face, behind the officer who stands with one arm resting on the chair of the third Dutch delegate (counting from the left). During his lifetime Terburg did not part with the picture. It passed at one time into the possession of Prince Talleyrand, and by a curious coincidence was hanging in the room of his hotel, under the view of the Allied Sovereigns, at the signing of the treaty of 1814. After several more changes of hands it was bought in 1868 by the late Marquis of Hertford for £8800equivalent, the curious in such things may like to know, to nearly £24 per square inch of canvas; at his death it came into the possession of Sir Richard Wallace, who presented it to the nation in 1871. 199. LESBIA AND HER SPARROW. Godfried Schalcken (Dutch: 1643–1706). A picture in illustration of a Latin poem, as befits a painter whose father was headmaster of a Latin school (at Dort). Lesbia is weighing jewels against her sparrow, which she loved better even than her own eyes 192. Mourn, every Venus, every Love! Gallants gay, mourn every one! My darling had a favourite dove, As her own eyes— Her dove is dead and gone. PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF. G. R., from Catullus, iii. Gerard Dou (Dutch: 1613-1675). This jolly-looking portrait is by no means a tell-tale face, for what specially distinguishes Dou (or Dow) is the patient industry which he devoted to his work. He was the son of a glazier at Leyden, and at fifteen entered the studio of Rembrandt, who was then himself only twenty. He lived nearly all his life in his native town. The German painter Sandrart relates that he once visited Dou's studio and admired the great care bestowed by the artist on the painting of a broomstick. Dou remarked that he would still have to work at it for three days more. The history of his pictures is a remarkable instance of industry rewarded. In his lifetime an amateur of the name of Spiering used to pay him one thousand florins a year-in itself a good income-for the mere privilege of having the first offer of his pictures; and since his death their value has steadily increased. SCREEN II LENT BY THE DUKE OF NORFOLK CHRISTINA OF DENMARK, DUCHESS OF MILAN. Hans Holbein, the younger (German: 1497-1543). Hans Holbein, called the younger to distinguish him from his father of the same name, who was also a celebrated painter,1 is closely identified with England, and at least seventy first-rate pictures by him are, it is calculated, in this country. Curiously, however (and unfortunately), none of them as yet belong to the National Gallery, and if it were not for this portrait, generously placed here on loan, he would be entirely unrepresented. 2 This example shows something of his skill as a portrait painter—a branch of art in which he has never, perhaps, been excelled. It was, however, painted hurriedly, as explained below; whereas, what chiefly distinguishes most of Holbein's portraits (some of which may be seen at Hampton Court) is the perfection of every accessory, which at the same time was never allowed to interfere with resemblance. But Holbein was not merely a portrait painter. Few artists have equalled him in majestic range of capacity. His "Madonna" at Darmstadt (the better known copy of which is at Dresden) is one of the great religious pictures of the world. He was also a fresco painter, a designer for glass painting, and a draughtsman for woodcuts, his designs of the “Dance of Death" being the typical expression in art of the spirit of the Reformation. Holbein was a native of Augsburg. He settled early in life at Bâle. In 1526, leaving his wife and child behind him, he set out for England, with letters from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More. From 1528-1532 he was again in Bâle, whilst in the latter year he returned to England, where he remained for the rest of his life, being carried off by the plague in 1543. 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 1 Two other members of the family are known as painters-Ambrosius, brother of the younger Hans; and Sigmund, brother of the elder. A portrait ascribed to the latter is in Room XI. (722, p. 279). It is the duty of every one who has the opportunity to echo the pious wish expressed by the Quarterly Reviewer (October, 1886) that "the Barbers' Company, following the example set by the Duke of Norfolk, may be induced to deposit in the National Gallery their well-known picture by this master, both for the enjoyment of the public and for its safe custody" The picture in question represents Henry VIII. enthroned and granting a charter to the Company of Barber-surgeons, peasants I can make seven lords, but not one Holbein." Holbein was a jovial man, it is said, much to Henry's liking, but with a deep undercurrent of seriousness, as befitted the friend of Erasmus and More. (For Mr. Ruskin's estimate of Holbein, see Sir Joshua and Holbein, reprinted in On the Old Road, vol. i., and Ariadne Florentina, passim.) Amongst Holbein's duties as painter to Henry VIII, was that of taking portraits of the ladies whom he proposed in turn to wed. After the death of Jane Seymour, the first favourite was the lady before us- "Christina of Denmark, the young relict of the Duke of Milan, and the niece of the emperor. The duchess was tall, handsome, and though a widow not more than sixteen." Holbein was despatched to paint her portrait, and she gave him a sitting-of three hours only—at Brussels. The portrait, it would seem, did not make the king and his minister less anxious for the match-which, however, was broken off, it will be remembered, after long negotiations, by the hostility of the emperor. The duchess, in spite of her tender years, seems -and the picture does not belie the supposition-to have had a character of her own. The story of her reply “that she had but one head, but that if she had two, one should be at the service of his Majesty," is, indeed, now discredited; but her actual answer, "You know I am the emperor's poor servant, and must follow his pleasure," was, in the light of subsequent events, equally to the point. The English Ambassador specially reported "her honest countenance and the few words she wisely spoke" (see Froude's History of England, ch. xv.) SCREEN III 1195. THE BIRTH OF VENUS. Rubens (Flemish: 1577-1640). See under 38, p. 220. A finished study for a salver which was executed in silver for Charles I. "The central oval shows a goddess borne along and attended on the surface of the waves by nymphs and tritons; sea gods and goddesses, riding on aquatic monsters, disport themselves in the broad flat border surrounding the central panel. Rubens may be said to have here surpassed himself in those qualities of movement and brilliant execution, in which he was unrivalled. His form, often florid in contour, although always supple, has here a grace and beauty entirely in harmony with the classic theme, and the personages are inspired with that immortal gaiety which has so rarely found expression, save in the work of the master's contemporary, our national poet, since it vanished at the final decay of Greek art and Of a piece with the delightful imaginative qualities so prodigally lavished on the present panel is the truly marvellous execution. The hand has played over the surface with a lightness and delicacy surprising even to those familiar with the touch of the master in his first sketches for important compositions. The method employed is simple and direct; the figures have been outlined in pen and ink, then a general glaze has been spread over the entire surface, on which the forms were modelled in white and gray, the ultimate result being a warm silvery tone" (Times, December 22, 1885). This picture, which was sold at the Hamilton sale (1882) for £1680, was bought for the nation three years later at the Becket Denison sale for £672. Coques (Flemish: 1614-1684). See under 1011, p. 256. Coques pays a pretty compliment to one of his fellow-artists, Robert van Hoecke (who, like a greater man, Leonardo, was an authority on fortifications as well as a painter), in painting his portrait as typical of "Sight." The figures in the rest of the series, if portraits, have not been identified. 1055. A VILLAGE CARD PARTY. Hendrick Rokes, surnamed Sorgh (Dutch: 1621-1682). A characteristic panel by an imitator of Teniers. The game rests with the woman, who is not going to play, it would seem, till the score is settled. 985. SHEEP AND GOATS. Karel du Jardin (Dutch: 1625–1678). 1011. PORTRAIT OF A LADY. Coques (Flemish: 1614–1684). There is unfortunately no female portrait by Van Dyck in the Gallery; otherwise it would be seen at a glance how faithful an imitation on a reduced scale this is of that master's ideal of feminine "elegance." There is a certain artificial simplicity, very characteristic of the time, in the combination of the lady, with her sumptuous white satin and the elaborate architecture behind her, and her pet lamb. 1056. "A KISS IN THE CUP." 680. Hendrick Rokes, surnamed Sorgh (Dutch: 1621-1682). And I will pledge with mine; And I'll not look for wine. BEN JONSON: To Celia. THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. Van Dyck (Flemish: 1599–1641). See under 49, p. 226. "One of the too numerous brown sketches 2 in the manner of the Flemish School, which seem to me rather done for the sake of wiping the brush clean than of painting anything. There is no colour in it, and no light and shade ;-but a certain quantity of bitumen is rubbed about so as to slip more or less greasily into the shape of figures; and one of St. John's (or St. James's) legs is suddenly terminated by a wriggle of white across it, to signify that he is standing in the sea” (Art of England, p. 44). Mr. Ruskin notices the picture as an example of the art which was assailed by the Pre-Raphaelites. A word-picture of the same scene in the Pre-Raphaelite manner, with its literal and close realisation, will be found in Modern Painters, vol. iii. pt. iv. ch. iv. § 16. 1 Bürger describes the works of Coques as "Van Dyck's seen through the wrong side of the glass." Another critic as " Van Dyck's in 18mo." 2 It is a sketch from a picture by Rubens at Mechlin. |