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VANDYCK. 



as historical pictures, and always adopted the bril- 

 liant style of Titian. He visited Florence, Turin 

 and Sicily, where he resided for some time. But 

 the plague finally drove him out of Sicily ; and he 

 finished the celebrated altar-piece for Palermo in 

 Genoa. After his reputation was thus spread 

 throughout Italy, he returned to his own country. 

 Here he painted many historical pictures and altar- 

 pieces. Of the latter, the most renowned are the 

 St Augustine at Antwerp, and the Crucifixion at 

 Courtray. Rubens is said to have offered him his 

 eldest daughter in marriage ; but Vandyck refused 

 her, because his earlier love for her mother (Helena, 

 the second wife of Rubens) was not yet wholly ex- 

 tinguished. He soon after accepted the invitation 

 of the prince of Orange, Frederic of Nassau, to 

 visit his court at the Hague. He painted por- 

 traits of this prince, his wife and children, with so 

 much success, that all the principal personages of 

 the court were eager to obtain his services. He 

 then visited London and Paris, but soon returned 

 to Antwerp. A Crucifixion and a Birth of Christ, 

 which he painted for Dendermonde, are among his 

 finest works. Charles I. having seen one of his 

 portraits, immediately ordered him to be invited to 

 return to England. This invitation the painter 

 would have declined but for the urgency of his 

 friend Sir K. Digby. On his arrival, he was intro- 

 duced by him to the king, who put upon his neck 

 a gold chain, with his own miniature, richly set 

 with diamonds, and bestowed upon him the honour 

 of knighthood, a considerable annuity, and a sum- 

 mer and winter residence. Vandyck rewarded this 

 generosity by unceasing diligence : he enriched 

 England with his masterpieces, and executed, be- 

 sides a multitude of portraits, several mythological 

 and historical paintings. His love of splendour 

 was displayed in the magnificence of his house. His 

 table was frequented by the princes and ladies of 

 the first rank, and his entertainments excelled all 

 others in splendour and luxury. He had also a 

 harem of beautiful women, who supplied him with 

 figures for his historical paintings. In this way he 

 consumed his property, his strength and his health. 

 His lucrative occupation, however, might have re- 

 paired the loss of the first, if he had not engaged 

 in the pursuit of the philosopher's stone. The 

 duke of Buckingham endeavoured to restore him 

 again to activity, by uniting him in marriage with 

 the beautiful Maria Ruthven, daughter of the Scotch 

 lord Gowrie. Vandyck visited his native city with 

 her, and went thence to Paris, where he hoped to 

 be employed to paint the gallery of the Louvre ; but, 

 as the work had been already committed to Poussin, 

 he soon returned to England. Though infirm and 

 exhausted, he proposed to the king to paint the 

 walls of the banqueting house with the history and 

 procession of the order of the garter, promising to 

 make the cartoons. Before the work was com- 

 pleted, he was surprised by death, in the forty- 

 second year of his age (1641). He was buried in 

 St Paul's church. Cowley composed his epitaph. 

 The principal galleries contain some of his pictures. 

 Though Vandyck shone in historical composition, 

 his strength lay in portrait ; and no painter ever 

 exceeded him in the knowledge of the chiaro oscuro. 

 His choice of nature, when he painted portraits, 

 was always the most agreeable : he gave an inex- 

 pressible grace to his heads, and his expression was 

 inimitable. The extremities of his figures are de- 

 signed in great perfection. His draperies are in a 

 grand style, broad and simple in the folds, easy in 



(lie disposition, and the colouring lovely. In some 

 particulars, Vandyck has been acknowledged to be 

 superior to Rubens : his touch is more delicate ; 

 his ideas are more graceful ; and his expression is 

 more true. During the first six or seven years 

 after his arrival in London, his performances are ac- 

 counted most excellent; but some of his latter 

 works are painted in such a manner as shows the 

 uncommon rapidity of his pencil, though touched 

 with wonderful spirit: others are comparatively 

 weak, and partake too much of the lead colour ; 

 yet his penciling is always masterly, and even in- 

 imitable. Vandyck sometimes amused himself with 

 engraving, and etched several plates, consisting 

 mostly of portraits, in a spirited style. 



VANE, SIR IIiixuY, the younger, a conspicuous 

 character in the time of Charles I. and the common- 

 wealth, was the son of Sir Henry Vane of Hadlow 

 in Kent, and Raby castle in Durham, secretary of 

 state, and treasurer of the household to Charles I., 

 until dismissed for taking part against the earl of 

 Strafford. The subject of this article was born 

 about 1612, and was educated at Westminster 

 school, whence he was removed to Magdalen col- 

 lege, Oxford. He then proceeded to Geneva, from 

 which he returned, much indisposed towards the 

 English liturgy and church government. About 

 this time (1635), several persons, who were uneasy 

 at home on account of their religious opinions, mi- 

 grated to New England ; among whom was Vane. 

 Notwithstanding his youth, be was elected gover- 

 nor of Massachusetts ; but, becoming involved in 

 religious disputes, he soon after returned to Eng- 

 land, and, with his father's concurrence, married a 

 lady of good fortune, and was appointed a joint 

 treasurer of the navy. He was chosen to represent 

 Hull in the next parliament, yet still kept on such 

 terms with the royal party as to obtain knighthood. 

 The spirit of the times, however, soon led him to 

 take part against the court. He was instrumental 

 in procuring the condemnation of lord Strafford, 

 and he also carried up to the lords the articles of 

 impeachment against archbishop Laud. He like- 

 wise acted as one of the parliamentary commission- 

 ers at the treaty of Uxbridge, in 1645 ; and at the 

 negotiations in the isle of Wight, in 1648, was an 

 opposer of the terms of peace. He had, however, 

 no immediate concern in the king's trial or death, 

 but was one of the council of state appointed to 

 supreme power after that event. In 1651, he was 

 appointed a commissioner to be sent into Scotland, 

 in order to introduce the English government there. 

 He continued a strenuous adversary to Cromwell 

 during the whole progress of that leader to sove- 

 reignty ; on which account the latter found means 

 to imprison him in Carisbrook castle. He even 

 sought to intimidate him by questioning his title 

 to the Raby estate, notwithstanding which, Vane 

 continued inflexible during the whole of the protec- 

 torate. After the restoration of the long parlia- 

 ment, he was nominated one of the committee of 

 safety, when he strenuously exerted himself to es- 

 tablish a republican government, until the restora- 

 tion put an end to all further contest. On this 

 event he had considered himself in no danger ; but 

 he was, notwithstanding, arrested and committed 

 to the Tower, as a person whom it was dangerous 

 to allow to be at large. The convention parlia- 

 ment petitioned in favour of him and Lambert, and 

 the king promised that his life should he spared. 

 Charles II. violated his word, and Sir Henry was 

 brought to trial for high treason. Although ac- 



