V, »■ -»>~--.3g J^^^^-aaaa THEART-OF^^HE BELGIAN-GALLERIES CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM n-i»^»-;^ TlnPr-irni I Cornell University Library N 1750.S61 The art of the Belgian galleries; being a 3 1924 020 488 171 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020488171 he Htt of tbe IBelgtan Galleries ^ art (Balleries of jeuropc f OJ^ ^/icA ane volume, large iznio, cloth decorative ^ ^V5 printed on a special /eather-weig'kt paper. Pro- "^ C^ fiisely illustrated with full-page plates in duo- j yo gravure, $2.00 «tf^ ^ fi$ a;be art of tbe Watican ^ 5O BY MARY KNIGHT POTTER > fM Oibc art of tbc pittf iPalace &^C BY JULIA DE W. ADDISON £5 ^be art of tbe Xouvre C r^J BY MARY KNIGHT POTTER f rvi a:be art of tbe Dcnfce aca&emB S ^ BY MARY KNIGHT POTTER j] c« ITbe art of tbe matlonal ©allcre c W^J BY JULIA DE W. ADDISON C. S3 tEbe art of tbe DresOen ©allerg £ nW BY JULIA DE W. ADDISON r ?j^ tlbe art of tbe ©ra&o V y^J BY CHARLES S. RICKETTS ^ j)Q XTbe art of tbe metberlanO jSf, ©allerlee ^ BY DAVID C. PREYER sv XTbe art of tbe 3SSeIgian (Galleries fiS BY ESTHER SINGLETON L. C. PAGE & COMPANY Publishers, Boston, Mass. J. VAN EYCK ST. BARBARA Plate I Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts ije ^rt of ^ ^ Being a History of the Flemish School of Painting Illuminated and Demonstrated by Critical Descriptions of the Great Paintings in Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels and Other Belgian Cities. j» j* a* j» J» By Esther Singleton lUus trated Boston L. C. Page & Company MDCCCCI X Copyright^ igog By L.' C. Page & Company (incorporated) All- rights reserved First Impression, October, 1909 Electrolfyped and Printed-ai •THE COLONIAL PRESS C.H. SifH sons, both painters. Thierry, the eldest, was called " pictor ymaginum," and died rich before 1491, leaving a son, Jan, who also became a painter. The younger, Albert, died about 1548 and enriched with his productions sev- eral churches in Louvain. Albert Bouts forso'ok the strong qualities of his father's school to launch ' Fierens-Gevaert. THIERRY BOUTS THE LAST SUPPER Plate IV iSee page 272) Palais des Beaux- Arts Brussels jflemisb iPainters an& ipaintina 19 out in the refinements of a somewhat doubtful taste ; and the School of Louvain with him is in its decadence. After the death of Memling, the last representa- tive of the pure traditions of Van Eyck, the Flem- ish School halted for a time between its first manner and another better adapted to the tendencies that were directing all minds to antiquity. It would be interesting to show the successive minds through which the new ideas gradually won their way, and those that remained faithful to the old art; but, with Memling, the filiation of the heads of the Bruges School stops : we cannot say with any cer- tainty who was the pupil tof his predilection. The centre of the School which had first been displaced when Van der Weyden removed it to Brussels, now abandons Bruges for Antwerp, and remains there permanently. Among the immediate followers ainting 21 Simon Marmion (1425-1480) and Jerome Bosch (1462-1516). The first two habitually regarded life under its most sombre aspect, painting on their panels figures of desolation. Their successor, Bosch, took for his domain the twilight regions of the fantastic world, the place of Divine tortures where hopeless tears endlessly flow. Although truth and exactitude and observation of nature are not lacking in Jerome Van Aken (Bosch), he did not work with the patience of the Van Eycks. His rapidity was not entirely detri- mental, since it made his form more free and supple ; he learned a better expression of the attitudes and movements of men and animals. Hotho tells us that the imaginary ground of his visions, although full of men, animals, monuments and rustic details, does not look at all encumbered; there are even wide empty spaces and solitary vistas. His capri- cious taste is noticeable in his general dispositions. He carries further than any other in the Bruges School the contrast between light and shade, cold and warm tints. He freely opposes vermilion, yel- lowish green and reddish brown with ochre mixed with blue tints, or with grounds of greenish blue. Red and yellow flames break from the dark smoke, and bright gleams illuminate the surface of the ponds, or are reflected from the armour worn by hideous skeletons. 22 ube art of tbe Belatan ©allcries Hugo Van der Goes, so celebrated in his own day, is not represented in any of the great Belgian galleries. In Italy, it was said of him that on this side of the Alps he had no equal. Critics still praise his broad and simple work, the austere expression of his faces and the strength of his colouring; but blame his hard outlines, dark shadows, and absence of chiaroscuro, or relief and transparence in the flesh. Like Memling at Bruges, in Brabant he was the last important figure in Van Eyck's school, which, under Massys, was soon to be transformed, and then to bow to Italian influence. After him the old Gothic manner soon disappears. The theocratic art of Van Eyck preserves in the dispositions of the groupings a regularity that is still ritualistic : Van der Weyden was the first to make his divine personages breathe with human feelings. Gerard David (1450- 1523) went a step further: he painted real scenes; and, after some examples that he had perhaps admired in Italy, he taught the Flemings great historical composition. It is with this profoundly original creator that the admirable Burgundian epoch comes to an end. Gerard David was a productive painter ; and had many pupils. His was a pious and gentle nature, fitted for subjects of a tranquil character, delicate assemblages of saints and Virgins enthroned. He was a continuator of Memling, sometimes with an iflemisb painters an& painting 23 unequal brush, but with great charm of sentiment and an almost modern melancholy. He was also well acquainted with Massys, and imitated him. A Descent from the Cross, painted in 1520, now in the Chapel of the Sacred Blood at Bruges, is al- most an exact copy of the picture by Massys in the Antwerp Museum. " It is not known where Gerard learned his art, but most probably at Haarlem, or under Dirk Bouts, but the composition and colouring of his earliest known pictures show that before settling in Bruges he had travelled in Italy and come under the influ- ence of the Venetian School, probably of Carpaccio. Certain details such as the amorini, the garlands of fruit and flowers, and the Medicean cameos repro- duced in these, prove him to have visited Florence. His works were formerly often attributed to Mem- ling, with whose style they have a certain affinity. David livied in Bruges fbr forty years and received many commissions not only from the magistrates and citizens bf that city, but also from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He is reckoned among the most esteemed Netherlandish painters, remark- able among other qualities for his careful and truth- ful painting of landscape. Some critics suppose indeed that his landscape backgrounds were exe- cuted by Joachim Patenier." ^ ' Weale. 24 trbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allerfes " Contemporary with David were a few artists who painted with a pathetic sentiment sorrowing Virgins and beautiful dying Christs in which the profound religious emotion of the Flemings still vi- brates. Among these were the unknown masters designated the Master of the Assumption, the Master of the Mater Dolorosa, the Master of the Death of Mary. But this intimate dramatization bf violent grief, this tranquillity in the attitudes that double the psychic eloquence of the characters becomes more and more rare. The calm, pensive, concentrated art of the great Bruges period dies with the splendid city whence it spread over the world. The Italian current carries it away with all its anatomical* efforts, its care for external move- ment, and its receipts for style and composition ; till at length the Romanizing taste, already dear to Jan Gossaert, triumphs with Van Orley, Blondeel, Lom- bard, De Vos, Coxie and Floris." ^ Jan Mosaert (1474-1555) may be regarded as the last of the Gothic Flemings. He carried on the old traditions to the middle of the Sixteenth Cen- tury, respectfully and with great talent, recalling the blue and hilly distances of John Van Eyck, the superb stuffs of Memling ornamented with gldiers even, who should be ' Michiels. JAN SIVART ADORATION OF THE MAGI Plate VI (.See page 180) Palais dcs Beaux-Arts Brussels jFlemisb ipafnters an5 painting 35 hardened to such scenes, are taking to their heels. The executioners, moreover, can not restrain their emotion. Although the saint's body has not yet suffered, his face expresses a secret horror that his will can hardly control. His eyes, however, are fixed on an angel who is bringing him the crown of the elect. The two wings of the triptych depict other scenes of the saint's martyrdom. The central panel of the second triptych is dated 1587. The subject is St. Sebastian bound to a tree, and about to be shot to death with arrows. The body is a fine study of the human : it is elegant in form and well drawn. The head is distinguished with an expressive nobility. The archers are shoot- ing from a ridiculously short distance. The back- ground is composed of a charming landscape and cloudy sky. The whole work is unusually harmoni- ous. Other scenes of the martyrdom occupy the wings. The last picture here is the Circumcision. The great interior of a splendid temple where the cere- mony takes place is painted by Coxie's collaborator Jan Vredemann. The picture displays great ele- gance. Jan Van Hemessen (1500-1555) was a painter who still clung to the past even when the Renais- sance was in full flower. He copied, without com- prehending, Massys and Mabuse. Sometimes he 36 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries goes to the limits of ugliness; his colour is hard, and shadows heavy; but he has a turn for expres- sion, and his simple energy approaches original- ity. Josse Van Cleef (1500-1556) was one of the best Flemish portrait painters of the school of Holbein. He recalls the latter's delicacy of design, the pleas- ing intensity of his colour, his grounds of strong green, and his attentive rendering of detail. In him we see the first dawn of the flamboyant tones of Jordaens. He serves as a link between Holbein and Antonio Moro. Flanders was just breaking away from the simple forms of the religious art of the Fifteenth Century, when Italian influence hindered independent native development. Lambert Lombard (1506- 1566) went to Rome in 1538 with Cardinal Pole; and al- though he remained there only a short time, he studied and was profoundly struck by the works of Andrea del Sarto; and was dazzled by the other stars of the Renaissance. On his return to Liege, he opened a school there, and publicly taught that the Middle Ages were for ever ended; and that Italy was the country of the ideal. Floris, then twenty years old, went to Liege to study under Lombard, soon surpassed his master, and proceeded to Italy. Frans Floris (De Vriendt, 1518-1570) was very iflemfsb ipainters anb ipafntina 37 inappropriately called the Flemish Raphael, for he was a far closer imitator of Michael Angelo. He forgot his origin to become not merely an Italian, but a Tuscan. Of the Sixteenth Century Flemings, none more absolutely disowned his nationality, nor possessed to such a degree the gift of assimilating the style and temperament of others. " Besides two sons of some artistic celebrity in their day, Floris left many disciples, the greatest of whom were Martin de Vos, Lucas de Heere and Martin Van Cleef. His influence on his period was Considerable. The authority of his constantly ap- plauded work, the character of his imagination, at once fiery and delicate, and the prestige naturally attaching to such an able imitator of Michael Angelo and Andrea del Sarto enabled him to dis- cipline almost all Contemporary fancies and organize a great school that reigned flourishing and admired till the first years of the Seventeenth Century. This school, however, more Italian than Flemish, had against it the old traditions of the country and the eternal resistance of the national temperament. It can only count therefore in the history of art in Flanders as an interval during which skilful rhet- oricians held the stage without having time to finish the piece. The sudden appearance of Rubens put these foreign comedians to flight, and the schobl, 38 xrbe art of tbe aBelgiatt ^aUeries having recovered itself, began to talk Flemish again." ^ Faithful to the habits and tendencies of his coun- try, Martin de Vos (1532- 1603) did not fail to give importance to details, multiply accessories, and open a window on a landscape. By this trait we imme- diately recognize the predominance of a Flemish mind that Italy has not entirely fashioned. It is strange that with De Vos the secondary group al- most always overpowers the principal figures. Sometimes the scene, instead of being repeated in the distance, is continued. If, in the front of the picture, we see the Prodigal Son casting himself at his father's feet, in the distance, we see the tables already set, and the feast beginning. And, as if the painter wanted to play with the solemn laws of Classic Art, he places on the same canvas the Prodi- gal Son revelling, on his knees, and herding the swine : an ingenuous and entirely primitive way of despising the unities of action, time and place ! But we must pause a moment before those backgrounds where the artist has, so to speak, worked in the echoes of his drama : they are generally landscapes. Martin de Vos thus shares with Bernard Van Orley the honour of having introduced into the Low Countries a genre which was to be carried there to the last limits of perfection. We know how the ' Paul Mantz. jflemfsb iPainters an& pafntlng 39 Sixteenth Century painters viewed the country: it was under the strongest colours. Before Paul Bril, before Brueghel, Martin de Vos nobed his landscape with those green and blue tones whose sharp crudity to-day astonishes our eyes, accustomed as we are by the great Dutch landscape painters to the melan- choly and sweet harmony of broken colours and autumnal tints. It was, moreover, quite simple that the love of nature should begin with tracing the brilliant image of Spring. Martin de Vos did not merely represent the flat country of the province of Antwerp; he gave movement to his landscape, cutting it up with accidentals full of grace and in- terest; he invented happier forms for it, as well as the violent colours of emerald and ultramarine. It would even seem that in painting Nature, he went to Germany rather than Flanders. Lastly he enlivened his backgrounds with forest cabins and Gothic villas. " Less mannered than his successors, De Vos, however, like Tintoret, strove after contrasts of atti- tude and movement and picturesque ease of car- riage; but in his pictures we do not find, as in Bloemart's useless personages, idle figures, or mere fillings. Moreover, with De Vos we see the dis- appearance not lonly of the last traces of the Italian style imported by Van Orley, Lombard and Floris, but the remains of the Gothic art, some vestiges of. 40 zbt art of tbe ffielgtan ©allerfcs which were still noticeable in him, especially in the angular folds of his draperies and the choice of his stuffs. Next comes Otto Vaenius, who forms the transition between De Vos and Rubens, as De Vos did between Vaenius and Floris." ^ Lucas de Heere of Ghent (1534-1584) was archaeologist, numismatist and author of literary- works, including a poem on the Flemish painters. He painted many portraits at the Courts of France and England. His Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in Saint Bavon is dated 1559. Antoine Claessens (?-i6i3) was probably a pupil of Massys. His Last Judgment (signed and dated 1574), in the Bruges Town Hall, exhibits qualities of expression and exquisite finish char- acteristic of Memling, but the colour is browner and heavier, and lacking in freshness. The three brothers Francken, Frans (1544- 1616), Ambrose (1545-1618), and Jerome (d. 1620) were famous in their day. Though not one of them went to Italy, they all studied under Floris, and were influenced by Martin de Vos, following with considerable success the somewhat cold methods with which Flemish genius was trying to combine with Italian grace. They lived to see the triumph of Rubens, and find themselves neglected as representatives of a discredited school. > Blanc, ^lemisb £>atntetd and ipatntino 4i There was a large number of secondary painters in the last half of the Sixteenth Century that pre- served somewhat of the old Flemish genius. Among these may be mentioned the Brueghels at Antwerp; Peter Aertszen of Louvain^ and his pupil Joachim Bueckelaer David Vinokboons and Lucas Van Valckenburg of Mechlin; Frans Francken the Younger and Joost Van Cleef of Antwerp; Frans Pourbus the Elder and Younger, Willem Key, Nicolas Neuchatel, called Lucidel^ Geldorp Gortzius of Louvain, Mark Gerard of Bruges, Paul Van Somer of Antwerp, the Bril brothers, Mathew and Paul, Josse de Momper and Rolandt Savery, Adam Willaerts and Bonaventure Peeters of Antwerp (marine painters), Hendrik Van Steenwyck and Pieter Neefs of Antwerp (architectural painters), Hans Bol of Mechlin and Hoefnagel of Antwerp (miniaturists). Pieter (Peasant) Brueghel (1530-16 — ?) re- ceived lessons from Van Orley and Jerome Coeck, but his real master was the long dead Jerome Bosch, whose fantastic works fascinated him. He went to Italy, of course ; but was more affected by the Alpine landscape than by anything else. Oft his return, he may be said to have revived the Flemish spirit which was daily dying under imitation of the Italians. Brueghel would not allow himself to be carried along with the crowd : the peasant become painter 42 Zbc Htt Of tbe JSelgian Galleries consulted only his own tastes. He reproduced the familiar scenes of his boyhood which had lost none of their charm for him. By his love for the mar- vellous, his talent in landscape painting and his ability in painting village manners, Brueghel re- newed the traditions of Flemish painting, gave one hand to the past and the other to the future. A disciple of Bosch, and allied with the Van Eycks and Memling, he prepared Teniers and the kermesses of Rubens, Brouwer and Van Ostade. His pastoral tendencies gained for him the name " Boeven Brueghd " (Peasant Brueghel); and his comic scenes, " Viesen Brueghel" (Droll Brueghel). His two sons, "Velvet" (1568-1625) and " Hell" (1574-1637), were equally famous. Pieter received his sobriquet, " Hell," from his love of painting fires and infernal scenes. Flames in dark- ness are admirably represented in his works. The sombre character of the period with its crimes, per- secutions and atit)cious wars is reflected in the tragic pictures of both father and son. " During the second half of the Sixteenth Cen- tury, Pieter Brueghel is the great jester of the Flemish School ; he is one of those who used gaiety as a mask in order to hide, and sometimes to reveal, the anxieties and the melancholy of a period when human life counted for so little, and when struggle was in every mind and every heart. Therefore, the iflemisb palntets an^ painting 43 slightest fancy of the painter of peasants is worth more in a moral sense and in historical value than the mt>st learned reminiscences of Floris and De Vos. Moreover, he is closer than they to the tradi- tional ways of Flemish painting. He believes in boldly contrasted colours, and in the strong tonali- ties so dear to the old Fifteenth Century masters; he strives for energy and character ; he paints men, houses and landscapes as he sees them ; the creator of a school which gradually changed and finally was extinguished, his was the honour of adding the protest of his own frank burst of laughter to the resistance of the national genius against the inva- sion of foreign methods. " However, this healthy and robust art was scarcely accepted and comprehended except among the lower classes. The aristocracy and lettered classes of the day remained entirely in sympathy with Italianism; and Flanders in denying and be- littling herself. Early in the Seventeenth Century, Otho Van Veen, fascinated with the ultramontane painting, always sought after the tenderness of Cor- reggio and Andrea del Sarto ; and the three Franck- ens prolonged, not without coldness, the lessons of the School of Fontainebleau. Before long, also, an- other principle came to complicate and sadden the situation. Several artists, recently arrived from Rome, and affected by the violences of Caravaggio, 44 XTbe art of tbc aBelgfan (Ballertes made a specialty of vigorous tones and heavily ac- cented shadows, and tried to persuade their coun- trymen that it was good taste to paint black. The native genius was about to suffer a new assault, the Flemish element was compromised, when, in 1608, Rubens returned from Italy." * Peter Aertszen (1505-1573) was a pupil of Allart Claessen. He worked at Amsterdam, Antwerpi, LouvaTn and Delft. In his treatment of religious subjects, he imitated Lucas Van Leyden and Heem- skerck, but he introduced simple and even vulgar touches of realism powerfully expressed. His draw- ing was free and his colour lively, which renders him one of the first representatives of that natural- ism that is the gtory of the Little Masters of the Dutch and Flemish Schools. Joachim Bueckelaer (1530-1577), Aertszen's nephew, followed in his steps. He was famous for his markets, fairs, kitchens, interiors, game, fruit and still life. He painted Biblical scenes in the costume of his own day. David Vinckboons (1578- 1629) settled in Am>- sterdam, and reintroduced landscape painting which had been neglected there tor more than fifty years. Savery and Coninxloo assisted in this. He was a follower of Velvet Brueghel though witH individual qualities. He then proceeded to treat religious ' Paul Mantz. iflemisb iPafnters anb ©ainttno 45 subjects in a familiar manner; and excelled in kermesses, in which he loved to make the strong reds and blues of peasant costume play against the bright and sombre greens of the landscape. To-day the latter have changed to yellow and brown. Lucas Van Valckenburg (1549- 1625) painted excellent landscapes in gray and silvery tones. He was also a portrait and miniature painter. Joost Van Cleef, called the Fool (1510-?), lost his reason and died at an early age. His portraits are remarkable for their sincerity of expression and brilliant colour. His works have often been con- founded with those of Holbein and the School of Clouet. Pieter Pourbus (1510-1584) and his son Frans (1540-1580) may be ranked among the best por- trait painters of the Sixteenth Century. By their patient methods and respect for the individual char- acter of their sitters, they belong to the school which Holbein founded and reigned over. Pieter Pourbus can best be studied in his religious pictures, on the wings of which are usually painted the donors in devout attitudes. Here his serious brush excels in reproducing in their intimate reality and every day costume those Flemish nobles or merchants, kneel- ing, with joined hands, with familiar faces endowed by religious conviction with touching gravity. Be- fore the central panel of his triptych, he places not 46 "Clbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©alleries only the father and mother, but also the children in order. On one side are the sons severely clothed in their black pourpoints; and, on the other, are the daughters, with their faces half hidden in their white hoods. The Bruges churches are full of such pictures. Frans was perhaps an abler artist, but lacking in his father's touching simplicity. He was an ex- act and sincere portrait painter ; and liked to intro- duce into his religious pictures the faces of his con- temporaries and his friends. His style was a com- bination of Flemish taste and Italian influence. In his Christ among the Doctors at St. Bavon several of the notabilities of the court of Philip II have been recognized. Willem Key (1520- 1568), a portrait and his- torical painter, was a pupil of Lambert Lombard at Liege and a comrade of Frans Floris. Painting the Duke of Alva, he was so terrified over hearing his announcement to kill Egmont that he died of the shock. Nicholas Neuchatel, called Lucidel, who became a famous portrait painter, entered the studio of Peter Coeck of Alost in Antwerp in 1539. His portraits are noted for their refined feeling for col- our and careful treatment of detail. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. Gualdorp Gortzius, called Geldorp (i 553-1616 jf lemfsb ipaintets an^ iPainttna 47 or 1618), was a pupil of Frans Francken the Elder and Frans Pourbus. He became one of the best portrait painters of his time. Paul Van Somer (i 570-1 621) painted portraits in Antwerp with his brother Bernard, but went to England, where he worked for many years and where he died. His colour is warm and clear and his execution finished. Another favourite Flemish portrait-painter at the English Court was Mark Gerard of Bruges, spelled also Geerarts, the son of a painter of the same name. The dates of his birth and death are unknown ; but he was a pupil of Lucas de Heere. Paul Bril (i 556-1626) at first painted the tops of harpsichords and finally found his way to Italy, where he studied under and assisted his brother Matthys. He was patronized by Clement VIII and painted many landscape pictures, to some of which Annibale Carracci contributed figures. " He viewed nature with a fresh eye — selecting her natural and poetic rather than her arbitrary and fantastic features. He was the first tt> introduce a certain unity of light in his pictures, attaining thereby a far finer general effect than those who had preceded him. His deficiencies lie in the over force, and also in the monotonous green, of his foregrounds and in the exaggerated blueness of his distances. Nevertheless, this painter exercised a 48 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian eallecies considerable influence over Rubens, Annibale Car- racci and Claude Lorraine, and must ever occupy an important position in the development of this branch of art." * Roelandt Savery (1576- 1639), a native of Cour- trai, is noted for his wild rocky landscapes where savage animals dwell and for his poetic feeling, especially in his treatment of fine woodland scenes. His landscapes are often crowded with animals. He was a pupil of his brother, Jakob (1545-1602), a landscape and animal painter and a disciple of Hans Bol and inherited his talent from his father, Jakob, a native of Courtrai, who settled in Amster- dam about 1550, and excelled in painting animals, birds and fishes. Josse de Momper (i 564-1634), also a painter, followed the fantastic landscapes of the older masters, with high hills and strong sun- light. David Teniers the Elder, Henrik Van Balen, Peter Brueghel the Younger and the Franckens Contributed the figures in his foregrounds. His works are numerous. Josse de Momper was also a famous etcher. Adam Willaerts (1577-before 1662) painted river and canal scenes, fish markets, processions, harbour and coast views and villages and ships on fire. His waves are not always natural; but his ciolour is vigorous, his touch broad and soft and ' Crowe. iFlemfsb iPafntcrs an5 painting 49 the groups of figures with which he enlivens his scenes correct and full of spirit. Another marine painter was Bonavfentura Peeters ( 1 614-1634), whose works are unequal in merit, but who had great talent for composition and the arrangement of light and shade. He was especially- fond of a tempestuous sea with lightning flashing from the clouds, and a ship in danger. His works are rare in public galleries. " His pictures," says Crowe, " have generally a very poetic character, though often untrue and mannered in the forms of the hills, the clouds and in the movement of the waves. On the other hand they have the merit of a great power and clearness of colour and of a mas- terly handling." His brother Jan Peeters (1624- 1677) painted similar subjects successfully. The same spirit that prompted a rich man to have his castle or more modest home perpetuated on canvas, led him to wish for a representation of the venerated church or cathedral, whose bells he had heard every day of his life, and in which he had been baptized and married, and in which one day he would be buried in the tomb of his ancestors. A special branch of painting, therefore, arose which had for its object the reproduction of the interiors of Gothic churches. Here we find the painter far removed from the architectural draughtsman, for the rigid rules of geometry are little to his taste. 60 Ube Hrt ot tbe 3Bclgian ©alletfes The first Flemish master of this genre was Hen- drik Van Steenwyck (1550-1604), a pupil of Jan Vriedeman de Vries, whose architecture introduced into his pictures proves his devoted study of Vitru- vius and Serlio. Steenwyck was a master of per- spective both lineal and aerial, and treated the artificial light of lamps, torches and candles with marvellous accuracy and effect. As a rule, he makes the spectator pause at the entrance of the great portal giving him a view of the entire nave to the high altar with its lace-like rood scrteen, white cloth, holy vessels and lighted tapers. Again he will give a view so that a side chapel is conspicuous and where t>ne dim lamp throws its orange gleams through the dark shadows. In many pictures, too, by his use of colour and treatment of light and shade he gives the spectator the same impression that he receives in the cathedral itself. The human figures were supplied by one of the Franckens and Other masters. " I love to find in the pictures of Steenwyck not only the exact architecture of the cathedrals with their springing columns, their glass windows, their sonorous pavement and that marble font in which the rtxjf of the edifice is reflected, but also the im- pression produced by all these things at different hours of the day, that moral essence that emanates from it all and the unexpected poetry of a scene SCHOOL OF VAN ORLEY LADY WITH THE PINK Plate VIII {See page 279) Palais des Beaux- Arts Brussels Iflemisb H^ainters an5 ©ainting 5i whose elements are after all only stone, light and shadows." ^ His son, Hendrik, was his pupil and follower. The best of Steenwyck's pupils, Pieter Neefs (1570-1651), painted in the same style as his master; but exceeded him in his warmth of tone and in the truthfulness of his torchlight effects. Jan Brueghel, David Teniers the Elder and Frans Francken the Younger contributed figures to his pictures. Pieter Neefs the Younger (i 601 -after 1675) was inferior to his father. Among the Flemish painters of interior ar- chitecture must be mentioned Antony Ghering (?-i668) and Willem Van Ehrenberg (1637- 1675 or 1677). The architecture is also good of Denis Van Als- loot (1550-1625), who was particularly noted for his representation of public squares at the time of some national fete or public procession. Jan Van Rillaert (about 1508- 1568) was a native of Llouvain and was frequently employed to paint and design the decorations for public ceremonials. He also executed numerous works for churches, convents and the Town Hall of Louvain. His son of the same name was also a painter. Adam Van Noort (1557-1641) was a Fleming who never went to Italy: he was a great painter, 'Charles Blanc. 52 nbe Htt of tbe Belgian 6aUertes however, and had many pupils. Among the latter were Rubens, and Jordaens, who married his daughter. He painted little: but in his master- piece at the church of St. Jacques, Antwerp, we find an intelligent prescience of all the qualities which a few years later were to be the honour of the Antwerp School. In this picture, Rubens and Jordaens are contained in germ, and announced in advance. Otho Vaenius (1558-1629) was another great contemporary. " The pictures of Vaenius," says Wauters, " never fail to excite interest by their correct ele- gance, the charm of their female figures, and their sincere feeling for the beautiful. To-day the work of Vaenius, by its coldness and mannered Classicism, leaves us somewhat indifferent, but the artist is nevertheless assured of immortality, for he was the master of Rubens. This honour he shared with Adam Van Noort." The Resurrection of Lazarus, in the Church of St. Bavon, Ghent, is considered by some critics to be his masterpiece. It is a picture that any of the great masters would be proud to sign. In colour, it is unsurpassed. Karel Van Mander (1548-1606) is better known as a poet and the author bf the Lives of the Flemish Painters than as an artist. His chief glory is to jflemisb I>atntetd and ipainting 53 have been the master of Frans Hals. The Church of St. Martin contains several pictures by him, though only one is signed. It is dated 1582, and depicts the Martyrdom of St. Porphyria, and, as the inscription informs us, of two hundred knights, who, remaining firm in their belief, were decapi- tated with her and thrown to the dogs. It is a work of very ordinary merit. The foreground is occu- pied by three bleeding corpses and their severed heads. The middle distance is devoted to the execu- tion of the saint. The open space is surrounded by a multitude of spectators, and men on horseback. The distant landscape is closed in by mountains, the faces of the whole crowd are singularly lacking in expression : even the saint looks entirely indif- ferent to her fate, and shows no holy ecstasy. The contours are constrained, and some even hard. No fine effects of distance are rendered ; and the artist's beloved Italian method is only half-heartedly fol- lowed. He halts between the old and the new. His colour is startling and crude. The Last Judgment here is equally unsatisfactory. Frans Hals, wht» is often classed in the Dutch School, is claimed rightfully as a Fleming by birth and education. Born in 1584, at Mechlin, he studied under Karl Van Mander, who vainly tried to impart his enthusiasm for the Italians. After his master's death in 1606, Hals followed his natu- 64 XEbe art of tbe Belgian 6alleries ral bent — portraiture; but with what success is nbt known. The return of Rubens from Italy, and his subsequent exclusive sway in Flemish art, in- duced Hals to emigrate to Haarlem about ten years later. He died there in 1666, — the last of the great Flemish portrait painters. John Snellinck (i 544-1638) was a painter of religious subjects ; and, in his colour, was a worthy forerunner of Rubens. Abraham Janssens (1567-1632) studied in Italy, and returned to Antwerp during Rubens's absence, and gained great fame and success. He was the greatest painter in Flanders at that time, and was heartbroken at being eclipsed by Rubens on the arrival of the latter. He painted magnificent pic- tures in the Italian taste, being a follower of Michael Angelo. He is better represented in the Belgian churches than in the museums. St. Luke Painting the Virgin's Portrait adorns the Cathedral of Mechlin. Placed on a platform and holding her Son, Mary poses like an ordinary person. Seated before a desk, the Evangelist sketches her image in crayon on a piece of paper. He holds his head well back to examine her atten- tively. An old man standing behind him — St. 'Joseph perhaps — criticizes his design. A box placed against the wall contains a skeleton that is brought to life by the presence of the Virgin, and jflemisb painters an5 painting 55 that clasps its hands and adores her. The artist has doubtless intended to make us understand thus that the two personages are an apparition. The Saint could not very well have painted Christ in His infancy! The scene is decorated with a Roman monument, and Renaissance ceiling and windows. In the back of the room^ a servant is grinding colours; and, beyond, a half-open door reveals a spacious chamber, with a bed and table. " The manner in which this picture is painted ex- cites some surprise. First, we notice a considerable penury of details, quite in contrast with the prodi- gality of Rubens. The flesh, the stuffs, the furni- ture all lack shadings and transitions; and form large plaques. The enormous draperies, which re- call the vestments of Guido, do not belong to any species of tissue, an Italian custom approved of by Sir Joshua Reynolds and academical professors. The colour is brilliant but hard : the carnations es- pecially, "to which the artist tried to give a southern tone, are somewhat harsh and dry. One would say that they belonged rather to wood than to flexible and living flesh. The types are not very happy. Mary's head does not announce much intelligence, and borrows no charm from heavy eyelids denuded of lashes. Christ has the face and expression of a I coarse little peasant. The male, energetic head of St, IvUke would suit a warrior perfectly : the band 56 Zbc art of tbe Belgian ©alleries around it, tied in a knot on the brow gives it a still more martial air. Yet this picture shines by its vigour, and attests long anatomical studies ; but we seek in it vainly for grace and supple life. " Christ Descended from the Cross in St. Jean's, in the same city, presents the same character and tendencies." ^ Martin Pepyn (1575-1643) was influenced by the school of Frans Floris. It is unknown to whom he was indebted for instruction, but the animated heads and elevated character of many of his works show the new art introduced by Rubens. He acquired such a reputation in Rome that, when he announced his intention of returning, Rubens was quite dis- turbed. Martin Pepyn had a superior talent, a delicate imagination, and a profound poetic sentiment. But his tastes and faculties had nothing in common with the boldness and dramatic energy of Rubens and his pupils. He loved gentle piety, calm, reverie and the tender sentiments of the old school. He liked its colour fine and polished like enamel ; and its minute truth in the execution ; he liked its types, the grace of its accessories, the opulence of its dostumes, and the tranquil splendour of its landscapes. Nicholas de Liemaeckere, called Roose, (1575- 1646) was a fellow pupil with Rubens in the studio ' Michiels. jf lemisb f^aintets anb I^aintin^ 57 of Otho Vaenius, and the collaborator of De Craeyer in various decorative work. He painted sacred sub- jects almost exclusively. The Ghent churches and the convents of the whole province were enriched with his works, taken principally from the mystic legend of the Virgin. He was, or at least he tried to be, the painter of the celestial court; but he is only religious in intention: his somewhat heavy painting is too often enveloped with heavy and black shadows. His skies are generally lacking in depth and light. What is worthy of praise in him is a facile imagination that is always ingenious in mingling his groups and varying his attitudes. If it is true that Rubens praised him, as is said, we must believe that he wanted to praise the inventor while generously shutting his eyes to the faults of the painter. Roose's best work is a luminous Entry of the Virgin into Heaven in St. Bavon. It suf- fers by being in the same chapel with Rubens's famous St. Bavon Distributing His Riches to the Poor. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) received his early lessbns from Otho Vaenius and from Adam Van Noort. He is the recognized head of the Flem- ish School of painting and his influence was world- wide. He went to Italy in 1600 and stayed there eight years. In various pictures painted soon after his return, we notice copies of figures in composi- 58 ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries tions by Michael Angelo, Annibale Carracci, Titian and Daniele da Volterra. The chief result of his Italian studies was his adoption of Classical myths and history as the ground-work for the illustration of his genius, which is essentially Flemish. " It is only in large compositions that his powers seem to have room to expand themselves. They really increase in proportion to the size of the canvas on which they are to be displayed. His superiority is not seen in easel pictures nor even in detached parts of his greater works, which are seldom emi- nently beautiful. It does not lie in an attitude, or in any peculiar expression, but in the general effect, in the genius which pervades and illuminates the whole. " The works of Rubens have that peculiar prop- erty always attendant on genius, to attract atten- tion and enforce admiration in spite of all their faults. It is owing to this fascinating power that the performance Of those painters with which he is surrounded, though they have perhaps fewer de- fects, yet appear spiritless, tame and insipid; such as the altar-pieces of Crayer, Schut, Segers, Huy- sum, Tyssens, Van Balen and the rest. They are done by men whose hands, and indeed all their faculties, appear to have been cramped and confined : and it is evident that everything they did was the effect of great labour and pains. The productions i i fMHH i ( ■|||.^:^'' ■■■ ,,4. mf^^^ Wl ■"^^'^ kk. m K^^Arij^^^v > n^^^LJ^ x^^^B^^IH Pu .4 '«> xT« m i ■ ....... _ ' ■■ * "'" "'^ ^^V;i;.,:. i^V "^ ^ i.-^ Sl^ :i»^/^«fe -'T- »'■;,, A ie>^^'«ni£ffiMI CON I NX LOO THE MARRIAGE OF CANA Plate IX (See page^ 280) Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels fflemisb painters an& ipainttng 59 of Rubens, on the contrary, seem to flow with a freedom and prodigality, as if they cost him noth- ing; and to the general animation of the composi-^ tion, there is always a corresponding spirit in the execution of the work. The striking brilliancy of his colours, and their lively opposition to each other, the flowing liberty and freedom of his outline, the animated pencil with which every object is touched, all Contribute to awaken and keep alive the atten- tion of the spectator ; awaken in him, in some meas- ure, correspondent sensations, and make him feel a degree of that enthusiasm with which the painter was carried away. To this we may add the complete uniformity in all the parts of the work, so that the whole seems to be conducted, and grow out of one mind ; everything is of a piece and fits its place. " Besides the excellency of Rubens in these gen- eral powers, he possessed the true art of imitating. He saw the objects of nature with a painter's eye; he saw at once the predominant feature by which every object is known and distinguished, and as soon as seen, it was executed with a facility that is astonishing. Rubens was, perhaps, the greatest master in the mechanical part of the art, the best workman with his tools, that ever exercised a pen- cil. " This pbwer which Rubens possessed in the highest degree, enabled him to represent whatever 60 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian 6ajlecies he undertook better than any other painter. His animals, particularly lions and horses, are so ad- mirable, that it may be said they were never prop- erly represented but by him. His portraits rank with the best works of the Painters who have made that branch of the art the sole business Of their lives; and of those he has left a great variety of specimens. The same may be said of his land- scapes. " However, it must be acknowledged that he wanted many excellencies, which would have per- fectly united with his style. Among those we may reckon beauty in his female characters : sometimes indeed they make approaches to it ; they are healthy and comely women, but seldom, if ever, possess any degree of excellence : the same may be said of his young men and children : his old men have that sort of dignity which a bushy beard will confer ; but he never possessed a poetical conception of character. In his representations of the highest characters in the Christian or the fabulous world, instead of something above humanity, which might fill the idea which is conceived of such beings, the spectator finds little more than mere mbrtals, such as he meets with every day. " The incorrectness of Rubens in regard to his outline oftener proceeds from haste and carelessness than from inability: there are in his great works, jflemisb painters ani> ipatntfna 6i to which he seems to have paid more particular attention, naked figures as eminent for their draw- ing as for their colouring. He appears to have en- tertained a great abhorrence of the meagre, dry manner of his predecessors, the old German and Flemish Painters ; to avoid which, he keeps his out- line large and flowing : this, carried to an extreme, produced that heaviness which is so frequently found in his figures. " Another defect of this great painter is his in- attention to the foldings of his drapery, especially that of his women: it is scarcely ever cast with any choice or skill. " Carlo Maratti and Rubens are in this respect in opposite extremes; one discovers too much art in the disposition of his drapery, and the other too little. " The difference of the manner of Rubens from that of any other painter before him is in nothing more distinguishable than in his colouring, which is totally different from that of Titian, Correggio, or any of the great colourists. The effect of his pictures may be not improperly compared to clusters of flowers; all his colours appear as clear and as beautiful: at the same time he has avoided that tawdry effect which one would expect such gay colours to produce; in this respect resembling Ba- rocci more than any other painter. What was said 62 Ube Hrt of tbe JSelgian Galleries of an ancient painter, may be applied to those two artists, — that their figures look as if they fed upon roses." ^ Contempiorary with Rubens were several great artists who, though influenced by his genius, pre- served an independence of their own. The chief of these were Caspar De Craeyer (i 582-1669); Frans Snyders (i 579-1657); Cornelis de Vos (1585- 1 651); and Theodor Rombouts (1579- 1637)- Flemish critics place Caspar De Craeyer (1582- 1669) on a level with Rubens and Van Dyck. Raphael Van Coxie was his first master; and De Craeyer's early wt)rks reflect his style, which he abandoned to follow that of Rubens. However, he retained his own individuality; and was greatly admired by Rubens and Van Dyck. When Rubens saw his Centurion Dismounting from his Horse, he exclaimed : " Craeyer, Craeyer, nobody will ever surpass you ! " Van Dyck painted his portrait. His compositions are learned and judicious; re- jecting all superfluity and ostentation, he aimed at the higher qualities of correctness and simplicity. Less daring than Rubens, he is always correct, and although he never soared to the height of that as- piring genius, his works possess both grandeur and dignity. His colouring is chaste and tender, re- ' Sir Joshua Reynold*. jflemisb ipafnters anb ©afntfng 63 sembling in its carnations the clear tinting of Van Dyck. De Craeyer had a marvellous facility of execu- tion and filled the churches of Brussels and its en- virons with his pictures. In 1664, when eighty-two years old, he left Brussels, and established himself in Ghent, where he painted with extraordinary ardour notwithstanding his age. Owing to the presence of Caspar De Craeyer, there was a slight artistic movement in Chent which produced a few painters of the secondary rank. Chief among these were Nicholas de Liemaeckere, called Roose (1575- 1646), a pupil of Otto Vsenius and an occasional collaborator of Craeyer and Craeyer's pupils; Anselmn Van Hulle (1594-1665 or 8) ; Antoine Van den Henvele (1600- 1677) and Jan Van Cleef (1646-1716). Van Cleef assimilated his master's style in com- position, nobility and expression. The Infant Jesus crowning St. Joseph in Ghent is one of his best works. Pieter Thys (16 16- 1683) shows the influence of De Craeyer in his historical pictures. His colour is fine and vigorous, and his drawing correct. His architectural backgrounds are exceptionally well executed. " Towards the end of the Sixteenth Century there arose in Flanders a whole generation of valiant and 64 Ubc Hrt of tbe Selgtan (Galleries robust painters, marked with the stamp of na- tional genius, that again gave a Flemish character to Flemish art. For about a hundred years, there had not been a national painter in the country of the great artist who had invented oil painting. While the Brueghels, a race of peasants both simple and humourous, were creating at the dictation of Nature singular pictures which were undoubtedly scorned by the ambitious followers of the ultramon- tane style, a fantastic and violent man, Adam Van Noort, gave full rein to his own caprices without worrying over the strange importations from that Italy that had become the necessary pilgrimage for his forerunners and rivals. Living iri the midst of courtesans and smokers, his original manner, as ar- dent and disordered as his life, is a great contrast to the cold manner of his imitators. Youthful en- thusiasm flooded his studio when the Italianized Fleming, Otto Vaenius, also opened a school. " It was Van Noort's studio that Jacob Jordaens entered when Rubens and Van Balen had already left, and in the studio of Adam Van Noort, Jor- daens was at home. His imagination accommo- dated itself to the rude practice of the old master whose studio had another attraction. Love which plays such a large part in the life of the artist at- tached him to Catherine, Van Noort's daughter. " Rubens was then in his glory, and Jordaens PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AND HIS FAMILY CORNELIS DE VOS Plate X (See page 332) Palais des Beaux- A rts Brussels jflemisb IPatntetd an& iPaintind 65 entered his studio without leaving that of Van Noort. He studied both masters at the same time, copied the warm and vigorous paintings brought home from Venice by Rubens and soon became a consummate workman. At the age of twenty-five he aided Rubens in a series of allegorical pictures for Marie de Medicis, that were finished in Ant- werp in 1623. " Antwerp suited perfectly this ardent genius who was not even equalled by Rubens in fire and exuber- ance. If Rubens is the painter of Bacchus and sen- sual nymphs, Jordaens is the painter of Silenus and the lewd satyrs. If Rubens had not been the creator of the supreme expression of the Flemish style, Jor- daens would have had to invent that rich picture, fleshy, full of muscle and vitality ; for it should not be said that Jordaens imitated Rubens. They are of the same family and the same temperament ; the one more distinguished, more thoughtful and more profound, the other, generally speaking, ruder and coarser. However, when Jordaens constrains his fervour and tempers his execution, he resembles his master; just as Rubens when he is carried away and roars might be taken for Jordaens. There are Jordaens attributed to Rubens and Rubens to Jor- daens. Rubens stands between Jordaens and Van Dyck. Rubens is gold, Van Dyck, silver, and Jor- daens is blood and fire. But all three have run 66 Ubc art ot tbe Belgian ©alleries through the same gamut of colour from high to low tones. " Thus the fine and delicate Van Dyck reaches the red of Jordaens in his Silenus and the satyrs in the Brussels Museum and Rubens also in the picture in the same museum of the Martyrdom of St. Lie- vens where the executioner drags out the tongue of the saint in the midst of a glory of angels that descend from the sky to offer the palm of martyr- dom. " Jordaens loved freshness, fecundity, brilliancy and energy. Every one of his pictures presents these rare qualities. In six days, like God in the Bible, he painted Pan and Syrinx, life-sized figures in a dazzling landscape, — one of his masterpieces. But on the seventh day he did not rest. His inde- fatigable hand created ceaselessly new images and gave life to new figures. Rubens painted about three thousand pictures; Teniers about three hun- dred and fifty pictures in a single year, and Jordaens nearly equalled these prodigious producers. He frequently executed at a single sitting a portrait or a life-sized figure. " And his fortune increased with his renown. His house was as luxurious as that of a great lord. Brueghel, Rubens, Van Dyck and Teniers had the privilege of living in a palace amid all the magnifi- cence of civilization, surrounded with masterpieces jplemisb ©ainters an& ttiaintiuQ 67 of art, marvels of industry, and all the resources of wealth. Van Dyck was carried away by alchemy and Teniers ruined himself several times; but Jor- daens, whose loyal and frank character attracted everybody and to whom Rubens vowed brotherly friendship, lived all his life in delightful abundance and in undisturbed good luck, happy in his dappled horses that he painted with so much fire after he had ridden them, and his beautiful stuffs in which he dressed his models after he had worn them himself. From 1639 until his death he lived in Antwerp on the southeast corner of the rue Renders. " Although he collaborated with Rubens in sev- eral important works, Jordaens often painted with Snyders and Jan Fyt. The fat servants by Jordaens accord very well with the shining game, silvery fish and lobsters catching the light on their sharp points of Snyders; and the tawny hares, the pheasants, ducks, boars and hunting dogs of Fyt could not be in more appropriate- company than those brave trumpeters that Jordaens painted with such lusty life, adding such a fine contrast to the still life. But, while he lent his aid very willingly to others, Jordaens never required help in his own work, painting always with his own hand his horses, dogs, cows, sheep, landscapes and sky. Nobody could paint handsomer fat oxen than Jordaens; nobody could depict stronger and more valiant 68 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries horses and his panting dogs dispute the palm with those of Snyders. " Jordaens was also superior in portraiture, as he was in allegories, religious and mythological pic- tures and subjects of caprice. In fact, his manner, which does not lend itself to subjects of distinction, is particularly appropriate to the translation of na- ture required for portrait painting. His Silenuses, his Satyrs, his cow lo and his Baccantes follow mythological tradition and his Nativities and Ado- rations of the Shepherds Roman Catholic tradition, but do not lead Jordaens into delicacy and mysti- cism." ^ " His early marriage and the intimate relation — half friend, half assistant — in which he stood to Rubens prevented him from visiting Italy as other masters had done. He attained, however, to great eminence in Antwerp, and executed a very large number of pictures. Although these unmistakably show the proximity of Rubens, yet his own artistic nature is strongly expressed in them. This was so vehemently realistic in character as to degenerate occasionally into the rude and the vulgar. In his, as compared with Rubens's far narrower sphere of invention, the humourous takes a prominent place. In sense of beauty also and distinctness of forms he falls far short of his great model. On the other ' Blanc. jflemisb painters an& painting 69 hand, in power and transparency of colouring, and in mastery of general keeping, he may be placed on the same level; and in a certain golden glow and depth of chiaroscuro, he even excels him. Nor in the power over his brush can he be considered inferior to Rubens, though not to be compared with him in equality of impasto. Indeed to his over use of glazing, without the necessary foundation of solid colour, are attributable his occasionally unsub- stantial glassy effect, and monotonously luscious tone. His works differ, therefore, in merit accord- ing to the degree of their completion, and of his sympathy with the subject. Seldom does he satisfy us with his Biblical pictures." ^ Cornelis de Vos (1585-1651) was an admirable portrait painter, and excelled in compositions of a half-historical, half-devotional character, in which the personages are represented in contemporary costume, and are largely portraits. Rubens admired his work so much, that he used to send the over- flow of his sitters to him. He was a brother-in-law of Snyders, and a friend of Van Dyck. Burger says that his portraits might be attributed to Ru- bens. He may be ranked with Van Dyck and Gas- par de Craeyer. Peter Snayers (1593- 1662) painted pictures of large dimensions representing battle-fields, troops ' Crowe. 70 Ubc Hrt of tbe BelQian 6alleries on the march, and besieged towns, in which land- scape naturally plays an important part. He pos- sessed the exactitude and patience of a topographer ; and his military compositions are painted with great spirit and freedom. The Thirty Years' War sup- plied him with plenty of material for his work. Sometimes he painted scenes of Biblical history. Gerard Seghers (1591-1651), a pupil of Abra- ham Janssens and H. Van Balen, is notable for his well-balanced compositions, elegant figures, broad treatment, harmonious colouring and graceful ac- tion. Paul Mantz says of the last period of his art: " While he was treating such subjects as the Ec- stasy of St. Theresa, his brush began to forget its ultramontane education and became Flemish again. In his work we find certain pictures that we are astonished to meet with and in which the influence of Rubens is plainly and unhesitatingly inscribed. His best work in this last manner is the great Ado- ration of the Magi that decorates Notre Dame, Bruges. How strange! Carried away by his sub- ject, and fascinated by the element of luxury and decoration inherent in it, Seghers spread upon this canvas the luxuriant splendour and almost the very tones of brilliance that the Antwerp master taught us to love. Having once taken that road, the con- verted artist did not again turn aside. The old Jflemisb painters an5 ipainting 71 imitator of Caravaggio became one of the most ardent disciples of Rubens." Theodor Rombouts (1597- 1637) was a pupil of Abraham Janssens, who was a strong opponent of the teachings of Rubens. In Italy, he joined the disciples of Caravaggio. Like them, he took de- light in subjects in which the picturesque element of costume and the caprices of chiaroscuro held the first place ; and, like Manfredi, Gerard Seghers and Valentin, he painted tavern interiors, musicians playing the lute and guitar, jovial drinkers at well spread tables, and generally common subjects taken from the least poetic reality but to which the capri- cious play of light and shadow lent a fantastic ac- cent and strange magic. He had the temerity to try to rival Rubens in scenes from Biblical history. He died in the flower of his age. Rombouts painted happily all kinds of festivals, debauches, charlatan games and a thousand other sports of that nature, as Florent Lecomte informs us. However, these are now so rare that it is prob- able that most of the originals have been given to Gerard Seghers. Frans Snyders (i 579-1657) was apprenticed to Hell Brueghel; and it is said that he also studied under Van Balen. " His whole treatment of the animal world, his 4eveloped fonn of art, his clear and frequently 72 Ube art of tbe Belgtan ©alleties glowing colouring and hjs broad and masterly touch were inspired by the example of Rubens, to whom he stood not in the relation of a scholar but in that of a thoroughly independent fellow-painter. This appears from the human figures painted by Rubens in Snyders's animal pieces, from the animals intro- duced by Snyders into Rubens's hunts, as well as from the flowers and vegetables executed by Sny- ders in other works by the great master, and which were so painted as not to mar the unity of the piece. Next to Rubens, he is the greatest animal painter of the time. Like him, he has the faculty of de- picting his subjects in the agitated moments of com- bat or chase. The artistic arrangement of his ani- mals in the space allotted was probably owing to his visit to Italy, when he resided principally in Rome. Even in his large culinary subjects he is not more remarkable for the treatment of single objects than for the skill with which he places them together. He was closely allied in friendship with Rubens's two best scholars. Van Dyck and Jor- daens ; and assisted the latter in the same way as he did Rubens. His fame was so great that princes and nobles vied with each other for his pictures." * Jan Fyt (1609-1661), so long neglected, is now classed as one of the best painters of animals : he apparently went straight to Nature for his instruc- ^ Crowe. jflemisb ipafntets and painting 73 tion. Fyt had no real need of collaborators. For the composition of an interesting picture all he needed was a hare hanging from a nail in a tree trunk, a few dead birds with their rich plumage contrasting with the verdure, and a guardian hound. There is breadth even in his most finished works. " Jan Fyt is, after Snyders, the greatest animal painter of the Flemish school, and at the same time quite independent of him in style. He laboured oc- casionally in conjunction with Jordaens and Wille- borts ; they painting the human, he the animal fig- ures with the fruit and flowers. In subjects of hunts, he approaches Snyders in composition, and quite equals him in fire and animation. In drawing he is often less accurate than Snyders, but by far his superior in sunny effects of light, alternately in a cool and warm scale of colour. He painted the greyhound especially with such success as to be approached by no other master. He renders the fur of quadrupeds and the plumage of birds with ex- quisite truth, and with more detail than Snyders. What Potter is to cows, Jan Fyt is to hares. His touch, in full marrowy colour, is as masterly as it is original." ^ The Antwerp school was practically one large family in the Seventeenth Century : the painters not only knew each other, but were bound by ties of ' Crowe. 74 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries blood and marriage. They painted each other's portraits and they worked for each other ; they wit- nessed each other's marriages ; stood godfathers for their children; and often at the death of one of their number, were guardians of their children. Snyders was the brother-in-law of De Vos; Simon de Vos, of Van Utrecht ; and Rombouts, of Van Thielen. Jan Brueghel I married the daugh- ter of Jode ; Coques, the daughter of Ryckaert ; and Teniers and Kessel, Velvet Brueghel's daughters. Brueghel II married the daughter of Janssens; Jordaens, the daughter of Van Noort; and Van Thulden, the daughter of Van Balen. Flowers had been beautifully painted by the Primitives enamelling the grassy swards. We find in the works of Van Eyck, Memling, Roger Van der Weyden and others the iris, the daisy, the violet and the anemone painted with great affection and delicacy. Van Mander mentions the names of some specialists in flower painting, Jacques de Gheyn ( 1 565-1625) being one of these. Georges Hoef- nagels (1545-1601) seems to have been the first to have used garlands of flowers or fruits for the frame of little landscapes and miniatures ; and after him Velvet Brueghel and Daniel Seghers. Daniel Seghers, (i 590-1661), who studied with Velvet Brueghel and who also became a Jesuit novitiate in Mechlin, soon returned to his flower J'lemisb painters an& painting 75 painting, and cultivated in his home in Antwerp the roses, lilies, jasmines, marguerites, peonies and honeysuckles that appear in his garlands that sur- round busts, madonnas, saints or portraits in camateu, or grisaille. Many of the latter were painted by Van Dyck, Rubens, Quellin, Van Thul- den and Cornelis Schut. Seghers's renown ex- tended throughout Europe; and soon every col- lector wanted to possess one or more of his charac- teristic pictures, which, to quote Wauters, have pre- served their brilliant tonalities, their luminous freshness and continue to envelop with their per- fume and dew those swarms of bees, butterflies and beetles that the painter delighted to place among them. Adriaen Van Utrecht (1599- 1652) travelled in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. He contributed the fruit to Rubens's Pythagoras and his Disciples in Buckingham Palace, sometimes attributed to Snyders. His large kitchen pieces are famous. Fruits, flowers, living animals, particularly dogs and monkeys, and all kinds of things to eat, he painted ; and all objects of still life, besides domestic birds and dead game. Crowe says : " He combined great skill of arrangement, and a force and warmth of colour which sometimes approaches Rembrandt, with great truth of detail, and in masterly and marrowy treatment." 76 Ube art of tbe 33elgian ©allertes Teniers and Jordaens also worked with Van Utrecht. He particularly excelled in depicting lob- sters, crabs and oysters, the silvery scales of the shad and mackerel, and the rosy flesh of the salmon. Frans Ykens (i 601-1693), a pupil of Osias Beert, and who also studied in France, was an ex- cellent painter of fruit, flowers and dead game, worked in Antwerp and Brussels. He was an imi- tator of Van Utrecht, as is shown in his Purchase of Provisions, in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg; and also painted garlands of flowers in the style of Daniel Seghers. With a broad soft brush and masterly style Alex- ander Adriaenssen (1587-1661), painted fruits and flowers, and particularly fish, which he represented with such freshness and glittering colour that per- fect illusion is often produced. He grouped his subjects with much taste. He studied under Artus van Laeck, became a free member of the Guild of Painters in Antwerp in 1610-11, and was a great friend of Van Dyck, who painted his por- trait. Another Antwerp painter of fish, lobsters, and other marine animals was Jacob Van Es, or Essen (1606- 1 665 or 1666), who imitates nature with a marvellous fidelity. The fish-market is his favourite subjectj but he painted also flowers, J'lemisb painters an5 iPafntlng 77 fruit, dead game and other still life. The human figures in his pictures were often contributed by Jordaens. Because he painted lobsters and oysters as well as Van Utrecht and grapes and plums as well as Abraham Brueghel and " desserts," or tables set with oysters, lemons, cheese, wine, fruits, nuts and other accessories he has been called " the Flemish Heda." His pupils include Cornells Mahu (1613- 1689), Isaac Wigan (1615-1662 or 1663), and Osias Beert (1622- 1678). Philip Van Thielen (1618-1667) was a gentle- man of rank. After T. Rombouts had married his sister, he took lessons from him. He had a passion for flowers, and soon studied with Daniel Seghers, delighting like him in weaving floral crowns around medallions, and making insects swarm about the blossoms. In the Seventeenth Century, his pictures commanded high prices. About this time Jan David de Heem established himself in Antwerp; and inspired a great many artists to become specialists in fruits, flowers and desserts. Among these may be mentioned Clara Peeters (painting in 161 1); Ambroise Brueghel (1617-1675); Jean- Paul Gillemans (1618-1675?) ; Georges Van Son (1623- 1667); Jan Van Son (1658-1718?); Jerome Galle I (1625-1679?) ; Jan Van Kessel (1626- 1679) ; Caspar Pieter Verbrug- 78 Ube Hrt of tbe aselgian ©allerfes ghen I (1635-1681); Nicholas Van Verendael (1649-1691); Elie Van den Broeck (about 1653- 1711); Jan Baptiste Brueghel (1670-1710); and Abraham Brueghel (1672- 1720). Peter Boel (1622-1674) came of a family of ar- tists. His father, Jan (1592-?), was an engraver, his brother Jan Baptist (1650- 1688 or 1689) was an engraver and painter, and his brother Coryn (1620-?) a famous engraver. Peter Boel was a pupil of Snyders and his uncle Cornelis de Wael in Genoa; and excelled in birds, animals, flowers and fruits. His drawing is correct, his touch spirited and his colour natural. David de Coninck (1636-1687), whose pictures are rare, was a pupil of Jan Fyt, and resembles him in colour drawing and general style. Jan Miel (i 599-1664) fell under the influence of Pieter Van Laer in Rome, and is still remembered for his capricci rather than for his large religious compositions. Lanzi says he was noble in his ideas, grandiose, more elevated than the generality of his compatriots, possessing great knowledge of perspec- tive, remarkable for a vigour in chiaroscuro that in no way excluded delicacy of colour, particularly in cabinet pictures. He possessed a singular talent for figures of medium proportions. He was a man of superior mind who was applauded for his facetious jflemisb iPatntets arib ipaintfnd 79 paintings in Rome, and for those of a severe genre in Piedmont. David Teniers the Elder (1582- 1649) was a great artist of independent spirit ; but he is not well known because many of his best works have been attributed to his son. Soon after Rubens returned from Italy, Teniers went there and studied under Elzheimer, imitating his chiaroscuro and light ef- fects. He still remained a Fleming, however, in the type of his personages and especially in their spirit. He liked to represent smokers seated in dark to- bacco shops, alchemists seeking hidden secrets, mu- sicians and beggars walking in the sunlight. So that by the character of his essentially realistic in- spiration, Teniers announces his son, and prepares the way for his approaching triumph. He also painted mythological scenes. He remained in Rome for ten years. On his return, he soon found himself eclipsed by Brouwer and Teniers the Younger, and fell into neglect. David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) was taught first by his father, and afterwards greatly influenced by Rubens and Brouwer. Although per- haps inferior to the best of the Little Dutch Mas- ters, and even to Peter Brueghel and Brouwer, he has never been surpassed in some qualities: the justness of the physiognomies and attitudes of his 80 Ubc Hrt of tbe Belgian (Ballerfes modest heroes, the restrained spirit of his execution, the flower-Hke freshness of his lively and delicate colouration, and the atmospheric clearness of his landscapes with such fine skies. Another merit in this master is the smiling phi- losophy, the good nature and even the dash of dis- tinction he manages to cast over the most common scenes. His religious and heroic pictures have been deservedly neglected by posterity. He was an indefatigable worker, having left more than 800 pictures. The principal subjects are kermesses, inn interiors, hawking parties, drinkers, bagpipe players and other musicians. Temptations of St. Anthony, monkey scenes, conversations, guardrooms, kitchens, bowling games and land- scapes filled with little figures. His landscapes were often painted by Jan Wildens; and his still life was frequently the work of Jan Wildens and others. The most distinguished pupils of David Teniers the Younger were Abshoven, who died very young, David Ryckaert III, Frans Duchatel (1625-1694?), whom he loved as his own son, Arnoult Van Maas, De Hont, Ertebout, Matheus Van Hellemont and Gilles Van Tilborch. "The qualities which most attract us in the works of Teniers are his picturesque arrangement, his delicately balanced general keeping, the exqui- jf lemisb patnters anft iPainting si site harmony of colouring in his details, and that light and sparkling touch in which the separate strokes of the brush are left unbroken — a power wherein no other genre-painter ever equalled him. On the other hand all the charm of his humour can hardly atone for a certain coldness of feeling, while his figures and heads have a degree of monotony which is especially obvious in scenes with numerous figures. Occasionally, also, too decided an intention is seen in his arrangement ; so that upon the whole his greatest triumphs are attained in pictures of few figures. The different periods of his long life distinctly appear in his works. In those of his earlier time a somewhat heavy brown tone prevails ; the figures are on a large scale — twelve to eighteen inches high; the treatment is broad and somewhat decorative. The influence of Brouwer may be per- ceived here, though the idea that Teniers was a scholar of his is quite erroneous. Towards 1640 his colouring becomes clearer, continuing in this tendency up to 1644, when he had attained a very luminous golden tone, and changing again from that into a cool silvery hue. With this there also ensued a more careful and very precise execution. Pictures of this class up to the year 1660, though occasionally we find him returning to his golden colour, are prized as his finest and most character- istic works. After this he again adopts a decided 82 XTbe Hrt ot tbc Belfifan ©allerfcs golden tone, which is sometimes very powerful. In his last years, the colouring becomes heavy and brownish and the treatment is undecided and trem- bling." 1 David Ryckaert (1612-1661) imitated David Teniers and Coques, who married his sister. He painted familiar scenes and peasant gatherings. He was fond of representing cottage interiors with peasants at table, taverns with drinkers quarrelling, alchemists at their retorts, doctors in their surger- ies, and artists in their studios. He was also fond of lamplight effects. Anthony Goubau (1616-1698) painted historical pictures, genre, city scenes, markets, etc. Some of his works are reminiscent of Ostade ; but he more particularly followed Jan Asselyn. His composi- tion and chiaroscuro were excellent. Gilles Van Tilborgh (1625-1678) also painted tavern interiors, peasant festivals and kermesses in the manner of Teniers, but in his warm and some- times opaque colour he resembles Duchatel and David Ryckaert. Pieter Bout (1658-17 — ) was a genre painter in the style of Teniers. His manner somewhat resem- bles that of Velvet Brueghel but is not so stiff. He adorned the landscapes of others, principally Bou- dewyns, with his charming little figures, ■ Crowe. iflemisb painters an& painting 83 Frans Duchatel ( 1 616-1694) was a cavalry of- ficer, who gave up soldiering to become a painter. Naturally, he painted military subjects, and genre pictures after the style of Teniers the Younger, who has consequently been credited as his teacher. His manner, however, still more nearly approaches that of Coques. His few pictures are highly prized. Anthony van Dyck (i 599-1 641) at twelve years of age entered the school of Henri van Balen, a good historical painter, one of whose pupils was Frans Snyders. Thence he soon went to Rubens, who recognized his genius and employed him in finishing the pictures he sketched, and making finished drawings of pictures his engravers were to reproduce. Even before his departure for Italy in 1 62 1, his pictures were esteemed by many almost as highly as those of his master. Van Dyck's industry was tireless: in the short span of his life he painted nearly a thousand pic- tures. He had three styles which are easily recog- nizable. The pictures painted during his five years' residence in Italy are distinguished by deep tone and colour and marked dignity of character and ex- pression. The Turin gallery contains many splen- did examples of this period. His Flemish style covers the period between his return in 1626 and his departure for England in 1631. These works are executed with much impasto in the lights and 84 tTbe Hrt of tbe Belgian (Balleries transparency of colour in the shadows. His third period is that of the last decade of his life spent in England, — from 1631 to 1641. The pictures of this period are distinguished by grace and elegance, but show haste, and many are slight in execution and were frequently finished by assistants. In the second period of Van Dyck's artistic ca- reer just before embarking for England, he painted several pictures of sacred subjects. One of the last was the Raising of the Cross, one of the treasures of Courtrai. Another was the Passion, in St. Michael's church, Ghent, which has been almost en- tirely ruined by repaintings. Another, in a much better state of preservation, adorns the Cathedral of St. Rombaud, at Mechlin. This is a Crucifixion. " The most brilliant light illumines the magnificent torso of the Saviour. The features are disfigured, and the fat cheeks have a lymphatic and unhealthy look. The head is consequently lacking in dignity, which is a grave defect. The painter has given energetic attitudes to the thieves, on whom he has lavished all his skill. The repentant thief looks at Christ with a gentle and pious expression, and the impenitent thief turns away in a very dramatic man- ner. The most beautiful figures are those of the Virgin and St. John; but excessive grief deprives the latter of all nobility: his wild eyes roll about under blood-shot lids. The Madonna, in gray iflemtsb painters an5 paintina 85 tones that recall Murillo, abandons herself to an affecting grief; but it is also unfortunate that her black lips surpass probability. At the foot of the Cross, on the left, we see the heads of two men who are ascending the hidden slope of the mountain, exactly as in the picture by Rubens in the Antwerp Museum, which represents the same subject. The pupil, however, has not equalled the master." * " More noble than Rubens in his choice of form. Van Dyck had fewer faults than his master, but perhaps also less grandeur. His colour was as charming without being so splendid. His design was learned, but without pedantry; and his con- tours were always governed by the sentiment of grace, or the fire of genius. Very nearly the equal of Titian in portraiture. Van Dyck has sometimes risen to a great height in his historical compositions, in which the beauty of the expression is often as admirable as the excellence of the touch.'" Van Dyck's followers were numerous. The most important included Thomas Willeboirts, called Boschaerts (1614-1654), a pupil of Gerard Seghers, and later an imitator of Van Dyck; Theodoor Boeyermans (1620- 1677 or 1678); and Pieter Thys, or Typrus (1616-1677 or 1679). Theodoor Boeyermans very closely approaches Van Dyck, by his close study of that master's ' Michiels. " Blanc. 86 ube art of tbe ^Belgian ©alleries works. His facile imagination plays with great compositions ; in his design he takes happy liberties ; his palette, sometimes somewhat sombre, yet abounds in rich and brilliant tones. In the manner of Van Dyck, he paints luminous and living heads. Thomas Willeboirts was also a pupil of G. Se- ghers. He painted history and mythology. He tried to imitate Van Dyck ; but his heads have little ani- mation, his colour is cold, and composition weak. He painted some fine portraits, however. Justus Suttermans or Sustermans (1597-1681), a pupil of Willem de Vos and Frans Pourbus the Younger, was inferior to Van Dyck only in por- traiture, and greatly admired by Van Dyck. Most of his life was spent in Florence, where he was court painter to Cosimo II and Cosimo III. Abraham Van Diepenbeeck (1607- 1675) was one of Rubens's most brilliant pupils. His compositions for windows were very famous. He also painted pictures with historical, religious and mythological subjects. His colour was fine and touch vigorous; but he lacked expression. Victor Wolfvoet (1612-1652) was a follower of Rubens, of some reputation. His pictures are rare. The Medusa's Head at Dresden is the work of his father; but a picture by him in the Church of St. Jacques, Antwerp, shows what lessons had formed his manner. In this Visitation, imitation of Rubens iflemisb ipatnters an5 patnting 87 is very evident; but the chiaroscuro is more strongly accented, the colour softer and less brilliant than on the canvases of the Master. " The Virgin seems a type borrowed from the latter. St. Eliz- abeth, bending the knee, leans towards Mary and touches her abdomen with the finger of her left hand as if she would say in veneration : ' There the Son of God is preparing to save the world.' The Virgin rests her right hand on the matron's shoul- der in a familiar attitude. St. Joseph and St. Joachim, painted in very dark colours, stand behind the Jewesses of predestination. Two little angels, with hands full of flowers, hover gaily above the personages. Mary and Elizabeth are fat and heavy women with flabby cheeks. Here again, distinction lies with the men : by the elegance of their features, St. Joachim and St. Joseph are much superior to their wives. A peacock is pluming himself on top of a stone vase on a pedestal behind Elizabeth. The principal merit of the pitture consists in the strength and beauty of its colour, its vigorous and sombre tints." 1 Jacques Fouquieres (1580-1659) was one of Rubens's aids for landscape settings for his sub- jects. Contemporary critics had nothing but praise for him. Mariette also praises his ability as a painter of the depths of the woods, the shadows and ' Michiels. 88 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries freshness that sleep under their branches, the poetic effects of distance, the physiognomy of plants, rocks and mountains, the tranquil mirror of sleeping waters. He painted his own figures in his works. At Brussels, he was the master of Philippe de Champagne. Lucas Van Uden ( 1595- 1660) was the painter on whom Rubens most frequently called for the land- scapes of pictures when he was too busy or too weary to paint them himself. Rubens regarded his pupil with paternal affection; and sometimes painted striking figures in his landscapes, which naturally rendered them salable, and Van Uden famous. Teniers also sometimes contributed little figures to his landscapes. He was particularly par- tial to waterfalls. Jan Wildens (1584- 165 5) also was sometimes employed by Rubens to paint the landscape settings of his pictures, notably the Lion Hunt, the Chaste Susannah, and Hagar repudiated by Abraham. He was an adherent of Josse de Momper. He painted wide landscapes with rocks and woods that gradually lose themselves in the blue distance. The colour is weak ; but the landscape is enlivened with pretty little figures. His pictures are very scarce. Frans Wouters (1612-1650) was a good land- scape painter who gained brilliant success in his life- time. He treated the figure as well as landscape, ^^■■■■■1 i^,-.->^j^|W^^HBI^^^^B ^^B^l BB^^^^^H ^^^^^^^^^L. '^ ^^Hl ^Hk^^fl^^^l ^^^B^flH ^^^HflH yry^jB ^^^^^I^^^H^^^^^^pHV ^^^1 KJ ainttng 91 bens in general treatment as regards colouring, light and shade and breadth. Joost Van Egmont (1602- 1674) was a pupil of Van den Hoecke. He went to Italy, and, on his return, joined Rubens, afterwards going to Paris, where he was a successful portrait painter in the fashionable world. Mariette said : " Nobody was more capable of painting a head well. I have seen some that are worthy of Van Dyck, so freshly are they painted ! " Erasmus Quellin (1607- 1678) painted historical and devotional subjects, and portraits. Paul Mantz says : " The manner of Rubens, that fiery and dramatic master, being softened down with three of his pupils, in their pictures assumed an elegance and poetic charm the absence of which is sometimes regretted in his own works. Van Dyck, Erasmus Quellyn and Jan Van Hoek form this graceful trinity. Although far less famous than Van Dyck, the others were perhaps not infe- rior to him; and therefore many of their pictures are attributed to Charles the First's painter. Quell3Ti possesses a delicacy of form, purity of taste, harmony, brilliance, and suavity of colour that au- thorize us to compare him with the princes of the palette. What masterpieces could eclipse the St. Roch of the Church of St. Jacques, or the Holy Family of the Church of the St. Saviour, Ghent? 92 UDe art of tbe 3Belglan aalleries If one could place them in a gallery beside the most famous pictures, they would bear the hard test with- out loss of credit. The latter picture represents a halt in the Flight into Egypt ; the three personages have been surprised in the solitudes by the shades of night. In order not to lose their way in the desert, they have halted beside a fountain under a palm tree. St. Joseph has taken the infant on his knees, and the daughter of David stands in front of him with crossed hands, while the nursling holds out his arms to her in a burst of affection. Behind the noble Israelite, two adult angels seem to be await- ing his orders. The Biblical ass, cared for by other celestial messengers, is reposing after his toil. Little angels flutter in the sky and among the foli- age. Such is the composition — so far as language can explain it; but what words can not render is the admirable type and majestic character of the carpenter of Bethlehem, the exquisite beauty of the Virgin and the profound sentiment that animates her, the grace of the celestial envoyes, the affection- ate expression of the Christ, and the perfect taste of the general disposition. The entire work an- nounces the imagination of a poet. The colour, at once sombre and transparent, as is required by the hour, and the necessities of the painting, astonishes us by its vigour, fineness, splendour and softness, all at the same time." jflemfsb ipainters anb painting 93 Joos Van Craesbeeck (i 608-1661) was a baker, a boon companion of Brouwer, from whom he learned to paint. In some quahties, he surpassed his master. He painted the same subjects, but de- lighted particularly in ugliness of the human face. Many of his pictures have been attributed to Brou- wer. Gonzales Coques ( 1 614-1684) is a painter of por- traits and interiors of elegance, wealth, gaiety and happy serenity. He is one of the best artists of the second period of the Antwerp school. He liked to represent truthfully well-to-do people in their daily life out of doors and indoors. The distinction of their attitudes and their poetic elegance, he bor- rowed from the works of the defunct Van Dyck; and he owed the boldness and strength of his colour to a study of Rubens. However, in the dimen- sions of his pictures, and their consequent mi- nuteness of detail and finish, he reminds us rather of the Dutch School, — especially Terburg and Metsu. " Coques studied under David Ryckaert, whose daughter he married. He devoted himself largely to portrait painting. The combined animation, taste and elegance of portraiture which distinguish the works of Van Dyck were obviously the objects of this painter's ambition ; and in his best pictures, representing families in whole length figures, he has 94 Ubc art ot tbe Belgian Oallertes attained these qualities in a high degree. At the same time his drawing is good, his warm, brownish flesh-tones clear and harmonious, and his touch, though on so small a scale, broad and spirited. Like Van Dyck, he often introduces greyhounds and other dogs. His sitters are generally in the open air. When his background is exclusively land- scape, Artois became his assistant ; when the figures are represented on the terrace of a stately mansion, Ghering lent a hand in the architecture. The fruits and flowers in his pieces are often the work of Pieter Gysels; and in the few pictures by him where a room forms the background, he was helped by the younger Steenwyck. His portraits of single individuals, which are numerous, are, as a rule, of inferior merit." * Charles Emmanuel Biset (163 3- 1682) is one of the last great masters of the century. His pictures are very rare. His William Tell, which is a picture of the members of the guild of St. Sebastian in Antwerp, is one of the gems of the Brussels gal- lery. Jacques d'Arthois (1613-1685) as a rule painted the thick woods, hollowed out roads and ponds of the forest of Soignes. Teniers the Elder, G. de Craeyer, Gerard Seghers, Van Herp and Pieter Bout frequently animated his landscapes with peas- ' Crpwe, jf lemtsb painters and painting 95 ants leading cattle or sheep to market, beggars, or merry-makers returning from a kermesse playing upon their bagpipes. Sometimes the subject is taken from the Bible or sacred legends. His model was Vadder, whom, however, he does not equal in clearness of colour. His pupil, Cornells Huysmans (1648-1727), re- sembles him in general style, though his pictures are smaller in size and more ideal in character. His colour is warm and glowing; and his works are carefully finished. His brother, Jan Baptist (1654- 1716) was his pupil and imitator; and with these the Rubens period closes. Jan Siberechts (1627-1703?) was one of the first to break away from the conventional treatment of landscape and to anticipate the audacity of modern realism in his colouring. He seems to have been ignored by his contemporaries overshadowed by Udens and Wildens. He was taken to England by the Duke of Buckingham. Frans Van Bloemen (1656-1748), curious to see the enchanted landscape of Italy,' left the green fields of Flanders for a short visit while still almost a child and never returned. He painted the en- virons of the Eternal City; and his talent in inter- preting the luminous plains and distant mountains gained for him the name Orizsonte. His forests and meadows are often of a vernal green, his dis- 96 XEbe Hrt of tbe ffielQian (Ballerics tant hills delight the eye with their veils of blue mist that are both true and poetic. His ground is well modelled, and has vigour and relief; and his foliage is broadly treated. Adrian Boudewyns (1644-17 — ) was a landscape painter of high reputation in his day. His works show Italian influence, though it is not known that he crossed the Alps. Abraham Genoels (1640-1723) went to France in 1659 and was employed by Lebrun to paint landscape backgrounds in the Battles of Alex- ander the Great. After a stay in Rome he re- turned to Antwerp about 1682. He was a fol- lower of Nicholas Poussin, and his works are rare. Another follower of the Poussins was Jean Frarigois Millet (1642-1680), who settled in Paris. His figures and landscapes are always harmonious. One of his pupils, Pieter Rysbraek (i655-'i729), studied with him in Paris but returned to Antwerp in 1692. His works are rare, but " have a grandly poetic and melancholy character. His trees and wooded backgrounds are particularly well under- stood and the form of his clouds fine ; his colouring powerful, but inclined to be gloomy. His figures taken from Biblical or mythological subjects are well composed, and sometimes play an important part; others are careless in execution, and disturb fflemlsb painters an& painting 97 the harmony of the picture by their monotonously red flesh-tones. Most of them, however, are of idylhc character." ^ Bertholet Flemael (1614-1675) imitated the manner of Poussin, and executed his principal works for Paris churches. His pupil, Gerard de Lairesse (i 640-1671), was also an imitator of Poussin. He gained a great reputation and trans- planted into Flanders the arcadian and academic style. After him the Flemish school steadily went from bad to worse. Philippe de Champaigne (1602- 1674) went to Paris in 1620 and is generally classed as a French painter. His chief master Jacques Fouquieres, the landscape painter, (1580 1659), however, was a native of Antwerp. He was employed by Du Chesne to work in the Luxembourg with Nicholas Poussin and succeeded Du Chesne as superintendent of Fontainebleau in 1627. His landscapes are poetic and enriched with charming figures, and in colour surpass those of Poussin. As a portrait painter he holds high rank. Jan Van Bredael (1683-1750) belonged' to the school of Velvet Brueghel, with its landscapes of blue horizons, meadows sown with bright flowers, pictures of rural life, in which we see innumerable little people enjoying themselves, or at their various ' Crowe. 98 XTbe art ot tbc Belgian Oallerfes avocations. However, he falls far behind the mas- ters he imitated. " For the Flemish School, the Eighteenth Cen- tury, is a long entr'acte during which the stage, so nobly occupied of old, is sad and deserted. Here and there an artist appears to remind us what Flanders was in colour and decoration for two centuries. France was triumphing in spirit and grace, Italy though decadent was still ingenious and smiling, England at last was producing original masters, but Flanders was asleep. At the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, the school that Rubens had glorified was all astray: it was the period of the great empty and pompous machines of Richard van Orley (1652-1732), the vapid inventions of Du- venede (1674-1730), that too assiduous pupil of Carlo Maratta; it was also the time of Victor Honore Janssens ( 1664- 1739), that vapid and char- acterless painter. After these come Frans Ver- beeck (1686-1.755), Mathieu de Visch (1702-1765) and Gaeremyn (i 712-1799), sad workers in an art wandering farther and farther afield. Criticism here would have to be sad and silent, if its attention were not arrested for a moment by the name of Verhaghen." ^ Pieter Joseph Verhaeghen or Verhaghen (1728- 181 1 ) occupies the same place in the Flemish ■ BlanO! jflemfsb ipainters anb ipaintlng 99 School that Tiepolo holds in Italian, and Goya in Spanish Art. He became court painter to Prince Charles of Lorraine and was patronized by Maria Theresa, who gave him means to travel through France and Italy. Verhaeghen was the last fol- lower of the Rubens school. Balthasar Beschey (1708- 1776) first painted landscapes in the style of Jan Brueghel and later devoted himself to historical and portrait-painting. Among his pupils is Andries Cornelis Lens. Andries Lens (1739- 1822) was inflamed with the Classical teachings of Winckelmann, and en- deavoured to install in Antwerp the academic sys- tem contrary to the theories proclaimed by Rubens and his school. In all his works, his accessories, costume, arms and architecture were historically and geographically correct; but his tameness and bloodlessness make us sigh for the anachronisms of the old masters with their fire. Pieter Thys (1749- 1823) painted flowers. Guillaume Jacques Herreyns (1743-1827) is in many respects the last of the Flemings. He saw the extinction of the facile Eighteenth Century art, assisted at the renaissance of the pseudo-antique in- augurated by the school of David, and in a few years would have seen Flemish painting again free and regenerated. His work is a compromise be- tween the diverse schools of his period. His design 100 Ube Ert of tbe Belgian (Balledcs is correct, but cold and featureless. His colour is brown and reddish of a tone that shows how low the successors of Rubens had fallen. It is only natural that French classicism should take deep root in Belgium, particularly in Brussels after 1815 when Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), the famous head of the modern French school, ban- ished from France after the Restoration, established himself in Brussels. Lambert Joseph Mathieu (1804-1861), a pupil of M. L Van Bree was one of those who fell under his influence ; but his pupil, FranQois Joseph Navez (178 7- 1869), continued his cold style and sculptural simplicity. He succeeded particularly in portraiture and formed a whole gen- eration of artists, such as Charles de Groux, Alfred Stevens, Charles Hermans, Jos. Stallaert, Baron and Smits, who forsook the paths of their master for those of realism. Navez's chief pupil, Jean Francois Portaels (1818-1895), who became also a follower of P. Delaroche in Paris, was one of the chief Belgian painters of the early Nineteenth Century. A great rival of Navez was Gustav Wappers (1803-1874), the founder of Flemish Romanticism, who expresses in his works the exuberant senti- ment, violent colours and enthusiasm of the revolu- tionary school of 1830. His Burgomaster Van der Werf during the Siege of Leyden, painted in 1830, 3PIemisb painters anb painting loi and Scene from the Belgian Revolution of 1830, painted in 1834, were received with enthusiasm, though they now seem somewhat theatrical. Ni- caise de Keyser (181 3-1 887) adopted his style. His Battle of the Spurs, now in Coutrai, painted in 1836, is very famous. Among his notable achieve- ments are the paintings in the entrance hall of the Antwerp Museum, representing the great masters of Flemish Art. Another historical painter of great reputation, Louis Gallait (1810-1887), a follower of the cold romantic school of Paul Delaroche and often com- pared with Ary Scheffer, made a stir with his Ab- dication of Charles V (Brussels) ; the Severed Heads (Tournai) ; and The Last Moments of Count Egmont, painted, between 1840 and 1850, works, which, according to the Belgian critic Wau- ters, " will live, without any doubt, as the most perfect specimens of historical painting during this period of transition, when the study of the Middle Ages and the Sixteenth Century was pursued with an ardour almost equal to that which marked the study of the antique at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance." His pupil, Edouard de Biefve (1809- 1882), also devoted himself to historical works and made a stir with his Compromise of the Belgian Nobles (Brussels Museum), which, like Gallait's Abdi- 102 XTbe Hrt of tbe Belgian Oalleries cation of Charles V, was greatly admired in Ger- many. Other historical painters include E. Slingeneyer (1823-1894); Alexander Markelbach (b. 1824); Jos. Stallaert (b. 1B25); and the most influential of all, however, Hendrik Leys (18 15-1869), founder of the Archaic School. Leys was a pupil of Gustav Wappers and F. de Braekeleer. At first he was attracted by the masters of the Seventeenth Century, but changed his style to follow the early Flemish and early German schools. Among his pupils are Jos. Lies (1821-1865); V. Lagye (1825-1896); Fr. H. Vinck (b. 1827); P. van Ouderaa (b. 1841); Alma Tadema (b. 1836) and Henri de Braekeleer (1840-1888), the son of Ferdinand de Braekeleer; Felix de Vigne (i8o6-r862). Among the other early painters were M. I. Van Bree (1733-1839); J. B. Madou (1796-1877), a genre painter who has much in common with the Dusseldorf School; the eccentric Antoine Wiertz (1806-1865); and F. de Braekeleer (1792-1883). The French realist, Courbet, had many followers in Belgium. Chief among these was Charles de Groux (1826-1870), who painted gloomy scenes from the lives of the peasants and labouring classes ; Constantin Meunier (b. 1831), who often depicts miners and iron foundries in the " Black Country " 3f lemfsb painters ant> pafntfng 103 of Belgium; and Jan Stobbaerts (b. 1838), a painter of labourers, landscapes and still-life. Charles Verlat (1824-1890) is another who painted in the style of Courbet. His Cart and Horses, dated 1857 and now in the Antwerp Gallery, a large street scene, gave him a reputation as an animal painter. At a later period, he devoted himself to religious subjects treated in a modern realistic spirit. Alfred Stevens (b. 1828) paints fashionable ladies; Joseph Stevens (1822- 1892) is a clever animal painter, particularly of dogs; Charles Her- mans (b. 1839) was the first to paint street scenes in Belgium in the style of the large historical paint- ings, such as Daybreak in the Capital, painted in 1875 and now in the Brussels Gallery; Jan and Frans Verhas, painters of children and child-life, and Emile Wauters (b. 1846) a pupil of Portaels and Gerome in Paris, a painter of historical pic- tures, portraits and Oriental scenes, are among the most celebrated Belgian artists. Landscape painting for the sake of the landscape itself begins in Belgium with Balthasar Paul Om- meganck (1755-1826), a painter who was original on account of the novelty of the subjects he chose and by the charm of his colour. Camille Lemon- nier calls him " le doux Ommeganck " and the " bon Dieu du paysage." Gentle is a good attribute for 104 XLbc Hrt of tbe JBelgian ©alleries him, because he selected idyllic scenes and animated them with shepherds and shepherdesses, sheep and goats, enveloping all in a warm light that has now become golden in tone on account of the numerous layers of varnish he gave his pictures. Though not so artificial as Watteau and Boucher, Ommeganck's scenes are still very studied and conform to the conventional idea of what was considered " pic- turesque." The picturesque prescribed the straight line and the perfect curve: a tree had to appear convulsive and distorted; a road had to sink or wind; a stream to follow an incline over an irregular bed so as to foam and fall in cascades, and melancholy ruins had to be introduced. Stunted trees, or giants of the forest struck by lightning, were fea- tures of Dejonghe and Keelhofif; and, as roman- ticism loved contrasts in the works of Dejonghe and Kindermans, the minute attention to detail is strikingly out of keeping with their immense pano- ramas, almost epic in conception. Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven (i 798-1881), Ommeganck's most renowned pupil, was possessed of great industry ; and, as he painted for fifty years, his works are numerous. Verboeckhoven was neither a classicist nor a romantic; he was purely conventional and his best quality is his correctness of drawing. His grass and trees are too crude in ,? 3 « < a P o o a < w w s w K H tq iq 0, tq ^ . u tq to if Icmfsb ©sinters an5 ©afntfng 105 colour, his skies lack fluidity and his rocks are blocks of chocolate. His sheep, shepherds and dogs are very conventional and monotonous. Van Assche, greatly admired by Navez, and Roffiaen, were painters of Swiss scenery at this period. To the older school of landscape painters also belong J. B. Kindermans (1805-1876) and J. P. F. Lamoriniere, who has been called " the painter of immobility." In the contest between the classicists and roman- tics between 1830 and 1840 the landscape painters took little part; but insensibly they abandoned the stiffness of the traditional classic school and began to understand nature better, although they still in- dulged their taste for artificial composition. In treating landscape the subject had to accord with certain preconceived ideas. Theodore Fourmois (1814-1871), attracted at- tention in 1840 with his Mill in the Ardennes. This work, as well as his scene in the Campine near Ant- werp, and his Pond in the Brussels Museum, show the first step towards realism. In some respects Fourmois resembles Hobbema. No Belgian before him had dared to represent old worm-eaten planks, muddy stones, dilapidated buildings, or landscapes under the mists and snows of winter. Until his time, Nature had to be seen in the brilliant sun- shine of a summer's day, or under conditions of 106 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian (Galleries magnificent horror — either sublime or tragic : au- tumn, winter and spring did not exist as far as the painters were concerned. Among the followers of Fourmois was Quinaux ( — 1895 ) , who reached his clima,x in the Ford on the Lesse (Brussels Museum). Edmond de Schampheleer (1825-1899), who has been called " the modern Rysdael," was a great lover of Holland and was fond of representing the canals with all the mysterious reflections of the trees, mills and houses on their banks. With less colour than Fourmois and more virtuosity than Quinaux, De Schampheleer is a link between Four- mois and Hippolyte Boulenger. Hippolyte Boulenger (1838-1874), a follower of the French Courbet, represented Nature as he saw her. To arrangement of subject, therefore, he added the note of interpretation. Settling in Ter- vueren, a beautiful corner of Brabant, he soon pro- duced many admired works, such as the Allee des Charmes (Brussels Museum), in which are com- bined rich warm colours and atmospheric effects. His rocks, grass, trees and water are also full of life. Boulenger was chief of the Naturalists and attracted a whole school of followers at Tervueren, which became a sort of Belgian Barbizon. Alfred de KnyfF (1819-1886), educated in the French school, brought into Belgium the mode gris jflemisb ipatnters an& painting 107 as applied to landscape. Because what critics are pleased to call the " rigidities " of nature, when she is locked in the embrace of snow and ice or prepar- ing for her wintry sleep, or in a mood of fog, mist or rain, had been neglected, the dull tones of bistre and grayish violet, ochres and siennas tempered with gray had not been thought of. De Knyff was followed in the mode gris by Theodore Baron, Jacques Rosseels and Adrien Joseph Heymans. Theodore Baron (1840-1889), a somewhat aus- tere painter, fond of melancholy landscapes, bare boughs of autumnal and wintry trees, dark rocks and ice and snow, was an ardent protagonist of the mode gris. His pupil, Jacques Rosseels (b. 1828), has more gaiety of temperament, which leads him to more light and richer colour. To this group belongs Adrien Joseph Heymans (b. 1839) who settled in the village of Brasschaert, near Antwerp, where a colony of artists gathered for many years. Contemporary with the School of Tervueren, an- other at Termonde in Flanders, with practically the same ideas, grouped around Frans Courtens (b. 1853), a distinguished " Impressionist" and one of the most famous of the modern Belgians, and Jacques Rosseels. One of Courbet's most energetic and healthful followers and also a follower of Hippolyte Boulen- 108 Ube art of tbc JBelgfan ©alleries ger is Louis Dubois (1830- 1880), a painter of land- scape, figures and still life. In 1876 the Cercle I'Essor was founded to develop more fully the theories of the Schools of Tervueren and Termonde Naturalism and Impres- sionism. Among this group maybe mentioned Adolphe Hamesse, a painter of forest scenes, the Campine and sand-dunes, Joseph Fran9ois, who loves the yellowish roads near Brussels, particularly with their autumnal foliage; and Jean Degreef, probably the best landscape painter of the Essor. From the Essor was derived a group of painters called "XX" (1883-1893), including Vogels, Toorop, Emile Claus, Rodolphe Wytsman, Anna Boch and Theo. Van Rysselberhe; while a later society called " Pour I'Art " included Adolphe Hamesse, Dardenne, Ottevaere and Coppens. Among those who have worked individually are the realist, Henri Van der Hecht, a nephew of the romantic, G. Van der Hecht ; Denduyts, who affects dark and dreary scenes of winter and autumn; Binje, whose work is solid and sincere, Isidore Verheyden (b. 1846), who likes orchards and bright sunny landscapes; and Theodore Verstraete (b. 1851), who paints sad scenes — men and women of the fields broken by work and poverty in landscapes that correspond in sentiment. Nor must we forget Marie CoUart (b. 1842), a jf lemisb 1^ainters and painting log lover of rustic scenes, hedge-rows, gardens, little houses hidden under the trees, seen with sympathy and beautifully executed, occasionally with an archaic touch reminiscent of the elder Brueghel and Van Ostade. Alfred Verwee (1838-1895) has been called " the Belgian Tryon." He is a bold painter, a marvel- lous colourist, and endowed with an exuberance that links him to the line of Rubens and Jordaens. In vast meadows with spongy emerald turf bor- dered by far distant horizons his cows and bulls and horses appear with grace and beauty and splen- did form. Verwee's pupil, Frans Van Leemputten (b. 1850), is a painter of peasant life and agricul- tural labour, chiefly in the Campines. Another pupil is Jean Degreef. Among the more modern men are a number who seek to represent luminous vibrations and sacrifice richness of colour for the delicate play of rays and the floating dust in the sunlit air. Conspicuous "among these " Luminists " are Theodore Van Rys- selberghe, Emile Claus, Rodolphe Wytsman, Anna Boch, Lucien Frank and Joseph Heymans. Rodolphe Wytsman paints very radiant works, delicate and charming in colour and treatment ; and his wife Juliette, a fine flower-painter, who paints flowers blooming out of doors, has the same quali- ties. 110 Ube Htt of tbe JBelaian ealletiea Albert Baertsoen, Maurice Blieck and Victor Gilsoul also belong to this group. Among the marine painters are P. J. Clays (1819-1900), Louis Artan (1837-1890) and A. Bouvier (b. 1837). CHAPTER II BRUGES : THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN AND THE PIC- TURE GALLERY OF THE ACADEMY The Hospital of St. John On arriving at Bruges, the visitor will soon find his way to the Hospital of St. John, which has ex- isted since the Twelfth Century and where the Sis- ters of Charity still care for the sick. The entrance gate is opposite the west side of Notre-Dame, and not far away we may note some quaint sculpture dating from the Thirteenth Century. The Hospital is practically a Memling gallery. Here we find two works ordered by Jan Floreins, a brother of the Hospital of St. John: one for the high altar of the church attached to St. John's Hos- pital ; and the other a smaller triptych. Both were finished in 1479, and the original frames still sur- round the pictures. The great triptych, Memling's masterpiece, is sometimes called The Marriage of St. Catherine. " The central paitel represents the Blessed Vir- gin seated on a metal faldstool, with the Infant 111 112 Ube Hrt of tbe JBelgfan 6aUerics Jesus on her lap, surrounded by saints and angels, in a spacious pillared portico, or open gallery. A cloth of honour of rich brocade is suspended from a canopy, immediately beneath which two graceful angels hold a crown over her head. Two others kneel beside her, on her right a little farther back, in alb and tunic, playing a portable organ; the other, on her left, in girded alb, holds the Book of Wisdom, of which Our Lady is about to turn over a leaf, whilst she supports with her right hand the Infant Christ. H^ holds an apple in His left, and, bending forward, places the bridal ring on the fourth finger of the left hand of St. Catherine, who is seated a little nearer the front; the sword and wheel, emblematic of her martyrdom, lie on the ground beside her. Opposite her, St. Barbara seated, with the emblematic tower containing the monstrance and Host behind her, is reading atten- tively a book she holds with both hands. In the background are the patrons of the hospital, both standing; on the right, St. John the Baptist, with the lamb at his side; and, on the left, St. John the Evangelist, youthful, mild and pensive, making the sign of the cross over the poisoned chalice which he holds in his left hand. The carved capitals of the pillars on the right represent the vision of Zachary and the birth and naming of the Baptist. Between these pillars is seen a lovely landscape con- Bruges lis tinued on the right shutter, the foreground of which is occupied by Herod's palace and courtyard. In the landscape the Baptist is represented praying in a solitary forest, preaching on a rocky hill to a group of seven persons, pointing out Our Lord to his listeners, baptizing Him, pointing Him out to Andrew and John and being led to prison. On the extreme right of the shutter the daughter of Hero- dias is dancing before the king to music played by minstrels in the gallery of the banqueting-hall, and in the immediate front she is holding out a dish, on which the executioner is depositing the head of St. John. The burning of his body at'Sebaste, by order of Julian the Apostate, depicted just to the right of the centre, completes the series of scenes from his legend. On the extreme left of the centre panel beyond St. Barbara's tower, a brother of the Hospital is represented looking on at a respectful distance; the master of the community. Brother Jodoc Willems, appears between the pillars to the left of the Virgin's throne, superintending the gauging of wine beside the town crane in the Flem- ish street; the little Romanesque Church of St. John is seen in the distance, and to the right, the house known as Dinant at the corner of the Coorn- blomme street, in course of construction. The land- scape background on this side offers the following scenes from the life of the beloved disciple : — his 114 xcbc Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries immersion in the cauldron of boiling oil; his being led to a boat in which a soldier is waiting to trans- port him to the isle of Patmos; his baptizing the philosopher Crato, behind whom kneel his wife and two disciples in a chapel with a rood-beam and crucifix. The carved capitals of the pillars repre- sent the restoration to life of Drusiana and St. John drinking unharmed the poisoned wine, which proves fatal to the priests of Diana." ^ The left shutter represents the saint seated in the isle of Patmos, contemplating the Apocalyptic vision, a composition of wonderful accuracy and taste. Four members of the community — the treas- urer, the director, the mother-superior and a nun — are represented on the outside shutters, kneeling devoutly in prayer under the protection of their patron saints. The smaller triptych, ordered by Jan Floreins, represents The Adoration of the Magi. Here the Virgin is seated in the centre supporting with both hands the Child on her lap. On the right, the oldest of the three Kings is kneeling kissing the foot of the Child ; behind him the negro King in gorgeous brocade tunic advances with a costly cup. St. Joseph, holding the cup offered by the first King, stands on the Virgin's left; and at the window^ « Weale. Sruges 115 near him a man's head is seen looking at the scene. According to some critics this is Memling himself. On the Virgin's right, the third King is kneeling with his rich chalice, and behind him the donor, Jan Floreins, kneels, turning over the leaf of his prayer-book which he rests on the old wall. Be- hind him is the head of his brother, James. Through the opening above the Virgin's head is a sort of pen where the ox and ass are visible, and, beyond, a long street bordered with houses and with the town-gate in the distance, is delicately por- trayed. By this road the suites of the Kings, mounted on dromedaries and horses, are approach- ing. The subjects of the wings are the Nativity and the Presentation in the Temple; and on the outside of each shutter there is a single seated figure seen through a cusped arch. One represents John the Baptist with the lamb at his side; and the other St. Veronica with the napkin bearing the imprint of the Lord's face. These panels have landscape backgrounds. The small triptych, dated 1480, representing the Dead Christ mourned by His Mother, St. John and Mary Magdalen, was painted for Adrian Reyns, who entered the community in 1479, and who is represented on the interior shutter, protected by St. Adrian in a suit of plate armour. On the oppo- site panel, St. Barbara stands with her tower in her 116 Ubc Hrt of tbe Belgian (Ballerfes hand. In the background of the central panel, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus' are busy preparing the sepulchre at the foot of some rocks. . On the wall hangs also a portrait of Mary Moreel, daughter of William Moreel and Barbara van Vlaenderberch, whose portraits are in the Brus- sels Gallery. It is known as the " Persian Sibyl Sambetha," and was painted in 1480. She wears a crimson bodice over which is a brown robe trimmed with white fur confined by a broad green sash. Her hair is brushed back from her forehead and over it is a conical black cap draped with a gauze veil, which partly covers her face. A gold chain with a jewelled pendant hangs round her neck and rings ornament her hands. Her left is laid on her right hand resting on a kind of parapet. A more remarkable portrait, however, appears on one panel of a diptych ordered by Martin Van Nieu- wenhove, a member of an old Bruges family. His portrait occupies the right panel, and a picture of the Virgin and Child the other; but these make practically one picture. The Virgin stands in a room between two win- dows, supporting with her right hand the Infant Jesus who is seated on a cushion placed on a table that is covered with an Oriental carpet. With her left hand she offers Him an apple which He is about Bruges 117 to take. At the other end of the table, on the other panel, kneels the donor, his hands folded in prayer above a book of hours with a gold clasp on which his arms are enamelled. The lower portion of both windows is open, but on the upper pane of one is represented in stained glass his patron, St. Martin, on horseback dividifig his cloak. Through the lower window is seen a landscape, — a winding stream with swans, a bridge with a tower at each end and on the bridge three men and a woman. On the lower part of the window behind the Virgin on the left hangs a circular mirror in which the figures and room are reflected and above it the donor's arms in stained glass. On the window on her right are circular medallions representing St. George and St. Christopher; and through the open panes below is a beautiful landscape with a road winding among trees to a distant town. On the road a peasant woman is walking with a basket on her head, and farther away a man on a white horse is seen. " This diptych is a remarkable example of Mem- ling's skill in dealing with light, which is here even, with but little shadow, producing peculiar clearness, and imparting to this interior an impression of space. The Virgin with her fair oval face and broad forehead is quite one of his happiest crea- tions, while the donor is one of the most interest- 118 trbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allecies ing portraits he ever produced; the landscapes also are exquisitely finished." * Last, but by no means least, is the marvellous Reliquary of St. Ursula, ordered by the Hospital in 1480, to enclose some relics of St. Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins brought from the Holy Land. It is a Gothic chapel in miniature, of carved oak with gabled ends, two feet ten inches high, three feet long and one foot one inch broad. Its slanting roof is adorned with six medallions, cresting, finials and statuettes of saints coloured and gilt. The medallions represent the Coronation of the Virgin, the glory of St. Ursula and four angels. The sides are divided into six archings, three on each side, in which an episode in St. Ursula's life is depicted.. The first panel represents the arrival of the pil- grims at Cologne, where Ursula ana her compan- ions prepare to land; the second, their arrival at Basle, where Ursula appears on the quay while her suite is disembarking; the third, the Pope sur- rounded by his court in Rome with Ursula kneeling on the steps of the church; the fourth, the Pope accompanying Ursula and her companions back to Basle, he sitting, with his cardinals in the same boat as Ursula; the fifth, the attack upon the Vir- gins on a bank of the Rhine; and the sixth, the martyrdom of St. Ursula herself with the walls of ' WeaJe. JSruges 119 the Cologne Cathedral in the background. On one of the gable ends is represented St. Ursula with her maidens gathered under her cloak and the other depicts the Virgin standing with the Child on her right arm and being worshipped by two of the Hospital nuns. " The masterpiece of Memling's later years, a shrine containing the relics of St. Ursula in the hospital of Bruges, is fairly supposed to have been ordered and finished in 1480 after the painter had become acquainted with the scenery of the Rhine. This shrine is one of the most interesting monu- ments of Mediaeval art in Flanders, not only be- cause it is beautifully executed, but because it re- veals some part of the life of the painter who pro- duced it, and illustrates the picturesque legend of Ursula and her comrades. The delicacy of finish in its minute figures, the variety of its landscapes and costume, the marvellous patience with which its details are given, are all matters of enjoyment to the spectator." ^ The Picture Gallery of the Academy The Museum containing the Picture Gallery of the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architec- ture, founded in 17 19, is situated in the Rue Saint Catherine. Here we find many pictures by John I Crowe, I 120 Ube Hrt of tbe Belaian (Ballerics Van Eyck, Memling, Gerard David, Pieter Pour- bus and others, that will attract the casual traveller and delight the student. In no other city can Gerard David be so well understood, and so we will first look at his works. In 1488, Gerard David was commissioned to paint for the town-hall two panels that would recall to the magistrates that they should be honest and just. Instead of painting the story of the judge Pieter Lanchals and other members of the magis- tracy who, accused of corruption and malversation, had been tortured and put to death, David selected the story of Cambyses as told by Herodotus. Si- samnes, a royal judge of Egypt, having been bribed to give an unjust verdict, King Cambyses had him strangled and flayed and then he had the judge's chair covered with his skin; and, naming the son of Sisamnes judge in his father's place, charged him to remember on whose seat he was placed to administer justice. " In the first panel, Cambyses, who, attended by his court, has entered the hall of justice, is order- ing the unjust judge to be seized. His corruption is indicated in the background, where at the door of his dwelling, he is receiving a bag of money from a man. Cambyses, the first finger of his right hand laid on the thumb of his left, is apparently in- sisting on the truth of the accusation. Other judges THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE MEMLING Hospital of Plate XVII St. John (See page in) Bruges JSruges 121 and persons of distinction stand around the king. The unjust judge, laid hold of by a vulgar-looking man has a terror-stricken countenance. He wears a red fur-lined robe over a black underdress; in his right hand he holds his head-cover of blue cloth which he has taken off on the entrance of the king; his left rests on the arm of his seat. Behind him is stretched a cloth of honour, of brown bordered with black, suspended by straps to rings in the wall. To the right and left of the justice seat are two oval medallions in camateu with allegorical subjects, re- markable as being the earliest instance of the occur- rence, in Netherlandish pictures, of pagan sculpture. Above the cloth of honour is the date 1498 and still higher a bracket on which are seated two amorini holding two wreaths of foliage and fruit. On the wall above the garlands are escutcheons with the arms of Philip the Handsome and Joan of Aragon. The scene is represented as taking place in an open gallery or portico looking on to a square, which bears a general resemblance to the square of St. John at Bruges. " Cambyses wears a robe of dark blue and gold brocade lined with fur, and a mantle of blue velvet with ermine collar and trimmings, white hose, san- dals and a red velvet cap bordered with fur and encircled with a rich gold crown." ^ I Weale. 122 Zbc Hrt of tbe MclQim (Sallcxics Behind an officer in armour, there is seen the head of a man of about thirty, which is the earhest known portrait of the painter. In the foreground, there is a white hound with a gold collar and a poodle. The second panel representing the Execution of Sisamnes shows all the details of the horrible scene surveyed by the King and his courtiers. One of the ten noblemen has a hawk on his wrist and in the foreground a poodle is indifferently scratching his ear. In the background, on the left, the son of Si- samnes is seen seated in his father's chair, behind which hangs his father's skin in place of a cloth of honour. He seems to be refusing the contents of a purse which some people are offering. Beyond a wall in the background the trees of a park are visible. " Each panel measures 5 feet 1 1 inches by 4 feet 8 inches and is vigorously painted in a brownish tone with wonderful finish. They are well com- posed, though the foreground of the first picture is a little overcharged. The backgrounds are ex- cellent, and the form and foliage of the trees in the park faithfully rendered. The figures are well drawn, most of the heads having a great deal of character and the hands being admirably mod- elled." 1 " Weale. Bruges 123 The triptych called the Baptism of Christ was painted soon after the Judgment of Cambyses and Execution of Sisamnes, ordered by John des Trompes, a treasurer of Bruges. " In the foreground our Lord is seen girt with a loin cloth, standing in the Jordan, the water of which comes up to His knees. His hands are joined in prayer and His face wears an expression of deep recollection. The Baptist kneeling on the bank to the left is pouring water out of the hollow of his hand on the Saviour's head. He wears a tunic of camel's skin confined at the waist by a scarf and over it a red mantle. To the right kneels an angel in a cope of gold brocade edged with a red fringe, and having an embroidered hood bordered with pearls and precious stones, holding our Lord's robe on his arms. The Holy Spirit coming down as a dove from heaven in a glory of gold rays hov- ers above Christ's head, whilst high up in the sky is seen the Eternal Father surrounded by wingless angels blessing His Son. " The scene of this picture is laid in a splendid and highly-tinted mountainous and rocky landscape, which is here a more important feature than in any earlier representation of the subject. In the mid- distance, on the right, is seen the Precursor, seated on a moss-grown rock preaching to a group of twenty-five persons; two others are drawing near 124 Ube art of tbe Belgtan ©allertes to listen. On the left, in the shade beneath the trees, S. John is pointing out the Messiah to three of his disciples, one of whom is leaving to follow Him. In the background are rocks and a city, above and beyond which rises a mountain crowned by a large castle. Nothing can well be finer than this portion of the picture; the trees vigorously painted and finished with wonderful minuteness, have evidently been studied individually from na- ture, as though of many different kinds they each and all preserve the character of their respective foliage and form. Between their trunks we get glimpses of' really distant landscape. The herbage, lilies, mallows, violets and other flowers in the im- mediate front have never been more admirably re- produced by the art of the painter. The wavelets of the water agitated by the wind in the broader part of the river, and, in the less exposed inlet, the concentric circles around the Saviour's legs expand- ing and intersecting each other until they break against the banks are another instance of careful observation. The transparency of the water, the reflections of surrounding objects and the shadows on its surface are faithfully rendered. The bedding of the rocks, too, is imitated with perfect truth. The colouring of all this portion is so remarkably bright and lovely that the faults of the composition are not at first noticed. The principal group not Bruges 125 only surcharges the foreground, but is somewhat inharmonious in colour, this, however, being doubt- less due to overcleaning — the picture was in 1579 daubed with black distemper on which were painted the Ten Commandments, and thus escaped being destroyed or stolen by the Calvinist iconoclasts." ^ On the right wing on the grass kneels the donor, John des Trompes, in a fur-lined robe with his son, Philip, by his side; and behind him his patron saint, John the Evangelist. On the right wing ap- pear the donor's first wife Elizabeth von der Meersch and her four daughters protected by St. Elizabeth of Hungary. On the exterior of the wings, the artist painted at a later period the Virgin and Child and Mary Magdalen Cordier, the donor's second wife, with her daughter, Isabella, and St. Mary Magdalen, behind whom through arches is seen the courtyard of a house. In 1436, John van Eyck painted the most impor- tant of his religious compositions (after the Lamb), the Madonna of the Canon Van der Paele. It is signed and dated; and the words inscribed on the frame, taken from the Book of Wisdom, are the same as those in the Adoration of the Lamb over the Virgin enthroned beside God the Father. The Roman church to which the altarpiece of the Canon Van der Paele introduces us is probably the basilica ' Weale. 126 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allerfes of St. Donatian, the Cathedral of Bruges, which was formerly adorned with this masterpiece. Be- yond the arcades opening on the ambulatory, len- ticular windows, such as John van Eyck often painted, admit a soft light that caressingly glides over the squat and almost dwarf columns (if we compare them with the stature of the personages). " Seated under a green dais, clothed with a purple mantle, the Madonna, with her rounded forehead, full cheeks and robust neck, repeats and achieves the type announced in the Virgin of Chancellor Rolin. The Infant Jesus plays with a parrot, and grasps at flowers in his Mother's hand ; some people consider him ' without charm and without grace.' That may be; but Van Eyck has represented all that tender infancy, robust and Flemish even, possesses of roguishness and knowingness. To the left of the Virgin kneels the donor, George Van der Paele, Canon of St. Donatian — elected in 1410, deceased in 1444. With his square and chubby hands, he holds his horn spectacles, his breviary and his gloves. Bald, with a few sparse tufts over his ears, his brow bony and hard under the fine skin, his eyes underlined with flabby folds, his jaws and double chin also covered with fat, — this canon is illustri- ous in the art of portraiture. Behind him, stands his patron St. George, a cuirassed youth with a broad grin — a curious survival of mediaeval Bruges 127 archaism. As a pendant to St. George stands St. Donatian, the patron of the ancient cathedral of Bruges, in splendid episcopal robes, the proces- sional cross in one hand, and, in the other, the wheel with five candles recalling his miraculous rescue. " The throne, with its beautiful carved accesso- ries, the Oriental carpet, the Virgin's golden hair, the armour and pennon of St. George, the embroid- ered cope of St. Donatian, the fluid light that sifts through the windows into the ambulatory, all har- monize on a golden woof, the materials sometimes thickening in the shadows, and the modelling being obtained by superpositions of lighter and lighter and more and more transparent layers of colour, so as to make the most of the under ones, and rein- force the values without depriving them of their brilliance. Translated into glittering colours of enamel, this picture dictated the ordonnance of a great number of Bruges pictures. Memling nota- bly adopted the formula for his masterpiece, the Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine." ^ On the top of the frame of the portrait of John van Eyck's wife, we read : Conjux meus Johes me complemt ano 1439, 17 Tunii; and, on the bottom : Etas mea triginta trin anorn. Als ik kan. " In this young woman of thirty-three years, with deli- cate white and rose complexion, blonde lashes ' Fierens-Gevaert. 128 Zbc Hrt Of tbe JSelgian ©allerfes and almost imperceptible golden eyebrows — only blondes were beautiful in the eyes of the old Flem- ings — people insist on seeing a stifif, disagreeable, nun-like, ugly, middle-class woman, — and com- plain of the Master. But how could anybody help looking somewhat like a nun in that horned and turned-up head-dress? It is true that the lips are rather thin, but the features are fine, regular and distinguished; and the hand is exquisite. Is there anything to shudder at ? John van Eyck never put more soul into his painting; his brush has marvel- lous caresses for rendering the transparent and fresh epidermis, and for painting the soft and warm shadows in which the pretty ear is bathed ; and the microscopic sinuosities of the ruche that borders the white coif are cut so finely that they never become confused. John van Eyck reached the end of his career without any failing, or the slightest diminu- tion of his genius, and I imagine that he proudly dedicated this marvellous ex-voto to his young companion; and that it was with legitimate pride that he could inscribe on it his device : Als ik kan." 1 A Head of Christ, a reduced copy of a picture in the Berlin Museum, is of the school of Van Eyck. Memling's fine triptych, in its original frame which bears the date 1484, was ordered by William ' Fierens-Gevaert. GERARD DAVID CAMBYSES CONDEMNING SISAMNES Plate XVIII {See page 120) Academy Bruges Bruges 129 Moreel for an altar-piece for the chantry chapel he gave to the Church of St. Jacques in Bruges. " In the centre is seen Saint Christopher bearing the Infant Christ on his shoulder across a river. He supports himself with the trunk of a young tree, and is looking up with an expression of wonder, as if seeking an explanation of the incomprehensible burthen which is weighing him down. The Holy Child, smiling graciously, enlightens and blesses him. A hermit, leaning on a staff at the mouth of a cave in one of the lofty rocks, between which the river flows, holds up a lighted lantern. On the right stands Saint Maur, reading attentively a book which rests on his left arm ; he wears a white tunic, black scapular and cowl, and holds a crosier in his right hand. On the left, Saint Gilles, in black habit, holding a closed book and caressing a fawn at his side; an arrow aimed at it has lodged in the saint's right sleeve. On the right shutter, with his five sons grouped behind him, is the burgomaster Will- iam Moreel, kneeling, with his hands joined at a prayer-desk on which lies an open book. He is protected by Saint William of Maleval, who wears over his steel armour the black habit of the order of hermits which he founded. The arms of the order are blazoned on the pennon of his lance; at his feet is a demon in the form of a wild beast. In the background, to the right, a moated manor, pos- 130 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries sibly Oost Cleyhem, and a farmhouse with a church beyond it on the left; between them a wooded landscape. On the left wing, Moreel's wife, protected by Saint Barbara, kneels opposite her husband, with her eleven daughters, the eldest of whom is clothed in the habit of a Dominican nun. In the background are a castle and trees. The figures in this triptych are admirably grouped and modelled. The refined and meditative figures of Saint Maur and Saint Gilles contrast well with that of Saint Christopher, which is full of life and vigour." ^ " One of the most famous works in this gallery is The Last Judgment by Jan Prevost, in which Christ, clothed in red, is seated on a rainbow, with his feet on the terrestrial globe. With his right hand he indicates the wound on his thigh, and in his left he holds a naked sword; upon his knees rests an open book, inscribed with the words Bonum et Malum. The Virgin, in rose coloured robe and blue mantle, entreats for humanity on the right; and, by her side, are St. Catherine, with a piece of her wheel; St. Peter, with a key; St. Paul, with a sword; St. Bartholomew with a knife; and other saints. On the left we see John the Baptist, with a lamb bearing the standard; David, with a harp; Moses, with the Tables of the Law; St. » Weale. JSruges i3i Anthony; St. Stephen and others. Two angels, supporting the Cross and sounding a trumpet, are beneath Christ, and out of the trumpet issue two legends : ' Appropinquate vos electi ' and ' Ite maledicti in aeternam.' In the lower part of the picture is represented the Resurrection, with the abode of the blessed on the right, the walls of which are of gold studded with precious stones and hell on the left, represented by a city of fire. In the foreground, with a crown at her feet, a woman is being offered a white robe by an angel ; behind her, a monster is seizing a kneeling woman; and an- other monster is hurrying towards a soldier in a lake. In the background, there is a sea on which there are vessels, some of which are taken posses- sion of by angels and others by demons. Some of them have reached the shore, and are discharging their passengers, who are being kd by angels and demons. This picture was once in the great hall in the H6tel-de-Ville above the sculptured chimney- piece. It is full of religious feeling and notwith- standing some bizarre details it produces a striking effect. The colour is also good. The upper part is distinguished for the beauty, variety and senti- ment expressed in the heads ; with the exception of the Virgin and St. John all the saints are dressed in white. The saint who receives the habit of the elect and the angel who is 'giving it to her form 132 Ubc Hrt of tbe IBelgfan (Salleries a charming little group. Some of the punished fen- gulfed in the lake of fire deserve notice on account of their expression, and also the demons, some of which are as fantastic as those of Brueghel and Callot. The flowers in the foreground on the right are faithfully painted." The frame is a superb piece of carving dated 1525 in the upper part between the two lions sup- porting the great golden shield with the double black eagle of Charles V. On the sides are the pil- lars of Hercules and the device " Plus oultre." A copy of Prevost's Last Judgment by Jacob Van den Coornhuuse, with some variations, also hangs in this gallery. It is interesting to compare Prevost's work with The Last Judgment by Pieter Pourbus, also in this gallery. Here, in the upper part, Christ in a red robe is also seated on a rainbow; at his feet are two angels sounding trumpets and near them are the heads of cherubs. On the left is the Virgin, accompanied with saints and prophets ; and, on the right, John the Baptist with others. Below, the Resurrection is depicted; the elect being escorted to heaven by angels and the condemned to hell by demons. Eve, responsible for everything, is in the centre. Pieter Pourbus is also represented by The De- scent from the Cross (1570) and by portraits of SSruges 133 John and Adrienne Fernagant. The Descent from " the Cross is an elaborate triptych where the faith- ful are taking the body from the Cross and the Virgin seated on the ground and surrounded by her holy women gives herself up to grief. The Mag- dalen is kneeling in front. In the background three disciples are placing the body of the Saviour in the sepulchre in the presence of the Virgin, St. John and the three holy women. Jerusalem is seen on the horizon. Bearing the Cross is depicted on the left wing and the Resurrection on the left, and there is a predella with the Adoration of the Shepherds in the centre and the Annunciation and Circum- cision on the left and right. Jan Fernagant is in his room, through the open window of which the Place de la Grue is visible. The subject wears a black doublet with cherry col- oured sleeves, one of his hands is gloved and two fine rings are on the other. The portrait of Adrienne de Buuck, his wife, was also painted in 1 55 1. She wears a black robe cut square in the neck. The sleeves are dark red. A white cap is on her head and she wears a gold chain around her neck. In her right hand she holds a rosary and gloves, and on the forefinger of her right she wears a ring. There is a dog on the bench ; and through the window you see the Maison du Coq in the rue de Flandre, with its ornamental faqade, dated 1542, 134 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian (Balleries and in the street are seen children playing with dice. Farther away appears the chapel of St. Jean. The Death of the Virgin, an unknown work of the Brabant School of the Fifteenth Century, has always been greatly admired, as is proved by the number of copies that exist. The Virgin draped in blue is lying on a bed also covered with blue drapery. She is surrounded by saints and Jesus appears in a glory above. The expression of the Virgin's face has always attracted the praise of critics. Two works by Lancelot Blondeel also claim at- tention. In an oval surrounded with architectural orna- ments in the Renaissance style, St. Luke in a green robe and purple mantle is kneeling before his easel, painting the Virgin who is seated in an arm-chair in a green dress and red mantle with the Child in her lap. The latter regards the painter with a half- frightened air. The mosaic pavement is partly cov- ered with a rich rug. Above the frame, which is ornamented with leaves, rams' heads, monkeys and grotesque figures, are hung the arms granted by the Emperor Maximilian to Albrecht Diirer and the corporations of painter-artists — an azure shield with three shields silver. The same arms are painted on the window of the little inner room in the background of the picture where a man is grind- JSruges 135 ing colours. St. Luke is a portrait of Blondeel him- self. The work is dated 1545'. Another work by the same painter is The Legend of St. George, a picture divided into five parts by rich architectural ornaments. The central panel represents St. George, wearing a suit of armour and a helmet with white plumes, mounted on a bay horse covered with a red and gold cloth. The knight turns towards the right, brandishing his sword to kill the dragon already wounded by his lance, the point of which is sticking in his throat. Beyond is the princess, in a yellow skirt and gray bodice with red sleeves. A dog is by her side, and in the background there is a fortified city. The other panels represent the saint's martyrdom. Jacques Van Oost the Elder's various pictures are St. Augustine washing the feet of Christ, who is disguised as a pilgrim; St. Anthony of Padua and the Holy Child; St. Anthony resuscitating a dead man ; portraits of two Arquebusiers ; and a Theo- logian dictating to a young clerk, both of whom are seated at a table in a study. Two landscapes, or rather, river-views, by Jan Van Goyen, are the only notable modern works. CHAPTER III ANTWERP : MUSEE ROYAL DES BEAUX - ARTS The Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts owes its ori- gin to David Teniers the Younger and his col- leagues of the old Guild of St. Luke (founded in 1382), who obtained from Philip IV, in 1663, let- ters patent authorizing the Corporation to establish an Academy on the model of those of Paris and Rome. For a time the members held their meet- ings in a hall in the Bourse, but soon occupied the old Franciscan monastery, still standing, on the Rue du Fagot. For many years the two works now described as the wings to Martin De Vos's Saint Luke Painting the Virgin were used as interior panels for the large double entrance door of the salon d'honneur of the Academy. By 1765, the Academy had collected forty paintings, twenty-six of which are now in the Museum. The present building was finished in 1890 from plans by J. J. Winders and F. Van Dyck. It is a handsome edifice in the Greek Renaissance style, the main entrance a portico supported by four Corinthian cplumng with lateral loggie on the upper 136 Hntwerp i37 story and embellished with allegorical figures and medallions. The massive rectangle encloses six inner courts. The great Vestibule de Keyser contains the large staircase with marble walls, a great bronze vase by Drake and C. Van der Stappen's marble statue of David. On the landing is Daybreak, a high relief by E. Jespers. The visitor will pause to look at the striking paintings by Nicaise de Keyser, trans- ferred from the old Academy and illustrating the history of Flemish Art. The principal pictures are over the entrance and on the right and left walls. The one over the entrance contains fifty-two figures and depicts Antwerpia on a throne in the centre beneath which are represented Gothic and Renais- sance Art. On the left, Quentin Massys is seated and Frans Floris is standing; and above them are the architects of the Cathedral of Antwerp ; on the right, we see Rubens with Otto Vsenius, his teacher ; Jordaens leaning over a balustrade; Cornelius Schut on the steps with Van Dyck next, David Teniers the Elder, G. de Craeyer, Jan Brueghel and others. The picture on the right wall represents forty-two painters and sculptors and that on the left the same number of painters and engravers. Twelve other pictures, describing the various de- velopments of Flemish Art, also decorate this Ves- tibule. 138 Ube art of tbe Belgian aalleries The left wing of the ground floor is devoted to the Sculpture Gallery, in which there are some paintings representing old Antwerp; and the left wing, to the Rubens Collection. This was opened in 1877, when the three hundredth anniversary of Rubens's birth was celebrated in his native city. It occupies nine rooms and two side halls, and con- sists of engravings, etchings, woodcuts, photo- graphs, etc., of most of Rubens's works. In the anteroom, there is a marble bust of the great painter by J. R. Pecher, placed there in 1877. Passing up the staircase, we reach the first floor, where are exhibited both the Old Masters and the Modern Painters. The former, comprising about eight hundred pic- tures, are in the rooms in the centre and on the right side of the building; and the modern works (about three hundred) occupy the rooms on the left. When the French army carried away in 1797 many of the works that had been collected from the old Academy of St. Luke and various churches and corporations, Guillg,ume Jacques Herreyns, director of the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Archi- tecture, used his influence and his money to save the remaining pictures from the hands of the sans culottes, often, indeed, at the risk of his own life. The present Museum was established in 18 17 to Bntwerp 139 house the works that were returned from France in 1815, consisting of pictures by Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, and others, to which were added the twenty-seven pictures saved by Mr. Herreyns, consisting of seventeen by Rubens, five by Van Dyck, two by CorneHs de Vos, two by Van Thulden and one by De Vriendt. The first catalogue, published in 1826, numbered two hundred and seven works by old masters and eleven copies. The gallery was enriched in 1840 by the bequest of the Chevalier Florent Joseph Van Ertborn, a burgomaster of Antwerp, whose collection of 136 masters, from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Cen- tury, contains many examples of the first order. His bust, by J. Geefs, is in Room C. This legacy was supplemented by another in 1859 from the Dowager Van den Hecke, nee Baronne Baut de Rasmon. This consists of forty- one pictures, chiefly of the Seventeenth Century. The Antwerp Gallery is rich in examples of the Primitives, of Rubens and his school, and of the Little Dutch Masters. The celebrated little St. Barbara is signed and. dated lohes de Byck me fecit 1437. It is only a sketch. Karel Van Mander tells us that John's sketches were more complete than the finished works of other artists. In spite of its small dimen- 140 Ube art ot tbe Belgian Galleries sions the St. Barbara shows what delight John took in confining a vast space in a small frame. An im- mense tower that proclaims the architectural genius of the master mounts into the sky. At the foot of this giant, workmen are busy pushing barrows, transporting materials, and cutting, hammering and rolling stones; while ladies and lords on horse- back, and curious on-lookers circulate through the busy scene, and on the top of the tower men are setting blocks of stone hoisted by the crane. The left background consists of a wide stretch of hilly country, and in the right background is a fantastic city terraced into a pyramid. St. Barbara is seated in the centre of the foreground, spreading the mul- tiple folds of her dress over the whole width of the panel. Her pensive countenance, framed by lightly frizzed hair, is marked with the spiritualization of the feminine type announced by the Virgin in the Church. The original of the latter has disappeared, but this museum owns one of the five known replicas (catalogued merely as Bruges Master of 1499) which forms part of a diptych formerly attributed to Memling. If the copy is exact, it establishes a tendency in John Van Eyck to refine his female type. But the copyist has not the infallibly sure touch of the master; the little square tiles of the pavement, decorated with lambs, are not drawn Hntwerp hi with great firmness. On the other hand, the artist remedies these weaknesses by a very fine feeling for values and lights. The student will take great interest in examining the methods of the reputed inventors of oil paint- ing. The panel of St. Barbara is of oak, entirely covered with a chalky ground: only the sky is painted in azure, with a slight tint of purple. The composition proper — people, landscape, tower — is finely drawn with the brush in brown colour. The shadows are indicated by hatchings, also drawn. The foundation is doubtless a preparation of gum, or white of egg; the parts drawn are ex- ecuted in tempera; the sky, not needing any draw- ing, was painted directly in oil. It remained for the master to lay upon the drawn parts his coloured tones with bases of amber, mastic, perhaps also sandarac, mixed with siccative, and, at the last moment, reinforced with terebinth. Having thus combined the colours with an oily varnish, John Van Eyck doubtless proceeded with successive glaz- ings, taking up the work of the modelling again with each new coat, preserving for the lower ones their sonority and laying on his materials so ad- mirably that they have resisted the attacks of time ; and the centuries have even added an inappreciable patina to his tones of enamel, gold and gems. The Madonna of the Fountain, and the portrait 142 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries of the painter's wife (Bruges), are the two last works known of the master. The Madonna is dated 1439. There are many replicas of it; and the Work undoubtedly owed its popularity to its exceptionally sweet character. Here we are no longer in a church, but in the open air. The artist has not changed his model for the Virgin, but the affectionate bend of her head, the attitude of Jesus, and the thick clumps of flowers in the background are novelties that enrich the art of John Van Eyck, and reanimate the noble maturity of the master with a breath of juvenile mysticism. Stephan Lochner's Rose Virgin (1435) was the inspiration of this picture. A magnificent replica of Van Eyck's Madonna of the Canon Van der Paele, came from Watervliet. It was executed in the course of the Fifteenth Cen- tury. The size is rather smaller than the original, but the technique is very sure and strong, particu- larly in St. Donatian's blue cope, with its gold em- broidery, and in the finely shadowed head of the canon. A beautiful little picture of the Virgin and Child Jesus, the wing of a triptych has been attributed to Memling. It is certainly of the school of Van Eyck. The Virgin is standing in the nave of a Gothic church wearing a green dress, red mantle, and a ,superb crown that sparkles with jewels. On her antwerp 143 right arm she holds the Child Jesus. On the border of her dress are the words /' Salve Regina mundi." In front of her stands a vase of flowers, and, in the choir in the background, two angels are reading a book. The details are beautifully painted and the per- spective is wonderful. One of the panels of this picture is a portrait of Christian de Hondt, Abbe of the Dunes, dressed in the white habit of the Cistercian monks, kneeling in prayer, his hands clasped over a rich missal; his mitre in front of him and a little dog asleep by his side. The room in which he, kneels, says Henri Hymans, " is one of the most delicate interiors of its kind. Everything breathes calm and comfort. In the high chimney-piece of white stone where hangs the abbatial cross, on superb andirons a bright fire burns. On the brackets of the chim- ney-piece, within easy reach are some fruits. Farther away on a credence are some metal jugs of elegant form and some cups and also a bed draped with blue curtains. On a shelf are books. It would be hard to fancy that Van Eyck could do better. The only work that can be compared to this is the St. Jerome by Antonello da Messina that belonged to Lord Northbrook and is now in the National Gallery of London." The Nativity and the Benediction by Juste de 144 XLbc art of tbe Belgian Oalleries Gand, a pupil of Van Eyck, represents the Pope in rich dalmatic and tiara, holding a monstrance in his hands before the altar in a chapel. On either side kneels an angel with outspread wings dressed in bluish robes and swinging a censer. Upon the altar stand two candles; and above it is a polyptych, on which are represented the An- nunciation and various scenes of the Nativity. Banderoles with Latin inscriptions are seen below the altar. The Antwerp Museum has several pictures of the period anterior to Van Eyck. The Coronation of the Virgin is a Franco-Flemish work of the last quarter of the Fourteenth Century; it has a gold background; the seat and the folds of the robes remind us of the miniatures of Beauneveu. The dreadful repainting does not prevent us from feel- ing the southern influence in the work. Another early picture, of important dimensions, is a Calvary on a figured gold ground, showing the donor, Hendrick Van Ryn, kneeling before the cross. It is dated 1363. The suffering type of the Christ, the arch ele- gance of the Virgin and the fluting of her mantle would class the Calvary in the cycle of the composite works if the spring of the figures and the length- ened face of St. John did not announce the style of the school of Haarlem, as fixed by Thierry Bouts. i ^ ^i^ [1 ■■:.,-^-^ 1 .;■ ■ -^ ""r.*.^}^ Mi^ffi^^ ^' » -.IM-.,^— •^ .^millSm"'~ '...'■ ,r^SV}»!KwKs«^,:i .,/■;,.,; ^■,. 'i^-'r::-^;^^ '■ ■' ■ ..,,.,,,-,.. _ _. .g ._u „ ^ ^..^^*='^ujw» v-j^^'.r-?^:*- ■' ^Ki"'^ ' m mj^Lmrnimmm^ ■^gg^.:-v „■ KMMi ii BB^iLiI ^y -\. Hntwerp 145 Of Thierry Bouts himself, we find here his famous St. Christopher, and a Virgin and Child. St. Christopher, clad in a blue tunic and red mantle and a piece of white drapery around his head, is fording a river with the Child Jesus on his shoul- der. The latter raises his right hand in blessing. On the left, a hermit with a lantern issues from a grotto and on the right is a landscape. The moon, seen in the sky, is also reflected in the water. In the picture of the Virgin and Child the figures occupy nearly the whole canvas. Dressed in a blue robe and red mantle, with her light hair falling over her shoulders, the Virgin is seated with the Child Jesus on her knees supporting him with her left hand and holding his foot with her right. The Child lifts his left hand in blessing. Behind them is a row of trees in thick foliage against a blue sky. A Nativity and a Holy Family are good examples of Albert Bouts. In the former, which is full of animation, there is a resemblance to the works of Hugo Van der Goes and the Maitre de Moulins, par- ticularly in the garland of angels that hover over the figures and the shepherds who are coming joy- fully to see the wonder of which they have heard. In the Holy Family the Virgin is very charming. Beautifully painted is the book she is turning, held by a radiant angel over whose head through the Open window we see a delightful landscape. 146 xcbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©alleries Thierry Bouts had several followers. The gal- lery has a number of paintings that show themselves to have been more or less happily inspired by his manner : St. Lienard Delivering Prisoners, a quaint street scene ; the translation of the Body of St. Hu- bert; and the "portrait" of St. Hubert. In the latter, the accessories are very well painted; and the saint's physiognomy has the characteristics of the faces of Thierry Bouts. A Resurrection is also painted under the influence of the Louvain portrait painter. A small Annunciation allows us to appreciate with what ingenuously true grace Roger Van der Weyden interpreted the initial mystery of the Re- demption. It is a sort of miniature, very brilliant with its bed of green dais and scarlet covering, with the pretty blue and white robes of the Virgin and the Angel. The execution is lacking in strength, in the heads particularly. Its authenticity has not been conclusively established. " The Seven Sacraments is one of the master- pieces of this gallery. The central panel, the Eucha- rist, introduces us into the open nave of a church in which rises a lofty cross bearing the Christ. In the foreground are grouped the holy women, and the Virgin swooning in the arms of St. John. In the background, with no figure to break the intermedi- ary spaces, is an altar decorated with charming carv- Hntwerp 147 ings. Before this altar, a priest, in a rich chasuble, is elevating the Host. On the wings, where for once the artist has made an effort to dispose his groups in perspective, are represented Baptism, Confirmation and Confession on the right ; and Or- dination, Marriage and Extreme Unction on the left. The various scenes are displayed as taking place simultaneously in the aisles of the church; and above each of them an angel unfolds a phylac- tery — while the central panel represents the deep- est emotion, — with the striking depth of its open decoration, the rigid lines' of the cross springing ■ into the vault, the pathetic amplitude of the drama evoked at the entrance of the church, and the im- mense space figured behind the sublime Christ, a Christ of infinite suffering and infinite protection, — the side panels, about one-third smaller, affect almost the feeling of genre pictures, — and, at all events, introduce real human beings into the relig- ious scenes, placing the symbolical work almost at the service of representations of contemporary life. Roger thus introduces an unknown element of ex- pression and beauty into Flemish painting. Fa- voured by the naturalistic tendencies of Flemish mysticism of the Fifteenth Century, and without abdicating in any degree his lyrism and piety, the master materializes the great religious symbols by showing us the whole life of one of his contempo- 148 trbe Hrt of tbe Belgian Oalleries raries from the cradle to the grave. The genre scenes assume great importance, and are neverthe- less clothed with a clearly symbolic beauty. The genius of Roger Van der Weyden was needed in order to harmonize the realities of life and faith. He was about fifty-five years of age when he painted this triptych. It had travelled, and suffered many hardships before it was rediscovered in 1826. Some heads have been repainted (see the sacrament of Baptism) and with their soft modelling and brown tonalities are in strong contrast with the clean han- dling and transparent colours of the faces that have been respected. But, on the whole, the col- our has preserved its original character, and it is an endless delight to listen to the soft vibration of the reds, blues, violets and whites of the man- tles, chasubles and angelic robes, singing their pure notes in the harmonic web of an immense silver ground." ^ The Portrait of Nicolas Spinelli is one of the earliest pictures that is correctly ascribed to Mem- ling. " It is a bust," writes Weale, " the face in three-quarters turned towards the left, is that of an energetic full-blooded Italian, of from thirty-five to forty years of age, with black hair escaping in long thick curls from under a black cap. He wears a black close-fitting dress, with white linen round the ' Fierens-Gevaert. antwerp 149 neck, and in his left hand holds, so as to show the entire face, a coin with a profile head of the Em- peror Nero with this inscription : ' Nero Claudius Csesar Augustus Germanicus tribunicia potestati imperator.' The background is a charming, well- wooded, sunny landscape traversed by a stream on which are two swans ; on the farther side is a man on a white horse, and on the near bank to the left, a palm tree, probably introduced to signify that the person represented was an Italian." This portrait was once thought to be the work of Antonello da Messina. Attributed also to Memling is the famous trip- tych, Christ and the Angels, a rich composition. The central panel shows Christ in the centre with a golden crown and chasuble of brocade fastened with a large jewelled clasp. His right hand is lifted in blessing and his left rests on a globe surmounted by a large cross. He is surrounded by six angels, three on each side, who are singing from an open book. The rays of light behind the head of Christ form a star. Five angels are represented on the right wing in rich dalmatics playing the lute, mono- chord, cittern, trumpet and flute; and on the right wing five other angels play the trumpet, horn, harp, hurdy-gurdy and vielle. To Memling some critics have attributed a Monk of the Order of St. Norbert, turned three-quarters 150 Ubc art of tbe Belgian Gallertes to the right, in white robe and mantle and with folded hands. A member of the Croy family is attributed to Hugo Van der Goes. The subject, with shaven face and chestnut hair falling over his forehead, holds in his joined hands a rosary. He wears a dark red doublet and a gold chain is -vyrapped sev- eral times around his neck. A fine painting by Jan Mostaert Deipara Virgo, originally an altar-piece in the Rockox chapel in the church of the Recollets, shows the Virgin and Child surrounded by four Angels and below them three Prophets and two Sybils carrying scrolls on which are inscribed their prophecies regarding the Incarnation. The faces seem to be portraits; and in the whole work there is much that recalls Quen- tin Massys. Two portraits in this gallery distinguished by their warmth, clearness and general softness of treatment are also authentic works by Jan Mostaert. From the armorial bearings on these canvases they have been identified as Portrait of Jacqueline of Bavaria and of her husband, Franck Van Borselen. The former died, however, in 1436 and the latter in 1470 while Mostaert was not born till 1474. The man has a smooth shaven face, wears a yellow doublet, white shirt and gray mantle, a large velvet cap to which is attached a medal, and his left hand Hntwerp 151 rests on the hilt of his sword. The woman is in a black bodice ornamented with precious stones and yellow sleeves trimmed with fur, a white cap and white veil. Engelbrechtsen, the master of Lucas Van Ley- den, is represented by St. Leonard delivering Pris- oners, and the Transfer of the Body of St. Hubert. St. Leonard in a frieze robe is leading in a street a prisoner and followed by three others who issue from a tower. On the left a lord in gray with red mantle lined with yellow and a steel helmet is followed by two pages. On the top of the tower St. Leonard is again seen among the prisoners. On the right there is a street lined with brick houses. The Transfer of the Body of St. Hubert has eight monks surrounding his coffin at the door of the church of Andrain in the Ardennes, with a land- scape through which a river runs in the background. On the reverse St. Hubert is again depicted and also the stag with a crucifix between his horns. Nine pictures are attributed to Lucas Van Ley- den : St. Luke, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. George, two Adorations of the Magi, The Ring, and David and Saul. In The Ring, an old man with his back to the spectator and profile turned to the right places a ring on the finger of a young girl who is dressed 152 Ube art ot tbe Belgian ©allertes in a white bodice and a red skirt with green border. Around her neck is a chain. In David and Saul, the latter is seated on his throne in a pink robe and white turban. David in gray and yellow doublet is playing the harp. The ladies of Saul's harem are seen in the middle dis- tance. Massys was in the plenitude of his talents and powers when he painted his masterpiece, The En- tombment. This triptych, painted in 1508, as an altarpiece for the Chapel of the Corporation of Joiners in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Antwerp, is a perfect poem of grief and suffering. The right wing represents the Beheadal of John the Baptist, with the daughter of Herodias bringing in the bleeding head of the Forerunner on a silver dish. The subject of the left wing is the Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist, showing him already plunged into the boiling cauldron. These two scenes, described with that dramatic and, at the same time, familiar sentiment that renders the Fif- teenth Century costumes additionally strange, are pictures of rare interest from a historic point of view, but nothing in comparison with the principal painting, the Entombment. On the highest point of a vast landscape that occupies the background of the scene, rises Calvary with its three crosses: two of the latter still bear H Z W O H Z W W K H to antwcrp 153 the corpses of the thieves ; but Christ has been taken down from the fatal tree; and, in the foreground, we see His pale corpse surrounded by the holy women and pious personages preparing to entomb Him. About the victim press the Virgin, kneeling, speechless, and almost overwhelmed by a grief that can never end ; Magdalen, wiping with her hair the bleeding feet of Him who pardoned her sins; St. John, supporting the fainting Mother of Christ; Joseph of Arimathea raising the blood-stained head of his master, and gazing with pity at the hideous wounds made by the Crown of Thorns on that noble brow. St. Anne and two other holy women help to complete the group. Certainly, we are far from citing this composition of Massys as a model: it abounds in absurdities; the inexperience of the. drawing is glaring ; and this singular work may be quoted as one of those in which the ideal is most at fault. It is even noticeable how far behind con- temporary ideas the painter was. In 1508, Leo- nardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo had already astonished the world with their masterpieces, Ra- phael had long been in full possession of his genius ; but, for Quentin Massys, Italy did not exist; and with his eyes still turned backward to the Middle Ages, which for all others had just come to an end, he ignored the great awakening, the Renaissance ! With regard to beauty of form and purity of 154 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian (Balledes type, the painter of the Entombment is still a bar- barian, but, with regard to expression, what amount of science would equal in value the touching sim- plicity of this loyal artist who works not with his school memories but with his heart! The general impression gained from his picture is one of poign- ancy. The personages introduced here are awk- ward, ungraceful, grotesque even, if you like, but they are moved to the very depths of their souls, and have put on eternal mourning ; and in this con- sists the value of this work. There is also much to be said about, and much to be learned from a study of the picturesque quali- ties that abound in it. Here we see Massys un- trammelled, free, and at length master of himself; and here, before the advent of the Great Masters, he reveals to us the blossoming of a Flemish School, or, rather, an Antwerp School. Massys is the vis- ible and glorious transition between the colourists of Bruges, who have just disappeared, and Rubens, whose arrival at the end of the century is to be the surprise and joy of Flanders. It is not that Massys, in the Entombment, boldly plays with all the tones of the palette, and knows the secrets of learned op- positions, for at that date Venice alone could de- cipher the enigma ; but at least he has an exquisite feeling for intense scales of colour, a profound re- spect for the justness and propriety of local shades. Hntwerp 155 and especially a warm and lively manner of ani- mating his human carnations, an excellent method in which we can foresee the genius of the colourists to come. The Head of Christ and Head of the Virgin are beautiful examples of the first manner of Massys. In these pictures, we recognize the work of a still timid artist tied to the Fifteenth Century with the closest bonds. In the shape of the faces and the sentiment of the attitudes, Massys has invented nothing new. Respectfully imitating the forms raised to honour by his predecessors, he has relig- iously given to Christ his known physiognomy, re- presenting him as he was painted at Cologne and Bruges at the beginning of the century. The head is surrounded with a light aureole, and the body is covered with a tunic of a reddish tone which is clasped on the breast with a brooch curiously en- riched with precious stones. On his left is seen a cross of beautiful Fifteenth Century workmanship. Christ is raising his right hand in blessing, with a hieratic gesture. This effigy, which is somewhat lacking in relief and which reveals a careful rather than a bold brush, stands out coldly against a green background. The Virgin, which serves as a pen- dant to it, perhaps is more novel in character; the type is marked with more individuality, it is almost a portrait, and we recognize in it something more 156 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian <5allerfes human and personal, with the feeling of that inter- mediate school that was preparing the way for the splendours of Flemish Art. As for the execution, it is as timid in the Virgin as in the Christ. The general colouring of these two pictures, that are so remarkable for the patient simplicity in their ma- king, is tender, soft, and even somewhat pale. In Sir Joshua Reynolds's account of his visit to Flanders, we read: " The Chapel of the Circumcision where is the famous work of Quentin Massys, the blacksmith. The middle part is what the Italians call a Pieta; a dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin, accom- panied with the usual figures. On the door on one side is the daughter of Herod bringing in St. John's head at the banquet ; on the other, the Saint in the cauldron. In the Pieta, the Christ appears as if starved to death; in which manner it was the cus- tom of the painters of that age always to represent a dead Christ; but there are heads in this picture not exceeded by Raffaelle, and indeed not unlike his manner of painting portraits; hard and mi- nutely finished. The head of Herod and that of a fat man, near the Christ, are excellent. The paint- er's own portrait is here introduced. In the ban- quet the daughter is rather beautiful, but too skinny and lean ; she is presenting the head to her mother, who appears to be cutting it with a knife." Hntwerp 157 The Magdalen is a charming figure, standing be- neath a portico holding a vase of perfume, the cover of which she is lifting. Her low-necked bodice is brown, bordered with fur, and with violet sleeves. Around her neck is a cross suspended on a cord and on her hair a gauze veil. Through the arcade you see a landscape with a house on the left and a castle on the right. The Accountant is a good example of a subject which Massys was very fond of painting. There are many variants of his Misers, male and female. Sordid avarice and kindred expressions were ren- dered by him with much sympathetic treatment, and not a little exaggeration. The two figures in this picture are painted with strong naturalism. The Four Maries Returning from the Tomb shows the influence of the early masters of the Bruges school, an influence that constantly weak- ened after the artist's departure for Italy. Bernard Van Orley has several important works here. There are three portraits : two male and one female. An Infant Jesus lies on a green velvet cushion with the right elbow leaning on a trans- parent terrestrial globe: the right hand holds an apple. A Virgin and Child shows Mary in a low cut red bodice and blue mantle seated on a stone pedestal, gazing at the Infant on her lap, holding cherries in His hands. The fine landscape that 158 Zbc Hrt of tbe SSelgfan Galleries forms the background is attributed to Patenier. So also is the landscape of the Adoration of the Magi. The latter is the central panel of a triptych, the wings of which were completed by A. de Rycker. This was formerly attributed to Joost Van Cleef. A triptych of the Last Judgment is a good ex- ample of Van Orley's hasty work. He had the whole ground gilded before laying on the colours so as to render them more brilliant and durable, and in order to give more transparency to the sky. The terrestrial scene occupies less space than the firma- ment and the Heavenly Beings. The Son of Man seated on a rainbow with the terrestrial globe under His feet is awkward in gesture: infinitely more beautiful are the circle of cherubs and the six angels, one bearing an olive branch, a second brandishing a sword, and the four others sounding trumpets. Below, the dead awakened by the voices of St. Michael and the other archangels standing on a cloud, with palms in their hands, start from their graves. To the right, are the elect; to the left, the condemned. The Last Trump that opens so many tombs finds one not yet closed: a funeral is in progress in the foreground, at which a priest, accompanied by two deacons, is reading the prayers. Innumerable bands of the resuscitated are visible, some raising their hands towards Heaven and others driven towards Hell by demons. A second antwerp 159 zone, containing thousands of the Blessed, forms a semi-circle above the first, and above this is a third band, and higher still fly myriads of angels. The wings of the triptych each show three works of mercy, and the backs have scenes of saints distrib- uting their goods to the poor. The faces of the latter are eloquent of greed. The Fall of the Rebel Angels is one of those energetic motives in which Floris appears to the best advantage. At the top of the picture the good angels are fighting the demons ; their ardour in the holy cause is well expressed in their austere faces. St. Michael and two others are attacking Satan in the form of a crowned dragon, who is writhing his monstrous folds in the midst of equally strange fol- lowers with fantastic heads and tails. Some are beaked like vultures, and some have the heads of cats, monkeys, tigers, boars, and elephants. Only the bodies are human. In displaying all his re- sources of anatomy, design and perspective, the ar- tist has here manifestly followed Michael Angelo, reproducing all his violence ; but the colour is bril- liant and carefully managed, the whole being rich and harmonious. It is generally considered Floris's masterpiece. It is signed, and dated 1554. Sir Joshua Reynolds saw this picture in the Chapel of St. Michael in 1781, and wrote: "The Fall of the Angels by F. Floris (1554) has some 160 Zbc art of tbe Belgian (Galleries good parts, but without masses and dry. On the thigh of one of the figures he has painted a fly for the admiration of the vulgar; there is a fooHsh story of this fly being painted by J. Massys and that it had the honour of deceiving Floris." St. Luke Painting the Virgin is the product of a sober mood. In the centre, the EvangeHst, in an ample rose-coloured mantle, with a gentle face of regular features turned towards the spectator, is at work, while a pupil with a jovial face is looking at us as he grinds his master's colours. To the left of the easel is the symbolic ox bearing on his brow the arms of the brotherhood of painters. This pic- ture has a historical interest because St. Luke is a portrait of the painter Ryckaert Aertsz, and the colour grinder is Floris himself. The Adoration of the Shepherds was probably the original Nativity painted for the Cathedral of Notre Dame in 1559. The Infant Jesus is lying in the cradle, while the kneeling Virgin adores her God. On one side, shepherds are approaching bear- ing their offerings ; and, on the other, male and fe- male peasants, with faces of severe and charming rusticity, throng about the new-bom child making festival. This picture, which must be regarded as one of the most important works of Floris, is par- ticularly remarkable for facial expression: the heads are fine and gentle; and the accessories and ,..* '^:^yt;:.„,„ ^^i^^;^i: H^HI^Pf^^ ' V:^ 1 k: ^^'Jt i^ m Www ^ ^'^»e'^3 •^^ 1 ■ ^ rf.^ ... ^f ^^■^?i^'' 1^ ^/ ^ , ir^'i r ^1 '^& M kf"^ -^ l#- W^ :0M * i>-;7'^ F. FLORIS FALL OF THE REBEL ANGELS Plate XXII (.See page 159) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp antwerp i6i animals are painted with fine breadth. Unfortu- nately, like the Fall of the Rebel Angels, the colour consists chiefly of reddish grays and neutral tones, and therefore looks dull and faded. There is no doubt that this sad colouring was one of Floris's souvenirs of Michael Angelo's fresco. The ani- mals are beautifully painted. Martin de Vos has three triptychs in this gallery. The central panel of the first represents Christ's Victory over Death and Sin, symbolized by a skull and a dragon. Lightly draped, Christ stands be- tween St. Peter and St. Paul; behind the latter is St. Margaret with her hands crossed over her breast, and the lamb beside her. Behind St. Peter is St. George in Roman armour and bearing his pennon (red cross on white ground). Two angels hover above in a glory, completing the pious mys- tery of this mystic picture. St. Margaret is a por- trait of the painter's wife, Jeanne Le Boucq. The left wing shows Constantine Building a Church at Constantinople in Honour of St. George; and the right wing is a picture of the Baptism of Constan- tine. It is signed, and dated 1580. The subject of the central panel of a second trip- tych is Caesar's Penny. In the middle, Christ in a gray robe and red mantle stands with his left hand raised and pointing to the sky. Facing him is a Pharisee in a yellow robe and blue mantle, whq 162 xcbe Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries holds out the coin. Behind Christ stand his disci- ples with women and children. In the left fore- ground is a soldier leaning on his spear. Priests and Elders are grouped behind him and the Phari- see. The background shows a city square with Flemish buildings. The subjects of the wings are the Tribute Money and the Widow's Mite. The third triptych shows St. Thomas touching the Saviour's Wounds, in the centre; and the Bap- tism of Christ and the Beheadal of St. John the Baptist on the wings. The central panel from another triptych has a portrait of the painter's wife as the Virgin whom St. Luke is painting. Another pioture is St. Francis d'Assisi receiving the Stigmata. Michiels strongly criticizes both the colour and forms of these pictures. He says : " The forms are generally elegant, but of too mincing and effemi- nate an elegance. In the Baptism of Christ, the Mes- siah has a foppish air; women will undoubtedly say that he is a handsome fellow. The St. John the Baptist has the look of a mawkish countr)mian. The artist's calm is repeated in his personages : no strong passion has taken hold of them, no tempest agitates their hearts: they make us immediately remember that the painter was of Dutch race. To look at the imperturbable phlegm of the Messiah Hntwerp i63 and His Apostles one would not think they were in Judaea. Without the slightest doubt, they have come out of the coffee-house, where they have been gravely, slowly, peaceably smoking their pipes and emptying several mugs of beer. That is where Jesus harangues his disciples, between two puffs of tobacco and two gulps of beer. Jews from Am- sterdam and The Hague have come there to listen to his parables; and the Son of David catechizes them with an impassible air. In some pictures, we even see the wife of Martin de Vos. In these, she plays in turn the role of the Virgin, female saints, and martyrs, like a good Frisian actress. On her head, we look for the gold plaques and large lace cap that are worth many a glance to the charming daughters of the fogs." Simon de Vos has a portrait of himself with smiling face, disordered hair, light moustache and beard. He is dressed in a black cloak and white ruff ; and one hand rests on his hip, while the other holding a roll of paper is posed on the back of a chair. Michael Van Coxie seemed to have a special fondness for dramatic subjects, as may be seen in the two wings, also in this gallery, representing episodes in the life of St. George. In one, the Saint seems to have completely lost his heroic nerve ; and exhibits the most profound anguish and terror as 164 XLbc act Of tbe JSelgtan ©allerfes he submits to the tortures of his executioners. In the background is the statue of Hercules that St. George has demoHshed. On the reverse, St. George (a portrait of the painter) is represented in that supreme moment of killing the dragon, standing in all his glory with the vanquished dragon at his feet and the broken lance in his hand. The other panel shows us a scene of horrible torture where the saint is being flayed alive with a novel instrument, while one of the executioner's assistants brings a basket of salt, and another, acids, etc., to aggravate the wounds of the Christian martyr. On the reverse, the saint appears kneeling with a cross in one hand, and holding in the other a ribbon that is attached to the neck of a lamb. In these works, the nude figures are executed ac- cording to Italian methods. They show a remark- able knowledge and skill; and occasionally fore- shortening occurs with bold and good effects; but the School of Bruges makes itself felt. The mem- bers of the tortured body are still intact: there is no blood, nor gaping wounds, nor torn flesh. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian has sufifered from the ravages of time, but is admired for the fine expression of the chief figure, its somewhat original pose, its vivacious head and its noble fea- tures. He has just received the first arrow; and be it noted that the enormous bodies of the archers Hntwerp i65 are out of all proportion to their heads. At the side, on the left, a man is seated with his arm around a hunting-dog; and in the distance the Em- peror Diocletian approaches on horseback with his suite. This work is signed and dated 1575. Am- brose Francken the Elder painted the wings. Another interesting work is a St. Margaret ; this is supposed to be a portrait of the painter's first wife, Ida Van Hasselt. Sixteen pictures enable us to judge of the medi- ocre abilities of Lambert, the father of the famous Adam Van Noort. They are passable productions in the prevailing style of the Sixteenth Century. Perhaps the most noteworthy are the Calvary, and the Entombment. This gallery has a large number of pictures by the Francken family, the members of which are so confused, and the consequent attribution of their individual works so uncertain. The fight between Eteoclus and Polynices is by Frans the Elder. Frans the Younger has six exam- ples of his work; while Ambrose the Elder has nearly a score. Of these works Michiels has this to say : " They do not give us a very high idea of his merit. Ambrose was certainly a mediocre man. Examine any piece, the Multiplication of the Loaves, for example, and look for eminent quali- 166 Ube art ot tbc BelQfan ©alleries ties in it: you will be disappointed. The general aspect of the picture is hard, the personages do not stand out from the background, but seem to be ap- plied like paper cuttings, — not at all an agreeable efifect! The Messiah is a fine baker's boy, heavy and common, with big insignificant eyes. The other actors are no better, an old man in admiration shocks our eyes and mind by his air of profound stupidity. The brilliant stuffs of the costumes are the most successful part of the whole thing. The work as a whole denotes a vulgar ability, without inspiration, vigour, or originality. The Martyrdom of St. Crispin and St. Crispin- ian, which attests more verve, surprises one by the strangeness of its subject and the manner of its treatment. While the two propagators of the Faith are being flayed, awls in the executioner's hands and in a basket suddenly take life and dart at the executioners and other terrified persecutors. Farther away are depicted the various tortures that have hpen ineffectually inflicted on the Christian heroes : here, they are being cast into a river with a millstone around their necks, and yet manage to swim; there, they are being cooked in boiling water, and a sudden spurt scalds the eyes of the judge who has condemned them. The feelings of the personages are rendered with a certain artless- ness. The extreme precision of the contours, the Hntwerp i67 enamel of the colouring, the somewhat hard firm- ness of the touch, in short, the entire execution carries us back to the Fifteenth Century. But the complete absence of perspective spoils the effect of the picture. Here also the colour is lacking in half tones, and the brilliant costumes alone lend some attraction of the imperfect image. The Charity of St. Cosmus and St. Damian re- veals the inferiority of this artist in another way, by the lack of balance and good taste. This lugubrious scene shows us the interior of a hospital. In the foreground, St. Cosmus has just finished amputating the leg of a patient. We see the bleeding stump while the operator is getting ready to adapt an artificial leg. The limb cut off lies on the ground with the saw, a vase full of blood and some soiled linen. It is a horrible spectacle. The patient's face, contracted by intolerable agony, produces an effect no less hideous. On the side of a platform are aligned three copper basins full of coagulated blood. At the back of the room, is an unfortunate one of whose veins has just been opened; also knother lying on a bed. Before such a frightful picture the most resolute man turns his head away." Frans Francken the Younger has an early pic- ture dated 1608, called the Works of Mercy. In the left foreground, the poor are having bread dis- 168 XEbe Hrt of tbe Belgian (Ballerfes tributed to them; in the middle distance, travellers are being welcomed under the peristyle of a house; in a room the sick are being cared for. In the upper part, Christ in Glory rests on the symbols of the four evangelists. Mantz says : " This painting shows us the talent already characteristic of the young master. It is executed without great show, but not without conscience ; and his contemporaries must have seen more than a promise in it." The subject of the central panel of a triptych is the Four Crowned Condemned to Martyrdom. In a public square, the Emperor Diocletian, on the left, surrounded by his court, orders four Christians to abjure their faith: they are SS. Severus, Severin, Carpophorus and Victorian. They stand on the right, pointing to Heaven. In the middle distance is a statue of ^sculapius. The pictures on the wings are the Flagellation, Summons, Death and Condemnation to Work of the four crowned mar- tyrs. Jan Massys (1510-1575) painted Biblical sub- jects chiefly. His Hospitality Refused to the Vir- gin and Jesus, represents an inn in Bethlehem where a woman in a yellow dress and blue apron refuses hospitality to the Virgin, who is dressed in a gray robe and is accompanied by St. Joseph in rose tunic. Two chickens are conspicuous' in the foreground. In the background, Flemish houses PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE GIRL ^- ^'^N (With Dogs by Jan Fyt) Musce Royal DYCK Plate xxiii des Beaux-Arts (See page iSS) Antwerp Hntwerp i69 border a square. Another good example of this painter's style is the Story of Tobias. Patenier's Flight into Egypt presents one of this artist's characteristic landscapes. The Holy Fam- ily journeys on a rocky road, where the statue of a false god falls from its pedestal ; on the right is a wooded valley, where houses are seen near a lake upon which swans are floating. Mountains and the sea appear in the distance. It is interesting to compare this with a picture by Herri de Bles, called The Repose in Egypt. Here the Virgin is seated on a mound in a blue robe and white, gauze veil with the Child on her knees. The latter has a coral rosary in his hand. A gourd, a basket, some fruit and a stick lie on the ground. In the middle distance St. Joseph is sleeping and on the left is the ass. A castle appears in the distant landscape, and on a tree is an owl, — the painter's emblem and signature. The pictures by Mabuse (Gossaert) are The Four Maries Returning from the Sepulchre; the Upright Judges; Ecce Homo; Virgin and Child Jesus; Portrait of Margaret of Austria; and Por- trait of a Woman. The Four Maries is remarkable for the rich cos- tumes of the women. The Virgin is clad in a robe and mantle of blue with a white veil; She is sup- ported by St. John. The Magdalen looks upon her 170 Zbc Hct ot tbe Belgian aalledes with much emotion. The latter is dressed in a yellow brocade with a violet mantle and holds a vase of perfume in her right hand. The other two women are on the right: one wears a blue dress with yellow sleeves ; and the other, a blue robe and green mantle. The background shows a landscape. The Upright Judges are mounted, one on a white and the other on a brown horse. They are richly dressed, and are followed by soldiers and several persons on foot. Ecce Homo represents Christ seated by a column and ridiculed by a man and a woman. A priest is seen on the right. The background is architectural. In the Virgin and Child, which some critics think may be the work of Van Orley, the Virgin is dressed in a blue robe embroidered with pearls. Her sleeves are black, her mantle red and her black veil is held by the Child Jesus who is standing on a table where there are some cherries. On the left, there is a lily in a vase; and in the background, a window. Margaret of Austria is dressed in a black robe lined with ermine, a low-necked bodice and white coif. Her left hand, resting on her breast, is orna- mented with a ring. The lady in the unnamed portrait wears a black dress with red sleeves slashed with white; a pink chemisette; a white belt with a jewelled clasp; a antwerp i7i diadem in her light hair ; a chain around her neck ; and in her right hand she holds her gloves. Two works by Gerard Seghers are interesting because they show the painter's development. In St. Louis de Gonzaga^ he shows his Italian studies ; and in The Marriage of the Virgin the influence of Rubens is felt, particularly in the head of the Vir- gin. It is a fine and stately composition. The historical paintings of Otho Vasnius are two scenes from the life of St. Nicholas ; the Calling of St. Matthew ; St. Paul before Felix ; and Zacchaeus in the' fig-tree. In the latter Christ is the central figure of a group in full light, wearing a gray robe and pink mantle; he is followed by a crowd, and looks up at Zacchaeus, who is in a fig-tree in blue tunic and yellow mantle. In the foreground a woman in dark red is holding a child by the hand. The Foresight of St. Nicholas has in the fore- ground a mother seated on the ground, surrounded by her three children, thanking the saint who ad- vances, followed by a large crowd, and slaves carry- ing sacks. Among those present we note the ship- master to whom the saint had appeared in a dream and persuaded him to land his cargo at Myra where the famine was severe. The Antwerp gallery is particularly famous for the number and beauty of its works by Rubens. Among these is the celebrated Christ between Two 172 XEbe art of tbe JSelgian ©alledes Thieves, also known as the Coup de Lance, ordered by Nicholas Rockox for the Church of the Recollets in Antwerp. It was painted in 1620. Some critics consider it Rubens's masterpiece. Sir Joshua Rey- nolds admired it intensely when he saw it in its original position and said : " The genius of Rubens nowhere appears to more advantage than here: it is the most carefully fin- ished picture of all his works. The whole is con- ducted with the most consummate art; the compo- sition is bold and uncommon, with circumstances which no other painter had ever before thought of ; such as the breaking of the limbs, and the expres- sion of the Magdalen, to which we may add the dis- position of the three crosses, which are placed pro- spectively in an uncommon picturesque manner: the nearest bears the thief whose limbs are break- ing; the next the Christ, whose figure is straighter than ordinary, as a contrast to the others ; and the furthermost the penitent thief: this produces a most picturesque effect, but it is what few but such a daring genius as Rubens would have at- tempted. . . . " In this picture the principal and the strongest light is the body of Christ, which is of a remarkable clear and bright colour; this is strongly opposed by the very brown complexion of the thieves (per- haps the opposition here is too violent) who make Hntwerp 173 no great effect as light. The Virgin's outer dra- pery is dark blue, and the inner a dark purple ; and St. John is in dark, strong red; no part of these two figures is light in the picture but the headland hands of the Virgin." Christ on the Cross, originally in the Church of the RecoUets, Antwerp, dates from about i6iq; and the letters N R on the cross under the feet of Christ would seem to indicate that the work was ordered by Nicholas Rockox. The figure of Christ is en- tirely the work of Rubens; but the distant view of Jerusalem is by a pupil. The eclipse of the sun is to be noticed in the upper right hand corner. The sky is filled with dark clouds. The Incredulity of St. Thomas, representing Christ in red drapery, showing his wounded left hand to St. Thomas in blue drapery, while St. John, clothed in violet, is seen in the foreground and St. Peter in the background, is the central panel of a triptych ordered by Nicholas Rockox for his mortu- ary chapel in the Recollets Church in Antwerp. Rubens painted this between 1613 and 161 5. On the left wing is the portrait of Nicholas Rockox himself, and on the right wing that of his wife. " Behind the great altar is the chapel of the family of the Burgomaster Rockox, the altar of which is St. Thomas's Incredulity by Rubens. The head of the Christ is rather a good character, but 174 XTbc art ot tbe IBelgian <5alleries the body and arms are heavy : — it has been much damaged. On the inside of the two folding doors are portraits of the Burgomaster and his wife, half- lengths: his is a fine portrait; the ear is remark- ably well painted, and the anatomy of the forehead is well understood. Her portrait has no merit but that of colour. Van Dyck likewise has painted a portrait of Rockox, a print of which is in his book of heads of eminent men. It should seem that he was a great patron of the arts : he gave to this church the picture of the great altar, which has been already mentioned." ^ The Adoration of the Kings, painted in 1624 for the high altar of the Abbey of St. Michael, is the masterpiece that inaugurates Rubens's third man- ner; and in this work the entire virtuosity of his palette is exhibited. Moreover, it is entirely by his own hand, and every part still preserves its extraor- dinary transparency. Most beautifully is the light arranged. The King kneelirig in front is suffused with brilliant light that gradually diminishes into the shadowy background. In the stable on the right stands the Virgin in red robe and gray mantle holding the Child, who is in the cradle at the foot of which an ox is lying. St. Joseph stands behind this group. The Ethio- pian King, in green robe, black mantle lined with ' Reynolds. antwetp 175 fur and a white turban with red stripes, stands near the Virgin with a cup in his right hand. In front of her kneels a King in rich dalmatic and white surplice, his page presenting the cup ; and the third King, with long white beard, and draped in a red mantle, faces the spectator and holds a cup in one hand and the cover in the other. The followers of the Magi occupy the background, and among them should be noticed a knight on a chestnut horse on the left, and two servants on camels in the centre. Sir Joshua Reynolds described this work as fol- lows: " The great altar, the Adoration of the Magi ; a large and magnificent composition of near twenty figures in Rubens's best manner. Such subjects seem to be more particularly adapted to the manner and style of Rubens ; his excellence, his superiority, is not seen in small compositions. One of the kings who holds a cap in his hand is loaded with drapery ; his head appears too large, and upon the whole he makes but an ungraceful figure. The head of the ox is remarkably well painted." The Christ a la Faille (of the Straw) was orig- inally in the Cathedral of Antwerp, where Sir Joshua Reynolds described it as " a Pieta by Rubens which serves as a monument of the family of Michielsens and is fixed on one of the pillars : this is one of his most careful pictures; the characters 176 tCbc art of tbe Belgian ©alleries are of a higher style of beauty than usual, particu- larly the Mary Magdalen, weeping with her hand clenched. The colouring of the Christ and the Vir- gin is of a most beautiful and delicate pearly tint, opposed by the strong high colouring of St. Joseph." In this work, Christ is leaning against a stone, on which is a truss of straw, and his body is sup- ported by an old man in the background; In the centre, the Virgin lifts her eyes to heaven as she holds the corners of the winding-sheet. Behind hers are the heads of St. John and the Magdalen. Saint Theresa was painted in Rubens's last period, between 1630 and 1635, for the altar of St. Theresa in the Carmelite Church, Antwerp, where Sir Joshua Reynolds saw it and noted : " At an altar on the opposite little niche on the left Christ relieving Souls out of purgatory by the intercession of St. Theresa. The Christ is a better character, has more beauty and grace, than is usual with Rubens; the outline remarkably undulating, smooth and flowing. The head of one of the women in purgatory is beautiful in Rubens's way; the whole has great harmony of colouring and free- dom of pencil; it is in his best manner." Christ is standing on a hillock, in red drapery, and is turned towards St. Theresa, who in a brown robe, white mantle and black veil, is kneeling. In # jlp K, .1 ,--.,^.^-^fe "'" , '^''^Sh- ,■.-'1- _^^ pir^ -4F ;' %^l^ !ali«fc^--, . ^, »^^ « ;'^|M| ,1, '^"..i^^^-^-^BP 1 ' ' J^f--' y ' ^^1 O o o < IS Hntwerp 177 the foreground St. Bernard of Mendoza, founder of a convent in Valladolid, is being drawn from the flames of purgatory into heaven by angels. In the centre is a young woman; and on the right two fishermen whose faces express suffering. The Last Communion of St. Francis is entirely the work of Rubens's own hand; and was painted in 1619 for the altar of St. Francis in the RecoUets. It is inspired by the Last Communion of St. Jerome by Domenichino; and the influence of Annibale Carracci and that of Michael Angelo Caravaggio are both seen in the picture. The Holy Trinity was painted about 1620, after Rubens's return from Italy, where he saw Mante- gna's Dead Christ (now in the Brera), as he has imitated the foreshortening of this work in the fig- ure of Christ stretched out on the clouds with his head on the knees of the Deity and lying on a piece of linen held by God the Father. This Christ is one of Rubens's most celebrated figures. The fig- ures of God and the two angels are the work of a pupil. This was one of the works carried to Paris in 1794 and which remained in the Louvre till 181 5. The Education of the Virgin is supposed to date from about 1625; and is a charming picture. St. Anne is seated on a bench of stone, the back of which forms a balustrade. The columns of a pa- 178 ^be Hrt ot tbe Belgian ©alleries vilion are seen on the right; and some dimbing roses on a trellis on the left. The Virgin, dressed in white silk with a blue scarf, is Helen Fourment, the future wife of the painter, and St. Joachim who leans over St. Anne's shoulder is the same model, only older, of St. Joseph in the Virgin of the Par- rot. This work was returned from the Louvre in 1815. When Sir Joshua Reynolds saw this picture, he wrote : " In a recess on the right, on entering the church, is St. Anne and the Virgin with a book in her hand, by Rubens. Behind St. Anne is a head of St. Joachim ; two angels in the air with a crown. This picture is eminently well coloured, especially the an- gels; the union of their colour with the sky is wonderfully managed. It is remarkable that one of the angels has Psyche's wings, which are like those of a butterfly. This picture is improperly called St. Anne teaching the Virgin to read, who is represented about fourteen or fifteen years of age, too old to begin to learn to read. The white silk drapery of the Virgin is well painted, but not his- torical; the silk is too particularly distinguished, a fault of which Rubens is often guilty, in his fe- male drapery; but by being of the same colour as the sky it has a soft harmonious effect. The rest of the picture is of a mellow tint." antwerp 179 The Virgin with the Parrot belongs to the mas- ter's first period and was executed about 1614, and presented by him to the Guild of St. Luke. The Virgin, in red robe and blue mantle, is seated on a bench in front of a wall, caressing the Infant Jesus, who is standing beside her with an apple in his hand. In the shadows on the right, St. Joseph, in a yellow cloak, looks at these two figures. On the left there is a column overgrown with foliage ; and on a pedestal a parrot that is biting a branch. The figures are by Rubens, and the column, the land- scape and the parrot are by another hand retouched by the master. The Virgin and the Infant Jesus is the wing of a triptych. The Virgin, in a red robe with white sleeves, is supporting the Child, who stands by a marble pedestal. St. John writing the Gospel is on another wing of a triptych. The saint is lifting his eyes towards an eagle, and he holds an open book. The Baptism of Christ was painted in 1604- 1606 for the Jesuits' Church in Mantua; and in some respects resembles Raphael's work of the same sub- ject in the Loggia of the Vatican. Christ is stand- ing in the Jordan, baptized by St. John. Two an- gels at his side are holding his red mantle. Men are seen undressing on the right and in the background women are bringing their infants. The Dead Christ and the Weeping Women was 180 XTbe Hrt ot tbc BclQian Galleries executed in 1614. Christ is lying on a bed of straw in the centre, his head supported by the Virgin ; and the Magdalen in violet silk kneels on the left. On the right are St. John and three kneeling women; and, on the ground, the sponge, a copper dish, a broom and a hammer. In the background, the sep- ulchre is seen in the midst of brushwood. The figures are by Rubens, Christ being similar to that in the Holy Trinity in the same gallery; and the landscape is by Van Uden, or Wildens. In Jupiter and Antiope, the latter, a nude figure, is seated on the ground, her head leaning on her right hand; on the left Cupid is crouching with his quiver. In the middle distance, Jupiter, in the guise of a satyr, is bringing fruits in a horn of plenty to Antiope, who seems to be shivering with cold. The background shows a landscape with a waterfall. This picture dates from 16 14, and is en- tirely by Rubens. It was formerly called Venus refroidie and was purchased from the heirs of M. AUard of Brussels in 188 1 for 100,000 francs. The Hunt, another work of Rubens (a sketch in grisaille), was purchased in 1891 for 5,000 francs. The Prodigal Son was acquired in 1894 for 45,- 000 francs. The scene is laid in a stable, where grooms are feeding and tending their horses, and where, in the foreground, a servant, in a gray skirt Hntwerp i8i and red bodice, is throwing the contents of a bucket into a trough, where pigs are feeding. She looks with pity on the kneehng figure of the prodigal son whose face is bathed with tears. In the back of the stable a peasant woman is going towards the cows with a lighted candle. Outside is seen a hay- wagon and still farther away a groom bathing a horse in a pond. Sir Joshua Reynolds, who saw this work in Antwerp, considered, its great charm to lie in the dramatic and pathetic expression of the prodigal son, whose attitude and face show the repentance that fills his soul. The Portrait of Gaspard Gevartius, secretary of the town of Antwerp (1593-1666), is also a fine work. The subject is seated in an arni-chair near a table on which stands a bust of Marcus Aurehus. His face is thin and pale; he has chestnut hair and light moustache and goatee. He is dressed in black with fluted ruff and white cuffs. In his right hand is a pen and with his left he turns the leaves of a register. In the background are books and a shield. Rich as this gallery is in examples of the best work of Rubens, the Antwerp Cathedral possesses two pictures, which are, perhaps, more famous than any painting here. These, the student will un- doubtedly wish to examine, and, therefore, they may be appropriately described in this place. They 182 XEbe art ot tbc Belaian ©allerics are: The Descent from the Cross; and The Ele- vation of the Cross. The Elevation of the Cross was painted in 1610 on Rubens's return from Italy. Some critics prefer it to the more celebrated Descent from the Cross. "The Elevation of the Cross is the first public work which Rubens executed after he returned from Italy. In the centre is Christ nailed to the Cross, with a number of figures exerting them- selves in different ways to raise it. One of the fig- ures appears flushed, all the blood rising into his face from his violent efforts; others in intricate at- titudes, which at the same time that they show the great energy with which the business is done, give that opportunity which painters desire, of encoun- tering the difficulties of the art, in foreshortening and in representing momentary actions. This sub- ject, which was probably of his own choosing, gave him an admirable opportunity of exhibiting his various abilities to his countrymen; and it is cer- tainly one of his best and most animated composi- tions. The bustle, which is in every part of the pic- ture, makes a fine contrast to the character of resig- nation in the crucified Saviour. The sway of the body of Christ is extremely well imagined. The taste of the form in the Christ, as well as in the other figures, must be acknowledged to be a little inclinable to the heavy ; but it has a noble, free and antwerp 183 flowing outline. The invention of throwing the Cross obliquely from one corner of the picture to the other is finely conceived ; something in the man- ner of Tintoret : it gives a new and uncommon air to his subject, and we may justly add that it is un- commonly beautiful. The contrast of the body with the legs is admirable, and not overdone. " The doors are a continuation of the' subject. That on the right has a group of women and chil- dren, who appear to feel the greatest emotion and horror at the sight : the Virgin and St. John, who are behind, appear very properly with more resig- nation. On the other door are the officers on horse- back; attending behind them are the two thieves, whom the executioners are nailing to the Cross. " It is difficult to imagine a subject better adapted for a painter to exhibit his art of composition than the present; at least Rubens has had the skill to make it serve, in an eminent degree, for that pur- pose. In the naked figure of the Christ, and of the executioners, he had ample room to show his knowl- edge of the anatomy of the human body in different characters. There are likewise women of different ages, which is always considered as a necessary part of every composition, in order to produce variety; there are, besides, children and horsemen; and to have the whole range of variety, he has even added a dog, which he has introduced in an animated atti- 184 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries tude, with his mouth open, as if panting : admirably well painted. His animals are always to be ad- mired: the horses here are perfect in their kind, of a noble character, animated to the highest de- gree. Rubens, conscious of his powers in painting horses, introduced them in his pictures as often as he could. This part of the work, where the horses are represented, is by far the best in regard to col- ouring ; it has a freshness which the other two pic- tures want ; but those appear to have suffered from the sun. This picture of the horsemen is situated on the south-east side, whereas the others, being east and south-east, are more exposed. " The central picture, as well as that of the group of women, does not, for whatever reason, stand so high for colour as every other excellence. There is a dryness in the tint; a yellow ochery colour predominates over the whole, it has too much the appearance of a yellow chalk drawing. I mean only to compare Rubens with himself; they might be thought excellent even in this respect, were they the work of almost any other painter. The flesh, as well as the rest of the picture, seems to want gray tints, which is not a general defect of Rubens ; on the contrary, his mezzotints are often too gray. " The blue drapery, about the middle of the figure at the bottom of the Cross, and the gray colour of some armour, are nearly all the cold colours in RUBENS LE COUP DE LANCE Plate XXV {See page 172) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp Hntwerp 185 the picture; which are certainly not enough to quahfy so large a space of warm colours. The principal mass of light is on the Christ's body ; but in order to enlarge it, and improve its shape, a strong light comes on the shoulder of the figure with the bald head: the form of this shoulder is somewhat defective: it appears too round. " Upon the whole, this picture must be consid- ered as one of Rubens's principal works, and that appearance of heaviness which it has, when seen near, entirely vanishes when the picture is viewed from the body of the church. " On the other side of the two doors are likewise two pictures : St. Catherine with a sword, and St. "Eloi with a female Saint and Angels, as usual finely painted; but the figure of St. Eloi appears too gigantic." ^ The Descent from the Cross was painted in 1611-12, at the order of the Guild of Arquebusiers of Antwerp. It is a sornbre and austere picture with less colour than is usual with Rubens, and more restraint of emotion. The startling effect of the whiteness of the winding-sheet, which produces a great central light against a dark background, was suggested by a similar work by Daniele da Volterra in Rome. " When we remember the carnage with which Ru- ' Sir Joshua Reynolds. 186 Ube Htt ot tbe Belgian Gallettes bens's work is crimsoned, the massacres and the executioners torturing their howling victims, we recognize that this is a noble execution. Every- thing here is restrained, concise and laconic, as in a page of Holy Writ. There are no gesticulations, cries, horrors, or too many tears. Even the Virgin is not sobbing and the intense suffering of this drama is expressed by a slight gesture of incon- solable motherhood and tearful eyes. The Christ is one of the most elegant figures that Rubens ever imagined for the painting of a God. He possesses a peculiar extended, pliant and almost tapering grace that gives it every natural delicacy and all the distinction of a beautiful academic study." * The Magdalen, who is kneeling at the foot of the Cross, is one of Rubens's most admired female fig- ures. On the inside, of the wings are represented the Salutation and the Presentation in the Temple; and, on the outside, St. Christopher carrying the Infant Saviour and a hermit. The Descent from the Cross was taken to Paris in 1794. The altar-piece of the Rubens Chapel in St. Jacques, Antwerp, where Rubens is buried, is a late work by the master representing the Madonna and Child with Saints. The Virgin is seated in an ar- bour with Jesus in her lap, being worshipped by St. Bonaventura. St. George, with three holy ' Fromentin. antwerp 187 women, and St. Jerome are also present. Tradi- tion says that St. Jerome is a portrait of Rubens's father; St. George is the painter himself; and the three women, his two wives and Mademoiselle Lunden, who is the original of the Chapeau de Faille in the National Gallery, London. Van Dyck's Crucifixion was painted for the chapel of the Dominican Sisters. They had attended Van Dyck's father in his last illness, who made his son promise to paint them a picture as a debt of grati- tude. This work was painted in 1629; and re- mained in the church until 1785, when it was sold to the Academy of Antwerp. St. Dominick is in- troduced beneath the Cross, with upturned face and extended arms. St. Catherine of Siena, crowned with thorns, kisses the Saviour's feet. She is clad in a gray robe, black mantle and white veil. At the bottom of the Cross is a stone with an inscription, and on this stone leans a child angel with a reversed torch nearly extinguished. Angels hover above in the clouds. The Lamentation for Christ, or Pieta, was a favourite subject with Van Dyck; and this gallery contains one of -the most famous examples in the Entombment. Knackfuss writes: " We see the sacred body stretched out long and rigid, with head and shoulder resting on the mother's lap. The Virgin leaning back against the 188 JLbc art of tbe Belgian (Balleries dark side of the rock, a cleft in which is about to receive the departed, spreads out her arms in loud lamentation. The disciple John has grasped the Saviour's right hand and shows the bleeding wounds to the angels who have drawn nigh and who burst into tears at the sight. This group of St. John and the Angels stands out in soft, warm tones from the pale blue sky. The pallid flesh colour of the body is shown up with a peculiar and striking effect by this juxtaposition of a cool, light tone and a warm, dark one on the one hand, and, on the other hand, by the pure white of the Unen sheet and the bluish green of the drapery spread over the Virgin's lap." In a second Entombment the scene is also a grotto, where Christ is placed on the winding-sheet, his head against his mother's breast. On the right kneels the Magdalen, in yellow skirt and dark red bodice, kissing the Saviour's left hand. St. John, in red mantle, is advancing from the middle dis- tance. On the left, are the, nails, the crown of thorns, the inscription and the sponge in a yellow basin. The style is full of grandeur and the heads are noble. A charming Portrait of a Little Girl represents her standing in a landscape with a view of Antwerp on the horizon. She wears a dress of blue damask, a white collar and a black cap with plumes. She Hntwerp 189 holds by a leash a spaniel and a greyhound, and on her left wrist is perched a falcon. In her right hand, she has also a little bag. The animals were painted by Jan Fyt. Jean Malderus, fifth bishop of Antwerp, is seated, his two hands on the arm of his chair, his face turned towards the right. He wears a white sur- plice, violet camail, and black beretta; and a gold cross is suspended on his neck. He holds a book in his left hand. Cassar Alexander Scaglia, Abbe of Staffarde, standing with his right arm on a column, is dressed in a black cassock and mantle, the folds of which he holds in his left hand. On the right, a/ piece of yellow drapery is gracefully looped. On the pedes- tal are the Scaglia arms, an inscription in honour of the prelate, and the date of his death, 1641. The Family Concert was a favourite theme with Jordaens ; and the one in this gallery ranks among the best examples. On a panel in the background the proverb appears " Soo d'oude songen, soo pepen de jonge " (As the old ones sing, so the young ones pipe). The people are grouped at a table where a meal is served. On the left an old man in a gray robe bordered with fur, and a black hat, with spec- tacles on his nose sings while beating time with his right hand. He is also holding a music book in his left hand from which a bagpipe player in white 100 Zbe Hrt ot tbe ffielgfan ©alleries shirt, blue vest and red cap is reading. A little boy between the old man's knees is playing a pipe. In the centre a handsome young woman (Jor- daens's wife), richly dressed and wearing a blue cap with yellow plumes and pearls around her neck, holds in her arms a little child also blowing a pipe; and on the right, an old woman in a high backed willow chair dressed in gray with a white cap sings from a sheet of music which she holds in her left hand, adjusting meanwhile her spectacles with her right. By her side stands a greyhound resting his muzzle on the table. The Adoration of the Shepherds was also a favourite subject with Jordaens, and the one iri this gallery is his best. He liked to group around the cradle male and female peasants bringing their cows, goats, sheep and panting dogs, and their children loaded with offerings of game, fruit, dairy- products, and all things good to eat. This concep- tion is far removed from Memling's mystic Na- tivity. The head of the Virgin is unusually ele- vated in character. In the Last Supper, Christ is seated in the centre of the table in gray robe and red mantle holding the cup in his left and with his right hand offering bread to Judas, who is seated in the foreground in a gray tunic and yellow mantle and caressing a dog. St. John stands on the right. The other disciples Hntwerp 191 are grouped variously. From the ceiling hangs a lamp with lighted candles; a piece of drapery is looped on the left, on the right is a door and in the background a window. The Sisters of Mercy of St. Elizabeth was painted for St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Antwerp. In this, the nuns are distributing food and clothing to a crowd of beggars in the foreground, while in the background the Mother Superior is ladling out soup. Commerce and Industry Protecting the Fine Arts, and an Entombment, do not call for special description; but the spectator's attention will be attracted by the Portrait of a Woman seated in an arm chair the back of which is ornamented with lions' heads. She is beautifully dressed in a violet robe trimmed with fur and sleeves and collar of white. She wears a black hat and in one hand holds a handkerchief and in the other a book. A red curtain is looped up in the background. Van Uden was very fond of rivers, and deep blue skies with floating white clouds and slanting sun rays. His trees are carefully studied; and their species are easily recognized, which is by no means the case with some of his contemporaries. Two pictures in this gallery exemplify these qualities. "One (No. 978) depicts a Flemish landscape, a real and varied site, which the artist must have 192 Zbe Hrt of tbe Belgian (Balleries painted from nature. Two big trees stand on a knoll in the centre of the canvas, and reach to the top of the frame. On the day on which the artist observed and copied this idyl, the atmosphere, so often obscure in the Low Countries, hung gray and dull over the fields. Van Uden ingeniously repro- duced what he saw; so there is no sunlight in his picture, and the sombre uniformity of this great page not only deprives it of all charm but also des- troys all effect of perspective. The other picture represents the Abbey of St. Barnard on the Scheldt. It is a topographical view in the style of Snayers's works, but much harder in tone and not so welL executed." ^ There are two pictures here that give a good idea of the qualities of Snyders. The Eagle's Repast, which was long attributed to Fyt, presents an excel- lent motive with much verve and energy. Two eagles that have just finished their chase are fight- ing on the top of a rock. One is devouring a wild duck, and has its wings displayed to defend its prey against the attack of its less fortunate companion which is about to dispute possession of the meal. The bare peaks about them give an idea of pro- found solitude, and a cloudy sky spreads its gray veil over the mournful desert. Few pictures of an- imal life are conceived in so poetic a manner. ' Michiels. Hntwerp i93 The second picture shows grouped at a park gate several pieces of game, among which are a hare and two partridges tied to a tree. Various imple- ments of the chase lie on the ground, with two quails and a snipe ; behind a block appears the head of a dog. There is again a sort of poetry in this rustic trophy dressed at the door of a lordly enclo- sure. The dead animals and accessories are vigor- ously painted, but the colour is too sombre and monotonous.^ Jan Fyt's Two Harriers are full of life and the spirit of sport. The two hounds, in leash, one white marked with yellow and the other gray with white markings, are lying down beside a tree, with heads turned to the right; in the background pieces of game are hung up. Abraham Janssens painted The God of the Scheldt for a chimney piece in the town hall. In this emblematic figure, there is vigour both in colour and design. The gigantic body of the river god is a good piece of work in the grand style, and bold in execution. The Adoration of the Magi, and the Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist, by the same painter, are inferior to the above, and do not worthily represent the painter's powers. The types are vulgar and the work is hard. Six pictures by Pieter Van Lint class him among I Michiels. 194 xrbe Hrt of tbe BelQtan ©allertes the artists who submitted to the influence of Ru- bens. The most remarkable of these paintings re- presents a ford. A troop of pilgrims, soldiers and women, grouped on the bank of a river, are pre- paring to cross. The right background is a moun- tainous region whence a cavalier with a young woman en croup is urging his horse into the water. On the margin of the river, lying in an elegant attitude, a very pretty woman attracts the eye. On her mischievous face, coquetry is mingled with ele- gance. Above her stands a man with a black beard who wears a singular costume. The influence of Rubens and the imitation of the Italians are equally balanced in this picture. Like Quellin the Elder, Jan Van Hoeck liked to concentrate his interest and emotion on a few actors in a drama. In his Virgin, we can admire that happy mixture of the style of Rubens and the Ital- ian manner that forms such agreeable combinations in the pictures of Van Dyck. The Virgin is stand- ing in a Glory, and presenting her Infant to St. Anthony of Padua, who is kneeling in adoration before his Messiah. The Tithe (a copy). Visit to the Farm, a Flem- ish Kermesse and The Bearing of the Cross are good examples of the phases of " Hell fire " Brue- ghel's art. The Visit to the Farm is an interesting picture of a great living-room and workshop where Hntwerp 195 various peasants are grouped. One man is seated on a large settle working, another at a table drinks from a bowl, two others are churning and another receives a loaf of bread from the lord who is visit- ing his tenants. His wife on the right is opening her purse to the delight of a little boy at her side. Another child sits on a chair and a woman on the left beside a cradle. An enormous pot hangs in the centre of the room. The Kermesse is full of life and gaiety. In a street in the middle distance a number of peasants are dancing in couples. On the left several drink- ers are seated at two tables. On each side are low houses where peasants are drinking and quarrel- ling. In the background on the right a body of archers follow a drummer and on the left a proces- sion enters the church. In the Bearing of the Cross Christ is carrying the Cross with the help of Simon. In the fore- ground St. Veronica in a green robe and brown mantle offers her handkerchief to the Saviour. On the right under a tree St. John and the holy women are seen; and in the background, soldiers, the two thieves in a wagon with their confessors, and a great crowd. David Vinckboons has a characteristic Kermesse on the outskirts of Antwerp. Peasants occupy the foreground ; people are seated before an inn on the 196 XTbe art of tbe Belgian Galleries right; ladies and gentlemen are grouped on the left; there are booths in the middle distance; a brawl occurs on the right ; and in the background is seen a castle on the bank of a river. Mountains appear on the horizon. The qualities of the old school that lingered in Martin Pepyn may be advantageously studied in the two triptychs from the Hospital of St. Eliza- beth. " One is consecrated to St. Augustine and narrates several episodes of his life. His Baptism is a perfectly composed piece. The catechumen, pale with emotion, kneels and raises towards Heaven eyes that express the most fervent devo- tion. A person standing behind him presents a con- trasted character: this is a young deacon whose features shine with frank benevolence. The other figures approach still more closely to the world of reality, and form a still more marked contrast to the neophyte. The background of the left wing introduces us frankly into ordinary life: the poor who receive the alms of the holy preacher verge on the comic. The same opposition is noticeable in the scene between the other panel in which the Con- fessor of the Faith is working his last miracle, where his noble visage respires the calm strength given by conviction, and the vulgar haste of the people impatient to reach his abode. " The second altarpiece is a sort of poem in which Hntwerp 197 St. Elisabeth of Hungary appears with a legendary charm. In the central panel, she is distributing her jewels to the poor; the right wing represents her washing the feet of the sick; and then we see her assisted to her deathbed by a Dominican monk. On the left wing, a throng of the indigent are crowd- ing to obtain a share of her gifts; desirous of recompensing so many virtues, Christ at last wel- comes her at the threshold of Paradise. " The first scene is perfect in effect. The princess occupies the centre of the panel and angels hover- ing in the sky bring her a crown. Her charming head expresses pity, gentleness, disinterestedness, benevolence and modesty. A man holding a basket full of presents, two women, and two young boys holding a casket of jewels are excellent portraits evidently : they are full of character, truth and animation. A beggar woman with a naked child on her lap sits on the lowest step and smiles at her little ragged boy who, having received a gold chain from Elisabeth, shows h to his mother, radi- ant with joy. No one can look without pleasure at the saint washing the feet of the poor. In her humble attitude, she preserves all her grace and dignity. The panel which represents her deathbed equally attests poetic faculties of a superior order. Assisted by a noble and grave monk, she listens to an angel who reads her good deeds from the Judg- 198 XEbe Hrt of tbe MclQian Galleries ment Book. The most lively piety and the strong- est faith are depicted on her features : her soul is about to depart at the sound of the words that promise eternal happiness. What enthusiasm and happiness shine on her face! What suave beauty the artist has given to the Son of Man! A little angel in the clouds opens his arms in a transport of admirable joy." ^ His Passage of the Red Sea, also in this gallery, is signed and dated 1626. The character of St. Luke Preaching is more archaic than the above. It formerly adorned the room where the Fraternity of St. Luke held its sessions. Christ the Pilgrim and St. Augustine is a subject furnished by Christian legend. Christ on his jour- ney of redemption through the world is seated be- fore the holy bishop, who, in the robe of the her- mits of his Order and accompanied by several monks, is piously washing one of the feet of the celestial pilgrim while the other foot is bathing in a copper basin on which is the master's signature and the date 1636. Above in the sky are God and the Holy Spirit surrounded by angels. This was the last picture Rombouts painted. Pieter Van Mol's Adoration of the Magi gives the student a very favourable impression of that • Michiels. Hntwerp 199 painter's talent. The Infant Jesus is accepting the gold offered to Him by an old monarch kneeling before Him, who has a long white beard and wears a brocade mantle, the ends of which are upheld by three boys, also kneeling. The other two kings with their suites, composed chiefly of well-armed soldiers, form a circle around the principal group. The background is closed by a clump of trees and a ruin. The colour is clear and brilliant; and the taste of Rubens prevails. The boys are particularly charming. Five panels, each representing one of the senses, are by Gonzales Cpques. A man in gray, lifting something to his nose, is Smell; a man in gray cut- ting a pen is Touch; another in gray, looking at a glass which he will soon drain, is Taste; one in black, playing a lute and singing, is Hearing; and one in gray, with spectacles on his nose, looking at a statue on which he is working is Sight. Coques is also represented by a portrait of a lady who is standing with her left arm leaning on a column. A turned-back curtain shows the land- scape background. She wears a low-necked black dress, trimmed with lace, necklace and bracelets of pearls, and holds a watch in her right hand. David Teniers the Younger is well represented here. The Flemish Drinkers is an out-of-doors scene, 200 JLbc Hrt of tbe Belgian ©aUeries where on the threshold of a house a woman is standing with a jug in her hand, near several men grouped round a cask. One of them is seated on an upturned tub; and another is standing, amused at a barking dog. On the opposite bank of a river there is a castle among the trees. Morning shows three peasants talking in the foreground, and three others walking towards a building. After Dinner is a fishing scene. Three fisher- men, having drawn their nets, show a comrade their good luck, which they are packing in a barrel. In the background, on the left a pedestrian is crossing the bridge that leads to a castle. The Old Woman in a gray dress and white cap is cutting tobacco on a table on which are a jug and a piece of chalk. The Guitar Singer depicts a man in a violet jacket with gray sleeves and a plumed red cap play- ing a guitar and singing at the same time. A peas- ant is listening and another is behind the door. The Duet contains three figures. In the centre a lady in a gray robe, yellow bodice and white ker- chief and cap is playing the flute, accompanied by a man in gray on the guitar. In the background a servant is opening the door. Teniers has here also a view of Valenciennes with a bust of Philip IV in the foreground. CLOUET FRANCIS II Dauphin of France Plate XXVII {See page 222) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp antwerp 201 Adriaen Key has a Last Supper, where Judas ap- pears in the traditional yellow robe with purse in hand. This work is dated 1575. His two por- traits of the Smidt family were originally hung in the Church of the Recollets. In one, Gilles de Smidt, a benefactor of the Convent of the Recollets, is kneeling before a Prie-Dieu covered with a gray cloth on which his arms, are embroidered. His six sons kneel behind him, and, on his left, his daugh- ter, Anne, in black, with white cap and ruff. The other picture represents Smidt's second wife and her daughter, Beatrix, kneeling before a Prie- Dieu. They are both dressed in black with white ruffs and caps. Gilles Mostaert illustrates the period immediately preceding Rubens with a Crucifixion, and The Last Judgment, where Christ is on a rainbow draped in a red mantle with the Virgin in blue and St. John in green. Below the Saviour, the dead issue from their tombs : the blessed are being received by St. Peter into Paradise, and the damned are being cast into hell by the archangels. Fourteen compart- ments below represent the Seven Capital Sins and the Seven Acts of Mercy. Other religious pictures that deserve more than a passing glance are Jan Van den Hoecke's Virgin and Child and St. Francis d'Assisi; Jerome Van Aken's Passion (not satisfactorily attributed) ; Jan 202 xtbe Hrt ot tbe Beloian ©alleries Schorel's Christ on the Cross; Hendrick Van Ba- len's wings of a triptych, the subjects of which are Concert of Angels, St. Anne and St. Philip, and the central panel of another, the Preaching of John the Baptist; Pieter Claessens's triptych. Calvary, the Resurrection and Christ Bearing the Cross; Theodore Van Loon's Assumption of the Virgin; B. Spranger's Jesus Calling Little Children to Him; Erasmus Quellin's Holy Family; Lambert Van Noort's Calvary, and Entombment; G. J. Her- reyns's Christ's Last Sigh; Paul Bril's Prodigal Son; Balthazar Cortbende's Good Samaritan; Crispin Van den Broeck's Last Judgment ; Jan Van Hemessen's Calling of St. Matthew; and several works by Gerard Van der Meire, which include Bearing the Cross, Christ Among the Doctors, the Crucifixion, the Presentation in the Temple, the Entombment, and the Mother of Sorrows. Abraham J. Van Nuyssen has a Virgin and Child and little St. John and an Adoration of the Magi that also deserve notice. Daniel Seghers has painted two beautiful floral wreaths around the busts of St. Theresa and St. Ignatius Loyola (painted by Cornells Schut). Josse Van Craesbeeck has an Interior of a Tav- ern, where people are smoking, drinking and ma- king merry; and a Brawl in a Tavern, in which one man is defending himself against two others. Bntwerp 203 A man and woman throw water upon the com- batants and an old man is asleep in a chair. Cards on the floor show what has occasioned the trouble. Cornells de Vos is represented by several por- traits, the most celebrated being that of Abraham Grapheus, messenger of the Corporation of St. Luke. He has grayish hair, and a smooth-shaven face. On the front of his black doublet he has displayed medals and plaques. He wears a white fluted ruff and a gray apron. In his right hand he holds a mug, in his left a large drinking-cup which he is about to place on the table where similar hanaps are standing. These cups are interesting because they are all masterpieces of goldsmith's work, prizes and presents won by and made to the Guild of St. Luke, and were melted to help pay a tax levied on Ant- werp in 1794. This master has also a picture of St. Norbert receiving the Sacred Vessels hidden during the Heresy of Tanchelin, formerly in the mortuary chapel of the Schnoeck family at St. Michel's Church. This church and the spire of Notre-Dame are seen- on the horizon; and among the figures kneeling in the public square before the bishop are members of the Schnoeck family. Lambert Lombard (Susterman) has a Portrait 204 ube Hrt of tbe Belgian ©alleries of a Man in black doublet and brown mantle hold- ing a letter in his right hand. Pieter Pourbus is represented by a Portrait of Gilles van Schoonbeke, with a book in his hand. He wears a black doublet with brown sleeves, white collar and cuffs and black cap. The picture is dated 1544. The portrait of his wife Elizabeth is dated the same year. She is in black with a white cap and her hands are joined at her belt. Among many other portraits, we note Beschey's Portrait of the Artist ; Abraham De Rycker's Louis Clarys (the right wing of a triptych) and Marie Lebatteur, wife of the above (left wing) ; Simon de Vos's Portrait of the Painter; P. Van Lint's Portrait of the Artist; Pieter Thys's Henry Van Halmale, Burgomaster of Antwerp, and Maximin Gerardi, Echevin of Antwerp; Van Veen's Jan Miraeus, Echevin of Antwerp; Jacob Denys's Gregory Martens ; Otto Vsenius's Jan Miraeus ; and Valentin's Gamester. Goubau's Study of the Arts in Rome represents a landscape with an aqueduct in the plain, and a fountain in the foreground ornamented with a sculptured bas-relief. Here several artists are working and an amateur in a black costume appears to be examining a sketch. The scene is enlivened by sheep and shepherds and groups of people among the ruins. antwerp 205 Genoels has a landscape in the Classic style, where Minerva and the Muses are seen. The Village Fete by David Ryckaert introduces us into a large room full of merry-makers. The father of the family, in red, has a ring in his hands ; the grandmother is rising from her chair; a young mother has a child on her knee; and among other groups a man is embracing a servant, who is carry- ing a dish; and a woman is trying to arouse her drunken husband. In the background, a landscape is seen with a farmhouse on the bank of a river. The Serment, or the Archers' Brotherhood, gave Schut the order to paint for the altar of their chapel in the Antwerp Cathedral the Martyrdom of St. George, which is now in the Antwerp Museum. " The saint is on his knees on the steps of a Classic temple. He is about to submit to torture; but he does not see the executioners with their swords, nor the priest who is pointing to the statue of Apollo, for he looks into the sky which has opened and shows the angels coming with palms and crowns. The picture as a whole has brilliancy and vitality; the arrangement is broadly conceived; but, if closely examined all the characters that take part in this drama are of vulgar type, and, we are com- pelled to say, of an ugliness that causes the lovers of pure lines and beautiful forms to despair." ^ ' MichieU. 206 Ubc Hrt ot tbe Belgian Oallertes Descamps considered it the best work of this mas- ter, — a picturesque composition, full of genius, and correctly drawn. The Pool of Bethesda is one of Boeyerman's best works. The sufferers are grouped around a stone basin in the foreground; and, on a step above, stands Christ, in violet robe and red mantle, ac- companied by the Virgin. On the left in the fore- ground, two men are bringing a cripple in a cha,ir; and, by a column on the right, kneels the donor, Helen Fey, whose epitaph is inscribed on the pedes- tal with the date, 1675. An open portico is shown in the background and in the sky some angels un- fold a banderole. The Visit is also a valued picture, — a garden scene, where a young man is receiving a priest who is going towards an old lady dressed in black and seated in an arm-chair. In the middle distance, a young man in yellow giving his hand to a young lady in blue and white affords a charming combi- nation of colour. Children are hiding behind some red drapery in the middle distance, and in the background a page carries a glass and a carafe to a fountain. There is a dog in the fore- ground. Hans Jordaens's Death of Pharaoh depicts the Egyptians being swallowed by the Red Sea. In the middle distance, Pharaoh and his chariot are Hntwerp 207 being engulfed. On the light, the Hebrews are sur- rounding Moses on a rock. Pieter Bouts has a Village Fair, where in a public square a peasant is buying some pigs on the left; and, on the right, cavaliers are seen before a tower. Cattle appear in the background and a street which loses itself in a wood. This picture is signed and dated 1686. First among landscapes by foreign masters let us look at Ruysdael's Waterfall in Norway, painted in 1649, where a road climbs and turns towards the right upon which a man and two women have stopped. In the foreground, on the right, a large tree stands in the centre of brushwood ; and, in the background, we see a low-roofed hut, and, farther away on the horizon, a steeple. There are also two Landscapes by Wynants, one representing a water course, a hill covered with brushwood, a road on which a shepherd leads his flock, and a grove of trees in the background where a cavalier is seen. The figures are by Adriaen Van de Velde. Adriaen Van de Velde has a beautiful landscape with a mountainous background; and, on the left, in the middle distance, sheep and a shepherd and shepherdess, — the latter asleep. In the foreground we see a bull and a cow ; and, on the right, on the border of a ponjl, more sheep. 208 Ubc Htt of tbe Belflian (Ballertes Another picture by Adriaen Van de Velde is the bagpipe-player. On the left, near a hedge, a shep- herd is playing the bagpipes to which a shepherdess listens while the cows and sheep rest. In the mid- dle distance, one cow is standing, and in the back- ground we see a hut and a river. Another by the same painter depicts The Pleas- ures of Winter, where, on a frozen canal, people are skating, and a sleigh, drawn by a richly capari- soned white horse, carries a lord and lady, while the coachman hangs on by the runners. This should be compared with Isaak Van Os- tade's Winter, where on a frozen canal skaters are making merry. Children and peasants are also drawing sleighs of various kinds, and some of the skaters are gathered about a tent, where food and drink are sold. In the middle distance, there is a sled drawn by a white horse. On the right, peas- ants and huts are seen. There is also a Landscape by Jan Van Goyen, re- presenting a farm near a river, a grove of trees in the centre, a plain in the foreground, and a bell- tower on the horizon. Many peasants enliven the scene. The Watermill by Hobbema is a characteristic landscape in Guelderland. On the left; by a water course, is a mill, the wheel facing the spectator. In the centre, on the opposite bank, there is a grove TER BORCH THE MANDOLIN PLAYER Plate XXVIII {See page 212) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp Hntwerp 209 of trees bordering a road, along which advance a peasant and a boy towards a wooden foot-bridge on the right in the foreground. The flat and wooded landscape occupies the background and on the hori- zon is seen a bell-tower. In no other landscape has the artist given the lights and shadows of a golden summer's day with more truth and beauty. Two Italian landscapes are very interesting ex- amples : one is Jan Baptist Weenix's View of an Italian Port; and the other Jan Both's View of Italy, showing a mountainous landscape with a lake in the background and two peasants leading a mule along the road. The figures are by Andreas Both. Karel du Jardin's Italian Landscape, C. Van Poelenburg's Landscape and Figures, and C. P. Berchem's Landscape, Figures and Animals may all be classed with the above, being full of the Italian taste. Two Cavaliers by Aalbert Cuyp is interesting for the figures as well as the landscape. Before an inn on the left a gentleman in gray doublet and black hat strides a white horse which a groom holds by the bridle ; in the centre, another in red and a felt hat with yellow plumes is mounted on a bay horse. The background, on the right, shows a river bank and a castle on a mountain. In a marine by Jan Van de Cappelle, a bark with passengers on the right is approaching a fishing- 210 Ube art of tbe JBelgian ©allerfes boat. On the left a barge and other boats at vari- ous distances as far as the horizon. The clear sky is lightly dotted with clouds. Salomon Van Ruys4ael has also a Marine in which a sail boat is going away from the spectator and in the middle distance is a row boat. Under some trees on the left nets are drying on the bank and on the right other boats are going towards the sea. The Ferry is full of life and animation. In a flat boat moving to the right there are three cows with a herdsman, a carriage drawn by a horse carrying a family of six, and several other people seated in the front. The ferryman is pulling on the rope to make the boat cross ; on the left is the bank covered with tall trees and the horizon has a church. A Calm by Willem Van de Velde is in his best manner. In the centre a Dutch ship seen from the poop with swelling sail is about to fire a salute ; two sailors are in a neighbouring barge. On the left a boat advances, and other boats and ships are seen on the horizon. Simon de Vlieger is represented by a Calm Sea under a luminous sky. In the foreground near a buoy is a fishing-boat ; in the middle distance on the right a three-masted Dutch sailing pavilion. On the bank are windmills and trees. A typical work by Aart Van der Neer is Moon- antwerp 211 light in Holland. The moon is reflected in a canal on the right, where boats are also visible. On the bank, in the centre, two peasants are talking; and on the left a miller in his wagon and a pedestrian and his dog are seen on the road. In the middle distance is a mill, and, farther away, a town. Turning now to genre by foreign masters, there is an interesting picture by Eglon Van der Neer of a Visit to the Invalid, painted in 1664. The invalid is seated by a table on which is spread a red cloth with designs of black and white. She is dressed in a blue robe embroidered with silver, a white cap and a red bow on her bodice. She holds the young baby on her knees. A young man dressed in brown and white leans over her. In the background on the right is a canopy bed and a page is by a chair. A young lady dressed in white silk and a pink plaid bodice approaches the invalid. A Village Wedding affords Jan Steen a chance to depict various types, variously grouped. The scene takes place in a hall. A cavalier, in gray and a yellow mantle, is seated at a table, talking to a woman dressed in gray and red. Between them the head of the bride appears. Farther away a fiddler, standing on a table, enlivens the company with music, and several dancers appear in the centre. Another cavalier stands on the" left in slashed doub- let and plumed hat. In the centre, a dog is lying 212 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries down beside a mug and a leafy branch hangs from one of the beams of the ceiling. A picture in Jan Steen's best manner is Samson Insulted by the Philistines. In the vestibule of a palace, Samson, whose feet are bound by cords, which are being pulled by children, and whose hands are chained, is being crowned with a fool's cap by a man, who is also fastening the chains. Samson is dressed in a yellow tunic, and his locks are strewn over the floor, by the side of his turban. A standard-bearer and a dwarf appear on the right ; and, on the left, Delilah is seated, in a blue robe with a dog at her side. She is being caressed by an old man and is mocking at Samson at the same time. A great number of other figures enliven the scene; and in the foreground, on a piece of blue drapery, are placed a copper dish, a flagon and the scissors, with which Delilah cut Samson's hair. A curtain is hung from the ceiling; and, on the bal- cony and staircase in the background, musicians and soldiers and many people are grouped. Ter Borch's The Mandolin Player represents a young girl with light hair, and dressed in a gray skirt and pink bodice, seated on a red chair play- ing a mandolin, and reading from a music-book placed on a table covered with a blue and white carpet. In the middle distance a young cavalier is standing, in gray doublet and mantle and a wide antwerp 213 baldrick across his breast. He carries his large broad-brimmed black hat under his arm. Adriaen Van Ostade's Smoker is seated in a hall with pipe in hand, puffing smoke into the air. He wears a brown vest, gray apron, and red cap, and has a butcher's knife at his belt. On a round table a match, some tobacco in a paper and a glass of beer are placed conveniently. A window opens on the left upon greenery. A characteristic scene of rustic life is The Village Wedding by Jan Victoors. The chief interest cen- tres in the bride and groom, who are dancing and holding each other by the hand. The groom is dressed in brown, and the bride wears a brown skirt , red waistcoat and white bodice. Behind them, a table is served; in the background of the room the guests are crowded together; and in the foreground, on the right, two children are playing. In Richard Brakenberg's Kermesse, everybody is making merry in a hall. In the centre some guests are at a table and on the left a cook stands by the fireplace with three children at her side. Some children are gathered round a barrel on the right and a young man is teasing a servant. Another servant is talking to a woman who is cutting bread, and in the foreground a little girl is asleep on a chair. An Interior by Cornelis Dusart the Younger 214 Ube art ot tbe Belgian ©alleries depicts a family gathering. The central group con- sists of a peasant who is holding a piece of bread to a child in the arms of the mother, who is seated. Her green bodice, black skirt, violet apron and white cap form a contrast to the man's blue trou- sers, brown vest and gray cap. On a table in the middle distance a man in gray is cutting bread and looking at a little child. Three persons are at a table in the background, a fourth is standing; on a chair is a pot of beer; and on the left, a high fireplace and a stairway. The Fish Vendor, by Willem Van Mieris, The Two Ages, by G. Schalken, and an Old Woman with a Bottle, by Arie de Vois, should also be noticed. The subject of the latter wears a red dress, brown mantle and a black cap, and she leans with her left hand on a balustrade and lifts a bottle with her right. Hondecoeter's treatment of birds is excellently illustrated by a picture " Animals." In the centre, a white duck and ducklings are in a pond; on the left is a black duck; and in the middle distance, another duck lifts its foot. Philips Wouverman's splendid horses appear in his Combat of Cavalry and Halt of Cavaliers. Gerard Houckgeest, who was so fond of painting the New Church in Delft, has a View of this inte- rior, showing the tomb of William the Silent in Hntwerp 215 the middle distance and a grave-digger at work on the right and also the grille of a chapel. In the foreground, on the left, a pillar and a dog are con- spicuous. One of Gerard Berckheyde's Views of Amster- dam should also be noticed. It was painted in 1668; and shows the Dam with the Town-Hall, the New Church on the right; and, on the left, in the foreground a fruit-market and numerous figures. Among the choice portraits is one of a Young Girl by Bartolomeus Van der Heist. She is stand- ing in a park holding with her left hand the collar of a white greyhound and in the right a hunting- horn. She is dressed in yellow and wears a red scarf. Pearls ornament her neck, ears and hair. Another attractive work is Daniel Mytens's Por- trait of a Young Woman, dressed in black, which brings out the blonde of her hair. She holds the folds of her dress in her right hand and in her left some flowers which are attached to her belt. Her plumed cap is ornamented with jewels and she wears a necklace and earrings of pearls. A balus- trade and column are seen in the background. Mierevelt's Portrait of Prince Frederick Henry, dressed in armour with a yellow scarf over his cuirass from left to right, is another portrait that deserves the visitor's attention. Frans Hals has a notable Portrait of a Dutch 216 Ubc art of tbe Belgian (Balleries Lord, seated. His face is smooth-shaven; his hair long and brown ; and he wears dark clothes slashed with white and braided with yellow; a flat collar; and a black mantle. His bare right hand points to the right and his gloved left hand holds the other glove. His coat-of-arms appears in the back- ground. More famous, however, is Hals's Young Fisher of Haarlem, a boy with arms crossed on his breast carrying a basket on his back, who stands facing the spectator, smiling and showing his teeth. He wears a red vest and gray cloak and his unkempt hair escapes from his red cap. This should be compared with Rembrandt's Young Fisherman, also in this gallery. The sub- ject of this picture is three-quarters turned to the left, with a smiling face and half-opened mouth. He wears a red vest, white shirt and gray hat. One of Rembrandt's many portraits of Saskia is also here. According to Vosmaer, this represents the painter's wife in the last period of her life ; and, according to Bode, it is a copy, with alterations, of the famous picture at Cassel. Saskia is seen in pro- file against a gray background turned towards the left wearing a brown mantle trimmed with fur which she holds with both hands. Her large red hat is adorned with plumes ; and jewels sparkle on her hat in her hair and on her neck and arms. FRANS HALS FISHER BOY Plate XXIX (See page 216) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp antwerp 217 Two other Rembrandts remain to be noticed. The Portrait of an Old Jew, with grayish beard and moustache and right eye half-closed, is very strik- ing. He wears a brown doublet, a carelessly tied cravat and a red and white turban. The Portrait of a Dutch Burgomaster, shows the subject seated in an armchair, with one hand on the arm and the other lifted. In the background, on the left, a table with some books is seen in the shadow. Among Italian pictures there are several attrib- uted to Simone Martini (or Memmi), pupil of Duccio. The Annunciation is an exquisite little work of this painter's later period. On a golden back- ground, with crossed hands and strong wings, the angel Gabriel gracefully kneels clad in pink and blue drapery. A diadem sparkles in his hair and he holds a slender hly. Three other works depict The Virgin; The Crucifixion; and the Descent from the Cross. The Virgin is seated on a marble throne covered with rose-coloured drapery, and wears a blue mantle bordered with gold. Her right hand is raised and her left hand rests on an open book on her knees. She seems to be afraid of the apparition of the Angel. Above on the left the Holy Spirit descends in a ray of light. On the steps of the throne stands a lily in a vase. The 218 XTbe Hrt of tbe iSelgfan (Balleries background is gold. This is similar to the picture of the Annunciation by the same master in the Uffizi. The Crucifixion represents the centurion piercing the side of Christ with the lance. The Virgin is fainting in the foreground in the arms of the other holy women. The Magdalen, in a red robe, em- braces the foot of the cross ; and there are soldiers on the right, a standard bearer, and a child who points out the Saviour to his father. Angels are in the sky. The Descent from the Cross shows the disciples on two ladders taking the body from the Cross, while the Virgin, Mary Magdalen, and others wait to receive it. A child stands by holding the winding-sheet and a vase of perfumes. In the centre, a man, whose back is turned to the spectator, has the nails; and, in the foreground, a bishop is kneeling by a skull. The Antwerp gallery is fortunate in possessing two works by Giotto — St. Paul and St. Nicholas of Myra. On a gold background St. Paul, seen full face, stands in a green robe embroidered with gold and a red mantle embroidered with gold and lined with blue. In his right hand he holds a sword, and in his left a red book. St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is also standing antwerp 219 against a gold background. He wears a white sur- plice and a green dalmatic lined with red and em- broidered with gold. His right hand rests on the head of a kneeling man, and his left holds three purses. Another valuable Italian picture is by Fra Ange- lico (Giovanni da Fiesole), representing St. Romu- ald reproaching the Emperor Otho HI for the murder of Crescentius, the senator. In front of the door of a convent, St. Romuald stands in blue and gold vestments with a golden verge in his right hand, and with the left repulsing the Emperor in rose-coloured robes and golden crown, who not- withstanding his promises has put to death the Roman senator Crescentius and carried off his wife. Beside the Emperor stands his favourite, Tham; and, in the foreground in front of the bishop, and seen from behind, a dwarf leans on a golden sword. Monks appear in the rocky background. The Crucifixion by Antonello da Messina, the first Italian painter who followed Van Eyck's method of painting in oil, is a remarkable picture, uniting the characteristics of the Italian and Flem- ish schools. In the centre is erected a very tall cross, to which Christ is nailed; and, on slender trees on either side, are bound the thieves in curious attitudes, — contortions that suggest Michael An- gelo. On the right, St. John is kneeling in gray 220 trbe Hrt of tbc Belgian ©allertes robe, red mantle and black shoes, his profile turned to the left; and, on the left, the Virgin is seated in a deep red gown and blue mantle, with her hands crossed on her lap. In the foreground, we see an owl, bones, a skull, out of which creeps a serpent, and a rabbit. The scene is enacted in a beautiful landscape where the green valley sinks between hills, one of which is crowned by a castle, enclosing an arm of the sea. The sky is clear and the atmos- phere bright and springlike. The precision of the Flemish school is strikingly exhibited. Here we also find a work by Titian, representing St. Peter in a red robe and brown mantle seated on a throne on the left of a terrace, ovei'looking the sea where several vessels are seen. The base of the throne is ornamented with bas-reliefs and on it lie the keys. Alexander VI, in green dalmatic and tiara, majestically presents the kneeling Jean Sforza, lord of Pesaro, who bears the standard with the arms of Borgia in his hand. He is dressed in a black robe with white sleeves and his helmet lies at his side. The figures are three-quarters natural size. This is an early work, dating before 1503- " It was probably painted at the very moment when the favour of Alexander the Sixth enabled Sforza to take command of a squadron against the antwerp 221 Turks. He caused Titian to paint his likeness in adoration before the majesty of St. Peter. During the reign of Charles the First of England this pic- ture was part of the furniture of a private room in the palace of Whitehall. It passed after the revolu- tion with many other works of art into Spain. At Villa Viciosa, in San Pasquale and in the Palace of Madrid, it was seen at various times by Conca and Mengs. William the First, King of the Nether- lands, presented it in 1825 to the municipality of Antwerp. Though soiled by travel and skinned by cleaning, it has survived a very thorough process of repainting, which seriously affects the harmony of the colours; but we may still discern beneath the scrumbling of the restorer the primitive beauty of the design and the clever facility of the hand- ling. ' Baffo ' kneels with the banner of the Borgias in his hand before the throne of St. Peter. His dress is that of a Dominican, but the helmet of a knight lies before him, and proclaims his promo- tion to a military command. The figure of Alex- ander the Sixth in full pontificals, bending to rec- ommend him to the apostle, tells of the protection to which he owed his appointment and the favour of the Holy See is suggested by St. Peter, who sits on a throne to the left and gives the suppliant his blessing. In the distance to the right, the 222 Ube att ot tbe SSelgian aaUeries . waters and forts of a military harbour in which galleys are at anchor complete the subject." * Part of an altar-piece by Jehan Fouquet (1415- 1483) court painter to Louis XI, represents the Virgin and Child Jesus, which is of historical in- terest owing to the fact that the Virgin is a portrait of Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII, King of France, who died in 1450. It was given to the Cathedral of Melun by Etienne Chevalier, one of the executors of Agnes Sorel. As Agnes Sorel had no children, it is supposed that Fouquet's own son was the model for the Holy Infant. The Virgin is seated in an arm-chair, the back and arms of which are of marquetry enriched with pearls. She wears a gray dress, very low in the neck, and a white mantle lined with ermine. On her head is a superb crown studded with gems and pearls and beneath which falls a gauze veil. The Child is seated on her left knee. Three red angels, one above the other, stand on either side of the chair, and the blue background is filled with cherubim of the same colour. One of Clouet's most celebrated portraits is that of Francis II. The subject is turned three-quarters to the right, one hand upon another posed upon a rail, wears a yellow doublet slashed with white, red sleeves with black edging and white shirt. A ' Crowe and Cavalcaselle. Hntwetp 223 medal is suspended by a black cord around his neck on which the letter M is engraved, and above his white linen cap beneath which his blonde hair falls is a black hat with white feathers and a medal repre- senting St. Francis kneeling before Christ. A Holy Family by Victor and Heinrich Diin- wege, brothers and painters of the school of West- phalia, is an altarpiece formerly in the Church of Calcar. In the centre on a high throne is seated St. Anne in a green robe, dark red mantle and white veil. In her left hand, she holds an open book and her right is placed on the shoulder of the Virgin, who is seated at her feet. She is in a blue robe and her long unbound hair is adorned with a golden crown. In her arms, she holds the Child Jesus. On the left, in the foreground, Mary the wife of Alpheus, in a blue robe, red mantle and white veil, holds two of her children on her knees, while the others play at her feet. Behind her stands Alpheus, who is counting on his fingers, and an assistant. St. Joseph in a blue doublet with green sleeves and red mantle is handing a basket of cherries to St. Anne. Mary Salome sits on the right in a yellow skirt lined with blue, a green mantle and white veil. She holds two children on her knees. Her husband Zebedee stands behind her, dressed in red, wearing a turban and reading a book. St. Joachim is against the throne looking at St. Anne with a 224 Zbc art of tbe Belgian (Galleries hat and a cane in his hands. The background con- sists of a landscape where a city is seen on the bank of a river. The name of each child is in golden letters. A Portrait of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, is by Albrecht Diirer, seen full face long beard and moustache, black clothes, fur collar, white shirt and cap covering his ears. On the left a coat-of-arms. Conrad FyoU has a fine triptych, the central panel representing the Adoration of the Magi and the two wings The Nativity and The Circumcision. The King with the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck is supposed to be Philip the Good. Lucas Cranach has a characteristic Adam and Eve. By the apple tree laden with fruit Eve stands holding a bough with her left hand and offering an apple to Adam with her right. The serpent is coiled around the tree. Charity is another picture by this master. In a landscape where there is a house on the rocks in the background, and a hedge in the middle distance, is seated a young woman nursing a child. Other children are variously grouped around her. A Portrait of Erasmus in his Study is by Hans Holbein the Younger. The scholar wears a black houppelande bordered with fur and a black cap. In his left hand he has a roll of paper. His right hand rests on a book resting on a table beside a porcelain ANTONELLO DA MESSINA CALVARY Plate XXX {See page 2ig) Musee Royal des Beaux-Arts Antwerp Hntwerp 225 hour-glass. On the shelves in the background are volumes and a golden cup. A Portrait of a Man with blonde beard and moustache, also dressed in a black houppelande and black cap and white collar, is also attributed to Diirer. The Gallery of Modern Paintings contains many- good examples of Belgian paintings since 1830, al- though it is not, on the whole, as fine a collection as the Brussels gallery. Historical pictures, por- traits, genre and landscape are all represented, land- scape, perhaps, occupying the greater number of the frames. The Antwerp painters are well repre- sented. Hendrik Leys is seen in a Flemish Wed- ding in the Seventeenth Century, — an early work ; Rubens at a fete in Antwerp, painted in 185 1 ; Pif- ferari, painted in 1856; a portrait of his wife and daughter; and studies of portraits and costumes for the frescoes in the H6tel-de-Ville. Nicaise de Keyser may be studied in an Easter Procession in Seville; Charles V liberating Chris- tian Slaves on the Capture of Tunis, painted in 1873; and a Bull Fight, dated 1881. His pupil, Charles Verlat, by a number of works that show his versatility: a Pieta; Vox Dei, a triptych, painted in 1877; Buffalo and Lion Fighting (1878); Madonna and Child with the Evangelist, a triptych (1873); Oriental Studies; portrait of 226 Zbc Hrt of tbe Belgian (Ballcries J. Lies, the artist ; the Rising in Antwerp on Aug. 24, 1577, when the shattered statue of the Duke of Alva was dragged through the streets; and his celebrated Cart and Horses, painted in Paris in 1857- Ferdinand de Braekeleer is represented by Plun- dering of Antwerp by the Spaniards in 1576; and The Village-School, painted in 1852; his son, Henri de Braekeleer, by The Gardener and a Tav- ern in Antwerp. Among the earliest pictures are The Death of Rubens, painted by Mattheus Ignatius Van Bree in 1827; and the Holy Family painted by F. J. Navez in 1848. The historical subjects include: Gustav Wappers's Brothers de Witt awaiting in their prison in The Hague the entrance of the mob ; A. de Vriendt's Pope Paul HI before the Portrait of Luther, painted in 1883; Battle of Trafalgar by H. Schaefels, painted in 1879, and the British Fleet before Flushing in 1809, painted in 1889; Ch. Ooms's Philip II paying the last honours to Don Juan of Austria; and J. Lies's Prisoners of War, The Foe is Coming, and Albrecht Diirer travelling on the Rhine, painted in 1855. Edouard de Biefve's Banquet of the Gueux, rep- resents the gathering of several hundred of the J^etherland noblemen on April 6, 1566, when they Hntwecp 227 drank success to the Gueux, the day after they had presented their request to Margaret of Parma for the aboHtion of inquisitorial courts. The scene is Count Kuilemburg's palace in the Rue des Petits- Carmes in Brussels. There is also a copy of Louis Gallait's picture in Tournai,. representing the guilds of Brussels paying the last honours to the bodies of Count Egmont and Count Hoorn. Among the classical subjects is J. Stallaert's Im- molation of Polyxena on the funeral pile of Achilles ; and there is a copy of Wiertz's Contest for the body of Patl'oclus. A popular picture of legendary sub- ject is Lady Godiva riding through the streets of Coventry, painted in 1870, by J. Van Lerius. Among religious pictures we find J. de Vriendt's Raising of Jairus's Daughter; Constantin Meu- nier's St. Stephen, painted in 1867; and The Shulamite Maiden, painted by Wappers in 1870. Wappers's Mother and Child (1854) is also in this collection ; and turning to the portraits the most notable are: Jan van Beers's two of Benoit the composer and Henri Rochefort and his famous Lady in White; J. F. Portaels's Hendrik Con- science; E. de Latour's Portrait of a Painter (1855); and a group of artists by H. Luyten, painted in 1886. J. L. David has a study of a head; and there is a likeness of Constantin Van der Nest, by Wiertz; 228 Ubc Hrt of tbe Belgian ©alleries The Coffee Roaster by Charles de Groux is one of the most highly prized modern works. The vis- itor should also notice Victor Lagye's Gipsy (1875); Verstraete's House of Death; L. Abry's Barrack-yard (1887); J. P. Van Regemorter's Quarrel over Cards; G. Portielje's Lost (1894); Van Engelen's Belgian Emigrants (1890); A. Stevens's Despair; E. Slingeneyer's Martyrs; J. Lies's Contrasts; Van Leemputten's Distribution of Bread in a Flemish Village (1892); J. Geer- aert's Interior of St. Paul's Church, Antwerp; P. Van der Ouderaa's Judicial Reconciliation in St. Joseph's chapel, Antwerp Cathedral (1879); Jan Van de Roye's Fruit; and E. Farasyn's Old Fish Market at Antwerp. Animals and landscapes with cattle are numer- ous. Jean Baptiste Stobbaerts has a picture of Dogs, and another called Leaving the Stable; J. L. Van Kuyck has a Stable; Marie Collart, a Farm- Yard, painted in 1890; A. J. Verwee, Horses ; Verboeckhoven, Going to Market, painted in 1854, and a picture of Cattle, life-size; and Th. de Bock, a Landscape with Cattle (1898). Isidore Verheyden's Pilgrims in the Antwerp Campine; J. T. Coosemans's Winter in the Cam- pine; Isidore Meyers's On the Banks of the Scheldt ; J. B. Kindermans's Landscape ; Theodore Fourmois's Scene in the Ardennes near Dinant; antwerp 229 Frans Courtens's Avenue of Trees (1894); P. Clays's River Scene near Dort ; L. Fr. Van Kuyck's Wood cutter (1882); J. P. F. Lamoriniere's Pine Wood; B. C. Koekkoek's Scene near Cleves (1882); H. Bource's Return from Flushing (1878); L. Douzette's Winter Scene by Moon- light; E. de Schampheleer's View of Gouda (1878); A. de Knyff's Village of Chaslepont; L. Munthe's Winter Scene; A. Alphonse Asselberg's Sunset; Jacques Rosseels's Landscape; and Neigh- bourhood of Waasmiinster ; Van Luppen's Autumn Scene (1878); L. Artan's Sea-Piece; J. F. Ver- has's Beach at Heyst (1884); E. Leemans's Sum- mer Evening on the Sea ; and E. Wauters's On the Kasr-en-Nil in Cairo are illustrative of the devel- opment of landscape and marine pictures in the last half of the Nineteenth Century. There are few foreign painters represented; but the visitor should notice A. Achenbach's Stormy Weather in Ostend harbour (1875) ; Bouguereau's Women at the Sepulchre (1876); and Cabanel's Cleopatra testing Poisons on Criminals. CHAPTER IV antwerp the hotel -de - ville and the musee plantin - moretus ; ghent the mu- seum ; tournai the municipal picture gallery; ypres — the museum; and mech- LIN — THE civic MUSEUM The Hotel-de-VilU The H6tel-de-VilIe deserves a visit. It was built in 1561-65 by Cornelis de Vriendt in the Re- naissance style; and was restored in 1581 after it was damaged by the Spaniards. The figure of the Virgin, the patron saint of Antwerp, was placed in the niche above the central portion of the building in 1585. On her right and left are figures of Wis- dom and Justice. Mural paintings adorn many of the halls and rooms. The subjects naturally deal with Ant- werp's history. Chief of all is the Salle Leys, which was decorated in 1864- 1869, by Hendrik Leys, "to glorify the ancient rights of the city of Antwerp and to relate by examples taken from history, how, 230 Hntwerp 231 in exercising these privileges, the written law lives in deeds." These pictures exemplify: Indepen- dence, or Solemn Entry of Charles V, who swears to respect the privileges of the city (1514) ; Self- Defence, or the Burgomaster Van Ursele giving the magistrate Van Spanghen command of the municipal guard for the defence of the city (1541) ; Municipal Rights, or Batt. Palavicini of Genoa re- ceiving the rights of citizenship in 1541; and Self- Government, or Margaret of Palma giving the keys of the city to the Burgomaster during the troubles of 1566. These works are in Leys's third manner. Paul Mantz considers them the painter's crowning work. He says : " By these you can best appreciate the maturity of his talent, the sureness of his style, his art of grouping people in great scenes and of individual- izing types, and finally that retrospective intuition which he possessed in such a high degree that he makes history live again." Above the doors are portraits of the twelve princes who governed Antwerp from Henry I of Lorraine (1220) to Philippe le Bel (1491)- The arms of the city and guilds are on the ceiling. Mural paintings also by Leys adorn the walls of the ante-room leading to the Salle des Marriages, which were taken from the painter's house in the rue Leys, when it was pulled down in 1898. 232 Ube Hrt of tbe SSelgfan (Balleries The Salle des Marriages contains five frescoes by Lagye (1885-1891) : I. A Druidical Marriage; II. A Roman Marriage; III. First Christian Mar- riage in Antwerp, in 650; the Marriage of Philippe le Bel and Jeanne de Castile in 1497; and IV. the first Civil Marriage celebrated in Antwerp in 1796. In this room, the visitor should note a fine Re- naissance chimney-piece of the Sixteenth Century in black and white marble. A chimney-piece by Cornelis de Vriendt, with a relief representing the Judgment of Solomon, orna- ments the antechamber of the Salle du Conseil Com- munal. A finer chimney-piece, however, decorates the Burgomaster's Room, a splendid example of Renaissance sculpture, representing the Last Sup- per, the Raising of the Serpent, the Crucifixion, and Abraham's Sacrifice. This came from the old Abbey of Tongerloo in Belgium. The great staircase is ornamented with Belgian marbles. Musie Plantin-Moretus Lovers of old furniture will find much to interest them in the Musee Plantin-Moretus, in the Marche du Vendredi, the house of the celebrated printer, Christopher Plantin (15 14-1589), a native of Tours, who, after spending several years in Paris, established a printing business in Antwerp in 1549. Bntwerp 233 Here he kept twenty-two presses at work. From 1576 until 1876, when the city purchased the house for a Museum, the family had carried on the busi- ness, Plantin having been succeeded by his son-in- law, Moretus and the latter by his descendants. The house and its contents offer a rare example of the dwelling of a Flemish man of wealth at the end of the Sixteenth Century. In addition to the fine old furniture, tapestry, gilt leather hangings, rare books, old bindings, etc., there are ninety por- traits of interest, fifteen of which are by Rubens; and there are also many drawings, title-pages, vignettes by this versatile master, who frequently designed for printers. There are also other designs by Erasmus Quellin, Martin de Vos, Jan Van Or- ley, A. Van Noort and others. Ghent: The Museum The Museum of Ghent was created .by the French deputy Citoyen Hopsomer in the year VI and was housed in Church of St. Pierre; but about 1809 it was removed to its present home in the old Con- vent of the Augustines in the rue Sainte-Margue- rite. Though not ranking with the galleries of Ant- werp and Brussels, Ghent possesses many valuable and interesting works. 234 XLbc Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries Burgher wrote: " The Ghent Museum contains several fine paint- ings, among which are those of De Craeyer ; a great Rubens — St. Francis receiving the Stigmata, painted in 1632; a Van Utrecht of the first order; a Last Judgment by Van Coxie ; a Martin De Vos, signed and dated; several works by Nicholas Lie- maeckere (called Roose), a strange colourist whom we seldom see in the Flemish churches; and some rare pictures, such as a Peter Boel of Antwerp — Dead Game ; and an excellent Heda — a table set with fruit and drinking-glasses and with a back- ground of sky." Gaspar De Craeyer, who removed from Brussels to Ghent about 1664 and was responsible for a slight artistic movement in this city, is largely rep- resented in this gallery. Moreover, many of his works gathered here are masterpieces. Let us first examine The Judgment of Solomon. Fine of type and commanding in attitude, the new king, seated on his throne and crowned, extends his sceptre bidding the soldier, who has a sword, to divide the child in half. The gestures and faces of the two mothers, the true one kneeling and ar- resting the soldier's action, are eloquent. The dead child lies on the steps of the throne. Many specta- tors are on the right, and soldiers stand on the left. The shadows are very heavy. Hntwerp 235 The Coronation of St. Rosalie shows her grace- ful figure kneeling before the Virgin, who is en- throned with the Infant Jesus in her lap. At her side are two angels with roses; and a third, above the group, holds a curtain. St. Rosalie is in white satin with gold-embroidered mantle ; her hair is un- bound; and she holds a rosary in one hand, while the other rests on her breast. A branch of lilies, some books and a skull are by her side; and an archangel also beside her is handing the crown to the Child Jesus, who will place it upon St. Rosalie's head. A mountainous landscape appears in the dis- tance on the left. The Martyrdom of St. Blaisius is the last work painted by Craeyer. In the excessive agitation of the attitudes, the freedom of the design and the ex- aggerated warmth of the colour one would rather recognize the ardour of youth than the chill of old age. The painter was eighty-six when he signed this work, a copy of which is in the Brussels Museum. Another fine picture is called St. John in the Island of Patmos. The saint is seated on a rock and gazing into the sky. By his side is an inkstand, and, in his right hand, a pen. On the left is an eagle's head. In Tobias and the Angel, the latter stands on the left watching Tobias, who is extracting the gall 236 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allerfes bladder from a fish. Behind him his dog is drink- ing from the river that flows through the fore- ground. Only the trunks of the trees are repre- sented and mountains are seen in the background. Among De Craeyer's other pictures are : The Vir- gin Delivering Souls from Purgatory upon the In- tercession of St. Simon Stock; St. Simon Stock Receiving the Scapulary from the Virgin ; the Mar- tyrdom of St. Laurence and a series of pictures that decorated the triumphal arches erected in the Marche du Vendredi in Ghent on the entrance of Ferdinand, cardinal infant of Spain. De Craeyer's pupil. Van Cleef, is represented by four pictures. The Manna is, perhaps, the most original. Here Moses, with a rod in his hand, lifts his eyes to Heaven while the Children of Israel gather the manna in a rocky and verdurous land- scape. St. Joseph crowned by Jesus is also con- sidered a masterpiece. The subjects of the two other works are a Holy Family and a Crucifixion. Theodor Rombouts's Five Senses is one of the^ most famous pictures in the gallery. Every one of the figures around the table is splendidly treated: the old man on the right adjusting his spectacles and holding a mirror is sight; a young man beside him, beautifully dressed and playing the guitar, is hearing; a sort of Bacchus, with tiger skin thrown over his body, a glass in one hand and a bottle of antwerp 237 wine in the other, is taste; a blind old man feeling a marble bust is touch; and a young man standing with a pipe in one hand and a clove of garlic in the other is sinell. In the foreground, are melons, onions, bread, musical instruments; and a building with columns, partly covered by a curtain, occupies the background. On the left, is a tree trunk. Like his master Janssens, and fellow-pupil Se- ghers, Rombouts was behind the times : he strug- gled against the tendencies inaugurated by Rubens, and yet sometimes he was influenced in spite of himself by the methods he professed to combat. The Dream of St. Joseph, when closely studied, shows that this master was hesitating and weak in his art faith. The angel that appears to the sleep- ing saint to warn him that it is time to flee from the persecution of Herod is inspired by the Italian in- fluence; it has dash, and shines with a vital and agitated grace. The lower part of the composition is more vulgar, and the style is that of the common Antwerp school. However, the painting is quite broadly and freely done. Descamps says in his Voyage pittoresque, that it is correct in drawing, well composed, well coloured and has ease and strength in its execution. Sir Joshua Reynolds, who saw this picture when it was the altar-piece of the Dominican church in Ghent, wrote in his note- book: 238 Ube Hrt of tbc Belgian (Balleries "St. Joseph Advertised by an Angel, by Rom- bouts. The Angel is an upright figure and treads on the air with great grace ; his countenance is like- wise beautiful, as is that also of the Virgin." In this picture, the St. Joseph has fallen asleep and before him stands an angel in white satin robes bidding him take flight into Egypt. On the left, the Virgin is seated with the Holy Child on her lap and angels with baskets of flowers bear them company. Other angels scatter flowers from the sky. A curious work by the same painter shows the bust of a man whose right shoulder is bare. He wears a rose-coloured silk cap adorned with a blue plume and in one hand holds a lighted pipe and in the other a glass of beer. Rombouts's mythological pictures are rare. His Themis, or Allegory of Justice, was painted for the decoration of the Hall of Justice of the Hotel de Ville, Ghent, in 1635. Themis is seated on a throne surrounded by judges whose decisions she inspires. Four figures, representing the four quiar- ters of the world, and other symbolic personages, respectfully listen to her decrees and seem to render homage to her infallible wisdom. It is warm in colour and broad in drawing and composition. Nicholas de Liemaeckere (called Roose) is rep- resented here by eight works: The Trinity; a G. DE CRAEYER ASSUMPTION OF ST. CATHERINE Plate XXXII {See page 302) Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels antwerp 239 Bust of Christ with the Cross on his shoulder; a Bust of Christ Crowned with Thorns ; the Apotheo- sis of the Virgin; St. Bernard praying before a Crucifix ; St. Norbert, with a cross in one hand and a ring in the other; and two Holy Families. The scene of one Holy Family is laid in a land- scape. St. Anne is presenting an apple to the Child and little St. John has a parrot for him. St. Joseph is near the latter. Two angels on the right scatter flowers on the Holy Child. The other Holy Family represents the Virgin as seated on the left with Jesus in her arms. With her right hand she offers him a bunch of grapes from a dish of fruit on the edge of which a parrot is perched. The dish rests on a basket of fruit and around it are melons, grapes and pears. In the centre an angel with his arms full of flowers is running to offer a lily to Jesus, and St. Joseph hands a pear to Him across the Virgin's shoulder. A pear-tree and a rose-hedge are decorative ob- jects behind the group, and in the background we see a church and houses. In the foreground there is a flower bed in which tulips are conspicuous. Rubens's St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata shows the ecstatic saint kneeling full face by a rock and receiving the stigmata from a winged cross, which appears in the clouds on the left. Behind the rocks, a monk lifts his right hand and regards the 240 tCbe art of tbe Belgian (Ballerfes cross. In the foreground plants creep over the rocks and around the trunk of a tree; and before the saint are an open book and a death's head. Mountains are seen in the distance. The Holy Family by Martin de Vos the Elder is dated 1585. The Holy Child is seated on His mother's lap and holds in one hand a grape from a bunch held by the Virgin. He seems to want to hand it through St. Anne to Httle St. John, by whose side a lamb is lying. The picture is filled with a number of other figures and incidents, and far away in the distance the Visit to Elizabeth is represented. St. Sebastian Consoled by Angels after his Mar- tyrdom by Peter Thys the Elder shows the Saint lying under a tree. Angels are beside him untying the cords and withdrawing the arrows. Two an- gels are bringing from the sky the crown and palm of martyrdom. The same painter may be studied in a Temptation of St. Anthony and a Conversion of St. Hubert. The latter contemplates the stag with the crucifix betweefi his horns. Passing to another conversion, we find a very different work in the Conversion of St. Matthew by Jan Van Hemissen. St. Matthew is standing behind a counter in a splendid hall. Turned towards the left, he has crossed his hands on his Hntwerp 241 breast and is looking at Christ, who is in the fore- ground among a group of men. A scribe is busy near St. Matthew; and other people are counting money and occupied with papers. The visitor cannot fail to notice Frans Pourbus the Elder's large triptych with twenty-two scenes from the life of Christ, and which contains on the back a representation of the Last Supper. The same artist has another large work, Isaiah Predict- ing to Hezekiah his Recovery, with the miracle of the sun for the central panel; and, on the wings, a Crucifixion and the Donor, the Abbot del Rio. The Raising of Lazarus is represented on the reverse in grisaille. Of Jordaens's three works, St. Ambrose, The Reconciliation, and Woman Taken in Adultery, the second is the only one hard to understand. The subject is taken from the fifth chapter of St. Mat- thew. Two men are embracing before they ap- proach the altar, on which is burning a lamp and where the High Priest stands with censer in hand to bless them. An acolyte with a taper stands on either side of the altar. Many people are bringing offerings of pigeons, chickens and sheep. Another religious work of importance is the Vision of St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, by Theo- door Boeyermans. The saint is kneeling in ecstasy, supported by an angel, and receiving a heart from 242 XEbe art ot tbe Belgian ©alleries Christ, who is descending from a cloud. On the right, is a kneeling Carmelite martyr, and behind him St. Theresa with a crucifix in one hand and a heart in the other hand. God the Father, the Holy- Spirit, a group of angels and the Virgin are above. The Last Judgment by Raphael Van Coxie shows Christ seated on a rainbow, extending his right arm. On His left is the Virgin, on His right, St. John and around them are many saints. Below the rainbow, two angels are each holding an open book. On the left, are the Elect looking to Christ; on the right, the Damned being strangled by ser- pents and demons. St. Michael is seen in the back- ground. It is said that the painter has depicted himself in the midst of the Elect, wearing a green hat, with his profile turned to the right. The characteristics of Verhaegen — bold execu- tion and brilliant colour — ■ are shown in his Pres- entation in the Temple, painted in 1767. Simon, in pontifical robes, at the left of the altar ofifers the Infant Jesus to God. Mary and Joseph are in front of him and Anne and Joachim a little to the left. An old scrib£ is writing the name of the Child in a book supported by another old man. Choir-boys with lighted candles, two women, one carrying a child, and children playing with pigeons, are to be noted among the groups. In the background are Antwerp 243 seen rich columns, the temple walls, golden vessels and a green curtain. Among the other devotional pictures we should note: Martin Van Heemskerk's Calvary and a Christ Crowned with Thorns and attended by two angels ; Van Den Avont's Holy Family in a landscape, with rocks and distant mountains and angels bringing fruits and a lamb; Van den Heuvel's Adoration of the Shepherds; Jan Janssens's Annunciation; and Gossaert's Ecce Homo. Two interesting works in which Nature is of more importance than the incidents are by Lucas Achtschelling, an early painter of landscapes. One represents a mountainous background and a sunken road where Christ and two disciples are walking to Emmaus. On the left by a river two shepherds tend their flocks. A mountainous background, a river and a grotto furnish the setting for the other in which the kneeling St. Benoit receives a basket, which is lowered to him by a rope from another monk. Near St. Benoit a demon is, seen, taking flight. Pieter NeefiFs's talent for depicting the reflection of artificial light is seen to advantage in The De- liverance of Peter, in a subterranean prison with heavy pillars, lighted by lamps and by a fire on the left. Among the sleeping prisoners attached to the 244 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Oallerfes columns by chains is St. Peter, who is being de- livered by an angel. Lances and arms are placed against the walls and columns, and two soldiers on the right are asleep at a table. An interesting work by the now rare Wouter Knyf, a native of Haarlem, and famous for his views of towns, is a view of a town on the border of a river. Houses and castles with towers and drawbridges are represented and also boats of vari- ous kinds. Many figures enliven the scene. Here we also find the masterpiece of Frans Duchatel. Every one who has seen this picture is at a loss to explain how it is that its painter holds so small a place in the books devoted to Flemish art. It is an enormous picture, about twenty feet, depicting with perfect accuracy the ceremony of the Inauguration of the King of Spain, Charles II, as Count of Flanders and Duke of Brabant. This festival took place in Ghent on the Place du Ven- dredi on May 2, 1666. Charles, who was only a child, does not appear in Duchatel's picture. He is represented by the Marquis Francesco of Castel- Rodrigo, governor and captain-general of the Neth- erlands and Burgundy. After the Marquis come the bishops of Bruges and Ypres, the high clergy of the good cities of Flanders, the kings of arms, the flower of the nobility, the chiefs of the city guards and the burgomasters, bailiffs, aldermen and Hntwerp 245 recorders of those old municipal associations, which even in' the Seventeenth Century preserved so much vitality and importance. Around these personages, who are nearly all historical portraits, and among the doyens of these guilds and corporations of workmen and artists is grouped a crowd of the curious attracted by the solemnity of the' spectacle. In the midst of these is a modest painter, Frans Duchatel himself, holding in his hand a roll of paper on which you can read his name and the date 1668, a valuable detail, because it proves that this work, whose execution might easily have taken ten years of work, was accomplished in less than twenty months. " This great picture is one of the cleverest works of the Flemish school. In the arrangement of these groups, collected without confusion and com- bined without disorder, you feel the natural swarm- ing of an active and joyous crowd. Each person separately considered is a portrait and it is evident that Duchatel painted from models. The hefads softly-lighted have character ; the horses, the arms, the clothes, the accessories, the platform -decorated with bright colours for the ceremony, and even the houses with their peaked gables that surround the scene, all are treated with great spirit and with a brush that is purely Flemish. The colours are vigorous and warm and, whether studied as a whole 246 Ube Hrt of tbe BelQian (Ballertes or in detail, whether examined from far or near, the vital picture impresses the eye as a free, virile and striking work." ^ Among the portraits of interest is one by Frans Hals, dated 1640, and Van Dyck's Portrait of a Man in mantle and ruff with a beautifully painted ring on his little finger. Pieter Brueghel's Wedding Feast is an interest- ing picture of contemporary manners and customs. In a country house a group of guests are seated around a table, the bride in the centre, dressed in black with a yellow collar. Behind her, on a gray curtain, two crowns are hung. The scene is en- livened by musicians and servants in more or less bright costumes. Two interiors of a church by Henri Van der Vliet are interesting studies of their class. A View of a Garden with Animals, cocks, rabbits, a par- rot and a peacock, by David De Koninck, and a Landscape by Asselyn should be noticed and also two mythological works by Richard Van Orley. One of these represents the Transformation of the Pierides — the nine sisters who defied the Muses — into magpies. In this there is an allegorical figure of the river that falls into cascades in the foreground. The other work depicts Juno placing the eyes of Argus in the tail of a peacock. The • Paul Mantz. A. UORO THE DUKE OF ALVA Plate XXXIII (.See page 336) Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels antwerp 247 goddess is seated in a beautiful landscape with her nymphs; Iris descends from the sky; the dead body of Argus lies in the foreground; Mercury takes flight to Ol3Tnpus ; and the cow lo escapes on the left. The Ghent gallery is rich in still-life. Of the first order is Adriaen van Utrecht's Fishmonger's Shop, which appropriately ornamented the chim- ney-piece in the kitchen of the Abbey of St. Pierre, Ghent. The shop is filled with fish of many kinds — on the walls, on the tables, in baskets and in kegs. Towards the left is the shopkeeper, with a knife in one hand and a slice of fish in the other, talking to his wife. A young thief takes advantage of this moment to run away with the purse. The sea is seen in the distance. " This picture is a masterpiece," says Paul Mantz. " The Flemish brush has never rendered with more sympathy, and, at the same time, breadth, the rude envelope of the lobster, the amusing de- formity of the crab and the silvery scales of the fish. And what solid and faithful execution! What care in every detail! What masterly free- dom in the whole ! " From this picture, we may turn to a splendid still life group by J. Van Es (or Van Essen), who very nearly equalled Van Utrecht in depicting lob- 248 XTbe Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries sters, oysters and other shell-fish, while his exquis- ite treatment of fruits gave him the name of the " Flemish Heda." The table is temptingly set with a dish of oysters with two lemons by its side; a pepper-cruet; a terra cotta jug; a glass with a gold foot; a dish of white and red grapes; a golden vase; a bowl of pears, apricots, plums and hazel- nuts; a plate of olives; and two enormous dishes of pastry and cakes. The fine example of Heda here, so much admired by Burger, represents a table covered with pewter plates, glasses and a pewter mug, which is upset. On the plates are olives, the remains of some pies, a lemon and some hazel-nuts. In the background, you see a landscape, with buildings, a waterfall and distant mountains. Very similar is the picture by Cornelis Mahy (or Mahu), in which the same objects are arranged on the table, in nearly the same order. Another appetizing table by Frans Ykens is spread with a white cloth and dishes containing tlie remains of a dessert. On one plate are two lemons and a knife, and behind it a glass half filled with wine ; there are also a pewter mug ; a bowl of nuts ; and a dish with cheese standing in front of a Vene- tian glass. Peter Boel's Dead Game is an excellent example of the work of Snyders's favourite pupil. In a antwerp 249 lovely landscape, with mountains in the distance, is a grove of trees on the left, and on one of these is suspended a dead hare. Beside it a heron is lying and scattered about the ground are partridges, woodcocks, a duck, and some little birds. Among the other still life pictures let us glance at one by J. Speeckaeft, representing some peaches, plums, cherries, etc., and a basket of flowers on the rail of a balustrade ; Fruits and Flowers by Joseph- ine de Noter, also containing a bird's nest ; Flowers and Fruits by Adrienne Jeanne Haanen; Flowers by Henri Robbe, consisting of six roses, two lilies and a peony; and a very elaborate picture by Jan Robie, showing a table set with fish, lobsters, arti- chokes, a plate with lemons (one partly peeled), and, on a carved sideboard, a dish of strawberries and a vase of flowers. Among the works of the Eighteenth and Nine- teenth Centuries we may cite J. B. De Roy's Sun- rise, a landscape with animals; Joseph Paelinck's Judgment of Paris and his Juno ; another Juno by J. B. Maes-Canini; a Landscape by P. L. Kindt; a winter scene by Josse Sacre; a view of Ghent in winter, by P F. De Noter; a landscape near Cour- trai and a Landscape in Stormy Weather by J. B. De Jonghe; two Italian landscapes by Edouard Devigne; a landscape with animals by E. Ver- boeckhoven; Fishermen Casting their Nets by 250 Zbc art of tbe Belgian Galleries Moonlight, by L. De Winter; a landscape by Lamoriniere; the Morning after a Shipwreck by P. J. Clays; Nicaise de Keyser's Massacre of the Innocents; Landscape with Animals by P. X. De Cock; the Fisherman's Widow by H. J. Bource; F. De Braekeleer's Bats, where the whole house- hold is in a state of excitement because two bats have managed to get in ; La Queteuse by G. L. De Jonghe; Hermaphroditus and the Nymph Salma- cis, the latter crowned with flowers and kneeling on the border of a stream with her right hand on the shoulder of the young man, by Navez, who is also represented by Virgil reading the ^neid in the presence of Augustus; the Harp Lesson, by Joseph Geirnaert ; Chess, by J. J. Eeckhout ; Hebe, by Charles Picque; Flora, by Victor De La Croix; The Saviour and the Pharisees, by Louis Gallait; a Landscape, by H. D. Verbeeck ; Noah Leaving the Ark, by Jean Bataille; Landscape, by Rosseels; Mother Bathing her Child in the Sea, by Zorn ; The Little Painter, by Verhas; Bulls Fighting, by A. Verwee; and Cows by Xavier de Cock. Louvain — The Museum The H6tel-de-Ville of Louvain is one of the most beautiful town-halls in Belgium, a rich example of late Gothic architecture built by Matthew de Lay- ens between 1447 and 1463. The fagades are lav- Hntwerp 251 ishly embellished with statues of persons prominent in the history of Louvain, and decorated with carv- ings from the Old and New Testament. The interior is somewhat disappointing; but the Salle Gothique has a finely carved ceiling and is adorned with pictures representing local events and portraits of eminent citizens. The Museum on the second floor contains civic antiquities and a few paintings. Of the Flemish School of the Fifteenth Century there is one representing Christ in the Arms of God the Father. The latter, in a red robe and crowned, holds the naked Christ. Below, two angels in white hold the ends of the winding sheet and two others hover above with the instruments of the passion. Cornelis de Vos's two wings of a triptych show on the left the donor, Kinschodt, in a black costume, kneeling before a Prie-Dieu, accompanied by his four sons; and on the right a similar picture of his wife, kneeling with her five daughters. There is also here a picture by De Craeyer of an Angel presenting to Christ two little boys and a little girl. The works of Jan Van Rillaert seen here are somewhat in the style of Bernard Van Orley. The chief of these are two wings of a triptych — the Fall of Simon the Magician and The Defeat of the 252 xcbe art Of tbc JBclQlm ©allerles Mohammedans (or, rather. The Conversion of St. Paul). The first depicts an assemblage of lords in a landscape, all in brilliant costumes, some standing and some sitting, looking at the magician and demon in the air. In the middle distance there are ladies on white horses with pages holding the bridles. On the reverse is a picture of St. Margaret, who is seated in a church turned three-quarters towards the dragon coiled at her feet. The saint is attired in a green robe with pink sleeves. Christ appears to her in a cloud. In the second picture, St. Paul is lying under his horse; and Christ appears above in a cloud. On the purse of a man conspicuous on account of his red cap, the painter's monogram appears. On the reverse is the Deliverance of St. Peter, who is in the prison where the soldiers are sleeping on the right in the background, and the angel in a rose coloured tunic stands in the centre. The Beheading of St. Catherine, with Calvary on the reverse, and The Miracle of the Fish and On the Way to Calvary on the reverse are two other panels by this famous Louvain painter. Here we find three works by Verhaegen: Moses brought before the daughter of Pharaoh, a Trans- figuration, and an Adoration of the Magi. The latter was painted in 1780, for Maria Theresa, and is one of the most important works of this artist. antwerp 253 Tournai — The Municipal Picture Gallery In the centre of the town, on the triangular Grand' Place, is situated the old Cloth Hall (Halle aux Draps), a Renaissance building of 1710, which has been restored. In 1890, the Municipal Picture Gallery, containing more than 4(X) works of art, was placed in the first floor. The works attributed to the early masters are not satisfactorily authenticated; but there are several interesting works of masters of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Attributed to Hugo, Van der Goes is St. John Preaching, in which the saint, in a violet tunic and aureole over his head, stands in a pulpit in a land- scape, surrounded by numerous hearers grouped on the right. Another work is attributed to Mabuse, represent- ing St. Donatian, clothed in a rich dalmatic and carrying a cross in his hand. Before him is his symbol, a wheel with lighted candles. A Descent from the Cross is attributed to Roger Van der Weyden. The background is gold. The body of Christ is supported on the left by Joseph of Arimathea; the Virgin, in gray, stands in the middle distance, with St. John in a red cloak; and a saintly woman is on the right. A portrait of John, Duke of Burgundy, is of the 254 XEbe art of tbe JSelgian (Sallerics French School of the Sixteenth Century. His eyes are lowered and he wears a black costume with fur collar and a black cap. The background is green. Among the other notable works are a Crucifixion by Velvet Brueghel; three portraits by Van Oost; Interior of an Inn, by Adriaen Van Ostade; a Tavern Scene, by Adriaen Brouwer ; a still life by Jan Van Son; another still Ufe by Adriaenssens, painted in 1642; a family scene, by Van Dalen, where a lady is playing the clavecin while her hus- band turns the music for her, and a little girl and a little boy amuse themselves in the foreground with a caged bird. Another family scene by Theodore Van Thulden represents a group on a fine portico: a young woman in a red skirt and black bodice with a little girl in white by her side; an old lady in a green dress and yellow cloak with jewels in her hands; and near her a man who holds the hand of a little boy in gray. Among the portraits, that of the Archbishop of Cambrai, by Hyacinthe Rigaud y Ros deserves notice. The subject is seated, and wears a blue sur- plice lined with red and a blue collar. His right hand holds a book, and his left is placed on his breast. A yellow drapery is looped on the right. An equestrian portrait of Louis XIV by Lebrun shows the King on a light yellow horse that rears REMBRANDT PORTRAIT OF AN OLD WOMAN Plate XXXIV {See page 335) Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels antwerp 255 towards the right. He wears a doublet of blue trimmed with red braid, a hat ornamented with red plumes, long black boots, and holds a whip in his right hand. Horsemen are seen on the right of the landscape background. A Proposal of Love is in Watteau's characteristic style. A charmingly dressed young woman is seated under a tree and by her side a young man in brown. Cupid hovers over their heads regard- ing them with interest. There are groups of other lovers in the shrubbery of the background. Louis Watteau's Flemish Kermesse, Inn Scene and Dispute of Soldiers are also interesting pic- tures. One of Louis Gallait's most famous works. The Severed Heads, hangs here, called also the Last Honours Paid to the Remains of Count Egmont and Count Horn by the Grand Serment of Brus- sels. The two bodies are lying on a stretcher, covered with a black velvet pall, on which is placed a silver crucifix. The heads are lying on a white pillow stained with blood, and clots of blood hang on the beards and hair. On the right stands a lord, in black velvet doublet with yellow sleeves, a red scarf across his breast, an arrow in his left hand, and a hat in his right, who is look- ing at the martyrs with bowed head. He is followed by soldiers in red uniforms, carrying 256 Ubc art of tbe Belgian (Balleries standards and pikes. Behind the bodies stands a soldier in armour with a yellow scarf across his breast and his two hands resting on the hilt of his sword ; and on the left, at the head of the stretcher, are placed on an altar a crucifix and candles, which a monk is lighting. The work is signed and dated 183 1. A reduced copy hangs in the Antwerp Museum. Gallait is also represented by the Portrait of his Mother and Sister; portraits of Louis and Charles Haghe, painters of Tournai; and a Portrait of Galileo. The visitor will also be interested in Van Sever- donck's Defence of Tournay by the Princesse d'Epinoy, whose statue in bronze armour and wielding a battle-axe, by Dutrieux, stands in the Grand' Place in front of this building. The archaeological museum is arranged in the east and west galleries ; and here we find interesting collections of coins, faience, metal-work, ivory carv- ings and several illuminated manuscripts, including a Roman of the Rose (Fourteenth Century), a Book of Hours (Fifteenth Century) and a psalter that belonged to Henry VHI of England. Ypres — The Museum The Museum of Ypres is housed in the Halle de la boucherie (Meat Market) in the Marche aw antwerp 257 heurre nearly opposite the old Cloth Hall. It com- prises a collection of antiquities and a gallery of old and modern pictures. The most noteworthy are the Miracles of St. Benoit by Rubens, and also a sketch for a Landscape; a Bacchus by Jordaens; some portraits by Van Dyck; a copy of Brueghel's Kermesse in Antwerp; a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Christ among the Doctors; and a Conver- sion of the Fisherman by Jan Thomas. In this work, the painter, who was a native of Ypres, shows his love of colour. The Child Jesus is standing on a rock held by the Virgin in red and St. Joseph in gray, and being adored by the converted fisher- men who are gathering around him. Here are also a young woman in a black dress and dark red cloak and pearls in her light hair, and a lord in a red tunic and yellow cloak. In the middle distance are seen a young man and the head of an old man. On the left in the foreground we see angels, and on the right a hedge of roses. The Broken Bow, painted by Louis Gallait in 1850, is perhaps the most famous of the modern pictures. Mechlin — The Civic Museum In the main building of an old Gothic house, built in 1529 by Rombout Keldermans for the Great Council and situated near the Grand Place 268 xcbe Htt of tbe aSelQian ©alleries the Civic Museum of Mechlin is stored. Here are civic antiquities, historical relics of Margaret of Austria and a few pictures. The most valuable work is a Christ on the Cross by Rubens, especially valuable because it is solely the work of his hand. It was painted between 1613 and 161 5 at the order of The Oratorians of Mechlin. The work is re- markable for the bluish tints that appear on the rosy flesh and the brown shadows around the out- lines. Two other works of value are St. Francis and a Holy Woman, of the Sienese school, and St. Peter with the Keys, an Italian picture of the Six- teenth Century. Liege — The Municipal Museum The Picture-gallery of Liege, consisting of about two hundred paintings, is situated in the old Cloth Hall, built in 1788, in the Rue Feronstree. Most of the works are modern ; but there is an interest- ing Last Supper by Lambert Lombard. We may also note : Orpheus in Hades, by G. de Lairesse ; The First Child, by C. Verlat; Landscape by J. Rosseels; Landscape by I. Verheyden; Cattle by A. Verwee; La Barrier e Noire, by A, D. Knyfif; Mary of Burgundy entreating the citizens of Ghent to Pardon her Ministers in 1477, by E. Wauters; a Sad Home Coming, by H. Bource; Murder of Burgomaster Larnelle of Liege by the Spaniards, Hntwetp 269 by B. Viellevoye ; Washing Turnips, by E. Carpen- tier ; Cobbler by L. Bokelmann ; Pasture by J. H. L. De Haas; Landscape in Guelders, by P. J. Ga- briel ; and Reading Aloud, by F. Willems. Modern French painting is well represented by Ingres, Corot, Diaz, Daubigny, Delaroche and others ; and there is a good Interior by F. Ziera. A copy of Wiertz's Contest for the Body of Patroclus, signed Rome, 1836, is also here. CHAPTER V. BRUSSELS PALAIS DES BEAUX- ARTS In the year VIII, when France decided to found fifteen departmental museums, Brussels was one of the towns selected. The painter, Boschaert, was sent to Paris to make a selection of some of the pictures that had been carried off by the French army; and when the Brussels Museum was opened in 1807, the catalogue, arranged by him, numbered five hundred works. In 181 1, thirty-one more pic- tures were sent from the Louvre, including St. Martin, by Jordaens; June bestowing her Treas- ures on Venice, by Paul Veronese; and the Vene- tian Senator by Tintoret. Since 1845, when the city purchased the gallery, it has grown in impor- tance and is now one of the most brilliant chapters in the interesting book of Flemish Art. In 1880 the collection was housed in the new Palais des Beaux- Arts, designed by Ballat, an edifice origi- nally intended for musical performances as well as a gallery for paintings and sculpture ; but which 260 Brussels 26i is now devoted exclusively to these two branches of art. The style of architecture is classical: the en- trance is adorned with four massive granite col- umns, on the top of which are four colossal statues, — Music by Degroot ; Architecture by Samain ; Sculpture by W. Geefs; and Painting by Melot. Above the three portals are three bronze busts: Rubens, by Van Rasbourgh ; Jean de Boulogne, by Cuypers; and Jean Van Ruysbroeck, by Boure. Two marble bas-reliefs — Industrial Art, by Bru- nin, and Music, by Vinqotte — are placed over the windows. In front of each of the wings stands an allegorical group in bronze : on the left. Instruction in Art, by P. R. Van der Stappen ; and on the right, Coronation of Art, by P. de Vigne. The Vestibule contains bronze busts of the principal Flemish ar- tists. The door in the centre leads into the main hall, which is devoted to modern Sculpture. Passing up the left stairway, at the foot of which is a marble group representing the Fall of Babylon, by J. A. Ducaju, we reach the Gallery of Old Pic- tures that occupies twelve rooms. The visitor can study the Primitives and their immediate followers to great advantage in this gal- lery, which contains some very choice examples of their works. The two panels of Adam and Eve were the two 262 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian ©alledcs extreme wings of Van Eyck's Adoration of the Lamb, in St. Baron, Ghent, and were acquired by the State in i860. Of these Crowe says : " The attempt to paint the nude figure of the size of life, with the most careful attention to minute detail, is eminently successful, with the exception of a certain degree of hardness in the drawing. Eve holds in her right hand the forbidden fruit. In the filling up which the shape of the altarpiece made necessary over these panels there are small subjects in chiaroscuro: over Adam the sacrifice of Cain and Abel ; over Eve, the death of Abel — death, therefore, as the immediate consequence of original sin." Fetis accords to John van Eyck a famous Adora- tion of the Magi, which Wauters considers the work of Jan Mostaert, and others accord to Gerard David. Under a rude shed, supported by pillars, where an ox and ass are conspicuous, the Virgin is seated with the Infant on her lap. On her right kneels the Magus from the Orient kissing the right arm of the child; behind him is St. Joseph, a portly figure. Opposite the Virgin kneels the European King in a robe of green and red mantle bordered with er- mine fastened with an agrafe on his shoulder. He is presenting a rich golden vase and behind him stands the Ethiopian Magus in green robe and white Brussels 263 turban and holding a vase of carved ivory. Behind them stand numerous other persons and in the back- ground others are seen on camels or horseback and bearing banners. A shepherd and his flock are on the eminence beyond the wall and stairs, and a dis- tant city and blue mountains are seen in the land- scape background, while high in the sky shines the star that has guided the travellers. The Head of a Weeping Woman is an excellent replica of the holy woman, who,, in Van der Wey- den's masterpiece in the Escorial, sobs beside St. John, partly covering her face with her coif. This head is a summary of the master's dramatic genius, and of his extraordinary power of expression. This copy must date from the end of the Fifteenth Cen- tury. Moreover, the Virgin with, closed eyes, and face harmoniously turbaned, who is being supported by St. John and Mary Cleophas, is to be recognized with the same clothes and in the same fainting con- dition in the admirable Descent from the Cross at- tributed to Petrus Christus. Let us look at this picture, which is still a bone of contention a,mohg modern critics. " The Flem- ish Fifteenth Century can count few works so noble and harmoniously moving as this. The lovely, un- dulating landscape is particularly noteworthy. Here we find no violence, nothing startling, no ex- cessive eflfects. The simplicity of the composition, 264 trbe Hrt of tbe JBelgfan ©alleries the individual importance of the types, the rhyth- mic sweetness of the landscape bring the painter into close relations with certain Italian masters — the female figure on the left evokes the Orientalism of Gentile Bellini. The fainting Virgin was surely inspired by the Mary created by Roger Van der Weyden for his Descent from the Cross. The whole work seems to be that of a master who had profited by the teachings of Roger, and especially of Thierry Bouts uniting the two by the charm of a genius full of nobility, gentleness and rhythm, and one would be tempted to think of some Italian or French disciple of these masters, if in the folds of the hills in the background between St. John and the man shaved in the Burgundian style we did not discover a Flemish village, with pointed roofs, massed together, near a crenellated castle." ^ The little Pieta, so dramatic and so precious, may well have been painted while Memling was working in Roger's studio. Four personages are grouped at the foot of the cross standing up against a sky il- lumined with the setting sun; their gestures are rather angular, but nothing could be more dramatic than the attitude of St. John supporting the body of Jesus with one hand, and with the other pushing away the Virgin to keep her from again kissing her Son's face, and thus get fresh food for her grief. ' Fierens-Gevaert. Brussels 265 The contours are softer and more bathed in atmos- phere than is usual with Roger Van der Weyden. The two large pictures by Thierry Bouts, repre- senting the Legend of Otho, are of rare interest to the student of the Primitives. Critics find fault with their dimensions, the Gothic tracery added at the top after the picture was finished, the lanky forms, bony heads and wooden bodies of all the personages. But a great spirit conceived the whole ; real sentiments are expressed in the two scenes; types of absolute verity are representefl in them; and they sum up the physiognomy of a whole period. With this Legend of Otho, historical and monumental painting appear at the same moment in Flanders. In the first picture, the Emperor, Otho, on his wife's denunciation, has an innocent noble decapitated. Behind the wall that encloses the royal grounds, the accuser and her husband look on at the execution. Flowers spring from the blood of the innocent victim, but originally the blood flowed from the neck over the ground. Plants that hide the bleeding trunk were not painted in till early in the Nineteenth Century. It is the expression of the principal actors that is admirable. Although the Emperor is listening to his wife's ac- cusations, he is evidently troubled by doubts. The Empress is striving to dissipate this disquiet, and closely watches Otho's face to mark the effect of 266 XTbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allertes her lies. The noble marches resolutely to his death, turning his back on the sovereign whose advances he has repulsed, and exhorting his wife to bear her trials courageously. A Franciscan monk accom- panying him seems more moved even than the con- demned. In the foreground, the work is accom- plished. The executioner lays the head in a cloth in the hands of the kneeling widow, whose sobs and tears have given way to an expression of immutable resolution. In the second panel, the widow undergoes the Trial by Fire (with red hot iron), and establishes her husband's innocence. As reparation for his un- just sentence, Otho condemns the Empress to the flames. The Emperor, irresolute, kind and full of remorse, forms a fine contrast with the energetic woman kneeling before him. " The courtiers manifest their astonishment and emotion, whilst in the first panel, the magistrates assembled at the execution show no feeling. But how real and significant these bourgeois of Lou- vain are; and how everything of their period and their race is expressed in them ! The same may be said of the nobles and ascetic chancellors assembled in the second panel. Even the grouping of these lords and bourgeois is new in character, and re- minds us of the figure disposition of certain quat- trocentist frescoes. As for the stake scene in the asrussels 267 second panel, in its minute proportions it is treated with a lightness, one might be almost tempted to say a humour, that comes as a charming surprise in this austere work of art : it is almost Nineteenth Century genre painting. The colouring of these pictures merits close attention, — the second espe- cially, where the king's scarlet robe, the green sur- coat and red hose of the youth leaning on his cane, the carmine robe of the widow, the rich clothes of the courtier behind her, the beautiful pavement, the sombre marbles of the throne, and the clear land- scape of the background form a rich and grave harmony not quite so strong as that of John Van Eyck, but perhaps more subtle and more penetrated with vivid and expressive light." ^ To see Memling adequately, we must go to Bruges and Antwerp, for in this gallery we have a few comparatively unimportant works. Two panel portraits of William Moreel* grocer and burgomaster of Bruges in 1478 and 1483, and of his wife, Barbara Van Vlaenderberch, face each other with their hands joined in prayer; and be- tween the columns of each picture a beautiful land- scape is seen. The hands in each portrait are par- ticularly fine. The hands are also noticeable in the portrait of a man said to be Nicholas Strozzi. ' Fierens-Gevaert. 268 Zbc art ot tbe Belgian ©allerfes The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, supposed by Wauters to have been executed for the Guild of Archers in Bruges, is also attributed to Thierry Bouts. The saint is tied to a tree in the foreground and two archers are aiming at him from the front. The landscape background is very fine. To Jan Joest, or the Master of the Death of the Virgin, is attributed a Holy Family which is sin- gular in the fact that St. Anne occupies the place of honour and holds the Child on her lap. On her left sits the Virgin, and on her right St. Joseph, and on either side of the porphyry columns of her throne a delicate landscape is seen. On one side there is a castle on the bank of a river and on the other a simpler house with a tower on the hills. The great triptych. The Legend of St. Anne, ordered by the Brotherhood of St. Anne of Lou- vain for their chapel in St. Peter's church, was carried off to Paris in 1794 and restored to St. Peter's in 181 5. In 1879, the Brussels Gallery pur- chased it for 200,000 francs. In the central picture, the characters are grouped at the entrance of a portico through the three arches of which is seen the distant landscape. In the centre, are sitting the Virgin and St. Anne with the Infant Jesus between them, the latter holding a bullfinch by a red string. St. Anne is offering some grapes to the Child. On the Vir- ^Brussels 269 gin's right is seaffed Mary Cleophas with her chil- dren; and on the left of St. Anne Mary Salome with her two sons; leaning over the balustrade, in the left compartment, are St. Joseph and Alpheus; and in the corresponding one are Joachim and Zeb- edee. The left wing has for its subject the Annuncia- tion of the birth of the Virgin; and, on the reverse, the offerings and donations of St. Anne and Joachim at the entrance of the temple; the right wing depicts the death of St. Anne, and on the reverse the refusal of Joachim's offering, in which the donor of the picture is represented in the cos- turne of the period. This is the earliest known work of the artist and was painted two years before the famous triptych in the Antwerp Gallery. It is supposed that Joachim Patenier aided with the landscape back- ground in the central panel. When the picture was restored in 1864, it was discovered that it was painted in distemper, touched with oil in the shad- ows, and the whole covered with a varnish of white copal. The Last Judgment by Floris is a triptych in which the terrors are displayed in a similar manner to those of other masters. Christ, surrounded by cherubs, is seated on the animal tetramorph that represents the Four Evangelists. Above Him, an- 270 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgtan ©alleries gels bear the instruments of the Passion ; to right and left the Patriarchs are ranged on the clouds, like a celestial conclave. Lower down, God's mes- sengers sound their trumpets, the dead spring from the tomb, and the earth is covered with their innu- merable ranks. " This painting is well co-ordinated ; the space is harmoniously filled with the various personages, but there is no feature nor striking merit to chain the attention and reveal a superior man. The cen- tral picture contains only two interesting groups; the subject of one is the painter's own resurrection. Time raises the stone of his tomb, and Floris mounts from the bosom of the abyss, looking at the spec- tator. It is an excellent portrait, with facial char- acteristics that betray the brutal passions that ruined his life. Facing these two figures are a devil and a condemned soul : the devil has chained together the hands of the latter; and, lifting him by the chain and one leg, is casting him head downwards into the everlasting gulf. Horror is well depicted on the sufferer's face. The condemned about him are ter- rified at his punishment, and the agony expressed in their faces renders the scene more dramatic. The right wing presents a similar spectacle, showing the vestibule of Hell. Those banished from Heaven are falling into it in strange postures learnedly con- ceived. The strength of design and vigour of ex- ■5 5 m 1. rS CM Co Co tq Ci tq J5russels 271 pression denote uncommon ability. The principal group contains a lost soul suspended by an iron chain by the neck, to which he clings to lessen the weight of his body; a demon holds one end of the chain while another demon lifts the criminal by the feet and balances him over the dreadful open- ing. " The left wing, which represents the ascension of the elect, satisfies neither the mind nor the eyes. In order to treat this well, gentle, poetic and con- templative feelings were requisite, and these the painter did not possess : calm and grace were lack- ing in a coarse drunkard. Heaven appeared to him in crimson waves of old wine, and he sought hap- piness in the dreams of drunkenness." * The art of Albert Bouts can be studied here in its different aspects — in two Assumptions, the Last Supper, Jesus at the House of Simon the Pharisee and St. Jerome. In the Assumption the bluish tones dominate and the heads ar& unpleasing, but the painting of the wings is more sympathetic and in a higher key. The landscape, with its combina- tion of local elements and bluish distances in which the influence of the south is felt, is truly remark- able. The painter has depicted the donor kneeling in the left wing with his wife Elizabeth of Nau- snydere. The kneeling figure in the other wing ' Michiels. 272 Zbc Htt Of tbe Selgian eallertes is supposed to be the painter's maternal uncle Henri Van der Bruggen, called Mettengelde, who was also his tutor. The second Assumption is a replica. On comparing the Last Supper with the Last Supper of Thierry Bouts (probably a reduced copy of his picture in St. Peter's Louvain), the distance that separdffcd father from son will be appreciated. The arrangement of the apostles at the table is the same, but there are grimaces on the faces. In every other respect the faces conform to the con- ventional type. The accessories are finely treated and also the clothing and we must note the novel arrangement of the folds of the table cloth. An- other feature that should be observed is the chim- ney-piece in the background : in place of the funnel shaped chimney-piece of the ancient Flemish type that occurs in his father's work Albert has a carved one that proves his admiration for the new style of decoration that was being introduced from Italy. The small picture of Jesus in the House of Simon the Pharisee is painted with a surer touch. The flesh is well modelled and the young man standing on the left is very Italian in appearance and costume. The landscape seen in the distance between the columns on the right under the light of dawn or sunset is indicated with delicacy. In St. Jerome there is a suggestion of the Van Eyck manner. Brussels 273 Note the little crucifix painted with such delicacy of touch. Lancelot Blondeel's St. Peter is seated in pontif- ical robes on a golden throne, holding the cross in his right and the keys in his left hand, while behind the throne a fine landscape is visible with rocks on one side and a feudal manor house on the other. " The Brussels Gallery makes us acquainted with a much neglected painter of uncertain name, desig- nated by sobriqufets — in Flanders as Herri de Bles or de Blesse, the " man with the tuft " on ac- count of the tuft of white hair he wore in front of his head, and, in Italy, as ' Civetta/ because he used the emblem of an owl instead of his signature. The Temptation of St. Anthony by this Herri de Bles is a most unexpected work with its bottle green and blackish green landscape, its bituminous eartli, its high mountains on the horizon, its sky of light Prus- sian blue, its audacious and ingenious masses of colour, the terrible black that shadows the nude figures and its chiaroscuro so boldly obtained from the clear sky. This enigmatical picture, which smells of Italy and announces the landscapes of Breughel and Rubens, reveals a skilful painter and a man impatiently in advance of his time." ^ St. Anthony is seated on a mound at the entrance of a rude hut built between two trees; two naked fe- ' Frpmentjn. 274 trbe Hrt ot tbe JBelgian Galleries male figures on his left present him with a dish on which is a fantastic little figure; and near them is an old sorceress dressed in red. The whole work is filled with indescribable monsters. In the back- ground there is a chapel between a high rock and a river where there are some bathers. The Last Supper formerly attributed to Lambert Lombard is now given to Peter Coeck of Alost. It bears the date of 1531, and represents Christ in a gray robe and seated in the centre of the table be- fore an open window showing a charming land- scape supposed to represent Jesus entering Jerusa- lem. In the foreground, Judas in yellow robe and green mantle, rises from his stool, with a purse in his left hand. A basket of fruit stands on a table on the right and one on the floor on the left and two dogs are noticeable in the foreground. On the wall are two medallions in grisaille and above the window a delicate painting on glass representing Adam and Eve in Paradise. The works of Michael Coxie in the Brussels Gallery give the spectator perhaps a higher opinion of him than those in Antwerp. In the Crown of Thorns Christ seated in the centre and draped with much elegance endures the tortures of his enemies, with an expression of deepest grief. His persecu- tors are grouped around him in an ingenious man- ner, offering him the crown of thorns and the bur- JSrussela 275 lesque sceptre, with jests, grimaces and laughter, and one of the four is about to slap his face. Through the arch is seen the sky from which the moon slipping through the clouds sheds a melan- choly sadness over the scene, and here we also see an apparition of God the Father. The Last Supper is fortunately, like the above, in a state of excellent preservation with all its orig- inal brightness of colour. The great table is placed diagonally in a hall of rich Italian architecture or- namented with marble columns, and on the right is a dressoir of several stages on which stand splen- did articles for the table service and by which stand two persons in Sixteenth Century costumes, and before it a young boy is pouring wine from a golden vase. Christ has a noble and serious head, but his nose is peculiar. The four apostles in the right hand corner are greatly admired by connoisseurs, for the character, nobility and vitality they express. The wings of this triptych represent Christ washing the Feet of his Apostles and Jesus on the Mount of Olives. The picture originally ornamented the altar of St. Gudule, Brussels. Another triptych was painted like that of De Craeyer for the Grand-Serment de I'Arbalete of Brussels for their chapel in the Church of the Sablon, and on the reverse of the wings devoted to the Assumption of the Virgin and the Descent of 276 TLbc Hrt Of tbe 3Bclafan ©alleries the Holy Spirit are portraits of the great dignitaries of the Corporation. The Virgin is lying on a very low couch in a magnificent Italian palace, her hands joined and her eyes raised towards the sky. On the right is an angel with a palm branch, and around her stand the apostles, John on the left being dis- tinguished by a head of great originality and vi- vacity. Mara, Elizabeth's niece, with a book on her knees is praying. At the foot of the bed is a little table on which stand a lighted candle, a flagon and a basket of fruit. Joachim de Patenier, whom Albrecht Diirer called such a good painter of landscape, exhibits this quality strongly in his Mater Dolorosa, in which the Virgin is seated by the cross in the centre of the picture, supporting the body of Christ on her knees and holding a fragment of the crown of thorns. On each side are three medallions repre- senting various episodes of sacred history. Mos- taert is supposed to have painted the figures. It is the landscape, however, with Jerusalem in the distance, that claims the chief interest. This is also the case with Patenier's other works — St. Jerome, kneeling in front of a crucifix with his cardi- nal's hat and a lion at his feet while the landscape shows a lake and a town ; and the Repose in Egypt, a subject that Patenier and his pupils were very fond of representing. In the latter, we see Patenier's iBrussels 277 peculiar taste for fantastic hollowed out rocks and uneven ground, broken by streams, trees, and moun- tains crowned with castles. The Virgin is seated with her child in the foreground on the trunk of a tree, and in the distance wander the ass and St. Joseph, the latter to gather fruit. Of Bernard Van Orley there are several works, including two wings of an altar-piece representing scenes from the life and martyrdom of St. Matthew and St. Thomas, the central panel of which is in the Imperial Gallery of Vienna. The whole altar- piece was originally in the Church of the Sablon of Brussels. It is interesting to note that the young man behind the executioner of St. Matthew is a portrait of Van Orley himself. Two pictures of his middle period are the Birth of Mary and Joachim in the Temple in which the architecture shows much advance and the woman with the fine oval face with heavy dark hair parted in the middle proves that the painter had been in Italy. The Trials of Jc^b is painted in the artist's second manner, when he was Court Painter to Margaret of Austria. The central panel represents a great feast of Job's children which takes place in a hall of rich architecture with splendidly sculptured col- umns of marble and a view of the country is seen beyond. The hall is collapsing; the columns are 278 xcbe art ot tbe Belgtan ©alleries falling; the people are seeking flight; and at the summit are the malicious devils who are presiding over the destruction of the hall. On a pillar in the foreground is the date 1521 and the painter's name with his favourite device: " Elx sijne tijt" (" Every one has his day "). On the right Job is seen naked and seated on a stone, receiving the news of the disaster, and in the background we see his house in flames. The left wing represents the theft of Job's flocks by the Sabeans and the Deity giving Satan permission to tempt Job. The right wing depicts Job's three friends. The story of Lazarus is described on the reverse of these two shutters. In his representation of hell in this work Van Orley has equalled Bosch and Breughel where the rich man lying on his death bed has a vision of his future punishment and a touch of humour is added by a devil in the form of a pig presenting to the Rich Man a plate of toads and serpents and this butler from Hell has also a napkin over his shoulder. This great work was ordered by Margaret of Austria and sent to the Count of Hoogstraeten with orders to place it over the chimney in the room she occupied when at the Castle of Hoog- straeten. Two wings from a triptych are also the work of Brussels 279 Van Orley. One represents the Birth of the Vir- gin with the Marriage of St. Anne on the reverse and the other the Offering of Joachim Refused, with an apparition of Christ to the kneehng Virgin on the opposite side. These were once attributed to John van Eyck. His George de Zelle, a physician, and Guillaume de Norman, captain of the whole of Burgundy, vice admiral and envoy of Maximilian of Austria and of King Philip, are interesting portraits. An un- known portrait called the Lady with the Pink, once attributed to Garofalo, and now given to Van Or- ley, or to his school, will attract the spectator. Her light hair is surmounted by a diadem of gold and pearls and a kind of black velvet bonnet. Her bod- ice is black ornamented with gold embroidery; her sleeves blue ; and across her breast is a red drapery. On the table before her stands a golden vase into which she is about to place a red pink. She is near a window, opening upon a landscape in which a belfry, a river and mountains appear. Modern study and research by great critics daily results in changes in the attributed authorship of many works of the early masters. Thus the latest researches give many pictures to Van Orley that were formerly given to others. Among others are: The Human Calamities, once attributed to Lam- 280 Ube art of tbe Belgtan ©allerlcs bert Lombard, a Martyrdom of St. Catherine at- tributed to the Master of Giistrow; head of an old man, attributed to Quentin Massys; a Pieta, with Philippe Haneton, secretary of Charles V, and Mar- guerite Numan his wife, with their twelve children under the protection of their patron saints, on the Avings; and the portrait of Dr. George de Zelle; the Adoration of the Shepherds (No. 336) and the Adoration of the Magi with its wings, once attributed to Jan Swart. This picture shows the Virgin seated on a stone bench, above which rise red marble columns at the side of a ruined arch above which is the Star that has guided the kings. She holds on her lap the Child before whom the kneeling King from Europe presents a golden vase ; behind him is the Magus from Asia, who also brings a golden vase, and on the other side of the picture the Ethiopian approaches with a golden vase and sceptre with his page holding his robe. Behind the Virgin two spectators are contemplating the scene; and in the distance is a castle and landscape ani- mated by the suite of the Magi. The Adoration of the Shepherds (No. 51), long attributed to the German School, is now given to Jerome Bosch. Five works by Coninxloo are the Birth of St. Nicholas, Death of St. Nicholas, Jesus among the Doctors, the Marriage of Cana with the Miracle of Brussels 281 the Loaves on the reverse, and the Apostolic An- cestry of St. Anne. Another work probably painted by this master is a Virgin Enthroned with the Child in her lap, two accompanying female saints, and God among clouds above the tracery of her superb seat. By its style and colours the Parentage of the Virgin given to Coninxloo belongs to the School of Gossaert and Blondeel. The general characteristics of this master — the large heavy hands, the oblong ears strongly planted upon the cheeks, and the thick full mouth, are also found in the legends of St. Benedict, formerly at- tributed to Jan Mostaert, and now to the Flemish School. These two panels depict episodes in the life of St. Benoit. In a delicately painted landscape St. Benoit and the cure of Monte-Preclaro are seated before the repast which the latter was ordered by heaven to bring to the saint in his retreat. The story is told in various episodes in the background. In the second panel the various episodes of the broken sieve are told, the interior of the kitchen with the weeping woman and St. Benoit kneeling forming the chief incident and affording a fine pic- ture of a Mediaeval kitchen. The reverse of these panels represents the Mass of St. Gregory; and it is noticeable that the carpet 282 Zbc Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allerfes of the altar steps is sprinkled with violets and mar- guerites, the emblems of Margaret of Austria, to whose court the painter was attached. The Fall of the Rebel Angels, long attributed to " Hell fire " Brueghel then given to Jerome Bosch, and now again attributed to Brueghel, represents St. Michael and two other angels armed with long swords and disguised so that they would not be recognized descending into hell and pursuing the rebel angels. The whole work is a mingling of hideous and grotesque monsters, producing a fan- tastic effect. Pieter Brueghel the Elder is represented by the Census of Bethlehem (of which there is a copy in the Antwerp Museum). The Massacre of the Innocents by Pieter Brue- ghel (called Peasant and also the Droll) is repre- sented in a singular manner as taking place in a Flemish village in the depths of winter. The^ ground and the pointed roofs of the houses are covered with snow, and a small pond in the fore- ground is coated with ice. In the centre, a group of armed horsemen preside over the bloody execu- tion. Soldiers are forcing the doors and climbing through the windows ; parents entreating mercy, or attempting flight with their children; and, on the right, is an inn with a great star for its sign, with Brussels 2S3 the inscription " Dei is in de Ster," alluding to the star that guided the Magi to the Holy Child. This is supposed by some authorities to be a copy by him of the original by his father in the gallery of Vienna. Jan Brueghel the Younger (son of Velvet) has a fine work entitled Autumn. In the centre before a grove of trees Autumn, represented as a young girl, is seated. Her hair is blonde, she wears a rose coloured tunic clasped with gold, and she holds a horn of plenty from which fruits are falling upon the ground. Before her stands Diana in a blue tunic with her crescent on her head, her quiver on her back, her left hand on the head of a grey- hound, and a dead hare in her right. On the right of Autumn is a child carrying bunches of grapes on his shoulders and followed by a goat. The sward is brilliant with flowers and the landscape extends far in the background revealing the towers of a castle among the trees and still farther a vast plain traversed by a river. Birds and animals enliven the scene. Very different in style is St. Norbert, preaching against heresy in Antwerp. The saint is standing in front of the porch of St. Michael's Church and behind him are several monks of the order of Pre- montres led by the Archbishop of Magdeburg. St. 284 XEbe Hrt of tbe Belgian ©allerfes Norbert is surrounded by a circle of auditory, and in the background are seen the Cathedral of Ant- werp and several streets. Fetis and other authorities give these two pic- tures to " Velvet " Brueghel. Although Rubens is not so well represented in this gallery as in Antwerp, there are many exam- ples of the master that illustrate his versatility. Of his early period, we have one of his best versions of the Adoration of the Magi; The Madonna of the Forget-me-not; The Assumption of the Virgin; the Coronation of the Virgin; the Dead Christ; and Christ about to Strike the World with Light- ning. Ten years later come The Martrydom of St. Lievin and Christ Carrying the Cross. Of mytho- logical subject we find Juno arranging Argus's eyes in the tail of her peacock ; Meleager and Atalanta ; and the mutilated Venus at the Forge of Vulcan. Among several sketches and studies, Four Heads of Negroes is of great importance; and in portrait- ure, the Archduke Albert; Isabella; Jean Charles de Cordes; one of the latter's wife; and Portrait of a Man. The Adoration of the Magi was painted about 1615 for the altar of the Church of the Capuchins in Tournai, and during the last siege of Tournai was pierced by a bullet. Carried off to Paris in 1794, it was returned to Brussels in 1802. Though Brussels 285 some of the unimportant work was done by a pupil, the hand of Rubens is evident everywhere. The outlines are firm, the tones brilliant and the colours laid on in great masses. The introduction of a stairway in the stable is somewhat forced; but it is very effective. Perhaps the most striking figure is that of the kneeling King, upon whose bald head the little hand of Jesus, who is held by his mother, tenderly rests. This King wears a magnificent mantle of gold, an ermine cape and a blue robe. The charming Madonna of the Forget-me-not dates between 1620 and 1624, and is painted with the greatest tenderness and care. The Virgin, in scarlet robe and blue mantle, holds the Holy Child on her knees by the linen that drapes Him. In one hand He holds a forget-me-not and grasps His mother's veil with the other. The Virgin's hair is brown, while the Child has those blonde curls that Rubens was so fond of at this period. Near the Virgin is a rose bush, and on one of its flowers a fly is conspicuous. A bird is perched on a neigh- bouring tree. The flowers and landscape back- ground are supposed to have been painted by Velvet Brueghel; but the figures, with their lovely tints, are by the hand of Rubens solely. When Sir Joshua Reynolds saw The Assumption in the Carmelite Church of Brussels, he wrote: " The principal figure, the Virgin, is the worst 286 Tibe Hrt of tbe Belgian Oalleries in the composition, both in regard to the character of the countenance, the drawing of the figure and even its colour; for she is dressed, not in what is the fixed dress of the Virgin, blue and red, but en- tirely in a colour between blue and gray heightened with white; and this coming on a white Glory, gives a deadness to that part of the picture. The Apostles and the two women are in Rubens's best manner; the angels are beautifully coloured and unite with the sky in perfect harmony ; the masses of light and shade are conducted with the greatest judgment, and excepting the upper part where the Virgin is, it is one of Rubens's rich pictures." This picture dates from about 1619 or 1620, and C. Schut is thought to have had a hand in the work. Fromentin's criticism is worth attention. He says: " The Assumption belongs to Rubens's first period ; it has been greatly repainted ; and its orig- inal qualities have suffered. It is brilliant and cold at the same time; inspired in the intent, and methodical and prudent in the execution. Like his other pictures of that date, the surface is clean, polished, and somewhat vitrified. The mediocre types are lacking in naturalness ; the palette already sounds the dominant notes of red, yellow, black and gray with splendour, but with crudity. As for the qualities already gained, they are here applied in JSrussels 287 a masterly manner. Tall figures leaning over the empty tomb, all colours vibrating over a black hole, — the light disposed around a central mass, power- ful, sonorous, undulous, dying in the softer half- tones, — to right and left, nothing but weaknesses, except two accidental strokes, two horizontal forces that connect the scene with the frame half-way up the picture. Below, the gray tones; above, a sky of Venetian blue with gray clouds and flying vapours; and in this shaded azure. Her feet plunged in bluish clouds, Her head in a glory, the Virgin, robed in pale blue with a dark blue mantle, and the three accompanying groups of winged angels all radiating with rosy and silvery mother- of-pearl. In the upper angle, already touching the zenith, a little agile cherub, beating his wings and glittering like a butterfly in the light, mounts di- rectly into the sky, like a messenger more rapid than the others. Suppleness, breadth, thickness of the groups, marvellous grasp of the picturesque in grandeur, — with a few imperfections, all Rubens is here more than merely in germ. There is noth- ing more tender, frank and striking. As an im- provisation of a happy task, as life and harmony for the eyes, it is accomplished: a Summer festi- val." To the same period belongs the Coronation of the Virgin, painted for the Recollets in Antwerp 288 Ube Hrt of tbe BelQfan (Ballerfes about 1625. Rubens had little hand in this except retouching; but the two heads of the angels in the clouds are his. The circle of angels below the Vir- gin, who rests on a crescent, are very graceful. In the Dead Christ, the Saviour is lying on a stone near a grotto with His head on the Virgin's knees. On the left at the entrance stand two angels with outspread wings, one holding the lance, the other lifting the linen that covers the Saviour to show his wounds. Behind the Virgin is St. John; in the foreground, the prostrated Magdalen with dishevelled hair, looking attentively at one of the nails, with the crown of thorns and the inscription before her; and on the right are two holy women in black and St. Francis. The latter is said to be a portrait of Charles d'Arenberg, who gave this work to the Church of the Capuchins, Brussels, in 1620. Fromentin tells us that " Christ about to Strike the World with Lightning belongs to a species of declamatory eloquence that is false, but very mov- ing. The world is a prey to vices, crimes, arson, assassination and violence; we gain an idea of human perversity from a corner of animated land- scape such as Rubens alone can paint. Christ ap- pears armed with lightning, half walking, half fly- ing; and while He is preparing to punish this abominable world, a poor monk in his frieze robe ^Brussels 289 prays for pardon, and with his arms covers an azure sphere, around which a serpent is wound. This saintly intercession not being sufficient, the Virgin, a tall woman in widow's robes, casts Her- self before Christ and halts Him. She neither im- plores nor commands. She is before Her God, but She speaks to Her Son. She opens Her black robe, displays Her ample Immaculate Breast, lays Her hand upon it, and shows it to Him whom She nourished. The apostrophe is irresistible. One may criticize everything in this picture of pure pas- sion and of early effort as art, — • Christ who is merely ridiculous, St. Francis who is only a scared monk, the Virgin who resembles a Hecuba under the features of Helene Fourment: Her gesture even is not lacking in boldness, if we think of the taste of Raphael, or even of Racine. It is none the less true that so many pathetic effects of such vigour and novelty are not to be found on the stage, or in the tribune, or even in painting, which is his real domain." The landscape is by Van Uden. This picture was painted for the high altar of the Recollets in Ghent, where Sir Joshua Reynolds saw it. He called it " a profane allegorical picture," and describes it as follows : " Christ with Jupiter's thunder and lightning in his hand denouncing ven- geance on a wicked world represented by a globe lying on the ground with the serpent twined round 290 xcbe Hrt ot tbe Belgian (Balledes it: this globe St. Francis appears to be covering and defending with his mantle. The Virgin is hold- ing Christ's hand and showing her breasts; im- plying, as I suppose, the right she has to intercede and have an interest with Him whom she suckled. The Christ, which is ill drawn, in an attitude af- fectedly contrasted, is the most ungracious figure that can be imagined : the best part of the figure is the head of St. Francis." The Martyrdom of St. Lievin was painted about 1635 for the high altar of the Jesuits' Church in Ghent. Fromentin advises the spectator to look at this great work critically and to forget if possible the terrible and savage scene of murder, with the saint dying in convulsions and the frightful assas- sins, the one with his bloody knife between his teeth and the other giving the tongue to the dogs, and to look at the white horse rearing under the blue sky, the bishop's golden cope, the black and white dogs, the expressive faces, and all the azure, gray silvery and sombre tones of this picture; and, notwith- standing the horror of the scene, he will soon be convinced that it is one of the most radiant and har- monious of Rubens's works. The animals have been attributed to Paul de Vos. Christ Carrying the Cross was painted for the 'Abbey of AfHighem in 1637 ^^^ ^^ entirely the work pi Rubens. In the centre Christ is falling under JSrussel5 291 the weight of the Cross; two men come to his rescue; and St. Veronica is wiping his face. Ru- bens seems to have taken more interest in the bril- liancy and movement of the procession ascending Golgotha, — the guards with floating banners, gleaming cuirasses and splendid horses, whose skins glisten in the sunlight, than in the sombre group that forms the subject of the picture. " I look for a note of grief in the brilliant climb to Calvary," says Paul Mantz ; " but I cannot find it." Fromentin writes : " When Rubens painted the Road to Calvary, he had already produced the ma- jority of his great works. Here we have move- ment, tumult and agitation in the forms, gestures, faces, disposition of groups, and in oblique, diagonal and symmetrical folds of drapery, going from bot- tom to top and from right to left. Christ fallen beneath His Cross, the cavalry escort, the two thieves held and pushed on by their executioners, all move along the same line and seem to scale the narrow slope that leads to the place of execution. Christ is fainting with fatigue, St. Veronica is wip- ing his brow; the weeping Virgin rushes towards Him and holds out her arms; Simon the Cyrenian supports the gibbet; and — notwithstanding this wood of infamy, these women in tears and mourn- ing, this victim crawling on his knees, with panting lips, humid temples, staring eyes that inspire com- 292 zbc Hrt of tbc aBelQfan Galleries passion, notwithstanding the terror, the cries, the death so close, it is clear to him who knows how to observe that this equestrian pomp, these banners waving in the wind, that cuirassed centurion who turns around on his horse with graceful action, and in whom we recognize the features of Rubens, all this makes us forget the execution, and gives the most manifest idea of a triumph. One would say that the scene was melodramatic, without gravity, majesty, beauty or anything august, — theatrical almost. The picturesque, which might have ruined it, is what saves it. Imagination takes possession of it and elevates it. A gleam of true sensibility flashes through and ennobles it. Something very like eloquence elevates the style. In fact, I know not what happy force, what inspired outburst made of this picture what it was destined to become, — a picture of trivial death, and of apotheosis." Soon after his return from Italy, after 1611, Rubens painted Juno arranging in a peacock's tail the eyes of Argus, who has just been killed by Mer- cury, a splendid picture, rich in colour and showing memories of Titian. Juno is of the Italian type, with hair as black as ebony. The corpse of Argus is strongly modelled and of a type much used by the master. The peacocks were painted by an as- sistant. A magnificent landscape representing the Cale- 3Bru8seis 293 donian boar hunt belongs to the master's last period, 1639 or 1640, and is entirely by him. The landscape is superb and the dark forest trees are illuminated by the light of the setting sun with fantastic effect. In the foreground, Atalanta, surrounded by a dozen dogs, one of which is biting the ear of the furious boar, is drawing her bow. Behind her gallop two horsemen, and, on the left, Meleager is about to attack the boar with his lance. In Venus at the Forge of Vulcan we see Vulcan busy at his forge in a dark grotto, and Venus in red drapery holding Cupid by the hand advancing towards him, but turning her head to look at Pan, who is offering her some grapes, figs, apricots, ap- ples and pomegranates. Behind Pan, Pomona ad- vances with a basket of fruit on her shoulder, accompanied by Ceres, crowned with wheat. The work is much mutilated and dates from about 1622. The fruits are by Snyders. It is interesting to note that Vulcan and his Forge were painted in at the end of the Seventeenth Century to replace an old woman who was warming herself at a fire. This part of the work was cut out, and is now in the Dresden Museum. The Four Heads of Negroes was acquired in 1890 for 80,000 francs. Its lightness and surety of touch prove it to be the work of Rubens's own hand. Very striking are the gray and blue reflections that 294 Ube art of tbe Belgian ©alleries play on the chocolate colour of the skin, and the reddish tones of the nose and ears show the char- acteristic execution of Rubens. These heads were studies for an Adoration of the Magi. Anthony Van Dyck is represented only by The Martyrdom of St. Peter; Drunken Silenus; Por- trait of Alexander Dellafailk; and the Van Vil- steren Family, a work much admired for the natural grouping of the seven individuals. The father of the family, in black, is playing the lute, his left arm resting on the back of the chair on which his wife is seated. The latter, dressed in green and white, holds a baby in her arms. On her right, we see one son holding a flag; a little daughter is playing the clavecin; a second daughter is standing at her mother's knee; and, in the foreground, a little boy is beating a drum. Two pictures are by Jan Massys — The Chaste Susannah and Lot and his Daughters. The figures in both are life size. Susannah is seated in a beau- tiful garden near a fountain, and the Elders are hidden behind a piece of architecture. In the dis- tance are temples, palaces and mountains. Lot and his Daughters, signed and dated 1565, is one of those curious works that describes several episodes on one canvas. In the background, we see the burning of Sodom; Lot and his family led by the angel; and the metamorphosis of Lot's wife. JESUS IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE M ABUSE Palais des Plate XXXIX Beaux-Arts (See page 295) Brussels Brussels 295 In the foreground, Lot is seated on a rock under the trees with one daughter on his knee, while the other, seated on his left, offers him a basket of fruit with one hand and a golden cup with the other. Both daughters are richly dressed and the latter wears a fine necklace and earrings of pearls. In the famous triptych by Jean de Mabuse, or Jan Gossaert, the central panel represents Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee, with the Resur- rection of Lazarus on the left wing and the As- sumption of Mary Magdalen on the right. This work displays the style acquired in Italy by Ma- buse. The central picture is highly decorative. The first object that strikes the eye is the superb double staircase carved in the Renaissance style that occupies the centre of the hall where Christ is seated at a table on the left with one of his apostles beside him and Simon, in a rich brocade robe, at the head, facing the spectator. Beneath the table Mary Mag- dalen kneels, kissing the feet of the Saviour, and beside her is a vase of perfume. On the right, stand two Pharisees. A squirrel is seated in the middle of the hall eating an apple, and in the background there is another table at which people are feasting. This great work long attributed to Mabuse (or Jan Gossaert) is now supposed to be the masterpiece of Herri Met de Bles. It is supposed that the kneel- ing figure in the wing representing the Assumption 296 Ube art of tbe JSelgian ©allertes of the Magdalen is a portrait of the donor. The mitre at his feet is wonderfully painted. The other wing depicts the Resurrection of Lazarus. The Prodigal Son by Jan Hemessen bears the date 1556 and is a picture of episodes. The fore- ground is occupied by the prodigal son in his days of pleasure, rioting at a table with gay companions ; in the middle distance, he is being chased away; and in the background, behind the portico, we see him tending swine; and, on the right, his return. Several pictures by Van Coxie in this gallery are not dated, but belong probably to his last period. They inspire a very high opinion of his powers. One of these is the Crown of Thorns. In the centre of the panel, Christ, seated in a noble attitude and draped with unusual elegance, endures the out- rages of his enemies. One persecutor is making one of those malignant grimaces full of impatient fury which nothing can appease; another presses the odious crown down on his head with infernal joy, the joy of a coward who torments a defenceless man. A third brutally raises his hand to strike the calm face of the Redeemer. A fourth mockingly presents him with the derisive palm, the reed scep- tre. The artist has ably grouped them around their victim. The Saviour's features express poignant grief. Above Him is an open arcade through which the sky is visible. The moonlight lends to the scene Brussels 297 a character of gentle sadness and poetic melancholy. The colour of this picture is beautiful and vivacious ; and the nudes reveal the knowledge and strength of a great master. Unlike many pictures of the same subject, the Last Supper does not suffer any diminution of in- terest by imitating Leonardo da Vinci. The action passes in a great hall of Italian style and rich archi- tecture. The table is placed aslant, so that all those present are visible without any one of the sides being unoccupied. On the right is a dressoir of several stages garnished with precious vases. The setting of the table attests the best taste, and the general harmony of the composition charms at first sight. Christ's head is dignified and serious, but the effect is slightly marred by the singular form of the nose. The finest part of the work is four figures of apostles, three at the right corner, and one a little towards the left. The last figure is standing up in order to hear Christ better. Dis- tinction and truth, nobility and strength, life and character, are all united here with rare happiness, and I doubt if any one has eclipsed them. The type of the young slave in the foreground pouring out wine is again ably chosen. These two pictures are in perfect preservation: the gradations of col- our have lost none of their vitality. The wings of the triptych, Christ Washing His Disciples' Feet, 298 TLbc Hrt Of tbe Belgian ©alleriea and Christ in the Garden of Olives are of less im- portance.^ Two portraits in this gallery show how closely Martin de Vos followed Nature in rendering the human face. They adorn the wings of an altar- piece the centre of which is missing. One is the donor, an old man with white and thin hair and white beard. He wears a black pelisse trimmed with fur, and a ruff. In his right hand, he holds a prayerbook, and lays his left on his breast. The execution of this is of astonishing minuteness and prodigious verity; in the head and hands, the delicacy of the work almost rivals that of Denner. The eye is watching, and the lips are about to speak. These merits are so much the more striking because the figure is almost natural size, and the image is in a condition of perfect preservation. The other efifigy, that of the donatrix, shows less care and attention. The lady, dressed in a black robe trimmed with fur, with a gold chain around her neck, has her hands folded. A prie-dieu cov- ered with black-flowered red tapestry is on her left. The face lacks surfaces and details; the artist's brush has lagged heavily over the wood. The hands, so beautifully rendered in the above paint- ing, are negligently treated in this one (Nos. 488 and 489) . It is none the less true that this painter, ' Michiels. Brussels 299 when he took the pains, became the equal of the best painters of portraits. The portrait of a young woman with her arms on a table on .which stands a vase of flowers of brilliant hues is attributed by some authorities to Martin de Vos. It is dated 1564. Three works by Rubens's master, Otto Vsenius, will attract the student, — a triptych representing the Crucifixion the central panel and Christ on the Mount of Olives and the Entombment on the wings; Christ bearing the Cross; and, more par- ticularly, the Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, painted when the artist was thirty-three, and on his return from Italy, when he was architect and painter to Prince Alexander of Parma. Fromentin was greatly struck by this picture. In his note- book he wrote: " At first glance it seems Roman, but it is rich and more supple. On account of a certain tender- ness in the types, an arbitrary crumpling of the draperies and a little mannerism in the hands, you feel Correggio infused into Raphael. The angels in the sky form a beautiful mass, a half tinted and sombre drapery of yellow is thrown like a tent with turned back folds across the boughs of the trees. The Christ is charming ; and the young and slender St. Catherine is adorable. With lowered glance, a chaste and infantile profile and a firmly set neck, 300 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries she has the candid appearance of Raphael's Virgins humanized by the inspiration of Correggio and also by a very marked individuality. The blonde hair that merges into the blonde flesh, the grayish white linen, the colours that blend or contrast very capri- ciously after new laws and according to the indi- vidual fancy of the painter, — all this is pure Italian blood transfused into veins that are capable of turn- ing it into new blood. This work prepares the way for Rubens, announces him and will also show him the way." This gallery owns several striking works by Caspar De Craeyer. The Dead Christ on the Knees of the Virgin shows the influence of his first master, Raphael Coxie. The work is painted on wood, according to the custom of the old school. The kneeling figures and the heads are greatly admired. The Miracu- lous Draught of Fishes, on the other hand, shows the painter's obligations to Rubens. The vast sky that spreads over the figures, and the sea extending behind them and on the right, are, however, unlike Rubens's compositions. The work is remarkable for its brilliancy of colour, the correctness of the attitudes, the elegance of the types and the general harmony of the whole. The Saviour, in violet robe and purple mantle, is painted in such bold relief that it seems as if He might walk out of the frame MARTIN DE VOS PORTRAIT OF A LADY Plate XL {See page sgg) Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels Brussels 30i at any moment. The small blonde sailor in pink, who, with others, is examining the net, is one of the master's best creations. " Indeed," writes Midiiels, " this picture is so brilliant that it might be attributed to Jordaens : its tones even surpass Rubens's scale." The Adoration of the Shepherds is also admired for its beautiful modulations of colour and general air of tranquillity. Above the group, consisting of the Virgin and Child, Joseph and five shepherds, as well as the ox and ass, angels hover in a cloud with the banderole of " Gloria in Excelsis." The Triumph of St. Apollonia is also a fine work. The saint wears a superb costume and holds with one hand the folds of her mantle, while in the other she carries the instruments of her torture, — a pair of pincers. She is surrounded by angels, one of whom offers her a metal basin with a bloody piece of linen, and another crowns her. The Virgin as Protectress of the Grand-Serment de I'Arbalete of Brussels is one of the Antwerp painter's most famous works, particularly as re- gards portraiture. In the upper part of the picture, the Virgin, with folded hands and surrounded by angels, some of whom carry palms, protects the members of the corporation, the archers who are kneeling with their rosaries and prayer-books in their hands. The Doyen is to be distingui^ed by 302 Zbc Htt Of tbe Belgian (3allerted his rich costume and his hat ornamented by a rich jewel. De Craeyer was also fond of painting the Con- version of St. Hubert. Here we find a picture sim- ilar to that in St. Jacques, Louvain, but smaller. St. Hubert is kneeling before a pillar on the top of which appears the miraculous stag. Two dogs are by the side of the saint, and the head of a third appears in the thicket on the left. On the right, is a groom with the huntsman's horse. The open country on the one side is well contrasted with the grove of trees on the other, where the action takes place. In an old catalogue the landscape is accorded to Jacques d'Arthois and the animals to Snyders. Fetis gives the latter, however, to Gerard Seghers. We should also note St. Paul and St. Anthony the Hermit; the Assumption of St. Catherine; St. Anthony and St. Paul in the Desert; the Virgin adorned by the Angels; St. Florian; St. Agapit; the Apparition of Christ to St. Julian; and the Martyrdom of St. Blasius, representing the saint suspended from a tree, submitting to torture, a copy of his last work now in Ghent. Jordaens appears in various pictures that show his skill in depicting religious, historical, allegorical, fabulous and mythological subjects. First, let us look at the great St. Martin Exorcis- ing a Demon, painted for the altar of St. Martin's Brussels 303 at Tournai. It is a very striking work in both con- ception and treatment. The scene is arranged on the stairs of a wide portico. The sufferer, with naked body and head thrown back, is being held by four persons. St. Martin, in golden dalmatic and mitre, advances, with his right hand elevated to exorcise the demon that escapes from the mouth of the possessed one. By St. Martin's side, a young priest carries the cross and behind him are two dea- cons ; on the right, a child and a dog are seen ; and, in the background, leaning on a balustrade, beneath an arch, is the Roman Proconsul, in a Flemish costume of red and black, and accompanied by a black slave with a bird on his wrist. Rebecca and Eleazer is an elaborate work. The chief figure is offering a drink to Eleazer from a flagon of chiselled metal. On the right, a servant holds a white horse, and from the well in the centre, Rebecca's companions are filling their jugs. Elea- zer's servants are busy unloading the camels. The great landscape, which contains a road leading to a distant town, along which advance shepherds and shepherdesses, was painted by Jan Wildens. Susannah and the Elders was purchased in 1895. In addition to the three principal figures, there is a peacock on a balustrade near a statue of Cupid ; and a little dog, in front of Susannah, barks at one of the Elders. 304 ube Hrt of tbe Belgian ealleries The Triumph of- Prince Frederick Henry of Nassau is the sketch for the artist's masterpiece in the House in the Wood at The Hague, one of the series of historical pictures ordered in 1652, by Amaha of Solms, widow of Prince Frederick Henry. The Prince stands in a chariot drawn by four white horses, two of which are led by Mars and Hercules. The others, mounted by Time and Mercury, trample under foot Hate and Envy. Victory crowns the hero; Renown publishes his exploits; and Abundance scatters riches. Lions, warriors and women surround the triumphal car. The Allegory of the Vanity of the World repre- sents a child blowing bubbles, a parrot, and on a table a number of objects, — arms, musical instru- ments, packages of pens, a terrestrial globe, a wrought metal dish full of fruit, a perfume-vase, a death's head and a large lantern, typical of life, the light of which Time is extinguishing. One of Jordaens's many representations of tEsop's fable of the Satyr and Peasant is composed of five life-sized figures. The Satyr, crowned with ivy, is rising from the table at which the Peasant still sits blowing in the spoon that he has just lifted from his bowl of smoking soup. On the right, a woman in a yellow dress holds on her lap a little child clothed in red, who sticks out his tongue at the Satyr. Before this group is a dog. Behind, Brussels 305 in the middle distance, an old woman holds a glass with one hand and with the other a mug of beer, which she is about to stand on the table. A plate containing a fish's head and a sausage stands before the Satyr. Trees occupy the background. Pan and Syrinx, acquired in 1895, shows Pan crowned with ivy, standing among the reeds and contemplating the young and almost naked nymph, by whose side is a child with a lighted torch. On the right, a satyr is sitting on the ground, with a little girl in red drapery. In no branch of art was Jordaens more successful than in mythological subjects, which allowed him to bring together in vast landscapes fruit, flowers, nymphs, satyrs and bacchantes; for his brush de- lighted in combining all the splendid colours of leaves and petals and velvety fruits with the satin skin of the flaxen-haired Flemish women that he knew and the shaggy flanks of the goat-hoofed satyrs that he imagined. Fecundity is one of his best works of this class. Here we have a nymph standing with her back to us and holding a white drapery; another nymph is gracefully posed on the ground, leaning on her left elbow and holding a bunch of grapes in her right hand ; behind her a child is seen in profile and also a third nymph, dressed in a red robe, in the folds of which she is holding some grapes. On the right, 306 Zbc art of tbe Belgian aallerfcs are two satyrs, one of whom has a child on his shoulders, and on the left are two fauns, one kneel- ing under the burden of an immense horn of plenty, filled with fruits of many kinds. It is interesting to compare with this a somewhat similar picture of the same title, the figures of which were painted by H. van Balen and the flowers and landscape by Velvet Brueghel. Fecundity is seated on a mound, holding in her right hand a horn of plenty from which fruits and flowers are falling. Cupid, standing beside her, overturns a basket of flowers ; at her feet, on the left, a monkey is seen. The background is filled with trees, and, through an opening on the left, a swan is seen float- ing on a pond. Another Fecundity is the work of Lambrechts and De Heem. The former is the author of the medallion, representing an allegorical figure of Fecundity with two children by her side in grisaille, and J. D. de Heem of the surrounding garland of fruits and vegetables. This picture was once in the famous gallery of Cardinal Fesch, and was bought in Rome in 1862. Here we may also see Jan D. de Heem's charming Bouquet of Flowers, repre- senting a glass vase holding tulips, roses, a peony and bluets. This vase is standing on a marble table, where a snail and a caterpillar are crawling. His elaborate Vanitas shows us a large table Brussels 307 under a column upon which are placed some roses, cherries, and grain; a skull crowned with ivy; a flute; some books; a compass; a shell; some spurs; and a bottle with the label — aqua vitce. On one of the books is written Rekening (ac- counts) ; on another, Biblia (Bible) ; on the third, Navolging Christi (Imitation of Christ), and, on an open register, the painter's signature. On the right of the landscape background, is seen on the summit of a hill, surrounded by water, a representa- tion of Calvary; and, farther away, Antwerp with the spire of its cathedral; on the left, below a lifted curtain, the ground undulates in the distance. David Teniers the Elder's treatment of rural life, in which his son afterwards surpassed him, appears in only one picture. On the left, against the wall of a farmhouse, a peasant leans with his back to the spectator; a second peasant with a pot of beer and a pipe is near an overturned barrel on which stands a jug. In the centre are household utensils ; on the right is a water course bordered with trees and a house; in the background a peasant dressed in red with a straw hat is going towards a village. Five typical works of this school make us famil- iar with Jacques d'Arthois, who loved to paint the landscapes of Brabant with their dark forests and deep roads, animated with peasants returning from or going to market, or kermesse, beggars and 308 Ubc art of tbe Belgtan ©alleties huntsmen, which were contributed by Teniers the Elder, Gerard Zegers, or Peter Bout. These are two Landscapes; the Border of a Forest; Winter, where the snow covers the ground and merry skat- ers are exercising on a pond to the right, while peasants warm themselves by a fire and down a winding road comes a chariot preceded by a horse- man ; and the Return from the Kermesse where sev- eral groups of peasants, some with cows and others dancing to the bagpipe, advance along the road that leads through the trees. The figures are the work of David Teniers the Elder. The Promenade of the Boeuf-Gras is the subject of a work by Mathieu Schoevaerts. Here preceded by fife and drum advances the garlanded ox of the carnival. Oh the left is an inn where the sign of the Swan hangs and peasants are eating, drinking and dancing. The picture is full of life and move- ment and is crowded with figures. Another animated crowd is shown in a Great Festival, by J. L. de Marne, where the cattle market has attracted a large number of buyers and sellers around a fountain surmounted by a statue of the Virgin. A lively Dutch kermesse by Cornells Dusart should also be noticed. The people are grouped outside of a tavern and the work is signed and dated 1695. A Night Festival by Peter Molyn the Elder rep- *rH OJ (3 Brussels 309 resents a street with a crowd in the distance, and in the foreground a merchant before his shop which is lighted by a lantern. Two children are near him and five persons a little farther away. Towards the centre children are circling around a big fire. This picture is dated 1625. An episode of the Carnival by the Walls of Ant- werp by Adrian Van Nieulant shows four couples in disguise and wearing skates executing a quad- rille on the ice. Other masquers are coming from the left and the crowd of spectators includes all classes of people. Carriages are also waiting in the distance. The ramparts are filled with spectators and a bridge crosses the moat to one of the city gates. The works of Daniel Van Heil, about whom noth- ing is known except that he was born in Brussels in 1604 and died about 1662, are rarely to be met with. He devoted himself to conflagration and winter scenes. One of the latter in the Brussels gallery is very interesting. In the centre there is an enormous pond of ice where many skaters are enjoying themselves while people and carriages cir- culate around this pleasure ground. On the right there are some houses, the roofs of which are cov- ered with snow, and in the background are more houses and church spires. The Pleasures of Winter are also represented by 310 Ube art of tbe 3Bclflian (Ballcrics Aart Van der Neer, where on the outskirts of a village people are enjoying themselves on the ice; some are skating, some are playing pall-mall and others are spectators. A man, a woman, a child and a dog form an interesting group. In the middle distance there is a sleigh drawn by a gray horse with a blue blanket, led by the coachman. This painter is also represented by a landscape seen at moonrise ; and on the canal that crosses the country a boat filled with people is drawn by a horse on the bank. Among the trees are seen a number of houses. The Yssel at Moonlight represents the banks of the river, cows in the meadow, groves of trees, houses, windmills and fishermen in their boats, or busy with their nets. Two pictures by Denis Van Alsloot, of whom little or nothing is known except that he was the son of a Brussels painter, are of much historical interest. They represent the Procession of St. Gudule, the origin of which is lost in tradition. In the first picture the procession is passing the H6tel-de-Ville, which is decorated with garlands. The windows and street are crowded with specta- tors. The trade guilds open the march, and at the head of each the youngest master walks with the keerse, or pole, surmounted by a painted, or gilt, ornament, to which are suspended the attributes of the profession. Brussels 311 The second picture represents the rest of the pro- cession: giants, allegorical figures and cars, and various corporations with their patron saints. Here is St. Gudule with her lantern, the light of which a malicious little devil is trying to blow out; St. Michael in his courtier's costume warring against the Evil Spirit ; St. Christopher carrying the Child Jesus; St. George and the Dragon; St. Anthony on a sled drawn by two horses; and many others. Members of the Guilds carry their banners and soldiers, their arms. In this picture, the view is taken from the H6tel-de-Ville, so that the Maison- du-Roi faces the spectator. The facade is deco- rated with flags and garlands, and hundreds of heads look from the windows. The great Dutch landscape painters have some beautiful works here. Jacob Van Ruysdael is rep- resented by a Landscape; the Lake of Haarlem; the Ruined Tower; and Landscape with Figures and Animals, the latter by A. Van de Velde. Sol- omon Van Ruysdael has two delightful works, one a river, where fishermen are busy; and the other a Bark crossing the Meuse, where a boat is ferrying across the river a carriage to which four horses are attached. On the right, a house appears under the trees, on the left trees and bell-towers are seen; and on the river stretching into the horizon many boats. 312 Ube art of tbe Belgian ©alleries There are also two characteristic works by Hob- bema; one a Mill, and the other the Haarlem Wood, with a road winding under the trees, along which horsemen and peasants are advancing, the figures of which are attributed to Barent Gael. Other landscapes here include a beautiful view of Dordrecht by Jan Van Goyen in which Albert Cuyp painted the figures; several charming land- scapes by Wynants; Landscape with Ruins (twi- light effect), by Nicholas Berchem; Italian Land- scape, by Jan Both; Italian Landscape with Mer- cury and Argus and Cows, by Gaspard Dughet; Rocky Landscape by C. Huysmans; Landscape with Animals, by J. B. Huysmans; Landscape and Farm, by Albert Klomp; Dutch Landscape, by J. Koning; Italian Landscape, by Franqois Millet; Deer Hunt in a Landscape, by F. Moucheron, who has also a Rocky Landscape; Italian Landscape, by Nicholas Pimont ; and two episodes of the Chase by Wouwermans. An early picture of the dunes of Scheveningen which have attracted so many painters is by Ko- ninck. The dunes are seen in the distance, as well as harvest fields, a cottage surrounded by trees, two farms, and a long palisade on which a man is lean- ing; on the left, in the foreground a woman is riding an ass with a man by her side, and on the right is a peasant woman with her flock of sheep. SSrussels 313 The Beach at Scheveningen, by Benjamin Cuyp, should also be noticed. Of the few marines one of the most striking is Backhuysen's Tempest on the Coast of Norway, where black clouds are chased by the wind across an orange sky and the waves are breaking with fury on the rocky coast, while the sea violently agi- tated tosses the ships about unmercifully. The sun is setting and on a piece of wood floating in the foreground the painter has signed his name. Another stormy sea is by J. T. Blankhof. Here an English ship is driven by the wind upon a tem- pestuous sea, and followed by a large boat in full sail. Other boats and ships are seen to the right and left; and the coast in the background affords a view of a town with its spires, windmills and houses. The sky is stormy and on a floating plank covered with foam the painter has signed his name. Bonaventure Peeters has also a storm at sea where the waves are violently agitated. Several boats and ships driven by the tempest are trying to gain the shore, where people appear on the rocks to render aid. William Van der Velde's View of the Zuiderzee shows boats and ships at different distances with sails shining in the sunlight. On the left two sailors are trying to float a shallop. The historical pictures include : Croesus showing 314 ube art of tbe Belgian (Balleries his treasures to Solon by Francken the Younger; the Army of Louis XIV encamped before Tournai, by A. F. Van der Meulen; the Battle of Prague (1620), Battle of Wimpfen (1622), Battle of Hal- berstadt (1622) and Siege of Coutrai (1648), by Peter Snayers; the Princes of Ligne, Chimay, Rubempre, de la Tour and Taxis and the Duke of Arenberg coming out of the Palace of the Duke of Brabant, Brussels, in the costumes of the Golden Fleece, by Gilles Van Tilborgh, and Maximilian I hunting in the Tyrol, by Tobie Veraeght, the only known work by this painter. It is dated 161 5. An interesting historical picture that needs ex- planation is that representing the triumph of the Infanta Isabella, who on May 15, 161 5, took part in the archery contest of the Grand-Serment and brought down the bird at the height of the bell- tower of the church of the Sablon, Brussels. In this picture, she is receiving by the side of the Arch- duke Albert the congratulations of the dignitaries of the Corporation of Archers. She is again seen on a balcony in the foreground bowing to the crowd, while her attendants scatter money from the win- dows, and again in a chariot drawn by six horses in a big procession. This work and its companion — the Procession of the Young Maidens of the Sablon — were long in the Sablon church in Brussels. The latter is also SSrussels 3i5 represented in the background of the last named picture in which march the six young girls dowered by the Infanta followed by men in white, the mem- bers of the Grand Serment and then the Archduke Albert and Isabella with a taper in her hand. Cour- tiers and attendants bring up the rear. It is inter- esting to compare this with Rubens's portrait where Isabella is in black with ruff and pearls, a golden diadem in her hair, a cross and image of the Virgin on her breast and a blue fan in her hand. The companion portrait shows the Archduke Albert in black velvet with ruff and the order of the Golden Fleece on his neck. He holds a plumed hat in one hand and rests the other on his sword. William Tell is considered the masterpiece of Charles Emmanuel Biset, whose works are so rare. He was supposed to be a pupil of Gonzales Coques and was director of the Antwerp Academy in 1674. Ordered by the syndics of the brotherhood of St. Sebastian of Antwerp to unite all the members of the corporation together, he selected a scene in which he thought he could make them interested specta- tors. The action takes place on a long terrace behind which is a wall ornamented with the shields of the Brotherhood of St. Sebastian. The doyen is seated and around him are grouped the standard bearer, drummer and other members, dressed in black with the inevitable white band. In the centre of the fore- 316 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian aallcrfes ground William Tell is about to draw, not the fam- ous cross-bow, but an arrow in compliment to the Guild of St. Sebastian. On the left Tell's son stands with his back turned and an apple on his head. On the left are also some buildings of fine architecture and upon a balustrade leans Gessler in the costume of a Turk and near him on a pole the hat that Tell refused to salute. In the background the rocky landscape and snow-capped mountains inform the spectator that he looks upon Switzer- land. The architecture was painted by William Van Ehrenberg or Hardenberg and the landscape by Emelraet. In addition to the mythological works by Rubens, we find several others of this character that are deserving of attention. One of these is Carlo Maratta's Apollo Pursuing Daphne. This work was painted at the order of Louis XIV and was in the Royal Collection until 1802, when it was sent to Brussels. Apollo running on the right has nearly caught Daphne, whose hands show that the metamorphosis has begun. On the left are a nymph and also a young man who is trying to arrest Apollo. Above the Peneus that crosses the landscape is the figure of the river-god with his urn, and near him two nymphs in a shady grove. Diana and Endymion, by Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, represents Endymion on the ground sleeping with Brussels 317 one of his dogs beside him, while Diana, accom- panied by Love, is borne towards him on a cloud. ^neas hunting the Stag on the Coast of Lybia allows us to see a typical work of Claude Lorrain, in which beautiful scenery is depicted in the fresh clear sunlight of early morning. The incident of the hunt is subordinate, where the Trojan warrior has just captured his sixth stag, and Achates is at his side with a quiver full of arrows and leaning on a javelin. It is the harbour that we notice, where the seven vessels are riding at anchor, and the great rocks that have been hollowed out by the sea, and the rich verdure of the charming landscape that reaches to the breaking waves. Other notable works are: Van Dyck's Drunken Silenus; G. de Lairesse's Death of Pyrrhus; Van- nuchi's Jupiter and Leda; and Dido Building Carthage and the Forecasting of Lavinia's Future, by Janssens; and Hecuba Blinding the King of Thrace. The latter, a much disputed work, is attri- buted to Mattia Preti (il Calabrese), and represents a crowned woman in robes of white, pink and yel- low, rushing impetuously upon the king and thrust- ing her fingers into his eyes. Another woman holds the king so that he cannot escape. There are in this gallery several fine examples of interiors of churches in which peculiar branch of art the Dutch and Flemish masters excelled. Steen- 318 xcbe art ot tbe Belafan Oalleries wyck the Elder has painted the Interior of St. Peter'Sj Louvain, from the entrance of the great nave with a chapel on the left where a priest is officiating to several kneeling figures. On the same side are other chapels ornamented with altars and pictures, and on the right we note a lady accom- panied by a child that is playing with a dog. On the same side, a beggar is seated by a column. The choir and the jube are seen in the background. The Interior of a church by Steenwyck the younger should also be noticed. There are also three by Peter Neefs the Elder, two especially fine ones being interiors of the Cathe- dral of Antwerp. One of these is seen during the day. On the left we see a priest carrying the sacra- ment and also a brother distributing bread to the poor. The other is more interesting on account of the light from the wax tapers and torches that dis- pel the gloom. A baptism is taking place. The third represents a church during a sermon. Fr. Francken is the author of the figures that make up the congregation. In this connection we may also notice the interior of a church by Emmanuel de Witte, where in the distance is seen the preacher in the pulpit and here and there numerous listeners standing and seated, great lustres, the organ people standing by the columns on which coats-of-arms are suspended, and Brussels 319 in the distance windows whose painted panes allow the light to fall through in lovely hues. The same artist has here an interior of the Delft church. Isaac Van Nickele or Nikkelen has also led the spectator through the great entrance of the Haar- lem church, to give him an extended view of the interior lighted by a copper chandelier hung from the vault. We also see the organ on the right and many groups of figures. It is interesting to compare these works with that of Guardi representing the Interior of St. Mark's with the newly-elected Doge receiving the acclama- tions of the people. The Portico of a Palace, by Dirk Van Delen, was painted in 1642. The portico supported by columns in the centre on the right is the palace where several persons are listening to music. In the foreground are a cavalier and a lady accompanied by a grey- hound ; and walking down the steps are five persons and a child. People are also walking on the left in front of a monumental fountain. Splendid build- ings fill in the background. Fruits, by Jan de Heem, consists of a reddish marble table on which is a pewter plate with two opened oysters and a quarter of a lemon; a bunch of grapes; also a large glass, around the base of which are some ears of wheat ; a mulberry bough ; another half -filled glass; more oysters; some oys- 320 ubc Hrt of tbe Belgian (Ballerfes ter shells; and, on the right, a butterfly uncertain where to alight. Another picture by this artist represents a table with a brown cover where stands a basket of peaches, grapes and a melon ; an upset pewter mug ; a large glass half filled with white wine; a pewter plate on which is a cut lemon; a whole lemon; a cut pomegranate; a pipe and some tobacco in a little piece of paper. Cornells de Heem's Fruits and Flowers shows a blue and white porcelain bowl, filled with peaches, plums and grapes and decorated with convolvulus, stands on a stone table, where also lie some plums and grapes, a melon, a cut pomegranate, a branch of a mulberry-tree with its fruit, and a tall Vene- tian glass with a cover. Jan Fyt's Fruits and Flowers in a Landscape shows in the foreground near a rock a great vase of flowers and a bunch of pinks thrown on the edge of the basin of a fountain; some melons, figs, plums, peaches and grapes on the ground; a guinea-pig rooting among the vine-leaves; and, on the left, some pumpkins and a vigorous artichoke plant. Through a vista, there is a glimpse of ruins around which are grouped several persons. Moun- tains rise in the distance. A Wagon of Game drawn by Dogs, by Jan Fyt, always attracts attention. In the foreground of a iBrusseis 321 landscape of great extent, where the distant moun- tains are lighted by the setting sun, stands a little country wagon across which a board is placed transversely. Upon it is piled a heap of game and birds, — among which we note a hare, a peacock whose long tail sweeps the ground, a cock, some chickens, partridges, and, on the ground, near the wheels, a duck. A cat is watching her chance to attack the game ; but the two dogs, of strong limbs and rough skin, are on the watch : one is resting and the other stands guarding the game. The deep ruts that the wagon has made in the road should be noticed. Remarkable for its grouping, as well as for the individual treatment of each object is Snyders's Game and Fruits. On a long table covered with a brown cloth are arranged a kid, a swan, a pheasant, some quails, some little birds, a boar's head, a lob- ster, a basket of fruit, a dish of strawberries, some oranges and asparagus. A man is approaching with a basket of oranges and fresh figs; a crouch- ing cat eyes the game greedily; and a squirrel nibbles an apple. Beautifully painted are the animals in Albert Cuyp's Interior of a Stable. A brown ox spotted with white is standing in the centre lighted by a window that gives a view of the country. Near him a black ox is lying. In the middle of the stable 322 ube art of tbe JBelgian ©allerics is a partition, on the top of which a cock is perched ; a sitting hen is seen in a basket; and in the left- hand corner, a wooden tub. Melchior d'Hondecoeter is well represented by a Dead Cock hanging by a nail on a board ; a splen- did Crowing Cock, standing on a wall with two hens in front of him, two ducks and five ducklings' near a pond in the foreground and the trunk of a dead tree on the left ; and the Entrance to a Park, where, on a wall ending with a column on which stands a stone vase, a peacock and peahen are perched. Below them we see a turkey hen, five ducks, and, on the right, a guinea fowl and a par- tridge pursued by a spaniel. Still farther back are a turkey and two ostriches. Some one is coming through a distant portico, where there are two statues on pedestals, and above the building the trees of the park lift their heads. Of equal interest is an elaborate Dead Game and Fruits by Jan Weenix, where on the bough of a tree hang a hare and a turkey, while some par- tridges lie on the ground. The trunk of the tree is brightened with climbing convolvulus and poppies; and, on the left, stands a basket of peaches, grapes and other fruit. In the middle distance, we see a little temple and a statue. An obelisk rises in the distant landscape. MigoOP shows his genius in painting flowers and Brussels 323 the meaner creatures that love to lurk among them, in his Flowers, Animals and Insects. At the en- trance to a grotto stands a tree in whose branches birds have made their nests, and at its gnarled roots blossom marguerites, poppies and bluets. On the left is a clump of large mushrooms. Two serpents are gliding among the fallen leaves; snails and in- sects creep about ; here and there flutter butterflies ; and, near a big stone at the foot of the tree, we note a squirrel. Nor should the visitor fail to examine the fol- lowing: Dead Game in a Landscape by Pieter Gysels, consisting of a swan, a hare and various birds, also the gun and other attributes of the chase ; Still Life by the Spanish Pereda, where are spread near a rock on a little mound a melon, pomegranate, peaches, grapes, figs, plums and a cauliflower. Rachel Ruysch's bouquet of flowers in a vase on a tatile where plums are also lying and a large butter- fly hovers ; a bouquet oir rather a garland of flow- ers tied with two knots of blue ribbon, by Daniel Seghers ; Fruits, by J. Van Son, consisting of white and red grapes, peaches and cherries, with a white butterfly hovering over them ; a table with a brown velvet cover, on which are offered an orange, a peeled lemon, some nuts and a Venetian glass filled with white wine, by J. Van de Velde. The rare Adriaen Van Utrecht appears at his 324 Ubc art of tbe 3BelQian (Balleries best in the Interior of a Kitchen, where in the foreground is placed a table partly covered with a white cloth, on which stand a chicken and some meat, a large pheasant pie, jugs and wine glasses. In front of the table, to the right, is a wooden block, on which are placed a cabbage, a cauliflower and some carrots, and near it is a basket of grapes. An elegantly dressed lady is sitting at the table, so at- tentively regarding the pie that she does not see a gentleman with brown beard and long hair trying to embrace the cook, who holds a chicken in one hand and a spit in the other. A more homely kitchen is depicted in Pieter Aertsen's Dutch Cook, in which the chief figure, of natural size, stands before a fireplace, where she is roasting a duck on the spit. She rests her right hand on one of the andirons and holds a cabbage under her left arm. In the foreground, a young boy, holding a dog on his knee, is turning the spit ; and, in the background, a woman is placing a red vase on a buffet. David Ryckaert's Alchemist in his Laboratory is famous. The old white bearded alchemist is seated before the furnace, a retort in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other, to stir the fire. He is turning towards his wife, who is pointing out a passage in a book on her knees. In the background an appren- tice is mixing something in a mortar. Utensils Brussels 325 stand on a table on the right, and some copper saucepans on the floor. This work was painted in 1648. Three years later, his Rustic Repast was finished, where we see a family group at the table. Schalcken, that Dutch master who was happiest when painting the lighted candle and its effects through the dark shadows, may be seen here by the picture of a boy holding a lighted candle in his left hand and applying a stick of wax to its flame. He' is smiling, and so is the little girl at his side who is watching the performance with interest. At first glance one might take this for a Gerard Dow. In a Musical Party by Palamedes, a gentleman dressed in black with slashed sleeves sits carelessly in the foreground, with one hand on his hip and a pipe in the other ; a lady in a rich red dress is play- ing a lute ; behind her a violinist ; and in the back- ground a lady and gentleman sitting at a table. Music is also the motive of Ostade's celebrated Flemish Trio, where in front of a rude house, shadowed by a beautifully painted vine, three peas- ants are probably making most inharmonious sounds. One sings and plays the violin at the same time ; another sings from the music ; and the third is struggling with a flute. A jug, pipe and tobacco- box stand on the table in front to refresh the per- formers after their exertions. Very cleverly treated is Ostade's Herring-eater, 326 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian eallerlcs seated at a table before the door of his house, on which we see a plate of herrings, a piece of black bread, a pot of beer and a napkin. He holds a her- ring in his left hand, and with the other is about to cut off a piece, which seems to be intended for the dog at his side. Inn scenes with travellers halting, stables and farm scenes that permit the painter to • represent landscapes and groups of figures and animals are plentiful in the Brussels gallery. Among )vorks of this class two by Isaac Van Ostade — Halt of Travellers and the Reeler — should be mentioned. The latter shows a farm scene, where a peasant woman is sitting at the door of a stable, turning a reel, while she holds a spindle in the other hand. A man is talking to her and a boy is grooming a horse in the stable, near the door of which a pig is lying. Very beautifully painted is the vine that festoons the door with the sunlight falling on the leaves. Another farm scene by Siberechts shows how little life has changed in the Low Countries since this picture was painted in 1660. A landscape, tree and farmhouse occupy the background, and peas- ants, busy at various occupations, are grouped in the foreground. From the stable on the right, a shepherd is leading a flock of sheep, which is re- garded with much interest by a dog. JAN STEEN THE GALLANT OFFERING Palais des Plate XLiii Beaux-Arts {See page 330) Brussels Brussels 327 Saftleven's Interior of a Grange is full of charm- ing details, such as household utensils, vegetables, children playing at ball, and an owl perched on a cabinet. A woman feeding chickens also contrib- utes an interesting episode. Another Dutch Interior, by Egbert Van der Poel, shows us a Dutch housewife plucking ducks by the side of a table, on which are placed kitchen utensils and vegetables. Other wooden and copper vessels lie on the floor. In the background, a peasant in a red bodice descends the staircase holding by the rail. Pierre de Bloot shows an interior where five peasants smoke, drink, and play cards, unmindful of the two pigs at their trough. Adriaen Brouwer has a characteristic Quarrel over Cards; and also a more quiet scene where the peasants are smoking and drinking. Two Dutch interiors by Molenaer demand at- tention. In one, five persons are seated at a table and a sixth, standing with his back towards us and dressed in red, is cutting a ham. Other persons are variously grouped and one man is asleep. Very famous is the Flemish Interior by Koedyck, representing a brightly lighted room with a high ceiling. Here we see, on the left, a chimney-piece on which are ranged porcelain plates and a copper candlestick; on the right a bed over which is bal- 328 Ube Htt of tbe 3BelQian ©alletfes ustrade with open shutters above, through which peeps the head of a child. By the fire is a tall wooden settle. A woman, seated at a table, ap- pears to be rubbing it and by her side stands a boy who is looking out of the window. An interesting object is a cat resting on a foot-warmer. A charming work attributed to J. B. Weenix is that of a Dutch Lady at her toilet. She sits befdre her dressing-table and mirror in a chair of carved oak, dressed in a red bodice and a striped skirt of green, violet and white beneath which peeps a white satin slipper. She is adjusting her veil. There is a window on the left. Another picture of the same class is by Philip Van Dyck, but the lady is younger and has powdered hair, and on her dressing-table stand many toilet articles. This bears the date 1726. Teniers is one of the heroes of the Brussels Gal- lery. His chief works are the Five Senses, The Vil- lage Doctor, a Kermesse, a Flemish Landscape, Temptation of St. Anthony, Interior of the Arch- duke Leopold William's Gallery and Portrait of a Man in Black. In the first picture, Teniers shows how well he can paint peiJple of high life as well as peasants, and of all his many representations of this subject, this is considered the best. It gains additional interest from the fact that the cavalier Brussels 329 playing the guitar is Teniers himself, and the lady in blue who is smelling a lemon is his wife. The other characters represent the other senses. In the foreground on a chair lie a red mantle and a gray hat with plumes, and at the foot of the table stands a bread basket. Also to be noticed is a mon- key with chain and ball. The Village Doctor is a splendid picture of a contemporary laboratory. The doctor is seated at a table with an open book before him, examining a bottle. An old woman is seen in the middle distance and also three men. All the utensils of the laboratory are wonderfully treated. The Kermesse in this gallery is one of the best representations of its class, and was painted in 1652. Various classes and types appear. On the right in front of an inn ten persons are eating and drinking. Other groups are busy drinking, eating, flirting, love-making, and dancing. On the left, a cavalier supposed to be Teniers dressed in black advances, holding by the hand a lady dressed in yellow with fan in hand whose train is borne by a page. They are followed by two young girls and in the distance the carriage waits their pleasure. In the background on the left the chateau of Dey Thoren is seen. The Flemish Landscape is a pretty scene where a river bordered with trees and build- ings crosses obUquely towards the backgroimd ; on 330 tbe art of tbc Bclaian (Balleries the right, a bridge and a garden with open gate; and on the left peasant woman milking a cow with a man talking to her. The Temptation of St. Anthony was one of Teniers' favourite subjects. In this version, the saint sits in a grotto with an open book in his hands, and an old woman with her hand on his shoulder points out the monsters by which he is surrounded. A lady in black silk with won- derful bluish reflections offers him a diabolical beverage. Terrible noises must proceed from the animal musicians; one singer has birds' claws, a fiddler the head of a fish, and an oboist the head of an animal. In the background among the rocks are seated St. Paul and St. Anthony the Hermit, to whom a raven is bringing bread. The gallery of the Archduke Leopold William represents the Archduke with a flower in his hand examining a drawing that Teniers is showing him. Two per- sons stand behind the prince, one of whom holds a bronze figurine. The walls are covered with pictures. The Portrait shows a man in black with yellow gloves, behind whom is a landscape. A Gallant Offering is typical of Jan Steen's humour. It takes place in a room with a window and curtained bed in the background, and an open door on the right, through which a young man, dressed in gray with a red cap enters with a dancing step, holding a herring in one hand and two onions astussels 331 in the other, which he wishes to present to a stout woman seated in the centre of the room, and who smilingly regards the present. Opposite sits her husband, so absorbed in the grave business of cracking nuts that he does not see the young man nor the glances exchanged between him and his better half. A servant woman, who is bringing in the coffee pot, is laughing heartily at the joke, while a man behind her, also enjoying the fun, puts his thumb to his nose and points derisively to the hus- band. A little dog in the foreground barks at the gallant. Steen's other pictures are the Recruiting Officers, once called the Rhetoricians, an inn scene; the Operator, in which a quack is operating upon the ear of a child ; and the Fete des Rois. In the latter we see the King astride of a barrel in disordered costume and wearing a paper crown. Harlequin and a woman are on his right, and sev- eral other persons are variously grouped. One car- ries a death's head on a dish. The Flemish Wedding by Theodore Van Thulden is one of the most valued pictures of familiar life. Here we have a merry wedding scene graced by the presence of the lord of the castle, who with his wife is seated on a mound while another couple are standing in the foreground. Their servants ac- company them and the carriage waits in the dis- 332 TTbe art of tbe SSelgian ©alleries tance. The peasants are full of joy. The bride is seated in the centre of a long table with a floral crown suspended over her head, her companions are eating and drinking, groups of dancers are making merry on the green, and the bagpipe player is stand- ing on a barrel. Among portrait painters Cornelis de Vos occu- pies a high place. It is said that Rubens, who could not undertake all the offers that came to him, frequently sent his patrons to this artist with the words : " Go to Cornelis de Vos ; he is my second self." The Portrait of the Artist and his Family in this gallery is his masterpiece. De Vos is seated in the centre in the middle distance, seen full face, his black costume bringing out the blonde of his hair, moustache and beard; his right arm rests on the back of a chair, on which a child is seated, wear- ing a green dress with white stripes, a white cap and lace cuffs, and handing some grapes to its father from a bowl of fruit in its lap. Directly in front is a little girl in white with a green apron, and a white cap on her blonde hair. She wears a fine necklace and bracelets, and rests her hand on her mother's dress, as she looks at the spectator with the frank curiosity of her years. The artist's wife is seated in an arm-chair near a table covered with an Oriental cloth. She wears a black dress and a white waistcoat embroidered with gold, beautiful jDrusseis 333 lace cuffs and a round plaited ruff of enormous size. A highly interesting portrait that has been the subject of much controversy of late years is one that was described in the inventory of Margaret of Austria as " a portrait of the son of Philip the Good," by Van der Weyden. It represents the famous Charles the Bold in black doublet, with red cap on his brown hair and the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck, while in his hand he holds an arrow. Mr. Wauters thinks that this arrow signifies Charles's devotion to St. Sebastian, to whom he made a vow during a serious illness in July, 1467, and therefore could not be the work of Roger Van der Weyden, who was then dead, and he therefore accords it to Hugo Van der Goes. Still, Charles the Bold may have been a devotee of St. Sebastian or a member of some archery guild before this date. Two extraordinary portraits, both dated 1425, may be mentioned, supposed to be the work of the Maitre de Flemalle. One represents Barthelemy Alatruye, councillor of the Chambre des comptes in Lille, and who died at The Hague in 1446; and the other, his wife, Marie Pacy, who died in the same year. Their arms appear on the backgrounds of these pictures, which are dated 1425. Though they have suffered much from repainting, they are 334 Ube art ot tbe JSelgian Galleries striking works. Not only are the faces full of char- acter, but the details of the costumes are remarkable. Note the pins that hold the great folded head-dress of the lady, her jewelled necklace and her furred collar and sleeves ; and note the rings on the coun- cillor's fingers, and the fur of his costume; but more particularly the wrinkles around his bright, keen eyes. Hals's splendid Portrait of Willem Van Hey- thuysen, founder of a hospital in Haarlem, shows him seated at a table dressed in olive doublet with white collar and cuffs, broad-brimmed hat of black felt and great yellow leather boots with silver spurs. In his hands he is holding a riding-whip. A book lies on the table and on the right is a greenish cur- tain. A landscape is discerned in the background. A portrait of a professor of the University of Leyden, Jan Hoornebeek, in the black gown of his office, is dated 1645. Probably the last work by the skilful and delight- ful brush of Paul Moreelse hangs here, dated 1638, the year of his death. It represents a young man dressed in a red coat, the sleeves of which are lined with green, holding a beautiful apple in his hand. Fetis thinks this may be a Dutch Paris of- fering the apple to some Utrecht beauty. Philippe de Champaigne's famous likeness of himself presents him with his right hand on his PORTRAIT OF MARIE PACY FLEMISH SCHOOL Palais des FIFTEENTH CENTURY Plate xliv Beaux-Arts (See page 333) Brussels 3BtttS0el8 336 breast and in his left a roll on which is the date 1668. The head stands out from a background of trees. In the distance is a view of Brussels where the towers of. St. Gudule and the spire of the Hotel- de-Ville may be distinguished. This is a copy of the one in the Louvre. There is also a portrait of the artist by Gerard Dou seated at a table and drawing by the light of a lamp. He is about thirty years of age, and wears a kind of yellow dressing-gown and a close cap. Three Portraits by Ferdinand Bol are of inter- est : one, a distinguished looking man in black, who is putting on his left glove; the second a young lady in black with rich pearls, and the third one of Rembrandt's wife, Saskia, in red velvet and diadem, necklace and earrings of pearls. Rembrandt has two portraits, one of a man in black with lace collar and cuffs, holding a glove in his left hand, signed and dated 1641 ; and one of a woman signed and dated 1654, purchased in 1886 for 100,000 francs. Pieter Pourbus, one of the greatest portrait- painters of his time, and whose studio in Bruges was the most beautiful one Van Mander had ever seen, is represented by what was probably his last work, a Portrait of J. Van der Gheenste, mayor and counsellor of Bruges, in black with a large ruff. It is signed and dated 1583. 336 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian (Salleties His son and pupil Frans has the Portrait of a Man with short hair and reddish beard, dressed in black. There is also a Portrait of B. Van der Heist by himself. The picture is dated 1664. The artist is dressed in black, with band trimmed with lace, his long hair falling over his shoulders, and short moustache. He holds his gloves in his left hand. A large red curtain furnishes the background. An accompanying work that passes for his wife has also a red curtain for a background. Her dress is black over a white satin petticoat; she has sleeves clasped with gold buttons and necklace and brace- lets of pearls. In her right hand she holds a fan, and rosettes of gray ribbon ornament her hair. This picture is also dated 1664, but it does not jus- tify the beauty of Constantia Reinst, who was said to unite the beauty and wit of Venus and Minerva. Antonio Moro's Portrait of the Duke of Alva, standing three-quarters to the right, with short hair and grayish beard and moustache, is a strong work. He is in armour and across his shoulder a red scarf is thrown, an;i around his neck is hung the order of the Golden Fleece. He wears his mailed gaunt- lets, and rests one hand on a table and holds a baton of command. Fromentin calls him a tragic and sombre angular and severe personage imprisoned in his armour and JBrussels 337 stiff as an automaton, so black and hard and cold that it seems as if the light of heaven could never pierce his coat-of-mail. There is also a Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Holbein. Other notable portraits here are: Two interest- ing portraits of sisters, by Thomas de Keyser, each representing a Dutch lady in an arm-chair; Por- trait of the artist, by Pierre Van Lint; Portrait of a Man by Nicholas Maes ; The Syndics of the Fish- mongers' Guild of Brussels by Pieter Meert ; Michel- Angelo Cambiaso, by Raphael Mengs; Hubert Goltzius and Portrait of a Man by A. Mor; Por- trait of a Man by Jacques Van Oost; Portrait of an Old Woman and Portrait of Young Woman by J. Van Ravestein; Portrait of a Woman by Jan de Reyn; Portrait of a Man by Strozzi (de Cappuccino) ; Portrait of a Man by Van der Vliet; Portrait of a Man by Jan de Baen; a Man, by G. B. Castiglione; Portrait of C. Danckerts de Ry and another of his wife by Pieter Danckerts de Ry supposed to be their son; a Man, by J. W. Delff; Portrait of the artist by C. W. E. Dietrich; Chil- dren supposed to be by F. Du Chatel ; an Old Lady by G. Flinck; two portraits, by Titian, one of an old man with white beard and one of a young man with black hair and short black beard; three strik- ing works by Coello of the daughters of Charles V. : 338 Ube art of tbe Belgian Oalleries Jeanne of Austria, standing by a column with gloves and fan in one hand while she rests the other on the head of a little negro. She is dressed in black and her hair and bodice glitter with jewels and pearls. Margaret of Parma has a bridle and bit in her hand, is dressed in black and white and a black velvet cap with plumes on the side. Marie of Austria stands by a table covered with a red cloth. She wears a black dress ornamented with white bows, a great enamelled cross on her breast, a golden belt and pearls and jewels in her hair. Van Dyck's Portrait of Alexander Dellafaille, magistrate of Antwerp, shows him in a doublet of black damask with large ruff, and holding a fold of his black cloak in his right hand. Among the foreign works and subjects is one supposed to be by a French artist representing young Edward VI of England seen full face, wear- ing a black cap with gold border and a red plume, black doublet with red sleeves, white collar and cuffs embroidered with black flowers. He rests his left hand on the hilt of his sword. Philippe de Champaigne is well represented in his native city. His works include an interesting series of episodes in the life of St. Benoit, which once ornamented the oratory of Anne of Austria at Val-de-Grace ; St. Genevieve; St. Joseph; St. Am- broise ; and St. Stephen ; and a Portrait of himself. aBrussels 339 There is no collection of pictures in Europe that presents more enigmas than this gallery. About nine-tenths of the works of the old Netherland and German Schools — many of which are important altar-pieces with wings — are attributed simply to the "Flemish School." M. Fetis laboured dili- gently to discover the authors of many of these; but the Wauters Catalogue (1900, 2d ed. 1905) shows many changes and discoveries. A quaint old German work depicts Noah and his family about to enter the ark which is moored at the border of a canal in a smiling landscape. The animals must have been already taken aboard, for there is not a trace of them. Nor is there the slight- est suggestion of approaching cataclysm. Jesus at the House of Simon the Pharisee orig- inally belonged to the old collection of the French Kings : it is attributed to the School of Titian. Five guests are seated around a table under a portico ; on the left Christ is seated in red robe and blue mantle and turns to the kneeling Magdalen, who, in brown robe and white kerchief, wipes his feet with her blonde hair. Beside her stands the pot of ointment. On the right a little boy in dark red with his left hand on the hilt of his sword, stands beside a friend in a yellow doublet with green sleeves, a violet cloak, a white turban under his helmet, who in turn is talking to a bare-headed 340 zbc art of tbe Bclatan ©allertes neighbour in red with a green cloak. Two other guests are talking in the background where a serv- ant is going away with a dish in his hand. On the right two other servants in Turkish costume. One is carving on a table. A kneeling negro is filling a flagon, and in the foreground there is a black dog. Beyond the portico is a terrace overlooking a garden. The graceful Albani is seen here in Adam and Eve in Paradise after the Fall. Adam on the ground leans on one hand and holds in the other the apple that Eve has given him. Eve stands under the tree around which is wound the serpent. Cranach the Elder's portrait of Dr. Scheuring (dated 1528) is one of the most important in this collection; and is recognized in spite of its ugli- ness as one of the strongest and rnost characteristic works of the great German master. It is full face; the hair and beard are black, long and dishevelled. The loose upper coat is of a reddish brown and faced with fur. The hands are crossed. The colour of the background is bright blue. A very splendid Virgin Enthroned is by Vit- torio Crivelli. The Virgin, crowned and dressed in a green and gold mantle over a red dress with gold border is seated on a marble throne. The Child stands on her knees held by her hands, which are very large. The background is gold; and di- HOLBEIN SIR THOMAS MORE Plate XLV {See page 33/) Palais dcs Beaux- Arts Brussels asrussels 341 rectly behind the Virgin is a white watered silk hanging. The steps of the throne are sculptured. A wing of the same altarpiece depicts St. Fran- cis opening his habit to show his wounds, also on a gold background. Juno bestowing her treasures upon Venice, for- merly a part of the ceiling in the hall of the Council of Ten in the Doges' Palace, carried to Paris in 1797 and given to Brussels in 1811, is a superb fragment in Veronese's best manner. The great Venetian has here also a Holy Family in which St. Theresa and St. Catherine are conspicuous. CHAPTER VI brussels musile royal de peinture moderne; h6tel-de-ville; musee communal; musee WIERTZ The Collection of Modern Pictures numbering about 300 paintings and 50 water colours and draw- ings is situated in L'Ancienne Cour, a building ad- joining the Royal Library, which was the residence of the Austrian Stadholders of the Netherlands after 1 73 1 . The entrance is at the end of the Place du Musee. Passing through a glass door, we reach the marble stairway, at the foot of which is a fine statue of Hercules, by Delvaux. The lower part of the walls of the stairway is lined with marble and the upper part and the upper portion with plas- tic ornaments in the Louis Seize style, while the frescoes of the ceiling represent the Four Seasons by Joseph Stallaert. On reaching the top we come to a rotunda and a door to the left admits us into the gallery, which consists of sixteen rooms. Here we find a complete record of modern paint- 342 Brussels 343 ing in Belgium from 1830 to the present time and also some works by the classicists, David Mathieu and Navez. We may recall to the reader that Louis Gallait, Edouard de Biefve, J. F. Portaels, Wiertz, Alexander Markelbach, J. Stallaert, J. B. Madou, Alfred Stevens, J. Stevens, E. Verboeckhoven, Theodore Fourmois, Edmond de Schampheleer, P. J. Clays, Hippolyte Boulenger, Theodore Baron, J. Rosseels, Victor Gilsoul, Frans Courtens, Isidore Verheyden, Alfred Verwee, A. Bouvier, Louis Artan, Charles de Groux, Louis Dubois, Constantin Meunier, Charles Hermans, Jan Verhas, Frans Verhas, and fimile Wauters are identified with Brussels painting. One of the most important works in this gallery is Gallait's Abdication of the Emperor Charles V in 1555. It was painted in 1841. Charles V is on the throne. At his feet kneels his son, Philip II; on his right, is his sister, Maria of Hungary, seated in an arm-chair; and on his left, William of Orange. This work is very fine in colour. Ranking with it is The Compromise by Edmond de Biefve, also painted in 1841, representing the petition of the Netherland nobles in 1556. Count Hoorn is signing the document; Egmont is seated in an arm-chair; Philip de Marnix is in a suit of armour ; William of Orange is in dark blue ; Mar- tigny in white satin, and behind him is the Count 344 Ube art of tbe Belgian Galleries d'Arenberg. The Count Brederode is under the portico. Among other historical pictures we must notice The Widow of Jacques Van Artevelde Giving up her Jewels for the State, by F. Pauwels ; the Begin- ning of the Revolution of 1830 at the H6tel-de- Ville in Brussels by G. Wappers; the Emperor Henry IV at Canossa in 1077, by A. Claysenaar; the Citizens of Ghent doing homage at the Cradle of Charles V, by A. de Vriendt, and also by the same artist, Excommunication of Bouchard d'Avesnes on account of his interdicted marriage with Margaret of Flanders; a Funeral Mass for Berthal de Haze by H. Leys, and, by the same painter. The Sermon (in the Reformation Period) and Restoration of the Roman Catholic Service in the Antwerp Cathedral in 1566. Another famous work is the Prior of the Au- gustine Monastery trying to cure the madness of Hugo Van der Goes by means of Music, by E. Wau- ters; the Cuirassiers of Waterloo by A. Hubert; Belgium Crowning her Famous Sons, by H. de Caisne; Battle of Lepanto in 1571, by E. Slinge- neyer; Erasmus, by J. Van Lerius; Siegfried of Westerburg, Archbishop of Cologne, before his captors, Duke John of Brabant and Count Adolph of Berg, by N. de Keyser; and several by L. Gal- lait, including the Violinist (art and liberty), Brussels 345 painted in 1849, ^•nd The Plague in Tournai (1092), one of the painter's last works. Nor must we forget to pause before G. Wappers's Charles I of England on his way to the scaffold and Charles de Groux's Junius preaching the Reformation in a house at Antwerp with the light from the stake shining through the window, painted in i860. Landscape forms the subject of a great number of pictures, from the style of Verboeckhoven and Kindermans to the more modern examples of the Barbizon and Tervueren schools and to the still more modern impressionist painters. The great animal painter, Alfred Verwee, has many fine works in this gallery, including Cattle by a River; Zealand Team (1873) ; Pasture in Flan- ders (1884) and Cattle at Pasture (1888). Cattle at Pasture in Picardy and Cattle beside the Scheldt by J. H. L. de Haas should also be noticed. L. Robbe's Landscape with Cattle in the Campines of Antwerp and Cattle at Pasture near Courtrai; Cows in an Avenue, by Em. Claus and a Cattle- Market in the Slaughter House at Brussels, by E. de Pratere, and Cattle in the Roman Campagna, by E. Verboeckhoven, are all of high excellence. A characteristic work of the last-named painter is his Flock of Sheep in a Thunderstorm, painted in 1839. A Stable by J. Stobbaerts is a good work and S46 Ube Hrt of tbe Belgian Galleries also a Shepherd Dog Fighting an Eagle by Charles Verlat. Horses in Winter^ by J. L,. Montigny ( 1890) ; a Cat Playing, by E. Van der Bosch ; and J. Stevens's Dog before a Mirror and Dog Market in Paris are excellent examples of his style. J. Stevens's Morning in the Streets of Brussels should be compared with Daybreak in the Capital by Charles Hermans. There is a very decorative Landscape by J. B. Kindermans and also a Scene in the Ambleve Val- ley; a Scene in the Campines near Antwerp ( i860) ; and a Landscape near Edeghem by F. Lamoriniere and also a Landscape painted in 1879. H. Boulenger's Forest-Scene, Sylvan Landscape (1865), Avenue des Charmes at Tervueren, Au- tumn Morning and View of Dinant are among this painter's best productions. Theodore Fourmois's Scene in the Campine near Antwerp is also one of his most famous works. Then, too, we should note Victor Gilsoul's Calm and November Evening; Frans Courtens's cele- brated Milkmaid, painted in 1896, and also his Re- turn from Church and Shower of Gold; A. J. Heymans's Heath; E. Beernaert's Landscape with Ponds (1886) and Edge of a Wood in Zealand (1878) ; Theodore Baron's Winter Landscape; A. JSrussels 347 J. Hamesse's Evening in the Campines of Antwerp (1883) ; E. de Schampheleer's The Old Rhine near Gouda (1875); Marie Collart's Fruit-Garden in Flanders; Isidore Verheyden's Trees (1898) and Woman Gathering Wood; J. Rosseels's Heath and Landscape in the Campines; Joseph Theodore Coosemans's Chestnut Woods in the Campines of Antwerp; F. Crabeels's Hay Harvest; F. van Leemputten's Peat-Cutters; J. de Greef's Pond at Anderghem; and A. de Knyff's The Forest of Stolen and The Deserted Gravel Pit. In connection with the latter we may look at Alfred Stevens's picture of the Studio of A. Knyfif. The versatile Stevens is also represented by Men- tone (road to Cap Martin), 1894; Portrait of a Lady, called "The Lady Bird" (1880); The Young Widow (1883); In the Studio; and Lady in a light Pink Dress. H. Leys's Portrait of Himself hangs here; and there are several fine portraits in the room devoted to the foreign schools by Goya; G. Courbet of Alfred Stevens, the painter; Sir Thomas Law- rence; Sir Henry Raeburn; and Sir Joshua Rey- nolds's Portrait of W. Chambers, the architect. Among the best pictures in this part of the gal- lery we may cite E. Fromentin's Thirsty Land, a caravan in the Sahara, painted in 1869; Goya's 348 Ube Hrt of tbc Belgian ©alleries Scene from the Inquisition and G. Courbet's " La ManoUa," a Spanish dancer, and Torrent; and H. W. Mesdag's Sunset at Sea painted in 1895. Among marines the best are : Coast near Ostend by P. J. Clays, who also has a notable Roads of Antwerp (1869) and a Calm on the Scheldt; Sunblink on a Rough Sea by A. Bouvier, who has also a Sea Piece; and a Sea Piece by Louis Artan. Turning to genre we find F. de Braekeleer's The Golden Wedding, painted in 1839, and Distribution of Fruit at a School ; and Henri de Braekeleer's The Waterhuis at Antwerp; The Geographer; Stall; and Spinner; Florent Willems's The Bride's Toi- let; Alfred Cluysenaar's The Infant Painter; J. B. Madou's Fortune-Teller; Village Politicians, and Mischief-Maker, a Flemish scene in the Eigh- teenth Century; V. Lagye's Sorceress; Joost Im- pens's Flemish Tavern ; Jul. de Vriendt's Christmas Carol (1894); J. Ensor's Lamp Cleaner; Charles de Groux's Departure of the Recruit; Saying Grace; Drunkard by the Corpse of his Neglected Wife; and A Funeral; C. Meunier's Tobacco Fac- tory at Seville ; E. de Block's Reading in the Bible ; G. de Jonghe's The Young Mother; H. Source's Bad News ; and J. Verhas's Review of the Schools, on the occasion of the silver wedding of the King and Queen of the Belgians in 1878. The procession Brussels 349 is passing the Palace in front of which are the King and Queen and other persons of importance. Hotel-de-Ville One could pause a long while in the Grande Place, one of the finest Mediaeval squares in exist- ence, to describe its architectural features and its historical associations. There was not an incident in the city's history, not a revolt, nor an execution, nor a festival, nor a ceremony, of which it was not the scene; and here tilts and tournaments took place and the entries of sovereigns were brilliantly and joyously celebrated. Our destination, however, is the H6tel-de-Ville, the most interesting building in Brussels. The principal facade facing the square is Gothic and was built in 1402-1443, and the light and graceful spire, 370 feet high, was finished in 1454 and is surmounted by a gilded figure of the Archangel Michael, made by Martin Van Rode in 1454. The architects of the building were Jacob Van Thienen and Jan Van Ruysbroeck. A statue of the latter occupies the first niche in the tower. The whole facade is adorned with niches and statues. Entering the building by the " Lions' Staircase," restored in the style of the Fifteenth Century, we reach the great Salle des Fetes, a magnificent hall adorned with oak carvings after designs by Jamaer, 350 tCbe act of tbc JBelgtan ©alleries the city architect, and hung with superb tapestries representing the guilds, executed at Mechhn from designs by W. Geefs. From this hall, we enter the Salle des Marriages, lined with oak panelling and adorned with allegor- ical frescoes. Through an ante-room, the visitor passes into the Council Hall, where Egmont and Hoorn were condemned to death. The decorations date from the end of the Seventeenth Century, and here we find splendid tapestries of this period re- presenting the entrance of Philip the Good of Bur- gundy, the Abdication of Charles V, etc., from the designs by Victor Janssens, the author of the ceil- ing painting, depicting Olympus and its gods. In addition to portraits of former sovereigns, Maria Theresa, Francis II, Joseph II, Charles VI, Charles V, Philip III of Spain, Charles II of Spain, Philip IV, Philip II in Robe of the Golden Fleece, and the Archduke Albert and Isabella, his wife, there are portraits, busts and statues of famous burgomasters and several wall and ceiling paintings representing civic and allegorical subjects, by Count J. de Lalaing, Cardon and Em. Wauters. At the foot of the stairway in the corridor is a large pic- ture by Stallaert, representing the Death of Eber- hard T'Serclaes, a magistrate of Brussels, painted in 1883, and also the Assyrians Pillaging a Moa-r' bitish Town, by Ernest Vandenkerckhoven. ^'Hi l'*^:.. - -. '' 0' .^If^-fj^H ■ ^^^iR^#,, V ./'j^ '- '-.T ■' '':\M'' ' # Pf^ 4 4V" ." ■ |; L*' E.:» ■ , rK<'' ' ,- ' 'il 8 «^ P|--,. .->«, -'^ wi . .' ■/ ^,;*=^ '■' • ^E^'sl^^^^H '.' •.■ ,•*■ t- ''^ ^.'Ri'.^rf*..-^ ..-■;i. ^^^^^K, ' ''A J.-^^ ^1' ' ' '' ■■^Sp % " --v • ^^^^^^^^^Bi^ .Mj£d« *i /"• % '^w L f^- ^w^ , « "1 #'1^ ;i'.i',-^'J JSrussels 351 Views of Old Brussels before 1873, by J. B. Van Moer, are in the Salle d'Attente; two pictures by F. A. Bossuet of Old Brussels, painted when the artist was ninety years old, are in the Cabinet de I'echevin de I'etat civil; and there is an interesting altar-piece in the Salle de Maximilien, by a Belgian painter of the Fifteenth Century, representing epi- sodes in the Virgin's life. Portraits of Maximilian and his wife, Maria of Burgundy, by Cluysenaar, hang over the chimney-piece in this room. In the ante-chamber there are ten decorative panels representing kermesses and landscapes of the Flemish school of the Eighteenth Century, which formerly decorated a brewery in Brussels. Musee Communal La Maison du Roi, on the Grande Place, also known as the Halle au Pain, contains a small col- lection of pictures quite worth a visit. The building itself is one of the most charming specimens of Belgian civic architecture of the Sixteenth Century. It was erected in 1514-1525 in the transition style from Gothic to Renaissance and was restored /in 1876-1895 according to the plans of the original architect, Louis Van Bodeghem (or Van Beu- ghem). The interior fittings are also in the style of the period. It was in the great saloon on the second floor that Counts Egmont and Hoorn passed the 352 XTbe Hrt of tbe BclQlan Galleries night before their execution (5 June, 1568) and from it passed to the block by means of a scaffold especially erected. On the second floor is the Musee Communal, or Municipal Museum, established in 1887 (entrance Rue du Poivre), where are pre- served models and views of old Brussels buildings, banner, sculpture, the clothes with which the Man- nikin Fountain has occasionally been dressed, and treasures in china, faience, and metal, as well as prints and coins. The picture gallery contains ex- amples of Snyders, A. Moro, Goltzius, Bol, Cuyp and Mierevelt, and a few works by German and Italian masters. Musee Wierts Among the show-places of Brussels that the trav- eller rarely fails to visit is the Wiertz Museum, situated in the rue Vautier, near the Zoological Gardens. It was originally the studio of the eccen- tric painter, Antoine Joseph Wiertz, whose chief works were gathered here, and now belongs to the Belgian nation. The building is in the form of an ancient temple to which Wiertz was about to add two wings at the time of his death. On entering the stranger's first feeling is one of surprise. The pictures are arranged in a long hall. The upper tier consists of colossal works some of BtUBSelS 353 which are thirty feet high, and are, for the most part, sombre in colour and lugubrious in subject, representing, as a visitor remarked, " awful specta- cles of woe and of suffering, masses of figures , blended- together, dead or dying; flight and per- plexity, together with forms of mighty genii of sorrowful and pitiful countenances with hands bringing comfort and blessing to perishing worlds — and all floating, ascending, descending, in be- wildering multitudes. " Lower down a second tier of paintings. These, many of them, if not all, en peinture mate, richer in colour, and mostly episodes out of the earth-life and modern-life, and frequently very humble life, but none the less tragic — it may even be all the more tragic. Here and there a bit of whimsical drollery — here and there a bit of weird witchcraft, or magic — here and there, but very rarely, a little, a very little bit of sunshine and of peace, of rich bright landscape and peaceful idyllic life. The impression made upon the mind is firstly, surprise; secondly, the conviction that Wiertz was a man possessed of no ordinary powers of imagination and of no ordinary powers of exe- cution." Every subject seems to have attracted this mad genius who has been described as having the heavy tread of an elephant, an imagination dark as a thun- der cloud and a brush broad as a besom. 354 xcbe art of tbe Belgian Galleries Subjects drawn from Homer, Scriptural, Chris- tian, symbolic, romantic, weird, satirical, humour- ous, pathetic and philosophical themes are here treated with a savage force and fury. The strange individuality of Wiertz is best exhibited in those works that contain a philosophical idea, such as the Genius' of War, the Civilization of the Nineteenth Century, A Blow from the Hand of a Belgian Woman, the Orphans, the Last Cannon and the Things of the Past regarded by the Men of the Future. The Genius of War is typified by Napoleon Buonaparte, who is standing in Hell, in his white coat, cocked hat drawn over his forehead, folded arms, lips compressed as with pain and livid face. Thin livid and lurid flames issue from his vitals; and, encircling him and pressing upon him, is a crowd of phantoms — widows, orphans and parents who have been bereft through him of their loved ones. They bring him reeking members of bodies and offer him with curses a cup of blood. The Genius of Civilization destroying the Last Cannon represents an enormous battle field, where dead and dying men and horses are lying in the twi- light. In a sort of aurora-like glow, the Genius of Civilization, in purple and gold, is breaking asunder a cannon, and behind her are the figures of Wisdom, Science, Labour, Industry and Agriculture, with Brussels 355 brows wreathed with the olive, corn and vine — bringing the blessings of peace. The Things of the Past regarded by the Men of the Future represents a cannon, a sceptre, a crown and an arch of triumph in the palm of an enormous hand. Through the clouds the faces of a man, a woman and a child look with pity and amusement upon these curiosities. The Contest- for the Body of Patroclus painted in 1839 and The Triumph of Christ painted in 1848 are considered his best works. Patroclus is a fine study of the nude. The figure lies in the cen- tre horizontally and Greeks and Trojans are con- tending for the possession of it, while, in the back- ground, Jupiter is about to throw a great rock at the Trojans. The Triumph of Christ is an original, imaginative and reverential conception. Here the Saviour in the character of a judge, hiding his face and clos- ing his eyes on a scene of violence, points the hand upwards to the light and a kingdom eternal. The chiaroscuro is worthy of Rembrandt, the idea is Dantesque. Among the other Scriptural pictures of special note are: The Flight into Egypt; The Education of the Virgin ; The Sleep of the Infant Jesus ; The Descent of the Rebel Angels; and The Beacon of Golgotha. 356 XLbc Htt ot tbe Belgian (Balleries Among " the wild nightmares of the brain " are : Thoughts and Visions of a Head Cut Off; A Sec- ond After Death ; Hunger, Madness and Crime ; A Scene in Hell; The Birth of the Passions; The Burned Child; The Suicide; The Novel Reader, and Precipitate Inhumation, — all of which are in- tended to convey lessons. The Artist's Mother, too, should be noticed, — a peasant seated at her spinning-wheel, before the chimney, and wearing a red dress, a black apron, . a plaid fichu of blue and yellow, and a white cap. As a specimen of Wiertz's lighter vein, there is a picture of a young girl in a garden admiring a rose bush from which unseen by her a little Cupid aims at her breast a fatal arrow. The spectator will be amused at a representation of the old story of the three wishes, where a magnificently dressed fairy waves her wand over the heads of the old peasant and his wife, she having wished for a sau- sage and he that it would stick to her nose. The old man is jumping in terror to see that this has occurred. Forge of Vulcan is also a notable work. Before leaving the Wiertz Museum, we must note a number of terra cotta and plaster groups of sculpture, also by Wiertz, which he intended to execute on a colossal scale ; and also several " sur- prises," painted upon the corners of the walls and Brussels 357 hidden behind screens. If the visitor's curiosity is excited, and he looks to see what is concealed, in the one case a chained dog is ready to attack him, or a Calabrian brigand points his loaded carabine at the intruder. In another place, through a half opened window, a young girl offers a rose. The general impression produced by this strange gallery is well described by J. Beavington Atkin- son, who writes: " The Musee Wiertz presents pictorial and men- tal phenomena without parallel in Europe : the in- congruous creations here collected reach the grand and then descend into the grotesque; rise to the sublime and then fall into the ridiculous. The gal- lery is as a pictorial pandemonium, wherein rages the perpetual conflict between good and evil, God and devil, the carnal consuming the spiritual, and blasphemy raising its voice against religion. The artist has portrayed his character in his pictures; indeed, he may almost be said to have written his autobiography in the tumultuous composition of The Revolt of Hell against Heaven. Here demons are in mortal combat with angels, dragons belch out fire in the face of heaven, lightnings rend rocks asunder, the crack of doom has come. " In the way of ultra-naturalism I recall a brutal scene, wherein the mother cuts oif the leg of her child and places it in a pot on the fire; likewise 358 trbe art of tbe SSelgtan ©alleries another repulsive composition of a woman jdepicted in two characters placed side by side: in the one she is gaily dressed, in the other she appears abso- lutely naked. In a third picture, a woman is seen bursting alive from a coffin. There are, also, some poor and childish monstrosities from the story of Gulliver. The Museum is likewise furnished with a series of peep-shows, after the manner of country- fairs, and further attraction is sought by sundry pic- torial tricks. Thus, a man is seen asleep at an open window, and in order to enhance the illusion, an actual shutter is hung on hinges against the wall. These examples may suffice to show that the paint- er's naturalism was of a low order." THE END. ITnbei: Abdication of Charles V, Gallait, loi, 343 Abshoven, 80 Accountant, The, Massys, 157 Achtschelling, Lucas, 243 Adam and Eve, Cranach, 224; Van Eyck, 4, 261-2 Adoration of the Lamb, The, Van Eyck, 2-8 Adoration of the Kings, Rubens, 174-5 Adoration of the Magi, Bosch, 280; Van Eyck, 262-3; Memling, 114-15; P. Van Mol, i^-g; Ru- bens, 284-s; Seghers, 70; Swart, 280 Adoration of the Shep- herds, De Craeyer, 301 ; Floris, i6o-i ; Jordaens, igo Adriaensen, Alexander, 76 Aertszen, P., 44, 324 Aken, Jerome Van. See Bosch Alchemist, Ryckaert, 324 Allegory, Jordaens, 304 Allegory of Justice, Rom- ibouts, 238 Alsloot, Denis Van, 51, 310 Angels, Fall of the Rebel, Floris, 159-160 359 Animals, Hondecoeter, 214 Annunciation, S. Martini, 217-18; R. Van der Wey- den, 146 Antonello da Messina, 9, 149, 219-220 Archers' Brotherhood, The, 20s Artan, L., no Arthois, Jacques d', 94-95, 307-8 Architectural pictures, 49, 214-15. 317-19 Assche, Van, 105 Assumption of the Virgin, A. Bouts, 271-2; M. Van Coxie, 275-6 ; Rubens, 285-7 Autumn, Brueghel, 283 Baertsoen, A., no Balen, H. Van, 70, 71, 83, 306 Baptism of Christ, David, 123-5; Rubens, 179; M. de Vos, 162-3 " Barbizon, The Belgian," 106 Baron, Th., 107 Bats, F. de Braekeleer, 250 Bellegambe, Jean, 19, 26, 28, 29 Berckheyde, G., 215 360 1[n6ei Beschey, B., gg Bethesda, Pool of, Boeyer- mans, 206 Biefoe, E. de, loi, 226, 343 Biloque, Hospice de la, Ghent, i Binje, 108 Birds, Pictures of, 322 Biset, Charles E., 94, 315 Bles, Herri Met de, 25, 169, 273, 295 Blieck, M., no Bloemen, Frans Van, 95 Blondell, Lancelot, 19, 24, 28, 30, 134-135, 273 Boch, Anna, 108, 109 Boeyermans, T., 85-86, 206, 241 Boel, Peter, 248 Bol, F, 335 Bol, Hans, 48 Bosch, Jerome, 19, 21, 27, 282 Boudewyns, A., 96 Boulenger, H., 106 Bout, Pieter, 82, 207 Bouts, Albert, 18, 271 Bouts, Thierry, 15-18, 145- 146, 265-7 Bouvier, A., no Braekeleer, F. de, 102, 226, 250 Braekeleer, H. de, 102, 226 Brakenberg, Richard, 213 Bredael, J. Van, 97 Bree, M. I. Van, 102 Bril, Matthys, 47 Bril, Paul, 47-8 Broeck, Elie Van den, 78 Broederlain, Melchior, i Brueghel, Abraham, "JT, 78 Brueghel, Ambroise, Tj Brueghel, Droll. See Pieter Brueghel, "Hell fire," 42, 71, 194- I9S. 282 Brueghel, Jan B., 78, 283 Brueghel, Peasant. See Pieter Brueghel, Pieter, 41-2, 78, 246, 282 Brueghel, Velvet, 42, 74, 306 Bruges, Academy, 119-13S Bueckelaer, Joachim, 44 Caesar's Penny, M. de Vos, 162 Caledonian Boar Hunt, Ru- bens, 293 Cambyses, Judgment of, David, 120-122 Capelle, J. Van de, 209 Cavaliers, Two, Cuyp, 209 Cercle I'Essor, 108 Champaigne, P. de, 97, 334, 338 Charles the Bold, 333 Christ about to Strike the World, Rubens, 288-90 Christ and the Angels, Memling, 149 Christ in the Arms of God, Flemish School, 251 Christ Carrying the Cross, Rubens, 290-2 Christ on the Cross, Ru- bens, 173, 258 Christ the Pilgrim, M. Pepyn, 198 Christ, Triumph of, Wiertz, 355 Circumcision, The, Coxie, 35 Claessens, Antoine, 40 Classicism, French, 100 Classists, los Clays, P. J., no Cleef, Jan Van, 63, 236 Cleef, Josse, 36 Cleef, Martin Van, 37 Coeck, Peter of Alost, 33, 274 CoUart, Marie, 108, 228 Compromise, The, E. de Biefve, loi, 343 Concert, The Family, Jor- daens, 189-190 irnbet S61 Coninck, David de, 78 Coninxloo, Gilles Van, 30 Coninxloo, Jan Van, 30, 280-1 Coninxloo, Pieter Van, 30 Coques, Gonzales, 93, 199 Coronation of St. Rosalie, De Craeyer, 235 Coronation of the Virgin, Fourteenth Century, 144; Rubens, 287-8 Coup de Lance, Rubens, 172-3 Courtens, Frans, 107 Coxie, Michael Van, 27, 34, 163-4, 274-S, 296 Coxie, Raphael Van, 62, 242 Craesbeeck, J. Van, 93, 202-3 Craeyer, Caspar de, 62-63, 234-6, 300-2 Cranach, 340 Crivelli, 340 Cross, Bearing of the, Brueghel, 195 Cross, Descent from the, S. Martini, 218; P. Pourbus, 132-3; Rubens, 185-186; R. Van der Weyden, 253 Crown of Thorns, Van Coxie, 296 Crucifixion, Van Dyck, 84, 187; A. da Messina, 219- 20; S. Martini, 218 Cross, Elevation of the, Rubens, 182-185 Cuyp, A., 209 Daret, Jacques, 11 David, Gerard, 19, 22-23, 31 120-125 David, J. L., 100 Dead Christ, De Craeyer, 300; Memling, 115-116; Rubens, 179-180, 288 Degreef, J., 108, 109 Deipara Virgo, J. Mos- taert, 150 Dejonghe, 104 Denduyts, 108 Delen, D. Van, 319 "Desserts," yj Diepenbeeck, Abraham Van, 86 Don, G., 335 Dream of St. Joseph, Rom- bouts, 237-8 Dubois, Louis, 108 Duchatel, Frans, 80, 83, 244 Diinwege, V. and H., 223-4 Dusart, C. the Younger, 213 Dutch Cook, Aertsen, 324 Duvenede, 98 Dyck, Anthony Van, 83-85, 187-9, 246, 294, 338 Eagles' Repast, Snyders, 192 Ecce Homo, Mabuse, 170 E^mont and Horn, Last Honours to, Gallait, loi, 255-6 Egmont, Joost Van, 91 Ehrenberg, W. Van, 51 Engelbrechtsen, 151 Entombment, Massys, 152-6; Van Dyck, 187-8. See Pieta Ertborn, F. J. Van, Collec- tion of, 139 Es, Jacob Van, 76, 247-8 Essen. See Es Eyck, Hubert Van, 1-8 Eyck, John Van, 1-9, 125- 128, 139-142, 262 Farm, Visit to the, Brue- ghel, 194-5 Fecundity, Jordaens, 305 Fish, Painters of, 76-77, 247 Fisher, Young, Hals, 216 Fisherman, Young, Rem- brandt, 216 862 fn&ci Fishermen, Conversion of the, Jan Thomas, 257 Fishes, Miraculous Draught of, De Craeyer, 300-1 Fishmonger's Shop, A. Van Utrecht, 247 Flemael, B., 97 Flemalle, Abbey of, 11 Flemish Art, 31 Flemish Drinkers, The, Teniers, 199-200 "Flemish Heda, The," ^^, 248 "Flemish Raphael, The," 37 Flemish Renaissance, 13-1S, 24 Flight into Egypt, Patenier, 169 Floris, Frans, 24, 27, 36, 159-61, 269 Flower-painters, 74-6 Flowers, 109, 249, 320-1, 322-3 " Fool, The." See Cleef, J. Van Fouquet, Jehan, 222 Fouquieres, J., 87-88 Fourment, Helen, 178 Fourmois, T., 105 Fra Angelico, 219 Francken, Ambrose, 40, 16S-7 Francken, Frans the Elder, 40. 16s Francken, Frans the Younger, 165, 167-8 Francken, Jerome, 40 Frangois, Joseph, 108 Fruit, 75-76, 319-21, 322 Fyt, Jan, fyj, 72-3, 193, 320-1 Gaeremyn, 98 Gallait, Louis, loi, 227, ^255-6, 257, 343, 344 Galle, Jerome I, ^^ Geldorp. See Gortzius Genoels, A., 96, 205 Gerard, Mark, 47 Gevartius, Portrait of, Ru- bens, 181 Ghent, Museum of, 233 Ghering, Anthcmy, 51, 94 Gheyn, Jacques de, 74 Gillemans, J. P., 77 Gilsoul, v., no Giotto, 218-19 Glaeszone, Martin, 27 Goes, Hugo van der, 20, 22, ISO, 253 Gortzius, Gualdorp, 46-7 Gossaert, 19, 24, 29, 295. See Mabuse Goubau, Anthony, 82, 204 Goyen, J. Van, 208 Groux, Charles de, 102, 228 Guild of St. Luke, 136, 203 Gysels, Pieter, 323 Hals, Frans, 52-53, 246 Hamesse, A., 108 Harriers, Two, Fsrt, 193 Hecht, H. Van der, 108 Heda, 248 Heem, Jan David de, "jj, 306-7 319 Heere, Lucas de, 37, 40 Heil, Daniel Van, 309 Heist, B. van der, 336 Hemessen, Jan Van, 35-36, 240, 296 Henvele, Antoine Van, 63 Hermans, Charles, 103 Herodias, Daughter of Massys, 152, 15^ Herp, Gerard Vdn, 90 Herreyns, G. J., 99, 138 Herri Met de Bles. See Bles Heymans, A. J., 107 Historical Pictures, 314-16, 344 Hobbema, 208 Hoeck, Jan Van, 90 Hoefnagels, Georges, 74 Holy Family, A. Bouts, 145 ; 1rn^eI 363 Diinwege, 223-4 5 Lie- maeckere, 239 ; Quellin, 91-2; M. de Vos, 240 Hondecoeter, M. d', 214, 322 Hospital of St. John, Bruges, 111-119 Hotel-de-Ville, Antwerp, 230-232 ; Brussels, 349-51 ; Louvain, 250-2 Houckgeest, G., 214-5 Hulle, Anselmn Van, 63 Human Calamities, L. Lom- bard, 280 Hunt, The, Rubens, 180 Huysmans, Cornells, 95 Huysmans, Jan B., 95 Impressionism, 108 Impressionists, 107-108 Inauguration of King of Spain, Duchatel, 244-6 Interiors, 213-214, 326-8 Invalid, Visit to the, E. Van der Neer, 211 Italian influence, 28 Italian landscapes, 209 Janssens, Abraham, 54, 70, 71, 193 Janssens, V. H., 98 Jesus in the House of Simon the Pharisee, A. Bouts, 272; Mabuse, 29, 29s Joest, Jan, 268 Jordaens, Hans, 206 Jordaens, Jacob, 64-69, 189- 91, 241, 326-8 Jordaens, wife of, 190 Judgment of Solomon, De Craeyer, 234 Jupiter and Antiope, Ru- jbens, 180 Keelhof, 103 Kermesse, Brakenberg, 213 Kermesse, " Hell fire " Brueghel, 195 Kermesse, D. Vinckboons, I9S-6 Kessel, Jan Van, ^^ Key, Adriaen, 201 Key, Willem, 46 Keyser, Nicaise de, loi, 137, 225 Kindermans, J. B., 105 Knyf, Wouter, 244 Knyif, A. de, 106-107 Koedyck, 327 Lady with the Fink, School of Van Orley, 279 Lagye, V., 102, 232 Lairesse, Gerard de, 97 Lamoriniere, J. P. F., 105 Landscapes, 2, 25, 32, 39, 103-9, 207-11, 243, 311-13, 345-7 Landscape, Classic, 204, 205 Last Judgment, The, R. Van Coxie, 242; Floris, 269-71 ; G. Mostaert, 201 ; Van Orley, 32-33, 158-9; Prevost, 130-132 ; Pour- bus, 132 Last Supper, The, A. Bouts, 272; T. Bouts, 17; Peter Coeck, 274; M. Van Coxie, 27s, 297; Jor- daens, 190-191; Key, 201 Leemputten, F. Van, 109 Lens, Andries, 99 Leyden, Lucas Van, 26, 30, 151-2 Leys, Hendrik, 102, 225, 230-1, 344, 347 Liemaeckere, Nicholas de, 56-57, 63, 238 Lies, J., 102 Lint, Peter Van, I93-I94 Lombard, Lambert, 24, 28, 36, 203 Lot and His Daughters, Massys, 294 364 UnOei Lucidel. See Neuchatel, 46 Lutninists, 109 Mabuse, 26, 28, 29, 169-70, 253, 295 Madonna of the Canon Van der Paele, Van Eyck, I2S-7, 142 Madonna of the Forget-me- not, Rubens, 285 Madonna of the Fountain, Van Eyck, 141-142 Madonna and Child with Saints, Rubens, 186-187 Madou, J. B., 102 Magdalen, Massys, 157 Mahu (or Mahy), Corne- lls, 245 Maitre de Flemalle, 10, 18 Maitre a la Souriciere, 11 Mander, Karel Van, 26, 52, 53 Mandolin Player, Ter Borch, 212 Margaret of Austria, 11, 170, 258, 277, 278, 282 Massacre of the Innocents, L. Brueghel, 282 Massys, Jan, 168, 294 Massys, Quentin, 26-28, 152-7 Mostaert, Jan, 281 Maries Returning from Sepulchre, Mabuse, 169- 70 Maries Returning from the Tomb, Massys, 157 Master of the Assumption, 24 Master of the Death of Mary, 10, 24 Master of the Death of the Virgin, 268 Master of the Mater Dolo- rosa, 24 Master of the Mousetrap, 11 Master of the Owl, 25 Mathieu, L. J., loo Markelbach, A., 102 Marines, 48-49, no, 209-11, 313. 348 Marmion, Simon, 21 Marriage of St. Catherine, Memling, 111-114; Va- nius, 299 Martini, Simone, 217-18 Martyrdom of Saint Bla- sius, De Craeyer, 235 Martyrdom, Four Crowned Condemned to, Francken, 167, 168 Martyrdom of St. Cosmos and Damian, Francken, 167 Martyrdom of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian, Francken, 166-7 Martyrdom of St. George, Schut, 205 Martyrdom of St. Hypoli- tus, 16 Martyrdom of St. Lievens, Rubens, 66, 290 Martyrdom of St. Por- phyria, 53 Martyrdom of St. Sebas- tian, M. Van Coxie, 164-5; Memling, 268 Meire, Gerard Van der, 19 Memling, Hans, 9, 11-12, 28, 111-119, 128-130, 148- 50, 26s Memmi; see Martini Mercury and Argus, Ru- bens, 292 Meunier, C, 102 Miel, Jan, 78 Millet, J. F., 96 Mode gris, 106-7 Modern Paintings, Gallery of, Antwerp, 225-229 Mol, Pieter Van, 90, 198-9 Momper, Josse de, 48 Moro, Antonio, 27, 336 Musical Party, Palamedes, 325 Unbei 365 Mostaert, Gilles, 30, 201 Mostaert, Jan, 19, 24, 28, 150-1 Multiplication of the Loaves, A. Francken, 16S-6 Municipal Museum, Liege, Picture gallery, 258-9 Museum, Mechlin, 257-8 ; Ypres, 256-7 Musee, Communal, Brus- sels, 351-2 Musee, Royal des, Tournai, 253-6 Musee, Beaux-Arts, Brus- sels, 136 Musee de Peinture Mod- erne, Brussels, 342-9 Musee Wiertz, 352-8 Mythological Pictures, 316- 17 Nativity, A. Bouts, 145 Naturalism, 108 Navez, F. J., 100, 250 Neeffs (or Neefs), Peter, SI, 243, 318 Neeflfs, Pieter the Younger, 51 Neer, A. Van der, 210-11, 310 Neer, Eglon Van der, 211 Negroes, Heads of, Rubens, 293-4 Neuchatel, Nicholas, 46 New Church, Delft, Houck- geest, 214-5 Noort, Adam Van, 51-52, 57. 64. Noort, Cathenne Van, 64 Noort, Lambert Van, 165 Oil Painting, Invention of, 2 Offering, The Gallant, J. Steen, 330 Ommeganck, B. P., 103 Oost, Jacques Van, the El- der, 8g, 135 Oost, Jacques Van, the Younger, 89 Orizzonte, 95 Orley, B. Van, 24, 26, 28, 30-33, 157-9. 277 Orley, Richard Van, 98, 246 Ostade, A., 325 Ostade, Isaak Van, 208, 326 Otho, Legend of, 265-7 Ouderaa, P. van, 102 Painters, Fifteenth Cen- tury, 19-20 Painters, Sixteenth Cen- tury, 26-27, 41, 64, 74 Painters, Eighteenth Cen- tury, 98 Pan and Syrinx, Jordaens, 305 Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 260-341 Palamedes, 325 Patenier, Joachim, 19, 23, 25, 169, 269, 276-7 Patinir. See Patenier Patroclus, Body of, Wiertz, 355 Peeters, Bonaventura, 49 Peeters, Clara, "jy Peeters, Jan, 49 Pepyn, Martin, 56, 196-8 Peter, Deliverance of, Neeffs, 243 Philip the Good, 2 Pierides, Transformation of the, R. Van Orley, 246 Pieta, Memling, 264 Plantin, Christopher, 232-3 Plantin-Moretus Museum, 232-3 Portaels, J. F., 100 Portrait of Agnes Sorel, 222 Portrait of Erasmus, Hol- bein, 224-5 366 Hn&ei; Portrait of Francis II, Clouet, 222-3 Portrait of Frederick III, Durer, 224 Portrait of Prince Freder- ick Henry, Mierevelt, 215 Portrait Young Girl, B. Van der Heist, 215 Portrait of A. Grapheus, C. De Vos, 203 Portrait of a Woman, Jor- daens, 191 Portrait of a Young Woman, Mytens, 215 Portraits, 204, 215-17, 332-8 Portraits by F. Bol, 335 ; P. de Champaigne, 334; G. Dou, 335 ; Van Dyck, i88-g, 246, 294, 338; H. Van der Goes, 150; F. Hals, 215-17, 334; B. Van der Heist, 215, 336; Ma- buse, 170-1 ; Memling, 148-9, 150, 267; Moreelse, 334; Moro, 336; Mos- taert, 150; B. Van Orley, 279-80; F. Pourbus, 336; P. Pourbus, 335 ; Rem- brandt, 216-17, 335; Ru- bens, 173; C. de Vos, 332; M. de Vos, 298-g Pourbus, Frans, 46, 241, 336 Pourbus, Pieter, 27, 45-46, 132-133, 204, 335 Pour I'Art, 108 Presentation in the Temple, Verhaegen, 242 Prevost, Jan, 130-132 Primitives, 11, 17, 25, 31, 74 Prodigal Son, The, Hemes- sen, 296; Rubens, 180- 181 Quellin, Erasmus, 91 Quinaux, 106 Rebecca and Eleazer, Jor- daens, 303 Reconciliation, The, Jor- daens, 241 Religious pictures, 201-202 Reliquary of St. Ursula, 118-119 Rembrandt, 335 Renaissance, 28, 36-8 Resurrection of Lazarus, The, Vsenius, 52 Repose in Egypt, H. de Bles, 169 Rillaert, Jan Van, 51, 251 Ring, The, Lucas van Ley- den, 151 Rockox and wife, Nicholas, Rubens, 173-4 RofSaen, 105 Romantics, 105 Romanticism, 100 Rombouts, Theodor, 62, 71, 236-8 Roose. See Liemaeckere Rosseels, J., 107 Rubens, Peter Paul, 57-62, 64, 67, 68, 171-87, 225, 233, 258, 284-94 Rubens Chapel, 186 Rubens, Death of. Van Bree, 226 Ryckaert, David, 80, 82, 93, 205, 324 Rysbraek, P., 96 Ruysdael, Jacob, 207 Ruysdael, S. Van, 210 Rysdael, The Modern, 106 Saint Anne, Legend of, 268-9 Saint Augustine, M. Pepyn, 196 Saint Barbara, Van Eyck, 139-141 Saint Bavon, Cathedral of, 4 Saint Benoit, Legend of, Achtschelling, 243; Flem- ish school, 281 Saint Christopher, Bouts, 14s; Memling, 129-130 irnbex 367 Saint Elizabeth of Hun- gary Eepyn, 197-8 Saint Francis, Rubens, 239 Saint Francis, Last Com- munion of, Rubens, 177 Saint George, Legend of, Blondeel, 135 Saint George, Martyrdom of, Van Coxie, 34-35 Saint Gudule, Procession of. Van Alsloot, 310 Saint Hubert, De Craeyer, 302 ; Englebrechtsen, 151 Saint John in Patmos, De Craeyer, 235 Saint John Preaching, H. Van der Goes, 253 Saint Luke, Guild of, 136 Saint Luke Painting the Virgin, Blondeel, 134- 13s; Floris, 160; Jans- sens, 54-6; Martin De Vos, 136 Saint Martin, Jordaens, 302-3 Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, Boeyermans, 241-2 Saint Matthew, Hemissen, 240; B. Van Orley, 277 Saint Nicholas, Giotto, 219 Saint Nicholas, Foresight of, Vsenius, 171 Saint Norleert, Brueghel, 283; C. de Vos, 203 Saint Paul, Giotto, 218 Saint Paul, Conversion of, J. Van Rillaert, 252 Saint Peter, Blondeel, 273; Titian, 220 Saint Pierre, Church of, Louvain, 15 Saint Romuald, Fra Ange- lico, 219 Saint Sauveur, Church of, Bruges, 16 Saint Sebastian, Van Coxie, 35; Thys, 240 Saint Theresa, Rubens, 176-7 Saint Thomas, Incredulity of, Rubens, 173-4 Samson, J. Steen, 212 Satyr and Peasant, Jor- daens, 304 Savery, Jakob, 48 Savery, Roelandt, 48 Schalcken, 325 Schampheleer, E. de, 106 Schoevaerts, M., 308 Schongauer, Martin, 9 Schoorel, Jan, 28 School, Archaic, 102 School, Flemish, 3, 19 School of Antwerp, 28, 52, IS4 School of Bruges, 19, 20, 21, 164 School of Clouet, 45 School of Cologne, 9 School of Van Eyck, 22 School of Frans Floris, 56 School of Fontainebleau, 43 School of Liege, 36 School of Louvain, 19 School of Termonde, 107 School of Tervueren, 106, 107, 345 School of Tours, 9 School, Venetian, 23 Schut, Cornells, 89-go Seghers, Daniel, 74-75, ^^, 2,02 Seghers, Gerard, 70, 171 Senses, The Five, Coques, 199 ; Rombouts, 236-7 ; Teniers, 328-30 Seven Sacraments, The, 146-148 Serment, The Grand, 205, 301, 314, 31S Severed Heads, The, Gal- lait, 255-6 Siberechts, Jan, 95, 326 Simon the Magician, J. Van Rillaert, i2Sl-2 Sisters of Mercy, Jordaens, 191 Slingeneyer, E., 102 368 fttdex Snayers, Peter, 69-70 Snellinck, John, 54 Snyders, Frans, 62, (f], 71- 72, 192-3, 293, 321 Somer, Bernard Van, 47 Somer, Paul Van, 47 Son, Jan Van, yj Son, Georges Van, TJ Spinelli, Nicholas, Mem- ling, 148 Stallaert, J., 102 Steenwyck, Hendrik van, 50 Steen, Jan, 211-12, 330-1 Stevens, A., 103, 347 Stevens, J., 103, 346 Still Life, Pictures of, 247-9, 323-4 Stobbaerts, J., 103 Sustertnans, Justus, 86 Suttermans, J., 86 Susannah, Jordaens, 303; J. Massys, 294 Tadema, Alma 102 Teniers, David the Elder, 79, 307 Teniers, David the Younger, 79-82, 199-200, 328-9 Ter Borch, 212 Thielen, P. Van, ^^ Thomas, Jan, 257 Thulden, Theodore Van, 89, 254, 331-2 Thys, Pieter, 63, 85, 99 Thys, P. the Elder, 240 Tilborch, Gilles Van, 80, 82 Titian, 220-1 Tobias and the Angel, Craeyer, 255-6 Trials of Job, B. van Orley, 277-8 Trinity, The Holy, Rubens, 177 "Tryon, the Belgian," 109 Uden, Lucas Van, 88, 180, 191-2 Utrecht, Adriaen Van, 75, 247. 323-4 Vadder, L. de, 96 Vaenius, Otho, 43. 52, SI, 63, 64, 299 Valckenburg, Lucas Van, 4S Veen, Otto van. See Vae- nius Velde, A. Van de, 207-8 Velde, Willem Van de, 210 Venus at the Forge of Vul- can, 293 Verbeeck, Frans, 98 Verboeckhoven, E. J., 104- 105 Verbrugghen, G. P., ^7 Verendael, Nicholas Van, 78 Verhagen (or Verhaeg- hen), P. J., 98-9, 242, 252 Verhas, F., 103 Verhas, J., 103, 348 Verlat, Charles, 103, 225 Verheyden, I., 108, 228 Veronese, 341 Verstraete, T., 108 Verwee, A., 109, 228, 250, 345 Victoors, J., 213 Vigne, F. de, 102 Village Fete, Ryckaert, 205 Village Wedding, J. Steen, 211; J. Victoors, 213 Vilsteren Family, Van Dyck, 294 Vinck, F. H., 102 Vinckboons, David, 44-45, 195 Virgin and Child, Van Eyck School, 144; Ma- buse, 170; Memling, 116- 117 Virgin as Protectress, De Craeyer, 301-2 Virgin, Death of the, 134 Virgin, Education of the, Rubens, 177-8 Virgin Enthroned, Crivelli, 340 1ln5ei 369 Virgin, Hospitality Refused to, Jan Massys, i68 Virgin with the Parrot, Rubens, 179 Visit, The, Boeyermans, 206 Visitation, Wolfvoet, 87 Vlieger, Simon de, 210 Vos, Cornells de, 62, 69, 203, 251, 332 Vos, Martin de, 37, 38-40, 136, 161, 240, 2^-9 Vos, Simon de, 163 Vredemann, Jan, 35 Vriendt, De. See Floris Vriendt, C. de, 230, 232 Vries, Vriedeman de, 50 Van Hoeck, Jan, 194 Wappers, Gustav, 100, 226, 227 Watermill, Hobbema, 208-9 Watteau, 255 Wauters, E., 103 Wedding Feast, Brueghel, 246 Wedding, Flemish, 331-2 Weeping Woman, Head of, 263-4 Weenix, J., 322 Weyden, Roger Van der, 9- 10, 22, 146-148, 2S3, 263, 333 Wiertz, A. J., 102, 352-8 Wigan, Isaac, "^ Wildens, Jan, 80, 88, 180 Willaerts, Adam, 48 Willeboirts, T., 85, 86 William Tell, Biset, 94, 31S Winter Landscapes, 208, 319-20 Wolfvoet, Victor, 86-87 Works of Mercy, Francken the Younger, 167-8 Wouters, Frans, 88 Wynants, 207 Wytsman, Juliette, 109 Wytsman, Rodolphe, 108, 109 XX, The, 108 Ykens, Frans, 76, 248 Zacchaeus in the Fig-Tree, Vaenius, 171