Part 16

Beyond these, another case, containing fine small works. A beautiful little *Madonna with the Fountain of Life (411) by Jan van Eyck, closely resembling a large one by Meister Wilhelm, in the Museum at Cologne. Two good unknown portraits. A splendid **portrait of a medallist (5) by Antonello da Messina (sometimes attributed to Memling). A portrait (33) of François II. of France as a child, by Clouet, of the old French School. A characteristic *Albert Dürer (124), portrait of Frederick III. of Saxony: and a good Gossaert (182). These do not need description, but should be closely studied.

The place of honour on this wall is occupied by 393, a magnificent =**Seven Sacraments=, usually attributed to =Roger van der Weyden=, though believed by some to be a work of his master, Robert Campin of Tournai. At any rate, it is a work full of Roger’s mystic spirit. In form, it is a triptych, but the main subjects are continued through on to the wings. The _central panel_ represents the Sacrament of the Mass, typified in the foreground by a Crucifixion, taking place in the nave of an unknown Gothic church. At the foot of the cross are the fainting Madonna, supported by St. John (in red as usual) and a touching group of the three Maries. The robe of one to the left overflows into the next panel. In the background, the actual Mass is represented as being celebrated at the High Altar. The architecture of the church (with its triforium, clerestory, and apse, and its fine reredos and screen) is well worth notice. So are the figures of Our Lady, St. Peter and St. John, on the decorative work of the screen and reredos. I believe the kneeling figure behind the officiating priest to be a portrait of the donor. The _side panels_ represent the other sacraments, taking place in the aisles and lateral chapels of the same church. L., Baptism, Confirmation, Confession: in the Confirmation, the children go away wearing the sacred bandage. R., Holy Orders, Matrimony, Extreme Unction. Each of these groups should be carefully noted. The _colours_ of the angels above are all symbolical:—white (innocence) for Baptism: yellow (initiation) for Confirmation: red (love or sin) for confession and absolution: green (hope) for the Eucharist: purple (self-sacrifice) for Holy Orders: blue (fidelity) for Marriage: violet, almost black, (death) for Extreme Unction. The picture is full of other episodes and mystical touches. In all this beautiful and touching composition, the Mary to the right of the Cross is perhaps the most lovely portion. For a fine criticism, see Conway.

Beyond this, another frame with exquisite small works.

250. Quentin Matsys: Head of Christ, with the Crown of Thorns and Holy Blood; painful.

540. Admirable unknown miniature portrait.

544. Excellent little St. Helena.

542. A little donor, with his patron, St. John.

204, 205, 206. Good Lucas of Leyden, of the Four Evangelists (John missing). Luke, with the bull, painting; Matthew, with the angel, and Mark, with the lion, writing.

537. Admirable unknown portrait. These little works again need no description, but close study.

Above them, 244. Quentin Matsys (?). The Misers, one of the best known of this favourite subject.

Then, another frame of miniatures.

517, 518. Unknown Flemish 14th century Madonna and Child, with donor and wife.

541, 522. Tolerable portraits.

545. Fine portrait, of the Spanish period.

410. =**Van Eyck’s= celebrated unfinished =St. Barbara=, holding her palm of martyrdom, and with her tower in the background. It should be closely studied, both as an indication of the master’s method, and as a contemporary drawing illustrating the modes of mediæval building. For a careful criticism, see Conway.

Above these, Engelbrechtsen, 130. St. Hubert, attired as bishop, bearing his crozier and hunting horn, and with the stag beside him, with the crucifix between its horns.

127. The same. St. Leonard releasing prisoners.

Then, another case of good small pictures.

3. A Fra Angelico. Interesting in the midst of these Flemish pictures. St. Romuald reproaching the Emperor Otho III. for the murder of Crescentius.

32. Petrus Christus (?). A donor and his patron, St. Jerome.

64. A landscape by Patinir.

536. A Baptism of Christ, where note the conventional arrangement and the angel with the robe.

561. Triptych. Madonna and Child. St. Christopher, and St. George. Harsh and angular.

548. Mater Dolorosa, transpierced by the sword.

535. Good Flemish Madonna with angels.

207. Lucas of Leyden: Adoration of the Magi. You can now note for yourself the ox, ass, Joseph, position, age, and complexion of Kings, etc.

29. Attributed (doubtfully) to Dierick Bouts: St. Christopher wading, with the Infant Christ. In the background, the hermit and lantern. (See Mrs. Jameson.)

176. Giotto: A St. Paul with the sword. Characteristic of early Florentine work.

257, 258, 259, 260. Simone Martini of Siena: Four panels. _Extreme ends_, **Annunciation, closely resembling the figures in the Ufizzi at Florence: Annunciations are often thus divided into two portions. _Centre_, Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross. These exquisitely finished little works are full of the tender and delicate spirit of the early Sienese School. In the Crucifixion, notice particularly the Magdalen, and St. Longinus piercing the side of Christ. Our Lady in the Annunciation has the fretful down-drawn mouth inherited by early Italian art from its Byzantine teachers.

177. Giotto: St. Nicolas of Myra with the three golden balls, protecting a donor.

Above are three good portraits by Van Orley, and other works which need no description.

On easels at the end, 255. =Attributed to Memling=: **Exquisite =Madonna and Child= in a church. Our Lady, arrayed as Queen of Heaven, with a pot of lilies before her, stands in the nave of a lovely early Gothic cathedral, with a later Decorated apse, and admirable rood-screen. Every detail of the tiles, the crown, the screen, and the robe, as well as Our Lady’s hair and hands, should be closely looked into. This is one of the loveliest pictures here. It is a very reduced copy from one by Jan van Eyck at Berlin: the church is that of the Abbey of the Dunes near Furnes. Its attribution to Memling has been disputed: Conway believes it to be by a follower. In any case, it is lovely.

256. **Companion panel, of the donor, a Cistercian Abbot of the Dunes, in a sumptuous room, half bed-chamber, half study, with a beautiful fireplace and fire. He kneels at his prayers, having deposited his mitre on a cushion beside him, and laid his crozier comfortably by the fireplace. Creature comforts are not neglected on the side-board. Here also every decorative detail should be closely examined. These are two of the very finest works of the School of Memling. Probably the Abbot admired Jan van Eyck’s Madonna, painted for a predecessor, and asked for a copy, with himself in adoration on the other wing of the diptych.

At the back, on a revolving pivot,

530, 531. Christ blessing, and a Cistercian Canon in adoration. As usual, the outer panels are less brilliant in colouring than the inner. Notice the Alpha and Omega and the P. and F. (for Pater and Filius) on the curtain behind the Saviour. These works are by an inferior hand.

The other easel has a fine (208, 209, 210) *Lucas van Leyden: Adoration of the Magi, with fantastic elongated figures. Note the ruined temple. The other features will now be familiar. Lucas’s treatment is peculiar. _L._, St. George and the Dragon. The saint has broken his lance and attacks the fearsome beast with his sword. In the background, the Princess Cleodolind and landscape. _R._, The donor, in a rich furred robe, and behind him, St. Margaret with her dragon. At the back, 181, _wings_, by the same, with a peculiar Annunciation (the wings being open, reversed in order). Between them has been unwisely inserted an Ecce Homo by Gossaert.

Now, go straight through Rooms H, F, and E, to three rooms _en suite_, the last of which is

ROOM A,

containing the Transitional Pictures. (It is usual to skip these insipid works of the intermediate age, and to jump at once from the School of Van Eyck to the School of Rubens—I think unwisely—for Rubens himself can only properly be appreciated as _the product of an evolution_, by the light of the two main influences which affected him—his Flemish masters, and his Italian models, Veronese and Giulio Romano.) Begin at the =far end=, near the lettered doorway, and note throughout the effort to imitate Italian art; the endeavour at classical knowledge; and the curious jumble of Flemish and Tuscan ideas. But the Flemish skill in portraiture still continues.

698. Good portrait of Giles van Schoonbeke, by P. Pourbus.

Next to it, 103, Martin De Vos, the Elder: St. Anthony the Abbot, accompanied by his pig and bell, and his usual tempters, burying the body of St. Paul the Hermit, whose grave two lions are digging. To the R., hideous Flemish devils, grotesquely horrible. Above, phases of the Temptation of St. Anthony.

372. Michael Coxcie: Martyrdom of St. George—one of his tortures. Good transitional work, inspired by Italian feeling.

72. M. De Vos: Triptych, painted for the altar of the Guild of Crossbowmen in the Cathedral. _Centre_, Triumph of the risen Christ. In the foreground, St. Peter (keys), and St. Paul (sword), with open pages of their writings. L., St. George, patron of the Crossbowmen, with his banner and armour; R., St. Agnes with her lamb. _Left panel_, Baptism of Constantine by St. Sylvester. _Right panel_, Constantine ordering the erection of the Church of St. George at Constantinople. In the sky, the apparition of Our Lady to the Emperor. A gigantic work, recalling the later Italian Renaissance, especially the Schools of Bronzino and Giulio Romano.

374. Michael Coxcie: Martyrdom of St. George; the other wing of the same triptych in honour of St. George as 372; central portion lost.

89. M. De Vos: St. Conrad of Ascoli, a Franciscan friar, in devout contemplation of the founder of his Order, St. Francis, receiving the Stigmata. Around it, small scenes from the life of St. Conrad, unimportant. Below, Devotion at the tomb of St. Conrad: royal personages praying, offerings of rich images, and the sick healed by his relics. A curious picture of frank corpse-worship.

699. Good portrait by Pourbus.

576. Triptych, unknown. St. Eligius of Noyon (St. Éloy), one of the apostles of Brabant, preaching to a congregation really composed of good local portraits. (A pious way of having oneself painted.) R. and L., St. Eligius feeding prisoners, and St. Eligius healing the sick.

741. Another of Bernard van Orley’s General Resurrections, the type of which will now be familiar to you. In the centre, strangely introduced group of portraits of the donors, engaged in burying a friend, whose memory this triptych was doubtless intended to commemorate. On either wing, the six works of Mercy (the seventh, burial, is in the main picture).

77. Good transitional triptych, by M. De Vos, for the Guild of Leather-dressers. _Centre_, The Incredulity of St. Thomas. On the _wings_, Scenes from the life of the Baptist. L., Baptism of Christ; where note the persistence of the little symbolical Jordan, with angels almost inconspicuous. R., The Decollation of St. John. Salome receiving his head in a charger. In the background, Herodias.

371. Coxcie the Younger: Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, patron saint of Bowmen, from their altar in the Cathedral. An attempt to be very Italian. The _wings_ of this triptych are by Francken. L., St. Sebastian exhorting Marcus and Marcellinus to go to martyrdom. R., St. Sebastian miraculously healing the dumb woman, with portrait spectators, in dress of the period, deeply interested.

Now go on into

ROOM B,

(unlettered, the centre of the three). It contains works of an earlier period.

The =left wall= is entirely occupied by three large panels of a fine old Flemish 15th century picture, attributed to Memling (and apparently accepted as his by Lafenestre), representing *Christ Enthroned, with orb and cross, surrounded by choirs of angels; those in the central panel singing; the others, playing various musical instruments. This is a beautiful work, but less pleasing than those of the same school on a smaller scale. It has been recently bought from the monastery of Najera in Spain. It was intended, I think, to be seen at a height, probably on an organ-loft, and loses by being placed so near the eye of the spectator.

The opposite wall, R., is occupied by 245, =Quentin Matsys’s masterpiece=, the triptych of =**the Entombment=, painted for the altar of the Guild of Cabinet-makers. The colouring is much more pleasing than in the Family of St. Anne at Brussels. _Central panel_, The Entombment. Nicodemus supports the emaciated body of the dead Saviour, while Joseph of Arimathea wipes the marks of the crown of thorns from his head. The worn body itself, with a face of pathetic suffering, lies on the usual white sheet in the foreground. At the foot, Mary Magdalen, with her pot of ointment and long fair hair, strokes the body tenderly. In the centre is the fainting Madonna, supported, as always, by St. John, in his red robe. Behind are the three Maries. The usual attendant (a ruffianly Fleming, in a queer turban-like cap) holds the crown of thorns. At the back, preparations for the actual placing in the sepulchre. In the background, Calvary.

The _wings_ have scenes from the lives of the two St. Johns. L., The daughter of Herodias, a very mincing young lady, in a gorgeous dress, brings the head of St. John the Baptist on a charger to her mother and a fiercely-bearded Herod. The queen appears to be about to carve it. Above, a gallery of minstrels. Admirable drapery and accessories. The R. wing has the so-called Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist, in the cauldron of boiling oil, with a delightful boy spectator looking on in a tree. The Emperor Domitian (older than history), on a white horse, behind. Flemish varlets stir the fire lustily. This noble work originally decorated the altar in the Chapel of the _Menuisiers_ of Antwerp in the Cathedral.

On easels, 649, Claeissens: Triptych of the Crucifixion, with the Way to Calvary and the Resurrection. Elongated, attenuated figures.

680. Giles Mostaert (the elder): Singular complex picture, painted for the Hospital of Antwerp; representing, above, The General Resurrection: Christ enthroned between Our Lady and St. John-Baptist. Beneath, naked souls rising from the tomb. To the L., St. Peter welcomes the just at the gate of the Celestial City. To the R., devils drive the wicked into the gaping jaws of Hell. Beneath, the courses that lead to either end: the Seven Works of Mercy, inspired by the Redeemer, and the Seven Deadly Sins, suggested by devils. I will leave you to identify them (it is easy).

Go on into

ROOM D,

containing more works of the Transition. These large altar-pieces of the early 17th century, the period of the greatest wealth in Antwerp, though often frigid, as works of art, are at least interesting as showing the opulence and the tastes of the Antwerp guilds during the epoch of the Spanish domination. They are adapted to the huge Renaissance churches then erected, as the smaller triptychs of the 15th century were adapted to the smaller Gothic altars.

529. Feast of Archers, with the King of the Archers enthroned in the background.

696, 697. Tolerable portraits by Pourbus.

183. A Madonna by Gossaert.

114. Frans Floris: St. Luke painting, with his bull most realistically assisting, and his workman grinding his colours. From the old Academy of Painters, whose patron was St. Luke. Italian influence.

135. Ambrose Francken: Loaves and fishes.

148. The same. Decollation of St. Cosmo and St. Damian: painted for the Guild of Physicians, of whom these were the patron saints.

357. A splendid and luminous =Titian=, in the curious courtly ceremonial manner of the Venetian painters. **Pope Alexander VI. (Borgia), in a beautiful green dalmatic, introducing to the enthroned St. Peter his friend, Giovanni Sforza da Pesaro, Bishop of Paphos, and admiral of the Pope’s fleet. At the bishop’s feet lies his helmet, to show his double character as priest and warrior. He grasps the banner of the Borgias and of the Holy Church. In the background (to show who he is), the sea and fleet. St. Peter’s red robe is splendid. The Venetians frequently paint similar subjects,—“Allow me to introduce to your Sainthood,” etc. This is a fine work in Titian’s early harder manner, still somewhat reminiscent of the School of Bellini. Its glorious but delicate colour comes out all the better for the crudity of the works around it.

146. Ambrose Francken: St. Cosmo and St. Damian, the Doctor Saints, amputating an injured leg, and replacing it by the leg of a dead Moor. In the background, other episodes of their profession. (Wing of the triptych for the Guild of Physicians.)

83. M. De Vos: Triptych, painted for the Guild of the Mint, and allusive to their functions. _Centre_, The Tribute Money. “Render unto Cæsar,” etc., with tempting Pharisees and Sadducees, and Roman soldiers. In the foreground, St. Peter in blue and yellow, with his daughter Petronilla. _Left wing_: Peter, similarly habited, finds the tribute money in the fish’s mouth. _Right wing_: The Widow’s Mite. (The French titles, “Le Denier de César,” “Le Denier du Tribut,” “Le Denier de la Veuve,” bring out the allusion better.)

88. M. De Vos: St. Luke painting Our Lady, with his bull, as ever, in attendance. The wings by others. L., St. Luke preaching. R., St. Paul before Felix. From the altar of the (painters’) Confraternity of St. Luke in the Cathedral.

113. Frans Floris: Adoration of the Shepherds. Note persistence of formal elements from old School, with complete transformation of spirit.

663. Floris: Judgement of Solomon.

112. Frans Floris’s horrible St. Michael conquering the devils; the most repulsive picture by this repulsive and exaggerated master.

Right and left of it, good late Flemish portraits of donors.

483. Portrait by Van Veen, Rubens’s master.

ROOM E

contains chiefly works of the school of Rubens, most of which can now be satisfactorily comprehended by the reader without much explanation. I will therefore treat them briefly.

=Left of the door=,

82. A Nativity, by De Vos. Can be instructively compared with earlier examples.

57. Good 17th century landscape.

646. Attributed to Brueghel: Paying tithes.

644. P. Brueghel the Younger: A village merry-making (“Kermesse Flamande”). With more than the usual vulgarity of episode.

722 and 724. Capital portraits.

Good Still life, etc.

ROOM F

contains nothing which the reader cannot adequately understand for himself. Omit Room G for the present (it contains the Dutch Masters), and turn instead into

ROOM H,

mostly devoted to works of the =School of Rubens=.

_End Wall_, 305. =Rubens=: *The Last Communion of the dying St. Francis of Assisi. A famous work, in unusually low tones of colour—scarcely more than chiaroscuro. St. Francis, almost nude, is supported by his friars. Above, angels, now reduced to cherubs, wait to convey his soul to Heaven. Painted for the altar of St. Francis in the Franciscan Church of the Récollets. See it from the far end of the room, where it becomes much more luminous.

On either side, 662, good portrait by S. De Vos (himself, dashing and vigorous: every inch an artist): and

104. C. De Vos: Admirable and life-like **portrait of the messenger or porter of the Guild of St. Luke, the Society of Painters of Antwerp, exhibiting the plate belonging to his confraternity. He is covered with medals, which are the property of the Society, and has the air of a shrewd and faithful servant. This living presentment of a real man is deservedly popular.

661. Tolerable portrait by C. De Vos.

403. Van Dyck’s *Entombment (or Pietà), often called Descent from the Cross. This is one of his noblest pictures, but badly restored.

335. Angry swans disturbed by dogs. Snyders.

215. Jordaens: Last Supper. The effect of gloom somewhat foreshadows Rembrandt.

401. Van Dyck: **A Dominican picture (Guiffrey calls it “cold and empty”), painted at his father’s dying wish for the Dominican Nunnery at Antwerp. The two great saints of the Order, St. Dominic, the founder, and St. Catherine of Assisi, the originator of the female branch, stand at the foot of the Cross, which is itself a secondary object in the picture. St. Dominic looks up in adoration; St. Catherine, wearing the crown of thorns, fervently embraces the feet of the Saviour. On the base, a child angel, in a high unearthly light, with a half extinguished torch, points with hope to the figure of the crucified Lord. The whole is emblematic of belief in a glorious Resurrection, through the aid of the Dominican prayers. Interesting inscription on the rock: “Lest earth should weigh too heavily on his father’s soul, A. van Dyck rolled this stone to the foot of the Cross, and placed it in this spot.”

381. Van Hoeck: Madonna and Child, with St. Francis, from the Franciscan Church of the Récollets.

660. Tolerable portrait by C. De Vos.

406. Van Dyck’s noble **Crucifixion, with the sun and moon darkened. One of his most admirable pictures.

677. Jordaens: **Charming family scene, known by the title of “As sing the Old, so pipe the Young.” Three generations—grandparents, parents, and children—engaged in music together. Very catching: a most popular picture.

734. Good *portrait of a priest, by Van Dyck.

402. Fine *portrait of a bishop of Antwerp, by Van Dyck.

404. Van Dyck: **Pietà, altar-piece for a chapel of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. Our Lady holds on her lap the dead Christ, while St. John points out with his finger the wound in His hand to pitying angels. All the formal elements in this scene—Our Lady, St. John, the angels, etc.—belong to the earlier conception of the Pietà, but all have been entirely transfigured by Van Dyck in accordance partly with the conceptions of the School of Rubens, though still more with his own peculiar imagination. It is interesting, however, to note in this touching and beautiful picture, full of deep feeling, how far the type of the St. John has been inherited, remotely, from the School of Van der Weyden. Even the red robe and long hair persist. The features, too, are those with which we are familiar. This is one of the gems of the collection. It shows the direct influence of Italian travel modifying Van Dyck’s style, acquired from Rubens.

This room also contains several other excellent works of the School of Rubens or his more or less remote followers, which I need not particularize.

Now continue into

ROOM I,

containing what are considered to be the =gems= among the =Rubenses= and the =later pictures=.

Right of the door, Rubens and Brueghel, 319: Small copy of the Dead Christ. Schut, 327: The Beheading of St. George. A pagan priest, behind, endeavours to make him worship an image of Apollo. Above, angels wait to convey his soul to Heaven. This is a somewhat confused picture, with a spacious composition and a fine luminous foreground: it is considered its painter’s masterpiece. Intended for the altar of the Archers (whose patron was St. George), in Antwerp Cathedral.

673. Good still life by Gysels.

669. F. Francken: Portraits of a wealthy family in their own picture gallery.