2-.» 
 
HANDBOOK OF PAINTING. 
 
 GERMANY— NETHERLANDS, ETC. 
 
HANDBOOK OF PAINTING. 
 
 THE 
 
 GERMAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH 
 SCHOOLS, 
 
 BASED ON THE HANDBOOK OF KUGLER. 
 RE-MODELLED BY THE LATE DR. WAAGEN. 
 
 A NEW EDITION. 
 THOEOUGHLT REYISED AND IH" PART R E-W BITTEN" 
 
 By J. A. CROWE. 
 IN TWO PARTS.— Part I. 
 fflffltttfc EUusrtrattonsi. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 1879 
 
 The right of Translation is reserved. 
 
Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 Thieteen years have elapsed since the late Dr. Waagen 
 wrote the new edition of ' Kugler,' of which the present is a 
 revised and corrected impression. Dr. Waagen at that time 
 explained his reasons for rejecting a great part of Kugler' s 
 work, stating that he had enlarged the text in respect of the 
 later Dutch and Flemish schools, and extended his critical 
 notices to artists who were at once painters and engravers. 
 A minute account of the sources open to the historical in- 
 quirer in relation to art in Germany and the Low Countries 
 concluded this portion of the learned Doctor's preface. 
 
 Art criticism has done a great deal since 1860 to increase 
 our knowledge of the lives of painters, and much that was 
 then acceptable as historical and true is now looked upon as 
 fabulous or doubtful. I may venture to affirm that no one 
 at the present day would attempt to class Dierick Bouts, or 
 Cristus, or Justus amongst the pupils of Hubert van Eyck ; 
 nor would it occur to any person to admit the existence of 
 Roger van der Weyden the younger, or to acknowledge as 
 productions of the last Holbein such works as are found to 
 date before 1515. This classification and these statements 
 we find in Dr. Waagen' s text; and in citing them as proofs 
 of the necessity for revising that text, I do not by any means 
 exhaust the subject. 
 
 An attentive reader will observe that I discard Dr. 
 Waagen's theory of a Teutonic School, whilst I endeavour 
 to throw new light on the origin of painting in the Nether- 
 lands. The influence of sculpture-tinting is prominently 
 brought forward ; and examples are given of early art on 
 walls and portable shrines. Some interest is now for the 
 
iv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 first time given to the painters who were the precursors of 
 the Yan Eycks in Flanders ; and passing to the Van Eycks 
 themselves, I trace their connection with the reigning family 
 of the Burgundian Dukes at the time of their residence in 
 Ghent. John van Eyck is shown to have spent two years 
 at the Hague ; his journey to Portugal is described ; and 
 proof is afforded that our knowledge of him and his brother 
 is mainly derived from Italian as contra- distinguished from 
 Belgian sources. Cristus is noted as a painter who lived in 
 the second half of the fifteenth century ; he is the only direct 
 disciple of the great master of Bruges. 
 
 The school of the Van Eycks, which had its cradle in the 
 valley of the Meuse, is to be distinguished from that of Van 
 der Weyden, which arose in the valley of the Scheldt. Van 
 der "Weyden is not the pupil, he is the contemporary and 
 rival of John van Eyck. Van der Goes appears as one who 
 carried to a monastery the talents of a great artist and the 
 habits of a wine-bibber. Justus of Ghent wanders to Urbino, 
 where he transforms his style, and becomes great under the 
 influence of Santi and Melozzo. Gerard van der Meire, the 
 contemporary of Justus, becomes connected by tradition with 
 a series of pictures telling of prolonged and patient activity. 
 Mending's career, after his settlement at Bruges, is clearly 
 mapped out ; and we track to their original places most of 
 his scattered altarpieces in European galleries. Dierick 
 Bouts is shown to be the pupil of Roger van der Weyden, 
 the founder of a local school at Louvain, and the master of 
 Quentin Massys. Gheerardt David wanders from Holland to 
 Bruges, imitates Memling and Van Eyck, and forms Joachim 
 Patenicr, the first of the Belgian landscapists. The birth 
 and death of Quentin Massys, his practice at Antwerp, and 
 his relation to Holbein and Durer are accurately given ; 
 whilst Mabuse takes his place as Quentin's friend and con- 
 temporary before he passed into Italy and modified his style 
 after the taste of the Renaissance. Bellegambe of Douai is 
 restored to his place in the history of Belgian art ; Marinus 
 of Romerswale becomes familiar as a follower of Massys ; 
 and the fantastic Bosch resumes his old and genuine name 
 of Van Aeken. Patenier, who matriculated at Antwerp in 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 1515, appears as the master of Henry de Bles, whose identity 
 with Henri de Patenier may be accepted as certain. 
 
 Some novelty will be found to have been introduced into 
 the lives of the painters of the Low Countries who were the 
 precursors, contemporaries, and followers of Rubens and 
 Rembrandt. Of Rembrandt himself and his pupils the lives 
 have been remodelled or re-written, to satisfy the claims of 
 the public to an accurate knowledge of their style and pro- 
 ductions. Almost all the dates illustrating the history of 
 the later Dutch have been subjected to a necessary revision. 
 
 Changes of no less magnitude will be found in the accounts 
 of German schools. Hans Holbein the grandfather disap- 
 pears from the pages of the Handbook, — his existence proved 
 to be a myth. Hans Holbein the father is welcomed back 
 to the rank which he had lost, and we assign to him anew the 
 pictures which critics had learnt to attribute to his son. It 
 might have been considered difficult, ^f not impossible, to add 
 anything to the the history of men hitherto so patiently 
 studied as Holbein and Durer, yet it will be seen that much 
 has been done to complete the lives and correct the lists of 
 works of these eminent artists. 
 
 In the attempt thus made to remodel Dr. Waagen's 'Kugler,' 
 I required the help of numerous contemporary authorities ; 
 and I perform a pleasing duty in acknowledging the assistance 
 which I have derived from such works as the following : — ' Le 
 Beffroi,' edited by Mr. Weale ; the 1 Journal des Beaux Arts,' 
 with its articles by Michiels, Burger, and Weale, and the latter's 
 'Guide to Bruges,' and 'Catalogue of the Bruges Academy'; 
 the ' Zeitschrift fur Bildende Kunst,' edited by Professor von 
 Lutzow, with its numerous contributions from the pen of A. 
 von Zahn, Hermann Liicke, Waagen, A. Woltmann, Gottfried 
 Kinkel, His-Heussler, Wilhelm Schmidt, J. Baader, and 
 Moriz Thausing ; Busscher's ' Recherches sur les Peintres 
 Gantois ' ; Schnaase's ' Geschichte der Bildenden Kiinste ' ; 
 Dr. Ennen's writings in the 1 Annalen des Historischen Vereins 
 fur den Niederrhein ' ; A. Pinchart's ' Archives des Arts ' 
 and other works; E. van Even's 'Louvain Monumental ' and 
 pamphlets ; Ruelens' and Pinchart's Annotations to Dele- 
 pierre's Translation of ■ Early Flemish painters ' ; the nume- 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 rous works of Mr. A. Wauters of Brussels ; the ' Liggeren,' 
 or registers of the Antwerp Guild, transcribed with copious 
 annotations by Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius ; Van der 
 Willigen's ' Artistes de Haarlem ' ; George Scharf's papers in 
 the ' London Archeologia ' ; Dr. Julius Meyer's ' Kunst Lexi- 
 con ' ; Harzen's ' Life of Zeitblom ' ; Woltmann's and Worn urn's 
 ' Holbein ' : Herman Grimm's numerous essays ; ' Durer's 
 Life,' by A. von Eye ; Durer's ' Kunstlehre,' by A. von Zahn ; 
 0. Miindler's ' Beitrage ' ; Schuchardt's ' Lucas Cranach ' ; 
 C. Vosmaer's ' Life of Rembrandt ' ; Burger's ' Musees de 
 Hollande ' ; Fetis' 'Catalogue of the Brussels Museum'; 
 Sunaert's 'Catalogue of the Ghent Museum'; Dr. Bode's 
 'Frans Hals ' ; T. van Westrheene's ' Paulus Potter ' ; P. 
 Scheltema's 'Amstel's Oudheit.' 
 
 It would not be fair to neglect mentioning such publica- 
 tions as Vaernewyk's 'Beroerlycke Tijden,' and Weinreich's 
 ' Danziger Chronik,' both of which were recently printed. 
 
 I have thought it necessary to preserve Dr. Waagen's 
 references to the collection of the Landauer Briiderhaus at 
 Nuremberg, because after the close of that collection the 
 pictures which it contained were dispersed no one knows 
 where. 
 
 After the pages of the Handbook had been sent to press, I 
 learnt that the Munich Pinakothek had been numbered afresh. 
 
 In correction of the text I may state that the portrait in 
 the Belvedere Museum assigned by Dr. Waagen to Calcar is 
 by Morone ; and the Soleure Madonna is now the property of 
 the Kunst Verein of that city. 
 
 J. A. Crowe. 
 
 Note. — The Suermondt collection has been acquired for 
 the Museum at Berlin ; the Wynn Ellis is bequeathed to the 
 National Gallery, and the Munro — Butler Johnstone— dis- 
 persed at Messrs. Christie's, 1878. The collection of Herr 
 van Loon, at Amsterdam, is also dispersed. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface hi 
 
 List of Illustrations ix 
 
 BOOK I. 
 a.d. 800-1250. 
 
 Chapter I. — Early Christian Epoch. 800-1150 1-13 
 
 n II.— The Byzantine-Romanesque Epoch. 1150-1250 13-23 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 Art of the Middle Ages, 1250-1420. 
 
 Introduction 24 
 
 Chapter I. — The Period when Painting was principally 
 restricted to the Illumination of Outlines 
 
 1250-1350 25-31 
 
 „ II. — Development of Painting in its more indepen- 
 dent character. 1350-1420 32-43 
 
 BOOK III. 
 Art op the Fifteenth Century, 1420-1530. 
 Complete Development of Art in the Spirit of the Middle 
 
 Ages. 
 
 Chapter I.— The Brothers Van Eyck 49-74 
 
 , r II. — School of Belgium till near the close of the 
 
 fifteenth century 74-111 
 
 „ III. — The Early Flemish School, up to the period of 
 
 its termination. 1490-1530 112-124 
 
 n IV. — The German School, in its transition from the 
 Style of the preceding period to the Realistic 
 
 Tendency. 1420-1460 125-130 
 
 M V. — The German Schools which adopted the Real- 
 istic Tendency of the Van Eycks. 1460-1500 130-150 
 
 n VI.— The German Schools from 1500 to 1550 150-229 
 
viii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 Italo-Flemings. 1530-1600. 
 
 Deterioration of Art, as regards Historical Painting, arising from the 
 imitation of the Italians. Further development of other classes of 
 
 Painting — Genre, Landscapes, etc. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter I.— Painting in the Netherlands 230-266 
 
 „ II.— Painting in Germany 266-274 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 The Flemish and Dutch Revivals. 1600-1690. 
 
 Second Development of Northern Feeling for Ait. 
 
 Chapter I. — Introduction. Rubens 275-291 
 
 „ II. — The Contemporaries and Scholars of Rubens .. 291-347 
 „ III.— The Dutch School. The Influence of the 
 Italian Naturalisti, and of Rubens' Style of 
 
 Art 347-362 
 
 „ IV.— Rembrandt Van Ryn 363-374 
 
 „ V.— Scholars and Followers of Rembrandt 375-393 
 
 „ VI.— The Painters of Genre 394-514 
 
 „ VII.— The Painters of Plants, Fruits, and Still Life . . 515-520 
 
 VIII.— The German Painters of this Period 523-533 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 The Decline of Art. 1700-1810. 
 
 Introduction 534-535 
 
 Chapter I.— The Flemish School 535-538 
 
 „ II.— The Dutch School 539-551 
 
 „ III.— The German School 551-568 
 
 Index 569-586 
 
ILLUSTBATIONS. 
 
 The Jots and Sorrows op the Virgin ; a picture by Hans 
 
 Memling : in the Gallery at Munich (see p. 97) . . Frontispiece. 
 
 Pictures on an altar- chest at Dijon. No. 1 . . . . To face page 37 
 
 „ No. 2 „ 37 
 
 No. 3 „ 37 
 
 No. 4 „ 37 
 
 The Altarpiece of The Adoration of the Lamb ; painted 
 by John and Hubert van Eyck for the Church of St. 
 Bavon at Gheut „ 56 
 
 The Adoration op the Lamb „ 58 
 
 The Holt Warriors ) . * „ co 
 The Holt Pilgrims j ln the Berlm Galler y ' 68 
 
 Outer shutters of the great Van Eyck picture at Berlin „ 60 
 
 The Triumph op the Church : in the National Mu- 
 seum, Madrid „ 68 
 
 The Last Judgment ; by Roger van der Weyden .... „ 81 
 
 Outer shutters of Last Judgment; by Roger van der 
 
 Weyden „ 81 
 
 Adoration op the Kings ; by Roger van der Weyden : 
 in the Gallery at Munich. (The standing King is a 
 portrait of Charles the Bold of Burgundy) .... „ 83 
 
 Large Altarpiece, by Hans Memling, of the Last Judg- 
 ment : at Dantzig „ 94 
 
 The Reliquart of St. Ursula ; by Hans Memling : in 
 
 the Chapel of St. John's Hospital at Bruges . . . . „ 101 
 
 Death of St. Ursula ; one of the pictures by Memling on 
 
 the Reliquary of St. Ursula at Bruges „ 102 
 
 The Misers ; a picture by Quentin Massys : at Windsor 
 
 Castle „ 116 
 
 A Card Partt ; by Lucas van Ley den : at Wilton House „ 122 
 
 "The Dance of the Magdalen;" from an engraving 
 
 by Lucas van Ley den, in the British Museum . . . . „ 122 
 
 Temptation of St. Anthont ; from an engraving by 
 
 Lucas van Ley den in the British Museum . . . . „ 122 
 
 Altarpiece, by Stephen Lothener, in Cologne Cathedral, 
 
 in five parts „ 126 
 
X 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Annunciation ; from an engraving by Martin Schon- 
 
 gauer in the British Museum To face page 126 
 
 Christ appearing to the Magdalen ; from an engraving 
 
 by Martin Schongauer in the British Museum . . „ 136 
 
 St. Anthony tormented by Demons ; an engraving by 
 Martin Schongauer, which Michael Angelo is said to 
 have copied : from the British Museum „ 136 
 
 Albert Durer ; painted by himself : in the collection 
 
 of Artists' Portraits at Florence „ 155 
 
 Adoration of the Trinity ; painted by Albert Durer : 
 
 now in the Belvedere at Vienna „ 165 
 
 The Knight, Death, and the Devil ; an engraving by 
 
 Albert Durer „ 167 
 
 Melancholy ; engraving by Albert Durer „ 168 
 
 Border from the Prayerbook of Maximilian ; drawn by 
 
 Albert Durer : in the Royal Library, Munich . . . . „ 169 
 
 Border from the Prayerbook of Maximilian ; drawn by 
 
 Albert Durer : in the Royal Library, Munich „ 169 
 
 From Albert Durer's woodcut of the " Car of Maxi- 
 milian," in the British Museum „ 171 
 
 From Albert Durer's woodcut of the "Car of Maxi- 
 milian," in the British Museum „ 171 
 
 The Apostles Mark and Paul ; by Albert Durer : in 
 
 the Gallery at Munich „ 173 
 
 Altarpiece in the Church at Weimar, containing portraits 
 of Luther, Melancthon, and the Painter himself ; 
 by Lucas Cranach „ 192 
 
 The Burgomaster Meyer's votive picture ; by Hans Hol- 
 bein : in the palace of Princess Charles of Hesse, at 
 Darmstadt „ 206 
 
 The Burgomaster Meyer's votive picture ; copied from 
 
 Hans Holbein, and now in the Gallery at Dresden „ 206 
 
 The Triumph of Riches ; from a design by Holbein ; in 
 
 the collection of the late Sir Charles Eastlake . . „ 213 
 
 The Triumph of Poverty ; from a design by Holbein : 
 
 in the same collection „ 213 
 
 The Descent from the Cross ; by Rubens : in the 
 
 Cathedral at Antwerp „ 284 
 
 Battle of the Amazons ; by Rubens : in the Gallery at 
 
 Munich „ 285 
 
 Rubens' small picture of The Fall of the Dammed : in 
 
 the Gallery at Munich „ 285 
 
 Castor and Pollux carrying off the Daughters of 
 
 Leucippus ; by Rubens : in the Gallery at Munich „ 286 
 
 Apotheosis of Henri Quatre, and Assumption op the 
 Regency by Marie de Medicis ; from the Series of 
 pictures by Rubens in the Luxembourg, illustrating 
 the History of Marie de Medicis „ 287 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. xi 
 
 Portraits of Rubens, his Brother, Hugo Grotius, and 
 Justus Lipsius : from the picture by Rubens in the 
 Pitti Palace at Florence To fact page 289 
 
 Rubens' portrait of his two Sons „ 289 
 
 Holy Family with Angels ; by Van Dyck : formerly in 
 
 the Houghton Collection, now at St. Petersburg . . „ 301 
 
 King Charles I. ; by Van Dyck : from the original pic- 
 ture at Windsor „ 306 
 
 The Pembroke Family; by Van Dyck : in Wilton House „ 306 
 
 Peter denying Christ ; painted by David Teniers in 
 
 1646 : now in the Louvre „ 324 
 
 Tavern Scene ; painted by Teniers : now in the Munich 
 
 GaUery „ 325 
 
 The Anatomist Nicholas Tulp and his Pupils ; painted 
 
 by Rembrandt in 1632 : in the Museum of the Hague „ 3C8 
 
 Samson threatens his Father-in- Law ; by Rembrandt : 
 
 in the Berlin Museum „ 371 
 
 " Consedl Paternel;" a picture by Gerard Terburg : in 
 
 the Amsterdam Museum „ 395 
 
 Representation of Human Life ; by Jan Steen : in the 
 
 Museum of the Hague „ 404 
 
 Surgeon removing the Plaster ; painted by Adrian 
 
 Brouwer : in the Gallery at Munich „ 418 
 
 The Itinerant Fiddler ; by Adrian van Ostade : in the 
 
 Hague Museum „ 421 
 
 The Jewish Cemetery ; by Ruysdael : in the Dresden 
 
 Gallery „ 474 
 
 Seapiece ; by Backhuysen : in the Munich Gallery . . u 502 
 
HANDBOOK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HISTORY OF PAINTING 
 
 IN 
 
 GERMANY AND THE LOW COUNTRIES 
 
 $>0&Xi 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 A.D. 800 TO 1250. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 800—1150. 
 
 Neither in Germany nor in the Netherlands are there indi- 
 cations to be found of any practice of the art of painting 
 previous to the introduction of Christianity. Charlemagne, 
 who endeavoured to infuse something of the culture of the 
 ancient world into his widely-extended dominions, adorned 
 the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle with mosaics, and embellished 
 his palace with wall pictures. In the great cupola of the 
 former he introduced the hallowed composition of Christ 
 enthroned, with four and twenty elders holding crowns, and 
 angels hovering in a golden heaven. 1 The walls of the 
 palace were filled with incidents of Charlemagne's life as a 
 warrior, a statesman, and a patron of learning. They contained 
 
 1 [See the subject engraved, after Ciampini, in the second part of 
 Ernst aus'm Weerth's ' Kunst-Denkmaler des Christl. Mittelalters in 
 den Rheinlanden.' Leipzig, T. O. Weigel, I860, Th. ii. Taf. 32, 11 
 Fragments of the mosaic have been found under whitewash ; and the 
 dome is now in the hands of restorers, who hope to revive the old deco- 
 ration of Charlemagne.] 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book i: 
 
 allegories of the sciences, varied by incidents of battle and 
 siege. During the same reign the castle of Upper Ingelheim, 
 on the Ehine, was enriched with frescos of a devout and 
 secular character. In the chapel there were scenes from the 
 Old and New Testament ; in the banqueting halls, episodes of 
 history. On one of the walls were the deeds of the great 
 Pagan rulers, Ninus, Cyrus, Phalaris, Romulus, Hannibal, 
 and Alexander, and on the other those of the Emperors 
 Constantine the Great and Theodosius — the victory of 
 Charles Martel over the Frieslanders, the seizure of Aquitaine 
 by Pepin, Charlemagne's own conquests of the Saxons, and 
 finally, himself enthroned in all the majesty of a conqueror. 
 Although no trace remains of these extensive decorations, yet 
 contemporary miniatures, executed by order of the monarch, 
 enable us to form some idea of the form in which they were 
 produced ; and we are led inferentially to believe that monu- 
 mental paintings of religious subjects were chiefly based upon 
 the models of early Christian art. Such subjects, in manu- 
 scripts, exhibit an awkwardness and stiffness, a feebleness of 
 drawing, and a gaudiness of colour, indicative only of the 
 feeling of a still semi-barbarous nation. We may, therefore, 
 conclude that the secular scenes, for which the painter had 
 no models, and in which the story frequently entails great 
 liveliness of action, must have had a very unrefined appear- 
 ance. The treatment, with broad lights and shadows laid 
 upon the same unvarying middle tone, which occurs in the 
 miniatures, was unquestionably derived from that which we 
 observe in antique frescos. In the peculiar type of many 
 a head — in the meagre character of the draperies — in the 
 gold hatchings of the dresses — in the green tone of the sha- 
 dows, and in the repeated use of vermilion and unbroken blue 
 — the influence of the Italians and Byzantines may have 
 taken effect, as it did in the miniatures. The manuscripts to 
 which these remarks apply are the following : — 
 
 An Evangeliarium, in the Imperial Library at Paris. This 
 contains the four Evangelists — Christ represented under a 
 youthful form, giving the benediction according to the rite of 
 the Byzantine Church ; and the Fountain of Life, within an 
 octagon building surrounded by stags, by peacocks, and other 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 EVANGELIAEIA. 
 
 3 
 
 birds. The heads are of an elongated oval, the eyes large 
 and widely opened, the brows heavily arched, the noses 
 broad of nostril and narrow in the barrel. 1 We may hesitate 
 to affirm that the writer of this manuscript, whose name was 
 Gottschalk, was also the painter of the miniatures ; yet it 
 may have been so. At all events it is an ascertained fact 
 that painting was, with few exceptions, practised only by 
 monks till towards the beginning of the twelfth century — all 
 intellectual culture, down to that time, being engrossed by 
 the religious orders. 
 
 An Evangeliarium (Supplement, Latin, No. 686), also in 
 the Imperial Library at Paris, and far richer in contents than 
 the preceding ; originally from the church of St. Medardus, 
 at Soissons. The pictures, including the subjects already 
 described, and also the Church of Christ represented as a 
 building, exhibit a far more skilful artist. Two of the 
 Evangelists are of very animated action. 2 
 
 An Evangelistarium, in the town Library of Treves. The 
 four youthful Evangelists here give evidence of a still more 
 advanced artist. The motives have throughout something 
 grand and free, and to some extent convey a feeling of 
 devout inspiration ; the features of St. Matthew may be even 
 termed noble. But the ornamentation of the borders, of the 
 canon, and of the initials, tell of much higher cultivation than 
 the figures. Two elements of art are especially distinguish- 
 able — the antique, as shown in Greek borders, acroteria, genii, 
 and animals ; the Irish, as displayed in masterly meanders of 
 ornament interspersed with dragons and serpents. The skill 
 with which space is distributed, the taste and fancy which 
 characterize the fillings, are peculiar to the inmates of Irish 
 monasteries in the sixth century, who wandered as mission- 
 aries into various European countries, and gave permanence 
 to a new form of art. In France and Swabia, St. Columbanus ; 
 in Switzerland, St. Gallus (founder of the convent of St. 
 Gallen), were the pioneers of this new school; in Franconia, 
 St. Kilian ; in Belgium, St. Lievin ; and in Friesland, St. 
 
 1 See further description in my ' Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Paris/ 
 p. 234. 
 
 2 See 'Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Paris,' p. 237. 
 
4 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 Willebrord. 1 Both the elements, antique and Irish, are 
 combined in the Bible of Treves, with the application of the 
 most costly colours. Purple, gold, and silver are abundantly- 
 used, and a system of ornamentation is worked out which 
 unites the utmost splendour of effect with a very original 
 and attractive form of taste, and great technical mastery. 
 The same architectural feeling is observable which afterwards 
 found so grand a development in the architecture of the 
 Germanic race. 
 
 Subsequently, when France and Germany, under the 
 grandchildren of Charlemagne, were divided into separate 
 states, we perceive a distinct character in the art of each. I 
 propose, therefore, only so far to consider the form practised 
 in France as it occasionally is found to influence that of 
 Germany. Meanwhile, in the course of the ninth century, a 
 barbaric element becomes more and more perceptible. This 
 is apparent in the type of the heads, with noses of monstrous 
 thickness and length — in the brick-red tones of the flesh, and 
 in a coarser style of treatment ; whilst on the other hand the 
 ornamentation of initials and borders reveals a far higher 
 level of acquirements. The chief specimens of this time are 
 the Bibles of Charles the Bald, in the Louvre, and in the 
 Royal Library at Munich, formerly in the convent of St. 
 Emmeran at Regensburg, and the Bible of the Emperor 
 Charles the Fat, in the church of St. Calixtus at Rome. 2 
 Another series of miniatures belonging to manuscripts 
 written in France discover an Anglo-Saxon tendency ; these, 
 however, as exercising no influence on the art of Germany, 
 I have no occasion to consider. 
 
 One form of art of which examples have been preserved 
 in Germany consists of very rude and slight pen-drawings, 
 in which reminiscences of antique feeling are traceable in the 
 drapery. Of this kind are the miniatures in the manuscript, 
 dated 814, and belonging to the Bavarian convent of Wesso- 
 brunn, now in the Library at Munich. This manuscript is 
 
 1 See my Supplement to Kugler's 'Handbook of the History of 
 Painting,' in the 'Kunstblatt ' of 1850, p. 83. 
 
 2 There erroneously given out for the Bible of Charlemagne. See 
 last-mentioned Essay in ' Kunstblatt,' 1850, p. 92 ; also ' Kunstwerke 
 und Kunstler in Paris,' p. 258. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 PEN-DRAWINGS. 
 
 5 
 
 also celebrated as containing the Wessobrunn Prayer, one of 
 the earliest examples of the German language. It is decorated 
 with sixteen small pictures, illustrative of the Finding of the 
 true Cross by the Empress Helena. 
 
 Translation of the Four Evangelists into German verse, 
 undertaken in the ninth century by Ottfried, a monk belong- 
 ing to the convent of Weissenburg, in Alsace ; now in the 
 Imperial Library at Vienna. Two pictures here, the Cruci- 
 fixion and Palm Sunday, probably both by the same monk, 
 occupy each a whole page. Christ is represented upon the 
 Cross under a youthful form, and is upright and still alive. 
 The expression of sorrow in the Virgin and St. John is well 
 rendered by lively gestures. Above, in two circles, are the 
 half-length figures of the Sun and Moon, looking at Christ, 
 and about to cover their faces with their drapery. A third 
 picture, representing the Last Supper, is the work of a latei 
 and far ruder hand, to whom also the insertion of the eight 
 Apostles in Palm Sunday is attributable. 
 
 In point of art, however, the above-mentioned works are 
 far surpassed by a picture of Christ as Salvator Mundi, p. 
 369 of a manuscript in the library of the convent of St. Gallen 
 (No. 877), which contains the Grammar of Donatus and other 
 writings of similar import. The conception is free and noble, 
 the proportions are slender, the arms astonishingly well 
 drawn, and the antique style of the drapery well understood. 
 This picture of the ninth century proves how early the 
 school of art belonging to this convent had attained a re- 
 spectable development. 
 
 Another class of miniatures, of which specimens are pre- 
 served in Germany, consists of subjects very carefully ex- 
 ecuted in body colours. In the conception of these, antique 
 types are clearly discerned, commingled, especially in the 
 tenth century, with those of Byzantine art. The chief 
 specimen of this kind, belonging to the ninth century, is a 
 Psalter, No. 23 of the Library at St. Gallen. Among the 
 scenes from the Old and New Testament, contained in the 
 richly-decorated Litany, the youthful figure of Christ and 
 that of David playing on the psalter are most remarkable. 
 As regards initial decorations, this is the richest and most 
 
6 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 splendid memorial of German art I know, and may be justly 
 placed in the same category as the Bibles of Charles the 
 Bald. 
 
 Far richer in pictorial elements is a stately Evangeliarium 
 in the Library of the Cathedral of Treves, which in its initials, 
 in the attributes of the Evangelists, and in the use of several 
 of the colours, betrays the influence of the Irish school of 
 miniature. At the same time, in other decorations, the style 
 of the above-described French school is discernible, while in 
 the attitudes, and partially in the tone of colouring, Byzantine 
 feeling may be seen. One Thomas, who styles himself the 
 writer, was probably the author of some of the pictures, 
 which are evidently the work of different hands. There is 
 reason to believe that this codex was executed in the convent 
 of St. Gallen. 
 
 The prosperity which Germany enjoyed from 919 to 1066 
 under the Saxon and the first two Frankish emperors has 
 left its impress in the only surviving form of art — the minia- 
 tures attached to manuscripts. Among the draughtsmen of 
 this time several bishops take a prominent position. The 
 antique types are adhered to with no inconsiderable technical 
 skill in body-colours, while side by side with them may 
 already be remarked signs of original composition. Fre- 
 quently also, and especially at the period of the marriage of 
 the Greek Princess Theophanu with the Emperor Otho II. 
 in 972, a strong savour of Byzantine influence is apparent. 
 As characteristic of the German painting of this and the suc- 
 ceeding period we may note the frequent use of green, which 
 was evidently as much a favourite with the Germans as azure 
 with the French. MSS. with miniatures of this period exist 
 in considerable numbers, of which I need only give a few 
 examples. Important as a monument of Swiss art is a frag- 
 ment of a codex, No. 338, of the Library of St. Gallen, con- 
 taining an Antiphonarium, a Sacramentarium, and other 
 ritual works. A Crucifixion and a Descent of the Holy 
 Ghost exhibit skill of no common kind in speaking and 
 dignified action and fair drawing ; and we notice a technical 
 improvement in the use of half tones. 
 
 1 ' Kunstblatt ' of 1850, p. 92. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 BAVARIAN ART. 
 
 7 
 
 An Evangelistarium entirely written by the hand of St. 
 Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg, in the Royal Library at Munich, 
 constitutes one of the chief specimens of the Swabian school. 
 The pictures of the four Evangelists, also probably the work 
 of the bishop himself, and that of the Archangel Michael and 
 the Dragon, which is very successful, are all but free from 
 Byzantine influence, showing the antique modes of conception 
 proper to early Christian art, combined with much skill of 
 execution. But the harsh and gaudy colours and ill-cast 
 draperies are characteristic of a new and more essentially 
 local manner. Another Evangeliarium by the same hand, in 
 the British Museum (Harleian MSS. No. 2970), only differs 
 from that of Munich in the comparative lightness of its tones. 1 
 
 As a specimen of Bavarian art we may look at an Evan- 
 geliarium with the four Evangelists, originally at Tegernsee, 
 1017-1048, now in the Library at Munich (No. 31), which 
 exhibits strict drawing, a simple cast of drapery, and a clean 
 mode of execution. 
 
 At the head of the numerous MSS. representing the Fran- 
 conian school we should name an Evangelistarium, written 
 about the year 1000, and now in the Munich Library (iv. 2, 
 6), interesting for artistic skill and choice of subject. One 
 of the four artists here distinguishable, by whom the Nativity 
 was executed, shows a decided Byzantine influence. Another, 
 to whom the enigmatical representation, p. 5, is attributable, 
 displays the manner observable in the MSS. written at 
 Bamberg, and chiefly decorated with miniatures by order of 
 the Emperor Henry II. (1002 to 1024). Some of these are 
 still preserved in the Library at Bamberg, some in the 
 Library at Munich. They differ most decidedly, in style and 
 treatment, from the works of the earlier Carlovingian period, 
 though in the main copies they are not true imitations of 
 older originals. The types of heads are so uniform and rude, 
 that we fail to discover, even in portraits (Henry II.), a 
 trace of individuality. The forms are so ill drawn and so 
 slender as to convey quite the impression of lameness ; the 
 drapery folds are only suggested ; and all that remains to 
 
 'Kunstblatt' of 1850, p. 98; also 'Treasures of Art in Great 
 Britain,' vol. i. p. 196. 
 
s 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 remind us of antique feeling is a certain dignified solemnity. 
 The colours are broken in clear pale tones, varying in flesh 
 from pure white to pallid yellow, brown, and orange ; in 
 draperies, to tertiary greens, blues, and reds. Antique dress is 
 sometimes exchanged for that of the period. A cool but not 
 unpleasant harmony is enhanced by thin stripes of tints, such 
 as green for earth, violet-blue and red for skies ; but here 
 and there gold grounds are preserved. Shadows are very 
 sparingly applied; but the transitions of these from green 
 into yellow lights betray the influence of non-German art. 
 The handling in body-colour is clean and blended; it has 
 not the breadth of the preceding centuries. We meet 
 occasionally with miniatures of coarser make, which tell of 
 local education. Where the composer has not been working 
 on traditional models, he gives proof of a quaint observation 
 of nature ; and a playful fancy is sometimes displayed in 
 illustrative incidents. Peculiarly tasteful are the ornaments, 
 which are sometimes bordered with the ' Greca,' sometimes 
 with designs of Irish Franconian style. 
 
 One of the most valuable of these MS. is the missal pre- 
 sented by the Emperor Henry II. to the chapter of the 
 cathedral of Bamberg, at his coronation in 1002 — a large 
 folio (B. No. 7 of the Munich Library) with stately repre- 
 sentations of the monarch on his throne and St. Gregory, 
 finished after the fashion of the artists beyond the Alps, and 
 a crucifixion of coarse local stamp. 
 
 Richer still is an Evangeliarium given by the same Emperor 
 to the chapter of Bamberg (B. No. 4 of the Munich Library) — 
 a folio with ornaments including animals and homely episodes, 
 allegorical personifications of countries and cities in antique 
 costume, and gospel pictures, in one of which Christ is cruci- 
 fied in the primitive fashion, with unbent frame, alive, and 
 both feet separately nailed to the cross. 
 
 Worthy of notice again is an Evangeliarium presented by 
 Henry II. to a church at Bamberg (B. No. 2 of the 
 Munich Library), not only because it contains rough imita- 
 tions of the miniatures in the MS. above described, but a very 
 rare subject at this time, — the Last Judgment. On one of the 
 pages four angels are represented sounding the last trump, 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 SAXON ART. 
 
 9 
 
 whilst the four winds at the corners of the miniature are 
 blowing horns, and thirteen souls of a greenish hue are rising 
 from their graves. On the opposite page Christ, with flesh 
 tinged in fiery red, sits in judgment, with the cross in his 
 hands, unattended by the accustomed figures of the Virgin 
 and St. John. Angels with scrolls proclaim the sentence of 
 the condemned, and call the elect to heaven ; and amongst 
 the sinners, as amongst the happy, there are high dignitaries 
 of the Church and of the State, one of the latter dragged by 
 a devil to the flaming abyss, at the bottom of which Satan in 
 chains is seen to preside. 
 
 The following MSS. are particularly important as illus- 
 trative of painting in Saxony : — 
 
 An Evangeliarium, in the treasury of the church at 
 Quedlinburg, probably presented by the Emperor Henry I. 
 It may be supposed that the paintings executed in the palace 
 of this sovereign at Merseburg, representing his victory over 
 the Hungarians, were much in the style of the miniatures in 
 this MS. 
 
 An Evangeliarium, in the Imperial Library, Paris (Sup- 
 plement Latin, No. 667), probably written for the Emperor 
 Otho II. (reigned 974-983), and of considerable artistic value 
 as specimens of the above-mentioned form of treatment, 
 though showing the influence of non-German art. 1 
 
 An Evangeliarium, also written for Otho II., formerly in 
 the convent of Echternach, now in the Ducal Library at 
 Gotha. Some of the pictures exemplify the unattractive 
 style of French art as practised in the ninth century ; yet 
 as respects number and value of miniatures, and rich deco- 
 ration of canons and initials, it may be considered a work 
 of the first class. 2 
 
 Three Evangeliaria, in the sacristy of the Cathedral at 
 Hildesheim. The miniatures in these MSS. coincide much 
 with those in the missal at Bamberg, but are somewhat 
 ruder in execution, and doubtless the work of St. Bernward, 
 
 1 'Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Paris,' p. 266. 
 
 2 Rathgeber's ' Beschreibung des Herzoglichen Museum zu Gotha,' 
 p. 9, etc. [It may be doubted whether the miniatures of this Evange- 
 liarium are all as old as the date given in the text — i.e. 973-983.] 
 
10 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 Bishop of Hildesheim (reigned 993-1022), who was well 
 known as a painter. 
 
 Westphalian art is represented by two Evangeliaria, in the 
 Cathedral Library at Treves. One of them (No. 139), 
 scarcely later in date than 950, is more rude in its figures 
 than contemporary Bibles in South Germany or on the 
 Rhine ; yet it displays considerable skill in the forming of 
 initials, and in the ornamentation of the canons. The other 
 Evangeliarium is of higher artistic value ; its miniatures may 
 be assigned to about the year 1000, while its cover contains 
 a carving in ivory of the tenth century, and enamels of the 
 twelfth century. 
 
 As regards the position which miniature painting attained 
 in the Rhine country, an Evangelistarium, executed for 
 Bishop Egbert of Treves (reigned 978-993), now in the civic 
 Library of that ancient city, gives very favourable testimony. 
 It contains fifty-seven large pictures, in which six different 
 hands may be distinguished. These are, in part, very 
 happily composed, and display in the principal incidents and 
 in the drapery a successful adherence to antique tradition. 
 A small number only of these pictures give decided evidence 
 of the imitation of Byzantine types. 
 
 There is proof also in an Evangeliarium of very splendid 
 execution, in the University Library at Prague, that a similar 
 style of painting was also practised in Bohemia. Various 
 departures from the types of tradition — for instance, in the 
 Baptism, where the river Jordan is represented as a naked 
 youth, pouring the water over the head of Christ — show a 
 mode of conception peculiar to Bohemia. 1 
 
 In the Netherlands, judging from the scanty specimens of 
 MSS. with miniatures belonging to this time, the style of art 
 was very similiar, only not so successful. An Evangeliarium, 
 in the Royal Library of the Hague, which may be attributed 
 to about the year 900, though rude in forms and crude in 
 colouring, shows a very powerful reflection of Irish art. The 
 portraits of Count Dietrich II. of Holland, and his wife 
 Hildegard, recommended by St. Albert to the Saviour, be- 
 
 1 'Kunstblatt,' 1850, p. 129. [And see Wocel in the February No. 
 of the 'Wiener Mittheilungen ' for 1860, pp. 10 and following.] 
 
 I 
 
Chap. I. SUSPENSION OF PICTORIAL PROGRESS. 11 
 
 long to the latter half of the tenth century, when this MS. 
 was presented by both these personages to the church of the 
 Abbey of Egmond, dedicated to that saint. This subject, 
 rudely drawn with the pen, is interesting as displaying the 
 rudiments of an original art disengaged from the bonds of 
 mere antique imitation. 
 
 An Evangeliarium, from the church of St. Jacques at 
 Liege, now in the Library of the old Dukes of Burgundy 
 (No. 18,383) at Brussels, belonging to the tenth century, 
 and executed throughout in body colours of light and har- 
 monious effect, is incomparably richer and more careful in 
 manner. 
 
 Richer still and of more importance is an Evangelistarium, 
 in the same library (No. 9428), of the beginning of the 
 eleventh century. The pictures are similar in style and type 
 of heads to that of Bishop Egbert of Treves, but ruder. The 
 cool violet flesh tones and the whole scale of bright and 
 harmonious colouring show a striking affinity to the minia- 
 tures at Bamberg executed for the Emperor Henry II., 
 proving the wide spread of this style of art. 
 
 After the middle of the eleventh century, and owing pro- 
 bably to the troubles of Henry IV. 's reign, a suspension of 
 pictorial progress is observable in Germany. Side by side 
 with the style of the previous epoch — the use, namely, of 
 size-colours, of a general light tone — we observe simple out- 
 lines, only filled up with slight illumination ; yet the tradition 
 of the antique, which fades, is not replaced by any display of 
 original thought. Single figures of Christ, the Virgin, and 
 Saints are interspersed with Scripture scenes and symbolical 
 representations characteristic of the spirit of the Middle Ages. 
 By the beginning of the twelth century, however, instances 
 of moderate progress are traceable, which continues until the 
 end of that century. I give a few examples : — 
 
 An Evangeliarium, from the monastery of Altaich, near 
 Straubing, in Bavaria, now in the Munich Library, in which 
 the figures of Christ in the act of benediction, and of St. 
 Mark, are remarkable, and where the whole technical process 
 is very clean. 
 
 An Evangeliarium, also in the Munich Library, from the 
 
12 
 
 EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 Niedermiinster monastery at Regensburg, At the beginning 
 of the MSS. we find various allegorical subjects, of a mystic 
 character, with rich tendril- like ornament and numerous 
 inscriptions. One of these, representing the victory over 
 death by the sacrifice of Christ, is remarkable. In the centre 
 Christ is represented on the cross, his feet fastened to a 
 board with two nails, in red drapery, with the royal crown 
 and priestly stole. Somewhat lower at each side of the cross 
 stand, on the left, Vita, a female figure having a crown 
 adorned with a cross and rich drapery, her face and hands 
 raised upwards ; on the right, Mors, pallid in colour, with 
 matted hair, the countenance half veiled, a deep wound in 
 the neck, the body half nude, and the clothing mean, sinking 
 down with broken lance and scythe. A dragon, which grows 
 out from the foot of the cross, appears to bite this figure in 
 the arm. On both sides are smaller "figures ; above are Sol 
 and Luna, veiled. On the right is the New Covenant, a 
 female figure crowned, with the standard of victory, and the 
 cup of the Sacrament on the crown. On the left is the Old 
 Covenant, her countenance concealed by the border, the 
 scroll of the Law and the sacrificial knife in her hands. Be- 
 low, on the right, are the uprisen dead ; on the left, the rent 
 veil of the Temple. Further on in the MS., before each 
 Gospel, there is a representation of its evangelists, with the 
 appropriate symbol above the figure, and underneath, one of 
 the four rivers of Paradise, in the form of a nude male figure, 
 with two horns and a large water urn. The painting of all 
 these subjects is very neat, and the drawing is not altogether 
 without skill. 
 
 Specimens of the same style of outline may be seen in a 
 Psalter in the Library of St. Gallen (No. 21), adorned by 
 Notger, abbot of St. Gallen, surnamed Labeo, or Teutonicus, 
 with pictures which are very rude for the period. 
 
 The Netherlandish miniatures executed at this time agree in 
 essential respects with those of Germany, only that a more or 
 less shining surface shows the mixture of gum with the colours. 
 The miniatures in the second part of a Vulgate in the British 
 Museum (additional, No. 17,738) are an example of this. 
 Some only of the colours, the vermilion and the green, are 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 GREAT ADVANCE IN THE ARTS. 
 
 13 
 
 given in their full force. The symbolic subject, fol. 2, b, 
 especially shows a skilful artist. 
 
 Another specimen is supplied by the Commentary of St. 
 Gregory on the book of Job, in the Imperial Library, Paris 
 (Sorbonne, No. 267), in which a certain amount of spirit is 
 imparted to incidents of movement. As the pictures of half 
 the work are unfinished, their technical processes are plainly 
 seen. The outlines are very cleverly drawn with the pen, 
 then coloured, and finished in a darker tone with a brush. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. 
 1150—1250. 
 
 From the middle of the twelfth to the middle of the thirteenth 
 century great progress was apparent in all the arts practised 
 throughout Germany and the Netherlands. Painting gradu- 
 ally passed from monastic hands into those of the laity. 
 The field of ecclesiastic subjects became largely extended, 
 and the system of placing the type and countertype from 
 the Old and New Testament in juxtaposition was fully 
 developed. The floating traditions of Charlemagne, King 
 Arthur, and the Niebelungen, not only expanded into a large 
 and important literature, but came into use as a source of 
 pictorial representation. In this service all the outward 
 forms of life — armour, weapons, the costume of knights and 
 ladies — were enlisted and taken from models within the 
 painter's reach. Side by side with those fanciful modes of 
 conception, of which, in ecclesiastical subjects, the frequent 
 treatment of the Apocalypse is an example, flourished also 
 those humorous ideas which found so rich and picturesque 
 an expression in the grotesque sculpture of Romanesque 
 churches, and in the drolleries of the miniatures. The 
 system of representing the occupations of each month in the 
 
14 
 
 THE EOMANESQXTE EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 calendar gave further occasion for the introduction of scenes 
 from daily life. Finally, the representation of animals, as 
 illustrations of Aristotle's Natural History, and also of those 
 writings treating of the chase, and especially of the science 
 of falconry, became very popular. Byzantine art still exer- 
 cised considerable influence in preserving the tradition of 
 ecclesiastical subject composition ; but instead of continuing 
 the mummified forms of the earlier school, the painters of 
 the day began to recognise the excellence which lay in its 
 original inventions, and succeeded in animating them with 
 their own peculiar feeling. A certain sense of beauty and 
 grace is frequently apparent in the movement of figures, and 
 Byzantine meagreness yields to a certain fulness of facial 
 forms; but particular subjects, such as the Crucifixion, retain 
 much of their old character. Stiff and narrow folds of 
 drapery, dramatic action and strain, remind us frequently of 
 the sculptures which adorned both the exterior and interior 
 of the Romanesque churches. Emotion expressed by means 
 of gesture was successfully cultivated, and costumes were 
 more and more taken from common life. The treatment in 
 which body colours were preferred was carried to great 
 mastery and precision. Till about 1200, the colours as a 
 rule are much broken with light tints ; after that date they 
 are forcible and frequently dark. The backgrounds hitherto 
 used are almost invariably replaced by gold. In the pre- 
 dominance of decided and generally black outlines, and in 
 the scumbling of the tones, a new" principle is traceable. 
 At the same time the northern spirit of art is still more 
 originally and independently seen in the pictures with pale 
 outlines, filled up with generally very slight colouring. 
 With few exceptions, the painting of this epoch is repre- 
 sented only by miniatures in MSS., of which I proceed to 
 describe the most remarkable : — 
 
 A Psalter, in the library of Prince Wallerstein, at Mahin- 
 gen, not far from Nordlingen, which belongs to the beginning 
 of this period, shows in the occupations of the months, 
 illustrating the calendar, various animated features taken 
 from life — for instance, the sower in March ; the gathering, 
 treading, and pressing of the grape in September ; and the 
 
Chap. II. THE HORTUS DELICIARUM. 
 
 15 
 
 tapping of the beer in November. Religious subjects are 
 treated as before, and occasionally with an elevated feeling. 
 The colouring is bright and clear. 
 
 The splendid MS. of the Hortus Deliciarum (a collection 
 of extracts from the fathers, ecclesiastical writers, and other 
 works), executed in the latter part of the twelfth century, in 
 the convent of Hohenburg, in Alsace, is adorned with a large 
 number of miniature illustrations of the text, and thus con- 
 tains, with subjects from sacred history, some of an allegorical 
 character, and others which represent scenes from real life. 
 The latter display the costume and fashions of the time in 
 great variety. The conception, particularly in allegories, is 
 rather poor, and requires numerous marginal explanations to 
 elucidate its meaning ; but there is a dignified grandeur and 
 repose in the figures of saints, and occasionally surprising 
 boldness and meaning in the ideas which the artist has worked 
 out. Amongst the most remarkable is a figure of Superbia, a 
 female in rich attire and flowing drapery, seated on horse- 
 back, on a lion-skin, and poising her lance. 1 
 
 A peculiar school of miniature illustration appears to have 
 been formed at this time in the convents of Upper Bavaria ; 
 most of the drawings with which the MSS. are illustrated 
 are only in pen and ink, but the flesh is generally distinguished 
 from the drapery, and even different parts of the latter are 
 distinguished from each other, by tints of red and black ink. 
 In the figures themselves there is seldom more colouring, but 
 the grounds are always filled in and enclosed with borders of 
 different colours. 2 Of these works we may first mention the 
 MS. of the German iEneid, by Henry von Veldeck, written 
 about the year 1200, which was brought from Bavaria, and 
 is now preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin. The draw- 
 ings represent in a long series the events narrated in the 
 poem. They deserve attention from the care bestowed upon 
 the costume and other details, but in all that regards feeling 
 for form and grace they are far inferior to the Hortus Deli- 
 ciarum ; in the deformity of many of the figures they even 
 
 1 [This MS. perished in the fire of the Strasburg library in 1870.] 
 a See Kugler's Essay, 'Die Bilderhandschrift der Eneidt in der Konigl. 
 Bibliothek zu Berlin.' Museum, 1836, No. 36—38. 
 
1G 
 
 THE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. 
 
 Book I 
 
 remind us of the MSS. of Bamberg already described. Still 
 they possess a peculiar interest as steps in the history of 
 German art. There is here unfolded, in the movements of 
 the hands in particular, a complete language of gesture, 
 equally well adapted to convey the expression of tranquil 
 intercourse or of passionate energy. Thus, for example, 
 the solitary complaints of love, or sorrow for the death of the 
 loved one, grief and suffering, are admirably expressed by a 
 convulsive wringing of the hands. 
 
 Far more important are the drawings of another MS. of 
 the same time and school, containing the beautiful German 
 poem of Werinher, deacon of the convent of Tegernsee, on 
 the life of the Virgin, which has passed from the collection of 
 Herr v. Nagler into the Royal Library of Berlin. 1 With re- 
 spect to excellence of form, these drawings are nearly equal 
 to those of the Hortus Deliciarum, and sometimes surpass 
 them in quiet grace and naivete. This is particularly shown 
 where the expression of serene happiness is the chief object, 
 as, for instance, in a group of the Blessed, in a Vision of the 
 Virgin. Others, in which the artist represents passionate, 
 and especially sorrowful feelings, are of the highest excel- 
 lence. In spite of the insufficiency of his means, he has 
 exhibited in the positions, gestures, and cast of drapery, a 
 tragic pathos so peculiarly expressive as to excite our astonish- 
 ment, when we consider the early epoch of art at which the 
 work was executed. The best of these drawings are — one 
 that represents the Damned (also in a Vision of the Virgin), 
 in which they are bound together by glowing chains, and are 
 driven hither and thither by inward torments ; and another, 
 of which the subject is the lamentation of the mothers after 
 the massacre of their children at Bethlehem ; in this one 
 woman rends her garment, another cowers on the ground 
 and supports her head on her hand, a third wrings her hands, 
 a fourth with a passionate movement raises her arms and 
 appeals to Heaven against the horrible outrage. 
 
 As a further step of progress, in connection with the fore- 
 going, we may mention the drawings by Conrad, a monk of 
 
 1 See Kugler's dissertation, De Werinhero, seeculi xii. monacho Te- 
 gernseensi, etc. 
 
Chap, II. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED MSS. 
 
 17 
 
 the convent of Scheyern, who was distinguished as the author 
 of many learned works, and lived about the middle of the 
 thirteenth century. The Royal Library of Munich contains 
 several of the works which he embellished with drawings, 
 amongst which a book of the Gospels, and another of the 
 Lessons, are particularly important. 1 At the beginning of the 
 latter MS. are several large subjects from the Apocalypse ; 
 then two remarkable legends in smaller drawings — one con- 
 taining the history of Bishop Theophilus, the earliest German 
 version of Faust ; and lastly, a number of illustrations of 
 sacred history. The lines are not drawn with the certainty 
 and precision of those before described ; but the desire of 
 imitating nature is still more evident, the attitudes are still 
 freer, the cast of the drapery follows more easily the move- 
 ments of the figure, and its outline has at once softness and 
 dignity. 
 
 One of the most interesting illustrated MSS. of this period, 
 but of another school, is the Psalter, written about the year 
 1200 for the Landgrave Hermann of Thuringen, formerly in 
 the convent of Weingarten, but now in the King's private 
 library at Stuttgart. 2 The minatures are highly finished, and 
 executed with great neatness. The style essentially resem- 
 bles that of the time, but the figures have an air of more solemn 
 dignity, while their severity is often pleasingly softened by 
 an expression of mild and simple grace. Here we find in 
 single heads (especially in those of Christ) traces of ideal 
 beauty, the more surprising, since in other works of the time 
 all the heads are stiff and without grace. At the beginning 
 of this MS. is a calendar, in which each month is ornamented 
 with a figure of its patron saint, and characterised by a 
 country scene. Representations of this kind must have been 
 very rare at so early a period ; the costume and occupations 
 throughout belong to the North, and consequently testify that 
 the drawings are the productions of a native school. Then 
 follow, in the Psalms themselves, various subjects, such as 
 
 1 Munich Library. Cod. Lat. Membr. e. p. No. 7, b. c. ; No. 13, a. 
 Museum, 1834, No. 21, p. 165. 
 
 2 Museum, No. 13, p. 97. See Dibdin, 'A Bibliographical and Anti- 
 quarian Tour in France and Germany,' vol. iii. p. 158. 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 THE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. 
 
 Book h 
 
 the Baptism of Christ, his Death, Descent into hell, Ascension, 
 etc., etc. The feeling in these is excellent, particularly in 
 that which represents the Virgin and John, in a simple atti- 
 tude of thoughtful sorrow, standing at the feet of the crucified 
 Saviour. After this comes the Litany, over which, in the 
 upper part of the page, are half-length portraits of saints and 
 princes ; those of the Landgrave Hermann and his wife Sophia 
 are the first, and in these we see an example, remarkable for 
 so early a period, of an attempt at individual likeness. 
 
 A rich and interesting MS., an Evangeliarium, written 
 about 1200, is in the Cathedral Library at Treves. It is 
 remarkable for an elaborate and very original representation 
 of the Root of Jesse and other symbolical pictures, which 
 are rendered in a curious style, with numerous inscriptions. 
 Antique personifications — for instance, of river gods — still 
 occur. 
 
 A Psalter, written about the same time as the foregoing, 
 and probably in the Rhine country, now in the City Library 
 at Hamburg, No. 85. The beautiful and original concep- 
 tions which appear here are evidences of what German art 
 could do in this early period. We may instance the way in 
 which the Child is caressing the Virgin in the Presentation 
 in the Temple ; also the large picture of the Madonna and 
 Child, occupying an entire page, which, in the meditative 
 expression conveyed by the action of the Child, recalls 
 Guido da Siena. 
 
 An Evangeliarium, probably written about 1200, in May- 
 ence, now in the Library at Aschaffenburg, No. 3. This is 
 one of the most important documents of the time, both for 
 excellence in art and copiousness of miniatures. It contains 
 a most interesting composition of the Sermon on the Mount. 1 
 
 A Psalter, in the Library at Bamberg, No. 232, unques- 
 tionably executed in that city about the first half of the 
 thirteenth century, is of a darker scale of colour. With the 
 exception of a few examples which recall Byzantine types, 
 the fourteen large pictures are of admirable composition, 
 of original conception, and skilful technical execution. 2 
 
 1 ' Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 377. &c 
 
 2 Ibid., vol. I p. 103, etc. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 WALL PICTURES. 
 
 19 
 
 The few wall pictures still remaining of this period are 
 sometimes very peculiar in invention, full of symbolical 
 meaning and clever incident. The execution, however, 
 does not extend beyond a rather coarse outline, with faint 
 lights and shadows. Nor is it to be supposed that the large 
 number of such specimens of art as have perished, and of 
 which evidence still survives, 1 should have materially differed 
 from these. I add a few examples of the most important 
 still existing. Twenty-four ceiling compartments in the 
 former monastery of Brauweiler, three leagues from Cologne, 
 which were possibly executed about 1200, represent the 
 power of Faith to overcome the world, from a passage in the 
 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In the centre 
 of the whole is the colossal bust picture of Christ. In the 
 other compartments appear those who, by the triumph of 
 their faith, obtained the promises, such as Mary Magdalen 
 and the Thief on the Cross ; those who suffered for their 
 faith, such as Daniel and St. Thecla ; and those who fought 
 for their faith, such as Samson and St. Hyppolitus, both of 
 whom are distinguished by great beauty of conception. 
 
 The fact that painting flourished at an early period in 
 Cologne is shown by a passage in the poem of Parzival, by 
 Wolfram of Eschenbach, 2 written about the year 1200. The 
 only examples surviving may be seen in the Baptistery of 
 St. Gereon, Cologne, where SS. Barbara and Catherine, and 
 a reposing angel, are especially remarkable. These were pro- 
 bably executed soon after the erection of the church in 1227. 
 
 1 See notice of the paintings in the Monastery of Benedictbeuren in 
 Bavaria, in Fiorillo's 'Geschichte der bildenden Kiinste in Deutschland,' 
 vol. i. p. 178, etc. Bishops Burcard of Halberstadt, Otto of Bamberg, 
 and Uffo of Merseburg had the walls of their cathedrals decorated with 
 paintings. See Hotho's 'Malerschule Hubert's van Eyck,' vol. i. p. 42. 
 
 2 The lines are thus quoted by Passavant, p. 403 : — 
 
 " Als uns die aventiure gicht 
 
 Von Cholne noch von Mastricht 
 
 Dahein schiltere entwurfen baz 
 
 Denn' als er ufem orse saz." 
 That is to say — 
 
 " As our tale runs, 
 
 No painter of Cologne or Mastricht 
 
 Could have painted him more comely 
 
 Than as he sat upon his horse." 
 
20 
 
 THE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 Another important memorial of art, dating from about 
 1200, are the paintings of the Root of Jesse, which cover the 
 whole length, above 100 feet, of the wooden roof of St. 
 Michael's church at Hildesheim. They are in three series. 
 In the centre are Adam and Eve, Abraham, the four kings 
 of Israel, Moses, and the Virgin : at the sides the Patriarchs, 
 Prophets, and Saints. These figures, which are in strict 
 architectonic arrangement, and the decorations surrounding 
 them, show a very respectable grade of art, and are har- 
 monious in colouring and of general clearness of effect. 
 
 Of still more importance are the paintings in the choir and 
 in the left aisle of the transept of the cathedral at Brunswick. 
 They are, however, unfortunately deprived of their original 
 character by means of an unskilful restoration. On the walls 
 of the choir, in figures larger than life, and arranged accord- 
 ing to symbolical allusion, are the Sacrifice of Cain and Abel, 
 the Death of Abel, the Sacrifice of Isaac (typifying the 
 Redemption through the death of Christ), Moses and the 
 Burning Bush, and the Raising of the Brazen Serpent. On 
 the ceiling the scheme of Redemption is more clearly given 
 in the Root of Jesse. The cupola in front of the choir 
 represents the Lamb of the New Covenant, with scenes from 
 the Life of Christ, — from the Nativity to the day of Pente- 
 cost, — and the twelve Apostles. The figures of eight Pro- 
 phets connect these scenes with the Old Testament. On 
 the ceiling of the transept, by a better hand, are Christ and 
 the Virgin enthroned, figures above life-size, with two colos- 
 sal Angels and the twenty-four Elders. On the east wall 
 are Christ in Limbus, and : the Ascension ; opposite, in well- 
 known allusion to the Last Judgment, the parable of the 
 Wise and Foolish Virgins. Judging from the purely Roman- 
 esque character of these pictures, and of the decorations 
 belonging to them, they were decidedly executed before the 
 year 1250. 
 
 To the termination of this period we may also attribute 
 the wall-paintings in the old chapel of the Castle at Forch- 
 heim, a small fortress lying between Bamberg and Erlangen. 
 The chief picture represents the Adoration of the Kings; 
 the others consist of the Last Judgment, the Annunciation, 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 EASEL PICTURES 
 
 21 
 
 and Prophets. The conceptions and single motives are 
 good, but belong to traditionary art ; the execution is some- 
 what rude. 1 
 
 Some interesting paintings have at a comparatively recent 
 period come to light in the restoration of the splendid cathe- 
 dral of Bamberg, on occasion of its being freed from its 
 covering of plaster of many hundred years old. They are 
 in the niches of one of the transept-walls of St. Peter's 
 choir, and must undoubtedly belong to the beginning of the 
 thirteenth century. Easel pictures, in the Byzantine style, 
 are very rare in Germany. As one example of such we 
 may mention a painting representing Christ enthroned on a 
 rainbow, with four saints at his side, which is in the Provin- 
 cial Museum of Miinster, and was taken from the convent of 
 St. Walburg at Soest. 2 
 
 Some works connected with painting, and in this style, 
 though in other materials, are also preserved, such as the 
 paintings on glass which fill the south window of the nave 
 in Augsburg cathedral, and are composed of figures of saints. 
 One of the most important of these examples of the suc- 
 cessful efforts made in art towards the end of this period 
 is furnished by the fragments of tapestry preserved in the 
 abbey church of Quedlinburg, woven about the year 1200 by 
 the abbess Agnes herself, with the assistance of her nuns, to 
 adorn the walls of the choir of that church. The subjects 
 are allegorical, and represent the marriage of Mercury with 
 Philology (after Marcianus Capella). The original drawings 
 were evidently by different hands ; while some are in the 
 common style of the day, others contain single figures of 
 such beauty of form, and so much symmetry in the limbs, 
 with a cast of drapery so grand, and arranged with so much 
 artistic knowledge, yet so entirely free from the peculiarities 
 of the ancient Christian models, that we may imagine we 
 here see art approaching to full perfection. In the cathedral 
 at Halberstadt there are also tapestries in the Byzantine 
 
 ' 'Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Deutsckland,' vol. i. p. 146, etc. 
 
 2 Becker, ' Ueber die altdeutschen Gemiilde aus detn ehemaligen 
 Augustiner-Nonnen-Kloster St. Walburg zu Soest.' Museum, 1835, 
 No. 47, p. 374. 
 
22 
 
 THE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. 
 
 Book I. 
 
 style, but they are far ruder in the drawing than those of 
 Quedlinburg. 
 
 At this epoch also painting in Bohemia exhibits a similar ' 
 character. The strong Byzantine influence especially is 
 here accounted for by the fact that St. Methodus, the apostle 
 of Bohemia, was himself a painter. Examples are seen in 
 the National Museum at Prague, in the form of the MS. of a 
 Latin Dictionary, 1 dated mcii. and signed Miroslaw, and in 
 the pictures of a Bible in the library of Prince Lobkowitz at 
 Prague, executed about 1250. In this last the tendency to 
 abstract personifications is seen. Thus Darkness (Tenebre) 
 is represented by two sleeping figures — Light by a small 
 figure with a torch in its hand. 2 
 
 The art of painting, as practised in the Netherlands, judg- 
 ing from the existing though not numerous MSS. with minia- 
 tures, agrees essentially with that of Germany at this period. 
 At the same time Byzantine tradition assumes more the upper 
 hand here, which is owing doubtless to the fact that Counts 
 of Flanders occupied the throne of Constantinople during the 
 so-called Latin Empire. In freedom and animation of early 
 Byzantine subjects, and in drawing and technical development, 
 some of these exhibit.great excellence. I give the following 
 examples : — 
 
 A Missal in the British Museum (addit. No. 16,949), pro- 
 bably written between 1150 and 1200. Technical skill and 
 beauty of colouring are particularly remarkable here. 8 
 
 A Psalter in the Boyal Library at the Hague. This is a 
 very rich and important specimen, especially for scenes from 
 life in the calendar, and for the extraordinary beauty of the 
 Romanesque decorations. It belongs doubtless to the same 
 time. 
 
 The chief example, however, known to me is a Psalter in 
 the Imperial Library at Paris (Suppl. Francais, No. 1732 bis), 
 written about 1200. In the numerous and admirably exe- 
 cuted pictures with which this work is decorated appears 
 (for instance, in the same page containing Christ, the Virgin 
 
 1 See ' Kunstblatt ' of 1850, p. 130. 
 
 2 'Kunstblatt,' 1850. p. 148. 
 
 8 'Treasures of Art in Great Britain,' vol. i. p. 122. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 NETHERLANDISH MSS. 
 
 23 
 
 and Apostles, etc.) an adherence to Byzantine typical compo- 
 sitions, combined with features taken from life. This is also 
 seen in the Annunciation to the Shepherds, and in a combat 
 of horsemen. Drolleries also occur in the initials. 1 
 
 Another specimen, worthy to be named with the foregoing, 
 is a MS. containing the greater part of the Yulgate, in the 
 same library (MSS. Latins, No. 116). This, though much 
 less rich in contents, gives very favourable evidence of the 
 high grade of art at this time in the Netherlands. 
 
 Unfortunately, no specimens of wall or easel pictures of 
 the period under consideration have been, to the best of my 
 knowledge, preserved in the Netherlands. This is the more 
 to be regretted, as in the town of Maestricht, the artists, 
 according to the above-mentioned poem of Parzival, by 
 Wolfram von Eschenbach, enjoyed a great reputation. 
 
 1 'Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Paris,' p. 311. Having been misled 
 by Italian miniatures of the 14th century in the latter part of the MS., 
 and by the Byzantine influence also prevailing in Italy from 1200 — 1300, 
 I have erroneously described this MS. as Italian. 
 
24 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 1250—1420. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 The general introduction of Gothic architecture into the 
 Netherlands and Germany exercised a very unfavourable 
 influence on the development of painting. It was an unfor- 
 tunate peculiarity of this mode of building that it broke up 
 the space available for painting into fields unsuited for pic- 
 torial composition, and placed the vaultings so high as to 
 make subject decoration useless. The result was, that whilst 
 the stunted forms under which Gothic architecture appeared 
 in Italy preserved to the Italians those walls and ceilings 
 which were required for the expansion of monumental art, 
 the men of the Netherlands and Germany were restricted to 
 the production of mere altar pictures. Yet even in this field 
 full liberty was not acquired. The centre compartment — the 
 only space adapted by its size for a comprehensive compo- 
 sition of life-sized figures — was generally engrossed by sculp- 
 ture, while the wings, which were the only portions left for 
 the painter, were, by their long and narrow forms, so un- 
 favourable to pictorial art that they were usually divided 
 into two, and thus only adapted to figures on a very small 
 scale. 
 
Chap. I. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOTHIC PICTURES. 25 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE PERIOD WHEN PAINTING WAS PRINCIPALLY RESTRICTED 
 TO THE ILLUMINATION OF OUTLINES. 
 
 1250—1350. 
 
 The art of this period indicates progress, in so far that it is 
 original, and, in respect of technical treatment, different from 
 that of the foregoing age. Yet it is not to be denied that 
 this form of originality was accompanied by comparative 
 rudeness ; and it is clear that painting on this account was 
 more unattractive now than it had ever been before. In the 
 earlier pictures of this time we trace a mixture of the forms 
 of Romanesque and Gothic sculpture ; in those of a later 
 period Gothic feeling alone prevails. The attitudes have a 
 conventional twist, which often gives rise to an ugly projec- 
 tion of the belly. The draperies at first preserve a certain 
 parallelism of line ; but they soon display more waving con- 
 tours, with narrow crests of projection, and equally narrow 
 depths of depression in folds ; at the same time the traditions 
 of antique costume are seen to fade, and figures of the 
 Eternal, of Christ, of Mary, or of angels, appear in a new 
 dress. The heads are still of typical form ; in the earlier 
 time they are of an oval shape, broad above and contracted 
 below, with wide-open eyes, narrow, pointed noses, and 
 somewhat large mouths drawn down at the corners ; in the 
 later period the oval assumes greater fulness, the nose is 
 short, and the mouth small. Outward coarseness and vul- 
 garity is now expressed by caricatures with large crooked 
 noses ; spiritual depravity by a distorted laugh ; and sorrow, 
 especially, by the drawing down of the corners of the mouth. 
 Occasionally also an attempt is made to realize individuality 
 of feature. Bright and gaudy hues, among which vermilion 
 and a powerful blue play the chief parts, are substituted for 
 quieter tones. Black outlines, rouged cheeks, and thin 
 strips of shadow, give to these pictures the effect of very 
 
26 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 gaily illuminated pen- drawings. After the year 1300 the 
 dawning feeling for greater harmony of colour is seen in the 
 use of tertiary tints — for instance, bluish-pink, brownish, 
 greenish, etc. ; also in a more careful design and a more 
 delicate distribution of lights and shadows. These examples 
 have already more the effect of paintings. The spaces are 
 only indicated. In the forms of architecture the Romanesque 
 and Gothic alternately prevail ; trees are quite conventional 
 in shape, the backgrounds are gilt, and in the miniatures 
 they are also panelled in pattern. In the latter also we 
 occasionally see much originality displayed in pen-drawings. 
 
 As every new movement in painting, from this time for- 
 ward, proceeds from the Netherlands, and as their flourishing 
 political state contrasts conspicuously, from the year 1250, 
 with the wars and disorders in Germany, I shall henceforth 
 commence my observations with Netherlandish examples. 
 
 The earliest dated specimen known to me, showing the 
 effort at greater independence, is the MS. of a Vulgate in 
 two folio volumes, in the Library of the Seminary at Liege. 
 The pictures in the initials, heading each book, evince, it is 
 true, no very skilful artist, but they are important as showing 
 by the date, 1248, how early this style of art was practised 
 in the Netherlands. 
 
 Close upon the last mentioned in time, though far superior 
 in art, are the coloured pen-drawings in a MS. of the French 
 History of Alexander the Great (No. 11,040) in the Library 
 of the old Dukes of Burgundy at Brussels. The numerous 
 battles are represented with the weapons and in the fashion 
 of the painter's time, of which they give a very animated and 
 intelligent picture. The youthful head of Alexander in the 
 drawing of his interment is not unpoetical. 
 
 That single cases long continued to occur in which the 
 old solid treatment in body colour was combined with the 
 new style is proved by the MS. of a Psalter in the same 
 library (No. 8070), executed about 1300, the pen outlines 
 being broad and free, while the heads are often expressive. 
 There is much truth in the rendering of animals ; and the 
 various drolleries introduced are anticipations of those of 
 Teniers and Jan Steen. 
 
Chap. I. NETHERLANDISH EXAMPLES. 
 
 27 
 
 Another remarkable evidence of the state of painting in 
 the Netherlands, towards the close of this period, is afforded 
 by the miniatures executed, according to an inscription, by 
 " Michiel van der Borch," in 1332, in the MS. of a Bible in 
 Flemish rhymes, by Jacob von Maerland, in the Westrenen 
 Museum at the Hague. 1 The action is often speaking and 
 dramatic. For instance, in the Creation of Eve the sleep of 
 Adam is very correctly expressed, and the Eve very pretty. 
 At the same time the forms are frequently of startling fulness, 
 as seen in the picture of the drowning of the Israelitish 
 children. The folds of the draperies are also treated with 
 unusual breadth. In the Nativity we see the dawning of 
 that realistic feeling in which the Netherlands were destined 
 to precede all other countries. 
 
 [Of portable pictures, the only specimen which is known to 
 exist in Belgium is the reliquary of St. Ottilia, an oaken chest 
 with a gabled roof, much mutilated, but still covered with 
 fragments of episodes from the lives of St. Ottilia and St. 
 Ursula. If the pictures themselves be at all like the drawings 
 that have been made from them by M. Jules Helbig, of Liege, 
 they may be accepted as genuine works of the period to which 
 they are assigned, namely, to the year 1292, when the relics of 
 St. Ottilia are said to have been placed in the shrine. This 
 curious work is supposed to have been executed at Liege 
 previous to the transfer thither of the bones of St. Ottilia 
 from the convent of the Croisiers at Huy. The panels, to the 
 number of eight, are outlined in the manner peculiar to this 
 time, and gaudily coloured with pigments tempered in tur- 
 pentine and wax. The faces, as well as the drapery and 
 ornament, are indicated by lines.] 2 
 
 As regards wall painting, one specimen of this period has 
 been preserved in the former refectory of the old Biloque 
 Hospital at Ghent. It represents, in colossal figures, the 
 Saviour enthroned, blessing the Virgin, who sits opposite to 
 him with raised and clasped hands. Behind them, on a 
 much smaller scale, are three angels holding a canopy. The 
 
 1 See a complete account in an Essay by me in the German ' Kunst- 
 blatt' of 1852, No. 28. 
 
 2 [See Le Beffroi, fol., Bruges, 1864-5, Tom. ii., pp. 31 and following.] 
 
28 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II 
 
 whole is enclosed in a framework of a very usual Gothic 
 form. Judging from the style, the execution of this piece 
 was probably not earlier than 1300. Both from the size of 
 the figures and the decided character of the action, the work 
 is one of considerable effect, yet the treatment is slight, and 
 the feet and hands are very feeble in drawing. At the sides, 
 and only in outline, are the figures of John the Baptist with 
 the Lamb, pointing to Christ, and of St. Christopher with 
 the Child. 
 
 [Another not uninteresting specimen of art at this period 
 is the wall decoration in the " Leugemeete" (at present part 
 of a brewery) at Ghent — a march of Guildsmen in military 
 dress, fragments of which give us an insight into the state of 
 monumental painting in one of the chief cities of Belgium at 
 the close of the thirteenth, or in the first half of the fourteenth 
 century. The execution is if possible more rude than in the 
 Biloque Hospital.] 1 
 
 Though art in North and South Germany was modified by 
 the influence of the Netherlands, it remained backward in 
 respect of taste and finish ; and all examples of this time are 
 marked by clumsy forms and rude outlines. Especially 
 noticeable is the largeness of the heads and the short length 
 of the noses. 
 
 A specimen of this Netherlandish influence is afforded by 
 the MS. of a Psalter in the Ambras collection at Vienna, pro- 
 bably executed in some Westphalian convent not long after 
 the year 1300. Within eighty-four circles are a series of 
 pictures from the Creation of the World to the Last Judg- 
 ment, the outlines of which are meagre indeed, but rendered 
 with a rare precision of pen. Of the same kind are the 
 miniatures in the MS. of the Romance of ' Wilhelm von 
 Oranse,' written for the Landgraf Henry of Hesse in the 
 year 1334, and now in the Royal Library of Cassel. They 
 are remarkable for animated though unskilful movements, 
 
 1 [Compare De Busscher, 'Recherches sur les Peintres Gantois,' 8vo, 
 Ghent, 1859, p. 165 ; and see for other wall paintings in Belgium and 
 Holland the 'Journal des Beaux Arts,' Brux, 1867, p. 105 ; ditto, 1870, p. 
 116; 1860, p. 160 ; 1863, p. 18; and 1862, p. 15.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 WALL PAINTINGS AT COLOGNE. 
 
 29 
 
 for an occasional attempt at expression in the faces, and also 
 for a good cast of drapery. 
 
 In the choir of the Cathedral of Cologne, on the screen 
 surrounding the stalls, are a number of wall paintings — 
 those on the Gospel side showing scenes from the life of St. 
 Peter, and of Pope Sylvester; those on the Epistle side, 
 incidents from the life of the Virgin, and from the legends of 
 the Three Kings. The proportions are good, the action 
 lively, the draperies in good taste, but the heads are still 
 very conventional and of little expression. The thick reddish 
 outlines, and the very slight shadows, place these pictures 
 on a very low scale of development. As they were doubtless 
 executed in 1322, and as, from the circumstance of the choir 
 being considered the holiest place in the cathedral, the best 
 painters were probably chosen, we can have no better oppor- 
 tunity than these pictures afford us for forming conclusions 
 regarding the state of painting in that country ; and these 
 conclusions are far from favourable. Below these frescos are 
 all kinds of little drolleries, which, though mannered and 
 coarse in execution, are of spirited invention. 1 
 
 Two easel pictures also in the Cologne Museum — a small 
 altarpiece of a Crucifixion, and the Apostles Paul and John — 
 lead to the same unfavourable verdict on this form of art. 
 
 I may mention two more instances of paintings, which 
 occur towards the end of this period. On a low space in the 
 Ehinger House at Ulm figures of men seated two and two 
 probably represent the prophets. A man with a dog, and a 
 woman with a monkey, upon the entrance gate, are very 
 animated. Although these have been subjected to later 
 restorations, yet it is easy to perceive the low stage of art 
 and homely treatment which characterised them. An ante- 
 pendium in the church of the Frauleinstift at Liine contains 
 the crucified Saviour and scenes of the Passion, executed in 
 a rude form by an artist of about 1250. 
 
 As regards the application of painting to secular subjects, 
 two MSS. containing the songs of the Troubadours are 
 interesting. At the head of each poem its contents are 
 
 1 [These paintings are now concealed under a panelling covered with 
 tapestry.] 
 
30 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II 
 
 usually embodied in an appropriate form of occupation. 
 Not that any portrait-like attempt at individuality is made — 
 on the contrary, the type of the period prevails in a some- 
 what coarse form. The black outlines are broad and bold, 
 and the colouring is very slight and rough. These works 
 exhibit just that style of drawing which served as a model 
 to the woodcuts of the next century. The earliest of these 
 MSS., executed about 1280, and formerly in the convent of 
 Weingarten in Swabia, is now in the private library of the 
 King of Wurtemberg at Stuttgart. It is the work of a mode- 
 rate artist, though the figures are often animated. More im- 
 portant is the other manuscript, of about the year 1300, 
 which formerly belonged to Riidiger Manesse at Zurich, and 
 is now in the Paris Library. 1 The figures resemble, for the 
 most part, those in the former manuscript, to which they are 
 so similar that either they have been copied from it, or both 
 have been taken from a common model. In the Paris manu- 
 script, however, the size is larger, and the technical execu- 
 tion rather more worthy of an artist, while the feeling for 
 the peculiar circumstances of each subject is more delicate, 
 and the style in which they are conceived and treated has 
 greater truth and spirit. Sometimes the poet is represented 
 alone, and sometimes with his lady-love, it may be in the 
 character of a hardy huntsman, or of an armed knight. In 
 some the meditative feeling and reflection of the poet are 
 admirably expressed, as in the figure of Henry of Veldeck, 
 who sits amongst flowers and birds, thoughtfully resting his 
 head upon his hand ; or in that of Reinmar der Zweter, who 
 is placed on an elevated seat, and dictates to two secretaries 
 busily occupied at his side. The portrait of the Hardegger 
 is very gracefully treated. He lies under a tree, a falcon on 
 his wrist ; his head supported on the lap of his mistress, 
 who is bending tenderly over him. The movements, indeed, 
 particularly in difficult attitudes, are not always easy or 
 natural, and of this defect the last-named drawing affords an 
 instance ; yet, for the most part, the feeling for form is 
 
 1 Professor von der Hagen, of Berlin, has published many of the 
 illuminations of this manuscript, under the title 'Bildersaal altdeut- 
 echer Dichter. Berlin, 1856. T. A. Stargardt.' 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 BOHEMIAN ART. 
 
 31 
 
 rather purer, and the drapery generally falls in beautiful and 
 well-chosen lines. 1 Larger works of another kind, with the 
 general type of the German style more or less strongly 
 marked on them, are not numerous ; such as painted glass 
 for church- windows, and tapestry. A piece of the latter, of 
 remarkable dimensions, may be observed in the church of St. 
 Elizabeth at Marburg, the principal subject of which is taken 
 from the history of the Prodigal Son. 
 
 It is probable that art in Bohemia advanced beyond that 
 of Germany at this time. This is strikingly attested by the 
 miniatures in a Passionale executed for Kunigunde, sister of 
 King Ottocar II. of Bohemia, and Abbess of the convent of 
 St. George at Prague, painted in 1316 by Colda, a Domini- 
 can friar, and now in the University Library at Prague. The 
 animation of the action ; the fine taste shown in the large 
 folds of the drapery, which is cast, it is true, after the model 
 of Gothic sculpture ; and the good drawing, are all surprising, 
 considering the period. The sleeping figure of Adam, in 
 the Creation of Eve, may in all respects be compared with 
 contemporary Italian figures. Various inventions of attrac- 
 tive character may be designated as nationally Bohemian. For 
 instance, the representation of the Magdalen, who, in presence 
 of SS. John and Peter, announces to the recumbent Virgin 
 the Kesurrection of Christ ; also the intensity of feeling in 
 the meeting of Christ and his mother after the Resurrection. 2 
 
 Equally remarkable is the series of wall paintings in the 
 castle of Neuhaus in Bohemia, in which scenes from the 
 legend of St. George are depicted in the fashion of the first 
 years of the fourteenth century. 
 
 1 Museum, 1834, No. 5, p. 35 ; No. 11, p. 82. 
 
 2 German ' Kunstblatt,' 1850, p. 155, etc. 
 
 3 See Wocel, ' Wandegemalde der St. George Legende.' Wien, 1859. 
 
32 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OP PAINTING IN ITS MORE INDEPENDENT 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 1350—1420. 
 
 The new pictorial feeling, which we observed dawning as 
 early as 1300, expanded greatly as the century advanced ; 
 and before the turn of 1350, artists had already substituted 
 a softer painted contour for the hard and wiry outline of their 
 predecessors. In unison with the rest of the treatment, 
 these contours are broader as well as softer ; the transitions 
 from lights to shadows become more delicate and melting ; 
 harmoniously broken tints replace the crude and gaudy 
 colouring hitherto practised, and herald the coming of a more 
 refined practice. At the same time blue and vermilion are 
 longest retained in their former unbroken force. Nor was 
 this awakening feeling for truth and nature unaccompanied 
 by improvement in the shape of heads. A new and more 
 select form, founded on observation of life, began to show 
 itself. The oval of the face became more delicate, the 
 mouths and noses finer — the latter retaining somewhat the 
 hooked form in males. The types assumed a very pleasing 
 character, in which the prevailing religious spirit of the 
 period, spiritual purity, manly dignity, and feminine gentle- 
 ness, began to be expressed by simple but distinct signs. 
 In figures representing profane persons more natural variety 
 and lively expressions are perceptible. These improvements 
 are accompanied by more elevated and subdued action, and 
 drapery of soft line exhibits a more refined taste. The 
 drawing of the nude alone remains in a backward state — 
 the forms are generally spare, and the feet too small, though 
 the hands are often of happy action. One peculiar and very 
 prevalent branch of painting at this time consists in pictures 
 dexterously executed in monochrome. Gold grounds be- 
 come more limited in extent, and the space of the back- 
 
Chap. II. DEVELOPMENT IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 33 
 
 ground is more and more copiously expressed by buildings 
 either of Romanesque or Gothic character, by trees and hills 
 of conventional forms, and by the introduction of all kinds 
 of house utensils. Even as early as the commencement of 
 this period gold grounds are often replaced by the indication 
 of a blue sky ; indeed, as early as toward the year 1380 
 landscape backgrounds of very creditable character begin to 
 occur. To all appearance this new impulse in art, and espe- 
 cially the development of the space of the background, pro- 
 ceeded from the Netherlands. In the extreme rarity of 
 pictures of a larger size, the destruction of which may be 
 accounted for in various ways, we must be content chiefly 
 with the evidence furnished by miniatures, of which happily 
 a rich store exists. 
 
 At the head of this period, and in many respects reminis- 
 cent of the previous one, may be placed a Bible in the 
 Imperial Library at Paris (MSS. Francais, No. 6829 bis), 
 containing no less than 5124 pen-drawings, washed with 
 Indian ink, representing the types and antitypes from the 
 New and Old Testament, and executed by a very intelligent 
 artist. 1 In close affinity with these are the miniatures of 
 a missal, designed by the Presbyter Lorenz of Antwerp, in 
 1366, at Ghent, and now in the Westrenen Museum at the 
 Hague. 2 These also remind us of the preceding period ; but 
 the outlines are softly drawn with the brush, the forms are 
 truer to nature, and the folds of the drapery are more ten- 
 derly blended. In some pictures, for instance in the Nativity, 
 the Byzantine form of conception is still retained ; single 
 episodes show a steady observation of nature. 
 
 Of later date, and of great interest, are the miniatures 
 executed in 1371 by one John op Bkuges, painter to King 
 Charles V. of France, which decorate a translation of the 
 Vulgate now in the Westrenen Museum at the Hague. At 
 the commencement of the volume Charles V. is represented 
 in profile, with a figure kneeling before him, who, we are 
 informed by a dedication in French verse in the MS., was 
 one Jehan Vaudetar, who presented this Bible to the King. 
 
 1 ' Kimstwerke und Kiinstler in Paris,' p. 327. 
 * Uerman ' Kwastblatt,' 1852, No. 28. 
 
 0 
 
34 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 Both heads are portraits of thorough individuality. A few 
 small historical subjects also, fol. 467 — the Nativity, the 
 Adoration of the Kings, and the Flight into Egypt — give 
 further evidence of the existence of Netherlandish painters 
 who, a generation before the Van Eycks, had, even in this 
 department of art, attained great proficiency. The free and 
 lively movements and truthful forms which we meet with 
 here were obviously taken from nature, as also the drapery 
 and style of modelling. 
 
 Very important testimony, as regards the latter part of 
 this period, is given by the miniatures in a MS. of the travels 
 of Marco Polo, and six other well-known travellers, now in 
 the Imperial Library at Paris (MSS. Francais, No. 8392), 
 which, there is reason to believe, were executed between 
 1384 and 1405, for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. 1 
 Here we see the form of art peculiar to this time already 
 fully developed; the cheerful and harmonious colouring 
 especially is characteristic of that feeling for tone which was 
 ultimately the excellence of Netherlandish art; but the 
 drawing is proportionably defective. 
 
 Next in point of time we may quote the Prayer-book of 
 Margaret of Bavaria, wife to John Sans Peur of Burgundy 
 (1389)— now in the British Museum (Harleian, No. 2897). 
 The greater number of the miniatures, which are very beau- 
 tiful, are by Flemings. 2 Among these may be mentioned 
 those referring to King David,, fol. 28 b, 42 b, and 72 b. 
 To a hand of more realistic tendency may be assigned the 
 Preaching of St. Ambrose, fol. 160 a ; and finally to one of 
 more idealising character, the Unbelief of St. Thomas, fol. 
 164 a, and the principal picture, the Ascension, fol. 188 b. 
 
 Of still higher importance is a Prayer-book with minia- 
 tures by different limners, in the Bodleian (Douce, 144), 
 which, according to an inscription on one of its pages, was 
 finished in 1407. I can only point to a few of the most 
 remarkable pieces. The occupations of the month, and the 
 signs of the Zodiac, in the Calendar ; the Virgin, to whom 
 an angel is bringing bread and wine, fol. 10 a ; the Annun- 
 
 1 'Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Paris,' p. 331, etc. 
 
 2 'Art Treasures in Great Britain,' vol. i. p. 124. 
 
Chap. II. ILLUMINATED PRAYER-BOOKS. 35 
 
 ciation, fol. 28 a ; the Visitation, fol. 52 a ; and two proces- 
 sions, 105 a, and 108 and 109. Here a delicate feeling for 
 individuality is already perceptible, with an animation and 
 truth, for instance, in the singing chorister boys, not sur- 
 passed by the celebrated work of that subject by Luca della 
 Kobbia. The Crucifixion, fol. Ill a: although the Christ is 
 too tall here, yet the whole conception is elevated, and the 
 sorrow of the fainting Virgin is as earnestly as it is beauti- 
 fully expressed. Finally the Virgin nursing the Child, fol. 
 123 a. 1 
 
 A few years later in time and not less important in art are 
 the miniatures of another Prayer-book in the British Museum 
 (additional No. 16,997), by a Fleming. The following are 
 most worthy of notice : — The Annunciation, in which three 
 singing angels show a high stage of development — the Ado- 
 ration of the Shepherds — the Descent of the Holy Ghost — 
 All Saints — the Virgin reading — the four Fathers of the 
 Church — both the St. Johns — the celebration of the Mass — 
 and especially the Crucifixion, and the Assumption of the 
 Virgin, which, both in arrangement and style, show a great 
 artist. 2 
 
 Another MS., in the British Museum, the Poems of 
 Christina of Pisa (Harleian, No. 4431), contains various 
 good pictures by Flemish painters, which as specimens of 
 the conception of secular subjects, and also of subjects bor- 
 rowed from mythology, are very remarkable. Among them 
 are, a pretty young woman kneeling before a man, and the 
 Marriage of Peleus, in which the feast is spread on three 
 tables of the form of the time. 3 
 
 [In treating of the miniatures of this period, we seldom, if 
 ever, learn the name of the person who designed them, but 
 we frequently read that of the princes for whom they were 
 executed. The last count of the House of Flanders, Louis 
 
 1 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 75, etc. [There is nothing more remarkable in this 
 Prayer-book than that it reminds us of Melchior Broederlam's altar-chest 
 at Dijon, not only in respect of composition and action, but in respect 
 of technical execution and minutiae. The altar- chest will be found 
 described in these pages. ] 
 
 2 'Treasures of Art,' vol. i. p. 125. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 126. 
 
36 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 de Male, and the first dukes of the House of Valois, Philip 
 the Hardy and John Sans Peur, were princes to whose 
 patronage the arts owed much of their expansion and pro- 
 gress ; and we can scarcely doubt that, but for the support 
 which they gave to artists of every class, Belgium would not 
 have ranked so high as it does in pictorial annals as the 
 cradle of a school of painting. History has preserved the 
 names of many craftsmen who took service with the Counts 
 of Flanders and Dukes of Burgundy. We may note a few 
 of them : — Jean Van der Asselt, painter to Louis de Male at 
 Ghent, from 1364 to 1380, subsequently employed (1386) 
 by Philip the Hardy ; Jean de Beaumez, " painter and valet" 
 to Philip (1377 to 1395) ; Jean Malwel, " painter and valet " 
 to Philip and Jean Sans Peur (1397 to 1415) ; Melchior 
 Broederlam of Ypres, " painter and valet " to Philip the 
 Hardy (1382 — 1400) ; Henri Bellechose de Brabant, "paintei 
 and valet " to Jean Sans Peur (1415). There is every 
 reason to believe that Van der Asselt is the master to whom 
 we owe (1373) the wall paintings in the chapel of Louis de 
 Male at Notre Dame of Courtrai ; and this mutilated ex- 
 ample is evidence of the low level at which monumental art 
 remained in Belgium at the close of the fourteenth century. 
 The object of Louis de Male in decorating the chapel of 
 Courtrai was to preserve the likenesses of the princes of the 
 House of Flanders ; and it is interesting to observe that the 
 line of portraits which was executed by his orders was con- 
 tinued by command of the princes of the House of Burgundy. 
 Unhappily the heads of all the figures were hacked out of 
 the wall ; and nothing is left but the legs and arms and 
 torso, together with the heraldic arms of each personage. 
 But what remains is tinted with flat colours, and defined by 
 lines, in the spirit of the miniatures of the time. 1 
 
 That the practice of wall-painting should have remained 
 unaltered in Belgium till the close of the fourteenth century is 
 a remarkable circumstance, which leads us to conclude that 
 the artists of this period had scarcely advanced beyond the 
 stage of illuminating. Given the form in a monument of 
 
 1 [See an outline of these figures and descriptions in De Busscher's 
 'Peintres Gantois,' 8vo. Gand, 1859, p. 47.] 
 
PICTURES ON AN ALTAR CHEST AT DIJON 
 
 page 37. Nc. i. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 BELGIAN ALTARPIECES. 
 
 37 
 
 stone, or the outline in a mural decoration, painters were 
 equally satisfied in both cases to cover the surfaces with 
 flat colours. Nature, in the one instance, furnished the 
 necessary shadows, which, in the other, painters were as yet 
 too careless to supply. That they practised both systems 
 indifferently we learn from the study of the lives of Malwel, 
 Broederlam, and even Roger van der Weyden. Of Jean de 
 Beaumez's works we know nothing. Malwel's portrait of 
 Jean Sans Peur is not to be traced ; but an important proof 
 of Broederlam's skill is preserved in the wings of a carved 
 altar-table by Jacques de Baerse of Termonde, the principal 
 parts of which are in the Museum of Dijon.] The subjects 
 represented, as the annexed woodcuts show, are the Annun- 
 ciation, the Visitation, the Presentation, and the Flight into 
 Egypt. They occupy the boundary-line between the style 
 of this period and the realistic feeling of that which succeeds 
 it. The forms of the heads are still roundish and soft, and 
 occasionally, as in those of the Virgin and Simeon in the 
 Presentation (which is the most successfully treated), exhibit 
 a delicate feeling for beauty, and at the same time a certain 
 individuality of character. Joseph in the Flight into Egypt 
 is even coarsely realistic. The folds of the drapery are 
 still soft, but the colours have assumed a clearness and 
 power which borders on gaudiness. In the fullish forms no 
 study of nature is yet perceptible ; the backgrounds, rocks 
 and trees, are still of conventional form, and the skies are 
 gold ground. 
 
 Other specimens of church pictures have survived, which 
 do not come up to the standard of their time as representa- 
 tions of a larger scale of painting. 
 
 The first, originally produced for the Tanners' Hall in 
 Bruges, is now in the cathedral of that town. The subject 
 is the Crucifixion, with figures about two-thirds the size of 
 life. The Christ is rather long and meagre, but not badly 
 drawn. He is already lifeless. On the right is St. John, 
 with the Virgin fainting ; she is of very noble form, sup- 
 ported by two holy women. On the left, in violent and 
 rather clumsy action, is the Centurion, in silver armour, 
 with a guard, a priest, and a monk. At the sides in niches 
 
38 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 are St. Barbara and St. Catherine. The expression of the 
 heads is lively, the colouring of the flesh feeble, and the 
 modelling poor ; the background is gilt, with a pattern. 
 
 The second picture, also the Crucifixion, was formerly in 
 the church of St. John at Utrecht, and is now in the 
 Museum at Antwerp, No. 519. It includes only the figures 
 of the Virgin and St. John, with the kneeling portrait of the 
 Archdeacon Heinrich von Ryn, who died in 1360, and upon 
 whose monument, in St. John's church, this picture was 
 erected. The Christ is of similar conception to that above 
 described, but displays less skill. The portrait also is 
 characterised by no signs of individuality. The best parts 
 are the gestures and expression of sorrow of St. John. 
 The ground is here also gilt, with a pattern. 
 
 In Bohemia the style of this period seems to have been 
 developed earlier than elsewhere. The artists of this 
 country made considerable progress under the reign of the 
 Emperor Charles IV. (reigned 1348-78), who did his utmost 
 in order to advance his favourite Bohemia in this respect. 
 Many miniatures in still existing MSS. give very favourable 
 evidence of the state of art in Bohemia, of which they are 
 better exponents than a number of ruined wall and panel 
 pictures. The painters principally employed by the Emperor 
 were Theodorich of Prague, Nicolaus Wurmser of Stras- 
 burg, and one Kunz. The chief locality of their labours 
 was the Castle of Karlstein in the vicinity of Prague, the 
 favourite residence of Charles IV. To decide what is the 
 particular work of each of these painters among the surviv- 
 ing pictures which adorn the church of our Lady, the chapel 
 of St. Catherine, and the church of the Holy Cross, or Koyal 
 Chapel, would, considering the vagueness of all traditions, 
 and the various restorations which have been made, be 
 extremely difficult. Those parts which are generally attri- 
 buted to Theodorich of Prague consist of 125 half-length 
 figures, larger than life, of saints, teachers, and rulers of the 
 Church, executed in tempera on panel, and decorating the 
 church of the Holy Cross. They show an excellent painter 
 in the forms of art belonging to the beginning of this period. 
 The heads of the men consist of two rather monotonously 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 BOHEMIAN ART. 
 
 39 
 
 repeated types of much earnestness and dignity. The forms 
 are somewhat broad and ungraceful, and the large noses 
 with their broad ridges may be recognised as a native 
 Bohemian peculiarity. The female heads, on the other 
 hand, are of nobler and more refined forms. The wide-open 
 eyes are characteristic of the Bohemian school. The move- 
 ment of the figures is usually good, the hands full in form 
 and well put in action ; the draperies, in the well-known 
 type, with large folds softly modelled in broken colours. 
 In the colouring of the heads a certain alternation may be 
 perceived. Some are of a tender, coolish red, others more 
 warmly tinted ; a light grey prevails in the half-tones and 
 shadows. The fused treatment often degenerates into 
 excessive softness. The accessories frequently exhibit a 
 happy aim at truth of nature, as, for instance, the desk, 
 bookstand, and pens in the picture of St. Ambrose, which 
 formed one of this series, though now in the Imperial 
 Gallery at Vienna ; two others have also been transferred to 
 the University Library at Prague. Akin to these pictures 
 is an altarpiece in the Gallery of the Estates of Bohemia at 
 Prague, from the Provost's house at Kaunitz on the Elbe, 
 containing the Virgin and Child adored by the Emperor 
 Charles IV. and his son Wenceslaus, and SS. Sigismund and 
 Wenceslaus in. the upper part ; and below, the patron saints 
 of Bohemia, SS. Procopius, Adalbert, Vitus, and Ludmilla, 
 with the donor of the picture, Oczko von Wlassim, archbishop 
 of Prague. The heads of the saints are elevated in form and 
 pure in expression. Considering the date of the picture, 1375, 
 the portraits are of surprising individuality. A Crucifixion, 
 with the Virgin and St. John, originally also executed for the 
 Castle of Karlstein, and now in the Imperial Gallery at Vienna, 
 is a somewhat feebler work by the same master, to whom 
 Van Mechel, the well-known editor of the Catalogue of that 
 collection in the time of Joseph II., assigned the name of 
 Nicolas Wurmser. 1 
 
 1 [See Wurmser's 'Diploma of Service under Charles IV.,' dated 1359, 
 aud printed in full in 'Histcr. Nuremberg, Diploin.,' p. 384, No. 161, 
 quoted in Schreiber (H.) Das Munster zu Strasburg, 8ro. Karlsruhe, 
 1829, p. 95.] 
 
40 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 [An altarpiece of 1385, executed for St. Veits at Miihl- 
 hausen in Wiirtemberg, but subsequently transferred to the 
 house of the Society of Antiquaries in Stuttgardt, deserves 
 to be noted here as a work of the Bohemian school of this 
 period. The principal figures represented are Bohemian 
 saints, St. Wenzel, St. Vitus, and St. Sigismund.] 1 
 
 The paintings in the Castle of Karlstein are obviously by 
 four different hands. One of them, Tommaso da Modena, 
 the author of the existing remnants of an altarpiece in several 
 compartments, inasmuch as he belongs to the Italian school, 
 concerns us only so far as he exerts a very decisive influence 
 in the form of heads, and in other respects, over two of the 
 other painters. A second hand may be traced in the follow- 
 ing works : — Scenes from the Apocalypse, in the church of 
 our Lady, the Virgin being represented as the winged woman 
 with the Child ; of grand and elevated conception. The 
 Virgin again, of still finer invention, fleeing before the seven- 
 headed dragon, which is admirably rendered. Another large 
 picture, not so easy of interpretation, is probably the Adora- 
 tion of Antichrist. In the church of the Holy Cross, also from 
 the Apocalypse, are, the Almighty enthroned in a Mandorla, 
 surrounded by choirs of angels, the seven stars in the one 
 hand, the book with seven seals in the other ; the Adoration 
 of the Lamb by the twenty-four elders ; the Annunciation ; 
 the Visitation ; the Adoration of the Three Kings ; Christ 
 with Martha and Mary ; the Magdalen anointing the feet of 
 Christ ; Christ as the Gardener ; and the Raising of Lazarus. 
 These ruined pictures (query, by Wurmser ?) show ample 
 power of invention, refined feeling for composition, and skilful 
 treatment. To the third hand the following, in the church 
 of our Lady, may be ascribed : — Charles IV. delivering to 
 Blanka his wife the cross which he had received in Rome 
 from the Pope ; the same monarch presenting his son 
 Wenceslaus with a ring ; and again in prayer. The author 
 of these subjects (query, Kunz ?) appears as a very skilful 
 portrait-painter. The graceful forms and action of his hands 
 
 1 [Compare Ulm's ' Kunstleben,' by Griineisen and Mauch, p. 12; 
 Waagen, 'Kunst. in Baiern,' etc., ii. 226; and HeidelofF, 'Die Kunst. in 
 Schwaben,' fol. Stuttgardt, 1855, p. 37. j 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 BOHEMIAN ART. 
 
 41 
 
 are especially remarkable. By the fourth master are the 
 portraits of the Emperor Charles IV., and Anne of the 
 Palatinate, his fourth wife, both holding a cross, over the 
 entrance to the St. Catherine's chapel. Within the chapel 
 is the Virgin, of quite Giottesque form of face, giving her 
 hand to the Empress Anne, and the Child giving his hand to 
 the Emperor. The painter has been most successful in the 
 portraits, especially in that of the Empress. 1 
 
 The wall paintings in the chapel of St. Wenceslaus in the 
 Cathedral at Prague are so over painted as to offer no means 
 of forming an opinion. The most important picture of the 
 whole school is said to be in the church of the fortress of the 
 Wissehrad at Prague. 
 
 A large mosaic, on the south side of the exterior of the 
 Cathedral of Prague, remains still to be noticed. It is 
 divided into three compartments ; in the middle is Christ in 
 a glory, surrounded by angels, six Bohemian saints below 
 him, and still lower the donors, Charles IV. and his wife; 
 on the left is the virgin with several saints, and below is the 
 Resurrection. On the right is seen John the Baptist, with 
 saints, and underneath are the condemned. The style of this 
 work is again rather rude, and only worthy of notice, as a 
 whole, on account of its execution in mosaic, which rarely 
 occurs in Germany. 
 
 On the other hand, a number of MSS. with miniatures give 
 ample materials for judgment, and show more properly the 
 peculiarity and great significance of the Bohemian school at 
 this period. At the same time, many of these specimens 
 agree so entirely with contemporary French and Nether- 
 landish miniatures, that there can be no doubt that Charles 
 IV., who, at an earlier time, resided in Paris, must have 
 summoned French painters to Prague, or Bohemian painters 
 to Paris. It will suffice here to mention a few of the most 
 remarkable MSS. with miniatures. 
 
 Two Prayer-books belonging to Archbishop Ernest of 
 Prague, died 1350 : one of them in the Library of Prince 
 Lobkowitz at Prague ; the other and richer one, in which 
 the artist designates himself by the name of Sbinko de 
 
 1 [This " fourth master " is none other than Tommaso da Modena.] 
 
42 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 Trotina, in the Library of the National Museum of that city. 
 Both serve to prove that the style of art characteristic of this 
 period was fully, and consequently very early, developed. 
 
 The MS. of an Essay on the Doctrines of Christian Truth, 
 executed in 1373 by Thomas Stitney, and now in the Uni- 
 versity Library at Prague (xvii. A b), shows how early the 
 Bohemians began to treat the common events of daily life 
 with vivacity, taste, and feeling for beauty. The most re- 
 markable pictures are of a youth and a beautiful girl (fol. 
 37 b) ; several young women dedicating themselves as the 
 Brides of Christ (fol. 44 b) ; and a woman praying (fol. 
 124 a). 1 
 
 Next in order may be mentioned the miniatures in the 
 German translation of the Bible executed by order of the 
 Emperor Wenceslaus, reigned 1378-1400, now in the 
 Imperial Library at Vienna. 
 
 The admirable miniatures also in a missal belonging to 
 Sbinko Hasen von Hasenburg, appointed Archbishop of 
 Prague 1402, and who died as Archbishop of Presburg in 
 1411, now in the same library, show that the school con- 
 tinued to advance in excellence till towards the conclusion of 
 the period. I may mention the Adoration of the Kings, and 
 the Baptism of Christ, as particularly excellent. 
 
 An Evangeliarium, written by a priest of the name of 
 Johann von Troppau, for Albrecht II., Archduke of Austria, 
 and adorned with very fine miniatures — now in the Library 
 at Vienna — serves to prove that the Bohemian school had 
 also taken root in the province of Moravia, then a depend- 
 ency of Bohemia. 2 The same may be said of Silesia, then 
 similarly situated, which is evidenced by two pictures pro- 
 ceeding from a convent in Silesia, now in the Berlin Museum ; 
 the one (No. 1221) the Mocking of Christ, the other (No. 
 1219) the Crucifixion. Both exhibit a skilful master, who 
 may have flourished about 1400. [These are now withdrawn.] 
 
 But in Austria also this style of art attained a peculiar 
 development. A brilliant example of this is afforded by the 
 
 1 See further account of these three MSS. in the German ' Kunstblatt' 
 of 1850, No. 37. 
 
 2 Ibid., No. 38. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 BOHEMIAN ART. 
 
 43 
 
 miniatures in the MS. of a German translation of Durandus' 
 Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, in the Imperial Library. 
 These were commenced for the same Duke Albert II., and 
 completed for his nephew Archbishop William. The minia- 
 tures, which may be safely assigned to the period between 
 1384 and 1403, are equal, in point of art, to the best 
 Bohemian paintings, but are distinguished from them by 
 greater force of colour and decision of forms. The best of 
 them combine good arrangement and drawing with delicate 
 heads and a blooming flesh-tone. The Last Supper, and the 
 Last Judgment, are especially remarkable. The portraits of 
 the above-mentioned princes, which occur in various parts, 
 show a happy aim at individuality. 
 
 The style of this period in Germany is seen to attain its 
 noblest form in the last decades of the fourteenth, and first 
 of the fifteenth century, in the city of Cologne. That spiritual 
 calm, peaceful bliss, and untroubled moral purity which reli- 
 gion alone engenders, is expressed in a rare degree in the 
 Cologne school. In perfect agreement with this character 
 are the harmoniously broken colouring, the tender tints of 
 the flesh, the moderate nature of the modelling, and the soft 
 and fused style of the execution. The weak side of this 
 school, in which powerful expression and dramatic subjects 
 were least affected, was the deficiency of knowledge as to 
 the anatomical structure of the human frame. The difficulty 
 of assigning the artist's name to the surviving specimens of 
 Cologne art is far greater than in the Bohemian school. 
 From a passage in the Limburg Chronicle, 1380, which runs 
 thus — " In this time there was a painter in Cologne of the 
 name of Wilhelm ; he was considered the best master in all 
 German Land ; he paints every man, of whatever form, as if 
 he were alive " — from this passage the custom arose of 
 attributing the best pictures in Cologne and the vicinity, of 
 this period, to Meister Wilhelm. And true as this con- 
 jecture may be in some instances, we must not forget that 
 there is no certainty as to the real origin of one single 
 picture. 
 
 [It has been considered probable that the earliest work 
 assignable to Meister Wilhelm was the Crucifixion with 
 
44 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 saints in a niche above the monument to bishop Kuno (ob. 
 1388) in St. Castor of Coblenz ; yet it has also been acknow- 
 ledged that the value of this relic was altogether impaired by 
 restoration. The truth is, that if we assign this wall painting 
 to Meister Wilhelm, we dispute his identity with the only 
 painter who bore the name of Wilhelm at the close of the 
 fourteenth century. Wilhelm of Herle was in practice at 
 Cologne from 1358 to 1372, and there are proofs of his death 
 in 1378. 1 Payments made to him in 1372, " ad pingendum 
 librum juramentorum," are preserved ; and there is every 
 reason to believe that the same person is alluded to in subse- 
 quent entries of the civic accounts, in which moneys are paid 
 to the " painter who painted " the butcher's hall, the banner 
 and wimples of the city, and the town hall. 2 It has been 
 urged that a master whose death occurred in 1378 could not 
 have been mentioned as "of this time " in a chronicle of 
 1380 ; and yet the writer of a chronicle composed in Limburg 
 might easily fall into a mistake of this kind, and his words are 
 elastic enough to show that he aimed at no precision of date. 
 During the recent restoration of the Hanseatic Hall in the 
 Rathhaus of Cologne, three heads, the solitary remnants of 
 the paintings noted in the accounts, were freed from superin- 
 cumbent whitewash, and revealed a painter of considerable 
 merit, whose skill was quite equal to the production of the 
 pictures attributed to Meister Wilhelm, and whose manner 
 was characteristic of a master of the fourteenth century.] 3 
 
 Worthy of the great name of Meister Wilhelm, and far 
 superior to the Crucifixion of Coblenz, are some portions of 
 the numerous pictures which once adorned the altarpiece and 
 wings in the church of St. Clara, and which are now in the 
 chapel of St. John in the Cathedral of Cologne. These com- 
 prise the Nativity, the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the 
 Bathing of the Infant, the Adoration of the Kings, the Pre- 
 sentation in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, and the scenes 
 
 1 [Merlo, ' Die Meister der Altkoln. Malerschule,' 8vo. Koln, 1852, pp. 
 31, 39.] 
 
 2 [Dr. Ennen in ' Annalen des Historischen Vereins fur den Nieder 
 Rhein,' 7er Heft. Koln, 1859.] 
 
 3 [See outlines in Schnaase's ' Geschichte der Bildenden Kiinste,' 6 Bd. 
 p. 425. The fragments are in the Cologne Museum.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 COLOGNE SCHOOL. 
 
 45 
 
 from the Passion in the centre compartment. The other 
 portions are by a less important hand, only partially related 
 to Meister Wilhelm. 
 
 In connection with these works may be mentioned a picture 
 in the Berlin Museum [withdrawn]. This consists of thirty- 
 four compartments, representing scenes from the life of Christ 
 and the Virgin, from the Annunciation to the Last Judgment, 
 of animated and often admirable composition, delicate tone of 
 colouring, and light and spirited treatment. 
 
 Next in order comes a small altarpiece with wings, in the 
 Museum at Cologne. The head of the Virgin, who is 
 caressed by the Child, exhibits in the fullest extent the 
 purity of character, sweetness of expression, and softness and 
 delicate tone of flesh peculiar to this school. The figures of 
 SS. Catherine and Barbara have also the tenderness charac- 
 teristic of the master. Greatly resembling this is a small 
 altarpiece, No. 1238, in the Museum at Berlin, with the 
 Virgin and Child and four female Saints in the centre com- 
 partment, and SS. Elizabeth of Hungary and Agnes on the 
 wings. 
 
 A picture of St. Veronica with the Sudarium, at Munich, 
 Cabinets No. 15, furnishes a very fine example of this manner, 
 a more careful execution and warmer colouring being com- 
 bined with the same purity and tenderness of feeling. 1 
 
 Passing over several other works attributed with more or 
 less justice to Meister Wilhelm, I will only observe that the 
 number of pictures in and about Cologne — for instance, in a 
 closed chapel in the Cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, evidently 
 painted in his manner — are considerable. At Cologne these 
 specimens are chiefly to be found in the Museum, and in the 
 chapel of the Town Hall. A small Crucifixion also, in the 
 collection of the late Mr. Dietz, is particularly remarkable. 
 Others, originally in Cologne, have accompanied the Boisseree 
 collection to Munich ; some also have made their way to the 
 chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg. The Garden of Eden, 
 in the Prehn collection in the Frankfort Library, is a small 
 but very attractive picture. The cheerful and naive form of 
 
 1 [Opinions may still differ as to whether this picture be by the same 
 hand as those of Berlin and Cologne.] 
 
46 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 conception is in strict unison with the tender execution and 
 gay colouring. The fact that the influence of this master 
 extended to Guelders, the neighbouring province of Holland, 
 is evident by the miniatures in a Dutch Prayer-book, belonging 
 to Maria, Duchess of Guelders, of the year 1415, now in the 
 Royal Library at Berlin. 
 
 The most beautiful specimen of this early German art I 
 know in England is a small altarpiece with wings, containing 
 numerous figures of very elevated style and tender execution. 
 It belongs to Mr. Beresford Hope. 1 
 
 A close affinity with the Cologne school is also distinctly 
 seen in the style of art which prevailed in Westphalia. I 
 need only instance those pictures of SS. Dorothea and Ottilia, 
 originally from Soest, now in the Town Museum at Minister. 
 They show a master of elevation and refinement, nearly 
 related to Meister Wilhelm in style, but more independent in 
 character, and in many respects more advanced. 
 
 A large picture, formerly in St. Michael's church at Lune- 
 burg, now in the public gallery at Hanover, consisting of 
 numerous, and in parts interesting, paintings of about the 
 commencement of the fifteenth century, shows that, without 
 being dependent on the school of Cologne, the style of this 
 period had spread also into the region of Lower Saxony. 
 
 Next to Prague and Cologne, the city of Nuremberg may 
 be considered as a central point of art. The fine sculptures 
 by Schonhofer which adorn the exterior and interior of the 
 porch of the church of our Lady, and which were completed 
 in 1361, evidently assisted much in this local development. 
 Without deviating from the general character of this period, 
 greater knowledge and observation of the human figure are 
 apparent here than in the Bohemian and Cologne schools ; 
 modelling and colouring are also both more powerful. 2 Un- 
 fortunately, however, no painters' names have descended to 
 us with their works, and only in a few instances does an 
 inscribed date afford an accurate standard of their time. 
 
 1 ' Galleries and Cabinets, etc , in Great Britain,' p. 190. 
 
 2 See further in ' Kunstler und Kunstwerke in Deutschland,' vol. i. 
 p. 165, etc., and 247, etc. Also Hotho, 'Malerschule Huberts v. Eyck,' 
 vol. i. p. 291, etc. : and K. v. Kettberg, 'Nurnberg's Kunstleben,' 8vo. 
 Stuttgardt, 1854. 
 
Chap. It 
 
 ART IN NUREMBERG. 
 
 47 
 
 An altarpiece, founded by a member of the noble family 
 of Imhof — the chief portions in the gallery of the church of 
 St. Lawrence — may be adjudged to the last decade of the 
 fourteenth century. 1 The centre compartment of the inner 
 side contains the Coronation of the Virgin, and the wings four 
 Apostles. The head of the Virgin, with downcast eyes, is 
 of unusual beauty of form ; her figure also slender and of 
 elevated character, and the folds of her blue drapery of much 
 purity of taste. The conception of the Saviour, who is 
 crowned and looking at his mother, is serious and dignified. 
 The flesh-tones of the Virgin are delicate, those of the Christ 
 of a warm brownish tint with whitish lights. The reverse 
 of the altarpiece represents in the centre compartment a 
 Pieta with the Virgin and St. John, and on the wings four 
 other apostles. In point of merit it nearly equals the front 
 side. The expression of past suffering in the head of the 
 dead Christ is especially fine ; the nude is but -weakly ren- 
 dered. The apostles are variously and worthily characterised. 
 This portion of the altarpiece is in the castle at Nuremberg. 
 
 But a little later in date are the four wings of an altar- 
 piece, which, according to tradition, was executed for the 
 Deichsler family in 1400, and placed in St. Catherine at 
 Nuremberg, now in the Berlin Museum, No. 1207-1210. 
 They represent the Virgin, who, here also, is very delicately 
 formed, and the Child, the latter very meagre ; St. Peter 
 Martyr, of great energy of character, and glowing colour ; 
 St. Elizabeth of Thiiringen, of mild and delicate aspect ; and 
 John the Baptist. In the lively action of the last-named 
 saint is seen the energy which characterises Gothic sculp- 
 ture, while the warmly coloured head, with the aquiline nose, 
 cleverly expresses eagerness. In the drawing of hands and 
 feet these pictures are defective. 
 
 The fact that the style of art peculiar to Nuremberg was 
 generally diffused throughout all Franconia is proved by a 
 picture on the monument of Berthold, Bishop of Eichstadt, 
 
 1 [It is probably incorrect to assign this picture to the fourteenth cen- 
 tury. It is decorated with the arms of Kunz Imhof and three of his 
 wives, but not with the arms of his fourth wife, whom he married in 
 1422. Kunz Imhof died in 1449. His third wife, Elizabeth Schatzin, 
 whom he married in 1418, died in 1421. See Von Rettberg, u. s., p. 48.] 
 
48 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Book II. 
 
 in the church at Heilsbron, who died in 1365. The Virgin, 
 who is very fine in form and expression, approaches that on. 
 the altarpiece belonging to the Imhof family, and, even if 
 not executed immediately after the Bishop's death, belongs 
 decidedly still to the fourteenth century. The portrait was 
 probably rather individualised by a restoration which took 
 place in 1497. 1 
 
 In Swabia also the style of this period attained a very 
 respectable development. We see this in various pictures, 
 belonging to the latter part of this time, which are preserved 
 in the Stuttgardt Museum. Two large pictures on panel. 
 Nos. 414 and 416, the one containing the Evangelists Mark 
 and Luke, with St. Paul, the other, St. John the Evangelist, 
 with SS. Dorothea and Margaret, formerly in the church of 
 Almendringen, near Ehringen, bear evidence of an excellent 
 hand. The same may be said of two other large panel 
 pictures, from the monastery of Heiligkreutzthal in Upper 
 Swabia, Nos. 428 and 441 in the Stuttgardt Museum, ascribed 
 to F. Herlen, representing the Entombment, and the Proces- 
 sion of the Three Kings. 
 
 Finally we may mention another direction taken by art, 
 differing from all the preceding as respects greater truth of 
 nature and drawing, though with less expression of feeling, 
 and which is evidenced by three fragments of pictures in the 
 Berlin Museum — the Marriage of St. Catherine, No. 1232 ; 
 two angels holding a tabernacle, No. 1231 ; and St. Peter, 
 No. 1220. The locality, however, whence these pictures 
 proceed is unfortunately unknown. [All three are now 
 withdrawn.] 2 
 
 1 [See note to page 47.] 
 
 2 The student who visits the Berlin Gallery will find that several 
 pictures described in these volumes, especially those of the earlier 
 schools, are wanting. The researches of Dr. Julius Meyer and Dr. 
 Wilhelm Bode, authors of the recent Catalogue of the Berlin Collection. 
 a.d. 1878, have resulted in some instances in a more correct attribution, 
 in others in the rejection of works whose authenticity has not hitherto 
 been questioned, only because they have not been subjected to the 
 same amount of skilful and competent criticism. 
 
Chap. I. DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHERN FEELING. 49 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 FIFTEENTH CENTURY ART. 
 1420—1530. 
 
 COMPLETE DEVELOPMENT OF ART IN THE SPIRIT OF THE 
 MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK. 
 
 The Flemings, who were so greatly distinguished as artists 
 in the fourteenth century, were now the first to work out the 
 destiny of Northern painting by embodying the spirit of their 
 age into forms peculiar to themselves. What they strove to 
 attain was a faithful copy of nature in outline, colour, light, 
 and perspective. An amiable spirit of realism, which was 
 quite exclusively their own, led them to reproduce the quaint 
 interiors, furniture, and articles of daily use which were com- 
 mon to the households of the time ; and in this pursuit they 
 were patient, untiring, and methodical. It has never been 
 stated, yet deserves to be explained, that this highly deve- 
 loped realism was of the utmost importance in forming the 
 manner of all Northern painters. It is this realism which 
 affords conclusive evidence of a purely original Northern taste, 
 evidence likewise of the special mode in which the North, as 
 distinguished from the South, was imbued with pure Christian 
 feeling in its highest expansion. In Italy — the most art- 
 loving of all Latin nations — the people stood in quite another 
 relation to art and Christianity than that which we note 
 amongst the Northerns. Ecclesiastical painting was per- 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 fected in the South under different conditions from those 
 which hold for the Netherlands. The great migrations of 
 the early centuries did not expel the old populations from the 
 peninsula, it only tempered to a slight extent the blood of the 
 ancient race ; and so the Germanic feeling in respect of Chris- 
 tianity and art was modified by that of the aboriginal race 
 on Italian soil. There, too, the numerous monuments of the 
 classic times exercised an important influence on the cultiva- 
 tion of art ; and under these favourable conditions the noblest 
 creations of Christian painting were produced. Yet, when 
 compared with the purest Greek masterpieces, the best crea- 
 tions of the Italian revival were not as original as those of the 
 old Flemings ; they were in truth but a happy cross between 
 the antique and Christian Germanic feeling, i In this, that 
 early Netherlandish art, in its freedom from all foreign in- 
 fluence, exhibits to us the contrast between* the natural 
 feeling of the Greek and - of the Germanic races in the 
 department of art — these two races being the chief repre- 
 sentatives of the cultivation of the ancient and the modern 
 world — and exhibits this contrast in a purity and distinctness 
 not traceable in any other form ; in this circumstance consists 
 the high significance of this school when considered in refer- 
 ence to the general history of art. While it is characteristic 
 of the Greeks to idealize not only the conceptions of the ideal 
 world, but even that of portraits, by the simplification of 
 forms, and the prominence given to the more important parts 
 of a work of art, the early Netherlanders conferred a portrait- 
 like character upon the most ideal personifications of the 
 Virgin, the Apostles, Prophets, and Martyrs, and in actual 
 portraiture aimed to render even the most accidental pecu- 
 liarities of nature. While the Greeks expressed the various 
 features of outward nature — such as rivers, fountains, hills, 
 and trees — under abstract human forms, the Netherlanders 
 
 1 [It is hardly necessary to observe that this comparison between 
 Flemish and Italian art is peculiar to Dr. Waagen, and would probably 
 meet with but slight countenance from any but a small circle of enthu- 
 siasts. I confess my inability to discover or to understand what feeling 
 in respect of art was carried by the Germanic races to Italy. But 1 
 know that German art began to dawn after Charlemagne had been at 
 Rome.] 
 
Chap. I. DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHERN FEELING. 
 
 51 
 
 endeavoured to express them as they saw them, and with a 
 truth which extended to the smallest details. In opposition 
 to the ideal, and what may be called the personifying ten- 
 dency of the Greeks, the Netherlandish race developed a 
 purely realistic and landscape school. In this respect the 
 other Northern nations are found to approach them most 
 nearly, the Germans first and then the English. 
 
 The schools of art characteristic of both the other Latin 
 nations — the French and the Spanish — must be considered 
 as subordinate when compared with those of Italy and the 
 Netherlands ; inasmuch as they were alternately and strongly 
 influenced by each, occasionally both influences holding the 
 balance with happy equality, but oftener the one prevailing 
 over the other. 
 
 The high development of the realistic feeling, as it first 
 appears in the pictures of the brothers Van Eyck, has been 
 looked upon as a riddle. It may, however, be partly ac- 
 counted for by the fact that the works of the generation pre- 
 ceding them were completely destroyed in the iconoclastic 
 storm which raged in the Netherlands in the sixteenth century. 
 In order to account, as far as possible on historical grounds, 
 for the marvellous perfection exhibited by the Van Eycks, I 
 have been obliged to recur to the sculpture antecedent to 
 them. Nor has my research been unsuccessful. From the 
 inspection of a number of monumental reliefs in the posses- 
 sion of M. Dumortier at Tournay, I have convinced myself 
 that the school of sculpture existing there during the middle 
 ages very early pursued a realistic direction, and towards the 
 middle of the fourteenth century had already made considerable 
 progress. 1 The life-sized stone statues executed in 1396 for 
 Philip the Bold of Burgundy, by Claes Sluter, and which 
 decorated the fountain of the Chartreuse at Dijon, show even 
 a development of the realistic tendency and a knowledge of 
 nature which places them on a par with the pictures by the 
 
 1 The monument to Colard de Seclin, Doctor of Rights, inscribed 
 1341, is particularly important, as showing that not only was a great 
 individuality already given to portraits, but that the features of the 
 infant Christ, who in some respects was evidently studied from nature, 
 partook also completely of a portrait-like character. 
 
52 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 Van Eycks. 1 They represent the figures of Moses (whence 
 the fountain is called " Puits de Moyse"), David, Jeremiah, 
 Zechariah, Daniel, and Isaiah. We gather from this that 
 sculpture in the Netherlands, as well as in Italy, took the 
 lead of painting ; and as we are historically informed that the 
 painters of Italy studied from Lorenzo Ghiberti's celebrated 
 bronze doors of the Baptistery at Florence, so we may safely 
 conclude that a similar course was pursued in the Netherlands. 
 
 [The masterpieces of sculpture produced at the close of 
 the fourteenth and opening of the fifteenth centuries were 
 coloured. We trace the practice with certainty in France, 
 in Belgium, and on the Khine ; and more particularly, ex. gr. f 
 in altarchests by Jacques de Baerse at Dijon, and statues of 
 Pagan and Christian heroes in the Town Hall of Cologne. 
 It is probable that painters were indebted to sculpture, not 
 only for the reproduction of form, but for the custom of flat 
 tinting. Unhappily, when we say that the Van Eycks were 
 indebted to the sculptors of their age for some of the pro- 
 gress which their works display, we are still far from having 
 solved the mystery which clings to the earlier period of their 
 lives. We know that these great artists were natives of 
 Maaseyck, and countrymen of some of the miniaturists who 
 were employed at the court of France between 1400 and 
 1410. There are miniatures in a Prayer-book of the Duke 
 of Berri (1409), and in a Josephus (1410), by Pol of Limburg, 
 which remind us of later productions of the Van Eycks 
 in the originality of conception, the peculiar embodiments of 
 form, and the remarkable tendency to realism which they 
 display ; 2 but this only proves that Limburg was a province 
 in which the elements of art might be acquired ; and this is 
 all that history as yet has been able to discover with 
 reference to the two men who brought art to the highest 
 perfection of which it was found capable in the Netherlands. 
 
 Hubert van Eyck was born, according to the common 
 acceptation, in 1366. John van Eyck was his junior by 
 
 1 See article by me in the German 'Kunstblatt' of 1856, No. 27. 
 This also contains an account of sculpture by the same Claes Sluter on 
 the monument to Philip the Bold, now in the Museum at Dijon. 
 
 2 [The Prayer-book is in the Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve, the Josephus 
 (MSS. 6891) in the public library in Paris.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBEET VAN EYCK. 
 
 53 
 
 some unknown number of years. Chroniclers of the six- 
 teenth century vaguely suggest that the two brothers settled 
 at Ghent in 1410. There is every reason to believe that all 
 these dates are incorrect ; that Hubert was born after 1366, 
 and that the date of his migration to Ghent must be placed 
 later in the century. It is credible that both the brothers 
 were court painters to Philip of Charolois, heir apparent to 
 the throne of Burgundy, who lived with his wife Michelle de 
 France at Ghent between 1418 and 1421. In the service of 
 the prince, painters were free from the constraint of their 
 guild, but on the withdrawal of the court the privilege would 
 cease ; and this explains how the names of the Van Eycks 
 were not recorded in the register of the corporation of St. 
 Luke till 1421, when, on the death of the countess Michelle, 
 and as a tribute to her memory, they were registered as 
 masters without a fee. John van Eyck soon found employ- 
 ment in the court atmosphere, which seemed congenial to 
 him, whilst Hubert remained at Ghent, received commissions 
 from the municipality (1424), and became acquainted with 
 Jodocus Vydts, for whom he composed the vast altarpiece 
 known as the 'Adoration of the Lamb.' 1 It was not fated 
 that he should finish the great work which he was then in- 
 duced to begin. He probably sketched the subjects that 
 were to adorn the panels, and completed some of the more 
 important of them. At his death in 1426 he was buried in 
 the chapel, the decoration of which had been the last occu- 
 pation of his life. We may sum up the qualities which dis- 
 tinguished him, and the services which he rendered to the 
 art of his country, in the following sentences : — ] 
 
 He carried the realistic tendency, already existing in the 
 Flemish masters, to an extraordinary pitch of excellence, 
 whilst in many essential respects he adhered to the more 
 ideal feeling of the previous period, imparting to this, by the 
 means of his far richer powers of representation, greater 
 distinctness, truth of nature, and variety of expression. 
 Throughout his works he displayed an elevated and highly 
 energetic conception of the stern import of his labours in the 
 
 1 [Ruelens, in notes et additions to the French Translation of 1 Early 
 Flemish painters,' vol. ii. p. xlvi.] 
 
54 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 service of the Church. The prevailing arrangement of his 
 subject is symmetrical, holding fast the early architectonic 
 rules which had hitherto presided over ecclesiastic art. The 
 later mode of arrangement, in which a freer and more 
 dramatic and picturesque feeling was introduced, is only 
 seen in Hubert van Eyck's works in subjection to these 
 rules. Thus his heads exhibit the aim at beauty and dignity 
 belonging to the earlier period, only combined with more 
 truth of nature. His draperies unite its pure taste and 
 softness of folds with greater breadth ; the realistic principle 
 being apparent in that greater attention to detail which a 
 delicate indication of the material of the drapery necessitates. 
 Nude figures are studied from nature with the utmost fidelity : 
 undraped portions are also given with much truth, especially 
 the hands ; only the feet remain feeble. That, however, 
 which is almost the principal quality of his art, is the 
 hitherto unprecedented power, depth, transparency, and 
 harmony of his colouring. To attain this he availed himself 
 of a mode of painting in oil which he and his brother had 
 perfected. Oil painting, it is true, had long been in use, but 
 only in a very undeveloped form, and for inferior purposes. 
 According to the most recent and thorough investigations, 1 
 the improvements introduced by the Van Eycks, and which 
 they doubtless only very gradually worked out, were the 
 following. First, they removed the chief impediment which 
 had hitherto obstructed the application of oil-paint to pictures 
 properly so called. For, in order to accelerate the slow 
 drying of the oil colours, it had been necessary to add a 
 varnish to them, which consisted of oil boiled with a resin. 
 Owing to the dark colour of this varnish, in which amber, 
 or more frequently sandarac, was used, this plan, from its 
 darkening effect on most colours, had hitherto proved un- 
 successful. The Van Eycks, however, succeeded in pre- 
 paring so colourless a varnish that they could apply it, 
 without disadvantage, to all colours. In painting a picture 
 they proceeded on the following system. The outline was 
 drawn on a gesso ground, so strongly sized that no oil could 
 
 1 See Sir Charles Eastlake's 'Materials for a History of Oil-painting.' 
 London, 1847. Longman. Chap. VIII. -XL 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBERT VAN EYCK. 
 
 55 
 
 penetrate the surface. The under painting was then exe- 
 cuted in a generally warm brownish glazing colour, and so 
 thinly that the light ground was clearly seen through it. 
 They then laid on the local colours, thinner in the lights, 
 and, from the quantity of vehicle used, more thickly in the 
 shadows ; in the latter availing themselves often of the under 
 painting as a foil. In all other parts they so nicely preserved 
 the balance between the solid and the glazing colours as to 
 attain that union of body and transparency which is their 
 great excellence. Finally, in the use of the brush they 
 obtained that perfect freedom which the new vehicle per- 
 mitted ; either leaving the touch of the brush distinct, or 
 fusing the touches tenderly together, as the object before 
 them required. Of all the works which are now attributed 
 to Hubert, [but one is genuine and historically authenti- 
 cated.] This noble work is certified by an inscription. It is 
 a large altar picture, consisting of two rows of separate 
 panels, once in the Cathedral of St. Bavon at Ghent. It 
 was painted, as before remarked, for Jodocus Vydts, Seigneur 
 of Pamele, and Burgomaster of Ghent, and his wife Elizabeth, 
 of the then distinguished family of Burluut, for their mor- 
 tuary chapel in that cathedral. 1 When the wings were opened, 
 which occurred only on festivals, the subject of the upper 
 centre picture was seen, consisting of three panels (see 
 woodcut), on which were the Triune God — the King of 
 heaven and earth — and at his side the Holy Virgin and the 
 Baptist : on the inside of the wings were angels, who with 
 songs and sacred music celebrate the praises of the Most 
 High: at the two extremities, each inside the half-shutters 
 which covered the figure of God the Father, were Adam and 
 Eve, the representatives of fallen man. The lower central 
 picture shows the Lamb of the Revelation, whose blood 
 flows into a cup ; over it is the dove of the Holy Spirit ; 
 angels, who hold the instruments of the Passion, worship the 
 Lamb, and four groups, each consisting of many persons, 
 advance from the sides ; they comprise the holy martyrs, 
 male and female, with priests and laymen ; in the foreground 
 is the fountain of life ; in the distance the towers of the 
 1 Carton, ' Les Trois Freres van Eyck,' p. 56. 
 
56 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 heavenly Jerusalem. On the wing pictures, other groups 
 are coming up to adore the Lamb ; on the left, those who 
 have laboured for the kingdom of the Lord by worldly deeds 
 — the soldiers of Christ, and the righteous judges ; on the 
 right, those who, through self-denial and renunciation of 
 earthly good, have served Him in the spirit — holy hermits 
 and pilgrims ; a picture underneath, which represented hell, 
 finished the whole. 
 
 This work is now dispersed : the centre pictures and the 
 panels of Adam and Eve only being in Ghent. 1 The lower 
 picture of hell was early injured and lost, and the others form 
 some of the greatest ornaments of the gallery of the Berlin 
 Museum. 2 
 
 The three figures of the upper centre picture are designed 
 with all the dignity of statue-like repose belonging to the 
 early style ; they are painted, too, on a ground of gold and 
 tapestry, as was constantly the practice in earlier times : but 
 united with the traditional type we already find a successful 
 representation of life and nature in all their truth. They 
 stand on the frontier of two different styles, and, from the 
 excellences of both, form a wonderful and most impressive 
 whole. In all the solemnity of antique dignity the Heavenly 
 Father sits directly fronting the spectator — his right hand 
 raised to give the benediction to the Lamb, and to all the 
 
 1 [Marc van Vaernewijck in a MS. of 1566-8, describing the Ghent 
 troubles, states that on the 19th of August, two days before the iconoclasts 
 plundered St. Bavon, the picture of the Mystic Lamb was removed 
 from the Vijdts chapel and concealed in one of the towers. See the MS., 
 ' Van die Beroerlicke Tij'den in die Nederlanden,' recently printed 
 at Ghent (1872), p. 146. On the same page in which Vaernewijck relates 
 this story he says that he refers his readers, for the lives of the Van 
 Eycks, to his book, ' Mijn leecken Philosophie int xx e . bouck.' This 
 book, which probably still exists on the shelves of some library, has not 
 as yet been discovered.] 
 
 2 " The pictures here exhibited as the works of Hemmelinck, Messis, 
 Lucas of Holland, A. Durer, and even Holbein, are inferior to those 
 ascribed to Eyck in colour, execution, and taste. The draperies of the 
 three on a gold ground, especially that of the middle figure, could not 
 be improved in simplicity, or elegance, by the taste of Raphael himself. 
 The three heads of God the Father, the Virgin, and St. John the Baptist, 
 are not inferior in roundness, force, or sweetness, to the heads of L. da 
 Vinci, and possess a more positive principle of colour." — Life of Fuseli, 
 i. p. 267. This is a very remarkable opinion for the period when it was 
 written. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBEET VAN EYCK. 
 
 57 
 
 figures below ; in his left is a crystal sceptre ; on his head 
 the triple crown, the emblem of the Trinity. The features 
 are such as are ascribed to Christ by the traditions of the 
 Church, but noble and well-proportioned ; the expression is 
 forcible, though passionless. The tunic of this figure, ungirt, 
 is of a deep red, as well as the mantle, which last is fastened 
 over the breast by a rich clasp, and, falling down equally 
 from both shoulders, is thrown in beautiful folds over the feet. 
 Behind the figure, and as high as the head, is a hanging of 
 green tapestry adorned with a golden pelican (a well-known 
 symbol of the Redeemer) ; behind the head the ground is 
 gold, and on it, in a semicircle, are three inscriptions, which 
 again describe the Trinity, as all-mighty, all-good, and all- 
 bountiful. The two other figures of this picture display 
 equal majesty ; both are reading holy books, and are turned 
 towards the centre figure. The countenance of John ex- 
 presses ascetic seriousness, but in the Virgin's we find a 
 serene grace, and a purity of form, which approach very 
 nearly to the happier efforts of Italian art. 
 
 On the wing next to the Virgin (see woodcut) stand eight 
 angels singing before a music-desk. They are represented 
 as choristers in splendid vestments and crowns. The brilli- 
 ancy of the stuffs and precious stones is given with the hand 
 of a master, the music-desk is richly ornamented with Gothic 
 carved work and figures, and the countenances are full of 
 expression and life ; but in the effort to imitate nature with 
 the utmost truth, so as even to enable us to distinguish with 
 certainty the different voices of the double quartett, the spirit 
 of a holier influence has already passed away. On the oppo- 
 site wing, St. Cecilia sits at an organ, the keys of which she 
 touches with an expression of deep meditation : other angels 
 stand behind the organ with different stringed instruments. 
 The expression of these heads shows far more feeling, and is 
 more gentle : the execution of the stuffs and accessories is 
 equally masterly. The two extreme wings of the upper 
 series, the subjects of which are Adam and Eve (see wood- 
 cut), are now [in the Museum at Brussels] . 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 
 
58 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 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 conse- 
 quence of original sin. 
 
 The arrangement of the lower middle picture, the worship 
 of the Lamb (see woodcut), is strictly symmetrical, as the 
 mystic nature of the allegorical subject demanded, but there 
 is such beauty in the landscape, in the pure atmosphere, in 
 the bright green of the grass, in the masses of trees and 
 flowers, even in the single figures which stand out from the 
 four great groups, that we no longer perceive either hardness 
 or severity in this symmetry. The wing picture on the right 
 (see woodcut), representing the holy pilgrims, is, in the figures, 
 less striking than the others. Here St. Christopher, who 
 wandered through the world seeking the most mighty Lord, 
 strides before all, a giant in stature, whilst a host of smaller 
 pilgrims, of various ages, follow him. A fruitful valley, with 
 many details, showing a surprising observation of nature, is 
 seen through the slender trees. The cast of the folds in the 
 ample red drapery of St. Christopher, as in the upper picture, 
 reminds us still of the earlier style. The whimsical and 
 singular expression in the countenances of the pilgrims is 
 also very remarkable. The picture next to the last described 
 is more pleasing ; it represents the troop of holy anchorites 
 passing out of a rocky defile. In front are St. Paul the Her- 
 mit and St. Anthony, the two who set the first example of 
 retirement from the world ; and the procession closes with 
 the two holy women who also passed the greater part of their 
 lives in the wilderness, Mary Magdalen and St. Mary of Egypt. 
 The heads are full of character, with great variety of expres- 
 sion : on every countenance may be traced the history of its 
 life. Grave old men stand before us, each one differing from 
 the other : one is firm and strong, another more feeble ; one 
 cheerful and single-minded, another less open. Some in- 
 spired fanatics wildly raise their heads, whilst others with a 
 simple and almost humorous expression walk by their side, 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBERT VAN EYCK. 
 
 59 
 
 and others again are still struggling with their earthly nature. 
 It is a remarkable picture, and leads us deep into the secrets 
 of the human heart — a picture which in all times must be 
 ranked amongst the master-works of art, and which to be 
 intelligible needs no previous inquiry into the relative period 
 and circumstances of the artists who created it. The land- 
 scape background, the rocky defile, the wooded declivity, and 
 the trees laden with fruit, are all eminently beautiful. The 
 eye would almost lose itself in this rich scene of still life if it 
 were not constantly led back to the interest of the foreground. 
 
 The opposite wing pictures differ essentially in conception 
 from those just described (see woodcut). Their subject did 
 not in itself admit such varied interest, and it is rather the 
 common expression of a tranquil harmony of mind, and of 
 the consciousness of a resolute will, which attracts the spec- 
 tator, combined at the same time with a skilful representation 
 of earthly splendour and magnificence. Inside the wing to 
 the right we see the soldiers of the Lord on fine chargers, 
 simple and noble figures in bright armour, with surcoats of 
 varied form and colour. The three foremost with the waving 
 banners appear to be St. Sebastian, St. George, and St. 
 Michael, the patron saints of the old Flemish guilds, which 
 accompanied their earls to the crusades. In the head of St. 
 George, the painter has strikingly succeeded in rendering the 
 spirit of the chivalry of the middle ages — that true heroic 
 feeling and sense of power which humbles itself before the 
 higher sense of the Divinity. Emperors and kings follow 
 after him. The landscape is extremely beautiful and highly 
 finished, with rich and finely-formed mountain ridges, and the 
 fleecy clouds of spring floating lightly across. The second 
 picture (the last to the left) represents the righteous judges ; 
 they also are on horseback, and are fine and dignified figures. 
 In front, on a splendidly caparisoned grey horse, rides a mild 
 benevolent old man, in blue velvet trimmed with fur. This 
 is the likeness of Hubert, to whom his brother has thus dedi- 
 cated a beautiful memorial. Rather deeper in the group is 
 John himself, clothed in black, with his shrewd, sharp coun- 
 tenance turned to the spectator. We are indebted to tradition 
 for the knowledge of these portraits. 
 
60 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 Both these wing pictures have the special interest of show- 
 ing us, by means of armour, rich costumes, and caparisons, 
 a true and particular representation of the Court of Burgundy 
 in the time of Philip the Good — when it was confessedly the 
 most superb court in Europe. 
 
 The upper wings, when closed (see woodcut), represented 
 the Annunciation, and this was so arranged that on the outer 
 and wider ones (the backs of the two pictures of angels sing- 
 ing and playing) were the figures of the Virgin and the angel 
 Gabriel — on the inner narrower ones (that is, on the back of 
 the Adam and Eve) a continuation of the Virgin's chamber. 
 Here, as was often the case in the outside pictures of large 
 altarpieces, the colouring was kept down to a more uniform 
 tone, in order that the full splendour might be reserved to 
 adorn with greater effect the principal subject within. The 
 angel and the Holy Virgin are clothed in flowing white 
 drapery, but the wings of the angel glitter with a play of 
 soft and brilliant colour, imitating those of the green parrot. 
 The heads are noble and well painted : the furniture of the 
 room is executed with great truth, as well as the view 
 through the arcade which forms the background of the 
 Virgin's chamber, into the streets of a town, one of which 
 we recognise as a street in Ghent. 
 
 In the semicircles which close these panels above, on the 
 right and left, are the prophets Micah and Zechariah, whose 
 heads have great dignity, but are somewhat stiff and unsatis- 
 factory in their attitudes. In the centre (corresponding with 
 the figures in chiaroscuro over Adam and Eve) are two kneel- 
 ing female figures represented as sibyls. 
 
 The exterior portion of the lower wings contains the 
 statues of the two St. Johns. These display a heavy style 
 of drapery, and there is something peculiarly angular in the 
 breaks of the folds, imitated perhaps from the sculpture of 
 the day, which had also already abandoned the older Northern 
 mould. This peculiarity by degrees impressed itself more and 
 more on the style of painting of the fifteenth century, and 
 the drapery of the figures in the Annunciation already 
 betrays a tendency towards it. The heads exhibit a feeling 
 for beauty of form which is rare in this school. John the 
 
Outer Sb utters of the great Vac Eyck picture at Berlin. page 60. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBERT VAN EYCK. 
 
 61 
 
 Baptist, who is pointing with his right hand to the Lamb on 
 his left, is appropriately represented, as the last of the Pro- 
 phets, as a man of earnest mien and dignified features, with 
 much hair and beard. John the Evangelist, on the other 
 hand, appears as a tender youth with delicate features, look- 
 ing very composedly at the monster with four snakes which, 
 at his benediction, rises from the chalice in his hand. 
 
 The likenesses of the donors are given with inimitable life 
 and fidelity. They show the careful hand of Jan van Eyck, 
 but already approach that limit within which the imitation 
 of the accidental and insignificant in the human countenance 
 should be confined. The whole, however, is in admirable 
 keeping, and the care of the artist can hardly be considered 
 too anxiously minute, since feeling and character are as fully 
 expressed as the mere bodily form. The aged Jodocus Vydts, 
 to whose liberality posterity is indebted for this great work 
 of art, is dressed in a simple red garment trimmed with fur ; 
 he kneels with his hands folded, and his eyes directed up- 
 wards. His countenance, however, is not attractive ; the 
 forehead is low and narrow, and the eye without power. 
 The mouth alone shows a certain benevolence, and the whole 
 expression of the features denotes a character capable of 
 managing worldly affairs. The idea of originating so great 
 a work as this picture is to be found in the noble, intellec- 
 tual, and expressive features of his wife, who kneels opposite 
 to him in the same attitude, and in still plainer attire. 
 
 At Hubert van Eyck's death, on the 16th of September, 
 1426, Jodocus Yydts engaged Jan van Eyck, the younger 
 brother and scholar of Hubert, to finish the picture in the 
 incomplete parts. 1 A close comparison of all the panels of 
 
 1 This appears from the following inscription of the time, on the 
 frame of the outer wing : — 
 
 " Hubertus e Eyck, major quo nemo repertus 
 Incepit ; pondusque J ohannes arte secundus 
 Frater perfecit, Judoci Vyd prece fretus 
 [VersV seXta Mai Vos CoLLoCat aCta tVerl."] 
 
 [The last verse gives the date of May 6, 1432.] The discovery of this 
 inscription, under a coating of green paint, was made in Berlin in 1824, 
 when the first word and a half of the third line, which were missing, 
 were [imperfectly] supplied [with " frater perfectus "] by an old copy of 
 this inscription, found by M. de Bast, the Belgian connoisseur. 
 
62 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 this altarpiece with the authentic works of Jan van Eyck 
 shows that the following portions differ in drawing, colour- 
 ing, cast of drapery, and treatment, from his style, and 
 may therefore with certainty be attributed to the hand of 
 Hubert : — Of the inner side of the upper series, the Almighty, 
 the Virgin, St. John the Baptist, St .Cecilia with the angels 
 playing on musical instruments, and Adam and Eve ; of the 
 inner side of the lower series, the side of the centre picture 
 with the apostles and saints, and the wings with the hermits 
 and pilgrims, though with the exception of the landscapes. 
 On the other hand, of the inner side of the upper series, the 
 wing picture with the singing angels is by Jan van Eyck ; 
 of the inner side of the lower series, the side of the centre 
 picture of the Adoration of the Lamb, containing the patri- 
 archs and prophets, etc., and the entire landscape ; the wing 
 with the soldiers of Christ and the Righteous Judges, and 
 the landscapes to the wing with the hermits and pilgrims ; 
 finally, the entire outer sides of the wings, comprising the 
 portraits of the founders, and the Annunciation. The Pro- 
 phet Zechariah and the two Sibyls alone show a feebler 
 hand. 1 
 
 About one hundred years after the completion of this 
 altarpiece an excellent copy of it was made by Michael 
 Coxis for Philip II. of Spain. The panels of this work, like 
 those of the original, are dispersed ; some are in the Berlin 
 Museum, some in the possession of the King of Bavaria, and 
 others in the remains of the King of Holland's collection at 
 the Hague. A second copy, which comprises the inside 
 pictures of this great work, from the chapel of the Town- 
 house at Ghent, is in the [Antwerp Museum.] 
 
 1 [Dr. Waagen did not always hold decided opinions as to what portions 
 of the altarpiece of Ghent are by Hubert and J ohn van Eyck, respec- 
 tively. There is no doubt that some of " the sublime earnestness" which 
 Schlegel notes in the Eternal, the Virgin, and John the Baptist, and 
 much of the stern realism which characterizes those figures, is to be 
 found in the patriarchs and prophets, and in the hermits and pilgrims, 
 and in the Adam and Eve ; but it is too much to say that these wing 
 pictures can " with certainty be assigned to Hubert," and it is not to 
 be forgotten that John van Eyck worked in this picture on the lines 
 laid down by his elder brother, and must have caught some of the spirit 
 of his great master.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HUBERT VAN EYCK. 
 
 63 
 
 [Hubert van Eyck's name has been extensively misused 
 by compilers of catalogues ; but criticism has had the 
 melancholy result of proving that not one of the numerous 
 compositions assigned to the master are the work of his 
 hand ; and this is true even of the noble St. Jerome taking 
 the thorn from the lion's paw, in the Museum of Naples. 
 It was the habit of the dealers of the fifteenth century to 
 send Flemish works of art to South Italy, and numerous 
 panels in Neapolitan churches prove the importance of the 
 trade without throwing light on the history of painting in 
 the Netherlands. Though Hubert van Eyck has been 
 restored to the place which he deserved to hold in the 
 annals of his country, his merits and services met with but 
 a tardy recognition. He was soon forgotten in Ghent, and 
 Burgundian literature treated him and the followers of his 
 art with such contempt that we never find an allusion to 
 them in Flemish print till after the middle of the sixteenth 
 century. It was fortunate that, whilst the countrymen of 
 the Van Eycks gave evidence of so much indifference, 
 Italian writers should have been more just and more con- 
 scientious. But even in Italy the revival of criticism came 
 too late to rescue Hubert van Eyck from oblivion ; and 
 when attention was directed, in the fifteenth century, to the 
 art of the Netherlands by Leon Battista Alberti, by Cyriacus 
 of Ancona, by Facius, and Filarete, it only connected Bel- 
 gian painting with the names of John van Eyck and Roger 
 van der Weyden. When Vasari published the first edition 
 of his lives in 1550, he was unaware of Hubert's existence. 
 He began to print the second edition without being better 
 informed ; but in the interval which elapsed between the 
 appearance of his first and last volumes, Guicciardini had 
 written his description of the Low Countries. His know- 
 ledge of Hubert, as John van Eyck's brother and fellow- 
 painter, was communicated to Vasari, who (1568) made but 
 a partial and unsatisfactory correction of previous statements 
 in a final chapter on Flemish craftsmen. Guicciardini's his- 
 tory very soon attracted attention in Belgium ; and the facts 
 which it contained were copied, though with small discrimi- 
 nation, by numerous annalists. Hubert van Eyck recovered 
 
64 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 a place in the history of art ; but he was not raised to the 
 first rank, which he ought to have held, and which modern 
 history now properly assigns to him. 
 
 Of John van Eyck it may be said likewise that he 
 suffered from the neglect of his contemporaries, for though 
 he never sank into complete obscurity, as his brother had 
 done, his claims to public attention were superficially urged ; 
 and recent research only has lifted the veil which concealed 
 the greatest part of his active and important life. I shall 
 endeavour to sketch in a few sentences the more salient 
 points in his picturesque career. 
 
 Shortly after the death of Michelle de France at Ghent, 
 John van Eyck entered the service of John of Bavaria, whose 
 recent conquest of Holland had given him a powerful posi- 
 tion amongst the princes of the Netherlands. From Sep- 
 tember 23rd, 1422, to January 13th, 1423 there are distinct 
 traces of the painter's residence at the Hague, where John of 
 Bavaria held his court. 1 What pictures he may have painted 
 there, and of what kind his occupations may have been, we are 
 unable to ascertain, nor is it without a melancholy significance 
 that neither at the Hague nor in any other part of the Nether- 
 lands is a single production to be met with which helps us 
 to measure the painter's acquirements before the death of 
 Hubert. It will be seen indeed that there is one altarpiece 
 in the regal collection of the Dukes of Devonshire at Chats- 
 worth which might claim to have been executed in 1421, 
 but the state to which this panel has been reduced by the 
 baleful effects of time and restoring is such as to render it 
 valueless to the critic. After the death of John of Bavaria, 
 in 1425, John van Eyck took service with Philip the Good 
 of Burgundy, for whom he painted numerous portraits, which 
 unfortunately have not been preserved. In his official capa- 
 city he bore the title of "my lord's painter and varlet;" 
 his salary was 100 livres per annum ; and he enjoyed per- 
 quisites for rent at Lille or at Bruges, or when despatched 
 
 1 [See the notices of Mr. A. Pinchart in ' Early Flemish Painters,' 
 2nd ed., p. 40. The story of John van Eyck's visit to Antwerp iu 
 1420 rests upon a false reading of some records respecting the Antwerp 
 Guild, which tell of Albert Diirer's visit to Antwerp in 1520.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 JAN VAN EYCK. 
 
 65 
 
 on special missions to take the portraits of ladies to whose 
 hand the frequently widowed Duke might aspire. We have 
 note of some of these " secret pilgrimages" in 1426, 1428, 
 1430, 1433, and 1436 ; but one of them deserves to be more 
 particularly recorded. Two Venetian galleys left the port 
 of Sluys on the 19th of October, 1428, bearing the lord of 
 Roubaix with his suite, for the purpose of visiting Lisbon and 
 negotiating a marriage between Isabel of Portugal and Philip 
 the Good. The embassy, with John van Eyck in its company, 
 reached Lisbon on the 18th of December, and spent several 
 months at Arrayollos, Aviz, Santiago di Compostella, Jaen, 
 and Granada. Van Eyck painted the likeness of Isabel of 
 Portugal, and visited Mahomet, King of the Moors. He spent 
 upwards of nine months in the Peninsula, and came home 
 with Philip's bride on Christmas day, 1429. In 1430 he 
 bought a house at Bruges, where he lived till his death in 
 1440-41. During a long period of service under Philip he 
 was treated with all the distinction which it was possible for 
 the Duke to confer upon him ; and it is a proof of the favour 
 in which he was held, that Philip was godfather to his daughter 
 Lyennie, who in 1449 withdrew to a convent in her father's 
 native place at Maaseyck. 1 ] 
 
 Fortunately the world possesses various authentic pictures 
 by Jan van Eyck, in which his original powers are more 
 easily recognized than in the part he executed of the great 
 altarpiece, where he doubtless accommodated himself with true 
 fraternal piety both to the composition and general style of 
 his master and brother. His own works also show a very 
 different originality from that which characterised Hubert. 
 He possessed neither that enthusiasm for the rich significance 
 of the ecclesiastical art of the middle ages, nor that feeling 
 for beauty in human forms or in drapery, which belonged to 
 the elder brother. His feeling, on the other hand, led him 
 to the closest and truest conception of individual nature. In 
 the head of the Saviour he adhered to the early Byzantine 
 type, but all his Virgins and saints have a thoroughly portrait- 
 like character, and are even occasionally ug] in form, and 
 without any particular elevation of feeling. His realistic 
 1 [' Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd ed., 131.] 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 treatment also was carried out with admirable mastery in the 
 stuffs of which his draperies were formed, in the backgrounds, 
 and in every possible detail. Only in the overloading of his 
 drapery with sharp and angular folds in ideal figures has he 
 obviously imitated the sculptors who preceded him. His 
 hands also, on these occasions, are often too narrow. Where, 
 however, he had only to paint portraits — a task which quite 
 coincided with the tendency of his mind — he attained a life- 
 likeness of conception and a truth of form and colouring in 
 every part, extending even to the minutest details, such as no 
 other artist of his time could rival, and which art in general 
 has seldom produced. As regards his participation in the 
 merit of the improved mode of oil-painting, I entirely agree 
 with Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle, that he probably found 
 his far older brother already in possession of the advantages 
 he had developed, though Jan van Eyck may, by his own 
 practice of the art, have brought them to greater perfection. 1 
 In the management of the brush he possessed obviously a 
 greater facility than Hubert, by which also he was enabled 
 to render the material of every substance with marvellous 
 fidelity. Here, as in his flesh-tones, the colours are seen 
 alternately blended with tenderness, or, as in freely growing 
 hair, lightly thrown on to the panel. In the aim at round- 
 ness of modelling, the highest lights of the flesh-tones ap- 
 proximate to white, and in the shadows, to a powerful and 
 sometimes rather heavy brown, broken with yellow. The 
 brown in Hubert's shadows, on the contrary, has a reddish 
 tendency. The distinctness of his sight, and the wonderful 
 precision of his hand, inclined Jan van Eyck to a moderate 
 and occasionally very small scale of size. The pleasure he 
 took in the imitation of every form of nature led him in some 
 instances to desert the class of ecclesiastical subjects, as for 
 example in the Otter-hunt, 2 and in the Bath-room, 3 both of 
 these being early cited as admirable pictures, though they 
 have now disappeared. Finally, he so loved to represent 
 landscapes with distant views, that he not only introduced 
 
 1 * Early Flemish Painters,' 1st ed., pp. 44 and 46, 2nd ed., pp. 48, 49. 
 
 2 ' Anonimo,' by Morelli, p. 14. 
 
 3 See Facius. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 JAN VAN EYCK. 
 
 67 
 
 them in the background of his historical pictures, but an 
 example is known in which a similar landscape constituted 
 the whole of his subject. 1 Besides the pictures by him now 
 in England, I will only quote those which are easy of access. 
 In these I endeavour to observe a chronological order. Others 
 of less importance I omit altogether. 
 
 [The earliest picture connected with the name of Jan van 
 Eyck is the Consecration of Thomas a Becket as Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire 
 at Chatsworth. Its originality appears to be certified by the 
 painter's signature, and the date of 1421 ; but the panel is 
 so injured, and the treatment is so much below the usual 
 level of the master, that we should hesitate to accept it as 
 evidence of his powers, even in the period noted in the in- 
 scription.] 2 
 
 St. Francis kneeling before a mass of rock and receiving 
 the stigmata ; the lay brother before him with his hand 
 covering his face. This small picture, which is at Lord 
 Heytesbury's seat, Heytesbury, in Wiltshire, is remarkable 
 for its solid and delicate execution, and for the depth and 
 fulness of its warm tone. The fact that Lord Heytesbury 
 purchased it from a medical man in Lisbon renders it pro- 
 bable that this work was executed by the master during his 
 stay in Portugal in 1428-29. 3 
 
 Next in chronological succession follow those wings of the 
 
 1 The representation of the world, which, according to Facius, he 
 executed for Philip the Good, was essentially nothing more than the 
 representation of a landscape, which was especially renowned for the 
 indication of towns and villages, and for the illusion produced by 
 perspective. 
 
 2 [Jan van Eyck sometimes signed his pictures when they were only 
 sketched in ; and of this there is an example in a St. Barbara of the 
 Antwerp Museum. The Chatsworth altarpiece may have been signed 
 under similar conditions, and it may then have been finished by a later 
 school hand. Dr. Waagen believed it to be original, and what is still 
 more strange, well preserved. See his ' Treasures,' vol. hi., p. 349.] 
 
 3 [In a will dated Feb. 10, 1470, (n. s.,) Anselme Adorne, Knight and 
 Lord of Corthuy, near Bruges, bequeathes to each of his two daughters 
 "a little picture by John van Eyck, representing St. Francis." The 
 panel of Lord Heytesbury's collection may be one of these, in which 
 case Dr. Waagen' s suggestion that it was painted in Portugal would be 
 incorrect. See A. Pinchart, ' Archives des Arts,' etc., 8vo. Gaud, I860, 
 p. 264.] 
 
68 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 altarpiece at Ghent, now in the Berlin Museum, which were 
 the work of Jan van Eyck. I am the more inclined also to 
 attribute to him the landscapes in the wings of the Hermits 
 and Pilgrims, otherwise painted by Hubert, and in which 
 southern vegetation, such as the orange, the stone pine, the 
 cypress, and the palm, are rendered with great fidelity, 
 from the fact that Jan van Eyck alone, from his voyage to 
 Portugal, had had the opportunity of seeing these objects in 
 nature. 
 
 [Akin to this altarpiece of the Lamb, in subject and feeling, 
 but altogether in the spirit of John van Eyck, is the ' Fount 
 of Salvation,' in the Museum of Madrid.] 
 
 The figure of the Almighty is seen enthroned under a gor- 
 geous Gothic canopy, holding a sceptre in the left hand, and 
 in the act of benediction with the right. At the sides are 
 the Virgin reading on the right, and St. John the Evangelist 
 writing on the left. On the arms of the throne are the attri- 
 butes of the four Evangelists ; at the feet of the Almighty 
 the Immaculate Lamb, whom he made an offering for the sins 
 of the world. Below, this offering is seen in the form of a 
 stream of water, in which the sacramental wafers are floating, 
 flowing into a little flower-garden, where six angels are cele- 
 brating the glory of God on different instruments. Beyond 
 these, on each side, are singing angels under Gothic canopies, 
 also terminating in lesser pointed towers. A scroll in the 
 hands of one of the angels, on the left, contains the inscrip- 
 tion, which sets forth the meaning of the stream of water as 
 follows : " Can : — fons ortorum, puteus aquarum viventium " 
 — referring to the text in the Song of Solomon, ch. iv. verse 
 15 : " A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters." The 
 water flows finally into a Gothic fountain, which rises in the 
 centre of the foreground, and which, with the usual allegorical 
 allusion, is decorated with a pelican feeding her young with 
 her blood. On the right are the ranks of the Blessed, vic- 
 torious through Christ, headed by the Pope standing, bearing 
 a tall crozier with the standard in his left hand, and with the 
 right directing the attention of the Emperor, who is kneeling 
 in adoration, to the fountain, as the source of all salvation. 
 Behind both are other clerical and lay personages. On the 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 JAN VAN EYCK. 
 
 69 
 
 left, in front, is the High Priest standing, his eyes bound, 
 holding a broken standard in his right hand, with his left 
 endeavouring to prevent a kneeling Jew from paying adora- 
 tion. Besides these are eight more Jews, in lively actions of 
 horror and despair. In the three principal upper figures, and 
 in the angels, a deep religious expression is seen combined 
 with a pure feeling for beauty ; in the lower figures a keen 
 portrait-like character prevails. The momentary and dra- 
 matic actions of some of the Jews are especially admirable. 
 The colouring of this picture, which, independent of the 
 upper projection, is five feet six inches high, is harmonious 
 and clear, and the very careful execution masterly in the 
 highest degree. 1 
 
 The Virgin and Child seated under a penthouse. In- 
 scribed " Completum annq domini mccccxxxii per Johannem 
 de Eyck, Brugis," with his motto, " Als ich chan," in other 
 words, " as well as I can." The head of the Virgin in this 
 little picture is of unusually noble character, the folds of the 
 drapery very sharp and angular. This picture is at Ince 
 Hall, near Liverpool. 
 
 The Virgin enthroned, giving the breast to the Child. 
 Her features are pleasing, but of no spiritual character. 
 The Child, who is clumsy in body, is less attractive. The 
 sharp and admirably rendered folds of the Virgin's drapery 
 hide the form too much. This picture, which, from its 
 former possessor, the Duke of Lucca, was called the Madonna 
 di Lucca, is now in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort. 
 
 [The portrait of a man in the National Gallery, signed and 
 dated October, 1432 (No. 290) — a sunny picture, without 
 much shadow, and of a yellow tinge — is blended and finished 
 to the utmost. 
 
 More powerful in contrasts of light and shade, and more 
 perfectly rounded, is the] portrait of a man, in the same 
 gallery, (No. 222), signed "Johes de Eyck me fecit ano 
 mcccc33, .21. Octobris," and his motto as above. This picture 
 
 1 [Dr. Waagen held, before seeing this picture, that it was by Hubert 
 van Eyck. He did not think fit to reverse his judgment after a visit to 
 Madrid in 1863. Yet the preponderance of critical opinion is altogether 
 against him. See ' Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd ed., p. 99.] 
 
70 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 is of marvellous truth and vivacity, and equal precision and 
 mastery of execution. 
 
 [Of larger size, and equally attractive — for finish quite a 
 miracle — is the 11 Man with the Pinks," a portrait of a beard- 
 less weather-beaten old man, in the Suermondt collection at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle.] [Now in the Berlin Museum, No. 525 a.] 
 
 In the National Gallery, also, No. 186, are the portraits 
 of Jean Arnolfini and his wife, Jeanne de Chenany. They are 
 dressed in holiday attire, and are represented standing, hand 
 in hand, in a small room, with numerous accessories. At 
 their feet is a terrier dog. Signed " Johannes de Eyck fuit 
 hie f. 1434." No other picture shows so high a development 
 of the master's powers. Besides every other quality peculiar 
 to him which we have already mentioned, and which it pos- 
 sesses in fullest measure, we observe here a perfection of 
 general keeping and of chiaroscuro which no other specimen 
 of this whole period affords. It is no wonder that the 
 Princess Mary, sister of Charles V., and Governess of the 
 Netherlands, should, as Van Mander relates, for this picture, 
 have bestowed a post of 100 guldens a year upon a barber to 
 whom it belonged. 1 
 
 The Virgin with the Child on her arm, to whom St. 
 Barbara is representing the donor, an ecclesiastic in white 
 robes. The background, landscape and architecture. This 
 remarkable work is, in point of fact, a delicate miniature in 
 oil, and follows the preceding picture very closely in time. 
 At Burleigh House, seat of the Marquis of Exeter. 
 
 Nearly related in every respect to the last mentioned is 
 a picture in the Louvre, No. 162, representing the Virgin 
 crowned by an angel, with the Child on her lap, and adored 
 by the donor Kollin, chancellor of Philip the Good, 2 who 
 kneels before her. The features of the Virgin are pretty, 
 but of little spirituality of character, the Child of unusual 
 elegance for the master, the angel very beautiful, and the 
 
 1 [This story, derived from Van Mander, is not founded on fact, for 
 the picture belonged to Margaret of Austria as early a& 1516.] 
 
 2 We gather this from a passage in CourtepeVs 'Descrip. Hist, et 
 Topogr. du Duche* de Bourgogne,' quoted by Crowe and Cavalcaselle in 
 ' Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd ed., p. 96. According to this the picture 
 was formerly in the sacristy of Notre Dame at Autun. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 JAN VAN EYCK. 
 
 71 
 
 portrait of the donor of astonishing energy and animation. 
 The mantle of the Virgin is in numerous sharp breaks. The 
 landscape background, which exhibits a town lying upon a 
 river, and distant snow mountains, contains the richest and 
 most incredible amount of detail that the master has be- 
 queathed to us. 
 
 Next in succession we may take a picture, inscribed 1436, 
 in the collection of the Academy at Bruges, which, in its 
 different parts, is of very unequal merit. The Virgin, seated 
 under a canopy, is of unusual ugliness, and the Child, who 
 is playing with a parrot, has the features of a little old man. 
 The head also of the St. George, standing on the left of the 
 Madonna, has no spiritual expression whatever. On the 
 other hand, St. Donatian, standing opposite to him, though 
 of very portrait-like character, is incomparably more digni- 
 fied. But the most admirable figure is that of the kneeling 
 donor, the Canon, George de Pala, who is presented by St. 
 Donatian. The decided character of his very individual 
 features borders on hardness. 1 This work, with figures about 
 two-thirds life-size, is the largest we know by the master. 
 
 The portrait of Jan de Leeuw, in the gallery of the 
 Belvedere at Vienna, with the same date inscribed, has 
 the same certainty of forms, and is unusually grey in the 
 shadows. 
 
 Another portrait, of much analogy to the last, is also in the 
 Belvedere Gallery. It is there called, though in my opinion 
 erroneously, the portrait of Jodocus Vydts in advanced years. 
 
 The picture of St. Ursula, seated before a rich Gothic 
 tower — her attribute — is in the Museum at Antwerp, dated 
 1437. It is especially interesting as showing how Jan van 
 Eyck treated chiaroscuro. Although executed with the point 
 of the brush, it has all the effect of a careful pen-drawing. 
 
 The head of Christ as Salvator Mundi (1438), in the Berlin 
 Museum, shows us how closely he adhered in his principal 
 forms to the early, bearded, eastern type, at the same time 
 developing his warm and powerful colouring, and peculiar 
 
 1 See engraving of this picture, in which, however, little attention 
 has been paid to the heads, in Carton's ' Les Trois Freres van Eyck,' p. 
 72, where also the elaborate inscriptions on the frame are fully given. 
 
72 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 mastery over detail, as for instance in the painting of the 
 beard. 
 
 The portrait of his wife, who was, however, by no means 
 attractive in feature, in the Academy at Bruges, painted in 
 1439, is a specimen of marvellous delicacy and decision of 
 carrying out. It is also truer in colouring, though less warm, 
 than his other portraits. 1 
 
 To his more highly finished pictures belongs finally a small 
 altarpiece in the Dresden Gallery. The centre represents 
 the Virgin seated with the Child in a rich chapel of Roman- 
 esque architecture : the inner sides of the wings contain St. 
 Catherine and St. George, who is presenting the donor ; the 
 outer sides the Annunciation in chiaroscuro. 
 
 Finally, I must mention the embroidered ecclesiastical 
 robes, preserved in the Imperial Treasury at Vienna, the 
 cartoons for wiiich, I am convinced, proceeded from Jan van 
 Eyck. 2 These robes were executed for Philip the Good, 
 for the festival instituted by him in honour of the Order 
 of the Golden Fleece. A figure of the Almighty, a Baptism 
 of Christ, and some Saints, are imbued with Jan van Eyck's 
 feeling. 
 
 The brothers Van Eyck had a sister, by name Margaret 
 van Eyck, who is said to have been a skilful painter, but to 
 whom no work can with certainty be assigned. She died 
 also before her brother Jan, and was buried, like Hubert, in 
 the cathedral at Ghent. 
 
 It is only within the last few years that the discovery of a 
 third brother, of the name of Lambert van Eyck, has been 
 made. A notice in the church books of the cathedral of 
 Bruges, dated 21st March, 1442, states that, on the petition of 
 Lambert van Eyck, brother of the celebrated painter, Jan van 
 Eyck, the chapter had granted permission, with consent of the 
 bishop, to have the body of the same removed from the outer 
 precincts of the cathedral, where it had lain, to a spot within 
 
 1 On the upper border of this picture is the inscription, "Conjux 
 meus Johannes me complevit 1439, 11 Juni." On the lower border, 
 " Etas mea triginta tria annorum. ALS IXH XAN." 
 
 2 [Dr. Waagen modified his opinion as to these ornaments. In his 
 ' Handbuch,' 8vo., Stuttgardt, 1862, p. 136, he expresses the opinion that 
 the cartoons must have been by Jan van Eyck and Roger van der Weydcn.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 LAMBERT VAN EYCK. 
 
 73 
 
 the edifice near the font. 1 This fact of a third brother would 
 have been of liltle consequence, but for a passage in the 
 archives of Lille, from which it appears that he was also a 
 painter. 2 If this was really the case, an unfinished picture, 
 mentioned in an almost contemporary account of Jan van 
 Eyck, may probably be by him. According to that account, 
 this picture was painted in 1445, for Nicolas of Maelbecke, 
 abbot and dean of the monastery of St. Martin at Ypres ; 
 was placed above the grave of the donor in the church of the 
 monastery, he having died in 1447 ; was taken by the last 
 Bishop of Ypres into his palace at the invasion of the French, 
 towards the close of the last century ; and after being long 
 in the hands of M. Bogaert, a bookseller at Bruges, came 
 finally by purchase into the families of Van der Schriek [and 
 Schollaert], at Louvain. 3 It consists of a centre and two 
 wings. In the first, the Holy Virgin, as Queen of Heaven, 
 splendidly crowned, with long flowing hair, and a wide, richly 
 ornamented purple mantle, holds the infant Christ in her 
 arms ; before her kneels the donor of the picture, and the 
 background consists of ancient church architecture, through 
 which we look out on a rich and animated landscape. The 
 wings contain four subjects from the Old Testament, in part 
 only sketched, which must be taken to relate the mystery of 
 the Nativity, in the spirit of the ancient Christian symbols. 
 The subjects are — Moses and the Burning Bush, Gideon with 
 the Angel and the Miraculous Fleece, the Closed Gate of 
 Ezekiel, and Aaron with the Budding Rod. On the outside 
 
 1 Respecting this and all other records of Lambert van Eyck, see the 
 often cited Carton, ' Les Trois Freres van Eyck,' p. 54, etc. 
 
 2 [The proof which Dr. Waagen adduces can scarcely be accepted as 
 a convincing one. He says : " An account book of the expenses of Duke 
 Philip the Good states, ' A Lambert de Heck, frere de Johannes de 
 Heck, peintre de Monseigneur, pour avoir e'te, a plusieurs fois. devers mon 
 dit seigneur, pour aucunes besognes que mon dit seigneur voulait faire 
 faire.' " The quality of painter in this sentence does not apply to Lambert, 
 but to John van Eyck.] 
 
 3 Passavant declares this picture to be a copy, but Dr. de Merseman, 
 a thorough investigator of art at Bruges, has proved that this is the 
 same work which was formerly in the church at Ypres. See Carton's 
 ' Les Trois Freres van Eyck,' p. 62, etc. The improbability of a copy 
 having been made of this, in many parts, only just begun work, speaks 
 for itself. 
 
74 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 of the wings there is the Virgin, in chiaroscuro, with the 
 Child, appearing to the Emperor Augustus and the Tiburtine 
 Sibyl, who explains to him the meaning of the vision. 
 
 The principal portions, namely, the Virgin and the Donor, 
 are too feeble in drawing and execution of the flesh parts for 
 Jan van Eyck, nor could he really have taken part in the 
 picture, since his death is known to have taken place in 
 1441. At the same time, there is such affinity in all acces- 
 sories, in the hair and crown of the Virgin, and especially in 
 the rich landscape, to Jan van Eyck's works, that there can 
 be no doubt of its having proceeded from the atelier of a 
 contemporary master. The old record too, which names 
 Jan van Eyck as the originator of the work, is so far in 
 favour of Lambert from the fact that it was deeply interested 
 in attributing it to the more celebrated of the brothers. 1 
 Several of the smaller figures show so striking an accordance 
 with the two Sibyls and the prophet Zechariah in the Ghent 
 altarpiece, that I am also inclined to attribute these, the 
 weaker portions of that great work, to the hand of Lambert. 
 For the same reasons it is probable that he was the author 
 of the repetition of the great picture in the Academy at 
 Bruges, which in every way approaches so near the original, 
 and is now Nos. 413 — 424 in the Museum at Antwerp. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SCHOOL OF THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK TILL NEAR THE CLOSE OF 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 The influence of the realistic tendency in art thus completely 
 carried out, as well as of the new and admirable mode of 
 applying oil-pigments, extended to every country in Europe 
 where art was practised with any success. In the Nether- 
 lands themselves it was of course most felt ; after them in 
 
 1 See my article in the 'Kunstblatt' of 1849, Nos. 16 and 17. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 PETRUS CRISTUS. 
 
 75 
 
 Germany ; and then in France, England, Italy, Spain, and 
 Portugal. We need only examine its progress in the two 
 first-named countries. 
 
 Among the Netherlandish scholars and followers of the 
 Van Eycks, of whom any record has been preserved, some 
 appear to have been gifted with considerable powers, though 
 none attained the excellence of their great precursors. Al- 
 though a number of works representing this school still exist 
 in the various countries of Europe, yet, compared with the 
 actual abundance of them at one time, they constitute but a 
 scanty remnant. And more scanty are the notices we possess 
 regarding the lives and circumstances of these painters ; the 
 documentary researches, however, of past years have elicited 
 a few fresh facts and dates. 1 
 
 [Petrus Cristus, born at Baerle, near Deynze, in Belgium, 
 is one of the few painters whom we trace directly to the 
 studio of John van Eyck. In a picture of 1447, exhibited 
 at Frankfort, he copied the figures of Adam and Eve on the 
 altarpiece of the Lamb, and an oriental carpet introduced by 
 Van Eyck into his panel of the Virgin of Lucca. Petrus 
 Cristus purchased the freedom of Bruges in 1444 ; painted 
 the likeness of Edward Grimston, now in the collection of 
 the Earl of Verulam, in 1446 ; and was free of the guild of 
 St. Luke in 1450. He was still living at Bruges in 1471. 
 His church pictures are singularly without elevation, but his 
 skill in portrait is shown to have been considerable. It is 
 characteristic of his manner that the human figure is drawn 
 in stunted proportions, with rounded heads of unselect shape. 
 The colours are of a dusky gloss, yet defective in transpa- 
 rency. A Virgin and child ' with a fountain,' ascribed to 
 John van Eyck, in the Berlin Coll., No.525 b, is probably one 
 of the earliest works of Cristus. The Virgin and Saints (1447), 
 in the Stadel at Frankfort, is a better picture, with which the 
 Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, and Epiphany, in the 
 
 1 The most distinguished of these inquirers have been Count Leon 
 de Laborde, at Paris ; M. Wauters, the keeper of the records at Brus- 
 sels ; the Abbe* Carton, at Bruges ; Edward van Even, keeper of the 
 records at Louvain ; and many other Belgian gentlemen, whose names 
 are mentioned in the Introduction to the Catalogue of the Antwerp 
 Museum of 1857, p. ix., etc. 
 
To 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book Ill- 
 
 Madrid Museum, deserve to be classed. Cristus painted in 
 duskier tones as he grew older ; and this peculiarity may be 
 observed in the St. Elisius of the Oppenheim collection at 
 Cologne, painted (1449) for the Goldsmiths' Guildhall at 
 Antwerp, and in the Last Judgment, of the Berlin Museum, 
 executed (1452) for a convent at Burgos. In the last of 
 these pictures Cristus displays quite a childish conception of 
 Paradise, at the same time that he prepares us, in a repre- 
 sentation of Hell, for the drolleries of Jerom Bosch. Inte- 
 resting examples to study are the Last Judgment and the 
 Crucifixion, in the Hermitage of St. Petersburg, a Virgin and 
 Child, in the gallery of Turin, and a kneeling dignitary, with 
 St. Anthony, in the Museum of Copenhagen. There are 
 two masterly portraits, male and female, from his hand in 
 the Uffizi at Florence, assigned, erroneously, to Van der Goes. 
 A portrait in the Berlin Museum, of very soft and blended 
 treatment, represents a lady in the peaked cap of the Flem- 
 ings of the fifteenth century. It would be more instructive 
 if it had not been robbed of the brown glazings noticeable 
 in a fine likeness of Marco Barbarigo (No. 696), in the 
 National Gallery, which is wrongly catalogued in that collec- 
 tion as by Gerard van der Meire.] 1 
 
 [It would be easy to show, if it had not been shown before 
 in innumerable instances, that great masters seldom produce 
 able disciples. Neither Hubert nor Jan van Eyck were 
 exceptions to this rule. The talents which they displayed at 
 Ghent and at Bruges were not transmitted with any abun- 
 dance to their pupils ; and the school of the Netherlands 
 might perhaps have perished, but that it was kept up by other 
 masters of almost equal ability in various cities of Belgium. 
 Whilst John van Eyck was giving a name to Bruges, by the 
 number and beauty of the pictures which he produced there, 
 another artist, less great, but not less original, was slowly 
 rising into notice at Brussels. In the course of a long and 
 fruitful practice this talented craftsman formed one great 
 pupil, who transferred his easel to Bruges, and, purging a 
 
 1 [See for the latest proofs in respect of Petrus Cristus, 'Le Beffroi,' fol. 
 Bruges, 1863, i., 151, 236, and 237.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 ROGER VAN DER WEYDEN. 
 
 77 
 
 dry and inflexible style of some of its defects, tempered 
 anew the art of the disciples of the Van Eycks. The influence 
 of Brussels and of Bruges commingled was subsequently felt 
 at Louvain, and modelled there into a peculiar form, which 
 gave its impress to Quentin Massys, the last truly national 
 painter of the fifteenth century in the Netherlands. We may 
 aflirm that the school of the Meuse, at the head of which the 
 Van Eycks remained, was the greatest that illustrated 
 Flanders ; but we shall find it necessary to admit that the 
 school of the Schelde, presided over by Van der Weyden, was 
 that which became chiefly instrumental in extending the limits 
 of northern art, sending forth roots into every part of the 
 Netherlands, and far away to the eastward in the various 
 provinces of Southern Germany. It was Van der Weyden who 
 educated Memling and Dierick Bouts. It was Memling who 
 gave new life to the school of Bruges ; Bouts who taught 
 Quentin Massys ; but neither Memling nor Bouts would have 
 done such service had they not had the pictures, the pre- 
 cepts, and the pupils of the Van Eycks to guide and assist 
 them in their training. 
 
 Tournai is the birthplace, Robert Campin was the master, 
 of Roger van der Weyden ; 1 but we know no more of the 
 form of Tournaisian art than is apparent in the works of its 
 latest representative. In 1432, Roger van der Weyden took 
 the freedom of his guild ; in 1436 we find him living at 
 Brussels, with the title of " town painter." 2 It is an error to 
 suppose that he learnt the rudiments of his profession from 
 John van Eyck. His style of drawing, treatment, and feel- 
 ing for colour, differ altogether from those of the Van Eycks, 
 and presuppose a different education, nor is it quite certain 
 that he mastered all the subtleties of oil painting, as taught 
 by the artists of Maaseyck. In Tournai, rather than at 
 
 1 [Roger van der Weyden was the son of Henri van der Weyden, of 
 Tournai, and himself born at Tournai ; but the date of his birth is un- 
 known. See A. Pinchart in Annotations to ' Les Anciens Peintres 
 Flamands,' pp. ccvi-vii.] 
 
 2 [See the authority quoted above, and further, A. Pinchart's 'Archives 
 des Arts,' vol. ii. p. 156, where Roger van der Weyden's name, with 
 the qualification of " Stad Scilder," is still noted in the register of the 
 brotherhood of the Holy Cross at Brussels in 1462.] 
 
78 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 Bruges, we trace the rise of that peculiar school which sprang 
 from the study of tinted sculpture. Van der Weyden him- 
 self did not refuse commissions for colouring bas-reliefs. 
 His most characteristic pictures are composed in the spirit 
 and dyed after the fashion of bas-reliefs ; the curved portals 
 with fretted ornaments which enclose his compositions are 
 copied with patient and minute fidelity from the edifices of 
 the period. We deplore the accidents which deprived us of 
 the works of the Van Eycks previous to 1432 ; but we note 
 with equal concern the loss of all Van der Weyden's early 
 pictures. Not a single one of his works is left at Brussels, 
 where he spent the greater part of his life, though we know 
 that four of his largest and most important canvases were 
 executed for the town hall. The oldest of his church pictures 
 is that which represents the Nativity, the wail of Mary over 
 the body of Christ, and the Resurrection, in the gallery of Ber- 
 lin ; and this we can only trace to a Spanish monastery in 1445. 
 But two replicas of an altarpiece, representing scenes from 
 the life of the Baptist, are specimens of the same manner, 
 preserved in the galleries of Berlin and Frankfort. At a 
 later period Van der Weyden composed a Descent from the 
 Cross for a church at Louvain, which was subsequently sent 
 by Mary of Hungary to Spain. This altarpiece, of which 
 there are numerous replicas, is now in the Madrid Museum. 
 Another famous example is the Last Judgment, in the Hos- 
 pital of Beaune, completed for the Burgundian Chancellor 
 Rollin between 1443 and 1447. 
 
 In 1449, Van der Weyden paid a visit to Italy ; and 
 during a stay of some months at Ferrara, where he painted 
 a Descent from the Cross for Lionel d'Este, he was treated 
 with great distinction by a large body of artists, imbued, by 
 connection with the northern school of Padua, with some of 
 the distinctive peculiarities of transalpine art. It is curious 
 to observe that the melancholy realism of a style which is 
 only attractive because of its extreme earnestness should 
 have been - thought worthy of admiration, and even of 
 imitation, by the Ferrarese ; equally curious to note that Italian 
 painting, whether observed at Ferrara, at Florence, or at 
 Rome, made no impression on Van der Weyden's pictorial 
 
Cliap. II. 
 
 ROGER VAN DER WEYDEN. 
 
 79 
 
 method. It may be supposed that the old and experienced 
 Fleming wandered at Florence into the churches adorned by 
 Giotto, Orcagna, Masaccio, and Angelico ; for his presence 
 may be traced in the city of the Medici, where he painted a 
 picture that still remains to us in the Stadel at Frankfort. 
 Yet we look in vain for a passing change in his feeling for 
 colour or form. It seemed as if Flemish realism was proof 
 against all influences of a more genial and grander style. At 
 Rome, one should think, Van der Weyden might have admired 
 the masterpieces of the early Christian time, or those of the 
 Florentines, who had been summoned from time to time to 
 cover with precious frescos the walls of the most celebrated 
 churches ; yet it was not so, and he preferred to the creations 
 of Giotto or Angelico, the feebler but more realistic produc- 
 tions of Gentile da Fabriano. 
 
 On his return from Rome in 1450, Roger van der Weyden 
 completed for Pierre Bladelin, treasurer of the Golden 
 Fleece, an Adoration of the Infant Christ, which, after adorn- 
 ing for centuries the altar of a church at Middelburg, was 
 transferred at last to the Berlin Museum. In 1455 he 
 composed for Jean Robert, Abbot of St. Aubert of Cambrai, 
 an altarpiece, which, on very good grounds, is considered 
 identical with that of the Madrid Museum, representing the 
 Crucifixion, the Expulsion, and the Last Judgment. 
 
 Roger van der Weyden died on the 16th of June, 1464, 
 at Brussels, and was buried at Ste. Gudule. The most 
 characteristic feature of his style is its expressive realism. 
 He preferred and usually composed those subjects of gospel 
 history which convey sentiments of grief and pity. He 
 sternly rejected the notion that form should be select and 
 attractive. Neither in the shape of the human frame, nor in 
 the features of the head, nor in that of the feet and hands, 
 did he strive for more than a copy of ordinary nature — but 
 even in this copy he was not always successful, and we 
 often observe deficient drawing of extremities. It is the 
 simplicity with which he gives expression by large and 
 melancholy eyes, thought by projections of the forehead, 
 grief by contracted muscles, and suffering by attenuation of 
 the flesh, which touches us. His earnestness is so genuine 
 
80 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 and so consistent, that however much we may be dissatis- 
 fied with the means, we still are impressed with the result. 
 There is not an approach to a smile in any face that Van der 
 Weyden painted ; but we may observe many a face wrung 
 with agony and many a tear. The rare tenuity of outlines, 
 defining parts with minute dryness, the usual absence of 
 shadow, the pallid scale of tones in which flesh is modelled, 
 the light of dawn before sunrise, which fills the room and 
 landscape with an agreeable and invariable atmosphere, 
 contribute greatly to the impression which we receive. 
 The draperies are often broken up into angles, the stiffness 
 or hardness of which is not diminished as it co-exists with a 
 thick texture of stuffs ; but there is no excess of ornamenta- 
 tion in seams and borders ; and this is a very rare quality in 
 a Flemish artist. In the masterpieces of the Van Eycks 
 we are charmed by the atmosphere which pervades land- 
 scapes ; we are struck with the skill with which every part, 
 from the foreground to the horizon, is kept in focus. Van 
 der Weyden, who objected to shadow in every form, 
 finishes a distance with the same touch as the grasses in 
 the vicinity of the spectator.] 
 
 Of existing pictures the finest only need be mentioned in 
 the order in which they were painted. 
 
 The small triptych altarpiece, presented by Pope Martin V. 
 to the King of Spain, and brought in recent times by General 
 Armagnac from Spain to France, now No. 534 a of the Berlin 
 Museum, represents the Nativity, a Dead Christ in the lap 
 of the Virgin, and Christ appearing to his Mother after his 
 Resurrection. These are intense in feeling, powerful in 
 colour, and of miniature-like execution, but meagre in the 
 limbs. Painted borders to the pictures, in the manner of 
 Gothic portals, contain numerous other subjects in chiar- 
 oscuro. 
 
 An altarpiece, with three scenes from the life of John the 
 Baptist, representing his Birth, the Baptism of Christ, and 
 his Decollation, now in the Berlin Museum, No. 534 b. 
 These pictures were formerly in Spain. They are enframed 
 in borders, like those just described, with which they also 
 closely agree in the whole style of execution. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 ROGER VAN DER WEYDEN. 
 
 81 
 
 A triptych, in the collection of the Marquis of Westminster 
 in London ; half-length figures, and painted doubtless as a 
 sepulchral monument. In the centre, Christ in the act of 
 benediction ; in his left hand the globe : of very stern and 
 almost forbidding character, and, what is unusual, with black 
 hair. On his right is the Virgin — a noble head — adoring 
 him : on the left John the Evangelist ; a fine head, of great 
 depth of colour, holding the chalice in his left hand. On the 
 right wing is John the Baptist, of very earnest character, 
 pointing with his right hand to Christ. On the left wing the 
 Magdalen, with a dignified expression of repentance, holding 
 the box of ointment. This important work approaches, in 
 point of warmth and depth of colouring, very near to the 
 foregoing pictures. 
 
 The Last Judgment, in the hospital at Beaune. This is 
 the most comprehensive example of the master that has 
 descended to us. Our illustration will show how strictly his 
 composition adheres to the forms of tradition ; while at the 
 same time the formally symmetrical arrangement of the upper 
 part is broken by the vivacity and freedom of the movements. 
 The heads, especially those of John the Baptist and some of 
 the Apostles, are unusually elevated in character for him ; the 
 expression also of sympathy is very touching. The papal 
 figure behind the Apostles, in the right wing, is Pope Euge- 
 nius IV. ; the crowned individual next him, Philip the Good ; 
 and the crowned female opposite, on the left wing, probably 
 Philip's second wife, Isabella of Portugal. The lower part, 
 which is divided from the upper by strata of clouds, is upon 
 the whole somewhat empty, and has also been much dis- 
 figured by over-painting. The head of the Archangel Michael 
 is fine, but his figure too long. On the outer sides (see 
 woodcut) are the kneeling portraits of Rollin the founder, 
 and his wife Guignonne de Salin ; both of great excellence. 
 The chiaroscuro figures of SS. Sebastian and Anthony, treated 
 like statues, and the similarly painted Annunciation, are by 
 the hand of an assistant. 
 
 [Of great importance as a school model is the large Descent 
 from the Cross (No. 1016), in the Museum of Madrid, of 
 which there are two copies in the National Gallery at Madrid 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 and the Escurial, and a third of small size in the church of 
 St. Pierre at Louvain.] 1 
 
 Next in period to the last picture we may place that now 
 in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort, which was doubtless 
 painted for Pietro and Giovanni de' Medici, and which repre- 
 sents their patron-saints of the names, and those of the house 
 of Medici, SS. Cosmo and Damian, surrounding the Virgin 
 and Child. The execution of this picture is of the tenderest 
 finish, and, compared with the foregoing, shows an improve- 
 ment in drawing. 
 
 [Of the same period as the Medici Madonna, and not 
 without marks of the helping hand of Memling, is the cruci- 
 fied Saviour, with portraits of some members of the Sforza 
 family, sold at the sale of the Zambeccari collection in London 
 in 1872.] 
 
 The altarpiece with wings, executed for Peter Bladelin, is 
 in the Berlin Museum, No. 535. In the centre is the Nativity, 
 with the kneeling donor, and angels of great beauty, some of 
 whom kneel close to the Infant, while others hover over the 
 roof of the stable. On the one side is the Annunciation of 
 the Redeemer to the Buler of the West — the Emperor 
 Augustus — by means of the Tiburtine Sibyl; on the other 
 the Annunciation to the Rulers of the East — the Three Kings 
 who are keeping watch on a mountain, where the Child 
 appears to them in a star. The arrangement of this portion 
 is peculiarly grand, and the heads highly characteristic. 
 This is one of the most remarkable and best preserved exam- 
 ples of Roger van der Weyden. 
 
 [The Crucifixion, Expulsion, and Last Judgment, recently 
 taken from the Monastery de los Angelos to the Madrid 
 Museum, if it be the picture ordered by the Abbot of St. 
 Aubert, is of the period immediately following the Bladelin 
 Nativity. It is described as a very fine example of the master. ] 2 
 
 1 [See 'Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd ed., p. 196, and Dr. H. Liicke 
 in ' Jahrbucher f ur Kunstwissenschaft,' 5th year, p. 223. Dr. Waagen's 
 opinion (' Jahrbiicher,' 1st year, p. 46), that the picture in the Madrid 
 Museum is a copy by " Peter van der Weyden," and that the small copy 
 at Louvain is an original, is only held by himself and a writer in the 
 'Beffroi,' i. 111.] 
 
 2 [See Dr. Waagen in 'Jahrbiicher,' i. 40-44.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 ROGER VAN DER WEYDEN. 
 
 83 
 
 The Adoration of the Kings, with the Annunciation, and 
 the Presentation in the Temple, in the wings, is now in the 
 Munich Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 35, 36, 37. This was pro- 
 bably painted for the church of St. Columba in Cologne, 
 and was afterwards in the Boisseree collection : we subjoin 
 an illustration. This is one of the largest and finest works 
 by the master. The figure of the Virgin in the Presenta- 
 tion is very noble, and perhaps the most successful ren- 
 dering of this Handmaid of the Lord that has descended 
 to us by the painter. The woodcut only gives the centre 
 picture. Unfortunately, both flesh and draperies have 
 been rendered very glaring in colour, by means of the 
 glazings which the Boisserees employed so abundantly. 
 
 St. Luke painting the Virgin [originally placed on the 
 altar of the Guild of St. Luke at Brussels, and now in] the 
 Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 42. The head of the Virgin is 
 here of a portrait-like character, and of no beauty of feature. 
 The Child also is meagre and unattractive. On the other 
 hand, the head of St. Luke, though also portrait-like, is 
 very agreeable ; the landscape of great transparency ; and 
 the colouring of astonishing power. 1 
 
 The Descent from the Cross, in the Gallery of the Hague, 
 No. 226, and wrongly designated as Memling, is a rich 
 composition, with heads of highly pathetic expression and 
 admirable execution. It is rather cooler in the flesh-tones. 2 
 
 The Seven Sacraments [painted for Jean Chevrot, Bishop of 
 Tournai, and] now in the Antwerp Museum, Nos. 393, 394, and 
 395. On the centre and larger panel, by way of figure of the 
 Last Supper, is the Crucifixion seen in a Gothic church. On 
 the right wing are the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, 
 and Penance ; on the left the Consecration of the Priesthood, 
 Marriage, and Extreme Unction. The action and heads are 
 speaking and animated, but the colouring is cooler, and the 
 shadows less transparent, than usual. 3 
 
 Among the later works of the master the following speci- 
 
 1 [There are old copies of this picture in the Hermitage at Petersburg, 
 and in the Museum at Madrid. ] 
 
 2 [This I believe to be a school-piece.] 
 
 3 [This also I believe to be a school-piece.] 
 
84) 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 mens may be included : — Three narrow wing-pictures, with 
 figures almost life-size, formerly in the Belgian monastery of 
 Flemalle, now in the Stadel Institute, and representing — 
 1st. The Virgin nursing the Child : the maternal expression 
 is admirably given, and the white drapery of masterly 
 modelling. 2nd. St. Veronica, with the Sudarium, on 
 which the black but very noble countenance of Christ is 
 impressed. 3rd. The Trinity : the Almighty holding the 
 dead, stiff, and meagre body of the Saviour, which is admi- 
 rably executed in chiaroscuro. 1 
 
 The fact that Roger van der Weyden, like his master, Jan 
 van Eyck, also painted miniatures, is proved by the picture 
 heading a Hennegau chronicle, by Jacques de Guise, in 
 the Library of the old Dukes of Burgundy at Brussels. [?] 
 It represents Jacques de Guise presenting this MS. on his 
 knees to Philip the Good of Burgundy, who is surrounded by 
 his son Charles the Bold and the grandees of his court. In 
 point of animation and individuality of heads, keeping, 
 power of colour, and freedom of treatment, this miniature is 
 one of the finest which the Belgian school produced. 2 
 
 No painter of this school [it has been already remarked], 
 the Van Eycks even not excepted, exercised so great and 
 widely extended an influence as Roger van der Weyden. 
 Not only was Hans Memling his scholar, but innumerable 
 works of art of various kinds were brought forth in the 
 country, — miniatures, block-books (the Biblia Pauperum, the 
 Speculum Salvationis, the Song of Solomon), and old engra- 
 vings — in which his form of art is recognisable. It was 
 under the auspices of this master that the realistic tendency 
 of the Van Eycks pervaded all Germany; for it is quite 
 intelligible that their more universal reputation only took place 
 after the death of Jan van Eyck, when the great considera- 
 
 1 [It cannot be doubted that this is a school-piece.] 
 
 2 I was the first to recognise this as the work of Roger van der 
 Weyden. See 'Kunstblatt' of 1847, p. 177. Passavant and Count 
 Leon de Laborde agree in my verdict. There is a lithograph of this 
 miniature engraved in the 'Messager,' etc., of 1825. [The painter of 
 these miniatures is Guillaume Wijelant of Bruges, who executed them 
 in 1 468. See Pinchart's Annotations to ' Les Anciens Peintres Flamands,' 
 p. cclxiii.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HUGO VAN DEE- GOES. 
 
 85 
 
 tion in which Roger van der Weyden was held throughout 
 Europe induced German artists to visit his atelier at 
 Brussels. Martin Schongauer, for instance, the greatest 
 German master of the fifteenth century, is historically 
 known to have been a scholar of Roger. The same may be 
 said of the painter, Frederick Herlen, who came from Nord- 
 lingen in Swabia, and his works equally show that he was 
 taught by Roger. I shall have occasion also to mention his 
 influence in the works of other German artists. 
 
 [Fictions in the garb of history greatly contributed to inten- 
 sify and to prolong the darkness which still rests on Flemish 
 art of the period immediately following John van Eyck's 
 death. A great obstacle in the way of discovering the truth 
 was the statement of very old writers that Roger van der 
 Weyden was a disciple of the younger Van Eyck. Its for- 
 tunate removal has been the signal for a progressive clearing 
 away of similar and equally pernicious errors.] 
 
 [Hugo van der Goes is proved by documents of acknow- 
 ledged authenticity to have been a long-lived, industrious, 
 and prolific artist ; yet it is his fate to be known, as Hubert 
 van Eyck' is known, by a single picture only. He is traced in 
 records to Ghent, where he lived for a considerable number of 
 years. Yet Yan Mander states that he was a pupil of John 
 van Eyck, who never lived at Ghent after 1421. There is 
 some apparent confirmation of Van Mander's statement in the 
 fact that many of Hugo's altarpieces were exhibited in Bruges 
 churches. Yet the only picture we possess — the Nativity in 
 Santa Maria Nuova at Florence — which can be ascribed with 
 certainty to Van der Goes, displays but slightly the influence 
 of the Van Eycks. 
 
 Vasari speaks of Van der Goes as " Hugo of Antwerp ; "* 
 Van Mander calls him "a painter of Bruges." 2 Van Vaer- 
 newijk, with substantial detail, declares him a Dutchman ; and 
 taking occasion to describe the loss of a Madonna, with St. 
 Catherine and St. Ursula, which was torn to pieces by the 
 Iconoclasts of 1566, in St. Jacob of Ghent, he says : " This 
 was the cleverest piece in the whole church ; it was painted 
 
 1 [Vasari, Lemonniers Edition, i. 163, and xiii. 149.] 
 
 2 [Van Mander, u. s. 204.] 
 
86 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 by Hughe van der Ghoest in Zeelandt, so called because he 
 lived long in that country, though he was born at Leyden." 1 
 In a declaration of appraisal made in 1479, at LouvaiD, it is 
 stated that in order to value a picture by Dierick Bouts, the 
 officers of the town sent for "the most noted painter of the 
 surrounding country, a monk, native of Ghent, at that time 
 living in the Rooden Cloestere" (a monastery), near Brussels. 
 Van der Goes, being the only painter known to have taken 
 vows in the Rooden Cloestere, is supposed to be the person 
 to whom allusion is here made, and so comes to be considered 
 a native of Ghent. 2 
 
 None of the sources upon which we rely for notices of 
 Van der Goes tell us anything as to his birth. He was not 
 free of the Guild of Ghent till 1465 ; 3 and he is not known 
 to have practised anywhere before that year ; yet it may be 
 that he took the freedom of Ghent after having enjoyed that 
 of Bruges ; and this fact alone, if it were properly authen- 
 ticated, would solve our doubts as to whether a man who 
 began so late can have been born early enough to study 
 under John van Eyck. In 1468, Van der Goes was called 
 to Bruges to take part in the festivities of the marriage of 
 Margaret of York ; he was sent back almost immediately 
 after to Ghent to prepare the "joyful entry " of the same 
 princess. In both cities he was known for a special talent 
 in designing and colouring loose cloths as ornaments for walls 
 of houses and churches ; he was also a painter of flags and 
 scutcheons ; in 1472-74 he presided as elder in the Guild 
 of Ghent. In 1476 he was induced to withdraw from the 
 world, and join as a novice the monastery of Rooden Cloestere. 
 How he lived and laboured in this retreat is related to us 
 by his companion, Gaspar Offhuys. Sometimes he felt the 
 sting of a bad conscience, and complained that he was a 
 miserable sinner ; at other times he longed to return to the 
 world which he had left. He was celebrated as a painter, 
 and received visits from persons of the highest rank. With 
 
 1 [Van Vaernewijk, 'Van die Beroerlieke Tijden in die Nederlanden,' 
 8vo. Ghent, 1872, p. 158.] 
 
 2 [Van Even, 'Louvain Monumental,' fol. Louvain, 1860, p. 141.] 
 
 3 [De Busscher, 'Recherches sur les Peintres Gantois,' pp -111, 114.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HUGO VAN DER GOES. 
 
 87 
 
 these lie frequently enjoyed carousals which produced drunken- 
 ness and created scandal. It was thought necessary to re- 
 move him from the scene of these exploits. He was ordered 
 off to Cologne, but on the way back he went mad and was 
 with difficulty restored to his senses. Under these circum- 
 stances his life was not of long duration, and he died, not 
 unlamented, in 1482.] 1 
 
 Of his oil pictures, only the one mentioned by Vasari is 
 historically authenticated. This was ordered by Tommaso 
 Portinari, agent for the house of Medici, in Bruges, for the 
 high altar of the church of the Hospital of S. Maria Nuova 
 at Florence, founded by his ancestor, Folco Portinari, where 
 it is still preserved. The middle picture represents the 
 Adoration of the Shepherds, figures almost life-size. In the 
 centre is the Virgin kneeling, and taken almost in front ; 
 the tips of her fingers touching each other : on the right is 
 Joseph ; opposite to him three Shepherds adoring ; also 
 numerous angels. In the landscape background are the 
 Annunciation to the Shepherds, and other figures. On the 
 wings are the portraits of Tommaso Portinari, and two 
 little sons, presented by their patron saints, SS. Matthew 
 and Antony, and those of the founder's wife and daughter, 
 presented by their patron saints, SS. Margaret and Mag- 
 dalen. In the heads generally, which are portrait-like, a 
 feeling of earnestness and severity is seen, and at the same 
 time a deficiency in the sense of beauty. The drapery also 
 has not only a sharp and snapt character, but the arrange- 
 ment of the chief folds is stiff and hard. The scale of colour 
 is clear, but at the same time it is very cool. The local 
 flesh tones are partly pale, partly a coolish red ; the shadows 
 grey. Van der Goes is the earliest master of this school 
 who painted blue draperies, broken with green, combining 
 further with this mixture an orange colour, which is far 
 from enhancing the general harmony. In other respects he 
 possesses the highest qualities of the Flemish school. His 
 portraits are true to nature and animated, his drawing is good 
 and conscientiously carried out in every part, and his execu- 
 tion is solid. 
 
 1 [Chronicle of Rouge Cloitre in Pinchart's Annotations, u. s., p. ccxxvi.] 
 
88 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 Various important works, which Hugo executed for the 
 Netherlands, perished by the hands of the Iconoclasts, such 
 as survived having disappeared since. He also occasionally 
 drew cartoons as designs for glass-painting; one of which, 
 in the church of St. James at Ghent, was so fine as to be 
 pronounced by Van Mander a design by Jan van Eyck. 1 
 
 [Gerard van Meire is one of a numerous family of artists 
 who lived during the second half of the fifteenth century at 
 Ghent. He was free of the Painters' Guild in 1452, and 
 sub-dean of the same in 1472. 2 The only picture in existence 
 with which his name is intimately connected is a triptych 
 in a chapel of St. Bavon at Ghent, representing the Cruci- 
 fixion, the Raising of the Brazen Serpent, and Moses striking 
 the Bock. These compositions are remarkable for the 
 number of figures which they contain ; but they are not 
 remarkable for skilful distribution.] The figures are stiff 
 and lame ; the heads generally monotonous in character, 
 and without modelling ; the drapery with sharp breaks ; the 
 proportions too long; and the figures, especially of Christ 
 and the thieves, very meagre. A few of the heads, however, 
 such as the Virgin and the Centurion, are of elevated expres- 
 sion ; and the rocky landscape, with the snow mountains in 
 the distance, even beautiful. The clear and somewhat crude 
 general effect is partly attributable to overcleaning. A few 
 better preserved portions, such as the Moses, and the two 
 male figures standing behind him, show the power and depth 
 of the original colouring. 
 
 [In many public galleries, and particularly in the Berlin 
 Museum, we find pictures assigned to Van der Meire, which 
 display some well-defined and individual features. Most 
 characteristic of this peculiar manner is the stunted pro- 
 portion of the human frame, the marked yet tenuous outline, 
 the soft pallor of flesh, modelled with excessive care, and 
 relieved by a mere indication of shadow ; prominent shape 
 
 1 Some of the most important pictures wrongly given to him will be 
 described in the notices on other masters. See Van Mander, folio 
 127 b. 
 
 2 [Van der Meire was supposed to have been a pupil of Hubert van 
 Eyck, but the authority upon which this statement was made is now 
 very properly contested. See 'Early Flemish Painters,' 2nded., p. 146.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 JUSTUS OF GHENT. 
 
 89 
 
 in foreheads, and long noses and jaws. The landscapes are 
 minute and finished. Two or three specimens in this style 
 deserve more particularly to be mentioned : the Visitation, 
 at Berlin, with a kneeling donor (No. 542) ; the Epiphany, at 
 Berlin (No. 527) ; the Visitation, in the collection of Baron 
 Speck von Sternburg at Lutschena, near Leipzig, a very 
 well preserved and most interesting piece ; and a Carmelite 
 Monk (No. 264), in the National Gallery. Of the same 
 school, and equally careful in execution, but of a warmer and 
 more mellow tone, is the Raising of the Body of St. Hubert 
 of Liege, an altarpiece (No. 783), in the National Gallery, 
 which has been ascribed successively to many painters, and 
 at last to Dierick Bouts. It is necessary to bear in mind 
 that if all or any of the pictures enumerated in the foregoing 
 lines were by Gerard van der Meire, he was a disciple of the 
 school of Van der Weyden rather than of that of the Van 
 Eycks.] 
 
 [Justus of Ghent, a contemporary of Van der Goes and 
 Van der Meire, is better known in Italy than in Flanders. Yet 
 he must have had some practice in the Netherlands before 
 he became known to Frederick of Montefeltro, who sent for 
 him to paint the portrait of his duchess and decorate his 
 library " with figures of philosophers, poets, and doctors of 
 the church." 1 Vespasiano de Bisticci, who wrote the life of 
 ♦ Frederick of Montefeltro, does not name the painter who 
 was selected to perform these commissions ; yet we can 
 hardly doubt that he meant to allude to Justus of Ghent, 
 who, as early as 1470, finished for the brotherhood of Corpus 
 Christi the " Communion of the Apostles," which is now 
 exhibited (No. 46) in the town gallery of Urbino. 2 We 
 shall be struck, when looking at this piece, by faulty per- 
 spective and a certain disproportion in the size of figures on 
 different planes. In other respects the picture is worthy of 
 
 1 [See Vespasiano, in 'Mai's Lives.' Rome, 1839. That Justus can have 
 been a pupil of Hubert Van Eyck is impossible. See De Bast, in 
 'Messager des Sciences.' Ghent, 1822, p. 132, corrected by Euelens. 
 Notes et Additions, u. s., cxviii.] 
 
 2 [See the payments for the altarpiece to 1 Giusto da Guanto,' in 
 Pungileoni's ' Elogio Storico di Gio. Santi.,' 8vo. Urbino, 1822, pp. 
 64-66.] 
 
90 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 attention as the work of an artist who upheld the fame of 
 the Flemings in a remote corner of Italy.] The composi- 
 tion representing Christ standing in the act of giving the 
 chalice to the Apostles kneeling around, is arranged with 
 considerable artistic discrimination. With the exception 
 of the Christ, whose striding position and head are unsuc- 
 cessful, the movements are free and speaking. The forms of 
 the hands, and other portions of the figures, which are three- 
 fourths life-size, are well rendered. Finally, the brownish, 
 though not very deep and transparent, flesh-tones, are effec- 
 tive enough. The portraits of Federigo di Montefeltro, Duke 
 of Urbino ; of Caterino Zeno, envoy from the Venetian 
 republic, and of an aged man, probably the painter himself, 
 are very true and living. The predella, containing allegorical 
 representations of the Holy Sacrament, no longer exists. 
 
 [Later in life, Justus, if we accept him as the painter of the 
 figures now preserved in the Barberini palace at Eome, and 
 in the Louvre in Paris, tempered the hardness of the Flemish 
 style with a breadth and freedom derived from the schools of 
 Santi and Melozzo ; and it is not uninteresting to trace the 
 wavering inclinations of the master in the northern air of 
 "Solon," "Augustin," or "St. Jerom," and the southern 
 stamp of a "Dante " or " Vittorino da Feltre." The master of 
 whom Justus most reminds us is Eoger van der Weyden.] 
 
 [To conclude this notice of the masters of Ghent in the* 
 fifteenth century, it is only necessary to name Nabor Martin 
 (1404-1453), the probable author of a wall painting in the 
 " Grande Boucherie " at Ghent, a damaged composition of 
 the Nativity, with portraits of Philip the Good, his wife and 
 child, dated 1448.] 1 
 
 Contemporary with Roger van der Weyden, but, it appears, 
 in less dependence on the style of the Van Eycks, there 
 flourished in Haarlem a painter of the name of Albert van 
 Ou water, who founded there an original Dutch school. Van 
 Mander 2 mentions him as a capital master, who particularly 
 excelled in the drawing of hands and feet, and in the render- 
 ing of drapery and landscape. His especial excellence in the 
 
 1 [See De Busscher, ' Reckerches sur les Peintres Gantois/ pp. 60-95.] 
 
 2 [Van Mander, 128 b.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 OUWATER. 
 
 91 
 
 latter department, and the fact of his being the founder of 
 the very early school of landscape-painting in Haarlem, appear 
 from the circumstance that several of his landscapes were 
 preserved in the house of Cardinal Grimani 1 in the sixteenth 
 century. Unfortunately no picture by him can now be 
 positively identified. A Pieta in the Imperial Gallery at 
 Vienna, 2 which Passavant ascribes to the master, 3 is at all 
 events an excellent picture of the early Dutch school : the 
 composition is devoid of style, and most of the heads ugly, 
 but of intense feeling and expression ; the proportions are 
 long, the execution of the utmost solidity. 
 
 A scholar of Ouwater, Geertgen von St. Jans, so called 
 from a monastery of the Knights of St. John at Haarlem, 
 where he resided, was, according to Van Mander, a very 
 distinguished painter, whose talent was admired by Albeit 
 Durer on occasion of his visit to Haarlem. 4 He died, how- 
 ever, at the early age of twenty-eight. 5 The only authen- 
 ticated pictures by him are two wings of an altarpiece 
 mentioned by Van Mander, and now in the Vienna Gallery, 6 
 Nos. 58 and 60, the one representing „a Pieta; the other, 
 three legends referring to the bones of John the Baptist — 
 namely, to their interment in the presence of Christ, the 
 burning of them by Julian the Apostate, and the removal of 
 some of them to the chief seat of the Knights of St. John, 
 St. Jean d'Acre, in 1252. The heads have throughout a 
 portrait-like appearance, and are animated, though, with the 
 exception of some of the Knights of St. John, who are elevated 
 in character, the forms are ugly. The figures, which are 
 smaller in proportion to the landscape than in most of the 
 pictures of the Van Eyck school, are over-slender and meagre, 
 
 1 ' Anonimo,' by Morelli, p. 76, and p. 220, etc. 
 
 2 There attributed to Jau van Eyck ; Catalogue, No. 12, second room 
 of second floor. 
 
 3 'Kunstblatt' of 1841, p. 39. 
 
 4 [I have been unable to discover any trace of Diirer's visit to Haarlem.] 
 
 5 Van Mander, folio 129. 
 
 6 According to a short notice on the back of the second picture, they 
 were presented to Charles I. by the States- General in 1635, andprobably 
 bought with other pictures by the Archduke Leopold, at the sale of the 
 Royal Gallery. The Pieta was engraved by T. Matham, with a notifi- 
 cation of the master's name. 
 
92 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 but of very good drawing. A heavy brown tone predomi- 
 nates in the flesh. The darkening of the otherwise admi- 
 rably modelled draperies renders the general effect somewhat 
 heavy and spotty. The execution of detail, which extends 
 equally to all accessories, is marvellous. Great attention is 
 paid to the making out of the landscape. Judging from 
 the style of art, these pictures may be assigned to about 
 1460-70. 1 
 
 The greatest scholar 2 of Roger van der Weyden was in- 
 dubitably Hans Memling. All that is known of him with 
 historical certainty is, that in 1477-78 he was living at 
 Bruges ; [that about 1480 he bought the leasehold of a house, 
 and that he died in 1495, at Bruges. 3 J In him the school attains 
 the highest delicacy of artistic development ; while at the 
 same time, in feeling for beauty and grace, he was more 
 gifted than any painter subsequent to Hubert van Eyck. 
 Compared with those of his master, his figures are of better 
 proportions and less meagreness of form ; his hands and 
 feet truer to nature ; the heads of his women are sweeter, 
 and those of his men less severe ; his outlines are softer ; in 
 the modelling of his flesh parts more delicacy of half-tones is 
 observable ; and his colours are still more luminous and 
 transparent. In aerial perspective also, and chiaroscuro, his 
 works show an improvement. On the other hand, he is 
 inferior to Roger van der Weyden the elder in the carrying 
 out of detail — for instance, in that of the materials of his 
 draperies — and in the rendering the full brilliancy of gold. 
 In the earlier time, when he occasionally worked on the same 
 panel with his master, 4 the pictures of the two are difficult to 
 
 1 [It is very doubtful whether the painter of these pieces can have 
 lived in the fifteenth century. I believe them to be by an artist of 
 the sixteenth century. ] 
 
 2 The name " Ausse," or "Havesse," both Italian perversions of the 
 name which Vasari (Siena edition, vol. i., p. 177 ; vol. hi., p. 312 ; vol. 
 xi., p. 63) mentions as a scholar of Roger of Bruges, is without doubt 
 intended for Hans Memling, which is further proved by the resemblance 
 between the works of each. 
 
 3 [Consult Mr. Weale in the 'Journal des Beaux Arts' for 1860, pp. 
 22, 35, 36.] 
 
 4 Margaret of Austria possessed a small altarpiece, the centre of which 
 was by Roger and the wings by Memling. See ' Inventaire des Tableaux,' 
 etc., belonging to this princess, by Count de Laborde, p. 24. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HANS MEMLING. 
 
 93 
 
 distinguish. Of no other painter of this school have so many- 
 first-rate works descended to us. I proceed now to quote 
 those which I personally know, in the order in which I believe 
 them to have been executed : — 
 
 A small altarpiece in the Gallery at Munich, Cabinets, 
 Nos. 48, 49, 50. The Adoration of the Kings, the centre 
 picture, has decidedly the impress of the master ; the wings, 
 John the Baptist and St. Christopher, show, in their lengthy- 
 proportions and hard outlines, more the style of Roger. 
 Much of their original character, however, has been sacri- 
 ficed by cleaning and over-paintings with glazing colours. 1 
 
 The Crucifixion, a large altar picture in the first room of 
 the Palais de Justice at Paris. On the right of the cross is 
 the Virgin fainting, supported by a woman, and with another 
 woman, John the Baptist, and St. Louis ; on the left, John 
 the Evangelist, St. Denys, and Charlemagne. The building 
 of the old Louvre and the Tour de Nesle, seen in the land- 
 scape, show that the painter executed this picture in Paris. 
 The somewhat feeble drawing of the feet, and even of the 
 hands, assigns this work to his early time. The heads, 
 however, are masterly, and some of them of intense feeling. 2 
 
 A small Diptych, with a rich composition of the Cruci- 
 fixion on one side, and the donor, Jeanne de France, daughter 
 of John, 2nd Duke of Bourbon, with her patron saint, St. 
 John the Baptist, and the Virgin and Child in the sky, on 
 the other. A picture of miniature-like delicacy. In posses- 
 sion of the Rev. John Fuller Russell, Greenhithe, Kent. 8 
 
 The wings of a smaller altarpiece, with the portraits of 
 the founders, man and wife, and their patron saint. For- 
 merly in Miss Rogers's collection, subsequently belonging to 
 Vernon Smith, Esq. ; of great truth, very harmonious and 
 warm tone, and admirable execution in the landscapes. 
 
 1 [This altarpiece was painted for the family chapel of the Snoij of 
 Malines. It is still catalogued at Munich as a work of Memling, yet is 
 so entirely in the style of Dierick Bouts, that it must be assigned to 
 that painter.] 
 
 2 [Dr. Waagen is the only critic who assigns this picture to Memling. 
 It is possibly by Van der Goes.] 
 
 3 ' Galleries and Cabinets of Great Britain,' p. 285. [This can at best 
 be but a school-piece. ] 
 
94 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 The Last Judgment, in the church of Our Lady at Dant- 
 zic; a large altar-picture. 1 The composition of this work, 
 given in the annexed woodcut, is far richer and better ar- 
 ranged than that of the picture of the same subject by Roger, 
 though his influence is still very perceptible. In the centre, 
 on a large and brilliant rainbow, which touches the horizon, 
 sits the Saviour, with the severe expression of the judge. 
 A red sword is suspended on the left, a lily-branch on the 
 right of his head ; a golden ball (painted) hangs in the air as 
 His footstool, and reflects the nearest objects. He is clothed 
 in a red mantle fastened on the breast, and falling over the 
 lap in beautiful folds. Above him hover four angels with 
 the instruments of the Passion, and below him are three 
 others with the trumpets of the Last Judgment. At his 
 right kneels the Virgin, with an expression of mercy and 
 maternal intercession ; on the left is John the Baptist, and 
 on both sides are ranged the Apostles — fine figures, with 
 heads of great excellence, though of different degrees of 
 beauty. In the lower half of the picture stands St. Michael, 
 clad in golden armour, so bright as to reflect in the most 
 complete manner all the surrounding objects. This figure 
 is slender, but colossal as compared with the rest, and he 
 seems to be bending earnestly forward ; a splendid purple 
 mantle extends from his shoulders to the ground, and he has 
 large wings composed of glittering peacock's feathers. He 
 holds the balance of justice, in which the souls of men are 
 weighed; the scale with the good rests on the earth, but 
 that with the souls which are found wanting quickly mounts 
 into the air : a demon stands ready to receive the Damned, 
 and towards this scale St. Michael directs the end of a black 
 staff with a rich handle, which he holds in his right hand. 
 Around is a plain, out of which, as well as in the depth of 
 the landscape background, the dead are rising from their 
 graves ; on one side are the Blessed in the act of ascending 
 to heaven, on the other the Damned. Close behind the 
 archangel, an angel and a demon are contending for a soul. 
 Inexpressible anguish, grief, and despair bordering on mad- 
 ness, are depicted in the various groups of the Damned of 
 1 First rightly attributed to him by Professor Hotho. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HANS MEMLING. 
 
 95 
 
 every age and sex, who are crowded together on the left of 
 St. Michael. Grotesque figures of demons, some of them 
 decked out with coloured butterfly wings, are mixed up with 
 the lost souls, and are driving them with demoniac glee into 
 the abyss. On the right all is holy peace, and the counte- 
 nances of the Blessed already express a foretaste of approach- 
 ing bliss. The left wing represents Hell ; between steep 
 and craggy rocks flames are raging, and sparks and smoke 
 burst forth, while the Damned are hurled downwards in 
 frantic terror, and are tormented in various ways. Here a 
 pair of lovers, fastened together with fine cords, are sus- 
 pended between the teeth of a bat-winged fiend; there 
 another stands on the throat of a falling woman, whilst with 
 his hooked fork he drags a priest after him. Some ape-like 
 demons are pulling down the lost souls by the hair, whilst 
 others bear their prey upon their backs and torment them 
 with firebrands. The variety of attitude and the boldness of 
 the foreshortening are masterly — the gradations of tone given 
 to the one prevailing expression of sorrow and despair are 
 surprisingly varied. In the right side-picture is a splendid 
 Gothic portal, adorned with columns, and through its open 
 gates the Blessed are passing in. Subjects from the Old 
 and New Testament in bas-relief embellish the facade and 
 ceiling of the high-arched vestibule, whilst angels of great 
 beauty, clothed in rich vestments, stand on the balustrades 
 and on the two balconies of the building, singing, playing, 
 and strewing flowers. Clouds surround the building on both 
 sides. As the Blessed draw near, they are received and 
 guided by angels, who clothe them in splendid garments. 
 Peter, with the keys of Heaven, stands at the gate, and 
 beckons to the elect. His figure is majestic. A host of 
 priests have already ascended the steps. Here, too, we find 
 the same variety of countenances, all apparently copied from 
 nature, and the same truth which we have noticed in repre- 
 senting grief and despair, but here the predominant expres- 
 sion is that of humble astonishment and tranquil joy. The 
 execution of detail, the depth and variety of expression in 
 the heads, the force of colouring, and the modelling and 
 rendering of every portion, are admirable. Judging from 
 
96 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 the numbers 67 on a tombstone, it is probable that this 
 picture was painted in 1467. 1 This is not only the most 
 important by Memling that has descended to us, but one of 
 the chefs-d'oeuvre of the whole school. 
 
 [The Baptist, a small but most delicate piece by Memling, 
 at the Munich Pinakothek (Cabinets, No. 105), once, we may 
 believe, part of a diptych dated 1470, in possession of Cardinal 
 Bembo.] 
 
 King David and Bathsheba, in the Gallery at Stuttgart 
 (No. 398). The figure of Bathsheba is remarkable as the 
 only one life-sized and undraped by Memling. The drawing 
 and modelling are very successful for the period. 2 
 
 A picture, with figures of small size, representing all the 
 scenes of the Passion from Palm Sunday to the recognition 
 of Christ by the Disciples at Emmaus, in a number of separate 
 groups, is in the Royal Gallery at Turin. [It is, there is 
 every reason to believe, the centre part of the altarpiece 
 painted by Memling in 1477-8 for the chapel of the Book- 
 sellers' Guild at Bruges.] 3 
 
 A small altarpiece in St. John's Hospital at Bruges, No. 
 16 : the centre represents a Pieta ; the inner sides of the 
 wings, the donor, Adrian Rheims, a brother of the Order, 
 and his patron saint, St. Adrian, with St. Barbara ; and the 
 outer, SS. Helena and Mary of Egypt. The proportions are 
 still too long, the heads very tender and of deep feeling. 
 This has unfortunately lost something of its power and 
 colour by cleaning. 
 
 A small altarpiece, also in St. John's Hospital, No. 3 : the 
 Adoration in the centre, with the portrait of the founder, a 
 brother of the Order ; the wings containing the Nativity and 
 the Presentation in the Temple ; the outer sides John the 
 Baptist and St. Veronica. This is the only instance where, 
 
 1 [The picture formed part of the lading of a ship chartered by Tom- 
 maso Portinari of Bruges, and captured by a Dantzic privateer in 1473. 
 See Weinreich's Chronik., 4to. Berlin 1855.] 
 
 2 [Dr. Waagen's opinion in respect of this picture is entitled to re- 
 spect, though it is not quite convincing. The painter may be a pupil of 
 Quentin Massys. 0. Mundler is said to have held the opinion that it 
 was by Massys himself. Consult W. Lubke in ' Zeitschr. f . biJd. Kunst.' 
 iii., 230]. 
 
 3 [See ' Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd ed. p. 267.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HANS MEMLING. 
 
 97 
 
 besides the date 1479, the name of the painter occurs in 
 full. The arrangement of the composition shows the influ- 
 ence of the often-quoted picture by Roger van der Weyden 
 in the Gallery at Munich. The heads are more delicate and 
 sweet, but less earnest and grand — the execution freer, but 
 less solid. This gem has also partially, but very seriously, 
 suffered by cleaning. 
 
 [Of the same date as the Adoration, but in the spirit of the 
 Turin altarpiece], a picture (see frontispiece) of a long form, 
 now at Munich, and formerly in the Boisseree collection, 
 deserves especial notice. It represents the principal events 
 of the life of Christ and the Virgin (the seven joys of the 
 Virgin) ; not in separate compartments, but as one great 
 whole, united in a landscape, with an endless number of 
 subordinate events : a whole world of life, and joy, and 
 sorrow — all executed with wonderful grace and beauty. 
 [This beautiful piece was painted for Pierre Bultynck, a 
 currier of Bruges, who presented it to the chapel of his guild 
 in 1479.] 1 
 
 The Annunciation, inscribed 1482, in possession of Prince 
 Radzivil, at Berlin. A picture of very original conception 
 and marvellous delicacy. Also injured in parts. 
 
 The Virgin and Child, with angel and donor, in the 
 Vienna Gallery ; there called Hugo van der Goes. 
 
 A large altarpiece, in the collection of the Academy at 
 Bruges, No. 9 [painted for Willem Moreel] the centre 
 containing St. Christopher, with SS. Maur and Giles at his 
 side ; on the inside of the wings, St. William, with the donor 
 and his eons, and St. Barbara, with the donor's wife and her 
 daughter ; on the outside, in chiaroscuro, John the Baptist 
 and St. George. Inscribed with the date 1484. All the 
 heads very true to nature. In that of St. Christopher the 
 moment of spiritual enlightenment is admirably expressed. 
 The infant Christ is the feeblest figure. Of the saints, SS. 
 Maur, Giles, and Barbara are refined in heads, and of mild ex- 
 pression, but St. John the Baptist is the most successful. Here 
 the original excellent modelling is still in good preservation. 2 
 
 1 [See Le Beffroi, fol. Bruges, ii., 268.] 
 
 2 [This picture is full of massive repaints.] 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book TTT. 
 
 A small altarpiece, at Chiswick, seat of the Duke of Devon- 
 shire. The Virgin and Child, with the donors, [Sir John and 
 Lady Donne,] with their children, adoring, and their patron 
 saints, Agnes and Barbara. On the wings, SS. John the 
 Baptist and Evangelist. This picture, which is mentioned 
 by Horace Walpole as by Jan van Eyck, is in every respect 
 one of the finest works of the master. 
 
 St. Christopher, at Holker Hall, Lancashire, seat of the 
 Duke of Devonshire. Very like the same saint on the wing- 
 picture at Munich, but incomparably better rendered, and in 
 excellent preservation. Erroneously called Albert Durer. 
 
 Portrait of an aged Canon of the Order of St. Norbert, in 
 the Museum at Antwerp, No. 253. In the expression of simple 
 and intense devotion this admirably-executed picture makes 
 an impression on the mind as of an historical work. 
 
 Portrait of a member of the family of Croy, also in the 
 Antwerp Museum, No. 254. Of uncommon truth and mas- 
 terly rendering, in a somewhat cool tone. 1 
 
 Small altarpiece, in the Collection of Rev. Mr. Heath, vicar 
 of Enfield. The dead Christ bewailed by the Virgin, St. 
 John, and the Magdalen. On the wings, St. James the 
 Major, and St. Christopher. The body of the Christ is very 
 meagre ; the expression of sorrow in those around fine and 
 intense, and the colour very clear and powerful. 2 
 
 The Marriage of St. Catherine, in St. John's Hospital. 3 
 The Virgin is placed in the centre, on a seat under a porch, 
 with tapestry hanging down behind it : two angels hold a 
 crown, with much grace, over her head; beside her kneels St. 
 Catherine, her head one of the finest by Memling, on whose 
 finger the beautiful infant Christ places a ring of betrothal ; 
 behind her is a charming figure of an angel playing on the 
 organ ; and further back St. John the Baptist, attended by 
 
 1 [Instead of noticing these two portraits, which are very doubtful as 
 productions of Memling, we should prefer to keep in remembrance the 
 two fine portraits of Willem Moreel, his wife and daughter ; the two 
 first, Nos. 21 and 22, in the Brussels Museum ; the third, under the name 
 of the Sibyl Zambetha, in the Hospital of Bruges.] 
 
 2 * Cabinets and Galleries of Great Britian,' p. 313, etc. 
 
 3 Inscription and date, 1479, are apocryphal. See article by me in 
 'Kuntsblatt' of 1854, p. 178. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HANS MEMLING. 
 
 99 
 
 the lamb. On the other side kneels St. Barbara, reading; 
 behind her another angel holds a book to the Virgin ; and 
 still deeper in the picture is St. John the Evangelist, whose 
 figure is of great beauty, and of a mild and thoughtful cha- 
 racter. Through the arcades of the porch, we look out, at 
 each side of the throne, on a rich landscape, in which are 
 represented scenes from the lives of the two St. Johns. The 
 panel on the right side contains the Beheading of the Baptist, 
 and at a distance a building, with a glimpse into the land- 
 scape, in which are again introduced events from the life of 
 the saint. On the left is St. John the Evangelist, on the 
 island of Patmos, about to write 'in a book, and looking up- 
 wards, where the vision of the Apocalypse appears to him — 
 the Lord, on a throne, in a glory of dazzling light, encom- 
 passed with a rainbow. In a larger circle are the hosts of 
 the Elders, with a solemn character of countenance, in white 
 garmentSj and with harps in their hands ; opposite to them, 
 among flames and mystic forms, is the four-headed beast. 
 Below all is a landscape, in which men are fleeing, and seek- 
 ing to conceal themselves among the rocks, whilst the four 
 horsemen, in the swiftness of their might, are bursting on 
 them. Finally, the sea, with its deep green crystal waves, 
 reflects the entire subject, the rainbow, the glow of the sky, 
 the mystic figures, and the forms on the shore, and thus unites 
 these various objects into one great whole. On the outside 
 of the wings are four saints, two male and two female, and 
 kneeling before them are men and women in religious vest- 
 ments. The whole forms a work strikingly poetical, and 
 most impressive in character ; it is highly finished, both in 
 drawing and in its treatment as a picture, and is, with excep- 
 tion of the outer sides, which are over-cleaned and badly 
 retouched, in tolerable preservation. This picture approaches 
 very near to that in the Academy at Bruges ; the better draw- 
 ing, namely, of the feet, shows that it was painted somewhat 
 later, probably in 1486. 
 
 A votive picture, somewhat larger than the centre com- 
 partment of the last-mentioned work, is in possession of 
 Count Duchatel of Paris. The head of the Virgin, who 
 is enthroned in the centre with the Child, agrees closely with 
 
100 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 that of the last we have described. On the right are the 
 men and youths under the protection of John the Baptist ; 
 on the left the women and maidens, under that of another 
 male saint ; both parties in considerable numbers, and kneel- 
 ing. It is greatly to be regretted that the flesh-parts of the 
 Virgin, the Child, and of all the female figures in this fine 
 picture, have become pale through over-cleaning. The work 
 itself has great affinity with that of the Marriage of St. 
 Catherine. The architecture of the background is of mas- 
 terly treatment. This is one of the many pictures of this 
 school which had made its way to Spain. 
 
 The Marriage of St. Catherine, in the Strasburg Gallery, 
 there called Lucas van Leyden. 1 
 
 Of about the same time may be the Virgin and Child 
 adored by Nevenhoven, the donor of the picture, dated 
 1487, in St. John's Hospital. The Virgin is of portrait-like 
 character ; the portrait itself of the utmost animation. The 
 forms are decided, the colouring not so luminous as usual. 
 
 Portrait of a man with joined hands, dated 1487, in the 
 Uffizi. 2 
 
 The Virgin and Child, from the collection of H.K.H. the 
 Prince Consort at Kensington [now No. 709 at the National 
 Gallery]. This agrees so entirely with the last-described 
 picture that it must have been painted in the same year. 
 
 [The Virgin and Child, with a kneeling nobleman guarded 
 by St. George ; from the Weyer collection at Cologne, now 
 No. 686 in the National Gallery. 
 
 St. John the Baptist and St. Lawrence, also (No. 747) 
 in the National Gallery]. 
 
 Portrait of a man with an open book in his hands, called 
 St. Benedict (No. 769) in the Uffizi. 
 
 A small picture, in the possession of the sculptor and 
 , medal die-sinker, M. Gatteau, at Paris, represents the Virgin 
 seated with the Child in a cheerful hilly landscape, and 
 placing the ring on the finger of St. Catherine, who closely * 
 resembles the same saint in the picture at Bruges. Next 
 
 1 [This picture perished by fire during the bombardment of Strasburg 
 in 1870.] 
 
 2 [The date is 1482.] 
 
THE RELIQUARY OP ST. URSULA. 
 Hans MemMng Id the Chapel cf St John's Hospital at Bruges, 
 
 page 
 
Chap. It 
 
 HANS MEMLING. 
 
 101 
 
 her are SS. Agnes and Cecilia, opposite SS. Ursula, Margaret, 
 and Lucy. In the sky are three angels playmg the flute. 
 This picture is a marvel of beauty in the small heads, of 
 great tenderness, feeling, delicacy of execution, and clearness 
 of golden tone ; and also in the rarest preservation. 
 
 To the same time belongs : a small picture in the gallery of 
 the Uffi-'d, the Virgin and Child, and two angels playing, 
 very lovely in the heads, and of great glow of colour, [of 
 which there is a charming repetition on a small scale in the 
 country palace of Worlitz, near Dessau ; a most expressive 
 small panel of the Pieta in the Doria Palace at Rome ; and 
 two small figures of saints, the Baptist and Magdalen, in 
 the Louvre.] 
 
 In St. John's Hospital is also the celebrated Reliquary of 
 St. Ursula, see woodcut, a shrine about four feet in length ; 
 its style and form are those of rich Gothic church archi- 
 tecture, such as we often find adopted for the larger depo- 
 sitories of relics. The whole exterior of this casket is 
 adorned with miniatures in oil by Memling. On each side 
 of the cover are three medallions — a large one in the centre, 
 and two smaller at the sides. The latter contain angels 
 playing on musical instruments ; in the centre, on one side, 
 is a Coronation of the Virgin ; on the other, the Glorifica- 
 tion of St. Ursula and her companions, with two figures of 
 Bishops. On the gable-end, in front, are the Virgin and 
 Child, before whom two sisters of the hospital are kneeling. 
 At the other end is St. Ursula, with the arrow, the instru- 
 ment of her martyrdom, and the virgins who seek protection 
 under her outspread mantle. On the longer sides of the 
 Reliquary itself, in six rather large compartments, enclosed 
 in Gothic arcades, is painted the history of St. Ursula. Ac- 
 cording to the legend, this saint was the daughter of an 
 English king, who, with an innumerable train of companions, 
 her pious lover, and an escort of knights, set out, by the 
 command of God, on a pilgrimage to Rome. On their jour- 
 ney home they suffered martrydom at Cologne. The subjects 
 of each picture separately are — -1. The landing at Cologne, 
 in the beginning of the journey ; Ursula, clothed in princely 
 purple, and her hair braided with pearls, steps from the 
 
102 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III 
 
 boat ; whilst a virgin at her side carries a casket of jewels. 
 With pious humility she bends kindly to the virgins who 
 receive her. The view of Cologne is taken from the place, so 
 that the principal buildings are easily recognized. 2. The 
 landing at Basle. The princess, with part of her followers, 
 has landed, and goes towards the old city. Two more 
 ships approach the landing-place. In the background we 
 see the Alps : here, then, the virgin host have already set 
 out on their land journey. 3. The arrival in Eome. Pope 
 Cyriacus receives the princess, who is followed from the 
 mountains by her train. Youthful knights, with Conan, the 
 lover of St. Ursula, at their head, accompany them. The 
 church is thrown open, and in it some are in the act of 
 receiving baptism, whilst others are at confession. 4. The 
 second arrival at Basle. In the background are the gates of 
 the city, from which the princess and her companions are 
 advancing to the river. In the foreground the embarkation 
 has already begun. In a large boat sit the pope between 
 two cardinals, and St. Ursula between two virgins, engaged 
 in devout discourse. 5 and 6. The martyrdom. The camp 
 of the Emperor Maximin, the enemy of the Christians, is 
 seen on the banks of the Rhine ; the two ships are just 
 putting in ; in the nearer one is the Bishop who has attended 
 St. Ursula from Rome ; a crossbowman and an archer dis- 
 charge their arrows into the boat. In the other, Conan, who 
 has come to the front, receives his death wound from a 
 spear. One of the virgins, stabbed in the breast,, falls 
 back into the arms of St. Ursula, who is again represented, 
 in 6, awaiting her death with calm resignation. The female 
 figure in the background, who is clasping her hands with 
 an expression of pity, seems to belong to the suite of 
 the Emperor. These little pictures are among the very 
 best productions of the Flemish school. The drawing in 
 these small figures is much more beautiful than 1 in the 
 larger examples by the same master; there is nothing in 
 them meagre, stiff, or angular \ the movements are free ; 
 the execution and tone of colour, with all its softness, very 
 powerful ; the expression, in the single heads, of the highest 
 excellence. 
 
DEATH OF ST. URSULA. 
 One of the Paintings by Memling on the Reliquary of St. Ursula at Bruges, 
 
 page 102, 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 HANS MEMLINO. 
 
 103 
 
 The six pictures on the cover are not so fine, and evidently- 
 executed by another hand. 
 
 A large altarpiece, with double wings, in the cathedral at 
 Lubeck. On the outer sides of the first pair of wings is the 
 Annunciation in chiaroscuro. The two figures are of slender 
 and elevated character, the heads of great sweetness and 
 refinement, and the draperies of excellent taste and very care- 
 ful modelling. On the inner sides of these wings are SS. 
 Blaise and Egidius, and, on the outsides of the next pair of 
 wings, John the Baptist and St. Jerome. These four figures 
 are among the finest specimens of the master's art. The 
 inner sides of the last-mentioned wings are connected in 
 subject with the centre picture. The right wing contains 
 scenes from the life of Christ, from the Passion in the Garden 
 to the Bearing of the Cross, which proceed from the back- 
 ground and terminate in the foreground. The centre picture 
 shows the Crucifixion, including the two thieves — a compo- 
 sition of thirty-five figures. This is the most important repre- 
 sentation of the subject which this school offers, full of original 
 motives, and of admirable carrying out. On the left wing is 
 the Entombment in the foreground, and in the middle distance 
 and background the subsequent events, terminating with the 
 Ascension. The date, 1491, on this picture, is the latest 
 known on any picture by Memling, and shows him in his 
 greatest perfection. 1 
 
 The travelling altarpiece of Charles V., at Madrid. The 
 centre represents the Adoration of the Kings, the wings the 
 Nativity and the Presentation in the Temple. The figures 
 are about one-third life size. [This triptych is composed on 
 the model of that of Van der Weyden at Munich, and is not 
 unlike that of Memling at Bruges. Some parts of it are due 
 to the master's assistants.] 
 
 It is not surprising that an oil-painter who excelled in 
 works on so small a scale should have been also an excellent 
 miniature-painter. This is proved by the miniatures in the 
 
 1 See article by me in the 'Kunstblatt' of 1846, No. 28. [Dr. Waagen 
 never saw this picture after 1846. If he had done so, he would not have 
 been so eloquent in its praise. It bears copious traces of the assistance 
 which Memling had from his journeymen.] 
 
104 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 well-known Breviary bequeathed by Cardinal Grimani to the 
 Library of St. Mark's at Venice. This relic, which is the 
 richest and most beautiful specimen of early Netherlandish 
 miniature-painting, was executed, I am convinced, for Mary 
 of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold. 1 
 
 [Dierick Stubkbout, or Bouts, one of the best guildsmen of 
 Louvain, produced most of his pictures in that city after 1466, 
 and in feeling as well as treatment shows himself a disciple 
 of Van der Weyden. During a tour in the Netherlands Van 
 Mander became aware of the existence of Dierick, whose 
 house in the Cruys Straet at Haarlem he was taken to see. 
 Further on in the same tour Van Mander came to Ley den, 
 where he saw a picture with an inscription to this purport, 
 that it was executed at Louvain in 1462 by Dirk, who was a 
 native of Haarlem. 2 In 1450 Dierick was married, and settled 
 at Louvain, where he remained till his death in 1475. ] 3 
 
 As early as 1462, Dierick probably painted a most cha- 
 acteristic portrait, first of a man in a high cap, which was 
 for some years accessible to the London public, in the collec- 
 tions of Mr. Aders and Kogers the poet. In 1466-8 he 
 completed two pictures for chapels in St. Pierre of Louvain : 
 for the smaller chapel the martyrdom of St. Erasmus in the 
 
 1 See article by me in the ' Kunstblatt ' of 1847, No. 49. [Mr. W. 
 H. J. "Weale proves almost conclusively that this Breviary was written 
 in or after 1484. One of the miniatures — an Epiphany — is an exact 
 reduction of that of Memling at Munich. See 'Le Beffroi,' ii., 213, 214.] 
 This inscription [was in Latin, but in Van Mander's Flemish trans- 
 lation, it runs as] follows : — " Duysent vier hundred en twee et tsestien 
 Jaer nac Christus gheboort, heeft Dirk, de te Haerlem is ghebooren my 
 te Lowen ghemaeckt, de euwighge rust moet hem ghewerden." This 
 picture consisted of figures the size of life, Christ in the centre, and SS. 
 Peter and Paul on the wings. 
 
 3 [Wauters in A. Pin chart's Annot., u. s., p. ccxxxi., proves the 
 existence of Dierick at Louvain in 1450. The same writer published a 
 notice in the 'Chronicle of the Historical Society of Utrecht,' vi., p. 268, in 
 which he tried to show that Dierick was born in 1391. As a proof of this 
 he quoted evidence of a trial at Brussels in 1467, in which one " Thierri 
 of Haarlem " gave testimony, saying that he was then seventy-six years 
 old. This reasoning convinced Dr. Waagen, who accordingly makes 
 Dierick a pupil of Hubert van Eyck. It might have occurred to both 
 Wauters and Dr. Waagen to inquire whether Thierri of Haarlem and 
 Dierick Bouts were identical, which is altogether impossible. For how 
 should we be without records of the industry of a painter born in 1391, 
 until so late a period as 1462 ? See also ' Early Flemish Painters,' 2nd 
 ed. 325-331.] 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 DIERICK STUERBOU,T. 
 
 105 
 
 centre, and SS. Jerome and Bernard on the wings ; for the 
 larger chapel also the Last Supper in the centre, and on the 
 wings four compartments, one above the other, with emblem- 
 atical representations of the Lord's Supper, taken from the 
 Old Testament. The last altarpiece, on which he laboured 
 several years, receiving from time to time small instalments 
 of payment, was completed in the year 1467. 1 In [1468, 
 Dierick appears for the first time in the city accounts as 
 "town painter," having finished for the council chamber of 
 the Town-hall two pictures, now preserved (Nos. 30 and 31) 
 in the Brussels Museum. These pictures] consist of life-siz£d 
 figures, and represent events calculated to admonish the 
 judges of the strict fulfilment of their office. These were 
 taken from a legend in the Chronicle of Gottfried of Viterbo, 
 written in the twelfth Century, relating how the Emperor 
 Otho III. had, on the false testimony of his empress, a guilty 
 and disappointed woman, executed one of the nobles of his 
 court. The wife of the murdered man, however, proved, by 
 the ordeal of fire, the innocence of her husband; the empress 
 was condemned to the flames. 2 For these pictures the 
 painter received the then considerable sum of 230 crowns, a 
 proof how highly his works were esteemed ; while the satis- 
 faction of the magistracy was further shown by the immediate 
 commission to execute two more works. The one, an altar- 
 piece with wings, six feet high and four feet wide, repre- 
 senting the Last Judgment, was destined for the council- 
 chamber of the Sheriffs, and was completed in 1472 ; the 
 other, intended to take its place in a collection of pictures 
 
 1 That both these altarpieces, designated in the church as the works 
 of Memling, and by me attributed to Justus van Ghent, are by the 
 hand of Stuerbout, is evident from the following passage in Molanus : 
 — " Theodorici filii opus sunt in ecclesia D. Petri duo altaria venerabilis 
 sacramenti quae multum ex arte commendantur." The fullest con- 
 firmation of this passage has been extracted by M. Edward van Even 
 from the financial records of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament 
 for the last-named picture. Even the painter's receipt, of the year 
 1467, has been found. It runs thus: " Je Dieric Bouts kenne mi 
 vernucht (sic) en wel betaelt, als van den were dat ic ghemackt hebbe 
 den heiligen sacrement." 
 
 2 This appears from a record in the Annals of Louvain, first published 
 in the 'Messager des Sciences,' etc., p. 18, 1832, and afterwards by 
 Crowe and Cavalcaselle, in ' Early Flemish Painters,' 1st ed. p. 290. 
 
106 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 which the city authorities proposed forming in the Town-hall, 
 consisted of four pieces, ranging twelve feet in height, and, 
 forming altogether a length of twenty-six feet, would have 
 been the largest known work of this school. The artist con- 
 tracted to paint both pictures for 500 crowns ; but before 
 completing the second compartment of the last great work, 
 death interrupted his labours. 1 The greater part of the 
 pictures thus recorded being still in existence, I am not only 
 enabled to form a deliberate opinion as to the master's style 
 of painting, but also, with this standard, to identify other 
 works by his hand. In his treatment of religious subjects 
 the feeling of devotion which pervades the whole early 
 Netherlandish school is accompanied by the expression of a 
 repose, solemnity, and slight melancholy, which imparts a 
 peculiar charm. In the arrangement of his subject the sense 
 of the picturesque so predominates over that of the sym- 
 metrical as often to give an arbitrary and scattered look to 
 his compositions. At the same time separate actions have 
 generally something angular and stiff, which shows itself 
 especially in the position of the legs ; the proportions are 
 also often too long and meagre, the legs again being par- 
 ticularly in fault, and the forms too slender. On the other 
 hand, the character of the heads is very various, of much 
 animation and individuality, generally full of meaning, and 
 occasionally displaying a delicate feeling for beauty. The 
 drawing is very able, and the hands always in good action. 
 In point of drapery no painter of this school is so exempt 
 from the angularity of folds peculiar to Jan van Eyck. His 
 distinctive merits, however, consist in his colouring, in his 
 landscape backgrounds, and in the style of their execution. 
 For depth, power, and fulness of colouring, no other painter 
 in the whole school can indeed be compared with him. His 
 red and green draperies, for instance, are so melting and 
 transparent as only to be likened to garnets and emeralds. 
 This effect in the green extends even to the trees and plants 
 
 1 Regarding his death, and also the price awarded to the unfinished 
 work by Hugo van der Goes, see the same work by E. van Even, p. 14. 
 See also the passage describing these pictures in the Louvain Annals, 
 'Early Flemish Painters,' 1st ed. p. 291. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 DIEBICK STUERBOUT. 
 
 107 
 
 of his landscape backgrounds, which, in their greater softness 
 and depth of tone, and slightly more developed aerial per- 
 spective, assign to him the highest place among his compeers. 
 It is possible that the example of his father, who is supposed 
 to have been an excellent painter, may have influenced 
 him. We know for certain that a picture by Dierick, repre- 
 senting events from the life of St. Bavon, was, as late as 
 1609, in the possession of a Mr. T. Blin, at Haarlem. Here 
 the environs of the city were given with such detail, that 
 even a well-known hollow tree then existing could be identi- 
 fied. 1 Finally, in the treatment of the whole picture he dis- 
 plays a breadth and softness, compared with which the works 
 of [such a great master as] Roger van der Weyden the elder, 
 appear — namely, in the execution of rich stuffs— to be some- 
 what hard and meagre. The number of works attributed to 
 Stuerbout are by no means inconsiderable. My limits, how- 
 ever, only allow me to mention those most characteristic of 
 the master, and also most accessible to the reader. 
 
 His probably earliest production known to me are two 
 small wings containing eight events from the legend of St. 
 Ursula, in the chapel of the convent des Soeurs Noires at 
 Bruges, and there wrongly given to Memling. The exterior 
 of the wings, with the four Evangelists, the four Fathers of 
 the Church, and the Annunciation, in chiaroscuro, are well 
 deserving notice. Next in period may be taken two works 
 belonging to a larger altarpiece. One of these, representing 
 Judas and his troop taking our Lord, is in the Munich Gallery, 
 Cabinets, No. 58. The composition is rich and animated, 
 but the meagreness of the forms, angularity of the motives, 
 and a certain hardness of outline, assign it to the earlier 
 period of the painter. At the same time his admirable in- 
 dividuality of heads is already pronounced in this work, also 
 the variety of his flesh-tones, and the power and depth of his 
 colouring. The other — the Ascension — wrongly attributed 
 to Memling, is in the chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg 
 
 1 The description of this picture is found in a note to the French 
 translation of Guicciardini's 'Account of the Netherlands,' published 
 in Amsterdam, in 1609, by Pieter van Berge. See Edward van Even, 
 p. 29, etc. 
 
108 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 No. 23. The dignity expressed in the head of the Saviour is 
 an attractive feature, but the piece is otherwise too much 
 restored. 
 
 To these pictures probably succeeds, in point of time, his 
 smaller altarpiece in the Cathedral of Bruges : the centre con- 
 taining the Martyrdom of St. Hippolitus, who is torn to pieces 
 by four horses ; and the wing, the King by whom the Saint 
 was condemned, with four other figures, and the now partly 
 obliterated portrait of a man and his wife, the founders of 
 the picture. The expression of grief in the Saint is very 
 elevated ; the flesh of a brownish tone, and well modelled. 
 But the horses, considering the time, are the most remarkable 
 portion, being well formed, and of much vivacity of action. 
 The landscape background already bears witness to his pecu- 
 liar excellence in that line. The centre picture has been 
 unfortunately much retouched. 
 
 In close approximation to this last work is the small altar- 
 piece, with the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus, already alluded 
 to, in St. Peter's at Louvain, and which was probably exe- 
 cuted in 1463 or 1464. The drawing of the Saint's body 
 shows an evident improvement upon the last picture. The 
 disagreeable effect of the peculiar martyrdom of this Saint, 
 whose bowels were wound out upon a windlass, is much 
 diminished, though somewhat at the expense of the truth 
 usually observed by the school in such scenes, by the absence 
 of blood, and of all distortion of the features. Some of the 
 heads are less warm and clear than usual, but the modelling 
 is throughout excellent. The drapery of St. Jerome, in the 
 wing, may be considered, in cast, colouring, and making out, 
 one of the most beautiful efforts of the whole school. The 
 landscape of the background is one of the finest examples of 
 the master's hand. 
 
 Immediately following may be placed the larger altarpiece, 
 completed in 1467, which is in the same church at Louvain. 
 and the centre of which represents the Last Supper. In 
 every portion of this work the painter appears at the very 
 zenith of his art. The figures of Christ and his Disciples 
 are distributed with great artistic judgment round a quad- 
 rangular table, and exhibit an admirable variety in action, 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 DIERICK STUERBOUT. 
 
 109 
 
 character, and expression. The noble head of the Saviour 
 forms a striking contrast to that of Judas, which is distin- 
 guished by its jet black hair and malignant expression. 
 I had on former occasions conjectured the head of one of 
 the subordinate figures to be the portrait of the painter. 
 Herr van Even, who is of the same opinion, has, in a well 
 known pamphlet, given an outline from a tracing of the 
 head, which is that of an elderly man of fine features, but 
 rather morose expression. The wings to this picture are 
 not less fine. Two of them, Abraham and Melchisedec, and 
 the Gathering of the Manna, are in the Munich Gallery, 
 Cabinets, Nos. 55 and 44 ; two others, Elijah in the Wilder- 
 ness fed by an Angel, and the first celebration of the Pass- 
 over, in the Berlin Museum, Nos. 533 and 539. The Gather- 
 ing of the Manna has suffered much by fresh glazings, but it 
 has, in common with the fourth-mentioned subject, a very 
 beautiful landscape. 
 
 The two pictures from the legend of the Emperor Otho, 
 though the largest and the latest by the master (executed 
 1468), are by no means the most satisfactory of his works. 
 The angular movements, over-long proportions, and meagre 
 limbs — in short, the weak points of the painter — are much 
 more conspicuously seen in figures the size of life than in 
 his smaller productions. At the same time, the vivacity of 
 the heads, the warm and vigorous colouring, though here and 
 there defaced by cleaning, and the thorough execution, suffice 
 to give these pictures no inconsiderable value as works of art. 
 
 [It is necessary to bear in mind that Dierick Bouts was 
 a contemporary of Hubekt Stuerbout, a painter at Lou- 
 vain, whose name appears in the civic accounts from 1439 
 to 1468. Hubert had a large family of sons, many of whom 
 were also painters.] 1 
 
 BiOGer van der Weyden the younger was the son and 
 scholar of the elder Roger. 2 But beyond this we know 
 nothing more than that he earned much by his art, was very 
 benevolent, and that he died in Brussels in 1529, at a great 
 
 1 [See Van Even's Louvain Monumental] 
 
 2 Sandrart distinctly says this ('Teutsche Academie,' p. 66) in his 
 notice on oil-painting. 
 
110 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 age, of the so-called English sweating sickness. 1 He ad- 
 hered throughout to the style of his father, to whom, in his 
 earlier works, he approaches very near. Later, however, 
 his proportions are not so long, his forms fuller, and his 
 drawing more delicate. This applies especially to his hands 
 and feet. On the other hand, he has little feeling for beauty, 
 and, while his motives are occasionally the reverse of beauti- 
 ful, his heads are frequently of a portrait-like and tasteless 
 character. In general, he shows greater softness of outline, 
 his flesh-tones are lighter and more broken, his lights of a 
 cooler red, his shadows clearer, and his treatment, finally, 
 broader. He appears especially to have devoted himself to 
 the representation of the sufferings of Christ, and to the 
 sorrow of the Virgin and the Disciples ; almost every picture 
 that is with any probability assigned to him belonging to this 
 class of subject. His mode of conception must have been 
 very congenial to the religious feeling of his period, for old 
 copies of his works abound. 
 
 His principal work is one originally executed for the 
 church of our Lady 11 Darbuyten," at Louvain, now in the 
 Sacristy of ; S. Lorenzo of the Escurial — a Descent from the 
 Cross, consisting of ten life-sized figures. 2 The Virgin has 
 fainted at the right of the body of Christ, which is supported 
 by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, and is upheld her- 
 self by one of the Maries and by St. John. At the feet of 
 Christ, in passionate but ungraceful gestures, is the Magdalen. 
 Behind the group of the Virgin is another woman weeping 
 and covering her face with a cloth. The animation and 
 
 1 Van Mander, plate 129 b. f. Because Van Mander in some respects 
 confounds him with his father, Wauters, and Crowe and Cavalcaselle after 
 him, deny his existence. With these opinions I cannot agree. See my 
 reasons in 'Kunstblatt' of 1847, p. 170, etc. Passavant also (see 
 above-mentioned work, p. 134, etc.), and Hotho, are of my opinion. 
 
 2 As I have not seen this picture myself, I adopt Passavant's descrip- 
 tion (see as before). I was, however, at one time inclined to agree with 
 "Wauters, who assigns this to the father (see p. 171), an opinion shared 
 by Crowe and Cavalcaselle (p. 185, etc.), who think that the specimen 
 in the Gallery at Madrid is the original. [Crowe and Cavalcaselle never 
 considered that the Descent from the Cross at the Escurial was by the 
 " elder " Van der Weyden. On the contrary, they say expressly [' Early 
 Flemish Painters,' 1st ed.. p. 186 ; 2nd ed., p. 197) that it is by a pupil 
 of that master, and that pupil is probably Dierick Bouts.] 
 
Chap. IT. SCHOOL OF VAN DER WEYDEN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 highly-wrought pathos, the careful drawing of every portion, 
 and especially of the Saviour's body, and that of the hands, 
 have at all times rendered this picture the object of great 
 admiration. Two of the contemporary repetitions of the pic- 
 ture are also by the painter ; one in the Madrid Gallery, No. 
 1046, 1 the other, dated 1488, in the Berlin Museum, No. 534. 
 
 Of the other works in Spain attributed by Passavant to 
 him, 2 1 only cite a small Crucifixion in the Gallery at Madrid, 
 with the false monogram of Albert Durer. 
 1 The Descent from the Cross, a small altarpiece, with 
 wings, in the Liverpool Institution, No. 42, 3 is of the earlier 
 time of the master, still hard in outline, but of great pathos. 
 
 Another Descent from the Cross, [formerly] in the collec- 
 tion of the Prince Consort at Kensington, No. 36. The great 
 warmth of colour, and the stricter carrying out, are again 
 proofs of his early time. 
 
 An Ecce Homo, and a Mater Dolorosa, both [at one time] 
 at Kensington ; half-length figures ; the Virgin of elevated 
 and intense feeling. 4 
 
 An Ecce Homo, in the collection of Mr. Green, of Hadley, 
 near Barnet, very like the foregoing. 
 
 An Entombment, once in the collection of Sir Culling 
 Eardley, at Belvedere, near Erith, of his earlier time. Of 
 great energy of feeling and colour. 5 
 
 A Descent from the Cross, in the Royal Gallery at Naples; 
 a very rich and beautiful composition, purchased about twenty 
 years ago. 
 
 The head of a Woman weeping, in the Gallery at Brussels, 
 of much truth and depth of expression. 6 
 
 1 1 Christliche Kunst in Spanien,' p. 134. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 137, 
 
 8 'Treasures of Art,' etc., vol. iii. p. 235. 
 
 4 ' Treasures,' etc., vol. iv. p. 226, etc. 
 
 5 Ibid. p. 278. 
 
 6 [Dr. Waagen, mindless of criticism which denies that there exists 
 any proof of the authorship of Roger van der Weyden the younger in 
 any extant picture, clung to his opinion with great persistency. He 
 was at last the only defender of this opinion, which I, amongst others, 
 cannot share.] 
 
112 
 
 DECLINE IN FLANDERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE EARLY FLEMISH SCHOOL, UP TO THE PERIOD OP 
 ITS TERMINATION. 
 
 1490—1530. 
 
 [At the period upon which we now enter, Flemish painting 
 still preserved its nationality ; but the forces which had been 
 at work to produce the great masters of the fifteenth century- 
 were nearly exhausted. All the vitality that was left was 
 directed into subordinate channels, and art entered upon a 
 phase of absolute decline. At Bruges, where John van Eyck 
 brought landscape to the highest perfection as subsidiary to 
 composition, a new race of craftsmen arose, which clung to 
 the models of its predecessors, and modified their principles 
 of distribution by making figures of less importance than 
 the surrounding distance. At Louvain the same process of 
 change led to the creation of a school of realistic expression. 
 In this way Gheerardt David of Bruges, and Quentin Massys 
 of Louvain, acquired positive importance in history; the 
 first because he was the leader of the movement which gave 
 prominence to Patenier and De Bles, the second because he 
 led in the introduction of those homely caricatures which 
 degenerated into the low, yet not untalented form of Jan 
 Steen.] 
 
 [Gheerardt David was born at Oudewater, between 
 Utrecht and Rotterdam, and wandered to Bruges, where he 
 took the freedom of the Painters' Guild in January, 1484. 
 He was fourth "vinder" of the Guild: first "vinder" in 1495 
 and 1498, and president or " dean " in 1501-2. He died on 
 the 13th of August, 1523, and was buried in Notre Dame of 
 Bruges. In 1498 he painted the Last Judgment for the 
 magistrates of the city; in 1507, for Jean des Trompes, the 
 well-known "Baptism of Christ," in the Academy of Bruges ; 
 in 1509, the Virgin and Child with Saints, in the Museum of 
 Rouen, which was presented by the artist himself to the 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 GHEERARDT DAVID. 
 
 113 
 
 sisters of the Carmelites of Sion at Bruges. That Joachim 
 Patenier was a direct pupil of Gheerardt is probable ; and 
 confirmation of this belief may be found in the fact that 
 when Joachim took the freedom of the Guild of Antwerp, in 
 1515, the name of " Meester Gheeraet van Brugghe " was 
 inscribed immediately after his, on the register of that cor- 
 poration. 1 The "Baptism" is a typical piece for those who 
 wish to acquaint themselves with David's manner. The 
 figures are underset and devoid of grace, in shape and face 
 reminiscent of Van Eyck and Memling ; but without the 
 manly strength of the first or the delicate feeling of the 
 second. In the variegated tones of the dresses harsh and 
 inharmonious contrasts vex the eye ; but the surface is bur- 
 nished, spotless, and clean, and modelled with such polish 
 that the touch is not to be distinguished in any part. To 
 the frigid metallic brilliance thus created additional coldness 
 is imparted by a bright landscape of trees and ground, the 
 detail and minutise of which are given as if the air was 
 saturated with moisture, and invisible to the eye. Foliage 
 is reproduced with due regard to form, and nature is equally 
 consulted in respect of leaf and branching. 
 
 In the spirit of this piece is the Madonna with Saints, in 
 the town Museum at Rouen, and a series of pictures in con- 
 tinental galleries, of which a short description is all that can 
 be attempted. The Virgin and Angel Annunciate, in the col- 
 lection of the Prince of Hohenzollern at Sigmaringen ; a 
 marvel of polished finish. The Virgin and Child, St. Catherine, 
 and other female saints in a landscape ; a panel of delicate 
 tone, made pallid by removal of glazes, in the collection of 
 Count Arco Valley at Munich. The Crucifixion (No. 573), in 
 the Museum of Berlin ; a glossy, gaudy, but wonderfully 
 minute panel, of enamel surface. A Nativity, in the National 
 Gallery at Madrid. An Epiphany (No. 45), at Munich, and 
 almost a replica of the same (No. 634), in the gallery of 
 Brussels. A Tree of Jesse, once in the Culling Eardley collec- 
 tion at Erith. The Marriage of Cana (No. 596), at the Louvre, 
 formerly in St. Basile at Bruges.] 2 
 
 1 [See De Liggeren, i. 83.] 
 
 2 [For David's life and works, consult Le Beffroi, Weale in vol. xx. of 
 the ' Gazette des Beaux Arts,' and ' Early Flemish Painters.' 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. Book III. 
 
 [Quentin Massys was born at Louvain in 1466, and brought 
 up by his father, who was a locksmith. Being the younger 
 of two sons, the elder of whom, Josse Massys, had elected 
 to follow the profession of a smith, clockmaker, and architect, 
 he took lessons in painting from a master at Louvain, whom 
 we may suppose to be Dierick Bouts, and in course of years 
 became a painter of name. In 1497 he changed his residence, 
 and settled at Antwerp, having joined the Painters' Guild in 
 1491. We may judge of the fairness of his repute from the 
 fact that he was employed in 1509 to paint a large altarpiece 
 for a chapel in St. Pierre of Louvain, and in 1517 to take the 
 likenesses of Erasmus and Egidius, which were presented by 
 the former to Sir Thomas More. Erasmus was acquainted 
 with all the painters of his time, and particularly with Holbein 
 and Durer. He may have induced the latter to pay Massys 
 the visit which we find noted in the Durer Diary of 1520. 
 Quentin died before Christmas, 1530.] 1 
 
 The style of Massys marks, popularly speaking, the close 
 of the last and the beginning of the next period. A number 
 of pictures, representing sacred subjects, exhibit, with little 
 feeling for beauty of forms, such delicacy of features and 
 earnestness of expression, tenderness and clearness of colour- 
 ing, and skilfulness of careful finish, as worthily recall the 
 religious spirit of the middle ages, though at the very ter- 
 mination of them. In his draperies also we observe a 
 tenderly broken tone, of the utmost charm, peculiar to him- 
 self. At the same time, in the subordinate figures introduced 
 into sacred subjects, such as the executioners, etc., he takes 
 pleasure in rendering coarse and tasteless caricatures. In 
 subjects also taken from common life, such as money-changers, 
 occasionally a loving couple, or a weazened old woman, he 
 uses his brush with evident zest, and with great success. 
 The pictures of his later time are also in this respect distin- 
 guished from those of most other Netherlandish painters, 
 inasmuch as his figures are three-quarter life size, or full life 
 
 1 [Consult E. van Even's Louvain Monumental ; the same author in 
 Le Beffroi, ii. 74 ; A. Woltmann and G. Kinkel, in 'Zeitschrift fur Bildende 
 Kunst,' i. 198 — 202, and iv. 197 ; Wornum, in Kinkel, u.s., the catalogue 
 of the Antwerp Gallery for 1857, and De Liggeren, i. p. 43.] 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 QUENTIN MASSYS. 
 
 115 
 
 size. His most important work is an altarpiece, painted 
 originally for the Joiners' Guild as an ornament of their 
 chapel in the Cathedral, 1 but now in the Museumof Antwerp, 
 Nos. 245-49, which he undertook in the year 1508. The 
 centre represents the Body of Christ after the descent from 
 the Cross, mourned over by his friends and the holy women : 
 the Virgin, sunk in the deepest grief, is supported by John ; 
 two venerable old men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, 
 sustain the head and the upper part of the body, whilst the 
 holy women anoint the wounds of the Saviour. The figures 
 are nearly the size of life, and so arranged that each appears 
 distinct and significant. On the right wing, the head of John 
 the Baptist is placed on the table of Herod, whilst musicians 
 — absurd and disagreeable figures — play on an elevated plat- 
 form. On the left wing is John the Evangelist in the caldron 
 of boiling oil, and the executioners, who, with brutal jests, 
 stir up the fire whilst the spectators are disputing. This 
 picture is highly finished in execution, full of reality, and 
 profound in the development of individual character. In the 
 mourning figures of the centre division a fine pathetic feeling 
 is expressed in all its various degrees. 
 
 The altarpiece in St. Peter's, at Louvain (in a side chapel 
 of the choir), represents the Virgin with the Child, and the 
 holy personages of her family ; on the side wings are scenes 
 from the life of her parents. [It is an important work, in- 
 scribed : " Quinte Metsys screef dees, a 0 . 1509." 
 
 More interesting still is the portrait of Egidius, at Longford 
 Castle; a noble likeness, framed together with that of Erasmus 
 by Holbein.] 2 
 
 A picture in the Berlin Museum, in which the Virgin is 
 seated on a throne kissing the infant Christ. In front, on a 
 small table, are articles of food, well painted, No. 561. This 
 
 1 See Sir Joshua Reynolds's Journey in Flanders, Works, vol. ii. p, 
 288, who says, " There are heads in this picture not exceeded by Raphael, 
 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." 
 
 2 [Egidius and Erasmus, at Longford, were considered in Dr. Waagen's 
 time to be by Holbein. Otto Mundler and others subsequently ex- 
 pressed the opinion that they were by Massys. Now it is agreed that 
 the Egidius is by Massys, the Erasmus by Holbein.] 
 
116 
 
 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. Book III. 
 
 already indicates a reference to earthly wants, which, like the 
 more animated movement of the whole picture, would have 
 been opposed to the feelings of the older masters ; but the 
 workmanship of the throne, particularly the agate pillars, 
 and their embossed capitals of gold, is executed entirely in 
 the serious style of earlier art. [A valuable picture in the 
 same feeling is the Virgin and Child (No. 237), in the Museum 
 of Amsterdam.] 
 
 Among the most original and attractive pieces by Massys 
 are the half-leDgth pictures of Christ and the Virgin. These 
 must have been very popular in his own time, for he has left 
 several repetitions of them. Two heads, of this class, of 
 marvellous delicacy of feeling, colouring, and expression, are 
 in the Museum at Antwerp, Nos. 241 and 242. Two others, 
 of equal beauty, only that the Christ is somewhat heavier in 
 tone, have passed from the collection of the King of Holland 
 into the National Gallery No. 295. Considering the rarity 
 of his pictures representing this class of religious subjects, I 
 may cite a Virgin and Child of his earlier period, in the hands 
 of the Kev. Mr. Eussell, Greenhithe, Kent ; a Mater Dolorosa, 
 belonging to the Kev. Mr. Heath, Enfield ; and a Virgin and 
 Child adored by SS. Catherine and Margaret, a picture of 
 the rarest delicacy, once in the possession of Alexander 
 Barker, Esq., and erroneously designated as an Albert Durer. 1 
 
 The most celebrated of his subject- pictures is that known 
 by the name of the Two Misers, at Windsor Castle, of which 
 a woodcut is subjoined. But I am not disposed to consider 
 this example, or others I know of the same composition, as 
 the originals, but rather as repetitions, and chiefly by his son, 
 Jan Massys. 2 A genuine and signed picture of this class is 
 that of a Changer of Money weighing gold, of the utmost 
 delicacy, in the Louvre, No. 279. 3 [Signed : " Quintin Matsijs 
 schildt, 1518." There are other pieces of this class which 
 
 1 Regarding other and chiefly earlier works, see my notice in the 
 'Kuntsblatt' of 1847, p. 202. 
 
 2 A close examination in the Manchester Exhibition, in 1857, con- 
 vinced me of this fact. 
 
 3 I have become convinced of the genuineness of this picture, in con- 
 tradiction to my formerly-expressed opinion, 'Kiinstlcr und Kunstwerke 
 in Paris,' p. 544. 
 
j. cccrc/7. st i 
 
 THE MISEKS. 
 
 A Painting by Quentin Massys at Windsor Castle. 
 
 page 116. 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 JAN MOSTAERT. 
 
 117 
 
 it may be of interest to note, viz. : a Lucretia, in the Belve- 
 dere at Vienna, and a replica, in the Eothschild collection in 
 Paris. Interesting in addition are the portraits of Massy s 
 and his wife and a St. Jerom, in the Uffizi at Florence.] 
 
 [The " double " of Quentin Massys, Marinus de Seew, of 
 Romerswalen, can only be mentioned here. He was a coun- 
 tryman of Mabuse, and lived chiefly in Zeeland, his speciality 
 was the painting of money-changers and shopkeepers, in 
 bright and pastose colours. The most accessible pictures of 
 this scarce master with which I am acquainted are these : 
 An Agent at his desk, with people attending to pay rent, in- 
 scribed, " Marin, im. fecit, a 0 . 1542;" and a Changer with his 
 wife weighing gold, signed, " Rogmerswalen, Marinus me 
 fecit, a°. 38," in the Munich Gallery. A replica of the last, 
 with the inscription, " Marinus me fecit, anno 1541," in the 
 Dresden Gallery. The same subject, ascribed to Quentin 
 Massys, in the Antwerp Museum. The same again, dated 
 1538, is in the Madrid Museum, together with a St. Jerom, 
 dated 1521, and a Customs Officer, in the Gallery of Copen- 
 hagen.] 1 
 
 [The field over which the annals of Flemish Netherlandish 
 art extends now becomes greatly enlarged. Whilst David 
 illustrates Bruges, and Massys Antwerp, numerous artists 
 attract attention at Haarlem, Maubeuge, Leyden, Dinant, 
 and Bouvines.] 
 
 Jan Mostaert, born at Haarlem 1474 ; died in the same 
 place in 1555 or 56. [The earliest notice of his employ- 
 ment on works of painting is a contract in which he 
 engages to execute the wings of an altarpiece on which St. 
 Bavon and twelve episodes of his life were to be placed. 
 These pictures were ordered for St. Bavon of Haarlem in 
 1500. The latest record which refers to the artist is a 
 petition addressed to the burgomaster of Haarlem, asking 
 permission for Mostaert to leave the city to work at an 
 altarpiece in the church of Hoorn. The petition is dated 
 
 1 [See Van Mander, 178, and Guicciardini's Low Countries. A replica 
 of the St. Jerom, inscribed, " Opus Marini de Rogmerswale, a. 1535," is in 
 the Acad, of S. Fernando at Madrid. See Dr. H. Liicke in Zahn's Jahr- 
 bueher, v. 226.]. 
 
118 
 
 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. Book III. 
 
 1549. 1 Mostaert was painter-in-ordinary to Margaret of 
 Austria for eighteen years.] In style of feeling and in 
 development of landscape this painter shows a close affinity 
 to the masters of Bruges. Besides treating subjects of a 
 religious order with an elevation and purity of feeling 
 remarkable at so late a period, he was also, according to the 
 evidence of Van Mander, a very popular portrait-painter. 
 The only authenticated pictures also by him are two por- 
 traits, distinguished by warmth and clearness of tone, and a 
 certain softness in the careful treatment, which are in the 
 Museum at Antwerp. 2 Another picture by him, in the 
 same gallery, No. 262, represents the Virgin and Child, 
 surrounded by four angels, three prophets, and two sibyls — 
 the latter with scrolls, on which are inscribed their prophecies 
 regarding the Incarnation. The features are pleasing, though 
 generally portrait-like. As the most important work, in my 
 opinion, by the master, I may mention a Virgin — represented 
 as the Mater Dolorosa — in the church of Notre Dame at 
 Bruges. Of the pictures by him in England I will only 
 instance the Entombment, belonging to the Rev. Mr. Heath, 
 at Enfield. 
 
 [Jan or Jannyn Gossart of Maubeuge 3 is the first of the 
 Flemings whose style was seriously modified by a journey 
 to Italy. He was the earliest of that numerous class of 
 artists "who transferred to Flanders the habit, then peculiar 
 to the Italians, of painting nudities." 4 The date of his 
 birth is unknown ; equally so that of his master ; but he 
 was admitted into the Guild of Antwerp in 1503 ; and he 
 practised at Antwerp till 1507, 5 After 1508, and before 
 1513, he visited Rome in the suite of Philip, natural son of 
 Philip the Good, who successively filled the offices of high 
 admiral in Zeeland and (1516) bishop at Utrecht. Till the 
 
 1 [See Van der Willigen's ' Artistes de Harlem,' 8vo. Harlem, 1870, p. 
 228.] 
 
 2 Judging from the armorial bearings upon them, these two portraits 
 were erroneously taken for those of Jacqueline of Bavaria, died 1436 ; 
 and of her husband, F. van Borselen, died 1470. 
 
 3 ["Johannes Malbodius," he signs himself ; and he is registered in 
 the Antwerp Guild as Jannyn van Hennegeuwe (Hainaut).] 
 
 4 [Van Mander, ed. of 1618, p. 146 retro.] 
 
 5 [De Liggeren, Part i., pp. 58, 63, 66.] 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 JAN VAN MABUSE. 
 
 119 
 
 death of Philip, in 1524, Mabuse remained in the service of 
 his princely protector, the colleague and associate for a time 
 of a Venetian, named Jacopo de Barbaris, who grafted the 
 style of Memling on that of the Bellini, in the same way as 
 Mabuse engrafted the manner of Filippino Lippi on that of 
 Quentin Massys. 1 So long as this patronage lasted the 
 painter prospered. He was known as "peintre de l'amiral; " 
 he painted for Christian II. of Denmark his dwarfs and 
 his children ; he made likenesses of royal personages for 
 Charles the Fifth, 2 and restored the pictures of Margaret of 
 Austria at Malines. He died at Antwerp on the 1st of 
 October, 1532. 3 ] 
 
 This painter, up to the period of his departure for Italy, 
 belongs to the style of the later Van Eyck school. Till 
 then he was unquestionably one of the first painters of the 
 Netherlands, displaying great knowledge of composition, able 
 drawing, warm colouring, an unusual mastery in the manage- 
 ment of the brush, and a solidity in the carrying out of 
 every portion such as few of his contemporaries attained. 
 His only deficiency consists sometimes in a certain coldness 
 of religious feeling. His principal picture belonging to this 
 period, and one inscribed with his name, is an Adoration of 
 the Kings, at Castle Howard, the seat of the Earl of Carlisle ; 
 a rich composition, of considerable size, and admirable 
 preservation. Next to this may be placed a picture repre- 
 senting the legend of the Count of Toulouse, who journeyed 
 as a pilgrim to Jerusalem. The event is represented with 
 the utmost truth. Now in the possession of Sir John 
 Nelthorpe, at his seat, Scawby, Lincolnshire. Finally, two 
 pictures in the Antwerp Museum — the Virgin lamenting, 
 with St. John, and other women, and the righteous judges, 
 a group of horsemen. 
 
 [A fine triptych in the Brussels Museum, of Christ in the 
 
 1 [Consult ' Germanicorum rerum Scriptores,' fol. (Frankfort, 1611) ; 
 W. Hedoe, Hist. Episc. Ultraject, and Chronic. Johannis de Beka.] 
 
 2 [See George Scharf's Royal Picture Galleries in ' History of Old 
 London,' p. 288, and his exhaustive statement in vol. xxxix of the 
 1 Archseologia.' There are several replicas of the picture in various 
 collections.] 
 
 3 [Pinchart, Annot., p. 319, and the same in 'Archives des Arts,' i. 181.] 
 
120 
 
 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. Book III. 
 
 house of Simeon, displays the style acquired abroad by 
 Mabuse, but of this period it will be necessary to speak at 
 more length in a subsequent chapter.] 1 
 
 [Jean Bellegambe of Douai, a contemporary of Mabuse, 
 whose style oscillates between that of Gossart and the dis- 
 ciples of Roger van der Weyden, is mentioned by Guic- 
 ciardini and Vasari. His great altarpiece, originally placed 
 (1511 — 1519) on the high altar of the abbey church of 
 Anchin, is now in the sacristy of Notre Dame at Douai, and 
 is well worthy of a visit. It represents the Trinity, between 
 the Virgin and the Baptist, and a whole court of Saints. 
 On the outer wings are portraits of the Abbot Charles Cokin, 
 attended by St. Charlemagne ; of the prior, supported by St. 
 Benedict ; and of numerous monks, all of them, as it were, 
 witnesses of the adoration of the cross by Christ and the 
 Virgin Mary.] 2 
 
 Cornelis Engelbrechtsen, born at Leyden 1468 ; died 
 1583. His only authenticated work is an altarpiece in the 
 Town Hall at Leyden : the centre picture representing the 
 Crucifixion ; the wings, the Sacrifice of Abraham, and the 
 Brazen Serpent, in their well-known symbolic meaning ; and 
 the Predella, the Restoration of the race of Adam by the 
 Atonement of Christ. In this picture the master departs 
 much from the painters preceding him. The heads of his 
 women, of a longish oval form, and with straight, pointed 
 noses, have a pleasing but monotonous type. The flesh- 
 tones are of a warm brown colour, but heavy, the outlines 
 hard, the effects crude, and the drawing moderate. 
 
 In Bruges the style of religious expression in art was pre- 
 served in the early Netherlandish form even up to the end 
 of the sixteenth century, though with greatly inferior feeling 
 and skill, by various masters. The most considerable painter 
 of this class is Peter Claeissens, by -whom is a large work, 
 dated 1608, representing the Virgin and Child, the Almighty 
 
 1 See chap. i. of Book iv. 
 
 2 [Vasari, u.s. xiii. 151. Guicciardini, Descrittione, p. 143. A. 
 Wauters, ' Jean Bellegambe de Douai/ 8vo., Brux. 1861. This picture 
 was usually assigned to Memling. See Viardot's ' Musees de Belgique,' 
 8vo., Paris, 1855, and M. Escallier's 'Abbaye d' Anchin.'] 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 LUCAS VAN LEYDEN. 
 
 121 
 
 with angels, and the founder, in the Hospital of the Poterie 
 at Bruges. 
 
 [Hieronymus van Aeken, commonly known as Jerom 
 Bosch, was born about 1460, at Herzogenbusch, where he 
 died in 1516. *] He distorted the fantastic element which 
 already existed in the school into a form of the ghostly and 
 demoniacal, in which he showed great talent. A Last Judg- 
 ment by him is in the [Academy at Vienna] ; a Tempta- 
 tion of St. Anthony, in the Antwerp Museum, No. 25. [There 
 are numerous pictures by Bosch in the Madrid Museum, some 
 of them careful, and finished to such an extent as to suggest 
 that but for the fantastic element which dwelt in the painter 
 he might have been a worthy rival of Hans Memling. The 
 gloomy character of his works is indeed frequently lost in 
 the grotesqueness of an exaggerated fancy ; but Philip II. 
 of Spain found a peculiar delight in this curious mixture, 
 and had one of Van Aeken's altarpieces in his oratory.] He 
 adopted the early technical process, and his execution was 
 sharp and careful. 
 
 Luc Jacobsz, called Lucas van Leyden, born 1494 ; died 
 1533. Scholar of Engelbrechtsen, an artist of multifarious 
 powers and very early development. He painted admirably, 2 
 drew, and engraved. He followed that realistic tendency in 
 the treatment of sacred subjects which Hubert van Eyck had 
 so grandly tracked, and lowered it greatly from its previous 
 elevation. His heads, for instance, are generally of very 
 ugly character. At the same time his form of art found 
 sympathy in the feeling of the period ; and by the skill with 
 which it was expressed, especially in his engravings, attracted 
 a number of followers. In scenes from common life he is 
 frequently full of truth and delicate observation of nature, 
 showing occasionally a coarse humour. Pictures by him 
 are very rare. One of the most important, at least in size, 
 though not a pleasing specimen, is a Last Judgment, in the 
 
 1 [See A. Pinchart's notices in 'Archives des Arts/ i. 268, and Dr. Julius 
 Meyer's 'Kiinstr. Lexikon.'] 
 
 2 [It cannot be said with truth that he painted admirably. His pic- 
 ture at Wilton House shows that he was an imitator of Massy s, that of 
 1522 at Munich proves that he was then an imitator of Mabuse.] 
 
122 
 
 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 Town House at Leyden. The old arrangement is adopted 
 in this picture : in the centre is the Judgment itself, and on 
 the wings Heaven and Hell ; the composition is strikingly- 
 poor and scattered ; the expression of heavenly joy singularly 
 flat and weak : in the figures of those risen from the dead 
 there is little more than a careful study of the nude. It is 
 only in a few instances, and those chiefly in the representa- 
 tion of Hell, that the figures or heads have any striking 
 expression. On the contrary, two figures of St. Peter and 
 St. Paul, on the outside of the wings, have great dignity, 
 both in attitude and drapery. A small and interesting pic- 
 ture, a company of men and women at a card-table, see 
 woodcut, is in the possession of the Earl of Pembroke, at 
 Wilton House; the outline is spirited, but rather sharp. A 
 beautiful and finely-painted work, of the year 1522, forms 
 part of the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 151. [It was 
 produced at the time of Albert Durer's visit to the Nether- 
 lands, and when Lucas was living free of the Guild at Ant- 
 werp.] 1 The composition consists of the Virgin and Child, 
 with Mary Magdalen, and a man praying at their side. Both 
 the style and the activity of this artist are far better estimated 
 by his numerous engravings, of which Bartsch cites no fewer 
 than 174, 2 some of which show considerable power. The 
 following are some of the most remarkable : Esther and 
 Ahasuerus, No. 31 ; the Adoration of the Kings, No. 37 ; 
 Christ shown to the People, No. 71 ; the Crucifixion, No. 
 74 ; the Return of the Prodigal Son, No. 78 ; the Dance of 
 the Magdalen, see woodcut, No. 122 ; and the Milkmaid, No. 
 158. The " Eulenspiegel," No. 159, is more celebrated for 
 its great rarity than for its artistic merits. The Temptation 
 of St. Anthony, No. 117, see woodcut, is remarkable as the 
 work of a boy of fifteen. 3 
 
 [Joachim Pateniek of Dinant or Bouvignes, though he was 
 
 1 [At Antwerp, no doubt, Lucas formed his pictorial style. Here he 
 had occasion to know Massys. He was just fresh from Middelburg, 
 where he had kept company with Mahuse. See Campe's 'Reliquien,' p. 
 136. Van Mander, u.s. 136, retro., and De Liggeren, i. 99.] 
 
 2 'Le Peintre Graveur,' vol. vii. p. 331. 
 
 3 [Admirable as a specimen of portrait is Lucas's portrait of himself, 
 in the edition of Van Mander, published in 1618.] 
 
A CARD P.ARTY. 
 
 By Lucas -van Leyrtec At Wiltou HctiSr>. page 102, No. 1 
 
From an Engraving by Lucas van Leyden 
 
 in the British Ikluseuin page 12C, No- 3. 
 
Chap. III. 
 
 JOACHIM PATENIER. 
 
 123 
 
 not apprenticed at Antwerp, matriculated in the guild of that 
 city in 1515, having previously served, as we may believe, 
 under Gheerardt David at Bruges. In the short space of 
 eight years he was widowed and left a widow. Albert Diirer 
 was present at his second marriage in 1521 ; two of his 
 children were left at his death (1524) under the guardianship 
 of Quentin Massys. Joachim became justly celebrated as a 
 painter, unjustly as a toper ; for it can be shown that Van 
 Mander was in error when he told how Patenier in his drunken 
 fits ill-treated Franz Mostaert. Franz was perhaps the pupil 
 of Henry Patenier, who was free of the Antwerp Guild in 1535. 
 He only joined the guild himself in 1553. Patenier modified 
 the style of Gheerardt David in so far that he intensified the 
 contrast already magnified by David between the breadth of 
 distance and the proportions of figures. He painted gospel 
 subjects in which the dramatis persona were subordinate to 
 wide expanses of landscape, derived, as Van Lokeren truly 
 observes, from the grand broken scenery of the valley of 
 the Meuse or the district of Ardennes. 1 In some pieces he 
 was fanciful, after the fashion of Jerom Bosch. The 
 most striking peculiarities of his style are stiffness in figures 
 and drapery, and minute detail in distances, unrelieved by 
 play of light and shade. Atmosphere and linear perspec- 
 tive are both wanting, and so the decline of Flemish art 
 from the standard of the Van Eycks is very apparent. At 
 Madrid, where there are six of his masterpieces, the Temp- 
 tation of St. Anthony is a lively example of the painter's 
 fantastic style, whilst the "Rest of the Virgin during the 
 Flight into Egypt " illustrates the quieter form of the master. 
 Another large landscape in the same collection represents 
 the Styx, across which Charon is taking the souls of the 
 departed. The first of these examples is repeated in a smaller 
 form in the Museum of Berlin.] 
 
 As an example of Patenier's earlier style as historical 
 painter, I may mention the Virgin with the Seven Sorrows, 
 holding the stiff and meagre body of the Saviour on her lap, 
 
 1 [See De Liggeren, i. 83, 124; Pinchavt, Annot. cclxxxiii.; Campe's 
 ' Reliquien,' 82, 119, 125, 126 ; and A. van Lokeren in 'Messager des 
 Sciences,' anno 1845, pp. 403 — 407.] 
 
124 THE DECLINE IN FLANDERS. Book III. 
 
 No. 28, in the Museum at Brussels. His Flight into Egypt, 
 in the Museum at Antwerp, No. 64; and his Crucifixion, 
 executed at a later time, [in the National Gallery, No. 715], 
 exhibit him more as a landscape painter. 
 
 [Herri de Bles may be identical with Herri de Patenier, 
 who took the freedom of the Guild of Antwerp in 1535. 1 
 His treatment of landscape is that of a follower of Joachim 
 Patenier. His conception of form and treatment of flesh 
 recall Mabuse. The dates usually assigned to his birth and 
 death, 1480 and 1550, are not to be relied upon. It is 
 possible to distinguish amongst the pictures attributable to 
 De Bles (they are all authenticated by the owl) a later and 
 an earlier period. In the latter he is careful enough, in the 
 former the human shape assumes an exaggerated type of 
 slenderness and mannered action. The colouring is usually 
 grey, but his late examples verge to a cold and unpleasant 
 dun. Van Mander describes a picture of a pedlar whose 
 store has been plundered by monkeys as a characteristic 
 work of the master. This picture is now in the Museum of 
 Dresden.] A male portrait, with landscape background, in 
 the Museum at Berlin, No. 624, is of his earlier time. A 
 Crucifixion (No. 718, in the National Gallery) is a particularly 
 good work of his middle period. An Adoration of the Kings, 
 signed with his name, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 
 91, belongs to his latest productions. 
 
 All these masters, from Quentin Massys downward, belong, 
 it is true, in colouring and technical characteristics, and 
 also partially in mode of conception, to the later branches 
 of the Van Eyck school : at the same time in many respects 
 they form the transition to the masters of the following 
 epoch. 
 
 1 [Consult De Liggeren, i. p. 124.] 
 
Chap. IV. 
 
 GERMAN ART. 
 
 125 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GERMAN SCHOOL, IN ITS TRANSITION FROM THE STYLE OF 
 THE PRECEDING- PERIOD TO THE REALISTIC TENDENCY. 
 
 1410—1460. 
 
 While Art in the Netherlands was carried, by means of the 
 brothers Van Eyck, to a high development of realism, the 
 Germans in all essentials continued to adhere to the style of 
 the former period, only admitting the influence of their 
 neighbours as far as it served to impart greater perfection 
 to their own modes of expression. The same noble type of 
 head, and feeling of spiritual purity, which distinguished 
 their conceptions of the Virgin, and of many of the saints, was 
 retained, and fuller and more natural forms superadded. 
 In some heads, however, a more portrait-like and often- 
 repeated physiognomy was introduced, and one which a 
 thick and large nose rendered by no means beautiful. The 
 proportions of the human figure, which before this epoch 
 were too long, became truer to nature, the separate forms 
 fuller and more correct, and the movements freer. The 
 rendering also of the quality of the draperies — such as gold 
 brocades, velvets, etc. — was introduced ; but, on the other 
 hand, the sharp and angular breaks were but occasionally 
 admitted. Weapons, crowns, and such articles became more 
 individual in character. Neither in colouring nor execution, 
 it is true, was the same power, and truth, and modelling, or 
 the same rendering of minute detail, aimed at as by the Van 
 Eycks ; at the same time their colouring, which shows much 
 feeling for harmony, became more vigorous, their modelling 
 more powerful, and their execution softer than in the pre- 
 ceding period. Least of all did they copy the Netherlandish 
 painters in the close delineation of the backgrounds, but con- 
 tented themselves with a general indication, retaining the 
 gold ground principally for the sky. 
 
 At this time the school of Cologne distinguished itself 
 
126 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 before every other in Germany, and attained, in the person 
 of Stephan Lochner, of Constance, called Meister Stephan, 
 whose later prime dates from 1442 to 1451 (the year of his 
 death), its highest form of originality. Although there is 
 no proof of his having been a scholar of Meister Wilhelm, 
 yet it is obvious that he formed himself from him. This 
 appears especially in his small Madonna, with the hedge of 
 roses, in the Museum at Cologne, which, in accordance with 
 M. Hotho, 1 I consider the earliest work we know by him. 
 Here much of the form of art and style of feeling belonging 
 to Meister Wilhelm is seen, only combined with greater ani- 
 mation and truth of nature. Next in date to this I place a 
 colossal Virgin and Child, which has been recently discovered 
 and which is now in the collection of the Archbishop of 
 Cologne. This picture shows a rare union of grandeur and 
 mildness of expression. But the most authentic, and at the 
 same time the principal, work of the master is the well-known 
 picture 2 which was originally painted for the chapel of the 
 Hotel de Ville, but has been for many years in a chapel of 
 the choir of Cologne Cathedral. It consists, as the accom- 
 panying woodcut shows, of a centre-piece with wings, on 
 which last, when closed, is seen the Annunciation. In the 
 inside, on the centre picture, is the Adoration of the Kings — 
 the Virgin is seated on a throne, in a dark-blue mantle lined 
 with ermine ; at her side are the two elder kings kneeling : 
 the younger one and the attendants stand around. On the 
 side panels are the patrons of the city — on the right St. 
 
 1 ' Malerschule Hubert's van Eyck,' vol. i. p. 398. 
 
 2 That the statement in Albert Durer's Journal of his having paid 
 two silver pennies for the unlocking of the picture refers to this cathe- 
 dral picture may be now accepted as certain. In addition to this, M. 
 Merlo (see 'Die Meister der Altcolnischen Schule,' Coin, 1852) has 
 recently discovered in old registers, of the years 1442 and 1448, the 
 name of a painter, Stephan Lochner, of Constance, who owned a house 
 in Cologne ; also, in the protocols of the Council- chamber, it appears 
 that the same was twice chosen by his guild as councillor, and that he 
 died in 1451, the last year of his office. It being thus proved that this 
 Stephan Lochner was a painter of great consideration in his time, I 
 quite agree with that profound art-critic, M. Sotzmann (see ' Deutches 
 Kunstblatt,' 1853, No. 6), that he was identical with the Meister 
 Stephan mentioned by Albert Diirer, and therefore the painter of the 
 cathedral picture. 
 
Chap. IV. 
 
 STEPHAN LOCHNER. 
 
 127 
 
 Gereon, in his armour of gold and surcoat of blue velvet, 
 surrounded by his men-at-arms ; on the left St. Ursula, with 
 her escort and her host of virgins. 
 
 This picture is remarkable for its solemnity and simple 
 dignity of composition, for the depth and force of tone, and 
 the beauty and harmony of its colour, which, in spite of the 
 usual disadvantages of tempera, here approaches in splen- 
 dour the effects of Venetian oil-painting. The arrangement 
 of the figures is grand and simple, and the execution of the 
 rich details finished with the greatest care. A feeling of 
 ideal grace and beauty is breathed over the whole work, and 
 is just as conspicuous in the loveliness of the Virgin with 
 the divine Child as in the serene dignity of the kings who 
 worship, and the youthful fulness of form and tenderness of 
 expression in the holy virgins and the knights who accom- 
 pany them. 
 
 Judging from the strong influence of the Van Eyck school 
 seen in this work — from the individuality of many of the 
 heads, the rendering of the materials of the draperies, and 
 the sharp and angular breaks of the folds in the Annuncia- 
 tion — it may be considered to have belonged to the latest 
 and maturest time of the master. This is corroborated by 
 a work in the Darmstadt Museum — the Presentation in the 
 Temple, bearing date 1447 — which, although nearly related 
 to the cathedral picture, is less developed in form of art. 
 England also possesses at least one specimen of this rare 
 master, of his somewhat earlier time, representing SS. 
 Catherine, Matthew, and John the Evangelist [No. 705 in the 
 National Gallery]. 
 
 Among the number of pictures executed in part under the 
 direction of Meister Stephan, and partly under his influence, 
 and which are now distributed principally in the galleries of 
 Cologne and Munich, and in the chapel of St. Maurice at 
 Nuremberg, the compartments of a former altar-picture be- 
 longing to the Abbey of Heisterbach, near Bonn, are parti- 
 cularly remarkable. The single figures of saints in the 
 Munich Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 1 and 2, approach nearest in 
 character to Meister Wilhelm ; the Annunciation, Visitation, 
 Nativity, and the Adoration of the Kings, Cabinets, Nos. 3, 
 
128 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 6, 7, 8, show, on the other hand, in the rounder forms of 
 the heads, and in other respects, the prevailing influence of 
 Meister Stephan. The same may be said of two pictures in 
 the Berlin Museum — the Adoration of the Cross and of the 
 Kings, Nos. 1205 and 1206. 
 
 Yery characteristic of the course taken by the Cologne 
 school of painters at this time is the altar-picture, the 
 centre-piece of which is the Last Judgment, in the Museum 
 at Cologne. 1 Although the character of Meister Stephan is 
 still somewhat retained in the ideal figures of Christ, the 
 Virgin, John the Baptist, etc., yet the early refinement of 
 religious feeling is wanting in them, and also in the other- 
 wise admirably rendered saints on the wings, in the Munich 
 Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 13 and 14. At the same time, in 
 the figures of those risen from the grave, and especially in 
 those of the condemned, as well as in the accessories, a 
 decidedly realistic feeling prevails. Side by side with the 
 most surprising freedom of action and truth of expression 
 are seen disgusting exaggerations and great coarseness of 
 form and colour. According to the costume worn by the 
 excellently-portrayed founder, the execution of the picture 
 may be assigned to about 1450-60. 2 How long, in some 
 instances, the early tendency was still retained is shown by 
 a Crucifixion, dated 1458, in the Museum at Cologne, and 
 also by a Virgin and Child with two saints, and the numerous 
 family of the founder, dated 1474, in the church of St. Andrew 
 in the same city. 
 
 Next in succession to Cologne, the town of Nuremberg, 
 judging from the few specimens preserved, seems to have 
 done most in the way of painting at this period, although not 
 a single name of a master has descended to us. I proceed 
 to mention a few of the most notable pictures. On a pier 
 in the nave of the church of St. Sebaldus is a Crucifixion, 
 with the Virgin and St. John; on the inner sides of the 
 
 1 I agree with M. Hotho, 'Malerschule Hubert's van Eyck,' vol. i. 
 p. 413. in not attributing this work to Stephan Lothener, as others have 
 clone. 
 
 2 [The rest of this altarpiece, representing the martyrdoms of the 
 twelve Apostles, is No. 62, 63, in the Stiidel collection at Frankfort.] 
 
Chap. IT, 
 
 GERMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 129 
 
 wings SS. Barbara and Catherine ; on the outer sides Christ 
 on the Mount of Olives, and the portrait of the foundei ; 
 and on a pair of stationary wings St. Erasmus and another 
 Bishop. 
 
 An altarpiece, formerly on the high altar in the church 
 of the Chartreuse, now in the church of our Lady. 
 The centre contains the Crucifixion, the Annunciation, 
 and the Resurection of Christ; the wings the Nativity 
 and the Apostle Peter. This may be a somewhat later 
 work by the same hacfd. 1 It shows many features taken 
 from nature, and careful modelling. The master also, 
 who painted an obituary picture — the Nativity — dated 
 1430, dedicated to the memory of Frau Waldburg Priin- 
 sterin, in the church of our Lady at Nuremberg, deserves 
 notice. 
 
 An altarpiece, dedicated to St. Theocarus, in the church 
 of St. Lawrence, containing the Transfiguration, the Mira- 
 culous Draught of Fishes, and four events from the life of 
 the Saint.. Though still essentially adhering to the forms of 
 the former epoch, this picture shows a respectable stage of 
 advancement. 
 
 Finally, a Virgin and Child in the Sacristy of the church 
 of St. Lawrence, dedicated to Margaretta Imhof (died 
 1449) and her son, is remarkable for the elevation of con- 
 ception in the head of the Virgin, for the far advanced 
 individuality of the portraits, and for good modelling in a 
 transparent tone. 
 
 It is evident also that in Swabia, at this period, there 
 was a successful effort to combine a more natural treat- 
 ment of detail with the ecclesiastical forms of conception 
 belonging to the former epoch. This appears especially 
 in an altar-picture, dedicated to the Magdalen, at Tiefen- 
 bronn, executed in 1431 by Lucas Mosek. The wings con- 
 tain events from the legends of the Magdalen, and also 
 from those of Martha and Lazarus ; the predella repre- 
 sents Christ, and the five wise and five foolish Virgins. 
 The modelling in a warm colour of the pleasing heads is 
 
 1 Hotho, vol. i. p. 478, etc. 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 very careful, and hands and feet are of striking truth of 
 nature. 1 
 
 As regards the neighbouring territory of Alsace, a similar 
 stage of painting is shown by a Bible with miniatures, com- 
 pleted in 1428, and now in the Royal Library at Munich. 
 The portrait of a Bishop, for whom it was executed, is already 
 very individual. One Johann Fkeybechk, from the convent 
 of Konigsbriick, in Alsace, mentions himself at the close of 
 the MS. as its author ; whether he took part in the pictures 
 it contains would be difficult to say.^» 
 
 A large Missal, executed in the years 1447-8, for the Em- 
 peror Frederick III., and now in the Imperial Library at 
 Vienna, No. 1767, gives the same evidence as regards the art 
 of painting in Austria. 3 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE GEKMAN SCHOOLS WHICH ADOPTED THE EEALISTIO 
 TENDENCY OF THE VAN EYCKS. 
 
 1460—1500. 
 
 Of the numerous Germans who were induced to wander to 
 Brussels to study under Roger van der Weyden, two — Martin 
 Schongauer and Friedrich Herlen — are known to us by 
 name ; but it is probable that these were only the chief of a 
 large band, which, returning to its home after 1460, gave 
 currency to the style of the Flemish master. In various parts 
 of Germany local art was deeply modified by this infusion 
 of new elements, and German painting received quite a new 
 impress from them, but the change was effected on the whole 
 without detriment to the development of peculiar German feel- 
 ing. Looking at the painters of the latter half of the fifteenth 
 century in the mass, we observe that they were better trained 
 
 1 Hotho, vol. i. p. 460, etc. 
 
 2 See article by me in 'Kunstblatt* of 1850, p. 323. 
 8 Ibid., p. 324. 
 
Chap. V. SCHOOL OF COLOGNE AND LOWER RHINE. 131 
 
 as composers, and preserved, far more than the Flemings, the 
 art of conceiving and distributing figures in a given space. 
 They displayed more cleverness as draughtsmen, and a nobler 
 sense as designers of heads of a higher and more ideal beauty ; 
 whilst in the attempt to contrast the dignified form of sacred 
 personages with the coarser one of common individuals, they 
 fell into caricatures much more repulsive than those of their 
 Flemish brethren. In their arrangement of drapery they pre- 
 served and exaggerated the tendency of the Van Eycks to 
 break the folds into angular corners. In many respects they 
 remained far behind their originals : namely, in graceful motion 
 and attitude, their figures being more awkward and lame ; in 
 feeling for colour, their tints being more garish, heavy, or dull ; 
 in light and shade, or distribution, their incapacity for produc- 
 ing effect by a vivid flash of light being very marked. For a 
 long time they kept the habit of gold grounds, or confined 
 themselves to the simplest lines as indications of space. In 
 their treatment they were also defective. Their outlines 
 were harder, their power of rendering detail was slighter. 
 Painting was carried on mechanically so far that the best 
 masters rarely carried out the works entrusted to them with 
 their own hands, confiding, some more, some less, to their 
 assistants. We must ascribe to this cause the startling in- 
 equality apparent in pictures authenticated alike by inscrip- 
 tions and by records. If, however, in the main, all the German 
 schools show the same results of Flemish teaching, the in- 
 fluence of that teaching upon each of them was varied and 
 diverse. 
 
 THE SCHOOL OF COLOGNE AND THE LOWER RHINE. 
 
 In point of power of colouring and solidity of technical 
 execution, the masters of this part of Germany approach very 
 nearly to the Van Eyck school, though possessing slight 
 peculiarities of their own. 
 
 In Cologne we are met by an anonymous painter, who, 
 according to inscriptions on his pictures, flourished from 
 1463 to 1480, and who, from one of his chefs-d'oeuvre, once 
 
132 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 in possession of M. Lyversberg of Cologne, 1 representing 
 the Passion in eight compartments, has received the name of 
 the Master of the Lyversberg Passion. 2 It is true that most 
 of the compositions are arbitrary in arrangement, the effect 
 of colour hard, and the figures of the guards of repelling 
 coarseness ; but, on the other hand, the head of Christ is 
 dignified, and there is an elevated pathos in many of the 
 other heads. Another altarpiece by the same hand, in the 
 church of Linz on the Rhine, dated 1462, containing scenes 
 from the life of the Virgin, the Passion, and the portrait of 
 the founder, the Canon Tilmann Jael, shows a more advanced 
 stage of art. In some of the pictures, for instance in the 
 Coronation of the Virgin, a more successful general effect is 
 apparent ; the Virgin herself also is of a lofty character of 
 physiognomy. In another large altarpiece, at Sinzig on the 
 Rhine, with the Crucifixion as centre piece, he again appears 
 to more advantage. But his best work, as respects compo- 
 sition, beauty, and originality of motives, and animated and 
 truthful heads of striking expression, is a Descent from the 
 Cross, dated 1480, in the Museum of Cologne. (The wings 
 are a later addition.) Of his numerous specimens in the 
 Munich Gallery, an altarpiece with wings [from St. Ursula at 
 Cologne], on which are the Apostles and John the Baptist, 
 the Marriage and Coronation of the Virgin, and Joachim and 
 Anna at the Golden Gate, Nos. 21 — 26, is the most remark- 
 able. On the last-mentioned number appears the animated 
 portrait of the founder of the whole series, an ecclesiastic of 
 the name of Johann de Mechlinn. The master we have been 
 describing had a large number of followers, but one and all 
 so far inferior and more mechanical, that it is not necessary 
 to instance a single example of the many pictures by them in 
 the Cologne Museum and elsewhere. They show a decided 
 degeneration of the school to the close of the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 Another master of merit is Jan Joest, painter of the picture 
 
 1 [Since] the property of Mr. Baumeister, at Cologne. 
 
 2 According to the arbitrary designation given by the Messrs. Boisserde 
 to the works of this master in the gallery at Munich, and in the chapel 
 of St. Maurice at Nuremberg, they continued till quite lately to bear 
 the name o*, Israel van Meckenen. 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 SCHOOL OF WESTPHALIA. 
 
 133 
 
 on the high altar of the church at Calcar, representing the 
 Death of the Virgin. Joest died at Harlem, 1519. 
 
 In the adjacent district of Westphalia a style of art was 
 developed, which, in many respects, succeeded in combining 
 the ideal feeling of the last epoch with the more realistic 
 tendency which succeeded it. The most remarkable speci- 
 mens of this kind are the relics of a large altarpiece in the 
 former monastery of Liesborn, near Miinster, dated 1465, 
 which were long in the possession of M. Kriiger at Minden, 
 and some of which are in the National Gallery, Nos. 260 and 
 261. They consist principally of the half-length figures of 
 six saints, and of the subjects of the Annunciation and Pre- 
 sentation. The heads are attractive for the purity of religious 
 feeling and the expression of peace which pervade them, with 
 which the clear and cheerful colouring is in unison. As 
 regards truth of nature in the rendering of parts, however, 
 they bear no comparison with the contemporary Netherlandish 
 painters. The pictures of a Soest master, who has signed his 
 name as " Jarenus " on a Pieta in the collection of the Earl 
 of Pembroke at Wilton House, show the fusion of the qualities 
 of both schools to less advantage. The centre picture of a 
 large altarpiece by this master, in the Berlin Museum, No. 
 1222, 1 representing several scenes from the Passion, is 
 especially overladen and confused. The most successful in 
 composition, colour, and execution, are four pictures belong- 
 ing to one wing of this altarpiece, No. 1233, 1 viz. the Annun- 
 ciation, the Nativity, the Presentation, and the Adoration of 
 the Kings. At a later period the school of Westphalia takes 
 a lower place than the other schools of Germany ; as examples 
 of which I may mention a large altar-picture by the brothers 
 Victor and Heinrich Dunwege, in the parish church of 
 Dortmund, the centre of which contains the Crucifixion, and 
 the inner sides of the wings the Adoration of the Kings, the 
 Virgin and Child, and the Mother of Zebedee's children, 
 with her sons, and other relatives of the Virgin ; a subject 
 which is called in Germany " a Holy Kith-and-Kin picture." 
 Although the picture is known to have been painted in 
 1523, it shows in its gold background, its hard and crude 
 1 These are regarded as doubtful, and are not now exhibited. 
 
134 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 colouring, and in the style of treatment, quite the form of 
 art belonging to the fifteenth century. At the same time 
 many of the heads are very animated, and of warm and 
 vigorous colour. A Crucifixion nearly related to the above- 
 mentioned pictures, only with a landscape background, is in 
 the Berlin Museum, No. 1194 [now withdrawn], 
 
 A similar absence of participation in the progress of the 
 period is betrayed, as regards Lower Saxony, by the painter 
 Johann Raphon von Eimbeck, by whose hand is an altar- 
 piece, dated 1508, in the choir of Halberstadt Cathedral. 
 The centre represents the Crucifixion — a rather over-crowded 
 composition — the wings, the Annunciation, Adoration of the 
 Shepherds, of the Kings, and the Presentation. The heads 
 are. lively and various in character, but at the same time 
 somewhat coarse ; the colouring of the flesh rather heavy 
 and untrue, and cold in the lights. 
 
 In the department of the Middle Rhine, at Frankfort-on- 
 the-Maine, we meet with the painter Conrad Fyoll, the 
 notices of whom extend from 1461 to 1476. 1 He has some- 
 thing tender and mild in his heads, and a delicate, silvery, 
 and, upon the whole, cool tone in his flesh. A large altar- 
 piece in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort is a principal pic- 
 ture by him. The centre contains the family of St. Anna, 
 the wings the Birth and Death of the Virgin. A smaller 
 altarpiece, with St. Anna and the Virgin and Child in the 
 centre, No. 575, and SS. Barbara and Catherine and the 
 Annunciation on the wings, No. 575, a, b, are in the Berlin 
 Museum. [The attribution to Fyoll is somewhat doubtful.] 
 
 By far the greatest German painter of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury was Martin Schongauer, commonly called Martin 
 Schon, who flourished on the Upper Rhine. [The placr 
 of his birth is contested ; it has been described alternately 
 as Augsburg, Colmar, and Ulm. Hassler concedes that 
 antiquarian research has not given any support as yet 
 to the claim of Ulm, and Augsburg seems at best to have 
 been the residence of the family from which he descended. 2 
 
 1 Passavant Kunstblatt, 1841, No. 101. 
 
 2 [Dr. R. D. Hassler, Ulm's Kunstgeschichte in C. Heideloff s Die 
 Kunst des Mittelalters in Schwaben, u. s., p. 118.] 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 MARTIN SCHONGAUER. 
 
 135 
 
 In the Pinakothek at Munich we find a portrait of Schon- 
 gauer, inscribed " Hipsch Martin Schongauer Maler, 1453," 
 the counterpart of one with the same inscription ascribed to 
 " Giovanni Larkmair " (!) in the Spannocchi collection at 
 Sienna. The Munich replica is catalogued in Murr's catalogue 
 of the Praun collection at Nuremberg, under the name of 
 Hans Leykmann(!). It bore then, as it does now, a paper 
 pasted on the back of the panel, with words in German writ- 
 ing of the sixteenth century, to this effect : that " Master 
 Martin Schongauer, called Hupsch Martin, by reason of his 
 skill as an artist, was born at Colmar of a family of Augsburg 
 citizens, and died at Colmar, on the day of Mary's Purification 
 (Feb. 2nd), in 1499 ; that the writer was Hans Leykmann, 
 Schongauer's pupil in 1483." 1 Modern critics, and particu- 
 larly Marggraff, read the last sentence of this statement 
 so that the writer was " Hans Burgkmair, Schongauer's 
 pupil in 1488 ; " but there is no reason why we should 
 not read 1483 instead of 1488, for Burgkmair may well 
 have been apprenticed as a boy to Schongauer, and the 
 reading of " Burgkmair" might explain the ascription of the 
 portrait at Sienna to " Larkmair." 2 Waagen was not inclined 
 to accept the paper on the back of the Munich portrait as a 
 genuine document ; and he was supported in his view by an 
 entry in the register of the parish of St. Martin of Colmar, 
 discovered by Mr. Hugot, stating that Schongauer died at 
 Colmar on the day of Mary's Purification, lxxxviii. 3 It 
 may be, however, that Mr. Hugot's entry is falsified by the 
 neglect of some ciphers, and this is considered probable, 
 amongst others, by as able a judge as Schnaase. 4 The age 
 of "Hipsch Martin," in the portraits of Sienna and Munich, 
 has been guessed at thirty-three by Passavant, who so dates 
 
 1 [C. T. de Murr, ' Description du Cabinet de M. P. de Praun,' 8vo. 
 Nuremberg, 1797, p. 20.] 
 
 2 [Dr. Rudolf Marggraff, 'Die altere Kgl. Pinakothek zu Miinchen,' 
 12mo, 1869, note to p. 161, reads 1488. Others, ex. gr., Woltmann, read 
 1483, which is the version in Murr.] 
 
 3 [Waagen, 'Handbook,' p. 130. Hugot in 'Kunstblatt,' 1841, p. 59 ; but 
 see a modification of Waagen's opinions in his ' Handbuch,' 1862, p. 
 173.] 
 
 4 [Schnaase (K.) Mittheilungen der Central Commission, Juli, 1863, 
 p. 185 and following.] 
 
136 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 his birth in 1420, but this is not acquiesced in by other 
 writers. 1 There is no doubt that Schongauer was a pupil of 
 Van der Weyden, for the fact is stated by Lambert Lombard, 
 a painter of the sixteenth century, in a long and interesting 
 ' letter to Vasari, containing valuable information as to this and 
 other craftsmen in the Netherlands. 2 What we know of 
 Schongauer as a painter is very slight ; and although it is 
 usual to ascribe a few pictures to him, and a description of 
 some of these may be attempted . here, it is well to bear in 
 mind that there is no authority for assigning them to the 
 master except tradition.] 
 
 In a number of engravings from designs of his own, 
 Schongauer appears as an artist of great powers of invention 
 in the department of ecclesiastical art, both in the representa- 
 tion of single figures, and also frequently in that of very 
 animated compositions. In this respect, as well as in his 
 feeling for beauty and spirituality, in which he greatly refined 
 and individualised the tendency of the former period, he 
 excels his great master Koger, and attained a European 
 reputation. Among his most admirable engravings are the 
 Death of the Virgin (Bartsch, No. 33) ; the Bearing of the 
 Cross (No. 21); the Annunciation, see woodcut No. 1 ; those 
 of the Passion (Nos. 9 — 20), of which see woodcut No. 2, of 
 Christ appearing to the Magdalen ; the Wise and Foolish 
 Virgins (Nos. 77 — 86). Fantastic subjects he treats very 
 rarely, though with great energy, as in his plate of the Temp- 
 tation of St. Anthony (Bartsch, No. 47)* see woodcut, of 
 which Vasari testifies that Michael Angelo made a pen copy 
 in his youth. Occasionally this great master exhibits a 
 sound vein of humour in scenes from common life ; as, for 
 instance, in his Donkey Driver (Bartsch, No. 89). He is 
 powerful in drawing, although his limbs, and especially his 
 hands, are meagre. His drapery is more or less disfigured 
 by sharp and angular breaks. His pictures show a warm, 
 powerful, and transparent colour. His outlines are more 
 
 1 [Passavant in ' Kunstblatt,' 1846 p. 167, and Harzen, contra, in a life 
 of Zeitblom in Naumann's Archiv, 1860, p. 8.] 
 
 2 [Lambert Lombard to Vasari, Liege, April 27th, 1565, in Gaye's 
 ' Carteggio,' iii. 173 and following.] 
 
THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 From an Engraving by Martin Sehongauer in the British Museum. 
 
 page 130, No- 1 
 
From an Engraving by Martin Schongauer in tne British Museum, 
 
 page 136, No 3 
 
ST. ANTHONY TORMENTED BY DEMONS. 
 An Engraving by Martin Schongauer, -which Michael Angelo is said to have copied. 
 
 From the British Museum. page J 36, No. 3. 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 MARTIN SCHONGAUER. 
 
 137 
 
 flowing, but his treatment is less true and less blended, than 
 that of Van der Weyden. He cared little for finish in dis- 
 tances, and sometimes even resorts to gold ground. Of the 
 number of pictures attributed to him in various public and 
 private galleries the majority are by other painters after his 
 engravings. The following alone I am inclined to consider 
 genuine : — 
 
 The Death of the Virgin, a small picture, from the gallery 
 of the King of Holland, afterwards in the collection of M. de 
 Beaucousin at Paris, and now in the National Gallery. I 
 believe this to be the earliest work we know by him. It is 
 of the rarest beauty, but at the same time displays, in con- 
 ception, glow of colour, and exactitude of execution, some- 
 thing of Roger van der Weyden ; belonging therefore to a 
 time when the influence of that master was still fresh upon 
 him. Martin Schongauer's peculiar type of head is, however, 
 already very distinctly visible in those of the Virgin, and of 
 the Almighty, who appears in the sky. 
 
 [Better still, if it be possible, is the Nativity, a small panel 
 of great power and feeling, in the palace of the Duke della 
 Grazia at Palermo.] 
 
 But Schongauer's most important picture, and the one 
 which, by comparison with his engravings, is the best 
 authenticated, is that of the Virgin in a bower of roses in 
 St. Martin's church at Colmar. The Virgin — fully the size 
 of life — is seated on a grass-bank, with the Child on her lap ; 
 her features are noble and pure in expression, and her red 
 drapery has a very luminous effect. The two angels sus- 
 pending the crown over her head are very graceful ; the 
 hedge of roses, with the birds nestling in it, completes the 
 cheerful naive impression of the picture ; the flesh-tones are 
 clear and warm, and the painting of great finish. 
 
 Next to this we may place two wings from the monastery 
 of St. Anthony at Issenheim, now in the Civic Library at 
 Colmar ; the inner sides containing the Child adored by the 
 Virgin, and St. Anthony the Hermit, with the donor; the 
 outer, the Annunciation. The ideal and slightly longing 
 expression reminds us of Perugino ; the Virgin in both the 
 pictures has finely arched eyelids, and features of regular 
 
138 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 beauty. The Child, on the other hand, T 7hich is of masterly 
 modelling, and obviously painted closely from nature, exhibits 
 a very forcible realistic feeling. The colouring is warm, and, 
 in the dignified St. Anthony, of great depth. The treatment 
 is somewhat broad, and, in the rendering of the outlines, a 
 more draughtsmanlike hand is distinctly seen. 
 
 Slighter works, but of spirited character, are the Descent 
 from the Cross, and the Entombment, part of a series of 
 pictures in the same place ; the other twelve of which were 
 executed partly by a tolerably skilful artist, and partly by 
 one of a more mechanical character. 
 
 A good, though not important work, is the youthful David 
 with the head of Goliath, returning surrounded by warriors, 
 and greeted with music by the maidens. In the Munich 
 Gallery, Cabinets, No. 145. 1 
 
 Another picture, representing Pilate asking the Jews 
 whether he shall deliver to them Christ or Barabbas, in the 
 collection of Mr. Green, of Hadley, near Barnet, agrees in so 
 many respects with Martin Schon's engraving, that, in spite 
 of the feebleness of the colour, I am inclined to consider it 
 his work. 2 
 
 Frederick Herlen is a master who acted very decidedly 
 upon the character of Swabian art. [As early as 1449, and 
 up to 1454, he was a citizen of Ulm.] 3 A contemporary 
 record of the year 1467, which states that, owing to his 
 knowledge of the Netherlandish practice, he was admitted 
 gratuitously to the privileges of a citizen of Nordlingen, 4 and 
 the striking imitation of well-known works by Roger van der 
 Weyden the elder in his pictures, leave no doubt of his 
 having learned his art from that master. His real significance 
 seems, indeed, to have consisted in his thus importing the 
 art of the Van Eyck school into Upper Germany ; for he 
 neither displays any particular originality of his own, nor 
 does he attain to the feeling and conscientious execution of 
 
 1 [This picture is truly assigned in Marggraff's catalogue to Hans 
 Schuhlein.] 
 
 2 ' Treasures of Art/ vol. ii. p. 459. 
 
 3 [See Professor Hassler's 'Ulm's Kunstgeschichte,' 1864, in Heideloff's 
 * Kunst in Schwaben,' u. s., p. 117.] 
 
 4 'Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 353. 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 FREDERICK HERLEN. 
 
 139 
 
 his model. Suffice it, therefore, to mention a few of his chief 
 works : as, for instance, the separately-placed wings of an 
 altar in the church at Nordlingen, dated 1462, 1 representing 
 the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Adoration of the Kings 
 and of the Shepherds, the Presentation in the Temple, the 
 Circumcision, the Flight into Egypt, and the youthful Christ 
 teaching in the Temple. The wings of the high altar in the 
 church at Rothenburg on the Tauber, chiefly the same sub- 
 jects, but less delicately painted. 2 Pilate showing Christ to 
 the people, dated 1468, in the church at Nordlingen ; 3 and 
 finally, in the same church, the Virgin enthroned with the 
 Child, with the kneeling figure of Herlen himself with four 
 sons presented by St. Joseph, and his wife with five daughters 
 presented by St. Margaret — doubtless the offering of the 
 painter. This picture, which bears date 1488, shows that 
 his art had become coarser in character. He died 1491. 
 
 The painters of the Swabian school retained in a higher 
 degree than any other the style of art thus introduced by 
 Frederick Herlen. This is evidenced by their realistic concep- 
 tion in its nobler form, by their feeling for warm flesh tints, 
 by harmonious contrasts of colours, by their soft and blend- 
 ing, more than draughtsmanlike, use of the brush. Nor in 
 their drapery did they fall into such numerous, arbitrary, 
 and sharp breaks as are shown in the productions of the 
 other provinces of Germany. On the other hand, they may 
 be distinguished from their Netherlandish models in many 
 instances by a greater feeling for spirituality and beauty in 
 their sacred personages, by a cooler scale of colour — a cool 
 brown-red and a full green being favourite hues in their 
 drapery — and, finally, by a less close rendering of detail. 
 At the same time two chief divisions may be distinguished 
 within the Swabian school ; the one, which is the richest as 
 to number of painters, had its seat at Augsburg, and early 
 developed a decidedly realistic tendency ; the other, belong- 
 ing to Ulm, showed a purer and tenderer feeling for religion, 
 and more sense of beauty. 
 
 1 1 Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 347. 
 
 2 Ibid., p 324, etc. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 353. 
 
140 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 [In Augsburg the family of Holbein is the first to attract 
 attention in the person of Michael, the father of Sigmund and 
 Hans Holbein the elder. Hans the elder afterwards married 
 and had two sons, the second of whom, Hans, is justly- 
 celebrated in the annals of German art. 1 The tendency of 
 criticism has been to lower the reputation of the elder for 
 the benefit of the younger Holbein, and this was done suc- 
 cessfully by means of forged documents and inscriptions. 
 In the process of cleaning the Martyrdom of St. Catherine, 
 and Christ with His mother, and St. Anne, an altarpiece of 
 1512. by "Hans Holba," in the gallery of Augsburg, an in- 
 scription was " brought (1854) to light," declaring that the 
 painter of the picture was Hans Holbein the younger, at the 
 age of seventeen. 2 In consequence of this forgery, which 
 was only discovered in 1871, 3 all the pictures in the style of 
 the Martyrdom of St. Catherine were assigned to the son 
 instead of the father; and consistence was given to this 
 fiction by a forgery of records assigning to Hans Holbein the 
 younger the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian at Munich. 4 This 
 also was in due course discovered ; and since that time the 
 elder Holbein has been restored to the place which he 
 naturally fills in the annals of his country. We recognize in 
 him a clever master, who first formed his style upon the 
 models of the school of Van der Weyden, and subsequently 
 tempered that style by studying Italian and local tradition. 
 It is hard to say at what time Hans Holbein the elder began 
 practice as a painter in Augsburg, but of this we are sure, 
 that he was inscribed on the rolls of the city in place of 
 Michael Holbein in 1494. From that time till his death at 
 Isenheim, in 1524, he spent years of prosperity alternating 
 
 1 [Dr. Waagen believed in the existence of Hans Holbein the grand- 
 father, and describes a picture in possession of Mr. Samm of Mer- 
 genthau, inscribed "Hans Holbein, C. A., 1459." This picture is now 
 in the Museum of Augsburg ; its signature is a forgery, but consult 
 Woltmann (Dr. A.), ' Holbein und Seine Zeit,' i. 363, and Mr. His- 
 Heussler's contributions to Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' i. p. 187.] 
 
 2 [The picture was at the time in the atelier of Mr. Eigner, the 
 restorer of Augsburg.] 
 
 3 [It is but fair to state that Herman Grimm (Holbein's ' Geburt's 
 Jahr,' Berlin, 1867) declared the inscription a forgery.] 
 
 4 [See Woltmann's ' Holbein,' i. 165.] 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 HANS HOLBEIN THE ELDER. 
 
 141 
 
 with years of depression. He was made a citizen of Ulm in 
 1499. He visited Frankfort in 1501. After 1516 he lived 
 in debt and in trouble at Augsburg ; and when he wandered 
 away at last to paint an altarpiece at Isenheim, 1 bailiffs had 
 been more than once unbidden guests in his house. 2 The 
 earliest creations of Hans Holbein the elder are those in 
 which he exhibits dependence on the models of Van der 
 Weyden. Without losing altogether the smooth type of the 
 German, or rather of the Rhenish, schools, he first produced 
 pictures remarkable for slender figures, of mild and regular 
 features, dressed in drapery of natural fall. Peculiarly 
 characteristic of this period is the staidness of the attitudes 
 and the clear transparence of tones, unrelieved by depth of 
 shadow. Foremost amongst the pictures in this class is the 
 Virgin and Child, with two angels, No. 126, in the Moritz 
 Kapelle, signed " Hans Holbon, 14 . . " and a Virgin and 
 Child enthroned with angels, inscribed " . . . s Holbaini," 
 in the Landauer Bruderhaus at Nuremberg. 8 Of a similar 
 stamp, but with a still more decided leaning to Van der 
 Weyden, are two wings of an altarpiece from the Abbey of 
 Weingarten, now distributed to four altars in the Cathedral 
 of Augsburg, representing Joachim's Sacrifice, the Birth and 
 Presentation of Mary, and the Presentation of Christ. 4 From 
 these examples we proceed to others, in which the Flemish 
 origin of the master's manner, though still apparent, is less 
 distinctly marked, and of these the chief are the following : 
 The Coronation of the Virgin, with the Nativity and Martyrdom 
 of St. Dorothea in the wings, inscribed " 1499, Hans Holba ; " 
 and a series of scenes from the Passion in one frame, in the 
 Augsburg Gallery ; a large composite altarpicee, completed in 
 1501, for the Dominicans of Frankfort, comprising the Last 
 Supper, Christ entering Jerusalem, the Jews expelled from 
 
 1 [Woltmann, u. s., i. 341, 342.] 
 
 2 [Edward His, in Zahn's ' Jahrbiicher,' iv. p. 219, gives the proofs 
 taken from Dr. Meyer's contributions to the 'Augsburger allg. Zeitg.' 
 for August 14th, 1871. See also 'Jahrbucher,' iv. p. 267.] 
 
 3 [It is proper to state that this picture has been assigned to Sig- 
 mund Holbein, on the supposition that S. Holbaini means Sigmund 
 Holbein, yet, as the inscription stands, S is but the last letter of th« 
 word Hans, the three first letters being concealed.] 
 
 4 [Woltmann, u. s., i. 75.] 
 
142 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 the Temple, a Root of Jesse, the Tree of the Dominican 
 order, and seven scenes from the Passion— all in the Stadel 
 Gallery at Frankfort. 1 The Crucifixion, Descent from the 
 Crpss, and Entombment, at Munich, part of an altarpiece of 
 eighteen or twenty panels, painted in 1502, and originally in 
 the Abbey of Keisheim. The Transfiguration, of the same 
 year, with a Christ Crowned with Thorns, and scenes from 
 the life of St. Paul, a large picture of 1504, in the Augsburg 
 Gallery. To these we should add, as specimens of a more 
 thoroughly German stamp, the grey panel of Christ carrying 
 his Cross, belonging to Mr. Ahorner, at Munich ; two parts of 
 an altarpiece containing saints, in the Gallery of Prague ; and 
 twelve scenes of the Passion, in the Fiirstenberg collection 
 at Donaueschingen. About 1508, Hans Holbein probably 
 painted the votive epitaph of Burgomaster Schwarz of 
 Augsburg, now belonging to Mr. Paul von Stetten at Augs- 
 burg, a panel in which three figures of the Eternal, of Christ, 
 and the Virgin are placed above a company of members of 
 the Schwarz family. The faces here are portrayed with 
 far more nature than in earlier efforts of the master ; and 
 many have held that these likenesses could only have been 
 executed by the younger Hans Holbein, as helpmate to his 
 father. There is no doubt that we trace in them something 
 of the rare finesse of observation and power of reproduction 
 which were developed in that wonderful master of portrait ; 
 but since it has become necessary to substitute the name of 
 the father for that of the son, in the altarpiece of 1512, 
 there is no alternative but to assign to Hans the elder the 
 whole of the Schwartz epitaph ; and in doing so we greatly 
 lighten the task of those who have to prove how the style 
 of Hans the younger was modelled to the form which it 
 assumed in 1516-17 at Bale. It is clear that during the 
 earlier years of the sixteenth century a strong Italian in- 
 fluence was felt in South Germany, and that, probably in conse- 
 quence of the relations which large mercantile houses like 
 the Fuggers kept up with Augsburg and Nuremberg, painters 
 
 1 [See Woltmann's 'Holbein,' i. 82, 83, and 'Zeitschrift fur bild. 
 Kunst.,' i., 10S.] 
 
Cbap. V. 
 
 HANS HOLBEIN THE ELDER. 
 
 143 
 
 of German schools gradually became familiar with Venetian 
 and Paduan forms of art. The elder Holbein was one of 
 those who derived advantage from this intercourse. With- 
 out abandoning the German mould of form, he stripped it, 
 especially in drapery, of many hardnesses, and — curious as 
 the fact may appear — he threw off, to some extent, the 
 impress of Van der Weyden's school, which he had received 
 direct by way of the Rhine, for that of the Van Eycks, which 
 he took, modified as it came to him, through the medium 
 of Antonello and the Venetians from Italy. With this, 
 and the feeling for architectural surface decoration derived 
 from the Mantequesques and Bellinesques, he took a serious 
 part in producing a revolution in German art. How these 
 influences were brought to bear on the elder Holbein it is 
 not easy to prove ; but we may keep in mind that Anton 
 Kolb, of Nuremberg, was an art publisher at Venice in the 
 first years of the century, who had business relations alike 
 with Jacob de Barbaris and Diirer; that Diirer and Hans 
 Burgkmair paid visits to Venice in 1506 and 1508 ; that 
 there was a brisk interchange of thought and of trade 
 between the northern parts of Italy and the southern parts 
 of Germany ; and that Hans Holbein the elder was not 
 unacquainted with the Fuggers, who were the most influential 
 merchants of their time. It will be worth a journey to 
 Berlin for any lover of art to take a look at Holbein's 
 sketches, too long assigned to Hans the younger, — sketches 
 which, taken in conjunction with those of Copenhagen, 
 reveal to us the features and faces of the most important 
 persons in Augsburg. If we turn to the sheets which illus- 
 trate the life of the painter's own family, we find there the 
 likenesses of his sons Hans and Ambrose, aged fourteen and 
 fifteen respectively. Amongst the celebrities we discover the 
 Emperor Maximilian, his adviser, Kunz von der Rosen, and 
 the boy Karl, afterwards Kaiser, with a falcon on his wrist. 
 The whole kith and kin of the Fuggers is there, Jacob, 
 Raimund, Anton, Ulrich, with Hans Schwartz, the sculptor, 
 and ever so many citizens, monks, and shopkeepers. If in 
 Italian art we have underrated the relations of Raphael to his 
 father Santi, in German art we have altogether underrated 
 
144 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURI. Book III. 
 
 the influence of Hans Holbein the elder on Hans Holbein 
 the younger. 
 
 The feeling which appears so prominently in the epitaph of 
 the Burgomaster Schwarz becomes intensified in later works 
 of the elder Holbein. In the Martyrdom of St. Catherine, 
 and Christ with St. Anne and the Virgin, St. Ulrich, and the 
 Martyrdom of St. Peter, an altarpiece of 1512, in the Gallery 
 of Augsburg, the same upon which the name of Hans Holbein 
 the younger was forged, the same of which we have Hans 
 the elder's original sketch in the Gallery of Bale. In the 
 Virgin and Child of Mr. Schmitter-Hug, at Sanct-Gallen, 
 and the portrait belonging to Count Lanckoronski, at Vienna, 
 both panels of a diptych, dated 1513, and last, not least, the 
 Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, with St. Barbara and St. Eliza- 
 beth, in the Pinakothek at Munich, a triptych, executed in 
 1516 for the convent of St. Catherine at Augsburg — a triptych 
 in which we are introduced to the first bloom of the German 
 renaissance.] 1 
 
 Sigismund Holbein, brother of the elder Hans, was also 
 a [painter, but the pi'ctures assigned to him are not authen- 
 ticated in any way. He died at Berne in 1540.] 2 
 
 After the family of Holbein, that of Burgkmair plays the 
 most important part in the art of Augsburg. Thoman Buegk- 
 mair, mentioned in public documents in the year 1479, 
 maybe considered first. Though possessing a certain ability 
 and energy, he is inferior to Holbein. His figures are short, 
 his flesh-tones of a heavy brown, his outlines hard. In the 
 Augsburg Cathedral are two pictures, presented in 1480, on 
 the columns of the choir : one is Christ conversing with St. 
 Ulric, the other the Virgin with St. Elizabeth of Thiiringen, 
 and the wife of the donor, the Burgomaster Walther. The 
 
 1 [Consult for Holbein the elder the sources already named ; also 
 Woltmann's Catalogue of the Furstenberg collection at Donaueschingen, 
 and the numerous articles by His-Heussler, Wilhelm Schmidt, Herman 
 Grimm, and von Zahn, in ' Jahrbucher,' u. s.] 
 
 2 [The Virgin and Child, in the Landauer Bruderhaus, is assigned, as 
 we saw, erroneously to Sigmund. There is no authority for attributing 
 to Sigmund the fine female portrait, No. 722, in the National Gallery. 
 See His-Heussler, in 'Jahrbucher,' i. , 1 87, and Sigmund's will in Woltmann's 
 'Holbein,' i. 368.] 
 
Chap. V. BARTHOLOMEW ZEITBLOM. 
 
 145 
 
 Gallery at Augsburg also contains a large picture, with the 
 Martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, and scenes from 
 the Passion. 1 [Thoman's death is registered in the Augsburg 
 Guild roll for 15'23.] 2 
 
 [The oldest representative of the Swabian school, which 
 flourished in Ulm, is Hans Schuhlein, or Schuchlin, whose 
 existence may be traced in the rolls of taxes for Ulm between 
 1468 and 1502. 3 Harzen, who describes Schiihlein's altar- 
 piece, of 1469 — Pilate washing his hands before the people, 
 the Crucifixion, and the Eesurrection, in the church of Tiefen- 
 bronn — notes a striking resemblance between the treatment 
 of this painter and that of Roger van der Weyden. 4 He 
 ascribes to Schuhlein the numerous parts of an altarpiece 
 representing the " Sip-pschaft" or " Kith-and-kin " of Jesus, 
 in Munich (Nos. 11 and 13, and Cabinets, 34 and 754); 
 Schleissheim, and the Moritzkapelle, at Nuremberg (59, 62, 
 63, 66, 111, and 113), and two wings of an altarpiece, with 
 eight scenes from the lives of Joachim, the Virgin Mary, and 
 Christ, in the collection of Prince Hohenzollern Sigmaringen.] 5 
 
 [Schiihlein's son-in-law, Bartholomew Zeitblom, was 
 born, it is supposed, between 1440 and 1450, and studied 
 engraving under Martin Schongauer ; he afterwards became 
 a painter under the tuition of Schuhlein, whose daughter he 
 married in 1483. 6 Fragments of an inscription : " . . .von 
 Hans Schulcin v. B. Zeitblom zu Ulm mitgemacht 14 ... " 
 have been read 7 on the wing of an altarpiece originally in 
 the village church of Miinster, and later in possession of Mr. 
 Eigner, at Augsburg.] 
 
 In the elevated and spiritual tendency of Zeitblom's art, 
 
 1 See Passavant, ' Kunstblatt ' of 1846, p. 186, [and the rolls of taxes 
 in Woltmann, i. 363.] 
 
 2 [See Guild roll in Woltmann's 1 Holbein,' i. 358.] 
 
 3 [Griineisen and Mauch, Ulm's 'Kunstleben,' u.s. 42 ; and Harzen in 
 Naumann's 'Archiv,' 1860, p. 27 and foil. ; and Professor Hassler in 
 Heideloff, u. S., p. 117.] 
 
 4 [The Tiefenbronn altarpiece is inscribed on the back of the frame : 
 " Gemacht zu Ulm vo Hansisse Schuchlin maler, mcccclxviiij., Jare.] 
 
 5 [Harzen, u. s. These panels Dr. Waagen assigned to Zeitblom before 
 he was aware of the connection between that painter and Schuhlein. ] 
 
 6 [Harzen, u. s.] 
 
 7 [Harzen, u.s., and Woltmann, Catalogue of the Furstenberg Coll., 
 p. 6.] 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 as well as in the style of his flesh painting, it is obvious that 
 Martin Schongauer exercised no small influence over him. 
 Though inferior to him in sense of beauty, he has a power of 
 attraction in the simplicity, purity, and earnestness of his 
 religious feeling, which few possess. At the same time his 
 limbs are still, for the most part, meagre and inflexible, and 
 a favourite type of head is too often repeated ; this, however, 
 is rendered with so much care, and with such warm, trans- 
 parent, and, in his later pictures, refined colouring, as to 
 rival the works of Quentin Massys. Finally, his broad 
 drapery, devoid of the sharp and angular character, has a 
 peculiar and harmonious combination of colour. 
 
 [Among his early works are two wings of an altarpiece, 
 commissioned in 1473 for the church of Kilchberg, near 
 Tubingen (Nos. 423, 429, 440, and 444 of the Stuttgardt 
 Gallery), in which the heads are worked in with great care, 
 and painted in warm and pleasing tones.] 1 
 
 Two wings of an altar from the monastery of Roggenburg, 
 nearUlm, formerly in possession of M. Abel of Ludwigsburg, 
 containing figures of the Virgin, the Magdalen, SS. Helena 
 and John, are of this period. The wings of an altar-chest, 
 with carved work in the centre, dated 1488, show already a 
 more original development. They were formerly in the 
 village of Hausen, near Ulm, and passed into the possession 
 of the late Professor Hassler at Ulm : they represent SS. 
 Nicholas and Francis, and Christ on the Mount of Olives. 
 The master, however, appears in the highest form of his art 
 in the wings of a large altarpiece painted for the parish 
 church of Eschach in 1495, [now Nos. 411, 412, 421, 422, 
 in the Stuttgardt Gallery] ; the inner sides containing the 
 Annunciation and the Salutation ; the outer, in figures some- 
 what larger than life, both the SS. John. These last, in 
 point of dignity, tenderness of feeling, and delicately-balanced 
 harmony of the warm and clear colouring, are among the 
 most important works which the German school, taken alto- 
 gether, produced at this time. Two angels holding a suda- 
 
 1 [Grlineisen and Mauch, u. s. 44. These pictures were in the Abel 
 collection ; they represent St. Margaret, St. John the Baptist, St. George, 
 and St. Florian.] 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 JACOB ACKER. 
 
 147 
 
 rium, of uncommon grandeur of character, formed once a 
 portion of the predella of the same altarpiece. This is now 
 in the Berlin Museum, No. 606 a. [Of the same year, pro- 
 bably, are twelve scenes from the life of the Baptist, on the 
 inner sides of the high altarpiece in the church of Blaubeuren, 
 and the Crucifixion and Carrying of the Cross on the outer 
 sides of the same piece. There is much power, too, in the 
 fresco on the side of the church of Blaubeuren, dated 1490, 
 representing the Baptist, of colossal dimensions. 1 Fine, like- 
 wise, are the four doctors of the church from Eschach (1490), 
 Nos. 426, 427, 439, and 443, in the Stuttgardt Museum.] 
 To this, Zeitblom's maturest time, belong also the wings, 
 executed 1497, of an altarpiece, at the church of Heerberg, 
 a small place in Swabia, representing scenes from the life of 
 the Virgin. A head also of St. Anna, in the Berlin Museum 
 [withdrawn], of delicate feeling and warm and clear colour- 
 ing, shows this master in his full excellence. [It has not 
 been ascertained in what year Zeitblom died, but he was 
 still on the rolls as a tax-payer in Ulm in 1517.] 2 
 
 [Companion to Zeitblom, and of the same period, is Jacob 
 Acker, described by Hassler as the painter of an altarpiece 
 in the church of Ristissen in Swabia.] 3 
 
 The Franconian school, of which Nuremberg, as in the 
 former epoch, constituted the centre, received with the oil 
 painting of the Netherlands also the realistic modes of con- 
 ception proper to that country. In many of their composi- 
 tions also the influence of Roger van der Weyden is percep- 
 tible. As compared with the Swabian school, however, this 
 school remained more true to the traditional treatment of 
 ecclesiastical subjects ; its compositions are also more con- 
 formable to style. At the same time the draughtsmanlike 
 character prevails infinitely more here, the outlines not being, 
 as in Swabia, lost and fused in the forms. Separate colours 
 
 1 [Harzen, u. s.] 
 
 2 "Griineisen and Mauch, u. s. 43.] 
 
 3 [Hassler, Ulna's Kunstgeschichte,' in Heideloff's 'Eunst des Mittel- 
 alters in Schwaben,' p. 119, and Griineisen and Mauch, u. s., p. 41. 
 Acker painted the doors of the organ loft at Minister in Swabia in 1473, 
 and the altarpiece of Ristissen in' 1483.] 
 
 4 'Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 117. 
 
148 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 are more lively, but far less harmonious in relation to each 
 other, so that Franconian pictures have generally a gaudy 
 look. The action also is more angular, the drapery sharper 
 and more arbitrary in the breaks ; and if the heads of many 
 a saintly personage show that an attempt at ideal beauty has 
 been preserved from the former period, the vulgarity and 
 coarseness of the caricatured heads, especially of the soldiers, 
 are much more objectionable than in the Swabian school. 
 
 Belonging to the beginning of this epoch are the pictures 
 on the wings of the altar, executed 1453, in the chapel of 
 the noble family of Loffelholz, in the church of St. Sebaldus 
 at Nuremberg. The inner sides contain events from the 
 legends of the Emperor Henry II. and his consort Kuni- 
 gunda, the outer the Adoration of the three Kings and St. 
 George killing the Dragon. On the inner side of the pre- 
 della are Christ and Saints, on the outer the portraits of the 
 numerous family of Loffelholz. The motives in some cases 
 are very successful, and in those heads which have not been 
 painted over may be seen a thorough study, good warm 
 colouring, and conscientious technical execution. 
 
 The chief master of this period was Michael Wohlge- 
 muth, born 1434, died 1519. All his pictures show great 
 power and clearness of colouring : otherwise there are few 
 painters so unequal in merit. This arises not only from the 
 circumstance that, being sought far and near to execute large 
 altar-chests, in which the charge of colouring the figures or 
 reliefs in wood was also included, he left much to the work- 
 manship of rude assistants, but also because he himself 
 devoted his own powers very capriciously to the task. The 
 following are some of his principal works : — Four pictures 
 representing scenes from the Passion, of somewhat coarse 
 character, belonging to his earlier time [inscribed 1465], 
 originally in the church of the Holy Trinity at Hof, in 
 Bavaria, now in the Munich Gallery, Nos. 22, 27, 34, and 
 39, [and Christ's Mission to the Apostles, in the Frauenkirche 
 at Munich]. The large altarpiece at Zwickau, executed 
 1479, is an improvement on that of Hof in some of the 
 panels, especially in the four of the life of the Virgin. 1 He 
 1 'Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 56. 
 
Chap. V. 
 
 MICHAEL WOHLGEMUTH. 
 
 149 
 
 is seen, however, to most advantage in single figures of 
 saints, life-size, portions of an altarpiece, painted in 1487 
 for the Augustin church, now in the chapel of St. Maurice, 
 at Nuremberg, Nos. 45, 53, 74, and 80. 1 Of the altarpiece 
 in the church at Schwabach, not far from Nuremberg, painted 
 from 1506 to 1508, only the stately figures of John the 
 Baptist and St. Martin are probably by the master's hand. 2 
 His best work I am inclined to consider the paintings on an 
 altarpiece in the church of Heilsbronn, also in the same part 
 of Franconia. They represent scenes from the life of Christ, 
 the Mass of Pope Gregory, and the portraits of the donor, 
 the Markgraf Frederick IV., and his family. The heads of 
 the sacred personages are here of higher and more varied 
 character, and the portraits more living than usual. 3 In 
 England I only met with one notable picture by Wohlge- 
 muth, formerly in the Campe collection at Nuremberg, now 
 in that of the Rev. J. Fuller Russell. It represents in a rich 
 composition the Bearing of the Cross, and belongs to his 
 most careful works. The same may be said of two pictures 
 in the Liverpool Institution, representing Pilate washing his 
 hands, and the Descent from the Cross. This master also 
 made the designs [1491] for a series of woodcuts in the now 
 rare chronicle of Nuremberg by Schedel, a co'py of which is 
 also in Mr. Russell's possession. 4 
 
 In Nuremberg and other towns in Franconia may be seen 
 many a picture, obviously of the school of Wohlgemuth, 
 though collectively falling short of his excellence in art. 
 They serve to show that, with the exception of the great 
 Albert Durer, he attracted no other scholar of any repute. 
 
 The contemporary artists of Bavaria are still less interest- 
 ing. By one of them, Gabriel M'ahselkircher, of Munich, 
 who flourished about 1470, are two pictures of very large 
 dimensions in the Gallery of Schleissheim, representing Christ 
 
 1 'Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. pp. 184, 190. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 294. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 307, etc. The large picture attributed to him in the Gallery 
 at Vienna differs, to my view, both in conception and technical qualities, 
 too much from all his authenticated works to be by his hand. 
 
 4 [See the records given by J. Baader, in Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' ii. 73.] 
 
150 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Book III. 
 
 bearing the Cross, and the Crucifixion, which are marked 
 with a sort of wild barbarism and fantastic extravagance. 
 In the same collection is a large and rude Crucifixion by 
 Ulrich Futerer of Landshut, about 1480, painted to imitate 
 sculpture in compartments of Gothic architecture. 
 
 Nor are the pictures by Hans von Olendorf, at Schleiss- 
 heim, of a higher character. They exhibit no feeling, the 
 drawing is feeble, and the colour very hard. 
 
 CHAPTEK YI. 
 
 THE GERMAN SCHOOLS FROM 1500 TO 1550. 
 
 .During this period the realistic tendency adopted in Ger- 
 many attained, by means of a greater command of the materials 
 and qualities of art, partly founded on the improved sciences 
 of proportion and perspective, to a higher truthfulness of 
 representation. A number of spirited inventions, embodying 
 scenes not only of a religious character, but taken also from 
 allegory and from common life, thus found expression. In 
 the abundance* of these inventions, in the feeling for style 
 with which they were composed, and in mastery of drawing, 
 the German artists decidedly surpassed their Netherlandish 
 contemporaries, such as Quentin Massys, Lucas van Leyden, 
 etc. On the other hand, as regards colour, they are found, 
 with few exceptions, to be in arrear of the Netherlands ; in 
 their treatment, also, the draughtsmanlike feeling prevails 
 in the indication of the outline, and the frequently hatched 
 shadows, which give a certain hardness peculiar to their 
 pictures. Nor do they stand quite on an equality with the 
 painters of the Netherlands in management of detail, though 
 gold grounds, with few exceptions, had been abolished, and 
 landscape backgrounds, frequently of great finish, introduced. 
 Indeed we find them, in some cases, painting landscape for 
 its own sake. Still more do the Germans fall short of the 
 excellence of contemporary Italian masters. But while 
 admitting that their inferiority in those qualities — ideality 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 SPIRIT OF GERMAN ART. 
 
 151 
 
 of conception, simplification and beauty of forms, and grace 
 of movement — which give the highest charm to the works 
 of a Leonardo, a Raphael, and a Correggio, is partly owing to 
 a difference in their innate feeling for art, partly to the less 
 favourable conditions of beauty in man, nature, and climate, 
 yet the fact itself, that German painters did not, even in the 
 mode of art peculiar to themselves, arrive at that perfectly 
 harmonious development of every quality, — form, colour, and 
 chiaroscuro, — which distinguishes the Italian, must be sought 
 for in various other causes. The taste for the fantastic in 
 art peculiar to the middle ages, though it engendered Clevel- 
 and spirited works, was still unfavourable to the cultivation 
 of pure beauty. This taste, which the Italians had long 
 thrown off, found, even in this period, favour with the Ger- 
 mans : scenes from the Apocalypse, Dances of Death, etc., 
 being among their favourite subjects for art. On the other 
 hand, the pictorial treatment of antique literature, a world 
 suggestive of beautiful conceptions, was so little comprehended 
 by the Germans, that they only sought to express it through 
 the medium of those fantastic forms, with very childish and 
 even tasteless results. We must also remember that that 
 average education of the various classes of society, of princes, 
 nobles, burghers, which the fine arts require for their protec- 
 tion, stood on a far lower footing in Germany than in that 
 then favoured land which, from the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century, had taken the lead of all others. In Italy, conse- 
 quently, the favour with which works of art were regarded 
 was far more widely extended, and entailed a far higher 
 standard of merit. This again gave rise to a more elevated 
 personal position on the part of the artist, which in Italy 
 was not only one of more consideration, but, owing to its 
 pecuniary rewards, of incomparably greater independence. 
 In this latter respect Germany was so deficient that the 
 genius even of an Albert Durer and Holbein was miserably 
 cramped and hindered in development by the poverty and 
 littleness of surrounding circumstances. It is known that of 
 all the German princes no one but the Elector Frederic the 
 Wise ever gave Albert Durer a commission for pictures, 1 while 
 1 1 Reliquien von Albrecht Durer, von Campe,' Nurnberg, 1818, p. 59. 
 
152 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 a writing, addressed by the great painter to the magistracy 
 of Nuremberg, tells us that his native city never gave him 
 employment even to the value of 500 florins. 1 At the same 
 time his pictures were so meanly paid, that for the means of 
 subsistence, as he says himself, he was compelled to devote 
 himself to engraving. 2 How far more such a man as Albert 
 Durer would have been appreciated in Italy and in the Nether- 
 lands is further evidenced in the above-mentioned writing, 
 where he states that he was offered 200 ducats a year in 
 Venice, and 300 Philipsgulden in Antwerp, if he would settle 
 in either of those cities. And Holbein fared still worse : 
 there is no evidence whatever that any German prince ever 
 troubled himself at all about the great painter ; while in the 
 city of Basle his art was so little cared for that necessity 
 compelled him to go to England, 3 where a genius fitted for 
 the highest undertakings of historical painting was limited to 
 the sphere of portaiture. The crowning impediments, finally, 
 which hindered the progress of German art, and also per- 
 verted it from its true aim, were the Reformation, which 
 narrowed the sphere of ecclesiastical works, and the perni- 
 cious imitation of the great Italian masters which ensued. 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 The head of this school, at this period, was the celebrated 
 Albert Durer. 4 In him the style of art already existing 
 attained its most original and highest perfection. He be- 
 came the representative of German art of this period. His 
 
 1 ' Reliquien von Albrecht Durer, von Campe,' Niirnberg, 1818, pp. 34 
 and 37. 2 Same work, p. 49. 
 
 3 " Hie frigent artes. Petit Aiagliam ut corradat aliquot Angelatus," 
 says Erasmus of Rotterdam, in a letter he gave Holbein in Basle to bis 
 friend Petrus Egydius in Antwerp, in 1526. 
 
 4 Tbere are several special works on Durer. The oldest is by H. C. 
 Arend, 'Das Gedachtniss der Ebren Albrecht Diirer's,' Gosslar, 1728. 
 Later ones are : Weisse, 'A. Durer und sein Zeitalter.' Leipzig, 1819 ; 
 ' Reliquien von A. Durer,' Niirnberg, 1828, J. Heller, ' Das Leben und 
 die Werke A. Diirer's,' Leipzig, 1831. [A. v. Eye, 'Leben und Wirken 
 A. Diirer's.' Nordlingen, 1860, Stark, 'Albrecht Durer und seine Zeit,' in 
 the Germania, Leipzig, 1851, and 'Diirer's Kunstlehre,' von Dr. A. v. 
 Zahn, 8vo, Leipzig, 1866.] ['Life, etc., of A. Durer, 5 by W. B. Scott, 
 1869. 'The History, etc., of A. Durer, 5 by Mrs. Heaton, and 'A New 
 Life of A. Durer,' etc., by Moritz Thausing, 1879. Translated from 
 the German.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBEKT DURER. 
 
 153 
 
 spirit was rich and inexhaustible : not content with painting 
 and the other arts of design, he exerted his powers in the 
 kindred studies of sculpture and architecture ; he was gifted 
 with a power of conception which traced Nature through all 
 her finest shades, and with a lively sense, as well for the 
 solemn and the sublime, as for simple grace and tenderness ; 
 above all, he had an earnest and truthful feeling in art, 
 united with a capacity for the severest study, such as is 
 shown in the composition of his various theoretical works. 1 
 These qualities were sufficient to place him by the side of 
 the greatest artists whom the world has ever seen. But he 
 again was unable wholly to renounce the general tendency 
 to the fantastic — a tendency which essentially obstructed 
 the pure development of his power as an artist. It must be 
 admitted that in his hands this principle gave birth to single 
 productions of such beauty and importance as we rarely 
 meet with elsewhere ; calling into life works which may 
 truly be called "Poems," and of which the mysterious 
 subjects excite the liveliest interest. Albert Durer's drawing 
 is full of life and character ; he fails, however, in feeling for 
 beauty, and his nude is vulgar and sometimes even ugly in 
 character ; his drapery, too, is frequently cut up into those 
 sharp forms which were the fashion of his day, but by no 
 means favourable to the development of the figure. In ideal 
 drapery his folds are almost always cast in large and beauti- 
 ful masses ; but even here, in the breaks and angles, he 
 cannot wholly discard that singular mannerism which con- 
 fuses the eye, and disturbs the noble impression of the 
 principal forms. His colouring is unequal : sometimes very 
 brilliant, but generally wanting in truth and transparency ; 
 while the hard outlines show rather the hand of a great 
 draughtsman. Even in the expression and form of the 
 countenance, Durer follows a certain form, which cannot be 
 called the normal type of ideal beauty, nor, in some instances, 
 even a faithful copy of common life after the manner of his 
 
 1 ' Underweysung der messung mit dem zirckel und richtscheyt,' etc., 
 1525 ; 'Etliche underricht zu befestigung der Stett, Schlosz, und Flecken, 
 1527 ; ' Vier biicher von menschlicher Proportion,' 1518. There are 
 different editions and translations of all the above, of a later date. 
 
154 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. Book III. 
 
 predecessors, but can only be explained from his prevailing 
 tendency towards what is singular. When, however, in 
 spite of all this, the greater number of his works make a 
 deep impression on the mind and feelings of the spectator, 
 it is a strong proof of the peculiar greatness of his abilities 
 as an artist. 
 
 The consideration of the single works of this master, to 
 which we now pass, will explain more clearly the observa- 
 tions just made, and the chronological arrangement of these 
 works will afford an opportunity for some interesting notices 
 of his progress as an artist. I shall especially consider his 
 pictures (so far at least as they have come under my own 
 observation), since it is only in them that the full extant 
 of his unwearied powers can be recognized. The most im- 
 portant of his numerous woodcuts and engravings must also 
 be noticed with a particular reference to their dates when 
 known. 
 
 [Albert Durer was born on the 21st of May, 1471, at 
 Nuremberg, and died suddenly in that city on the 6th of 
 April, 1528. 1 His father, a goldsmith, sent him, when quite 
 a boy (1484), to Martin Sch6n, 2 in whose atelier he doubtless 
 met Hans Burgkmair, who, in after life was his most active 
 assistant. Later on Durer took lessons from Michael 
 Wohlgemuth, to whom he was apprenticed (1486) for three 
 years. 3 In 1490 — 1494, he went wandering as a painter 
 companion, and so got a first glimpse of Venice, to which 
 he was afterwards to return, when his talents became 
 mature.] 
 
 The earliest portrait by Albert Durer known to me is that 
 of his father, Albrecht Durer the goldsmith, dated 1497. 
 In the year 1644 this picture, which is engraved by Hollar, 
 was in the collection of the Earl of Arundel ; it is now in 
 
 1 [See Lutzelberger's proofs in the Nurnberger correspondent for 
 May 1871]. 
 
 2 [Neudorffer, ' Nachrichten von Niirnberger Kunstlern,' MS. of 
 1546, Campe's ed., 12mo., Nuremberg, 1828, p. 36, states this fact, 
 which Durer himself has not noted in his diary. It is probably correct, 
 because we see Schon's influence in Durer's prints.] 
 
 3 [Durer's diary in Campe's 'Reliquien,' p. 7, and Durer to Pirckheimer, 
 from Venice, in 1506. Ib. ib., p. 13.] 
 
ALBERT DURER. 
 
 Painted by himself. In the Collection of Artists' Portraits at Florence, page 15-5. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 155 
 
 that of the Duke of Northumberland, at Sion House. It is 
 of most animated conception ; the execution light but spirited, 
 and of a draughtsmanlike character; the colouring warm, 
 and truly harmonious. 1 
 
 The same portrait, bearing the same date (1497), but 
 differing in many respects, and with the following inscrip- 
 tion — 
 
 " Das malt ich nach meines vatters gestalt, 
 Da Er war siebenzich Jar alt." — 
 
 Albvecht Durer Der clter. 
 
 is now in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 128. It is 
 closely allied to the former in conception and treatment, and 
 is also of great excellence, though of less force of colour. 
 
 Again, the same portrait, bearing date 1498, is in the 
 gallery of the Uffizj at Florence. 2 This one is yellower in 
 the flesh-tones, and with a greenish background; also of 
 more body than the two preceding. It was presented, with 
 the next- mentioned portrait, its companion, by the city of 
 Nuremberg to Charles I. of England, at the sale of whose 
 gallery both pictures were purchased for the Grand Duke of 
 Tuscany. 
 
 [A very interesting work of this time is the likeness of a 
 young girl, dated 1497, in the collection of Baron Speck von 
 Sternburg, near Leipzig ; a clear and highly finished bust, 
 once an ornament of the Arundel collection, and engraved 
 by Hollar.] 
 
 The next picture by the master known to us is his own 
 portrait, of the year 1498, in the Florentine collection of 
 artists' portraits painted by themselves, in the Uffizj ; the 
 arrangement of the picture is well known — the artist, a half- 
 length figure, stands at a window, the hands resting on the 
 window-sill. He is arrayed in a peculiar holiday dress — a 
 shirt neatly plaited and cut low in the neck, a white jerkin 
 
 1 A good school copy of this picture is in the Stadel Gallery at 
 Frankfort [No. 106]. 
 
 2 [Otto Mundler very properly observes that the date on this picture 
 is a forgery. On the back of the panel are the arms of Durer and the 
 ciphers 1490 ; and so the Uffizi portrait is the earliest one that Durer 
 painted of his father. See ' Beitriige zu Burckhardt's Cicerone,' Leipzig, 
 1870, p. 30.] 
 
156 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 striped with black, a pointed cap, and a brown mantle over 
 the left shoulder, the hair falling in carefully arranged curls. 
 The painting, with some sharpness in the drawing, has a 
 breadth and softness, especially in the lights, which we 
 rarely find at a later period ; the shadows of the carnation 
 have a light bronze tint. The expression of the coun- 
 tenance is honest and homely, with a certain naive self-com- 
 placency, which is indeed tolerably manifest in the letters 
 written by him to Pirckheimer about eight years later. 1 
 
 [Turning from portrait to composition, we assign to 1498 
 the Nativity, with kneeling figures of patricians, an altarpiece 
 from St. Catherine of Nuremberg, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, in the 
 Munich Pinakothek.J 
 
 In the same year, 1498, appeared his woodcuts, illus- 
 trating the Book of Kevelation, and which we should perhaps 
 regard as proofs of his activity in the years immediately 
 preceding. Here the artist already exhibits a great and 
 peculiar excellence, though, as might be expected from the 
 subject, the fantastic element forms the groundwork of the 
 whole. These mystical subjects are conceived in a singularly 
 poetic spirit : the marvellous and the monstrous meet us in 
 living bodily forms. Some of them exhibit a power of 
 representation to the eye, and a grandeur of conception, the 
 more surprising, since the shapeless exuberance of the 
 scriptural visions might easily have led the artist astray, as 
 has indeed frequently happened in the case of others who 
 have attempted these subjects. How powerful is that second 
 plate, in which He with eyes of flaming fire, the seven stars 
 in His right hand, and a two-edged sword in His mouth, sits 
 enthroned among the seven golden candlesticks, with St. 
 John kneeling in adoration before Him ! In the fourth 
 plate, how mighty is the descent upon the earth of the four 
 riders, with scales, bows, swords, and other weapons of 
 death ! In the eighth, how the four angels of the Euphrates 
 dash to the ground with their swords the mighty and the 
 
 1 Dr. Waagen holds that this portrait is the original, of which there 
 is a copy in the Madrid Museum. See his opinion in Zahn's ' Jahrbiicher,' 
 i. p. 54. Otto Mundler believed (\Beitrage, u.s. 30) the original to be 
 at Madrid and the copy at the Uffizj.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 157 
 
 proud of the earth, whilst over them ride the awful company 
 of horsemen on the lion-headed horses, spitting forth fire ! 
 But it would occupy too much time to enter upon all the 
 details of these remarkable works. We now return to his 
 pictures. 
 
 Several of Albert Durer's pictures of the year 1500 are 
 known to us. The first and most important is his own 
 portrait in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 124, which 
 represents him in front, with his hand laid on the fur 
 trimming of his robe. There is a considerable difference 
 between this and the Florence portrait, although the artist 
 is here but two years older — a difference from which we 
 may infer that a remarkable crisis had taken place in the 
 development of his mind. In the Florence picture he is a 
 good-natured harmless youth, see woodcut : in that at 
 Munich he has suddenly ripened into manhood ; his features 
 have become full and powerful, they have gained the expres- 
 sion of a formed character ; the forehead and eyes give 
 evidence of an earnest and deep-thinking spirit. The tech- 
 nical treatment, too, which contributes so much to give a 
 peculiar stamp to his later works, is here fully matured, 
 particularly the thin glazing in the shadows of the carnations, 
 which lends to the picture we speak of an almost glassy 
 transparency. The modelling is • excellent, although still 
 somewhat severe, and although considerable restorations are 
 perceptible. The hair falls on both shoulders in beautiful 
 profusion, and is very finely painted ; the hand which holds 
 the fur of the upper garment over the breast is still stiff in 
 the drawing, and, what is in striking contrast to the painting 
 of the face, the colour is thickly laid on. 1 
 
 Of the same year is a Hercules attacking the Harpies, 
 painted in distemper ; a fine, powerfully drawn figure, but 
 much injured. In the collection of the Landauer Bruderhaus 
 at Nuremberg. 2 
 
 1 [There is a fine old copy of this portrait in the Suermondt collection 
 at Aix-la-Chapelle.] [Now at Berlin, No. 557 a.] 
 
 2 [The Wail of the Marys over the dead body of Christ, No. 94 in 
 the Munich Gallery, is certified by a monogram, and the date 1500 ; 
 but it is doubtful whether either is genuine.] 
 
158 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 In the gallery of the Belvedere, in Vienna, is a Virgin 
 nursing the Infant, of the year 1503. It contains little more 
 than the heads of both figures. Though lightly and very 
 pleasingly painted, it is uninteresting in expression, and 
 seems nothing more than the portrait of the sturdy wife of 
 some burgher. 
 
 But the engraving of the same date, of the coat of arms 
 with the Death's head, is far more interesting. The two 
 supporters — the smiling woman with the braided tresses and 
 fantastic crown, and the wild man who grasps her, and 
 turns, as if to kiss her — have a peculiar and fantastic charm 
 about them. The engraving, too, of Adam and Eve, of the 
 year 1504, ranks among the best of the master's works. 
 
 The finest picture of the year 1504 is an Adoration of the 
 Kings ; originally painted for Frederick the Wise, Elector of 
 Saxony, subsequently presented by the Elector Christian II. 
 to the Emperor Rudolph II., and finally, on the occasion of 
 an exchange of pictures, transferred from Vienna to Florence, 
 where it now hangs in the Tribune of the Umzj. The heads 
 are of thoroughly realistic treatment ; the Virgin a portrait 
 from some model of no attractive character; the second 
 king the portrait of the painter himself. The landscape 
 background exactly resembles that in the well-known engrav- 
 ing of St. Eustace, the period of which is thus pretty nearly 
 defined. It is carefully painted in a fine body of colour. 
 
 To about the same time we may assign the fine portrait 
 of a man with broad-brimmed hat and an order round his 
 neck, now in the collection of the Duke of Rutland at Bel voir 
 Castle. 
 
 [Of 1505 is a fine male portrait in the Borghese Palace at 
 Rome.] 
 
 In the year 1506 Albert Durer made a journey into Upper 
 Italy, and remained a considerable time at Venice. Of his 
 occupations in this city the letters written to his friend 
 Wilibald Pirckheimer, which have come down to us, give 
 many interesting particulars. He there executed for the 
 German Company a picture which brought him great fame, 
 and by its brilliant colouring silenced the assertion of his 
 envious adversaries, " that he was a good engraver, but 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 159 
 
 knew not how to deal with colours." In the centre of the 
 landscape is the Virgin, seated, with the Child, and crowned 
 by two Angels ; on her right is a Pope with priests, kneel- 
 ing; on her left the Emperor Maximilian I., with knights ; 
 various members of the German Company are also kneel- 
 ing : all are being crowned with garlands of roses by the 
 Virgin, the Child, St. Dominick — who stands behind the 
 Virgin — and by angels. The painter and his friend Pirck- 
 heimer are seen standing in the background on the right ; 
 the painter holds a tablet, with the inscription, " Exegit 
 quinque mestri spatio, Albertus Durer Germanus, MDVI," 
 and his monogram. This picture, which is one of his largest 
 and finest, was purchased of the church at a high price by 
 the Emperor Rudolph II. for his gallery at Prague, where it 
 remained until sold in 1782, with other objects from the 
 same collection, by the Emperor Joseph II. It then became 
 the property of the Praemonstratensian monastery of Strahow 
 at Prague, where it still exists, though in very injured con- 
 dition and greatly over-painted. In the Museum at Lyons 
 may be seen a copy, with various important alterations, 
 which was executed towards the close of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, and which there passes for the original. 1 
 
 [The most attractive picture of the year is the crucified 
 Saviour, in the Gallery of Dresden, an exquisite production, 
 in which Durer shows how thoroughly he was master of 
 drawing, proportion, and expression, a marvel of finish, and 
 full of effect. 
 
 In contrast to this, and done, we might think, to prove 
 how quick even a German of Durer's type could work, is 
 a Christ amidst the Doctors, in the Barberini Palace at 
 Rome, executed, as the inscription says, and the spectator 
 can guess, " in five days."] 2 
 
 1 A good lithograph, executed with the pen by Bademann, taken 
 from the original, was published in Prague in 1835. For further 
 description of this important picture, see an article by me in the 
 'Kunstblatt' of 1854, p. 200, etc. [Compare also Grimm. ' Kunstler 
 und Kunstwerke,' 1865, i. 166-7, and De Ris, Les Musees de Provence, 
 ii. 379.] 
 
 2 [Vasari says that the cause of Durer's journey to Venice was 
 Marcantonio's issue of the Passion engravings with Durer's monogram : 
 the result was an arrangement between the two engravers to issue the 
 
160 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 In the Gallery of the Belvedere, at Vienna, is a portrait, 
 of the year 1507, of a young man, with a high colour. It is 
 wonderfully beautiful, true to life, and finely painted, so as 
 to equal .Durer's best works in portraiture ; but it is unfor- 
 tunately not in as good preservation as we could wish. This 
 picture allows us to judge of the excellence of another painted 
 in the same year, and which afterwards passed from the 
 possession of the Council of Nuremberg into the gallery of the 
 Emperor Rudolph II. It represents, on two different panels, 
 Adam and Eve, life-size, at the moment of the Fall. On 
 that containing Eve is the inscription, " Albertus Durer 
 Alemanus faciebat post Virginis partum, 1507," with the 
 monogram. The head of Eve is very delicately formed for 
 the painter, the drawing good, the outlines animated, and 
 the modelling careful. These panels are now in the Madrid 
 Gallery. 1 Another example of the same subject, of great 
 beauty, and proceeding undoubtedly from the studio of Albert 
 Durer, is in the Pitti Palace. A third, also called an original 
 picture, in the Mayence Gallery, is, on the other hand, an 
 early copy. 2 
 
 With these productions begins the zenith of this master's 
 fame, in which a great number of distinguished works follow 
 one another within a short period. Of these we first notice 
 a picture of 1508, in the Belvedere Gallery at Vienna, painted 
 for Duke Frederick of Saxony, and which afterwards adorned 
 the gallery of the Emperor Rudolph II. It represents the 
 Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Saints. In the centre of 
 the picture stand the master and his friend Pirckheimer as 
 spectators, both in black dresses. Albert Durer has a mantle 
 thrown over the shoulder in the Italian fashion, and stands 
 
 Passion as a joint undertaking (Vas. ix. 265-7). These statements 
 are not confirmed by Durer's correspondence ; they are treated as fables 
 by most writers. But Mr. F. Reiset gives reasons for thinking that 
 Marcantonio did copy and sell as Durer's those plates of the Passion 
 which bear dates earlier than 1507, ex. gr. the Meeting of Joachim and 
 Anna (1504), the Annunciation and Epiphany (1506). Compare F. 
 Reiset' s 'Notice des Dessins,' etc., Paris, 1866, pp. 360 — 362.] 
 
 1 Passavant's 'Christliche Kunst in Spanien,' p. 142. 
 
 2 [The Pitti contains the originals of which the Madrid pictures are 
 copies. The replica at Mayence, jSTo. 204, is very unattractive, and looks 
 like a work of the school of Mabuse.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 161 
 
 in a firm attitude. He folds his hands, and holds a small 
 flag, on which is inscribed, "Iste faciebat anno domini 1508 
 Albertus Durer Alemanus. 5 ' There are a multitude of single 
 groups around, exhibiting every species of martyrdom, but 
 there is a want of general connection of the whole. The 
 scenes in the background, where the Christians are led naked 
 up the rocks, and are precipitated down from the top, appear 
 to me particularly excellent. The whole is very minute and 
 miniature -like ; the colouring is beautifully brilliant, and it 
 is painted (the accessories particularly) with extraordinary 
 care. There is also much that is good in the drawing of 
 single parts, but the conception wants real dignity, power, 
 and individuality. It is only here and there that pain is well 
 expressed ; for instance, in the last but one of the nude 
 figures who are led up the mountain, and who totters along, 
 weary to the death, with a deep wound in the head. The 
 background forms an excellent but fanciful landscape of rocks 
 and trees. In the Schleissheim Gallery there is a repetition 
 of this picture — no doubt an old copy. 1 
 
 In the following year Albert Durer painted the celebrated 
 Assumption of the Virgin for Jacob Heller of Frankfort, a pic- 
 ture which he executed with the most persevering diligence, 
 and the centre-piece without any assistance. Here again 
 the painter himself stands in the centre, leaning upon a tablet 
 inscribed with his name, and with the date. There are 
 numerous ancient testimonies to the excellence of this work. 
 [It was purchased at the close of the sixteenth century by 
 Maximilian, Elector of Bavaria, at the cost of 10,000 florins 
 and a copy by Paul Juvenel of Nuremberg ; and it subse- 
 quently perished by fire at Munich in 1674. Juvenel's copy 
 was preserved, and still exists in the Stahlhof at Frankfort, 
 where numerous pieces of the wings were recently brought 
 together by the industry of an excellent art critic, Dr. Moris 
 Thausing. On the open wings are the Martyrdoms of St. 
 
 1 [O. Miindler adds to our list of pictures for this year a small one in 
 the Santangelo collection at Naples, representing a woman tying a 
 garland at a window, inscribed with Durer's name, the date 1508, and 
 the words in a white ribband : " Ich Pint mit Verges mein nit." See 
 * Beitrage,' p. 30.] 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. Book III. 
 
 James and St. Catherine, beneath which there are portraits 
 of Jacob Heller and his wife. Of four pieces forming 
 the outer sides of the wings three have been found : one 
 representing two canonized kings, another, St. Thomas (?) 
 and St. Christopher, yet another, St. Peter and St. Paul. 
 Moriz Thausing very justly observes that it is difficult to 
 say to which of Durer's assistants the wing pictures can be 
 assigned. They were too poor to prove attractive to the 
 Elector of Bavaria.] 1 
 
 Two excellent woodcuts may also be mentioned as examples 
 of Durer's activity in 1510. The first is the beautiful plate 
 which represents a Penitent kneeling before the altar and 
 scourging himself on his naked back, and the second that in 
 which Death seizes upon an armed warrior. 
 
 In 1511 he published three large series of woodcuts, some 
 of which, as shown by their dates, had been executed in the 
 two preceding years. These were the greater and the 
 lesser Passion, and the Life of the Virgin. They are some 
 of the best of Albert Durer's works which have descended to 
 us ; in them we find, almost more than in any others, intima- 
 tions of a lively feeling for beauty and simple dignity, whilst 
 the fantastic features of his style and the homeliness of his 
 conception are less offensively prominent. We can take but 
 a rapid glance at a few of this rich series. 
 
 The Great Passion. — The title-page represents Christ sit- 
 ting naked on a stone, with the crown of thorns, whilst one 
 of the soldiers thrusts into his hand the reed. The form of 
 Christ is most noble, full, and beautiful ; the soldier, in the 
 costume of the middle ages, is fierce and scornful, but also a 
 finely formed and well-developed figure. The Saviour is 
 wringing his hands, while he turns his majestic head, full of 
 divine compassion, towards the spectator — for, as a frontis- 
 piece, this representation has here a symbolical meaning : it 
 is not the mockery of Christ, as an event of history, but the 
 lasting reproach cast upon the Saviour by sinners ; hence the 
 wounds on the hands and feet are already marked. The 
 Bearing of the Cross is a composition with numerous figures 
 
 1 [See 'Der Hellersche Altar,' by Moriz Thausing, in ' Zeitschrift/ f. 
 b. Kunst., vi., pp. 93 and 135.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 163 
 
 thickly grouped, yet conveying the most perfect view of the 
 subject, and the clearest development of the action. In the 
 centre the Saviour sinks on his knee under the weight of the 
 cross ; on the right the executioner, in whose figure there is 
 an ostentatious display of muscular power, drags him up by 
 the rope ; on the left is St. Veronica kneeling, with the 
 handkerchief in her hands, while Christ turns to her with an 
 expression of tender love. Behind him is another execu- 
 tioner, who with savage haste appears to throw Jesus forward 
 among stones and thistles ; whilst Simon of Cyrene, a 
 benevolent old man, is in the act of taking the weight of the 
 cross from his shoulders. Further back, on one side, are the 
 centurion and soldiers, and on the other the Virgin and the 
 friends of Jesus : behind them the Thieves are being led 
 through the city-gate. The composition bears a similarity, 
 not to be mistaken, to Raphael's picture, Lo Spasimo di 
 Sicilia ; and though in this latter work we acknowledge the 
 hand of a more matured artist, yet, in single parts, the com- 
 parison is certainly favourable to the older German compo- 
 sition. The figure of Christ, particularly, is more important, 
 more dignified, and more decidedly the central point of 
 interest in the action. Christ's Descent into Hell displays 
 the wildest fancy in the figures of the demons, perfect 
 majesty in that of the Redeemer, and excellent drawing of 
 the nude in the figures of those released. The Body of 
 Christ taken down from the Cross, and mourned over by his 
 followers, is a composition which may unhesitatingly be 
 placed by the side of the most profound works of the great 
 Italian masters. The most perfect grouping is made consist- 
 ent with the greatest simplicity of design ; and, however 
 indifferently the engraver has executed his part, the varied 
 expression of the single figures, and the peculiar grace of the 
 lines and movements, cannot be concealed. When we look 
 at such works we easily comprehend why the later Italians 
 valued Albert Durer's compositions so highly, and how it was 
 that a translation of them, as it were, into Italian was so 
 much desired. 
 
 The Lesser Passion. — Of this series the most beautiful 
 compositions are — Christ taking leave of his Mother ; distin- 
 
164 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 guished by the dignity and beauty of the drapery. Christ 
 washing the feet of his disciples ; remarkable for the ex- 
 cellent and simple arrangement of a large number of figures 
 in a small space, whilst the principal group in the foreground 
 is beautiful and full of feeling. Christ praying on the Mount 
 of Olives, — which is extremely simple, and, with the highest 
 dignity and beauty, full of the most profound and tender 
 feeling. Christ appearing to his Mother in her chamber, and 
 to Mary Magdalen as the gardener, after his resurrection, are 
 both, the latter particularly, compositions of peculiar grace 
 and simple beauty. 
 
 The Life of the Virgin. — The leading character of the last- 
 mentioned works is grand and tragic ; that of this series is 
 graceful and pleasing. In these we are introduced into the 
 more tender relations of family life, where the master shows 
 a refinement of amiable feeling in which he has few equals. 
 It appears almost superfluous to enter into the details of a 
 work so well known, but we shall briefly notice a few com- 
 positions of particular beauty. The Golden Gate — Joachim 
 and Anna support one another, after their mournful separa- 
 tion, with the expectation of a joyful futurity ; the former is 
 a mild-looking, aged man — Anna full of womanly softness 
 and resignation. In the background the steward and other 
 servants of Joachim, who had come to welcome their lord, 
 ^are engaged in talking over the event. The birth of the 
 Virgin — a composition of the most attractive na'iveti. The 
 scene is the lying-in chamber of a Nuremberg house, with a 
 numerous company of women and maidens, offering an in- 
 teresting comparison with Florentine life, in similar scenes, 
 by Ghirlandajo and others. The Circumcision : — this subject, 
 frequently so disagreeable, and bordering, even in the hands 
 of great masters, on the absurd, here offers a pleasing re- 
 presentation of a characteristic national custom. Numerous 
 as are the figures in this composition, nothing is superfluous : 
 each seems necessarily and individually interested in the 
 action ; and the whole is formed into simple and natural 
 groups. The Flight into Egypt : — in contrast to the Circum- 
 cision the space is here skilfully filled up with few figures ; 
 the pleasant aspect of a thick and fruitful wood, through 
 
ADORATION OF THE TRINITY. 
 Painted by Albert Durer. Now in the Belvedere at Vienna, 
 
 page 165. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DUREE. 
 
 165 
 
 which the Holy Family are journeying, adds to the charm of 
 this attractive subject. The Repose in Egypt : — a courtyard, 
 with a dwelling built into the ruins of an ancient palace ; the 
 Virgin, with a spindle, sits beside the cradle ; beautiful angels 
 worship at her side ; Joseph is employed in carpenter's work, 
 with a number of little angels, who, in merry sport, assist 
 him in his labour. This is a scene of the most graceful repose 
 and undisturbed serenity. The Death of the Virgin : — the 
 perfect composition, simple division of the principal groups, 
 fine forms, and deep feeling, combine to place this design 
 very high amongst the works of Albert Durer. It has fre- 
 quently been copied in colours by his followers ; and, in 
 many galleries, pictures of this kind bear his name. 
 
 There arc also other woodcuts by the master inscribed with 
 the date 1511, such as the well-known and grand composition 
 of the Trinity, several Holy Families, etc. 
 
 Between the years 1507 and 1513, but principally in 1512, 
 were executed the large series of small engravings which con- 
 tain a third representation of the Passion. Among these are 
 many of much merit, the more interesting from the delicate 
 execution of the master's own hand being visible throughout. 
 In order not to weary the reader, I shall refrain from going 
 into the details of single plates. 
 
 To this fruitful time, 1511, belongs also one of his most 
 celebrated pictures, the Adoration of the Trinity, see wood- 
 cut. It was painted for the chapel of the Landauer Bruder- 
 haus, in Nuremberg, whence, like many of his works, it was 
 removed to Prague, where it was presented [April, 1585] 1 to 
 the Emperor Rodolph II. ; at present it is in the Belvedere 
 at Vienna. Above, in the centre of the picture, are seen the 
 First Person, who holds the Saviour in his arms, while the 
 Holy Spirit is seen above ; some angels spread out the priestly 
 mantle of the Almighty, whilst others hover near with the in- 
 struments of Christ's Passion. On the left hand, a little lower 
 down, is a choir of females with the Virgin at their head ; 
 on the right are the male saints with St. John the Baptist. 
 Below all these kneel a host cf the blessed, of all ranks and 
 
 [ l See Josef Baader's Beitrage zur Kunstgeschichte Nurnbergs, m 
 Sahn's ' Jahrbucher,' i. 224.] 
 
166 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 nations, extending over the whole of this part of the picture. 
 Underneath the whole is a beautiful landscape, and in a 
 corner of the picture the artist himself, richly clothed in a 
 fur mantle, with a tablet next him, with the words " Albertus 
 Durer Noricus faciebat anno a Virginis partu, 1511." The 
 execution here p.lso is masterly and of exceeding delicacy, 
 but again with the same glazing of the colours. The cast of 
 the drapery is in general grand ; the figures in the Trinity 
 are dignified, and not without beauty. In other parts the 
 picture is deficient in loftiness of conception, and a few only 
 of the other heads — that of David, for instance — can be 
 called beautiful. In the greater number, even in the figures 
 of the saints, we again find a feeling oi common life, border- 
 ing on caricature. It may be assumed beyond doubt that he 
 held in particular esteem those pictures into which he intro- 
 duced his cwn portrait. 
 
 In the Belvedere is a picture of the following year, 1512, 
 the Virgin holding the naked Child in her arms. She has a 
 veil over her head, and blue drapery. Her face is of the 
 form usual with Albert Durer, but of a soft and maidenly 
 character ; the Child is beautiful — the countenance parti- 
 cularly so. It is painted with exceeding delicacy of finish, 
 but, unfortunately, with grayish shadows in the flesh. 
 
 [In the Trivulzi collection at Milan is a small and well- 
 preserved bust-figure of Christ crowned with thorns, with 
 the monogram and the date of 1514. J ] 
 
 A series of his pictures, to which there is no precise date, 
 may be mentioned here, since the greater number of them 
 must belong to the middle period of the artist's career : — 
 
 A Mater Dolorosa, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 
 153, standing with folded hands, is beautiful, simple, and 
 dignified. 2 
 
 The Body of our Lord taken down from the Cross and 
 mourned by his followers, is in the chapel of St. Maurice at 
 Nuremberg. It was originally ordered by the family of 
 Holzschuher for the church of St. Sebaldus ; it then came 
 
 1 [ See Miindler's ' Beitrage.' n. s., p., 30.] 
 
 2 [This picture was painted by an imitator of Durer, and the mono- 
 gram as well as the date is false.] 
 
THE KNIGHT, DEATH AND THE DEVIL. 
 An Engraving by Albert Durer. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 167 
 
 into the possession of the Peller family, and at a later period 
 into the Boisseree Gallery. The composition consists of 
 numerous figures, beautifully arranged, particularly the dead 
 body, the drawing of which, though stiff, is of a fine cha- 
 racter. There is no great depth of expression in the heads ; 
 the background is a rich mountain-landscape. This picture 
 was probably executed between 1515 and 1518. 1 A repeti- 
 tion, which is in the original place in St. Sebaldus, is un- 
 doubtedly an old, but not worthless copy ; the colouring, 
 particularly in the body of Christ, is, however, much drier. 
 
 The portraits of the Emperors Charlemagne and Sigismund, 
 in the castle at Nuremberg, are two powerful and dignified 
 figures, executed in Albert Durer's forcible outline and free 
 painting. 2 
 
 A portrait, in distemper, of Jacob Fuggers, in the Munich 
 Gallery, is a clever picture, No. 51. 3 
 
 Some engravings, which our historical survey now leads 
 us to notice, are more interesting than the greater part of the 
 pictures just described. 
 
 The first of these is the celebrated plate of The Knight, 
 Death, and the Devil, inscribed with the date 1513 (see 
 woodcut). I believe that I do not exaggerate when I 
 particularize this print as the most important work which 
 the fantastic spirit of German Art has ever produced. The 
 invention may be ascribed unreservedly to the imagination 
 of the master. We see a solitary Knight riding through a 
 dark glen ; two demons rise up before him, the most fearful 
 which the human breast can conceive — the personification of 
 thoughts at which the cheek grows pale — the horrible figure 
 of Death on the lame horse, and the bewildering apparition 
 of the Devil. But the Knight, prepared for combat wherever 
 resistance can avail, with a countenance on which Time has 
 imprinted his furrows, and to which care and self-denial 
 have imparted an expression of deep and unconquerable 
 determination, looks steadily forward on the path which he 
 has chosen, and allows these creations of a delusive dream 
 
 1 1 Kimstler und Kunstwerke in Deutschland/ vol. i. p. 186. 
 
 2 ' Kimstler imd Kunstwerke in Deutschland,' vol. i., p. 201, etc. 
 
 3 [This is a clever portrait, but not by Albert Durer.] 
 
168 
 
 THE FRANC0N1AN SCHOOL. Book III. 
 
 to sink again into their visionary kingdom. The masterly 
 execution of the engraving is well known. 
 
 Several excellent plates were also executed by Albert 
 Durer in the year 1514. Of these we may first name his 
 "Melancholy." In the seated figure of this grand winged 
 woman, absorbed in thought (see woodcut), he has expressed, 
 in a highly original and intellectual manner, the insufficiency 
 of the human reason, either to explore the secrets of life, 
 fortune, and science, or to unravel those of the past. Sym- 
 bolical allusions of various kinds lie around, in the shape of 
 the sphere, the book, the crystal polygon, the crucible, the 
 bell, the hour-glass, etc., with many implements of human 
 activity, such as the plane, the hammer, and the rule. The 
 intention of the plate is greatly enhanced by the grandly 
 melancholy character of the landscape background. 
 
 A perfect contrast to the Melancholy is to be found in its 
 contemporary print of St. Jerome in his study. There, too, 
 we see the figure of a man sunk in deep thought, and a chamber 
 filled with various apparatus. The whole is arranged with 
 the most ingenious fancy, but pervaded by a serenity and 
 grace which keep aloof all the dreams and visionary forms 
 created by the imagination, and bring before us the simple 
 reality of homely life in its most pleasing form. Gerard 
 Dow, the most feeling of the Dutch genre-painters, has pro- 
 duced nothing so pleasing and touching as this print, which, 
 even in the most trifling accessories, bears the impress of a 
 lofty and gentle nature. 
 
 After the year 1520 Albert Durer engraved various plates 
 of Madonnas and Apostles, among which occur additional 
 examples of dignity and fine feeling. 
 
 The largest woodcut executed by this master is inscribed 
 with the year 1515. It is the Triumphal Arch of the Em- 
 peror Maximilian : a strange work, with an endless variety 
 of historical representations, portraits, and fanciful ornaments. 
 In spite, however, of the immense amount of details, the 
 effect of the whole is very stately. To the architectural 
 parts the artist has given the most grotesque and fantastic 
 forms, yet they are often composed with singular ingenuity 
 and skill : this applies particularly to the principal columns, 
 
MELANCHOLY 
 Engmving by Albert Durer. pa ge 168, 
 
BOEDER FROM THE PRAYER-BOOK. OP MAXIM-IETAN. 
 Drawn by Albert Durer- In the Roya] Library, Munich. 
 
 page 169 
 
BORDER FROM THE PRAYER-BOOK OF MAXIMILIAN. 
 Drawn by Albert Durer. In the Rcyal Library, Munich- 
 
 page 198. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 169 
 
 which are arranged in pairs ; their composition is remarkable 
 throughout for its strict consistency and its reference to the 
 office assigned to them ; they have not the weight of a con- 
 tinuous entablature to support, but in reality each pair only 
 sustains isolated niches, which contain statues. The orna- 
 ments, taken singly, are very tasteful, and drawn with 
 much force and spirit ; the series of portraits — which repre- 
 sent the predecessors and ancestors of the Emperor, from 
 Julius Cassar and the Merovingian Clodovic, with all his kin- 
 dred — is very remarkable for the extraordinary variety and 
 character of the heads, which the artist, having no existing 
 originals to work from, was obliged himself to invent. The 
 historical representations relate to the most brilliant events 
 of the Emperor's life, but in them we trace the hand of the 
 imperial historiographer who arranged, rather than that of 
 the artist who executed them. Very few of these composi- 
 tions are remarkable for the qualities which we look for in 
 works of art, yet there are parts, particularly where the 
 action consists of few figures, which are very striking. The 
 whole work proves in a brilliant manner the singular versa- 
 tility of this master's powers. 
 
 In the year 1515 Albert Durer executed also the celebrated 
 borders for the Prayer-book of the Emperor Maximilian, see 
 woodcuts, now in the Royal Library at Munich. In these 
 spirited pen-and-ink drawings the fancy of the artist revels 
 in perfect liberty, sometimes serious and dignified, sometimes 
 gracefully playful, sometimes humorous and gay. Here 
 his task was not to represent a given subject of particular 
 depth of meaning, but merely to fill up tastefully an allotted 
 space : and if he does not always seem to keep in mind the 
 full meaning of the text which he has adorned with his 
 arabesques, still the play of fancy is neither whimsical nor 
 extravagant, the humour never degenerates into vulgarity, 
 as is often the case in this kind of ornament ; and the com- 
 bined effect makes so pleasing an impression on the spec- 
 tator that criticism is content to be silent. 
 
 Two of his pictures in the Florentine Gallery of the Uffizj, 
 which represent the Apostles Philip and James, bear the date 
 of 1516. They were gifts from the Emperor Ferdinand III., 
 
170 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 in the middle of the seventeenth century, to the Duke of 
 Tuscany. Both are painted in tempera, and powerfully 
 modelled ; the character is forcible and energetic. 
 
 Of the same year is the portrait of his master, Wohlge- 
 muth, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 139, a strangely 
 sharp and bony countenance. It is of masterly painting, in 
 a draughtsmanlike style. 
 
 The fantastic composition, consisting of four woodcuts of 
 a pillar on which a Satyr is seated, was executed in 1517. 
 
 In 1518 occurs the charming woodcut of the Virgin as 
 Queen of Heaven, surrounded by Angels. 
 
 A Lucretia, the size of life, in the Munich Gallery (No. 
 93), was taken from some very unattractive original in 
 Nuremberg. It is, however, of masterly modelling in all 
 parts, and worthy of Leonardo da Vinci. 
 
 In the year 1519 Albert Durer executed a portrait of the 
 Emperor Maximilian ; a half-length, with a pomegranate, 
 the imperial symbol, in the left hand. It is in the Gallery 
 of the Belvedere in Vienna. The conception is fine, and the 
 execution, in a warm tone, very careful. A good original 
 repetition was in the collection of the late Lord Northwick 
 at Thirlestain Hall. 1 
 
 In the year 1520-21 he undertook a journey to the Nether- 
 lands. His journal is still preserved, and tells us of the 
 great honours with which he was received there by the 
 native artists. He appears at this time as a man conscious 
 of his long and ardent labours, and anxious to derive from 
 those labours only such advantages as every honourable man 
 must wish to enjoy. This journey, however, it appears, 
 must have exercised an important influence on his tendency 
 in art, and perhaps opened his eyes to the peculiarity of his 
 manner. There are at least changes in the feeling and treat- 
 ment visible in his later works, and Melancthon tells us, 
 from the painter's own confession, that the beauty of nature 
 had not unfolded itself to him until a late period ; that he 
 had then only learned that simplicity is the greatest charm 
 of art ; that he sighed over the motley pictures of his early 
 
 1 'Treasures of Art,' etc., vol. iii. p. 210. 
 
From Albert Durer'8 Woodcut of the " CAR OF MAXIMILIAN/ in the British Museum, 
 
 page ITU 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 171 
 
 days, and mourned that he could no longer hope to emulate 
 the great prototype — Nature. 1 
 
 In the Gallery of the Belvedere, in Vienna, is a singular 
 picture by Albert Durer. of the year 1520, which differs in 
 a striking manner from the rest of his works. In execution 
 and conception it bears a likeness, not to be mistaken, to 
 the works of the artists of the Low Countries of that period, 
 particularly to those of Quentin Massys. It was probably 
 executed whilst he was on the journey, under the influence 
 of the new objects around him. The subject is the Virgin, 
 a half-length figure in a fur mantle ; the Child, naked, with 
 a string of amber round his neck, is on her lap ; on the 
 green table before her lies a cut lemon. The head of the 
 Virgin is particularly soft and mild ; the Child is not remark- 
 ably beautiful. 2 
 
 In 1522 he published the series of woodcuts which form 
 the Triumphal Car of the Emperor Maximilian, see wood- 
 cuts. The allegory is rather p^oor, and the elaborate orna- 
 ments of the car are whimsical and even tasteless ; on the 
 other hand, the allegorical female figures, despite the dis- 
 agreeable crumpled appearance of the drapery, display 
 motives of extraordinary beauty, such as might have pro- 
 ceeded from the graceful simplicity of Raphael. This cir- 
 cumstance also must not be overlooked with reference to the 
 change in the tendency of Albert Durer' s feeling in his later 
 time. 3 
 
 The two half-length pictures of SS. Joseph and Joachim, 
 and Simeon and Lazarus, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, 
 
 1 Memini virum excellentem ingenio et virtute Albertum Durerurn 
 pictorem dicere, se juvenem floridas et maxime varias picturas amasse, 
 seque admiratorem suorum operum valde lsetatum esse, contempkitem 
 hanc varietatem in sua aliqua pictura. Postea se senem cocpisse intueri 
 Naturam, et illius nativam faciem intueri conatum esse, eamque simpli- 
 citatem tunc intellexisse sumraum artis decus esse. Quam cum non 
 prorsus adsequi posset, dicebat se jam non esse admiratorem operum 
 suorum ut olim, seel stepe gemere intuentem suas tabulas, et cogitantem 
 de infirmitate sua. Etc. (Epistolao Ph. Melanchthonis, etc., Ep. 47, p. 
 42 E. apud Epist. D. Erasmi Roter. et Ph. Melanch. Londini, 16' 42, fol.) 
 
 2 [This picture, No. 20, Room I, second floor, bears a false signature 
 and date, and is by a Fleming, imitating Durer.] 
 
 3 [This series was drawn under Durer' s supervision by his assistants, 
 amongst others by Hans von Kulmbach, in 1518. See Moriz Thausing's 
 'Laurea,' in Zann's ' Jahrbiicher,' ii., 178.] 
 
172 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 123, 127, are of the year 1523. They formed the side- 
 wings of an altarpiece [painted for the Jabach family at 
 Cologne, the outer sides of which are in the Cologne and 
 Frankfort Galleries]. 1 The colouring is beautiful, the ex- 
 pression dignified, but they are not essentially different from 
 his earlier works. 
 
 Scarce as are the genuine pictures by Albert Durer in 
 England, I may observe that a Nativity by him, under the 
 erroneous name of Herri de Bles — a small but fine picture 
 — is in the collection of the Marquis of Exeter at Burleigh 
 House. 
 
 During this period he engraved on copper those remark- 
 able portraits of his celebrated contemporaries — Cardinal 
 Albert of Brandenburg, the Elector Frederick the Wise, 
 Pirckheimer, Melancthon, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and others 
 — which are distinguished by the most spirited conception 
 of life, as well as by an execution of wonderful delicacy. 
 This was the time at which religious discord had burst over 
 Germany, and when Nuremberg especially was severely 
 visited by it : consequently the desire for religious works of 
 art may naturally have decreased. It is probable, however, 
 that Albert Durer, whose mind had imbibed the new doctrine 
 with the deepest devotion, may have laboured with more 
 satisfaction in the province of every-day life than in many of 
 the subjects which art had previously treated. We are in- 
 debted, at any rate, to these circumstances for a series of 
 most admirable works, which without them would probably 
 never have been called into existence. 
 
 Three excellent portraits in oil exist, of the year 1526. 
 One in the Gallery of the Belvedere, at Vienna, represents 
 a citizen of Nuremberg, John Kleeberger : it is a pale, manly 
 head, with large black eyes, altogether of a peculiar beauty ; 
 the nose only is rather small ; the shadows are unfortunately 
 of a strong gray tone. The second, once in the possession of 
 the Holzschuher family, [now in the Germanic Museum at] 
 Nuremberg, represents one of their ancestors, Jerome 
 
 1 [Frankfort, Stadel, No. 104 : Job's wife pours water on Job's head. 
 Cologne Museum, No. 8 : A piper and a drummer. The centre of this 
 altarpiece is missing.] 
 
THE APOSTLES MARK AND PAUL. 
 Hy Albert Durer. In the Munich Gallery. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 Holzschuher, painted at the age of fifty-seven. The expres- 
 sion of this head is very fine and dignified ; the eyes are 
 brilliant, and, notwithstanding the white hair, the face 
 appears to possess the vigour of youth. Strictly speaking, 
 this picture is painted in the master's thin glazed manner, 
 but it is extraordinarily well executed. It combines the 
 most perfect modelling with the freest handling of the 
 colours, and is certainly the most beautiful of all this master's 
 portraits, since it plainly shows how well he could seize 
 Nature in her happiest moments, and represent her with 
 irresistible power. The third portrait is that of Jacob Muffel, 
 Burgomaster of Nuremberg, for a long time in the collection 
 of Count Schonborn at Pommersfelden, near Bamberg. It is 
 truthfully conceived, and of masterly modelling, but some- 
 what heavy and gray in colour. 
 
 [Of 1526 likewise is a Madonna at the Pitti, of a less pleasing 
 character than any that was ever produced by Durer.] 
 
 The same year, 1526, was distinguished by the two 
 pictures, corresponding with each other, of the four Apostles, 
 John and Peter, Mark and Paul, see woodcut ; the figures 
 are the size of life. This, which is the master's grandest 
 work, and the last of importance excuted by him, is now 
 (Nos. 71 and 76) in the Munich Gallery. We know with 
 certainty that it was presented by Albert Durer himself to 
 the council of his native city in remembrance of his career 
 as an artist, and at the same time as conveying to his fellow- 
 citizens an earnest and lasting exhortation suited to that 
 stormy period. In the year 1627, however, the pictures 
 were allowed to pass into the hands of the Elector Maximi- 
 lian I. of Bavaria. The inscriptions selected by the painter 
 himself might have given offence to a Catholic prince, and 
 were therefore cut off and joined to the copies by Join, 
 Fischer, which were intended to indemnify the city of Nurem- 
 berg for the loss of the originals. These copies are still in 
 the collection of the Landauer Briiderhaus at Nuremberg. 
 
 These pictures are the fruit of the deepest thought which 
 then stirred the mind of Albert Durer, and are executed 
 with overpowering force. Finished as they are, they form 
 the first complete work of art produced by Protestantism. 
 
174 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 As the inscription, taken from the Gospels and Epistles of 
 the Apostles, contains pressing warnings not to swerve from 
 the word of God, nor to believe in the doctrines of false 
 prophets, so the figures themselves represent the steadfast 
 and faithful guardians of that holy Scripture which they bear 
 in their hands. There is also an old tradition, handed down 
 from the master's own times, 1 that these figures represent 
 the four temperaments. This notion is confirmed by the 
 pictures themselves ; and though, at first sight, it may appear 
 to rest on a mere accidental combination, it serves, in truth, 
 to carry out more completely the artist's thought, and gives 
 to the figures greater individuality. It shows how every 
 quality of the human mind may be called into the service of 
 the Divine Word. Thus, in the first picture, we see the 
 whole force of the mind absorbed in contemplation, and we 
 are taught that true watchfulness in behalf of the Scripture 
 must begin by devotion to its study. St. John stands in 
 front, the open book in his hand ; his high forehead and his 
 whole countenance bear the impress of earnest and deep 
 thought. This is the melancholic temperament, which does 
 not shrink from the most profound inquiry. Behind him St. 
 Peter bends over the book, and gazes earnestly at its con- 
 tents ; a hoary head full of meditative repose. This figure 
 represents the phlegmatic temperament, which reviews its 
 own thoughts in tranquil reflection. The second picture 
 shows the outward operation of the conviction thus attained 
 and its relation to daily life. St. Mark, in the background, 
 is the man of sanguine temperament ; he looks boldly round, 
 and appears to speak to his hearers with animation, earnestly 
 urging them to share those advantages which he has himself 
 derived from the holy Scriptures. St Paul, on the contrary, 
 in the foreground holds the book and sword in his hands ; he 
 looks angrily and severely over his shoulder, ready to defend 
 the Word, and to annihilate the blasphemer with the sword 
 of God's power. He is the representative of the choleric 
 temperament. Then what masterly finish there is in the 
 execution ! such as is only suited to a subject of such sub- 
 
 1 Neudbrfler, ' Nachricliten. n. s., p. 37. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT DURER. 
 
 175 
 
 lime meaning. What dignity and sublimity pervade these 
 heads of varied character ! What simplicity and majesty 
 in the lines of the drapery ! What sublime and statue- 
 like repose in their movements ! Here we no longer find 
 any disturbing element : there are no small angular breaks 
 in the folds, no arbitrary or fantastic features in the coun- 
 tenance, or even in the fall of the hair. The colouring, 
 too, is perfect : true to nature in its power and warmth. 
 There is scarcely any trace of the bright glazing, or of 
 those sharply-defined forms, but everywhere a free, pure 
 impasto. Well might the artist now close his eyes. He had 
 in this picture attained the summit of art : here he stands 
 side by side with the greatest masters known in history. 
 
 Albert Durer died, as we saw, in 1528. I know of no im- 
 portant work of a later date than that just described. His 
 portrait, in a woodcut of the year 1527, represents him 
 earnest and serious in demeanour, as would naturally follow 
 from his advancing age and the pressure of eventful times. 
 His head is no longer adorned with those richly-flowing 
 locks, on which, in his earlier days, he had set so high a 
 value, as we learn from his pictures and from jests still 
 recorded of him. That excellence to which he had raised 
 German art in his last master-work passed away with him, 
 and centuries saw no sign of its revival. 1 
 
 A large number of pictures in galleries and private collec- 
 tions throughout Europe bearing the name of Albert Durer 
 are here purposely omitted, owing to the number of painters, 
 often of no mean technical merit, but of no power of inven- 
 tion, who executed pictures from the engravings and woodcuts 
 of this great master, which are systematically given out for 
 his original works. No man has had so many pictures 
 erroneously assigned to him as Albert Durer. 
 
 1 Among the drawings in the collection of the Archduke Charles of 
 Austria there is a study of drapery for the figure of St. Paul, executed so 
 early as 1523. This and three other finely-draped figures in the same 
 collection, and of the same year, are beautifully rendered. Hence it is 
 evident that, directly after the journey to the Netherlands, Albert Durer 
 endeavoured to lay aside his capricious style in the cast of his drapery, 
 and was eager to adopt one more grand and noble, and grounded upon 
 the study of Nature. 
 
176 
 
 THE FBANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 His scholars and followers imbibed, as was often the case 
 in other schools, the external characteristics of his manner, 
 particularly the peculiar motives of his drawing, without in 
 general catching the profound spirit of their master. But 
 even among them the fantastic principle of art, in particular 
 instances, was carried out with wonderful success. Most of 
 these artists, like himself, are known both as painters and 
 engravers, and many of their designs exist also in woodcuts. 
 
 One of the most pleasing of Albert Durer's scholars is 
 Hans von Kulmbach, whose name was Hans Wagnek, died 
 1540, and who came to him from the school of Jacob Walch. 1 
 Upon the whole, he adheres faithfully to the style of Albert 
 Durer ; but, while far below him in power of conception, he 
 surpasses him in taste and pure feeling for nature. He is 
 also more equal in warmth and harmony of colour. 
 
 [Hans von Kulmbach was an assistant to Durer for many 
 years after his matriculation. Yon Liitzow describes an 
 Epiphany, with the date of 1511, belonging to Mr. Lippman, 
 at Vienna, which shows that Hans was at that time an inde- 
 pendent master ; whilst Thausing proves that he was in 
 Durer's atelier between 1511 and 1513, as well as in 1518. ] 2 
 
 Among his numerous pictures preserved in Nuremberg are 
 two remarkable panels in the chapel of St. Maurice — wing- 
 pictures, with figures of saints — one of which, No. 57, 
 especially, is very clever. In St. Sebaldus, also, there is a 
 very remarkable large picture. It consists of three panels : 
 in the centre one is the Virgin enthroned with the Child, and 
 angels bearing musical instruments ; SS. Catherine and 
 Barbara stand beside them ; other saints, and the kneeling 
 figure of the donor, Lawrence Tucher, are on the side pictures, 
 It is in every respect the master-piece of this painter. 3 In 
 
 1 [See Neudorffer, n. s., p. 36.] 
 
 2 [See 1 Zeitschrift fur bildende Kunst,' vi., 329, and Zahn's ' Jahr- 
 biicher,' ii., 178 and 180.] 
 
 3 Notwithstanding Sandrart's assertion that he possessed Durer's 
 design for the picture, I find the composition so different from him, that 
 I believe the whole belongs to Kulmbach. Compare ' Kunst und Kunstler 
 in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 231. [Yet Durer's drawing of the centre of this 
 altarpiece is in the Berlin Museum ; it bears Durer's monogram and the 
 date of 1511. See Thausing's 'Laurea,' etc., in Zahn's ' Jahrbucher, ' 
 ii., 179.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS SCHAUFFELIN. 
 
 177 
 
 the Munich Gallery, Nos. 40, 43, 46, 58, there are pictures 
 by Hans von Kulmbach of beautiful and brilliant effect, with 
 very excellent single parts. In the Stadel Institute at 
 Frankfort there is a good altarpiece by the same master ; 
 and in the monastery of Heilsbronn, between Anspach and 
 Nuremberg, there are some pleasing figures of saints by his 
 hand. 
 
 [In the St. Gumpertus Kirche, at Anspach, we find Kulm- 
 bach's altarpiece representing the Trinity, with the Virgin 
 and angels, the patron Mattias von Gulpen, and St. Peter. It 
 was executed to an order sent to Durer.] 1 
 
 Heineich Aldegkever, born at [Paderborn about 1502, still 
 living at Soest in 1555], 2 is, as a painter, a less important 
 master. Pictures by him are very rare, but he was a very 
 clever engraver. [Most authentic is his picture of Christ sit- 
 ting on his tomb (1529) in the Museum at Prague.] A Last 
 Judgment, in the Berlin Gallery, deserves notice. The upper 
 group, of Christ with the Virgin and John the Baptist, is very 
 peculiar ; their draperies are agitated by the storm of the 
 Last Day. The angels with the trumpets, and the fantastic 
 figures of the demons among the damned, are of merit. The 
 host of naked figures of the dead who have risen are certainly 
 very drily painted, yet there is something striking in their 
 solemn measured movements. The saints in the foreground 
 also are dignified figures. The portraits of the donors are 
 full of life. A clever portrait of a youth is in the Lichtenstein 
 Gallery at Vienna [dated 1544] ; another, of an older man 
 (1551), in the Museum at Berlin ; [yet another of 1541, in the 
 Brunswick Museum, and one of Count Philip of Waldeck, 
 dated 1535, in the Art Union of Breslau.] 
 
 Numerous pictures by Hans Schauffelin, died 1549, are 
 dispersed in various places. He was a clever and dexterous 
 artist, who imitated the manner of his master, and, in his 
 best pictures, successfully. But he is very unequal, and 
 many of his works are very slight productions. Among his 
 paintings preserved in Nuremberg, a St. Bridget, in the 
 chapel of St. Maurice, appeared to me to deserve most notice : 
 
 1 [Consult Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' i., 21, 361 and ii., 181.] 
 
 2 [See A. Woltmann in Meyer's Allgeineines ' Kunst Lexikon. '] 
 
 12 
 
ITS 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 it is prettily and neatly painted, and has some pretension to 
 grandeur of style. There is also, in the castle, the subject 
 of Christ mocked, of the year 1517, an animated picture of 
 very large size, in tempera, and unfortunately injured in 
 parts. A small picture with numerous figures, also at 
 Nuremberg, representing the History of Judith, reminds us, 
 in some respects, of Schauffelin's more gifted fellow-pupil, 
 Altdorfer. The same composition, painted in tempera upon 
 the wall, is in the Town-hall at Nordlingen, Schauflelin's 
 native town, and the chief theatre of his pictorial activity. 
 His finest work is an altarpiece in the principal church, which 
 he executed in 1521, for Nicholas Ziegler, the Vice- Chancel- 
 lor of Charles V. The centre — a Pieta — is, in point of feeling, 
 sense of beauty, clearness of golden tone, and conscientious 
 carrying out, one of the finest pictures of the German school 
 of this period. The saints also, on the wings, are dignified 
 figures, and the St. Barbara of remarkable beauty. Four 
 other pictures by him in the same church may be also classed 
 among his best works. 1 The clever designs for the woodcuts 
 in the Teuerdank 2 are by his hand as well. 
 
 Barthel Beham, born at Nuremberg [in 1502, was late in 
 life a favourite with the Duke William the IVth of Bavaria, 
 who sent him at his own expense to Italy, where he died sud- 
 denly in 1540]. 3 His earlier works are quite in the manner 
 of Albert Durer. As a rule, his figures are coarsely realistic, 
 broad, and slight in execution, and of lively but somewhat 
 crude colouring. Pictures by him in this style include — a 
 Christ bearing the Cross, in the chapel of St. Maurice ; Christ 
 on the Mount of Olives, and several single saints, in the 
 Berlin Gallery. During his stay in Italy he attempted, 
 though with little success, to adopt the transalpine style of 
 art. Specimens of this class are the Miracle of a Woman 
 raised from the Dead by the True Cross, of the year 1530, 
 
 1 See further in 'Kunst und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. pp. 
 349 and 355. 
 
 2 This is the title of a long German poem by Melchior Pfinzing, which 
 celebrates in an allegorical form the adventures of the Emperor Maxi- 
 milian I. It appeared in Nuremberg in 1517. 
 
 3 [Neudorffer, n. s., p. 40 ; A. Woltmann in the catalogue of the Furs- 
 tenberg coll., p. 12 ; and Rettberg's Nurnberg's ' Kunstleben,' p. 142.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS SEBALD BEHAM. 
 
 179 
 
 with several animated heads ; and Marcus Curtius leaping into 
 the Gulf, of the year 1540, with gaudy and overladen antique 
 architecture — both in the Munich Gallery, Nos. 72 and 98. 
 A number of portraits of Bavarian princes and princesses, 
 in the Gallery at Schleissheim, show that though somewhat 
 crude in general keeping, he was an admirable portrait artist. 
 He is more important, however, as an engraver. His portraits 
 of the Emperor Charles V., and his brother the Emperor 
 Ferdinand I, are well known for their fine conception and 
 masterly treatment. 
 
 Hans Sebald Beham, a [brother] of the foregoing, born at 
 Nuremberg in 1500, had the advantage first of his brother's 
 instructions in painting and engraving, and then of Albert 
 Durer's. In 1540 the unsteadiness of his life compelled him 
 to leave Nuremberg, when he migrated to Frankfort, where 
 he died [November 22], 1550. 1 He possessed singular 
 powers of invention, generally exercised on secular, and often 
 on coarsely humorous subjects, occasionally also on those of 
 a vulgar and indecorous class. At the same time he was not 
 deficient in feeling for beauty and grace, and was an excellent 
 draughtsman. Of his oil pictures one only is known, now 
 in the Louvre, executed 1534, in the form of a table, for 
 Albrecht, Archbishop of Mayence. It represents, in small 
 but spirited figures, scenes from the life of David, and is 
 carefully painted in a warm and clear tone. 2 Five miniatures 
 executed in a prayer-book for the same ecclesiastic, in 1531, 
 now in the Royal Library at Aschaffenburg in ancient Fran- 
 conia, are evidences of his skill in this line of art. But 
 his most important artistic phase was that of engraving. 
 He handled the graver with spirit and lightness ; and several 
 of his numerous plates — for instance, his Patience, Melan- 
 choly, St. Sebaldus, his History of the Prodigal Son, and 
 his twelve engravings, with Dancers at a Peasant Wed- 
 ding — are among the finest specimens of the master on a 
 small scale. His powers of invention are best seen in his 
 designs for woodcuts. His triumphal entry of Charles V. 
 into Munich, and his two processions of soldiers, are the 
 
 1 [Neudorffer n. s., p. 40.] 
 
 2 ' Kunst und Kiinstler in Paris,' p. 549. 
 
ISO 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 cleverest examples art has preserved to us of the manners 
 and customs of that time. 
 
 [Albert Altdorfer was born before 1488, and settled at 
 Begensburg, where he purchased the citizenship in 1505, 
 and died in 1538. J 1 He is one of the most important and 
 original of all Albert Durer's scholars and imitators. He 
 seized the fantastic tendency of the time with a poetic feel- 
 ing at once rich and pleasing, and he developed it so as to 
 attain a perfection in this sort of romantic painting, such as 
 no other artist has ever reached. In general he knows so 
 well how to give to his representations the peculiar charm 
 of the fabulous, and sets before the spectator what is mar- 
 vellous in nature in such fulness, that we willingly give 
 ourselves up to his magic influence, and, stopping short on 
 the way to the highest perfection, we repose with pleasure 
 among these graceful dreams. As a draughtsman he displayed 
 no great force, and is frequently deficient in good taste ; he 
 is, however, an excellent colourist. In his later period he 
 was strongly influenced by Italian art. Altdorfer's [earliest 
 work is a Crucifixion, dated 1506, in the Landauer Briider- 
 haus at Nuremberg ; the next earliest (1507), a small picture 
 of St. Francis and St. Jerome, in the Berlin Museum. Next 
 to these is a landscape, dated 1510 (No. 777 in the Munich 
 Gallery), in which St. George fights with the Dragon. 
 Altdorfer's best and most celebrated picture] is in the 
 Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 169. " It represents the 
 Victory of Alexander the Great over Darius, [and was painted 
 in 1529 for Duke William IV. of Bavaria.] The costume is 
 that of the artist's own day, as it would be treated in the 
 chivalrous poems of the middle ages — man and horse are 
 sheathed in plate and mail, with surcoats of gold or em- 
 broidery ; the chanfrons upon the heads of the horses, the 
 glittering lances and stirrups, and the variety of the weapons, 
 form altogether a scene of indescribable splendour and 
 richness. There is no blood or other disgusting object — no 
 scattered limbs or distortions deform this picture ; — only in 
 the immediate foreground, if we examine very closely, we 
 
 [See C. W. Neumann in Meyer's Lexikon, i. 540.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 ALBERT ALTDORFER. 
 
 181 
 
 see under the feet of the charging hosts, and the hoofs of 
 their war-horses, several lines of bodies lying closely to- 
 gether, as in a web, forming as it were a groundwork to 
 this world of war and arms — of dazzling weapons and of still 
 brighter fame and chivalry. It is, in truth, a little world on 
 a few square feet of canvas ; the hosts of combatants, who 
 advance on all sides against each other, are innumerable, 
 and the view into the background appears interminable. In 
 the distance is the ocean, with high rocks, and a rugged 
 island between them ; ships of war appear in the offing, and 
 a whole fleet of vessels — on the left the moon is setting — on 
 the right the sun rising ; both shining through the opening 
 clouds — a clear and striking image of the events represented. 
 The armies are arranged in rank and column, without 
 the strange attitudes, contrasts?, and distortions, generally 
 exhibited in so-called battle-pieces. How indeed would this 
 have been possible with such a vast multitude of figures ? 
 The whole is in the plain and severe, or it may be the stiff, 
 manner of the old style. At the same time, the character 
 and execution of these little figures is most masterly and 
 profound. And what variety, what expression there is, not 
 merely in the character of the single warriors and knights, 
 but in the hosts themselves ! Here crowds of black archers 
 rush down, troop after troop, from the mountain with the 
 rage of a foaming torrent ; on the other side, high upon the 
 rocks in the far distance, a scattered crowd of flying men 
 are turning round in a defile. The point of the greatest 
 interest stands out brilliantly from the centre of the whole, — 
 Alexander and Darius, both in armour of burnished gold: 
 Alexander, on Bucephalus, with his lance in rest, advances 
 far before his men, and presses on the flying Darius, whose 
 charioteer has ' already fallen on his white horses, and who 
 looks back upon his conqueror with all the despair of a 
 vanquished monarch." 1 It may moreover be remarked that 
 the landscape rivals the works of the contemporary Nether- 
 landers, Patenier and others, or rather it surpasses them in 
 truth and grandeur. A rocky mountain in the centre of the 
 
 1 Werke von Friedrich Schlegel, Wien, 1828, vol. vi., p. 166. 
 
182 
 
 THE FKANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 picture, with beautiful hanging woods, is particularly good , 
 above is a castle and a path leading to it ; at the foot of the 
 mountain, a ruin illuminated by the setting sun. This ruin 
 is painted with so true a feeling for the beauties of nature, 
 that a pow T er of such high order would of itself have qualified 
 the artist for the most masterly productions. A fine land- 
 scape in the Landauer Bruderhaus at Nuremberg shows him 
 to have been the creator of landscape-painting in Germany. 
 
 Another picture by this artist, in the Munich Gallery, 
 Cabinets, No. 138, is inscribed with his monogram and the 
 date 1526. It represents the history of Susanna. The 
 garden with the bath, on the left, and a mass of varied 
 architecture on the right, make up a rich and fanciful com- 
 position. 
 
 There is a good picture from the hand of this master in 
 the chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg. It represents a 
 man and two women occupied in drawing the body of St. 
 Quirinus out of the water, and, in fact, forms a well- arranged 
 genre scene. The thickly-covered banks of the river are 
 another instance of his happy conception of nature. The 
 light of the setting sun — a golden tint surrounded by a circle 
 of clouds, melting away into shades of red — is full of imagi- 
 nation. A chef-d'oeuvre of the master is an altarpiece with 
 wings, in the Augsburg Gallery, executed in 1517. The 
 interior pictures represent the Crucifixion, the exterior the 
 Annunciation. This latter subject exhibits capital figures, 
 and fine features and expression. 1 
 
 Another picture by him, a Nativity of the Virgin, shows 
 him to be a skilful architectural painter as regards lines and 
 aerial perspective. It is in the same gallery. 2 
 
 Among the pictures by this master at Regensburg, an 
 Adoration of the Shepherds, in the collection of the Historical 
 Society, is remarkable for its dramatic character. 3 
 
 I know of but one picture by him in England, of large 
 size, in the collection of the Rev. J. Fuller Russell. It 
 represents the Saviour taking leave of his Mother, and is 
 
 1 ' Kvmst und Kiinstler in Deutschlimd/ vol. ii. p. 38, etc. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 38, etc. 
 • Ibid. p. 123. 
 
Chap. VI. MARTIN FESELE — GEORGE PENCZ. 
 
 183 
 
 remarkable for its powerful colouring, and for the developed 
 character of the landscape. 1 [There are two characteristic 
 panels by him in the gallery of Vienna.] 
 
 The engravings by Altdorfer are not inferior to his paint- 
 ings in invention and clever execution ; [some of the buildings 
 which he planned after his appointment to the office of town 
 architect at Regensburg are still in existence, and German 
 patriots may still boast that his fortifications made the city of 
 his adoption an effectual bulwark against the Turks (1529). 2 ] 
 
 A master-work of such interest as Altdorfer's Battle of 
 Alexander naturally produced many imitations. Thus, in 
 the Munich Gallery, there is a picture by Martin Fesele, 
 of about 1530, of which the subject is the siege of Rome 
 under Porsenna. This composition possesses the same 
 richness, and the figures are as fine and evince as much taste 
 as those in Altdorfer's picture, but it is inferior to the latter 
 work in poetic feeling. 3 
 
 George Pencz, born at Nuremberg 1500, died at Breslau 
 1550. This painter was one of Albert Durer's most gifted 
 scholars, combining excellent drawing, and clear, warm, and 
 vigorous colouring, with a felicitous power of conception, and 
 a decided feeling for beauty. Later in life he went to Italy, 
 where he zealously studied the works of Raphael, without 
 however degenerating into the tasteless and mistaken manner 
 of most of the Netherlandish and German painters who 
 attempted to Italianize their style. 4 On the contrary, he 
 never departed from his own original feeling, but only gave 
 a higher character to the taste of his compositions and to his 
 drawing. In the art of engraving, where he occupies the 
 first place among Albert Durer's followers, he also attained 
 
 1 See 'Treasures,' etc., vol. ii., p. 463, where the picture is erroneously 
 attributed to Albert Durer. 
 
 2 [Neumann, u. s. Erhart Altdorfer, Albrecht's brother, was court 
 painter at Schwerin ; but his pictures are all missing.] 
 
 3 [Fesele, Hans Burgkmair, and G. Bren were all employed by 
 William IV. of Bavaria to paint the series of which Altdorfer's battle 
 is one. ] 
 
 4 [George Pencz cannot be acquitted of the charge of Italianizing his 
 style, nor is it quite correct to confine his studies in Italy to the works 
 of Raphael. He looked at many painters in Italy, and particularly at 
 the Venetians, as we see by a portrait at the Uffizi, dated 1544, erroneously 
 supposed to be his own likeness.] 
 
184 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. Book III. 
 
 such perfection under the guidance of Marc Antonio as 
 closely to approach the great Italian in several plates. In 
 the great rarity of his historical pictures, we can only judge 
 from his engravings of the success with which he treated 
 both sacred and profane history, allegory and mythology, 
 scenes from common life, and the department of ornamenta- 
 tion. And a number of portraits still existing serve to show 
 that for animation of conception, excellent drawing and 
 modelling, and warm transparent colouring, he was one of 
 the first German painters in this line. 
 
 An historical picture in his German manner is a St. Jerome, 
 in the chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg, No. 76. It is a 
 capital work — at the same time I am inclined to attribute the 
 original invention, which has been repeated by several 
 painters, to Quentin Massys. 
 
 An excellent picture, in his Italian manner, is Yenus and 
 Cupid, in the gallery at Munich, No. 95. It is graceful, pure 
 in form, and well modelled. The following are masterly 
 portraits by him : — a young man, No. 585, and the painter 
 Schwetzer and his wife, Nos. 582 and 587, in the Berlin 
 Museum ; General Sebaldus Schirmer, No. 77, in the Lan- 
 dauer Bruderhaus at Nuremberg; and Erasmus of Rotterdam, 
 after Holbein, at Windsor Castle. Amongst the engravings 
 by Pencz, a series of plates from the history of Tobit are 
 remarkable for beautiful and tender feeling. They combine, 
 very happily and simply, the German homeliness and naivete 
 of conception with that higher grace which may be considered 
 as an inheritance from Raphael. What he also accomplished 
 as an engraver in the way of portraits is proved by that of 
 the Elector John Frederick the Generous, of Saxony. How 
 entirely he had adopted the manner of Marc Antonio is seen 
 in his large plate of the Taking of Carthage, from a drawing 
 by Julio Romano, the only instance in which he did not work 
 from his own compositions. 
 
 Jacob Bine was born at Cologne either 1490 or 1504. 
 Judging from his engravings, he must have formed himself 
 from Albert Durer ; he also studied in Italy. Further than 
 this we know nothing of his life, except that he was in the 
 service of the King of Denmark as a portrait-painter previous 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 GEORGE GLOCKENTHON. 
 
 185 
 
 to the year 1546 j 1 that he spent some time at Konigsberg, at 
 the court of Albrecht of Hohenzollern, Duke of Prussia, and 
 was sent by that prince, in 1549, to the Netherlands, for the 
 purpose of erecting a monument to the duke's late wife ; 
 that he entered regularly into his service in 1551, and died 
 at Konigsberg about the year 1560. It is singular that no 
 historical picture by him is known ; also of the portraits 
 attributed to him I have seen only the one in the gallery at 
 Vienna. It is of energetic conception and delicate drawing, 
 and of cool but harmonious colouring. In the Garderobe at 
 Copenhagen are preserved, as I understand, portraits by him 
 of Christian III. of Denmark, and of his Queen Dorothea ; 
 in that of Konigsberg, those of Duke Albrecht, of the duke's 
 first wife, and of the Chancellor Fries, dated 1549. His 
 engravings are very unequal in merit. 2 The best of them 
 give evidence of a first-rate artist, who, like Pencz, succeeded 
 in combining German feeling and treatment with the nobler 
 forms and purer taste of the Italians, and who treated sub- 
 jects of the most various kinds with no common excellence. 
 The following are among his best plates : Christ with the 
 Woman of Samaria (Bartsch, No. 12) ; the Virgin (No. 20) ; 
 the portraits of Christian II., King of Denmark, and Elizabeth 
 his queen (Nos. 91, 92) ; and the portrait of himself. He 
 also frequently copied the works of other engravers. 
 
 The style of Albert Durer, as may be easily supposed, was 
 also variously called into practice in the form of miniature- 
 painting ; in Nuremberg especially, by the numerous family 
 of Glockenthon, among whom George Glockenthon the 
 elder, born 1492, died 1553, and his son Nicholas, died 
 1560, were the most distinguished. 3 A missal and a prayer- 
 book, with miniatures by the son, executed for Albrecht, 
 Archbishop of Mayence, for the first of which the artist re- 
 ceived five hundred florins, is in the Royal Library at Asch- 
 
 1 [Jacob Bink's portraits of Christian arid his Queen are engraved with 
 the date of 1525.] 
 
 2 See Bartsch, ' Le Peintre Graveur,' vol. viii., p. 149, etc., for an 
 account of this master, and of the engravings and woodcuts justly attri- 
 buted to him. 
 
 3 See Johann Neuddrfer's ' Nachrichten alten Kiinstlern in Nurnberg, 
 Campe,' p. 41, etc. 
 
 I 
 
186 
 
 THE FRANCONIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 affenburg. He appears there as an artist of first-rate technical 
 attainments, but of feeble powers of invention and uncertain 
 drawing. 1 
 
 At this time there was also another painter, living in the 
 northern part of Franconia, who occupied an independent 
 position by the side of Albert Durer and his school. This 
 was Matthew G-runewald, born probably in Frankfort, and 
 who established himself in Aschaffenburg, where he was em- 
 ployed chiefly by the Archbishop Albrecht of Mayence. Of 
 the other circumstances of his life little or nothing is known. 
 At the same time it may be affirmed with certainty that he 
 died, at the earliest, towards the year 1530. 2 His works 
 testify to his being, after Albert Durer and Holbein, the 
 greatest German painter of this period. He takes a happy 
 halfway position between the Franconian and the Swabian 
 schools, and must have owed his artistic education to each. 
 The feeling for style in the arrangement of his works, wherein 
 he followed, though with a certain exercise of freedom, the 
 old rules of symmetry — the dignity of his male characters, 
 and the firmness of his drawing, show his affinity to the 
 Franconian school : his greater feeling for beauty, especially 
 in female figures — the fulness of his forms — the purer taste 
 of his drapery, which is less broken up by sharp folds — his 
 more careful modelling — frequently harmonious arrangement 
 of colour, in which a dark violet, a deep crimson, and a 
 luminous green prevail — and, finally, the better union of his 
 outlines and forms — all these qualities exhibit the decided 
 influence of the school of Swabia. The proportions of his 
 figures are generally somewhat short — the flesh-tones of his 
 men of a pale brown — those of his women and children of 
 a pleasing reddish, clear colour. His most important and 
 only positively authentic work is an altarpiece, consisting of 
 six panels, which he executed by commission for Albrecht, 
 Archbishop of Mayence, for the church of SS. Maurice and 
 Magdalen, at Halle on the Saale. After the introduction of 
 the reformed doctrine at Halle this work was transferred to 
 the conventual church of SS. Peter and Alexander at AschafF- 
 
 1 ' Kunst und Kunstler in Deutschland,' vol. ii., p. 382, etc. 
 
 2 See Passavant in 1 Kunstblatt,' 1841, p. 430, etc. 
 
 t 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 MATTHEW GRUNEWALD. 
 
 187 
 
 enburg, and was next placed in the gallery of that town, 
 whence it was transferred in 1836 to the gallery at Munich. 1 
 The centre picture, No. 69, represents the Conversion of St. 
 Maurice by St. Erasmus — the latter being a portrait of the 
 archbishop ; — and the wings contain the figures of St. Lazarus, 
 No. 68— the Magdalen, No. 63— St. Martha, No. 70— St. 
 Chrysostom, No. 75 — and St. Valentinian. The last-named 
 is still in the church at Aschaffenburg. The figures are 
 colossal, drawn with great mastery, and of earnest, dignified, 
 and grandly individual character. Another chef-d'oeuvre, also 
 executed for the same potentate, is still in the place for which 
 it was originally painted, the church of our Lady at Halle. 
 The centre picture, however, representing the Virgin in 
 glory, surrounded with angels, and adored by the donor, the 
 inner sides with SS. Maurice and Alexander, and perhaps 
 the outer sides of the centre picture with SS. Augustine and 
 John the Evangelist, are the only parts by Grunewald. 
 Among the other portions of this altarpiece, executed by his 
 assistants, the most remarkable are the figures of SS. Mag- 
 dalen, Ursula, Catherine, and Erasmus, probably by the 
 hand of Lucas Cranach. 2 The subject of the Annunciation, 
 also comprised in this work, and its weakest portion, bears 
 date 1529, whence we may conclude that the master must 
 have been in the zenith of his powers at this time. Also a 
 so-called Rosary picture in the chapel of St. Anthony, in the 
 Cathedral at Bamberg, is a first-rate work by the master. 
 It represents, within a large wreath of roses, the Trinity, 
 adored by numerous saints, and below, the figures of Leo X. 
 and Maximilian L, who were contemporary with the picture. 
 The same excellence is seen in the wings of an altarpiece at 
 Heilsbronn in Franconia, and in two altarpieces in the church 
 at Annaberg in Saxony. 3 England once possessed a fine 
 
 •i Merkel'sMSS. of the Court Library at Aschaffenburg : Aschaffenburg, 
 T836, p. 11. 
 
 2 See Passavant's essay in ' Kunstblatt,' 1846, No. 48. Also, my re- 
 marks on Forster's ' Geschichte der Malerei in Deutschland,' in the 
 ' Deutsches Kunstblatt,' 1854, p. 202. [Compare the opposite view in 
 Schuchardt's 'Lucas Cranach,' ii. 69. That Lucas Cranach, born in 1472, 
 and a master in the full enjoyment of his powers long before 1520, 
 should assist Grunewald at Halle in 1529 is neither probable nor credible.] 
 
 3 ' Kunst und Kiinstler in Deutschland,' vol. i. pp. 46 and 306. 
 
1S8 
 
 SAXON PAINTERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 work by his hand, in the collection of the Prince Consort at 
 Kensington — an altarpiece, with the Virgin and Child in 
 glory in the centre, adored by SS. Catherine and Barbara. 
 The inner sides of the wings contain SS. Nicholas and George. 
 The outer sides, with SS. James and Erasmus, show the 
 hand of a scholar. 
 
 Hans Geimmee. — Scholar of Matthew Grunewald. Exist- 
 ing pictures show him to have been a portrait-painter of 
 lively conception, delicate drawing, clear colouring, and 
 careful finish. This description is especially applicable to 
 the portrait of a woman in the chapel of St. Maurice, No. 
 140. The companion to it, a man, No. 136, is inferior in 
 colouring. 
 
 SAXON PAINTEES. 
 
 No original school can be traced in Saxony, or in the 
 domain of the Elector of Brandenburg ; but various Fran- 
 conian artists exercised their art in these parts : a proof of 
 this is seen in the works by Matthew Grunewald, above 
 mentioned, executed for Halle. The figures of saints on the 
 wings of the altar at Brandenburg, dated 1518 — works exhi- 
 biting a first-rate master in the dignified character of the 
 figures and elevated taste of the drapery — point also for 
 their author to Grunewald. And even the master who, in 
 the capacity of painter to Frederick the Wise, at Wittenberg, 
 founded a kind of school in Saxony, namely Lucas Ceanach, 1 
 not only owed his birth to Cranach, 2 a place in Northern 
 Franconia, but his early works bear the character of Fran- 
 conian art. Born in 1472, of a family of the name of 
 Sundee, he received his first instructions in art from his 
 father, his later teaching probably from Matthew Grunewald ; 
 at ail events, his whole style of art bears the impress of 
 having been formed from the works of that master. 3 If 
 
 1 ' Lucas Cranach des iilteren Leben und Werke,' by Christian SclnV 
 chardt, 2 vols* Leipsic, Brockhaus, 1851. 
 
 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 240-255. 
 
 3 [It is hazardous to assert that Lucas Cranach was a disciple of M. 
 Grunewald, whose picture at Halle is dated 1529. They may have been 
 disciples under the same master. The name of Sunder, as Schuchardt 
 proves, is not the name of Cranach. We know that Cranach was born 
 in 1 472, but the day and month are not handed down. J 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 LUCAS CRANACH. 
 
 180 
 
 inferior to him in grandeur of conception, in feeling for style, 
 in drawing (his weakest part), and in thoroughness of execu- 
 tion, he excels him in richness and variety of invention, in 
 peculiar clearness of colour, and finally, though often dege- 
 nerating into a mechanical and slight manner, in the light- 
 ness of his treatment. In some instances he attained to the 
 expression of dignity, earnestness, and feeling, but generally 
 his characteristics are a naive and childlike cheerfulness, and 
 a gentle and almost timid grace. A certain charm of anima- 
 tion, and a warm, blooming colouring, must be accepted in 
 most of his works as substitutes for a strict understanding 
 of form. In these respects his art partakes in a high degree 
 of a national character ; even his humour has something of 
 the coarse popular wit of his time. The impression pro- 
 duced by his style of representation reminds one [as Kugler 
 remarks] of the " Volksbiicher " and " Volkslieder " of Hans 
 Sachs ; and, as in those, the tenderest flowers of art are 
 found in the naivest way in immediate juxtaposition with 
 all that is tasteless and even childish. Many of his church 
 pictures have a very peculiar significance ; in these he stands 
 forth, properly speaking, as the painter of the Reformation. 
 Intimate both with Luther and Melancthon, he seizes on the 
 essential aim of their doctrine, viz., the insufficiency of good 
 works, and the sole efficacy of faith in a Saviour, and endea- 
 vours to embody it in the form of art. As specimens of this 
 kind may be mentioned a dying man, dated 1518, in the 
 Town Museum of Leipsic ; the Fall and the Redemption of 
 man, dated 1529, in the Ducal Gallery of Gotha; a large 
 altarpiece in the church of the town of Schneeberg in Saxony ; 
 and a picture in the Gallery of the Estates at Prague, also 
 dated 1529. All these pictures, some of them accompanied 
 with explanatory inscriptions, are at the same time excellent 
 works by the master. Only in the picture at Schneeberg do 
 we remark the assistance of pupils. Among his pictures of 
 Scriptural subjects, that of the Woman taken in Adultery, in 
 the Munich Gallery, No. 56, deserves particular mention. 
 The heads of Christ and of the woman are admirable. Lucas 
 Cranach is especially successful in affectionate and childlike 
 subjects. This we see in his various pictures of Christ 
 
190 
 
 SAXON PAINTERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 receiving little children, one of the finest of which is in the 
 gallery of Thomas Baring, Esq., in London — another in the 
 church of St. Wenceslaus at Naumburg. On occasions where 
 he treats mythological subjects, the result, considered in that 
 light, must be looked upon rather as a parody, yet even these 
 appeal directly to the eye, like real portraits ; and sometimes 
 also by means of a certain grace and naivete of motive. We 
 may cite as an instance the Diana seated on a stag, in a 
 small picture in the Museum at Berlin, No. 564, where she 
 is represented with her less happily conceived brother 
 Apollo. Occasionally, it is true, these works are disfigured 
 by a too obvious aim at grace, and by means of a laboured 
 and even violently distorted action ; as, for instance, in his 
 Venus and Cupid, where the latter is complaining to his 
 mother of being stung by a bee — also in the Berlin Museum, 
 Nos. 594, 1190, and 1203 — where the position of the god- 
 dess's lower limbs illustrates what we have said. He treated 
 this subject frequently. The Hercules and Omphale in the 
 same gallery [withdrawn] is very naive. As specimens of 
 his coarse humour may be quoted his old man caressing a girl, 
 dated 1531, in the Estates Gallery at Prague, and the Foun- 
 tain of Youth in the Berlin Museum, No. 593. This last is 
 a picture of peculiar character : a large basin, surrounded 
 by steps, and with a richly adorned fountain, forms the 
 centre. On one side, where the country is stony and barren, 
 a multitude of old women are dragged forward on horses, 
 waggons, or carriages, and with much trouble are got into 
 the water. On the other side of the fountain they appear as 
 young maidens, splashing about and amusing themselves 
 with all kinds of playful mischief; close by is a large pavi- 
 lion, into which a herald courteously invites them to enter, 
 and where they are arrayed in costly apparel. A feast is 
 prepared in a smiling meadow, which seems to be followed 
 by a dance ; the gay crowd loses itself in a neighbouring 
 grove. The men unfortunately have not become young, 
 and retain their gray beards. This picture is of the year 
 1546, the seventy-fourth of Cranach's age. 
 
 His great excellence lies in purely realistic subjects, to 
 which department his art properly belongs — such as his 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 LUCAS CRANACH. 
 
 191 
 
 hunts of wild animals, 1 and his portraits. A small but first- 
 rate picture of a stag-hunt is in the Labouchere collection ; 
 [others of interest in the Museum of ' Madrid, and in the 
 Moritzburg, near Dresden]. His portraits are so numerous 
 that I can only particularise a few — for instance, the Elector 
 Albrecht of Mayence, represented full length as St. Jerome, 
 of the year 1527, in the Berlin Museum, No. 589, and that 
 of the unfortunate Elector John Frederick the Generous, No. 
 590. Also the portrait of the Elector John the Constant, in 
 the Grand Ducal Gallery at Weimar, is one of his best male 
 portraits. Turning to his female portraits, we may cite the 
 pleasingly conceived and warm and luminously coloured 
 head in the National Gallery, No. 291, as a good specimen. 
 These qualities of colour, however, he only attained after 
 1515, probably after a meeting with some wandering painter 
 from the Netherlands. On the other hand, his earliest known 
 work, the fine Repose in Egypt, now in the Sciarra Colonna 
 Palace at Rome, dated 1504 ; two pictures of SS. Jerome 
 and Leopold, dated 1515, in the Belvedere Gallery at Vienna; 
 and the portrait of the Burgomaster of Eisenach, in the 
 Berlin Museum, No. 618a, show a more broken but less 
 clear brownish flesh-tone, in the manner of Matthew 
 Grunewald. He may be said to have reached the zenith of 
 his art towards the year 1530 ; for, besides the two above- 
 mentioned pictures of that time, the following, bearing the 
 same date, may be reckoned among his finest productions, 
 viz., Samson and Delilah, in the Royal Gallery at Augsburg, 
 the Melancholy, from the Campe collection, now in the 
 possession of Lord Lindsay, [and the Sacrifice of Isaac, in the 
 Lichtenstein collection at Vienna]. In the first of these 
 Delilah is seen seated in a beautiful garden, while Samson, 
 attired as a stately knight, with rich golden greaves, and the 
 jawbone of the ass in his hand, sleeps in her lap ; she is 
 cutting off his hair with a pair of bright scissors ; the 
 Philistines, well armed, creep stealthily through the wood; 
 a rich and beautiful view opens itself at the side. Cranach 
 retained his artistic powers unenfeebled till his death in 
 
 1 See lithographs from his border drawings in Albert Durer's Prayer- 
 book in the Munich Library, by Strixuer. Munich, 1818. 
 
192 
 
 SAXON PAINTERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 1553, as is evident from the centre picture of the altarpiece 
 at Weimar, which I concur with Schuchart in considering 
 his most important work (see woodcut). This also embodies, 
 as above mentioned, the one great object of the Reformation, 
 representing the Saviour on the cross, with St. John the 
 Baptist directing the attention of Luther and Cranach — two 
 admirable portraits — to the sacrifice by which alone Re- 
 demption was purchased. On the left is Christ again, 
 triumphant over Satan, who is seen in the middle distance 
 driving sinners into the gulf of fire. This painter also dis- 
 tinguished himself occasionally in the execution of miniatures ; 
 he was a skilful engraver, and also designed a series of draw- 
 ings, including some of great excellence, for woodcutting ; 
 the subjects of several of these show that he took an energetic 
 part in the struggle between Luther and the Papacy. 1 
 
 Considered also in a personal light, Lucas Cranach is 
 entitled to great respect. The Electors, John the Constant 
 and John Frederick the Generous, successors to Frederick 
 the Wise, both retained him in their service. He even 
 shared the five years' captivity of Frederick the Generous, 
 after the battle of Muhlberg, in 1547, alleviating it by his 
 art and his cheerful society. In Wittenberg he was held in 
 such high esteem by the citizens as to be elected Burgomaster 
 in 1537, and again in 1540. 2 He voluntarily relinquished 
 this dignity in 1544. 3 
 
 The long life of this painter, and the rapidity of his brush, 
 which was such as to obtain him the title of " celerrimus 
 pictor" on his grave-stone, will account for the very large 
 number of pictures which he executed. Nevertheless, of the 
 works bearing his name, many are the production of his son 
 Lucas Cranach the younger — of whom I have more to say ; 
 also probably of another son, called Johann Lucas, who die*l 
 
 1 ' Schuchart/ vol. ii., p. 240-255. 
 
 2 [It is interesting to note that when the plague broke out in Central 
 Germany, Cranach hastened away to his old haunts in the south, and 
 lived for some months after September, 1539, at Nuremberg. See J. 
 Baader's Klenei Nachtrage in Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' ii. 74.] 
 
 3 [Cranach was a printer (1524), and kept a chemist's shop at Witten 
 berg (1520). The shop and Cranach's house were burnt down in Sept., 
 
 1871.] 
 
ALTARPIECE IN THE CHURCH AT WEIMAR, CONTAINING PORTRAITS OP LUTHER, 
 MELANCTHON, AND THE PAINTER HIMSELF. 
 
 By Lucas Cranacii. page ]92. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 LUCAS CRANACH. 
 
 193 
 
 at an early age in Italy. 1 A large remainder are by less 
 skilful and often even by spiritless and mechanical journey- 
 men painters. Among the pictures thus manufactured may 
 be included a large number of small portraits of Luther, 
 Melancthon, and of the Electors Frederick the Wise and 
 John the Constant, which bear the date 1532. By allowing, 
 however, his monogram to be inscribed on these works, 
 Lucas Cranach himself contributed to lower his reputation 
 with succeeding generations. Although Schuchart may be 
 right in maintaining that an altarpiece in the church at 
 Wittenberg, assigned to Lucas Cranach, was little, if at all, 
 touched by his hand, but is only one of the better productions 
 of his workshop, 2 yet the composition, which at all events 
 proceeded from him, is too remarkable not to be mentioned 
 here. The centre represents the Last Supper, and is peculiar 
 in its arrangement, for the disciples, with heads of varied 
 character, are seated round a circular table. On the right 
 wing is painted the sacrament of Baptism, administered by 
 Melancthon in presence of an assistant and three sponsors. 
 A group of richly dressed women, as spectators, stand in the 
 foreground. A peculiar but pleasing tone of feeling pervades 
 the whole. The left wing, representing Confession, is 
 superior to the former picture. In the confessor we recog- 
 nise the portrait of Bugenhagen, who, with severe dignity, 
 absolves a kneeling penitent (a citizen), with the key in his 
 right hand, whilst at the same time, with the one in his left, 
 he motions back a warrior who has drawn near, with a 
 haughty, rather than a repentant air, and whose hands are 
 still fettered. On the predella is a fourth painting, with 
 smaller figures : in the centre is the image of Christ cruci- 
 fied ; on one side a pulpit, from which Luther preaches, in 
 front of a graceful and simple group of listening maidens, and 
 women with children ; and deeper in the picture is as fine a 
 group of serious men and youths. This work is at once a 
 representation of the most remarkable rite of the Protestant 
 
 1 See notice of this son, who died at Bologna, 1536, ' Schuchart,' vol. 
 i. p. 96, etc. 
 
 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 147, etc. 
 
 18 
 
194 
 
 SAXON PAINTERS. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 Church, and a memorial of the most honoured teachers of 
 Holy Writ. 1 
 
 Lucas Cra.nach the younger [born 1515, died 1586], like 
 his father, in his later years filled the office of Burgomaster 
 of Wittenberg. He appears to have formed his style both 
 on that of his father and of Albert Durer, as is evident from 
 the different peculiarities in his works, which remind us 
 sometimes of the one and sometimes of the other. He has, 
 however, a soft grace and a sweetness peculiarly his own, 
 which are particularly seen in his warm, but, at times, some- 
 what honey-coloured tones. He was one of those who most 
 steadily adhered to the true style of ancient art ; whilst his 
 contemporaries, almost in a body, began to yield to the in- 
 fluence of foreign mannerism. 
 
 In the principal church at Wittenberg 2 are preserved 
 several of this artist's pictures : — Christ and the two thieves 
 on the Cross, with the family of the donor kneeling at the 
 foot, is an excellent work ; a Nativity, in which the rafters 
 of the stable are covered with a crowd of joyous little angels. 
 The Conversion of Saul is unimportant. One singular sub- 
 ject bears again a distinct reference to the state of the 
 Church in his time : it is the Vineyard of the Lord, one 
 half of which is being destroyed by the assembled clergy of 
 the Romish Church, whilst the heroes of the Reformation 
 are employed in cultivating the other — a composition, it 
 must be owned, in which the simple poetic feeling of the 
 conception far surpasses the merit as a painting. 
 
 John the Baptist preaching. The saint has the features 
 of Melancthon. This picture is in the Brunswick Gallery, 
 and may be considered one of his best works. The same 
 may be said of a Virgin giving a bunch of grapes to the 
 Child, who is standing before her, and which is hung by the 
 name of the elder Cranach in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, 
 No. 142. Of his later and somewhat slighter period is a 
 Crucifixion in the Dresden Gallery, No. 1774. Two admir- 
 
 1 Schadow, Wittenberg's Denkmaler der Bildnerei, Baukunst, und 
 Malerei Wittenberg, 1825. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 99. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS BURGKMAIR. 
 
 195 
 
 able portraits of the Electors Augustus and Maurice of 
 Saxony are also in the same gallery, Nos. 1776 and 1775. 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 The chief master of the Augsburg school at this period 
 was Hans Burgkmair, born 1473, died [1531], son of the 
 Thomas Burgkmair of the preceding period. [He began as 
 an apprentice to Martin Schongauer, and studied further, it 
 is probable, under Thomas Burgkmair.] 1 He was an artist of 
 very varied powers of invention ; for, besides executing those 
 subjects which the Church then dictated, he was also the 
 first master of his time in the delineation of such knightly 
 and courtly themes as the court of Maximilian I. had then 
 introduced into Germany. This is especially seen in the 
 miniatures of his Tournament books, 2 and in his designs for 
 woodcuts 8 for those works executed for Maximilian — the 
 Genealogy of that emperor, the Weisskunig, and the 
 Triumph. 4 On the whole, he remains true to the charac- 
 teristics of the Swabian school. His compositions are 
 generally devoid of style, and his drawing, especially in his 
 earlier time, is not correct. Although occasionally not want- 
 ing in feeling for dignity and beauty, the chief aim of his art 
 was the representation of truth. His heads have therefore a 
 portrait-like air ; he is greatly wanting also in feeling for line 
 and attitude. On the other hand, he has a lively sense of 
 colour ; the tone of his flesh is generally warm and powerful, 
 the colour of his draperies of great power and depth, and the 
 modelling and execution of the detail, in his better works, of 
 great carefulness. At the same time he is answerable for 
 many works of a hard and mechanical character. This 
 painter, with Altdorfer, was the first in Germany who 
 worked out the detail of his landscape backgrounds in ac- 
 
 1 [See antea in Martin Schongauer. See also, for Burgkmair' s death, 
 the guild register of Augsburg in Woltmann's 'Holbein,' u. s., i., 858.] 
 
 2 A Tournament book of this description is in the possession of his 
 Highness the Prince of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen. 
 
 3 See further concerning these works in Bartsch, ' Le Peintre 
 Graveur,' vol. vii. p. 223, etc. 
 
 4 These are the titles of works executed by command of the emperor 
 to glorify his feats and his family. 
 
196 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 cordance with nature, though I am not aware that he painted 
 landscapes, properly speaking, like Altdorfer. But in his 
 long life two periods may be very clearly distinguished. In 
 the first, which extends to about 1508, he adheres to the 
 forms of art prevailing in Germany in the fifteenth century ; 
 the folds of his drapery are sharper than those of the elder 
 Hans Holbein, and he frequently employs gold, both in 
 drapery and in ornaments. Only in his architecture is the 
 Italian taste indicated : in the second period it appears in the 
 fuller rendering of forms, in the drapery, and in the more 
 harmonious keeping. Nevertheless his German nature is 
 never repudiated in essentials, and, in the woodcuts executed 
 from his drawings, the influence of Albert Durer is distinctly 
 traceable. His strong feeling for the realistic in art is occa- 
 sionally seen, too, in his successful treatment of scenes from 
 common life. Sandrart mentions fresco paintings by him, 
 but none have descended to us. Of his numerous oil pic- 
 tures still existing I can only mention a portion. The 
 following, in the Augsburg Gallery, are the chefs-d'oeuvre of 
 his earlier time. A rich picture of numerous subjects, dated 
 1501 — among them Christ on the Mount of Olives, and also, 
 in a mandorla, St. Peter, the Virgin and Child, and fourteen 
 saints. The expression of the Christ is very dignified ; the 
 form of the male heads noble, that of the female heads re- 
 fined, but rather monotonous. The foreshortening of the 
 mouth and eyes is generally defective. 1 Another picture, 
 with Christ and the Virgin adored by numerous Saints, is of 
 the same year. A picture, with the Crucifixion in the centre, 
 and the Martyrdom of St. Ursula at the sides, is of the year 
 1504. The animation in this latter, and the contrast be- 
 tween the ferocity of the heathen and the resignation of the 
 tender maiden, are very successful. Of about the same time 
 is a large picture of the same subject in the Dresden Gallery, 
 No. 1739. 
 
 Admirable specimens of his second period are the follow- 
 ing. The Virgin seated under a tree, and giving a bunch of 
 grapes to the Child, dated 1510, in the chapel of St. 
 
 1 See further concerning this and the following pictures in ' Kiinstler 
 und Kunstwerke in Deutschland,' vol. ii. p. 28, etc. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS BUKGKMAIR. 
 
 197 
 
 Maurice at Nuremberg. This little picture displays a degree 
 of taste and delicacy of rendering such as Burgkmair but 
 seldom attained. 1 The Crucifixion, in the Augsburg Gallery, 
 of the year 1519 ; 2 also the Adoration of the Kings, in the 
 same gallery. This last, in character of heads, delicacy of 
 treatment in a cool tone, and mastery of carrying out, is, 
 to my knowledge, the chef-d'oeuvre of the second period. 
 Considering the rarity of this master's works in England, I 
 may mention an Adoration of the Shepherds, in his decidedly 
 realistic manner, and of great merit, once in the collection of 
 the Prince Consort at Kensington. A St. John in the Isle 
 of Patmos, in the Munich Gallery, No. 65, affords a specimen 
 of the great development he attained in landscape ; the 
 inspiration of the head is also well expressed. A Mother 
 with two Children, dated 1541, in the Landauer Briider- 
 haus, No. 94, 3 is characteristic of his naivete and truth cf 
 treatment in subjects taken from common life. It is there 
 attributed to Hans Olmdorf. 4 Finally he appears as a 
 mannered imitator of Italian art, in a picture in the church 
 of St. Anna at Augsburg — Christ delivering Souls from 
 Purgatory, probably executed soon after 1533. 5 As a por- 
 trait-painter he is seen to most advantage in the portrait of 
 a Duke Frederick of Saxony, in the castle at Nuremberg, 
 and there attributed to Hans von Culmbach. The picture is 
 remarkable for a pure feeling for nature and delicate flesh- 
 tones. The portraits of Duke William of Bavaria and his 
 wife [1526] are harder in outline and heavier in flesh-tones. 
 They are in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 136 and 
 150. Portraits of himself and his wife, dated 1528, in the 
 Belvedere Gallery at Vienna, are far warmer and clearer in 
 colour, and very animated in conception. The wife holds a 
 mirror, in which they are both represented as death's heads, 
 
 1 * Kiinstler und Kunstwerke in Deutschland,' vol. i. p. 197. 
 \ Ibid. vol. ii. p. 32, etc. 
 
 3 Ibid. vol. i. p. 197. 
 
 4 [In assigning this picture to Burgkmair, Waagen, unawares, runs 
 counter to accurate chronology. As we saw above, Burgkmair was not 
 living in 1541.] 
 
 5 [For the reasons above stated, Burgkmair cannot have painted this 
 picture.] 
 
198 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 showing that the fantastic feeling of the middle ages was by 
 no means extinct in the Swabian school at this time. How 
 much it was characteristic of Burgkmair appears in various 
 woodcuts from his designs, namely, in that of a young 
 woman endeavouring to escape from Death, who is killing a 
 young man ; in the Seven Cardinal Virtues ; the Seven 
 Deadly Sins ; and in the Three Good Men and Women, 
 Christian, Jew, and Pagan. 1 He also executed an etching 
 on iron. 2 
 
 But the greatest artist whom Augsburg produced was 
 Hans Holbein the younger, born there 1498. 3 In him the 
 German school of realism attained its noblest and highest 
 development, and he may be unreservedly pronounced to be 
 one of the greatest masters who laboured in that school. A 
 comparison with his elder contemporary, Albert Durer, will 
 best serve to place his pictorial merits in a clear light. As 
 respects grandeur and depth of feeling, and richness of 
 conception and distribution in the field of ecclesiastical art, 
 he stands below the great Nuremberg master. Though not 
 unaffected by the fantastic element which prevailed in the 
 middle ages, Holbein shows it in his own way. While 
 Albert Durer treated the subjects of the Apocalypse in the 
 freer forms of his art, though with an adherence to the feel- 
 ing of the middle ages, and in his Melancholy displays the 
 solemn sense of the insufficiency and instability of all sub- 
 
 1 Bartsch, ' Le Peintre Graveur,' vol. vii. p. 215, etc. 2 Ibid. p. 199. 
 
 3 The chief works relating to Holbein are Ulric Hegner's 'Hans 
 Holbein der Jungere,' Berlin, 1827, and Chretien de Meckel's 'GEuvres 
 de Jean Holbein, ou Becueil de Gravures d'apres ses plus beaux Ou- 
 vrages,' Basle, 1780. Also, Horace Walpole's 'Anecdotes on Painting.' 
 [R. N. Wornum's 'Some account of the life and works of Holbein;' 
 "Woltmann's 'Holbein,' u. s. ; numerous contributions to 'Grimm's 
 Kiinstler und Kunstwerke ; ' Zeitschr. f. b. Kunst, and von Zahn's 
 ' Jahrbucher,' by His, Woltmann, Grimm, von Zahn, W. Schmidt, and 
 G. Kinkel. 
 
 The forgery of an inscription in the Augsburg altarpiece of 1512, led to 
 a change in the chronology of the painter, whose birthday was thrown 
 back from 1498 to 1495. Since the discovery of the forgery we revert 
 to the date 1497-8, which is the more credible now, as we possess 
 Hollar's print with a date, and the age of Holbein at that date, and old 
 Holbein's portrait of his son, "aged 14," in the Berlin Museum, 
 executed in 1511. Let us note, in passing, that Hollar was admitted 
 to the guild of Antwerp in 1644 (Liggeren, ii. 157.)] [This portrait 
 attributed to the elder Holbein is not now exhibited.] 
 
199 
 
 lunary things, yet in his etching of the Knight with Death 
 and the Devil he gives an expression of a human security 
 and power which may be said to resist and morally to 
 triumph over these assailants. Holbein, on the other hand, 
 seized the mediaeval subject of the Dance of Death ; and 
 availing himself of his improved means of representation in 
 the expression of the deadliest irony and malignity, he shows 
 us, under every form, from that of the pope down to the 
 beggar, how helpless are the terrors of the human race 
 in every encounter with its invincible foe. While Albert 
 Durer's art thus exhibits a close affinit}' to the religious ideas 
 of the middle ages, Holbein appears imbued with the senti- 
 ments of a more modern time, strictly consequent on which 
 we find him decidedly excelling his great rival in closeness 
 and delicacy of observation in the delineation of nature. A 
 proof of this is afforded by the evidence of Erasmus of 
 Rotterdam — himself gifted with a fine eye in matters of art 
 — who says that, as regards the portraits made of him by 
 both of these painters, that by Holbein was the most like. 1 
 In feeling for beauty of form also, in grace of movement, 
 tasteful arrangement of drapery, in colouring, and, above all, 
 in the art of painting, wherein he had derived from his 
 father a modelling and fusing manner, as opposed to that of 
 a draughtsman, Holbein must be placed above Albert Durer. 
 Uniting, therefore, with all these qualities admirable powers 
 of drawing and composition, he may justly be considered, of 
 all the German masters, the one most fitted by nature to 
 attain that supremacy of art in historical painting which the 
 works of his great Italian contemporaries — Raphael, Andrea 
 del Sarto, and others — display. That he did not rival them 
 in this respect must be ascribed to the circumstances of his 
 life, which seldom allowed him to treat subjects of that class. 
 In portrait-painting, to which his powers were especially 
 devoted, he stands on a level with the greatest masters. 
 His genius was precocious in development, and highly 
 
 1 This is told by Van Mander, fol. 142 b. Also the well-known 
 engraving of Erasmus, by Albert Durer, Bartsch, Nc. 107, shows a very 
 different conception of his subject as compared with the various por- 
 traits of the same by Holbein. 
 
200 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 versatile m application. He was skilled in various styles 
 of painting, but chiefly in fresco and oil-colours, and 
 miniatures. 
 
 [The earliest pictures of Hans Holbein 1 are those which he 
 painted after his arrival at Bale in the autumn of 1515. 2 
 Brought up in the house of his father, to whom he was doubt- 
 less apprenticed, he enjoyed the fairest opportunity of observ- 
 ing how the style of that artist was modified by studying 
 the models and embodying the spirit of the revival in Italy. 
 It was the habit of painters to close their apprenticeship and 
 prepare for a mastership by a round of travel. For four years 
 of the previous century Albert Durer had wandered with 
 the staff of the pedestrian in his hand, sharing the hardships 
 and experiences of the mechanics of those days • and love 
 of novelty, traditional habit, or the privations of a home in 
 which life was a daily struggle for bread, might induce Hol- 
 bein to follow Durer's example. During his travels he came to 
 Bale, where he stopped. In his journey thither he was doubt- 
 less accompanied by Ambrose his brother, an artist like him- 
 self, whose moderate abilities were subsequently confined 
 to the production of drawings for engraving. What took 
 both the youths to Bale was the prospect of earning as 
 draughtsmen to the booksellers of a city renowned through- 
 out the whole of Germany for the production of illustrated 
 works. What kept them at Bale was the instant success 
 which attended their efforts. Neither Hans nor Ambrose were 
 
 1 [Dr. Waagen held, even before the forgeries of 1854, that Hans 
 Holbein the younger was the painter of the Augsburg altarpiece of 1512, 
 of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (1516), and of the companion pieces 
 to the latter in the Munich gallery. He thought it remarkable, but not 
 impossible, that the altarpiece of 1512 should have been executed by a 
 youth of 14. Later critics were deceived by the forged inscription 
 which declared that Hans Holbein the younger painted the altarpiece of 
 1512 at the age of 17. Since the discovery of the forgery few are 
 disposed to share Dr. Waagen's opinion, and Hans Holbein the elder has 
 been allowed to resume the position from which he was so unfortu- 
 nately expelled. Compare Waagen's ' Kuntswerke und Kiinstler,' 8vo., 
 Leipzig, 1845, i., 25 ; and the sketch of old Holbein's life antea.] 
 
 2 [Holbein's presence at Bale, at least as early as autumn, 1515, is 
 proved by a date in this year's edition of the ' Encomium Morise,' to 
 which our artist furnished illustrations. This and other data are fur- 
 nished by Mr. His, in his exhaustive paper, ' Die Basler Archive iiber 
 Hans Holbein der Jungern,' in v. Zahn's ' Jakrbucher.' iii. p. 115.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 201 
 
 in a condition to matriculate. There were painters in Bale like 
 Hans Herbster, Koch, and Hans Dig, who had the advantage 
 of long residence and an acknowledged practice. Hans and 
 Ambrose probably engaged themselves as journeymen for 
 daily wages under one of these masters. In 1517 Ambrose 
 matriculated. Hans remained a subordinate till 1519, when he 
 also joined the guild. 1 In the meantime he painted several 
 of the early pieces which are preserved at Bale, such as the 
 Last Supper, and the Flagellation, recorded in an early inven- 
 tory by Basilius Amerbach as " h. holbein's first works," a 
 schoolmaster's sign, a couple of portraits — Jacob Meyer 
 and his wife — the painter Herbster (1516-1517), and a picture 
 of Adam and Eve. 2 At the date of his very first effort 
 Holbein gave evidence of skill in realising the detail and ex- 
 pression of portrait. Technically he painted like his father, 
 but with more refinement. In composition he was prone to 
 overload, but his treatment was in every respect spirited and 
 lively. The Meyers at Bale (1516) are not modelled with the 
 delicacy of later productions, yet they are clever and lifelike. 
 Hans Herbster, in the Baring collection (1517), is coloured 
 in the yellow-brown tones of the elder Hans.] 3 
 
 In 1517 Holbein decorated the house of the bailiff, Jacob 
 van Hartenstein, at Lucerne with frescoes. The destruction 
 of these is the more to be regretted from the variety of sub- 
 jects which, according to an existing transcript, were there 
 represented. In the interior he painted the proprietor's 
 patron saints, scenes from the legends of the same, hunts, 
 deeds of war, and a Fountain of Youth. On the outside, 
 between the windows, feats of ancient heroes ; below, a 
 frieze of children playing with arms ; above, another with a 
 triumphal procession, after Mantegna; and higher still, events 
 from Roman history. Probably only a year or two later he 
 
 1 [Woltmann's 'Holbein,' u. s., i. 189 ; His' 'Die Basler Archive,' u. 
 s., in v. Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' iii. 116.] 
 
 2 [Woltmann's 'Holbein,' i. 161-2; 201, 203, 204 ; and His' 'Alte 
 Zwerfel,' etc., in v. Zahn's ' Jahrbucher,' iv. 211.] 
 
 3 [To this period the St. Ursula and St. George, in the Carlsruhe 
 Museum, are assigned (personal communication of Dr. Woltmann, with 
 which compare also von Zahn in ' Jahrbucher, ' v. 197) ; but the author- 
 ship of Hans Holbein the younger is very doubtful.] 
 
202 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 executed the wings of an altarpiece, now in the cathedral 
 at Freiburg, in Baden — the one the Adoration of the Shep- 
 herds, treated as a night scene, and with the chief light pro- 
 ceeding from the Child, the effect of the light altogether 
 given with extraordinary truth ; the other the Adoration of 
 the Kings, an excellent composition. A remarkable figure 
 here is the companion of the Moorish king, who, as if dazzled, 
 is looking up with his hand before his eyes at the stars. 
 The heads show great truth of nature and every variety of 
 character, from the beautiful to the boorish ; the forms, and 
 especially the hands, are delicately carried out. This picture 
 is worthily followed by the portrait of Boniface Amerbach 
 (1519), a zealous patron of Holbein, now in the Basle Gallery. 
 In simple unpretending conception, and pure feeling for nature, 
 this is one of the finest portraits by the master of this period. 1 
 To the years 1521, 1522 2 we owe various works in fresco 
 which Holbein executed in the Town-house at Basle. Side by 
 side with illustrations of the stern administration of justice, 
 as seen in similar buildings in the Netherlands, were placed 
 traits of republican virtue — the Blinding of the aged Zaleucus, 
 the suicide of Charondas, and Curius Dentatus with the 
 Sabine Envoys. The sole relics of these frescoes now pre- 
 served in the Basle Gallery are three heads of the envoys 
 from the last-named subject, the spirited, energetic, and yet 
 finely-tempered character of which shows the mastery Hol- 
 bein had already obtained in historical painting, and how high 
 a place he would have won had more frequent opportunities 
 been afforded to him. 
 
 That he also treated subjects of ecclesiastical import, re- 
 quiring the expression of deep pathos, with extraordinary 
 success, is evident from his well-known representation of the 
 Passion, in eight compartments, in the Basle Gallery. In 
 colouring and treatment these strikingly recall the fine pic- 
 
 1 [To this year is ascribed the Marriage of St. Catherine, in the 
 palace of King Ferdinand at Lisbon (? by the elder Holbein), which 
 the writer of these lines has not seen, and which Woltniann (Holbein) 
 describes from a photograph.] 
 
 2 [Holbein received the commission in 1521, and finished two sides of 
 the hall in 1522. The records are in His' ' Basler Archive,' in von Zahn's 
 'Jahrb.', hi. 119-121.] 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 203 
 
 ture from the life of St. Paul by his father, in Augsburg. 
 The Crucifixion and the Entombment (which latter reminds 
 us, in the chief group, of Raphael's Entombment in the 
 Borghese) are admirable in composition, feeling, and render- 
 ing ; while the Christ on the Mount of Olives shows a beauty 
 and depth of feeling scarcely inferior to that in Correggio's 
 celebrated picture. It would appear incredible that these 
 works should belong to this early period, were not the egre- 
 gious false drawing and repelling caricatures and exaggerations 
 — as, for instance, in the Flagellation and the Crucifixion — 
 only to be accounted for by the earliness of their date. 
 Other pictures of this period, showing the decided influence 
 of Leonardo da Yinci, render it probable that Holbein may 
 have made a hasty visit to Northern Italy at this time. In 
 one of them — a Last Supper, in the Basle Gallery, No. 33. 
 one portion of which is wanting — there is a symmetry of 
 arrangement, an elevation of heads, especially in that of the 
 Saviour, and a certain equality of treatment, which show the 
 unmistakeable influence of Leonardo's Last Supper, at Milan, 
 The head of Judas alone, a Jew of frightful vulgarity of 
 character, betrays the realistic feeling of Holbein in all its 
 force. In the other picture in the same gallery, No. 21, a 
 Dead Christ, this tendency is seen in its utmost rudeness, 
 combined with an attempt to model in the style peculiar to 
 Leonardo. It is difficult to believe that this pale greenish 
 form, with streaming blood, taken evidently from one who 
 had died a violent death, and drawn with a mastery marvel- 
 lous in an artist of twenty-three years of age, could have 
 been really intended to represent a dead Christ. The in- 
 scription, however, "Jesus Nazarenus, Rex. Jud : H. H. 
 1521," leaves do doubt. 1 
 
 1 [The Last Supper has already been mentioned as one that Basilius 
 Amerbach characterized as Holbein's " first work " (see antea). Neither 
 that nor any other work of Holbein can justify the assumption of a 
 visit to Italy, and Van Mander says expressly : " Hy is in Italian niet 
 gheweest" (Sch. Bock, p. 142). We do observe in the Passion, or the 
 Dead Christ, some trace of Italian influence, but not that of Da Vinci. 
 From the transcripts of the frescoes at Lucerne and Bale, or from the Pas- 
 sion, we derive the conviction that Mantegna's prints and compositions 
 were more familiar to Holbein than any other Italian productions of the 
 time. 
 
204 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 [In 1522 Holbein painted the Virgin and Child between 
 St. Martin and St. Ursus, which Mr. Zetter of Soleure so 
 fortunately discovered in 1865. It is signed with Holbein's 
 initials and bears the date of 1522. It once adorned an 
 altar in the church of Grenchen (Canton of Soleure). In 
 size and importance this most interesting piece can only be 
 compared with that which Holbein executed a few years 
 later for Jacob Meyer of Bale. It is one of the monumental 
 compositions of the form which we so often meet in north 
 Italian altarpieces of this period, representing the Virgin, 
 seated under an archway, enshrouded in drapery of such ful- 
 ness as to cover the shape completely. As in Giorgione's 
 Madonna of Castelfranco, so here, the mantle is gathered at 
 the neck and falls to the ground in ample folds. On one side 
 St. Martin, in episcopal dress, relieves the necessity of a beggar, 
 on the other St. Ursus, in the helmet and breastplate of Hol- 
 bein's time, stands, with a banner in one hand, as the guardian 
 of the Virgin's throne. Neither the Virgin nor the Child are 
 graced with ideal beauty of shape or feature: they are portraits, 
 and nothing more ; but there is an earnest gravity in the 
 faces, and a pleasing softness in the countenance of St. 
 Martin cleverly contrasts with the stern glance and resolute 
 pose of St. Ursus.] 1 
 
 One of the most admirable pictures, not only of this period, 
 but of the master, is the portrait of Erasmus, dated mdxxiii., 
 one of the chief ornaments of Lord Radnor's rich gallery at 
 Longford Castle. 2 One hardly knows which most to admire, 
 the refined and animated conception, or the masterly carry- 
 ing out of the minutest details, which are united here. 
 This is doubtless the portrait sent by Erasmus to his friend 
 
 Without plagiarism he adopts the forms of costume and architecture 
 which Mantegna used, overloading both so as to give them a quaint 
 and almost grotesque character. Nor is this quaintness diminished by 
 the casual introduction of sixteenth century bowmen in company with 
 Roman legionaries.] 
 
 1 [The infant Christ, copied by Hans Bock, is in the Bale Museum, and 
 this copy is catalogued in Amerbach's inventory, with the words ap- 
 pended : " Kompt von holbein's gemeld " (taken from Holbein's picture). 
 An outline of the picture is in the ' Ze'itschrif t fur bildende Kunst,' vol. 
 iv. p. 200.] 
 
 * ' Gal]eries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 356. 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 205 
 
 Sir Thomas More in 1525, in order to give him a proof of 
 Holbein's powers, and to serve as a recommendation to the 
 great master, who even then contemplated a visit to England. 
 Sir Thomas replied, "Your painter, my dear Erasmus, is an 
 admirable artist," and added the promise of giving Holbein 
 his protection. 1 To the same year may be also assigned the 
 admirable portrait of Erasmus in the Louvre, which represents 
 him in profile. 2 Also doubtless the stately portrait of George 
 Frundsberg, Field Marshal to Charles V., in the Berlin 
 Museum, No. 577. 3 
 
 [But in these days Holbein was not exclusively occupied 
 with portraits ; and between 1523 and 1526 probably he 
 composed the beautiful doors of the organ in the Minster at 
 Bale, in the drawing of which we still discern reminiscences 
 of Mantegna.] 
 
 Among the last works executed by the painter at Basle, 
 
 1 Considering the interest attached to Holbein in England, I subjoin 
 the entire passage from the letter in the original Latin : " Pictor tuus, 
 Erasme carissime, minis est artifex, sed vereor, ne non sensurus sit 
 Angliam tarn fcecundam ac fertilem, quam sperarat ; quanquam ne 
 reperiat omnino sterilem, quoad per me fieri potest efficiam. Ex Aula 
 Grenwici, 18 Dec. 1525." m [More's letter, above quoted, should be 
 dated 1524, as Grimm ('Uber Kiinstler und Kunstwerke,' ii. 132) 
 conclusively proves. It does not refer to Holbein's presence in 
 England, but to the intention of the painter to visit England, as he 
 did in 1526. Erasmus had sent two copies of his likeness to England, 
 a third copy to friends in France. He says so in a letter of June, 
 1524 : " Et rursus nuper misi in Angliam Erasmum bis pictum ab 
 artefice satis eleganti. Is me detulit pictum in galliam." (Erasmus 
 to Pirckheimer, June 3, 1524.) One of these likenesses is doubtless 
 acknowledged by More in the letter from Greenwich. Herman Grimm 
 thinks indeed that More's words imply that Holbein was already 
 in England ; but this does not necessarily follow from the context. 
 Erasmus only recommended Holbein personally to Egidius at Antwerp 
 on Aug. 29, 1526. From Antwerp Holbein went on to England. Had 
 Holbein paid an earlier visit, say in 1524, to England, we should expect 
 to find some traces of the visit in pictures, but nothing of the kind has 
 yet been discovered.] 
 
 2 [Dr. Waagen here accounts for two likenesses of Erasmus by Holbein. 
 In the foregoing note there is an allusion to a third portrait, and we 
 inquire where it is. There are five portraits of Erasmus besides those 
 of the Louvre and Longford Castle, in the Museums of Bale, Antwerp, 
 Hampton Court, Turin, and Parma, all of them, except those of Antwerp 
 and Hampton Court, original. The Parma replica is dated 1530.] 
 
 3 [This portrait cannot be by Holbein. The date upon it points to 
 a period subsequent to the year 1528, when Holbein painted in a style 
 unlike that which characterises the picture.]. 
 
206 
 
 THE SWAB1AN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 before his first visit to England, in the autumn of 1526, we 
 may place the beautiful picture in the possession of Princess 
 Charles of Hesse at Darmstadt. It represents the Virgin as 
 Queen of Heaven, standing in a niche, with the Child in her 
 arms, and with the family of the Burgomaster Jacob Meyer 
 of Basle kneeling at her side. With the utmost life, and a 
 truth to nature which brings these kneeling figures actually 
 into our presence, there is combined, in a most exquisite 
 degree, an expression of great earnestness, as if the mind 
 were fixed on some lofty object. This is shown not merely 
 by the introduction of divine beings into the circle of human 
 sympathies, but particularly in the relation so skilfully indi- 
 cated between the Holy Virgin and her worshippers, and in 
 her manifest desire to communicate to those who are around 
 her the sacred peace and tranquillity expressed in her own 
 countenance and attitude, and implied in the infantine gestures 
 of the Saviour. In this direct union of the divine with the 
 human, and in their reciprocal harmony, there is involved a 
 devout and earnest purity of feeling such as the arts among 
 our fathers only were capable of representing. This picture 
 was doubtless founded by the zealous Catholic donor for a 
 Chapel of our Lady. The painting is fresh and powerful, 
 and the flesh-tones of a warm brown. From various little 
 differences between this and the well-known Dresden picture, 
 see woodcut, it is apparent that it was painted at an earlier 
 period. It is easy also to understand that the patron, desiring 
 to possess such excellent portraits of his own family, thus 
 devoutly engaged, as the ornament of one of his rooms, was 
 induced to give Holbein the commission to paint a repetition 
 of the subject, which in the needy circumstances of the painter 
 could only have been acceptable to him. I am therefore 
 convinced that the Dresden picture owes its creation to some 
 such circumstance. The alterations also which a comparison 
 with the first picture exhibits are such' as render it more 
 suitable for that closer inspection which the walls of a room 
 would permit. The head of the Virgin is lovelier and milder 
 in form and expression ; the treatment of less body, tenderer, 
 and more inclined to detail. The same remarks apply more 
 or less to most of the other portions. The head of the 
 
THE BURGOMASTER MEYER'S VOTIVE PICTURE. 
 By Hans Holbeia, in the Palace of Pnncess Charles of Hesse, at Darmstadt. 
 
 Fage 206. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER METER'S VOTIVE PICTURE. 
 Painted by Hans Holbein, and now in the Gallery at Dresden page C 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 207 
 
 Burgomaster alone is rather hard and empty. The some- 
 what coarse and slightly-painted carpet may be the work of 
 a scholar. 1 
 
 Two other pictures in the Basle Gallery, also executed 
 in 1526, differ much in style of treatment from all earlier 
 works of the master, showing, by the greater tenderness of 
 the warm yellowish local tones, in the more abundant use 
 of glazings, and increased softness of outline, so strong an 
 influence from Netherlandish art, that even a connoisseur 
 like Herr von Rumohr supposed them to be works by Ber- 
 nard van Orley. The one, No. 34, represents a beautiful 
 young girl in elegant attire, nominally the portrait of a 
 member of the Offenburg family at Basle, with the inscrip- 
 tion, " Lais Corinthiaca.' 12 The other, No. 35, taken from 
 the same model, but less attractive, represents Venus, with 
 a somewhat ugly Cupid. Although the last only is dated 
 1526, yet the first corresponds with it too entirely in every 
 respect to leave any doubt of its belonging to the same 
 time. The remarkable style of these pictures may be best 
 explained by the probability that Holbein, on occasion of 
 
 1 [The Darmstadt and Dresden Madonnas were exhibited together at 
 Dresden in 1871 ; and the majority of judges came to the conclusion 
 that the former was original and the latter a copy. There was ample 
 opportunity at the exhibition to test the quality of both pictures by 
 comparison with the best productions of Holbein, ex. gr. : Sir Henry 
 Guildford, Windsor ; the two Godsalves, Dresden ; George Gysen, Berlin ; 
 John of Antwerp, Windsor ; Reskemere, Hampton Court ; Morrett, 
 Dresden ; Duke of Norfolk, Windsor. The technical treatment in the 
 two pictures was altogether different, the Darmstadt example being 
 executed in the manner peculiar to Holbein, as shown in the numerous 
 works above quoted, the Dresden example in a style betraying a copyist 
 of the close of the sixteenth century. It was observed that the Dresden 
 Madonna was injured by rubbing down ; the Darmstadt Madonna dis- 
 figured by subtle, but still distinct, repaints. The persons represented 
 on the Darmstadt Madonna are, J acob Meyer, his first wife, Magdalen Ber, 
 his second wife, Dorothea Kannengiesser, married 1512, and Dorothea's 
 daughter Anna, born circa 1513. The kneeling youth to the left has not 
 been traced, and critics hopelessly differ as to the true character of the 
 boy on the foreground (? the infant Baptist). See His, in ' Jahrbiicher,' 
 hi. 153 and following.] 
 
 2 [The Lais Corinthiaca and companion picture are described in 
 Amerbach's inventory as portraits of an ' Offenburgin.' Dorothea 
 Offenburgin was the wife of Junker Joachim of Sultz. Both she and 
 her husband were imprisoned and expelled from Bale for leading 
 irregular lives. See His, n. s., in 'Jahrbiicher,' iii. 163.] 
 
208 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 a visit to Antwerp in September, had become acquainted 
 with the manner of Quentin Massys, to which these works 
 most approximate. The already-mentioned letter from 
 Erasmus to his friend Egidius in Antwerp, dated the 29th 
 August, states that, if Holbein desired to visit Quentin 
 Massys, and if he (Egidius) should not have the time to 
 conduct him, he would depute his " Famulus " to show him 
 the house. Who will doubt therefore that one so eager as 
 Holbein to appropriate every fresh means of improvement 
 would profit by this opportunity ? That he must have 
 paid a somewhat lengthened visit to Antwerp is further 
 proved by the animated and masterly portrait of his friend 
 Egidius, also in Longford Castle, the whole style of which 
 shows the probability of its having been painted during that 
 stay. 1 In all probability, also, the master sent the two small 
 pictures above named, as specimens of his success in the 
 adoption of a new style, to his patron Amerbach at Basle, 
 from whose collection they were derived. 2 
 
 On his arrival in England Sir Thomas More received the 
 painter in the most friendly manner into his own house, 
 built by himself on the Thames, not far from London, retain- 
 ing him there for some time without bringing him to the 
 notice of King Henry VIII. 3 Various grounds for this 
 proceeding are easy to conjecture. Sir Thomas may have 
 wished, as was fair, that he and his family should first profit 
 by the painter's genius ; also to give Holbein the opportu- 
 nity of becoming acquainted with the language and manners 
 of the country before making his debut on a larger theatre. 
 It is certain, however, that even in the first year of his 
 English residence he painted other individuals, who were 
 probably personal friends of the Chancellor. Among the 
 works thus produced is the portrait of the Treasurer, Sir 
 
 1 'Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 356. [The Lais must have been 
 painted before Holbein's visit to Antwerp ; for it is dated 1526, and 
 Holbein left Bale in August of that year on his way to England, where 
 he remained till 1518. The portrait of Egidius at Longford Castle is 
 now universally and correctly assigned to Quentin Massys.] 
 
 2 The Amerbach collection forms the principal part of the Basle 
 Gallery. 
 
 3 Van Mander, p. 142. 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 209 
 
 Bryan Tuke, which shows the closest affinity in style with 
 his latest pictures in Basle, and of which two equally excel- 
 lent examples exist. One, which I saw in 1835 in the 
 Methuen Collection in Corsham House, [is now in the 
 collection of the Marquis of Westminster, and] inscribed, 
 " Brianus Tuke, Miles, anno aatates suae lvii.," with the 
 motto, " Droit et avant." An expression of slight melancholy 
 is perceptible in the refined features, and corresponds with a 
 passage from the Book of Job on a paper, " Numquid non 
 paucitas dierum meorum finietur brevi ? " — chap. x. ver. 20. 
 He is dressed in black, with under sleeves of a delicate gold 
 pattern. The feeling for nature conveyed by this portrait is 
 refined, and of masterly rendering. As regards the not less 
 successful example now in Munich, Cabinets, No. 143, the 
 inscriptions on the background are absent. The passage 
 from Job, however, is there, with the addition of " Job cap 
 10," and " io. holpain." A skeleton pointing to an almost 
 spent hour-glass gives the answer to the question. 1 The 
 portrait of Sir Henry Guildford at Windsor Castle, which 
 has unfortunately darkened, is also dated 1527, the first 
 year of Holbein's stay in England ; [likewise the Sir Thomas 
 More of Mr. Henry Huth, in London, and Archbishop 
 Warham, at Lambeth House, of which a replica is in the 
 Louvre.] The next year (1528) constitutes another step in 
 the artist's career. The admirable picture of Nicholas 
 Kratzer, astronomer to Henry VIII., in the Louvre, No. 206, 
 shows a larger conception and greater simplicity of forms, 
 but is of a deep and untransparent brown colour. 
 
 [One of the most interesting pictures which Holbein 
 painted at this time is that of Sir Thomas More and his 
 family, of which, unhappily, none but copies have been pre- 
 served. 2 On the eve of returning to Bale, where duty and 
 inclination were perhaps calling him, Holbein was entrusted 
 with letters to Erasmus, in which the sketch of this picture, 
 now in the Bale Museum, was inclosed. It contains ten 
 full-length, life-sized figures, of easy arrangement, of extra- 
 
 1 [It is very doubtful whether this picture is by Holbein, and Mr. 
 Wornum is probably right in doubting its originality.] 
 
 2 [The best in Nostall Priory in Yorkshire. ] 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 ordinary truth and animation of the heads, with great free- 
 dom of movement, and of masterly rendering in every part. 
 Erasmus, in answering the Mores, under the date of Sep- 
 tember, 1529, acknowledged the receipt of the letters, and 
 told how the drawing had been brought to him by Holbein 
 in person. Yet Holbein had been at Bale since August, 
 1528. He had taken home the earnings of two busy years 
 in England, and bought a house next to that in which his 
 patron, the printer Froben, kept his books. 1 A portrait of 
 his wife and two children, in the Bale Museum, was the first 
 fruit of his professional occupation at the time.] To all" 
 those who judge of a work of art, not by its subject, but by 
 the amount of skill bestowed on it, this picture is an object 
 of great admiration ; but it is no less true that the cross- 
 looking woman with red eyes, the plain little girl, and the 
 half starved boy baby are not attractive. The conception, 
 however, is of such simple and unpretending truth, the full 
 forms are so masterly, the colouring, with rather gray shadows, 
 is so bright and clear, and the treatment so free and light, that, 
 with these before one, the unpleasing character of the indi- 
 viduals can be well endured, and also the capricious and 
 unartistic arrangement of the picture. Unvarnished reality 
 appears here in its full artistic excellence. 2 
 
 [Holbein was again employed in 1530 to complete the 
 series of wall-paintings begun in earlier years in the Town- 
 hall of Bale. 3 He might have been induced to remain in 
 this, the place of his habitual residence, had it not been that 
 the Reformation, and the troubles which accompanied it, made 
 earning precarious. In 1532 Holbein returned to England. 
 But the circle in which he now moved was not the circle he 
 
 1 [His in ' Jahrbiicher,' iii. 123. It may be that Erasmus's letter is 
 misdated ; possibly there was some delay in Holbein's transmission of 
 the sketch, Erasmus being away at Freiburg.] 
 
 2 [Holbein was married to a widow, whose name was Elspeth Schmidt, 
 and she had a son by her first husband, Franz Schmidt, who afterwards 
 became guardian to Holbein's children. See Woltmann's ' Holbein,' i. 
 347.1 
 
 6 [To this year, 1530, Dr. Waagen assigns " the portraits of Dr. Stokes- 
 ley and Henry VIII., at Windsor Castle." But Holbein was not in 
 England in this year, he was not as yet acquainted with Henry VIII., 
 and the pictures above quoted are not in Holbein's manner.] 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGEE. 
 
 211 
 
 had left. Amongst the merchants of the Steelyard, a rich 
 and powerful body of his countrymen, he found numerous 
 and eager patrons, and these he portrayed, one after another, 
 with never-ending patience and success.] 
 
 The portrait of [Hans of Antwerp, a goldsmith, and a 
 member of the Steelyard], dated 1532, now in Windsor 
 Castle, unites with an increasing delicacy of drawing Holbein's 
 usual brownish local flesh-tone. 1 On the other hand, a 
 portrait of George Gysen, a merchant, executed in London, 
 but now in the Berlin Museum, No. 586, shows that, in the 
 attempt to attain the utmost possible delicacy of modelling, the 
 master abandoned his in that respect untractable brownish 
 tone for one of a cool but very clear nature, to which he 
 adhered in subsequent years. In close affinity with the last 
 portrait is a delicate picture of a woman in a red dress with 
 fur, and a veil, a rosary in her hand, in the Cassel gallery, 
 No. 50. 2 
 
 [Equally fine and of this time is the portrait of a man, 
 half-length, in the Schonborn collection at Vienna.] 
 
 The most important picture for extent and richness of 
 representation which I know by Holbein in England, the so- 
 called ambassadors, in the collection of Lord Radnor at 
 Longford Castle, belongs [to the year 1533]. Of the two 
 full-length, life-sized figures, standing side by side, the one 
 in rich attire, and with the order of St. Michael, represents, 
 as Lord Folkestone informed me, Sir Thomas Wyatt, one of 
 the most learned and accomplished Englishmen of his time. 
 The other figure has both the expression and simpler dress 
 of a learned professor ; and various mathematical instru- 
 ments, a globe, and some wind-instruments, treated precisely 
 like those in the portrait of Nicholas Kratzer, give further 
 evidence of his particular calling. In the conception of the 
 forms this picture is also closely related to the portrait of 
 Kratzer, but it is clearer in the yellowish-brown flesh-tones, 
 
 1 [Hans of Antwerp, or ' Hannssen von Anwerpen upn Stallhof as 
 his name appears on the picture at Windsor, was a goldsmith and friend 
 of Holbein, as we observe particularly in the painter's will.] 
 
 2 [To this portrait at Cassel, Dr. Waagen, in assigning it to Holbein, 
 should have added the companion, No. 5, portrait of a man in a black 
 dress and cap.] [Neither of these is now regarded as authentic] 
 
212 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. Book III. 
 
 and very easy in movement. 1 [Other portraits executed in 
 1533 are those of Derick Born, at Windsor, Deryck Tybis, of 
 Duisburg, in the Belvedere at Vienna, and Robert Cheseman, 
 at the Hague. A small portrait of this year, in the Suer- 
 mondt collection [Berlin,No. 586 c], attracts by its mastery 
 and good preservation ; Ambrose of the Steelyard, in the 
 Brunswick Gallery, a doubtful example, repels by hasty exe- 
 cution and an injured surface.] A water-colour drawing of 
 the favourite subject of the day — the Wheel of Fortune — at 
 Chatsworth, spirited alike in invention and execution, is also 
 dated 1533. 2 
 
 In consequence of the appreciation Holbein met with in 
 England, he came into greater favour also at Basle. A 
 friendly missive from the magistracy of Basle, dated 2nd 
 September, 1532, calls upon him to return to that city; and, 
 as an inducement for him to remain there, promises him the 
 yearly sum of thirty pieces of money. This communication 
 only reached the artist in 1533, [and failed to induce him 
 to change his residence. It was at this time, perhaps, 
 that his works first attracted the attention of Henry VIII. 
 Henry had succeeded in obtaining a divorce from Catharine 
 of Aragon. He was married to Anne Boleyn, and her 
 coronation was celebrated with pomp in May, 1533]. On the 
 occasion of this ceremony Holbein, at the request of his 
 countrymen, the Company of German Merchants in London, 
 executed two large pictures in tempera, called the Triumph 
 of Riches and the Triumph of Poverty, see woodcuts, in the 
 banqueting-hall of the Easterlings, in the Steelyard. These 
 pictures were of such excellence that Federigo Zucchero, 
 according to the evidence of Van Mander, 3 placed them on 
 the same level with works by Raphael, and himself took 
 copies of them with the pen. Nor does Van Mander admire 
 them less. Indeed, all admiration is fully justified by the 
 masterly pen-drawing by Holbein [in the Louvre], in which 
 
 1 [This picture is inscribed : "Johannes Holbein pingebat, 1533." 
 Woltmann ('Holbein,' ii. 236), suggests that the figure accompanying 
 Sir Thomas Wyatt is John Leland.] 
 
 2 ' Treasures,' vol. hi. p. 351. 
 
 3 Schilderboeck, fol. 144 a. 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 213 
 
 he occupies a place in art between Mantegna and Kaphael, 
 and also by the fine drawings by Vostermann from both the 
 Triumphs, now in Lady Eastlake's possession. The com- 
 position is distributed in the space with much feeling for 
 style, the movements are graceful and grand, and the cold- 
 ness of allegory is corrected by the fine individuality of the 
 heads. 
 
 The Company of the German Merchants in London having 
 been dissolved, these two pictures were, on the 22nd of 
 January, 1616, presented by them to Prince Henry of Wales, 
 a fact which is placed beyond doubt by the documentary re- 
 searches of Dr. Lappenburg. 1 This is the last certain record 
 we have of them ; for while it may be inferred with much 
 probability that they passed at the death of that prince — two 
 years later — into the possession of his brother Prince Charles, 
 afterwards Charles L, yet as they are not enumerated among 
 the works of art belonging to that monarch which were sold 
 by Cromwell, Dr. Lappenburg concludes they may have 
 perished in the fire at Whitehall in 1697. But such evidence 
 as we further possess is not in favour of this conclusion, for 
 it is remarkable that in the well-known catalogue of Charles 
 I.'s collection, by the keeper Van der Doort, which contains 
 notices of several less important works by Holbein, and 
 even of two miniatures by him, these fine pictures are not 
 mentioned at all. 
 
 [It is difficult to prove at whose intercession, or at what 
 precise time, Holbein was promoted into the royal service in 
 London. We might fancy that the interest of Wyatt, 
 whose likeness he took in 1533, or that of Cromwell, whose 
 portrait he painted in 1534, 2 would facilitate his introduction 
 to the monarch. Yet there are no tangible proofs of such 
 an introduction till after the death of Anne Boleyn, when 
 we find the painter executing the great family picture of the 
 
 1 See Dr. Lappenburg' s excellent work, ' Urkundliche Geschichte des 
 Hansischen Stalhof zu London,' Hamburg, 1851, vol. i., 4to, p. 83. 
 The usual assumption that these pictures were burnt in the banqueting- 
 hall of the Easterlings in the Great Fire of London in 1666 is thus set 
 aside. 
 
 2 [There is a portrait of Cromwell (? genuine) in possession of Lady 
 Caledon.] 
 
214 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 two Henrys, — the Vllth with Elizabeth of York, and the 
 VLIIth with Jane Seymour, and their children, — which 
 perished in the fire of 1698, at Whitehall. For a long time 
 our knowledge of this piece and its composition could only 
 be guessed from Leenput's copy at Hampton Court. The 
 grandeur and perfection of the original is now more truly 
 discerned in the fragment of a cartoon, containing the two 
 kings, in the Duke of Devonshire's seat of Hardwicke Hall. 1 
 This cartoon, indeed, is the only original production of 
 Holbein's representing the features of Henry the VIII. 
 About this time, too, Holbein had sittings from Jane Seymour, 
 whose portrait is in the Belvedere at Vienna — a clear, grey, 
 flesh-toned picture, of great precision. 1537 and 1538 are 
 the years in which Holbein painted his most admirable 
 likenesses. Without counting the Lady Vaux at Prague, 
 an injured picture, of which there is a replica or copy equally 
 injured at Hampton Court, we have the splendid "South- 
 well" of the Uffizi, 2 and the wonderful "Morrett" of 
 Dresden, either of which would suffice to make the fame of 
 a painter, both remarkable for the skill with which life and 
 expression are given to flesh of a cool gray tone, and texture 
 to silks and stuffs, velvets and embroideries, and details of 
 daggers, buttons, and borders, with a smoothness quite 
 unequalled in any productions of the time. 
 
 In the Book of Henry the VIII. 's household expenses for 
 1538 Holbein appears for the first time in receipt of a 
 regular quarterly salary. In March of that year he was 
 sent with Philip Hoby to Brussels, to paint the likeness of 
 Christina, the youthful widow of the Duke of Milan, and 
 this likeness, now at Arundel Castle, is a speaking instance 
 of the ability with which Holbein could transfer to his 
 pictures, not only the person, but the high-bred air of a 
 lady of quality. It may be that the tender reddish tone 
 which marks this and other creations of the same period 
 
 1 [The discovery of this cartoon is due to Mrs. George Scharf .] 
 
 2 [Dr. Waagen misdated this picture by confounding the year of the 
 king's reign with that of the century. The inscription runs: " X° 
 julii. anno H. VIII. XXVIII. Etatis suse XXXIII." The Morrett, 
 it is well known, was catalogued for years at Dresden under the name 
 of Da Vinci.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 215 
 
 are due to Holbein's refreshing his memory with earlier 
 works at Bale. After leaving Brussels in spring he did not 
 return to London, but went on to Bale, where the splendour 
 of his position, and his new apparel of silk and satin, did 
 not fail to attract considerable attention. 1 The governors of 
 Bale were not slow to improve the occasion, by urging 
 Holbein to accept an appointment, as town painter, at a 
 salary of fifty gulden, and a furlough of two years, with a 
 pension of forty gulden for each year of his absence. 2 But 
 Holbein only accepted this offer pro forma. He found more 
 attractions in England, and he returned to his old haunts in 
 London without regret. 
 
 It was a kindly habit of the royal painters to make 
 new year's presents of pictures to the king. On the 1st of 
 January, 1539, Holbein went to the palace with a likeness of 
 the heir-apparent, and Henry rewarded him for it with " a 
 gilte cruse." 3 There are numerous replicas of this portrait, 
 one at Sion House, another in the Yarborough collection in 
 London, another in the Welfen Museum at Hanover, but it 
 is very doubtful whether any of them are original. 
 
 Meanwhile the negotiations for Henry's marriage with the 
 Duchess of Milan had been broken off. At the court of the 
 Duchess of Cleves there lived a marriageable princess : Holbein 
 was again sent (Aug., 1539) to paint her likeness, which we 
 see in its perfection at the Louvre. 
 
 The painter's works in this and subsequent years are ah 
 masterpieces. It is not possible to do more than register 
 them, viz., in 1539, the Duke of Norfolk, at Windsor Castle, 
 and his son, the Earl of Surrey, which is lost ; in 1541, por- 
 traits of gentlemen, one in the Suermondt collection, another 
 belonging to Mr. Millais, a third in the Belvedere at Vienna ; 
 in 1542, the portrait of Holbein himself at the Uftizi ; of 
 
 1 [See Woltmann's 'Holbein,' u. s., ii. 317-19 and 325.] This visit, 
 and also the happiness Holbein enjoyed in England, may be gathered 
 from the following passage in a letter from Gualter, then studying at 
 Basle, to Antistes Bullinger at Zurich, in the middle of Sept., 1538 : — 
 "Venitnuper Basileam ex Anglia Joannes Holbein adeo feiicem ejus 
 regni statum prsedicans, quod aliquot septimanis exactis rursum eo 
 migraturus est." 
 
 2 [See the ' Bestallung,' in Woltmann, u. s., ii. 327.] 
 
 3 [See the records in Woltmann's Holbein,' u. s., ii. 389]. 
 
216 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 Butts and Chambers, Henry the VIII. 's body surgeons, Butts 
 in the Pole Carew collection, Chambers in the Belvedere at 
 Vienna. Henry VIH. granting privileges to the Barber 
 Surgeons, a large picture in the College of Surgeons, is about 
 the last work which the painter undertook, and probably 
 remained unfinished at his death.] 
 
 Considered as a miniature-painter, in which department 
 Van Mander 1 reports him to have soon outstripped his master 
 Lucas, whom he found at the court of Henry VIII., Holbein 
 displayed rare excellence. I quote only the portraits of 
 Henry and of Anne of Cleves in the collection of Colonel 
 Meyrick. The portrait of the lady is termed by Walpole 
 " the most exquisitely perfect of all Holbein's works." 
 
 How early this master succeeded in rendering individual 
 character only with such means as a draughtsman may com- 
 mand may be seen in the eighty-nine portraits of persons 
 attached to the court of Henry, and of other contemporary 
 individuals, in the royal collection at Windsor. In most of 
 these red chalk and Indian ink are the sole materials em- 
 ployed, though sufficient to express a liveliness of conception, 
 purity of feeling for nature, and a lightness and decision of 
 touch such as have been never surpassed. 2 
 
 As regards Holbein's powers of invention, some idea of 
 their fruitfulness may be obtained from various designs, and 
 especially from the woodcuts and engravings taken from his 
 drawings. Of these latter there is a large collection in the 
 Basle gallery. 3 A furious onslaught of Swiss native soldiers, 
 No. 35, shows us with what energy and tremendous truth 
 he rendered the momentary exhibition of passion. This is 
 the most living and spirited picture of that old Swiss race 
 which broke the power of Burgundy, and the force of whose 
 weapons was long considered to be irresistible. 
 
 Among his biblical subjects a composition of Christ carry- 
 ing his cross is remarkable for richness and beauty ; also a 
 Virgin and Child for elevation of feeling. A rich series of 
 
 1 Van Mander, fol. 140 b. 
 
 2 Bartolozzi's plates in Chamberlain's well-known work are estimable, 
 though giving but feeble representations of these qualities. 
 
 3 ' Kiinstler und Kunstweike in Deutschland,' vol. ii. p. 283 to 291. 
 
Chap. VI. HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER. 
 
 217 
 
 cartoons, executed with pen and Indian ink, for glass paint- 
 ings, and of powerful effect, are very important in character, 
 though not all equal in value. Seven similar cartoons, 
 representing the Passion, drawn also in the master's earlier 
 time, are in the collection of engravings in the British 
 Museum. 1 The elevated taste with which he treated sub- 
 jects from common life is shown by three drawings in the 
 same museum — a woman with three children, another in bed 
 with six children, and Henry VIII. alone at table. 2 Of the 
 engravings from his designs I may observe, as a specimen of 
 the degree in which he was qualified to treat historical sub- 
 jects, the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, engraved 
 by Hollar. 
 
 But the greatest number of his compositions are seen in the 
 woodcuts, 3 executed by highly skilful hands, and especially 
 by Hans Liitzelburger, and which, with few exceptions, be- 
 long to the period before his removal to England. The 
 series of subjects called the Dance of Death comprise his 
 most original and spirited inventions. These, with the ex- 
 ception of a few proof-sheets, were first published at Lyons 
 in forty-one plates, and in a subsequent edition, which also 
 appeared at Lyons, in 1547, were increased by twelve addi- 
 tional plates. We have already alluded to the feeling which 
 pervades these compositions. So much was Holbein in love 
 with the subject that he treated it afresh in another series 
 of alphabetical woodcuts, and again in a drawing, of which 
 many examples exist, for the handle of a dagger. Next in 
 order the woodcuts for the Old Testament deserve men- 
 tion. This work, which consists of ninety subjects, the 
 first four of which are the Last Dance of Death, was also 
 published at Lyons in 1538. Some of the designs are most 
 remarkable. The woodcuts for two other alphabets worthily 
 
 1 ' Treasures,' vol. i. p. 236. 
 
 2 ' Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 36, etc. 
 
 3 In this view I concur with Herr Sotzman in the Tubinger Kunst- 
 blatt,' 1836, Nos. 30 to 32 ; and with Herr Vischer in the same work, 
 1838, Nos. 50 to 54 ; 1843, Nos. 15 and 102 ; and 1846, No. 27. On 
 the other hand, it is believed by some, at the head of whom is Eumohr, 
 that he was himself a wood-engraver. Rumohr's ' H. Holbein in seinem 
 Verhaltnisse zum Deutschen Formschnitt,' Leipzig, 1836 ; and a reply 
 to Sotzman in the same work. 
 
218 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 succeed these last : one of the series contains a dance of 
 peasants, the other of children. The rare woodcuts to 
 Cranmer's Catechism are less important. Of the single wood- 
 cuts which bespeak the invention of Holbein I will only 
 mention the portrait of Erasmus, with the terminal figure, 
 and two dagger- sheaths. 
 
 Finally, I may mention that Holbein executed a large number 
 of designs for domestic furniture, — stoves, clocks, — and espe- 
 cially for weapons and goldsmith's work. These contain an 
 abundance of original inventions, both as regards the forms 
 of a developed Renaissance style and the figures introduced. 
 Admirable specimens of this kind are in the engraving de- 
 partment of the British Museum, and also in the library. 1 
 
 This great master died in London [between the 7th of Octo- 
 ber and 29th of November, 1543], 2 Judging from the most 
 authentic of his portraits — the one in red and black chalk, 
 in the Basle Museum, which represents him in youthful years 
 — he was a man of well-formed and regular features, expres- 
 sive of a clear mind, a cheerful temper, and a quiet decision 
 of character. 3 
 
 Although, owing to the circumstance of his leaving his 
 native town of Augsburg early, and his also residing but ten 
 years in Basle, Holbein created, properly speaking, no school, 
 yet some painters obviously formed their style from his. I 
 may quote Chkistopher Ambekgee, born at Nuremberg about 
 1500, died after 1560, who lived in Augsburg, and who occu- 
 pies an important position as a portrait-painter. However in- 
 ferior to Holbein in energy of conception and refinement of 
 drawing, yet he occasionally surpasses him in transparency 
 and warmth of colouring. [A stay of some years in Italy 
 (he was there in 1535) was of influence in the expansion 
 of his art.] 4 Specimens of interest are the following : the 
 portrait of the well-known geographer, Sebastian Miinster, in 
 
 1 See further in 'Treasures,' etc., vol. i. pp. 203 and 236. Also, 
 ' Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 37, etc. 
 
 2 [See the will and administration to the same, by Mr. Franks, in the 
 'Archseologia' vol. xxxix.] 
 
 3 A line-engraving from it is at the opening of Hegner's book. 
 
 4 [One of his pictures, a portrait in the Belvedere, is dated so : " 1535 
 di Marzo." See Woltmann in Meyer's Lexikon.] 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 NICOLAS MANUEL. 
 
 219 
 
 the Berlin Museum, No. 583 ; and of the Emperor Charles 
 V., in the gallery at Sienna. As an historical painter Am- 
 berger is less successful : but an altarpiece, dated 1554, 
 representing the Virgin and Child surrounded with Saints, 
 placed on the wall of the choir- sacristy in Augsburg Cathedral, 
 is skilfully composed and drawn, and the heads of refined 
 and elevated character. The religious sentiment of this 
 picture, though true to nature, is feeble in expression ; the 
 colouring is transparent. This painter, considered as an 
 historical artist, embodies the transition from the early Ger- 
 man style to that of the more modern school, a movement 
 which is more clearly seen in another altarpiece of the same 
 subject, dated 1560, in the church of St. Anna at Augsburg. 1 
 
 Another painter, of the name of Hans Asper, shows the 
 influence of Holbein in Switzerland. The portraits of Zwingli 
 and his wife in the library at Zurich are specimens of his art. 
 I have not seen them, however. 
 
 Another Swiss painter from Berne, by name Nicolas 
 Manuel, surnamed Deutsch, born 1484, died 1531, as- 
 sumes, on the other hand, a far more independent position. 2 
 Although allied to Holbein in the realistic tendency of his 
 art, yet he differs essentially from him in the mode of its 
 expression. He also treated the subject of the Dance of 
 Death with considerable humour, in forty-six large fresco 
 pictures on the churchyard wall of the Dominican convent at 
 Berne. His conception, however, partakes in no way of 
 the fearfully bitter sarcasm of the Holbein series, but has 
 rather a light and good-tempered character. Thus Death is 
 stroking the Abbot under his fat chin, is marching along 
 with the soldier, and is enticing the child with the merry 
 whistle of his pipe. All, therefore, except a fool, who 
 resists, take the summons quietly. Unfortunately this work 
 only exists in copies. 3 As Manuel, besides being a painter, 
 was poet, soldier, statesman, and reformer, it is not sur- 
 prising that his art should, in point of development, by no 
 
 1 Kiinstler und Kunstwerke in Deutschland,' vol. ii. pp. 62 and 67. 
 
 2 Gruneisen's 'Nicolaus Manuel,' Stuttgart, 1837, pp. 156 to 194. 
 
 3 Lithographs of this work were published by R. Haag and Co. at 
 Berne. 
 
220 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 means approach that of Holbein. Nor had he that great 
 painter's feeling for beauty. His pictures are very unequal 
 in merit. The richness and frequent beauty of his land- 
 scape backgrounds prove the influence of Titian, with whom 
 he spent some time in Venice, about the year 1511. He 
 may be thoroughly studied in the Museum at Basle in the 
 following works : — The Decollation of John the Baptist, No. 
 70. Here the expression of aversion in the figure of Salome, 
 as she receives the bloody head from the half-averted execu- 
 tioner, is delicately conceived. The colouring is also fine, 
 and the finish careful. The same merit of execution is 
 observable in the David and Bathsheba, dated 1517, No. 
 68, which is painted in one colour with white lights. A 
 Lucretia, of the same date and style of treatment, No. 69, 
 shows rude and uncouth forms. Two pictures, in tempera 
 on canvas, are also here, Nos. 66 and 67. The first consists 
 of two scenes from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, having 
 the effect of a parody, the figures being attired in the stately 
 costume of Upper Germany. The second, which is more 
 carefully rendered, represents the Virgin and Child, with St. 
 Anna and Saints, on clouds, and adored by a number of the 
 faithful. Both these works are remarkable for their rich 
 landscape. A large picture, in oil on canvas, representing a 
 peasant wedding, in the possession of the Manuel family at 
 Berne, shows how agreeably he could occasionally treat the 
 busier scenes of common life ; while a portrait of himself, 
 in the Civic Library of the same town, proves him to have 
 been a capital portrait-painter. In his art, also, we may 
 see the deep interest which he took in the Reformation in 
 his native land. A drawing of the Resurrection of Christ 
 is in the possession of Dr. Griineisen at Stuttgart. Here, 
 however, the guardians of the sepulchre are not Roman 
 soldiers, but Roman Catholic priests and monks, who are 
 sitting round about with their concubines, and, scared by 
 the appearance of the Saviour, are running away with all 
 speed. 
 
 That branch of the Swabian school, also, which flourished 
 in Ulm, produced in this period a very remarkable painter, 
 Maktin Schaffner by name, who laboured from 1499 to 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 MARTIN SCHAFFNER. 
 
 221 
 
 1535. 1 His tendency was realistic also, and in his earlier 
 time he does not advance beyond a common portrait-like 
 character of figures. Of this class is his Adoration of the 
 Three Kings, in the Chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg, 
 No. 52. At the same time he exhibited, pretty early in his 
 career, a power of expressing the cheerful innocence of 
 young girls. As a specimen I may cite five youthful female 
 saints, with one elderly saint, in the Berlin Museum [now 
 withdrawn]. Later in life, and owing probably to the study 
 of Borgognone's works, he cultivated a feeling for beauty and 
 for the higher expression of spiritual emotion. The finest 
 specimens of this class are four pictures from the diocese of 
 Weddenhausen, in the Munich Gallery, Nos. 7, 21, 25, 36. 
 These are the Annunciation, the Presentation in the Temple 
 (of the year 1524), the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the 
 Death of the Virgin. From these works we should be led 
 to believe that SchafFner was a gentle and amiable man, full 
 of deep feeling, and endowed with a strong sense of what 
 was delicate and noble in form, more especially as regards 
 the drawing of the heads. His colour only is defective, 
 particularly in the flesh ; it has a peculiarly clear greyish 
 tone, without, however, being cold. The last of the pictures 
 just referred to is remarkably good : the sinking form of the 
 Virgin, who kneels in prayer with the Apostles (a peculiar 
 and touching mode of conceiving the subject), and the 
 different degrees of sympathy in the countenances of the 
 latter, are very happily expressed. Over the principal altar 
 of the cathedral of Ulm is another important work by Schaff- 
 ner, of the year 1521. The centre consists of a carving in 
 wood, representing the Holy Family ; the wings are painted 
 by SchafFner ; on the inside are family groups of the kindred 
 of the Virgin, and on the outside different saints. The forms 
 are somewhat round, and remind us of Italian art ; the heads 
 are soft in expression ; the cast of the drapery is still occa- 
 sionally angular, but grand in form, and in long masses. In 
 all these pictures a delicate cool tone prevails more or less 
 
 1 Gruneisen und Mauch, ' Ulm's Kunstleben/ p. 53, etc. ISchaffner 
 is probably a pupil of Schuhlein.] 
 
222 
 
 THE SWABIAN SCHOOL. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 in the flesh. The general effect also pertains to the cool 
 scale of colour. Martin Schaffner was also an excellent 
 portrait-painter, as seen in his portrait of a Count Oettingen, 
 dated 1508, now in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 156, 
 a picture of refined feeling, though somewhat flat in model- 
 ling; also in his portraits in the Besser chapel and in the 
 sacristy of the Ulm cathedral, both far more animated in 
 character and powerful in colouj. 
 
 Finally, a peculiar position in the Swabian school is taken 
 by the painter Hans Baldung, called Gkien, born 1470 at 
 Gmund, died [1545] at Strasburg. No other master shows, 
 in style of conception, drawing, and treatment, so decided 
 an influence from Albert Durer, which makes it probable 
 that he must have spent some time in the atelier of that 
 master at Nuremberg. In point of feeling for beauty, har- 
 mony of colour, and general keeping, he is, however, inferior 
 to the other Swabian masters. The character of his heads, 
 which are roundish and unattractive in form, and too pro- 
 nounced in single parts, is too often repeated. His chef- 
 d'oeuvre is a large altarpiece, signed 1516, in the Freiburg 
 cathedral. 1 The centre picture represents the Coronation 
 of the Virgin by the Almighty and Christ, with angels float- 
 ing around and playing on musical instruments. The light 
 clouds which sustain them are, on close observation, seen to 
 consist entirely of cherubims' heads. The inner sides of the 
 wings contain the twelve Apostles in adoration : robust in- 
 dividual heads. The outer sides of the wings and two 
 stationary side pictures are occupied by the Visitation, the 
 Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, and by the Annunciation : 
 the last-named apparently by a different hand. In the 
 Visitation the sweet expression of the Virgin and the mild 
 and gentle countenance of Elizabeth are of great charm. 
 In the Nativity the light proceeds from the Child ; the group 
 is further lighted by clear moonlight. Here, also, the 
 expression of the Virgin and of the five angels is of great 
 tenderness. But the most remarkable of the number, both 
 
 1 See Life of this master, and account of this work, by Schreiber, 
 ' Das Minister zu Freiburg,' second edition, and ' Das Munster zu 
 Strasburg,' second edition, p. 75. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 HANS BALDUNG. 
 
 223 
 
 as regards beauty and originality of composition and success- 
 ful execution, is the Flight into Egypt. An angel has swung 
 himself down from a date-palm, up which four other angels 
 are climbing, on to the mule, and is extending fruit to the 
 Child, who is clinging to the Virgin. On the back of the 
 centre picture is a well-executed Crucifixion, after the com- 
 position by Albert Durer. The wings of the back contain 
 SS. Martin, George, John the Baptist, and Jerome, grand 
 and characteristic figures. The portraits of the founders, 
 on the predella, in adoration of the Virgin, under the Cruci- 
 fixion, are very animated. Occasionally the painter de- 
 generates into revolting exaggerations, as in the figures of 
 those stoning St. Stephen. The head of the saint himself is 
 elevated in character and vigorous in colouring. The picture, 
 signed 1522, is in the Berlin Museum, No. 623. In the 
 same gallery, No. 603, is a Crucifixion, dated 1512, and an 
 admirable cartoon of the same subject is preserved in the 
 collection of engravings. The fantastic element was also 
 strongly developed in this painter, of which the large wings 
 of an altarpiece at Colmar, and especially the Temptation of 
 St. Anthony, give a striking example. The saint is con- 
 versing with Paul the Hermit. The landscape in this picture 
 is very beautiful. 1 Two women, also, with skeletons, in the 
 Basle Museum, belong to this class of his works. They are 
 very disagreeable subjects, but admirably executed. The 
 best portrait by his hand known to me is one, dated 1515, 
 of a light-haired youth, in the Gallery of Vienna. That 
 of a Markgraf of Baden, dated 1514, in the Munich Gal- 
 lery, Cabinets, No. 148, is drier. In his drawings Hans 
 Baldung approaches the precision of execution of Albert 
 Durer, though far inferior to him in correctness. He exe- 
 cuted two engravings with much skill, and a considerable 
 
 1 [Dr. Woltmaim (Zeitsch. f. b. Kunst i. 262,) gives able but not 
 conclusive proofs that the wings of the altarsnrine in the cathedral of 
 Colmar, representing the temptation of St. Anthony, and the hermits, 
 Anthony and Paul, are by Grien. On the back of these wings is a 
 " Majesty " of the Virgin Mary, with the Virgin and Angel annunciate 
 on a second pair of wings ; the obverse of which again is covered with a 
 composition of the Passion. This composite work was once on the 
 high altar of the monastery of Issenheim in Alsace.] 
 
224 
 
 SCHOOLS OF THE EHINE. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 number of designs, chiefly of a religious character, for wood- 
 engravings. 1 
 
 THE SCHOOLS OF THE LOWER RHINE AND OF WESTPHALIA. 
 
 The Netherlands exercised by their vicinity so prepon- 
 derating an influence over these countries, that the painters 
 they produced exhibit by no means so distinct an originality 
 as those of the schools we have been considering. The 
 influence of Quentin Massys especially, on the part of Bel- 
 gium, is recognisable. With a tendency decidedly realistic, 
 they do not, in many instances, rise in their heads above a 
 commonplace character, showing but little feeling for beauty, 
 though often an intense and moving expression. In colour- 
 ing they nearly approach the masters of the Netherlands, 
 and also in the masterly rendering of detail, namely, in the 
 often highly-finished character of the landscape backgrounds. 
 As regards treatment, they may be distinguished by a certain 
 dryness and by greater hardness of outlines. Here again 
 Cologne forms the centre of pictorial activity, and a parti- 
 cular predilection is shown for scenes from the Passion, 
 namely, such as the Descent from the Cross, which excite 
 sorrowful emotions. After these, the Adoration of the three 
 Kings, whose bones rest in the Cathedral of Cologne, is the 
 subject most in vogue. 
 
 Foremost among this school is a Cologne master who 
 flourished in the first third of the sixteenth century. His 
 colouring and treatment of landscape backgrounds show 
 the study oP Quentin Massys' works. Later in life he visited 
 Italy, without, however, his German feeling for art being 
 affected in the most essential points by any impressions 
 received there. In his pictures, which show in his later 
 time a more judicious composition, an elevated and fervent 
 religious feeling is observable. The heads of his women 
 evince much feeling for beauty and spiritual purity ; his 
 male heads, on the other hand, though invariably truthful, 
 are generally ugly in character ; and his old men, in his 
 earlier works, have an over softness of form more suitable to 
 
 1 Bartsch mentions fifty-nine wood-engravings, ' Peintre Graveur,' 
 vol. vii. p. 305. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 MASTEES OF COLOGNE. 
 
 225 
 
 the other sex. The nude he frequently treats with a certain 
 meagreness, though otherwise he is a tolerably good 
 draughtsman. In his earlier works a great transparency 
 and warmth of colouring appear, and his flesh is of a 
 blooming reddish tone. In those later pictures, in which 
 some influence from Italian art is traceable, this fine local 
 colour is sacrificed to an attempt at greater modelling, but 
 at the same time his heads are altogether of nobler form 
 and purer taste. In the Netherlandish minutiae of his land- 
 scape he remains always the same, except that his later 
 pictures are in this respect somewhat heavier in tone. His 
 earliest known work, dated 1515, is the Death of the Virgin, 
 in the Museum at Cologne. The composition is certainly 
 scattered, and the incidents wanting in repose ; but the 
 head of the Virgin is tender, the female saints on the wings 
 of lovely character, and the portraits of the donors truthful. 
 A large and originally far more important representation 
 of the same subject was formerly also in a church at 
 Cologne, but now forms part of the Boisseree collection 
 in the Munich Gallery (Cabinets, Nos, 69, 70, and 71). 
 It agrees entirely in the wings with the above-mentioned 
 picture, but differs greatly from it in the centrepiece. 
 Like other pictures collected by the Boisserees, it has 
 been strongly overpainted with glazing colours, which 
 give it a crude and gaudy look. The brick-red tones 
 bestowed on the flesh parts are particularly disagreeable. 
 An important picture in the Gallery at Naples, by the same 
 master, corresponds entirely with that at Munich. The 
 subject is a Crucifixion, with the Virgin, St. John, the 
 Magdalen, and three angels who are catching the blood. On 
 the wings are the donor with three sons, presented by St. 
 Jerome, and his wife with two daughters, presented by £>t. 
 Margaret, and the armorial bearings of the family. 
 
 One of the finest works however of this earlier time is in 
 the collection of Mr. Blundell Weld, of Ince, near Liver- 
 pool, representing the Virgin contemplating the sleeping 
 Child with intense love, and three singing angels. 1 A 
 
 1 'Treasures of Art,' vol. iii. p. 250. 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 SCHOOLS OF THE EHINE. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 work of considerable size of the same time is a free copy, 
 the property of Lord Heytesbury, 1 from the well-known 
 Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden the 
 younger, of which, as we have already said, three examples 
 exist : two in the Madrid Gallery, and one in the Berlin 
 Museum, The fact that one of these copies was formerly at 
 Louvain proves that the Cologne master was for a time in 
 the Netherlands. The difference in the composition lies 
 only in the figure upon the ladder, and some of the heads 
 are only altered in the expression. Instead of the gold 
 ground the copier has introduced a rich landscape. To the 
 same period finally belongs an Adoration of the Kings in the 
 Dresden Gallery, No. 1801. The transition from his earlier 
 to his later style appears in a Pieta, with Joseph of Arimathea 
 and St. Veronica, dated 1524, on the inner sides of the wings, 
 in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort. It was formerly in the 
 Lys church at Cologne. The early transparency of his colour 
 is here seen combined with a higher character in some of the 
 heads. The following are the chefs-d'oeuvre of his later 
 time : — An Adoration of the Kings, of very considerable size, 
 in the Dresden Gallery, No. 1779. The character of the 
 heads is very much the same as in his early days, but the 
 colouring is grayer. It was probably painted for a church 
 near Genoa, where it was formerly preserved. 2 A somewhat 
 large altarpiece in the Louvre, No. 601, with a Pieta in the 
 centre, St. Francis receiving the Stigmata in the lunette, and 
 in the predella the Last Supper. The many reminiscences 
 of the Cena by Leonardo da Vinci prove the painter to have 
 been in Milan. The arrangement of the centre composition is 
 here more comformable to style, the types less truthful, but 
 of greater elevation of character, the modelling more careful, 
 but the colouring less warm and transparent. 3 Next in 
 order, finally, is an Adoration of the Kings in the Gallery 
 at Naples, there erroneously called Luca d' Ollanda, with 
 two of the Kings upon the wings. The heads of the Virgin 
 
 1 'Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 386. 
 
 2 ' Remarks on the Exhibition, etc., of the Dresden Gallery,' Berlin, 
 1859, by Dr. Waagen, p. 42. 
 
 B ' Kunstwerke und Kunstler in Paris/ p. 553, etc. 
 
Chap. VI. 
 
 MASTERS OF COLOGNE. 
 
 227 
 
 and of the kneeling King are here very beautiful ; the 
 chiaroscuro in which the procession is kept is particularly 
 successful. 
 
 Another painter deserving mention is one who flourished 
 in Cologne in the first decennium of the sixteenth century, 
 and to whom the name of Lucas van Ley den was formerly 
 erroneously given, and in later times, though also on insuffi- 
 cient grounds, that of Christoph. There is something anti- 
 quated in his meagre forms and in the awkward motives, in 
 which at the same time an attempt at grace is observable. 
 In his heads also the same insignificant and by. no means 
 attractive features are repeated, and generally with an affected 
 smile. His hands especially are characterized by bony and 
 scarcely tapering fingers. The flesh-tones incline to a cool 
 pearl-gray colour ; the draperies, in heavy and sharp breaks, 
 consist generally of sumptuous stuffs executed with great 
 minutia3. The modelling, however, of every part is mar- 
 vellous. Upon the whole the influence of Quentin Massys 
 may also be traced in this painter. His earliest picture, 
 known to have been executed about 1501, formerly in the 
 Chartreuse at Cologne, and later in the possession of Herr 
 Haan at Cologne, represents St. Thomas placing his finger 
 in the side of the Saviour, who is assisting him in the act. 
 At the sides are four saints, with angels playing on musical 
 instruments on the grass. On the wings, outside and inside, 
 are saints. Somewhat later in time, and from the same 
 church and in the same hands, is the Crucifixion, with the 
 disciples and St. Jerome. On the interior of the wings are 
 saints, with the Annunciation, and SS. Peter and Paul on 
 the exterior. Next in order are a series of single saints, five 
 of whom in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 38-40, form 
 an altar. The most remarkable figures are SS. James the 
 younger, Bartholomew, and John the Evangelist. Two 
 more are in the City Gallery at Mayence ; and two, SS. 
 Peter and Dorothea, No. 707, in the National Gallery. 1 In 
 all these the finish of the execution is marvellous. But his 
 most remarkable work, as regards size and import, is a 
 
 1 * Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 228. 
 
22S 
 
 SCHOOLS OF THE RHINE. 
 
 Book III. 
 
 Descent from the Cross, in the Louvre, No. 280, there called 
 Quentin Massys. In composition, expression of the emotions, 
 and warmer colour of the flesh, this is his most favourable 
 specimen. The brown glazing shadows on the gold ground 
 give it the look of a shrine. 
 
 In affinity with the first of these two anonymous masters 
 may be mentioned Johann von Melem of Cologne, though 
 several pictures of saints and donors in the Munich Gallery, 
 Cabinets, Nos. 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, show him to be in- 
 ferior in drawing, execution, and colouring. 1 
 
 Among the Westphalian painters, all unknown by name to 
 us, of this time, one especially is distinguished. His style 
 of art approximates also in every respect to that of the 
 Netherlands, though it bears a sterner and more antiquated 
 form than that of the first-mentioned Cologne painter. His 
 tendency is decidedly realistic, and his practice in every 
 respect of great truthfulness ; but unfortunately he is greatly 
 deficient in feeling for beauty, his female heads being little 
 attractive, and those of his children strikingly and also 
 monotonously ugly. There is but little firmness in his 
 drawing, and his outlines are sharp. On the other hand, 
 there is something naive both in his composition and feeling, 
 his colouring is of extraordinary power, and his execution of 
 great detail and solidity. His landscape backgrounds, for 
 instance, which are enlivened with various attractive epi- 
 sodes, are among the best of the class which this period 
 produced. The best specimen I know of him (a Nativity, 
 date 1512) is wrongfully termed an Albert Durer, in the 
 Gallery at Naples (No. 342 of the Catalogue of 1842). The 
 Child is lying on the ground beneath the ruins of a building, 
 which, according to mediaeval conception, betokened an 
 antique temple, adored by the Virgin and Joseph, while a 
 number of angels are singing the " Gloria in excelsis," ac- 
 companied by various musical instruments ; at the sides are 
 the donors, two men and two women, with their patron 
 saints. In the rich hilly landscape of the background is 
 seen a town upon a lake. The execution is wonderfully 
 
 1 I purposely reserve the mention of Hans von Calcar for a later 
 occasion. 
 
Chap. VI. WESTPHALIAN PAINTERS. 
 
 229 
 
 minute. A smaller but equally remarkable altarpiece is in 
 the Berlin Museum, No. 607. In the centre of a rich and 
 attractive landscape is the Virgin, with the Child in the act 
 of benediction, and six angels. The insides of the wings 
 represent the donor with St. Augustine, and the donor's wife 
 with St. Barbara ; the outsides, St. Anna with the Virgin 
 and Child on her lap, and St. Elizabeth of Thuringen with a 
 beggar. A third winged altarpiece, dated 1515, is in the 
 Antwerp Museum, Nos. 523-25. In the centre is the Virgin 
 holding the Child, who is taking cherries from a basket held 
 to him by an angel, while another angel is playing on a 
 musical instrument. In the sky are the Almighty and the 
 Dove. The Murder of the Innocents and the Flight into 
 Egypt are both in the rich landscape. On the wings are 
 the donor with St. Sebastian, and the donor's wife with the 
 Magdalen. 
 
 In one painter only from the Lower Rhine, Anton von 
 Worms by name, 1 is the influence of Albert Durer perceptible. 
 He flourished in Cologne from 1525 to 1531, principally 4s 
 a designer for woodcuts, and also as a painter. His pictures, 
 which are very rare, give evidence of a master who combined 
 good drawing with a certain sense of beauty. One, signed 
 with his monogram, is in the possession of Herr Merlo of 
 Cologne. His good drawing appears also in the woodcuts 
 taken from his designs. M. Sotzmann's investigations prove 
 that of the eleven designs attributed to him by Bartsch, 2 one 
 (No. 11) is by a feebler master; that his Passion is not 
 copied from Albert Durer, but that ouly a few motives from 
 that master have been adopted ; these researches also add to 
 the list various woodcuts of which he was the author, and 
 especially one containing a large map of Cologne. 
 
 Among the pictures in the Museum at Cologne, and also 
 in the churches of that city, may be seen many respectable 
 though not important productions of this period. We may 
 include the finely-coloured glass-painting in the north aisle 
 of the cathedral of the year 1509. 
 
 1 See Sotzmann on Anton von Worms, Cologne, 1819 ; and again in 
 the ' Kunstblatt,' 1838, Nos. 55 and 56. 
 - 4 Peintre Graveur,' vol. vii. p. 438. 
 
230 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 
 Eook IV. 
 
 BOOK IV, 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 1530—1600. 
 
 DETERIORATION OF THE TEUTONIC STYLE OF ART, AS REGARDS HISTORICAL 
 PAINTING, ARISING FROM THE IMITATION OF THE ITALIANS. FURTHER 
 DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER CLASSES OF PAINTING — GENRE, LANDSCAPES, 
 ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAII.TING IN THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 In consequence of the reputation of the great Italian masters 
 Leonardo da Yinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael, which 
 spread throughout the Netherlands as well as Germany, 
 many painters from these countries repaired to Italy. Here 
 we find that precisely those qualities most opposed to their 
 own feeling for art made the deepest impression on their 
 minds ; more especially such as showed excellences beyond 
 the sphere of individual nature, viz., grandeur of beauty, 
 and simplification of forms, masterly drawing of the nude, 
 unrestrained freedom, boldness, and grace of movement — in 
 short, all that is comprised in art under the term of the 
 ideal. The attempt, however, to appropriate all these quali- 
 ties could lead to no successful result. Being based on no 
 inherent want on the part of their own original feeling for 
 art, it became only the outward imitation of something 
 foreign to themselves and already fully developed by others. 
 They never succeeded, therefore, in mastering the complete 
 understanding of form, or in adopting the true feeling for 
 beauty of lines or grace of movement, and, in aiming at 
 them, they degenerated into untruthfulness and artificialitv 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 IMITATION OF THE ITALIANS. 
 
 231 
 
 of expression — into exaggeration of drawing and violence 
 and tastelessness of attitude — while the effort to model was 
 generally at the expense of their own fine colouring. The 
 pictures of this class, even of religious subjects, have accord- 
 ingly but little to attract the eye ; the more so as the with- 
 drawal of genuine inspiration leaves the heads generally 
 cold. But when they selected scenes from ancient mytho- 
 logy, and allegories decked out with an ostentation of 
 learning, the result is positively disagreeable. Numerous, 
 however, as were the painters in the Netherlands who 
 followed this mistaken course, there were plenty whose 
 sound feeling resisted the error, and impelled them to a 
 different vocation. In lieu of religious subjects, the inspira- 
 tion for which, as we have said, had ceased to flow, they 
 began to take pleasure in scenes from common life, and 
 struck into that path which had been opened by Lucas van 
 Leyden. In this way religious themes subsided into mere 
 accessories, and served only as a pretext for pictures which 
 embodied their favourite studies. Others, who delighted 
 especially in landscape, followed the steps of Patenier and 
 Civetta ; with this difference, that the landscape became 
 their principal subject, and the gradually diminishing size of 
 their figures reduced them at length to mere accessories of 
 the foreground. But although all these masters, by the 
 finish of their detail, by their animation, naivete, and humour 
 — and the landscape-painters especially, by their frequent 
 poetic inventions — are incomparably more attractive than 
 the imitators of Italian art, yet their propensity to the 
 fantastic, their absence of simplicity in arrangement, their 
 gaudy and crude colouring, and want of general keeping, 
 must always assign to them a subordinate place amongst 
 lovers of art. The most satisfactory productions of this 
 period will therefore be found in the department of portrait- 
 painting, which, by its nature, threw the artist upon the 
 exercise of his own original feeling. As this epoch is far 
 more important as a link in the chain of history than for 
 any pleasure arising from its own works, it will be sufficient 
 to quote only the more important painters and a few of their 
 principal pictures. 
 
232 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 The first painter who deserted his native style of art, in 
 which, as we have stated above, he had already greatly 
 excelled, was Jan van Mabuse. His works after 1512 are, 
 with small exception, characterised by all the mistakes 
 we have enumerated. Their redeeming quality is masterly 
 treatment. Among those of a religious class some of a 
 small size are the most remarkable. The Ecce Homo in the 
 Antwerp Museum, No. 181, so frequently copied by con- 
 temporary painters, is a specimen of masterly modelling and 
 vigorous colour ; also two Madonnas with the Child, with 
 rich architectural accessories, in the collection of Mr. Baring. 1 
 Mabuse is least successful in his nude figures ; for instance, 
 in his Adam and Eve, at Hampton Court, 2 an original repeti- 
 tion of which is in the Berlin Museum, No. 642. But his 
 most unpleasing efforts are such figures taken from mytho- 
 logy, viz., Neptune and Amphitrite, also in the Berlin 
 Museum, No. 648, and Danae and the Golden Shower, in 
 the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 41. On the other hand, 
 his most attractive works of this time are portraits, such as 
 a young girl weighing gold pieces, in the Museum at Berlin, 
 No. 656a; [the Children of Christian II. of Denmark, at 
 Hampton Court; and "Jean Carondelet," at the Louvre. 
 The largest and most important of the master's latest altar- 
 pieces, a Descent from the Cross, in the church of Middelburg 
 in Zeeland, was destroyed by fire on the 24th of January, 
 1568.] 
 
 Next in succession to Mabuse is Bernhard van Orley, 
 born at Brussels, [1488-90, died] 1541. 3 Though almost 
 contemporary with Mabuse, yet we know of no pictures by 
 him so worthily allied to the old school in moral and tech- 
 nical qualities as those executed by Mabuse before his visit 
 to Italy. But, on the other hand, in the works imitative of 
 the Italian style, Bernhard van Orley is never so cold in 
 feeling or so tasteless in form as Mabuse, who could never 
 entirely shake off his Netherlandish feeling, and who, more- 
 
 1 ' Galleries and Cabinets,' etc., p. 98. 
 
 2 ' Treasures,' etc., vol. ii. p. 368. 
 
 3 [Bernhard van Orley was the son of Valentine van Orley, a painter 
 who matriculated at Antwerp in 1512. See Liggeren, i. 77, 86.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 BERNHARD VAN OllLEY. 
 
 233 
 
 over, during a [short stay in Italy] especially devoted 
 himself to the imitation of Raphael. The works of the 
 Brussels painter are composed with much discrimination ; 
 the earlier specimens often with earnest feeling, the later 
 exhibiting welldrawn forms and good keeping; while the 
 latest, it is true, lapse into the exaggerated and mannered 
 forms of the later followers of Raphael. At the same time 
 his execution is invariably careful, and his colouring invari- 
 ably cool in general effect, the flesh-tones inclining to a cold 
 reddish colour. Bernhard van Orley was court-painter to 
 Margaret of Austria, Governess of the Low Countries, and 
 retained the same post under her successor, Mary of Hun- 
 gary (1524-35). The work by him bearing most signs of 
 Netherlandish thought and practice is the Pieta, with por- 
 traits of the donors on the wings, in the Museum at Brussels. 
 The heads are elevated in form and feeling — the portraits of 
 great truthfulness. In close affinity with this is the altar- 
 piece in the church of the town of Lierre, beyond the rail- 
 way between Antwerp and Mechlin ; the centre containing 
 the Marriage of Joseph and the Virgin, the wings the 
 Annunciation and the Presentation. His most considerable 
 work is a shrine with double wings in the church of our Lady 
 at Lubeck. The outsides of the first pair of wings contain 
 the Annunciation ; the inner sides, and the outer ones of the 
 second wings, the four Latin Fathers, of good draperies ; 
 and, finally, the inner sides of the last-mentioned, the Sibyl 
 showing the Vision of the Virgin and Child to the Emperor 
 Augustus, and St. John the Evangelist with the Vision of 
 the Apocalypse ; the centre represents the Trinity with 
 adoring Saints, a free version from Albert Durer's picture. 
 This work is of great merit in many respects. 1 Another 
 picture, signed with his name, and in two compartments, 
 is in the Gallery at Vienna. One division contains the 
 Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes erecting an idol in the temple 
 of Jerusalem ; the other the Day of Pentecost, with St. Peter 
 addressing the people. The heads are not pleasing, but the 
 
 1 We should add to these the triptych in the Brussels Museum (No. 
 368), inscribed with Van Orley's name and the date 1521 \ and repre- 
 senting the trials of Job. 
 
234 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. Book IV. 
 
 execution is careful. His large Last Judgment in the chapel 
 " des Orphelins " at Antwerp, with the Seven Works of 
 Mercy on the predella, is most indicative of his adopted 
 Italian manner. Though worthy of note for the able draw- 
 ing of many of the figures, for the powerful tone of the flesh, 
 and the vivacity of many portrait-like heads, yet the exag- 
 geration of many of the actions — for instance, that of the 
 Christ — the overladen character, and the gaudiness of the 
 colouring give a very unpleasing effect, considered as a 
 whole. One of his most attractive pictures is a Virgin and 
 Child and Joseph, which is finely felt, and taken from a 
 composition by Leonardo da Vinci in the Liverpool Institu- 
 tion. 1 On the other hand, in the worked hanging repre- 
 senting Abraham and Melchisedeck, and Rebecca at the 
 Fountain, 2 at Hampton Court — probably taken from his 
 cartoons, and decidedly of his latest time — he appears as a 
 mannered imitator of Raphael. 
 
 Jan Schokeel, born 1495, died 1562 ; 3 scholar of Mabuse. 
 This painter appears to have been the first to introduce the 
 Italian style into his native country — Holland. On occasion 
 of a pilgrimage to Palestine he happened to stop in Rome 
 exactly as his countryman, Adrian VI., was raised to the 
 papal dignity, 1521. He painted his likeness, and was ap- 
 pointed overseer of the objects of art in the Vatican. After 
 the short reign of that pope Schoreel returned to Holland, 
 and died at Utrecht, where he occupied the position of canon. 
 In the historically authenticated picture by him, in the Town- 
 hall at Utrecht, representing the Virgin seated, with the 
 Child, in a landscape, with donors, he appears as an able 
 draughtsman, and as an imitator of Raphael and Michael 
 Angelo. [In the numerous gospel subjects (temperas) painted 
 by Schoreel in 1525 for the church of Warmenhuizen, near 
 Alkmaar, we have an interesting example of his skill. To 
 the left of the altar is the Fall of the Manna and the Worship 
 of the Golden Calf; to the right, the Egyptians overwhelmed 
 
 1 'Treasures/ etc., vol. iii. p. 236. 
 
 2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 367. 
 
 3 Van Mander, fol. 154a, and Job. Secundi, Operse Epist., lib. vii. 2. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 VAN COXIS. 
 
 235 
 
 in the Red Sea.] 1 The donors, and a set of portraits of 
 pilgrims to Palestine, in the Town-hall at Utrecht, show 
 Schoreel as a painter of vigorous conception, warm tone of 
 colour, and capital execution, in the style of the Netherlandish 
 school. 2 The same may be said of the portraits of a man 
 and his wife, dated 1539, in the Gallery at Vienna ; 3 [whilst 
 the Magdalen, in the Museum of Amsterdam, displays the 
 strong influence of the Ferrarese school on the one hand 
 and of Mabuse on the other]. From a picture which was in 
 the possession of the Methuen family at Corsham House in 
 1836, representing loving couples beguiling the time with 
 music and the pleasures of the table, it is evident that he 
 occasionally treated secular subjects with success. The 
 treatment is truthful and lively, and the execution in a warm 
 brownish tone of great mastery. 4 
 
 Michael van Coxcyen, commonly written Coxis, born at 
 Mechlin 1499, died there 1592. He was at first scholar to 
 his father, and afterwards to Bernhard van Orley, [whom he 
 succeeded as court-painter to Mary of Hungary]. 5 He spent 
 a number of years in Italy, where he adopted the outer form 
 of Raphael's works, but remained unimbued with their spirit, 
 so that the name of the Flemish Raphael, which was given 
 to him, must be taken with much reserve. The numerous 
 pictures which were the result of his long life are of very 
 unequal merit. His frescoes in the church dell' Anima at 
 Rome are unimportant and very mannered. In his com- 
 
 1 [See M. D. van der Kellen, junr., in No. 50 of the 'Nederlandshe Spec- 
 tator' for 1861.] 
 
 2 See article by Passavant, ' Kunstblatt,' 1841, No. 13. 
 
 3 There erroneously called his own portrait. 
 
 4 All other pictures, in Munich, Cologne, etc., attributed to this painter 
 are not by him. [Many of Schoreel's works were painted at Ghent. 
 Vaernewyck, in his ' Beroerlicke Tijden,' notes some of his pictures that 
 were destroyed by Iconoclasts in St. Nicholas (p. 152 ). Schoreel was the 
 first restorer of John van Eyck's altarpiece of the Mystic Lamb (Vaer- 
 newyk, Hist. v. Belgis). His pictures of the Submersion of Pharaoh and 
 the Repose in Egypt were in the collections of Francesco Leo and Gabriel 
 Vendramin at Venice at the beginning of the sixteenth century (anon, 
 pp. 70 and 80.] 
 
 5 Respecting the spelling of his name, and notices of his life, see 
 ' Catalogue of Antwerp Museum,' von 1857, p. 81, etc. [See also Pin- 
 chart (A.) 'Archives des Arts,' etc., torn, i., 160-2S2, and 'Messagerdes 
 Sciences,' for 1868, p. 322.] 
 
23G 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 positions — which are frequently but too closely copied from 
 Raphael — he shows in various portions much taste, and a 
 sense of beauty in the heads ; at the same time he is gene- 
 rally empty in expression, artificial in attitude, and exag- 
 gerated in the indication of muscles. Specimens of this class 
 are in the Antwerp Museum, especially his Martyrdom of St. 
 Sebastian, No. 371, and his Triumph of Christ, No. 376. A 
 copy of the great picture, the Adoration of the Lamb, by 
 the Van Eycks, which he executed for Philip II. of Spain, is 
 full of merit as regards the life-size figures, but is greatly 
 inferior in those of a small scale. 
 
 Lancelot Blondeel of Bruges, [born 1495, died at Bruges 
 in 1561, was a journeyman mason before he became a 
 painter in 1520]. 1 This master took delight in rich architec- 
 tural backgrounds, conspicuous in which are whimsical 
 Renaissance forms, generally executed in brown varnish on 
 a gold ground, and therefore of very brilliant effect. His 
 figures, which are chiefly conceived in the Italian taste, are 
 often well set in action and of careful finish, but mannered, 
 and of cold flesh-tones. The earliest picture known by him, 
 signed 1523, in the church of St. Jacques at Bruges, repre- 
 sents SS. Cosmo and Damian ; another, in the cathedral of 
 the same town, dated 1545, the Virgin and Child, with SS. 
 Luke and Eligius. In the Museum at Berlin is also a Virgin 
 and Child, No. 641, and a large Last Judgment, No. 656, an 
 unsuccessful mixture of Netherlandish and Italian styles. 
 The design for the mantelpiece in the large Council-hall at 
 Bruges, 2 adorned with the statues of Charles V. and other 
 princes, was by him as well. 
 
 Jan Cornelis Vermeyen of Malines, born 1500, died at 
 Brussels 1559. How he gained instruction in art is not 
 known. [He was appointed painter to Margaret of Austria 
 in 1529, and in 1534 he was summoned by Charles V.] 3 to 
 Spain for the purpose of accompanying the expedition to 
 Tunis, where he drew the Siege of Tunis, with other events 
 
 1 [Weale's ' Catalogue de l'Academie de Bruges,' 1861., p. 13.] 
 
 2 See F. de Hondt ' Deuxieme notice sur la cheminee'. . . du Franc de 
 Bruges, Gand, 1846, p. 42, and a notice of an earlier date by the same. 
 
 3 [See Tableaux et Sculptures de Marie de Hongrie, in 'Revue Univer- 
 selle des Arts,' iii. 137 and following.] 
 
Chap. I 
 
 MARTIN VAN VEEN. 
 
 237 
 
 of the campaign. With the help of these drawings thus 
 taken on the spot he executed [several pictures, now preserved 
 in the Castle of Coburg, and] ten large coloured cartoons, from 
 which tapestries were worked by order of the Emperor, and 
 probably in the Netherlands. These cartoons are preserved 
 in a rolled-up state in the Garderobe of the Gallery at Vienna, 
 and are said to have suffered much in parts. They are re- 
 ported to be of great vivacity. 1 An evil star seems also to 
 have presided over other works of this master, who was well 
 known in his time, and who, firstly, for his fine handsome 
 person, and secondly, for the length of his beard, was called 
 El Mayo and Juan de Barbalonga in Spain. His pictures in 
 the cathedral at Brussels were ruined by the Iconoclasts ; 
 and various landscapes, reported of great beauty, in the 
 Palace of the Prado in Madrid, perished in the destruction 
 of that building by fire in 1608. He is said to have been 
 also a skilful portrait-painter. 
 
 Martin van Veen, named from his birthplace Martin 
 Hemskerk, born 1498, died 1574. He was a scholar of 
 Schoreel, from whom he received the Italian style of art, 
 which he afterwards carried out in a most repelling form in 
 Rome by the study of Michael Angelo and of the antique. 
 His numerous pictures became very popular in Holland, but 
 have now mostly disappeared. Momus criticising the Works 
 of the Gods, dated 1561, in the Berlin Museum, is very 
 characteristic of his art. The same may be said of the 
 Silenus on an Ass with two Bacchante, in the Vienna 
 Gallery. 2 As regards his treatment of Church-subjects, some 
 pictures in the Hotel de Ville at Delft and Haarlem are cha- 
 racteristic specimens. In the first is an altar with wings, 
 signed and dated 1557, in the centre of which is the Elevation 
 of the Brazen Serpent, in chiaroscuro. Also a second winged 
 altarpiece, dated 1559, with the Ecce Homo in the centre. 
 In a picture at Haarlem he has represented himself under 
 the form of St. Luke painting the Virgin. If this picture be 
 
 1 See article in ' Kunstblatt,' 1821, No. 51. My efforts to see at all 
 events one of these cartoons were unsuccessful. 
 
 2 The numerous pictures in the Munich Gallery attributed to him are 
 the work of Bartholomew de Bruyn. 
 
238 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. Book IV 
 
 considered hard and mannered, a Martyrdom of two Saints, 
 of the year 1575, is positively frightful [withdrawn]. 
 
 Lambert Sustermann, called Lambert Lombard, born at 
 Liege 1506, died there 1560. He was a scholar of Mabuse, 
 and adopted the Italian style from him, which afterwards, on 
 occasion of accompanying Cardinal Pole to Italy, he further 
 cultivated under Andrea del Sarto. On his return to Liege 
 he opened a school which was numerously attended, and 
 which was the means of further diffusing this style in the 
 Netherlands. He also professed architecture, engraving, 
 numismatics, archaeology, and poetry. He is not deficient in 
 feeling for beauty, either in heads or in action, though often 
 very mannered in the last named. In the rendering of the 
 muscular formation he is, compared with other painters of 
 the time, somewhat subdued. His colouring is generally 
 characterised by coolness, and by a sfumato which he pro- 
 bably adopted from Andrea del Sarto. In execution he is 
 careful. His pictures are now very rare. The most re- 
 markable — the Passage of the Red Sea, which is not success- 
 ful ; a Vision, which is more satisfactory ; and the Scourges 
 of the Almighty, Pestilence and Shipwreck, which are the 
 most attractive of all — were in the collection of the King of 
 Holland. 1 A Virgin with the sleeping Child, pale in colour, 
 but of refined feeling and tender completion, is in the Berlin 
 Museum, No. 653. 
 
 Frans de Vriendt, called Frans Floris, [son of Cornells de 
 Vrint, a stone-cutter], born at Antwerp about 1520, died 
 there 1570. He learnt his art from Lambert Lombard, and 
 also visited Italy. As early as 1540 he was admitted into the 
 guild of painters at Antwerp, and there opened a school, 
 which is said to have been frequented by one hundred and 
 twenty scholars. In him the imitation of the Italian style 
 attains its highest development. He was an artist of great 
 talent, powers of invention, and facility of painting. He was 
 deficient, however, in the sentiment of his heads, in grace of 
 action, and in understanding of drawing, so that his forms 
 often exhibit marked exaggerations. On this account it is 
 
 1 These pictures were withdrawn from the sale, and are now among 
 the remaining pictures at the Hague. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 DE VOS. 
 
 239 
 
 that his historical pictures are very unattractive. In his 
 portraits only he is pleasing, as in them he was true to his 
 Netherlandish nature. One of his earlier pictures, Vulcan 
 exposing, to the sight of the Gods, Venus and Mars, round 
 whom he has cast a net, dated 1547, and warmly coloured, 
 [from the Aerschot collection] in the Berlin Museum, No. 698, 
 is a specimen both of his early attained mastery of hand, and 
 of the tastelessness of his composition and insignificance of 
 his heads. The Fall of the Angels, dated 1554, in the Ant- 
 werp Museum, No. 112, which is considered his chef-d'oeuvre, 
 is composed with great boldness, and shows a masterly 
 power of painting, but it is tasteless in the animal heads of 
 the demons, hard in outline, and crude in colour. An Adora- 
 tion of the Shepherds, in the same gallery, No. 113, shows 
 him to better advantage ; the heads are animated and more 
 true to nature than usual, and the chiaroscuro is well sustained : 
 but the Virgin and Child are cold in the flesh-tones. Another 
 picture there — St. Luke painting the Virgin, No. 114 — is 
 most attractive for the truthfulness and character of the 
 heads. The saint is represented under the likeness of 
 the painter Rykaert Aertsz ; the colour-grinder under his 
 own. The way in which the bull is here rendered shows 
 again the tastelessness of the master. [In the gallery of 
 the Duke of Aerschot at Beaumont, which was dispersed in 
 1613, there were no less than eighteen pictures by Frans 
 Floris.] 1 
 
 Martin de Vos, born at Antwerp 1531, died there 1603. 2 
 He was the best of the numerous scholars of Frans Floris. 
 Afterwards he went to Italy, and had the benefit of Tintoretto's 
 instruction at Venice. He then returned to Antwerp, and 
 established a school. This painter was endowed with 
 considerable powers of invention ; and a number of his com- 
 positions are well known by means of engravings. Many of 
 these are very attractive in character. Martin de Vos is less 
 cold in feeling and less exaggerated in his muscular indications 
 than Frans Floris ; he is also generally careful in finish, and 
 melting in touch ; at the same time his motives are often 
 
 1 [See A. Pin chart's 1 Archives,' i. 160-7.] 
 a [Liggeren i. 379.] 
 
240 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 mannered, his outlines hard, and his colouring crude. The 
 Museum of Antwerp contains a whole series of his works ; 
 among them the altarpiece, dated 1574, the centre picture of 
 which, the Incredulity of St. Thomas, No. 77, is remarkable 
 for very finished execution. The Temptation of St. Anthony, 
 No. 103, completed in 1594, shows a peculiar combination 
 of the humorous and fantastic. Finally, a picture by him 
 in the Berlin Museum, No. 709, dated 1589, with Christ 
 appearing to the Disciples on the Sea of Tiberias on the one 
 side, and the Prophet Jonah cast into the sea on the other, 
 seems to herald, by the dramatic nature of the incidents, and 
 the brilliant sunrise effect, the coming of such a master as 
 Rubens. [This picture is not now exhibited.] 
 
 Next in order among the scholars of Frans Floris may be 
 mentioned some members of the family of painters by name 
 of Francken ; viz., three brothers, Frans Francken the 
 elder, born 1544, died 1616 ; Ambrosius Francken the 
 elder, born 1545, died 1618 ; and Jerome Francken the 
 elder, — all of whom continued the style of the master. A 
 number of works by the second brother are in the Antwerp 
 Museum. Among these a picture on panel representing St. 
 Sebastian healing Zoe, the wife of Nicostrates, who was deaf 
 and dumb, is remarkable for the vivacity of the five portraits. 
 The three other painters Francken, who, having the same 
 Christian names as the above-mentioned, are called the 
 younger, painted pictures generally on a small scale. These 
 partially betray the influence of Rubens, but, with few 
 exceptions, are little satisfactory. We shall speak further of 
 Frans Francken the younger, who was the most important of 
 the three. 
 
 Johannes Straet, commonly called Stradanus, born at 
 Bruges 1535, belongs also to this category. But as he 
 repaired early in life to Florence, and died there at the 
 advanced age of eighty-two, 1618, he exercised no influence 
 on the art of his native country. He imitated the manner of 
 Michael Angelo, with the same unfortunate results as did 
 Vasari, to whom he acted as an assistant. He painted, how- 
 ever, the sports of hunting and fishing, which brought his 
 Netherlandish nature into play. The number of his pictures 
 
Chap. I. BARTHOLOMEW SPRANGER. 
 
 241 
 
 in oil and fresco were very large. Tapestries were also 
 executed from his cartoons. 1 
 
 But the most unattractive form in which the imitation of 
 the Italian style displayed itself is seen in the works of 
 Bartholomew Speanger, born in Antwerp, 1546, 2 died 1625. 
 He was one of the favourite painters of the Emperor Rodolph 
 II., at whose court at Prague he long resided. Parmigianino 
 was the mistaken object of his imitation. His works show 
 the most studied and forced attitudes, combined with an utter 
 absence of feeling, and a cold tone of colour, which is red in 
 the flesh and greenish in the shadows. His chief merit in 
 his better productions consists in an excellent modelling, and 
 in an admirably fused treatment. Of the numerous pictures 
 by him in the gallery at Vienna, I quote one — Minerva 
 treading Ignorance under foot — which is in every respect a 
 characteristic work by him. Even this master, when he took 
 portrait in hand, betrayed that feeling for. the realistic in art 
 which was his native Netherlandish inheritance. A proof of 
 this is seen in his own portrait in the same gallery, which, 
 though somewhat over-forcible in action, is truthfully felt, 
 and painted in a warm colour. 
 
 Heinrich Goltzius, born 1558, died 1617, is a worthy 
 companion to Spranger. He is less known by his rare 
 pictures than by his numerous engravings, in which he 
 shows no common versatility of power in the skilful imita- 
 tion of very various masters, including Lucas van Leyden 
 and Albert Durer ; and also a wonderful mastery over his 
 graver. 3 The great object of his imitation, however, is 
 Michael Angelo, whom he seeks to rival by the most dis- 
 torted attitudes, and the most violent play of spasmodically 
 developed muscles. He treated both sacred and profane 
 history, mythology and allegory, in the artificial taste of 
 the day. He painted also portraits and landscape. I will 
 only mention here, of his historical compositions, the six 
 called his masterpieces (Bartsch, No. 15-20), of which the 
 
 1 Van Mander, folio 184a. 
 
 2 [The date of Spranger' s birth is not known. He was a pupil of Jan 
 Mandyn, with whom he closed his apprenticeship at Antwerp in 1557. 
 (Liggeren. i. 205).] 
 
 3 Bartsch' s Catalogue of his Works, vol. iii. 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 ITALIANIZED FLEMINGS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 Circumcision in the style of Albert Durer, and the Adoration 
 of the Kings in that of Lucas van Leyden, are the most 
 successful. He also appears to most advantage in his por- 
 traits, and particularly so in his own, which is the size of life 
 (Bartsch, No. 172), and a real masterpiece. He also exe- 
 cuted a few plates in chiaroscuro. 
 
 And here I may bring forward the name of Cakel van 
 Mander, born 1548, died 1608, who, though a devoted 
 follower of this false style, deserves high praise as a writer 
 upon art. Of all his numerous works, however, I know of 
 none which I can mention with any certainty. 
 
 Pieter de Witte, born in Bruges, 1 was taken, when very 
 young, by his parents to Florence. Here he became a skil- 
 ful painter both in oil and fresco, and was variously employed 
 by Vasari in his enormous fresco works in Rome and Florence. 
 He thus acquired much knowledge, both in the arts of archi- 
 tecture and sculpture, and a particular aptitude in the decora- 
 tion of buildings, all which accomplishments were called into 
 action again in the service of the Duke Of Bavaria at Munich 
 on occasion of the building of the palace where the court 
 resided. Although, of course, fettered by the perverted taste 
 of his time, some of his pictures belong to the least unsatis- 
 factory productions of the period. Those portions of the old 
 palace at Munich which are still existing give evidence of his 
 multifarious artistic powers. In Italy his name was tran- 
 slated into Pietro Candido, in consequence of which the 
 Germans called him Peter Candit. 
 
 Various historical painters, in the ensuing generation, 
 formed the transition to a better condition of art. Some of 
 them, though still imitating the Italians, avoided the repul- 
 sive exaggerations of their predecessors ; others applied with 
 some success to that truthfulness of nature and study of 
 colour which was the real tendency of their native school. 
 
 At the head of these historical painters stands Othon van 
 Veen, called Otto V^enius, born at Leyden 1560, died at 
 Brussels 1629. Although the influence of the mannered 
 painter, Federigo Zucchero, under whom he studied at 
 Rome at the early age of seventeen, is seen in the frequently 
 1 Van Mander, fol. 205a. 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 CORNELIS CORNELISSEN. 
 
 243 
 
 affected action and gaudy colouring of his works, yet a 
 certain moderation and taste in composition, and a sense of 
 beauty in the heads, however deficient in warmth of feeling, 
 are observable in his works. This coldness is increased by 
 the far-fetched allegorical allusions to which a classical 
 education of no common order tempted him. [In 1594 he 
 joined the Painters' Guild at Antwerp, 1 where he dwelt till 
 1620, when he became master of the Mint at Brussels.] 2 
 The number of his pictures is very considerable. Among 
 those in the Antwerp Museum, the Calling of St. Matthew, 
 No. 480 ; St. Paul before Felix, No. 484 ; and a portrait of 
 Johann Miraeus, Bishop of Antwerp, No. 483, are the most 
 remarkable. This latter, compared with his historical 
 works, displays the customary truthfulness of character 
 and vigorous colouring. The six pictures at Munich — the 
 Triumph of the Catholic Church, Cabinets, Nos. 235-240— 
 though in themselves artificial, cold, and crude, are interest- 
 ing as the models of similar compositions by Rubens. 
 
 Heinrich van Balen, born at Antwerp about 1560, died 
 there [1632]. He is cold in feeling, generally mannered in 
 attitudes, and glassy in colouring. In his nude figures, 
 however, he shows a pleasing character, and the melting 
 style of his execution is very finished. His ecclesiastical 
 subjects — for instance, the Ascension, in the church of St. 
 Jacques at Antwerp — are the least satisfactory. His sub- 
 jects taken from mythology, to which Jan Breughel fre- 
 quently supplied the landscape backgrounds, are often more 
 pleasing. 
 
 Cornelis Cornelissen, commonly called Cornelis van 
 Haarlem, born at Haarlem 1562, died 1638. He first dis- 
 tinguished himself by a large portrait picture executed for 
 the Guild of Marksmen in his native city ; and though he 
 afterwards treated Biblical subjects, and also scenes from 
 common life, chiefly composed of nude figures, yet, upon 
 the whole, he remained true to the realistic tendency. His 
 pictures of the class just mentioned are very unequal in 
 merit ; the heads are often vulgar, and the motives tasteless. 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i., 375 519.] 
 
 2 [Liggeren, ii. 108.] 
 
244 
 
 DUTCH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 The best of them show a careful modelling and a warm and 
 clear colouring. One of his chefs-d'oeuvre is Bathsheba 
 bathing with her attendants, dated 1617, in the Berlin 
 Gallery, No. 734, in which, with characteristic conception, 
 David is seen, scarcely visible, in a dark corner. But his 
 talent was little adapted to the expression of strong emotions ; 
 the Murder of the Innocents, therefore, in the Gallery of the 
 Hague (painted in 1591), is a very disagreeable picture. 
 As regards the department of Mythology, his Venus, Cupid, 
 and Ceres, in the Dresden Gallery, however little the heads 
 are in keeping with the subject, is remarkable for force and 
 transparency of colour, and for careful finish. 
 
 [Feanz Pieteksz de Grebber, pupil of Jacques Savery, is 
 also a painter of portrait pieces. Born at Haarlem in 1570, 
 died at Haarlem in 1649. He was president of the Guild of 
 Painters of his native city in 1628. There are four cha- 
 racteristic pictures by him in the Museum of Haarlem, all of 
 which represent dinners of the city guard ; one is signed 
 "Frans Pieterz Grebber 1610," another * Trans P. Grebber 
 1619.] 1 
 
 Abraham Bloemart, born at Gorcum 1565, died at 
 Utrecht 1658. He constitutes in many respects the link of 
 transition to the succeeding epoch ; for however his frequent 
 mannerisms, empty heads, over-soft execution, and occa- 
 sionally gaudy colouring, betray the tasteless period in 
 which he was born, yet his later pictures especially have a 
 well-balanced general keeping, a pure taste, and a broad 
 touch, which render them more satisfactory. His once 
 numerous works have now principally disappeared. An 
 Adoration of the Shepherds, dated 1604, in the Berlin 
 Gallery, [withdrawn,] conceived as a night-piece, is skilfully 
 composed, and of powerful though somewhat gaudy effect. 
 Joseph's Second Dream, with the Virgin and Child in the 
 background, also at Berlin, No. 722, is mannered in the 
 figure of the angel, but Joseph is a truthful and vigorous 
 figure, and the keeping is well balanced. On the other 
 hand, the Feast of the Gods, in the Hague Gallery, may be 
 
 1 [Van Willigen, ' Les Artistes de Haarlem,' p. 135 ; Van Mander, p. 
 213.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 ADRIAN VAN DER VENNE. 
 
 245 
 
 classed, by its crudeness and glassiness, with those works 
 by hirn which partake of the character of the previous period. 
 His raising of Lazarus, in the Munich Gallery, No. 187, is 
 careful, and of better keeping and composition. 
 
 Pietek Lastmann, born 1562, 1 visited Rome in 1604, 
 where he evidently fell under the influence of Adam 
 Elzheimer. On his return he attained such renown as to be 
 summoned in 1619 and 1620 to paint pictures for a church 
 in Copenhagen. He was a good draughtsman ; his heads 
 exhibit much sentiment, and his flesh colouring is warm and 
 vigorous. In his landscape backgrounds, which generally 
 are conspicuous parts of his pictures, the influence of Paul 
 Bril is perceptible. Two works, St. Philip baptising the 
 Eunuch, and a Holy Family, in the Berlin Museum, Nos. 
 677 and 747, [illustrate the early period of Lastmann's art, 
 i.e., 1608. Ulysses and Nausica, dated 1609, in the Bruns- 
 wick Museum, a Massacre of the Innocents, and David in 
 the Temple, signed, " Pietro Lastmann fecit anno 1613," in 
 the same collection, give us reminiscences of Elzheimer and 
 Bril ; but dress and drapery in Jewish oriental taste fore- 
 shadow the coming of Rembrandt, who was one of Last- 
 mann's pupils. At a later period Lastmann imitated the 
 shadowed pieces of Caravaggio, and in this form, which also 
 finds its reflex in Rembrandt, he painted " the Angel appear- 
 ing to Manoah and his Wife," once in the Boymans Museum 
 of Rotterdam.] 2 
 
 Adkian van der Yenne, born at Delft 1589, died at the 
 Hague 1665, occupies a peculiar place among these painters. 
 It was not till after he had received a classic and scientific 
 education at Leyden that he devoted himself, under the 
 instructions of Jerome van Diest, to the pursuit of painting. 
 These circumstances not only influenced him in the pre- 
 ference of allegorical subjects in art, but contributed to 
 
 1 [This date is derived from Houbraken, and requires confirmation ; 
 for Van Mander (Schilderboeck, p. 207). speaking of Geerit Pietersz, 
 describes his pupil, Pieter Lastmann, as a hopeful artist at the time in 
 Rome (1604) ; whence we must conclude, with C. Vosmaer (Rembrandt 
 Harmens van Rijn, Sa Vie, etc., 1877, p. 68), that Lastmann was born 
 in 1582 rather than 1562.] 
 
 2 [For other pictures by Lastmann consult Vosmaer, u. s., 474 etc.] 
 
246 
 
 DUTCH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 divide his life between the occupations of an author and a 
 painter. A moral element distinguishable in his pictures is 
 his zeal for the Reformation, which just then rewarded the 
 successful struggles of the Dutch, and his respect for the 
 reigning princes of the House of Orange. In the mode in 
 which he conceives such subjects he shows, however, a 
 strong sympathy with the realistic tendency of his country- 
 men. His portraits, many of which he introduced into his 
 allegorical and historical pieces, such as battles, etc., are 
 not only well-drawn, of warm and clear colouring, and very 
 careful finish, but the other figures in his pictures have also 
 a portraitlike look. His realistic feeling is strongly seen in 
 various genre pictures and landscapes. For Prince Maurice 
 of Orange, the King of Denmark, and other patrons, he 
 executed numerous pictures in chiaroscuro. The largest 
 work I know by him — in the Amsterdam Museum, No. 430 
 — represents Prince Maurice of Orange and his brothers, 
 with other persons of distinction, on horseback, near the 
 Hague — figures about three-fourths the size of life. This 
 work has, it is true, all the good qualities I have particu- 
 larized above in point of keeping and execution, but also, 
 like most of his other pictures, has something old-fashioned 
 in character. He usually painted subjects with small figures, 
 of which No. 432, in the Amsterdam Museum, called " la 
 Peche aux Ames " (dated 1614), is a specimen. The land- 
 scape here is painted by Jan Breughel, with Roman Catholics 
 and Protestants on opposite sides of a stream. Several 
 boats are also on the stream, the one containing Roman 
 Catholic priests and monks, the other Protestant clergymen. 
 Both are employed casting nets for figures swimming in the 
 stream. Among the Roman Catholics are the portraits of 
 Albert and Isabella; among the Protestants those of the 
 Princes Maurice and Frederic Henry of Orange, and of the 
 Elector Frederic of the Palatinate. Separate representa- 
 tions and inscriptions satirise the Papacy, and uphold the 
 Evangelical Church. This rich picture is interesting both 
 for its execution and subject. But a still more remarkable 
 example of his art is No. 545 in the Louvre, which repre- 
 sents a festival in commemoration of the truce concluded 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 JAN MASSYS — HEMESSEN. 
 
 247 
 
 between the Archduke Albert and the United Provinces of 
 Holland in 1609, and is inscribed "A. V. Venne Fecit 
 1616." The landscape is also by Jan Breughel. The 
 mixture of portrait figures — such as those of Albert and 
 Isabella, with mythological and allegorical features — is very 
 remarkable. The heads are very individual, and executed 
 with great precision in a clear golden tone. His inventions 
 are as various as they are rich, as proved by the drawings 
 he executed as illustrations for an edition of the works of 
 Cats, the popular Dutch poet. 
 
 To various painters the decided and strongly realistic 
 style with which Quentin Massys had occasionally painted 
 scenes from common life, as for instance his Misers, became 
 the model for their treatment, not only of similar subjects, 
 but also for those of a Biblical class. But none of them 
 come up to his standard, degenerating generally into exag- 
 geration and repelling vulgarity. 
 
 Foremost among them is Jan Massys, son of the master, 
 who lived from about 1500 to 1570. To his earlier time 
 may be probably referred the repetitions of the Money- 
 changers and other pictures by his father, Van Mander 
 expressly saying that he was engaged on such tasks. 
 Kemarkable specimens of this class are the Misers at 
 Windsor Castle, the picture in the Berlin Museum, No. 
 671, and that at Munich, No. 80. Next in order is the St. 
 Jerome, dated 1537, in the gallery at Vienna. All these 
 works are of warm, powerful colouring, and careful though 
 somewhat coarse treatment. His later pictures, on the other 
 hand, exhibit in all respects — expression, colouring, and treat- 
 ment — great feebleness ; for instance, his Visitation, dated 
 1558, No. 251, and his Healing of Tobias, dated 1564, No. 
 252, of the Antwerp Museum. 
 
 Jan van Hemessen, born about 1500, died before 1566, 
 if not the scholar, is the imitator of Quentin Massys. [His 
 name was registered amongst the masters of the Antwerp 
 Guild in 1535, and he was " eldest " of the corporation in 
 1548.] 1 He displays usually a terrible vulgarity of forms and 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 125, 162.] 
 
248 
 
 DUTCH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 expression, is always hard in the outlines, and of a heavy 
 brown colouring. He often copied Quentin Massys' works. 
 I am acquainted with three copies by him of the Call of St. 
 Matthew which I saw in England, one in the Antwerp 
 Gallery, No. 425, and two in the Gallery at Vienna. One of 
 his most pleasing pictures is a small Holy Family, dated 
 1541, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, No. 100; one of 
 his most disagreeable, a St. Jerome in the Gallery at 
 Vienna ; but in the portrait of Jan van Mabuse, also at 
 Vienna, he shows himself as a capital painter in this 
 department. 
 
 Another painter, closely allied to the foregoing, and of a 
 merit which is little known, is one of the name of Hyus, 
 by whom a bagpipe -player, and an old woman, dated 1571 > 
 exist in the Berlin Museum, No. 693. 
 
 Pietek Aertszen, called Lange-Peer, born 1505, died 
 1573, was scholar of Allard Claessen, [but joined the Ant- 
 werp Guild in 1535] } He was a painter of extraordinary 
 talent, and executed numerous large altarpieces in Louvain, 
 Amsterdam, Delft, etc., most of which were destroyed by 
 the Iconoclasts in 1566. Judging from the smaller, still 
 existing pictures by him of Biblical subjects, they must have 
 been conceived in a realistic and genre-like style. He was 
 evidently a painter of keen observation, and as animated 
 in composition as he was clever in practice. To these quali- 
 ties is superadded, in his best works, forcible and clear 
 colouring. A fine little picture by him is the Crucifixion in 
 the Antwerp Museum, No. 2 ; [a Crucifixion of 1546, in the 
 Hospital at Antwerp, and a] Christ bearing his Cross, in the 
 Berlin Museum, No. 726, are characteristic specimens. This 
 latter subject is treated quite according to the customs of the 
 painter's time. The two thieves are accompanied by a 
 Dominican and a Franciscan, and the Bearing of the Cross 
 forms only an episode in the middle distance. Occasionally 
 he painted mere market scenes, a remarkable specimen of 
 which is in the Gallery at Vienna. [Other works are in the 
 galleries of Cassel, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Copenhagen.] 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 124.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 BUECKLAER — BRUEGHEL. 
 
 249 
 
 Joachim Buecklaer, the scholar of the foregoing, born 
 1530, still living in 1573, walked quite in his master's steps. 
 [He was registered as early as 1560 in the Guild at Antwerp, 
 as the son of a master whose name was probably Matheus 
 de Bueekeloere.] 1 A Christ before Pilate, conceived in the 
 same style as Pieter Aertszen's Bearing of the Cross, is in 
 the Munich Gallery, No. 78. His market and kitchen scenes 
 were also very popular. 
 
 Pieter Brueghel the elder, also called Peasant Breu- 
 ghel, born at Brueghel, near Breda, about 1530, became 
 member of the Painters' Guild in 1551, visited Rome about 
 1553, and died [at Brussels] 1569. Although he also, on 
 rare occasions, treated Biblical subjects in the same style as 
 the preceding painters, yet he was the first who applied 
 himself to the study of various forms of peasant life, and 
 made it the chief subject of his art. His mode of viewing 
 these scenes is always clever but coarse, and even sometimes 
 vulgar. Occasionally he painted ghost and incantation scenes 
 in the manner of Jerome Bosch. His treatment is in a warm 
 tone, generally broad and sometimes slight. He also made 
 skilful drawings, when travelling, from any landscapes which 
 attracted him, and executed an etching of very picturesque 
 character from one of these sketches. Woodcuts from his 
 designs are occasionally met with. The Gallery at Vienna 
 contains remarkable pictures by this master. Of his histori- 
 cal works, a Crucifixion, of the year 1563, a rich composi- 
 tion, is particularly worthy of note ; the heads of the Virgin, 
 etc., are of elevated expression. The Building of the Tower 
 of Babel, of the same year, shows him in his fantastic land- 
 scape element. His humorous side is seen in his pictures 
 of Winter, Spring, and Autumn (the latter a landscape of 
 much poetry), and in a Fight between Carnival and Lent, 
 dated 1559, which abounds with droll, and also with some 
 coarse incidents. A Peasant Wedding, finally, is truthfully 
 composed, and full of clever invention. 
 
 His eldest son, Pieter Breughel the younger, was also 
 called, from the nature of his subjects, Hell Breughel. 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 123, 220. 253.] 
 
 2 [lb. ib. 275.] 
 
250 
 
 DUTCH AET. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 [He was registered a master at Antwerp in 1585, married in 
 1588, and died at Antwerp in 1638.] 1 In invention, colour- 
 ing, and technical merit he is far inferior to his father. His 
 composition is generally lame, his heads spiritless, his flesh of 
 a heavy leathery brown tone, and his touch very mechanical. 
 Examples may be seen in his Christ bearing the Cross, in the 
 Antwerp Museum, No. 31, and in a picture in the Berlin 
 Museum, No. 721. The pictures called by his name at 
 Dresden and Munich are by his younger brother Jan 
 Breughel. 
 
 This Jan Breughel, called Velvet Breughel, born at 
 Brussels 1568, [bought the freedom of Antwerp 1601, ma- 
 triculated there in 1597, and] 2 died 1625, was a far more 
 gifted painter, and of a versatility of talent which is rarely 
 found. Though more especially a landscape painter, in 
 which aspect we shall presently regard him, he takes also as 
 subject-painter an important place among his contemporaries. 
 His peasant subjects, though never rising above a coarse 
 reality, are of a lively character. The same may be said of 
 his Scriptural pictures, on a very small scale — namely, his 
 Scenes in Hell — and of his demoniacal subjects, laid some- 
 times in the ancient Tartarus, and which are conceived with 
 strong effects of light. A clear and vigorous colouring, and 
 a careful finish, are peculiar to these as well as to all his 
 works. On the other hand, he is often wanting in general 
 keeping. The Galleries of Dresden, Munich, and Berlin 
 contain numerous pictures by him, and various specimens of 
 those subjects. 
 
 David Vinckeboons, commonly written Vinckebooms, born 
 at Mechlin 1578, died at Amsterdam 1629. This master is 
 allied in many respects to the foregoing, though he moved in 
 a far narrower circle. He also was a landscape as well as 
 genre painter. He is fond of representing low life in the 
 country, under those rude aspects which occur at fairs and 
 festivals. His figures are of repelling ugliness and vulgarity, 
 and his flesh-tones of a hard discordant red. Pictures of 
 this kind are in the above-mentioned Galleries. 
 
 1 [Liggeren i. 292, 520, ii., 108.] 
 
 2 [lb. ib. 397.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 VALKENBURG — CLEVE. 
 
 251 
 
 Lucas van Valkenburg, born at Mechlin, died 1625, 
 painted scenes from peasant and soldier life in a somewhat 
 grey but harmonious tone. His figures are of moderate 
 drawing, but have a certain elegance. His execution is very 
 finished. The best pictures I know by him are in the 
 Vienna Gallery, where may also be seen specimens of his 
 brothers Frederick and Martin van Valkenburg, painters 
 of the same class of subjects, but of weaker character. 
 
 Sebastian Vrancx, born about 1573, [of the Antwerp 
 Guild in 1610, died at Antwerp 1638], 1 is one of the earliest 
 painters who especially devoted himself to battle-scenes, 
 combats of horsemen, the plunder of villages, etc. His con- 
 ception of action is truthful and touching, his brown-reddish 
 colouring somewhat heavy, his execution tolerably broad, 
 but careful. An excellent picture of this class is in the 
 Vienna Gallery. 
 
 Frans Francken the younger, born at Antwerp 1581, 
 died 1642. He was one of the best genre-winters apper- 
 taining to the last generation of this period. His works 
 combine felicitous invention, much feeling for grace of action, 
 able drawing, fine keeping, and a spirited touch. Only in 
 his colour is he somewhat heavy. He painted the foreground 
 figures in the architectural pictures of Pieter Neefs, of Van 
 Bassen, and Josse de Momper, with great success. One of 
 his most remarkable works is the Witch's Sabbath, dated 
 •1607, in the Gallery at Vienna — perhaps the most complete 
 representation that imagination has presented to us of this 
 frightful world of fiction. In his later historical pictures, of 
 which the Antwerp Museum possesses examples, he is less 
 fortunate. 
 
 Upon the whole, the most satisfaction by far, at this 
 period, as regards Netherlandish art, is, as I have before 
 stated, derived from the portrait-painters. 
 
 The earliest of these is Joas van Cleve of Antwerp. Of 
 the date of his birth and death nothing positive is known ; 
 he flourished from about 1530 to 1550. According to Vasari 
 he visited Spain, and painted portraits for the Court of 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 293, ii., 108.] 
 
252 
 
 DUTCH-FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 France. 1 At all events it is certain that he laboured for a 
 time in England, where the great success of Sir Antonis 
 Moro is said to have disordered his brain. The few pictures, 
 however, that can still be assigned to him thoroughly justify 
 the high reputation he enjoyed in his time. The style of art 
 may be classed between that of Holbein and Antonis Moro. 
 His well-drawn forms are decided, without being hard ; and 
 the warm and transparent colouring recalls the great masters 
 of the Venetian school. Two of his best works are the por- 
 traits of himself and wife in Windsor Castle. Not less suc- 
 cessful is his own portrait in Lord Spencer's collection at 
 Althorp. His pictures are frequently mistaken for those of 
 Holbein, of which I have given some instances in my 
 ' Treasures of Art.' 
 
 Next in order after Joas van Cleve comes Sir Antonis 
 Moro, born [at Utrecht in 1525, died at Antwerp in 1578. 
 He was admitted into the Guild of Antwerp in 1547, and is 
 still registered as a master there in 1572.] 2 He attended 
 the school of Jan Schoreel in his youth, and afterwards 
 visited Italy. On his return [in 1549] the recommendation 
 of Cardinal Granvelle procured him admission to the service 
 of Charles V., with whom his art found such favour that the 
 Emperor sent him [1550] 3 to Lisbon to take the portrait of 
 his son Philip's betrothed bride. Afterwards he repaired 
 [1553], and doubtless for a long period, to England, in order 
 to paint Philip's second wife, Catholic Queen Mary. Subse- 
 quently he again spent some time at the Spanish Court at 
 Madrid, and finally returned to the Netherlands, where he 
 was much employed by the Duke of Alva. In all countries 
 he earned praise, honours, and money. In his now rare 
 historical pictures he exhibits one of the most repulsive 
 forms of the Netherland-Italian style. In portraiture, on 
 
 1 [Guicciardini, L., in ' Descrittione di tutti ipaesi bassi,' p. 143, says 
 " that Francis sent for ' Gios de Cleves,' who went to France and painted 
 the King, the Queen, and other princes." Comte de Laborde ('Renais- 
 sance des Arts,' p. 921) confesses that he could find no traces of Cleves' 
 presence or pictures in France. Joas is known in old English collec- 
 tions, ex. gr. the Buckingham collection, as ' Sotto Cleeve. '] 
 
 2 [Liggeren, i., 159, 249.] 
 
 3 [A. Pinchart in 'Messager des Sciences,' 1868, pp. 324 and following.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 POURBUS. 
 
 253 
 
 the other hand, his truthful feeling, good drawing, masterly 
 and careful painting, and transparent and admirable colour, 
 rendered him one of the best masters of his time. The 
 portraits of his middle period are distinguished by their 
 warmer and more vigorous colouring from the paler and less 
 carefully finished works of his later time. Among his best 
 pictures in England are those of Catholic Queen Mary and 
 the Earl of Essex, in the collection of Lord Yarborough in 
 London, and of Sir Henry Sidney and his lady, dated 1553, 
 in the collection of Colonel Egremont Wyndham at Petworth. 
 IjTo gallery is, however, so instructive, as regards this painter, 
 as that of Vienna. Of his earlier time I will only cite his 
 finely-felt and warmly-coloured picture, in a reddish tone, of 
 Cardinal Granvelle, dated 1549 ; his less warmly toned, but 
 delicately-conceived portrait of a young man with a scar, 
 dated 1564; [Jeanne d'Archel, of 1568, No. 184 in the 
 National Gallery] ; and the pictures of a young married 
 couple, of cooler local tones and whitish lights, of 1575. 
 The Dresden Gallery possesses also, under the erroneous 
 name of Holbein, two female portraits of his best time, Nos. 
 1817 and 1818. [In the collection of Mary of Hungary 
 (1558) there were no less than six portraits of royal persons 
 by Moro ; 1 and of these the best are still in the Museum of 
 Madrid, ex. gr. : Queen Eleanor of France, Mary of Portugal, 
 and Catherine of Portugal. Besides these the Museum con- 
 tains the likenesses of Mary of England, Anna, the wife of 
 Maximilian, King of Bohemia, and Philip II.] 
 
 [Pieter Pourbus, born at Gouda in the first years of the 
 sixteenth century, settled at Bruges in 1540, entered the 
 Guild of St. Luke in 1543, and died at Bruges in 1584. He 
 was a portrait-painter, and a composer of sacred subjects. 
 Of the former, the likenesses of John and Adrienne Fernagant, 
 in the Academy of Bruges (1551), are fine specimens. Of 
 the latter, the Last Judgment (1551) and the Descent from the 
 Cross (1570), in the same collection, are characteristic] 
 
 [Franz Pourbus the elder, born in 1542, was the son and 
 disciple of Pieter Pourbus ; but he afterwards studied under 
 
 1 [A. Pinchart in • Revue Universelle des Arts,' iii., 133.] 
 
254 DUTCH-FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 Franz Floris. He wandered from Bruges to Antwerp in 
 1564, and was admitted into the Painters' Guild of that city 
 in 1569. He was still a member of Guild in 1575, and, 
 according to Van Mander, he died in 1580, the year of his 
 father's death.] 1 Though proceeding from the pernicious 
 school of Franz Floris, Peter Pourbus the elder occupies a 
 worthy place as a portrait-painter. If inferior to the foregoing 
 in refinement of drawing, he surpasses them all in golden 
 and clear colouring. As an example of this class I may 
 mention the portrait of a man, dated 1568, with his right 
 hand on his side, his left on the hilt of his sword, in the 
 Gallery at Vienna. 
 
 Willem Key, born [at Breda in 1520, took the freedom of 
 the Antwerp Guild in 1541], died 1568. This artist must 
 have been a remarkable portrait-painter, the Duke of Alva 
 having selected him to paint his portrait ; but I cannot at 
 this time assign with certainty any picture to him. 
 
 Nicholas Neuchatel, called Lucidel, [born early in the 
 sixteenth century, entered the workshop of Pieter Coeck of 
 Alost at Antwerp in 1539, settled at Mons in 1540, and at 
 Nuremberg before 1561.] 1 This admirable Belgian portrait- 
 painter, who afterwards settled at Nuremberg, has left us the 
 masterly portrait of the Mathematician instructing his Son, 
 now in the Munich Gallery, No. 120. The relationship be- 
 tween the two figures gives the truthfully conceived heads a 
 double interest. The local tones of the flesh are of a cool 
 reddish, the shadows gray. [There are numerous portraits 
 by him at Prague, one very fine, dated 1564, in the house of 
 Count Erwin von Nostitz.] 
 
 Gualdorp Gortzius, called Geldorp, born at Louvain, 
 1553, is seen to far greater advantage in his portraits than 
 in his now chiefly vanished historical pictures, which are 
 praised by Van Mander. 8 He was a scholar of Frans Franck 
 the elder and of Frans Pourbus the elder, and settled later 
 
 1 [Consult Weale, 'Catalogue de l'Academie de Bruges,' pp. 36 and 
 following, the Liggeren, pp. 237, 249, and 261, and Van Mander, u. s., 
 257.] 
 
 2 [Liggeren, i. 135, and W. Schmidt in von Zahn's ' Jahrbiicher,' v., 
 143 and following.] 
 
 3 Folio 195b. 
 
Chap. I. KETEL — POURBUS THE YOUNGER. 255 
 
 in Cologne, where several of his pictures are preserved. 
 The earlier are of lively conception, and carefully painted in 
 a vigorous colour. In his later works he is cold in tone 
 and superficial in treatment. 
 
 Among the respectable portrait-painters of this time must 
 also be reckoned Cornelis Ketel, born at Gouda 1548. He 
 painted Queen Elizabeth in 1578; later, various personages 
 of her Court ; and subsequently the Company of Marksmen 
 at Amsterdam, and also some other company. My efforts to 
 discover either of these pictures, or any in England by him, 
 have not been successful. 
 
 On the other hand, a number of pictures exist by the hand 
 of Mark Gerard of Bruges, one of the most favourite por- 
 trait-painters of the English Court in the reign of Elizabeth, 
 who died in 1635. Not that he is by any means one of the 
 best artists of this epoch, being somewhat tame in conception, 
 and weak in drawing and colouring. The chief interest of his 
 portraits, therefore, consists in the importance of his sitters, 
 so that I may limit my notice to three very characteristic 
 portraits — Queen Elizabeth, Lord Burleigh, and Lord Essex 
 — in the collection of the Marquis of Exeter at Burleigh 
 House. 1 
 
 Frans Pourbus the younger, born 1570, [free of the Guild 
 at Antwerp in 1591], died [in Paris] 1622, scholar of his father 
 of the same name. Like him he was favourably distinguished 
 as a portrait-painter, though inferior to him in warmth of 
 colouring and solidity of impasto. He flourished for some 
 time at the Court of Henry IV. of France, and took various 
 portraits of that monarch, and also of his Queen, Mary of 
 Medicis. The most important of his portraits in the Louvre 
 is of that Queen, No. 396. The two smaller pictures also of 
 the King, Nos. 394 and 395, 1610, deserve to be noticed. 
 [Another fine portrait of Catherine de Medicis, as a widow 
 (after 1610), is in the Madrid Museum.] 
 
 Paul van Somer, born at Antwerp 1570, died 1624. He 
 laboured for many years in England, where consequently his 
 best works still remain. His conception is truthful and 
 
 1 'Treasures of Art,' etc., vol. iii. p. 407, etc. 
 
 2 [Liggeren, i. 364. 
 
256 
 
 DUTCH PORTRAIT-PAINTERS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 lively, his colouring warm and clear, and his execution 
 finished. His portrait of Lord Bacon at Panshanger is 
 excellent ; also those of the well-known Earl of Arundel and 
 his Countess at Arundel Castle, seat of the Duke of Norfolk. 
 
 Most of the remaining portrait-painters of the latest 
 generation of this epoch were Dutchmen. 
 
 Michael Janse Mierevelt, born at Delft 1567, died 1641. 
 With a simple and truthful feeling for his subject he com- 
 bines clear and often warm colouring. The number of his 
 works is very considerable, A series of his works are in the 
 Hotel de Ville at Delft. In an archery piece of 1611, the 
 largest picture by him known to me, with numerous figures, 
 he does not appear to advantage. Although the heads are 
 animated, the colouring is somewhat heavy, and the treat- 
 ment rather mechanical. The portraits of William I. and II., 
 and Maurice of Saxony, in the Burgomaster's room, are better. 
 On the other hand, in respect of excellence of conception, 
 clear colouring, and careful execution, the bust portrait 
 of Hugo Grotius, in the same place, is admirable. Especially 
 soft, for this master, are three children over the chimney- 
 piece. Fine examples of his art are in the Louvre, in the 
 Dresden, Munich, and Amsterdam Galleries. Among his best 
 scholars are his son Peter Mierevelt and Paul Moreelse. 
 
 [Paul Moreelse, according to the current chronology, was 
 born at Utrecht in 1571, and died there in 1638. He is 
 described by Yan Mander (1604) as a young artist, a pupil of 
 Mierevelt, possessing mastery in portraits. In the Museum 
 of Rotterdam there were seven of his pictures. One only 
 now remains, representing Yertumnus and Pomona. The 
 rest were burnt in the fire of 1864. The Museum of the 
 Hague contains two portraits ; the Gallery of Amsterdam a 
 shepherdess, a little princess, Frederick of Bohemia, and 
 Mary of Utrecht, dated 1615. In the Museum at Berlin we 
 shall find a fine portrait of a lady, with the monogram and 
 the date 1626. The style of this artist deserves to be 
 studied, not because it is that of a first-class painter, but 
 because Moreelse is one of the forerunners of Rembrandt.] 1 
 
 1 [Consult Van Mander, p. 213, and Burger, 'Musees de la Hollande, 
 ii. 193.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 CORNELIUS JANSEN. 
 
 257 
 
 In close affinity with the last is Johann Wilhelm Delft, 
 by whom is another archery subject, signed and dated 1592, 
 in the Hotel de Ville at Delft. This picture contains many 
 figures, and exhibits truthfulness of feeling and good painting, 
 though it is somewhat hard in outline, and heavy in its brown 
 colouring. 
 
 Jacob Delft : by this painter is a remarkable female por- 
 trait in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort. 
 
 Daniel Mytens, born at the Hague. Like Van Somer, he 
 spent his active years in England. In 1625 he was engaged 
 by Charles I. at a salary of 201., and it appears that he re- 
 mained in that King's service till towards 1630. About that 
 time he probably left England. This master is characterised 
 by great simplicity of manner and a general effect of lightness 
 of colour. In his flesh-tones he is often inclined to the 
 silvery. His tenderly fused execution is careful. Two 
 pictures of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria in their youthful 
 days, with the dwarf Sir Geoffrey Hudson, various dogs and 
 a grey horse, all life size, constitute his chefs-d'oeuvre. The 
 one is at the seat of Lord Galway, Serlby, Nottinghamshire ; 
 the other in the collection of the Countess of Dunmore, 
 Dunmore Park, near Falkirk. Mytens occasionally painted 
 small pictures of great delicacy. Two very pretty examples 
 of this class, the portraits of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria, 
 with architectural background by the elder Steenwyck, are in 
 the Dresden Gallery,Nos. 1024 and 1025, underthe erroneous 
 title of Gonsales Coques. Another, with Charles and his 
 Queen, and one of their children, in one picture, is in the 
 Royal Gallery, Buckingham Palace. 
 
 Cornelius Jansen, supposed to have been born in London 
 of Flemish parents. 1 At all events he was long in England, 
 where he painted for Charles I., and left it in 1648. He 
 continued to paint portraits in Holland with great success 
 till his death in 1665. He was an artist of refined feeling 
 for nature, tasteful in composition, warm and tender in 
 colouring, and of melting execution. Among the many 
 pictures by him scattered through England, I will mention 
 only that of Frederick Elector of the Palatinate, in the 
 1 Sandrart, vol. i. p. 379. 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 DUTCH — FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 Gallery of Hampton Court ; of Lady Dorothy Neville, at 
 Burleigh House ; of John Taylor, master of the revels at the 
 Court of Charles I., and his own portrait, at Longford 
 Castle. He also occasionally executed portraits on a small 
 scale. An example is seen in that of Charles I. with per- 
 sons of his Court in the Green Park, in the Royal Collection, 
 Buckingham Palace. 
 
 At this time also the painters of animals grew into a dis- 
 tinct class, though some Biblical title, such as Adam and 
 Eve in Paradise, was given to pictures whose chief interest 
 lay in animal life. The best painter of this order was 
 Roelandt Savery, born at Courtray 1576, died 1639. His 
 scenes, in which a very brown tone generally prevails, are often 
 overfilled with animals, each singly of much truth of nature. 
 One of his best pieces, Paradise, is in the Berlin Museum, 
 No. 710. Various pictures with wild rocky scenery, in 
 which savage animals dwell, have something fantastic. 
 
 Next to him in this class is Jan Breughel [born 1601, 
 still living in 1677], 1 already described as a ^mre-painter. 
 His animal pieces often show the influence of Rubens, and 
 surpass those of Roelandt Savery in transparency and truth 
 of colouring. Good specimens of this kind are in the 
 Dresden and Berlin Galleries, in the Louvre, and also at 
 Madrid. His chief picture is also a Paradise in the Hague 
 Gallery, in which the figures of Adam and Eve are finely 
 painted by the hand of Rubens. 
 
 Jan Breughel was followed by Ferdinand van Kessel, a 
 painter of greater hardness and dryness. 
 
 Landscape painting, also, according to Van Mander's 
 account, was carefully treated at this period ; but, of the 
 painters whom he celebrates as belonging to this class, 
 Frans Minnebroer, Jan de Hollander, [master at Antwerp 
 in 1522, still living there in 1538], 2 Jacques Grimmer, 
 [apprenticed at Antwerp in 1539, master in 1547, still living 
 in 1589], 3 Michael de Gast, and Hendrik van Cleef, 
 
 1 See A. Michiels in 'Gazette des Beaux Arts,' 1868, p. 105 and 
 following.] 
 
 2 [Liggeren, i. 100 and 132.] 
 
 3 [Liggeren, i. 135, 159, 205, 336.] 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 MATTHEW AND PAUL BFJL. 
 
 259 
 
 [master at Antwerp in 1550, and still living in 1589], 1 no 
 picture ever reached my eyes. A few, however, by Lucas 
 Gassel, who flourished before and after the middle of the 
 sixteenth century, have been preserved. He continued the 
 fantastic manner of Patenier, with strangely-formed rocks 
 and a number of well-executed details. In colouring he is 
 somewhat monotonous and cool. A landscape, with Juclah 
 and Thamar, in the Vienna Gallery, bears his monogram 
 and the date 1548. I have seen other pictures, dated 
 respectively 1538 and 1561, in private collections, though, 
 in their liability to change hands, I do not quote 
 them. 
 
 A remarkable advance in the art of landscape painting 
 was made by the brothers Matthew Beil, born at Antwerp 
 1556, died at Rome 1580, and Paul Beil, born 1556, died 
 1626. The early death of the elder gave no scope for any 
 extended activity : he was, however, the instructor of his 
 brother, who joined him in Rome, and soon displayed the 
 highest abilities of the two. Paul Bril .painted both in oil 
 and fresco, and left behind him a large number of works. 2 
 He viewed nature with a fresh eye — selecting her natural 
 and poetic rather than her arbitrary and fantastic features. 
 He was the first to 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 fore- 
 grounds, and in the exaggerated blueness of his distances. 
 Nevertheless, this painter exercised a considerable and 
 beneficial influence over Rubens, Annibale Carracci, and 
 Claude Lorraine, and must ever occupy an important posi- 
 tion in the development of this branch of art. Only in his 
 earlier works, and then rarely, does he betray the fantastic 
 element, as, for instance, in his Building of the Tower of 
 Babel, in the Berlin Museum, No. 731. His later qualities, 
 and especially his treatment of the general lighting of a scene, 
 are observable in a morning landscape, also at Berlin, No. 
 
 1 [lb. ib. 176.] 
 
 2 See regarding this master the notice by Ed. Fetis in the ' Bulletins 
 ds l'Acade'mie Boyale de Belgique ' of 1855, p. 594-616. 
 
260 
 
 DUTCH — FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 744. Fine examples of his best time are in the Louvre, 
 especially Nos. 67, 71, and 73. 
 
 Lucas van Valkenburg. — We here again encounter this 
 already-mentioned painter and his brothers, under the cha- 
 racter of landscape-painters. They attached themselves more 
 particularly to the earlier style, which was distinguished by 
 its great minuteness of detail. The pictures by Lucas have 
 frequently something naive, and a peculiar poetic charm. 
 The Vienna Gallery possesses the best landscapes by the 
 three brothers. 
 
 Josse de Momper, [the son of Bartholomew de Momper, 
 was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke at Antwerp in 1581] , l 
 died in 1622. Although younger than Paul Bril, he retains 
 much more of the fantastic modes of conception which dis- 
 tinguished the earlier landscape painters. He generally 
 introduces us to lofty hills and bold forms in striking sunlight, 
 and is often untruthful in colour and of slight and mannered 
 treatment. His pictures are numerous, for instance in the 
 Dresden and Vienna Galleries. In his later works only he 
 occasionally attained considerable power and keeping, as 
 seen in a landscape in the Berlin Museum, No. 772. 2 He 
 was also a skilful etcher. The figures in his foregrounds 
 were executed by various painters ; by Peter Breughel the 
 younger, several members of the numerous Francken family, 
 David Teniers the elder, and Henrik van Balen. [One of 
 these pictures, a Rest in Egypt, executed 1642, with figures 
 by H. van Balen, is in the church of Notre Dame at Antwerp.] 3 
 
 And here again we come upon Jan Breughel, who was a 
 landscape-painter of no mean merit. He treated the flat 
 scenes of his native land, intersected with canals and rows 
 of trees, with truthfulness and considerable detail, though 
 he is wanting in the general keeping of the picture. His 
 smaller pictures of this class are often attractive. Henrik 
 van Balen, Rothenhammer, and even occasionally Rubens, 
 painted ideal figures in his landscapes. 
 
 Willem van Nieulandt, Anton Myron, and Peter Gys- 
 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 114, 588.] 
 
 2 This picture is not by Josse but by F. d. Momper. 
 * [Liggeren, i. 365.] 
 
Chap. I. SAVERY — VROOM — WILLAERTS. * 261 
 
 sens, followed the same style as Jan Breughel, and their 
 works are often mistaken for his. 
 
 Finally, we must not omit to notice two painters already 
 mentioned, Roelandt Savery and David Vinckeboons, in 
 their character as landscape painters. The first is inferior 
 to Jan Breughel in truthfulness, but excels him in poetic 
 feeling, especially in the representation of fine woods. An 
 excellent example of his merits in this department is in the 
 Berlin Museum, No. 717a. Vinckeboons is somewhat heavy 
 and gloomy in tone, but otherwise, compared with Jan 
 Breughel, has much about the same qualities as Roelandt 
 Savery. 
 
 Of the same period and tendency may be reckoned the 
 already-mentioned Peter Lastmann, Alexander Kjerings, 
 and Hans Pilen. The pictures of the first named are dis- 
 tinguished by foreground figures, taken from scriptural sub- 
 jects, and executed with much art. 
 
 Marine painting appears to have been first cultivated in 
 Holland, where it subsequently attained its highest form of 
 development. Hendrick Cornelius Vroom, born at Haarlem 
 in 1566, [died there in 1640.] 1 He is the earliest known 
 master of this class. He visited Spain and Italy, entering 
 into an intimacy with Paul Bril, by which his art was greatly 
 benefited. Afterwards he visited England, where he exe- 
 cuted a drawing (1601) of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, 
 for the Earl of Nottingham, High Admiral' of England. Of 
 his once highly-prized pictures only few are preserved. A 
 picture of considerable size by him, in a side apartment of 
 the Hotel de la Ville at Haarlem, represents large vessels and 
 a town in the background. The execution is careful and the 
 sky clear, but the green water and the weak perspective 
 show his department of art in a very primitive stage. A 
 picture in the Amsterdam Museum, No. 445, is, on the other 
 hand, too broad and decorative in treatment. 
 
 Adam Willaerts, born at Antwerp 1577, lived and died 
 at Utrecht, probably [after 1666]. He painted pre-eminently 
 coast and harbour scenes, and enlivened them with numerous 
 figures. With all attention to detail, he combines also a 
 5 [A. Van der Willigen, ' Les Artistes de Haarlem,' p. 320.] 
 
262 
 
 DUTCH — FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 successful effort at general keeping, and a broad and soft 
 touch. He never quite succeeded in mastering the move- 
 ment of the waves. A good specimen of him is in the 
 Berlin Museum, No. 711. He sometimes diverged from his 
 usual subjects and painted markets and festive scenes. A 
 picture of this class, of vigorous colour and somewhat deco- 
 rative treatment, is in the Antwerp Museum, No. 499- 
 
 Bona ventuka Peters, born at Antwerp 1614, [master in 
 1634, died at Antwerp 1652. J 1 He was a marine-painter 
 who especially represented the sea in its most tempestuous 
 forms, with vessels running ashore or struck by lightning. 
 His pictures 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 masterly handling. They are rare in public 
 galleries, with the exception of Vienna, which possesses five, 
 and all of them signed. One of them, a vessel being wrecked 
 in a raging storm, is poetic, and very transparent, but the 
 waves are too parallel in their action. The companion to it, 
 with an ancient monument on the shore, though otherwise 
 of great merit, is defective in the forms of the clouds. Two 
 others, companions, dated 1645, one a Venetian fort stormed 
 by Turks, with a mine in the act of exploding, and the other 
 a fortified harbour, show a more refined feeling for form with 
 the same transparency. 
 
 Jan Peters, born at Antwerp 1624, [master in the Antwerp 
 Guild 1645], 2 died 1677, a younger brother of the foregoing, 
 painted similar subjects with success. A picture bearing his 
 name in the Munich Gallery, No. 336, with a violent storm, 
 and vessels being dashed against a rocky coast, is beautifully 
 composed and lighted. But the over-brown colour of the 
 rocks, and the coming up of the brown ground through the 
 water, somewhat disturb the keeping. 
 
 The branch of architectural painting was comparatively 
 early of development. Jan Fredemann de Vries was born 
 at Leeuwarden in 1527. This artist went through a scientific 
 
 1 [Liggeren, ii. 59.] 
 
 2 [Liggeren, ii. 129, 167.] 
 
Chap. I. DE VRIES — STEENWYCK — NEEFS. 263 
 
 study of the works of Yitruvius and Serlio, and devoted 
 himself, with no common result, to this class of art. Like 
 the landscape-painters before noticed, his works take their 
 title from the figures in the foreground, though the rich 
 architecture which occupies the surrounding space, and in 
 which the laws both of lineal and aerial perspective are 
 effectively observed, forms the real subject. The tone in 
 which these architectural forms are treated is generally 
 delicate, clear, and cool. The best works I know by him 
 are a series of pictures in the fine summer council-chamber 
 in the Hotel de Yille at Dantzic, in which, however, the 
 figures are in the mannered taste of his time. 
 
 Architectural painting was further developed by Hendrik 
 van Steenwyck, born 1550, [master at Antwerp in 1577], 1 
 died 1604, who was scholar of the preceding master. He 
 painted chiefly interiors of Gothic churches, on a small scale, 
 generally enlivened with figures by some of the numerous 
 Francken family. He was the first to represent the effect of 
 the light of torches and tapers on architectural forms. The 
 fine perspective, both lineal and aerial, observed in his 
 pictures, gives them a lasting value, though the execution of his 
 architectural detail is somewhat hard and metallic. Admirable 
 specimens of his art are in the Vienna Gallery. 
 
 Pieter Neefs, born at Antwerp 1570, [entered the 
 Antwerp Guild in 1609], died 1651, was the best of Steen* 
 wyck's scholars. He painted quite in the same style, but 
 excelled his master in power and warmth of tone, and also 
 in the truthfulness of his torchlight effects. An excellent 
 picture of this class is in the Louvre, No. 346. Other fine 
 specimens by him are also there, and in the Gallery at 
 Vienna. Many of his works are enlivened by figures by 
 Frans Francken the younger, by Jan Breughel, and by 
 David Teniers the elder. 
 
 Hendeik van Steenwyck the younger, son of the other 
 Steenwyck, was a fellow- scholar with Pieter Neefs, but 
 painted in a cooler tone, and was inferior to him in all re- 
 spects. His works are also seen in the Vienna Gallery, and 
 a larger one in the Berlin Museum. Pieter Neefs the 
 1 [Liggeren, i. 263.] 
 
264 
 
 DUTCH — FLEMISH ART. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 younger, [born 1601, died after 1658], the son and pupil of 
 the elder of this name, was also of inferior merit. Pictures 
 by him are in the Vienna Gallery. 
 
 Bartholomew van Bassen nourished from about 1610 to 
 1650. He formed his style independently of the preceding 
 knot of artists ; painted chiefly interiors of Renaissance 
 churches, and also saloons of the same architectural cha- 
 racter. His figures are usually the work of Frans Francken 
 the younger. Though his pictures display careful detail and 
 exact perspective, yet they are wanting in aim, and are 
 often crude in effect and hard in forms. A specimen both 
 of his church and of his saloon interiors is in the Berlin 
 Museum. 
 
 The first examples of flower and fruit painting as a separate 
 branch occur towards the end of this period, and here again 
 we meet with the versatile hand of Jan Breughel. His 
 flower-pieces are comparatively rare ; the single flowers are 
 executed with feeling and great truthfulness of form and 
 colour, but the general effect is without keeping. A chef- 
 d'oeuvre of this class is a large flower-piece in the Munich 
 Gallery, Cabinets, No. 226. Also a large wreath of flowers 
 in the Louvre, No. 429, with a Virgin and Child, by Rubens, 
 painted in the centre. 
 
 Although miniature painting in this epoch, when so many 
 monuments of art of greater size were in existence, no longer 
 maintains that important position which we have accorded to 
 it at an earlier period, yet two Belgian artists, who devoted 
 themselves to this branch of painting in the second half 
 of the sixteenth century, were so remarkable, and also so 
 celebrated in their time, that I cannot pass them over in 
 silence. 
 
 Hans Bol, born at Mechlin 1534, died in Amsterdam 
 1593. In his earlier time he devoted himself to the exe- 
 cution of larger pictures in size colours, but afterwards 
 applied himself exclusively to miniature painting, in which 
 he produced a large number of works. In his subjects taken 
 from history the mannered taste of the school of Frans Floris 
 prevails ; but in his more numerous landscapes, with small 
 figures from life, he combines picturesqueness of composition 
 
Chap. I. 
 
 HANS BOL — HOEFNAGEL. 
 
 265 
 
 and good drawing with a very finished and clever execution. 
 His general tone, however, is frequently too cold, and he is 
 deficient in keeping. The merit of his portraits, animals, 
 fruits, and flowers is their truth. Like the earlier miniature- 
 painters, his practice was in body colours. True also to the 
 old fashion, he decorated manuscripts with his miniatures, 
 but more frequently painted small landscapes on single 
 sheets. As an example of the first kind, I mention a small 
 prayer-book in the Imperial Library at Paris, Supplement 
 Latin (No. 708), executed in 1582. Of the second class will 
 be found some beautiful little pictures in the cabinet of minia- 
 tures at Munich, and in the cabinet of engravings at Berlin. 
 Hans Bol also etched a small number of plates, with much 
 success, from his own designs. 
 
 Jookis Hoefnagel, born in Antwerp 1545, died in Vienna 
 1600. He received the instruction of Hans Bol ; but, owing 
 to a very careful education, he became an artist of much 
 more extended powers. He travelled in France, Spain, 
 Italy, and Germany. In the latter country he was first in 
 the service of the Duke of Bavaria at Munich, afterwards in 
 that of the Emperor Rodolph II. at Prague, but resided at 
 Vienna. Owing to an uncommon facility of drawing, and to 
 an untiring industry, the number of drawings, of every 
 possible subject, made on these journeys, and also the 
 amount of his miniatures, is astonishingly large. They 
 comprise sacred and secular history, scenery, animals, 
 plants, flowers, fruits, precious stones, pearls, etc. He also 
 especially decorated manuscripts in the old manner and with 
 the old technical materials. The most famous among them 
 is a Roman missal, now in the Imperial Library at Vienna 
 (No 1784), which he executed for the Archduke Ferdinand 
 of the Tyrol, and on which he laboured from 1582 to 1590, 
 a period of eight years. He here appears as a very clever 
 eclectic painter, versed both in all the spiritual allusions of 
 the early time, and also in the technical materials and forms 
 of ornamentation, — a knowledge which he applied with great 
 skill. Occasionally he shows signs of an allegorical, but 
 often artificial, mysticism peculiar to himself, and degenerates 
 sometimes into an overladen and tasteless manner. He 
 
266 
 
 ITALO-GERMANS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 availed himself often of the emblematic representations from 
 the Biblia Pauperum ; and in his historical subjects made 
 use of the motives of Kaphael and other painters ; in his 
 ornaments also he adopted alternately, and with masterly- 
 handling, the earlier manner of the Netherlandish, German, 
 and Italian miniature-painters ; and finally studied the minia- 
 tures of Giulio Clovio. Next to this missal I may mention 
 two works executed for Eodolph II., one of which represents, 
 in four books, the walking, the creeping, the flying, and the 
 swimming animals ; the other books contain various subjects. 
 Hoefnagel also often painted single pieces ; for instance, the 
 Glorification of the Spanish Monarchy, dated 1573, in the 
 Library at Brussels. The numerous emblematic representa- 
 tions are in the artificial and tasteless spirit of the times ; 
 but the execution is of indescribable pains and finish. 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 PAINTING IN GERMANY. 
 
 The aspect of painting in Germany and Switzerland at this 
 period is less satisfactory than in the Netherlands. We 
 especially miss a chief centre of activity, such as Antwerp 
 afforded. The early schools of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Ulm, 
 and Cologne had died out, and in their stead, both in these 
 and other places, only isolated painters occur. Historical 
 painting, it is true, took the same course as in the Nether- 
 lands, but its few scattered masters appeared later on the 
 scene. That rich development of subject and landscape 
 painting also, for which the Netherlands had been distin- 
 guished, found no equivalent here. Portrait painting, on 
 the other hand, was successfully pursued, though not so as 
 to rival the best masters of the Flemish and Dutch school. 
 
 Hans Stephanus, known in the history of art by the name 
 of Hans von Calcar, from the town of that name on the 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 VON CALCAR — DE BRUYN. 
 
 267 
 
 Lower Rhine, where he was probably born 1510. 1 He was 
 the first to turn, and with great success, to the Italian school, 
 residing in Venice from 1536 to 1-537, in the school of Titian, 
 whose manner he so entirely adopted that it becomes occa- 
 sionally difficult to distinguish their respective works. He 
 there executed the admirable drawings for the woodcuts which 
 illustrate the well-known work by Vesalius on anatomy, and 
 afterwards went to Naples, where Vasari became acquainted 
 with him in 1545, and where, according to Van Mander, he 
 died in 1546. I know no historical picture by him ; but his 
 very rare existing portraits thoroughly justify the favourable 
 testimony of Vasari. They show also a really great affinity 
 to Titian, being less energetic, but very delicate in feeling 
 for nature, in which they approach close to Giovanni Battista 
 Morone, excellent in drawing, and very carefully coloured 
 in a clear, warm, and somewhat reddish tone. A very fine 
 portrait of a man, formerly attributed alternately to Paris 
 Bordone and to Tintoretto, is in the Louvre ; another, with 
 a letter in his hand, at Vienna ;^a third in the Museum at 
 Berlin, No. 190. 
 
 Many of the German painters, in their earlier efforts, 
 adhered, even in this department, to the style of the former 
 period, and only sought to adopt the qualities of Italian art at 
 a later time. Conspicuous among this class is Bartholo- 
 mew de Bruyn, who flourished in Cologne from [1533 till his 
 death in 1556]. 2 His earlier creations approximate closely to 
 those of his master, the painter of the Death of the Virgin. 
 His principal works of this time are the wings of the large 
 shrine upon the high altar of the church of Xanten [ordered 
 in 1529, and finished in 1536]. 3 The inner sides contain 
 events from the legends of SS. Victor, Sylvester, and Helena ; 
 the outer ones the figures of three saints, with the Virgin and 
 Child, SS. Gereon and Constantine, and four half circles. 
 The heads and figures are of elevated character, the forms 
 fullish, the execution very able, and the tone of uncommon 
 
 1 The statement of his having been born in 1500 is destitute of all 
 foundation. 
 
 2 [Merlo, 'Die Meister der Altkolnische Schule,' u. s., p. 72. J 
 2 [Merlo, ' Nachrichten,' u. s., p. 158.] 
 
268 
 
 SOUTH-GERMANS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 warmth and vigour. His portraits of the same period, such 
 as the Burgomaster Jan van Ryht, painted 1525, in the 
 Berlin Museum, No. 588, and of one Browiller, painted 1535, 
 in the Cologne Museum, so closely resemble Holbein as 
 generally to be designated by his name. His Descent from 
 the Cross, with wings, in the Munich Gallery, Cabinets, Nos. 
 112, 113, and 114, is also a good work of the same epoch. 
 Although he deteriorated afterwards, both in thoroughness 
 of execution and in truth of tone, yet he retains the same 
 Holbein-like style of treatment. This we see in a Virgin 
 and Child adored by a Duke of Cleves, in the Berlin Museum, 
 No. 639. After this time he attempted to adopt the charac- 
 teristics of Italian art, after the fashion of Martin van Hem- 
 skerk, the results of which were heads devoid of interest, 
 tasteless motives, cold and insipid colouring, and slight exe- 
 cution. Even his portraits of this time are poorly coloured 
 and slightly painted. A number of his works of this class 
 are to be seen in the Munich and Cologne Galleries. 
 
 In Westphalia we find a family of painters, by the name 
 of Tom Ring, at Munster. Ludger the elder [b. 14%, 
 d. 1547. His chief] work, dated 1538, in the collection of 
 the Westphalian Art Union, represents Christ and the 
 Virgin interceding with the Almighty, who, surrounded with 
 angels, is about to destroy the sinful world. The painter 
 here decidedly adheres to the early German school, showing 
 dignified and stern feeling, and thorough execution. His 
 son, Hermann tom Ring, [b. 1521, d. 1599,] judged by his 
 chief work, the Resurrection of Lazarus, of the year 1546, 
 in the Munster cathedral, evinces in many respects the 
 influence of Italy. The architecture, with well-executed 
 white busts, is of Italian taste. But his portrait-like heads 
 are not important, and his attitudes are mannered. The 
 portrait of the donor is animated, but Martha and Mary 
 have the aspect of nuns. The colouring is gaudy, the 
 chiaroscuro well observed, and the finish, especially of the 
 accessories, good. In his later pictures he appears as a 
 feeble painter in the manner of Frans Floris. 
 
 Hermann's brother, Ludger tom Ring the younger, 
 [b. 1522, d. 1583,] devoted himself to the imitation 
 
Chap. II. VIRGIL1US SOLIS — HANS MULICH. 
 
 269 
 
 of the details of real life. Thus his pictures of sacred sub- 
 jects are so in little more than name. Of this class is a 
 Marriage at Cana, dated 1562, in the Berlin Museum, No. 
 708 — literally a large kitchen piece with numerous skilfully- 
 executed details, but totally devoid of keeping. The subject 
 itself is seen in a corner of the background. 
 
 At Nuremberg, at about the same period, lived a master 
 of the name of Virgilius Sous, painter, engraver, and 
 designer upon wood, born 1514, died 1562. His pictures 
 are now become very rare. From his numerous engravings, 
 however, treating as they do the most various subjects, and 
 from the woodcuts taken from his designs, 1 it appears that 
 in his earlier time he attached himself, though but in a 
 mechanical fashion, to the school of Albert Durer, devoting 
 himself subsequently to the imitation of Italian art, in which 
 he displays great readiness of hand, but little feeling. 
 
 Michael Ostendorfer, [born in Swabia before 1500, 
 settled in Kegensburg in 1519, and died there in 1559.] 2 
 He formed himself after Albrecht Altdorfer, though inferior 
 to him in feeling and skill. Like Lucas Cranach he sought 
 to embody the doctrines of Luther in his art. An altarpiece 
 of this class is in the collection of the Historical Museum at 
 Kegensburg. [The Virgin of the Apocalypse is (Cabinets, 
 No. 168) in the Munich Gallery.] 
 
 At about the same period we find in Munich a painter by 
 name Hans Mulich, generally but erroneously called Mielich, 
 born 1515, died 1572. His portraits are now rare ; one of 
 a woman, in the collection of the King of Prussia, shows 
 that he followed the early German style. The treatment is 
 truthful, and the colouring clear. [Others (Nos. 50 and 52) 
 are in the Munich Gallery.] The same qualities appear in 
 his portraits of Duke Albrecht V. of Bavaria and his Duchess 
 Anna, and of other individuals — among the rest, of himself, 
 executed in miniature for the above-named princess, in the 
 illuminated MSS. of the music of the Seven Penitential 
 Psalms, by Orlando di Lasso, and in the motetts by Ciprian 
 
 1 Bartsch, vol. ix. p. 242, etc., quotes 558 engravings by his hand, 
 and various long series of woodcuts from his designs. 
 
 2 [Consult Marggraff's Catalogue of the Munich Pinak., p. 163.] 
 
270 
 
 SOUTH-GERMANS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 de Rore. 1 On the other hand, the historical subjects intro- 
 duced into these works by him show him as a feeble imitator 
 of Italian artists. 
 
 In this time also occurs the name of Hans Sebald Lauten- 
 sack, who laboured in Vienna, and who decidedly descended 
 from the painter family of the same name at Nuremberg. 
 No picture, however, by him is known to me. As regards 
 his engravings 2 he appears most to advantage in his land- 
 scapes and views of towns, following in his fantastic feeling 
 and mechanical treatment the style of Altdorfer. His por- 
 traits, which are weak in drawing and hardly treated, show 
 also his adherence to the early German school. 
 
 A somewhat later generation than those we have just 
 considered gave themselves still more determinately to the 
 imitation of Italian art, of which their productions show us 
 the most perverted examples. In the whole field of ideal 
 art, whether mythology, allegory, or Holy Scripture, they 
 are alike mannered and devoid of taste, and especially so 
 where nude figures constitute the chief subject. Their 
 treatment of realistic scenes from their own contemporary 
 history -find from common life, as well as their portraits and 
 landscape, are somewhat more endurable, though far less 
 truthful and careful in character, than the works of the 
 Netherlandish masters of the same time. The following are 
 the most notable names. 
 
 Tobias Stimmee, born at Schaffhausen 1534. According 
 to the fashion then prevalent in Germany, he decorated with 
 frescoes the facades of many houses in his native city, and in 
 Strasburg and Frankfort. 3 His oil pictures are very rare. 
 The portraits of Herr von Schwyz, a banner-man of Zurich, 
 and his wife, in the collection of Mr. Carl Waagen of Munich, 
 show- skill and truthfulness. His whole style may be 
 gathered from several hundred woodcuts executed from his 
 designs. 4 He died at Strasburg in the prime of life. 
 
 1 See the same in the Munich Court Library among the rarest 
 treasures called there " Cimelien," Nos. 51 and 52. 
 
 2 Bartsch, vol. ix. p. 107, etc., mentions fifty-nine engravings and 
 two woodcuts by him. 
 
 3 [Consult Schreiber, ' Das Munster zu Strasburg,' 8vo., Strasb., p. 91. ] 
 * Bartsch, vol. ix. p. 330. 
 
Chap. II. 
 
 AMMAN — VAN ACHEN — HEINZ. 
 
 271 
 
 Jost Amman, born at Zurich 1539, removed to Nuremberg 
 in 1560, and died there 1591. I know no example surviving 
 of his pictures in oil and on glass. But various engravings, 
 and a large number of woodcuts from his designs, give 
 evidence of his great diligence. 1 
 
 Christoph Maurer, born at Zurich 1558, died 1614. He 
 was the scholar of Tobias Stimmer, and closely followed his 
 style. He also is only known by a small number of plates 
 and woodcuts, the first etched by himself, the second from 
 his designs, which have now become very rare. 2 
 
 Hans Book, known by his diffuse frescoes, inside and out- 
 side the Hotel de Ville at Basle, some of which still survive. 
 He is very mannered in style, but of great energy, as for 
 example his picture of the Calumny of Apelles, in the same 
 Hotel de Ville. [He copied several of Holbein's works]. 
 
 The following masters enjoyed much favour at this period 
 at the Courts of the Duke of Bavaria at Munich, and of the 
 Emperor Rodolph II. at Prague. 
 
 Hans van Achen, born at Cologne [1562], 3 died at Prague 
 1615 ; studied at Cologne in the school of the painter Jerrigh. 
 On his return from Italy [in 1588] he was successively 
 employed at both the above-mentioned courts. His best 
 pictures are those in which we trace the study of Tintoretto, 
 viz., his Bathsheba bathing, in the Vienna Gallery; his least 
 attractive are those in which he took his friend Bartholomew 
 Spranger for his model, namely, his Bacchus with Venus, his 
 Jupiter and Antiope, in the same gallery. Specimens of his 
 ecclesiastical pictures are in the church of the Jesuits and 
 in the church of Our Lady at Munich. 
 
 Joseph Heinz, born probably at Berne. According to 
 Van Mander he was a scholar of Hans van Achen, and one 
 of the favourite painters of Rodolph II. He died in Prague, 
 1609. His pictures are occasionally distinguished by a cold 
 sumptuousness ; as for example his Venus and Adonis, in the 
 Vienna Gallery ; also by a feeling for elegance of form, as 
 
 1 Bartsch, vol. ix. p. 351. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 381. 
 
 3 [See 0. Mundler and W. Schmidt in Meyer's Kiinst Lexikon, art.,' 
 A chen. ] 
 
272 
 
 SOUTH-GERMANS. . Book IV, 
 
 in his Diana and Actaeon, in the same gallery. His colour- 
 ing is gaudy and untruthful, but his touch melting and 
 masterly. His most unattractive works are those taken 
 from Scripture, as seen in the Crucifixion at Vienna. He 
 appears to most advantage in his portraits, namely, in that 
 of the Emperor Kodolph II., also at Vienna. 
 
 Christopher Schwartz, born at Ingolstadt, in Bavaria 
 [about 1550], died 1597. He formed himself in Venice, 
 more especially after the works of Tintoretto, and afterwards 
 became court painter at Munich. His forms are pleasing 
 and his attitudes graceful, though often mannered. His 
 heads are insipid, and his colouring either gaudy and crude 
 or too faint. He also decorated the exteriors of houses with 
 frescoes. The most notable of his pictures are a Virgin and 
 Child in glory, in the Munich Gallery, No. 114. Also a 
 family portrait, No. 122, in which Tintoretto is his obvious 
 model. 
 
 Johann Rothenhammer, born at Munich 1564, died at 
 Augsburg 1623. He was scholar of Hans Donnauer, and 
 visited Italy, where he also studied Tintoretto. He painted 
 a number of large pictures, but is chiefly known by those on 
 a smaller scale, in which he collaborated alternately with 
 Jan Breughel and Paul Bril ; he executing the department 
 of mythology or allegory, they that of landscape. In his 
 earlier pictures — such as his Death of Adonis, in the Louvre, 
 No. 424 — he approaches Tintoretto in force, warmth, and 
 clearness. His forms also partake of the same elegant 
 character ; unfortunately he adopted the Venetian master's 
 arbitrary and confused arrangement of lines. His later 
 pictures — for example, his Virgin in Glory, in the Munich 
 Gallery, No. Ill — have a disagreeable effect, from the brick- 
 red tones of the flesh and the greenish shadows. In his 
 numerous small pictures he is known by the tenderly-fused 
 character of his execution. Plenty of this class are found in 
 all gallerifes. 
 
 By far the most attractive painter whom Germany dis- 
 plays at this unsatisfactory period of the art is Adam 
 Elzheimer, born at Frankfort on the Maine 1578, 1 died at 
 
 1 Sandrart, vol. i. p 294, and Schnaase's 'Niederlandische,Briefe,' p. 26. 
 
Chap. II. ELZHEIMER. 273 
 
 Rome 1620. He early showed his artistic talents, and was 
 placed under the Frankfort master, Philip Uffenbach, after 
 which he travelled through Germany to Rome, where he 
 married an Italian. He had a profound and refined feeling 
 for nature, further developed by ceaseless study, and admir- 
 able technical qualities, which told to great advantage in his 
 uniformly small pictures. His historical works, scriptural 
 or mythological, are of decidedly realistic character, well 
 arranged and drawn, occasionally approaching Rembrandt 
 in warmth of tone, and executed throughout in a fine body 
 of colour, and with the utmost attention to detail. Effects 
 of torch and candle light were also his favourite study. 
 Although well paid for his pictures, the time he devoted to 
 them was so considerable that, having a numerous family, 
 he was thrown into prison for debt, and died in bitter 
 poverty. His most admirable works are his landscapes, 
 which have a miniature-like character, as if we looked on 
 nature through a diminishing glass. In the small space 
 which they occupy he gives a wide expanse of diversified 
 scenery, illuminated by broken gleams of light — woods in 
 deep shadow, water with its clear bright surface, and the 
 graceful alternations of mountain and valley ; the eye, which 
 at a little distance enjoys the harmony of this little world, 
 loses nothing when it approaches to view more closely the 
 minutest details of execution, or the spirited indication of 
 the different objects. There is no want of pleasing figures 
 subordinate to the landscape. Here we have a Holy Family 
 journeying through a still, moonlight landscape — there a 
 thick forest, in which John the Baptist preaches to the 
 assembled people — now a night-piece, with iEneas leading 
 his followers from the burning city. Owing to his laborious 
 mode of operation he left but a small number of pictures, 
 which arc now exceedingly rare. Some of them have also 
 lost their original charm by the darkening of the colours. 
 His best examples known to me are the following. A 
 Flight into Egypt, in Devonshire House. Tobit and the 
 Angel, in the collection of the late Hon ble . Edmund Phipps, a 
 picture engraved by the Chevalier Goudt ; Cupid and 
 Psyche, in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge; a Venus, 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 SOUTH GERMANS. 
 
 Book IV. 
 
 in the Mesman Collection at Cambridge ; St. Paul on the 
 Island of Melita, at Corsham Court ; the Delivery of Peter 
 from Prison, at Broom Hall ; the Flight into Egypt, and the 
 Good Samaritan, in the Louvre, Nos. 159 and 160 ; Paul 
 and Barnabas at Lystra, and Christ with the Disciples at 
 Emmaus, in the Stadel Institute at Frankfort ; the Flight 
 into Egypt, engraved by the Chevalier Goudt, in the Munich 
 Gallery ; a Kepose in Egypt, and another Flight into Egypt, 
 in the Vienna Gallery ; and the Triumph of Psyche, in the 
 Uffizi at Florence. 1 
 
 1 This picture is falsely called by the name of Paul Bril. On the 
 other hand, the ten pictures there ascribed to Elzheimer are the work 
 of Poelemberg. 
 
 A 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
 
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