NETHERLANDS (PAINTERS.) 



189 



(who died in 1733), was a talented, natural poet. 

 Adrian van der Vliet, who, besides biblical poems, 

 wrote a poem, The Spaniards in Rotterdam (died in 

 1780), Piet. Nieuwland (who died in 1794), and sev- 

 enil others, are much esteemed. An epic poem, 

 called Germanicus, appeared in 1780, by tin anony- 

 mous authoress. Besides these, we should mention, 

 among the elder poets, Burmann, Smits ; and, among 

 the modern, Hieronymusde Bosch, Theod. van Koo- 

 ten, Klijn, Kleinhoff, Kaldenbach, Bellamy, Nieuw- 

 land, Feith (q. v., who died in 1824), Bilderdyk (q. 

 v.), Helmers, Spandow, Van Hall, Tollens, Kilmers 

 (died in 1813), K inker, Witsen, Gysbeek, and the 

 Portuguese Jew Dacosta. Bilderdyk, at the same 

 time, is a scholar of the first rank. Even from these 

 short notices it will appear, that much effort has been 

 made to adapt the language to elevated purposes ; 

 and these efforts have been crowned with much suc- 

 cess. No nation has so good a translation of Klop- 

 stock's Messiah as the Dutch translation by Groene- 

 veld (Amsterdam, 1784 to 1791, 2 vols.), in hexam- 

 eters. The prose of the Dutch has, it is true, little 

 euphony and elegance, but it is well adapted to ex- 

 press practical truths in a simple and popular man- 

 ner. The Dutch prose would, undoubtedly, have 

 acquired greater perfection, if their philosophical and 

 other writers had not often made use of a foreign 

 language. Erasmus, Lipsius, Grotius, Wyttenbach, 

 and others, wrote in Latin, and Francis Hemsterhuys, 

 that amiable Socratic philosopher and tasteful and 

 ingenious writer, in French. As with philosophy, so 

 also with history. The Dutch prose must gain by 

 translations from foreign languages, which are very 

 numerous in modern times. The sciences have flour- 

 ished in the northern provinces, and kept pace with 

 the progress of the times ; but this is not the case 

 in the southern provinces. Instruction in the uni- 

 versity of Louvain has not advanced with the time ; 

 it has adhered to the dead forms of the middle ages. 

 In this the consequences of the Spanish tyranny, which 

 dreaded the light, have been manifested, and several 

 improvements intended by Joseph II. were openly 

 resisted. The abolition of the university at Louvain, 

 during the French government, and the foundation of 

 the Athenaeums at Brussels and Liege, Ghent and 

 Bruges, could not banish the spirit of darkness, 

 which, as late as in 1814, may be thought to have 

 appeared in the joy with which the restoration of the 

 Jesuits was received. Yet there were, in the south- 

 ern provinces, as well as in the northern, numerous 

 institutions for instruction, at Louvain, Liege, Ghent. 

 Athenaeums or gymnasia are found also at Middle- 

 burg, Breda, Deventer, Franeker, Harderwyk, and 

 Amsterdam. The kingdom had, in the year 1825, 

 3889 schools, with 383,970 pupils, and 75,048 schools 

 for the poor, and primary schools. The six universi- 

 ties contained 2636 students ; Louvain had the most 

 (580). The northern provinces had the advantage, 

 in gymnasia and schools, over the southern provinces. 

 In Flanders the gymnasia flourish least. Among the 

 institutions for instruction ought to be mentioned the 

 artillery and engineer school of the kingdom, the 

 military school at Delft, the institution for the deaf 

 and dumb at Groningen, the school for naval archi- 

 tecture at Antwerp, the schools of navigation at 

 Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Helvoelsluys. Other sci- 

 entific institutions are, the museum at Amsterdam (a 

 collection of pictures, drawings, works of sculpture, 

 gems, and antiquities, and a public library) : the 

 Netherlandish institute for sciences and arts (Neder- 

 landsch Institut van fVetenschappen, Letterkunde en 

 tchoone Kunsten), divided into four classes; I. of 

 sciences ; 2. of language ; 3. literature and poetry ; 

 4. history and antiquities, and of fine arts. At Ley- 

 len there are public libraries, anatomical surgical, 



mathematical and philosophical collections : at Haar- 

 lem, the society of the sciences (founded in 1755?). 

 Teyler's foundation for the promotion of theology, 

 and some other kindred branches ; and an agricultu- 

 ral society (Hollandsche Huishoudelijke Maatschap- 

 pij) : at Groningen, the society pro excolendo jure 

 patriee, and many other societies. Thus Ariiheim, 

 Ziitphen, Bergen-op-Zooin, Utrecht, Amsterdam, 

 Enkhuyzen (where a society exists, established by 

 the minister Jan Nieuwenhuyzeii, for the education 

 and improvement of the lower classes, and which, in 

 1810, contained 8000 members), Ziericksee, Breda, 

 Luxemburg, Maestricht, Liege, Brussels, Ghent, &c., 

 contain numerous societies for the promotion of learn- 

 ing, or for practical purposes. Of the transactions of 

 the academy of sciences and arts in Batavia (founded 

 more than lifly years ago>, the tenth volume appeared 

 in 1825. The clergy of Holland are unfavourably 

 distinguished by a spirit of intolerance, particularly 

 the Calvinists ; and the most intolerant are generally 

 the most esteemed. There are, indeed, honourable 

 exceptions, but such individuals are mostly kept si- 

 lent by the fear of persecution. It is still worse with 

 the Catholic priests in Belgium. Part of the Lutheran 

 clergy, however, are enlightened men. The most 

 tolerant spirit, and the greatest share of knowledge 

 to be found among the Dutch clergy, fall to the share 

 of the Remonstrants and Mennonites ; but, for this 

 very reason, they are hated and despised by their 

 brethren. The study of law and general jurispru- 

 dence is in a flourishing condition. The judges and 

 lawyers have a high character. Medicine is well 

 cultivated ; but intellectual philosophy is in an ex- 

 ceedingly backward state. Even now, there are 

 many who adhere to the Cartesian system. In me- 

 chanics and hydraulics, the Dutch are well known to 

 excel. 



Netherlandish School of Painters includes all the 

 painters in the Netherlands who, since the fourteenth 

 and fifteenth centuries, have pursued their art in a 

 style peculiar to that country. It is divided into the 

 Dutch and the Flemish schools. The Flemish school 

 was founded by John van Eyk (q. v.) (born at Maa- 

 seyk, in the fourteenth century), and is distinguished 

 by a brilliant colouring ; magic effect of the chiaro- 

 scuro; carefully laboured, though often tasteless 

 drawing ; a strong, yet natural expression, and bold- 

 ness in composition. To this school belong Francis 

 Floris (born 1520, died 1570), called the F.emish 

 Raphael; John Stradanus (de Straet), of Bruges 

 (born 1536), who painted historical pieces and hunt- 

 ing scenes; Mart, de Vos (born 1520); Spranger 

 (born 1546); Peter and Francis Porbus, father and 

 son ; Henry Steemvyk, the painter of perspective 

 (born 1550) ; Dionysius Calvart (q. v.) ; the brothers 

 Paul and Matthew Bril ; Van Ort (born 1557) ; Peter 

 Breughel, and his son John ; Roland Savery, of 

 Courtray (born in 1576). After all these came Peter 

 Paul Rubens, the boldest painter of modern times ; a 

 man of inexhaustible industry, of gigantic imagina- 

 tion and power of representation, to whom about 

 4000 paintings are ascribed. With him the Flemish 

 school reached its acme. Several distinguished 

 painters follow: Francis Snyders (born 1579), whose 

 hunting pieces excel all others in boldness and truth ; 

 Jodocus Mumper (born 1580), a landscape painter, 

 esteemed for his valleys, and the distant views which 

 they present ; Peter Neefs, the famous church pain- 

 ter; David Teniers, father and son, who, in repre- 

 senting companies of peasants, guard-rooms, tap- 

 houses, and all kinds of low-life, have hardly their 

 equal; Gaspar de Crayer (born 1582), who approaches, 

 in the expression and colouring of his historical paint- 

 ings, to Rubens; Gerard Segers.distinguishedasan his- 

 torical painter ; his brother Daniel, famous for flower 



