PAINTING. 



PAINTING. 



226 



from Madrid in 1645 that he attained that freedom and power which 

 characterise his best works. The name of Murillo is supposed by many 

 in this country to stand highest in the Spanish school, but Diego 

 Velasquez de Silva (b. 1599, d. 1660) was perhaps the greater man, 

 though Murillo painted loftier as well as humbler subjects. The por- 

 traits of Velasquez are only equalled by those of Titian : his historical 

 works in the Madrid Gallery, Buch as the Surrender of Breda, and his 

 sketches of landscape in the same collection, are of great excellence. 

 One of his most celebrated early pictures is the Water-carrier, now at 

 Apsley House. Hia style, however, often runs into excess, bordering 

 in its sternness on the violent contrasts of Caravaggio, but always 

 avoiding his vulgarity. 



Francesco Pacheco (b. 1571, d. 1654) was the founder of the school 

 of Seville. HU scholar, Alonso Cano of Granada (b- 1600, d. 1667) 

 painted with simplicity and beauty, as well as vigour. Francisco 

 Ribalta (b. 1551, d. 1023) is generally held to be the best master of 

 the Valencian school. The altar-piece in the chapel of Magdalen 

 College, Oxford, is probably by him. Claudio Coello (d. 1693) is one 

 of the last Spanish masters who deserve notice. His picture in the 

 Sacristy of the Escurial is a brilliant work. 



The Spanish school can boast of several painters who may rank with 

 the best of any other country. But Spanish painting was always 

 limited in its scope, and was early exhausted. From the first it was 

 eminently religious, and ascetic in its religion. It has been said that a 

 nude figure does not probably occur in Spanish painting : and the most 

 stringent rules were laid down by the ecclesiastical authorities for the 

 treatment of the sacred and saintly personages introduced by artists on 

 their canvases. The favourite subjects were connected with the mysteries 

 of religion, the legends of the saints, and especially religious ecstaeies. 

 Though Murillo painted peasant boys with infinite relish, his greatest 

 works are such as ' the Immaculate Conception,' or the ' Assumption.' 



(Cean Bermudez, ' Diccionario Historico ;' Stirling's ' Annals of the 

 Artiste of Spain ; ' Kugler's ' Hand-book : Spanish Schools,' ed. by Sir 

 K. Head). 



Frem-lt >W,i>',/. -France, in the reign of Charlemagne and sub- 

 sequently, had its miniature painters, and, as we see by the sculpture 

 on its Gothic churches, always possessed a decided feeling for art. 

 But the French can scarcely be said to have had a school of painting of 

 their own until a comparatively late date. In the 16th century, Jean 

 Cousin and the family of the Clovets were painters, who owed little to 

 foreign teaching, but with these exceptions, the older French painters 

 either studied and practised in Italy, or were mere imitators of Italian 

 painters ; while many Italians were either temporary or permanent 

 nta in France. Among these were Lionardo da Vinci, Andrea 

 del Sarto, Rosso, and Primaticcio, whom the zeal of Francis I. intro- 

 duced into France. We find little independent existence of French 

 painting before Simon Vouet (b. 1582, d. 1641), who studied the later 

 Venetian painters, and Caravaggio : he was regarded as one of the first 

 painters of his time, and was the master and model of the succeeding 

 generation of French painter*. His contemporary Nicolas Poussin 

 (b. 1594, d. 1665) stamped a character on the art of his country 

 which may be said to have lasted almost to our own days. His style 

 ia based in some degree on a confusion of the capabilities of sculpture 

 and painting statuesque forms, fine drawing, and the composition of 

 a bas-relief clothed in unpleasing colour, though not wholly satisfactory 

 to the eye, still combine to produce considerable effect ; an effect how- 

 ever of a limited kind, analogous to that resulting from the classical 

 correctness of Racine's tragedies, and without any life or spontaneity. 

 Oaspar Poussin and Claude Lorraine, have been already named : they 

 both learned their art in Rome and there practised it The most 

 famous of Vouet's scholars were Eustache Le Sueur (b. 1617, d. 1655), 

 called the ' French Kaffaelle,' a title sufficiently characteristic ; and 

 Charles Le Bnm (b. 1619, d. 1690). The large pictures of Le Brun 

 are very clever but disfigured by the affectation of the time of 

 Louis XIV. Peter Mignard (b. 1610, d. 1695), another pupil in the 

 same school, painted some good portraits. Antoine Watteau (b. 1684, 

 d. 1721) is celebrated for the piquant grace of his courtly garden scenes 

 and fetes galanten. A clever imitator of his style was Nicolas Lancret 

 (b. 1690, d. 1740), whose pictures, though wanting the abandon, are 

 not seldom taken for those of Watteau. Francois Lemoine (b. 1688, 

 d. 1737) was an imitator of Pietro da Cortona. Joseph Vernet 

 (b. 1711, d. 1789) executed some very clever landscapes and sea-pieces, 

 though for the most part disagreeable in colour. J. B. Greuze {b. 1726, 

 d. 1805) excelled in the representation of scenes of domestic life, and 

 in female portraiture ; his style verges on the meretricious, but hu 

 pictures continue to increase in favour with the collectors, both ol 

 England and France. Under Coypel, Lemoine, Vien, Boucher, and 

 Vanloo, Parisian art went on steadily deteriorating. It owes its resus- 

 citation to the general mental excitement produced by the stirrinf 

 wants of the revolution ; but the special form which it assumed was 

 due chiefly to the energy and tact of Jacques Louis David (b. 1748 

 d. 1825) ; though his pictures are in a thoroughly mistaken style. He 

 endeavoured to carry out on a larger scale the " classical " principles 

 of Poussin. It is impossible to deny his pictures the merit of tin 

 drawing and a certain power ; but disagreeable colour, exaggerated 

 theatrical expression, and academic affectation mar the effect of their 

 better qualities. HU most eminent followers were Gerard, Gros, 

 Girodet, Droling, Pujol, Gue'rin, and Gencault. Guerin carried the 



ARTS A5D Btl. DIV. VOL. VI. 



system of his master to the verge of caricature, and thus hastened the 

 nevitable reaction. Gerard was a painter of considerable power, but 

 marred by conventionalism, and utter want of feeling for colour. 

 Some of his portraits are eminently characteristic ; his huge transcripts 

 of contemporary history are as eminently artificial. 



Among the great leaders in the reaction, and the masters to whom 

 ,he present position of French painting is mainly attributable, it must 

 suffice to mention Jean Louis Ge'ricault, Leopold Robert, Ary Scheffer, 

 and Paul Delaroche, who have passed away ; but Delacroix, Ingrez, 

 3orace Vernet, and others, who still survive, have an equal title to 

 ank among the pioneers of contemporary French art. 



English School. \Ve have ample evidence that the English were 

 among the earliest and warmest patrons of the art of the medifeval 

 miniature painter ; and manuscripts like the famous ' Durham Book ' in 

 ,he British Museum show that even in the 8th century British miniatori 

 were at least equal to their brethren on the continent. In the 10th 

 century English manuscripts were eagerly sought for abroad, and their 

 mode of ornamentation was known as " English Work," (Opus 

 Anglicanum) : of this style and time is the beautiful Benedictioual of 

 St. Ethelwold, in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire. In the 

 succeeding centuries the same excellence was maintained, and those 

 who have devoted special attention to this branch of art remark that 

 English miniatures are purer and richer in style, and freer from 

 Byzantine characteristics than continental manuscripts of the same 

 date. The art gradually passed out of use, but it is noteworthy that in 

 the form of miniature portrait-painting which succeeded the decora- 

 tion of missals and service books, English artists for some time 

 maintained a decided superiority. 



But of painting proper, though there is reason to believe that the 

 paintings in medijcval churches and on the walls of palaces were 

 frequently the work of native hands, there was no school founded in 

 England till long after every other great European country. Henry 

 VII. employed John Mabuse, Henry VIII. for many years retained 

 Holbein, and after his death Sir Antony Moro as his court painter ; 

 and as we have already seen, succeeding monarchs usually had one or 

 more distinguished foreign portrait painters in their service. But it 

 was long before an English painter was found to enter into com- 

 petition with any of them even in this comparatively facile and always 

 lucrative branch of art. In the reign of Elizabeth, two Englishmen, 

 Nicholas HUliard, and his pupil Isaac Oliver, acquired distinction as 

 miniature painters. Billiard imitated the manner of Holbein, but 

 Oliver was more original, and was admitted to be, in his own line, one 

 of the very best artists of his age. His son, Peter Oliver, was also a 

 skilful miniature-painter. 



Charles I. was an eager and an intelligent collector of pictures, and 

 he invited to England Rubens, Vandyck, Hontherst, Gerbier, and 

 many other painters of contemporary celebrity. His example was 

 followed by his wealthier courtiers, and English as well as foreign 

 painters soon became recipients of their patronage. The foreign 

 painters represented every branch of the profession ; but the English- 

 men confined themselves almost exclusively to portraiture : Francis 

 Barlow, an animal painter, being one of the few exceptions. But in 

 portraiture English painters were strong.- Robert Walker, who was 

 patronised by Cromwell, painted a head nearly as well as Vandyck ; 

 while William Dobson (b. 1610, d. 1646) who was distinguished aa 

 " the English Tintoret," and succeeded Vaudyck as sergeant painter to 

 the king, is in some of his best portraits little inferior to either of the 

 great painters named in conjunction with him : his portraits are com- 

 paratively numerous. Other English portrait-painters were Nicholas 

 Stone the younger (but best known by the cognomen of Old Stone), 

 who studied in Italy, and was celebrated aa a colourist; George 

 Jameson, "the Scottish Vandyck," Richard Gibson the Dwarf, and 

 Samuel Cooper (b. 1609, d. 1672) one of the greatest miniature- 

 painters of any time. 



Several of these lived to practise their art under Charles II., but 

 neither in the reign of that monarch, nor in that of his successors did ' 

 English painting find patronage, or indeed seek it. England was not 

 wanting in painters, but among them not a single English name of 

 eminence occurs till that of Hogarth. Lely and Verrio were the 

 court painters to Charles II. and his brother; and to Lely succeeded 

 Sir Godfrey Kneller p* the royal and fashionable portrait-painter, 

 while Laguerre followed Verrio as the manufacturer of those monstrous 

 allegories with which it was the fashion to disfigure the staircases and 

 ceilings of palaces. To these indued Englishmen were the successors, 

 but Jervas, Thornhill, and Hudson only served to carry a step lower 

 the degradation of painting. Yet though painting in England was in 

 a course of steady decline from the Restoration to the reign of 

 George II., there were numerous English painters, some of whom it 

 may be proper to mention. One of these was John Riley (b. 1646, d. 

 1691) court painter to William and Mary : he was perhaps the best 

 imitator of the manner of Lely. Henry Cooke (b. 1642, d. 1700) is 

 I said to have studied under Salvator Rosa ; he painted the chapel of .New 

 I College, Oxford, and " restored" for William the cartoons of Raffaelle, 

 I without doing them much injury. Jonathan Richardson (b. 1665, d. 

 | 1745), who married the niece of Riley, and acquired that painter's 



traditions, was a respectable and prosperous portrait-painter ; a great 

 ! admirer of the works of the old masters, and of choice engraving.*, o f 



which he formed an excellent collection; and the author of some very 

 I <J 



