688. In Venice, Tasso's echoes are no more, The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy. Childe Harold, iv. 3. From this room a staircase leads to the exit from the Gallery. On this staircase, and on a corresponding one opposite, there are the following pictures : WEST STAIRCASE LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE. James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859). See under XVIII. 1158, p. 487. This picture, which is usually accounted the artist's masterpiece, was painted in 1820-1822 at the suggestion (as he himself informs us) of West, in emulation of Paul Potter's famous picture of a Bull at the Hague. It was through a connection with the Royal Agricultural Society that Ward was led to take to animal painting, and it was somewhat from the Agricultural Show point of view that he seems to have painted all his animals. The fine Alderney cattle here were the property of one of his chief patrons, Mr. John Allnutt, of Clapham. EAST STAIRCASE MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES 1043. GORDALE SCAR, YORKSHIRE. James Ward, R.A. (1769-1859). See under XVIII. 1158, p. 487. A chasm in the limestone cliffs, about a mile from Malham. "I saw it," says Gray, "not without shuddering ;" and Wordsworth described it as Gordale chasm, terrific as the lair Here the artist introduces cattle and deer, to bring out the height of the scar that towers above them. BUST OF MANTEGNA. After Sperandio. It was This is a plaster cast from a bust of Mantegna, in the Mantegna Chapel, Basilica of St. Andrew, at Mantua. presented in 1883 by Mr. H. Vaughan. 811. TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL. Salvator Rosa (Neapolitan: 1615-1673). See under XIII. 1206, p. 317. A "wild rocky landscape" (for the subject of Tobias, who is in the water holding the fish, see I. 781, p. 17), hardly discernible in its present place for anything beyond the general sense of savage power which Salvator's works always convey. Salvator, says Mr. Ruskin, is "a good instance of vicious execution, dependent on too great fondness for sensations of power, vicious because intrusive and attractive in itself, instead of being subordinate to the results and forgotten in them" (Modern Painters, vol. i. pt. i. sec. ii. ch. ii. § 9). 391. THE BATTLE OF THE BORODINO. (September 8, 1812.) G. Jones, R.A. (1786-1869). See under XX. 389, p. 513. The battle after which Napoleon entered Moscow, only to have to retreat. To the right is Napoleon, dismounted, watching the result of an attack made on the great redoubt of the Russians. "A column of French infantry is ascending the eminence, supported by light cavalry on its left; and on its right cuirassiers are led by Caulaincourt, who forced the redoubt, but was slain in the struggle against the persevering courage of the Russians. On the left Murat is advancing and encouraging the troops" (Official Catalogue). SCULPTURES AND MARBLES On the staircases, in the Entrance Hall, and elsewhere, are the following sculptures and marbles : SIR DAVID WILKIE, R.A. Statue, in marble, by Samuel Joseph. Presented to the National Gallery by an association of gentlemen in 1844. THETIS AND HER NYMPHS, RISING FROM THE SEA, TO CONDOLE WITH ACHILLES ON THE LOSS OF PATROCLUS. Alto-rilievo in marble, by Thomas Banks, R.A. Presented to the National Gallery in 1845 by the sculptor's daughter, Mrs. Forster. WILLIAM MULREADY, R. A. Bust, in marble, by Henry Weekes, BUST OF THOMAS STOTHARD, R.A., marble, by Henry Weekes, BUST OF NAPOLEON I., bronze. Esq., in 1851. BUST OF Mr. WYNN ELLIS. are Bequeathed by P. C. Crespigny, Presented by his nephew, Mr. H. BUST OF WILLIAM BEWICK the painter (1795-1866), by John Gibson, R. A. Bequeathed by his widow, Mrs. Bewick, in 1871. Also the following marbles, which formed part of the Vernon Collection : 1. HYLAS AND THE WATER NYMPHS. A group in marble, executed in Rome, by John Gibson, R.A., b. 1791, d. 1866. 2. BUST OF THE MARQUIS OF Wellesley, Governor-General of India, by John Bacon, R. A., b. 1740, d. 1799. 3. BUST OF SIR WALTER SCOTT, Bart., by Sir Francis Chantrey, R.A., b. 1782, d. 1841. 4. BUST OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE CANNING, after Nollekens, by E. H. Baily, R.A., b. 1788, d. 1867. 5. Bust of Sir ISAAC NEWTON, after Roubilliac, by E. H. Baily, R.A. 6. BUST OF Dr. SAMUEL JOHNSON, from a cast in the possession of the sculptor, by E. H. Baily, R.A. 7. Bust of the DUKE OF WELLINGTON, after Nollekens, by E. H. Baily, R. A. The water-colour collection is in the basement, to which access is obtained by the staircase in the east corner of the Entrance Hall. Admission is free, but visitors are required to enter their names and addresses in a book kept for that purpose. A few miscellaneous pictures, enumerated below, are also hung in the basement. BASEMENT-ROOM I MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES. 37. GROUP OF HEADS. After Correggio. (See under IX. 15, p. 199). This, and the companion picture (7, p. 652), are probably copies by Annibale Carracci from Correggio's compositions in the church of S. Giovanni at Parma (Layard, ii. 631). 661. THE MADONNA DI SAN SISTO. After Raphael. (See under VI. 1171, p. 108). A tracing from the original picture by Raphael at Dresden, by Jakob Schlesinger (1822). 148. THE TRIUMPH OF GALATEA. Agostino Carracci (Eclectic: 1557-1602). Agostino Carracci was the elder brother of Annibale (XIII. 93, p. 308), and cousin of Ludovico (XIII. 28, p. 325). It was he who composed the sonnet in which the aims of the "Eclectic School," founded by him and his two relatives, are set forth (see p. 325). He was a man of learning, and superintended the theoretical instruction of the school. His pictures are rare, but he was also distinguished as an engraver. A cartoon for a fresco in the Farnese Palace at Rome. The frescoes themselves were the work of Annibale. The sea-nymph Galatea is borne on the ocean by Glaucus, preceded by Triton blowing his horn, and surrounded by Nereids and Cupids on Dolphins. 382. HEAD OF A NEGRO. John Simpson (English: 1782-1847). Simpson was a portrait painter of repute, and during the latter years of the life of Sir T. Lawrence was that master's principal assistant. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1793. Karl Anton Hickel (German: 1749-1798). This picture and one of "Sion House" belong to the National Portrait Gallery, and are only deposited temporarily at Trafalgar Square, This bird's-eye view of the House of Commons was painted by Hickel in London in 1793, and was presented by the Emperor of Austria, in 1885, to Lady Paget (the wife of the British Ambassador of Vienna) for the National Portrait Gallery. MEN DESTROYED BY DRAGONS. B. Sprangher (Flemish: 1546-1628). Bartholomew Sprangher, born in Antwerp and trained in Italy, was the head of the colony of Flemish artists who settled at the Court of the Emperor Rudolph II. at Prague. He had previously been painter to the Pope Pius V., by whom he was employed to execute many large and important works. "We have some difficulty, now, in understanding the reputation which this artist undoubtedly enjoyed in his own time. In his works generally the mannerism of design and the eccentricity of the attitudes are enhanced by the bad taste of the colouring and total absence of colour" (Wauters: The Flemish School, p. 193). THE INTERIOR OF SION HOUSE. Marcus Gheerardt (Flemish: 1561-1635). Mark Gheerardt, the younger, was the son of another painter of the same name (called Garrard in England), whom he succeeded as painter to Queen Elizabeth. The Gheerardts came from Bruges, but settled in England, where most of their works are to be seen. This picture was purchased for the National Portrait Gallery (to which institution it belongs) at the Hamilton sale in 1882 for £2520-the largest sum hitherto paid by that Gallery for any single picture. The picture then bore the name of the Spanish painter, Pantoja de la Cruz; but this inscription was shown to be a forgery by Mr. Scharf, the Director, who assigned the work to its true author, Gheerardt. It represents the conference held in London in 1604, for the Ratification of the Treaty for Peace and Commerce between England and Spain. On the right are the English Commissioners; on the left the six Commissioners for the King of Spain and the Archdukes of Austria. 7. GROUP OF HEADS. After Correggio. (See under IX. 15, p. 199). See under the companion picture, 37, above, p. 651. |