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diff --git a/old/69306-0.txt b/old/69306-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8f41fcd..0000000 --- a/old/69306-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1879 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The brothers Van Eyck, by P. G. Konody - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The brothers Van Eyck - -Author: P. G. Konody - -Release Date: November 6, 2022 [eBook #69306] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK *** - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: JAN ARNOLFINI AND JEANNE DE CHENANY. BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - - - - Bell's Miniature Series of Painters - - - THE BROTHERS - VAN EYCK - - BY - - P. G. KONODY - - - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL & SONS - 1907 - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - -THE TIMES OF THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK - -HUBERT VAN EYCK - -JAN VAN EYCK - -THE INVENTION OF OIL-PAINTING - -THE ART OF THE VAN EYCKS - -COLLABORATION OF THE BROTHERS - -OUR ILLUSTRATIONS - -LIST OF WORKS, CATALOGUED ACCORDING TO LOCALITY - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -JAN ARNOLFINI AND JEANNE DE CHENANY - (_National Gallery_) - - - _Frontispiece_ - By Jan van Eyck. - -THE ADORATION OF THE LAMB (_Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent_) - By Hubert and Jan van Eyck. - -THE ENTHRONEMENT OF THOMAS À BECKET (_Chatsworth_) - By Jan van Eyck. - -THE MAN WITH THE PINKS (_Berlin Museum_) - By Jan van Eyck. - -ST. BARBARA (_Antwerp Museum_) - By Jan van Eyck. - -THE JUST JUDGES, AND CHRIST'S WARRIORS (_Berlin Museum_) - By Hubert and Jan van Eyck. - -PORTRAIT OF TIMOTHY (_National Gallery_) - By Jan van Eyck. - -THE VAN DER PAELE ALTAR-PIECE (_Bruges Museum_) - By Jan van Eyck. - - - - -{1} - -THE TIMES OF THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK - -The unusual activity which during the latter half of the fourteenth -and the first half of the fifteenth centuries throbbed throughout the -whole of the Netherlands forms one of the most interesting and -surprising studies of national progress that history has furnished. - -Geographically and politically, in her arts and in her industries, -the country was affected by changes both radical and lasting. Some -years before the period which embraces the life of the subjects of -this biographical sketch, the German Ocean had invaded the northern -territory of the Netherlands, and had disorganised a Parliament and -divided a people. At the beginning of the thirteenth century over -the whole of that low-lying and marshy tract between Kampen on the -east and Amsterdam to westward, and southward to within sight of -Nieukerk, the North Sea swept in upon the {2} inland lake of Flevo, -swallowing thousands of hamlets, villages, and towns suddenly and -completely. Until this time there had been but one Friesland, -including Holland, divided only by the Vlie, a small stream hardly to -be counted a river. Now East Friesland and West Friesland were -divided by this vast stretch of water, the stormy and dangerous -Zuyderzee, and it became impossible for Holland to send her -representatives to the general assemblies at Aurich. West Friesland -was absorbed by Holland, and East Friesland became a self-governing -State, and remained such until the power of Charles V. was -established. Thus politically as well as geographically was the -country disrupted by the forces of Nature. - -To trace the rise of the Netherlands as a European Power from a more -remote period than the beginning of the fourteenth century would be -beyond the range of this sketch; but for the purpose of showing the -general advance of the country's interests a brief summary of the -events culminating in the wellnigh despotic power of the House of -Burgundy may refresh the reader's mind, as they affect the -constitution of the nation, and may serve to point cause {3} and -effect in the increasing prosperity of the country and in the -resulting advance of art; for just as the political influence of the -Burgundian Princes spread from their hereditary provinces first over -Flanders and Brabant--over that part of the Netherlands which is now -known as Belgium--and finally over the Dutch provinces, so the -current of art swept from Burgundy to Flanders and thence to Holland. - -At the beginning of the fourteenth century Holland was ruled by the -House of Avennes, Counts of Hainault. Holland having previous to the -accession of the Avennes annexed Zeeland, the three provinces may -almost be regarded as the nucleus of the Dutch power. William IV., -last of the Hainault line, died childless in 1355. His death was the -signal for the outbreak of a long and spasmodic series of civil -disturbances between the nobles and the cities and municipalities. -These parties, known by the titles of the Hooks and the Kabblejaus -(codfish), continued their intermittent strife throughout the -succeeding 150 years. In the meantime William IV. was succeeded by -William of Bavaria. Then followed his brother Albert, who was in -turn succeeded by his son William VI. At the death of the latter {4} -the reins of government were left in the uncertain hands of his young -daughter, Jacqueline, a girl of seventeen. Jacqueline, it appears, -led anything but a happy life. Her cousin, Philip the Good, Duke of -Burgundy, for thirteen years plundered and robbed her, and at her -death in 1437 he had already dispossessed her of her lands and -reduced her from the position of Sovereign to that of Lady Forester -in her own provinces, whilst for himself he had laid the foundation -of that Greater Netherlands which by conquest and annexation he -proceeded to extend. - -Having acquired the principal Netherlands and inherited the two -Burgundies and the counties of Flanders and Artois, he had purchased -the county of Namur, usurped the duchy of Brabant, and annexed the -barony of Mechlin. A few years later he acquired also the duchy of -Luxembourg. - -Philip was now the ruler of what may be termed a kingdom of several -peoples, who, though in a measure distinct, were of similar -temperament and character, and who may be counted now as one. Never -has conqueror been in a happier position when faced with the problem -of welding together his conquests. {5} For Philip ruled those whose -interests were similar, and whose characteristics were almost -identical--a people born of the sea, strong and fearless, who had -lived by strife with their fellows and by strife with Nature; a -people born to toil and to hardship, whose battle for life had been -with Nature herself--a race which for centuries had fought with swamp -and water year in, year out, conquering a mile of morass or patch of -barren furze, striving for the soil to live upon, working not for -gold, but for life. This nation had now become a power of natural -strength and of dominating physique, virile and live and expansive, -whose sons, with brooms at their mastheads, should later sweep the -seas from whose destructive embrace she had succeeded in wresting -herself. - -Under the rule of the Burgundian the prosperity of the Netherlands -rapidly increased. In Holland and in Flanders, in Brabant and in the -other leading provinces, industry and wealth, agriculture, commerce, -and manufactures, were ever augmenting. While Philip, in the zenith -of his power, flushed with the passion and success of territorial -acquisition, busied himself with the glorification of his sovereignty -by founding at Bruges, amid a {6} scene of indescribable splendour, -the Order of the Golden Fleece, "to the honour of God, of the Blessed -Virgin, and of the holy Andrew," a principle more potent than even -territorial power was evolving. For in Haarlem an undistinguished -sexton wrestled with the intricacies of the printing-press. Lorenz -Coster was printing his book of the Dutch language. The question as -to the time and place of the invention of printing will probably -never be settled to the satisfaction of Holland and Germany; but the -men of Haarlem still claim upon very sound and substantial evidence -that between 1423 and 1440 their citizen was the first to employ -movable type, which is generally considered the invention of printing -proper, as distinguished from the more ancient block-printing. - -Whatever objection may be legitimately raised to the application of -the title "The Good" to a ruler of Philip's character, this -Burgundian had many of the qualities that go to the making of a -successful monarch. His military talents were considerable; his -political methods, though despotic, were practicable. Though he -taxed the wealth of his country, he protected and encouraged the -commerce and {7} manufactures of Holland and Flanders, their arts and -crafts, science and literature. He founded at Bruges the famous -Burgundian Library. He remodelled, and to some extent endowed, the -University of Louvain. His munificence and princely generosity -attracted to his Court at Bruges men of letters like Oliver de la -Marche and Philippe de Commines, and famous painters like Jan van -Eyck, and perhaps, though we lack documentary evidence, his elder -brother Hubert, who gave, perhaps, more to the art of painting than -even did Coster to the art of printing, or Philip himself to the -sciences of statesmanship and war. - -The most salient points in the life and work of these two brothers, -who close the period of stiff Gothic medievalism and stand on the -threshold of modern art, and whose improvements in the technical -methods of their art opened up to their successors unthought-of -possibilities, are shrouded in deep mystery, and the most recent -research to which a number of thoroughly competent scientific experts -have devoted themselves, whilst producing many ingenious theories and -deductions, has, in a certain sense, added to the confusion by -throwing doubt upon the authenticity of documents {8} and -inscriptions which had formerly passed undisputed, and formed the -basis of the unstable edifice that had been erected around the vague -fame of the brothers Van Eyck. This uncertainty begins with the -parentage and the place and date of birth of the two masters, and -extends to the two supreme achievements to which they owe their -fame--the reputed invention of oil-painting, which was variously -ascribed to Hubert and Jan, then denied to both of them, and, -finally, given back to Hubert in the form of an improvement on the -methods of oil-painting practised during the period; and the -much-quoted inscription on the famous Ghent altar-piece, _The -Adoration of the Lamb_, which has been, and must remain, the -starting-point for all research in this matter, even though the late -Henri Bouchot, Keeper of the Print Cabinet of the Bibliothèque -Nationale, suggests that this inscription may have been added when -the picture was restored in the middle of the sixteenth century. At -every turn we are faced by similar doubts and contradictions, -especially in the case of Hubert, about whose life and doings we have -so little documentary evidence that we have to fall back entirely -upon conjecture and deduction. - -[Illustration: THE ADORATION OF THE LAMB. BY HUBERT AND JAN VAN -EYCK.] - - - - -{9} - -HUBERT VAN EYCK - -If Joes van Eyck and Margaret van den Huntfanghe, who are entered in -the register of the Ghent Guild of Painters for 1391, are the parents -of the two masters who have made the name of Van Eyck immortal, we -should have proof of their descent from artistic stock, which may be -taken for granted in view of the fact that not only Hubert and Jan, -but also a third brother, Lambert, and a sister, Margaret, devoted -themselves to the art of painting, though Lambert--if he really be -responsible for the pictures which stand to his credit--was a man of -but mediocre talent; whilst we have no evidence of the activity of -Margaret, who was most probably a miniaturist or illuminator. - -It is believed that Hubert (or Huybrecht) van Eyck was born at -Maaseyck, or perhaps at the village of Eyck near that town, between -1366 and 1370, and that he received his artistic training either at -Cologne or at Maastricht; but the first definite mention we have of -him {10} is in Ghent, where he eventually settled, and where, in -1424, the archives record that he was paid certain sums for drawings. -Though Mr. Weale and other authorities hold the view that, before -settling in Ghent, Hubert must have travelled to the South of Europe, -there is absolutely no evidence to this effect. The paintings of the -two brothers certainly contain details which reveal intimate -acquaintance with Southern vegetation and mountain formation; but, as -will be seen later, Mr. Alfred Marks has fairly well established the -fact that the younger brother, Jan, must be held responsible for such -paintings or portions of paintings as prove the knowledge of Nature -in the South of Europe. - -The name of Hubert van Eyck occurs in two other documents, quoted by -Edmond de Busscher in his "Recherches sur les Peintres Gantois," but -the authenticity of both these entries has lately been questioned. -The first of them, which is proved to be a forgery, records the -admission of Hubert and of his sister, Margaret, into the -Confraternity of Our Lady of the Rays at Ghent in 1419; the other the -affiliation of Hubert and Jan, in 1421, to the Corporation of -Painters and Sculptors of Ghent. {11} According to the wording of -the latter entry, it may be gathered that the election of the two -masters was so enthusiastic and unanimous that the Corporation -dispensed with the conditions and formalities usual on the admission -of free masters to the guild. This unusual affiliation, of which the -_Livre du Métier Gantois_ does not reveal another example, is there -quoted as a homage rendered to the memory of Michelle de France, -Countess of Flanders, and first wife of Philip the Good, who appears -to have held the two brothers in special favour. The Corporation, in -thus granting to them the professional franchise of Ghent, at the -same time expressed their esteem for their talent, and the pious -remembrance in which they held the memory of their Queen Consort. - -Of Hubert's early work we have absolutely no record, and no picture -is known which bears his signature. Indeed, the only paintings which -can with absolute certainty be assigned to him are the great Ghent -altar-piece, painted for Jodoc Vydt, on which he was engaged at the -time of his death, and which was finished six years later by his -brother Jan; and the shutter of a triptych at the Royal Gallery at -{12} Copenhagen, which represents Robert Poortier, of Ghent, -protected by St. Anthony, with the Angel Gabriel on the reverse. -Robert Poortier's will, made in 1426, a few months before Hubert's -death, mentions this triptych as being in the master's workshop. On -the internal evidence of these two authentic works attempts have been -made to trace Hubert's hand in several other pictures, though their -number is so far restricted to only seven. It has been suggested -that Hubert may in the earlier years of his career have devoted -himself to miniature painting; and the wonderful Turin miniatures -published by M. Paul Durrieu in the _Gazette des Beaux-Arts_ (January -and February, 1903), which date from the same period, show such -marked kinship with Hubert's conception and style that they may well -be the work of his own hand. The scarcity of his paintings would -thus be accounted for if, anterior to the experiments which led to -the invention of the new method of oil-painting about 1410, Hubert -had exercised his rare gifts in a different field. - -From the wording of his epitaph, which has been handed down to us, it -is made clear that Hubert died on September 18, 1426. As translated -by Sir Charles Eastlake, in his "Materials {13} for a History of -Oil-Painting," this epitaph runs as follows: "Take warning from me, -ye who walk over me. I was as you are, but am now buried dead -beneath you. Thus it appears that neither art nor medicine availed -me. Art, honour, wisdom, power, affluence, are not spared when death -comes. I was called Hubert van Eyck; I am now food for worms. -Formerly known and highly honoured in painting, this was all shortly -after turned to nothing. It was in the year of the Lord one thousand -four hundred and twenty-six, on the eighteenth day of September, that -I rendered up my soul to God, in sufferings. Pray God for me, ye who -love art, that I may attain to His sight. Flee sin, turn to the -best, for you must follow me at last." Hubert was buried in the -crypt of the Cathedral of St. Bavo at Ghent. When, owing to some -structural alterations to the church, this crypt was destroyed, the -tombs, including Hubert's, were removed and the bones dispersed. -Only Hubert's right arm was placed in an iron case and exhibited as a -relic. - - - - -{14} - -JAN VAN EYCK - -The date of Jan van Eyck's birth is as uncertain as that of his -brother's. Tradition has it that the two brothers are portrayed on -the panel of the great Ghent altar-piece, which represents _The Just -Judges_. These portraits suggest a difference of about twenty years -between the two, so that the birth of Jan would have to be placed -somewhere between 1386 and 1390. Hubert being thus about twenty -years his senior, it is natural to suppose that Jan received from him -his early education in matters of art. Guicciardini, van Mander, and -other early writers, affirm that the two brothers worked in -collaboration, and there is no reason to doubt that Jan in his early -years assisted his brother in many or most of his paintings--perhaps -even in the Ghent altar-piece, which he finished after the elder -brother's death. It is certainly a curious fact that, with a single -exception--the completely over-painted _Enthronement of St. Thomas of -Canterbury_ at {15} Chatsworth--all the signed pictures by Jan bear -dates posterior to the death of Hubert. And it is equally -significant that the first of this series of ten signed pictures is -dated 1432, the year of the completion of the Ghent altar-piece, -which was the last work in which both brothers had a share. - -[Illustration: THE ENTHRONEMENT OF THOMAS À BECKET, BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - -The chief events in the life of Jan van Eyck can be gathered fairly -accurately from contemporary records and documents. In 1422 Jan -entered the service of John of Bavaria, at that time Duke of -Luxembourg, whose household accounts show the payment of a weekly -wage to the artist, from October 25, 1422, till September, 1424, for -the decoration of the palace at the Hague. M. Bouchot mentioned an -earlier record of Jan's doings, when he believed he discovered him at -Cambrai decorating a Paschal candle. But the eminent French critic -probably confused Jan van Eyck with one Jan de Yeke, whose name -occurs in the accounts of the Cathedral of Cambrai as that of a man -employed in 1422 and many following years in painting crosses, -clocks, and candles on the outer wall of the cathedral to deter the -passers-by from committing nuisances! - -In the spring of 1425 Jan van Eyck was {16} appointed _varlet de -chambre_ to Philip the Good, and though this princely patron availed -himself of the master's services as a painter, it would appear from a -letter signed by Philip, and bearing the date March 12, 1434, that -the appointment of Jan to the position of Court painter to the -Burgundian Prince only took place in that year (1434). Still, as -_varlet de chambre_ Jan van Eyck must have enjoyed a position of -considerable trust and emolument at the hands of his august master, -for on more than one occasion we find him entrusted with important -missions, some of which took him to the Portuguese Court. The first -of these excursions took place when he had resided for three months -at Bruges. On his return he went at Philip's order to live at Lille, -where he remained until 1428. His missions were generally of a -secret nature, but on one of these occasions, in the year 1428, we -find Jan again absent in Portugal, returning to the Court of Philip -in the suite of Isabella of Portugal, who was destined to become the -royal consort. Gachard, in the _Collection de Documents Inédits -concevnant l'Histoire de Belgique_, gives a detailed account of the -artist's movements from his departure from Écluse on October 19, -1428, to his {17} return in January, 1430. According to these dates, -which are gathered from contemporary documents, the ambassadors with -the Infanta set out from Lisbon on October 8, 1429. The apparent -discrepancy between these dates and that of January 10, 1429, which, -at the Golden Fleece Exhibition at Bruges in 1907, was given as the -date of the foundation of this Order, and consequently of the -nuptials of Philip and Isabella and of Jan's return to Bruges, is -easily accounted for if we remember that the beginning of the year -was then reckoned from March 1, so that January, 1430, of our own -reckoning would tally with January, 1429, of the contemporary -calendar. - -Jan's first duty on arrival at the Portuguese Court was to paint the -portrait of the Princess. It appears that he was at work upon this -picture for a month. Several portraits of Isabella are still extant -painted in the manner of the van Eycks, and pointing to the same -origin, but none has so far been discovered to possess qualities or -details which would justify its identification as Jan's original -panel. Evidently Jan's portrait was pleasing to the eye of the -Lowland monarch, for upon Philip expressing his satisfaction with the -personal appearance {18} of Isabella, the ambassadors and the bride -immediately embarked on the homeward journey. Soon after his -return--namely, in 1431--Jan bought a house in Bruges, where he -married and continued to work, after the completion of the Ghent -altar-piece in the following year, until his death, which took place -about the end of June, 1441. He was buried in the churchyard of St. -Donatian at Bruges, but his body was subsequently removed to a vault -near the font of that church. - -Mr. Weale, while arranging the archives of St. Donatian at Bruges, -discovered in the account of the fabric of the church for the year -beginning June 25, 1440, and ending June 24, 1441, entries of sums -received for the grave of Jan van Eyck and for the ringing of the -funeral bell, and in the obituary of the church his anniversary set -down as celebrated on July 9. In an article in the _Burlington -Magazine_ (1904) Mr. Weale makes the following comment: "Hence it -appears certain that he died on July 9, 1440. This date, now -generally accepted, is, however, incorrect. Two entries in the -account of Walter Poulain, Receiver-General of Flanders for the year -ending December 31, 1441, prove that John's death {19} took place in -1441, but leave the exact day uncertain." Three entries show that -Jan died about the end of June, and that on July 22 a grant of 360 -livres--the equivalent of her husband's salary for half a year--was -made to Jan's widow by the Duke Philip in recognition of the services -rendered by her deceased husband. It also shows that Jan's wife was -named Margaret, and that he left at least two children--one, the -Duke's godchild, Philip or Philippina, born in June, 1434; the other, -Lyennie, who became a nun at Maaseyck in 1449, which lends colour to -the theory that Maaseyck was her father's birthplace. - -His epitaph, as translated by Sir Charles Eastlake, runs: "Here lies -Joannes, who was celebrated for his surpassing skill, and whose -felicity in painting excited wonder. He painted breathing forms, and -the earth's surface, covered with flowery vegetation, completing each -work to the life. Hence Phidias and Apelles must give place to him, -and Polycletus be considered his inferior in art. Call, therefore, -the Fates most cruel, who have snatched from us such a man. Yet -cease to weep, for destiny is immutable; pray only now to God that he -may live in heaven." - - - - -{20} - -THE INVENTION OF OIL-PAINTING - -Tradition has for centuries connected the name of Van Eyck with the -invention of oil-painting, and has fixed upon the year 1410 as the -date of this invention. This, at least, is the year given by such -early writers as Guicciardini, Vasari, Opmeer, and Karel van Mander. -Vasari, indeed, gives a most detailed and circumstantial account of -this epoch-making event, which, according to the Aretine biographer, -was brought about by the single-handed efforts of Jan. And it is -easy to understand that the fame of the elder brother had in the -sixteenth century become obscured and merged in that of the -brilliantly successful Jan, the _varlet de chambre_ and official -Court painter. This "Giovanni of Bruggia," Vasari tells us, "after -having given extreme labour to the completion of a certain picture, -and with great diligence brought it to a successful issue, he gave it -the varnish and set it to dry in the sun, as is the custom. But -whether because {21} the heat was too violent, or that the wood was -badly joined or insufficiently seasoned, the picture gave way at the -joinings, opening in a very deplorable manner. Thereupon Giovanni, -perceiving the mischief done to his work by the heat of the sun, -determined to proceed in such a manner that the same thing should -never again injure his work in like manner. And as he was no less -embarrassed by his varnishes than by the process of tempera-painting, -he turned his thoughts to the discovery of some sort of varnish that -would dry in the shadow, to the end that he need not expose his -pictures to the sun. Accordingly, after having made many experiments -on substances, pure and mixed, he finally discovered that linseed oil -and oil of nuts dried more readily than any others of all that he had -tried. Having boiled these oils, therefore, with other mixtures, he -thus obtained the varnish which he--or, rather, all the painters of -the world--had so long desired. He made experiments with many other -substances, but finally decided that mixing the colours with these -oils gave a degree of firmness to the work which not only secured it -against all injury from water when once dried, but also imparted so -{22} much life to the colours that they exhibited a sufficient lustre -in themselves without the aid of varnish; and what appeared to him -more extraordinary than all besides was that the colours thus treated -were much more easily united and blent than when in tempera." - -Vasari then proceeds to tell us of Jan's great success, of the -"blameless envy" of all other artists in Flanders and abroad, from -whom he would jealously guard his secret, until, in his old age, he -imparted it to "his disciple Ruggieri da Bruggia," a name which -surely can hide no other personality than Rogier van der Weyden's. -Of Hubert never a mention, save a short reference in the last volume, -in the chapter on "Divers Flemish Artists." As in most of Vasari's -anecdotes, there is probably a foundation of truth to the elaborate -network of fiction. The incident explained by him at great length -may have occurred, but its hero can only have been Hubert, and not -Jan, who was then a mere youth working in his brother's _bottega_, -and may have assisted Hubert in his experiments. Though it has since -been doubted that Hubert or Jan van Eyck actually invented -oil-painting, no evidence has yet been discovered to prove they were -not the first to employ oil {23} as a medium in putting colour on the -prepared panel. It is true that oil as a protective varnish was -frequently used during the fourteenth century, and it is probable -that some kind of oil-colour was employed in the colouring of -statuary and in the painting of banners at an early period. For this -reason the statement that Hubert and Jan van Eyck "discovered -painting in oils" has been disputed, and generally accepted as -inaccurate, but the question is one rather of terminology than of the -technical point. - -As the term "oil-painting" is generally accepted to-day, it is fairer -to credit these brothers with the invention, than to speak of their -achievement as an improvement in oil-painting, for hitherto the -medium in common use had been a preparation of gum and white of eggs. -And as there is neither definite proof nor any good evidence that oil -had ever been used as a _medium to mix the colours_ for -panel-painting before Hubert and Jan made their experiments, we -surely have an easy distinction to draw. The brothers Van Eyck were -the first successfully to mix the oil with the colours for painting, -and this process is what we now understand as "painting in oils." -The use of {24} oils as a protective or varnish does not enter into -the painting, since such had only been used on the completion of the -work. - -For the rest, the brothers either acted more generously than Vasari -would have it, or they did not altogether succeed in guarding their -precious secret, for their method appears to have been fairly -generally practised at Ghent about 1420. We find, for instance, that -in 1419 the "free painters," Willem van Appoele and Johannes -Maertens, received a commission to paint some pictures for the town -hall of Ghent in "good oil-colours." It is also certain that Rogier -van der Weyden--Vasari's Ruggieri da Bruggia--never was a pupil of -either Jan or Hubert van Eyck. - - - - -{25} - -THE ART OF THE VAN EYCKS - -The position occupied by Hubert and Jan van Eyck in the history of -art is one of unparalleled importance. A deep gulf divides them from -all their immediate precursors, who seem to belong altogether to a -different epoch--nay, a different world. Just as their improvement -in the technical methods of their craft opened up a vista of till -then unthought of possibilities, so their conception of life and of -pictorial form marks the beginning of a new era, the passing of the -vague mediæval idealism into an art that is based upon the close -study and loving appreciation of Nature. Perhaps too much stress has -been laid upon the so-called "realism" of the brothers van Eyck, and -more especially of Jan. Again and again critics have insisted upon -Jan's uncompromising love of literal truth, upon his insistence on -details that are in themselves at times repulsively ugly. This -realism was tempered with deep sentiment and a sense {26} of style -which kept such details well subordinated to the general scheme, and -it is in this respect that Jan van Eyck stands immeasurably above -Melchior Broederlam, who occupied the position of _varlet de chambre_ -and Court painter to Philip the Bold, the grandfather of Jan's -patron. Broederlam, indeed, as may be seen in his famous altar-piece -at Dijon, seems to be a far more pronounced realist than Jan van -Eyck, simply because he lacks that sense of style and harmony and -subordination--in short, that concentration--which makes us forget -the realistic detail in the beauty of the complete thing. - -The real precursors of the van Eycks were the sculptors who carved -the tombs, monuments, and reliefs in the churches of Tournai. In -these we first find the faithful adherence to the facts of Nature and -the understanding of the subtleties of form which in painting appear -first in the works of the brothers van Eyck, who may have also owed -much of their knowledge to the flourishing school of Flemish -miniature-painters, if, indeed, Hubert in his early days did not -actually practise this art. Yet, even though the new era in painting -is, as it were, heralded by the new tendencies in plastic art--just -as in {27} Italy Giotto was preceded by the sculptor Niccolo -Pisani--there is something wonderful, something almost difficult to -realise, in the sudden appearance of complete and perfect works of -art, like the paintings of the van Eycks, that with masterly sureness -express the whole essence of the Gothic style, whilst at the same -time they reveal a new understanding of the inexhaustible beauty of -Nature, a keen perception of structural growth and of individual -characteristics, and, above all, an almost modern understanding of -the play of light upon figures and objects in and out of doors. - -The picturesque, brilliant, varied life of such cities as Bruges and -Ghent at the beginning of the fifteenth century cannot have failed to -stimulate the artists' power of observation, to sharpen their -perception of the differences of race, gesture, and costume; for the -streets and squares of the rich commercial centres of Flanders were -filled from morning to night with ever-moving crowds of courtiers and -merchants from all parts of the world--Spaniards and Italians, -Germans, and Slavonians, and even Moors and Turks, all in their -different costumes and following their different customs. At the -same time the painters' eyes were {28} constantly met by the wonders -of the creations of architects, armourers, and other craftsmen who -flourished under the protection of the Burgundian rulers; and one may -well understand the love and enthusiasm with which a receptive artist -like Jan van Eyck applied himself to the faithful delineation of the -splendours and of the seething life by which he was surrounded. - -Although the two brothers were in the habit of working together upon -the same pictures, which has given rise to many disputes as to the -authorship of unsigned works, and although Jan, the realist, at times -approached, though never equalled, the spirituality and decorative -sumptuousness of Hubert, whilst Hubert, the stylist and greater mind -of the two, sometimes vied with Jan in the minute and exquisite -elaboration of details, the signed works of Jan and those parts of -the Ghent altar-piece which are unquestionably Hubert's own have made -it possible to characterise the distinguishing qualities of the two -masters. Hubert far exceeds his brother in monumental -impressiveness, in grandeur of style, in idealistic significance, in -sumptuousness, and even in sense of beauty. Even the folds of his -draperies have a fulness and a noble swing which form a striking {29} -contrast to the more laboured irregularity of Jan's, as may be seen -in comparing the garments of God the Father, the Virgin Mary, and St. -John, of the Ghent altar-piece, with the curiously broken folds of -Barbara's dress in Jan's picture at Antwerp. - -[Illustration: THE MAN WITH THE PINKS. BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - -The conception of such ideas as are embodied in the _Adoration of the -Lamb_, or in the _Triumph of the Church over the Synagogue_, at the -Madrid Museum, would also have been quite beyond the pale of the more -prosaic Jan's imagination. Jan, on the other hand, excelled in -stating the reality of the visible world. Generalisations of human -types or of landscape features are unknown to him. He was the first -to fix upon his panels all the carefully studied and exquisitely -wrought details of the actual world--sky and mountain and river, -forest and fields, flowers and trees, and the churches and castles, -houses and bridges, placed in Nature by human hands. It is scarcely -too much to say that he was the first landscape-painter, just as he -was the first portrait painter in the modern sense of the word--the -first who could paint a scene so that it could be identified after -the lapse of centuries, the first who could paint a portrait so that -the model {30} stands before us living and breathing, in all his -beauty or ugliness. To appreciate the keenness of his vision one has -only to examine the marvellous Arnolfini group at the National -Gallery, with its almost scientific treatment of softly diffused -indoor light. A comparison of this picture, from the point of view -of lighting, with anything that was painted before the days of the -van Eycks will reveal perhaps the greatest step forward that is on -record in the whole history of painting. - - - - -{31} - -COLLABORATION OF THE BROTHERS - -When piecing together the lives of the brothers van Eyck, it is -necessary to delve into a confusing mass of conflicting -statements--evidence which is only in part to be relied upon, and the -theories of those who have devoted a vast amount of time and labour -to the unearthing, sorting, and arranging of such evidence as they -have been able to lay their hands upon. Incomplete as the records -are, we must, until further evidence has been discovered, accept the -obvious conclusions from the indisputable data left to us. - -We have ten unquestionably genuine signed pictures by Jan, and a -small group of others which may, from internal evidence, be safely -ascribed to the same source. We know that the great _Adoration of -the Lamb_, though designed in its entirety by Hubert, is the combined -work of the two masters. We know also that the Copenhagen panel of -Robert Poortier {32} was in Hubert's studio at the time of his -death--perhaps unfinished. The remaining pictures generally accepted -as genuine van Eycks have been variously ascribed to Hubert, or to -Jan, or to their united efforts. In view of the fact that not a -single really authenticated work by Hubert alone is known, special -significance must be attached to a statement, several times repeated -by early writers, that Hubert and Jan "continually painted on the -same works." - -In trying to solve the difficult question which part of the extant -_oeuvre_ is Hubert's and which is Jan's, our knowledge of Jan's -journeys to the South assumes considerable importance. For Hubert's -travels we lack proof--they are mere conjecture. But there is -documentary evidence of Jan's journey to Portugal in 1428, in -addition to which Mr. Weale has, I understand, recently unearthed -some further documents which establish another and earlier journey of -Jan to Spain. On these travels Jan must have become well acquainted -with certain plants peculiar to the South, and especially the dwarf -palm or palmetto, which is confined almost exclusively to Spain and -Portugal. It is therefore not unreasonable to assign to him those -{33} portions of the disputed pictures in which this palmetto -appears. Some authorities hold that Jan did not have any independent -artistic career before Hubert's death, and that in the division of -labour Hubert's share was, as a rule, the general design and the -painting of the figures, whilst Jan filled in the landscape and -architectural backgrounds. - -The collaboration theory has been advanced by Mr. A. Marks, whose -knowledge of Flemish art is profound, and whose deductions are as -conscientious as they are convincing. To him we are indebted for an -interesting paper upon the subject, which is at once exhaustive and -reasonable. To retail all that Mr. Marks advances in support of his -theory would be to reprint his treatise _in toto_; but though it is -impossible here to follow all his arguments, it is equally impossible -to avoid reference to the valuable correspondence between him and Mr. -James Weale in the _Athenæum_, between November, 1902, and April, -1903. This correspondence arose from an article by Mr. A. Marks in -the _Athenæum_ in May, 1900, in which attention is drawn to the -presence of the palmetto in the picture of _St. Francis receiving the -Stigmata_ (now in possession of {34} Mr. J. G. Johnson, Pennsylvania; -a copy in Turin), which picture had been formerly variously ascribed -to Henri met de Bles, Joachim Patinier, and Mostaert. Mr. Marks has -since supplemented and explained his views in the essay mentioned; -whilst Miss Frances Weale has published an excellent study on the -"van Eycks," which, in a concise and interesting form, presents her -father's views on the subject. - -It is, of course, likely that nothing is proved as to the authorship -of certain paintings by the presence or absence of the exotic plants -or other details ascribed to one or other of the brothers. Supposing -the assumed visit of Hubert to Southern Europe to be a fact, Jan may -have made use of his brother's studies to embellish his landscapes; -or Hubert may have utilized Jan's studies. But either supposition is -extremely unlikely. We have certain proof that Jan did several times -visit the South, while Hubert's sojourn in these parts is pure -surmise; and not only is it likely that, rather than make use of -second-hand material, Hubert left portions of the pictures to be -painted by Jan, but the examination of the various pictures reveals -the same hand in the painting of the {35} recurring details. We -must, then, take the facts and the most likely deductions in -preference to deductions drawn from data which are merely conjectural. - -Documentary evidence proves that Jan, immediately after his reception -by the King of Portugal on January 12, 1429, began the work of -painting the portrait of the Infanta, which, by the way, was executed -in tempera, and not in oil. This painting is, unfortunately, lost, -and though there are several portraits of Isabella now extant, of -which one at least may be a copy of Jan's picture, there is nothing -in any of them that can be traced to this master. He took a month -over its completion, and while the Court and Embassy were awaiting -the decision of Philip, to whom the picture had been sent, Jan and -his colleagues had time to visit several places of interest and -people of distinction. They travelled to the north to see the shrine -of St. Iago of Compostella; then to the south, where they were -received in turn by the Duke of Arjona and the King of Castile; and -then to Granada, in the extreme south, where they visited the King of -that city. It is stated that they also visited many other places; -and, as from Granada they returned to Lisbon, {36} they must have -passed through the country lying between Cordova and Seville. - -Now, through the whole of the south-eastern portion of the peninsula -the palmetto, or dwarf-palm, flourishes abundantly, and Jan could not -fail during his tour to become well acquainted with it. In a letter -which Mr. Marks quotes in his paper read at the Royal Society of -Literature, June 24, 1903, Mr. Luffmann, Director of the School of -Horticulture in Melbourne, says that the triangle formed by Seville, -Cordova, and Osuna, is "a piece of country which is literally overrun -by the plant," and that the root of the palmetto is commonly used in -those parts as fuel. In Italy it is but of rare occurrence, though -it grows in some of the islands of the Mediterranean; whilst in the -parts of Spain and Portugal visited by Jan it is almost impossible -for the visitor to avoid seeing it. - -Failing, then, even the probability that Hubert ever saw the palmetto -growing, we must credit Jan with the painting of this plant, which, -like all the other exotics, must have been carefully studied from -nature, for they are represented in most minute, careful, and -conscientious manner, and are absolutely true to {37} life. The -palmetto occurs in the picture of _St. Francis receiving the -Stigmata_ (above referred to); in the _St. Anthony with the Donor_ at -Copenhagen; and in _The Three Marys at the Sepulchre_ in the -collection of Sir Frederick Cook at Richmond. The portions of these -paintings by Hubert van Eyck, where the palmetto occurs, may -therefore be safely ascribed to the hand of Jan. - -Other exotic plants, which are not restricted to Spain and Portugal, -occur in these pictures; but they are painted by the same hand, and -betray the same loving adherence to truth, and a similar familiarity -with the plants as they grow. It is therefore patent that they, too, -must be ascribed to Jan, for it is impossible to suppose that the -younger brother's work on these pictures was simply that of adding -the by no means necessary dwarf-palm to Hubert's completed -landscapes. Jan was probably responsible for the design and -execution of these landscapes. These other exotics also occur in the -Ghent altar-piece, in the _Calvary_ of the Berlin Museum, and in the -copy, at the same museum, of a lost _Virgin and Child_, Mr. Marks -produces further evidence to prove that Jan must have painted not -only the foliage, but the {38} whole of the landscapes where the -little palm appears, including in most cases the architecture. He -draws attention to the architectural features in the _Chancellor -Rolin with Saints_ in the Louvre, and the signed and dated -altar-piece by Jan in the museum at Bruges: "The architecture in -these pictures is not a real architecture--that is, it has not been -copied from any actual examples.... Agreement is general that it is -an architecture invented, not merely copied." These pictures furnish -evidence of the painter having visited Italy, for marble is -represented in a most lavish manner. This marble is not -characteristic of Northern architecture; its use is distinctly -Italian. The painting of it displays the usual care and -conscientiousness common to all Jan's works. Further points cited by -Mr. Marks as evidence of Jan's work in various pictures are the -representations of snow-mountains in various works, and the presence -of a flying flock of geese. - -The former is of greater importance, as this again points to -acquaintance with the South, where alone the painter could have seen -snow-mountains. Now, as very similar architecture to that in the -altar-piece at Bruges, which is signed by Jan van Eyck, is found in -the _Chancellor {39} Rolin_ (Louvre), the _Virgin and Child_ -(Dresden), and the _Carthusian Monk with Saints_ (Gustave de -Rothschild, Paris), the suggestion is clear that in all these -pictures the architecture is the work of Jan, and several notable -critics hold this view. In three of these four paintings we find the -snow-mountains--namely, in the Dresden triptych, the _Chancellor -Rolin_, and the _Carthusian Monk_. And having established Jan as the -author of these snow-mountains, we must credit him with the -landscapes where this feature occurs in other pictures--_i.e._, the -Ghent altar-piece, the _Crucifixion_ of the Hermitage in St. -Petersburg, the _Calvary_ of the Berlin Museum, and the _Three Marys_ -of Sir Frederick Cook. The theory that Jan is responsible for the -snow-mountains is amply supported by the very reasonable deduction -that he must at some time have visited Italy. This is gathered from -the Italian character of the architecture, together with the snow -seen in the Rothschild picture, the _Chancellor Rolin_, the -_Carthusian Monk_, and the Dresden picture. The theory is further -supported by the presence of the palmetto together with -snow-mountains in the _Three Marys_ of Sir Frederick Cook. Here the -palmetto proves the authorship of the {40} landscape, and as the view -contains snow-mountains it very materially strengthens the -supposition that it was Jan, and not Hubert, who painted them, and -who consequently must have been to the South of Europe--probably -Italy--to have seen them. - -The flock of geese, which appears in no fewer than six pictures in -addition to Jan's signed _St. Barbara_ at Antwerp, is of very much -less importance than the snow-mountains and the palmetto, for here -the only use that can be made of it as evidence is its frequent -repetition. It is found in the landscapes of the Ghent altar-piece, -in the _Chancellor Rolin_, the _Carthusian Monk_, another version of -the same subject in the Berlin Museum, _St. Francis receiving the -Stigmata_, and in the _Three Marys_. But the flock of wild-geese is -not a feature made use of by the van Eyck brothers only. It seems to -have been of common occurrence in several other Flemish painters both -before and after the days of the van Eycks. Nevertheless, its -presence in the pictures enumerated has been brought forward as -supplementary evidence to prove the collaboration of Hubert and Jan. - -[Illustration: ST. BARBARA. BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - -So far, then, evidence has been shown to prove Jan's share in the -following pictures: the {41} _Chancellor Rolin_, the _Virgin and -Child_ (at Dresden), the _Carthusian Monk_ in the Rothschild -Collection, _St. Francis receiving the Stigmata_, _St. Anthony and -the Donor_ (at Copenhagen), _The Three Marys at the Sepulchre_, the -_Crucifixion_ (at St. Petersburg), the _Calvary_ (at Berlin), and the -great altar-piece at St. Bavo, Ghent. Still another point which has -been generally urged to prove collaboration of the two brothers is -the appearance of their portraits in certain pictures. They are seen -in the panel of the Ghent altar-piece representing the _Just Judges_, -in the copy of the lost _Fountain of Life_ or _The Triumph of the -Church over the Synagogue_ in the Madrid Museum, and also, it is -said, in the _Crucifixion_ of St. Petersburg. - -Though the theory of collaboration is an old one, doubts have arisen -amongst modern critics, who have shown a growing tendency to ascribe -the majority of the unsigned works solely to the elder brother, which -attribution is refuted not only by the arguments here set forth, but -by many early writers, including Guicciardini and van Mander, both -notable and reliable historians. - -Before leaving the question of collaboration, a few words must be -said concerning the {42} controversy that has arisen over the Ghent -altar-piece. This painting is indisputably the masterpiece of the -van Eycks, and is of stupendous proportions. The panel of the -_Adoration of the Lamb_, from which the whole alter-piece takes its -name, and the shutters depicting the _Just Judges_, the _Warriors of -Christ_, the _Holy Hermits_, and the _Holy Pilgrims_, have by many -critics been attributed to Hubert's unaided efforts. It is therefore -interesting to examine the landscape backgrounds of these five -panels, and to consider them in the light of the evidence deduced -from the backgrounds of the other "collaboration" pictures. Evidence -is needed to prove that Jan's work was not merely confined to -finishing the picture after his brother's death (the inscription -states that it was begun by Hubert and finished by Jan), which in -itself, of course, does not prove collaboration of the brothers. - -In the first place, Jan's handiwork must be identified. In the -pictures already discussed it has been proved fairly conclusively -that Jan is responsible for the painting of the exotic plants, the -snow-mountains, the flock of wild geese, and the architectural -setting. The landscapes in the Ghent altar-piece contain exotic {43} -plants, wild geese, and snow-mountains. Of the latter it is -difficult to speak; they are whitish in colour, but their formation -is neither so natural nor so well designed as in the _Three Marys_. -The exotic plants alone prove Jan's work here. The birds may, or may -not, be very important. They serve, however, by their repeated -appearance in Jan's other pictures, as auxiliary evidence. The -question for proof, however, is not the presence of Jan's work on -this picture, but the presence of his work before the death of his -brother. And from this point of view it is significant that, though -other exotics are present in profusion, the palmetto--a sure result -of Jan's visit to Portugal--does not appear. The whole work is -stated in the inscription to have been finished on May 6, 1432, two -years after Jan's return from Portugal. Now, the absence of the -palmetto from this picture points to one of two conclusions--either -the work left for Jan to do in the completion was comparatively -trifling, or that the greater part of the picture, including the -design of the landscapes, was already finished before Jan met with -the palmetto. - -That the work of the younger brother was not insignificant is -distinctly stated in the text {44} of the inscription: "The painter, -Hubert van Eyck, greater than whom none is to be found, began [the -work]; the bulk was completed by his brother Jan, second to him in -art, relying on the request of Jodoc Vydt. This verse invites you to -contemplate that which was completed on May 6, 1432." This -translation from the Latin is chosen from three versions. The other -renderings seem to be given by those who would translate the word -_pondus_ as _work_, and thus give the younger brother credit for no -more than finishing an incomplete picture. The text has, however, -been translated by several learned scholars, who are entirely free -from the taint of partisanship, and it is now generally agreed that -the translation given here is the correct one. - -There is yet another possibility which the absence of the palmetto -points to--namely, that the picture was practically finished before -Jan's visit to Portugal, save some very minor details, which were -completed in 1432, The presence of the other exotics points to this -view being correct, for it would obviously be unlikely that Jan -should omit the palmetto from all these five landscapes after his -careful studies of his favourite plant. The other exotics, not being -{45} a result of the journey, may very well have been painted before -1429. Collaboration in this work is further proved by the portraits -of the two brothers. - - - - -{46} - -OUR ILLUSTRATIONS - -The supreme masterpiece of the brothers van Eyck, the work which, in -the history of Flemish art, has played the part that was allotted to -Masaccio's frescoes at the Carmine, Florence, in the art of Italy, is -the gigantic polyptych painted for the chapel of the Vydt family in -the Cathedral of St. John (now St. Bavo) in Ghent, and known from the -subject of the chief panel as the _Adoration of the Lamb_. In its -original form this altar-piece, which is now divided between St. Bavo -Cathedral and the museums of Berlin and Brussels, was composed of -twelve interior panels and a predella (which has unfortunately been -destroyed). Including the backs of the shutters, which, like the -panels themselves, are covered with the most minute and exquisite -painting, the painted surface extends to over 1,000 square feet. The -centre panel alone, from which the whole altar-piece takes its name, -measures 7¼ feet in width by 4½ feet in height. - -{47} - -Horizontally the whole altar-piece is divided into three portions. -The central panel of the middle tier is occupied by the _Adoration of -the Lamb_. Like the rest of the picture, it is treated in a -decorative spirit, the grouping of the figures, the architecture, and -the foliage being almost geometrically arranged and balanced. In a -very beautiful and peaceful landscape is set up, on a green mound in -the centre, an altar, upon which stands the Lamb of God. Its breast -is pierced in the customary manner, the sacred blood flowing into a -chalice at its feet. Immediately around the altar fourteen angels, -symbolical, probably, of the stations of the Passion of Christ, kneel -in adoration. The two in front of the altar offer incense, while -emblems of the Passion are held by others. The cross is held on the -left, and the pillar of the scourging stands on the right. In the -foreground, also in the centre and below the altar, is the Fountain -of Life, which divides two groups of worshippers: on the left are the -Jewish prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament, whilst the crowd -on the right is composed of Popes, Bishops, priests, monks, and -laymen. In the background, emerging from the luxuriant forest -immediately behind {48} the altar, two processions slowly wend their -way. The group on the right is composed of holy women, foremost of -whom come St. Agnes with a lamb, St. Catherine, and others. The -Procession on the left again includes Popes, Bishops, and monks. -These are said to be the confessors. Above all hovers the Holy Ghost -in the form of the dove. - -The painting of these figures is most exquisite. The draperies are -soft and pleasing; the colour is deep and rich; while the faces are -remarkable for their character and variety of expression. The jewels -and ornaments worn by some of the Popes and Bishops are drawn with -loving care, and the enrichments of the vestments betray a patience -and skill that create wonder. In the distance, above the trees, are -seen cities with many towers and churches, behind which are hills in -the remote distance. The foreground of the beautiful, soft, -spring-like grass is profusely enriched by the growth of innumerable -flowers and shrubs, all of which are painted with consummate skill -and truth. The whole picture makes a profound effect by its -sumptuous splendour, and by the masterly disposal of light and shade. - -The two panels on the left are the _Just Judges_ {49} and _Christ's -Warriors_. In the _Judges_ the whole lower half of the picture is -taken up by figures on horses. Behind a cliff in the middle distance -is seen a forest and some buildings of elaborate architecture, which -may represent tribunals. The bridles and trappings of the horses are -richly jewelled, and altogether the best is made of the opportunity -of rendering with goldsmith-like precision all manner of gorgeous -materials, costly and beautifully emblazoned banners, and armour and -trappings of beautiful design. Tradition has it that two of the -_Judges_ are portraits of the painters, the one in a black garment -with a red rosary, who is turning towards the spectator, being the -younger brother Jan. To strengthen the theory that this figure was -painted by Jan after Hubert's death, Mr. Weale suggests that the -black habit and red rosary denote mourning, probably for his brother -Hubert. - -As regards the other panel, Mr. Six has advanced an interesting -theory with respect to the soldier who wears a blue head-dress. He -calls attention to a _pentimento_ in substituting for a crown on this -figure the blue head-dress. Mr. Six claims to have identified this -figure as Jean Sans Peur, who probably saw the painting, {50} and -objected to being represented with a crown while Godfrey de Bouillon -wore only a fur cap, and therefore persuaded the painter to alter it -to the blue cap or bonnet which was the badge of the Burgundians -against the Armagnacs. From this the supposed alteration must have -taken place a little after 1410, whereas, according to early art -historians, the altar-piece was only begun between 1415 and 1420. - -[Illustration: THE JUST JUDGES, AND CHRIST'S WARRIORS. BY HUBERT AND -JAN VAN EYCK.] - -Though the limitations of the present little volume make it -impossible to reproduce the other panels which originally formed part -of the colossal altar-piece, it will not be out of place here to -describe them in detail, as they all form part of a wonderfully -complete and harmonious scheme. As pendants to the _Judges_ and -_Warriors_, to the right of the central panel were the _Holy Hermits_ -and the _Holy Pilgrims_. Rocks, cliff, and foliage are found in the -background of the hermits, but, as suggestive of retirement and -remoteness, no architecture is seen. The pilgrims are represented -walking up a valley towards the spectator. On the right, in the -background, is a hill covered with various trees, and in the distance -is seen a river and meadows, with a town and low hills beyond. The -pilgrims are led by St. Christopher, {51} whose giant proportions -tower above the rest of the procession. - -The upper tier of the polyptych consists of seven panels, or rather -three panels, the combined width of which corresponds with that of -the _Adoration_ panel below, and two shutters on each side. The -grand figure in the centre panel, majestically enthroned, has been -variously held to represent God the Father and Christ, and the Latin -inscription may be equally applied to both. Perhaps it was the -painter's idea to personify both in one figure. On His brow is the -Crown of Heaven, and at His feet the Crown of Purity and Innocence, -which the Lamb has won on earth. The panel to His right shows the -Virgin, gazing in devotion at an open book in her hands--a conception -of such purity and innocence that it recalls the spirit of Fra -Angelico. To his left is the equally nobly conceived figure of St. -John, an open book in his lap, with his right hand raised, as it -were, in exhortation. The monumental style of these figures, and -their deep significance, leave no doubt that these panels are from -the brush of the elder brother Hubert. - -These panels are flanked by two shutters on each side--a choir of -angels and St. Cecilia {52} with some angels within, and _Adam_ and -_Eve_ at the extreme ends. The relentless realism of the latter, -which borders close on ugliness, marks them as the work of Jan. The -figures are undoubtedly painted from life, and were held to be so -wonderful that for some time the whole altar-piece was known as the -"Adam and Eve painting." Jan may also be held responsible for the -angels and St. Cecilia, both of which have many characteristics that -tally with well-authenticated works by the master. The predella -which originally adorned the altar-piece has unfortunately been -destroyed. The reverse of the lower shutters shows the figures of -St. John the Evangelist, St. John the Baptist, and portraits of the -donor, Jodoc Vydt, and his wife; and of the upper shutters, the -Annunciation and figures of prophets and sibyls. Only the -_Adoration_ and the three important panels above (God the Father, the -Virgin, and St. John) remain at the Cathedral of St. Bavo at Ghent; -the _Adam_ and _Eve_ are now at the Brussels Museum, and the other -shutters at the Berlin Museum. - -There are still extant portions of a copy of this great work which -was painted at the command of Philip II. of Spain by Michael {53} -Cocxie. The wings of this copy are now added to the original centre -portion at Ghent. There is a second copy of the Ghent altar-piece in -the museum of Antwerp. - -Upon the consecration of the great masterpiece at St. Bavo vast -multitudes of people came into the city to see the work, the fame of -which soon became known throughout the whole of Western Europe. And -for more than four centuries it remained the wonder of Ghent. - -Mr. R. Petrucci states that in 1904, during a demolition of a house -in the Rue du Gouvernement at Ghent, the old walls were discovered of -a Steen believed to have been the property of Jodoc Vydt, the patron -of the van Eycks, who commissioned them to execute the Ghent -polyptych. In a room upon the third floor, 40 feet up, a square -window was discovered exactly answering in orientation and position -to the town which appears in the _Adoration of the Lamb_, and which -has been recognised as a view over the Rue Courte du Jour. In the -foreground is seen the Steen, on the site of which was afterwards -built the little butcher's shop near the present bird-market. Above -it rises the tournelle of the weavers' chapel, which was used in turn -as a butcher's shop, a pleasure {54} resort, and a place of auction, -and is now a garage for motor-cars. Further away, in the background, -is the old fortified gate which defended the passage of the bridge of -the canal of the coppersmiths. On the left of the scene is a -representation of another front of the Steen, which stood on that -side at the corner of the Rue Courte du Jour and the Rue de Brabant. -The window reveals this scene exactly. "It seems certain," says Mr. -Petrucci, "that this was the room in which Hubert and Jan, or, at any -rate, Jan, van Eyck painted the famous polyptych of the Mystic Lamb." - -* * * * * - -The portrait group by Jan van Eyck known as _Jan Arnolfini and Jeanne -dc Chenany, his Wife_, must be counted among the greatest treasures -of the London National Gallery, as it is, perhaps, the most perfect -as well as the most characteristic example of the master's art. -Arnolfini, who was Jan's brother-in-law, a man of solemn and -depressing countenance, with heavy, drooping lids and long, -wide-nostrilled nose, is seen standing in his bed-chamber. His right -hand is raised as if enjoining silence, his left extended to his -wife, whose open countenance denotes docility and calm. {55} -Arnolfini wears a tunic of a dark green stuff, over which is a cloak -of dark red, which reaches well below the knees, and is lined and -edged with fur. It is divided at the sides from the bottom to the -shoulder. He wears a large and curiously shaped hat, which in a -manner resembles a "beefeater's" head-gear. His wife is habited in a -long and ample robe of green, rather bright in colour, and lined and -trimmed with white fur. She has raised the folds of the robe in -front, thus revealing an undergarment of dark blue, trimmed also with -fur. Round her strikingly high waist is a narrow belt of leather, -decorated with gilding and polished. On her head is a large kerchief -with a worked border, which is caught up at the sides in the -prevailing fashion. Round her neck she wears a double row of pearls. -The drawing of the drapery, which falls straight to the floor, is -bold and severe, realistic, and devoid of any attempt at affectation. - -In the foreground is a small dog, and to the left, on the floor, a -pair of pattens. In the centre of the room, slightly behind and -above the heads of the figures, hangs a brass chandelier of pierced -work. Of its six arms only one holds a candle, and this is burning, -the {56} single flame being probably a symbol of conjugal affection -or unity, as there is no other reason for its presence in a chamber -well lit by two large windows on the left--one behind the figures and -one in advance, which is not shown, but the light from which falls -straight upon the faces. On the wall behind the two figures a -circular convex mirror reflects a portion of the room, with two -additional figures. Beside it hangs an amber rosary. The flesh -painting is admirably soft, delicate, and transparent; the light and -shade powerful, yet so well arranged that only the closest -examination will reveal what an important factor it is in the success -of the picture. The whole thing is touching in the simple -straightforwardness of statement, and all the details are wrought -with inimitable but unobtrusive minute precision. In the management -of tone-values and of indoors atmosphere Jan proves himself in this -picture far ahead of his time. - -The signature of this Arnolfini picture is written in ornamental -Gothic characters immediately above the mirror, and takes the -extraordinary form "Johannes de Eyck fuit hic" (Jan van Eyck was -here), with the date 1434. Owing to this ambiguous wording, which -may {57} be, and has been, interpreted as "this was Jan van Eyck," -the picture was formerly held to represent the artist himself and his -wife, a theory which still has its defenders. A full pedigree of the -picture is given in the National Gallery catalogue. It belonged in -1516 to Margaret of Austria, to whom it was given by Don Diego de -Guevara, whose arms were painted on the shutters which were -originally attached to it. Afterwards it passed into the hands of a -barber-surgeon at Bruges, who presented it to the then Regent of the -Netherlands, Mary, the sister of Charles V., and Queen Dowager of -Hungary. This Princess valued the picture so highly that she granted -the barber-surgeon in return a pension, or office, worth 100 florins -per annum. The picture is included in the list of valuables which -she carried with her to Spain in 1556, from which date it disappeared -until 1815, when it was discovered by Major-General Hay in the -apartments to which he was taken, in Brussels, to recover from wounds -received at Waterloo. He subsequently purchased the picture, and -disposed of it to the British Government in 1842, since which date it -has been at the National Gallery. Henri Bouchot was of opinion that -the picture is not {58} the one of Arnolfini the traces of which are -lost in 1556, but a portrait of van Eyck and his wife, painted as a -pendant to the lost Arnolfini group. To support his view he pointed -out the resemblance of the woman in this picture with the portrait of -Jan's wife at the Bruges Museum. - -* * * * * - - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF TIMOTHY. BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - -The portrait at the National Gallery which, from the name inscribed -in Greek characters on the stone parapet that extends across the -bottom of the panel, is known as the bust of Timothy, bears the date -October 10, 1432, and is therefore the earliest of Jan's signed and -dated pictures--always excepting the much-overpainted Chatsworth -panel of 1421. It is not in quite so good a state of preservation as -the other portrait of a man by Jan, in the same Gallery, which is -dated 1433, but the face itself is in fairly good condition. The -features are broad and massive, and inclined to heaviness; the eyes -are somewhat deep-set, while the cheek-bones are prominent. His -right hand holds a small roll of parchment with some writing upon it. -On the parapet, beneath the Greek word "Tymotheos," is the -inscription LEAL SOVVENIR, and the signature {59} "Factū -año. D(m-macron). 1432. 10. die Octobris. a Joh. de Eyck." - -* * * * * - -The portrait known as _The Man with the Pinks_ at the Berlin Museum, -is one of the most characteristic of Jan's portraits. It shows an -elderly man in a dark grey coat with fur cuffs and collar and a -broad-brimmed beaver hat. At the neck the brocade collar of a tunic -shows above the fur collar of the coat. The ornament of this brocade -seems to consist of the alternating letters Y and C, which occur in -one or two other portraits of the period, and may eventually afford -some clue as to the identity of the sitter. Round the neck is a -twisted wire chain, from which hangs a headless cross and the bell of -St. Anthony. Both hands are raised as high as the breast, the -fingers and thumb of the left holding three pinks. A handsome ring -with two stones is on the third finger. The face, wrinkled and -lined, is full of expression and life; the lips are parted, as though -about to give utterance to speech. Though the drawing is almost hard -in its exact delineation, it is far from rigid. It is altogether an -admirable example of Jan's lifelike realism, that loves to dwell on -every little ugly {60} detail--ill-shapen ears, puffy "tear-bags," -warts and wrinkles--and yet infuses the whole thing with the beauty -of life and character. - -* * * * * - -[Illustration: THE VAN DER PAELE ALTAR-PIECE. BY JAN VAN EYCK.] - -The _Virgin and Child, with St. Donatian, St. George, and the Donor, -George van der Paele_, Canon of the ancient Cathedral of St. Donatian -at Bruges, bears the date 1436, and is the most important of Jan van -Eyck's religious compositions. The scene is in the circular apse of -a Romanesque church, lighted by the soft rays that filter through the -leaded windows. The Virgin, draped in a red cloak, is seen in the -centre under a green canopy, holding the Christ-Child in her lap. -She has the same heavy, matronly features as the Virgin of _The -Annunciation_ in St. Petersburg and of the Chancellor Rolin picture -in Paris, and is no more idealised than the by no means attractive -infant Saviour, who is playing with a parrot. It is all very human -and wonderfully true, and for that very reason lacking in spiritual -significance. On the left stands St. Donatian in a gorgeous and -marvellously painted brocade robe, whilst on the right St. George, in -armour, presents the kneeling Canon van der Paele to the Virgin. The -patron saint, again, {61} is obviously painted from a model of low -rank in life--perhaps a peasant or a stableman; whilst the rugged -irregular features of the donor are set down with an honest and -painstaking straightforwardness that seems to delight in doing full -justice to all the sitter's ugliness. As objective portraiture pure -and simple, this head of van der Paele has probably never been -surpassed in the whole history of art. The supreme mastery of Jan -van Eyck manifests itself in the creation of a work of unforgettable -beauty and sumptuous splendour from such unpromising material. The -ugliness of the types chosen is forgotten when one's eyes revel in -the rich scheme of colour, the extraordinary beauty of the painting -of all the stuffs and accessories, the perfect modelling of the -features, and, above all, the (for the time) amazing knowledge of the -effect of light. With all the richness of pigment there is not a -single note in this whole large panel that is not absolutely "in -tone"; nothing is forced, nothing arbitrary, as though the -fifteenth-century master had already adopted the principle of the -nineteenth-century impressionists--"the first subject of a picture is -light." - -The van der Paele altar-piece was in the sacristy of the church of -St. Donatian when {62} the old basilica was destroyed by the -revolutionary troops. It was taken to Paris, together with much -other artistic booty, but was returned to Bruges in 1814, and is now -in the Museum of the Academy of that city. The drapery round the -loins of the infant Saviour is a later addition which does not appear -in the excellent early copy at the Antwerp Museum, from which our -illustration is a reproduction. The original at Bruges bears the -inscription in small Gothic letters: _Hoc opus fecit fieri magister -Georgius de Pala, huius ecclesie canonicus, per Johannem de Eyck -pictorem. Et fundavit hic duas capellanias de gremio chori domini M. -ccc°. xxxiiij°., completing anno_ 1436°. - -* * * * * - -At the Museum of Antwerp is the exquisite unfinished little painting -of _St. Barbara_, signed and dated: JOHES DE EYCK ME FECIT 1437. The -saint, with an open book on her lap and a palm-branch in her hand, is -seated in front of an elaborately designed Gothic tower in course of -construction. Around the tower are numerous figures of labourers, -masons, horsemen, and others; and the background shows a landscape -with mountains, castles, rivers, fields and trees, and a town on a -hill. Technically, this picture {63} is supremely interesting, as it -shows that at a comparatively late period of his life--a quarter of a -century after the reputed discovery of oil-painting--Jan has not -altogether discarded the practice of tempera-painting. For the whole -composition, the pensive-looking saint and the widespread angular -folds of her garment, the tower and the figures, are carefully drawn -and shaded in brown tempera colour on a preparation of gum or white -of egg. Only the part which required no special design, the sky, is -painted in oil-colour. It may thus be assumed that it was the -practice of the brothers van Eyck to work with oil-colours on a -tempera foundation. - -The _St. Barbara_ also confirms Karel van Mander's statement that -Jan's sketches were more complete and more carefully wrought than the -finished paintings of other artists. M. Henri Hymaus suggests that -this _St. Barbara_ is the very painting which van Mander mentions as -being in the possession of his master Lucas de Heere at Ghent, and -"representing a woman behind whom was a landscape; it was but a -preparation, and yet extraordinarily beautiful." - -* * * * * - -{64} - -Our last illustration represents, or is supposed to represent, _The -Enthronement of Thomas à Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury_, and is -in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth. In a -late Norman church Thomas à Becket is seen in the foreground under a -scarlet canopy, with the Holy Ghost hovering near, and above is a -splendid crown in which the figure of the risen Christ is introduced; -above the crown is a circle with a Virgin and Child. Three Bishops -are engaged in placing the mitre upon the head of the saint, while a -priest with an open book is kneeling before him. On the right are -the clergy and on the left the laity, with King Henry II. at their -head. On the border is the inscription: _Johes de Eyck, fecit, ano, -M°.CCCCZI, 30° Octobris_. This inscription, if genuine, is the only -evidence of Jan's authorship of the picture which has been entirely -repainted, so that nothing of the original work is to be seen. The -date, 1421, is eleven years earlier than any other dated picture by -Jan van Eyck. It is scarcely necessary to point out the importance -of this fact to the art historian in search of evidence of Jan's -early activity; but whilst the picture remains in its present -condition it cannot throw {65} any light upon the debated points. -Only if the surface paint were removed would it be possible to judge -whether below it is a real early work of Jan van Eyck, and what was -the relative position of the two brothers before Hubert's death. - -_The Enthronement of Thomas à Becket_ has an interesting pedigree. -It was given by John, Duke of Bedford, to King Henry V., and was -afterwards in the collection of the second Earl of Arundel, who died -at Padua in 1646, bequeathing it to Henry, the sixth Duke of Norfolk, -by whose son, the seventh Duke, it was sold. It came through the -Duke's steward, Mr. Fox, to a Mr. Sykes, who sold it to the Duke of -Devonshire in 1722. - - - - -{66} - - LIST OF WORKS, - CATALOGUED ACCORDING TO - LOCALITY - - -AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. - -VIENNA MUSEUM.--Portrait of _Jan de Leeuw_ (Jan), signed and dated -1436. - -Portrait of _Nicolas Albergati_, Cardinal of the Church of the Holy -Cross (Jan), painted, probably, in 1431, when the Cardinal passed -through Flanders on a political mission. This picture is mentioned -in the inventory of the Archduke Leopold William, Governor of the -Netherlands, 1655. A silver-point sketch for the portrait is in the -Dresden Print Cabinet. - - -BELGIUM. - -GHENT, CATHEDRAL OF ST. BAVO.--The _Adoration of the Lamb_ triptych -(Hubert and Jan; see p. 46). - -{67} - -ANTWERP MUSEUM.--_St. Barbara_ (Jan), 1437 (see p. 62). - -_The Virgin and Child by the Fountain_ (Jan), 1439. - -BRUGES MUSEUM.--_Virgin and Child, with St. Donatian, St. George, and -the Donor, George van der Paele_ (Jan), 1436 (see p. 60). - -Portrait of Jan Van Eyck's Wife (Jan), 1439. - -BRUSSELS MUSEUM.--_Adam and Eve_: shutters from the _Adoration_ -triptych at St. Bavo, Ghent (Jan; see p. 52). - -LOUVAIN, M. G. HELLEPUTTE.--Triptych of the _Virgin and Child, with -the Donor, Nicolas de Maelbeke, in Adoration_, unfinished (Jan), -1340. The shutters contain representations of Gideon standing before -an angel, the burning bush, Aaron with a blossoming rod, and other -subjects from the Old Testament. - - -BRITISH ISLES. - -CHATSWORTH, DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.--_The Enthronement of Thomas à -Becket_ (Jan (?); see p. 64). - -{68} - -INCE HALL, MR. WELD BLUNDELL.--_Virgin and Child_ (Jan): a panel of -very small dimensions and miniature-like execution, painted in 1432, -and inscribed _Als ikh kan_ (As well as I can). - -LONDON, NATIONAL GALLERY.--_Jan Arnolfini and Jeanne de Chenany, his -Wife_ (Jan), 1434 (see p. 54). - -Portrait of _Timothy_, "Leal Souvenir" (Jan), 1432 (see p. 58). - -Portrait of a _Man with a Chaperon or Turban_ (Jan), 1433. Inscribed -on the frame: _Johes de Eyck me fecit anno_ MCCCC 33 21 _Octobris_, -and _Als ikh kan_. Formerly in the Arundel Collection. - -RICHMOND, SIR FREDERICK COOK.--_The Three Marys at the Sepulchre_ -(variously attributed to Hubert and Jan). - - -DENMARK. - -COPENHAGEN, ROYAL GALLERY. _Robert Poortier, protected by St. -Antony_ (Hubert). - -{69} - -FRANCE. - -PARIS, LOUVRE.--_Chancellor Rolin kneeling before the Virgin and -Child_, with a river landscape seen through a loggia of three arches -(generally ascribed to Hubert, but more probably by Jan). - -BARON G. DE ROTHSCHILD.--_Virgin and Child, with St. Anne, St. -Barbara, and a Carthusian Monk_, who has been identified as Herman -Steenken, of Suutdorp, Vicar of a Carthusian Nunnery near Bruges -(Hubert and Jan). - - -GERMANY. - -BERLIN, NATIONAL GALLERY.--Six shutters from the _Adoration_ -altar-piece of St. Bavo, Ghent (Hubert and Jan; see p. 48). - -A replica of the _Virgin and Child, with a Carthusian Monk_, in the -collection of Baron G. de Rothschild, Paris. - -_Head of Christ_ (Jan), 1439. - -Portrait of a _Knight of the Golden Fleece_, probably Baudouin de -Lannoy (Jan). - -The Man with the Pinks (Jan; see p. 59). - -{70} - -DRESDEN GALLERY.--Triptych, _The Virgin and Child Enthroned_. On the -wings are the figures of St. Catherine and the donor, and on the back -of the shutters the Annunciation (Jan). - -FRANKFORT, STAEDEL INSTITUTE.--_The Virgin and Child Enthroned_ (Jan). - -LEIPZIG MUSEUM.--_Portrait of a Man_ (Jan?). - - -ITALY. - -TURIN GALLERY.--Copy of _St. Francis receiving the Stigmata_. The -original is in the collection of Mr. J. G. Johnston, Philadelphia. - - -RUSSIA. - -ST. PETERSBURG, HERMITAGE.--_Calvary and the Last Judgment_. Wings -of a triptych, the centre portion of which is lost (Hubert?). - -_The Annunciation_ (Jan), formerly in the collection of King William -II. of Holland. Bought for the Hermitage Collection for 13,000 -francs. - -{71} - -SPAIN. - -MADRID GALLERY.--Copy of a lost painting by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, -representing _The Triumph of the Church over the Synagogue_, also -known as _The Fountain of Life_. - - -UNITED STATES. - -PHILADELPHIA, J. G. JOHNSTON.--_St. Francis receiving the Stigmata_ -(Hubert and Jan). A copy of this picture is at the Turin Gallery. - - - -BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROTHERS VAN EYCK *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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