Part 23

=Other Portraits of Interest.=--Other portraits of interest are Adriaen Backer's Portrait of a Man; Hendrik Berckman's Portrait of Admiral Adriaen van Trappen; Portrait of Himself, by Gijsbertus Johannes van den Berg, and Portrait of his Wife with her son on her knee; C. Bisschop's Portrait of Prince Henry of the Netherlands, in the costume of the Royal Yacht Club; Ferdinand Bol's Portrait of a Woman (two), and Dirk Van der Waeijen; Cornelis Cels's Gijsbert Karel, Count of Hogendorp; Cornelius Janszoon van Ceulen's Portrait of a Gentleman, and Portrait of a Young Woman; P. van Champaigne's Portraits of two Artists; Jacobus Delff's Portrait of a Man; Albrecht Durer's Portrait of Erasmus; Anthonie van Dijck's Portraits of Charles I., King of England, Henrietta Maria, and Their Two Children; Gerbrand van den Eeckhout's Portrait of a Child; Robbert van Eysden's Portrait of J. F. Hoffman, Burgomaster of Rotterdam, 1845-66; Carel Fabritius's Portrait of a Man, dressed in black with open shirt showing his neck and chest; Govert Flinck's Portraits of Dirck Graswinckel, and his Sister, under a tree, in a landscape with ruins in the distance; George Gilles Haanen's Portrait of a Young Man; Frans Hals's Portrait of an Old Gentleman; Adriaen Hanneman's Portrait of Johan de Witt; Constantin Netscher's William III., King of England; Dionys van Nymegen's Willem van der Pot (1733) and Sara, his Wife (1733); Nicholaes Pieneman's William III., King of the Netherlands; David van der Plaes's Cornelis Tromp, and A Gentleman; Crispyn van den Queborn's Hartogh van Moerkerken; Jan van Scorel's A Young Man, and A Gentleman; Pieter van Slingelandt's Johannes van Crombrugge; Hendricus Turken's (1791-?) Margarethe Agnes de Vries; Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne's Prince Frederick Henry on Horseback with his Suite (_en grisaille_); and Abraham de Vries's A. A. Vroesen (1639), and An Old Woman (1644). Musscher's Portraits of Three Children, crowning the statue of a child with flowers, should also be noticed, as well as Jacob Gerritz Cuijp's Portraits of a General, a Lady of Distinction, and Three Children. The last, a boy and two little girls, are beautifully dressed, and are playing under the trees in a charming landscape, with several buildings, including a mill and a church-tower in the distance.

=Good Pictures of Social Life by Palamedesz.=--Anthonie Palamedesz (1601-73) was a painter of social life, _corps-de-gardes_, portraits, landscapes, and still life. His art belonged to the school of Frans Hals. The quality of his work is very unequal, but many of his interiors are full of life and color. He was such a good painter of figures in landscapes that his aid was much sought after by brother artists, notably B. van Bassen and A. de Lorme. In The Hague Gallery he has two works that show him at his best,--Music after Dinner, and Merry Company; also a Portrait of Martinus van Stavenisse, Knight of St. Michael.

=An Interior of High Life, by Palamedesz.=--The Rotterdam Gallery has An Interior of High Life by this artist. In an apartment hung with gilded leather several ladies and gentlemen are talking and playing musical instruments. In the foreground there is a lady dressed in blue with a light red tunic; next to her is a gentleman holding a guitar. On the left there is a lady with a sheet of music in her hand. She wears a white dress and a yellow tunic, and beside her is seated a gentleman. In the centre of the room there is a table covered with a red carpet, at which two persons are seated. Farther back in the room several groups of ladies and gentlemen are seen; and in the background a chimney-piece.

=A Musical Reunion, by Van Deelen.=--A Musical Reunion by Dirk van Deelen (1605-71) is a scene in high life. Six gentlemen and four ladies are in a hall paved with blue and white marble. A gentleman who turns his back to the spectator is seen in the foreground. He is dressed in black satin slashed with yellow, a black velvet cloak, yellow stockings, red-heeled shoes, lace collar, and large black hat. At the right a lady is leaning on a table with a red cloth. She wears a black-and-yellow flowered dress with a red tunic and large lace collar and sleeves. Near the table, on which are a guitar and some books of music, are four gentlemen, one of whom is without his hat. In the centre a lady dressed in green silk is playing the guitar, with her foot on a foot-warmer. Beside her stand a gentleman and two ladies, one of whom wears a black dress with a yellow satin tunic and holds a book of music. In the background on the right there is a bed with green curtains and an open door flanked with columns at each side. On the left are two tall windows, and on the wall hang two male portraits.

=An Architectural Painting by Van Deelen.=--The Peristyle of a Building, by this artist, shows his love for classic architecture. A stone bath with steps occupies the foreground, and two men enveloped in long cloaks talk with a woman who is seated on the steps. Near it is a statue of Hercules on a red marble pedestal. Many people are seen in a distant gallery through the columns.

=A Delightful Conversation Piece, by Ochtervelt.=--The Collation, by Jacob Ochtervelt, is one of those delightful "conversation pieces" so popular in the seventeenth century. A young woman in a yellow satin skirt and a red velvet jacket bordered with white fur is seated on a tabouret of green velvet with her back turned toward the spectator. Her left hand rests on her hip and her right holds a glass of wine. On her right is a table with an Oriental carpet upon which stands a flagon of wine. By its side is an officer in a blue costume and large blond wig, who is handing some oysters in a silver dish to the young woman.

=A Ball, by Francois Francken, Junior.=--Francois Vranckz, or Francken, the Younger (1581-1642), pupil of his father Francois Francken and a native of Antwerp, has here A Ball. In the foreground a gentleman and lady are beginning a dance surrounded by spectators; at the entrance of the hall on the right a servant comes in with wine, and farther down against the wall and under the windows is a long table served with refreshments. In the centre farther back two gentlemen are talking to a lady; on the left a platform with musicians; in the background a large chimney-piece between two windows.

=A Fine Interior, by Tilborch.=--Of Egidius, or Gilles, Tilborch (1625-78), a fine Interior (once attributed to Biset) hangs here. In a very rich room hung with gilded leather, and from the ceiling of which is suspended a copper chandelier ornamented with a two-headed eagle, a lady is seated before the mantelpiece near a table covered with a Smyrna rug. She is dressed in white, with a red petticoat, and some red bows on her breast. Around her are six children of different ages, including one in the arms of a servant. Opposite to her is a gentleman dressed in black with white sleeves, accompanied by a dog; a little behind is a servant with an inkstand. On the left an aged woman dressed in black is seen, and two ladies and a gentleman enter the chamber on the left. Over the chimney-piece is a beautifully painted landscape, and on the left against the wall a large _armoire_ or _kas_ of black wood ornamented with gold, above which hangs a large portrait.

=A Village Interior, by C. de Man.=--Cornelus de Man (1621-1706) painted portraits, churches, and social life. In The Hague Gallery he has a Peasants' Wedding, and here his qualities may be studied in A Village Interior. A joyous company of peasants, with a sprinkling of the better class, are gathered in a big barn. In the centre, a couple are dancing,--the man holding aloft a pewter pot. On the right a group are playing "hot cockles." In front, there is a dog asleep; on the right, a little girl with a hoop; and on the left, a peasant asleep on a barrel. Farther back is a long table covered with food, at which several men and women are seated. A violinist sits on a barrel, and a guest is sitting on the table mimicking him with tongs; on the floor in front of him is an earthen pitcher with a pewter lid. In the background are two individuals, one with a drum. A black bird is on a perch close to the ceiling.

=Two Pictures of Rustic Life by Molenaer.=--Two pictures by Jan Miense Molenaer are owned by this gallery,--The Clarinet Player and Rustic Gaiety. The former represents a peasant's house, where a man with his foot resting on a stool is playing the clarinet; his audience consists of two peasants, one of whom is sitting and the other standing by the side of the fire.

Music is the feature of Rustic Gaiety also. A table with a green cover is set with pewter plates and bread; seated thereat is a peasant, dressed in green blouse and wearing a red cap, his face turned toward the spectator. His left hand rests on his leg and he holds a glass of wine in his right. Opposite is a woman singing and playing the guitar; a little farther away another woman, with a glass of wine in one hand and a jug in the other, is also singing. In the background a peasant, seated near a barrel, is lighting a pipe, and still farther back a man is playing a fiddle.

=A Village Interior, by Sorgh.=--Hendrik Maertinsz Sorgh, who died in Rotterdam in 1670, and who was a pupil of David Teniers, reflects his master in A Village Interior. Here we have the interior of a barn where five peasants are eating and drinking around a table, at which is also seated an old woman whose hands are resting on a jug. On the left is a brick oven, and utensils of various kinds hang on the wall. Many articles are scattered about, including a leather slipper, a wooden spoon, some mussel shells, a tub of onions, etc. From the ceiling hangs a wicker bird-cage and in the foreground a cock and hen are strutting about.

=The Market in Rotterdam, by Sorgh.=--Another picture represents an animated scene at The Market in Rotterdam. In the foreground a vegetable stall is placed against the _facade_ of a house. A woman carrying a copper pail is selecting some vegetables and disputing with the vender. Farther back more buyers and sellers are arguing; and the background is closed with some houses and the entrance to the Nieuwsteeg.

=A Village Interior, by Wyck.=--A Village Interior, by Thomas Wyck (1616-77), shows a room in which a woman is seated; a little boy kneeling has his head in her lap; by her side is a little girl, and other little girls are sitting on the floor; under the window on the left a child is sitting at a table with a red carpet; on the right, in the foreground, stands a barrel on which is a jug. A wooden stairway is seen in the background.

=Two Paintings illustrating the Versatility of Quellinus.=--Erasmus Quellinus (1607-78) was a pupil of Rubens, and painted history, architecture, landscape, portraits, and religious subjects, like his master. He was a strong colorist and his draughtsmanship is excellent. Two sides of his art are exhibited in The Ascension of the Virgin and A Woman in a Kitchen. The latter is a fine study of still life in the rendering of the various utensils. On the right a young woman with bare arms, a white cap, a red dress, and white tunic is represented down to the knees; on the left on the table and by its side are all sorts of pewter, copper, and earthenware utensils. Behind the table stands a young negress who is offering a bunch of cherries to the woman.

=A Fine Example of Kalff's Still-life Painting.=--Another study of still life is shown in The Village Kitchen, by Willem Kalff, a fine example of this master. In the background a woman is preparing vegetables, a man stands near a ladder with a basket filled with vegetables, and another woman is coming through an open door; but these figures are subordinate in interest to the pots, kettles, and pans of shining copper; the meat hanging from the ceiling; the bottles, the casks, milk jugs, white linen, beer, artichokes, onions, cabbages, and other vegetables and fruits variously arranged.

=Koninck's Famous Gold Weigher.=--Of single figures perhaps the most famous is by Salomon Koninck (1609-68?), pupil of N. Moijaert. The Gold Weigher, an old man with white hair and beard, is seated at a table. He wears a doublet of green velvet and gray fur, and a crimson velvet cap; he weighs the gold with the greatest care in a pair of scales which he holds in his right hand. He holds a piece of gold in his left hand also. On the table, which is covered with a red cloth, are books, a sheet of paper, a box of weights, and a bag of gold. The light falls through a window on the left.

=Van der Neer's Guitar Player.=--The Guitar Player, by Eglon Hendrik van der Neer, is probably a portrait. Here we see a young woman dressed in a red satin skirt and a white satin jacket, seated by a clavecin. She is tuning a guitar; and not far away is a gentleman who has a glass of wine in his hand.

=Pencz's Savant in his Cabinet.=--George Pencz (d. 1550) was a pupil of Albert Durer, who also went to Rome and studied under Raphael. He painted therefore much the same class of subjects and in the same style as Van Orley. His Savant in his Cabinet is an interesting interior. The savant is seated at a table covered with a green carpet, his head rests on his right hand, and his left is extended toward a death's head. He is dressed in red and wears a red cap. Behind the table is a desk on which are an open book and a copper chandelier with an extinguished candle. Through an open window in the background a landscape is visible.

=The Drinker, by D. Ryckaert.=--Another good study is The Drinker, by David Ryckaert (1612-77), a pupil of his father, Maerten Ryckaert, and who formed himself on Teniers, Brouwer, and Ostade. The man in a brown coat with red sleeves and a red cap is seated at a table with a pewter mug in one hand and a pipe in the other. A pewter plate and an earthenware jug stand on the table.

=Pictures containing Human Figures, by Muys.=--Nicholas Muys (1740-1808) has three scenes in _grisaille_ from plays, A Study in Light, two Interiors, and a Landscape with Figures. The last shows a monument in the shadow of an oak, and before it a gentleman, lady, and little child in the costume of the end of the eighteenth century. A beggar and his family sue for charity. Near the monument are three other persons. Two ducks are being pursued by dogs in the foreground, a hut is seen among the trees in the distance, and a village lies on the horizon.

One of the Interiors represents an apartment of the eighteenth century, where a lady dressed in a green robe is showing a little picture to two gentlemen. The other Interior is a richly carved vestibule, in which stands a lady in a violet silk dress and a blue hat; by her side on the floor are a dead heron, a partridge, a hare, and some rabbits, and the live greyhound that helped to catch them. Through a door in the centre is seen the kitchen, where the huntsman and his wife are preparing the vegetables; and there are two other persons, one of whom is hanging a cage from the ceiling.

In A Study in Light the painter has grouped a number of objects,--a bust of Homer on a white marble table, a guitar, music-books, and a chair with a violin on it,--and lighted them from a candle in a silver chandelier. In the background a lady is standing before an open clavecin with a sheet of music in her hand.

=An Interior, by J. B. Scheffer.=--Johan Baptist Scheffer, who died in Amsterdam in 1809, has here An Interior, showing a room in which a young peasant woman is sitting at a table preparing vegetables. Beside her stands a pedler who has placed his right hand on her shoulder, while his left dangles a gold chain before her eyes. On the left, a little girl is amusing herself by scaring a cat with her dog; in the background an open door gives a view through the next room into the street.

=Ary Scheffer's Training.=--Scheffer's more famous son, Arie (1795-1858), inherited talent also from his mother, Cornelia Lamme, a very distinguished miniature-painter. He received his first instruction from his father and in Paris studied under Pierre Guerin. Gericault and Eugene Delacroix joined him in striking into a new path of art.

=His Two Paintings of Ulrich of Wurtemburg.=--Here Arie Scheffer has two sketches--Heads of Two Children, and A Shepherd Under a Stormy Sky, and two large canvases on Uhland's ballad representing Ulrich, son of Count Eberhard of Wurtemburg. He first represents the young warrior who, having lost the Battle of Reutlingen, returns to Stuttgart and finds his father at the table alone. He has a cold welcome; and Count Eberhard without greeting him takes a knife and cuts the table-cloth in halves. In Scheffer's picture Ulrich is standing by the table on the right, and the angry father is cutting the table-cloth. Exasperated by this insult, Ulrich returned to the army and, throwing himself into the thickest of the fray at Doffingen, was killed. The old count spent the night weeping over the body of his only son. The companion picture, called The Weeper, represents the bereaved father with clasped hands seated by Ulrich's body, which still is in armor and lying on a bearskin in the tent.

=Hendrik Scheffer's The First Child.=--Arie's younger brother, Hendrik Scheffer (1798-1862), also a pupil of Guerin, was a capable painter whose work, The First Child, hangs in this gallery. A young mother in bed receives a visit from her husband, who is kissing her hand. On the right the nurse is seen with the child in her arms.

=A Similar Picture by Cornelis Troost.=--Another similar picture is by Cornelis Troost. The lady is lying in bed eating her breakfast. Near her are a cradle, a nurse with the baby, and a little girl. The wall is hung with portraits, and a clock and a painted screen are seen.

=Brakenburg's Malade Imaginaire and Interior.=--Richard Brakenburg (1650-1702), a pupil of Ostade, has a _Malade Imaginaire_, in which a young woman in blue rests languidly on her pillow, attended by a physician, who is feeling her pulse. A little dog plays by her side, and several persons are variously grouped and laughing. A parrot cage hangs from the ceiling. This picture is dated 1696. A different phase of life appears in his Interior, showing a large room full of peasants, including women and children. They are laughing at an owl on a perch, because a man dressed in a black satin doublet is giving it a piece of cake on the point of a knife. A bird-cage hangs from the ceiling.

=Bollongier's Carnival.=--Hans or Johan Bollongier, who lived in the middle of the seventeenth century, has a Carnival. A man and woman are dancing in a street, the former being dressed as a savage and carrying a club; an individual follows them with a "rommel pot." In the foreground we see a dog, and a man in a blue toga, holding a sword and an imperial globe in his hands. Behind these persons a house is visible, the doors and windows of which are filled with people. The picture is dated 1720.

=Jan Steen's Feast of St. Nicholas.=--Turning now to humorous pictures, Jan Steen affords two. The Feast of St. Nicholas differs slightly from the one in the Rijks, and represents the painter's family. On the right is seated a young woman in a white satin dress and a blue velvet jacket trimmed with white fur. She is holding out her hands to a little girl, whose arms are full of spiced bread and other dainties. On the left a boy is crying behind the table, on which is a shoe containing a switch, and near him a servant, a boy, and an elderly man are laughing at his distress. The last has a glass of wine in his hand. Behind the group is an old woman, who is showing a piece of silver to the poor little boy to console him for St. Nicholas's present.

=Another Humorous Picture by Jan Steen.=--Another picture which shows Jan Steen in his most humorous vein is The Operator, who is removing the stones from a man's head. In Holland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to say that a man had "a stone in his head" was only the equivalent for saying that he was "cracked"; and "to extract the stone from one's brain" merely meant to cure him of his folly. The patient is seated in a surgeon's office, and the surgeon, who is behind him performing an imaginary operation, ostentatiously places some stones in a basin that an old woman is holding in the full view of the patient. On the left stands a boy with a basket full of stones, from which the surgeon supplies himself. The patient's arms are tightly bound with a rope of straw; a crow is pecking at his hand, and he is screaming with all his might. Some spectators at an open window are laughing heartily.

=A Similar Picture in the Style of Frans Hals.=--This may be compared with a picture of the school of Frans Hals, called The Quack Doctor. The doctor pretends to be cutting stones from the head of a man. To his cap is fastened a piece of parchment with Hebrew letters and three seals, and he wears spectacles. The patient is crying out; and a boy, dressed as a negro, stands in front with a basin full of stones. On the right is a table covered with a red cloth, upon which are scissors and other instruments, books, gourds, and a water bottle.

=Cuijp's Eater of Mussels.=--Aelbert Cuijp's Eater of Mussels has a double interest because the painter has represented himself here. The scene is laid in a forge, where the master is eating mussels from a plate that stands beside a glass of beer on a keg. Two little girls and a boy are watching him with great attention, and through an open window two gentlemen are peeping in from outside. One has a glass of wine in his hand, and the other is the artist himself, who is laughing heartily at the man devouring the mussels. In the foreground are seen a dog, a large jug, an anvil, some shells, an overturned basket of wood, a cat, and a hen. In the background are seen a blacksmith and many utensils.

=Two Bright Pictures by Van Stry.=--Abraham van Stry (1753-1826), a pupil of his father, the architectural painter, has an amusing Table Well Served. In a middle-class room a fat man is seated at a table, on which stand a fine roast and other dishes. He casts an approving glance upon a dish which a servant is just bringing in. Behind him another servant is pouring out some wine. This artist's Village Inn represents a peasant on a white horse. He is taking a glass of beer from the innkeeper's wife. A servant, a barking dog, a woman, and a boy are the other figures. The sunlight is very vivid.

=Some Characteristic Examples of the Early Netherlands School.=--The early Netherlands school is well represented by a few characteristic examples. Toost van der Beke, called "The Master of the Death of the Virgin Mary," may be studied by three pictures,--Saint Jerome in his Study, the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, and Portrait of Joris van der Helde (who died in Ghent in 1569). Dierick, or Dirck, Bouts is represented by The Apostle Saint John, which was formerly attributed to Rogier van der Weijden. Saint John is seated in a landscape writing the first verse of his Gospel on a sheet of paper, and a devil is tormenting him.

"The Master of the Half-Length Female Figures," a Dutch painter who is supposed to have worked at Bruges between 1520 and 1540, and who is known only by his pictures of saints on altarpieces and young women playing musical instruments, may be studied here in pictures called Golgotha and Young Woman Playing on a Lute. The latter is dressed in the costume of 1540, and she is singing from a music-book the words:

"Si jayme mon amy Trop, plus que mon mary, Se n'est pas de mervelles."