C. THE PICTURE GALLERY

[I interpolate here the account of the Brussels Picture Gallery, because it is the most important object to be seen in the town, after the Grand’ Place and its neighbourhood. You must pay it several visits—three at the very least—and you may as well begin early. Follow the roughly chronological order here indicated, and you will understand it very much better. Begin again next time where you left off last: but also, revisit the rooms you have already seen, to let the pictures sink into your memory. Intersperse these visits with general sight-seeing in the town and neighbourhood.

The Brussels Gallery forms an excellent continuation to the works of art we have already studied at Bruges and Ghent. In the first place, it gives us some further examples of the Old Flemish masters, of the Van Eycks and of Memling, as well as several altar-pieces belonging to the mystical religious School of the Brussels town-painter, Roger Van der Weyden, who was Memling’s master. These have been removed from churches at various times, and gradually collected by the present Government. It also affords us an admirable opportunity of becoming well acquainted with the masterpieces of Dierick Bouts, or Dierick of Haarlem, an early painter, Dutch by birth but Flemish by training, who was town painter in democratic Louvain, (which town may afterwards be made the object of an excursion from Brussels).

But, in the second place, besides these painters of the early school, the Brussels Gallery is rich in works of the transitional period, and possesses in particular a magnificent altar-piece by Quentin Matsys, the last of the old Flemish School, and the first great precursor of the Renaissance in the Low Countries. He was practically an Antwerp man (though born at Louvain), and his place in art may more fitly be considered in the Antwerp Museum.

From his time on we are enabled to trace, in this Gallery, the evolution of Flemish art to its third period, the time of Rubens (also better seen at Antwerp) and his successors, the great Dutch painters, here fairly represented by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Van der Helst, Gerard Dou, and Teniers.

In the following list of the most noteworthy works of each School, I have adhered, roughly speaking, to a chronological order, but without compelling the reader unnecessarily to dance up and down the various rooms of the collection from one work to another. The Gallery itself is one of the most splendid in Europe, and it has been recently re-arranged in a most satisfactory manner.]

The national collection of pictures by Old Masters occupies the very handsome modern building known as the Palais des Beaux-Arts in the Rue de la Régence, immediately after passing through the Place Royale. (Four large granite columns in front: bronze sculpture groups to R. and L.) See plan on p. 108.

Enter by the big door with the four large granite columns. In the vestibule, turn to the R., and mount the staircase. Then pass through Room III. and Corridor A, to Room V. on the right, and on into

Room I.

Hall of the Old Flemish Masters.

This contains the most interesting works in the Gallery.

(You may also, if you like, pass through the collection of Sculpture in the Hall below, entering by Corridor D; in which case, turn to the L. into Rooms VIII. and II., and then to the R. into Room I., as above. This is the handsomer entrance. Much of the sculpture has great merit: but being purely modern, it does not fall within the scope of these Historical Guides.)

Begin in the middle of the wall, with No. 170, **Hubert van Eyck: the two outer upper shutters from the Adoration of the Lamb at Ghent, representing Adam and Eve, whose nudity so shocked Joseph II. that he objected to their presence in a church. These fine examples of the unidealized northern nude are highly characteristic of the Van Eycks’ craftsmanship. The Adam is an extremely conscientious and able rendering of an ordinary and ill-chosen model, surprisingly and almost painfully true in its fidelity to nature. The foreshortening of the foot, the minute rendering of the separate small hairs on the legs, the large-veined, every-day hands, the frank exhibition of the bones and sinews of the neck, all show the extreme northern love of realism, and the singular northern inattention to beauty. Compare this figure with the large German panels on a gold ground in the corners diagonally opposite (No. 624), if you wish to see how great an advance in truth of portraiture was made by the Van Eycks. The Eve is an equally faithful rendering of an uninteresting model, with protruding body and spindle legs. Above, in the lunettes, are the Offerings of Cain and Abel, and the Death of Abel, in grisaille. The backs of the shutters will be opened for you by the attendant. They exhibit, above, two Sibyls, with scrolls from their prophecies; below, the central portion of the Annunciation in the total picture, with a view through the window over the town of Ghent, and the last words of the angelic message, truncated from their context. This portion of the picture is, of course, only comprehensible by a study of the original altar-piece at Ghent.

THE PICTURE GALLERY AT BRUSSELS.

Continue now along this wall to the R. of the Adam and Eve.

24. J. Gossart, called Mabuse (1470-1541), triptych with a Glorification of the Magdalen, given by a special votary. The central panel contains the chief event in her history—the Supper at the House of Simon the Pharisee. The host and one guest are admirably represented by Flemish portraits, exquisitely robed, and reproduced in marvellous detail. The figure of the Christ is, as usual, insipid. Beneath the table, the Magdalen, as central figure, with her alabaster box of ointment, kisses the feet of Christ. To the right, Judas, with his traditional red hair, and bearing the purse, asks, with a contemptuous gesture, Why this was not sold and given to the poor? In the background are the Apostles. Conspicuous amongst them is the conventional round face of St. Peter. The whole scene takes place in a richly decorated interior, with charming colouring and a finely rendered clock, curtain, and other accessories. Gossart visited Italy, and was one of the earliest Flemings to be influenced by the Italian Renaissance. You will not overlook the half-Gothic, half-Renaissance architecture, nor the chained squirrel, nor the semi-grotesque episodes in the background, very domestic and Flemish. (Moses above the Pharisee’s head marks his devotion.)

The left panel has another principal event in the Magdalen’s life, the Resurrection of Lazarus. Here also the Christ is insipid, but the Peter behind him, in a green robe, is finely characterized; and the John, affected. Beside are the Magdalen (same dress as before) and Martha, with a group of women and bystanders in singular head-dresses. In the background rises a very ideal Bethany. The right panel represents the kneeling donor (an unknown Premonstratensian abbot); on his book is written, “Mary Magdalen, pray for us.” Above him is seen the floating figure of the Magdalen, clad only in her own luxuriant hair, and raised aloft by angels from her cave, the Sainte Baume, in Provence, to behold the Beatific Vision. The background has Stations of the Cross, actually copied (with the rest of the landscape) from those at the Sainte Baume, which Gossart must have visited at his patron’s instance. On the backs of the wings, yet another scene in the life of the Saint, Christ and the Magdalen in the Garden. All this triptych is finely modelled and well-coloured.

552. Three panels attributed to Roger van der Weyden, of Tournai, town painter of Brussels, and teacher of Memling—a highly symbolical and religious master. Scenes from the Life of the Virgin. In the centre, the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. The foreground is occupied by St. Joachim and St. Anna, parents of the little Virgin, who is seen mounting the regulation fifteen steps of the Temple, assisted by a somewhat unusual angel. At the head of the steps stands the High Priest. Within, the Virgins of the Lord are seen reading. To the right, still in the same panel, is the Annunciation, with the usual features, angel L., Madonna R., prie-dieu, bed, Annunciation lily, and arcade in the foreground. The left panel has the Circumcision; and the right, Christ among the Doctors in the Temple, with some excellent portraits in the background. (For Van der Weyden’s place in art, see Conway; for the Madonna ascending the steps, Legends of the Madonna.)

554. Also attributed to Roger van der Weyden: parts of the same series, Way to Calvary and the Crucifixion. The first has the usual brutal soldiers and a suffering but not very dignified Christ. (Study for comparison with others.) Beside the Virgin kneels the donor. The second has the conventional figures of the fainting Madonna, St. John, the Magdalen, and the other Maries: sun and moon darkened. In the distance of both, Flemish towns. (Good trees and landscape.)

105a. Fine Madonna with Child, and an apple by Van Clìve.

159. A crowded Calvary of the German School (late 15th century) with an emaciated Saviour, writhing and distorted thieves, and rather wooden spectators. Observe the St. Longinus in armour on the bay horse, piercing the side of Christ, for comparison hereafter with such later conceptions as Rubens’s at Antwerp. To the L. is the group of the Madonna, St. John, and the two Maries. The red eyes of St. John are characteristic of this scene, and descend to Van Dyck. The Maries are unmitigated German housewives. The Magdalen embraces the foot of the Cross. On the right are spectators and a brawl between soldiers. The background is full of characteristic German devils and horrors: also St. Veronica, Peter and Malchus, Judas hanging himself, etc.

Above it, 523, German School, attributed to Wolgemut, Christ and the Apostles: gold background. Very flavourless: shows the tendencies from which the Van Eycks revolted.

517. Roger van der Weyden: head of a Woman Weeping. Perhaps a portion of a large composition, or a study for one. More likely, a copy by a pupil. Much damaged.

Now, return along the same wall, beyond the great Van Eyck in the centre.

335. Bernard van Orley (transitional). Triptych (sawn in two), with the Patience of Job inside, and Lazarus and Dives outside. In the centre panel, the house falling upon the sons of Job. In the background, Job and his comforters: his house in flames, etc. Left panel, the flocks and herds of Job driven off by the Sabeans, with Satan before the Almighty at the summit. Right panel, Job in his last state more blessed than formerly: his comforters ask him to intercede for them. Beyond this again, the outer shutters (the panels having been sawn through): extreme left, Lazarus at the Rich Man’s gate; above, his new-born soul borne aloft to Heaven. Below, cooks, servants, etc. Extreme right, the Rich Man dying, attended by his physician (compare the Dropsical Woman by Gerard Dou in the Louvre). Below, Dives in Torments (in a very Flemish Hell) calling to Lazarus. Above, Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. This is a good characteristic example of the transitional period between the early and later Flemish art, greatly influenced by the Italian Renaissance. Van Orley travelled in Italy, and imitated Raphael in composition and drawing.

Beyond it, attributed to Roger van der Weyden, 553 (3 panels arbitrarily placed together). In the centre panel, two subjects. Left, the Nativity, elements all conventional: ruined temple, shed, ox and ass (extremely wooden), and St. Joseph in background. (He frequently bears a candle in this scene in order to indicate that the time is night.) Right, the Adoration of the Three Kings, old, middle-aged, young, the last a Moor. St. Joseph examines, as often, the Old King’s gift. Note his costume; it recurs in Flemish art. Left panel, Joseph of Arimathea with the Crown of Thorns, Nicodemus with the three nails, St. John, and the three Maries at the sepulchre. Right panel, Entombment, with the same figures: the Crown of Thorns and nails in the foreground. Great importance is always attached to these relics, preserved in the Sainte Chapelle, and at Monza, near Milan.

350. Patinier. Repose on the Flight into Egypt, with fine landscape background.

122. Cranach the Elder. Hard portrait of a very Scotch looking and Calvinistic Elder.

10. Amberger; German School, 16th century; excellent portrait of a gentleman; good beard.

569. Fine portrait of a man, by unknown artist. Flemish School, 16th century.

Above these, 618, Flagellation and Ascension, German School, with gilt backgrounds.

The skied pictures on this wall are only interesting as specimens of the later transitional period; when Flemish Art was aiming ill at effects unnatural to it.

Continue along the wall in the same direction.

By the door, 557, *portrait of Johanna of Spain (the Mad), mother of Charles V.: fine 15th century work.

531 and 532. Excellent old Flemish portraits.

Above these, 541, Scenes from the Life of the Virgin, with a donor. L., Nativity. Note the conventional elements. R., Circumcision. Above, Angel and patron saints.

557. *Portrait of Philippe le Beau, father of Charles V., companion to his wife opposite. Observe the collar of the Golden Fleece, and the united arms of Spain, Burgundy, etc., on his doublet. These portraits were originally the wings of a triptych.

544. A Holy Family and St. Anne, with the donor, a Franciscan monk, by a feeble imitator of Memling.

334. Tolerable portrait of a doctor, by Bernard Van Orley.

Next it, unnumbered, *Virgin and child. Gérard David. Our Lady feeds Christ with a characteristic Flemish wooden spoon.

348. Patinier, a painter chiefly memorable for his landscapes (of which this is a poor example). St. Jerome in the Desert, beating his breast with a stone before a crucifix. Beside him, his cardinal’s hat and lion. Not a good example of the master.

641. Holbein the Younger. Portrait of *Sir Thomas More.

Above, 575. Triptych, Flemish School, early 16th century. Centre panel, Miracle of St. Anthony of Padua and the Mule. (The Saint, carrying the Host, met a scoffer’s mule, which knelt till it passed.) Above, St. Bonaventura, attired as bishop, praying. These must be the chief objects of the donor’s devotion: they are also represented on the outer wings. Right and left, the donor (whose name was Tobias), with his personal patron, St. Raphael the Archangel (accompanying the young Tobias), and his wife, with St. Margaret and the Dragon. (For Tobias and the Fish, see Book of Tobit.)

174, skied, is a Last Judgment by Floris, also transitional and useful for comparison with others elsewhere. To R. and L., the Fall of the Damned and the Just Ascending recall early examples at Bruges.

534. Triptych of the Flemish School (Hugo van der Goes?); Centre panel, Assumption of Our Lady. Round the empty tomb are gathered the apostles; conspicuous among them, St. Peter with a censer, and St. James. Above, Our Lady taken up in a glory by Christ and the Holy Ghost, represented as like Him. In the background, her Funeral, St. Peter, as Pope, accompanying. Note the papal dress of St. Peter; St. James holds the cross as Bishop of Jerusalem. Left wing, the chief donor, accompanied by his guardian angel and two of the apostles, one of whom holds St. Peter’s tiara, as if part of the main picture. In the background, St. Thomas receiving the Holy Girdle from an Angel, a common treatment in Flemish art, though Italians make him receive it from Our Lady in person. (See my Guide to Florence.) Right wing, donor’s son and wife, with guardian angel. This triptych closely resembles No. 535 (which see later), except that that picture is in one panel, instead of three. I think 535 must have been painted first, and this taken from it, but made into a triptych; which would account for the unusual flowing over of the main subject into the wings.

419. Martin Schongauer (of Colmar, a German largely influenced by Roger van der Weyden), *Ecce Homo, painted like a miniature.

349. Patinier: another Repose on the Flight into Egypt. Observe persistence of the main elements. Notice in particular, as compared with the similar picture (350) close by, the staff, basket, etc., in the R. foreground.

546. School of Memling, perhaps by the master: a Bishop preaching: M. Fétis thinks, exhorting the Crusade in which Pope Nicholas V. wished to interest the princes of Europe after the fall of Constantinople.

621. School of Dürer: Fine and thoughtful portrait of a man, perhaps Erasmus.

Above it, 577, Flemish triptych (school of Van der Weyden) of the Adoration of the Magi, the elements in which will by this time be familiar to you. Right and left, Adoration of the Shepherds and Circumcision. The exceptional frequency of the subject of the Adoration of the Magi in the Low Countries and the Rhine district is to be accounted for by the fact that the relics of the Three Kings are preserved in Cologne Cathedral, and are there the chief object of local cult.

At the corner,

84 and 255, two good portraits by the German de Bruyn (early 16th cent.). Transitional: show Italian influence.

Between them, 619, unknown German, Wedding Feast at Cana. That you may have no doubt as to the reality of the miracle, a servant is pouring water into the jars in the foreground. He is much the best portion of the picture. Behind are Christ, St. John, and Our Lady. Next to them, the bride and bridegroom. (Compare the Gerard David in the Louvre.)

Above it, 624, a very quaint St. George and St. Catherine, early German School, with gold background. St. George is stiffly clad in armour, and painfully conscious of his spindle legs, with a transfixed dragon and broken lance at his feet. St. Catherine looks extremely peevish, with a Byzantine down-drawn mouth: she holds the sword of her martyrdom, and has a fragment of her wheel showing behind her. Her face is highly characteristic of the severity and austerity of early German art. Companion piece (624) at opposite corner.

Now proceed to the next wall.

539. Fine portraits of a donor and his wife, with their patron saints, Peter and Paul. The tops of both have been sawn off.

549 and 643. Two Madonnas. Not very important.

545. Between them, **unknown German Master (Lafenestre says, Flemish). Panel with Our Lady and Virgin Saints, what is called a “Paradise Picture,” apparently painted for a church or nunnery in Cologne, and with the chief patronesses of the city churches or chapels grouped around in adoration. Our Lady, with her typical German features, sits in front, in a robe of blue, before a crimson damask curtain upheld by angels. Her face is sweetly and insipidly charming. She holds a regal court among her ladies. In front of her kneels the Magdalen, with her long hair and pot of ointment. To the L., St. Catherine of Alexandria, crowned as princess, and with her wheel embroidered in pearls on her red robe as a symbol. The Infant Christ places the ring on her finger. Further L., St. Cecilia with a bell, substituted in northern art (where the chimes in the belfry were so important) for the organ which she holds in Italy. Then, St. Lucy, with her eyes in a dish, and St. Apollonia, holding her tooth in a pair of pincers. In front of these two, in a richly brocaded dress, and beautiful crown, St. Ursula, the great martyr of Cologne, with the arrows of her martyrdom lying at her feet. To Our Lady’s right, St. Barbara, in a purple robe trimmed with ermine and embroidered with her tower (of three windows), offers a rose to the Infant. Her necklet is of towers. As usual in northern art, she balances St. Catherine. Beside her kneels St. Agnes, in red, with her lamb, and her ruby ring: beyond whom are St. Helena with the cross (wearing a simple Roman circlet), St. Agatha, holding her own severed breast in the pincers, and St. Cunera with the cradle and arrow, one of the martyred companions of St. Ursula. In the background, the True Vine on a trellis, the garden of roses (“is my sister, my spouse”), and a landscape of the Rhine, in which St. George kills the dragon. This is a particularly fine composition of the old German School.

65 and 66. **Dierick Bouts: Two companion panels, life-size figures, known as the Justice of the Emperor Otho, and painted for the Council-Room of the Hôtel-de-Ville at Louvain, as a warning to evil-doers, perjurers, or unjust magistrates. (Compare the Gerard David of the Flaying of Sisamnes in the Academy at Bruges.) It is first necessary to understand the story. During the absence of the Emperor Otho in Italy (according to tradition), his empress made advances to a gentleman of the court, who rejected her offers. Piqued by this rebuff, the empress denounced him to Otho on his return as having attempted to betray her honour. Otho, without further testimony, had the nobleman beheaded. His widow appeared before the Emperor’s judgment-seat, bearing her husband’s head in her hands, and offered to prove his innocence by the ordeal of fire. She therefore held a red-hot iron in her hand unhurt. Otho, convinced of his wife’s treachery by this miraculous evidence, had the perjured empress burned alive. The first panel, to the R., represents the scene in two separate moments. Behind, the nobleman, in his shirt and with his hands tied, walks towards the place of execution, accompanied by his wife in a red dress and black hood, as well as by a Franciscan friar. In the foreground, the executioner (looking grimly stern) has just decapitated the victim, and is giving the head to the wife in a towel. The headless corpse lies on the ground before him. The neck originally spurted blood; flowers have been painted in to conceal this painful element. All round stand spectators, probably portraits of the Louvain magistrates, admirably rendered in Bouts’s dry and stiff but life-like manner. Behind them, within a walled garden belonging to a castle in the background, stand the Emperor with his sceptre and crown, and the faithless Empress. Good town and landscape to the L. The second panel, to the L., separated from this by a large triptych, represents the nobleman’s wife appearing before the enthroned Otho. In her right hand she holds her husband’s head; with her left she grasps the red-hot iron, unmoved. The brazier of charcoal in which it has been heated stands on the parti-coloured marble floor in the foreground. Around are several portraits of courtiers. Behind is represented the scene of the empress burning, which closes the episode. I need not call attention to the admirable painting of the fur, the green coat, Otho’s flowered red robe, the dog, the throne, and all the other accessories. This is considered Dierick Bouts’s masterpiece. (Go later to Louvain to complete your idea of him.)

Between these two pictures are arranged five of the finest works in the collection.

292 and 293. Memling: **Portraits of William Moreel (or Morelli), Burgomaster of Bruges, and his wife Barbara, the same persons (Savoyards) who are represented in the St. Christopher triptych in the Academy at Bruges. Their daughter is the Sibyl Sambetha of the St. John’s Hospital. Both portraits, but especially the Burgomaster’s, are good, hard, dry pictures.

515. Memling: **Triptych: perhaps painted in Italy (if I permitted myself an opinion, I would say, doubtfully by Memling). At any rate, it is for the Sforza family of Milan. Central panel, the Crucifixion, with Our Lady and St. John. Beautiful background of a fanciful Jerusalem. Sun and moon darkened. In the foreground kneel Francesco Sforza in armour, his wife Bianca Visconti, and his son Galeazzo-Maria. Behind the duke, his coat of arms. Left panel: the Nativity. In the foreground St. Francis with the Stigmata, as patron saint of Francesco, and St. Bavon with his falcon. Right panel: St. John the Baptist, as patron saint of Giovanni Galeazzo. Below, St. Catherine with her sword and wheel, and St. Barbara with her tower, two charming figures. I do not know the reason of their introduction, but they are common pendants of one another in northern art. You can get an attendant to unfasten the outer wings of the triptych for you, but they are not important. They contain, in grisaille, L., St. Jerome and the lion; R., St. George and the dragon. (The presence of St. Bavon in this enigmatic picture leads me to suppose it was painted for a church at Ghent. But what were the Sforza family doing there? Perhaps it has reference to some local business of the Sforzas in Flanders.)

190. **Roger van der Weyden: Portrait of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, wearing the Golden Fleece. An excellent and characteristic piece of workmanship. The arrow has a meaning: it is the symbol of St. Sebastian, to whom (as plague-saint) Charles made a vow in illness, and whom ever after he specially reverenced.

294. Memling: **Portrait of an unknown man, which may be contrasted for its comparative softness of execution with the harder work of his master beside it. Above these:—

211. Triptych, by Heemskerck (early Dutch School), representing, Centre, the Entombment, Christ borne, as usual, by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. In front, the crown of thorns. Behind, the Magdalen; then the Madonna and St. John, the two Maries, and an unknown man holding a vase of ointment. L. and R. the donor and his wife, with their patron saints Peter and Mary Magdalen (keys, box of ointment).

542. *Dierick Bouts of Louvain: The Last Supper. A fine and characteristic example of the town painter of Louvain. The faces are those of peasants or small bourgeois. To the right are the donors, entering as spectators: their faces are excellent. Judas sits in front of the table. The Christ is insipid. Note the admirable work of the pavement and background. The servant is a good feature. If you have Conway with you, compare this picture with the engraving of the very similar one by Bouts at Louvain, (p. 277:) only, the architecture there is Gothic, here Renaissance.

139. *Descent from the Cross (Van der Weyden or his school). Notice the white sheet on which the body is laid, as later in the great Rubens. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea support the body, St. John and one of the Maries holds the fainting Madonna. Left, the Magdalen, with her long hair. By her feet, her box of ointment. Close beside it, the nails, hammer and pincers. (M. Lafenestre, following Bode, attributes this picture to Petrus Christus, but with a query.)

29. Pleasing transitional Madonna, School of Van Orley, somewhat Italian in feeling, in a pretty arcade, with nice landscape background.

Above these, 109, a triptych, by Coninxloo. Centre, Family of St. Anne. Interesting for comparison with the great Quentin Matsys in the centre of the room. L., Joachim’s offering rejected in the Temple (small episodes behind). R., the death of St. Anne. Come back to the central panel after you have viewed the Quentin Matsys. (The component personages are explained there.)

543. Tolerable triptych, Flemish school, representing the events of the Infancy. Centre, Adoration of the Shepherds, with the usual conventional features (ruined temple, shed, ox and ass, etc.), and St. Joseph holding his candle, as often, to indicate night time. Left, Annunciation, with the usual position of the angel reversed. Otherwise, the portico and other features persist. Compare the great Van Eyck at Ghent, from which some elements here are borrowed. Right, the Circumcision. Symbolical figure of Moses on altar, full of the symbolism of Van der Weyden’s school. (Outer shutters, uninteresting, SS. Catharine and Barbara.)

585. Above it, good family group of a donor and his sons, with St. George; and his wife and daughters, with St. Barbara. (The crucifixes mark monks and nuns.)

At the corner, 624, German school. St. Mary Magdalen and St. Thomas, on gold background. Companion piece to 624. At opposite end.

626. School of Martin Schongauer: Christ and the Magdalen in the house of the Pharisee. Very contorted. Compare with the Gossart.

Above it, 106, Flemish school. Mass of St. Gregory, with the Crucified Christ appearing on the altar. (Recall the Pourbus at Bruges.) A most unpleasant picture. Behind, are the elements of the Passion. L., the donors; R., Souls in Purgatory, relieved by masses. Many minor episodes occupy the area.

On either side of it, *27, 28, beautiful soft-toned German portraits (? by Beham) of two children, Maximilian II. and his sister Anne of Austria.

563. Lombard: Unimportant picture, meaninglessly described as Human Misfortunes. It seems to commemorate an escape from shipwreck and from plagues by the same person. L. panel: A ship sinking; a man saved on the shore. In the background, under divine direction of an angel, he finds his lost gold in a fish’s body. R. panel, He lies ill of plague, while above is seen the miracle of St. Gregory and the Angel of the Plague (Michael) sheathing his sword on the Castle of St. Angelo.

540. Virgin and Child. Attributed without much certainty to Petrus Christus.

535. Good unknown Flemish picture of the *Assumption of Our Lady (closely resembling No. 534, which see again). The empty tomb stands in the midst, with lilies; around, St. Peter and St. James, and the other apostles; above, Our Lady ascending, borne by a duplicated figure of Christ (one standing for the Holy Ghost), in an almond-shaped glory. R., Her Funeral, with St. Peter wearing the triple crown; L., St. Thomas receiving the girdle from an angel. Compare with 534, which Lafenestre judges to be the work of a different artist.

567. Good portrait attributed to Bernard Van Orley.

596. Six panels: Flemish School. Ornate, but not interesting. (1) The Lord creating Eve; in the background the Temptation. (2) Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac; in the background in three successive scenes, Abraham’s Sacrifice. (3) Noah and his Family with the Ark. (4) Esau asks the Blessing of Isaac. (5) Meeting of Jacob and Esau. Note the grotesquely urban conception of the Semitic nomads. (6) The Nativity.

559. Attributed to Van Orley. Pietà, with the usual group, and family of donors. Interesting as a work of transition.

Above it, 580. Triptych, with Descent from the Cross, Flemish school. Usual figures; identify them. On the wings, L., Agony in the Garden, Kiss of Judas, Peter and Malchus: R., The Resurrection. Noli Me Tangere, Disciples at Emmaus, etc.

107. P. Coecke, 16th century: A Last Supper. Only interesting as showing transition. Compare with Dierick Bouts.

Above it, 300. Patinier: Dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin (Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows), painfully emaciated. A sword pierces Our Lady’s breast (and will recur often). Around it, the rest of the Seven Sorrows. Note the landscape, characteristic of the painter.

12. (Old number; no new number.) Coninxloo: Joachim and Anna, with the rejected offering. From them, a genealogical tree bears the Madonna and Child. L. and R., the Angel appearing to Joachim, and Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate. (Read up the legend.) Curious architectural setting.

301. Good portrait by an unknown (transitional) Fleming (Van Orley?), probably of a lawyer; the charters seem to indicate a secretary of Maximilian and Charles V.

The place of honour in the centre of the room is occupied by 299, a magnificent **triptych by Quentin Matsys, one of the noblest works of the transitional school, strangely luminous, with very characteristic and curious colouring. It represents the favourite Flemish subject of the Family of St. Anne. (It was painted for the Confraternity of St. Anne at Louvain, and stood as an altar-piece in the church of St. Pierre.) Central panel: An arcade, in the middle arch of which appears St. Anne, in red and purple (throughout), offering grapes to the Divine Child, who holds a bullfinch, and is seated on the lap of Our Lady. R., Mary Salome, with her two sons James and John. L., Mary Cleophas, with her sons James the Less, Simon, Thaddæus, and Joseph the Just. Behind the parapet, beside St. Anne, her husband Joachim; and beside Mary Salome, her husband Zebedee. Beside Our Lady, her husband Joseph; beside Mary Cleophas, her husband Alphæus. Beautiful blue mountain landscape. L. panel: The angel appearing to Joachim, in a magnificent blue landscape. Joachim’s dress is constant. The angel’s robe is most delicious in colour. R. panel: The Death of St. Anne, with Our Lady and the other Maries in attendance. Behind, their husbands. The young Christ gives the benediction.

Now, go round to the back of the picture, to observe the outer wings. L., St. Joachim driven from the Temple by the High Priest R. (chronologically the first), Joachim and Anna (much younger), making their offerings (on marriage) to the High Priest in the Temple. (Same High Priest, younger; same dresses.) The portrait behind recalls the earlier Flemish manner; otherwise, the work is full of incipient transition to the Renaissance. Little episode of Joachim and Anna distributing alms in the background. (When the triptych is closed, this wing comes in its proper place as first of the series.)

191. Jan van Eyck: (attribution doubtful; probably a later artist, perhaps Gerard David): The Adoration of the Magi. Another good example of this favourite Flemish subject. In the foreground, the Madonna and Child: one of Van Eyck’s most pleasing faces (if his). Then, the Old King, kneeling; the Middle-aged King, half-kneeling; and the Young King, a Moor, with his gift, behind. (The Old King in such pictures has almost always deposited his gift.) In the background, Joseph, and the retinue of the Magi. Ruined temple, shed, ox, ass, etc., as usual.

291. Dierick Bouts: *Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. Characteristic peasant face; admirable cloak and background.

Now go into the next hall, marked

Room II.

on the plan. This contains mainly German and Flemish pictures of the transition.

Right of the door, 338. Very Raphaelesque Holy Family by Bernard Van Orley, showing in the highest degree the Italian influence on this originally quite Flemish painter.

Above it, 92 and 92A. Portraits of the Micaul family.

105. J. Joest: St. Anne enthroned, Joseph, Our Lady, the Infant. Early transitional.

193. Jean Gossaert, Adam and Eve. Good later Flemish nude.

50. J. Bosch: Appalling Flemish Temptation of St. Anthony, with perhaps the silliest and most grotesquely repulsive devils ever painted.

2. Aertsen: *The Dutch Cook. A famous picture, showing well the earlier stages of Dutch genre development.

217. Van Hemessen: Genre piece, absurdly given the name of The Prodigal Son, by a sort of prescription, but really a Flemish tavern scene of the sort which afterwards appealed to Dutch artists. A characteristic work: transitional, but with good humorous faces, especially to the right. Painters still thought all pictures must pretend to be sacred.

591. German Adoration of the Magi. A fragment only.

603. Herri met de Bles: The Temptation of St. Anthony. Figures and landscape show Italian influence.

336. Transitional Adoration of the Shepherds. Observe the growing Renaissance feeling and Italian influence.

247, 248. Excellent portraits by Adrien Key.

41. Lancelot Blondeel: St. Peter enthroned as Pope: in one of his usual extravagant architectural frameworks. In circles above, his Imprisonment and Crucifixion.

Close by, unnumbered, two excellent portraits.

81. P. Brueghel the Younger: absurdly called The Census at Bethlehem. In reality a Flemish winter scene.

318. Sir Anthony More: *Portrait of the Duke of Alva, with the firm lips and cruel eyes of the ruthless Spaniard. One understands him.

359. Good portrait by Pourbus of a plump and well-fed Flemish gentleman.

80. P. Brueghel the Younger: Described as the Massacre of the Innocents. Flemish winter. The beginning of genre painting.

Most of the pictures skied above these are of some interest for comparison with earlier examples of the same subjects.

565. Unknown French portrait of Edward VI. of England. Hard and dry and of little artistic value.

566. Tolerable Flemish portrait of Guillaume de Croy (Golden Fleece).

573. Good Flemish portrait of a woman, dated 1504.

555. Flemish school: Annunciation. Chiefly interesting for its conventional features, and its very quaint figure of St. Mary of Egypt, with her three loaves, in the R. panel.

124b. (Old number; no new number given.) Unusual combined picture of St. Jerome, uniting the subjects usually known as St. Jerome in the Desert and St. Jerome in his Study.

622. Fine German portrait of the early 17th century.

316. Good strong portrait, by Sir Anthony More, of Hubert Goltzius.

123. Cranach the Elder (German 16th cent.): *Adam and Eve. Fine specimens of the later northern nude of the early Renaissance, interesting for comparison with the cruder realism of Van Eyck. As yet, however, even the figure of Eve has relatively little idealism or beauty. Excellent stag in the background.

361. A good Pourbus. Beyond the door, 536, Flemish school: (Hugo Van der Goes?). Donor, a lady in a nun’s dress (?), with her name-saint, St. Barbara, bearing her palm as a martyr: in the background, her tower with the three windows. To balance it, 536, Her brother (?) or husband, with his patron, St. James. (Staff and scallop-shell.)

Above, 84, Triptych by Jan Coninxloo of the History of St. Nicholas. (The wings are misplaced.) R. wing (it should be L.), St. Nicholas, three days old, stands up in his bath to thank God for having brought him into the world. Central panel, the young St. Nicholas enthroned as Bishop of Myra. L. wing (should be R.), The Death of St. Nicholas, with angels standing by to convey his soul to Heaven. A good transitional Flemish picture. Beneath, tolerable portraits.

361a. A late Flemish Virgin, with portrait of the donor and St. Francis receiving the stigmata.

572. Sir Anthony More. Portrait. Above it, 595, an Entombment, where note again the conventional grouping.

337. Wings of a triptych by Bernard van Orley. The centre is missing. L., Martyrdom of St. Matthias. R., The Doubting Thomas. In the background, Lazarus and Dives, and other episodes. Renaissance architecture.

4. Van Alsloot: The Procession of the Body of St. Gudula at Brussels: of the Spanish period, with the guilds named. Interest purely archæological. Each guild carries its mace and symbol. (The second part comes later.)

586. Above this, skied, are four good female saints, transitional, named on labels.

574. Portrait, of the school of Van Orley: lady with a pink, pleasing. Italian influence is obvious.

505. Portrait of a lady, by M. De Vos. Early 17th century, marking the latest transitional period. It belongs to a destroyed triptych.

79. Breughel the Elder: St. Michael the Archangel conquering the devils. A hideous nightmare of a morbid and disordered imagination.

627. Crucifixion, by an unknown German, with small figures of donors, and Rhine background.

597. German school. Tree of Jesse, of purely symbolical interest.

504. *Portrait by M. De Vos. Probably husband of (and pendant to) the previous one. It was the other wing of the same triptych.

5. Van Alsloot: Remainder of the Procession of St. Gudula, with a quaint dragon, and the Maison du Roi in the background. Observe, near the centre, the personification of the patron, St. Michael: elsewhere are St. Christopher, Ste. Gudule, etc.

561. Two panels from a triptych attributed to Van Orley. Centre, missing. L., The Birth of the Virgin. Note this for the conventional features: St. Anne in bed; attendant feeding her: bath for infant. In the background presentation of the Virgin in the Temple: Joachim and Anna below: the Virgin ascending: the High Priest welcoming her: the Virgins of the Lord by the side. R., Joachim’s offering rejected. In the background, the meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate, and the angel foretelling the Birth of the Virgin. Compare this with the great Quentin Matsys, observing especially the money falling from the table.

76. Another example of a later Last Judgment.

584. Mostart: Two stories from the life of St. Benedict. (1) The miracle of his dinner. (2) As a youth, he mends by prayer the dish broken by his nurse. (See Mrs. Jameson’s Monastic Orders.)

Now pass through Room [VIII.], containing chiefly late Italian and French pictures (which neglect for the present) and go on into

Corridor A,

to the L., overlooking the Sculpture Gallery. This takes us at once into the Later Flemish school of Rubens and his followers, whose works fill all these large corridors, which are admirably adapted for them. Begin to the R. of the door. (Remember that I do not attempt criticism, but confine myself to historical indications.)

230. Jordaens: Fine landscape, with city to the right. As yet, however, landscape dare not stand entirely on its own merits. Therefore, we have here in the foreground figures of Eleazar and Rebecca at the well, which retain the tradition that pictures must have some sort of sacred purpose.

194a. Unknown. Interior of a picture-gallery, with well-known pictures.

L. of the door. 465. Van Thulden: Flemish Wedding Feast. Landscape is beginning to triumph now; it gets rid of all pretence of sacredness, but still retains small figures in the foreground. Landscape for landscape’s sake is hardly yet dreamed of.

135. De Crayer, one of the best imitators of Rubens: *Adoration of the Shepherds, in the master’s manner.

179a. Good Still Life by Fyt.

379. Rubens: **Coronation of the Virgin by God the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost hovering above in a glory. This altar-piece, for an altar of Our Lady, is a magnificent specimen of the master’s rich and luminous colouring. The crimson robe of the Christ, the blue and lilac harmony on the Madonna, and the faint yellow of the Father’s robe, are admirably contrasted. So are the darkness of the lower clouds and the luminosity of the upper region, recalling Titian’s famous Assumption at Venice. The little boy angels are sweet and characteristic. Here you may begin to appreciate the force, the dash, the lavish wealth of Rubens. (According to Rooses, however, the work of a pupil, touched up by the master.)

Then, unnumbered, Jordaens: *Susannah and the Elders: a very Flemish and matronly Susannah. The nude of Rubens, without the glorious touch of the master: but a good picture.

392. Study by the same for the ceiling in Whitehall.

386. Fine *portrait by Rubens of a fair man (J. C. de Cordes). “Inferior work.” (Fromentin.)

390. Rubens: **Charming little Madonna and Child (called “Our Lady of the Forget-me-not”), in a garden of roses (the landscape by J. Brueghel). One of his best small pictures, in a careful style.

387. Rubens: *Portrait: Wife of the last: in his finest and richest portrait manner, which contrasts in many ways with his larger and freer allegorical style. (Fromentin thinks poorly of it.)

389. In the corner, four Fine *Heads of Negroes, a study for the Magi, by Rubens. Not caricatured, but full of genuine negro character.

Above it, 219. An Adoration of the Magi by Herreyns: Interesting only as showing the persistence of the school into the 18th century.

235. Jordaens: *An Allegory of Abundance. Studies from the nude in the style of the school: meritorious.

Pass the door of the Dutch school. Beyond it, more Still Life, excellently painted.

240. Next door, Jordaens: *Nymph and Satyr. (This corridor is largely given up to works by Jordaens, who was a Protestant, and preferred heathen mythological subjects to Catholic Christian ones.

434. Snyders: 17th century: *Still Life, which now begins to be painted on its own merits. This last is by the great animal painter of the Flemish school.

238. Jordaens: Very Flemish *family group, with a somewhat superfluous satyr. (Subject nominally taken from the fable of the Satyr and the Wayfarer.)

302. Vandermeulen: View of Tournai and landscape, with the siege by Louis XIV. introduced for the sake of figures in the foreground.

Above it, 240 (? old number). De Crayer: St. Anthony and St. Paul the Hermit. Interesting for persistence of the typical figures.

The other pictures in this corridor are, I think, self-explanatory.

Now enter

Room III.

Right hand, further corner from door, Still Life by Snyders.

100. Good portrait by Philippe de Champaigne.

387a. Splendid *portrait by Rubens (according to Rooses, by Van Dyck).

This room also contains several fine pictures by Teniers (father or son) and other late Flemish painters, deserving of attention, but needing no explanation. (Portraits, etc.) Do not imagine because I pass them by that you need not look at them.

Now enter

Corridor B.

L. of the door, good works by De Crayer and others.

166. Van Dyck (the greatest pupil of Rubens, leading us on to the later Dutch school). *St. Francis in ecstasy before the Crucifix. From the Franciscan Capuchin Church in Brussels.

288. P. Meert, good portraits.

165. Companion to 166. Another Franciscan picture by Van Dyck. *St. Anthony of Padua holding the Infant Jesus. (In neither is he seen to great advantage.)

In the centre, 378, Rubens: **Assumption, high altar-piece from the Carmelite Church in Brussels. A fine picture, of Ruben’s early period, smooth of surface and relatively careful, with the apostles looking into the empty tomb, whence women are picking roses (See Legends of the Madonna). To the R., the youthful figure of St. Thomas, stretching his hands. Observe the fine contrast of colour between the lower and upper portions. This is a noble specimen of the master’s bold and dramatic treatment, but without his later ease of execution.

503. *Good portraits, by C. De Vos, of himself and his family.

127. De Crayer: St. Anthony, with his pig and staff, and St. Paul the Hermit, in his robe of palm-leaves, fed by a raven. In the background, the Death of St. Paul; two lions dig his grave. R., below, late figure of donor, seldom so introduced at this period. Jay in the background. Good landscape.

Enter

Room IV.

with landscapes and still life of the later period. Left of the door, 381, Rubens: The Woman Taken in Adultery. 605. Good *family group of the Van Vilsteren household, attributed to Van Dyck.

466. Interior of a picture-gallery, Teniers.

The room also contains several pictures worthy of note, but too modern in tone to need explanation. Observe that landscape has now almost vindicated its right to be heard alone, though figures in the foreground are still considered more or less necessary.

Now enter

Corridor C.

which contains good pictures of the later Flemish school. R. of door, 435, A. Van Utrecht: one of the favourite Dutch kitchen scenes, well painted.

L. of the door.

95. Philippe de Champaigne: Presentation in the Temple, with characteristic crude French colouring.

437. Stag Hunt by Snyders.

375. Rubens: *Martyrdom of the local Bishop, St. Lieven. His tongue is torn out and given to dogs. Very savage pagans; rearing horse; and characteristic angels, with celestial scene. In Rubens’ less pleasing “allegorical” manner. Plenty of force, but too fiercely bustling.

383. Rubens: Fine portrait of the Archduke Albert.

384. Rubens: companion portrait of the Infanta Isabella, wife of 383.

376. Rubens: *Painfully un-Christian subject: mainly by a pupil, re-touched by the master: The Saviour about to destroy the World, which is protected by St. Francis and Our Lady. A strange method by which a votary seeks to impress his devotion to his own patrons. Behind, burning towns, murder, etc.

374. Rubens: *The Way to Calvary. (Almost all these large Rubenses are from High Altars.) In the foreground, the two thieves; then Christ falling, and a very Flemish and high-born St. Veronica unconcernedly wiping his forehead. Our Lady faints close by, supported by St. John. St. Longinus mounted, and Roman soldiers. The composition somewhat sketchy, but immensely vigorous. A gorgeous pageant, it wholly lacks pathos.

377. Rubens: **Adoration of the Magi (Altar-piece of the Capuchin Church at Tournai). One of his noblest works, magnificently and opulently coloured. The subject was one he often painted. Note still the Three Kings, representing the three ages and continents, but, oh, how transfigured! In their suite are Moors and other Orientals. Behind, St. Joseph with flambeaux, representing the earlier candle. This is a painting in Rubens’s best Grand Seigneur manner—vast, throbbing, concentrated. He thinks of a Nativity as taking place with all the pomp and ceremony of the courts which he frequented. Charming pages in the foreground.

382. Rubens: Venus in the Forge of Vulcan. A made-up picture. Splendid studies of the exuberant nude by Rubens; with effects of light and shade in a smithy, added in the late 17th century to make up for a lost portion.

380. Rubens (much restored): *Christ on the knees of Our Lady. A noble composition, greatly injured. In the foreground kneels the Magdalen (her hair falling ungracefully), with the nails and Crown of Thorns. Notice always her abundant locks. To the R., St. Francis, with the Stigmata, bends over in adoration (a Franciscan picture). To the L., very fleshy angels (Antwerp models) hold the instruments of the Passion. White sheet and dead flesh in their usual strong combination. (Painted for the Franciscan Capuchins of Brussels.)

The De Crayers, close by, contrast in the comparative crudity of their colour with the splendid harmonies of the master.

507. Paul de Vos: Horse and Wolves. Full of spirit.

129. De Crayer. The Martyrdom of St. Blaise. Shows him combed with a wool-carder.

Then flowers, hunting scenes, etc., requiring no comment.

Now pass through Room VII. (with Italian pictures to be considered later) and enter

Corridor D.

Right of door, nothing that requires comment.

Left of door, 231, Janssens: Our Lady appearing to St. Bruno.

125. De Crayer: *Assumption of St. Catherine, with her wheel and sword. A fine picture, in which De Crayer approaches very near Rubens. In the foreground are St. Augustine with the flaming heart; St. Gregory, habited as Pope; St. Ambrose, and St. Jerome,—the four Doctors of the Church, with other saints, contemplating devoutly the glory of St. Catherine.

R. and L. of central door, 136, 137, good saints, by De Crayer. Beneath them, excellent landscapes.

The remaining pictures in this room can be inspected by the visitor without need for explanation.

It is interesting to stand by the balustrade, here, above the sculpture gallery, not only for the general outlook upon the handsome hall, but also to note how the colour of the Rubenses stands out at a distance among the other pictures.

Now, go on through Room VIII. to Corridor A., reaching on the L.,

Room V.

containing the Dutch Masters. On these, for the most part, I shall have little to say. Their landscapes, flower-pieces, and portraits are admirable, indeed, but they are of the sort which explain themselves at sight, and need rather for their appreciation critical faculty than external knowledge. Begin on the L. of the door.

282. Nicolas Maes: Good portrait of a 17th century lady.

263. Leerman’s Crucifixion, finely executed.

Near it, good landscape or flower-pieces, etc., by Cuyp, De Heem, and Isaac van Ostade.

448. St. Pierre at Louvain.

525. Good hunting scene by Wouwerman.

279. **Admirable figure of an old woman fallen asleep over her reading, by Nicolas Maes.

Above it, 284. *Good portrait by Nicolas Maes.

278. *Fine portrait by Luttichuys.

304. Van Mieris: Susannah and the Elders. Frankly anachronistic.

233 is a fine *landscape with cattle, by Karel du Jardin.

147. Van Delen: Excellent architectural piece, with good *portraits in the foreground, painted in later by Emmanuel Biset.

End Wall.

44. Admirable *portrait by Bol.

45. Bol: *Portrait of a lady, probably wife of the last. On either side 310, 311, characteristic tavern scenes by Molinaer.

Right Wall.

398. One of Jacob Ruysdael’s finest landscapes, with ruined tower.

399. Excellent *sea piece by Jacob Ruysdael, representing the Lake of Haarlem in a storm. Good foam.

I pass by, on the same wall, many meritorious Dutch works which cannot fail to strike the observer.

141. Albert Cuyp: *Cows. Excellent.

232. *Delicately luminous piece by Karel du Jardin, “L’Avant-garde du Convoi.”

153. Gerard Dou: **The artist drawing a Cupid by lamplight. One of his finest studies in light and shade. It should be looked at long and carefully.

On either side of it, delicate small pieces by Steen, A. van Ostade and Dietrich.

47. *Good portrait by Bol.

281. *Portrait by Maes. Fine and audacious in colouring. Above it, 403, good Ruysdael.

Do not imagine because I give little space to the pictures in this room that they are not therefore important. As works of art, many of them are of the first value; but they do not require that kind of explanation which it is the particular province of these Guides to afford.

Now, pass through the small passage to

Room VI.

containing works also by the Dutch masters, the finest of which are here exhibited.

Left of the door.

364. Van Ravestein, capital portrait.

280. Maes: **Old woman reading.

206. Fruit piece by De Heem. One of his finest.

490. Van der Velde, junior: Shipping on the Zuyder Zee. The Dutch interest in the sea begins to make itself felt.

345. Portraits by Palamedes, arranged as a musical party.

352 (old number, no new number given). Molyn the Elder: Town fête by night. Good effect of light.

333. Admirable *portrait by Nicolas Maes.

251 and 250. De Keyser: Two fine portraits of women.

46. Bol: **Excellent portrait of Saskia, wife of Rembrandt.

463. **Exquisite miniature portrait by Ter Burg, which should be inspected closely.

328. Van der Neer: The Burning of Dordrecht. A lurid small piece.

501. A. de Voys: The Jolly Drinker. Highly characteristic of Dutch sentiment.

528. Landscape by Wynants.

The other still life and fruit or flower pieces on this wall need no comment.

End wall.

616. Weenix: Dutch lady dressing, with good effects of light and colour.

203. Frans Hals: **Portrait of W. van Heythuysen. One of his finest works. Broadly executed, and full of dash and bravado.

496. Excellent still life by Jan Weenix.

522. De Witte: Fine architectural church interior.

222. Above it, *peacock and other birds by Hondecoeter, who painted almost exclusively similar subjects. The solitary feather in the foreground recalls his famous masterpiece at the Hague.

On each side of this, tolerable portraits by Van der Helst.

36. Fruit and still life by Van Beyeren.

444. *One of Jan Steen’s most characteristic pieces of Batavian humour. A Dutch lover offering affection’s gift, in the shape of a herring and two leeks, to a lady no longer in her first youth. Behind, her unconscious husband. The painting of every detail is full of the best Dutch merits, and the tone of the whole frankly repulsive.

Right wall.

221. Hobbema: *The Wood at Haarlem. Characteristic Dutch landscape.

202. Frans Hals: **Splendid portrait of Professor Hoornebeck of Leyden. Extremely vivacious and rapidly handled.

220. *One of Hobbema’s most famous mills.

Above this, 19, Storm at Sea, by Backhuysen.

368. Excellent **portrait by Rembrandt.

216. Portrait by Van der Helst. Not in his best manner.

445. A very characteristic and excellent Jan Steen, known as *The Rhetoricians—that is to say, members of a Literary Club or Debating Society, one of whom is engaged in reading his prize verses to a not too appreciative audience outside. Even here, however, Jan cannot omit his favourite touch of coarse Dutch love-making, with a tavern-girl introduced out of pure perversity.

357. Paul Potter: *Pigs. Admirably piggy.

End wall.

223. More of Hondecoeter’s unimpeachable *poultry.

48. Bol: *Portrait of a Mathematician and Anatomist. One of the painter’s masterpieces.

367. **Splendid portrait by Rembrandt (“L’Homme au grand chapeau”). An excellent and characteristic example of his art. The light and shade, the painting of the hair, and the masterly handling of the robe are all in the great painter’s noblest manner.

402. Capital *water scene by S. van Ruysdael: a ferry on the Meuse.

224. Hondecoeter. More poultry, this time dead, with realistic nails, and other little tricks to catch the great public.

Left wall (R. of door).

88. Van der Capelle: Calm sea, with excellent fishing boats.

Now, return through Corridors A. and D. to

Room VII.

containing the early Italian pictures. Few of these are of much value, and as they are not connected with Flanders or Brabant, I will not enlarge upon them. Right of door,

631. An early Italian Adoration of the Magi, where you may compare the Three Kings, Joseph with the gift, the ox and ass, etc., with Flemish examples.

631 (left) is a characteristic example of St. Francis receiving the stigmata. Study it for comparison with the Rubens at Ghent, and others.

628. Above is a set of panels containing events in the History of Our Lady. I give the subjects, running along the top row first, with necessary brevity: Joachim expelled from the Temple: Warned by the Angel: Anna warned by the Angel: Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate: Birth of the Virgin: Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple: The Nativity: Adoration of the Magi: Christ found in the Temple: Miracle at Cana: Raising of Lazarus: Death of the Virgin, with Christ receiving her soul as a new-born baby. All these may be studied as early examples of the subjects they represent. Above them, 629 and 630: two Crucifixions of various ages.

140. Good characteristic Carlo Crivelli of *St. Francis with the stigmata.

3. Adam and Eve. Albani.

Above it, a tolerable Veronese of *Juno scattering wealth into the lap of Venice, St. Mark’s lion beside her.

140. Beautiful Carlo Crivelli of *Our Lady and Child. This picture and the corresponding one opposite are parts of a large altar-piece, the main portion of which, a Pietà, is in the National Gallery in London.

415. Vannuchi (not Perugino): Leda and the Swan.

412 is a good portrait of Mary of Austria.

634. A tolerable Marriage of the Virgin.

473. Tintoretto: Portrait of a Venetian gentleman.

474. Another by the same.

Room VIII.

opposite, also contains later Italian pictures, with a few French.

472 is a Martyrdom of St. Mark, by Tintoretto.

497 is a Holy Family by Paolo Veronese, with St. Theresa and St. Catherine.

The other works in the room do not call for notice.

Passage leading into Room VI.

Skied. 477. Perugino: Madonna and Child, with the infant St. John of Florence, in a frame of Delia Robbia work. This is one of the best Italian pictures in this Gallery, but not a good example. Near it, School of Mantegna, Christ and St. Thomas with St. John the Baptist.

If you want further information about the pictures in the Brussels Gallery, you will find it in Lafenestre and Richtenberger’s La Belgique, in the series of La Peinture en Europe.

CATHEDRAL OF BRUSSELS