Volume 1 — 1100. A SCENE IN A PLAY. (continued 3)

A young man with feminine features. His black gown, lined with gray fur, is left open at the chest and discloses a gold chain and pendant. On the stone plinth whereon he leans is an inscription, "Stephanus Nani. abavro XVII. MDXXVIII·Lycinivs. P."

1310. "ECCE HOMO!"

Cima da Conegliano (Venetian: 1460-1518). See 300.

This picture was sold as a Carlo Dolci; but the attribution was an obvious absurdity. There is no resemblance whatever between the affected sentimentality of Dolci and the sincere pathos of this picture. Its deep and rich colouring also is very different from Dolci's. Sir Frederick Burton labelled his trouvaille "Giovanni Bellini." But its attribution to Cima is now accepted. "This type of Christ," says Mr. Claude Phillips, "of a perfect, manly beauty, of a divine meekness tempering majesty, dates back not to Gian Bellino but to Cima. The preferred type of the elder master is more passionate, more human. Our own Incredulity of St. Thomas, by Cima, shows in a much more perfunctory fashion a Christ similarly conceived" (The Earlier Work of Titian, p. 31 n.). To the same effect a writer in the Academy (July 26, 1890) says: "The modelling—not precise or searching enough for Giambellino—resembles that of his gifted pupil, the parted lips being one of his especial characteristics, as may be noted in his great 'Incredulity of St Thomas' (816). The treatment of the heavy wig-like masses of the hair, with its fine lines, is very similar to that of the Saviour's parted locks in the larger work, while a certain want of flexibility in the muscles of the face is also a distinguishing mark of the master. More striking still is the coincidence that from the head of Christ issue in both instances single rays, disposed in three distinct and separate fasciculi—an arrangement not found, as far as we are aware, in the works of Giovanni Bellini, and never common in Italian art. The peculiarly brilliant blue of the drapery is paralleled by that of the little 'St. Jerome' from the Hamilton Palace Collection, and approached by that of the 'Virgin and Child'—both these panels being sufficiently representative examples of Cima. Comparison has in these remarks been restricted to works in the National Gallery, as being most readily available for purposes of verification. The influence of Antonello—from whom Bellini himself borrowed so much—is, in the new acquisition, undeniable, and may account for a virility and an intensity of pathos not often reached even in the better productions of the sympathetic Bellinesque painter to whom we would attribute it."

1311. A WINTER SCENE.

Jan Beerestraaten (Dutch: 1622-1687).

This painter was the son of a cooper of Amsterdam. He travelled much in Holland, staying in all the towns he visited, and copying their monuments, squares, and thoroughfares, and leaving everywhere on his route a great number of sketches and pictures. He painted Italian views also, but these pictures may have been founded on local sketches by other Dutch artists. "His manner of painting was vigorous; delicate finish and precision of touch were less his aim than freedom of handling combined with broad contrasts of tone, where the colour, of a subdued richness, shows brilliancy and often loses itself in harmonies of gray" (Official Catalogue, and Havard's Dutch School, p. 239).

The castle is that of Muiden, between Amsterdam and Naarden. The fortified village is in the distance. On the left is the Zuyder Zee. Signed in the foreground, and dated 1658.

1312. THE VILLAGE COBBLER.

Jan Victoors (Dutch: 1620-1672).

Victoors, a native of Amsterdam, was a pupil of Rembrandt, and attempted biblical subjects in the style of his master; a picture by him in this kind may be seen in the Dulwich Gallery. But he is seen at his best in portraits and domestic subjects, such as that treated in the present picture.

1313. THE ORIGIN OF "THE MILKY WAY."

Tintoretto (Venetian: 1518-1594). See 16.

This work, acquired from the Earl of Darnley, is a particularly welcome addition to the National Gallery; for the two works by Tintoret previously in the collection,—the "St. George and the Dragon" and "Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet,"—though fairly representative of his more sombre mood, give no idea whatever of such radiant forms and sweeping harmonies as those with which he decorated the Ducal Palace at Venice. This picture immediately recalls these last-mentioned works, for it was doubtless designed as the centre-piece for some painted ceiling. The picture is a very beautiful representation of a classic myth of the Milky Way. Hermes, it is told, carried the infant Hercules to Olympus, and put him to the breast of Juno while she lay asleep; but, as she awoke, she pushed the child from her, and the milk thus spilled produced the Milky Way. In this picture, however, we see Jupiter himself descending through the air and bearing the child in his arms. Juno is rising undraped from her couch, surrounded by little loves, and attended by peacocks—emblems of her royal state as Queen of Heaven; while in the deep-blue firmament is the eagle carrying the thunderbolt of Jupiter. From her bosom issue long lacteal jets that seem, as it were, to crystallise into stars. Sumptuous draperies float around the ground, and in most poetical composition Tintoret has thus "mingled with their gorgeous dyes The milky baldric of the skies." There is a study for the picture in the Accademia at Venice.

1314. THE AMBASSADORS.

Hans Holbein, the Younger (German: 1497-1543).

Hans Holbein—"the greatest master," says Ruskin, "of the German, or any northern school"—is closely identified with England, and at least seventy important works by him are, it is calculated, in this country. He is called "the younger," to distinguish him from his father of the same name, who was also a celebrated painter.[238] The son was born at Augsburg, but migrated early in life to Basle—then a centre of literary and artistic activity. There he formed a friendship with Erasmus, a portrait of whom from his hand is now one of the treasures of the Basle Museum. Both at Basle and at Lucerne Holbein was engaged in portraiture, house-decorating, and designs for goldsmiths' work. Ruskin traces to Holbein's surroundings at Basle the serious temper which characterises much of his art. "A grave man, knowing what steps of men keep truest time to the chanting of Death. Having grave friends also;—the same singing heard far off, it seems to me, or, perhaps even low in the room, by that family of Sir Thomas More; or mingling with the hum of bees in the meadows outside the towered wall of Basle; or making the words of the book more tuneable, which meditative Erasmus looks upon. Nay, that same soft death-music is on the lips even of Holbein's Madonna." The reference here is to the famous "Darmstadt Madonna," which was painted about 1526. In that year, leaving his wife and child behind him, Holbein set out for England, with letters from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More, who received him with honour. From 1528 to 1532 he was again in Basle. In the latter year he returned to England to find More in disgrace, and no longer able to assist him. Holbein, however, met with a warm reception from the German merchants of the Steelyard, and painted portraits of many of them. To this same period also the present picture belongs. Gradually he became known at court, and from 1536 onwards he was in the service of Henry VIII., whose high opinion of Holbein is recorded in the King's rebuke to one of his courtiers for insulting the painter: "You have not to do with Holbein, but with me; and I tell you that of seven peasants I can make seven lords, but not one Holbein." The portrait of Christina of Denmark, lent by the Duke of Norfolk, was one of those painted for the King. He paid during these years several visits to the Continent, but died in this country—being carried off by the plague—in 1543.

It is as a portrait-painter that Holbein is best known. His work in this kind is, says Ruskin, "true and thorough; accomplished in the highest as the most literary sense, with a calm entireness of unaffected resolution, which sacrifices nothing, forgets nothing, and fears nothing." Of his fidelity in portraiture and his fine perfection in accessories, we have a magnificent example in the picture before us, to which what Ruskin says of Holbein's "George Gyzen" (at Berlin) equally applies. "In some qualities of force and grace it is inferior. But it is inexhaustible. Every detail of it wins, retains, rewards the attention with a continually increasing sense of wonderfulness. So far as it reaches, it contains the absolute facts of colour, form, and character rendered with an inaccessible faithfulness. There is no question respecting things which it is best worth while to know, or things which it is unnecessary to state, or which might be overlooked with advantage. What were visible to Holbein, are visible to us; we may despise if we will; deny or doubt, we shall not; if we care to know anything concerning them, great or small, so much as may by the eye be known is for ever knowable, reliable, and indisputable." But Holbein, as we have seen, was much more than a portrait-painter. Few artists, indeed, have excelled him in "majestic range of capacity." His "Madonna" at Darmstadt, referred to above (the better known copy of which is at Dresden), is one of the great religious pictures of the world. (A copy of it is in the Arundel Society's Collection.) He was also a fresco-painter, a designer for glass painting, and a draughtsman for woodcuts; his designs for the "Dance of Death" being the typical expression in Northern art of the spirit of the Reformation. (For Ruskin's estimate of Holbein, see further Sir Joshua & Holbein, reprinted in On the Old Road, vol. i., and Ariadne Florentina, passim.)

This celebrated picture is, says Mr. Sidney Colvin, the most important among Holbein's works—after the Darmstadt Madonna—that are extant in good preservation, important alike as to scale, and as to richness and multiplicity of accessories and costumes. It is also one of those most characteristic of the master, both in his excellences and in his faults. "There are more completely satisfying works among his single-figure portraits, in some of which we find a greater artistic unity—as, for instance, in the portrait of 'Christina, Duchess of Milan.' Among the faults in the present work may be noticed the short proportions of the figures in relation to the heads—an effect exaggerated in the case of the personage on our left by the fashion of the broad surcoat with its great puffed sleeves. It must further be admitted that Holbein, who in decorative and ornamental design was one of the most inventive, adroit, and powerful composers that ever lived, has in this instance seemed to let his composition take care of itself.[239] The figures are placed at either end of the desk, with a certain naïf stiffness almost recalling the pose of a photographic group. Moreover, masterly and energetic as are the heads in modelling, in expression they are somewhat rigid, harsh, and staring. Yet, all deductions made, with what an effective and potent grasp does the picture hold us! The colouring is richer and more varied than in any other painting of the master." The accessories are painted with "such strong minuteness of reality and diligent, though never paltry, emphasis of detail, that their due subordination to the whole and to the personages would seem impossible. But the subordination is there all the same, and how it comes is Holbein's secret. The total effect is one of singularly rich, if somewhat rigid grandeur;[240] the persons dominating as they should; the faces and hands remaining the master features of the picture. The heads, with their hard gaze, lay hold on the spectator masterfully, so that he cannot forget them after he has passed away" (Art Journal, January 1890). The brilliance of the picture, now that the discoloured varnish which formerly concealed many of its beauties has been removed, is very remarkable.[241] Every colour appears to have stood; and after 370 years the picture remains in its pristine freshness.

The identity of the personages portrayed in the picture had long been a subject for critical conjecture among the ingenious. The picture was traditionally known as "The Ambassadors," and the name of almost every ambassador of the period had at one time or another been suggested; while other critics, maintaining that the traditional title rested on no good authority, went further afield and sought to identify the personages with various poets and men of letters, to whom the accessories in the picture seemed appropriate.[242] The matter has now, however, been finally set at rest by the discovery of a seventeenth-century manuscript, which gives a description of the picture and records its history during the first 120 years of its existence.[243] This manuscript, presented by Miss Mary Hervey (who discovered it), is now hung in another part of the Gallery (in the small room marked A on our plan). The traditional title of the picture is confirmed, for the portraits are of Jean de Dinteville (on the left), French Ambassador in England, and George de Selve (on the right), Bishop of Lavaur, and subsequently Ambassador at Venice. The two men, we learn from the MS., were friends; and in 1533, the year in which the picture was painted, George de Selve came to England, by permission of the French king, on a visit to Jean de Dinteville: "and the two, having there met with an excellent painter of Holland, employed him to make this picture, which has been carefully preserved in the same place at Polizy up to the year 1653."

The document itself is convincing, and its identification of the personages agrees with what may be learnt from an examination of the picture. There are three inscriptions on it. One is on the sheath of the dagger which hangs from the girdle of the personage on the spectator's left. This inscription is: "ÆT. SVÆ 29." On the edges of a clasped book, upon which the second personage leans, is another inscription: "ÆTATIS SVÆ 25." Thirdly, in the shadow cast on the floor by the chief personage is the inscription: "Iohannes Holbein Pingebat, 1533." Jean de Dinteville, Seigneur of Polizy, Bailly of Troyes, Chevalier de l'Ordre du Roi,—the order of St. Michael, which he wears in the picture,—was born September 21, 1504, and was, therefore, in his 29th year, or just the age required by the picture, at the time of his first Embassy to England in 1533. He remained in this country from February to November of that year, returning again as Ambassador in 1536. At a later period of his life he became paralysed and retired to his estate at Polizy, where he occupied the enforced leisure of his ill-health in building and embellishing the château, of which a vaulted undercroft and a few other striking fragments, including an inscription and some dates, yet remain as a monument to his tastes. He died in 1555. On the globe, which stands on the lower shelf of the what-not, the names are all of continents, countries, or great cities,—Paris, Lyons, Bayonne, Genoa, Rome, Nuremberg,—with the single exception that, in the east of France, we find the name of what is little more than a village. This name is Polizy.

George de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur, was one of six brothers, nearly all of whom attained distinction as Ambassadors. In 1526, at the early age of 18, he was appointed to the See of Lavaur, but he was not consecrated until 1534, when he was 26. It follows from these dates that in 1533, the year in which he sat to Holbein, he was 25 years old, or precisely of the age recorded in the picture. His non-episcopal dress is explained by the fact that he was only consecrated in the following year, the same in which he was appointed Ambassador at Venice. In 1536 he was transferred to Rome, where he remained two years, and in 1540 we find him intrusted with an important mission to Charles V. Having voluntarily returned to his diocese when at the zenith of his career, in order to devote himself completely to his episcopal duties, he died in 1542 (N.S.) at the early age of 34. His profound learning, his piety, his keen interest in all intellectual pursuits, make him one of the remarkable figures of his day.

Some further description of the details may assist the spectator in his examination of the picture. The background is hung with green damask, which in the upper left-hand corner reveals a silver crucifix. Jean de Dinteville, the figure on the left, habited in the rich costume of the period of Henry VIII. and Francis I., wears a heavy gold chain with the badge (as already explained) of the French Order of St. Michael. In his right hand he holds a richly-chased gold dagger, "the design of which is manifestly Holbein's own; and beside it hangs a large green and gold silk tassel, in itself a miracle of painting." In his black bonnet is a jewel formed of a silver skull set in gold. The other personage is more soberly attired. He wears a loose, long-sleeved gown of mulberry and black brocade, lined with sable, and the four-cornered black cap, "which was in that age the common headgear of scholars, university doctors, and ecclesiastics in undress." "The contrast between the swordsman on one side and the gownsman on the other is characteristic of the era and profession of the two ambassadors." The upper shelf of the stand, or what-not, between the two figures is covered with a Turkish rug, very beautifully painted, and on this are several mathematical and astronomical instruments, and, close to the principal personage, a celestial globe. Conspicuous on the lower shelf is a lute, of which one of the strings was broken and curled up over the unbroken one. On the lower shelf also are a case of flutes; an open music-book, containing part of the score and words of the Lutheran hymn, "Komm, heiliger Geist";[245] a smaller book on arithmetic, kept partly open by a small square, a pair of compasses, and a terrestrial hand-globe (in direct line below the other globe). On this globe the famous line drawn by Pope Alexander VI. in 1493 between the spheres of influence of Spain and Portugal is marked. Underneath the what-not is the lute-case; and a fine mosaic adorns the floor. The design of this is (as Miss Hervey points out) an accurate copy of the well-known mosaic pavement in the Sanctuary of Westminster Abbey, for the construction of which marbles and workmen were brought from Italy by Abbot Richard Ware in the reign of Henry III. "Nothing brings the English sojourn of the great painter more closely home to us than to fancy him wandering through the aisles of the venerable Abbey—venerable even then—to sketch the outlines of the historic pavement trodden by so many generations before and since that time."

On the floor is a mysterious-looking object, which puzzled the connoisseurs for centuries. Even the late Mr. Wornum could make nothing of it; and in his book on Holbein (1867) dismissed it as "a singular object which looks like the bones of some fish." The puzzle was first solved by Dr. Woodward in 1873, when the picture was hung in the "Old Masters" Exhibition. The curious fish-like object is simply the anamorphosis—the distorted projection—of a human skull. It was probably drawn from the reflection in a cylindrical mirror; and it is seen to be an accurate representation when viewed from the proper point. If the spectator cannot discover this for himself, the attendant will readily assist him. One must stand at a little distance off and look in the direction of the length of the object from the right hand in order to "find the skull." Pictorial puzzles such as the skull were at the time not uncommon. Allusions to such things are to be found in old inventories of pictures; and Shakespeare in Richard II. says:

Similarly, Canon Ainger has pointed out that in Twelfth Night, when the Duke first becomes aware that Viola and Sebastian, who had up to that time from their exact likeness been thought the same person, are really two, he cries out that here is a puzzle in nature corresponding to those in art, where an object varies according to the point of view from which it is regarded:

As to the interpretation and significance of the puzzle, authorities differ. Some see in the skull only a punning signature of the painter's name (hohl bein, hollow bone, holbein). Others discover in it a recondite allusion to Cranmer (crâne-mère). Others again, when the identity of the personages was still in dispute, sought to connect the skull with the death of one or other of them; most ingenious and far-fetched theories were elaborated by Sir F. Burton and others with this object. Probably, however, the distorted skull is only a variant on the memento mori, which occurs very frequently in portraits of the time (see, for instance, No. 1036). It may be (as Miss Hervey suggests) that Dinteville had adopted the death's-head as his personal badge or devise. He suffered from ill-health, and in a letter to his brother describes himself as "the most melancholy ambassador that ever was seen."

There is still a field open to conjecture with regard to the elaborate accessories described above. Mr. Sidney Colvin thinks, indeed, that the globes, quadrant, music-book, etc., are probably simply introduced by the painter to show his skill of hand for the satisfaction of his patrons, the choice of objects having been made partly in compliment to them as persons interested in music and the sciences, partly because they were the properties readiest to hand in the society of such men as Kratzer, the astronomer, and the German merchant goldsmiths of the Steelyard, among whom Holbein lived (Times, Dec. 10, 1895). Miss Hervey sees in the accessories "a record, probably unique in the domain of art, of the thoughts and studies, the hopes and fears, which swayed the country and generation of Jean de Dinteville. The objects selected for illustration precisely represent the pursuits and occupations most in vogue at the time in France. Geometry and Mechanics, the foundations of the builder's art, just then attaining classical expression in the lovely creations of the French Renaissance; Music, especially that of the lute, which was so fashionable that every Frenchman of exalted position carried a lutist in his train; the ingeniously contrived and artistically rendered devise; these, as the literature of the period abundantly testifies, were among the favourite studies and pastimes of the Court of France." Dinteville "must have devoted many an hour to thinking out with the painter the elaborate details." A different contention has been argued with much ability by Mr. Alfred Marks:—

The scheme of the picture is very unusual. At either end of a table of two stages stands a figure in a ceremonious attitude. Between these figures, the two stages of the table, occupying the middle and most prominent portion of the picture, are loaded with numerous accessories. The method of their display forbids us to suppose that, as suggested by Mr. Colvin, they are here merely to show the painter's skill of hand. Indeed, the whole scheme of the picture—pose of figures and arrangement of accessories—tells of some occasion which the picture is designed to commemorate, or, let us say, perhaps, some occasion of which advantage has been taken to place the personages in a situation of more than ordinary interest. What this occasion was the picture, as we shall find, declares with sufficient plainness. Holbein's symbolism was simple and direct. Does he desire to convey that his sitter is a merchant? The figure is represented as holding a bond; other bonds lie on a table, together with a seal and a pen. Or, if he is portraying an astronomer, he introduces a quadrant, dials, compasses, and other instruments of the craft. In the "Two Ambassadors" the symbolism is, from the nature of the case, not personal to each of the two figures, but applicable to the occasion. The lute, instrument of harmony, was already, as has been shown by Mr. Dickes [see Magazine of Art, December 1891 and June 1892], the accepted symbol of a treaty; the suggestion is strengthened by the introduction of a case of flutes. The occasion commemorated is, therefore, a treaty. Nor are we left in doubt as to the nature of this treaty; the globes celestial and terrestrial, the compasses, dials, quadrants, merchants' calculating book, clearly indicate that the treaty was one relating to commerce or navigation.

Mr. Marks discovers in support of his theory that in 1533 (the date of the picture) some agreement was arrived at between King Henry VIII. and the French Ambassador with regard to certain grievances of French merchants. George de Selve, as we have seen, came over to England with the French King's permission and assisted Dinteville, it is suggested, in the arrangement, the conclusion of which is celebrated by Holbein's picture (Times, Dec. 7, 12, 23, 1895).

With regard to the provenance of the picture, in the year 1653 it was still, as we have seen, at the château of Polizy. The next known notices of it occur in a Rouen catalogue of 1787, and in the Galerie des Peintres (1792) of J. R. P. Lebrun (husband of the artist Vigée-Lebrun), who had the picture in his possession, and states that he had sold it, and that it was then in England. It seems probable that it came into the hands of the dealer Vandergutsch, and that from him it was purchased by the second Earl of Radnor about 1808 or 1809, in whose family it became an heirloom. In 1891 it was purchased from the present earl for the nation.[246]

1315. THE ADMIRAL PULIDO PAREJA.

Velazquez (Spanish: 1599-1660). See 197.

One of the master's most famous works. "In the year 1639," says Palomino, "he made the picture of Don Adrian Pulido Pareja, a native of Madrid, Knight of the Order of Santiago, Admiral of the Fleet of New Spain, who about that time was here transacting various official matters with His Majesty. This portrait is life size, and is among the most famous painted by Velazquez, on which account he put his name to it, which he otherwise seldom did: Didacus Velazquez fecit; Philip IV. à cubiculo eiusque Pictor, anno 1639." The painter's signature was not the only thing which served at the time to stamp the picture as one of special excellence. The King one day was paying his customary visit to the painter; Philip mistook the picture for the admiral himself, and rebuked him for tarrying in Madrid when he had been ordered away. Perceiving his mistake, he addressed Velazquez with the words: 'I assure you I was deceived.' "This, of course," says Mr. Colvin, "is one of the common legends which abound in the art history of all countries, from Greece to Japan; but it is almost possible to believe the tale when we look at the picture. Something of the rugged flashing power and fierce eagerness of the sitter seems to have passed into the painter's hand, and the method of execution he has chosen emphasises and harmonises with the character of the subject. The rude soldier-sailor in his handsome suit stands in bodily and spiritual presence before us, and seems snorting with impatience to be off to the fight once more."

Pulido, the subject of the picture, was a captain who distinguished himself greatly during the siege of Fontarabia, in the war with France. "The browned face with gleams of white light belongs," says Professor Justi, in describing the picture, "to a not uncommon Castilian type, of which this is an exceptionally stout, sturdy, grim specimen. The thick black shady eyebrows, very bushy and nearly meeting above the nose, the perpendicular wrinkle right in the middle of the forehead, the up-twirled mustachio,—the whole enframed in an abundant mass of black hair parted on one side and profusely crowning the defiant head,—bespeak the dauntless soldier as he stood on the ramparts of Fontarabia, as he will yet stand on the quarter-deck of the Admiral's ship in the hottest of the fight. There is nothing of the courtier in the attitude, for he stands bolt upright, like a soldier before his commanding officer. We see at once that he is not the man to hesitate about risking his own life or that of others in the deadly jaws of a breach. Both hands wear the yellow leather gloves, the right holding the Admiral's staff, the left a very broad-brimmed felt hat. On his breast is the red, gold-hemmed scarf and the red enamelled decoration of the Order of Santiago"—which the King had bestowed upon him for his gallantry in the siege.

With regard to the technique of the picture, Palomino tells us that Velazquez painted it with brushes of unusual length, in order to work with greater force and effect standing at a distance. "It appears in fact (says Professor Justi) to have been very broadly treated, with more fiery vigour than delicacy. The light yellow-gray ground—dark above, and without any relation to the limits of wall and floor—has been specially prepared with reference to the black velvet costume. Don Adrian stands a little to the left, his glance directed towards the observer, legs[247] brought close together, feet almost at a right angle. The colour is applied more freely than usual, the otherwise rarely employed dazzling white patches on the deep lace collar, flowered satin sleeves, plumes, bows on the knees, and accoutrements, helping the illusion."

1316. AN ITALIAN NOBLEMAN.

Moroni (Bergamese: 1525-1578). See 697.

Inferior in charm and interest to some of the other Moronis previously in the National Gallery, and to many of the master's marvellous pictures in the Carrara Collection at Bergamo. "Only," says a recent critic, "in the expressive look in the dreamy eyes, and in the drawing and painting of the left arm, clothed in chain-armour, do we find interest." Another, and more favourable, critic (Mr. Sidney Colvin) says: "Dignity and directness of presentment, richness of quality and mellowness of tone, with a colour-sense never more powerfully shown than when the scheme is one of flesh-colour with simple black and white on gray—these are the universal qualities of Venetian portrait-painting.... This is a thoroughly characteristic example in an excellent state. We already possess a portrait by the same hand, composed of much the same elements (1022): a man in a close-fitting black suit, showing chain-armour on the sleeves, a broken column, a wall, and a glimpse of sky. The two will make admirable pendants."

1317. THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN.

Unknown (Sienese School: 14th or early 15th Century).

This is one of the stock subjects in which the evolution of Italian art may be most clearly traced. Everybody knows the beautiful and celebrated "Sposalizio" of Raphael at Milan, which in its turn was copied, with some characteristic modifications, from Perugino's picture, now at Caen. Comparing those versions of the subject with an early one such as this, every one will be struck by the difference in general effect, but not less remarkable are the resemblances. The type, so far as the component parts are concerned, remains constant. The basis of the tale which Italian painters told for century after century is found in two of the apocryphal gospels. In them we read how the "Virgin of the Lord" was brought up, like Samuel, within the precincts of the temple, and how the High Priest summoned the suitors to an ordeal. Every man of them was to take a rod, and he whose rod should miraculously put forth leaves and blossom was to be chosen as husband. The common features of all "Sposalizio" pictures adhere closely to this legend. Thus the action always takes place within or just outside the temple. In the centre stands the High Priest with a long gray beard and (almost always) a high-peaked mitre, the Italian painters' idea of a Jewish ephod. He joins the hands of the pair in betrothal. The rod of Joseph blossoms, and above its foliage hovers the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. One of the suitors is about to strike Joseph in his passion; another is engaged in breaking his rod in vexation. Raphael makes the mien of the suitors much more gentle. He leaves out "the passionate suitor" altogether, but gives to the "disappointed suitor" a prominent place as an opportunity for a graceful attitude. In this picture he is very much in the background (in the extreme left-hand corner).

1318. "UNFAITHFULNESS."

Paolo Veronese (Veronese: 1528-1588). See 26.

One of a series: see under 1324-26.

1319. VIEW IN ROME.

Claude (French: 1600-1682). See 2.

On the right of the composition are an ancient Ionic portico (seen from the side) and a statue of Apollo, surrounded by trees. On the left is a wooded slope, beyond which, in the middle distance, is seen the church of Sta. Trinita de' Monti with other buildings.

1320, 1321. A MAN AND HIS WIFE.

Cornelis Janssens (Dutch: 1594-1664).

This painter—Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen—is believed to have been born in London. He was taken into the service of James I., whose portrait he painted several times. In the National Portrait Gallery are portraits by him of Sir Edward Coke and Lord Coventry. His reputation waned somewhat after the arrival of Van Dyck, whose portrait he painted and whose influence may be noticed in the pictures now before us. In the Dulwich Gallery are two pictures formerly ascribed to Van Dyck, but now to Janssens. In 1648 "Cornelius Johnson, picture-drawer" was permitted by the Speaker's warrant to pass beyond seas with such goods and chattels as belonged to himself. On his return to Holland, he seems to have worked at Middelburg, at the Hague, and at Amsterdam. Pictures by him may be seen in all those places. His portraits are sometimes stiff in conception, but are remarkable for the "lively tranquillity of the countenances." None of the artists excelled him in painting the lace collars and cuffs which were the reigning fashion of the time.

The man is Aglonius Voon; the woman (presumably his wife), Cornelia Remoens: the names are inscribed above their heads.

1323. PIERO DI MEDICI.

Angelo Bronzino (Florentine: 1502-1572). See 649.

A portrait of Piero, son of Cosimo the elder—surnamed "Il Gottoso," The Gouty—who died in 1469. Bronzino was employed to paint the portraits of many members of the Medici family. No. 704 is a contemporary portrait of one of the later Dukes.

1324. "SCORN."

1325. "RESPECT."

1326. "HAPPY UNION."

Paolo Veronese (Veronese: 1528-1588). See 26.

The four Veroneses (1325, 1324, 1318, and 1326), acquired from Cobham Hall, "obviously formed a series, or portions of a series, of enrichments for a ceiling, and must be looked at accordingly. They exhibit the decorative power of Veronese at a very high pitch in respect to colour, composition, and action, while his characteristically large and bold style of design and draughtsmanship are most fortunately employed upon them. One may readily conceive the magnificence of the saloon for which they were executed, and of which they must have been the chief ornaments. Sumptuous as they are now, their superb qualities would be enhanced if they could be seen with all their original accompaniments of gilding, carved frames, and magnificent furniture" (Athenæum, August 16, 1890).

The subjects of the pictures are moral allegories, and they go in pairs. Thus we have first "Respect" (1325) and "Scorn" (1324). In the former picture, a nude female figure—whose beautiful face recalls that of the "St. Helena" (see No. 1041)—is seen recumbent on a couch, asleep or lost in dreams. Cupid is leading a warrior, clad in sumptuous costume, but he turns aside, held back by an older man, in chivalrous respect. He is contrasted in the companion picture with another male figure, who lies prostrate while a Cupid tramples in scorn upon him. On the left two females (contrasting with the two men in the former pictures) are hurrying away. The elder carries an ermine, the emblem of purity, and guides the younger and more beautiful woman whom she has rescued from peril.

In the other two pictures the faithfulness and unfaithfulness of woman are similarly contrasted. In "Unfaithfulness" (1318) a nude female figure, seated on a bank with her back turned to the spectator, extends her arm towards a man who grasps her right hand, while she with her left is employed in furtively delivering a letter to a more youthful lover on the other side. He is of the same type as the figure of Alexander in the Family of Darius (294). Finally, in "Happy Union" (1326) the painter shows us the reward of faithfulness. Here a Cupid is introducing a warrior to a queenly figure—whom we may take to personify Fame or Fortune—seated on a globe at the entrance to some palace. She is placing a wreath upon the man's brow; he is led by a beautiful woman who carries a palm which she is about to present to him. She in her turn is guided by a little Love who has hold of a golden chain around her waist. A dog is also in attendance. It is a pretty trait of the Venetian schools, the frequency with which a pet dog is introduced into scenes of domestic felicity.

The prices paid for these pictures are interesting. They belonged at one time to Queen Christina of Sweden, and afterwards passed into the Orleans Collection. At the sale of that collection, the Tintoret fetched £50, and the four Veroneses £198. Lord Darnley made a handsome "unearned increment" out of them. For the Tintoret and one of the Veroneses (1318) the nation paid £2500. For two more of the Veroneses the same price was paid. The fourth Veronese (1325) was presented by Lord Darnley.

1327. A WINTER SCENE.

Jan van Goyen (Dutch: 1596-1656). See 137.

The scene is an arm of the Maes, near Dordrecht; the ice being covered with skaters, hockey-players, and others. The figures are treated with considerable humour. In the distance rises the tall ruin, which is shown in so many of Cuyp's pictures. Van Goyen's signature and the date 1642 are conspicuous on a sleigh in the foreground.

1329. AN INTERIOR.

Quiryn Brekelenham (Dutch: 1625-1668).

A native of Zwammerdam near Leyden, in which town he joined the Guild of St. Luke in 1648. He was a pupil of Gerard Dou, but did not adopt the high finish of that master; his style may be called an admixture of that of Dou with that of Rembrandt. He was a painter of quiet interiors, industrious households, and kitchen scenes. "Inspired by Rembrandt's teaching, he placed his figures in a beautiful amber light. They are neither too graceful nor too striking, but singularly lifelike and truthful. The scenes in which he delights are always quiet, modest, and sober in movement and expression. His touch is free, supple, and soft" (Havard: The Dutch School, p. 182). Some of his best works are in the Ryks Museum at Amsterdam. Our picture is signed, and dated 1653.

1330. THE TRANSFIGURATION.

Duccio (Sienese: about 1260-1340). See 566.

"Clinging more closely to Byzantine traditions than any other of the works of Duccio in the Gallery, is the panel of 'The Transfiguration,' with the folds of the drapery indicated by gold lines. The elements of this ancient design, like those of nearly all the Byzantine conceptions of scenes of sacred history, were never wholly departed from; they remain still quite recognisable in 'The Transfiguration' of Raphael" (Monkhouse: In the National Gallery, p. 16).

1331. VIRGIN AND CHILD.

Bernardino Fungai (Sienese: about 1460-1516).

"In flatness, absence of chiaroscuro, and use of gilding, he partakes of the Sienese School," resembling, for instance, Matteo di Giovanni (1155). "But he is rather pleasing in his children and angels, where he is influenced by Perugino; also in his landscapes, which, though peculiar in their faint blue distance, recall Pinturicchio. A characteristic of the master is the heaviness of his hands at the fingers' ends" (Layard's edition of "Kugler," i. 205). Fungai may best be studied in the Accademia of Siena.

The style of this painter is dismissed by Lanzi as "dry," and by another authority as "dry and stiff." There is a certain stiffness, undoubtedly—due probably in part to religious symbolism—in the hands of the Virgin and in the upraised finger of the Child, and in those of the otherwise human and chubby cherubim. But there is nothing dry or stiff in the pretty faces of these children, or in the gracious and beautiful face of the mother. She is clad in a white-and-gold brocade of very beautiful pattern. "One of the finest of the kind known to us, it appears," says the Athenæum, "to be of Venetian origin, and is a pure and perfect diaper, instinct with the choicest Gothic grace and harmony of line, and betraying but the slightest touch of Orientalism. This circumstance attests that the brocade did not come from a Sicilian loom, while other elements prohibit us from ascribing it to an ultramontane craftsman." The landscape background, which has sadly darkened, has many quaint figures—on one side Mary, Joseph, and a cow; on the other, the Three Kings and their attendants.

1332. GEORGE, 1ST EARL OF BERKELEY.

G. Netscher (Dutch: 1639-1784). See 843.

The first Earl of Berkeley—a man of considerable note in his day, and the author of a religious work to which some complimentary couplets by Waller have given a kind of immortality—was born in 1628 and died in 1698. He was one of the Commissioners nominated in 1660 to proceed to the Hague to invite Charles to return to the kingdom, and shortly afterwards he received various important appointments. In 1688, after the flight of the King, he was one of the lords assembled at the Guildhall to draw up the celebrated declaration constituting themselves a provisional government until such time as the Prince of Orange should arrive.

1333. THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS.

Tiepolo (Venetian: 1692-1769). See 1192.

1334. THE FORTUNE-TELLER.

Pietro Longhi (Venetian: 1702-1762). See 1100.

A girl, in the hooped dress and three-cornered hat of the 18th century, is having her hand read by a fortune-teller, while a cloaked cavalier, standing near in a white domino, watches the result.

1335. THE MADONNA.

Unknown (French School: 15th Century).

The face is most delicately executed; the white head-cloth and gown are covered by a blue mantle, which is jewelled and embroidered at the edge. The originally gold background is now brown; the nimbus of the Virgin is punctured in a beautiful foliated design.

1336. THE DEATH OF DIDO.

Ascribed to Liberale da Verona (Veronese: 1451-1535).

See 1134.

Painted probably to adorn the front of a cassone or marriage-chest. "The buildings of the forum in which the pyre stands are copied from well-known monuments at Verona. In the background on the left are seen two spectators in the everyday costume of the artist's contemporaries. The one on the left-hand side seems from his dress to be a German. Dürer has portrayed himself in an exactly similar way. The identity of the person thus represented will always remain hypothetical; nevertheless, the soldier leaning on his lance, on the extreme right, points directly to Dürer, for the figure is taken from a well-known engraving by him" (Dr. Richter in the Art Journal, February 1895).

1337. "ECCE HOMO!"

Bazzi (Lombard: 1477-1549). See 1144.

Probably part of a picture of Christ bearing His Cross. The face wears a gentle, grave, and dignified expression on features of a noble type.

1338. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.

1339. THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN.

Bernhard Fabritius (Dutch: painted 1650-1672).

Of this painter very little is known. He was a member of the Painters' Guild at Leyden, and it is clear from his works that he was a disciple of Rembrandt.

(1338). The subject is treated with Dutch directness. It is a Dutch interior with Dutch peasants. An opening in the roof discloses a peep of landscape in the light of early dawn.

(1339). Somewhat more academic in treatment. The infant saint lies in a wicker cradle, at the foot of which lies St. Elizabeth, who offers an apple to another child standing by the side of its nurse or mother. To the right of the picture St. Zacharias writes on a tablet the record of the birth.

1340. LANDSCAPE.

Roeland Roghman (Dutch: 1597-1686).

Roghman is a landscape-painter widely known by his drawings and etchings. He was a friend of Rembrandt. His pictures usually represent views in Holland and on the borders of Germany, but he travelled also in the Tyrol. His works "exhibit a close attention to nature in the forms, but his colour is dark and disagreeable" (Bryan).

1341. A WOODLAND SCENE.

Cornelius Decker (Dutch: died 1678). See 134.

1342. LANDSCAPE.

J. de Wet (Dutch: 17th Century).

This is the only landscape subject known to bear the signature of J. de Wet; other works so signed are of biblical subjects. A Jan de Wet, a native of Hamburg, was a pupil of Rembrandt,—a tutelage not inconsistent with the style of this picture.

1343. AMSTERDAM MUSKETEERS ON PARADE.

Unknown (Dutch School: about 1650).

Formerly attributed to Govert Flinck (1615-1660), who was a pupil of Rembrandt, and was commissioned to paint many considerable works for the Town Hall of Amsterdam. Observe the group of officers on the left; one bears a standard embroidered with the arms of that city.

1344. A LANDSCAPE.

Salomon Ruysdael (Dutch: 1600-1670).

A good example of one of the founders of the Haarlem School of Landscape, uncle of the more famous Jacob Ruysdael. Like his nephew, he was a member of the sect of Mennonites. He appears to have had some talent for business; he was a prominent officer to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, and there is a story of his having invented a sort of imitation marble, by the sale of which he was able to live in easier circumstances than the majority of his artistic brethren. Salomon's work resembles much that of Van Goyen (see 137), and it is difficult to distinguish early works by the two painters. Afterwards they diverged. "Van Goyen prefers the round forms of the clouds that on a fine summer day overhang the Maas; his brush always plays with the delicacy of their shadows, and loves to turn a landscape into what the moderns would call 'a harmony of gray and silver.' Salomon Ruysdael is by no means so reticent in the matter of colour. His skies in his later period are frankly blue" (Quarterly Review, October 1891).

There is in this picture "a peculiarly sharp, clear, and firm touch, very like that of Stark of Norwich. The warm, deep-toned evening sky is admirable" (Athenæum). The picture is signed, and dated 1659.

1345. LANDSCAPE.

Jan Wouwerman (Dutch: 1629-1666).

Jan was a younger brother and pupil of the more famous Philips (see 878). Some works by another brother, Pieter, may be seen in the Dulwich Gallery.

1346. A WINTER SCENE.

Hendrik van Avercamp (Dutch: 1585-1663).

A characteristically animated work by the Mute of Kampen, as this painter was called. He was the son of a schoolmaster. He was born dumb, and documents have been discovered in which his mother speaks of her "dumb and pitiable son." Having shown an early talent for drawing, he was placed with a painter at Amsterdam, and there and at the Hague he practised until 1625. He afterwards joined his widowed mother at Kampen. In her will of 1633 she made provision for him "in order that he may not be a burden on his brothers and sister." He loved especially to depict lively scenes of winter sport. He defines his figures sharply against the ice and snow. "The refined modulations of tint and the delicacies of aerial perspective, aimed at by painters of such scenes in the middle of the 17th century, are seldom found in Avercamp's works" (Official Catalogue).

1347. FARMYARD SCENE.

Isaak van Ostade (Dutch: 1621-1649). See 847.

The crisp touch and golden light in this Cuyp-like picture will please all lovers of Dutch art.

1348. LANDSCAPE WITH GOAT AND KID.

Adrian van de Velde (Dutch: 1635-1672). See 867.

A pleasant twilight effect.

1352. LANDSCAPE.

F. de Moucheron (Dutch: 1633-1686). See 842.

The signature of the artist is on the cornice of one of the buildings. Possibly Lingelbach (see 837), who often worked with Moucheron, painted the figures.

1353. LANDSCAPE WITH SATYRS.

Martin Ryckhaert (Flemish: 1587-1631).

Martin Ryckhaert was a son of the elder, and brother of the younger, David Ryckhaert. He studied, and for some years practised his art, in Italy. He is entered in the register of the Painters' Guild at Antwerp as "a painter with one arm," and is so represented in the portrait by Van Dyck in the Dresden Gallery.

1375. CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF MARTHA.

Velazquez (Spanish: 1590-1660). See 197.

A picture of the earliest, or Seville period of the painter. Though professedly a religious subject, it is in reality one of the bodegones, or tavern-pieces, which had come into favour at Seville during the end of the sixteenth century—naturalistic studies of the tavern and the kitchen. "They are certainly to be valued," says Pacheco, "when painted as Velazquez paints them, for in this branch he has attained such an eminence that he has left room for no rival. They deserve high esteem; for with these elements and with portraiture he discovered the true imitation of Nature." In the background, shown through a window or square opening in the wall, is seen an inner chamber with Christ addressing Martha, who stands, and Mary, who kneels before Him.

1376. A DUEL IN THE PRADO (A SKETCH).

Velazquez (Spanish: 1599-1660). See 197.

Note that some of the figures in the foreground closely resemble the group in "The Boar Hunt" (No. 197).

1377. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.

Venetian School (16th Century).

Formerly ascribed to Savoldo (see 1031). "In its deep and striking chiaroscuro it reminds one of a greater and later artist, Bassano, and even of the earlier works of Velazquez. It is a very interesting picture, full of imagination, especially in its landscape, and generally in fine condition. For light and effective painting, look at the pigeons in the basket on the right" (Monkhouse: In the National Gallery, p. 261). This picture was bequeathed by the late Sir William Gregory, one of the Trustees of the Gallery, who secured it for the paltry sum of £12: 10s., and was (as we know from his "Autobiography") justly proud of his bargain.[248]

1378. AN INTERIOR WITH FIGURES.

Jan Steen (Dutch: 1626-1679). See 856.

Another of Sir William's bequests, and, like the preceding, "a bargain." "A French dealer," he wrote, "offered me £250 the day after I had bought it for £2: 3s." An itinerant musician enters the kitchen in a village inn or country farmhouse, and salutes the buxom lady of the house with a fantastic gesture of courtesy. A flute sticks out of his pocket.

1380. FRUIT AND FLOWER PIECE.

Jan van Os (Dutch: 1744-1808). See 1015.

1381. THE HOLY WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHRE.

Francesco Mantegna (Paduan: about 1470-1517.)

See 639.

For the subject, see 576. Notice the pool in the foreground on which are two water-fowl, while a tortoise crawls towards it. This picture is the same size as 639 and 1106, and the three beautiful little panels doubtless formed a series—now at last brought together again, having been long separated in three different collections.

1383. "LA JEUNE FEMME AU CLAVECIN."

Jan Vermeer of Delft (Dutch: 1632-1675).

This picture formerly belonged to the celebrated French critic Thoré (who wrote under the name of "W. Bürger"), to whom belongs the credit of having rescued Vermeer from oblivion. He was famous in his own day, being one of the chiefs of the Delft Guild of Artists. But after his death his works were dispersed or destroyed or ascribed to Pieter de Hooch, and his very existence was forgotten till "Bürger's" researches rehabilitated him (see Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1866, pp. 297, 458, 542). He was born in Delft, and was for a short time a pupil of Carel Fabritius, a painter who was deeply imbued with the spirit and manner of Rembrandt. Vermeer obtained good prices for his pictures, but his circumstances cannot have been flourishing, for his widow had to apply to the court of insolvency to be placed under a curator. His works are now rare and costly: for the present picture £2400 was paid. The artist with whom Vermeer has the closest affinity is De Hooch. At an auction in Amsterdam in the middle of the 17th century a De Hooch is praised as being "nearly equal to the famous Van der Meer of Delft," and there is often some confusion between the works of the two painters. Substitute red for blue, it has been said, and a Vermeer becomes a De Hooch. Both painters are remarkable for the quality of light displayed in their interiors, and Vermeer has never been surpassed in the cool general effect which he produced. "Though in perfection of execution," says M. Havard, "the one rivals the other, they differ singularly in their use of the brush. Whilst Hooch has a vigorous and supple touch, Vermeer on the other hand, proceeding by short steps, paints in small patches, and then connects the whole by glazing in a manner peculiar to himself, which produces a vibrating effect, a characteristic of this original painter which we cannot forget" (The Dutch School, p. 186). Beauty of tone and perfect harmony are conspicuous in all his works, which in some other respects exhibit marked differences, for "the Sphinx of Delft" (as Bürger calls him) had several manners. It is supposed that he worked for a time under Rembrandt. The picture of four life-sized figures in the Dresden Gallery called "Les Courtisanes," and dated 1656, suggests the influence of that master. During the last ten or twelve years of his life he adopted a second manner, of greater delicacy and subtlety. In all his works there is a singular completeness and charm. He is a master in rendering momentary expression, and his pictures attract by the successful delineation of character, as well as by the skill with which he makes his figures move in light and air. He has also a complete mastery of perspective, and in his effects of light upon flat surfaces he is unsurpassed.

This picture is a good example of the qualities described above.[249] "The head, however, has unfortunately suffered from over-cleaning, showing the gray under-painting which gives the picture a colder aspect than it would otherwise have" (Official Catalogue). The picture has a very good "pedigree," Bürger, to whom it once belonged, having traced it back, through the Solly and Danser-Nyman Collections, to an anonymous sale catalogue of 1714.

1386. SOLDIERS QUARRELLING OVER THEIR BOOTY.

1387. PLAYERS AT TRIC-TRAC.

W. C. Duyster (Dutch: 1599-1635).

These pictures are by one of the rarest of the Dutch masters—William Cornells Duyster, a painter of Amsterdam. They were acquired from a family in whose possession they have been ever since they were brought over to this country by an officer in the army of William III. The fine execution and brilliant condition of the pictures make them decidedly attractive. They are both signed; 1386, on a box in the foreground; 1387, on the border of the beautifully-painted tablecloth.

1390. A SEA-PIECE.

Ruysdael (Dutch: 1628-1682). See 627.

An excellent example of Ruysdael's sea-pieces, in which he was not surpassed by any painter of the time. The view represented is the shore at Scheveningen. This picture, for which the sum of £3045 was paid by the nation, changed hands in 1872 for £68 as one of a pair!

1393. A MEDITERRANEAN SEAPORT.

Claude Joseph Vernet (French: 1714-1789). See 236.

The frigate is flying the Dutch tricolor flag. At the foot of the fortified wall is a party of Turkish or Albanian merchants.

1397. AN OLD WOMAN SEWING.

Unknown (Dutch School: 17th Century).

On the wall behind is an engraved portrait of a gentleman, with an inscription in which the name, Jan van Aach, and the date 1655 occur. The name is possibly that of the unknown painter.

1399. PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN.

Gerard Terburg (Dutch: 1617-1681). See 864.

This and the following picture were in the collection of the late Sir Charles Eastlake. By the provisions of his will, they were to be offered to the National Gallery at the prices he paid for them, viz. £25 and £75.

1400. CHRIST BEFORE PILATE.

Rembrandt (Dutch: 1606-1669). See 45.

This sketch is the original study for the etching of the same subject done in 1636. It is signed with the artist's name underneath the clock which is above the arched entrance on the right.

1401. A FRUIT-PIECE.

Pieter Snyers (Flemish: 1681-1752).

A painter of fruit and flower pieces, landscapes, portraits, and figure subjects of low life; was Director of the Royal Academy of Antwerp.

Fowls, cray-fish, artichokes, lobsters, peaches, plums, strawberries, asparagus, radishes, and peonies—"all represented of natural size and distributed in picturesque confusion." The artist's signature is included, as if embroidered on the corner of the tablecloth.

1406. THE ANNUNCIATION.

School of Fra Angelico (Florentine: 1387-1455). See 663.

"Through an arched opening behind the Virgin we see a sort of cloister garth. There are daisies on the sward, and in a pot stands a tall lily. A similar opening behind the Archangel reveals another part of the garth, enclosed on all sides by a rose trellis. Beyond the trellis are visible a hill and a convent resembling that of San Miniato, rows of cypresses, and more distinct peaks in fuller light. The embroideries, the angel's plumage, and both the nimbi, are represented in real gold, while the last are incised in radial lines, so that, like the wings, their brilliance is distinct, and they shimmer in the light. On the capitals of two of the columns of the cloister the red annulets upon a silver shield of the Albizzi family are seen" (Athenæum). The composition of this not very attractive picture recalls the Annunciations by Fra Angelico, at Cortona and in the Madrid Gallery respectively.

1409. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE.

Andrea Cordelle Agii (Venetian: School of Bellini).

This picture is a repetition of one by Andrea Previtali in the sacristy of the Church of San Giobbe at Venice, and the painter has been supposed to be the same as Previtali. This, however, is probably not the case. The present picture is signed (on a cartellino) "1504: Andreas Cordelli Agy dissipulus Jovannis Bellini pinxit." He similarly describes himself as a pupil of John Bellini on a picture in the Poldi Pezzoli Gallery at Milan. Judging from his name, "twists and needles," he or his father was probably a pedlar (Layard's edition of "Kugler," i. 334).

"The conjecture that Andrea Previtali is identical with Andrea Cordelle Agii seems to me," says Morelli, "untenable. Both were fellow-scholars in the workshop of Giovanni Bellini, and it is undeniable that in some of their works they closely resemble each other; but this may be explained by the fact that the one probably copied the cartoons or even the pictures of the other. The few signed works which I have met with by Cordelle Agii appear to me, however, to be more refined and lifelike in expression, and his landscapes are warmer and less vividly green in tone, than those of Previtali" (Roman Galleries, p. 237 n.). As a picture by Previtali hangs close by (No. 695), the reader is in a position to consider the justness of the critic's remarks for himself.

1410. VIRGIN AND CHILD

Borgognone (Lombard: about 1455-1523). See 298.

The nimbus which surrounds the Virgin's head is inscribed in gold with the words AVE. MARIA. GRATIA. PLENA. DOM. The background is interesting. On the right is no doubt a faithful view of part of the old façade of the Certosa of Pavia before it was completed. On the left are other buildings which appear to be part of a convent, with Carthusian friars walking in front. This picture is earlier in date than Borgognone's "Two St. Catherines" (298); it is "more rigid in style and a capital example of the painter's less ambitious work" (Catalogue of the Burlington Fine Arts Club's Exhibition, 1898, p. xxxvii.).

1411. A DIPTYCH.

Ercole Roberti de' Grandi (Ferrarese: 1450-1496). See 1127.

On the left the Adoration of the Shepherds. There is much natural charm in the figure of the Virgin bending over the manger. On the right the dead figure of Christ, with St. Jerome and St. Francis in the middle distance receiving the stigmata. Very delicately finished.

1412. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH ST. JOHN.

Filippino Lippi (Florentine: 1457-1504). See 293.

See also (p. xxi)

Formerly ascribed to Botticelli.[250] Notice the beautifully painted white eglantine and jasmine blossoms in the vase on the balcony. The youthful St. John is an attractive figure, very characteristic of this group of painters.

1415. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.

Gerard Dou (Dutch; 1613-1675). See 192.

"An old inscription on the back of the panel states that this picture is a portrait of Anna Maria van Schurmann; but it will be observed that the portrait by Jan Lievens (1095), supposed to represent the same lady, differs in the colour of the hair, and has other points of variation, which preclude the possibility of both having been painted from the same person" (Official Catalogue).

1416. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS.

Filippo Mazzola (Parmese: died 1505).

The Mazzola family affords one of the many instances in the history of painting of artistic heredity. Filippo's two brothers were also painters, and his son was the more famous Parmigiano (see under 33). The Mazzoli were much employed in Parma, but their work seldom rose above mediocrity. By Filippo—called delle erbette from the plants which he was fond of introducing into his pictures—there are religious-subject pictures to be seen at Parma. But he is best known for his portraits, in which the influence of Antonello da Messina is to be traced (see Morelli's German Galleries, p. 418). An excellent one in the Brera bears his signature.

This picture is in its original frame, of early cinque-cento pattern, richly carved, gilt, and painted. A somewhat similar frame has recently been given to the "Vision of St. Eustace" (1436).

1417. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.

Andrea Mantegna (Paduan: 1431-1506). See 274.

A celebrated picture (painted in 1459 for Giacomo Marcello, Podestà of Padua), and a specially interesting acquisition to our Gallery—first, as belonging to an earlier period of the master than his other important works here; and secondly, for its strong family likeness to the picture of the same subject by his brother-in-law, Giovanni Bellini, which, hangs in an adjoining room (No. 726). At the time when these pictures were painted Giovanni and Andrea were working at Padua under the influence of Giovanni's father, Jacopo Bellini (Vasari has some family gossip on this subject, ii. 265); and the original suggestion for the treatment of the subject in both pictures appears in Jacopo's sketch-book, now in the British Museum. A prominent object in the distance (an Italian version of Jerusalem) is a little gilt equestrian statue, which was evidently suggested by Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata, still to be seen at Padua. The foreshortening of the apostles suggests the work of Uccello (see 583), who is known to have painted in that city. The picture has been described as "a marvellous combination of the fantastic and the realistic"; note for curious details the rabbits and storks, and the cormorant on the withered tree. This picture is more quaint than Bellini's; but Bellini's is the more original. "Mantegna's," says Mr. Monkhouse, "exhibits only a strong personal treatment of old conventions: Bellini's proclaims the dawn of a new world of art. What was old in the pictures—the Christ kneeling on a little hill, with the sleepy apostles in foreshortened attitudes in the foreground, the angelic vision on a cloud, and the suggestion of a neighbouring city—are common to both pictures. What was new—the fresh observation of nature for its own sake—is found only in Bellini's. We see this in the smouldering clouds of sunset, the light thrown on the distant buildings, the half-shade on the cliffs, the bringing-out of the figures into something like the real open, sun-illumined air, the attempt at solution of the problem of the tone of a face and figure relieved right against the sky" (In the National Gallery, 1895, p. 192).

1417a. ILLUMINATED INITIAL LETTER.

The letter D: enclosed within it is painted "The Agony in the Garden," copied from the preceding picture by Mantegna. The picture and this letter were both in the collection of Lord Northbrook.

1418. ST. JEROME IN HIS STUDY.

Antonello da Messina (Venetian: 1444-1493).

A celebrated little picture, with a long critical history, for as early as 1529 the writer known as the "anonimo of Morelli" mentions it as being variously attributed to Van Eyck, to Memlinc, and to Antonello, while he himself ascribed it tentatively to "Jacometto" (Jacopo de' Barbari). The influence of the Flemish School is obvious, says Sir Edward Poynter, "in the Gothic character of the architecture, the general arrangement of the picture, and the finish of the details. But the head of the saint has an energy of character highly characteristic of Antonello, and the buildings in the glimpse of landscape seen through the window on the left are distinctly Italian in character" (The National Gallery, i. 14). It is interesting to compare this picture with the version of the same subject commonly ascribed to Bellini (694). Observe, here, "the lion walking along the cloister, holding up a suffering paw, and the puss curled up on a platform at the saint's feet. Evidently this St. Jerome was a lover of animals, and, like Canon Liddon, more especially of cats" ("The Beasts of the National Gallery," by Sophia Beale, in Good Words, July 1895).

1419. THE LEGEND OF ST. GILES.

Unknown (Flemish School: 15th Century).

See also (p. xxi)

"St. Giles, patron saint of Edinburgh, and of woods, cripples, lepers, and beggars, was an Athenian prince, revered for his miraculous gifts. Having healed a sick man whom he found in a church by laying his cloak over him, and fearing danger to his soul from the fame which this event obtained him, he withdrew to a solitary cave, where he lived as a hermit, nourished only by wild herbs and the milk of a doe which had followed him. One day the King of France, hunting near this retreat, shot the doe, and, pursuing it, came upon the aged hermit holding in his arms the doe, which was pierced by the arrow through his hand. The King, seeing he was a man of God, begged forgiveness, and wished to persuade St. Giles to return with him; but he refused to quit his solitude, and remained in the cave till his death" (Saints and their Symbols, by E. A. G., 1881, p. 95).

Here we see the saint, clad in hermit's robes, protecting the doe, which has fled from the hunting party towards him; his right hand is transfixed by an arrow, intended for the animal. The King kneels to implore forgiveness. He is attended by a companion, who is supposed to represent the painter of the picture. Notice the irises in the foreground, and to the right a plant of mullein, finished with great delicacy. "Remarkable as an example of extraordinary finish and enamel-like splendour of colour. Remarkable also for the flood of even, gay daylight diffused over it, such as makes us think of the more moderate among recent plein air transcripts from nature. But the painter shows more of that intense humanity, of that command over delicate shades of character and facial expression which are the highest characteristic of the great Netherlandish masters of his time" (Claude Phillips, in National Review, Dec. 1894).

1420. A VIEW IN HAARLEM.

Gerrit Berck-Heyde (Dutch: 1638-1698).

Gerrit, and his elder brother, Job, were the sons of a butcher at Haarlem. Gerrit was very skilful in lineal perspective, and reproduced with remarkable fidelity the most complicated architectural views. The brothers worked together a great deal, and Job often painted the figures in Gerrit's pictures. "The pictures of both brothers are remarkable for a broad style of painting, for brilliant sunlight, and careful, but not over elaborate, drawing of details, and the figures are invariably well grouped" (Official Catalogue).

A view of the painter's favourite subject, the market-place of Haarlem. The picture is signed, and dated 1674.

1421. A TERRACE SCENE.

Jan Steen (Dutch: 1626-1679). See 856.

1422. THE HOLY FAMILY.

Eustache Le Sueur (French: 1616-1655)

Le Sueur, sometimes styled "the French Raphael," was the son of a wood-carver at Paris, and became one of the original members of the French Academy. His works, in spite of the early age at which he died, are very numerous. He was assisted in the production of them by three brothers and his brothers-in-law. Several of his most important pictures are to be seen at the Louvre.

This little picture is a good example of the painter's characteristics—with its somewhat crude colour, but considerable gracefulness, especially in the figure of the Virgin.

1423. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.

Jan A. Ravesteijn (Dutch: 1572-1657).

This artist was born at the Hague, where his most important works are to be found. He was admitted into the Painters' Guild there in 1598. He was a pupil of Frans Hals, and was much employed in painting the large groups of portraits—of archers, magistrates, etc.—which were in vogue at the time. Ravesteijn's groups are somewhat more formal than those of Rembrandt, Hals, and Van der Helst, but are full of life and character. He knew how to give dignity to his sitters, and his pictures are inferior only to those of the great masters just mentioned.

1424. TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL.

Adam Elsheimer (German: 1578-1620). See 1014.

A favourite subject with this painter. It was etched in 1613 by Count Gondt, who was the painter's chief benefactor; he purchased some of Elsheimer's choicest pictures, and engraved seven of them. The copper-plate of this subject fell into the hands of Rembrandt, and was partly erased and altered by him into another subject.

1425. PORTRAIT GROUP.

Le Nain (French: 1588-1648).

There were three brothers of this name, the sons of a sergeant at Laon, who all worked together as painters in Paris, and became members of the Academy in 1648, in which year two of them died. Mathieu painted historical subjects; he lived till 1677. The very interesting and pleasing pictures, such as the present one, most generally known as the works of Le Nain, were probably painted by the other brothers—Louis and Antoine—conjointly. Antoine was born in 1588; Louis in 1593. Their works consist of familiar objects and incidents, such as the "Peasants" and the "Blacksmith's Forge" in the Louvre; they have a direct air of truth and realism, which is very remarkable in contrast to the artificial taste by which other French painters of the same period were inspired. Another work by the brothers may be seen at Dulwich.

1427. THE DEAD CHRIST: A PIETÀ.

Hans Baldung (German-Swabian: 1476-1545). See 245.

Signed and dated "Hans Baldung, 1512." The Virgin's attitude is expressive of intense sorrow. "Her mouth is drawn convulsively down in the manner usual in the pictures of Burgkmair and the school and epoch to which he and Baldung belonged. On our right is St. John. Behind the group is Joseph of Arimathea. Behind, God the Father appears, robed in blue under a red mantle, and holding across His knees the drooping corpse of the Redeemer. Clouds form the background, and among them the Holy Ghost is hovering. The heads of all the figures bear plain nimbi of metallic gold. The draperies, except the loin-cloth of Christ, are somewhat tortured in the manner of the German painters of the fifteenth century. On the front of the balcony in which they are placed are depicted the donor and his family; in one corner is their escutcheon, bearing three money bags and a broad bar" (Athenæum, Jan. 11, 1895).

1429. THE ROTUNDA AT RANELAGH.

Canaletto (Venetian: 1697-1768). See 127.

The interior of the Rotunda in Ranelagh Gardens (at Chelsea), which were opened as a rival to Vauxhall in 1742, and at once became the rage. "Ranelagh has totally beat Vauxhall," wrote Walpole in 1744; "nobody goes anywhere else." "When I first entered Ranelagh," said Dr. Johnson, "it gave me an expansion and gay sensation in my mind such as I never experienced anywhere else." Smollett describes it in his novels as an "enchanted palace." "Ranelagh," said Rogers ("Table-Talk"), "was a very pleasant place of amusement. There persons of inferior rank mingled with the highest nobility of Britain. All was so orderly and still that you could hear the whisking sound of the ladies' trains as the immense assembly walked round and round the room. If you chose, you might have tea, which was served up in the neatest equipage possible." The dining boxes under the arcade on the ground level are shown in the picture, as well as the orchestra, the musicians, and the numerous gaily-dressed promenaders. On the back of the original canvas was an inscription by the artist, recording that the picture was painted in London in 1754.

1430. ARCHITECTURAL SUBJECT WITH FIGURES.

Domenico Beccafumi (Sienese: 1486-1551).

Of this painter there is a very interesting account in Vasari. His surname was adopted from his patron, on whose estate Domenico's father was a labourer. Like Giotto, Domenico was observed one day drawing on the ground, while minding his father's sheep, and his master sent him to school and made an artist of him. His style was first formed on that of Perugino, whose pictures in Siena he copied. In 1510 he went to Rome to study the works of Michael Angelo and Raphael; but returning to Siena in 1512, he became a close imitator of Bazzi (1144), who had recently settled in the city. Unlike Bazzi, Domenico was (adds Vasari) "most orderly and well conducted, lived as it beseemed a Christian to do, and passed the greater part of his time alone." "It will nevertheless sometimes happen," adds Vasari, "that such as are called good fellows and merry companions are more sought after than are the virtuous and upright." In the matter of artistic commissions, however, Beccafumi was well employed, in painting both altar-pieces for churches and frescoes of classical subjects for the houses of wealthy citizens. Some of the latter still remain in situ, while the Accademia contains Beccafumi's best works in the other sort. It was he who executed the mosaics of light and dark marbles which form the pavement of the choir of the Duomo. He also practised sculpture and did eight angels in bronze for the Duomo. He hastened his death, says Vasari, "by labouring day and night at his castings of metal which he would also finish and polish himself, working entirely alone, and refusing to accept any assistance whatever." He occupied his leisure time in cultivating a small property outside the city gates. He could not work, he told Vasari, removed from the air of Siena.

A picture corresponding in general character to several described by Vasari. It is probably intended as a fantastic treatment of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, or of Esther before Ahasuerus.

1431. THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST.

Ascribed to Perugino (Umbrian: 1446-1523). See 288.

Around this little picture of the Umbrian School, bought by Sir Edward Poynter at Rome in 1894, a fierce battle of the critics has raged. Sir Edward's own description may first be cited:—"A perfectly genuine work by a scholar of Perugino, probably done in his studio, and, in my opinion, possibly by the young Raphael. The most characteristic point, besides the beautiful painting of the figure of the Saviour, is the drawing of the hands, which is precisely Raphael's. On the other hand, the heads are not specially Raphaelesque, nor is the colour as pure and transparent as is usual even in his early work; at the same time, such characteristics as do not agree with what we know of his work might possibly be due to its being a youthful performance. The painting of the trees is quite peculiar, and different from the treatment to be found in the works of Perugino, or, indeed, of any work of the school that I had seen. Some two or three years afterwards I saw the predella painting of 'St. John Preaching' by Raphael, belonging to the Marquis of Lansdowne, and was very interested to find in it the same treatment of the leaves of the trees—that is to say, that, instead of the minute and delicate sprays of foliage, so characteristic of Perugino's own work and of, so far as I know, most of his followers, the trees have only a few sprays of large and freely painted leaves." According to many of Sir Edward's critics, the picture is a "detestable little production"; while one of them ascribes it, as a work of the nineteenth century, to Micheli, "a maker of old masters." (See a copious correspondence in the Athenæum and the Times, during March and April, 1907).

1432. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE.

Gerard David (Early Flemish: 1460-1523). See 1045.

This picture (formerly ascribed to Hugo van der Goes) was, like No. 1045, painted for the Collegiate Church of St. Donatian at Bruges. Until the end of the last century it adorned the altar of St. Catherine in that church. The details of the picture are carried out with marvellous care and finish, and the whole displays the utmost perfection of execution. The expression of the figures, is, however, hardly so animated or idealised as in No. 1045. But "the Canon's intelligent head is admirably modelled and painted, and the figure of St. Catherine is executed with rare perfection. The jewellery, stuff, and draperies are all rendered with David's usual skill; while the background, with its rich vegetation, vigorously coloured trees, and picturesque buildings, is hardly surpassed by that of any of his other pictures." The scene of the mystical marriage (for the subject, see under 249) is laid in the emblematic walled garden ("a garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse"), surrounded by a vineyard (in which is an angel gathering grapes). On the right of the picture are seated St. Barbara, holding an open book, and St. Mary Magdalene with the vase of precious ointment in her lap. In front of St. Catherine kneels the donor of the picture, Richard de Visch van der Capelle, Canon and Cantor of the Church; he is accompanied by his greyhound, on whose collar is a shield bearing the Canon's arms. Before him, on the floor, lie a breviary of blue velvet and his precentor's staff. The workmanship of this staff is a good instance of the painter's minute precision. The staff is surmounted by a group representing the Holy Trinity adored by a monk and a cardinal. It was painted from a staff presented to the church in 1338, and the picture precisely corresponds to a description of the staff, to be found in an old inventory of the church property (see authorities cited in the Official Catalogue from Mr. Weale's description in the Academy, xiv. p. 391).

The picture was exhibited at Paris in 1881 under the name of Hugo van der Goes, and was sold for 54,100 francs. It ultimately passed into the possession of Mr. Lyne Stephens, by whom in 1895 it was bequeathed to the National Gallery.

1433. PORTRAIT OF A LADY.

Unknown (Flemish School: 15th Century).

Notice the transparent starched muslin head-dress which, coming down as low as the eyebrows and covering the ears, yet allows the forehead and ears, and a high cap of gold and white brocade, to be seen through its thin texture.

1434. A BETROTHAL.

Velazquez (Spanish: 1599-1660). See 197.

See also (p. xxi)

An unfinished picture once in the possession of Sir Edwin Landseer, and presented to the Gallery by Lord Savile, who has given a very interesting surmise of the subject: "It is evidently the representation of a betrothal in a private family, probably that of Velazquez himself. If this surmise be correct, the principal male figure would be Velazquez as a Knight of the Order of Santiago, the red cross of which, though half concealed, is seen on his cloak; the mother presenting her child would be his daughter, the wife of the artist Del Mazo, his pupil and son-in-law, and the girl, their daughter, the grandchild of Velazquez. The foreground is occupied on the right by a half-length figure of the poet Quevedo, with a huge pair of horn spectacles, as he is represented in his portrait by Velazquez at Apsley House, though here he is a much older man. He was a great friend of Velazquez, and in this picture may represent the witness to the betrothal of the artist's grandchild. On the right is a negro, probably Juan Pareja, the favourite slave of Velazquez, who is conveying a basket of fruit to his young mistress. Velazquez himself is waiting, pen in hand, for the 'promesso sposo,' who, though not shown in the picture, may be entering the room by the portière which an attendant is raising; but he is seen by the little bride elect, who waves a salute to him with the flower in her hand. [Contrast, as a pretty little incident, the dog who is running towards the door and barking at the stranger.] It is not surprising that a painting of this unusual character should give rise to doubt as to the correctness of its attribution, and it has been suggested that it is the work of Del Mazo, the pupil of Velazquez; but if that artist had been commissioned to paint the portrait of a knight of Santiago, his sitter would scarcely have been satisfied with the scanty indication of that celebrated order shown in this picture. If, however, as I believe, the knight of Santiago represents Velazquez himself, the half-hidden cross of that order assumes an aspect that may have an important bearing on the questions of the authorship of the picture, the date of the work, and the cause of its being unfinished. Stirling-Maxwell, in his admirable and exhaustive Annals of the Artists of Spain, relates that Philip IV. in 1658 conferred on Velazquez the habit of the Order of Santiago; but it was not for many months later that the artist was invested with its insignia, owing to the formalities required by the Order to prove his pedigree. The King, impatient at this delay, sent for the President of the Order and the documents connected with the case, and having looked at them his Majesty said to the President, 'Place on record that the evidence satisfies me.' The half-concealed red cross of Santiago in the picture was sufficient for Velazquez to show that he was entitled to the Order, but, with the modesty and conscientiousness that distinguished him, he did not design the insignia on his breast, where it is worn, apparently not feeling justified in so doing until after his investiture. This, however, did not occur till November 1659. It is evident, therefore, that the picture must have been painted in 1658, after he had received the habit, but not the insignia, of the Order. That the picture was left unfinished was doubtless due to the onerous duties with which Velazquez was charged by the King in preparing the meeting on the Bidassoa, in 1660, of the French and Spanish Courts, to celebrate the nuptials of Louis XIV. and the Infanta Maria Teresa. These duties doubled the official fatigues and shortened the life of Velazquez, who died shortly after his return to Madrid in August of the same year. There is, therefore, good reason to believe that the picture in the National Gallery is the last ever painted by Velazquez" (letter to the Times, May 11, 1895).

1436. THE VISION OF ST. EUSTACE.

Vittore Pisano (Veronese: 1380-1452). See 776.

"The minute but unobtrusive finish of the picture is," says the Official Catalogue, "astonishing. Of the coats of the horse, dogs, stag, and other wild animals introduced every hair is drawn; and of the wild birds, every feather; nor are they less remarkable for the beauty of the drawing and the admirable character displayed, in which it may be truly said this painter has never been excelled. Numerous studies of animals of the highest beauty are to be found in collections of drawings throughout Europe, some of them evidently done in preparation for this picture." St. Eustace, whose name before his conversion was Placidus, was a Roman soldier, a captain of the guards in the reign of the Emperor Trajan. He was a great lover of the chase, and "one day, while hunting in the forest, he saw before him a stag of marvellous beauty. He pursued it eagerly, and the stag fled before him, and ascended a high rock. Then Placidus, looking up, beheld, between the horns of the stag, a cross of radiant light, and on it the image of the crucified Redeemer; and being astonished and dazzled by this vision, he fell on his knees, and a voice, which seemed to come from the crucifix, cried to him, and said, 'Placidus! why dost thou pursue me? I am Christ, whom thou hast hitherto served without knowing me. Dost thou now believe?' And Placidus fell with his face to the earth, and said, 'Lord, I believe!' And when he looked up again the wondrous vision had departed. And he returned to his house and was baptized with his wife and children" (Mrs. Jameson: Sacred and Legendary Art, 1850, p. 466). For a representation of the very similar legend of St. Hubert, see No. 783. This beautiful picture (from Lord Ashburnham's Collection) has been placed in a very elaborate frame in the Italian style: compare No. 1416.

1437. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST.

Barnaba da Modena (painted about 1365).

A specimen, very well preserved, of the Giottesque period of Italian art. The painter, a native of Modena, appears to have worked chiefly in Piedmont and Pisa. Examples of his work may be seen in the Galleries of Pisa, Turin, Frankfort, and Berlin. It is pointed out as noticeable, in the Official Catalogue, that the drapery of the Virgin Mary is treated in the hieratic or Byzantine manner, while that of the Apostles is in the naturalistic manner of Giotto. For a similar instance of transitional treatment, see Duccio's "Transfiguration," No. 1330.

1438. HEAD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.

Unknown (Lombard School: 16th Century).

A head of great beauty and much pathos of expression. An inscription on the background gives the date of the picture, 1511.

1439. FISHING IN THE RIVER.

Salomon Ruysdael (Dutch: 1600-1670). See 1344.

An early work. Signed, and dated 1631. "The sky is partly covered with soft, gray clouds, and the whole scene gives the impression of a still and peaceful summer's day."

1440. ST. DOMINIC.

Giovanni Bellini (Venetian: 1427-1516). See 189.

See also (p. xxi)

The portrait of a monk (on the parapet is an inscription recording that it is a likeness of Brother Theodore of Urbino) in the character of St. Dominic. He wears the Dominican robe, and the name of the saint is inscribed on the label of the book which he holds, and carries the usual attributes of the saint, the lily and a book (on the label of which are the words "Sanctus Dominicus"). The inscription is dated 1515, so that if genuine this must be one of the painter's last works. No. 808 is another portrait of a monk ascribed to the same painter—in character as one of the saints (St. Peter Martyr). Signor Frizzoni attributes both of them to Gentile Bellini.

1441. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.

Perugino (Umbrian: 1446-1523). See 288.

This fresco from the church at Fontignano, near Castello della Pieve, was left unfinished when the painter died there in 1523, in his 77th year; it is believed to be his last work (see Vasari, ii. 323). The fresco was transferred to canvas and removed in 1843. It was purchased in 1862 from Mr. Spence of Florence, by the South Kensington Museum. "The hand had not lost its cunning, and there is much of the early sweetness in this huge fresco. There is the charm of its faded blues and purples, the haze of its shimmering sunshine, and the tender reverence of the kneeling figures" (G. C. Williamson: Perugino, o, p. 110).

1442. SHIPS IN A GALE.

Bakhuizen (Dutch: 1631-1708). See 204.

1443. INTERIOR OF A CHURCH.

H. Steenwyck (Flemish: 1580-1649). See 1132.

A funeral service is being celebrated in the nave, while in the foreground is a christening procession.

1444. PEASANTS WARMING THEMSELVES.

Gerard von Honthorst (Dutch: 1590-1656).

This artist went early in life to Rome, where he acquired the style of Caravaggio (see 172). "His rude contrasts of opaque shade and brilliant light, his luminous effects produced by the light of a torch or flambeau, and the naturalism of his works, caused him to be much sought after in Italy, where this style was in fashion," and acquired for him the name of "Gherardo della Notte." He returned to Utrecht, his birthplace, in 1623, and in 1628 was commissioned by Charles I. to decorate the palace of Whitehall. While in England he also painted the portraits of the Court and many of the nobility. Several of his portraits are to be seen in the National Portrait Gallery.

1445, 1446. STUDIES OF FLOWERS.

Rachel Ruysch (Dutch: 1664-1750).

One of the few female painters represented in the Gallery. Rachel Ruysch was the daughter of a professor of anatomy, and began to study art at an early age. She married Julian Pool, a portrait-painter, and had a large family. She continued the practice of her art until she reached an advanced age, always signing her pictures with her maiden name. Notwithstanding her industry, the number of her pictures is somewhat small, and it was jokingly said in her time that "she produced more children than pictures." The labour she devoted to her work was astonishing; two pictures alone are said to have occupied her for seven years; and these she bestowed on one of her daughters as a marriage portion. She was admirable in her manner of grouping as well as in pencilling; each flower is relieved by its neighbour, and all are kept in perfect harmony. She was fond of introducing among her flowers the insects peculiar to them (notice the butterfly in 1446); and these she depicted with microscopic accuracy. "Had her colouring been less cold, she would certainly have equalled her illustrious rival, Van Huysum" (Bryan's Dictionary of Painters, and Havard's Dutch School, p. 268).

1447. A HUNTING PARTY.

Adam Frans van der Meulen (Flemish: 1632-1694).

This painter, a native of Brussels, had a great facility in battlepieces. Some of these found their way to France, and attracted the notice of the painter Le Brun. On his recommendation Van der Meulen was invited to the French Court, and was at first employed on designs for the Gobelins tapestries. Afterwards he accompanied Louis XIV. on his campaigns, and, brush in hand, was present at all the principal sieges and battles of that monarch. These he afterwards painted for the King; he also depicted many hunting scenes and cavalcades. His works are to be seen at the Louvre and Versailles.

The present picture (signed, and dated 1662) shows us some such scene in the life of the Court. The suite is bareheaded, and it is clearly some personage of importance—possibly Louis XIV. himself—who is seated at the window of the carriage. The background of open country with blue distance is very pleasantly rendered.

1448. A VILLAGE GREEN IN FRANCE.

François S. Bonvin (French: 1817-1888).

A painter of still life and interiors as well as of landscape; for thirty years a constant exhibitor at the Salon; given the Order of the Legion of Honour in 1870.

Signed, and dated 1869, at Verberie—a pleasantly-situated spot in the department of the Oise, eleven miles north-east of Senlis.

1449. CARDINAL RICHELIEU.

Philippe de Champaigne (French: 1602-1674). See 798.

"The central head in No. 798 was evidently used as a study for this portrait. The Cardinal, in the crimson silk robes of his office, with the cross of the Order of St. Louis hung by a blue ribbon round his neck, stands as if just risen from the chair of state behind him."

1450. THE HOLY FAMILY.

Sebastiano del Piombo (Venetian: 1485-1547). See 1.

"In the mixture of the Venetian element," it has been said, "with the severe forms and masses of the Michelangelesque feeling consists the charm of Sebastiano's best works" (Layard, ii. 562). The "superb composition" before us, says Sir Edward Poynter, "shows the influence of Michelangelo in every line." It was formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Thomas Baring, and was purchased from the Earl of Northbrook in 1895. It was Mr. Baring's favourite picture in his collection.

1451. INTERIOR OF A CHURCH.

Gerrit Berck-Heyde (Dutch: 1638-1698). See 1420.

The nave of a Gothic church in Holland, during sermon-time (the preacher is in the pulpit against one of the columns on the right). The women sit on chairs; the men in seats raised in tiers. Some stand listening to the sermon, and an elderly man on the left is warning two children to be quiet. In the centre a boy is playing with a dog, to which a woman directs the attention of the child with her. On the pavement is the artist's signature, dated 1673.

1454. A GONDOLA.

Francesco Guardi (Venetian: 1712-1793). See 210.

1455. THE CIRCUMCISION.

Giovanni Bellini (Venetian: 1426-1516). See 189.

A picture of Bellini's earlier period, the original of numerous versions and copies in private and public galleries, presented to the National Gallery by one of the trustees, the Earl of Carlisle. The Virgin is "one of those magnificent Venetian women whose morbidezza profoundly moved the painters of their country, marked by a grave, suave, and restful expression, instinct with unconscious dignity; this is the countenance of a Venetian woman to the life, not over refined, but full of repose, the repose of vigour and conscious strength, not the languor of debility" (Athenæum). The diaper of the High Priest's robe contains figures of antelopes, a curious instance of the straightforward mode of the artist, who, no doubt, employed as a model a veritable robe, and one of Oriental or Sicilian origin. Embroideries of this category were frequently used in Venice of old. The same Oriental embroidery is to be seen in pictures by other Venetian artists in which the High Priest is introduced.

1456. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH ANGELS.

Unknown (Italian School: 15th Century).

Below is a portion of the original frame with three small quatrefoil medallions in which are half-length figures of the Saviour, the Virgin, and St. John. The picture, which was presented to the Gallery by one of the trustees, Mr. J.P. Heseltine, is ascribed to the school of Gentile da Fabriano (about 1360-1440), "the Umbrian Fra Angelico," whose delight in splendour and gold ornaments is so naïve.