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ANECDOTES

OF

PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS

Sculptors and Architects,

AND

CURIOSITIES OF ART.

BY

S. SPOONER, M. D.,

AUTHOR OF "A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FINE ARTS."

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. III.

NEW YORK: R. WORTHINGTON, PUBLISHER, 770 Broadway.

COPYRIGHT, S. SPOONER, 1853.

Reëntered, G. B., 1880.

CONTENTS.

Egyptian Art, 1 Ancient Thebes, 2 The Temple of Carnac, 5 Temple of Luxor, 5 The Statues of Memnon, 6 Heliopolis, 7 Memphis, 8 Lake Moeris, 9 The Colossal Sphinx, 10 The Labyrinth of Egypt, 11 The Catacombs of Egypt, 12 The Pyramids of Egypt, 19 Perilous Ascent of the Pyramid of Cephren, 27 Egyptian Obelisks, 30 Removal of an Obelisk by Fontana, 33 Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, 40 Carburi's Base for the Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great, 42 Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in Mechanics, 45 The Britannia Tubular Railway Bridge, 46 The Tubes, 47 Construction of the Tubes, 49 Floating the Tubes, 50 Raising the Tubes, 52 Glory of Ancient Rome, 57 The Capitol, 59 Modern Rome, 60 The Foundation of Venice, 72 Theodoric the Great, and his Love of the Fine Arts, 73 Archimedes, 77 The Trials of Genius--Filippo Brunelleschi, 80 Brunelleschi's Enthusiasm, 122 Brunelleschi and Donatello, 123 Donatello, 125 Donatello and the Merchant, 126 Donatello and his Kinsmen, 127 Death of Donatello, 128 Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, 128 Sofonisba Anguisciola's Early Distinction, 129 Sofonisba's Visit to Rome, 130 Sofonisba's Marriages, 131 Sofonisba's Residence at Genoa, and her Intercourse with Vandyck, 132 Carriera Rosalba, 133 Rosalba's Modesty, 133 Rosalba's Knowledge of Tempers, 133 Elizabeth Sirani, 134 Death of Elizabeth Sirani, 135 Rachel Ruysch, 135 Sir Anthony Vandyck, 136 Vandyck's Visit to Italy, 138 Vandyck's Return to Antwerp, 139 Vandyck's Visit to England, 141 William van de Velde the Elder, 143 Van de Velde and Charles II., 144 William van de Velde the Younger, 145 The Younger van de Velde's Works, 146 Nicholas Poussin, 148 Poussin's first Celebrity, 149 Poussin's first Visit to Rome, 150 Poussin's Distress at Rome, 151 Poussin's Success at Rome, 152 Poussin's Invitation to Paris, 153 Poussin's Return to Rome, 154 Sir Joshua Reynolds' Critique on Poussin, 156 Poussin's Views of his Art, 157 Poussin's Works, 158 Marino and Poussin, 159 Poussin Romanized, 160 Poussin's Habits of Study, 161 Poussin's Old Age, 162 Poussin's Last Work and Death, 163 Poussin's Ideas of Painting, 164 Poussin and the Nobleman, 165 Poussin and Mengs, 165 Poussin and Domenichino, 166 Poussin and Salvator Rosa, 166 Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle Compared, 168 Rembrandt, 170 Rembrandt's Works, 173 Rembrandt as an Engraver, 174 Anecdote of Schwarts, 175 Jacques Callot, 176 Callot's Patriotism, 177 Ingenuity of Artists, 178 A Hint to Jewelers, 179 Curious Paintings, 180 The Oldest Oil Painting Extant, 181 Curious Representations of the Harpies, 181 Adrian Brower, 182 Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, 183 Death of Brower, 184 Brower's Works, 185 Rosa da Tivoli, 185 Rosa da Tivoli's Works, 186 Rosa da Tivoli's Facility of Execution, 186 Rosa da Tivoli's Habits, 187 Luca Cambiaso's Facility in Painting, 187 Cambiaso's Works in Spain, 188 Cambiaso's Artistic Merits, 190 Rarity of Female Portraits in Spain, 191 Murillo's Pictures in Spanish America, 192 Murillo's "Virgin of the Napkin," 193 Anecdote of an Altar-Piece by Murillo, 194 Murillo and his slave Gomez, 195 An Artist's Love of Romance, 195 Estéban March's Strange Method of Study, 198 March's Adventure of the Fish, fried in Linseed Oil, 199 A Painter's Rebuke, 200 A Painter's Retort Courteous, 201 Ardemans and Bocanegra--A Trial of Skill, 201 A Painter's Artifice to "Keep up Appearances," 202 A Good Natured Criticism, 203 Alonso Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, 203 Cano's Love of Sculpture, 204 Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, 204 Torres' Imitations of Caravaggio, 205 Pantoja and the Eagle, 205 The Painter Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, 206 John C. Vermeyen and Charles V., 206 Blas de Prado and the Emperor of Morocco, 207 Don Juan Carreño, 208 Carreño's Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, 208 Carreño's Abstraction of Mind, 209 Anecdote of Cespedes' Last Supper, 209 Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, 210 Dona Barbara Maria de Hueva, 210 The Miraculous Picture of the Virgin, 211 The Chair of St. Peter, 213 The Sagro Catino, or Emerald Dish, 215 The "Painter of Florence," 217 Legend of the Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, 220 Gerard Douw, 222 Douw's Style, 224 Douw's Method of Painting, 225 Douw's Works, 226 Albert Durer, 228 Durer's Works as a Painter, 229 Durer's Works as an Engraver, 231 Durer's Fame and Death, 233 Durer's Habits and Literary Works, 234 Ludolph Backhuysen, 235 John Baptist Weenix the Elder, 236 Weenix's Facility of Hand, 236 John Baptist Weenix the Younger, 237 Jan Steen, 238 Jan Steen's Works, 238 Kugler's Critique on the Works of Jan Steen, 240 Frolics of Mieris and Jan Steen, 241 Sir Anthony More, 242 Sir Anthony More and Philip II., 243 More's Success and Works, 243 Perilous Adventure of a Painter, 245 Anecdote of John de Mabuse, 246 Capugnano and Lionello Spada, 247 Michael Angelo Caravaggio--His Quarrelsome Disposition, 248 Jacopo Amiconi, 249 Painting the Dead, 250 Taddeo Zuccaro, 250 Zuccaro's Resentment, 251 Royal Criticism, 252 Pietro da Cortona, 253 "Know Thyself," 254 Benvenuto Cellini, 255 Fracanzani and Salvator Rosa, 256 Pope Urban VIII. and Bernini, 256 Emulation and Rivalry in the Fine Arts, 257 The Nótte of Correggio, 259 The Dresden Gallery, 262 Painting among the Egyptians, 263 Painting among the Greeks, 265 Numismatics, 269 Restoring Ancient Edifices, 274 Napoleon's Love of Art, 274 Napoleon's Works at Paris, 276 The Napoleon Medals, 281 The Elephant Fountain, 286 Interesting Drawing, 287 Sévre China, 288 Dismantling of the Louvre, 289 Removal of the Venetian Horses from Paris, 296 Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Place Vendôme, 301 The Musée Français and the Musée Royal, 302 Boydell's Shakspeare Gallery, 305 Brief Sketch of a Plan for an American National Gallery of Art, 307

ANECDOTES

OF

PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS, SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.

EGYPTIAN ART.

Champollion, the famous explorer of Egyptian antiquities, holds the following language at the end of his fifteenth letter, dated at Thebes. "It is evident to me, as it must be to all who have thoroughly examined Egypt or have an accurate knowledge of the Egyptian monuments existing in Europe, that the arts commenced in Greece by a servile imitation of the arts in Egypt, much more advanced than is vulgarly believed, at the period when the Egyptian colonies came in contact with the savage inhabitants of Attica or the Peloponnesus. Without Egypt, Greece would probably never have become the classical land of the fine arts. Such is my entire belief on this great problem. I write these lines almost in the presence of bas-reliefs which the Egyptians executed, with the most elegant delicacy of workmanship, seventeen hundred years before the Christian era. What were the Greeks then doing?"

The sculptures of the monument of El Asaffif are ascertained to be more than three thousand five hundred years old.

ANCIENT THEBES.

Thebes, an ancient city and capital of Egypt, and the oldest city in the world, was situated in Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about two hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is "the city of a hundred gates," the theme and admiration of ancient poets and historians, and the wonder of travelers--"that venerable city," in the language of Dr. Pocoke, "the date of whose destruction is older than the foundation of other cities, and the extent of whose ruins, and the immensity of whose colossal fragments still offer so many astonishing objects, that one is riveted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step, or fix the attention." These ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile, from each bank to the sides of the enclosing mountains, and describe a circuit of twenty-seven miles. The most remarkable objects on the eastern side are the temples of Carnac and Luxor; and on the western side are the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, two colossal statues, the sepulchres of the kings, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The glory of Thebes belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic history. It is recorded only in the dim lights of poetry and tradition, which might be suspected of fable, did not such mighty witnesses remain to attest their truth. Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described Thebes under the name of _Diospolis_ (the city of God), and gave such magnificent descriptions of its monuments as caused the fidelity of those writers to be called in question, till the observations of modern travelers proved their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. At the time of the Persian invasion under Cambyses, Memphis had supplanted Thebes; and the Ptolemys afterwards removed the seat of empire to Alexandria. At present, its site presents only a few scattered villages, consisting of miserable cottages built in the courts of the temples. The ancient structures, however, remain in a state of wonderful preservation. Almost the whole extent of eight miles along the river is covered with magnificent portals, obelisks decorated with most beautiful sculptures, forests of columns, and long avenues of sphynxes and colossal statues. The most remarkable monuments, the ruins of which remain, are the temples of Carnac, Luxor, the Memnonium or temple of Memnon, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The tomb of Osymandyas, the temple of Iris, the Labyrinth, and the Catacombs lie on the western side of the Nile. In the interior of the mountains which rise behind these monuments, are found objects less imposing and magnificent indeed, but not less interesting--the tombs of the kings of Thebes. Several of these were opened by Belzoni, and were found in great preservation, with mummies in the sarcophagi, as well as dispersed through the chambers.

Such was ancient Thebes--a city so populous that, according to ancient writers, in times of war 10,000 soldiers issued from each of her hundred gates, forming an army of 1,000,000 men. That these magnificent ruins are the remains of "the city of an hundred gates,"--"the earliest capital in the world," cannot be doubted. According to the measurements made by the French, their distance from the sea on the north, is 680,000 metres (850 miles), and from Elephantine on the south, 180,000 metres (225 miles)--corresponding exactly with the 6,800 and 1,800 stadia of Herodotus. The circumference of the ruins is about 15,000 metres (17½ miles), agreeing with the 140 stadia given by Diodorus as the circumference of Thebes. The origin of the name of this celebrated city, as well as the date of its foundation, is unknown. According to Champollion, who deciphered many of the inscriptions on these ruins, the Egyptian name was _Thbaki-antepi-Amoun_ (City of the Most High), of which the _No-Ammon_ of the Hebrews and _Diospolis_ of the Greeks are mere translations; _Thebæ_, of the Greeks is also perhaps derived from the Egyptian _Thbaki_ (the city).

THE TEMPLE OF CARNAC.

The largest of the temples of Thebes, and of any in Egypt, is that of Carnac, on the site of the ancient Diospolis. Diodorus describes it as thirteen stadia, or about a mile and a half in circumference, which nearly agrees with the admeasurements of Denon. It has twelve principal entrances; and the body of the temple, which is preceded by a large court, consists of a prodigious hall or portico, the roof of which is supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, some twenty-six, and others thirty feet in circumference; four beautiful obelisks then mark the entrance to the shrine, which consists of three apartments, built entirely of granite.

TEMPLE OF LUXOR.

The temple of Luxor is about one and a fourth mile above that of Carnac, and though it is of smaller dimensions it is in a superior style of architecture, and in more complete preservation. The entrance is thought to surpass everything else that Egypt presents. In front are the two finest obelisks in the world, formed of rose-colored granite, and rising, as Denon supposes, after allowing for the portion buried in the ground, to the height of one hundred feet. But the objects which most attract attention, are the sculptures which cover the east wing of the northern front. They represent on a grand scale, a victory gained by one of the ancient kings of Egypt over their Asiatic enemies, consisting of multitudes of figures, horses, and chariots, executed in the best style of Egyptian art; the number of human figures introduced exceeds fifteen hundred, five hundred of which are on foot, and the rest in chariots.

THE STATUES OF MEMNON.

There were many colossal statues of Memnon in Egypt, but the most remarkable were the two in the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, at Thebes. The largest is of rose-colored granite, and stood in the centre of the principal court; its height was sixty-four feet, and its remains are scattered forty feet around it. Rigaud, one of the French savans, says, "the excavations are still visible where the wedges were placed which divided the monument when it was thrown down by Cambyses." The trunk is broke off at the waist, and the upper part lies prostrate on the back; it measures six feet ten inches over the front of the head, and sixty-two feet round the shoulders. At the entrance of the gate which leads from the second court to the palace, is the famous colossal sounding statue, which, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and Pausanias, uttered a joyful sound when the sun rose, and a mournful one when it set. It is also related that it shed tears, and gave out oracular responses in seven verses, and that these sounds were heard till the fourth century after Christ. These phenomena, attested by many ancient and modern writers, are variously accounted for by the learned, as priestcraft, peculiar construction, escape of rarified air, &c. This statue is in excellent preservation. The head is of rose-colored granite, and the rest of a kind of black stone. Two other colossal statues, about fifty feet high, are seated on the plain.

HELIOPOLIS.

The name of Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, was given by the Greeks to the Egyptian _City of On_. It was situated a little to the north of Memphis, was one of the largest cities of Egypt during the reign of the Pharaohs, and so adorned with statues as to be esteemed one of the first sacred cities in the kingdom. The temple dedicated to Re, was a magnificent building, having in front an avenue of sphynxes, celebrated in history, and adorned with several obelisks, raised by Sethosis Rameses, B.C. 1900. By means of lakes and canals, the town, though built on an artificial eminence, communicated with the Nile, and during the flourishing ages of the Egyptian monarchy, the priests and scholars acquired and taught the elements of learning within the precincts of its temples. At the time of Strabo who visited this town about A. D. 45, the apartments were still shown in which, four centuries before, Eudoxus and Plato had labored to learn the philosophy of Egypt. Here Joseph and Mary are said to have rested with our Saviour. A miserable village, called _Metarea_, now stands on the site of this once magnificent city. Near the village is the _Pillar of On_, a famous obelisk, supposed to be the oldest monument of the kind existing. Its height is 67½ feet, and its breadth at the base 6 feet. It is one single shaft of reddish granite (Sienite), and hieroglyphical characters are rudely sculptured upon it.

MEMPHIS.