HEIXR1CU. 



MEYERBEER, GIACOMO. 



IK 



bk travels. The abbot desiring to have two grand apartments painted 

 in faeaoo. and having oooeolted another artist, who was very dilatory, 

 eked Meyer for hi* advice a* to the manner in which it should be 

 mated Meyer, after some minutes' consideration, took a long stick, 

 to which be fastmH a piece of charcoal, and immediately began to 

 design, saying, "Here I would have a tree;" which he sketched as 

 ~tAly M poesible ; " in the distance I would have a forest, thus ; 

 hare a fall of water tumbling from great rocks, and so on ; " designing 

 a fast as be spoke, to the a>toni>hmeut of the abbot, who immediately 

 nssgsil him to undertake the work, which he entirely completed in 

 the course of the summer. This adventure spread his reputation 

 throng h all Germany, and from this time he was constantly employed 

 by the prinors and nobility. 



In the Utter part of his life he endeavoured to adopt a manner 

 which should be at once more expeditions and more pleasing ; but 

 these Utter performsnoes are not equal to bis earlier works, which 

 give him a high place among the most eminent landscape painters. 

 He was not skilful in drawing figures. His most esteemed works have 

 gore*) by Roos or Rngeodaa. He died in 1713, at the age of sixty. 



MEYKR, HKIN1UCH, a German designer and painter, and a 

 distinguished writer on art, known in Germany in his life-time as 

 Gotbe-Meyer,' from his close intimacy with the great writer. 

 Meyer ws* born in 1759 at Zurich, where he was for some years the 

 pupil of J. C. Fusaly, the brother of Henry Fuseli, H.A. [FusKLi.] 

 About 1784 be went to Rome, where he made the acquaintance of 

 Gothe. In 1787 be was at Naples, lived there in the same house 

 with Tischbein, and became acquainted also with Herder, then 

 travelling in the suite of Amalia, duchess of Weimar. In 1792 he 

 visited for some time, Weimar, and in 1797 established himself for 

 the remainder of his life there. He became a great favourite with 

 the court at Weimar, was intimate with all the distinguished literary 

 men of the place, and held, from 1807, the office of director of the 

 academy there, and enjoyed the titular rank of H of rath. There he 

 enjoyed constant intercourse with Gothe, and for forty years Meyer 

 was Gothe's consulting and confirming oracle in all opinions on art, 

 and was even the author of many portions, especially of the critical 

 part*, of Gothe'a publications on art, as ' Kunst und Alterthum,' 

 ' Winckclmann und sein Jahrhundert,' ' Propylaen,' ' Farbenlehre,' 4c. 



From 1794 until hi* death in 1832 Meyer was mainly engaged on 

 literary compositions reUting to the history aud theory of art, but 

 cbirfly the history of Greek and Roman art He was the principal 

 editor of the complete edition of the works of Winckelmann, which 

 were published in 8 vols. at Dresden between 1808 and 1820 inclusive, 

 and was the author of the greater part of the numerous notes by 

 which they are illustrated. These notes he afterwards arranged and 

 connected into a consecutive history of Greek art, under the title 

 ' Oeeehicfate der BUdenden Kunste bei den Griechen,' 2 vols. 8vo, 

 Dresden, 1824. A third volume, being the continuation of the history 

 of Greek art in Rome, was edited by Dr. F. W. Riemer, after the 

 death of Meyer, under the title ' Qesehlchte der Bildendeu Kunste bei 

 den Griechrn und Romero,' 1 vol. 8vo, Dresden, 1838. This work, 

 though agreeably written, and containing a good general account of 

 the piuf/ess and the remaining works of ancient art, has failed 

 to satufy those interacted in the subject, and ha* obtained little 

 popular or general Lotice. In the first place it* form is against 

 it: the text and the author's remarks are separated, the Utter 

 being at the end of the volumes. The text i* little more than a 

 ehronolos;ioal catalogue of names and works; and the notes at the 

 end of the volume*, besides being troublesome to refer to, are 

 dfececjwcted with their subject, and do not clear up the obscurities, or 

 reconcile the apparent contradictions of ancient authors. Reflections 

 are rare, and when they occur they an neither profound nor illustra- 

 tive, nor does be in any case indulge in sjstbetical remarks, or attempt 

 to deduce or investigate theories. ' 



other OrrotM work* on the 



The work is also surpassed by 

 subject*, though it is the only special 



work in the language that examines the progress of the two arts of 

 panting and sculpture, througt 



sculpture, throughout their whole course, from the 

 I until the decline of the Roman empire. 

 As a painter Meyer produced little. His works consist chiefly of 

 water-colour and other drawings from antique remains, or from the 

 works of the great Italian painter*. His principal work is an allegory 

 of human life, represented by children, as a painted frieze, in the 

 pslsns at Weimar. 



METER, JAMES, was born on the 7th of January 1491 at Vleter, 

 a village near Bailleul in Klanden, from which place, agreeably to the 

 milGSj of hi* time, he took the name of Baliolanus. After acquiring 

 the knowledge of ancient languages, he came to Paris, and went 

 throochaoouraeof philosophy and theology. Subsequently returning 

 FUstden, he embraced the clerical profession ; and establishing 

 mescf at Yprea, opened a school, which in a abort time acquired 



I. On being appointed incumbent to the living of the 

 of St. Oooatien, he removed bis school to Bruges, aud finally 

 r. Dounced it to accept the curacy of BUnkcnburg, where he died on 

 the 6th of February 1542. His r. maiu* were carried to lirugrs, snd 

 interred at 8c Donatien. His principal work* are <' Flandrioarum 

 Rerun. Deeos,' containing the origin, antiquity, nobility, and genealogy 

 of the counts of Flanders, 4to, Bruges, 1631 ; and ' Chronioon nandrisj, 

 **> anno CLristi 446 usqu* ad annum 1878,' 4to, Nurnberg, 1638 J 



' Chronicle! of Flanders, from the year 445 to the year 1278,' which 

 was continued by his nephew to the year 1479, and published under 

 the title of ' Annales Iteruiu Flandricarum,' fol., Antwerp, 1561. 



MEYERBEER, GIACOMO. shares with Spohr and Rossini the 

 highest rank among living musician* in the art of dramatic compo- 

 sition. But Spohr and Itoisini have finished their career, while 

 Meyerbeer continues to pursue his with unabated energy. He was 

 born at Berlin in 1794, and is of Hebrew descent. His family is 

 wealthy, and well known in the commercial world ; and several of 

 its members have been distinguished in science aud literature. One 

 of his brothers was an eminent utronomer ; and another, who died 

 young, manifested considerable genius as a tragic poet Meyerbeer 

 was a precocious child, and his musical dispositions were encouraged 

 and cultivated by his family. When he was nine yean old he was 

 regarded as a masterly pianist, in a city full of excellent musicians. 

 At ten the instinct of his genius led him to composition, and, guided 

 by no rules but such as he practically deduced from the music he was 

 accustomed to hear and execute, he produced many songs and pieces 

 for the pianoforte which surprised his friends by their originality and 

 spirit. He was placed under the tuition of a person named Weber, a 

 teacher of repute, who had been a pupil of the celebrated AbW Vogler, 

 the great musical instructor of that day. But Weber seems to have 

 possessed limited knowledge and little judgment. He encouraged his 

 aspiring young scholar to proceed too rapidly, and to produce elaborate 

 exercises in the profoundeet branches of counterpoint, without being 

 able to discern and correct their faults. Vain of his pupil's progress, 

 he sent to bis own master, Vogler, one of Meyerbeer's attempts at 

 fugue-writing as a wonderful proof of his attainment*. But the old 

 abbe" sent it back, drily pointing out that it was a string of blunders. 

 The young student saw at once that this would not do, and resolved 

 of his own accord to put himself under the care of Vogler himself. 

 His family accordingly allowed him to go to Darmstadt, and take up 

 his abode with Vogler, who had established a renowned school of 

 composition in that city. He was then fifteen. At that school the 

 author of the ' Freisohiitz' was his fellow-student, and the warm 

 friendship then begun continued during Weber's life. Under tLo 

 Abbd Vogler's able instructions Meyerbeer was initiated in the 

 mysteries of harmony and counterpoint, and composed a great quantity 

 of learned and elaborate sacred music in the severe scholastic style of 

 his master. All those things are lost, as the composer, when his ideas 

 became more matured, did not care to preserve them. One of them 

 however did him service : it was an oratorio bearing the grandiloquent 

 title of ' God and Nature,' which was performed in the presence of 

 the grand duke, and obtained for the author the distinction of being 

 appointed composer to the court 



When Meyerbeer was eighteen, his firat dramatic piece, entitled 

 ' Jephtha's Daughter,' was performed at Munich. Though written for 

 the stage, it was more of an oratorio than an opera, not only from its 

 tacred subject, but from its style, acquired under the lessons of his 

 learned preceptor, full of contrapuntal skill, with little attention to 

 the attractions of melody. It is not surprising therelore that it did 

 not please the Bavarian public. DiaaatUtied with his own progress, 

 Meyerbeer repaired to Vienna, where he applied himself earnestly to 

 the study and practice of the pianoforte, that being the brunch of his 

 art in which he had hitherto been most successful. In this pursuit 

 his success continued ; and Moscheles, himself at that time a young 

 and rising pianist in Vienna, has said that, had Meyerbeer persevered, 

 he would have been one of the greatest performers of the age. Happily 

 for music, the bent of bis genius drew him back to the path of dramatic 

 composition, which ever since he has steadily pursued. He was em- 

 ployed to compose an opera for the court theatre, and produced 

 ' Alcimelek, or the Two Caliphs ;' but the lessons of the Abud Vogler 

 stuck by him, and the Austrian public, familiar with the music of 

 the Italian school, did not relish the learned stiffness of his style. 

 ' Alcimelek ' failed, and was speedily forgotten. Meyerbeer now saw 

 that he was not in the right road, and, wisely profiting by his expe- 

 rience, determined to seek for melody at it* fountain-head by travelling 

 into Italy, for centuries pre-eminently the laud of song, and, even iu 

 her present decay, not wholly deprived of her pre-eminence. At that 

 time Rossini had just appeared, and all Italy was beginning to ring 

 with his first great opera, ' Tanoredi.' At Venice, Meyerbeer heard it 

 for the first time. He was charmed with music so graceful, so flowing, 

 and so free from the cumbrous fetters of the school.*. From that time 

 his own style was changed. He learned the great truth that melody 

 is the soul of music of vocal and dramatic music especially. But he 

 did not on that account throw away the fruits of his German studies. 

 His acute judgment perceived that, though the Italian school excelled 

 all others in the drawing of the art though in grace aud beauty of 

 form it was incomparable yet that it* colouring was pale and feeble, 

 and lacked the richn.ss and variety derived from the resources of 

 harmoi y. He did what Mozart had doue before him resolve^! to 

 make Italian melody the prominent feature of his music, strength- 

 ening and embellishing it by all the means of harmonious combination. 

 With this object in view he produced his earliest successful works 

 ' Rouiilda e Coatanza,' performed at Padua in 1818 ; ' Seuiiraini.ie ' at 

 Turin in 1819; and < Emma di Resburgo' at Venice in 1820. This 

 hut opera, though it is now forgotten, as well as those which preceded 

 it, laid the foundation of the composer's reputation. It was not only 



