Part 12 (1/2)
I can give you no description of Durer's reat s are not noted for their beauty so th and power His subjects were often ugly and repulsive rather than beautiful, and his ie fancies that can scarcely be understood Indeed, some of theravings, called ”The Knight, Death, and the Devil,” has never yet been satisfactorily interpreted, and many different theories have been alleries of Europe have Durer's paintings, though they are not as nus, and, indeed, his fae suood impressions of his more iifted scholar was LUCAS SUNDER (1472-1553), who is called Lucas Cranach, fro in Saxony, and was appointed court-painter Although there were a goodly number of German painters late in the sixteenth century, there were none of great eminence, and, in truth, there have been few since that time whose lives were of sufficient interest to be recounted here, so I shall tell you of but oneto the artists of Spain
ANGELICA KAUFFMAN (1742-1808) was a very interesting woood reputation as an artist; but there is such a difference of opinion aes as to her merits as a painter that it is difficult to decide what to say of her As a person, she excited an interest in her lifetime which has never died out, and Miss Thackeray's novel, ”Miss Angel,” tells what is claimed to be her story, as nearly as such stories are told in novels
She was born at Coire, in the Grisons Her father was an artist, a native of Schwarzenburg, and when Angelica was born he was occupied in executing some frescoes at Coire When the child was a year old he settled at Morbegno, in Lombardy, and ten years later, when she had shown a taste for ain removed to Como, where there were better opportunities for her instruction Her progress in music was remarkable, and for a time she was unable to say whether she loved this art or that of painting the better Later in life she painted a picture in which she represented herself, as a child, standing between allegorical figures of Music and Painting
The beautiful scenery about Co villas, the lake with its pleasure boats, and all the poetry of the life there, tended to develop her talents rapidly, and, though she remained but two years, the recollection of this tih all her life She was next taken to Milan, where a world of art was opened to her, and she saw pictures which excelled all her ireat Lombard masters stirred her soul to its very depths She soon attracted attention by her pictures, and Robert d'Este became her patron, and placed her under the care of the duchess of Carrara She was now daily associated with people of culture and elegance, and thus early in her life acquired the nity and self-possession which enabled her in her future life to accept becoly the honors and attentions which were paid her
Her mother's death occurred at Milan, and her father returned to Schwarzenburg The people about her were so coarse and disagreeable to Angelica that she passed rand forests At this time she painted frescoes of the Twelve Apostles, copied fros after Piazetta Her father was not content to reain to Milan, then to Florence, and at last to Rohteen years old, and found reat scholar Winckelelica visited Naples and Bologna also, and finally Venice, where she met Lady Wentworth, who becaland
She had a most brilliant career in London, where her friends were in the highest rank of society De Rossi described her appearance at this tiht, elegant figure Her complexion was dark and clear, her mouth well forood He speaks of her azure eyes, so placid and bright that their expression had a charm which could not be described
No one felt like criticising her Other artists paid her many honors, and she was made a member of the Academy of Arts It has been said that Fuseli, the learned art critic, and Sir Joshua Reynolds, the great artist, both asked her hand in e Some members of the royal faht of honorable success and of happiness
It is painful to turn froht picture of her life to all the sorrow and darkness which followed it Sheto be an adventurer who had assuuished name
For a time she was crushed by this sorrow; but her friends remained true to her, and she found relief in absolute devotion to her art For twelve years she supported herself and her father; then his health failed, and it was thought best for hielica was now forty years old, and before leaving England shebeen her friend He devoted hi affection, and when the old hter had so true a friend as Zucchi
Froelica was the centre of an artistic and literary society of a high order A her visitors were such ht and pleasing in foruish the nu painter excels her in dignity or in the delicate taste hich she handles the pencil” She was very industrious, and her life seems to have been divided between two pleasures, her work and the society of her friends, until the death of her husband, which occurred in 1795 She lived twelve years longer, but they were years of great sadness She ain her spirits She visited the scenes of her childhood, and renor Zucchi
Even after her last return to Roth would per She was mourned sincerely in Rome; her funeral was attended by the members of the Academy of St Luke; and her latest works were borne in the procession She was buried beside her husband in the Church of St Andrea dei Frati Her bust was placed in the Pantheon
Various critics have praised her works in the ood of them For myself, I cannot find the extreme of praise or blarace of her design, which was also creditably correct Her portraits were good; her poetical subjects are very pleasing; her historical pictures are not strong; her color was as har a few of the greatestwhich wins for her a certain fondness and praise, even while her faults are plainly seen Her pictures are to be found in galleries in Roland; many are also in private collections She painted several portraits of herself; one in the Uffizi, at Florence, is very pleasing She represents herself seated in a solitary landscape, with a portfolio in one hand and a pencil in the other She has an air of perfect unconsciousness, as if she thought of her work only Her etchings are e prices Many of her pictures were engraved by Bartolozzi, and good prints of them are rare On one of her pictures she wrote: ”I will not attes by human inspiration, but wait for that till I reach heaven, if there is painting done there”
CHAPTER V
PAINTING IN SPAIN
Spanish painting had its birth during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, and h the influence of the Italian painters ent to Spain, and the Spanish artists whoItalian influence Spanish painting has its own characteristics which separate it froh position on its own merits ANTONIO DEL RINCON (1446-1500) was the first Spanish painter of e know If any works of his rens now in the Cathedral of Granada; but it is probable that these pictures are copies of the originals by Rincon
Dating the beginning of the Spanish school from the last half of the fifteenth century, it is the third school in Europe as to age, it being about two centuries later than the Italian, and one century later than the Flemish school Its iuishi+ng feature of Spanish art is its gravity, or we ious character, for, excepting portraits, there were few pictures of consequence that had not a religiousSome artists were also priests, and, as the officers of the Inquisition appointed inspectors whose duty it was to report for punishment any artist who did not follow the rules of the Inquisition, it is easy to understand that the painters were careful to keep within the rules fixed for theht have in secret, he would scarcely run the risk of being excommunicated from the church, sent into exile for a year, and fined one thousand five hundred ducats for the pleasure of putting his fancies on canvas
Pacheco, as an inspector at Seville, published minute rules for the representation of sacred subjects and persons, and other writers did the sarave discussion over the propriety of painting the devil with horns and a tail It was decided that he should have horns because, according to the legend of St Theresa, he had horns when he appeared to that saint; and he was allowed to have a tail because it was thought to be a suitable appendage to a fallen angel who had lost his wings One very strict rule was that the feet of the Virgin Mary should be covered, and nude figures or portions of the figure were strictly forbidden
Another important influence upon the Spanish artists was their belief that the Virgin Mary and other holy spirits appeared to inspire the their pictures In fact, the church was the chief patron of art, and the artist was one of her most valuable teachers A learned Spanish writer said: ”For the ignorant, what ? They h they may not search for it in books”
The painters of Spain were divided between the schools of Castile, Seville, and Valencia That of Castile was founded at Toledo early in the fifteenth century, and was maintained about two hundred years Claudio Coello was of this school; he died in 1693, and has well been called ”the last of the old masters of Spain”
ALONZO BERREGUETTE (1480-1561), born at Parades de Nava, in Castile, was the most eminent Spanish artist of his tielo of Spain, because he was painter, sculptor, and architect He was painter to Philip I Later he went to Italy, and journeyed froelo in 1505 He studied in Italy many years He was appointed painter and sculptor to the Euette received four thousand four hundred ducats for the altar in the Church of St Benito el Real in Valladolid, where he settled When he was alhty years old he went to Toledo to erect a ed in the hospital, and died there He left a large fortune, and was buried with splendid ceremonies at the expense of the emperor
LUIS DE MORALES (1510-1586) was called ”the divine” He belonged to the school of Castile, and very little is known of his early life When he was fifty-five years old Philip II invited him to court When Morales appeared he was so splendidly dressed that the king was angry, and gave orders that he should be paid a certain sum and dismissed But the poor painter explained that he had spent all that he had in order to conity Then Philip pardoned him, and allowed hi in the Escorial, Morales was overco, and fell into great poverty In 1581 the king saw Morales at Badajoz, in a very different dress fro said: ”Morales, you are very old” ”Yes, sire, and very poor,” replied the painter The king then commanded that he should have two hundred ducats a year from the crown rents hich to buy his dinners Morales hearing this, exclaimed, ”And for supper, sire?” This pleased Philip, and he added one hundred ducats to the pension The street in Badajoz on which Morales lived bears his naious subjects, and on this account he was called ”the divine” He avoided ghastly, painful pictures, and was one of the most spiritual of the artists of Spain Very few of his pictures are seen out of Spain, and they are rare even there His masterpiece is ”Christ Croith Thorns,” in the Queen of Spain's Gallery at Madrid
In the Louvre is his ”Christ Bearing the Cross” At the sale of the Soult collection his ”Way to Calvary” sold for nine hundred and eighty pounds sterling
ALONSO SANCHEZ COELLO (about 1515-1590) was the first great portrait painter of Spain He was painter-in-ordinary to Philip II, and that monarch was so fond of him that in his letters he called hi had a key to a private entrance to the apartments of Coello, so that he could surprise the painter in his studio, and at times even entered the family rooms of the artist Coello never abused the confidence of Philip, and was a favorite of the court as well as of the ory XIII and Sixtus V, the Cardinal Alexander Farnese, and the Dukes of Florence and Savoy Many noble and even royal persons were accustoed to live in style beco his position, and yet when he died he left a fortune of fifty-five thousand ducats He had lived in Lisbon, and Philip souese titian”
Very few of his portraits reraceful in pose and fine in color He kne to represent the repose and refineentle blood and delicate nurture” Many of his works were burned in the Prado His ”Marriage of St Catherine” is in the Gallery of Madrid A ”St Sebastian”