360 



FINE ARTS 1884. (LONDON: GROSVENOR GALLERY; MISCELLANEOUS.) 



winter of 1883-'84 was remarkable as bring- 

 ing together about 200 of the works of the 

 first President of the Royal Academy, more 

 than ever shown collectively before, the near- 

 est approach to it being the National Portrait 

 Exhibition in 1867, which contained 155 Rey- 

 noldses. Such an opportunity was never be- 

 fore presented of studying London society of 

 1750-1790 from princes, nobles, and states- 

 men, down to actors, actresses, and profes- 

 sional beauties. Unfortunately, many of Sir 

 Joshua's works are deteriorating through 

 changes in color his browns, especially, hav- 

 ing become heavy and bituminous. , 



The spring exhibition of the Grosvenor Gal- 

 lery (May 1 to July 31) comprised 432 works, 

 of which 381 were paintings and 51 sculptures. 

 The most important picture shown, and one of 

 the best of the year, was Burne- Jones's " King 

 Cophetua and the Beggar Maid," a canvas 

 twelve feet high by nine wide. The subject 

 is from the old ballad, preserved in "Percy's 

 Reliques," which tells how the African king 

 Cophetua fell in love with a beggar maid 

 whom he chanced to meet, or perhaps from 

 Tennyson's later version, " The Beggar Maid." 

 The king, resplendent in armor and royal 

 robes, is sitting on a step, at the feet of the 

 beggar maid, Penelophon, who, clad in a sim- 

 ple robe of gray stuff and looking around won- 

 deringly, is seated on the throne. Above, in a 

 gallery, two chorister boys are making music. 



London: Miscellaneons. Another noteworthy 

 picture, exhibited privately, is Edwin Long's 

 " Anno Domini," a canvas eight feet high by 

 sixteen feet wide, in which he has combined 

 the "Flight into Egypt" with an imposing 

 Egyptian pageant. In the foreground are the 

 Virgin and Child riding upon an ass, beside 

 which Joseph is walking. The background is 

 tilled by a grand procession of priests and at- 

 tendants, bearing images of the gods, headed 

 by girl minstrels, which, issuing from the por- 

 tals of a temple, winds across the plain to the 

 right side of the foreground. To the left of 

 the Virgin, in the foreground, are 'several 

 groups of figures a little girl offering images 

 for sale, a woman with a sick child in her lap, 

 a negro with a tray of images, and a young 

 man fastening a necklace around a girl's neck. 

 The scene is lit by the after-glow of the sunset, 

 which lingers on the temple and the pyramids 

 in the distance. 



The most notable acquisitions made by the 

 National Gallery during the year are the pict- 

 ures from the Blenheim collection the Ansi- 

 dei Madonna of Raphael, and the portrait of 

 Charles I by Vandyke. The Madonna, for 

 which 70,000 was paid, more money than 

 ever before given for a single picture, was 

 painted, according to Vasari, in 1505, but the 

 date on the margin of the Virgin's mantle is 

 1506. It was first placed in the chapel of St. 

 ^Jicholas of Bari, belonging to the Ansidei 

 family, m San Fiorenzo, the Church of the 

 Serviti, at Perugia, where it remained until 



1764, when Lord Robert Spencer purchased it 

 and presented it to his brother, the Duke of 

 Marlborough. A well-executed copy, by Nic- 

 cola Monti, was put in its place and still re- 

 mains there. The picture, which is nine feet 

 high by five wide, represents the Virgin on a 

 high throne, with Jesus on her knees, both 

 reading from a book ; on the left stands John 

 Baptist, and on the right Bishop Nicholas of 

 Bari with crozier and book. 



The Vandyke picture, twelve feet six inches 

 high by nine feet six inches wide, represents 

 Charles I in armor on a roan charger, attended 

 by his equerry, Sir Thomas Morton, on foot, 

 bearing his helmet. Formerly in the collection 

 of Charles I, which was dispersed at his death, 

 it was purchased in Munich by John, Duke of 

 Marlborough, and is now acquired by the Na- 

 tional Gallery for 17,500. 



Of pictures sold in London during 1884 for 

 1,000 guineas each and upward, the following 

 is a partial list : Lady Otho Fitzgerald sale 

 (May 8-10), Landseer, "Monarch of the Glen," 

 6,200 guineas, to Mr. Eaton, M. P. ; C. Stan- 

 field, "Guarda Costa off Fuentarabia," 1,900 

 guineas, to Agnew; Thomas Faed, "Reading 

 the Bible," 1,650 guineas, to Davis. A Tur- 

 ner, "Dunstanborough," which last sold for 

 2,200 guineas, brought only 900 guineas. Os- 

 maston Hall sale (March 14), Murillo's " Magda- 

 len," which' formerly belonged to ex-Queen 

 Isabella of Spain, was sold for 1,900 guineas. 



Sale of E. C. Potter, Rusholme House, near 

 Manchester (March 21-22) : David Cox, " The 

 Church at Bettws-y-Coed," generally consid- 

 ered his masterpiece, 2,550 guineas, to Agnew ; 

 do., " Skirts of the Forest," 1,350 guineas (Gil- 

 lott sale, 1872, 2,205 guineas) ; J. C. Hook, 

 "Wise Saws," 1,200 guineas, to White; Sir 

 JohnMillais, "Vanessa" and " Stella," 1,300 

 guineas and 1,400 guineas respectively; Briton 



2,500 guineas, to Agnew; do., " Persepolis," 

 1,000 guineas, to Agnew ; do., " All that was 

 Left of the Homeward Bound," 1,100 guineas. 



G. F. Lees's sale, Berry Hill Hall, Mansfield 

 (April 26) : Edouard De"taille, " Scots Guards 

 returning from Exercise in Hyde Park," 1,070 

 guineas, to Agnew ; H. W. B. Davis, " In Ross- 

 shire," 1,200 guineas, to Agnew ; Peter Gra- 

 ham, "Highland Drove," 1,300 guineas, to 

 Agnew; Sir John Millais, "The Cuckoo," 

 1,900 guineas, to Heath; J. C. Hook, " 

 blows the Wind that benefits Nobody," 1,281 

 guineas. 



Albert Levy sale (May 3): Rembrandt, 

 " Portrait of the Artist " (1 635, formerly owned 

 by the Earl of Portarlington), 1,800 guineas, to 

 M. Colnaghi. At this sale Jansen's (Ceulen) 

 portrait of Milton at the age of ten was sold 

 for 330 guineas to Passmore Edwards, M. P. 



The Leigh Court sale, Sir Philip Miles, Bart., 

 was one of the principal art events of the year, 

 it being one of the most famous private collec- 



