Painters in the Reign of Henry VIII. 91 



his imitation fo far ; but though at laft He 

 wofully unravelled moft of the purfuits of 

 his early age, (for at leaft it was great vio- 

 lation of galantry to cut off the heads of 

 the fair damfels whofe true knight he had 

 been, and there is no forgiving him that 

 deftru6tion of ancient monuments and go- 

 thic piles and painted glafs by the fuppref- 

 fion of monafteries -, a reformation, as he 

 called it, which we antiquaries almoft de- 

 voutly lament) yet he had countenanced 

 the arts fo long, and they acquired fuch 

 folid foundation here, that they were fcarce 

 eradicated by that fecond florm which 

 broke upon them during the civil war, — 

 an aera we antiquaries lament with no lefs 

 devotion than the former. 



Henry had feveral painters in his fer- 

 vice, and, as Francis invited Primaticcio 

 and other mafters from Italy, he endea- 

 voured to tempt hither Raphael j* and Ti- 

 tian. Some performers he did get from 

 that country, of whom we know little but 



f Raphael did paint a St. George for him, which has 

 fince been in Monfr. Crozat's coUedlion. See Recueil 

 des plus beaux tableaux qui font en France, p. 13. 



1 2 their 



