1901.] on Enamels. 517 



niches, pot-bellied Pompadour furniture, and scrolls of fame with 

 nothing inscribed upon them. 



Unfortunately for France, the Eenaissance, instead of being 

 allowed to exercise a gradual influence, was introduced suddenly, and 

 in its worst form by Francis I. If he had only patronised Leonardo 

 da Yiuci and Beuvenuto Cellini, nothing but good would have re- 

 sulted. As it was, architecture in his time kept clear of the worst 

 Kenaissauce influence ; but, unfortunately for painting, on his release 

 from captivity, he persuaded Rosso and Primaticcio, two pupils of the 

 school of Giulio Romano, to superintend the decoration of Fontaine- 

 bleau. Both, especially Rosso, were men of more than mere talent ; 

 but they brought with them the whole paraphernalia of faded classic 

 allegory. In consequence, Dido and iEneas, Diana and Actaeon, 

 Venus, Hebe, and the kindred tribe of hackneyed goddesses, sprawled 

 upon clouds, over wall and ceiling, in France for three hundred years. 

 In 1764, we find Cochin representing the Goddess of Medicine in- 

 terfering to prevent the Fates from severing the thread of life of 

 Madame de Pompadour. They are all upon clouds with Music, Paint- 

 ing and Sculpture, the arts which Madame de Pompadour patronised 

 and did so much to degrade, scattered about in the smoke as if shot 

 out of a volcano. Or again, we have Louis XV. as Apollo, dispelling 

 the mists of infidelity and ignorance. The movement only ended 

 with the introduction of the modern romantic schools. 



The most remarkable of the enamellers who adopted the new 

 style was Leonard Limousin, that is to say, " Leonard the Limousin," 

 possibly so called to distinguish him from Leonard Penicaud, or from 

 Leonard Tirny, a distinguished engraver of that epoch. Leonard 

 possessed real talent, and in order to retain his services Francis I. 

 gave him the post of one of his valets, and assigned him a small 

 salary. He worked in every conceivable way. Sometimes he put 

 transparent ground on the copper, sometimes opaque. He rarely 

 used a black ground, except for portraits, and the black outlines in 

 his enamels are usually painted with a brush. Like his predecessors, 

 he had a limited number of colours. In the high lights, instead of 

 putting white grisaille work under the colour, he put it upon the top, 

 which gives a chalky appearance. One is bound to admire many 

 points in his drawing, and, considered simply as an artist, he was the 

 greatest enameller of his day. But his work is often very bad in 

 colour, and frequently exhibits the absurdities and trivialities of the 

 Italian school without its merits. Perhaps one of the reasons why 

 his enamels appear tedious is the constant recurrence of muscular 

 Roman centurions in yellow and blue, with helmets, cuirasses, tunics, 

 bare legs, and sandals. He also caught some of the worst tricks of 

 posing and posturing, and impossible undulations of the body, which 

 distinguish the Italian decline. 



There is, however, one department in which he easily occupies by 

 far the highest position — namely, portraiture. His portraits were 

 painted from drawings or pictures of excellent character. These he 



