A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools

"The conjecture that Andrea Previtali is identical with Andrea Cordelle Agii seems to me," says Morelli, "untenable. Both were fellow-scholars in the workshop of Giovanni Bellini, and it is undeniable that in some of their works they closely resemble each other; but this may be explained by the fact that the one probably copied the cartoons or even the pictures of the other. The few signed works which I have met with by Cordelle Agii appear to me, however, to be more refined and lifelike in expression, and his landscapes are warmer and less vividly green in tone, than those of Previtali" (Roman Galleries, p. 237 n.). As a picture by Previtali hangs close by (No. 695), the reader is in a position to consider the justness of the critic's remarks for himself.

1410. VIRGIN AND CHILD

Borgognone (Lombard: about 1455-1523). See 298.

The nimbus which surrounds the Virgin's head is inscribed in gold with the words AVE. MARIA. GRATIA. PLENA. DOM. The background is interesting. On the right is no doubt a faithful view of part of the old façade of the Certosa of Pavia before it was completed. On the left are other buildings which appear to be part of a convent, with Carthusian friars walking in front. This picture is earlier in date than Borgognone's "Two St. Catherines" (298); it is "more rigid in style and a capital example of the painter's less ambitious work" (Catalogue of the Burlington Fine Arts Club's Exhibition, 1898, p. xxxvii.).

1411. A DIPTYCH

Ercole Roberti de' Grandi (Ferrarese: 1450-1496). See 1127.

On the left the Adoration of the Shepherds. There is much natural charm in the figure of the Virgin bending over the manger. On the right the dead figure of Christ, with St. Jerome and St. Francis in the middle distance receiving the stigmata. Very delicately finished.

1412. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH ST. JOHN

Filippino Lippi (Florentine: 1457-1504). See 293. See also (p. xxi)

Formerly ascribed to Botticelli.249 Notice the beautifully painted white eglantine and jasmine blossoms in the vase on the balcony. The youthful St. John is an attractive figure, very characteristic of this group of painters.

1415. PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Gerard Dou (Dutch; 1613-1675). See 192.

"An old inscription on the back of the panel states that this picture is a portrait of Anna Maria van Schurmann; but it will be observed that the portrait by Jan Lievens (1095), supposed to represent the same lady, differs in the colour of the hair, and has other points of variation, which preclude the possibility of both having been painted from the same person" (Official Catalogue).

1416. VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS

Filippo Mazzola (Parmese: died 1505).

The Mazzola family affords one of the many instances in the history of painting of artistic heredity. Filippo's two brothers were also painters, and his son was the more famous Parmigiano (see under 33). The Mazzoli were much employed in Parma, but their work seldom rose above mediocrity. By Filippo – called delle erbette from the plants which he was fond of introducing into his pictures – there are religious-subject pictures to be seen at Parma. But he is best known for his portraits, in which the influence of Antonello da Messina is to be traced (see Morelli's German Galleries, p. 418). An excellent one in the Brera bears his signature.

This picture is in its original frame, of early cinque-cento pattern, richly carved, gilt, and painted. A somewhat similar frame has recently been given to the "Vision of St. Eustace" (1436).

1417. CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN

Andrea Mantegna (Paduan: 1431-1506). See 274.

A celebrated picture (painted in 1459 for Giacomo Marcello, Podestà of Padua), and a specially interesting acquisition to our Gallery – first, as belonging to an earlier period of the master than his other important works here; and secondly, for its strong family likeness to the picture of the same subject by his brother-in-law, Giovanni Bellini, which, hangs in an adjoining room (No. 726). At the time when these pictures were painted Giovanni and Andrea were working at Padua under the influence of Giovanni's father, Jacopo Bellini (Vasari has some family gossip on this subject, ii. 265); and the original suggestion for the treatment of the subject in both pictures appears in Jacopo's sketch-book, now in the British Museum. A prominent object in the distance (an Italian version of Jerusalem) is a little gilt equestrian statue, which was evidently suggested by Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata, still to be seen at Padua. The foreshortening of the apostles suggests the work of Uccello (see 583), who is known to have painted in that city. The picture has been described as "a marvellous combination of the fantastic and the realistic"; note for curious details the rabbits and storks, and the cormorant on the withered tree. This picture is more quaint than Bellini's; but Bellini's is the more original. "Mantegna's," says Mr. Monkhouse, "exhibits only a strong personal treatment of old conventions: Bellini's proclaims the dawn of a new world of art. What was old in the pictures – the Christ kneeling on a little hill, with the sleepy apostles in foreshortened attitudes in the foreground, the angelic vision on a cloud, and the suggestion of a neighbouring city – are common to both pictures. What was new – the fresh observation of nature for its own sake – is found only in Bellini's. We see this in the smouldering clouds of sunset, the light thrown on the distant buildings, the half-shade on the cliffs, the bringing-out of the figures into something like the real open, sun-illumined air, the attempt at solution of the problem of the tone of a face and figure relieved right against the sky" (In the National Gallery, 1895, p. 192).

1417a. ILLUMINATED INITIAL LETTER

The letter D: enclosed within it is painted "The Agony in the Garden," copied from the preceding picture by Mantegna. The picture and this letter were both in the collection of Lord Northbrook.

1418. ST. JEROME IN HIS STUDY

Antonello da Messina (Venetian: 1444-1493).

A celebrated little picture, with a long critical history, for as early as 1529 the writer known as the "anonimo of Morelli" mentions it as being variously attributed to Van Eyck, to Memlinc, and to Antonello, while he himself ascribed it tentatively to "Jacometto" (Jacopo de' Barbari). The influence of the Flemish School is obvious, says Sir Edward Poynter, "in the Gothic character of the architecture, the general arrangement of the picture, and the finish of the details. But the head of the saint has an energy of character highly characteristic of Antonello, and the buildings in the glimpse of landscape seen through the window on the left are distinctly Italian in character" (The National Gallery, i. 14). It is interesting to compare this picture with the version of the same subject commonly ascribed to Bellini (694). Observe, here, "the lion walking along the cloister, holding up a suffering paw, and the puss curled up on a platform at the saint's feet. Evidently this St. Jerome was a lover of animals, and, like Canon Liddon, more especially of cats" ("The Beasts of the National Gallery," by Sophia Beale, in Good Words, July 1895).

1419. THE LEGEND OF ST. GILES

Unknown (Flemish School: 15th Century). See also (p. xxi)

"St. Giles, patron saint of Edinburgh, and of woods, cripples, lepers, and beggars, was an Athenian prince, revered for his miraculous gifts. Having healed a sick man whom he found in a church by laying his cloak over him, and fearing danger to his soul from the fame which this event obtained him, he withdrew to a solitary cave, where he lived as a hermit, nourished only by wild herbs and the milk of a doe which had followed him. One day the King of France, hunting near this retreat, shot the doe, and, pursuing it, came upon the aged hermit holding in his arms the doe, which was pierced by the arrow through his hand. The King, seeing he was a man of God, begged forgiveness, and wished to persuade St. Giles to return with him; but he refused to quit his solitude, and remained in the cave till his death" (Saints and their Symbols, by E. A. G., 1881, p. 95).

Here we see the saint, clad in hermit's robes, protecting the doe, which has fled from the hunting party towards him; his right hand is transfixed by an arrow, intended for the animal. The King kneels to implore forgiveness. He is attended by a companion, who is supposed to represent the painter of the picture. Notice the irises in the foreground, and to the right a plant of mullein, finished with great delicacy. "Remarkable as an example of extraordinary finish and enamel-like splendour of colour. Remarkable also for the flood of even, gay daylight diffused over it, such as makes us think of the more moderate among recent plein air transcripts from nature. But the painter shows more of that intense humanity, of that command over delicate shades of character and facial expression which are the highest characteristic of the great Netherlandish masters of his time" (Claude Phillips, in National Review, Dec. 1894).

1420. A VIEW IN HAARLEM

Gerrit Berck-Heyde (Dutch: 1638-1698).

Gerrit, and his elder brother, Job, were the sons of a butcher at Haarlem. Gerrit was very skilful in lineal perspective, and reproduced with remarkable fidelity the most complicated architectural views. The brothers worked together a great deal, and Job often painted the figures in Gerrit's pictures. "The pictures of both brothers are remarkable for a broad style of painting, for brilliant sunlight, and careful, but not over elaborate, drawing of details, and the figures are invariably well grouped" (Official Catalogue).

A view of the painter's favourite subject, the market-place of Haarlem. The picture is signed, and dated 1674.

1421. A TERRACE SCENE

Jan Steen (Dutch: 1626-1679). See 856.

1422. THE HOLY FAMILY

Eustache Le Sueur (French: 1616-1655)

Le Sueur, sometimes styled "the French Raphael," was the son of a wood-carver at Paris, and became one of the original members of the French Academy. His works, in spite of the early age at which he died, are very numerous. He was assisted in the production of them by three brothers and his brothers-in-law. Several of his most important pictures are to be seen at the Louvre.

This little picture is a good example of the painter's characteristics – with its somewhat crude colour, but considerable gracefulness, especially in the figure of the Virgin.

1423. PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Jan A. Ravesteijn (Dutch: 1572-1657).

This artist was born at the Hague, where his most important works are to be found. He was admitted into the Painters' Guild there in 1598. He was a pupil of Frans Hals, and was much employed in painting the large groups of portraits – of archers, magistrates, etc. – which were in vogue at the time. Ravesteijn's groups are somewhat more formal than those of Rembrandt, Hals, and Van der Helst, but are full of life and character. He knew how to give dignity to his sitters, and his pictures are inferior only to those of the great masters just mentioned.

1424. TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL

Adam Elsheimer (German: 1578-1620). See 1014.

A favourite subject with this painter. It was etched in 1613 by Count Gondt, who was the painter's chief benefactor; he purchased some of Elsheimer's choicest pictures, and engraved seven of them. The copper-plate of this subject fell into the hands of Rembrandt, and was partly erased and altered by him into another subject.

1425. PORTRAIT GROUP

Le Nain (French: 1588-1648).

There were three brothers of this name, the sons of a sergeant at Laon, who all worked together as painters in Paris, and became members of the Academy in 1648, in which year two of them died. Mathieu painted historical subjects; he lived till 1677. The very interesting and pleasing pictures, such as the present one, most generally known as the works of Le Nain, were probably painted by the other brothers – Louis and Antoine – conjointly. Antoine was born in 1588; Louis in 1593. Their works consist of familiar objects and incidents, such as the "Peasants" and the "Blacksmith's Forge" in the Louvre; they have a direct air of truth and realism, which is very remarkable in contrast to the artificial taste by which other French painters of the same period were inspired. Another work by the brothers may be seen at Dulwich.

1427. THE DEAD CHRIST: A PIETÀ

Hans Baldung (German-Swabian: 1476-1545). See 245.

Signed and dated "Hans Baldung, 1512." The Virgin's attitude is expressive of intense sorrow. "Her mouth is drawn convulsively down in the manner usual in the pictures of Burgkmair and the school and epoch to which he and Baldung belonged. On our right is St. John. Behind the group is Joseph of Arimathea. Behind, God the Father appears, robed in blue under a red mantle, and holding across His knees the drooping corpse of the Redeemer. Clouds form the background, and among them the Holy Ghost is hovering. The heads of all the figures bear plain nimbi of metallic gold. The draperies, except the loin-cloth of Christ, are somewhat tortured in the manner of the German painters of the fifteenth century. On the front of the balcony in which they are placed are depicted the donor and his family; in one corner is their escutcheon, bearing three money bags and a broad bar" (Athenæum, Jan. 11, 1895).

1429. THE ROTUNDA AT RANELAGH

Canaletto (Venetian: 1697-1768). See 127.

The interior of the Rotunda in Ranelagh Gardens (at Chelsea), which were opened as a rival to Vauxhall in 1742, and at once became the rage. "Ranelagh has totally beat Vauxhall," wrote Walpole in 1744; "nobody goes anywhere else." "When I first entered Ranelagh," said Dr. Johnson, "it gave me an expansion and gay sensation in my mind such as I never experienced anywhere else." Smollett describes it in his novels as an "enchanted palace." "Ranelagh," said Rogers ("Table-Talk"), "was a very pleasant place of amusement. There persons of inferior rank mingled with the highest nobility of Britain. All was so orderly and still that you could hear the whisking sound of the ladies' trains as the immense assembly walked round and round the room. If you chose, you might have tea, which was served up in the neatest equipage possible." The dining boxes under the arcade on the ground level are shown in the picture, as well as the orchestra, the musicians, and the numerous gaily-dressed promenaders. On the back of the original canvas was an inscription by the artist, recording that the picture was painted in London in 1754.

1430. ARCHITECTURAL SUBJECT WITH FIGURES

Domenico Beccafumi (Sienese: 1486-1551).

Of this painter there is a very interesting account in Vasari. His surname was adopted from his patron, on whose estate Domenico's father was a labourer. Like Giotto, Domenico was observed one day drawing on the ground, while minding his father's sheep, and his master sent him to school and made an artist of him. His style was first formed on that of Perugino, whose pictures in Siena he copied. In 1510 he went to Rome to study the works of Michael Angelo and Raphael; but returning to Siena in 1512, he became a close imitator of Bazzi (1144), who had recently settled in the city. Unlike Bazzi, Domenico was (adds Vasari) "most orderly and well conducted, lived as it beseemed a Christian to do, and passed the greater part of his time alone." "It will nevertheless sometimes happen," adds Vasari, "that such as are called good fellows and merry companions are more sought after than are the virtuous and upright." In the matter of artistic commissions, however, Beccafumi was well employed, in painting both altar-pieces for churches and frescoes of classical subjects for the houses of wealthy citizens. Some of the latter still remain in situ, while the Accademia contains Beccafumi's best works in the other sort. It was he who executed the mosaics of light and dark marbles which form the pavement of the choir of the Duomo. He also practised sculpture and did eight angels in bronze for the Duomo. He hastened his death, says Vasari, "by labouring day and night at his castings of metal which he would also finish and polish himself, working entirely alone, and refusing to accept any assistance whatever." He occupied his leisure time in cultivating a small property outside the city gates. He could not work, he told Vasari, removed from the air of Siena.

A picture corresponding in general character to several described by Vasari. It is probably intended as a fantastic treatment of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, or of Esther before Ahasuerus.

1431. THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

Ascribed to Perugino (Umbrian: 1446-1523). See 288.

Around this little picture of the Umbrian School, bought by Sir Edward Poynter at Rome in 1894, a fierce battle of the critics has raged. Sir Edward's own description may first be cited: – "A perfectly genuine work by a scholar of Perugino, probably done in his studio, and, in my opinion, possibly by the young Raphael. The most characteristic point, besides the beautiful painting of the figure of the Saviour, is the drawing of the hands, which is precisely Raphael's. On the other hand, the heads are not specially Raphaelesque, nor is the colour as pure and transparent as is usual even in his early work; at the same time, such characteristics as do not agree with what we know of his work might possibly be due to its being a youthful performance. The painting of the trees is quite peculiar, and different from the treatment to be found in the works of Perugino, or, indeed, of any work of the school that I had seen. Some two or three years afterwards I saw the predella painting of 'St. John Preaching' by Raphael, belonging to the Marquis of Lansdowne, and was very interested to find in it the same treatment of the leaves of the trees – that is to say, that, instead of the minute and delicate sprays of foliage, so characteristic of Perugino's own work and of, so far as I know, most of his followers, the trees have only a few sprays of large and freely painted leaves." According to many of Sir Edward's critics, the picture is a "detestable little production"; while one of them ascribes it, as a work of the nineteenth century, to Micheli, "a maker of old masters." (See a copious correspondence in the Athenæum and the Times, during March and April, 1907).

1432. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE

Gerard David (Early Flemish: 1460-1523). See 1045.

This picture (formerly ascribed to Hugo van der Goes) was, like No. 1045, painted for the Collegiate Church of St. Donatian at Bruges. Until the end of the last century it adorned the altar of St. Catherine in that church. The details of the picture are carried out with marvellous care and finish, and the whole displays the utmost perfection of execution. The expression of the figures, is, however, hardly so animated or idealised as in No. 1045. But "the Canon's intelligent head is admirably modelled and painted, and the figure of St. Catherine is executed with rare perfection. The jewellery, stuff, and draperies are all rendered with David's usual skill; while the background, with its rich vegetation, vigorously coloured trees, and picturesque buildings, is hardly surpassed by that of any of his other pictures." The scene of the mystical marriage (for the subject, see under 249) is laid in the emblematic walled garden ("a garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse"), surrounded by a vineyard (in which is an angel gathering grapes). On the right of the picture are seated St. Barbara, holding an open book, and St. Mary Magdalene with the vase of precious ointment in her lap. In front of St. Catherine kneels the donor of the picture, Richard de Visch van der Capelle, Canon and Cantor of the Church; he is accompanied by his greyhound, on whose collar is a shield bearing the Canon's arms. Before him, on the floor, lie a breviary of blue velvet and his precentor's staff. The workmanship of this staff is a good instance of the painter's minute precision. The staff is surmounted by a group representing the Holy Trinity adored by a monk and a cardinal. It was painted from a staff presented to the church in 1338, and the picture precisely corresponds to a description of the staff, to be found in an old inventory of the church property (see authorities cited in the Official Catalogue from Mr. Weale's description in the Academy, xiv. p. 391).

The picture was exhibited at Paris in 1881 under the name of Hugo van der Goes, and was sold for 54,100 francs. It ultimately passed into the possession of Mr. Lyne Stephens, by whom in 1895 it was bequeathed to the National Gallery.

1433. PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Unknown (Flemish School: 15th Century).

Notice the transparent starched muslin head-dress which, coming down as low as the eyebrows and covering the ears, yet allows the forehead and ears, and a high cap of gold and white brocade, to be seen through its thin texture.

1434. A BETROTHAL

Velazquez (Spanish: 1599-1660). See 197. See also (p. xxi)

An unfinished picture once in the possession of Sir Edwin Landseer, and presented to the Gallery by Lord Savile, who has given a very interesting surmise of the subject: "It is evidently the representation of a betrothal in a private family, probably that of Velazquez himself. If this surmise be correct, the principal male figure would be Velazquez as a Knight of the Order of Santiago, the red cross of which, though half concealed, is seen on his cloak; the mother presenting her child would be his daughter, the wife of the artist Del Mazo, his pupil and son-in-law, and the girl, their daughter, the grandchild of Velazquez. The foreground is occupied on the right by a half-length figure of the poet Quevedo, with a huge pair of horn spectacles, as he is represented in his portrait by Velazquez at Apsley House, though here he is a much older man. He was a great friend of Velazquez, and in this picture may represent the witness to the betrothal of the artist's grandchild. On the right is a negro, probably Juan Pareja, the favourite slave of Velazquez, who is conveying a basket of fruit to his young mistress. Velazquez himself is waiting, pen in hand, for the 'promesso sposo,' who, though not shown in the picture, may be entering the room by the portière which an attendant is raising; but he is seen by the little bride elect, who waves a salute to him with the flower in her hand. [Contrast, as a pretty little incident, the dog who is running towards the door and barking at the stranger.] It is not surprising that a painting of this unusual character should give rise to doubt as to the correctness of its attribution, and it has been suggested that it is the work of Del Mazo, the pupil of Velazquez; but if that artist had been commissioned to paint the portrait of a knight of Santiago, his sitter would scarcely have been satisfied with the scanty indication of that celebrated order shown in this picture. If, however, as I believe, the knight of Santiago represents Velazquez himself, the half-hidden cross of that order assumes an aspect that may have an important bearing on the questions of the authorship of the picture, the date of the work, and the cause of its being unfinished. Stirling-Maxwell, in his admirable and exhaustive Annals of the Artists of Spain, relates that Philip IV. in 1658 conferred on Velazquez the habit of the Order of Santiago; but it was not for many months later that the artist was invested with its insignia, owing to the formalities required by the Order to prove his pedigree. The King, impatient at this delay, sent for the President of the Order and the documents connected with the case, and having looked at them his Majesty said to the President, 'Place on record that the evidence satisfies me.' The half-concealed red cross of Santiago in the picture was sufficient for Velazquez to show that he was entitled to the Order, but, with the modesty and conscientiousness that distinguished him, he did not design the insignia on his breast, where it is worn, apparently not feeling justified in so doing until after his investiture. This, however, did not occur till November 1659. It is evident, therefore, that the picture must have been painted in 1658, after he had received the habit, but not the insignia, of the Order. That the picture was left unfinished was doubtless due to the onerous duties with which Velazquez was charged by the King in preparing the meeting on the Bidassoa, in 1660, of the French and Spanish Courts, to celebrate the nuptials of Louis XIV. and the Infanta Maria Teresa. These duties doubled the official fatigues and shortened the life of Velazquez, who died shortly after his return to Madrid in August of the same year. There is, therefore, good reason to believe that the picture in the National Gallery is the last ever painted by Velazquez" (letter to the Times, May 11, 1895).