Part 9 (2/2)

Flinck, Dietricy, De Guelder, and others his pupils, give no idea of it; their works are war cool tints; they are yelloithout pearly tones; and in place of leading the eye of the spectator into the depths of aerial perspective, the whole work appears on the surface of the panel There are none of those shadows ”hanging in reat ician of chiaro-scuro; not only are objects of solidity surrounded by softening obscurity, but the contiguous atht and shade To these principles the art is indebted for breadth and fulness of effect, which constitute the distinct characteristics between the early state and its maturity--and to Re quality

We must, nevertheless, always look back onder at as achieved by Coreggio Even when painting flourished under the guidance of Leonardo da Vinci and Giorgione, Reynolds, speaking of this quality in contradistinction to that of relief, says, ”This favourite quality of giving objects relief, and which De Piles and all the critics have considered as a requisite of the greatest ied the attention of titian Painters of an inferior rank have far exceeded hireat object of attention when art was in its infant state, as it is at present with the vulgar and ignorant, who feel the highest satisfaction in seeing a figure which, as they say, looks as if they could walk round it But however low I ht rate this pleasure of deception, I should not oppose it, did it not oppose itself to a quality of aentirely that fulness of manner which is so difficult to express in words, but which is found in perfection in the best works of Coreggio, and, weand losing the shadows in a ground still darker than those shadohereas that relief is produced by opposing and separating the ground froht, or shadow, or colour This conduct of inlaying, as it round, in order to produce relief, was the practice of the old painters, such as Andrea Mantegna, Pietro Perugino, and Albert Durer, and to these we ione, and even Coreggio; but these three were aan to correct the relief as a principal object As those two qualities, relief and fulness of effect, can hardly exist together, it is not very difficult to deterive the preference

An artist is obliged for ever to hold a balance in his hand, by which he must determine the value of different qualities, that when some fault must be committed, he may choose the least Those painters who have best understood the art of producing a good effect have adopted one principle that seems perfectly conforood of the whole Thus, whether the ht or shadow, it is necessary that they should be co shape; to this end, sohter, and reflections stronger than nature would warrant Paul Veronese took great liberties of this kind It is said, that being once asked why certain figures were painted in shade, as no cause was seen in the picture itself, he turned off the inquiry by answering, 'Una nuevola che passa,'--a cloud is passing, which has overshadowed theation of the principles of Reain revert to those of Coreggio Opie, speaking of the reat artist, says, ”To describe his practice will be in a great degree to repeat ed sense By classing his colours, and judiciously dividing theently rounding off his light, and passing, by alh pellucid demi-tints and warm reflections into broad, deep, and transparent shade, he artfully connected the finest extreht and shadow, harmonized the reatest possible effect with the sweetest and softest repose ihts, also, in regard to particular subjects, was often in the highest degree poetical and uncoive as an instance his celebrated _Notte_, or painting of the 'Nativity of Christ,' in which his ht of the picture e upwards on the beautiful face of theobjects, e comparison with any invention in the whole circle of art, both for the splendour and sweetness of effect, which nothing can exceed, and for its happy appropriation to the person of Hinorance, and diffuse the light of truth over a darkened world!” Now, this work Rembrandt must have seen, or at least a copy from it, as his treatment of the same subject, in the National Gallery, indicates; but the poetry is lost, for it would be iiarishts, in representing ht in place of day, such as his ”Taking down froypt,”

with the lantern; the ”Burial of Christ,” &c While other ht, which is one of the paths that sublieneral idea most people have of Rembrandt is, that he is one of the dark masters: but his shadows are not black, they are filled with transparency The backgrounds to his portraits are less dark than many of either titian or Tintoret His landscapes are not black, they are the soft eh the shadows of night, you see the path, even in the deepest obscurity As colour forms a constituent part of chiaro-scuro, I must, in this division, confineexaes heI have here given is the ”Nativity,” in the darkest state; in the British Museum there are no less than seven varieties, and the first state is the lightest But in order to render his ress of his working His first etchings are often bit in with the aquafortis, when the shadows have but feays crossed with the etching point: these are often strongly bit in, that, when covered over with finer lines, the first ive transparency In the next process he seeround, and laid over the plate a transparent ground, (that is to say, one not darkened by the smoke of a candle;) upon this he worked up his effect by ahis for new objects, as the idea seeain subjected to the operation of the acid, the etching ground was rereatest delicacy and softness by means of the dry needle, to the scratches of which the aquafortis is never applied This process it is that gives what is ters of Rembrandt different frooing into the lines, but by the printer being obstructed in wiping it off by the raised edge which the dry point has forced up; for when these lines run through deep shadoe often see that they print white, froe

[Illustration: THE NATIVITY]

This is the foundation of what is called , which I shall notice in another place By keeping these remarks in mind, we shall easily perceive how it is that so many variations occur in i entirely on the direction in which the printer wiped off the ink--whether across the ridges, or in the same direction as the lines Varieties have also arisen fro away by the friction of the hand; and as Re from those I have examined, were soft, they soon wore down We also find this dark effect given inthe surface partially wiped, and touching out the high lights with his finger, or a piece of leather These impressions must have been taken by himself, or, at least, under his superintendence

Several of his plates are worked on with the graver, such as his ”Taking down froraver

We see the sas of Vandyke, but their value decreases as the finishi+ng extends

While we are upon the subject of his etchings, it will, perhaps, be of use to confine the conduct of his chiaro-scuro to his etchings alone, as his treatment is very different to what he adopted when he had colour to deal with; and in this respect he must have been influenced by the exas after whose pictures we perceive he had in his possession In order that we s re unfinished in parts, while other portions are worked up with the greatest care, I shall give an extract from the Journal of Sir Joshua Reynolds, when in Flanders In describing a picture in the Church of the Recollets, at Antwerp, he says:--”Over the altar of the choir is the famous 'Crucifixion of Christ between two Thieves,' by Rubens To give animation to this subject, he has chosen the point of ti the side of Christ, whilst another, with a bar of iron, is breaking the liony, which his body admirably expresses, has torn one of his feet from the tree to which it was nailed The expression in the action of this figure is wonderful The attitude of the other isChrist with a countenance perfectly expressive of his penitence This figure is likewise adin, St John, and Mary the wife of Cleophas, are standing by, with great expression of grief and resignation; whilst the Magdalen, who is at the feet of Christ, andhis feet, looks at the horsereat horror As the expression carries with it no grimace or contortion of the features, the beauty is not destroyed This is by far the most beautiful profile I ever saw of Rubens, or, I think, of any other painter The excellence of its colouring is beyond expression To say that sheChrist's feet, ht too refined a criticism; but Rubens certainly intended to convey that idea, as appears by the disposition of her hands, for they are stretched out towards the executioner, and one of theives an idea of their having been round it And it enerally represented as kissing the feet of Christ: it is her place and eht not to be forgotten--who is leaning forward, one hand on the other, resting on the reat earnestness The genius of Rubens nowhere appears to e than here; it is the most carefully finished picture of all his works The whole is conducted with the most consummate art

The composition is bold and uncommon, with circuht of--such as the breaking of the lidalen; to which we may add the disposition of the three crosses, which are placed perspectively, in a very picturesque manner--the nearest bears the thief whose liure is straighter than ordinary, as a contrast to the others; and the furthermost the penitent thief

This produces agenius as Rubens would have attempted It is here, and in such compositions, that we properly see Rubens, and not in little pictures of Madonnas and Baes in this picture after Bolswert had engraved it The horse the side of Christ holds the spear, according to the print, in a very ta it with only three fingers, the forefinger lying straight over the spear; whereas, in the picture, the back of the hand corasps it with his whole force The other defect, which is remedied in the picture, is the action of the executioner who breaks the legs of the criminal: in the print, both of his hands are over the bar of iron, which makes a false action; in the picture, the whole disposition is altered to the natural manner in which every person holds a weapon which requires both hands--the right is placed over, and the left under it This print was undoubtedly done under the inspection of Rubens hi of the ht in the print differs e is not fron; a different conduct is required in a coht to be follohen it is in black and white only_ We have here the authority of this great ht and shadow, that a print requires ht than a picture In this picture, the principal and the strongest light is the body of Christ, which is of a rely opposed by the very brown complexion of the thieves, (perhaps the opposition here is too violent,) who in's outer drapery is dark blue, and the inner a dark purple, and St John is in dark strong red No part of these two figures is light in the picture but the head and hands of the Virgin, but in the print, they ht of the whole coraver has certainly produced a fine effect, and I suspect it is as certain that if this change had not been made, it would have appeared a black and heavy print When Rubens thought it necessary, in the print, to in and St John, it was likewise necessary that it should be of a beautiful shape, and be kept coure of the Magdalen, which in the picture is at least as light as the body of Christ; her head, linen, arht as the body of Christ

It appears, therefore, that sohter This, consequently, is a science which an engraver ought well to understand before he can presume to venture on any alteration fro ravers ere eht than they arranted by the picture--a circuravers”

As s were made from studies in black and white, perhaps reduced froraver, but certainly touched on afterwards by the painters theht and shade when deprived of colour In the etchings of Reht to bear in mind that splendour of effect hat he aimed at, and the means adopted by Rubens and Vandyke were carried still further by the fearless master of chiaro-scuro Now that the eye has been accustos where the local colour is rendered, e look over a folio of the works of Bolswert, Soutravers, they appear, notwithstanding their overpowering depth and brilliancy, unfinished, frohts of the several coloured draperies and the flesh tones being left white They also occasionally look spotty in effect, froth of the shadows and black draperies In Re his darks with the greatest care and softness, while the figures in the light hts are also reduced in size as they enter the shade; while the darks in the light portions of his prints are circu a balance and solidity The shadows of the several objects likewise assuht In these respects, the Hundred Guilder print is a striking exaht and shade when unaccompanied by colour, I ht masses co of the objects bydown the half-tint with visible lines, reatest success, as it prevents the work being heavy in effect, and also assists the passage of the light into the shadow The quality of the lights and darks is flatness The Fleravers see their shadow, both with regard to the direction of the lines, and also their repetition; their object seems to have been intenseness of dark with transparency of execution In a conversation with Sir Thomas Lawrence upon the subject of shadows, his ideas were that they ought to be as still as possible, and that all the little sparkling produced by the crossing of the lines ought to be extinguished, or softened down In painting, his notions were that they ought to be kept cool Without presu to differ with so excellent an artist, it is but proper to ravers, from the time of Bolswert to our own, are of a contrary opinion; and our best colourists, froio to Rembrandt, and from Rembrandt to Wilkie, were dia is concerned, it is but fair to notice that Lawrence had Rereat admirer

[Illustration: DOCTOR FAUSTUS]

I raving, but as the etchings of Ree a portion of his popularity, we cannot enter too minutely into the various sources of their excellence I shall now proceed to describe the etching of ”Doctor Faustus,” a copy of which I have given So, who, by his publication of Bibles in Paris, was looked upon by the people as a dealer in the black art The papers hung up by the side of thelook like the sheets of his letter-press, and the diagram that attracts his attention, and rouses him from his desk, indicates by words and syeneral opinion is, that it is Dr John Faustus, a German physician, in his study This Dr Faustus was supposed to have dealings with familiar spirits, one of which has raised this cabalistic vision, that enters the ith overwhel its radiance to the head and breast of the figure, and, descending by his variegated garht over the whole lower part of the co surrounded by a mass of dark, receives intense io It is also, Iby its shi+ning through the papers at the side, and by the interruption of the rays of the diagraure, and partially thrown upon a skull, gives an awe-striking appearance to the whole; while the flat breadth of light below is left intentionally with the objects inseems never to have been touched on from the first impressions to the last--the first state is dark with excess of burr; the last isthis subject, I wish to make a few reraphers, that hetheir value; but we know by experience that every alteration he ht be for the better, struck off a certain portion of its money value I believe his desire to better the effect was the only incite upon them after the first proofs, and many were deteriorated in effect; but every additional line at the least struck off a guilder

I have ht in theis enhanced by its being surrounded by a e would have accrued froht, as it would then have had a greater breadth of soft light This subject was a great favourite with the late Sir David Wilkie, and he introduced thisin his picture of ”The School;” but this being a light composition, he treated it in the way I have mentioned above

It was a common practice with Wilkie to adopt some part of a celebrated work as a point to work froestion The spectator, by this means, was drawn into a predisposition of its excellence, without knohence it had arisen

Thus, in his ”John Knox Preaching,” there are ,” by Raffaelle I may also mention here e often perceive in the works of Reht hemmed in by a dark boundary, it is spread out into a ht; and the saard to his extre ground

These qualities are the foundation of breadth and softness of effect

These observations may appear iterations of what has beenplaced in new positions

In dividing a work of this kind into portions, it is difficult to give a preference to any department, especially with such an artist as Reiven a priority to historical subjects as they hold a higher rank than portraiture But his portraits are those productions of his pencil which are most peculiar to himself

[Illustration: BURGOMASTER SIX]

PORTRAIT OF THE BURGOMASTER SIX