Page 188: "What a destiny was that of Eustache Lesueur!"
It is perceived that we have followed, as regards his death, the
tradition, or rather the prejudices current at the present day, and
which have misled the best judges before us. But there have appeared in
a recent and interesting publication, called Archives de l'Art
français, vol. iii., certain incontrovertible documents, never before
published, on the life and works of the painter of St. Bruno, which
compel us to withdraw certain assertions agreeable to general opinion,
but contrary to truth. The notice of Lesueur's death, extracted for the
first time from the Register of Deaths of the parish church of
Saint-Louis in the isle of Notre-Dame, preserved amongst the archives
of the Hotel de Ville at Paris, clearly prove that he did not die at the
Chartreux, but in the isle of Notre-Dame, where he dwelt, in the parish
of St. Louis, and that he was buried in the church of Saint-Etienne du
Mont, the resting-place of Pascal and Racine. It appears also that
Lesueur died before his wife, Geneviève Goussé, since the Register of
Births of the parish of Saint-Louis, contains under the date 18th
February, 1655, a notice of the baptism of a fourth child of Lesueur.
Now, Geneviève Goussé must have deceased almost immediately after her
confinement, supposing her to have died before her husband's decease,
which occurred on the 1st of the following May. If this were the case,
we should have found a notice of her death in the Register of Deaths
for the year 1655, as we do that of her husband. Such a notice, however,
which could alone disprove the probability, and authenticate the vulgar
opinion, is nowhere to be found amongst the archives of the Hotel de
Ville, at least the author of the Nouvelles Recherches has nowhere
been able to meet with it.
In the other particulars our rapid sketch of Lesueur's history remains
untouched. He never was in Italy; and according to the account of
Guillet de Saint-Georges, which has so long remained in manuscript, he
never desired to go there. He was poor, discreet, and pious, tenderly
loved his wife, and lived in the closest union with his three brothers
and brother-in-law, who were all pupils and fellow-laborers of his. It
appears to be a refinement of criticism which denies the current belief
of an acquaintance between Lesueur and Poussin. If no document
authenticates it, at all events it is not contradicted by any, and
appears to us to be highly probable.
Every one admits that Lesueur studied and admired Poussin. It would
certainly be strange if he did not seek his acquaintance, which he could
have obtained without difficulty, since Poussin was staying at Paris
from 1640 to 1642. It would be difficult for them not to have met. After
Vouet's death in 1641, Lesueur acquired more and more a peculiar style;
and in 1642, at the age of twenty-five, entirely unshackled, and with a
taste ripe for the antique and Raphael, he must frequently have been at
the Louvre, where Poussin resided. Thus it is natural to suppose that
they frequently saw each other and became acquainted, and with their
sympathies of character and talent, acquaintance must have resulted in
esteem and love. If Poussin's letters do not mention Lesueur, we would
remark that neither do they mention Champagne, whose connection with
Poussin is not disputed. The argument built on the silence of Guillet de
Saint-Georges' account is far from convincing; inasmuch as being
intended to be read before a Sitting of the Academy, it could only
contain a notice of the great artist's career, without those
biographical details in which his friendships would be mentioned.
Lastly, it is impossible to deny Poussin's influence upon Lesueur, which
it seems to us at least probable was as much due to his counsels as to
his example.
Page 190: "But the marvel of the picture is the figure of St. Paul."
We have recently seen, at Hampton Court, the seven cartoons of Raphael,
which should not be looked at, still less criticised, but on bended
knee. Behold Raphael arrived at the summit of his art, and in the last
years of life! And these were but drawings for tapestry! These drawings
alone would reward the journey to England, even were the figures from
the friezes of the Parthenon not at the British Museum. One never
tires of contemplating these grand performances even in the obscurity
of that ill-lighted room. Nothing could be more noble, more magnificent,
more imposing, more majestic. What draperies, what attitudes, what
forms! Notwithstanding the absence of color, the effect is immense; the
mind is struck, at once charmed and transported; but the soul, we can
speak for ourselves, remains well-nigh insensible. We request any one to
compare carefully the sixth cartoon, clearly one of the finest,
representing the Preaching of St. Paul at Ephesus, with the painting we
have described of Lesueur's. One, immediately and at the first sight,
transports you into the regions of the ideal; the other is less striking
at first, but stay, consider it well, study it in detail, then take in
the whole: by degrees you are overcome by an ever-increasing emotion.
Above all, examine in both the principal character, St. Paul. Here, you
behold the fine long folds of a superb robe which at once envelops and
sets off his height, whilst the figure is in shade, and the little you
see of it has nothing striking. There he confronts you, inspired,
terrible, majestic. Now say which side lays claim to moral effect.
Page 193: "The great works of Lesueur, Poussin, and so many others
scattered over Europe."
Of all the paintings of Lesueur which are in England, that which we
regret most not having seen is Alexander and his Physician, painted
for M. de Nouveau, director-general of the Postes, which passed from
the Hotel Nouveau to the Place Royale in the Orleans Gallery, from
thence into England, where it was bought by Lady Lucas at the great
London sale in 1800. The sale catalogue, with the prices and names of
the purchasers, will be found at the end of vol. i. of M. Waagen's
excellent work, Œuvres d'Art et Artistes en Angleterre, 2 vols.,
Berlin, 1837 and 1838.
We were both consoled and agreeably surprised on our return, to meet, in
the valuable gallery of M. le Comte d'Houdetot, an ancient peer of
France, and free member of the Academy of Fine Arts, with another
Alexander and his physician Philip, in which the hand of Lesueur cannot
be mistaken. The composition of the entire piece is perfect. The drawing
is exquisite. The amplitude and nobleness of the draperies recall those
of Raphael. The form of Alexander fine and languid; the person of Philip
the physician grave and imposing. The coloring, though not powerful, is
finely blended in tone. Now, where is the true original, is it with M.
Houdetot or in England? The painting sold in London in 1800 certainly
came from the Orleans' gallery, which would seem most likely to have
possessed the original. On the other hand, it is impossible M.
Houdetot's picture is a copy. They must, therefore, both be equally the
work of Lesueur, who has in this instance treated the same subject twice
over, as he has likewise done the Preaching of St. Paul; of which there
is another, smaller than that at the Louvre, but equally admirable, at
the Place Royale, belonging to M. Girou de Buzariengues, corresponding
member of the Academy of Sciences.[284]
We borrow M. Waagen's description of the works of Lesueur, found by that
eminent critic in the English collections: The Queen of Sheba before
Solomon, the property of the Duke of Devonshire, vol. i., p. 245.
Christ at the foot of the Cross supported by his Family, belonging to
the Earl of Shrewsbury, vol. ii., p. 463, "the sentiment deep and
truthful," remarks M. Waagen. The Magdalen pouring the ointment on the
feet of Jesus, the property of Lord Exeter, vol. ii., p. 485, "a
picture full of the purest sentiment;" lastly, in the possession of M.
Miles, a Death of Germanicus, "a rich and noble composition,
completely in Poussin's style," remarks M. Waagen, vol. ii., p. 356. Let
us add that this last work is not met with in any catalogue, ancient or
modern. We ask ourselves whether this may not be a copy of the
Germanicus of Poussin attributed to Lesueur.
The author of Musées d'Allemagne et du Russie (Paris, 1844) mentions
at Berlin a Saint Bruno adoring the Cross in his Cell, opening upon a
landscape, and pretends that this picture is as pathetic as the best
Saint Brunos in the Museum at Paris. It is probably a sketch, like the
one we have, or one of the wanting panels; for as for the pictures
themselves, there were never more than twenty-two at the Chartreux, and
these are at the Louvre. Perhaps, however, it may be the picture which
Lesueur made for M. Bernard de Rozé, see Florent Lecomte, vol. iii., p.
98, which represented a Carthusian in a cell. At St. Petersburg, the
catalogue of the Hermitage mentions seven pictures of Lesueur, one of
which, The infant Moses exposed on the Nile, is admitted by the author
cited to be authentic. Can this be one of two Moses which were painted
by Lesueur for M. de Nouveau, as we learn from Guillet de Saint-Georges?
Unless M. Viardot is deceived, and mistakes a copy for an original, we
must regret that a real Lesueur should Lave been suffered to stray to
St. Petersburg, with many of Poussin's most beautiful Claudes (see p.
474), Mignards, Sebastian Bourdons, Gaspars, Stellas, and Valentins.
Some years ago, at the sale of Cardinal Fesch's gallery, we might have
acquired one of Lesueur's finest pieces, executed for the church of
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, which had got, by some chance, into the
possession of Chancellor Pontchartrain, afterwards into that of the
Emperor's uncle. This celebrated picture, Christ with Martha and Mary,
formed at Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, a pendent to the Martyrdom of St.
Lawrence. Will it be believed that the French Government lost the
opportunity, and permitted this little chef-d'œuvre to pass into
the hands of the King of Bavaria? A good copy at Marseilles was thought,
doubtless, sufficient, and the original was left to find its way to the
gallery at Munich, and meet again the St. Louis on his knees at Mass,
which the catalogue of that gallery attributes to Lesueur, on what
ground we are not aware. In conclusion, we may mention that there is in
the Museum at Brussels, a charming little Lesueur, The Saviour giving
his Blessing, and in the Museums of Grenoble and Montpelier several
fragments of the History of Tobias, painted for M. de Fieubet.
Page 193: "Those master-pieces of art that honor the nation depart
without authorization from the national territory! There has not been
found a government which has undertaken at least to repurchase those
that we have lost, to get back again the great works of Poussin,
Lesueur, and so many others, scattered in Europe, instead of squandering
millions to acquire the baboons of Holland, as Louis XIV. said, or
Spanish canvases, in truth of an admirable color, but without nobleness
and moral expression."
Shall we give a recent instance of the small value we appear to set on
Poussin? We blush to think that in 1848 we should have permitted the
noble collection of M. de Montcalm to pass into England. One picture
escaped: it was put up to sale in Paris on the 5th of March, 1850. It
was a charming Poussin, undoubtedly authentic, from the Orleans gallery,
and described at length in the catalogue of Dubois de Saint-Gelais. It
represented the Birth of Bacchus, and by its variety of scenes and
multitude of ideas, showed it belonged to Poussin's best period. We must
do Normandy, rather the city of Rouen, the justice to say, that it made
an effort to acquire it, but it was unsupported by Government; and this
composition, wholly French, was sold at Paris for the sum of 17,000
francs, to a foreigner, Mr. Hope.
Miserable contrast! while five or six hundred thousand francs have been
given for a Virgin by Murillo, which is now turning the heads of all
who behold it. I confess that mine has entirely resisted. I admire the
freshness, the sweetness, the harmony of color; but every other superior
quality which one looks to find in such a subject is wanting, or at
least escaped me. Ecstasy never transfigured that face, which is neither
noble nor great. The lovely infant before me does not seem sensible of
the profound mystery accomplished in her. What, then, can there be in
this vaunted Virgin which so catches the multitude? She is supported by
beautiful angels, in a fine dress, of a charming color, the effect of
all which is doubtless highly pleasant.
Page 195: "We endeavor to console ourselves for having lost the Seven
Sacraments, and for not having known how to keep from England and
Germany so many productions of Poussin, now buried in foreign
collections," etc.
After having expressed our regret that we were unacquainted with the
Seven Sacraments save from the engravings of Pesne, we made a journey
to London, to see with our own eyes, and judge for ourselves these
famous pictures, with many others of our great countryman, now fallen
into the possession of England, through our culpable indifference, and
which have been brought under our notice by M Waagen.
In the few days we were able to dedicate to this little journey, we had
to examine four galleries: the National Gallery, answering to our
Museum, those of Lord Ellesmere and the Marquis of Westminster, and, at
some miles from London, the collection at Dulwich College, celebrated in
England, though but little known on the continent.
We likewise visited another collection, resulting from an institution
which might easily be introduced into France, to the decided advantage
of art and taste. A society has been formed in England, called the
British Institution for promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom.
Every year it has, in London, an exhibition of ancient paintings, to
which individual galleries send their choice pieces, so that in a
certain number of years all the most remarkable pictures in England pass
under the public eye. But for this exhibition, what riches would remain
buried in the mansions of the aristocracy or unknown cabinets of
provincial amateurs! The society, having at its head the greatest names
of England, enjoys a certain authority, and all ranks respond eagerly to
its appeal.
We ourselves saw the list of persons who this year contributed to the
exhibition; there were her Majesty the Queen, the Dukes of Bedford,
Devonshire, Newcastle, Northumberland, Sutherland, the Earls of Derby
and Suffolk, and numerous other great men, besides bankers, merchants,
savants, and artists. The exhibition is public, but not free, as you
must pay both for admission and the printed catalogue. The money thus
acquired is appropriated to defray the expenses of the exhibition;
whatever remains is employed in the purchase of pictures, which are then
presented to the National Gallery.
At this year's exhibition we saw three of Claude Lorrain's, which well
sustained the name of that master. Apollo watching the herds of
Admetus; a Sea-port, both belonging to the Earl of Leicester, and
Psyche and Amor, the property of Mr. Perkins; a pretended Lesueur, the
Death of the Virgin, from the Earl of Suffolk; seven Sebastian
Bourdons, the Seven Works of Mercy,[285] lent by the Earl of
Yarborough; a landscape by Gaspar Poussin, but not one morceau of his
illustrious brother-in-law's.
We were more fortunate in the National Gallery.
There, to begin, what admirable Claudes! We counted as many as ten, some
of them of the highest value. We will confine ourselves to the
recapitulation of three, the Embarkation of St. Ursula, a large
landscape, and the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba.
1st. The Embarkation of St. Ursula, which was painted for the
Barberini, and adorned their palace at Rome until the year 1760, when an
English amateur purchased it from the Princess Barberini, with other
works of the first class. This picture is 3 feet 8 inches high, 4 feet
11 inches wide.
2d. The large landscape is 4 feet 11 inches high, 6 feet 7 inches wide.
Rebecca is seen, with her relatives and servants, waiting the arrival of
Isaac, who comes from afar to celebrate their marriage.
3d. The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, going to visit Solomon,
formed a pendent to the preceding figure, which it resembles in its
dimensions. It is both a sea and landscape drawing, M. Waagen declares
it to be the most beautiful morceau of the kind he is acquainted with,
and asserts that Lorrain has here attained perfection, vol. i., p. 211.
This masterpiece was executed by Claude for his protector, the Duke de
Bouillon. It is signed "Claude GE. I. V., faict pour son Altesse le Duc
de Bouillon, anno 1648." Doubtless the great Duke de Bouillon, eldest
brother of Turenne. This French work, destined, too, for France, she has
now forever lost, as well as the famous Book of Truth, Libro di
Verità, in which Claude collected the drawings of all his paintings,
drawings which may be themselves regarded as finished pictures. This
invaluable treasure was, like the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba,
for a long time in the hands of a French broker, who would willingly
have relinquished it to the Government, but failing to find purchasers
in Paris in the last century, ultimately sold it for a mere nothing into
Holland, whence it has passed into England.[286] The author of the
Musées d'Allemagne et de Russie, mentions that in the gallery of the
Hermitage at St. Petersburg, amongst a large number of Claudes, whose
authenticity he appears to admit, there are four morceaux, which he
does not hesitate to declare equal to the most celebrated
chefs-d'œuvre of that master, in Paris or London, called the
Morning, the Noon, the Evening, and the Night. They are from
Malmaison. Thus the sale of the gallery of an empress has in our own
time enriched Russia, as, twenty-five years before, the sale of the
Orleans gallery enriched England.
In the National Gallery, along with the serene and quiet landscapes of
Lorrain, are five of Caspar's, depicting nature under an opposite
aspect—rugged and wild localities, and tempests. One of the most
remarkable represents Eneas and Dido seeking shelter in a grotto from
the violence of a storm. The figures are from the pencil of Albano, and
for a length of time remained in the palace Falconieri. Two other
landscapes are from the palace Corsini, and two from the palace Colonna.
But to return to our real subject, which is Poussin. There are eight
paintings by his hand in the National Gallery, all worthy of mention. M.
Waagen has merely spoken of them in general terms, but we shall proceed
to give a description in detail.
Of these eight paintings, only one, representing the plague of Ashdod,
is taken from sacred history. This is described in the printed catalogue
as No. 105. The Israelites having been vanquished by the Philistines,
the ark was taken by the victors and placed in the temple of Dagon at
Ashdod. The idol falls before the ark, and the Philistines are smitten
with the pestilence. This canvas is 4 feet 3 inches high, and 6 feet 8
inches, wide. A sketch or copy of the Plague of the Philistines is in
the Museum of the Louvre, and has been engraved by Picard. Poussin was,
in fact, fond of repeating a subject; there are two sets of the Seven
Sacraments, two Arcadias,[287] two or three Moses striking the
Rock, &c. The science of painting is here employed to portray the scene
in all its terrors, and display every horror of the pestilence, and it
would seem that Poussin had here endeavored to contend with Michael
Angelo, even at the expense of beauty. It is said the commission for
this work was given by Cardinal Barberini. It comes from the palace of
Colonna. The subjects of the remaining seven pictures in the National
Gallery are mythological, and may be nearly all referred to the early
epoch of Poussin's career, when he paid tribute to the genius of the
16th century, and yielded to the influence of Marini.
No. 39. The Education of Bacchus, a subject chosen by Poussin more
than once. On a small canvas 2 feet 3 inches high, and 3 feet 1 inch
wide.
No. 40. Another small picture 1 foot 6 inches high, and 3 feet 4 inches
broad: Phocion washing his Feet at a Public Fountain, a touching
emblem of the purity and simplicity of his life. To heighten this rustic
scene, and impart its meaning, the painter shows us the trophies of the
noble warrior hung on the trunk of a tree at a little distance. The
whole composition is striking and full of animation. We believe that it
has never been engraved. It forms a happy addition to the two other
compositions consecrated by Poussin to Phocion, and which have been so
admirably engraved by Baudet, Phocion carried out of the City of
Athens, and the Tomb of Phocion.
No. 42. Here is one of the three bacchanals painted by Poussin for the
Duke de Montmorency. The two others are said to be in the collection of
Lord Ashburnham. This bacchanal is 4 feet 8 inches high, and 3 feet 1
inch wide. In a warm landscape Bacchus is sleeping surrounded by nymphs,
satyrs, and centaurs, whilst Silenus appears under an arbor attended by
sylvan figures.
No. 62. Another bacchanal, which may be considered one of Poussin's
masterpieces. According to M. Waagen, it belonged to the Colonna
collection, but the catalogue, published by authority, states that it
was originally the property of the Comte de Vaudreueili, that it
afterwards came into the hands of M. de Calonne, whence it passed into
England, and ultimately found its way into the hands of Mr. Hamlet, from
whom it was purchased by Parliament, and placed in the National Gallery.
It is 3 feet 8 inches high, and 4 feet 8 inches wide. Its subject is a
dance of fauns and bacchantes, which is interrupted by a satyr, who
attempts to take liberties with a nymph. Besides the main subject, there
are numerous spirited and graceful episodes, particularly two infants
endeavoring to catch in a cup the juice of a bunch of grapes supported
in air, and pressed by a bacchante of slim and fine form. The
composition is full of fire, energy, and spirit. There is not a single
group, not a figure, which will not repay an attentive study. M. Waagen
does not hesitate to pronounce it one of Poussin's finest. He admires
the truth and variety of heads, the freshness of color, and the
transparent tone (die Färbung von seltenster Frische, Helle und
Klarheit in allen Theilen). It has been engraved by Huart, and
accurately copied by Landon, under the title of Danse de Fauns et de
Bacchantes.
No. 65. Cephalus and Aurora. Aurora, captivated by the beauty of
Cephalus, endeavors to separate him from his wife Procris. Being
unsuccessful, in a fit of jealousy she gives to Cephalus the dart which
causes the death of his adored spouse. 3 feet 2 inches high, 4 feet 2
inches wide.
No. 83. A large painting, 5 feet 6 inches high, and 8 feet wide,
representing Phineas and his Companions changed into Stones by looking
on the Gorgon. Perseus, having rescued Andromeda from the sea monster,
obtains her hand from her father Cepheus, who celebrates their nuptials
with a magnificent feast. Phineas, to whom Andromeda had been betrothed,
rushes in upon the festivity at the head of a troop of armed men. A
combat ensues, in which Perseus, being nearly overcome, opposes to his
enemies the head of Medusa, by which they are instantly changed to
stone. This composition is full of vigor, with brilliant coloring,
although somewhat crude. It is nowhere mentioned, and we are not aware
of its having been engraved.
No. 91. A charming little drawing, 2 feet 2 inches high, 1 foot 8 inches
wide: A sleeping Nymph, surprised by Lore and Satyrs, engraved by
Daullé, also in Landon's work.
Passing from the National Gallery to that of Bridgewater, we come upon
another phase of Poussin's genius, and encounter not the disciple of
Mariai but the disciple of the gospel, the graces of mythology giving
way to the austerity and sublimity of Christianity. Such is the account
of what we came to see; we looked for much, and found more than we
expected.
The Bridgewater Gallery is so named after its founder, the Duke of
Bridgewater, by whom it was formed about the middle of the eighteenth
century. He bequeathed it to his brother, the Marquis of Stafford, on
the condition of his leaving it to his second son, Lord Francis Egerton,
now Lord Ellesmere. The best part of this collection was engraved during
the life of the Marquis of Stafford, by Ottley, under the title of the
Stafford Gallery, in 4 vols. folio.
It occupies the first place in England amongst private collections, on
account of the number of masterpieces of the Italian, and Dutch, and
French schools. A large number of paintings were added to it from the
Orleans Gallery, and we could not repress a feeling of regret to meet at
Cleveland Square with so many masterpieces formerly belonging to France,
and which have been engraved in the two celebrated works: 1. La Galerie
du duc d'Orléans au Palais-Royal, 2 volumes in folio; 2. Recueil
d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et dessins qui sont en France
dans le cabinet du roi et celui de Monseigneur le duc d'Orléans, 1729,
2 volumes in folio; a most valuable collection known also under the name
of the Cabinet of Crozat. This admirable collection is deposited in a
building worthy of it, in a veritable palace, and consists of nearly 300
paintings. The French school is here well represented. The Musical
Party, from the Orleans Gallery, and engraved in the Galerie du
Palais-Royal, three Bourguignons, four Gaspars, four fine Claudes,
described by M. Waagen, vol. i., p. 331, the two former described in the
catalogue as Nos. 11 and 41 were painted in 1664 for M. de Bourlemont, a
gentleman of Lorraine; the former, Demosthenes by the Sea-side, offers
a fine contrast between majestic ruins and nature eternally young and
fresh; the second, Moses at the Burning Bush, a third, No. 103, of the
year 1657, was likewise painted for a Frenchman, M. de Lagarde, and
represents the Metamorphosis of Apuleius into a Shepherd; lastly,
there is a fourth, No. 97, the freshest idyll that ever was, a View of
the Cascatelles of Tivoli.
The memory of these charming compositions, however, soon fades before
the view of the eight grand pictures of Poussin, marked in the catalogue
Nos. 62-69, the Seven Sacraments, and Moses striking the Rock with
his Rod.
It would be difficult to describe the religious sensations which took
possession of us whilst contemplating the Seven Sacraments. Whatever
M. Waagen may please to assert, there is certainly nothing theatrical
about them. The beauty of ancient statuary is here animated and
enlivened by the spirit of Christianity, and the genius of the painter.
The moral expression is of the most exalted character, and is left to be
noticed less in the details than in the general composition. In fact, it
is in composition that Poussin excels, and, in this respect, we do not
think he has any superior, not even of the Florentine and Roman school.
As each Sacrament is a vast scene in which the smallest details go to
enhance the effect of the whole, so the Seven Sacraments form a
harmonious entirety, a single work, representing the development of the
Christian life by means of its most august ceremonies, in the same way
as the twenty-two St. Brunos of Lesueur express the whole monastic
life, the intention of the variety being to give a truer conception of
its unity. Can any one, in sincerity, say as much as this for the
Stanze of the Vatican? Have they a common sentiment? Is the sentiment
profound, and, indeed, Christian? No doubt Raphael elevates the soul,
whatever is beautiful cannot fail to do that; but he touches only the
surface, circum præcordia ludit; he penetrates not deep; moves not the
inner fibres of our being: for why? he himself was not so moved. He
snatches us from earth, and transports us into the serene atmosphere of
eternal beauty; but the mournful side of life, the sublime emotions of
the heart, magnanimity, heroism, in a word, moral grandeur, this he
does not express; and why was this? because he did not possess it in
himself, because it was not to be met with around him in the Italy of
the 16th century, in a society semi-pagan, superstitious, and impious,
given up to every vice and disorder, which Luther could not even catch a
glimpse of without raging with horror, and meditating a revolution. From
this corrupt basis, thinly hidden by a fictitious politeness, two great
figures, Michael Angelo and Vittoria Colonna, show themselves. But the
noble widow of the Marquis of Pescaria was not of the company of the
Fornarina; and what common ground could the chaste lover of the second
Beatrice, the Dante of painting and of sculpture, the intrepid engineer
who defended Florence, the melancholy author of the Last Judgment and
of Lorenzo di Medici, have with such men as Perugino boldly professing
atheism, at the same time that he painted, at the highest price
possible, the most delicate Madonnas; and his worthy friend Aretino,
atheist, and moreover hypocrite, writing with the same hand his infamous
sonnets and the life of the Holy Virgin; and Giulio Romano, who lent his
pencil to the wildest debaucheries, and Marc' Antonio, who engraved
them? Such is the world in which Raphael lived, and which early taught
him to worship material beauty, the purest taste in design, if not the
strongest, fine drawing, sweet contours, of light, of color, but which
always hides from him the highest beauty, that is, moral beauty. Poussin
belongs to a very different world. Thanks to God, he had learned to know
in France others besides artists without faith or morals, elegant
amateurs, rich prelates, and compliant beauties. He had seen with his
eyes heroes, saints, and statesmen. He must have met, at the court of
Louis XIII., between 1640 and 1642, the young Condé and the voting
Turenne, St. Vincent de Paul, Mademoiselle de Vigean, and Mademoiselle
de Lafayette; had shaken hands with Richelieu, with Lesueur, with
Champagne, and no doubt also with Corneille. Like the last, he is grave
and masculine; he has the sentiment of the great, and strives to reach
it. If, above every thing, he is an artist, if his long career is an
assiduous and indefatigable study of beauty, it is pre-eminently moral
beauty that strikes him: and when he represents historic or Christian
scenes, one feels he is there, like the author of the Cid, of Cinna, and
of Polyeuete, in his natural element. He shows, assuredly, much spirit
and grace in his mythologies, and like Corneille in several of his
elegies and in the Declaration of Love to Psyche: but also like him, it
is in the thoughtful and noble style that Poussin excels: it is on the
moral ground that he has a place exalted and apart in the history of
art.
It is not our intention to describe the Seven Sacraments, which has
been done by others more competent to the task than ourselves. We will
only inquire whether Bossuet himself, in speaking of the sacrament of
the Ordination, could have employed more gravity and majesty than
Poussin has done in the noble painting, so well preserved, in the
gallery of Lord Ellesmere. It is worthy of remark, in this as in the
other paintings of Poussin's best period, how admirably the landscape
accords with the historic portion. Whilst the foreground is occupied
with the great scene in which Christ transmits his power to St. Peter
before the assembled apostles,[288] in the distance, and above the
heights, are descried edifices rising and in decay. Doubtless, the
Extreme Unction is the most pathetic; affects and attracts us most by
its various qualities, particularly by a certain austere grace shed
around the images of death;[289] but, unhappily, this striking
composition has almost totally disappeared under the black tint, which
has little by little gained on the other colors, and obscured the whole
painting, so that we are well-nigh reduced to the engraving of Pesne,
and the beautiful drawing preserved in the museum of the Louvre.[290]
Most unhappily a technical error, into which even the most
inconsiderable painter would not now fall, has deprived posterity of one
half of Poussin's labors. He was in the habit of covering his canvas
with a preparation of red, which has been changed by the effect of time
into black, and thus absorbed the other colors, destroying the effect of
the etherial perspective. As every one knows, this does not occur with a
white preparation, which, instead of destroying the colors, preserves
them for a length of time in their original state. This last process
Poussin appears to have adopted in the Moses striking the Rock with his
Staff, incomparably the finest of all the Strikings of the Rock which
proceeded from his pencil. This masterpiece is well known, from the
engraving by Baudet, and has passed, with the Seven Sacraments, from
the Orleans gallery into the collection at Bridgewater. What unity is in
this vast composition, and yet what variety in the action, the pose, the
features of the figures! It consists of twenty different pictures, and
yet is but one; and not even one of the episodes could be taken away
without considerable injury to the ensemble of the piece. At the same
time, what fine coloring! The impastation is both solid and light, and
the colors are combined in the happiest manner. No doubt they might
possess greater brilliancy; but the severity of the subject agrees well
with a moderate tone. It is important to remember this. In the first
place, every subject demands its proper color: in the second, grave
subjects require a certain amount of coloring, which, however, must not
be exceeded. Although the highest art does not consist in coloring, it
would nevertheless be folly to regard it as of small importance: for, in
that case, drawing would be every thing, and color might be altogether
dispensed with. In attempting too far to please the eye, the risk is
incurred of not going beyond and penetrating to the soul. On the other
hand, want of color, or what is perhaps still worse, a disagreeable,
crude, and improper coloring, while it offends the eye, likewise impairs
the moral effect, and deprives even beauty of its charm. Color is to
painting what harmony is to poetry and prose. There is equal defect
whether in the case of too much or too little harmony, while one same
harmony continued must be looked upon as a serious fault. Is Corneille
happily inspired? His harmony, like his words, are true, beautiful,
admirable in their variety. The tones differ with his different
characters, but are always consistent with the conditions of harmony
imposed by poesy. Is he negligent? his style then becomes rude,
unpolished, at times intolerable. The harmony of Racine is slightly
monotonous, his men talk like women, and his lyre was but one tone, that
of a natural and refined elegance. There is but one man amongst us who
speaks in every tone and in all languages, who has colors and accents
for every subject, naïve and sublime, vividly correct yet unaffectedly
simple. Sweet as Racine in his lament of Madame, masculine and vigorous
as Corneille or Tacitus when he comes to describe Retz or Cromwell,
clear as the battle trumpet when his strain is Roeroy or Condé,
suggestive of the equal and varied flow of a mighty river in the
majestic harmony of his Discourse on Universal History, a History which,
in the grandeur and extent of its composition, in its vanquished
difficulties, its depth of art, where art even ceases to appear as such,
in its perfect unity, and, at the same time, almost infinite variety of
tone and style, is perhaps the most finished work which has ever come
from the hand of man.
To return to Poussin. At Hampton Court, where, by the side of the seven
cartoons of Raphael, the nine magnificent Montegnas representing the
triumph of Cæsar, and the fine portraits of Albert Durer and Holbein,
French art makes so small a figure, there is a Poussin[291] of
particularly fine color, Satyrs finding a Nymph. The transparent and
lustrous body of the nymph forms the entire picture. It is a study of
design and color, evidently of the period when Poussin, to perfect
himself in every branch of his art, made copies from Titian.
Time fails us to give the least idea of the rich gallery of the Marquess
of Westminster, in Grosvenor-street. We refer for this to what M. Waagen
has said, vol. ii., p. 113-130. The Flemish and Dutch schools
preponderate in this gallery. One sees there in all their glory the
three great masters of that school, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Rembrandt,
accompanied by a numerous suite of inferior masters, at present much in
vogue, Hobbéma, Cuyp, Both, Potter, and others, who, to our idea, fade
completely before some half-dozen by Claude of all sizes, of every
variety of subject, and nearly all of the best time of the great
landscape-painter, between 1651 and 1661. Of these paintings, the
greatest and most important is perhaps the Sermon on the Mount.
Poussin appears worthily by the side of Lorrain in the gallery at
Grosvenor-street. M. Waagen admires particularly Calisto changed into a
Bear, and placed by Jupiter among the Constellations, and still more a
Virgin with the infant Jesus surrounded by Angels. He extols in this
morceau the surpassing clearness of coloring, the noble and melancholy
sentiment of nature, together with a warm and powerful tone. M. Waagen
places this painting amongst the masterpieces of the French painter
(gehört zu dem vortrefflichsten was ich von ihm kenne). Whilst fully
concurring in this judgment, we beg leave to point out in the same
gallery two other canvases of Poussin, two delicious pieces from the
easel, first a touching episode in Moses striking the Rock, in the
gallery of Lord Ellesmere, of a mother who, heedless of herself, hastens
to give her children drink, whilst their father bends in thanksgiving to
God; the other, Children at play. Never did a more delightful scene
come from the pencil of Albano. Two children look, laughing, at each
other; another to the right holds a butterfly on his finger; a fourth
endeavors to catch a butterfly which is flying from him; a fifth,
stooping, takes fruit from a basket.
But we must quit the London galleries to betake ourselves to that which
forms the ornament of the college situated in the charming village of
Dulwich.
Stanislas, king of Poland, charged a London amateur, M. Noël Desenfans,
to form him a collection of pictures. The misfortunes of Stanislas, and
the dismemberment of Poland left on M. Desenfans' hands all he had
collected; these he made a present of to a friend of his, M. Bourgeois,
a painter, who still further enriched this fine collection, and
bequeathed it, at his death, to Dulwich College, where it now is in a
very commodious and well-lighted building. It consists of nearly 350
paintings. M. Waagen, who visited it, pronounces judgment with some
severity. The catalogue is ill-compiled, it is true, but in this it does
not differ from numerous other catalogues. Mediocrity is frequently
placed side by side with excellence, and copies given as originals; this
is the case with more than one gallery. This one, however, has to us the
merit of containing a considerable number of French paintings, to some
of which even M. Waagen cannot refuse his admiration.
We will, first of all, mention without describing them, a Lenain, two
Bourguignons, three portraits by Rigaud, or after Rigaud, a Louis XIV.,
a Boileau, and another personage unknown to us, two Lebruns, the
Massacre of the Innocents, and Horatius Cocles defending the Bridge,
in which M. Waagen discovers happy imitations of Poussin, three or four
Gaspars and seven Claude Lorrains, the beauty of most of which is a
sufficient guarantee of their authenticity; together with a very fine
Fête champêtre by Watteau, and a View near Rome, by Joseph Vernet.
Of Poussin, the catalogue points out eighteen, of which the following is
a list:
No. 115. The Education of Bacchus; 142, a Landscape; 249, a Holy
Family; 253, the Apparition of the Angels to Abraham; 260, a
Landscape; 269, the Destruction of Niobe; 279, a Landscape; 291,
the Adoration of the Magi; 292, a Landscape; 295, the Inspiration
of the Poet; 300, the Education of Jupiter; 305, the Triumph of
David; 310, the Flight into Egypt; 315, Renald and Armida; 316,
Venus and Mercury; 325, Jupiter and Antiope; 336, the Assumption of
the Virgin; 352, Children.
Of these eighteen pictures, M. Waagen singles out five, which he thus
characterizes:
The Assumption of the Virgin, No. 336. In a landscape of powerful
poesy, the Virgin is carried off to heaven in clouds of gold: a small
picture, of which the sentiment is noble and pure, the coloring strong
and transparent (in der Farbe kraftiges und klaares Bild). Children,
No. 352. Replete with loveliness and charm. The Triumph of David, No.
305. A rich picture, but theatrical.
Jupiter suckled by the goat Amalthea, No. 300. A charming composition,
transparent tone. A Landscape, No. 260. A well-drawn landscape,
breathing a profound sentiment of nature; but which has become rather
blackened.
We are unable to recognize in the Triumph of David the theatrical
character which shocked M. Waagen. On the contrary, we perceive a bold
and almost wild expression, a great deal of passion finely subdued.
A triumph must always contain some formality; here, however, there is
the least possible, and that with which we are struck is its vigor and
truth to nature. The giant's head stuck on the pike has the grandest
effect: and we believe that the able German critic has, in this
instance, likewise yielded to the prejudices of his country, which, in
its passion for what it styles reality, fancies it perceives the
theatrical in whatever is noble. We admit that at the close of the
seventeenth century, under Louis XIV. and Lebrun, the noble was merged
in the theatrical and academic; but under Louis XIII. and the Regency,
in the time of Corneille and Poussin, the academic and theatrical style
was wholly unknown. We entreat the sagacious critic not to forget this
distinction between the divisions of the seventeenth century, nor to
confound the master with his disciples, who, although they were still
great, had slightly degenerated, and who were oppressed by the taste of
the age of Louis XIV.
But our gravest reproach against M. Waagen is, that he did not notice at
Dulwich numerous morceaux of Poussin, which well merited his
attention; amongst others, the Adoration of the Magi, far superior,
for its coloring, to that in the Museum at Paris; and, above all, a
picture which seems to us a masterpiece in the difficult art of
conveying a philosophic idea under the living form of a myth and an
allegory.
In this art, Poussin excelled: he is pre-eminently a philosophical
artist, a thinker assisted by all the resources of the science of
design. He has ever an idea which guides his hand, and which is his main
object. Let us not tire to reiterate this: it is moral beauty which he
everywhere seeks, both in nature and humanity. As we have stated in
relation to the sacrament of Ordination, the landscapes of Poussin are
almost always designed to set off and heighten human life, whilst Claude
is essentially a landscape painter, with whom both history and humanity
are made subservient to nature. Subjects derived from Christianity were
exactly suited to Poussin, inasmuch as they afforded the sublimest types
of that moral grandeur in which he delighted, although we do not see in
him the exquisite piety of Lesueur and Champagne; and if Christian
greatness speaks to his soul, it appears to do so with no authority
beyond that of Phocion, of Scipio, or of Germanicus. Sometimes neither
sacred nor profane history suffices him: he invents, he imagines, he has
recourse to moral and philosophic allegory. It is here, perhaps, that he
is most original, and that his imagination displays itself in its
greatest freedom and elevation. Arcadia is a lesson of high philosophy
under the form of an idyll. The Testament of Eudamidas portrays the
sublime confidence of friendship. Time Rescuing Truth from the assaults
of Envy and Discord, the Ballet of Human Life, are celebrated models
of this style. We have had the good fortune to meet at Dulwich with a
work of Poussin's almost unknown, and of whose existence we had not even
an idea, sparkling at the same time with the style we have been
describing, and with the most eminent qualities of the chief of the
French school.
This work, entirely new to us, is a picture of very small size, marked
No. 295, and described in the catalogue as The Inspiration of the
Poet, a delightful subject, and treated in the most delightful manner.
Fancy the freshest landscape, in the foreground a harmonious group of
three personages. The poet, on bended knee, carries to his lips the
sacred cup which Apollo, the god of poesy, has presented to him. Whilst
he quaffs, inspiration seizes him, his face is transfigured, and the
sacred intoxication becomes apparent in the motion of his hands and his
whole body. Beside Apollo, the Muse prepares to collect the songs of the
poet. Above this group, a genius, frolicking in air, weaves a chaplet,
whilst other genii scatter flowers. In the background, the clearest
horizon. Grace, spirit, depth—this enchanting composition unites the
whole. Added to this, the color is well-grounded and of great
brilliancy.
It is very singular that neither Bellori nor Félibien, who both lived on
terms of intimacy with Poussin, and are still his best historians, say
not a word of this work. It is not referred to in the catalogues of
Florent Lecomte, of Gault de St. Germain, or of Castellan; nor does M.
Waagen himself, who, having been at Dulwich, must have seen it there,
make the least mention of it. We are, therefore, ignorant in what year,
on what occasion, and for whom this delicious little painting was
executed: but the hand of Poussin is seen throughout, in the drawing, in
the composition, in the expression. Nothing theatrical or vulgar: truth
combined with beauty. The whole scene conveys unmixed delight, and its
impression is at once serene and profound. In our idea, The Inspiration
of the Poet may be ranked as almost equal with The Arcadia.
Notwithstanding this, The Inspiration has never been engraved, at
least we have not met with it in any of the rich collections of
engravings from Poussin we have been enabled to consult, those of M. de
Baudicour, of M. Gatteaux, member of the Academy of Fine Arts, and
lastly, the cabinet of prints in the Bibliothèque Nationale. We hope
that these few words may suggest to some French engraver the idea of
undertaking the very easy pilgrimage to Dulwich, and making known to the
lovers of national art an ingenious and touching production of Poussin,
strayed and lost, as it, were, in a foreign collection.
FINIS.
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A TREATISE ON DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. By William A. Hammond, M.
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ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SEVERE AND PROTRACTED MUSCULAR EXERCISE,
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APPLETONS' HAND-BOOK OF AMERICAN TRAVEL. Northern and Eastern Tour. New
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NIGEL BARTRAM'S IDEAL. A Novel. By Florence Wilford. 1 vol., 8vo. Paper
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REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS. By Mark Boyd. 1 vol., 12mo, 390 pp. Price,
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FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE FOR UNSCIENTIFIC PEOPLE. A Series of Detached
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MUSINGS OVER THE CHRISTIAN YEAR AND LYRA INNOCENTIUM. By Charlotte Mary
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THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE. By Charlotte M. Yonge. A New Illustrated Edition.
2 vols., 12mo. Cloth. Price, $2.00.
To be followed by HEARTSEASE.
"The first of her writings which made a sensation here was the
'Heir,' and what a sensation it was! Referring to the remains of
the tear-washed covers of the copy aforesaid, we find it
belonged to the 'eighth thousand.' How many thousands have been
issued since by the publishers, to supply the demand for new,
and the places of drowned, dissolved, or swept away old copies,
we do not attempt to conjecture. Not individuals merely, but
households—consisting in great part of tender-hearted young
damsels—were plunged into mourning. With a tolerable
acquaintance with fictitious heroes (not to speak of real ones),
from Sir Charles Grandison down to the nursery idol, Carlton, we
have little hesitation in pronouncing Sir Guy Morville, or
Redclyffe, Baronet, the most admirable one we ever met with, in
story or out. The glorious, joyous boy, the brilliant, ardent
child of genius and of fortune, crowned with the beauty of his
early holiness, and overshadowed with the darkness of his
hereditary gloom, and the soft and touching sadness of his early
death—what a caution is there! What a vision!"—Extract from a
review of "The Heir of Redclyffe," and "Heartsease," in the
North American Review for April.
A COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE; mainly abridged from Dr.
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eminent scholars, commentators, travellers, and authors in various
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LIGHT AND ELECTRICITY. Notes of Two Courses of Lectures before the Royal
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"For the benefit of those who attended his Lectures on Light and
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THE DESCENT OF MAN AND SELECTION IN RELATION TO SEX. By Charles Darwin,
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ON THE GENESIS OF SPECIES. By St. George Mivart, F. R. S. 1 vol., 12mo.
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MARQUIS AND MERCHANT. A Novel. By Mortimer Collins. 1 vol., 8vo. Paper
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HEARTSEASE. A Novel. By the author of the "Heir of Redclyffe." An
Illustrated Edition. 2 vols., 12mo. Price, $2.00.
This is the second of the series of Miss Yonge's novels, now
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Since this novel was first published a new generation of readers
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delineation of character which she so beautifully portrays.
WHAT TO READ, AND HOW TO READ, being Classified Lists of Choice Reading,
with appropriate hints and remarks, adapted to the general reader, to
subscribers, to libraries, and to persons intending to form collections
of books. Brought down to September, 1870. By Charles H. Moore, M. D. 1
vol., 12mo. Paper Covers, 50 cents. Cloth. Price, 75 cents.
The following errors in the original text have been corrected in this version:
Page 20: Mind on Man changed to Mind of Man
Page 21: Le Notre changed to Le Nôtre
Page 44: empirist changed to empiricist
Page 75: Fénélon; changed to Fénelon;
Page 99: metaphysicans changed to metaphysicians
Page 117: ἔκτασις changed to ἔκστασις
Page 136: added missing comma after receives warmth
Page 165: resumé changed to résumé
Page 182: exquiste changed to exquisite
Page 184: monarh changed to monarch
Page 245: missing semi-colon added after duty and right
Page 268: destrnction changed to destruction
Page 270: depeudere changed to dependere
Page 321: missing quotation mark added after because it is just.
Page 327: inaccesible changed to inaccessible
Page 356: iufinite changed to infinite
Page 360: sinee changed to since
Page 363: extravagauce changed to extravagance
Page 366: obsconditus changed to absconditus
Page 374: Nonveau changed to Nouveau
Allemange changed to Allemagne
Page 399: analysist changed to analyst