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NATIONAL GALLERY. 



NATIONAL GALLERY. 



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interest and admiration. At the head of them was the masterpiece of 

 Sebastian del Piombo, one of the pictures placed by common consent, 

 among the very finest works of the best age of painting ; and one in 

 which is recognised a combination of the art of the painter whose name 

 it bears, and of the greater hand of Michelangelo. By Sebastian's 

 rival, Raffaelle, there was the noble portrait of Julius II. Of Titian, 

 Correggio, and the Carracci, there were also examples, though of inferior 

 value. The painters of the Low Countries were well represented by 

 the ' Rape of the Sabine Women,' by Rubens ; by Rembrandt's ' Woman 

 taken in Adultery,' and ' Adoration of the Shepherds ; ' and by Van- 

 dyek's St. Ambrose and the Emperor Theodosius ; ' while of the Italo- 

 French school there were a very characteristic ' Bacchanalian Scene,' 

 by Nicolas Poussin ; a couple of landscapes by Gaspar Poussin ; and no 

 less than four landscapes by the prince of landscape-painters, Claude 

 Lorraine, two of them being of large size and great excellence. The 

 nine English pictures consisted of Hogarth's inimitable portrait of him- 

 self, and his admirable series entitled ' Marriage a la Mode ; ' Reynolds's 

 masculine portrait of Lord Heathfield, the Defender of Gibraltar ; 

 and Wilkie's brilliant ' Village Festival.' The gift of Sir George 

 Beaumont was a worthy pendant to the Angerstein purchase. It con- 

 sisted of sixteen pictures, of cabinet size, but for the most part of 

 excellent quality. Himself a zealous (amateun landscape painter, it 

 was, as might be expected, in landscape that the Beaumont collection 

 was richest, there being in it four small landscapes by Claude, one at 

 least of surpassing beauty ; others by N. Poussin ; by Both (a capital 

 example of his manner) ; by Rubens (the famous Balbi landscape, and, 

 unlike most of Sir George Beaumont's pictures, of large size) ; by 

 Canaletto; and by our own \Vi!son the ' Niobe,' and the ' Villa of 

 Maecenas.' Among the other works was Wilkie's ' Blind Fiddler.' 

 About the same time the British Institution presented to the nation 

 the ' St. Nicholas/ of Paolo Veronese ; the ' Vision of St. Jerome/ by 

 Parmigiano ; and West's ' Healing the Sick.' Mr. Zachary added a 

 ' Spanish Boy/ by Murillo ; and the Rev. W. Long the ' Banished Lord' 

 of Sir Joshua Keynolds ; whilst the government purchased for 3,80(M., 

 a ' Holy Family/ by Correggio ; and for 9,000/., a ' Bacchanalian Dance/ 

 by N. Poussin ; ' Christ appearing to Peter/ by Annibale Carracci ; 

 and Titian's fine joyous ' Bacchus and Ariadne.' 



Thus, then, the National Gallery was fairly launched. Its progress 

 however, was for a time very slow. Had it not been for bequests and 

 presentations, it would not, indeed, have made any progress at all, no 

 picture of any kind having been purchased between 1826 and 1834, 

 when the Marquis of Londonderry's two superb Correggios (the ' Ecce 

 Homo/ and ' Mercury instructing Cupid/) were bought for 11.500/. 

 Before this, however, three or four valuable English pictures had been 

 presented to the gallery (including the ' Holy Family/ of Reynolds, 

 and the ' Market Cart/ of Gainsborough, the gift of the British Insti- 

 tution). Another fine work was Rubens' splendid ' Peace and War/ 

 the gift of the Marquis of Stafford. But the most important addition 

 was the noble bequest of the Rev. W. Holwell Carr in 1831, of no less 

 than 35 pictures, all but one by the old masters, some of them being 

 of a high class. For the next ten or twelve years bequests fell in 

 rather rapidly, perhaps owing somewhat to the interest aroused by the 

 building of the new National Gallery, which was commenced in 1832, 

 and opened to the public in 1838. In 1837 the collection received an 

 augmentation of 17 pictures, bequeathed by Lieut. -Colonel Ollney, 

 mostly of small size, but of a class attractive to ordinary visitors ; in 

 1838 it received 15 pictures, chiefly of the Dutch and Flemish schools, 

 left by Lord Farnborough; and in 1846, 14 left by Mr. R. Simmons. 

 The chief subsequent bequests, besides the two landscapes by Turner, 

 left on condition that they should be placed in juxtaposition with two 

 of the finest Claudes in the gallery, and the magnificent series of 

 pictures, drawings, and sketches, which the great painter desired 

 should form a separate collection, have been eight pictures bequeathed 

 by Lord Colborne in 1854 ; three (a Giorgione, a Titian, and a Guido) 

 bequeathed by the poet Rogers in 1857 ; and nineteen modern pictures 

 bequeathed by Mr. Jacob Bell. The presentations during the same 

 period have been chiefly of single pictures, and few of them have been 

 of any remarkable value, with the exception of the collection of one 

 hundred and fifty-seven pictures by English painters, the munificent 

 gift of Mr. Robert A r ernon. 



Whilst, however, the vast importance of these bequests and gifts is 

 fully acknowledged, it must be felt that it is upon the purchases that 

 suoti an institution must, mainly depend for the maintenance of a 

 character worthy of the nation. Up to the time to which we have 

 traced the purchases it will have been noticed that they were irregular, 

 fitful, unsystematic. The principle adopted, as far as any principle 

 was adopted, seems to have been to purchase any obtainable good 

 paintings by the great matters of the best periods of the art in Italy 

 and the Netherlands, if the prices were not too high, and there were 

 any money avail .ble for the purpose. Thus in 1837 three pictures 

 were purchased for 90301. (the ' Holy Family.' of Murillo ; the ' Brazen 

 Serpent/ of Rubens ; and the ' Mercury and the Woodman/ of Sal- 

 vator Rosa); in 1838, none; in 1839, for 7350/. three (one of them 

 being the exquisite 'St. Catharine/ of Raffaelle; the others, 'Holy 

 Families/ by Oarofalo and Mazzolini) : in 1840, two; in 1841, three 

 for l-',l)i>l (two by Francia, and one by Pietro Perugino) : in 1842 and 

 1843, one each ('Portraits' by John Van Eyck of himself and wife 

 (630/.), and an 'Apotheosis,' by Rubens); in 1844, sii (including 



ABTS ASD SCI. BIV. VOL. V. 



Rubens's 'Judgment of Paris/ for whiih 4200Z. was paid); in 1845, 

 two ; in 1846, two (one of them the ' toar Hunt/ by Velazquez, for 

 220W.) ; and in 1847, one (Raffaelle's beautiful little allegory, ' The 

 Vision of a Knight/ which was obtained for 10501.). There then 

 occurred an interval of three years without a purchase, partly owing, 

 no doubt, to the disturbed state of political affairs dur'ng at least a 

 portion of the period, but also to the discussions which had arisen 

 respecting the general management of the gallery. In 1851 two 

 pictures were bought (a ' Portrait of Rembrandt/ by himself, for 

 43(M., and a ' Portrait of a Man/ by Vardyck, for 365Z). In 1852. the 

 only picture purchased was Titian's ' Tribute Money/ at a cost of 

 26042. In 1853 two Spanish pictures were purchased from the col- 

 lection of Louis Philippe a ' Franciscan Monk/ by Zurbarau, for 

 265/. ; and 'The Adoration of the Shepherds/ by Velasquez, for 

 20501 ; together with an ' Infant Christ,' of the school of BeUiui, 

 bought of Mr Woodward for 500 guineas. 



Up to this time the pictures purchased had continued to be almost 

 exclusively such works of the painters commonly spoken of as the 

 great masters, as were brought under the notice of the Trustees, and 

 deemed by them suitable for the gallery. But in 1853 a new system 

 was inaugurated. The inquiries instituted by the Commissioners of 

 the Fine Arts, and the growing interest taken in all matters connected 

 with early art, called forth a strong feeling in favour of the formation 

 of a collection of early pictures, and the re-arrangement of the National 

 Gallery on a chronological and historical basis. This view was adopted 

 by a Select Committee of the House of Commons on the National 

 Gallery, Ia53, who embodied their views in a Report, the concluding 

 passage of which recommended that " the funds appropriated to the 

 enlargement of the collection should be expended with a view, not 

 merely of exhibiting to the public beautiful works of art, but of in- 

 structing the public in the history of that art, :md of the age in which, 

 and the men by whom, these works were produced." 



Effect was at once, to a certain extent, given to these views by the 

 purchase, in 1854, of the collection of 64 early German works (but of 

 which only 17 were retained for the Gallery, 10 being sent to the 

 Dublin Gallery, and 37 sold by auction) belonging to Herr Kriiger of 

 Minden, and of some specimens of San Severino Filippo Lippi, and 

 other early Italian masters. But it was formally " embodied, leaving a 

 due latitude to the trustees and directors, in the Treasury Minute 

 dated 27th March, 1855, reconstituting the establishment of the National 

 Gallery." (Report, 1858.) 



By this reconstitution, whilst the Trustees were retained as the 

 nonvnal superintending body, a superior salaried officer was appointed 

 under the title of Director, to whom the selection and purchase of 

 pictures for the gallery were intrusted, and on whom, in the \vords of 

 the minute, was fixed " the final responsibility in all cases in which any 

 difference of opinion may exist " Another new office created by the 

 Treasury Minute was that of Secretary and Keeper, who was to rank 

 immediately under the director, and to reside in the building as cus- 

 todian of the pictures. The third office created was that of " Travelling 

 Agent," who was to be a sort of assistant to the director in searching 

 out among the pictures offered for sale on the Continent such as were 

 suitable for the National Gallery. No material change was made in 

 the inferior officers : instead of an occasional grant, there was to be 

 inserted annually in the estimates for the National Gallery " a sum 

 expressly for the purchase of pictures/' 



To the office of director was attached a salary of 10002. a year The 

 gentleman appointed to that very important post one on which the 

 future rank and character of the gallery must mainly depend was 

 Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, the President of the Royal Academy, distin- 

 guished alike as an artist and as a writer on art. To the office of 

 keeper and secretary an office more laborious probably, and scarcely 

 le.ss onerous than that of director a salary of 75> /. a year was attached, 

 and the government was fortunate in securing for the post the services 

 of Mr. R. N. Wornum, a gentleman well known as a writer on the 

 history of painting, and the lives of painters, and possessed of an 

 unusually extensive acquaintance with pictures and with art-literature. 

 Both these gentlemen have continued to hold their appointments to 

 the present time. The travelling agent was to have a salary of 8002. 

 a year, and an additional allowance for travelling expenses while absent 

 on his professional duties on the Continent. To this office Herr Otto 

 Miindler, a gentleman minutely acquainted with picture-galleries and 

 old pictures, was appointed : the office was however abolished, in con- 

 sequence of a vote of the House of Commons in 18.j8. 



Under this new constitution the National Gallery made a very re- 

 markable advance : not only were fresh pictures sought out and pur- 

 chased, but the pictures already possessed were carefully examined, 

 some covered with glass, others cleaned, or measures taken for their 

 preservation, while of the state of all a most careful register was drawn 

 up : the whole institution, in fact, was put into better working order, 

 and subjected to a more searching and constant supervision. 



The pictures purchased under the new regime have been of a very 

 important character. In 1855 and 1856 twenty-six pictures were 

 bought, but among these, and forming parts of collections, were seven 

 which were not placed in the National Gallery; five being deposited in the 

 National Gallery of Ireland, and two sold at Christie's with the Kriiger 

 pictures, under authority of an Act of Parliament (passed in June, 

 1806) which empowered the trustees and directors " to dispose of such 



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