A Bamboccio. An admirable portrait by Rubens. A portrait, by Frank Hals. A portrait, by Rembrandt. AMSTER DAM. THE CABINET OF M. LE BRUN. DEAD hare, &c. by Weeninx. Tobias taking leave of his father: his VICTOR, mother with a spinning-wheel. school of RUBENS. A fresh gale, by Everdingen; like EVERBackhuysen, but the light mellower. DINGEN. A woman pouring milk from one D. VANDERvessel to another: by D. Vandermeere. MEERE. Cattle by Vander Does; admirable, VANDER with great facility. A nativity, by Polemberg. A Linglebach, a Vanderheyden, and a Crabache. DOES. POLEM BERG. A group of ships, by Vandervelde; VANDERa calm admirable. VELDE. AMSTER DAM. RACHAEL Flower-pieces, by Rachael Roos. A view of a country-house, by BerkBERKEY heyden: a little harder than Vanderheyden. DEN. C. MA RATTI. TERBURG. J. STEEN. WOUVER- P. HOOGT. St. John writing the Apocalypse; two boy angels; the Virgin in the clouds. It is a rare instance to see an Italian picture here. Portraits of Terburg and his wife, small whole-lengths. A woman with a child sucking, a boy beating a drum; behind, figures drinking over a door is written SALUS PATRIÆ, with Jan Steen's name in gold letters. There is great force in this picture. The pillaging of a village, by Wou vermans. Inside of a room, with a woman and child. Its companion, a woman sweeping. THE account which has now been given of the Dutch pictures is, I confess, more barren of entertainment, than I expected. One would wish to be able to convey to the reader some idea of that excellence, the sight of which has afforded so much pleasure; but as their merit often consists in the truth of representation alone, whatever praise they deserve, whatever pleasure they give when under the eye, they make but a poor figure in description. It is to the eye only that the works of this school are addressed; it is not therefore to be wondered at, that what was intended solely for the gratification of one sense, succeeds but ill, when applied to another. A market-woman with a hare in her hand, a man blowing a trumpet, or a boy blowing bubbles, a view of the inside or outside of a church, are the subjects of some of their most valuable pictures; but there is still entertain DUTCH SCHOOL. DUTCH SCHOOL. ment, even in such pictures; however uninteresting their subjects, there is some pleasure in the contemplation of the truth of the imitation. But to a painter they afford likewise instruction in his profession; here he may learn the art of colouring and composition, a skilful management of light and shade, and indeed all the mechanical parts of the art, as well as in any other school whatever. The same skill which is practised by Rubens and Titian in their large works, is here exhibited, though on a smaller scale. Painters should go to the Dutch school to learn the art of painting, as they would go to a grammar school to learn languages. They must go to Italy to learn the higher branches of knowledge. We must be contented to make up our idea of perfection from the excellencies which are dispersed over the world. A poetical imagination, expression, character, or even correctness of drawing, are seldom united with that DUTCH power of colouring, which would set SCHOOL. off those excellencies to the best advantage and in this, perhaps, no school ever excelled the Dutch. An artist, by a close examination of their works, may in a few hours make himself master of the principles on which they wrought, which cost them whole ages, and perhaps the experience of a succession of ages, to ascertain. The most considerable of the Dutch school are, Rembrandt, Teniers, Jan Steen, Ostade, Brouwer, Gerard Dow, Mieris, Metzu, and Terburg: these excel in small conversations. For landscapes and cattle, Wouvermans, P. Potter, Berchem, and Ruysdaal; and for buildings, Vanderheyden. For sea-views, W. Vandervelde, jun. and Backhuysen. For dead game, Weeninx and Hondekoeter. For flowers, De Heem, Vanhuysum, Rachael Roos, and Brueghel. These make the bulk of the Dutch school. |