PAINTING 



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PAINTING 



tury was not sanctioned in Spain, and the re- 

 ligious element predominated far more in Span- 

 ish art than in the contemporaneous art of 

 any other country. After the death of Velas- 

 quet and Murillo, the art of their country 

 suffered a decline, but in after years a few 

 Spanish artists attained distinction, notably 

 Morales, Roelas, Cano and Zurbaran. 



The Netherlands. In the revolution that 

 almost destroyed the Netherlands, Flemish art 

 was lost for a time, and it was not until the 

 seventeenth century that it was again raised 

 to a high pinnacle of greatness by the masterly 

 hand of Rubens. He was the prince of Flem- 

 ish painters, a master of composition, and a 

 colorist ranking next after the famous Vene- 

 tians. His pupil, Van Dyck, was the fashion- 

 able portrait painter of Antwerp. After them 

 came Jordaens, who delighted to paint large 

 canvases; Franz Snyders and Fyt, the animal 

 painters; and .Teniers, the leading painter of 

 scenes from common life. Then Flemish art 

 steadily declined. 



Dutch painting reached its height during the 

 .-eventeenth century in Rembrandt, the greatest 

 of all Dutch artists, known as the "King of 

 Shadows" because of his skill in light and 

 shade. He had the power to transform the 

 commonest objects in everyday life into poet- 

 ical images by the mystic light in which he 

 placed them. Frans Hals, the jovial portrait 

 painter, ranks next. About this time also a 

 noted class of genre painters flourished, includ- 

 ing Jan Steen, the "laughing philosopher of 

 Dutch art;" Gerard Douw, famed for the beauty 

 of his finished little pictures; and Maes, who 

 excelled in homely interiors. Among the great 

 landscape painters of Holland, Jacob Ruys- 

 dael stands first, while Hobbema, Cuyp, Ver- 

 meer and Wouvermans follow at close range. 

 The leaders of marine paintings are Van de 

 Velde and Backhuysen. Paul Potter is the 

 great animal painter. Dutch art is among the 

 most realistic in the world, and has had many 

 imitators. 



- Modern Painting. This division includes the 

 period extending from the beginning of the 

 eighteenth century to the present time. One 

 of the most notable features of the modern 

 period is the transition from religious and 

 aristocratic themes to those of common life. 

 We might truly say that during the eighteenth 

 century art turned from autocracy to democ- 

 racy. The great painters lived with the com- 

 mon people, from whom they obtained much 

 of their inspiration. 



English art boasts of no early history. Not 

 until the eighteenth century do we find the 

 first English interpreter of English life Wil- 

 liam Hogarth. English painting really began 

 with him, and from that time on developed 

 very rapidly. Hogarth was followed by the emi- 

 nent portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 

 and by Gainsborough. But Gainsborough ex- 

 celled also as a landscape painter, and is now 

 hailed as the first real interpreter of English 

 rural scenery and English common life. From 

 these we pass to William Turner, "The Great 

 Hermit of Nature," who was preeminent among 

 the water color artists of his day and was 

 one of the greatest landscape artists of all 

 time. The English are proud of their nine- 

 teenth century painters, foremost among whom 

 are Landseer, the animal story-teller of the 

 Victorian Era; Sir Frederick Leighton, painter 

 of classical subjects; Sir Lawrence Alma- 

 Tadema, who also revived classic art and 

 specialized in old marble halls and balconies; 

 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt 

 and Sir Everett Millais, of the Pre-Raphaelite 

 Brotherhood; Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the 

 painter of the Golden Age; and George Fred- 

 erick Watts, the painter of portraits and ideal 

 studies of moral and religious significance. 



France. France did not take first rank until 

 the nineteenth century. During the reign of 

 Louis XV art and morals were at the lowest ebb. 

 Painting was chiefly devoted to the decora- 

 tion of the interiors of palaces for the king 

 and members of his court, and it represented 

 the voluptuous life of the time. With the be- 

 ginning of the French Revolution, in the lat- 

 ter part of the eighteenth century, art became 

 inspired by war and patriotism, with David as 

 the great reformer. At first he turned his at- 

 tention to classic subjects, but later devoted 

 his efforts to the portraits of Revolutionary 

 heroes. David and his followers adopted the 

 classic style of painting and it influenced French 

 art throughout the century. In the nineteenth 

 century a new style of French art became 

 prominent. Its themes were drawn from na- 

 ture. Animals, landscapes and scenes of com- 

 mon life were portrayed with lasting effect. 

 Rosa Bonheur shared with Landseer the honor 

 of being one of the two greatest animal painters 

 of the age. The Barbizon School of Painting 

 (see BARBIZON PAINTERS) arose and attracted 

 the best artists of France. Here Rousseau, 

 Diaz, Troyon, Jacque, Corot and Millet either 

 lived in the Barbizon region or came to it for 

 fresh inspiration. 



