MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 9 

 HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK : Their Life 



and Work. By W. H. James Weale. Royal 4to. ^5 5/. net. 



Sir Martin Conway's Note. 



Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W. H. James Weale, then resilient at 

 Bruges, began that long series of patient investigations into the history of Netherlandish 

 art which was destined to earn so rich a harvest. When he began work Memlinc was 

 still called Hemling, and was fabled to have arrived at Bruges as a wounded soldier. 

 The van Eycks were little more than legendary heroes. Roger Van der Weyden was little 

 more than a name. Most of the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly 

 forgotten or named only in connection with paintings with which they had nothing to do. 

 Mr. Weale discovered Gerard David, and disentangled his principal works from Mem- 

 line's, with which they were then confused. During a series of years he published in the 

 " Beffroi," a magazine issued by himself, the many important records from ancient 

 archives which threw a flood of light upon the whole origin and development of the early 

 Netherlandish school. By universal admission he is hailed all over Europe as the father 

 of this study. It is due to him in great measure that the masterpieces of that school, 

 which by neglect were in danger of perishing fifty years ago, are now recognised as among 

 the most priceless treasures of the Museums of Europe and the United States. The 

 publication by him, therefore, in the ripeness of his years and experience, of the result of 

 his studies on the van Eycks is a matter of considerable importance to students of art 

 history. Lately, since the revived interest in the works of the Early French painters has 

 attracted the attention of untrained speculators to the superior schools of the Low 

 Countries, a number of wild theories have been started which cannot stand upright in the 

 face of recorded facts. A book is now needed which will set down all those facts infill 

 and accurate form. Fullness and accuracy are the characteristics of all Mr. Weale s work. 



VINCENCO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, Founder of 



the Lombard School, His Life and Work. By Constance 

 Jocelyn Ffoulkes and Monsignor Rodolfo Majocchi, d.d., 

 Rector of the Collegio Borromeo, Pavia. Based on research in the 

 Archives of Milan, Pavia, Brescia, and Genoa, and on the study 

 of all his known works. With over 100 Illustrations, many in 

 Photogravure, and 100 Documents. Royal 4to. ^5. 5 J. net. 



*,* No complete Life of Vincenco Foppa, one of the greatest of the North Italian 

 Masters, has ever been written : an omission which seems almost inexplicable in these days 

 of over-production in the matter of biographies of painters, and of subjects relating to the 

 art of Italy. In Milanese territory — the sphere of Foppa 's activity during many years — 

 he was regarded by his contemporaries as unrivalled in his art, and his right to be 

 considered the head and founder of the Lombard school is undoubted. His influence was 

 powerful and far-reaching, extending eastwards beyond the limits of Brescian territory, 

 and south and westwards to Liguria and Piedmont. In the Milanese district it was 

 practically dominant for over a quarter of a century, until the coming of Leonardo da 

 Vinci thrust Foppa and his followers into the shade, and induced him to abandon Pavia, 

 which had been his home for more than thirty years, and to return to Brescia. The object 

 of the authors of this book has been to present a true picture of the master s life based 

 upon the testimony of records in Italian archives; all facts hitherto known relating 

 to hint have been brought together ; all statements have been verified; and a great deal of 

 new and unpublished material has been added. The authors have unearthed a large 

 amount of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most interesting facts brought to 

 light being that he lived for twenty-three years longer than was formerly supposed. The 

 illustrations will include several pictures by Foppa hitherto unknown in the history of art, 

 and otliers which have never before been published, as well as reproductions of every 

 existing work by the master at present known. 



