The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008751194 The Flemish school of painting 3 1924 008 751 194 THE FINE-ART LIBRARY. EDITED BY JOHN C. L. SPARKES, Principal of the National Art Training School, South Kensingto7i Museum. ; ,^ r~{l, 1- jY^^^iT^^ THE Flemish School Painting. Ouvrage Couronne par I'Academie Roy ale de Belgique. PROFESSOR A. J. WAUTERS. TRANSLATED BY Mrs. henry ROSSEL. CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORIf & MELBOURNE. 1885. f.^ '-' [all eights reserved.] ,.,.111 1\ >^ '/Min'\^^ 7 AUTHOR'S DEDICATION. MY BROTHER, EMILE WAUTERS. YOUR TALENT HAS PLACED YOUR NAME ON THE LAaT PAGE OF THIS BOOK ; ALLOW MY AFFECTION TO INSCRIBE IT ON THE FIRST ALSO. CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction i Jirst ^trioK. Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. I. Origin of' Flemish Painting .... 13 StconB ^nio». Fifteenth Century. — Gothic School. 11. The Van Eycks — Discovery of Painting in Oil 33 III. Roger Van der Weyden and his Contem- poraries 52 IV. The Followers of Van per Weyden . . 66 V. Hans Memling and his Followers ... 84 VI. The Guild of St. Luke of Antwerp, and QUENTIN MeTSYS 98 VII. Influence exercised abroad by the School of Bruges ........ 105 Sri&irt ^ttiolf. Sixteenth Century. — The Romanists. VIII. Antwerp in the Sixteenth Century . . 115 IX. The Last Gothic Painters 120 X. The National Painters 130 XI. Bernard Van Orley and the Romanists in Brussels and Mechlin 146 XII. Lambert Lombard and the Romanists at Liege 154 XIII. Frans Floris and the Romanists in Antwerp 157 XIV. Peter Breughel the Elder . . . .170 XV. The Flemish Painters Abroad . . . .177 CONTENTS. Seventeenth Century.— Rubens and his School, XVI. The Forerunners of Rubens . . . 199 205 227 253 XVII. Peter Paul Rubens . . . • XVIII. Van Dyck and the Pupils of Rubens XIX. Jordaens and the Painters of History XX. Cornelius De Vos and the Portrait Painters 274 XXI. Snyders, Fyt, and the Painters of Animals XXII. Teniers and the Painters of Genre XXIII. The Painters of Batile Scenes XXIV. The Landsc:ape Painters XXV. The Painters of Still Life XXVI. The Grandsons of Rubens . XXVII. The Flemish Painters Abroad . 280 290 317 321 ^^^ 352 364 Eighteenth Century. XXVIII. Fall of the .School . . ... 381 Nineteenth Centmy. — The Belgian School. XXIX. The Classical and the Romantic Painters . 389 XXX. Appendix. — Chronological REsume from 1851 TO 1884 403 Index of Painters mentioned in this Book . . 417 GENEALOGICAL TREES OF THE GREAT ARTISTIC FAMILIES OF THE FLEMISH SCHOOL. 9- 10. II. 12. 13- 14. IS- 16. 17. Van der Weyden Metsys or Massys . Claeis or Claessens Van Cl6ve or Van Cleef Van Coninxloo Van Orley Coxie or Van Coxcyen Floris Franck or Francken De Vos and de Witte Key .... quellinus Teniers Ryckaert . Breughel and Van Kes5el Peeters .... Van Bredael or Van Breda PAGE 60 105 138 142 146 IS' iss 163 164 168 243 299 306 327 340 384 Geographical distribution of a portion of the \vorks of the principal Flemish Masters of the Six- teenth Century 379 The Flemish School of Painting. INTRODUCTION. Flemish Art has been in a condition of almost continuous change for the last six centuries It is vast in extent and multifarious in character ; and, innumerable as are its masterpieces, all bear alike the stamp of originality. It is, in truth, the intellectual flower of the nation. " It is intimately connected with the national life," says M. Henri Taine, "and has its origin in the national character itself" In accordance with the theories of the eminent author of the Philosophie de I'Art aux Pays Bas, which commend themselves to our judgment, we divide the history of Flemish painting into six great periods, each of which corresponds to a dis- tinct historical epoch. "Just as each important geological change brings with it its own animal and floral life, so each great transformation of society and intellect generates new ideals." The first period of Flemish Art commences not B 2 INTRODUCTION. long before the fourteenth century. This was the age of Van Artevelde— the heroic and tragic era in the history of Flanders. The communes were then at the zenith of their greatness and power, and the guilds had organised themselves into military bodies, and commenced their ceaseless struggle for liberty. Alike in Ghent, in Bruges, in Ypres, in Brussels, in Louvain, and in Li6ge, the deep-rooted energy of the people prompted them to efforts of the utmost daring ; and it was in the midst of these populous and turbulent, yet prosperous cities, that the first guilds of illuminators, painters, and modellers, were formed. Art seemed to spring up from the soil unaided, and showed itself even in the rude frescoes and in the simple paintings which princes, cor- porations, and monastic orders, purchased from the earliest artists to adorn the walls of their palaces, their town-halls, or their chapels. But these anony- mous works were soon succeeded by the paintings of Jehan de Bruges, an artist in the service of the King of France ; of Jehan de Hasselt, painter to the Count of Flanders ; of Jehan de Woluwe, painter to the Dukes of Brabant ; and of Melchior Broederlam, the painter to the Duke of Burgundy. Art only required a favourable opportunity to enable it to burst into life, and this opportunity had now come. In 1419 Philip the Good commenced his magnificent reign : it proved to be the dawn of a new epoch. The second period extends over the whole of the fifteenth century and somewhat beyond. It was the INTRODUCTION. 3 immediate result of a great development in the prosperity, wealth, and intellect of the country. Christian Art now shone forth, realistic and true to nature in its outer forms, though still mystical and austere in spirit. Faith still existed, and the primitive devotion was as deep as ever, but the general spirit was altered : the picturesque age had succeeded the symbolic. Artists had become inter- ested in nature : they studied anatomy, landscape, perspective, architecture, accessories ; their works glorified the actual life of the present as well as the life to come. Their pictures, which were chiefly in- tended for altars and oratories, represented none but religious subjects, yet they told of the pomp, the elegance, the unparalleled magnificence of the time of the Dukes of Burgundy. This was the epoch of the great Jean Van Eyck, of his brother Hubert, of Van der Weyden, Van der Goes, Cristus, Bouts, Memling, Gheerardt David, Jerome Bosch, and of Quentin Metsys. The day was to come when these masters of Flemish Gothic Art, like the harbingers of the Re- naissance in Italy, would cast all else into oblivion. The third period comprises the sixteenth century. The Low Countries passed over to Germany by the marriage of Mary of Burgundy with Maximilian of Austria, and by the union of Philippe le Beau with Jeanne of Aragon they were united to Spain. Mar- guerite of Austria and Charles V. were both born in the Netherlands — Marguerite in Bruges, Charies in B 2 4 INTRODUCTION. Ghent— they were both national in spirit, and both suc- ceeded in winning for themselves a certain popularity. As the frontiers extended, so did the domain of intellectual and material activity. The public mind was enlarged, and free investigation helped it to shake off its former ecclesiastical tutelage. Public wealth was great and commerce prosperous, while political relations, as they became more and more extensive, brought to the North the taste and the models of the South. Fable and allegory began to mingle with reli- gious tradition, and called forth a new sphere of Art. Just as Italy had once accepted the artistic yoke of Greece, so the Low Countries, subdued by the illustrious masters and gigantic works of Italy, sub- mitted to their enchanting power. The national Art suffered fatally from foreign influence, and Bruges and Antwerp were deserted for Florence and Rome. The first to depart was Jean Gossaert, in 1508. Bernard Van Orley, Lambert Lombard, Pierre Coucke, Michel Coxie, Franz Floris, Barth^l^my Sprangher, Martin de Vos, the Franckens, Van Mander, Denis Calvaert, and Otho Voenius, followed him. But in Italy the Flemish school became completely disorganised, and all these " Romanists " lost the qualities they possessed without acquiring those they lacked. They did not give to Art any striking works, and their pictures are curious only from an historical point of view. Nevertheless, in spite of the despotic rule of fashion, the truly national temperaments still survived, as we shall find if, discarding religious INTRODUCTION. 5 subjects for a moment, we turn to three styles which, thanks to the earnest study and imitation of Nature, escaped the general contagion. In portraiture the Flemish inheritance remained clearly established, though at times it was slightly encroached upon. Pourbus the elder, Martin de Vos, Joost Van Cl^ve, Geldorp, Neuchatel, Adrian Key Jean Vermeyen, Congnet^ and Marc Geerarts^ proudly maintained that inheritance. Landscape and genre, now appearing for the first time, remained unimpaired by any foreign alloy. The love of life, real and national life, such as our eyes see, burst forth everywhere — now gorgeous and ostentatious, now active, fantastic, or humorous, but always sincere. Paul Bril, Giles Van Coninxloo, Bles, and Gasselj on the one hand, Peter Breughel the elder — a master — the Van Valkenborgs, and Beuckelaer on the other, supply the intermediate but wholly Flemish chain, which unites Cristus and Jerome Bosch to Teniers, Brauwer, de Vadder, and d'Arthois. A trans- formation of Art, as of public taste, was now imminent, the only motive power required being an event capable of stirring the national character into resuming its ascendency. This eventwas the great political and religious revo- lution of 1 572, which lasted during the latter part of the reign of Philip II. until the arrival in Brussels, in 1598, of the Archduke Albert and his consort Isabel. The Spanish Low Countries were then con- stituted an independent state. The fourth period comprises the birth as well as 6 INTRODUCTION. the culmination of the school which bears the illus- trious name of Rubens, and occupies the greater part of the seventeenth century. The worst time was now passed : the Spanish fury- was calmed ; the massacres of the Duke of Alva were at an end, and emigration had ceased ; the Inquisition relaxed its iron grasp, and the ancient despotism began to give way. Order appeared re-established, and the necessity for peace was paramount. The Government, too, had become almost national, and Albert and Isabel eagerly sought for popularity ; they received and welcomed artists and men of letters, and colleges and universities once more flourished. Religion itself was also transformed : once mystical and ascetic, it was now accommodating and pagan ; the churches were worldly, the priests lax and tolerant. In a word, tranquillity had been restored, and, compared with past years, the present was calm and the future hopeful. Art was destined to express this return to life, joy, and prosperity. After the active generation which had suffered under Philip, appeared the poetical generation, which was to realise its ideal under Isabel. A few years more and the outburst became general. One name, one of the most illustrious in the whole history of art, personifies it — Rubens. Rubens' genius comprehended all nature, and embraced it \\ith a spontaneous, impetuous, and irresistible grasp ; his gorgeous style, at once Christian and Pagan, real and ideal, manifested exuberant and triumphant joy. Under the impulse INTRODUCTION. 7 of his marvellous power the nation, cheered and re- vived once more, gave to the world the spectacle of a wonderful artistic exuberance. A throng of great artists, various in their styles of painting, rose throughout the whole country ; and the similarity of their talents exhibits at once the spirit of the age and the influence of the master. In Antwerp there lived Jordaens, Van Dyck, Snyders, Fyt, the de Vos, Teniers, the Breughels, de Crayer, Gonzales Coques, Quellyn, Seghers, Rombouts, Schut, Van Utrecht, Van Hoecke, Peeters, and the Huysmans ; in Brussels, Meert, Sallaert, Duchastel, De Vadder, d'Arthois ; in Mechlin, Biset, Peter Franchoys, and Smeyers ; in Bruges, the Van Oosts ; in Ghent, Jean Van Cleve ; and in Li^ge, Douffet and Fl^malle ; while elsewhere there were Brauwer and Craesbecke. Nor were these all ; such profusion did not exhaust all the sap of the country, but sent its blossoms abroad. Thus, in France we find Pourbus, Chani- paigne. Van der Meulen, and Boel ; in England, Van Somer and Sieberechts ; in Austria, Francis Luycx ; and in Italy, Suttermans, Jean Miel, and Lievin M^hus. With the exception of the Italian Renaissance, the history of painting records no artistic movement surpassing this in splendour, and none to equal it, unless it be the school of Rembrandt. After Albert's death the country again fell un- der the withering yoke of Spain. The treaty of Westphalia, which closed the Scheldt, effected the ruin of Antwerp to the benefit of Amsterdam ; 8 INTRODUCTION. and after 1660 the illustrious generation gradually died out. The nation, which had been stirred for a short time, again relapsed, and its Renaissance, though brilliant at the outset, produced no further results. The fifth period commences just before the eighteenth century, and with it fell the night — the dark and long night — of decay. Within the Belgian provinces, which had now become the battle-field of Europe, war never ceased to rage, and the Spanish, the French, the Dutch, the English, and the Germans, occupied in turns these devastated territories, which were finally ceded to the Empire by the treaty of Utrecht, 1713. But so many different rules and such continual suffering had enfeebled the national energies and the national mind. Under Charles II. of Spain, art still maintained itself, though not without a struggle. A great- grandson of Van Dyck, Jean Van Orley, essayed his talent in portraiture, but with little result ; and under Charles VI., Maria Theresa, and Joseph II. of Austria, the art of painting gradually died out. The last great-grandson of Rubens, Peter Verhaegen, painted some church decorations, but these were the last faint glimmerings of a dying art. When the soldiers of the Convention invaded the Austrian Netherlands, Flemish art was no more, and it was not given to the Republic, to the Emperor Napoleon, or to King William, to revive it. INTRODUCTION. 9 The Revolution of 1830, which at last made Belgium an independent kingdom, opens the sixth and last period. With liberty, prosperity returned, and art flourished anew. The French school, which had so long been in the background, at once made a bold effort, and gained the first place. Belgium, wrested from Austria, and deeply stirred with twenty years of active union with France, could not remain indifferent to the successes of Parisian art. The fame of David and the classical school, of G6n- cault, Delaroche, and the romantic school, of Courbet and the realistic school, had resounded in the very birthplace of Rubens itself. Their enthusiasm awoke the national art, inspired it with new ardour, and made it fruitful. Since 1.830 the neo-Flemish school has gradually gained in strength; since 1855 the Flemish artists have successfully participated in all the great international competitions called into ex- istence by the cosmopolitism of the age. Whether the present is only a period of transition for which a more brilliant development is reserved, the future alone can decide. But even now we may assert without fear of contradiction that the Belgian school of the nineteenth century will be a worthy successor of its elder sisters. History must record the talent of such men as Navez, Wappers, Gallait, Leys, Madou, the brothers Stevens, Fourmois, Verlat, De Winne, Clays, Bou- langer, Verwee, Henri de Braekeleer, Agneessens, Hermans, Emile Wauters. These are the principal epochs in the history of lO INTRODUCTION. Flemish painting, and the circumstances which con- nect its birthplace with the various phases of its development, and these, too, are the principal names which for six centuries have sustained its glory among the records of art. The historians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries — Guicciardini, Van Vaernewyck, de Bie, and especially Carl Van Mander — have left us biographies of illustrious artists, with descriptions and criticisms of their works, which must always be consulted with advantage. But it was not till the nineteenth century that the task was seriously undertaken of giving more exact and complete descriptions of Flemish art by the study and examination of the communal archives, the parish registers, the accounts of ancient corporations, and the treasures of museums, churches, palaces, and private collections. Therefore, having here recalled the great historical periods of the national art and the names which call forth its glorious recollections, we have still the proud duty of mentioning those devoted men, who, for the last forty years, have worked with so much perseverance, erudition, and noble curiosity, in rebuilding the true history of so illustrious an artistic past. Schayes, F6tis, Alphonse Wauters, Pinchart, Ruelens, and Henri Hymans, in Brussels ; de Busscher, in Ghent; James Weale, in Bruges; Van Even, in Louvain ; Siret, in Saint-Nicholas ; Helbig, in Liege ; Neeffs, in Mechlin ; Van L6rius, G^nard, de Burbure, Max Rooses, and Van den Branden, in Antwerp ; finally, Passavant, Hotho, Waagen, Nagler INTRODUCTION. 1 1 Forster, Riegel, Schlie, Kramm, Crowe and Caval- caselle, de Laborde, Armand Baschet, Burger, De- haisne, Paul Mantz, and Guiffreyj abroad, have brought to light many manuscripts and paintings, revealed many previously unnoticed facts, and rectified many errors. The author does not profess to record in this book the history of the great national school of art in Flanders : all he wishes is to sketch out a plan ; to allot to great names and works their true position ; to condense the labours of his predecessors ; and to make his readers conversant with the most recent discoveries. If he may claim any merit, it is that he has seen the pictures he attempts to describe, and that, having studied as well as seen them, he has desired to render more popular than ever the names of the artists and of their masterpieces, and thus to produce a work which did not exist before — a manual of the history of Flemish painting. Works consulted: — Carl Van Mander : Het Schilder-boeck, Haarlem, 1604, in 8vo. — Kramm : De levens en werken der Hollandsche en Vlaamsche Kimstchilders. Amsterdam, 1856 — 63. 6 vol. and app. large in 8vo. — Crowe and Cavalcaselle : The Early Flemish Painters, London, 1879. I vol. in 8vo. — Waagen : Handbook of Paintifg in the German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools. London, i860. 2 vols, in Svo. — Histoire des peintrcs de ioutes les holes, published under the editorship of Charles Blanc. Paris, 1 864. — Michiels : Histoire de la peinture fiamande. Paris, 1865 — 78. II vols, in Svo. — Catalogue du Musk d^Anvers. 1S74. I vol. in 8vo. — Rooses : Geschiedenis de Antwerpsche schilderschool. Antwerp, 1879, large in 8vo. — Siret : Dictionnaire des 12 INTRODUCTION. Peintres. Louvain, i88i — 83. 2 vols, large in 8vo. — Van den Branden : Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool. Antwerp, 1878 — 83, in 8vo. — Biographic NationaU, published by the Royal Academy of Belgium. Brussels, 1866, in 8vo. (In course of publication.) — Nagler-Meyer : Algamine Kiinstler-Lexikon. Leipzig, 1872, in 8vo. (ditto). — Woltman and Woermann : Geschichle der Malerei. Leipzig, 1878, in 8vo. (ditto). THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES. THE ORIGIN OF FLEMISH PAINTING. CHAPTER I. THE FRESCOES. THE CORPORATION OF ST. LUKE — THE FIRST PICTURES — ^JEHAN DE BRUGES — THE OFFICIAL PAINTERS TO THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY. About twenty years ago the history of Flemish painting was considered to open with the fifteenth century and the biography of the brothers van Eyck. They were regarded as having revealed an art which, like Minerva, issuing ready armed from the forehead of Jupiter, had sprung up in Bruges ripe and virile at its birth, and asserted itself on the spot by imperish- able works. Since that period the historian has peered further into the misty past ; unknown paths have been ex- plored and discoveries made which unveil before us the labours of a whole century and a long series of artists worthy of fixing the attention of historians and lovers of art. H FLEMISH PAINTING. The oldest known Flemish pictures date from the thirteenth century, and adorn the walls of the hospital of the Byloque at Ghent* They are frescoes of colossal dimensions, representing the crowning of the Virgin, St. Christopher, and St. John the Baptist. FIG. I.— GUILD OF CKOSS-BOWMEN OF ST. GEORGE. (^Ancient Chapel of Leugemete at Ghent.) The coarse black outline is stiff and heavy ; the hands and feet especially prove that art was quite in its infancy, but some of the figures — St. Chris- topher, for example— are not wanting in charm or * Afessager des sciences ct des arts de la Belgique, 1834, p. 200, and 1840, p. 224. ITS ORIGIN. 15 majesty, and by their realistic tendencies they are a foreshadowing of the national school. It would be no difficult task to trace the descent from that St. Christopher to the "Christ-bearer" of the cathedral of Antwerp painted in the seventeenth century by the illustrious master of the Flemish school. A marked progress is noticeable in another fresco which has been discovered in Ghent, in a building formerly used as the place of meeting for the guilds. Judging by the costumes, the arms, and standards, we should say that this painting was executed towards the end of the thirteenth century or the early part of the fourteenth. These pictures represent the guilds of cross bowmen of St. George (Fig. i) and of archers of St. Sebastian, the corpora- tions of butchers, fishmongers, bakers, brewers, and weavers, preceded by their banners, and marching in the order they had adopted when they set out on an expedition or figured in a public ceremony.* These frescoes afford valuable information to the student of the costumes and of the military organi- sation of the corporations, but they are even more precious from an artistic point of view. The paint- ings, like those in the Byloque, are not well coloured ; crude tones of red, brown, yellow, and white prevail, and their figures are stiff and inex- pressive. But the grouping is picturesque, and there is truth in the action, and character in the arrange- ment of the lances, pikes, cross-bows, and " morning * F. De Vigne ; Recherches historiques sur les costumes civils ct militaires des guildes et des corporations de niHiers. Ghent, 1847. l6 FLEMISH PAINTING. Stars," which are seen above the serried ranks of the communal soldiery. These paintings, as well as a few others of less importance, prove that art, though it had reached no degree of development, nevertheless existed as early as the thirteenth century. Moreover, they attest beyond a doubt that this art was essentially national and Flemish. It had no relationship with the By- zantine and symbolical art which was still extending its influence over the rest of civilised Europe, and of which the paintings in the old Romanesque cathedrals in Germany and the Madonnas of Cimabue (1240 — 1302) in Italy are the principal monuments. The battle of the Spurs of Gold (1302) had just im- mortalised those very corporations of Ghent, of which the artist was committing the souvenir to the walls of the chapel at Leugemete, and ere long Jacques van Artevelde brought them to the apex of their glory and power. Craftsmen of all kinds began to form themselves into well-ordered associations, and all those who had any claim to art — such, for instance, as the painters of statues and heraldry, those who painted figures of the Virgin and saints on the banners of corporations and the pennons of knights, those who decorated with frescoes the great bare walls of churches and chapels, in fact, all those who used the brush or pencil — placed themselves under the patronage of the Virgin or St. John, but more frequently still of St. Luke. In some cases they united with other bodies, such as the imagers, goldsmiths, and goldbeaters. The first guild ITS ORIGIN. 17 of sculptors, under the patronage of St. Luke, was embodied in Ghent in 1337 — 38. This was a memorable year, in which the Flemish communes, under van Artevelde and at the height of their power, signed the treaty with England assuring the neutrality and commercial liberty of Flanders. Then were in- stituted, in succession, the corporations of Tournai in 1341, of Bruges in 1351, of Louvain before 1360, and of Antwerp towards 1382. It is uncertain when the guild of Ypres was embodied, but this city was active and populous, and art must have developed itself there at no late period. As early as 1323 and 1342 the registers record " pourtraittures et ymaiges '' executed for the Counts or for the commune by the painters Hanyn Soyer, Jehan de LA Zaide, and LOY LE HiNXT.* The illuminators of Bruges and Ghent, the ta- pestry-workers of Arras, of Tournai, of Valenciennes, and of Brussels, united themselves in their turn, and ere long Flanders, Artois, Hainault, and Brabant, were thronged with those corporations, semi-industrial, semi-artistic, which were destined to play so im- portant a part during several centuries. It is a fact worthy of notice that a like spirit of association was growing about the same time in Italy and Germany ; guilds of painters were created in Prague in 1348, in Florence in 1349, and in Sienna in 1355. The Flemish guilds, which the communes had * Van den Peereboom : Ypriana, vol. ii., p. 269. — Van den Putte : De quelques auvres de peinture conservees a Ypres, (Animles de la West- Flandre, vol. ii., p» 180.) C [Van der Most. 1 8 FLEMISH PAINTING. Portier. endowed with many privileges, rapidly became centres of activity, always restless and struggling, though sometimes egotistical and troublesome. Their organi- sation was not always irreproachable in its details, for these often put obstruction in the way of genius and precocious talent ; but all their experiments were made as the result of discussion. In them the intricate technicalities of the companies were handed down, taste gradually developed itself, and, without any painful shock, the way was prepared by which the artisan became an artist. It was in the midst of these guilds of painters, illuminators, and tapestry-workers, that the art of painting pictures was first born in Flanders, towards the beginning of the fourteenth century. Giotto (1276 — 1337) and his pupils had made this same art fashionable in Italy, and it was cultivated in Bohemia by Theodoric of Prague, Wurmser of Strasburg, and Thomas of Mutina (1348 — 1397). In the Netherlands picture-painting as well as fresco-painting had from the first an essentially Flemish character. It sprang up in the midst of national elements ; it grew slowly and progressively, far from any foreign influence, and was a faithful reflex of local life and an artless expression of the religious ideas of the time. Its object in Flanders, as elsewhere, was the pious ornamentation of altars and oratories. We find the earliest mention of its ex- istence in the archives under the date 1353, and the first monument of this early art is the "picture" representing the " Martyrdom of St. -Li^vin," which VanWoluwe.] ITS ORIGIN. IQ Jean Van der Most painted for the abbey of St. Bavon, near Ghent.* Very little later, in 1370, HuGO PORTIER painted " St. Amand pulling down an altar to Mercury," for the same monastery. The artist of all Brabant who at that period enjoyed the greatest renown was Jean Van Woluwe, painter and illumi- nator to the ducal court. It is proved that from 1378 to 1 386 he executed numerous paintings for Jeanne and Wenceslaus, many miniatures, wall decorations, and pictures, amongst others a diptych for the oratory of the duchess in Brussels, f With rare exceptions, all that remains of the works of these ancient craftsmen is documentary evidence, the pictures themselves having been destroyed long ago. The Museum of Antwerp possesses the only monument of the early ages which has been handed down to us ; it is a " Calvary," painted on a golden background and bearing the date 1363. The Crucifixion forms the central figure of this composition ; to the right is the Virgin, and to the left the donor kneels, over whom St. John seems to extend his protection. In the Church of St. Saviour, at Bruges, there is another Calvary, which must have been painted at a some- what later period, and was executed for the Tanners' Company, but both pictures are unsigned. These works probably give us but an imperfect idea of the progress of painting towards 1360 — 70 ; neverthe- less, they attest that the art did exist, though in its * Ed. de Busscher : Recherches stir les peintrcs gajitois, Ghent, 1859; p. 166. t Alex. Pinchart : Archives des arts, vol. iii. , p. 96. C 2 20 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jehan de Bruges. rudest form, and, moreover, they foretold that at the first favouring opportunity it would burst into bloom. The honour of forwarding this movement belongs to the sons of King John of France. The intelligent protection they gave to industries stimulated the zeal- of artists and, by the emulation it excited, gave the signal of progress. M. de Laborde speaks of the " Dukes of Anjou, of Berry, and of Orleans as forming in the court of France, simultaneously with the Dukes of Burgundy in their court, a bright halo, the brilliancy of which it was impossible to escape." * The Netherlands benefited largely by the protec- tion these princes gave to the arts, for the intercourse between the two countries was intimate and incessant France was suzerain of Flanders, and her language — that langue d'oil which Froissart, son of an illuminator of Valenciennes (Hainault), had made popular — was fast becoming the language of the polite classes in Brabant and Hainault. We need not, therefore, be surprised to see several Flemish and Walloon artists occupying at the court of Charles V. (the wise, or rather the learned) of France, the office of painter, illu- minator or imager. Among others we may cite the sculptor Hennequin of Li^ge, the painter Jehan de Bruges, and Andr6 Beauneveu of Valenciennes who was at once painter, sculptor, and illuminator. Jehan de Bruges is the first of Flemish painters of whose talent we can form an approximate idea, * Les dues dc Bourgogne^ vol. iii., p. i. KIG. 2. — CHARLES V. ACCEPTING A MANUSCRIPT. — Jehan de Bruges. (Miniature from the Westreelanum Museum at the Hague). 22 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jehan de Bruges. some of his pictures having been handed down to us. A number of documents recently discovered tend to place this artist at the head of the school ; in the records of his time he appears under the name of " Hennequin de Bruges, peintre du Roy" or " Jehan de Bruges, peintre et varlet de chambre de monseignsur le roy Charles V." No details are known as to the private life of this artist ; the only fact that can be ascertained is that he flourished in 1372 — 1377. He executed the miniatures which adorn a Bible historiee, now in the Westreelanum Museum of the Hague, and which is dated 1372. One of the illuminations represents King Charles V. receiving a manuscript from the hands of the donor, who is kneeling before him. (Fig. 2.) " The portrait of the king is a masterpiece of delicacy," says M. Louis Gonse, " and I do not know any picture of that time which equals it. . . . The most striking feature of this painting, even at first sight, is, however, the extreme and modern indivi- duality of this figure." * In 1376 this same Jehan de Bruges was entrusted by the Duke of Anjou, brother to the King, with an important work : the composition of the cartoons for the famous tapestries of the Apocalypse, part of which are preserved in the cathedral of Angers, f This magnificent tciitnre is divided into seven parts, measuring together from 450 to 480 feet in length by * Cliroiiique des Arts du 3 Novcmbix, 1877, p. 321. t Guiffrey: Hisfoii-c giiiiralc dc la tapisserie {France), pp. 11 and following. FIO. 3. — FIGURE FROM THE TAPESTRY OF THE APOCALYPSE. Jehan de Bruges. (Cathedral (jf Angers. ) 24 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jehan de Bruges. a little more than i6 feet in height. It was formerly composed of ninety pictures, sixty-nine of which remain whole. Each part represents a person seated in a Gothic niche and meditating on the Apocalypse, (Fig. 3), and of fourteen pictures repre- senting the different canticles of the book of the Vision of St. John. Angels are seen aloft, some singing and playing on various musical instruments, others holding armorial shields. The painter found inspiration for his composition in the miniatures of an old manu- script which belonged to the roj'al library, and which the king lent for this work to his brother the Duke of Anjou. This is a most interesting fact, and one which it is important to note, for it establishes the influence of a composition which was first used by the illuminators* in the twelfth century, which, in the fourteenth, furnished ideas to Jehan de Bruges for his cartoons, and which, as we shall see further on, was again used in the fifteenth by Hubert Van Eyck, for the composition of his picture the " Mystic Lamb." f The seated figures, especially, present the same cha- racter of grandeur and severity which was so much admired in 1432, in the three highest figures in the reredos by the brothers Van Eyck. That this artist also painted pictures is proved by the express name of pictor which is attributed to him, while the miniaturist was called illuminator ; * Didot ; Des apocalypses figurks, manuscrites et xylographiques, Paris, 1870. t Giry: La tapisserie dc Vapocalypse de St. Maurice d'' Angers (VArt, vol. vii., p. 306). BeaunSveu.] ITS ORIGIN. 2$ unfortunately, not one of these paintings now exists.* ANDRfi Beauneveu was contemporary with Jehan de Bruges. He was not only a painter and illuminator but also a sculptor of great talent. " N'avoit pour lors," says Froissart, in the year 1 390, " meilleur ni le pareil en nulles terres, ni de qui tant de bons ouvraiges fuissent demeur^s en France ou en Haynnau, dont il estoit de nation, ni au royaulme d'Angleterre." Time has destroyed the' pictures which he painted in 1374 for the great hall of jurymen at Valenciennes, his native town, as also the " imaiges et paintures " with which he decorated, in 1390, the castle of the Duke of Berry, at Meun-sur-Yevre. Some fragments of the royal tombs at St. Denis, a missal at the national library of Paris, and a large miniature en grisaille in that of Brus- sels, are all that now remains of Beauneveu's works. There is no doubt that the celebrated Flemish artists, eminent sculptors and painters to the Kings of France and to the Dukes of Anjou, of Berry, and of Orleans, exercised a decisive influence over the birth of the first French school, which had so many points of resemblance with that of the Van Eycks. The Corporation of Painters and Sculptors of Paris was first constituted as an independent body in 1391, and the first celebrated French artist, jEHAN FOUQUET, was born in 1415. The Louvre possesses two fine por- traits by him, the one of King Charles VII. (No. 653) and the other of his Chancellor Juvdna) des Ursins (No. 652). * Waagen : Manuel de Vhistoire de la peinture, vol. i., p. 82. 26 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jehan de Hasselt. While the King of France employed Jehan de Bruges, Jehan de Hasselt was painter to Louis de Male, Count of Flanders. Fragments of mural paintings in tempera* are still to be seen in the Church of Notre Dame at Courtrai. They were probably by his hand. They represent full-length portraits of Louis de Male and of the Counts of Flanders, his predecessors, and adorn the chapel which this prince had erected in 1 373, with the intention of making it his own mortuary chapel, and of placing therein a monumental tomb, the execution of which he entrusted to Andr^ Beaune- veu. It is proved by documentary evidence that the painter and the sculptor met in 1374, "for the ser- vice of the Duke."t At the death of Louis de Male in 1384, the Duke of Burgundy, his son-in-law, became heir to the counties of Flanders and Artois, and Jehan de Hasselt remained painter to the Court. Philip the Hardy commissioned him to paint an altar- piece for the church of the Cordeliers in Ghent, in 1386.1 However, after that time this artist's name was superseded by that of Melchior Broederlam, who appears in the household accounts with the title of official painter to " my Lord the Duke of Bur- gundy." Broederlam generally resided in Ypres, which is supposed to be the place of his birth, where his presence is recorded in the registers from 1383 to * Ed. de Busscher : Rcchcrches stir hs fcliitrcs gantoh, 1859, p. 47. \ Pincharl : Archives des arts, vol. ii., p. 143. X De Laborde : Les dues de Bourgognc, vol. i., p. 34. Broederlam.] ITS ORIGIN. I'] 1409 ; and it is there that he executed several im- portant works. ■* In 1398 Philip the Hardy had just founded a Carthusian monastery in Dijon, and he commissioned Broederlam to paint two altar-screens carved by the Fleming Jacques de Baerze of Termonde. This work, which is preserved in the Museum of Dijon, fully establishes his talent. The wings of one of these altar pieces has been handed down to us in a perfect state of preservation, and is one of the most precious landmarks of Flemish art. It represents the Annun- ciation and Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Flight into Egypt (Fig. 4). Pictures which had hitherto been mere objects of religion were now on the verge of becoming tvorks of art. Their composition began to deviate from the traditional forms of sacred art, and was becoming picturesque. Some of the heads of that time reveal a keen sense of the beautiful, and the draperies are simple and graceful. Gold no longer forms the whole of the background ; landscapes begin to de- velop their perspective, with rocks and trees ; and we feel that ere long Nature will be studied minutely. The episode of the Flight into Egypt, which depicts Joseph followed by the Virgin holding the infant Jesus in her arms and mounted on an ass, already foreshadows the realism of the following century. While Broederlam was working at Dijon, another artist appears to have enjoyed equal renown in * Annales de la SocUti Archhlogique d'Ypres, vol. ii., p. 175. 28 FLEMISH PAINTING. tCavael. Ypres. This was JACQUES Cavael, official painter to the city.who decorated the celebrated hall of the Dra- pers' Company with pictures. In 1399 he journeyed to Italy, where he and two of his pupils were actively employed in the ornamentation of the cathedral of Milan.* Jean Malouel appears under Jean sans Peur as painter and varlet-de-chambre to the duke, but whether he achieved any progress is not known. None of his pictures have survived. All that we can ascertain beyond a doubt is that he adorned with painting the before-mentioned Car- thusian monastery of Dijon, which is now destroyed, and that in 141 5 he painted the portrait of Jean sans Peur, which a special messenger conveyed to Jean II. of Portugal.f Finally, after Malouel, we witness the advent of the man of genius who was destined to preside over the development of the Flemish school. Between the fresco of the Byloque and the panels of Dijon there is the work of two centuries : in all matters of art progress is thus slow. For want of complete documents we are unable to appreciate all the phases, all the evolutions, of this first period. But the mementoes which we possess suffice to prove once more that art, before flourishing, has to pass through a long series of hesitations, attempts, researches, transformations, and progress, * Alphonse Wauters : Les commencemenls de rancienne kok de tcinture anUh-icuremcnt aux van Eyck (Bulletm de tAcadhitie royale de Bdgiqiie, 1883, p. 317.) t Desalles: Mhioires pour servir ^ Vhistoire de France, -g. 138. 30 FLEMISH PAINTING. and that the school of Bruges, the history of which we are now going to study, was the outcome of the united labours of several centuries. Ever since 1384 an immense social and political work had been car- ried on in the Netherlands. The accession of the Bur- gundian dynasty to Flanders had somehow produced new life, which in its turn was to be instrumental in developing a new and grand artistic movement. Flan- ders was now rivalling Italy ; it had become the most in- dustrious, the richest, the most flourishing country of northern Europe. Bruges washer great market, the ren- dezvous of traders of all nations. Her port was open to vessels from Liibeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Amsterdam, London, Havre, Lisbon, Genoa, Venice, the East ; at times more than a hundred sail arrived in one day. At Bruges the German Hanseatic League had established docks, and foreign nations raised their stately counting-houses magnificent in architecture. Her streets re-echoed with every tongue, and the record office of the tribunal still preserves notaries' documents drawn up in eight or ten different languages. In Ghent there was similar activity, prosperity, and power. In 1389 the town numbered ninety- thousand men capable of bearing arms, and when the belfry's great voice sounded " Roelaiidt," fifty-two corporations could assemble on the market-place, ranged under their banners. " Nulle terre," says a chronicle of the time, '"n'est compar^e de marchan- dises encontre la terre de Flandre." Burgundian knights, foreign consuls, and Flemish burghers, all vied with each other in luxury and elegance in their ITS ORIGIN. 31 dwellings and their entertainments. Houses and palaces were alike furnished with a richness and a luxury without parallel : wainscoting, ceramics, all articles of gold and silver, of glass and iron, the least object claimed to be the theme of original ornament ; all things aimed at elegance in form and delicacy in workmanship. In the market-place there was a suc- cession of processions, cavalcades, theatricals, and fes- tivities. Prosperity was general, splendour at its height, and art could not but reflect the picturesque, decora- tive, and sumptuous taste of the time. Each prince had his painter, his imager, his illuminator, his tapestry-worker. In Bruges HENRI BellechoSE * had succeeded Malouel ; in Mechlin Vranque was painting the portrait of the Duchess Catherine ; in Mons PlERRE Henne J painted those of the Dowager of Hainault and of Jean IV. of Brabant ; and in Liege Jean Van Eyck, who was to become the great Jean of Bruges, was making his first attempts at the court of the Prince-bishop, and already pondering over the method with which he was later on to revolutionise the process of painting. The great national art would henceforth be free to flourish without obstacle ; the ground was prepared, society was more settled ; the artist was born, and his genius had found its instrument. In 1419, when Philip the Good mounted the ducal throne, art was unfettered ; all was ready for its development. * De Laborde : Les dues de Bourgogne, vol. i., p. 69. + De Laborde : Les dues de Bourgogne, vol. i., p. 269. t Pinchart : Arehives des arts, vol. iii., p. 188. FIFTEENTH CENTURY. THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. CHAPTER II. HUBERT AND JEAN VAN EYCK — DISCOVERY OF PAINTING IN OIL. The City of Li^ge, capital of the principality of that name, was, at the end of the fourteenth century, after the victory of the guilds and the Peace of 1376, a centre of great intellectual and material activity. Few countries in Europe then presented the spectacle of more really democratic institutions, productive of so much order, justice, and liberty.* Its numerous and opulent monasteries, from which science and learning irradiated, encouraged the work of illuminators, goldsmiths, and sculptors. Art, in the midst of such favourable circumstances, could not fail to prosper. Unfortunately, time and revolutions * F. Henaux : Histoire du pays de Liege, Liege, 1857, vol. i., p. 239. P 34 FLEMISH PAINTING. [The Van Eycks. have effaced the very traces of its efforts. No work has descended to our time, permitting us to ascertain with accuracy how far art had progressed in Li6ge when the Van Ecyks travelled thither. They took up their residence in that city in the early part of the reign of the Prince-bishop John of Bavaria (1390 — 141 8), in all probability for the exercise of the art which was to render them for ever famous. The two brothers were born in Maesyck (Eyck- sur-Meuse), a small town in the northern part of the country. Their family name is unknown, but accord- ing to the custom of that time they adopted that of their native town. We are ignorant of the facts of their early existence. No contemporary event gives a clue to the manner in which their talent was deve- loped, or tells how they arrived at so perfect an education as they appear to have possessed. But this obscurity is suddenly illumined by one great event — the discovery of painting in oil. During the whole of the Middle Ages, until the commencement of the fifteenth century, the general process of artistic painting had been tempera — that is to say, painting with a medium of water, white of egg, or some other glutinous mixture. An oleo-resinous varnish was employed for the purpose of adding vigour to the dull tones of the tempera, while it preserved the picture from the ravages of time. A few Italian artists, principally Giotto, sometimes tried to mix their colours with oil, but it is supposed that the results they obtained were far from satisfactory, since their most celebrated followers — Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Lippi The Van Eycks.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 35 and even Crevelli, who died in 1495 — were exclusively painters in tempera. The ancient historians say that towards 1410 a new method made its appearance in the Netherlands. No serious arguments have as yet been able to shake this opinion, which Vasari expressed thus decidedly in 1550: "It was a splendid invention, and a great im^ provement in the art of painting, when the discovery of the oil medium was made, the first inventor being a native of Flanders, Jean de Bruges." * Jean Van Eyck was justly dissatisfied with the ancient mode of painting, and the very slow pro- gress of drying caused him incessant annoyance. His knowledge of chemistry led him to make experiments, the object of which was to discover a siccative varnish, which might hasten the drying without exposiag the picture to the sun. He obtained this medium by a mixture of linseed and nut oils with other ingredients. This first step proving successful, he continued his experiments, and found that his colours mixed much better with oil than with water, and produced a paint- ing at once much firmer and more powerful and bril- liant. This discovery once made, the old coloured oil varnish was discarded, painting in oil only re- quiring a pure, thin, transparent, and colourless var- nish, to secure permanence. This continuation of improvements and successful applications — probably fruits of several years of study and research— entirely overthrew the old system ; the * Vasari : Le ViU de' pUi eccellente pittori, scultori e architetti, Florence, 1550 chap. xxi. D 2 38 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Hubert Van Eyck. discovery was made, and the road traced for the great masters. This artistic revolution, which was about to exercise so great an influence on the development of art in the whole of Europe, was the glorious prologue to the history of Flemish painting in the fifteenth century. And, as everything was to be dazzling at its outset, the first work belonging to the new school which bears a date, is no other than the immortal retable of the " Mystic Lamb " (Figs. 5 and 6). It was a patrician of Ghent, Jodocus Vydt, Lord of Pamele, who commis- sioned Hubert Van Eyck, the elder of the two brothers, to paint this work. Hubert, in the choice of the " Redeeming Lamb " of the Apocalypse of St. John, adopted one of the themes most familiar to the artists of the Middle Ages, and he did not swerve from the form of representation generally accepted as well by miniaturists and engravers as by sculptors and tapestry workers. The same disposition of the groups and character of the figures, noticeable in the retable of Ghent, exist in the tapestries of the cathedral of Angers, which were executed from the designs of Jehan de Bruges, official painter to Charles V. But, for the first time, the magnificent religious poem appears free from the stiffness of preceding centuries, revived by the lively and picturesque imagination of Hubert, and set in one of those perfect frames of architecture of which he alone seems to have possessed the secret, with the perspective, the expression, the composition, and all the outward forms of modern art. Jean an Eyck.j THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 39 Unfortunately, an untimely death interrupted the labours of the artist in 1426, when he had done little more than trace the plan of the great work. Jodocus, struck with the imposing grandeur of the composition, pressed Jean to carry out the work which his brother had left incomplete. It was not, however, finished until six years later. In spite of the generally accepted opinion, we believe that Jean painted the whole picture. Several authors, accepting as certain the more than doubtful collaboration of the Van Eycks in the altar- screen of Ghent, have wished to develop this impres- sion into a dogma, and assert that a great many pic- tures are due to the joint efforts of the two brothers. However, a careful examination of the question, and of the biography and the works of the Van Eycks, proves this opinion to be erroneous. The " Mystic Lamb " counts no less than twenty panels, and more than three hundred figures. It is a wonderful performance, and has been handed down to us in an almost perfect state, but, owing to shameful circumstances, it has been divided and scat- tered. The church of St. Bavon, in Ghent, for which it was oi-iginally painted, no longer possesses any but the four middle panels; the six large wings have been in the Museum of Berhn since 18 16, and the two small ones in the Museum of Brussels since i860.* It is the masterpiece of the primitive Flemish school. * See the complete history of the " Polyptyque'' by Charles Ruelens, in the Annotations of the work, by Crowe and Cavalcaselle, " The Ancient Flemish Painters," vol. ii., p. 62. 40 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Hubert Van Eyck. It was first exhibited publicly on the 6th of May, 1432, and from that time forward it has been minutely studied, and never ceased to excite the greatest ad- miration. But the mind dwells on all the details of this wondrous work without being able to fathom its depth, or discover the full meaning it is intended to convey. It remains the deepest, the most complete and imposing artistic expression of one of the noblest movements which art has to record — the birth of the school of Bruges. The genius of Jean Van Eyck, his perfection, his audacity, his success, and his renown, are such that they force posterity to see him only ; he entirely supersedes his obscure forerunners and contemporaries, and would fain lead the spectator to believe in a bold improvisation, a prodigy, by which some supernatural power, working on the soil of Flanders, suddenly brought forth Flemish painting in all its glory. Hubert Van Eyck was born towards the year 1366.* If a certain halo of glory surround the name of the elder of the two brothers, he probably owes it to the " Mystic Lamb,'' and to the " Mystic Lamb "alone, the inscription of which says that Hubert commenced the work and that Jean finished it. The other documents relating to him are limited to two or three inscriptions in the registers of Ghent, where the artist took up his residence ; the exact year is not known. It is, how- ever, an undoubted fact, that in 1424 the magistrates * Het Schihhrboeck, &c. (The Book of Painters, &c.), Haarlem, 1604, p. 199. FIG. 7. — TRIUMPH OF THE CHRISTIAN ClIUKCH OVER THE SYNAGOGUE.— .S'a^e?-/- Van Eyck(f). (Museum of the Prado, Madrid. 5ft. 6 in. X 4ft. 4 in.) 42 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Hubert Van Eyck. of Ghent went in state to visit the artist in his studio, and view the picture he was painting* The only basis, therefore, which would enable us to trace the lost works of Hubert Van Eyck is the " Mystic Lamb," that is, the grouping of the figures, their attitudes, and the character of the folds of the drapery ; this part of the work undoubtedly belongs to him alone, as it is an indisputable fact that he began the altar-screen alone. In the "Triumph of the Christian Church over the Synagogue," in the possession of the Museum of Madrid, the critic cannot but observe a great resemblance to " The Mystic Lamb " in the atti- tudes of the principal figures. It is therefore but natural to admit, on the authority of Passavant,tthat this can- vas is by the same artist ; the more so as neither the style, the colouring, nor the composition, is charac- teristic of any other master of the fifteenth century (Fig- 7)- This picture is the only one which can be attributed to Hubert with any degree of certainty,^ and this very scarcity of works would explain why the chronicles of the time speak no more of Hubert than if he had never existed ; why his name has nowhere been mentioned before Guicciardini (1567); finally, why Albert Durer, who was assuredly a good judge, in the narrative of his journey to the Nether- lands, in which he mentions the names and works of the great painters of the sixteenth century, fails to * Biographic Nationale, vol. vi. , col. 779. t Die Christliche Kunst (Leipzig, 1853), p. 126. X Several German critics consider that the picture at Madrid is only a copy vi'hich was executed in the early part of the sixteenth century. Jean Van Eyck.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 43 say one word relative to the existence of Hubert. The picture certainly betokens great ability in composition, but at the same time it betrays very uninteresting exe- cution, design devoid of character, mediocre colouring — in fact, it has none of the qualities which would entitle the artist to a place among the great Flemish painters of the fifteenth century. For that reason we may say, without fear of injustice, that though the name of Hubert is inscribed on the frame of the " Mystic Lamb," it is nevertheless to the genius of his brother that he owes the honour with which he appears before posterity. To Jean, to the illustrious Jean alone, belongs the glorious title of Father of Flemish Painting. Hubert died in Ghent, as his epitaph tells us, on the 1 8th of September, 1426, and was buried at St. Bavon. Jean Van Eyck.* — We have no correct data as to the birth of Jean Van Eyck, but all autho- rities agree in fixing that event between 1380 and 1390. Little is known of his early years, but it is generally supposed that he left Maesyck, his native town, for Li^ge, where he went to reside in * Principal works : — Ghent, Berlin, and Brussels : The Myslic Zam6{Chuich of St. Bavon, Museums of Berlin and Brussels). Bruges : 7'he Glorifiid Virgin, before ■whom Canon van der Pale kneels in adora- tion (Academy of Fine Arts). Paris : Chancellor Rollin kneeling in prayer before the Virgin and Child (Museum of the Louvre). London : Arnoulfini and his ^i/"f (National Gallery), The portrait laith the turban (ditto). Berlin : The Man with the carnations (Museum). Dresden : The Virgin with the Donor (Museum). Frankfort : The Virgin and C^«&? (Staedel Inst.). Turin: 6.?. iraK«j (Pinacotek). 44 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Eyck. order to study the art of painting under his brother Hubert. John of Bavaria, surnamed " The Merciless," was then Bishop of Liege. He was the worst of gover- nors, but the most magnificent of princes, and a lover of the fine arts. Jean Van Eyck was appointed his official painter and varlct-de-chambre. In 1417 this prince renounced his bishopric to carry on war in Holland. He made a rapid conqiiest of the country, assumed the title of Count, and fixed his residence first at Dortrecht, then at the Hague. That the painter accompanied John of Bavaria is doubtful, but we know that he afterwards rejoined the prince at the Hague. Authentic documents discovered in this town by M. Pinchart prove that it was the scene of Jean Van Eyck's labours from October, 1422, to Sep- tember, 1424. The following year the artist was at Bruges, at the court of Philip the Good, with the title of painter and varlet-de-charnbre to the duke, whose confidence he enjoyed.* As early as 1426 he was entrusted with secret missions, and in 1428 he accom- panied the embassy which the Duke of Burgundy sent to Portugal for the purpose of demanding the hand of the Princess Isabel, daughter of King John I. During the fifteen months of his absence Jean Van Eyck painted the portrait of the Infanta — a portrait which is now lost — and afterwards travelled in Spain with the ambassadors, visited Andalusia, and paid a visit to John II., King of Castille, and to Mahomet, * Crowe and Cavalcaselle : Early Flemish Painters, 1879, p. 40. Jean Van Eyck.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 45 King of Grenada. The record office in Brussels* preserves a manuscript which contains the itinerary of this curious journey, as well as many of its details. On his return to Flanders Jean recommenced his interrupted labours. He gave especial attention to the great retable of the "Mystic Lamb," the commission for which Jodocus Vydt had given to his brother Hubert, who, as we know, had only sketched the work when death overtook him. It is probable that Jean carried the panels to Bruges. He spent several years in the painting of them, and it is while he was thus engaged that he was honoured with a visit from his sovereign and that the magistracy of the city of Bruges t went in state to his studio. The public exhibition of the picture afterwards took place in Ghent on the 6th of May, 1432. In 1434 Philip was godfather to Van Eyck's child, and thus gave a further proof of the regard in which he held the artist, and indeed this prince never lost an opportunity of testifying to the esteem with which he honoured his illustrious subject. In a letter he calls him, " Nostre bien-aimi varlet-de-chambre et peintre, Jehan Van Eyck ;" at other times he orders ,his treasurers to be more attentive in paying the pension of the artist regularly, for fear Van Eyck should leave his service, "en quay il prendrait tres- grant deplaisir," for he was anxious to reserve him for '' certains grans ouvrages " for which he knew he would not find " de pareil a son gri ni si excellent en * Gachard : Collection de documents inedits, vol. ii., p. 63. + James Weale : Notes sur Jean Van Eyck, 1861, p. 8, note. 46 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Eyck. son art et science'' And this regard and affection endured for a long time after Jean's death, as is I'IG. 8.— THE VIRGIN WORSHIPPED BY CHANCELLOR ROLLIN.— Jean Van Eyck. (Museum of the Louvre. 2 ft. lin. X 2 ft.) proved by the dowry which Philip paid in 1449 for Lidvine, daughter of the artist, who took the veil in the convent of Maesyck. This circumstance tends to justify the tradition which points to that small Jean Van Eyck.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 47 FIG. 9. — ARNOULFINI AND HIS VflFE.—Jean Van Eyck. (National Gallery. 2 ft. 10 in. X 2ft.) town as the birthplace of the painter. Jean Van Eyck painted many pictures during the latter part of his life — that is, between the years 1432 and 1440. 48 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Eyck. There are in existence paintings bearing the date of each of those years with the exception of 1435, when the trusty servant of the Duke went in his service on " certains voyages lointains et Strangers pour matures secretes!' Many of these productions are still in their primitive frames, on which we read the name of Johanes Van Eyck, often accompanied by his cele- brated motto, "■ Als ik kan" (As I can). The greater part of the religious works of Jean consists of representations of the Virgin and the Infant Jesus, sometimes alone, sometimes surrounded by the donors whom their patron saints apparently recommend to the prayers of the Holy Mother and Child. Among the most remarkable of Van Eyck's pictures, which exhibit his great talent in its true light and best characterise his manner, his style, and his tendency, the most important are, without doubt, the large canvas of the " Glorified Virgin, before whom Canon van der Pale kneels in adoration," in the Academy of Fine Arts of Bruges, and the same sub- ject treated on a smaller scale, " Chancellor Rollin kneeling in prayer before the Virgin glorified," in the Louvre (Fig. 8). In the background of this second picture is seen the distant view of a city built on the banks of a river ; its public places, quays, and streets are enlivened by a throng of very small figures ; snow- Qovered hills appear on the horizon. This is a mar- vellous panorama, nor has it ever been surpassed in realism, finished workmanship, interest, and picturesque charm. Similar praise is due to the landscape sur- rounding the two representations of " St. Francis," FIG. 10. — THE MAN WITH THE PINK. — Jean Van Eyck. (Museum of Berlin, i6in. X[i3in.) so FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Eyck. one in the possession of the Pinacotek of Turin, and the other in the gallery of Lord Heytesbury (Wilt- shire).* Van Eyck, who was so great as a landscapist, also excelled in painting portraits. We know several in London, Vienna, Berlin, Bruges, and Copenhagen. The most remarkable are the portraits of Arnoulfini and his wife, in the National Gallery (Fig. 9), and the bust of a gentleman unknown, holding a carnation in his hand. Museum of Berlin (Fig. 10). Jean Van Eyck created Flemish art. He made it real, deep, energetic, full of expression and splendour : he invented aerial landscape and per- spective ; he was the first to give an accurate and handsome form to man, animals, flowers, and all accessories. His design is firm, patient, and studied ; his colouring rich, abundant, and severe ; his composi- tion masterly, and his modelling, simplicity, and firmness, are inimitable. In the scenic arrangement of his figures he always adopted a solemn and es- sentially imposing character. His madonnas, angels, and saints, present an astonishing admixture of naturalness and elegant reverie ; his donors are marvels of expression : they are portraits, true even to coarseness. The chiaro-oscuro enveloping the cathedrals and oratories in which he places his figures has warm, transparent, and golden tones, * H. Hymans : Un tableau relrouvJ de Jean Van Eyek [Btdklin (lis Commissions royales d'art et darehMogie, 1883, p. 108). A. J- Wauters : Les deux Saint Francois, de Jean Van Eyck [Acho du Parlement of the 7th August, 1883). Marguerite Van Eyck.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 5 I which have characterised no other artist. Fromentin says of him with great truth, that under the brush of this man the art of painting at once reached its highest perfection. Jean Van Eyck died in Bruges on the gth of July, 1440,* and Van Mander states that he died at a very advanced age, which would lead us to suppose that he was born earlier than historians generally admit — from 1380 to 1390. Marguerite, sister of the Van Eycks, likewise cultivated the art of painting, but there is not now a single work, picture or miniature, which can be ascribed to her with any certainty. The household accountsf of the Dukes of Burgundy also record that their brother LAMBERT was, in 1431, employed by Philip the Good on " certaines besongnes." But this is the extent of our information regarding him, and there is nothing to prove that these " besongnes " were works of art, as has sometimes been supposed. With Van Eyck all that had to be done seemed accomplished. The same hand which had discovered the medium of modern painting had also carried its exercise to a brilliant climax. That his labours might, however, be complete and fruitful, he needed a disciple capable of becoming the apostle and pro- pagator of his art. This was the mission of Roger Van der Weyden ; and the school of Brussels took the place of the school of Bruges. * James Weale : T^o/es stir Jean Van Eyck, 1861, p. 15. + De Laborde : Les dues de Bourgogne, vol i., p. 38. E 2 CHAPTER III. ROGER VAN DER WEYDEN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. The records of ancient Italian and Flemish chroni- clers preserve the memory of an artist vs'hom some call Roger of Bruges and others 'Roger of Brussels. He had learned his art under Jean Van Eyck, and inherited the method of the master. Some of the ancient authors exalted the genius of this artist, and yet his memory was, during three centuries, entirely lost in the Netherlands, and his numerous paint- ings remained unknown, hidden under fictitious names.* The history of Flemish art is indebted to M. Alphonse Wauters, archivist of the city of Brussels, for having unearthed ihe traces of this master.f The * Principal works : — Beaune : 7Ae Lastjudgineni (at the Hospital). Madrid : The Descent from the Cross (Museum of the Prado). Ant- werp : The Seven Sacraments (the Museum). Berlin : The Nativity (the Museum) ; The Deicmt from the Cross (ditto) ; St. John the Baptist (ditto). Munich: The Adoration of the Magi (Pinakotek) Louvain : The Descent from the Cross (Church of St. Peter). Flo- rence : The Entombing of Christ (Gallery of the Uffizi). Vienna : Chriit on the Cross (Museum). Frankfort : Ihe Virgin and Child (Stadel Institution). t Roger Van der Weyden, ses ceuvres, ses ileves, et ses descendants. Brussels, 1856. VandcrWeyden.i THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 53 city of Brussels and that of Tournai dispute the honour of having given him birth. We will not here recapitulate the erudite discussion between Messrs. Wauters and Pinchart on this subject. We must limit ourselves to stating that, in our opinion, and until further proof to the contrary is forthcoming, the register of painters of Tournai and other documents bear ample testimony in support of M. Pinchart's opinion.* Roger was born at Tournai in 1399 or 1400. His family name was de la Pasture, and it is under its Flemish translation. Van der Weyden, that he became illustrious. There are no proofs, is stated by Italian chroni- clers, that he ever was the pupil of Jean Van Eyck. It appears that he did not give himself up to the study of painting till late in life, for he was married before his name was entered in the books of the guild of St. Luke at Tournai, in 1427. He there pursued his studies during five years under the direction of Robert Campin, and received the title of master in 1432. It is probably after this date that he took up his resi- dence in Brussels — the birthplace of his wife. At all events, he was there on the 21st of April, 1435, and soon made himself a great reputation in this flourishing and prosperous city, which, with Brabant, had just passed over to Philip the Good (1430), and had become the favourite residence of the " Grand-Dtic d' Occident." * Roger de la Pasture, dil Van der Weyden. Brussels, 1876. 54 FLEMIbH PAINTING. [Van der Weyden. Before the year 1436 the magistrates of Brussels conferred on Roger the office of pourtraiteur de la ville, an honorary title, but one to which certain privileges were attached.* At the same time, one of the wings of the Hotel de Ville, which had been in course of construction since 1402, having just been completed. Van der Weyden was entrusted with the decoration of the Hall of Justice. The four panels which he painted for this purpose are now lost, but their reputation was so great that people came from all parts to admire them.f That portion of the artist's life which lies between 1436 and 1449 is not well known. It is certain, how- ever, that he worked not only for the city of Brussels, but also for the guilds, monasteries, and private families. Among the works of that period which have been handed down to us, we must mention the " Descent from the Cross," which he painted twice for Louvain ; the one, in the Museum of Madrid, was executed for the Guild of the " Grand serment " (Fig. 11); and the other, painted in 1443, for the family Edelheer, is now in the church of St. Peter at Louvain. In 1449 Roger set out for Italy, thus commencing the long list of artistic pilgrimages undertaken by Flemish painters beyond the Alps. He was at Rome in 1450, * Alphonse Wauters ; Roger Van der Weyden, p. 25. t F. Campe : Reliqtnen von Albrecht Diirer, Nurembero-, 1828 ■ translation in the Gazette des Beaux Arts, vols, xix and xx. Voyage d' Albert Diirer dans les Pays Bas, by Ch. Narrey. 56 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van der Weyden. in the midst of the transition which Italian art was then undergoing. Masaccio (1402 — 1428), had just opened fresh fields to the art of Giotto and Orcagna ; Lippi was finishing at Florence the work of his master; and Mantegna (143 1 — 1505), then only twenty years old, was sketch- ing the splendid frescoes of Padua. In Venice, Bellini was painting his Madonnas ; in Rome the pious Fra Angelico de Fiesole (1387 — 1455) was preparing to leave this earth for the heaven of his dreams, whilst his pupil Benozzo Gozzoli (1420 — 1498) was decorating the church of Orvieto, and conceiving the designs of the animated crowds and magnificent cavalcades with which he adorned the walls of the Campo Santo of Pisa and of the Medici palace at Florence. When visiting these illustrious workshops, we have every reason to believe that the great disciple of Van Eyck first introduced the artistic process of which he pos- sessed the secret, and which Antonello of Messina was the first to propagate in Italy. On his return to Brussels, the artist, seized with new ardour, recom- menced his labours, and produced large and impor- tant pictures, which are his chief works. Foremost we must cite the polyptyque the " Last Judgment,"* composed of eight wings, which he was commissioned to paint in 1451—52 for the hospital of Beaune, by Nicolas Rollin, Chancellor of Burgundy ; next, the " Nativity," a triptych, which was executed at the * Boudrot : Le Jugcment dernkr, retable de Vhitel-Dieu de Beaune. Beaune, 1875. Van der Weyden.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 57 request of the Chevalier Pierre Bladehn, treasurer of the Fleece of Gold, for the church of Middelburg, inaugurated in 1460 (Museum of Berlin) ; and the triptych of the " Adoration of the Magi " (Pinacotek of Munich), which also dates from the last part of the painter's career (Fig. 1 2). 58 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van der Weyden The composition of these three magnificent works sufficiently proves that they were painted by Roger after his return from Italy. For instance, they plainly show how deeply impressed the Flemish master was by the " Adoration of the Magi," by Gentile da Fab- riano (1370 — 1450), and by the often-repeated "Last Judgment" of Andrea Orcagna (1319—1389)- He delighted in replicas of their graceful or dramatic compositions, and in the same way as he had pre- viously elevated into a model the " Descent from the Cross," a subject for which he always had a predi- lection, he created the Flemish types of the " Adora- tion of the Magi," and of the " Last Judgment," which, from that time forward were copied by con- temporary artists, by his pupils and his imitators. He died in 1464. Roger inherited from Van Eyck the art of painting well. His colouring, though inferior to that of the master for harmony and delicacy, yet possesses its wonderful power. His pictures, bold, and grand in character, are skilfully composed, and the figures ex- press deep dramatic feeling. His design is generally correct, but he elongates the human frame as well as the draperies, the folds of which are often stiff and angular. We must own, therefore, that if he has rare and precious qualities, his defects yet despoil him of the powerful charm which has raised the work of Van Eyck, his master, and Memling, his pupil, to the foremost rank among artists. Nevertheless, Van der Weyden occupies an honoured place between these two masters, and with them forms the glorious trio Van der Weyden.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 59 of great Flemish painters of the fifteenth century. Even Van Eyck himself did not exercise so great an influence over his period. Roger's personahty is not revealed by his pictures alone, but by an infinity of works of art of all kinds — miniatures, engravings, sculpture, tapestry work. His workshop must have been the training ground oi a vast number of artists. Many of his pupils acquired fame in the Nether- lands — such for instance as Memling and Thierri Bouts — but the benefits of his influence were more widely spread. He also instructed the greatest of German painters of the fifteenth century, Martyn Schongauer, and the galleries of Germany eloquently proclaim how much the primitive schools of the Rhine, of Alsace, Swabia, and Franconia, owe to this master. As to his pictures, during more than half a century they remained models for all painters, and even in our day we meet with hundreds of copies and variations of the four principal subjects which he created, cherished, and popularised — the Adoration of the Magi, the Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross, and the Last Judgment. Van der Weyden's son PlERRE* was a painter also, and he in his turn had a son named GoS- SUIN, who followed in the steps of his father and grandfather, and settled in Antwerp, where the family flourished until the end of the sixteenth * De Burbiire : Documents inidits sur les peintres Gossuin et Roger Van der Weyden h Jeune. [Bulletin de VAcaAemie Royale de Belgique, 1865, 2=- serie, vol. xix., p. 354.) 6o FLEMISH PAINTING. [The Van der Weydens. century, as we shall see by the following genea- logy : Roger de la Pasture, known under the name of Van der Weyden, 1399 or 1400 + 1464 I TL Peter (1st) John, 1437 + aft. 1514 goldsmith I 1438 + H^^- 1 i Gossuin Peter (2nd) 1465 + aft. 1538 lived in 1506. I Roger II., the Younger. towards 1505 + 1537—43 I Catherine married Lambert Ricx, painter.* It is a well-known fact that to a few artists who achieve renown there are always a great many of whom museums and archives often record but the name. In the fifteenth century the number of these artists must have been exceptionally great, for in the docu- ments of the early corporations and of the communal archives, we find hundreds of names contemporary with Van Eyck and Van der Weyden. Unfortunately, their works are either lost or unknown, and it becomes therefore impossible, except on very rare occasions, to judge of the talent of these painters. That some of their canvases are yet in existence is very likely, but even in such a case, documents are wanting which would * We only place in our genealogie. those members of the family who are artists or allied to artists. THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 6 1 enable us to assign them, with any degree of certainty, to the right craftsmen. The Gothic Flemish painters did not sign their works. Assuredly there were a few who, like Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, and Memling, used to inscribe their names on the frame, but the custom for painters to place their signatures on the pictures themselves did not become general until the beginning of the sixteenth century.* How many of those paintings have been handed down to us with the frames that originally surrounded them ? As to the letters which are sometimes noticeable on the pictures, and which have often been thought to give a clue to the name of the unknown painter, they are in all cases but the initials of the donors. For instance, the fol- lowing initial letters, which for so long a time excited both the curiosity and the imagination of critics, are \^ ■fe 'k now fully explained. No. i (from Van der Weyden's " Descent from the Cross," at St. Peter's, Louvain), shows the initials of Wilhelm and Adelaide Edelheer ; No. 2 (Memling's "Adoration of the Magi," in the Hospital of Bruges), those of Jean Floreins ; in * The portrait of Arnoulfini and his wife by Van Eyclt, in the National Gallery, is an exception. The inscription itself proves that there is a reason for it. 62 FLEMISH PAINTING. Nos. 3 and 4 (Memling's " Marriage of St. Catherine," at Bruges, and the " Virgin with the donors," Louvre), those of Jacques Floreins ; finally, in No. S (Portrait by an unknown artist, Museum of Antwerp), those of Christian de Hondt. A very great number of pictures of the fifteenth century are catalogued in all the museums of Europe as by an unknown hand. Several of these performances are masterpieces, assigned now to Hubert or to Jean Van Eyck, to Van der Weyden or Memling, &c. Such are, for example, the " Christ on the Cross " of the Palais de Justice of Paris, the " Descent from the Cross " in the Museum of Vienna, the " St. Jerome " in the Museum of Naples, the " Virgin and Child " in the Museum of Palermo. Among the second-rate painters of the first half of the fifteenth century who appear to have enjoyed a relative renown in Ghent,* we will mention, LifiviN DE Clite (141 3), Roger Van der Woestin (+ 141 6), GuiLLAUME Van Axpoele and Jean Martins (1419), Saladin de Scoenere (1434), Marc Van Gestele (1445), Van Wytevelde (1456), and, finally, Nabur Martins. Some twenty years ago several mural paintings by this last artist were brought to light in the abbatoirs {vleeshaus) of Ghent, but they possess very slight interest. In Tournaif laboured Daniel Daret, who in 1449 took the place of Jean Van Eyck as official painter and varlet-de-chauibre to Philip the Good, and * De Busscher : Rcchcnhcs sur nos anciens peintres gantois des XlVeet XVesiiclcs. t A. Pinchavt : Archives des arts, vol. iii., p. 190. Cristus.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 63 Phillipe Truffin (1474) ; in Brussels we find the name of COLIN DE COTER ; in Antwerp worked Jean Snellaert (recorded from 1453 to 1480), who was painter to Mary of Burgundy, and is con- sidered to have founded the school in which Quentin Metsys occupied so prominent a place ; in Bruges Pierre Cristus* and in Valenciennes Simon Marmion ; these among so many artists are the only ones to claim our attention for a few moments. Pierre Cristus, erroneously called Christophsen by certain authors, was born at Baerle, near Ghent, He went to Bruges, and bought the freedom of that city in - q ^^ 1444 — that is, four years after the death of Jean Van Eyck. It is therefore impos- sible that Cristus learnt his art in the studio of that master ; still less in that of Hubert, as various authors have repeatedly stated. Nevertheless, Cristus belongs to their school by his realistic style, by the extreme care he bestowed on details, by his bold and powerful colouring, and by the tasteful arrangement of his dra- peries and interiors. But his works can never be mistaken for those of Van Eyck : his outline is often harsh, his types are wanting in character ; his figures, designed and executed with very inferior skill, are not painted in the same impressive manner as those of the great master. Those of his pictures which are authenticated bear * James Weale : Pierre et Sebastien Cristus, in the Befiroi, vol. i., p. 235, Bruges, 1863. ?*e.t^°W 64 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Marmion. dates from 1446 to 1467. The most celebrated among them are the "Virgin and Child" (i4S7) in the Museum of Frankfort, the same subject in the Pina- cotek of Turin, and the " Last Judgment " at Berlin (1452) and at St. Petersburg. "St. Eloi selling a ring to a young couple" (1449) belongs to the Oppenheim Collection, at Cologne, and may justly be considered as the earliest genre picture of the school. Cristus has also left some portraits ; amongst others, those of Philip the Good (Museum of Lille) and the English Ambassador, Grimston (1446), in the Verulam Collec- tion. Cristus was still alive in 1472. He left a son named Sebastien, who adopted his father's profession. Simon Marmion, towards 1425 — 1489, was, ac- cording to the early chroniclers, " worthy of very great admiration.'' He was born at Valenciennes, and was at the same time painter and illuminator. We know that he adorned with profuse miniatures a missal intended for Philip the Good. The earliest mention of his existence is in 1453, when he painted a picture for the hotel de ville of Amiens.* In the following year the Duke employed him on the " entremetz" of the banquet of Lillef ; in 1460 he appeared among the founders of the Guild of Valenciennes, and in 1468 he was raised in Tournai % to the dignity of master. To the present day we have not a single picture * Dusevel : Recherclm Historiques stir les ouvragcs exkuth dan la ville (V Amiens, Amiens, 1858, p. 25. t Pinchart : Notes et additions h Vouvrage de Groove et Caval- caselle, The Early Flemish Painters, vol. ii., p. 241. Pincliart : Archives dcs arts, vol. ii., p. 201. Marmion.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 65 which can be clearly ascribed to him. Nevertheless, there is every reason to suppose that his was the hand which traced the altar-screen painted in 1455 for the abbey of St. Omer, and which is now in the royal palace of the Hague.* * A. Michiels : Histoire de li fnnture flamande (Paris, 1867), vol. iii., p. 396. CHAPTER IV. THE FOLLOWERS OF VAN DER WEYDEN. Charles the Bold succeeded his father, PhiHp the Good, in 1467. His reign lasted ten years — ten long years of wars and rebellions, perfidy and trea- chery, of democratic struggles followed by fearful massacres. Yet, in spite of these horrors, art con- tinued to flourish, for" luxury and grandeur were an absolute necessity to the higher ranks of Burgundian and Flemish society. We can form some idea of the magnificence of the time by the glowing description of the gorgeous festivities which took place at the marriage of the young Duke.* Four great painters illustrated the new reign — Van der Goes, Juste of Ghent, Bouts, and Memling. It is a coincidence worthy of remark that early Flemish painting shone with the greatest brilliancy at the very moment when the Burgundian pride and power had reached their climax, as though to establish the close relationship between the new artistic generation and the ardent vitality of the time. In 1473 Charles * Olivier de la Marche : /lAmoi/rs (Ghent, 1566), p. 524. Van der Goes.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 6/ proceeded to Treves to proclaim the independence of his vast estates and to be consecrated King of Bur- gundy by the Emperor Frederic III. In the same year Thierri Bouts began the panels of the " Sentence of the Emperor Otho " for the Hotel de Ville of Lou- vain, Justus of Ghent finished the altar-screen repre- senting the " Last Supper " for the town of Urbino, Memling sent to Italy the triptych of the "Last Judg- ment," and Van der Goes was commissioned by the Portinari of Florence to paint his " Adoration of the Shepherds." Fame has justly glorified these works : they are the masterpieces of the painters, and ,are reckoned among the largest and the most important pictures of the fifteenth century. Hugo Van der Goes * (i* — 1482) was pro- bably born at Ghent,t but there are no records of his presence in this town till 1465 — 66. It is in connec- tion with the marriage and the "joyeuse entrSe" of CharPes the Bold that his name first appears ; he was then employed in several branches of the decorative art. From 1473 to 1475 he held the office of dean or elder to the Guild of Painters in Ghent,J and in 1476 ■* Principal works : — Florence : The Adoration of the Shepherds (Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova). Brussels : Portrait of Charles the Bold (Museum). London : Portrait oj Anthony of Burgundy (Stafford Collection). Antwerp : Portrait of Thomas Portinari {?) (Museum). Venice : Portrait of Laurent Froimont (Academy ^of Fine Arts). t Schayes : Documents inedits, &c. (Bulletin de rAcademie Royale de Belgique, vol. xiii., 2nd series, 1846, p. 337). J Ed. de Busscher : Recherches sur les peintres ganlois des XIV et XV' siicles (Ghent, 1859), p. 105. F 2 68 FLEMISPI PAINTING. [Van der Goes. — by a change as sudden as it was unexpected — he entered the monastery of Rouge- Cloitre. * We can come to no satisfactory conclusion as to the motives which prompted the artist to leave the world for the monastic order of St. Augustine. The only fact that has been ascertained beyond a doubt, is that Hugo had a brother in this monastery, and that a special position among the monks was granted to the artist, who was never subjected to the strict rule of the order. In his retreat the painter con- tinued the free exercise of his art ; many people of rank, among others the Archduke Maximilian, consort of Mary of Burgundy, visited him and came to admire his works, and he often joined them at their banquets in the guest chamber. This lasted six years ; but on one mournful day his brain became obscured : the mental malady resisted all remedies, and care and devotion were bestowed on him in vain : he expired at Rouge-Cloitre in the year 1482. It is a matter for constant regret that history, which follows the artist in the last seventeen years of his romantic life, cannot be equally conversant with his paintings. The only one of his works which can be accurately ascribed to him, on the authority of Vasari,t is the celebrated triptych of the " Adoration * Alph. W.iuters : Histoire de noire premiire kok de pcinluic {Bulletin dc rAcademie Royale de Belgique, vol. xv.,.p. 725. 1863). Ditto : Hugo Van der Goes : sa vie el son atwrc, p. 12 Brussels 1864. t Vasai-i: Laviedespeintres, p. 163. FIG. 13.— PORIINARI AND HIS SONS (wiNG OF THE "ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS.") — Hugo Van der Goes. (Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, Florence. 8 ft. 4 in. X 4ft. ^\ in.) 70 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van der Goes. of the Shepherds," which Van der Goes painted at the request of his patron, Portinai-i, towards 1470-75 (Figs. 13, 14, and IS). This picture is still in the Florentine monastery for which it was painted ; it is imposing in its dimensions, its general character, and the majesty of its figures. That the other pictures which are ascribed to him in Bologna, Padua, Florence, and elsewhere, were really painted by him, is more than doubtful, and yet we know that the work of the master was extensive. Diirer states that in Brussels he saw several pictures by this artist. Van Mander mentions others in Ghent, and Van Vaernewyck says that in Bruges, private houses, as well as churches and monasteries, were full of his picture.s. What has become of them ? The chronicles of Rouge Cloitre, written by a friend of the artist, say that Hugo was also a first-rate por- trait painter.* Several of those portraits, which he painted so well, and which were believed to have all perished, are still extant. By an attentive study of the fine portraits which adorn the. wings of the triptych of Florence, the author of this book has been enabled to restore to Van der Goes several small but talented panels, which he found scattered through- out Europe. Among others we must name the celebrated portrait of "Charles the Bold," in the Museum of Brussels. The prince, who carried off the prize in the years 1466 and 1471, in the competition * Alph. Wauters : Ungues Van der Goes, sa vie et ses a'«ww(i864), 12, ■Van der Goes,] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 71 of archery in the Guild of St. Sebastian, is represented holding the victorious arrow in his hand, and wearing &: S I. X ■flj ^ ■4-1 >A CO < a ^ M S W o a z X g I s ■a §5. I the insignia of the Fleece of Gold.* Also the por- * Alph. Wauters : Recherches sur Vhistoire de notre fremiire koh de peiniure dans la seconde moitie du XV' siicle (Brussels, 1882), p. ii 72 FLEMISH PAINTING. _[VanderGoes. trait of the " Duke Anthony of Burgundy," which belongs to the Stafford Collection, London ; those of " Laurent Froimont," in the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice ; of " Thomas Portinari " (?), in the Museum of Antwerp (No. 254) ; of a gentleman unknown, at Hampton Court (No. 590) ; others in Florence, &c. The portraits in Brussels and Venice do not fall short of the finest of the century, and proclaim to the world the talent of the monk of Rouge Cloitre, "si excellent d. peindre le portrait!' * Two of the Florentine panels have been restored, but in so clumsy a manner that the artist's reputation has suffered by it, and his style and manner have been misjudged. Against such judgment we must here protest. Since Van Eyck no Flemish artist — not even Van der Weyden — has so nearly equalled the grand style of the head of the school. None has shown more refinement of colouring — a manner at once so simple and bold — or more freedom from that fault, so common to the school, which consists in over- loading the draperies with useless folds and orna- ments. The heads and hands of Van der Goes are drawn with greater skill than is exhibited by any other artist of the time, and the realistic types and physiognomy of his personages are expressed with daring and originality. It is a fact worthy of note, that while a part of his work is entirely impregnated with the Gothic spirit and formula, the other appears to herald the great * A. J. Wauters : Hugues Van der Goes ci son ceuvrc. (In prepara- tion.) FIG. 15. — THE WIFE AND DAUGHTER OF PORTINARI (WING).— Hugo Van der Goes, (Hospital 01 Santa Maria Nuova, Florence. 8 ft. 5 in. X 4 ft. 7|in.) 74 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Juste of Ghent; future epoch. In the altar-screen of the Portinari, we notice in the Httle girl of the donor the germ of the ingenuous grace and innate refinenaent so remarkable in all the children painted by Van Dyck ; in his saints, " St. Anthony," " St. Thomas," and "St Joseph," the imposing austerity, the dignity of lines, and the inspired brow of Diirer's evangelists. His portrait of " Froimont," in the Academy of Venice, is generally ascribed to Holbein, and well deserves such an honour by its concise- and firm design, as well as by the artist's faithful observation of nature. That artist has a right to a place of honour, who, with a style impregnated with such grandeur, reveals himself as a prophet, and who, more than a century in advance of his time, announces the Renaissance. It is also in Italy that we find the only authen- ticated work of Juste of Ghent, the " Last Supper," the largest known painting of the early Flemish school (9 ft. x 10 ft. 6 in.). It is preserved in the Museum of the Institute of Fine Arts in the little town of Urbino. Of the painter himself little is known. The place of his birth, his family name, the master who in- structed him, the date and place of his death, are all buried in obscurity. The picture of Urbino alone helps to throw some light on the biography of the artist, thanks to the numerous and interesting details which we find in the archives relating to the com- Juste of Ghent.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 75 mission and payment of the work.* They tell us that Juste was at Urbino at the time when the Court of the Duke of Montefeltre was most brilliant ; that he resided there at least ten years, from 1465 to 147S > that he was commissioned to paint the " Last Supper " by the brotherhood of the Corpus Christi ; and that it was paid for by subscription — the Duke himself heading the list ; finally, that Justus finished the picture in 1474. It is a most important work, and gives us the op- portunity of studying a master whom his style places among Flemish Gothic artists between Vander Weyden and Metsys. It would seem that he was the pupil of the one and the master of the other. The com- position contains about twenty figures, amongst whom the Duke appears as spectator ; it is quite original in this sense, that it openly breaks with the form generally accepted at that period for the representa- tion of the " Last Supper." The principal figure, Christ, is standing, and holds in his hand the conse- crated host ; the attitudes of the apostles, who are kneeling in groups around him, are expressive of deep religious feeling ; the extremities — heads and hands — indicate a first-rate realistic talent ; the colouring is harmonious, though it has not the brilliancy of the other Flemish painters ; the general character of the picture is simple and broad ; in fact, all the details betoken a robust talent capable of sustaining in Italy the brilliant renown of the Northern school. * J. D. Passavant : Rafael d' Urbino (Leipzig, 1839), p. 429. 76 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Juste of Ghent Unfortunately, this fine altar-screen is the only monument we possess as evidence of this painter's talent. FIG. l6.— THE LAST SUPi>ER. — 7"/ii«-« Bouts. (Church of St. Peter, Louvain. 5 f L gin. X 4 ft. lo^in.) The fresco of the " Annunciation," in the church of the Carmelite friars at Genoa, signed " Justus d'Alla- magna, pinxit, 1451," which is often attributed to him, Juste of Ghent.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. FIG. 17. — MEETING OF ABRAHAM AND MELCHIZEDEK (WING OF THE "LAST supper"). — TMerri Bouts. (Pinacothek of Munich. 2 ft. 10 in. X 2 ft. si in.) is the work of an artist who had no connection with Juste of Ghent. In the same manner the two pictures which the catalogue of Antwerp ascribes to 78 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Xhierri Bouts. him cannot be seriously upheld as his work. Mensaert asserts that as late as 1763* the city of Ghent pos- sessed pictures by this artist, but if so, they have disappeared since that period. While Juste and Van der Goes were thus brilliantly upholding the fame of the Flemish school, a new ar- tistic centre was forming itself at Louvain. As early as 1 394 this town had witnessed the institution of the famous Ommegang, which was to be the model of all the luxurious cavalcades sxiAjoyeuses entries of Brabant. In 1425 the foundations of the fine church dedi- cated to St. Peter were laid ; in 1426, the Duke, John IV., of Brabant, founded the University ; and in 1448 the magistracy laid the first stone of the Hotel de Ville, a most imposing edifice, one of the glories of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands. About the same time an artist of Dutch extraction took up his residence in Louvain, and there practised an art which was to cast a fresh halo of glory on the place of his adoption. This artist, Thierri BoUTS,t (? 1475) is called by early authors Thierry, or Dierik of Haarlem, from the name of his native town, and by modern writers Thierri Stuerbout, in consequence of a confusion of persons, now rectified. No satisfactory answer has been obtained to the * G. P. Mensaert: Le J>eintre amateur ct curieux(Bxasie\s, 1763), p. 36. t Principal works :— Brussels : The Sentence of the Emperor Oilio (Museum). Louvain : T/ie Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus (Church of St. Peter) ; The Last Supper. Munich : The Adoration of the Magi (Pinacothek). Berlin and Munich: the Panels of the Last Supper. Frankfort : The Sybil of Tibur (Stadel Institution). Vienna : The Crowning of the Virgin (Academy of Fine Arts). ThierrI Bouts.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 79 often-repeated inquiry, Where was he born ? How did he learn his art ? What circumstances led him to journey from Haarlem to Louvain ? . . . His birth FIG. l8. — THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. — Thierri Bouts. (Pinacothek of Munich, ift. iiin. X ift. iiin.) was formerly fixed at about 1400, but we now find that this event could not have taken place much before 1420. On the other hand a certain resemblance of character exists between his works and those of Memhng, which would lead, one to suppose that both 8o FLEMISH PAINTING. [Thierri Bouts. artists were instructed by the same master. We may- infer, therefore, that Bouts may have been the pupil of Van der .Weyden, and it is probable that the numerous works which took Roger to Louvain, towards 1440 — 1443, perhaps induced Bouts to follow his master there, if really Roger Van der Weyden was his master. However this may be, the artist was settled and married in Louvain as early as 1448. He executed in 1466 — 68, for the wealthy brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament, the two pictures which are still preserved at St. Peter's, the "Last Supper" and the "Martyr- dom of St. Erasmus." No doubt these two paintings crowned the reputation of the artist, for they were hardly finished when that city, remembering what Brussels had done for Van der Weyden, also gave Bouts the honorary title of " pourtraiteur de la ville" and commissioned him to execute some paintings for the decoration of the new town-hall. The first one, a triptych of the " Last Judgment," was completed in 1472, but is now lost. The second part was to have been composed of four panels representing, still in imitation of what had been done in Brussels, a suite of episodes intended to inspire the people and the magistrates with the love of virtue and justice. The first two, the largest which Bouts ever painted, are at the present moment in the Museum of Brussels under the title of the " Iniquitous Sentence of the Emperor Otho." * The other two were not executed. * We find reproductions of these two panels in the History of Dutch Painting, by H. Havard, translated by G. Powell. Thierri Bouts.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 8 1 The artist died in 1475, as he was preparing to com- plete his work. We owe the discovery of these facts to the able researches of the archivists of Louvain and Brussels, MM. Van Even and Alphonse Wauters.* Thanks to them it has been possible to restore to this artist a great number of works ; about twenty panels are already known. The greater part, notably the " Crowning of the Virgin," at Vienna, the " Martyrdom of St. Hippolytus," at Bruges, the fine triptych of the "Adoration of the Magi," at Munich (Fig. 18), have long been ascribed to Memling. At first sight the manner of Bouts had a certain affinity with that 01 this master, but if we study it with attention, we soon find that it was very personal and easily recognisable. His figures are always the same, slender, with elongated heads, stiff attitudes, and fixed expression. All his pictures exhibit the same absence of taste in the choice of types, _ and of softness in the flesh and draperies, as well as in the accessories and ornaments, of which he is lavish, and which he executes with inimitable minuteness. On the other hand the figures are imposing, and the vestments magnificent ; they are designed with rare perfection — especially the heads — and exhibit correct and patient observation of nature, great firmness of touch, and wondrous cha- racter. His colouring is that of the school, yet it * E. Van Even ; Thierri Bouts, dit Stuerbout, peintre du XV' siicle (Brussels, 1861). See, also, by the same author, VAncienne icole de peinture du Louvain (1870). Alphonse Wauters : Thierri Bouts ou de ffarlem et ses^ls (BrasseU, 1863). G 82 FI.EMISH PAINTING. [Thierri Bouts. does not present quite the same warmth — it has, so to speak, a metallic ring. Bouts, in a great number of his panels, breaks the traditional monotony of the composition to adopt a picturesque arrangement, which is one of the original and typical sides of his talent ; this Juste of Ghent had already done in his " Last Supper." The back- ground of his landscapes often discloses the city of Louvain, the tower of St. Peter, and the turrets of the H6tel de Ville (Fig. 17) ; it is almost a monogram. Thierri Bouts left two sons : Thierri (towards 1448 — 1491), and Albert (? — 1549)- Both were painters, but up to the present time not a single work cf theirs has been authenticated. CHAPTER V. HANS MEMLING AND HIS FOLLOWERS. In the history of modern art there are few celebrated artists whose history is more obscure than that of Hans Memling (towards 1435 — 1495).* A few facts, in themselves insignificant, are all the world knows of this great man. And we are still reduced to conjecture with regard to the date of his birth, and the position which he occupied in Bruges. This very want of details has excited the imagina- tion of some writers, romancers rather than historians, who have taken it upon themselves to replace absent facts by fables, so that during more than a centuiy the legend of Memling has usurped the place of history. Deschampsf invented it in 1753, and since * Principal works : — Bruges : The Marriage of St. Catherine (St. John's Hospital). The Adoration of the Magi (id.) ; The Shrine of St. Ursula (ii.). St. Christopher (^KcaAeray oi Vine Axi%). 'Da.nizig: The Last Judgment {CsXh^AiaX) ; Lubeck : The Passion (ii.) Munich: The Seven Joys of the Virgin (Pinacothek). Turin: The Stven Sorrows of the Virgin (Pinacothek). Rome : The Descent from the Cross (The Doria Gallery). Paris : The Virgin worshipped by the Floreins Family (Louvre). Florence : 7%« Virgin and Child (XSfazi). Vienna: Th: Virgin and Child (Museum). t La vie des pejntres flamands, a'.lemands et hollandais. Paris, 1753-54- G 2 84 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Memling. that time it has developed and increased* Mem- ling's bad conduct, his incorporation in the bands of Charles the Bold, his participation in the war against the Swiss, the wound he received at the battle of Nancy, his return to Bruges, his illness and con- valescence in the hospital of St. John, his love for one of the sisters of that community, his marriage with an heiress, his wanderings through Italy and Spain, his death at the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores ; such are the principal elements of the story. However, the discoveries of Mr. James Weale,t the history of the numerous pictures which time has respected, prove that the romantic biography of Mem- ling exists only in the imagination of a few writers, who have delighted in transforming the great painter into a fanciful personage, and have carried him on the wings of their fancy to immeasurable distances from truth and history. We do not know when and where Memling J was born, but we are almost certain that it was not in Bruges. As to the date, we can by inference place it, though very vaguely, between the years 1430 and 1440. It appears certain that he learned his art from Van der Weyden in Brussels, and that he afterwards settled in Bruges— the year, however, is not known. * L. Viardot : Les Mmks cCEspagne, d'Ang! terre et de Belgique (Paris, 1843), p. 306. Alfred Michiels : Histoire dt la pHnturt flamande (Paris, 1867), vol. iv., ch. xxiv. t They are summed up in a little book : Hans Memling zyn leven en zyne schilderwerken (Bruges, 1871). X Not "Hemling," as it was long erroneously written. Meraling.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 85 His biography opens with the dates of some of his pictures : the first, 1462, is inscribed on a portrait in the National Gallery ; the second, 1472, is on a picture in the Liechtenstein Collection at Vienna, the "Virgin and Child," before whom a donor kneels in adoration.* In the third we discover a masterpiece : before 1573, Memling had painted a large triptych, the " Last Judgment," intended for Italy, but which the chances of navigation took to Dantzig.f The interval between the years 1477 and 1484 appears to have been the brilliant and active part of the artist's career. We see him working at the time for cor- porations,J monasteries, burgomasters, and private families. All the pictures in Bruges date from that time, also the altar-screen, the " Seven Joys of the Virgin," in the Pinacothek of Munich. He received commissions from the representatives of the nations, especially from Portinari, and on several panels in his work we find the arms of the Sforza of Milan, of the Cliffords of England^ and of Joan of France, daughter of Charles VII. Public favour must have been closely followed by fortune, or at least by easy circumstances, for in 1480 the artist bought the house in which he lived, and in the same year his name appears in the accounts of the city of Bruges among those of the principal citizens from whom the * A. J. Wauters : Dkouverle d 'im Tableau date de Hans Afeiiiling {Echo du Parlement Beige, August 29, 1883), + Hotho : Geschichte der deutschen und niederldndischen Malerei (Berlin, 1843), vol. ii., p. 128. X Carton : Les trots Frires Van Eyck. Jean Memling (Bruges, 1848). J. Weale : Le Beffroi, vol. ii., p. 264. 86 FLEMISH PAINTING. t^em commune had borrowed money. These two facts, which Mr. Weale * has brought to light, as well as the numerous and important works dated from that period, show us the artist in a flourishing position at the very time when the legend represents him as lying in the hospital ill in health and poor in pocket. Memling died in Bruges, it is supposed, in the year 1495, leaving three children under age,t which latter fact would lead us to think that he died young. These are the only details which we possess of the life of the great painter, the last of the masters of the celebrated school of Bruges. He disappears at the same time that the ancient capital of the Dukes of Burgundy lost, in civil discords, its artistic and commercial splendour. Some years before the ?iations had begun to abandon Bruges for Antwerp, and the Hanse towns had carried to the latter city their docks and their solemn assemblies (1493). Happily for the memory of the artist, the museums are more helpful than the archives, and the great number of his pictures which time has respected — more than fifty — throw a great deal more light on his life than most authentic documents. Those of his pictures which bear a date are comprised between the portrait at the National Gallery (1462) and the ad- mirable polyptych of the " Passion " at Lubeck (1491). His works are exceptionally varied. He has depicted, * Journal des Beaux Arts (1861), pp. 23 and 35. t Jotirnal des Beaux Arts (1861), p. 2r. Memling.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. 87 in the midst of the loveliest landscapes, the touching and dramatic scenes of the birth, the life, and the o o e d g "I z ^ »i z -5 o s passion of Christ — a real religious poem — which he has called the " Joys and Sorrows of the Virgin." He has painted episodes in the lives of the saints, and 88 FLEMISH PAINTING. [MemUg. especially of his patron saints, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. After the example of Jean Van Eyck, he delighted in painting the " Virgin Glorified," and has placed the donors and their families kneeling around her splendid throne. The Louvre possesses a magnificent specimen in this style, which was added to its collection by the Duchatel family, and on which we find the portraits of Jacques Floreins, his wife, and their nineteen children ! * (Fig. 19.) Finally, like Van Eyck and Van der Goes, Memling has painted small half-length portraits, which are in the museums or collections of Antwerp, Brussels (Fig. 20), Bruges, London, Florence, and Frankfort. To know and appreciate Memling we should study him in Bruges, which preserves with a veneration not unmixed with pride the productions of her illustrious artist. His talent displays itself in the paintings at the St. John's Hospital, where it is seen in all its forms and in its most diversified aspects — grand and powerful in the majestic figures of the saints and donors in the " Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine,^' touching in the picturesque pages of the " Adoration of the Magi," placid, ingenuous, and charming in the miniatures in oils of the " Shrine of St. Ursula," noble and vivid in the admirable portrait of Nieuwenhove. Memling's talent, though not so robust or vast as that of Jean Van Eyck, yet enables him to surpass that master in charm of emotion, tenderness, and elegance. His rich and brilliant colouring will bear the test of * James Weale ; Hans Memling, Lz. (Bruges, 1S71), p. 61. vr-.'-^.-JKi^T^-i FIG. 20. — PORTRAIT. — Hans Memling. (Museum of Brussels, i ft. i in. X 9f ™-) 90 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Memling. comparison with any master ; the design of his lovely heads and hands, with long taper fingers, is careful in its smallest details, and the modelling is so admirable that one can hardly define how it is achieved. He has no " trick," no determination to adopt one or the other style ; he does not aim at effect. In him we admire simple truth and good faith — characteristics of imperish- able works. He has created a feminine type which was unknown until his time, and which has since dis- appeared. His Virgins, around whom hover angels bearing lutes and scattering flowers ; his beautiful saints, clad in long brocaded robes, are not simply the real and mundane portraits of the ladies of his time : they are incarnations of grace, refinement, meditation, and innocence. Necessarily the ideal of beauty has changed ; their rounded foreheads no longer answer to our modern ideas ; but they em- body purity of expression, celestial simplicity, peace, and an ineffable charm. Before him, no one in Flanders had felt so deeply or painted with so much sentiment. After four hundred years his work is still fresh. The more we contemplate it the more we love it, and the more we become penetrated by it. " It is," says Fromentin, "one of those sweet symphonies which strike the ear with renewed charm as we listen to it more frequently." His is grand art in the truest sense of the word.* Memling, like Van der Weyden, exercised a powerful influence over the artists of his time. The • Bans Memling : sa vie et son a-uvre, 4to, illustrated, by A. T. Wauters, will shortly be pablished by A. Quautin. Van der Meire.] THE GOTHIC SCHOOL. QI schools of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, those also of Holland and the Rhine, produced numerous imitators of his style, which remained pure during a few years, and then became intermingled with the style of the Renaissance, with Gossaert, Bellegambe, Blon- deel, Joest(?), and Mostaert. The illuminators also felt his influence and adopted his manner. Several richly- decorated manuscripts furnish ample proof of this power, notably the celebrated breviary of Cardinal Grimani at Venice, which was the joint work of a num- ber of miniaturists of the end of the fifteenth century. The most celebrated among his immediate followers were Gerard Van der Meire in Ghent, Gheerardt David in Bruges, and Joachim Patinier in Antwerp. The eccentric Jerome Bosch himself sometimes ex- hibits a touch of the master's placidity and elegance. The biography of GfiRARD VAN DER Meire (1450.'' — 1512.') has not yet been unravelled,* and none of his works are identified. His name is the one thing that we know of him beyond the possibility of doubt on the authority both of Guicciardini and Van Mander. The latter author says that he was born at Ghent. The dates of his birth and death are doubtful. The triptych of the " Crucifixion " in the church of St. Bavon, in Ghent, is only ascribed to him by tradition, and it is not without rashness that ten or twelve pictures are attributed to him in Ant- werp, Bruges, Madrid, Rome, and other places. Finally, the opinion which some writers have ex- * Alph. Wauters : Sur quelques feintres de la fin du XVs" ikle (Bulletin de VAcadimie royale de Belgiqtie, 1882, vol.' v., p. 83). 92 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van der Meirc. pressed, that he was engaged on the Grimani breviary, is open to discussion. Van der Meire appears to have enjoyed some reputation in his own time. Guicciardini mentions him among the followers of Van Eyck, but if the picture in St. Bavon be really his work he ought rather to be classed as a contemporary of Memling. Assuredly the colouring falls far short of the powerful tones of this master, and the attitudes are stiff, but the landscape is skilfully treated, certain figures are not wanting in character, and, like the artist who painted the " Seven Joys of the Virgin," he seems to have devoted special care to his horses. Among the varlets-de-chambre of Charles the Bold appears^ in 1476, another Van der Meire, named Jean, who is believed to have been a native of Antwerp, and who is said to have painted for the Duke a certain number of pictures which have since perished. At the same period Charles counted two more painters among his varlets — PiERRE COUSTAIN (lived in 1450—84) and Jean Mertens (who lived in 1473 — 91)- Four mediocre pictures of the latter artist adorn the little church of Leau, in Brabant* The name and existence of Gheerardt David (towards 1460— 1523)! did not come to light till quite * Alph. Wautei-s : S^^r quelqtus peinires feu connus de la fin du XV'-siicle [Bulletin de V Acadimie royale de Belgique, 1882, vol. iii., p. 685). + Principal works :— Rouen : Tin Virgin surrounded by Saints (Museum). Bruges : The Baptism of Christ (Academy of Fine Arts). Genoa : Tlie Virgin between Saint Jerome and Saint ^T;- -.z_ — _ - -~'""^' ^~0r_^. %^3^'^ ^ ^'-^^^m b>-. fe - ..^^^ '^^^^-^^^ fe:;=3 ^^^^p 1 P — __^ ^S^ ~ r^Mj^ ^JK^'M^^^iJy'^-r^"^^ & A .^•^B V^rar^^^ 5?= bs h,\^ 5 li^aU M^Q^S^H L^RHni^HdS^^^ i' 1^ ¥" ~iB .*<— "f^S^ 2p;&ii_y^^^S5 w/SS^^^KS^m ^~~-:^^^ &3^ 'jHj Sj^i ^Gttm JE ^^. ^^^^irr^. id ^ Bi \^^^^ t H^ ^ ^"^^ft' hJ" '' ^^ ■'W^^ 1 g ^ ''ST HI ^J^ m VkH»1. i/ m^^ 1 1 s^Sb ^■^-. MSm^ % k #^gl t ~ fe j^*/^ flB ,^-"m ft* ** « JftS*"^^ kS r%i ^^^^ ^^^^^^^M 7v^ ^^Ef "t' "^ iff f-.* ^7 Ji'.'l H F ^^^^^ ^m^'i 1 1 MtSf'j^S ^B ' 'imfT 1 Vr SJ ^ i^^^m ^mm 1 1 ^H •j^^ft^j^^^ j^^HBI^S^fi^^i^^SS ^ n| W^?msm€\ MB^^^s ^c^*^*--* •^ •iS^ S ^9 FIG. 49. — THE RAPE OF LEUCIPPUS' DAUGHTERS BY CASTOR AND POLLUX. — Suiens. (Pinacothek of Munich. 7 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft. 91 in.) the coarseness of a village fair, and without an effort rises to the most sublime heights of art with Homer, Dantfe, Michael Angelo, and Shakespeare. To follow him in his painting, to compare his 220 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Rubens. various styles, to analyse his colour, to study his manner, to try and comprehend his thoughts, would require more space than we have at our disposal. Is he perfect ? No one is. Has he faults ? As- suredly. He is sometimes reproached with having neither the outline of Raphael, the depth of Leonardo da Vinci, the largeness of Titian, the naturalness of Velasquez, nor the chiaroscuro of Rembrandt. But he has the outline, the depth, the largeness, the natural- ness, and the chiaroscuro of Rubens ; is not that enough ? His weak points themselves proclaim his genius and his might ; they are but the consequence of his rarest gifts, of his sumptuous colouring, his \ masterly dimensions, his astounding facility, his elo- 'quence, his vitality. How gorgeous his colouring! How admirably all those tints of red, gold, blue, ver- milion, are blended ! How they enhance the beauty of his pearly carnations ! How powerful and stirring their harmony ! What an irresistible hold they have on our senses! We are bewildered, delighted, be- witched, entranced ! See the agitation of his blood-stained martyrs, of his executioners ; watch his frantic combatants, his voluptuous goddesses, their attitudes, their gestures, their flight ; the back is arched, the arm ready to strike, the body quivering ! They are real, they live, they shriek, they blaspheme, they kill ! And the admirable composition of his Nativities, his Executions, his Combats, his Olympias, his Apotheo- ses ; the marvellous grouping of his figures, the lines of light and shade 1 And his manner : here the brush FIG. 50.— THE SONS OF RUBENS AND ISABEL B^kKT.— Rubens. (Liechtenstein Gallery. 5 ft. i in. x 3 ft.) 222 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Rubers. barely caresses the canvas, there the colour flows abundant though transparent ; the most delicate strokes side by side with the most powerful. His touch is masterly, his brush, flies and scatters sparks on marble columns, breast-plates, unflirled standards, brocaded silks, distant verdure, golden hair, and the luxurious show of his rosy-tinted carnations. His language is sonorous and harmonious, his eloquence as free and fascinating in the gilded palace as under the vaulted roof of the cathedral. " When he improvises, his language is not at its best ; it becomes magnificent when he chastens it. It is quick, impulsive, rich, earnest, and at all times eminently persuasive. He strikes, astonishes, repels, wounds ; but nearly always convinces, and no one better than he ever succeeded in awakening sympathy when the occasion demands it." Fromentin expresses himself thus, and we are happy to recognise here the- admir- able study which he has devoted to the head of the Flemish school.* What a splendid monument he would have raised to the master whom he loved and appreciated so well if, after studying him in Brussels, Antwerp, and Mechlin, he had been able to seek out the principal of his works in each style, and follow him in his triumphal march throughout Europe, from the Hermitage to the Prado, from the Louvre to the Capitol. Shall we venture to name some of his * Les mattres (fantefois : Les maitres de Rubens — Rubens au musk de Bruxclles — Rubens h Malincs — La descente de croix, et la mise en croix — Rubens au ntust'e d' Ativers — Rubens portraitiste — Le fombeau de Rubens. Paris, 1876. < o . a -a l-H* '^ . p ^ w E =^ 224 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Rubens. celebrated, precious, and rare works ? It is difficult to make a selection, and next to impossible to draw out a catalogue * We must, therefore, limit ourselves to a rapid nomenclature of his masterpieces : — Mythology: " Ixion and the Cloud" (Duke of Westminster's Collection), "Diana and Calisto" (Prado), " The Three Graces " (ditto), " The Rape of Leucippus' Daughters by Castor and Pollux " (Pina- cothek of Munich, Fig. 49). Old Testament : " The Brazen Serpent " (Prado), " The Fall of the Angels " (Pinacothek of Munich), "Adam and Eve" (Prado), "The Expulsion of Hagar " (Hermitage), " Lot and his Daughters " (Louvre). New Testament : "The Descent from the Cross" (Notre Dame of Antwerp), "The Elevation of the Cross" (ditto), "The Last Judgment" (Pinacothek of Munich), " The Adoration of the Magi " (Church of St. John, Mechlin, Louvre, Museums of Antwerp and Brussels), "The Miraculous Draught of Fishes" (Church of Notre Dame, Mechlin), " The Calvary " (Museum of Brussels), " The Crucifixion," " Le Coup de Lance," in the Museum of Antwerp. History of the Virgin : " The Virgin and Child surrounded by Angels " (Church of St. James, at Antwerp), "The Virgin glorified" (Prado), "The As- sumption " (Museums of Brussels, of Antwerp, and of Vienna). * See Smith's Catalogue " raisonne," vol. ix. ; that of Van Hasselt, following his Hisloire de Rtibms ; and L'CEtivrc de P. P. Rubens, Catalogue of the Centenary Exhibition of 1877. See also our Geo- /(rafihical Distribution at the end of chapter xxvii. Rubens.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 225 History of the Saints: "The Communion of St. Francis " (Museum of Antwerp), " St. Ildefonse " (Museum of Vienna, Figs. 44 and 45), " The Martyr- dom of St. Li6vin " (Museum of Brussels), " St. Roch and the Plague-stricken " (Church of St. Martin, Alost), "The Martyrdom of St. Peter" (Church of St. Peter, Cologne), " St. Francis protecting the World " (Museum of Brussels), " The Miracles of St. Benedict " (Palace of Brussels). History : " History of Decius " (Liechtenstein Gallery), " Battle of the Amazons " (Pinacothek of Munich, Fig. 47), " Romulus and Remus " (Museum of the Capitol, at Rome). Allegory : " The Life of Mary of Medici " (Louvre), " The Apotheosis of James I. " (Whitehall, London), " The Four Quarters of the Globe " (Museum of Vienna). Portraits : " Rubens " (Vienna, the Uffizi, and Windsor), " Rubens and Isabelle Brant " (Pinacothek of Munich), " Hd^ne Fourment " (Museum of Vienna, Fig. 46, and Pinacothek of Munich), " The Sons of Rubens " (Liechtenstein Gallery, Fig. Jo, and Museum of Dresden), " The Chapeau de Paille " (National Gallery), "The Four Philosophers" (Pitti Palace), " The Earl and Countess of Arundel " (Pinacothek of Munich, Fig. 48), " Equestrian Portrait of Philip II." (Prado), " The Lord of Cordes and his Wife " (Museum of Brussels). Children and Fruit: " Children bearing a Garland of Fruit " (Pinacothek of Munich), " The Virgin with the Innocents" (Louvre), "Children in the midst of P 226 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Rubens Fruit and Vegetables" (Schleissheim Gallery), "Four Children " (Museum of Berlin). Genre ; " The Village Fair" (Louvre), " The Garden of Love " (Museums of Dresden, Vienna, and Madrid), " Peasants Dancing " (Prado), " The Tournament " (Louvre). Animals: "The Lion Hunt" (Pinacothek of Mu- nich), " The Boar Hunt " (Museum of Dresden, Fig. 51), "The Wolf Hunt" (England), "The Stag Hunt" (Museum of Berlin), " Daniel in the Lions' Den " (England). Landscape : " The Harvest Festival " (Sir R. Wal- lace's Collection), " The Castle of Steen " (National Gallery), " The Rainbow " (Hermitage), " The Coun- try round Mechlin " (Pitti Palace). Peter Paul Rubens is the highest incarnation of Flemish genius. In the history of painting he ranks among the greatest masters, by the side of Michael Angelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian, and Velasquez. CHAPTER XVIII. VAN DYCK AND THE PUPILS OF RUBENS. To the end of the seventeenth century, the whole of the Flemish school proceeds from Rubens. Every painter belongs to him in a greater or lesser degree. James Jordaens not infrequently rivalled the great master, and was at the same time the most inde- pendent of his contemporaries ; De Grayer, Janssens. and Zegers were greatly influenced by the as- cendency of his genius ; Snyders, Breughel, Seghers, Wildens, Van Uden, were his collaborators, and in- numerable are the pupils which he formed directly or indirectly. Among so many celebrated painters the first in rank is Van Dyck. Anthony Van Dyck* was born at Antwerp in I S99.t While yet a child he began to paint ; he was but ten years old when he was placed as an apprentice with Van Balen ; at fifteen he entered the studio of Rubens ; at nineteen he was called to the dignity of master. Urged by the master, he at once aspired to ideal * Jules Guiffrey : Antoine Van Dyck, sa vie ei son mtwre. A. Quantin. Paris, 1882. Alf. Michiels : Van Dyck et ses ilhiis. Paris, 1881. + P. Genard : Les grandes fainilks artistiques d'Anvers, Revu'. d'hisioire et d'archMo^e, vol. i., p. 104. 1859. P 2 228 FLEMISH PAINTING. [VanDyck. painting. The works he painted at that period reveal his precocious talent, especially " Christ on the Mount of Olives" (Museum of the Prado), and the famous " St. Martin,"* of the Church of Saventhem. | The young artist went to London for the first time in 1620 ;t then he set out for Italy accompanied by the Chevalier Vanni, and bearing letters of cordial recommendation from Rubens (October, 162 1). He visited successively Genoa, Rome, Florence, Venice, Turin, Palermo, and finally went back to Genoa, where he settled for two years. At Venice, though undisturbed by the dazzling influence of Titian and Tintoretto, he yet allowed his attention to be temporarily diverted from the all- absorbing influence of Rubens, and acquired from the Venetian school the art of raising a physiognomy to the height of a type, by accentuating its character and its principal features. In Rome he worked for the great Barberini and Colonna families. The full-sized portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio (Pitti Palace at Florence), which was painted about that time, attracted general attention to the pittore cavalieresco, and is still counted one of his best works (Fig. 5 2). The patrician families of Genoa gladly welcomed the young artist, as much for his qualities as a gentleman as for his renown as a * A second Saint Martin, by Van Dyck, exists in Vienna. It is probably the one which was sold to Rubens in 1626. t W. H. Carpenter : Unpublished Memoirs and Documents relatiri'r to Anthony Van Dyck. Van Dyclc.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 229 FIG. 52. — CARDINAL BENTIVOGLIO. — Van Dyck. (Pitti Palace, Florence. 6 ft. 4 in. x 4 ft. 8J in.) painter. To this day, Genoa has allowed no other artist to share the triumph which Van Dyck achieved 230 FLEMISH PAINTING. tVan Dyck. by the fifty portraits still to be seen at the Rosso Palace, and in the Durazzo-Pallavicini, the Balbi, the Spinola, and the Cattaneo Galleries. At the beginning of 1625 he returned to Antwerp, leaving behind more than a hundred paintings, which alone would suffice to immortalise his name. And all this before he had reached his twenty-seventh year ! During the period immediately following he executed his most important works, those which he painted with the greatest care — those, in fact, on which his fame chiefly rests. He produced in rapid suc- cession the numerous and magnificent altar-pieces on which so many churches in Antwerp and Flanders pride themselves ; again and again he painted the " Holy Family," the " Madonna " (Fig. 54), " Christ on the Cross," and the " Pieta." In these pictures all his figures are expressive of touching religious enthu- siasm, all bear the stamp of marked superiority and style. It was then also that he painted his well- known series of eminent artists of his time, and the larger number of those portraits which, at Munich, adorn the walls of a special room. Meanwhile, he was called to the Hague by the Prince of Orange, whose portrait is in the Museum of the Hermitage, and to Brussels by the Burgomaster. The Archduchess appointed him her painter ; her portraits are in the Museums of Parma, Turin, Vienna, and Paris. Mary of Medici, driven from France, visited him in his studio (her portrait is at Lille) ; the Flemish, Spanish, and French nobility considered it an honour to be painted by him (Fig. 55). Van t)yck.) RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 231 We marvel that such a vast number of important occupations did not exhaust his facility of production ; FIG. S3. — THE HOLY FAMILY. — ]'an Dyck. (Pinacothek of Munich. 4 ft. s 'i- » 3 f'' 9 "■) yet so it was. He now turned to engraving, and executed those etchings which still remain unap- 2^2 FLEMISH PAINTING. [VanDyck. proachable rtiodels ; and continued likewise to work at the series of the hundred portraits of artists [Icones centum), known as the Iconographie de Van Dyck* So, it would appear that though the Italian period was brilliant and fruitful, the Antwerpian period sur- passed it by far. It was in truth the most nobly- laborious part in the life of the artist. However, some superior power, of which he was himself unconscious, urged him to seek, out of his native town, a scene of action more in harmony with his talent. His mind wandered to the Court of Whitehall, to which he had paid a brief visit in 1 621. It is believed that he had made a second, though unsuccessful, journey to London in 1627. In 1632 he started again. This time fortune, smiling and propitious, awaited him ; and for the first time Van Dyck felt himself in his right sphere. On his first presentation to Charles I. he at once obtained permission to paint the king and queen ; the large picture of the royal family, painted at a later period, now in the Gallery of Windsor, crowned his re- putation. He was appointed painter to the Court, re- ceived the honour of knighthood, and an annual pen- sion of £ 200 ; at the same time apartments were re- served for him at Blackfriars, and a summer residence * The first edilion was published in three series, without title and without date, by Van den Enden, at Antwerp, from 1632 to 1641 or thereabouts. The title of the second edition is Icones principum, Antwerp, 1645, >" fO' I" all one hundred portraits are known as forming the fifteen editions, which followed each other from 1632 to 1 75:9. See Fr. Wibiral : V Imonagraphie de Van Dyck. Leipzig, 1877. FIG. 54. — THE VIRGIN WITH THE DONORS. — Van Dyck. (Louvre. 8 ft. ij in. x 6 ft. J in. ) 234 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van Dyck at Eltham was placed at his disposal. Both the king and queen employed him incessantly. More than thirty-eight portraits of Charles I. are known, seven I'lG. 55. — THE PRINCE OF CROY. — Van Dyck. (Pinacothek of Munich. 6 ft. 9 in. X 4 ft. Si in.) of them being equestrian, and there are over thirty- five replicas of Queen Henrietta. The equestrian portraits of the king at Windsor and at Blenheim, the full-length portrait at the Louvre (Fig. 59), and the portraits of the king and queen at Dresden, St. FIG. 56. — MARIE TASSIS. — Van Dyck. (Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna. 4 ft. 2J in. X 3 ft-) 236 FLEMISH PAINTING Van Dyck FIG. 57. — CHARLES I. — Van Dyck. (Museum of Dresden. 4 ft. X 3 ft. i in. ) Petersburg, and Florence, are masterpieces. None the less charming are the pictures of the royal children in Van DycH*] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 237 the Galleries of Turin, Windsor, Dresden, and Berlin (Fig. 58). How sweet they are, these little people, of i'^'-"i-'5'.-t~ .->■ -■ incomparable freshness, so prettily grouped and attired in silks of all hues. 238 FLEMISH PAINTING. [VanDyck. During seven years, with the exception of a short stay in Brussels and in Antwerp, in 1634, Van Dyck and his pupils worked with indefatigable ardour. He portrayed all the great personages at the Court of Whitehall. There are over three hundred and fifty of his pictures in the country seats and private collections of England and Scotland. No other country can show such a splendid assemblage of his works, or, indeed, so prodigious a collection of the works of any one master.* It would appear that the last two years of Van Dyck's life were less active, but that he laboured under some distress. The artist spent them almost entirely in travelling, in the company of his young wife, the granddaughter of Lord Ruthen. Biographers have repeated again and again that, at that period. Van Dyck, unable to support the expenses of his princely establishment, is supposed to have had re- course to the practices of the alchemist, and to have spent his last days in search of the philosopher's stone. M. Guiffrey, in his fine monograph of the artist, has dealt with that piece of historical gossip. Excess of work, together with excess of pleasure, is the f^Jj real cause of his premature death. Anthony Van Dyck died in London in 1641, aged only forty- two years. In Smithes Catalogue, Van Dyck's works * The richest collections are : the Gallery of Windsor, twenty-four pictures ; the Clarendon Collection, twenty-three ; that of the Duke of Bedford, seventeen ; of Petworth, fifteen ; of Bothwell Castle, ten ; of Blenheim, Wentworth House, and Warwick Castle, each nine. See, on these collections, Waagen ; Treasures of Art in Great Britain. London, 1854 — 57. Van Dyclc.) RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 239 FIG. 59. — CHARLES I. HUNTING. — Van Dyck. . Louvre. 8 ft. loj in. x 6 ft. i in.) number 844; while Guiffrey mentions more than 1,500. There are 350 of his pictures in England ; Vienna (67), Munich (41), St. Petersburg (38), the Louvre 240 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Van Dyck. (24), Madrid (21), and Dresden (19), possess, after England, the most important collections. In boldness of conception Van Dyck was far in- ferior to Rubens. His biblical,* mythological, alle- gorical, and historical compositions occupy but the second rank among his works. It is his skill as a portrait-painter that proclaims his genius : to that skill he owes his fame. He has tried his talent in every branch of portrai- ture : he has painted groups, equestrian portraits, double portraits ; he has represented men and women with equal ability and success, f * Principal works : — Bible, Mythology, History : Si. Rosalia, 1629 (Museum of Vienna) ; Hermann the Elect, 1629 (ditto) ; The Erection of the Cross, 1630 (Church of Courtrai) ; The Repose in Egypt (Pina- cothek of Munich, Fig. 53) ; Pieth (Museums of Munich and 01 Antwerp) ; The Virgin with Partridges (Hermitage) ; Christ at the Column (Czernin Collection, Vienna) ; The Virgin with the Donors (Louvre, Fig. 54) ; The Holy Family (Mansi Collection, Lucca) ; St. Anthony of Padua (Brera Museum, Milan) ; Danae (Museum of Dresden) ; Samson and Dalilah (Museum of Vienna) ; The Three Ages (Museum of Verona) ; &c. t I. Groups. — Charles/. Hunting, i6;i2('Louvre, Fig. ^g); Charles I. and his Family (Windsor) ; The Children of Charles I. (Turin, Windsor, Dresden, and Berlin, Fig. 58) ; The Count of Nassau — Siegen and his Family, 1634 (Cowper Collection) ; The Lomellini Family (Museum of Edinburgh) ; The Pembroke Family (Wilton Housg) ; Francis Snyders and his Family (Hermitage) ; The Gerbier Family (Windsor) ; &c. 2. Equestrian Portraits.— C^o/'/cj'/. and the Sire de St. Antoire, 1634 (Windsor) ; Charles I. (Blenheim) ; The Marquis of Brignole- Sola, 1624 (Rosso Palace, Genoa) ; The Prince of Carignan, 1624 (Pinacothek of Turin) ; The Marguis of Moncade, 1634 (Louvre) ; &c. 3. Double Portraits.— r,4« Sons of the Duke of Buckingham, 1635 (Windsor) ; The Poets Carcw and Killigrew, 1638 (Windsor) ; The Wife and Daughter of Collyns of Nole (Pinacothek of Munich); The VanDyck.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 24I His outline is vigorous and skilful, but he always adorns and subordinates the precision of lines to the sentiment of his native grace. As a painter he passes from tones worthy of Jordaens to graver and deeper harmonies, at once more subtle and delicate, v/hich make his palette the piost refined of his school. His touch is rapid and sure ; he models with supreme perfection, with simplicity and truth ; his colours are delicate, luminous, and transparent ; as a physiognomist he so thoroughly understands the human face that in an instant he has analysed and summed up the character and the expression of a head ; as a poet, his own sufferings have taught him the secrets of the hurhan heart, and having lived, he leaves living works. The originality of his genius lies especially in the nobility with which he has endowed each of his Brothers de ffar/ (Capitol) ; The Two de Jode (Aillo) ; Van Dyck and Sir Porter {Vt^&o) ; The Earl of Strafford and his Secretary (Cambridge) ;. The Two Princes Palatine (Louvre) ; The Misses Warthon (Hermitage) ; John and Bernard Stuart (Grey Collection) ; &c. 4. Men's Portraits. — Charles T. (Museum of Dreslen, Fig. 57) ; John Van der Wouwer, 1632 (Hermitage) ; Cornelius Van der Geest (National Gallery) ; Cardinal Bentivoglio, i623(Pitti Palace, Fig. 52) ;. Sn\ders (Carlisle Collection); Wallenstein (?), 1624 (Liechtenstein Gallery) ; The Burgomaster of Antwerp (Munich) ; David Ryckaert (Prado) ; Duqiiesnny, 1622 (Royal Palace, Brussels) ; The Abbe Scaglia (Antwerp) ; The Count of Berg (Prado) ; &c. 5. Women's Portraits. — The Marchioness of Brignole-SalaCRosso Palace); The Wife of Ph. Le Roy{?:\i R. Wallace's Collection) ; Marie Tassis (Liechtenstein Gallery, Fig. 56) ; The Wife of the Burgomaster of Antwerp (Munich) ; Lady Oxford (Prado) ; The Marchioness Spinola (ditto) ; Margaret Lemon (Hampton Court) ; The Duchess of Richmond (Windsor) ; &c. Q 242 FLEMISH PAINTING. [VanDyck. models ; it is as an indelible mark. His magic pencil gives to each something of his own peculiar grace — greater stateliness and personal elegance, a counte- nance expressive of more frankness, grace in the wearing of adornments, taste in the choice of silks, satins, lace, and pearls. Like Holbein, Raphael, and Titian, he has inter- preted the human face, but in a manner quite new and all his own ; inferior, perhaps, in strength and depth, but so brilliant, so successful and charming, that for those who have come after him no memories are capable of exciting more emotion than the memories conjured up by his pictures. And how entirely he identifies himself with his time ! In the art of painting his contemporaries few equal him ; none are superior to him. He forms with Velasquez and Franz Hals the trio of the great portrait-painters of the seventeenth century. Following the example of his master, Van Dyck produced a host of pupils, who assisted him in many repetitions or variations of his original works. The best known among these pupils are the Flemings, Jean Roose (1591 — 1638), Peter Thys (1624— 1679), Remy Van Leemput (1607 — 1675), Jean Van Belcamp (1610 — 1680), and Cornelius De Neve (1612 — 1678), all of Antwerp; Jean Van Reyn (1610 — 1678), of Dunkirk ; the Dutchmen, ADRIAN Hannemann (1610 — 1680) and David Beck (1621 — 1656) ; the Swiss, MATTHEW MARIAN (1621 — 1710); the Englishman, WiLLlAM DOBSON (1610 — 1678); and the Scotchman, George JAMESON. The works of The Quellinusl Family. J RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 243 Walker, of Lely, and of George Kneller also betray his style, and later still he may be said to have been the true founder of the English school. His influence was felt in France as well as in Great Britain, though in a less degree, for Rigaud and Largilli^re owe him less than Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Lawrenca In the train of Van Dyck we see a numberless and confused throng passing through the studio of Rubens. We remark Quellinus, Schut, Van Hoecke, Wolfvoet, Luycx, Van Mol, Foucquier — all natives of Antwerp ; Van Diepenbeeck and Van Thulden, of Bois-le-Duc ; Van Herp, of Brussels ; Franchoys, of Mechlin ; Douffet, of Li^ge ; Del Monte, of St. Trond ; Wouters, of Lierre ; D'Egmont, of Leyden ; Thomas, of Ypres. With more or less talent each followed in the steps of the master ; all strove to imitate his manner, the breadth of his execution, the scenic arrangement of his figures, his gorgeous colouring, and his pompous display of rich textures. Erasmus Quellinus I., the Elder, Sculptor, master in 1607 Erasmus II., Arnould I., 1 1 Cornelia Hubert, the Younger, the Elder, married Engraver, Painter, Sculptor, Pierre Verbrugghen, 1619 — ? 1607— 1678 1609 — 1668 Sculptor 1 1 John Erasmus, 1 Arnould II., Painter, the Younger, Peter II., Henry, 1634—1715. Sculptor, Sculptor. Sculptor, 1625—1700 1660— 1724. 1 Thomas, Sculptor, master in 1708. Q 2 244 FLEMISH PAINTING. 'o'l^eXerck! Among the painters who do honour to the Flemish school we must cite the QUELLINUS family, for it has produced artists of the greatest merit. The grand compositions of Erasmus Quellinus are well ordered, but of in- different colouring. In his best pieces — for instance, the "Repose in Egypt" (St. Saviour's Church, Ghent), and the "St. Roch" (St. James' Church, Antwerp) — he shows himself worthy of the studio where his talent was developed.* In his turn he formed WalleraNT Vaillant, a native of Lille (1623 — 1677), who has some stately portraits at Amsterdam and in the palace of Berlin. His son John Erasmus has some great decorative scenes in the Museum of Antwerp, but in his time the school was already on the decline. Abraham Van Diepenbeeck (1596 — 1675) tried his skill in all the various styles which constitute grand painting. His allegorical portrait in J^^ tl^* Louvre (Fig. 60), the " Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine " (Museum of Berlin), the " Meeting between Abraham and Melchisedek " (Academy of Bruges), and the " Judgment of Solo- mon " (Liechtenstein Gallery) are skilful compositions and full of spirit ; with a little more sentiment and originality they would have given the painter a fore- most place among the followers of Rubens. * G^nard: I-es grandes families artisHques (PAnvcrs. Revue d' his- toire et d'archMogie, vol. ii., p. 310. i860. Cornelius Schut.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. ■245 Cornelius Schut (1597 — 1655), in the "St. George" of the Museum of Antwerp, the "Assumption of the Virgin " in the Church of Notre Dame at Antwerp, 246 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Victor Wolfvoet. the " Crowning of the Virgin " in the Church of the Jesuits at Antwerp, and still more in the delicate sketch of the " Martyrdom of St. James " in the Museum^ of Brussels, is akin to Rubens in the ordering of his subject and the decorative effect. The general aspect is picturesque, his lines dazzling, his attitudes majestic. His colours are at times as brilliant as those of his master, though he has not the secret of his master's warmth and transparency. Among the garlands of flowers of his friend Daniel Zeghers, he has, with exquisite delicacy, painted figures, both in grey and colours, and many of his own compositions are marked with the stamp of his wit. Victor Wolfvoet (1612 — 1652) has long been confounded with the Dutch painter John Victor, of the school of Rembrandt. * His iine execution, as shown in his picture, the " Visitation " in the Church of St. James, at Antwerp, his colouring, the tones of which are perhaps rather poor, but nevertheless bright and luminous, as well as his majestic mien and the severe choice of his types, prove him to be one of the ablest among the disciples of the master. What has become of the other pictures of this artist, whose early death art has to deplore.^ No doubt they are known as works by Rubens. Better known is the portrait-painter GfiRARD DOUFFET (1594 — 1660), but he is forgotten in the list of Rubens' pupils. Hitherto, full justice has not been done to his talent. As a painter of history he is * W. Biirger : Musks de la Hollatide, vol. ii., p. 37. Paris, i860. Gftard Doiiffet] RUBENS AND HIS SCUOOL. 247 FIG. 61. — PORTRAIT. — Gerard Dauffct. (Pinacothek of Munich. 2 ft. 8^ in. X 2 ft- li'jn-) mediocre, but in portraiture he has distinguished him- self. The four portraits painted by him which are treasured at the Pinacothek of Munich are simple in 248 FLEMISH PAINTING. [VaaThulden. design, full of character in the attitude and the cos- tume, sober in colouring, freely executed, exempt from stiffness, and both expressive and animated (Fig. 61). If Douffet does not occupy in the school the rank to which he has a right, it is probably owing to the scarcity of his works. We have little to say of LuCAS FranchoYS (1616 — 1 681), except that he executed for his native town numerous compositions full of life, but the colouring of which is loud and exaggerated. The same remark applies to DiEUDONNfi VAN DER MONT (1582 — 1644), better known under the Italianised name of Deodat del Monte. He was honoured by the special friendship of Rubens, whose first pupil he was, and whom he accompanied in his journey to Italy. The second group of disciples v .3 not satisfied with working actively with the master, and executing numerous pictures for the town and the churches of Antwerp, but they also carried abroad, to France, Holland, Germany, and Austria, the new style as well as the renown of the school. In 1632 we find in Paris THEODORE Van Thul- DEN (1606 — 1676?), who painted for the Church of the Mathurins three great compositions, which are now preserved in the Museums of Angers, Mans, and Grenoble. In 1648 he was at the Hague, where he painted for the " Maison du Bois '' seven historical and allegorical pictures commemorating the election of the Stadtholder Frederick Henry, and the victory of Woutcrs.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 249 Nieuport. This artist was gifted with great activity and varied aptitudes. Besides his great compositions, we owe him some portraits (Museum of Tournai), and some famiHar scenes (Museum of Brussels) ; he has also left some sketches for the triumphal arches (Museum of Antwerp) ; and then, no doubt stimulated by the collaboration of the master, he draws nearer to him by enlarged forms, the ardour of his composition, and the transparency and firmness of his colouring. Finally, he has engraved an important series of etchings and composed the cartoons for the admirable stained- glass windows of the chapel of the Virgin in St. Gudule, which would alone suffice to save his name from oblivion. Jan Van Hoecke (i6ii — 165 1) went to Ger- many, where several princes employed him. He returned to the Netherlands in the train of the Archduke-Governor Leo- J, \/^' ^' pold William, who had given him a post at his Court, and whose equestrian portrait he has left us (Museum of Vienna). His paintings are scarce. The "Christ on the Cross," which is at Bruges, in the Church of St. Saviour's, is painted with deep feeling. At the outset of his career Francis Wouters* (i-6l2 — 1659) painted historical pictures, but it is believed that he owes his reputation to his landscapes. The Emperor Ferdi- F-^ nand appointed him his painter, and in this capacity the artist spent some time in Prague * Van der Kellen : Le printre-graveur hollandais et flamand. Utreclit, 1868, vol. i., p. 140; and the Journal des Beaux-Aris. 1873- 250 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Juste D'Egmont. and Vienna; then he went to England, where he became painter and chamberlain to the Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II. His works are scarce. At Vienna there are two fine half-length portraits, in which it is easy to recognise a pupil of Rubens ; several landscapes are at Cassel ; and at Gotha, Lille, and Nancy, he has some small mythological subjects the execution of which is laborious. In the Museum of Vienna there is an allegory of " Human Instability," signed Frans Leux. This picture is grandly treated, and the colouring abounds in soft golden tints. It is an excellent work by the Antwerpian Fran§OIS Luycx (1604 — aft. 1652), who, on leaving the studio of Rubens, obtained at Vienna the title of painter to the Emperor Ferdinand HI. He was joined in Austria by Jean Thomas* (1617 — 1673), who was probably the last of the pupils of the master, and was admitted into the service of the Emperor Leopold ; the few pictures we know of him hardly explain this degree of favour. In France we find D'Egmont and Van Mol. It is said that JuSTE D'EGMONT (1601 — 1674) was one of those who principally aided Rubens in his Gallery of the Medici. However that may be, he established himself in Paris, he worked jointly with Simon Vouet, and became painter to Louis XIII. The portrait he took of the Archduke Leopold William (Museum of Vienna), wearing a cuirass and leading a lion, is painted in a grand way, and full of majesty. * Alph. Van den Peereboom : Jean Thomas (Annales de la Soc. his. a'Vjires), vol. i., p. 131. i86i. ^llolT""] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 251 Peter Van Mol (1599 — 1650) must have been a very weak imitator of the master, if we can judge from his pictures in the Museums of the Louvre, of Antwerp, and of Berlin. He appears, however, to have enjoyed a certain amount of consideration at the Court of Ann of Austria, where, among many others, he painted the portrait of Mazarin. Let us add that Juste D'Egmont and Peter Van Mol were among the twelve founders of the Academie royale de France. The Liggeren and several authors speak of a few more of the pupils of Rubens : Van der Horst (i 598 — 1646), G£rard Werg (1605 — 1644), Hoffman (1591 — 1648), James Moermans (1602 — 1653), Pen- nemaeckers, Nicolai, &c. ; but those of their works which are known do not entitle them to any but a very inferior rank in the school. Not only was Rubens the head of the school in historical painting and portraiture, but we shall see how much he taught the painters of animals, of land- scape, and of genre. Moreover, he unconsciously created a new kind of Flemish sculpture, of which Quellinus, Dusquesnoy, Fayd'herbe — who was the direct pupil of Rubens — Grupello, and Verbrugghen were the principal masters. In his house, under his own eye, he instructed, for the interpretation of his work, a whole army of bold, quick, and clever en- gravers : Soutman, Vosterman, Pontius, Bolswert, at once carried coloured engraving to a state of perfection.* * Henri Hyraans : Histoire de la gravure dans Vecole de Rubens. Brussels, 1879. 252 FLEMISH PAINTING. Architecture itself, both through his own works and those of his pupils Francquart, bears testimony to his power and his taste for magnificence. Painters, sculptors, engravers, and architects, however different they may appear, however divergent their route in the domain of art, all resemble each other in their ideal, and in their worship for the head of the school, or rather of the family. For the Antwerpian school in the seventeenth century was indeed a family. All its disciples were friendly — in fact, in many cases, related to each other. Almost all of them were members of several guilds, of several chambers of rhetoric ; they worked together, they painted each other's portraits. They inter- married : Janssens gave his daughter to Breughel II., Van Noort gave his to Jordaens, Van Balen his to Van Thulden, Van Uden gave his to Biset, Breughel I. became the son-in-law of De Jode, Coques that of Ryckaert, Teniers and Van Kessel both married the daughters of Velvet Breughel, Teniers was father-in- law to Quellinus, Snyders brother-in-law of De Vos, Simon De Vos brother-in-law of Van Utrecht^ Rom- bouts married the sister of Van Thielen, Van Cart- bemde the sister of Van Hoecke, &c. They act as witnesses at each other's marriages, at christenings they officiate as godfathers ; and when at last death overtakes them, they know they can entrust to their brothers in art the guardianship and protection of their children. A family closely united by the ties of blood and of the most sincere friendship. CHAPTER XIX. JDRDAENS AND THE HISTORICAL PAINTERS. Balthazar Gerbier, the painter-diplomatist, was right when, writing from Brussels to London on the 2nd June, 1640, he said : " Mr. Peter Rubens died three days ago, so Jordaens is now the first painter here."* The bold colourist was at that time at the apex of his talent ; he had produced the great " St. Martin" of the Museum of Brussels (1630), and he was to execute shortly the " Apotheosis of the Prince of Orange" (1652). He was then forty-seven years old. Jacob Jordaens was born at Antwerp in 1 593. At the age of fourteen, showing an evident inclination for painting, he was sent to study under ^_^ Adam Van Noort. Here he remained 'T^<^0» eight years, but if he lingered so, it '^ OC/x- j. was not through the necessity of / / O Rj continuing his artistic education ^ ' under the very eye of the master, but because this master's daughter, the beautiful Catherine, had won his heart, and he could not forego the happiness of seeing her each day. * F. J. Van den Branden : Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche Schil- derschool, p. 814. Antwerp, 1878^-83. (The chapter devoted, to Jordaens is translated in VArt, 1882 and 1883.) 254 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jordaens. She became his wife in 1616, and also his favourite model. Catherine Van Noort occupies as prominent a place in the work of her husband as did H^lene Fourment in that of Rubens. Several of her, portraits are known ; the best is in the collection of the Earl of Darnley, under the title of the " Girl with the Parrot." " Ah ! what a beautiful girl ! " cried M. Biirger, who saw this painting in the Manchester Exhibition ; " it is one of the richest gems of the Flemish school . . . Her hair is like the golden corn, her cheeks have the vermilion and the firmness of the apple. The real Flemish women, when they are beautiful, always have some savour of forbidden fruit." In his " Family Gatherings," his " Concerts," his "Banquets," Jordaens has painted, again and again, this delightful young woman who laughs in the sun, glass in hand, with a rosy baby on her lap. Historians have repeatedly asserted that Jordaens had been the pupil of Rubens. Nothing confirms such an opinion, and several facts would seem to belie it. The statement which has often been made, that he was the collaborator of Rubens, is equally unfounded. At the same time, with all his contemporaries, he was strongly influenced by the master's genius, but he never imitated him. He never visited Italy. The year of his marriage he was received at the Academy of St. Luke, and it is strange to note that he was inscribed there as a water-colour painter {water- schilder). In truth, his first works were " paintings in distemper, and cartoons for the tapestry-workers." This was a humble beginning for the ardent colourist. Jordaens.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 255 But he did not linger long over such works ; in 1620 his reputation as a painter of pictures was established, and he commenced to receive scholars. He after- wards instructed many ; the names of twenty-two among them have been preserved, one of whom being John Bockhorst, of Munster, a painter of talent. Jordaens was more than once solicited by foreign princes. He painted several pictures for the King of Sweden, and, in 1652, the dowager Princess of Orange, Amelia of Solm, widow of the Stadtholder Frederick Henry, called him to the Hague to con- tribute to the decoration of the celebrated " Maison du Bois." It is there that we can admire the largest of his pictures, which several authors consider his masterpiece: " The Triumph of Frederick Henry." The sketch for this imposing work is in the Museum of Brussels. Jordaens also designed for the tapestry- workers. There still exists in the Imperial Palace of Vienna a suite of great hangings, manufac- tured in Brussels, and representing still life with figures and dogs. The figures are by Jordaens, the animals and accessories by Fyt. Those two powerful colourists appear to have been zealous collaborators. The Museum of Cologne possesses a picture of colossal dimensions, their joint work, repre- senting an eagle with outstretched wings, tearing the side of the Titan Prometheus. Jordaens, together with a great part of the population of Antwerp, was an Orangist and a guejix, and had renounced the Roman Catholic faith. The exact time of this renunciation is 2S6 . FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jordaeis. ' not known ; but it was not, as has been so often repeated, during the very last years of his Hfe. He went so far as to combat Catholicism with such ardour that one day — it was in 165 1, consequently about the time when he painted -the " Apotheosis," and more than twenty years before his death — he was tried and condemned for having written, so says the sentence of the ecouiete, " a scandalous libel."* He died in 1678, at eighty-five years of age, on the same day as his daughter Elisabeth. His son Jacob, born in 1625, became a painter also, and fixed his resi- dence in Denmark. The works of Jordaens are as considerable as they are varied. Religious and popular subjects, history, allegory, portraits — he has attempted every style with: equal vigour and excellence. Rubens alone excelled . him in universality. Who does not know, from having seen them in various museums, his " Family Gatherings," those genre subjects on a large scale, in which the artist- has united around a large table, plentifully supplied with glasses and provisions, old men who hum a tune, ' beating the time all the while, young people who play the bagpipe or touch glasses, adorable children, lovely young women who, with a bewitching glance, their lips and their bodice half-open, give way to unre- strained mirth .■' Here it is a "Family Concert;" there, the " King of the Bean," whom one honours glass in hand; elsewhere, the illustration of the Flemish- * Pinchart : Archives des Arts, vol. iii., p. 214. 258 FLEMISH PAINTING. (Jordaens. proverb, "As the old ones sung, so will the young ones twitter," or the " Satyr and the Peasant." See, at Munich, a bronzed satyr and a man of the people conversing together in a ray of sunlight (Fig. 63). The power and audacity of his colouring are un- surpassed. The magnificence to which Jordaens attains in the historical allegory of the " Triumph of the Prince of Orange " is well known. One of his religious subjects, " St. Martin curing One possessed of a Devil," in the Museum of Brussels, is an equally striking work. Among the subjects which Catholic tradition affords, the one he preferred was the " Adoration of the Shep- herds." He loved to group around the cradle of the infant Jesus peasant men and women leading their herds of oxen, their flocks of sheep and goats, their panting dogs, and their children, laden with fruit, - game, and milk .... all things fit to be eaten. How far removed we are from the mysticism of Memling's " Nativity " ! As a portrait-painter Jordaens has less renown, and yet he exhibits the talent of a master in the portrait of his wife in the Darnley Collection, and his own at the Uffizi ; in the full-length pictures of the Prince and the Princess of Orange, in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire ; in the portrait of Admiral de Ruyter, at the Louvre ; in the companion pictures of the Museum of Cologne, and in the family groups of the Prado (Fig. 64) and of the Museum of Cassel. But nowhere have his superabundance of life and the splendour of his palette displayed themselves with Jordaens.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 259 more ardour and brilliancy than in his mythological subjects. In these, taking large landscapes as a back- ground, he has grouped sensual nymphs and priestesses FIG. 63.— THE SATYR AND THE FEASAHts.^/acoi Jordaens. (Pinacothek of Munich. 6 ft. 4 in. X 6 ft. 6 in.) of Bacchus, lascivious and drunken satyrs, in the midst of mountains of fruits, flowers, and anirnals. No one, not even the greatest of the Flemings, has represented with more boldness and power the exuberant natu- R 2 260 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Gaspard De Crayer. ralism of his country, nor displayed more abundantly the ample forms of the women of the North. How sure and broad the manner, how rich the colouring with which he delights in rounding off their limbs ! The skin is as satin ; rich blood flows in their veins ; the sun plays on their necks, on their youthful cheeks and their golden hair ! " Fecundity," in the Museum of Brussels, is, in this style, an incomparable creation. Among the number of artists contemporary with Rubens and Van Dyck, who painted religious, his- torical, and allegorical subjects, and whom we must not mistake for their direct scholars or even \Q their followers in the second degree, Gaspard ^^ De Crayer (1582— 1669) occupies the first place. * When we study his work in those of his productions to which he gave his whole at- tention, which he reasoned out and in which he succeeded, it is easy to recognise that his talent was developed by the study of Rubens. He has imitated the master in boldness of handling, in the elegance of his drapery, the freedom of his atti- tudes ; he has copied his large, easy manner, his own peculiar way of appreciating form and expressing it by colouring. But he very seldom obtains the same powerful concentration of effect : he creates no emo- tion, no enthusiasm. His great pictures seem full of tumult and religious excitement, but it is in the * Ed. De Busscher : Biographic Nationals, vol. v., col. 27, 1876. According to this author De Crayer was bora on the 1 8th of November, 1584. Gaspard De Grayer.) RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 261 faintest manner that we hear the vociferations of his executioners, the prayer of his martyrs, the hosannas of '* i -■T'^M"' ^i ' \ '1 £1 II rl rt*.^^ * FIG. 64. — A FAMILY PORTRAIT. — Jacob Jordaens. (Museum of Madrid. S ft. 10^ in. X 6 ft. ijin.) the apotheosis. A contemporary of Rubens, he never succeeded, not even at times, like Jordaens, in rivalling him ; nevertheless, he is among the most able of those who have followed in the footsteps of the master. De 262 FLEMISH PAINTING. (Gaspard De Crayer. Crayer was born at Antwerp ; he learnt his art from Raphael Coxie, in Brussels, and took up his residence in that town. In 1626 he was invested with the func- tions of Councillor to the Magistrat. He worked at once for governors, corporations, abbeys. The eques- trian portrait which he painted of the Infante Fer- dinand, Governor of the Netherlands, is in the Louvre ; and in the Law Courts of Ghent are preserved some of the allegories which he executed for the triumphal arches which were erected at the time of the Joyeuse Entrie of this prince. In religious subjects he espe- cially delighted in ecstatic visions, miracles, mar- tyrdoms, and glorifications. The Museum of Lille possesses two of his most important works — the " Martyrdom of the Four Elect " and the " Saviour of the World ; " in the Museum of Brussels we see the " Assumption of St. Catherine " and the " Miraculous Draught of Fishes " (Fig. 65) ; in that of Nancy, the " Plague of Milan ; " in that of Rennes, the " Elevation of the Cross." De Crayer journeyed to Spain, and in Madrid 4ie shared with Rubens and Velasquez the honour of portraying Philip IV. M. H. Hymans believes that this important performance, an equestrian portrait, is in the Museum of the Uffizi, where it is erroneously ascribed to Velasquez !* No greater praise could be given to the painter. In 1664 De Crayer, who had reached the great age of eighty-two, suddenly left Brussels and took up his * Notes sur un voyage en Italic. Brussels, 1878. 264 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Abraham Janssens. abode in Ghent, without any apparent motive for this abrupt change of residence. In spite of his advanced years, he continued to paint with unabated ardour ; death alone was able to stay his marvellous power of production. This happened in 1669. The old master had just finished the " Martyrdom of St. Blaise " (Museum of Ghent), which he had painted for the Dominican Friars. He signed his work with a firm hand, then, with legitimate pride, he added, "Aged eighty-six," and died. The glorious old age of Titian is often mentioned. But were they not grand men also, these Flemish artists of the seventeenth century ! De Grayer was the friend of Rubens and of Van Dyck. The former engraved his portrait ; the latter left him a picture in his will. These two facts being established, have doubtless saved the memory of De Grayer from the useless calumnies of Houbracken and De Gampo Weyerman. According to these ancient Dutch biographers, and those who have been weak enough to repeat their foolish tales, almost every one of the more obscure contemporaries of Rubens — Pepyns, Janssens, Rombouts, and others — were in- triguers, who gave way to abject envy, and finally sank into drunkenness and misery. The Antwerpian archives have, in a great measure, confuted this his- torical tittle-tattle. We will not here repeat the stories which too many people have believed in, and which no documents justify. Abraham Janssens (i 575— 1632), a pupil of John Snellinck, was a painter of talent. The elevation Gerard Zeghers.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 265 of his ideas and the boldness of his attitudes bring him near to Rubens, but his colours are opaque, his outline is hard, and his touch heavy. He has left important religious scenes in various of the Belgian churches, and the Museums of Brussels, Vienna, and Antwerp contain allegorical pictures which may be reckoned among the best productions of this artist. His talent was original and robust. He instructed two pupils, who followed in his steps — Gerard Zeghers and Th. Rombouts. Both learnt from him the secret of bold handling, accentuated shades, and vigorous effects of contrast, which were put into fashion for the time by the admiration, which was felt by all for the works of Michael Angelo da Caravaggio. GERARD Zeghers (1591 — 1651), the elder of the two, visited Italy and Spain, and returned to Antwerp in 1620. Rubens was then at the apex of his glory, and it is easy to understand the influence which the marvellous transparency of his colouring must have exercised over the young painter, whose manner was then imbued with the deeper and harsher tones of Caravaggio and the Spanish school. If Zeghers had dated his pictures we might follow, from year to year, the successive transformations which his talent then underwent. From his Italian education he pre- served that fine relief, owing, to which his figures seem as if starting from the canvas. From Rubens he learnt to give animation to his figures and proper expression to their countenances. His hesitation between his two schools is evident in the pictures, the " Scourging of Christ " (Church of St. Michael), the 266 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Theodore Rombouts. " Adoration of St. Francis " (Louvre), and " St. Louis of Gonzaga " (Museum of Antwerp). The " Adoration of the Magi " (Church of Notre Dame, Bruges), the " Marriage of the Virgin " (Museum of Antwerp), and " St. Eloi " (Museum of Valenciennes) assert the tri- umph of Rubens. In these performances we witness the same magnificent composition, his great decora- tive art, his clear and transparent tones. From this moment Zeghers belongs to the great family of the master ; he is one of the most vivacious and pic- turesque of its members. Theodore Rombouts (1597 — 1637) has likewise a right to a place among the contemporary artists, independent from Rubens. His chief characteristics are his ardent faith, the power of his pencil, "^ and the truth of his colouring. Like his fellow- student, Rombouts was greatly impressed with the style of Caravaggio. He painted history, and even allegory and genre, in life-size subjects imitated from the Italian master, and representing societies of singers, of card-players (Fig. 6€) and mountebanks ; these scenes are, however, less known than his other pic- tures, for they have found their way into the distant collections of the Prado and the Hermitage. In the painting of religious subjects, his most complete work is a " Descent from the Cross " (Church of St. Bavon, Ghent), which is a beautiful and dramatic compo- sition. About the same period there lived in Brussels an artist whose existence seems to have been ignored by most historians, and to whom we are anxious to X fr s 268 FLEMISH ^ PAINTING. [Anthony Sallaerts. assign the place which he rightly deserves. ANTHONY Sallaerts (about 1585— aft. 1647)* was a painter of talent who was honoured by the friendship of Rubens, and even assisted him in some of his labours, if any reliance is to be placed in Kramm.f The facts of his life in its early and latter parts are unknown. History simply tells us that in 1606 he was entered as y^ an apprentice in the books of the Corporation of Brussels; that he had a son in 161 2; that he was called to the dignity of master in the following year ; and finally, that from 1633 to 1648 he was four times elected dean of the guild. M. AlphonseWauters tells us that Sallaerts was one of the artists who de- signed most actively for the tapestry-workers of Brus- . sels. In 161 6 he had already done for them twenty- four complete series of cartoons, t He had also exer- cised the art of the engraver. As to his pictures, those which remain to us prove that their author did not confine himself to one style alone. We learn from Mensaert that there were many of his religious per- formances in the churches of Brussels, of Ghent and Alost. In the Museum of Brussels he has an alle- gory ; in the Hdtel de Ville of Antwerp, the " Defeat of the Duke of Alengon ; " in the Hotel de Ville of Brussels, a " Virgin,'' with three Portraits of Magis- trates. The Catalogue of Madrid ascribes to him a " Judgment of Paris," and that of Berlin a " View of * E. F^tis : Catalogue du musee de Bnixelles, p. 442. 1882. t DeLevensen werken der Hol/andsche el Vlaamsclie Kunstschilders, vol. i., p. 1439. Amsterdam, 1856. X Les tapisseries bruxelloises, p. 246. 1878. ^L i ^- im^ Si 2/0 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Francis Franck. the Scheldt frozen and covered with Skaters." Finally, the Museum of Brussels contains two large represen- tations of public ceremonies due to his pencil, and the Pinacothek of Turin a " Religious Procession," which shows the original character of his talent. The last- named picture, which does not contain less than six or seven hundred little iigures, marvellously grouped on eight different planes, is a first-rate pieceof its kind. It is a quiet, powerful, and harmonious composition, and well painted ; the progress of the procession and the undulations of the crowd are observed with rare delicacy. Francis Franck the Younger (1581 — 1642), contemporary with Sallaerts, likewise attempted every style, but he specially devoted his talent to historical painting. But, in opposition to those of his brothers in art who, being historical painters, often adopted genre subjects on a large scale, he, who really was a ^£«r^-painter, represented history in a reduced form — or rather, the subjects he chose, in the Bible or in fabulous, ancient, or modern history, were for his pencil simple pretexts to ornamentation and acces- sories. His work is extremely varied : at Munich he has some scenes taken from fabulous history ; at Berlin the " Temptation of St. Anthony ; " at Vienna the " Sabbat " and " Conversations ; " " Princely Interiors " at Paris ; "Amateur Rooms" at Rome (Borghese Gal- lery) and at Florence (Pitti Palace, Fig. 67) ; finally, his own portrait at the Uffizi. In all these pictures the details abound ; they are handled with some skill, but their colouring is heavy and wanting in refinement. NSnd?" RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 27 1 This artist belongs to the second generation of the Francks. The genealogical sketch which we give at page 163 permits us to forego any further details. It is he whom some historians have jocularly surnamed Don Francisco, from the manner in which Franck signed several of his pictures — D. O. or D° Franck. This peculiarity is now explained : 2)o# jj Df/V'ION- iF D. O., and also D. J., which have been observed on some other works by the same artist, are nothing but the initial letters of the Flemish words Den Ouden, the Elder, and Den Jongen, the Younger, which the Francks added to their signature to be distinguished one from the other. Success, unfortunately, has not crowned their endeavours, thanks to the exceptional number of artists bearing that name and to the poor- ness and orthographical disorder of the documents.* One of his contemporaries, who bears an illustrious name, HANS JORDAENS (towards 1 595 — 1643), adopted the same style and like dimensions, but had not an equal skill. In the. Museum of Vienna there is a large " Private Gallery '' by this artist, and the " Passage of the Red Sea," at Antwerp and at Berlin. Adrian Van Nieulandt (1590 — aft. 1652), a • See the interesting notice devoted to that painter by Herman Ri.egel. Beitrage zur niederlandischen Kunstgeschichte, Berlin, 1882, voL ii., p. 74. 272 FLEMISH PAINTING. '^AvonTf" native of Antwerp, was also, as the inscription on one of his portraits published by Meyssens tells us, "a very good painter of small figures and landscapes, having represented many of the scenes of the Old Testa- ment."* His " Preaching by St. John," in the Aca- demy of Venice, signed and dated 1653, and his "Jesus entering Jerusalem " (Museum of Copenhagen), signed and dated 1655, are very interesting specimens, which prove beyond a doubt that the picture which is ascribed to him in the Museum of Brussels was never painted by him. Besides, it is due to the pencil of Denys Van Alsloot. Peter Van Avont (1600 — 1652), of Mechlin, has left us small, graceful, and delicately-handled subjects. He used to adorn the landscapes of some 4 AV <\_ of his brother-painters, of Breughel, Go- vaerts, Achtschelling, &c., with represen- tations of the " Holy Family " (Museum of Ghent), " Angels dancing before the Virgin " (Liechtenstein Gallery), or " Flora surrounded with Genii " (Museum of Vienna). Among the other historical painters, more obscure contemporaries of the head of the school, and of his celebrated followers, we must name : GiLES Back- EREEL, of Antwerp (1572 ? — before 1662), whose pictures, at least those which are in Brussels, recall the influence now of Rubens, now of Van Dyck ; Jean DE Bologna (? — 1655), a native of Li%e, whose seventy- one portraits of members of the guild of Arquebusiers * Images de divers homines d'esprit sublime. Antwerp, 1649, small in folio, with 74 portraits. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 273 (Museum of Mechlin), are worthy of special mention ; and finally, ADRIAN De BlE (1594 — 1640), of Lierre, whom we will mention here, not for his pictures, which are anything but remarkable, but to have an opportunity of speaking of his son Cor- nelius, a great lover of art who has left us, in a book entitled Het Gulden Cabinet, The Golden Cabinet, most valuable biographical details of the artists of his time* e - * Het Gulden Cabinet van de edel vty schilderconst. Antwerp, l65i, in 40., with 98 portraits. CHAPTER XX. CORNELIUS DE VOS AND THE PORTRAIT PAINTERS. A PAINTING by Cornelius De Vos, in the Rubens room of the Museum of Brussels, representing the artist with his wife and his two little daughters (Fig. 69), gives us the impression that De Vos must have been possessed of no ordinary talent. The portrait of Abraham Grapheus, in Antwerp, confirms this opinion. The elderly messenger of the Corporation of St. Luke is painted in his strange dress, and with his many shining medals and ornaments. This is one of those robust works which, when once seen, can never be forgotten (Fig. 68). Cornelius De Vos (1585 — 1651) was a realistic painter closely related to Franz Hals and Velasquez. He was sincere before all things ; he saw Nature in her true light, and knew how to depict her as she is. The same praise cannot always be awarded to the head of the school, nor to its first disciple. His palette is harmonious and refined in its soft tones of grey and silver ; over-brilliant colours are unknown to him. His design is free ; his attitudes quiet, easy, and natural ; his physiognomies have great individu- RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 275 ality, and as much expression as those of Van Dyck ; finally, his sitters are endowed with such a power- FIG. 68. — PORTRAIT OF ABRAHAM GRAPHEUS. — Cornelius De Vos. (Museum of Antwerp. 3 ft. 11 in. X 3 ft. 4 '"•) ful appearance of life — such an amiable character of frankness and communicative friendliness — that S 2 2/6 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Cornelius De Vos. one involuntarily loves the models as well as the painter. Family portraits appear to have been the special branch of art in which De Vos excelled. The group in Brussels is indisputably the artist's masterpiece (Fig. 6<^ ; but we must mention also, in the Museum of Berlin, his picture of two little girls playing with fruit, and another of two persons seated in a garden ; in Brunswick, a young woman and two children blowing soap-bubbles;* in Munich, the family De Hiitte ; in Pesth, the painter Mierevelt and his family ; in St. Petersburg, a family d, la prometiade ; in Stock- holm, several persons at a table joining in a game ; at Cassel, the director of the orphanage and a child. Other works are in private galleries at Antwerp, notably a large composition representing the life-size t figures of eleven persons at table. By the same brush there are also, besides the Grapheus of the Museum of Antwerp, the portraits of single figures — viz., Jean Van Roode, Burgomaster of the City of Antwerp, and his wife (Gallery Du Bus J ) ; a portrait in the ^ Museum of New York, and several others in the -private collections of Antwerpian families. Judging from his Biblical and mythological com- positions, we incline to the belief that Cornelius De * See the notice by Herman Riegel, in Beitrage zur niederlan dischcn Kunstgeschichte, 1 882, vol. ii. , p. 92. t Van Den Branden : Geschiedenis dcr Anhvcrpschc Schildcr- school 1878-83, p. 641. X Ed. Fetis : Galcrie du Vicomte du Bus de Gisigtiies. Brussels, 1878 ; 2nd part, p. igi. Cornelius De Vos.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 277 Vos was not at his best in historical subjects. " St. Nobert Accepting ReHcs," in Antwerp, is nevertheless s ,f "TJT^-T'^l fe Wi^-:- FIG. 69.— PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AND HIS FAMILY. Cornelius De Vos. (Museum of Brussels. 6 ft. ij in. X S ft. zj in.) a good picture. Finally, it has recently been dis- covered that he assisted Fr. Snyders, his brother-in- 278 FLEMISH PAINTING. law, in the representation of two large "Fish Markets," in the Museum of Vienna* (Fig. 72), which had hitherto been attributed to Van Es. As a portraitist, Cornelius De Vos has been surpassed by Rubens and Van Dyck alone. And yet the Flemish School of the seventeenth century was rich in portrait painters of undoubted skill. We will only recall here the family portrait by Jordaens (Museum of Madrid), (Fig. 64) ; the portrait of De Crayer, painted by himself (Schleiss- heim Gallery) ; Galileo, by Justus Suttermans (Ufifizi), (Fig. 94) ; the small portraits of several persons grouped together, by Gonzales Coques (Museum of Pesth) (Fig. 80) ; Richelieu, by Philippe of Champaigne (Louvre) ; Lady Mandeville, by Paul Van Somer (Manchester Collection) ; the Archduke Leopold William, by Justus of Egmont, in the Museum of Vienna ; portraits of men and women, by Douffet, in the Museum of Munich (Fig. 61) ; the portraits of the cur^ and confessors of St. James, by Peter Thys (Church of St. James, Antwerp) ; Henry IV., by Francis Pourbus (Louvre) (Fig. 93) ; the Elector of Brandenburg and his wife, by Vaillant (Palace of Berlin) ; the gentleman in armour in the Museum of Berlin, by Francis Duchastel (Fig. 82) ; the syndics of the Fishmongers' Company, by Peter Meert, in the . Museum of Brussels ; the portrait of a philosopher painted by Van Oost the Elder, to be seen in the Hospital of St. John, Bruges ; the Prior of Tongerloo, by Peter Franchoys, in the Museum of Lille (Fig. 92) ; * Ed. von Engerth : Grand Catalogue de la Galerie Imperiale de Vienne, 1884, vol. ii., p. 452. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 279 three magistrates, by Sallaerts (Hotel de Ville of Brussels) ; Gaspard Gevaerts, by Thomas Willeboirts (Plantin Museum, Antwerp) ; Balthazar Moretus, by James Van Reesbroeck (1620 — 1704, ditto) ; J.-B'*^- Donckers and his wife, by Abraham de Ryckere (1565 ? — towards 1600), Church of St. James, Antwerp, &c. We will end this list with the all but unknown name of MiCHELlNE WOUTIERS, a portraitist of some talent, who was born in Mons towards the end of the sixteenth century. Pontius engraved, in 1643, her portrait of the Spanish general, Andrew Cantelmo, and the compiler of the new catalogue of Vienna * has just restored to her the two beautiful half-lengths of St. Joachim and St. Joseph which, in the Belvedere, were long ascribed to Francis Wouters. We shall speak further of most of these various artists, but we' have collected their names here, in this special chapter devoted to portrait painters, for the sole purpose of placing at their head the name of Cornelius De Vos, and thus to show in a better light the merit of this artist, who is not known in France, England, Italy, or Holland. In presence of his masterpieces in Brussels, Antwerp, and Berlin, one feels inclined to accept the tradition by which Rubens, when over- whelmed with requests for portraits which he could not undertake, is supposed to have said — "Go to Cornelius De Vos : he is a second Rubens." * Engerth.: Catalogue of the Imperial Museum of Vienna, 1884, p. S60. CHAPTER XXI. SNYDERS, FYT, AND THE PAINTERS OF ANIMALS. The Flemish School is unique for the superior talent it has brought to bear on the subject of animal painting. The Dutch school itself has never equalled the Flemish in this special branch of the art. Its grand fights, grand hunts, and grand compositions of still life, are incomparable triumphs of boldness and picturesque richness. After Rubens, whose fire and prolific genius have produced the masterpieces which we have enumerated (p. 226), two Antwerpian masters must be classed together, who were equally noble and powerful : Francis Snyders and John Fyt. Snyders (1579 — 1657) had studied under Peter Breughel II. (Hell Breughel) and Henry Van Balen ; nevertheless, he proceeded directly from Rubens, whose friend he was, and with whom he worked on many occasions. There is no one in the whole school who affords greater proof of the decisive influence which the genius of the great master exercised around him, even over those who were not his direct pupils. All the large pictures of Snyders astonish and attract us by their majestic dimensions, their ani- Snyders. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 281 1 X H 2 . I 2 "I mation, their splendid execution, their boldness of colouring, their warmth, their life. He has painted all animals with the same effect — 282 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Snyders. quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fish, domestic and wild animals, alive and dead ; in every ca-se he has shown equal talent. At the Hague he has '' Deer Hunts," "Bear Hunts" in Berlin, "Wild Boar Hunts" at Florence (Fig. 70), " Fox Hunts " at Vienna, " Lion Hunts " in England, " Tiger Hunts '' at Rennes, " Hip- popotamus and Crocodile Hunts " at Amsterdam. He has " Dog Fights " in the Hermitage, " Combats of Dogs and Swans " in Antwerp, of " Cocks " in Berlin, of " Foxes and Serpents " (Czernin Collection) in Vienna, of " Buffaloes and Wolves " (Cypierre Sale). There is at Munich a " Wild Boar Overcome by a Lioness " ; in England, a " Stork Attacked by Fal- cons " ; in Bologna, a " Horse Overcome by Wolves " — all painted by him. Snyders has in addition repre- sented many " Scenes from the Poultry Yard," " Mon- keys Playing at Backgammon," " Bird Concerts," &c., &c. In his trophies of game — swans, geese, peacocks, deer, wild boars, hares, and pheasants — which we see in the Museums of Munich, of Caen, of Marseilles, of Brussels, and of Valenciennes, he has introduced marauding cats and dogs (Fig. 71) ; in his great shows of fish and molluscs (Fig. 72) he has placed seals and tortoises ; in his heaps of fruit and vegetables, parrots and grinning monkeys. In every subject he handled he has proved himself a master ; he has treated each with the same largeness and supreme abundance. But his talent is especially dis- played in painting the impetuotis attacks of dogs on wild beasts. Nothing is comparable to them. No poet has ever sung them in loftier or more manly Snyders.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 283 M 3 tn <^ I O 2 S strains. His lions, his bears, and his wild boars par- take in some measure of the heroism of the men painted by Rubens. 284 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Paul De Vos. The esteem in which Rubens held the talent of Snyders was equalled only by his friendship for this painter, whom he entrusted with the execution of animals in several of his huntings. He, in exchange, oftentimes drew the figures in various pictures by his friend. As a last proof of affection, he, by a clause in his will, desired Snyders to manage the sale of the works of art which he had collected. Van Dyck also repeatedly painted the portrait of Snyders and of his wife, the sister of the two De Vos, Cornelius and Paul. The latter (Paul) was also an animal painter, and the pupil of his brother- in-law. Paul De Vos (towards 1590 — 1678), a highly- esteemed painter, worked especially for the great ; for instance, for the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Duke of Aerschot, who was his chief patron. He treated hunting scenes with special talent, and excelled in the painting of dogs. Under the title of " Noah's Ark," he also depicted various groups of different animals. By the style of his colouring, his luminous tones, and the lightness of his touch, Paul De Vos much re- sembled his brother-in-law, to whom many of his pictures are erroneously ascribed in various museum^ and collections. The greater number of his compo- sitions are in the Museums of Madrid and of the Hermitage ; he has others in Vienna, Munich, Schleiss- heim, Brussels, Caen, &c. His " Struggle of a Wild Boar against a Pack of Hounds" (Pinacothek of Turin) is a grand work, which proves that the merit of De Vos is far superior to his reputation. 286 FLEMISH PAINTING. Jean Fyt. For a time Snyders was unanimously allowed to occupy the first rank among Flemish animal painters, but within the last twenty years ample proof has been forthcoming that another artist, whose claims Jo. Y^ ■ had hitherto been overlooked, has an equal right to this high position. In accepting such proofs, modern criticism has confirmed his right, and placed Jean Fyt (1609 — 1661) by the side of Francis Snyders. Fyt was no mere copyist ; he understood and repre- sented nature in a manner peculiarly his own. He is quite free from any accepted formula. His style is, it is true, less decorative than that of Snyders ; and he seldom depicts life in a manner so animated, so im- petuous — we may even say so heroic — but he is equally - frank in his expression ; his mind is as far from pre- judice ; his touch is bolder, firmer, more accentuated, more truly realistic. His outline is exact, and renders form with minute precision ; and he paints the fur of quadrupeds and the feathers of birds with ex- quisite fidelity and a rare perfection of detail. By brilliancy of light, by the delicacy and truth of his colouring, by the power and sincerity of his accent, he often surpasses Snyders himself Moreover, he adds to great ability in composition, such learned effects of chiaro-oscuro and contrasts of light, as bring his productions nearer to those of the Dutch painters. Like Snyders, he has left combats, hunts, and still life ; and, like him, he has depicted animal life in all its forms. No one has painted dogs and eagles in 288 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Fyt. SO masterly a manner. Nearly all his pictures con- tain greyhounds, bull-dogs, mastiffs— hounds of every race. As to eagles, he has two in Antwerp — the " Eagles' Repast " is one of his best works — and the one in Cologne is a gigantic bird with out- stretched wings, a marvel of boldness, execution, and reality. If we regard productiveness, this artist truly be- longs to the Flemish race; nearly every museum in Europe possesses one or more specimens of his talent. Let us mention among his principal works — "Dogs Struggling with a Bear" (Fig. 73), and the "Fight against a Wild Boar " (pinacothek of Munich) ; the piles of game and fruit in the Schleissheim Gallery ; the splendid picture of accessories in the Acadeniy of Fine Arts in Vienna ; finally, the pictures of " Still Life " in the Liechtenstein Gallery, all of which ex- hibit such wonderful power. The painter of such a vast number of compositions could not long occupy a secondary rank. M. Paul Mantz justly observes — " Fyt can never again lose the place which we have given him, and which is his by right."* It does not appear that he had any scholars. John Van Hecke (1620— 1684) may possibly have studied under him ; and it would seem that he exercised some influence over Peter BOELf (1622 — 1674), though it is believed that the latter studied * See also the opinion expressed on Fyt by \V. Burger, in his Galcric Suermondt, p. 125. t Van Lerius : BiograpAie d' artistes aiwei-sais, 1880, vol. .i., p. 72 ; Van den Branden : GeschUJenis, &c., p. 1094. RUBENS VND HIS SCHOOL. 289 under Snyders. Boel was a painter of animals and still life. He designed cartoons for the tapestry makers, and was, like Fyt, a talented engraver. Towards the end of his life he settled in Paris, _„ worked at the Gobelins, and died with the title ' of Peintre Ordinaire du Roi. His talent was especially decorative, but very unequal. The Museum of Lille contains the "Allegory of the World's Vanities," a picturesque and powerful composition ; and the Stadel Institute at Frankfort a " Repast of Three Eagles," recalling the eagles by Fyt in the Museum of Ant- werp. His pupil, David De Coninck (1636— aft. 1699), inhabited Italy. His twice-repeated "Bear and Deer 'Hunt " (Museum of Amsterdam), his " Fruits and Animals" (Pvluseum of Lille), and the five pic- tures of still life in the Liechtenstein Gallery, are worthy of the great naturalistic school to which he belongs. CHAPTER XXII. DAVID TENTERS AND THE PAINTERS OF GENRE. As early as the end of the fifteenth century we have seen the genre picture make its appearance under the brush of Jerome Bosh and Quentin Metsys. In the sixteenth a small group of half Dutch, half Flemish artists — Mandyn, Aartzen, Beuckelaer, Molenaer, the Van Cloves, Peter Breughel — continued to repeat, and brought into fashion the small subjects borrowed from the familiar scenes of national life. But with the opening of the seventeenth century genre suddenly took an unexpected development, and the class of small masters became one of the richest both in illustrious painters and in masterpieces. A like out- burst took place, almost simultaneously, north and south of the Moerdyck. While the Dutch school prided itself on such painters as Peter De Hoogh, John Vermeer, Terburg, Metzu, Dow, Mieris, and Van Ostade, the Flemish school gladly numbered in its ranks artists less numerous and, it must be said, less perfect and perhaps less charming, but still very in- teresting and justly celebrated. Teaiers.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 29 1 The Painters of Popular and Rustic Scenes. David Teniers* occupies, in the Netherlands, the • foremost place among genre painters. ty^ His talent made him celebrated, and his per- '^ sonal qualities procured for him one of the ■highest positions to which an artist might hT aspire. ' He was born in Antwerp in 1610, one of the last among the illustrious masters of the grand school ; thirty years after Rubens, seventeen years after Jor- daens, eleven years after Van Dyck. His father, DAVID Teniers THE ELDER (1582— 1649), a mediocre painter of small rustic and his- torical subjects, taught him the first principles \l of his art ; but his master, his true initiator, was Rubens, though it is not by any means proved that Teniers ever studied in his studio. In 1633, consequently two years after Brauwer, whose pupil he is sometimes erroneously called, he received the dignity of master, and in 1637 he married the daughter of Velvet Breughel, the former ward of Rubens, who acted as witness at the marriage ceremony. Young, brilliant, and re- fined in person, enjoying the patronage of those who occupied a high rank in the dominion of art, marvellously gifted and fruitful, Teniers soon be- * J. Vermoelen : Teniers le jeune, sa vie et son ceuvre. Antwerp, 1865. Catalogue du Musk du Anvers, p. 382. 1874. T 2 292 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Teniers. came known, esteemed and celebrated ; and his fortune was rapid. The Archduke Leopold- William of Austria, then governor of the Netherlands for Spain, appointed him his private painter and aide de sa chambre, at the same time making him keeper of his gallery in the Palace of Brussels. The pictures of this collection have since been carried to the Imperial Museum of Vienna.* Teniers has left us numerous views which are in the Museums of Munich, Vienna, Madrid, and Brussels. It is also to his copies and designs that we owe the book of two hundred and forty-five engravings which belongs to this collection.f His new functions having called him to Brussels, Teniers settled in this city towards 1650, and there passed the remainder of his life. Louis XIV., with his one-sided and predetermined ideas on matters of painting, disdained what he con- temptuously called the magots of Teniers, and pre- ferred the pictures of Le Brun and Jouvenet ; but other sovereigns knew how to appreciate his works and understood their value. Queen Christina of Sweden wished to possess his pictures ; Philip IV. of Spain, the enlightened patron of Velasquez, admired them to such a degree that it is said he formed of them a special gallery, and this statement is corrobo- rated by the fact that there is not in the whole of Europe any museum so rich as the Prado in works by this artist. * An inventory of 1659 has been discovered in Vienna. See tlie new Grand Catalogue dc la Galerie ImfMa'c de Vienne, by M Ed. von Engerth. Vol. i., p. 43. t Theatrum Pictorium. In folio. Antwerp 1664. Teniers.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 293 S .H From the time of his arrival in Brussels, Teniers designed for the tapestry makers, and thus assured 294 FLEMISH TAINTING. [Teniers. fresh renown and greater vogue to this' branch of Brussels industry. On the other hand he did not forget his native town. He was one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp, and its first president (1663). His work is endless. In the same way as Breughel the Elder had done before, but with more delicacy and elegance, he depicted the manners of the Flemish rustic, told of the intimacy of his domestic life, and his happy, coarse laughter. His folk go to market, clean .out the stable, milk the cows, raise the nets, sharpen knives, shoot off arrows, play at nine-pins or at cards, bind up wounds, pull out teeth^ cure bacon, make sausages, smoke, sing, dance, caress the girls and, above all things, drink, like the true Flemings they are. How far we are from the gods of Olympia and the personages of the Bible ! And yet, who would believe it ? Teniers ventured on the ground of religious painting : for instance the " Presentation of Christ to the People" (Museum of Cassel), the " Crowning with Thorns " (The Dudley Collection), and the " Sacrifice of Abraham " (Museum of Vienna). He did not even shrink from heroic painting, as is proved by the twelve panels, the " History of Armida and Renaud " (Prado). We cannot, how- ever, say that this rash attempt was crowned with success. Besides, he has tried his skill in every style: popular f^tes, fantastic representations, markets, land- scapes with flocks of sheep, hunting pictures, scenes from high life, episodes from the guard-room, comic scenes of monkeys and cats, rustic interiors, kitchens Tenlers.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 29s shops, laboratories ; he has painted everything with that ease of execution, that delicate and 296 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Teniers rapid touch of which the spirit has never been sur- passed. Teniers is everywhere represented. There is not a gallery which does not possess at least one or two specimens of his talent. Smith's Catalogue numbers 685 pictures by his hand. There are fifty-two in Madrid ; Vienna, in her four principal collections, possesses forty-three ; St. Petersburg, forty ; the Louvre, thirty-four ; Munich, twenty-nine ; Dresden, twenty-four ; England, more than two hundred. His picture at the Hermitage is generally considered his masterpiece ; it was painted in 1643, and represents the " Corporation of Cross-bow men of St. Sebastian" (Fig. 74) ; it is a most interesting painting, and merits all praise. The " Archduke Leopold-William bring- ing down the bird " (Museum of Vienna), is one of his important representations of public rejoicings ; the " Village Fair," in the Museum of Brussels, the " Re- past," at the Frado, the " Dance," in the Museum of Vienna, are numbered among the best of his large rustic scenes. Everywhere we meet his oft-repeated replicas of the " Temptation of St. Anthony," which he so amusingly depicted ; they are full of droll de- tails, and their sorcery is far from the nightmare- giving scenes of J6r6me Bosch. His " Taverns " and " Guard-Rooms " are yet more numerous ; finally, in the " Five Senses " of the Museum of Brussels, the painter of rustics shows that he can, when he chooses, be a gentleman, even in his dramatis per sonce. It is, above all, the spirit, colouring, and execution that we must study, and that we most admire in tN H "a X a M o > S 298 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Teniers. Teniers. His quick, nervous, and easy talent partook . at once of the Elder Breughel and of Rubens ; of the former by his way of seeing nature, of understanding and rendering the humble spectacle of homely and simple things ; of the latter by the bold tones of his colouring, the delicacy of his blending, and the won- derful harmony of his brush. Let us consider a few of his small chosen productions — for example, the " Country Doctor " (Brussels), the " Prodigal Child " (Louvre), the "Kitchen" (the Hague), the "Rustic Interior" (Bile), the "Violin Player" (Turin). In every one of these his manner is inimitable. No other artist has so completely possessed the secret of those refined and delicately transparent tones ; no one has combined with so much art and apparent simplicity the thin painting of the shadows with the luminous piling-up of the lights. In his interpreta- tions of the humbler classes of society of his time, we must not look for that sense of the ridiculous which distinguished Breughel the Elder, or the mirthful caricatures of Adrian Brauwer-^both these artists were deeper and more powerful than Teniers. Let us simply admit that the song of his familiar muse accompanies in the right key his small scenes of domestic hearths and tranquil village pleasures. Teniers died in Brussels, on the 25th of April, 1690, in the eighty-first year of his age. He had, one after the other, seen his illustrious brother artists and the most talented among his imitators disappear from this world ; it may be said that with him finished the great school of Antwerp. The eldest of his eleven RUBENS AND IIIS SCHOOL. 299 children, named David, like his father, was a painter also. It was he, and not his father, who signed his pictures and cartoons David Teniers, junior, which we sometimes see,* for instance, as the signature of a "St. Dominic" which still exists in the Church of Perck. Other members of the family adopted painting as a career. Several pictures in the Museums of the Prado and the Hermitage are ascribed to Abraham, younger brother of the great David. As to the fourth David, he died in Lisbon, where he had taken up his residence at the same time as one of his nephews. It is possible that in Portugal some of his works might be found, and perhaps also several of his descendants, for he left more than one son.f Julian Teniers, or Taisnier, a mercer, native of Ath, settled in Antwerp in 1558, died in 1585 Julian (II.) 1572-1615 David (I. 1582- the Elder -1649 t 1 Julian (III.) Theodore (I.) master in 1636 master in 1636 David (II.) Julian (IV.) 1610 — 1690 1616— 1679 1 1 Theodor 1619 — ;(1I.) Abraham 1697 1629— 1670 I I David (III.) Junior Cornelia 1638 — 1685 mar. John Erasmus Quellinus David (IV.) 1672— 1771 * Alph. Wauters : Les Tapisseries Iruxelloises, p. 257 f J. Vermoelen : Notes historiques sur David Teniers et sajamine. Paris, 1870. 300 FLEMISH PAINTING. Adrian Brauwer. Shortly after David Teniers came ADRIAN BRAU- WER (towards 1606— 1638). We will not separate this artist from his friend, JOSSE Van CraesbeecKE (towards 1606 — towards 1655).* Adrian Brauwer is generally supposed to be a Dutchman, born, like Van Ostade, at Haarlem. The earliest opinion, however, now confirmed by recent discoveries, is that he was a Fleming, _/jf> native of Oudenarde.f A correction of the same nature must be made in the case of Josse Van Craesbeecke, but with more certainty. This painter, who was long considered a native of Brussels, was in reality born at Neerlinter, near Tirlemont, in Bra- bant, where his father was ^chcvin. The two companions in joyeulsetis, came into the world towards 1606. Brauwer ran away from home, went to study his art under Franz Hals, and in 163 1 was accepted a master at St. Luke, Antwerp At the same time Craesbeecke also left his village, arrived at Antwerp, acquired the right of citizenship, and, in the same year, 163 1, set up as a baker. Painter and baker met and became fast friends. * Th. Van Lerius : Josse Van Craesbeeck ( fournal des Beaux-Arts, 1869, p. 50). — J. Lenglart : Josse Van Craesbeeck, sa Ugende, sa vie et son ceuvre (Journal des Beaux-Arts, 1872, pp. 153 and 162). — Van Den Branden ; AdrianDe Brauwer en Joos Van Craesbeeck. — P. Mantz : Adrien Brauwer (Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1879-80). — Dr. W. Bode : Adriaan Brauwer, sein Bild, sein Leben und sein Schaffen. Vienna, 1884. t H. Raepsaet : Quelques Recherches sur Adrien De Brauwere (Annates de la Sociki Royale des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 1851-52, vol. iv. p. 234). Adrian Brauwer. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOI,. 301 Adrian took- in hand and speedily completed the artistic education of his friend Josse, and the latter S X 'J s bade adieu to bread-making, and set off in the com- pany of Brauwer on his wanderings through taverns 302 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Adrian Brauwer. and dancing-places, kitchens and guard-rooms, ob- serving the smokers and drinkers, barbers and tooth- drawers, whom they have illustrated with so much spirit and sense of fun in their amusing pictures. The question has so often been asked : Were they content to. observe, or did they surrender themselves to habits of drinking and fighting ? So little is really known of their doings that the most exaggerated rumours have easily gained currency. The little, however, that is really known pleads in their favour. The Very Honourable the Chevalier Daems, sheriff of Antvi^erp, became the patron of Craesbeecke, and it is to be supposed that he would not have extended his protection to a brawler and drunkard. Brauwer very regularly paid his subscription to the Society of Rhetoric of which he was a member. It is possible that both artists were somewhat Bohemian in their ways — that they may have indulged rather copiously an over-fondness for brown beer ; but admitting this probability is a very different thing from assimilating them to the drunken and abject creatures which they painted. Was not also David Teniers, the sumptuous Lord of Perck, the friend of kings, princes, and noblemen, the interpreter of drinking bouts and coarse gaiety .'' And yet, who has ever thought of accusing him of frequenting taverns .-' Brauwer died young. His enemies hasten to as- sert that he was worn out with dissipation. It would nevertheless be surprising that an artist who had spent his time drinking and revelling should have left behind him so important a work, one so remark- Adrian Brauwer ] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 303 FIG. 78. — TASTE. — Adrian Brauwer. {Stadel Institute, Frankfort, i ft. 7 in. X if. 2 in.) able for its delicate spirit of observation. He only painted ten years, and already we have counted 304 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Craesbeeckc. eighty-five of his pictures. This artist is best studied at Munich. In the Pinacothek he has nineteen pic- tures. " The Smoker," of the La Caze Collection, in the Louvre,* and " The Drinker," of the Stadel Insti- tute at Frankfort (Fig. 78), are admirable paintings. These two pictures might, in the opinion of the editor of the Frankfort Catalogue, be the allegorical repre- sentation of " Smell " and " Taste," forming part of the collection of the " Five Senses " which, according to Van Mander," Brauwer painted while under Franz Hals. We know of no other artist whose execution was so ready, so amusing as that of Brauwer. He was the worthy pupil of the great portrait painter of Haarlem. We should be tempted to say that the execution is full of brilliant conceits ; the expression, be it smile or grimace, is caught with rare tact and a rich and juicy manipulation of a flowing brush, often leaving the canvas exposed in its very freedom. The simple grandeur of the firm, clear touch passes rapidly over all useless details. In the composition, as in the colouring — which with him is always harmonious, luminous, and powerful — Brauwer is far in advance of Craesbeecke, who was often dry and commonplace. The works of this latter artist are not numerous, his most celebrated being his two " Ateliers," Tj^ which show, as an exception, people of good }Qy/ society elegantly attired sitting to the artist — " Craesbeecke Painting a Portrait " (Museum * See the engraving of this picture in the Dutch School of Painting. By H. Havard, translated by S. Powell. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 305 of the Louvre), and " Craesbeecke Painting a Group " (Arenberg Collection, Brussels). Teniers and Brauwer, by their talent and activity, could not fail to have many pupils, and their com- plete success naturally induced many imitators. Both were numerous in Antwerp, and also in Brussels, where Teniers and Craesbeecke went to reside, and where they ended their career. We must mention — (i) Giles Van Tilborg (1625 — 1678) of Brussels, who was a bold and excellent ^xj, £) colourist, a painter of taverns and family scenes, whose father, Giles the Elder (1575 I j^ — 1622-32), had also painted "Village ^Jf Fairs." He has a picture at Lille, bearing a monogram, and dated 1591 ; (2) Peter De Bloot ( ? — 1667), an interesting small painter of rustic scenes and still life ; (3) WiLLlAM Van Herp (1614 — 1677), who is supposed to have studied in the studio of Rubens; (4) FERDINAND Van Apshoven the Younger (1630— 1694), second of the name, who was truly a painter, skilful colourist and physiognomist, and whose brother, Thomas (1622 — 1665), painted ^mr^ subjects as well as flowers and fruit; (5) MATTHEW VAN Hellemont (1623 — aft. 1674) ; finally (6), DAVID Ryckaert, of the numerous Antwerpian family of that name, so many members of which were g-enre and landscape painters. U 3o6 FLEMISH PAINTING. [David Ryckaert, David Ryckaert (I.) 1560 — towards 1607 I David (II.) Martin Paul 1586— 1642 1587— 1631 mar. AnnVaiiDer Lamcn. ] 1592— ? 1. ' I Catherine David III. mar. 1612 — 1661 Gonzales Coques | David (IV.) 1649 — aft. 1698 As we see by the preceding biography, there were four artists bearing the name of David Ryckaert who succeeded each other in a direct Hne. Of these the only one who achieved renown was the third. At the outset of his career he painted landscapes, like his father and his uncle Martin ; but the success of Teniers and Brauwer induced him to change his style, and he adopted the repre- sentation of episodes from domestic life. He exe- cuted also many replicas of the " Temptation of St. Anthony," scenes of sorcery, alchemists, labora- tories, and a few scenes from high life. He obtained the patronage of the Archduke Leopold William, and his works soon became fashionable. His compositions are picturesque, full of life, and show a keen spirit of observation, both in the attitudes and the physiognomies of his figures. His colouring, how- ever, is often heavy, with reddish tones, and possesses neither the transparency nor the lightness of touch of Teniers, whom he has sought to imitate. The Museum David Ryckaert] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 307 < •*• a 2 u of Brussels possesses an " Alchemist," that of Vienna a " Village Fair," the Liechtenstein and Czernin Gal- U 2 308 FLEMISH PAINTING. rjir8me Janssens. leries of the same city " Companies of Singers," which may be reckoned among his best works. The Painters of Conversation Pieces and Society Gatherings. This category of " secondary masters " is not so numerous and not so well known. The earliest among them, now almost forgotten, is Christopher Van Der Lamen (1615 — 1651),* who used to depict banquets, balls, concerts, players of backgammon or croquet, the scene being laid in the drawing-room or the garden, and who especially excelled in painting silk and satin textures. Nine of his pictures — two of which are signed — are in the Mansi Collection at Lucca. Hardly had he been inscribed at St. Luke, in 1636, when he received a scholar — JSrQme Janssens (1624 — 1693) — whose works have long been confounded with those of other artists bearing the same name, and whose very exis- tence seems to have been unknown.f He painted like his master, and with like interest, f^tes, social gatherings, and especially balls, which circumstance caused him to be nicknamed in his life-time the "dancer." His picture in the Louvre (Fig. 79), the " Main chaude," ascribed to " Victor-Honore Janssens," is a good composition, full of sprightliness and mirth. It would appear that the talent of this artist was towards the middle of the seventeenth century, greatly * Van Lerius : Biographies d^ Artistes anversois, 1883, vol. ii.,'p. 365. t J. J. Guiffrey : Un maitre flamand inconnu {Journal des Beaux- Arts, 1865, p. I2i), with commentaries by M. Van Lerius. Gonzales Coques.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 309 appreciated in Antwerp. Nevertheless, his brother- in-art, Gonzales Coques, was even more renowned, not only in Belgium, but also in Holland, Germany, and England. In spite of his Spanish sounding name, GONZALfes -- 1-- -. ^T rai^Tnif" >I ' FIG. 80. — THE VAN EYCK FAMILY. — Gonzalis Coques. (Museum of Pesth. 2 ft. i^ in X 2 ft- 11 in.) Coques (i6i8 — 1684) was a pure Fleming. He was born at Antwerp and appears never to have left his native town ; his father, whose surname was Cocx, gave the child, with doubtful taste, the high-sounding name of Gonzalvus. When called to the dignity of master the young man still signed that name, and it was not until a later period that Gonzalvus became Gonzales, and Cocx was changed to Coques. 3IO FLEMISH PAINTING. [Gonzalfes Coques. Gonzales first began to handle the brush when he was but twelve or thirteen years old. His first master, Peter Breughel (III.), was, it would appear, an excel- lent portrait painter. The young man afterwards pursued his studies under the guidance of David Ryckaert the Elder, whose daughter he married. Later still he was induced by the study of Van Dyck, whose works he greatly admired, to change both his manner and his standard of beauty. His good taste being developed he became an elegant, delicate, and refined painter, whose success and reputation increased each day. Charles I. of England, the Archduke Leo- pold, the Prince of Orange, the Elector of Branden- burg, and Don Juan, wished to have their portraits painted by him. He has also delineated the features of several of his brother artists ; for instance, David Teniers (Bridgewater Gallery), Robert Van Hoecke (National Gallery), Luke Taydherbe (Museum of Berlin). He excelled in arranging family groups, and his exquisite taste and charming fancy lent to these family portraits all the interest of grand compositions. We may cite as examples : the " Verhelst Family " (Buckingham Palace), the " Prince of Orange and his Family" (Leicester Collection), the "Van Eyck Family " (Museum of Pesth), (Fig. 8o) ; others still at Dresden, Cassel, London, the Hague, in the collection of Lord Hertford, &c. His fancy led him to group his models either in a drawing-room or garden, on a terrace or under a portico, and he often placed grey- hounds in his pictures, or surrounded his personao-es with flowers or accessories. His full-lengths, though 312 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Gonzafts Coques. of very diminished proportions, were executed with a breadth of touch worthy of Teniers, and with a palette at once delicate and wonderfully rich in varied tones. Biirger said of his works that they were " Van Dyck's seen through the wrong side of the glass," and M. Paul Mantz styles them Van Dyck's in i8mo. In- deed, Coques continued the great portraitist, pre- serving, though in a reduced form, his noble utterance and sovereign distinction. His paintings are very rare. In many of the great museums of the continent he is unrepresented : the Prado, the Pinacothek, the Ufifizi, Amsterdam, Lille, have none of his works. Belgium herself only pos- sesses the two pictures we have mentioned ; the one in Antwerp, the other in the gallery of the Duke of Arenberg. The greater part of his works are in England, numbering altogether about twenty panels, and include his masterpieces. As a rule, Coques painted the figures only, the interiors are the work of Steenwyck the Younger, the landscapes by d'Arthois, the architectural ornamentations by Gheringh, and the accessories by Gysels. If in Gonzales Coques we see Van Dyck on a small scale, so we must regard CHARLES EMMANUEL BiSET (1633 — 1682) as a reduction of Franz Hals. This artist, when compared to Coques, is heavy in execu- tion and possessed of little spirit, but his taste is as refined, his observation as delicate, his palette as rich and harmonious, and his precision equally artistic. Under the fancy title of " William Tell," his pic- FIG. 82. — PORTRAIT.- -Francis Duchastel. (Museum of Berlin. 6 ft. 6 in. X 3 ft. 94 'n. 314 FLEMISH PAINTING. l'^'^^- turc in the Museum of Brussels (Fig. 8i), represents the members of the guild of St. Sebastian at Ant- werp ; this is one of the rare and precious gems of the Royal Gallery ; with its black costumes and white bands, its long perukes and its typical physiog- nomies, so grave and so truly national, and its magnificent play of colour ; it appears a reminiscence of the doelenstiikken of Haarlem. Yet, who has heard of Biset >. Who has striven to follow his career which appears, nevertheless, to have been glorious and full of incident ? Where are his works ? He was born at Mechlin in 1633 and was one of the last among the great masters of the century. Biset, at the outset of his career, resided in Paris when he executed many commissions for Louis XIV., and for the men of high rank who thronged the Court of Versailles. On his return to his native country the title of painter to the Count of Monterey, Governor of the Netherlands for Spain, was conferred upon him, and he was en- gaged on many works for his patron. He was made dean or elder of the guild of St. Luke, and the city of Antwerp appointed him president of the Academy. Towards the end of his life he was honoured with the protection of the Duke of Parma, whose portrait he painted in 1682. He died the same year in Antwerp, in the prime of his life, being only fifty-two. His pictures are scarcer even than those of Gonzales Coques, and they are easily enumerated : " William Tell," in Brussels ; a " Flemish Interior," at Rotter- dam ; two medallions, each representing a " Surgeon tending a Wounded Man," Liechtenstein Gallery ; Biset.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 315 a genre subject at Cassel and two small portraits, the one of a man, the other of a woman, in the Itzenger collection at Berlin. These paintings, by the delicacy of their modelling, the warmth of their colouring, and the refined character of their composition, witness the talent 6f the painter even in a higher degree than the picture in Brussels ;* but they are the only remaining productions of Biset. What, then, has become of the " Interior of the Jesuits' Church at Antwerp," in which the artist introduced figures, and which was sold at Paris, in 1873, for 2,050 francs .' And of the " Jupiter and Danae," sold at the Hague in the Lormier sale in 1763 for 720 francs t Where are the valuable compositions which he must have executed during thirty years of active life ? Will no one undertake for Biset that which Biirger successfully accomplished for John Vermeer of Delft .' There is a name to be rescued from oblivion, an interesting biography to be written, and we feel sure that there is also a discovery to be made of important works, now hidden under fictitious names. Biset, as well as Coques, had his collaborators ; Spierinckx and Immenraet painted the landscapes in his backgrounds ; Van Ehrenberg the architectural details in his pictures ; Van Verendael and Gysels his flowers and accessories. His son, John-Baptist (1672 — aft. 1732), also born at Mechlin, adopted his father's style and his manner of painting. * Ad. Rosenberg : Austellung von Geindlden Meister dltercr in Berlin (in the Zeitschrift fur Bildena'e Kuift). By Professor C. Lutzow ; p. 326. Vienna : 1883. 3l6 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Francis Duchastel. Before leaving Antwerp for Brussels we must yet mention one hitherto obscure name, that of NICHOLAS Van Eyck (i 617— 1679). A picture by this artist bearing his signature, the " Portrait of a Gentleman on Horseback," is in the Museum of Lille, and is remarkable both for elegance and refinement. There we shall find an artist, a pupil of David Teniers, who obtained some renown in his master's style : FRANCIS Duchastel (1625 — 1679). He resided in Paris, and worked jointly with Van der Meulen who greatly influenced his talent. His masterpiece — both curious and interesting — (Museum of Ghent) represents the "Solemn Inauguration of Charles H; of Spain," and comprises about a thousand small figures. In the Museum of Brussels, another important picture by this master : " A Procession of the Knights of the Fleece of Gold," is inscribed under the name of Van Tilborgh. Judging from the portrait of a gentleman in the Museum of Berlin (Fig. 82), and those of little girls in Spanish dress (Museum of Brussels), we should say that Duchastel also excelled as a portrait painter. Both his portraits and his pictures are executed with truth and firmness, with a warm and vigorous touch. CHAPTER XXIII. THE PAINTERS OF BATTLE SCENES. A COUNTRY which, through all ages, has been the battle-field of Europe, could hardly fail to produce painters of battle scenes. The Spanish domination furnished them, alas ! with too many opportunities of painting such scenes from stern reality : encamp- ments, troops on the march, ambuscades, the inter- cepting of convoys, skirmishes, shocks of cavalry, besieged cities, soldiers pillaging farms ; in a word, all the picturesque and horrible scenes of war. The earliest among such artists are John Vermeyen (1500 — 1559), painter to Charles Quint, and John Snellinck (1549 — 1638), who filled a similar post at the Court of the Archduke Albert.* Sebastian VRANCXf (1573—1647), who is next in date, studied, like Rubens, under Adam Van Noort, and was a skilful craftsman and an able and > learned colourist. St. Petersburg, the Hague, g^ and Rotterdam, possess some of his warlike episodes, remarkable for their fire and animation. But he did not confine himself to this style alone ; * See the biographies of these artists, pp. 140, 200. t Van den Branden : Geschiedenis, &c., p. 469. 3l8 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Peter Snayers. Vienna has an " Interior of the Church of the Jesuits at Antwerp," and Naples a " PubHc Garden " adorned with statues. In religious subjects he has, after the manner of the Elder Breughel, allowed the principal episodetobe lost in the midst of rustic scenery. However, among the few who depicted the ? various incidents of the battle-field, the first rank belongs undoubtedly to PETER Snayers* (1592 — 1667), a pupil ofVrancx and painter to the Archduke Albert and the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand. During the Thirty Years' War in 1635-40 Belgium being once again inundated with the soldiers of the Empire, Snayers made himself the historian of her many vicissitudes. He represented battles and sieges in a number of large panels, on which we see the topographical views of many cities in Flanders, Holland, Artois, and Picardy, at the same time as the struggle which was going on under their besieged walls. About fifty of these paintings are scattered throughout Europe — there are seventeen in the Museum of Vienna, fifteen in Madrid, five in Dresden and Brussels, &c. In all his works this talented artist is remarkable for the originality of the composition, freedom of colouring, and the perfect harmony of the whole. The painter delighted in depicting squadrons and battalions in the midst of the fray, compact rows of pil^es and lances, unfurled standards floating in the air — which imprint his works with a picturesque and original character. Vander Meulen, who had studied * Ed. Fetis : Les batailles de Pierre Snayers {Bulletin des coinm. roy. d^art et d'archiologie, 1867, vol. vi. p. 185). Cornelius de Wael.] RUBENS AND HIS SCtlOOL. 3 IQ under Snayers, inspired by his master's traditions, sought to perpetuate them, and we shall presently see him at work at the Court of Louis XIV. Cornelius de Wael (1592 — 1662), was born in the same year as Snyders, but was almost forgotten until M. Scheibler discovered, in the various collections of Europe, traces of this artist.* -^Uf According to M. Scheibler, the works of so " illustrious an Antwerpian, though for the most part unknown or unappreciated, deserve the ' high interest ' of all the patrons of art." De Wael and his brother Lucas, the landscapist (1591 — 1661), left Antwerp and settled in Genoa, where, in 1623, Van Dyck met them and painted their portraits in a group, now in the Mu.seum of the Capitol. We cannot follow M. Scheibler in Vienna, Cassel, Brunswick, Naples, Marseilles, Antwerp, and especi- ally in Genoa and Venice, where he has discovered works which, he believes, may be ascribed to the hitherto obscure master. Most of these paintings appear in the catalogues under the names of Van de Velde, Du Jardin, Van der Meulen, Hans Jordaens or Molyn, and represent combats, camps, scenes of pillage, bombardments or assaults of citadels. M. Scheibler assigns to their painter a higher rank than that occupied by Snayers, both for his colouring and the dignity of his attitudes and physiognomies. Peter * Comilis De Wael (Translation in the fournal des Beaux-Arts, 1883, p. 84). 320 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Peter Meulener. Snaycrs excelled in the representation of battles and sieges, and this success brought him several imitators, the most remarkable of whom are: PETER MEULENER (1602 — 1654), who is represented in the ^ I I Museums of Madrid and Brunswick by \j7| several combats, and ROBERT VAN * - HOECKE (1622 — 1668), whom the Arch- duke Albert appointed Inspector of the Fortifications of Flanders. The Museum of Vienna possesses more than one diminutive canvas by this painter ; amongst others a '' Fete on the Ice in the Moat of the Ostend Fortifications," which is interesting by reason of the vitality and arrangement of its numerous figures. CHAPTER XXIV. THE LANDSCAPE PAINTERS. The first idea of meadows, woods, rocks, beaches, and clouds, serving the purposes of art, arose with the great school of the North. To have created landscape painting is one of her proudest titles to glory. As early as the fifteenth, and even the four- teenth century, this style of painting appears to have specially occupied the school. We have seen allthe inaportance which Van Eyck and his followers gave to it in their religious pictures^ and in the next century Gassel, Bles, Bril, Savery, Van Valkenborgh and Momper, created landscape into a specialty. The great seventeenth century was destined to make it the theme of many a masterpiece. The Landscapists Properly so Called. In Antwerp two masters — Rubens and Velvet Breughel — in two styles almost contradictory, and with a widely divergent process, became the masters around whom minor artists, assembled, according to their taste or their comprehension : Wildens, Van Uden, De Vadder, d'Arthois and the Huysmans, pre- ferring the breadth and decorative style of Rubens ; Stalbemt, Govaerts, Gysels, Vinckeboons, imitating the attentive, minute, and precise manner of Breughel. V 322 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Velvet Breughel. But before speaking of these followers we must study Breughel himself, or better, the two Breughels, sons of Peter the Elder, both born in Brussels. Among the many artists, the leading features of whose biography we have tried to sketch here, there is none of whom the life has been so noble, so rich in well doing, as that of Velvet Breughel (1568 — 1625). Possessed of all the qualities which constitute a good man as well as a talented artist, he never ceased to be the favoured child of Fortune, who lavished her gifts upon him with constant prodigality. His brother artists were also his friends, and in every circumstance of his life we find their names associated with his own in the registers of the Etat Civil. In many cases he worked jointly with Rubens, Van Balen, Franck, S. Vrancx, De Clerck, Rottenhammer. He had two sons, eight grandsons and four great grandsons, who all followed in his steps ; David Teniers, Jerome, Van Kessel, and Jean Baptiste Bor- rekens were his sons-in-law ; lastly, he was honoured with the deep affection of Rubens, who oftentimes re- quested him to paint the background in his pictures. Breughel was most prolific. Madrid possesses fifty-two of his pictures, Munich forty-one, Dresden b thirty-three, Milan twenty-nine, &c. He did not shrink from any style, though he certainly excelled as a landscapist, and most of his pic- tures are scenes from nature. Yet he exhibits the qualities of an historical painter in his " St. Norbert/' in the Museum of Brussels ; of a painter of warlike I ^ I ° S b I « io 2 I V 2 324 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Breughel. scenes in the " Battle of Arbela " (Louvre) ; oi a. genre painter in the " Fish Market " (Pinacothek of Munich) ; of an animal painter in the " Garden of Eden " (Doria Gallery at Rome), and in " Daniel in the Lions' Den," which is to be seen in the Ambrosian Library, at Milan ; he shows himself a marine painter in " Jesus Rebuking the Waves " (ditto), a flower painter in the " Garland " (Pinacothek of Munich), and " Flora" (Durazzo-Palla- vicini Gallery at Genoa), (Fig. 83) ; finally, a painter of accessories in the " Five Senses " (Museum of Madrid). Generally his panels are of small dimensions. Nevertheless, he has sometimes attempted a largersize; for instance in the " Five Senses," " Flora," and the " Garland of Flowers," of which we have just spoken, and which measure about six feet nine inches, and seven feet seven inches in breadth. All his composi- tions betray superior skill, a rich imagination, a touch delicate and elegant, though at times somewhat dry. Unfortunately, this very minuteness of detail often destroys the general effect, and the colouring is un- natural and conventional. Nature has not those enamelled tones which he is pleased to give her, and which fatigue the eye by their lack of harmony, sim- plicity and truth. His son, Jean II. (1601 — 1678), continued his manner and his style. His pictures, which are very scarce, are often mistaken for his father's, and in most cases they are but pleasing repetitions of the latter's paintings. This artist has long been neglected by biographers, and in truth it was not till the last fifteen years that he has been brought to light, thanks to I > '^ Pi " §x H > I 326 FLEMISH PAINTING. [HeUish Breug>.el. four pictures in the Museums of Dresden and Munich* which bear a signature, and are dated 1641, 1642 and 1660. We will not mention his three sons, but we must speak of his uncle, Peter II., surnamed HELLISH or Hell Breughel (1564—1638), who was the second son of Breughel the Elder. This surname has been given to him on account of his liking for infernal and diabolical representations, or nocturnal scenes, lighted up with the blaze of some terrible fire. The names of various of his small paint- ings betray the leaning of his mind, such as the " Burning of Sodom," or of " Troy," " Orpheus," or " ^neas Descending into the Infernal Regions," the " Rape of Proserpine," the " Temptation of St. Anthony," the " Sack of a City," &c. But there is another part of Breughel's works of which no one, with the exception of Van Mander has hitherto spoken : the splendid and faithful copies which he has executed after the masterpieces of his father. They are to be found in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Berlin, Lille, and especially at Lucca, in the Mansi Gallery. He also had a copyist, or at the very least the most deceiving of continuators — PETER SCHAU- broek, who painted until 1606, and is known by a few pictures in the Museums of Vienna, Brunswick, Cassel, and Schleissheim. The following genealogical table, which comprises as many as twenty-five names of painters, gives the artistic descent of Breughel the Elder until 1771. * Ste iht Journal lies Bimix-Arts. 1866. RUBENS AND HIS 3 H I H I o H p- in (U N > i-i *— ^ 1 l-H oi \o c lO r^ HH O li-) "1 X. IS "1 I— I ^o CJ d "^ 'S "^ ■ s s °° Ph 2 "1 -J ■C 5 ^ . 327 ;a J, N V t~-. ri vO Q UJ s -ct- rt X 7^ 1 g rt _ -c-» 1 ' (3 X! !>• e5 t--. yD 1 1 -S f- ■XI "^ e 5 w .a -a ^1 4) C W3 ■5 " J3 I-i ° rC in o o ftH ^ W o 1. '^ Pi vO Ph 328 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Abraham Govaerts. David Vinckeboons, of Mechlin (1578—1629), must not be forgotten among the artists who adopted the highly-finished, over bright and enamelled style introduced by the Breughels. This artist is repre- sented in the Pinacothek of Munich by a " Calvary," treated in a familiar style. Two other important paintingsof " Village Fairs," in the Pinacothek £) R of the Capitol, and in the Museum of Ant- ^^^ werp show the talent of the artist in a better and more vigorous light. They are picturesque land- scapes, painted in sombre green and bituminous yellow tones, and enlivened with bands of village rustics clad in bright red, brown and blue. Still nearer to Breughel we must place Abraham GOVAERTS of Antwerp (1589 — 1626), who was long lost among the obscure imitators of the master. Four only of his pictures have as yet been authenti- cated ; these are in the Museums of the Hague, Bordeaux, Milan, and Brunswick, and bear the re- spective dates of 1612, 1614, 1615, and 1624. Others are attributed to him in Douai, Augsburg, and Schwerin.* These, however few, are sufficient to prove the talent of the painter who so admirably represented the " Great Forests of Oaks," inspired as he was by the majesty of the vast heroic woods. His touch is at once broader and more simple than that of Breughel, his foliage thicker and more vigorous, and the slight mist which appears in the distance tempers the blue of the sky. We possess * See H. Riegel: Beilrnge zur niejerl. Kuiutgeschichte, II., P- 95- ¥'X^fl RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 329 few biographical details on Govaerts, but fewer still on Adrian Van Stalbemt (1580 — 1662) his fellow- citizen. C. De Bie tells us that " Charles I. called Van Stalbemt to London, where he executed a great many works." It is, therefore, in ^^^j. England that, we ought to look for the works of this painter. A few of his landscapes, however, in the Museums of Berlin, Dresden, Ant- werp, Florence, Frankfort, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Madrid enable us to appreciate his style and the choice of his sites, of his sylvan aspects, and his rich,, dark, and supple foliage. There are other painters of rustic scenes whose pictures are no doubt confounded with those of Velvet Breughel. Thus it is very possible that a greater number of pic- tures will some day be ascribed to Alex. Keir- RiNCKx (1600— 1646.?), to Anthony ,^/l TJt* MiROU (who painted from 1625 to 1653), and to Peter Gysels (162 i — 1690). The latter also painted flowers and still life, but at present we cannot say much regarding these three artists. Arian - FRANCIS BOUDEWYNS of Brussels (1644 — 1711),* deserves more than a simple mention. In conjunction with his fellow - citizen, Peter Bout (1658 — aft. 1702), who was a painter of small figures, he produced a great number of landscapes, city scenes, and monuments, enlivened with groups of peasants, fishermen, and shepherds * Catalogue du mush iTAnvers, 1874, p. 63. Siret : Biographie nationnle, j868, vol. ii., col. 788. 330 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Lucas Van Uden. (Museums of Dresden, Madrid, and Schleissheim). Martin Schoevaerdts (towards 1665 — ?)*was his pupil and imitated his style. If we pass from the landscapists, followers of Velvet Breughel, to the disciples of Rubens, we immediately see broad and decorative art superseding the minute and patient method of the former master. Jean Wildens (1586 — 1653) was not the pupil of Rubens, but he often assisted the master in his works ; he was his friend, and, moreover, they were distantly related to each other — the wife of Wildens being the cousin of the beautiful H^l^ne Fourment. This painter often abandoned his own works to assist in those of others ; the consequence is that his pro- ductions — those entirely painted by him — are ex- tremely rare. His manner, however, is easily recog- nisable in the backgrounds which he painted in the canvases of Jordaens, Rombouts, Boeckhorst, Schut, Snyders, and especially of Rubens. We incline to the belief that, to the association of these great names with his own, Wildens owes the degree of honour with which he passes to posterity. The same remark applies to LuCAS Van Uden (1595 — 1672). To Rubens, who was his friend, and who sometimes employed him in his J "SfS/^ large decorative scenes, he is indebted for the measure of celebrity which belongs to his name. His colouring is faded and poor, and his small landscapes, as well as his pano- * Ed. F($us : Catalogue du mnsie di Briixdles, 18S2, p. 447. RURENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 331 ramie scenes with vast horizons, are generally want- ing in a true appreciation of nature. In Dresden, 332 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Lucas de Vadder. where this artist has nine small pictures, he appears in his least unfavourable aspect; the Museum of Antwerp and the Schleissheim Gallery preserve some of his larger productions. It is passing strange that history should be at times so capricious ! She overwhelms with commendation the names of Van Uden and Wildens ; and De Vadder she scarcely mentions. And yet LuCAS DE VADDER ( .''-1655) was a landscapist of great talent. No artist in the school of Rubens has followed the steps of the master with more eagerness and effect, greater power of colouring, superior skill in the distribution of his abundant light and greater majesty in the composition. De Vadder is almost forgotten now, and his works are unknown, with the exception of four pictures in Munich, Lille, Darmstadt, and Stockholm. He was born in Brussels in the early part of the seventeenth century, and was admitted master in 1628.* In 1644 the communal council appointed him privileged painter for the cartoons of tapestry makers, and, in the following year, in a petition to the magistracy, he is termed "the best artist in the country."t Our engraving is a reproduction of his landscape, called the " Three Horsemen," which is in the Pinacothek of Munich (Fig. 85). The whole scene — land, foliage, heaven, and horizon — is handled with great breadth, animated with a just sentiment of nature, and de- * Alph. Pinchart : La corporation ties feintres de Brtixelks. Messager des Sciences, p. 320. 1877. t Alph. Wauters : Les Tapisseries bruxelloises, p. 244. 1878. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 333 FIG. 86. — THE HERDER. — Jean Sieberechts. (Pinacothek of Munich. 3 ft. 6 in. X 2 ft. gj in.) picted with a colouring imitative of Rubens. LUKE ACHTSCHELLINCK (1616 — 1704) and JaMES D'AR- THOIS (161 3 — 1665 T), both of Brussels, may have 334 FLEMISH PAINTING. [James d'Anhois. Studied under him, but at all events they have been deeply impressed by his manner and effectiveness. Of the former artist we only know some woody land- scapes, which he made the scene of small Biblical subjects and which were executed for the churches of his native city. The picturesque landscape in the Museum of Vienna is the joint work of this artist and of Gonzales Coques. James d'Arthois is distinguished in various museums by a great number of vast compositions. The Museum of Madrid notably, possesses fourteen of his works ; there are others in Vienna, Dresden and Brussels. D'Arthois, who generally inhabited his small estate in Boistfort, mostly represented the tall and verdant trees, the hollow paths and pools of the Forest of Soignes, the wild magnificence of which he has depicted with a fidelity not devoid of grandeur and the flowing brush of a true colourist. The bold ochreous tone of his lands appears in vigorous relief in the midst of his dark green under- wood. He generally had recourse to Teniers the Elder, Gerard Zeghers or Bout, when he wished his landscapes enlivened with groups of hunters or men- dicants, with rustics driving their cattle to market, or returning from the village fair playing the bagpipe. Towards the same period we notice, in Brussels, the painter Daniel Van Heil (1604— 1662), who habi- tually depicted " Winters" and " Fires." Jean Siberechts (1627—1703.?) kept apart from JS, Jean Siberechts.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 33$ the Other landscape painters of the seventeenth century, and, we hope we do not give way here to an entirely personal appreciation, but, among the landscapists of the Flemish school, there is not one of whom we think more highly. If his colouring lacks the brilliancy and the soft transparency of the tones of Ru- bens, it offers other qualities which were both rare and unexpected at a time when the Flemish landscape was yet enslaved by conventional laws. Sieberechts boldly met the difficulties offered by open-air scenes, and foreshadowed, with complete success, the daring colouring attempted by modern realism. He was a native of Antwerp, where he appears to have lived and worked, ignored by his contemporaries. Were not Wildens and Van Uden the favourites of the moment ? But one day the Duke of Buckingham, on his way from France, passed through Antwerp, be- came acquainted with the landscape painter and took him in his train to England. Walpole states that he was actively employed in the ornamentation of aristocratic mansions.* An attentive and intelligent visit to the galleries of Great Britain would no doubt bring to light many forgotten works by this painter ; but in the museums of the Continent they are ex- tremely rare. The pictures of Brussels, Antwerp, Munich (Fig. 86), of Copenhagen, Hanover, and Bordeaux, are well-known, especially the two replicas * Anecdotes of Painting in England^ vol. iii., p. 109. 1782. 336 FLEMISH PAINTING. [J^n Siberechts. of the " Ford^' in Lille, and in Brussels (Communal Museum). His landscapes are true pastorals, very simple in subject, such as we understand landscape in the nineteenth century. He had no need of help for the figures in his pictures, for he understood better than anyone the art of giving his farm-girls and herds real attitudes, taken from the life; and how to make the various hues of vermillion and silver, blue and yellow of their costumes harmonize boldly together, which makes his works so charming, and gives them such a free and entirely personal character. He never had any pupils ; he had come too late or too soon. His contemporaries, Matthew Van Plattenberg, or de la Montagne (1600 — .'), Gaspard De Witte (1624 — 1681),* skilled in de- sign and picturesque composition ; PHILIP IMMEN- RAET (1627— 1683), J.-Bapt. Wans (1628— aft. 1687), Abraham Genoels (1640 — 1723), who was one of the collaborators of Lebrun in Paris ; Giles (2k Nyts (towards 161 7 — 1687?), PETER Spie- rinckx (1635 — 1711), &c. ; all these returned to Italy, and, lost in their admiration for Poussin, they allowed the realistic Flemish landscape to dis- appear under the academical precision of Roman architecture. After Siberechts, the last landscapists who still recalled the great school, were two brothers : Cor- * See the genealogy of the De Witte, grafted on that of the De Vos, p. 164. Cqrnelius Huysmans.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 337 nelius and Jean-Baptiste Huysmans* CoRNELlusf was born at Antwerp (1648 — 1727), where he studied under Gaspard De Witte ; he afterwards frequented for some time the studio of d'Arthois, in Brussels, and finally settled in Mechlin, in which city he spent the greater part of his life. This fact probably ac- I IG. 87. — LANDSCAPE WITH ANIMALS. — Jean-Baftiste Huysmans. (Museum of Brussels, s ft. 4I in. X 7 ft- ) counts for his being sometimes called Huysmans of Mechlin. His productions were of unequal merit, and not unfrequently spoiled by the red preparation which he gave to his canvas. But, in his best works, * Ad. Siret : Les Huysmans, {Bulhtin des Commissions royaUs iTarf, vol. xiii., p. 174. 1874). + E. Neeffs : Corneilk Huysmans, {Bulletin des Commissions royaks d'ari, vol. xiv., p. 26. 1875). W 338 FLEMISH PAINTING. Q ■Jean-Baptiste Huysmans, which we have an opportunity of studying in Brussels, Mechlin, Valenciennes, &c., we recognise a painter of great power, who, inspired by a deep and sometimes grand understanding of nature, could depict wild spots and scenes, deep ravines, masses of great oaks with their vigorous foliations, the vista of sky through the summit of his old beeches, and who, either by the composition or the colouring, generally succeeded in obtaining grand poetical effectiveness. The documents for the biography of his brother Jean-Baptiste (1654 — 1716) are incomplete. He was the pupil and imitator of Cornelius, and, judging from the " Landscape with Animals " in the Museum of Brussels (Fig. 87), the only one of his works which is known, he deserves a place among the best masters of that school of landscape of Brabant, of which De Vadder and d'Arthois were the leaders. It may be said also of Jean-Baptiste Huysmans, that he is the last of those who really deserve the title of artists of the time of Rubens. Those who follow him in order of time all belong to the age of decay. Marine Painters. In opposition to what can be observed in the Dutch school, the painters of sea-pieces form but a small group in Flemish Art, and the one, perhaps, which offers the least interest. Four names only deserve our notice : those of Willaerts, Van Ertveldt, Van Eyck, and Peeters ; and the first of these may be claimed by both schools. ■^ErtveldT*"] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 339 AWF Adam Willaerts (iS77 — aft. 1665), was born in Antwerp, in the same year that witnessed the birth of Rubens ; he left his native city for Utrecht ; there he passed the greater part of his Hfe, and there died. His pictures gene- rally represent coasts and harbours enlivened by numerous figures. He combines powerful colouring and breadth of touch with picturesque arrangement in the composition, and always gives proof of a very keen observation, as in the " Fdte given on the Lake of Tervueren by the Archduke Albert and his consort Isabel" (Museum of Antwerp). The name of Andrea Van Ertveldt (1590 — 1652), has been handed down to us by Van Dyck, who painted the full length of the artist &^^ (Museum of Augsburg). He was a good' colourist as well as a skilful practitioner. His works are slowly emerging from oblivion,* a "Naval Combat" at Schwerin ; "War Ships" at Bamberg (this bears a monogram), and the same subject at Vienna and at Valenciennes have been ascribed to him with certainty. M. Siret believes that many of his paintings have been erroneously attributed to William Van de Velde.f Gaspard Van Eyck (1613— 1673) is hardly * Dr. F. Schlie : Catalogue du mtisk Schwerin, p. 151. 1882. t Dictionnaire des feintres, vol. i., p. 38. 1881.— See also van L^rius : Biogi-aphies d'ai-lis/es Anversois, vol. ii., p. 174. 1883. W 2 340 FLEMISH TAINTING. better known, though the Prado possesses three " Naval Battles" from his hand. The name of PeeTERS belongs to a family composed of two brothers and one sister. The only one who became "p^ YD celebrated is BONAVENTURE, a painter of sea-pieces (1614 — 1652). He de- lighted in pictures of a stormy sea, with its roaring waves dashed by the tempest and illumined by the flash of lightning which rents the sky. His works are very unequal in merit, but his smaller scenes are generally well planned, and the lights dis- tributed with great art. There are capital paintings by him in the Museums of Lille, Darmstadt, Bordeaux, and Belle. Vienna, in her three principal galleries contains about fifteen of his productions, which ^ enable the critic to judge of his talent under Jz its various aspects. His brother jEAN (1624 — 1677) copied his manner without achieving like results, either in power of effect or in the rich trans- parency of the colouring. Peeters \ .1 I I I Giles (I.) Bona venture Catherine Jean (I.) 1612— 1653 1614— 1652 1615— 1676 1624— 1677 _J I I I I I I William Giles (II.) Bonaventure (II.) Jean (II.) Isabel 1642— ? 1645— ? 1648— ? master in 1662— ? 1677-8 The Painters of Architectural Scenes. Biirger, who invented the word " architecturist," applies the term to those artists of the second degree RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 341 who adopted for their special branch of art the paintings of city scenery, entrances to harbours, 342 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Peter Neefs. market places and fountains, monuments of all ages, interiors of churches and palaces, vestibules, porticoes, and terraces. Chronologically speaking, the first name which presents itself is that of LlEViN DE WiTTE (about 15 1 3 — aft. 1578) of Ghent, a painter of religious sub- jects and architectural perspectives, and who, accord- ing to Sanderus, was also a mathematician and a distinguished architect. Next, must be mentioned two painters of Dutch extraction, both named , , Henry Van Steenwyck, the father and ri ^■^S ' the son. During their long residence in Antwerp they painted the churches of that city, and they instructed many pupils. But the most important is Peter Neep'S the Elder (1578 — towards 1656), who did for the Roman Catholic Churches of Antwerp that which, thirty years later, and with greater talent, a more flowing brush, and a better understanding of chiaro-oscuro, Emmanuel De Witte was destined to do for the Protestant Temples of Delft. Both suc- ceeded in evoking poetry from architectural lines. Neefs took special delight in the representation of night scenes, torchlight funeral services, chapels lighted up with wax candles and the like, which he depicted with perfect truth. F. Francken, Van Thulden, Teniers, and Velvet Breughel themselves often assisted him in these small canvases, thus bearing testimony to the high esteem in which Neefs was held by his colleagues of St. Luke. Two other painters of church interiors — ANTHONY Gheringh ( ? —1668) and William Van Ehren- DenysVan Alsloot.l RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 343 BERG (1637 — 1675-7)— have in the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna, skilful perspectives in a grand style, painted in very delicate and silvery tones. The superior skill of the latter artist in de- picting the fine architecture of vestibules and monu- mental terraces caused his aid to be in great request among the painters of scenes from high life, particu- larly Gonzales Coques, Biset, and Jerome Janssens. Denys Van Alsloot (1550-1625 i')*wasacolourist who appears to have occupied a somewhat prominent place in Brussels in the early part of the century. We see in that part of his work which has been handed down to us a truly national painter, free from all Italian influence, who delighted in the repre- sentation of the public squares traversed by religious processions or the cortege of guilds and corporations. Van Alsloot has four paintings of this description in Brussels and Madrid. The same Museums, as well as that of Munich, also possess a " Mascarade on the Ice," an interesting picture of public manners skilfully painted, though wanting in softness. The two Antwerpians, William Van Nieulandt (1584 — 1635) and Anthony Goubau (i6i6 — 1698), according to the fashion of the day, journeyed to ^ p Italy ; however, they never painted but LM f the ruined arches and aqueducts of the -/ ■ ' ^-^ ' Eternal City, the several beauties of which had exercised a strange fascination over their whole being. * See the Pinchait's article in the Nagler-Meyer : Allgeiiuii.es Keunstler-Lexikon. Leipzig, 1872 ; vol. i., p. 527. CHAPTER XXV. THE PAINTERS OF STILL LIFE. IF we wish to understand that diversified style which, during the first half of the seventeenth century, was adopted by so many able artists, it is in the galleries of Vienna and St. Petersburg that we should study it. The painters of still life are largely represented both in the gallery of the Prince of Liechtenstein and in the Palace of the Hermitage, where special rooms are devoted to their works. Lifeless subjects they are indeed, and yet portrayed with so much talent that they are of striking reality. It is here, in these two splendid collections, which offer so much interest to the student of Dutch Art, that we can best admire the vivacity, the robust and learned elegance, with which the northern painters have assembled game, fish, flowers, fruit, vegetables, china, glass — in fact, all kinds of various objects ; and how powerfully they have gathered the lights on these picturesque trophies. The brilliant rays of the sun half open the petals of roses and tulips, gently caress the plumage of swans and pheasants, or the soft fur of hares and stags ; lemons and lobsters appear in brighter hues, and Rhine wine sparkles in the crystal goblet. Adrian Van Utrecht.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 345 This numerous class of artists may be divided in two categories — the painters of game, fish, and acces- sories, and the artists who depicted flowers and fruit. Game, Fish, and Accessories. In the chapter devoted to animal painters (page 280) we have spoken at some length of Snyders and Fyt ; we must therefore content ourselves here with again bearing testimony to the talent they brought to bear on the representation of their hunting trophies and grand culinary scenes, and to the success which everywhere crowned their efforts. In Adrian Van Utrecht, who was born in Antwerp two months before Van Dyck (1599 — 1652), we recognise a painter equally Flemish in style, though less powerful and refined than either Fyt or Snyders. His productions are now scarce, though many were to be found in the collections of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is probable that the greater number have been ascribed to Snyders, Fyt, or Hondecoeter. We have, nevertheless, sufficient opportunity of appreciating his great talent in those of his pictures which have been handed down to us : " Kitchen Interiors," in the Museums of Cassel and Brussels (Fig. 89) ; a " Fishmonger's Shop," in Ghent; a "Poultry Yard," in AV/ Rotterdam ; a " Cock Fight," in Lille ; and 'l^^ paintings from still life in the Prado, in Antwerp, and in the Vander Hoop Museum — all tell of his merit. But if, in presence of such works, we could entertain any doubts with regard to the artist, 346 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Es. we should remember that Rubens assisted him in his magnificent representation of fruit in "Pythagoras and his Disciples," in Buckingham Palace ; that Teniers worked jointly with him in his " Larder," in the d'Arenberg collection ; and that Jordaens painted the figures in his large picture of " Dead Birds," in the Royal Museum of Madrid. No ordinary artist would have been honoured with the collaboration of such masters. Van Utrecht excelled particularly in portraying the rough skin of crabs and lobsters, the silver scales of the mackerel and the chad, and the pink flesh of the salmon. His rival in this speciality was a fellow-citizen, ALEXANDER AdriAENSEN (1587 — 1661), whose works in the Museums of Madrid and Valenciennes are worthy of every commendation. Another of his imitators, FRANCIS Ykens (1601— 1693), has a large and splendid panel in the Museum of the Hermitage — the " Purchase of Provisions." The same artist has also left some garlands of flowers after the manner of Seghers. Jean Van Es (towards 1596 — 1666) is the painter of transition who represented at once oysters and lobsters like Van Utrecht, plums and grapes like Abraham Breughel, and who forms the link between the painters of fish and the painters of fruit. Van Es is the Flemish Heda, Like the latter, he painted " Desserts " — that is to say, tables furnished with oysters, cheese, fruit, and accessories. His four panels in the Liechtenstein collection are remarkable for picturesque arrangement and incomparable deli- cacy of form. He has a few more in Lille, F'rankfort, RUBENS AND, HIS SCHOOL. 347 Ghent,- Madrid, Antwerp, &c. It is probable that he instructed several pupils. Cornelius Mahu (1613 — 1689), who has some " Desserts " in Ghent and Berlin ; ISAAC WiGAN (161 5 — 1662-3), WILLIAM Gabron (1619 — 1678), OsiAS Beert (1622 — aft. FIG. 89. — KITCHEN INTERIOR. — Adrian Van Utrecht. (Museum of Brassels. 5 ft. 4! in. X 7 ft-) 1678), and Alexander Coosemans (1627 — 1( who are represented with the same subject, in Bruns- wick or in Madrid. Flowers and Fruit. From the first, Flemish painters gave their minute attention to the study of flowers, as we can see by the violets, daisies, and anemones scattered around the throne of Mary and the Infant Jesus in the pictures 348 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Daniel Seghers. by Van Eyck, Vander Weyden, and Memling. It is but just to add that later artists have not improved upon the marvellous perfection of these early masters. Van Mander also mentions LOUIS Van Den Bosch (1507) and James de Gheyn (1565—1625), tS/ who portrayed flowers as a speciality, but are forgotten in our day. Later, GEORGE HOEF- nagels (1545— 1 601) painted slightly heavy garlands of flowers around his delicate landscapes in miniature ; and thus gradually it became the custom to surround with fresh wreaths of ilowers and fruits the images of the saints. Velvet Breughel was the first who handled this style successfully in the Netherlands ; Seghers, his pupil, following in his steps, acquired greater fame than his master. Daniel Seghers (1590 — 1661) was born in Ant- werp. Theology had charms for his ardent mind as well as painting, and even while a student, in 1614, he was induced to become a novice in the Society of Jesus at Mechlin. Happily, under the black gown of the Jesuit the young artist did not forget his love for flowers, and the powerful company put no obstacle in the way of the artistic vocation of the new associate. Father Daniel continued, therefore, to apply his excellent taste and skill in forming lovely bouquets of roses, marguerites, lilies, and jasmine, and in weaving his delicate wreaths of poppies, guelder-roses, pionies, and honeysuckle. Rubens, Van Dyck, Erasmus Quellinus, Van Thulden, Van Diepenbeeck, and especially Cornelius Schut, delighted in adorning his n fLC. 90. — THE VIRGIX AND CHILD SURROUNDED BV A GARLAND OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT. — Daniel Seghers and Cornelius Schut. 3SO FLEMISH PAINTING. graceful productions with cameos, often painted on a grey ground, and representing madonnas or saints, bas-reliefs, busts, or portraits. Before long the talent of the painter was famed abroad, and every amateur in Europe sought to enrich his collection with the young Jesuit's delightful creations (Fig. 90). They are to be admired in almost every one of the private or public galleries. The brilliant tints of his flowers have lost nothing of their pristine freshness, and the bees, butterflies, and beetles which the delicate brush of the artist has scattered among them are still enamoured with their beauty and their perfume. The renown of Seghers and Velvet Breughel suddenly gave great expansion to the painting of flowers and fruit, and the celebrated Dutchman, Jean David de Heem, who had settled in Antwerp about the same period, further aided in its development. Several other artists copied their man- ner or came to them for advice ; we will mention them by order of date. James Van Hulsdonck (1582 .? — 1647) has fruits in the Pinacothek of Munich ; CLARA Peeters painted in 1611, AMBROSE BREUGHEL (1617 — 167s), John Paul Gillemans (1618 — aft. 1675), John Philip Van Thielen (161 8 — 1667), who was the direct pupil of Daniel Seghers, and who himself instructed his three daughters, Mary, Ann, and Frances ; ANDREA Bosmans (1621 — towards 1681), who has a picture in the Prado ; CHRISTIAN LUCKX (1623 — ? ), who was painter to the King of cMt RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 351 Spain ; George Van Son (1623 — 1667), and his son Jean (1658 — towards 1785) ; JEROME Galle I. (1625 — aft. 1679), one of the masters in this special style ; Jean Van Kessel (1626 — 1679) * who acquired the taste for flowers and animals in the work- shop of John Breughel II. (his " Four Farts of the World," mentioned by C. De Bie, are in the Schleissheim Gallery) ; GaS- \^\/ / pard-Peter Verbrugghen I. (1635 — 1681), Nicholas Van Verendael (1640 — 1691), an excellent follower of Seghers ; Elias Van Den Broeck (towards 1653 — 171 1), a painter of flowers and of "des- serts ;" finally, the two brothers Breughel, JEAN-BAPTISTE (1670 — 1710) and ABRAHAM (1672 — 1720), who, judging by the tempting pictures of downy fruit which enrich the Pinacothek of Munich, deserve to be classed among the most brilliant worshippers of Pomona. * See the genealogy of Van Kessel, grafted on that of Breughel (P- 327)- CHAPTER XXVI. THE GRANDSONS OF RUBENS. At a time when the fame of Rubens was paramount in Antwerp, when all those artists (his pupils or fellow- workers) whose names were more or less connected with his own, shared in some degree the glorious prestige of his genius — at this very time, a new gene- ration of painters was rising in Belgium, whose brush had preserved something of the daring of the master, and who were to ornament town-halls, churches, hospitals, and guild-halls with imposing portraits or religious representations bold in colouring and full of animation. Among these new-comers many were endowed with natural ability and the gift of colour and compo- sition, and they have left highly commendable works. How is it, then, that fame has not proclaimed one of their names ? Had they striven for originality, tried to represent nature in a new manner, or sought a new ideal, it might have been otherwise ; but these descendants of Rubens were content with repeating the work which had been carried on before them, and in a far superior style, by the master's great disciples. Jssfe"s.l RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 353 Van Dyck, Jordaens, De Vos, and De Crayer ; and because of this they are unknown, except to a few amateurs, even in Belgium, which possesses the greater part of their works. On their paintings, which dazzle by their striking lines and boisterous attitudes, the passer-by does not even read their names ; as he gazes, he recognises the school of Rubens, and passes ■ on content. Antwerp* — In 161 5 two pupils entered the work- shop of Cornelius De Vos — Jean CossiERS (1600 — i67i)t and Simon De Vos (1603 — 1676). Both imitated their master's elegant and refined tones, while remaining far below his great and sympathetic talent. Both these artists have left us religious sub- jects, portraits, and a few genre pictures. The best and most numerous specimens of their easy and graceful talent will be found in the museums of Ant- werp and in the churches and the Beguinage of Mechlin. Cossiers journeyed through Italy and France, and Rubens chose him as his travelling com- panion when, in 1628, he set out for Spain. His " Saint Nicholas " in the Museum of Lille, and his " Saint Anthony " in the Church of the Beguinage of Mechlin, are valuable productions. Jean Cossiers was in great favour at the Court of * See the works of Messrs. Rooses and Van den Branden on the Histoire de Vicole de peinture d^Anvers, and the Catalogue du musee d^Anvers. t Ch. Ruelens : Jean Cossiers (Bulletin - Rubens, vol. i., p. 261). X 354 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean BoeAhorst. the Governor; in like manner, PETER VAN LiNT (1609— 1690) succeeded in gaining high patronage. He spent several years in Rome, where he was ap- -p. pointed painter to Cardinal Guinacio, Dean \B of the Sacred College ; and when he returned '^ to his native land he was engaged on many a commission for Frederic III., King of Denmark. The Cardinal's portrait is in the Museum of Antwerp, and a likeness of the artist painted by himself in Brussels ; while that of his wife is preserved as a family heirloom by one of his great-grandsons, a sculptor in Pisa. Jean Boeckhorst (1605 — "1668), a painter of very different stamp, whose style was at once more manly and noble, was surnamed by his brothers-in-art " Lange Jan," on account of his height. He was the pupil of Jordaens ; and though he T J ) "[ never exhibited the triumphant fire of his I Jj} J master, yet he produced works which denote a more than ordinary talent. "David Penitent," for instance, in the Church of St. Michael in Ghent, is a truly Flemish production, painted in a grand style, and powerful both in the colouring and the composition. Boeckhorst also painted the figures in the four large scenes from still life now in the Hermitage, and which Snyders executed for the Bishop of Ghent. Be it said to the honour of" Lange Jan," these figures were for many years ascribed to Rubens. An equally flattering error attributed to Van Dyck the portrait of Balthazar Moretus I. (Plantin X 2 3S6 FLEMISH PAINTING. BOTye?iii°ans. Museum), painted in 164 1 by Thomas WiLLEBOIRTS (1614— i6S4).This artist, a pupil of Gerard Zeghers, was entrusted by the Stadliolder Frederick Henry with the commission for seventeen mythological paintings. These are stamped with a character of marked grace, which to a certain extent replaces many absent qualities. In the Church of St. James, Antwerp, we find the chief work of PETER Thys (1624 — 1679), the " Chap- lain and Directors of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament in Adoration before the Host." This is in truth a great picture of portraits, the warm and delicate tones of which prove with how much talent this artist, who is not sufficiently known in our day, could portray the human countenance. The Emperor Leopold I. appreciated him, and appointed him painter to his court. The portraits of many persons of high rank, due to his brush, have since been con- founded with the second-rate works of Van Dyck, his master. Theodore Boeyermans (1620 — 1678), another disciple of Van Dyck, is still less known ; and yet, in his best works, this artist runs the master rather close, while preserving his personal character f-^ in a more accentuated manner than the ^Jr^ painters of whom we have but lately spoken. He specially delighted in the representation of large religious or allegorical scenes — such, for example, as the "St. Francis-Xavier," in Ypres ; the " Assumption of the Virgin," in St. James', Antwerp ; " St. Louis of Gonzaga," in the Museum of Nantes ; or the " Pool of Bethesda," in the Museum of Ant- RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 357 werp. He exhibits great imaginative powers, a colouring rich in delicate harmonies, and a thorough understanding of chiaro-oscuro. Other contemporaries — Balthazar Van Cort- DEMDE (1612 — 1663), Marcus Garibaldo (1620 — 1678), Michael Angelo Immenraet (1621 — 1683),* Peter Ykens (1648 — 1695), James Peter Gouwi (master in 1637), Francis Muntsaert (1623 — 1650), do not claim our special attention. We must, however, mention JOSSE VAN Hamme ( ? — < jX 1660), who composed the large "Adoration yTh of the Shepherds" (1655), in the Museum of Vicenza ; and GODEFROID Maes, who painted the " Martyrdom of St. George " (Museum of Antwerp), which lacks neither enthusiasm nor inspiration, and whose great picture, " A Sale of Fish by Auction," which we discovered very unexpectedly in the Manfrin Gallery at Venice, is as a last echo of the school of Snyders, Fyt, and Van Utrecht. Brussels. — Although during the seventeenth cen- tury the whole artistic interest appears concentrated on Antwerp, Brussels, the residence of sovereigns and governors, also possessed a Guild of St. Luke, abounding in talented painters. We have already mentioned Van Tilborg, Duchastel, De Vadder, d'Arthois, Van Alsloot, and Sallaerts ; we shall speak hence of Champaigne and Van der Meulen. But to their more celebrated names we must add that of * Goovaerts : Le peintre Michel- Ange Iiiimenrael d'Anvers et sa faniille, 1 878. 3S8 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Peter Franchoys. Peter Van Der Plas (1595?— aft. 1646), who painted votive offerings for the Corporations; and, prominently first, that of PETER Meert (1619?— 1669), who has in Brussels a canvas representing the " Syndics of the Fishmongers' Company." This pic- ture figures in the Museum between two of Rubens' masterpieces, as a companion picture to the splendid family portrait by Cornelius De Vos, and it bears itself nobly in this overwhelming company. Can we give the picture any higher commendation? These four kneeling men, well draped in their black cos- tumes, whose defined characteristic heads are modelled as by a sculptor, appear in bold relief on a Jightly- brushed bituminous background. These alone suffice to save from oblivion the name of Peter Meert, and place him among the most remarkable portrait- painters of his time. Unfortunately, his other works have probably perished ; all we know by him is this masterpiece in Brussels and " Two Persons Seated by the Sea Shore " in the Museum of Berlin. Mechlin* — The family of the FRANCHOYS is the first we meet in the ancient residence of Margaret of Austria. Its head, LuCAS THE ELDER (1574 — 1643), was painter to the court. We have seen the last son, Lucas the Younger (1616— 1681), studying under Rubens. Peter, the eldest (1606 — 1654), entered the studio of Gerard Zeghers, and left far behind the inferior talents of his father and brother. Like * Sec VHistoire dc la fcinlure cl de la sculpture h Malines. By Emm. Neefs. Peter Franchoys.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 359 Boeyermans, who worked with him under Zeghers, he continued the manner of Van Dyck. He was re- FIG. 92. — PORTRAIT OF GILBERT MULZARTS, PRIOR OF THE ABUEY OF TONGERLOO. — Peter Franchoys. (Museum of Lille, 4 ft. S\ in. X 3 ft. 3 in. 360 FLEMISH PAINTING. [James Van Oost. nowned for his portraits, which, both in Belgium and France, are now very scarce. We know one in Lille (Fig. 92), one in Dresden, and one in Cologne ; to these we must add the half-length figure called " The Last Drop," in the possession of the Royal Museum in Brussels. This work, exceptional in the intensity of life it betrays, full of originality in the expression, and charm in the colouring, is indeed a mcisterpiece. After the Franchoys family came the HerrE- GOUTS, of whom little can be said ; then GILES Smeyers (1635 — 1710), who has in the Museum of Brussels two " Scenes from the Life of St. Norbert." These are large and flowing compositions, in which the dominant blue and silvery tones, which time has paled, blend harmoniously. We see the great school of Rubens becoming gradually weaker. Smeyers, who, though wanting in power, was not a colourist without charm, is the last of its talented disciples. Bruges. — The glorious city of Van Eyck and Mem- ling — which, thanks to the Pourbus family shone with momentary lustre in the sixteenth century, saw in the seventeenth the family of the Van Oosts close its artistic history. Among the five painters who bore this name, the most celebrated is James THE ELDER (1600 — 1 671), who represented the school of Rubens in the former capital of the Dukes of Burgundy. His portraits are far superior to the religious pictures which ornament the churches of his native city, and in which the influence of the Carracci is paramount ; they give the measure of "his manly talent. Not un- RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 361 frequently did Van Oost seek to give his portraits the dignity of a picture by representing his models in the exercise of their profession. " The Churchman Dic- tating a letter to a Young Clerk " (Museum of the Academy in Bruges), and a " Philosopher in Medi- tation" (St. John's Hospital), are painted with great spirit, and, by their colouring and their realism, they remain essentially faithful to the national traditions. The Elder Van Oost had two sons who adopted painting as a career; James the Younger (1639 — 1713), who copied the manner of his father, is alone known to us. For a space of about forty years he lived in Lille, and this city possesses a great many of his works. He has, however, various pictures of religion in the churches of Bruges, where we see also the compositions of Peter Bernaerdt, John Maes (.? — 1677), Nicholas Vleys (.? — 1703), and Louis Dedeyster (1656— 1711), his feeble and in- animate contemporaries. Ghent.* — Gaspard De Grayer settled in Ghent, and there became the centre of a certain artistic movement which produced several painters of relative merit. Nicholas De Liemaeckere, surnamed . "Roose"(i575 — 1646), who studied with 5 TTt' Rubens in the studio of Otho Vaenius, » J-** and assisted De Crayer in several works of mere decoration; Anselm Van Hulle (1594 — 1665-8), Anthony Van Den Heuvele (1600 — 1677), and * See Recherches sur les peintres et sculptetirs Je Gand, au xvi'-' xvii':' et xviW- Hides. E. De Busscher, 362 FLEMISH PAINTING. [iiertno.ei r .=..„.,=. Jean Van Cleve (1646—1716), were the pupils of De Crayer, and possessed in a greater or lesser degree some of his qualities— his dramatic imagi- nation, his ardent colouring, or the skill of his brush. Van Cleve, far superior to his two colleagues, succeeded in likening his style to that of his master, whom he sometimes runs very close. Two of his productions, remarkable in an equal degree by the arrangement of the composition, the dignity of the attitudes, and the elevation of the expression — "The Infant Jesus Crowning St. Joseph" (Museum of Ghent) and the " Martyrdom of St. Crepinus " (Church of St. Michael) — might be ascribed to De Crayer without in any way injuring his reputation. Lie£-e*—Th.e city of the Prince-Bishops, sud- denly emerging from the lethargy in which she had been sunk since Lambert Lombard, also con- tributed artists whose talent had been matured by the genius of Rubens. The earliest is Gerard Douffet, whom we have seen in Antwerp in the workshop of the master, and who in his turn instructed Bertholet FLfiMALLE (1614 — 1675). On his way back from Italy Fl^malle stopped in Paris, where he was honoured with the patronage of Mary of Medici. It was for this princess that he decorated, in 1644, the arched ceiling of the Church " des Carmes de Vaugirard." This is a curious specimen of painting, in this sense — that it is the earliest example in France of the vaulted * See /" Ilisloire Je la pcinture au pays de Liige. By J. Helbig. RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 363 roof of a church being painted bodily.* Bertholet Flemalle, whose manner was strongly impressed with the Italian decorative art in the age of decay, in- structed two pupils — John Carlier (1638 — 1675), whose works were remarkable for their great spirit, and the celebrated GfiRARD DE Lairesse /T, (1641 — 171 1). The latter artist left Liege for Amsterdam, where he sought to initiate the contem- foraries of Chevalier Van der WerfT in the classical beauties of Lebrun. A Belgian instructing Dutchmen in the traditions of the classical school of Paris! — that was too complicated a cosmopolitism for the ingenuous followers of John Vermeer and Peter De Hooghe. It was fatal to them ; and, the general circumstances of the time assisting in the work of destruction, De Lairesse hastened the downfall of the Dutch School. * Ed. P'etis : Les feintres beiges a Velravger, vol. ii., p. 374. CHAPTER XXVIT. THE FLEMISH PAINTERS ABROAD. The impulse which carried Flemish artists abroad during the seventeenth century, while it did not mani- fest the wonderful activity of the preceding period, nevertheless offers a most interesting study. Foremost among such artists we must place the elegant figure of Van Dyck, who appears at the Court of Charles I. ; then Suttermans, painter to the Medici ; Pourbus, Champaigne, and Van der Meulen, painters to the Kings of France. Francis Pourbus the Younger (1569 — 1622) has no claim to be assigned to any particular country, for he pursued his labours in the Netherlands as assiduously as in Italy and in France. The Duke of Mantua, Vincent of Gonzaga, saw Pourbus in 1599 at the Court of Albert and Isabella, and, charmed with his talent, took him in his service. Thus the artist spent nine years in Mantua (1600 — 1609), sharing with Rubens the title of Painter to the Duke. Durine this period he painted the portraits of many persons of high rank, while he also worked at the collection of "the most beautiful women in the world, whether FIG. 93. — PORTRAIT OF HENRY IV, — Francis Pourbus the Younger. (Museum of the Louvre, i ft. zf in. X 9i >"■) 366 FLEMISH PAINTING. '^rYoS"^." princesses or private ladies " — a collection interesting to the highest degree, on which M. Armand Baschet has given us most curious details.* Pourbus journeyed to Paris on a mission from his sovereign on two separate occasions — in 1606 and 1609. The warmth of his reception and the number of com- missions which he received from Mary of Medici and her Court induced him to renounce Italy for France. From that time he finally settled in Paris, where he occupied an honoured position with the title of "Painter to the Queen." It is a fact worthy of remark that the works of an artist thus occupied should be so little known. Of the paintings which he must have executed in Brussels one only is mentioned — the "Ball at the Court of Albert and Isabel" in the Museum of the Hague, and the portraits of Albert and Isabel in the Museums of Stockholm. But what has become of all those which he painted in Mantua ? The Ducal Collection being dispersed in 1627-28, the greater part of its works were carried to England ; a little research, and we should probably discover here some fragments at least of the celebrated " Chamber of Beauties." His Parisian productions are better authenticated. " Henry IV.," to be admired in the Louvre (Fig. 93), is almost classical. The portraits of Mary of Medici (Louvre, Prado, and Valenciennes), of Ann of Austria (Prado and Rothan Collection), of Louis XIII., and Gaston of Orleans (private collections), are also highly * Franfois Pourbus, fcintre de portraits ^ la cour de Mantoue Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1868, vol. xxv., pp. 276 and 438. Sutlermfns.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 367 valued works. In Paris the artist also executed several religious compositions for churches, two of which are in the Louvre. He adorned with portraits the apart- ment, formerly called the Hall of Paintings, now the Apollo Gallery, and painted for the Hotel de Ville a series of large canvases, chiefly portraits, which were destroyed in the revolution of 1789, though several fragments are still to be seen in the Hermitage. Neither Francis Pourbus the Younger nor his father, Francis the Elder, ever obtained the grand effectiveness of the celebrated portraitists ; neverthe- less, both were true artists, and, as M. Armand "Baschet so justly remarks, " painters capable of pro- ducing a masterpiece, delighting in well-doing, lovers of perfection in detail, and excellent practitioners." In Paris Francis Pourbus (II.) instructed a pupil who, during the whole course of his long life, was as well occupied as his master, and who enjoyed an equal degree of honour : this was Justus Suttermans, of Antwerp. Italy. — The portrait painter in highest repute in Florence in the seventeenth century was not an Italian, but this very pupil of Pourbus, of whotn we have just spoken, JUSTUS Suttermans* 1597 — 1681), apjjointed painter to Cosmo II., Ferdinand II., and Cosmo III. de' Medici. The collection of his historical portraits, extending over more than half a century, offers most precious documents for the * Ed. Fetls: Les feintres beiges h t'etranger. Brussels, vol. i., P' 257- 368 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Justus Suttemans. annals of Tuscany and the history of this celebrated dynasty. Having studied in Antwerp under William De Vos, and afterwards in Paris under Pourbus, and having sojourned three years in this city, Suttermans arrived in Florence a few years only before Van Dyck. Cosmo II. immediately took him in his ser- vice, and the name of the artist was soon famed in the whole of Italy and Austria. He was called to Vienna by the Emperor Ferdinand II., to Parma by the Grand-Duke Edward I., to Mantua by Ferdinand of Gonzaga; and to Rome, where he executed the portraits of Urban VII. and the Barberini, and some- what later those of Innocent X. and the Panfilia: ; lastly, he left brilliant traces of his passage in Modena, Ferrara, Genoa and Inspruck. Suttermans was on friendly terms with Rubens, who executed for him the picture, the " Evils of War " (Pitti Palace), and with Van Dyck, who has left us the artist's portrait in his " Iconographie." Suttermans was also an historical painter, if we judge from a large decorative panel — about twenty feet six inches in length — composed with great skill, and representing the " Senate of Florence swearing fidelity to the Child-King Ferdinand II." (Uffizi). His portraits enrich nearly all the public or private galleries of central Italy. We have counted as many as six in the Uffizi, twelve in the Pitti Palace, eighteen in the gallery of the Count of Corsini in Florence, five in the Academy of Fine Arts in Lucca, &c.* * Principal works : Galileo (Uffizi), Fig. 94 ; The Prince of Den- Justus Suttermans.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 369 I'"IG. 94. — GALILEO. — Justus Suttermans. (Museum of the Uffizi at Florence, i ft. loj in. X i ft. l\ in.) mark (Pitti); A Young Woman (Acad, of Fine-Arts in Lucca); Cardinal Leopold of Medici (ditto) Cardinal Corsini (Ccrsini collec- tion in Florence) ; Mary Magdalen of Austi-ia (ditto, Fig. 95) ; Ferdinand II. of Mediei {Pitti) ; Vitloria delta Ravere (ditto) ; Puliciani and his Wife (Ufiizi) ; Portrait of the painter (ditto) ; Spinola (Museum of Edinburgh) ; the Archduchess Clattdia (Museum of Vienna) ; the Y 370 FLEMISH PAINTING. Lievin Mchus. The half-length portrait of Galileo (Fig. 94), is his masterpiece. The illustrious astronomer inspired the artist ; his eloquent glance, his inspired countenance from which light seems to spring, hia rude white beard, his severe dress ; all this enveloped as it were by the chiaro-oscuro of the background is handled in a masterly style, free from useless details, and admirably painted, designed and modelled. In Lucca he has the portrait of a young woman which is of indescribable charm. We do not fear to say that, after Rubens, Van Dyck, and Cornelius De Vos, the Flemish school of the seven- teenth century can boast of no better portraitist than Suttermans. His brother jEAN joined him in Florence, and accompanied him to Vienna, where he took up his residence. The Medici, at least Duke Matthias, also pro- tected LlEviN Mehus of Oudenaerde (1630— 1 691)* who was the pupil of Peter iyf) Cortona, and at once portraitist, f%/f^ landscapist, and historical painter. /^C His "Abraham's Sacrifice" (Museum of the Uffizi) is a good composition and full of action ; and his "Man's Portrait" (Corsini Collection, Florence) an expressive and vivid painting, executed in a broad and powerful style. Senate of fhraur s.vearing fdcUly to the Cluhl-Kins Fadinand IT. (Uffizi) ; the Magdalen (ditto). * Fetis : Les pcintres beiges ct rkra''^cr, vol. i., p. iqi JeanMiel] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 37^ VIG. 95.— MARY MAGDALEN OF AUSTRIA, WIFE OF COSMO II. OF MEDICI. — Justus Sutterinans. (Corsini Collection, Florence.) Another Antwerpian, Jean MiEL (towards 1599 — 1664),* became painter to the Duke of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel, in Turin. He generally painted * Fetis : Les peintres beiges h fetr anger, vol. i., p -SIS- Y 2 372 FLEMISH PAINTING. genre subjects, and has enriched the collections of the Louvre, the Hermitage, the Prado, the Uffizi, Turin, and others, with landscapes, with figures and animals, the meet of the hounds, pastorals, and village dances, all small but ingenious compositions, in which the actions and expression of the dramatis persotice prove the painter to have been an intelligent observer of popular manners. After Suttermans, Mehus and Miel, we must yet mention, in Rome, the two por- trait painters LouiS Primo (1606 — 1668), surnamed Gentil, and Ferdinand VOET (who painted in 1640 — 91), both painters to the Pontifical Court ; in Mantua, James Denys (1644 — aft. 1659.?), and Robert De LoNGfi in Piaccnza, both of whom have left religious paintings in the churches of their respective towns ; in Venice, DANIEL Van Dyck (1599 — 1670!') was inspector of the Gallery of the Duke of Mantua ; lastly, in Genoa, the animal painter John Roose (1591 — 1638), surnamed Rosa, who was still living in Genoa when the brothers De Wael took up their residence in that city, and who, at a later period, came to Anthony Van Dyck for lessons. England. — The brilliancy of the Court of Charles I. could not fail to attract other Flemish artists besides Van Dyck. We have seen Peter Thys, Van Leemput, Van Belcamp, and Van Neve, taking place around the master ; Van Diepenbeeck worked for the Duke of Newcastle, John Siberechts for the Duke of Bucking- ham, while the Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II., appointed Francis Wouters his own painter. Chrono- Paul Van Somer.] RUBENS' AND HIS SCHOOL. 373 logically speaking, we ought to have mentioned before those names that of Paul Van Somer (1576 ? — 1624), of Antwerp, the portraitist of King James I* This artist, whose works are often mistaken for those of the Dutch painter, Daniel Mytens, is hardly known beyond the museums and galleries of England. In Hampton Court he has the portraits of James I. and his Queen, and those of the King and Queen of Denmark. Waagen, who has seen a certain number of this artist's paintings in the private collections of the English nobility,t speaks in terms of high commenda- tion of his colouring and his skill. He mentions specially the portraits of Lord Bacon (Cowper collec- tion), and of Lord and Lady Arundel (Norfolk collec- tion). Van Somer was represented in the Exhibition of Manchester with nine portraits, among which Biirger mentions that of the Countess of Mandeville, in bridal costume, as a work of no ordinary merit. In 1616 the artist was working in Brussels, when the Chambres des Comptes of Brabant commissioned him to paint the portraits of Albert and Isabel ; and eight years later he ended his career in Amsterdam. All these Flemish portrait-painters were the real forerunners of the English school ; Van Dyck was its great initiator ; Reynolds (1723 — 1792), and Gains- borough (1727 — 1788), its first great artists. The * Walpole : Anecdotes of Painting in England, vol. ii. , p. 5. 1782. t See also on the treasures of these private galleries a nutnber of articles virhich have appeared in the Alhenaum, under the titl : Priv te Collections of England. 374 FLEMISH PAINTING. English masters knew how much they owed to the painter of Charles I., and did not shrink from doing him homage. " We shall all go to heaven," said Gains- borough to Reynolds, on his death-bed, "and we shall have Van Dyck with us." * France. — Under Henry IV., Louis XIII., and Louis XIV., a real colony of Flemish artists had settled in Paris, several of whom contributed, in 1648, to the foundation of the Royal Academy of France. We have mentioned already the names of Pourbus, Van Thulden, De Mai, Justus of Egmorit, de Boel, Fl^malle and Genoels ; but our duties as a recorder would be incomplete were we to forget to mention James Foucquier(is8o .' — 1659 X), a landscapist who had studied under Rubens, and whom Louis XIII. employed in the decoration of the Louvre ; NiCAlSE Bernaerts (1620 — 1678), better known as Nicasius, a talented animal painter who worked for the Gobe- lins, and who instructed Francis Desportes, one of the best animal painters of France ; Van Boeck, surnamed Van Boucle ( .? — 1673,) also an animal painter who learnt his art from Snyders ; finally, Louis Finson, an historical painter and portraitist of talent, who habitually signed his works Finsonniiis belga brugensis (towards 1580 — 1632!'), and who settled in Provence, where his principal productions are to be seen.f * Ern. Chesneau : The English School of Painting, translated by L. N. Etheringlon, p. 33. + De Chennevi^res : Kccherches sur la vie et les ouvrages de iiiielques feintres provinciaux, vol. ii., Paris, 1850. 376 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Philip of Champaigne After the death of Francis Pourbus, one of his compatriots, Philip of Champaigne (1602— 1674), who was appointed painter to Ann of Austria, in- herited the Royal favour. The French and the Flemish schools both claim this artist ; and, in truth, he belongs to both. Several of his figures — more especially his portraits — by their breadth of execution and the boldness of their colouring, partake of the character of the Flemish School ; others, in greater number, by their delicacy, their correctness of design, and their discreet ordering, unmistakably bear the stamp of the French contemporary school. At the age of nineteen Champaigne set out for Paris, where he met Poussin, and a friendship sprung up between them which exercised a strong influence on the young painter's style. Overwhelming commissions awaited him from the Court, the ministers of state, the clergy, and private amateurs; and his productions became countless. He worked especially for Port Royal and the members of that celebrated community — Pascal, Jansdnius, Arnauld d'Andilly, Saint Cyran — to whom he was. bound by the strongest ties of affection, and whose features he has handed down to us. The greater part of his works have remained in France. The Louvre posseses twenty-three of his pictures, among which the " Dead Christ " and the portrait of Richelieu, are reckoned among his best produc- tions. In the Museum of Brussels, his native city, we admire a "St. Ambrose," which clearly shows the Flemish origin of the painter. Philip of Cham- paigne instructed his nephew, Jean-Baptiste (163 1 Van der Meulen.] RUBENS AND HIS SCHOOL. 377 1681), who imitated his style, but with inferior power. Adam-Francis Van der Meulen (1632 — aft. 1693) * succeeded PhiHp of Champaigne, and depicted the campaigns of Louis XIV. It was Colbert who, influenced by the advice of Lebrun, in- /'Vl vited him to Paris. Van der Meulen began with cartoons for the Gobelins ; but afterwards, dating from the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands (1667) to the taking of Charleroi (1693), he was constantly occupied with the representation of warlike scenes. Brush in hand, he was present at all the great feats of arms — the siege of Lille (1667), the taking of D61e (1668), the passage- of the Rhine (1672), (Fig: 96), the taking of Maestricht (1673), and of Dinant (1692), &c. The most important part of his works is in the Louvre and in Versailles, but the Museum of Douai has a large equestrian portrait of Louis XIV. Van der Meulen continued the traditions of the Flemish painters of battle scenes, but more especially those of Snayers, his master. He more often depicted those episodes of war — sieges for the most part--^which Louis XIV. preferred, and his works are valuable, chiefly by the historical facts which they bring back to memory. Van der Meulen died about 1694. The engraver Peter Van Schuppen has left us his portrait. * And not, as he has been generally called, Anthony-Francis. See A. Jal. ; DicHonnaire Critique de Biographic et d'Histaire (Paris, 1867, p. 860), and Alph. Wauters : Les Tapisseries Bruxelloises, p. 259 378 FLEMISH PAINTING. [James Van Schuppen. The family of the VAN SCHUPPEN, painters and engravers, was also of Flemish origin. The father, Peter (1623 — 1707), a pupil of Nanteuil, was succe.s- sively employed by Prince Eugene of Savoy and by Colbert. The son, JAMES (1669 — 175 O. who was in- structed by Largilli^re, has portraits in Vienna, Turin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, &c. He spent the greater part of his life in Paris, but afterwards left for Vienna, where he died, with the titles of Painter to the Court and President of the Academy. James Van Schuppen was the last of those Flemish painters who acquired fame at the Court of France. The hour of decay had come for the national school, and more than fifty years were to elapse before she would be able to send abroad any other masters worthy of her and her ancient renown. Nole. — The table on the following page, which gives the geographical distribution of a portion of the works of the principal Flemish painters of the seventeenth century, has necessarily been drawn up from imper- fect data, and must therefore not be considered as wholly accurate. But, in spite of unavoidable mistakes, ils figures, considered gene- rally, will tell more eloquently ihan words could do of the wondrous facility and productiveness of the early Flemish masters. Germany. Great Britain. Austria and Hungary. Belgium. ^ MUSEUMS. Munich Dresden Cassel Berlin Schwerin Brunswick Gotha Frankfort Stuttgart Cologne Augsburg Hanover , Darmstadt (London (Nat. Gallery) Hampton Court . . . Edinburgh Private Galleries . . . ^Vienna Museum . . . „ Gallery Liechten- J stein . . ,, Gallery Czernin . „ Acad.of FineArts Pesth Brussels Antwerp Churches and Pul)lic \^ Buildings .... Denmark. Copenhagen .... Spain. Madrid (Prado) . . . /'Paris (Louvre) France. ■{ Lille i^ Provincial Museums . ir„n„.,j i Amsterdam .... Holland. I I The Hague .... f Florence (Uffizi and Pitti) Rome (Museums and Private Galleries)'. . l_ Turin ....'.. Russia. St. Petersburg . . . Sweden. Stockholm United States. New York 3 4 4 3 I 14 I 2 [84 44 30 3 13 7 18 23 33 4 66 54 8 14 3 6 17 18 10 63 16 3 839 42 '9 IS 13 3 6 3 2 3 4 5 6 3 6 7 4 350 26 749 148 S 5 4 4 2 2 I I I 2 2 2 19 5 2 226 16 85590 10 I 1 3 2 2 2 14 I 77 I 3 2 87 130 271 jfiftf) ^niob. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. FALL OF THE SCHOOL. CHAPTER XXVIII. The historian's wish is to pass rapidly over this unfortunate period. After the dazzhng brilhance of the seventeenth century it is painful to be compelled to linger in the dark shades of the eighteenth. With the closing of the Scheldt came the ruin of the country ; foreign commerce was reduced to a mere tradition, Antwerp was but the shadow of what she had been in the previous century. One simple fact will suffice to show the utter decay in which the splendid city, so lately queen of the West, had fallen : in 1665, the arrival of a foreign ship created such enthusiasm that the magistrates presented her captain with a gift from the Town Council. Brussels was not less tried ; in 1695 the town suffered an infamous and useless bombardment at the hands of the Duke of Villeroi, and many years elapsed before she could rise from her ruins. When, in 17 14, the Peace of 382 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Jean Van Orley. Rastadt transferred Belgium to Austria, the country, which was httle better than an exhausted province, surrendered itself, without a struggle, tp its new masters. National art is always a faithful reflex of the public mind, and the low state to which it had fallen • plainly manifests the universal ^ ^ I y^ depression. This is the time of /• J • \/ * {J Gaspard Van Opstal(i6S4— 1 7 17) and of Robert Van Oudenaerde(i663 — i743),both painters of sacred history and of portraits ; of VIC- TOR HoNORfi Janssens (1664 — 1736), whose large allegorical and historical pic- tures (pot-boilers) so long excited admiration in Brus- sels ; of Mark Van Duvenede (1674 — 1730) who was one of the founders of the Academy of Bruges ; of Henry Goovaerts (1669 — 1720) and of Andrea Lens (1739 — 1822), and his feeble attempts at the representation of mythological subjects. When one of the historical painters of the time tested his talent in portraiture, then, and only then, some faint glimmer of the national genius lit up his work and endowed it with comparative merit, in the midst of this im- '] \j O poverished period. Among these superior works we may cite the large portraits of "Jean Van Orley" (1665—1735), for instance, the portrait of Charles II. of Spain on horseback, in the Hotel de Ville of Brussels, and the life-size picture of Philip V. in that of Mechlin ; we must mention also the portrait of Balthazar Beschey (1708 Peter Verhaegen.] FALL OF THE SCHOOL. 383 1776), painted by himself, which is in the Museum of Antwerp. One artist alone had preserved some of the vigour of the heroic age, and possessed a few of its great qualities. He proved that the art of painting was not yet dead in Belgium, and to him the eighteenth cen- tury owes the solitary name which it adds to the list of painters in the grand style. Peter Verhaegen (1728 — 1811) was painter to Prince Charles of Lorraine, governor of the Austrian Netherlands. Maria Theresa, having taken the artist under her protection, enabled him to visit France, Italy, and Austria. He remained for some time in Vienna, and was honoured with the title of premier painter to the Imperial Court. His " Presentation in the Temple" (Museum of Ghent), and other pictures in the churches and convents of Louvain and the neigh- bourhood, show the energetic nature of his talent and the brilliancy of which he was capable. In the midst of this time of decay and perverted taste he always remained an ardent and true admirer of Rubens. He . is the last of the disciples of the great master, and holds in the Flemish school the place which Tiepolo occupies in the Italian, and Goya in the Spanish school. In genre subjects we can mention only one artist of talent. It is not the painter of isolated figures. La Fabrique (1649 — 1736), nor Theobald Michau, who painted landscapes and country scenes (1676 — 1765); still less Jean Horemans (1682 — 1759), painter of country interior.s. Balthazar Van den 384 FLEMISH PAINTING. BOSSCHE (168 1— 1 71 5), was by far the most talented of these artists. His picture in the Museum of Antwerp, representing the "Reception du bourg- mestre del Campo au local du serment de I'arbal^te," is an interesting and 'refined work, the figures are well grouped, and there is great reality in their atti- tudes. This painting is also remarkable for a certain originality of interpretation, which was indeed a merit at a time when the majority of artists were content with a servile and spiritless imitation of earlier works. Battle scenes were frequently depicted, but they were all devoid of originality ; CHARLES VAN Falens (1683— 1733), John Peter (1654— 1745), P.V'R* and John Francis Van Bredael (1686 — 1750) only sought to imitate Ph. Wouwer- man ; Charles Breydel (1678 — 1744), copied Van der Meulen. Pbter Van Bredael or Van Breda, 1629 — 1719. j I i I John-Peter (I) George Alexander 1654— 1745 1661 — before 1706 1663 — 1720 I 1 I 1 John Peter (II) Joseph John-Francis 1683— 1735 1688— 1739 1686— 1750 Painter to Prince Ptr. to the Bnke \ Eugene at Vienna of Orleans at John-Francis (II) Palis 1729 — ? The landscape painters, following the example of De Witte and Genoels, continued to wander sadly The Van Eloemens.] FALL OF THE SCHOOL. 38s among the ruins of Roman scenery. Henri Van Lint, surnamed Studio Q aft. 1725). Frans and Peter Van Bloemen, the first surnamed Orizonte FIG. 97. — LANDSCAPE ; DRAWING. — (ialtkazar Ommeganck. (Museum of the Louvre.) (1662^-1748)* the second Standaert (1657 — 1720), never tired of depicting ItaHan landscapes. They failed, however, to gain renown, are lost among the imitators of Poussin. It was not until the end of the century that a return to the painting of home scenes was success- i,and -on lussin. yJJ^ * Siret: Les Van Bloemen (Journal des Beaux-Aris, 1870), Z 386 FLEMISH PAINTING. fully attempted. BALTHAZAR OmmeGANCK (i75S— 1826) has left us landscapes which were much praised in his day. They are picturesque, his trees are traced with great delicacy, and he evinces a true apprecia- tion of nature (Fig. 97). The great care which he bestowed on his shepherds and their flocks earned for him the name of the " Racine des Moutons," nor indeed is the title inappropriate- — for his sheep are painfully elaborated, and their fleeces white and lustrous. Nevertheless, this name might be applied with still greater truth to EUGENE VerboECKHOEVEN (1798 — 1881), the most celebrated among the pupils of Ommeganck. We have yet to mention Peter Snyers (168 1 — 1752), who painted flowers and landscapes ; Adolphus and Adrian De Gryeff (1670? — 17x5 i"),* painters of both dead and living animals, and Martyn Geeraerts (1707 — 1791), who was especially successful in monochrome, and whose imitation of sculpture was well calculated to deceive the most practised eye. These few names, alas ! exhaust the list of the painters of the eighteenth century who deserve any commendation. We could lengthen this list considerably if we chose, so numerous are the names inscribed at the Academy or in the books of St. Luke. But the Academy had not ful- filled the hopes of its eminent founder, David Teniers, and it was powerless to arrest decay ; nor had the Institute of the Carracci, at Bologna, been more successful. * Pinchart : Histoire de la tapisserie de haute lice dans les Pays- Bas, p. 109. Van den Branden : Geschicdenis, &c., p. 1 106. FALL OF THE SCHOOL. 387 It is a question whether such estabhshments, which are so useful to the progress of the industrial arts, are equally favourable to the development of the fine arts. Judging from the benefits they have hitherto conferred we may be permitted to doubt it. However this may be, at the end of the eighteenth century the Academies of Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, and Bruges appeared to exist for the sole purpose of witnessing the death-struggle of the Flemish school. The dreariest night reigned in the birthplace of Van Eyck and Memling — in the cities where Van der Weyden and Van Orley lived, which witnessed the triumph of Rubens and Van Dyck. Suddenly the thunder of Jemmapes was heard (1792). Dumouriez' soldiers, in rags, though victorious, entered Brussels, and the " Rights of Man " were pro- claimed. Then the few Belgian artists, roused from their far niente, remembered that a native of Bruges, Joseph Suv£e (1743 — 1807), was at the head of the Academy of France, and they went to hail in the horizon of Paris, the rising star — LOUIS DAVID. Z 2 NINETEENTH CENTURY. THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. CHAPTER XXIX. THE CLASSICAL AND THE ROMANTIC PAINTERS. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there only remained in Belgium one artist who still believed in the ancient national traditions : this was the president of the Academy of Antwerp, William Herreyns (1743 — 1827).* His execution was a reflex of that of earlier masters ; ^-^ rUt ' nevertheless, he had been power- '' less to stem the current which carried the school toward French classicism, when, in 181 5, Louis David (1748 — 1825), whom the Restoration had proscribed, came to fix his residence in Brussels. And now followed a period of lethargy for the * Full lengths of Charles VI. and of Leopold II. of Austria (Hotel de Ville of Mechlin) ; The Adoratioti of the Alagi (Museum of Brussels) ; TheDeath of .Christ (Museum of Antwerp). =?.^r 390 FLEMISH PAINTING. Belgian school, extending over the fifteen years during which Belgium and Holland were united under one rule. In spite of the efforts of several of the heads of schools and chefs d'aielier, such as Herreyns and Van Bree ; in spite of official encouragements, which were distributed on a large scale, painting was not able to free itself from the obscure depths in which a century of decay had plunged it. pRANgoiS (1759 —1851), Van Huffel (1769— 1844), Odevaere (1783 — 1859), painter to King William I. of Holland, Paelinck (178 1 — 1839), painter to the Queen, and Matthew Van Br£e (1773 — 1839),* painter to the Prince of Orange, have not produced among them one single work of note.f Artists still devoted all their energies to the painting of Greek and Roman heroes, and considered that the first, if not the only qualities of a painter were correctness of design, studied elegance in composition, and sculptural simplicity of expression. A reaction was inevitable, especially in Belgium, although the presence of David, the head of the classical school, possessed as he was of great and fine qualities, delayed it for a few years. When the reaction came it was the more violent for the hin- drance it had suffered. In Antwerp it partook of the character of a protest by the national art against foreign influence. * F. Bogaevts : Mathicu Vati Bn'e. Antwerp, 1842. t Tlic Jfivetiticn of the Cross, by Joseph Paelinck (Church of St. Michael, Ghent), nevertheless obtained a wonderful success when it first appeared. See Alvin : itoge fimcbre de J. Paelinck. FIG. 98. — PORTRAIT OF LOUIS YikWD.— Francois Navez. (Portaels Collection, in Brussels. 2 ft. 4I in. X i ft. iij in.) 392 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Fransois Navez. FRANgois Navez(i787— i869)*then occupied the first rank among national painters. He was a brilliant follower of David, and, like him, a portrait-painter of no ordinary merit, imbued with a high sense of in- dividuality in his sitter, great facility in rendering ex- pression, and an action somewhat resembling that of the old masters. The portrait of Louis David (Fig. 98), Navez' own portrait in the Portaels Collection, Brussels, the group of the De Hemptinne Family, that of Professor Van Meenen in the University of Brussels, are amongst the most remarkable of his numerous por- traits, while " Hagar in the Desert," in the Museum of Brussels, and the " Spinners of Fundi," in the Pina- cothek of Munich, rank among his best pictures. Navez was also an eminent chef d'atelier. He opened his painting-room freely to all, and in spite of his numerous productions found leisure to instruct a whole generation of artists. Though a classical painter, he counts among his pupils several talented artists in the romantic style, and, to his greater honour still, he initiated several adepts of the future realistic school. The diversified style and talent of his pupils, Degroux, Alfred Stevens, Ch. Hermans, Portaels, Smits, Baron, Stallaert, Robert and Van der Haert, prove beyond a doubt that "the eminent pro- fessor never forced upon any of his followers his own idea of comprehending and interpreting nature. Upon the death of David (1825) he inherited his influence for a short time, but, like his illustrious master, he * Alvin ; Ft: J. Navez, sa vie, ses auvres et sa correspondance, Brussels, 1870. Gustavus Wappers.] THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. 393 was destined to taste of misfortune and suffer in- justice. The year 1830, which commences the era of Bel- gian Independence, likewise gave the signal of the struggle between the romantic and the classical schools. When, a few weeks before the revolutionary days of September, the " Exposition des Beaux-Arts " opened in Brussels, Navez saw rising suddenly to his side a young and ardent pupil of the school of Antwerp, whose ambition it was to dispute with him the leader- ship of the artistic movement. Gustavus Wappers (1803 — 1874)* was a doubly powerful rival, for he was endowed with no ordinary talent, and he proclaimed a brilliant and patriotic pro- gramme — the finding of the lost track of Rubens and the long-forgotten tradition of the Flemish school. The blow was cruel, but the struggle could not be long nor the result doubtful. Three more years elapsed and Wappers, with a boldly-drawn and really valuable work, planted on the ruins of conquered classicism the victorious standard of the Flemish romantic school. The " Episode of the Belgian Revo- lution," in the Museum of Brussels, full of unrestrained movement, of exaggerated sentimentality and colour, admirably personifies the revolutionary and enthusi- astic school of 1830. A legion of young artists eagerly followed in his steps, and the patriotic infatuation was such, that during ten years their productions, which, though loud and ostentatious, were not absolutely * Ed. E6tis : Notice sur Gustave Wappers (^Annuaire de VAcadhnie royale de Belgique, 1884). 394 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Antoine Wiertz. without artistic value, were proclaimed national paint- ings and masterpieces, to the exclusion of all others. This was the time of the " Battle of the Spurs of Goid," in the Museum of Courtrai, and of the " Battle of Woeringen," in the Museum of Brussels, by NiCAlSE De Keyser; of the "Illustrious Belgians," by Henri De Caisne (-1799 — 1852), in the Museum of Brussels ; of the " Avenger,'; by Ernest Slinge- NEYER, in the Museum of Cologne; and of "Judas a Wanderer," by ALEXANDER THOMAS, in the Mu- seum of Brussels. Antoine Wiertz (1806 — 1865) also belongs to this period. This artist enjoyed for a time the most astounding renown. He was admired even in his faults, and straightway conducted to the Capitol. " Bow your heads," exclaimed a poet ; "this is Homer 1" " Humble yourselves," cried a critic, " before this man of genius ! " And this talent was mistaken for genius, which, after all, was only the longing to equal at once Homer, Michael Angelo, and Rubens. His " Patroclus," a large and animated composition, and the " Triumph of Christ," 1848 (now in the Wiertz Museum, Brussels), an inspired work, the finest of all his paintings, carried the reputation of their author to its climax. A noble spirit animates his works, and at times they have the air of an epic poem. Some of his figures are grand ; but his means of execution fell very short of his great conceptions, and his work lacks the real qualities that a painter should possess. The pictures by this artist form a separate collection and adorn the edifice, built as a ruined temple, which fl .s a ^ o« SS 6 396 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Louis Gallait. the painter inhabited in his lifetime, and is generally- known as the " Musee Wiertz." They are well nigh forgotten, and prove once more that in any question of art vox Populi is not always vox Dei. An artist, whom nature had made a painter, and study a learned man, then came to mitigate the momentary excitement of those who rejoiced in the thought that Rubens had been equalled. LouiS Gallait, taught in the cold and collected romantic school of Paul Delaroche, and abhorring the exaggera- tion noticeable in the followers of Wappers, brought into the Belgian school the touching and pathetic element which these painters, absorbed as they were with the material imitation of Rubens, had purposely and affectedly neglected. His first pictures were masterpieces, the " Abdication of Charles V.," now in the Museum of Brussels, the " Lying in state of the Counts Egmont and Horn " in that of Tournai (Fig. 99), and especially the " Last Moments of the Comte d'Egmont," which is in the Museum of Berlin, and at once revealed in their author the science of com- position, design and expression, as well as the iritelli- gent choice of his types and the perfect appreciation of the feelings of his figures in their various situations. These three masterly works, painted from 1840 to 1850, will no doubt remain the most perfect monu- ments of historical painting in that epoch of transi- tion, when artists studied the Middle Ages and the sixteenth century, with an ardour almost equal to that which prompted the research of ancient art at the outset of the Italian Renaissance. e n 398 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Henry Uy^. Wappers had instructed many pupils in Antwerp ; Gallait had, in Brussels, a large numbers of followers, and for several years the struggle lasted as to which should conquer — matter or spirit. In the train of Gallait we remark De Biefve (1809— 1 88 i), whose great historical canvas the " Compromise of the Nobles," in the Museum of Brussels, is a painful memento of a temporary success ; HamMAN, the painter of " Andrd Vesale at Padua," in the Museum of Marseilles, and of the " Mass of Adrian Willaert," in the Museum of Brussels ; Cermack, a native of Bohemia, full of vigour and originality ; ROBERT, Pauwels, Stallaert, Hennebicq, &C. Genre was likewise represented both in Brussels and in Antwerp. In Brussels, Jean Baptiste Madou (1796 — 1877),* though not so brilliant a colourist as some of his brother artists in Antwerp, was yet a faithful interpreter of accurate expression and attitudes, and a skilful painter, 'whose composition was always intelligent. He has painted many a village and tavern scene of the eighteenth century, all of which bear trace of his humorous spirit (Fig, 100). In Antwerp we find J. L. Dyckmans, who painted the " Blind Beggar," in the National Gallery, and Ferdinand De Braekeleer (1792 — 1883), who had Leys for a pupil. Henry Leys (1815— i869)t occupies a distinct * F. Stappaerts : Notice sur Jean Baptiste Madou (Annuaire de VAcad. royale de Belgique, 1879, p. 255). Camille Lemonnier: /. B. Madou {Gaz. des Beaux-Arts, 1879, vol. xix., p. 385). t Ed. F^tis : Notice sur Jean Augtiste Henri Leys (Annuaire de V Academic royale de Belgique, 1872, p. 201). Paul Mantz : Henri Henry Leys.] THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. 399 place in the history of the Belgian school of the —nineteenth century. Several artists, his master Leys (Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1866, vol. xxii., p. 300). Eaux- fortes de M. Henri Leys ibid., p. 467 Ph. Burty : 400 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Henry Leys. De Braekeleer, Peter De Hoogh and RemlDrandt, successively influenced him at the outset of his career, and his first attempts were modest. He began with "Interiors," "Guard-rooms," and "Scenes from High Life;"* then he gradually turned to- wards history and chose most of his subjects from the sixteenth century, on which he built his fame. The year 1852 is a most important one in the biography of Leys ; a change as sudden as it was complete took place in his manner and modified his ideal. In this year he travelled to Germany, he ^"^ visited Cologne, Frankfort, Leipzig, Dres- den, Prague, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, &c. These picturesque German cities awakened his imagination and brought back memories of Luther, Erasmus, and the Reformation ; and with a tact as sure and delicate as it was prompt, he understood their time, he lived in their midst. It was a revolution in his mind ; the impression was deep, the result immediate. When he returned from the birthplace of Cranach to the land of Breughel the Elder, his ideas had undergone a complete change ; after an interval of three centuries he united in himself the traditions of these two great artists and reproduced the severity of the Saxon master enhanced by the rich colours of the Fleming. * J?ic/ie et Pauvre (Museum of Brussels), Inthieur flamand (Brug- mann Collection at Brussels), and the Atelier (Huybrechts Collection at Antwerp), may be considered as striking examples of his three styles before 1852. Henry Leys.] THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. 4O I It was in the Exhibition of Pictures which took place in Ghent in 1853 that his new manner of painting — his Gothic manner — became apparent.* Towards the end of his career he gave his style more freedom and imprinted on some of his larger works an air of real grandeur. The last specimens of these are the frescoes in his residence and in the great hall of the Communal Council at Antwerp. Here the artist appears to us in the pleni- tude of his talent ; the character of his compositions, the dignity of their ensemble, and the strength of their colouring attain their highest perfection. We do not fear to prophesy that some of the figures in the four large panels at the Hdtel de Ville will rank among the finest creations of the nineteenth century. This new, unexpected, and attractive style of Leys could not fail to call forth pupils and imitators. Among the former we must name before all others Alma Tadema, a native of Friesland, who continues the manner of the master with infinite art, though he has chosen his subjects from different epochs in history ; then Joseph Lies (1821 — 1865), who painted the " Evils of War," in the Museum of Brussels ; Felix De Vigne (1806 — 1862), and Victor Lagye. While Leys was thus acquiring for himself a European renown in a style entirely his own, and * Among the best works of his Gothic manner we may cite ; — The Promenade outside the City Walls (Royal Palace in Brussels) ; The Trentaines de Berthall de Haze (Museum of Brussels) ; The Catholic Women (Van Praet Collection) ; The Edict of Charles Quint ; Clan- destine Freachin:: by Adrian Van Haemstede ; Luther Singing Hymns in the Streets of Eisenach (Fig. loi) ; and the frescoes of Antwerp. A A 402 FLEMISH PAINTING. [Charles Degroux. which could not but puzzle critics and philosophers of art, a great revolution was taking place in the Pari- sian studios destined to stir the artistic world to its foundations. From this revolution sprang " realism," which was indeed but a return to the sentiment of the schools of Velasquez, Franz Hals, and the minor Dutch masters. Courbet exhibited in Brussels, in the year 1 85 1, his picture the "Stone Breakers," and imme- diately he saw the school, of which he was the first disciple, rally to its ranks a number of ardent prose- lytes, as well as a few learned and talented painters. The first among his followers, CHARLES Degroux (1825 — 1870), with real talent and a just appreciation of colour and expression, represented scenes from humble life : cottages, garrets, courts and taverns. He sought painful subjects and sad types and was ironically nicknamed " the painter of social inequali- ties." " Saying Grace," in the Museum of Brussels, and the " Coffee Mill," in the Ravenstein Collection, Brussels, are robust paintings which command ad- miration. From that time forward Belgium has produced a whole generation of artists in the realistic style. The deep and searching study of nature has ever elevated and regenerated art. When once the artistic horizon became enlarged every subject was attempted. Genre in its manifold forms animals, views of towns, sea-pieces and rivers ; in one word, both still and animated nature found, as in the grand century, their faithful and sincere interpreters. CHAPTER XXX. APPENDIX. It would be a most unthankful task, if not an alto- gether impossible one, to try to classify the works of contemporary artists. Quietude and distance of time are required for such a labour. But it may prove interesting and instructive to gather together certain titles of paintings, facts^ dates and details, which posterity will take up at some later period and weigh with impartiality ; knowing better than we can, which of them deserves a prominent place, and which it will be necessary to reduce to a humbler level or perhaps to forget entirely. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. from' 1851 TO 1884. 1 85 1.— Salon de Bruxelles : "Last honours rendered to the Counts Egmont and Horn" (Museum of Tournai, Fig. 99); " Ffete given to Rubens by the Corporation of Arquebusiers " (Museum of Antwerp), and the " Burgomaster Six at the house of Rem- brandt," by Henri Leys. 1853. — Salon de Gand : "Frans Floris on his way to a f^te of the Corporation of St. Luke," by Henri Leys. 1854. — Salon de Bruxelles : " Promenade beyond the City Walls,'' by . Henri Leys (Palace of Brussels); "The Widow," by Fl. Willems (Collection Van Praet, Brussels) ; "The Intruder," by Madou (Museum of Brussels, Fig. 100); "Adrian Willaert playing his Mass in the Monastery at Bruges," by Hamman (Museum of Brussels). A A 2 404 FLEMISH PAINTING. 1855. -International Ejihibition of Paris.— 114 Belgian artists sent 223 pictures to this exhibition. Medal of Honour : Henri Leys (history) ; 1st Class Medals : Fl. Willems (genre) ; 2nd Class Medals : Verlat (history and animals), Portaels (history), Madou (oenre), Joseph Stevens and Robbe (animals), Van Moer (city scenery) ; 3rd Class Medals : Hamman, Robert and Thomas (history), Dillens {genre), Verboeckhoven (animals). Foundation of the Society of Painters in Water-colours. 1857.— Salon de Bruxelles : " Dog-market in Paris," by J. Stevens (Museum of Brussels, Fig. 102); "Buffalo attacked by a Tiger," by Verlat (Zoological Society of Amsterdam) ; " The Rat Hunt, "by Madou (Palace of Brussels). 1859. — Death of the portrait painter Francis Simonau (1783 — 1859), in London. i860. — Salon de Bruxelles : " Death of Charles Quint," by Degroux ; "Andre Vesale at Padua," by Hamman (Museum of Mar- seilles); " The Storks " by Louis Dubois (Museum of Brussels); "La Campine," by Fourmois (Museum of Brussels). 1862. — London International Exhibition. — Fifty- two Belgian painters sent 121 pictures to this Exhibition. Grand reception of Gallait by the English artists. 1863. — Salcn de Bruxelles: "Solitude," by Louis Dubois (Collection Portaels, at Brussels); "View taken at Edeghem," by Lauio- riniere (Museum of Brussels). 1865. — Flourishing epoch of the Portaels studio at Brussels, in which were instructed the painters of figures, Emile Wauters, Ag- neessens, Cormon, Hennebicq, theOyens;the landscape painters Van der Hecht and Verheyden ; the sculptor Van der Stappen, &c. Death of Antoine Wiertz (i8o6 — 1865), in Brussels. 1866. — Salon de Bruxelles: "Portrait of Leopold I.," by De Winne (Museum of Brussels) ; "The Lady in Pink," by Alfred Stevens (ditto); "Landscapes," by H. Boulanger ; "Roma," by Smits (Palace of Brussels). 1867. — International Exhibition of Paris : Seventy-five Belgian painters take part in it, and send 186 pictures. Medal of Honour : Henri Leys (history) ; 1st Class Medals : Alfred Stevens and Floreut Willems (genre) ; 2nd Class Medal : Clays (sea-piece), General manifestation of gratification from the town of Antwerp in honour of Henri Leys. 1869.— Death of Navez in Brussels. Exhibition of his work. Death of Henri Leys in Antwerp. THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. 40s Decorative paintings representing views of Venice, executed by Van Moer, in the large staircase of the Royal Palace in Brussels. Salon de Bruxelles : " The horsemen of the Apocalypse," by Cluyse- naar ; " The Port of Antwerp," by Clays (Museum of Brussels, Fig. 104) ; " The Separation," by Degroux (Picard Collection) ; "Spring," by A. Stevens (Royal Palace in Brussls); the "Mill," FIG. 102. — AN EPISODE OF THE DOG-MARKET, PARIS. — Joseph Stevens. (Museum of Brussels. 7 ft. gj in. X 9 f- 3i in- by Fourmois (Museum of Brussels) ;' the "Stallion," by Alfred Verwee. 1S70. — Inauguration of the frescoes by Henri Leys, in the great hall of the Conseil Communal in the Hotel de Ville of Antwerp, 1871.— Death of the landscape painter Theodore Fourmois (1814 — 1871)* in Brussels. • E. Greysoii : TMadore Foimmis (,/imrmil des Beaux-Arls, p. 164, 1871). 4o6 FLEMISH J^AINTING. :872.— Salon de Bruxelles : "Madness of Hugo Van der Goes" (Museum of Brussels), and "Mary of Burgundy before the Magistrates of Ghent" (Museum of Liege), by Emile Wauters ; the "Atlas," by Henri De Braekeleer (Museum of Brussels, Fig. lOS) ; " Portrait of M. Sanford," by De Winne ; "Italian labourers in the Campagna," by Hennebicq (Museum of Brussels); "The Seasons," by Smits (ditto); a "Delightful Promenade," byBoulanger (ditto). 1873.— International Exhibition of Vienna : 103 painters contribute 207 pictures. Inauguration of the views of old Brussels, by Van Meer (Hotel de Ville of Brussels). 1874. — Death of Gustave Wappers in Paris (1804 — 1874). International Exhibition of London : Joseph Stevens contributes " Protection " (Collection of the Count of Flanders) and obtains the first prize in the general competition open to every style of painting. Death of the landscape painter Hippolyte Boulanger (1837 — 1874), in Brussels.* 1875.— Salon de Bruxelles- "At Break of Day," by Ch. Hermans (Museum of Brussels, Fig. 107) ; " Portrait of young Somz6e," by Emile Wauters; "A Vocation,'' by Cluysenaar (Museum of Brussels) ; "A group of Children," by Agneessens. Guffens and Swerts decorate with frescoes the walls of the Sheriffs Hall in the H6tel de Ville of Courtrai. 1877. — Third centenary of Rubens celebrated in Antwerp with great solemnity. + Death of Madou in Brussels. 1878. — International Exhibition of Paris. — 144 Belgian painters con- tribute 327 pictures. Medal of Honour : Emile Wauters (history and portraits) ; 1st Class Medals : De Winne (portraits) ; Ch, Verlat (history and animals) ; Alfred Stevens and Fl. Willems (genre) ; 2nd Class Medals : Cluysenaar (history and portraits), and Clays (sea-pieces) ; 3rd Class Medals : Alfred Verwee (animals), Mme. Marie CoUart and Lamoriniere (land- scapes). • Camille Lemonnier : Hippolyte Boulanger (Gazette lies Beaux- Arts, vol ii , p. 253, 1879). + L'CEuvve de Rubens : Catalogue de l' Exposition, by MM. Goovaerts H Hymans, Rombouts and Rooses &'c. Antwerp, 1879. ' FIG. 103. — FfiDORA. — Alfred Stevens. {Crabbe Collection, Brussels. 4 ft. ajin. X 2 ft. 11 in.) 408 FLEMISH PAINTING. Decoration of the "Escalier des lions," at the HStel de Ville of Brussels, by Emile Wauters. 1879.— The tapestry hangings of the " Salle gothique de I'Hotel de Ville " de Bruxelles, manufactured by the firm Bracquenie, of Mechlin, according to the designs of G. Geets. Alfred Cluysenaar decorates the University of Ghent with frescoes. Gallait paints fifteen historical portraits for the Senate, in Brussels (1875—79). 1880. — Celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the National Indepen- dence. Inauguration of the Palace oT the Fine Arts. Historical Exhibition of Belgian Art (1830 — 1880);* 337 painters exhibit 967 pictures. Principal Exhibitors — " History and portraits : " Gallait, Leys, Cluysenaar, Lies, Hennebicq and Meunier. " Portraits and figures : " Navez, De Winne and Portaels. Genre: Alfred Stevens, Henri De Braekeleer, Ch. Hermans, Degroux, Madou, Willems, Smits, Mellery, Van Beers and Jean Verhas. "Animals:" Joseph Stevens and Alf. Verwee "Landscape:" H. Boulanger, Fourmois, De Knyff, Heymans, Lamorinifere, Mme. Marie Collart, Coosemans, Dubois, De Cock, Baron, Is. Verheyden, and De Schampheleer. "Views of towns :" Van Moer. " Sea-pieces :" Clays, Mols, and Artan. "Flowers:" Jean Robie. "Water-colours and drawings:" Felicien Reps, Staquet, Uytterschaut and Pecquereau. Private exhibitions of Emile Wauters and Ch. Verlat. Death of the portrait-painter Lievin De Winne (1821 — 1880), in Brussels. Pauwels decorates the "halles" of Ypres with frescoes. 1881. — Salon de Bruxelles: Portraits (Coll. Somzee), by Emile Wauters (Fig. 108) ; " Circe," by Hermans ; the " Maisonhydraulique," by De Braekeleer; the yacht, ^'The Siren," by Van Beers; " Spring," by Van der Hecht. Formation of a company for the Exhibition of Panoramas ; " Cairo and the banks of the Nile," by Emile Wauters (Vienna) ; the " Battle of Waterloo," by Ch. Verlat (Antwerp); the " Battle of Froeschwiller," by Alf. Cluysenaar (ditto). 1883.— International Exhibition of Berlin: The Grand Medal of the Salon awarded to Emile Wauters ; Ceremony in Avhich the Town • Camille Lemonnier : Cingunnte ans di liberK. Hisloire des Beavx-Arls en Btlgique, Brussels, i88i. Lucien Solvay : Vart et la liierU. Les Beaux- Arts en Belgique depuis 1830. Brussels, i88i. 4IO FLEMISH PAINTING. Council and the artistic societies of Brussels express to this artist their high gratification at the honour he had achieved. Salon de Gand :— " Le Broyeur," by H. De Braekeleer ; "View of Cairo," by Emile Wauters; "Bull Fight," by Alfred Verwee (Museum of Ghent). 1884.— Salon de Bruxelles :— " A Flemish Landscape," by A. Verwee, the "Horn-Blower," by H. De Braekeleer; the "Wrestlers" and an Equestrian Portrait, by J. de Lalaing ; " L'Entre-cote," by Alfred Verhaeren. The rapid glance which we have cast over the work of the present century, proves that Belgium has been reinstated among the European schools of painting, to a rank worthy of the great Flemish school it is her mission to continue. Her artists have not, it is true, the same degree of per- sonality as their predecessors of the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries ; their colouring and their com- prehension of a given subject are not so distinctly their own ; but the cause of this change is in the march of time, which transforms both men and things. Art is always the reflex of society. The astounding progress of locomotion ; the institution of international exhibitions, which become yearly more frequent and better attended; education, which spreads to every class of society ; the brotherhood of peoples and their incessant intercourse, are so many causes tending to effect the disappearance of national distinctions. It can hardly be said, in our day, that this or that school adopts any special method ; artists of all coun- tries seek inspiration at the same sources ; the same books are read everywhere ; the public taste is be- coming everywhere alike. Distance is a thing of the past. At the present time, Paris is nearer to Brussels THE BELGIAN SCHOOL. 41I than Brussels was to Antwerp in the seventeenth century. This is the age of democracy and cosmopoli. tism. Distinctions between the various classes and the 412 .FLEMISH PAINTING. various races of men are disappearing ; the distance which divided the social orders and the differences of nationality are fast being effaced. The men who but yesterday seemed to tower so much above their fellow- creatures do not now appear so great, for those who were beneath them have become greater* With the exception, therefore, of a few superior temperaments, in whom the national character exists more vividly, the Belgian school, taken as a whole, has a tendency to merge itself in the great European school. The love of art is as great as it ever was. Painting remains in Belgium the poetical language of the country. Whenever Europe has called the Belgian artists to great artistic tournaments, throngs have answered the challenge, and have produced works which have merited applause; and obtained the noblest distinctions. A short time ago, speaking in a public ceremony, the Burgomaster of Brussels remarked that "A country may acquire glory in many a way, but the form of it most prized in Belgium will ever be the glory which is conferred by the cultivation of the art of painting." Nor is there any place where every branch of this art has been more studied and studied with more care. Belgium boasts of many portrait- painters, painters of history, both religious and profane, painters of battle-scenes, of genre, of animals, and of sea-pieces ; artists who depict views of towns, still-life, flowers, and accessories. She looks with pride on those of her sons who are faithful to the traditions of * Emile de Laveleye : Exposition Univ.rseUe de 1867 a Paris (CEuvres iVArt, Rapports, p. 3). 414 FLEMISH PAINTING. the great age of art, and who, refusing to keep within the narrow limits of any speciality, attempt every style and boldly contemplate in its whole extent the vast FIG. I08. — PORTRAIT. — Emile li'aufers. (Somz^e Gallery, Brassels. 9 ft. 7 in, x 6 ft. 6 in. ) 4l6 FLEMISH PAINTING. domain of painting. It is as well to dwell on this fact at a time when talent is most praised when it asserts itself in any special branch of the art. The foremost place alone remains unoccupied. The school still lacks the genius who, disdainful of any limitation, could boldly interpret the spirit of the century — that is to say, the spirit of our artistic, scientific, industrial or political life. Social struggles, the exercise of our political rights, the progress of civilisation, artistic ceremonies, the marvels of modern science and in- dustry, are not these sufficiently rich grounds, and the reasonable sources of the great imaginative art of our time ? There are some in whom no chord will be moved by the contemplation of our social life, of political assemblies, justice halls, or public ceremonies ; but have we not also the dockyards of Antwerp, the factories of Seraing, the iron-works of Li^ge, the mines, the furnaces, and the glass-works of the "Bori- nage " ? What resources ! what a population ! what life ! And besides, how noble the mission of glori- fying such struggles, such progress, and such conquests ! When shall we see the great, noble, dramatic, and popular work which will make the soul of the nine- teenth century breathe in the decoration of our monuments and in the compositions of the great imaginative art > We need not despair of a magni- ficent future for the Belgian school, while it numbers, as it does, within its pale, so many gifted artists inspired with the noble ambition of winning undying fame. INDEX OF FLEMISH PAINTERS MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK. Achtschellinck (Lucas) . . Adriaensen (Alexander) . Agneessens (Edward), Appen dix Aken (see Bosch). Alsloot (Denis Van). . . Apshoven (Ferdinand Van) Apshoven (Thomas Van) . Artan (Louis), App. Arthois (James d') . . . Artveldt (see Eertvelt). Avont (Peter Van) . . Axpoele (William Van) Backereel (Giles). . Backereel (The) . . Balen ( Henry Van) . Baron (Theodore), App. Beer (John de) . . Beers (John Van), App Beert (Osias) . . . Belcamp (John Van) Bellechose (Henry) . Bellegambe I. (John) Bellegambe II. (John) Bellegambe (Martin) Bernaerts (Nicaise) . Bemaerdt (Peter) . Beschey (Balthazar). Beuckelaer (Joachim) Beauneveu (Andrew) B B 333 346 404 343 305 30s 408 333 272 62 272 183 203 408 154 408 347 242 31 123 124 124 374 361 382 136 25 Bie (Adrian de) . . Biefoe (Edward de) . . Biset (Charles Emmanuel). Biset (John Baptist). Bles (Henry) . . . Bloemen (Frans Van) Bloemen (Peter Van) Blondeel (Launcelot) Bloot (Peter de) . . Boeck (Van) . . . Boeckhorst (John) . Boel (Peter) .... Boeyermans (Theodore) Boides (William) . . Bol (Hans) . . . Bologna (John of) . Borrekens (John Baptist) Bosch (Jerome) . Bosch (Louis Van den), Bosschaerts (John) . ^ Bosschaerts (see Willeboirts). Bossche (Balthazar Van den) Boucle (see Boeck). Boudewyns (Adrian Francis) Boulanger (Hyppolite), App Bout (Peter) . . . Bouts (Albert) . . Bouts I. (Thierry) . Bouts II. (Thierry) . Braekeleer (Ferdinand de). Braekeleer (Henry de) App Brauwer (Adrian) . 273 398 312 31s 144 38s 38s 128 305 374 354 288 356 184 150 272 322 96 348 384 329 406 329 82 78 82 398 408 300 4ii FLEMISH PAINTING. Breda (see Bredael). Bredael {John Francis Van) Bredael (John Peter Van) . Bredael (Genealogy of the Van) Br^e (Matthew Van) . Breughel (Abraham) . . Breughel (Ambrose) . . Breughel (John), Velvet Breughel II. (John). . . Breughel (John Baptist) Breughel I. (Peter), the Droll Breughel (Peter), HeUish . Breughel (Genealogy of the) Breydel (Charles) . . . Bril (Matthew) .... Bril (Paul) Broeck (Crispin Van den) . Broeck (Elias Van den) . Broederlam (Melchior). 384 384 384 390 351 35° 322 324 351 170 326 327 384 181 180 161 35' 26 Caisne (Henry de) .... 394 Calvaert (Uenys) 180 Campana (see Kempeneer). Campin (Robert) 53 Candido (see Witte). Carlier (John) 363 Cavael (James) 28 Cayo (see Key, William). Champaigne (John Baptist o^ 376 Champaigne (Philip of) . . 376 Charles ofYpres 178 Claeis (Peter) 134 Claeis (Genealogy of the). . 134 Clays (Paul John), App. . . 408 Cleve (John Van) .... 361 Cleef (see Cleve). Clerck (Henry de) .... 203 Cleve (Henry Van) . . . . 138 Cleve (Josse Van) .... 136 Cleve 1. (Martin Van) ... 13S Cleve II. (Martin Van) . . :88 Cleve (Genealogy of the Van) 138 elite (Lievin de Le) ... 62 Clouet (The) 18S Cluysenaar (Alfred), App. . 408 Cobergher (Wenceslas) . . 201 Cock (Jerome) 136 Cock (Matthew) .... 136 Cock (Xavier de), App. . . 408 CoUart (Mme. Marie), App. . 408 Congnet (Giles) 198 Coninck (David de) . . . . 289 Coninxloo (Cornelius Van) . 142 Coninxloo (Giles Van) . . . 142 Coninxloo (Genealogy of the Van) 142 Coosemans (Alexander) . . 347 Coosemans (Joseph), App. . 408 Coques (Gonzales) .... 309 Cornelius (Lucas) .... 184 Cortbemde (Balthazar Van) . 357 Cossiers (John) 353 Coter (Colin de) 63 Coucke (Peter) 152 Coulx (Servais de) . . . 203 Coustain (Peter) 92 Coxie (Michael) . . . . 149 Coxie (Raphael) ... . 151 Coxie (Genealogy of the) . . 151 Craesbeek (JesS Van) . . 300 Grayer (Gaspard de) . . . 260 Cristus (Peter) ... -63 Crislus (Sebastian) .... 64 Curvus (see Rave). Daret (Daniel) .... Daven (see Thiry). David (Gerard ) . . . . Decuyper (Wilhelm) . . Dedeister (Louis) , . . Degroux (Charles) . . . Delmonte (see Mom). I lenys (James) .... Diepenbeek (Abraham Van) Dillens (Adolphus), App. . Douffet (Gerard). . Dubois (Ambrose) . Dubois (Louis), App. Duchastel (Francis) . Duvenede (Mark Van) Uyck (Anthony Van) Dyck (Daniel Van) . 62 92 99 361 402 372 244 404 246 189 404 316 382 227 372 INDEX. 419 Egmont (Justus d') . . Ehrenberg (William Van) Ertvelt (Andrew Van) Es (John Van) . . Eyck (Gaspard Van) Eyck (Hubert Van) . Eyck (John Van) Eyck (Lambert Van) Eyck (Margaret Van) Eyck (Nicholas Van) Fabrique (Nicholas la Falens (Charles Van) Finson (Louis) . . Flemalle (Bertholet) Floris (Anthony). Floris (Frans). . Floris (Genealogy of the) Foucquier (James) . . Fourmois (Theodore), App. Franceschi (see Franchoys, Paul). Franchoys I. (Lucas) Franchoys II. (Lucas) Franchoys (Paul) Franchoys (Peter). . Francis (Peter) . . Franck (John) . . Francken (Ambrose) Francken I. (Francis) Francken II. (Francis) Francken (John) . Francken (Jerome) . Francken (Nicholas) Francken (Genealogy of the) P'yt (John) 250 342 339 346 339 38 43 51 SI 316 383 384 374 362 188 158 158 374 405 ■ 358 348, 358 184 358 390 273 162 162 270 184 163 162 163 286 Gabron (William) . Gallant (Louis) . . Galle (Jerome) . Garibaldi (Marcus) . Garrard (see Gheerardt). Gassel (Lucas) . i - Geeraerts (Martin) . Geets (William), App. Geldorp (Gortzius) . 347 396 351 357 143 386 408 197 Genoels ( Abraham) . Gerbier (Balthazar) . Gestele (Mark Van). Gheerardt I. (Mark) Gheerardt II. (Mark) Gheringh (Anthony) Gheyn (James of) Gillemans (John Paul) Goes (Hugo Van der) Goltzius (Hubert) . Goovaerts (Henry) . Gossaert (John) . Goubau (Anthony) . Gourvi (James Peter) Govaerts (Abraham) Grimer (Abel) Grimer (James) . Gryeff (Adolphus de) GryefF (Adrian de) . GufFens (Godfrey), App. Gysels (Peter) . . . Haecht (Tobias Van) Haert (Peter Van der) Hammau (Edward). Hamme (Josse Van) Hecht (Henry Van der), App, Hecke (John Van) . . . Heere (Lucas de) Heil (Daniel Van) . . . Hele (Isaac de la) . . . Hellemont (Matthew Van) Hemessen (John Van) . . Hemling (see Memling). Henne (Peter) .... Hennebicq (Andrew), App. Hermans (Charles), App. . Herp (William Van) 243 Herregouts Herreyns (William) . . . Heuvele (Anthony Van den) Heymans (Adrian), App. . Hinxt(Loyle) .... Hoecke (John Van den) . Hoecke (Robert van) . . Hoefnagels (George) . . Horebout (Gerard) . . . and ■ 420 FLEMISH PAINTING. Horebout (Lucas) , . Horemans (John) Horst (Nicholas Van del) Huffel (Peter Van) . . HuUe (Anselm Van) Huys (Peter) .... Huysmans (Cornelius) . Huysmans (John Baptist) Immenraet (Philip) . . . . Immenraet (Michael Angelo) . Janssens (Abraham) w . Janssens (Jerome) . . Janssens (Victor Honore) Jehan of Bruges. . . Jehan Van der Hasselt . Joncquoy (Michael) . . Jordaens (Hans) . . . Jordaens I. (Jacob) . . Jordaens II. (Jacob) Juan Flamenco . . Justus of Ghent . . . Keirrinckx (Alexander) Kempeneer (Peter de) Kessel (John Van) . Kessel (Jerome Van) Kessel (Genealogy of the Van) Key (Adrian Thomas) Key (William) . . Key (Genealogy of the) Keyser (Nicasius de) , Knyff (Alfred de), App, Lagye (Victor) .... Lairesse (Gerard de) . . Lalaing (James de) . . . Lamen (Christopher Van der) Lamoriniire (Francis), App. Lampsonius (Dominick) . Leemput (Remy Van) . . Lens (Andrew) .... Leux (see Luycx). 191 383 251 390 361 136 337 338 336 357 264 308 382 20 26 183 271 253 256 III 74 329 184 35 1 327 327 164 155 168 394 408 401 363 390 308 408 156 2 ,2 382 Leys (Henry) Liemaeckere (Nicholas de) Lies (Joseph) .... Liesaert (Peter) . Lint (Heruy Van) . . Lint (Peter Van). . . Lombard (Lambert). Longe (Robert de) . . Lucidel (see Neuchatel) Luckx (Christian) . Luycx (Francis) . . . Mabuse (see Gossaert). Madou (John Baptist) Maes (Godfrey) . . Maes (John) . . . Mahu (Cornelius) Malwel (John) . . Mander I. (Charles Van) Mander II. (Charles Van) Mander IIL (Charles Van) Marinus de Romerswalen Marmion (Simon) . . Martins (John) . . . Martins (Nabur) . Massys (see Metsys). Meert (Peter) .... Mehus (Li^vin) . . . Meire (Gerard Van der) Meire (John Van der) . Mellery (Xavier), App. Memling (Hans) . . Mere (Li^vin Van der) . Mertens (John) . . . Metsys (Cornelius) . . Metsys (John) . . . Metsys (Quentin) . . Metsys (Genealogy of the) Meulen (Adam Francis Van der) Meulener (Peter). . . Meunier (Constant), App. Michaud (Theobald) . Miel (John) .... Mirou (Anthony) . . Moer (John Baptist Van), App. Moermans (James) . INDEX. 421 Mol (Peter Van) . . . Molenaer (Cornelius) . Mols (Robert), App. . Momper (Josse de) . . Mont (Dieudonne Van der) Most (John Van der) . Mostert (Francis) . . Mostert (Giles) . . . Mostert (John) . . . Munstart (Francis) . . Mytens (Arnold) . . . Navez (Francis) . . . Neefs (Peter) .... Neuchatel (Nicholas) . Neve (Cornelius de). . Nicasius (see Bemaerts). Nicolai Nieulandt (Adrian Van) Nieulandt (William Van) Noort (Adam Van) . . Noort (Lambert Van) . Nyts (GUes) .... Odevaere (Joseph) . . Olivier of Ghent . . . Ommeganck (Balthazar) Oost I. (James Van) Oost II. (James Van) . Opstal (Gaspard Van) . Orley (Bernard Van) . Orley (John Van) . . Orley (Genealogy of the Van) Orrizonte (see Bloemen). Oudenaerde (Robert Van) . . PAGE 251 136 408 140 248 18 '36 136 124 357 184 392 342 196 242 251 271 343 202 202 336 390 no 386 360 361 382 148 382 146 382 390 Paelinck (Joseph) , .. . Pasture (see Weyden, Roger) Patinier (Joachim) .... 93 Pauwels (Ferdinand), App. . 408 Pecquereau (Alphonse), App. 408 Peeters (Bonaventure) . . . 340 Peelers (Clara) 350 Peeters (John) 340 Peeters (Genealogy of the) . 340 Pennemaeckers .... Pepyn (Martin) .... Plas (Peter Van der) . . Plattenburg (Matthew Van) Poindre (Jacob de) . . . Portaels (John), App. . . Portier (Hugo) ..... Pourbus I. (Francis) . . Pourbus II. (Francis) . . Pourbus (Peter) .... Primo (Louis) Quellinus (Erasmus) . . . (juellinus (John Erasmus) . . Quellinus (Genealogy of the) . Rave (John) Reesbroeck (Tames Van) Remeeus (David) Reyn (John Van) Ricx (Lambert) . Robbe (Louis), App. Robert (Alexander) . Robie (John), App. Rombouts (Theodore) . . . Romerswalen (see Marinus). Roose ([ohn) Roose (see Liemaeckere). Rops (Felicien), App. . . . Rubens (Peter Paul) . . . Ryckaert II. (David) . Ryckaert III. (David) . . . Ryckaert (Martin) . . . . Ryckaert (Genealogy of the) , Ryckere (Abraham de) . . . page: 251 203 358 336 198 404 19 132 364 130 372 244 244 243 190 279 164 242 60 404 398 408 266 372 408 205 30s 306 306 306 279 Sadeler (Giles) 193 Sallaerts (Anthony) .... 268 Sanders (see Hemessen). Savery (Roland) 194 Schampheleer (Edmund of), App 408 Schaubroek (Peter) .... 326 Schernier (see Coninxloo). Schoeraerdts (Martin) . . . 330 422 FLKMISH PAINTING. Schoenere (Saladin de), Schuppen (James Van) Schuppen (Peter Van) Schut (Cornelius) . Seghers (Daniel). . Siberechts (John) . Simonau (Francis), App. Slingeneyer (Ernest) Smeyers (Giles) . . Smits (Eugfene), App. Snayers (Peter) . . Snellaert (Nicholas). Snellaert (John) . . Snellinck (John) . . Snyders (Francis) . Snyers (Peters) . . Soraer (Paul Van) . Son (George Van) . Son (John Van) . . Soyer (Hanyn) . . Spierinckx (Peter) . Spranger (Bartholomew Stalbemt (Adrian Van) Stallaert (Joseph) Standaert (see Bloemen). Staquet (Henry), App. Star (Francis Van der) . . Steenwyck (Henry Van) . Stevens (Alfred), App. . . Stevens (Joseph), App. . Stevens (Peter) . . . . Sti-aden (see Straeten). Straeten (John Van der) . Stuerbout (see Bouts). Susterman (see Lombard). Suttermans (John) . . . Suttermans (Justus) . Suvee (Joseph) . . . . Swerts (John), App. Teniers (Abraham) . Teniers I. (David) . Teniers II. (David) . Teniers III. (David) Teniers IV. (David). Teniers (Genealogy of the) Thielen (John Philip Van) PACE 62 24.S 348 334 404 394 360 404 318 179 63 200 280 386 373 351 351 17 ■ 336 • 194 • 329 ■ 38s . 408 . 189 • 342 • 404 • 404 ■ 193 184 370 367 387 406 299 291 291 299 299 299 350 PAGE Thiry (Leonard) 183 Thomas (Alexander) ... 394 Thomas (John) -. . . -35° Thulden (Theodore Van) . . 248 Thys (Peter) 35^ Tilborgl. (Giles Van) . . . 305 Tilborg II. (Giles Van) . . 305 Truffin (Philip) 62 Uden (Lucas Van) .... 330 Utrecht (Adrian Van) ... 345 Ulterschaut (Victor), App. . 408 Vadder (Louis de) . . . . 332 Vaenius (see Veen). Vaillant (Waillerant) ... 244 Valkenborgh (Lucas Van) . . 196 Valkenboi^h (Martin Van) . 196 Veen (Otho Van) .... 202 Verboeckhoven (Eugene) . . 386 Verbrugghen (Gaspard Peter) 351 Verendael (Nicholas Van) . . 351 Verhaecht (see Haecht). Verhaegen (Peter) .... 383 Verhaeren (Alfred), App. . . 410 Verhas (John), App. . . . 408 Verheyden (Isidore), App. . 408 Verlat (Charles), App. ... 408 Vermeyen (Henry) .... 142 Vermeyen (John Cornelius) . 140 Verwee (Alfred) App. . . . 410 Vigne (Felix de) 401 Vinas (see Wyngaerde). Vinckboons (David). . . . 328 Vlerick (Peter) 179 Vleys (Nicholas) 361 Voet (Ferdinand) .... 372 Vos (Cornelius de) . . . . 274 Vos (Martin de) 163 Vos (Paul de) 284 Vos (Simon de) 353 Vos (Genealogy of the De) . 164 Vranck (Sebastian) .... 317 Vranque 31 Vriendc (see Florib). INDEX. 423 Wael (Cornelius de) Wael (Lucas de). Wans ( lohn Baptist) Wappers (Gustave) . Wauters (Emile), App. Werth (Adrian de) . Wery (Gerard) ... Weyden (Gossin Van der) Weyden (Roger Van der) Weyden, (Genealogy of Van der) . . Wierts (Anthony) Wigan (Isaac) Wildens (John) . Wil'aerts (Adam) Willeboirts (Thoma?) . Willems (Florent), App. Winghen (Jesse Van) . Winne (Lievin De), App. Witte (Gaspard de) . . the 319 319 336 393 404 197 25' 59 53 60 394 347 330 339 356 403 ,96 406 336 Witte (Lievin de) . . . PAGE 342 Witte (Peter de) . . . . 182 Witte I. (Peter de) . . . 164 Witte ir. (Peter de) . . 164 Witte (Genealogy of the De) 164 Woestin (Roger Van der) . 62 Wolfvoet (Victor) . . . 246 Woluwe (John Van). . 19 Wouters (Francis) . . 249 Woutiers (Micheline) . . 279 Wyngaerde (Van den) . 188 Wytevelde (Van) . . 62 Ykens (Francis) 346 Ykens (Peter) 357 Zaide (Jehan de le) Zegers (Gerard) . 17 265