WAAGEN'S TB.EAS17RES OF ART IN GREAT BRITAIN. * SINCE his first

visit, in 1835, to examine the collections of art in Great Britain, Dr. Waagen has twice come to England, in 1850 on a visit to Sir Charles Eastlake, and in 1851 as a juryman to the Great Exhibition. The changes, especially the additions that have been made to the " treasures of art" in this country since 1835, gave the learned Doctor almost a new subject, independently of the experience which time had produced in himself, and the oppor- tunity which repeated inspection and greater leisure afforded. Be- sides this novelty of matter, which. would of necessity have in- volved a recast of his work, the author has in a measure rewritten it. The " Works of Art and Artists in England," a translation of which was published in 1838, was intended for German readers. The book before us " is addressed especially to the English pub- lic, and published solely in the English language." To a very great extent, therefore, the work may be looked upon as new. Treasures of Art may be regarded in two aspects : first, as an historical sketch of art and artists in England, so far as regards its early patronage, and as a history of art in general so far as this can be illustrated by means of national collections; second, as a catalogue raisonnee of the principal collections in this country, from the Royal Palaces and the British Museum down to the small selection of a private connoisseur. As a mere catalogue, the second part is of course too cumbrous for practical use, though con- taining the materials for a useful series of handbooks to our chief collections, especially those of a public character. For perusal, it is generally of the driest. The account of a particular gallery may possess critical breadth, or a sketch of the approach to the mansion and the circumstances of the visit may give variety, as a criticism on single works occasionally runs into a descriptive fulness suffi- cient to excite attention. The greater portion is little more than • Treasures of Art in Great Britain: being an Account of the chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated MSS., &c. &c. By Dr. Waagen, Director of the Royal Gallery of Pictures, Berlin. In three volumes. Published by

Murray.

an enumeration of pieces, exhibiting the dryness into which opini- ons on technicalities, without description or circumstances, of ne- cessity falls. There is also an air of hurry on several occasions ; Dr. Waagen not having sufficient time at his disposal to tho- roughly inspect what he undertakes to criticize. He is rather fond, too, of mentioning collections, and sometimes unknown col- lections, which he did not see. Besides his races against time, he sometimes failed owing to the absence of the proprietor of the show-place and the narrow interpretation of orders which distin- guishes English domestics. For example, had an Italian or a Frenchman let a stranger in at a foreign Woburn, he would have given the traveller time to examine what he came to see.

"As Woburn Abbey is accessible to the public only on certain days, Dean Hunt, who is acquainted with the Bedford family, gave me, when at Holk- ham, a letter to the housekeeper, who rules alone in the absence of the Duke. Accordingly, the very respectable-looking, corpulent woman, who, in her black silk gown, came rustling with much state to meet me, suffered herself to be induced to show me about the house. But this visit was the most un- comfortable of all that I have had in England. With the curtains closed, and the gloomy weather, a Cimmerian darkness prevailed in the rooms; which, at my earnest entreaty, she dispelled for a few moments only by drawing the curtains aside. But if I ventured to look attentively at a pic- ture, she already had her hand, with very significant looks, on the door of the next apartment. In this manner the whole inspection was over in an hour."

The narrative of the Doctor's minute explorations sometimes hunts up a curiosity or furnishes a hint. Here is an account of a hidden Holbein.

"My great admiration for the works of Holbein induced me, in the com- pany of Mr. Murray, to visit two pictures by this master, which are remark- able for size and for the number of the figures.

" One of them is in Barbers' Hall, the old ball of the formerly united guilds of the barbers and surgeons. The small diningroom in which it hangs receives so scanty a light from above that the picture has but a very feeble reflected light. Unluckily, too, the wine-glasses of the honourable guild are on a sideboard which stands before the picture ; so that one cannot even get up close to look at it. This is very much to be regretted, for the picture contains no fewer than nineteen figures the size of life. In the centre is King Henry the Eighth seated, and delivering a charter to the members of the Company, fifteen of whom are kneeling on his left hand and three on his right. The centre Sgure of the three last is Dr. Butts, whom Shakspere introduces in his Henry VIII. The corpulent and still rather youthful King takes not the slightest notice of the whole company at his feet, but looks proudly and carelessly out of the picture. All the heads are of extraordinary and unaffected truth of nature, and seem to be painted in the reddish-brown tone which Holbein adopted in his early period. Everything, even to the mat, a part of which appears from under the carpet on which the figures are kneeling, is executed with his usual care. A long inscription in the back- ground probably contains the date ,• but under such unfavourable circum- stances I was not able to read it. Unfortunately, I had no opportunity of procuring the engraving by Baron, which might perhaps have cleared up this point. It appears to me quite unpardonable to suffer a great work of this master to go gradually to ruin in this remote and little-frequented place. In such a case the directors of the National Gallery ought to do their utmost to obtain the picture, and thus worthily to fill up the absence of this master, i none of whose works are in the collection. It is probable that the Barbers' Company would willingly give the picture for so honourable a purpose."

It may be doubted whether the Barbers would give the picture. We believe their circumstances are not so flourishing bat that they might listen to a negotiation. Dr. Waagen's sketch of the history of art in this country. is con- nected with his account of the Royal collections. These originated with Henry the Eighth, and it is in his reign that pictorial art is usually considered to have arisen in England. As a fact this is un- doubtedly true, but art, as it existed, was domiciled in this coun- try ages before; as witness our cathedrals, our monuments, and the " storied windows richly dight." Palatial or domestic painting as opposed to ecclesiastical hardly flourished anywhere till the four- teenth century • by which time this country was plunged in the confusion of Richard the Second's reign, so soon to land in the wars of the Roses when a new art, or progress in a known one, was scarcely possible. Dr. Waagen's observations on the history of the patronage of art are not striking, nor is his story very full; but he has brought some curious facts together, especially in relation to Charles the First. Here are the particulars of the sale of his col- lection. They indicate that the 'King would have made a capital picture-dealer. "In July 1650, it was resolved by the Parliament to sell by public auction all the pictures and statues, valued at 49,9031. 2s. 6d., with the rest of the King's private property. The sale took place in that year and in the year 1653, and attracted vast numbers of agents from foreign princes, and ama- teurs from all parts of Europe. The principal purchasers were-1. The Spanish Ambassador, Don Alonzo de Cardenas. He purchased so many pkint- ings, and other valuable articles, that eighteen mules were required to con- vey them from Corunna to Madrid. Among the pictures was the large Holy Family by Raphael, from the Mantua collection. Philip IV. is said to have exclaimed on seeing it, 'That is my pearl !' hence the name by which this picture has since been known to the lovers of the arts.-2. M. Jabach, the banker, a native of Cologne settled at Paris, who afterwards sold his valu- able collection to Louis XIV., purchased many of the most capital pictures - among which were, by Correggio, Jupiter and Antiope, and two allegorical designs ; by Titian, the Entombment, and Christ with the Disciples at Em- maus, all of which are now among the chief ornaments of the Louvre. Those allegorical designs are also in the rich and excellent collection of car- toons and drawings in the Louvre, which has been unhappily withdrawn from the eye of the public for several years past.-3. The Archduke Leopold William, at that time Governor of the Austrian Netherlands. He expended a large sum in the purchase of some excellent pictures, particularly of the Venetian school. On his accession to the Imperial throne in 1658, these, with his whole rich collection, were transferred to Vienna, and are now in the Imperial gallery in the Belvidere Palace.-4. Mr. Reynst, an eminent Dutch connoisseur of those days. He purchased several fine pictures, which he had engraved in the work on his collection.-5. Christina, Queen of Swe- den. She purchased chiefly the most valuablejewels and medals, and like- wise some pictures at high prices.-6. Cardinal Mazarin. He bought espe- cially works of sculpture, and rich embroidery, tapestry, and carpets, to adorn his palace at Paris.—Lastly, Sir Balthasar Gerbier, and the painters De Critz, Wright, Baptist, Leemput, were eager purchasers. The sum paid

for the whole was 118,0801. 10s. 2d. Thus the greater part of the noble works of art which King Charles I. had collected, were scattered over all Europe. The celebrated seven Cartoons by Raphael were purchased by Crom- well's order for the nation, for 3001."

The history of art in general is embraced in the elaborate sur- vey of the British Museum. Since Dr. Waagen's first visit in 1835, the contents of this national repository have been greatly increased in many departments, while some classes of art may be considered as entirely new. The collections of Sir Charles Fellows in Asia Minor, combined with the previous collections—as the Elgin, Phigalian, and other "marbles," and the miscellaneous col- lections and easts—furnish the materials for a consecutive view of classical art. Layard's discoveries at Nineveh, with Egyptian addi- tions, fill up the void of Assyrian and Egyptian art. The large increase of illuminated manuscripts within these fifteen or twenty years, especially in Anglo-Saxon, Norman, and works executed in England or for Englishmen, furnish the means of exhibiting the state of miniature-painting in this country for many centuries, as

well as of art generally through Christendom. As these accounts are given indirectly by the notice of particular specimens, the story. is of course deficient in chronological and to some extent in substan- tial continuity. The reader, however, has the materials and the opinions before him for furnishing himself with the history.

Dr. Waagen's German minuteness and bonhomie sometimes carry him to the verge of the common or trivial, especially in the social notices which he intersperses among his visits to the galleries. Re has not the warmth or penetrating acumen which distinguishes a few critics ; but he is copious, well-trained, and capable of perceiving the characteristic features of a style of art, as well as its peculiar technicalities. The general criticism on Assyrian art as resuscitated by Layard's discoveries may be quoted as a good example. It is further curious for the picture of Orien- tal autocracy nearly three thousand years ago, so like that of Russia in the present day.

"The moral element of these sculptures may be at once defined as the glo- rification of power, bravery, and the dignity of man, as exemplified in the

one ruler to whom all the other figures, each sufficiently powerful in him-

self, are subservient. Every detail combines to assist this impression : the peculiar type, variously modified, it is true, of the heads, with the piercing

expression of the large deep-set eye—the aquiline and very prominent nose—

the protruding lips—the strongly projecting chin, generally adorned with a dignified and carefully kept beard—all exhibit the character of a proud, firm, indomitable energy ; while the general broad proportions, the exaggerated marking of the muscles, the inordinate strength of the arms (in which the power to seize and to hold are perfectly embodied) is found to correspond strictly with the expression of the head. Symbolism also has been made use of to increase the appearance of strength in the person of the ruler by attach- ing four bulls' horns to his head-gear. The same intention is also still more evident in the frequently-recurring colossal ox, and in the rarer figure of the lion, both represented with human heads of great dignity. This latter may be considered as the artistio realization of the surname Man-lion,' so fre-

quently given to the heroes of Oriental song. The subjects also have all the same-intention—the glorification of the strength of man, and above all that of the one ruler : successful battles—sieges—lion and stag hunts—in two sculptures at Paris, the strangling even of lions by the hand of the ruler him- self, with representations of every kind of homage paid to him. "On the other hand, the religious element in the simpler forme of the Assyrian worship is far less conspicuous here than in Indian and Egyptian monuments. The same may be said in a still greater degree of the feminine element. The seclusion of the women was according to strict Oriental cus- tom. They are therefore seldom seen in these sculptures, and then only in subordinate relations—such as in the attitude of entreaty at sieges, in a con- quered town, &c.

" We must next analyze the nature of these sculptures as works of art. In this sense they may be said to assume in some respects a very high and in others an equally low position. The laws of plastic art are admirably observed, both in the reliefs of various depths, of which the majority of these sculptures consist, and in the few specimens of sculpture in the round. The action expresses what is intended ; the execution is sharp, clean, and often very careful : on the other hand, no knowledge of the human form is apparent; the proportions are generally arbitrary ; the indications of the single and strongly pronounced muscles are, with few exceptions, given with the coarsest and most barbarous conventionality, especially in the legs,

which, even when the upper part of the body fronts the spectator, are always represented in profile ; the eyes, as with the Egyptians, are invari- ably in a front view ' • and the heads are destitute of all intellectual expres- sion. The garments with which, according to Oriental custom, most of the

figures are amply i draped, exclude, equally by their shape and by the thick- ness of the material imitated, all indication of organic form. The figures of animals, however, are far more true to nature ; horses, mules, and lions are frequently admirably formed, and generally of very animated action—the i

only conventionality is in the treatment of the hair. Objects of architecture, utensils, trappings of horses, &e., are very perfectly rendered, frequently with good taste, though as frequently overladen. To judge from the great artificial luxury which these latter objects display, and from the mechanical repetition of the conventional forms already described, it may be inferred that these sculptures, which must have taken an immense amount of power to execute, belong to the most flourishing period of the earlier Assyrian king- dom, from the time of Phal to that of Salmassar, from the year 760 to 730 before Christ. It is to be hoped that the deciphering of the numerous cunei- form inscriptions in which the well-known Major Rawlinson is now engaged will shortly throw light on this important question of date. The sculptures are in admirable preservation, which is the more surprising as they are al- most exclusively composed of a soft gypseous stone. By means of these re- mains, not only has a large gap in the history of art been filled up, but the history of the world itself has gained a certain completeness with regard to facts on which all written sources of information were deficient ; and a people and its ruler, with their character, their habits, and their costume, their relations in war and peace, are now presented clearly to our sight."

The description of art as exhibited in an Anglo-Saxon manu- script of the seventh century, and of an English manuscript of the fourteenth, will be interesting for the light thrown upon art in this country. " The paintings in this Anglo-Saxon MS., on the contrary, have a very barbarous appearance, but are executed in their way with the greatest me- chanical skill. Nothing remains of the Byzantine models but the attitudes, the fashion of the dress, and the form of the seats. Instead of the broad antique execution with the brush in body colours, in which the shadows, lights, and middle tints were given, all the outlites here are very delicately traced with the pen, and only the local colours put on, so that the shadows are entirely wanting, with the exception of the sockets of the eyes and along the nose. The faces are quits inanimate, like a piece of calligraphy. The folds of the drapery are marked with a very different local colour from that of the drapery itself ; thus, for instance, in the green mantle of St. Matthew, they are vermilion. Besides this, there is no meaning except in the princi- pal folds of the garments; in the smaller ones the strokes are quite arbi- trary and mechanical. Where calligraphic skill is sufficient, as in the bor- ders, which are adorned with flourishes and initial letters, the delicacy and decision of the work are incredible, and the iuventive skill displayed in the flourishes, which are frequently mingled with heads of dragons, is not only very ingenious, but also elegant. The bright transparent colours, yellow, pink, violet, blue, green, make a very pretty effect on the black ground ; so that these ornaments surpass, in neatness, precision, and delicacy, all that I have seen in different national specimens on the Continent. Among the colours, which are often laid on very thick, only the red and the blue are, properly speaking, opaque ; but all the colours are as brilliant as if the paintings had been finished only yesterday. Gold, on the contrary, is used in very small portions. This high perfection of all the purely mechanical. part, at so early a period, with the total want of understanding in the figures, which arc the proper and superior element of art, is certainly very peculiar and remarkable.

"Fragment of a lectionary (Harleian, No. 7026,) executed for Lord Lovell by John Siferwas, a Benedictine monk, folio, thirty-six leaves, of a. very large and full minuscule letter, in one column. Judging from the age of the Lord Lovell here represented, the date must be about 1400. This MS. presents one of the most valuable and characteristic specimens of English painting of that time. How far the realistic tendency of English art was developed at this early age, is seen in the portraits of Lord Lovell and the monk himself, forming the titlepage. Both are in profile, half-length figures, and of a size unusual in miniatures. Lord Lovell is represented standing at a kind of window, with pointed beard and furred robe of light vermilion, and black cap with blue trimming, complacently examining a book with the coronation of the Virgin on the cover, which a monk in the habit of his order is presenting to him. Both heads are very individual, well drawn, and carefully executed in body colours, and in cool flesh-tones. The hands even are praiseworthy, considering the time ; those of Lord Lovell are in speaking action. Through two Gothic windows a foreshortened raftered ceiling, and the space of a room, are well expressed. Below the monk is the inscription 'Frater Johes Siverwas ' ; behind the nobleman, round a small Gothic pillar, ' Orate pro anima domini Johannis Lovell, qui hunc librum ordinavit ecclesire cathedral Sarisburiensi . . . . memoria sus uxoris.' "