DR. WAAGEN'S LIFE AND GENIUS OF REBENS.

DR. WA AC EN'S object in this discourse has been to review the pic- tures of Runrss by the light of the painter's character and condi- tion. He sets out with a biographical account of DX HENS, prelimi- nary to a notice of his principal paintings, classed under their re- spective heads ; namely, Scripture and profane history, mythology, scenes of common lift, animals, landscapes, and portraits. The biography, w Lich occupies a third of the volume, is by fier the most interesting and instructive portion : it is concise and clear, touching upon every event in the life of RuBsss necessary to be known, and bringing out the characteristic points of his nature and social posi- tion with distinctness. The critical review of his works is orderly and judicious, but not sufficiently animated and striking to compel the attention of an indifferent reader ; and the estimate of the painter's genius is neither original nor prolbund : in a word, the subject is not treated with power or novelty. Dr. WA A GEN is a careful and impartial critic; he brings to his task accurate and ex- tensive knowledge of pictures, and describes them well : he is a learned and patient investigaisir of the practice of painting, not a brilliant expounder of its philosophy ; he enters thoroughly into his subject, but does not rise above it, nor penetrate deeply into its mysteries. Indeed he has not accomplished what he intended: he has ranged the pictures of Ex BENS in proper order, and set the light by which they ought to be seen beside them, but he Juts not illumined them with its rays. The external evidence of the works themselves throws much more light upon the character of' Rli BENS than Dr. WAAGEN has evolved from his biography to illustrate their beauties.

The carcer‘ofRunEm was perhaps the most prosperous and splen- did of any painter's; it was one continual triumph of successes and honours. Endowed by nature with a handsome person and a healthful and vigorous organization, as well as a fine genius, he came into the world under the most favourable auspices; which at- tended him through life. The son of a learned jurist and magis- trate of Antwerp, he received a good education ; and was launched into life as page to a lady of distinction—then an honourable em- ployment for a youth, and a good introduction into society. His active spirit soon tiring of this irregular kind of idleness, he en- treated his mother to let hint be a painter : and, showing a strong

predilection for drawing, he was placed with TOBIAS VEau.smour, a skilful landscape-painter, and then under VAN OORT, a fine co- lourist. The dissolute habits and churlish manners of VAN OORT disgusted RE BENS ; and he soon left him to study under OTTO VENIES—whose character and manners were as amiable and po- lished as those of VAN Omer were depraved, and who also pos-

sessed a scientific knowledge of his art. After a few years of tutelage, during which his quickness and application mastered all the elements of his profession, he set off to Italy, in 1600, being then only twenty-three years to complete his education ; having previously painted several fine pictures. Ile had letters of recommendation from the Archduke ALBERT to Duke VEseENzto of the house of Gonzaga—whosc service be entered as gentleman of the chamber ; and during his stay at Mantua he had the opportu- nity of' studying the Gonzaga collection, afterwards the property

of CHARLES the First : front thence he visited Rome, Venice, and Florence—where he was received by the most distinguished per- sons, and executed commissions that came in on every side. Duke VICENZIO, his patron, made him the bearer of rich presents to PIIII.1 the Third of Spain; and his reception at the court of

Madrid, in his twofold character of envoy and painter, was most flattering : he painted the King and several nobles, and returned richly rewarded. He subsequently visited Milan, Genoa, and again Rome. In 160S, he was called home by the illness of his mother ; whose death, befbre he arrived, afflicted him so deeply, that he passed four months in entire seclusion in the abbey where she was buried, cheered only by his pencil and a few books,—a trait of sen- sibility that bespeaks a nature as tender and affectionate as it was noble and generous. Moved by the persuasion of the Archduke, he remained at Antwerp ; married; and built himself a handsome house in the Italian style, from his own designs : and here he lived the rest of his days, in princely magnificence, enjoying the society and esteem of the greatest men of the tittle, and occupied inces- santly in painting. The description of his house and mode of life is too interesting to be (mated-

" The front Was painted in fresco with las own hands, and the rooms were decorated with various works of art : between the court and a large garden, in which were cultivated the rarest flowers and trees, he caused a rotunda to be constructed, lighted from a cupola above, similar to the Pantheon in Rome. there the most valuable statues, busts, paintings, vases of agate, gems, cameos, and an admirable collection of coins, which he had brought from Italy, were arranged in a tasteful manner. 'During his life he continued to add to this col- lection by every means in his power. " hieing thus established according to his taste, lie apportioned his time in the following manner. He was hi the habit of rising very early, in summer at four o'clock ; and immediately afterwards he heard mass, lie then went to work ; and while painting lie (al it nally employed a person to read to him from one of the classical authors (his htvourites being Livy, Plutarch, Cicero, Se- neca) or from some eminent poet. This was the time when he generally re- ceived his visit sit vs ith whom he entered willingly into conversation on a variety of topics, in the most animated and agreeable manner. An hour be- fore dinner was always devoted to recreation; which consisted either in allowing his thoughts to dwell as they listed on subjects connected with science or poli- tics, which latter interested him deeply, or in contemplating his treasures of art. From anxiety not to hnpair the brilliant play of his fancy, he indulged but sparingly in the pleasures of the table, and drank butt little wine. After working again till the evening, he usually, if not prevented by business, mounted a spirited Andalusian horse, and rode fir an hour or two. This was his favourite exercise : he was extremely fond of horses, and his stables gene- rally contained some of remarkable heauty. On his return home, it was his custom to receive it few friends, principally men of learning or artists, with whom he shared his frugal meal, (he ItiVi the declared enemy of all excess,) and passed the evening in instructive :tint cheerful conversation. This active and regular mode of life could alone have enabled Rubens to satisfy all the de- mands which were loads upon him titan artist ; and the astonishing number of works he compluted. t genuineness of which is beyond all doubt, can only be accounted for through this union of extraordinary diligence with the ac- knowledged fertility of his productive powers."

In 1620, Ruitsxs was sent for to Paris by MARY DE MEDICIS ; for whom he painted that gorgeous pageant, consisting of' twenty- one large allegorical pictures of the events of her reign, that adorned the Luxembourg, and are now the distinguishing orna- ment of the Louvre. Six years after, he lost his first wife; and to divert his grief, he went to Holland. and visited the Dutch painters. On his return, he was again employed in political affairs; and cor- responded with the agent of CHARLES the First. In 1627, he exe- cuted a delicate commission to Spain ; and with such success, that in 1629 he was sent as Ambassador to London from the Court of the Netherlands. Then it was he painted the ceiling of' the Banqueting- house at Whitehall ; and was knighted by Cistamis the First. In 1631, being then fifty-fbur, he married HssexA FORMAN, his se- cond wife—a celebrated beauty, only sixteen, belonging to one of the richest and best families in Antwerp : she frequently served him as a model, and her portrait is introduced into many of his historical pictures. Two years afterwards, he was sent on another diplomatic mission to Holland; but these employments only va- ried his studies without interrupting them. In his profession he was assisted by numbers of pupils from Italy and elsewhere, whom his fame had attracted ; and lie made a large use of their labours in the execution of his numerous and vast commissions ; employ- ing them to paint front his sketches, and then retouching their work. This was the practice of RAFFAELLE and the great Italian masters in their frescoes, butt no painter employed his pupils so largely in oil-pictures as : hence the prodigious number and size of his works, amounting to about thirteen hundred, and their inequality of execution. REBENS fell a victim to frequent attacks of gout, in 1640, being then in his sixty-third year. His * RUBENS was born in 1577 on the 29th of June.

funeral was splendid ; and his remains were followed to the grave by all the artists, clergy, and persons of distinction in Antwerp.

Thus it will be seen, that beyond the domestic griefs and bodily ailments common to all mankind, of which RUBENS had as small a share as possible, the life of the great painter was a succession of happiness, enjoyment, and honours : to him labour was pleasure, and his reward was rich in money and applause. The vivacity and vigour of his genius were equalled by its versatility : the fecundity of his fancy was aided by a ready and skilful pencil, and he combined consummate dexterity and indefatigable industry. His power and quickness of conception must have been remarkable ; his various sub- jects seemed to have presented themselves to his imagination spon- taneously: there was no laborious cogitation—scarcely a second thought. Dr. WAAGEN considers dramatic forte to he the grand cha- racteristic of the genius of RUBENS ; and Mrs. JAMESON coincides with this opinion: from which, however, we presume to dissent. Dra- matic power in painting consists in depicting an event, and im- pressing the mind by the expression of emotion in different cha- racters; whereas RUDENS'S pictures dazzle the sense and stimulate the fancy, but do not strongly affect the feelings or satisfy the judgment. His florid, redundant pencil, and the grand gusto of his style, partake more of' the sensual than the intellectual. He told a story clearly and vigorously, but the physical incidents and accessories are more prominently set forth than the moral or spiritual import. No two painters can be more opposite than RAFFAELLE, the dramatic painter par excellence, and RUBENS. In skill and power of drawing, RUBENS successfully emulated 'MICHAEL ANGELO'S grandiose style ; though his forms are fleshy rather than muscular, and his style is lax in its freedom. His feeling for natural beauty somewhat resembled Terms's, as Mrs. JAMESON observes, when quoting the following parallel. " Both were painters of flesh and blood; by nature poets, by conformation colourists, by temperament and education magnificent spirits, scholars, and gentlemen, lovers of pleasure and of fame." There was this difference between the two great colourists, that one was an Italian and the other a Fleming; the sensuousness of RUBENS was more animal and natural, TITIAN'S more refined and artificial. RUBENS, prolific in idea, was rapid, free, and even care- less in execution, delegating his labour to others ; whereas TITIAN evolved his ideas with more thought, and elaborated his conceptions with the utmost care and pains. Ituness pursued his art. with the sanguine ardour of' the chase ; his aim was steady, and he rarely missed his mark. lie revelled in pomp and splendour : his historic pictures look like heaps of spoil ; his landscapes teem with abundance and fertility, and "are flowing with milk and honey ;" his ox-eyed Flemish beauties are dairy-fed, and fit to be the mothers of a race of patriarchs ; his fruit is luscious and ripe to bursting; his animals are instinct with life and motion anti the attributes of savage nature. The two or three pictures in our National Gallery convey a very imperfect idea of -the prodigality of RUBENS'S genius, the flowery negligent case and grandeur of his style, the daylight brilliancy of his effects, or his fresh and juicy colouring. If he finest collection of his works in this country is at Blenheim; but we have nothing to compare with his Crucifixion at Antwerp, and others in the Netherlands, at Paris, Munich, and Madrid.

THE PERSON OF RUIIENS.

Rubens seems to have belonged to that rare class of' gifted natures alio, from personal as well as mental qualities, are born to exercise n peculiar charm on all around them. To a handsome and well-proportioned frame was united a certain dignity of demeanour : his regular features were set off to advantage by a fine complexion mid glossy brown hnir ; and his eyes, beaming with a soft- ened fire, gave to his whole countenance a character at once gentle, animated, and noble. To these advantages were added a most captivating manlier and an agreeable voice; ready powers a conversation ; an active, clear intellect, with a turn for humour, and an habitual self-command.

The feelings and behaviour of Runess to his brother artists are worthy of imitation, and contrast finely with the habitual jealousy attributed to the brethren of the craft.

um CONDUCT To ART/STS.

Nothing, however, inspires such a favourable idea of the disposition and ge- neral structure of the mind of Habeas as his conduct towards other artists,— conduct the more worthy of admiration, as he himself, owing to his great ta- lents, wealth, and distinguished connexions, occupied a station in society at once honourable and important. His doors were open at all hours, even when he was at work, to every artist desirous of profiting by his aid or advice; and although lie seldom paid visits, yet he was ever ready to inspect the works of any artist who wished it : on these occasions, he invariably gave his opinion with candour according to the principles of art ; nay, he would frequently take up the brush himself, and touch such parts as required it. In almost every picture he was sure to discover something good ; and it seemed to afford, him real pleasure to acknowledge the merits of a brother artist, and to set them forth on every opportunity. Upon being told that Van Dyck, after his return from Italy, complained that the profits from his works were not sufficient for his maintenance, he went the very next day to him, and purchased all the pic- tures which lie found completed in his atelier.

The incessant efforts of Reeess to advance himself in his art should be a lesson to the half-educated and unitnprovieg mannerists of our day.

HIS PRACTICE OF STUDY.

However pressing his occupations, Battens allowed nothing to interrupt the continuance of studies connected with the scientific departments of his art,—as perspective, optics, anatomy, and the rules of proportion. A book was found amongst the property he left behind him, containing written remarks on these subjects, accompanied with drawings. This book contained, besides, a great number of interesting studies,—men mid women actuated by various motives and impulses, according to the influence of different passions and particular circumstances ;_ and sketches after paintings by Raphael end other artists, with passages from Virgil and other poets who had treated of the :same subjects written underneath, by way of comparison.