there appears
to lie very little lustre, except the familiar copper
lustre, inanyof the Persian ware here dated between
the thirteenth and the seventeenth centuries ?
The jug C 8 proves by inscription that ordinary
Persian lustred ware was made in the thirteenth
century ; Frame \o. 7, probably rightly assigned
to the fourteenth century, shows a lustre of finer
quality, but less brilliant than the ruby lustre ; and
yet in Frame No. 5 a panel of tiles, showing in
drawing and lustre alike the utmost degradation
of the art, is called sixteenth century. Such a
sequence of dates is surely difficult to follow.

Of the Kutahian ware one specimen is dated
1510 and gives the rule for the chronology of the
rest. Kutahian differs from the Damascus ware
mainly in its avoidance of all colours but blue.
Among the Damascus work in Case H the mosque
lamp. No. 2, seems strangely called ' Rhodian six-
teenth century,' when it has none of the char.icter-
istic sealing-wax red of Khodian, and looks like
seventeenth-century work of Damascus, whence
indeed it came. So the Frames Nos. 17 and 18
arc impartially labelled sixteenth century, while in
fact both are clearly decadent work — bad alike in
drawing and in colouring, and probably two
centuries later. Indeed, these two pieces are so
poor that they can h.ive no niisoii d'etre in the
exhibition, unless they are meant by contrast of
style and date to illustrate the decline of the art
from its supposed sixteenth century meridian.
The contr.ist is indeed remarkable : for nothing
could 1k" finer than the l.irge Damascus bowls
over C;ises I to K, and the superb arr.iy of dishes,
mainly lent by Mr. (loclman, within the cases.
These may all with confidence be assigned to the
fifteenth or sixteenth century ; but when one
comes to Case L and finds that the two jugs and
dish (Nos. 6, 7, 8), with their designs painted in
black under a brilliant turquoise glaze, are equally
assigned to the sixteenth century, one may fairly
a^ik whether any comparison with dated pieces of
the ordinary Damascus style and colouring can
justify the assignment to the same period of ware
so totally dissimilar and so strongly impressed
with a much more ancient tradition.

Similarly in the Rhodian section — by no means
the least fascinating in this wonderful collection —
itisdisappointingto find that every piece of Rlioili.ui
ware is classed as sixteenth century, with the
solitary exception of No. 4, Case S, which is put
down as seventeenth centiury, and which by its

222

exceedingly poor quality might be considerably
later. No doubt the dilficulty of dating these
specimens is very great. Literary evidence on the
subject there is none : and the general l.ibel of
'sixteenth century' stands only in virtue of the two
facts that some few Rhodian jugs are mounted in
silver which bears an Elizabethan hall-mark, and
that the general style and artistic excellence of the
work assign it to the s.ame period as the dated
D.un.ascus work. Thus the conventional date of
Rhodian ware hangs upon a somewhat slender
thread ; but that the name is rightly given need no
longer be questioned. Kilns certainly existed at
Lindus, in Rhodes ; and 1 can confirm the state-
ment that the late I'rofessor Middleton had visited
the spot, and had found there fragments and wasters
clearly proving the manufacture of Rhodian ware
on that site. But this beautiful art cannot have
arisen in sudden splendour in the sixteenth century.
It must have had definite artistic antecedents, were
they only known ; and it is verj' improbable that
it was confined by the limits of that short period
to which its products are commonly assigned.

But these detailed criticisms and pious — or
perhap.s impious— opinions cannot be said to
advance matters much. It remains to be seen
whether something can be put forward a little
more constructive, a little more tending to
correlate the varit)us forms of ceramic art in which
the genius of Muslim craftsmen found expression.
Historical documents bearing on the subject are,
as Mr. Henry Wallis said in reference to the
previous Burlington P'ine Arts Club exhibition,
almost entirely wanting ; but I think Mr. Read's
statement, that the last twenty ye.irs have added
nothing to our knowledge in this respect, may be
somewhat qualitied. If no new dociuiients have
been discovered, some of the authorities have at
least been made more accessible to research : and
a certain amount of fresh evidence — scanty and
sometimes dim, yet substantial, evidence — is
available. It is true that this evidence relates
mainly to a section of oriental pottery scarcely
represented in this exhibition — viz., pottery with
a provenance definitely Egyptian. Indeed, it is
quite curious how little Egyptian influence is
recognized either in the introduction to the
catalogue or in the classification of specimens.
But 1 venture to tliinkth.it the clue to much that is
called Persi.in and Syri.m and Moorish is to l>e
found ultimately in Egypt — that, in fact, t^gypt
was the centre from which there spread over the
Nearer East the art of decor.ating faience, first with
beautiful coloured gl.azes and enamels, and then
with brilliant changing lustre, and the art of deco-
r.iting w.ill surf.iccs with glazed and painted tiles.

No argument is needed to prove tli.at for many
centuries before our era the potters of Ancient
Egypt adorned their wares with glazes and
enamels of great beauty and varied colour. Our

Egypt and the Qe ramie Art of the Nearer East

museums teem with specimens, some of which
have scarcely suffered at all from time. The
oxides of copper, iron, cobalt and manganese were
in familiar use for making colours, among which
blues and greens of many charming shades are
most in evidence. Now, it is a long way from 1500
or 2000 B.C. to 1500 A.D., and something more
than a resemblance between the ancient Egyptian
coloured glazes and those of Damascus must be
proved to establish any real connexion between
them. Well, it can be shown that there is the
most extraordinary likeness also in some of the
designs. I have already referred to the fine and
rare specimens in Case L, Xos. 6, 7, and 8, with
their turquoise blue glaze and black ornamenta-
tion. These might almost have been made in
Eg\'pt three thousand years before the ' sixteenth
century.' But there is an even more remarkable
coincidence as regards design. In Case H,No. 5,
may be seen a very beautiful jug which, though
coloured in purely Damascus style, has the ground
covered by a pattern of scale-work in black varied
w'ith formal rosettes. That this mode of decoration
comes by direct tradition from Pharaonic potters
is beyond doubt : precisely the same combination
of scale-work and rosettes occurs in twentieth
dynasty blue ware, of which an example found at
Abydos in Egypt may be seen in the Ashmolean
Museum.

So with the wall-tiles which have come to be
known as Damascan. Their prototype was the
enamelled earthenware plaques or slabs used
under the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties in
Eg}'pt for wall decoration. Those found at the
palace of Rameses III were slightly modelled in
relief and covered with coloured enamel ; or the
ground was covered with various bits of enamel
pieced together and fused in the fire ; or, again,
the tiles were coated with white slip, then painted
in colours and glazed over. How long the use of
wall-tiles continued in Ancient Egypt we do not
know — probably until it was driven out in favour
of coloured marbles in the Ptolemaic and Roman
period, by the opus sectile and opus Alcxaitdriniitn
which lasted long into the Muslim times. But
though the fashion changed, there is not the
smallest reason for thinking that the art of enamel-
ling faience in colours with beautiful glazes de-
cayed or perished. On the contrar\', skill in
pottery and glasswork developed, and in Roman
times attained to great perfection. The myrrhine
vases of Egypt were famous, and the delicacy of
the glass enamels then made is matchless — for
instance, the glass plaques, resembling miniature
tiles, and showing inlay of the finest workmanship
in gold and colours, which have been found at
Bahnasah. But the record of the existence of glass-
works and of their fame in Roman times is, as the
Arabs say, ' independent of mention ' : it is historic.

Nor can it be thought for a moment that when

the Arab conquest came, all the traditional arts of
Egypt were swept away. The country was cut off
from the Roman Empire, and the conquerors were
neither literary nor artistic by training. But while
it is certain that the Arabs brought no arts into
Egypt, it is no less certain that the ordinary
skilled crafts of the country went on as before.
Moreover, the Arabs not only encouraged the fine
arts, but also by slowly absorbing into their own
life and religion most of the industrial classes, and
by educating their own innate artistic sense, they
developed a method and style of their own, and
attained a pre-eminence in some branches of art to
which this exhibition is witness.

There was, then, a continuous historic evolution
of art in Egypt from Pharaonic times to the middle
ages. It is true that for some few centuries after
the conquest no Arab records were written, or
none have been preser\'ed, which can be quoted
in direct reference to ceramic art ; but the works
of Walid, of Mansur, the founder of Baghdad, of
Harun al Rashid, Mamun, Tuliin, and Khamara-
wiyah, contain a sufficient history of artistic
progress in the eighth and ninth centuries — a
witness carried on by the mosques of Al Azhar
and Hakim in Cairo into the tenth century-. In
the eleventh century we have the strongest docu-
mentary evidence that the arts — in particular
textiles and ceramics — had attained a splendour
in Egypt unrivalled elsewhere. It is therefore
certain that there was no gap or break in the
artistic history of Egypt : that from Pharaonic art
to Ptolemaic, from Ptolemaic to Roman, and from
Roman to Mohammedan, the chain is complete.

This brings us, then, to the well-known diar>' of
the Persian traveller Nasir-i-Khusrau, who visited
Old Cairo or Fustat in 1047 ^■^- Both Mr. Read,
in his introduction, and Mr. Hobson, in a recent
article in this magazine, have referred to the
passage in which the diar\- mentions the singularly
advanced and beautiful faience made in Fustat
at that date ; but, although Mr. Hobson more
justly appreciates the significance of the passage,
I think its full importance has not yet been
recognized. What Nasir-i-Khusrau says is that he
saw made in Cairo (I use the term for convenience)
pottery of every kmd, ' so fine and diaphanous
that through the vessel may be seen the hand that
holds it.' All sorts of vessels, he repeats, were
made of this ware — bowls, cups, dishes, etc. In
this description Mr. Read does see reason for
tracing the origin of the translucent 'rice-grain'
ware of Persia to Egypt ; it is, however, difficult
to believe that Nasir-i-Khusrau refers only to
that very special type, though it happens to be
the only one surviving which corresponds to the
description. But Mr. Read does not proceed
with the quotation from the diary, which goes on
to say that the potters decorated their ware with
iridescent lustre which resembled the shot silk

223

Egypt and tJic Qcrawic Art of the Nearer East

fabric called hiiktilimtin, which changed hue as
the light fell on the surface. This is a statement
of transcendent interest. Nasir-i-Khusrau was a
most cultir.ited person, as his diary shows — he
even took a part of his library with him to Cairo —
and in particular he had a keen eye to artistic
beauty or rarity. More than this, he had at le;ist
a fair knowledge of oriental faience — i.e., knew
not only the ware of Persia and Syria, but also
that of China. The proof is that, speaking of
a very beautiful marble vase which he saw at
Caesaica, he likens it to ' Chinese porcelain.'
Now, in all his travels he had seen nothing like
this lustre decoration. To describe it, indeed, he
has recourse to a comparison with a unique
Ep'ptian te.xtilc called biikaliiniiii or ' chameleon
fabric,' as one might say. Of this fabric he himself
writes : ' At Tinnis and nowhere else in the world
they m.ike the stuff called bitkiiliiniiii, the colour
of which changes every hour of the day ; it is
exported to countries of the cast and of the west.'*
If w.is at Tinnis, too, that the Sultan's looms
produced a linen so fine that ' it is neither given
nor sold,' and the ruler of Persia had an agent
waiting there for years prepared to buy a complete
robe at the price of ;^io,ooo, but in vain. 1 may
add that the diary further states that the fine
woollen stuffs worn in Persia are made in Upper
Egypt ; and at Siut Xasir-i-Khusrau describes a
piece of such stuff as ' finer than anything in
Persia, as fine as silk' ;' and finally he alleges that
if he were to tell of the general wealth and
splendour of life in Cairo he would not be believed
in Persia.

Here, then, is the clearest admission by a Persian
eye-witness not merely of the supremacy of the
textile and ceramic arts in Egypt in the eleventh
century, but of the manufacture of most beautiful
products by processes elsewhere unknown. If
such testimony can be rejected, no evidence is of
any value ; if it is not rejected, then it follows that
the art of painting in lustre had its origin in
Egypt, and not in Persia, and that, at whatever

teriod it beg.m, it had reached to great perfection
efore the middle of the eleventh centurj', but had
not then spread northward to Syria or westward
to Kairuan, to which N;isir-i-khusrau's travels
extended. It is, however, highly probable that the
art was introduced into Persia m the late eleventh
or early twelfth century — possibly workers were
sent from Old Cairo even before the great fire
which caused its first destruction. And it is
curious to note that the anim.il painting and
figure painting which often differentiates
Persian from Egypti.ui design in pottery was
certainly found ni Cairene art at the time of
N;isir-i-Khusrau's visit ; for, speaking ot the

' ' Nasir-i-Khtifiraii,' tr. C. Stlicfir, p. III. Tiniils was a town
upon an isl.-iiid in what it now Lake Mcnulch.

'id.,ri-3.

224

golden throne of the Sultan, he saj-s that it was
adorned 'with hunting scenes, men galloping
horses, and finely written inscriptions' — just, in
fact, in what would now be called the Persian
manner. The truth is that up to the eleventh
century the Muslims of Egypt had not that dislike
of portraying human and animal figures which
they afterwards displayed. But, granted that
painting in lustre spread from Cairo to Persia,
it is equally certain that it spread westward to
Spain. In both countries it produced results
of very varied beauty. That the Persian
lustre was of many types is proved by this
exhibition : for although the coppery lustre of the
well-known star-shaped tiles is the most familiar
kind, yet Nasir-i-Khusrau's hiikaliinun is irresistibly
recalled by the ' nitense blue and ruby lustre' of
the vases in Case F, No. 10, and D, No. 9 — vases
which I have already said seem dated much too
late as ' seventeenth century.' But precisely the
same variations are found in Moorish lustre work.
For although there is a predominant type of lustre,
not unlike the Persian, in the well-known Hispano-
Moresque ware, and this type has a somewhat
monotonous sameness, yet there is also a less
known type of lustre with the most beautiful
bronze-green, ruby, purple and gold hues — again
recalling bukaliiiniii. I do not know of any
Spanish vases or vessels lustred with this varied
brilliance ; but such colours may be seen in all
their richness on the walls of the Casa de Pilatos at
Seville — a Moorish building dated about 1600 A.D.
— and a few similar tiles are in the Second Mihrab
of the mosque of Cordova dated to the thirteenth
century. Thus the art which flourished in Egypt
in the eleventh century was well established both
in Spain and in Persia by the thirteenth.

So much for lustre work. Coming now to wall
tiles, it is not less but more easy to show that this
form of architectural decoration, which was of
ancient use in Egypt, spread outwards through
Syria. For it can be proved conclusively that
wall-liles were manufactured in Cairo in the
eleventh century and were thence exported when
required for work in Palestine. When Mukadd.asi
was at Jerusalem in the tenth century, the famous
Dome of the Rock was intact, and it is doubtful
whether any tile-work existed in it. He says:
' The walls of the mosque for twice the height of
a man are faced with variegated marbles, and
above this up to the ceiling are mosaics in gold
and various colours, showing trees and towns and
inscriptions all exquisitely worked.' In 1016 A.D.
the Dome fell in owing to an earthquake, and the
Fatimite Khalif of Cairo had it rebuilt, the work
(.iking five years — 1022 to 1027. This fact is
recorded by (wo inscriptions, one of which is
on ithe tile-work and, though mutilated, still
plainly retains the date A. II. 418, or 1027 A.D.
The lettering is yellow on the dark-green ground

Egypt and the Qeramk Art of the Nearer East

of the enamelled tiles.* The same earthquake
overthrew part of the Aksa mosque adjoining
on the Haram area, and this damage also was
repaired by the same Khalif, Adh Dhahir, at the
same time. Now Ali of Herat, who visited the
place in 1 173, gives this Aksa inscription in full.
Though not on tiles, but ' done all over with
mosaics of gold,' it expressly records that the
work was executed by ' Abdullah, son of Hasan,
the decorator, native of Cairo.' * It can scarcely
be questioned that the same decorator super-
intended the tile-work done at the same time
under order from the same Khalif. Here, then, we
get both tile-work and mosaics ordered by the
Sultan from Eg}-pt and executed by a Cairene artist.
This was twenty years before Nasir's visit to Cairo.
But apparently Xasir himself alludes to the tile-
work at the Dome of the Rock when he says that
the wall of the dome above the pillars is ' deco-
rated with an art so marvellous that there are few
things like it ' — which would seem to show that
he had not seen the same work in Persia. More-
over Nasir-i-Khusrau, speaking of another part of
the Haram area, says : ' Both gateway and halls
are adorned with coloured enamels set in plaster,
worked into patterns so beautiful that the eye
becomes dazzled in contemplating them. Over
the gateway is an inscription set in the enamels
giving the titles of the Sultan (who is the Fatimite
Khalif) of Egypt.' ' The word here used for
enamels is mina, which conclusively proves that
mosaics are not in question, and that what Nasir
saw was exceedingly beautiful tile decoration, also
done by Adh Dhahir. He also speaks later of
the ' mighty dome ornamented with enamel work,'
and adds that ' the great Mihrab is ornamented
with enamel work.' * That tiles were made in
Egypt early in the eleventh century, that they
were of such beauty as to form a worthy embellish-
ment of the most splendid buildings in the
Muslim world, and that they were novel to the
Persian traveller, needs no further proof.

Rather more than a century later Idrisi, writing
in 1 154, says that the mosque at Damascus is
adorned ' with all varieties of gold mosaic work,
enamelled tiles and polished marble,'' and though
the Arabic word iiiahkuk is doubtfully rendered
by ' enamelled,' the whole expression is clear.
Makrizi tells us that in 1261 A.D., when the Sultan
of Egypt, Az Zahir, was again repairing the Dome
of the Rock, ' he sent workmen and materials from
Cairo' ;' and the Blue Dome of Damascus, which
he also records^ as repaired in 1292, probably

2 ' Palestine under the Moslems,' by G. Le Strange (1890),

P- 125-
* Id., p. 102.

' Palestine Pilgrim Text Society, vol. iv., p. 29-30.
° Id., p. 37.

' ' Palestine under the Moslems,' pp. 239-240.
' ' Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks,' par E, Quatrfemetre, t. i,
p. 140.
•Id., t. ii, p. 140.

derived its name from a covering of blue enamelled
tiles. On the minarets of the old mosque at the
citadel in Cairo may to this day be seen remains
of a similar covering of green tiles, encircled by
an inscription in white lettering on a band of blue
tiles — work of the same period, or, more precisely,
dated 13 18 A.D.

From this time onward examples might be
multiplied ; but I have given enough for my
purpose, which was to show that tile-work as we
know it arose in Egypt, and that first the use and
then the manufacture of tiles passed to Syria on
the one side and to Spain on the other. In
regard to Persia the case is not so clear.
The tenth-century writer Mukaddasi, speaking of
the mosque at Samarra on the Tigris above
Baghdad says that the walls were covered with
enamelled tiles {mina)}" This is strong evidence,
and if it can stand alone, which is doubtful, it may
point rather to an independent origin for tile-work
in Persia than to a connexion with Egypt — perhaps
to the suri-ival of ancient Assyrian traditions. But
I know of no other literary evidence for this
Persian work before the thirteenth century. At
that epoch every kind of ceramic art flourished in
Persia. Both Mr. Read and Mr. Hobson limit
our knowledge of the factories to Rakkah, Rhages
(or Ray) and Varamin : but far the most important
of all was at Kashan in Jibal. Here, says Yakut, were
made the beautiful green bowls" which were
exported widely : moreover the tiles called mina
by Mukaddasi became known at least by the
thirteenth century as Kashani. The green dome
over the tomb of Turkhan Khatun at Kirman,
dated by an inscription 1242, was covered with
these tiles : Ibn Batutah speaks of tiles (Kashani
work) at Mashhad Ali in Irak in 1326 and at
Tabriz in 1330, and says that the mosque and college
at Mashhad in Khurasan had walls covered with
Kashani}- In Syria, Tyre was important even
in the twelfth century for the manufacture, as
Idrisi says, of those ' long-necked vases of
glass and pottery ' which are too freely called
Persian.

Systematic research — and far more is now
possible than has ev'er been made — may determine
more fully the relation of Persian to Egyptian
tile-work both in its earlier and in its later stages.
I can only claim to have shown some results of

'" Mr. Le Strange, in a passage dealing with the mosque of
Xishapur at Khurasan, quotes Mukaddasi as saying that ' golden
tiles' were used to adorn the main building. But on turning to
the original Arabic text I find nothing to justify this expres-
sion. The Arabic merely says that in the middle of the court-
yard was ' a golden house,' or more strictly a ' gilded ' building.
As far as I am aware, then, there is but the one single instance
from Mukaddasi to establish the use of tiles in Persia in the
tenth century.

" Nos. 6, 7, 8, in Case L, may be examples of this ware ; or
possibly they come from Fustat.

1- See ' Lands of the Eastern Caliphate," by G. Le Strange,
1905. PP- 385. 55. 20p, 306, 307, 309, and 7S.

225

Egypt and the Qc ramie Art of the Nearer East

a ha>(y examination of llic written authorities.
At any rate it savours of a strange irony that the
part played by Ej;ypt in the history of the so-
called Persian and Damascan ware is so
ill rccojjnized. For if my ciuKlusions are sound,
the ceramic art of the Nearer Kast (inciiid-
inj» Persia for at least one of its main depart-
ments) had its originating source and centre
in Kgypt : there the art of making tine
porcelain arose, the art of enamelling in lustrous
colours, and the art of emlH.'llishing wall-surfaces

with glazed and painted tiles. These arts,
moreover, h.id attained to such splendour at the
[beginning of the eleventh century in Eg>-pt that
they must have been practised there for genera-
tions before, and must go back — in the forms now
familiar — to at least the tenth century. Even
then, if the nomenclature of this faience requires
no change, the whole scheme of dating may well
be reconsidered, and in particular the attri-
bution of so many specimens to the sixteenth
century seems open to question.

^ A PICTURE BY COROT r*^

I \ E example of the art of
Corot which we are permitted
to reproduce by the courtesy
of Messrs. Obach and Co. as
the frontispieceof this number
represents that master in his
most intimate and delightful
mood. It was formerly in the
f.imous collection ol Lord Leighton, who, it will
be remembered, was also the owner of the four
exquisite decorative panels by Corot which are
now among the treasures of Lady Wantage. Corot
resembles Claude, from whom he learnt so much,
in more than one respect. Those to whom the
oil paintings of Claude seem conventional and
tedious will .always experience a shock of surprise
when they make the acquaintance of his drawings
and sketches, for there Claude appears, not only as
the pioneer of classical landscape, but as the fore-
runner of Constable, Turner and the Impres-
sionists. The difference between the more
ambitious compositions of Corot and his smaller
studies is of the same kind, if not perhaps of the
same degree. Masterly though the more important
paintings of Corot may be. they are seldom free
from just that hint of effort, of reliance upon
traditional methods of arrangement, which makes

them scholarly rather than fresh. Freshness, on
the other hand, is the prevalent note in Corot's
smaller studies, and among them this Evening
on llie Lake deserves a high place. Nothing
can be more delightful than the simplicity
of the piece. It is the kind of scene which
all of us must have seen a hundred times, but
the charm of which few of us could hope to
render with any degree of success. Every-
thing depends upon the felicitous concurrence
of the tones and m.asses, which we should con-
sider mere good fortune did we not know how
sound and scientilic was the practice on which
Corot's facility w.is founded ; and upon the
lightness of Iiand and certainty of vision which
could lay in the large mass of soft mysterious
shadow without hesitation, and could then create
behind it this expanse of luminous air and
shimmering water. The problem may appear a
simple one to those who are accustomed to
discuss or to experiment with the complexities of
figure painting, but if the landscape painter were
called upon to defend his art, apparently so easy,
he could at least point out that hardly half
a dozen masters in Europe have succeeded
in painting landscape perfectly. Corot is one of
the fortunate few.

^ THE COTTAGE, BY F. W. WATTS cK,

1 1 E picture which we repro-
duce in this number is one of
no little interest to students
of English landscape. For
many years it has hung in
the Louvre as a typical ex-
imple of the work of John
Constable, and as such has
been copied by many painters of the P'rench
school. We remember seeing some years ago at
Christie's an excellent version of this picture
which appeared to us to be from the hand of the
great Daiibigny, whose general colour and tone
the work so nearly resembles. As Mr. P. M.
Turner pointed out in the March number of TllE
UURLINGTON MAGAZINE, the attribution to Con-

226

stable can no longer be sustained. There can be

no doubt whatever that the picture is a good

example of an English artist of much interior

power, who followed closely in Constable's

footsteps, and was from 1821 to 1860 a constant

exhibitor at the Roy.il Academy. The list of his

seventy-seven exhibits can be consulted in Mr.

Graves's catalogue. Even in England the pictures

of Frederick W. Watts are still mistaken for

those of Constable,' but any one who chooses to

make a close examination of one or two works by

the lesser artist ought never to be mistaken as to

' During llic l.isl few weeks .it Ic.ist six works by Watts
have ;ip(>e ired in llic Londuii sile-rooin>. 0( these one wjs
laticlled ' Uld Cromc '; a second, .1 Lir^c .tnd impurtani work,
was sold as a ConMable, two more tiad (oriJed sit;natures vl
Constable, while only two were rii;htly described.

\:-,<V> .:-'<;:J>>r>^V

IN THE BORGHESE GALLERY.

TIIK eoTTAI.K. IIY f. W. WATTS. FROM TMF I'ICTl'RK IN
THK I.OlVUr, HITHKKTll AirKIOL'TED TO CONSTABLE

the difference between thera. The colour and
general tone of the two artists are often deceptively
alike, but when seen closely the work of Watts
will be found to be smaller in touch, harder in
edge, and more patchy than that of Constable,
whose work has always a certain liquidity and
' fatness ' of pigment retained from the days when
he used to copy Reynolds and Hoppner. Watts

The Cottage,' by F. W, JVatts

paints in oil as if it were water colour : his paint
has but little substance and is poor and cold in
qualit}\ Constable, by working on a foundation
of brown monochrome, retains a certain warmth
of tone even when the colours he uses are cool,
so that there is a fundamental difference between
the two painters which any one accustomed to
looking at pictures should at once recognize.

^ A PORTRAIT BY BARTOLOMMEO VENETO cK>

ARTOLOMIO mezo Venizian
e mezo Cremonese,' as he
describes himself on his
earliest known picture, is a
somewhat shadowy figure.
We know almost nothing of
his life, and nothing more of
his art than we can gather
from the tew pictures attributed to or signed by
him. We may guess that he was born about the
year 1480, and was trained in Venice. We know
that he was working for Lucrezia Borgia at
Ferrara between the years 1506 and 1508, that he
had some connexion with Cremona, and in later
life with Milan, while the portrait of Ludovico
Martinengo in the National Gallery proves that
he was still painting in the year 1530. Had he
always or often attained to the level of the fine
picture in the Corsini Gallery which we reproduce,
Bartolommeo Veneto would rank among the finest
portrait painters of his time. It is not without
significance that the picture long bore the name
of Holbein. There is a strong northern element
in the painter's work, not only in the minute

precision of the detail, the separate hairs being
firmly painted like fine spun wire, but in the
translucent glow of his pigment, as well as in the
quaintness of conception seen in his most
characteristic efforts, and the love of intricate,
glittering jewellery which he constantly displays.
His sitters have an air of alert refinement which is
not readily forgotten ; and in these days, when
painters without a tithe of his skill and insight are
liberally treated in print, it is curious that both in
the National Gallery catalogue and in the new
edition of Bryan's Dictionary, Bartolommeo Veneto
should be so inadequately dealt with. The little
note by F. Hermanin prefixed to this plate in
Messrs. Seemann's popular publication, ' Die
Galerien Europas,'* will be found far more
informing, while the reproduction itself is the best
proof of how in his fortunate moments Bartolom-
meo Veneto combined delicate craftsmanship,
glowing colour and sympathy with the finer
shades of human character, as only the masters of
portrait painting have combined them.

' ' Die Galerien Europas." 200 Farben reproduktion in 25
Heften. Heft XIII. (Leipzig: Seemann, 4 marks.)

NOTES ON PICTURES IN THE ROYAL COLLECTIONS'
X-FRANCO-FLEMISH SCHOOL : THE DIVINE MOTHER

^ BY LIONEL CUST c*^

MONG the smaller paintings
acquired by H.R.H. Prince
Albert with the Oettingen-
Wallerstein collection is an
interesting little picture of The
Virgin and Child, or the Divine
Mother. The Virgin is seen to
below the waist attired in a
bright blue mantle, which is wrapped round her
body and covers her arms. Her long fair hair is
brushed back off the forehead and falls from the
crown of the head in long wavy locks over the
shoulders. Her face is wide, and she looks down
with a slight smile and with hea\-y drooping eye-

' For previous articles see vol. v, pp. 7, 349, 517 ; vol. vi,
pp. 104, 204, 353, 470; vol. vii. p. 377; vol. ix, p. 71. (April,
July, September, November, December, 1904 ; February, March
August, 1905 ; May, 1906.)

lids upon the Infant Christ. The Child is held by
His Mother in her arms, partially wrapped in the
blue mantle, which is open at the bosom, showing
a white vest, through which appears the Virgin's
left breast. The Child grasps this, but turns His
head before taking nourishment.

This little picture is painted in tempera on the
finest canvas, almost like silk. The background
is gold, covered with reddish brown spots, and be-
hind the Virgin's head issue flames painted in gold.
The whole is inserted in a painted frame inscribed
in large Gothic characters with votive inscriptions to
the Virgin, that round the sides of the frame being
written in black : Ave Regina Celorum ave
DOMIXA AXGELORUM SaLVE RaDIX SaNCTA EX QUA
MUNDO Lux EST ORTA, while on the lower edge of
the frame is an inscription in three lines of the same
character written in red. The dimensions of the

231

Notes on Pictures in the Royal Qol lections

little painting are 14^ inches high by 10 inches wide
within the frame.

The style of painting and the material on which
it is painted suggest some connexion with the early
paintings of Albrecht Uurer. The features of the
Virgin, the downcast eyes and the general propor-
tions of the head, show some aflinity to Diirer, and
this is also the case with the careful treatment of
the hair, which has some resemblance to that in
Diirer's portrait of the Furkgc-riii. The artist seems
to have been conscious of his inability to draw
hands, and to have concealed them with intention
in the folds of the blue draper)'.

Three repetitions of this actual subject are
known : that now at liuckingliam Palace, one in
the Louvre at I'aris, and a third in the National
Museum at Munich. All are practically identical,
even to the Gothic inscriptions on the painted
frames. The Munich painting is stated to have
come from the convent of Altomunster, near
Aichach.

It has been suggested by Dr. Max Friedliinder
that these paintings are taken from some miracle-
working painting of The I'ir^in tiiul Child in Ger-
many, of which many copieswere made for pilgrims.
This, however, seems less probable in view of the
fact that another painting, representing The
VirHiii and Child between SI. Barbara and St.
Catherine, painted in the same material on the
s.mie fine Inien and with a similar frame bearing
an inscription in similar Gothic characters, is to be
found in the Collection Carrand now in the Museo
Nazionale of the liargello in Florence. In this
picture, which is there attributed to the Netherland-
ish school, the figure of the Virgin is from the same
model as that in the three pictures mentioned
above, but the female saints show from their head-
dresses the costume of the Lower Khenish school
of about 1500. It would seem, therefore, to be in
this direction that the authorship of these inter-
esting paintings is likely to be determined.

Another solution is, however, possible. In the
Musee de Picardie at Amiens there has recently
l>een arranged a series of interesting paintings of
the early part of the fifteenth century, belonging
to the Confratvrnity of Notre-Dame du Huy
d'Amiens. The history of this confraternity
affords an interesting page in the histoi^ of
painting, especially in th.it of the French or
Flemish painters in the north of France. This
confraternity, like others in the same neighbour-
hood, was of great antiquity. As early as 1452 the
archives of the confraternity show that a painting
w.is commissioned annually for the mystery at

the solemn feast of the Puy, or the Purification,
and added on the following Christm.as Day to
those already hanging in the cathedral at Amiens.
In 1517, when Frant;ois I and his mother. Queen
Louise of Savoy, visited Amiens, the paintings
amounted to forty-eight, and they were suspended
on one of the pillars of the cathedral, known as the
Pilier Rouge. Owing to the interest shown by the
queen-mother, the paintings then existing were
copied in f^risaille by a painter of Amiens called
Jacques Platel, fora manuscript, which is preserved
m the HibliothC-que Nationale. During the
seventeenth century, owing to the great number
of the paintings, some had to be removed,
and finally in 1723 the whole collection was
removed from the cathedral, stime paintings being
distributed among churches in the neighbourhood,
but many destroyed. Of this collection, which
must have been of the greatest interest and im-
portance, only a few fragments survive, which
have now been brought together in the Nlusee de
Picardie. A glance at these paintings is sufficient
to show that, although they belong to a definite
school at Amiens, represented about 15O8 by
Firmin Lebel and in 1600 bv Mathieu Prieur, the
principal paintings preserved at Amiens belong to
the early part of the sixteenth century, and to a
painter, or painters, deriving from that school or
workshop, at Dinant or Liege, which is generally
connected with the name of Herri met de Hies.
The style of composition and other details show a
local influence of their own, but the types,
costumes and the introduction of portraiture
point to the Bles origin. Among these types,
moreover, are to be found those of the Virgin and
the female saints, which are seen in the pictures
referred to above.

Without going so far as to attribute the paintings
at Buckingham Palace, the Louvre, Munich and
Florence to some painter of the actu.il Amiens
school, it may be suggested that they are due to
some confraternity on the borders of Fr.uice and
Flanders, simil.ir to that of Notre Dame du Puy
d'Amiens, and that the few specimens which have
been preserved are but the remnants of a series
not unlike those now in the Musee de Picardie at
Amiens.

It is to be regretted that up to the present no
photographs can be obtained of the paintings at
Amiens other than those of two modern copies
made by Crauk ; a full description, however, of
the pictuies will lie found in the catalogue of the
Musc-e de I'icardie, from which the above informa-
tion is derived.

232

THfc iJlVINli MOlHbU. IKANco-lLEMISll SCHuoL

IX THE COLLICCTIO.V Of H.M. THE KINO AT BUCKINGHAM I'AI.ACE

NOTES ON PlCTl'RES IX
THE KOYAI. COLLECTIOXS

WHERE DID MICHELANGELO LEARN TO PAINT?
^ BY C. J. HOLMES cA,

T is usually assumed that
Michelangelo learned the tech-
nique of painting in the studio
of Ghirlandajo. Yet neither
Vasari nor Condivi is conclusive
evidence on this point. Both
^T^^ ^s£i?\''*y stress on Michelangelo's
fr<y V T^extraordinary precocity in draiv-
iiig and in copying prints ; but the mere fact that
he entered Ghirlandajo's studio in April, 1488, at
the age of fourteen, and went away in the following
year with Granacci to work in the Medici Gardens,
shows how brief was his apprenticeship. During
the remainder of his first residence in Florence we
have no word that he followed any other profession
than that of a sculptor, and no record of his having
done any painting whatever. The copying of
Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine, mentioned
by Vasari, is described on first-hand authority in
Cellini's autobiography as making diiuviiigs. After
the death of his patron Lorenzo in 1492, Michel-
angelo continued in the service of his successor,
Piero, till he was frightened by the extraordinary
dream of his friend Cardiere, and fled from
Florence in 1494. Michelangelo was now just
twenty, and, with the exception of the year passed
as a boy with Ghirlandajo, the whole of his
working life had been spent in the study of
sculpture, first under Bertoldo, the pupil of
Donatello, then in connexion with the antique
as it was understood by the brilliant group of
scholars at the court of Lorenzo, lastly in its
relation to anatomy, which he studied with his
friend the prior of S. Spirito.

His flight led him to Bologna, thence to Venice,
and then back again to Bologna, almost certainly
passing through Ferrara and Padua on the way.
In Bologna he remained a year, executing the
small statues of St. Petronius, St. Proculus[?], and
the kneeling angel in S. Domenico, and reading
the Tuscan poets to his protector, Aldrovandi. He
returned to Florence some time in the year 1495,
and then, after making the Sleeping- Cupid, went to
Rome (June, 1496), where he produced the Bacchus.
and the Pietd in St. Peter's.

Now the Holy Family in the National Gallery,
if it be by Michelangelo at all, is clearly earlier in
date than these last-named works, yet it is hard to
see at first sight when it can have been executed.
Comparison with the interesting tondo of the
same subject in the Vienna Academy reveals a
curious similarity in certain points. In both we
find the same small, feeble hands, the same elegant
prolongation of the wrist and forearm, a similar
pose of the head in the figure of the Madonna, a
similar treatment ot the hair, and the skin thrown
over the limbs of St. John ; indeed, this latter
figure in the tondo is, with all its weakness,
curiously Michelangelesque in style. Yet the

tondo cannot be classed for a moment with
Michelangelo's work ; it is clearly the production
of a minor artist of the Ferrarese school.'

Our Holy Family, on the other hand, with all its
imperfections, is clearly connected with Michel-
angelo. The sculpturesque grouping and model-
ling are his, the austere pose of the figures is his, the
St. John in particular is a masterly invention not un-
worthy of his best time. The children with thick
ankles and tiny feet will be found again in the relief
of the Madonna in the Casa Buonarroti. The angels'
heads, both in feature and in the treatment of the
hair, resemble the angel carved in S. Domenico, and
still more the vSt. Proculus. This saint indeed has
the same broad face, straight eyebrows and short
nose that we might expect Michelangelo himself to
have had in youth, and that we find in the
Madonna and two angels of the National Gallery
picture. The saint's carved draperies fall from his
girdle just as do the painted ones in the angel on
the right of the picture ; the saint's legs correspond
exactly in outline and type with those indicated
in terra verde but unfinished on the left of the
picture. If the saint be by Michelangelo, then the
picture too must have been designed by him, and
at about the same time — for neither before nor after
do we meet with this peculiar type in his work.

Our Holy Family, then, would seem to have been
designed about the time of Michelangelo's stay at
Bologna in 1494-5, but how do we find it
connected with the work of the Ferrarese master
who painted the Vienna tondo, and exhibiting
many of the same mannerisms and weaknesses ?
We have here to take refuge in hypothesis.

The Ferrarese masters had been great favourites
in Bologna, as the gallery and churches still show,
but their master-work was the painting of the
Garganelli chapel in S. Pietro, begun in 1480 by
Francesco Cossa and completed after his death by
Ercole Roberti. These frescoes, fragments of
which survived till after 1820, are specially men-
tioned by Pietro Lami in his ' Graticola di Bologna '
as having excited the admiration of Michelangelo
to such an extent that he termed them (evidently
on his second visit to Bologna) ' a little Rome.'
Now, though Cossa was dead and Ercole Roberti
had returned to F'errara, it is easily conceivable that
minor painters of their following, whose works still
adorn Bologna, remained in the city, and that
Michelangelo during his stay with Aldrovandi
studied painting with one of them.

If we assume this we shall at once understand

'The peculiarities of the desi,:;n and treatment suggest a pupil
of Cosimo Tura. The drapery awkwardly disposed behind the
Virgin's head is found again in Tura's picture of Charity in the
Poldi-Pezzoli Museum ; the slender, bony fore.arm, and the head
of the Virgin with its high forehead and prominent cheekbones
are also characteristic of Tura. Tura does not appear to have
worked in Bologna ; but one of his assistants may well have
joined Cossa or Roberti when they were painting there.

235

Where did ^iicJuIafiodo Learn to T^airit P

the mannerism of the hands and arms, and the
poor style of execution,' which detract from the
square monumental design, austere non-Floren-
tine types and colour, and sculpturesque
modelling of the National Gallery Holy Family ;
while in the Vienna tondo we can see the F"er-
rarcse painter vainly attempting to assimilate some
of the genius of his young P'lorcntine pupil.

The kneeling figure in the left corner of The
Etitombnutit shows the same type of head, and
exactly the same peculiarities in the forearm and
hand that we have noticed in the Holy Family ; the
peculiar purple of the draperies, too, is Ferrarcsc,
not P'lorentine. We may therefore presume that this
picture was also begun at Bologna. Possibly his im-
perfect success in handling the brush may have been
among the causes contributing to Michelangelo's
belief that he w:is wasting time at Bologna, though
it would appcarthat he carried theunfinished panels
with him when he returned to Florence in 1495.

The Madonna of the Holy Family, softened and
beautified by more gracious ideals than those of
Ferrara, reappears in the marble statue in Notre
Dame at Bruges ; but the unsatisfactory picture is
never finished. The Enlombiiinit,on theotherhand,
is continued under the influence of Mantegna's
print of the subject, from which the pose of the
figure on the right (the type of the head still
recalling Ferrara) and the bands confining the
drapery seem to be borrowed. They recur again
in the Field of St. Peter's, with which the dead body
may also be compared, though in the painting it still
retains a hint of the affected elongation of the
Ferrarese, which is quite different from the terrible
realistic elongation of such later works of Michel-
angelo as the marble groups in the Rondanini
Palace and the Duomo at Florence. The magni.
ficent figure of the IxMrer on the left of the Eiu
lombment recalls Mantegna too, but the poise of the

' The diminutive hands in the National Gallery pictures are so
unlike Michelangelo's usu.1l Ireatmeiil of the hand .is to warr.int
the supposition lliat his Kcrrarese companion may have helped
in the actual preparation of the cartoons, and perhaps even
worked on the panels.

head and the muscular development arc a prelude
to the cartoon of Pisa, while the powerful forearm
finds an exact par.allel in the Uffizi tondo, as does
the head of Joseph of Arimathea. It would seem,
then, as if Michelangelo may have tried to continue
the /;;//c'i;//»»;;r»i/ after his return to Florence, some-
where about the year 1500, but gave up the attempt
— perhaps in disgust at the initial faults of the
design, which he was unable to overcome.

Possibly a careful search at Bologna would reveal
morelinksof the very imperfect chain of connexion
with that city on which I have ventured to speculate.
Those who have a more detailed knowledge of the
Ferrarese school and of Mantegna may note
further points of contact between them and
Michelangelo, and will at least excuse the
hypothesis being put forward.' Although the
panels in the National Gallery have licen vaguely
connected with the n.mics of Granacci, Bugiardini
and Pontormo, no definite works by these masters
ever seem to have been cited which can claim to
make these attributions more than a theorj'. No
quite satisfactory alternative has in fact been sug-
gested, and there seems no positive argument against
the idea that Michelangelo experimented in
painting during his stay at Bologna, except that
VasariandCondivi are silent. Asthe works referred
to are all reproduced in the volume on
Michelangelo in the cheap and handy series,
' Klassiker dcr Kunst,' it would be superfluous to
reproduce them again, especially since their
reproduction might give a look of finality to what
is after all a mere suggestion. Possibly some
more fortunately situated student will succeed in
identifying the Vienna tondo with the works of
one of the minor P^errarese artists which are still
extant in Bologna. If so, we might be one step
nearer to the solution of the problem of
Michelangelo's first attempt at painting.

' I do not know whether the attribution of the S. Proculus
statue to Michelangelo is universally .icccpted, but whether
that be the case or not, its correspondence wilh the National
Gallery Holy Family seems unquestionable, and the connexion
of the picture with Michelangelo's st.iy at Bologna in no way
impaired.

^ NATHANIEL BACON, ARTIST d^
BY H.H. PRINCE FREDERICK DULEEP SINGH, M.V.O., F.S.A.

M )I\ a long time there has been
H,oll^,iderablc uncertainty as to
'who, exactly, was Nathaniel
M.icon the artist. As far back
.1^ 1826 a writer in the 'Gentle-
kinan's Mag.ozine' practically
/ck-.ired the matter up ; but ;is
>tlie recognized modern authori-
ties, such iis Redgrave's ' Dictionary of Artists,'
Bryan's ' Dictionary of Painters and Kngravers '
(1903) and the' Dictionary of National Biography'
(1903) all give contradictory accounts of him, I

236

think it is well that the question of his identity
should, if possible, be settled once and for all.

On my recently becoming engaged in making a
list of Norfolk portraits (in emulation of my friend
Mr. Farrer's forthcoming work on * Suffolk
Portraits'), one of the first series of f.miily pictures
which came to my notice was the interesting
Bacon portraits. In endeavouring to identify one
of these — Sir Xathanicl Hacon, by hiinself, but
ivhicli Sir Nathaniel it w;is uncertain — I turned to
the books of reference above mentioned, only to
find 'confusion worse confounded,' as any one

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who cares to refer to the different biographies
there given will at once see.

Let me first of all set down, in order, the three
Nathaniel Bacons who have been confused. They

are-

1. Sir Nathaniel Bacon, K.B., of Stiffkey, Nor-
folk, second son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord
Keeper, and, therefore, one of the elder half-
brothers of the great Sir Francis Bacon. He was
born in (?) 1547, became an 'Ancient' of Gray's
Inn in 1576, was knighted in 1604 and died in
1622. He was buried at Stiffkey, where is his
monument.

2. Sir Nathaniel Bacon, K.B., of Culford,
Suffolk (nephew of the above), youngest surviving
son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, premier baronet
(brother of the above). He was born in (?) 1583,
was knighted in 1625, and died in 1627. His
monument is at Culford, hut the registers do not
show that he was buried there.

3. Nathaniel Bacon, third son of Robert
Bacon of Great Ryburgh, Norfolk (second son of
the first baronet and himself afterwards third
baronet). He was born in (?) 1603, and admitted
to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1621.
He took his M.A. degree in 1628, and in the same
year was instituted, by his father, to the rectory of
Great Ryburgh. He may possibly have died in
1647, «is in that year his successor was appointed,
but I have not looked this up. Here, then, we
have an uncle, nephew and great-nephew all
mistaken for one another ! I think most of the
confusion has been caused by Horace Walpole,
in his 'Anecdotes of Painting in England,' where,
although he speaks of Sir Nathaniel as ' of Cul-
ford,' he calls him the half-brother of Sir Francis,
and a painter of Elizabeth's reign. This (but for
his place of residence) would be quite right if he
were the first Sir Nathaniel ; but there is not one
tittle of evidence to show that Sir Nathaniel of
Stiffkey ever put pencil to paper or brush to
canvas. The third Nathaniel Bacon on my list,
rector of Great Ryburgh, may be dismissed on
the same negative evidence. He no doubt
' flourished,' as the ' Dictionary of National Bio-
graphy' has it, circa 1640 ; but he seems to have
remained a quiet country parson. One point
about him specially to be remarked, and to which
I shall refer later, is that he was never knighted.

I now come to the second Sir Nathaniel Bacon,
and he, I take it, is the one whom every one who
has written about the painter really intends
to specify ; though the similarity of name,
of period and, in two cases, of title, has led
them astray. He was (according to the Davy
MSS.) born in 1585, and knighted at Whitehall—
at the coronation of Charles I, as his uncle was at
that of James L He married Jane, daughter of
Hercules Meutys, Esq., and widow of Sir William
Cornwallis of Brome, and, as shown by the letters

Nathaniel Bacon^ Artist

of Sir Thomas Meutys to Lady Bacon (' Corre-
spondence of Jane Lady Cornwallis'), he died of
a decline, sometime between June 22 and July 2
(probably July i), 1627. That he was an artist
his monument' with car\-ed palette and brushes —
but without age or date — in Culford church
testifies ; but the fact that, on it, so little mention
is made of his genius has caused some to imagine
that he was not the artist. One finds, however, that
he was always being consulted in her art purchases
by that talented and beautiful ' connoisseuse,'
Lucy countess of Bedford, the great friend of his
wife. His brother - artist and contemporary,
Edward Norgate, also speaks of his art and
colouring in the highest terms, and dilates on a
peculiar shade of pink which he invented and
used. Again, in his letters in the aforementioned
series, there are frequent references to his
requirements as to ' masticott ' and colours.

1 have at present seen four pictures attributed
to Sir Nathaniel Bacon —

1. An oval portrait, head and shoulders of him-
self, in the possession of Mr. Bacon of Ravening-
ham. This is the picture which originally
led me to make inquiries.

2. A very tine full-length of himself in the
possession of the earl of Verulam, at Gorhambury.
This is the one from which the engraving in
Horace Walpole's ' Anecdotes ' is taken.

3. A head of a lady, said to be his mother, at
Gorhambury.

4. A large picture called The Cook Maid, repre-
senting a woman with iish, etc., also at Gorham-
bury.

The portrait called The Artist's Mother is
inferior to the rest, whoever may have painted
it. The two of himself, which, so far as
one can tell, have not been compared for
nearly three hundred years, are undoubtedly
of the same man— a man of about thirty to thirty-
five, with fine artistic face, long fair hair, pointed
beard and moustache— and by the same hand.
The dress in both is in the style prevalent about
1620, and the tradition in both families is that the
painting is of ' Sir Nathaniel Bacon by himself.'
They cannot be portraits of the first Sir Nathaniel,
as he died, an old man, in 1622 ; they cannot
represent the Reverend Nathaniel, as he would
have been but a boy at that period. If, then, they
are of a Nathaniel Bacon, which there is no sort
of reason to doubt, he can only be Sir Nathaniel
of Culford.

About the fourth picture, The Cook Maid, there
is no uncertainty whatever. It is particularly
named in an inventory- of pictures and other
goods made at Culford in 1659, as being by ' Sir

>This monument, by Thomas SUnton, was set up by his
widow, iomc yars .ifter his death, although m the ' Letters it
would appear that it was begun shortly after th.it event occurred.

2 In the possession of the carl of Verulam.

241

Nathaniel RacoN^ Artist

Nathaniel Bacon,' and, most important of all, it is
iiiupicstionably hy the s;ime artist as the other
two, liic similarity in the paintinj; of the hair and
skin beinj^ very marked. The evidence, therefore,
seems to me conclusively to prove :

{<i) That Nathaniel Hacon, artist, had the title of
'Sir.' This, apart from questions of a^e, disposes
of the claims of the man who took his M.A. in
1628, and who look Holy Orders in the s;imc year.

(/>) That the artist was not more than middle-

aped in (about) 1620. This does away with the
pretensions of a man who died, aged about 75, in
1622.

There now remains but Sir Nathaniel Bacon,
K.B., of Cuiford, the man who died in 1627 afied
44. His CJ)nteinporaries and his monument
vouch for his artistic talents, and, if the evidence
of the pictures I liave cited is accepted, he was a
very jjood painter indeed — I had almost said a
grciil one.

THE jIUNI-TENNO OF TAKUMA CHOGA
^ BY PROFESSOR R. PETRUCCI ' ^

I IK J.ip.mese paintinj^s now
111 niy possession, of which
this article treats, date from
the end of the twelfth century.
l'"or very many years they
were preserved in the temple
of Kiu/.oji, one of the oldest
relij^ious foundations of the
province iTTlv.iy.i. At the dawn of the Mciji era,
the temple wius reduced to poverty by the sudden
suppression of the dues and j^ifts which con-
stituted its wealth, and was compelled to sell its
treasures one by one ; and thus it was that this
unique series was set free to cross the ocean.
Nowad.iys, when the Japanese Government has
had inventories drawn up, and passed laws pro-
hibiting the sale out of the country of the works
of art placed under its protection, it would be very
difhcult to abstract from under its vigilant eye so
leading an example of national art.

The series had been in the temple of Kiuzoji
ever since the thirteenth century, and tr.idition
points to them ;is the work of Takuma Clioga.
This master, who bore the title of Hoin, the most
exalted attainable by the artists of the Mikado's
court, died in the early years of the thirteenth
century (1201 or 1204). liuddhist paintings were
never signed in the ancient art of Japan, and in
that age of faith a painter would have considered
it a grievous sin of pride to afli.x his mark to the
awful images of the gods. The works of those
distant ages, therefore, must be judged by analysis
and tr.ulition. The origin of the twelve kakemono
under notice leaves no doubt of their attribution ;
and on their style I will content myself with quot-
ing the opinion of Mr. Nakamura, formerly
director of the Tokio Museum, who examined
them some twenty years ago. ' judging from his
style,' he writes, 'any connoisseur will perhaps
agree to this tradition at once. We call the atten-
tion of the inspector to the beauties of all the
lines and colourings. Keally the traces of bnislies
in the draperies of the deities are almost undis-
cernable, and the grandeur produced by the
> Tr.instatcd by H.uulJ Child.

colouring materials of high value and glistening
gold are admirable. We saw several sets of
twelve Devas beforehand, but none so fine as this.
Moreover, most of them were incomplete in num-
ber, while this one has no single scroll missing.
For the above reasons we consider this set of
paintings a rare treasure in the Japanese art
world.'

The school of Takuma was founded hy Takuma
Tamcnari in the eleventh century, in the reign
of the seventy-second emperor. At the out-
set it w;is nothing more than a branch of
the school of Kose Kanaoka, which had pre-
ceded it ; but Takuma Choga, or Shyauga,
was destined to create the style which charac-
terized it thenceforth. He flourished at the
beginning of the Kamakura era, which beg.in in
1 186. Affected by the new influences at work, he
substituted for the ancient principles of the school
of Kanat)ka the vigorous and brilliant manner
which he drew from the Chinese art of the Soung.
Takuma Clioga marks the apogee of a school, and
the relatively perfect preservation of the paintings
under notice renders it possible to form an accu-
rate opinion of its quality. They represent the
twelve 'Tens' : Yemiiiaten, who corresponds with
the demon king of death ; Fi'iten (the Sanskrit
Vasu) ; Nitten (Sury.i) ; Boiiten (Brahma) ; Getten
(Soma, Candra) ; Chiteii (IVitluvi) ; Kasetsuten
(Nairrita) ; Taishakuten (India) ; Suiten (Varuna) ;
Kwaten (Agni) ; Bishamonten (Vai5ra\'ana) ; and
Ishanaten (Civa).

The profound fervour of Buddhistic art, which
by the expression of religious abstraction and
ecstasy succeeded in rendering the loftiest and
deepest emotions of the human race, is affected
in these paintings by the element of realism
introduced by the new conditions. The rigidity
of the conventional and hieratic figures of the
school of Kanaoka has disappeared. In its place
we have a slender elegance and voluptuous grace
in the flowing curves of the bodies of the
benevolent boddhisatvas ; sudden and violent
movement in those of the demons ; countenances
calm or terrible, rapt in a mystic dream or deeply

242

The yiuni-Tenno of Takuma Qhoga

marked with violent passion — all showing, in
exquisite colour which is in itself a dream of
more than human beauty, how far art had thrown
off the dominion of the ancient formulas and how
much new power it had won.

To the exceptional artistic value of these paint-
ings must be added an archaeological value of the
highest importance. Among the twelve boddhis-
atvas represented, some correspond to old and
forgotten forms. They approach very closely to
the earliest periods of Buddhist teaching, and,
together with the Hindoo character of the symbols
they hold, they preserve the foreign type of face
and that exquisite delicacy which seem to result
from Greek influences anterior to the art of

Gandhara. These Buddhist figures, like those
from their birth-place, as yet unmodified by the
accretion of magic which in Thibet, for instance,
is productive of so much obscurity, deserve to be
studied from the different points of view of
religious history and of the effects of Indo-Euro-
pean influence on Japanese art of the early periods.
In these paintings, therefore, we have not only a
unique work of the master who won the highest
artistic honours at the Imperial court and was the
first great founder of a school after Kanaoka ;
we have precise evidence of one step in a moving
story. Side by side with the subtle beauty of the
figures we can divine the age-long ripening, the
nobility and the complexity of the spirit of man.

THE BOOK CYPHERS OF HENRI II
cA. BY CYRIL DAVENPORT ^

I BOUT the middle of the six-
teenth century several beautiful
)okbindings were made for
Diane de Poitiers, Grande
iSeneschale de Normandie and
Duchesse de Valentinois. On
these bindings appear several
.book stamps which were made
for Henri II, king of France, and these stamps
appear to have been lent to the duchess by the
king as a mark of royal favour. Several of the
royal books were also lent or given to her.

Diane was almost twenty years older than the
king, a lady of great ability, distinguished parentage,
and a notable patron of the Arts. Her historical
position has been properly defined by De Thou
and Brantome, but gossip has treated her more
unkindly.

Henri, as dauphin, adopted as his impress —
such personal devices were then in full fashion —
a crowned crescent with the motto Donee totiim
iiiipleat orbein, a device and motto in every way
suitable to an heir to a throne. This crescent
naturally suggested the Huntress Diana, with her
other emblems of bows, arrows and quivers, all of
which appear in bindings made for the king,
on most of which the centre ornament is the
royal coat-of-arms of France enclosed within a
border of unstrung bows and having the crescent
below it.

In 1550, on Henri's triumphal entry into Rouen,
the crescent badge was worn on the coats of the
royal footmen and on the state trappers of the
horses, and on various flags were ' civissaiits, chiffres
et dei'iees dit Roi.' In 1575 Catherine, then a widow,
caused crescents, quivers, bows and arrows to be
painted on the stained glass windows of the Sainte
Chapelle at Vincennes, set up by her in memory
of her husband.

But besides all these devices there were others

of more personal application in the form of
cyphers containing initials.

Leonard Limousin, a celebrated portrait enamel-
ler, made two portraits which touch particularly
on the present inquiry ; the first of these represents
the dauphiness, Catherine, and the other the
dauphin Henri on horseback.

In 1540 Henri married Catherine de Medicis, a
lady of high lineage and fond of magnificence
of all sorts. Her portrait shows her in a rich
dress with embroidered borders on
the bodice and sleeves ; the borders
are ornamented with repetitions of
the cypher H.D.C. This 1 interpret
as meaning H[enri] D[auphin] et
C[atherine]. Catherine's jewelled
necklace is, moreover, composed of links fashioned
into the same cypher.

The arrangement of the letters in this cypher
is, however, not quite happy: the levels of the tops
of the D and the C do not range well ; so I suggest
that the royal designer broke the cypher up into
two other symmetrical ones, each of which
retained the H, namely,
one showing H with
two D's, and the other
H with two C's. The
1 retention of the HD
^—^ cypher by the king
after his accession to the throne would be justified
by the accident that his number, Deu.x, began
with the same letter. It is the existence of this D
that puzzles bibliophiles, and many of them
consider that it stands for Diane.

As I have shown, a D appears prominently on
the dress of the dauphiness, conjoined with her
own initial as well as that of her husband. Is it
at all likely that a young bride would brook the
inclusion of the initial of any other lady in such
intimate fashion ? Certainly not ; and if the

243

The Rook (Cyphers of Henri II

presence of the D can be otherwise justified, I
should feel strongly inclined to accept such justi-
fication, if possible.

At various times kinjjs have given away their
books, and even allowed their book stamps to be
copied, liut there is no instance in which a king's
royal monogram has been combined with that of
any lady but his queen, and I do not sec that it is
necessary to conclude that this was done in the
case of Uiane de Poitiers.

No doubt Diane saw that the accident of
Henri's adoption of the crescent for his badge
tilted in admirably with her own name, and she
used on her bindings and houses not only the
crescent, but bows, quivers and arrows as well.
Not only this, but the initial cyphers were also
pressed into her service, and she even had a stamp
cut showing a crowned H, in imitation of one
used by the king.

After Henri's death in 1559, Diane lived at the
Chateau d'Anet, designed for her by the royal
architect, Fhilibert de I'Orme, and her books in
the library there were freely ornamented with the
stamps I have just discussed, e.xcept that of Queen
Catherine. The centres, however, of the bindings
made for Diane never bear the royal coat-of-arms

of France, but have instead of it her name,
' Dianna,' her coat-of-arms, Br^zd-Maulevrier, or
crescents.

Diane liked black and white, and many of her
bindings are in white leather. Her crescents were
coloured black or white, and her bows were
sometimes strung and sometimes unstrung.
Henri II's bows were always unstrung.

No doulit Diane did her best to appropriate
the royal devices as her own, and the stamps she
had cut for herself are as near the royal ones in
^-7__^r— 7 design as possible. One of these,
zl 7^7-\^k "i" ^ crossed by two crescents, is
1 / \ I very like that made for Catherine
the queen, but the ends of the
crescents are without the serif.
The two D's for Diane also seem
intended to imitate the cypher of
the H and the two D's.

If Diane wished to have her
cyphers confused with those of
the king and queen, she was re-
markably successful, as the con-
fusion continues to the present day. I hope that
the suggestion I have offered may do something
to clear it up.

cA^

JAMES DARET
BY W. H. J. WEALE c^

► AMES DARI<:T, the subject of
la newly published memoir,' and
' Roger de la Pasture were fellow
pupils of Robert Campin, a
native of Hainault, probably of
Valenciennes, who settled in
I Tournay about 1406 and
quickly made a reputation for
himseli, Tiot only securing a large number of
commissions from private persons but becoming
practically painter in ordinary of the municipality.
It is not known where he received his art training,
but there seems to be some probability that it was
at Maastricht, as he had taken for his wife Elisabeth
of Stockhem, a village on the left bank of the
Maas within a short distance of Maaseyck ; but
this is a mere conjecture. The superiority of his
art or of his technique must have been quickly
recognized, as although there were several master
painters of repute established in the city he seems
to have been very soon looked t)n as the master to
whom the designing, if not the execution, of all
art work should be entrusted. M. Houtart enum-
erates a number of works executed by him in and
after 1406, including paintings, the gilding and
polychroming of statues and carved work, and the
furnishing of designs, ' putrons,' to sculptors, gold-
smiths, brass-founders and tapestry weavers. It

I ■Jacques Darel, Peinlrc Tournaisicn du XV* Siecle.' Maurice
Houtart. 45 pp. Touriiai ; Castcrman. lyo'-

seems that the designing of all art work of any
importance was as a rule entrusted to a master
painter.

From 1423 to 1428 Campin tilled several offices
in the gild and became possessed of a considerable
fortune. In 1432 he lost the services of his two
apprentices, to whom no doubt the high reputation
of his studio was in some measure due. After
their departure Campin seems to have been chieHy
engaged in designing work, the execution of
which was carried out by others. He died 26th
April, 1444. I have given in this m.agazine (Vol. I,
pp. 202 and 207) my reasons for thinking that two
pictures in the Prado gallery may possibly be by
him. Panel paintings of the Tournay school were
often of large dimensions ; this no doubt was due
to their authors having been much employed in
designing tapestries and in painting on linen —
Campin, for instance, designed a series of scenes
in the life of Saint Peter which covered 68 ells of
linen cloth.

The oldest of the gild registers gives (he names
of four apprentices of Campin, as to the first of
whom nothing further is known ; the second is
Rogelet de la Pasture, who commenced his
apprenticeship 5th March, 1427, and the third
jacquelotte Daret, who began his, five weeks later,
12th April, 1427. It is certain that between 1406
and 1427 Campin must have had a good many
apprentices. At Tournay before a painter could

244

MAN M.11.1..1. '.'.IM., IIV UHKI.IS

IS THE I'OSSESSION OK THE I NIVEKSITY OF CiLASGOW

yames T)aret

obtain the grade of master he had to serve an
apprenticeship of not less than four years. Not only
that, but, during Campin's time at least, those who
were admitted to apprenticeship had previously
gone through a long period of instruction. In
many other towns, as for example at Bruges,
where the craft was originally composed of mere
decorators, raw youths were admitted as appren-
tices, and the obligatory term of service was only
two years.

The Darets were an artistic family. In the
period 1397 to 1498, we find among the members
of the family two cabinet makers and wood
carvers, three sculptors and four painters. James
Daret, born c. 1403, was the eldest son of John,
who was, like his father, a wood carver. At
Tournay males attained their majority at the age
of fifteen, and so in April, 1418, we find James
Daret lodging and boarding with master Campin
and working at his craft. In 1418 he received the
tonsure, which proves that he could read and had
some knowledge of Latin and of religious and
secular history. Many craftsmen of the more
artistic industries became clerics in order to escape
being subject to the jurisdiction of lay tribunals.
On 6th July, 1426, Daret went to Aachen, to the
exposition of the great relics which then as now
attracted a vast number of pilgrims every seventh
year. He had been living and working with
Campin during at least nine years when he com-
menced, on 12th April, 1427, his four years of official
apprenticeship. Until the completion of these he
was not at liberty to work for any one but his
own master. Immediately after his admission as
master, iSth October, 1432, he was chosen to be
provost of the gild. On 8th January, 1433, he
received his half-brother, Daniel Daret, as his
apprentice ; this Daniel was not admitted as
master until loth February, 1441. Up to that date

James Daret had not received a single commission
from the municipality, nor, so far as we know,
from any of the churches in the town. He there-
fore removed to Arras, where he was employed by
the abbot of Saint Vedast to design and afterwards
to gild brass lecterns and other articles of furniture
for the abbey church. He also designed a
tapestry of the Resurrection for the same prelate,
and was the chief designer and painter of the
entremets at the famous banquet of the Pheasant,
at Lille, in February, 1454. He continued to
dwell at Arras until 1460, when he returned to
Tournay. On 28th March, 1468, he went off to
Bruges, taking with him a number of other
painters, at whose head he worked for seventy-
eight days at the decorations for the wedding of
Charles the Rash and Margaret of York. After
the 12th of July we lose sight of James Daret,
of whom no trace is found at Tournay — neither
will, nor mention of works nor of heirs. His half-
brother and pupil, Daniel Daret, succeeded John
van Eyck as the official painter of Philip III,
duke of Burgundy.

Besides the up-to-date narrative of all that is
known of James Daret, this careful and pleasantly
written memoir will be found to contain a good
deal of information as to Roger and other art
craftsmen of Tournay, making it a valuable con-
tribution to the history of the school. Until quite
recently all early Tournay pictures were assigned
positively to Roger when not attributed to one of
the van Eycks ; now they are with equal assurance
given to Campin or to one of the Darets under
their own name or the absurd title of master of
Fl^malle, though doubtless some of these paintings
were really executed by Master Henry le Chien
(1413-1429), or by some other one of the three
dozen painters admitted as free masters before
1440.

^ NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART f*»

A MAN MAKING WINE, BY CHARDIN
Of the three superb examples of Chardin recently
lent to the Whitechapel exhibition by the univer-
sity of Glasgow, that which we here reproduce,
A Man Making Wine, must, in its original con-
dition, have been the most remarkable in colour.
The surface is now badly cracked, a defect which
our photograph reproduces only too accurately,
but even in its present imperfect state the picture
could not fail to attract attention. Conceived, as
are the majority of Chardin's works, in a scheme
of warm, luminous grey, upon which the white
dress of the figure and the lustrous black of the
botde tell as the extremes of light and darkness,
and which is varied still further by the warmer
tones of the jugs and of the tub, the picture is,
as it were, made almost startling by the intro-
duction of the cans on the right painted in a

superb vermilion. Not even Velazquez has
invented a bolder contrast, and even he could not
have enveloped it more successfully in perfect
harmony of tone. Pictures such as this, at once
tender, scientific and daring, make us long for
the day when modern processes of colour repro-
duction will enable these masterpieces to be placed
within the reach of their humbler admirers.

GUARDI AND TIEPOLO

So little is known concerning the Venetian
eighteenth-century masters that the most insignifi-
cant incident in their lives appears to be worth
recording. It is because no information whatso-
ever has been forthcoming as to the personal
relations subsisting between Francesco Guardi and
Giambattista Tiepolo, who became his brother-in-
law by marrying Cecilia Guardi, that the inscription

247

Notes oti Various JVorks of Art

on a drawing by Ticpolo which has recently come
to li|^ht will, we venture to think, be welcome to the
student. Thoui^h it does not enlif^hten us .is to
the effect of this family alliance on the intercourse
iK'twecn the two painters, it would seem to allow the
inference tliat Ticpolo was intimately acquainted
with a kinsman of Francesco.

As we are not here concerned with the intrinsic
merits of the drawinj^ in question (which, we may
incidentally remark, comes from the collection of
a Spanish artist, Kaimondo de Madrazo, and is
now the property of an American lady, Miss S. C.
Hewitt, of New York), but with its value as a
document, it will suftice to point out that it is a
spirited composition representing an allegorical
subject, and a good example of Tiepolo's finished
sepia drawings heightened with white.

As we learn from the inscription in the left-hand
lop corner of the drawing, which runs as follows :
'LO FECE IL TIEPOLO E ME LO DONO
lUSEPIMXO GUARD!,' Giuseppe Guardi
CJuseppino' is the colloquial diminutive of
'Giuseppe') received the drawing as a present
from Ticpolo himself. Its inscription may have
been added to it byway of guarantee of its autlien-
ticity when the owner parted with it, or because
he felt proud of possessing a work by his distin-
guished relative. As we find the name of Giuseppe
Guardi only once in the genealogical tree of the
Guardi, it represents presumably the recipient of
the drawing. According .to the tree, Giuseppe
issued, like Francesco Guardi, from the Mastellina
branch of the family, and was a contemporary of
the famous landscape painter's father (Uomenico).
Thus the inscription gives us a glimpse of Tiepolo's
friendly relations with an older kinsman of his
brother-in-law.

It is difficult to conceive that Tiepolo did not
also come into contact with, or at least e.xercise an
influence over, Francesco Guardi, as he was a
rising artist when he married Cecilia, and sixteen
years older than her brother. Until Guardi
attained his artistic majority, Venice remained the
headquarters of Tiepolo's activity. Cecilia did not
accompany her husband to foreign courts when
he left Venice. That she continued to live on
good terms with her brother to the end of her
days we may infer from the fact that she
bequeathed a small legacy to him in her will,
which was framed two years only before her death.

George A. Simonso.v.

THE REBUILDING OF THE CAMPANILE
OF S. MARKS

0\ the 14th of this month, just five years ago, the
great campanile of S.Mark's, at Venice, collapsed ;
and artists, architects and engineers are still

wrangling over its rebuilding. Many serious in-
terruptions have checked the work, the worst of
these occiuring some three years ago, when the
weight of the rising tower placed a strain on the
foundations which they were not able to bear, and
they began immediately to subside. This diffi-
culty w:is, however, overcome after an infinity of
labour, and the foiuidations were relaid with
a care and nicety brought about by failure
and experience. The question as to the impos-
sibility of the belfry presenting exactly the same
appearance as its predecessor had done is largely
occupying the artistic world in Venice, and letters
and articles appear constantly in the papers to
insist that the bricks shall be made to look old, the
marble weather-stained, and make other demands
which it will be impossible to satisfy. An angry
dispute raged for some time as to placing the
tower on three or five steps. The old campanile,
it is well known, stood originally on five, but in
the course of ages two of these steps had sunk
below the level of the piazza, and the question
arose as to how many were to be used to-day.
It was ultimately decreed that the original plan
must be adhered to, and the supporters of the five-
step plan won the day. Another check occurred
last winter when the quality of the bricks used for
the construction of the tower was called in doubt,
and again the work was suspended. The com-
mittee appointed to decide on so momentous a
matter met in Rome to talk things over, and till
judgment was pronounced all was at a stand-still
in Venice. After much valuable time had been
lost in this way it was discovered that the bricks
were of the right kind after all, and work was
resumed. It is now progressing steadily, and the
tower, standing on the five steps, has reached, at
its highest point, a height of ten feet. The actual
brickwork in the interior differs in many ways
from what was in the old tower, but no objection
can be raised to a form of construction which
makes for solidity and stability, and which it is
hoped will guard for ever against any likelihood
of another disiister. The mode of ascending will
be as formerly : an inclined plane gradually le.id-
ing up the ft)ur sides of the tower, and making
the process of ascent easy to every one. Three
or four years are talked of as necessary for the
completion of the work — provided that no delays
or accidents interfere with its progress.

Aletuea Wiel.

MASTER HARE
The portrait of Master Hare on p. 356 of The
Burlington ^L\GAZI^'E for June w.is erroneously
attributed in the inscription to Gainsborough. It
is, of course, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, as mentioned
in Mr. P. M. Turner's article.

248

cA^ LETTER TO THE EDITOR cAp

A NEW BOOK ON THE POLLAIUOLI
To {he Editor of The Burlixgton Magazine.
Sir, — May we be allowed to suggest that the
tone taken by your distinguished contributor, Dr.
Bode, in his review of Miss Cruttwell's book on the
Pollaiuoli in your June number, is not one which
is customary on this side of the North Sea, nor
one which it seems desirable to encourage in your
columns ? Why must Berlin criticism continue
to exhibit so morbid a sensibility in all contro-
versies wherein it discerns or suspects the influence
either of the late Senatore Morelli or of Mr.
Berenson ? On several of the points in debate
independent inquirers may very possibly be
more inclined to agree with Dr. Bode than with
Miss Cruttwell ; but that lady is a serious and a
competent student, and her opinions are entitled
to be received with courtesy. When Dr. Bode,
perhaps not wholly without cause, complains of
her for enouncing them ' with an air of infallible
assurance and great scientific pretension,' we
cannot but be moved to ask, ' but with what air
does he himself contradict them ? ' There is no
infallibility in these matters : not even Dr. Bode's
immense services in the expansion and organization
of the Berlin galleries, nor his brilliant activity in
many fields of criticism, can justify him in
assuming the pontifical tone which he condemns
in others. We all make mistakes ; a majority
of students, Continental and American as well as

British, believe that neither of Dr. Bode's two
bugbears above mentioned ever made mistakes so
great, on a question of Italian art, as Dr. Bode
himself made when he gave the name of Leonardo
to the Resurrection at Berlin, or when he main-
tained the Donna Velaia of the Pitti to be the
work of a Bolognese. Our study — to which the
name science is too freely given — is a very
difficult one ; its results are seldom capable of
absolute or experimental verification in the
manner of the true sciences, but depend for their
final acceptance on the gradually won assent of
an international body of students. We can only
do our best with such inborn faculties and
acquired training as we may possess ; can we not
avoid, whatever our nationality, or domicile, or
position, the dogmatic and dictatorial denuncia-
tion of each other's works and views ?

Sidney Colvin.

Claude Phillips.

[We need not say that we have good reason
to desire courtesy in critical discussions, if only
because it relieves us from the responsibilities of a
censorship which we have hardly ever found it
necessary to exercise, and which, if exercised often,
would impair the reputation of The Burlington
Magazine as a medium open impartially to all
competent authorities, whatever their opinions. —
Ed.]

^ ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH a^

ART HISTORY

L'Art Mosan depuis l'introduction du
Christianisme jusqu'a la fin du XVII 1*
siecle. Jules Helbig. Public . . . par les
soins de Joseph Brassinne. Tome I.
Bruxelles: G. Van Oest & Cie. 1906. 50 fr.
(subscription price 40 fr.) the two volumes.

It is hardly a generation ago that 'Mosan Art'
was an unknown term in the vocabulary of art
criticism. With the claims of Rhenish art on one
side and Flemish art on the other, perhaps there
seemed little room for an intermediate art of the
Valley of the Meuse. In recent years quite a
literature has sprung up about the art of this dis-
trict, which by reason of its Walloon population
really stands essentially separate from the neigh-
bouring countries inhabited by Flemings and
Germans ; and to that literature M. Jules Helbig
was a substantial contributor. It was fitting that
one who bore his part in the pioneer work of investi-
gation should undertake, in the evening of his
life, the pleasant task of gathering together the
fruits of his own and his fellow-labourers' toil,
and it is to be regretted that he did not live to see
the completion of what he regarded as the crown
of his life's work.

It must be admitted that the book in which the
results of many inquiries are thus summed up
suffers from a lack of organization and arrange-
ment, a defect which may well be attributed to
the want of the author's super\-ision during the
later stages of its preparation. Of the section
dealing with goldsmiths' work M. Helbig did not
live to complete even the manuscript, and it has
been finished by another hand. This is the more to
be regretted in that the goldsmiths' craft flourished
in the Meuse valley with exceptional luxuriance.
Those who were fortunate enough to see the exhibi-
tion at Bruges in 1902 are not likely to forget the
masterpieces of the thirteenth-century monastic
goldsmith, Hugo of Oignies, works of unsurpassed
beauty and richness. At Liege, three years later,
several of these again figured, supported by a whole
series of splendid enamelled reliquaries of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, among them the glorious
cofTer-reliquary of Staveloo, saved from the hands
of the restorer some years since by the efforts
of Mr. Weale. The enamels of the school of
Godefroid de Claire of Huy, elucidated recently
by Messrs. Von Falke and Frauberger in their
monumental work ' Deutsche Schmelzarbeiten des
Mittelalters,' rank with the finest productions of
the world-famous enamellers of Cologne and
Limoges.

249

Books on Art History

While its goldsmiths and enaraellers thus held
their own against those of any country in Europe,
in the craft of the latten-worker the Valley of the
Meuse enjoyed an unrivalled supremacy. The
little town of Dinant gave its name to the whole
class of works in brass or lattcn — lecterns, fonts,
candlesticks, ewers, buckets and the rest — wiiich
the commerce of the Middle Ages distributed
through north-western Europe from their centre
of production on the Meuse, and which are still
familiarly known among antiquaries under the
name of Dinanderie.

These arts of the goldsmith and metalworker
were indeed in a very special sense arts of the
country. Their history offers a rich field for the
patriotic historian of the arts, and the regret
naturally arises that M. Helbig was unable to
devote a fuller and more systematic treatment to
those characteristic branches of his subject.

However the case for architecture may stand —
and the author has not made out a very con-
vincing account of it — for a Mosan school of
sculpture there is a good deal to be said. The
diptych of P'lavius Anastasius, formerly at Liege,
and now divided between South Kensington and
Berlin, is avowedly included and figured in a full-
page plate merely as a possible source of influence.
The ivory plaque at Liege representing Christ's
three acts of raising the dead is marked by much
the same character as Carlovingian sculpture else-
where, and it is not until the ivory plaque of
Bishop Xotger (972-1008) and the noble Viag,c
lie Doin Rupert are reached that the rudiments
appear of a style which seems to lead up to the
reliefs of the wonderful brass font of S. Bartho-
lomew's at Liege. Passing to the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, we find a whole group of
sculptors from the Meuse valley, among whom
the names survive of Pepin of Huy and Hcnne-
quin of Liege, carrying the art and fame of their
native land into France and Klanders.

The latter part of the volume is mainly devoted
to a sketch of the Mosan painters and their work,
headed, on the strength of their birthplace, by the
brothers Van Eyck, though with an admission
that by reason of their migration they exercised
no immediate influence on the art of their own
country. Patinir and Bles, though in the same
way they quitted their birthplace for a more
promising field, stand more truly for Mosan
painting, a school which deserves special honour
for its early recognition of the importance of
landscape.

Such a book as this does not profess to offer
new discoveries. It sets forth a general view of
the subject, obviously warmed and inspired by its
author's love for the honour of his native country.
Perhaps this enthusiasm made it hard for him to
sec that it would have been well to lay firm and
solid the foundations of his work by analysing and

250

defining the qualities of the art he is dealing with.
In spite of his belief that 'I'art n'est que la
manifestation du genie et de I'esprit d'une nation,'
and his declaration that he so regarded the art he
was dealing with, the impression left on the mind
after reading his book can hardly be said to be
that of a clear and coherent body of art-work
expressing a definite national character.

The present volume carries the subject down to
the beginning of the sixteenth century ; the
completing volume, announced to appear this
year, is to finish the account to the end of the
eighteenth century.

It only remains to be said that the book is
liberally provided with illustrations made from
admirable photographs, which yet, by being
placed with persistent disregard to tlie te.xt they
are supposed to illustrate, serve rather to
exasperate the reader's temper than to help his
understanding.

H. P. M.

Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte. Von A.
Springer. 1 : Das Ai.terti'M. Achte Auflagc
bearbcitct von A. Michaelis. Leipzig : Seeman.
1907. y marks.
Thk rapid progress of discovery in the fields of
ancient art has made it necessary to issue a fresh
edition of Springer's ' Handbook of the History of
Art ' (completely remodelled since the death of its
originator) every three years since 1895 — a proof
of the demand for such literature in Germany, and
of the thoroughness with which it is kept up to
date. The eighth edition of the first volume
('Ancient Art'), which lies before us, is, like the
four preceding ones, the work of the veteran Prof.
Michaelis, of Strassburg. With its range from
prehistoric times to the end of the Roman world,
its completeness and detail, its 900 illustrations,
and, we should add, its price, it may be said to be
without a rival. Certainly we have nothing like it
to show in English. A book like this is not a
dictionary of antiquities ; it is a continuous history
of the development of art, with the unity of view
and presentment which results from the work of a
single mind. The difficulty is to preserve a sense
of proportion, while not omitting any information
which the intelligent reader or student might look
for. In these respects the book seems to have
attained a very high level of success. Greek art,
as is natural from its intrinsic importance, takes up
more than half the vt)lume; but sections, adequate
for the purpose in view, are devoted to the art of
prehistoric times, and to that of the countries —
Egypt, Assyria, Persia, etc. — which were in touch
with the Greek world and influenced its artistic
developm -nt, while at the other end of the scale a
complete treatment is accorded to the art of Italy
and of the Koman Empire, in which Hellenism
found a new sphere of existence and wider modes

of expression. Everywhere what is essential for
the history of art is insisted upon, as against purely
archaeological aspects. One of the most important
and interesting sections illustrating this point of
view js the account of the Hellenistic civilization,
in which, under the successors of Alexander, new
artistic forms were developed which later had
great influence and found a world-wide scope in
the Roman Empire. We may add that the plan
of the book includes the history of architecture.

Where the field is so vast, selection is all-impor-
tant ; and it might not be difficult for a captious
critic to ask why this monument or that theory
was not mentioned. But a handbook of this
kind, intended to lay the achieved results of the
subject before the student or general reader, is
not the place for every recent theory still waiting,
perhaps, to stand the test of time. Thus we find
no allusion to Strzygowski's theories about the
art of Asia Minor, too recent for inclusion in an
authoritative manual. On the other hand, the
influence of Wickhoff's 'illusionism' in Roman
art is to be traced in the account of the sculpture
of the Flavian period. Generally speaking, as
we might expect, the book is extremely well kept
up to date. The new discoveries in Crete, and
the whole subject of Aegean art which had its
centre there, are adequately described, considering
our still imperfect knowledge. Delphi, again,
which under the French excavations has provided
so many fresh examples of Greek art from nearly
every period, figures largely in these pages. We
notice, too, that Furtwangler's reconstruction of
the pediments of the temple at Aegina has been
utilized. If we must mention one correction,
we think that Mr. Stuart Jones's demonstration
that the Borghese reliefs from the so-called Arch
of Claudius really belong to a monument of
Trajan (' Papers of the British School at Rome,'
iii. 215) ought to have been appropriated. The
illustrations, among which are twelve coloured
plates, are excellent, and include (as we might
expect from the author of ' Ancient Marbles in
Great Britain ') some of the little-known specimens
in English collections, such as the beautiful
Theseus at Ince-Blundell and the Lansdowne
Hercules. An appendix containing a bibliography
of the subject is promised shortly. G. M'N. R.

The Society of Artists of Great Britain,
1760-1791. The Free Society of Artists,
1761-1783. By Algernon Graves, F.S.A.
London : G. Bell and Sons, and Algernon
Graves. £2, 3s. net.

In this volume Mr. Algernon Graves deals with
the two art societies formed in England previous
to the foundation of the Royal Academy, and
eventually crushed out of existence by it. The
dates of the first exhibition of each of tlie societies
given on the title page and elsewhere through the

Books on Art History

book should, from the strict historical point of
view, be transposed. Both societies originated in
the exhibition held under the auspices of the
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manu-
factures and Commerce in 1760. The Society of
Artists was a secession of the more important
contributors, who held a separate exhibition of
their own in 1761. The Free Society, being the
section which remained true to the place and
methods of the 1760 show, has thus the sounder
title to corporate seniority, as Mr. Graves himself
admits in a note.

The volume is the most interesting of all Mr.
Graves's catalogues, for in it we see the British
school in its infancy. Reynolds, Gainsborough,
Hogarth, Romney and many other distinguished
artists up to the year 1769, when the competition
of the newly founded Royal Academy begins to
tell, exhibit in company with artists in hair and
needlework, and young ladies from boarding
schools. It is interesting to note that Reynolds's
Lord Ligonicr and Captain Oriiie hung side by side
in the exhibition of 1761, as they do once more in
the National Gallery. We wonder how the mis-
prints in the quotation from Catullus which
follows crept into the catalogue : Reynolds was
not the man to quote incorrectly. This catalogue,
by the way, has a preface by Johnson, in which
is given an explanation of the charge for admission
and of a system of sale by auction of works
not disposed of during the exhibition — a system
which did not survive the first experiment.

A glance over the contents reveals many inte-
resting names : Captain Baillie exhibits his prints
after and in the manner of the Dutch masters,
including his restoration of the Hundred Guilder
Plate ; Basire is a frequent contributor ; the once
famous Pompeo Batoni sends a portrait from
Rome. When we come to the name of Robert
Chrone we wonder whether Mr. Graves should
not have identified him with Crone, who exhibited
two landscapes in the same year, and whose name
was also Robert. He is remembered only because
his drawings are occasionally confused with those
of John Crome, and, judging from the Academy
catalogues, he must have produced a considerable
number of them. The lists of works by H. D.
Hamilton (not to be confounded with the better-
known Gavin Hamilton) and by Joseph Highmore
recall two men whose portraits not infrequently
pass for Hogarth's, just as the landscapes of
William Hodges pass for those of his master,
Wilson. The Chevalier Manini's titles are some-
times equivocal — e.g., Britannia encouraging the
Arts — Raphael and Michelangelo in the back-
ground; so is that of 'Master Oppey's' first
exhibit, A Boy's Head — an instance 0/ genius,
not having ever seen a picture. Another good
portrait painter. Penny ; the clever, unclerical
Peters; Robert Edge Pine, with his theatrical

2sl

Books on Art History

portraits ; and the group of artists with the engaging
name of Pingo ; Russell the pastellist ; and the cider
Runciman, who in liisday w;is a personage among
Scottish painters, arc also noticeable figures — but
tlic occurrence of James Ward in the book comes
as a surprise, since that line animal painter con-
tinued to exhibit at the Royal Academy till the
year 1855.

The volume has provided us with so much enter-
tainment that our minds have been too frequently
diverted from serious study. These notes in con-
sequence arc much scantier than they ought to be.
Such a series of entries as that under the heading
' Anonymous ' is a continuous temptation to
intellectual v.agrancy. It opens with 'a model of
a candle-stick ' ; a few lines lower down ' a Gentle-
man ' identified by Horace Walpole as ' Nesbit '
shows ' Head of St. Paul, in crayons, a first
attempt.' Shade of good Sir Edward Poynter ! ' A
basket of fruit (in wax) ' ; 'An historical picture,
in needle work ' ; ' Two frames of sketches by a
child seven years old ' ; 'A flower pot, in raised
paper' ; ' A festoon of (lowers, cut in cork ' ; 'A
landscape in needle work, with luunan hair';
' Three drawings made upon board with a hot
iron ' ; ' Three small landscapes in oil, the trees
and shrubs made in seaweed, a new invention ' ;
'A vase of flowers made with shells'; are fair
samples of these miscelkmeous exhibits. Six
mini.itures arc exhibited by ' a servant,' while
children, schoolboys and schoolgirls figure largely
among the contributors. Some of the entries are
puzzling. What, for instance, does 'A frame with
five small landscapes and artificial Mochas' imply ?
The note at the end of a contributor's entries
for the year 1790 is pcrhajis the significant
sentence of all : 'N.B. — Enquire for particulars
at the Bar,' Hi viotiis auiiiwniin !

The Histoky ok Modern Painting. liy
Richard Muthcr. New and Revised Edition.
4 vols. J. M. Dent and Co. ^^3 3s. net.

Dr. Miitmer's work is already well known and
appreciated as it deserves to be. To follow with ;uiy-
tliing like c<)m|ileteness the tortuous course of the
development of modern painting, with its endless
twists and ramifications, was a remarkable feat ; to
do so without a constant bias of personal and racial
prejudice was still more remarkable. Not that
the book was faultless. On certain movements
and periods it was incomplete ; with others it dealt
far too diffusely, while as a whole its rhetorical
tone made it rather ponderous reading. The illus-
trations were numerous, but not alw.iys well
chosen ; were for the most part small, and were
frequently made from indifferent engr.ivings
in-.tead of from the original pictures. The three
volumes of the English edition were too thick for
comfortable handling; and had not an attractive

look. I ts worst defect, however, was a tendency to
gushing over-statement, due to reliance upon pre-
conceived theories rather than upon ascertained
facts. This made the book rather useful to those
who already possessed knowledge than trust-
worthy for those who did not.

The new edition remedies many of these defects.
Hy dividing the work into four volumes and bind-
ing it more tactfully, the publishers have made it
handy and attractive. The illustrations are greatly
improved. A few of the old engravings are
omitted, but many new ones are added, includinga
handsome proportion of coloured plates ; and even
where the old subjects still appear new and larger
blocks have frequently been used. Crome is still
' represented ' by one small engraving made from
a poor etching of a picture by another Norwich
painter ; the one specimen of Charles P'urse has no
connexion with the work by which his name will
live ; a print by Toyokuni is still described as by
an ' Unknown Master ' ; and other faults of the
same kind still remain uncorrected — but on the
whole the illustrations have benefited enormously
by the revision.

The text has not been so drastically overhauled.
Examination, indeed, shows that it has been rigor-
ously pruned, many pages of rather windy criticism
having been omitted ; so that there is no small
gain in point of conciseness. But when we come
to see how the author deals with the new shoots
that have been added to the tree of art during the
twelve years that have elapsed since the first edition
was issued, we must confcNS to some disappointment.
That revision should imply revision of judgment
was perhaps too much to expect, but to hope that
it would imply a fuller treatment of the more
significant aspects of contemporary art was not
unreasonable. That hope, however, has not been
fulfilled. When we read that 'Robert Macbeth is
now the most superior reproductive etcher in
England,' we do not know whether to wonder
more at the statement or the grammar. An
additional chapter by some competent authority
would have added considerably to the value of
the book, and so far as English buyers are con-
cerned, would have been a prudent extravagance.
Considering the very large number of excellent
art monographs published both here and abroad
during the same period, the bibliography also
can only be termed incomplete, and the fault is
the more inexcusable because a few hoius spent
upon the catalogue of the National Art Library in
the Victoria and Albert Museum would have sup-
plied the titles of a hundred books and articles
which embody more recent knowledge than those
included in Dr. Muther's list. Yet in spile of all
these defects, the new edition is a great imjirove-
ment upon its predecessor. The edges of so
voluminous a book ought certainly to nave been
trimmed.

252

Books on Art History

The History of Painting. By Richard

Mother, Ph.D. Tr.inslated by George Kriehn,

Ph.D. In two volumes. New York and

London : G. P. Putnam's Sons.

In these two handsomely produced vokimes Dr.

Richard Muther essays to cover the history of

painting from the fourth to the nineteenth century.

He approaches his study from the psychological

standpoint, treating each artist as representative

of the temper of his period — a method which at

least has the merit of making connexion and

grouping much easier than they are if each artist

be studied only as a separate personality.

Some of the disadvantages of such a form of
treatment were made evident in the author's better-
known work on modern painters : the necessity
of compressing every artist into the exact form
which in theory he ought to occupy, thereby
eliminating the whole element of personal prefer-
ence, and the tendency to make much of common-
place persons who follow the general drift of
popular feelmg. Such men have no real bearing
on the progress of art, and deserve no place in its
history. The psychological analysis of an age,
too, is apt to be a wordy business, and therefore is,
to those to whom words come easily, a temptation
to be discursive and gushing.

In the work before us Dr. Mather's scale is
smaller, so that there is little room for discussion
of minor masters, but he has not escaped the
other perils we have indicated. He is fond of
strong contrasts, and to obtain them he constantly
abuses one age in order that his praise of the next
may have due force.

Those who know the glowing mosaics of S.
Prassede or the radiant decoration of S. Apollinare
Nuovo will hardly believe their eyes when they
read : ' Stony cold and icy is the heart of these
things, ... a stony Gorgon looks down upon the
world.' Countless instances of such reckless
exaggeration might be quoted. But the inflated
language of the book is a small defect compared
with its inaccuracy.

To refer everywhere to Fra Angelico as ' Fiesole '
is as silly as to suggest that Giotto ' endeavours to
attain the effect of faded Gobelins.' But the
errors in the facts of history and criticism are so
numerous that all the author's vulgar mannerisms
pale before them — even when to support his
'psychological' theory he states that Filippo
Lippi's Cora»a//oH 0/ //ic Yiygin 'rivals the beauty
of a harem.'

He repeats the long-discredited legend that
Domenico Veneziano was murdered by Andrea da
Castagno ; he is not aware that the famous
triptych of Hugo van der Goes is now in the
Uffizi. But when, as an example of Filippino's
exact imitation of Botticelli, he quotes the altar-
piece in the Badia, it is clear that he is entirely
unfitted to discuss the subject he is talking about,

and that the book needs no serious criticism.
Nor is the author more happy when he approaches
the period with which his name is commonly
associated. A first glance reveals the statement
that ' Goya is no painter ' ; a second, that in none
of Reynolds's male portraits 'does one encounter
an affable smile or finely cut nostrils.' Such
verdicts speak for themselves. In his work on
Modern Painting Dr. Muther had the excuse of
doing something which had not previously been
attempted. In the present instance that excuse is
lacking, and we cannot recommend his book as
being in any way serviceable to any one.

ARCHITECTURE

The Alhambra, being a brief record of the
Arabian Conquest of the Peninsula with a
particular account of the Mohammedan
Architecture and Decoration. Second edition.
By A. F. Calvert. London : John Lane.
New York : John Lane Co. 42s. net.

As was the case with Mr. Calvert's ' Moorish
Remains in Spain,' a perusal of the present volume
raises doubts as to the existence of a class of
reader to whom it can be of use. According to
the preface, the writer's aim was to compile an
' illustrated souvenir.' From a popular stand-
point— a very popular one — he has, perhaps,
succeeded. But we imagine that people fresh
from the scenes he describes, who have probably
consumed a more than proper allowance of
printed rhapsody, would prefer a really adequate
commentary upon the Alhambra, a more critical
spirit on the part of a cicerone, and, above all,
appreciations less utterly Irvingesque. One
searches these pages in vain for a statement of
the place Granada occupies in the history of
Mohammedan architecture, or for any evidence
of architectural erudition. The author would
probably be surprised to hear that howeter high
the Alhambra ranks ornamentally, its architectural
value is, absolutely, that of decadent over-elabora-
tion. But, apparently, the only frame of mind
in which tlie subject can be fittingly approached,
is that induced by Washington Irving. The
question is : Would any continental WTiter of similar
pretensions to Mr. Calvert's treat the subject thus,
in the present year of grace ? We think not.
Mr. Calvert's text (his only 'two trustworthy
authorities ' upon the Moors in Spain are Gayan-
gos and Dozy) is eked out with Ford (' As to
Queen Isabella, Ford is loud in her praise'),
Irving (Aimcz-i'Oiis la uioiitanlc, on en a mis
partoiit ?) and other famous authorities (' For the
true character of Ferdinand consult Shakespeare,
who understood all things'). The character of
the information Mr. Calvert supplies, when left to

^S3

Books on ^Architecture

himself, could not be better illustrated than by
that he f»ives concerning the owner of the Gene-
ralife, * the Marquis of Campotejar, of theGrimaldi
Gentili family, better known as Pallavicini of
Genoa. . . . The founder of the Grimaidi family
was one Cidi Aya, a Moorish prince,' etc. And the
Alhambray<irrDis still ' probably from the Balearic
Isles.' The author's command of terms is very pecu-
liar. His vocabulary includes ' Moresco-Spaniards,'
'Granadian,' ' AziiU-jo tiles'; andelsewhere the per-
plexity of choice between Arabian and ' Moresco '
IS visibly great.

The book is lavishly illustrated — largely from
Murphy's 'Arabian Antiquities of Spain,' the
' Monumentos Arquitectonicos de Espana,' draw-
ings by |. K. Lewis, Owen Jones's great work on
the Alhambra and his ' Grammar of Ornament.'
The extent of Mr. Calvert's Ixirrowings can be
estimated from the fact that eighty coloured plates,
mainly after Owen Jones, are quite lost among
the multitude of illustrations in black-and-white.
Whilst a certain number of the latter are from
photographs, far too many are reproductions of
comparatively unimportant old views ; some of
these being duplicates of those illustrated from
photographs. It would have been well if Mr.
Calvert had appended to each borrowed illustra-
tion the source from which it was drawn, if only
for reference purposes, as in many cases reduction
in scale has rendered them valueless.

A. V. D. P.

Essentials in Architecture. An Analysis of the
Principles and Qualities to be looked for in
Buildings. By John Belcher, A.R.A. London:
Batsford. 5s. net.

The 'Seven Lamps of Architecture' attempted to
do for a former age what this book aims at doing
for our own, namely, to give a clear idea of the
general principles underlying all good buildings.
Kuskin's arguments and examples all tended to
the glorification of Gothic. Time and experiment
have proved the limitations of that glorious art,
and in Mr. Belcher's book the great majority of
the seventy-four excellent illustrations are drawn
from the Renaissance. The buildings of this
period, in spite of Ruskin's denunciations, have
proved themselves well suited to our public and
private needs, and if Mr. Belcher's book meets
with the success it deserves, it should have a
sensible influence for good in teaching the
principles on which the majority of the structures
rising around us are, or should be, designed. All
that freedom from prejudice and simple writing,
accompanied by a profusion of good illustrations,
can do, Mr. Belcher h.as done ; and though a
logician might not pxss his analysis of the subject,
the book is one that ought to be read by every one
who has the slightest interest in good building.

FURNITURE, PLATE, ETC.

Old Chi'rch Plate of the Isle ok Man.
By E. Alfred Jones. Bemrose and Sons.
1907. IDS. 6d. net.

In remote Isle of Man, the land of runes and
kists and cromlechs, we might expect to find, if
anywhere, remains of the arts of bygone ages. In
the matter of church plate, however, the island
produces nothing of older date than Henry VIII,
and even of this age nothing exists e.xcept a solitary
chalice of 1521 and a paten somewhat later. The
quest for portable antiquities throughout its
numerous churches is no less illusive than in
other islands to the north, including Iceland, the
glamour of its sagas notwithstanding. Yet more
surprising is the absence of Reformation chalices,
only one solitary cup dating back to the sixteenth
century. This is not a chalice, but a domestic
beaker of 1591, by a London maker using for
mark T. S. over a double-headed eagle displayed,
engraved with the usual Holbeinesque border, and
in use at Kirk German. A beaker of Dutch make
is of early seventeenth-century date, presented to
S. Paul's Church in Ramsey in 1747. Beakers of
later date are used in other churches, as in
Scotland. Cups with beaker-shaped bowls on
balustered stems are represented by one at Kirk
German, by a London maker using a hound sejant
for mark, 1650. It is associated with a fine
Commonwealth flagon, the oldest in the island.
Another chalice of the time of Charles I is at
Kirk Conchan, formed of the ordinary truncated
conical bowl on a balustered stem.

Of domestic plate the chief objects are a small
Charles II tankard, 1675, at Kirk Braddon, and a
few pieces, of no especial interest, bequeathed in
early Victorian years. The best is a two-handled
cup and cover of Dublin make, circa 1725, weighing
just under 48 oz., in S. Mary's Chapel, Castletown.

So much for the church plate of Manxland,
an island with its own parliament, the House of
Keys, and forming the diocese of Sodor and Man.
Only one piece, a beaker, appears to be of Manx
provenance.

Mr. E. Alfred Jones has chanced upon, with
perhaps some self-denial, one of the less interesting
districts, while the church plate of many of the
richest English counties remains, still inviting
description at the hands of competent recorders.
To judge by the church plate of Wilts., there must
be treasure indeed to be brought to light in Hants,
Sussex, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, the home
counties, the west coast, the east co;ist, the mid-
lands and the north. L<5cal societies who publish
journals, the clergy, or local residents could
perform the task at far less cost and with less
lalx)ur than a stranger from a distance, but they
do not. An indefatigable investigator and worker
like Mr. Jones appears and accomplishes the task

Books on Furniture^ Plate^ ^c.

while others are thinking about it. May others
hke him appear, for until the church plate of
England is as adequately known as that of
Scotland, no real history of old English plate
j.S. G.

can be forthcoming

Common Greek Coins. Vol. I. The Coinage of
Athens, Corinth, Aegina, Boeotian League,
Alexander the Great, Achaean League and
Lycian League. By the Rev. A. VV. Hands.
Spink and Son. Pp. 170. 5s. net.

This little book is a reprint of articles which
have appeared in a well-known coin dealer's
circular. Its object is to interest modest collectors
(and there are more modest collectors of coins
than of anything else except, perhaps, stamps) in
Greek coins. Every one who has any knowledge
of ancient art and archaeology will admit that the
object is a laudable one. Mr. Hands writes with
great enthusiasm for his subject, and this to some
extent compensates for his lack of scholarship.
The book is an uncritical jumble of old and new,
true and untrue, information put in a quaintly
old-fashioned way. We have no doubt that it will
interest a class of collectors who are not reached
by books of a more scholarly or methodical kind.

French Furniture. By Andre Saglio. G. Newnes.
7s. 6d. net.

By approaching his complicated subject from the
historical standpoint the author has contrived to
weave his facts into a connected narrative, and so
has produced a good popular introduction to the
study of French furniture. We have noticed a
few small slips and misprints, and we think more
attention might have been given to the furniture
of the Empire, which is condemned in too
sweeping fashion ; but the chief fault we have
to find is that the text does not give references to
the illustrations. These number nearly sixty, and
are admirable in their way, but the book would have
been more useful to beginners had they been more
closely connected with the letterpress, and if some
attempt had been made to date the specimens ap-
proximately. The volume includes an index and a
short bibliography, and has the additional merit
of being well printed and prettily bound.

Glass, China, Silver. By Frans Coenen. Lon-
don : T. Werner Laurie. 6s. net.

We have read this collection of illustrated essays
reprinted from the Onzc Knnst with some interest.
They show a decided appreciation of the objects
described, and though, as the preface states, they
may serve as a kind of advertisement for the Willet
collection, they are well worth reading by British
collectors of glass, china and plate.

PAINTING AND DRAWING

TiziAN. Des Meisters Gemalde in 230 Abbildun-
gen. Dr. Oskar Fischel. M. 6.

DuRER. Des Meisters Gemalde, Kupfersticheund
Holzschnitte in 447 Abbildungen. Dr. Valentin
Scherer. M. 10.

Michelangelo. Des Meisters Werke in
166 Abbildungen. Fritz Knapp. M. 6.
Klassiker Der Kunst. Deutsche Verlags-
Anstalt, Stuttgart und Leipzig.
This excellent series does very well what Eng-
lish books of the same kind have hitherto done
very badly or not at all. Each volume presents
in a compact form reproductions of the whole of
the work of a great master, prefaced by a short
introduction and completed by brief notes. Each
reproduction is of fair size, is well printed and is
set in its proper chronological place. The series,
in fact, is admirably adapted to the need both of
students who desire completeness, and of the
general lover of art who likes plenty of illus-
trations. The volumes before us, covering as they
do the work of three of the world's greatest
masters, open up so many problems to the critic
that it is impossible in a short notice to touch
upon even the most salient of them. We may
not always comprehend the standard which
in the case of Titian is too high for the Madonna
and Child with the Magdalen in the Hermitage
and yet is not too high for a good many things
here included among his genuine works, such as
the Adoration of the Shepherds in the Pitti, or the
Mater Dolorosa of the Prado ; or which in the case of
Diirer places Sir Frederic Cook's marvellous^r/'irtiV/tf
on a level with things that are hardly even imitations
of Durer. Yet to have all Diirer's paintings, en-
gravings and wood-cuts in a single volume is a boon
which makes minute criticism an ungrateful task.
In the volume on Michelangelo, too, we notice
that the Deposition in the National Gallery is
placed among the doubtful works, a concession
to modern depreciatory gossip which should not
have been made except upon far better evidence
than any which has hitherto been produced. To
suppose that it was the work of Pontorrao from
a design made by Michelangelo in late life is
surely far more difficult than to regard it as an
early work of the master himself, midway between
the St. Proculns at Bologna and the Utifizi tondo.
The problem, however, is too complex for
discussion here ; we can only once more
commend the book which suggested it.

The Landscapes of George Frederick Watts.

Introduction by Walter Bayes. Newnes.

3s. 6d. net.
We have found fault with some of the previous
volumes of Messrs. Newnes's scries for a certain

25s

Books on Painting and Drawing

want of thoroughness in carrying out an essentially
praiseworthy idea. The selection of plates has not
always been adequate, their arrangement has often
been haphazard where order was eminently desir-
able, and the introductions have not infrequently
lieen superficial. In the present instance, the
arrangement of the plates is still haph.azard, and
the scries of eighteen subjects rather smaller than
admirers of Watts could have wished. The intro-
duction is an ingenious piece of criticism which
more than redeems these material defects. Mr.
Bayes is not blind to the technical failings of
much of Watts's later painting : to the fumbling
touches of dry colour which encourage constant
revision, and to the dominance of an indolent
lyric note which overwhelms the braver and more
strenuous expression of his early days. In the
search for absolute justice the case has even been
pressed too far. To sketch landscape is compara-
tively easy ; to make great pictures out of landscape
is supremely difficult, especially in these days, when
the habit of scientific vision has robbed the painter
of many of the convenient abbreviations possible
in a less photographically minded age. Watts at
least succeeded in painting noble landscapes, and
it is by his results that we must judge his methods.
In most of his landscapes the technique seems
adequate and well adapted to the matter in hand,
and no technique need be more than that. To
judge Watts by the technique of Whistler or Turner
(each supreme in his own field) is to be as rash as
Ruskin was in the case of Whistler, or as unjust as
every critic of note was to Turner's most brilliant
phase of oil painting for nearly a century. In the
house of fame there are just so many technical
methods as there are fine artists.

Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Second Series.
Newnes's Art Library. London: Newnes.
3s. 6d. net.

This second series of reproduction from Burne-
Jones contains an appreciation by \L Arscnc
Alexandre (who, if he wrote in French, has not
been very well treated by his translator) and
forty-eight half-tone plates, including the eleven
scenes in the S/or)' o/0//'/;t-KS and the Pygmalion
series of four, besides the frontispiece, which is a
photogravure of the Vcspcrtiim Qiiics. Kecent
exhibitions of pictures have helped to show that
Burne-Jones's colour is unable to hold its own
against that of robuster painters; while it scircely
needed the exhibition of his drawings at the
Leicester Galleries to prove the merits of his
design and draughtsmanship. In losing his colour,
therefore, as we lose it in such reproductions as
these, we lose less than would be the case with
many other artists, and his design may be
profitably studied in the plates before us. The
resemblance to Watts must strike the eye at once,
especially in such plates ;u> that of the Luna (page

256

15) or The Ganltn Poisoned in the Orfluns set
(page 39). The influence of Watts on Burne-
Jones is an interesting study that lias not, perhaps,
received due attention.

Antoine Watteau. By Claude Phillips. Seeley.

2S. net.
Raphael in Rome. By Mrs. Henry Ady. Seeley.

2s. net.
These two little books are the latest additions to
the pretty series of ' Miniature Portfolio Mono-
graphs.' Both books have been revised by their
authors, and a glance at Mr. Claude Phillips's
monograph will show with how much care the
new edition has been brought up to date. Mrs.
Ady covers ground which critics have recently
avoided on a scale which does not admit of much
attention being given to details, yet we note that
the drawing reproduced on p. 127 is described as
belonging to the end of Raphael's Roman period,
while its style definitely points to the beginning of it.
A good many other small points might be criticized ;
but, while lacking the assured authority of Mr.
Phillips's study, it is in its degree a sound and
careful piece of work,

MISCELLANEOUS

Ven'ice : Its Individual Growth, from the
Earliest Beginnings to Fall of the
Republic. By Pompeo Molmenti. Translated
by Horatio Brown. The Middle Ages. In
two parts, pp. 223, 237. London : Murray.
1906. 2 IS. net.

This work is a translation of the first volume
of Mr. Molmenti's 'Storia di Venezia,' which was
reviewed at length in The Burlington Magazine
for November, 1905. We then said that the new
history would be a necessary possession for all
students of Venice and her arts ; to this opinion
we adhere, and therefore welcome Mr. Brown's
translation, which will place it within the reach
of many who labour under the disad\'antage of
not reading Italian. The translator knows Ven-
ice : he has lived there for many years past, has
calendared its archives for the British Govern-
ment, and has written not a little himself on the
history and customs of the Venetians. As would
be expected, the translation is on the whole
excellent, but there is one slip which we should
hardly have looked for from one who knows
Venice so well. On page 215 of the first part
Mr. Brown says that ' Maundy Thursday was
kept in commemoration of the victory of Venice
over Ulric Patriarch of Aquileia': the day so kept
was diovdl't ^rasso, and ^ovedl grasso is the last
Thursday before Lent, not the last Thursday in
Lent. Two or three other small points struck
us in going through these volumes. The head of the
old chapter of S. Mark's was the piimicetiui : Mr.

Brown Englishes this ' the dean, the primicerio.'
This seems to imply that ' dean ' is so commonly
the title of the head of a chapter that any other
is abnormal, which is very far from being the
case. Again, while he wisely translates chiesa
arcipretale as ' parish church ' (ii, 79), for some
reason or other he speaks of the diiomo of
Aquileia, and the ciiwmo of Torcello — ditomo is a
word which seems to have a fascination for foreign
writers on Italy. Mr. Brown has added no notes
of his own, but in one place we think he
should have done so. Mr. Molmenti says (i, 221)
that ' Venice numbered among her guests ... the
archbishop of Westminster, uncle of Henry V of
England (1418).' Of course the prelate in ques-
tion was Cardinal Beaufort, bishop of Winchester,
and the translator would have done well had he
added a note correcting the author. The illustra-
tions are numerous, but are only a selection from
those in the original volume; they are apparently
printed on art paper which has afterward been
coated with, of necessity, a loss of definition, which,
however, for ordinary readers is more than made
up for by increase in beauty. Comparing the two
editions, we may sum them up by saying that the
translation will be used for pleasure, the original
for study.

E.B.

The Colour of London, Historic, Personal
AND Local. By W. J. Loftie, F.S.A.
Illustrated by Yoshio Markino. With an
Introduction by M. H. Spielmann, F.S.A., and
an Essay by the Artist. Chatto and Windus.
20s. net.
This volume reproduces in colour a selection from
the drawings of Mr. Markino lately on view at the
Clifford Gallery. Mr. Markino is a Japanese who
has spent ten years in London, has attended
English art schools, and has achieved a style in
which Western methods are superimposed upon
Japanese vision with a unique and very agreeable
result. Mr. Markino's drawing is his weakest
point ; which is not surprising when we learn
from his naive little essay that he is almost
entirely self-taught ; and it is, naturally, in the
drawing of architecture that he most conspicu-
ously fails. W'\s In Westminster Abbey (p. 182) is
injured, also, by an inevitable lack of familiarity
with the spirit of the place. It is not, therefore,
in the buildings of London that he succeeds best ;
but, as the title of the book implies, in the represen-
tation of its colour. He understands thoroughly
the advantage of the vague background provided
by the atmosphere of London, and his love of it
leads him so far as to declare that December is
his favourite month. The most effective and
charming of all these delightful things are the
scenes in autumn and winter. Against the
dim background Mr. Markino throws touches of

Art Books of the Month

red and gold and mauve which melt away into
it with admirable softness and mystery ; and his
method of wash drawing is perfectly adapted to
the diffusion of light in such night scenes as
The Alhambra (p. 20), The Porch of the Carlton
Hotel (p. 74). He can, on occasion, produce the
full effect of a bright sunshine ; and that he
has a sense of humour is clear not only
from his view of the Albert Memorial— which
omits all except the steps— but also from some
of his studies of low life in our streets. Mr.
Loftie's text is full of interesting matter ; but his
English is not quite so good as Mr. Markino's.

The Oxford Historical Pageant : June 27-
July 3, 1907. Book of Words, with Illus-
trations. Oxford : for the Pageant Committee.
1907. 2S.
Pageants are not as a rule productive of much
that is valuable either in literature or art ; but this
volume alone would except the Oxford Pageant
from any such stricture. Its contents and format
make it worth at least double the price asked. Of
the literary matter it is sufficient here to say that
among the contents are a poem by Mr. Robert
Bridges and a short and characteristic essay by
Mr. Quiller-Couch ; that the scenes of the Pageant,
from St. Frideswide to James II and the Fellows
of Magdalen, are written, mainly in verse, by Mr.
Laurence Housman, Mr. Laurence Binyon, Pro-
fessor Oman, Mr. Godley, Professor Raleigh, Mr.
Stanley Weyman, Miss Wordsworth and Mr. J. B.
Fagan ; and that its notes and text give something
like a brief history of education in Oxford. The
volume is a quarto of 136 pages, and is printed by
Mr. Horace Hart with the ancient types {circa
1677) of Bishop Fell, with appropriate — and, we
suspect, contemporaneous^4iead and tail pieces.
The full-page illustrations number thirty-five, and
cannot fail to appeal to the antiquarian. Eigh-
teenth century numbers of the Oxford Almanack
furnish not a few ; but even more interesting are
those reproduced from the views made by Bere-
block in 1566 for Queen Elizabeth's visit to
Oxford, and Agas's bird's-eye view of 1578.
Manuscripts, drawings and engravings, in the
Bodleian and elsewhere, are the sources of many
more ; and the reproductions taken from the illus-
trated catalogues of the Oxford Historical Portraits
exhibitions include the Jesus College Elizabeth,
Bower's Charles I at All Souls, the Bodleian
Laud, and the Prince Rupert, by J. M. Wright,
at Magdalen.

The Land in the Mountains (Tyrol). By
W. A. Baillie-Grohman. Simpkin, Marshall,
Hamilton, Kent and Co., Ltd. 1 2s. 6d. net.
Mr. Baillie-Grohman is equally well known as
a writer and as a sportsman, as the pages of THE
Burlington Magazine have frequently shown.

257

^rt Tiooks of the Month

As might l^ expected, his bt)()k on the Tyrol is a
thoroughly readable study of the history of the
country, with special reference to his own pic-
turesque home. It is illustrated with an admir able
series of photographs of scenery, castles, people and
furniture, the latter including a numlKr of remark-
able specimens of fifteenth century work in wood
and metal. The lx)ok is very well written, and
will interest even those who arc not familiarly
acquainted with the wonderful country it describes.

RiQL'ET A LA HOL'H'E. (Deux versions d'un
conte de ma mirre Loye.) Eragny Press,
The Brook, Hammersmith, W. 25s. net.

We have frequently called attention to the beauty
of the Eragny Press publications, so that we
need only chronicle the appearance of this dainty
little volume in order to recommend it to our
readers. The two versions of the folk-tale present
an amusing contrast ; the second, from a seven-
teenth-century MS., investing it with the galbntry
of a later .ige, while that of Perrault is in a more
primitive vein. The two coloured woodcuts with
which it is embellished are among the happiest of
Mr. Pissarro's conceptions, and as usual the book
is a model of fine typography. A prospectus
inserted in our copy makes the interesting

announcement that Mr. and Mrs. Pissarro are
prepared to issue some son^s by Herrick,
I^ivelace and others, with origmal settings by
Henry Lawes, if sutticient support is assured them
in such a tiifticult and expensive production.
The price of the paper copies will not exceed (^z,
and all who are interested and wish to subscribe
should communicate with the Secretary of the
Eragny Press, The Brook, Hammersmith, W.

Pictures AND THEIR Value. Turner and Rob-
inson. Eltham. 6s. net.
In some respects this record of auction prices
during the season of 1905 and 1906 represents an
advance upon other works of reference of the
kind we have received. It is not quite free from
misprints, but here and there it does show a certain
attempt at discrimination in that the entries are
occasionally annotated. The addition of the
names of the purchasers, where possible, would
have increased its future value as a work of refer-
ence.

The price of the volume on Correggio by Dr.
Georg Gronau in the series of ' Klassiker der Kunst '
(Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt), reviewed in The
Burlington Magazine for June, is 7 marks, not 6

as stated at the head of the review.

^ RECENT ART PUBLICATIONS* rJk,

ART HISTORY

llluMrirrle Geschichte dcs Kuiistgcwcrbcs: hernuigegebcn in
Verbindunn mil W. Bcliiickc, M, Drcgcr, O. von Talkc,
J. Fiilncsics, O. Ktimmcl, E. I'ernice, und G. Sw.irzcnski,
von G. Uhnert. P:irt I. (HX?) Berlin (Oldcnbourg),
8 parts, each 4 m.2j. Copiously illustrated, some plates in
colour.

MicHci. A.). Histoire de I'Art depuls Ics premiers temps
chrciicnn jusqu'a nos jours. II: Formation, expansion et
evolution dc I'Art gotliiquc, Secondc pa'tie. (12x8) Paris
(Colin). 15 fr.

Kritish MesEiM. A guide to the mcdi.-uval room and to tlic
specimens of media-valand lairr times in the gold ornament
room. (9x61 London (liritish Mu^cum), is. 6d. By

0. M. Uallon ; 2<;o pp. and over 200 illuslrationo.
STRzyriowsKl (J.). Die bildcndc Kunst der Cegcnwarl. tin

UUchlcin (Or jedcrmann. (9 x 6) Leipzig (^utllc & Meyer),
4 m. Illustrated.

TOI'OGRAPHICAL WORKS
BUDGR (E. A. \V.). Ihe Egyptian Siid.'in, its history and

monuments. |I0X7) London (Kcg.in Paul), 42s. net.

3 Vols., maps and plans.
Kuscjr Amra. [Hy A. Musil and others.] (17x1.1) Vienna

(North-Arabian Commission of the Imperial Academy of

Sciences), 10 gi. 41 plates, some in colour, and process

illustrations.
TtowKH (H. K.). The Book of C-tpri. (9x5) Naples (Prass),

1. J. Illustrated.

Jassk (O ). Mcdcltidsminncn (ran Ostergotland. Stockholm
(Ccderquist), 10s. 100 illustrations.

BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS AND MONOGRAPHS
Gravrs (A.). The Society o( Artists o( Great Britain, 1760-1791.
The Kree Society of Artists, 1761-1783. A complete dic-
tionary of contributors and their work from the foundation
of the Societies 101791. (UXH) London (Ikll ; Graves),
63s. net.

'Sizes (height X width) in in..i)e4.

Baldrv (A. L.). Royal Scottish Academy. Edited by C. Hulme.

(12x9) I^ndon ('Studio' Spring number). 40 plates.
Stkals (K.) and Dknt (R. K.). John Baskervillc, a memoir.

(12x9) London (Chatto & Windus), 21s. net. 14 plates.
Rouerts (W.). Sir W. Bccchey, R.A. (8x6) London (Duck-
worth). 7s. 6d. net. Plates.
Rt'scoNi (A J.). Sandro Botticelli. (11x7) Bcrgams (Istituto

d'Arti graliche), 7 I. 142 illustrations.
Gkon'au (G.). Correggio, dcs Meisters G^m.'ilde in 196 Ahbil-

dungen. (10x7) Stuttgait, Leipzig (Deutsche Verlags-
Anstalt), 7 m.
Calvert (A. P.). Murillo, a biography and appreci.ition. (8x5)

London, New York (Ume), 3s. 6d. net. Pbtes. 'The

Spanish Scries.'
Toi'DouzK (G.). Henri Riviere. (11x8) Paris (Floury), 25 fr.

Illustrated.
Ral'cii (C). Die Trauts. Studien und Beilriige zur Ge;chichte

der Niirnlxirgcr Malerei. (10x7) Strasburg (Heitz), 8 m.

31 plates.
A. E. G. Whistler notes ,ind footnotes and other memoranda.

(10x71 lx)ndon (.Mathews), los. 6d. ; New York (Collector

and Art Critic Co.), 2.50 dots.

PAINTING

Abendschfin (A). The Secret of the Old Masters. (7x5)

I^ndon f.lppleton), 4s. 6d. net.
Fkizzosi (G.). Lc Gallcric dell' Accadcmia Carrara in Bergamo.

(11 xK) Bergamo (Islilutod'Arti gr.itiche), I. 6.50. Illustrated.
The George A. Hearn Gift to the Melrop<ilitan Museum of Art,

in the City of New York, in the year 1906. (10 x 7) New

York (printed for the Museum). Illustrated.
Dassekuann-Jokuan (E). I'nveruffenllichte Geinlilde alter

Meister aus dcm Bcsiize dcs baycrischen St.utes. I . Kgl.

Schloss zu Aschaffcnburg. (20x15) Frankfuit-a.-M.

(Keller). 50 photolvpe plates and text.
Vienna. Die GemaldcK.>leric : alte Meister. Catalogue. Second

edition. (7x5) Vienna (llolzhausen), Lci|irig (Hierie-

mann), lus. aoo illustrations.

258

Oppolzer (Baron E. von). Katalog einer Kunstsammlung.

Unter Mitwirkung der Herren E. Flechsig, C. Hofstede

de Groot, R_ Freiherrn von Lichtenberg uiid A. Mahler.

Bearbeitet uiid herausgegeben vom Kesitzcr. (14x12)

Munich (Helbing). 15 in. 33 plates, etc.
RiCHTER (J. P.). A descriptive catalogue of Old Ma-sters of the

Italian school, belonging to H. W. Cannon, Esq., Villa

Doccia, Kiesole. (8x5) Florence (Seebei). 2 plates.
JACOBSKM (E.). Sienesische Meister des Trecento in der

Geinaldegalerie zu Siena. (l2XS) Strasburg (Heitz), 8 m.

Illustrated.
Ai'BERT (A.). Die malerische Dekoration der San Francesco

Kirche in Assisi : ein Beifrag zur Losung der Cimabue

Frage. (10x7) Leipzig (Hiersemann), 36 m. 69 plates.
MUTHER (R.). The History of Modern Painting. Revised

edition, continued by the author to the end of the nineteenth

century. 4 vols. (10x7) London (Dent). Illustrations,

some in colour.
James (M. R.). The Frescoes in the Chapel at Eton College.

Facsimiles of the drawings by R. H. Essex. With

explanatory notes. (11x15) Eton College (Spotliswoode),

7s. 6d. net.
Lichtenberg (Baron R. von) and Jaff£ (E.). Hundert Jahre

deutsch-romischer Landschaftimalerci. (8x6) Berlin

(Oestcrheld), 18 m. 45 plates (9X 12).

SCULPTURE

Edgar (C. C). Catalogue general des Antiquites egyptiennes
du Musee du Caire : Sculptors' studies and unfinished works.
(14X10) London (Quaritch). 43 plates.

Newberry (P. E.). Catalogue general des Antiquites egyptiennes
du Musee du Caire: Scarab-shaped Seals. (14X10)
London (Constable), 52 francs. 22 plates.

Strong (Mrs. A). Roman Sculpture. (8x6) London (Duck-
worth), los. net. 130 plates.

Fellows (G.). Arms, armour, and alabaster round Nottingham.
(12x9) Nottingham (Saxton), I2s, 6d. net. Illustrated.

BoRGER (H.). Grabdenkmaler im Maingebiet von Anfang des
XIV. Jahrh. bis zum Eintritt der Renaissance. (10x7)
Leipzig (Hiersemann), 12 m. 28 plates.

DiBELius (F.). Die Bernwardstiir zu Hildesheim. (10x7)
Strasburg (Heitz), 8 m. 16 plates.

Bode (W). The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance.
By W. Bode, assisted by Murray Marks. (19x16) London
(Grevel), Berlin (Cassirer), 10 parts (or 2 vols.) at 25s. each
part. 150 copies only. Phototypes and process illustrations.

M.\NUSCRIPTS

Speculum Humanae Salvationis. Te.xte critique, traduction
inedite de J. Mielot (1448). Les sources et I'influence icono-
graphique principalement sur I'art alsacien du XlVe siecle.
Par J. L.jU et P. Perdrizet. Tome I. ler partie. [With 96
plates]. (15x11) Mulhausen (Meininger), Leipzig (Beck).

Hortulus Animae. Cod. Bibl. Pal. Vindob. 2706, The Garden
of the Soul. Photo-mechanical facsimile reproductions by
the Imp. and Roy. Court and State Printing Office, Vienna,
published with elucidations referring to the history of art
under the direction of F. Dornhoffer. Part I. (15X11)
Utrecht (Oosthoek), London (Ellis, 29, Bond Street), 11 parts
at 3 gs. each. Subscription edition of 75 copies for British
Isles. Phototypes, some in colour.

ENGRAVING

HiRSCH (R.). Nachtrage und Berichtigungen zu D. Chodo-
wieckis samtliche Kupfersliche beschreiben von W. Engel-
mann. Zweite Auflage. (9x6) Leipzig (Engelmann), 5 m.

L'ffiuvre lithographique de Fantin-Latour. Collection complete
de ses lithographies reproduces et reduites en facsimile par
le procede heliographique Boyet. (18x13) Paris (Delteil),
loofr. Edition of 100 copies only. The 195 reproductions
include Fantin-Latour's two etchings.

^cent jlrt Publications

FURNITURE

Singleton (E.). Dutch and Flemish F"urniture. (11x7)
London (Hodder & Stoughton), 42s. net. 62 plates.

Saglio (A.). French Furniture. (9x6) London (Xewnes'
' Library of the Applied Arts '), 7s. 6d. net. 60 plates.

L'Architecture et la Decoration franfaises, Style Empire.
L'hotel Beauharnais, palais de I'ambassade d'Allemagne
a Paris. (1.SX13) Paris (Lib. centrale d' Architecture).
Parts I and II, 40 phototype plates.

LACE

Moody (.\. P.). Devon Pillow Lace : its history and how to
make it. (8x5) London, New York (Cassell), 5s. net.
Illustrated.

JuRiE (B. von). Spitzen und ihrer Charakteristik. (10x7)
Berlin (Cassirer), 3 m. 50. Illustrated.

MISCELLANEOUS

RoDOCANACHi (E.). La P'emme Italienne a lepoque de la
renaissance ; sa vie privee et mondaine, son influence
sociale. (13x10) Paris (Hachette), 30 fr. Illustrated.

WiLLMOTT (E. C. M.). The cathedral church of Llandaff.
(7X5). London (Bell's 'Cathedral series'), is.6d. net.

A series of twelve Delft plates illustrating the tobacco industry,
presented by J. H. Fitzhenry, Esq., to the Victoria anl
Albert Museum. (11X9) London (Wyman, or at the
Museum), 4s. 6d. 15 reproductions, i in colour.

BOOKS RECEIVED

The Land in the Mountains. By W. A. Baillie-Grohman.

Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd. 12s. 6d.

net.
English Furniture Designersof thf. Eighteenth Century.

By Constance Simon. B. T. Batsford. 15s. net.
Handbuch der K.un:tgeschichte. Vol. I. By Anton

Springer. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig. 9 marks.
Moderxe Kultur. Vol. I. By Professor Dr. E. Heyck and

others. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart. 15 marks.
Common Greek Coins. Vol. I. By Rev. A. W. Hands.

Spink. 5s. net.
Esse.ntials in Architecture. By John Belcher, A.R.A.

B. T. Batsford. ss. net.
Notable Pictures in Rome. By Edith Harwood. J. M,

Dent & Co.
The Oxford Historical Pageant: Book of Words.

University Press, Oxford. 2S. net.
Riquet X la Houppe. Eragny Press, The Brook, Hammer-
smith. 25s. net.
The Discoveries in Crete. By Ronald M. Burrows.
John Murray. 5s. net.

CATALOGUES RECEIVED

Frankfurter Bijcherfreund. Anzeiger No. 78-79 des
Antiquarischen Biicherlagers von Gilhofer & Ranschburg.
Vienna.

MAGAZINES RECEIVED

Contemporary Review. Nineteenth Century and After. Fort-
nightly Review. Albany Review. Monthly Review.
Review of Reviews. Athenaeum. The Connoisseur. The
Art Journal. The Studio. The Expert. Collecting.
Badminton. The Craftsman. The Rapid. Fine Art
Trade Journal, The Pedigree Register. La Chronique
des Arts et de la Curiosite (May and June). Die Graph-
ischen Kunste. Repertorium fur Kunstwissenschaft
(Berlin). Jahrbuch der koniglich preussischen Kunstsamm-
lungen (Berlin). Die Kunst. Onze Kunst (Amsterdam).
Bollettino D'Arte (Rome). La Rassegna Nazionale (Flor-
ence). L'Arte. Kokka (Tokyo).

259

«A^ ART IN GERMANY cK>

at a lx)uncl in the
this kind of work.

HE Siiermondt Museum at
Aix-la-Chapellc lias ever since
its foundation cultivated the
collection of old (Jernun
\vootl-car\-ing as a speciality.
The recent acquisition of the
wood-carvinji cf)llection of
the late Richard Moest, wlio
resided at Colof^ne, places it
foremost position as regards
Moest had brought together
about 600 carvings illustrating all ph;ises of the
art from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down
to the beginning of the nineteenth, the majority
being altars and statues or statuettes taken from
alt-irs. Besides that, he owned over f^fty pieces of
genuine Gothic and Renaissance furniture, and
nearly a thousand various fragments, panels and
other pieces of decorative carving, which supple-
mented the main collection.

The ducal collection of art and antiquities at
the c-istle in Coburg is one of the most important
in Germany, among those not depending upon
public means for their acquisitions. It is, how-
ever, known to very few specialists and not at all
to the general public. Coburg does not lie on
one of the main lines of traflic, and even when
one has decided to devote a day or two to touching
upon Coburg, the treasures up there in the castle
are not easy of access, being in the nature of a big
pri\'ate collection. During the summer months
of this year a great part of the collections is
going to be publicly exhibited in the rooms of the
Coburger Kunstverein, down in the town, and
thus many people will have at least an easy chance
of seeing them. Perhaps the most important
feature is the contents of the Print Room, including
\'aluable drawings by the foremost masters of the
German Renaissance, and many incunabula of
the art of engraving on copper in Germany. The
armoury is also important. The strong pointof the
picture galleries is the portrait collection, covering
the periods from Cranach down to Graff. In
accordance with the universal character of such
' kunstkammern '— as which the Coburg collec-
tion was started — there are miniatures, stained
gl.-iss, old furniture, Gothic and Renaiss;ince sculp-
tures in stone and wood, tapestries, etc.

The late Councillor Keddig left his art collec-
tions to the town of Stettin, besides a large sum of
money to start and run a municipal fine art museum
with. The frequent recurrence oi such bequests
is a most pleading sign of the spirit of our age.
Yet one cannot help putting the question to one-
self from time to time : what are these numerous

institutions going to be filled with, considering
how rapidly the market for good and genuine old
:irt is being exhausted, unless they limit themselves
to the purchase of modern work ?

Your P.iris correspondent, in discussing the
Sedclmcyer sales, has again drawn attention to the
fact that the English school of painting, in spite
of all the enthusiasm there is for it, is still little
understood upon the continent. His remarks
apply to Germany as well .as they do to France, as
appears from the very fact that, according to his
account, many of the overpaid and doubtful Sedel-
meyer paintings went to Germany. During the
past six months a somewhat similar collection of
English eighteenth century paintings has been on
an exhibition tour through the principal towns of
Germany. The standard, 1 should say, does not
nearly come up to that of the Sedelmeyer stock,
and many of these attributions to masters of the
first rank, like Reynolds, Romney, Gainsborough,
Constable, Turner, Morland, etc., are palpably
unconvincing even to those who have only a very
genenil knowledge of the school. If more were
really known, of course, such an exhibition would
not be acceptable even to the genend public. As
it is, collectors and museums have apparently not
been incautious enough to suppose that here was
a special chance of acquiring a masterpiece ; for
the collection seems to h.ive remained entire or, at
least, almost unbroken to this day. It would
indeed be strange if England had allowed such a
collection as this purports to be to pass quietly
out of its reach without as much as taking notice
of it.

The newly founded King-Albert Museum at
Chemnitz, Saxony's industrial metropolis, has
received a collection of modern paintings as an
anonymous gift.

Hans Thoma has presented one of his early
works, Fighliiig Lads (painted 1872), to the museum
of Karlsruhe, besides an unusually austere Cnici-
fixion by Ludwig Schmid-Reutte, who cultivates
an archaic style of painting. Two further paintings
by Thoma, The Evciiing^tar and Dink, are likewise
among the new acquisitions of the same museum.
We reproduce a very fine example of early
seventeenth century German silversmiths' work —
a drinking vessel made by Elias Geyer in 1608-
1610, now in the Green Vault, Dresden. Other
examples of this cniftsman's work were reproduced
in the June number of this magazine. The recent
exhibition of applied arts in Leipzig, where no
less than 120 of his mtsterpieces were collected,
has served to bring Elias Geyer's name into the
prominence it deser\es, H. W. S.

260

DRINKI.VG-VESSEL, 1608-1610, BY EI.IAS GEYEK
IX THE GREEN VAULT, DRESDEN'

•>:ii

cA^ ART IN FRANCE cK>

'NE of the most interesting
exhibitions of the Paris season
has been reserved for its close :
1 the exhibition of the works of
IChardin and Fragonard at the
Georges Petit galleries, which
► was opened by the President of
|the Republic on June lo, and
will remain open until July 12. The exhibition is
due to the initiative of M. Armand Dayot, the well-
known editor of ' L'Art et Les Artistes,' and has
been organized by an influential committee of
museum directors, amateurs and artists, with Baron
Henri de Rothschild as chairman and M. Dujardin-
Be.iumetz, the Assistant-Minister of Fine Arts, as
honorary president. The profits are to be devoted
to the fund for erecting a monument to Chardin
and to charitable purposes. They should be con-
siderable, for up to the present the exhibition
rooms have been daily so crowded that it is
difficult to get a glimpse of the pictures.

The arrangement of the pictures is not all that
could be desired ; only aesthetic effect has been
considered, and there is no attempt at chrono-
logical or any other classification. The fact that
the paintings are all in one large hall no doubt
made classification difficult without considerable
sacrifice of the general aesthetic effect ; but the
works of the two artists might at least have been
separated instead of being mixed up together in
inextricable confusion. This mistake, as it seems
to the present writer, in the arrangement does
not, however, prevent the exhibition from being
profoundly interesting and extremely attractive.
Without being an exhaustive display of the
work of either painter — that would be almost
impossible — it is quite sufficiently representative
to give material for a comparative estimate of their
respective achievement. It establishes beyond
question — if there were any question about the
matter — the superiority of the earlier master ; and
this is saying much, for, in face of some of the
paintings here, it is impossible to contest the claim
of Fragonard to be called a great artist. But
Chardin appears as among the greatest, one of
those who belong to no country and no period,
while Fragonard is essentially of his own country
and his own epoch.

The paintings of Chardin number seventy-two,
and there are also three pastels by him as well as
eight drawings of different kinds, a miniature, and
a box decorated with exquisite miniatures which
is lent by Mr. Pierpont Morgan. Baron Henri
de Rothschild sends no less than twenty-seven
pictures and a drawing, and this is by no means
the whole of his wonderful collection of Chardin's
works. Naturally among so large a number
there is some inequality of merit, but the Roths-
child exhibit includes some of the finest examples
in the room. The four genre pictures from the
Liechtenstein collection are unsurpassed by any

others ; their quality is exquisite, and it is hard to
choose between them. The three lent by the
German Emperor are less attractive ; two of them
in particular, La Pouivoyetise and La Ratissetise de
Navels, are not of the finest quality. Two very
fine pictures from the collection of Madame Emile
Trepard, Lejennc Homme an Violon and L'Enfant
an Toton, have been bought by the Louvre for
^14,000; we hope to reproduce them before long
in The Burlington Magazine. M. Leprieur is
to be congratulated on his acquisition of two
examples worthy to take their place among the
best of those which the Louvre already possesses.
The exhibition contains a replica of L'Enfant an
Toton (No. 70), much inferior in quality. There is
not space to deal in detail with the many beautiful
examples of still life ; those lent by Baron Henri
de Rothschild, M. Francois Flamengand M. Alexis
Vollon are perhaps specially admirable. But the
standard of the exhibition as a whole is a very
high one. Among the drawings a word of special
mention is due to the wonderful pastel portrait of
Chardin by himself belonging to M. Leon Michel-
Levy.

The seventy paintings by Fragonard do not
show so high a level of excellence as those of
Chardin for the simple reason that Fragonard was
far more unequal. Among them are many pot-
boilers of the kind that Fragonard produced by
the score to decorate the boudoirs of demi-mon-
daines, a purpose for which they are admirably
fitted. But side by side with these trifles are
works of art possessing other qualities besides the
extraordinary cleverness which Fragonard shows
in his lightest moments. The Bank of France
has lent thesuperb Fete de Saint-Clond which we can
here compare with the smaller version of the same
subject formerly in the collection of the late M. Gold-
schmidt and now in that of his son-in-law, Count
Andre Pastre, who also lendsthe portrait of Diderot.
These two latter pictures were reproduced in The
Burlington Magazine in 1903 (vol. iii, pp. 287
and 291). A drawing for the picture of the Bank
of France, which belongs to Sir James Knowles,
has also been reproduced in The Burlington
(vol. viii, pp. 379). Madame Buret's Portrait of
Fragonard's Sister has the qualities of a Rubens,
and so has the Amanls heurcttx belonging to Mr.
Pierpont Morgan, one of the most exquisite
pictures in the exhibition, but likely, one would
imagine, to shock profoundly the American public
should it ever cross the Atlantic. Among other
paintings deserving special mention are Lcs
Dindons, lent by M. Charley ; Lajenne Mire, lent by
Madame Levert ; Le Cache-cache, lent by M. Armand
Mame ; La Toilette de Venus, lent by M. Leon
Michel-Levy ; and Le Billet doux, lent by ABL
Kraemer and Wildenstein. The last was exhibited
in London last year. M. Henri Cain lends a
most beautiful oil sketch, Les Naiades, for the
picture in the Louvre. There are also sixty-five

263

Art in France

drawings by Fragonard, some of very fine quality,
and several miniatures. The great majority of tlic
works of both painters exhibited are from French
collections ; the only foreigners who lend pictures
are the German Emperor, the prince of Liechten-
stein, and Mr. Pierpont Slorgan ; one or two of
the miniatures come from England.

The sale of the collection of the late M. Chappey,
the well-known Paris dealer, shows that fine works
of art, even if bought at high prices, arc not a bad
investment. M. Chappey was notoriously a bad
buyer in the sense that he was inclined to pay
more than was wise for one who wishes to sell
again. But he was a real connoisseur, and the
result of the sale is a tribute to his taste and judg-
ment. It will be remembered that, at his death,
he was regarded as insolvent, his debts amounting
to about ;^Ji 20,000, but the sale h;is produced a
total of ;^i68,ooo. The result h;is been received
with s;itisfaction by the many friends of a man
whose comparative failure in business was due to
the possession of a true artistic temperament and
of scruples :is to sharp practice from which some
of his successful competitors are free. It is
worthy of note that on the whole the objects of
the Gothic and Henaissance periods sold better
than those of the eighteenth century. Is this the
beginning of a healthy reaction ? The collection
was mainly composed of ohjcis d'art.

The Sedelmeyer sale has at last reached its
conclusion, and the final instalment, which included
drawings and modern pictures, gave rise to an
interestmg incident. On June 11, the day before
the sale began, the ' New York Herald ' published an
article by its critic, M. Georges Bal, on the attri-
butions of certain pictures of the French school.
M. Hal, who is one of the ablest and most inde-
pendent art critics in Paris, expressed astonishment
that some of these pictures should be included in
the sale at all, and pointed out that among the
works attributed in the catalogue to Corot, Diaz
and Daubigny (among others) were pictures which
could by no possibility have come from the
brushes of those artists. M. Sedelmeyer defended
his attributions in the same paper on the following
day, and before the sale began the auctioneer
stated, in reply to a question put to him, that
M. Sedelmeyer would guarantee the pictures as
the work of the painters under whose names they
were sold. When, however, the pictures men-
tioned by M. B.il were put up, they were offered
only as ' attributed ' to Corot, etc., and fetched
merely nominal prices.

The incident has caused considerable sensation
in artistic circles. In this particular case the
expert no doubt corrected the attributions ; but
the Sedelmeyer sale as a whole has led people to ask
whether the system of having an expert at French
auctions (of works of art) is really a protection to
the public. Apart from the possibility of undue
influence by the vendor, as to which no suggestion
is made in the present case, what single expert
could possibly be competent to deal with all the
schools represented in the Sedelmeyer sale ? The
readers of The Buklington Magazine have
heard something about the representation of the
English school. Not one of the attributions of
the catalogue was corrected by the expert, who
passed as a genuine Gainsborough, for instance,
the Portrait oj n Priiicc'ss, which fetched nearly
^'2,000 — a picture which nobody with the smallest
knowledge of Gainsborough's work could possibly
have attributed to him. In such circumstances
can it be said that the expert is a help to the
buyers ? The English system, in which the buyer
backs his own opinion, and the auctioneer takes
no responsibility, would seem to be more satis-
factory. What has been said in The Burlington
about attributions in the English school is true to
some degree of the whole sale. Some of the
pictures attributed to Van Dyck, for instance, could
not possibly be accepted as the work of that
master or of any great master. Yet they were
passed as Van Dycks by the expert. He cannot be
severely blamed : who is omniscient ? But the
mischief is that the buyer is apt to think that he
has a certain guarantee.

The French law, I believe, makes an expert in
some degree responsible for his attributions, but
the point is rarely, if ever, tested : I have not heard
of a case. And it would be very hard on an expert
to be held personally responsible for mistakes
which every one must make at times. He would
hardly dare to accept any attribution at all. It
would be more reasonable to permit the purchaser
to recover the money from the vendor, should the
expert's attribution be clearly proved to be mis-
taken. For all 1 know, the French law may
enable that to be done. But it is at least an open
question whether it would not behest to do away
with the expert altogether unless the system can
be drastically reformed. By the way, it is
reported here that the two pictures attributed to
Constable in the Sedelmeyer collection, the I'allcy
of titc Sloiir and the Banks of the Stoiir (see page
197 anil), were bought for an English collector 1

K. E. D.

264

LANDSCAI'K STUDY BY CLAUDE
IX TllK UNIVERSITY GALLERIES,

CLAUDE
<A^ BY ROGER E. FRY ^

N spite of all the attacks
of critics, in spite of all
the development of high
flavour and emphasis of
romantic landscape, which
might well have spoilt
us for his cool simplicity, Claude still
lives, not, indeed, as one of the gods
of the sale-room, but in the hearts of con-
templative and undemonstrative people.
This is surely an interesting and encourag-
ing fact. It means that a very purely
artistic and poetical appeal stills finds its
response in the absence of all subsidiary
interests and attractions. The appeal is,
indeed, a very limited one, touching only
certain highly self-conscious and sophisti-
cated moods, but it is, within its limits, so
sincere and so poignant that Claude's very
failings become, as it were, an essential
part of its expression. These failings are,
indeed, so many and so obvious that it is
not to be wondered at if, now and again,
they blind even a sensitive nature like
Raskin's to the fundamental beauty and
grandeur of Claude's revelation. But we
must be careful not to count as failings
qualities which are essential to the parti-
cular kind of beauty that Claude envisages,
though, to be quite frank, it is sometimes
hard to make up one's mind whether a
particular characteristic is a lucky defect
or a calculated negation. Take, for
instance, the peculiar gaucherie of his
articulations. Claude knows less, perhaps,
than any considerable landscape painter —
less than the most mediocre of modern
landscapists — how to lead from one object
to another. His foregrounds are covered
with clumsily arranged leaves which have
no organic growth, and which, as often
as not, lie on the ground instead of spring-
ing from it. His trees frequently isolate
themselves helplessly from their parent

The tL-RLiNGTOX .NUgazixe. So. 53. Vul, XI— August, 1907

soil. In particular, when he wants a
repoussoir in the foreground at either
end of his composition he has recourse to
a clumsily constructed old bare trunk,
which has little more meaning than a
stage property. Even in his composition
there are naivetes which may or may
not be intentional : sometimes they have
the happiest effect, at others they seem
not childlike but childish. Such, for
instance, is his frequent habit of dividing
spaces equally, both vertically and horizon-
tally, either placing his horizontal line
half-way up the picture, or a principal
building on the central vertical line. At
times this seems the last word of a highly
subtilized simplicity, of an artifice which
conceals itself ; at others one cannot be
sure it is not due to incapacity. There
is, in fact, a real excuse for Ruskin's
exaggerated paradox that Claude's drawings
look like the work of a child of ten.
There is a whole world of beauty which
one must not look for at all in Claude.
All that beauty of the sudden and unex-
pected revelation of an unsuspected truth
which the Gothic and Early Renaissance
art provides is absent from Claude. As
the eye follows his line it is nowhere
arrested by a sense of surprise at its
representative power, nor by that peculiar
thrill which comes from the communi-
cation of some vital creative force in the
artist. Compare, for instance, Claude's
drawing of mountains, which he knew
and studied constantly, with Rembrandt's.
Rembrandt had probably never seen
mountains, but he obtained a more intimate
understanding by the light of his inner
vision than Claude could ever attain to by
familiarity and study. We need not go
to Claude's figures, where he is notoriously
feeble and superficially Raphaelesquc, to
find how weak was his hold upon character

267

Claude

in whatever object he set himself to
interpret. In the British Museum there
is a most careful and elaborate study of
the rocky shores of a stream. Claude has
even attempted here to render the contorted
stratification of the river-bed, but without
any of that intimate imaginative grasp of
the tension and stress which underlie the
appearance which Turner could give in a
tew hurried scratches. No one, we mav
surmise, ever loved trees more deeply than
Claude, and we know that he prided
himself on his careful observation of the
difference of their specific characters ; and
yet he will articulate their branches in
tlie most haphazard, perfunctory manner.
There is nothing in all Claude's innumer-
able drawings which reveals the inner life
of the tree itself, its aspirations towards
air and light, its struggle with gravitation
and wind, as one little drawing by Leonardo
da Vinci.

All these defects might pass more easily
in a turbulent romanticist, hurrying pell mell
to get expressed some moving and dramatic
scene, careless of details so long as the
main movement were ascertained, but there
is none of this fire in Claude. It is with
slow ponderation and deliberate care that he
places before us his perfunctory and
generalized statements, finishing and polish-
ing them with relentless assiduity, and
not infrequently giving us details that we
do not desire and which add nothing but
platituiie to the too prolix statement.

All this and much more the admirer
of Claude will be wise to concede to the
adversary, and if the latter ask wherein the
beauty of a Claude lies he may with more
justice than in any other case fall back on
the reply of one of Du Maurier's aesthetes,
' in the picture.' For there is assuredly a
kind of beauty which is not only
compatible with these defects but perhaps
in some degree depends on them. We

268

know and recognize it well enough in
literature. To take a random instance.
Racine makes Titus say in 'Berenice': ' De
mon aimable erreur je suis dcsabusc.' This
may be a dull, weak and colourless mode of
expression, but if he had said with Shake-
speare,' Now old desiredoth inhisdeath-bed
lie, and young affection gapes to be his
heir,' we should feel that it would
destroy the particular kind of even and
unaccented harmony at which Racine
aimed. Robert Bridges, in his essay on
Keats, very aptly describes for literature
the kind of beauty which we find in
Shakespeare : ' the power of concentrating
all the far-reaching resources of language on
one point, so that a single and apparently
effortless expression rejoices the aesthetic
imagination at the moment when it is
most expectant and exacting.' That,
ceteris paribus, applies admirably to certain
kinds of design. It corresponds to the
nervous touch of a Pollajuolo or a
Rembrandt. But Claude's line is almost
nerveless and dull. Even when it is most
rapid and free it never surprises us by any in-
timate revelation of character, any summary
indications of the central truth. But it has
a certain inexpressive beauty of its own.
It is never elegant, never florid, and, above
all, never has any ostentation of cleverness.
The beauty of Claude's work is not to be
sought primarily in his drawing : it is
not a beauty of expressive parts but
the beauty of a whole. It corresponds in
fact to the poetry of his century — to Milton
or Racine. It is in the cumulative eflect
of the perfect co-ordination of parts none
of which is by itself capable of absorbing
our attention or fascinating our imagina-
tion that the power of a picture by Claude
lies. It is the unitv and not the content
that affects us. There is, of course, content,
but the content is only adequate to its
purpose and never claims our attention on

fiT.Tki' -

VIEW OF A TOWN. FROM THE DRAW
BY CLAUDE IX THE UNIX EKSITV
GALLERIES, OXFORD

its own account. The objects he presents
to us have no claim on him but as parts
of a scheme. They have no Hfe and pur-
pose of their own, and for that very reason
it is right that they should be stated in
vague and general terms. Particularization
would spoil the almost literary effect of
his presentment. He wishes a tree to
convey to the eye only what the word
'tree' might suggest at once to the inner
vision. We think first of the mass of
waving shade held up against the brilliance
of the sky, and this, even with all his detailed
elaboration, is about where Claude, whether
by good fortune or design, leaves us. It
is the same with his rocks, his water, his
animals. They are all made for the mental
imagery of the contemplative wanderer,
not of the acute and ardent observer. But
where Claude is supreme is in the mar-
vellous invention with which he combines
and recombines these abstract symbols so
as to arouse in us more purely than nature
herself can the mood of pastoral delight.
That Claude was deeply influenced by
Virgil one would naturally suppose from
his antiquarian classicism, and a drawing
in the British Museum shows that he had
the idea of illustrating the Aeneid. In
any case his pictures translate into the
language of painting much of the senti-
ment of Virgil's Eclogues, and that with
a purity and grace that rival his original.
In his landscapes Meliboeus always leaves
his goats to repose with Daphnis under
the murmuring shade, waiting till his
herds come of themselves to drink at the
ford, or in sadder moods of passionless
regret one hears the last murmurs of the
lament for Gallus as the well-pastured
goats turn homewards beneath the evening
star.

Claude is the most ardent worshipper
that ever was of the genius loci. Of his
landscapes one always feels that ' some god

Claude

is in this place.' Never, it is true, one of
the greater gods : no mysterious and fear-
ful Pan, no soul-stirring Bacchus or all-
embracing Demeter; scarcely, though he
tried more than once deliberately to
invoke them, Apollo and the Muses, but
some mild local deity, the inhabitant of a
rustic shrine whose presence only heightens
the glamour of the scene.

It is the sincerity of this worship, and
the purity and directness of its expression,
which makes the lover of landscape turn
with such constant affection to Claude,
and the chief means by which he com-
municates it is the unity and perfection
of his general design ; it is not by form
considered in itself, but by the planning
of his tone divisions, that he appeals, and
here, at least, he is a past master. This
splendid architecture of the tone masses
is, indeed, the really great quality in his
pictures ; its perfection and solidity are
what enables them to bear the weight of
so meticulous and, to our minds, tiresome
an elaboration of detail without loss of
unity, and enables us even to accept the
enamelled hardness and tightness of his
surface. But many people of to-dav,
accustomed to our more elliptical and
quick-witted modes of expression, are so
impatient of these qualities that they can
only appreciate Claude's greatness through
the medium of his drawings, where the
general skeleton of the design is seen
without its adornments, and in a medium
which he used with perfect ease and
undeniable beauty. Thus to reject the
pictures is, I think, an error, because it
was only when a design had been exposed
to constant correction and purification that
Claude got out of it its utmost expressive-
ness, and his improvisations steadilv grow
under his critical revision to their full
perfection. But in the drawings, at all
events, Claude's great powers of design

271

Claude

arc readily seen, and the study of the
drawings has this advantage also, that
through them we come to know of a
Claude whose existence we could never
have suspected by examining only his
finished pictures.

In speaking of the drawings it is well
to recognize that they fall into different
classes with different purposes and aims.
We need not, for instance, here consider
tlie records of finished compositions in the
' Liber Veritatis.' There remain designs for
paintings in all stages of completeness, from
the first suggestive idea to the finished
cartoon and the drawings from nature.
It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to remark
that it would have been quite foreign to
Claude's conception of his art to have
painted a picture from nature. He, him-
self, clearly distinguished sharply between
his studies and his compositions. His
studies, therefore, were not incipient
pictures, but exercises done for his own
pleasure or for the fertility they gave to
his subsequent invention, and they have
the unchecked spontaneity and freedom of
hand that one would expect in such un-
reflecting work. These studies again fall
into two groups : first, studies of detail,
generally of foliage or of tree forms, and
occasionally of rocks and flowers ; and
secondly, studies of general effects. Of
the studies of detail I have already said
something. They have the charm of an
easy and distinguished calligraphy, and of
a refined selection of the decorative possi-
bilities of the things seen, but without
any of that penetrating investigation of
the vital nature of the thing seen which
gives its chief beauty to the best work of
this kind.

It is, indeed, in the second group of
studies from nature that we come from
time to time upon motives that startle and
surprise us. Wc find in these a sus-

ceptibility to natural charms which, in
its width of range and freedom from
the traditional limitations of the art of
landscape, is most remarkable. Here
we find not only Claude the prim seven-
teenth-century classic, but Claude the
romanticist, anticipating the chief ideas
of Corot's later development', and Claude
the impressionist, anticipating Whistler
and the discovery of Chinese landscape,
as, for instance, in the marvellous
(iper^u of a mist effect, which we reproduce
(plate xiv)-. Or, again, in a view which is
quite diff"erent from any of these, but
quite as remote from the Claude of the
oil-paintings, in the great view of the
Tiber (Plate xiii), a masterpiece of hurried,
almost unconscious planning of bold
contrasts of transparent gloom and
dazzling light on water and plain. This,
indeed, is so modern in manner that one
might mistake it at first glance for a
water-colour drawing by Mr. Steer.

The impression one gets from looking
through a collection of Claude's drawings
like that at the British Museum is of a
man without any keen feeling for objects
in themselves, but si;igularly open to im-
pressions of general effects in nature,
watching always for the shifting patterns
of foliage and sky to arrange themselves
in some beautifully significant pattern and
choosing it with fine and critical taste.
But at the same time he was a man with
vigorous ideas of the laws of design and
the necessity of perfectly realized unity,
and to this I suppose one must ascribe the
curious contrast between the narrow limits
of his work in oil as compared with the
wide range, the freedom and the profound
originality of his work as a draughtsman.

'As, (or instance, in :i wonderful dr.iwiiij;, On the Biinks ef
the Tiber, in Mr. Hcscllinc's collection.

'■•It is not impossihlc tli.it Cl.uide got the hint for such a
Irc.ilincnt .i» this (rom the iinprcssionisi efforts of Graico-
KoiTi.in p.iintcrs. Th.it he studied such works wc know from
.1 copy of one by h ni in the British Museum.

272

LAXDSCAl^E STl'DY BY CLAl'DE

IX THE rXlVERSlTV GALLERIES. OXFOR

Claude

Among all these innumerable effects which
his ready susceptibility led him to record
he tound but a few which were capable of
being reduced to that logical and mathema-
tical formula which he demanded
before complete realization could be
tolerated. In his drawings he composes
sometimes with strong diagonal lines
{Ripa Qraihie, pi. i), sometimes with
free and unstable balance. In his pictures
he has recourse to a regular system of
polarity, balancing his masses carefully on
either side of the centre, sometimes even
framing it in like a theatrical scene with
two repoussoirs pushed in on either side.
One must suppose, then, that he approached
the composition of his pictures with a
certain timidity, that he felt that safety
when working on a large scale could only
be secured by a certain recognized type
of structure, so that out of all the various
moods of nature to which his sensitive
spirit answered only one lent itself to com-
plete expression. One wishes at times
that he had tried more. There is in the
British Museum a half-effaced drawing on
blue paper, an idea for treating the Noli
me tangre which, had he worked it out,
would have added to his complete
mastery of bucolic landscape a masterpiece
of what one may call tragic landscape.
It is true that here, as elsewhere, the figures
are in themselves totally inadequate, but
they suggested an unusual and intense key
to the landscape. On the outskirts of a

dimly suggested wood, the figures meet
and hold converse ; to the right the mound
of Calvary glimmers pale and ghost-like
against the night sky, while over the
distant city the first pink flush of dawn
begins. It is an intensely poetical con-
ception. Claude has here created a
landscape in harmony with deeper, more
mystical aspirations than elsewhere, and,
had he given free rein to his sensibilities,
we should look to him even more than
we do now as the greatest inventor of the
motives of pure landscape. As it is, the
only ideas to which he gave complete
though constantly varied expression are
those of pastoral repose.

Claude's view of landscape is false to
nature in that it is entirely anthropocentric.
His trees exist for pleasant shade ; his
peasants to give us the illusion of pastoral
life, not to toil for a living. His world
is not to be lived in, onlv to be looked at
in a mood of pleasing melancholy or suave
reverie. It is, therefore, as true to one
aspect of human desire as it is false to the
facts of life. It may be admitted that this
is not the finest kind of art — it is the art
of a self-centred and refined luxury which
looks on nature as a garden to its own
pleasure-house — but few will deny its
genial and moderating charm, and few of us
live so strenuously as never to feel a
sense of nostalgia for that Saturnian
reign to which Virgil and Claude can
waft us.

■^ NOTES ON THE DRAWINGS REPRODUCED c^

HE present series of sketches
and studies by Claude serves
a double purpose. In the first
place it will illustrate in some
measure the course of Claude's
development from early man-
hood to old age. Incidentally,

too, it illustrates the remarkable

manner in which Claude anticipated the landscape
work of almost all the masters of the art who

succeeded him. Commenting on the drawings, it
is easy to discuss these two aspects of the master's
art at the same time ; indeed, by so doing, we are
materially aided in gaining a clear idea of the
course of his progress.

The history of art as a whole bears a singular
relation to the development of great individual
artists. The great artist has his primitive period, in
which his work is stiff and precise, just as painting
itself was stif? and precise almost to the close of

^tes on the T>rau:ings "Reproduced

the fifteenth century. He then enters upon the
period in which liis works are, perhaps, most
perfect, wlien the precision of his youth is tem-
pered willi the freedom of perfected skill. An
analogous stage is reached by every school of art
in its maturity. Last, as the artist approaches
old age, his work, if he be a great man, becomes
emancipated from all current rules and theories
of conception and technique. His composition
Ix-comes unrestrained, his handling more loose.
A similar character will be found in all schools
of painting that h.ive passed their period of full
strength. The painters who have not originality
copy their predecessors ; tliose who have origin-
ality express themselves with more fluency but
with less sliarpness of vision.

The sketches of Claude are of the utmost variety,
and, as we have seen, seem to anticipate from
time to time the qualities obtained by many of
his successors. We shall not, therefore, be far
wrong, perhaps, if we conclude that their relative
chronoU)gical order is analogous to that of the
dates at which the respective artists whom he
resembles lived and worked, and to conclude that
a drawing resembling a work of Gainsborough is
later than one which resembles the work of
Poussin ; and that a drawing which recalls the
Impressionists of the nineteenth century comes
later still. Such dated sketches as we possess on
the whole bear out this assumption, though it
must always be remembered that the assumption
applies only to sketches and studies from nature.
Claude the sketcher is, in fact, a different person
from Claude the designer t)f classical compositions;
and the principle which guides us in dating the
former class of work is not applicable to the latter."

1
That the first sketch of shipping represents
Claude's style at the very opening of his career in
Rome is indicated, not only by a certain tentative
quality in the workmanship, but also by external
evidence. Among not the least interesting draw-
ings in Mr. Heseltine's splendid collection are
certain pages of blue paper from one of Claude's
early sketch-books, and on the back of one of
them (No. 3) is a study of a boat, the deck covered
with the sailors and awning, and with the inscrip-
tion ' Etude faite a Ripa Grande.' The coincidence,
both of the subject and of the inscription, with
the drawing in the British Museum, together with
the resemblance to his countrj'man Callot which
we notice in the figures, makes it clear that we
have here an example of Claude's earliest style.
Those who know his history will remember how
largely marine subjects figured during the first
portion of his career, so that on all grounds we
may assume that this drawing represents his

■ To those who wish to m.ike a more detailed study of Cl.iudc
the liltic biography by Mr. Edward Dillon, published in Messrs.
Methucn's half-crown scries, can be hcirtily recommended.

276

powers at the time he settled in Rome, after his
Waiuh-riiilin; that is to say, about the year 1630.
We do iiot, of course, sec here the same mastery
of aerial perspective which we find in the latter
drawings ; the contr.ast be-tween the boats, the
buildings and the sky behind them is too forced ;
yet already we may trace that feeling for effects of
misty sunlight which Claude afterwards developed.

II
The next study is one of those sketches to which
a reproduction cannot do full justice. The trees
arc sketched in a reddish-brown pigment which
conveys by itself the impression of strong illumi-
nation, while in the background one or two touches
of cooler grey give the hills by contr:ist a tone of
rich purple. This device, by which an effect of
rich colour is suggested without the use of colour,
is one that we often find in Claude's work. He
will make his drawing in some warm tone of
brown, and then delicately work over the distance
in black and white, gaining from the play of the
cool tone with the warm one a richness and sub-
tlety comparable with that of an elaborate oil
painting. A similar effect is occasionally found
in the sketches of other great masters, but it was
used most consistently perhaps by Gainsborough,
whose landscape studies almost always convey
the sense of fine colour without the use of a single
positive hue.

Ill
The third drawing is a thing of special interest
in the study of Claude. Not only m.-iy it be
taken as an example of his studies of the ruins of
Rome which were the foundation of the classical
architecture introduced into his mythological
jiictures, not only is it an admirable example of
his art, but it is also interesting in relation to his
accuracy as a topographical draughtsman. It is
evident that the building on the right of the
drawing is the arch of Constantine, its base heaped
with grass-grown rubbish on which sheep are
grazing. When we look at the distance, however,
we begin to find ourselves in a difficulty. The
buildings on the hill to the left m.iy, by some
stretch of the imagination, be taken to represent
the temple of Venus and Rome, and the basilica
of Constantine ; but the houses which, as we
know from other contemporary evidence, sur-
rounded them in Claude's day are all obliterated,
and, instead of the centre of a still populous
Rome, we are presented with a scene of utter
desolation. That the interval Ix-tween the fore-
ground and the middle distance should be filled
by a pool of water is another concession to the
demands of the picturesque. As all who know
Rome will recognize, its place in the Rome of
reality is occupied by the slope which leads up to
the arch of Titus. At the foot of that slope nearest
to the arch of Constantine lie the remains of the
fountain of the Meta Sudans, while on the far side

.o:^? -1

srxSET. KROM THE DR.WVIXC, BY CLAI'DK
IX THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES. OXFORD

!l\[otes on the ^Drawings "^produced

of the slope the basihca of Constantine overlooks
the forum where, some thirty or forty feet below
the Renaissance level of the ground, modern
archaeological enterprise has discovered traces of
the pool round which the earliest settlements on
the site of Rome were built. Claude's drawing,
therefore, cannot be regarded as in any way an
accurate representation of Rome as it was in his
day ; it is merely an improvisation on a Roman
theme, an essay on the desolation of Italy, rather
than a view of a real place. In the precision of
the pen-work and the care with which the details
of the arch of Constantine are interpreted, we
recognize some survival from the manner of his
earliest time, in which he relied almost entirely
upon careful work with the pen. In this drawing,
however, the dryness of this early manner is
mitigated by masterly use of the brush, so that
the outlines of the distance are blended by delicate
tones with the paper on which they are drawn,
while the wiry harshness of the stronger pen lines
in the foreground is modified by lavish use of
wet colour so skilfully varied in quality that it is
everywhere transparent and luminous,

Having said thus much as to the degree of accu-
racy we may expect from Claude as a topographer,
it would be rash to speak too positively as to the
place depicted in the next sketch. The varied
species of the trees perhaps indicate rather the
neighbourhood of a city and of gardens, but even
then we have no means of deciding the locality.
We must content ourselves with noticing how
clear and fresh is the impression of sunlight con-
veyed, how direct and simple the method of ex-
pression, how free from all the then prevalent
notions of manipulating nature. It is, indeed,
just the sort of study that might have been made
by some good English artist in the early part of
the nineteenth century, except that the articula-
tion of the boughs is not observed as a modern
master would observe it.

In the olive garden represented in the following
drawing we are brought face to face with nature
in a more serious mood. This is one of the
sketches in which Claude has worked in black
and white on the top of a drawing made in brown,
producing that impression of rich sober colour
to which we have previously referred, but thereby
making the effect something which the camera
cannot reproduce. Nevertheless, the engraving
may give some idea of the beauty of this sketch.
It is a cloudy evening, but a burst of sunlight has
broken through the clouds and has for a moment
turned to splendour a scene of no great intrinsic
attraction. It is with the name of Rubens and
with the stormy days of autumn that we associate

these sudden splendours rather than with the spirit
of Claude and the tranquil sky of Italy.

The little sketch which forms part of the collec-
tion of drawings in the Oxford University Galleries
conveys the same impression, blended. It is true,
with a more tempestuous wind and a wider horizon.
In connexion with this study, it may not be amiss
to mention the four drawings at Oxford which
are reproduced in facsimile. Of these, the two
views of towns are perhaps the earliest in date.
Both exhibit in perfection the qualities on which
Claude's mastery of landscape is based, his feeling
for the modelling of the ground, his love of
winding lines which lead the eye insensibly yet
with infinite variety from the foreground into the
distance, that preference for country once popu-
lated by man but now almost deserted which is
the keynote of so much of his most intimate work.
As with Piranesi, the figures who move in the
landscapes of Claude are rarely contemporary
with the buildings around them. Like Claude
himself, they are but spectators of the ruins of
former grandeur, they seem to lead only a butter-
fly existence under its shadow. It will be
noticed how in these drawings the touch of
Claude has become more free ; the pen line is
no longer hard and crisp but is delicately blurred
either by working on paper already damped, or
by a subsequent softening with the brush. This
quality is specially noticeable in the romantic
study of a woodland glade where an opening
reveals to us an expanse of calm water bounded
far away by a low range of hills over which the
sun is setting. Here (as in Xo. XVI) three-quarters
of the composition are only a framework for an
exquisite passage of distance. We may note how
careful the artist has been to subdue the incisive-
ness of his pen stroke by blurring it ever}-\vhere in
the shadows, so that no importunate detail may
distract our eyes from the passage he desires to
emphasize. The treatment, in fact, is really the
same as that employed in the fourth drawing,
where a shadowed watercourse flows out into a
quiet lake : a sketch in which both brush and
chalk are used together to produce strength of
tone and soft play of light without the intrusion
of any sharp lines to detract from the effect of
misty evening light under which the scene is
viewed.

VII

If we now turn to the next illustration, a study
of a tree fallen into a river, made during one of
Claude's excursions to Tivoli, we shall notice how
the general mass and sweep of the foliage,
together with the forms of the landscape in tlie
background, are blocked out with loose strokes of
the brush, but the portion of the subject which
the artist was most keenly bent on recording, the
bough trailing in the water, is drawn with the

279

?\[otes ON the T>ra\jojfigs T^produccd

pen, vigorously yet with an eye for detail and
structure which Claude does not always show.

VIII

In this study we see an increaiscd complexity of
method. The subject seems first to have heeii
faintly indicated with the brush, then to have
Ix-eii carried out in black chalk, and finally
once more strenjjthened with a few vigorous
tt)uches of wet colour. It is thus analogous to the
landscape studies of (jainsborougli in method as
well as in feeling and execution. Indeed, it
resembles Gainsborough so closely in its tech-
nique that it might well pass for a study by him,
although a student who is intimately acquainted
with {jainsborougli would probably find it
dil^icult to give the drawing a date, since the
close reliance upon nature which underlies it is
found only in (jainsborough's early work, while
the e-xquisite freedom of touch and breadth of
style which it displays were achieved by him only
in middle life, when he had few or no oppor-
tunities of working in the open air. The drawing
cannot claim to be a complete composition, or to
Ih; a thing of extraordinary beauty, yet it is the
work of a master in that it expresses perfectly the
things it sets out to express, the mysterious charm
of a road running deep between tree-clad banks, a
charm obtained by that elimination of unnecessary
detail which is the hall-mark of all good crafts-
manship.

If the drawing of the hollow road might be
comp.ired with Gainsborough, this sepia sketch
of rocks and trees might with equal justice be
compared with the works of the English water-
colourists of the early p.art of the nineteenth
century. It exhibits just the same facile, confident
use of the medium, just the same perception of the
obvious relations of sunshine and shadow. Per-
haps it might be charged with the same defect,
namely a cert.iin materialism of attitude which is
content with a clever record of some casual
natur.il effect, and does not attempt to be more
than clever. Had Gainsborough or Rembrandt
approached such a subject, he would infallibly
have endowed it with some new tpiality of air or
distance or mystery which wcjuld make the rocks
aeul trees symbols of something much more than
they actually are, woukl have envek)ped them in
the atmosphere of a wider and more significant
universe, and we should forget that there was such
a thing as skilful manipulation of wet colour in our
delight at the profound sensiition with which the
dr.iwing inspired us. This materialism is not
uncommon in Claude's work, and goes far to ex-
plain the faults of his pictures. It is evident that
he w;us by nature a man of profound feeling, but
his feeling was superior to his char.icter. When
his inspiration was uninten upted he couki be .1
fine emotional artist, but his nuiul was not

280

strong enough to resist the allurements of facile
success, the criticism of a less gifted friend, or the
tastes of a patron. Men of great independence of
mind, like Rembrandt, constantly make mistakes,
but they do so deliberately, as an inventor may
sometimes waste his time in following up a false
scent. The failings of Claude cannot be assigned
to any such honourable cause.

In the sketch which follows, we see Claude
working untrammelled, with a good taste and pro-
fundity that are almost worthy of Rembrandt.
The slightly conventional silhouette of the foliage
to the left is the one passage in which we can still
recognize his limitations, but the suggestion of
the great wall rising on the right and screening all
but a glimpse of the sunlit hills in the distance
has a boldness and massiveness that are rare in the
landscape design of any country or of any period.
Translated into solid paint, it would need the
genius of a Rembrandt to match the play of
broken tones and reflected lights which make
this sketch a little masterpiece of chiaroscuro. It
is, indeed, in company with the work of Rem-
brandt that it deserves to be studied.

If dignity was the keynote of the previous
drawing, then the keynote of the present one is
romance. The famous picture of TUc EiiclianlcJ
Ctistlc in the Wantage collection is Claude's
supreme achievement as a painter in oil, and in
itself is sufticient to place him among the great
creative landscape artists. Vet such a drawing ;is
that before us, if small things may be compared
with great, may fitly be compared with the
Wantage picture. Here Claude transports us
into an ideal Italy — not the Italy of wide plains,
white walls and quiet sunshine that we find in
his paintings, as in those of his great follower,
Corot, but an Italy which we might hope to
discover even now, in some remote district from
which the stirr and stress of active life have long
passed away. We feel that if we could but leave
railways and all other means of conveyance far
behind, and follow the less travelled stretches of
the Italian coast line, we might in some fortunate
moment come across just such a quiet little bay,
with just such jutting clilTs, with just such a little
mouldering tower on the far headland, and with
just such an uncertain sky brooding over it all. A
few of the felicitous little studies by Gu.ardi of islets
forgotten among the Venetian lagoons touch the
same lonely note. The best landscape painters
of Holland try for it, but with infrequent success.
It is, in fact, one of the few veins of landscape
sentiment which might still be explored with
profit.

XII

In this broadly executed sketch of Tivoli, we see
Claude once more anticipating the style of later

'. ♦T'* ^

PLATK I. STUDY OK SHIl'l'lNG. FROM THE
DKAWINT. HY CLAl'DE IX THE BRITISH MLSEIM

PL\TI! II. STUDY UF TREKS AM) MILLS. FKOM
THE DRAWING UY CLAUDE IS THE HKITISII Ml'SEUM

TK5

I'LATE HI. THE ARCH OF CON'STAXTlXi:. FROM
THE BRAWING BY CLAUDE l.N' THE BRITISH MUSEUM

: «TK IV. «TfOV «ir urSil.lT TKKHV moM
THR UNAWIMU liy CLAI ll» IN Tltr IIRITIMI UI'UKfM

fi'i

PLATE V. A GARDEN- AT SUNSET. FROM THE
DRAWING BY CLAUDE IS' THE BRITISH MUSEUM

PLATE VI. A WIXDY EVESISG. FROM THE DRAWING
BY CLAUDE IN THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES, OXFORD

joar

-^^f^A-'?*'^ -^^

ILAlK v;i

PHTK VIII

PLATK Vtl. A TRKB IM THK HIVKK AT TIVOU. rMOM
THE UkAWIXU UV CLAt'UK IN THE IIRITI9H MtaKUM

I'LiTE VIII. A KoAu iierwees iii<.ii hasks. fkum

rue UKAWIMli HY CtAl UK IN THE UHiriSII MUSEUM

1>L.\TE IX. STUDY OF ROCKS AND TREES. KKoM
THE DRAWING BY CLAUDE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

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%(otes on the drawings l^produced

masters. On this occasion the analogy is with
Girtin and dome, in whose art we see the same
large, solemn view of nature expressed with the
same force and simplicity of means. One cannot
help feeling a regret that Claude should not have
attempted to carry out in the more solid and
substantial medium of oil some of these broad
conceptions which he realized so completely in
water-colour. Whatever our admiration for his
skill as an oil painter, we cannot help recognizing
that his brush-work is somewhat petty, that his
masses are too frequently broken up, too consis-
tently fretted with small details, so that it is only on
rare occasions, as in the superb Acis and Galatea
at Dresden, that we find him dealing with large
things in a large way ; and, even there, the fashion
of the day or the imperfection of his taste admits
the introduction of importunate little figures in
the foreground. These figures, it is true, are said
to have been re-painted with additions by another
hand, but the mere fact of their being introduced
at all shows that the artist was not strong enough,
as Crome and Girtin were, to throw aside con-
vention, and to leave the great solitudes of nature
to tell their own story.

XIII, XIV, XV

These three studies introduce us to an even more
advanced stage in the history of art. Something
in this marvellous bird's-eye prospect may remind
us of Rembrandt ; something, perhaps, of the
spreading plains which Turner loved to paint ; but
the style is that of a generation later even than
Turner. When Ruskin uttered his famous de-
nunciations of Claude in ' Modern Painters,' he
joined with them abuse of what he termed ' blott-
esque landscape.' Little, 1 think, could he foresee
that the loose style of workmanship which he then
condemned would, before the end of his life, be
the generally accepted manner of artistic sketching,
and that this seemingly incoherent method of
expression would be found more decorative and
infinitely more suggestive than the minute state-
ment of details that he practised and preached.
In the house of art there are many mansions, and
we are being compelled to recognize more and
more that we may without inconsistency visit
them all. Yet it is remarkable that it should have
been reserved for Claude to anticipate so com-
pletely a style of technical work and a form of
artistic vision which the other landscape painters
of Europe did not reach till two hundred and
fifty years after his death.

Still more definitely impressionistic is the next
study, in which the charm of misty moonlight is
enlivened and contrasted with artificial illumina-
tion. It is a sketch which could be hung in a
show of modern English or continental work
under the name of half a dozen artists one can re-
member, without the spectator guessing for a

moment that the drawing was two centuries old
and more.

The sketch of a woodland glade with a vague
country scene beyond it is equally modern, and if
we did not know from its place in the British
Museum and its history that it was a work by
Claude, we might pardonably recognize in it a
sketch by Mr. Sargent or Mr. Wilson Steer.
Indeed, it is the existence of sketches such as this
that makes Claude such a difficult figure to under-
stand. How was it that a man who could see
nature so independently, and learn to report his
impressions so boldly, did not, as a painter, show
a trace of this boldness ? We can only attribute
the failure to lack of character. Nevertheless, in
judging his achievement as a whole, the extra-
ordinary gifts displayed in his sketches cannot be
set on one side, and if we count them, we are almost
compelled to admit that Claude's natural disposi-
tion for landscape was not inferior to the reputation
he once held in Europe.

XVI, XVII

The three large drawings which follow indicate
the use which Claude made of the detached studies
from nature which we have been considering.
Nos. XVI and XVII are both in Mr. Heseltme's
collection, and are reproduced here by his kind
permission. The collection at the British
Museum is far larger, but contains a good deal
that is not of the first importance. Mr. Hesel-
tine's collection, on the other hand, is a collection
of picked examples, covering the whole period of
Claude's career, and including some of his very
earliest known drawings, but especially strong in
the work of his mature period (1660- 1665), when
his art was at his best. The first drawing we have
to consider. No. XVI, is of singular majesty in the
disposition of its masses, but we cannot help feel-
ing that these solemn trees and rolling foreground
which occupy so much of the picture's space are,
as in the Oxford drawing already mentioned, only
a framework for the exquisite glimpse of the dis-
tance which they permit us to see — a quiet sheet
of water, bordered by low hills beyond which
sunlit mountains rise sheer into the evening sky.
The abrupt forms of these mountains suggest the
Dolomites rather than the softer ouUines of the
mountains that look down on the Roman Cam-
pagna. Here indeed, as m many other passages
in Claude's work, we must recognize how largely
he was influenced by the work of other artists,
and how skilfully he assimilated the hints of
novel scenery which they gave to him.

The next drawing, too (XVII), has nothing speci-
fically Italian about it. The movement and nature
of the cloud forms, the moisture with which the
air is laden, and the group of castellated ruins on
the right to which the whole composition sweeps
upwards, are so definitely northern in character
that we are once more reminded of the art of

297

!^(ote5 oti the ^raivirigs Reproduced

GainsborouKli. Again, as in Gainsborough's work,
wc find Claude gcttini; a suggestion of actual
colour by working in bhick and wluti; on the lop
of a drawing executed in brown. As in the earlier
drawings where this practice was noticed, the
effect is one of singular richness, so that, although
the actual tones before us arc no more than grey
and brown, the mind is instinctively compelled
to ct>lour the composition with the rich tones of
sunset in which the similar compositions of
Rubens and Gainsborough arc enveloped. To
the artist of to-day such drawings may not always
appeal strongly, since the eye may be repelled by
much that is formal and conventional in the build-
ing up of the compuisition,and by the generalization
of natural forms which made Ruskin so angry.
Yet there is a place for art that has no relation to
photographic appearances, just as there is a
literature which has nothing to do with the
statement of facts such as may be found in the
daily paper ; and those who have still sufficient
imagination to appreciate a literature which is not
a literature of facts (if, indeed, journalism can be
so termed) may also be able to enjoy the beauty
and romance of these drawings of Claude, and to
make allowance for their artifice.

XVIII

In the last subject reproduced no such allow-
ance at all is necessary. In this sketch for a
composition representing apparently the Tower
of Babel we are dealing with a world which is
entirely a world of the imagination. To this
place of cloud-capped towers and gorgeous
palaces we need not apply the tests of common
realism any more than we apply them to
Prospero'b island, but can abandon ourselves to

sheer delight in the prospect of wide plains and
giant architecture which stretches before us. The
artist will note the skill with which the eye is led
away across the level country to the huge erection
that rises literally into the sky, will admire the
subtlety with which the vast height and massive
bulk of the towering buildings on the right are
suggested, and will perhaps regret that Claude did
not carry out this stupendous conception in paint.
Yet we may wonder whether the realization of
such an idea is possible in paint; whether the
artist was not wise to leave it as a suggestion. In
painting even the most skilful artist is to some
extent subject to accidents of material, to the
necessity of representing positively much at which
a sketch needs only to hint, if we remember
how few paintings of a highly im.iginative nature
can be termed unqualified successes, we may
recognize that Claude was perhaps right in
leaving this idea in the form of a sketch, where
the imagination of the spectator, if attuned to the
subject, would inevitably supply all that was
required to complete the picture, without the
help of any of those importunate details which,
when materialized in an oil painting, are apt to
distract the attention and weaken the design.

Once more, the analogy with the work of
certain northern artists will not fail to strike those
who are conversant with the history of landscape,
but in this case, as in that to which we previously
referred, this exotic element is so blended and
fused with the breadth of view and stability of
construction that are characteristic of all good
Italian work that we can accept it without the
reservations which we are compelled to make
before the imaginative landscapes of Flanders
and Germany. C. J. H.

298

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PI.ATK XIV. NO(.Tl'RNK. KKoM THH DRAVVIXC.
IIV CI-MIlK IN TIIK IIHITISII MI'SFUM

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I'LATp; XV. KAPID STIUJY OK TREES. FKO.M THE
DUAWING BY CLALDE l.\ THE BRITISH MUSEUM

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BRUGES AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE CELEBRATIONS
^ BY FRANCIS M. KELLY r#^

NDOUBTEDLY (lie com-
Iniittee have chosen the right
Imoment for the present exhi-
jbition of objects connected
'with the history of the Golden
Fleece. Now that Bruges pos-
1 sesses a direct waterway to the

sea, those who appreciate the

innate shrewdness and enterprise of the Flemings
can alone foresee how far the town will go
towards recovering her past repute as a centre of
commercial activity. It is therefore very fitting,
after a long period of relative stagnation, that
Bruges should pause to cast a retrospective glance
at her old greatness before shaking off the old-
world habit that has long constituted her chief
charm.

The story goes that the Order of the Golden
Fleece owes its origin to the ironical comments of
the Burgundian nobles on the ' auburn ' tresses —
' Toison d'Or,' some learned wag had dubbed it —
of their prince's lady-love, Maria von Crombrugge
— ' Fore Heaven ! Sirs,' quoth Duke Philip the
Good, ' I will make of this same golden fleece a
badge of such high honour as the best of you that
mock now shall think it glory enough to wear';
and, as in the kindred case of the Garter, from a
thoughtless jest at a lady's expense sprang into
existence a great and puissant order of knight-
hood which to this day numbers kings amongst
its proudest members. Less romantic but more
convincing is the view that by the institution of
the Golden Fleece its founder intended to com-
memorate the prosperity of Flemish commerce
and especially of the woollen industry of which
Bruges was the headquarters. Whether one in-
cline to the first account, to the second, or to a
third version according to which the duke's
motive was to honour his bride, the essential fact
remains that on February loth, 1429, the new
Order was solemnly inaugurated with great pomp
and ceremony. At the first installation the num-
ber of knights created was twenty-four in all ;
amongst whom we find such illustrious names as
Croy, Lannoy, la Trimouille and Commines.
The Toison d'Or was formally placed under the
patronage of Our Lady and of St. Andrew.
The latter saint was peculiarly identified with the
Order, and his anniversary was the principal feast
in its calendar. A St. Andrew's cross ragnly, be
it mentioned, was one of the badges of the house
of Burgundy. The requisite qualifications were
of a very severe standard ; none but men of the
highest quality, spotless integrity and rigid honour
were eligible. The slightest taint spelt rejection,
and personal courage was put at such a premium
that discretion was forbidden to temper valour
under any circumstances. The consequence was
that the flower of European chivalry vied w:ith

kings and princes in seeking admission to the
ranks of the Toison d'Or.'

Ot English monarchs Edward IV, Henry VII
and Henry VIII were enrolled upon its registcr.-
Kings of PVance, Castille, Hungary and Poland,
prmces of Orange, dukes of Bavaria, of Saxony
and a host of other rulers have been of its number.
The tale of its members is the enumeration of all
that was noblest and most famous in Spain, Ger-
many, Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands
throughout a period extending over centuries.
After the fall of the power of Burgundy and the
union of its reigning house with that of Hapsburg,
the hereditary headship of the Order passed over
to Austria. From Charles V onward the Toison
d'Or was divided into two branches, the Austrian
and the Spanish ; the sovereigns of both countries
enjoying equally the dignity of Grand Master.^

The privileges of membership were in keeping
with the difficulties of admission, and the official
proceedings of the Order were characterized by
unusual splendour.* The exhibition now on view
in the Maison du Gouverneur leaves us in no doubt
on this point at least. Much there is which has
little or no direct relation to the object of the
collection. In fact the words ' Exposition de la
Toison d'Or ' have been interpreted in a more than
catholic manner. We have, however, splendid
examples of the habits and insignia of the knights
gathered from a variety of sources. The habit of
the Order has remained the same from the date of
its birth to the present day. It consists of a
close gown or habit shirt of red velvet with close-
sleeves, generally plain. Over this is worn a semi-
circular mantle of crimson velvet embroidered in
gold and lined with white satin, fastened upon
the right shoulder. Along the extreme edge runs
the motto of the Toison d'Or in gold :
' Je lay emprins.' '■• Beyond this is a broad
band of embroidery which bears at intervals
the Fleece supported by the Burgundian linked
fusils or fire-steels. This embroidery often varies
a little in detail. Thus we sometimes find the

' An order, named ' Ordre des Trois Toison d'Or,' was pro-
claimed by Napoleon at Schoenbrunn in 1810 with much pomp
and circumstance. For eligibility princes of the blood must
have undergone their ' baptism of tire,' and ministers have held
oflices for ten consecutive years. Only two nominations were
ever made, and the order, though never revoked, gradually
lapsed into oblivion.

-King Edward VII and the dufce of Devonshire are the only
actual English knights, to the best of my knowledge.

^ Spain teems always to have been the preponderant authority.

■* The knights of the Fleece were judicially answerable to
their own chapter only, and all had a voice in its elections. A
quaint privilege was the daily ,i;rant of two measures of wine
and ten linrds' worth of bread.

'The motto of Philippe le Bon, which was also that of this
order, is 'Aultre n'auray tant que je vive.' 'Plus oultrc'
(Charles V) and ' Plus en seray' (Philip II) are also found on
the robes. To the collar of fusih and firestones was att.ached
the vaoV.0" Ayite ferit quam flamma micet," and to the pendent
lamb or fleece the device " Pretiuni von vile lahnrtim."

3^S

Bruges and the Go/dcN Fleece

cross-st.ivcs /<»^;i/v of liiiimiiuly intidcliicccl. The
liotxl or clitifkroii, wliicli i> in piicicipU- the s.imc
as the 'hitincfiir of the (j.iitci ioIkvs, in.itclics tlic
chiak, and also h;us j^old cniliroidcry at the end of
the folded cocks-comb or conutlc. The emperor
of Austria lias lent a complete habit of the Order
of the eighteenth centur)', which varies principally
from the accepted shape in havinj; the roinidUt or
stuffed roll which usually is the foundation of the
hood replaced in tliis instance by a sort of
embroidered smoking cap.' Also the motto is
worked upon a narrow border of white satin.
Comparison of a number of pictures and illumi-
nations on view at this exhibition shows a certain
variety in the minor details, so slight, however, as
to escape a casual eye. Tlie collar of the Order
was formed of pairs of linked fusils, alternating
with blue enamelled flints having gold flames
issuant. Sometimes the flint is absent altogether
or represented by a jewel. In front hangs the
Golden Fleece suspended by the middle with
head and legs pendant. A number of examples
of this collar have been gathered together, but all
of them are more modern and less massive than
the old collar is shown to have been. The insignia
of the Spanish and Belgian kings are of this
numl>er. The collar of the latter is rather on the
'pretty 'side of things, and the /;/s/7s have been
elaborated almost out of recognition. In this, as
in all the actual collars shown, the flint, or pierrc
it fcH, is of blue black enamel irregularly mottled
with white. An informal collar attributed to
King Charles II of Spain is of plaited white silk,
the centre portion entirely covered with tiny
square brilliants and supporting the pendant, also
filled in with brilliants, the head and legs above
being of plain gold and hanging from a blue
flint with red enamelled flames. The large pen-
dant belonging to Alfonso XIII is a mere mass of
diamonds ; 'golden ' it cannot be called.

No smgle class of object shown is more re-
m.irkable than the armour section, of which the
most important pieces have been sent by the
monarchs of Austria and Spain. Every single
piece in this section is of such superlative quality
that no room is left for criticism, but only for
admiration. There is a child's suit, made — says
the inscription, which I venture to question — for
Philip I of Castille. ' Apart from this being
apparently valued more highly than any other in
the collection, viz : at ^80,000, it is in every
single detail of the most rare and extraordinary
character. It has long fluted skirts or baus
— like the suit in the Tower given to Henry
VIII by Maximilian I. These and the body

• Wiile apologiiing f.,r »o flippant a term, I can think of none
more devrripluc.

' The whole character of lhi< ^uit indicates a period not
earlier than 1510-15:0. II iithe armour of a boy of about eleven
to thirteen yexct, and Philip the Fair died in 1 joC. L'f Av) next
note.

316

.»nd shuulder-pl.iles are decorated with broad
b.iiuls of black .md gold tracery. The f>tuililroiis
are similarly decorated, but of a most unusual
type, being made exactly like very short wide sleeves.
The bnissiirts iiiislies and toe-caps are modelled
in imitation of the puffs and slashes characterizing
the civil fashion of the day. The whole impression
aimed at is that of a puffed suit of the Maximilian
epoch, worn beneath a long-skirted short-sleeved
jerkin. The gauntlets have no cuffs, but appar-
ently are in one with the viiiiibrnci: and are fluted
across the back of the fist. This is a harness of
German make. Such imitations of civil modes
are comparatively rare in extant suits. Of the
fluted steel bases another fine instance is in Vienna,
while of puffed and fluted harnesses there is one
in the Wallace Collection (formerly at Goodrich
Court) two in Paris and two very fine ones in
Vienna.' It is curious to compare the Madrid suit
attributed to Philip I of Castille, from the Armeria
Keal, Madrid, with the child's suit already men-
tioned as ascribed to the same monarch. It is
not a full ' hosting harness,' the leg-armour being
absent, if such portions ever existed. This, a
harness made for a grown inan, fully agrees with
the date assigned to it. The whole character is
late Gothic, and it is undoubtedly inuch the earliest
piece of armour on exhibition. In former times
it must have been more imposing than at present,
as it has been richly decorated with gilt and en-
graved bands. Now however the gilding has been
for the most part worn off and even the engraving
has suffered severely, perhaps as the result of in-
judicious cleaning. It has a narrow placate or
' piece (U reiifort' to the breast. In this connex-
ion it is interesting to note a piece of plate shown
in the central case'-" in this room. This piece is of
most unusual form, although its shape leaves little
doubt as to its purpose. It obviously was in-
tended as a strengthening piece to the breast, but
while such pieces generally follow the lines of the
cuir.iss, the present one is merely an oblong strip
of steel moulded to lit the underlying armour.
The most curious feature of Philip I's harness —
to return to our subject — is the chapel. This has
a turned-up brim of two plates curving out-
w.ird at the top. The crown itself is qiiadiilobeil,
and the genei.il effect very much that of the civil
lx>nnet in vogue towards 1500. The Vienna
suit, be it remarketl, lacks the customary
thickly cabled edges. One of the small brea.st-
plates exhibited with this armour (and of
the fifteenth century) has the full collar of
the Order engraved on the breast. This en-
graved collar is also present on the exquisite
armour of Nicholas III of Salm-Neuberg (d. 1550)

•The wlinle of the armour here compared with the so-called
'Philip the Fair' suit dates about i5io-2(i. Tlie Tower suit
date' from ijtg; the two Viennese examples from 1311 and
1S15 (atK>ut).

•Lent by II M The King.

of Charles V (attributed to Colman of Augsburg
anno 1521), of Ferdinand I (d. 1564), and upon
a complete suit of late sixteenth-century date
of splendid workmanship, but unattributed. It is
seen to even greater advantage on the gorget of a
senii-open headpiece which belonged to Charles \'.
This is a helmet of curious fashion : the skull
is modelled and gilt to represent a head
of hair, whilst the beaver in like manner
is decorated with a full beard and mous-
tachios. The general appearance recalls certain
Japanese helmets. The crossed staves of Burgundy
are used to decorate a fine suit made for Philip 1 1
which also shows an extra detachable frame to
secure the panache. Combined with fusils they
decorate the breast and back of a fifteenth-century
child's demi-suit from St. Petersburg. The
armour, alia Roiiiaiia, of Charles V is, perhaps,
the best-known suit lent by Spain. It is, of
course, an aninirc dc parade, intended for
show in triumphal processions rather than actual
practical use. The whole is of biutty steel,
relieved with gold, and consists of a cuirass
moulded in imitation of the classic lorica, and
furnished with lambrequins at the arm-holes and
waist, a shirt of mail, an open casque and openwork
buskins, all of metal. On the left shoulder-blade,
in gold, is inscribed : ' B (artolommeo) ; C (ampi) ;'
and on the right : ' F (ecit).' The date assigned
it is 1541, but I understand the actual curator of
the Armeria Real, Seiior Florit, is against its
attribution to Charles V. A curious detail is that
the top of breast and back is modelled to represent
a square decoUetage, filled in with mail. The
casque is a bnrgonct modelled on pseudo-classic
lines and encircled by a golden laurel wreath.
1 The buskins have the toes slightly indicated,
and fasten by means of their own elasticity and
buttons on the outer side.

The war-harness of Charles V (ascribed to
' Colman '" of Augsburg, anno 1521), apart from
the Fleece engraved on it, is ver>' interesting. It
may, possibly, have formerly had palettes, for the
front view of the paiildroits resembles the type
known in German as Spaii^rdls, that is to say, they
lack the broad flanges overlapping the breast.
At the back, however, they are very complete,
and the right hand one has an extra articulation.
This, probably, indicates that this piece has been
broken and the damage made good by cutting
away the damaged portion and adding a splint.
The greaves only cover the outside of the leg and
end in a \-andvked fringe of mail. There are
no solerets. The iasscts are continuous with the
fald and there is a prominent cod-piece.

Other objects worth notice in the cases are a
number of knives attributed to Philip le Bon,

i"I presume this to be Coloman Helmschmied (1470-1532). He
was son to Loren^ Helmschmied, armourer to Maximilian I (died
1516.) and father to Desiderius, who worked for the Austrian and
Spanish Courts about 1550.

'Bruges and the Golden Fleece

some fine ' serving knives,' and a set of three
falcons' hoods, for hawking, in gilt leather. AH
these objects are displayed in the great hall,
where is also a most interesting and precious col-
lection of MS. works relating to the Toison d'Or,
including Guillaume P'illastre's history of the
Order (Bibliotheque Royale) and Georges Chas-
telain's life of James de Lalaing (lent by the
present Count de Lalaing). A most curious and
rare book lent by the king of Spain is a complete
series of water-colour drawings of the armour
formerly belonging to Charles V. It shows every
detail and variety of body defence then in use."
A similar album exists in England, and has been
described by Viscount Dillon in a paper entitled
'An Elizabethan Armourer's Album,' which
appeared in 'The Archaeological Journal.' This
is a record of the work of one Jacob Topf, a
German, who was the leading armourer in this
country' at the close of the sixteenth centurj'. He
was the master of William Pickering, the only
English armourer of any note. This MS. has
been invaluable in enabling one to attribute
certain existing suits {e.g., that of Sir Christopher
Hatton) to their original owners with absolute
certainty. The Spanish exhibit is superior in
execution to Topf's book, and moreover shows
interesting examples of military undersvear. Thus
on the page exposed are a variety of arming
boots variously reinforced with pieces of mail
and laced up the small of the leg. In some
cases toe-caps of plate are attached. One of
the most striking things displayed in this
room is a herald's tabard in silk and velvet,
outlined in gold and beautifully worked. It
has been lent by the Austrian emperor, and
the original design which hangs opposite to it
has been lent by the king of Spain. The latter
is cut to pattern and drawn the exact size of
the actual garment. In the absence of any
definite information, '- I am driven by the
heraldry and general fashion to supposing this to
have belonged to a royal herald either of Charles V
or Philip II — probably the former. In the
original design the heraldic colours are frankly
treated for what they are. Thus gules is expressed
by vermilion, azure by a sky-blue, or by a strong
yellow which may be gamboge, or puree. In the
actual garment however the red is a deep crimson
velvet, and the blue a velvet of a deep sapphire
tone. The purple velvet is so deep as to appear
black at first sight. The or is expressed by a deep
gold-coloured silk, and the argent and sable por-
tions are also of silk. The \-arious divisions of
the field are separated by a line of black and

" On the page opened is a drawing of the t>earded helmet
dei^cribed above.

'- The absence of any catalogue up to date and the fact that
half the exhibits are unlabelled render it difticult to describe
many of Ihem as satisfactorily as might be wished.

Eruocs anil the Golden Fleece

gold braid and the delails uutlincd in gold.
Neither of these two peculiarities is indicated in
the design. The sleeves, inst&id of being as usual
sciu.ue flaps, arc semicircles attached to the body
of the tabard by their whole diameter and this
shape has considerably cramped the designer in
repeatmg the charges on them. The arms
quartered are those of Castille, Leon, Burgundy
and Austria, and in the centre is a small scutcheon
with the arms of Porlug.il, which would seem to
point at Is.ibel of Portugal, queen to Charles V.
Mention of this reminds one of two fine copes
which h.mg in the lower hall, both from
Tourn.ii Cathedral ; one, of cut velvet, known
as ' Mante.ui dc Charles V,' of very curious
effect, the pile being deep crimson and the
foundation pale gold. The second cope is
that of Guillaume Fillastre, bishop of Tournai
and chancellor of the Order (in the fifteenth
cenlurv), whose portrait is seen in his own
MS. history alre.idy alluded to. This is of
crimson velvet embroidered with semi-circular
rows of stags' heads, the antlers enclosing a G, —
his initial. There are also two line dalmatics of
silver damask. To return to the upper floor,
there is to be seen a magnificent set of four
tapestries (king of Spain) representing the Tunis
expedition of Charles V, in which the various
occurrences incidental to such a campaign are
remarkably well shown. We have, first, the
military transport work, the naked shaven galley-
slaves ; second, an engagement between the
Moorish cavali7 and the entrenched Spaniards ;
third the Moorish chief making his peace
with Charles V. In this picture we have a
most wonderful presentment of camp life ; the
Spaniards are seen shooting and fishing, attend-
ing ito their laundry, and engaged in even
more intimate business. Outside the camp,
however, and in the water lie decomposed

Fourth, Charles V

corpses of men and dogs,
reviews his c.ivalry. "

Of peculiar interest is the series of prize collars
given to the winner in the popinjay shooting
matches. The finest, perhaps, of these is ascribed
to Charles V and comes from Xivelles." It is
mounted on red velvet and consists of open work
silver-gilt plates in relief. The arms of Austria
crowned arc in the centre with the usual chain of
//«if7s underneath, and on either side is a female
figure, an abbess and a reading maiden. The
usual little silver-gilt popinjay is attached. This
is one of some half-do/.en specimens.

The turning lathe of Maximilian I is a rare and
remarkable exhibit by a private collector. It is
curiously carved with armorial devices and retains
traces of painting ; the exact working is not quite
apparent. Near it is a curious MS. illuminated roll"
showing the ceremony of initiation of the Golden
Fleece, viz., first, the Accolade ; second, the Pro-
gress to the Church ; third, the Prayer of the
Postulants; fourth, the Investiture of the Insignia ;
fifth, the Thank-offering ; sixth, the Return Pro-
cession ; seventh, the Banquet.

On the paintings, medallions and sculptures, I
do not propose to dwell. The few pictures of
special artistic interest are in no way associated
with the history of the Fleece ; the rest are merely
portraits of personages connected with the Order
and of no interest except as a record of mem-
bers. Tilborch's Procession of the Golden FUece
shows us the habits combined with costumes of
about 1670, and the portraits of knights belonging
to the Croy family (twenty-five in all) illustrate
the important part played by this house in the
annals of Toison d'Or.

'■' Many of the knights wear the Jii.v.i or surco.il cut diagonally
so as to leave one shoulder uncovered, like the Creek Hutut.

"At Nivtiles our own Charles II, while on his wanderinsi
is reported to have carried off such a trophy.

» Unlabclled. ? Temp. Rudolf II.

THE EARLY WORKS OF VELAZQUEZ

^ BY SIR J. C. ROBINSON, C.B. cK>
III— THE ALTAR-PIECE OF LOECHES

► OKTY years ago there was
^remaining in its original place
fin a remote convent of nuns
in Spain a great altar-piece,
I substantially an early work of
\\'ela/quez, yet undescribcd .ind,
Jindecd, entirely unknown.
•ftf-^^^^^.,^',,^^ I he writer, by a fortunate
chance, discovered the picture at that time ; if he
had not done so, prol^ably all knowledge nf it
and its history would have been lost to the art
world. Whether or nut the picture is still in it-

pi. ice Is uncertain ; peril. tps this notice may bring
enlightenment. He is now, though late in the

318

day, taking steps to that end. It is noi, however,
for the first time th.it he has moved in the matter,
for, on February 15th, 1890, a letter from him
was published in the 'Times' respecting it, and he
thinks that the matter cannot be more fitly brought
In the notice of the rc.iders of Tllli Bi KLINGION
Magazink than by the reprinting of that 'Times'
letter in its columns.

'AN UNKNOWN WORK OF VELAZQUEZ
• To Ihc Editor of the " Times."

' Philip IV's .ill-powcrliil luiiusler, the
Conde IJuijue Ulivaie/, in Ihc time of his
greatness, founded a convent of nuns at

Loeches, a little out-of-the-way 'pueblo' on
his property some twenty miles from Madrid.
Here he erected a stately church and con-
ventual building^, and endowed the establish-
ment with a series of grand pictures by
Rubens, and with tapestry hangings and
other costly works of art.

' During' the French war the Rubens
pictures were sold by the nuns, and two of
them found their way to this country. They
are the well-known great pictures now at
Grosvenor House.

' Finally, Loeches was the burial place of
the great minister. The establishment is, or
was some twenty-five years ago when I visited
it, still kept up, but' the nuns, twenty-three
in number, were struggling for existence in
a chronic state of great poverty. It then
occurred to them, or, rather, to a noble lady
of Madrid, their patroness and protector, to
ascertain if the convent still contained any
works of art by the sale of which money
could be raised. Amongst other reputed
treasures a series of tapestries from Ratfaelle's
cartoons were known to be still there. Ap-
plication was thereupon made to the English
Government, through the Spanish ambassador
in London, to ascertain if these tapestries
could be purchased for the Kensington
Museum. As I, at the time, happened to be
in Spain in my capacity as superintendent
of the museum, in research of objects of art,
I was directed to proceed to Loeches and
report. I found that the convent was one
in which the rule of strict 'clausura' prevailed,
I'.f., in which the nuns never went outside the
convent walls, and into which no male person
was allowed to enter. By special dispensation,
however, from the principal of the Dominican
order, the Patriarch 'de las Indias' in Madrid,
an exception was made in my favour

'The place is situated in one of the most
barren and forbidding districts in the province
of Madrid, in a treeless, waterless tcrrciio
salitroso, and accessible only by rough and
intricate bridle-paths. Although not more
than five or six leagues from Madrid it took
me the best part of two days' riding to get
there. On my arrival at the village I was met
by the parish priest and the doctor, both of
whom were anxious that I should take them
with me into the nunnery, where they had
never been allowed to penetrate beyond the
precincts of the grated ' locutorio ' and the
church. The doctor informed me that he
was anxious to make a sanitary inspection, for
there were always three or four nuns ill with
low fever, entirely owing to the antique
insanitary status and depressing gloom of the
place. My representations, however, were

Early Works of Velazquez

quite in vain. Neither the priest nor the
doctor were allowed to accompany me.

' It was the afternoon of a cold, grey Xov-
ember day, and as I entered the convent the
darkness visible of the cheerless interior, and
a general impression of the leaden sameness
of cloister life, seemed almost to annihilate
times and seasons ; so powerful, indeed, was
the feeling that, for the moment, it would
scarcely have seemed wonderful if the Conde
Duque himself had appe;ired in his black
doublet and golilia. The first picture was,
indeed, a striking one. Two very old ladies
stood before me, both wearing long black
veils which covered them from head to foot,
entirely concealing both features and figure.
One of them addressed me in a low melan-
choly voice as if an echo from the tomb itself ;
this was the lady abbess. The nun behind
her carried a bell in her hand which, as I
accompanied the pair, she rang from time to
time.

' Orders had been given that I was to be
allowed to enter every nun's cell even, to
ascertain if anything of value might be hang-
ing on the walls, and the bell-ringing was
to warn the inmates to evacuate their rooms.
Slight flutterings and shufflings could, in
consequence, be heard as we advanced in
the almost complete darkness of the corridor
into which the cells opened. An inspection
of a few of the cells, however, revealed
nothing of any value, and I did not investi-
gate the rest. In the church I found the
great Rubens pictures had been replaced
by copies hastily made in Madrid at the
period when they were sent away. These,
of course, were of no value, nor were the
Raffaelle cartoon tapestries of any great
importance, for they were inferior Spanish
copies evidendy made in the time of Olivarez
from earlier examples, and so not suitable for
acquisition for South Kensington. What has
since become of them I know not.

' One important discovery alone rewarded
my visit, and it is this which I hope will be
thought to justify, so many years afterwards, the
infliction of this recital on the readers of the
" Times." In the stately chapter-house, which
had evidently not undergone the slightest
change since the time of its erection and
furnishing forth, I found an altar, over which
hung a large picture, some ten or twelve feet
high, representing the Crucifixion — a single
figure of our Saviour on the Cross, on a plain
dark background. Although there was but
little light to see it by, I thought at the first
glance that I recognized in it the work of
Alonso Cano, but a further inspection seemed
to tell of Velazquez. There seemed, in fact,

3^9

Early J^orks of P^elazquez

to be some analogy in style witli tlic famoii>
Chrislo dc Itti Hoiijiii in tlic Madrid Galiti y.

'When I said to the abbess: " It seems to
mcthatwc liavc here a work of AlonsoCano,"
slic promptly replied, " Si y non, Scfior. You
arc botli right and wrong. Our records tell
Us that this picture was given to us by our
founder, the Condc Duque, for wliom it was
painted by his master, King Fiiilip himself,
expressly for the place it now occupies ; but,"
she added, " wc further know that it was a
copy by the king from an original by Alonso
L'an'o, and that it was afterwards rc-touchcd
and hnished by Vela/que/."

• I think it extremely likely that the picture
is still in its place at Loechcs, though I know
not what may have happened to the lone
community in all these years. At the time
I refer to, lx.'nevolent Madrid ladies went there
occasionally, and a few young girls were taken
in for education, such ;is it was, but connois-
seurs and picture buyers can scarcely even
vet, I think, have got as far as I^jeches.

'If this picture is still iii silti, and any rich
and benevolent amateur were so inclined, it
would jirobably be a work of mercy, and
certainly a gain to the art world, to purchase
it from the nuns and present it to the Madrid
Gallery, where it ought to be.

' My visit, though to my great regret it was
infructuous, was an event in the lives of these
poor women, and on taking leave of the
l.idy abbess she said that she had ordered the
nuns to pray for my safe journey home, and
to sing a hymn in the coro alio of the church.
It was not with dry eyes that 1 sat in the
waning daylight, alone in the vast empty
church, listening to their voices, and 1 cannot
even now recall the occurrence unmoved.'

It will, I think, be considered that the account
given by the aged abbess of Loeches, who must
long ago have found her last resting-place in the
conventual cemetery, should be verilied. Her
positive statement, that the f.ict of the co-t)peration
of King Philip IV and the two painters in the
production of the w(jrk in question was on record
in the archives of the convent, was made to me .is
a matter of her personal knowledge. The docu-
ments in question, if they existed then, are
doubtless .-.till ext.uit. Need it be said that Spain
owes it to the art world to cause research tor tlicm
to l)e m.ide ?

In the meantime wc le.irn from sevcnlccnth and
eighteenth century Sjianish writers that the three
successive IMiilips, kings of Spain, were
' iificioiuuloi' — art connoisseurs and amateur
p.iinlerb actu.illy |iracti-.ing the art. Doubtless
the niDst was nude of the roy.il etlorts, but the
fact itself is sulliciently certified.

Next as to the possible co-operation of Alonso
Cano and Velazquez with the fourth Philip. The
answer is that it is not only possible but highly
probable.

Vela/.quez and Cano were almost of the same
age, both had been scholars together with Pacheco
in Seville, and furthermore, both of them had been
called up to M.idrid by the king at the same time

('623).«

Alonso Cano was both a painter and a sculptor.
His fame rests perhaps mainly on' his eminence in
the latter art, but his pictures, although few in
number and exclusively of religious subjects,
display him in that class of art, at the highest
level of his time and country. Cano's works in
sculpture are, however, those by which he is Iwst
known. These are carvings in wood painted m
liftlike colours, ' Esto/atlos '—a speciality of Spain,
inherited from mediaeval times, but which in the
beginning of the seventeenth century, at the hands
of Montancs, Juan de juni and Cano, was carried to
a point of supreme excellence. This art, however,
can be adequately seen only in the land of its
development.

It is more than likely that a painted wood figure
of the Cnicijicil Christ by Cano. rather than a
picture, was the model from which the king
made his greatly enlarged copy on the Loechcs
canvas. In that case a drawing from the airving
would be made on an enlarged scale from it and
put upon the canvas by one or other of his artist
assistants. The after painting from that model
would be a task doubtless within the competence
of the royal artist. Not so however the final com-
pletion of the work, in which the writer c;ui
certify that there was no appearance of amateur

' This iinport.mt f.ict, whicli seems to liave escaped the allen-
liiiii of recent writers, rests ncvertlicless on contemporary
evidence of iiidubitablc authority— that of juscppc Martinet,
who was intimate wilh both painters (■•ee Martinez ' Discur>os
I'racticos,' etc., pp. 116-7). That work, puhhslicd for the first
lime from the manuscript by Don Valentin Cardercra, contains
other vahiable information of which other writers on Vela/iiuci
seem liithcito to liavc taken htlle note. The writer had the
advantage of personal intercourse and friendship wilh Don
V.ilenlin Cardei era during more than one visit to Madrid, in the
years preceding the death of that eminent and most estimable
inan in the early sixties. Don Valentin told the present writer,
amongst other interesting information, that he did not think
that the picture of the expulsion of the Moriscoshad been burnt in
the Pal.ice lire in I7.;4. and thai it was a tr.idition in Madrid that it
was taken away by General Setwstiani during the French
occupation of Madiid ; if so, the gre.it canvas was doubtless cut
from the stretching frame and rolled up for exportation to
France, and it may well Ix that it came to an end in the rout at
Vittoria.

Is it, however, possible that the lost m.isterpiecc is still repos-
ing in some one of the M.idiid i'alacc store-rooms .unongst
the iiumlH-rlcss rolls of precious tapestry which seldom or
never sec the light ? To the wiitcr's own knowledge, and in
his own lime, stranger and more unlooked-for discoveries of
lost works of art have been made in royal palaces nearer home.

What agiin has liccomc ol ihe coni|Hling pictures of the
llircc Italian paiiileri ? Can llirv, too. have pen lied in the
holiicausl ol i;34' II seems at least rcinaikable llial not <ine
of those works should have ever been described ui indeed
heard ul in any way since the days ol Ihcir pruduitiun.

;2o

; a

THK MAKCHKSF. GIOVAXM I1ATTI>TA CATTAXKO, IIY NAN IJ^CK. Ill"

>,f MKSSK.S. P. >^l' " l"IS»'m AM) to, \MJ MKSSKS. M. KXl'K.IM.KK AM) Ul.

iiu.uArii m ii.iiMi->i"N

THK NKW VAN 1)Y

CK IN THK NATIONAL (JAI.I.KKY

weakness or uncertainty. In this will doubtless
be found revealed the iiand of tlie great master
Velazquez.

Although it is upwards of forty years since the
writer saw this picture, the impression it left on
his mind is still vivid. It is coupled with that of
another work by which he is reminded of it, the
Christ at the Coliiiiiii of the National Gallery. To
his mind that beautiful and much-discussed
picture has more in it of Cano than of Velazquez.

The art writers of Spain have as yet scarcely
gone beyond the well-known sources of informa-
tion about their great art hero, but Velazquez, the
important court official, must have been the
subject of endless official notices and documents.
The archives of Simancas, in all probability, still
include many unnoted records touching the
doings of the great painter. If so, even the most
seemingly trivial notice might afford a key to
much that we would fain know more about. The
archives of Loeches might, in like manner, prove
to be a mine of information concerning the
relations of the great painter to his patron Olivarez.
The illustrations of Alonso Cano's works now
given will be acceptable to art lovers who have

Early JVorks of Velazquez

nut yet seen his works in Spain. The great artist
is most imperfectly represented in the Prado
Gallery ; more adequate illustration is only to
be found in the churches and convents of Malaga
and Granada. His works in painted wood
sculpture are perhaps better known, liut here
again so little critical account has been taken of
this branch of Spanish art that literally almost
every painted wooden figure is set down as the
work of Alonso Cano. Needless to say it is the
more necessary to discriminate.

The magnificent altar-piece now illustrated is
one of the chief treasures of the Spanish section
of Sir Frederick Cook's collection at Richmond.
The bald-headed old man on the right is reputed
to be a portrait of the painter. If this composi-
tion be compared with that of Velazquez's
picture of the same subject, it will, the writer
thinks, be evident that it was the inspiring source
of the latter work. The fine pen and bistre draw-
ing by Cano of a similar composition will illustrate
the ready facility and hand power of the great
master. The drawing was formerly in the writer's
collection, then in the Malcolm collection, and is
now in the British Museum.

THE NEW VAN DYCK IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY
cA^ BY LIONEL CUST, M.V.O, F.S.A. c9^

IR CHARLES HOLROYD is
a lucky man, but no visitor to the
National Gallery during the last
few weeks will grudge him his

good fortune, for by rearrang-
ing the works of the Dutch
.and Flemish painters he has

' achieved a notable success. If

it was difficult to realize before that the nation had
in its possession paintings by Rubens of the
highest quality and interest, it has perhaps been a
revelation to many people that England of all
countries was most lamentably deficient in really
adequate paintings by Van Dyck, the painter
who has dominated, and to some extent does
still dominate, the English School of painting
from the date of his arrival here in 1632.
Jordaens, the third of the great Antwerp trio, is
hardly represented at all. The career of Van Dyck
may, as is well known, be divided into four
periods : the early youth and adolescence under
Rubens at Antwerp ; the glorious, almost
heroic, period at Genoa and elsewhere in Italy
under the inspiration of Titian ; the triumphant
rivalry with his master, Rubens, at Antwerp ; and
finally the shimmering glitter and elegance of the
courtier-painter to the king of England. No
one of these periods was satisfactorily represented
at the National Gallery. The splendid portrait of
Cornelis Van der Geest illustrates, but does not

comprehend, the early development of Van Dyck ;
the second period, the greatest perhaps of all, was
not represented by a single example ; the third only
by a portrait-group of but second-rate interest — as
compared with the portraits of this period to be seen
at Munich, Dresden or the Louvre ; while the
English period, in which the English nation may
be supposed to take some pride, is only represented
by the large and rather empty painting of Charles I
on horseback, which in reality cannot compare in
interest as a painting with the smaller and earlier
version of the same composition in the royal collec-
tion at Buckingham Palace. The religious side of
Van Dyck's art, one full of peculiar interest and
importance, has beeiy as it would seem,
deliberately neglected and set aside.

The trustees have now removed a reproach by
the fortunate acquisition of one of the portraits of
the Cattaneo family at Genoa, which have been
lately so much discussed in the press. The
history of these portraits, and their rape from
Genoa, will possibly become a landmark in
the history of art. A few years ago, hearing of the
existence of these portraits, I sought admission at
the old palace of the Cattaneo family by the church
of the Annunziata at Genoa. The Genoese nobles
are a proud race, and not easily accessible, but
admission was readily granted to me in my official
capacity. Ascending the lengthy flight of stairs,
which are so familiar an object in Italian palaces.

'The Ne"^ Van l^\ck 'ni the ^t ion a I Gallery

I was iisliered into a series of rooms, and for a
nioniciit ^tnf»d sprll-hoiind. From every wall, as
it seiiiicd, Van Dvck looked down, and on one
there stood and j^a/ed at inc a haiij^lity dame, over
whose head a negro-pa^eheld a scarlet parasol. Ail,
however, spoke of dust and iiejllect, and when 1
left the palace, it was with a feelinj^ of rej^ret that
snch treasures of paintinj^ should he left to moulder
on the walls, unseen, unknown except to very few,
a slur upon the surpassing j^enius of Van Dyck,
throuj^h whose brush the >^reat Genoese families
have become famous. The subsequent history of
the Cuttaneo Van Dycks is now well known. It is
possible to svmpa'thize most deeply with the
Italian Government in their wish to preserve and
retain in their own country the treasures of paint-
inj^ to which that country j^ave birth. It is im-
possible, however, to avoid feelinjj satisfaction
that some of these treasures have been saved from
the decay which was slowly threatening their
very existence.

One of these portraits of the Cattanco family
will now lind a perm.uKiit home in the National
Gallery, that of the M irchese Giovanni liattista
Cattaneo, a half-length. This is a superb piece
of painting, and if there still lingered any doubt
in some minds as to the claim of \'an Dyck to
rank among the great painters of the world, with
Velazquez, to whom this painting is much akin,
with Rembrandt, with Kubens or with Titian, tiiis
portrait will go far towards dispelling such a doubt.
It may be added that the price of the portrait was
in the circumstances very moderate. Should the
history of the Cattaneo Van Dycks ever be known
in its entirety, it will be seen that the well-
known firm of Paul and Dominic Colnaghi and
Co. have acted throughout as true lovers of art,
in addition to the generosity with which the
firm has come to the assistance of the trustees
of the National Gallery in order to enable this
important acquisition to be made for the national
collection.

SIXTEENTH CENTURY EMBROIDERY WITH EMBLEMS

^J^ BY M. JOURDAIN r*^

T has been supposed that during
the Klizabethan period English
secular embroidery branched off
into a peculiar style, exhibiting
fancies or conceits which stand
in some relationship to the con-
y^P^^ceilsof contemporary poetry. Of
jJi^Qthis embroidery so little actual
trace remains that, in confirmation of the theory,
we have to appeal to the evidence of portraits
like that of Queen Elizabeth (attributed to
Zucchero), in which the underskirt is embroidered
with a curious medley of conceits based on plant,
animal and bird forms, or to the portrait of the
same queen at Hatlield House, where the robe
is embroidered all over with human eyes and
ears, emblematical of the royal vigilance and
wisdom. Another tendency of the day was re-
produced in Elizabethan needlework — the interest
in emblem-books and emblematical devices.
No extant piece of embroidery except the black-
work jacket tieloTiging to Lord Falkland (which
1 will notice later) come^ quite under this descrip-
tion of embroidery, and it is interesting to find
in a work bv Henry Green (1870) called 'Shake-
speare and the Eniblem Writers : an exposition
of their similarities of thought and expression,'
an account of a piece of embroidery, in which the
motifs are taken from the emblem-writers of the
period, or invented in consonance with the prin-
ciples of emblem-making set forth in those works.
' An acquaintance with that literature,' writes
Mr. Green, 'may be regarded as more spread
abroad and increased when Emblem-hooks became

the sources of ornamentation for articles of house-
hold furniture, and for the embellishment of
country mansions. A remarkable instance is sup-
plied from "The History of Scotland," edition,
London, 1655, " Bv \Villiam Drummond of
Hathornden.'' It is in a letter " To his ivortliy friend
Master Benjamin Johnson," dated July i, 1619,
respecting some needle-work by Mary Queen of
Scots, and shows how intimately she was acquainted
with several of the Emblem-books of her day, or
had herself attained the art of making devices. . . .
Drummond thus writes —

'• 1 have been curious to find out for you, the
Impn-suus and Emblemes on a Bed of State
wrought and embroidered all with gold and silk
by the late Queen Miiiy, mother to our sacred
Soveraign, which will embbelish greatly some
pages of your Book, and is worthy your remem-
brance ; the lirst is the Loadstone turning towards
the pole, the word her Majesties name turned
on an Anagram, Maiiti Shunt, sa vcitii, m'attiie,
which is not much infcriour to I'eiilns armata.
This hath reference to a Crucilix, before which
with all her Royall Ornaments she is humbled
on her knees most lively, with the word uudiqiic ;
an hiipitisa of Mary of Lorniiit, her Mother,
a /VnY/ii.v in flames,' the word en vta I'm i<it uion
cowmcmemeiil. The Impressa of an Apple Tree
growing in a Thorn, the word Per '.iiuuUi creiitt.
The linf>re<:sa of Henry the second the l-'renili Kin^,
a Creisant, the word. Donee totiini tinpleal orheni.
The Inipressa of King Fnineis the first, a Sula-
mamler crowned in the midst of Flames, the word,
Siitrino et e.\tingi\ 'Ihe linpre<sti of Godfrey of

326

Bnllogne, an arrow passing throw three Birds, the
word, Dederit tie viain Casitsi'C Deitsve. That of
Mercuriiis charming Argos with his hundred eyes,
expressed by his Cadiicens, two Flutes, and a Pea-
cock, the word, Eloqttinm tot Iiiiuiiia clausit. Two
Women upon the Wheels of Fortune, the one
holding a Lance, the other a Cornucopia ; which
Itnpressa seemeth to glaunce at Queen Elizabeth
and her self, the word, Fortttnae Coinites. The
Impres^a of the Cardinal of Lonaiii, her Uncle, a
Pyramide overgrown with /j'v, the vulgar word,
Te stante virebo ; a Ship with her Mast broken and
fallen in the Sea, the word, Xiiiiqiiain nisi rectum.
This is for her self and her Son, a Big Lyon and a
young Whelp beside her, the word, tiiium qiiidem,
sed Leoneu. An embleme of a Lyon taken in a
Net, and Hares wantonly passing over him, the
word, Et Icpores devicto insultant Leone. Canunoincl
m a garden, the word, Fnictus calcata dat amplos.
A Palm Tree, the word, Ponderibiis virtus initata
resistit. A Bird in a Cage, and a Haivk flying
above, with the word, il mal nie premcet me spavenla
Peggio. A Triangle with a Sun in the middle of a
Circle, the word, Trino non convenit orbis. A
Porcupine amongst Sea Rocks, the word Ke
volutelur. The Imprcssa of King Henry the eight,
a Portculles, the word altera securitas. The
Imprcssa of the Duke of Savoy, the annunciation
of the Virgin Mary, the word Fortitudo ejus
Rhodum tenuii. He had kept the Isle of Rhodes.
Flourishes of Arms, as Helms, Launces, Corslets,
Pikes, Muskets, Canons . . . the word Dabit Deus
his qiioqne finem. A Tree planted in a Church-
yard environed with dead men's bones, the word,
Pietas revocabit ctb orco. Ecclipses of the Sun and
the Moon, the word, Ipsa sibi lumen quod invidet
nuferi ; glauncing, as may appear at Queen Eliza-
beth. Brennos Ballances a sword cast in to weigh
Gold, the word. Quid nisi Victis dolor f A Vine
tree watred with Wine, which instead to make
it spring and grow, maketh it fade, the word, Mea
sic utihi prosunt. A wheel rolled from a Mountain
in the Sea, Plena di dolor voda de Spereuza.
Which appeareth to be her own, and it should be
Precipitio senza speranza. A heap of Wings and
Feathers dispersed, the word, Magnatum Vicinitas.
A Trophie upon a Tree, with Mytres, Crowns,
Hats, Masks, Swords, Books, and a Woman with
a Vail about her eyes or muffled, pointing to some
about her, with this word Ut casus dederit. Three
Crowns, two opposite, and another above in the
Sea, the word, Alianique inoratur. The Sun in
an Ecclipse, the word, Medio occidet Die.

' " I omit the arms of Scotland, England, and
France severally by themselves, and all quartered
in many places of this Bed. The workmanship
is curiously done, and above ail value, and
truely it may be of this Piece said, Materiam
superabat opus." '

The bed Drummond describes is perhaps that

Sixteenth Qentury Embroidery

described as ' vncomplete, sewit be his Maiesties
mother, of gold, silver, and silk,' which in September,
1616, was ordered to be sent from Holyrood to
England' ' thair to be mendit and prouidit with
furnitour answerable ' ; and then sent back to
Holyrood. It is apparently the ' bedd wrought
with needleworke of silke, silver and golde, with
divers devices and armes, not throughlye finished,'
found in the queen's apartments after her death,
and bequeathed to her son. King James, by her.-

Several of these emblems are to be found in
Whitney, several in Paradin's ' Devises heroiques,"
and several in ' Dialogue des Devises d'armes et
d'amours,' de S. Paulo Jovio, etc., 4to, A Lyon,
1561. In the latter book are to be found the
Emblems of Francis I, the Salamander (to signify
that he was glowing with passions of love), and of
Henry II.

It may be noticed that Samuel Daniel's rule
that 'the mot or posie of an impresa may not
exceede three words ' (although a little license was
allowed in the case of Dum, Nee, Et, Non, In,
Per, etc.) was not kept by Queen Mary.

It may appear almost impossible, even on a
bed of state, to work twenty-nuie emblems and
the arms of Scotland, England and France,
' severally by themselves and all quartered in
many places of the bed ' — but a ' curious and
very antient oak' bed, much gilt and ornamented,
probably of equal antiquity, was, as late as 181 1,
existing at Hinckley in Leicestershire, ^ on which
the same number ' of emblematical devices, and
Latin mottoes in capital letters conspicuously
introduced ' had found space. Twenty-nine
emblems with their mottos are given, among
others Two dogs barking at the shadow from the
moon, the word, Rniiipentuiilia Codri ; A dis-
played hand with awls under the nails, the word,
Heu cadit in quenquam tantuin scelus ," An
ostrich with a horseshoe in the beak,* the word
spiritus durissima coquit ; A cross-bow at full
stretch, the word Ingenio superai Vires. A hand
playing with a serpent, the word, Ouis contra
nos"? The tree of Life springing from the cross
on an altar, the word, Sola vivit in illo; An inverted
tulip suspended, the word, spe illectat inani : A
tortoise walking in a bed of roses, the word, inter
spinas calceatus.

A piece of Spanish work illustrated in Lady
Marion Alford's history of embroidery as belong-
ing to Louisa, marchioness of Waterford, repre-
sents ostriches holding iron in their beaks, turkeys
and eagles.

I'Registrum Secret! Concilii Acta,' 1615-1617, fol. 63. MS.

- ' Lettres de Marie Stuart ' (ed. Prince Labanoff), t. vii.
^See 'Gentleman's Magazine,' vol Ixxxi, pt. 2, p. 416.

Nov. i8n. ... . J •

* An ostrich with an horseshoe in its beak is represented in

Giovio's ' Sent. Imprese,' ed. 1561, p. nS. and in Camerarius

' Emb ' ed. 1595, p. 19.

1^7

Sixteefith Qeutury Kwhroidery

Samuel Daniel, the poet wlio wrote in 1585 a
preface to a translation of P.iolo Giovio, note's
that black and white were quite suflicicnf for an
imprtsa, and even, it would appear from his rather
obscure statement, preferable. The impresas in
the emblem-books would be naturally copied in
black silk upon a ground of a white material —
in (he 'black work," or 'Spanish work' of Tudor
times.

The jacket or tunic of 'black work ' belonging
to Lord F'alkland has already been mentioned,
and is of interest as the only known surviving
specimen of this class of emblem-work. The
embroidery is in black silk on linen, and besides
the characteristic floral work of this pcriorl there
area lumiber of devices. Such is a rendering of
a plate in Whitney's ' Emblems '* which represents
a very small fish which has leaped out of the sea
in order to avoid a large dolphin-like fish, while
above hover two large crested birds representing
the cormorant and seamew. The title of the
plate is —

' Iniuriis, infirmitas subiecfa,'

and the verse below runs —

The mightie fishc, devoures the little frie.
If in the deepe, they venture for to staie.
If vp they swimme, newe foes with watchinge

flie,
The camoraunte, and Seamewe, for their

praie :
Betweene these two, the frie is still destroi'de,
Ah feeble state, on euerie side anoi'de.

• ' A choice of Emblems and olhcr Devises," by Geoffrey
Whitne>-, Leyden, 15S6.

Other devices are : — A man of Herculean type
astride a crocodile, holding a writhing serpent
in each hand; Actaeon * being devoured by his
hounds ; Bacchus beating a drum ;' a stag,"
pierced by an arrow, another pursued by a hound,
' a Pelican in her piety, prancing horses, a camel,
an elephant, a seahorse, monkeys, squirrels, birds
and fishes.' Three of these devices, it will be
noted, appear in Whitney's ' Emblems," though they
are somewhat simplified by the embroiderer.
The jacket, which is said to have belonged to
Queen Eliz.ibcth, was given by William IV to the
Viscountess Falkland, wife of the tenth viscount.
As the author of ' The History and Antiquities
of Hawstcd and Hardwick, in the County of
SufTolk,' remarks in a description of the employ-
ment of emblems in adorning a closet for the la^t
Lady Drury, ' They mark the taste of an age that
delighted in quaint wit, and laboured conceits of
a thousand kinds,' and since so many emblems
were gathered to adorn Queen Mary of Scots' bed,
a 'very ancient oak wooden bed in Leicestershire,'
and 'a lady's closet' in Suffolk, and also a linen
tunic belonging to Queen Elizabeth, the supposi-
tion is most reasonable that the knowledge of them
pervaded the cultivated society of England and
Scotland during the Elizabethan period.

'S.imhucus in his ' Emblems ' (cd. 1564, p. 1281 .ind Whitney
after him make use of this same wodcul, only with a different
border. Actacn is also illustrated in Aneau's ' Pitta Poesis,'
and in Alciatus, • Emb.'52, ed. 1551.

' A very ' plump Bacchus,' beating a dru'n is figured in
Alciitus, (cd. Antwerp, 1581, p. 11 j). This also appears in
Wliilncy's ' Enib. ,' cd. 1586, p. 187.

" The sta;^ pierced by an arrow appears in Giovio and
Symeoni's 'Sent. Impresc' ed. i.sfn. In Paradin's ' Dev. He.
ed. 1562, f. 168. In Camcrarius (cd. 1595) ' Emb.' 69, p. 71.

cA^ NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART rX,

A PICTURE OF THE TOURNAI SCHOOL
Among the many interesting, if often damaged,
pictures which decorate the libiary of Christ
Church, Oxford, the fragment which we reproduce
is not the least curious. The manuscript catalogue
states that it is a fragment of a large picture that
was almost destroyed by fire in a palace at Genoa,
and the picture is labelled ' By Bellmi or Mantegna."
The work is executed in tempera on linen, and
the heads are three-quarter life size. The original
painting must thus have been of considerable size.
The background is apparently gold, the face of
St. John is of a rather dark coppery led, the face
and hands of the Viigin paler and cookr in tone.
St. John is diessed in a robe of dull or.mge, varied
by what appears to be d.irk green, which has
turned .ilmost as black as the hood of the
Madonna. The painting has been so much
patched, e.g., on the hands, that the original forms
are not easy to trace, and the whole is covered
with a thick coat of varnish.

328

An examination of the picture indicates almost
conclusively that the work is not Italian but
Fleinish in character, and Mr. W. H. j.imesWealc,
to whom a photograph was submitted, has sug-
gested that it is a work of the school of Tournai.
The painters of that school were accustomed to
paint in tempera on linen on a considerable scale,
especially in connexion with the preparation of
designs for tapestry weaving, and it is therefore
possible that the work of which this Christ Church
fragment once formed a part was sent from
Tournai to Genoa for that purpose. The remark-
able delicacy of the workrtiatiship and the large-
ness of the design point to one of the greater
masters of that school ; and it is in the hope that
some of our readers m.iy be able to throw further
light upon this interesting work tli.it we are
permitted to rejiroduce it by the governing body
of Christ Church. It may at le.ist serve as an
additional document in the </i)S5/c/ of that shadowy
personage, Rogicr de la Pasture. C. j. H.

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THE VIK(.IX AXL) ST. luHS. FRAli.MF.NT OF A I'lCTLRE OF THE TOLRXAI SCHOuI.
BY PERMISSIO.S OF THE (iOVERN'IXG BODY OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD

SIXTEENTH CENTL-RY EMliROIDERY. liLACK-WORK JACKET HELOXGIXG TO LORD FALKI.AXU
IX THE VICTORIA AND ALISERT MLSEfM

THE PROPOSED TURNER GALLERY
At the moment of going to press, we have not
time to do more than refer briefly to the letter
from the Director of the National Portrait Gallery
which was publi^,hed in the 'Times' of Julv 19th,
but we feel bound to say that the case could not
have been stated more clearly and sensibly than
has been done by Mr. Lionel Cust. We quite
agree with him that the legal opinion quoted is
difficult to understand, and even if it should prove
to be the present law of the land, it should not be
a permanent hindrance to a much-needed re-
arrangement. We are strongly disposed to think
that the removal of Turner's pictures and drawings
from Trafalgar Square and their housing in an
appropriate gallery at Millbank under some such
comprehensive description as the Turner Gallery
not only best fulfils the responsibility which the
nation incurred when it accepted Turner's magni-
ficent bequest, but also relieves the National

!}(otcs on Various Jl^orks of Art

Gallery itself from the overcrowding whicH we all
deplore, and which cannot fail to become worse
as years go by, however much the existing accom-
modation may be increased. It would have to be
more than doubled for the proper display of its
present contents, let alone the acquisitions of the
future, and to make a temporary arrangement now
would be embarrassing that future at the cost of a
little present trouble. It is only natural that the
Trustees should wish to proceed cautiously in a
matter which raises so many difficult questions.
At the same time, Mr. Gust's arguments appear so
moderate and so logical that we have no doubt
that they will obtain the practical support which
they deserve.

We are informed by the Keeper of the Department
of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum that
the Print Room will be closed to students and
visitors for four weeks from August i8th.

cA^ LETTER TO

THE BROTHERS MARIS

To the Editor of The BuRLiNGTOX Magazine

Dear Sir, — At the desire of Mr. Matthijs

Maris, I venture to ask your permission to state

that he cannot accept responsibility for two of the

THE EDITOR cK>

pictures reproduced in the summer number of the
' Studio,' namely : No. 9 A Study, No. 30 The 'Sisters
— I am. Dear Sir, Yours faithfully,

E. J. VAN' Wisselixgh.

July 16, 1907.

^ ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH r*^

BOOKS ON PAINTING
Quelques points obscurs de la vie des

freres VAX Eyck. Joseph Coenen. 27 pp.

Lidge. 1907.
This is a reprint of three articles published in
Leoditnit, a local magazine often containing
interesting notices relating to the history of the
old episcopal principalit}'. The author's intention
to try and clear up obscure points in the history
of the van Eycks is praiseworthy, and had he not
reissued these articles as a pamphlet I should have
confined myself to a few reflections on some of
the points in a communication to the same
magazine. But now I feel bound to say that, far
from clearing up any point, he has put forth fresh
misstatements which 1 have little doubt will meet
with acceptance and find their way into bio-
graphies and dictionaries, just as the statement that
the fabric rolls of Cambray Cathedral contain
the proof that John van Eyck was working in that
city in 1422, published in 1878 by the late
M. Houdoy, has been accepted and is still be-
lieved by many. His book was reviewed by me in
the ' Academy ' (21 June 1879), and I there showed
that there was no excuse for this misstatement, for
the entry in the fabric roll is of a payment to
' loanni de Yeke, pictori.' This, in M. Houdoy's

opinion, was a lapsus adami of the careless cleric
who made the entry ; but the careless person was
M. Houdoy, who, had he troubled to look
through the accounts of the following years,
would have found payments to John de Yeke
for painting three red Calvary crosses on the out-
side of the cathedral walls propter iiiDiuindicias qtiae
ibi fiebant (a common practice in the ages of faith,
the modern French substitute for which is Defense
de . . .) while van Eyck was busily employed week
after week without intermission in decorating the
palace at the Hague. Now although I have
repeated my refutation in various reviews of books
in both English and foreign journals it still
reappears, and in the present pamphlet (p. 13) the
identity' of John de Yeke and John van Eyck is
said to have never been contested, at least not to
the writer's knowledge.

It is to another discovery of equal value, the
real name of John van Eyck (not Cone as imagined
by the late M. Bouchot), that I wish to draw
attention in the hope that I may stop its diffusion.
Many years ago the late M. Carton, who
pretended that the van Eycks were natives of
Bruges, asserted that van Eyck was in the
fifteenth century a family name of frequent
occurrence in the town. In my Notes on John
van Eyck published in 1861 I affirmed that he

'Books otj T^aifititJg

and Ills brother Lambert were the only persons
bearing that name that 1 had come across in the
archives of the town. 1 appended a hst of all the
persons bearing somewhat similar names who
had bought the freedom of the town between 1416
and 1450. Amongst these was one John Tegghe,
born at Maaseyck, in the land of Liege, who
on 9th September, 1433, became a free burgher
by purchase. He was charged 10 1. ; nineteen
of the other twenty paid much less. M. Coenen
from this entry drew the inference that Tegghe
must have been a rich man, and, as it was not
at all likely that two natives of such a small town
as Maaseyck bearing the same christian name
should have settled at Bruges at this time, he con-
cluded that Tegghe was the real family name of
van Eyck, who must in 1433 have become a rich
man. The premisses on which these conclusions
are based are imaginary. The sum charged for
the freedom of the town was not based on the
fortune but on the birthplace of the applicant.
Natives of Flanders had only to pay 3 1., all others
10 1. The reason why Hubert is mentioned as
'e Eyck' in the inscription on the frame of the
polyptych and not ' de Eyck ' is because if ' de ' had
been written the last syllable of Hubertus would
have been long, and the line would not scan : —
Pictor Hu|bertils 6| Eyck quo] nemo re|pertus.
May we hope that John Tegghe will not reappear
in any future work ?

\V. H. J.W.

SiK William Beechey, R.A. By W. Roberts.
London : Duckworth. 7s. 6d. net.

Therk was need for such a book as this. The
ever-increasing favour with which the great
British portrait painters are received by collectors
has reacted upon their less well-remembered col-
leagues, so that Beechey is once more a name
that picture buyers have to remember.

In his preface Mr. Roberts tells us that his work
was originally planned as a catalogue raiiontxe, and
that form in all essentials it still retains. In the
case of Beechey the form is appropriate. He was
not one of those great inventors whose progress
has to l>e traced by the internal evidence of their
pictures, and whose artistic development is a
fascinating and often baffling pursuit for the critic.
He is rather one of those who are clever enough
to assimilate much of the taste and talent which
are in the air around him, and to adapt them
to the needs of the day.

Any elaborate criticism of such men is impos-
sible as well as unnecessary, and in restricting
himself to a catalogue of Beechey's exhibits Mr.
Rolx;rts has taken the right course. He has also
done his work well. The book is a mass of com-
pressed and accurate information, and though the
existence of the Beechey account books, which
arc printed in the volume, may have lightened

Mr. Roberts's task, the amassing of facts about the
portraits Beechey painted in a busy and success-
ful career of more than sixty years must have
entailed a vast amount of labour. Certain points
he has failed to clear up — such as the mystery
surrounding Beechey's first wife, and here and
there the reader will notice small matters where
additional information might have been desirable ;
but the book as a whole is wonderfully thorough,
and, if compressed almost to dryness, and therefore
less attractive to the general reader than some
other volumes of the series, it is made all the more
useful as a work of reference to the serious
student. Beyond one or two minor slips such as
Martin /?. Shee (p. 69) we have noticed no
mistakes.

A glance at the illustrations indicates that
Beechey's work was more various in design than
we are sometimes apt to think. Reynolds, Law-
rence, Hoppner, Raeburn, all seem to have been
carefully studied, yet when we look at Beechey's
pictures they have for the most part a uniform
character in the painting which makes them easily
recognizable.

His pigment is thinner and less rich than that of
Reynolds, his touch has not the splendid glitter
of Lawrence, his aims are less forcible than those
of Hoppner and Raeburn. An urbane eclecticism,
coupled with a certain ruddiness and smoothness
in the flesh tones, distinguishes his portraits, which
are usually soundly coloured, if never the work of
a born colourist. It is impossible that Beechey
can ever be ranked by artists among the great
portrait painters, and improbable that he will
be so by collectors ; yet to this latter class at
least this careful and handy record will be indis-
pensable.

Gemalde alter Meister. Parts 20-24. Price
5 marks each. Richard Bong, Berlin.

With the issue of the last five instalments this
sumptuous publication is completed. In reviewing
the previous numbers we have drawn attention to
the exceptional value of the book, both on account
of the thoroughness and authority of the letter-
press and the scale and beauty of the illustrations.
It is, of course, to students of the French school
of the eighteenth century that the work makes the
most direct appeal. Although examples of the
school of the Netherlands and of Italy are not
wanting, the main strength of the Imperial
collection lies in its cx.imples of W.itteau, Lancref,
Pater and the brilliant painters around them.
Antoine Pcsne, for example, figures prominently
in the mstalment before us. Indeed, so complete
is the representation of these French masters, so
ample is the scale on which their works are
reproduced, that anyone wishing to study them
will find this publication, if not indispensable, at
least an invaluable work of reference. Even

however, where the French school is so splendidly
illustrated, it would be unfair not to give a few
words of nolice to the admirable examples of
Rubens and Cranach, and a certain number of
detached pictures of the Italian and other schools,
such as that tine portrait of Cardinal Antonio
Pallovicino illustrated on page 80, and attributed
to an unknown Venetian master of the latter half
of the sixteenth century. It is a portrait of
singular sensitiveness, dignity and beauty, and we
cannot help suggesting tentatively the name of
Lorenzo Lotto in connection with its authorship.
There is, at least, something of Lotto's manner ui
the level flakes of cloud and level expanse of
landscape seen through the open window before
which the Cardinal sits, as well as in the subdued
modelling of the cape and slightly timid, yet
sensitive, treatment of the face. The price of the
whole work contrasts very favourably indeed with
that of most large works published in England,
since the pubUshers give no less than seventy-two
magnificent photogravures and 128 illustrations
of the text in return for the £6 which is the cost
of the twent)'-four parts, while the letterpress has
the authority of such great names as those of Dr.
Paul Seidel, Dr. Friedlander, and Dr, Bode.

NoT.\BLE Pictures ix Rome. By Edith Har-
wood. London : J. M. Dent andCo. 4s. 6d. net.
Though well produced and well intentioned this
book cannot be unreser\'edly recommended. To
give any fair account of the paintings in Rome
demands extensive knowledge of all schools of
art, and (since repainting is so ubiquitous) some
technical experience, but most of all it demands
sympathy with the spirit of Rome during the
Renaissance. These qualifications Miss Harwood
cannot claim to possess, though she has evidently
worked at her subject, and done her best to supply
deficiencies by liberal citations from other authors.
A writer who ' has to confess unutterable boredom'
when studying the stanze of the Vatican, if not
actually unfit, is at least not properly equipped to
study Roman painting, and though she quotes
two or three pages from Pater about Raphael, her
account of his masterpieces is not thereby made
into a good one. Indeed there are many points
open to criticism apart from the constant misspell-
ing of proper names, and such evidence of care-
lessness as the Farnesina headline, which is con-
tinued from p. 247 to p. 253, though the account
of the frescoes there (which omits all mention of
Sodoma's masterpiece) occupies less than a page.
To make matters worse there is no index.

MISCELLANEOUS

MODERNE KuLTUR. By Dr. E. Heyck and others.

Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 15 marks.

This handsome work, the sub-title of which is

' A Manual of Culture and Good Taste,' is written

Booh on T^ainting

to meet the obvious need of the general public for
a comprehensive account of the past causes and
present effects of artistic culture in practical life,
and to recommend means whereby still more
satisfactory results may be obtained in the future.
Karl Scheffler discourses upon the aesthetic
endeavours of the present day, the connexion
between life and culture, artis'tic training, and
upon style and taste in living. Foreign influences,
French, English, American and Japanese, are
embraced by \V. Fred ; ' Music ' is entrusted to
Karl Storck '; the ' Collecting Hobby ' to Georg
Lehnert. This brief list of the contents of the
first volume alone indicates the varied scope of
the work, the modest object of which is to sum-
marize and e.xamine the processes and results of
the modern impulse towards artistic culture from
an historical, aesthetic and cosmopolitan point of
view. To show what that culture is, there are
nearly eighty eloquent reproductions of the most
modern German architecture, decoration and
handicraft. The second volume will appear in
the autumn, and will contain sections on ' Person-
ality and its Circle ' by Frau Marie Diers ; ' Society
and Sociability ' by \V. Fred ; ' The relation of the
Individual to the Community ' by E. Heyck ;
' Appearance ' by W. Fred ; ' Eating and Drinking '
by \V. Fred and E. Heyck (theaesthetic importance
of this subject is not commonly recognized outside
Germany) ; 'Travelling' by E. Heyck; ' Reading
and Books' by H. Hesse; The 'Theatre' by K.
Scheffler, and other articles. We shall look for-
ward to its appearance.

Tor6kors.\gi Levelei. Zagoni Mikes Kelemen.
Budapest. 1906.

The well-known Franklin Tarsulat, of Budapest,
has published this handsome edition of ' The
Turkish Letters ' of Clement Mikes, and some of
the most esteemed Hungarian authors have written
elucidatory introductions for it. The text of the
famous ' Letters ' is from the original manuscript,
and the drawings which illustrate it are the skilled
handiwork of Elias Edvi. Little as these ' Letters '
are known in Great Britain, Hungarians justly
regard them as their chief literary relic of the
eighteenth century. Their author, Clement Mikes,
was a Sekeley nobleman who accompanied his
unfortunate prince, Francis Rakoczy the Second,
through all his wanderings and, finally, settled
down with him at Rodosto, on the Sea of Marmora,
where the Ottoman government gave them shelter.
Francis, his son, and all his retainers died in exile
— Mikes, the last, surviving until 1761.

To occupy his mind during his many years of
exile, Mikes wrote the ' Letters ' which are the
raison d'etre of this volume. Presumedly, they
were sent to his elder sister, but the book in which
the so-called ' copies ' are preserved is deemed to
be the original work and to be really the writer's

c//r/ 'Book^s of the ^iotith

diary. These ' Letters ' contain most .inuisiiig
gossip about llie exiles' everyday life, as well as
interesting anecdotes and valuable liistorical matter.
The prose is fluent and idiomatic, but as it was
written wliilst the Magyar speech was still in a
transitorv state, there are gianiniatical variations
in it from the language as now spoken. It would
be foreign to our purpose to enlarge further upon
the te.xt of this work, but we desire to call atten-
tion to the merit of the water-colour drawings by
Mr. Edvi depicting the various scenes connected
with the c.ueer of .Mikes, as e.xpl.iintd in his
'Turkish Letters.' The facsimiles with which
the boi)k is illustrated deserve special praise, not
only for the exactness with which they reproduce
the" touch and texture of the originals, but for the
unusu.d taste with which they are printed and
mounted. J. H. 1.

New College, Oxford. Engraved by Emery
Walker from a pen-drawing by Edmund
Holt New. Ryman and Co., Oxford. One
guinea net.
This admirably produced plate seeks to revive
the method used in David Loggan's Oxoiila
llliistnila and many other old prints, by giving a
bird's eye view of the college and its grounds as
they would appear from an imaginary elevation
to the west. A comparison between Mr. New's
work and the engraving on which it is based, pub-
lished ill 1675, shows that the modern draughts-
man is fully the equal of his predecessor. The
general design very cleverly combines a pictorial
treatment with the sense of an architectural
pen-drawing, and though we miss something of
the severe academic spirit of the older work, there
can be nothing but praise lor the atmosphere and
grace which the artist has contrived to retain in
what might have been so easily a merely formal
record of facts.

Kecollections of a Himokist Crave and
Gay. By Arthur Willi.un a ikckett. Lon-
don : Pitman and Sons. 12s. Od. net.

At the climax of a long and varied journalistic
career .Mr. a Beckett did his best work as assistant
editor to Sir Francis Burnaiid on I'liiuli. In the
volume before us he once more plays second,
loiigo iiitin-allo, to his chief. His book is a humble
imitation of a more interesting work, the reminis-
cences of Sir Francis liim-.elf. Wiiatever Sir
Francis has done, Mr. a Beckett appears to have
done not so well ; and it is perhaps a necessary
disadvantage that he should have to insist as he
does on his claim to be considered a humorist.
A few good stories do little to lighten the tedium
of a dull book. And when Mr. a Beckett owned
so many ' dear and v.ilued ' friends, why
should du Maurier be fobbed off with ' ray poor
friend'?

Saint George : Champion of Christendom and
Patron Saint of England. By E. O. Gordon.
London : Swan Sonnenschein. 21s. net.

Every reader of Gibbon knows the passage on
Saint George — one of the most deadly in all the
work of that master of prose. And even while
enjoying its exquisite turn, it would be well to take
up Mr. Gordon's book, and study the real St.
George from a different point of view. For the life
of the S.iint Mr. Gordon's chief authorities are, of
course, the ' Encomia ' recorded in contemporary
Coptic Texts, which he has studied in Dr. Wallis
Budge's translations, and of which he makes good
use. Subsequent chapters concern the commemo-
ration of the Saint in liturgies and nation.-jl
institutions ; the celebrated knights of St. George
from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, and
St. George in art, customs and tniditions. It was
high time that the matter presented by Mr. Gordon
should be collected and rendered accessible. The
volume covers an immense amount of ground,
including, as it does, such dilferent subjects as the
formation of the Round Table by Arthur under
the patronage of St. George, and that of the Order
of the Garter, with a selection from the multifa-
rious lore attached to each, the Dragon of Wantley,
and the execution of Charles 1 ; but the nature of
his main object demanded this variety, and his book
loses none of its historical value by its pleasant
discursiveness. Mr. Gordon's bent of mind is all
towards belief in legend, but his judgment is
clear, and his sympathetic treatment of England's
patron Saint should serve to remove a large amount
of current ignorance and error. The book is full
of interesting illustrations, most of them reproduced
from rare sources, and the binding, in raised cloth,
is a transcript of a sixteenth century panel-stamped
binding, and an excellent example of the work of
Messrs. Leighton, Son and Hodge.

BOOKS RECEIVED

Dfk I'ksfruxc kks Udnal'stiles (Kunstficscliichllklie Mono-

Kr;i|iliien, VII). I H marks. Hicisemaiin, Lcip/ g.
Chahlks E. Uawsox : His Book of Book Pi.atfs. By

Charles E. Dawson. Olio SlIiuIzc & Co., Edinburgh.

"js. ncl.
GFMAi.Dg ALTKR Meutfr (J2, 23. ^4 Licfcrung). Richard

Bong, Berlin. 3 marks e.ich.
Old EsuLisii FeRNixeKE. By G. Owen Wheeler. L. UfcoU

Gill. 7s. 6cl. net.
IJIF Galeries EiKOPAS (14, 13, 16, 17. 18 Liclerung). Seemann,

I.eip/it;. .1 marks cacli.
BtKY ST. EiiMUNUS, By Rev. H. J. Dukinfield Astley. MA.,

Lilt.U. Elliot Slock, is. 6d. net.

MAGAZINES RECEIVED

OxIord and C.iinbridi'c Review. Expert. Collecting. Crafts-
m.in. Ninelcenlh Century and Alter. Art Journal. National
Review. Eortnintitly Review. Albany Review. Contem-
porary Review. Connoisicur. Fine Ait Trade Journal
Rapid. Review of Reviews. Conimonwealili. Studio.
Gazelle des Beaux-Arts. Chronique <les Arts et de la
Cuiiosite. Revue IllusU.e. Die Kiiii-.l (Munich). Augusli
I'erusia (PeruKia). La Rasscfina Na/ionalc (Florence).
Holleltino DArte (Rome). Museum ol Fine Arts Bullelio
(Boston). Kokka (Tokio). On/e Kunst (Amsterdam).

334

^ ART IN FRANCE r*^

MENTIONED last month that
the Louvre had purchased from
Madame Emile Trepard two
fine pictures by Chardin, Le
Jcune Hoiuine an Violon and
\L'ciif(iiit tilt Toion, which were
k^^2i^shown at the recent exhibition at

jii^^the Georges Petit Galleries. The

latter picture is a portrait of the son of a banker and
jeweller called Godefroy, who was a personal
friend of the painter, and it was exhibited under
the title of Portrait du fits dc M. Godefrov, joaiUicr,
in the Salon of 1738. Some of the Parisian papers
have been casting doubts on the authenticity of this
picture on the authority of a Dr. Liebreich, who
is said to be well known in Germany as an eye-
specialist, but has not been hitherto known as an
art critic. Dr. Liebreich declares that the other
version of L'eiifaut an Teton, which belongs to a
well-known Parisian collector and is No 70 in the
catalogue of the recent Exhibition, is the original
picture and that the picture bought by the Louvre
is a copy executed in the nineteenth century. If
this be true, the copyist was as great an artist as
Chardin, for there is no question that, as I said
last month, the Louvre picture is greatly superior
in quality to the other, although the latter is
apparently also the work of Chardin. But the
arguments by which Dr. Liebreich supports his
views are not worthy of serious attention, and it is
plain that he has not even accurately observed the
•Louvre picture, since he cites in support of his
contention certain marks which have no existence
save in his own imagination and which he alleges
to have been copied from the other.

On aesthetic grounds alone one can say
'without hesitation that the Louvre picture is
not only the original work of Chardin, but a
very fine one, and that the other version is

the replica. But, aesthetic considerations apart,
the external evidence is conclusive. The
original picture was, as I have already said,
exhibited in 1738 ; the picture alleged by Dr.
Liebreich to be the original is dated 1741. More-
over, the picture now in the Louvre, which is
signed but not dated, has come down to Mme.
Trepard by transmission from ^L Godefroy him-
self, whose portrait it is. He died at a very
advanced age in 181 3, and bequeathed the
picture, together with other property now in
Mme. Trt'pard's possession, to a cousin from
whom Mme. Trepard is directly descended. It
is hardly possible that the owner of the replica
painted in 1741 can share the opinion of Dr.
Liebreich, since I am told on the best possible
authority that he himself tried some years ago to
buy both the pictures which have recently been
added to the Louvre from the relative of
Mme. Trepard who then possessed them. It
would not, perhaps, be worth while to pay so
much attention to this matter, were it not for the
fact that a certain scandal-mongering section of
the Paris press has made use of the incident in
order to make a most unjustifiable attack on the
administration of the Louvre.

It will amuse the readers of The Bl'RLIXGTON'
Magazine to hear that Dr. Liebreich claims to
be quite infallible in regard to the technique of
pictures. He has, it would seem, arrived at his
infallible method by buying the works of Italian
masters (or what he believes to be such), dissect-
ing them to see ' how it is done,' and then re-
painting them 'equal to new.' It is certainly an
original training for an art critic, and one can
only hope that the corpora on which Dr. Liebreich
made his experiments were of the suitable quality.

R. E. D.

cA^ ART IN GERMANY cK^

CARCELY any picture has
j puzzled connoisseurs as much
[as the admirable full-length
portrait of the Florentine cap-
tain, Alessandro del Borro, in
the Kaiser-P'riedrich Museum
Va\. Berlin. It was bought 1873
las a Ribera, and was at once
re-named Velazquez, as one of whose mostexcellent
works it passed for years, until a somewhat closer
attention to the coloration disclosed that it could
never have been painted by the great Spaniard.
Luca Giordano was suggested, but only with half
a breath, because the portrait seems far superior to
anything else by this master with which we are
acquainted. The unusual dash and brilliancy of
the picture then allowed Tiepolo and Tiberio
Tinelli to be thought of. Now Mr. Tor Hedberg
has proposed in a Swedish magazine a new

candidate for the honour of having painted this
portrait, in the person of Pieter Francoys (Fran-
choys) of Malines (1606-1654), who in his best
works imitates and nearly approaches Van Djxk's
most passionate style. The ascription to a cis-Alpine
artist is, on the 'face of it, rather startling, but
Hedberg adduces specimens of Francoys' craft at
Brussels, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfort, etc., to
support his hypothesis, in which he discovers
various similarities of treatment. Among these
the little portrait sketch at Dresden must be the
weakest prop for his theory, for it, to be sure,
looks very unlike what we would expect of the
painter of del Borro.

The ' Schweizerische Kunstverein ' in its annual
meeting at Lucerne has decided to unite, if pos-
sible, the two important Swiss fine art events, the
' Salon,' which takes place every two years, and
the ' Turnus,' the annual circulating fine art

335

Art in Germany

exhibition. The Turniis this year shows the usual
preponderance of landscape work, and a slight
faiiing-ofT of snow scenes, which is to be lamented,
as, naturally, the peculiar problems of snow
scenery, yielding so readily to fine artistic present-
ment, arc a legitimate speciality of Swiss painters.
There is also a falhng-off of the strained, would-be
intellectual, style of work, and this is fortunate.
Among the younger generation in Switzerland, as
elsewhere in (>ernian-spcaking countries, the
tendency to produce confused allegories and deem
them deeply philosophic had gradually developed
into a disease. If the aims of the 'Scluvei/erische
Kunstvercin ' can be realized, much good may
come of it for Swiss art and artists. At present
there is too much energy lost in instituting local
exhibitions which cannot signify anything to
anybody outside of the town where they occur,
and do not offer a sufficient foil to the genuine
talent that may be struggling to rise to the surface
by means of them. A union of management at
least of all these small functions with the 'Turnus'
and the ' Salon ' must prove bcncticial.

The ' Schwei/.erische Vereinigung fiir Heimath-
schutz,' a society whose aim is to baulk the clever
speculators in their attempts at disfiguring the
natural beauties of Switzerland with mercenary
projects, has scored various successes. It is
owing to its intervention that no concession was
granted for the building of an inclined railway
up to the Tell Chapel on Lake Lucerne, and, at
present, an attempt is being made to put a spoke
in the wheel of the Matterhorn railway project.

The historical gallery at Budapest has been
reopened after having been closed to the public
for almost twelve years. It is now housed in the
former premises of the Hungarian National Gal-
lery in the Academy buildings. The director,
von Kammcrer, has rearranged the collections,
to which numerous additions have been made
during the space of time that they were not on
view.

An important museum building is to be erected
at Cassel, which is to be devoted to the history
and art of the province of Hessia.

Owing to dissatisfaction with the turn that
various art affairs have been taking of late,
the Bavarian (jovcriuncnt has instituted serious
changes in the management of all questions per-
taining to art. So far these alterations do not by
any means seem full of promise, for instead of
picking out experts and specialists, who are
responsible for what they do, and t<i whom in
consequence as much freedom as possible should
be accorded, no end of boards of trustees and
committees have been appointed, with power to
counteract the decisions which the several directors
and presidents of the museums, galleries, .ica-
dcmics, etc., may come to. I n fact such committees
arc hereafter to have a voice even in the appoint-

11^

ment of men to vacant places on the museum
staffs. It will not be long before such schemes
prove themselves unsatisfactory. The tendency
of modern museum practice is to pick your man
carefully, and let him work on unhindered, not to
hamper him at all with a supervisory committee,
which of course is composed of amateurs. What
harm committees can do has been sufficiently
proved by many museums during the middle of
the nineteenth century, and is proved to this day
at some minor institutions. For one thing, if the
single, individual director makes mistakes, they
will all be in one direction, and the next genera-
tion ran easily remedy them hs relegating his bad
acquisitions to the store-room. But the many-
minded committee makes mistakes in all directions,
and the traces of these errors of judgment are not
so easily eliminated.

New frescoes have been discovered in the
Maurice chapel of the St. Sebaldus church at
Nuremberg. Karl Gebhardt has pronounced
them to be by the same hand as the Holy Family
in possession of the Przibram family at Vienna
and claims to have discovered the name of the
painter, one Weinschroter, who flourished towards
the end of the fourteenth century at Nuremberg.
Heretofore the Przibram picture, an important
work in the history of early German painting, was
not definitely claimed for Nuremberg.

The museum at Heidelberg is to be enriched
by the gift of 141 old Netherlandish paintings,
belonging to the collection of the late Mr. Posselt.
A separate wing is to be annexed to the building
to receive them.

Among the recent acquisitions of the museum
at Magdeburg figures one of Menzcl's most inter-
esting works, his so-called Caisel Carlooit. This
large drawing representing the Entry of Duchess
Marie u-ith her three-year-old son in Sfarbiirg, was
executed at Cassel during the winter of 1847 and
spring of 1848 for the Kunstverein there, by which
it was bespoken. Menzel bought it back in 1866,
thereby giving rise to the report that he himself
did not think much of it and wished to hide it
from the public. In a letter of the 17th November,
1882, Menzel rather indignantly denies the truth
of this report. He says that, rctinning to Cassel
eighteen years later, he found the huge cartoon,
for want of better accommodation, skied in a dark
hall of the library at Cassel, begrimed and dirtv,
and so he bought it back in order to give it another
chance to become publicly known, not in order to
withdraw it from the public notice. It figured at
the big Menzel exhibition in IQ05, and now has
found a resting place in one of our most enter-
prising civic museums.

A charming and refined portrait of a Countess
Bose, paintecl in 1780 In' Joh. V. A. Tischbein,
has just been bequeatiied to the Dresden Gallery,
which already possesses an excellent but smaller

a.
y.

portrait by his hand. Works of this class prove
that German art at the close of the eighteenth
centur>', if not quite on an equal standing with
French and English, was not at all contemptible
by the side of them.

There is a German adage, ' It's water that they
cook with everywhere,' which comes to mind,
a propos of a recent legal verdict. Generally
speaking, our views on the subject of the nude,
etc., in art are quite sane and apt to be looked
upon with en\7 by the cultured of countries where
prudishness is more likely to pass for virtue than
here. Recently, however, the prosecuting attorney-
general at Breslau had a dealer up for exhibiting
and selling picture postcards, printed in colours,
and reproducing the two Judgments of Paris, by
Rubens and Van dcr Werff, in the Dresden
Gallery. The man was fined, too ! and sentence
was passed that the cards, the plates to produce
them with, etc., should be confiscated. It is a
wonder that the Breslau police staff did not sen-
tence the original paintings to destruction also.

That important creation of Dr. Carl Jacobsen,
the \y Carlsberg Glyptothek at Copenhagen, has
just bought Max Klinger's latest work of sculpture,
the Diana. The Ny Carlsberg Museum, famous
for having brought together a surprising number
of excellent genuine antiques, when one considers
how young the institution is, has hitherto lold
French and Danish productions among its modern
acquisitions, but this is the first work by a living
German sculptor it has bought. Klinger may well
feel pleasure at the distinction thus conferred
upon his work, in view of the reputation for dis-
cernment and taste which Dr. Jacobsen has so well
earned for himself in matters of sculpture.

The well-known author of the New York
Harbour Pharos (the goddess of Liberty), the
late sculptor, Frederick August Bartholdi, was an
Alsatian by birth. In spite of his Teutonic
ancestry, as betrayed by his Christian names, he
sided with the French and became after 1871 a
rabid anti-German Chauvinist. Fortunately this
hatred is not to extend beyond the grave,
Bartholdi's widow has just presented Kolmar,

Art in Qermany

the sculptor's birthplace, with the works found in
his studio at his death, with a house to be
converted into a museum, and with a capital
of _£"io,ooo.

One of the most interesting acquisitions that
any of our museums can boast of has lately fallen
as a gift to the lot of the Goethe Museum at
Frankfort-on-the-Main. Goethe gives a most
lively description in the third volume of his
'Wahrheit und Dichtung ' of the French occupa-
tion of I-'rankfort in 1759, and of the Lieutenant
Comte Thoranc, who was at the head of the
PVench, and was quartered in Goethe's house.
Thoranc was a great lover of paintings. Scarcely
arrived at Frankfort, Goethe says he ordered all
the local painters of repute to come and show him
their work. He bought many pictures, and
bespoke many more for his house at Grasse. The
room where these works were hung has now been
hunted up, and the contents are the subject of my
notice. The lad Goethe had a hand in the com-
position of many of these works; for instance, he
mapped out a series of allegories for the painter
Seekatz. In return the painter flattered him by
introducing his portrait in an April which he
painted for Thoranc. This picture, now returned
to Frankfort, offers us a hitherto unknown and
one of the earliest portraits of Goethe. If feasible
a room is to be added to the Goethe Museum,
which will be equipped in all detail like the
original room at Grasse.

The new Palma Vecchio, just acquired by the
museum at Frankfort-on-the-Main, came from
England, and is a very important picture (See The
BCRLIXGTON Magazine, Nos. 47and 51, February
and June, 1907). It is Giorgionesque in character,
and a kind of counterpiece to Titian's famous Tcr-
rcsirial and Celestial Love, the painter having made
use of the same models. Probably Jupiter, in
Diana's shape, wooing Calisto is the subject of the
picture. The figures are relieved by a distinctly
Venetian landscape, with water in the foreground
and distant mountains to the right. A church with a
cupola to the left is reminiscent of St. Anthony's
Cathedral at Padua. H. W. S.

^ ART IN AMERICA ^^

CASSOME FRONTS IN AMERICAN
COLLECTIONS— V, Part I

The ' TouRXAMEXT ix THE Piazza S. Crock '
AXD 'The Garden of Love': Jarves
Collection.

An extensive knowledge rather than any great
insight is necessary for the classification and
elucidation of the industrial paintings of Florence
in the early and middle quattrocento. A decora-
tive and therefore inferior art, in spite of its great
beauty, will often have its stylistic origin in some

concrete and descriptive visualization rather than
in the charisma of the sheer masters of form ; and
the more complicated the problem the easier will
be its final resolution. Where Greek meets Greek
comes the tug of connoisseurship — Giotto and
'Master Oblong' or 'Master Stefano,' Masolino
and Masaccio, Lippi and Pesellino, V'errocchio
and Leonardo, Giorgione and Titian, give the
expert pause.

Our industrial painters are labyrinthine, but
there are so many clues in the internal evidence
alone that we have little excuse for going far wrong

A A

339

Art in America

in our criticism in this field. I, however, am
especially intrigued by a group of decorative
pictures which offer by virtue of their complexity
of motives a sure criteri<in of their stylistic origin
and relationships, but which I cannot luiderstand
for want of the master-keys. I refer to the very
beautiful type of work which we have already
considered in the two panels at New Haven with
scenes from X'irgil's ' Aeneid.' There is one iinjiDr-
fant if^iiolo in this region — the painter of the Diilo
iitttl .Uiicijs pictures in the Kestner Museum at
Hanover. His art 1 cannot analyse, not having
seen the originals ; but as every example helps to
make the general triangulation more accurate, I
shall not del.iy the publication of the Toiiiiuiiiu-iil
of the Jarves collection, which seems to be a
derivative of this group and is an important and
beautiful work.

Whether any of the earlier Tournaments have
been identified I do not know — I am far from
libraries. I assume that we have in the technique
of the New Haven panel a tradition which is
earlier than that of Domenico Veneziaiio's atelier
(as illustrated in a picture to be mentioned here-
after), owing to its rich palette (in tempera), its
preference for colour over tone, its discursive and
repetitory colour style, its exuberant inventiveness
of composition, in which an exotic or at least a
romantic spirit seems to be substituted for the
reticence of Masaccio's following.

Uccello's influence is obvious here, but it is not
fundamental, and the piece is surely not of
Uccello's atelier. A relationship in technique with
the V'irgilian episodes in the same gallery is
certain, and I should say that the same painter
may be involved. In actual date we may be near
the middle of the century, but the style is then a
survival. On the other hand, we have no relation-
ship here to the decoratively important type of art
of which the Adimari Kicasoli Xo:~c at Florence
is a central example. The latter type is unques-
tionably a Masaccio derivative.'

I can furnish no accurate description of the
Tournainenl. There is so much art to study at
New Haven, and I can visit it so seldom, that I
cannot take iconographical or archaeological
notes. The historical student should apply to the
authorities of Yale University. The armorial
bearings and standards should be properly inter-
preted, and it is possible that some of the portraits,
which are in some c;ises fairly individualized,
might be known. My purpose is to indicate the
tiiilieit in which an expl.uiation of these industrial
pieces m:iy l>c found. It adds much to the enjoy-
ment of these works, in which the colour is a chief
attraction, that they do not belong to a cl.issic

'The p.iintcr ol the S'or:e tr.insl.itcs M.is.iccio into the
vcriiAi.ul.ir. The |">rlr.iit •>( .1 Mv.iitliy yipiilli .il l-ciiw.iy Court,
attributed to ^f.l^accio l>y Mr. Kercnsoii, seems to mc pcrli.ip(
by Ihia hue artist, and to make hii relationship to Masaccio
clear.

tradition, and that their authors are obscure.
They are the wild flowers of an artistic spring.
This particular type of cassone piece is, as decora-
tion, all the more perfect for its spontaneous and
unstudied character. No better illustration for
the undergraduate of his studies in early Renais-
sance life could be devised, but my experience of
the American undergraduate is that his eye is not
yet attuned eveii to the most obviously descriptive
and illustrative features of early art.

We now come to a small group of cassone pieces,
in which I see Masaccio's direct influence. They
are, in fact, almost too derivative to be of indepen-
dent artistic value.

I take it that some recent criticism, as ^tr.
IJcrenson's, has given to Masolino, on reasonable
morphological grounds indeed, but without quite
weighing essential differences, a few works that
belong more properly to his great reputed pupil.
There is in Masolino's authenticated art at Castig-
lione d'Olona a certain penchant for a descriptive
and romantic visualization of the external world
which is not only foreign to Masaccio's inevitable
idealization of the concrete but which actually
seems to import an exotic character into the P'lor-
entine tradition — just as, in a previous generation,
Giovanni da Milano breaks with Giottesque or
Gaddesque formulas to exploit a realistic f^cnre.
While Masaccio (like Giotto) is intrinsically and
instinctively classic and uses his nature-stuff (as
did Giotto) always with a sense of its organic life
and truth rather than for externally picturesque
motives, Masolino in his architecture, in his
antique ornament, in his accessories generally, and
in his l.mdscape — to judge espcci.iUy by the am.az-
ing but still 'decorative ' and partly romanticized
landscape composition in the Palazzo Castigliono
at Castiglione d'Olona — manifests a less epic
imagination. In S. Clemcnte at Kotne the con-
structive sense of the foreground in the scene of
St. Catherine's martyrdom, not to speak of the
background to the Crnd/ixion, will illustrate a
difference which is, on other terms, something like
that which confronts the student of the young
Leonardo as compared to his immediate pre-
decessors. I must assume that some of the best
things in S. Clemeiite at Rome are by M.is.iccio.

Now it is clear th.it while Masaccio's style is too
sheer and nobly simple to suggest much to a pro-
fessionally decorative ait — and in the case of a
painter like the master of the Adim.ari-Ricasoli
Nozze we may observe Masaccio's influence to
consist in a justness and sobriety of the presen-
tation of figure and l.mdsc.ipe relations rather than
in any specifically derivative motivc-s — I think
that M.isolino's looser art may well have inspired
some of our descriptive industrial painters of the
early and midille qiiattiocento. I cannot, how-
ever, be sure of this, f(ir want of adequate
knowledge of the period ; but m the Garden of

Love, at New Haven, \vc may sec — dimly reflected
—the essential difference between Masolino and
his mighty contemporary — between an ordered
limning of nature and an achieved compositional
synthesis.

We reproduce this picture for its rarity rather
than its quality, and to illustrate especiallyits con-
tents. But the very beautiful portrait idealizations
seem certainly to be inspired by IMasaccio. No
other artist comes to mind except Pesellino ; and
our panel cannot be by Pesellino, and is earlier in
style than any of that master's decorative work.
The description of the picture must depend
upon the iconographical interpretation, which I
am not prepared to give. My interest in the
work is, indeed, small ; for I take my stand in
the criticism of these industrial pictures upon
the adaptation of means to end, and the end is
here less a pictorial than an illustrative one. The
execution of our panel is not unpleasing, but it
is distinctly feeble. It is a timid artisan's work,
and not a self-sufficient artist's. The forms are
laboured, the colour is without nuance, the hand-
ling is nerveless. The dark blue sky recalls
Uccello ; but the picture is, to me, an atelier
work of Masaccio's school, of great rarity indeed,
but of little artistic significance, except as it
copies something else to me unknown. Dr.
Mather's suggestion of the subject as being from
Boccaccio's ' Visione Amorosa ' may be referred
to students on the spot.

But this picture is, at least, like Pesellino's
Triumphs, a type of the idealistic rather than the
descriptive style. A salver in the Martin Le Roy
collection ' may be compared. The execution in
this latter piece also is seemingly inferior to the
design, which is very classic and recalls Pesellino,
although the salver is not of his atelier.

I would like to add a word to my remarks on
the two pictures by Piero de Cosimo in New
York. They now hang on the line in a proper
light. I feel that the importance of the setting of
works of art in a museum is exhibited by the fact
that the most intimate message of these scenes
was lost, did not carry at least to me, until after I
had twice written about them — without seeing
them. Call my eye exponential of the public eye
(as I try to make it), and I ask if the matter of
aesthetically effective installation be not one of
the most pressing as it must be one of the most
exacting duties of museum management.

W. Rankin.

A LIBERALIZED ACADEMY
The union of the National Academy of Design
and the Society of American Artists, long the two
leading artistic bodies of America, has been
formally accomplished, and the last Winter

' The Tn»m/'/! 0/ Loi^e mentioned by W. Weisbach ('Fran-
cesco Pesellino,' p. 17), who gives a reference to a reproduction.

Art in America

Exhibition of the Academy— the first to be held
under the new organization— went far to justify
the hopes of those who brought about the union,
and augured well for the future. This exhibition
of high average quality, and containing a number
of works of importance, could hardly fail to impress
the discerning with the gradual affirmation of a
distinctive American school of painting. Such
personal works as Winslow Homer's vigorously
original and dramatic Gulf Stream, or George de
Forest Brush's grave and dignified Mother and
Child; such adaptation to individual expression
of acquired methods as is shown in Childe
Hassam's Litllc June Idylle, or Robert Henri's
Girl K'ith the Fur Cape ; above all, such serious
research of the higher qualities of art as is shown
by some of the younger men, as in Hugo Ballin's
Sybilla Europa, or in Paul Dougherty's La/iJ and
Sea — these things are full of promise, even of
achievement.

Though the Academy was founded in 1825 in
a spirit of revolt against the older American
Academy of Arts, it was essentially conservative
in its constitution, and was modelled on the
general lines of the British Royal Academy. Its
foundation stones were limitation of membership
and privilege of members. When the new move-
ment in American art began, about 1876, it was
inevitable that a clash should occur between the
old organization and the new ideals, and the
Society of American Artists was founded in 1877
on the diametrically opposite principle of unlimited
membership and equality of members and non-
members before the committee of selection. The
new society had at first a difficult and chequered
career, but it showed in the exhibitions, which
were supported by the personal exertions and
sacrifices of its members, many works of the
greatest interest which could hardly have been
seen elsewhere. It first introduced such artists as
Whistler and Sargent to the American public ; such
men as La Farge and Inness, Chase and Shirlaw,
Weir and Brush, Thayer, Dewing, Tryon, Theo-
dore Robinson, were among its founders and early
members ; and although Winslow Homer refused
to become a member his best works were placed
in its exhibitions. By 1892 it was firmly estab-
lished, and by combining with the Art Students'
League and the Architectural League, and forming
the American Fine Arts Society, it had come into
possession of a permanent home and the best
galleries in New York.

For a time there had been a real antagonism
between the Academy and the Society — more
perhaps on the part of the elder than of the
younger body — and the fact that an artist was a
member of the Society was often a sufficient
reason for refusing him election to the Academy.
As the Society membership included most of the
strongest artists in the country, this policy inevit-

Art in America

ably vvciikcncd tlie Academy and h.id gr.idu.illy to
be abandoned. By 1906 the two bodies had so
far overlapped that a majority of both Academi-
cians and Associates of the Academy were also
members of the Society of American Artists, while
only one-third of the members of the Society
were entirely outside the Academy. The Academy
had thus become less conservative, while the
Society had become more so as its members f^rcw
older. It was no lonj^cr an opposition ; it was,
like the Ac.idemy itself, thoufjh on other lines, an
institution. The Academy had an excellent n.uiie,
an honour.ible history (as America counts lenj^'lh,
a ionfj one), some considerable funds, but no
Rallerics of its own. The Society had n shorter
but perhaps more brilli.mt history of which
it w.is proud, a jjallery in which to exhibit,
but scarcely any funds. Neither body could
claim to be entirely representative of American
art or to have the unqualihed support and
confidence of the public. The semblance of
an antagonism that no longer really existed still
prevented either from making a confident appeal,
in the name of the whole body of American
artists, for such enlarged facilities for carrying on
its proper work as were imperatively needed.
Could not the two societies combine their assets
and their membership and form a united body
which should retain the name and prestige of the
Academy with an organization sufficiently modern-
ized to meet the needs of the future as well as the
present, leaving to younger hands the work of
creating and maintaining any opposition that might
again Ix'come necessary ? The task seemed
worth attemping. The work was entered upon
and prosecuted with diligence, and has now been
completed by the adoption, on January 15th, of
the revised constitution of the Academy.

The National Academy, as now constituted, is
ppfjbably unlike, in some particulars, any other
Academy in existence. The principle of a limited
membership is maintained, as far as the number
of full Academicians is concerned, though this
number has Ix-en increased ; but the Academicians
are little more than a body of financial managers.
In the right to elect and to serve on juries or
committees of selection, in the right to nominate
new Academicians and to nominate and elect new
Associates, in ail that concerns the artistic work of
the Academy, the Associates arc as fully members
as the Academicians themselves ; and as there is
no limit to their numlu-r, it may be expected to
increase as rapidly as new talent aflirms itself.
The privilege of exhibition exempt from examina-
tion by the jury has been cut down to one work
by each member, and is equal for Academicians
and Ass<jciates. The system of selecting works for
the exhibition has been taken bodily from that of
the Society of American Artists. The constitution

342

of the Academy has always provided for the
eligibility to membership of architects and
engravers, but none had been elected in many
yc.irs. A special cUlss of architects and engravers,
apart from the number of painters and sculptors
who may be elected Academicians, has now been
provided for. 'J'hc Academy is thus on the way
to become in fact as well as in name a national
body and one truly representing the arts of design
as they exist in America.

Its present need is a proper building with
greatly increased gallery accommodation. The
galleries now at its disposal are so inadequate
tliat it is obliged to hold two exhibitions annually
for oil paintings alone. It has no facilities for the
exhibition of works of sculpture except in the
form of an occasional bust or statuette, and the
work of our architects and mural painters must
be seen at the exhibitions of the Architectural
League, while that of our water colour painters,
our miniaturists, illustrators, etchers and engravers
must be shown at still other exhibitions or not
at ail. The small exhibitions are incre;ising and
will increase. It is for the Academy to provide,
if possible, for that larger exhibition which shall
show at one time and in one place something
like the total annual output of acceptal^le works of
art in its various branches.

It is not the Salon, made huge by promiscuous
admissions, that is desired, but the fixing of a time
and place where work m.iy be seen together that
must now be seen separately, so that not only
New Yorkers, but citizens of other common-
wealths in our vast country and visitors from
other lands, knowing where and when to find it,
may arrange to come once a year to survey the
whole field of American art. Kor such an exhi-
bition commodious galleries are necessary and a
monumental building is desirable, and if the
galleries were in existence they would be avail-
able for such retrospective or loan exhibitions as
the Academy would be glad to organize from time
to time between the annual shows. As a liberal
and representative body of artists, the Academy
could enlarge its sphere of usefulness and perform
a great work if it were provided with an adequate
ci|uipment.

In any other country than this that equipment
would be provided by the nation, the state or the
city. In this country we must look for it to that
private muniticencc which has already done so
much for art, for science and for education. The
erection of a proper building for the National
Academy of Design and the endowment of that
institution for its work of carrying on its exhibi-
tions and schools are the most pressing need of
American art. It is impossible to believe that our
wealthy collectors and lovers of art will leave it
long unsupplicd. Ke.nyon Cox.

THE CASE FOR MODERN PAINTING

cA. BY A MODERN PAINTER d^

V— THE IDEALS OF MODERN GERMANY

ROFESSOR JOSEPH
STRZYGOWSKI'S' little

01 >V1V n\ book for every man ' ('Die
r^KJiHJBildende Kunst der Geg-
|^^^(\ V ^"^^'^''t : ein Buchlein
^ ' fiir jedermann.' Leipzig:

Quelle and Mener, 4 marks) is yet large
enough to range through all the branches of
artistic activity: monumental architecture,
monumental sculpture, private architecture,
ornament, sculpture, drawing and painting.
A short article cannot be expected to do
justice to the work, which in many respects
is a sane, clear-sighted review of modern
art. But all such reviews must be in-
efficient which do not, asRuskin did, insist
on the intimate relation between society and
art. The restriction of criticism and
analysis to the actual performance is no
doubt more modest than Raskin's out-
rageous excursions into the universe, but
its shortcomings are obvious. What is
the use of inveighing against the New
York sky-scraper, which performs its func-
tion without affisctation, when the only
criticism possible is that the function itself
is devilish, and should appear so ? To
mark for approbation the 'Fernheizwerk '
in Dresden, a structure for uses so modern
that we can only parody it as a ' calorific
power-house,' on the score that at enormous
cost the chimney has been made to appear
like the tower of a church in the Middle
Ages, seems to me a topsy-turvy view of
things. The author claims that the
architects have made a virtue of a necessity.
Surely it would be more true and more
philosophical to say that they have added
a vice, that of lying, to a necessity which
was no necessity in those times, when the
two characteristics, virtue and necessity,
were one and indissoluble. A Dutch wind-
mill of the eighteenth century is both

virtuous {i.e., beautiful) and necessary,
inevitably and spontaneously, as a flower
grows. The drollest result of such ambi-
tions is to be seen in our own Tower Bridge,
which, after many years of trial, we have
found to be neither virtuous nor necessary.
The iron structure of the towers has been
masked with imitations of the adjoining
Tower, a vicious procedure involving great
expenditure ; and the towers themselves,
with the upper bridge which necessitated
their erection, arc not found necessary by
beery foot-passengers, who prefer to wait a
few minutes ; although there are benighted
idlers — few in number, I am thankful to
say — who enjoy walking up five hundred
steps and down again, because they can
do so gratis.

However, in architecture I am in the
position of the plain man who 'knows
what he likes,' a confession of little interest
to other plain men. Of any other
knowledge I am innocent. I can only say
that these modern German buildings, with
their whorls and contortions, are most for-
bidding and inhospitable in aspect. The
Early Victorian houses, with their Kidder-
minster carpets, mirrors, coal-scuttles,
ormolu clocks, antimacassars and all, were
homely, cosy dwellings. The famous
' Gemiitlichkeit ' of the German seems to
have disappeared for a strenuous self-
conscious ' Gedankenkunst.' However,
Professor Strzygowski has some views on
the aberrations and abortions of L'Art
Nouveau. The chapter on sculpture, with
the contrast between Pheidias, Michel-
angelo, Rodin, Meunier, and Klinger is
extremely interesting as analysis; but I
pass from this to the second part, the
chapters on painting, which take up
almost one-half of the work.

Here analysis, the attempt to lay down

The Burukgtox Magazine, Xe. 54, Vol. XI— September, 1907.

B B

345

The £ase for Modern Pairitifiji

any general principles, is a work of
immense difficulty, and, I must say, of
threat tediousncss ; vet it still seems to mc
that Ruskin, with all his cantankerous ab-
surdities, his longueurs and impertinent
passages, hints at eternal truths that other
writers miss. The main theme of Professor
Strzvgowski seems to he the contrast be-
tween Gegenstand (subject) and Inhalt (pur-
port, meaning). 'To the artist the subject
is merely the occasion to express himself.'
Yet he inveighs against the modern schools
for their contempt of subject. ' The
difference between then and now is that
Carstens, Cornelius, Schwind and Richter
were poor painters but thorough artists,
whilst Manet, Monet, Degas, Liebermann,
and whatever stars of the first magnitude
of yesterday and to-day may be called are
thorough painters, but fundamentally no
artists.' Like most German critics he
lays too much stress on what is grossartig
(noble or sublime), and appears to rule
that purport or idea is something extra-
neous to painting, something containing
literary, historical, mythological, senti-
mental, religious, pantheistic associations.
The painter, as of old, has to excuse
himself by an appeal to sentiments which
are assumed to be universal. Thus, whilst
Impressionism and Realism are to be
deprecated, they are excused in Uhde's
Komm, Hcrr Jesu, sei unscr CjiJst ; and we
are to admire the entirely up-to-date
painting of the peasants' figures, the 'bath-
ing of light,' etc., because the figure of
Christ, halo and all, is intruded. To me
such a picture as this of Uhde is not only
lacking in idea but is offensive as well ;
so also the Twilight in the Beechvpood, by
Hans Thoma, with the incredible figures
of the faun and the knight. Not in the
delineation of incredibilities like these and
the works of Bocklin lies true idea, but
in the power of translation, which the

346

artist should possess in expressing realities.

Let us take for example such realistic
painters as Fantin Latour and Manet.
The early flower-pieces of Fantin Latour,
up to 1870, express two things to perfec-
tion : the beauty of a rose or sweet-
pea, and the beauty of paint in the hands
of a master. So with any realistic piece
of Manet, such as Le Gateau. Every
touch is a translation, an interpretation
of the thinsj seen. Each brush-stroke has
a beautiful relation to the whole, in its
perfect economy and justice. Or, to go
further back, let us analyse a landscape by
Gainsborough and try and explain its
wonderful beauty. The view of Dedham
is perfect pictorial idealism ; there is a
childlike naivete in the painting of the
foliage of the oaks which reminds us
of the great Japanese painters. Each
group of leaves is laid flat, as it were,
like the blossoms of Hiroshige, and
yet the expression of nervous living
growth has never been surpassed. Indeed,
perfect technique is the only pictorial
idealism, because, receiving no suggestion
from nature, it stands alone. Take any
aspect — sky, trees, houses, figures, sea —
there is no hint in nature for their perfect
expression. The sky seems a fiat surface
of infinite gradations in tone and colour,
but not revealing any method of obtaining
beautiful quality by variation of pigment.
It is difficult to give any logical reason
why all painters, from the time of Rubens
at least, loaded the high lights and painted
the shadows thin ; and as for the use of
scumbling and glazing, it would take
volumes to explain these.

It is in the neglect of these pictorial
ideas, of technique, that modern art is
deficient.

No doubt Professor Strzygowski, in
deprecating 'quality' as an object per it
contemptuous of subject and purport, is

in the right. ' The artist should not make
a goal of what should only be a means.'
And again: 'It is true, one may appeal to
nature, but not imitate her. Art is
expression, nature only the vehicle
whereby it can be attained.' This is
excellent, for the artist who is bent on
obtaining perfection in the air, as it were,
without referring either to nature or to
the great masters, will only produce
meaningless exercises. The first impulse
or hint must come from nature, and
often as regards form, colour, compo-
sition, spacing, she is all-sufficient. But
in respect of quality nature helps us not,
and it is in this department that the Old
Masters should be especially studied.

Hence it appears to me singular that
Professor Strzygowski's main quarrel with
modern artists is their preoccupation with
technique, wherein he agrees with most
art critics of the day. Now, it seems to
me that our artists are not lacking in
ideas, ' literary, religious, mythological,'
but that in technique they are immeasur-
ably inferior to the most unknown and in
some respects even contemptible painters
of the past. Nicolas Lucidel was a name
unknown to me till I saw the portrait at
the last exhibition of Old Masters, yet there
is no living artist who could approach its
technical perfection. Whistler might have
done so if he had taken the trouble in his
young days, for there was something pecu-
liarly Whistlerian in the painting of the
face, but as a matter of fact he never did.
The indifference to technical beauty extends
to lengths which it may seem puerile to
mention, but which are so characteristic
of modern artists that they are not to be
neglected. In repaintings, or corrections,
or merely from the sheer ' cussedness ' of
any material, there are bound to be streaks
of paint which catch the eye unpleasantly,
little knots of dried pigment, edges of

The £ase for Modern T^ainting

canvas uncovered, flies, specks of dust, hairs
of the brush, etc. Now five minutes with
a sharp razor would often obliterate these
blemishes, and yet I have often seen good
work diminished in value by these trifles.

It is only in human nature that if the
artist appears by any negligence to think
his work of small account, it will be
reckoned accordingly by the average man.

Professor Strzygowski, like Ruskin, is
bothered with the two gifts, the true pain-
ter's eye and the analytical mind ; and the
combination leads to singular contortions.
He cannot mention Max Liebermann
with tolerable courtesy — ' the painting
firm of Max Liebermann and Co.' is his
usual description — because Liebermann
paints without Iiihalt ; yet he quite
rightly adores Menzel's Curtain in the
Morning Wind. The distinction he makes
is quite inadequate : ' Liebermann sees
with sharp comprehension, Menzel with
warm feeling.' To me the distinction is
that Menzel paints (in this particular
canvas, not by any means always) well, /.^.,
with pictorial ideas, and Liebermann badly,
i.e.., with no ideas at all. Throughout the
centuries the pictorial ideas in artists are
in inverse ratio to any others. Rubens's
and Vandyck's ideas in religion are abso-
lutely nauseating, Raphael's coldly com-
placent, Leonardo's rhetorically repellant,
Veronese's sumptuously^ indifferent. Tur-
ner's cockney itch for the sublime led
him to such subjects as Dido building
Carthage., where the puzzle is to find Dido,
or Apuleia in search of Apuleius, leading
the cockney connoisseur to search in turn
for Apuleia, unaware, poor man, that she
never existed, whether in Ovid, Lucian or
Apuleius, and that au fond neither Turner
nor he cares a brass button for any of
them. No true painter of the past took
these ideas seriously (yide Browning's
' Fra Lippo Lippi '), but the modern

347

The Qase for Modern Paifiting

painter, being more of a gentleman, con-
scientiously pulls a long face, thereby
merely adding a hypocrisy to what was
already an absurdity.

It is obvious, therefore, that with these
Shawful notions (surelv a better adjective
than Shavian) Bocklin, the apex of modern
art according to the author, must be
merely obnoxious to me. His pictorial
ideas are of the most primitive kind,
theoretically sound in composition, ex-
cruciating in colour, and, where he con-
tradicts the modesty of nature as in the
curved cypresses of the Ruine am Meer,
ruinous to the composition, which might
have been at least theoretically correct.
All his pictures are built up from theory,
and whilst it is obviously true that the
fimious Totcninsel (Island of the Dead)
' was conceived out of his head,' my
retort is that the head is that of a
philosopher or a mathematician, not that
of a painter. The author reverts with
admiration to Bocklin's power of painting
what he has seen with his eyes shut.
But the question is, what has he seen
with his eyes shut .-' If he has merely
seen untruths, that does not make a great
artist of him. The little boy in ' Punch '
argued thus : ' Once ought is ought, two
times ought is ought, three times ought —
must make something, — stick down one.'
No, no ; no number of negatives make a
positive. That Bocklin's colour is untrue,
and therefore extremely ugly, that his
drawing should be weak and faulty, his
composition banal, does not per sc make
him, as the author declares, 'the greatest
artist of meaning {In/ialtskiinstlcr) since
Rembrandt.'

There is another passage, still more
astounding, where he speaks of his ' faculty
of holding fast to the original impression
through all the stages of a fully developed
work of art. This power another artist

348

had who, like Bocklin, is contemptuously
shoved aside by the moderns, and that
artist is [guess !] the Englishman,
Turner.' I can assure the author that
the most modern painters in England, at
least, hold Turner in greater reverence
than ever, even to the detraction of one
of the greatest who learnt a little from
him, Whistler. And if we could sum-
marize ' Modern Painters ' in a sentence,
we should say it was because his visions
were marvels of memory, his colour sense
unique, his drawing sensitive, howevcj-
incorrect, and his quality the despair of
all his successors. ' And as for the
meaning, it's what you please,'

It is curious, if afflicting, to watch the
various forms which decadence in art — to
my mind as indisputable as it is inevitable,
being correlative with present social con-
ditions— takes in the French, German and
English temperaments. In Germany
besides the In/ialtskiinstlcr there arc
painterslike Leistikow, with his doctrinaire
demonstrations of how a space should be
filled propounded with serene indifference
as to what these spaces represent (as the
author points out, a negative virtue) ; the
affectations of Gustav Klimt, symbolical
because absurd (' paint soul by painting body
so ill, the mind must go further and can't
f^ire worse'); the Impressionists, who have
formularized and regulated such wild
children of nature as Monet and Renoir.
In England the decadence has taken other
forms, modest and pathetic, but profoundly
pessimistic. On the one hand are those
who laboriously reconstruct with the
utmost realism the customs and appearance
of past ages, and on the other those whose
reference to nature is of the slightest, but
in whose art the overwhelming influence
is that of past artists, Titian or Daumier
or Velazquez or Wilson or Hogarth or
Corot or the great Japanese. Now we

cannot prophesy with any certainty about
future generations, but if human nature
remains at all the same, we cannot expect
that fifty years hence people will be
interested to know what a Dutch gentle-
man living in St. John's Wood thought
an Apodyterium looked like, or the views
of an Englishman in the year 1907
on the appearance of a quartet in the
fifties. On these matters they will
refer to the sources : Pompeian frescoes,
or Winterhalter or Deverell. Nor will
they be interested in any adaptations of
the masters, singly or in groups, unless
they have been welded together to form
a new thing — new because nature, and not
art, is the prime motive, and pictorial
ideas, the thing seen and translated, are
the outcome. If the only contribution
the modern artist has to add to the masters
is an inferiority, then reference to the
original source must again be the result.

The basic value of a picture, which
underlies all artistic values, is that it
should be of the nature of a document,
telling the world something — not always
very much — of its appearance at a certain
date and in a certain place. The great
Dutchmen, of course, did little else, but
even in the altar-pieces or religious
pictures of Botticelli, Lippi and the rest
we are distinctly aware of a place and a
time. I will go so far as to say that even
Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne, apart from
a similarity to other painters of his time
and country, bears internal evidence in the
types of face and forms and in the land-
scape of being by an Italian painter who
lived at a certain period.

At first sight it would appear that
Watts's decadence when he began the
series of vast failures, ' Time and Death
and Bimetallism,' ' Love and Truth and
Stenography ' — Heaven knows what these
tedious abstractions were ! — arose from

T/ie Qase for Modern Painting

megalomania. But, indeed, I think it
arose from the incorrigible sentimentalism
of the English, which led him to the fatal
humility of belittling his glorious gifts,
and to thinking that Lord Campbell^ Mary
Cassavetti, Lady Cavendish BentincI^ ivith
her Children, Mrs. Nassau Senior, could
not bear comparison with Reynolds or
Titian. Hence his attempt to excuse
himself for painting at all by becoming an
Inhalts]{ilnstler (I thank thee, Strzygowski,
for teaching me that word) and neglecting
pictorial ideas for ideas that were rudi-
mentary in comparison with the spoken or
written word, which is the proper vehicle.
Whistler's art, like that of Degas, was
primarily inspired by nature, and the
qualities it possesses are simply those of
clear unprejudiced vision combined with
the faculty of translating the truth of nature
into something more beautiful than nature,
not by deliberate alteration but by economv,
emphasis, the visible handiwork, the ex-
quisite quality of surface.

Ever since Ruskin pointed out that all
pictures are intended to be seen at a proper
distance, and that on approaching them we
ought not to discover more detail — in
which demonstration he was unnecessarily
savage to Canaletto — it seems to be held
that any approach to a modern work must
inevitably shock us by presenting an
anarchic ugliness of pigment. This does
not follow. Approach any Gainsborough,
Turner, Diaz, and you will find, not more
detail, but the magical power of translating
a thing seen, which in itself has no surface,
into a surface of beauty, containing every
variety of quality, except that thick, solid,
uniform impasto which makes all modern
works dreary or positively ugly on close
inspection. Mr. Shannon's study of the
Old Masters has at least this advantage of
beautiful surface, and when it is applied
to portraiture, as in Mrs. Challoncr Dowdall

349

'The Qase for ^4odcrn Pairitifig

or the two girls in cook's costume, we get
something truly individual and beautiful.

I have been led into these digressions
because the main conclusion from the
study of Professor Strzygowski's book, and
the comparison between English and
German painters which it aroused, is that
there is a f\ital divergence in art of the
present day. We are all divided into
opposing camps : the painters who have
no pictorial ideas at all, like the late James
Charles or iMr. La Thanguc ; the painters
of ideas which are not pictorial, like Bock-

lin ; the painters whose pictorial ideas
are too derivative, too little in touch with
their own times and their own country.
It is no wonder that painters should turn
their eyes away from the present and live
as far as possible in the past, but it is a
sign of a deep distemper, this soothing of
the public with exotics or narcotics. The
evils lie deep in the body politic : written
word and painted canvas are of no avail ;
the necessary revolution must come from
the people, who will make short work of
the art of the present day.

cA->

THE SPIRES OF ROME
BY j. TAVENOR-PERRY

cKi

I IE spires of Oxford, or even
of London, formed a distinc-
tive feature in tlie architecture
of tliese, as well as of most
mediaeval cities, and gave
them that picturesqueness
which is so characteristic of
the towns of northern Europe;
but to ^pe.ik of liie spires of Rome sounds almost
an anachronism, for it is diflicult, by a simple act
of memory, to recall the likeness of any which
still remain among the almost countless domes
that form the undulating sky-line of that city.
Yet there are a few, and those few stand, moreover,
in prominent places ; but so closely are they
surrounded by more important works of the
Renaissance school that they receive but scant
attention from the mere sightseer, and almost
escape the observation even of the architect.
Among the many domes of the Piazza del Popolo
rises Fintelli's pinnacled tower of S. Maria ; from
a corner of the Piazza Xavona is seen the gabled
and crocketted spire which the Flemings built to
their church of S. Maria dell' Anima ; and from
the lofty steeple of S. Maria Maggiore which
crowns the Esquiline can be seen on one side the
pyramid of S. Lorenzo in Panis Perna on the
Viminal, and on the other the twin spires of
S. Giovanni in Laterano which top the Caelian Hill.
An archaeologist, writing at the end of the
eighteenth century, after commenting with some
contempt on the spires of the north — ' olulisk-iike,
made up of bundles of rods' — s.iy^ that Pintelli
introduced a better style to Rome and added to
some of the bell towers an obelisk at the top, less
pointed and simpler than the gcjthic pyramids,
which look as if they were imitations of that of
Caius Ceslius near the Porta di S. Paolo. Such

was the theory of spire growth in Rome which
suggested itself to the mind of this old-world
ecclesiologist ; but an examination of those spires
still left in the city will show that they were only
an importation of northern gothic, which never

1. S. LUKENZO I.S' PANIS PEKNA

350

acclimatized itself to the air of Rome, and faded
before the influence of the incoming Renaissance.
In S. Maria del Popolo we h.ive what is probably
the first attempt at spire building in Rome, which
set a fashion lasting only till the advent of dome
building put an end to it. This church was
founded by Pascal II on the site of Nero's
tomb and of the gigantic demon-haunted
walnut-tree which grew out of it, but it was
entirely rebuilt by Sixtus IV, Francesco delle
Revere, a native of Savona on the Ligurian
coast. He had resided for the greater part
of his life in northern Italy, teaching in the
schools of Bologna, Pavia, Siena and
Florence ; and when he was raised to the
pontifical chair he brought with him to
Rome, or induced to follow him, the Floren-
tine architect Baccio Pintelli. The rebuild-
ing of S. Maria del Popolo was among the
many important works entrusted
to Pintelli ; and although the
greater part of his design was
destroyed by Bernini when he
restored the church for Alex-
ander VII, his tower and its spire
still survive. It is possible that
the lower part of the tower may
contain the remains of an earlier

campanile which belonged to the

first church, but the spire erected
on it was Pintelli's design and
is, in all essentials, a reproduc-
tion of those of northern Italy ;
and perhaps the pope, who owed
his elevation to his Milanese in-
fluence, had in his mind, and
suggested to his architect as
models, the spire of Chiaravalle,
or those of S. Gottardo and S.
Eustorgio in Milan. The tower
itself is of grey bricks,
shows on each face a
single round-headed win-
dow of two lights with a
sort of tracery over the
openings, and very similar
in its style and details to
the windows of the great
campanile of S. Spirito in
Sassia which the same ar-
chitect built in imitation

of one of the older Roman belfries. The tower is
crowned by a lofty spire in the form of a cone
covered with red tiles, and at the angles are
circularpinnaclesarcaded round on two storeys with
red brick cusped arches and capped with conical
spires. Altogether it presents a form and character
unknown, before its appearance, in Rome ; and
rising, as it now does, amid Bernini's domes, and
contrasted with the great domed churches on the
other side of the Piazza, it seems somewhat incon-
gruous.

MARIA DEL POPOLO

I'he Spires of Rome

The spire of S. Maria dell' Anima is one of the
oldest and least altered of the spires in Rome. It
is no fancied reproduction of the pyramid of Caius
Cestius set upon a tower ; but with an outline and
details, modified perhaps, recalling the gothic
spires of the North. Although the lower
part of the tower is enclosed in a Renaissance
covering, the spire with its crocketted pinna-
cles and gables stands up clear above the
classic cornice; and, with its great eagle
finial and iron cressets, and its sparkling
coloured tiles, it forms a composition com-
parable to nothing in Rome. The history
of the church and its foundation gives some
clue to the peculiarities of this tower, though
not, perhaps, a sulftcient explanation. The
first building erected on the site was a
hospice for pilgrims from Germany and
the Low Countries, which was founded by
John Peters of Dordrecht, and
the papal secretary, Dietricht of
Niem, in the year 1399, and
Armellini speaks of a consecra-
tion by Eugenius IV in 1433.
But in any case a new church
was built on the site, of which
Matthias Lang laid the founda-
tion stone on April 11, 1500.
The new church is said to have
been erected from the design of
a German architect under the
supervision of Bramante, and
was consecrated 23rd November,
1511, although it was not com-
pleted until 1519. To which of
these periods the gothic spire is
to be assigned only the spire
itself can help us to determine.
Although smaller, it is similar
in many respects to Pintelli's
spire of S. Maria del Popolo,
but distinctly more gothic
in detail, and might, per-
( haps, belong to the era
'^ of the first building ; on
the other hand, although
very different from any
other works proceeding
in Rome at the beginning
of the sixteenth centur\',
and utterly unlike any-
thing done by Bramante, it does not seem
impossible that a German architect should have
designed a gothic spire in the same year that
Adam Kraft was raising his Sacramentshaus
in S. Lorentz, Nuremberg, and the south
transept of Beauvais was in building. It mav,
therefore, belong to the date 1500, usualiy
assigned to it, and the explanation be that
although the church, including the spire, was
designed by a German, Bramante intervened in
time to construct the church as we now see it, and

The Spires of T^me

to replace tlic tower, le.iviiij; only (he super-
structure to testify to the orij^inal design. That
(he result is inconjinious is uiicleiiiahie ; but the
colour of the tiles, the grey stone and the fantastic
ironwork make up a picture for which wc may
thank both (he architect who designed it and (he
classic res(orer who let it alone.

Two interesting associations connected with
this church of the Germans and Flemings may be
noted : it was during that short stay in Home
from which Erasmus was recalled to England
that (he rebuilding took place, and he, doubtless,
frequently visited the hospice founded by his

fellow-countryman,
Peters of Dordrecht;
and it is in this
church lies buried
his friend and
teacher, Florent of
Utrecht, who, as
Adrian IV, was the
last German to sit
on the pontifical
throne.

The spire of the
ancient church of
S. Lorenzo in Panis
Perna on the Vimi-
nal may also be due
to Baccio Pintelli,
as CO nsiderab 1 e
works were carried
out in connexion
with the church
during the latter
half of the fifteenth
century. The ori-
ginal church was
rebuilt by Boniface
V'lll about the year
1300, and the tower
may be part of that
reconstruction, as,
although the portion
immediately under
the spire has been
altered and in parts
shows a facing of
grey bricks like
S.Maria del Popolo,
it retains some of
the discs of por-
phyry which form
so distinguishing a
feature of the earlier
campanili. The
spire is square on
plan, and the bricks or tiles of which it is
composed are hidden under a coating of cement,
an alter.ition which, together with the baluster-
shaped pinnacles at the angles, may be due to a

III. S. MARIA DEI.L' AMMA

reslorati(m which took place in 157', under
Grcgi^ry XI II.

Perhaps the most ancient and certainly the
smallest of the spire-crowned campanili is that of
the church of S. Benedetto in Piscinula in the
Trastevere quarter. According to tradition, it
stands on the site
of the house in
which St. Benedict
lived when a boy
at the beginning of
the sixth century.
If the evidence of
one of the bells
hanging in it, as-
cribed to the year
1061, be conclusive,
then this little tower,
as was probably the
case with many
others of the Koman
campanili, was
standing before the
devastating raid of
Robert Guiscard oc-
curred. In spite of
its diminutive pro-
portions, it displays
in its brick and
marble cornices and
its plaques of por-
phyry and serpen-
tine all the charac-
teristics of the larger
towers, and only
differs from them
in its spire-like roof.

There is no doubt
that some alterations have been made to the upper
part of the tower, which is now covered with a
coat t)f cement ; and it is not unlikely that when
some fifteenth century alterations were made to
the church, the pitch of the roof was altered to
give it the more fashionable appearance of a spire.

The spire of S. Crisogono in Trastevere, if such
it can be called, is merely a brick pyramid raised
on the ancient campanile and coated with cement.
It is possible that this high-pitched roof was added
in the fifteenth century, but of this there is no
record ; its present state, however, is due to the
fact that Cardinal Scipio Borghese, having in 1623
removed the ancient bells from the tower toGrotta
Kerrata, sought to allay the just irritation of the
parishioners by employing the architect Soria to
garnish the whole structure with plaster and
whitewash.

The spires of which we have hitherto been
speaking are all constructed of brick or tiles, and
are of a more or less substantial character ; but
there are in Rome some simple metal spires such
as those which modern ecclesiastical architects

IV. S. IlEXEDETTO IN PISCIXl'LA

352

consider to be appropriate to English romanesque,
and have placed on the Norman towers of South-

V, S. CRISOGOXO IX TRASTEVERE

well Minster. These are the spires of S. Maria
Maggiore and S. Giovanni in Laterano.

The twin towers of the north transept of the
Lateran basihca present an appearance perfectly
unique in Rome, where all the campanili are
built singly, irrespective of the churches to which
they belong, and not forming a part with them of
any architectural composition. Here, however,
they are built as a portion of the fafade and
remind one of nothing so much as the western
towers to a northern cathedral. How far the ar-
rangement can be regarded as ancient it is difficult
now to determine, as, apart from the damage
inflicted on the fabric by its occupation by Guiscard,
it was twice devastated by fires in the fourteenth
century, and after the second one, about 1370, was
thoroughly restored by the architect Giovanni
Stefani of Siena under Pope Urban V. The
towers themselves preserve no traces of his
work, and one of them, at least, it is evident,
required no restoration. Although Pius IV
coated them with plaster decorations, now happily
falling off, their conversion into spires seems to be
due to Sixtus IV, and therefore, in all probability,
was carried out by Baccio Pintelli. As the towers
now remain they show two storeys above the roofs

T^he Spires of l^me

with the usual arcades, which have on the lower
storey of the western tower marble shafts and
capitals which are undoubtedly ancient, and which
with the brick cornices may belong to the period
of the restoration by Sergius III in the tenth
century. Above the ' towers rise the lofty square
leaded spires surrounded by marble balustrades
which may form the addition made by SLxtus IV.
The tower of S. Maria Maggiore is the loftiest
and the last of the series of mediaeval campanili
in Rome. The lower part of the tower may
belong to an earlier period, but the portion
which shows immediately above the roofs has
pointed arches, and may be of the date, usually
assigned to it, of 1376, when Gregory XI had some
works of reparation effected in the basilica. But
under Cardinal Estouteville, in the time of Sixtus
IV, the roofs of the church were repaired, and it
seems probable that the lead spire and iron
balcony round its base were set up at the same
time. If this be the case, then the whole of the

VI. S. GIOV.\XNI IN" LATERANO

spires of Rome may have been built within a
period of fifty years and owe their initiative, if not
their design, to Sixtus IV and his architect,
Baccio Pintelli.
The details of Pintelli's life and his practice m

cc 353

'The Spires of '^ome

Rome are somewhat elusive. Vasari's statements
regarding his history are, as is often the case with
his ' Lives,' called in question in many particulars.
While one writer says that Pintclli was only a
practitioner of moderate skill and far behind the

F'lorentine architects
of his day, and another
asserts that he was
only employed during
the later years of Si.xtus
IV, Vasari says that his
ability was bO highly
appreciated by the
pope that he would
undertake no building
without consulting
him. It appears cer-
tain that throughout
the pontificate of his
pntron he was in his
constant employment;
' and was not only en-
gaged on the first
work of importance
he undertook, the re-
building of S. Maria
del Popolo, as an in-
scription by the south
door testifies, but was
especially sent by the
pope in the year 1480
to repair the church
of S. Francis at Assisi,
which had become
ruinous. Two of the
principal works done
in Rome during the
reign of Si.xtus were
undoubtedly from the
designs of Pintelli : the Capclla Sistina in the
Vatican in 1473, and the rebuilding of the Pons
Valentinianus, which survives to this day, much
altered and widsncd, under the name of the Ponte
Sisto. That the campanile of S. Spirito in Sassia
is due to him is disputed ; but it was only during
the last year of the pontificate of I'aul 11, 1471,
that the great hospital was burnt to its foundations,
and there seems but little doubt that the ascription
of the design for the rebuilding to Pintelli is cor-
rect. As to the numerous other works in Rome
with which he is credited, it is open to question
whether he actually designed them ; but for all
those which were erected for Si.xtus himself Pintelli
as his advising architect was, no doubt, to a degree
responsible ; and we do not, perhaps, unduly
magnify his influence if we associate all the spires
in Rome, as well as that of S. Maria drl Popolo,
with his name.

There is one other curious mediaeval tower in
Rome which may be mentioned in connexion
with this subject, although it docs not correctly fall

S. HAKIA MAGGIORE

within the categor)' of spires, that of the campanile
of S. Catarina dt' P'unari. When Giacomo della
Porta built the church in 1563 he found attached
to the adjoining della Rosa convent a heavily
machicolatcd tower, and on that he raised a bell-cot
and produced a strange, but not impicturcsque,
builcling. His work, which is of plastered brick-
work, considerably overhangs the base of the
tower, having been built to the extent of the
spreading parapets ; and the whole looks like one
of those models of bell-towers, shown occasionally
in mediaeval pictures, carried in the hands of
church donors or saints.

There are other towers in Rome capped with
fantastic shaped roofs, such as that which Boro-
mini put on the Sapienza — even more unlike
mediaeval spires than those of Sir Christopher
Wren — which form, however, a useful foil to the
innumerable domes which crowd the city. But
as the pointed architecture of northern Europe

vni. S. CATARINA PE' FUNARI

failed to obtain a foothold in Rome, so the spire,
its most distinguishing feature, only remains as a
reminiscence of a fashionable architect and an
art-loving pope.

1. rill I'visrm \mi riii ici\\iii---ri K, i.v ii.x\-. \ \s Miiiiis iin i i im k

IN TIIK UKKSIII-N l.AI.LKKY

THE I.IKE OF A DITCH ARTIST
PLATK I

THE LIFE OF A DUTCH ARTIST
-tA^ BY DR. W. MARTIN r*^
PART VI— HOW THE PAINTER SOLD HIS WORK'

6t:4

X the pleasant London house of
Sir Henry Howorth there is a re-
markable peep-show box, painted
by the artist in perspective, Samuel
van Hoogstraeten (1627-1678).
Three of the outer sides of this
Ij^^!^ box are painted with allegorical
JlfcT*!^ representations, each of which

IS uitendcd to glorify one aim of the art of paint-
ing. In each of the pictures a young painter is
sitting at his easel. In the first an angel holds a
wreath over the artist's head, for he is painting
' gloriae causa,' as the inscription on the picture
explains. In the second, a little angel pomts to
the likeness of the painter's betrothed, which he is
just about to copy; ' ainoris causa' is painted
beneath it on a ribbon scroll. Finally, the third
painted side of the box, the largest of the three,
shows in the background the same painter, but in
the foreground, in the splendour of brilliant sun-
shine, an opulent genius with crown and sceptre,
reposing at ease upon clouds and leaning on a
horn of plenty which rains golden coins, and
beneath which is written in large letters ' lucri
causa.'

' Lucri causa ' — that is, ' for the sake of gain ' 1
Certainly the most ignoble of all the impulses to
art, but one which then as now, along with Gloria
and Amor, played a leading part in the life and
work of artists, in Holland as elsewhere.

In the Holland of the seventeenth century,
painters, in so far as they had to live by their art,
had to wage a hard battle for their bread. Only a
comparatively small number succeeded in earning
enough by it to enable them to live in comfort ;
a few more might be happy if their art secured
their daily bread, but to the greater number, even
of capable painters, it was not granted to live in
any but the most poverty-stricken circumstances.
We merely mention these facts in passing, as they
are so generally known that it is not necessary to
enter into details. The conditions in this respect
were, mutatis mutaudis, what they are now. In
addition, the superfluity of really first-class pictures
continually depressed the market and did nothing
to improve the economic conditions in the art
circles of the Netherlands.

It is easy to understand that the painters
themselves were always endeavouring to fight
against these unfavourable conditions, by trying
on the one hand to check the production
wherever possible, and on the other to advance
the sale of pictures as much as possible. This
gave rise to a state of things in some respects the

1 Translated by L. I. Armstrong. For previous parts see
Vol. VII, pp. 125 and 416 (May and September, 1905),
Vol. VIII, p. 13 (October, 1905), Vol. X, p. 144 (December,
1906), and Vol. XI, p. 363 (March, 1907).

same as or very like that of to-day, in others quite

different.

Thus, for example, there were no art exhibitions
in those days. However, instead of beginning
with the exhibitions, I think it better to discuss
from the outset the subject of the sale of pictures,
following up our earlier considerations as to their
production. In the first place, then, we observe
that in those days no one was allowed to sell
pictures unless he was a member of the Painters'
Gild of the place where he sold them. He
might not sell even ' secretly,' that is, not publicly.
Only at fairs were non-members, or even strangers,
allowed to offer pictures for sale. These restric-
tions, which were in almost general use, had no
connexion with the question whether a man
were a painter or an art dealer, or both. Nor did
it matter whether a painter sold his own pictures
or those of others. The gild simply formed the
link between those materially interested in local
art, and was continually endeavouring to watch
over their interests, under the auspices of the town
magistrate. It is true that in a few places, in Delft
for example, non-members of the gild by payment
of a fee could obtain permission to trade in
pictures, or to sell in the general market. There
was even one town, Utrecht, which allowed
foreign painters, with the previous consent of the
Painters' Gild, to paint and sell there during a
maximum term of six months. These ' permitted '
painters might, however, under no circumstances
take pupils. In general, though, the above-
mentioned restrictions held good. In addition,
the gilds paid regard, as far as possible, to good
quality in their members' pictures, in any case to
the quality of the materials used, and also to the
moral content of the pictures. In regard to the
last, however, they are known not to have been
too strict.

Although, according to repeated complaints
preserved to the present day, there were places,
Amsterdam and Leyden for instance, in which
sufficient attention was not always paid to the
enforcing of the rules, and although they seem
in many towns to have been entirely neglected
towards the end of the seventeenth century, we
must presume that in the flourishing period of
Dutch painting every man who wished to devote
himself to his art as an honest painter, and without
fear of punishment, was obliged to keep to the
rules.

A painter, then, who was a master, and a
member of the Painters' Gild in his locality, might
there sell everything that he himself and others
had painted. These 'others' were mostly the
painter's pupils, for in the seventeenth century the
opinion of the middle ages still held good— that
all pupils' work was the property of the master.

357

The Life of a T>uh/i Artist

We have already mentioned in these pa^jes the
well-known story told by Houbrakcn, of the way
in which Frans Hals is said to have exploited
Adriaen Brouwcr. That Rembrandt also sold the
work of his pupils may be conclusively deduced
from the notes written in his own hand on the
back of a red chalk drawing, representing Susanna
and the Ehkn,- which plainly refer to a 'tran-
saction ' with pictures by his pupils Ferdinand
Bol and Leendert van Beyeren.

That was the practice of most painters in those
days. Besides this, they often sold paintings,
engravings and drawings of all kinds, which they
dealt in, not only in secret, but in some cases
with the utmost publicity. In Dordrecht and
Utrecht, for instance, many painters had a ioon,
that is a show window or shop, where they offered
for sale their own and others' work.' Often, indeed,
thev rented from the magistrate a place in the
market in which to exhibit pictures. But every
genuine painter lived, of course, chiefly on the
products of his own art, and we must now try
in the first place to answer the question how a
painter sold his own creations. It may easily be
surmised that this happened in general much as
it does to-day ; but just because we desire, not
merely to surmise, but to know for certain, we
will give one or more instances of the various
ways of selling which have come to our knowledge.
Some of these instances are already known ; some,
p.-irticularly in the illustrations, are now published
for the first time.

It was, and is, most comfortable for the painter
when clients came of themselves to his studio, as
happened, for instance, to the famous Delft painter
Jan Vermeer, who, in 1663, received a visit from
the Seigneur dc Monconys, who wished to buy
some of his work. The same patron, according
to the account in his own diary, visited Gerrit
Dou, Frans van Mieris, Pieter van Sliiigelandt,
and so on. Thus, in those days as in ours, many
a painter did good business at his case, and we
see one of these painters, Frans van Mieris, even
choosing such a visit for the subject of a delicately
painted little picture which is in the possession
of the Royal Picture Gallery at Dresden (plate
I). The accompanying reproduction plainly
shows the painter, still fairly young, in suspense
as to whether the picture will please the connois-
seur. The latter, who has just come in from the
street, is sitting with his cloak on, and his hat on
his knee, and carefully examining the work.

A good thing, too, for every artist was the execu-
tion of commissions, at any rate if enough liberty
were allowed him, and he were not forced to
excessive hurry and worry, as in many cases to be
discussed later. Portrait orders were of frequent

* Bcckcr.-ith collection, Print Room, Berlin. Cf. Hofslcde
de Grool, ' Urkundcn,' No* Ji).

^ For further examples tl. .ilso Flocrkc's lx>ok, often men-
tioned in my previous articles, ani ray bDok on G. Dou.

occurrence, for nearly every Dutchman living in
moderately good circumstances had himself
' counterfeited ' and preferably his wife and chil-
dren, too, if not his maids and men-servants. Then
there were the large portrait groups of riflemen
and of trustees of all kinds of institutions, with
their many figures, which were entrusted to many
painters everywhere. Usually these pictures were
paid for per head, as we know to have been the
case with Rembrandt's so-called Xli<lil-iciilch.

The existence of some artists was practically
assured by a Maecenas who favoured them so
highly as to buy from them every piece of work
unconditionally, or, at any rate, to secure by pay-
ment of an annu.il sum the refusal of every picture.
Such relations between painter and client, which
are not unknown to-day, were often fi.xed by
contract, and hence we know in detail several
seventeenth-century examples. The best known
is the agreement between Gerrit Dou and the
Swedish resident Petter Spiering, who paid him
an annual salary of 1000 gulden in exchange for
the right of purchasing from Dou everything he
painted. A similar arrangement existed between the
painter Pieter van den Bosch (of whose work the
Berlin Gallery has some charming little examples)
and the Amsterdam art collector Maerten Kretzer,
for whom he painted for a whole year.

Several of these patrons, moreover, dealt in the
things they bougiit, as, for instance, Becker,
Vredenburg, Gerard, Sylvius (the three last bought
a great deal from Frans van Mieris the elder).
Contracts similar to those which were made
with private patrons were also often made by
painters with professional art dealers. We will
cite a few of those that are still preserved, and
amongst them some which arc to be regarded
rather as commissions, but demand inclusion on
account of the prices.

First, then, let us mention the contract of Tobias
Verhaecht with the art dealer Pieter Coenraets, to
paint not less than eighteen pictures of hunting
scenes, on canvas, for 30 Unldcn apiece. Willem
van Nieulandt contracted at the same time with
the same dealer to produce eight views of towns,
on canvas, for 48 Ridden a picture.

The dealer Pieter Goetkint ordered from the
painter Adriaen van Stalbemt twenty little pictures
painted on copper, and four on wood, for the
decoration of two cupboards. The pictures were
to represent pastoral idylls and scenes from Ovid's
' Metamorphoses.' Copper and wood were sup-
plied by the dealer, and for the work the painter
received 550 gulden. A year later the same painter
received 300 gulden for the painting of a similar
cupboard.

Many painters who could not otherwise get rid
of their art painted exclusively for a certain dealer,
either original productions or copies of other
pictures. It is known that the Amsterdam dealer
Uylenburch had several young painters at work

3. SI LLIM. fltTl KK.s IN IHK UAKKKI. DKTAll. H<iiM A lH-ll KK
HY IIAMIl VIVCKIWlON'S IN TIIK HKINSWHK liALLKKY

4. ru ri KR ■* '^ i\ A fi III ii 111 iiniNc. dhaii ihi'm a luiii.i

«V A DITCH MASTEM (CIRC. Uuo) IN TIIK MUStl M AT WUKZUIKI.

TIIK l.ll ■
II.ATK i

rill AkTIST

copying pictures. This custom was very general,
and explains the existence of the numerous, often
excellent, old copies, which often pass for originals
even in these days. Some striking examples of
still extant contracts, which we take from the
above-mentioned book by Dr. Floerke, may explain
still more clearly the conditions then existing in
this department. Josef van Bredael contracts in
the year 1706 with Jacob de Witte, dealer in works
of art and — wine ! — at Antwerp, to copy for the
latter, for four years, pictures after Velvet Brueghel,
Wouwerman, etc. The first year he receives 6
gulden per picture, the second year 8, the third
and fourth 10, besides an annual 'shilling tip,'
and at the end a cloak of blue cloth. Frans
van Bredael makes a similar contract, but for
higher pay: 10, 12 and 14 gulden, and a two-
shilling tip.

Another example : In the year 1674 the painter
Elias van den Broeck places himself in the service
of the art dealer Bartholomeus Floquet, by signing
a deed in which he binds himself to paint, during
one year and for the whole day, everything that
Floquet shall require of him. In return, the
painter receives free board, 120 gulden salary, and
39 gulden for lodging. If he misses, he must
make it up. If, within the year, he wishes to
marry, then he must pay damages.

The custom of hiring oneself, so to speak, in
this way, was fairly common in those da^^s amongst
the Netherlandish painters, who could not other-
wise live by their art, and was, indeed, called by a
particular expression ; they called it ' painting at
the galleys.'

We cannot refrain from relating here the very
original agreement which the painter Jacques de
Ville made on the 26th January, 1625, with the
sailor Hans Melchiors. The painter had gone bail
for the sailor's debts. The painter was, within a
year and a half, to paint 2,400 gulden worth of
pictures at definite prices per piece. The sailor,
who, of course, travelled about everywhere and
could also easily do business in far off places, was
to sell the pictures and pay the money to the
painter. He supplied the painter with canvas,
wood, and frames into the bargain. Thus these two
did business together. That this is not an isolated
case may be seen from the contract, made in 1615,
between the famous sea painter Jan Porcellis and
the cooper Adriaen Delen. The latter will supply
forty panels, on which Porcellis will paint 'vari-
ous ships and water, well and thoroughly, in his
best way and art.' The cooper supplies, also, the
colours and a pupil, to give the painter ' help and
assistance' during the twenty weeks within which
the work is to be done. (That means two pictures
a week 1) The cooper was then to sell the pictures
in the Friday fair, and, after deducting 200 gulden
for colours, panels and frames, the profit was
to be divided between them.

It is hardly necessary to say that then, as now,

Th Life of a T>utck Artist

a painter could send his pictures to dealers • on
commission.' We know, for instance, that Jan
Vermeer of Delft had sent several pictures for
sale to the dealer Coelembier at Haarlem ; and
that the painter Palamedes sent his pictures
everywhere, to dealers at the Hague, Haarlem,
Leyden, Rotterdam, etc. Artists, too, went round
in person to dispose of their creations. We know
numerous examples of engravers on copper offer-
ing their plates to the magistrate, to princes or
nobles, for payment. In some pictures, even, the
moment is represented in which an artist enters
the house of a collector with a picture to offer
him for sale. There is, for example, a picture
in the collection of Count Harrach at Vienna,
representing a painter offering a collector a
picture of a Madonna. In the Hulot collection,
which was sold on May 9th, 1893, at Paris, there
was a Teniers representing a picture gallery
(plate II). To the left, in the foreground of the
picture, a 3'oung painter shyly shows the collector
a portrait which he has evidently painted, and at
the back, on the right, yet another painter is
entering an ante-room ; he likewise has a picture,
which he clearly wishes to sell to the owner of
the gallery.

Artists did not even shrink from offering their
pictures, etc., for sale in the streets and in the
market. The Rotterdam painter Volmaryn
journeyed with his pictures throughout the
country, and Gerard de Lairesse put up one
of his pictures for sale in the Utrecht market,
whilst, according to Houbraken's story, the
engraver Testa sold his prints in the streets of
Rome.

It is very remarkable that the idea of co-operation
w\as then so unfamiliar that only in a few places did
the artists' fellowships, the gilds, hit upon the
idea of organizing exhibitions. Such an exhibi-
tion had indeed existed in the Exchange at Antwerp
since the sixteenth century, but the pictures which
were constantly exhibited there were offered for
sale by artists and dealers at places agreed upon by
them, without the gild having anything to do
with it. The whole thing had far more of the
nature of a market, of the kind we shall discuss
below, than of an exhibition. It was only after
the year 1665 that a permanent exhibition of pic-
tures by the gild members was held in the
Antwerp Exchange under the management of
David Teniers the younger, which seems, however,
to have had but little success because it did not
emanate directly from the dealers.

Another undertaking which suffered from the
same evil was that of the Painters' Gild at Utrecht,
which in 1639 received the loan of a large hall in
the Agneta convent ; this they didded into
several sections for the decoration of which every
Utrecht painter had to furnish a picture of his
own painting, to be left there until it was sold.
In default the painter had to pay i0 5/;(/!'f/-a week.

The Life of a T>utch Artist

On ;i sale being effected the Painters' Gild received
5 per cent, up to a maximum of 5 gulden ; and
tlie painter must supply another picture within six
montiis. The painters had to furnish tlie pictures
in a finished condition and in one of three
prescribed shapes. But, notwithstanding the fines,
the rules were not kept, and in spite of all the
means employed the whole undertaking came to
nothing in less than ten years.

In one direction only did the undertakings of
the painters' gilds have any distinct effect on the
sale of pictures ; namely by the picture lotteries,
and the auctions of works of their members,
which they conducted. In several cases the
gilds succeeded also in appropriating the right of
sale of works of art left by deceased artists and
art dealers, thus exercising some influence on the
market.

Notwithstanding the various means we have
mentioned which an artist could employ in order
to live by his talent, in the case of many unfortunate
artists those means were unsuccessful. Numerous,
often highly gifted, painters were, in spite of ail,
unable to make a living by their art. In that case
they had no alternative but to seek some secondary
means of subsistence, or to give up painting.
And then as a last resort they often sold their
artistic goods and chattels. Thus we see in
1647 Adri.ien van de Venne, so intellectual and
to-day so highly prized, organizing an auction of
his pictures ; the famous landscape painter Jan
van Goyen found himself obliged to do the same
(his pictures fetched prices from 5 to 32 gulden !);
and so did the still-life painter Jan van Beyeren.
And how many more besides I Often the future of
such a master was very gloomy ; for instance, at
Haarlem no painter who had sold his pictures by
auction might practise his art there again for six
years, and at the Hague he was forbidden to do
so for two years.

So far, our chief aim has been to indicate the
means whereby a painter could render his art
fruitful. We shall now see how professional art
dealing was organized. Public trade in pictures
took place in certain places of sale in public
buildings (instead of at bocjths in the markets)
and in the shops of art dealers and such painters
as followed business as well as art. Of these
various classes we will now give a few examples
from the many that are known.*

In the first place, let us consider the sale of
pictures in the market, as depicted in several of
the fair scenes by David Vinckboons and others.
We reproduce a detail of the picture in the Bruns-
wick Gallery by Vinckboons, for the photograph
of which we are indebted to the kmdness of
the Director (plate III, 3). In the large stall.

•The illustrations given as examples are nearly all from
pictures ; most o( them here reproduced (or the first time. For
further information Kloerkc's book should be consulted.

amongst clocks, weapons and musical instruments,
are hanging all sorts of pictures — both portraits
and landscapes — and people are looking at them.
In engravings of that time, too, e.g., in an
illustration by A. V'an der Venne in the book
' De Belachende Werelt,' such picture booths may
be seen.

In many places, moreover, sites in public
buildings were assigned for the sale of pictures
on market-days. Thus, for example, after 1531 a
certain part of the Antwerp Exchange building
was leased to art dealers for this purpose, and as
late as the beginning of the seventeenth century
the chief seat of art dealing was there. At
Amsterdam there was a similar arrangement in
the Exchange ; at the Hague the large hall in the
' Binnenhof ' (in which the Peace Conference now
holds its meetings) was destined for the same
purpose ; and at Leyden, on market-days, gold-
smiths' work, etc., and also pictures (probably
only those of good quality) were frequently shown
in the large hall in the first storey of the town hall.

The only painted example I know of such a
picture market in such a hall is found in a Dutch
(or P^lemish?) picture, painted about 1610, which is
in the Art ^Iuseum of the Wiirzburg University
(plate III, 4). In the catalogue of that gallery, on
page 28, No. 267, it is ascribed to Hendrick van
Steenwyck the younger and Brueghel, which,
however, does not seem correct. VVe reproduce
here the left half, which is interesting. It gives a
surprisingly perfect picture of art dealing in such
a hall.'

Between the windows cupboards arc built which
can be thrown open. On the sides of the cup-
boards hang masses of engravings, drawings and
paintings of every sort. In front of one of the
windows stands a large table, covered with piles
of prints, drawings, etc., and behind it again oil
paintings are hung up. A dealer and his serrant
are showing a picture. In front a gentleman is
examining a drawing or print, and several other
people are looking at the works of art. A picture
by Berckheyde in the Dresden Gallery (plate IV)
shows a picture stall near the entrance of the
Exchange at Ainsterdam. Some pictures are
hanging on the wall, amongst others a duel, two
landscapes and a still-life in the manner of Kalf.

Of art dealers, in our sense of the word —
that is, of those who did their business at home
or in their own shops — we not only know
several names, but also a good deal about their
methods. ^Iany dealers were, or had been,
painters, many copperplate engravers, too, dealt in
art. Booksellers, jewellers and goldsmiths also
exhibited in their shops pictures, prints and
so on.

In this connexion two little drawings by

•Unfortunately 1 have been so far unable to identify the
place represented.

wf y ■ J .

5. THE EXCHANGE AT AMSTEKDAM, WITH A I'lLlUUI s '- '1'

FROM THE PAINTING BV BERCKHEYDE IN THE EKANKFOKT MUSEUM

THE LIFE OF A DCTCFi ARTI:
PLATE IV

.4'^

- I

H a

Salomon de Bray, 1628, which are in the Print
Room at Amsterdam, and are pubhshed here-
with (plate V, 6 and 7) are interesting. Both of
them afford an excellent insight into the methods
of combined trade in books and art in the Holland
of those days.

A picture, by an unknown master, in the
Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, which we also publish
(plate V, 8), shows the exterior of a shop arranged
solely for art dealing. On the left, in the street, a
quack, in front of a large painted advertisement,
offers his wares for sale. On the right, at the
back, there is a ' French and German ' school,
and near it, on the corner of two streets, an art shop.
In the middle of the gable, over the first row of
windows, are the artist's arms : three small white
shields on a blue ground. In the windows, and even
in front of the door, there are pictures on sale, and
above, beneath the windows of the first storey, pic-
tures have been hung out, amongst which a large
seapiece arrests attention.

We have already mentioned the names of several
art dealers. We need only refer here to some of
the best known, such as Johannes de Renialme,
Abraham Francen, whose well-known portrait was
etched by Rembrandt ; Hendrick Uylenburch,
with whom Rembrandt lived for a time, and his
son, Gerrit Uylenburch ; Jan Pieterszoon Zoomer,
etc.

Many of them played an important part in the
art circles of the seventeenth century. As it is our
chief object to interpret the conditions of those
days by illustrations, we need not go into further
details on this point, and will merely publish the
original drawing of Pieter van den Berge (plate
V, 9), which portrays the visit of Prince Eugene of
Savoy to the last-named art dealer, Zoomer. The
prince kneels before a picture which P. van den
Berge is holding. Behind the prince stands an
ambassador, and on the extreme right, near the
window, is Zoomer himself. We learn this from
the names written on the drawing above the heads.
The dealer's room is hung all over with pictures,
and the entire staff of servants, including the servant
girl, is occupied in dragging pictures in.

In general, things went much the same with
the affairs of art dealers then as they do to-day :
some grew rich, others had to give up business ;
many were honest men, others carried on all
kinds of swindling. Satirical rhymes, like the
well-known poem on Zoomer, in which he is
called a ' John the Baptist in art,' (that means a
' picture christener'), and furious complaints

l^he Life of a L^utch Artist

about the dealers — for instance, that raised by
Jan Campo Weyermann — were the results ; often
too, tedious law-suits about pictures supplied, as
for example the law-suit of Gerrit Uylenburch
with the Elector of Brandenburg with regard to
forged pictures.

In general, after about 1630, the whole Nether-
landish art trade was heavily overloaded, not only
with inferior wares, but also with the numerous
first-class works produced daily by the countless
Netherlandish masters. I need only print the
frequently-<juoted statement from the diary " of
John Evelyn. On the 31st August, 1641, Evelyn
visited the yearly fair at Rotterdam. 'We
arrived,' he writes, ' late at Rotterdam, where was
their annual marte or faire, so furnished with
pictures (especially Landskips and Drolleries,
as they call those clownish representations) that I
was amaz'd. Some I bought and sent in to
England. The reason of this store of pictures
and their cheapness proceedes from their want of
land to employ their stock, so that it is an
ordinary thing to find a common Farmer lay out
two or ^"3,000 in this com'odity. Their houses
are full of them, and they vend them at their
faires to very greate gaines. . . .'

The prices of pictures were in those days not
generally very high, and for a few gulden an
excellent piece of work could often be obtained.
For his Night Waidi Rembrandt received only
1600 gulden. The highest price van Goyen ever
got was 600 gulden for his very comprehensive
view of the Hague (now in the Municipal Museum
at the Hague). When the painter Hanneman was
appraising the pictures of the painter Abraham
van Beyeren he estimated their value at 14 and 15
gulden apiece. Jan Steen painted three portraits
for 27 gulden 1 And so on. Several pages of
examples might be given of the prices at that
time, but we will content ourselves with these few.
Nor will we enter now into the interesting part
which pictures then played as means of payment ;
whereby, for example, the marine painter Simon
de Vlieger could buy a house for 900 gulden, to
be paid ... in pictures ! The criticism and the
taste of those days must also be left untouched.
What sold best, how and where pictures were
hung, and many other such questions would take
us too far for the present. Perhaps an opportunity
will occur later of returning to the subject once
more, for in this respect also Netherlandish art
life of the seventeenth century is full of interest.

f" ' Memoirs of John Evelyn, 'page 13. London, 1818.

369

A DRAWING BY REMBRANDT IN THE COLLECTION OF

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE

By the kind permission of His Grace the Duke
of Devonshire we reproduce one of tlie most
characteristic of the drawings liy Rembrandt which
are inchided in the Chatsworth collection.
Technically it is executed in the same manner as
the drawings by Claude which formed a prominent
feature in The BfKl.iNGTON Mac;azinic for August,
tint even in their slight sketches the difference
lietween the two men is absolute. Claude's
ple;isure in air and liglit and sunsliine leads him
to employ all the faculties of iiis hand and eye in
rendering them, but in the pursuit he is careless of
everything else, of those l)eauties of colour and
modelling that attract the draughtsman, of those
intricacies of real life which attract the acute
observer. His forms are often clumsy or conven-
tional, his outlook on human life almost comic in
its limitations. It was the custom half a century
ago to describe Rembrandt in much the same way,
except as one loving darkness where Claude loved
the light. Now we all see that Rembrandt was no
mere juggler willi flashes of white and masses
of black, but among the most keen-eyed and
sympathetic of observers, the most masterly of

draughtsmen. Into this little view of a village
street for instance, he has brought not only air and
light, but a sense of reality, of an actual place and
actual things seen, which is almost incredible
when we think of the simple medium employed,
and the swiftness with which the sketch is done.
Not only are the masses perfectly disposed on the
paper, not only do we find a suggestion of light
and air as vivid as we find in Claude, not only
do we know the disposition of the houses he saw
and their individual peculiarities ; but the exact
contour of the ground and the very texture of the
woodwork of which the humble sheds are built
are conveyed to us by the infinite variation of what
seems to be a single rapid wash of brown pig-
ment. Those who have tried to grapple with the
complexities of modern landscape painting may
ask themselves whether, even with the full resources
of the palette, unlimited time and a large canvas,
they could get the essentials of such a scene as
this so thoroughly and certainly as Rembrandt
has done in this rapid sketch. The question will,
at least, make us wonder whether our painters as a
rule attain so little because they attempt so much.

cA^ NELLY O'BRIEN. BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS hw?

The large room at Hertford House, like the
Salon Cani of the Louvre, makes comparisons
possible which cannot be so easily made in
galleries where schools are rigorously separated, and
where we cannot see at a glance how a Venetian
compares with a Fleming or a Rembrandt with a
Raphael. In the Wallace Collection we can pit
Reynolds and Gainsborough against Rembrandt
or Hals, Van Dyck or Velazquez, and such trials
of strength have their uses. It is no blind patriot-
ism to assert that Gainsborough's Pfn/Z/n /^c'/>/;;so/»
stands the ordeal triumphantly. Reynolds's Xclly
O'lin'en is less immediately fascinating. The
general tone is darker, the brushwork not so
triumphantly free, the sitter has not the languid,
alluring beauty of Gainsborough's Perdita. Yet
when we come to consider the portrait carefully
we find that under a modest exterior it contains a
variety of beauties such as no other portrait, even
in that splendid gallery, quite succeeds in blending.

In the first place, it is a masterpiece of colour.
With scientific accuracy the blue and white of the
hat is echoed below in the blue and white stripes
of the dress, softened over the shoulders by a
black lace shawl, and lower down by the white
lace of the sleeves, and then brought into contrast
with the splendid red of the quilted petticoat,

itself softened in part by a gauze veiling. Into this
harmony of blue and white, black and white and
red the pale flesh tones merge easily, the painting
of the face in reflected light aiding the general
harmony, and making the whole work one of
those lours dc force of chiaroscuro for the like of
which we have to go back to Rembrandt. Only
in one respect, indeed, is the work inferior to that
of the very greatest of the old masters. The
defect lies in the modelling of the hands and the
neck. They are delightfully suggested, and take
their place perfectly within the picture scheme ;
but underlying the suggestion there is not the
complete knowledge that underlies the suggestion
of the older masters, who were trained draughts-
men as well as trained painters. Yet to make
much of such a defect is mere pedantry, where so
many excellencies are consummately joined.
There is hardly a portrait in the gallery that would
not look either too hard or too flimsy, too dull or
too sharp, if set beside Kelly O'lhicit, and that,
perhaps, is the best indication of Reynolds's rank
among the great m;isters.'

' The coloured pl.ite forms p.nrtof the excellent popul.ir series
of reproductions, ' Die G.ilericn Europas,' published by Messrs.
Secmann, of Leipzig, the monthly parts of which have been
frequently reviewed m these columns.

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A NEGLECTED POINT IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF ENAMEL

cA^ BY EDWARD DILLON cu>

this invaluable

\ the 'glossary' attached to the
• Guide to the Mediaeval Room '
recently issued by the trustees
of the British Museum, there is
perhaps nothing of greater in-
terest than the few pages packed
full of information that deal
with the subject of enamel. As
ittle handbook is accessible to
eve^^•bodv, I will take it as my text-book for a few
notes on that department of the cuts tin fen that
deals with the decoration of a surface of metal or
of pottery by fusing upon it variously coloured
substances known as enamels.

There is one essential requisite for these enamels.
They must be made of a substance that is fusible
at a lower temperature than the base upon which
thev rest. This is a self-evident, what may be
called an a priori condition. Now, as a matter of
experience, it will be found that from the earliest
times to the present day the substance selected to
fulfil this condition has varied but little.
Whether spread in various ways upon the surface
of metal or applied over the glaze of pottery,' the
essential constituent of all enamels has always
been a silicate of lead. The problems that faced
the craftsman have always been connected with the
preparation of this flux and the staining of it by
various metallic oxides.

It may be said that there is nothing new in all
this — the facts are to be found in all the hand-
books that deal with the enameller's art. This
may be so, but what 1 would point out is that in
theattempts to clear up the many thorny problems
connected with the history of enamels it has per-
haps not been sufficiently recognized that the
acquaintance with a flux of the nature described,
that is to say, with a fusible glass of lead, was
practically a sine qua non for the manufacture of
enamels upon metal. Now, I think it may be
safelv asserted that the Egyptians up to Ptolemaic,
if not to Roman times, had no knowledge of such
a glass or flux. The primitive glass of the Egypt-
ians is a lime-soda silicate, identical in composi-
tion with the glass of the Romans, of the Saracens,
and with the normal type of glass in use in later
times. It would be quite impossible to fuse such
a glass upon the surface of copper or between
meshes of gold without melting the metallic base.
The vitreous glaze of Egyptian pottery was of a
similar composition. I cannot, therefore, agree
with the statement in the British Museum
' glossary ' that it would have been 'natural and
easy ' for the Egyptians to have employed enamel

> The glaze itself of pottery may or may not contain lead, but
as a matter of practical convenience it will be well to keep this
glaze strictly apart. On (he other hand, Ihe decoration over
the glaze has long been generally known as enamel, and there
is this justification in the use of the term— it is, in the main,
of the same composition as the enamels applied to metal
sarfaces.

to decorate metal objects.^ The reason why the
Egyptians had no true enamels is simply this :
they were unacquainted with the application of lead
to form a readily fusible glass.'

The absence of true enamels from the great
family of inlaid jewellery — the orf'cverie cloisonne
that probably had its origin in Egypt in the time
of the twelfth dynasty or earlier — has often been
noticed. The strangely circuitous path by which
this type of jewellery passed in later days by way
of western Asia, traversed . Europe in the path of
the Germanic invasion, and finally reached England
with the Anglo-Saxons has been admirablv worked
out by Mr. balton (' Archaeologia,' Vol." LVIII).
It is one of the most fascinating stories in the
history of art. But perhaps the strangest chapter
in this long story is the last. When, after some
thousand years or more of wandering, this primi-
tive method of cell inlay reached the west of
Europe with the advance of the Germanic tribes,
it for a time pushed into the background the
much more recent process of decoration by means
of a readily fusible glass melted into the hollows
of a metallic surface — the chcnipleie enamel, I
mean, of the old Celtic inhabitants. The triumph,
however, of the inlaid jewellery was short-lived.
After their conversion to Christianity, the Germanic
peoples soon learnt to appreciate, and at times to
copy, the minutely finished cell enamels of the
Byzantines, and before long the very home of the
Prankish tribes, who had above all delighted in
their garnet and glass inlaid jewellery — ' the middle
kingdom' of Lorraine — became the centre of a
new school of chaniplcve enamel.

But I am not here tracing the history of enamel.
My special concern is with the place of origin and
the date of discovery of a particular kind of fusible
glass containing lead. 1 want to accentuate the
fact that the knowledge of such a glass has had an
influence on certain of the 'minor arts 'that has
scarcely been sufficiently appreciated as yet. This
lead glass has indeed had a threefold application :
first, as an invaluable glaze for pottery, then as a
basis for all kinds of enamels, and, finally, as a

^So again M.Molinier. 'II me semble bien diRicile d'admetlre
que des artistes aussi habiles que les Egyptiens et qui surtout
ont pou*S2 si avant I'etude de lart de la verrerie et de \\ poterie
emaillee n'aient point connu des une epoque tres ancienne
I'application des emaux sur un excipient metallique ' (' Les .-Vrls
appliques i rinduslrie,' Vol. IV, p. 29). But note that neither
M. Molinier nor the English authorities can bring forward a
single e.\ample of true enamel from Egyptian tombs.

' Further proof that the Egyptians, had they been able, would
have replaced their inlaid cell jewellery by a true enamel on
metal may be found in the fact that on their so-called porcelain
as a basis they applied at times what may be strictly called
champlcvc enamels. On some plaques of this ' porcelain ' in
the British Museum small compartments with sharply defined
edges have been cut out, and these have been filled p.arlly with
inlays of coloured stones and partly with coloured pastes, now
for the most part decomposed ; these pastes have apparently
been fused into the hollows, perhaps by a second bakmg of
the whole mass. It would be interesting to know the compo-
sition of the decayed mass remaining in the cells.

373

Early History of Euamel

material for (he imitation of precious stones. Willi
its application in the eighteenth century to the
manufacture of ' table glass' I am not here con-
cerned.

The primitive glxss of the ancient Egyptians
was always a somewhat rare substance ; nor do I
think that in later times glass was ever made in the
Nile \-alley on a large scaled-cheap and abundant
fuel was always wanting. The glass that in the
days of Cicero was shipped to Rome from Alex-
andria probably h.id its origin further cast.
We must, however, remember tliat the new glass
made with the blowing rod — soon to become an
important Roman industr>' — w.is identical in com-
position with that from which the Egyptians had
for ages been making their little objects of vcrroierie
— their little flasks and their plaques for inlays :
it was a soda-lime glass, only melting at a high
temperature. But just at the time when this new
art of blowing vessels of glass was spreading
westward, the existence of a new material was
becoming more generally known — a formula had
been arrived at by means of which a glass could
be made that w;is not only fusible at a much lower
temperature, but which by certain secret processes
could l>e stained with the most various and brilliant
colours. This was the viirum pliitiibctiin, the
mysterious substance that the early writers on the
goldsmith's arts and on alchemy dangled before
the eyes of the reader without fully explaining its
nature. In course of time this new glass of lead
in a measure took the place of the ' primitive glass '
of the Egyptians, being, like the old Egyptian glass,
applied above all to small articles of venolcrU:
For such purposes the brilliance of its colours
and its ready fusibility were recommendations.

It is a curious history, the application of glass of
lead to the imitation of precious stones. It is told
in a strange literature where we come into contact
with the shady company of the magician and the
alchemist. This literature — if the term may be
allowed for such a farrago of incoherent charms
and recipes — may have had its origin in Egypt,
but its home from later chissical times all through
(he early middle ages was in Syria. I can only
here mention that the cryptic formulas that abound
in these manuscripts have over and over again
relation to the manufacture and colouring of glass
of lead .uid that the Jews seem always to have
taken a prominent place among the craftsmen.
Vilnim pltiinbcum,J udaciim scilicet, says an early
wrifer.

To re(urn now to that application of glass of
lead with which this discussion took its start.
Perhaps the earliest examples of true enamels that
can be pointed to are those from the cemetery of
Koban m the Cauciisus — these are of the clunupln-c
class. The date of these Koban enamels is very
uncertain ; by some they are placed as far back as
the nin(h or (en(h century B.C. ; at any rate, (hey
are found ;ii>sociatcd with objects of a very early

374

type. There is then a long gap in our history,
filled only by the sparing use of an enamel-like
substance on Greek jewellery- (perhaps here the b;ise
is rather tin than lead) and by the studs of red
enamel on the arms and fibulae of Celtic tribes.
Then, in the first century of our era we find the
art fully developed. On the one hand, cbafiipleir
enamels of the finest type have been found in Eng-
land in Romano-Hritish tombs ; and in distant
Nubia, on the other hand, from the pyramid toml>s of
native queens, at Merawi or Ncpata, near the fourth
Cataract, a v\<:h pai iirc oi jewellery of true c/(.'/.sc';/Ht-
enamel has been extracted. That there should be
little or nothing to fill up the gaps between these
widely separated spots shows how much still
remains to be worked out in this department.

The use of lead in the glaze of pottery is above
all characteristic of early mediaeval times. I do
not think that any of this pottery with unctuous
transparent glazes of yellow or green tints is earlier
than the first century U.c. In Egypt, pottery
with a glaze of this description is to be associated
with the days of Roman rule at the earliest. In
Mesopotamia, on the other hand, the application
of enamel-like glaze containing both tin and lead
to the surface of various kinds of pottery — to
bricks above all — had been known from very early
times.

On the whole, then, we may say that it was only
after the first century of our era that these various
applications of glass of lead became generally
known in Europe. We have seen that the manu-
facture and the colouring of glass pastes for
artificial gems were during the middle ages a care-
fully guarded secret. Doubtless, although we
have here less evidence for the facts, the employ-
ment of lead in the glazing of pottery and for
enamel was at the beginning a scarcely less well
guarded craft. In any case, the details of the pro-
cesses would probably be known to very few
persons. Both the sources of the material and the
rule of thumb recipes may often have been lost in
times of war, and during the wanderings of the
tribes.

And at this point we come face to face with a
problem that presents itself in the case of many
other inquiries of this kind. Are we to associate
these rapid advances in the technique of glass —
I include both the art of blowing glass and the
knowledge of glass of lead — with the \-alley of the
Nile, or rather with (hat vague hinteilaml of
western Asia of which at this time the principal
exits to the west were through the Phoenician
ports of Syria? In either case it was the absorb-
tion of these lands in (he Roman empire (hat so
rapidly made these advances the common property
of the western world.

As regards the first — the Nile valley — our
sources of information are comparatively plenti-
ful. Not only have the tombs been ransacked,
bu( of late years some a((empt has been made to

separate, and even to arrange separately, the finds
that date from later times— Greek, Roman, Coptic
and early Arab. Much remains here to be done,
but the material in our museums has vastly in-
creased of late. Unfortunately little light comes
from Eg}'pt on this question of the use of lead for
glazes for pastes and for enamels. Even well into
Roman times the Egyptians kept, in the main, to
their old methods. In the case of glass, towards
the end of the Ptolemaic period, or perhaps even
later, the new industry made its way, as else-
where, into the Roman em,pire, as an already well-
developed art.

Let us turn to what for want of a more definite
term we may call western Asia. Partly by a
process of exhaustion, partly by a few facts gleaned
here and there, we can make a shrewd guess that
the great advances in the development of the
manufacture of glass in the first centuries before
our era — advances that, as I have said, were soon
spread far and wide by Rome — were made in the
coast-towns of Syria— in Sidon in the first place.
At the same time the earlier stages of advance may
well have been worked out in more distant lands,
either in the Euphrates valley or in regions further
to the north and east. Now, although in these
regions for two generations and more, diggings on
avast scale have been going forward, yet little light
has been thrown from this source on the early
history of glass or, indeed, on the many other
important technical and artistic developments of
the centuries preceding and following our era.

The fact is that the attention of the explorer has
been practically confined to earlier times. Any-
thing that did not bear a cuneiform inscription
has been cast aside as late and of little interest, or
if preserved, no accurate record has been kept of
its provenance. There has, perhaps, been some
change for the better lately ; but let the inquirer
into the arts of western Asia during these later
centuries turn to the Upper Assyrian Room in the
British Museum (the case is little better in the
Louvre). Here he will find some two-thirds of
the space occupied by innumerable examples of
cuneiform writing inscribed on various materials
— a whole library is, in fact, displayed — the con-
tents of each example are carefully summarized
and the source and approximate date indicated.
As for the innumerable objects of bronze or stone,
of glass and of pottery that fill the remaining
space, we are briefly told that they come from
' Babylonia, Assyria and Van,' and that they date
from B.C. 2500 to A.D. 100. Of the individual
objects, not one in a hundred has any further
indication of origin or date. This is the more
tantalizing, as among them are many specimens —
of glass and of glazed pottery especially — that
seem to call out for recognition. We may guess
that such a one is of Sassanian date, but next to
it is another of unmistakable Assyrian origin,

Early History of Enamel

while on the other side is a product of late Greek
or of Roman art.

I dwell upon this, as it is not only the arts of
the glass-maker and the potter that are in question.
An accurate classification of the vast material that
has accumulated— the by-products of the diggings
in Mesopotamia and in Persia — is a pressing need
to-day. If for not more than a tenth of these
miscellaneous objects we could be told where
exactly they were found, and if only some attempts
were made to indicate their approximate date —
Greek, Parthian, Sassanian, or even early Arab —
I think that such collections as these would have
much to teach to those in search of information
concerning these middle centuries and these
middle lands. Vox here, if anywhere, we may
hope to find not only the explanation of not a little
that is obscure in the origin of our European arts,
but many valuable links as well with the early arts
of the Far East.

What has been uppermost in my mind in the
course of these rather rambling remarks has been,
on the one hand, to accentuate the important
part that the knowledge of the use of lead in the
preparation of glazes, of enamels, and of glass
pastes has played in the history of a wide branch
of the lesser arts ; on the other hand, to make a
clairn for the more careful arrangement and, if
possible, separate classification of the miscel-
laneous objects dating from, say, the fourth
century B.C. to the seventh or eighth century A.D.,
of which so vast a number have been found
during the gigantic excavations that have during
the last sixty years been carried on in western
Asia. At the time when these excavations were
in progress all interest seemed to have flagged
when objects of later date than the Persian
monarchy of the Achaemenidae came to hand.
The Assyriologist feels that with the extinction of
the cuneiform character his task is ended. But
we are now coming to see — to speak only of the
history of art — that what was going on during
the subsequent centuries in western Asia is of no
less importance for us to understand. It is here
that we must look for the material that will help
us to unravel many a problem not in the history
of Byzantine art alone, but at times in that of
western Europe as well. Again, as regards the
origins of Saracenic art and the as yet dimly seen
connexions that during these centuries were
established with India, on the one hand, and with
China and even Japan on the other, the little that
has already been learned from these diggings in
Syria, in Mesopotamia, and in Persia has sharpened
our appetite for further knowledge. The origin
and spread of glass of lead in its various forms is
but a sample, so to speak, taken from the many
new developments of the arts that during these
centuries seem to have made their way from
western Asia as a centre.

375

MADONNA BY ANTONIO DA SOLARIO, AND THE
IRESCOES OF SS. SEVERINO E SOSIO AT NAPLES"
BY DR. ETTORE MODIGLIANI cu.

X tlie same review which pub-
ishccl the only two pictures
hitherto known that hear the
name of the Venetian Antonio
Solario 1 wish to draw atteiitiori
:i) a third picture by this painter,
whose historical and artistic per-
sonality has lieen wrapped in
mystery. As a reaction from the legends of the
old writers — of Df Dominici first of all — Antonio's
\ery existence had become doubtful, and remained
so even when works Ix-aring his name and with
an indication of his ailopted country began to come
to light. It will be remembered how much interest
was aroused by the publication by Mr. Roger Fry in
The HiRLixuTON Magazine for May, 1903, of the
Mtnloiiua ttiul Child, then in the possession of
Mr. Asher Wcrtheimer, which iiad been known
to exist in the Leuchtenbcrg collection at St.
Petersburg, but of which there was only a liasty
engraving in Rosini's book. The Miuloiina was
signed with the name of Antonio Solario, not-
withstanding which Mr. Berenson, in The Bi'R-
LiNGTON Magazine for June, 1903 (page 114),
questioned this attribution on the ground of style,
and, reviving the doubts which so many art
historians had previously expressed, from Rosini
to Crowe and Cavalcaselle, found no relation
between the Wertheimer picture and the frescoes
of the cloister of SS. Sevcrino e S<isio at Naples,
given by tradition to Antonio da Solario, surnamed
Lo Zingaro.

Though this great critic's argument did not
can-)' conviction, there remained the indisputable
fact of considerable aflinity of style between the
works of Andrea Solario and the picture connected
with Antonio's name (though the latter had a more
frankly Venetian look) suggesting that the hand
which had painted this charming Mudoiiun was
not the same as that which had traced the signature
beneath her. However, a serious argument against
those who definitely confined the personality of
Antonif) da Solario to the field of Neapolitan
artistic mythology', and denied him the right of
citiztnship in that of history, was again brought to
light by Mr. P"ry when he published in The
BiKLiNGTON Magazine of April, 1905, a second
picture, a Head of SI. John the Baptist on a
crystal dish with a chased base, signed also
'ANTONIL'S Die SOLARIO. VENKTUS. I'.
ANNO DOMINI MDVlll.''

'Tranilaled.

'The picliire, which wa» .-icquired some months ago from
Senator Luca Beltrami, has since been presented lo the
Ambrosiana G.illcr\' in Milan, where it will appear as a docu-
ment of sin/ ■ lance near the works ol Andrea Solario,
with wlunn . acquainted. Of the relations between
Ih'"' " •■ ' ' 'fi the lUiftut, by Andrea, would
a! 1 It resembles this one Rreatly.
It ■ I. . , and is in the Lduvrc (N>>. 1,533).

The probabilities th.it the signature of the Wer-
theimer picture w.is forged — a signature which, by
the w.iy, presented all the external characteristics
of authenticity ^ — diminished, as did those that
a mistake in the name had been made in the
cartellino by some former owner of the picture.
The figure of Antonio da Solario beg.m to issue
from tile world of shadows. But since Mr. Fry's
second discovery did not lend itself, especially
considering the nature of the subject, to inquiries
and comparisons which might have illuminated
some side of the question, the problem remained :
Who is this Antonio Solario who painted at the
end of the quattrocento and the beginning of the
cinqiiecento, in a manner which, according to
Mr. Berenson's opinion of the Wertheimer picture,
had no affinity with the famous frescoes at Naples
by tliat Antonio Solario who was surnamed Lo
Zingaro, and, it we believe De Dominici, was a
Neapolitan and lived in the first half of the fifteenth
century ? But several Neapolitan writers * prior to
De Dominici had already affirmed that Lo Zingaro,
the author of those frescoes in the cloisters of
SS. Severino e Sosio, was a Venetian, and lived
about 1495 ; and modern criticism,' if at first un-
certain, ill the opinions uf Cavalcaselle, Burck-
hardt and Morelli, had finally recognized in them
the work of an artist taught in the school of
Carpaccio, Gentile Bellini and Montagna, and
painting with his assistants in that cloister during
the last years of the quattrocento.

There is, then, no difficulty on the ground of
date or school in identifying the Antonio Solario
of the two signed pictures with the painter of the
Neapolitan frescoes of the history of St. Benedict.
Vet no work was known which could change this
possibility to certainty, which should constitute a
luik between the two panels and the frescoes at
Naples, and would give certain proof of the
identity of their authorship. Now, by the good
fortune which seems sometimes to protect art
criticism, this work has come to light. It appeared
last year in one of the great national art markets,
and the present writer secured its purch.ise by the
Italian Government for the N.aples Gallery, where

' By the courtesy of Mr. Wertheimer, I have been permitted
to examine the sif^nature clnsely with a Klass, and have nut
found any hint of forKery. I may add that the sifjnature runt
precisely thus : ' Aiitoiiiiis lic sclano veucUis /'.'

*Cf. iJ'Engenio, ' Xapoli sacra.' Naples, MDCXXHI, p. 3M ;
C. Cel.ino, ' Oclle noti/ie . . . delta cilt.i di Napoli,' Naples,
MDCXCII, Giurnala III, 227 ; P.Sarnelli, 'Giiida dei foreslieri
per Napoli,' Naples. MDCXCVIII, p. nx (from d'Engenio), etc.

'See U. Kri/.xoni, ' .Vile Ililiana del Kinascimenl<i,' Milan,
1801, p. 47 onwards; B. Berenson, in The BtRLlNOTuN
Ma(;a/inf., June, 190J, p. 114. See also L. Serra, in ' L'Arte,'
IX (i<>ofj), p. 206 and onward', where the frescoes are attributed
partly to an unknown Veneti.in painter (perhaps Solario) and
partly, we do not know with how much foundation, to Riccardo
Oiiartararo and his pupils. The signatures of the two London
pictures are in the article civeii erroneously ; the date 1495 does
not exist upon the Wcitheiuicr Miuionna.

37^

MADONNA AND CHILD. BY ANTONIO DA SOLAEJIO
IN THE NAPLES MLSELM

A MADl>NNA BY ANTONIO DA SOLARIO

»v-»»^»^■•

^'' !

> a;

a
o

>•
a

•r —

3 X

'-*l5Vr

o <

A ^ 3[iadonna'* by Antonio da Solario

it is now placed, after the colour had been fixed in
some places and the good condition of the picture
definitively insured by Luigi Cavenaghi.

The painting is on panel, and represents, almost
life-size, a Madonna and Child, worshipped
by the donor or a devout personage." The
beautiful photograph which we publish here
makes it unnecessary to describe the picture in
detail or to demonstrate at length what artistic
currents are followed in this work, so conspicuously
V'enetian. In fact, its author's derivation from
the Vivarini and from Giovanni Bellini and his
connexion with the Venetian art of the last
decades of the fifteenth century are self-evident.
The lines are rather hard, the modelling a little
flat and schematic, the contours sharp, the
colouring harsh (perhaps damaged by the hand
of some clumsy restorer), especially in the cloak,
which is of a clear blue with a lining of orange
yellow. But these are peculiarities which, if
unlike those of the Wertheimer Madonna, which
is more morbid, refined and fused, and belongs to
a more advanced period of Venetian art, take us
back directly to the art which flowered on the
lagoons, including Murano (one remembers the
work of Alvise), at a period one or two decades
before 1500.

As in the Wertheimer Madonna, the inscription
is on a cartellino on the front edge of the table on
which the Child is standing. It is in capitals, and
runs thus : —

'ANTON I VS . DE .
SOLARIVS (s/(-)
V[£A'£7TS]. P[/A'A7r] '

Thus there is no doubt that this Antonio da
Solario, the author of the Head of St. John the
Baptist and of tiie Madonna already published in
The Burlington Mag.'vzine, is the man who
painted some of the frescoes in the cloister at
Naples, and supervised the execution of the whole
cycle representing the history of St. Benedict. If
we compare with our Madonna the first three
frescoes which belong to the same artist, together
with the landscape of the fourth (the ninth of the
series), which in all probability is by the same
hand, notwithstanding the condition of these
frescoes and the repaints with which they have
been partly disfigured, we shall find sufficient
analogies in the types, in the modelling, in the
draperies, and above all in the landscape. More-
over, in the background of the Wertheimer
picture the motives of the landscape are the same
as those of the frescoes : the same rocks cut into
strange conventional forms, the same trees with
sparse foliage grouped in concentric clusters,
the same clouds like running waves of smoke,

° It may not be impossible to identify him by means of the
crest on the ring which he wears on the index linger of his left
hand. The crest shows a shield with three white horizontal
bars diminishing on a black ground. The shield is surmounted
by a coronet of small white beads on a dark brown ground.

which Antonio seems to imitate from Cima ;
in short, the same way of feeling and of rendering
nature.

Now, therefore, we can settle the identity of the
author of the three signed pictures with the
painter Antonio Solario, called Lo Zingaro, who,
according to D'Engenio, Celano, Moschini, etc.,
painted the frescoes of SS. Severino e Sosio. And
therefore, declining, until we have proof to the
contrary, to put faith in the fancies of De Dominici,
repeated by subsequent writers ; discarding all the
legendary authorship ascribed to Lo Zingaro of
numerous Neapolitan pictures'; strongly doubting
the tradition of his having painted at Montecassino,
we may, in my opinion, conclusively advance the
following points :

Antonio da Solario, whose relationship, whatever
it was, to Andrea is unknown, was in all probability
by origin a native of Solario,'* and received his
artistic education at Venice, studying the works
of the brothers Bellini, of the Vivarini and the
other masters who flourished in Venice during the
two last decades of the fifteenth century. The
picture now published belongs to this period, and
was perhaps painted there. It was probably
followed shortly afterwards by the series of
frescoes of SS. Severino e Sosio, which were
executed by the master with some assistants in the
last years of the century.

It would seem that he had worked in the
Marches '■' in the first years of the following century,
between 1502-3, and that he must have abandoned
them very soon (a reason of his ' Gypsy' laurels !)

'The ancona of the church of S. Pietro ad Aram (now in the
National Gallery at Naples), which had been attributed to him
unanimously by the liistorians, is, as Prince Filangieri has
shown (' .-irchivio storico per leprovincie napoletane,' IX, p. 91),
the work of the Bolognese, Antonio Rimpacta.

*The hypothesis recently put forward (' Rivista abruzzese,'
XXI, p. 639) that he was born at Ripateatina in the Abruz<!i is
entirely to be rejected,

" From a document published by C. Grigioni in the ' Rassegna
Bibl. dell' arte ital.' (IX, 6-8, p. 115); see also the same writer
in 'Arte e Storia,' XXV, 23-24, p. 177) it appears that on the
2i3t .\pril, 1502, a ' Magister Antonius Joannis Pieri de Soleriis
de Venetiis habitator Firmi ' received a commission to finish a
large polyptych for the church of S. Francesco at Osimo, which
had been begun by Vittorio Crivelli, and had remained incom-
plete on his death. This work has been lost. However, there is
preserved in the Leopardi Chapel in the church of S. Francesco
an ancona which, according to a document of the 4th January,
1503 (cf. Anselmi in ' Arte e Storia,' XII, 24, p. 186), would have
been commissioned to the same Maestro .Antonio di Giovanni di
Pietro Veneto. On the other hand, three years afterwards a
payment is made for the same picture to a Maestro Giuliano di
Luca (Giuliano Presutti ?), and therefore we do not know what
part the first-named painter had in the picture, if indeed he
ever had any that was worth consideration. Is this Magister
Antonio our Solario .' I think we can certainly atTirm it. The
unusual dc Soleriis leaves the matter a little doubtful, but is it not
probable that the de Solario took that shape under the pen of
the notary of Fermo by analogy with the usual plural d( Venitiis
which came afterwards .' How«ver, that Antonio h.ad been 3
pupil of Vittorio Crivelli, and that, in the works which have
come down to us, elements of the style of the Marches survive,
cannot possibly be maintained.

I think that inquiries made in the Marches churches,
especially in Fermo and the neighbourhood, will bring to light
other works of our Solario.

381

A ^Madonna'' by Aritotiio da Solano

to /?o once more into Northern Italy. He must,
in fact, liave seen the S/. John ihc Baptist painted
by Andrea in 1507, shortly before his departure for
Normandy, in order to represent the same subject
in a very similar style only one year later. Perhaps
the works of his contemporary, who at this time
was in the first maturity of his talent and his fame,
made Antonio anxious to rival him, and evident
truces of this effort appear in the Wertheinier

Miiiloitna, in which, in spite of the cartellino,
there is a wish to acknowledjje a work of Andrea.
This is, to my thinking, the last of the pictures
of Antonio which liave come down to us, and was
executed when liis technique was more advanced
and freer, his sentiment more refined and softened.
But in this picture, as in all the others, he remains
purely Venetian, as in his signatures he proudly
proclaims himself.

SOME ENGLISH

PORTRAITS BY CARL VOGEL VON
VOGELSTEIN

^ BY DR. HANS W. SINGER d^

wonderful is
\'an Dyck's

>)NS1UER1NG the interest
,!liat faithful portraits must
liave for everybody who cares
for history and for antliro-
polofjy, it seems stian{,'e to
lind so little use made of the
I treasures of this kind which
,\ve actually possess. How
the material for illustration which
so-called ' Iconography ' offers to
anyone writing about the Thirty Years' War !
Yet I do not know of any author, writing upon
the period, who has levied any contributions
therefrom, let alone exhausted the opportunity
which lay before him. The other day 1 proposed
Id an editor of a well-known series of popular art
monographs one on the portrait engravers of
Louis XIV's age. I consider his reply nothing
short of stupefying. He said he thanked me for
my suggestion, but felt that in a popular series like
his there was a chance only for books about artists
in whom the public is interested from having
heard about them. ' Now, I must confess, far from
knowing these N'antcuil, Masson, Edelinck, Drevet,
Poilly, van Schuppen, Daulle, Mcllan, Morin
whom you mention, I have not even ever lifiini of
tlniii, and I don't think I'm exactly what one
would call an outright tyro in matters pertaining
to art,'

Doubtless he is not, since he has success-
fully brought down his series of monograplis to
the eightieth volume by this time ! And yet this
editor had never even heard of such a man as
Nanteuil or Edelinck, let alone being cognizant of
the almost boundless wealth of aesthetical enjoy-
ment and biographical interest which the many
prolific artists of this school have provided for
those who would partake of it.

The collection to which these lines would draw
attention cannot quite compete with the two
mentioned for value and interest. Being the
work of one man, virtually, it is not as com-
prehensive as the product of a wliole school ;
and, again, respectable artist that he was, that

one man was not a genius of the first rank like
Van Dyck.

Carl Christian Vogel the painter, born on the
26th of June, 1788, at Wildenfels in Saxony, was
the son of the artist who painted that delightful,
popular picture of the two little boys with a
jiicture book, now No. 2189 in the Dresden Gallery.
This collection possesses half a dozen portraits by
Carl Christian himself, some small heads, under
life-size, among them. Works like these were
passed by imheeded until a couple of years
ago. The late Centenary Exhibition of German
Art at Berlin, however, has taught us to value
them again. The straightforwardness and lack
of afTectation or strained sentiment apparent in
portraits of this kind are worthy of praise and
pleasing. For they obtained at a time when art in
general, owing to unpropitious circumstances, was
not exactly distinguished by these characteristics,
but aimed rather at too high a mark and grew
bombastic in consequence.

Of Carl Christian Vogel may be said what
applied in a measure to Sir Thomas Lawrence.
His youthful successes as a portrait painter thrust
him into the midst of a busy practice, which
precluded the possibility of a steady and extended
training in his profession. It was not until the
year 181 3 that he man.aged to get to Home, at that
time the Mecca of German art students, and found
at length leisure for the pursuit of his art, without
a view to earning money.

He succeeded in time in entering the ranks of
the ' historical painters,' which was the height of
ambition of painters in his d.iy, and also perfected
his special branch of portrait painting to a notable
degree. There are altarpieces by him in the royal
chapel at Pillnitz, in the cathedral at Naumburg
and several other churches. In 1820 he was
appointed professor at the Dresden Academy of
Art. After his second visit to Italy in 1842, he
devoted himself especially to painting and illus-
trating subjects from Dante.

It does not appear, exactly, what led him to
begin a collection of portrait-drawings of famous

382

Some Snglish ^Portraits by Carl Vogel

men, upon whicli he was engaged for about forty
years of his Hfe. He commenced as early as i8i i,
when he was at St. Petersburg. While at Dresden
it seems as if he must have visited every stranger
of any reputation at all, as soon as he heard of
his arrival, requesting him or her to give him a
sitting. Large additions to his collection were
made at London and especially at Rome during
his second stay there. He finally bought or
begged for portrait-drawings by other artists in
cases where he was not able to reach the sitter
himself.

This collection was sold by him, in several sec-
tions, to the Royal Print Room at Dresden, where
it is to be found to this day of course, with a few
additions, made after Vogel's death. How famous
it once was and in what estimation the acquisition
was held transpires from the fact that besides
receiving the not inconsiderable sum of 600 thalcrs,
the artist was knighted (at his own proposal) in
order to cancel an obligation which money alone
was supposed insufficient to meet — the simple Carl
Vogel becoming Vogel von Vogelstein.

Covering so long a period of life these drawings
— there are 783 in all, including those not by
Vogel's own pencil — vary of course greatly in
value and quality. For one thing, some are
painstakingly finished in consequence of his being
granted a number of sittings — others are mere
sketches of persons who had perhaps only half an
hour or an hour to spare. The majority of the
early sheets are pencil drawings, and in their
rigour begin to appeal to us again now, whereas
the past generation had a tendency to decry them
as stifl and unrelentingly conscientious. In
later years crayons, crayon and sanguine, with
occasional use of the stump and of flat washes,
prevailed.

As far as one can judge by the help of comparison
with other portraits, these drawings must have been
very ' like.' It is clear that this was the principal
aim of the artist, and that he did not value his
work for its style, but for its subject, did not in fact
think of himself while working so much as of his
sitter. Thus, despite of an occasional real gem,
where a few slight touches of colour make up a
harmony, or the draughtsmanship commands a
charm of contour or modelling, the iconographical
value of the collection is its strong point. V^ogel
added to this value by getting most of his sitters
to sign their names on the sheet, and add a few
dates or a motto. It has thus also become an
important autograph collection.

In looking over the portraits I found nearly fifty
drawings of English and American men and
women. As this was before the days of photo-
graphy, probably these are the only portraits in
existence of some of these sitters, and I therefore

subjoin a list. The reproductions will give a fair
idea of the quality of these drawings.'

Queen Victoria.

— .\udubon, animal painter, son of John James A,
H. A. Barlow, M.D., autlior in London.

James Barry, the painter (drawn by Tcschel).

Henry Peyronnet Briggs, painter in London.

Isambard Brunei, engineer in London.

William Bull, author in Baltimore.

Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, the landscape painter.

Dr. M. Castle, phrenologist.

R. Cobden, free trader (drawn by L. Saulini).

Charles Robert Cockerell, architect in London.

G. Darly, Irish scientist.

George Dawe, the Anglo-Russian painter.

AVilliam Dyce, the painter.

Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, P.R.A.

Richard Evans, painter in London.

Edward Falkener, architect in London.

Edward Finden, the engraver.

John Flaxman, the sculptor (drawn by Richtcr after Caputi).

John Gibson, the sculptor.

Francis Grant (?), the portrait painter (drawn by himself),

Samuel C. Hall, editor of the ' Art Journal.'

Anna M. Hall, lu'e Fielding, author of ' The Buccaneer,

children's books, etc., wife of S. C. H.
Sir George Hayter, painter (drawn by himselQ.
Arthur Hughes, painter to H.M. the Queen.
Anna Jameson, writer on art.
Washington Irving, the American author.
Edwin Landseer, the animal painter.

— Martin, painter of architectural subjects.
Conrad Martin Metz, engraver.

Robert Ralph Noel, phrenologist.

Amelia Opie, lu'c Alderson, author (drawn by H. Peyronnet
Brigg?).

Albert Henry Payne, Englisli publisher settled in Leipzig.

Fred, W. Philips, American painter.

Henry Wm. Pickersgill, portrait painter.

Hiram Powers, the American sculptor.

Louisa, Mary Ann and Eliza Sharpe, sisters, painters (minia-
tures by Eliza Sharpe).

Sir Martin Archer Shee, P.R.A.

Mary Somerville, lu'c F"airfax, painter (Mrs. Craig : drawn by
A. Kestner).

Thomas and Rosalia Kemble Sully, painters (she a native of
Philadelphia, Penna.).

James R. Swinton, portrait painter,

George Augustus Wallis, painter.

Richard Westmacott, painter.

David Wilkie, the painter.

Edwin Williams, painter.

.Alban and William Samuel Woodburn, tine art dealers in
London.

William Wyon, chief engraver to the Royal Mint.

In the last portfolio, the contents of which are
not indexed, there is a drawing of a gentleman
born 1807 in Woodlands, Galloway, Scotland, and
still residing there when this portrait was taken,
whose very illegible signature seems to me to read
Wm. L. Graham.

1 The Gibson and Jameson drawings are simple crayon
sketches. For Irving the artist seems to have combined crayon
with soft pencil, using the stump also. Dyce was done with
crayon and stump, Shce apparently with a very soft black lead
pencil. The Queen Victoria is a very delicate and retined
drawing, to which a black-and-white half-tone block cannot do
justice. Pencil, crayon, stumping. Indian ink are combined,
with touches of sanguine on cheeks and lips. There is. per-
haps, slightly too much hnish in this work, which lacks vigour
to the same degree that portrait-lithographs in the forlies and
fifties of the last century do.

383

cA. NOTES ON VARIOUS WORKS OF ART hw»

THE ABBEY OF S. BKRUX, BY R. P.
BONINGTON

The picture by Boninglon which wc are pcriiiiltcd
to reproduce has liceu recently acquired by the
Corporation of Nottingham for their Art Gallery.
It will be familiar to many readers of TllK
Blkungton Magazine from the fact that it
formed one of the attractions of Messrs. Shepherd's
exhibition in Kinji Street, to;;ether with a hne
early landscape by Crome which, we believe, has
been purchased for the National Gallery of
Scotland, and the copy by Gainsborouj^h of Van
Dyck's equestrian portr.iit of Charles I, which we
described and reproduced in May.

Bonington shares with Constable the credit of
starting the revolution in French landscape-
painting, which resulted in the rise of the si)-called
Barbizon school. His handsome person, the
praises of his friend Delacroix, the uniform
brilliancy of his work, and his early death, all
combine to keep his memory green. In the
picture which we reproduce his art is seen in
perfect maturity. In its earlier stages it is no less
accomplished, but the accomplishment both in
figure and landscape has the immediate efTective-
ness, the dramatic cleverness, of such painters as
Isabe-v, although from the first the execution is
infinitely more sure and dexterous than was the
Frenchman's. In such paintings as the view of
the Piazzetta in the Tate Gallery we find the same
accomplishment employed in realizing a wholly
different ideal. Here Bonington's aim is precise
and literal to excess. Every part of the picture is
treated with the utmost definition, and with the
keenest possible eye for the cool, pale tonality of
nature, but the result, for all its sincerity, is hard
and cold.

In the Nottingham example Bonington has got
rid of the theatricality of his former method, but
h;is retained the compositional science underlying
it, just as he hius got rid of the hardness of the
Venetian picture, while retaining its truth of tone
and detail. The formal lines of the architecture
are so deftly planned and so subtly foiled and
blended with the tones of the sky and the ground
that we never feel for a moment that in less
competent hands they would be stiff. The pale
gravish blue of the sky consorts perfectly both
with the crumbling sunlit walls and the pale
shadows, made more luminous by contrast with
the grass and trees beU)w, while the brushwork
shows everywhere that certainty, force, and delicate
precision which make the masterpieces of
Canaletto a source of endless delight to the
painter. What is most wonderful, however,
about the picture is the almost ascetic restraint
which it displays, and to which it owes its per-
fection of tone. Turner might have seen the
subject thus, but in no period of his career could
he have kept himself so well in hand, have
refrained from infusing some liint of the glow of

384

sunset with the light which plays upon the t.iU
columns and spandrels, some touch of gold with
the pale sky, some ruddy tint of autumn with the
grass and trees. The thing might thus h.ave
acquired a more Venetian richness and fullness of
effect, but it would inevitably have lost the
freshness which is its distinctive charm, and in
virtue of which Bonington maintains his claim to
be counted among the pioneers of modern
painting. Too often, even in his fine coast scenes,
this freshness is attained at the cost of the graver
constructive side of pictcjrial art, but in such rare
works as this he shows himself the peer of Turner
and Constable. Neither the science of the one
nor the sincerity of the other is lacking here,
and before this austere masterpiece we are com-
pelled to realize that the world lost by Boning-
ton's death a much greater m.tster than his other
compositions, supremely brilliant as they are,
would lead us to suspect.

HEAD OF THE HORSE WHOSE RIDER HAS
0 1 liRTHRO 1 1 '.V HELIODORVS

A FRAGMENT OF A CARTOON BY
RAPHAEL

The fresco of the Hcliodorus marks a
critical point in Raphael's career. The subject
was dictated by the political success of his
patron, Julius \\, who had just secured the
retirement of the French troops from Italy, but
the treatment was influenced by an event which in
the lapse of time has assumed far greater import-
ance— the unveiling of the Sistine ceiling in the
year 151 1. That event revealed a pictorial con-
ception of the human figure such as the world had
never seen before, and Raphael at once set himself
to blend with his own steadily advancing art all
that he could gather from the genius of his great
rival. The result is not a complete success, for
the fresco as a whole is somewhat gloomy and
turbulent, while the execution, being largely the
work of pupils and assistants, is coarse and hea\-y.
The bye-products of Raphael's effort are, on the
other hand, among his most splendid achievements.

The University Galleries at Oxford among their
many treasures possess a sheet of studies of
kneeling women of supreme power and beauty,
which are to be included, I believe, in the next part
of Mr. Colvin's great work. Nowhere does Raphael
reveal a more perfect combination of life, power
,ind beauty. Never did the stimulus of rivalry
with Michelangelo move him more happily.

The drawings might have been termed unsur-
passable, had not Raphael almost surpassed them
in the fr.iginent of the actual cartoon, contained
in file same collection, which has been reproduced
in slightly reduced facsimile as a special plate for
subscribers to THE BURLINGTON Magazine.

That the drawing is a fragment of the actual
cartoon axn hardly be doubted. Not only is it
pricked for transfer to the wall, but by the kindness

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Notes on Various Works of Art

of Mr. J. Marshall of Lewes we have been
furnished with a tracing of the fresco, and the
tracing tits the Oxford fragment exactly. As Sir
Charles Robinson points out in his * Critical
Account of the Drawings by Michel Angelo and
Raffaello in the University Galleries, Oxford '
(p. 220, No. 86), ' Vasari in' his life of Raphael
mentions that fragments of the Heliodorus Cartoon
were then preserved in the house of Francesco
Massini at Cesena. In all probability this was one
of them. Otdey purchased it from the Albani
Palace in Rome in 1801 for £^^Q ; he alludes to it in
the following terms in his Italian School of Design.

' " The head of the horse which was formerly
preserved in the Albani Palace at Rome is
of such marvellous perfection that it can only
be compared to the finest remains of Ancient
Greek Art." '

His praise is not excessive. We must indeed go
to the marble steeds of the Parthenon to find a
similar balance of strength with vital beautv. The
fact is the more curious because as a rule Raphael
seems to have had no eye for the points of a horse,
and was apt to paint horses with hardly more sense
of their peculiar character than was displayed by
Paolo Uccello. In this instance, however, he was
more fortunate. It is evident that his mind
reverted to Leonardo's cartoon of the Baltic of
Aiigliinri, which he had studied as a boy in Florence,
and reverted so enthusiastically that much of the
fury and spirit of Leonardo has survived in his work.
The glaring eye and tossing mane are eloquent
of Leonardo, and from this fragment we may
reconstruct in our imagination the spirit of
Leonardo's epoch-making cartoon and of the
projected Sforza statue more vividly than from any
work by his own hand that has come down to us.

No other drawings for the remaining frescoes
in the Chamber of the Heliodorus are known, so
that this fragment of an actual cartoon is doubly
precious, for rarity as well as for beauty. When,
too, we compare it with the coarse, clumsy hobby-
horse in the fresco, we can estimate what the world
has lost in losing the rest of Raphael's studies for
this room. It may be added that the drawing is
executed in charcoal and black chalk on brown
paper, that the blacks have apparently been fixed
by some kind of varnish that has darkened the
ground, that it measures 27 in. by 21 in., and that
it passed from the Ottley collection to that of Sir
Thomas Lawrence, from which it was acquired for
Oxford in 1845 together with the other drawings of
Michelangelo and Raphael which are the pride of
the University Galleries. C. J. Holmes.

THE REVENGE OF TOMYRIS

(A COMPOSITION AFTER THE MASTER
OF FLEMALLE)

In the nineteenth volume of the 'Jahrbuch'
Dr. von Tschudi published, in an article on the

£ £

master of Flemalle,'a picture given by an English
connoisseur to the Royal Gallery at Berlin,
representing the revenge of Tomyris, queen of the
Massagetes.who killed Cyrus. The subject belongs
to the typological cycle of the ' Speculum humanae
salvationis.' It probably served as one of the
representations of acts of justice, as they are to be
foimd in town halls.

Von Tschudi claims the composition for the
master of Flemalle, pointing out that the manner
of treating receding planes is analogous to pictures
claimed by himself and others for this anonymous
follower of Jan van Eyck — for instance, to the
Marriage of Ihc Virgin, a diptych in the Prado
Museum (published in The Bl-rlixgtox Maga-
zine, 1903, Vol. I, p. 207) that has been ascribed
already to some Hispano-P^lemish painter of the
late fifteenth century (Weale) as well as to a pupil
of Ouwater (Bode), and which at any rate does
not offer sufficient reasons either in its forms and
types or in technical respects to bring it in any
direct connexion with the master of Flemalle.

Other analogies in details which Von Tschudi
enumerates as being striking arguments for the
authorship of this painter (such as the numerous
oriental head coverings, the rich golden ornaments
on the garments, the decorative stripes covered
with meaningless fantastic ciphers and letters of
Greek and Hebrew character) seem characteristic
not so much of a single painter, but rather of the
whole period. They are not at all uncommon,
and are often to be found in various pictures
of the time.

A picture lately purchased by the Academy of
Fine Arts in Vienna shows the same composition
and gives an interesting specimen of late sixteenth
century copying. Dr. Voll of Munich has given in
his recently published ' Vergleichende Gemalde
Studien ' a fine example of the correct method
of comparing these copies with their originals, and
of tracing in them the characteristics and features
of a later style, from whose domination the copy-
ist is not able to free himself. Apart from the
merely formal difference of which he will in
general be conscious, so that while he thinks he
has produced an exact copy the real effect will be
entirely different (cf. Rubens's copy of Titian's
Laviiiia in the Viennese Gallery), the copyist
will nearly always give way to the seduction of
changing those parts of the old — though much
admired — work which seem insupportable to his
advanced taste, trained and developed by the
artistic style of later generations.

In the present case the most striking change in
this respect consists of the addition of a new
figure to the old composition that has come
down to us, as we may with some reason
suppose, in a truthful and exact form. The
intention, which is documented by that addition,
reveals itself easily by its effect. To the taste of
an artist of the late sixteenth century, who was

389

Notes on Various JVorks of Art

thoroughly acquainted with Italian art and all its
subtle compositional principles, the loose compo-
sition shown in the Berlin picture — lacking all
concentration and emphasizing all the figures
almost in an equal manner by bestowing on them
equally a rich and detailed execution — was
unbearable. Therefore he tried with all the means
at his disposal to make it more compact.

The first object he achieved by adding a sixth
figure connecting the lady carrying a little dog
with the female servant holding the vase, and
tilling with a pointing hand the gap that existed
in the old composition between Tomyris and the
servant. By this arrangement the composition
obtains a character of continuity and closeness
which the copyist missed in the old picture. This
is very loose in arrangement, especially on the
I ight hand side, whereas the queen with the two
men already forms in the copy a fairly compact
group.

The same outstretched hand brings into the
picture a trait absolutely characteristic of the
tendency of the author of this work. By this
means he causes the queen to be clearly pointed
out as the principal and central figure, the bearer
of the chief role in the dramatic action. This
effect is further augmented by the coloristic trick
of bestowing on the central figure an arrangement
of very light and fresh colours — red and green —
on which the d.aylight shines brightly, detaching
the figure and emphasizing in this way, too, her
existence, while a contrast to the light vase is
formed by the black cloak. A comparison with
the queen's dark figure in the Berlin picture shows
the difTerence of style, and the greater recession
.attamed by this emphasis.

The secondary figures are treated in brownish
tones and are chiefly in half light. All of them, but
especially the executioner, who in the old picture
by his pompous attire and by the extraordinary
expression of his fat face claims more interest
than was desirable for the total eflect, arc deprived
of their rich apparel and dressed in a simpler way.
The turban of the bearded man behind the group,
which even now shines out too strongly from the
background, alone reminds us of the former rich-
ness. The expression of both these figures has
lost its remarkable sternness, and has become
rather empty and commonplace. The frowning
executioner, now less broad and monumental, is
represented with a hat and bearded ; the string of
pearls he wears round his neck and f.illing down
his breast seems to have been misunderstood, and
is represented here as belonging to the sword.

The change of the greatest importance is in the
recession of the planes. The Berlin picture intro-
duces a gallery formed by slender gothic columns
with represent. itions of biblical scenes on the
capitals, as they are commonly shown in Nether-
landish quattrocento pictures. They separate the
actors from a hall in the background with coloured

windows — a spacial disposition of ancient and
relatively primitive character which occurs in
the pictures of jan van Eyck and his successors.
The fi.xed height of the columns also eflfects
a limitation of the space at the top, the figures
being enclosed as in a cell, recalling the treatment
found in mediaeval art. In the Viennese picture
this arrangement is replaced by typical Italian
Renaissance architecture, as it is to be seen in
sixteenth century Venetian pictures. The effect
of this is double. We get deeper recession of the
planes, according to the sixteenth century style ;
and secondly, the sharp bound.iry at the top is
replaced by unlimited space. The way the pillars
are cut off at the top of the picture is of itself a
sullicient argument to prove the late date of this
work ; it causes the imagination of the obser\'er to
build up an architecture more proportionate to
the figures than in the Berlin picture.

A number of other differences seem to have
been caused by less urgent necessities than those
imposed by the different stylistic feeling. The
body of Cyrus is not dressed in rich royal apparel,
but in a bluish shining steel armour, and the head
is not crowned. It might be suggested that such
an archaism as that of dressing a king, even
when a prisoner, with sceptre and crown, seemed
unnatural to the copyist, a child of a more ration-
alistic epoch, as also did the archaic dress of the
queen with its letter-covered stripes. To explain
his uncommon subject the copyist wrote a verse
on the base of the pillar,

' Sanguinem ferox sitisti Cyre,
Sanguinem bibe.'
Altogether every brush-stroke proves the origin of
this picture. Note the antique Roman cloak of the
executioner covering his left shoulder, as well as
the lower arm of the queen coming out of the
parted sleeve and calling to mind similar Venetian
motives.

The two figures on the right speak a language
of their own. Apart from the style of their
costume, their facial types and their portrait-like
way of looking out of the picture — the woman
with the dog being especially different from the
same figure in the Berlin picture — they remind
us of special sixteenth century Flemish types, as
we know them from portraits by Fourbus or some
other pupil of Kloris.

It may be that special connoisseurs of the art of
this period will be able to find a definite attribution
for this not uninteresting copy.

George Souotka.

A NOTE ON C. N. COCHINS SECOND RE-
VISION OF ABRAHAM BOSSES ' TRAICTE
DES MANIERES DE GRAVER'
BOSSF.'S treatise, one of the earliest books on the
practice of engraving, was published in 1645. '"
1701 it was reissued, with the addition of a new
manner of biting etchings used by Sebastien Le

Clerc, which is the earliest indication known of
the use of the present method of the bath. The
work was again revised and issued with con-
siderable additions by C. N. Cochin the younger,
under the title ' De la maniere de graver a I'eau-
forte et au burin et de lagravure en maniere noire.
Avec la fa^on de construire les presses modernes,
et d'imprimer en taille-douce. Par Abrahan
Bosse, Graveur du Roi. Nouvelle edition.
Revue corrigee et augmentee du double, et
enrichie de dix-neuf planches en taille-douce. A
Paris . . . chez Charles Antoine Jombert. . . .
MDCCXLV.' A second issue of Cochin's revision,
with further additions, appeared, according to the
title-page in all the copies and all the biographies
I have been able to consult, in 1758. The title
differs from that of 1745 as follows; 'Nouvelle
edition, augmentee de I'impression qui imite les
tableaux, de la gravure en maniere de crayon, et
de celle qui imite le lavis. Enrichie de vignettes
et de vingt-une planches en taille-douce.'

'MDCCLVIir appears on the title-page, and
1758 in Arabic numerals in the 'Approbation' of
the new edition at the end (after p. 205). That a
date so clearly given in Arabic and Roman
numerals should be in error is curious ; but, if
correct, it would lead to the startling admission
that Le Prince introduced aquatint ten years
before the accepted date.

Cochin's position as secretary of the French
Royal Academy lends great weight to his authority
in the history of this period of experiments in new
manners of engraving, and a fundamental in-
accuracy of this sort might at any time mislead
the unwary student. The following are the chief
points which prove that some rectification is
needed : —

(i) P. 133. — Footnote states that the article on
the crayon manner was extracted from the
' Recueil des Planches sur les Sciences et les Arts,
4""° livraison, article gravure.' This ' Recueil ' is a
part of the great ' Encyclopedic ' of Diderot and
D'Alembert, which started in the year 1751.
Vol. VII, with the article on 'Gravure,' is dated
1757, but the corresponding part of the 'Recueil
des Planches' did not appear till 1767.

(ii) P. 140. — Note on the introduction of crayon
engraving. After remarking that the Academy's
certificate and a royal pension seemed to claim

Notes on Various Works of Art

the invention of the crayon manner for J. C.
Franfois, the editor proceeds to speak of De-
marteau and Bonnet, referring to the success
recently achieved by the latter in a new method
of imitating pastel. Now, Francois had received
the certificate in question in 1757 and the king's
pension in the following year ; but it is very
improbable that Bonnet had developed his pastel
method at that date. Basan (' Dictionnaire,'
second edition, 1789) gives 1735 as the date of
Bonnet's birth, but, according to the best authority
(Chavignerie and Auvray, 1882), it did not occur
till 1743. In either case 1758 would seem too
early for the position which is accorded him.

(iii) P. 141. Reference to twenty-nine prints
exhibited by Le Prince at the Academy, executed
in a special method of his own which he still kept
secret. These twenty-nine plates were exhibited
in the Salon of 1769 (see J. J. Guiffrey, 'Collection
des livrets des Anciennes Expositions, 1769,' Paris,
Feb., 1870), and the earliest date on any aquatint
plate by Le Prince is 1768.

(iv) P. 145. — Allusion to a frontispiece by
Bonnet to a new edition of ' Recueil de tetes de
caracteres gravees d'apres Leonardo de Vinci'
(with etchings by Caylus) as 'just published by
jombert.' This edition belongs to the year 1767.
(It has a side interest in showing Bonnet producing
something very like aquatint a year before Le
Prince's first authenticated attempt.)

From (iii) it follows that the text cannot have
been written before 1769, and from (iv) that it
cannot be long subsequent to this date. The only
positive evidence of the actual date is found on
p. 143, in the reference to 'Arthur Po[u]nd,
publishing in London, about 40 years ago, a
set of chiaroscuri. . . .' This seems to allude to
the series of 1734-35, which would fix the edition
roughly about 1774. The Roman MDCCLVIII
might conceivably be an error for MDCCLXXIII,
but, unless the printer merely repeated this
original error in the Arabic numerals of the
'Approbation,' the explanation is quite unsatis-
factory. I see no reason whatever to think that
any parts of the book are later additions, and I
am of necessity driven to regard the whole as
being published in any case within a few years
after 1769. Perhaps some bibliographer may find
the real clue. A. M. Hind.

«A. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR <^

EGYPT AND THE CERAMIC ART OF
THE NEARER EAST

To the Editor of The Burlington Magazine.

Sir, — In the course of Dr. Butler's learned
review of the evidence in favour of the Egyptian,
as against the Persian or Syrian, origin of the use
of lustre and wall tiles, entitled ' Egypt and the
Ceramic Art of the Nearer East,' published in The

Burlington Magazine for July, he says (p. 224)
that if the statements of the Persian, Nasir-i-
Khusrau (A.D. 1047), be not rejected, 'then it
follows that the art of painting in lustre had its
origin in Egypt, and not in Persia, and that, at
whatever period it began, it had reached to great
perfection before the middle of the eleventh century,
but had not then spread northward to Syria or
westward to Kairtian, to ivhich Ndsir-i-Khusrau's

Letters to the Editor

Iruvds cxUiuUd ' ; anci .us rL-;j.ircl.s tilc-work, Dr.
Butler contends that irom Egypt it 'spread out-
wards tlirough Syria,' the earliest extant example
he cites being that in tlie Dome of the Keck, 1027.
May I be allowed to point out that there appears
to be evidence of much earlier date to connect
both lustre and tilc-work with Mesopotamia, if not
Syria proper ? This evidence, if the literary
sources upon which it is bitsed stand the test of
investigation, will prove that, so far from the
p;issage I have italicized above being a statement
of fact, the lustre technique of Nearer Asia,
applied to tiles, travelled the length of the
Mediterranean, and precisely to Kairuan, in the
ninth century.

The evidence in question has been available
since 1899 in Monsieur H. Saladin's ' Les Monu-
ments Historiques de la Tunisie; La Mosquee de
Sidi-Okba a Kairouan ' (pp. 16, 64, 97), and it
amounts to this ; that when Ibrahim el Aghlab
enlarged the great mosque at Kairuan, in A.D. 894,
he ornamented the wall above the mihrab with
tiles, enamelled and painted with designs in lustre
pigment, some of which were procured from
Bagdad and some made on the spot by a Bagdad
potter.

The native historians who are the sources of the
tr.idition are given in Monsieur Saladin's mono-
graph, with drawings of the tiles, which are also
reproduced in the just-published ' Manuel d'Art
Musulman/ Vol. 11 (p. 256), by Monsieur Gaston
Migeon. Yours truly,

A. Va\ de Plt.

To the Editor of The Blklingtox Magazine.
Sir, — Mr. Van de Put's letter unfortunately
finds me away from home and from books, so
that I cannot possibly verify or criticize the very
remarkable statement which he makes on the
authority of M. Saladin. But I hope to look into
the matter in time to send a note, with your
permission, for the October number.

A. J. BfTLER.

AX EARLY FLEMISH POF^TKAIT l\ THE
NATIONAL GALLERY

To lh£ Editor 0/ The BlRLlNGTON MAGAZINE.

Sir, — Has it occurred to any one that No. 943,
Portrait of a Mnii, in the Early Flemish Room
of the National Gallery, might possibly be by the
hand that executed the little Madonna and Cliilit,
hanging close to it, and which is lent by Mr.
Salting, and attributed to Dierick Bouts ? In cich
picture there is an open window, through which
a landscape is seen ; these landscapes are strik-
ingly similar both in treatment and colour. The
trees have a thick impasto, with high lights. In
each picture the distance is represented by the
same unnatural blue. The wooden shutters be-
Irav the s;ime hand in the way in which the rusty
streaks under the nails are indicated. (It is diffi-
cult to see these in the photograph of the
Madonna. The wood itself is also painted in a
precisely similar way. Moreover, the painting of
the figures in each panel is alike, and this is
especially noticeable in the treatment of the hair
and dresses. The character of the eyes of the
man is to me quite similar to that of the infant
Christ. It may be said that the hands are not at
all alike, but this dilticulty is easily overcome
when we realize that whilst one picture is a
portrait, the other emanated entirely from the
artist's im.iginafion ; this fact would account for
the superiority of the painting of the hands in the
portrait of the man. Another point of interest is
the date of the portrait (' 1462 ') ; for when we
examine it we find that the lirst three figures are
given in 'intaglio ' and the Last in ' cameo.' This
peculiarity tends to prove that the artist was no
common craftsman, but a man of imagination
and even genius. Taking into consideration all
these similarities, is it not probable that this
exquisite little portrait was painted by the author
of the Madonna— Hut is to s.iy, by Dierick

Bouts ? 1 remain. Your obedient servant,
Gerald Parker Smith.

cA. ART BOOKS OF THE MONTH ^

The Discoveries in Crete and their Bearing

o>f the History ok Ancient Civilisation.

By Ronald M. Burrows, Professor of Greek

in the University College, Cardiff. London :

John Murray. 1907. 5s. net.

ANTloflTlis Cretoises, premiere serie. Cinquante

planches par G. .Maraghiannis. Texfe de L.

Pernier et G. Karo. Vienna : Phototypie

Victor Angerer. 1907. £1 4s. net.

The author of 'The Discoveries in Crete' is an

accomplished classical scholar who has left the

fenced and orderly fields of his daily labours and

gonea-hunting in the haunted forest behind them.

As a result of his wanderings he has produced a

pleasantly written guide for others who would
find their way about these pathless wilds.
Whether ten years hence any one will find it easy
or advantageous to follow him is open to question.
New evicknce springs up year by year and hides
the old. The landmarks in prehistoric archaeology
are moved as the results of each season's work alter
the explorers' views about periods and relations.
The author flattcrwl himself that his book would
appear 'during a partial lull of excavation.' It is
true that the British School has movetl to Sparta,
and that the German eagle, after hovermg .1 while
over Crete, has swooped on a site in the Western
Pcloponncsc in quest of the Palace of Nestor. But

392

Italians and Americans are still on the spot, and at
Knossos Mr. Evans has just obtained fresh clues
of far-reaching importance. However, the book
will always have an interest as a record of what an
able historian, who had visited Crete and read
almost everything that had been written about
recent discoveries, could extract from the welter of
facts and theories in 1907. He reproduces ail
manner of speculations from obscure periodicals
and adds a few of his own, seasoning them with
shrewd and often humorous criticism. Some of
them do not deserve the attention that he bestows ;
such are the dreams that connect steatite vases
made in Crete with bronze urns made in Italy seven
hundred years later — on the ground that boxers
appear on both — or regard the Minoan population
of Crete as invaders from northern Europe because
they and the later Goths both had wasp waists.

In dealing with theories Mr. Burrows's learning
and common sense generally make him a judicious
guide. With the actual documents, the remains
of Cretan palaces and cities and the treasures of
the museum at Candia, he is not so familiar as with
the literature ; and want of first-hand knowledge
sometimes leads him astray. A case in point is
the chamber-tomb at Muliana in which instances
of inhumation and incineration occurred together.
It is the leading case for the transition from burial
to burning, from bronze to iron : on one side
of a chamber-tomb late Mycenaean vases, bronze
weapons and fibulae, with unburned bones ; on
the other Mycenaean vases of slightly later type,
one containing ashes, and fragments of an iron
sword and knife. Our author speaks of the
cinerary urn as ' resembling in design the Early
Greek vases found near the Dipylon gate at Athens.'
There is no such resemblance. In form and
decoration the Muliana vases represent the later
stages of a purely native development. Mr.
Burrows has been misled by a remark of the
Cretan writer who described the tomb. It is
curious, by the way, that he says so little of the
services as excavator and organizer of Dr.
Joseph Hatzidakes, who for thirty years has
smoothed the path of every foreign explorer in
turn and administers the somewhat severe law of
antiquities with justice and tact.

'Crete was as much part of the East in the
Minoan age as Constantinople is to-day.' But
she had closer ties with the South than with the
East, with Africa than with any part of Asia. The
currents flowed northward, not westward ;
Minoan civilization spread first to Melos and
Thera, then to the mainland, but it learned no-
thing from Cyprus, and taught little to Sicily. Its
finer qualities were home-grown. To this day
the creative faculty is not uncommon among the
Cretans of the hills. The art of improvising in
song flourishes there as nowhere else in Greece.
Lace and needlework of surpassing delicacy are
produced in mud-floored cottages. The peasant

^rt Books of the Month

who saved the contents of the Muliana tomb, and
gave so clear an account of its arrangement that
scholars have agreed to accept his evidence, is
by no means the only Cretan whose instinct was
to preserve where that of most peasants, even in
Greece, is to destroy. The first collection of
' Kamarais pottery ' was formed by a shepherd of
Ida who dug the sherds out of the floor of the
cave and pieced them together on winter nights,
rejoicing in their beauty of form and colouring.
It was by a mere chance that they were conveyed
to Candia, where Mr. Myres saw them and realized
their significance.

Mr. Burrows is so much interested in the work
of British excavators that he scarcely does justice
to that of the Italian mission. Perhaps he found
it impossible to discuss the Southern Palaces,
Phaistos and Hagia Triada, without plans or views.
He ought to provide the plans in his next edition.
For the views he can in future refer to ' Antiquites
Cretoises,' a volume of photographs of Cretan sites
and antiquities which has just been issued by Mr.
Maraghiannis, an enterprising photographer of
Candia. It omits Knossos, to which the pub-
lisher hopes to devote a second volume, but all
the other sites, or objects from them, are repre-
sented. Here are the courts and stairways of
Phaistos, and the mcgaron of Hagia Triada, with
the pillar-lamps of carven stone flanking its door-
way, jars with bizarre Middle Minoan decoration
from the lower strata of these palaces, and painted
laniakes from Anogia in the same district.
Unfortunately the limestone sarcophagus with
painted scenes of sacrifice, the most wonderful of
all Minoan monuments, is not included. Then
come the Dictaean Cave and the peak of Petsofa,
both explored by the British School and offering a
dramatic contrast : here perilous descents to a
torch-lit stalactite grotto, where the god of war
was propitiated with gifts of miniature weapons ;
there pilgrimages to a hill-top shrine of healing,
where a clay portrait of the worshipper or a model
of his ailing limb w-as offered to an unknown
deity, probably the mountain mother. These
sites in Eastern Crete have less architectural
splendour than the cities in the centre of the
island, but surpass them in romance and variety.
What strange possibilities are suggested by that
hoard of clay seal-impressions which Mr. Hogarth
found at Zakro ! Compared with the hundreds of
Cretan seal-stones in our museums this series of
monstrous and fantastic types is seen to be quite
abnormal ; they must be evidence of trade
between Zakro and some region that has yet to be
explored. The book ends with the archaic terra-
cotta sculptures from Praisos and other Hellenic
monuments. Dr. Karo, one of the few German
scholars who have written on the Cretan dis-
coveries after adequate study, has furnished a
bibliography, and Dr. Pcrnier, of the Italian
mission, a preface. R. C. B.

393

Art Books of the Month

The Frescoes in the Chapel at Eton
College. Facsimiles of the drawings by K.
H. Essex, with explanatory notes by Montague
Rhodes "lames, Litt.D. Provost of King's
College, Cambridge. Eton College : Spottis-
woode and Co., Ltd. 1907. 7s. 6d.
The wall spaces above the choir-stalls in Eton
College Chapel were decorated with a series of
frescoes, which appear, from the College accounts,
to have been begun in the year 1479-80 and finished
eight years later. The principal artist employed
was one William H.ikcr, obviously an Englishman.
Here it m.iy be remarked in passing that as a
general rule old records concerned with the making
of pictures in England prove the artists employed
to have been English, whilst when any good
English pictures of mediaeval date are found, the
superior persons, who give us such positive infor-
mation from internal evidence aJone, usually
ascribe them to foreign manufacture.

In the year 1560 the Eton frescoes were white-
washed over, and afterwards, in part, at any rate,
covered with panelling. In 1847 this panelling
was removed and the frescoes were revealed.
Notwithstanding the intervention of Prince Albert,
the parts of the frescoes which were not promptly
destroyed were covered over again and so remain.
Fortunately Mr. K.H.Essex made drawings after the
frescoes before their second obscuration, and these
drawings have now been reproduced with accom-
panying notes by the Provost of King's College,
Cambridge. The notes are concerned with the
subjects of the pictures — illustrations of miracles
of the Virgin separated from one another by
decorated figures of saints and prophets. A some-
what similar set of illustrations of the Virgin's
miracles are still visible in the Lady Chapel at
Winchester. They were painted about 1498-1524,
or somewhat later than the Eton scries ; neverthe-
less one set throws a good deal of light upon the
other. Theiconograpliicalvalucof the publication
under review hardly requires to be asserted, but
that is a purely archaeological matter and does not
concern the readers of this journal. What we
are particularly concerned about is the artistic
value of the pictures and the place they occupy in
the history of art. Unfortunately the reproductions
could not be directly made from the paintings, but
only from drawings of them done in the year 1847.
They are outline drawings, evidently careful work ;
but they bear the date of their origin very clearly
upon the face of them. They are mediaeval work
seen through early Victorian eyes. Hence it is
not e.asy to argue soundly from them as to the
quality or style of the pictures themselves. The
general design and pose of the figures and draperies
may be assumed to be correct. From these broad
factors we can conclude that there is little Flemish
influence in the work. The draperies are simpler
in fall and fold than is usual at the time in the
Low Countries. Moreover, the female hgurcs lack

the characteristic F'lemish pose. The central part
of the body is not thrust forward, nor is the
upper part of the figure so slight as Flemish
painters loved to make it. Figures in violent
action are poorly rendered. Those are best
which most nearly resemble woodcarvings. In
fact, so far as design is concerned, the sculpture
tradition is closely followed. The paintings are
bas-reliefs and figures in the round, standing in
niches, represented on the flat. The style descends
by an apparently unbroken tradition from the
fourteenth century, and may quite well have been
characteristic of the local schools. It does not at
all resemble that of contemporary miniatures.
The good and careful drawing of architectural
detail is in marked contrast with the usual slovenly
architecture of fifteenth century English minia-
ture paintings. It is evident that William Baker
thoroughly understood the structure of the some-
what complicated architectural detail he had to
depict. Probably he was accustomed to work
under or in conjunction with architects and
sculptors. A great deal of woodcarving had
to be painted in his days, and no doubt he was
familiar with that class of work and had done
plenty of it himself. Perhaps he was also
experienced in painting panels for the numer-
ous carved screens that were then being made.
Such panels, primarily intended to be a cheaper
substitute for coloured bas-reliefs, naturally were
designed in accordance with the bas-relief tradition.
Indeed, if the figures and niches in the Eton
frescoes were car\ed in the round in wood (as
might easily be done) and the pictures painted on
panels between them, the whole might enter with
perfect propriety into the composition of a screen.
The lack of affiliation of the artist to Flanders is
thus easily explained. We may suspect that he
stands somewhat nearer to the P'rench tradition,
but confidence on that point could only arise from
an inspection of the pictures themselves. Probably
he was a purely English craftsman who learnt his
art and derived his main traditions from his own
country, where schools and painters were far more
numerous than most people nowadays suspect.
Dr. James has done a valuable service in giving
publicity to these drawings. It may be hoped
that before long the remains of the originals will
once more see the light. Obviously they are
amongst the best fifteenth ccnturj' English w.ill
paintings surviving, and every scrap of English
work of the date is precious, where so little remains
and so much has been destroyed.

Martin Conway.

ULD English Fiknitire. By G. Owen

Wheeler. L. Upcott Gill. 7s, 6d. net.
This is a book which the amateur, who purchases
eighteenth century furniture on his own judg-
ment, would do well to buy. The author is
evidently a collector of long standing who has

394

studied the subject from every point of view, and
few, if any, can read his boolc without adding to
their knowledge. One of the most useful parts of
' Old English Furniture ' is where the author deals
with ' fakes,' also giving minute instructions to
the t>T0 whereby genuine old pieces can be told,
and inlay read Mike large print.' In these par-
ticulars his book seems to me to be better than
anything that has gone before if, as he has made a
special study of the ordinary ' conversions,' and
put them down plainly and clearly.

This is all done in a pleasant, interesting manner,
while at times he is not only readable but amusing.
For instance : ' Speaking after a banquet at Guild-
ford, a gentleman some years ago stated that the
staple trade of that ancient and interesting town
was the manufacture of antique furniture.' The
illustrations are particularly well chosen, so well
indeed as to render any attempt at fault-finding
hypercritical. A specially interesting piece is a
' Portuguese ' settee on page 199, the difference
between its treatment and that of the Chippendale
school being lucidly explained in the text. Reason-
ing from the known to the unknown, I would
endorse Mr. Wheeler's views regarding it ; for,
at the time when rococo work was most rampant
in England, such settees had practically ceased to
be made.

As a general rule I can follow Mr. Wheeler,
both in ascriptions and dates. I cannot, however,
agree with him with regard to the typical ladder

Art Books of the Month

back chair. Where there is any internal evidence
by which to date them, such as scooped out seats,
or tiie introduction of ornaments like the honey-
suckle pattern, I have never been able to place
them much before 1780, and to me the ' Chippen-
dale ' specimens illustrated have all evidences of
later design. Mr. Wheeler has an interesting
theory that Sheraton came to London about 1780,
or perhaps as early as 1770, but he is careful to
throw it out as a suggestion. If either of these dates
is even approximately correct, the supposition that
Sheraton was influenced by other designers, such
as Shearer and Gillow (which, by the way, Mr.
Wheeler appears to endorse) must be re-considered.
I know nothing in furniture between 1770 and,
say, 1785 which leads me to suspect, or even allow,
Sheraton influence, and I cannot accept the theory
as stated, more particularly as Sheraton's tract on
baptism was published at Stockton in 1782. On
the other hand it is perfectly possible he came to
London shortly after that, and was well known as
a designer before Shearer published in 1788.

Mr. Wheeler has made considerable use both
of Miss Constance Simon's book and a recent
publication of my own, part of which latter
appeared in The Burlington M.4GAZine. He,
however, acknowledges this, not only in the
preface but continually through the text. It is
therefore a great personal satisfaction to me that
I can conscientiously end this notice without a
single word of really adverse criticism. R. S. C.

^ RECENT ART PUBLICATIONS* cK>

ART HISTORY
Pica (V.). L'arte giapponese al Museo Chiossone di Genova.

(11x8) Bergamo (Istituto d'Arti grafiche). 1. 6. 332

illustralions.
Seymour (F.). Siena and her artists. (8x5) London (Unwin),

6s. Illustrated.
Leclerq (Dom H.). Manuel d'archeologie chretienne, depuis

lesorigines jusqu' au ViUe si&cle. 2 vols. (10x6) Paris

(Letouzey and Aine), ^4 fr. Illustrated.
Manuel d'Art Musulman — I L' Architecture, par H. Saladin ;

II Les arts plastiques et industriels, precede d'un precis

historique des civilisations musulmanes, par G. Migeon.

(2X6) Paris (Picard), Vol. I, 15 fr. ; Vol. II. 15 fr. With

copious illustrations and bibliographies.
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patronage du comite executif de I'Exposition universelle de

Liege, 1905, par G. Terme. (10x7) Li^ge (Benard),

30 fr. 200 photolypes.
Hannover (E.). Danische Kunst des 19 [ahrhunderts. (11x8)

Leipzig (Samann), 4 m. 120 illustrations.

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Stein (M. A.). Ancient Kliotan. Detailed report of archaso-
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described under the orders of H.M. Indian Government.
Two vols. (13X 10) London (Frowde) ; Oxford (Clarendon
Press), 5 guineas. 119 plates.
Maraghiannis (G.). Antiquitfe cretoises. Premiere serie :
cinquante planches. Texte de L. Pernier et G. Karo. (10x13)
Candia (Maraghiannis, editeur), Vienna (phototypie Angei er),
1 8s.
FlTZPATRlCK (S. A. O.). Dublin, a hihtorical and topographic.il
account of the city. Illustrated by W. C. Green. (8x5)
London (Methuen's ' Ancient Cities '), 4s. 6d. net.

•Sizes (height X width) in inches.

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Burrows (R. M.). The discoveries in Crete and their bearing

on the history of ancient civilisation. (9X5) London

(Murray), 5s. net. 4 plates.
CUMONT (E. and F.). Studia Pontica, II. Voyage d'exploration

archtologique dans le Pont et la petite Armenie. (10x7)

Brussels (Lamertin), 17 fr. 50. Illustralions and maps.
M'Call (H. B.). The early history of Bedale in the North

Riding of Yorkshire. (IIX^) London (Stock), 7s. 6d. net.

7 plates.
Randolph (J. A). Welsh Abbeys : being short accounts of

their abbots, lands, buildings, and churches, and their values

at the dissolution. (10x7) Carmarthen (Spurrell), 23.
Chancellor (E. B.). The history of the Squares of London :

topographical and historical. (19x7) London (Kegan

Paul), 21S. net. 36 plates.
Kleinclausz (A.). Dijon et Beaune. (11x8) Paris (Laurens),

4 fr. Illustrated.
FlCKER(J.). Denkmaler der Elsassischen Altertums-Sammlung

zu Strassburg i Els. Christliche Zeit. (15x12) Strasburg

(Heust), 30 m. 52 plates.
Einfeldt (W.). Chronik der Burg Drachenfels. (9x6)

Munich (Rensch), I m. Illustrated.
ScHwiNDRAZHEiM (O.). Unterfranken : eine Streife auf Volks-

kunst und malerische Winkel in und um Unterfranken.

(lox 11) Vienna, Leipzig (Gerlach and Wiedling), 50 m.

882 illustrations.
Borghese (G.). Novara di Sicilia e le sue opere d'arte (da

documenti inediti). (9x6) Messina (Amico), 3 m.
Bargagli Petrucci (F.). Montepulciano, Chiusi e la Val di

Chiana senese. (11x8) Bergamo (Istituto d'Arti gratiche),

1. 4. 166 illustrations.
BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS AND MONOGRAPHS
Ellis (E. J.). The real Blake. A portrait biography. (9x6

London (Chatto & Windus), 12s. Plates.

395

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WlLLiAUSoN (G. C). Jolm Uouum.-in, A.K.A , his life and
works. With a catalogue ufhit ilrawinKS- (iix8) I^iiuluii
(Otto, Ltd.). ' Connoisseur ' extra number, 08 pp., illustra-
tions, some Lhromo.

MlLHAELis (S.). Jons Adolph Jciithau. (9x7) Copenhagen
(HaKciup), I. JO. Illustrated publication of the Panish
National Art Society.

Thomson (D. C ). The Krnthets Maris (James, Mailliew,
Wilham). Edited by C. Holme. (12x8) London (■ The
Studio ' summer numlnrr), 5s. net. 73 plates.

CuTAKlLo V MoKl (E.). Ix>s t;raiides caiii^rafos espailoles, \.
Los Morantes. (7x5) Madrid (' Kcvi>ita de Archivos '),
3 pesetas. Kcprliilcd Irom the author's 'Diccionario.'

STADLtN (K. J.). Hans .Miiltscher und seine WerkstatI, ihre
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Strasburg (lleilj), 14 m. 13 plates.

Marx (K.) AuRusle Kodni, ciramiste. (I3X>;I Paris (Society
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KlTirR (I'.l. Joachim von Sandrart als Kiinstler, nebst Versuch
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Reinach (S.). Tableaux inedits ou peuconnus (ires de collections
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Voss (II.). Der I'rsprung des Donaustiles.' tin Stuck
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SiRixt.iiR ((.). Sebastian Hrants bildnisse. (10x7) SIrasbure
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jAMis (M. R.). 1 he ^escoes in the cbapcl at Eton College :
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6 plates.

Nki .MANX (\V.). Heschreibendes Vcrzeichnis der Gem."dde der
vcieciiigttn Saimnlungen dcr Stadt Riga. (8x5) Riga
(Kunstmuseum). 5 m.

Will lAMsoN (G. C). Catalogue of the Collection of miniatures
Ihe property of J. Pierponl Morgan. X'olslandll. (15x10)
Ixindon (privately printed at the Chiswick Press). Photo-
gravures, many hand-painted.

SCrLPTl'RE
KeRMOdf (P. M. C). .Manx Crosses ; or, the inscribed and

sculptured monuments of the Isle of Man from about the

end of the tilth to the tKginning of the Ihirleenth century.

(uxg) London (Uemriisel, 42s. net. Illustrated.
I'AXicoNi (K.). Moiiumento al Cardinale Guf;lielmo de Hray

nella chiesa di S. Domenico in Orvieto : rilievo e studio di

licostruzionc. (18x12) Rome (Tipogr. d'Ara Coeli).

25 drawings reproduced by photo-lithography.
Cfii(Hii.i. (K.). Brunncn aus' Tirol, Voralberg und Sal/burg.

(13x10) Krankfoit (Keller), 15 in. 30 phototypes.

ENGRAVING

llolzschnilte des funfzehnten Jahrhunderts in der Kg).
I-mdesbibliothek zu Stuttgart. (Von W. L. Schrciber),
25 m. — in den Kiirsllich Kurstenbergischen Sammlungen
/u Donaiiescliingen. (Von W. L. Schreibcr), 35 in. —
llolzschnilte und Schrotbliitter aus der Kgl. und Universi-
talsbihliclhek zu Hreslau. (Von W. MolsdorQ, 30 m.
(15x11) Strasburg (Heil/). Coloured facsimiles.

FniEDi.ANUER (M. ].). Albieclit Altdorfers Landschafis Radier-
ungeii. (15x11) Berlin (Cassirer, for the * Graphische
Gesellschafl ').

Reproductions of Prints in the British Museum. Third scries,
Pait I. Specimens of etching by German masters, 1475-
'575- (20x15) London (UritiEh Museum). 29 repro-
ductions.

LoriA (V. von). Goya's seltene Radicrungen und Lilhographien.
(22x15) Berlin (Grote), 50 in. 33 plates, photogravures
and phototypes, with preface, etc., loose in portfolio.

ILLUMINATED MSS.

Codici bobbiesi della Dibliotcca nazionale universitaria di
Torino. Con illuslra/ioni di C. Cip'illa. 2 vols. (19x14)
.Milan (Hoepli), 200 I. Vol. I of the ' Collezione pale.>-
gralica bobbiese.' 90 phototypes.

Bibliolhcque N.-ttionalc. Ke| roductions des Manuscrits : Livre
des Mervcilles (2 vols., 265 plates), 30 fr. Heuresd'.\nne
de Bretagne (<i3 plates), 8 (r. Terence, Comidies (151
plates), I5fr. (8x'i) I'.iris (Impr. Berthaud).

Eisi.KR (K.). Die illuminicrten Handschrilten in Klirnlen.
(14x11) Leipzig (llieisemann), 50 111. Illustrated.
DRAWINGS

KRfV(K.). Die llandzeichnuiigen des .Michelangelo Buonarroti.
(14 X II). Berlin (Bard), 200111. ; .ir in 30 fascicles of 10
plates, each 6 m. or 8 (r. Phototypes.

BlXYoN (L.) Catalogue of drawings by British artists and
artists o( foreign origin working in Great Britain, presci ved
in the Department of Piinlsand Drawings. British Museum.
Vol. IV, S-Z. (10x61 London (British .Museum).

Le Portrait a la Cour des Valois. Crayons Kraiivais du XVI*
siecle conserves au Must'e Conde a Chantilly. Introduc-
tion et nolicesnar E. Moreau-Nelaton. Vol. I. (17x12)
Paris (Lafayette), complete in 4 vols., 400 (r. Phototypes.

THE BOOK
Bl»T (r.). Die Buchrolle in der Kunst: archaologisch-

antiqiiarische I'ntersuchungen zuin antiken Buchwetcii.

(10x71 Leipzig (Tcubnei), I. 'in. njo illustrations.
Sent uart (VV). Das Buch liei den Griechen und Roinern.

(8x3) Berlin Museum Ilandbook, 3 m. 30. 14 illui-

trations.

396

Essi IXG (Prince de). Les livres a figures venitiens de la fin du
XVe siccle et du ccmmtncement du XVle. i ere partie,
tome I. Ouvragcs imprimts de 1^50 a 14^0 tt leurs addi-
tions successives ju^qu' a 1525. (16x12) Paiis (Leclerc),
FUrence (Olschki), I25fr. 3(jO copies only. Phototypes,
some in colour, and process illustrations.
Briqi'et (C. M). Les Kiligranes : dictionnaire historique des
marques du papier des leur apparation vers 1222 jusqu' en
1600. 4V0IS. (13x10) London (Quarilth), 200 fr. 16,112
facsimiles.

MISCELLANEOUS
HoFM.iNN (J.). Francisco de Goya : Katalog seines graphisclien
Wcrkes. (13X10) Vienna (Gesellschaft tiir vervielfiilli-
gende Kunst), 40 ni. Eighteen phototypes and facsimiles
of watermarks.
BiRY (T. T.). Remains of Ecclesiastical Woodwork. (12x10)
London (Batstord), los. 6d. net. Twenty plates, measured
drawings.
SCHMID |W. M.). Katalog der Texlil-Sammlung J. Spengel,
Miinchen— Warthof. (17X12I Munich (Helbing), 5 m. ;
or, printed on art paper and bound, 12m. 149 reproductions.
La Bibliolheque Nationale : Batiments et organisation. Les
estampes ; les medailles. — Les imprimes ; les manuscrits.
(10x7) Paris (Laurens), 7 fr. Two separate vols, of the
series 'Les Grandes Institutions de la France," the text by
officers of the different departments. 138 illuslrations.
Wazerolle (F.). L'Hotel des Monnaies ; les hatimenls, le
musee, Its ateliers. (10 x 7) Paris (Laurens) : ' Les
Grandes Institutions de France.' Illustrated.
B.*x (P. B. I.). Bangor, the Cathedral and See. Perkixs
(Rev. T ). Romsey Abbey. (8x5) London (Bell's
Cathedral Serie^il, is. 6d, net. lUus-trated.
Haseloff (A.). Die Glasgemalde der Elizabelhkirche in
Marburg. (27x20) Berlin (Spielmeyer), 50 m. 21 plates,
3 in colour.
Decorations, interieurs et meubles des epoques Louis XV,
Louis XVI et Empire : revue mensuelle d'art dccoratif.
(15x11) Paris (Foulard), 45 frs. per annum, or 12 parts
(each containing 8 phototyptt) at 4 frs.
Froehner (\V.). Collection de la ccmlesse R. de beam.
26 cahier. (13x10) Paris (privately printed). [Jledailles
grecques : manuscrit de Cluni. 5 plates. Part I printed
in 1905]
Tebbs (L. A). The Art of Bobbin Lace : a practical textbook
of workmanship. Also how to clean and repair valuable
lace, etc. (10x7) London (Chapman & Hall), 5s. net.
Illustrated,

"Recent ^rt Publications

Guida sommaria per il visitalore della Biblioteca Ambrosiana
edelle collezioni anntsse. (9x5) Milan (Allegretti), 3 1.
92 illustrations.

BOOKS RECEIVED

Corolla Sancti Ead.mvkdi. The Garland of St. Edmlnd,
King and Martyr. Edited, with a preface, by Lord
F'rancis Hervey. John Murray. los. 6d. net.

NlEDERLANDISCHfS Ki.XSTLER-LEXIKOX. Vol. II. Part 5. Dr.
Alfred von Wurzbach. Halm & Goldmann, Vienna.

SWASTHi LiPi. A scientific script for the languages of India.
L. A. Venkatachala Aiyar. Muhikkil Garaib Press,
Ponnani, and West Coait Press, Calicut. 4 annas.

MAGAZINES

Edinburgh Review. Quarterly Review. Badminton. Crown.
Albany. Craftsman. Fortnightly Review. Nineteenth
Century and After. Art Journal. Contemporary Review.
National Review. Fine Art Trade Journal. Journal of
the Gypsy Lore Society. Builder. Chronique des Arts et
de la Curiosite. Gazette des Beau.\-Arts. Jahrbuch der
koniglich preussischen Kunstsammlungen (Berlin). Reper-
torium fur Kunstwissenschaft, Vol.'XXX, Hart 3. Die
Kunst (Munich). Die Graphischen Kiinste, XXX, 3
(Vienna). La Rassegna Nazionale (Florence). Augusta
Perusia (Perugia). L'Arle (Rome). Onze Kunst (Amster-
dam). Kokka (Tokyo).

CATALOGUES, REPORTS AND PAMPHLETS

F'iftieth Annual Report of the Trustees of the National Portrait
Gallery, 1906-7. Price \\A. Darling & Son, Ltd.— ' Un
Psautier Provencal de 1365.' Joseph Baer & Co.,
Frankfurt-a.-Main.- English Ecclesiastical Embroideries
in Victoria and Albert Muj^eum. Price ijd. Wyman &
Sons. — Fifty-fourth Annual Report of Committee of Public
Libraries, Museums and Ait Galleries of Liverpool for
year ending 31st December, 1906. G. Tinling & Co., Ltd.,
Liverpool. — Old Pictures on view at Mtstrs. Frederick
Miiller & Co.'s, Doelenstraat, Amsterdam, July, August,
September. Mr. Murray's Quarterly List. Memorial of
Further Strand Improvement Committee. Bulletin of the
Pennsylvania Museum (Philadelphia). Das Metallbecken
des Atabeks Lulu von Mosul (Munich).

^Jm ART IN AMERICA r*^

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE COLLEC-
TION OF MR. HENRY C. FRICK
ARTICLE I

HE three landscapes by
Turner, Corot and Rousseau
which we reproduce are not
only superb and character-
istic examples of three great
masters of landscape, but
illustrate more effectively
,_^___^ ,_, than any written description
could do the process of transition from the art of
the past to the art of the present.

Of the three, that by Turner — Fishing Boats
Entering Calais Harbour — is the earliest in date.
As students of that master will immediately
recognize, it is contemporaneous, or almost con-
temporaneous, with the famous Calais Pier in the
National Gallery, and dates, therefore, from the
first years of the nineteenth century. The name
of Turner is so commonly associated with the

dazzling work of his later life that even those who
have studied him are apt to overlook, or at least to
take as a matter of course, these sombre, powerful
works of his youth, and regard them merely as a
stage in the development of a more perfect art.

Yet if we can imagine for a moment that
Turner had died in or about the year 1810, our
estimate of his genius might, indeed, have to be
altered in character, but his place among the
world's landscape painters would remain unaltered.
Three or four works by Rubens, one or two works
by Rembrandt, are the only landscapes painted
before the nineteenth century which can stand u
comparison with these products of Turner's early
manhood. Had Turner died young, we could
not have termed him one of the pioneers of
modern painting as we now do, but we should
have been compelled to admit that he was the last
of the Old Masters.

When we try in the presence of such a picture
as this of Mr. Frick's to reckon what that distinc-
tion implies, we shall find that it implies much.

F F

397

Art in America

Wc cm recoil) i/e lliis most easily, perhaps, by
comparing this Fulling liotits, by Turner, painlccl
about the year 1S03, with Lc Lac, by Corot,
exhibited at the Salon of 1861, and the I'illtige 0/
Bccijiiiiliiy, by Theodore Rousseau, wliich was
exhibited in the Salon of 1864. There is, it is
true, a certain j^ap K-twcen the picture by Turner
and the picture by Corot, a {jap which we have to
till in ima^jination with a work by Constable ; but
since our present purpose is to emphasize chanjje
rather than continuity, the gap may safely be
disregarded.

The most obvious difference between the
English picture and the two French pictures is
in luminosity. Turner obtains his effect by the
strongest possible contrast of light and shade.
His work has thus a dramatic force which is
lacking in cither of the other canvases, and his
pigment has a richness and variety of substance
which is unattainable in oil, except when accom-
panied with considerable force of tone. By
adopting this force of tone Turner was able to get
a strength and contrast of pictorial effect com-
parable with that obtained by the Old Masters in
portraiture and mythological sidijects, yet, as all
modern critics have recognized, this effect was
obtained by the sacrifice of those splendours of
natural colour, atmosphere and sunlight which
Tinner himself afterwards discovered and
exploited.

Turner's picture, in short, is powerful in
effect, superbly painted, and filled with the
closest possible observation of nature, but in
its tonality it is artificial, as almost all the Old
Masters were artificial. In its conception, too,
we cannot deny that there is something of the
same artificiality, if, indeed, so unkind a word can
be used of the power, skill and invention wliicli
Turner displays. Compared with the appearance
of similar effects in nature, wc have to admit
that the lighting is forced, and that the arrange-
ment of the shadows is arbitrary. And yet,
when these deductions are all made, the picture
remains a masterpiece superbly conceived,
superbly observed, and painted with unrivalled
power and science. The tones and lighting m.iy
not be scienliiically accurate, but the world has
yet to produce a master who is able to render so
perfectly in oil paint the weight, motion and
majesty of a stormy sea.

To p;i3s to the delightful picture by Corot is to
pass into a different world. We may still, perhaps,
be reminded here and there of the work of the
Old M.istcrs, or at least of one Old Ma.ster, for the
grouping of the foliage and the sentiment of the
composition cannot fail to recall a memory of
Claude, but all else is changed. The tone of the
picture has become luminous and fresh with the
freshness of morning, and the very pigment is
handled in the way best calculated to suggest the
rustling of le.ives, the shimmering of water, and

the palpitation of the vaporous sky. Yet this
feeling for nature, this sincere etTort at rendering
the very breath of nature's life, has nat been
allowed to oust or overbalance the necessity for
making a beautiful picture. Corot's touch has
not, it is true, the splendid confidence of Turner,
nor the plastic quality in the paint which seems to
draw and model at the same time ; it is by com-
parison loose, fragmentary, elusive. Yet there is
a science in its freshness as well as in the painter-
like feeling by which the broad m.asses of broken
tone are enlivened and accentuated by the delicate
drawing of the stems and branches. Thus the
picture, with all its lightness of brushwork, lacks
neither force nor shapeliness of touch nor variety,
although it is less forcible, less shapely and less
various in the quality of its pigment than the
Fisliiiif^ lionts. Corot, in fact, has sacrificed some
qualities of good oil painting to his sincere love
of nature, but he still remains a delightful and
accomplished artist.

In the picture by Rousseau this process of
change has advanced another stage. Much has
been written about Rousseau's admiration for the
technique of the Old Masters, and it is evident that
his careful study of the great landscape masters of
Holland was a lasting intfuence upon his method
of work. The resemblance of his treatment to that
of such masters as Van der Neer is frequently quite
striking, though his pigment is thicker and rougher.
Up to the end of his life Rousseau painted on a
brown monochrome foimdation, in the m.uincr of
the Old M.isters, so that in general appearance his
pictures arc less far removed from them than are
the ideals underlying his art and his general attitude
towards nature and painting. Rousseau set out to
be a naturalist painter pure and simple, and Mr.
Frick's most characteristic picture shows exactly
how far he succeeded in realizing that aim.

In the pictures of Turner and Corot there w.as
much of nature, but it was nature always con-
trolled, ordered and regulated by art — by a skilful
arrangement of light and shade, by a scientific
disposition and balancing of masses, by a desire
to make the picture into an agreeable ordered
pattern. In the picture by Rousseau these ideas of
formal composition, of deliberate pattern making,
are ruthlessly repressed. 1 he sky-line cuts straight
across the middle of the picture in a horizontal
direction, while in a vertical direction the surface
is bisected with equal formality by a straight ro.ad.
It is viewed under an even illumination which
admits neither the tempestuous contrasts of Turner
nor the romantic mystery of Corot. All is seen
in a clear, almost merciless light, and what that
light reveals to us is a straight street of humble,
clumsy cottages, too trim even to be picturesque,
and redeemed from sheer ugliness only by the
scanty trees and hedges round them. The trees
have none of the grace of Corot's slender birches
and poplars, as the poor cottages have none of

FISHING BOATS EXTKRING CALAIS HAKBori.;, BY TUKNKK
IX THE COLLECTIOX OF MK. HENKY C. FKICK

RECENT ADDITIONS To THE COLI-KCTIoN OF >IK. HENRY C. FRIClC
PLATE I

.^^

IK lAC, BY C'lHlJT
IN Tilt COI.LfcCTlOX

11 MK. IIINKV C. miLK

HtCKST ADDITION'S TO THK COLLECTIOS (it MM. IIKNUV C. IKICK
PLATt II

Art in America

the majesty of Turner's foaming billows and
tossing ships.

Even when we come to the painting we have
to confess that there is an immense gulf between
either the experienced master^' of Turner or the
tender accomplishment of Corot and the dry,
monotonous pats and spots out of which the
Rousseau picture is built. The neglect of Rousseau
by the French academic painters of his day is
never hard to understand, since to any artist
trained to appreciation the achievement of great
masters such as Titian, Velazquez, Rubens or
Rembrandt, such a method as that of Rousseau
would infallibly seem timid, disagreeable, childish.
Here we have no broad sweeps of succulent paint
as with Velazquez, no glowing expanses of
luminous blues and browns as with Titian, no
juicy depths of shadow as with Rembrandt, no
fluent sword-play of the brush as with Rubens,
but a method which at first sight recalls the
niggling of an amateur. In what then does
the supreme merit of Rousseau s picture consist ?
The answer may be given in a single word. Its
merit lies in its sincerity. When looking at the
picture, we are overwhelmed by the feeling that
the place Rousseau has painted looked just so,
that the funny little chimneys, the awkward trees,
the scanty bushes, could we but go to Becquigny,
are all to be found there, and that, could we
choose a dav such as that on which the artist saw
it, the place itself would hardly be more real than
the picture. By throwing to the winds all con-
ventional graces of composition and technique
Rousseau has caught the exact spirit of the
scene, has re-created for us this homely French
village, and has conveyed to us exactly the
sensation which the spectacle of life in such
a remote country place would convey to a
sensitive observer. To Titian or Rubens such
a thing might have seemed hardly a picture at
all ; but it is a fragment of real life expressed
in paint, and in doing it Rousseau has achieved a
thing which almost all his successors have spent
their lives in trying to do, and have spent them
in vain. C. J. Holmes.

CURRENT EVENTS

Ol"R history shows that there have been periods
when American artists did not lack in substantial
recognition and when indeed they were regarded
with the same pride and consideration as their
literar}' confreres, the Irvings, Bryants, Longfellows.
The rich man of our older generations (and it is the
rich who are patrons of art and leaders of taste)
was as a rule a person of culture, who, living in a
small community, was an integral part of it and
an important factor in its everyday life. It was
natural for him to recognize the merit and value
the associations with all distinguished men of his
comparatively small world. But all this changed

with the great wave of commercial and industrial
development and the rapid growing-up of large
cities. If only for the reason that one can hardly
feel the same intimate personal relation towards a
large as a small community — or at least, that it
must be a slow process for us to adapt ourselves
as individuals to the new conditions and become
a working part of the living organism of our
modern cities — the result of this sudden develop-
ment in our activities has been to sever us as
individuals from civic interest and duties. The
enormous fortunes particularly have tended to
segregate their owners from their milieu. Our
rich men became cosmopolitan, and quite naturally
many of them sought for the distinction, so
easily within their reach, of becoming the patrons
of eminent foreign artists whose names were
famous in countries with established and respected
art standards and traditions. Nothing has so
much contributed to our emergence from this
stage of our development as the fact that the
fashions of Europe have proved untrustworthy
guides in such matters and that pictures famous
in their day, and bought at extraordinar)' prices
have turned out in due time to prove of little
financial or artistic value. The lesson has not been
lost. Our present American collectors have profited
by it. They know, to start with, that intelligent
gathering of pictures requires taste and culti-
vation and not the indiscriminate following
of fashions of the day. Hence the great strides
of recent years and the fact that all schools
of ancient and modern art have now their lovers
and purchasers. From statements in the
public press and current report in art circles
there really seems now to be a serious awakening of
interest in American art. American painters and
sculptors of our day long believed, and not without
reason, that collectors of modern work inclined
to favour foreign to the exclusion of American
artists. This has been strikingly true in the field
of portraiture, where the importation of foreign
painters, rarely of the first or second rank and
often of no artistic rank whatever, had become a
well established branch of commerce. But of
late— in what may be the fullness of time— there
have been, as we said, numerous indications of a
change. The authorities of the most important
museums in the country and some public-spirited
citizens are planning to do and already have done
much to encourage American art. Most notable
instances were the gift to the nation of Mr. Charles
E. Freer's entire collection, rich above all in
Whistlers, and the presentation by Mr. William T.
Evans of fifty paintings, all of them, with one
exception, bv native artists, and most by living men.
Bath gifts ai-e m.ide to the Smithsonian Institution
at Washington, which it is planned to make the
future American National Gallery. The Corcoran
Gallery in the same city has purchased pictures
from the exhibition of contemporary .-^mirican art

Art in America

which it was liolclinjij in February of this year,
and the St. Louis Museum has acquired from Mr.
La F'arge his noble painting The Wolf Charmer.
To the Metropolitan Museum of New York one
of the trustees, Mr. George k. Hearn, has given an
endowment of over $125,000, the income of which
is to be applied e.xclusively to the purchase of
contemporary American paintings, with tiiis pro-
vision : that if any artist already represented in the
collection of twelve such works he has given the
museum should paint a better picture than tlic
one he has given, that better one can be purchased
and till' other sold. Of these pictures Alden Weir's
Gran Ihulicc and Thayer's Yoiiii!' ll'oiitaii will
undoubtedly remain among the museum treasures,
and so will the three canvases by Winslow Homer,
Cniinon Rock, Scttnli Lit^lit and Tlic Gulf Slrinin.
While it is beyond our scope even to catalogue
the evidence of this recognition of yXmcrican art
throughout the country, we must not fail to note
the recent acquisition by the Brooklyn Institute
of Arts and Sciences of an interesting full-length
portrait by Whistler of Miss Florence Leyland}

' This is one "if the several cxtciitcci fortius family, Ihc father
Mr. K. K. Leyland, Ihc nmtlicr and the diu^hler. Of Kloreiitc,
Whistler made an etching in dry point in 1S73, as a young girl
with a hoop in her hand, and he also painted troni her the full-
length Blue dill or />\i'iv I.cvIiiikI. three limes commenced, once
completed and finally destroyed by the artist. Some studies of
it have been preserved. The Brooklyn portrait is supposed to
have been executed about 1877. Alter the death of Mr. Lcyl.md
in iXgi, it became Ihc properly of the sitter, who had married
Val Hrinscp, and at the death of Val Prinscp in 1905 it was sold
to Messrs. Ob.ach and Co., from whom it was purchased in April,
1906, by Mr. Augustus Hcaly, Tresidcnt of Ihc Brooklyn
Institute.

Of recent important additions to our" private col-
lections of pictures must be noted with particular
gratification the .NLidruzzo portraits added to the
collection of Mr. James Stillman. These magni-
ficent portraits come from the collection Salvadori
at Trente. The Louvre, which had been coveting
them for more than thirty years, w.is able to open
negotiations for their purchase some two or three
years .ago. A special envoy on his way to close
the alTair was stopped when a few hours from
Trente by a telegram stating th.it the paintings
had been sold.-

The portraits, full-length, life-si/.e and in
admirable condition, represent Cardinal Crisloforo
Madrnzzo, Prince-Bishop of Trente, by Titian,
and his nephews Lodovico and Federijlo Madnnzo.
It is sullicicnt to say that the pictures arc of so
rare a quality tli.it Mr. de T.m/.ia and ^L Georges
Lafencstre judged them worthy of a pl.ice on the
line in the Salon Carre of the Louvre.

Mr. Havermeycr has added to his collection a
superb bust portrait by Ingres, of the period and
ijuality of the Madame de Senonnes, the painter's
acknowledged masterpiece. The picture comes
from Corsic.i and the sitter was a Corsican in the
diplomatic service — charge d'.ilf.iires at Rome, we
believe. This admirable portr.iit takes its place
with, if it is not superior to, the best man portrait
of Ingres, the G/rt//t7, Arcliileclc, of the Museum of
Ai.x.

-Sec the article by M. Georges I.afencslrc in ' I-a Revue de
r.Vrt et de la Curiosite,' for May 10, 1507, with full-page repro-
diclions ol the portraits.

^ ART IN GERMANY rK>

THE GER^LAX 'SALONS' OF THE
YEAR 1907
TllIiKli are only about 275 paintings and less than
fifty sculptures at the thu'teenth exhibition of the
Secession at Berlin, yet it seems to me to be the
best and the most important of all the many with
which we are blessed this summer. Most of the
older Secessionists have become classics by this
time. They have won all along the line, and even
the state and royalty recognize them as the true
leaders in art ; to them public tasks are entrusted,
and upon thein the highest distinctions have
been conferred. Alluding to this circum-itance, a
short introduction to the catalogue explains that
naturally the outw.ird face of these exhibitions
has changed. They are less international than
they were, for such of the foreign ideals as
have stood the test of time have in the meanwhile
been accepted as home ideals ; and the ' impres-
sionistic school no longer shows up to the sam.-
degree as forinerly, since we have brought it to do
for our artists what was necessary.'

This statement must be accepted with some
reserve. Passing through these nine halls, we
still come across a pretty liberal aimunt of work

404

which is extr.ivag.intly 'impressionistic' in the
sense here referred to — viz., th.it of a ruthlessly
rough-and-ready workmanship. The ten Van
Goglis were at least well selected, and even an
untrained eye could ascertain the aim of this art,
though m.my a trained one will be far from
conceding tli.it it h.is been reiched. But now, .is
before, tlie c.iiuMses of Munch f.iil to persu.ide
me ; these wildly-hued alg.ie do not at ai\y angle
or at any distance even faintly suggest trees, nor
has the character of the particular artistic phase to
which they are meant to furnish the key become
with time any pl.iiner tli.in it w.is at the beginning.
Simil.irly, a iiumber t)f l.iiulsc.ipes by Heine R.ith,
H. Nauen, von Brockhusen, M. Sterne (P.iris) ; of
portraits by Tewes, Cuno Amiet, H. M.iurer, the
Jhcrj^arden by Miss Flatow, the Lady al a Tabic
by Noldc, and the scarcely serious nude studies
by J. Puy (P.iris) seein to me to be playing
nothing but their crude fachire — as the French
call it — for a winning card, in the hopes of over-
awing us into silence. In the work of M.ix
Beckmann (.1 Crucifixion, Xnde man and 7uoman)
there is a lamentable lack of taste superadded
which would not be tolerated in any country but

— z

Art in Germany

Germany. It is easy to admit the great amount
of talent and forceful energy apparent in such
work, but it is not easy to see why such almost
morbid abrogation of refinement should be a
requisite, let alone an object.

Portraiture and still life are two branches of
painting which have always received special
attention at the hands of the Berlin Secession ;
the output this year is again excellent. In still
life Emil R. Weiss (.V///s and Fruit), Ernst Oppler,
F. Rhein, Alice Triibner {Doll under a Glass Cover),
Rob. '&xeyex {Japanese Articles), further H. Hiibner
{Tulips), H. Schlittgen, L. Stutz, P. Klein (both
of these fiowers), and the late Ch. Schuch
head the list. Among the portraits some by
Linde-Walther, Luc Simon (Paris), E. R. Weiss,
Werenskiold, Dora Hitz, deserve a word of lively
praise, while others call for more attention.
B. Pankok's portrait of a lady sitting is extremely
piquant in coloration. She is a dark, almost
swarthy, brunette, in a marvellous grey velvet
tight-fitting dress, with a bewitching touch of lilac
at the collar, of blue at the upturned facings of the
sleeve, and of brown in the purse which she holds,
all this being finely relieved by the line of the
old oaken chair. There is not a particle of
Japanese reminiscence in the arrangement, but it
speaks of a similar keen joy in colour symphonies.
Count Kalckreuth's Portrait of himself and of
Senior D. Belirnuinn belong to the kind that
improve upon acquaintance. The sureness of
draughtsmanship and the sagacity with which the
character of the sitter is convincingly interpreted
strike us at the very first view. But the coloration,
though it recognizes the low tones characteristic
of interiors, is somewhat spiritless ; it might
be likened to the voice of a brilliant singer when
indisposed. E. Orlik's double portraits of two
girls, which he calls The Tivo Friends, is extremely
interesting. Ever since his fourteen months' stay
in Japan, Orlik has tried to find some way of
blending the Oriental taste with the Occidental ; in
other words, has tried to see whether there might
not be some way of infusing that peculiar refined
and self-conscious feeling into European pro-
ductions without making them look like mere
imitations. He is gradually coming nearer and
nearer to this goal. The present picture has the
wonderful delicacy of enamel unattended by in-
sipid effeminacy. The gamut of coloration is
very light, and the modelling, with scarcely any
shadows visible, a marvel of skill. The combina-
tion of colours is pleasingly quaint, and that
rare faculty of rushing an extraneous touch of
strong colour into a harmony of hues tuned to a
different key, without ruining them, is in evidence.

W. Triibner is this year not quite as attractive
as usual, but another of the principal props of the
Secession, W. Leistikow, has contributed capital
landscapes. An excellent bit of ' interior ' painting
by E. Spiro, called The Courtesan, showing

uncommon taste as regards the choice of colours
that go well together, and a delightful Thoma,
with his incomparable Italian-azure sky, should
not be forgotten.

To celebrate their president's sixtieth birthday,
the Secession arranged a special l.iebermann
exhibition in one of the rooms. The nineteen
canvases were excellently selected to display the
steady development and increase of this artist's
painter-like qualities. There are one or two early
pictures like the Woman Darning of the year
1880 ; then some of the grayish, plein air pieces of
the beginning of the nineties, not unlike von
Uhde's work of the same time. The rather wild
period when he attempted a new Belgian style
a /aCourtens, but had not quite mastered it, is not
represented. The remaining work is all of the
best, being examples of success in the various
styles that he passed through in his steady search
for the essence of purepaintership. Such pictures
as the Horses in the Water, painted in 1902, are
really about as close an approach to a solution of
the problems involved as an artist can hope to
attain. There is a perfect harmony of subject
and object, enough of nature to satisfy any fair
claims, and enough of the artist's personal will to
make the conception interesting, enough mani-
festation of a spirited technique to engage our
interest without totally engrossing it.

At the Grosse Berliner Ausstellung (Lehrter
Bahnhof) the immense amount of objects shown
and the huge extent of the place are rather more
oppressive than last time : one feels weary and
helpless, after a very short while, and setting aside
the ' special attractions ' the standard of excellency
attained, by the paintings at least, is this year not
as high as it has been the two preceding years.
The exhibition is mildly international, with just a
sprinkling of foreign pictures here and there,
barely enough (except in the Scandinavian and
the portrait rooms) to be noticed. The general
arrangement of the building has been left unaltered,
the huge so-called ' Blue Hall,' stretching almost
across the palace and reserved for statuary, having
been retained. In it a number of exceptionally
striking figures by Lederer, most of them for the
masonry ground-work of his huge Bisntarkstatiie
at Hamburg, rivet our attention.

The 'specialities' begin immediately as you
enter to the right with a large hall reserved for a
display of portraits. There are a few old specimens,
a Hogarth replica, a Reynolds, a Raeburn, a
Romney, Van Dyck, Cosway, Ang. Kauffmann,
Makart, Courbet, and a Canon. About sixty
further portraits are by living masters, and many
of them very fascinating. Steinhausen of Frank-
fort sent a beautiful mild picture of his wife,
Thoma an excellent one of Steinhausen as a young
man, dark and passionate like the work of an old
master. The Frau Ullmann by Tooroop, B.mtzer's
portrait of his wife, and the marvellous Mnie.Rejanc

407

Art in Germany

by Bc'sn;ird (bcloiiginj; to the pianist E. Saner)
have been frequently seen before in German
exhibitions, but are always welcome. Other
strikinj^ works are Mr. Hatigis by Groeber, Mrs.
Hililuock, built up on a tine luiderlone of steel-
blue, by G. Melchei s, C. Hlos's portrait of himself,
two old ladies by K. Hacher. A large number of
rooms show examples of interior house decoration
by Bruno Paul and others. A good deal of
this has been bodily transplanted from last year's
Dresden show, .md excites considerable interest
here, especially now that P.iul has become director
of the Ikriin School of Applied Art. This series
of rooms includes an interesting display of new
ceramic work by the Koyal Charlottenburg-Berlin
factory, which likewise has now a Munich man as
director in the person of Mr. Schmuz-Haudiss.

Two other special features are tiic very full
exhibit of recent German medals and plaiiuettcs,
and the displ.iy of architectural designs. To this
latter tlie Prussian Government Ikls contributed
numerous extremely interesting items, embracing
the plans, etc., of theatres, court houses, government
buildings, bridges, etc., which iiave been erected in
various parts of the kingdom during the past decade.
The cost of construction and other practical infor-
m.ition accompany these models, views and plans.

The Black-and-Whitc Exhibition occupies
twelve smaller rooms this time and has been
excellently selected as well as hung by Mr.
Kappstcin. Delicate etchings by Gold of Vienna,
clever woodcuts by Frit/, I,,ang of Stuttgart, tlie
surprising splatter and stencil work by Jungnichel,
and the powerful, broad craft of Boehle, who has
a touch of Diirerian seriousness about his work,
are the principal things to be seen here.

Three rooms are consecrated to a show of
Danish paintings. There is a conscious, not at all
naive, quietness about the work of the school. Of
l.itc we liave been treated to so much that is
riotously sensational ; tlie newest departure seems
to be, in Denmark at least, to be sensationally
quiet. Scarcely anything occurs or is told by
these pictures : interiors without any figures, or
bits of ground — ane cm scarcely call them l.uul-
scapcs — also unenlivened by figures prevail, and
there is much still life. From problems of colour
the artists seem again to have turned to problems
of drawing. You have to settle down to long and
serious inspection in the-.e rooms — there is nothing
that strikes you at first sight in them — but then
mmy of the delicacies grow to be re.ilitics to you.

The Lehrter B.ihnhof exhibition embr.ices also
a few one-man shows. Room 41 is devoted to the
work of the new president of the Berlin Academy,
Arthur Kimpf. Kampf was well represented at
tile Ac.idemy exhibition in Berlin in January, and
that may explain why this second display within
so short a time in the same town is not quite so
strong as one would hive expected. His ad-
mirable powers as a draughtsiu iti arc apparent,

408

however, here as well as ever. C. Langhammer,
the pastellist and colour monotypist, combined
with the sculptor, M. Schauss, to fill another room.
Frit/ Burger displays about twenty-five portraits in
a third. He is always elegant, never poor, but
rather inclined to turn into the typical portraitist
ui fashionable society.

This exhibition likewise contains a number of
ver)- fine still life pictures ; Zwintscherof Dresden,
H. Looschen and K. Kappstein of Berlin, and
K. P. Junghanns are the authors of four of them.
Among the mass of other work The AVi/ Tea Sii
by Sii.irbina, and some landscapes by Rich. Kaiser
are all that I have space to mention.

The Secession at Munich enters the ring with
an advantage over all its rivals, as it is housed
in the finest building of them all. The exhibition
palace at the Konigsplatz represents architecture
as an art and is not only a building roughly
answering practical ends. The show is very small,
about two hundred pictures, eighty sculptures and
a dozen or so of works in black-and-white. Thus it
was possible to hang the exhibits beautifully, and
the first impression of this show is, perhaps, the
best to be gathered at present throughout Germany.
There are some few foreign works — just enough
to keep up the Secession's old reputation of large-
mindedness as regards the admission of strangers —
and there is nothing inferior, likewise nothing
overwhelming, to be seen there. Even the eccen-
tricities of the Berlin Secession show are missing.
The iloii of the exhibition is certainly the worlc
of Ludwig Schmid-Reutte, who seems to me to
have attained some of the aims which the famous
H. von Marees had in mind. His theme is the
nude human body, which he treats with .a breadth
and superiority of mind most rare. He is striking
without being'far-fetched.aiul he is heroic without
being inflated. His forceful, broad brushwork
and tlie sombre, brown coloration are truly
monumental. Above all he is, if I am right, about
the only man among our painters who c.ui present
us with pictures of nothing but the nude without
seeming strained. The idea — what reason has he for
painting these people naked ? — which forces itself
upon one even when looking at Hodler's works,
does not arise in one when looking at the Cruci-
fixion, At the Crossivav and Resting Fugitives.
Schmid-Reutte has contributed some fine black-
and-white cartoon-sketches of these same designs,
which display an unusually powerful outline.
The figures are boldly circumscribed with a
contour that reminds one of the leadings in
stained glass windows, uiinns their constraint.

Stuck, the Secession's 'strong cud,' has contri-
buted four canvases. The largest one, Hades, seems
to me pretty well subject to the same adverse
criticism that greeted Sir Thomas Lawrence's Stitan
when that f.iilure appeared. Stuck's Crucifixion
is a wonderful bit of colour, but colour on the
rampage, so to speak. As Tooroop used to fondle

Art in Germany

and play with line even to trifling, so Stuck seems
to me to trifle with colour. It is pretty and
eft'ective enough, but then it seems to lack serious-
ness. Stuck's portrait of the Giond-Dnhc of Hesse
is the best favoured of his this year's output. There
is a bit of wilful quaintness in it, but it is a very
lively representation of character, and he succeeds
in making the portrait fascinating.

There is an excellent Sharbina here too, a Ladv
ill a vt'lloic Saloon, which has been bought for the
Munich gallery. Hans Borchardt and Ernst
Oppler have sent fine low-toned Interiors as usual,
H. Hiibneran excellent still life picture. Triihner's
Equestrian Portraits are getting rather too numerous
of late — there are three at this show alone. They
begin to grow mannered, and there is an unpleasing
undertone of asphalt in the coloration : besides,
the horses seem to have engaged more of the
painter's attention than the real sitters.

A few more pictures which seem to me especially
worthy of notice are : E. Spiro's portraits of an Old
Ladx and Laiigliing Lady ivitli a Dog on a Lounge ;
a good Robert Haug ; Drinking Breton Peasants by
Helene Beckerath, in the style of Cottet but more
robust — or shall I say uncouth? ; a fine landscape
by Paterson ; Mother and Child by Viggo
Johansen, quite like all the recent Copenhagen
work, without contrasts, without ' symphonies,'
and but for the fact that ' atmosphere ' is painted
along with it, for all the world like the genre
pictures of 1830-1850 ; a good Male portrait by
R. Beryer ; the rather rough-and-ready, but
effective, railway pictures by Pleuer ; and a fine
marble group. Maternal Felicity, by Fassnacht.

The Jahresausstellung, 1907, at the Glaspalast
in Munich is about as huge as the one at the
Lehrter Bahnhof in Berlin, but decidedly less
interesting. I should say it possesses all the faults
of management that are possible in a case of this
kind. No less than eighteen distinct artists'
societies — the Society of Scottish Artists, and the
' Glasgow Boys ' among them — have been allowed
their own jury and separate room or rooms.
Consequently the selection has been pretty much
a matter of give and take, and the disposition of
the whole show is as confused as possible. Any
one who should, for instance, try to get an
impression of the black-and-white department in
a hurry would soon be driven distracted : he has
to hunt around for things to such an extent.
Everywhere the tight grip of a single governing
hand may be found missing.

Among the artists' groups the one called the
' Scholle ' of Munich appears to me to show up
by far the best. The members have cooled down
somewhat and relinquished the extravagances
with which they made their debnt some years ago.
What they have 'boiled down ' to now is Munich
art at its best — distinctly local and earth-bound,
clever and well in with the trend of the times.
However, not even one of their members turns

out work which impresses one as destined to per-
petual admiration. Even here the personality,
far raised above his fellow-labourers, is con-
spicuously absent. Unless it be Fritz Erler, there
is not a man, among the many hundred whose
work in its multiplicity on these walls dazes you,
of whom you are willing to hope that he will be
remembered after fifty or a hundred years. Erler's
original designs for The Seasons, the mural paint-
ings executed by him at Wiesbaden, are striking
enough indeed. The coloration, joyously light,
full of strong contrasts of bright but mettle hues,
recalls the gayest of late Renaissance fresco-
decoration as far as effectiveness goes.

The Snninier is especially tine, a symphony in
citron, gray and black ; the etifect of the negro's
profile, cut clear against a gray sky, is a thing not
soon to be forgotten.

The four huge pictures are hung in a hall by
themselves. There are four more one-man shows
included in this exhibition. The one of Fritz
August Kaulbach's portraits is disappointing. A
couple of years ago he was, at least, fresh and
pleasing, if npt truly original ; but now there is
too much of one and the same insipid tone of
polite gentility in all his portraits, and the
reminiscences of Lenbach here and there are not
prepossessing. The etchings of the late Wilhelm
Rohr, being in the main reproductions of other
men's work, or at least in the character of
reproductive etchings when they are not, do not
command especial interest. The exhibition of
his life-work is a fit tribute to the memory of an
estimable man and respectable artist, but is not an
event of prime importance. The work of the two
late Munich academicians, Wilhelm von Diez and
Edmund Harburger, is more serious. Harburger
was best known through his almost life-long
connexion with the ' Fliegende Blatter. ' His
drawings of Bavarian peasants were personal to
the core and wonderful feats of humorous charac-
terization ; many of the original cartoons are to
be seen here. His work in oils is scarcely equally
interesting. Painting, brushwork as a craft, on
the other hand,.was distinctly the forte of Wilhelm
von Diez, and it kept him from being common-
place. For his choice of subject and the feeling
which he put into his workwere slightly antiquated.
Like Meissonier, he chose genre subjects from
bygone days, and was always on the verge of
turning out an ' historical falsehood,' and, like
Meissonier, he limited himself to work on a small
scale. Like him, too, it is by means of his
factnre that he attaches more than the interest
of an old costume or a flat joke to his pictures.

Just as in the great Berlin show, I do not mean
to deny the presence of many an interesting and
good picture in this big ^lunich sister aftair.
There are many that I should be well satisfied to
possess. But in a short account like this I am
going on general impressions and deem only

409

Art in Germany

(hings ralhcr out of Ihc crmmoii woitliy of
notice.

The exhibition at Mannheim celebrates the
tercentenary of the foundation of the city, and
likewise its rehabilitation, after an internal of about
one hundred years, as one among the number of
art centres. The building provided was designed
by the Karlsruhe architect, Hilling, and will, at
tlie close of the exhibition, be installed as the Fine
Art Museum. It does not depend upon its orna-
mentation, but rather upon its simple outlines and
excellent proportions tor its effect. The entire
management of the exhibition was entrusted to
Prof. L. Dill, of Karlsruhe, there being no jury to
dispute his decision, except in the case of living
artists ol Baden. His aim was to collect an
international show, displaying, as far as he could
manage, the important departures of these last few
years' art. Of course, some important names are
missing, in spite of the endeavours to make the
show representative. A greater percent.age of the
exhibits than anywhere else are not for sale, and
have been loaned by collectors. Among the
lenders we find the Victoria and Albert Museum.
(It is a matter worthy of note how often German
museums as well as English liave loaned some of
their treasures across the Channel to ordinary
exhibitions within the last three years). There
are proportionately fewer unimportant works (and
none wholly devoid of interest) among the 250 odd
pieces of sculpture and about 600 paintings than
there are in the bigger shows at Berlin and
Munich.

The Munich school is represented best, and
among the foreigners the French, whom Dill
collected personally. He man.iged to secure,
among others, works by Blanche, Cottet, Coui bet,
Dcthomas, Denis, Gericault, Van Gogh, Manet,
H. Martin, Menard, Monet, Pissarro, Kenoir,
T. Roussel, Serusier, Luc Simon, Sisley, G. La
Touche, and Vuillard. The British paintings
were brought together by Prof. Hcilwag ; Laveiy
is represented by three pictures {Ihc llciiiiiiioik
among them), Strang by IhnUilh and three others.
Whistler by Mr. Studd's Girl in W'hUc, Nicholson
by Mi^s AlexiiitiUi, Brangwyn, Ea<t, Austen

Brown, GreifTenhagen, W. Crane, G. Sauter, etc.,
by landscapes and subject pictures.

The success f)f the Dresden 1906 exhibition has
brought it about that Mannheim likewise includes
about twenty examples of house decoration in its
scheme. Amongthemthoseby Hermann (Munich),
and especially those sent by Viennese, are again
rather trying and very aggressively ' modern.'
Prof. Behrens's large saloon is stern but not un-
pleasing. It sen-es, here, as a set-oft' to some
excellent sculpture by B. Hoetger, A.Malloil,etc.,of
Paris. Five of these rooms contain 'one-man shows'
of the work of Cottet, the late Evenepoel, Khnoptf,
F. Stuck, and the sculptor, H . Hahn. A sixth is
devoted to Japanese applied art and woodcuts.

Among tlie single works that seem to me to
deserve special mention there are the Poiitail of
(I Liulv ill White; by W. Georgi, happy in the pose
and fresh in the brushwork ; Hierl-Deronco's
Ditvin, and H. Hanner's portrait of his little sister,
with much of the charm that a Boutet de Monvel
water-colour portrait possesses.

This ye.u's exhibition at Cologne is not of an
equal importance with those already discussed,
but there are some interesting features in the
programme. According to it the various depart-
ments of the exhibition are to be housed in the
' Flora,' the ' Orangerie ' and the ' Kosenhof.' A
number of interior house decorations by B. Paul,
H. A. Schroder, J. M. Olbrich, P. L. Troost,
L. Paffendorf, Niemeyer, K. Berlsch and the
Viennese Werkstaetten were intended to run
through the w hole season, whereas separate shows
of (i) jewellery and fans, (2) Viennese architectural
designs (Prof. O. Wagner), (3) lace, embroidery,
etc., (4) amateur photographs, (5) posters,
{()) modern reform costumes, (7) end papers and
cards, (8) goldsmiths' work, (9) the art of setting
a table, (10) stage scenery, are to follow upon one
another, each to last two to four weeks. This
v.'iriation from the usual German plan of keeping
an exhibition set and fast for the space of live
months or more is good enough ; but, of course, if
the show were to be on anything like a large scale
the expenses would be enormously increased
thereby. H. W. S.

410

^ GENERAL INDEX TO VOLUME XI ci^

Academy, The Royal. 4

Theory, or the Graphic Muse by Reynolds, at, 114

compared with the New English Art Club, 204

architeetiue at, 205
Agrippina, portrait bust of, in British Museum, gq ; ilUisti'ated, loi

coin struck in memory of ; illustrated, 10
Aix-la-Chapelle, The Suermondt Museum at, 260

recent acquisitions by, 260
Ambrogio da Predis :

a portrait of bianca Maria Sforza, by, 130 ; illustrated, 125
America, Art in, 5S-62, 129-132, 199. 200, 339-342, 397-403
American collecting, the progress of, 203
Architecture :

the new Regent quadrant, 65

its relation to commerce, 65-66

stage architecture, its relation to sculpture, no

at the Royal Academy, 205

criticism of, 345

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