A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools

This little picture is among the earliest of Bellini's works. The abnormal length of the figure of Christ and the exaggerated length and straightness of the forearms are points which should be noticed in this connection, resembling as they do characteristics of other early works by the painter, and also the drawings of his father, Jacopo. But "already, in spite of the archaism of form, he shows a feeling for atmospheric tonality; the ruin to the right and the two figures near it are, as painters say, in their place; that is to say, the treatment as regards relations of tone is such as the linear perspective would lead us to expect. Still more surprising is the way in which the eye is led down the valley to free spaces of luminous air" (Roger Fry: Giovanni Bellini, p. 18). The subject is a rare one in Italian art. Mr. Fry gives a reproduction of a similar figure in a picture by Crivelli in the Poldi Pezzoli Collection at Milan; and Dr. Richter, one from a woodcut in Savonarola's treatise on "Humility," first printed in 1492.

1234. "A MUSE INSPIRING A COURT POET."

Dosso Dossi (Ferrarese: 1479-1542). See 640.

Called a "court poet" because, one may suppose, of his sleek and uninspired appearance; but poets do not always look their parts, and 'tis the function of the Muse "to mould the secret gold." But perhaps the artist had some gently sarcastic intention, for it is but a small sprig that the Muse has spared to the poet from her garland. The head of the poet is clearly a portrait. That of the Muse "is as fine in technique and condition as anything in the whole range of Dossi's work" (Benson).

1239, 1240. THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS

Girolamo Mocetto (Venetian: worked 1484-1514).

Mocetto was a native of Verona, but a pupil of Giovanni Bellini at Venice. He was "one of the earliest," says Lanzi (ii. 167), "and least polished among Bellini's disciples." And it is interesting to contrast the accomplished and beautiful work of the master (1233) with the almost ludicrous imperfections of these two pictures by the pupil. Notice especially the absurd attitude of the attendant to the left, in 1239; and in 1240, the expression of grief in the mother. Mocetto's claim to distinction rests rather on his rare engravings, executed from the designs of Giovanni Bellini and Mantegna. He "was also the painter of the great window in the church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (Venice), which, although badly restored, still remains a magnificent work" (Layard, i. 332).

These works probably formed the wings of a triptych. In the former scene Herod directs the massacre which has already begun; in the second, the massacre is at its height.

1241. CHRIST PREACHING IN THE TEMPLE

Pedro Campaña (Flemish-Italian: 1503-1580).

The painter of this picture forms an interesting link in the history of art. "In Spain the influence exercised over the national school by the northern Gothic masters was weakened at an early stage by the Italian Renaissance. Strange to say, a Fleming, who had learned his art in the school of Michael Angelo, was the chief instrument by which Italy asserted her power. Peter de Kampencer, to whom the Spaniards gave the name of Pedro Campaña, was born in Brussels. He left Italy, where he had enjoyed the protection of Cardinal Grimani, for Seville (1548), where he founded an academy." Luis de Morales (see 1229) is said to have been among his disciples. One of his masterpieces, a "Descent from the Cross," in Santa Cruz, was the picture which Murillo was never tired of admiring (see the story told under 13). Besides such large altar-pieces, "he was accustomed," says Lanzi (i. 402, Bohn's edition), "to paint small pictures, which were eagerly sought after by the English, and transferred to their country, where they were highly prized." In 156 °Campaña returned to his native city, and became official painter to the tapestry works there.

The subject of this "celebrated picture" (as Lanzi calls it) is "The Magdalen led by St. Martha to the Temple, to hear the preaching of Christ." Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, is identified in legend with the Magdalen, and her conversion is said to have begun with the incident here depicted. The kneeling figure of the Magdalen is conspicuous amongst the women listeners; she is encouraged by Martha, who points to the preacher (see Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 219, ed. 1850, for other representations of this subject).

1243. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN

C. W. Heimbach (German: 1613-1678).

Dated 1662. Notice the characteristic "steeple-crowned" hat.

1247. THE CARD PLAYERS

Nicolas Maes (Dutch: 1632-1693). See 153.

This picture, purchased in 1888 at the sale of the Gatton Park (Lord Oxenbridge's) Collection, was stated by the auctioneer to be by Rembrandt, but there is little doubt that it is really by his disciple, Maes; though, as it is larger than most of the known works by that master, other critics have ascribed it to another pupil of Rembrandt, Carl Faber, or Fabricius. "In any case it is unmistakably of the Rembrandt school, and owes its inspiration to the method of presentation peculiar to the master. From every technical point of view it is first-rate. It is infused with the largeness of style, the just appreciation of character, and the glowing colour, to be found in Rembrandt's matured works. It is the turn of the girl to play. She regards her hand in evident perplexity, doubtful which card to throw down. The man is apparently sure of his game" (Times, June 4, 1888).

1248. PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Bartholomeus van der Helst (Dutch: 1611-1670). See 140.

The sitter belonged to the Braganza family. So prematurely demure is this plain little girl that, in spite of the fact that her hair is "down" and that she wears a round nursery cap, she is dignified with the title of "A Lady." She is certainly every inch a grown-up lady in her rich brocade dress, pearl necklace, and costly feathers. Van der Helst gave special attention, says Sir F. Burton, to "the discrimination of stuffs, and his skill in reproducing the lustre and shimmer of jewellery or gold embroidery and the delicacy of the lace-worker's art has never been equalled." The picture is signed, and dated 1645.

1251. PORTRAIT OF A MAN

Frans Hals (Dutch: 1580-1666). See 1021.

It is only at Haarlem that the full power of Hals can be seen; but this picture shows something of his dash and facility. There is, indeed, upon it a stamp of power and individuality, alike in conception and treatment, which makes it one of the most interesting portraits in the Gallery. It is signed with the painter's monogram, and dated 1633. Possibly it is a portrait of the painter himself; and certainly it shows the type of a man to which Hals belonged – Hals, the dashing volunteer who fought in the military guilds, the good-for-nothing, daredevil fellow who loved his glass and was none too faithful in his domestic relations, whose excesses brought him finally to penury, but whose high spirit and unfailing dash enabled him to remain true, through it all, to the calling of his art.

1252. A FRUIT-PIECE

Frans Snyders (Flemish: 1579-1657).

Snyders was one of the principal Flemish painters of animals and still life, and his talents were so much admired by Rubens that the latter often employed him to paint fruit, game, and other accessories in his pictures. Rubens in exchange sometimes drew the figures in pictures by Snyders, whom, as a last proof of affection, he appointed by will to manage the sale of his works of art. Snyders received many commissions, too, from the Archduke Albert and from Philip III. of Spain. His earlier pictures were confined to representations – such as this one of fruit and vegetables, or of dead game and fish. In the establishment of his parents, who were proprietors of a large eating-house, he had ample opportunity of studying such models. "Snyders is not to be surpassed," says Sir F. Burton, "in the painting of fruit. With his fine appreciation of colour, and his large method of handling, he reproduced with few but masterly touches the characteristic surface of each luscious product of the garden, with greater truth to nature than was generally attained by those painters who sought it by means of minute and laborious imitation." Afterwards Snyders enlarged his scope, and produced those scenes of the chase for which he became celebrated. The vigour which Snyders threw into these productions is extraordinary, but pictures of animals in savage chase or butchered agony do not appeal to all tastes. "I know no pictures," says Ruskin, "more shameful to humanity than the boar and lion hunts of Rubens and Snyders, signs of disgrace all the deeper because the powers desecrated are so great. The painter of the village ale-house sign may, not dishonourably, paint the fox-hunt for the village squire; but the occupation of magnificent art power in giving semblance of perpetuity to those bodily pangs which Nature has mercifully ordained to be transient, and in forcing us, by the fascination of its stormy skill, to dwell on that from which eyes of merciful men should instinctively turn away, and eyes of high-minded men scornfully, is dishonourable alike in the power which it degrades, and the joy to which it betrays" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. § 19).

1255. A STUDY OF STILL LIFE

Jan Jans van de Velde (Dutch: born 1622).

This rare painter, perhaps the son of Jan van de Velde, the engraver, was settled at Amsterdam in 1642. Besides being a painter he was in business as a broker, and was described in the marriage register as a silver-wire drawer. This picture is dated 1656.

1256. A STUDY OF STILL LIFE

Herman Steenwyck (Dutch: 17th Century).

This Steenwyck is not to be confused with the painter of architectural interiors (see 1132). Herman, and a brother, Pieter, were painters of still-life subjects at Leyden.

1257. THE BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN

Murillo (Spanish: 1618-1682). See 13.

A sketch for the large picture now in the Louvre (No. 540). "Like so many of the sketches of Murillo, it is so light in touch," says one of the critics, "so exquisite in colour, as to be, from an artistic point of view, preferable to the finished picture." This, however, is not the only advantage which Murillo gains from smallness of scale. There is a prettiness, and even a sentimentality, permissible on a small scale which offends the dignity of a large canvas. Thus, the "affectation" of the attendant angels is far less "absurd" here than in the large picture. "One of the cherubs shrinks back," adds Mr. Eastlake in his Louvre catalogue, "frightened at a dog, which seems a strangely human act of weakness; another holds up a piece of baby-linen, with a provokingly fantastic air." But herein we have the very characteristics which make the religious sentiment of Murillo's pictures interesting. In the early Italian pictures the Virgin is a great lady, living in a fine house or spacious cloister. But in Spain the symbols of devotion passed into realities; and a combination of mysticism in conception with realism in treatment is the distinguishing "note" of the Spanish religious school. One could not wish for a prettier presentment of this mingled note than is afforded by this little sketch, with its angels half in ecstatic adoration over the "Lily of Eden," and half in human playfulness – a sketch which seems to combine with the frank realities of a humble nursery the religious sentiment of Keble's Christian Year: —

Ave Maria! blessed maid!Lily of Eden's fragrant shade,Who can express the loveThat nurtured thee so pure and sweet,Making thy heart a shelter meetFor Jesus' Holy Dove!

1258. A STUDY OF STILL LIFE

J. B. S. Chardin (French: 1699-1779).

Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin was the contemporary of Boucher (1090), and his pictures may serve to remind us that there was a bourgeoisie in France as well as a noblesse when Louis XV. was king. The simple subject of this picture – a loaf of brown bread, with a bottle of wine, spread out on a piece of old newspaper – takes us far away from the luxurious trifling of the Court painters. Chardin followed the path of frank realism, treating, however, all his subjects with refinement. To Dutch precision he added Gallic grace. He painted either still life (as here) or scenes from the domestic life of the people (as in 1664, and in a picture in the Dulwich Gallery). His treatment was devoid of affectation, and his colouring fresh and agreeable. "He is the best colourist in the Salon," said Diderot of him in his lifetime. Chardin, in the exercise of his honest industry, knew how difficult it was to excel, and said on one occasion to Diderot and the other critics, "Gently, good sirs, gently! Out of all the pictures that are here seek the very worst; and know that two thousand unhappy wretches have bitten their brushes in two with their teeth, in despair of ever doing even so badly." Chardin's fellow-workers appreciated his merits, and he was elected a member of the Academy in 1728, becoming Treasurer of that body in 1755. There is a large collection of his works in the Louvre. They fell into disrepute during the succeeding reign of David and the "classical" school, but they have again won a high position in the estimation of those who know. This picture (which is signed, and dated 1754) was presented to the Gallery; for No. 1664, purchased in 1898, the sum of £721 was paid.

Chardin's pictures show that instinctive "power of reticence" which is one of the secrets of fine art. "It is what gives value to such humble efforts as the study of still-life subjects, and raises them – as in the works of the French painters, Chardin especially, and of some of the Dutch painters – above the level of mere mechanical imitations, and transforms them into works capable of giving us real pleasure" (Poynter's Lectures on Art, p. 195).

1260-1270. EARLY GREEK PORTRAITS

These eleven portraits are part of the find by Mr. Flinders Petrie, in his excavations at Hawara, in the Fayoum (Middle Egypt), and are of great interest as supplying a fresh link in the historical development of art as exhibited in the National Gallery. Here is portraiture in its infancy. But even these portraits, done probably by Græco-Egyptian artists in the second or third century A.D., are later developments from an earlier stage. They were affixed to the outside covering of mummies in a position corresponding to the head of the corpse:237 the exact arrangement can be seen in two mummies from the same "find," now in the British Museum. "They are derived," says Miss Amelia B. Edwards, "by a clearly traced process of evolution from the portrait-heads first modelled in stucco upon Egyptian mummy cases, and then painted. From coloured portraiture in high relief to coloured portraiture on flexible canvas, where a certain amount of relief was obtained by the prominence of the bandaged face beneath, was one step; and from the flexible canvas to the panel upon which the semblance of relief was given by light and shadow and foreshortening was another and far more important step. It marked the transition from the Eastern to the Western school of painting." The portraits are painted with pigments of rich colour on thin panels of cedar wood, wax being the medium employed. "The rather lumpy surface or impasto which comes from the use of a wax medium is very obvious. The melted wax rapidly hardened when the brush touched the cold surface of the panel, and so prevented the pigment from being laid in a smooth, even manner. The wood was not, like stucco, sufficiently absorbent for the subsequent application of heat to get rid of the lumpy surface by driving the superfluous wax below the surface" (Middleton's Remains of Ancient Rome, i. 100). The persons buried with these panel portraits were mostly of Greek origin; but some – as, for instance, the man (No. 1265, presented by Mr. Haworth) – seemed rather to be of the Roman type. The faces exhibit all variations, from living grace to the emptiest vacuity. It has been suggested that "the better portraits were painted from the life, whilst in other cases the painter was perhaps only sent for after death, and this may account for the vague and lifeless looks of many of the portraits, inanimate in spite of the wide, open, and vacuous smile." It will be noticed that "the style of the portraits is usually conventional precisely in those details which make the difference between one living face and another. The eyes, which more than any other feature should impart the living expression in all these cases, are executed in a perfunctory and formal manner. And they are, moreover, in many cases too large for the face. This is not merely due to the inability of the artists, for many of these portraits show a real grasp of character and a distinct technical skill in the modelling, notably in that, perhaps, most difficult of tasks, the indication of the play of muscles around the mouth. Under these circumstances I think no one will deny that the measure of success achieved in some of the best of these portraits is very remarkable. The old man in particular (1265) shows a breadth of style and a quiet humour which reminds us of some of the Dutch masters of the Teniers school. Of course there are good and bad among them; the quality probably depended to some extent upon the price which the relative could afford to pay. One wonders what the price may have been, especially when we read of the enormous sums which great pictures fetched in the palmy days of Greek painting. Most of these people seem to have been well to do, as the gold wreaths of the men and the jewellery of the women prove" (Cecil Smith, ch. vi. of W. M. F. Petrie's Hawara, Biahmu, and Arsinoe: 1889). No. 1261 retains the greater part of a gilt gesso border, stamped or modelled with a wavy tendril and bud pattern.

1277. A MAN'S PORTRAIT

Nicolas Maes (Dutch: 1632-1693). See 153.

Signed, and dated 1666. A singularly lifelike portrait of a singularly unattractive face.

1278. A CONVIVIAL PARTY

Hendrik Gerritsz Pot (Dutch: about 1600-1656).

The picture is signed HP (on the side of the projecting chimney). Several pictures – chiefly conversation-pieces and portraits (including one of Charles I. in the Louvre) – bear these initials. They are supposed to belong to the above-named artist, of whom it is recorded that he visited England and made portraits of the king.

An ordinary scene of the kind, but there is a pleasant touch in the little dog who furtively licks the hand of its half-tipsy master.

1280. CHRIST APPEARING AFTER HIS RESURRECTION

Unknown (Early Flemish: 15th Century).

The Virgin Mary sits on the edge of an old-fashioned bedstead. Christ, with the marks of the wounds in breast and feet, faces her, and behind him is a great company of saints, kneeling. Highly finished throughout.

1282. SAN ZENOBIO RESTORING TO LIFE A DEAD CHILD

Jacopo Chimenti da Empoli (Florentine: 1554-1640).

Chimenti, of Empoli, near Florence, was "an imitator of Andrea del Sarto, and distinguished for his Madonnas; he was distinguished also for his love of good eating, and acquired from his contemporaries the nickname of L' Empilo, instead of L' Empoli, which is as much as to say stewpan" (Wornum, Epochs of Painting, p. 356). He was largely employed in the churches of Florence and the neighbourhood. His best production is his "St. Ives" in the Uffizi: "in noble conception and truth and glow of colour it reminds us of the best of the old Florentine masters."

St. Zenobio (died A.D. 417) was a Bishop of Florence, famous in his time for his eloquence and good works, and a favourite saint with the Florentines in after ages. The following is the legend painted in this picture: – "A French lady of noble lineage, who was performing a pilgrimage to Rome, stopped at Florence on the way, in order to see the good bishop Zenobio, of whom she had heard so much, and having received his blessing she proceeded to Rome, leaving in his care her little son. The day before her return to Florence, the child died. She was overwhelmed with grief, and took the child and laid him down at the feet of St. Zenobio, who, by the efficacy of his prayers, restored the child to life, and gave him back to the arms of his mother" (Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 415).

1284. ST. FRANCIS AND ST. MARK

Antonio Vivarini (Venetian: died 1470). See 768.

A companion panel to the one already in the Gallery; see 768. The design of the pedestal is, it will be seen, the same in both.

1285. PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON I

Horace Vernet (French: 1789-1863).

Emile John Horace Vernet, soldier and artist, was the grandson of Claude Joseph Vernet (236). He was decorated in 1814 by Napoleon for his gallant conduct before the enemy at the Barrière de Clichy, on which occasion he served in a regiment of hussars. In the Louvre there is a picture by him representing the defence of Paris on that occasion. On the fall of the Empire he left France for a time, but he gradually won the favour of the court. In 1833 he joined the French army at Algiers, and there gathered material for the huge battle-pieces which he painted for Louis Philippe. The Crimean War furnished him with another congenial set of subjects. His work had a great vogue in its day, but owed more to its patriotic and stirring subject-matter than to abiding artistic qualities.

Less ideal than the beautiful sketch which David made of Napoleon as First Consul, or the later conventional pictures painted for a generation which had not seen the original. There is no dreamy intensity in the eyes, and no engaging smile. The famous lock in the centre of the forehead is there, and the face is still handsome, imposing, and resolute; but there is already something of the heaviness which presaged his fall.

1286. A BOY DRINKING

Murillo (Spanish: 1618-1682). See 13.

"The boy is resting his left arm on a table and holding a square bottle, like one of those used for schiedam. The head is finely modelled, with a firm, broad touch; the bright eyes are deep set under the brow, and they betray eager delight in the draught he is taking. The flesh tones are unusually pure and bright for Murillo. The picture seems to be that which, named 'A Spanish Youth Drinking,' was sold in 1836 with Lord Charles Townshend's collection for £414. With the Earl of Clare's pictures was sold, in 1864, 'A Peasant holding a Bottle and drinking from a Glass,' which had belonged to Prince Talleyrand and Lord C. Townshend,' for £1365" (Athenæum).

1287. INTERIOR OF AN ART GALLERY

Dutch School (17th Century).

Of interest alike for its technical skill and for its historical information. No less than forty-two pictures hang upon the walls of the "Art Gallery," and the collection is very interesting as showing the taste of an amateur of the period. In addition to these, there are globes, gems, maps, engravings, nautical instruments, pieces of sculpture, and other "objects of vertu" – all painted with miniature-like delicacy. Especially charming is an elaborately inlaid cabinet with china and other "curios" upon it. Notice also the fine Persian carpet. The art treasures are being eagerly scanned by several groups of connoisseurs, whilst – with a touch, perhaps, of satiric intent – a monkey is perched on the window-sill, criticising the critics. It is interesting to note that with only three exceptions all the paintings depicted in the Art Gallery are in black frames. This was the common practice with the Low Country painters. Several of the latest additions to the Dutch pictures in the Gallery are in their original black frames. The famous Teniers at Vienna of "The Archduke's Gallery" is an equally apt illustration of the taste of Dutch and Flemish painters (Athenæum, 2nd January 1892).