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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..05c388c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69897 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69897) diff --git a/old/69897-0.txt b/old/69897-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8778609..0000000 --- a/old/69897-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12763 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Women artists in all ages and -countries, by E. F. (Elizabeth Fries) Ellet - -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: Women artists in all ages and countries - -Author: E. F. (Elizabeth Fries) Ellet - -Release Date: January 29, 2023 [eBook #69897] - -Language: English - -Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMEN ARTISTS IN ALL AGES AND -COUNTRIES *** - - - - - - WOMEN ARTISTS - - - IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. - - - BY MRS. ELLET, - - AUTHOR OF “THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,” ETC. - - - NEW YORK: - HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, - FRANKLIN SQUARE. - - 1859. - - - - - Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand - eight hundred and fifty-nine, by - - HARPER & BROTHERS, - - in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District - of New York. - - - - - TO - - MRS. COVENTRY WADDELL, - - WHOSE ELEGANT TASTE AND APPRECIATION OF ART, AND - WHOSE LIBERAL KINDNESS TO ARTISTS, HAVE - FOSTERED AMERICAN GENIUS, - - This Volume is Inscribed - - BY HER FRIEND - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - - PREFACE. - - -I do not know that any work on Female Artists--either grouping them or -giving a general history of their productions--has ever been published, -except the little volume issued in Berlin by Ernst Guhl, entitled “Die -Frauen in die Kunstgeschichte.” In that work the survey is closed with -the eighteenth century, and female poets are included with painters, -sculptors, and engravers in the category of artists. Finding Professor -Guhl’s sketches of the condition of art in successive ages entirely -correct, I have made use of these and the facts he has collected, -adding details omitted by him, especially in the personal history of -prominent women devoted to the brush and the chisel. Authorities, too -numerous to mention, in French, Italian, German, and English, have been -carefully consulted. I am indebted particularly to the works of Vasari, -Descampes, and Fiorillo. The biographies of Mdlles. Bonheur, Fauveau, -and Hosmer are taken, with a little condensing and shaping, from late -numbers of that excellent periodical, “The Englishwoman’s Journal.” The -sketches of many living artists were prepared from materials furnished -by themselves or their friends. - -It is manifestly impossible, in a work of this kind, to include even -the names of all the women artists who are worthy of remembrance. Among -those of the present day are many who have not yet had sufficient -experience to do justice to their own powers, and any criticism of -their productions would be premature and unfair. - -No attempt has been made in the following pages to give elaborate -critiques or a connected history of art. The aim has been simply -to show what woman has done, with the general conditions favorable -or unfavorable to her efforts, and to give such impressions of the -character of each prominent artist as may be derived from a faithful -record of her personal experiences. More may be learned by a view -of the early struggles and trials, the persevering industry and the -well-earned triumphs of the gifted, than by the most erudite or -fine-spun disquisition. Should the perusal of my book inspire with -courage and resolution any woman who aspires to overcome difficulties -in the achievement of honorable independence, or should it lead to -a higher general respect for the powers of women and their destined -position in the realm of Art, my object will be accomplished. - - E. F. E. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE EARLY AGES. - - Women in Art.--Kind of Painting most practiced by them.--Feminine - Employments in early Ages.--The fair Egyptians.--Women of Assyria and - Babylon.--Grecian Women.--Sculpture and Painting in Greece.--The - Daughter of Dibutades.--The Lover’s Profile.--The first - Bas-relief.--Timarata.--Helena.--Anaxandra.--Kallo.--Cirene.--Calypso. - --Other Pupils of Grecian Art.--The Roman - Women.--The Paintress Laya.--Lala.--Influence of Christianity - on Art.--Adornment rejected by the early Christians.--Art degraded - for Centuries.--Female Influence among the Nations that - rose on the Ruins of Rome.--Wise and clever Princesses.--Anna - Comnena.--The first Poetess of Germany.--The first Editress of a - Cyclopædia.--The Art of Illuminating.--Nuns employed in copying - and painting Manuscripts.--Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinburg.--Princesses - at work.--Convent Sisters copying and embellishing religious - Works.--The Nuns’ Printing-press.--The first Sculptress, Sabina - von Steinbach.--Her Works in the Cathedral of Strasburg.--Elements - that pervade the Sculpture of the Middle Ages.--Painting - of the Archbishop crowning Sabina. Page 21 - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. - - Commencement of the History of modern Art.--Causes of the Barrenness - of this Century in female Artists.--The Decline of Chivalry - unfavorable to their mental Development.--Passing away of the - Ideal and Supernatural Element in Art.--New Feeling for Nature.--New - Life and Action in Painting.--Portrayal of Feelings - of the Heart.--Release of Painting from her Trammels.--Severer Studies - necessary for Artists.--Woman excluded from the Pursuit.--Patronage - sought.--One female Artist representing each prominent - School.--Margaretta von Eyck.--Her Miniatures.--Extensive Fame.--Her - Decoration of Manuscripts.--Work in Aid of her Brothers.--“The - gifted Minerva.”--Single Blessedness.--Another Margaretta.--Copies - and illuminates MSS. in the Carthusian Convent.--Eight folio Volumes - filled.--Caterina Vigri.--Her Miniature Paintings.--Founds a - Convent.--“The Saint of Bologna.”--Miraculous Painting.--The warrior - Maiden Onorata.--Decorates the Palace at Cremona.--Insult offered - her.--She kills the Insulter.--Flight in male Attire.--Soldier - Life.--Delivers Castelleone.--The mortal Wound. 32 - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. - - This Century rich in great Painters.--Not poor in female - Artists.--Memorable Period both in Poetry and Painting.--Fruits of the - Labor of preceding Century now discernible.--Female Disciples in all - the Schools of Italian Art.--Superiority of the Bolognese - School.--Properzia Rossi.--Her Beauty and finished Education.--Carving - on Peach-stones.--Her Sculptures.--The famous Bas-relief of Potiphar’s - Wife.--Properzia’s unhappy Love.--Slander and Persecution.--Her - Works and Fame.--Visit of the Pope.--Properzia’s - Death.--Traditional Story.--Isabella Mazzoni a Sculptor.--A female - Fresco Painter.--Sister Plautilla.--Her Works for her Convent - Church.--Other Works.--Women Painters of the Roman School.--Teodora - Danti.--Female Engravers.--Diana Ghisi.--Irene di Spilimberg.--Her - Education in Venice.--Titian’s Portrait of her.--Tasso’s - Sonnet in her Praise.--Poetical Tributes on her Death.--Her - Works and Merits.--Vincenza Armani.--Marietta Tintoretto.--Her - Beauty and musical Accomplishments.--Excursions in Boy’s Attire - with her Father.--Her Portraits.--They become “the Rage.”--Invitation - from the Emperor.--From Philip of Spain.--The Father’s - Refusal.--Her Marriage and Death.--Portrait of her.--Women - Artists of Northern Italy.--Barbara Longhi and others.--The - Nuns of Genoa. 38 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. - - The six wonderful Sisters.--Sofonisba Anguisciola.--Her early - Sketches.--Painting of three Sisters.--Her Success in - Milan.--Invitation to the Court of Madrid.--Pomp of her Journey and - Reception.--The Diamond.--Paints the Royal Family and the - Flower of the Nobility.--Her Present to Pope Pius.--His Letter.--Her - Style.--Lucia’s Picture.--Sofonisba Governess to the Infanta. - Marriage to the Lord of Sicily.--His Death at Palermo.--The - Widow’s Voyage.--The gallant Captain.--Second Love and Marriage.--Her - Residence at Genoa.--Royal Visitors.--Loss of Sight.--Vandyck - her Guest.--Her Influence on Art in Genoa.--Her - Portrait and Works.--Sofonisba Gentilesca.--Her Miniatures of the - Spanish Royal Family.--Caterina Cantoni.--Ludovica Pellegrini.--Angela - Criscuolo.--Cecilia Brusasorci.--Caterina dei Pazzi.--Her - Style shows the Infusion of a new Element of religious - Enthusiasm into Art.--Tradition of her painting with eyes closed.--Her - Canonization.--Women in France at this period.--Isabella - Quatrepomme.--Women in Spain.--A female Doctor of Theology.--Change - wrought by Protestantism in the Condition of Woman.--Its - Influence on Art.--An English Paintress.--Lavinia Benic.--Catherine - Schwartz in Germany.--Eva von Iberg in Switzerland.--Women - Painters in the Netherlands.--Female Talent in Antwerp.--Albert - Durer’s Mention of Susannah Gerard.--Catherine Hämsen.--Anna - Seghers.--Clara de Keyzer.--Liewina Bennings’ and Susannah - Hurembout’s Visits to England.--The Engraver Barbara.--The Dutch - Engraver.--Constantia, the Flower Painter. 48 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - New Ground presented for Progress.--Greater Diversity of - Style.--Naturalism.--The Caracci instrumental in giving to Painting - the Impetus of Reform.--Their Academy.--One opened by a Milanese - Lady.--The learned Poetess and her hundredth Birthday.--Female - Painters and Engravers.--Lavinia Fontana.--The hasty - Judgment.--Lavinia a Pupil of Caracci.--Character of her - Pictures.--Honors paid to her.--Courted by Royalty.--Her Beauty and - Suitors.--A romantic Lover.--Lavinia’s Paintings.--Close of the Period - of the Christian Ideal in Art.--Lavinia’s _Chef-d’Œuvre_.--Her - Children.--Professional Honors.--Her Death.--Female Disciples of - the Caracci School.--Pupils of Domenichino, Lanfranco, and Guido - Reni.--The churlish Guercino a Despiser of Women.--The Cardinal’s - Niece and Heiress.--Her great Paintings.--Founds a - Cloister.--Artemisia Gentileschi, a Pupil of Guido.--Her - Portraits.--Visit to England.--Favor with Charles I.--Luxurious Abode - in Naples.--Her Correspondence.--Judgment of her Pictures.--Elisabetta - Sirani.--Her artistic Character.--Her household Life.--Industry and - Modesty.--Her Virtues and Graces.--Envious Artists.--Defeat of - Calumny.--Her mysterious Fate.--Conjectures respecting it.--Funeral - Obsequies.--Her principal Works.--Her Influence on female - Artists.--Her Pupils.--Other Women Artists of Bologna. 59 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - School of the Academicians after Caravaggio.--Unidealized - Nature.--Rude and violent Passions delineated.--Dark and stormy Side - of Humanity.--Dark Coloring and Shadows.--The gloomy and passionate - expressed in Pictures appeared in the Lives of Artists.--The - Dagger and Poison-cup common.--Aniella di Rosa.--The Pupil of - Stanzioni.--Character of her Painting.--Romantic Love and - Marriage.--The happy Home destroyed.--The hearth-stone - Serpent.--Jealousy.--The pretended Proof.--Phrensy and Murder.--Other - fair Neapolitans.--The Paintress of Messina.--The Schools of Bologna - and Naples embrace the most prominent Italian Paintings.--Commencement - of Crayon-drawing.--Tuscan Ladies of Rank cultivating Art.--The - Rosalba of the Florentine School.--Art in the City of the Cæsars.--The - Roman Flower-painter.--Engravers.--Medallion-cutters.--A female - Architect.--A Roman Sculptress.--Women Artists of the Venetian - School.--At Pavia.--The Painter’s four Daughters.--Chiara - Varotari.--Shares her Brother’s Labors.--A skillful Nurse.--Her - Pupils.--Other female Artists of this time.--The Schools of Northern - Italy.--Their Paintresses.--Giovanna Fratellini. 74 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Contrast between the Academicians and Naturalists, and between the - French and Spanish Schools of Painting.--Peculiarities of - each.--Ladies of Rank in Madrid Pupils of Velasquez.--Instruction of - the royal Children in Art.--The Engraver of Madrid.--Every City in - the South of Spain boasts a female Artist.--Isabella Coello.--Others - in Granada.--In Cordova.--The Sculptress of Seville.--Luisa - Roldan; her Carvings in Wood.--The Canons “sold.”--Invitation - to Madrid.--Sculptress to the King.--Other Women - Artists in Spain.--In France Woman’s Position more prominent - than in preceding Age.--Corruption of court Manners.--Unworthy Women - in Power.--Women in every Department of Literature.--Mademoiselle - de Scudery.--Madame de la Fayette.--Madame Dacier.--Women in - theological Pursuits.--Their Ascendency in Art not so - great.--Miniature and Flower Painters.--Engravers.--Elizabeth - Sophie Chéron.--A Leader in Enamel-painting.--Her - Portraits and History-pieces.--Her Merits and Success.--Her - Translations of the Psalms.--Musical and Poetical Talents.--Honors - lavished on her.--Love and Marriage at three-score.--Her Generosity - to the needy.--Verses in her Praise.--Historical Tableaux.--Madelaine - Masson.--The Marchioness de Pompadour. 85 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Two different Systems of Painting in the North.--The Flemish School - represented by Rubens.--The Dutch by Rembrandt.--Characteristics - of Rubens’ Style.--No female Disciples.--Unsuited to feminine - Study.--Some Women Artists of the first Part of the Century.--Features - of the Dutch School.--A wide Field for female - Energy and Industry.--Painting _de genre_.--Its Peculiarities.--State - of Things favorable to female Enterprise.--Early Efforts in - Genre-painting.--Few Women among Rembrandt’s immediate - Disciples.--Genre-painting becomes adapted to female Talent.--“The - Dutch Muses.”--Another Woman Architect.--Dutch Women - Painters and Engravers.--Maria Schalken and others.--“The - second Schurmann.”--Margaretta Godewyck.--The Painter-poet.--Anna - Maria Schurmann.--Wonderful Genius for Languages.--Early - Acquirements.--Her Scholarship and Position among the - learned.--A Painter, Sculptor, and Engraver.--Called “the Wonder of - Creation.”--Royal and princely Visitors.--Journey to - Germany.--Embraces the religious Tenets of Labadie.--His - Doctrines.--Joins his Band.--Collects his Followers, and leads them - into Friesland.--Poverty and Death.--Visit of William Penn to - her.--Her Portrait.--Her female Contemporaries in - Art.--Flower-painting in the Netherlands.--Its Pioneers.--Maria - Van Oosterwyck.--Her Birth and Education.--Early - Productions.--Celebrated at foreign Courts.--Presents from - imperial Friends.--Enormous Prices for her Pictures.--Royal - Purchasers.--The quiet Artist at work.--The Lover’s Visit.--The - Lover’s Trial and Failure.--Style of her Painting.--Rachel - Ruysch.--The greatest Flower-painter.--Early Instruction.--Spread - of her Fame.--Domestic Cares.--Professional Honors.--Invitations to - Courts.--Her Patron, the Elector.--Her Works in old Age.--Her - Character.--Rarity of her Paintings.--Personal Appearance. 94 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Unfavorable Circumstances for Painting in Germany.--Effects of the - Thirty Years’ War.--The national Love of Art shown by the Signs - of Life manifested.--Influence of the Reformation.--Inferiority of - German Art in this Century.--Ladies of Rank in Literature.--A female - Astronomer.--The Fame of Schurmann awakens Emulation.--Distinguished - Women.--Commencement of poetic Orders.--Zesen, the Patron of the - Sex.--Women who cultivated Art.--Paintresses of Nuremberg.--Barbara - Helena Lange.--Flower-painters and Engravers.--Modeling in Wax.--Women - Artists in Augsburg.--In Munich.--In Hamburg.--The Princess - Hollandina.--Her Paintings.--Maria Sibylla Merian.--Early Fondness for - Insects.--Maternal Opposition.--Her Marriage.--Publication of her - first Work.--Joins the Labadists.--Returns to the - Butterflies.--Curiosity to see American Insects.--Voyage to - Surinam.--Story of the Lantern-flies.--Return to Holland.--Her Works - published.--Republication in Paris afterward.--Her Daughters.--Her - personal Appearance.--The Danish Women Artists.--Anna Crabbe.--King’s - Daughters.--The Taste in Art in Denmark and England governed by that - of foreign Nations.--Female Artists in England.--The Poetesses most - prominent.--Miniaturists.--Portrait-painters.--Etchers.--Lady - Connoisseurs.--The Dwarf’s Daughter.--Anna Carlisle.--Mary - Beale.--Pupil of Sir Peter Lely.--Character of her Works.--Rumor of - Lely’s Attachment to her.--Poems in her Praise.--Mr. Beale’s - Note-books.--Anne Killegrew.--Her Portraits of the Royal - Family.--History and still-life Pieces.--Her Portrait by Lely.--Her - Character.--Dryden’s Ode to her Memory.--Her Poems - published.--Mademoiselle Rosée.--The Artist in Silk.--Wonderful - Effects.--Her Works Curiosities.--The Artist of the Scissors.--Her - singular imitative Powers.--A Copyist of old Paintings.--Her - Cuttings.--Views of all kinds done with the Scissors.--Royal and - imperial Visitors.--Her Trophy for the Emperor Leopold.--Poems in - her Praise.--The Swiss Paintress Anna Wasser.--Her Education and - Works.--Commissions from Courts.--Her Father’s Avarice.--Sojourn at a - Court.--Return home.--Fatal Accident.--Her literary - Accomplishments. 110 - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - General Expansion and Extension of Art-culture.--More Scope given - to the Tendencies originated in preceding Age.--Reminiscences of - past Glories of Art active during the first half of the Century.--The - Flemish and Italian Schools in vogue.--Eclecticism.--Influences - of the French School mingled with those of the great Masters.--The - Rococo Style.--The Aggregate of Woman’s Labor greater - than ever before.--Not accompanied by greater Depth.--Less - Individuality discernible.--The greatest artistic Activity among - Women in Germany.--In France next.--In Italy next.--In other Countries - less.--Rapid Growth of Art in Berlin.--In Dresden.--Scholarship - and literary Position of Women during the first half - of the Century.--Poets and their Inspirations.--Princesses the Patrons - of Letters.--Nothing new or striking in Art.--A Revolution - in the latter half of the Century.--Instruction in Art a Branch of - Education.--Dilettanti of high Rank.--Female Pupils of Painters - of Note.--Mengs and Carstens.--Carstens the Founder of modern - German Art.--His Style not adapted to female Talent.--A lovely - Form standing between him and Mengs.--A female Stamp-cutter.--An - Artist in Wax-work.--In Stucco-work.--In cutting precious - Stones.--Barbara Preisler.--Other female Artists.--Fashionable - Taste in Painting.--Marianna Hayd.--Miniaturists.--Anna Maria - Mengs.--Her Works.--Miniature and Pastel-painting.--Flowers - and Landscapes a Passion.--Imitators of Rachel Ruysch and Madame - Merian.--Celebrities in Flower-painting.--Copper-engraving. Lady - Artists of high Rank.--Other Devotees to Art. 132 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Angelica Kauffman.--Parentage and Birth.--Beautiful Scenery of - her native Land.--Early Impulse to Painting.--Adopts the Style - of Mengs.--Her Residence in Como.--Instruction.--Music or - Painting?--Beauty of Nature around her.--Angelica’s Letter about - Como.--Escape from Cupid.--Removal to Milan.--Introduction to great - Works of Art.--Studies of the Lombard Masters.--The Duke of Modena - her Patron.--Portrait of the Duchess of Carrara.--Success.--Return to - Schwarzenberg.--Painting in Fresco.--Homely Life of the Artist.--Milan - and Florence.--Rome.--Acquaintance with Winkelmann.--Angelica paints - his Portrait.--Goes to Naples.--Studies in Rome.--In - Venice.--Acquaintance with noble English Families.--In London.--A - brilliant Career.--Fuseli’s Attachment to her.--Appointed Professor in - the Academy of Arts.--Romantic Incident of her Travel in - Switzerland.--The weary Travelers.--The libertine Lord.--The Maiden’s - Indignation.--Unexpected Meeting in the aristocratic Circles of - London.--The Lord’s Suit renewed.--Rejected with Scorn.--His Rank - and Title spurned.--Revenge.--The Impostor in Society.--Angelica - deceived into Marriage.--She informs the Queen.--Her Father’s - Suspicions.--Discovery of the Cheat.--The Wife’s Despair.--The - false Marriage annulled.--The Queen’s Sympathy.--Stories - of Angelica’s Coquetry.--Marriage with Zucchi.--Return to - Italy.--Her Father’s Death.--Residence in Rome.--Circle of literary - Celebrities.--Angelica’s Works.--Criticisms.--Opinions of - Mengs and Fuseli.--The Portraits in the Pitti Gallery.--Death of - Zucchi.--Invasion of Italy.--Angelica’s Melancholy.--Journey - and Return.--Her Death and Funeral. 144 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Female Artists in the Scandinavian Countries.--In Sweden.--Ulrica - Pasch.--Danish Women Artists.--A richer Harvest in the - Netherlands.--The Belgian Sculptress.--Maria Verelst.--Her Paintings - and Attainments in the Languages.--Residence in London.--Curious - Anecdote.--Walpole’s Remark.--Women Artists in - Holland.--Poetry.--Henrietta Wolters.--Her Portraits.--Invitation from - Peter the Great.--Dutch Paintresses.--The young Engraver.--Caroline - Scheffer.--Landscape and Flower Painters.--A Follower - of Rachel Ruysch.--An Engraver.--In England.--Painting - suited to Women.--Literary Ladies.--Effect of the Introduction - of a new Manner in Art.--Numerous Dilettanti.--Female Sculptors.--Mrs. - Samon.--Mrs. Siddons and others.--Mrs. Damer.--Aristocratic - Birth.--Early love of Study and Art.--Horace Walpole - her Adviser.--Conversation with Hume.--First Attempt at - Modeling.--The Marble Bust and Hume’s Criticism.--Surprise - of the gay World.--Miss Conway’s Lessons and Works.--Unfortunate - Marriage.--Widowhood.--Politics.--Walpole’s Opinion of Mrs. Damer’s - Sculptures.--Darwin’s Lines.--Sculptures.--Envy and Detraction.--Going - abroad.--Escape from Danger.--Noble Ambition.--Return to - England.--Politics and Kissing.--Private Theatricals.--The three - Heroes.--Friendship with the Empress.--Walpole’s Bequest.--Parlor - Theatricals, etc.--Removal.--Project for improving India.--Mrs. - Damer’s Works.--Opinions of her. 164 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Mary Moser.--Nollekens’ House.--Skill in Flower-painting.--The - Fashions.--Queen Charlotte.--Patience Wright.--Birth in New - Jersey.--Quaker Parents.--Childish Taste for - Modeling.--Marriage.--Widowhood.--Wax-modeling.--Rivals - Madame Tussaud.--Residence in England.--Sympathy with America in - Rebellion.--Correspondence with Franklin.--Intelligence - conveyed.--Freedom of Speech to Majesty.--Franklin’s Postscript.--“The - Promethean Modeler.”--Letter to Jefferson.--Patriotism.--Art - the Fashion.--Aristocratic lady Artists.--Princesses Painting.--Lady - Beauclerk.--Walpole’s “Beauclerk Closet.”--Designs and - Portrait.--Lady Lucan.--Her Illustrations of Shakspeare.--Walpole’s - Criticism.--Other Works.--Mary Benwell and others.--Anna - Smyters and others.--Madame Prestel.--Mrs. Grace.--Mrs. - Wright.--Flower-painters.--Catherine Read and others.--Maria - Cosway.--Peril in Infancy.--Lessons.--Resolution to take the - Veil.--Visit to London.--Marriage.--Cosway’s Painting.--Vanity - and Extravagance.--The beautiful Italian Paintress.--Cosway’s - Prudence and Management.--Brilliant evening Receptions.--Aristocratic - Friends.--The Epigram on the Gate.--Splendid new - House and Furniture.--Failing Health.--France and Italy.--Institution - at Lodi.--Singular Occurrence.--Death of Cosway.--Return - to Lodi.--Maria’s Style and Works. 181 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Close of the golden Age of Art in France.--Corruption of - Manners.--Influence of female Genius.--Reign of Louis XVI.--Female - Energy in the Revolution.--Charlotte Corday.--Greater Number - of female Artists in Germany.--Reasons why.--French Women - devoted to Engraving.--Stamp-cutters.--A Sculptress enamored.--A - few Paintresses.--The Number increasing.--Influence of the - great French Masters.--Sèvres-painting.--Genre-painting.--Disciples of - Greuze.--Portrait-painting in vogue.--Caroline - Sattler.--Flower-painters, etc.--Engravers.--Two eminent - Paintresses.--Adelaide Vincent.--Marriage.--Portraits and other - Works.--The Revolution.--Elizabeth Le Brun.--Talent for Painting.--Her - Father’s Delight.--Instruction.--Friendship with Vernet.--Poverty - and Labor.--Avaricious Step-father.--Her Earnings squandered.--Success - and Temptation.--Acquaintance with Le Brun.--Maternal - Counsels to Marriage.--Secret Marriage.--Warnings too - late.--The Mask falls.--Luxury for the Husband, Labor and Privation - for the Wife.--Success and Scandal.--French Society.--Friendship - with Marie Antoinette.--La Harpe’s Poem.--Evening - Receptions.--Splendid Entertainments.--Scarcity of Seats.--Petits - Soupers.--The Grecian Banquet.--Reports concerning it.--Departure - from France.--Triumphal Progress.--Reception in Bologna.--In - Rome.--In Naples.--In Florence.--Madame Le Brun’s Portrait.--Goethe’s - Remarks.--New Honors.--Reception at Vienna.--An - old Friend in Berlin.--Residence in Russia.--Return to - France.--Loyalty.--Her Pictures.--Death of her Husband and - Daughter.--Advanced Age.--Autobiography.--An emblematic Life. 199 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Women Artists in Spain.--Their Participation a Test of general - Interest.--Female Representatives of the most important - Schools.--That of Seville.--Of Madrid.--The Paintress of Don - Quixote.--Ladies of Rank Members of the Academy.--Maria Tibaldi.--Two - female Artists besides two Poetesses in Portugal.--The Harvest - greater in Italy.--Few attained to Eminence.--Learned Ladies.--Female - Doctors and Professors.--Degrees in Jurisprudence - and Philosophy conferred on them.--Examples.--The Scholar nine Years - old.--A lady Professor of Mathematics.--Women Lecturers.--Comparison - with English Ladies.--Brilliant Devotees of the Lyre.--Female Talent - in the important Schools of Art.--Women Artists in - Florence.--Engravers and Paintresses.--In Naples.--Kitchen-pieces.--In - the Cities of northern Italy.--In Bologna.--Princesses.--In - Venice.--Rosalba Carriera.--Her childish Work.--Her Genius - perceived.--Instruction.--Takes to Pastel-painting.--Merits - of her Works.--Celebrity.--Invitations to - Paris and Vienna.--Visit from the King of Denmark.--Invited - by the Emperor and the King of France.--Portrait for the Grand - Duke of Tuscany.--The King of Poland her Patron.--Unspoiled - by Honors.--Her moral Worth.--Residence in Paris.--Her Pictures.--The - Lady disguised as a Maid-servant.--Want of Beauty.--Anecdote - of the Emperor.--Rosalba’s Journal.--Visit to Vienna.--Presentiment - of Calamity.--The Portrait wreathed with - gloomy Leaves.--Blindness.--Loss of Reason.--Death and Burial.--Her - Portrait.--Other Venetian Women. 221 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - More vigorous Growth of the Branches selected for female - Enterprise.--Progress accelerated toward the Close of last - Century.--Still more remarkable within the last fifty Years.--Great - Number of Women active in Art.--Better intellectual Cultivation and - growing Taste.--Increased Freedom of Woman.--Present Prospect - fair.--Growing Sense of the Importance of Female Education.--Women - earning an Independence.--The Stream shallows as it widens.--Few - Instances of pre-eminent Ability.--Fuller Scope of the Influence - of the French Masters in the nineteenth Century.--David, - the Republican Painter.--His female Pupils.--Angélique Mongez.--Madame - Davin and others.--Disciples of Greuze.--Female - Scholars of Regnault.--Pupils of the Disciples of David.--Pupils - of Fleury and Cogniet.--Madame Chaudet.--Kinds of Painting in - Vogue.--The Princess Marie d’Orleans.--Her Statue of the Maid - of Orleans.--Her last Work.--Promise of Greatness.--Sculpture - by Madame de Lamartine.--“Paris is France.”--Painting on - Porcelain.--Madame Jacotot and others.--Condition of Art in - Germany.--Carstens.--Women Artists.--Maria Ellenrieder.--Louise - Seidler.--Baroness von Freiberg.--Madame von Schroeter.--Female - Artists of the Düsseldorf School.--The greatest Number in - Berlin.--Rich Bloom of Female Talent in Vienna and Dresden.--Changes - in Italy.--Prospect not fair in Spain and Scandinavia.--In - England, Sculpture and Painting successfully cultivated.--Fanny - Corbeaux.--Superior in Biblical Scholarship.--The Netherlands - in this Century.--Encouragement for Women to persevere.--Dr. - Guhl’s Opinion.--History the Teacher of the Present. 233 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - Felicie de Fauveau.--Parentage.--Her Mother a Legitimist.--The - Daughter’s Inheritance of Loyalty.--Removals.--Felicie’s - Studies.--Learns to Model.--Resolves to be a Sculptor.--Labor becoming - to a Gentlewoman.--Her first Works.--Early Triumphs.--Social - Circle in Paris.--Evening Employments.--Revival of a peculiar - Taste.--Mediæval Fashions.--The bronze Lamp.--Equestrian - Sketch.--Effect of the Revolution of 1830.--The two Felicies leave - Paris.--A rural Conspiracy.--A domiciliary Visit.--Escape of the - Ladies.--Discovery and Capture.--The Stratagem at the Inn.--Escape - of Madame in Disguise.--Imprisonment of Mademoiselle.--Works - in Prison.--Return to Paris.--Politics again.--Felicie - banished.--Breaks up her Studio.--Poverty and Privation.--Residence - in Florence.--Brighter Days.--Character of Felicie.--Personal - Appearance.--Her Dwelling and Studio.--Her Works.--The - casting of a bronze Statue.--Industry and Retirement.--“A - good Woman and a great Artist.”--ROSA BONHEUR.--Her Birth in - Bordeaux.--Her Father.--Rosa a Dunce in Childhood.--Her - Parrot.--Rambles.--The Spanish Poet.--Removal to Paris.--Revolution - and Misfortune.--Death of Madame Bonheur.--The Children - at School.--Rosa detests Books and loves Roaming.--Remarriage of - Bonheur.--Rosa a Seamstress.--Hates the Occupation.--Prefers turning - the Lathe.--Her Unhappiness.--Placed at a Boarding-school.--Her - Pranks and Caricatures.--Abhorrence of Study.--Mortification - at her Want of fine Clothes.--Resolves to achieve a - Name and a Place in the World.--Discontent and Gloom.--Return - home.--Left to herself.--Works in the Studio.--Her Vocation - apparent.--Studies at the Louvre.--Her Ardor and Application.--The - Englishman’s Prophecy.--Rosa vowed to Art.--Devoted - to the Study of Animals.--Excursions in the Country in search of - Models.--Visits the _Abattoirs_.--Study of various Types.--Visits - the Museums and Stables.--Resorts to the horse and cattle Fairs in - male Attire.--Curious Adventures.--Anatomical Studies.--Advantages - of her Excursions.--Her Father her only Teacher.--The - Family of Artists.--Rosa’s pet Birds and Sheep.--Her first - Appearance.--Rising Reputation.--Takes the gold Medal.--Proclaimed - the new Laureat.--Death of her Father.--Rosa Directress - of the School of Design.--Her Sister a Professor.--“The - Horse-market.”--Rosa’s Paintings.--Bestows her Fortune on others.--Her - Farm.--Drawings presented to Charities.--Demand for her - Paintings.--Her Right to the Cross of the Legion of Honor.--The - Emperor’s Refusal to grant it to a Woman.--Description of her - Residence and her Studio.--Rosa found asleep.--Her personal - Appearance.--Dress.--Her Character.--Her Industry.--Mademoiselle - Micas.--Mountain Rambles.--Rosa’s Visit to Scotland.--Her - Life in the Mountains.--At the Spanish Posada.--Threatened - Starvation.--Cooking Frogs.--The Muleteers.--Rosa’s Scotch - Terrier.--Her Resolution never to marry. 246 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - The Practice of Art in America.--Number of women Artists - increasing.--Prospect flattering.--Imperfection of Sketches of living - Artists.--Rosalba Torrens.--Miss Murray.--Mrs. Lupton.--Miss - Denning.--Miss O’Hara.--Mrs. Darley.--Mrs. Goodrich.--Miss - Foley.--Miss Mackintosh and others.--Mrs. Ball Hughes.--Mrs. - Chapin.--Sketch of Mrs. Duncan.--The Peale Family.--Anecdote - of General Washington.--Mrs. Washington’s Punctuality.--Miss - Peale an Artist in Philadelphia.--Paints Miniatures.--Copies - Pictures from great Artists.--She and her Sister honorary Members - of the Academy.--Her prosperous Career.--Paints with her - Sister in Baltimore and Washington.--Marriage and Widowhood.--Return - to Philadelphia.--Second Marriage.--Happy Home.--Mrs. - Yeates.--Miss Sarah M. Peale.--Success.--Removal to St. - Louis.--Miss Rosalba Peale.--Miss Ann Leslie.--Early Taste in - Painting.--Visits to London.--Copies Pictures.--Miss Sarah Cole.--Mrs. - Wilson.--Intense Love of Art.--Her Sculptures.--Her - impromptu Modeling of Emerson’s Head.--Mrs. Cornelius Dubois.--Her - Taste for the Sculptor’s Art.--Groups by her.--Studies in - Italy.--Her Cameos.--Her Kindness to Artists.--Miss Anne Hall.--Early - Love of Painting.--Lessons.--Copies old Paintings in Miniature.--Her - original Pictures.--Her Merits of the highest Order.--Groups - in Miniature.--Dunlap’s Praise.--Her Productions - numerous.--Mary S. Legaré.--Her Ancestry.--Mrs. Legaré.--Early - Fondness for Art shown by the Daughter.--Her Studies.--Little - Beauty in the Scenery familiar to her.--Colonel Cogdell’s Sympathy - with her.--Success in Copying.--Visit to the Blue Ridge.--Grand - Views.--Paintings of mountain Scenery.--Removal to Iowa.--“Legaré - College.”--Her Erudition and Energy.--Her Marriage.--Herminie - Dassel.--Reverse of Fortune.--Painting for a - Living.--Visit to Vienna and Italy.--Removal to America.--Success and - Marriage.--Her social Virtues and Charity.--Miss Jane Stuart.--Mrs. - Hildreth.--Mrs. Davis.--Mrs. Badger’s Book of Flowers.--Mrs. - Hawthorne.--Mrs. Hill.--Mrs. Greatorex.--Mrs. Woodman.--Miss - Gove.--Miss May.--Miss Granbury.--Miss Oakley. 285 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - MRS. LILY SPENCER.--Early Display of Talent.--Removal to New York.--To - Ohio.--Out-door Life.--Chase of a Deer.--Encounter with the - Hog.--Lifting a Log.--Sketch on her bedroom - Walls.--Encouragement.--Curiosity to see her Pictures.--Her - Studies.--Removal to Cincinnati.--Jealousy of Artists.--Lord - Morpeth.--Lily’s Marriage.--Return to New York.--Studies.--Her - Paintings.--Kitchen Scenes.--Success and Fame.--Her Home and - Studio.--Louisa Lander.--Inheritance of Talent.--Passion for - Art.--Development of Taste for Sculpture.--Abode in Rome.--Crawford’s - Pupil.--Her Productions.--“Virginia Dare.”--Other - Sculptures.--Late Works.--Mary Weston.--Childish Love of Beauty and - Art.--Devices to supply the Want of Facilities.--Studies.--Departure - from Home.--Is taken back.--Perseverance amid Difficulties.--Journey - to New York.--Sees an Artist work.--Finds Friends.--Visit to - Hartford.--Return to New York for Lessons.--Marriage.--Her - Paintings.--Miss Freeman.--Variously gifted.--Miss - Dupré.--The Misses Withers.--Mrs. Cheves.--Mrs. Hanna. 317 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - EMMA STEBBINS.--Favorable Circumstances of her early Life to the Study - of Art.--Specimens of her Skill shown in private Circles.--Receives - Instruction from Henry Inman.--Correctness of her Portraits.--“A - Book of Prayer.”--Revives Taste for Illuminations.--Her - crayon Portraits.--Copies of Paintings.--Cultivates many - Branches of Art.--Becomes a Sculptor.--Abode in Rome.--Instruction - received from Gibson and Akers.--Late Work from her Chisel.--“The - Miner.”--HARRIET HOSMER.--Dwelling of the Sculptor Gibson in - Rome.--His Studio and Work-room.--“La Signorina.”--The American - Sculptress.--Her Childhood.--Physical - Training.--School-life.--Anecdotes.--Studies at Home.--At St. - Louis.--Her Independence.--Trip on the - Mississippi.--“Hesper.”--Departure for Rome.--Mr. Gibson’s - Decision.--Extract from Miss Hosmer’s Letter.--Original - Designs.--Reverse of Fortune.--Alarm.--Resolution.--Industry, - Economy, and Success.--Late Works.--Visit of the Prince of Wales. 346 - - - - - WOMEN ARTISTS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE EARLY AGES. - - Women in Art.--Kind of Painting most practiced by them.--Feminine - Employments in early Ages.--The fair Egyptians.--Women of Assyria and - Babylon.--Grecian Women.--Sculpture and Painting in Greece.--The - Daughter of Dibutades.--The Lover’s Profile.--The first Bas-relief. - --Timarata.--Helena.--Anaxandra.--Kallo.--Cirene.--Calypso.--Other - Pupils of Grecian Art.--The Roman Women.--The Paintress - Laya.--Lala.--Influence of Christianity on Art.--Adornment rejected by - the early Christians.--Art degraded for Centuries.--Female Influence - among the Nations that rose on the Ruins of Rome.--Wise and clever - Princesses.--Anna Comnena.--The first Poetess of Germany.--The - first Editress of a Cyclopædia.--The Art of Illuminating.--Nuns - employed in copying and painting Manuscripts.--Agnes, Abbess of - Quedlinburg.--Princesses at work.--Convent Sisters copying and - embellishing religious Works.--The Nuns’ Printing-press.--The first - Sculptress, Sabina von Steinbach.--Her Works in the Cathedral of - Strasburg.--Elements that pervade the Sculpture of the Middle - Ages.--Painting of the Archbishop crowning Sabina. - - -“Men have not grudged to women,” says a modern writer, “the wreaths -of literary fame. No history of literature shows a period when their -influence was not apparent, when honors were not rendered to them;” and -the social condition of woman has been generally allowed to measure -the degree of intellectual culture in a nation. Although in the realm -of art her success is more questionable, she may yet claim the credit -of having materially aided its progress. Woman is the type of the -ornamental part of our life, and lends to existence the charm which -inspires the artist, and furnishes him with an object for effort. Her -native unconscious grace and beauty present the models which it is his -highest merit to copy faithfully. - -A New England divine says, “Woman, like man, wants to make her thought -a thing.” “All that belongs to the purely natural,” observes Hippel, -“lies within her sphere.” The kind of painting, thus, in which the -_object_ is prominent has been most practiced by female artists. -Portraits, landscapes, flowers, and pictures of animals are in favor -among them. Historical or allegorical subjects they have comparatively -neglected; and, perhaps, a sufficient reason for this has been that -they could not command the years of study necessary for the attainment -of eminence in these. More have been engaged in engraving on copper -than in any other branch of art, and many have been miniature painters. - -Such occupations might be pursued in the strict seclusion of home, -to which custom and public sentiment consigned the fair student. Nor -were they inharmonious with the ties of friendship and love to which -her tender nature clung. In most instances women have been led to -the cultivation of art through the choice of parents or brothers. -While nothing has been more common than to see young men embracing -the profession against the wishes of their families and in the face -of difficulties, the example of a woman thus deciding for herself is -extremely rare. - -We know little of the practice of the arts by women in ancient times. -The degraded condition of the sex in Eastern countries rendered woman -the mere slave and toy of her master; but this very circumstance gave -her artistic ideas capable of development into independent action. -These first showed themselves in the love of dress and the selection of -ornaments. From the early ages of the world, too, spinning and weaving -were feminine employments, in which undying germs of art were hidden; -for it belongs to human nature never to be satisfied with what merely -ministers to necessity. The ancient sepulchres and buried palaces -disclosed by modern discovery display the love of adornment prevailing -among the nations of antiquity. Women rendered assistance in works upon -wood and metal, as well as, more frequently, in the productions of the -loom. The fair Egyptians covered their webs with the most delicate -patterns; and the draperies of the dead and the ornamented hangings in -their dwellings attested the skill of the women of Assyria and Babylon. - -The shawls and carpets of Eastern manufacture, and other articles of -luxury that furnished the palaces of European monarchs, were often the -work of delicate hands, though no tradition has preserved the names of -those who excelled in such labors. - -Among the ancient Greeks the position of woman, though still secluded -and slavish, gave her a nobler life. The presiding deities of the -gentle arts were represented to popular apprehension in female form, -and, doubtless, the gracious influence the sex has in all ages -exercised was then in some measure recognized. Poetry had her fair -votaries, and names are still remembered that deserve to live with -Sappho. Schools of philosophy were presided over by the gifted and -cultivated among women. - -Sculpture and architecture, the arts carried to greatest perfection, -were then far in advance of painting; at least, we know of no relics -that can support the pretensions of the Greeks to superiority in the -latter. “What is left,” says a writer in the “Westminster Review,” -“of Apelles and Zeuxis? The few relics of ancient painting which have -survived the lapse of ages and the hand of the spoiler all date from -the time of the Roman Empire; and neither the frescoes discovered -beneath the baths of Titus, the decorations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, -nor even the two or three cabinet pictures found beneath the buried -city, can be admitted as fair specimens of Grecian painting in its -zenith.” - - - THE DAUGHTER OF DIBUTADES. - -But, though few Grecian women handled the pencil or the chisel, and -women were systematically held in a degree of ignorance, we find here, -on the threshold of the history of art, a woman’s name--that of Kora, -or, as she has been called, Callirhoe, the daughter of a potter named -Dibutades, a native of Corinth, said to have resided at Sicyonia about -the middle of the seventh century before Christ. Pliny tells us she -assisted her father in modeling clay. The results of his labor were -arranged on shelves before his house, which the purchasers usually -left vacant before evening. It was the office of his daughter, says -a fanciful chronicler, to fill the more elaborate vases with choice -flowers, which the young men came early to look at, hoping to catch a -glimpse of the graceful artist maiden. - -As she went draped in her veil to the market-place, she often met a -youth, who afterward became an assistant to her father in his work. -He was skilled in much learning unknown to the secluded girl, and in -playing on the reed; and the daily life of father, daughter, and lover -presented an illustration of Grecian life and beauty. The youth was -constrained at length to depart, but ere he went the vows of betrothal -were exchanged between him and Kora. - -Their eve of parting was a sad one. As they sat together by the -lamplight the maiden suddenly rose, and, taking up a piece of pointed -charcoal from the brasier, and bidding the young man remain still, -she traced on the wall the outline of his fine Grecian profile, as a -memorial when he should be far away. Dibutades saw the sketch she had -made, and recognized the likeness. Carefully he filled the outline with -clay, and a complete medallion was formed. It was the first portrait -in relief! Thus a new art was born into the world, the development of -which brought fortune and fame to the inventor! The story is, at least, -as probable as that of Saurias discovering the rules of sketching and -contour from the shadow of his horse. It was neither the first nor the -last time that Love became a teacher. Might not the fable of Memnon -thus find its realization? - -It is related that Dibutades, who had followed up his medallions with -busts, became so celebrated, that many Grecian states claimed the -honor of his birth; and that his daughter’s lover, who came back to -espouse her, modeled whole figures in Corinth. A school for modeling -was instituted about this time in Sicyonia, of which Dibutades was the -founder. - -At a later period we hear of Timarata, the daughter of a painter, and -herself possessed of considerable skill, as Pliny testifies, he having -seen one of her pictures at Ephesus, representing the goddess Diana. - -Several names of female artists have come down from the time of -Alexander the Great and his luxurious successors. Art began to have -a richer and more various development, and women were more free to -follow their inclinations in its pursuit. One belonging to this age -was Helena, who is said to have painted, for one of the Ptolomies, -the scene of a battle in which Alexander vanquished Darius; a picture -thought, with some probability, to have been the original of a famous -mosaic found in Pompeii. - -Anaxandra, the daughter and pupil of a Greek painter, appears to have -labored under the same royal patronage, as well as another female -artist named Kallo, one of whose pictures, presented in the Temple of -Venus, was celebrated by the praise of a classic poetess; the fair -painter being declared as beautiful as her own work. Among these pupils -of Grecian art we hear also of Cirene, the daughter of Kratinos, whose -painting of Proserpina was preserved; of Aristarite, the author of a -picture of Esculapius; of Calypso, known as a painter _de genre_. Her -portraits of Theodorus, the juggler, and a dancer named Acisthenes, -were celebrated, and she is said to have executed one that has been -transferred from the ruins of Pompeii to Naples, and is now called “A -Mother superintending her Daughter’s Toilet.” The name of Olympias is -remembered, though we have no mention of her works. Beyond these few -names, we know nothing of the female artists of Greece. - - - THE ROMAN PAINTRESS. - -Among the Romans we find but one female painter, and she was of Greek -origin and education. The life of the Roman matrons was not confined to -a narrower sphere, and the influence conceded to them might have been -eminently favorable to their cultivation of art. But, with the nation -of soldiers who ruled the world, the elegant arts were not at home as -in their Hellenic birth-place. They flourished not so grandly in the -palmiest days of Rome, as in the decay of the Empire. The heroic women -celebrated in the history of the Republic, and in Roman literature, -had no rivals in the domain of sculpture and painting. The one whose -name has descended to modern times is Laya. She exercised her skill -in Rome about a hundred years before Christ. The little knowledge we -have of her paintings is very interesting, inasmuch as she was the -pioneer in a branch afterward cultivated by many of her sex--miniature -painting. Her portraits of women were much admired, and she excelled in -miniatures on ivory. A large picture in Naples is said to be one of her -productions. She surpassed all others in the rapidity of her execution, -and her works were so highly valued that her name was ranked with the -most renowned painters of the time, such as Sopolis, Dionysius, etc. -Pliny, who bears this testimony, adds that her life was devoted to her -art, and that she was never married. Some others mention a Greek girl, -_Lala_, as contemporary with Cleopatra, who was celebrated for her -busts in ivory. The Romans caused a statue to be erected to her honor. - - - INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. - -Painting was destined to higher improvements under the mild sway -of the Christian religion than in the severer school of classical -antiquity. Woman gradually rose above the condition of slavery, and -began to preside over the elements that formed the poetry of life. But -changes involving the lapse of centuries were necessary, before Art -could be divested of her Athenian garment, and put on the pure bridal -attire suited to her nuptials with devotion. After the destruction of -the Roman Empire, there is a long interval during which we hear of -no achievement beyond the Byzantine relics, and the mosaics of the -convents and cemeteries. - -Even the beauty of early art, associated as it was with the forms of -a pagan mythology, was detested by the votaries of a pure and holy -faith. The early Christians rejected adornment, which they regarded as -inconsistent with their simple tenets, and as an abomination in the -sight of God. Thus, for seven hundred years art was degraded, and only -by degrees did she lift herself from the dust. - -In the mean while female influence grew apace among the nations that -rose upon the ruins of Rome. Amalasuntha, the daughter of Theodoric the -Great, was worthy of her sire in wisdom and knowledge of statesmanship, -while she is said to have surpassed him in general cultivation, and -to have rendered him essential service in his building enterprises. -Theudelinda, Queen of the Longobards, adorned her palace at Monza -with paintings celebrating the history of her people; and, from the -time of Charlemagne, each century boasted several women of political -and literary celebrity. There was the famous nun Hroswitha, who, in -her convent at Gandersheim, composed an ode in praise of Otho, and -a religious drama after the manner of Terence; there was the Greek -princess Anna Comnena, the ornament of the Byzantine court; there -was the first poetess of Germany, Ava; with Hildegardis, Abbess of -Bingen; Heloise, the beloved of Abelard; the Abbess of Hohenburg, who -undertook the bold enterprise of a cyclopædia of general knowledge; -and a host of others.[1] - -[1] Later, Angela de Foligno was celebrated as a teacher of theology. -Christina Pisani wrote a work, “La Cité des Dames,” which was published -in Paris in 1498. It gives account of the learned and famous Novella, -the daughter of a professor of the law in the University of Bologna. -She devoted herself to the same studies, and was distinguished for her -scholarship. She conducted her father’s cases, and, having as much -beauty as learning, was wont to appear in court veiled. - - - ILLUMINATIONS. - -Noble women became patrons of art, particularly that branch cultivated -with most success in the decline of the rest--miniature painting upon -parchment. From being merely ornamental this became a necessity in -manuscript books of devotion, and the brilliant coloring and delicate -finish of the illuminations were often owing to the touch of feminine -hands. The inmates of convents and monasteries employed much time in -painting and ornamenting books, in copying the best works of ancient -art, and in painting on glass; the nuns especially making a business -of copying and illuminating manuscripts. Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinberg, -was celebrated as a miniature painter in the twelfth century, and some -of her works have survived the desolation of ages. “The cultivators -of this charming art were divided into two classes--miniaturists, -properly so called; and miniature caligraphists. It was the province -of the first to color the histories and arabesques, and to lay on the -gold and silver ornaments. The second wrote the book, and the initial -letters so frequently traced in red, blue, and gold: these were called -‘Pulchri Scriptores,’ or fair writers. Painting of this description was -peculiarly a religious occupation. It was well suited for the peaceful -and secluded life of the convent or the monastery. It required none of -the intimate acquaintance with the passions of the human heart, with -the busy scenes of life, so essential to other and higher forms of art.” - -The labors of nuns in ornamental work in the Middle Ages were not -confined to illuminating and miniature painting; but it is not our -province to enumerate the products of their industry, nor to chronicle -the benefits they conferred on the sick and poor. The fairest -princesses did not disdain to work altar-pieces, and to embroider -garments for their friends and lovers. - -In the commencement of the fourteenth century a female painter, named -Laodicia, lived in Pavia, and Vasari mentions the Dominican nun, -Plautilla Nelli. “In 1476, Fra Domenico da Pistoya and Fra Pietro da -Pisa, the spiritual directors of a Dominican convent, established a -printing-press within its walls; the nuns served as compositors, and -many works of considerable value issued from this press between 1476 -and 1484, when, Bartolomeo da Pistoya dying, the nuns ceased their -labors.” - - - THE FIRST SCULPTRESS. - -Germany had the honor of producing the first female sculptor of whom -any thing is known--Sabina von Steinbach, the daughter of Erwin von -Steinbach, who in that wonderful work, the cathedral of Strasburg, has -reared so glorious a monument to his memory. - -The task of ornamenting this noble building was in great part intrusted -to the young girl, whose genius had already exhibited itself in -modeling. Her sculptured groups, and especially those on the portal -of the southern aisle, are of remarkable beauty, and have been admired -by visitors during the lapse of ages. Here are allegorical figures -representing the Christian Church and Judaism; the first of lofty -bearing and winning grace, with crowned heads, bearing the cross in -their right hands, and in their left the consecrated host. The other -figures stand with eyes downcast and drooping head; in the right -hand a broken arrow, in the left the shattered tablets of the Mosaic -Law. Besides many other groups are four bas-reliefs representing the -glorification of the Virgin; her death and burial on one side, and on -the other her entrance into heaven and triumphant coronation. - -It may well be said that in these works are embodied the ideal and -supernatural elements that pervade the sculpture of the Middle Ages; -and it seemed most appropriate that the taste and skill of woman should -develop in such elements the purity and depth of feeling which impart a -charm to these sculptures acknowledged by every beholder. - -On one of the scrolls, held by the Apostle John, the following lines -are inscribed in Latin: - - “The grace of God be with thee, O Sabina, - Whose hands from this hard stone have formed my image.” - -An old painting at Strasburg represents this youthful sculptress -kneeling at the feet of the archbishop, to receive his blessing and -a wreath of laurel, which he is placing on her brow. This painting -attests the popular belief in a tradition that Sabina, after seeing her -statues deposited in their niches, was met by a procession of priests -who came, with the prelate at their head, for the purpose of conferring -this honor upon her. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. - - Commencement of the History of modern Art.--Causes of the Barrenness - of this Century in female Artists.--The Decline of Chivalry - unfavorable to their mental Development.--Passing away of the Ideal - and Supernatural Element in Art.--New Feeling for Nature.--New Life - and Action in Painting.--Portrayal of Feelings of the Heart.--Release - of Painting from her Trammels.--Severer Studies necessary for - Artists.--Woman excluded from the Pursuit.--Patronage sought.--One - female Artist representing each prominent School.--Margaretta - von Eyck.--Her Miniatures.--Extensive Fame.--Her Decoration - of Manuscripts.--Work in Aid of her Brothers.--“The gifted - Minerva.”--Single Blessedness.--Another Margaretta.--Copies and - illuminates MSS. in the Carthusian Convent.--Eight folio Volumes - filled.--Caterina Vigri.--Her Miniature Paintings.--Founds a - Convent.--“The Saint of Bologna.”--Miraculous Painting.--The warrior - Maiden Onorata.--Decorates the Palace at Cremona.--Insult offered - her.--She kills the Insulter.--Flight in male Attire.--Soldier - Life.--Delivers Castelleone.--The mortal Wound. - - -The fifteenth century, with which the history of modern art may be -properly commenced, is barren in female artists. This is, doubtless, -owing in part to a change in the social condition of woman, consequent -on the decline of chivalry, that “poetical lie,” as Rahel terms it. -During the two centuries preceding this period, the fair sex had been -regarded with a kind of adoration. Beauty was the minstrel’s theme and -the soldier’s inspiration, and the courts of love, by giving power to -the intellectual among women, stimulated them to the cultivation of -their minds as well as the adornment of their persons. The descent from -their poetic elevation was unfavorable to mental development; and it -was not till the opening of the sixteenth century that there appeared -symptoms of recovery from the reaction. - -Moreover, art in the fifteenth century had assumed a character unsuited -to the peculiar gifts of woman. It had parted with the ideal and -supernatural element which formed at once the charm and the weakness -of the Middle Ages, and which, as in the case of Sabina von Steinbach, -had fostered and developed female talent. A new feeling for nature -was born; a new world of life and action was waiting to be added to -the domain of art; while severe study and restless energy were in -requisition for more extended conquests. More correct exhibitions of -human individuality, action, and passion began to take the place of -forms that had before been merely conventional or architectural; and -the portrayal of feeling, in which the human heart could sympathize, -superseded the calm religious creations of an earlier age. Painting -finally threw off the rigid trammels she had worn. - -The difficulties in the way of elaborating these new conceptions, and -the studies of anatomy necessary for the attainment of excellence -in delineating the form, excluded women in a great measure from the -pursuit. Gervinus remarks that women are fond of realizing new ideas; -but they are those, for the most part, which are readily brought into -use in common life, and which require no persevering study to reduce -them to practice. Even the triumphs of literary talent in that toilsome -age owed much to the patronage of the great. We find many ladies of -high rank seeking the muses’ favor by the royal road to eminence. - -Notwithstanding the paucity of women artists, we discover at least one -representing each prominent school of painting--Flemish, Italian, and -German. - - - MARGARETTA VON EYCK. - -First among these, Margaretta von Eyck deserves mention. She was the -sister of Hubert and John von Eyck, who were distinguished not only for -enlarged apprehensions of art, but for the discovery and introduction -of oil-painting. - -While these men were, by their works, preparing the way for an -important revolution in the method of painting, Margaretta occupied -herself chiefly in painting miniatures. She worked under the patronage -of the magnificent and liberal court of Burgundy, and her fame extended -even to the countries of the romantic south. It is an interesting -sight, this modest woman-work beside the more important enterprises -of the gifted brothers, making itself appreciated so as to furnish an -example for all time. Sometimes the sister worked with the brother -in the decoration of costly manuscripts. One of the finest monuments -of their united skill was the breviary--now in the imperial library -at Paris--of that Duke of Bedford who, in 1423, married the sister -of Philip the Good. Margaretta’s miniatures were preserved also in -manuscript romances of the period. One of the earliest historians of -Flemish art, Carl von Mander, calls her a “gifted Minerva,” and informs -us that she spurned the acquaintance of “Hymen and Lucina,” and lived -out her days in single blessedness. - - - ANOTHER MARGARETTA. - -As in Margaretta von Eyck the grand efforts of Flemish art found -expression modified by a feminine nature, so had those of the school -in Nuremberg through the labors of another Margaretta--a nun from 1459 -to 1470 in the Carthusian Convent, where she copied and illuminated -religious works. Eight folio volumes were filled by her indefatigable -hands with Gothic letters and pictures in miniature, presenting a -curious specimen of the blending of the art of the scribe with that of -the painter, so common in the Middle Ages. - - - CATERINA VIGRI. - -A third female artist of this period belonged to Italy. Caterina -Vigri, a pupil of the Bolognese school, combined with a high degree -of talent a quiet gentleness and dignified manner that gained her -general esteem. She was born of a noble family in Ferrara in 1413, -and exercised her skill chiefly in miniature painting, though several -large works are recognized as hers. One of St. Ursula, infolding in her -robe her kneeling companions, is exhibited among other fair martyrs -in the Pinacothek of Bologna, and, with the pure, calm expression, -peculiar to the productions of a preceding age, combines a delicacy, -grace, correctness of drawing, and freedom with firmness of touch, -not often found at that time. One of her pictures is preserved in the -Sala Palladiana of the Venetian Academy. Educated in the most exalted -mysticism, she was the founder of the convent of “Corpo di Cristo,” -which is yet in existence, and shelters the grave of Caterina as -well as many of her works. She poured into these all her religious -enthusiasm. Her master was Maestro Vitale. She died in the odor of -sanctity, and was spoken of as “the Saint of Bologna.” In 1712 the -Catholic Church inscribed her name in the second category of saints, -with the title of “Beata,” in virtue of which she is honored to this -day as the patron saint of the fine arts. Tradition relates a story of -one of her paintings on wood--an infant Jesus--having the power to heal -diseases in those who touched the lips of the picture. - - - THE WARRIOR MAIDEN. - -Beside this saintly personage stands one who joined the prowess of -the soldier to the genius of the painter. Onorata Rodiana was born at -Castelleone in Cremona, in the early part of the fifteenth century, -and, while yet young, obtained so high a reputation as a painter, that -the Marquis Gabrino Fondolo, the tyrant of Cremona, appointed her to -the task of decorating his palace. - -The maiden, in the prime of her youth and beauty, was engaged in -this work when an accidental occurrence changed the whole course of -her life. A courtier of libertine character, who chanced to see her -occupied in painting the walls of a room in the palace, entered, and -dared to offer an insulting freedom. The young artist repulsed him; -but, unable to escape his violence without a desperate struggle, the -spirited girl at length drew a dagger and stabbed him to the heart. She -then rushed from the palace, disguised herself in man’s clothes, and -quitted the city, declaring that she would rather die in obscure exile -than accept a luxurious home as the price of dishonor. - -The Marquis Gabrino was at first furious at her escape, and commanded -a hot pursuit by his soldiers; but soon afterward relenting, he -proclaimed her full pardon, and summoned her to return and complete her -labors, which no one else could finish. Onorata, however, had, in the -mean while, learned the warrior’s business in Oldrado Lampugnano’s band -of Condottieri, and her spirit and courage soon elevated her to a post -of command. She loved the soldier’s life, and continued in it, painting -the while, for thirty years. - -When her native town, Castelleone, was besieged by the Venetians, she -hastened with her company to its relief. Victory crowned her in the -contest, but she fell mortally wounded. She died in 1472, perhaps the -only example the world’s history affords of a woman who wielded at the -same time the pencil and the sword. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. - - This Century rich in great Painters.--Not poor in female - Artists.--Memorable Period both in Poetry and Painting.--Fruits - of the Labor of preceding Century now discernible.--Female - Disciples in all the Schools of Italian Art.--Superiority of the - Bolognese School.--Properzia Rossi.--Her Beauty and finished - Education.--Carving on Peach-stones.--Her Sculptures.--The famous - Bas-relief of Potiphar’s Wife.--Properzia’s unhappy Love.--Slander and - Persecution.--Her Works and Fame.--Visit of the Pope.--Properzia’s - Death.--Traditional Story.--Isabella Mazzoni a Sculptor.--A female - Fresco Painter.--Sister Plautilla.--Her Works for her Convent - Church.--Other Works.--Women Painters of the Roman School.--Teodora - Danti.--Female Engravers.--Diana Ghisi.--Irene di Spilimberg.--Her - Education in Venice.--Titian’s Portrait of her.--Tasso’s Sonnet - in her Praise.--Poetical Tributes on her Death.--Her Works and - Merits.--Vincenza Armani.--Marietta Tintoretto.--Her Beauty and - musical Accomplishments.--Excursions in Boy’s Attire with her - Father.--Her Portraits.--They become “the Rage.”--Invitation from - the Emperor.--From Philip of Spain.--The Father’s Refusal.--Her - Marriage and Death.--Portrait of her.--Women Artists of Northern - Italy.--Barbara Longhi and others.--The Nuns of Genoa. - - -The sixteenth century, rich beyond precedent in great men, was not -poor in female artists whose works are worthy of notice. Both in -poetry and painting the period was memorable and glorious. The labors -of the preceding age had promoted civilization and education in moral -and mental acquirements, the fruits of which were discernible even -in Germany, while in Italy the harvest was most abundant. The period -produced Victoria Colonna, Veronica Gambara, Gaspara Stampa, and other -women of literary eminence; while the works in art of Michael Angelo, -Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, etc., became monuments for the -admiration of succeeding generations. Dr. Guhl aptly remarks, “The -fifteenth century was the time of work; the sixteenth the season of -harvest.” - -None of the numerous schools of Italian art were without female -disciples. The Bolognese rose above all others, and at this period gave -laws to art. Here we find - - - PROPERZIA, THE SCULPTRESS. - -The first woman who gained reputation as a sculptor in Italy was -Properzia di Rossi. She was born in Bologna in 1490, and possessed -not only remarkable beauty of person, with all the graces a finished -education could graft upon a refined nature, but various feminine -accomplishments, excelling particularly, Vasari tells us, in her -orderly disposal of household matters. She sang and played on several -instruments “better than any woman of her day in Bologna,” while in -many scientific studies she gained a distinction “well calculated,” -says the Italian historian, “to awaken the envy not of women only, -but also of men.” This maiden of rich gifts was endowed with a -peculiar facility in realizing the creations of fancy, and took at -first a strange way of doing so. She undertook the minute carving of -peach-stones, and succeeded so well as to render credible what had -been recorded of two sculptors of antiquity. Mirmecide is said to -have carved a chariot drawn by four horses, with the charioteer, so -small that a fly with his wings spread covered the whole. Callicrate -sculptured ants with the minutest exactness. Properzia carved on a -peach-stone the crucifixion of our Saviour; a work comprising a number -of figures--executioners, disciples, women, and soldiers--wonderful -for the delicate execution of the minutest figures, and the admirable -distribution of all. A series of her intaglios is in the possession of -Count Grassi of Bologna. In a double-headed eagle, in silver filagree -(the Grassi coat of arms), are imbedded eleven peach-stones, and on -each is carved, on one side, one of the eleven apostles, each with an -article of the creed underneath; on the other, eleven holy virgins with -the name of the saint on each, and a motto explanatory of her special -virtue. In the cabinet of gems in the gallery of Florence is preserved -a cherry-stone on which is carved a chorus of saints in which seventy -heads may be counted. - -It was not long before Properzia began to think, with those who -witnessed her success, that it was a pity to throw away so much labor -on a nut! At that time the façade of San Petronio, in Bologna, was -being ornamented with sculpture and bas-relief. The young girl had -studied drawing under Antonio Raimondi, and when the three doors of -the principal façade were to be decorated with marble figures she made -application to the superintendents for a share in the works. She was -required to furnish a specimen of her talent. The young sculptress -executed a bust from life, in the finest marble, of Count Alessandro -de’ Pepoli; this pleased the family and the whole city, and procured -immediate orders from the superintendents. - -The one of her productions which has become most celebrated is a -bas-relief, in white marble, of Potiphar’s wife seeking to detain -Joseph by holding his garment. The perfection of the drawing, the -grace of the action, and the emotion that breathes from the whole -face and form, obtained high praise for this performance. Vasari -calls it “a lovely picture, sculptured with womanly grace, and more -than admirable.” But envy took occasion to make this monument of -Properzia’s genius a reproach to her memory. It was reported that she -was profoundly in love with a young nobleman, Anton Galeazzo Malvasia, -who cared little for her; and that she depicted her own unhappy passion -in the beautiful creation of her chisel. It was probably true that her -life was imbittered by this unreturned love. One of her countrymen -says the proud patrician disdained to own as his wife one who bore a -less ancient name; and that he failed in his attempt to persuade her -to become his on less honorable terms. Professional jealousy aided in -the attempt to depress the pining artist. Amico Albertini, with several -men artists, commenced a crusade against her, and slandered her to the -superintendents with such effect that the wardens refused to pay the -proper price for her labors on the façade. Even her alto-relief was not -allowed to have its appointed place. Properzia had no heart to contend -against this unmanly persecution; she never attempted any other work -for the building, and the grief to which she was abandoned gradually -sapped the springs of life. - -There are two angels in bas-relief, exquisitely sculptured by her, in -the church of San Petronio; and another work by her hand, representing -the Queen of Sheba in the presence of Solomon, is preserved in what -is called “the revered chamber.” Other works of hers have been -pronounced to be in the highest taste. She is said to have furnished -some admirable plans in architecture. In copper-plate engraving she -succeeded to admiration, and many of her pen-and-ink etchings from -Raphael’s works obtained the highest praise. “With this poor loving -girl,” Vasari says, “every thing succeeded save her unhappy passion.” - -The fame of her noble genius spread throughout Italy; and Pope Clement -VII., having come to Bologna to officiate at the coronation of the -Emperor Charles V., inquired for the fair sculptress of whom he had -heard such marvelous things. Alas! she had died that very week--on the -14th of February, 1530--and her remains had been buried, according to -her last request, in the Hospital della Morte. She was lamented by -her fellow-citizens, who held her to have been one of the greatest -miracles of nature. But what availed posthumous praises to the victim -of injustice and calumny? - -A story has been told of an interview between Properzia and the Pope; -that, declining his offer to settle her in Rome, she knelt to take -leave, when her veil falling disclosed a face of unearthly beauty, sad -enough to move the pontiff’s sympathy. But it is more probable that she -died before his coming. - - - SISTER PLAUTILLA AND OTHERS. - -Isabella Mazzoni was also known at this period as a sculptor. We -hear, too, of Maria Calavrese, who painted in fresco; and Plautilla -Nelli--Suor Plautilla, as she is usually called--deserves more than a -passing mention. Lanzi tells us she was of a noble Florentine family, -and born in 1523. She had no assistance in developing her remarkable -talent but her study of the designs of Fra Bartolomeo, one of the best -masters of the Florentine school. She became a nun of the Dominican -convent of St. Catherine of Sienna in Florence, and having acquired -considerable reputation by her skill in painting, finished for the -church a Descent from the Cross, said to be from a design by Andrea -del Sarto; and a picture of her own composition, the Adoration of the -Magi--a work that won great praise. In the first may be noticed the -same purity of contour, the same harmony of light and shade, grace of -drapery, and confident repose that characterize the works of Andrea. -In the choir of the Convent of Santa Lucia, at Pistoja, was her large -picture of the Madonna holding the child, surrounded by saints; and -in the convent at Florence a large painting of the Last Supper. We -do not attempt to enumerate the works credited to her, including her -copies of the best masters, particularly Fra Bartolomeo, whom it was -not easy to imitate, since he was superior to Raphael in color, and -rivaled Vinci in chiaro-oscuro. Some pictures in Berlin, attributed to -her, are marked by his purity and careful execution, with his depth -and earnestness. She was also a miniature painter. She was prioress of -the convent, and lived to the age of sixty-five. One of her successful -pupils was Agatha Traballesi. - -There were no noted women painters of the Roman school, but we may -mention Teodora Danti, who painted several pictures of interiors after -the style of Perugino. The heads of her figures were remarkable for -grace, and she had much ease of action and freshness of coloring, but -there was a certain dryness in the forms and poverty in the drapery. - -The wife of the famous engraver, Mare Antonio Raimondi, also engraved -on copper; and Diana Ghisi copied in her engravings works both of -Raphael and Giulio Romano. Vasari says of her: “She engraves so -admirably, the thing is a perfect miracle. For my own part, who have -seen herself--and a very pleasing and graceful maiden she is--as well -as her works, which are most exquisite, I have been utterly astonished -thereby.” - - - IRENE DI SPILIMBERG. - -A bright example, and the pride of the Venetian school in her day, was -Irene di Spilimberg, born at Udina in 1540, of a noble and illustrious -family, originally of German origin. She exercised her art at its most -flourishing period. She was educated in Venice, surrounded by all -the luxury of external and intellectual life, and she had Titian for -her master. Her fame, however, rests rather on the testimony of her -contemporaries than on her own works. Titian, ever alive to female -loveliness and artistic merit, has immortalized her by a beautiful -portrait; and Tasso has celebrated her charms in one of his sonnets. -She died in the opening of her blossom of fame, in the flush of youth -and beauty, having scarcely attained the age of nineteen. Her death was -deplored in poems and orations, a collection of which was published in -Venice twenty years after the event, to set forth the splendid promise -which the destroyer had thus untimely nipped. - -Among her works still extant are the Bacchanals in Monte Albedo, and -small pictures from religious subjects said to be in the possession of -the Maniago family. Lanzi remarks: “The drawing is careless, but the -coloring is worthy of the best age of art. We see the reflected rays -of her great master’s glory, the soft yet rapid gradations of tint, -the clear touches, the repeated applications of color, which give a -veiled transparency to the tints; the judicious grouping, the combined -majesty and grace in the figures, which constitute some of the merits -of Titian.” Irene is said to have been a woman of the highest mental -culture. Rudolphi includes her among the few women artists he mentions. - -The sixteenth century was not only remarkable for the production of -talent, but for its recognition. Another artist belonging to the -Venetian school was Vincenza Armani, who was accomplished in engraving -and modeling in wax, and was also celebrated as a poet and musician. - - - MARIETTA TINTORETTO. - -Marietta Robusti, the daughter and pupil of the great painter -Tintoretto--him who was called “the thunder of art,” and excelled -in the powerful and terrible--was born in 1560. She had a lively -disposition and great enthusiasm; she was very beautiful in person, had -a fine voice, and was an accomplished performer on the lute and other -instruments. It is no wonder that she was the object of her father’s -pride and affections. She accompanied him every where, dressed as a -boy; and he developed her genius for art less by precept than by the -living example of his own labor. His pictures nourished and fertilized -her imagination, and, step by step, she followed him faithfully. -Whether he labored at his models or studied the antique statues, or -casts from Michael Angelo, the coloring of Titian or the nude figure, -she was by his side. She noted his first sketch in the feverish moment -of creation, and watched the progress of its execution. His marvelous -freedom in handling the brush, his strength and precision in drawing -and richness of coloring became hers. She learned his secret of -giving proportion and unity to many figures, and the difficult art of -foreshortening; then, after copying his pictures, she could say, “I, -too, am an artist.” She chose the kind of painting suited to her sex. -Historical pieces demanded too much study and application, and it was -wearying to design nude figures in imitation of the antique. Portrait -painting was easier, and promised more immediate results. - -Her first portrait was that of Marco dei Vescovi. It was greatly -admired, particularly the beard, and some ventured to say she had -equaled her father. Ere long she became famous, and it was all the rage -among the Venetian aristocracy to be painted by Marietta. Her father -was in raptures at her astonishing progress and success. - -Jacopo Strada, antiquarian to the Emperor Maximilian, had his portrait -taken by her, and gave it as a curiosity to his imperial master. This, -and one she painted of herself, gained her a great reputation. The -emperor placed them in his chamber, and invited her to be the artist -of his court. The same proposition was made to her by Philip II. of -Spain and the Archduke Ferdinand. She was a dutiful daughter and -obeyed the wishes of Tintoretto, who refused to part with her, even -that she might grace a court. To secure her against the acceptance of -such alluring offers, he bestowed her hand on Mario Augusti, a wealthy -German jeweler, on the condition that she should remain under the -paternal roof. She completed several original designs and painted many -portraits. Her exquisite taste, her soft and gentle touch, and her -skill in coloring were remarkable, both in works of her own invention -and those due to her father’s genius. - -Tintoretto was not destined long to rejoice in the progress of his -lovely daughter. In the flower of her age, in 1590, she departed this -life, leaving her husband and father mourners for the rest of their -days. She was buried in the church of Santa Maria dell’ Orto. Another -artist made a picture of Tintoretto transferring to the canvas the -features of his child, still beautiful in death. Several of her works -are in Venice. One, at the Palais Royale, represents a man in black, -sitting, his hand on an open book lying on a table, where is also an -escritoir with papers, a watch, and crucifix. - -Decampes has published an engraving of Marietta’s portrait. The -expression is very soft and meek; a braid of hair encircles the top of -her head, and a rouleau is put back from the forehead. A handkerchief -is crossed on the bosom, and around her neck is a string of large beads. - -Some fair artists of the schools of northern Italy deserve mention. -Vasari speaks of Barbara, daughter of the painter Lucas Longhi, of -Ravenna, as possessing great talent. In Genoa, Tommasa Fiesca was known -as a painter and engraver, as well as a writer of mystical tracts. She -and her sister Helen were Dominican nuns, and died in 1534. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. - - The six wonderful Sisters.--Sofonisba Anguisciola.--Her - early Sketches.--Painting of three Sisters.--Her Success in - Milan.--Invitation to the Court of Madrid.--Pomp of her Journey and - Reception.--The Diamond.--Paints the Royal Family and the Flower - of the Nobility.--Her Present to Pope Pius.--His Letter.--Her - Style.--Lucia’s Picture.--Sofonisba Governess to the Infanta. - Marriage to the Lord of Sicily.--His Death at Palermo.--The Widow’s - Voyage.--The gallant Captain.--Second Love and Marriage.--Her - Residence at Genoa.--Royal Visitors.--Loss of Sight.--Vandyck - her Guest.--Her Influence on Art in Genoa.--Her Portrait and - Works.--Sofonisba Gentilesca.--Her Miniatures of the Spanish - Royal Family.--Caterina Cantoni.--Ludovica Pellegrini.--Angela - Criscuolo.--Cecilia Brusasorci.--Caterina dei Pazzi.--Her Style - shows the Infusion of a new Element of religious Enthusiasm - into Art.--Tradition of her painting with eyes closed.--Her - Canonization.--Women in France at this period.--Isabella - Quatrepomme.--Women in Spain.--A female Doctor of Theology.--Change - wrought by Protestantism in the Condition of Woman.--Its Influence - on Art.--An English Paintress.--Lavinia Benic.--Catherine Schwartz - in Germany.--Eva von Iberg in Switzerland.--Women Painters in the - Netherlands.--Female Talent in Antwerp.--Albert Durer’s Mention - of Susannah Gerard.--Catherine Hämsen.--Anna Seghers.--Clara de - Keyzer.--Liewina Bennings’ and Susannah Hurembout’s Visits to - England.--The Engraver Barbara.--The Dutch Engraver.--Constantia, the - Flower Painter. - - -We come now to the six wonderful sisters Anguisciola: Helena, -Sofonisba, Minerva, Europa, Lucia, and Anna Maria, all gifted in music -and painting. Vasari describes his visit “to the house of Amilcare -Anguisciola, the happy father of an honorable and distinguished family; -the very home of painting, as well as of all other accomplishments.” -In Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, we read: - - “Le Donne son venute in eccellenza - Di ciascun’ arte, ov’ hanno posto cura.” - -The best known of these amiable and distinguished sisters was the -second; though Lucia, who died young, acquired celebrity, and produced -beautiful and valuable works. - - - SOFONISBA ANGUISCIOLA - -was born in Cremona, some time between 1530 and 1540, being descended -from a family of high rank. At ten years of age she knew how to draw, -and she soon became the best pupil of Bernadino Campi, an excellent -Cremonese painter. One of her early sketches, representing a boy with -his hand caught in a lobster’s claw, and a little girl laughing at his -plight, was in the possession of Vasari, and esteemed by him worthy -of a place in a volume which he had filled with drawings by the most -famous masters of that great age. Portraits became her favorite study. -Vasari commends a picture he saw at her father’s, representing three -of the sisters and an ancient housekeeper, chess-playing, as a work -“painted with so much skill and care that the figures wanted only -voice to be alive.” He also praises a portrait of herself, which she -presented to Pope Julius III. - -Sofonisba instructed her four younger sisters in painting. While yet in -her girlhood she attracted the notice of princes. She accompanied her -father to Milan, at that time subject to Spanish rule. There she was -received at court with welcome, and painted the portrait of the Duke of -Sessa, the viceroy, who rewarded her with four pieces of brocade, and -other rich gifts. By 1559 her name had become famous throughout Italy. -The haughty monarch of Spain, Philip II., who aspired to the title -of patron of the fine arts, heard the echo of her renown, and sent -instructions to the Duke of Alba, then at Rome, to invite her to the -Court of Madrid. The invitation was accepted. Sofonisba was conducted -to the Spanish court with regal pomp, having a train of two patrician -ladies as maids of honor, two chamberlains, and six livery servants. -Philip and his queen came out to meet her, and she was sumptuously -entertained in the palace. After a time given to repose, she painted -the king’s portrait, which so pleased him that he rewarded her with a -diamond worth fifteen hundred crowns, and a pension of two hundred. -Her next sitters were the young queen, Elizabeth of Valois--known as -Isabel of the Peace--then in the bloom of her bridal loveliness; and -the unhappy boy Don Carlos, who was taken dressed in a lynx-skin and -other costly raiment. One after another she painted the flower of the -Spanish nobility. Meanwhile she received high honors and profitable -appointments from her royal patrons. - -Her extended fame induced Pope Pius IV. to ask her for a portrait of -the queen. She executed the commission with alacrity; and, having -bestowed her best care on a second portrait of her majesty, she -dispatched it to Rome, with a letter, to be presented to His Holiness. -“If it were possible,” she says, “to represent to your Holiness the -beauty of this queen’s soul, you could behold nothing more wonderful.” -The Pope responded with precious stones and relics set in gems; gifts -worthy of the great abilities of the artist. His letter may interest -the reader: - - “We have received the portrait of the most illustrious Queen of Spain, - our dear daughter, which you have sent us, and which has been most - acceptable, as well on account of the person represented, whom we love - paternally for her piety and the many pure qualities of her mind, to - say nothing of other considerations, as because the work has by your - hand been very well and diligently accomplished. - - “We thank you for it, assuring you that we shall hold it among our - most valued possessions, commended through your skill, which, albeit - very wonderful, is nevertheless, as we hear, the very least among the - many gifts with which you are endowed. - - “And with this conclusion, we send you again our benediction. May our - Lord have you in His keeping! - - “Dat. Romæ: die 15 Ottobris, 1561.” - -Sofonisba’s paintings were noted for boldness and freedom; and in -some pieces her figures almost seemed to breathe. Some are comic; and -this branch of art, in painting as in literature, demands boldness of -conception, spontaneity of movement, and delicacy of touch. One of -these works represents a wrinkled old woman learning the alphabet, and -a little child making fun of her behind her back. - -During her residence in Spain Sofonisba received from Cremona the -portrait of her mother, Bianca, painted by her sister Europa. It was -highly praised by Castilian critics, and the sister prized it as a -faithful likeness of a beloved one whom she might never again behold. -About this time Lucia may have sent her admirable portrait of Pietro -Maria, a Cremonese physician--a grave and elderly personage in a -furred robe--which now adorns the queen’s gallery in Madrid, the sole -specimen of the powers of the gifted sisters. - -Sofonisba had for some time been lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Spain: -she was now appointed by Philip, with other ladies, to undertake the -education of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. This proves her to -have been in Spain after 1566, the year in which that princess was -born. Her royal patrons wished her to marry a Spanish nobleman and -take up her permanent abode near their court; but her hand was already -pledged to the feudal lord of Sicily, Don Fabrizio de Monçada, and he -bore her away to his island home. The king and queen gave her a dowry -of twelve thousand crowns and a pension of one thousand; which she had -power to bequeath to her son; besides rich presents in tapestry and -jewels, and a dress loaded with pearls. - -The newly-wedded pair went to Palermo, where after a few years the -husband died. Sofonisba was immediately invited back to the court of -Madrid, but expressed a desire to see Cremona and her kindred before -her return to Spain. She embarked on board a Genoese galley, commanded -by a patrician called Orazio Lomellini. He entertained the fair widow -with gallant courtesy during the voyage, and she appears to have been -not inconsolable for the loss of her husband. She loved the Genoese, -it is said, out of sheer gratitude; although her biographer, Soprani, -does not hesitate to say that she made him an offer of her hand, which -he--“quel generoso signor”--very promptly accepted. The Lomellini -family still preserve her portrait, painted by herself after the manner -of Raphael. - -We now find her living at Genoa, where she pursued her art with -indefatigable zeal. Her house became the resort of all the polished -and intellectual society of the republic. Nor was she forgotten by -her royal friends of the house of Austria. On hearing of her second -nuptials, their Catholic majesties added four hundred crowns to her -pension. The Empress of Germany paid her a visit on her way to Spain, -and accepted a little picture, one of the most finished and beautiful -of Sofonisba’s works. She also received the honor of a visit from -her former charge, the Infanta, now married or about to be married -to the Archduke Albert, and joint sovereign with him over Flanders. -This princess spent several hours talking with her friend of old times -and family affairs; and sat for her portrait, for which, when it was -finished, she gave Sofonisba a gold chain enriched with jewels. This -pretty memorial of friendship was greatly prized by the artist. Thus -caressed by royalty, and courted in Genoese society, she lived to an -extreme old age. A medallion was struck at Bologna in honor of her; the -most distinguished artists listened reverentially to her opinions, and -poets sang the praises of - - “La bella e saggia dipintrice, - La nobil Sofonisba da Cremona.” - -In the latter years of her life Sofonisba was deprived of her sight; -but retained her intellectual faculties, her love of art, and her -relish for the society of its professors. The conferences she held in -her own palace were attended to the last by distinguished painters from -every quarter. Vandyck was frequently her guest, and was accustomed to -say he had received more enlightenment from this blind old woman than -from all his studies of the greatest masters. This was no mean praise -from the favorite scholar of Rubens; and who shall say it was not -deserved? By precept and by example she helped to raise art in Genoa -from the decay into which it had fallen in the middle of the sixteenth -century. Her pictures have something of the grace and cheerfulness of -Raphael, in whose style her first master painted, and something of the -relief of the followers of Correggio. “More than any other woman of -her time,” writes Vasari, “with more study and greater grace, she has -labored on every thing connected with drawing; not only has she drawn, -colored, and painted from life, and made excellent copies, but she has -also drawn many beautiful original pictures.” - -One of Sofonisba’s works, seen at Cremona in 1824, was a beautiful -picture of the Virgin giving suck to the Divine infant. In portraits -her skill is said to have been little inferior to Titian. Her charming -portrait of herself is no mean gem among the treasures of the -galleries and libraries at Althorp. She has drawn herself in what the -Germans term a “knee-piece;” rather under life-size. The small and -finely-formed head is well set on a graceful neck; the dark hair is -smoothly and simply dressed; the features are Italian and regular; the -complexion is a clear olive; and the eyes are large, black, and liquid. -The dark, close-fitting dress is relieved by white frills at the throat -and wrists, and two white tassels hanging over the breast. Her delicate -and exquisitely painted hands are seen over the chords of a spinet. -On the right, in deep shadow, stands an old woman, wearing a kerchief -twisted turbanwise around her head, and resembling a St. Elizabeth or -a St. Anne in a religious composition of the Caracci. The whole is -painted in the clear, firm manner of the best pencils of Florence. -Sofonisba died in 1620. - -Palomino mentions Sofonisba Gentilesca among the foreign painters of -the reign of Philip II.: “a lady illustrious in the art,” who came -from France to Spain in the train of Isabel of the Peace. She painted -miniatures with great skill, and had for sitters their majesties, the -Infant Don Carlos, and many ladies of the court. She died at Madrid in -1587. - -Another noble lady, Caterina Cantoni, known as an excellent engraver, -was invited into Spain with Sofonisba, to pursue there the calling she -seems to have practiced with success in Italy. Ludovica Pellegrini was -complimented with the title of the “second Minerva” for her excellence -in this branch of art. She also devoted herself to needle-work, and -embroidered sacred furniture, and the great pallium (vestment), -exhibited to strangers as a curious specimen of art and learning. -Boschini mentions “the unrivaled Dorothea Aromatari” as having produced -with her needle those beauties the finest artists executed with the -pencil. Other women were celebrated embroiderers. Naples boasted of -one who surpassed her contemporaries both in painting and music--Maria -Angela Criscuolo. Cecilia Brusasorci, the daughter of the great fresco -painter, became celebrated for her portraits toward the close of this -century. - -Passing over a number of minor names, we may close the review of -this period by a notice of Caterina de’ Pazzi. She was born in 1566, -and retired early to a convent, where she assumed the name of Maria -Maddalena. The energy with which she cultivated art, and the peculiar -character of her works and those of others produced at this time, -show the infusion of a new element of religious enthusiasm into art. -Tradition preserves the story of this nun painting sacred pictures with -her eyes closed. In the cloisters of the Carmelites at Parma, and in -the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at Rome, works of hers may be -found. Dying in 1607, she was canonized by Clement IX. in 1669; and at -this day a picture in one of the richest churches of Florence bears the -name of the saintly artist, whose body reposes in a magnificent chapel -under the same roof. - -No other nation, during the sixteenth century, can compete with Italy -in female artists. In France women enjoyed great influence in public -affairs, and several ladies of the highest rank were distinguished for -their literary productions and accomplishments. Isabella Quatrepomme is -mentioned by Papillon as an excellent engraver on wood. She was born in -Rouen, and flourished about 1521. A frontispiece in an old calendar, -executed in neat style, representing a figure of Janus, is supposed to -be by her, as it is marked with an apple on which there is a figure 4. - -In Spain the flowers of art began to bloom at a later period; although -in the liberal studies women were not behindhand. Isabella Losa, of -Cordova, was appointed a doctor of theology, and there were ladies in -Valencia, who, familiar with the works of Italian masters of art, made -it their study to imitate them. - -In the north the advance of Protestantism wrought a change in -the condition of women, which had its influence on art. Domestic -employments, and the domestic virtues, became more universally the -delight and study of the fair sex. While the light of religious truth -was penetrating their homes with its softened radiance, the growth of -a deep moral feeling was preparing the way for farther triumphs in -the imitative arts. England, where flourished many poetesses, had one -female painter--Lewina Tirlinks--during the reign of Elizabeth. Germany -boasted of Catherine Schwartz, the wife, probably, of that Christopher -Schwartz whom his contemporaries called the German Raphael; while in -Switzerland Eva von Iberg transferred to canvas the beauties of her -country’s scenery. - -In the Netherlands, on the other hand, the number of women painters -at this period was large, and many were the diligent successors of -Margaretta von Eyck in her native place. Her brothers, at the head of -the old Flemish school, showed the combination of traditional types -and ancient habits with the results of the struggles of the human mind -for emancipation in this century. Antwerp seems to have been a rich -soil for the production of female talent. Here, in 1521, Albrecht Durer -became acquainted with the fair painter so honorably mentioned in his -journal. “Master Gerard, illuminist,” he says, “has a daughter eighteen -years of age, named Susannah, who illuminated a little book which I -purchased for a few guilders. It is wonderful that a woman can do so -much!” Among noted miniature painters we hear of Catherine Hämsen, who -went into Spain, and entered the service of the Queen of Hungary on a -good salary; also of Anna Seghers; Anna Smyters, and Margaret de Heere. -Clara de Keyzer, or Clara Skeysers, of Ghent, died unmarried at the age -of eighty. She enjoyed a celebrity that extended to Germany, France, -Italy, and Spain, all which countries were visited by her. - -Susannah Hurembout and Liewina Bennings, or Benic, should not be passed -over. The latter, the daughter of “Maestro Simon,” was born in Bruges; -was invited to London by Henry VIII., and was treated with great favor -by both queens Mary and Elizabeth. King Henry gave her in marriage to -an English nobleman. It has been thought she is the same person with -Lewina Tirlinks. Susannah also received an invitation from “bluff King -Harry” to visit his court, and lived in England, where she was treated -with great distinction, for the remainder of her life. Both these -women were miniature painters. Barbara Van den Broeck, the daughter -of Crispin, was born in Antwerp, 1560, and engraved from her father’s -designs. She handled the graver with consummate skill. In some pieces, -she imitated successfully the style of Martin Rota. - -In Holland, Magdalen de Passe was known as an engraver in copper, and -Constantia von Utrecht as a flower-painter; one who first acquired -distinction in this delicate and feminine branch of study, and directed -to it the attention of her country-women. In later times the city where -she lived and wrought became the capital of the world in this species -of painting. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - New Ground presented for Progress.--Greater Diversity of - Style.--Naturalism.--The Caracci instrumental in giving to - Painting the Impetus of Reform.--Their Academy.--One opened - by a Milanese Lady.--The learned Poetess and her hundredth - Birthday.--Female Painters and Engravers.--Lavinia Fontana.--The - hasty Judgment.--Lavinia a Pupil of Caracci.--Character of her - Pictures.--Honors paid to her.--Courted by Royalty.--Her Beauty and - Suitors.--A romantic Lover.--Lavinia’s Paintings.--Close of the - Period of the Christian Ideal in Art.--Lavinia’s _Chef-d’Œuvre_.--Her - Children.--Professional Honors.--Her Death.--Female Disciples - of the Caracci School.--Pupils of Domenichino, Lanfranco, and - Guido Reni.--The churlish Guercino a Despiser of Women.--The - Cardinal’s Niece and Heiress.--Her great Paintings.--Founds - a Cloister.--Artemisia Gentileschi, a Pupil of Guido.--Her - Portraits.--Visit to England.--Favor with Charles I.--Luxurious Abode - in Naples.--Her Correspondence.--Judgment of her Pictures.--Elisabetta - Sirani.--Her artistic Character.--Her household Life.--Industry - and Modesty.--Her Virtues and Graces.--Envious Artists.--Defeat of - Calumny.--Her mysterious Fate.--Conjectures respecting it.--Funeral - Obsequies.--Her principal Works.--Her Influence on female - Artists.--Her Pupils.--Other Women Artists of Bologna. - - -In the seventeenth century the elements of disturbance had in part -subsided, and new ground was presented for the progress of human -intellect. A certain uniformity in art, which was the consequence of a -close academical imitation of the old masters, gave place to a greater -diversity of style, and, in some instances, to a vigorous and somewhat -rude naturalism. The Naturalisti were so called on account of their -predilection for the direct imitation of the common forms and aspects -of nature. Passion was their inspiration, and their imitation was too -often carried to excess, presenting what might be termed the poetry of -the repulsive. - -A new spirit of inquiry and a feeling of self-reliance had entered -the popular mind that did not fail to influence the progress both of -literature and art. The masters who were most strikingly instrumental -in giving to painting the impetus of reform were Ludovico, Augustin, -and Annibal Caracci. Amid many difficulties they opened an academy in -their native city, Bologna, where art was taught on the principles then -esteemed essential. In its theoretical and practical departments a -goodly number of students were there permitted to profit by the works -of the early masters. The good example was soon followed, and we hear -of a Milanese lady opening her house for an academy. - -Arcangela Palladini excelled in painting, poetry, music, and -embroidery. A piece of her needle-work hung in the ducal gallery at -Pisa, where none but great works were preserved. Beatrice Pappafava, a -paintress, was also a learned lady, and is said to have celebrated her -own hundredth birthday in an original sonnet of much merit. Caterina -Rusca obtained some repute as an engraver on copper; and Augusta -Tarabotti, who studied painting under the direction of Clara Varotari, -was also a poet and the author of “An Apology for the Female Sex,” -which was received with considerable attention. Fede Galizia, the -daughter of a celebrated miniaturist, lived in Milan. In figures and -landscapes she evinced taste, accuracy, and finish. She was devoted to -the ideal, and this tendency appeared in her design and coloring. - - - LAVINIA FONTANA. - -One among the female artists who adopted the style of the Caracci and -helped to introduce a change in art was Lavinia Fontana, one of the -most celebrated women of the century. She was the daughter of that -Prospero Fontana who gave lessons in painting to Ludovico Caracci, -and was wont much to disparage him. He once remarked that his scholar -would do better at mixing colors than as a painter! But Caracci had -his revenge in after years, when Fontana was heard to lament that -he was too old to become the pupil of the great artist who had once -been his own despised scholar! The instruction he could not receive -was the privilege of his daughter Lavinia, who was born in Bologna in -1552. She adopted her father’s manner, and gained great celebrity in -portrait painting; but, in later years, became the disciple of Caracci, -after which she succeeded in giving her pictures so much softness, -sweetness, and tenderness, that some of them have even been compared -to those of Guido Reni. To delicacy of touch she united rare skill -in taking likenesses. Her talents met with appreciation and honors -not often accorded to female merit. The first ladies in Rome sought -to become her sitters, and the greatest cardinals deemed themselves -fortunate in having their portraits executed by her skillful hand. Her -portraits were so highly esteemed that they commanded enormous prices, -and were displayed with pride in the galleries of the nobility and -the most cultivated persons in the land. Her services were engaged -by Pope Gregory XIII. as his painter in ordinary; and she worked for -the Buoncompagni family. Other crowned heads sought her society, and -the most wondrous grace of all was that these honors did not create -in her vanity or self-conceit. To her accomplishments she added such -personal attractions that her hand was sought by many distinguished -and titled suitors; but she preferred to them all a young man unknown -to fame, Giovanni Paolo Zappi, of Imola. Some authorities speak of him -as a wealthy nobleman. He had painted in her father’s studio for love -of the charming daughter, and had been accustomed to paint the clothes -in her portraits so well that she had made concerning him the not very -flattering observation, that “he was worth more as a tailor than a -painter.” He was rewarded by marrying her, the condition being exacted -that Lavinia should remain free to follow her professional career. - -Besides portraits, she produced several compositions on sacred -subjects; some church pictures now in Bologna, and some on worldly -themes, as the picture of Venus in the Berlin Museum. In her later -works, after her lessons with Caracci, she acquired a softness and -warmth of coloring that remind one of the masters of the Venetian -school. One of her productions--Saint Francis de Paula raising a dead -person--preserved in the Pinacothek of Bologna--has been noticed for -this. Of her pictures besides are the Crucifixion, the Miracle of the -Loaves, and the Annunciation. These were for churches of Bologna. - -Lavinia lived at the close of what was peculiarly the period of -Christian art, and it seems just to place her among the artists who -labored while the Christian ideal, in all its splendor, was yet above -the horizon. On this period Raphael and Michael Angelo had set their -seal, and the Christian ideal was exhausted in the Transfiguration, -and the frescoes of the Sistine chapel; they could not be surpassed. -One of Lavinia’s works--the Nativity of the Virgin, at nighttime--is -still exhibited in her native city. The infant Mary is surrounded by -a cloud of angels, and a saint is pointing to two children below. A -figure in magnificent bishop’s robes, on the other side, is in the act -of sprinkling holy water on two beautiful kneeling girls. This picture, -Bolognini asserts, alone justifies the artist’s fame. In the Escurial -at Madrid is a piece by her, representing a Madonna uplifting a veil to -view her sleeping child, who reposes on richly-embroidered cushions; -St. Joseph and St. John stand near. “A picture,” says Mazzolari, “so -vivid, so gay and graceful, and of such glorious coloring, so full -of beauty, that one is never weary of admiring it.” A picture which -has especially contributed to her artistic fame represents the Queen -of Sheba in the presence of Solomon; but it has also an allegorical -reference to the Duke and Duchess of Mantua, and various personages of -their court. Lanzi considers this production worthy of the Venetian -school. Another represents a royal infant, playing on a bed, wrapped -in blankets, and adorned with a splendid necklace. A “Judith, seen by -torch-light,” is in the possession of the Della Casa family. A Virgin -and Child, which she painted for Cardinal Ascoli, and sent to Rome, -has been thought her best production, and brought her so much fame, -that, a large painting being required for a church, the commission was -intrusted to Lavinia, in preference to many first-class artists, who -sought it. She painted a stoning of Stephen, with a number of figures, -and a halo above representing heaven opening. The figures were larger -than life, and the work was not as successful as Lavinia had hoped. -But after she confined herself to portrait painting, she had no reason -to be dissatisfied with her success. Her _chef d’œuvre_ is said to be -her own portrait, taken when she was young and surpassingly beautiful. -It is now in the possession of Count Zappi, at Imola, and has been -engraved by Rossini, for his history of Italian painting. The portrait -is painted in an oval; in the background, ranged on a shelf, are models -in clay of busts, heads, trunks, hands, and feet. The artist is seated -at a table, on which are two casts of Greek statues; she is in the act -of commencing a drawing, and is dressed with elegant simplicity, her -mantle flowing in clear and ample folds. Under the ruff encircling her -neck hangs a pearl necklace, to which is attached a golden crucifix. -She wears a Mary Stuart headdress, and the head is colored with -wonderful delicacy and transparency. The work unites correctness of -drawing with incomparable grace. England possesses three paintings by -Lavinia Fontana. - -This famous artist had three children, and was unhappy in them. Her -only daughter lost the sight of one eye, by running a pin into it; and -one of her boys was half-witted, and served to amuse loungers in the -Pope’s antechamber. Malvasia remarks, “The story ran that he inherited -his simplicity from his father; assuredly it came not from his mother, -who was as full of talent and sagacity as she was good and virtuous.” - -Lavinia was elected a member of the Roman Academy. Her merits were -celebrated by contemporaries; Marini, among other poets, wrote in her -praise; and in such estimation was she held, that, when she passed near -the seat of the Lord of Sora and Vignola, the proud patrician came out -to meet her at the head of his retainers, according to the fashion then -in vogue for the reception of royal personages. - -Among the Lettere Pittoriche is a letter dated 1609, signed Lavinia -Fontana Zappi. This proves her to have been living then. One authority -states that she died at Rome, in 1614, aged sixty-two. - -While Lavinia Fontana availed herself of the system of Caracci, -another, who enjoyed in early life the advantage of being Ludovico’s -pupil, emulated his excellences so successfully that she produced a -fine picture, full of figures, from one of his compositions, in 1614, -for the church of the Annunziata, in Bologna. This was Antonia Pinelli. -For skill in drawing and purity of tone she was held in high estimation. - -Numerous were the young women who learned painting in the atelier of -the Caracci; while other masters had their share of fair students. -Domenichino is said to have been the teacher of Flavia Durand, Teresa -del Po, and Artemisia Gentileschi; Lanfranco brought to light the -talent of Caterina Ginnassi; Guido Reni gave instruction to Madalena -Natali, and formed the genius of Elisabetta Sirani, the pride of -the Bolognese school. Albano, however, was an exception, and, with -the churlish Guercino, who despised every thing like female talent, -had no pupils of the fair sex. A sister of one of his pupils, -nevertheless--Flaminia Triva, of Reggio--became a painter much esteemed -by the connoisseurs of her time. - -Of these artists, only the three most distinguished need be noticed -here. Caterina Ginnassi, of noble family and the niece of a cardinal, -was born in Rome, 1590. She was well instructed from early youth in -all feminine employments, useful as well as brilliant. She often said, -afterward, “The needle and distaff are sad enemies to the brush and the -pencil.” Her first master was Clelio, and after his death she threw -herself into the bold and brilliant manner of Lanfranco. She produced -the great paintings that adorned the church founded by her uncle, of -St. Lucia, in Rome. Becoming the inheritor of the cardinal’s large -possessions, she founded, according to his directions, a cloister, with -a seminary attached for students from Romagna; as abbess of which, she -continued to practice her favorite art, dying in 1680, in the enjoyment -of the fame and popularity her industry and piety had deservedly won. - - - ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI. - -The life of Artemisia Gentileschi was more in the world and more -brilliant. She was the daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi, was -married to Pier Antonio Schiattesi, and lived long in Naples. Receiving -her earliest lessons from Guido Reni, at a later period she studied -the works of Domenichino, one of the best masters of expression in -the Bolognese school. Her great reputation was acquired by numerous -portraits, and her skill in this species of painting obtained for -her the honor of a call to the English court, whither her father -accompanied her. There the art-appreciating monarch Charles I. gave her -abundant employment. She was esteemed not inferior to her father in -historical pieces. King Charles placed several of her works among his -treasures. “David with Goliath’s head” was considered her best. Some of -the royal family sat to her for their portraits, as did several of the -nobility. A female figure, representing Fame, of great merit, was in -the royal collection. Her own portrait is in Hampton Court, painted in -the powerful and vivid style of Michael Angelo. Wägen says she excelled -her father in portraits. - -Having reaped a rich, reward for her labors in England, she returned to -Naples, where she seems to have established herself in much splendor. -She died in 1642, at the age of fifty-two. Several letters addressed -to the Cavalier del Pozzo were found among her papers. In one, dated -1637, she inquires coolly after her husband. “Sia servita darmi nuova -della vita o morte di mio marito.” Some of her letters contain orders -for gloves; now her request to the Pope was permission for a priestly -friend to bear arms; now she appealed to the Cardinal Barberini, -then, all powerful in Rome, for assistance in disposing of some large -picture, to furnish means to provide for the wedding of a daughter with -suitable magnificence; after the granting of which favor, she would -add, in the Italian fashion, that, “free from this burden,” she would -return contented to her home. A fine specimen of her skill in painting -is a picture of “Judith,” in the Palazzo Pitti, which shows, in its -ground-work, the principles of the school of Bologna; while its finish, -on the other hand, exhibits the startling effects of the Neapolitan -school. Lanzi says, “It is a picture of strong coloring, of a tone and -intensity that inspires awe.” Mrs. Jameson remarks, “This dreadful -picture is a proof of her genius, and, let me add, of its atrocious -misdirection.” But the artist should not be censured for her treatment -of a subject which may not have been her own choice. “Susannah and -the Elders” pleases by the scene and the drapery of the figures. The -“Birth of John the Baptist,” in the Museum of Madrid, painted by this -lady as a family piece, displays the same combination, but has more of -the freedom of nature, and a certain boldness that betokens familiar -acquaintance with life and the best models. - - - ELISABETTA SIRANI. - -A place among the most gifted and the most illustrious women who, in -any country or in any age, have devoted themselves to the fine arts, -must be accorded to Elisabetta Sirani. She has been pronounced a -complete artist; unrivaled by any of her sex in fertility of invention, -in the power of combining parts in a noble whole, in knowledge of -drawing and foreshortening, and in the minute details that contribute -to the perfection of a painting. Had she lived longer, she would have -equaled any painter of her time. - -She was born in Bologna, about 1640, and was the daughter of a painter -of no inconsiderable merit. She was enrolled among the pupils of Guido -Reni, and her artistic character was formed after the model of this -most gifted and most versatile master of the Bolognese school. She -imbibed from him an exquisite sense of the beautiful, and a peculiar -gift of reproducing it. To this she added a vigor and energy rare in -a woman. She made herself acquainted early with the works of the most -distinguished painters, and manifested so much talent in youth, that -she became the admiration of her acquaintances, particularly as she -excelled also in music; while, to the gift of genius, she added that -of rare personal loveliness. Lanzi speaks of her with enthusiastic -admiration. It is not often that an artist of celebrity so generally -wins the affections of those who know her. This popularity perhaps -added to her renown; or the tragical fate of the blooming girl may -have contributed to invest her name with a halo of romantic glory. -Malvasia, who tells us she was persuaded by her father to adopt the -profession of a painter, calls her “the heroine among artists”--and -himself “the trumpeter of her fame.” Another eulogist, in the glowing -style of Picinardi, praises her unwearied industry, her moderation in -eating, and simplicity in dress; and the exquisite modesty with which -she was always ready for household employments. She would rise at dawn -to perform those lowly domestic tasks for which her occupations during -the day left her little leisure, and never permitted her passion for -art to interfere with the fulfillment of homely duties. Thus she was -admirable in the circle of daily life, as in her loftiest aspirations. -She obtained time in this manner for her exercises in poetry and music. -All praised her gracious and cheerful spirit, her prompt judgment, and -deep feeling for the art she loved. Besides being a painter, she was an -adept in sculpture and engraving on copper, thus meriting the praise -lavished on her as “a miracle of art.” - -Her devoted filial affection, her feminine grace, and the artless -benignity of her manners, completed a character regarded by her friends -as an ideal of perfection. Malvasia mentions the rapidity with which -she worked, often throwing off sketches and executing oil pictures -in the presence of strange spectators. The envious artists of her -time took occasion, from the number of her paintings, to insinuate -that her father gave out his own works for his daughter’s to obtain -a higher price for them; but the stupid calumny soon fell to the -ground, for every one had free access to the studio of Elisabetta, and -one day, in the presence of the Duchess of Brunswick, the Duchess of -Mirandola, Cosimo, Duke of Tuscany, and others, she drew and shaded -subjects chosen by each with such promptitude that the incredulous -were confounded. She had hardly received the commission of her large -picture--“The Baptism of Jesus”--before she had sketched on the canvas -the entire conception of that memorable incident, including many and -various figures; and the work was completed with equal rapidity. She -was then only twenty years of age. - -Her method has been compared to that of Guido Reni, whose versatility -she combined with rare force and decision, and peculiar delicacy -and tenderness; the most opposite qualities being harmonized in her -productions. - -This fascinating artist, in the height of her fame, in the flush -of early womanhood, was snatched from her friends by a cruel and -mysterious doom. Her fate is involved in a darkness which has not been -penetrated to this day. Some do not hesitate to aver that her sudden -death was a base and cruel murder; that she was poisoned by the same -hands that administered the deadly draught to Domenichino--those of -Ribiera or his disciples, jealous of her rising fame. The general -impression is that she was the victim of professional envy. Some -averred that her death was caused by the revenge of a princely lover, -whose dishonorable advances were repelled, or some great personage -who was incensed at her refusal to engage in his service, or of a -distinguished individual who felt aggrieved by a caricature, and -secretly employed a servant to put poison in her food. Each story was -believed among her contemporaries, and the record of the examination -is yet extant; but it was conducted without regularity, and throws no -light upon the mysterious assassination. - -Great was the excitement on the 14th November, 1665, in Bologna, on the -day of her funeral, when the whole population crowded, weeping, to see -the once beautiful features distorted by the hateful poison. The victim -of revenge or jealousy was honored with solemn and splendid funeral -ceremonies in the church of St. Domenico. - -Shortly after her death a work was published, in which was included a -number of poetical eulogies and tributes, from the most eminent poets -of the day, to the memory and virtues of the deceased. One line runs -thus: - - “I was a woman, yet I knew not love.” - -Picinardi adds the information that the pure calm of her soul was -never disturbed by the grand passion. On the other hand, Gualandi -intimates that the highly gifted maiden cherished for a young artist -of her acquaintance an ardent affection, but that her father would not -consent to the marriage. The romantic may please themselves with the -supposition that the seed of genius sown in the nature of this richly -endowed girl was quickened in the glow of an unhappy passion into the -gorgeous bloom that attracted the eye of the world. - -Elisabetta lies at rest in the chapel of the Madonna del Rosario in -the church of St. Domenico, which also incloses the dust of her great -master, Guido Reni. The works enumerated as hers by Malvasia, from -her own register, were one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits, -some of them large and carefully finished. Her first public work -was executed in 1655. Her composition was elegant and tasteful; her -designing correct and firm; and the freshness and suavity of her -color, especially in demi-tints, reminded one of Guido. The air of her -heads was graceful and noble, and she was peculiarly successful in the -expressive character of her Madonnas and Magdalens. Among her finest -pictures are mentioned a Francesco di Padoua kneeling before the infant -Christ, a Virgin and St. Anna contemplating the sleeping Saviour, -and others, preserved in several palaces in Bologna. Her portrait of -herself was taken in the act of painting her father. Another portrait -of her is in the person of a saint looking up to heaven. Among her -paintings on copper, which are exquisitely delicate, is a Lot with his -children, now in the possession of a family in Bologna. She produced -etchings of the Beheading of John the Baptist, the Death of Lucretia, -and several master-pieces; all distinguished by delicacy of touch and -by ease and spirit in the execution. Her painting, “Amor Divino,” -represents a lovely child, nude, seated on a red cloth, holding in its -left hand a laurel crown and sceptre, while with the right it points -to a quiver and some books lying at its feet. Bolognini says: “It -is impossible to conceive any thing more beautiful in form or more -exquisite in finish than this lovely child.” - -Like Guido’s, the influence of Elisabetta Sirani on the progress of -art in Bologna was exhibited in the number of scholars who sought -instruction from her, or studied her paintings to ground themselves in -her system. So illustrious an example as she presented must naturally -have contributed greatly to the encouragement and development of female -talent, and many were the women whom her success, in a greater or less -degree, stimulated to exertion. One of Elisabetta Sirani’s pupils -was Ginevra Cantofoli of Bologna. She painted history pieces with -some reputation. In a church of Bologna is a picture by her--The Last -Supper. Her best was San Tommaso di Villanuovo. - -Sirani’s sisters, Anna Maria and Barbara, are also mentioned among -her scholars, with Lucrezia Scarafaglia, Maria Teresa Coriolani, and -Veronica Fontana, who carved excellently well in wood, and executed -portraits in this manner which were highly praised. Many other names of -women are recorded who derived their impressions of art, directly or -indirectly, from Sirani. - -Teresa Muratori was the daughter of an eminent physician, and born at -Bologna in 1662. At an early age she showed a genius for painting and -music. She was instructed in designing by Emilio Taruffi, and afterward -took lessons from Lorenzo Parmello and Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole. She -painted historical pieces, and several religious ones for churches in -Bologna. She died at the age of forty-six. - -Orlandi speaks highly of Maria Helena Panzacchi. She was born at -Bologna in 1668, was taught designing by Taruffi, and became a -reputable painter of landscapes, which she embellished with figures. -Her works were correct in design, and the disposition was marked by -elegance and taste. Several of them are in private collections at -Bologna. - -Bologna boasted also of Ersilia Creti, a pupil of her father Donato, -and of Maria Viani, of whose workmanship a reclining Venus, in the -Dresden gallery, exquisitely done, remains to her praise. - -Among others of the school of Bologna, we may mention Maria Dolce, the -daughter and pupil of Carlo Dolce, so noted and so admired for the -calm dignity of his productions. She copied several of her father’s -pictures. The name of another painter, Agnes Dolce, may be added; -but we must pass over a host, observing only that the Bolognese was -throughout the seventeenth century the richest in female talent of all -the schools of Italy. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - School of the Academicians after Caravaggio.--Unidealized - Nature.--Rude and violent Passions delineated.--Dark and stormy - Side of Humanity.--Dark Coloring and Shadows.--The gloomy and - passionate expressed in Pictures appeared in the Lives of - Artists.--The Dagger and Poison-cup common.--Aniella di Rosa.--The - Pupil of Stanzioni.--Character of her Painting.--Romantic Love - and Marriage.--The happy Home destroyed.--The hearth-stone - Serpent.--Jealousy.--The pretended Proof.--Phrensy and Murder.--Other - fair Neapolitans.--The Paintress of Messina.--The Schools of Bologna - and Naples embrace the most prominent Italian Paintings.--Commencement - of Crayon-drawing.--Tuscan Ladies of Rank cultivating Art.--The - Rosalba of the Florentine School.--Art in the City of the Cæsars.--The - Roman Flower-painter.--Engravers.--Medallion-cutters.--A female - Architect.--A Roman Sculptress.--Women Artists of the Venetian - School.--At Pavia.--The Painter’s four Daughters.--Chiara - Varotari.--Shares her Brother’s Labors.--A skillful Nurse.--Her - Pupils.--Other female Artists of this time.--The Schools of Northern - Italy.--Their Paintresses.--Giovanna Fratellini. - - -In contrast to the school established as before mentioned, certain -academicians had set up one grounded on principles promulgated by -Michael Angelo da Caravaggio, wherein the old idealism and conventional -forms of beauty were neglected, and the models furnished by the works -of the early masters were entirely slighted, to make room for a simple -copying of nature, whether beautiful or repulsive, full of grace or -rugged and barren of all charms. This new school had been planted in -Naples by Caravaggio; and beneath that glowing sky arose a number -of masters who devoted themselves not only to the reproduction of -unidealized nature, but the delineation of human passions in their -sternest and most violent demonstrations; preferring, in fact, to -depict the darkest and stormiest side of humanity. For this purpose, -depth of coloring and dark shadows were employed. These masters were -not wanting in talent, nor were their creations without effect and -influence; but they had nothing of the pure and holy element which -seems like a genuine inspiration in art. The gloomy and passionate, -expressed in their pictures, too often appeared also in their -characters and actions. - -The relations of these Neapolitan artists with those of the Bolognese -school were by no means friendly, and rivals settled their disputes -as frequently with the dagger and the poison-cup as with the pencil -and the palette. Such a state of things was hardly favorable to the -development of woman’s talent. - - - ANIELLA DI ROSA. - -Yet we find one artist of surpassing merit, who, on account of her -genius and her tragical fate, was called the Sirani of the school of -Naples. This was Aniella di Rosa, niece of the painter Pacecco di Rosa, -and pupil of that Massimo Stanzioni who, in common with Caravaggio, -exercised a species of tyranny over the struggles of Neapolitan art, -and was one of the leaders of the opposition set up against the -artists from Bologna. Aniella painted in his atelier, and he directed -her studies with paternal solicitude. She succeeded in giving to her -pictures the grace, the soft and transparent coloring of Pacecco, and -united in her heads the elegance of her uncle’s style with the correct -drawing and able grouping of Stanzioni. Her master set her to color his -sketches, and she succeeded so well that he often sold their joint -productions as his own. When her education was sufficiently advanced, -she desired that her talents should be put to a public test; and her -master induced the governors of the church of the Pietà dei Turchini to -give her a commission for two paintings which were to adorn the ceiling. - -Aniella produced two paintings so excellent that many declared they -were completed by Stanzioni. But Domenici says he has seen several of -her original pictures, and that they are “most beautiful productions.” -“Her master himself,” he continues, “avows in his writings that she -equals the best masters of our time.” One of the pictures represented -the Birth of the Virgin; the other, her Death. The figures are larger -than life; and the boldness of design, the effects of light and shade, -and the management of the drapery, drew praise from two eminent -artists, who said she was an honor to her country, and that many -artists might learn from her. She also did several heads of the Madonna -in red chalk, pronounced equal in drawing to the works of the most -renowned artists. - -During the earliest days when Aniella frequented Stanzioni’s studio, -she became acquainted with Agostino Beltramo, a high-spirited -Neapolitan youth. He soon became enamored of the beautiful girl, and -his frank manners and noble bearing, with the promise his early efforts -gave of his becoming a good artist, were a passport to her heart. -His love was accepted, and they were betrothed. Stanzioni exerted -himself in their behalf, and through his good offices the consent of -the parents for the marriage of the young people was obtained. A rare -similarity of tastes, and their mutual labors in art, caused all to -admire and many to envy the happiness of their union. The serenity of -Aniella’s disposition tended to insure the peace of their daily life; -and during sixteen years which they passed together both acquired no -insignificant artistic fame. The husband excelled in frescoes; the lady -in oil-paintings. The superb painting of San Biagio, in the church of -the Sanità, in Naples, is the result of their mutual labors. - -But the cloud was brooding over the happy home which was to burst in -a fatal storm. An evil-minded woman, young and beautiful, entered the -house of Aniella as a servant. She was in love with Agostino; and, -finding all her charms and artifices ineffectual to move him from his -fidelity to his noble wife, or even to win his attention, she set -herself to work to accomplish the ruin of this domestic happiness. - -She contrived to insinuate herself into the confidence of the man she -could not tempt; and then, drop by drop, with the perfidy and subtle -cunning of Iago, she succeeded in instilling into his heart the poison -of jealousy. By degrees she undermined his faith in the spotless virtue -of Aniella. - -The husband grew morose and irritable, and at times manifested the -change that had come over him by sudden outbursts of ill-humor. Vainly -Aniella strove by unremitting patience and redoubled affection to -soothe his wayward moods. She soon perceived that all her happiness -must be derived from her art, and from the approbation of her old -master, who frequently visited her. She painted in her best manner a -Holy Family, and presented it to him. “On seeing,” writes Domenici, -“with what mastery of drawing and perfection of coloring Aniella had -completed the painting, and because she had so toiled for him, he was -overcome with feeling, and, in a transport of affection, clasped her -in his arms, exclaiming that she was his best pupil, and that, had he -been asked to retouch the painting, he should not know where to begin, -for fear of destroying the beautiful coloring.” - -The infamous servant was playing the spy throughout this scene, and -had called up a servant-lad to support her testimony. On Stanzioni’s -departure Agostino returned. - -“Now,” cried this hearth-stone serpent, “now I have proofs to set all -doubts at rest--proofs I will furnish you with in the presence of -your wife.” Confronted with her mistress, the vile hireling charged -her with guilty embraces, and called the servant-lad to confirm the -charge. Aniella, astounded and indignant, disdained to defend herself, -but stood before her husband mute and motionless, while a flush of pain -and indignation mantled on her brow. Her silence confirmed Agostino’s -suspicions; in his phrensy he drew his sword, and the next moment -Aniella lay dead at his feet. Thus closed the career of this noble -artist, in 1649, in the thirty-sixth year of her age. She was not the -only victim to the taste for the horrible and for wild extremes of -passion then prevailing in the works of artists, and too common in -their personal experience. - -Another fair Neapolitan, who also worked in Rome at portrait-painting, -was Angela Beinaschi. The nun, Luisa Copomazza, a landscape-painter and -poetess, and the flower-painter, Clena Ricchi, were of Naples; with the -painter and modeler in wax, Catarina Juliani, called the “_ornamento -della patria_.” - -Teresa del Po--daughter of a painter, the disciple of Domenichino, -and distinguished for oil and miniature painting, and copper -engraving--came from a family of Palermo. She etched plates in her -father’s style; some after Caracci. - -Messina boasted of Anna Maria Ardoino, the daughter of the Princess -de Polizzi, accomplished in every branch, including music and poetry, -who won great celebrity on account of her splendid attainments in art -and literature, and was admitted a member of the Academy of Arcadia in -Rome. She died in 1700, at Naples, in the bloom of her life and fame, -and it is said her death was occasioned by grief for the loss of a son. - -The two schools of Bologna and Naples may be said to embrace the -greater number of the prominent productions of the pencil in Italy -during the period of which we have spoken. Other cities enjoyed their -peculiar distinctions as the seats of different schools of art, but -they exhibited more or less the influence of these chief ones. In -Florence--the ancient home of Italian painting--artists of distinction -exercised their skill; and the superior cultivation and taste diffused -under the auspices of distinguished Tuscan ladies, contributed, in no -small measure, to the encouragement of female enterprise. While Maria -Borghini--elevated, by the judgment of her contemporaries, to a seat -beside Victoria Colonna, and Mary dei Medici, who not only patronized -art, but gave it her own personal efforts--won the meed of admiration, -others were not backward in the race for the golden apple of renown. - -Arcangela Paladini, of Pisa, born 1599, already mentioned as a painter, -was also an engraver. Her portrait, by herself, is in the gallery -of artists in Florence. She died at the age of twenty-three. As -flower-painters, we hear of Anna Maria Vajani and Isabella Piccini; -Giovanna Redi was a successful pupil of the skillful Gabbiani; and -Giovanna Marmochini was no less favorably known in art than as a wit -and a learned lady. She has been called, for the excellence of her -miniatures, the Rosalba of the Florentine school. Niccola Grassi, of -Genoa, is also called by Lanzi “the rival of Rosalba.” She painted -original compositions and church pictures. - -Rome, meanwhile, maintained her ancient fame. The city of the Cæsars -had often been the arena where the striving masters of the Bolognese -and the opposing schools contended for the establishment of the -supremacy they coveted. Nor was she wanting in women artists of -her own, able to do credit to their birthplace. We may mention the -excellent flower-painter, Laura Bernasconi, and the engravers, Isabella -and Hieronima Parasole, whose name became so celebrated that the -husband of the first adopted it, dropping his own. Isabella executed -several cuts of plants for an herbal published under the direction of -Prince Cesi, of Aquasparta. She also published a book on the methods of -working lace and embroidery, illustrated with cuts engraved from her -own designs. Hieronima engraved on wood, among other pictures, “The -Battle of the Centaurs.” - -Beatrice Hamerani worked at medallions, and in 1700 elaborated a -large medallion of Pope Innocent XII., highly praised by Goethe as -“undoubtedly one of the most skillful, expressive, and powerful -productions of art which ever came from the hands of a woman.” - -Add to these the name of the only woman who was ever known to have -been a practical architect. This was Plautilla Brizio, who has left -monuments of her excellence in that species of art in a small palace -before Porta San Pancrazio, and in the chapel of St. Benedict, in San -Luigi dei Francesi. In the latter is a picture painted by her hand. -The villa Giraldi, near Rome, is the joint work of this lady and her -brother. - -The female sculptor Maria Domenici, who pursued her profession in Rome, -was a native of Naples. - -Passing over many of the Italian cities, and attempting no sketch of -the peculiarities of the school of Venice, we find there several not -insignificant women artists. Paolina Grandi, Elisabetta Lazzarini, and -Damina Damini were known as painters, and Domenia Luisa Rialto as an -engraver on copper. The sisters Carlotta and Gabriella Patin enjoyed -celebrity for both learning and artistic skill. They lived at Pavia, -and were members of the Academy dei Ricovrati. - -The four daughters of the Venetian painter Niccolo Renieri, who -practiced the same art, should be mentioned. Anna, the eldest, became -the wife of Antoine Vandyck. - -Chiara Varotari was so highly esteemed by those who knew her, that a -niche was assigned her by contemporaries equal to that of Maria Robusti -in the sixteenth century. She was daughter and pupil of Dario Varotari, -and the sister of that Alessandro Varotari who became so noted as a -painter, under the name Padovanino. Chiara frequently shared in the -execution of his works. She was not less praised for her beauty, -and her skill as a tender nurse of the sick. Her triumphs over the -discomfort of disease were signal, in that field where female prowess -so often achieves its deeds of heroism. Such conquests are seldom -recorded by the historian’s pen; but it is pleasant for once to rescue -them from oblivion. Honors were conferred on her by the Grand-Duke -of Tuscany, who placed her portrait in his collection. This artist -numbered among her pupils Lucia Scaligeri and Caterina Taraboti. -Boschini thinks she gave public instruction, like Sirani. She died, -full of years, in 1660, ten years after the brother whose labors she -had aided. - -Anna Maria Vajani, who engraved in Rome in the middle of this century, -executed a part of the plates for the Justinian Gallery. - -Laura Bernasconi imitated the famous flower-painter Mario Mizzi, called -“Mario dai fiori.” With his coloring she had also his defects. - -Maria Vittoria Cassana was the sister of two painters, and painted -chiefly devotional pieces, in little. She died 1711. Lucia Casalina, a -disciple of Giuseppe dal Sole, turned her attention to portraits. - -Angelica Veronica Airola, a Genoese, studied painting under Domenico -Fiasella. She painted religious pictures for the convents and churches -of Genoa, and became a nun of the order of St. Bartholomew della -Fiavella. Soprani and others mention her. - -Giovanna Garzoni painted flowers and miniature portraits about 1630. At -Florence she painted some of the Medici and the nobles. Dying at Rome -in 1673, she bequeathed her property to the academy of St. Luke, in -which there is a marble monument to her memory. - -Two daughters of Caccia--called “the Fontane of Monferrato”--painted -altar and cabinet pieces. One, Francesca, adopted for her symbol -a small bird; Ursula, a flower. Ursula founded the convent of the -Ursulines, in Moncalvo. Some of her landscapes are decorated with -flowers. - -Lanzi and Tiraboschi mention Margerita Gabassi as admirable in -humorous pieces. She died in 1734, aged seventy-one. - -In the Nuova Guida di Torino, Isabella dal Pozzo is mentioned as the -painter of a picture in the church of San Francesco, at Turin, dated -1666, and representing the Virgin and Babe surrounded with saints. -Lanzi bestows high praise on her. In 1676 she became court painter to -the Electress Adelaide of Bavaria. - -The schools of Northern Italy recorded the names, too, of Chiara -Salmeggia, the painter of Bergamo, and of Maria la Caffa, of Cremona, -who worked at the Court of Tyrol; of Camilla Triumfi; and Maria -Domenici, a native of Naples, who worked at sculpture in Rome, and died -a nun in 1703. - -Lucia Scaligeri, a pupil of Chiara Varotari, had a daughter Agnes, -also a painter, spoken of by Boschini. Caterina Rusca was a native of -Ferrara, and known as an engraver and poetess. - -Crayon-drawing seems to have been much in vogue at this time. Giovanna -Fratellini, called by Lanzi “an illustrious female artist, from the -school of Gabbiani,” painted in crayons as well as in oil, miniature -and enamel. So famous did she become that, after executing the -portraits of Cosmo III. and family--a drawing consisting of fourteen -figures in a superb apartment, of the richest architecture, remarkable -for its judicious disposition and lovely coloring--her patron sent her -throughout Italy to paint the other princes. “Her pencil is light, -delicate, and free,” writes Pilkington; “her carnations are natural, -and full of warmth and life, and as she understood perspective and -architecture thoroughly, she made an elegant use of that knowledge, -enriching her pictures with magnificent ornaments. Her draperies are -generally well chosen, full of variety, and remarkable for a noble -simplicity. Her works rendered her famous, not only in Italy, but -in Europe.” Her portrait is in the gallery at Florence; she painted -herself in the act of drawing her son and pupil, Lorenzo, in whom were -centred all her hopes. Under her tuition he made rapid progress in art, -but died suddenly, at an early age. His mother never recovered from -the blow; life and art had alike lost their charms for her, and she -speedily followed him to the grave. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Contrast between the Academicians and Naturalists, and between - the French and Spanish Schools of Painting.--Peculiarities of - each.--Ladies of Rank in Madrid Pupils of Velasquez.--Instruction - of the royal Children in Art.--The Engraver of Madrid.--Every - City in the South of Spain boasts a female Artist.--Isabella - Coello.--Others in Granada.--In Cordova.--The Sculptress of - Seville.--Luisa Roldan; her Carvings in Wood.--The Canons - “sold.”--Invitation to Madrid.--Sculptress to the King.--Other Women - Artists in Spain.--In France Woman’s Position more prominent than - in preceding Age.--Corruption of court Manners.--Unworthy Women in - Power.--Women in every Department of Literature.--Mademoiselle de - Scudery.--Madame de la Fayette.--Madame Dacier.--Women in theological - Pursuits.--Their Ascendency in Art not so great.--Miniature and - Flower Painters.--Engravers.--Elizabeth Sophie Chéron.--A Leader - in Enamel-painting.--Her Portraits and History-pieces.--Her - Merits and Success.--Her Translations of the Psalms.--Musical and - Poetical Talents.--Honors lavished on her.--Love and Marriage - at three-score.--Her Generosity to the needy.--Verses in her - Praise.--Historical Tableaux.--Madelaine Masson.--The Marchioness de - Pompadour. - - -Striking contrasts belong to the history of art in the seventeenth -century. A moral, religious, and artistic contrast existed between -the academicians and the naturalists; and one as remarkable may -be noticed between the French and Spanish schools of painting, -corresponding, in fact, to the civil struggle between the two nations -for European supremacy. In Spain the enthusiasm for art harmonized -with the passionate character of the people; in France, discretion and -intellectual taste predominated. The sensuous and rudely natural in -Spanish art was combined with the warmest glow of religious feeling. - -Velasquez, a son of Andalusia, had a number of scholars in Madrid among -ladies of high rank. Donna Maria de Abarca and the Countess of Vill’ -Ambrosa were celebrated for their skill in taking likenesses, and were -highly praised by the poets. The Duchess of Bejar, Teresa Sarmiento, -and Maria de Guadalupe, Duchess of Aveiro--also an accomplished -linguist and lover of letters--had considerable celebrity as painters. -The admiration of Philip IV. for art rendered the instruction therein -of the royal children and those of the nobility a necessary branch -of education. The Duchess of Alba, celebrated for her beauty and -intrigues, gave one of Raphael’s master-pieces as a fee to the family -physician, who had cured her of a dangerous illness. - -Maria Eugenia de Beer was an engraver in Madrid, and we may find in -the choir-books of the cathedral at Tarragona creditable specimens of -the talent of the painter Angelica, who painted the illuminations with -great neatness and skill. - -Every city in the south of Spain seemed to be able to boast of a female -artist. In Valencia lived Doña Isabella Sanchez Coello, the daughter -and pupil of “the Spanish Prothogenes”--Alonzo Sanchez Coello--the -first of the great Spanish portrait painters, and the Velasquez of the -court of Philip II. Born in 1564, she was the playmate of Infants and -Infantas, and she acquired distinction both in music and painting. She -married Don Francisco de Herrera, Knight of Santiago. Dying in Madrid -in 1612, she was buried with her husband’s family in the church of San -Juan. - -Magdalena Gilarte was a noted painter, and worked in her father’s -style with spirit and skill. Jesualda Sanchez carried on her husband’s -business after his death, and painted small pictures of the saints for -sale. - -In Granada we find Doña Maria Cueva Benavides y Barrados an admired -painter, and Anna Heylan an engraver in copper. In Cordova, Doña -Francisca Palomino y Velasco, the sister of the painter and art -historian of the same name. She flourished about the close of the -century. - - - THE SCULPTRESS OF SEVILLE. - -To the school of Seville, in which Spanish art reached its highest -development, belongs a fair artist of repute. Luisa Roldan was known -as an excellent sculptor in wood. She was born in 1656, and profited -by her father’s instructions in art, acquiring great skill. After her -mother’s death, she kept both her household and the studio in orderly -operation, attending with successful management to the affairs of both, -and keeping busy at work both her servants and her father’s pupils. - -Roldan was indebted to her for valuable hints. He had carved a statue -of St. Ferdinand for the Cathedral, which the canons rejected. Luisa -suggested certain anatomical operations with the saw, which were -perfectly successful. The canons took the work for a new one, and were -satisfied; and the saint was peacefully installed in his chapel. Her -chief productions were small figures of the Virgin, or groups of the -Adoration of the shepherds, etc., and all were designed and executed -with delicacy and grace. She sculptured a Magdalen supported by an -angel, the statue giving an exquisite idea of an angel’s sweetness and -protecting love. It is placed in the hospital at Cadiz. Her small -pieces are full of expression. - -She married Don Luis de los Arcos, and was invited to Madrid in 1692, -through Don Cristobal Ontañon, who had presented several of her works -to Charles II. The king was pleased, and ordered a statue of St. -Michael, life size, for the church of the Escurial. This Luisa executed -with great success, and to the admiration of the connoisseurs. The work -elicited complimentary verses from a distinguished poet, and the artist -was rewarded by the post of sculptress in ordinary to the king, with a -salary of a hundred ducats, paid from the day she arrived at court. - -When Charles II. died she had just completed a statue of our Saviour -which he had ordered for a convent; its destination was then changed to -a nunnery at Sisanto. She died at Madrid in 1704, leaving in the palace -treasure a small group, modeled in clay, representing St. Anna teaching -the Virgin to read, and attended by angels. Some of her works were -placed in the Recolete Convent, and some in the Chartreuse of Paulan. - -Doña Isabella Carasquilla was a painter, and married a miniaturist, -Juan de Valdes Leal of Cordova. Their daughters Luisa and Maria were -highly educated, and painted miniatures. The latter died in 1730, a nun -in the Sistercian Convent at Seville. - -Rosalba Salvioni, a painter of celebrity, was the pupil of Mesquida. -Doña Inez Zarcillo evinced no small taste in drawing and modeling. She -was the sister of a sculptor. - -Maria de Loreto Prieto, an artist’s daughter, possessed extraordinary -talent for painting and engraving. Her father was highly esteemed by -Charles III., and had the oversight of all the coins for the purpose -of improving the stamps. - -Caterina Querubini, the wife of Preciado, a miniature-painter, enjoyed -a pension from the Spanish court, and an honored place in the Academy -de San Fernando. - -Doña Isabella Farnese, the wife of Philip V., and Angela Perez -Caballero, drew exceedingly well, and were members of the Academy in -Madrid. - - - WOMEN ARTISTS IN FRANCE. - -In France women had taken a position more prominent than in the -preceding century. Even the gallantry prevailing in society, and the -corruption of court manners, were promoted by feminine influence. -Unworthy women were raised to power, and the history of court favorites -from the reign of the knightly Henry IV. to that of the great monarch -Louis XIV. forms the most important part of the annals of the empire. - -Women took eminent places in every department of literature; in the -drama Catherine Bernard was the disciple of Racine, and Mademoiselle de -Scudery had many imitators in her poetical romances; while Madame de la -Fayette took the lead in a more modern style of fiction. Madame Dacier -became celebrated as “the most learned and eloquent of women,” and her -example helped to spread a love of knowledge and classical attainment -among the French ladies. Even theological pursuits had a Jeanne de la -Mothe-Guyon to represent mysticism in conflict with the orthodoxy of -the court and the state. - -In art the ascendency of woman was by no means so great. We may, -however, name, as prominent in portrait and miniature painting, -Antoinette and Madelaine Herault; the latter, in 1660, married Noel -Coypel. She joined noble virtues to her extraordinary talents. -Henriette Stresor and Catherine Perrot may also be mentioned. Catherine -Duchemin, a flower-painter, married the famous sculptor Girardon. - -Several women were noted as engravers on copper; among them Claudine -Bonzonnet Stella has been called the first in France, and practiced the -art with her two sisters. Jane Frances and Mary Ann Ozanne, the sisters -of a French engraver, worked chiefly in engraving sea-side scenes. - - - ELIZABETH SOPHIE CHÉRON. - -But she who occupies the highest place among all the artists of this -period is Elizabeth Sophie Chéron. Born in Paris in 1648, she received -instruction from her father in miniature and enamel painting, in which -she attained such perfection that she may be regarded as the leader -of the host of French artists who devoted themselves especially to -this branch. At the age of twenty-six she was admitted a member of the -Academy, at the proposal of Charles Le Brun. She was received with -distinction; his portrait by her being her reception picture. - -Her merits were a fine tone, exquisite taste and harmony in design, -and finely-disposed draperies. She often made portraits from memory. -Her portraits were so frequently treated in an allegorical manner they -might be called historical; and her history-pieces were much admired. -She designed much after the antique. - -Her father had educated Elizabeth in the strictest principles of -Calvinism; but her mother, Marie Lefevre, a Catholic, persuaded her -to become a member of that church, after a year’s seclusion in the -community of Madame de Miramion. The difference in faith did not impair -her affection to her family. She supported her brother Louis for some -time in Italy, whither he went to study painting. - -This accomplished artist passed the maturity of life without any of the -experiences, with which almost every young girl is familiar, of the -tender passion. Her emotions seem to have been altogether spiritual. -She translated many of the Psalms into French verse; and they were -published with illustrations by Louis. She played admirably on the -lute, and was accustomed to practice in the parlor with her nieces and -pupils, who performed on different instruments. Louis XIV. gave her a -pension of five hundred livres. - -The most eminent scholars of the day were her friends and visitors; -and in conversation she evinced the highest mental cultivation. Her -portraits were chiefly painted as presents to her friends, or as -ornaments to her own cabinet. “I have the pleasure,” she would say, “of -seeing them in their absence.” - -In spiritual lyrics she was the precursor of J. B. Rousseau, with whom -in warmth of feeling she may be compared; and in narrative poetry she -acquired much reputation. The Academy dei Ricovrati, in Padua, received -her as a member in 1699, under the name of Erato. She possessed beauty -and engaging manners, and to all the honors lavished on her she joined -the crowning grace of modesty. - -The attractions of this gifted being did not depart with the beauty of -fleeting youth. At the age of sixty she fascinated the affections of -the Sieur Le Hay, a gentleman about her own age, on whom she bestowed -her hand, simply with the generous motive, it was said, of promoting -his good fortune. Tradition reports that, when they came out of the -church after the ceremony had been performed, the bride made a speech -to her husband, implying that esteem, not romantic love, had influenced -her choice. She is said to have alluded to him, under the name of -Damon, in one of her poems. - -As of Madame Dacier, it might be said of this artist--the traits of a -great and manly nature might be discerned in her face. Her features -wore an expression of decision and firmness. Her hair, in her portrait, -curls from the top and floats in ringlets. She was remarkable for -the modesty and simplicity of her dress. Her large and sympathizing -heart made her the protector and benefactor of needy artists, while -her social qualities drew around her the brilliant circles that -habitually were found at her house, including many of the most gifted -and illustrious of that day. Her death took place in 1711, at the age -of sixty-three, and she was buried at St. Sulpice. She was lamented -by Fermelhuis in a canto of praise. The Abbé Bosquillon wrote the -following lines to be inscribed under her portrait: - - “De deux talens exquis l’assemblage nouveau - Rendra toujours Chéron l’ornement de la France; - Rien ne peut de sa plume égaler l’excellence - Que les graces de son pinceau.” - - For different gifts renowned, fair Chéron see, - Ever of France the ornament and pride; - Equaled by none her pen’s great works shall be, - Save when her pencil triumphs at their side. - -Mademoiselle Chéron made many studies from Raphael and the Caracci. -Among her historical tableaux are enumerated, “The Flight into -Egypt”--the Virgin represented in a wearied sleep, with angels -guarding the babe; “Cassandra inquiring of a god the doom of Troy;” -“The Annunciation;” “Christ at the Sepulchre”--after Zumbo; with “The -Demoiselles de la Croix”--her nieces and pupils; and a grand portrait -of the Archbishop of Paris, placed in the Jacobin school of the Rue St. -Jacques. - -Madelaine Masson was the daughter of Anthony Masson, a celebrated -engraver, and was born in Paris, 1660. She received instruction from -her father, and engraved portraits in his fine style. Among these is -the picture of Maria Teresa, Queen of France, and of the Infanta of -Spain. - -The Marchioness de Pompadour engraved and executed small plates after -Boucher and others. She engraved one set of sixty-three prints, after -gems by Gay. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Two different Systems of Painting in the North.--The Flemish School - represented by Rubens.--The Dutch by Rembrandt.--Characteristics - of Rubens’ Style.--No female Disciples.--Unsuited to feminine - Study.--Some Women Artists of the first Part of the Century.--Features - of the Dutch School.--A wide Field for female Energy and - Industry.--Painting _de genre_.--Its Peculiarities.--State of Things - favorable to female Enterprise.--Early Efforts in Genre-painting.--Few - Women among Rembrandt’s immediate Disciples.--Genre-painting - becomes adapted to female Talent.--“The Dutch Muses.”--Another - Woman Architect.--Dutch Women Painters and Engravers.--Maria - Schalken and others.--“The second Schurmann.”--Margaretta - Godewyck.--The Painter-poet.--Anna Maria Schurmann.--Wonderful - Genius for Languages.--Early Acquirements.--Her Scholarship - and Position among the learned.--A Painter, Sculptor, and - Engraver.--Called “the Wonder of Creation.”--Royal and princely - Visitors.--Journey to Germany.--Embraces the religious Tenets of - Labadie.--His Doctrines.--Joins his Band.--Collects his Followers, - and leads them into Friesland.--Poverty and Death.--Visit of - William Penn to her.--Her Portrait.--Her female Contemporaries in - Art.--Flower-painting in the Netherlands.--Its Pioneers.--Maria Van - Oosterwyck.--Her Birth and Education.--Early Productions.--Celebrated - at foreign Courts.--Presents from imperial Friends.--Enormous - Prices for her Pictures.--Royal Purchasers.--The quiet Artist at - work.--The Lover’s Visit.--The Lover’s Trial and Failure.--Style of - her Painting.--Rachel Ruysch.--The greatest Flower-painter.--Early - Instruction.--Spread of her Fame.--Domestic Cares.--Professional - Honors.--Invitations to Courts.--Her Patron, the Elector.--Her Works - in old Age.--Her Character.--Rarity of her Paintings.--Personal - Appearance. - - -While the academicians and naturalists of the Italian schools contended -through the seventeenth century, and while in France and Spain the -works of art exhibited as great contrasts, modified in each country by -national peculiarities, two different systems in the North came into -notice. These, as in the time of Von Eyck, had great influence upon the -development of art in other lands besides that where they originated. -One was the Flemish school, represented by Rubens; the other the Dutch, -in which Rembrandt was regarded as the mighty master. - -The style of Rubens, brilliant, luxuriant, and full of vigorous life, -it may be thought would commend itself peculiarly to the attention of -women. This school, however, in which the healthy and florid naturalism -of Flemish art reached its highest development, seems to have been -without any female disciples of note. The passionate and often -intensely dramatic character of the works of Rubens and his scholars, -and the physical development of his nude figures, were, indeed, -scarcely suited to feminine study, though their fullness of life and -warmth of coloring afterward won to imitation an artist like Madame -O’Connell. We may also mention Micheline Wontiers, a portrait painter -in the first half of the seventeenth century. An engraving was made -from one of her productions by Pontius, who busied himself with the -works of Rubens. The name of Catherine Pepyn, too, is found inscribed -as a portrait painter in the St. Luke’s Society of Artists at Antwerp, -about 1655. - -In Holland, on the other hand, the new school of painting owed its -marked features to the political and religious revolution that had -been the fruit of the reformed doctrines. This change offered a wide -field for the exercise of female energy and genius. With the progress -of the new faith kept pace the rapid advance of literature; the great -questions at issue and the more earnest domestic life of the Hollanders -furnishing ample materials for thought and description. Painting came -under the same influence, and this was evident when the depth and power -of feeling in his works marked Rembrandt as one of the greatest masters -of all time. - -A novel species of the art was called painting _de genre_. Herein life -was represented in all its rich and varied forms, and the world and -real humanity became objects of attention where hitherto only idealized -representations had been tolerated. A new arena was thus opened, in -which there was promise of noble achievement, and the rudest and -meanest aspects of common life soon appeared capable of being invested -with an ideal fascination. The painter _de genre_, armed with the wand -of humor, often succeeded in such attempts, and success led to the -adoption of that wonderfully poetical chiar’ oscuro in coloring, which, -till this period, had never attained the same degree of favor either in -the North or the South. - -This state of things was eminently favorable to female enterprise, -and we find, accordingly, in a number of fair artists, evidences of -the energetic industry and careful minuteness for which the women of -Holland have been particularly noted. However, in the earliest efforts -at painting _de genre_, wherein the Flemish artists stood opposed -to the schools of Italy, women took no share. These trial specimens -usually consisted of some rough piece after nature, such as the drunken -boors and rustic women of the elder Breughel, and for a long time the -prevailing taste ran on the low, coarse, and fantastic in the models -selected. There was more to disgust than to attract cultivated women -in such a fashion, and, notwithstanding their alleged fancy to run into -extremes, this will account for the fact that they did not choose to -be numbered among those who delighted in such a copying of nature. One -we hear of, Anna Breughel, seems to have been a kinswoman of a younger -painter of that name. - -The earnestness, depth, and intensity given to this species of art by -Rembrandt seemed to lie as little within the compass of female fancy, -which rather delighted in pleasing delineations of more superficial -emotion, than in the concentration of the deepest feelings of nature. -Thus few women were found among the immediate disciples of Rembrandt. - -But as painting _de genre_ accommodated itself more pleasingly to -representations of ordinary life and circumstances, and the delicacy -of detail that formed the peculiar charm of this species of art was -lavished on attractive phases of character, the school became more and -more the nursery of female talent. - -Literature, at this period, experienced a similar change; and it is -interesting to see the same persons pursuing both branches of study. -This was the case with the two painters, Tesselschade-Visscher--called -the “Dutch Muses,” on account of their poetry--with Elizabeth Hoffmann, -and the dramatic poet, Catharina Lescaille; also with one of whom we -shall presently speak, whose fame traveled far beyond the boundaries of -her native land. - -Among the older artists of the Dutch school we may mention, in passing, -the fruit and flower painter, Angelica Agnes Pakman; Madame Steenwyk, -a designer in architecture; and the portrait-painter, Anna de Bruyn. -Anna Tessala was eminent as a skillful carver in wood. Concerning -Maria Grebber, a pupil of Savary, Van Mander remarks that she was -well skilled both in perspective and in building plans. Maria and -Gezina Terburg were sisters of Gerard, and, like him, skillful in -genre-painting. - -Gottfried Schalken, who introduced a simpler method, and surprising -effects of light, was not more celebrated than his sister and pupil, -Maria, for productions remarkable for delicacy of execution and tender -expression. Eglon van der Neer shared his fame with his wife, Adriana -Spilberg. She was born in Amsterdam, in 1646, and was taught by her -father, an eminent painter. She excelled in crayons or pastels, though -she often painted in oil. Her portraits were said to be accurate -likenesses. They were delicately colored, and executed with neatness -and care. She was much patronized at the court of Düsseldorf. - -Caspar Netscher, one of the best and most pleasing masters in this -peculiar style, had a disciple in Margaretta Wulfraat, whose historical -paintings--a Cleopatra and a Semiramis--are to be seen in Amsterdam, -and who died at a great age early in the eighteenth century. - -A still greater interest attaches to artists who also took an -active part in the elevation of Dutch literature. Anna and Maria -Tesselschade--the daughters of Visscher, already mentioned--belonged to -this class; they were also celebrated for their fine etchings on glass. -Their literary culture brought them into association with the most -eminent scholars of that day. - -With them may be ranked Margaretta Godewyck--born at Dort, in 1627, -and a pupil of Maas--who attained celebrity both in painting and in -her knowledge of the ancient and modern languages. She was called “the -second Schurmann,” and many praised her as “the lovely flower of art -and literature of the Merwestrom;” that is, of Dortrecht. She painted -landscapes and flowers, and embroidered them with great skill. She died -at fifty. - -Catharina Questier, who resided at Amsterdam, was distinguished for -painting, copper-engraving, and modeling in wax, besides having no -small consideration accorded to her poetry. Two of her comedies, that -appeared in 1655, evince her skill in at least three branches; for the -drawings and engravings that illustrated the dramas were entirely her -own design and execution. - - - ANNA MARIA SCHURMANN. - -A higher and more enduring fame than all these could command must be -accorded to Anna Maria Schurmann, called by the Dutch poets their -Sappho and their Corneille. She was born in November, 1607, in Cologne -(Descampes says, at Utrecht), of Flemish parents. Her family, like that -of Rubens, was Protestant, and her parents fled to Cologne from the -persecutions of Alba, remaining till 1615, when they removed to Utrecht. - -Even in early childhood the genius of the young girl displayed its -bent. At three years of age she began to read, and at seven could -speak Latin. Her mother tried to keep her at the needle, but she loved -to amuse herself by cutting out paper pictures; she also painted -flowers and birds--untaught. A few years later, her taste for poetry -and learning languages developed itself. Learning was her passion; -the arts her recreation. Being allowed to be present at her brothers’ -Latin lessons, she soon gained surprising proficiency in that tongue. -When she was ten years old, she translated passages from Seneca into -French and Flemish. Her love of study soon led to the acquisition of -the Greek. To the classics she added, before long, a knowledge of the -Oriental languages. She spoke and wrote the Hebrew, Samaritan, Arabic, -Chaldaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Turkish, and Persian; besides being -perfectly well acquainted with the Italian, Spanish, French, English, -and German, and speaking every European tongue with elegance. - -At the age of eleven this Flemish lassie had read the Bible, Seneca, -Virgil, Homer, and Æschylus in the original tongues; at fourteen she -composed a Latin ode to the famous Dutch poet Jacob Cats, who became -afterward an unsuccessful suitor for her hand. She wrote verses, -indeed, in many languages. The knowledge of different tongues greatly -aided her theological studies, in which she took the deepest interest -from early life. It is said that it was by reading the History of the -Martyrs she became imbued with the tendency to religious enthusiasm -that so strongly influenced her through life, and led to so strange a -career in her latter years. - -The astonishing learning of this remarkable woman and her mastery in -the languages, caused her opinions to be often consulted by the most -erudite scholars of her time. Her judgment was always received with -respect; an honorable place was reserved for her in the lecture-rooms -of the University at Utrecht; and not unfrequently she took part -openly in the learned discussions there carried on. The professors -of the University of Leyden had a tribune made, where she could hear -without mixing with the audience. With this wonderful erudition Anna -Maria combined a rare degree of cultivation in art. The genius that -had shown itself in paper-cutting still gave evidence of strong and -resolute activity. She was skilled both in drawing and painting, had -a “happy taste in sculpture,” and exercised her talents in carving in -wood and ivory, as well as in modeling in wax. She carved the busts of -her mother and brothers in wood. The painter Honthorst valued a single -portrait executed by her, at a thousand Dutch florins. In addition, she -has left evidence of her no slight accomplishments in copper-engraving; -and she engraved with the diamond on crystal. Taste in music, and skill -in playing on several instruments, fill up the list of the amazing -variety of endowments bestowed on one of the most gifted of her sex. - -We can not marvel that she was called by her contemporaries “the wonder -of creation.” Not only was she, on account of such varied gifts, -regarded with admiration, but she was idolized by her acquaintance for -personal qualities. She was in the most intimate literary association -with men of distinguished learning like Salmatius, Heinsius, -Vossius--who is said to have taught her Hebrew--and others. Princes -and princesses came to visit and converse with her, and entered into -correspondence with her. - -Gonzagues, Queen of Poland, taking a journey to Utrecht in 1645, went -to visit Anna Maria, having heard such wonderful things of her. After a -long conversation she gave her flattering tokens of her esteem. - -The Queen of Bohemia, and the Princess Louise, her daughter, often -wrote to her. With a modesty that was as rare as her singular -endowments, Anna Maria declined all proffered honors, and it was long -before she could be persuaded to publish her literary productions. When -the distinguished physician, Johann van Beverwyk wished to dedicate -to her his treatise on the “Advantages of the Female Sex,” she sought -to withdraw from the intended compliment. In 1636 she was induced to -publish a Latin poem, celebrating the foundation of the University of -Utrecht. Her “Apology for the Female Sex,” and other works followed -this. - -Anna Maria Schurmann resided many years in her native city of -Cologne. According to one authority, part of her time was passed in -a country house, where she lived in the utmost simplicity, shunning -the attentions of the persons of celebrity who wished to visit her, -and dividing her time between her art and her pen. In 1664 she made a -journey to Germany in company with her brother; and there first became -acquainted with Labadie, the celebrated French enthusiast and preacher -of new doctrines. He believed that the Supreme Being would deceive -man for the purpose of doing good. He taught that new revelations -were continually made by the Holy Spirit to the human soul; that the -Bible was not a necessary guide; that observance of the Sabbath was -not imperative; that a contemplative life tended to perfection in the -character; and that such a state could be attained by self-denial, -self-mortification, and prayer. This man was possessed of singular -intellectual powers, and fascinating eloquence. He succeeded in -gaining many followers, and the mind of Anna Maria, deep and serious -to melancholy, and now clouded by grief for the loss of her father and -brothers, too readily gave credence to his pretensions. - -Abandoning both pen and pencil, she joined the disciples of Labadie, -devoting herself to the studies that favored his theological doctrines. -To promote his success, she published her last work, entitled -“Eucleria,” in 1673, the year before the death of the fanatic. She -attended him, and it is said he died in her arms. - -In this book she deplores her early devotion to literature and art. -Other accounts add that she collected the followers of Labadie--called -Labadists--and, continuing to disseminate his tenets, assumed the -leadership of the band, and conducted them to Vivert in Friesland. She -brought over Elizabeth--Princess Palatine--to these doctrines, and -together they opened an asylum for the wandering disciples. True to the -doctrines she professed, Anna Maria bestowed all her goods to feed the -poor, and sank to the grave in poverty, dying in May, 1678, at the age -of seventy-one. - -William Penn mentions, in his “Journey in Germany,” a conversation he -had at Vivert with this wonderful woman in 1677, noticing especially -the gravity and solemnity of her tones in discourse. - -Anna Maria Schurmann has left behind her not only the renown of her -great learning and artistic culture, truly remarkable in one of either -sex, but also a reputation for purity of heart and fervor of religious -feeling, which can not be disturbed by her mistaken though sincere -belief, and the fanatical enthusiasm with which she clung to absurd -dogmas. In her portrait her hair is combed back from her forehead, with -flowing side locks. The back knot is wreathed with ornaments. A large -pointed collar closely encircles her throat. Her features are marked; -her eyes keen and expressive; her Roman nose is large. - -Among the contemporaries of Anna Maria Schurmann were the painters -Clara Peters, Alida Withoos, Susanna von Steen, and Catharine -Oostfries; with the copper-engravers Susanna Verbruggen, Anna de Koher, -and Maria de Wilde, who etched a series of fifty pieces--gems in her -father’s collection--and published them in 1700 at Amsterdam. - -It was in the seventeenth century that flower-painting was carried -to such perfection among the women of the Netherlands. Constantia of -Utrecht and Angelica Pakman may be classed with the pioneers of this -beautiful art--this truly feminine accomplishment. - - - MARIA VAN OOSTERWYCK - -was the first eminent artist in this branch, and the precursor of one -superior to her--Rachel Ruysch--who, esteemed in her day as the pride -and honor of the Dutch school, was, indeed, worthy of being reckoned -among those of whom the whole world is proud. Though not so great, -Maria is justly numbered among the illustrious women of Holland. She -was born at Nootdorp, near Delft, about 1630. She received her early -instruction from the distinguished flower-painter, David Heem. Her -father was a preacher of the Reformed religion, and took pains in -cultivating his daughter’s intellectual powers. He did not fail to -notice her remarkable inclination to painting, and her dissatisfaction, -and even disgust, at the trifles that served to amuse other girls of -her age. She always had the crayon in her hand. - -Her early productions gained much praise, and it was not long before -she obtained such exceeding skill as to become the rival of her -teacher. Admiring connoisseurs carried her fame abroad, and she became -celebrated at foreign courts. Her works were eagerly sought by the -first princes of the time, after Louis XIV. of France had placed one -of them in his magnificent collection. The Emperor Leopold and the -empress sent for specimens of her powers, for which she received the -portraits of their imperial majesties, set in diamonds, in token of -their esteem. Her pieces commanded enormous prices. William III. of -England paid her nine hundred florins for a picture, and the sovereigns -of Europe seemed to vie with one another in heaping honors and fame on -this gifted woman. The King of Poland purchased three of her pictures -for two thousand four hundred florins. These sums were paid her with -every mark of respect, as presents from her friends rather than -professional remuneration. - -In the midst of all these honors Maria led a quiet and peaceful life, -undisturbed by excitement or change. She was surrounded by a pleasant -circle of friends; she worked indefatigably, and was always found in -her cabinet. To obtain more time to herself, she went to pay a visit -to her grandfather at Delft. One day she received a visit from a young -man, who announced himself as William van Aelst, and appeared anxious -to see some of her works. His admiration of them, was blended with an -ardent love for the artist. He at last summoned courage to declare -his passion, but Maria replied that she was firmly resolved against -matrimony. Her lively suitor, she thought, too, was unsuited to her -grave and quiet nature. - -Unwilling, however, to crush his hopes too suddenly and treat him -with unkindness, she annexed a condition to her acceptance of her -wooer, which she imagined would effectually deter him from prosecuting -his suit, or at least wear out his constancy. She required that he -should work ten hours of every day for a year. The young man promised -readily; but, as she supposed, he had not perseverance enough to keep -his word. His studio was opposite Maria’s; she watched him from her -window, and failed not to mark on the sash the days he was absent from -his labors. - -At the end of the year William came to claim her promise. “You have -yourself absolved me from it,” was her reply; and, going to the window, -she pointed out to him the record of his idle days. The lover was -confounded, and retired disappointed. - -Maria painted flowers with an admirable finish and accuracy, and -displayed exquisite taste and art in their selection and grouping; -she had also wonderful skill in copying their fresh tints, and in the -harmonious adjustment of different colors. She took a long while and -bestowed much labor in finishing her works, and they are consequently -rare. - -She died at the age of sixty-three, at the house of her nephew, Jacques -von Assendelft, a preacher at Eutdam in Holland. - - - RACHEL RUYSCH. - -Rachel Ruysch (spelled also Ruisch or Reutch) trod in the footsteps -of Maria van Oosterwyck, and carried flower-painting to a perfection -never before attained. Descampes says her flowers and fruit “surpassed -nature herself.” It is certain that she succeeded in producing the -most perfect illusion; and the tasteful selection of her subject and -manner of grouping, disposition, and contrast, rendered the effect more -exquisite. - -This illustrious artist was the daughter of a famous anatomist, and -was born in Amsterdam, 1664. She received lessons in painting from -Wilhelm van Aelst, an artist who ranked with De Heem and Huysum among -Dutch flower-painters. He and his rivals were soon equaled by the fair -scholar, and thenceforward she took nature for her teacher. - -While her fame went abroad with her pictures, Rachel sat and worked -in her secluded room; but she could not hide herself from the arrows -of the boy-god. She married--Descampes and others say, at the age of -thirty--a portrait-painter named Julian van Pool, who fell in love, and -introduced himself to her. - -She became the mother of ten children. In the midst of domestic -cares, and the duties of attending to her offspring, she managed not -to neglect the art she loved so much; yet we are informed that her -children were admirably brought up. The toil and study must have been -immense which, in spite of the interruptions of household employments -and the depression of a narrow income, enabled her to attain such -excellence that her praises were sung by poets and poetesses, and her -fame traveled to every court in Europe. In 1701 the Academical Society -of Haye admitted her into membership; her reception picture was a -beautiful piece of roses and other flowers. Her celebrity became so -great that, in 1708, the Elector John of the Pfalz sent her a diploma, -naming her painter in ordinary to his court, and inviting her to take -up her residence in his capital. This prince wrote her another letter, -accompanying the gift of a complete toilet set in silver, twenty-eight -pieces, to which he added six flambeaux of the same metal. He promised -to stand godfather to one of her children. When she took her son to -Düsseldorf, the elector decorated the babe’s neck with a red ribbon, to -which was attached a magnificent gold medal. - -In the elector’s service she produced a number of pictures, most of -them for her Mæcenas, who after paying for them always added honorable -presents. In 1713, on a second visit to Düsseldorf, she was received -with the distinction her great talents merited. The elector sent some -of her pictures to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, who admired and placed -them among his rich collection of master-pieces. Several of her works -were presented to royal personages; some were treasured in the gallery -of Düsseldorf, and some excellent pictures were preserved in Munich. - -After the death of her friend and patron, the elector, she returned to -Holland, and prosecuted her art with unwearied industry. She mourned -his loss as her friend and the generous protector of art; but her works -met with as great success, and Flanders and Holland even murmured at -their being taken to Germany. - -The advance of old age could not obscure her rare gifts; the pictures -she executed at eighty were as highly finished as at thirty. To genius -of the highest order she united all the virtues that dignify and adorn -the female character. Respected by the great--beloved even by her -rivals--praised by all who knew her--her path in life was strewn with -flowers, till at its peaceful close she laid her honors down. She died -in 1750, at the age of eighty-six, having been married fifty years and -five years a widow. - -Her works are rarely seen, from the difficulty of inducing possessors -in Holland to part with them. At Amsterdam there are four beautiful -pieces. Their chief merits are surprising vigor and a delicate finish, -with coloring true to nature. Flowers, fruits, and insects seem full of -fresh life. - -Rachel’s style combined a softness, lightness, and delicacy of touch -with a certain grandeur of disposition and powerful effect, which -caused the universal recognition of a manly spirit and nobility -of feeling in her works. In her portrait her hair is short, with -low-necked dress and beads round the throat. The features of the -artist, large and strongly marked, bear the same brave, open character -that spoke in the grouping and arrangement of her flowers--in the -freedom that marked her compositions and was blended with their -surprising lightness and grace. In the depth of coloring a delicate -poetic fragrance seemed to be infused. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - Unfavorable Circumstances for Painting in Germany.--Effects of the - Thirty Years’ War.--The national Love of Art shown by the Signs of - Life manifested.--Influence of the Reformation.--Inferiority of - German Art in this Century.--Ladies of Rank in Literature.--A female - Astronomer.--The Fame of Schurmann awakens Emulation.--Distinguished - Women.--Commencement of poetic Orders.--Zesen, the Patron of the - Sex.--Women who cultivated Art.--Paintresses of Nuremberg.--Barbara - Helena Lange.--Flower-painters and Engravers.--Modeling in Wax.--Women - Artists in Augsburg.--In Munich.--In Hamburg.--The Princess - Hollandina.--Her Paintings.--Maria Sibylla Merian.--Early Fondness - for Insects.--Maternal Opposition.--Her Marriage.--Publication - of her first Work.--Joins the Labadists.--Returns to the - Butterflies.--Curiosity to see American Insects.--Voyage to - Surinam.--Story of the Lantern-flies.--Return to Holland.--Her Works - published.--Republication in Paris afterward.--Her Daughters.--Her - personal Appearance.--The Danish Women Artists.--Anna Crabbe.--King’s - Daughters.--The Taste in Art in Denmark and England governed by - that of foreign Nations.--Female Artists in England.--The Poetesses - most prominent.--Miniaturists.--Portrait-painters.--Etchers.--Lady - Connoisseurs.--The Dwarf’s Daughter.--Anna Carlisle.--Mary - Beale.--Pupil of Sir Peter Lely.--Character of her Works.--Rumor - of Lely’s Attachment to her.--Poems in her Praise.--Mr. - Beale’s Note-books.--Anne Killegrew.--Her Portraits of the - Royal Family.--History and still-life Pieces.--Her Portrait by - Lely.--Her Character.--Dryden’s Ode to her Memory.--Her Poems - published.--Mademoiselle Rosée.--The Artist in Silk.--Wonderful - Effects.--Her Works Curiosities.--The Artist of the Scissors.--Her - singular imitative Powers.--A Copyist of old Paintings.--Her - Cuttings.--Views of all kinds done with the Scissors.--Royal and - imperial Visitors.--Her Trophy for the Emperor Leopold.--Poems in - her Praise.--The Swiss Paintress Anna Wasser.--Her Education and - Works.--Commissions from Courts.--Her Father’s Avarice.--Sojourn at a - Court.--Return home.--Fatal Accident.--Her literary Accomplishments. - - -While in the Netherlands, under the influence of the national -elevation, art grew into a school of peculiar nationality, much less -favorable circumstances existed in Germany. It may be said, indeed, -that none less favorable could be found in any country. It was not -merely that the land had been wasted by the Thirty Years’ War, for art -and knowledge have been known to bud and bloom amid a severe national -struggle. This contest, however, was one hostile to every generous -impulse and lofty aspiration, and tended to crush the noble energies -that are called forth in other conflicts. It was an internecine and -sordid strife; Germans were arrayed against Germans, and hordes of -foreign robbers were encouraged to plunder the country desolated by her -own children. In the reign of mean and base passions, there was no soil -where such flowers might bloom as then made beautiful the Netherlands. - -There was wanting, also, such a central point as was afforded in France -and Spain by the courts of Versailles and Madrid. All things revolved -in a narrow and sordid sphere of individual interest. That Germany, in -spite of this disastrous and gloomy condition, should have produced -artists, and that even women, with self-sacrificing zeal should have -manifested their predilection for the calling, is a proof of the deep -love for art implanted in the heart of the nation, showing itself in -brilliant flashes during the sixteenth century, and in the midst of -troubles not entirely extinguished. The Reformation, while it had -inspired Germany with the spirit of a new epoch, at first assumed a -position hostile to the arts that had contributed to embellish the old -faith. For three hundred years, by open force, blind fury, and cold -contempt, this misapprehension of the true scope of art threatened -to destroy what preceding ages had left of excellence; nor did the -struggle terminate till the nineteenth century. - -Signs of life in art had been first perceived in Germany toward the -beginning of the thirteenth century; and there had been progressive -stages of improvement. The stiffness and seriousness prescribed by -tradition were replaced by softer execution and an easier flow of -outline. Flowing drapery and grace marked the earliest attempts to -express the artist’s own feelings in his works, and a subjective -principle was allowed in paintings. - -In the revival of art toward the end of the fifteenth century the -sacred subjects of earlier ages had been much chosen. Afterward, the -artist’s own mind and emotions came forth in self-productive energy; -and, at a later period, rose into favor the accurate delineations of -nature’s forms. - -The inferiority of Germany in an artistic view, in the seventeenth -century, is undeniable; but many were found who longed after the -excellence of which other lands could boast. Women there were in -abundance who cultivated ornamental literature; noble ladies and -princesses patronized poets and courted the muses. Henrietta of Orange, -the consort of the great Elector, was one of several royal dames yet -remembered in their sacred songs. The lower orders could boast their -cultivated women; and the name of Maria Cunitz deserves mention as -learned in the science of astronomy. - -The fame of Anna Memorata, Fulvia Morata, and Anna Maria Schurmann -meanwhile filled the German women with emulative desire to inscribe -their names beside those accomplished persons. Gertrude Möller was -learned in the languages, and Sibylla Schwarz in poetry. Even Rist, who -excluded women from his literary society, corresponded with the poetess -Maria Commer. - -This was the beginning of honorary poetic orders, and women were not -excluded from these, especially from those established by Zesen. He was -the patron and encourager of female genius and enterprise; his pen was -dedicated to the service of the sex, and his praises were reciprocated -by the grateful fair. In his “Lustinne” he sings of the lady poets of -his day. - -The female artists of that time seemed, indeed, to lack such generous -appreciation; and it may be that the enthusiastic eulogies lavished by -poets on each other had a selfish aim. Yet the period was not without -a goodly number of women who cultivated art, and it is not improbable -that the success of the poetesses had some effect in stimulating their -zeal. The example of the illustrious Schurmann, who wore the double -wreath of both branches of study, was before their eyes; and the Dutch -school had much influence in forming tastes in Germany. - -The love of exercising creative power naturally developed itself in -various ways. Nuremberg, the seat of the Pegnitzschäfer order of -bards; Hamburg, the residence of the chivalrous Zesen; Saxony, where -flourished many fair devotees to literature--were not abandoned by the -spirit of art. In the first-mentioned city we hear of two paintresses -descended from families celebrated for artistic excellence: Susannah -Maria von Sandrart, who also did etching in copper; and Esther Juvenel, -who drew plans for architecture. To these may be added the name of -Barbara Helena Lange, who earned celebrity by engraving on copper, and -carving figures in ivory and alabaster. She was admitted to the Pegnitz -order, on account of her poetical talent, in 1679, her poetical name -being entered as Erone. In 1686 she married one Kopsch, and with him -removed to Berlin, and afterward to Amsterdam. - -The names of Maria Clara Eimart and Magdalena Fürst may here be -mentioned as flower-painters; that of Helen Preisler as an engraver on -copper; and Joanna Sabina Preu as both an engraver and modeler in wax. -All these obtained no insignificant reputation. - -In Nuremberg also lived, in 1684, Anna Maria Pfründt, born in Lyons. -She modeled portraits in wax, some of which were those of persons of -high rank, and, adorned with costly drapery and precious stones, gained -a wide-spread reputation for the artist. - -Augsburgh was also rich in evidences of woman’s artistic taste. -Susannah Fischer and Johanna Sibylla Küsel excelled in painting, -while her younger sisters, Christina and Magdalena Küsel, with Maria -Wieslatin, engraved in copper. Others surpassed the Nurembergers in -fine carving. - -In Regensburgh lived Anna Catharina Fischer, a flower and portrait -painter; in Munich, Isabella del Pozzo was appointed court painter -by the Electress Adelaide, and the miniature-painter Maria Rieger -was employed very frequently by princely personages. Placida Lamme -distinguished herself about the same time by painting miniatures and -carving pictures, with which she occupied her time in the Bavarian -cloister of Hohenwart. - -In Hamburg, Mariana Van der Stoop and Diana Glauber were painters -by profession, and in Saxony we find a skillful portrait-painter in -Margaretta Rastrum, who pursued her art in Leipzig. The above-mentioned -Anna Catharina Fischer lived a long time in Halle, with her husband, a -painter named Block. Toward the end of this century we hear of Madame -Ravemann, who executed a beautiful medal--an exquisite specimen of -cutting--for Augustus the Second. - - - THE PRINCESS HOLLANDINA. - -Casting a glance over western Germany, we find the artistic poverty -of the land redeemed by a princess who loved the liberal arts--Louise -Hollandina, of the Pfalz. She was the daughter of the unhappy Friedrich -V., and the sister of the Princess Elizabeth, whose chief celebrity -arose from her veneration for the philosopher Descartes; also of -the Prince Ruprecht, noted in art history for his drawings and his -leaves in the black art. Hollandina, with her sister Sophia, received -instruction in painting from the famous Gerard Honthorst, and painted -large historical pictures in the style of that master, of which at the -present time very little is known. Two of Hollandina’s paintings were -added to the collection of her uncle, King Charles--one representing -Tobias and the Angel; the other, a falconer. An altar-piece by her hand -adorns a church in Paris. Lovelace, in his poetry, speaks highly of the -abilities of this princess. - -Her family originated from the same place that gave birth to Anna Maria -Schurmann--the city of Cologne--where that famed artist obtained her -early education. - -We must not omit to mention Frankfort-on-the-Main, where, in the -middle of the seventeenth century, lived one of the most celebrated -women of whom Germany then could boast. This was - - - MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN. - -She was the daughter of Matthew Merian, the well-known geographer -and engraver, and born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1647. Her father -published a topographical work in Germany, in thirty-one folio volumes. -Her mother was the daughter of Theodore de Bry, an engraver of repute. - -A remarkable circumstance, and one contrary to the usual experience -of extraordinary persons, was, that Sibylla devoted herself to the -vocation of the artist in opposition to her mother’s wishes and in the -face of great difficulties. In this respect she differed from most -other women artists; for they, as a rule, were led to the study by -parental example or domestic training. - -From the early childhood of this singular girl she manifested a -persevering spirit of research in natural history, with a fondness for -examining specimens of vegetable and animal life. It is possible that -this natural predilection was owing to one of those accidents that so -often determine the course and bent of human intellect. Her mother, -shortly before her birth, it is said, took a fancy to make a collection -of curious stones, mussels, and different sorts of caterpillars. -However this may be, it is certain that the child, at a very early age, -showed the same taste, and no maternal reproaches or punishment could -keep her from indulging the strange fancy. She would, however, conceal -her treasures. At last her step-father, the painter Jacob Marrel, -having persuaded the mother to consent, arranged it so that the girl -took lessons of the famous flower-painter, Abraham Mignon. - -In the year 1665, at eighteen, she married John Andrew Graf, a painter -and designer in architecture. The marriage was not a happy one, but -she lived with Graf nearly twenty years in Nuremberg, in a lonely and -secluded manner, devoted solely to her art, as she herself says in -the preface to one of her published works, giving up intercourse with -society, and beguiling her time by the examination of the various -species of insects, of which she made drawings, and by the study of -their transformations. - -She painted her specimens first on parchment, and many of those -pictures were distributed among amateurs. Encouraged by them, she -published, in 1679, a work entitled “The Wonderful Transformations of -Caterpillars,” a quarto volume, with copper engravings, executed by -herself after her own drawings. Another volume appeared in 1684. - -The affairs of Graf having become embarrassed, and his conduct being -much censured, he was compelled to leave his family and go out of the -country. After this separation, Sibylla never assumed her husband’s -name in any of her publications, but issued them under her maiden name. -About 1684 she went to Frankfort, and prepared for a journey to West -Friesland with her mother and daughters. There she became possessed -with the religious enthusiasm which had driven so many women into -strange doings, and joined the sect of the Labadists, taking up her -abode at the Castle Bosch. - -Sibylla did not yield her energies, however, entirely to the dominion -of this kind of phrensy; her old habits of study and research followed -her. Butterflies and worms again occupied her attention, and she soon -took a deep interest in all the collections of animals from the East -and West Indies which she discovered were within her reach. - -Among those persons whose collections were most admired by her was -Fridericus Ruysch, a doctor of medicine and professor of botany, and -the father of the Rachel Ruysch already noticed. It is not difficult -to believe that the example and conversation of a woman so gifted and -so devoted to study as Madame Merian had a decisive influence upon the -character of the youthful Rachel. - -Our heroic and industrious heroine was delighted at the opportunity -of examining such interesting collections; for, besides the pleasure -her investigations in natural history afforded her, she was stimulated -by an inextinguishable desire to know all that could be learned about -that department of the animal kingdom. At length, anxious to see the -metamorphoses and food of American insects, she determined to undertake -that laborious and expensive journey to Surinam which she accomplished -in June, 1699. The States of Holland assisted her with the means of -travel. Her journey gave occasion to the following lines by a French -poet: - - “Sibylla à Surinam va chercher la nature, - Avec l’esprit d’un Sage, et le cœur d’un Heros.” - -The place of her destination was Dutch Guiana, often called Surinam, -from a river of that name, on which the capital, Paramaribo, is -situated. It is said that, one day during her residence there, the -Indians brought Madame Merian a number of living lantern-flies, which -she put into a box; but they made so much noise at night, that she rose -from her bed and opened their prison. The multitude of fiery flames -issuing from the box so terrified her that she immediately dropped it -on the ground. Hence came marvelous stories of the strong light emitted -by that insect. - -She remained in America nearly two years, till the summer of 1701, -notwithstanding the unfavorable effect of the climate on her health, -and the difficulties thus encountered in the prosecution of her -studies. Though strong of will, she could not long bear up against -such an enemy, and was obliged to return much sooner than suited her -inclinations. - -In September she was again in Holland, where her splendid paintings, on -parchment, of American insects, excited the greatest admiration among -the connoisseurs. They pressed her to publish a work that would open a -world of vegetables and animals hitherto unknown; and, in spite of the -great expense, she resolved at last, without expectation of a return -for her outlay, to engrave her pictures for publication. The reward of -her labors was to be in the sale of successive editions. This work was -entitled “Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, etc. The text drawn -up by Gaspar Commelin, from the MSS. of the author.” - -In 1771 a collection of Madame Merian’s works was published in Paris, -translated into French; and to this day are to be seen engravings, -nearly of the size of the original, of the various paintings made by -this enthusiastic woman of objects that struck her fancy--caterpillars, -butterflies, spiders, snakes, and various kinds of animals and -plants--executed with all the luxury of brilliant coloring, and -illustrated by choice poetry. - -Her great work was entitled “History of the Insects of Europe, drawn -from Nature, and explained, by Maria Sibylla Merian.” It included a -treatise on the generation and metamorphoses of insects, and the -plants on which they feed. Her pictures were not only executed with -fidelity, but each insect appeared in its first state with the most -pleasing accompaniments. With those metamorphosed from the chrysalis or -nymph to the fly or butterfly, were presented the plants and flowers -they loved, all correctly and tastefully delineated. - -Even after the appearance of her work, in 1705, the persevering artist -continued her studies in natural history, in which she was joined by -both her daughters, whom she had educated to pursuits of art. Dorothea, -the youngest, had accompanied her to Surinam, while the eldest, Joanna -Maria Helena, came afterward with her husband, a merchant of Amsterdam, -to assist her mother in collecting and painting specimens. It was the -mother’s intention to publish the pictures made by her daughters in an -appendix to her own collected works; but her death, which occurred in -January, 1717, prevented this, and the daughters afterward published -the results of their labors in a separate volume. - -This extraordinary woman, whose labors contributed so much to the -improvement and embellishment of the natural history of insects, was -little favored by gifts of beauty or personal grace. Her portrait shows -hard and heavy-lined features. A curious headdress, made of folds of -black stuff, rises high above the head, and inclines a little to the -left. Short, light curls appear above a cambric ruffle, finishing a -half-low corsage. She is undoubtedly entitled to a place among great -artists. - -The history of Madame Merian rounds off that of German female artists -belonging to the seventeenth century with an exhibition of more than -ordinary interest. - - - THE DANISH WOMEN ARTISTS. - -A glimpse may here be had of the artists of Denmark and England. -Anna Crabbe was a painter by profession in Copenhagen before the -year 1618. She painted a series of portraits of Danish princes, to -which she added a poetical description of each. The daughter of King -Christian IV., Eleonora Christina, who married the minister Ulefeld, -was not only celebrated for her beauty and intellectual gifts, but -for skill in various branches of art--engraving, modeling in wax, -and miniature-painting. Her daughter Helena Christina possessed like -talents. - -Toward the close of the century, Sophie Hedwig, the daughter of King -Christian V., became noted as an artist, gaining much reputation by her -performances in portrait, landscape, and flower painting. - -Neither in Denmark nor in England was any special direction given -to art by the national character; on the contrary, in both these -countries, the prevailing taste was governed by that of foreign -nations--as the Dutch and German. - - - ENGLISH FEMALE ARTISTS. - -In England there were not many women artists, although in literature -the sex was not without its share of laurels, and in dramatic poetry -and prose romance women contended for appreciation with masculine -writers. The poetess Joanna Weston was a great admirer of Anna Maria -Schurmann, and took her for a model; but there were no painters who -could be compared in merit to the women who cultivated poetry. - -As miniature-painters, Susannah Penelope Gibson may be mentioned; -also Penelope Cleyn. The latter was the daughter of a German painter, -and her sisters Magdalen and Sarah were also devoted to the art. They -painted the portrait of Richard Cromwell’s daughter. - -Mary More obtained some distinction as a portrait-painter. It was in -England that the Princess Hollandina, before mentioned, took lessons in -painting, with her sister Sophie, from Gerard Honthorst. - -In the noble art of etching Anna and Susannah Lister were regarded as -having much skill; they illustrated a work on natural history by their -father, in the manner of Madame Merian, by their artistic efforts. - -A lady connoisseur and engraver of much taste was the Countess of -Carlisle. She perhaps set the fashion afterward followed by so many -fair dilettanti, who exercised so much influence in England during the -succeeding century. - -Susan Penelope Rose, according to Lord Orford, was the daughter of -Richard Gibson the Dwarf. She married a jeweler, and became noted for -painting portraits in water colors with great freedom. Her miniatures -were larger than usual. She died at forty-eight in 1700. - -A contemporary of Vandyck was Mrs. Anna Carlisle, who died about 1680. -She was celebrated for her copies of the Italian masters. Charles I. -esteemed her highly. She once shared with Vandyck a present from their -royal patron, of ultramarine; it is said to have cost the king five -hundred pounds. This renders it probable that she painted in oil; for -the quantity was too large for use in miniatures. - -One of her works represents herself teaching a lady to paint. This -artist must not be confounded with the Countess of Carlisle, who was -distinguished for her beautiful engravings of the works of Salvator -Rosa, Guido, etc. - - - MARY BEALE, - -the daughter of Mr. Craddock, a clergyman, was born at Suffolk about -1632. She received some instruction from Walker, but was a favorite -pupil of Sir Peter Lely. She painted in oil, water-colors, and crayons. -She acquired much of the Italian style by copying old pictures from -Lely’s and the royal collection. She copied some of the portraits of -Vandyck. Her works were remarkable for vigor of drawing and fresh -coloring, with great purity and sweetness. The artist was an estimable -and amiable woman; was highly respected, and mingled in the society of -the noble and the learned. Her pencil was employed by many personages -of distinction. Her husband was an inferior painter. - -It was rumored that Sir Peter Lely was romantically attached to his -fair pupil; but his love could not have met with return, for he is -known to have been reserved in communicating to her the resources of -his pencil. He refused to intrust to her one of the important secrets -of his art. - -Several poems in praise of Mrs. Beale were published; one in particular -is remembered, by Dr. Woodfall, in which she is celebrated under the -name of “Belasia.” Her husband, Charles Beale, had the curious practice -of noting in small almanac pocket-books almost daily accounts of -whatever related to his wife, her pictures, or himself. He practiced -chemistry for the preparation of colors. He bequeathed thirty of the -almanacs, filled with his notes, and records of the praises lavished on -his wife’s pictures, to a colorman named Carter. - -Walpole says Mrs. Beale’s portraits were numerous. She painted one of -Otway, the poet. The Archbishop Tillotson was her patron, and many of -the clergy sat to her. The archbishop’s portrait is the first of an -ecclesiastic who, quitting the coif of silk, is delineated in a brown -wig. - -Some have said that she persuaded her friends to sit to Lely, that she -might learn his method of coloring. There is no doubt that she rose to -the first rank in her profession. One of her sons became a painter. She -died at Pall Mall in 1697, aged sixty-five. - - - ANNE KILLEGREW-- - -“A grace for beauty, and a muse for wit,” as writes one of her -admirers--was the daughter of Henry Killegrew, descended of a family -remarkable for loyalty, accomplishments, and talent. She proved one -of its brightest ornaments. She was born in London, and at a very -early age discovered a remarkable genius. She became celebrated both -in painting and poetry. One of her portraits was of the Duke of York, -afterward James II.; others, of Mary of Modena and the Duchess of -York, to whom she was maid of honor. These pieces were highly praised -by Dryden. She produced, also, several history-pieces, and pictures -of still life. Becket did her miniature in mezzotint, after her own -painting; it was prefixed to the published edition of her poems. The -painting was in the style of Sir Peter Lely, which she imitated with -great success. Her portrait, taken by Lely, has a pleasing expression, -though the air is slightly prim. The dress is low-necked, with beads, -and a mantle is fastened at the breast with a brooch. Curls cluster -round the face; the back hair is loose and flowing. - -Though called “mistress,” after the fashion of the time, Anne was never -married. She was a woman of unblemished character and exemplary piety. -Death cut short her promising career, by small-pox, in 1685--as Wood -says, “to the unspeakable reluctancy of her relations”--when she was -but twenty-five years of age. She was buried in Savoy Chapel, where -a monument is fixed in the wall, bearing a Latin inscription by her -father, setting forth her accomplishments, virtue, and piety. - -Dryden’s ode to her memory was called by Dr. Johnson “the noblest -our language has produced.” Another critic terms it “a harmonious -hyperbole, composed of the fall of Adam, Arethusa, Vestal virgins, -Diana, Cupid, Noah’s ark, the Pleiades, the fall of Jehoshaphat, and -the last assizes.” After lauding her poetic excellence, Dryden says: - - “Her pencil drew whate’er her soul designed; - And oft the happy draft surpassed the image of her mind.” - -And of her portrait of James II.: - - “For, not content to express his outward part, - Her hand called out the image of his heart; - His warlike mind--his soul devoid of fear-- - His high-designing thoughts were figured there.” - -Notwithstanding such flattery, Anthony Wood says, “There is nothing -spoken of her which she was not equal to, if not superior;” and -adds, “If there had not been more true history in her praises than -compliment, her father never would have suffered them to pass the -press.” - -Her poems appeared after her death in a thin quarto volume, prefaced -by the ode and the Latin epitaph. Among her history-pieces were “St. -John in the Wilderness,” “Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist,” -and “Two of Diana’s Nymphs.” The melodious eulogizer of her graces and -gifts remarks of the queen’s portrait: - - “Our phœnix queen was portrayed too, so bright, - Beauty alone could beauty take so right; - Before, a train of heroines was seen, - In beauty foremost, as in rank a queen.” - - - THE ARTIST IN SILK. - -Mademoiselle Rosée, born in Leyden in 1632, deserves a place among -eminent artists for the singularity of her talents. Instead of using -colors, with oil or gum, she used silk for the delicate shading. It -can hardly be understood how she managed to apply the fibres, and to -imitate the flesh-tints, blending and mellowing them so admirably. -She thus painted portraits, as well as landscapes and architecture. -Michel Carré, who saw one of her portraits, says, “It can scarcely be -believed it is not done by the pencil.” One of her pieces brought five -hundred florins. It represented the decayed trunk of a tree, covered -with moss and leaves. On the top a bird has made her nest. The shading -and the sky in the distance left nothing to be desired for coloring and -truthful effect. The Grand-Duke of Tuscany purchased one of her finest -pieces, which is yet preserved among the curiosities of his collection. -She was never married, and died at the age of fifty, in 1682. - - - THE ARTIST OF THE SCISSORS. - -Joanna Koerten Block is regarded by the Dutch as one of their most -remarkable female artists. She was born in Amsterdam in 1650, and -manifested a taste for the fine arts in her childhood. She learned -music and embroidery, and how to model fruits and figures; she also -understood coloring, and engraved with a diamond on crystal and glass -with surprising delicacy. She also painted in oil and water colors -in a novel manner. Possessing a rare art in blending colors, she -copied pictures so wonderfully that they could hardly be distinguished -from the originals. This faculty of imitation she carried to such -perfection, that it was believed among her contemporaries that, had -she devoted herself exclusively to this kind of work, she would have -equaled the great masters. She gave up, however, after a while, the -cultivation of this singular talent for the development of another -still more extraordinary, for which she has obtained a place among the -great artists of her country. - -All that the engraver accomplishes with the burin, she was able to -do with the scissors. Her cuttings were indeed astonishing. Country -scenes, marine views, animals, flowers, with portraits of perfect -resemblance, she executed in a marvelous manner. This novel style of -making pictures out of white paper created not a little sensation, -and ere long the matter became spread abroad widely, and excited the -curiosity of all the courts of Europe. Even artists could not help -admiring her skill in this strange art, and not one came to Amsterdam -without paying her a visit. - -The Czar Peter the Great, princes of royal blood, and nobles of the -highest rank paid their respects to the simple Dutch maiden, and -examined her works with pleased curiosity. The Elector Palatine offered -a thousand florins for three small pieces cut by her, but the offer was -declined as not liberal enough. - -The Empress of Germany ordered a piece executed as a trophy of the arms -of the Emperor Leopold I. The design showed the crown and imperial -arms upheld by eagles, and surrounded by laurel wreaths, garlands of -flowers, and appropriate ornaments. This was executed in a wonderful -manner, and for it the fair artist received four thousand florins. - -The portrait of the emperor, cut by Joanna, is preserved in his -imperial majesty’s cabinet at Vienna. Queen Mary of England, and other -royal personages, wished to decorate their cabinets with the works -of this artist. She cut many portraits, with which the sitters were -pleased and astonished. The Latin, German, and Dutch verses composed -in her honor would fill a volume. She had in her working-room a volume -in which were registered the names of her illustrious visitors, the -princes and princesses and other great personages writing their -own. It is the same curious register in which Nicholas Verkslie saw -the portraits of illustrious persons, appended each to the proper -signature. This interesting addition is said to have been made by -Adrien Block, the artist’s husband. He published a series of vignettes -from her pieces. - -Joanna died in 1715, at the age of sixty-five. Her taste and design -were marked by correctness and delicacy, and she was original and -unique in the style of work to which she devoted herself. When her -pieces were put over black paper, the effect was that of an engraving -or pen-drawing. Neatness, clearness, and decision were her prominent -characteristics. - -Her portrait, coarsely engraved, is published by Descampes. She had a -noble style of face, with strongly marked features. The hair is dressed -in a point in front; the neckerchief and dress are worn in antiquated -style. - -Among the distinguished artists of the seventeenth century we must not -omit - - - ANNA WASSER. - -She was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1676, and is esteemed by the -Swiss as one of their most eminent painters. Her father was Rudolph -Wasser, a member of the Grand Council of Zurich, and artist of the -foundation of the Cathedral. She very early evinced a remarkable -faculty for learning languages, and at the age of twelve was familiar -with Latin and French, and acquainted with the general literature of -those tongues. Her rapid progress in belles-lettres astonished every -body, and gave the promise of wonderful attainments; but the bent of -her genius was for art. She took lessons of the painter Joseph Werner, -and had no sooner learned to handle a pencil, than she could think -of nothing else. When thirteen years old she made a copy of Werner’s -“Flora” in Bern, which convinced all her friends that she was destined -by nature for an artist. The painter himself praised her correct design -and perfect imitation of his coloring, and advised her father to send -her to Bern to study. She spent three years in the school; at first -employing herself in oil painting, but finally abandoning that for -miniatures. By the time her education was completed she had reached a -perfection little short of that of her teacher. - -Returning to Zurich, she devoted herself to art as a profession. Her -productions were taken to England, Holland, and Germany, where they -were greatly admired, and her contemporaries extolled her as a second -Schurmann. There was scarcely a court in the German empire from which -she had not commissions. Those of Baden-Durlach and Stuttgard disputed -which should possess the greatest number of her works. The Duke of -Wurtemberg, Eberhard Louis, and his sister, the Margravine von Durlach, -sent her large portraits to be painted in miniature. - -While Anna’s fame spread throughout Germany, her very success tended -to throw difficulties in the way of her artistic progress. Her -father was pressed with the care of a large family, and thought his -interests would be favored more by multiplying the number of his -daughter’s works, than by allowing her time to finish them. He urged -her continually to new enterprises. Thus depressed and tied to sordid -cares, Anna lost her spirits and fell into a melancholy that threatened -to destroy her health. Happily, at this time, the court of Solms -Braunfels made her favorable proposals of employment. She accepted the -invitation, went there with one of her brothers, and soon found she -would be enabled to indulge her taste for elaborating and perfecting -her paintings. She rapidly regained her cheerfulness, and became the -delight and admiration of the circles in which she moved. Again her -father’s avarice disturbed this agreeable state of things. He sent her -an abrupt summons to return home, where he expected her to do more work -for his benefit. She obeyed the command, but on the journey, made in -such haste, she got a severe fall, the effects of which terminated her -life in 1713, at the age of thirty-four. - -Fuseli possessed a painting in oil done by Anna Wasser at the age of -thirteen. He gave her praise for correctness of outline, and for spirit -of coloring. She appears to have excelled most in pastoral and rural -pieces, which it was her delight to paint. Her compositions were -marked by great ingenuity, and were finished with exquisite delicacy. - -Her literary accomplishments procured her the friendship of the most -eminent scholars of her day in Germany; such as Werner, Meyer, Hubert, -Steller, etc., and she corresponded with many celebrated persons. Among -her female friends was Clara Eimart, already mentioned among German -artists. Her manners were gentle and dignified, and her character was -pure and blameless. To filial obedience she would at any time sacrifice -her own inclinations; indeed she often carried her devotion to excess. - -The portrait given of her shows delicate and sharply defined features. -The hair is worn in Grecian style, with ringlets at the side, and -braids falling on her neck. She appears surrounded with flowers, with -baskets of fruit beside her. - -Maria Theresa van Thielen, and her two sisters, the daughters of an -artist of noble family, were instructed by him in flower-painting, the -first excelling also in portraits. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - General Expansion and Extension of Art-culture.--More Scope given to - the Tendencies originated in preceding Age.--Reminiscences of past - Glories of Art active during the first half of the Century.--The - Flemish and Italian Schools in vogue.--Eclecticism.--Influences of - the French School mingled with those of the great Masters.--The - Rococo Style.--The Aggregate of Woman’s Labor greater than ever - before.--Not accompanied by greater Depth.--Less Individuality - discernible.--The greatest artistic Activity among Women in - Germany.--In France next.--In Italy next.--In other Countries - less.--Rapid Growth of Art in Berlin.--In Dresden.--Scholarship - and literary Position of Women during the first half of the - Century.--Poets and their Inspirations.--Princesses the Patrons - of Letters.--Nothing new or striking in Art.--A Revolution in - the latter half of the Century.--Instruction in Art a Branch of - Education.--Dilettanti of high Rank.--Female Pupils of Painters - of Note.--Mengs and Carstens.--Carstens the Founder of modern - German Art.--His Style not adapted to female Talent.--A lovely - Form standing between him and Mengs.--A female Stamp-cutter.--An - Artist in Wax-work.--In Stucco-work.--In cutting precious - Stones.--Barbara Preisler.--Other female Artists.--Fashionable Taste - in Painting.--Marianna Hayd.--Miniaturists.--Anna Maria Mengs.--Her - Works.--Miniature and Pastel-painting.--Flowers and Landscapes a - Passion.--Imitators of Rachel Ruysch and Madame Merian.--Celebrities - in Flower-painting.--Copper-engraving. Lady Artists of high - Rank.--Other Devotees to Art. - - -During the greater part of the eighteenth century we find rather a -general expansion and extension of taste and cultivation in the arts, -than a concentration of effort or a more rich and earnest development -of talent. The period gave more scope to the tendencies that had been -originated and determined in a preceding age. Connoisseurs fed upon -reminiscences of the past glories of art, and no new ideas were brought -to the world’s notice till the first half of the century had rolled -away. - -The Flemish and Italian schools were in vogue, slightly modified, -but, on the whole, scarcely changed in any essential particular; or a -blending of diverse styles produced some artists who hardly deserve -notice for their individual merits. A spirit of eclecticism may, -indeed, be traced in the productions of the best masters of this time. -The sovereigns in the domain of art had then passed away, and with the -influence they still exercised was mingled that of the French school. -The brilliancy and glow of Titian and Paul Veronese, the deep poetic -feeling of Giorgione, the purity and tenderness of Raphael and Leonardo -da Vinci, the rugged grandeur of Michael Angelo, the soft, transparent -loveliness of Correggio, the bright beauty of Guido and Albano, and the -power and passion of the Caravaggio school, disputed the consideration -of amateurs with the light and lively style, the graceful mannerism of -a Watteau and a Bouché, and something of the reflective character of -the German Raphael Mengs, or that of Carstens and of Dietrich. - -The finished and ornate manner of France especially became popular -over all the countries of Europe, exercising the same influence, in a -measure, upon art that it had upon literature. Hence originated the -style that has been aptly termed the Rococo--wanting in depth and -warmth, indeed, but having a certain completeness of technical detail -productive of happy effects. - -The fresh life and earnest vigor that had marked the earlier schools -were paralyzed in this, and we do not wonder that a better condition -followed the reawakening of artistic feeling. - -It is not to be denied that the aggregate amount of woman’s labor in -the domain of art was greater during the eighteenth century than in -any preceding one; indeed, the number of female artists far surpassed -the collected number of those known from earliest history. So vast an -increase was not according to the proportion of other vocations. It -is also true that, in their efforts, as in those of the men of this -period, the extension was not accompanied by greater depth, and less -individuality was discernible in the talent and skill which became more -generally diffused; hence the well-grounded complaint that the time was -deficient in great men. Nevertheless, the sum of ability and knowledge -had not diminished, though, in its manifold branchings and divisions, -such might appear to be the case. - -We find, therefore, a certain uniformity and mediocrity among numerous -women artists of the eighteenth century, rather than eminent talent in -special instances. Yet this was not wholly wanting, while the standard -of excellence was elevated, and a more general spirit of emulation -prevailed. - -Contrary to the experience of preceding ages, we discover the greatest -evidence of artistic activity among women in Germany; next to that, -in France; then in Italy. The Netherlands and England may be classed -together, while Spain and the Scandinavian countries are at the minimum -in this respect. These proportions are not owing to chance, but -correspond with the general development of art among the nations at -this time. - -The aspect of female culture also corresponded with national -characteristics. The decorative was of rapid growth and early bloom in -Prussia; Berlin, hardly mentioned heretofore, became suddenly alive -with energetic talent superior to that which displayed itself in any -other German city. Art sprang into luxuriance, too, at the Electoral -court, and Dresden claimed no insignificant rank in the scale. France -meanwhile sustained her old renown; while Nuremberg and Munich should -not be slighted. But the Austrian and Rhine countries had less reason -to boast; and many cities of northern Germany were in like poverty of -women artists. - -During the first half of the eighteenth century, the order of things -differed not essentially from the close of the seventeenth; in fact, -the same influences predominated, both in literature and art. The -Pegnitzschäfer and other poetical orders were still in existence; the -sacred poems composed by noble ladies had their imitations; female -authors wrote after the established fashion, while they entered on -a wider field, and partook of the new spirit breathed into German -poetry. Women then became not only creators in the realm of fancy and -imagination, but exercised a controlling influence, by their relations -of friendship and intimacy with distinguished literary characters. Meta -arose beside her Klopstock; Herder sought inspiration from his bride; -by Wieland stood Sophie Delaroche; Schiller was aided by Caroline -Wolzogen and Madame von Kalb; Goëthe by Madame von Stein. Princesses -and the noble ladies of the land gave their patronage and protection to -letters, and sought to gather round them the choice spirits of their -day. This, in the beginning of the century, did Sophie Charlotte, the -great Queen of Prussia; and Amalia von Weimar thus aided the richest -development of German mind. - -Though nothing new or striking can be said to have been accomplished -in art by women during the first half of this century, the latter part -witnessed a revolution in which they greatly aided to spread and deepen -the growth of new ideas. It became necessary to the complete education -of ladies of the higher classes, that they should possess some -knowledge of art. Hagedorn mentions the fact that a teacher who could -give instruction in drawing and painting could much more readily obtain -a situation than one ignorant of those branches. Fashion and custom -enjoined not only a degree of knowledge, but also of skill, on those -who wished to be thought accomplished. There were many aristocratic -dilettanti, and a few royal ladies emulated the fame of the princely -dames of an older time in the pictorial crafts. - -Among these may be mentioned, Anna Amalia, of Brunswick; the -Archduchesses Charlotte and Maria Anna, of Austria; Duchess Sophia, -of Coburg-Saalfeld; the Margravine of Baden-Durlach; the Princess -Victoria, of Anhalt-Bernburg, and Elizabeth Ernestine Antonia, -of Saxe-Meiningen; besides the excellent Elizabeth Christina, of -Brunswick, who sought to promote the restoration of art and the advance -of knowledge, for the love of Frederick, her royal husband, and who -will ever be honored as the ornament of a house that henceforward -showed itself ready to foster and appreciate the liberal arts. - -We observe here, as before, that many painters of note had female -pupils or assistants, who endeavored to carry out the ideas they -originated. Dietrich, esteemed one of the best masters of the eclectic -school of the eighteenth century, had his enthusiasm shared by his -two sisters; Tischbein, who cultivated the French style, as Dietrich -did the Dutch, found appreciative companions and co-laborers in his -wife and daughter; and there were other women who strove to ennoble the -eclectic system by greater purity of tone and a more ardent study of -the antique. Oeser had several female pupils; and two sisters worked -in modest retirement beside the greatest artist of this style--Antoine -Raphael Mengs--having been taken through the same course of severe -study and exercise by their pedantic father. - -Carstens obtained and brought to perfection what Mengs toiled to reach -and realize. The grand and comprehensive ideas of Winkelmann found in -him a harmonious development. Averse to the reflective, which formed -the chief characteristic of Mengs and Oeser, he was steeped in the -inspiration caught from the antique ideal, and, without becoming a -copyist of any style, was able to reproduce the seed from the fruitful -soil of his own endowments. He may be called the founder of modern -German art. His grand, bold, and ingenious style did not particularly -commend itself to female talent; we do not find, therefore, that he had -any disciples of the softer sex. - -Between Carstens and Mengs, however, stands a lovely female form, -in age midway betwixt them, as in the peculiar bent of her genius; -less minute and reflective than Mengs, less grand and impressive than -Carstens. It is Angelica Kauffman, the gem of all the women artists of -this period; preserving the forms of the antique in her own delicate, -elegant, and charming style; wielding her power with such gracious -sweetness that all who behold are attracted to render the homage of -heartfelt admiration. - -It was now that fresh vitality was infused into German art by a -contemplation of the antique, while the forms of humanity and nature -were observed with greater freedom. Chodowiecki pursued this system, -and was one of the most successful artists _de genre_; while his -daughter, his pupil, Mademoiselle Bohren, and Kobell’s scholar, -Crescentia Schott, were instrumental in preparing the way for the -advance of painting in the style lately introduced. - -If we turn now from a general and hasty survey to the notice of -particular branches, it becomes a duty to record the names of some -women who practiced the most difficult and laborious of the plastic -arts. One of these was stamp-cutting. One who first evinced skill in -this kind of work was Rosa Elizabeth Schwindel of Leipzig, who plied -her art in Berlin at the commencement of the eighteenth century. -A beautiful medal of Queen Sophia Charlotte, executed by her, is -preserved. She was accomplished also in the cutting of gems and in -modeling in wax. In wax-work, Elizabeth Ross of Salzburg, Dorothea Menn -of Cologne, and Madame Weis, probably of Strasburg, were noted. As a -stone-cutter, Charlotte Rebecca Schild of Hanau worked in Paris. Rosina -Pflauder, in Salzburg, assisted her husband in stucco-work. - -In the same kind of work, as well as in painting, Maria Juliana Wermuth -of Gotha displayed both industry and skill. In cutting precious stones -Susanna Maria Dorsch gained some celebrity. She was born at Nuremberg -in 1701, and married the painter Solomon Graf, taking the noted painter -and engraver, J. J. Preisler, for her second husband. The kind of work -in which she excelled had been practiced by her father and grandfather, -and her application was remarkable. A vast number of gems were cut by -her hand, and her industry was not without its reward in the gaining of -great reputation. Medals were stamped in honor of her. - -Her daughters, Anna Felicitas and Maria Anna Preisler, employed -themselves in the same kind of work, without possessing, however, the -variety of talent or achieving the brilliant success of Barbara Julia, -the daughter of Johann Daniel Preisler of Nuremberg. She was skilled -in various branches of art; she could model in wax, and work in ivory -and alabaster, and added painting and copper-engraving to the list -of her accomplishments. She married a painter named Oeding, and died -in Brunswick before 1764. Several women, who were well known at the -time as modelers in wax, and who occupied themselves in engraving and -stone-cutting, might be named. Amid a number of names, necessarily -passed over, may be added those of the beautiful and variously-gifted -Mary Anna Treu of Bamberg, and her relative, Rosalie Treu, the wife of -the painter Dom, who afterward went to take the veil in a convent at -Mentz, giving up her resolution four days before the completion of her -novitiate, to return to the world and her native Bamberg. - -Henriette Felicitas Tassaert, the daughter of the famous painter, -painted in pastel, and engraved in copper admirably. Mademoiselle -Nohren, a pupil of Chodowiecki in Berlin, became a member of the -academy. - -It was natural that the greater number of artists of this period should -betake themselves to painting. We will glance first at some branches -of this, cultivated especially by women who did not achieve any thing -noteworthy in historical and genre painting. The fashionable taste of -the day ran much upon miniatures and pastel portraits, and many women -made themselves accomplished in this species of work, as well as in -enamel-painting, as far less study and application were required than -in the higher branches of the art. - -Marianna Hayd, a somewhat celebrated miniature-painter, was born in -Dantzic in 1688. She pursued her profession in Berlin, and, after -her marriage in 1705 to the painter Werner, in Augsburg, her talents -procured for her the honor of a call to the electoral court of Saxony -in Dresden, where she received an appointment, and died in 1753. - -Another fair artist in miniatures was Anna Rosina Liscewska, who also -worked in Berlin, where she was born in 1716. She achieved no mean -success, and in 1769 was admitted a member of the academy in Dresden. - -The same city was adorned by the elegant labors of Anna Maria Mengs, -whom Dr. Guhl calls “the most gifted of the three sisters,” and who -is styled by Fiorillo “the daughter of the Raphael of his age.” She -received early instruction from her father; came to Dresden in 1751, -and devoted herself to painting--chiefly portraits. She made her first -journey to Rome in 1777, and there married a copper-engraver, Manuel -Salvador Carmona. She had many children, but continued to exercise -her art while taking care of them. She produced several pastel and -miniature paintings. Her chief works, done for the King of Spain and -the Infant Don Luis, are in Madrid, in the Academy of San Fernando, of -which she was chosen a member. She died in Madrid, 1793. - -As miniature and pastel painting are peculiarly adapted to female -hands by the delicate and cleanly handling required, so flowers and -landscapes seem to present objects and scenes of beauty congenial to -the taste of the sex. It can not be wondered at, therefore, that these -branches found several cultivators. Flower and landscape painting -became a passion among the German women who could be classed as -amateurs or connoisseurs. Hagedorn mentions, in his work on painting, -as a distinguished patroness of these, a Countess von Oppendorf. With -her may be named the Countess von Truchsetz-Waldburg, the Princess -Anna Paar, and others of no special note. Maria Dorothea Dietrich, -the sister of the Dresden painter, and Crescentia Schott, already -mentioned, labored professionally in the art. - -Many were the fair painters who imitated the famous Rachel Ruysch. -The representation of animals and objects in natural history became a -favorite style, and the celebrity of Madame Merian stirred up many of -her sex to emulate her success. The influence of example wrought as -powerfully here as in every other matter. - -In the early part of this century lived at Lubeck Catharina Elizabeth -Heinecke, born in 1685, an enthusiastic patroness of flower-painting, -and the mother of “the famous Lubeck child.” We may mention also, amid -a cloud of artists to be passed unnoticed, a family at Nuremberg, named -Dietsch, that included three sisters of talent and accomplishment. -Catharina Treu, born at Bamberg in 1742, obtained celebrity in the same -line. She studied in Düsseldorf, attracted thither, doubtless, by the -works of Rachel Ruysch, and received the appointment of cabinet-painter -from Karl Theodore at Mannheim. Thence she returned to Düsseldorf to -take the place of professor in the academy of art in that place. - -To the same period belongs Caroline Frederika Friedrich, the first -female pensionnaire who exercised her art as member of the academy in -Dresden. Gertrude Metz of Cologne was also a disciple of Rachel Ruysch -in Düsseldorf. Of a remaining host we name only the sisters Anna and -Elizabeth Fuessli (Fuseli), who painted in the style of their father, -and copied from nature the flowers and insects of Switzerland. - -Copper-engraving was at this period practiced by a great number -of women, and patronized by many fair and princely dilettanti. -The Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, already named, possessed skill in -this branch. We may now leave all these, to look at the women who -distinguished themselves in the more commanding and elevated styles -of historical and genre painting. Here appears more evidence of -individuality in the treatment of particular subjects. - -Place must be accorded first to ladies of the highest rank. Anna Amalia -of Brunswick was a noted painter. Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria, -and daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa, occupied her leisure hours -in genre-painting and etching, and by her skill obtained considerable -repute. Charlotte, Archduchess of Austria, was a member of the academy -at Vienna, and as Queen of the Two Sicilies received instruction in -Naples from Mura. The Duchess Sophia of Coburg-Saalfeld, besides her -paintings, left some proofs of her skill in engraving toward the close -of the century. - -To these illustrious names may be added others who, like those royal -dames, devoted themselves to art, and gained high appreciation from -connoisseurs. Maria Elizabeth Wildorfer of Innspruck was busied in the -same profession a long time in Rome, where she painted portraits and -church pictures under the patronage of a cardinal. Maria Theresa Riedel -of Dresden, made pensionnaire of the academy there in 1764, occupied -herself in copying Dutch genre-paintings. Rosina, another sister of the -painter Dietrich, copied a number of old paintings. She married the -painter Boehme, and lived in Berlin till 1770. - -Anna Dorothea, one of the sisters Liszeuska, born in 1722, was elected, -on account of her portraits and historical works, a member of the -Parisian Academy. She died in Berlin as Madame Therbusch, in 1782. -Jacoba Werbronk worked in the latter part of the century, and died in -1801 in the Cloister Iseghen. But none of the women artists of this -time can be compared in point of genius or celebrity to the one of -whom we are now to speak--one of the loveliest, most gifted, and most -estimable of all the women who have secured immortal fame by the labors -of the pencil. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Angelica Kauffman.--Parentage and Birth.--Beautiful Scenery - of her native Land.--Early Impulse to Painting.--Adopts the - Style of Mengs.--Her Residence in Como.--Instruction.--Music or - Painting?--Beauty of Nature around her.--Angelica’s Letter about - Como.--Escape from Cupid.--Removal to Milan.--Introduction to great - Works of Art.--Studies of the Lombard Masters.--The Duke of Modena - her Patron.--Portrait of the Duchess of Carrara.--Success.--Return to - Schwarzenberg.--Painting in Fresco.--Homely Life of the Artist.--Milan - and Florence.--Rome.--Acquaintance with Winkelmann.--Angelica - paints his Portrait.--Goes to Naples.--Studies in Rome.--In - Venice.--Acquaintance with noble English Families.--In London.--A - brilliant Career.--Fuseli’s Attachment to her.--Appointed Professor - in the Academy of Arts.--Romantic Incident of her Travel in - Switzerland.--The weary Travelers.--The libertine Lord.--The Maiden’s - Indignation.--Unexpected Meeting in the aristocratic Circles of - London.--The Lord’s Suit renewed.--Rejected with Scorn.--His Rank - and Title spurned.--Revenge.--The Impostor in Society.--Angelica - deceived into Marriage.--She informs the Queen.--Her Father’s - Suspicions.--Discovery of the Cheat.--The Wife’s Despair.--The - false Marriage annulled.--The Queen’s Sympathy.--Stories of - Angelica’s Coquetry.--Marriage with Zucchi.--Return to Italy.--Her - Father’s Death.--Residence in Rome.--Circle of literary - Celebrities.--Angelica’s Works.--Criticisms.--Opinions of Mengs - and Fuseli.--The Portraits in the Pitti Gallery.--Death of - Zucchi.--Invasion of Italy.--Angelica’s Melancholy.--Journey and - Return.--Her Death and Funeral. - - - ANGELICA KAUFFMAN. - -Maria Anna Angelica Kauffman was born in Coire, the capital of the -Grisons, in 1741. Her father, the painter Johann Joseph Kauffman, had -been called to that place from Schwartzenberg on the Boden-See, by the -bishop’s appointment, to paint church pictures. He married there, and -remained till 1742, before removing to Morbegno in Lombardy. - -An only child, Angelica’s early years were tended by the care of -loving parents; and the grandeur and beauty of nature around her home, -the vine-clad hills and wild forests of her native land, the blue -waters and bright scenery she was accustomed to contemplate in Italy, -impressed her susceptible imagination, and awakened in her youthful -breast a quick and joyous sympathy with nature. Though not specially -intended by her father for the artist’s calling, the early impulse of -genius led her to painting, and she was permitted to follow the bent of -her inclination with such direction only as made the work appointed her -seem like a pleasant recreation. She preferred her lessons, in fact, -to any amusement. Very different was the early training of this gentle -spirit to that of Raphael Mengs, compelled to labor under strict rules; -and though Angelica afterward adopted the style of this celebrated -German master, hers differed in the possession of a light and charming -grace, which could only have been derived from her native endowments -and the free indulgence of her tastes. - -At the age of nine this child of genius was much noticed on account of -her wonderful pastel pictures. When her father left Morbegno, in 1752, -to reside in Como, she found greater scope for her ingenious talent, -and better instruction in that city; and, in addition to her practice -with the brush and pencil, she devoted herself to studies in general -literature and in music. Her proficiency in the latter was so rapid, -and the talent evinced so decided, besides the possession of a voice -unusually fine, that her friends, a few years afterward, urged that -her life should be devoted to music. She was herself undecided for some -time to which vocation she should consecrate her powers. In one of her -pictures she represents herself standing, in an attitude of hesitation, -between the allegorical figures of Music and Painting. Her love for the -latter gained the ascendency; and so great was her success, while yet -of tender age, that her portrait of a steward of the Bishop of Como -gained her a number of profitable orders. - -The exquisite natural scenery by which Angelica was at this time -surrounded, in a home on the borders of the loveliest lake in the -world, had a genial influence on her feelings, and the time passed -there was the happiest of her life. She is said to have painted the -portrait of the Archbishop of Como, at a very early age. At a later -period she recurs with pleasure to the years passed in this charming -abode. - -“You ask, my friend,” she says, in one of her letters, “why Como is -ever in my thoughts? It was at Como that, in my most happy youth, -I tasted the first real enjoyment of life. I saw stately palaces, -beautiful villas, elegant pleasure-boats, a splendid theatre. I thought -myself in the midst of the luxuries of fairyland. I saw the urchin, -too, young Love, in the act of letting fly an arrow pointed at my -breast; but I, a maiden fancy free, avoided the shaft, and it fell -harmless. After the lapse of years,” she proceeds, “the genius that -presides over my destiny led me again into this delicious region, -where I tasted the delights of friendship with the charms of nature, -and listened with deeper joy than ever to the murmur of waves on that -unrivaled shore. One day I was walking with agreeable company around -one of the most beautiful villas near the lake. In the shadow of a -wood I again saw the youthful god slumbering. I approached him. He -awakened, looked at me, and, recognizing her who had contemned his -power, sprang up suddenly, intent on swift revenge. He pursued me, the -arrow sped once more, and but by a hair’s breadth failed to reach my -heart.” - -All too quickly, indeed, passed the two years of her first residence in -Como; and it was with poignant regret that she left her beloved home, -when, in 1754, her father went to settle his family in Milan. - -Even this dreaded change, however, was a fortunate one; for it seemed -to be appointed that Angelica’s youth should glide away like a stream -in the sunshine of happiness. A new world of wonders opened to her view -in this city, where she saw works of art surpassing in merit those -she had yet beheld. She had copied antique models in her drawing, and -the engravings of pictures by the early masters which were among her -father’s treasures. Here she was first introduced to an acquaintance -with works of great beauty and importance in the history of art. Here -Leonardo da Vinci had labored, and founded a school in which are still -conspicuous the gentle dignity, purity, and elevation that live in -his creations. The impressions received from her contemplation of the -productions of the most famous of the Lombard masters, and the care -with which she studied them till her own style became imbued with their -spirit, decisively influenced the professional career of the young -artist. - -The change had a not less favorable effect upon her worldly -circumstances. Her copies of some pictures found in the palace of -Robert d’Este, Duke of Modena and Governor of Milan, induced him to -declare himself her patron, and led to her introduction to the Duchess -of Carrara. After she had painted by command the portrait of that -princess, she received orders for a number of pictures for other ladies -of rank. - -The associations to which this success gave rise contributed to give -the youthful painter that self-possession and dignity of manner, -combined with a quiet modesty most becoming her age and sex, which -afterward marked her deportment in elevated circles of society. - -Thus the few years of Kauffman’s residence in this favored Italian city -were productive of manifold advantages to his daughter. The death of -his wife determined him to another removal, and he went to undertake -a great work in his native city of Schwarzenberg. In this enterprise -Angelica was of essential service, having for the first time an -opportunity of engaging in an enterprise of magnitude, and of a kind -not often practiced by women. She painted in fresco the figures of the -Twelve Apostles after copper engravings from Piazetta. - -It has been said that the time spent in this country at this period -by the young artist was in the home of her father’s brother, an -honest “farmer, in comfortable though narrow circumstances. At first, -Angelica, accustomed to the wonders of art and the splendor of Italian -cities, could scarcely bring herself to endure this homely mode of -existence. The rude manners of those by whom she was surrounded--the -utter want of elegance or taste--displeased and disgusted her. -Gradually, however, as habit softened down these first impressions, -the poetic side of the picture dawned upon her mind. She learned to -love the homely simplicity of that hospitable dwelling, with its gabled -front and narrow windows--the gloom and solitude of those dark pine -forests, through which the sunbeams could scarcely penetrate, and -ceased to long for the marble palaces of Milan and the orange-groves -of Como. Besides, she had little time for idle regrets, the interior -decoration of a church in the neighborhood being intrusted to her -father and herself. Her success in an undertaking so difficult excited -considerable attention.” - -After the completion of this work, which won the enthusiastic -appreciation of the Bishop of Constance, a season of disquiet followed, -with frequent changes of residence and a crowding of commissions, -while the artist in vain longed for an opportunity to revisit the -depository of art treasures--Italy. To fulfill this wish, and complete -her artistic education, Angelica first returned with her father to -Milan, and thence went to Florence, where she threw herself with -restless zeal into the study of the great master-pieces in which that -city is so rich. Her performances already met with the appreciation -that was afterward testified by the admission of her portraits into the -collection there made of original paintings by artists of celebrity. -Cardinal de Roth called her to Constance for his portrait. - -Yet even Florence was regarded by her only as a place of preparatory -study; the great goal of her ambition was Rome. Thither she went in -1763, and her usual good fortune followed her. She went through a -course of perspective the following year. The immortal Winkelmann was -then in the midst of his great work of breathing new life into ancient -art, and it was his delight to interpret the inspiration for others, -and to promote social intercourse and a good understanding among -artists. - -It was not long ere the youthful votary became acquainted with this -great man. It was beautiful to see the friendship that subsisted -between this girl of eighteen, in the fresh bloom of life, and the -experienced man of sixty, who had spent so many years of labor in his -profession: she brilliant and ardent, full of hope and enthusiasm--his -brow furrowed with study and reflection; both inspired by the same -spirit; both having felt the same ardent desire to visit the Eternal -City. - -Angelica found both pleasure and profit in Winkelmann’s society, always -in the company of her friend, the wife of Raphael Mengs. A portrait of -him, painted by her at this time, and afterward engraved by her, amply -proved, by its excellent likeness, vivid coloring, and vigorous touch, -and, above all, by its spiritual expression, how thoroughly she had -comprehended the spirit of the greatest disciples of art. Winkelmann -announced to his friends, not without evident satisfaction, that his -portrait had been painted “by a young and beautiful woman.” - -Ere long, a command to copy some paintings in the royal gallery at -Naples called her to that city, so favored by the beauty of its -situation and the charm of its climate. Here she gained new ideas in -the contemplation of numerous master-pieces of old time, as well as a -rich reward for her labors in executing orders from many persons of -rank. Her abode in that soft, luxurious clime, surrounded by nature’s -loveliness, did not, however, enervate her character, nor impair the -freshness and naiveté of her style. - -In 1764 we find her again in Rome. Here she passed a year in the -prosecution of her studies, including architecture and perspective, -continuing her friendship with Winkelmann. Her observations of -Italian art were completed by studies of the works of the Caracci -in Bologna, and Titian, Tintoretto, and Paul Veronese in Venice. -In the last-mentioned city Angelica made the acquaintance of an -English lady--the accomplished Lady Wentworth, wife of the British -resident--who afterward took her to London. - -During her stay in Naples she had been received into relations -of intimacy with several noble English families, and had taken -their orders for paintings. It was thought that in London a more -distinguished and more lucrative success would be commanded than she -could hope for in a country so rich in artistic achievements as Italy. -This was in truth the case; and after Angelica had passed through -Paris, availing herself of its advantages, to London, she found open -to her a career of brilliant success, productive of much pecuniary -gain. Her talents and winning manners raised her up patrons and -friends among the aristocracy. Persons attached to the court engaged -her professional services; and the most renowned painter in England, -Sir Joshua Reynolds, was of the circle of her friends. It is said he -offered her his hand, and I have been told by Mr. Robert Balmanno, -who knew Fuseli personally, that he was one of her suitors. She was -numbered among the painters of the Royal Society, and received the rare -honor, for a woman, of an appointment to a professorship in the Academy -of Arts in London, being, meanwhile, universally acknowledged to occupy -a brilliant position in the best circles of fashionable society. - -A writer in the Westminster Review gives a romantic account of an -incident that led to the greatest misfortune of Angelica’s life: - -“It was in early girlhood, while traveling with her father through -Switzerland to their native land, that she first beheld the man who was -to exercise so fatal an influence on her destiny. Angelica was then -only in her seventeenth year, her dawning talents had already attracted -considerable attention, but as both father and daughter were poor, they -were compelled to travel on foot, resting at night at the little inns -by the wayside. One evening, when, wearied with the long day’s journey, -they entered a humble house of entertainment, they were informed by the -landlord that they must go farther, for a couple of “grand seigneurs,” -just arrived, had engaged all the rooms for themselves and their suite. -The weary travelers insisted on their right to remain, and the debate -was growing warm, when one of the gentlemen for whose accommodation -they were rejected made his appearance, and with great politeness -begged them to enter the dining-room and share their repast. The good -Kauffman, whose frank, confiding nature was always a stranger to -suspicion, at once consented, despite the whispered entreaties of his -daughter, who, with the intuitive perception of her sex, had discerned -something offensive beneath the polished courtesy of their inviter. -She was not mistaken; at the table Lord E---- soon forgot the respect -due to youth and innocence, and attempted some liberty. Angelica -indignantly repulsed it, and on its repetition, rising hastily from the -table, drew her father with her, and instantly left the house.” - -Years afterward, while Angelica was living in England--“welcomed with -enthusiasm, sought by the noblest and most gifted in the land, when -all seemed to smile upon her path, in a fatal hour she again lighted -on the man whose undisguised libertinism had so deeply wounded her -modesty ten years before. It was in the midst of a brilliant circle, -where all the _beaux esprits_ of London were assembled, that they again -met. Lord E---- had long since lost every trace of her, and great was -his amazement to recognize in the elegant woman and celebrated artist -the humble little pedestrian of the Swiss mountains. If he had thought -her charming then, how much more lovely did she seem to him now; his -heart and fancy were alike inflamed, and he resolved that this time, -at least, she should not escape him. Feigned repentance for the past, -assurances of unselfish devotion which sought for nothing in return -save the friendship and esteem of its object, flattery, insinuation, -all were employed. Angelica, trusting and guileless, believed him; nor -was it till, fancying himself secure of triumph, he threw off the mask, -that she even suspected his baseness. Equally shocked and indignant, -she would no longer admit him to her society. - -“This only stimulated his passions. Perhaps he thought it a pretext -to lure him to more honorable offers; at all events, despairing of -winning the prize by any other means, he laid his rank and title at her -feet. But Angelica was no Pamela to receive with humble gratitude the -hand of him who had insulted her virtue. Her mild but resolute refusal -stung him to madness. If what some of her biographers assert be true, -he forced himself into her presence, and sought by violence that which -no entreaties could win; but here, too, he failed. The rumor of his -worthless conduct got abroad, and he found it most convenient to leave -England for a time, vowing revenge. The subsequent portion of the story -is well known.” - -Others say it was an English painter, who, out of jealousy of the -talents of Angelica, instigated to his base plot the man who deceived -her. Be that as it may, she was undoubtedly the victim of a conspiracy -arranged with no less malignity than art. It was a counterpart to the -story of the Lady of Lyons; a rejected suitor vowing revenge, and using -as his instrument to obtain it a man very different in character from -the noble Claude. - -A low-born adventurer, who assumed the name of a gentleman of rank -and character--that of his master, Count Frederic de Horn--played a -conspicuous part at that time in London society, and was skillful -enough to deceive those with whom he associated. He approached our -artist, who was then about twenty-six, and in the bloom of her -existence. He paid his respects as one who rendered the deepest homage -to her genius; then he passed into the character of an unassuming and -sympathizing friend. Finally, he appealed to her romantic generosity -by representing himself as threatened with a terrible misfortune, from -which she only could save him by accepting him as her husband. A sudden -and secret marriage he averred was necessary. - -Poor Angelica, who had shunned love on the banks of Como, and under the -glowing skies of Italy; and since her coming to London had rejected -many offers of the most advantageous alliance, that she might remain -free to devote herself to her art, was caught in the fine-spun snare, -and yielded to chivalrous pity for one she believed worthy of her -heart’s affection. The marriage was celebrated by a Catholic priest, -without the formality of writings, and without witnesses. - -Angelica had received commissions to paint several members of the -royal family and eminent personages of the court, and her talents -had procured her the favorable notice of the Queen of England. One -day, while she was painting at Buckingham Palace, her majesty entered -into conversation with her, and Angelica communicated to her royal -friend the fact of her marriage. The queen congratulated her, and sent -an invitation to the Count de Horn to present himself at court. The -impostor, however, dared not appear so openly, and he kept himself very -close at home, for he well knew that it could not be long before the -deception would be discovered. - -At length the suspicions of Angelica’s father, to whom her marriage had -been made known, led him to inquiries, which were aided by friends of -influence. About this time, some say, the real count returned, and was -surprised at being frequently congratulated on his marriage. Then came -the mortifying discovery that the pretended count was a low impostor. -The queen informed Angelica, and assured her of her sympathy. - -The fellow had been induced to seek the poor girl’s hand from motives -of cupidity alone, desiring to possess himself of the property she had -acquired by her labors. He now wished to compel her to a hasty flight -from London. Believing herself irrevocably bound to him, Angelica -resolved to submit to her fate; but her firmness and strength of nature -enabled her to evade compliance with his requisition that she should -leave England, till the truth was made known to her--that he who called -himself her husband was already married to another woman still living. -This discovery made it dangerous for the impostor to remain in London, -and he was compelled to fly alone, after submitting unwillingly to the -necessity of restoring some three hundred pounds obtained from his -victim, to which he had no right. - -The false marriage was, of course, immediately declared null and -void. These unhappy circumstances in no way diminished the interest -and respect manifested for the lady who, in plucking the rose of -life, had been so severely wounded by its thorns; on the contrary, -she was treated with more attention than ever, and received several -unexceptionable offers of marriage. But all were declined; she chose to -live only for her profession. - -One of Angelica’s biographers pronounces her “proof against flattery.” -Nollekens, on the other hand, accused her of having been a coquette -in her youth. While at Rome, before her marriage, he said she -was extremely fond of personal admiration. “One evening she took -her station in one of the most conspicuous boxes of the theatre, -accompanied by two artists, both of whom, as well as many others, were -desperately enamored of her. She had her place between her two adorers; -and while her arms were folded before her in front of the box over -which she leaned, she managed to press a hand of both, so that each -imagined himself the cavalier of her choice.” - -After fifteen years’ residence in England, when the physician who -attended her suffering father advised return to Italy, and the invalid -expressed his fear of dying and leaving her unprotected, Angelica -yielded to his entreaties, and bestowed her hand upon the painter -Antonio Zucchi. - -This gentleman was born in Venice in 1728, and had worked there -upon historical pieces. He afterward took to landscape-painting and -architecture, and many of his designs were published in learned works -of the day. Being induced to go to England, he obtained an excellent -place, and won the warm friendship of Mr. Kauffman. The marriage -with his daughter took place in 1781, and proved a most happy one, -undisturbed by any untoward occurrence till the death of Zucchi. - -Angelica, with her husband and her father, now returned to the sunny -south. Stopping in Schwarzenberg to visit their relatives, they -proceeded to Italy, settling themselves for a prolonged stay. In -January of the following year Kauffman expired in the arms of his -loving child. - -The wedded pair, anxious to escape from the shadow of this sorrow, -hastened to Rome, where they fixed their permanent abode, paying only -a few visits to Naples at the command of the royal family. Their house -was the centre of attraction to the artistic and literary society of -that capital of art; and Madame Zucchi did the honors and dispensed -hospitalities with a grace peculiarly her own, without losing a -particle of her energy in the prosecution of her painting, or any -portion of the love for it that had distinguished her early years. -This may account for the uniform individuality discernible in her -productions, in the merits and defects of which may be traced the -peculiarities of her nature and training. - -In Rome, Angelica became acquainted with Goethe, Herder, and other -great men who at different times visited the Eternal City. Goethe says -of her in one of his letters, “The good Angelica has a most remarkable, -and, for a woman, really unheard-of talent; one must see and value -what she does and not what she leaves undone. There is much to learn -from her, particularly as to work, for what she effects is really -marvelous.” And in his work entitled “Winkelmann and his Century,” he -observes concerning her: “The light and pleasing in form and color, -in design and execution, distinguish the numerous works of our artist. -No living painter excels her in dignity, or in the delicate taste with -which she handles the pencil.” - -At the same time she has been thought deficient in strength of outline, -variety and force of touch; her coloring has been said to lack depth -and warmth; while all acknowledge her grace, sweetness, and delicacy, -and the freedom and ease, with the correctness and elegance of her -drawing. Her works have been justly called “light and lovely May-games -of a charming fantasy.” - -Among her character-pictures have been noted particularly “Allegra” -and “Penserosa,” and fancy portraits of Sappho and Sophonisba, with -the goddesses of Grecian mythology; also figures and scenes from the -modern poets, such as the delicate and bewitching Una, from Spenser’s -“Faery Queen,” and simple allegorical representations. These last -were favorite subjects with her, and were taken both from classic and -romantic history, as “Venus and Adonis,” “Rinaldo and Armida,” “The -Death of Heloise,” “Sappho inspired by Love,” etc. The praise can not -be denied her of having essentially aided the progress of modern art, -without parting with any portion of her feminine reserve and purity. -Her pictures, with Mengs’s writings, helped to liberate painting from -the exclusive school of Carlo Maratti. - -Among her best compositions have been noted “Leonardo da Vinci Dying in -the arms of Francis I.;” “The Return of Arminius”--painted for Joseph -II.--“The Funeral Pomp of Pallas;” and “The Nymph Surprised,” covering -herself hastily with a white veil. In painting portraits, she had the -habit of waiting, before sketching, to seize on some favorite attitude -or expression. She understood the effects of clare-obscure, and took -care to avoid confusion in her figures. Her draperies were designed -with taste, and not superfluous. - -An amateur once said to her, “Your angels could walk without deranging -their robes.” - -She was in the habit of throwing on paper her reflections, and -preserving the souvenirs. The following words were written on one of -her pictures: - -“I will not attempt to express supernatural things by human -inspiration, but wait for that till I reach heaven, if there is -painting done there.” - -Art to her had been as the breath of life, and labor her greatest -delight. They continued to be so, even when, crowned with fame, she was -the centre of an admiring circle in the best society of Rome. Zucchi, -in the hope of beguiling her from too assiduous application, purchased -a beautiful villa--Castle Gandolfo--for their residence; but Angelica -could not bear to be long distant from Rome. Strangers who came to the -city were soon attracted to pay their respects to the lovely artist; -and in the companionship of the great and gifted, either in her own -circle, or with friends like Klopstock and Gessner--who have highly -praised her genius--she exercised an influence that did not fail to -promote the growth of literary and artistic cultivation. - -De Rossi says: “It was interesting to see Angelica and her husband -before a picture. While Zucchi spoke with enthusiasm, Angelica remained -silent, fixing her eloquent glance on the finest portions of the work. -In her countenance one could read her feelings, and her observations -were always limited to a few brief words. These, however, seldom -expressed any blame; only the praises of that which was worthy of -praise. It belonged to her nature to be struck by the beautiful alone, -as the bee draws only honey out of every flower.” - -Raphael Mengs pronounced upon her a flattering eulogium. “As an -artist,” he says, “she is the pride of the female sex in all times and -all nations. Nothing is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all are -here.” But he was her friend, and wrote thus while the recollection of -her charms and virtues were fresh in his memory. - -Fuseli, who was honored by her friendship, was a more severe judge. -He says, he “has no wish to contradict those who make success the -standard of genius, and, as their heroine equals the greatest names -in the first, suppose her on a level with them in power. She pleased, -and desired to please, the age in which she lived and the race for -which she wrought. The Germans, with as much patriotism, at least, as -judgment, have styled her the Paintress of Minds (Seelen Mahlerin); -nor can this be wondered at for a nation who, in A. R. Mengs, flatter -themselves that they possess an artist equal to Raphael. - -“The male and female characters of Angelica never vary in form, -feature, or expression from the favorite ideal in her own mind. Her -heroes are all the man to whom she thought she could have submitted, -though him, perhaps, she never found. Her heroines are herself, and, -while suavity of countenance and alluring graces shall be able to -divert the general eye from the sterner demands of character and -expression, can never fail to please.” - -The lighter scenes of poetry were painted by her with a grace and -taste entirely her own, and happily formed, withal, to meet that of an -engraver, whose labors contributed to the growth and perpetuity of her -fame. This was Bartolozzi, whose talents were in great part devoted to -her. - -One feels naturally desirous of knowing something about the personal -appearance of one so much admired. Her portrait, painted by herself, -the size of life, is in the Pitti Gallery at Florence, with that of -two other female artists; and the three attract the attention of every -visitor. - -The following is the description of one spectator: “The first in -feature and expression bears the stamp of a masculine intellect; the -touch is vigorous, the coloring has the golden tint of the Venetian -school, but it presents no mark of individuality; this is Maria Robusti -Tintoretto. The second can not be mistaken; even the most unpracticed -eye would discern at a glance that it is a Frenchwoman--piquant, -lively, graceful, evidently not so much engrossed with her art as to be -insensible to admiration as a woman--this is the well-known Madame Le -Brun. Opposite the fair Parisian is a third portrait, a woman still in -the bloom of life, but destitute of all brilliancy of coloring, with an -expression grave and pensive almost to melancholy. She is seated on a -stone, in the midst of a solitary landscape, a portfolio with sketches -in one hand, a pencil in the other. The attitude is unstudied almost -to negligence. There is no attempt at display; you feel as you look on -her that every thought is absorbed in her vocation. This is Angelica -Kauffman.” - -The quiet tenor of her life was broken up by the death of her husband -in 1795. This domestic calamity was followed by political events that -shook the world, and our artist suffered amid the universal agitation. -She was much disquieted by the invasion of Italy by the French, though -she found in her art both relief from care and a protection from the -dread of poverty. General L’Espinasse exempted the house in which she -lived from lodging soldiers, and offered her his services for her -security and protection. But no kindness could restore her lost energy -or bring back the cheerfulness that had once sustained her. - -In 1802 Angelica was seized with illness, and on recovery was advised -to travel for the strengthening of both her bodily and mental -faculties, and for relief from the oppression of sadness that paralyzed -even her love of art. She visited Florence, Milan, and Como, where she -lingered with a melancholy pleasure amid the scenes of her youthful -days. In Venice she staid to visit the family of her deceased husband. -She then returned to Rome, where she was received by her friends with a -jubilant welcome. - -Her time passed thenceforward in her accustomed employments, and the -society of those who loved her. Her health continued to decline, but -her intellect remained bright and vigorous to the period of her death -in November, 1807. Not long before she expired she requested her cousin -by signs to read to her one of Gellert’s spiritual odes. In the midst -of Italian life she was ever true to the German spirit; as, amid her -more than masculine labors, she preserved her gentle, womanly nature. -The news of her decease caused profound grief throughout Rome. All -the members of the Academy of St. Luke assisted at her funeral; and, -as at the obsequies of Raphael, her latest pictures were borne after -her bier. Her remains were placed in the Church of St. Andrew della -Fratte. Her bust was preserved in the Pantheon. - -Her works are scattered all over Europe, and are to be found in Vienna, -Munich, London, Florence, Rome, Paris, etc. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Female Artists in the Scandinavian Countries.--In Sweden.--Ulrica - Pasch.--Danish Women Artists.--A richer Harvest in the - Netherlands.--The Belgian Sculptress.--Maria Verelst.--Her - Paintings and Attainments in the Languages.--Residence in - London.--Curious Anecdote.--Walpole’s Remark.--Women Artists in - Holland.--Poetry.--Henrietta Wolters.--Her Portraits.--Invitation - from Peter the Great.--Dutch Paintresses.--The young - Engraver.--Caroline Scheffer.--Landscape and Flower Painters.--A - Follower of Rachel Ruysch.--An Engraver.--In England.--Painting - suited to Women.--Literary Ladies.--Effect of the Introduction - of a new Manner in Art.--Numerous Dilettanti.--Female - Sculptors.--Mrs. Samon.--Mrs. Siddons and others.--Mrs. - Damer.--Aristocratic Birth.--Early love of Study and Art.--Horace - Walpole her Adviser.--Conversation with Hume.--First Attempt at - Modeling.--The Marble Bust and Hume’s Criticism.--Surprise of - the gay World.--Miss Conway’s Lessons and Works.--Unfortunate - Marriage.--Widowhood.--Politics.--Walpole’s Opinion of Mrs. Damer’s - Sculptures.--Darwin’s Lines.--Sculptures.--Envy and Detraction.--Going - abroad.--Escape from Danger.--Noble Ambition.--Return to - England.--Politics and Kissing.--Private Theatricals.--The three - Heroes.--Friendship with the Empress.--Walpole’s Bequest.--Parlor - Theatricals, etc.--Removal.--Project for improving India.--Mrs. - Damer’s Works.--Opinions of her. - - -From Germany we now turn to the northern countries, to the Netherlands, -and England, to glance at their female artists of the eighteenth -century. - -Few are found among the Scandinavian nations. Female talent had greatly -aided to bring about the rise of literature in Sweden, as in the -instance of Charlotte Nordenflycht and Ulrica Widström by their lyric -poems, and Maria Lenngren by her dramatic productions; but only one -artist of merit appears--the painter Ulrica Frederika Pasch, who, in -1773, was elected a member of the Academy at Stockholm. - -In Denmark, where many women cultivated the muses, gaining celebrity -for lyric and dramatic productions, a flower-painter, C. M. Ryding, -and an engraver on copper, Alexia de Lodde, may be mentioned, as well -as Margaretta Ziesenis, who devoted herself to painting portraits and -historical pieces, and was somewhat famous for her copies in miniature, -such as that of Correggio’s Zingarella. - -A much richer harvest opens in the Netherlands, in which the number of -women pursuing art as a profession was not less than it had been in the -preceding century. Among the Belgians the name of the sculptress Anna -Maria von Reyschoot of Ghent must not be omitted. - - - MARIA VERELST. - -Maria Verelst was born in 1680, at Antwerp. She was the daughter of -the painter Herman Verelst, and belonged to a family abounding in -celebrated artists. She received instruction from her uncle, Simon -Verelst, and was highly esteemed, not only for her very uncommon skill -in small portraits, while she attempted historical pieces successfully, -but also for her attainments in the languages and music. She went with -her father to London, then, as before and afterward, the rendezvous of -foreign talent, and died there in 1744. - -Descampes mentions a curious anecdote of her proficiency in the -languages. During her residence in London, one evening at the theatre, -she chanced to sit near six German gentlemen of high rank. They were -struck with her beauty and distinguished air, and expressed their -admiration in conversation with each other, in the most high-flown -terms which the German language could supply. The lady turned and -addressed them in the same tongue, observing that such extravagant -praise in the presence of a lady conveyed to her no real compliment. -One of them soon after repeated his encomium in Latin. She again -turned, and, replying in the same language, said, “It was unjust to -deprive the fair sex of that classic tongue, the vehicle of so much -true learning and taste.” - -With increased admiration the strangers begged permission to pay their -respects in person to a lady so singularly endowed. Maria answered that -she was a painter by profession, and lived with her uncle, Verelst -the flower-painter. They did not lose time in availing themselves of -the opportunity of seeing the fair artist and her works. Each of the -gentlemen sat for his portrait, for which he gave liberal compensation. -The story spread abroad, and proved an introduction for Maria into the -best society. - -Walpole remarks of this artist that she painted in oil both large -and small portraits, and drew small history-pieces. She spoke Latin, -German, Italian, and other languages fluently. - -In Protestant Holland women artists are found in still greater numbers. -Here the same favorable circumstances which had in former ages brought -art to early bloom existed with little change. As women assumed an -influential position in literature, so they did in the pictorial arts. - -The religious spirit that animated many breathed in the hymns and -odes of Petronella Mocas, and in the didactic poetry of Lucretia van -Merken; Elizabeth Wolff made herself known by her poetical epistles; -and the national drama, the fair fruit of the seventeenth century, -had a votary in the Baroness von Launoy, who made translations from -Tyrtæus. In like manner did women show their enterprise in the branches -of study which belong to our subject. - - - HENRIETTA WOLTERS. - -Henrietta Wolters of Amsterdam gained no inconsiderable fame as a -miniature-painter. She was the pupil of her father, Theodore van Pee, -and was early accustomed to copy from Van der Velde and Vandyck. The -miniature portraits afterward painted by her were so perfect in finish -and execution, that the Czar Peter the Great, who seems to have become -acquainted with her during his journey incognito through Holland, -offered her a salary of six thousand florins as court-painter if she -would remove to his capital. She received as much as four hundred -florins for a single picture. She declined the imperial invitation, and -remained in her home, where, having lived with her husband, the painter -Wolters, since 1719, she died in 1741. - -Passing over several of little note as artists, though among them are -numbered the Princess Anna of Orange and Cornelia de Ryk, we may pause -to mention Christina Chalon, who was born in Amsterdam in 1749, and -received her education with another artist, Sarah Troost. She painted -chiefly in gouache scenes from country life and family groups, and is -said to have learned the engraver’s art so young that she engraved a -picture when only nine years old. She died at Leyden in 1808. - -Caroline Scheffer belongs to the close of this century. She was the -daughter and pupil of a painter, Ary Lamme, and married another, J. -B. Scheffer of Mannheim, with whom she lived long in Amsterdam and -Rotterdam. After her husband’s death, in 1809, she went to Paris with -her two sons, Ary and Henry, to give them the advantage of the best -instruction in painting. They did credit to the care of this good -and affectionate mother in the fame they acquired, and returned her -devotion with due tenderness and filial love. She died at Paris in 1839. - -To these names should be added those of several women who devoted -themselves especially to landscape and flower painting--two branches in -which Holland could boast artists of skill and renown. Among these are -Elizabeth Ryberg, who lived in Rotterdam; Maria Jacoba Ommegank, and -Alberta ten Oever of Gröningen, some of whose landscapes, in the manner -of Ruysdael and Hobbema, were seen in the exhibition of 1818. Anna -Moritz, Susanna Maria Nymegen, and Cornelia van der Myin, are named by -Dr. Guhl. - -Elizabeth Georgina van Hogenhuizen, a dilettante, born in Hague in -1776, became a disciple of Rachel Ruysch, and gave promise of attaining -to a kindred celebrity, had not her life been cut short in the bloom of -eighteen. - -Among engravers on copper, who employed themselves with the pencil -as well as the graver, may be mentioned Maria Elizabeth Simons; she -engraved several pictures from Rubens and Van der Velde in the early -part of the century. - -In England, the political greatness of the nation and the appreciation -of art among the nobility, more than any natural predisposition of the -people, proved favorable to the progress of a cultivated taste, and -rewarded talent from other countries. Corresponding to the improvement -in the prospects of art, we find a number of women occupied diligently -in its pursuit. - -A writer in one of the British reviews observes: “The profession of -the painter would seem, in many respects, peculiarly fitted for woman. -It demands no sacrifice of maiden modesty nor of matronly reserve; -it leads her into no scenes of noisy revelry or unseemly license; it -does not force her to stand up to be stared at, commented on, clapped -or hissed by a crowded and often unmannered audience, who forget the -woman in the artist. It leaves her, during a great portion of her time -at least, beneath the protecting shelter of her home, beside her own -quiet fireside, in the midst of those who love her and whom she loves. -But, on the other hand, to attain high eminence, it demands the entire -devotion of a life; it entails a toil and study, severe, continuous, -and unbroken.” There is enough in this twofold truth to account both -for the number of women artists and the failure of many to reach the -distinction they aimed at. - -The assiduous cultivation of literature among ladies of the higher -class in the eighteenth century is sufficiently attested by productions -that yet remain for popular admiration. The names of Joanna Baillie, -Mrs. Montague, Clara Reeve, Fanny Burney, Harriet and Sophia Lee, Mrs. -Cowley, etc., posterity will not willingly let die; and the improvement -in general education owes much to the beneficial influence of women who -labored for this end, and strove also to introduce into society a less -frivolous tone of manners and a more pervading respect for morality and -religion. Mrs. Trimmer, Hannah More, Mrs. Barbauld, are remembered -with gratitude as having done their part in the good work; as also -Elizabeth Smith, who added to her literary acquirements extraordinary -talents and accomplishments both in music and painting. - -It was after the introduction of a new manner by artists who had -partaken of the inspiration of Carstens--such as Flaxman and Fuseli, -near the close of the century--that the greater number of English -female artists came into notice. It is necessary to mention only the -most prominent. One third, at least, of the entire body in England were -distinguished chiefly as amateurs, while in France the contrary was -true, very few having been noted among the artists of this period. - -First let us pay some attention to the sculptors. In the early part of -the century Mrs. Samon modeled figures and historical groups in wax. It -is said that the world-renowned Siddons was accustomed to amuse herself -occasionally by attempts in sculpture. Lady E. Fitzgerald, Miss Ogle, -Mrs. Wilmot, and Miss Andross, were also noted for their attempts in -sculpture. But the place of pre-eminence, above all who had appeared -down to the later years of the eighteenth century, belongs to Mrs. -Damer. - - - ANNE SEYMOUR DAMER. - -A rarer honor it is to a nation to be able to boast of a successful -artist of aristocratic origin than of a celebrated statesman. The -subject of this sketch was descended from families of the best blood -of England. Born in 1748, she was the only child of Field Marshal -Henry Seymour Conway (brother to the Marquis of Hertford) and Caroline -Campbell, only daughter of John, the fourth Duke of Argyle, and -widow of the Earl of Aylesbury and Elgin. “Her birth entitled her to -a life of ease and luxury; her beauty exposed her to the assiduities -of suitors and the temptations of courts, but it was her pleasure to -forget all such advantages, and dedicate the golden hours of her youth -to the task of raising a name by working in wet clay, plaster of Paris, -stubborn marble, and still more intractable bronze.”[2] - -[2] Allan Cunningham. - -The foundation of a pure and correct taste was laid in her superior -education. She devoted herself early to study, and acquired a knowledge -of general literature rare among women; became well acquainted with the -history and arts of the nations of antiquity, and with the standard -authors of England, France, and Italy. Her cousin, Horace Walpole, was -greatly pleased with her enthusiasm, and took delight in directing her -studies. - -She had long been accustomed to gaze with admiration on the few -beautiful pieces of ancient sculpture which she had opportunity of -seeing, and she felt in her own soul that inspiration which is almost -always the prophecy of success. It is said the bent of her genius -was discovered by an adventure with David Hume, the historian. When -eighteen or twenty years old, Anne was walking with him one day. They -were accosted by an Italian boy who offered for sale some plaster -figures and vases. The historian examined his wares, and spent some -minutes talking with the little fellow. Miss Conway afterward rallied -Mr. Hume in company upon his taste for paltry plaster casts. He -replied, with a touch of sarcasm, that the images she had viewed with -such contempt had not been made without the aid of both science and -genius, adding that a woman, even with all her attainments, could not -produce such works. The young lady formed a determination from that -moment to convince her monitor of his mistake. - -She procured wax and modeling tools, worked in secret, and in a short -time finished a head--some say a portrait of the philosopher, which she -presented to him in no small triumph. - -“This is very clever,” observed Hume. “It really deserves praise for a -first attempt; but, remember, it is much easier to model in wax than to -chisel a bust from marble.” - -The persevering girl was resolved to compel the satirist to the -admission that a woman could do more than he had supposed. Without -any announcement of her design, she supplied herself with marble and -all the necessary implements of labor. It was not long before she had -copied out in marble, roughly perhaps, but faithfully, the head she had -modeled in wax. She placed it before the historian, who was actually -surprised into admiration, though he found something still to criticise -in the want of fine workmanship and delicate finish. His fault-finding -probably went far to stimulate her to new exertions. From this time the -impulse of genius was strong within her, and she was firmly resolved -even to seclude herself from the brilliant society by which she was -surrounded for the purpose of devoting her life to the pursuit she -found so congenial to her taste. - -It could not long be concealed from the world of fashion that the -admired Miss Conway had forsaken the mask and the dance, and was -working, like any day-laborer, in wet clay; that she moved amid -subdued lights; that her glossy hair was covered with a mob cap -to keep out the white dust of the marble, while an unsightly apron -preserved her silk gown and embroidered slippers; that her white and -delicate fingers were often soiled with clay, or grasped the hammer -and the chisel. The strange story ran like wild-fire among the circles -of her acquaintance. Several titled ladies had wielded the pencil -and the brush, but scarcely one could be remembered who had taken -to sculpture. It may well be imagined that the spirited girl found -pleasure in showing her independence, and that she was animated by a -noble ambition to carve out for herself with the chisel a place among -the honored among artists, worthy of a descendant of the Seymours and -the Campbells. Works of genius seemed more than coronets to her; and -noble actions, than Norman blood! - -She now took lessons in modeling and the elemental part of sculpture, -from Cerrachi--the same conspirator who was brought to the guillotine -for plotting against Napoleon--while she perfected herself in the -practical part of working in marble in the studio of the elder Bacon, -and studied anatomy with Cruikshanks. She produced a number of ideal -heads and busts, and some figures of animals, executed with skill; but -her progress was slow, and she produced no work of note till seven -years after her marriage. - -At the age of nineteen she bestowed her hand upon the Hon. John -Damer, the eldest son of Lord Milton, and the nephew of the Earl of -Dorchester. This marriage proved a sad drawback to the improvement -of our young artist. Damer--“heir in expectancy to thirty thousand a -year--was at once eccentric and extravagant. Those were the days of -silk, and lace, and embroidery, and he adorned his person with all -that was costly, and loved to surprise his friends and vex his wife by -appearing thrice a day in a new suit.” He furnished for Miss Burney, -remarks Mrs. Lee, “in her celebrated novel of Cecilia, a character in -real life--Harrington, the guardian of her heroine.” He became the -prey of tailors and money-lenders in London; his extravagance daily -increased, and he scattered a princely fortune in a few years. In nine -years this unhappy union was terminated by the suicide of the husband, -who shot himself with a pistol, in the Bedford Arms, Covent Garden, in -August, 1776. His wardrobe, which was sold at auction, is said to have -brought fifteen thousand pounds--perhaps half its cost. - -The widow, left childless, availed herself of her recovered freedom -to take journeys with the object of gaining new ideas in the art she -loved. She traveled through France, Spain, and Italy, renewing her -studies in sculpture. At this time it was the fashion for ladies to -take a warm interest in politics. Mrs. Damer became an ardent partisan -of the Whig cause, and active in helping to carry elections. - -Mrs. Lee observes: “Gentlemen have no objection to ladies being -politicians if they take the right side: to wit, that to which they -themselves belong; and Mrs. Damer conscientiously adopted the opinions -of the Whig party. At that time Great Britain was waging war with her -American colonies. She took the part of the rebellious subjects, warmly -espoused our cause, and bravely advanced her opinions.” She was a warm -friend of Fox. - -Walpole thus speaks of his cousin’s works, which soon acquired her -fame as a sculptor: “Mrs. Damer’s busts from the life are not inferior -to the antique. Her shock dog, large as life, and only not alive, -has a looseness and softness in the curls that seemed impossible -to terra-cotta; it rivals the marble one of Bernini in the royal -collection. As the ancients have left us but five animals of equal -merit with their human figures--viz., the Barberini goat, the Tuscan -boar, the Mattei eagle, the eagle at Strawberry Hill, and Mr. Jenning’s -dog--the talent of Mrs. Damer must appear in the most distinguished -light.” Cerrachi gave a whole figure of Anne as the Mùse of Sculpture, -preserving the graceful lightness of her form and air. - -The poet Darwin says: - - “Long with soft touch shall Damer’s chisel charm; - With grace delight us, and with beauty warm.” - -After 1780, she produced several fine specimens of sculpture, both in -marble and terra-cotta. She made a group of sleeping dogs, in marble, -for the Duke of Richmond, her brother-in-law, and another for Queen -Charlotte. She presented a bust of herself, in 1778, to the Florentine -Gallery, and executed several of her titled lady relatives, which were -esteemed as works of great merit, and still adorn the galleries of -noble connoisseurs. Two colossal heads of her workmanship, representing -Thames and Isis, were designed for the keystones of the bridge at -Henley. - -Envy was busy, as it generally is, in disputing the claims of this -noble lady to the entire authorship of her celebrated productions; but, -though they exhibit a varied character, there was no proof that she -availed herself of more assistance than is usual for all sculptors, -both in modeling and marble-work. Subordinate hands are always employed -in preparing the model and removing the superfluous material. - -Mrs. Damer complied with the fancy of the day in idealizing the -portraits of some of her friends into muses and deities. To please her -fast friend, Horace Walpole, she presented him with two kittens in -marble, wrought by herself, as an addition to the curiosities of his -villa. Still more endearing than their relationship was her agreement -with him in political opinions. - -She had lost her father at the time she went abroad in 1779. The -seas were filled with the armed vessels of France, America, and -Great Britain, and there was some danger in crossing the Channel. -The sculptress was protected, it is true, by her sympathy with the -Transatlantic “rebels” and by her character of artist. However, the -vessel in which she sailed encountered a French man-of-war, with which -a running fight was kept up for four hours. But “the heroic daughter of -a hero” manifested both sense and coolness. The French prevailed; the -packet struck its colors within sight of Ostend; but Mrs. Damer was not -detained in captivity. - -She now devoted herself more assiduously to the study of classic -authors, with the view of entering more fully into the feeling and -character of antique sculpture. She kept notes of her reflections -as she contemplated the works of art in Italy, with the remarks of -critics. She was bent on accomplishing some great work, the glory of -which should eclipse the lustre of her hereditary dignity. She had more -ambition to become distinguished as a sculptor than as the descendant -of the high aristocracy of Britain. - -Returning from Italy and Spain, she took part in the election that -terminated in the triumph of Charles Fox. Mrs. Crewe and the lovely -Duchess of Devonshire joined her in canvassing for their favorite, -the Whig candidate, “rustling their silks in the lowest sinks of sin -and misery, and, in return for the electors’ ‘most sweet voices,’ -submitting, it is said, their own sweet cheeks to the salutes of -butchers and barge-men.” - -An old elector said to Cunningham: “It was a fine sight to see a grand -lady come right smack up to us hard-working mortals, with a hand held -out, and a ‘Master, how d’ ye do?’ and laugh so loud, and talk so kind, -and shake us by the hand, and say, ‘Give us your vote, worthy sir--a -plumper for the people’s friend, our friend, every body’s friend.’ And -then, sir, if we hummed and hawed, they would ask us for our wives and -children; and if that didn’t do, they’d think nothing of a kiss--ay, a -dozen on ’em. Kissing was nothing to them, and it came all so natural.” - -It is recorded, also, that Mrs. Damer was fond of private theatricals, -and recited poetry and personated characters in plays performed at -the Duke of Richmond’s and elsewhere. Her talents in high comedy won -deserved applause, and many of our actresses would be eclipsed by her -performance in the standard old pieces. But though she took part in -such entertainments for the pleasure of others, her own delight was in -sculpture alone. Her busts in bronze, marble, and terra-cotta became -ornaments to the rich collections of her friends. Her statue of the -king in marble was established in the Edinburgh Register Office. She -consecrated a monumental bust to the memory of the countess her mother, -whose pieces of needle-work had equaled the finest paintings. She -formed a design to perpetuate the memory of a noble act by Lord William -Campbell, her uncle, he having once leaped from a boat into the Thames, -and dived down sixteen feet, to save the life of a drowning man. This -work was never finished in marble. - -Mrs. Damer’s heroes, out of her own family, were Fox, Nelson, and -Napoleon; and she was acquainted with them all. She executed the -busts of the first two, and it was one of her fancies to record in -a small book the remarks of “the Napoleon of the waves” during his -conversations with her. During her visit in France she formed a -friendship for the Viscountess Beauharnais; and many years afterward -a French gentleman brought her a letter from the wife of the First -Consul, with a splendid present of porcelain. She was invited to Paris -by her former friend, who desired to present her to Napoleon. The -latter asked her for a bust of Fox, which Mrs. Damer brought to the -emperor on a subsequent visit to Paris. The emperor presented her with -a splendid snuff-box and his portrait set with diamonds. - -Walpole died in 1797, bequeathing to this daughter of General Conway -for her life, his Gothic villa of “Strawberry Hill,” with its rich and -rare contents--books and artistic curiosities--and two thousand pounds -a year to keep the place in repair. It has “become famous from its -connection with the studies of the accomplished author of the Castle -of Otranto.” Here Mrs. Damer was happy in entertaining her friends, -not only with feasts of good things at her table, but with private -theatrical performances, in which she often took part. Joanna Baillie, -the matchless Siddons, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs. Berry and her daughters, -were among her chosen companions. The classic villa, however, had been -entailed upon Lord Waldegrave, and Mrs. Damer was induced to give it up -to him ten years previous to her own death. She purchased York House -in the neighborhood, the birth-place of Queen Anne. This was her summer -residence, her winter house being in Park Lane. - -As she approached the close of life, and saw the heroes of her early -enthusiasm pass away, her love of sculpture increased. She thought -the art might be made to render important aid in the civilization and -religious improvement of Hindostan and the Indian isles, and often -talked with Sir Alexander Johnston of substituting Christian subjects -in sculpture for the idols of heathenism in those regions. She was, -unfortunately, no longer young enough for such an enterprise; yet the -idea was a noble one. She executed the bust of Nelson in marble for -a present to the King of Tanjore--a Hindoo sovereign of power and -influence in the south of Asia. That specimen of her skill may have -tended to disseminate in that remote nation a desire for statuary by -British artists. - -A list of thirty of her works has been published. A beautiful bust of -herself, executed by her in marble, was in the collection of Richard -Payne Knight, and was bequeathed by him to the British Museum. Her -group of “The Death of Cleopatra,” represented the closing scene of -Shakspeare’s tragedy. The Queen of Egypt, having failed to excite the -pity of Octavius Cæsar, and resolved to follow her departed love, has -applied the “venomous worm of Nile” to her breast. The words - - “Come, mortal wretch, - With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate - Of life at once untie,” - -are embodied in the expression. - -This tasteful composition was modeled in basso-relievo, and was -engraved by Hellyer as a vignette title to the second volume of -Boydell’s Shakspeare. - -Mrs. Damer’s health declined in the spring of 1828, and on the 28th -of May she departed this life, in her eightieth year. She left to her -relative Sir Alexander Johnston all her works in marble, bronze, and -terra-cotta, and her mother’s needle pictures, with directions that her -apron and tools should be buried in her coffin, and that her manuscript -memoranda and correspondence should be destroyed. She was interred in -the church of Tunbridge, Kent. - -Whatever difference of opinion there may be respecting the genius and -works of this sculptress, there can be none in pronouncing her an -extraordinary woman. She would have been called “strong-minded” in -our day, for she sent a friendly message to Napoleon on the eve of -Waterloo, canvassed an election for Fox, and entertained Queen Caroline -during her trial! In her estimation, genius and generous impulse were -above the conventionalities of birth and fashion. It is difficult -to estimate fairly the productions of a favored child of wealth and -splendor, and one eminent for learning and wit. Her works have been -severely criticised, and those who most admire her independent career, -are disposed to deny her the possession of great originality and such -a practical knowledge of art as would enable her to finish with a -good degree of perfection. It has been remarked, however, that her -conception was generally superior to her execution. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Mary Moser.--Nollekens’ House.--Skill in Flower-painting.--The - Fashions.--Queen Charlotte.--Patience Wright.--Birth - in New Jersey.--Quaker Parents.--Childish Taste for - Modeling.--Marriage.--Widowhood.--Wax-modeling.--Rivals - Madame Tussaud.--Residence in England.--Sympathy with America - in Rebellion.--Correspondence with Franklin.--Intelligence - conveyed.--Freedom of Speech to Majesty.--Franklin’s Postscript.--“The - Promethean Modeler.”--Letter to Jefferson.--Patriotism.--Art the - Fashion.--Aristocratic lady Artists.--Princesses Painting.--Lady - Beauclerk.--Walpole’s “Beauclerk Closet.”--Designs and Portrait.--Lady - Lucan.--Her Illustrations of Shakspeare.--Walpole’s Criticism.--Other - Works.--Mary Benwell and others.--Anna Smyters and others.--Madame - Prestel.--Mrs. Grace.--Mrs. Wright.--Flower-painters.--Catherine Read - and others.--Maria Cosway.--Peril in Infancy.--Lessons.--Resolution - to take the Veil.--Visit to London.--Marriage.--Cosway’s - Painting.--Vanity and Extravagance.--The beautiful Italian - Paintress.--Cosway’s Prudence and Management.--Brilliant - evening Receptions.--Aristocratic Friends.--The Epigram on the - Gate.--Splendid new House and Furniture.--Failing Health.--France - and Italy.--Institution at Lodi.--Singular Occurrence.--Death of - Cosway.--Return to Lodi.--Maria’s Style and Works. - - - MARY MOSER. - -This lady, a member of the Royal Academy in London, is mentioned by the -biographers of Nollekens as “skillful in painting flowers, sarcastic -when she held the pen.” She liked to visit the illiterate Nollekens, at -whose house, with a cup of tea, she occasionally enjoyed the company of -Dr. Johnson. Smith does not hesitate to charge her with having set her -cap at Fuseli, “but his heart, unfortunately, had already been deeply -pierced by Angelica Kauffman.” - -She was the daughter of a German artist in enameling, but was educated -in England. She was truly wonderful in flower-pieces. The tasteful -decorations of some new apartments in Windsor Palace were executed by -her hand. - -While in London she wrote thus to her friend Mrs. Lloyd: - -“Come to London and admire our plumes; we sweep the sky! A duchess -wears six feathers, a lady four, and every milkmaid one at each corner -of her cap! * * * Fashion is grown a monster; pray tell your operator -that your hair must measure just three quarters of a yard from the -extremity of one wing to the other.” - -Queen Charlotte took particular notice of Miss Moser, and for a -considerable time employed her for the decoration of one chamber, which -her majesty commanded to be called Miss Moser’s room, and for which the -queen paid upward of nine hundred pounds. - - - PATIENCE WRIGHT. - -This extraordinary woman, as Dunlap rightly calls her, was born, like -West, among a people who professed to eschew all that is imaginative -or pictorial. Her parents, who were Quakers, lived at Bordentown, New -Jersey, where Patience Lovell was born in 1725. Her uncommon talent for -imitation was shown long before she had an opportunity of seeing any -work of art. The dough meant for the oven, or the clay found near her -dwelling, supplied her with materials out of which she moulded figures -that bore a recognizable resemblance to human beings, and, ere long, to -the persons with whom she was most familiar. - -She married Joseph Wright of Bordentown in 1748. He lived only nineteen -years. Before 1772 the lady had gained not a little celebrity in some -of the cities of the United States for her astonishing likenesses in -wax. A widow, with three children dependent on her for support, she was -obliged to seek a larger field for her efforts. The prospect of success -in London was good, and to London she went. - -There is testimony in English journals of the day that her works -were thought extraordinary of their kind. She bade fair to rival -the famous Madame Tussaud. Her conversational powers and general -intelligence gained her the attention and friendship of several among -the distinguished men of the day. Though a resident of England, her -sympathies were engaged in behalf of her countrymen during the struggle -of the American Revolution. It is said she even rendered important -aid to the cause by sending to American officers intelligence of the -designs of the British government. She corresponded with Franklin while -he was in Paris; and as soon as a new general was appointed, or a -squadron began to be fitted out, he was sure to know it. She was often -able to gain information in families where she visited, and to transmit -to her American friends accounts of the number of British troops and -the places of their destination. - -At one time she had frequent access to Buckingham House, and was -accustomed to express her sentiments freely to their majesties, who -were amused with her originality. The great Chatham honored her with -his visits, and she took the full-length likeness of him, which appears -in a glass case in Westminster Abbey. - -The following is the postscript to one of Franklin’s letters, offering -service should she return to America through France: - -“My grandson, whom you may remember when a little saucy boy at school, -being my amanuensis in writing the within letter, has been diverting -me with his remarks. He conceives that your figures can not be packed -up without damage from any thing you could fill the boxes with to -keep them steady. He supposes, therefore, that you must put them -into post-chaises, two and two, which will make a long train upon -the road, and be a very expensive conveyance; but, as they will eat -nothing at the inns, you may the better afford it. When they come to -Dover, he is sure, they are so like life and nature, that the master -of the packet will not receive them on board without passports. It -will require, he says, five or six of the long French stage-coaches to -convey them as passengers from Calais to Paris; and a ship with good -accommodations to convey them to America, where all the world will -wonder at your clemency to Lord N----, that, having it in your power to -hang or send him to the lighters, you had generously reprieved him for -transportation.” - -Mrs. Wright was sometimes called “Sibylla,” as she professed to -foretell political events. In a London magazine of 1775 she is called -“the Promethean modeler,” with the remark: “In her very infancy she -discovered such a striking genius, and began making faces with new -bread and putty to such an extent that she was advised to try her skill -in wax.” - -Her likenesses of the king, queen, Lord Temple, Lord Chatham, Barry, -Wilkes, and others, attracted universal attention. Critics gave her -credit for wonderful natural abilities, and said she would have been -a miracle if the advantages of a liberal education had fallen to her -lot. Noticing her quick and brilliant eyes, their glance was said to -“penetrate and dart through the person looked on.” She had a faculty of -distinguishing the characters and dispositions of her visitors, and was -rarely mistaken in her judgment of them. - -Dunlap farther speaks of “an energetic wildness in her manner. While -conversing she was busy modeling, both hands being under her apron.” - -Her eldest daughter married Mr. Platt, an American; she inherited some -of her mother’s talents. She became well known in New York about 1787 -by her modeling in wax. The younger was the wife of Hoppner, the rival -of Stuart and Lawrence in portrait-painting. The young lady’s sweet -face may be recognized in some historical compositions. The British -Consul at Venice, mentioned by Moore in his Life of Byron, was the -grandson of Mrs. Wright. - -Mrs. Wright lost favor with George III. by her earnest reproofs for his -sanction of the war with America. She went to Paris in 1781, but was -in London in 1785, when she wrote to Jefferson that she was delighted -that her son Joseph had painted the best likeness of Washington of any -painter in America. Washington himself said he “should think himself -happy to have his bust done by Mrs. Wright, whose uncommon talents,” -etc. - -She wished not only to make a likeness of the hero, but of those -gentlemen who had assisted at signing the treaty of peace. “To shame -the English king,” she says, “I would go to any trouble and expense, to -add my mite to the stock of honor due to Adams, Jefferson, and others, -to send to America.” And she offered to go herself to Paris and mould -the likeness of Jefferson. She wished to consult him how best to honor -her country by holding up the likenesses of her eminent men, either in -painting or wax-work; and hinted at the danger of sending Washington’s -picture to London, from the enmity of the government and the espionage -of the police; the latter, she observes, having “all the folly, without -the ability, of the French.” - -The exercise of artistic accomplishment was now so popular, that -culture in painting, drawing, and etching became general in the -education of young ladies. The fashion of patronizing the arts, too, -was in vogue among women of the highest rank. Lady Dorothea Saville -painted portraits and drew admirable sketches. Lady Louisa de Greville -and her sister Augusta were ardent connoisseurs. The Countess Lavinia -Spencer was celebrated for her skill in etching; and Lady Amherst, Lady -Temple, and Lady Henry Fitzgerald, were noted artists. - -Two princesses of the royal family took pleasure in painting. Princess -Elizabeth drew with taste and skill. She engraved a “Birth of Love” -after Tomkins, and produced several original specimens of great beauty. -One of her fancy-pieces was “Cupid turned Volunteer,” which appeared, -in 1804, in a series of prints engraved with poetical illustrations. -The designs were beautiful. Three years later, a series of twenty-four -etchings by her royal highness was published. They evinced spirit and -taste, and a deep feeling for the beautiful. - -Charlotte Matilda, afterward Queen of Wurtemberg, drew and painted -landscapes after the manner of Waterloo. - - - LADY DIANA BEAUCLERK. - -Lady Diana Spencer, the wife of Topham Beauclerk, and the daughter -of the Duke of Marlborough, was celebrated as an amateur artist, and -produced drawings that gained the enthusiastic admiration of Walpole. -In 1776 he built a hexagonal tower, which he called “Beauclerk -Closet,” as it was constructed “purposely for the reception of seven -incomparable drawings by Lady Diana, illustrating scenes in his -‘Mysterious Mother.’” They were conceived and executed in a fortnight. -In 1796 the lady produced designs for a translation of Bürger’s ballad -of “Leonore,” by her nephew, published in folio the following year. -Lady Diana also finished a series of designs for a splendid edition of -Dryden’s Fables in folio. These show that she possessed an elegant and -fertile imagination, with a truly classic taste. In her portrait of the -Duchess of Devonshire, the nymph-like grace of the figure is like what -a Grecian sculptor would give to the form of a dryad or river-goddess. - -She died in 1808, at the age of seventy-four. - - - MARGARET, COUNTESS OF LUCAN, - -possessed a remarkable talent for copying miniatures and illuminations. -She completed a series of embellishments of Shakspeare’s historical -plays, in five folio volumes, now preserved in the library at Althorp. -For sixteen years she devoted herself to the pursuit, indulging in “the -pleasurable toil” of illustrating that great work. She commenced this -enterprise when fifty years of age, and ended it at sixty-six. Walpole -says: “Whatever of taste, beauty, and judgment in decoration, by means -of landscapes, flowers, birds, heraldic ornaments and devices, etc., -could dress our immortal bard in a yet more fascinating form, has -been accomplished by a noble hand, which undertook a Herculean task, -and with a true delicacy and finish of execution that has been rarely -equaled.” - -Lady Lucan also copied the most exquisite works of Isaac and Peter -Oliver, Hoskins, and Cooper; “with genius,” says her admiring friend, -“that almost depreciated those masters;” and “transferring the vigor of -Raphael to her copies in water-colors.” She died in 1815. - -The Countess of Tott exhibited in 1804 her portrait of the famous -Elfi Bey. Lord Orford speaks of Mrs. Delany’s skill in painting -and imitating flowers with cuttings of colored paper. This lady is -mentioned by Madame d’Arblay, in her Diary, as the queen’s friend, the -wife of Patrick Delany, who was the intimate friend of Dean Swift. - -Among a host of minor women artists may be mentioned Mary Benwell, who -painted portraits and miniatures in oil and crayons, exhibited from -1762 to 1783. She married Code, who was in the army, and purchased -rank for him. He was stationed at Gibraltar, where he died. Mrs. Code -retired from her profession in 1800. Miss Anna Ladd, skilled in the -same branch, died in 1770. Agatha van der Myn also painted flowers, -fruits, and birds in England. - -Anna Smyters, the wife of a sculptor and architect, acquired celebrity -for her miniatures and water-color paintings. One, representing a -wind-mill with sails spread, a miller with his sack on his shoulder, a -carriage and horse, and a road leading to a village, was complete, of a -size so small that it could be covered by a grain of corn. - -Miss Anna Jemima Provis was said to have made known to some English -artists the receipt for coloring used by the great Venetian masters. It -had been brought from Italy by her grandfather. - -Mrs. Dards opened a new exhibition with flower-paintings, in the -richest colors. They were exact imitations of nature, done with -fish-bones. - -Mrs. Hoadley, wife of the Bishop of Winchester, was well skilled -in painting. Caroline Watson was eminent in engraving. She was -born in London, 1760. Receiving instruction from her father, she -engraved several subjects in mezzotinto and in the dotted manner. Her -productions were said to possess great merit. Miss Hartley, who etched -admirably, preceded her. - -Maria Catharine Prestel was the wife of a German painter and engraver. -She aided him in some of his best plates, particularly landscapes. The -marriage was not happy, and the pair separated. Madame Prestel came -to England in 1786, where she engraved prints in a style surpassed by -no artist for spirit and delicacy. She made etchings, and finished in -aquatinta in a fine picturesque manner. She died in London in 1794. - -Mrs. Grace exhibited her works seven years in the Society of Artists. -They were chiefly portraits in oil, rather heavy in coloring. She -attempted a historical subject in 1767: Antigonus, Seleucus, and -Stratonice. Her residence was in London. - -Mrs. Wright, the daughter of Mr. Guise--one of the gentlemen of his -majesty’s Chapel Royal at St. James’s, and master of the choristers -at Westminster--was a successful painter in miniature. She married, -unfortunately, a French emigrant, who shortly afterward left her, and -went to France, where he died. Her second husband was Mr. Wright, a -miniature-painter. She died in 1802. - -Fiorillo also mentions Betty Langley, Miss Noel, Miss Linwood, -Miss Bell, Madame Beaurepas, and the eldest daughter of Smirke the -academician. - -Walpole mentions Elizabeth Neal as a distinguished paintress, who went -to Holland. She painted flowers so admirably, that she was said to -rival the famous Zeghers. - -Among English flower-painters should not be forgotten Miss Elizabeth -Blackwell, Miss Gray, Anna Ladd, Anna Lee, and Mary Lawrence, who -busied herself with a splendid work on roses--painting and engraving -the illustrations. - -Catherine Read painted beautiful family scenes, and obtained -considerable reputation as a painter of portraits, both in oil and -crayon. A crayon, in the possession of a lady of New York, was -recognized as hers by an eminent American painter. She lived near -St. James’s, and frequently sent pieces to the exhibition. Several -mezzotint prints after her pictures were published. In 1770 she went to -the East Indies, staid a few years, and returned to England. Her niece, -Miss Beckson, also an artist, who went with her to the East Indies, -afterward married a baronet. - -Some of Anna Trevingard’s pictures were engraved. Miss Drax and Miss -Martin engraved from Tomkins and Der Petit; Miss Morland and Catharine -Mary Fanshawe drew and engraved twenty pictures of historical scenes. -The zealous and industrious Mary Spilsbury’s studies from country life, -and particularly those in which she represented her rural scenes and -sports of children, have been reproduced in engravings. - -It is certainly surprising that engraving and flower-painting did not -boast at this time a greater number of distinguished followers. - -It now becomes our task to linger a moment over the history of a -paintress whose genius and attainments won for her an enviable -reputation, and whose life experience illustrates the condition and -circumstances of art amid the higher classes of English society. - - - MARIA COSWAY. - -Maria Hadfield was the daughter of an Englishman who became rich -by keeping a hotel in Leghorn. It is said he lost four children in -infancy, and detected a maid-servant in the avowal that she sent them -to heaven out of love, and meant that the fifth, Maria, should follow -the rest. The woman was imprisoned for life, and the child was sent -to a convent to be educated. There she received lessons in music and -drawing, in common with other branches. Returning home, she devoted -herself to painting, and the acquaintance she afterward formed at Rome -with Battomi, Mengs, Maron, and Fuseli, with her contemplation of -the works of art in churches and palaces, contributed to the farther -development of her talents. - -At her father’s death she formed the resolution of entering a cloister, -but her mother persuaded her to accompany her first to London. There -the young girl became acquainted with the interesting and popular -Angelica Kauffman, who easily prevailed on her to relinquish all idea -of taking the veil. - -The change of resolution was followed not long afterward by Maria’s -marriage with Richard Cosway, a portrait and miniature painter, who -occupied a high position, and whose soft, pliant, and idealized style -was well adapted to please rich patrons whose vanity desired the most -favorable representation. In his carefully-finished miniatures the most -ordinary features were transformed into beauty, and pale, watery eyes -were made to sparkle with intellectual expression. This faculty of -beautifying rendered him the favorite of the wealthy and aristocratic. -He was, moreover, a member of the Academy, and had the honor of -being called a friend by the Prince of Wales, circumstances which -contributed still more to make him the “fashion.” But, unfortunately, -he had not good sense enough to wear these honors meekly. Vanity led -him into ridiculous extravagances. He dressed in the extreme of the -mode, and kept his servants costumed in the like absurd manner; he -gave expensive entertainments, and succeeded in drawing around him a -number of frivolous young sprigs of nobility, who would do him the -favor of drinking his Champagne and scattering his money at play, and -the next morning would amuse their “set” by laughing heartily over the -pretensions of the “parvenu.” - -Such was the situation of Cosway when he fell in love with Maria -Hadfield, wooed, and won her, and took his wife to his magnificently -furnished house. Maria was very young, and, having come recently from -Italy, was inexpert both in the English language and English customs. -Her fashionable husband chose to keep her strictly isolated from all -society till she should learn to appear with dignity and grace in the -distinguished circles where he meant she should move. - -Meanwhile he caused her to complete her artistic education, and to -practice on the lessons she received. Her miniatures soon gained such -appreciation that the highest praise was awarded to them of all that -appeared at the Royal Academy exhibitions. Maria was even pointed out -in the street as the successful artist. Then arrived the time when, -in Cosway’s opinion, she was fitted to become the central point of -attraction in his house for the brilliant society he loved. - -Very soon the talk every where was of the young, beautiful, and gifted -Italian. Cosway’s receptions were crowded, and half the carriages at -his door contained sitters ambitious of the honor of being painted by -the hand of his lovely wife. Her portrait of the beautiful Duchess of -Devonshire in the character of Spenser’s Cynthia raised her to the -pinnacle of reputation. - -Cosway, however, was too prudent, and, at the same time, too proud to -permit his wife to be esteemed a professional painter, for he knew -well that her productions would have greater value as the work of an -amateur. To be painted by her was thus represented and regarded as -a special favor; and costly presents were frequently added to the -customary payments for her pictures. - -In another matter the husband was more indulgent. Maria was -passionately fond of music, and he permitted her to exercise her gift -of song at the brilliant companies invited to his magnificent abode. -This completed the enchantment. Visitors came in such numbers that the -house would scarcely contain them; and all who were fashionable, or -had any aristocratic pretensions, were sure to be found in Cosway’s -drawing-rooms. There would be the poet whose latest effusion was -the rage in high circles; the author of the last sensation-speech -in Parliament; any rising star in art, or any hero of a wonderful -adventure; in short, all the lions of London were gathered in that -place of resort, to see and to be seen, and, above all, to listen to -the charming Cosway. The Honorable Mrs. Damer, Lady Lyttleton, the -Countess of Aylesbury, Lady Cecilia Johnston, and the Marchioness of -Townshend, were Maria’s most intimate friends, and were usually present -to add splendor to her receptions; while among the men were General -Paoli, Lords Sandys and Erskine, and his royal highness the Prince -of Wales, the foreign embassadors being also invited upon special -occasions. - -The mansion in Pall Mall was soon found too small to accommodate such -an influx of visitors, and to display its master’s works and finery. A -new one was taken in Oxford Street. - -Several of Cosway’s biographers mention the fact that the figure of a -lion beside the entrance put it into some wag’s head to stick on the -door an epigram that had a severe point, as the foppish little painter -was “not much unlike a monkey in the face:” - - “When a man to a fair for a show brings a lion, - ’Tis usual a monkey the sign-post to tie on; - But here the old custom reversed is seen, - For the lion’s without, and the monkey’s within.” - -The artist left the house in consequence of this foolish joke, and -fitted up another in the same street, with the magnificence of a fairy -palace. The author of “Nollekens and his Times” says: - -“His new house he fitted up in so picturesque, and, indeed, so princely -a style, that I regret drawings were not made of the general appearance -of each apartment; for many of the rooms were more like scenes of -enchantment, penciled by a poet’s fancy, than any thing perhaps before -displayed in a domestic habitation. His furniture consisted of ancient -chairs, couches, and conversation-stools, elaborately carved and -gilt, and covered with the most costly Genoa velvets; escritoirs of -ebony, inlaid with mother-of-pearl; and rich caskets for antique gems, -exquisitely enameled, and adorned with onyxes, opals, rubies, and -emeralds. There were also cabinets of ivory, curiously wrought; mosaic -tables set with jasper, blood-stone, and lapis lazuli, having their -feet carved into the claws of lions and eagles; screens of old raised -Oriental Japan; massive musical clocks, richly chased with ormolu and -tortoise-shell; ottomans superbly damasked; Persian and other carpets, -with corresponding hearth-rugs, bordered with ancient family crests, -and armorial ensigns in the centre; and rich hangings of English -tapestry. The carved chimney-pieces were adorned with the choicest -bronzes, models in wax, and terra-cotta; the tables were covered with -old Sèvre, blue Mandarin, Nankin, and Dresden China; and the cabinets -were surmounted with crystal cups, adorned with the York and Lancaster -roses, which might probably have graced the splendid banquets of the -proud Wolsey.” - -But splendor, fashionable position, success as an artist, and the -friendship of princes and nobles could not make Richard Cosway happy. -He saw the sneers lurking beneath the smiles of his aristocratic -guests, and he heard the rumor that he was accused by other artists -of using his talents to flatter the great, whose fleeting favor could -not, after all, confer upon him lasting reputation. Maria’s health, -too, began to fail; and, as the London climate was no longer endurable -for her, her husband took her to travel on the Continent. They went -to Paris and Flanders. One day, as they walked in the Gallery of the -Louvre, Cosway pointed to the naked wall, and said his cartoons would -look well in that place. He presented them to the French king, who -accepted and hung them up, giving the painter in return four splendid -pieces of Gobelin tapestry, which Cosway presented to the Prince of -Wales. - -With improved health, Mrs. Cosway returned to England and resumed her -brilliant parties. But her spirits again failing, she accompanied her -brother to Italy, expecting her husband to join her. - -Three years’ residence in that soft clime quite restored her health, -and she set out on her return to London. A new and terrible trial -awaited her there: she was called to mourn the death of her only -daughter. - -Again she departed for France, and, after the breaking out of the war -between that country and England, pursued her journey to Italy. She -established at Lodi a college for the education of young ladies on a -plan she had arranged for a similar institution at Lyons. - -On the establishment of peace she returned to England, and became the -tender nurse of her invalid husband, trying to solace the weary hours -which were passed in weakness and pain. - -Upon Mrs. Cosway’s return, Smith informs us, “she had caused the body -of their departed child, which her husband had preserved in an embalmed -state within a marble sarcophagus that stood in the drawing-room of -his house in Stratford Place, to be conveyed to Bunhill row, where it -was interred, sending the sarcophagus to Mr. Nollekens, the sculptor, -to take care of for a time. It is a curious coincidence that the same -hour this sarcophagus was removed from Mr. Nolleken’s residence, Mr. -Cosway died in the carriage of his old friend, Miss Udney, who had -been accustomed, during his infirm state, occasionally to give him an -airing,” and had taken him out that morning, as the weather was fine. - -Maria heard the sound of the returning wheels, and, hastening down -to receive her husband, found only his lifeless corpse. He had died -suddenly, upon a third and last attack of paralysis, July 4, 1821, at -the advanced age of eighty. - -The widow returned to Lodi, where her ladies’ college was still -flourishing. The place was endeared to her by many happy memories, and -there she was loved and respected by a large circle of friends. She -died in 1821. - -In her style Mrs. Cosway appears to have taken much from Flaxman and -Fuseli. In many of her works something fantastic is embodied, which is -associated with more of the wild and terrible than we usually find in -the creations of a mind at ease. No doubt her inconsolable grief for -the loss of her child was the cause of this unfeminine peculiarity. She -originated compositions from Virgil and Homer, as well as from Spenser -and Shakspeare. - -The engraving from a portrait of Maria Cosway represents her in the -bloom of youth, with a profusion of light hair dressed after the -then prevailing mode. The fresh and delicate loveliness of the face -is most attractive, and there is a wonderful beauty in the large, -soft eyes, and the artless innocence that beams in their expression. -The celebrated Mrs. Cowley, in a letter to her, thus speaks of her -portrait: “If you can draw every body as justly as the fair Maria -Cosway, you will be the first portrait-painter in the kingdom.” - -She painted a portrait of Madame Le Brun. One of her latest works was -a picture representing Madame Recamier as a guardian angel watching a -slumbering child. “The Winter’s Day,” in twelve pieces, was a series -by her, and she also published a book of drawings jointly with -Hopner. Her “Lama,” exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1788, showed a -female figure reclining by a stream; and the striking likeness to Mrs. -Fitzherbert caused no little sensation. - - - MADAME TUSSAUD. - -Madame Tussaud’s famous wax-work collection was first opened in Paris -about 1770, by M. Courcius, her uncle. Though consisting then chiefly -of busts, with a few full-length figures, it attracted much attention -as a novelty; and Louis XVI. was wont to amuse himself by placing -living figures, costumed, among the wax ones. In 1802 Madame Tussaud -opened her exhibition in London; afterward visiting all the large towns -in Great Britain. Her rooms were large and splendidly decorated, and -her figures were magnificently dressed--some in their own royal robes, -with crowns, stars, orders, and regal finery. Among the historical -groups is one of Henry VIII. and his family. The exhibition is still -kept up in the largest saloon in Europe, more than forty persons being -kept constantly employed in the care of it. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Close of the golden Age of Art in France.--Corruption of - Manners.--Influence of female Genius.--Reign of Louis XVI.--Female - Energy in the Revolution.--Charlotte Corday.--Greater Number of - female Artists in Germany.--Reasons why.--French Women devoted - to Engraving.--Stamp-cutters.--A Sculptress enamored.--A few - Paintresses.--The Number increasing.--Influence of the great - French Masters.--Sèvres-painting.--Genre-painting.--Disciples - of Greuze.--Portrait-painting in vogue.--Caroline - Sattler.--Flower-painters, etc.--Engravers.--Two eminent - Paintresses.--Adelaide Vincent.--Marriage.--Portraits and other - Works.--The Revolution.--Elizabeth Le Brun.--Talent for Painting.--Her - Father’s Delight.--Instruction.--Friendship with Vernet.--Poverty and - Labor.--Avaricious Step-father.--Her Earnings squandered.--Success - and Temptation.--Acquaintance with Le Brun.--Maternal Counsels - to Marriage.--Secret Marriage.--Warnings too late.--The Mask - falls.--Luxury for the Husband, Labor and Privation for the - Wife.--Success and Scandal.--French Society.--Friendship with - Marie Antoinette.--La Harpe’s Poem.--Evening Receptions.--Splendid - Entertainments.--Scarcity of Seats.--Petits Soupers.--The Grecian - Banquet.--Reports concerning it.--Departure from France.--Triumphal - Progress.--Reception in Bologna.--In Rome.--In Naples.--In - Florence.--Madame Le Brun’s Portrait.--Goethe’s Remarks.--New - Honors.--Reception at Vienna.--An old Friend in Berlin.--Residence - in Russia.--Return to France.--Loyalty.--Her Pictures.--Death of her - Husband and Daughter.--Advanced Age.--Autobiography.--An emblematic - Life. - - -The golden age of French literature and art came to a close with the -life of Louis XIV. A shadow only of that fortunate epoch lingered -during the years succeeding, and the general corruption of manners soon -obliterated even that. But in the reign of Louis XV. were glimpses of -a better state of things, and the influence of female genius and merit -was apparent, as a long list of names in literature can testify. Vice -held sway, however, in the latter years of this monarch, and hypocrisy -became the only homage paid by the court to virtue. - -The sceptre passed into the hands of Louis XVI., a feeble prince, whose -virtues were those of the man, not the sovereign. When the throne was -shattered, and revolution broke out, the women of France regained -their energy. They were heroines under the sway of the Decemvirs. What -self-sacrifice, for example, can outshine that of Charlotte Corday--the -greater than Brutus? And what was begun by a woman, a woman completed: -Madame Cabarrus shared in the glory of those great events! Those days -had writers, too, whom posterity has crowned with the garland woven by -their contemporaries. - -In comparing woman’s progress and her cultivation of art in France -with those of other nations, and especially the German, we may notice -important differences. The number of female artists was far greater in -Germany, perhaps because many cities in that land were central points, -affording employment to labor, and appreciation to those who devoted -themselves to the profession; whereas in France Paris alone was the -great rendezvous. There were, also, several branches of art cultivated -in Germany which in France were little practiced by women, such as -landscape-painting, for instance. The French women devoted themselves -much more to engraving than in Germany; in fact, engravers formed the -majority of female artists in France, where, moreover, female effort -was more in a strictly business line than in any other country. With -this professional devotion among the women engravers in France, it -follows that there were few amateurs; while, on the other hand, those -in Germany and England who handled the implements of art as dilettanti -were very numerous. - -Glancing over the prominent Frenchwomen who enjoyed a reputation among -their contemporaries during the eighteenth century, we may notice the -stamp-cutters Marie Anne de St. Urbin and Elise Lesueur, with the -sculptress Mademoiselle Collot, who afterward married Falconnet, and -assisted him in the completion of the statue of Peter the Great. She -was said to be enamored of the czar, and to have executed the finest -bust of him extant. The female painters of this period are but little -known. In the early part of the century, Lucrece Catherine de la Ronde -and Elizabeth Gauthier engraved after Edelinck and Langlais. Marie -Catherine Herault accompanied her husband, the painter Silvestre, to -Dresden; and Geneviéve Blanchot, and the Dames Godefroy and Davin, -among others less noted, complete the list during the first half of the -century. - -The number of devotees to art, however, was rapidly increasing, as the -ateliers of Regnault, David, and Redouté could bear witness, when they -became central points of reunion for female enterprise and study. - -The influence of those celebrated men, whose fair scholars have -exercised their talents in the nineteenth century, brought more into -vogue the tender and emotional kind of genre-painting, shown by Greuze -and Fragonard to be so well adapted to the taste and the feeling of -woman. Marguerite Gérard, the sister-in-law and pupil of Fragonard, -in this manner painted scenes of domestic life and family groups -with much grace and repose. A Madame Gérard has been mentioned as a -dilettante, who possessed a large fortune, and had a hotel furnished -with facilities for painting Sèvres. Her splendid cupboards of polished -mahogany were gilded and bronzed, and their contents looked like a -rich collection for the gratification of taste rather than for sale. -She purchased some pieces for sixty and eighty louis-d’ors. A pair -of vases, not very large, painted with sacred subjects, sold for -twenty-six thousand livres. - -The genre style was practiced by Mademoiselle Duquesnoy and Madame -Gois. Greuze’s manner was also imitated by his wife, Anna Gabrielle, -with Marie Geneviéve Brossard de Beaulieu, who had the honor of -membership in the Academies of Paris and Rome. - -Other disciples of this school entered into their profession after the -commencement of the nineteenth century; and they, with the pupils of -Regnault, Redouté, and David, belong to a later period than that under -discussion. - -Portrait-painting was more in vogue than any other kind, and that -almost altogether in oil; while miniature-painting, so much in favor -among the women of Germany, was in France much less practiced. Among -those who gained some celebrity, Caroline Sattler deserves mention. She -studied in Paris, and was not only received as a member of the Academy -in that city, but was honored with the title of Professor. Some time -afterward she gave her hand to a merchant named Tridon, and went to -live in Dresden. - -Landscape-painting was practiced by very few women. In flower-painting -Madeleine Françoise Basseporte was noted. She was born in 1701, -received her instruction from Aubriet, and in 1743 succeeded him in -his official appointment in the _Jardin des Plantes_. She painted a -series of pieces for the collection of the Duc Gaston d’Orleans, which -are still exhibited as masterworks of art. - -Madame Kugler, the wife of Von Weyler, painted the portraits of -distinguished persons in ivory, and had fine pieces, in enamel and -pastel, in the exhibition in 1789. She was employed by the government, -and worked after her husband’s plans. For twelve years she was -distinguished for her labors. - -Mesdames Charpentier, Surigny, Capet, Bruyère, Michaud, Davin, Mirnaux, -Anzon, and Benoit--who painted the emperor--were also well known as -artists. - -Susanna Silvestre came of a French family of painters. She copied heads -and portraits after Vandyck. - -As to the class of women, already noticed, who embraced the profession -of engravers, they were almost innumerable; yet it is difficult to -select any who merit special attention. One of the number--Marguerite -Leconte--about the middle of the century was a member of Art-academies -in Rome, Florence, and Bologna, and enjoyed a position of high -distinction. Geneviéve Naugis, born in Paris in 1746, worked before -she became the wife of Regnault. She copied plants from nature, and -engraved in copper; she also copied history-pieces after different -masters. - -Fanny Vernet engraved the pictures painted by her husband, Charles -Vernet; and, in her son Horace, gave to French art one of its greatest -ornaments. - -Elizabeth Clara Tardieu was the wife of an eminent French engraver, and -was accustomed to practice the art herself with success. - -Mary Magdalen Hortemels, the daughter of a French engraver, and the -wife of Cochin, was a noted engraver. She executed with the point and -finished with the graver, in a light and pleasing style. Several of -the plates for Monicart’s treatise on the pictures, statues, etc., at -Versailles were done by her. - -Marie Rosalie Bertaud and Louise Adelaide Boizot were excellent -engravers. - -Anne Philibert Coulet was an ingenious engraver of landscapes and -marine views; she wrought in a delicate and pleasing style. - -We will now throw back a look upon two female painters, who won for -themselves a nearly equal renown, and who are admirably adapted--each -in her own personal history, and the view of her early efforts--to be -representatives of the condition and characteristics of French art at -that period; and, withal, of the prevalent state of society. These -women are Adelaide Vincent and Louise Elise Le Brun. - - - ADELAIDE VINCENT. - -Adelaide Vertus Labille was born in Paris in 1749, and received her -earliest lessons in painting in that city, from J. E. Vincent, of -Geneva. This artist had come to Paris a short time before her birth, -had gained consideration as a painter of miniature portraits, and was -received a member of the Academy. Adelaide’s teacher in pastel-painting -was at first Latour; but when the son of her childhood’s -master--François Antoine Vincent, who had shared her studies in his -father’s atelier, as a boy, three years older than herself--came back -to Paris, she determined to join him both in the pursuit of art and the -journey of life. Her first husband had been M. Guyard; her second was -the younger Vincent. - -Adelaide painted a great number of portraits, among which those of -artists were most noted. One of these--the portrait of the sculptor -Gois--won the prize offered by the Academy, and gained for the fair -artist such celebrity that even the works of her famous rival Madame Le -Brun were thought inferior to it. - -A distinguished mark of appreciation was the appointment of Madame -Vincent as regular member of the Academy; this took place on the 31st -March, 1781. When the storm of the Revolution burst upon France she -adhered to the party of her husband, whose attachment to the royal -family caused him to live in continual hostility with the republican -painter David. One of her works was a large picture, in which the -figures were of life size, representing herself before the easel, and -her pupils around her; among them Mademoiselle Capet, the Duchess of -Angoulême, and several other members of the royal family, by whom she -was greatly esteemed and frequently employed. - -Another of her greatest productions represents the reception of a -member into the Order of St. Lazarus, by Monsieur, the king’s brother, -grand master of the order, who had given her the appointment of court -painter. This picture was destroyed during the Revolution, and its loss -caused the artist so much vexation that she would rarely touch the -brush afterward. Among her subsequent productions, a portrait of her -husband was celebrated at the time. - -This accomplished woman, crowned with honors by her contemporaries, -both as an artist and in social life, and esteemed by a large circle of -friends, died in 1803. - - - ELIZABETH LE BRUN. - -The other distinguished artist alluded to is Marie Louise Elizabeth -Vigée, who, under her married name, Le Brun, is widely known as one of -the most celebrated women belonging to the eighteenth and nineteenth -centuries. - -She was born in Paris, April 16th, 1755. Her father was a skillful -portrait-painter, and, amid the sports of childhood in her home, she -became acquainted with the principles that form the ground-work of this -art. She showed very early both disposition and talents for painting. -When only seven or eight years of age she drew a sketch of a bearded -man, which when her father saw, recognizing it as a token of the -presence of genius, he exclaimed, rapturously, “You shall be a painter, -my daughter, or there never was one!” - -Elizabeth long remembered this occurrence, and, in her memoir of -herself, speaks of the deep impression made upon her childish feelings -by the praises her father lavished on this early production. - -The lessons she received at home were soon found insufficient for her -rapidly-developing talent. She was introduced, as a pupil in drawing, -to Briard, a painter of considerable merit, who excelled in outline and -sketching. Her teacher in coloring was Davesne, after whom a picture -of Marie Antoinette as Dauphine of France was engraved. The celebrated -Joseph Vernet, then in the midst of his brilliant career, gave her -valuable advice, and always took a fatherly interest in the gifted -child. Her own father died when she was only thirteen years old, but -her mother permitted her to continue her studies of the great masters -in the public galleries. - -Here the maiden copied from the mighty works of Rubens, from the -portraits of Rembrandt and Vandyck, and from the delicate and charming -female heads of Greuze. Thus the ground-work was laid of her future -eminence as a colorist, and it was not long ere she was sufficiently -advanced to make considerable profit out of her labors. - -Her father had left no property at his death, and her mother had -been too long accustomed to a brilliant and luxurious Parisian life -not to feel privations sorely. She sought the means of indulgence in -her accustomed pleasures by availing herself of the talents of her -daughter, who now found herself obliged to support the family with her -earnings. - -Even when the mother entered into a second marriage, some years -later, the condition of things was not improved. Madame Vigée, wedded -to a rich jeweler, found herself disappointed in the expectation of -increased means to minister to her vanity and extravagance. From -the day of the bridal the husband showed himself so avaricious and -penurious, that he refused to furnish his wife and step-daughter even -the necessaries of life. - -The labors of our poor little Elizabeth were again in requisition; -and though her old friend Vernet advised her to give her parents only -an allowance from her earnings, and reserve the remainder for her -own use, all she could procure was taken from her and spent, either -in the purchase of articles for the family, or for the gratification -of her mother’s unbounded fondness for dress, promenades, and public -amusements. - -Wherever the youthful maiden appeared she was noticed for her extreme -beauty, as well as talked about for her wonderful talents, and the -general interest in her professional career seemed to go hand in hand -with admiration of her rare personal loveliness. She tells us, in her -memoirs, of several men enamored of her, who bespoke portraits from -her hand in the hope, during the sittings, of making progress in her -favor; but her love for art, as well as the principles of morality and -religion in which she had been reared, rendered her proof against all -such attempts to undermine her virtue. - -When only fifteen years old she painted a portrait of her mother, -which proved so admirable a piece of work that Vernet counseled her -to present it to the Academy with an application for admission. -Elizabeth’s extreme youth prevented her being received as a member, but -she was permitted, a few years later, to be present at all the public -sittings of the Academy. - -It was about this time that she became acquainted with Jean Baptiste -Pierre Le Brun, a painter and picture-dealer, who was then considered -one of the first connoisseurs of Europe. He paid devoted attention -to the lovely young artist, inducing her to visit his rare and rich -collection for the purpose of study, while he manifested the deepest -interest in her success. Six months after his introduction he became a -suitor for her hand. She says, in her autobiography, - -“I was far from the thought of marrying M. Le Brun, although he -possessed a handsome face and agreeable person; but my mother, who -imagined him very rich, never ceased urging me not to refuse so -advantageous a proposal. So at length I yielded; but the marriage was -only an exchange of one kind of trouble for another. Not that M. Le -Brun was a bad-hearted man. His character showed a mixture of softness -and vehemence; and his complaisance to every one made him popular. But -he was unhappily too fond of the society of disreputable females, and -this degrading propensity led him to a passion for gaming that ruined -both of us in point of fortune. So completely had he run through all we -possessed, that in 1789 I had not twenty francs for my journey out of -France, although my earnings had amounted to more than a million.” - -The marriage, which on the husband’s part was a mere matter of -speculation, for he relied on the talents of his bride to rid him -of his creditors, and enable him to live in ease and luxury, was -one of those alliances common in Paris in the reign of Louis XV. -The experience of our heroine was characteristic of the times. Le -Brun had been previously engaged to the daughter of a wealthy Dutch -picture-dealer, with whom he had transacted business. He begged -his wife to keep their marriage a secret till his former business -arrangements were satisfactorily adjusted. Madame consented, although -she was placed in a most painful position, being beset with warnings -and entreaties from her friends, urging her not to enter into a union -sure to be productive of unhappiness--when, alas! the mischief was -already accomplished. The Duchesse d’Aremberg predicted misery as -the result of such a marriage; the court jeweler, Auber, a friend -of her youth, advised her “rather to tie a stone round her neck and -throw herself into the river than to commit such a piece of folly and -madness.” - -The young wife, however, still kept her faith in the excellence of her -beloved. At last the completion of his business arrangements enabled -him to declare the marriage publicly, and very soon it appeared that -all these warnings were but too well founded. Le Brun first took -possession of all the hard-earned property of his wife, and compelled -her to increase her income by taking pupils. The sole advantage -this accession of means procured for her was the more active and -incessant employment that prevented her from feeling too bitterly the -disappointment of her hopes of happiness in domestic life. Her husband -took the money paid for her pictures and lessons to squander it on his -own selfish indulgences. He occupied the first floor of the house, -furnished in magnificent style, and surrounded himself with costly -luxuries; while his wife was obliged to content herself with the second -story, and with very plain living. Such a state of things in married -life, however, was not unusual toward the close of the reign of Louis -XV., and it excited no surprise. - -While matters stood thus, Le Brun obtained the credit of being an -indulgent husband by the indifference he showed in allowing even -persons of questionable character to visit his wife, while he seldom -appeared in her circles, and by his disregard of sundry cautions and -rumors on the subject. Scandal, which rarely spares an ill-used wife, -unless the austere seclusion of her life be more than hermit-like, -whispered terrible things of Madame Le Brun, and she was even accused -of owing the large sums paid for her pictures more to personal favors -than to her merit as a painter. Conscious of innocence, she was wont -to complain to her husband of such injustice, and he would answer, -jestingly, - -“Let people talk. When you die I will put up a lofty pyramid in my -garden, inscribed with a list of the portraits you have painted, and -then the world will know how you have come by the money you have made.” - -Such mocking sympathy was all the return for her confidence and earnest -appeals for protection from the unworthy husband who continued to live -in luxury at her expense. - -When twelve thousand francs were sent Elizabeth for a portrait of the -son of Princess Lubomirska, Le Brun appropriated to his own use the -entire sum except two louis-d’ors, which he gave his wife out of it. - -With feelings wounded, and alienated from him by such treatment, Madame -Le Brun at length appears to have resolved to make herself as happy -as possible in her own way. French society was then corrupted to the -core, and it was difficult to move in it without partaking of the -contamination. It was especially so for one whose education had been -superficial, and who had never learned to emulate the example of those -pure devotees to art who had found in that a power to preserve and -guide them, even amid the intrigues and dissipation of the circles that -surrounded them. - -Madame Le Brun had obtained the favor and intimate friendship of -persons of very high rank. Marie Antoinette not only sent to her for -her picture, but was accustomed to ask her to sing with her, the -painter being almost as celebrated for her “silver voice” as for her -professional merits. The public honors lavished upon her aided to make -her labors profitable. - -On one occasion, at a sitting of the French Academy, La Harpe recited a -poem in honor of female genius. When he came to the lines-- - - “Le Brun--de la beauté le peintre et le modèle, - Moderne Rosalba, mais plus brillante qu’elle, - Joint la voix de Favart au sourire de Vénus--” - -the whole assembly rose, not even, excepting the Duchesse de Chartres -and the King of Sweden, and the fair artist was stunned with a burst -of enthusiastic applause. - -Her admission into the Academy, which had been hitherto prevented by -personal jealousies and other hinderances, now took place, on the -presentation of her own portrait, in 1783. This picture she had painted -after the famous one by Rubens--“_Le chapeau de paille_”--which she -had seen the year before when on a visit to Belgium. Her work was so -admirable that Vernet, her ever faithful friend, saw at once that he -could by its means procure the immediate enrollment of her name among -the members of the Academy. - -In the “poor dwelling” to which M. Le Brun’s extravagance consigned -her, she managed to hold every week an evening reception, -notwithstanding the limited accommodations. Her house became the -rendezvous for all the celebrities of Paris, and for much of its -beauty and high rank. Curious stories were afloat in regard to her -expenditures in entertaining the dignified personages who visited -her. It was said that her table was covered with gold plate; that her -apartments were warmed with aloes-wood, and even that she kindled her -fire with bank-notes. The absurdity of such rumors may well lead one to -doubt others in the _chroniques scandaleuses_ of the day, more nearly -affecting her reputation. - -It is certain, however, that she received guests of the highest -distinction, and that her receptions were crowded to excess. The want -of chairs often compelled her visitors to seat themselves on the -ground. Madame Le Brun herself describes, with evident pleasure in the -recollection, the embarrassment of the fat old Duc de Noailles, who one -evening had to stand a long time, on account of the scarcity of seats. - -Music was generally a part of the entertainment, and the fair hostess, -though she had paid little attention to the superior cultivation of -that art, sang most charmingly. Grétry, Sachini, and Martini here -rehearsed scenes from the new operas before their representation; -Garat, Azevedo, Richer, and Madame Le Brun supplied the vocal music, -while the instrumental would be furnished by Viotti, Jarnowich, -Maestrino, Cramer, Hülmandel, and Prince Henry of Prussia, brother to -Frederick William III. He was said to be a celebrated amateur. - -The _petits soupers_ which usually terminated these delightful -_soirées_, and to which only a few favored guests were invited, became -renowned throughout France. They were said to be brilliant in Attic -elegance and Parisian luxury. The popular Delille, the piquant author -Le Brun, who first flattered the royal family and then became the -Pindar of the Revolution; the luxurious Boufflers, the Vicomte de -Segur, were among the frequenters of this sanctuary of the muses and -the graces. The suppers, indeed, had a European celebrity. - -One day the brother of Madame Le Brun read aloud from the travels of -Anacharsis a description of an ancient Grecian banquet. The fancy came -into the lady’s head of arranging one of her suppers in imitation of -the feasts of the luxurious Aspasia. - -The cook was immediately furnished with receipts for Greek sauces; the -“little” supper-room was changed into a classic banqueting-hall, and a -table made according to the antique fashion was set in the middle of -the room, surrounded with Grecian draperied couches. A request was sent -to the Comte de Pezay, who lived in the same building, for an antique -mantle of regal purple, while the Marquis de Cubières was levied on for -a golden lyre, on which he was skilled in playing. - -Le Brun--not the husband, but the poet--was arrayed by the fair -hands of the artist--whose taste in picturesque costume none could -question--with the purple robe and a classic wig, adorned with a laurel -wreath. He was thus fitted to bear his part as Pindar or Anacreon! Some -young ladies, noted for their beauty, were dressed in Greek tunics, -with classic coiffures, to figure as Athenian maidens; while the -gentlemen guests underwent a corresponding transformation. - -Those favored with invitations to this select entertainment took their -places to the music of the golden lyre, and the classic air composed by -Gluck, - - “Le Dieu de Paphos et de Gnide,” - -while the Pindar of the evening sang Anacreontic odes. - -Among the delicacies that covered the board were eels and birds dressed -with Greek sauces and garnished with honey-cakes; figs, and olives, -and grapes of Corinth. Two beautiful slaves--Mademoiselle de Bonneuil -and Mademoiselle Le Brun--served the guests with Cyprian wine, in cups -brought from buried Herculaneum. - -Two guests arrived late--the Comte de Vaudreuil and the financier -Boutin--who had not been prepared for the surprise. They stood still, -dumb with amazement, at the threshold, and seemed to think themselves -transported to Athens in her day of intellectual glory! - -The next day the classic banquet given by Madame Le Brun was the talk -of all Paris. She was entreated to repeat the entertainment, but with -proper tact declined. Some of her acquaintances took offense at the -refusal and at their own exclusion, and revenged the slight (as she -says) by slandering her to the king. It was averred the supper had cost -twenty thousand francs, and Cubières had much ado to undeceive his -majesty. - -The story and the fame of the banquet traveled over the Continent; by -the time it had reached Rome the cost had swelled to forty thousand; -and in Vienna, the Baroness Strogonoff assured Madame Le Brun, it -was reported she had spent sixty thousand. In St. Petersburg it was -naturally as much as eighty thousand. “The fact is,” says Madame Le -Brun, “the little affair cost me only fifteen francs.” She may be -relied on as to her share of the expense, although the cost to others -may have been somewhat greater. - -Such exaggerated rumors, and the gossip growing out of them, caused -some disagreement in the general estimation of Madame Le Brun’s talents -and character. The homage she had received and continued to receive -from the nobility, with her appointment as painter-in-ordinary to the -queen, and the favors heaped on her by the court, helped to render her -obnoxious to a people among whom attachment to royalty and aristocratic -forms began to be regarded as a crime. - -France was on the eve of that Revolution which was destined to uproot -the existing order of things, and the woman whom Marie Antoinette -had made her companion was not likely to escape without opprobrium. -Besides, had she not, in 1774, before her marriage, published a work -entitled “_Amour des Français pour leur roi_?” - -When the Revolution broke out, Madame Le Brun perceived that she could -no longer remain in France. The law protecting artists, and permitting -them to travel in their vocation, was available for her departure. - -She resolved to go to Italy, and, with poignant grief, bade adieu to -her home and friends. But the journey commenced so sadly proved a -triumphant progress, crowned with tokens of respect and homage. - -In Bologna she was at once declared a member of the Academy. At Rome -she was welcomed by a deputation of artists, who went to meet her; -while the painter Menageot, who had just been appointed director of -the French Academy, assigned her apartments in the palace of the -institution. - -In Naples she was received with marks of distinction by the queen, the -sister of Marie Antoinette, and here several residents of rank sat to -her for their portraits--among others, the beautiful Lady Hamilton, -whom the artist painted as a Bacchante reclining on the sea-shore. This -picture was highly praised, and spread far and wide the fame of Madame -Le Brun. - -In Florence she was requested to paint a portrait of herself for the -collection of originals to which reference has already been made. -She finished the portrait for this gallery, where it was placed in -1790, two years after that of Angelica Kauffman had been added to the -collection. - -Goethe says of the portrait of Angelica Kauffman, comparing it with -that of Madame Le Brun in the same gallery: “It has a truer tone in -the coloring; the position is more pleasing, and the whole exhibits -more correct taste and a higher spirit in art. But the work of Le -Brun shows more careful execution; has more vigor in the drawing, and -more delicate touches. It has, moreover, a clear, though somewhat -exaggerated coloring. The Frenchwoman understands the art of adornment; -the head-dress, the hair, the folds of lace on the bosom--all are -arranged with care, and, as one might say, _con amore_. The piquant, -handsome face, with its lively expression, its parted lips disclosing -a row of pearly teeth, presents itself to the beholder’s gaze as if -coquettishly challenging his admiration, while the hand holds the -pencil as in the act of drawing. The picture of Angelica, with the -head gently inclined, and the soft, intellectual melancholy of the -countenance, evinces higher genius, even if, in point of artistic -skill, the preference would be given to the other.” - -From a comparison of the two portraits, a contrast might be drawn in -the contemplation of the lives and characters of the two artists. But -we will return to Madame Le Brun, whom we find pursuing the journeys -she made as a conqueror, receiving new honors and new tributes wherever -she passed. - -After visiting Florence and Parma, where she was elected a member -of the Academy, she went to Venice, Verona, and Milan. Italy--the -land where the fairest fruits of female genius in painting had been -found--seemed eager to pay the homage of admiration to the gifted -daughter of another clime. Compliments and felicitations were showered -upon her by the countrymen of a Sirani and a Robusti. - -She came at length to Vienna, where the Count Kaunitz received her with -friendly welcome, and immediately introduced her at court. A golden -harvest here awaited her efforts, and gallant attentions from persons -in high places were not wanting. The Prince de Ligne--a type of the -cavaliers of the _ancien régime_, whom she had known in former years -at the court of Versailles--devoted himself to her service, and sang -her praises in amatory verses. - -Visiting Berlin, she found an old friend in the person of Prince Henry, -and had a very favorable reception at court. Thence she went to St. -Petersburg, where she lived some years in a brilliant circle of society -under the protection of the Empress Catherine II. and Paul I. - -The honors heaped upon her were crowned in 1800 by her election to -membership in the Academy of Arts; but, notwithstanding the favor in -which she stood with the imperial family and the nobility, and the -influx of wealth that grew out of their kindness and the extended -appreciation of her paintings, the condition of her health at last -obliged her to quit Russia. The entreaties of the emperor and empress -could not prevail upon her to remain longer than 1801. - -In July of that year she returned to Berlin and received the honor -of being chosen a member of the Academy. Orders for portraits were -not wanting, but her short stay made it impossible to undertake them. -Passing through Dresden she returned to the native land for which her -heart had ever pined, arriving in safety at Paris in the winter of the -same year. - -The misfortunes of the Bourbons had filled her breast with sympathizing -grief wherever the news had reached her. She remained true to them -through all reverses, living to witness both the restoration and second -and final exile of that royal line. This loyal feeling manifested -itself even in her relations to the imperial family, when they were in -possession of the throne. - -Her picture of “Venus binding Love’s wings” had been engraved in Paris -by Pierre Villu, in 1787. In London she was attacked by the painter -Hoppner, who depreciated her works, and charged her with mannerism. She -succeeded, nevertheless, in obtaining distinguished patrons. Two pieces -that spread her renown were, a knee-piece of the Prince of Wales, and -one of the Signora Grassini in a classic character. The draperies are -luxuriant and rainbow-colored. - -Sir Joshua Reynolds, when questioned by Northcote on the merits of two -of her portraits, pronounced them “as fine as those of any painter,” -and he would not except Vandyck, though his remark has been attributed -to a generous unwillingness to interfere with the brief summer of her -popularity. After a residence of three years in England she came to -Paris to paint the portrait of Madame Murat. - -At Coppet, whither she went on a journey into Switzerland in -1808-9, she painted a portrait of Madame de Staël, which aided much -in spreading her reputation. Having returned from this tour, she -purchased a country-seat near Marly, which became, as her house in -Paris had been, the resort of a highly cultivated and brilliant -society. Especially at the period of the Restoration, public attention, -influenced by that of the court, seemed turned to Madame Le Brun with -greater earnestness than ever. - -The husband of this accomplished woman died in 1813, and five years -afterward she lost her only daughter. Her death was followed by that -of the brother to whom Madame Le Brun was so much attached. These -multiplied afflictions weighed heavily upon her desolate heart. She -sought consolation in renewed devotion to her art, and worked in her -profession as assiduously as ever, notwithstanding the infirmities of -advanced age. When eighty years old she painted the portrait of her -niece, Madame de Riviere, and so remarkable for vigorous coloring and -lively expression was this picture that it has been preserved among the -best specimens of her powers in their prime of energy. - -About this time, in 1835, she gave the world her autobiography, in the -work entitled “Souvenirs.” In this memoir she enumerates the paintings -which she had at that time executed during her life. She had finished -six hundred and sixty-two portraits, fifteen large compositions, and -two hundred landscape-pieces, sketched during her travels in England -and Switzerland. - -She had nearly completed her eighty-seventh year at the time of her -death, March 30th, 1842. Her long life had been as richly productive in -earnest labor as in the reward of success, and in manifold enjoyment. -It may, indeed, be regarded, in its rare bloom and vigor, as a type of -that brilliant period, gay and luxuriant on the surface, but concealing -numerous imperfections, which preceded the French Revolution, and led, -as a natural consequence, to that tremendous outbreak. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. - - Women Artists in Spain.--Their Participation a Test of general - Interest.--Female Representatives of the most important Schools.--That - of Seville.--Of Madrid.--The Paintress of Don Quixote.--Ladies - of Rank Members of the Academy.--Maria Tibaldi.--Two female - Artists besides two Poetesses in Portugal.--The Harvest greater - in Italy.--Few attained to Eminence.--Learned Ladies.--Female - Doctors and Professors.--Degrees in Jurisprudence and Philosophy - conferred on them.--Examples.--The Scholar nine Years old.--A lady - Professor of Mathematics.--Women Lecturers.--Comparison with English - Ladies.--Brilliant Devotees of the Lyre.--Female Talent in the - important Schools of Art.--Women Artists in Florence.--Engravers and - Paintresses.--In Naples.--Kitchen-pieces.--In the Cities of northern - Italy.--In Bologna.--Princesses.--In Venice.--Rosalba Carriera.--Her - childish Work.--Her Genius perceived.--Instruction.--Takes to - Pastel-painting.--Merits of her Works.--Celebrity.--Invitations - to Paris and Vienna.--Visit from the King of Denmark.--Invited - by the Emperor and the King of France.--Portrait for the Grand - Duke of Tuscany.--The King of Poland her Patron.--Unspoiled by - Honors.--Her moral Worth.--Residence in Paris.--Her Pictures.--The - Lady disguised as a Maid-servant.--Want of Beauty.--Anecdote of the - Emperor.--Rosalba’s Journal.--Visit to Vienna.--Presentiment of - Calamity.--The Portrait wreathed with gloomy Leaves.--Blindness.--Loss - of Reason.--Death and Burial.--Her Portrait.--Other Venetian Women. - - -A glance at the women artists of the romantic South will close this -general survey of the eighteenth century. In Spain we find few worthy -of mention. Since the commencement of the Bourbon dynasty interest in -art had ceased to be the essential element in the national life that -it had been under the sway of the house of Hapsburg throughout the -seventeenth century. And in the Peninsula the truth was made apparent -that the participation of women is a test and measure of the general -interest in the studies and products of art prevailing among any people. - -The most important schools, however, were not entirely without female -representatives. Linked with that of Seville, we hear the name of the -portrait-painter, Maria de Valdes Leal; her father and tutor, Don Juan -de Valdes, after the death of Murillo, was regarded as the first living -master of this school. - -That of Madrid had among its disciples Clara and Anna Menendez, the -latter being remembered as the painter of a series of scenes from Don -Quixote. To the same school belong Donna Barbara Maria de Hueva, and -Donna Maria de Silva, Duchess of Arcos, both celebrated for their skill -in drawing, and members of the Academy of San Fernando, as were also -Anna Menendez, and the painter Anna Perez of Navarre. Maria Felice -Tibaldi, born in 1707, painted in oil, and also miniatures and pastels. -She possessed great skill in drawing from life and copying historical -pieces. A work of her husband, Pierre Subleyras, “The Apostolic -Supper,” was copied by her in miniature. Pope Benedict XIV. sent -her for it a thousand scudi, and placed it in his collection at the -Capitol. After the death of her husband Maria supported herself and her -children by her talents. - -To these may be added Maria Prieto, the daughter of a distinguished -_médailleur_; she practiced both painting and engraving, but died in -her twentieth year at Madrid, in 1772. - -Portugal, at this period, was justly proud of two women whose poetical -talents had won no small celebrity, Magdalena da Gloria and the -Countess de Vimiero. Beside them we may note two artists of eminence, -Doña Isabel Maria Rite of Oporto, and Catarina Vieira of Lisbon; the -former of high repute as a miniature-painter, the latter noted for -several church pictures which she painted after the designs of her -brother, Don Francisco Vieira de Mattos. - -In Italy the harvest of names was greater, but fewer women attained -to eminence during this century than in either of the two that had -preceded it. Of women of poetical genius there was no lack at this -period; and more than ever--though such are not wanting in the early -annals of the principal Italian cities--learned ladies abounded. Female -doctors and professors were far more in plenty than they promise to be -in America in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Such phenomena -were not rare in the classic Italian clime as women occupying the -chair, not only of music, drawing, and modern tongues, but of Greek, -Latin, Hebrew, mathematics, and astronomy. They took degrees as doctors -in jurisprudence and philosophy; for example, Maria Victoria Delfini, -Christina Roccati, and Laura Bassi, in the University of Bologna, -and Maria Pellegrina Amoretti, in that of Pavia. Anna Manzolini, in -1758, was Professor of Anatomy in Bologna; and Maria Agnesi--who, -when only nine years of age, had delivered at Milan a Latin address -on the “Studies of the Female Sex”--was appointed by the Pope to the -professorship of mathematics in the same university at Bologna. - -It was not then esteemed unfeminine for women to give lectures in -public to crowded and admiring audiences. They were freely admitted -members of learned societies, and were consulted by men of pre-eminent -scientific attainments as their equals in scholarship; yet, a British -reviewer remarks, “It is doubtful whether the far-famed Novella was -a better Greek scholar than Mrs. Browning; or Maria Porcia Vignoli, -whose statue long adorned the market-place of Viterbo, more learned in -natural sciences than Mrs. Somerville.” - -Among the more brilliant devotees of the lyre may be mentioned, in -passing, Emilia Ballati and Giulia Baitelli, who emulated the fame of -Petrarch, and Laura Vanetti, in whose poems Metastasio discerned the -very soul of the bard of Love. - -But we must not linger over names, even of the artists who belong to -our special field of observation. None of the important early schools -failed in the eighteenth century, to be able to boast the ornament of -female talent. In Florence, Violanta Beatrice Siries, after a prolonged -course of study in Paris under Boucher and Rigaud, was noted as a -portrait-painter. In the same branch of the profession, Anna Boccherini -and Anna Galeotti were highly esteemed. - -In copper-engraving, Catarina Zucchi and Laura Piranesi acquired some -celebrity. As engravers, we hear of Livia Pisani, Violanta Vanni, and -Teresa Mogalli, the last also skilled in painting. - -In encaustic painting, Anna Parenti-Duclos was well known toward the -close of the century. Maria Felicia Tibaldi was distinguished in Rome -for her talents as a painter no less than for her virtues as a woman; -and her sister, Teresa, belongs to the same category, with Rosalba -Maria Salviani and Caterina Cherubini. In miniature-painting, Bianca -and Matilda Festa excelled; the latter holding the professor’s chair in -the Academy of San Luca. - -The wreaths of poetry and painting were intertwined around the brow of -Maria Maratti, the daughter and pupil of the celebrated Carlo Maratti, -and the wife of the poet Zappi. The like was true of Anna Victoria -Dolora, who died at a great age in 1827, in a Dominican convent. - -Naples boasted at this period a famous mathematician in Maria Angela -Ardinghelli. Three gifted sisters, Maria Angiola, Felice, and Emmanuela -Matteis, were also noted here; with the distinguished Angelica Siscara -and Colomba Garri, who practiced flower and genre painting, and -produced a series of kitchen-pieces, in which they sought to idealize -by artistic adornment the ordinary occupations of the frugal and -industrious housewife. - -The cities of northern Italy had their share of energetic women. Turin, -Milan, Bergamo, Roveredo, Carpi, and Parma produced artists whose fame -was limited to a narrower circle than those of Bologna and Venice, -where, especially in the former city, the shadow of past glories seemed -to linger. - -Professor Anna Manzolini modeled excellent portraits in wax, and -Clarice Vasini obtained no small celebrity as a sculptor, being a -member of the Academy. - -Lucia Casalini, Bianca Giovannini, Barbara Burini, Eleonora Monti, Anna -Teresia Messieri, Rosa Alboni, and Teresa Tesi, belonged to Bologna, -and elevated the renown of its women for painting. They aspired to -imitate the example of Elizabetta Sirani. - -Carlotta Melania Alfieri is mentioned as accomplished in literature, -music, and painting. - -Laura Vanetti, praised as a linguist, musician, and philosopher, also -excelled in painting. In the beginning of this century the Princess -Elizabeth of Parma, afterward married to the King of Spain, was a -famous dilettante. Another Princess Elizabeth, the wife of the Archduke -Joseph of Austria, was, in 1789, on account of her pastels, admitted to -membership of the Academy in Vienna. - -In Venice, on the other hand, the fair students of art zealously -emulated the fame of Maria Robusti. This “city of the sea” had many -daughters who did well in painting, though even their names are now -forgotten. She gave birth to one, however, whose fame was destined to -spread into a wider circle, and to renew even in foreign lands the -ancient lustre of the Italian name in art. This gifted being stands -almost alone in the century as one who will be remembered by posterity -with admiration. - - - ROSALBA CARRIERA. - -Rosalba Carriera was born in Venice in 1675. Her father held an office -under government, which occupied his whole time; but he, as well as -his father, had been a painter. He loved art, and encouraged his child -in her early fancies. Her first childish work was at point de Venise -lace. She seemed to care little for the ordinary amusements of young -people, but passed her leisure time in drawing. She tried to copy one -of her father’s designs for the head of a sonnet. A student of art, -who chanced to see this piece of work, showed it to his master, who -instantly perceived the genius of the child artist; and, foreseeing the -excellence to which she would attain, and wishing to encourage her to -persevere, gave her other designs to copy. - -Rosalba was desolate when this friend left Venice; but a Venetian -banker, who had noticed her proficiency, lent her some heads in pastel -of Baroche. These studies vastly improved her; and her father, then -satisfied of his daughter’s possession of rare talents, consented -that she should take lessons from Antonio Nazari, who was eminent -as a pastel-painter. The cavalier Diamantini, distinguished for the -freshness of his pencil, also gave her instruction. - -Her most valuable knowledge of the technical part of painting, -which gave her the mastery and command of her art that marked her -productions, was acquired under the tuition of Antonio Balestra. -Finally, she obtained from her kinsman, Antonio Pellegrini, a knowledge -of the details of miniature-painting, to which the advice of a lady -friend first directed her, and in which branch she acquired rare skill. -She would willingly have pursued this, but the weakness of her sight -compelled her to abandon it, and take to pastel-painting, in which she -obtained the greatest celebrity--attaining, Zanetti says, the highest -grade of perfection. - -Her miniatures were noted particularly for severe accuracy of drawing, -united with rare softness and delicacy of touch; they had the -perfection of proportion, and the brilliancy and warmth of coloring for -which her pastels were remarkable. Her tints were blended with great -tenderness; her heads had a lovely expression of truth and nature. - -Her talents met with due appreciation and honor while yet in their -bloom of promise. She was celebrated in her native city as the -“companion of the muse of painting,” and “the ornament of her sex and -of the Venetian school.” Zanetti speaks of her with high praise in his -“Storia della Pittura Veneziana.” Works evincing her extraordinary -ability were shown at most of the courts of Europe. She was invited to -Paris and Vienna to practice her profession there, and was elected to -membership in the academies of Paris, Bologna, and Rome. Her miniature -and pastel paintings were sent to the institutions which conferred -this honor upon her. The King of Denmark came to Venice, and, having -heard of Rosalba, expressed a curiosity to see her. After consulting -Balestra, she presented to her royal visitor some portraits of Venetian -ladies of rank whom he had admired, receiving from his majesty in -return a very costly diamond. She also played and sang for his -amusement with her two sisters, one of whom performed on the violin. - -She was invited by royalty to paint the Emperor Charles and the -imperial court; also the King of France. The Grand-Duke of Tuscany -placed her portrait in his gallery; it is painted in pastel, with one -of her sisters. The style is noble and sustained; the expression is -true, and the flesh-tints are so admirable, the face seems scarcely to -want a soul. Augustus III., King of Poland, was her special patron; and -in Modena she painted portraits of the reigning family. - -None of these, or similar honors, had power to turn her head nor -to corrupt her heart. Although a daughter of Venice, then the most -luxurious and licentious city in Europe, the deep seriousness, and -even enthusiastic melancholy of her character--dispositions that find -expression in many of her works--kept her aloof from contact with vice, -and her moral purity and worth were as conspicuous and as universally -recognized as her genius. Her own house at Venice was adorned with -portraits and original compositions. This valuable collection she sold -at a high price to the King of Poland, who placed them in a special -cabinet of his palace in Dresden. - -In the bloom of her career and her fame, Rosalba accompanied her -brother-in-law Pellegrini to France. She remained a year at the house -of M. Crozat. Two portraits of the king were done by her in pastel, and -one in miniature, besides a victoire for a snuff-box which his majesty -gave to Madame de Ventadour. - -Several groups and demi-figures, designed by Pellegrini and executed -by Rosalba, are preserved in Paris, with many heads in pastel done for -Crozat. Many of her symbolical pictures--such as the Muses, Sciences, -Seasons, etc.--were purchased by English travelers. Her crayon-drawings -were distinguished by softness and life-like freshness. She became a -member of the Paris Academy in October, 1720. Her tableau de reception -was a Muse in pastel. The connoisseurs esteemed her portraits for their -perfect likeness, delicacy of touch, wonderful lightness, peculiar -grace, and admirable coloring and expression. They were unrivaled of -their kind. - -An anecdote has been mentioned of a lady of rank who wished to study -painting under Rosalba, but knew she could not be prevailed on to take -pupils. The lady presented herself in the disguise of a maid-servant, -and desired employment at the house of the distinguished paintress. -Rosalba was pleased with her appearance, and at once engaged her -services. While faithfully performing her tasks, the lady incessantly -watched the proceedings of the artist; and, by dint of careful -observation, succeeded in learning much of the art. Rosalba noticed -the extraordinary quickness of her maid in these matters; and, willing -to give to native talent all the aid in her power, invited the girl -to observe her while painting, and gave her valuable instruction. The -secret was at last discovered. The lady became afterward an artist so -skillful in miniatures, that she received an appointment from a German -prince as painter at his court. - -An Italian writes concerning her: “Nature had endowed Rosalba with -lofty aspirations and a passionate soul, and her heart yearned for that -response which her absence of personal attractions failed to win. She -was aware of her extreme plainness; and had she ignored it, the Emperor -Charles XI. enlightened her, when, turning to Bertoli, a court artist, -who presented her in Vienna, he said, ‘She may be clever, Bertoli mio, -this painter of thine, but she is remarkably ugly.’ But Rosalba, even -if annoyed, could well afford to smile, for Charles XI. was the ugliest -of men.” - -While in France, Rosalba wrote a journal which was entitled “Diario -degli anni 1720 e 1721. Scritto da Rosalba Carriera.” It appeared -in Venice in 1793, with notes by Giovanni Vianelli, who had a fine -collection of her paintings. - -From Paris she went laden with honors to the imperial court at Vienna, -where, besides the emperor and empress, she painted the archduchesses -and others of the court. The King of Poland had a number of her -pastels, which were highly valued. - -Zanetti remarks: “Much of interest may be said of this celebrated and -highly-gifted woman, whose spirit--in the midst of her triumphs and the -brightest visions of happiness--was weighed down with the anticipation -of a heavy calamity. On one occasion--when she had painted a portrait -of herself, with the brow wreathed with gloomy leaves, significant of -death--her friends asked why she had done this. She replied that the -representation was an image of her life, and that her end would be -tragic, according to the meaning here shadowed forth. This portrait was -afterward in the possession of Giambattista Sartori, a brother of her -famous pupil Felicità Sartori. He preserved it as a sacred relic. His -sister married Von Hoffmann, and painted with much success at the court -of the Elector of Saxony.” - -It seemed, indeed, that the presentiment of a fast approaching and -terrible affliction, amid the strict seclusion in which Rosalba lived, -had taken possession of this noble and gifted spirit. It might be that -her solitary existence tended to sadden her temperament, and deepen -its natural inclination to melancholy. The forewarning, of which even -in youth she felt conscious, was mournfully fulfilled ere she had -long passed her prime. Before she was fifty years of age she became -totally blind, as she had feared. Her mind struggled long with weakness -and incurable sorrow, but sank at last, and the light of reason too -departed. - -The latter part of her life was a blank, yet she lingered to old -age, dying in Venice, on the 15th of April, 1757. Amid the universal -expression of unaffected sorrow and commiseration, she was buried in -the church of San Sista a Modesta. She left considerable property. Her -grave is still pointed out to the traveler as the last resting-place of -one whose genius was an ornament to Venice. - -Many of her works have been engraved. The Dresden Gallery has the -largest collection, numbering one hundred and fifty-seven pieces. - -The engraving of Rosalba’s portrait shows a youthful face, with a -pleased expression of childish innocence. The hair is brushed back -from the forehead on the top, but curls cluster around the face on the -sides; earrings are worn, and the corsage is low. The eyes are dark, -the forehead is high, and the whole head has a graceful air. - -Like Rosalba Carriera, Ippolita Venier was a native of Venice, though -she lived at Udina with the painter her father. In 1765 she painted the -Adoration of the Kings, for a church in the sea-born city. Felicità -Sartori was a pupil of Rosalba, and worked in Dresden, whither she went -with her husband. - -Apollonia de Forgue, born in 1767, assisted her husband, Seydelman, -with his pictures. She was a member of the Academy in Dresden. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - More vigorous Growth of the Branches selected for female - Enterprise.--Progress accelerated toward the Close of last - Century.--Still more remarkable within the last fifty Years.--Great - Number of Women active in Art.--Better intellectual Cultivation - and growing Taste.--Increased Freedom of Woman.--Present Prospect - fair.--Growing Sense of the Importance of Female Education.--Women - earning an Independence.--The Stream shallows as it widens.--Few - Instances of pre-eminent Ability.--Fuller Scope of the Influence - of the French Masters in the nineteenth Century.--David, the - Republican Painter.--His female Pupils.--Angélique Mongez.--Madame - Davin and others.--Disciples of Greuze.--Female Scholars of - Regnault.--Pupils of the Disciples of David.--Pupils of Fleury - and Cogniet.--Madame Chaudet.--Kinds of Painting in Vogue.--The - Princess Marie d’Orleans.--Her Statue of the Maid of Orleans.--Her - last Work.--Promise of Greatness.--Sculpture by Madame de - Lamartine.--“Paris is France.”--Painting on Porcelain.--Madame - Jacotot and others.--Condition of Art in Germany.--Carstens.--Women - Artists.--Maria Ellenrieder.--Louise Seidler.--Baroness von - Freiberg.--Madame von Schroeter.--Female Artists of the Düsseldorf - School.--The greatest Number in Berlin.--Rich Bloom of Female Talent - in Vienna and Dresden.--Changes in Italy.--Prospect not fair in Spain - and Scandinavia.--In England, Sculpture and Painting successfully - cultivated.--Fanny Corbeaux.--Superior in Biblical Scholarship.--The - Netherlands in this Century.--Encouragement for Women to - persevere.--Dr. Guhl’s Opinion.--History the Teacher of the Present. - - -With the foregoing glimpses, the sketch of woman’s active efforts -in art during the eighteenth century may be closed; completing our -bird’s-eye view of her share in those ennobling pursuits during -a history covering over two thousand years. As we approach the -present time, the various branches in which her enterprise has been -influential develop into more distinct and vigorous growth. It may now -be interesting to notice the indications of our own--the nineteenth -century. - -The progress of female talent and skill, accelerated toward the close -of the preceding age, has become more remarkable than ever within the -last fifty years. The number of women engaged in the pursuits of art -during that time far exceeds that of the whole preceding century. - -This accession is probably owing, in a great measure, to the more -general appreciation of art, growing out of better intellectual -cultivation, and to the growing taste for paintings and statuary as -ornaments of the abodes of the wealthy. But it is due, in some degree, -to the increased freedom of woman--to her liberation from the thraldom -of old-fashioned prejudices and unworthy restraints which, in former -times, fettered her energies, rendered her acquisition of scientific -and artistic knowledge extremely difficult, and threw obstacles in the -way of her devotion to study and the exercise of her talents. We have -seen that, the more enlarged is the sphere of her activity among any -people, the greater is the number of female artists who have done and -are doing well, by their sustained and productive cultivation of art. - -At the present time, the prospect is fair of a reward for study and -unfaltering application in woman as in man; her freedom--without -regarding as such the so-called “emancipation,” which would urge her -into a course against nature, and contrary to the gentleness and -modesty of her sex--is greater, and the sphere of her activity is wider -and more effective than it has ever been. The general and growing -apprehension of the importance of female education will gradually lead -to dissatisfaction with the superficial culture of modern schools, and -to the adoption of some plan that shall develop the powers of those -who are taught, and strengthen their energies for the active duties of -life. Many advantages besides these have encouraged the advancement -of women as artists beyond any point reached in preceding ages. We -may thus find an increasing number of young women who, bent on making -themselves independent by their own efforts, spare no pains to qualify -themselves as teachers in various branches of art. - -The same observation we made in regard to the increase of art scholars -in the last century is true of the present. The stream which has -widened has grown shallower in proportion; and while the cultivation of -taste and talent has become more general, and many more have attained -a respectable degree of skill, there are few instances of pre-eminent -ability, or of original genius. This seems a law of the world of art, -as well as that of poetry and science; and it holds good no less among -men than women. We must look, therefore, for not many remarkable -examples of talent. - -We have already seen something of the influence of Carstens and David -in the bent and direction given to female talent; but these had not -full scope till the beginning of the nineteenth century. David was -inspired by a more earnest feeling than had breathed in the frivolous -and conventional style of a former period; and the depth and vigor, -and more careful execution he brought into vogue, greatly improved the -taste of his day. He may be called the Republican painter, laying the -ground-work of French art as it now exists. - -David himself had a goodly number of female pupils, and some of them -displayed no inconsiderable talent. Among them may be enumerated -Constance Marie Charpentier, who, besides, enjoyed the advantage of -instruction under Gérard and Lafitte, with Angélique Mongez, at first -the pupil of David, then of Regnault. She painted a large picture -entirely in the classic style of David. Her painting--the figures life -size--represented “Ulysses finding young Astyanax at Hector’s Grave.” -The design is correct of the antique costume, the disposition is -excellent, and a free and light touch is noticed. So large a picture -had rarely been exhibited in Paris by a woman. This artist, however, -lacked originality and self-reliance, and seemed to follow David too -slavishly. Another large picture was “Alexander weeping at the Death of -the Wife of Darius.” The connoisseurs gave her the credit of a grand -style, but thought her coloring hard. - -To these may be added Madame Leroulx and Madame Davin. The latter -received instruction, also, from Suvé and Augustin, and obtained the -gold medal for her miniatures and genre-paintings. Nanine Ballain was -noted for her genre-paintings; and Marie Anne Julie Forestier, for her -romantic ones in this style and for her classic pictures. - -Contemporary with these were some female artists who painted in the -manner of Greuze; as Constance Mayer, afterward a disciple and friend -of Prudhon; Madame Elie, and Philiberte Ledoux; the first well known -for her portraits, the latter for her scenes and child-pictures. We may -mention, in passing, Madame Villers, whose numerous works were marked -by truth and pleasing expression. One of her pieces, “A Child asleep in -a Cradle,” carried away by a flood, while a faithful dog plunges in to -save it, with eager expression, is very striking and graceful. - -Regnault, the rival of David, had the honor of many more female -scholars. One of them, Madame Anzon, painted large pictures in 1793. -Sophie Guillemard sent to the Exhibition, in 1802, “Alcibiades -and Glycerion,” and, two years later, her “Joseph and Potiphar’s -Wife.” After this, Claire Robineau produced historical pictures and -landscapes, and Rosalie de Lafontaine her delicate genre-paintings. -Aurore Etienne de Lafond and Eugénie Brun obtained medals for their -master-pieces in miniature-painting. Madame Lenoir painted Sage’s -portrait, and was much esteemed. A host of names might be added, were a -mere list desirable. - -The disciples and imitators of David also numbered women among -their pupils. Drolling’s daughter, Louise Adéone, studied under his -direction; her first husband was Pagnierre the architect. Fanny Robert -was trained in Girodet’s atelier; Abel de Pujol taught Adrienne Marie -Louise Grandpierre Deverzy; and Gérard finished some of David’s -scholars, as Eléonore Godefroy, who exhibited portraits and copies from -her master after 1810, and Louise de Montferrier, Comtesse de Hugo, -whose genre-paintings were brought to the Exhibition nine years later. -Madame von Butlar, of Dresden, studied under this master in 1823. - -These were the latest masters in serious historical painting till -Robert Fleury and Léon Cogniet, who could perhaps boast the greatest -number of gifted female pupils. We should mention here Jeanne Elizabeth -Gabiou, the wife of Antoine Denis Chaudet, born in 1767, and dying -about 1830. She was a pupil of her husband, and painted “A Child -Teaching a Dog to Read,” with many charming little pieces of the kind; -excelling, too, as a portrait-painter. The empress bought one of her -pictures. - -The majority of French women artists of this period busied themselves -with portraits. Flower-painting was also much in vogue, and miniature -and porcelain painting furnished continual employment for female -industry and talent. - -In modeling and sculpture France has produced some excellent artists -since the commencement of the present century. - - - MARIE D’ORLEANS. - -One in particular, of illustrious station and royal blood, too early -snatched away by death, has conferred lustre upon the whole class by -whom the difficult and delicate art has been cultivated. - -Marie of Orleans, the daughter of Louis Philippe, is thus mentioned in -Mrs. Lee’s “Sketches.” - -“She was born at Palermo in 1813, and was married in 1837 to Duke -Alexander of Wurtemberg. Her health was impaired, and she went to Pisa -in the hope of recovering, but died there in 1839. Her statue of the -Maid of Orleans is of the size of life, and is placed at Versailles; it -is full of animation and spirit. But her last work, an angel in white -marble, seems to be the result of inspiration. It is in the chapel -of Sablonville, on the sarcophagus of her brother. It may be deeply -lamented that the Princess Marie did not live to give additional proofs -of the capability of her sex for works of sculpture. Her early death -frustrated the efforts of a genius which bade fair to compete with the -graceful forms of Canova or Flaxman.” - -Mrs. Lee says, “We were much gratified by seeing a font in the church -St. Germain de l’Auxerrois in Paris, by Madame Lamartine, the wife of -the poet and historian; the font is surrounded by marble angels, who -rest on its margin. It is a beautiful record of her taste, ingenuity, -and benevolence.” - -Paris at this period, more emphatically than ever, was the centre -of active efforts among artists. “_Paris--c’est la France_” was an -expression as true as in the literary and political life of the nation. -This was advantageous for the development of talent, and the advance of -skill in details; bringing rival merits more keenly into conflict, and -furnishing the student with more varied means of instruction. - -Painting on porcelain became much practiced by French women in the -early part of the present century. Amélie Legris was skilled in it, as -well as in painting in oil, miniatures, and aquarell. - -Madame Jacotot was noted for her beautiful paintings on porcelain. She -was sent to Italy by the French government to copy the paintings of -Raphael. She lived in style, was in much society, and was distinguished -for her wit. - -Madame Ducluzeau is the wife of a physician, and has gained -considerable celebrity as an artist. The Comtesse de Mirbel painted -miniatures. Louis Philippe, and many persons of his court, and the -nobility, sat to her. She was employed to copy paintings for cadeaus to -royalty. - -Madame Aizelin had some charming pieces in pastel in the Paris -Exhibition, 1857. Transparency of tissue was never better rendered than -in her gauze drapery. Madame Fontaine, a pupil of Cogniet, excelled in -the department of still-life. Mademoiselle Augustine Aumont had twelve -panels, giving the flowers of each month. Miss Mutrie, Mademoiselle -Alloin, pupil of Rosa Bonheur, and many other women, were praised for -beautiful groups of fruit and flowers. In this branch, as in portraits, -miniatures, and porcelain-painting, the palm of excellence is awarded -to lady artists. The productions of Madame Herbalin were conspicuous -for delicacy and purity of execution and coloring. - -Casting a glance at the condition of art at this period in Germany, -it is noticeable that women took part with enthusiasm in almost every -branch. We have observed the grounding of modern art in this country by -Carstens. He went back to the purer forms of the antique, as his French -contemporary, David, had done; and his restoration of purity, vigor, -and tenderness, found earnest sympathy among his fair countrywomen. -A style expressing the heart’s deepest feelings, and the religious -veneration which had become traditional, could not fail to meet the -aspirations of noble-minded female artists. - -Among artist-women who flourished at the close of the eighteenth and -in the present century we may mention Mademoiselle Sonnenschein, who -died in 1816, a member of the Academy in Stuttgard. We should not -drop, among minor names, that of Sophie Ludovika Simanowitz, born -Reighenbach, whose portrait of Schiller is well known. - -Magdalena Tischbein, a flower-painter, the daughter of a noted artist, -married the court painter Strack, of Oldenburg, in 1795. - -The Princess of Saxe-Meiningen was noted for her beautiful pictures -illustrating Bible history. - -Mary Anna Bösenbacher, of Cologne, an engraver, was engaged in the -service of the Elector Max Francis. - -Barbara Krafft, born Steiner, of Iglau, painted a number of -genre-pictures of life size, and in this branch was the precursor of -Madame Jerichow-Baumann. She died in Bamberg, in 1825, aged sixty. - -One who was busy in Rome at this time was Maria Ellenrieder. She had -before visited the Academy in Munich for the purpose of educating -herself in historical painting. In her works she sought to revive the -spirit of ancient German art, and her longings drew her to the city -which has long been the resort of ambitious art-students, where we find -her in 1820. Among her productions are many altar-pieces, representing -the Holy Family. Some have been lithographed. Since 1825 she has lived -in Germany, where she has completed many works, and has practiced the -art of etching. - -Louise Caroline Seidler was at the same time in Rome. Born in Jena, -she studied painting in Munich under Professor Von Langer, afterward -going to Italy to profit by the works of Pietro Perugino and Raphael. -She received the appointment of court painter in Weimar, and executed -several pictures that belong to the romantic genre school. A splendid -fruit of her study of the old masters is a collection of heads taken -from celebrated pictures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. -These were lithographed by Von Schmeller, and published in Weimar in -1836. - -Among the German artists in Rome at the same period was Electrine -Stuntz, afterward Baroness von Freiberg. She was the daughter of a -landscape-painter of Strasburg, and devoted herself to historical -pieces. She was in the Eternal City during 1821 and the following -year, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of San Luca, -occupying a position similar to that held by Angelica Kauffman. Her -works have a serious character, and Madonna pictures abound in them. -About 1823 she was married to Baron von Freiberg, and thenceforward -divided her cares between her family and her art. Several of her -etchings were greatly admired, and brought her high reputation. - -Madame Caroline von Schroeter belongs to the same period. She became -distinguished in Rome in 1826 by her beautiful miniature-paintings, and -was there chosen member of the Academy of San Luca. - -A few female artists belonged to the Düsseldorf school, while in -Weimar they were indefatigable in supporting the ancient reputation. -But the greatest number is to be found in Berlin. The impetus there -given in various departments of learning, and the patronage of royal -connoisseurs, with the superior cultivation of the people, had the -happiest effect, and brought out the richest bloom of female talent. -No branch of modern art has there been neglected by women, and several -have displayed a genius for sculpture. Dilettanti of the highest rank -have turned their attention to painting; and those who have pursued -art as a profession, from dignified history-pieces down to flowers and -landscapes, have met with encouraging success. In flower-painting and -arabesques some very important improvements have recently been made. - -In the other cities of Germany, where women have successfully engaged -in such pursuits, less has been done. Few have taken to the profession -in Vienna, though Dresden has maintained the old repute in this -particular, and her Academy is to this day a genial nursery of female -talent. - -Italy, the birthplace of the fine arts, has experienced the change -common to all mundane things, and the participation of her women in -art is by no means so great and significant as in earlier ages. Yet -a few names may be ranked with those who have gone before. Turin, -Milan, and Rome have each produced fair artists of distinction in -various branches, and their success promises to open the way to future -enterprise. - -Not so fair is the prospect in Spain and among the Scandinavian -nations. In England, on the other hand, both sculpture and painting -have been successfully cultivated during the present century. We may -mention, in passing, Fanny Corbeaux, an artist and distinguished -Biblical scholar, born in 1812. When she was only fifteen years of -age her father suddenly lost his property, and became indigent. The -daughter had received only superficial instruction in drawing, but -determined to use her small skill to support her father and herself. -With the ardent spirit of youth she threw herself into the undertaking, -sparing herself no severe labor, and so well directed were her efforts -that, before the end of the year, she obtained a silver medal for -water-color drawings. Within the next three years she received another -similar token of approbation, and the gold medal of the Society of Arts. - -All this time she had been her own instructor. She afterward painted -small pictures in oil and water-colors, but confined herself chiefly -to portraits. Her superiority in Biblical scholarship was shown by a -valuable series of letters on the Physical Geography of the Exodus. She -published another series entitled “The Rephaim.” - -Fanny is described as being small, with figure slightly bent, but -cheerful and charming in manner. Her mother, living with her, is said -to be lively and agile in movement. - -Miss Merrifield is the author of a treatise on the Art of Painting. - -A “Society of Female Artists” was established in London in 1857. -Among its members, and now secretary to the association, is Mrs. -Elizabeth Murray, the wife of the English Consul at Teneriffe. She -has great celebrity as a water-color artist. Her style is dashing -and vigorous, but highly finished; her coloring bright, transparent, -pure, and sparkling, though something deficient in depth and middle -tint. Mrs. Murray has lately published a book entitled “Sixteen -Years of an Artist’s Life, etc.” She says of herself: “A vagabond -from a baby, I left England at eighteen, independent, having neither -master nor money. My pencil was both to me, and, at the same time, my -strength, my comfort, and my intense delight.” Honorable Mrs. Monckton -Mills, Miss Louisa Rayner, Miss Florence Caxton, and others, are -mentioned with praise. Mrs. Benham Hay is known as the illustrator of -Longfellow’s Poems; and Barbara Leigh Smith, an admirable writer, is an -excellent artist. Of Miss Mutrie’s work Mr. Ruskin says: “It is always -beautiful;” and Miss Howitt and Mrs. Carpenter are noted as artists. -Many whose names are now beginning to be familiar have hardly yet done -justice to their own powers. - -The Netherlands have done their share during the present century, -preserving the old Dutch reputation, and producing a number of women -who have made themselves independent by the exercise of skill in -different departments of art. - -The encouragement Goëthe has given, in his observations on the women -artists of his day, is applicable to those of the present. They -have taken more firm hold, and manifested yet more ability in the -profession. If many of them have been deficient in creative power, they -have shown themselves capable of the highest excellence in the tender, -the graceful, the pathetic, the ideal, and in the delicacy and quick -perception, which often achieves so much, as by intuition. Dr. Guhl -regards the indications of the present age as exceedingly promising, -and urges women to enlarged ambition and activity. Severe exertions are -demanded, but when was any success worth having commanded without them? -The time is now ripe for their emulation of their most eminent rivals -of the other sex, not by laying aside womanly delicacy, but by labors -entirely consistent with that true modesty which will ever be the most -attractive ornament of the sex. History is the great teacher of the -present; and what we have seen of the achievements of by-gone ages is -so full of encouragement, that it is but reasonable to look for still -greater triumphs in the wider arena now opened, than have yet crowned -the genius or the persevering industry of woman. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - Felicie de Fauveau.--Parentage.--Her Mother a Legitimist.--The - Daughter’s Inheritance of Loyalty.--Removals.--Felicie’s - Studies.--Learns to Model.--Resolves to be a Sculptor.--Labor becoming - to a Gentlewoman.--Her first Works.--Early Triumphs.--Social Circle in - Paris.--Evening Employments.--Revival of a peculiar Taste.--Mediæval - Fashions.--The bronze Lamp.--Equestrian Sketch.--Effect of the - Revolution of 1830.--The two Felicies leave Paris.--A rural - Conspiracy.--A domiciliary Visit.--Escape of the Ladies.--Discovery - and Capture.--The Stratagem at the Inn.--Escape of Madame in - Disguise.--Imprisonment of Mademoiselle.--Works in Prison.--Return - to Paris.--Politics again.--Felicie banished.--Breaks up her - Studio.--Poverty and Privation.--Residence in Florence.--Brighter - Days.--Character of Felicie.--Personal Appearance.--Her Dwelling and - Studio.--Her Works.--The casting of a bronze Statue.--Industry and - Retirement.--“A good Woman and a great Artist.”--ROSA BONHEUR.--Her - Birth in Bordeaux.--Her Father.--Rosa a Dunce in Childhood.--Her - Parrot.--Rambles.--The Spanish Poet.--Removal to Paris.--Revolution - and Misfortune.--Death of Madame Bonheur.--The Children at - School.--Rosa detests Books and loves Roaming.--Remarriage of - Bonheur.--Rosa a Seamstress.--Hates the Occupation.--Prefers turning - the Lathe.--Her Unhappiness.--Placed at a Boarding-school.--Her - Pranks and Caricatures.--Abhorrence of Study.--Mortification at her - Want of fine Clothes.--Resolves to achieve a Name and a Place in the - World.--Discontent and Gloom.--Return home.--Left to herself.--Works - in the Studio.--Her Vocation apparent.--Studies at the Louvre.--Her - Ardor and Application.--The Englishman’s Prophecy.--Rosa vowed to - Art.--Devoted to the Study of Animals.--Excursions in the Country - in search of Models.--Visits the _Abattoirs_.--Study of various - Types.--Visits the Museums and Stables.--Resorts to the horse and - cattle Fairs in male Attire.--Curious Adventures.--Anatomical - Studies.--Advantages of her Excursions.--Her Father her only - Teacher.--The Family of Artists.--Rosa’s pet Birds and - Sheep.--Her first Appearance.--Rising Reputation.--Takes the gold - Medal.--Proclaimed the new Laureat.--Death of her Father.--Rosa - Directress of the School of Design.--Her Sister a Professor.--“The - Horse-market.”--Rosa’s Paintings.--Bestows her Fortune on - others.--Her Farm.--Drawings presented to Charities.--Demand for - her Paintings.--Her Right to the Cross of the Legion of Honor.--The - Emperor’s Refusal to grant it to a Woman.--Description of her - Residence and her Studio.--Rosa found asleep.--Her personal - Appearance.--Dress.--Her Character.--Her Industry.--Mademoiselle - Micas.--Mountain Rambles.--Rosa’s Visit to Scotland.--Her Life in the - Mountains.--At the Spanish Posada.--Threatened Starvation.--Cooking - Frogs.--The Muleteers.--Rosa’s Scotch Terrier.--Her Resolution never - to marry. - - - FELICIE DE FAUVEAU. - -Felicie was born in Tuscany, but was taken, when an infant, to Paris, -where her education commenced. Her parents were persons of much -intelligence and culture. Her mother had great taste for music and -painting, and it was from her that her daughter’s talents received -their first direction and encouragement. The family favored the -aristocrats and Legitimists, and endured much in the cause of the -Bourbons. Madame de Fauveau’s eyes had opened on the terrors of -the guillotine, and she was as proud of those memories of exile, -proscription, and the scaffold as most persons are of honor and titles. -Her chivalrous loyalty looked on them as dignities, and the privilege -of suffering for the family to which she was devoted was cheaply earned -in her eyes by the ruin and exile of her own. - -The daughter shared in the mother’s chivalrous sentiments, and her -cherished ideas of monarchy and Romanism became perceptible in her -conversation and works, while her self-sacrificing spirit of loyalty -remained the same amid many vicissitudes. Owing to pecuniary losses, -her parents were compelled, while she was yet very young, to remove -successively to Limoux, Bayonne, and Besançon. While at Bayonne, -in 1823, she met with many partisans in the war then raging on the -frontiers of Spain--men whose loyalty amounted to fanaticism, and -whose piety belonged to the ancient time of the Crusades; from these -her youthful imagination must have received powerful and indelible -impressions. - -Her studies were varied and profound; ancient history, classic and -modern languages, heraldry, and archæology received her devoted -attention. The feudal and chivalric traditions of the Middle Ages were -explored with eagerness by her, and she reproduced and utilized the -knowledge thus acquired. During her residence in Besançon, she executed -some oil-paintings which were much praised; but she seemed to feel that -canvas was not the material which would most fully express her ideas. -She had then received no instruction in modeling. One day, in her walk, -she paused before the shop of one of the workmen who carve images of -virgins and saints for village churches. Impelled irresistibly, she -entered and made inquiries as to the method of work, learning thus -the secrets of modeling in clay or wax, and of carving wood or gold. -It then appeared that her vocation was decidedly for the plastic art. -She had the faculty of coloring with skill, and might have been a -great painter, had she not resolved to be a sculptor. Her taste led -her to adopt the mediæval manner, and she took Benevenuto Cellini for -her prototype, occupying herself with art in both its monumental and, -decorative character. - -At the death of her father, the family--consisting of the widow, two -sons and three daughters--was in some distress. Felicie determined to -devote her talents to their support. Some of her friends objected that -such employment was unbecoming one who belonged to a noble family. -“Unbecoming!” said she, drawing herself up with a noble pride; “_Sachez -qu’un artiste tel que moi est gentilhomme._” - -The first work she exhibited was a group from Scott’s novel, -“The Abbot.” Encouraged by its brilliant success, she produced a -basso-relievo, consisting of six figures--Christina of Sweden and -Monaldeschi in the fatal gallery of Fontainebleau. This work was in -the Exposition des Beaux Arts, and it received from Charles X. in -person the gold medal awarded by the jury. The dramatic energy of the -group, the expression of the figures, and the beauty of the minor -details won universal admiration, and it was hailed as offering the -brightest promise of future excellence. The triumphant artist was then -a girl in the bloom of early youth; and, flattered and delighted at -the appreciation she met with, it is not to be wondered at that her -resolution to adhere to the career she had chosen was steadfast and -immovable. - -Felicie remained in Paris with her family till 1830. Her mother’s -house was the centre of a charming circle of persons of high rank, -of cultivated women, and of accomplished artists, such as Scheffer, -Steuben, Gassier, Paul Delaroche, Triqueti, Gros, Giraud, etc. So -distinguished and agreeable was the mother, so sensible and so witty -was the conversation of the daughter, that their society was coveted -and prized. The friends assembled of an evening in their drawing-room -would gather round a large centre-table, and improvise drawings in -pencil, chalk, and pen and ink; or would model, in clay or wax, -brooches and ornaments, sword handles and scabbards, dagger-hilts, etc. -The young lady wished to revive those famous days when sculpture lent -its aid to the gold and silver smith, the jeweler, the clock-maker, -and the armorer. To her may be chiefly attributed the impulse given -to this taste in Paris--a taste that infected England also, reviving -mediæval fashions for ornaments, and also mediæval feelings and -aspirations, which at last found expression in Puseyism in religion, -and pre-Raphaelism in art. - -She executed, for Count Portalès, a bronze lamp of singular beauty, -representing a bivouac of archangels armed as knights. They are resting -round a watch-fire, while one, St. Michael, is standing sentinel. It -is in the old Anglo-Saxon style. Round the lamp, in golden letters, is -the device, “_Vaillant, veillant_.” Beneath is a stork’s foot holding a -pebble, a symbol of vigilance, surrounded by beautiful aquatic plants. -The work was poetically conceived, and executed with great spirit and -finish. She also commenced a work which she called “a monument to -Dante,” and sketched an equestrian statue of Charles VIII. On returning -from the expedition to Naples, it was said, the monarch paused on the -ascent of the Alps, and turned to take a last farewell of the beautiful -country--“wooed, not wed”--which he so unwillingly abandoned. The -sculptress was most successful in rendering this expression of sadness -and yearning. The pose of the horse was natural, yet commanding; and -the work would doubtless have been a master-piece; but, unfortunately, -the model had to be destroyed, on the breaking up of her studio. - -Mademoiselle de Fauveau had now acquired an eminence and gained -a celebrity which must have satisfied the most ambitious. She was -incessantly occupied with commissions for most of the private galleries -in France; and a place was promised her among those great artists who -are employed to adorn public monuments, and whose works enrich public -collections. She was to have modeled two doors for the gallery in the -Louvre, after the manner of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise; a baptistery -and pulpit in one of the metropolitan churches had been already spoken -of, when the revolution of 1830 broke up this calm and noble existence, -and ended her career in Paris. - -To Mademoiselle de Fauveau, with her extreme opinions, this revolution -was a personal calamity. She had identified the glory and greatness of -France with the elder branch of the Bourbons. The times for her were -evil and out of joint; she abhorred the Paris which had overthrown -what she considered a legitimate, to set up a pseudo royalty, and -she longed, with all the concentration and single-mindedness of her -character, for an opportunity of leaving the city. This soon presented -itself. Among other noble and distinguished persons who were proud of -their acquaintance with this gifted woman, were members of the Duras -family. The married daughter, who bore the beloved but fatal name of La -Roche Jacquelein, sympathized entirely with the opinions and feelings -of her namesake, Felicie. She invited the artist to leave Paris, and -accompany her on a visit to her estates in La Vendée. During this -visit, which was at first considered a mere relaxation from severe -labor and study, riding, shooting, and hunting took the place of -designing, modeling, and casting. But, after a while, a more serious -purpose was contemplated, and a loftier end proposed. Mademoiselle -de Fauveau found herself in the thick of a political conspiracy. -A regular _chouannerie_ was organized, and our poetical artist -distinguished herself by her spirit, energy, and determination. To this -day the peasantry in that part of France always speak of her as “_la -demoiselle_.” - -The authorities at last took umbrage, and a domiciliary visit was made -to the chateau. The two ladies, warned in time, escaped, and took -refuge in a neighboring farm-house. But arms and ammunitions were found -in the chateau, with compromising letters and treasonable symbols. -Orders were given to pursue and arrest the fugitives. The farm-house -was searched in vain; the peasants were questioned, but their fidelity -was unimpeachable. Unfortunately, however, some faint sounds were heard -behind an oven; the grated door was removed, and the two rebels, who -had so nearly defeated the search of their pursuers, were discovered, -arrested, and sent under a strong guard to Angers. - -At the first stage they stopped at an inn. The captives were conducted -to a room up stairs; the door was locked, and their guards descended to -the kitchen to refresh themselves. Presently a maid-servant was sent -up to receive their orders for supper. In an instant, Madame de la -Roche Jacquelein made herself understood by this woman. As soon as the -supper was brought up, and the door closed, she effected an exchange -of clothes, and, thus disguised, descended boldly, plates in hand, -to the kitchen. She quickly deposited her burden on the dresser, and -then, taking up the milk-pail, announced in the pretty _patois_ of the -country her intention to fetch the milk from the dairy. It is said the -lady looked so captivating in her new costume that a gallant sergeant -made advances to her, which she was obliged to repress vigorously, so -as to proceed unattended. She reached the dairy, went out at a back -door, crossed some fields, and was soon out of reach. Mademoiselle -de Fauveau remained quietly in her room, allowing the servant to -sleep with her, so as to lull all suspicion, and give as much time as -possible for the escape. The next morning the evasion of Madame was -discovered, and caused great consternation. It was thought necessary -to take the most rigid precautions, such as obliging Mademoiselle de -Fauveau to have a guard in her sleeping-room, who was authorized to -disturb her whenever he wished to make sure of her presence, to prevent -her following her friend’s example. She was thus transferred to Angers, -and remained seven months in prison. - -Her bold spirit and elastic temperament were not weakened or cast down -by this destruction of her hopes. She took advantage of the forced -seclusion to resume her occupations. In prison she modeled several -small groups; one of them, composed of twelve figures, representing the -duel of the Sire de Jarnee and the Count de la Chataignevaie in the -presence of Henry II. and his court. She also designed a monument for -Louis de Bonnechose, who had lately perished in an affray with some -soldiers sent to arrest him. The background of this composition is -architectural, in the Gothic style, adorned with the blazoned shields, -achievements, and banners which belong peculiarly to the Vendean -party. On the summit of the edifice is an angel, whose face is veiled, -supporting the armorial shield of the deceased; in the foreground -the Archangel Michael, terrible and victorious, has just killed the -dragon. This dragon has a head like a cock--a type of the French -republic. Michael bears in his right hand the avenging sword, and in -his left holds a pair of crystal scales; in one of these are figures -of judges, advocates, and magistrates; in the other, which weighs down -these, is a single drop of blood, with this inscription: - - “Quam gravis est sanguis justi inultus.” - -In this sketch, as, indeed, in all Felicie’s works, the symbolical -beauty inspires the whole; the ideal gives spirit to the material form, -while the form receives its noblest distinction as the fitting vehicle -of the idea. - -After seven months’ imprisonment, Mademoiselle de Fauveau was set at -liberty, and returned to Paris and her studio. Very soon afterward, the -appearance of the Duchesse de Berri in Vendée set on fire all Royalist -imaginations. Madame de la Roche Jacquelein and our fair artist again -left Paris, and worked day and night for the cause so dear to their -hearts, to reap again disappointment, failure, and misfortune. This -episode in Felicie’s life may show how strong was the political bias -which gave tone and character to both her private and artistic life. -“My opinions are dearer to me than my art,” she said, and her actions -proved this. She was one of the forlorn hope that stood up in the -breach to save a falling dynasty; and with its ruins were ingulfed her -own fortune, her prospects, and such part of her success as depended on -the public recognition and acceptance of art in her own country. - -After the failure of this second attempt of the Legitimists, -Mademoiselle de Fauveau was among the persons exiled. She first took -refuge in Switzerland; then returned to Paris, in the very teeth of -the authorities, broke up her studio and establishment there, and went -to Florence, where she fixed her permanent abode with her mother and -brother. - -Considerable expense and outlay are necessary to carry on the art -of sculpture, and a removal from a studio in which were accumulated -sketches, models, and marbles--most of them not portable--was almost -total ruin. The forced sale of furniture; the transfer, at a heavy -discount, of funds which had to be reinvested, added serious items -to the amount of loss. From the fragments thus thrown aside fortunes -were made. At the very time when the little family was enduring bitter -privation in Florence, a man realized an almost fabulous sum by selling -walking-sticks manufactured from designs made by Mademoiselle de -Fauveau in those happy Paris evenings before mentioned. - -The expense attendant on establishing a new studio in Florence had -to be met by the labor of many years. Madame de Fauveau, at this -period, was the guardian angel of the family, and thought no sacrifice -too great for the encouragement of her daughter’s genius, and the -advancement of her views. Her own poetical and imaginative mind aroused -and fostered the ideas of the sculptress, while her unflinching -resignation and humble faith soothed and solaced her heart. - -With unparalleled nobleness, in spite of extreme poverty, the family -refused to receive a sous from the princes or the party they had so -served. No fleck of the world’s dust can be thrown on that spotless -fidelity. It was at this period, when each day’s labor scarcely -sufficed to provide for daily necessities, that Mademoiselle de Fauveau -wrote to one of her friends, “We artists are like the Hebrews of old; -manna is sent to us, but on condition we save none for the morrow.” - -Brighter days dawned. Labor is not only its own reward, in the -happiness it confers, but those who sow unweariedly and judiciously -shall reap fairly. Our sculptress achieved a modest independence. It -was probably at this time of her life that her friend the Baroness de -Krafft sketched her character, dwelling on the contrasts presented -by her history, in which her mind was developed, and the bent of her -nature determined. “Fire, air, and water,” she says, “are in that -organization;” and it is true that ardor, purity, and impulse are -the characteristics of her genius. On the one hand we see the lady -of the Faubourg St. Germaine, with all the habits, associations, and -prejudices which belong to her order; on the other, the artist, earning -her daily bread, and obliged to face in their reality the sternest -necessities and most imperative obligations; the single woman treading -victoriously the narrow and thorny path which all women tread who -seek to achieve independence by their own exertions; and the genius -which, to attain breadth and vigor, must freely sweep out of its path -limitations and obstacles. These contrasts appear in her person and -manner. Her glance, usually soft, can kindle and grow stern. Madame de -Krafft notices that the movements of her arms are somewhat abrupt and -angular, but her hands “are white, soft, and fine, royal as the hands -of Cæsar, or of Leonardo da Vinci.” - -Mademoiselle de Fauveau is described by a visitor as being fair, with -low and broad forehead; soft, brown, penetrating eyes, aquiline nose, -and mouth finely chiseled, well closed, and slightly sarcastic. Of the -medium height, her figure is flexible and well formed. Her ordinary -studio dress is velvet, of that “_feuille morte_” color Madame Cottin -has made famous; with a jacket of the same fastened by a small leathern -belt, a _foulard_ round the neck, and a velvet cap. Her hair is blonde, -cut square on the forehead and short on the neck, and left rather -longer at the sides, in the Vandyke manner. The face, and figure, -and presence, give the impress of a firm but not aggressive nature, -revealing the energy of resistance, not of defiance. Opinions strongly -held and enunciated, defended to the death, if necessary, give such -an aspect. Combined with this peculiarity is a look of thoughtful -melancholy, such as Retzch has represented in his sketches of Faust. In -fact, the head, in a statuette of herself, might serve as an ideal of -the world-famous student. There are two admirable likenesses of her: -one by Ary Scheffer and one by Giraud. - -Her dwelling is in the Via delle Fornace, where are also the studios of -Powers and Fedi. A dark green door opens into a paved covered court, -formerly the entrance to a convent, which is now adapted to form a -modern habitation. On one side a flight of stairs leads to the upper -rooms, another door leads to the studio; a third opens on a cool, -quiet garden, shaded by trees. There are dovecotes, pigeon-houses, -and bird-cages; and the walks are hedged with laurels and cypresses, -while there are gay flowers mingled with Etruscan vases and jars. -The artist’s drawing-room looks like the parlor of an abbess, -furnished with antique hangings, carved chairs, silver crucifixes, -and gold-grounded, pre-Raphaelite pictures, some of great beauty and -value. From this drawing-room, half oratory and half boudoir, the -visitor descends to the studio, which is composed of two or three large -white-washed rooms on the ground floor. - -The first thing that strikes one here is the evidence of the artist’s -indefatigable industry. Here are casts and bassi-relievi from the -antique, but no goddesses, nymphs, or cupids; it is Christian art of -the mediæval period. Saints and angels cover the walls; in the centre -is a large crucifix of carved wood, beautifully executed, and full -of vigor and expression; near it is a Santa Reparata, designed in -terra-cotta. Mademoiselle de Fauveau has been peculiarly successful -in her adaptation of terra-cotta to artistic purposes. A large -alto-relievo represents two freed spirits flying heavenward, dropping -their earthly chains. A lovely St. Dorothea looks upward, and holds up -her hands for a basket of flowers and fruit which a descending angel -is bringing from Paradise. Bold and rapid movement is expressed in -the flying figure. In the background is an architectural design of a -church, and an inscription describing how it sprang, as it were, from -the martyr’s blood. There is a Judith addressing the Israelites from -an open gallery, with the head of Holofernes on a spear beside her. In -the aspect of the resolute woman of Bethulia there is an undefinable -resemblance to the artist. The expression, indeed, is congenial to her -character, in which there is the concentration of purpose which gives -force, and the ardor that gives decision to the will. - -There are also works of a lighter character; the carved frame-work -of a mirror, with an exquisite allegorical design--a fop and a -coquette, in elaborate costume, are bending inward toward the glass, -so intent on self-admiration as to be unconscious that a demon below -has caught their feet in a line or snare from which they will not be -able to extricate themselves without falling. Most of Mademoiselle -de Fauveau’s works have superabundant richness of ornament and -allegorical device. Her designs for gold and silver ornaments are -unrivaled for elegance and imaginative picturesqueness. - -She made for Count Zichy a Hungarian costume, the collar, belt, sword, -and spurs being of the most finished workmanship. A silver bell, -ornamented with twenty figures, for the Empress of Russia, represents a -mediæval household, in the costumes of the period, and their peculiar -avocations, assembling at the call of three stewards, whose figures -form the handle. Round the ball is blazoned, in Gothic characters, “_De -bon vouloir servir le maître_.” - -It would be tedious to enumerate the works of this indefatigable -artist. The finished specimens of twenty-five years of labor are shut -up in private galleries, the models remaining in her studio. Her last -and most imposing work is the monument in Santa Croce, erected to the -memory of Louise Favreau by her parents. Madame de Krafft published a -description of this in the _Revue Britannique_ for March, 1857. Three -monuments, in different styles, may be seen in the Lindsay chapel. In -her studio are several busts of great beauty, strongly relieved by her -method of placing an architectural back-ground. One is the bust of the -Marquis de Bretignières, the founder of the reformatory school colony -of Mettray. - -Besides devoting herself to the actual expression of her ideas, Madame -de Fauveau has, all her life, studied to improve the mere mechanical -portion of her art. She endeavored to revive certain secrets known -to the ancients, which have been abandoned and forgotten, to the -detriment of modern sculpture. To cast a statue entire, instead of in -portions, and with so much precision as to require no farther touch -of the chisel--to preserve inviolate, as it were, the idea, while it -is subject to the difficult process of clothing it with form, has been -her life-long endeavor. In bronze, by means of wax, she succeeded, -after repeated failures, with incredible perseverance. A figure of -St. Michael in one of her works was thus cast seven times. The least -obstacle, were it only the breadth of a pin’s point in one of the -air-vents which are necessary to draw the seething metal into every -part of the mould, is enough to destroy the work. At last her head -workman brought her St. Michael complete; all the energy and delicacy -of the original design being preserved, and none of the pristine -freshness lost in the translation from wax to bronze. - -Mademoiselle de Fauveau works almost incessantly, scarcely allowing -herself any relaxation. Her principal associates are a few of the -higher church dignitaries, and two or three distinguished Italian or -foreign families. Retirement is agreeable to her, and her political -opinions have drawn around her a line of demarkation. She has paid two -visits to Rome: one when the Duc de Bordeaux was there. He paid her -much attention, as did the two great princes of art, Cornelius and -Tenerani, at that time in Rome. Thus situated, beloved by many, admired -and appreciated by all, this clever artist and noble woman leads an -honored life, which seems a realized dream of work, progress, and -success. - -From every point of view, a life so spent is a curious and interesting -study. There is the independence belonging to an existence devoted -to art, with almost cloistral simplicity and formality. She had been -hardly ever separated from her proud and devoted mother till her -death, in 1858. The loss left her inconsolable. Her brother, an artist -of merit, resides with her, assists in most of her works, and is the -support and comfort of her life. Her happy home and domestic relations -have helped to expand and refine her genius. A woman’s art, as well as -her heart, suffers when the home in which she works is uncongenial. Our -artist’s name--Felicie--has proved a good omen for one who is at once -“a good woman and a great artist.” - - - ROSA BONHEUR.[3] - -[3] This sketch was prepared under the supervision of Mademoiselle -Bonheur. - -Rosalie Bonheur--as she is called in her _acte de naissance_--was born -in Bordeaux on the 16th of March, 1822. Her father, Oscar Raymond -Bonheur, was a painter of merit, who had in youth taken the highest -honors at the exhibitions of his native town. He devoted part of his -time to giving drawing-lessons in families for the support of his -aged parents. An attachment sprung up between him and one of his -pupils--Sophie Marqués--a lovely and accomplished girl. Her family -opposed their union on account of the artist’s poverty; and after the -marriage the young people were thrown entirely on their own resources. -Rosalie was the eldest of their four children. Her father was compelled -to give up his dreams of fame and the higher labors of his art, and for -eight years maintained his family by teaching drawing. - -Rosalie--or Rosa, as she has always called herself--was a wild, active, -impetuous child, impatient of restraint, and having a detestation of -study. She was a long time in acquiring even the elements of reading -and writing. When not in the fields, she was in the garden. She -remembers a gray parrot, a pet of her grandfather’s, that often called -out “Rosa! Rosa!” in a voice like her mother’s, and would bring her -in, when her mother would seize the opportunity to make her repeat her -catechism. When the lesson was over, the little girl would scold the -bird angrily for the trick it had played her. But if Rosa hated her -books, she dearly loved all objects in nature, and was happiest when -rambling in wood or meadow, gathering posies as large as herself. Her -complexion was fair, with rosy cheeks; her light auburn hair curled in -natural ringlets; and she was so plump that the Spanish poet Moratia, -who then lived in Bordeaux, and spent his evenings at Bonheur’s, used -to call her his “round ball.” He would romp with the merry child for -hours together, and laugh over the rude figures she was fond of cutting -out of paper. Rosa was fond of amusing herself in her father’s studio, -drawing rough outlines on the walls, or burying her little fat hands -in the clay, and making grotesque attempts at modeling, though these -childish efforts were not noticed by her family as showing any genius. -The exiled poet, however, saw the boldness, vigor, and originality of -her nature, and often prophesied that his favorite would turn out, in -some way, “a remarkable woman.” - -In 1829 Raymond Bonheur quitted Bordeaux, and established himself -with his family in Paris. Interested in the ideas then fermenting in -the public mind, he entered into the excitement that preceded the -Revolution of July. Periods of national effervescence are not favorable -to art; the painter could not sell his pictures, and had to betake -himself once more to giving drawing-lessons. His wife gave lessons -on the piano; but the growing agitation of the social and political -world made their united exertions profitless. Madame Bonheur sustained -her husband’s courage throughout this trying period, while she was -often compelled, after the day’s labors, to sit up half the night to -earn with her needle a precarious support for the morrow. When public -tranquillity returned, Bonheur resumed his teaching, and had some of -his works noticed in the Paris Exhibition. - -Madame Bonheur died in 1833. The father then placed the three elder -children with an honest woman--La Mère Cathérine--who lived in the -Champs Elysées; Juliette, the youngest, being sent to friends in -Bordeaux. La Mère sent her little charges to the Mutual School of -Chaillot. Rosa, now in her eleventh year, and detesting books and -confinement as heartily as ever, generally contrived to avoid the -school-room, and spent most of her time in the grassy and wooded -spots afforded in the Bois de Boulogne, and other environs of Paris. -Two years passed thus; the children being plainly clad and living on -the humblest fare. Rosa meanwhile, with her passion for independence -and outdoor life, incurred almost daily the angry reprimands of La -Mère Cathérine, who was distressed at her neglect of school for her -rambles. “I never spent an hour of fine weather indoors during the -whole of the time,” she often said. But this sort of gipsy life could -not last. Raymond Bonheur married again, took a house in the Faubourg -du Roule, brought the three children home, and endeavored to put them -in a way to make a position for themselves. The two boys--Auguste and -Isidore--were placed in a respectable school, in which their father -gave three lessons a week by way of payment; and Rosa, who could not be -got to learn any thing out of a book, and seemed to have neither taste -nor talent for any thing but rambling about in the sunshine, was placed -with a seamstress, in order that she might learn to make a living by -her needle. - -Nothing could have been more disagreeable to the poor girl than the -monotonous employment to which she was thus condemned. The mere act of -sitting still on a chair was torture to her active temperament; she ran -the needle into her fingers at every stitch, and bending over her hated -task made her head ache, and filled her with inexpressible weariness -and disgust. The husband of the seamstress was a turner, and had his -lathe in an adjoining room. Rosa’s sole consolation was to slip into -this room, and obtain the turner’s permission to help him work the -lathe. If he were absent, she would do her utmost to set the lathe in -motion by herself, more than once doing some damage to the turner’s -tools. But these stolen pleasures were insufficient to compensate her -for the repulsiveness of her new avocation; and whenever her father, -with his pockets full of bonbons, came to see her and learn how she -was getting on, she would throw herself into his arms in a passion -of tears, and beseech him to take her away. Every week her distress -became more and more evident; she lost her appetite and color, and was -apparently falling ill. Her father was much disappointed at the ill -success of his attempt to make of his wild daughter an orderly and -industrious needle-woman; but he was too fond of her to persevere in -an experiment so repugnant to her feelings. He therefore broke off the -arrangement with the seamstress, and took her home. - -After thinking over many plans for her, he at length succeeded in -making an arrangement for her reception in a boarding-school in the -Rue de Reuilly, Faubourg St. Antoine, on the same terms as those he -had obtained for her brothers. A vast deal of good advice was expended -on her, with many earnest exhortations to make the best use of the -advantages of the school, by diligent application to her studies. - -For a short time after her entrance into this establishment, Rosa was -delighted with her new life, for she speedily became a favorite with -her young companions, the leader in all their games, and the inventor -of innumerable pranks. But the teachers were far from being equally -satisfied with the new pupil, who could not be got to learn a lesson, -and who threw the household into confusion with her doings. One of -her favorite amusements was to draw caricatures of the governesses -and professors; which caricatures, after coloring, she cut out very -carefully, and contrived to fasten to the ceiling of the school-room, -by means of bread patiently chewed to the consistence of putty, -and applied to the heads of the figures. The sensation created by -this novel exhibition of portraiture, and the ludicrous bowings and -courtesyings of the paper figures, as they swayed over the heads of -their originals, may be easily imagined. The pupils would go beside -themselves with suppressed laughter; the teachers were naturally more -displeased than diverted. The mistress of the establishment, struck -with the vigor and originality of these drawings, caused them to be -detached from the ceiling, and placed them privately in an album, -where, it is said, they have been treasured to this day. But Rosa was -none the less pronounced a very naughty girl; and she generally found -herself condemned to bread and water about five days in the week. - -Rosa Bonheur is by no means deficient in the faculty of acquiring -knowledge, and has since made up, in her own way, for her early -disinclination to study; but it was absolutely impossible for her, -at that time, to constrain her mercurial temperament to the measured -regularity of a class; and the only branch of study in which she made -any progress was drawing, which she practiced assiduously, sharing the -lessons given twice a week by her father in return for her schooling. - -Rosa, however, was far from happy. Besides the constant trouble in -which her love of frolic and mischief involved her, there was another -annoyance that poisoned her peace, and gradually rendered her stay in -the school intolerably painful. - -All the other pupils being daughters of rich tradesmen, they were -elegantly dressed, and had their silver forks and cups at table, and -plenty of pocket-money for the gratification of their school-girl -fancies. Rosa, with her calico frocks and coarse shoes, her iron -spoon, tin mug, and empty pockets, felt keenly the inferiority of -her position. Her father was as good and as clever as the fathers -of her companions; why, then, was he not rich? Why must she wear -calico and drink out of tin, while the other girls had silver mugs -and beautiful silk dresses? Too generous to be envious, and treated -as a favorite by the other pupils, the proud and sensitive child yet -recoiled instinctively from a contact which awakened in her mind an -unreasoning sense of injustice, and humiliated her, as she felt, for -no fault of her own. She had no wish to deprive her little companions -of the superior advantages of their lot, but she longed to possess -the same, tormenting herself day and night with pondering on her -difficulties, and seeking to devise some plan by which they might be -overcome. To this period, with its secret mental experiences, is to be -traced that firm resolve to achieve a name and a place for herself in -the world--to a perception of whose social facts she was now beginning -to awaken--which sustained her through the subsequent phases of her -artistic development. Yet this resolve, though prompted by a galling -sense of the humble character of her wardrobe and “belongings,” -pointed less to the acquisition of greater elegance of dress and -personal conditions--to which she has subsequently shown herself almost -indifferent--than to the attainment of a superior and independent -social position. She was determined to be something, though she could -not see what, and felt no doubt of the accomplishment of her purpose, -though as yet she had no idea of the mode in which it was to be carried -out. Meanwhile, her secret discontent preyed on her spirits and -affected her health. She became reserved and gloomy, and while seeking, -with feverish anxiety, to devise the sort of work that should enable -her to gain for herself the superior position she so ardently coveted, -she became more and more neglectful of her studies, until, her teachers -and her father being alike discouraged by her seeming idleness, the -latter withdrew her from the school, and once more took her home. - -More than ever perplexed what to do with her, her father now left her -for a time entirely to herself. Thus abandoned to her own spontaneous -actions, Rosa, who felt that the idle and aimless life she had hitherto -led was little calculated to help her to the realization of her secret -ambition, and who was full of unacknowledged regret and remorse for her -incapacity and uselessness, sought refuge from her own uncomfortable -thoughts in her father’s studio, where she amused herself with -imitating every thing she saw him do; drawing and modeling, day after -day, with the utmost diligence and delight, happy as long as she had -in her hands a pencil, a piece of charcoal, or a lump of clay. In the -quiet and congenial activity of the studio, her excited feelings became -calm, and her ideas grew clearer; she began to understand herself, and -to devise the path nature had marked out for her. As this change took -place in her mind, the desultory and purposeless child became rapidly -transformed into the earnest, self-conscious, determined woman. She -drew and modeled from morning till night with enthusiastic ardor; and -her father, amazed at her progress, and perceiving at last the real -bent of her nature, devoted himself seriously to her instruction, -superintending her efforts with the greatest interest and care. He took -her through a serious course of preparatory study, and then sent her to -the Louvre to copy the works of the old masters, as a discipline for -her eye, her hand, and her judgment. - -Surrounded and stimulated by the glorious creations of the great -painters--the first to enter the gallery and the last to leave it--too -much absorbed in her model to be conscious of any thing that went on -around her, Rosa pursued her labors with unwavering zeal. - -“I have never seen an example of such application, and such ardor for -work,” remarked M. Jousselin, director of the Louvre, in describing the -deportment of the young student. - -The splendid coloring and form of the Italian schools, the lofty -idealism of the German, and the broad naturalism of the Dutch, alike -excited her enthusiasm; she studied them all with equal delight, -and copied them with equal felicity. To aid her father in his arduous -struggle for the support of his family, now increased by the birth of -two younger children, was the immediate object of Rosa’s ambition; -and, the admirable fidelity of her copies insuring them a speedy sale, -this filial desire was soon gratified. She gained but a small sum for -each, but so great was her industry that those earnings soon became an -important item in the family resources. - -One day, when she had just put the finishing touch to a copy of _Les -Bergers d’Arcadie_, at the Louvre, an elderly English gentleman stopped -beside her easel, and, having examined her work with much attention, -exclaimed, “Your copy, _mon enfant_, is superb, faultless! Persevere as -you have begun, and I prophesy that you will be a great artist!” The -stranger’s prediction gave the young painter much pleasure, and she -went home that evening with her head full of joyous visions of future -success. - -Rosa was now in her seventeenth year, vowed to art as the aim and -occupation of her life, cultivating landscape, historical, and genre -painting with equal assiduity, but without any decided preference for -either; when, happening to make a study of a goat, she was so much -enchanted with this new attempt that she thenceforth devoted herself -to the cultivation of the peculiar province in which she has commanded -such brilliant success. Too poor to procure models, she went out daily -into the country on foot, in search of picturesque views and animals -for sketching. With a bit of bread in her pocket, and laden with canvas -and colors, or a mass of clay--for she was attracted equally toward -painting and sculpture, and has shown that she would have succeeded -equally in either--she used to set out very early in the morning, and, -having found a site or a subject to her mind, seat herself on a bank or -under a tree, and work on till dusk; coming home at nightfall, after -a tramp of ten or a dozen miles, browned by sun and wind, soaked with -rain, or covered with mud; exhausted with fatigue, but rejoicing in the -lessons the day had furnished. - -Her inability to procure models at home also suggested to her -another expedient, the adoption of which shows how earnest was her -determination to overcome the obstacles poverty had placed in the way -of her studies. The slaughtering and preparing of animals for the -Paris market is confined to a few _abattoirs_, great establishments -on the outskirts of the city, placed under the supervision of the -municipal authorities. Each of these establishments contains extensive -inclosures, in which are penned thousands of lowing and bleating -victims, waiting their turn to be led to the shambles. To one of -these--the _abattoir du Roule_--had Rosa the courage to go daily for -many months, surmounting alike the repugnance which such a locality -naturally inspired, and her equally natural hesitation to place herself -in contact with the crowd of butchers and drovers who filled it. Seated -on a bundle of hay, with her colors beside her, she painted on from -morning till dusk, not unfrequently forgetting the bit of bread in -her pocket, so absorbed would she become in the study of the varied -types that rendered the courts and stables of this establishment -so invaluable a field of observation for her. Not content with -drawing the occupants of the _abattoir_ in their pens, far from the -sickening horror of the shambles, she felt the necessity of studying -their attitudes under the terror and agony of the death-stroke, and -compelled herself to make repeated visits to the slaughter-house; -looking on scenes whose repulsiveness was rendered doubly painful -to her by her affectionate sympathy with the brute creation. In the -evening, on her return home, her hands, face, and clothes were usually -spotted all over by the flies, so numerous wherever animals are -congregated. Such was the respect with which she inspired the rude -companions by whom she was surrounded, and who would often beg to see -her sketches, which they regarded with the most naïve admiration, that -nothing ever occurred to annoy her in the slightest degree during her -long sojourns in the crowded precincts of the _abattoir_. - -After she had ceased to visit this establishment, she frequented in -a similar manner the stables of the Veterinary School of Alfort, and -the animals and museums of the Garden of Plants. She also resumed her -sketching rambles in the country, and resorted diligently to all the -horse and cattle fairs held in the neighborhood of Paris. On the latter -occasions she invariably wore male attire; a precaution she found it -necessary to adopt, as a convenience, and still more, as a protection -against the annoyances that would have rendered it impossible for her -to mingle in such gatherings in feminine costume. In her masculine -habit Rosa had so completely the look of a good-hearted, ingenuous -boy, that the graziers and horse-dealers, whose animals she drew, -would frequently insist on “standing treat” in a _chopine_ of wine, or -a _petit verre_ of something stronger, to the “clever little fellow” -whose skillful portrayal of their beasts had so much delighted them; -and it sometimes required all her address and ingenuity to escape -from their well-meant persecutions. Her good looks, too, in the -assumed character of a youth of the sterner sex, would sometimes make -sad havoc in the susceptible hearts of village dairy-maids. Some -laughable incidents might be related under this head. In her subsequent -explorations of the romantic regions at either foot of the Pyrenees, -the passion with which she has unwittingly inspired the black-eyed -Phœbes of the south has more than once proved a source of serious -though comical embarrassment to the artist, desirous above all things -to maintain impenetrably the secret of her disguise. - -The young artist’s studies were not confined to the exterior forms of -her models. She procured the best anatomical treatises and plates, -with casts and models of the different parts of the human frame, and -studied them thoroughly; she then procured legs, shoulders, and heads -of animals from the butchers, carefully dissecting them, and thus -obtaining an intimate knowledge of the forms and dependencies of the -muscles whose play she had to delineate. - -Now that Rosa has arrived at the fame her swelling child-heart -prophesied to itself before she had ascertained the path that should -lead to the fulfillment of her aspirations, the richest and noblest of -her countrymen are proud to place at her disposal the finest products -of their farms and studs; while mules, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, -dogs, and rare poultry are offered to her from one end of Europe to -the other. But it is certain that the poverty and obscurity which, -during her first years of effort, compelled her to frequent _abattoirs_ -and cattle-markets in search of subjects for her pencil were really -of unspeakable service in forcing her to make acquaintance with a -multitude of types under a variety of action and condition, such as -she could never have seen in any other way, and in giving her a -breadth of conception, variety of detail, and truthfulness to nature, -which a more limited range of experience could not have supplied. - -Through all her varied studies, Raymond Bonheur was his daughter’s -constant and only teacher. M. Léon Cogniet, whose pupil she is -erroneously said to have been, merely took a friendly interest in her -progress, and warmly encouraged her to persevere. She never took a -lesson of any other teacher than her father and nature. - -Bonheur, with his family, now occupied small six-story rooms in the -Rue Rumfort. His two sons had also devoted themselves to art under his -auspices, Auguste being a painter, and Isidore a sculptor. The loving -family, merry and hopeful in spite of poverty, labored diligently -together in the same little studio. From daylight till dusk Rosa was -always at her easel, singing like a linnet, the busiest and merriest -of them all. In the evening, the frugal dinner dispatched and the lamp -lighted, she would spend several hours in drawing illustrations for -books, and animals for prints and for albums; or in moulding little -groups of oxen, sheep, etc., for the figure-dealers--thus earning an -additional contribution to the family purse. - -Rosa delighted in birds, of which she had many in the studio; but it -grieved her to see them confined. To her great joy, one of her brothers -contrived a net, which he fastened to the outer side of the window, -so that they could be safely let out of their cages. She had also a -beautiful sheep, with long silky wool, the most docile and intelligent -of quadrupeds, which she kept on the leads outside their windows, the -leads forming a terrace, converted by her into a garden, gay with -honeysuckles, cobeas, convolvulus, nasturtiums, and sweet-peas. As the -sheep could not descend six flights of stairs, yet needed occasional -exercise and change of diet, Isidore used to place it gravely on his -shoulders, and carry it down to a neighboring croft, where it browsed -on the fresh grass to its heart’s content, after which he would carry -it back to its aerial residence. Thus carefully tended, the animal -passed two years contentedly on the terrace, affording to Rosa and her -brothers an admirable model. - -It was in the Fine Arts Exhibition of 1841 that Rosa Bonheur made her -first appearance before the critical Areopagus of Paris, attracting -the favorable notice both of connoisseurs and public, by two charming -little groups of a goat, sheep, and rabbits. The following year she -exhibited three paintings: “Animals in a Pasture,” “A Cow lying in a -Meadow,” and “A Horse for Sale,” which attracted still more notice, the -first being specially remarkable for its exquisite rendering of the -atmospheric effects of evening, and its blending of poetic sentiment -with bold fidelity to fact. - -From this period she appeared in all the Paris exhibitions, and in -many of those of the provincial towns, her reputation rising every -year, and several bronze and silver medals being awarded to her -productions. In 1844 she exhibited, with her paintings, “A Bull” in -clay, one of the many proofs she has given of powers that would have -raised her to a high rank as a sculptor, had she not, at length, been -definitively drawn, by the combined attractions of form and color, -into the ranks of the painters. In the following year she exhibited -twelve paintings--a splendid collection--flanked by the works of her -father and her brother Auguste, then admitted for the first time. In -1846 her productions were accompanied by those of her father and both -her brothers, the younger of whom then first appeared as a sculptor. -The family group was completed in a subsequent exhibition by the -admission of her younger sister, Julietta, who had returned to Paris, -and had also become an artist. In 1849 her magnificent “Cantal Oxen” -took the gold medal. Horace Vernet, president of the committee of -awards, proclaimed the new laureat in presence of a brilliant crowd of -amateurs, presenting her with a superb Sèvres vase in the name of the -government; the value of a triumph which placed her ostensibly in the -highest rank of her profession being immeasurably enhanced in her eyes -by the unbounded delight it afforded to her father. - -Raymond Bonheur, released from pecuniary difficulty, and rejuvenated -by the joy of his daughter’s success, had accepted the directorship of -the government school of design for girls, and resumed his palette with -all the ardor of his younger days. But his health had been undermined -by the fatigues and anxieties he had borne so long, and he died of -heart disease in 1849, deeply regretted by his family. Rosa, who had -aided him in the school of design, was now made its directress. She -still holds the post, her sister, Madame Peyrol, being the resident -professor, and Rosa superintending the classes in a weekly lesson. - -Her already brilliant reputation was still farther enhanced by the -appearance, in 1849, of her noble “Plowing Scene in the Nivernais,” -ordered by the government, and now in the Luxembourg Gallery; of the -“Horse-market,” in 1853, the preparatory studies for which occupied her -during eighteen months; and the “Hay-making,” in 1855. The last two -works created great enthusiasm in the public mind. - -More fortunate than many other great artists, whose merits have been -slowly acknowledged, Rosa Bonheur has been a favorite with the public -from her first appearance. Her vigorous originality, her perfect -mastery of the technicalities and mechanical details of her art, and -the charm of a style at once fresh and simple, and profoundly and -poetically true, ensured for her productions a sympathetic appreciation -and a rapid sale. She had produced, up to June, 1858, thirty-five -paintings; and many more, not exhibited, have been purchased by private -amateurs. In these the peculiar aspect of crag, mountain, valley, and -plain--of trees and herbage; the effects of cloud, mist, and sunshine, -and of different hours of the day--are as profoundly and skillfully -rendered as are the outer forms and inner life of the animals around -which the artist, like nature, spreads the charm and glory of her -landscapes. She has already made a fortune, but has bestowed it -entirely on others, with the exception of a little farm a few miles -from Paris, where she spends a great deal of her time. Such is her -habitual generosity, and so scrupulous is her delicacy in all matters -connected with her art, that it may be doubted whether she will ever -amass any great wealth for herself. Her port-folios contain nearly a -thousand sketches, eagerly coveted by amateurs; but she regards these -as a part of her artistic life, and refuses to part with them on any -terms. A little drawing that accidentally found its way into the hands -of a dealer, a short time since, brought eighty pounds in London. -Rosa had presented it to a charity, as she now and then does with her -drawings. Demands for paintings reach her from every part of the -world; but she refuses all orders not congenial to her talent, valuing -her own probity and dignity above all price. - -The award of the jury in 1853--in virtue of which the authoress of -“The Horse-market” was enrolled among the recognized masters of the -brush, and as such exempted from the necessity of submitting her works -to the examining committee previous to their admission to future -exhibitions--entitled her, according to French usage, to the cross of -the Legion of Honor. This decoration was refused to the artist by the -emperor _because she was a woman_! - -The refusal, repeated after her brilliant success of 1855, naturally -excited the indignation of her admirers, who could not understand why -an honor that would be accorded to a certain talent in a man should be -refused to the same in a woman. But, though Rosa was included in the -invitation to the state dinner at the Tuileries, always given to the -artists to whom the Academy of Fine Arts has awarded its highest honor, -the refusal of the decoration was maintained, notwithstanding numerous -efforts made to obtain a reversal of the imperial decree. - -A visitor describes the studio of this world-renowned artist. At the -southern end of the Rue d’Assas--a retired street, half made up of -extensive gardens, the tops of trees alone visible above the high stone -walls--just where, meeting the Rue de Vaugirard, it widens into an -irregular little square, surrounded by sleepy-looking, old-fashioned -houses, and looked down upon by the shining gray roofs and belfry of -an ancient Carmelite convent--is a green garden-door, surmounted by -the number “32.” A ring will be answered by the barkings of one or two -dogs; and when the door is opened by the sober-suited serving-man, the -visitor finds himself in a garden full of embowering trees. The house, -a long, cozy, irregular building, standing at right angles with the -street, is covered with vines, honeysuckles, and clematis. A part of -the garden is laid out in flower-beds; but the larger portion--fenced -off with a green paling, graveled, and containing several sheds--is -given up to the animals kept by the artist as her models. There may be -seen a horse, a donkey, four or five goats, sheep of different breeds, -ducks, cochinchinas, and other denizens of the barn-yard, all living -together in perfect amity and good-will. - -On fine days the artist may be found seated on a rustic chair inside -the paling, busily sketching one of these animals, a wide-awake or -sun-bonnet on her head. If the visitor comes on a Friday afternoon, the -time set apart for Rosa’s receptions, he is ushered through glass doors -into a hall, where the walls are covered with paintings, orange-trees -and oleanders standing in green tubs in the corners, and the floor -(since the artist crossed the Channel!) covered with English oil-cloth. -From this hall a few stairs, covered with thick gray drugget, lead to -the atelier, on Fridays turned into the reception-room. - -This beautiful studio, one of the largest and most finely proportioned -in Paris, with its greenish-gray walls, and plain green curtains to -lofty windows that never let in daylight--the room being lighted -entirely from the ceiling--has all its wood-work of dark oak, as are -the book-case, tables, chairs, and other articles of furniture--richly -carved, but otherwise of severe simplicity--distributed about the room. -The walls are covered with paintings, sketches, casts, old armor, -fishing-nets, rude baskets and pouches, poles, gnarled and twisted -vine-branches, picturesque hats, cloaks, and sandals, collected by -the artist in her wanderings among the peasants of various regions; -nondescript draperies, bones and skins of animals, antlers and -horns. The fine old book-case contains as many casts, skeletons, and -curiosities as books, and is surrounded with as many busts, groups in -plaster, shields, and other artistic booty, as its top can accommodate; -and the great Gothic-looking stove at the upper end of the room is -covered in the same way with little casts and bronzes. Paintings of all -sizes, and in every stage of progress, are seen on easels at the lower -end of the room, the artist always working at several at a time. Stands -of port-folios and stacks of canvas line the sides of the studio; birds -are chirping in cages of various dimensions, and a magnificent parrot -eyes you suspiciously from the top of a lofty perch. Scattered over -a floor as bright as waxing can make it, are skins of tigers, oxen, -leopards, and foxes--the only species of floor-covering admitted by -the artist into her workroom. “They give me ideas,” she says of these -favorite appurtenances; “whereas the most costly and luxurious carpet -is suggestive of nothing.” - -But the suggestion of picturesque associations is not the only service -rendered by these spoils of the animal kingdom. One sultry Friday -afternoon, one of her admirers, going earlier than her usual reception -hour, found her lying fast asleep under the long table at the upper end -of the studio, on her favorite skin, that of a magnificent ox, with -stuffed head and spreading horns; her head resting lovingly on that of -the animal. She had come in very tired from her weekly review of the -classes at the School of Design, and had thrown herself down on the -skin, under the shade of the table, to rest a few moments. There was so -much natural grace and simplicity in her attitude, such innocence and -peacefulness in her whole aspect, and so much of the startled child in -her expression, as, roused by the opening and shutting of the door, she -awoke and started to her feet, that the picture seemed as beautiful as -any created by the pencil. - -Here Rosa Bonheur receives her guests with the frankness, kindness, -and unaffected simplicity for which she is so eminently distinguished. -In person she is small, and rather under the middle height, with -a finely-formed head, and broad rather than high forehead; small, -well-defined, regular features, and good teeth; hazel eyes, very clear -and bright; dark-brown hair, slightly wavy, parted on one side and cut -short in the neck; a compact, shapely figure; hands small and delicate, -and extremely pretty little feet. She dresses very plainly, the only -colors worn by her being black, brown, and gray; and her costume -consists invariably of a close-fitting jacket and skirt of simple -materials. On the rare occasions when she goes into company--for she -accepts very few of the invitations with which she is assailed--she -appears in the same simple costume, of richer materials, with the -addition merely of a lace collar. She wears none of the usual articles -of feminine adornment; they are not in accordance with her thoughts and -occupations. At work she wears a round pinafore or blouse of gray linen -that envelops her from the neck to the feet. She impresses one at first -sight with the idea of a clear, honest, vigorous, independent nature; -abrupt, yet kindly; original, self-centred, and decided, without the -least pretension or conceit; but it is only when you have seen her -conversing earnestly and heartily, her enthusiasm roused by some topic -connected with her art, or with the great humanitary questions of the -day; when you have watched her kindling eyes, her smile at once so -sweet, so beaming, and so keen, her expressive features irradiated, -as it were, with an inner light, that you perceive how very beautiful -she really is. To know how upright and how truthful she is, how -single-minded in her devotion to her art, how simple and unassuming, -fully conscious of the dignity of her artistic power, but respecting it -rather as a talent committed to her keeping than as a quality personal -to herself, you must have been admitted to something more than the -ordinary courtesy of a reception-day. While, if you would know how -noble and how self-sacrificing she has been, not only to every member -of her own family, but to others possessing no claim on her kindness -but such as that kindness gave them, you must learn it from those who -have shared her bounty, for you will never know a word of it from -herself. - -Her dislike to being written about will prevent many interesting -particulars in regard to her from becoming known; but, if they ever -come to light, they will show her life replete with noble teachings, -and that the great painter whose fame will go down to coming ages was -as admirable a woman as she was gifted as an artist; that her moral -worth was no less transcendent than her genius. - -Rosa Bonheur is an indefatigable worker. She rises at six, and paints -until dusk, when she lays aside her blouse, puts on a bonnet and -shawl of most unfashionable appearance, and takes a turn through the -neighboring streets alone, or accompanied only by a favorite dog. -Absorbed in her own thoughts, and unconscious of every thing around -her, the first conception of a picture is often struck out by her in -these rapid, solitary walks in the twilight. - -Living solely for her art, she has gladly resigned the cares of her -outward existence to an old and devoted friend, Madame Micas, a widow -lady, who, with her daughter, resides with her. Mademoiselle Micas -is an artist, and her beautiful groups of birds are well known in -England. She has been for many years Rosa’s most intimate companion. -Every summer the two artists repair to some mountain district to -sketch. Arrived at the regions inhabited only by the chamois, they -exchange their feminine habiliments for masculine attire, and spend -a couple of months in exploring the wildest recesses of the hills, -courting the acquaintance of their shy and swift-footed tenants, and -harvesting “effects” of storm, rain, and vapor as assiduously as those -of sunshine. Though Rosa is alive to the beauties of wood and meadow, -mountain scenery is her especial delight. Having explored the French -chains and the Pyrenees, in the autumn of 1856 she visited Scotland, -and made numerous sketches in the neighborhood of Glenfallock, Glencoe, -and Ballaculish. Struck by the beauty of the Highland cattle, she -selected some choice specimens of these, which she had sent down to -Wexham Rectory, near Windsor, where she resided, and spent two months -in making numerous studies, from which she produced two pictures: -“The Denizens of the Mountains” and “Morning in the Highlands.” Her -preference for the stern, the abrupt, and the majestic over the soft, -the smiling, and the fair, makes Italy, with all its glories, less -attractive to her than the ruder magnificence of the Pyrenees and the -north. - -Among mountains the great artist is completely in her element; out of -doors from morning till night, lodging in the humblest and remotest of -road-side hotels, or in the huts of wood-cutters, charcoal-burners, -and chamois-hunters, and living contentedly on whatever fare can be -obtained. In 1856, being furnished by families of distinction in the -Béarnais and the Basque provinces with introductions, her party pushed -their adventurous wanderings to the little station of Peyronère, the -last inhabited point within the French frontier, and thence up the -romantic defiles of the Vallée d’Urdos, across the summit of the -Pyrenees. Their letters procured them a hospitable reception at each -halting-place, with a trusty guide for the next march. In this way they -crossed the mountains, and gained the lonely _posada_ of Canfan, the -first on the Spanish side of the ridge, where, for six weeks, they saw -no one but the muleteers with their strings of mules, who would halt -for the night at the little inn, setting out at the earliest dawn for -their descent of the mountains. - -The people of the _posada_ lived entirely on curdled sheep’s milk, -the sole article of food the party could obtain on their arrival. -At one time, by an early fall of snow, they were shut out from all -communication with the valley. Their threatened starvation was averted -by the exertions of Mademoiselle Micas, who managed to procure a -quantity of frogs, the hind legs of which she enveloped in leaves, -and toasted on sticks over a fire on the hearth. On these frogs they -lived for two days, when the hostess was induced to attempt the -making of butter from the milk of her sheep, and even to allow the -conversion of one of these animals into mutton for their benefit. Their -larder thus supplied, and black bread being brought for them by the -muleteers from a village a long way off, they gave themselves up to -the pleasures of their wild life and the business of sketching. The -arrival of the muleteers, in their embroidered shirts, pointed hats, -velvet jackets, leathern breeches, and sandals, was always a welcome -event. Rosa paid for wine for them, and they, in return, performed -their national dances for her, after which they would throw themselves -down for the night upon sheepskins before the fire, furnishing subjects -for many picturesque _croquis_. As the _posada_ was a police-station, -established there as a terror to smugglers, the little party felt -perfectly safe, notwithstanding its loneliness. - -Rosa was much pleased with her Scotch tour. She brought away a -wonderful little Skye terrier, named “Wasp,” of the purest breed, -and remarkably intelligent, which she holds in great affection. She -has learned for its benefit several English phrases, to which “Wasp” -responds with appreciative waggings of the tail. - -Rosa Bonheur has avowed her determination never to marry. Determined -to devote her life to her favorite art, she may be expected to produce -a long line of noble works that will worthily maintain her present -reputation; while the virtues and excellences of her private character -will win for her an ever-widening circle of admiration and respect. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - The Practice of Art in America.--Number of women Artists - increasing.--Prospect flattering.--Imperfection of Sketches of - living Artists.--Rosalba Torrens.--Miss Murray.--Mrs. Lupton.--Miss - Denning.--Miss O’Hara.--Mrs. Darley.--Mrs. Goodrich.--Miss - Foley.--Miss Mackintosh and others.--Mrs. Ball Hughes.--Mrs. - Chapin.--Sketch of Mrs. Duncan.--The Peale Family.--Anecdote of - General Washington.--Mrs. Washington’s Punctuality.--Miss Peale - an Artist in Philadelphia.--Paints Miniatures.--Copies Pictures - from great Artists.--She and her Sister honorary Members of the - Academy.--Her prosperous Career.--Paints with her Sister in - Baltimore and Washington.--Marriage and Widowhood.--Return to - Philadelphia.--Second Marriage.--Happy Home.--Mrs. Yeates.--Miss Sarah - M. Peale.--Success.--Removal to St. Louis.--Miss Rosalba Peale.--Miss - Ann Leslie.--Early Taste in Painting.--Visits to London.--Copies - Pictures.--Miss Sarah Cole.--Mrs. Wilson.--Intense Love of Art.--Her - Sculptures.--Her impromptu Modeling of Emerson’s Head.--Mrs. Cornelius - Dubois.--Her Taste for the Sculptor’s Art.--Groups by her.--Studies in - Italy.--Her Cameos.--Her Kindness to Artists.--Miss Anne Hall.--Early - Love of Painting.--Lessons.--Copies old Paintings in Miniature.--Her - original Pictures.--Her Merits of the highest Order.--Groups in - Miniature.--Dunlap’s Praise.--Her Productions numerous.--Mary - S. Legaré.--Her Ancestry.--Mrs. Legaré.--Early Fondness for Art - shown by the Daughter.--Her Studies.--Little Beauty in the Scenery - familiar to her.--Colonel Cogdell’s Sympathy with her.--Success - in Copying.--Visit to the Blue Ridge.--Grand Views.--Paintings - of mountain Scenery.--Removal to Iowa.--“Legaré College.”--Her - Erudition and Energy.--Her Marriage.--Herminie Dassel.--Reverse of - Fortune.--Painting for a Living.--Visit to Vienna and Italy.--Removal - to America.--Success and Marriage.--Her social Virtues and - Charity.--Miss Jane Stuart.--Mrs. Hildreth.--Mrs. Davis.--Mrs. - Badger’s Book of Flowers.--Mrs. Hawthorne.--Mrs. Hill.--Mrs. - Greatorex.--Mrs. Woodman.--Miss Gove.--Miss May.--Miss Granbury.--Miss - Oakley. - - -In America the practice of art by woman is but in its commencement. -Although many names of female artists are now familiar to the public, -and the number is rapidly increasing, few have had time to accomplish -all for which they may possess the ability. The prospect, however, is -one most flattering to our national pride. - -The sketches of living American women who are pursuing art are chiefly -prepared from materials furnished by their friends. They are given in -simplicity, and may appear imperfect, but we hope indulgence may be -extended to them where they are inadequate to do justice to the subject. - -Rosalba Torrens is mentioned by Ramsay, in his History of South -Carolina, as a meritorious landscape-painter. Praise is also bestowed -on Eliza Torrens, afterward Mrs. Cochran. Miss Mary Murray painted in -crayons and water-colors in New York, and produced many life-sized -portraits, which gained her celebrity. Madame Planteau painted in -Washington about 1820, and was highly esteemed. - -Dunlap mentions Mrs. Lupton as a modeler. She presented a bust of -Governor Throop to the National Academy of Design in New York, of -which she was an honorary member. Many of her paintings elicited high -commendation. She executed many busts in clay, of her friends. There -was hardly a branch of delicate workmanship in which she did not -excel, and her literary attainments were varied and extensive. She -was an excellent French scholar, and a proficient in Latin, Italian, -and Spanish, besides having mastered the Hebrew sufficiently to read -the Old Testament with ease. In English literature she was thoroughly -versed, and was an advanced student in botany and natural history. - -She was the daughter of Dr. Platt Townsend, and was married early -in life. Mr. Lupton, a gentleman of high professional and literary -attainments, resided in the city of New York. After his death his -widow devoted herself to study, that she might be qualified to educate -her young daughter, and, after the loss of this only child, pursued -knowledge as a solace for her sorrows. Her talents and accomplishments, -her elevated virtues and charities, and her attractive social qualities -drew around her a circle of warm and admiring friends. She lived a -short time in Canada, and died at the house of a relative on Long -Island. - -Miss Charlotte Denning, of Plattsburgh, is spoken of as a clever -miniature-painter, and also Miss O’Hara, in New York. Miss Jane Sully -(Mrs. Darley), the daughter of the celebrated artist, is mentioned as -an artist of merit. Mrs. Goodrich, of Boston, painted an excellent -portrait of Gilbert Stuart, which was engraved by Durand for the -National Portrait Gallery. Her miniatures have great merit, and are -marked by truth and expression. - -Margaret Foley was a member of the New England School of Design, and -gave instruction in drawing and painting. She resided in Lowell, and -was frequently applied to for her cameos, which she cut beautifully. -Miss Sarah Mackintosh was accustomed to draw on stone for a large glass -company, and other ladies designed in the carpet factory at Lowell and -in the Merrimack print-works, showing the ability of women to engage in -such occupations. - -Several have made a livelihood by the business of engraving on wood, -and drawing for different works. - -Mrs. Ball Hughes, of Boston, the wife of the sculptor, supported her -family by painting and by giving lessons in the art. Mrs. Chapin had a -large drawing school in Providence, and, with facility in every style, -is said to be admirable in crayons. Many others might be mentioned, but -it does not comport with the design of this work to record even the -names of _all_ who deserve the tribute of praise. - - - ANNA C. PEALE (MRS. DUNCAN). - -Several ladies of the Peale family have been distinguished as artists, -and are mentioned in the histories of painting in America. The -parents of the subject of this sketch were Captain James Peale and -Mary Claypoole. Her maternal ancestors, the Claypooles, came to this -country with William Penn, and were among the earliest settlers in -Philadelphia. They claimed direct descent from Oliver Cromwell, whose -daughter Elizabeth married Sir John Claypoole. - -James Peale had great celebrity as a painter, and excelled both in -miniatures and oil portraits. He was not only remarkable for success -in his likenesses, but had the faculty of making them handsome withal, -so that he was called among his acquaintances “the flattering artist.” -This pleasing effect he gave, not by altering the features, but by -happy touches of expression; and it was one secret of his eminent -success. He painted, from actual sittings, several portraits of General -Washington and Mrs. Washington. One, a miniature, is now in the -possession of his eldest daughter. - -On one occasion, when Washington was sitting for his portrait in Mr. -Peale’s painting-room, he looked at his watch, and said, - -“Mr. Peale, my time for sitting has expired; but, if three minutes -longer will be of any importance to you, I will remain, and make up the -time by hastening my walk up to the State House (where Congress was in -session). I know exactly how long it will take me to walk there; and it -will not do for me, as President, to be absent at the hour of meeting.” - -Mrs. Washington was as remarkable for punctuality as her illustrious -husband. At one time, during the general’s absence, he wrote to her to -get Mr. James Peale to paint her portrait in miniature, and to send it -to him. Mrs. Washington wrote a note to the artist, saying that her -presence at home was indispensable when the general was away, and it -would not be convenient for her to attend at his painting-room. She -requested him, therefore, to come to her house for the sittings, and -offered to accommodate herself to any hour when it would suit him to be -away from his studio. In his reply Mr. Peale appointed seven o’clock in -the morning. When he left his home to keep the engagement for the first -sitting, it occurred to him that the lady might not be quite ready to -see him at so early an hour. He walked on, accordingly, more slowly -than usual. Mrs. Washington met him with the observation, “Mr. Peale, I -have been in the kitchen to give my orders for the day; have read the -newspaper, and heard my niece her lesson on the harp; yet have waited -for you twenty minutes.” - -The gentleman, of course, felt exceedingly mortified, and remarked -that if his engagement had been with General Washington he should have -felt the importance of being punctual to the minute; but he thought it -necessary to allow a lady a little more time. - -“Sir,” replied Mrs. Washington, “I am as punctual as the general.” It -may be imagined that Mr. Peale took care to be at the house the next -day at the time appointed. - -Dunlap, in his sketch of the artist, mentions his son and two -daughters as having adopted their father’s profession. There were -_three_ daughters who did thus, out of five who showed talent for art, -viz., Anna, Sarah, and Margaretta. The son, James Peale, showed, from -early youth, a remarkable talent for landscape-painting. His sketches -from nature were admirable. For many years, though not a professional -artist, he contributed an exquisite picture to every opening of the -annual exhibition of the Academy of the Fine Arts, in Philadelphia. - -Anna was born in Philadelphia, and from childhood showed extraordinary -talent for art. When about fourteen years of age, she copied in -oil-colors two paintings by Vernet; and these, sent to public auction, -brought her thirty dollars, then esteemed a good price for first -efforts. Stimulated by this reward of her labor, she resolved to -persevere, and in time became able to command an independence. Her -father had a large family to support by his profession of portrait and -miniature painting, and his daughter looked forward with pleasure to -the thought of being a help instead of a burden to him. It was not, -however, until two years after that she was able seriously to apply -herself to the art. One other attempt only she made in oil-colors; a -small fruit-piece, from nature. Her father thought miniature-painting -on ivory the most suitable employment for a lady, and urged her to make -a trial of her powers in that branch. She had learned much by standing -behind his chair, hours and hours at a time, and watching his progress. -He took great pains in teaching her, pointing out the peculiar touches -that produced his best effects, by giving a charm to the expression. - -Not only was Miss Peale assiduous in the study of her father’s -exquisite miniatures, but she copied several executed by distinguished -artists in that line. One, from a painting by the celebrated Duchésne, -a portrait of Napoleon, was sold to a gentleman in Philadelphia for -one hundred and fifty dollars. Her ambition to attain to excellence, -now fairly kindled, nerved her to industry and enterprise. She painted -a miniature of Washington from a portrait, which was purchased of her -father by one of his friends and brother officers of the Revolution, -Colonel Allen M‘Clain. The first miniature portraits from life which -she undertook were those of Dr. Spencer H. Cone and his venerable -mother. These, with one or two others, were presented at the annual -exhibition of the Academy of the Fine Arts. She and her sister, Miss -Sarah M. Peale, were elected honorary members of this institution. This -sister had adopted portrait-painting in oil as her profession. - -The artistic career thus commenced went on most prosperously. Although -she owed nothing to any public notice of her talents, Miss Anna Peale -soon found abundant occupation in painting miniature likenesses. Her -health, however, suffered under her incessant labors, and she was -compelled to put a higher price on her work in order to reduce the -number of applications. She was so frequently solicited to paint the -likenesses of children, and found them such troublesome subjects, that -she charged double price for them. - -From the commencement of Miss Peale’s painting to her sister’s -entrance on the arena as a portrait-painter, for some years, it is -believed, she was the only professional lady artist in Philadelphia. -The sisters, after having commenced their labors, passed their time -alternately in Philadelphia and Baltimore; in the latter city receiving -unbounded attention and encouragement from families of the highest -respectability. They were not only well received as artists, but were -welcomed as friends and hospitably entertained. They were much caressed -by the family of the venerable Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Miss -Sarah painted in oil a portrait of his daughter, Mrs. Caten. - -The sisters afterward went to Washington to paint the portrait of -General La Fayette, who sat for it at their request. Anna spent the -winter of 1819 in the Federal city with her uncle, Charles M. Peale, -who went there for the purpose of painting the portraits of many -distinguished members of Congress. They worked in the same studio. -General Jackson was one of their sitters. Miss Peale retained his -portrait, and has it still in her possession. President Monroe also had -his likeness taken, and the artists were often hospitably entertained -at the “White House” by the President and his amiable wife. During the -time of her stay in Washington, Miss Peale had her time filled up with -commissions; she painted several of the members of Congress, among whom -were Henry Clay and Colonel R. M. Johnson. - -In the following year Miss Peale again visited Washington. She painted -a miniature likeness of that remarkable character, John Randolph of -Roanoke. It is now in her possession. So incessant was her application -to work, that during the summer she was obliged to travel for the -recovery of her health, and to give rest to her eyes. Several times -they were attacked with inflammation, and at one time she had cause to -dread the total loss of sight. Some time after this period she visited -Boston, where she painted several portraits. Daniel Webster sat twice -for a miniature, which she never quite finished. - -In 1829 Miss Peale received the addresses of Rev. Dr. William -Staughton, a Baptist clergyman of much learning and distinction. He -was about that time elected president of the Theological College at -Georgetown, Kentucky. They were married August 27th, 1829, and left -Philadelphia for the scene of the husband’s future labors. While -they were in the city of Washington, Dr. Staughton was taken ill. He -died early in December, in a little more than three months after the -marriage. The widow returned to Philadelphia the following spring. She -resumed her profession, and painted with as great success as before. - -Her second marriage, with General William Duncan, a gentleman highly -esteemed in social life, may be said to have closed her career as an -artist, though her love for art can never be lost. In her happy home, -surrounded by accomplished relatives, and beloved by a large circle of -friends, she looks back with pride to the days when she toiled to woo -the Muse of Painting, and still acknowledges the truthful remark of the -German poet: - -“He who can not apprehend the Beautiful has no heart for the Good.” - -The only person to whom Mrs. Duncan ever gave lessons in -miniature-painting was her niece, Mary Jane Simes, now the wife of Dr. -John Yeates, of Baltimore. This lady is an artist of no small celebrity. - -Miss Sarah M. Peale excelled not only in oil portraits but in -still-life pieces. She has resided for the last ten years in St. Louis, -whither she was induced to go by the invitation of numerous friends. -She found there such encouragement and success, with such warm regard -from her friends, that she has not as yet found leisure to leave her -engrossing pursuits for a visit to her native city. Her varied talents -and amiable character are justly appreciated, and she has gathered -around her a large and estimable circle. She possesses a fine talent -for music in addition to her other accomplishments. - -Mrs. Rembrandt Peale is highly spoken of as a painter in oil-colors. - -Miss Rosalba Peale is an amateur artist, and is said to have been the -first lady member of any Academy of Art in America. - - - ANN LESLIE. - -The name of Leslie has been placed by a painter of eminent merit among -the most distinguished of this century, and his sister has contributed -to its fame. She was born in Philadelphia; her parents, Robert Leslie -and Lydia Baker, went to London in 1793, when she was an infant, and -returned in 1799. She showed a taste for painting in childhood, but did -not take it up as a regular employment till 1822, at which time she was -again in London, on a visit to her brother. She copied several of his -pictures, and two or three by Sir Joshua Reynolds, besides painting -portraits of her friends. She returned in 1825 to Philadelphia, with -her sister, Mrs. Henry Carey, and her brother-in-law, but paid another -visit to London four years afterward. Several copies she made from -pictures were engraved for the Atlantic Souvenir. One of “Sancho and -the Duchess” was pronounced equal to the original in execution. Her -skill was great in imitating coloring, but she was accustomed to make -the outlines mechanically. - -Her life was passed in cheerful and contented activity. She resided -several years in New York, where she occupied herself chiefly in -copying paintings. She died in the summer of 1857. - -Miss Sarah Cole, the sister of the celebrated artist, had a great -deal of talent, and not only copied paintings, but produced original -compositions. She was born in England, but spent most of her life in -the United States. She died in 1858. - - - MRS. WILSON. - -Mrs. Lee mentions Mrs. Wilson of Cincinnati as having displayed much -original talent in sculpture. The following account is from a friend’s -letter: - -“She is the wife of a physician of Cincinnati, and was born, I believe, -in or near Cooperstown, New York. Her first impressions of persons -and things are expressed in her conversation. She is a perfect child -of nature, impulsive, but wonderfully perceptive, and with so much -freshness that all persons of mind are attracted to her. Her infancy -and youth were very much shadowed by domestic sufferings, originating, -at first, in the loss of a large property by her father, who in -consequence removed to the West. He died when she was quite young. She -married Dr. Wilson, a most excellent person, of Quaker family. All -circumstances were such, that an early revelation or development was -not made of her artistic powers. In visiting a sculptor’s studio the -desire first awoke; an intelligent friend encouraged and sympathized -with her, and Mrs. Wilson procured the materials. Her feeling was so -intense that it could not be repressed. Her husband was her first -subject. She worked with so much energy that sometimes she would -faint away, and on one of these occasions he said, ‘If you are not -more moderate, I will throw that thing out of the window.’ But it was -finished, proving a perfect likeness, and she chiseled it in stone. It -is in her parlor at Cincinnati, a most beautiful bust, and an admirable -likeness, and seems like a miracle, considering it was her first -attempt. - -“Another marvelous work is the figure of her son. He threw himself on -the floor one morning in an attitude at once striking and picturesque. -To copy it required a perfectly correct eye, or a knowledge of anatomy. -She courageously attempted it; the attitude was repeated, and her -success was triumphant. It is only a cast, and the cast does not do -justice to the finish of her work, but she has not been able to procure -a block of marble for the copy. The effect is wonderful for its spirit -and the accuracy of its anatomy. She has commenced other subjects, but -some of them are not finished, and to others accidents have happened. - -“She has a family of children, and is a devoted mother. We think -_stone_ will have but little chance with those beings of flesh and -blood whose minds and hearts she is carefully modeling. Perhaps family -cares may be the true secret why female sculptors are so rare; but -we congratulate this lady that she has the true perception of the -beautiful, and feel quite sure it will mitigate the suffering from -delicate health, and scatter fragrant flowers and healing herbs in the -sometimes rugged paths of duty.” - -A gentleman acquainted with Mrs. Wilson mentioned an incident that -occurred on a journey to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Struck with -the aspect of a distinguished person in the company--Mr. Emerson--the -sculptress gave directions to stop near a bank of soft red clay, and, -putting out one hand to grasp a sufficient portion of the material, -with the other she signed to her subject to remain motionless. In a few -moments she had modeled a very creditable likeness of the author. - - - MRS. DUBOIS. - -Mrs. Cornelius Dubois, now residing in New York, and devoted to the -charitable institution of the Nursery and Child’s Hospital, has shown -much talent for sculpture and cameo-cutting. Mrs. Lee describes her -as having discovered, accidentally, about 1842, a taste for modeling, -in the following manner: “Her father had his bust taken. Before the -casting, he asked his daughter her opinion of it as a likeness. She -pointed out some defects which the artist corrected in her presence, -upon which she exclaimed, ‘I could do that!’ and requested the sculptor -to give her some clay, from which she modeled, with but little labor, -a bust of her husband, and was eminently successful in the likeness. -She then decided to take lessons, but illness having interfered with -her plans, she abandoned the intention, and worked on by herself, with -merely the instruction from the sculptor to keep her clay moist until -her work was completed. - -“When she recovered her health sufficiently, she continued to mould, -and, among other works, produced the likenesses of two of her little -children, the group of Cupid and Psyche, a copy; and a novice, an -original piece. She also carved a head of the Madonna in marble; a -laborious and exciting work, which injured her health to such a degree -that her physician interdicted her devotion to the arts. - -“She then went to Italy, where she desired the first artist in cameos -to give her lessons. When he saw some that she had cut, he told her -that he could teach her nothing; she had only to study the antiques. - -“Her works in cameos are ‘St. Agnes and her Lamb,’ ‘Alcibiades,’ -‘Guido’s Angel,’ ‘Raphael’s Hope,’ and the ‘Apollo.’ She took over -thirty likenesses in cameo, requiring only an hour’s sitting, after -which they were completed. - -“Notwithstanding the care of a large family, the superintendence of -the education of her daughters, and the sad drawback of ill health, -her energy has never failed her. She has always extended a helping -hand and a smile of encouragement to young artists, one of whom was in -Brown’s studio; another is the sculptor of the ‘Shipwrecked Mother,’ -who alludes to her kindness in his short autobiography. - -“But, while ascending the ladder to fame, her progress was arrested by -ill health, and she now lives only to feel, as she says, how little she -has done compared to what she might do could she devote herself to the -art. Anxious to impart to others this great gift, and to stimulate her -countrywomen to the development of any latent talent they may possess, -she formed a class of young ladies, and most disinterestedly devoted a -certain portion of her time to their instruction for several months. - -“While all who know her admire the artist for her talents, her -unceasing energy, and philanthropic exertions, they behold in her the -good wife, mother, and friend, and the elegant and accomplished woman, -presiding over the social circle. Her heart remains true to the gentle -influences of nature, while her genius is ever responsive to immortal -Art.” - - - ANNE HALL. - -Anne Hall was born in Pomfret, Connecticut. She was the third daughter -of Dr. Jonathan Hall, a physician of distinction. Her talent for art -was early developed, and her father, who loved painting, endeavored -to foster the promise of her childhood. A visitor having presented -her with a box of colors and pencils, she began to use them; and her -father, who was pleased with her progress, procured for her a box of -colors from China. She had a brother who admired and valued pictures, -and whose praise encouraged her to continue her childish attempts. -He supplied her with such materials as she needed for drawing and -painting. Every hint she received from artists was turned to account, -and she gave herself to her favorite occupation with enthusiasm. She -delighted in imitating nature; and fruits, birds, flowers, and even -fish and insects were subjects for her pencil; but she took especial -pleasure in producing likenesses of her friends. Living in a retired -part of the country, she had little access to paintings of value for -a long time; but, being sent on a visit to a relative in Newport, -Rhode Island, she received some instruction in painting on ivory from -Mr. Samuel King, who had been an early teacher of Alston, and also of -Malbone. Miss Hall gained less knowledge from her master’s lessons, -however, than from copying some paintings of the old masters which her -brother afterward sent home from Cadiz and other places in Spain. These -were faithfully copied on ivory in miniature. “A Mother and a Sleeping -Child,” still in her possession, shows her progress at this time. “A -Mother in Tears,” copied from a painting on ivory, was much admired -as evidence of fidelity in copying and skill in coloring. Studying -the pictures procured by her brother, she learned to appreciate their -excellences, while, by comparing them with nature, she was enabled to -avoid the formality of a mere copyist. She began now to give form and -coloring to the conceptions of her imagination, and attempted original -composition. - -Miss Hall took some lessons in oil-painting from Alexander Robertson in -New York, but has chiefly devoted herself to painting in water-colors -on ivory. Her merits have been acknowledged by the most distinguished -artists in New York and different parts of the United States to be of -the highest order. Among her miniature copies of oil pictures by old -masters, two from Guido were particularly noticed as executed with -surprising vigor and a rich glow of coloring. Her groups of children -from life were done with masterly skill, and finished with a taste and -delicacy which a woman’s hand only could exhibit. Her portraits in -miniature were acknowledged to possess exquisite delicacy and beauty. -The soft colors seem breathed on the ivory rather than applied with the -brush. A miniature group often sold for five hundred dollars. - -Dunlap mentions one of her compositions as “marked with the beautiful -simplicity of some of Reynolds’s or Lawrence’s portraits of children, -evincing a masterly touch and glowing in admirable coloring.” - -Miss Hall was unanimously elected a member of the National Academy of -Design in New York. Her portrait of a lovely Greek girl, from life, -was engraved, and the rare beauty of the painting was universally -acknowledged. The floating silken waves of hair have an unrivaled -effect. A group of two girls and a boy is admirable in composition, -color, and expression. Miss Hall’s “management of infant beauty” -is, indeed, unsurpassed; her flowers and children, Dunlap observes, -“combine in an elegant bouquet.” - -One of the best of her original compositions is a group of a mother and -child--Mrs. Jay and her infant. The first, clasping the babe to her -bosom, has a Madonna-like beauty; the child is perfect in attitude and -expression. Another group of a mother and two young children, the widow -and orphans of the late Matthias Bruen, has a most charming expression. -One of the children was painted as a cherub in a separate picture, -much valued by artists as a rare specimen of skill. Miss Hall has also -painted the portraits in miniature of many persons distinguished in the -best social circles of New York. Several of her groups have been copied -in enamel in France, and thus made indestructible. Three children of -Mrs. Ward, with a dog and bird; a child holding a grape-vine branch; -with portraits of Mrs. Crawford, widow of the sculptor, Mrs. Divie -Bethune, and the daughters of Governor King, may be mentioned among -numerous works, a single one of which has sufficient merit to establish -the author’s claim to the reputation she has long enjoyed, of being the -best of American miniaturists. - - - MARY SWINTON LEGARÉ (MRS. BULLEN). - -The family of Legaré (once spelled L’Egarée) is of the old stock of -French Huguenots who furnished the best blood of Carolina. Madame -Legaré, an honored ancestress of our subject, being a firm Huguenot, -immediately after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes sent to America -her only child, Solomon, then seventeen years old; parting with him, -as she believed, forever in this life, that he might be saved from -peril, and not be tempted to abandon his faith. This boy--called by -his descendants “The Huguenot”--went first to Canada, and in 1685 -to Charleston, South Carolina. He became the ancestor of a numerous -posterity, of which, during the Revolution, thirteen bearing the name -were patriot soldiers, active in the cause of American liberty. - -On the death of her husband, Madame Legaré left her native France and -came to America. Here she found her son married, and the father of nine -children. She had given him up for religion’s sake; God restored him to -her arms, able to minister to her declining years. Her grandson, the -great-grandfather of Hugh and Mary Legaré, died in 1774, at the age of -seventy-nine. Yet, when the Colonies entered into a compact for mutual -defense, he resolutely refused to be put on the list of the “aged and -noncombatant,” saying he was able to “shoulder his musket with any -man,” besides managing a charger equal to any trooper; he “would not be -insulted by being laid aside.” Thus our heroine had a great-grandfather -and two grandfathers, besides other relatives, in the patriot army -of the Revolution, where youths of sixteen and eighteen often fought -beside their grandsires. - -The father of Miss Legaré married a lady whose grandfather, Alexander -Swinton, of a Scottish family, was sent from England, about 1728, as -surveyor-general of the province of South Carolina. He lost a large -estate by the villainy of executors and guardians; but after his death, -Hugh Swinton, his son, was taken to Scotland by his uncle, and educated -as became a young gentleman of birth and fortune, being married to -a descendant of that John Hayne who fled from the persecution of -the Puritans by Charles II. and his bishops, and fixed his home in -Carolina. Thus, on both sides, a heritage of honor and religious faith -is derived from her ancestors by the lady who fills a place in our -humble annals. - -The name of Hugh Swinton Legaré is endeared to all South Carolinians, -the more so as his genius and literary attainments commanded celebrity -on both sides of the Atlantic. His sister’s talents are not inferior -to his, though she has filled no place in the national councils nor -at foreign courts, but in a quiet and uneventful life has made her -impression on the social and intellectual advancement of the day. The -youngest of three children who survived the father, she was born in -Charleston, South Carolina, where her childhood and youth were spent. -Mrs. Legaré, left a widow before she had completed her twenty-eighth -year, devoted her time and means entirely to the education of her -little ones. She was a woman of extraordinary mental powers, and her -mind had been sedulously cultivated. Her ideas of education were broad -and comprehensive, and her efforts were directed to the training of her -children in such a manner as to make their lives exemplary, useful, and -happy, as well as to develop their intellects. How well she succeeded -the honorable career of all her children testifies. The noble character -and life of her eldest daughter, Mrs. Bryan, and the brilliant fame -achieved by the son, add evidence to the fact that she was one of those -mothers whose offspring rise up to call her blessed. Mrs. Legaré died -on the 1st of January, 1843, in the seventy-second year of her age. - -It was not strange that the children should grow up cherishing a deep -and intense love for so excellent a mother. Mary, an infant when bereft -of her father, very early showed a fondness for study, and a special -predilection for the languages and the fine arts. Even before she -was able to express emotions of admiration or delight, she evinced a -remarkable sensibility both to melody and color. When less than three -years old, she would be affected to tears or moved to joyous mirth by -different musical sounds. Beautiful pictures had for her young fancy -irresistible fascination at an age when she could hardly be supposed -able to recognize the objects they represented. Her mother frequently -observed of her little Mary that, when she showed signs of impatience -or weariness, or fretted for want of amusement, all that was necessary -to soothe her discontent or charm her into happiness was to furnish her -with paper and a pencil. The child would amuse herself for hours with -her drawings. Her decided talents for music and painting--coloring in -particular--were soon perceived by this tender mother, who determined -to give her daughter every possible aid in the cultivation of tastes -so congenial to her own, Mrs. Legaré being herself accomplished in no -ordinary degree in both these lady-like pursuits. - -Miss Legaré had resolved to make herself mistress of the languages even -before she could read and write English with any great proficiency. -She had in these studies, and other branches of scholarship, the best -teachers that could be procured. Her mother was her first instructor -in music. But it was otherwise in the art to which she had determined -especially to devote herself; no efficient teacher of drawing could be -found. Although remuneration for lessons was liberal--thirty dollars -per term being paid--it was almost impossible to find any one capable -of giving proper instruction. The young girl was therefore obliged to -practice unaided the art she began to love with increased enthusiasm, -and her progress was still more retarded by the want of models or -scenes in nature that might take her fancy. The low country of South -Carolina--affording the only landscapes she had ever seen--abounds in -flat and swampy districts. There is much beauty for an unaccustomed -eye in the bleached wilderness of pine-land, with its stately, solemn -groves, through which the wind surges with ocean-like murmur; but it -is not of the kind available for the artist. Nor is that of the swamp, -with its immeasurable extent of wood and impenetrable undergrowth, -through which may be seen at intervals the dark, turbid water soaking -its way through masses of tangled weeds, the slimy abode of reptiles, -or the hiding-place of the water-fowl. There are green morasses choked -with vegetation, into which the sunbeams never penetrate; or over -the quagmire, rank with decay, rise giant trees, twined with thick -creepers, and burying the matted brush beneath them in black shadow. -The trees are often loaded with the gray hanging moss that forms the -ornament of woods in the low lands. The mixture of gloom and beauty, of -luxuriance and horror, is a striking novelty to the Northern visitor. -The ragged thickets, too, are alternated with islands of lovely -verdure; the water-lily decks the dark lakelet with its broad leaves -and white flowers; and graceful vines festoon the evergreens, mingling -bright blossoms with their leaves of sombre verdure. - -Such scenes presented little to tempt the copyist, yet, notwithstanding -her difficulties and discouragements in painting, Miss Legaré continued -to struggle on toward the idea of perfection in her untutored -imagination. Her brother Hugh was wont to remark that “her passion -lay there,” in the painter’s art. She found not much sympathy in this -chosen pursuit, till some time in the year 1827, when she became -acquainted with a gentleman who possessed a similar taste, cultivated -in a high degree by superior knowledge of art. This was Colonel John -S. Cogdell, who at that time had considerable celebrity as an amateur -painter. Miss Legaré submitted her efforts to his careful criticism, -and received from him the instruction she needed. She has attributed -her subsequent success to his aid. He procured for her study the -finest new pictures that could be obtained. Among the artists whose -works were now introduced to her, Doughty became, to her fancy, the -beau ideal of excellence. Even when a child she had been accustomed to -turn away in disgust, with a “’Tis not pretty, mamma,” from flaring -or exaggerated colors in a picture. Doughty’s subdued coloring, and -soft, dreamy style, kindled her imagination, and aroused her ardent -emulation. “Could I but paint one picture like Doughty’s!” she would -often exclaim; and it may be said her earliest initiation into the -school of Nature, and into an apprehension of her seductive beauties, -was by seeing the works of this eminent American landscape-painter, -whom his country allowed to languish in bitter penury, for want of the -appreciation his genius should have commanded. Miss Legaré’s first -attempt to copy one of his paintings succeeded beyond the most sanguine -expectations of herself and her friends. Colonel Cogdell encouraged her -still more by saying, “You have an eye for color, which must insure you -success in copying nature.” - -In truth, the young artist did not long remain satisfied with spending -all her energies merely in copying the works of others. Though she -had never visited any other region than the low forest country of her -native state, she endeavored to create scenes by combining various -objects into a single composition. Landscapes and rustic scenes in -every variety were her delight; yet, having never seen a mountain, -nor the country in any aspects different from the monotonous views in -her neighborhood, how was she to produce an original picture? How do -justice in any way to the powers of which she felt conscious? It was -not so easy for a lady to travel. In the South particularly, she would -be hampered in many ways; and “Mrs. Grundy” would have devoted to death -by torture any young girl who could have done so heinous a thing as -take a journey of observation by herself! Miss Legaré, therefore, was -shut in to contemplation of the boundless ocean and the swamp forest -almost as limitless. Dark scenes and deep shadows, with warm glowing -skies became features in her paintings, and her trees of great variety, -clear, deep water, and skies were pronounced by critics superior to -those of the artists she most admired. She adopted in a measure the -style of Ruysdael, mingled, in the more delicate shades, with the -warmth of Cuyp. - -In the summer of 1833 her longing wish was gratified. She went, -accompanied by her mother, to spend the warm season amid the glorious -mountain scenery of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina. This region has -been thought to surpass in magnificence and majesty any mountainous -district in the Atlantic States. Miss Legaré was far more delighted -with these mountains than with the scenery of Lake George and the -Hudson, which she had visited the year before, finding it, as well -as the Alleghany range, to disappoint her expectations. But when, on -her approach to Asheville, her eyes rested on the exhaustless variety -of form and tint, blended into soft harmony, on the distant Blue -Ridge, the beauty and sublimity of the scene filled her with emotions -she had no language to express. There was awful grandeur as well as -touching loveliness in the view. Pisgah and surrounding peaks towering -skyward--the summit covered with vapor that glowed with gorgeous -colors, like a drapery of scarlet and gold--the vast mass played on by -the mellow purple and violet tints peculiar to lofty mountains--the -delicate azure mingling with fairy lights of golden violet--all -softened into harmony by an atmosphere so transparent, so Claude-like -in its purity, that it seemed the movement of a bird could be discerned -at a distance of forty or fifty miles! Miss Legaré here realized, for -the first time, what few out of Italy can realize, the naturalness of -Claude’s landscapes; the exquisite art of his unequaled coloring, which -gives to his delineations of Alpine scenery so wonderful an effect. - -Miss Legaré’s intense enjoyment of the beauties of nature in this -favored region during a three months’ residence gave her an invincible -repugnance to the work of copying the productions of any human artist. -She always painted in oil; and, having brought no materials with her, -could not transfer to her sketches the colors she so admired while on -the spot. But memory had faithfully treasured these delicious pictures, -and on her return to Charleston she lost no time in putting them on -canvas. “A View on the Suwannee,” now in possession of the widow of -Colonel Cogdell, was pronounced by him a master-piece. Another view -on the French Broad, illustrating the distinguishing characteristics -of the scenery of that river, was purchased in 1834 by the proprietors -of the Art Union in New York. The first scene that had so struck Miss -Legaré was painted on too large a scale. It was, however, much admired; -and the same subject, represented in smaller compass, is esteemed a -finer picture. - -In Miss Legaré’s landscapes she gives to her coloring and combinations -as much idealizing as truth to nature will admit. An artist, who was -delighted both with her music and her painting, observed of the latter -to her brother Hugh, “It is natural, but more beautiful than nature; it -is poetical.” Another, when Hugh remarked that she must go to Italy, -replied, “No, your sister studies our own wild nature--rich, romantic, -glowing under a tropical sun, luxuriant when touched with frost; if she -go to Italy, or study the old landscape-painters, she may give a finer -finish, but it will be artificial.” These artistic criticisms gave her -encouragement; and when she repeated to Mr. Cogdell what was said in -praise of her works, he would say, triumphantly, “I told you so, but -you would not believe me!” - -Her rich foregrounds, transparent water, and distant mountains, as -well as her skies and foliage, have been highly praised by Sully and -other eminent artists. She owed to Mr. Cogdell her introduction to the -science of perspective, having been accustomed in early efforts to be -guided by the eye alone. A knowledge of anatomy was of use, as she -always introduced figures into her landscapes, painted with fidelity -and spirit. She excels, besides, in the delineation of animals, wild -and domestic, especially dogs, cows, and sheep. A Spanish pointer, -painted nearly of life size, was so perfect in anatomy that Dr. Sewell -of Washington pronounced it a study for a student of that branch. “The -Hounds of St. Bernard” is an admirable painting. The piteous, appealing -expression in the face of one that is represented howling for aid -struck even every child who saw it. A little girl exclaimed, “How sorry -that dog is! he is afraid the people won’t come.” - -Besides animals, Miss Legaré has painted portraits; but this branch -never enlisted her enthusiasm--that was for landscapes. - -On the appointment of her brother as a member of President Tyler’s -cabinet in 1841, Miss Legaré accompanied him to Washington. Her life -of calm enjoyment was soon disturbed by sorrow. She was bereaved of -mother, sister, and brother within the space of a year. She had long -cherished a purpose of visiting the Western country, and in June, 1849, -went to Iowa. Finding the country very productive and well suited to -farming purposes, she sent for some of the children of her deceased -sister. They came with their families to the new home, and formed -a colony of twenty-one persons. The scenery in Iowa, though often -beautiful, is tame compared to the mountainous country of the Atlantic -states. Green fields, luxuriant woods, flower-bordered streams, -and groves carpeted with wild grass, forming a charming variety of -landscape, are presented; but there are few scenes that startle with -their magnificence or grandeur. Miss Legaré found, in the new cares -that surrounded her, and the habits of life so different from those to -which she had been accustomed, such a pressure of occupation, that her -beloved art was for a time abandoned. The Western housekeeper usually -finds little time for the pleasures of the imagination; but she was -not one to forget the best interests of others, particularly of her -own sex. She established an institution called “Legaré College,” for -the liberal education of women, at West Point, in Lee County, Iowa. -Her talents and taste, her varied and uncommon learning and energy, as -well as her means, were devoted to the support of this institution; -but its aim was too far in advance of the age in Iowa, or, rather, its -operations were impeded by that utilitarian spirit which has set its -heavy, ungainly foot on every high aspiration in this country, and has -prevented the progress of woman toward improvement that might enlarge -her sphere of usefulness. - -A writer who is intimately acquainted with Miss Legaré--now Mrs. -Bullen--thus speaks of her accomplishments: - -“The literature of the world, its science and its art, are with her -as household things. They flow from her eloquent tongue as music from -the harp of the minstrel. No pent-up Utica confines her powers--no -Aztec theory of woman cripples her labors, or impoverishes her mind -or her policy. A Mississippi feeling, and theory, and action actuate -her, and we may all look for corresponding results.” Her influence in -the community where she resides has directed attention to both art and -literature. - -Mrs. Bullen intends resuming the pencil she has for years almost -entirely laid aside. She has completed a design for a painting to be -called “The Squatter’s Home.” It shows a wagon under the shade of a -Western group of tall trees, which serves for the sleeping-place of the -emigrant family. The mother is washing beside a stream; the children -are gathering strawberries. - - - HERMINIE DASSEL. - -Mrs. Dassel was a native of Königsberg, Prussia. Her father’s name was -Borchard; he was a banker, and at one time a man of fortune, which -enabled him to secure to his children an excellent education. He lost -his property in 1839, in consequence of financial troubles in America; -the liquidation of his affairs reduced his possessions to a small farm, -depriving his family of teachers, servants, horses and carriages, -and all the comforts which they had enjoyed. Upon the elder children -devolved the duties of housekeeping, and the cultivation of the farm to -some extent, as well as the instruction of the younger members of the -family. At this time Herminie devoted herself to the art of painting -as a profession, hoping to derive from it a support for herself and -family. She would attend to her household duties in the morning, and -then, with port-folio in hand, wander off over the dusty or muddy road -to the city, and again return to attend to the flowers and cabbages, -and the making of cheese and butter. She soon had the satisfaction of -receiving a commission for a full-sized portrait of a clergyman; this -she painted in the church, with her model on the altar, the country -folk standing about, astonished and wondering that such a tiny little -girl could accomplish such a marvel. - -She soon went to Düsseldorf, attracted thither by the pictures of -Sohn, which she saw in an exhibition in her native city. She studied -with this artist four years, supporting herself entirely by her own -exertions. Her pictures found ready sale, consisting of such subjects -as “Children in the Wood,” “Peasant Girls in a Vineyard,” “Children -going to the Pasture with Goats,” etc. - -After her return home she applied herself again to portrait-painting, -in order to obtain money sufficient for a tour to Italy, which was -the great end of her ambition. She was fortunate enough to be able -to accumulate in one year a thousand dollars. Out of this sum she -furnished her brother with an amount large enough to secure his -promotion to a doctor’s degree, as she wanted to have him accompany her -as a traveling companion. - -A journey to Italy was much opposed by all her relatives; a girl so -young, fresh, and diminutive could not protect herself; she would -inevitably encounter serious misfortunes. But her mind was made up; she -packed her things, took leave of her friends, and one morning started -off on the way to Vienna, directing her brother to follow her. She was -never in want of friends; every where persons took an interest in her; -without money one day, it was sure to come on the next; and her faith -was never shaken by any accident or hardship. In Vienna she began her -studies, seeking models in the streets, and taking them to her room. -From Vienna she passed into Italy. Of her studious life in Italy many -sketches bear witness. - -The breaking out of the revolution in 1848 obliged Herminie to leave -Italy, and as the route to Germany was unsafe, and she feared becoming -a burden to her friends, she resolved to go to the United States. An -opportunity presented itself to travel in company with a family in -whose house she lived after her brother had been called home by the -government. She rolled up her sketches, put them in a tin box, and -repaired to Leghorn. When about to pay her passage, the draft she -presented was refused. She sat weeping over the disappointment, with -letters before her from friends in Rome and Germany, imploring her -to abandon this suicidal plan of emigration; representing strongly -the dangers of the journey, the hardships she would encounter in a -foreign land, without money and without friends. She came down to -supper. A traveler just arrived, observing her eyes red with weeping, -was led to show an interest in her; she related her troubles, upon -which the stranger examined the draft, and, finding it good, gave her -the cash for it. This gentleman was an Italian, and she continued in -correspondence with him. The next day she was on board a vessel bound -for this country. - -She arrived in February, 1849. The only letter of introduction she -brought was to Mr. Hagedorn, of Philadelphia, in whom she subsequently -found a friend and protector. She landed in New York, and at once -began to paint. Her first pictures, representations of Italian life, -exhibited in the Art Union, were much admired, and some of them were -purchased by that institution. She found no difficulty in making -friends. - -Five months after her arrival she married Mr. Dassel. After her -marriage she led a happy life, with cares and sorrows incidental to the -care of a family, and to an arduous profession. She triumphed over all, -however, and realized all the comforts which belong to success. - -Mrs. Dassel was most successful in portraits in oil of children -and pastel-portraits. Her painting of “Effie Deans” attracted much -attention. Her latest works are copies of Steinbruck’s “Fairies” -and the “Othello” in the Düsseldorf Gallery, which are unusually -successful works of this class. She made steady progress in her art, -and would have doubtless attained a prominent position had she lived to -develop her powers by practice and study. - -We should not be doing justice to this noble woman not to allude to the -social virtues which endeared her to so many friends. With nothing to -rely upon but her own exertions, with serious illness in her family, -she was never so poor in time or money as not to interest herself in -behalf of others more unfortunate than herself. Countless instances -are known of her serviceable kind-heartedness. She exerted herself at -the time of the dreadful shipwreck of the Helena Sloman, and obtained -by personal efforts, in a few days, the sum of seven hundred dollars; -and her ministrations among the poor were constant during the severe -winter of 1853. She has, it is true, many peers in similar acts of -benevolence, but few who practiced deeds of this kind in a position so -little calculated to develop them. - -Mrs. Dassel died on the 7th December, 1857, and was buried in Greenwood. - -Jane Stuart was the youngest child of Gilbert Stuart, the eminent -portrait-painter. Like many of her sisters in art, she inherited the -genius she discovered in early life; but it was not till after her -father’s death that the talent she had shown found development in the -practice of art. She has resided for a long time at Newport, Rhode -Island, in the enjoyment of the celebrity her talents have acquired. - -Mrs. Hildreth of Boston deserves mention, especially for her portraits -of children in crayon. Miss May painted landscapes in Allston’s style. -Mrs. Orvis has been mentioned as a flower-painter of remarkable skill. -Hoyt remarked that he knew nothing better in coloring than her autumn -leaves and wild flowers. In this style, Mrs. Badger, of New York, has -acquired reputation by her book of “The Wild Flowers of America,” -published in 1859. The drawings were all made and colored from nature -by herself. - -Mrs. Hawthorne of Boston has painted many beautiful pieces. An -“Edymion,” which was greatly admired, she presented to Mr. Emerson. -She also modeled the head of Laura Bridgman. Mrs. Hill is a -highly-successful miniature-painter. - -Mrs. Greatorex is a landscape-painter of merit, and is rapidly -acquiring distinction. She has a deep love of wild mountain and lake -scenery, dark woods, and rushing waters; and her productions are marked -by the vigor of tone and dashing, impetuous freedom of touch especially -adapted to that kind of subjects. This felicitous boldness she has in a -remarkable degree, and her works are marked by truthfulness as well as -strength. She has painted many pieces of romantic scenery in Scotland -and Ireland. Her amiable character, her ready sympathy and benevolence, -have interested many friends in her success. - -Mrs. George Woodman, the eldest daughter of Mr. Durand, has painted -some excellent landscapes; also Mrs. Ruggles. Miss Gove’s crayon heads -have been much noticed and admired. Miss Caroline May’s landscapes have -proved her claim to the double wreath of artist and authoress. Miss -Granbury’s flowers have attracted attention in the Academy exhibitions. -Some pretty interior scenes were in the exhibition of 1859, painted by -Miss Juliana Oakley. It is necessary to omit many names of artists who -have not yet had experience enough to constrain public acknowledgment -of the genius they possess. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - MRS. LILY SPENCER.--Early Display of Talent.--Removal to New - York.--To Ohio.--Out-door Life.--Chase of a Deer.--Encounter - with the Hog.--Lifting a Log.--Sketch on her bedroom - Walls.--Encouragement.--Curiosity to see her Pictures.--Her - Studies.--Removal to Cincinnati.--Jealousy of Artists.--Lord - Morpeth.--Lily’s Marriage.--Return to New York.--Studies.--Her - Paintings.--Kitchen Scenes.--Success and Fame.--Her Home and - Studio.--Louisa Lander.--Inheritance of Talent.--Passion for - Art.--Development of Taste for Sculpture.--Abode in Rome.--Crawford’s - Pupil.--Her Productions.--“Virginia Dare.”--Other Sculptures.--Late - Works.--Mary Weston.--Childish Love of Beauty and Art.--Devices - to supply the Want of Facilities.--Studies.--Departure from - Home.--Is taken back.--Perseverance amid Difficulties.--Journey - to New York.--Sees an Artist work.--Finds Friends.--Visit to - Hartford.--Return to New York for Lessons.--Marriage.--Her - Paintings.--Miss Freeman.--Variously gifted.--Miss Dupré.--The Misses - Withers.--Mrs. Cheves.--Mrs. Hanna. - - - LILY M. SPENCER. - -Mrs. Spencer’s high position among American artists is universally -recognized in the profession. In her peculiar style, her executive -talent is probably unsurpassed in the country. She has encountered many -difficulties in her path to success, and a glance at her history will -not be without encouragement to those who possess a portion of her -energy and perseverance. - -Her parents, whose name is Martin, were born in France, but removed -to England soon after their marriage. They were persons of education, -refinement, and good social standing. Mr. Martin taught French in -academies in Plymouth and Exeter, and gave lectures at his own house on -scientific subjects, especially optics and chemistry. Mrs. Martin at -one time gave instruction in a ladies’ seminary in London. Lily owed -all her proficiency to her parents’ judicious training, and never went -to a school. Her talent for drawing began early to exhibit itself. -One day, when she was about five years old, she got at some diagrams -her father had prepared for a lecture on optics, and drew an eye so -correctly that her turn for art was at once perceived. - -She was the eldest of four children, and was not six years of age when -her parents removed to New York, where Mr. Martin was induced, by Dr. -Hosack and others, to open an academy. Mr. John Van Buren was one of -his pupils. Lily’s drawings were much coveted by the little scholars, -who begged them from her, and gave in return the most flattering -expressions of admiration. - -When between eight and nine, she was taken to the old Academy of -Design. There she selected the “Ecce Homo,” as a special subject for -imitation. The girl-pupils laughed at her taste, and Lily, abashed, -burst into tears. Mr. Dunlap, then a teacher, came and asked what was -the matter. When informed, he reproved the girls, and predicted that -the young stranger would be remembered when they were all forgotten. - -Her power of copying whatever pleased her childish fancy increased, -though she did not then appreciate the necessity of a patient study -of the elementary principles of art. Her health was at this time so -delicate that her parents feared she would not live to reach maturity. -The desire to afford her the advantage of country air and exercise, -with the want of very attractive prospects for their enterprise in New -York, determined them to go to the West. They purchased a farm in Ohio, -a few miles from Marietta, where they soon had a picturesque Swiss -cottage, with a beautiful garden, and a mineral closet filled with the -presents of Mr. Martin’s former pupils. - -Lily was enchanted with the change from a city life, and with the -liberty she enjoyed of roaming at will through woods and fields, for, -her health being the paramount object, no restraint was placed on the -child. Her time was passed in working in her garden, playing and racing -with other children, hunting for insects, shells, and minerals, often -wet up to the waist in the search, while her drawing was forgotten. -Thus constantly, like Rosa Bonheur, in the open air, she rapidly -regained strength and health. One day, when about thirteen years old, -she was walking in the woods with her father. A deer, frightened from -his covert, dashed by them to leap a fence. Lily wanted a pet, and -instantly ran after the animal. As he sprang over the fence she caught -his hind legs and clung to them, while her father’s dog throttled the -captive. Some men came up directly, and, seeing the girl with her face -covered with blood, killed the deer, notwithstanding her entreaties -that he might be spared. - -On another occasion they were killing hogs at Mr. Martin’s place. A -powerful young porker fled foaming and champing from the slayers of his -brethren, and got over a fence into the orchard. Lily ran to stop his -flight, and the desperate animal made at her. She tried to get a stick -to defend herself, but her feet slipped on the apples that strewed -the ground, and she fell, in the very gripe of the hog. The maddened -creature might have injured her fatally, but her faithful dog sprang -upon him, and diverted his rage to another enemy. Lily saw his teeth -buried in the poor dog’s shoulder, and, resolved not to abandon her -deliverer, struck the hog a violent blow and ran; the foe, still held -by the dog, in swift pursuit. She was overtaken close to a drain, into -which the three combatants tumbled together. At this juncture the men -came running to the spot with three or four dogs, and rescued both her -and her preserver, that to the last would not relinquish his hold of -the porker. Lily’s first care was to pull into place the poor dog’s -dislocated shoulder. - -An illustration of her impulsive nature, and readiness to give -assistance where it was needed, is an incident that occurred a few -months later. Six or seven men were burning logs in a field. She saw -them from the house making signals that they wanted one more hand to -lift a log. Seizing a crowbar, the young girl ran to the spot, placed -it under the log, and helped to raise it to the burning pile. - -Her love of sketching soon began to revive. In her fourteenth year she -took a fancy to see the effect of a new style of costume which she -thought would be very becoming to herself. She drew a lady’s figure, -thus attired, with black crayons and coarse chalk, on the wall of her -bedroom. Pleased with her creation, it occurred to her that the lady -ought to be attended by admiring beaux, and she added the figures of -two gentlemen. The group was delineated one day when the other members -of her family were absent, and, fearing that her mother would be -displeased at her for daubing the walls, she hung her dresses over the -sketch, so as to screen it from observation. - -The next day her young brothers were playing ball in her room, and -chanced to discover the group on the wall. Full of boyish mischief, -they decided that the richly-dressed lady would make a fine target, -and, in spite of their sister’s remonstrances, they commenced throwing -their balls at her. Lily, in great distress at the menaced destruction -of her work, complained to her mother; and instead of being reprimanded -for defacing the wall, was told to go on with her sketch, while the -boys were reproved, and forbidden to enter her room. Encouraged by the -praise she received, Lily worked on diligently. She drew a colonnade -behind her figures, then added other groups, representing persons -enjoying themselves at a place of fashionable amusement. The background -was a landscape of hill and valley, rock and sea. This picture being -much admired, she went on covering the walls of her room from floor -to ceiling with the creations of her romantic imagination. Columns -and statues, fountains and grottoes, appeared in her scenes of luxury -and magnificence; and her landscapes were as charming as the forms -with which she enlivened them. In every panel was a distinct picture. -All her leisure hours, after milking the cows and hoeing the corn, -were devoted to this amusement. It was true of her, as Halleck says -it was doubtful of his Wyoming maiden, that she worked in the field -“with Shakspeare’s volume in her bosom borne;” with Sismondi also, and -volumes of history from her father’s splendid library. - -The farmers in the neighborhood, and the ladies and gentlemen of -Marietta, came to see the curious sketches, both on the walls and on -canvas, of which they had heard. Saturday afternoons were appointed -for the reception of visitors. The fame of Lily’s talents began to -spread rapidly, and she was mentioned with praise in several newspaper -notices. At her father’s persuasion she tried to study perspective and -anatomy, but it was more agreeable to her impetuous nature to sketch -from her own glowing fancy, than to pore over the dry bones and plates -of different parts of the human frame. In coloring, also, she would -trust to her intuitive perceptions rather than to a regular course of -study. Her father procured her muslin for her experiments, and, after -covering many yards, she became fully aware of her own deficiencies, -which she resolved to conquer. Her unwillingness to be taught arose -from the self-reliance of an independent character, and not from an -inflated idea of her own acquirements. - -Her parents became more and more solicitous to give her all the -advantages they could procure; and a letter from a wealthy gentleman -of Cincinnati, describing the opportunities that would be offered for -studying in that city, determined them to leave the farm and remove -thither. - -Miss Martin’s pictures were exhibited in Cincinnati, and attracted the -attention of connoisseurs. They were large, as her figures of life -size best enlisted her own sympathies. Her battle with the world now -commenced in earnest. The jealousy of rival artists was awakened by the -certainty that a rising genius had come among them. Flippant critics -pleased others and their own vanity by decrying her productions. But -she continued to paint, and sometimes had good fortune in disposing -of her pictures, practicing her art with undiminished industry and -enthusiasm, even while discouraged by the want of patronage. - -On one occasion she was in company with Lord Morpeth. Addressing him as -“Mr. Morpeth,” she was reminded apart by her father that she ought to -say “my lord.” “No, indeed,” replied the young lady; “I never saw a man -I would call ‘my lord’ yet.” - -Miss Martin was married in Cincinnati to Mr. Spencer. When surrounded -by the cares of a young family she continued to paint, but her style -changed. At first her pictures had been poetical and semi-allegorical. -She liked to embody some suggestive idea, or a whole history, in a -group, as in several of her scenes from Shakspeare. Her “Water Sprite,” -representing the escape of Spring from Winter, is of this class. After -she became a mother, her taste was more for bits of domestic life, -and she found matter-of-fact pictures more salable than her cherished -ideals. - -After living some seven years in Cincinnati, Mrs. Spencer returned with -her family to New York, stopping a year in Columbus, Ohio, where she -painted portraits and fancy-pieces. In New York she visited the Academy -for the purpose of improving herself by drawing after the antique, -often going in the evening, as her labors and cares absorbed her during -the day, and sitting among the male art-students. One, who noticed the -quiet, modest-looking girl at work, undertook to point out the best -models, but soon discovered he was trying to teach his superior. She -was made a member of the Academy. Her “May Queen” and “Choose Between” -were much praised in the Art Union Exhibition. “The Jolly Washerwoman,” -sold by that institution, became celebrated. It was painted impromptu -from a scene in the artist’s own kitchen. A connoisseur was so much -pleased with one of her pictures that he insisted on paying more than -was asked for it. - -“The Flower Girl” and “Domestic Felicity,” exhibited in Philadelphia, -elicited general admiration, and proved Mrs. Spencer’s possession of -the highest order of talent. A connoisseur remarked that the latter -picture excelled any other production that had appeared in the gallery -since its first opening. Its vigor and freshness were as remarkable as -its rich and harmonious coloring, while the drawing and composition -were pronounced admirable. It represented a mother and father bending -over their sleeping children, and several artists observed that they -knew of no one who could surpass the painting of the mother’s hand. -The managers of the Art Union in Philadelphia were so delighted with -this picture that a few of their number privately subscribed to -purchase it, the rules not allowing directors to expend the funds -except for paintings selected by the prizeholders. It was afterward -sold to an association in the West. The Western Art Union purchased -several of Mrs. Spencer’s works, and had one engraved for their annual -presentation plate. - -Mrs. Spencer found her kitchen scenes so popular that she adopted -that comic, familiar style in many of her paintings. “Shake Hands?” -represents a girl making pastry, and holding out her floured hand with -a humorous smile. This manner the artist has been obliged to adhere -to on account of the ready sale of such pictures, while the subjects -that better pleased her own taste have been neglected. Yet she has -contrived to introduce a moral into every one of her comic pieces. -“The Contrast” embodies a touching story. It is in two pictures: one -showing a pampered, petulant little dog, barking at some intruder from -his velvet cushion surrounded by silken draperies; the other, a meagre, -skin-and-bone animal, creeping through the pitiless snow-storm in -search of food for its young ones. Mrs. Spencer excels in her pictures -of different animals. - -Some time ago Mrs. Spencer made a series of original designs--twenty -or thirty--illustrative of scenes in the volumes of “The Women of the -American Revolution.” All these have not yet been published. Perhaps -more of her paintings have been engraved than of any American artist. -All are of her own composition, and most of them are domestic scenes. -One called “Pattycake” shows a young mother, with her baby on her lap, -teaching it to clap its hands; another, “Both at Play,” represents a -father teasing his little girl by holding an air-balloon just out of -her reach. These are done in the highly-finished German style adopted -by Mrs. Spencer. She usually takes her own children for models. - -“The Captive” exhibits a slave in market, her master lifting the veil -that concealed her charms. Its touching expression is admirable. -“Reading the Legend” shows a lovely lady listening to a reading within -view of a noble castle; but we do not like the taste of either the -costume or the attitude of the reader. - -Mrs. Spencer encountered serious difficulties in New York before she -acquired the fame she now enjoys. In 1858 she purchased a lovely place -in a retired part of Newark, New Jersey, where she now resides with -her happy family. Her studio is at the foot of her garden, a large -building, with its walls covered by sketches, casts, etc., where the -artist labors assiduously. Visitors from distant cities come here to -see her paintings, and she usually has several in progress at the same -time. “The Gossips,” a large painting _de genre_, with ten figures of -women and children, has attracted much attention. The scene represents -the yard of a tenement-building, where women are engaged in washing, -preserving fruit, cooking, and other sorts of work. They have gathered -into a group to listen to some tale of scandal from a stranger, with a -basket of bread; and the children are getting into mischief the while. -A little boy has fallen into the bluing-tub of clothes, while a younger -girl is laughing violently at his mishap; a dog has laid hold of the -meat a boy has forgotten to look after, and a cat in the window is -skimming the pan of milk. The peaches in a basket in the foreground -look as if they might be picked out and eaten, so rich and fresh is -the coloring. The effect of light on one of the female figures is -exquisitely beautiful. The whole picture is highly finished, and its -merits are enough to make a reputation for any artist. - -Mrs. Spencer’s pictures may be seen in many of the shops where works of -art are for sale, and the prints engraved from them are very numerous. -She has now a prospect of independence and success before her, and may -achieve triumphs greater than any she has yet accomplished. - - - LOUISA LANDER. - -This young lady is a native of Salem, Massachusetts, and descended from -some of the oldest and most respected families of that good old town. -She is a daughter of Edward Lander and Eliza West, whose father was -claimed as a relative, while on a visit to London, by Sir Benjamin West. - -Mrs. Lander’s maternal grandfather, Elias Haskel Derby, sent the first -American ship to India, giving the first impetus to our commerce with -that country. His were the first American vessels seen at the Cape of -Good Hope and the Isle of France. Captain Richard Derby, his father, -was noted in the Revolutionary struggle. He bought and presented to -the town of Salem the cannon which Colonel Leslie attempted to seize. -When he demanded the arms, at the head of his regiment, Captain -Derby’s reply was, “Find them, and take them if you can; they will -never be surrendered!” and his courage preserved the treasure. He was -instrumental, too, in inciting his fellow-townsmen to the exploit of -raising the drawbridge and sinking the boats--the first repulse of the -British in the commencement of hostilities. - -Colonel F. W. Lander, the Pacific Railroad explorer, is the brother -of the subject of our sketch. In various branches of her family has -artistic talent shown itself. Her grandmother and her mother were -remarkable for their fondness for art, and gave evidence thereof -in works of their own. In the old family mansion, where Louisa’s -childhood was spent, are carvings upon the walls and over the lofty -doors, designed by her grandmother, and executed under her directions. -Similar designs, evincing both taste and skill, decorated the mahogany -furniture; and the canopies and coverings of the furniture were -embroidered by the lady, according to the fashion of the day, her own -fancy supplying the beautiful designs. It can hardly be said when -commenced the artist-life of the young girl brought up under such -influences. She was, as a child, singularly grave and thoughtful; -serious and reserved at all times, and decided in her judgment, which -was always according to the dictates of sound sense. A love of art, -which might be called an ardent passion, possessed her nature from her -earliest years. On one occasion--the first time she had an opportunity -of seeing a work of real merit--she stood quiet and absorbed in -admiration. Her sister, who had been pointing out the peculiar touches -of skill, turned to ask her opinion, and saw her face bathed in tears. -This was a surprising demonstration for a child who had been scarcely -ever known to exhibit emotion, and whose self-control was so uncommon -that her manner usually appeared cold. It seems as if art alone could -arouse the full ardor and energy of her spirit. - -When a very little child, at different times, she modeled two heads -for broken dolls. One was made of light sealing-wax, and the modeling -of both was so wonderfully accurate that her mother would not allow -the child to play with them, but kept them as curiosities. On another -occasion Louisa brought one of her drawings from school, so admirably -executed, especially in the face, that her relatives thought the touch -a happy accident, and were inclined to disbelieve her assertions that -she had meant to produce the very effect given to her picture. - -After her talent for sculpture had been fairly developed, she resolved -on the devotion of her life to that branch of art. Her intense -perception and enjoyment of the beautiful, awakened a thirst within her -which could only be slaked at the fountain-head; and, driven forth, as -it were, by this longing, she left her happy home in Salem--her circle -of beloved relatives and congenial friends--to go among untried scenes, -fixing her abode in Rome. There she speedily acquired a reputation -which drew around her friends interested in the progress and triumph of -genius. She was a pupil of the lamented Crawford--the only one he ever -consented to admit into his studio, for he had discerned in her early -efforts the promise of future eminence. She evinced, from the first, a -remarkable power in portraits, catching the most delicate and subtle -shades of likeness. One of her productions is a bust of Governor Gore, -executed from two oil portraits; a difficult piece of work, as the -portraits were not alike, having been taken at different periods of his -life. The bust was pronounced an excellent likeness by Chief Justice -Shaw and others who remember the governor. Miss Lander finished it in -marble for the Harvard Library. It is to be placed in Gore Hall, in -Cambridge. - -This talent for likenesses is observable in the first efforts of Miss -Lander. When very young, before she had attempted modeling, she carved -from an old alabaster clock, with a penknife, several heads and faces -in bas-relief. These were noticed by a friend, who gave her a bit of -shell and some gravers, and at once, without the least instruction, she -carved a head in cameo. Likenesses of her mother and other friends were -made, and pronounced very striking. Her first modeling was a bas-relief -portrait of her father; it was followed by a bust of her brother, the -late chief-justice of Washington Territory. - -Her work “To-day,” was seen in ambrotype, on her arrival in Rome, by -Crawford, and his admiration of it perhaps induced him to receive her -as his pupil. The figure is an emblem of our youthful country. The -head is crowned with a chaplet of morning glories; the drapery is the -American flag, fastened at the breast and the shoulder with the stars. -Its look forward typifies progress in so spirited a manner that, at -first sight, one might be startled by the apparent movement of life. A -flower falling from the hair on the neck behind, adds to this effect of -motion. Power and spirit are prominent characteristics of the work. -This, with her “Galatea,” a figure full of grace and tenderness, was -modeled before Miss Lander went to Italy. She had also finished a fine -bust of her father, a perfect likeness, and exquisitely chiseled in -marble. - -After Miss Lander went to Rome, she executed many portrait busts, among -them a fine one of Hawthorne, and a bas-relief of Mountford. A letter -from Rome described, as seen in her studio, “A charming statuette -of Virginia Dare,” about three feet in height. This child was the -granddaughter of John White, governor of the Colony of Virginia at the -period of one of the early disastrous expeditions of Sir Walter Raleigh. - -“About the month of August, in 1587, Mrs. Dare, daughter of the -governor, was delivered of a daughter in Roanoke, who was baptized the -next Lord’s-day by the name of Virginia, being the first English child -born in the country. Before the close of August, the governor, at the -earnest solicitation of the whole colony, sailed for England to procure -supplies. An unfortunate turn of affairs at home prevented another -expedition from reaching Virginia until 1590, when, upon arrival, it -was found that the houses of the former settlers were demolished, -though still surrounded by a palisade, and a great part of the stores -was discovered buried in the ground; but no trace was ever found of -the unfortunate colony. Bancroft says that, when the governor sailed -for England, he left the infant and her mother as hostages, and it is -presumed that they were carried into captivity by the Indians, as, -after this, European features could be traced in the Indian lineaments. - -“Miss Lander represents her Virginia as brought up an Indian princess, -displaying in her erect attitude and beautiful form the fearless -dignity and grace that such a life would impart. The head and face -are very fine, exhibiting the thoughtfulness and spirituality that -would naturally be derived from the dreamy recollections of her early -life. The figure is semi-nude; the drapery, a light fishing-net, is -charmingly conceived and executed, being worn like an Indian blanket; -and the ornaments are wampum beads. This design, possessing the charm -of novelty and historic interest, shows that we have in our own country -rich subjects of sculpture, without resorting to the old heathen -mythology.” - -Miss Lander afterward made a life-size statue of Virginia in marble. -Her reclining statue of “Evangeline” forms a fine contrast to this; -“the one full of force and energy, all life and motion; the other so -still and tranquil in her sweet, profound slumber. She is represented -at the moment when, worn out with her wanderings, she sleeps under the -cedar-tree by the river-side, - - “‘For this poor soul had wandered, - Bleeding and barefooted, over the shards and thorns of existence.’ - -Her deep repose is not so much slumbering as like one in a trance. In -the marble this is shown exactly by her attitude, as though she had -dropped from utter weariness; her drapery hangs heavily about her, -and still more heavily falls her hand; the whole figure is expressive -of deep rest--almost painful it would be but for the beautiful face, -lighted up by ‘the thought in her heart’ that her lover is near, and -that - - “‘Through those shadowy aisles Gabriel had wandered before her, - Every stroke of the oar now brings him nearer and nearer - (Now she slept beneath the cedar-tree). - Such was the vision Evangeline saw as she slumber’d beneath it; - Fill’d was her heart with love, and the dawn of an opening heaven - Lighted her soul in sleep with the glory of regions celestial.’ - -Very beautiful she is; and, as I gazed upon her, I seemed to hear -the dash of Gabriel’s oar, as he glided along behind ‘a screen of -palmettos,’ unseeing and unseen, and was ready to exclaim, - - “‘Angel of God, is there none to awaken the maiden?’” - -Another work by Miss Lander is “Elizabeth, the Exile of Siberia,” -a spirited yet feminine figure, “very pretty in its picturesque -costume--the short cloak, Russian boots, and closely-fitting cap.” - -This gifted young artist has finished a statuette of “Undine.” It is a -drooping figure, with expression full of sadness, just rising from the -fountain to visit earth for the last time. The base of the fountain is -surrounded by shells forming water-jets; Undine is in the central one, -and the drapery falls from her hand into water as it drops. She has -also finished a “Ceres Mourning for Proserpine.” The goddess is leaning -upon a sheaf of wheat; her hands and head are drooping, as if she were -planning her daughter’s escape. “A Sylph,” just alighted--an airy, -floating figure, her puzzled attention fixed on a butterfly--is another -of Miss Lander’s creations. - - - MARY WESTON. - -The history of this lady illustrates the development, amid unfavorable -circumstances, of that self-reliant energy which often forms a -marked characteristic of the natives of New England. The spirit of -independence, when joined, as in her case, to feminine gentleness and -grace, is ennobling to any woman, and its working is both interesting -and instructive. - -Mary Pillsbury was born in Hebron, New Hampshire. Her father was a -Baptist clergyman, holding the strictest tenets of Calvinism. In -her humble home among the mountains, though surrounded by nature’s -wild beauty, the child found nothing to suggest to her an idea of -what art could accomplish. Nevertheless, she saw objects with an -artistic perception, and loved especially to study faces. When taken -to church, she would sit gazing at those around her, and wishing -that in some way--of which as yet she had no conception--she could -copy their features. One day, when between seven and eight, she -noticed a beautiful woman, and, returning home, went quietly to -her father’s study--creeping in, as it was locked, through two -panes of a window, to which she climbed by a chair on the bed--in -search of a slate and pencil. With this she began to make a sketch -of the face that had charmed her. She made the oval outline, but -could not give the expression about the mouth and eyes. With a keen -sense of disappointment she relinquished the hopeless task. But the -artist-passion was awakened within her. - -She loved to read books relating to artists better than any thing else, -though fond of study in general, and her partiality for sketching -was indulged whenever she had opportunity. Having observed the work -of a profile-cutter who chanced to come into the neighborhood, she -persevered in attempts at portraits, and practiced cutting them out of -leaves and paper. She had a beautiful young sister, and often prevailed -on her to sit, improving day by day in her untutored efforts, till at -last she was able, by the eye, to take a correct likeness. - -Her next achievement was copying the figures and decorations of Indian -chiefs, who not unfrequently came into the little village. A servant -girl, fifteen years old, who was employed in her father’s family, knew -how to sketch houses, and this knowledge was willingly imparted to -little Mary. Her pictures, though rude in design and execution, were in -great demand among her schoolfellows; but Mrs. Pillsbury thought the -study of painting would interfere with more important branches, and -that a thorough English education should first be acquired. The young -girl, however, could not be prevented from watching the drawing-lessons -of other scholars. She would practice at home; and so earnest was her -application that it was not long before she produced a drawing agreed -on all sides to be superior to the exercises of the regular pupils. - -For the colors of her flowers Mary used beet-juice, extract of bean -leaves prepared by herself, etc., till the welcome present of a box of -paints made her independent of such contrivances. The romantic scenery -surrounding her home had now a new charm. Day after day she would -wander about the fields and woods, sketching, and indulging in visions -of an artistic life. When twelve years old, one day she accompanied her -parents to Sutton, in New Hampshire. A protracted meeting was held, -and her father was to preach. Paying little attention to the doctrines -promulgated, as formerly Mary occupied herself in scanning new faces in -the rural assemblage. Near the place of meeting was the colossal figure -of the Goddess of Liberty, richly arrayed, and painted in colors by a -Free-will Baptist preacher. She obtained a seat close to the window -during one of the services, and carefully studied what appeared to her -a perfect triumph of art. After she went home she produced a clever -sketch of it. From this time goddesses of liberty multiplied in her -hands, and became famous in the school and neighborhood. One of them -was actually put into a magazine. So creditable were they considered, -that a rather unscrupulous young girl of her acquaintance presented one -to her lover as her own work; and when he challenged her to produce -another, she came to persuade Mary to make it for her. - -Caring little for the sports and pleasures of her age, it was Mary’s -habit to shut herself up in her father’s study, and, seated upon the -shelves, to read over and over again the biographies of great men -and distinguished women. She kept in advance of all the school-girls -meanwhile, and improved in her drawing during the hours stolen from -her spinning-tasks and the duties involved in taking care of the other -children. She entered now on the reading of the standard and classical -works contained in her father’s library, and a new world seemed opening -before her. Ambitious longings and dreams broke on the monotony of her -lonely life. She resolved to become an artist like those persons of -whom she had read, and compel appreciation from the world. But the mode -of accomplishing her wishes perplexed her. She saw that it would be -necessary to leave home and try her fortune among strangers; but she -loved to picture the day when she would return, laden with honors and -a rich reward for her labors--when her family would be proud of her -success. - -When about fourteen, she determined to take the first step toward the -goal she panted to reach. Secretly she quitted her home, taking with -her only a change of dress, and set out to walk through the forest -to Hopkinton, on the way to Concord, where she intended to take up -her abode temporarily, to earn a little money by her labor, and then -establish herself as an artist. She walked thirty miles that day, and -very late at night came to a small house in the country, at which she -stopped, requesting permission to warm and rest herself. The simple -people appeared surprised to see so young a girl traveling alone and -so far from home. They inquired into the particulars of her story with -curious interest, and earnestly pressed her to stay all night. She -consented, and supper was prepared for her, after which she went to -sleep, wearied with the day’s fatiguing journey. - -On waking the next morning a strangely familiar voice struck her ear. -She dressed hastily, and went down into the parlor, where she found -her uncle, who had come that far in search of her. Both wept at the -unexpected meeting; but when she had recovered from her confusion, Mary -begged to be permitted to go on to Concord. This was decidedly refused, -and, reluctant and mortified at the failure of her romantic enterprise, -she was obliged to consent to be taken home. - -She was received with tears and embraces by her family, and no word of -reproach, nor even a distant allusion to her disobedience, followed -her attempt to escape from the restraint of parental authority. The -family seemed to be sensible that she had been hardly dealt with; for -the dreams of youthful hope have significance, and nature’s bent should -not be too rudely thwarted. From this time more indulgence was shown to -her frequent neglect of work in which she felt no pleasure, and to her -devotion to books. She engaged in her studies more ardently than ever. - -Mr. Pillsbury was not rich, and his daughter had the prospect of -being ultimately obliged to depend on her earnings for a subsistence. -It was her desire to enter as soon as possible on the life whose -hardships she expected to encounter and overcome. She wished to go -beyond the mountains, into the beautiful world on the other side. To -her imagination the soft and roseate tints reposing on those far-off -summits were emblematic of the delights in store for her. But her -parents opposed her wishes, and urged her to remain with them, for some -years at least. - -She was about nineteen when, on a visit to Lynn, she saw a portrait -painted by a lady, which seized her attention amid a collection of -indifferent pictures. The longing to be a painter again possessed her -so strongly that she felt it an irresistible passion. Her first plan -was to accompany the lady to Washington and take lessons, but this -scheme was abandoned. About a year after this she went to Boston. -Passing a shop window, she saw a fine painting, that once more -enkindled the flame of artist ambition in her soul. Her determination -was formed. With the sanguine hopes of youth, she fancied that a year’s -preparation would enable her to paint professionally. She accordingly -devoted herself to the practice of her art with that view. Her friends -ridiculed the idea of her becoming an artist for a livelihood, and -predicted the failure of her scheme without powerful patronage. - -But this kind of opposition no longer discouraged her, though she was -much hampered by the want of time. The winter was rapidly approaching, -and she felt that it should not pass without some advance in her -beloved studies. She now resolved to go to some place southward where -she could see an artist work, and to paint cheap pictures for her own -support, living plainly in the country till her lessons were completed. -It seemed that she must either do this or die. - -Without consulting any one, with only twelve dollars in her possession, -she left Boston in the early morning train, leaving her trunk behind, -and taking only a basket with a few changes of clothes. The undertaking -was not without prayers for a blessing from the Providence who watches -over all human affairs. Her father needed all the aid she could give -him; he had suffered much, and sickness in his family had crippled his -narrow resources. The thought of all this, and what she might do were -she permitted to work out her own ideas, had tortured Mary and rendered -her desperate. In the ardor of her determination now, obstacles seemed -nothing; she was resolved to succeed. - -An old man who occupied a seat opposite her in the car noticed her, -and asked many questions. When they stopped at Providence, his evident -curiosity annoyed and alarmed her so much that she ran with all her -speed to the boat bound for New York. On the way she talked with the -stewardess, and asked if she knew any respectable house in the city -where she could obtain board. The stewardess was ignorant of New York, -but inquired of the clerk, and he directed Miss Pillsbury to the house -of Professor Gouraud, a then famous dancing-master. - -On repairing to this place she learned that the professor did not -receive boarders, but was recommended to look for a house in Canal -Street. Here it occurred to her to go to a milliner’s shop; she knew -there must be many girls there, respectable, though poor, and thought -that she might hear of a lodging through some of them. She received a -direction to the house of an old lady, whither she went. On being asked -for references, she frankly owned that she had none, and, as the best -explanation she could offer, related her story. The landlady had heard -through a pious friend in Boston--Mrs. Colby, a lady well known for -benevolence--of the strange girl who wanted to be a painter, and she -willingly received the wanderer. - -The next day Miss Pillsbury found out that an artist lived in the -neighborhood, and went to him to see how oil-colors were used. She was -allowed to watch him while painting a portrait. Afterward she went to -Dechaux, who then kept a small store for colors; and, provided with the -implements of art, she went to work in earnest. The little grandson of -her landlady was her first subject, and she painted a good likeness of -him, which was taken in part payment for board. Even the artist was -surprised at her success, and prophesied that she would do well after a -year’s study. - -After she had been a week in New York, her hostess advised Mary to -go to Hartford, Connecticut, and gave her a letter to the Rev. Henry -Jackson of that place. She went there, and was kindly received. While -there, she painted a little boy, and produced an astonishing likeness. -She had to prepare her own canvas, and grind her paints on a plate with -a case-knife. In about a week after her arrival in Hartford, Squire -Rider and his wife, of Willington, came on a visit to Mr. Jackson. They -were so much pleased with the pictures Mary had produced, that they -invited her to return home with them and paint the members of their -family at five dollars a head. She was to prepare the canvas, while -they would find paints. - -Mrs. Colby, in the mean time, had written to Mr. Jackson, requesting -him to advance money on her account to Miss Pillsbury, should it be -necessary; but Mary had no need of more than she could earn. She -wrote to Boston for her trunk, and received it. Her parents, by this -time, had learned her whereabouts, and no longer opposed her wish for -independence. - -She made portraits of all the Riders, and of thirty other persons in -Willington. Among her sitters were members of the family of Jonathan -Weston, Esq. Several persons raised a sum by subscription to pay for -the portrait of Miranda Vinton, the Burmese missionary. Miss Pillsbury -had many offers of a home, and invitations to spend her time in -different families, but she preferred living entirely for her art. - -Returning to Hartford, she painted a few more portraits. Mr. Weston’s -daughter became her particular friend, and Mary was always warmly -welcomed by her in her father’s house. - -The young lady’s uncle, Mr. Weston, of New York, came to pay his -brother a visit, and took a great interest in Mary’s paintings. He -urged her to come to New York, and improve herself by lessons and -study. After his departure, she became once more possessed by an -intense desire to revisit the city, and find some method of making more -rapid progress. She received a letter from the gentleman’s daughter, -inviting her to come at once to New York, where she could profit by the -instruction of experienced artists. The prospect was an alluring one, -but Miss Pillsbury felt that she could not afford to give herself the -luxury of such lessons. She said this in her reply to the letter of -invitation. - -Shortly afterward another letter came from Miss Weston, urging her -coming more earnestly. Her father, she said, would procure her a -teacher, and would make arrangements for the winter. She was pressed to -make her home at his house; and, should she not be successful in her -undertaking, he pledged himself to see her safely back to her friends. - -This tempting offer was accepted. During the winter Miss Pillsbury -devoted herself to copying paintings. Ere long she must have made the -discovery that another feeling, besides the wish to foster genius, had -led Mr. Weston to be so anxious for her presence. Suffice it to say -that in three months she became his wife, with the understanding that -she was to pursue the profession she had chosen without restraint. - -For a few years Mrs. Weston exercised her skill in painting under -circumstances tending to distract her attention. She became the mother -of two children, and the care of them occupied most of her time. -Several of her copies have great merit. Her large picture of the “Angel -Gabriel and Infant Saviour,” from Murillo, is in the possession of Mr. -Henry Stebbins, who married the daughter of Mr. Weston. She made a very -fine copy of Titian’s “Bella Donna” and Guercino’s “Sibylla Samia.” -That of “Beatrice Cenci” has been pronounced an admirable copy. She -also painted a “Fornarina.” - -One evening, at a watering-place, at the first ball Mrs. Weston -had ever attended, she was struck by the appearance of a lady who -passed her, leaning on her husband’s arm. The lovely features of this -stranger, her pure and brilliant complexion, her eyes beaming with -cheerful goodness, and an indefinable grace in all her movements, -impressed the artist as if she had seen a vision. Some years afterward -she met Mrs. Coventry Waddell, and recognized in her the charming -ideal who had been enshrined in her memory. Her portrait of this lady -belongs to Mr. George Vansandvoord, of Troy. - -Mrs. Waddell’s appreciation of Mrs. Weston’s abilities, and her -friendship, proved a valuable aid to the sometimes discouraged artist. - -Mrs. Weston’s flesh tints are especially natural and beautiful, and -she gives a high finish to her copies of paintings. Those from the old -masters, and others, have such wonderful fidelity that her achievements -in this line would alone suffice to make a reputation. “A Witch Scene,” -from Teniers, is admirable. One of her own compositions is “A Scene -from Lalla Rookh,” and she has painted both landscapes and portraits -from nature. She still resides in New York. - - - ANNA MARY FREEMAN (MADAME GOLDBECK). - -has a high rank among miniature-painters in this country. She is the -daughter of an American painter, though she was born in Manchester, -England, where her parents resided for some years. She came to the -United States when very young, and early devoted herself to the -pursuits of art, from which she has for ten years derived her support. -She is gifted in various ways; she has written some excellent poetry -and stories, and is known as an accomplished elocutionist, having -given readings in New York and elsewhere with success. Her powers as a -painter, however, have been exercised most profitably. - -Julia du Pré, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was educated -at Mrs. Willard’s school in Troy, New York. On leaving the school, -she accompanied her mother and sister to Paris. Mrs. du Pré wished to -cultivate to the utmost her daughter’s talents for music and painting, -and gave her the advantage of the best foreign masters. They had been -three years in France when a sudden reverse deprived them of their -ample fortune; yet, with reduced means, they remained a year longer, -that Julia might devote herself to the study of painting in oil. On -their return to Charleston, Mrs. du Pré and her daughters opened a -school for young ladies, which was attended with success. The continual -occupation of teaching, however, deprived Julia of time and opportunity -for the severe study necessary to perfect herself in the art to which -she had wished to devote her life. Every hour of leisure she could -command was given to portrait-painting, and to making copies of admired -works. Many of these were executed with great skill, and drew praise -from Sully and other eminent critics. One of her best portraits is -that of Count Alfred de Vigny, who had been intimate with her family -during their residence in Paris. Miss du Pré also made a fine copy from -Parmegiano, of a Virgin and Child, and a Dido on the Funeral Pile, from -Giulio Romano. These, and other paintings, gained her considerable -repute as an artist. She married Henry Bonnetheau, a miniature-painter -of acknowledged merit, and continues to reside in Charleston. She spent -the summer of 1856 in Paris, for the sake of improving herself in -pastel-painting, and has lately finished some exquisite works in that -style. “The Love-letter,” in the possession of her brother-in-law, Dr. -Dickson of Philadelphia, “The Liaisons,” and “L’Espagnole” have been -highly praised among these. - -Mrs. Bonnetheau’s gifts are crowned with the loveliest traits of -woman’s character. She is esteemed and beloved by a large circle of -friends in Charleston, among whom are some of the best educated men in -this country. - -The Misses Withers, of Charleston, South Carolina, paint in oil and -water colors, and cut cameos with much ability and skill. They have -also modeled groups and figures with success, and are devoted to these -branches of art. - -Mrs. Charlotte Cheves is an amateur artist who might have gained -celebrity had her life been given to the study of painting. She was -Miss M‘Cord, and was born in Columbia, South Carolina. She married Mr. -Langdon Cheves, and resides on his rice plantation nearly opposite -Savannah. She paints miniatures on ivory, some of them excellent -likenesses, and finished with great delicacy. She has also painted -pictures in oil, and excels in pastels and pencil-sketches. She is a -musician, too, and possesses a very fine voice. - -Ellen Cooper, the youngest daughter of the celebrated Dr. Thomas -Cooper, was a native of Columbia, South Carolina. She had a fine taste -and much skill in painting and ornamental work, and was remarkable for -intellectual culture and knowledge of general literature. She lived -some years in Mobile with her sister, and there married Mr. James -Hanna, who took her to reside on his sugar plantation near Thibodeaux, -in Louisiana. She died in October, 1858. Her sister is one of the most -accomplished amateur artists in the Southern States. - -About seven years ago a School of Design for Women was started by -Miss Hamilton, which, supported by voluntary contributions, met with -encouraging success. It has now been adopted by the trustees of the -Cooper Institute, and a sum is allowed annually for the support of -teachers. The attendance of pupils in 1859 has been double that of any -former year. - -MARY ANN DOUGLAS, now Mrs. Johnson, is a native of Westfield, -Massachusetts, where she at present resides. She was married at -eighteen, and had been a wife four years before her artist-life -commenced. While a prisoner in her room, on account of sickness, she -amused herself by copying a landscape in oil-colors. The success of -this attempt opened to her a new source of activity and pleasure. -She devoted herself to the study of painting, and labored with such -earnestness and fidelity that her efforts were crowned with success -beyond her anticipations. Her attention was directed especially to -portraits. For the last four or five years she has worked in crayon -almost exclusively, and has found employment abundantly remunerative. -A visit to New London, Connecticut, was prolonged to nine months’ -stay, so great was the popularity of her works in that place; and -during a trip into Central New York she painted many portraits in oil -at excellent prices. Her indefatigable patience in the execution of -details, the fidelity of her likenesses, and the delicate perfection of -finish in her pictures, are remarkable. In the relations of social life -Mrs. Johnson has shown herself amiable and self-sacrificing. She has -not an acquaintance who does not rejoice in the triumphs so worthily -won in spite of many discouragements. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - EMMA STEBBINS.--Favorable Circumstances of her early Life to the Study - of Art.--Specimens of her Skill shown in private Circles.--Receives - Instruction from Henry Inman.--Correctness of her Portraits.--“A - Book of Prayer.”--Revives Taste for Illuminations.--Her crayon - Portraits.--Copies of Paintings.--Cultivates many Branches of - Art.--Becomes a Sculptor.--Abode in Rome.--Instruction received from - Gibson and Akers.--Late Work from her Chisel.--“The Miner.”--HARRIET - HOSMER.--Dwelling of the Sculptor Gibson in Rome.--His Studio - and Work-room.--“La Signorina.”--The American Sculptress.--Her - Childhood.--Physical Training.--School-life.--Anecdotes.--Studies - at Home.--At St. Louis.--Her Independence.--Trip on the - Mississippi.--“Hesper.”--Departure for Rome.--Mr. Gibson’s - Decision.--Extract from Miss Hosmer’s Letter.--Original - Designs.--Reverse of Fortune.--Alarm.--Resolution.--Industry, Economy, - and Success.--Late Works.--Visit of the Prince of Wales. - - - EMMA STEBBINS. - -Few lady artists of this or any country have been surrounded with -circumstances more favorable to the development of genius. Her -childhood was passed among those who possessed culture and refined -taste, and she was familiar with the elegant adornments of life. She -learned early to embody the delicate creations of her fancy in song -or pictures, as well as to imitate what pleased her. Her family and -nearest circle of friends were ready--as is not always the case--to -appreciate and encourage her efforts. But, though she had no early -difficulties to struggle with, the steep and rugged path to eminent -success could not be smoothed by the hand of affection, and she has -gone through all the lessoning and exercise of powers demanded for -the achievement of greatness, as well from those favored of fortune as -those to whom the capricious goddess has proved a step-dame. - -Miss Stebbins is a native of the city of New York, where, till within -a few years, she employed the rare skill she had acquired in different -branches of art for the gratification of her friends or for charitable -purposes. Several artists noticed in the beautiful specimens which -were shown in various circles as her work the evidence of more than -ordinary talent. Among these was Henry Inman, the distinguished -painter. He invited the young girl to visit his studio, and offered -to give her instruction in oil-painting. She had never before taken -lessons, and was pleased with the prospect of study. She improved -under the directions of her teacher, and to this aid some of her -friends attributed the masterly correctness and grace displayed in her -portraits, and for which afterward her crayon sketches were so much -admired. - -One of Miss Stebbins’s early works was a volume to which she gave the -title, “A Book of Prayer.” It contains some beautiful specimens of her -poetry, but is chiefly remarkable for its exquisite illuminations. -It was one of the first among the efforts to revive that style of -illustration; and the originality, grace, and beauty of the designs, -with the delicate and elaborate finish of the execution, made it quite -a curiosity of art. Some other books were illuminated by Miss Stebbins -in the same manner. - -The love of art in the child of genius “grows by what it feeds on,” -and claims an undivided devotion to its pursuits. Perhaps no kind of -knowledge is so fascinating when its fruits are tasted. Miss Stebbins -found no charm in the social pleasures at her command which could draw -her attention from painting. She finally resolved on an exclusive -consecration of her talents to art, making it the sole business of her -life. She determined to go to Rome. - -Several of her crayon portraits, executed in Rome, received the highest -encomiums from acknowledged judges in that city. A copy she made of the -“St. John” of Du Bœuf, and one from a painting in the gallery of the -Louvre, representing a “Girl Dictating a Love-letter,” were noted among -her oil-paintings. Her “Boy and Bird’s Nest” was done in the style of -Murillo. Her pastel-painting of “Two Dogs” has been highly praised. - -Almost every branch of the imitative art has been at different periods -cultivated by Miss Stebbins, and her success proves the scope and -versatility of her talent. Besides painting in oil and water colors, -she has practiced drawing on wood and carving wood, modeling in clay, -and working in marble. It is probably in the difficult art of sculpture -that she will leave to America the works by which she will be most -widely known. - -She profited, like Miss Hosmer, by the counsels and supervision of -Gibson, and the careful instruction of Akers. A work from her chisel, -in the spring of 1859, commanded the highest suffrages. Mr. Heckscher, -a large proprietor of coal-mines in the United States, had requested -Miss Stebbins to execute for him two typical statues--one of Industry, -the other of Commerce. The figure of Industry is completed, and has -been represented by the artist, with graceful taste, as a miner. A -critic says: - -“The figure is that of an athletic, admirably-proportioned youth, -who bears upon his right shoulder the pick, and in the front of his -picturesque slouched hat the miner’s lamp. The weight of the body is -thrown easily and naturally upon the right leg, and the left hand rests -with the carelessness of manly strength upon a block of marble, drilled -and hewn in the manner of a mass of coal. The symmetrical vigor of -the figure, admirable as it is, is not more admirable than the lofty, -ingenuous beauty of the classic head and face, poised in an attitude -equally unforced and striking, upon the graceful, well-rounded throat. -The drapery of the full shirt, open at the neck and close-gathered -about the waist, is managed with particular skill; and while the whole -figure reminds one strikingly of one of those magnificent Gothic kings -whose images stand in the vestibule of the _Museo Borbonico_, at -Naples, the spirit and air of it are purely modern and American. It is, -in truth, one of the most felicitous combinations of every-day national -truth with the enduring and cosmopolite truth of art ever seen, and it -is a work which does equal credit to the sex and the country of the -artist.” - -Miss Stebbins has taken up her residence permanently in Rome, amid -those surroundings and associations sought by artists of all nations as -most favorable to their progress. She has been for some time engaged in -modeling in clay several groups which, though as yet unfinished, have -been criticised favorably by connoisseurs and friends. - - - HARRIET HOSMER. - -In the Via Fontanella at Rome--a street close upon the beautiful -Piazza del Popolo, and running at a right angle from the Babuino to -the Corso, a few steps out of the Babuino on the left--is a large, -rough, worm-eaten door, which has evidently seen good service, and -from the appearance of which no casual and uninitiated passer-by would -suspect the treasures of art it conceals and protects. A small piece -of whip-cord, with a knot as handle, issues from a perforated hole, -by means of which--a small bell being set in motion--access is gained -to the studio of England’s greatest living master of sculpture, John -Gibson. - -The threshold crossed, the visitor finds himself at once in the midst -of this artist’s numerous works. In a large barn-like shed, with a -floor of earth, on pedestals of various materials, shapes, and sizes, -stand the beautiful Cupid and Butterfly, the wounded Amazon, Paris and -Proserpine gathering flowers, the charming groups of Psyche borne by -the Zephyrs, of Hylas and the Water Nymphs, and the noble basso-relievo -of Phaeton and the Hours leading forth the horses of the Sun, with, -perhaps, a bust or figure in progress by the workman whose duty it is -to keep the studio and attend to the numerous visitors. Facing the door -of entry just described is its counterpart, opening into a fairy-like -square plot of garden, filled with orange and lemon trees and roses, -and, in the spring, fragrant with violets blue and white, Cape jasmine, -and lilies of the valley; while, in a shady recess, and fern-grown nook -trickles a perpetual fountain of crystal-clear water. The sun floods -this tiny garden with his golden light, flecking the trellised walks -with broken shadows, and wooing his way, royal and irresistible lover -as he is, to the humbler floral divinities of the place, sheltered -beneath their own green leaves, or in the superb shade of the acanthus. -Lovely is the effect of this rich glow of sunlight as one stands in the -shade of the studio, perfumed with the sweet blossoms of the South; -lovely the aspect both of nature and of art, into the presence of -which we are so suddenly and unexpectedly ushered from the ugly, dirty -street without. Having gazed our fill here, we step into the garden, -and, turning to the right, if we be favored visitors, friends, or the -friends of friends, we are next ushered into the sanctum of the master -himself, whom we shall probably find engaged in modeling, and from whom -we shall certainly receive a kind and genial welcome, granting always -that we have some claim for our intrusion upon his privacy. - -This room, long and narrow, is boarded, and has some pretensions to -comfort; but throughout the whole range of studios the absence of care -and attention will strike the eye, more especially as it is the present -fashion in Rome to render the studios both of painter and sculptor as -comfortable and habitable as possible. From Mr. Gibson’s own room we -are taken into another rough shed, where the process of transformation -from plaster to marble is carried on, and where frequent visitors can -not fail to discover the vast difference which exists in skill and -natural aptitude among the numerous workmen employed. - -As the different processes of sculpture are but little known, it may -not be out of place here to throw some light upon them. The artist -himself models the figure, bust, or group, whatever it may be, in clay, -spending all his skill, time, and labor on this first stage. When -complete--and many months, sometimes even years of unwearied study -are given to the task--a plaster cast is taken from the clay figure, -from which cast the workmen put the subject into marble, the artist -superintending it, and reserving to himself the more delicate task -of finishing. Thorwaldsen, speaking of these processes, says, “that -the clay model may be called creation, the plaster cast death, and the -marble resurrection.” Certain it is that the clay model and the marble -statue, when each has received the finishing stroke, are more closely -allied, more nearly identical, one with the other, than either is with -the plaster cast. So alive are sculptors to the fact of the injury done -to their works by being seen in plaster casts, that they bestow great -pains in working them over by hand to restore something of the fineness -and sharpness which the process of modeling has destroyed. So impressed -with this is Powers, the American sculptor, that, with the ingenuity -and inventive skill of his country, he has succeeded in making a -plaster hard almost as marble, and which bears with equal impunity the -file, chisel, and polisher. - -There are in Rome workmen devoted to the production of certain -portions of the figure, draped or undraped; for instance, one man is -distinguished for his ability in working the hair, and confines himself -to this specialty; while another is famous for his method of rendering -the quality of flesh, and a third is unequaled in drapery. Very rarely -does it happen that the artist is lucky enough to find all these -qualities combined in one man, but it does occasionally happen; and Mr. -Gibson is himself fortunate in the possession of a workman whose skill -and manipulative power, in all departments, are of the highest order. -A Roman by birth, the handsome and highly organized Camillo, with his -slight figure, and delicate, almost effeminate hands, is a master of -the mallet and chisel, and, from the head to the foot, renders and -interprets his model with artistic power and feeling. The man loves -his work, and the work repays his love, as when does it not, from the -sublime labors of genius to the humblest vocation of street or alley? - -To return from our digression; leaving the workroom, we cross one side -of the small garden, and by just such another rough door as the two -we have already passed through in the first studio, we enter another -capacious, barn-like apartment, the centre of which is occupied by the -colored Venus, so dear to Mr. Gibson’s heart that, though executed to -order, year after year passes on, and he can not make up his mind to -part with it. Ranged around the walls of this capacious studio are -casts of the Hunter, one of the earliest and most vigorous of Mr. -Gibson’s works; of the Queen, of the colossal group in the House of -Lords, and sundry others. Having inspected these at our leisure, and -viewed the Venus from the most approved point, probably under the eye -of the master, who never tires of expatiating on the great knowledge -of the ancients in coloring their statues, a curtain across the -left-hand corner of the studio is lifted, and the attendant inquires -if “la signorina” will receive visitors. The permission given, we -ascend a steep flight of stairs, and find ourselves in a small upper -studio, face to face with a compact little figure, five feet two in -height, in cap and blouse, whose short, sunny brown curls, broad brow, -frank and resolute expression of countenance, give one at the first -glance the impression of a handsome boy. It is the first glance only, -however, which misleads one. The trim waist and well-developed bust -belong unmistakably to a woman, and the deep, earnest eyes, firm-set -mouth, and modest dignity of deportment show that woman to be one of no -ordinary character and ability. - -Thus, reader, we Have brought you face to face with the subject of this -sketch, Harriet Hosmer, the American sculptress. - -Born at Watertown, Mass., in the year 1831, Harriet Hosmer is the -only surviving daughter of a physician, who, having lost wife and -child by consumption, and fearing a like fate for the survivor, gave -her horse, dog, gun, and boat, and insisted upon an out-doors life as -indispensable to health. A fearless horsewoman, a good shot, an adept -in rowing, swimming, diving, and skating, Harriet Hosmer is a signal -instance of what judicious physical training will effect in conquering -even hereditary taint of constitution. Willingly as the active, -energetic child acquiesced in her father’s wishes, she contrived, at -the same time, to gratify and develop her own peculiar tastes; and -many a time and oft, when the worthy doctor may have flattered himself -that his darling was in active exercise, she might have been found in -a certain clay-pit, not very far from the paternal residence, making -early attempts at modeling horses, dogs, sheep, men and women, or any -object which attracted her attention. Both here, and subsequently at -Lenox, she made good use of her time by studying natural history, and -of her gun by securing specimens for herself of the wild creatures of -the woods, feathered and furred; dissecting some, and with her own -hands preparing and stuffing others. The walls of the room devoted to -her special use in “the old house at home,” are covered with birds, -bats, butterflies and beetles, snakes and toads, while sundry bottles -of spirits contain subjects carefully dissected and prepared by herself. - -Ingenuity and taste were shown in the use to which the young girl -applied the eggs and feathers of the nests and birds she had pilfered. -One inkstand, a very early production, evinces mechanical genius and -artistic taste. Taking the head, throat, wings, and side feathers of a -bluebird, she blew the contents from a hen’s egg, and set it on end, -forming the breast of the bird by the oval surface of the egg, while -through the open beak and extended neck entrance was gained to the -cavity of the egg containing the ink. - -No one could look round this apartment, occupied by the child and -young girl, without at once recognizing the force and individuality of -character which have since distinguished her. - -Full of fun and frolic, numerous anecdotes are told of practical jokes -perpetrated to such an excess that Dr. Hosmer was satisfied with the -progress toward health and strength his child had made; and having -endeavored, without success, to place her under tuition in daily and -weekly schools near home, he determined to commit her to the care -of Mrs. Sedgwick, of Lenox, Massachusetts. Thither the young lady, -having been expelled from one school, and given over as incorrigible -at another, was accordingly sent, with strict injunctions that health -should still be a paramount consideration, and that the new pupil -should have liberty to ride and walk, shoot and swim to her heart’s -content. In wiser or kinder hands the young girl could not have been -placed. Here, too, she met with Mrs. Fanny Kemble, whose influence -tended to strengthen and develop her already decided tastes and -predilections. To Mrs. Kemble we have heard the young artist gratefully -attribute the encouragement which decided her to follow sculpture as a -profession, and to devote herself and her life to the pursuit of art. - -Miss Hosmer’s school-fellows remember many pranks and exploits that -showed her daring spirit and love of frolic. One of these was capturing -a hawk’s nest from the top of a very high forest-tree, to which she -climbed at the risk of her life. Her room was decorated, as at home, -with grotesque preserved specimens, among which was a variety of -reptiles, usually the horror of young ladies. - -An anonymous squib upon Boston and Bostonians was about this time -attributed to Miss Hosmer. A practical joke upon a physician of Boston -had been the immediate cause of her being sent to Lenox. Her health -having given her father some uneasiness, the gentleman in question, a -physician in large practice, was called in to attend her. The rather -uncertain visits of this physician proved a source of great annoyance -and some real inconvenience to his patient, inasmuch as they interfered -with her rides and drives, shooting, and boating excursions. Having -borne with the inconvenience some time, she requested the gentleman, -as a great favor, to name an hour for his call, that she might make -her arrangements accordingly. The physician agreed, but punctuality is -not always at the command of professional men. Matters were as bad as -ever. Sometimes the twelve o’clock appointment did not come off till -three in the afternoon. One day, in particular, Dr. -------- was some -hours after the time. A playful quarrel took place between physician -and patient; and, as he rose to take his leave, and offered another -appointment, Miss Hosmer insisted upon his giving his word to keep it. - -“If I am alive,” said he, “I will be here,” naming some time on a -certain day. - -“Then, if you are not here,” was the reply, “I am to conclude that you -are dead.” - -Thus they parted. The day and hour arrived, but no doctor made his -appearance. That evening Miss Hosmer rode into Boston, and next morning -the papers announced the decease of Dr. ------. Half Boston and its -neighborhood rushed to the physician’s house to leave cards and -messages of condolence for the family, and to inquire into the cause of -the sudden and lamentable event. - -In 1850, being then nineteen, Harriet Hosmer left Lenox. Mrs. -Sedgwick’s judicious treatment, and the motive and encouragement -supplied by Mrs. Kemble, had given the right impetus to that activity -of mind and body which needed only guiding and directing into -legitimate channels. She returned to her father’s house, at Watertown, -to pursue her art-studies, and to fit herself for the career she -had resolved upon following. There was at this time a cousin of -Miss Hosmer’s studying with her father, between whom and herself -existed a hearty _camaraderie_. Together the two spent many hours in -dissecting legs and arms, and in making acquaintance with the human -frame, Dr. Hosmer having erected a small building at the bottom of -his garden to facilitate these studies. Those were days of close -study and application. Lessons in drawing and modeling--for which our -young student had to repair to Boston, a distance of seven or eight -miles--and anatomical studies with her cousin, were alternated with -the inevitable rides and boating on which her father wisely insisted. -The River Charles runs immediately before the house, and on this river -Harriet Hosmer had a boat-house, containing a safe, broad boat, and -a fragile, poetical-looking gondola, with silvered prow, the delight -of her heart, and the terror of her less experienced and unswimming -friends. The life of the young girl was at this period full of earnest -purpose and noble ambition, and the untiring energy and perseverance -which distinguish her now in so remarkable a degree were at this time -evidenced and developed. - -Having modeled one or two copies from the antique, she next tried her -hand on a portrait-bust, and then cut Canova’s bust of Napoleon in -marble, working it entirely with her own hands that she might make -herself mistress of the process. Her father, seeing her devoted to her -studies, seconded them in every possible way, and proposed to send her -to his friend, Dr. M‘Dowell, Professor of Anatomy in the St. Louis -College, that she might go through a course of regular instruction, -and be thus thoroughly grounded for the branch of art she had chosen. -The young artist was but too glad to close with the offer; and, in the -autumn of 1850, we find her at St. Louis, residing in the family of her -favorite schoolmate from Lenox, winning the hearts of all its members -by her frank, joyous nature, and steady application, and securing, in -the head of it, what she heartily and energetically calls “the best -friend I ever had.” - -Her independence of manner and character, joined to the fact of her -entering the college as a student, could not fail to bring down -animadversion, and many were the tales fabricated and circulated anent -the young New Englander, who was said to carry pistols in her belt, and -to be prepared to take the life of any one who interfered with her. It -was, perhaps, no disadvantage, under the circumstances, to be protected -by such a character. The college stood some way from the inhabited -part of the town, and in early morning and late evening, going to and -fro with the other students, it is not impossible that she owed the -perfect impunity with which she set conventionality at defiance to the -character for courage, and skill in the use of fire-arms which attended -her. - -Dr. M‘Dowell, charmed with the talent and earnestness of his pupil, -afforded her every facility in his power, giving her the freedom of the -college at all times, and occasionally bestowing upon her a private -lecture when she attended to see him preparing dissections for the -public ones. Pleasant and encouraging it is to find men of ability -and eminence so willing to help a woman when she is willing to help -herself. The career of this young artist hitherto has been marked by -the warm and generous encouragement of first-rate men, from Professor -M‘Dowell to John Gibson, and pleasant it is to find the affectionate -and grateful appreciation of such kindness, converting the temporary -tie of master and pupil into the permanent one of tried and valued -friendship. “I remember Professor M‘Dowell,” writes Miss Hosmer, “with -great affection and gratitude, as being a most thorough and patient -teacher, as well as at all times a good, kind friend.” - -Through the winter and spring of 1851, in fact, during the whole -term, Harriet Hosmer prosecuted her studies with unremitting zeal -and attention, and at the close was presented with a “diploma,” or -certificate, testifying to her anatomical efficiency. During her stay -at St. Louis, and as a testimony of her gratitude and regard, Miss -Hosmer cut, from a bust of Professor M‘Dowell by Clevenger, a medallion -in marble, life size, which is now in the museum of the College. It is -perhaps worthy of note that Clevenger and Powers both studied anatomy -under this professor. - -The “diploma” achieved, our young aspirant was bent upon seeing New -Orleans before returning to her New England home. It was a season -of the year not favorable for such travel, and, from some cause or -another, she failed in inducing any of her friends to accompany her. To -will and to do are synonymous with some; and so, Harriet Hosmer having -set her mind upon an excursion down the Mississippi to the Crescent -City, embarked herself one fine morning on board a steamer bound for -New Orleans. The river was shallow, the navigation difficult; many a -boat did our adventurous traveler pass high and dry; but fortune, as -usual, was with her, and she reached her destination in safety. The -weather was intensely warm, but, nothing daunted, our young friend -saw all that was to be seen, returning at night to sleep on board the -steamer as it lay in its place by the levee, and, at the expiration -of a week, returning with it to St. Louis. Arrived there, instead of -rejoining her friends, she took boat for the Falls of St. Anthony, -on the Upper Mississippi, stopping, on the way, at Dubuque, to visit -a lead mine, into which she descended by means of a bucket, and came -very near an accident which must inevitably have resulted fatally; a -catastrophe which, as no one knew where she was, would probably have -remained a secret forever. At the Falls of St. Anthony, she went among -the Indians, much to their surprise and amusement, and brought away -with her a pipe, presented by the chief, in token of amity. She also -achieved the ascent of a mountain never before undertaken by a female; -and so delighted were the spectators with her courage and agility, -that they insisted upon knowing her name, that the mountain might -thenceforth be called after her. In a subsequent visit to St. Louis, -Miss Hosmer found that her rustic admirers had been as good as their -word, and “Hosmer’s Height” remains an evidence of “the little lady’s” -ambition and courage. - -On her return to St. Louis, where her prolonged absence had created no -little uneasiness, she remained but a short time, and, bidding farewell -to her kind friends, retraced her steps homeward. - -This was in the autumn of 1851. No sooner had Harriet Hosmer reached -home than she set to work to model an ideal bust of Hesper, continuing -her anatomical studies with her cousin, and employing her intervals of -leisure and rest in reading, riding, and boating. Now followed a period -of earnest work, cheered and inspired by those visions of success, -of purpose fulfilled, of high aims realized, which haunt the young -and enthusiastic aspirant, and throw a halo round the youthful days -of genius, lending a color to the whole career. As Lowell wisely and -poetically says, - - “Great dreams preclude low ends.” - -Better to aspire and fail than not aspire at all; better to know the -dream, and the fever, and the awakening, if it must be, than to pass -from the cradle to the grave on the level plane of content with things -as they are. There may be aspiration without genius; there can not be -genius without aspiration; and where genius is backed by industry and -perseverance, the aspiration of one period will meet its realization in -another. - -To go to Rome--to make herself acquainted with all its treasures of -art, ancient and modern--to study and work as the masters of both -periods had studied and worked before her--this was now our youthful -artist’s ambition; and all the while she labored, heart and soul, at -Hesper, the first creation of her genius, watching its growth beneath -her hand, as a young mother watches, step by step, the progress of -her first-born; kneading in with the plastic clay all those thousand -hopes and fears which, turn by turn, charm and agitate all who aspire. -At length, the clay model finished, a block of marble was sought -and found, and brought home to the shed in the garden, hitherto -appropriated to dissecting purposes, but now fitted up as a studio. -Here, with her own small hands, the youthful maiden, short of stature -and delicate in make, any thing but robust in health, with chisel and -mallet blocked out the bust, and subsequently, with rasp and file, -finished it to the last degree of manipulative perfection. Months and -months it took, and hours and days of quiet toil and patience; but -those wings of genius, perseverance and industry, were hers, and love -lent zest to the work. It was late summer in 1852 before Hesper was -fully completed. - -A critic in the New York Tribune thus wrote of this work: - -“It has the face of a lovely maiden, gently falling asleep with -the sound of distant music. Her hair is gracefully arranged, and -intertwined with capsules of the poppy. A star shines on her forehead, -and under her breast lies the crescent moon. The hush of evening -breathes from the serene countenance and the heavily-drooping -eyelids.... The swell of the cheeks and the bust is like pure, young, -healthy flesh, and the muscles of the beautiful mouth are so delicately -cut, it seems like a thing that breathes. - -“The poetic conception of the subject is the creation of her own mind, -and the embodiment of it is all done by her own hands--even the hard, -rough, mechanical portions of the work. She employed a man to chop -off some large bits of marble; but, as he was unaccustomed to assist -sculptors, she did not venture to have him cut within several inches of -the surface she intended to work.” - -“Now,” said she to her father, “I am ready to go to Rome.” - -“And you shall go, my child, this very autumn,” was the reply. - -Anxious as Dr. Hosmer was to facilitate in every way the career -his daughter had chosen, there was yet another reason for going to -Italy before winter set in. Study and nervous anxiety had made their -impression upon a naturally delicate constitution, and a short, dry -cough alarmed the worthy doctor for his child’s health. - -October of 1852 saw father and daughter on their way to Europe, the St. -Louis diploma and daguerreotypes of Hesper being carefully stowed away -in the safest corner of the portmanteau as evidences of what the young -artist had already achieved, when, arrived at Rome, she should seek the -instruction of one of two masters, whose fame, world-wide, alone could -satisfy our aspirant’s ambition. So eager was her desire to reach Rome -that a week only was given to England; and then, joining some friends -in Paris, the whole party proceeded to Rome, arriving in the Eternal -City on the evening of November 12, 1852. - -Within two days the daguerreotypes were placed in the hands of Mr. -Gibson as he sat at breakfast in the Café Greco, a famous place of -resort for artists. - -Now be it known, as a caution to women not to enter lightly upon any -career, to throw it up as lightly upon the first difficulty which -arises, that a prejudice existed in Rome against lady artists, from -the pretensions with which some had repaired thither, and upon which -they had succeeded in gaining access to some of the best studios and -instruction from their masters, to throw those valuable opportunities -aside at the first obstacle that arose. Mr. Gibson had himself, it -was said, been thus victimized and annoyed, and it was represented to -Miss Hosmer as doubtful in the extreme if he would either look at the -daguerreotypes or listen to the proposal of her becoming his pupil. -However, the daguerreotypes were placed before him; and, taking them -into his hands--one presenting a full, and the other a profile view of -the bust--he sat some moments in silence, looking intently at them. -Encouraged by this, the young sculptor who had undertaken to present -them proceeded to explain Miss Hosmer’s intentions and wishes, what she -had already done, and what she hoped to do. Still Mr. Gibson remained -silent. Finally, closing the cases, - -“Send the young lady to me,” said he, “and whatever I know, and can -teach her, she shall learn.” - -In less than a week Harriet Hosmer was fairly installed in Mr. Gibson’s -studio, in the up-stairs room already described. Ere long a truly -paternal and filial affection sprung up between the master and the -pupil, a source of great happiness to themselves, and of pleasure and -amusement to all who know and value them, from the curious likeness, -yet unlikeness, which existed from the first in Miss Hosmer to Mr. -Gibson, and which daily intercourse has not tended to lessen. - -In one of her letters she says: - -“The dearest wish of my heart is gratified in that I am acknowledged by -Gibson as a pupil. He has been resident in Rome thirty-four years, and -leads the van. I am greatly in luck. He has just finished the model of -the statue of the queen, and, as his room is vacant, he permits me to -use it, and I am now in his own studio. I have also a little room for -work which was formerly occupied by Canova, and perhaps inspiration may -be drawn from the walls.” - -The first winter in Rome was passed in modeling from the antique, Mr. -Gibson desiring to assure himself of the correctness of Miss Hosmer’s -eye, and the soundness of her knowledge; Hesper evincing the possession -of the imaginative and creative power. From the first, Mr. Gibson -expressed himself more than satisfied with her power of imitating the -roundness and softness of flesh, saying, upon one occasion, that he had -never seen it surpassed and not often equaled. - -Her first attempt at original design in Rome was a bust of Daphne, -quickly succeeded by another of the Medusa--the beautiful Medusa--and a -lovely thing it is, faultless in form, and intense in its expression of -horror and agony, without trenching on the physically painful. - -We have already spoken of the warm friend Miss Hosmer made for herself -during her winter at St. Louis, in the head of the family at whose -house she was a guest. This gentleman, as a God-speed to the young -artist on her journey to Rome, sent her, on the eve of departure, -an order to a large amount for the first figure she should model, -leaving her entirely free to select her own time and subject. A statue -of Œnone was the result, which is now in the house of Mr. Crow, at -St. Louis, and which gave such satisfaction to its possessor and his -fellow-townsmen, that an order was forwarded to Miss Hosmer for a -statue for the Public Library at St. Louis, on the same liberal terms. -Beatrice Cenci, which has won so many golden opinions from critics and -connoisseurs, was sent to St. Louis in fulfillment of this order. - -The summers in Rome are, as every one knows, trying to the natives, -and full of danger to foreigners. Dr. Hosmer, having seen his daughter -finally settled, returned to America, leaving her with strict -injunctions to seek some salubrious spot in the neighboring mountains -for the summer, if indeed she did not go into Switzerland or England. -Rome, however, was the centre of attraction; and, after the first -season, which was spent at Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, Miss Hosmer -could not be prevailed upon to go out of sight and reach of its lordly -dome and noble treasures of art. The third summer came, and, listening -to the advice of her friends, and in obedience to the express wish of -her father, she made arrangements for a visit to England. The day was -settled, the trunks were packed; she was on the eve of departure, when -a letter from America arrived, informing her of heavy losses sustained -by her father, which must necessitate retrenchment in every possible -way, a surrender of her career in Rome, and an immediate return home. - -The news came upon her like a thunderbolt. Stunned and bewildered, -she knew not at the moment what to do. An only child, and hitherto -indulged in every whim and caprice, the position was indeed startling -and perplexing. The surrender of her art-career was the only thing -which she felt to be impossible; whatever else might come, that could -not, should not be. And now came into play that true independence of -character which hitherto had shown itself mostly in wild freaks and -tricks. Instead of falling back upon those friends whose means she -knew would be at her disposal in this emergency, she dispatched a -messenger for the young sculptor who had shown the daguerreotypes to -Mr. Gibson, and who, himself dependent upon his professional exertions, -was, she decided, the fittest person to consult with as to her own -future career. He obeyed the hasty summons, and found the joyous, -laughing countenance he had always known, pale and changed, as it -were, suddenly, from that of a young girl to a woman full of cares and -anxieties. He could scarcely credit the intelligence; but the letter -was explicit; the summons home peremptory. “Go, I will not,” was her -only coherent resolution; so the two laid their heads together. Miss -Hosmer was the owner of a handsome horse and an expensive English -saddle; these were doomed at once. The summer in Rome itself, during -which season living there costs next to nothing, was determined upon; -and during those summer months Miss Hosmer should model something -so attractive that it should insure a speedy order, and, exercising -strict economy, start thenceforth on an independent artist-career, such -as many of those around her with less talent and training, managed -to carry on with success. No sooner said than done; the trunks were -unpacked; the friends she had been about to accompany departed without -her; her father’s reverses were simply and straightforwardly announced, -and she entered at once on the line of industry and economy she and her -friend had struck out. - -It is said that friendship between a young man and a young woman is -scarcely possible, and perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, where -the woman has no engrossing interests of her own, no definite aim and -pursuit in life, it may be so. Here, however, was a case of genuine and -helpful friendship, honorable alike to the heads and hearts of both. -Under the experienced direction of her friend, Miss Hosmer conducted -her affairs with prudence and economy, and, at the same time, with due -regard to health. The summer passed away, and neither fever nor any -other form of mischief attacked our young friend. She worked hard, and -modeled a statue of Puck, so full of spirit, originality, and fun, that -it was no sooner finished than orders to put it into marble came in. It -was repeated again and again, and, during the succeeding winter, three -copies were ordered for England alone--one for the Duke of Hamilton. -Thus fairly started on her own ground, Miss Hosmer met with that -success which talent, combined with industry and energy, never fails to -command. - -The winter in which the Cenci was being put into marble she was engaged -in modeling a monument to the memory of a beautiful young Catholic -lady, destined for a niche in the church of San Andréo delle Fratte, -in the Vià Mercede, close upon the Piazza di Spagna. A portrait -full-length figure of the young girl, life size, reclines upon a low -couch. The attitude is easy and natural, and the tranquil sleep of -death is admirably rendered in contradistinction to the warm sleep of -life in the Cenci. - -Miss Hosmer was engaged during the winter of 1858 in modeling a -fountain, for which she has taken the story of Hylas descending -for water, when, according to mythology, he is seized upon by the -water-nymphs and drowned. Hylas forms the crown of the pyramid, while -the nymphs twined around its base, with extended arms, seek to drag -him down into the water below, where dolphins are spouting jets which -interlace each other. A double basin, the upper one supported by swans, -receives the cascade. - -During the spring of 1859 Miss Hosmer worked upon her statue of -Zenobia, bespoken in America. The young Prince of Wales visited her -studio to see this unfinished work, which he greatly admired. He -purchased a “Puck,” by her hand, to add to his collection. Miss Hosmer -executed, as a side-piece to this, a “Will-o’-the-Wisp,” said even to -be superior. - - - - - NAMES OF WOMEN ARTISTS - - - A. - PAGE - - Abarca, Donna Maria de, 86 - - Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinberg, 29 - - Airola, Angelica Veronica, 82 - - Aizelin, Madame, 239 - - Alboni, Rosa, 225 - - Alfieri, Carlotta Melania, 225 - - Alloin, Mademoiselle, 240 - - Amalasuntha, 28 - - Amherst, Lady, 186 - - Anaxandra, 26 - - Andross, Miss, 170 - - Angelica, 86 - - Anguisciola, Anna Maria, 48 - - “ Europa, 51 - - “ Helena, 48 - - “ Lucia, 51 - - “ Minerva, 48 - - “ Sofonisba, 49 - - Anna Amalia, of Brunswick, 136 - - Anna, Princess of Orange, 167 - - Anzon, Madame, 203, 237 - - Ardinghelli, Maria Angela, 225 - - Ardoino, Anna Maria, 79 - - Aristarite, 26 - - Armani, Vincenza, 45 - - Aromatari, Dorothea, 55 - - Aumont, Augustine, 239 - - Ava, 28 - - Aveiro, Duchess of, 86 - - - B. - - Badger, Mrs., 316 - - Ballain, Nanine, 236 - - Basseporte, Madeleine Françoise, 202 - - Beale, Mary, 123 - - Beauclerk, Lady Diana, 187 - - Beaurepas, Madame de, 190 - - Beckson, Miss, 190 - - Beer, Maria Eugenia de, 86 - - Beinaschi, Angela, 78 - - Bejar, Duchess of, 86 - - Bell, Miss, 190 - - Benavides, Maria Cueva, 87 - - Bennings, Liewina, 57 - - Benoit, Madame, 203 - - Benwell, Mary, 188 - - Bernasconi, Laura, 80 - - Bertaud, Marie Rosalie, 204 - - Blackwell, Elizabeth, 190 - - Blanchot, Geneviève, 201 - - Block, Joanna Koerten, 126 - - Boccherini, Anna, 224 - - Bohren, Mademoiselle, 138 - - Boizot, Louise Adelaide, 204 - - Bonheur, Julietta, 275 - - “ Rosa, 261 - - Borghini, Maria, 79 - - Bösenbacher, Mary Anna, 240 - - Breughel, Anna, 97 - - Brizio, Plautilla, 80 - - Broeck, Barbara Van den, 58 - - Brossard, Marie Geneviève, 202 - - Brun, Eugénie, 237 - - Brusasorci, Cecilia, 55 - - Bruyère, Madame, 203 - - Bruyn, Anna de, 97 - - Burini, Barbara, 225 - - Butlar, Madame von, 237 - - - C. - - Caballero, Angela Perez, 89 - - Caccia, Francesca, 82 - - “ Ursula, 82 - - Caffa, Maria la, 83 - - Calavrese, Maria, 42 - - Callirhoe, 24 - - Calypso, 26 - - Cantofoli, Ginevra, 72 - - Cantoni, Caterina, 55 - - Capet, Madame, 203 - - Carasquilla, Isabella, 88 - - Carlisle, Anna, 122 - - “ Countess of, 122 - - Carpenter, Mrs., 244 - - Carriera, Rosalba, 226 - - Casalina, Lucia, 82, 225 - - Cassana, Maria Vittoria, 82 - - Caxton, Florence, 244 - - Chalon, Christina, 167 - - Chapin, Mrs., 288 - - Charlotte of Austria, 136 - - Charlotte Matilda, Queen of Wurtemberg, 186 - - Charpentier, Madame, 203 - - “ Constance Marie, 236 - - Chéron, Élisabeth Sophie, 90 - - Cherubini, Caterina, 224 - - Cheves, Charlotte, 344 - - Cirene, 26 - - Cleyn, Penelope, 122 - - “ Magdalen, 122 - - “ Sarah, 122 - - Coello, Isabella Sanchez, 86 - - Cole, Sarah, 295 - - Collot, Mademoiselle, 201 - - Cooper, Ellen, 344 - - Copomazza, Luisa, 78 - - Corbeaux, Fanny, 243 - - Coriolani, Maria Teresa, 73 - - Cosway, Maria, 191 - - Coulet, Anne Philibert, 204 - - Crabbe, Anna, 121 - - Creti, Ersilia, 73 - - Criscuolo, Maria Angela, 55 - - - D. - - Damer, Anne Seymour, 170 - - Damini, Damina, 81 - - Danti, Teodora, 43 - - Dards, Mrs., 189 - - Dassel, Herminie, 312 - - Davin, Madame, 201, 236 - - Delany, Mrs., 186 - - Denning, Charlotte, 287 - - Deverzy, Adrienne Marie, 237 - - Dietrich, Maria Dorothea, 141 - - “ Rosina, 143 - - Dietsch Sisters, 141 - - Dolce, Agnes, 73 - - “ Maria, 73 - - Dolora, Anna Victoria, 225 - - Domenici, Maria, 81, 83 - - Dorsch, Susannah Maria, 138 - - Drax, Miss, 190 - - Drölling, Louise Adéone, 237 - - Dubois, Mrs. Cornelius, 297 - - Duchemin, Catherine, 90 - - Ducluzeau, Madame, 239 - - Du Pré, Julia, 342 - - Duquesnoy, Mademoiselle, 202 - - Durand, Flavia, 65 - - - E. - - Eimart, Maria Clara, 114 - - Elie, Madame, 236 - - Elizabeth of Austria, 226 - - Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick, 136 - - Elizabeth Ernestine Antonia, of Saxe-Meiningen, 136 - - Elizabeth, Princess, 186 - - “ Princess of Parma, 226 - - Ellenrieder, Maria, 241 - - Eyck, Margaretta von, 34 - - - F. - - Fanshawe, Catharine Mary, 190 - - Farnese, Isabella, 89 - - Fauveau, Felicie de, 247 - - Festa, Bianca, 224 - - “ Matilda, 224 - - Fiesca, Helen, 47 - - “ Tommasa, 47 - - Fischer, Anna Catharina, 114 - - “ Susannah, 114 - - Fitzgerald, Lady E., 170 - - “ Lady Henry, 186 - - Foley, Margaret, 287 - - Fontaine, Madame, 239 - - Fontana, Lavinia, 61 - - Fontana, Veronica, 73 - - Forestier, Marie Anne Julie, 236 - - Forgue, Apollonia de, 232 - - Fratellini, Giovanna, 83 - - Freeman, Anna Mary, 342 - - Freiberg, Baroness von, 241 - - Friedrich, Caroline Frederika, 142 - - Fuessli (Fuseli), Anna, 142 - - “ “ Elizabeth, 142 - - Fürst, Magdalena, 114 - - - G. - - Gabassi, Margerita, 82 - - Gabiou, Jeanne Elizabeth, 237 - - Galeotti, Anna, 224 - - Galizia, Fede, 60 - - Garri, Colomba, 225 - - Garzoni, Giovanna, 82 - - Gauthier, Elizabeth, 201 - - Gentilesca, Sofonisba, 55 - - Gentileschi, Artemisia, 66 - - Gérard, Madame, 202 - - “ Marguerite, 201 - - “ Susannah, 57 - - Ghisi, Diana, 43 - - Gibson, Susannah Penelope, 121 - - Gilarte, Magdalena, 87 - - Ginnassi, Caterina, 65 - - Giovannini, Bianca, 225 - - Glauber, Diana, 115 - - Godefroy, Eléonore, 237 - - “ Madame, 201 - - Godewyck, Margaretta, 98 - - Gois, Madame, 202 - - Goldbeck, Madame, 342 - - Goodrich, Mrs., 287 - - Gove, Miss, 316 - - Grace, Mrs., 189 - - Granbury, Miss, 316 - - Grandi, Paolina, 81 - - Grassi, Niccola, 80 - - Gray, Miss, 190 - - Greatorex, Mrs., 316 - - Grebber, Maria, 97 - - Greuze, Anna Gabrielle, 202 - - Greville, Lady Louisa de, 186 - - Guadalupe, Maria de, 86 - - Guillemard, Sophie, 237 - - - H. - - Hall, Anne, 299 - - Hamerani, Beatrice, 80 - - Hämsen, Catherine, 57 - - Hartley, Miss, 189 - - Hawthorne, Mrs., 316 - - Hay, Mrs. Benham, 244 - - Hayd, Marianna, 140 - - Hedwig, Sophie, Princess, 121 - - Heere, Margaret de, 57 - - Heinecke, Catharina Elizabeth, 141 - - Helena, 26 - - Herault, Antoinette, 90 - - “ Madelaine, 90 - - “ Marie Catherine, 201 - - Herbalin, Madame, 240 - - Heylan, Anna, 87 - - Hildegardis, 28 - - Hildreth, Mrs., 315 - - Hill, Mrs., 316 - - Hoadley, Mrs., 189 - - Hoffmann, Elizabeth, 97 - - Hogenhuizen, Elizabeth Georgina van, 168 - - Hollandina, Princess, 115 - - Hoppner, Mrs., 185 - - Hortemels, Mary Magdalen, 203 - - Hosmer, Harriet, 349 - - Howitt, Miss, 244 - - Hroswitha, 28 - - Hueva, Barbara Maria de, 222 - - Hughes, Mrs. Ball, 287 - - Hurembout, Susannah, 57 - - - I. - - Iberg, Eva von, 57 - - - J. - - Jacotot, Madame, 239 - - Jerichow-Baumann, Madame, 241 - - Johnson, Mary Ann, 345 - - Juliani, Caterina, 78 - - Juvenel, Esther, 113 - - - K. - - Kallo, 26 - - Kauffman, Angelica, 144 - - Keyzer, Clara de, 57 - - Killegrew, Anne, 124 - - Koher, Anna de, 104 - - Kora, 24 - - Krafft, Barbara, 241 - - Kugler, Madame, 203 - - Küsel, Christina, 114 - - “ Johanna Sibylla, 114 - - “ Magdalena, 114 - - - L. - - Ladd, Anna, 188 - - Lafond, Aurore Etienne, 237 - - Lafontaine, Rosalie de, 237 - - Lala, 27 - - Lamartine, Madame de, 239 - - Lamme, Placida, 114 - - Lander, Louisa, 326 - - Lange, Barbara Helena, 114 - - Langley, Betty, 190 - - Laodicia, 30 - - Lawrence, Mary, 190 - - Laya, 27 - - Lazzarini, Elisabetta, 81 - - Le Brun, Elizabeth, 206 - - Leconte, Marguerite, 203 - - Ledoux, Philiberte, 236 - - Lee, Anna, 190 - - Legaré, Mary Swinton, 301 - - Legris, Amélie, 239 - - Lenoir, Madame, 237 - - Leroulx, Madame, 236 - - Lescaille, Catharina, 97 - - Leslie, Ann, 294 - - Lesueur, Elise, 201 - - Linwood, Miss, 190 - - Liscewska, Anna Rosina, 140 - - Lister, Anna, 122 - - “ Susannah, 122 - - Liszeuska, Anna Dorothea, 143 - - Lodde, Alexia de, 165 - - Longhi, Barbara, 47 - - Losa, Isabella, 56 - - Lucan, Countess of, 187 - - Lupton, Mrs., 286 - - - M. - - Mackintosh, Sarah, 287 - - Manzolini, Anna, 225 - - Maratti, Maria, 225 - - Margaretta, 35 - - Margravine of Baden-Durlach, 136 - - Maria Anna, of Austria, 136 - - Marie d’Orleans, 238 - - Marmochini, Giovanna, 79 - - Martin, Miss, 190 - - Masson, Madelaine, 93 - - Matteis, Emmanuela, 225 - - “ Felice, 225 - - “ Maria Angiola, 225 - - May, Miss, 315 - - “ Caroline, 316 - - Mayer, Constance, 236 - - Mazzoni, Isabella, 42 - - Medici, Mary dei, 79 - - Memorata, Anna, 112 - - Menendez, Anna, 222 - - “ Clara, 222 - - Mengs, Anna Maria, 140 - - Menn, Dorothea, 138 - - Merian, Maria Sibylla, 116 - - Merrifield, Miss, 244 - - Messieri, Anna Teresia, 225 - - Metz, Gertrude, 142 - - Micas, Mademoiselle, 282 - - Michaud, Madame, 203 - - Mills, Mrs. Monckton, 244 - - Mirbel, Comtesse de, 239 - - Mirnaux, 203 - - Mogalli, Teresa, 224 - - Mongez, Angélique, 236 - - Montferrier, Louise de, 237 - - Monti, Eleonora, 225 - - Morata, Fulvia, 112 - - More, Mary, 122 - - Moritz, Anna, 168 - - Morland, Miss, 190 - - Moser, Mary, 181 - - Muratori, Teresa, 73 - - Murray, Elizabeth, 244 - - “ Mary, 286 - - Mutrie, Miss, 240 - - Myin, Cornelia van der, 168 - - Myn, Agatha van der, 188 - - - N. - - Natali, Madalena, 65 - - Naugis, Geneviève, 203 - - Neal, Elizabeth, 190 - - Nelli, Plautilla, 30, 42 - - Noel, Miss, 190 - - Nohren, Mademoiselle, 139 - - Nymegen, Susanna Maria, 168 - - - O. - - Oakley, Juliana, 316 - - O’Connell, Madame, 95 - - Oever, Alberta ten, 168 - - Ogle, Miss, 170 - - O’Hara, Miss, 287 - - Olympias, 26 - - Ommegank, Maria Jacoba, 168 - - Oosterwyck, Maria van, 104 - - Oostfries, Catharine, 104 - - Oppendorf Countess von, 141 - - Ozanne, Jane Frances, 90 - - “ Mary Ann, 90 - - - P. - - Paar, Princess Anna, 141 - - Pakman, Angelica Agnes, 97, 104 - - Palladini, Arcangela, 60, 79 - - Palomino, Francisca, 87 - - Panzacchi, Maria Helena, 73 - - Pappafava, Beatrice, 60 - - Parasole, Hieronima, 80 - - “ Isabella, 80 - - Parenti-Duclos, Anna, 224 - - Pasch, Ulrica Frederika, 165 - - Passe, Magdalen de, 58 - - Patin, Carlotta, 81 - - “ Gabriella, 81 - - Pazzi, Caterina de’, 55 - - Peale, Anna C., 288 - - “ Mrs. Rembrandt, 294 - - “ Rosalba, 294 - - “ Sarah M., 291, 293 - - Pellegrini, Ludovica, 55 - - Pepyn, Catherine, 95 - - Perez, Anna, 222 - - Perrot, Catherine, 90 - - Peters, Clara, 103 - - Pflauder, Rosina, 138 - - Pfründt, Anna Maria, 114 - - Piccini, Isabella, 79 - - Pinelli, Antonia, 65 - - Pisani, Livia, 224 - - Planteau, Madame, 286 - - Platt, Mrs., 185 - - Po, Teresa del, 65, 78 - - Pompadour, Madame de, 93 - - Pozzo, Isabella dal, 83 - - Preisler, Anna Felicitas, 139 - - “ Barbara Julia, 139 - - “ Helen, 114 - - “ Maria Anna, 139 - - Prestel, Maria Catharine, 189 - - Preu, Joanna Sabina, 114 - - Prieto, Maria, 222 - - “ Maria de Loreto, 88 - - Provis, Anna Jemima, 189 - - - Q. - - Quatrepomme, Isabella, 56 - - Querubini, Caterina, 89 - - Questier, Catharina, 99 - - - R. - - Raimondi, Madame, 43 - - Rastrum, Margaretta, 115 - - Ravemann, Madame, 115 - - Rayner, Louisa, 244 - - Read, Catherine, 190 - - Redi, Giovanna, 79 - - Renieri, Anna, 81 - - Reyschoot, Anna Maria von, 165 - - Rialto, Domenia Luisa, 81 - - Ricchi, Clena, 78 - - Riedel, Maria Theresa, 143 - - Rieger, Maria, 114 - - Rite, Isabel Maria, 223 - - Robert, Fanny, 237 - - Robineau, Claire, 237 - - Robusti, Marietta, 45 - - Rodiana, Onorata, 36 - - Roldan, Luisa, 87 - - Ronde, Lucrece Catherine de la, 201 - - Rosa, Aniella di, 75 - - Rose, Susan Penelope, 122 - - Rosée, Mademoiselle, 126 - - Ross, Elizabeth, 138 - - Rossi, Properzia di, 39 - - Rusca, Caterina, 60, 83 - - Ruysch, Rachel, 106 - - Ryberg, Elizabeth, 168 - - Ryding, C. M., 165 - - Ryk, Cornelia de, 167 - - - S. - - Salmeggia, Chiara, 83 - - Salviani, Rosalba Maria, 224 - - Salvioni, Rosalba, 88 - - Samon, Mrs., 170 - - Sanchez, Jesualda, 87 - - Sandrart, Susannah Maria von, 113 - - Sarmiento, Teresa, 86 - - Sartori, Felicità, 232 - - Sattler, Caroline, 202 - - Saville, Lady Dorothea, 186 - - Saxe-Meiningen, Princess of, 240 - - Scaligeri, Agnes, 83 - - “ Lucia, 83 - - Scarafaglia, Lucrezia, 72 - - Schalken, Maria, 98 - - Scheffer, Caroline, 168 - - Schild, Charlotte Rebecca, 138 - - Schott, Crescentia, 138 - - Schroeter, Caroline von, 242 - - Schurmann, Anna Maria, 99 - - Schwartz, Catherine, 57 - - Schwindel, Rosa Elizabeth, 138 - - Seghers, Anna, 57 - - Seidler, Louise Caroline, 241 - - Siddons, Mrs., 170 - - Silva, Maria de, 222 - - Silvestre, Susanna, 203 - - Simanowitz, Ludovika, 240 - - Simes, Mary Jane, 293 - - Simons, Maria Elizabeth, 168 - - Sirani, Anna Maria, 72 - - “ Barbara, 72 - - Sirani, Elisabetta, 68 - - Siries, Violanta Beatrice, 224 - - Siscara, Angelica, 225 - - Skeysers, Clara, 57 - - Smirke, Miss, 190 - - Smith, Barbara Leigh, 244 - - “ Elizabeth, 170 - - Smyters, Anna, 57, 188 - - Sonnenschein, Mademoiselle, 240 - - Sophia, Duchess of Coburg-Saalfeld, 136 - - Sophia, Princess, 115 - - Spencer, Countess Lavinia, 186 - - “ Lily M., 317 - - Spilberg, Adriana, 98 - - Spilimberg, Irene di, 44 - - Spilsbury, Mary, 190 - - Stebbins, Emma, 346 - - Steen, Susanna von, 104 - - Steenwyk, Madame, 97 - - Steinbach, Sabina von, 30 - - Stella, Claudine Bonzonnet, 90 - - Stoop, Mariana van der, 115 - - Stresor, Henriette, 90 - - Stuart, Jane, 315 - - Stuntz, Electrine, 241 - - St. Urbin, Marie Anne de, 201 - - Sully, Jane, 287 - - Surigny, Madame, 203 - - - T. - - Tarabotti, Augusta, 60 - - “ Caterina, 82 - - Tardieu, Elizabeth Clara, 203 - - Tassaert, Henriette Felicitas, 139 - - Temple, Lady, 186 - - Terburg, Gezina, 98 - - “ Maria, 98 - - Tesi, Teresa, 225 - - Tessala, Anna, 97 - - Tesselschade-Visscher, Anna, 98 - - “ Maria, 98 - - Theudelinda, 28 - - Thielen, Maria Theresa van, 131 - - Tibaldi, Maria Felice, 222, 224 - - “ Teresa, 224 - - Timarata, 25 - - Tintoretto, Marietta, 45 - - Tirlinks, Lewina, 57 - - Tischbein, Magdalena, 240 - - Torrens, Eliza, 286 - - “ Rosalba, 286 - - Tott, Countess of, 188 - - Traballesi, Agatha, 43 - - Treu, Catharina, 141 - - “ Mary Anna, 139 - - “ Rosalie, 139 - - Trevingard, Anna, 190 - - Triumfi, Camilla, 83 - - Triva, Flaminia, 60, 65 - - Troost, Sarah, 167 - - Truchsetz-Waldburg, Countess von, 141 - - Tussaud, Madame, 198 - - - U. - - Ulefeld, Eleonora Christina, 121 - - “ Helena Christina, 121 - - Utrecht, Constantia of, 58, 104 - - - V. - - Vajani, Anna Maria, 79, 82 - - Valdes Leal, Luisa, 88 - - “ Maria, 88 - - “ Maria de, 222 - - Van der Myn, Agatha, 188 - - Vandyck, Anna, 81 - - Vanetti, Laura, 225 - - Vanni, Violanta, 224 - - Varotari, Chiara, 81 - - Vasini, Clarice, 225 - - Velasco, Francisca Palomino y, 87 - - Venier, Ippolita, 232 - - Verbruggen, Susanna, 104 - - Verelst, Maria, 165 - - Vernet, Fanny, 203 - - Viani, Maria, 73 - - Victoria, of Anhalt-Bernburg, 136 - - Vieira, Catarina, 223 - - Vigri, Caterina, 35 - - Vill’ Ambrosa, Countess of, 86 - - Villers, Madame, 236 - - Vincent, Adelaide, 204 - - - W. - - Wasser, Anna, 129 - - Watson, Caroline, 189 - - Weis, Madame, 138 - - Werbronk, Jacoba, 143 - - Wermuth, Maria Juliana, 138 - - Weston, Joanna, 121 - - “ Mary, 332 - - Wieslatin, Maria, 114 - - Wilde, Maria de, 104 - - Wildorfer, Maria Elizabeth, 142 - - Wilmot, Mrs., 170 - - Wilson, Mrs., 295 - - Withers, the Misses, 344 - - Withoos, Alida, 103 - - Wolters, Henrietta, 167 - - Wontiers, Micheline, 95 - - Woodman, Mrs., 316 - - Wright, Mrs., 189 - - Wulfraat, Margaretta, 98 - - - Z. - - Zarcillo, Inez, 88 - - Ziesenis, Margaretta, 165 - - Zucchi, Catarina, 224 - - - THE END. - - - - -⇒ Every Number of Harper’s Magazine contains from 20 to 50 pages--and -from one third to one half more reading--than any other in the country. - - HARPER’S MAGAZINE. - - -The Publishers believe that the Nineteen Volumes of HARPER’S MAGAZINE -now issued contain a larger amount of valuable and attractive reading -than will be found in any other periodical of the day. 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F. (Elizabeth Fries) Ellet</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. 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. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Women artists in all ages and countries</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: E. F. (Elizabeth Fries) Ellet</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 29, 2023 [eBook #69897]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMEN ARTISTS IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES ***</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> - - - -<h1>WOMEN ARTISTS<br><span class="small"> -IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES.</span></h1> - -<p class="center p2"> -<span class="smcap">By</span><br><span class="big">MRS. ELLET,</span><br> -AUTHOR OF “THE WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,” ETC.<br> -</p> - -<p class="center p4"> -<span class="big">NEW YORK:</span><br> -HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,<br> -FRANKLIN SQUARE.<br> -</p> -<p class="center"> -1859.<br> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span></p> -<p class="center p2"> -Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, by<br> -<span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers</span>,<br> -in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.<br> -</p> - -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span></p> - - -<p class="center"> -TO<br> -<span class="big">MRS. COVENTRY WADDELL,</span><br> -<span class="small">WHOSE ELEGANT TASTE AND APPRECIATION OF ART, AND WHOSE LIBERAL KINDNESS TO ARTISTS, HAVE FOSTERED AMERICAN GENIUS,<br> -</span><br>This Volume is Inscribed<br> -BY HER FRIEND</p><p class="right">THE AUTHOR.<br> -</p> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div><hr class="r5"> - - -<p>I do not know that any work on Female Artists—either grouping them or -giving a general history of their productions—has ever been published, -except the little volume issued in Berlin by Ernst Guhl, entitled “Die -Frauen in die Kunstgeschichte.” In that work the survey is closed with -the eighteenth century, and female poets are included with painters, -sculptors, and engravers in the category of artists. Finding Professor -Guhl’s sketches of the condition of art in successive ages entirely -correct, I have made use of these and the facts he has collected, -adding details omitted by him, especially in the personal history of -prominent women devoted to the brush and the chisel. Authorities, too -numerous to mention, in French, Italian, German, and English, have been -carefully consulted. I am indebted particularly to the works of Vasari, -Descampes, and Fiorillo. The biographies of Mdlles. Bonheur, Fauveau, -and Hosmer are taken, with a little condensing and shaping, from late -numbers of that excellent periodical, “The Englishwoman’s Journal.” The -sketches of many living artists were prepared from materials furnished -by themselves or their friends.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span></p> - -<p>It is manifestly impossible, in a work of this kind, to include even -the names of all the women artists who are worthy of remembrance. Among -those of the present day are many who have not yet had sufficient -experience to do justice to their own powers, and any criticism of -their productions would be premature and unfair.</p> - -<p>No attempt has been made in the following pages to give elaborate -critiques or a connected history of art. The aim has been simply -to show what woman has done, with the general conditions favorable -or unfavorable to her efforts, and to give such impressions of the -character of each prominent artist as may be derived from a faithful -record of her personal experiences. More may be learned by a view -of the early struggles and trials, the persevering industry and the -well-earned triumphs of the gifted, than by the most erudite or -fine-spun disquisition. Should the perusal of my book inspire with -courage and resolution any woman who aspires to overcome difficulties -in the achievement of honorable independence, or should it lead to -a higher general respect for the powers of women and their destined -position in the realm of Art, my object will be accomplished.</p> - -<p class="right"> -E. F. E.<br> -</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r5"> -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -THE EARLY AGES. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Women in Art.—Kind of Painting most practiced by them.—Feminine - Employments in early Ages.—The fair Egyptians.—Women - of Assyria and Babylon.—Grecian Women.—Sculpture and Painting - in Greece.—The Daughter of Dibutades.—The Lover’s Profile.—The - first Bas-relief.—Timarata.—Helena.—Anaxandra.—Kallo.—Cirene.—Calypso.—Other - Pupils of Grecian Art.—The Roman - Women.—The Paintress Laya.—Lala.—Influence of Christianity - on Art.—Adornment rejected by the early Christians.—Art degraded - for Centuries.—Female Influence among the Nations that - rose on the Ruins of Rome.—Wise and clever Princesses.—Anna - Comnena.—The first Poetess of Germany.—The first Editress of a - Cyclopædia.—The Art of Illuminating.—Nuns employed in copying - and painting Manuscripts.—Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinburg.—Princesses - at work.—Convent Sisters copying and embellishing religious - Works.—The Nuns’ Printing-press.—The first Sculptress, - Sabina von Steinbach.—Her Works in the Cathedral of Strasburg.—Elements - that pervade the Sculpture of the Middle Ages.—Painting - of the Archbishop crowning Sabina. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_21">Page 21</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Commencement of the History of modern Art.—Causes of the Barrenness - of this Century in female Artists.—The Decline of Chivalry - unfavorable to their mental Development.—Passing away of the - Ideal and Supernatural Element in Art.—New Feeling for Nature.—New - Life and Action in Painting.—Portrayal of Feelings - of the Heart.—Release of Painting from her Trammels.—Severer - Studies necessary for Artists.—Woman excluded from the Pursuit.—Patronage - sought.—One female Artist representing each - prominent School.—Margaretta von Eyck.—Her Miniatures.—Extensive - Fame.—Her Decoration of Manuscripts.—Work in Aid of - her Brothers.—“The gifted Minerva.”—Single Blessedness.—Another<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></p> - Margaretta.—Copies and illuminates MSS. in the Carthusian - Convent.—Eight folio Volumes filled.—Caterina Vigri.—Her - Miniature Paintings.—Founds a Convent.—“The Saint of - Bologna.”—Miraculous Painting.—The warrior Maiden Onorata.—Decorates - the Palace at Cremona.—Insult offered her.—She - kills the Insulter.—Flight in male Attire.—Soldier Life.—Delivers - Castelleone.—The mortal Wound. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_32">32</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - This Century rich in great Painters.—Not poor in female Artists.—Memorable - Period both in Poetry and Painting.—Fruits of the Labor - of preceding Century now discernible.—Female Disciples in all - the Schools of Italian Art.—Superiority of the Bolognese School.—Properzia - Rossi.—Her Beauty and finished Education.—Carving - on Peach-stones.—Her Sculptures.—The famous Bas-relief of Potiphar’s - Wife.—Properzia’s unhappy Love.—Slander and Persecution.—Her - Works and Fame.—Visit of the Pope.—Properzia’s - Death.—Traditional Story.—Isabella Mazzoni a Sculptor.—A female - Fresco Painter.—Sister Plautilla.—Her Works for her Convent - Church.—Other Works.—Women Painters of the Roman School.—Teodora - Danti.—Female Engravers.—Diana Ghisi.—Irene di Spilimberg.—Her - Education in Venice.—Titian’s Portrait of her.—Tasso’s - Sonnet in her Praise.—Poetical Tributes on her Death.—Her - Works and Merits.—Vincenza Armani.—Marietta Tintoretto.—Her - Beauty and musical Accomplishments.—Excursions in Boy’s - Attire with her Father.—Her Portraits.—They become “the Rage.”—Invitation - from the Emperor.—From Philip of Spain.—The Father’s - Refusal.—Her Marriage and Death.—Portrait of her.—Women - Artists of Northern Italy.—Barbara Longhi and others.—The - Nuns of Genoa. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_38">38</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - The six wonderful Sisters.—Sofonisba Anguisciola.—Her early - Sketches.—Painting of three Sisters.—Her Success in Milan.—Invitation - to the Court of Madrid.—Pomp of her Journey and - Reception.—The Diamond.—Paints the Royal Family and the - Flower of the Nobility.—Her Present to Pope Pius.—His Letter.—Her - Style.—Lucia’s Picture.—Sofonisba Governess to the Infanta. - Marriage to the Lord of Sicily.—His Death at Palermo.—The - Widow’s Voyage.—The gallant Captain.—Second Love and Marriage.—Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span> - Residence at Genoa.—Royal Visitors.—Loss of Sight.—Vandyck - her Guest.—Her Influence on Art in Genoa.—Her - Portrait and Works.—Sofonisba Gentilesca.—Her Miniatures of - the Spanish Royal Family.—Caterina Cantoni.—Ludovica Pellegrini.—Angela - Criscuolo.—Cecilia Brusasorci.—Caterina dei Pazzi.—Her - Style shows the Infusion of a new Element of religious - Enthusiasm into Art.—Tradition of her painting with eyes closed.—Her - Canonization.—Women in France at this period.—Isabella - Quatrepomme.—Women in Spain.—A female Doctor of Theology.—Change - wrought by Protestantism in the Condition of Woman.—Its - Influence on Art.—An English Paintress.—Lavinia Benic.—Catherine - Schwartz in Germany.—Eva von Iberg in Switzerland.—Women - Painters in the Netherlands.—Female Talent in - Antwerp.—Albert Durer’s Mention of Susannah Gerard.—Catherine - Hämsen.—Anna Seghers.—Clara de Keyzer.—Liewina - Bennings’ and Susannah Hurembout’s Visits to England.—The - Engraver Barbara.—The Dutch Engraver.—Constantia, the Flower - Painter. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_48">48</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - New Ground presented for Progress.—Greater Diversity of Style.—Naturalism.—The - Caracci instrumental in giving to Painting the - Impetus of Reform.—Their Academy.—One opened by a Milanese - Lady.—The learned Poetess and her hundredth Birthday.—Female - Painters and Engravers.—Lavinia Fontana.—The hasty Judgment.—Lavinia - a Pupil of Caracci.—Character of her Pictures.—Honors - paid to her.—Courted by Royalty.—Her Beauty and Suitors.—A - romantic Lover.—Lavinia’s Paintings.—Close of the Period - of the Christian Ideal in Art.—Lavinia’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Chef-d’Œuvre</i>.—Her - Children.—Professional Honors.—Her Death.—Female Disciples of - the Caracci School.—Pupils of Domenichino, Lanfranco, and Guido - Reni.—The churlish Guercino a Despiser of Women.—The Cardinal’s - Niece and Heiress.—Her great Paintings.—Founds a Cloister.—Artemisia - Gentileschi, a Pupil of Guido.—Her Portraits.—Visit - to England.—Favor with Charles I.—Luxurious Abode in Naples.—Her - Correspondence.—Judgment of her Pictures.—Elisabetta Sirani.—Her - artistic Character.—Her household Life.—Industry and - Modesty.—Her Virtues and Graces.—Envious Artists.—Defeat of - Calumny.—Her mysterious Fate.—Conjectures respecting it.—Funeral - Obsequies.—Her principal Works.—Her Influence on female - Artists.—Her Pupils.—Other Women Artists of Bologna. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_59">59</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - School of the Academicians after Caravaggio.—Unidealized Nature.—Rude - and violent Passions delineated.—Dark and stormy Side of - Humanity.—Dark Coloring and Shadows.—The gloomy and passionate - expressed in Pictures appeared in the Lives of Artists.—The - Dagger and Poison-cup common.—Aniella di Rosa.—The Pupil of - Stanzioni.—Character of her Painting.—Romantic Love and Marriage.—The - happy Home destroyed.—The hearth-stone Serpent.—Jealousy.—The - pretended Proof.—Phrensy and Murder.—Other - fair Neapolitans.—The Paintress of Messina.—The Schools of Bologna - and Naples embrace the most prominent Italian Paintings.—Commencement - of Crayon-drawing.—Tuscan Ladies of Rank cultivating - Art.—The Rosalba of the Florentine School.—Art in the - City of the Cæsars.—The Roman Flower-painter.—Engravers.—Medallion-cutters.—A - female Architect.—A Roman Sculptress.—Women - Artists of the Venetian School.—At Pavia.—The Painter’s - four Daughters.—Chiara Varotari.—Shares her Brother’s Labors.—A - skillful Nurse.—Her Pupils.—Other female Artists of - this time.—The Schools of Northern Italy.—Their Paintresses.—Giovanna - Fratellini. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_74">74</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Contrast between the Academicians and Naturalists, and between the - French and Spanish Schools of Painting.—Peculiarities of each.—Ladies - of Rank in Madrid Pupils of Velasquez.—Instruction of - the royal Children in Art.—The Engraver of Madrid.—Every City - in the South of Spain boasts a female Artist.—Isabella Coello.—Others - in Granada.—In Cordova.—The Sculptress of Seville.—Luisa - Roldan; her Carvings in Wood.—The Canons “sold.”—Invitation - to Madrid.—Sculptress to the King.—Other Women - Artists in Spain.—In France Woman’s Position more prominent - than in preceding Age.—Corruption of court Manners.—Unworthy - Women in Power.—Women in every Department of Literature.—Mademoiselle - de Scudery.—Madame de la Fayette.—Madame - Dacier.—Women in theological Pursuits.—Their Ascendency - in Art not so great.—Miniature and Flower Painters.—Engravers.—Elizabeth - Sophie Chéron.—A Leader in Enamel-painting.—Her - Portraits and History-pieces.—Her Merits and - Success.—Her Translations of the Psalms.—Musical and Poetical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> - Talents.—Honors lavished on her.—Love and Marriage at three-score.—Her - Generosity to the needy.—Verses in her Praise.—Historical - Tableaux.—Madelaine Masson.—The Marchioness de - Pompadour. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_85">85</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Two different Systems of Painting in the North.—The Flemish School - represented by Rubens.—The Dutch by Rembrandt.—Characteristics - of Rubens’ Style.—No female Disciples.—Unsuited to feminine - Study.—Some Women Artists of the first Part of the Century.—Features - of the Dutch School.—A wide Field for female - Energy and Industry.—Painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>.—Its Peculiarities.—State - of Things favorable to female Enterprise.—Early Efforts in - Genre-painting.—Few Women among Rembrandt’s immediate - Disciples.—Genre-painting becomes adapted to female Talent.—“The - Dutch Muses.”—Another Woman Architect.—Dutch Women - Painters and Engravers.—Maria Schalken and others.—“The - second Schurmann.”—Margaretta Godewyck.—The Painter-poet.—Anna - Maria Schurmann.—Wonderful Genius for Languages.—Early - Acquirements.—Her Scholarship and Position among the - learned.—A Painter, Sculptor, and Engraver.—Called “the Wonder - of Creation.”—Royal and princely Visitors.—Journey to Germany.—Embraces - the religious Tenets of Labadie.—His Doctrines.—Joins - his Band.—Collects his Followers, and leads them into - Friesland.—Poverty and Death.—Visit of William Penn to her.—Her - Portrait.—Her female Contemporaries in Art.—Flower-painting - in the Netherlands.—Its Pioneers.—Maria Van Oosterwyck.—Her - Birth and Education.—Early Productions.—Celebrated - at foreign Courts.—Presents from imperial Friends.—Enormous - Prices for her Pictures.—Royal Purchasers.—The quiet Artist - at work.—The Lover’s Visit.—The Lover’s Trial and Failure.—Style - of her Painting.—Rachel Ruysch.—The greatest Flower-painter.—Early - Instruction.—Spread of her Fame.—Domestic - Cares.—Professional Honors.—Invitations to Courts.—Her Patron, - the Elector.—Her Works in old Age.—Her Character.—Rarity - of her Paintings.—Personal Appearance. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_94">94</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Unfavorable Circumstances for Painting in Germany.—Effects of the - Thirty Years’ War.—The national Love of Art shown by the Signs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> - of Life manifested.—Influence of the Reformation.—Inferiority of - German Art in this Century.—Ladies of Rank in Literature.—A - female Astronomer.—The Fame of Schurmann awakens Emulation.—Distinguished - Women.—Commencement of poetic Orders.--Zesen, the Patron of the Sex.—Women who cultivated Art.—Paintresses - of Nuremberg.—Barbara Helena Lange.—Flower-painters - and Engravers.—Modeling in Wax.—Women Artists in - Augsburg.—In Munich.—In Hamburg.—The Princess Hollandina.—Her - Paintings.—Maria Sibylla Merian.—Early Fondness for - Insects.—Maternal Opposition.—Her Marriage.—Publication of - her first Work.—Joins the Labadists.—Returns to the Butterflies.—Curiosity - to see American Insects.—Voyage to Surinam.—Story - of the Lantern-flies.—Return to Holland.—Her Works published.—Republication - in Paris afterward.—Her Daughters.—Her - personal Appearance.—The Danish Women Artists.—Anna - Crabbe.—King’s Daughters.—The Taste in Art in Denmark and - England governed by that of foreign Nations.—Female Artists in - England.—The Poetesses most prominent.—Miniaturists.—Portrait-painters.—Etchers.—Lady - Connoisseurs.—The Dwarf’s - Daughter.—Anna Carlisle.—Mary Beale.—Pupil of Sir Peter - Lely.—Character of her Works.—Rumor of Lely’s Attachment to - her.—Poems in her Praise.—Mr. Beale’s Note-books.—Anne Killegrew.—Her - Portraits of the Royal Family.—History and still-life - Pieces.—Her Portrait by Lely.—Her Character.—Dryden’s Ode - to her Memory.—Her Poems published.—Mademoiselle Rosée.—The - Artist in Silk.—Wonderful Effects.—Her Works Curiosities.—The - Artist of the Scissors.—Her singular imitative Powers.—A - Copyist of old Paintings.—Her Cuttings.—Views of all kinds done - with the Scissors.—Royal and imperial Visitors.—Her Trophy for - the Emperor Leopold.—Poems in her Praise.—The Swiss Paintress - Anna Wasser.—Her Education and Works.—Commissions from - Courts.—Her Father’s Avarice.—Sojourn at a Court.—Return - home.—Fatal Accident.—Her literary Accomplishments. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_110">110</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - General Expansion and Extension of Art-culture.—More Scope given - to the Tendencies originated in preceding Age.—Reminiscences of - past Glories of Art active during the first half of the Century.—The - Flemish and Italian Schools in vogue.—Eclecticism.—Influences - of the French School mingled with those of the great Masters.—The - Rococo Style.—The Aggregate of Woman’s Labor greater<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> - than ever before.—Not accompanied by greater Depth.—Less - Individuality discernible.—The greatest artistic Activity among - Women in Germany.—In France next.—In Italy next.—In other - Countries less.—Rapid Growth of Art in Berlin.—In Dresden.—Scholarship - and literary Position of Women during the first half - of the Century.—Poets and their Inspirations.—Princesses the Patrons - of Letters.—Nothing new or striking in Art.—A Revolution - in the latter half of the Century.—Instruction in Art a Branch of - Education.—Dilettanti of high Rank.—Female Pupils of Painters - of Note.—Mengs and Carstens.—Carstens the Founder of modern - German Art.—His Style not adapted to female Talent.—A lovely - Form standing between him and Mengs.—A female Stamp-cutter.—An - Artist in Wax-work.—In Stucco-work.—In cutting precious - Stones.—Barbara Preisler.—Other female Artists.—Fashionable - Taste in Painting.—Marianna Hayd.—Miniaturists.—Anna Maria - Mengs.—Her Works.—Miniature and Pastel-painting.—Flowers - and Landscapes a Passion.—Imitators of Rachel Ruysch and Madame - Merian.—Celebrities in Flower-painting.—Copper-engraving. Lady - Artists of high Rank.—Other Devotees to Art. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_132">132</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Angelica Kauffman.—Parentage and Birth.—Beautiful Scenery of - her native Land.—Early Impulse to Painting.—Adopts the Style - of Mengs.—Her Residence in Como.—Instruction.—Music or - Painting?—Beauty of Nature around her.—Angelica’s Letter - about Como.—Escape from Cupid.—Removal to Milan.—Introduction - to great Works of Art.—Studies of the Lombard Masters.—The - Duke of Modena her Patron.—Portrait of the Duchess of - Carrara.—Success.—Return to Schwarzenberg.—Painting in Fresco.—Homely - Life of the Artist.—Milan and Florence.—Rome.—Acquaintance - with Winkelmann.—Angelica paints his Portrait.—Goes - to Naples.—Studies in Rome.—In Venice.—Acquaintance - with noble English Families.—In London.—A brilliant Career.—Fuseli’s - Attachment to her.—Appointed Professor in the Academy - of Arts.—Romantic Incident of her Travel in Switzerland.—The - weary Travelers.—The libertine Lord.—The Maiden’s Indignation.—Unexpected - Meeting in the aristocratic Circles of London.—The - Lord’s Suit renewed.—Rejected with Scorn.—His Rank - and Title spurned.—Revenge.—The Impostor in Society.—Angelica - deceived into Marriage.—She informs the Queen.—Her Father’s - Suspicions.—Discovery of the Cheat.—The Wife’s Despair.—The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> - false Marriage annulled.—The Queen’s Sympathy.—Stories - of Angelica’s Coquetry.—Marriage with Zucchi.—Return to - Italy.—Her Father’s Death.—Residence in Rome.—Circle of literary - Celebrities.—Angelica’s Works.—Criticisms.—Opinions of - Mengs and Fuseli.—The Portraits in the Pitti Gallery.—Death of - Zucchi.—Invasion of Italy.—Angelica’s Melancholy.—Journey - and Return.—Her Death and Funeral. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_144">144</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Female Artists in the Scandinavian Countries.—In Sweden.—Ulrica - Pasch.—Danish Women Artists.—A richer Harvest in the Netherlands.—The - Belgian Sculptress.—Maria Verelst.—Her Paintings - and Attainments in the Languages.—Residence in London.—Curious - Anecdote.—Walpole’s Remark.—Women Artists in Holland.—Poetry.—Henrietta - Wolters.—Her Portraits.—Invitation - from Peter the Great.—Dutch Paintresses.—The young Engraver.—Caroline - Scheffer.—Landscape and Flower Painters.—A Follower - of Rachel Ruysch.—An Engraver.—In England.—Painting - suited to Women.—Literary Ladies.—Effect of the Introduction - of a new Manner in Art.—Numerous Dilettanti.—Female Sculptors.—Mrs. - Samon.—Mrs. Siddons and others.—Mrs. Damer.—Aristocratic - Birth.—Early love of Study and Art.—Horace Walpole - her Adviser.—Conversation with Hume.—First Attempt at - Modeling.—The Marble Bust and Hume’s Criticism.—Surprise - of the gay World.—Miss Conway’s Lessons and Works.—Unfortunate - Marriage.—Widowhood.—Politics.—Walpole’s Opinion of - Mrs. Damer’s Sculptures.—Darwin’s Lines.—Sculptures.—Envy - and Detraction.—Going abroad.—Escape from Danger.—Noble - Ambition.—Return to England.—Politics and Kissing.—Private - Theatricals.—The three Heroes.—Friendship with the Empress.—Walpole’s - Bequest.—Parlor Theatricals, etc.—Removal.—Project - for improving India.—Mrs. Damer’s Works.—Opinions of - her. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_164">164</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Mary Moser.—Nollekens’ House.—Skill in Flower-painting.—The - Fashions.—Queen Charlotte.—Patience Wright.—Birth in New - Jersey.—Quaker Parents.—Childish Taste for Modeling.—Marriage.—Widowhood.—Wax-modeling.—Rivals - Madame Tussaud.—Residence - in England.—Sympathy with America in Rebellion.—Correspondence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> - with Franklin.—Intelligence conveyed.—Freedom - of Speech to Majesty.—Franklin’s Postscript.—“The - Promethean Modeler.”—Letter to Jefferson.—Patriotism.—Art - the Fashion.—Aristocratic lady Artists.—Princesses Painting.—Lady - Beauclerk.—Walpole’s “Beauclerk Closet.”—Designs and - Portrait.—Lady Lucan.—Her Illustrations of Shakspeare.—Walpole’s - Criticism.—Other Works.—Mary Benwell and others.—Anna - Smyters and others.—Madame Prestel.—Mrs. Grace.—Mrs. - Wright.—Flower-painters.—Catherine Read and others.—Maria - Cosway.—Peril in Infancy.—Lessons.—Resolution to take the - Veil.—Visit to London.—Marriage.—Cosway’s Painting.—Vanity - and Extravagance.—The beautiful Italian Paintress.—Cosway’s - Prudence and Management.—Brilliant evening Receptions.—Aristocratic - Friends.—The Epigram on the Gate.—Splendid new - House and Furniture.—Failing Health.—France and Italy.—Institution - at Lodi.—Singular Occurrence.—Death of Cosway.—Return - to Lodi.—Maria’s Style and Works. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_181">181</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Close of the golden Age of Art in France.—Corruption of Manners.—Influence - of female Genius.—Reign of Louis XVI.—Female - Energy in the Revolution.—Charlotte Corday.—Greater Number - of female Artists in Germany.—Reasons why.—French Women - devoted to Engraving.—Stamp-cutters.—A Sculptress enamored.—A - few Paintresses.—The Number increasing.—Influence of the - great French Masters.—Sèvres-painting.—Genre-painting.—Disciples - of Greuze.—Portrait-painting in vogue.—Caroline Sattler.—Flower-painters, - etc.—Engravers.—Two eminent Paintresses.—Adelaide - Vincent.—Marriage.—Portraits and other Works.—The - Revolution.—Elizabeth Le Brun.—Talent for Painting.—Her Father’s - Delight.—Instruction.—Friendship with Vernet.—Poverty - and Labor.—Avaricious Step-father.—Her Earnings squandered.—Success - and Temptation.—Acquaintance with Le Brun.—Maternal - Counsels to Marriage.—Secret Marriage.—Warnings too - late.—The Mask falls.—Luxury for the Husband, Labor and Privation - for the Wife.—Success and Scandal.—French Society.—Friendship - with Marie Antoinette.—La Harpe’s Poem.—Evening - Receptions.—Splendid Entertainments.—Scarcity of Seats.—Petits - Soupers.—The Grecian Banquet.—Reports concerning it.—Departure - from France.—Triumphal Progress.—Reception in Bologna.—In - Rome.—In Naples.—In Florence.—Madame Le Brun’s Portrait.—Goethe’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> - Remarks.—New Honors.—Reception at Vienna.—An - old Friend in Berlin.—Residence in Russia.—Return to - France.—Loyalty.—Her Pictures.—Death of her Husband and - Daughter.—Advanced Age.—Autobiography.—An emblematic - Life. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_199">199</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Women Artists in Spain.—Their Participation a Test of general - Interest.—Female Representatives of the most important Schools.—That - of Seville.—Of Madrid.—The Paintress of Don Quixote.—Ladies - of Rank Members of the Academy.—Maria Tibaldi.—Two - female Artists besides two Poetesses in Portugal.—The Harvest - greater in Italy.—Few attained to Eminence.—Learned Ladies.—Female - Doctors and Professors.—Degrees in Jurisprudence - and Philosophy conferred on them.—Examples.—The Scholar - nine Years old.—A lady Professor of Mathematics.—Women Lecturers.—Comparison - with English Ladies.—Brilliant Devotees of - the Lyre.—Female Talent in the important Schools of Art.—Women - Artists in Florence.—Engravers and Paintresses.—In - Naples.—Kitchen-pieces.—In the Cities of northern Italy.—In Bologna.—Princesses.—In - Venice.—Rosalba Carriera.—Her childish - Work.—Her Genius perceived.—Instruction.—Takes to Pastel-painting.—Merits - of her Works.—Celebrity.—Invitations to - Paris and Vienna.—Visit from the King of Denmark.—Invited - by the Emperor and the King of France.—Portrait for the Grand - Duke of Tuscany.—The King of Poland her Patron.—Unspoiled - by Honors.—Her moral Worth.—Residence in Paris.—Her Pictures.—The - Lady disguised as a Maid-servant.—Want of Beauty.—Anecdote - of the Emperor.—Rosalba’s Journal.—Visit to Vienna.—Presentiment - of Calamity.—The Portrait wreathed with - gloomy Leaves.—Blindness.—Loss of Reason.—Death and Burial.—Her - Portrait.—Other Venetian Women. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_221">221</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - More vigorous Growth of the Branches selected for female Enterprise.—Progress - accelerated toward the Close of last Century.—Still - more remarkable within the last fifty Years.—Great Number of - Women active in Art.—Better intellectual Cultivation and growing - Taste.—Increased Freedom of Woman.—Present Prospect fair.—Growing - Sense of the Importance of Female Education.—Women<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> - earning an Independence.—The Stream shallows as it widens.—Few - Instances of pre-eminent Ability.—Fuller Scope of the Influence - of the French Masters in the nineteenth Century.—David, - the Republican Painter.—His female Pupils.—Angélique Mongez.—Madame - Davin and others.—Disciples of Greuze.—Female - Scholars of Regnault.—Pupils of the Disciples of David.—Pupils - of Fleury and Cogniet.—Madame Chaudet.—Kinds of Painting in - Vogue.—The Princess Marie d’Orleans.—Her Statue of the Maid - of Orleans.—Her last Work.—Promise of Greatness.—Sculpture - by Madame de Lamartine.—“Paris is France.”—Painting on - Porcelain.—Madame Jacotot and others.—Condition of Art in - Germany.—Carstens.—Women Artists.—Maria Ellenrieder.—Louise - Seidler.—Baroness von Freiberg.—Madame von Schroeter.—Female - Artists of the Düsseldorf School.—The greatest Number - in Berlin.—Rich Bloom of Female Talent in Vienna and Dresden.—Changes - in Italy.—Prospect not fair in Spain and Scandinavia.—In - England, Sculpture and Painting successfully cultivated.—Fanny - Corbeaux.—Superior in Biblical Scholarship.—The Netherlands - in this Century.—Encouragement for Women to persevere.—Dr. - Guhl’s Opinion.—History the Teacher of the Present. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_233">233</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - Felicie de Fauveau.—Parentage.—Her Mother a Legitimist.—The - Daughter’s Inheritance of Loyalty.—Removals.—Felicie’s Studies.—Learns - to Model.—Resolves to be a Sculptor.—Labor becoming - to a Gentlewoman.—Her first Works.—Early Triumphs.—Social - Circle in Paris.—Evening Employments.—Revival of a peculiar - Taste.—Mediæval Fashions.—The bronze Lamp.—Equestrian - Sketch.—Effect of the Revolution of 1830.—The two Felicies leave - Paris.—A rural Conspiracy.—A domiciliary Visit.—Escape of the - Ladies.—Discovery and Capture.—The Stratagem at the Inn.—Escape - of Madame in Disguise.—Imprisonment of Mademoiselle.—Works - in Prison.—Return to Paris.—Politics again.—Felicie - banished.—Breaks up her Studio.—Poverty and Privation.—Residence - in Florence.—Brighter Days.—Character of Felicie.—Personal - Appearance.—Her Dwelling and Studio.—Her Works.—The - casting of a bronze Statue.—Industry and Retirement.—“A - good Woman and a great Artist.”—<span class="smcap">Rosa Bonheur.</span>—Her Birth in - Bordeaux.—Her Father.—Rosa a Dunce in Childhood.—Her Parrot.—Rambles.—The - Spanish Poet.—Removal to Paris.—Revolution - and Misfortune.—Death of Madame Bonheur.—The Children<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> - at School.—Rosa detests Books and loves Roaming.—Remarriage - of Bonheur.—Rosa a Seamstress.—Hates the Occupation.—Prefers - turning the Lathe.—Her Unhappiness.—Placed at a Boarding-school.—Her - Pranks and Caricatures.—Abhorrence of Study.—Mortification - at her Want of fine Clothes.—Resolves to achieve a - Name and a Place in the World.—Discontent and Gloom.—Return - home.—Left to herself.—Works in the Studio.—Her Vocation - apparent.—Studies at the Louvre.—Her Ardor and Application.—The - Englishman’s Prophecy.—Rosa vowed to Art.—Devoted - to the Study of Animals.—Excursions in the Country in - search of Models.—Visits the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Abattoirs</i>.—Study of various Types.—Visits - the Museums and Stables.—Resorts to the horse and cattle - Fairs in male Attire.—Curious Adventures.—Anatomical Studies.—Advantages - of her Excursions.—Her Father her only Teacher.—The - Family of Artists.—Rosa’s pet Birds and Sheep.—Her - first Appearance.—Rising Reputation.—Takes the gold Medal.—Proclaimed - the new Laureat.—Death of her Father.—Rosa Directress - of the School of Design.—Her Sister a Professor.—“The - Horse-market.”—Rosa’s Paintings.—Bestows her Fortune on others.—Her - Farm.—Drawings presented to Charities.—Demand for her - Paintings.—Her Right to the Cross of the Legion of Honor.—The - Emperor’s Refusal to grant it to a Woman.—Description of her - Residence and her Studio.—Rosa found asleep.—Her personal - Appearance.—Dress.—Her Character.—Her Industry.—Mademoiselle - Micas.—Mountain Rambles.—Rosa’s Visit to Scotland.—Her - Life in the Mountains.—At the Spanish Posada.—Threatened - Starvation.—Cooking Frogs.—The Muleteers.—Rosa’s Scotch - Terrier.—Her Resolution never to marry. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_246">246</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - The Practice of Art in America.—Number of women Artists increasing.—Prospect - flattering.—Imperfection of Sketches of living - Artists.—Rosalba Torrens.—Miss Murray.—Mrs. Lupton.—Miss - Denning.—Miss O’Hara.—Mrs. Darley.—Mrs. Goodrich.—Miss - Foley.—Miss Mackintosh and others.—Mrs. Ball Hughes.—Mrs. - Chapin.—Sketch of Mrs. Duncan.—The Peale Family.—Anecdote - of General Washington.—Mrs. Washington’s Punctuality.—Miss - Peale an Artist in Philadelphia.—Paints Miniatures.—Copies - Pictures from great Artists.—She and her Sister honorary Members - of the Academy.—Her prosperous Career.—Paints with her - Sister in Baltimore and Washington.—Marriage and Widowhood.—Return<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> - to Philadelphia.—Second Marriage.—Happy Home.—Mrs. - Yeates.—Miss Sarah M. Peale.—Success.—Removal to St. - Louis.—Miss Rosalba Peale.—Miss Ann Leslie.—Early Taste in - Painting.—Visits to London.—Copies Pictures.—Miss Sarah Cole.—Mrs. - Wilson.—Intense Love of Art.—Her Sculptures.—Her - impromptu Modeling of Emerson’s Head.—Mrs. Cornelius Dubois.—Her - Taste for the Sculptor’s Art.—Groups by her.—Studies in - Italy.—Her Cameos.—Her Kindness to Artists.—Miss Anne Hall.—Early - Love of Painting.—Lessons.—Copies old Paintings in - Miniature.—Her original Pictures.—Her Merits of the highest Order.—Groups - in Miniature.—Dunlap’s Praise.—Her Productions - numerous.—Mary S. Legaré.—Her Ancestry.—Mrs. Legaré.—Early - Fondness for Art shown by the Daughter.—Her Studies.—Little - Beauty in the Scenery familiar to her.—Colonel Cogdell’s - Sympathy with her.—Success in Copying.—Visit to the Blue Ridge.—Grand - Views.—Paintings of mountain Scenery.—Removal to - Iowa.—“Legaré College.”—Her Erudition and Energy.—Her Marriage.—Herminie - Dassel.—Reverse of Fortune.—Painting for a - Living.—Visit to Vienna and Italy.—Removal to America.—Success - and Marriage.—Her social Virtues and Charity.—Miss Jane - Stuart.—Mrs. Hildreth.—Mrs. Davis.—Mrs. Badger’s Book of Flowers.—Mrs. - Hawthorne.—Mrs. Hill.—Mrs. Greatorex.—Mrs. Woodman.—Miss - Gove.—Miss May.—Miss Granbury.—Miss Oakley. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_285">285</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">Mrs. Lily Spencer.</span>—Early Display of Talent.—Removal to New - York.—To Ohio.—Out-door Life.—Chase of a Deer.—Encounter - with the Hog.—Lifting a Log.—Sketch on her bedroom Walls.—Encouragement.—Curiosity - to see her Pictures.—Her Studies.—Removal - to Cincinnati.—Jealousy of Artists.—Lord Morpeth.—Lily’s - Marriage.—Return to New York.—Studies.—Her Paintings.—Kitchen - Scenes.—Success and Fame.—Her Home and - Studio.—Louisa Lander.—Inheritance of Talent.—Passion for - Art.—Development of Taste for Sculpture.—Abode in Rome.—Crawford’s - Pupil.—Her Productions.—“Virginia Dare.”—Other - Sculptures.—Late Works.—Mary Weston.—Childish Love of - Beauty and Art.—Devices to supply the Want of Facilities.—Studies.—Departure - from Home.—Is taken back.—Perseverance amid - Difficulties.—Journey to New York.—Sees an Artist work.—Finds - Friends.—Visit to Hartford.—Return to New York for Lessons.—Marriage.—Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> - Paintings.—Miss Freeman.—Variously gifted.—Miss - Dupré.—The Misses Withers.—Mrs. Cheves.—Mrs. Hanna. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_317">317</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a> -</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="tdc"> - THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. -</td></tr> -<tr><td> - <span class="smcap">Emma Stebbins.</span>—Favorable Circumstances of her early Life to the - Study of Art.—Specimens of her Skill shown in private Circles.—Receives - Instruction from Henry Inman.—Correctness of her Portraits.—“A - Book of Prayer.”—Revives Taste for Illuminations.—Her - crayon Portraits.—Copies of Paintings.—Cultivates many - Branches of Art.—Becomes a Sculptor.—Abode in Rome.—Instruction - received from Gibson and Akers.—Late Work from her - Chisel.—“The Miner.”—<span class="smcap">Harriet Hosmer.</span>—Dwelling of the - Sculptor Gibson in Rome.—His Studio and Work-room.—“La - Signorina.”—The American Sculptress.—Her Childhood.—Physical - Training.—School-life.—Anecdotes.—Studies at Home.—At - St. Louis.—Her Independence.—Trip on the Mississippi.—“Hesper.”—Departure - for Rome.—Mr. Gibson’s Decision.—Extract - from Miss Hosmer’s Letter.—Original Designs.—Reverse of Fortune.—Alarm.—Resolution.—Industry, - Economy, and Success.—Late - Works.—Visit of the Prince of Wales. -</td><td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_346">346</a> -</td></tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="xbig center">WOMEN ARTISTS.</p> -<hr class="r5"> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br><span class="small">THE EARLY AGES.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Women in Art.—Kind of Painting most practiced by them.—Feminine -Employments in early Ages.—The fair Egyptians.—Women of -Assyria and Babylon.—Grecian Women.—Sculpture and Painting in -Greece.—The Daughter of Dibutades.—The Lover’s Profile.—The first -Bas-relief.—Timarata.—Helena.—Anaxandra.—Kallo.—Cirene.—Calypso.—Other -Pupils of Grecian Art.—The Roman Women.—The Paintress -Laya.—Lala.—Influence of Christianity on Art.—Adornment rejected by -the early Christians.—Art degraded for Centuries.—Female Influence -among the Nations that rose on the Ruins of Rome.—Wise and clever -Princesses.—Anna Comnena.—The first Poetess of Germany.—The -first Editress of a Cyclopædia.—The Art of Illuminating.—Nuns -employed in copying and painting Manuscripts.—Agnes, Abbess of -Quedlinburg.—Princesses at work.—Convent Sisters copying and -embellishing religious Works.—The Nuns’ Printing-press.—The first -Sculptress, Sabina von Steinbach.—Her Works in the Cathedral of -Strasburg.—Elements that pervade the Sculpture of the Middle -Ages.—Painting of the Archbishop crowning Sabina.</p> -</div> - - -<p>“Men have not grudged to women,” says a modern writer, “the wreaths -of literary fame. No history of literature shows a period when their -influence was not apparent, when honors were not rendered to them;” and -the social condition of woman has been generally allowed to measure -the degree of intellectual culture in a nation. Although in the realm -of art her success is more questionable, she may yet claim the credit -of having materially aided its progress. Woman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> is the type of the -ornamental part of our life, and lends to existence the charm which -inspires the artist, and furnishes him with an object for effort. Her -native unconscious grace and beauty present the models which it is his -highest merit to copy faithfully.</p> - -<p>A New England divine says, “Woman, like man, wants to make her thought -a thing.” “All that belongs to the purely natural,” observes Hippel, -“lies within her sphere.” The kind of painting, thus, in which the -<em>object</em> is prominent has been most practiced by female artists. -Portraits, landscapes, flowers, and pictures of animals are in favor -among them. Historical or allegorical subjects they have comparatively -neglected; and, perhaps, a sufficient reason for this has been that -they could not command the years of study necessary for the attainment -of eminence in these. More have been engaged in engraving on copper -than in any other branch of art, and many have been miniature painters.</p> - -<p>Such occupations might be pursued in the strict seclusion of home, -to which custom and public sentiment consigned the fair student. Nor -were they inharmonious with the ties of friendship and love to which -her tender nature clung. In most instances women have been led to -the cultivation of art through the choice of parents or brothers. -While nothing has been more common than to see young men embracing -the profession against the wishes of their families and in the face -of difficulties, the example of a woman thus deciding for herself is -extremely rare.</p> - -<p>We know little of the practice of the arts by women in ancient times. -The degraded condition of the sex in Eastern countries rendered woman -the mere slave and toy of her master; but this very circumstance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> gave -her artistic ideas capable of development into independent action. -These first showed themselves in the love of dress and the selection of -ornaments. From the early ages of the world, too, spinning and weaving -were feminine employments, in which undying germs of art were hidden; -for it belongs to human nature never to be satisfied with what merely -ministers to necessity. The ancient sepulchres and buried palaces -disclosed by modern discovery display the love of adornment prevailing -among the nations of antiquity. Women rendered assistance in works upon -wood and metal, as well as, more frequently, in the productions of the -loom. The fair Egyptians covered their webs with the most delicate -patterns; and the draperies of the dead and the ornamented hangings in -their dwellings attested the skill of the women of Assyria and Babylon.</p> - -<p>The shawls and carpets of Eastern manufacture, and other articles of -luxury that furnished the palaces of European monarchs, were often the -work of delicate hands, though no tradition has preserved the names of -those who excelled in such labors.</p> - -<p>Among the ancient Greeks the position of woman, though still secluded -and slavish, gave her a nobler life. The presiding deities of the -gentle arts were represented to popular apprehension in female form, -and, doubtless, the gracious influence the sex has in all ages -exercised was then in some measure recognized. Poetry had her fair -votaries, and names are still remembered that deserve to live with -Sappho. Schools of philosophy were presided over by the gifted and -cultivated among women.</p> - -<p>Sculpture and architecture, the arts carried to greatest perfection, -were then far in advance of painting;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> at least, we know of no relics -that can support the pretensions of the Greeks to superiority in the -latter. “What is left,” says a writer in the “Westminster Review,” -“of Apelles and Zeuxis? The few relics of ancient painting which have -survived the lapse of ages and the hand of the spoiler all date from -the time of the Roman Empire; and neither the frescoes discovered -beneath the baths of Titus, the decorations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, -nor even the two or three cabinet pictures found beneath the buried -city, can be admitted as fair specimens of Grecian painting in its -zenith.”</p> - - -<h3>THE DAUGHTER OF DIBUTADES.</h3> - -<p>But, though few Grecian women handled the pencil or the chisel, and -women were systematically held in a degree of ignorance, we find here, -on the threshold of the history of art, a woman’s name—that of Kora, -or, as she has been called, Callirhoe, the daughter of a potter named -Dibutades, a native of Corinth, said to have resided at Sicyonia about -the middle of the seventh century before Christ. Pliny tells us she -assisted her father in modeling clay. The results of his labor were -arranged on shelves before his house, which the purchasers usually -left vacant before evening. It was the office of his daughter, says -a fanciful chronicler, to fill the more elaborate vases with choice -flowers, which the young men came early to look at, hoping to catch a -glimpse of the graceful artist maiden.</p> - -<p>As she went draped in her veil to the market-place, she often met a -youth, who afterward became an assistant to her father in his work. -He was skilled in much learning unknown to the secluded girl, and in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> -playing on the reed; and the daily life of father, daughter, and lover -presented an illustration of Grecian life and beauty. The youth was -constrained at length to depart, but ere he went the vows of betrothal -were exchanged between him and Kora.</p> - -<p>Their eve of parting was a sad one. As they sat together by the -lamplight the maiden suddenly rose, and, taking up a piece of pointed -charcoal from the brasier, and bidding the young man remain still, -she traced on the wall the outline of his fine Grecian profile, as a -memorial when he should be far away. Dibutades saw the sketch she had -made, and recognized the likeness. Carefully he filled the outline with -clay, and a complete medallion was formed. It was the first portrait -in relief! Thus a new art was born into the world, the development of -which brought fortune and fame to the inventor! The story is, at least, -as probable as that of Saurias discovering the rules of sketching and -contour from the shadow of his horse. It was neither the first nor the -last time that Love became a teacher. Might not the fable of Memnon -thus find its realization?</p> - -<p>It is related that Dibutades, who had followed up his medallions with -busts, became so celebrated, that many Grecian states claimed the -honor of his birth; and that his daughter’s lover, who came back to -espouse her, modeled whole figures in Corinth. A school for modeling -was instituted about this time in Sicyonia, of which Dibutades was the -founder.</p> - -<p>At a later period we hear of Timarata, the daughter of a painter, and -herself possessed of considerable skill, as Pliny testifies, he having -seen one of her pictures at Ephesus, representing the goddess Diana.</p> - -<p>Several names of female artists have come down<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> from the time of -Alexander the Great and his luxurious successors. Art began to have -a richer and more various development, and women were more free to -follow their inclinations in its pursuit. One belonging to this age -was Helena, who is said to have painted, for one of the Ptolomies, -the scene of a battle in which Alexander vanquished Darius; a picture -thought, with some probability, to have been the original of a famous -mosaic found in Pompeii.</p> - -<p>Anaxandra, the daughter and pupil of a Greek painter, appears to have -labored under the same royal patronage, as well as another female -artist named Kallo, one of whose pictures, presented in the Temple of -Venus, was celebrated by the praise of a classic poetess; the fair -painter being declared as beautiful as her own work. Among these pupils -of Grecian art we hear also of Cirene, the daughter of Kratinos, whose -painting of Proserpina was preserved; of Aristarite, the author of a -picture of Esculapius; of Calypso, known as a painter <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>. -Her portraits of Theodorus, the juggler, and a dancer named Acisthenes, -were celebrated, and she is said to have executed one that has been -transferred from the ruins of Pompeii to Naples, and is now called “A -Mother superintending her Daughter’s Toilet.” The name of Olympias is -remembered, though we have no mention of her works. Beyond these few -names, we know nothing of the female artists of Greece.</p> - - -<h3>THE ROMAN PAINTRESS.</h3> - -<p>Among the Romans we find but one female painter, and she was of Greek -origin and education. The life of the Roman matrons was not confined to -a narrower sphere, and the influence conceded to them might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> have been -eminently favorable to their cultivation of art. But, with the nation -of soldiers who ruled the world, the elegant arts were not at home as -in their Hellenic birth-place. They flourished not so grandly in the -palmiest days of Rome, as in the decay of the Empire. The heroic women -celebrated in the history of the Republic, and in Roman literature, -had no rivals in the domain of sculpture and painting. The one whose -name has descended to modern times is Laya. She exercised her skill -in Rome about a hundred years before Christ. The little knowledge we -have of her paintings is very interesting, inasmuch as she was the -pioneer in a branch afterward cultivated by many of her sex—miniature -painting. Her portraits of women were much admired, and she excelled in -miniatures on ivory. A large picture in Naples is said to be one of her -productions. She surpassed all others in the rapidity of her execution, -and her works were so highly valued that her name was ranked with the -most renowned painters of the time, such as Sopolis, Dionysius, etc. -Pliny, who bears this testimony, adds that her life was devoted to her -art, and that she was never married. Some others mention a Greek girl, -<i>Lala</i>, as contemporary with Cleopatra, who was celebrated for her -busts in ivory. The Romans caused a statue to be erected to her honor.</p> - - -<h3>INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY.</h3> - -<p>Painting was destined to higher improvements under the mild sway -of the Christian religion than in the severer school of classical -antiquity. Woman gradually rose above the condition of slavery, and -began to preside over the elements that formed the poetry of life. But -changes involving the lapse of centuries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> were necessary, before Art -could be divested of her Athenian garment, and put on the pure bridal -attire suited to her nuptials with devotion. After the destruction of -the Roman Empire, there is a long interval during which we hear of -no achievement beyond the Byzantine relics, and the mosaics of the -convents and cemeteries.</p> - -<p>Even the beauty of early art, associated as it was with the forms of -a pagan mythology, was detested by the votaries of a pure and holy -faith. The early Christians rejected adornment, which they regarded as -inconsistent with their simple tenets, and as an abomination in the -sight of God. Thus, for seven hundred years art was degraded, and only -by degrees did she lift herself from the dust.</p> - -<p>In the mean while female influence grew apace among the nations that -rose upon the ruins of Rome. Amalasuntha, the daughter of Theodoric the -Great, was worthy of her sire in wisdom and knowledge of statesmanship, -while she is said to have surpassed him in general cultivation, and -to have rendered him essential service in his building enterprises. -Theudelinda, Queen of the Longobards, adorned her palace at Monza -with paintings celebrating the history of her people; and, from the -time of Charlemagne, each century boasted several women of political -and literary celebrity. There was the famous nun Hroswitha, who, in -her convent at Gandersheim, composed an ode in praise of Otho, and -a religious drama after the manner of Terence; there was the Greek -princess Anna Comnena, the ornament of the Byzantine court; there -was the first poetess of Germany, Ava; with Hildegardis, Abbess of -Bingen; Heloise, the beloved of Abelard; the Abbess of Hohenburg, who -undertook<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> the bold enterprise of a cyclopædia of general knowledge; -and a host of others.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Later, Angela de Foligno was celebrated as a teacher of -theology. Christina Pisani wrote a work, “La Cité des Dames,” which was -published in Paris in 1498. It gives account of the learned and famous -Novella, the daughter of a professor of the law in the University of -Bologna. She devoted herself to the same studies, and was distinguished -for her scholarship. She conducted her father’s cases, and, having as -much beauty as learning, was wont to appear in court veiled.</p> - -</div> - - -<h3>ILLUMINATIONS.</h3> - -<p>Noble women became patrons of art, particularly that branch cultivated -with most success in the decline of the rest—miniature painting upon -parchment. From being merely ornamental this became a necessity in -manuscript books of devotion, and the brilliant coloring and delicate -finish of the illuminations were often owing to the touch of feminine -hands. The inmates of convents and monasteries employed much time in -painting and ornamenting books, in copying the best works of ancient -art, and in painting on glass; the nuns especially making a business -of copying and illuminating manuscripts. Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinberg, -was celebrated as a miniature painter in the twelfth century, and some -of her works have survived the desolation of ages. “The cultivators -of this charming art were divided into two classes—miniaturists, -properly so called; and miniature caligraphists. It was the province -of the first to color the histories and arabesques, and to lay on the -gold and silver ornaments. The second wrote the book, and the initial -letters so frequently traced in red, blue, and gold: these were called -‘Pulchri Scriptores,’ or fair writers. Painting of this description was -peculiarly a religious occupation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> It was well suited for the peaceful -and secluded life of the convent or the monastery. It required none of -the intimate acquaintance with the passions of the human heart, with -the busy scenes of life, so essential to other and higher forms of art.”</p> - -<p>The labors of nuns in ornamental work in the Middle Ages were not -confined to illuminating and miniature painting; but it is not our -province to enumerate the products of their industry, nor to chronicle -the benefits they conferred on the sick and poor. The fairest -princesses did not disdain to work altar-pieces, and to embroider -garments for their friends and lovers.</p> - -<p>In the commencement of the fourteenth century a female painter, named -Laodicia, lived in Pavia, and Vasari mentions the Dominican nun, -Plautilla Nelli. “In 1476, Fra Domenico da Pistoya and Fra Pietro da -Pisa, the spiritual directors of a Dominican convent, established a -printing-press within its walls; the nuns served as compositors, and -many works of considerable value issued from this press between 1476 -and 1484, when, Bartolomeo da Pistoya dying, the nuns ceased their -labors.”</p> - - -<h3>THE FIRST SCULPTRESS.</h3> - -<p>Germany had the honor of producing the first female sculptor of whom -any thing is known—Sabina von Steinbach, the daughter of Erwin von -Steinbach, who in that wonderful work, the cathedral of Strasburg, has -reared so glorious a monument to his memory.</p> - -<p>The task of ornamenting this noble building was in great part intrusted -to the young girl, whose genius had already exhibited itself in -modeling. Her sculptured<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> groups, and especially those on the portal -of the southern aisle, are of remarkable beauty, and have been admired -by visitors during the lapse of ages. Here are allegorical figures -representing the Christian Church and Judaism; the first of lofty -bearing and winning grace, with crowned heads, bearing the cross in -their right hands, and in their left the consecrated host. The other -figures stand with eyes downcast and drooping head; in the right -hand a broken arrow, in the left the shattered tablets of the Mosaic -Law. Besides many other groups are four bas-reliefs representing the -glorification of the Virgin; her death and burial on one side, and on -the other her entrance into heaven and triumphant coronation.</p> - -<p>It may well be said that in these works are embodied the ideal and -supernatural elements that pervade the sculpture of the Middle Ages; -and it seemed most appropriate that the taste and skill of woman should -develop in such elements the purity and depth of feeling which impart a -charm to these sculptures acknowledged by every beholder.</p> - -<p>On one of the scrolls, held by the Apostle John, the following lines -are inscribed in Latin:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“The grace of God be with thee, O Sabina,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose hands from this hard stone have formed my image.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>An old painting at Strasburg represents this youthful sculptress -kneeling at the feet of the archbishop, to receive his blessing and -a wreath of laurel, which he is placing on her brow. This painting -attests the popular belief in a tradition that Sabina, after seeing her -statues deposited in their niches, was met by a procession of priests -who came, with the prelate at their head, for the purpose of conferring -this honor upon her.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br><span class="small">THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Commencement of the History of modern Art.—Causes of the Barrenness -of this Century in female Artists.—The Decline of Chivalry -unfavorable to their mental Development.—Passing away of the Ideal -and Supernatural Element in Art.—New Feeling for Nature.—New Life -and Action in Painting.—Portrayal of Feelings of the Heart.—Release -of Painting from her Trammels.—Severer Studies necessary for -Artists.—Woman excluded from the Pursuit.—Patronage sought.—One -female Artist representing each prominent School.—Margaretta -von Eyck.—Her Miniatures.—Extensive Fame.—Her Decoration -of Manuscripts.—Work in Aid of her Brothers.—“The gifted -Minerva.”—Single Blessedness.—Another Margaretta.—Copies and -illuminates MSS. in the Carthusian Convent.—Eight folio Volumes -filled.—Caterina Vigri.—Her Miniature Paintings.—Founds a -Convent.—“The Saint of Bologna.”—Miraculous Painting.—The warrior -Maiden Onorata.—Decorates the Palace at Cremona.—Insult offered -her.—She kills the Insulter.—Flight in male Attire.—Soldier -Life.—Delivers Castelleone.—The mortal Wound.</p> -</div> - - -<p>The fifteenth century, with which the history of modern art may be -properly commenced, is barren in female artists. This is, doubtless, -owing in part to a change in the social condition of woman, consequent -on the decline of chivalry, that “poetical lie,” as Rahel terms it. -During the two centuries preceding this period, the fair sex had been -regarded with a kind of adoration. Beauty was the minstrel’s theme and -the soldier’s inspiration, and the courts of love, by giving power to -the intellectual among women, stimulated them to the cultivation of -their minds as well as the adornment of their persons. The descent from -their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> poetic elevation was unfavorable to mental development; and it -was not till the opening of the sixteenth century that there appeared -symptoms of recovery from the reaction.</p> - -<p>Moreover, art in the fifteenth century had assumed a character unsuited -to the peculiar gifts of woman. It had parted with the ideal and -supernatural element which formed at once the charm and the weakness -of the Middle Ages, and which, as in the case of Sabina von Steinbach, -had fostered and developed female talent. A new feeling for nature -was born; a new world of life and action was waiting to be added to -the domain of art; while severe study and restless energy were in -requisition for more extended conquests. More correct exhibitions of -human individuality, action, and passion began to take the place of -forms that had before been merely conventional or architectural; and -the portrayal of feeling, in which the human heart could sympathize, -superseded the calm religious creations of an earlier age. Painting -finally threw off the rigid trammels she had worn.</p> - -<p>The difficulties in the way of elaborating these new conceptions, and -the studies of anatomy necessary for the attainment of excellence -in delineating the form, excluded women in a great measure from the -pursuit. Gervinus remarks that women are fond of realizing new ideas; -but they are those, for the most part, which are readily brought into -use in common life, and which require no persevering study to reduce -them to practice. Even the triumphs of literary talent in that toilsome -age owed much to the patronage of the great. We find many ladies of -high rank seeking the muses’ favor by the royal road to eminence.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the paucity of women artists, we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> discover at least one -representing each prominent school of painting—Flemish, Italian, and -German.</p> - - -<h3>MARGARETTA VON EYCK.</h3> - -<p>First among these, Margaretta von Eyck deserves mention. She was the -sister of Hubert and John von Eyck, who were distinguished not only for -enlarged apprehensions of art, but for the discovery and introduction -of oil-painting.</p> - -<p>While these men were, by their works, preparing the way for an -important revolution in the method of painting, Margaretta occupied -herself chiefly in painting miniatures. She worked under the patronage -of the magnificent and liberal court of Burgundy, and her fame extended -even to the countries of the romantic south. It is an interesting -sight, this modest woman-work beside the more important enterprises -of the gifted brothers, making itself appreciated so as to furnish an -example for all time. Sometimes the sister worked with the brother -in the decoration of costly manuscripts. One of the finest monuments -of their united skill was the breviary—now in the imperial library -at Paris—of that Duke of Bedford who, in 1423, married the sister -of Philip the Good. Margaretta’s miniatures were preserved also in -manuscript romances of the period. One of the earliest historians of -Flemish art, Carl von Mander, calls her a “gifted Minerva,” and informs -us that she spurned the acquaintance of “Hymen and Lucina,” and lived -out her days in single blessedness.</p> - - -<h3>ANOTHER MARGARETTA.</h3> - -<p>As in Margaretta von Eyck the grand efforts of Flemish art found -expression modified by a feminine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> nature, so had those of the school -in Nuremberg through the labors of another Margaretta—a nun from 1459 -to 1470 in the Carthusian Convent, where she copied and illuminated -religious works. Eight folio volumes were filled by her indefatigable -hands with Gothic letters and pictures in miniature, presenting a -curious specimen of the blending of the art of the scribe with that of -the painter, so common in the Middle Ages.</p> - - -<h3>CATERINA VIGRI.</h3> - -<p>A third female artist of this period belonged to Italy. Caterina -Vigri, a pupil of the Bolognese school, combined with a high degree -of talent a quiet gentleness and dignified manner that gained her -general esteem. She was born of a noble family in Ferrara in 1413, -and exercised her skill chiefly in miniature painting, though several -large works are recognized as hers. One of St. Ursula, infolding in her -robe her kneeling companions, is exhibited among other fair martyrs -in the Pinacothek of Bologna, and, with the pure, calm expression, -peculiar to the productions of a preceding age, combines a delicacy, -grace, correctness of drawing, and freedom with firmness of touch, -not often found at that time. One of her pictures is preserved in the -Sala Palladiana of the Venetian Academy. Educated in the most exalted -mysticism, she was the founder of the convent of “Corpo di Cristo,” -which is yet in existence, and shelters the grave of Caterina as -well as many of her works. She poured into these all her religious -enthusiasm. Her master was Maestro Vitale. She died in the odor of -sanctity, and was spoken of as “the Saint of Bologna.” In 1712 the -Catholic Church inscribed her name in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> second category of saints, -with the title of “Beata,” in virtue of which she is honored to this -day as the patron saint of the fine arts. Tradition relates a story of -one of her paintings on wood—an infant Jesus—having the power to heal -diseases in those who touched the lips of the picture.</p> - - -<h3>THE WARRIOR MAIDEN.</h3> - -<p>Beside this saintly personage stands one who joined the prowess of -the soldier to the genius of the painter. Onorata Rodiana was born at -Castelleone in Cremona, in the early part of the fifteenth century, -and, while yet young, obtained so high a reputation as a painter, that -the Marquis Gabrino Fondolo, the tyrant of Cremona, appointed her to -the task of decorating his palace.</p> - -<p>The maiden, in the prime of her youth and beauty, was engaged in -this work when an accidental occurrence changed the whole course of -her life. A courtier of libertine character, who chanced to see her -occupied in painting the walls of a room in the palace, entered, and -dared to offer an insulting freedom. The young artist repulsed him; -but, unable to escape his violence without a desperate struggle, the -spirited girl at length drew a dagger and stabbed him to the heart. She -then rushed from the palace, disguised herself in man’s clothes, and -quitted the city, declaring that she would rather die in obscure exile -than accept a luxurious home as the price of dishonor.</p> - -<p>The Marquis Gabrino was at first furious at her escape, and commanded -a hot pursuit by his soldiers; but soon afterward relenting, he -proclaimed her full pardon, and summoned her to return and complete her -labors, which no one else could finish. Onorata,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> however, had, in the -mean while, learned the warrior’s business in Oldrado Lampugnano’s band -of Condottieri, and her spirit and courage soon elevated her to a post -of command. She loved the soldier’s life, and continued in it, painting -the while, for thirty years.</p> - -<p>When her native town, Castelleone, was besieged by the Venetians, she -hastened with her company to its relief. Victory crowned her in the -contest, but she fell mortally wounded. She died in 1472, perhaps the -only example the world’s history affords of a woman who wielded at the -same time the pencil and the sword.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br><span class="small">THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>This Century rich in great Painters.—Not poor in female -Artists.—Memorable Period both in Poetry and Painting.—Fruits -of the Labor of preceding Century now discernible.—Female -Disciples in all the Schools of Italian Art.—Superiority of the -Bolognese School.—Properzia Rossi.—Her Beauty and finished -Education.—Carving on Peach-stones.—Her Sculptures.—The famous -Bas-relief of Potiphar’s Wife.—Properzia’s unhappy Love.—Slander and -Persecution.—Her Works and Fame.—Visit of the Pope.—Properzia’s -Death.—Traditional Story.—Isabella Mazzoni a Sculptor.—A female -Fresco Painter.—Sister Plautilla.—Her Works for her Convent -Church.—Other Works.—Women Painters of the Roman School.—Teodora -Danti.—Female Engravers.—Diana Ghisi.—Irene di Spilimberg.—Her -Education in Venice.—Titian’s Portrait of her.—Tasso’s Sonnet -in her Praise.—Poetical Tributes on her Death.—Her Works and -Merits.—Vincenza Armani.—Marietta Tintoretto.—Her Beauty and -musical Accomplishments.—Excursions in Boy’s Attire with her -Father.—Her Portraits.—They become “the Rage.”—Invitation from -the Emperor.—From Philip of Spain.—The Father’s Refusal.—Her -Marriage and Death.—Portrait of her.—Women Artists of Northern -Italy.—Barbara Longhi and others.—The Nuns of Genoa.</p> -</div> - - -<p>The sixteenth century, rich beyond precedent in great men, was not -poor in female artists whose works are worthy of notice. Both in -poetry and painting the period was memorable and glorious. The labors -of the preceding age had promoted civilization and education in moral -and mental acquirements, the fruits of which were discernible even -in Germany, while in Italy the harvest was most abundant. The period -produced Victoria Colonna, Veronica Gambara, Gaspara Stampa, and other -women of literary eminence; while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> the works in art of Michael Angelo, -Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, etc., became monuments for the -admiration of succeeding generations. Dr. Guhl aptly remarks, “The -fifteenth century was the time of work; the sixteenth the season of -harvest.”</p> - -<p>None of the numerous schools of Italian art were without female -disciples. The Bolognese rose above all others, and at this period gave -laws to art. Here we find</p> - - -<h3>PROPERZIA, THE SCULPTRESS.</h3> - -<p>The first woman who gained reputation as a sculptor in Italy was -Properzia di Rossi. She was born in Bologna in 1490, and possessed -not only remarkable beauty of person, with all the graces a finished -education could graft upon a refined nature, but various feminine -accomplishments, excelling particularly, Vasari tells us, in her -orderly disposal of household matters. She sang and played on several -instruments “better than any woman of her day in Bologna,” while in -many scientific studies she gained a distinction “well calculated,” -says the Italian historian, “to awaken the envy not of women only, -but also of men.” This maiden of rich gifts was endowed with a -peculiar facility in realizing the creations of fancy, and took at -first a strange way of doing so. She undertook the minute carving of -peach-stones, and succeeded so well as to render credible what had -been recorded of two sculptors of antiquity. Mirmecide is said to -have carved a chariot drawn by four horses, with the charioteer, so -small that a fly with his wings spread covered the whole. Callicrate -sculptured ants with the minutest exactness. Properzia carved on a -peach-stone the crucifixion of our Saviour; a work comprising<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> a number -of figures—executioners, disciples, women, and soldiers—wonderful -for the delicate execution of the minutest figures, and the admirable -distribution of all. A series of her intaglios is in the possession of -Count Grassi of Bologna. In a double-headed eagle, in silver filagree -(the Grassi coat of arms), are imbedded eleven peach-stones, and on -each is carved, on one side, one of the eleven apostles, each with an -article of the creed underneath; on the other, eleven holy virgins with -the name of the saint on each, and a motto explanatory of her special -virtue. In the cabinet of gems in the gallery of Florence is preserved -a cherry-stone on which is carved a chorus of saints in which seventy -heads may be counted.</p> - -<p>It was not long before Properzia began to think, with those who -witnessed her success, that it was a pity to throw away so much labor -on a nut! At that time the façade of San Petronio, in Bologna, was -being ornamented with sculpture and bas-relief. The young girl had -studied drawing under Antonio Raimondi, and when the three doors of -the principal façade were to be decorated with marble figures she made -application to the superintendents for a share in the works. She was -required to furnish a specimen of her talent. The young sculptress -executed a bust from life, in the finest marble, of Count Alessandro -de’ Pepoli; this pleased the family and the whole city, and procured -immediate orders from the superintendents.</p> - -<p>The one of her productions which has become most celebrated is a -bas-relief, in white marble, of Potiphar’s wife seeking to detain -Joseph by holding his garment. The perfection of the drawing, the -grace of the action, and the emotion that breathes from the whole -face and form, obtained high praise for this performance. Vasari<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> -calls it “a lovely picture, sculptured with womanly grace, and more -than admirable.” But envy took occasion to make this monument of -Properzia’s genius a reproach to her memory. It was reported that she -was profoundly in love with a young nobleman, Anton Galeazzo Malvasia, -who cared little for her; and that she depicted her own unhappy passion -in the beautiful creation of her chisel. It was probably true that her -life was imbittered by this unreturned love. One of her countrymen -says the proud patrician disdained to own as his wife one who bore a -less ancient name; and that he failed in his attempt to persuade her -to become his on less honorable terms. Professional jealousy aided in -the attempt to depress the pining artist. Amico Albertini, with several -men artists, commenced a crusade against her, and slandered her to the -superintendents with such effect that the wardens refused to pay the -proper price for her labors on the façade. Even her alto-relief was not -allowed to have its appointed place. Properzia had no heart to contend -against this unmanly persecution; she never attempted any other work -for the building, and the grief to which she was abandoned gradually -sapped the springs of life.</p> - -<p>There are two angels in bas-relief, exquisitely sculptured by her, in -the church of San Petronio; and another work by her hand, representing -the Queen of Sheba in the presence of Solomon, is preserved in what -is called “the revered chamber.” Other works of hers have been -pronounced to be in the highest taste. She is said to have furnished -some admirable plans in architecture. In copper-plate engraving she -succeeded to admiration, and many of her pen-and-ink etchings from -Raphael’s works obtained the highest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> praise. “With this poor loving -girl,” Vasari says, “every thing succeeded save her unhappy passion.”</p> - -<p>The fame of her noble genius spread throughout Italy; and Pope Clement -VII., having come to Bologna to officiate at the coronation of the -Emperor Charles V., inquired for the fair sculptress of whom he had -heard such marvelous things. Alas! she had died that very week—on the -14th of February, 1530—and her remains had been buried, according to -her last request, in the Hospital della Morte. She was lamented by -her fellow-citizens, who held her to have been one of the greatest -miracles of nature. But what availed posthumous praises to the victim -of injustice and calumny?</p> - -<p>A story has been told of an interview between Properzia and the Pope; -that, declining his offer to settle her in Rome, she knelt to take -leave, when her veil falling disclosed a face of unearthly beauty, sad -enough to move the pontiff’s sympathy. But it is more probable that she -died before his coming.</p> - - -<h3>SISTER PLAUTILLA AND OTHERS.</h3> - -<p>Isabella Mazzoni was also known at this period as a sculptor. We -hear, too, of Maria Calavrese, who painted in fresco; and Plautilla -Nelli—Suor Plautilla, as she is usually called—deserves more than a -passing mention. Lanzi tells us she was of a noble Florentine family, -and born in 1523. She had no assistance in developing her remarkable -talent but her study of the designs of Fra Bartolomeo, one of the best -masters of the Florentine school. She became a nun of the Dominican -convent of St. Catherine of Sienna in Florence, and having acquired -considerable reputation by her skill in painting, finished for the -church a Descent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> from the Cross, said to be from a design by Andrea -del Sarto; and a picture of her own composition, the Adoration of the -Magi—a work that won great praise. In the first may be noticed the -same purity of contour, the same harmony of light and shade, grace of -drapery, and confident repose that characterize the works of Andrea. -In the choir of the Convent of Santa Lucia, at Pistoja, was her large -picture of the Madonna holding the child, surrounded by saints; and -in the convent at Florence a large painting of the Last Supper. We -do not attempt to enumerate the works credited to her, including her -copies of the best masters, particularly Fra Bartolomeo, whom it was -not easy to imitate, since he was superior to Raphael in color, and -rivaled Vinci in chiaro-oscuro. Some pictures in Berlin, attributed to -her, are marked by his purity and careful execution, with his depth -and earnestness. She was also a miniature painter. She was prioress of -the convent, and lived to the age of sixty-five. One of her successful -pupils was Agatha Traballesi.</p> - -<p>There were no noted women painters of the Roman school, but we may -mention Teodora Danti, who painted several pictures of interiors after -the style of Perugino. The heads of her figures were remarkable for -grace, and she had much ease of action and freshness of coloring, but -there was a certain dryness in the forms and poverty in the drapery.</p> - -<p>The wife of the famous engraver, Mare Antonio Raimondi, also engraved -on copper; and Diana Ghisi copied in her engravings works both of -Raphael and Giulio Romano. Vasari says of her: “She engraves so -admirably, the thing is a perfect miracle. For my own part, who have -seen herself—and a very pleasing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> and graceful maiden she is—as well -as her works, which are most exquisite, I have been utterly astonished -thereby.”</p> - - -<h3>IRENE DI SPILIMBERG.</h3> - -<p>A bright example, and the pride of the Venetian school in her day, was -Irene di Spilimberg, born at Udina in 1540, of a noble and illustrious -family, originally of German origin. She exercised her art at its most -flourishing period. She was educated in Venice, surrounded by all -the luxury of external and intellectual life, and she had Titian for -her master. Her fame, however, rests rather on the testimony of her -contemporaries than on her own works. Titian, ever alive to female -loveliness and artistic merit, has immortalized her by a beautiful -portrait; and Tasso has celebrated her charms in one of his sonnets. -She died in the opening of her blossom of fame, in the flush of youth -and beauty, having scarcely attained the age of nineteen. Her death was -deplored in poems and orations, a collection of which was published in -Venice twenty years after the event, to set forth the splendid promise -which the destroyer had thus untimely nipped.</p> - -<p>Among her works still extant are the Bacchanals in Monte Albedo, and -small pictures from religious subjects said to be in the possession of -the Maniago family. Lanzi remarks: “The drawing is careless, but the -coloring is worthy of the best age of art. We see the reflected rays -of her great master’s glory, the soft yet rapid gradations of tint, -the clear touches, the repeated applications of color, which give a -veiled transparency to the tints; the judicious grouping, the combined -majesty and grace in the figures, which constitute some of the merits -of Titian.” Irene is said to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> have been a woman of the highest mental -culture. Rudolphi includes her among the few women artists he mentions.</p> - -<p>The sixteenth century was not only remarkable for the production of -talent, but for its recognition. Another artist belonging to the -Venetian school was Vincenza Armani, who was accomplished in engraving -and modeling in wax, and was also celebrated as a poet and musician.</p> - - -<h3>MARIETTA TINTORETTO.</h3> - -<p>Marietta Robusti, the daughter and pupil of the great painter -Tintoretto—him who was called “the thunder of art,” and excelled -in the powerful and terrible—was born in 1560. She had a lively -disposition and great enthusiasm; she was very beautiful in person, had -a fine voice, and was an accomplished performer on the lute and other -instruments. It is no wonder that she was the object of her father’s -pride and affections. She accompanied him every where, dressed as a -boy; and he developed her genius for art less by precept than by the -living example of his own labor. His pictures nourished and fertilized -her imagination, and, step by step, she followed him faithfully. -Whether he labored at his models or studied the antique statues, or -casts from Michael Angelo, the coloring of Titian or the nude figure, -she was by his side. She noted his first sketch in the feverish moment -of creation, and watched the progress of its execution. His marvelous -freedom in handling the brush, his strength and precision in drawing -and richness of coloring became hers. She learned his secret of -giving proportion and unity to many figures, and the difficult art of -foreshortening; then, after copying his pictures, she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> could say, “I, -too, am an artist.” She chose the kind of painting suited to her sex. -Historical pieces demanded too much study and application, and it was -wearying to design nude figures in imitation of the antique. Portrait -painting was easier, and promised more immediate results.</p> - -<p>Her first portrait was that of Marco dei Vescovi. It was greatly -admired, particularly the beard, and some ventured to say she had -equaled her father. Ere long she became famous, and it was all the rage -among the Venetian aristocracy to be painted by Marietta. Her father -was in raptures at her astonishing progress and success.</p> - -<p>Jacopo Strada, antiquarian to the Emperor Maximilian, had his portrait -taken by her, and gave it as a curiosity to his imperial master. This, -and one she painted of herself, gained her a great reputation. The -emperor placed them in his chamber, and invited her to be the artist -of his court. The same proposition was made to her by Philip II. of -Spain and the Archduke Ferdinand. She was a dutiful daughter and -obeyed the wishes of Tintoretto, who refused to part with her, even -that she might grace a court. To secure her against the acceptance of -such alluring offers, he bestowed her hand on Mario Augusti, a wealthy -German jeweler, on the condition that she should remain under the -paternal roof. She completed several original designs and painted many -portraits. Her exquisite taste, her soft and gentle touch, and her -skill in coloring were remarkable, both in works of her own invention -and those due to her father’s genius.</p> - -<p>Tintoretto was not destined long to rejoice in the progress of his -lovely daughter. In the flower of her age, in 1590, she departed this -life, leaving her husband<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> and father mourners for the rest of their -days. She was buried in the church of Santa Maria dell’ Orto. Another -artist made a picture of Tintoretto transferring to the canvas the -features of his child, still beautiful in death. Several of her works -are in Venice. One, at the Palais Royale, represents a man in black, -sitting, his hand on an open book lying on a table, where is also an -escritoir with papers, a watch, and crucifix.</p> - -<p>Decampes has published an engraving of Marietta’s portrait. The -expression is very soft and meek; a braid of hair encircles the top of -her head, and a rouleau is put back from the forehead. A handkerchief -is crossed on the bosom, and around her neck is a string of large beads.</p> - -<p>Some fair artists of the schools of northern Italy deserve mention. -Vasari speaks of Barbara, daughter of the painter Lucas Longhi, of -Ravenna, as possessing great talent. In Genoa, Tommasa Fiesca was known -as a painter and engraver, as well as a writer of mystical tracts. She -and her sister Helen were Dominican nuns, and died in 1534.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br><span class="small">THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The six wonderful Sisters.—Sofonisba Anguisciola.—Her -early Sketches.—Painting of three Sisters.—Her Success in -Milan.—Invitation to the Court of Madrid.—Pomp of her Journey and -Reception.—The Diamond.—Paints the Royal Family and the Flower -of the Nobility.—Her Present to Pope Pius.—His Letter.—Her -Style.—Lucia’s Picture.—Sofonisba Governess to the Infanta. -Marriage to the Lord of Sicily.—His Death at Palermo.—The Widow’s -Voyage.—The gallant Captain.—Second Love and Marriage.—Her -Residence at Genoa.—Royal Visitors.—Loss of Sight.—Vandyck -her Guest.—Her Influence on Art in Genoa.—Her Portrait and -Works.—Sofonisba Gentilesca.—Her Miniatures of the Spanish -Royal Family.—Caterina Cantoni.—Ludovica Pellegrini.—Angela -Criscuolo.—Cecilia Brusasorci.—Caterina dei Pazzi.—Her Style -shows the Infusion of a new Element of religious Enthusiasm -into Art.—Tradition of her painting with eyes closed.—Her -Canonization.—Women in France at this period.—Isabella -Quatrepomme.—Women in Spain.—A female Doctor of Theology.—Change -wrought by Protestantism in the Condition of Woman.—Its Influence -on Art.—An English Paintress.—Lavinia Benic.—Catherine Schwartz -in Germany.—Eva von Iberg in Switzerland.—Women Painters in the -Netherlands.—Female Talent in Antwerp.—Albert Durer’s Mention -of Susannah Gerard.—Catherine Hämsen.—Anna Seghers.—Clara de -Keyzer.—Liewina Bennings’ and Susannah Hurembout’s Visits to -England.—The Engraver Barbara.—The Dutch Engraver.—Constantia, the -Flower Painter.</p> -</div> - - -<p>We come now to the six wonderful sisters Anguisciola: Helena, -Sofonisba, Minerva, Europa, Lucia, and Anna Maria, all gifted in music -and painting. Vasari describes his visit “to the house of Amilcare -Anguisciola, the happy father of an honorable and distinguished family; -the very home of painting, as well as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> of all other accomplishments.” -In Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, we read:</p> - -<p class="poetry" lang="it" xml:lang="it"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Le Donne son venute in eccellenza</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Di ciascun’ arte, ov’ hanno posto cura.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>The best known of these amiable and distinguished sisters was the -second; though Lucia, who died young, acquired celebrity, and produced -beautiful and valuable works.</p> - - -<h3>SOFONISBA ANGUISCIOLA</h3> - -<p class="p0">was born in Cremona, some time between 1530 and 1540, being descended -from a family of high rank. At ten years of age she knew how to draw, -and she soon became the best pupil of Bernadino Campi, an excellent -Cremonese painter. One of her early sketches, representing a boy with -his hand caught in a lobster’s claw, and a little girl laughing at his -plight, was in the possession of Vasari, and esteemed by him worthy -of a place in a volume which he had filled with drawings by the most -famous masters of that great age. Portraits became her favorite study. -Vasari commends a picture he saw at her father’s, representing three -of the sisters and an ancient housekeeper, chess-playing, as a work -“painted with so much skill and care that the figures wanted only -voice to be alive.” He also praises a portrait of herself, which she -presented to Pope Julius III.</p> - -<p>Sofonisba instructed her four younger sisters in painting. While yet in -her girlhood she attracted the notice of princes. She accompanied her -father to Milan, at that time subject to Spanish rule. There she was -received at court with welcome, and painted the portrait of the Duke of -Sessa, the viceroy, who rewarded her with four pieces of brocade, and -other rich<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span> gifts. By 1559 her name had become famous throughout Italy. -The haughty monarch of Spain, Philip II., who aspired to the title -of patron of the fine arts, heard the echo of her renown, and sent -instructions to the Duke of Alba, then at Rome, to invite her to the -Court of Madrid. The invitation was accepted. Sofonisba was conducted -to the Spanish court with regal pomp, having a train of two patrician -ladies as maids of honor, two chamberlains, and six livery servants. -Philip and his queen came out to meet her, and she was sumptuously -entertained in the palace. After a time given to repose, she painted -the king’s portrait, which so pleased him that he rewarded her with a -diamond worth fifteen hundred crowns, and a pension of two hundred. -Her next sitters were the young queen, Elizabeth of Valois—known as -Isabel of the Peace—then in the bloom of her bridal loveliness; and -the unhappy boy Don Carlos, who was taken dressed in a lynx-skin and -other costly raiment. One after another she painted the flower of the -Spanish nobility. Meanwhile she received high honors and profitable -appointments from her royal patrons.</p> - -<p>Her extended fame induced Pope Pius IV. to ask her for a portrait of -the queen. She executed the commission with alacrity; and, having -bestowed her best care on a second portrait of her majesty, she -dispatched it to Rome, with a letter, to be presented to His Holiness. -“If it were possible,” she says, “to represent to your Holiness the -beauty of this queen’s soul, you could behold nothing more wonderful.” -The Pope responded with precious stones and relics set in gems; gifts -worthy of the great abilities of the artist. His letter may interest -the reader:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“We have received the portrait of the most illustrious Queen of Spain, -our dear daughter, which you have sent us, and which has been most -acceptable, as well on account of the person represented, whom we love -paternally for her piety and the many pure qualities of her mind, to -say nothing of other considerations, as because the work has by your -hand been very well and diligently accomplished.</p> - -<p>“We thank you for it, assuring you that we shall hold it among our -most valued possessions, commended through your skill, which, albeit -very wonderful, is nevertheless, as we hear, the very least among the -many gifts with which you are endowed.</p> - -<p>“And with this conclusion, we send you again our benediction. May our -Lord have you in His keeping!</p> - -<p class="center"> -“Dat. Romæ: die 15 Ottobris, 1561.”<br> -</p> -</div> - -<p>Sofonisba’s paintings were noted for boldness and freedom; and in -some pieces her figures almost seemed to breathe. Some are comic; and -this branch of art, in painting as in literature, demands boldness of -conception, spontaneity of movement, and delicacy of touch. One of -these works represents a wrinkled old woman learning the alphabet, and -a little child making fun of her behind her back.</p> - -<p>During her residence in Spain Sofonisba received from Cremona the -portrait of her mother, Bianca, painted by her sister Europa. It was -highly praised by Castilian critics, and the sister prized it as a -faithful likeness of a beloved one whom she might never again behold. -About this time Lucia may have sent her admirable portrait of Pietro -Maria, a Cremonese physician—a grave and elderly personage in a -furred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> robe—which now adorns the queen’s gallery in Madrid, the sole -specimen of the powers of the gifted sisters.</p> - -<p>Sofonisba had for some time been lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Spain: -she was now appointed by Philip, with other ladies, to undertake the -education of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. This proves her to -have been in Spain after 1566, the year in which that princess was -born. Her royal patrons wished her to marry a Spanish nobleman and -take up her permanent abode near their court; but her hand was already -pledged to the feudal lord of Sicily, Don Fabrizio de Monçada, and he -bore her away to his island home. The king and queen gave her a dowry -of twelve thousand crowns and a pension of one thousand; which she had -power to bequeath to her son; besides rich presents in tapestry and -jewels, and a dress loaded with pearls.</p> - -<p>The newly-wedded pair went to Palermo, where after a few years the -husband died. Sofonisba was immediately invited back to the court of -Madrid, but expressed a desire to see Cremona and her kindred before -her return to Spain. She embarked on board a Genoese galley, commanded -by a patrician called Orazio Lomellini. He entertained the fair widow -with gallant courtesy during the voyage, and she appears to have been -not inconsolable for the loss of her husband. She loved the Genoese, -it is said, out of sheer gratitude; although her biographer, Soprani, -does not hesitate to say that she made him an offer of her hand, which -he—“quel generoso signor”—very promptly accepted. The Lomellini -family still preserve her portrait, painted by herself after the manner -of Raphael.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span></p> - -<p>We now find her living at Genoa, where she pursued her art with -indefatigable zeal. Her house became the resort of all the polished -and intellectual society of the republic. Nor was she forgotten by -her royal friends of the house of Austria. On hearing of her second -nuptials, their Catholic majesties added four hundred crowns to her -pension. The Empress of Germany paid her a visit on her way to Spain, -and accepted a little picture, one of the most finished and beautiful -of Sofonisba’s works. She also received the honor of a visit from -her former charge, the Infanta, now married or about to be married -to the Archduke Albert, and joint sovereign with him over Flanders. -This princess spent several hours talking with her friend of old times -and family affairs; and sat for her portrait, for which, when it was -finished, she gave Sofonisba a gold chain enriched with jewels. This -pretty memorial of friendship was greatly prized by the artist. Thus -caressed by royalty, and courted in Genoese society, she lived to an -extreme old age. A medallion was struck at Bologna in honor of her; the -most distinguished artists listened reverentially to her opinions, and -poets sang the praises of</p> - -<p class="poetry" lang="it" xml:lang="it"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“La bella e saggia dipintrice,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">La nobil Sofonisba da Cremona.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>In the latter years of her life Sofonisba was deprived of her sight; -but retained her intellectual faculties, her love of art, and her -relish for the society of its professors. The conferences she held in -her own palace were attended to the last by distinguished painters from -every quarter. Vandyck was frequently her guest, and was accustomed to -say he had received more enlightenment from this blind old woman than -from all his studies of the greatest masters. This was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> no mean praise -from the favorite scholar of Rubens; and who shall say it was not -deserved? By precept and by example she helped to raise art in Genoa -from the decay into which it had fallen in the middle of the sixteenth -century. Her pictures have something of the grace and cheerfulness of -Raphael, in whose style her first master painted, and something of the -relief of the followers of Correggio. “More than any other woman of -her time,” writes Vasari, “with more study and greater grace, she has -labored on every thing connected with drawing; not only has she drawn, -colored, and painted from life, and made excellent copies, but she has -also drawn many beautiful original pictures.”</p> - -<p>One of Sofonisba’s works, seen at Cremona in 1824, was a beautiful -picture of the Virgin giving suck to the Divine infant. In portraits -her skill is said to have been little inferior to Titian. Her charming -portrait of herself is no mean gem among the treasures of the -galleries and libraries at Althorp. She has drawn herself in what the -Germans term a “knee-piece;” rather under life-size. The small and -finely-formed head is well set on a graceful neck; the dark hair is -smoothly and simply dressed; the features are Italian and regular; the -complexion is a clear olive; and the eyes are large, black, and liquid. -The dark, close-fitting dress is relieved by white frills at the throat -and wrists, and two white tassels hanging over the breast. Her delicate -and exquisitely painted hands are seen over the chords of a spinet. -On the right, in deep shadow, stands an old woman, wearing a kerchief -twisted turbanwise around her head, and resembling a St. Elizabeth or -a St. Anne in a religious composition of the Caracci. The whole is -painted in the clear,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> firm manner of the best pencils of Florence. -Sofonisba died in 1620.</p> - -<p>Palomino mentions Sofonisba Gentilesca among the foreign painters of -the reign of Philip II.: “a lady illustrious in the art,” who came -from France to Spain in the train of Isabel of the Peace. She painted -miniatures with great skill, and had for sitters their majesties, the -Infant Don Carlos, and many ladies of the court. She died at Madrid in -1587.</p> - -<p>Another noble lady, Caterina Cantoni, known as an excellent engraver, -was invited into Spain with Sofonisba, to pursue there the calling she -seems to have practiced with success in Italy. Ludovica Pellegrini was -complimented with the title of the “second Minerva” for her excellence -in this branch of art. She also devoted herself to needle-work, and -embroidered sacred furniture, and the great pallium (vestment), -exhibited to strangers as a curious specimen of art and learning. -Boschini mentions “the unrivaled Dorothea Aromatari” as having produced -with her needle those beauties the finest artists executed with the -pencil. Other women were celebrated embroiderers. Naples boasted of -one who surpassed her contemporaries both in painting and music—Maria -Angela Criscuolo. Cecilia Brusasorci, the daughter of the great fresco -painter, became celebrated for her portraits toward the close of this -century.</p> - -<p>Passing over a number of minor names, we may close the review of -this period by a notice of Caterina de’ Pazzi. She was born in 1566, -and retired early to a convent, where she assumed the name of Maria -Maddalena. The energy with which she cultivated art, and the peculiar -character of her works and those of others produced at this time, -show the infusion of a new element<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> of religious enthusiasm into art. -Tradition preserves the story of this nun painting sacred pictures with -her eyes closed. In the cloisters of the Carmelites at Parma, and in -the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at Rome, works of hers may be -found. Dying in 1607, she was canonized by Clement IX. in 1669; and at -this day a picture in one of the richest churches of Florence bears the -name of the saintly artist, whose body reposes in a magnificent chapel -under the same roof.</p> - -<p>No other nation, during the sixteenth century, can compete with Italy -in female artists. In France women enjoyed great influence in public -affairs, and several ladies of the highest rank were distinguished for -their literary productions and accomplishments. Isabella Quatrepomme is -mentioned by Papillon as an excellent engraver on wood. She was born in -Rouen, and flourished about 1521. A frontispiece in an old calendar, -executed in neat style, representing a figure of Janus, is supposed to -be by her, as it is marked with an apple on which there is a figure 4.</p> - -<p>In Spain the flowers of art began to bloom at a later period; although -in the liberal studies women were not behindhand. Isabella Losa, of -Cordova, was appointed a doctor of theology, and there were ladies in -Valencia, who, familiar with the works of Italian masters of art, made -it their study to imitate them.</p> - -<p>In the north the advance of Protestantism wrought a change in -the condition of women, which had its influence on art. Domestic -employments, and the domestic virtues, became more universally the -delight and study of the fair sex. While the light of religious truth -was penetrating their homes with its softened radiance, the growth of -a deep moral feeling was preparing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> the way for farther triumphs in -the imitative arts. England, where flourished many poetesses, had one -female painter—Lewina Tirlinks—during the reign of Elizabeth. Germany -boasted of Catherine Schwartz, the wife, probably, of that Christopher -Schwartz whom his contemporaries called the German Raphael; while in -Switzerland Eva von Iberg transferred to canvas the beauties of her -country’s scenery.</p> - -<p>In the Netherlands, on the other hand, the number of women painters -at this period was large, and many were the diligent successors of -Margaretta von Eyck in her native place. Her brothers, at the head of -the old Flemish school, showed the combination of traditional types -and ancient habits with the results of the struggles of the human mind -for emancipation in this century. Antwerp seems to have been a rich -soil for the production of female talent. Here, in 1521, Albrecht Durer -became acquainted with the fair painter so honorably mentioned in his -journal. “Master Gerard, illuminist,” he says, “has a daughter eighteen -years of age, named Susannah, who illuminated a little book which I -purchased for a few guilders. It is wonderful that a woman can do so -much!” Among noted miniature painters we hear of Catherine Hämsen, who -went into Spain, and entered the service of the Queen of Hungary on a -good salary; also of Anna Seghers; Anna Smyters, and Margaret de Heere. -Clara de Keyzer, or Clara Skeysers, of Ghent, died unmarried at the age -of eighty. She enjoyed a celebrity that extended to Germany, France, -Italy, and Spain, all which countries were visited by her.</p> - -<p>Susannah Hurembout and Liewina Bennings, or Benic, should not be passed -over. The latter, the daughter of “Maestro Simon,” was born in Bruges; -was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> invited to London by Henry VIII., and was treated with great favor -by both queens Mary and Elizabeth. King Henry gave her in marriage to -an English nobleman. It has been thought she is the same person with -Lewina Tirlinks. Susannah also received an invitation from “bluff King -Harry” to visit his court, and lived in England, where she was treated -with great distinction, for the remainder of her life. Both these -women were miniature painters. Barbara Van den Broeck, the daughter -of Crispin, was born in Antwerp, 1560, and engraved from her father’s -designs. She handled the graver with consummate skill. In some pieces, -she imitated successfully the style of Martin Rota.</p> - -<p>In Holland, Magdalen de Passe was known as an engraver in copper, and -Constantia von Utrecht as a flower-painter; one who first acquired -distinction in this delicate and feminine branch of study, and directed -to it the attention of her country-women. In later times the city where -she lived and wrought became the capital of the world in this species -of painting.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br><span class="small">THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>New Ground presented for Progress.—Greater Diversity of -Style.—Naturalism.—The Caracci instrumental in giving to -Painting the Impetus of Reform.—Their Academy.—One opened -by a Milanese Lady.—The learned Poetess and her hundredth -Birthday.—Female Painters and Engravers.—Lavinia Fontana.—The -hasty Judgment.—Lavinia a Pupil of Caracci.—Character of her -Pictures.—Honors paid to her.—Courted by Royalty.—Her Beauty and -Suitors.—A romantic Lover.—Lavinia’s Paintings.—Close of the Period -of the Christian Ideal in Art.—Lavinia’s <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Chef-d’Œuvre</i>.—Her -Children.—Professional Honors.—Her Death.—Female Disciples -of the Caracci School.—Pupils of Domenichino, Lanfranco, and -Guido Reni.—The churlish Guercino a Despiser of Women.—The -Cardinal’s Niece and Heiress.—Her great Paintings.—Founds -a Cloister.—Artemisia Gentileschi, a Pupil of Guido.—Her -Portraits.—Visit to England.—Favor with Charles I.—Luxurious Abode -in Naples.—Her Correspondence.—Judgment of her Pictures.—Elisabetta -Sirani.—Her artistic Character.—Her household Life.—Industry -and Modesty.—Her Virtues and Graces.—Envious Artists.—Defeat of -Calumny.—Her mysterious Fate.—Conjectures respecting it.—Funeral -Obsequies.—Her principal Works.—Her Influence on female -Artists.—Her Pupils.—Other Women Artists of Bologna.</p> -</div> - - -<p>In the seventeenth century the elements of disturbance had in part -subsided, and new ground was presented for the progress of human -intellect. A certain uniformity in art, which was the consequence of a -close academical imitation of the old masters, gave place to a greater -diversity of style, and, in some instances, to a vigorous and somewhat -rude naturalism. The Naturalisti were so called on account of their -predilection for the direct imitation of the common forms and aspects -of nature. Passion was their inspiration, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> their imitation was too -often carried to excess, presenting what might be termed the poetry of -the repulsive.</p> - -<p>A new spirit of inquiry and a feeling of self-reliance had entered -the popular mind that did not fail to influence the progress both of -literature and art. The masters who were most strikingly instrumental -in giving to painting the impetus of reform were Ludovico, Augustin, -and Annibal Caracci. Amid many difficulties they opened an academy in -their native city, Bologna, where art was taught on the principles then -esteemed essential. In its theoretical and practical departments a -goodly number of students were there permitted to profit by the works -of the early masters. The good example was soon followed, and we hear -of a Milanese lady opening her house for an academy.</p> - -<p>Arcangela Palladini excelled in painting, poetry, music, and -embroidery. A piece of her needle-work hung in the ducal gallery at -Pisa, where none but great works were preserved. Beatrice Pappafava, a -paintress, was also a learned lady, and is said to have celebrated her -own hundredth birthday in an original sonnet of much merit. Caterina -Rusca obtained some repute as an engraver on copper; and Augusta -Tarabotti, who studied painting under the direction of Clara Varotari, -was also a poet and the author of “An Apology for the Female Sex,” -which was received with considerable attention. Fede Galizia, the -daughter of a celebrated miniaturist, lived in Milan. In figures and -landscapes she evinced taste, accuracy, and finish. She was devoted to -the ideal, and this tendency appeared in her design and coloring.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p> - - -<h3>LAVINIA FONTANA.</h3> - -<p>One among the female artists who adopted the style of the Caracci and -helped to introduce a change in art was Lavinia Fontana, one of the -most celebrated women of the century. She was the daughter of that -Prospero Fontana who gave lessons in painting to Ludovico Caracci, -and was wont much to disparage him. He once remarked that his scholar -would do better at mixing colors than as a painter! But Caracci had -his revenge in after years, when Fontana was heard to lament that -he was too old to become the pupil of the great artist who had once -been his own despised scholar! The instruction he could not receive -was the privilege of his daughter Lavinia, who was born in Bologna in -1552. She adopted her father’s manner, and gained great celebrity in -portrait painting; but, in later years, became the disciple of Caracci, -after which she succeeded in giving her pictures so much softness, -sweetness, and tenderness, that some of them have even been compared -to those of Guido Reni. To delicacy of touch she united rare skill -in taking likenesses. Her talents met with appreciation and honors -not often accorded to female merit. The first ladies in Rome sought -to become her sitters, and the greatest cardinals deemed themselves -fortunate in having their portraits executed by her skillful hand. Her -portraits were so highly esteemed that they commanded enormous prices, -and were displayed with pride in the galleries of the nobility and -the most cultivated persons in the land. Her services were engaged -by Pope Gregory XIII. as his painter in ordinary; and she worked for -the Buoncompagni family. Other crowned heads sought her society, and -the most wondrous grace of all was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> that these honors did not create -in her vanity or self-conceit. To her accomplishments she added such -personal attractions that her hand was sought by many distinguished -and titled suitors; but she preferred to them all a young man unknown -to fame, Giovanni Paolo Zappi, of Imola. Some authorities speak of him -as a wealthy nobleman. He had painted in her father’s studio for love -of the charming daughter, and had been accustomed to paint the clothes -in her portraits so well that she had made concerning him the not very -flattering observation, that “he was worth more as a tailor than a -painter.” He was rewarded by marrying her, the condition being exacted -that Lavinia should remain free to follow her professional career.</p> - -<p>Besides portraits, she produced several compositions on sacred -subjects; some church pictures now in Bologna, and some on worldly -themes, as the picture of Venus in the Berlin Museum. In her later -works, after her lessons with Caracci, she acquired a softness and -warmth of coloring that remind one of the masters of the Venetian -school. One of her productions—Saint Francis de Paula raising a dead -person—preserved in the Pinacothek of Bologna—has been noticed for -this. Of her pictures besides are the Crucifixion, the Miracle of the -Loaves, and the Annunciation. These were for churches of Bologna.</p> - -<p>Lavinia lived at the close of what was peculiarly the period of -Christian art, and it seems just to place her among the artists who -labored while the Christian ideal, in all its splendor, was yet above -the horizon. On this period Raphael and Michael Angelo had set their -seal, and the Christian ideal was exhausted in the Transfiguration, -and the frescoes of the Sistine chapel; they could not be surpassed. -One of Lavinia’s works—the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> Nativity of the Virgin, at nighttime—is -still exhibited in her native city. The infant Mary is surrounded by -a cloud of angels, and a saint is pointing to two children below. A -figure in magnificent bishop’s robes, on the other side, is in the act -of sprinkling holy water on two beautiful kneeling girls. This picture, -Bolognini asserts, alone justifies the artist’s fame. In the Escurial -at Madrid is a piece by her, representing a Madonna uplifting a veil to -view her sleeping child, who reposes on richly-embroidered cushions; -St. Joseph and St. John stand near. “A picture,” says Mazzolari, “so -vivid, so gay and graceful, and of such glorious coloring, so full -of beauty, that one is never weary of admiring it.” A picture which -has especially contributed to her artistic fame represents the Queen -of Sheba in the presence of Solomon; but it has also an allegorical -reference to the Duke and Duchess of Mantua, and various personages of -their court. Lanzi considers this production worthy of the Venetian -school. Another represents a royal infant, playing on a bed, wrapped -in blankets, and adorned with a splendid necklace. A “Judith, seen by -torch-light,” is in the possession of the Della Casa family. A Virgin -and Child, which she painted for Cardinal Ascoli, and sent to Rome, -has been thought her best production, and brought her so much fame, -that, a large painting being required for a church, the commission was -intrusted to Lavinia, in preference to many first-class artists, who -sought it. She painted a stoning of Stephen, with a number of figures, -and a halo above representing heaven opening. The figures were larger -than life, and the work was not as successful as Lavinia had hoped. -But after she confined herself to portrait painting, she had no reason -to be dissatisfied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> with her success. Her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chef d’œuvre</i> is said -to be her own portrait, taken when she was young and surpassingly -beautiful. It is now in the possession of Count Zappi, at Imola, and -has been engraved by Rossini, for his history of Italian painting. The -portrait is painted in an oval; in the background, ranged on a shelf, -are models in clay of busts, heads, trunks, hands, and feet. The artist -is seated at a table, on which are two casts of Greek statues; she -is in the act of commencing a drawing, and is dressed with elegant -simplicity, her mantle flowing in clear and ample folds. Under the -ruff encircling her neck hangs a pearl necklace, to which is attached -a golden crucifix. She wears a Mary Stuart headdress, and the head -is colored with wonderful delicacy and transparency. The work unites -correctness of drawing with incomparable grace. England possesses three -paintings by Lavinia Fontana.</p> - -<p>This famous artist had three children, and was unhappy in them. Her -only daughter lost the sight of one eye, by running a pin into it; and -one of her boys was half-witted, and served to amuse loungers in the -Pope’s antechamber. Malvasia remarks, “The story ran that he inherited -his simplicity from his father; assuredly it came not from his mother, -who was as full of talent and sagacity as she was good and virtuous.”</p> - -<p>Lavinia was elected a member of the Roman Academy. Her merits were -celebrated by contemporaries; Marini, among other poets, wrote in her -praise; and in such estimation was she held, that, when she passed near -the seat of the Lord of Sora and Vignola, the proud patrician came out -to meet her at the head of his retainers, according to the fashion then -in vogue for the reception of royal personages.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span></p> - -<p>Among the Lettere Pittoriche is a letter dated 1609, signed Lavinia -Fontana Zappi. This proves her to have been living then. One authority -states that she died at Rome, in 1614, aged sixty-two.</p> - -<p>While Lavinia Fontana availed herself of the system of Caracci, -another, who enjoyed in early life the advantage of being Ludovico’s -pupil, emulated his excellences so successfully that she produced a -fine picture, full of figures, from one of his compositions, in 1614, -for the church of the Annunziata, in Bologna. This was Antonia Pinelli. -For skill in drawing and purity of tone she was held in high estimation.</p> - -<p>Numerous were the young women who learned painting in the atelier of -the Caracci; while other masters had their share of fair students. -Domenichino is said to have been the teacher of Flavia Durand, Teresa -del Po, and Artemisia Gentileschi; Lanfranco brought to light the -talent of Caterina Ginnassi; Guido Reni gave instruction to Madalena -Natali, and formed the genius of Elisabetta Sirani, the pride of -the Bolognese school. Albano, however, was an exception, and, with -the churlish Guercino, who despised every thing like female talent, -had no pupils of the fair sex. A sister of one of his pupils, -nevertheless—Flaminia Triva, of Reggio—became a painter much esteemed -by the connoisseurs of her time.</p> - -<p>Of these artists, only the three most distinguished need be noticed -here. Caterina Ginnassi, of noble family and the niece of a cardinal, -was born in Rome, 1590. She was well instructed from early youth in -all feminine employments, useful as well as brilliant. She often said, -afterward, “The needle and distaff are sad enemies to the brush and the -pencil.” Her first master was Clelio, and after his death she threw<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> -herself into the bold and brilliant manner of Lanfranco. She produced -the great paintings that adorned the church founded by her uncle, of -St. Lucia, in Rome. Becoming the inheritor of the cardinal’s large -possessions, she founded, according to his directions, a cloister, with -a seminary attached for students from Romagna; as abbess of which, she -continued to practice her favorite art, dying in 1680, in the enjoyment -of the fame and popularity her industry and piety had deservedly won.</p> - - -<h3>ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI.</h3> - -<p>The life of Artemisia Gentileschi was more in the world and more -brilliant. She was the daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi, was -married to Pier Antonio Schiattesi, and lived long in Naples. Receiving -her earliest lessons from Guido Reni, at a later period she studied -the works of Domenichino, one of the best masters of expression in -the Bolognese school. Her great reputation was acquired by numerous -portraits, and her skill in this species of painting obtained for -her the honor of a call to the English court, whither her father -accompanied her. There the art-appreciating monarch Charles I. gave her -abundant employment. She was esteemed not inferior to her father in -historical pieces. King Charles placed several of her works among his -treasures. “David with Goliath’s head” was considered her best. Some of -the royal family sat to her for their portraits, as did several of the -nobility. A female figure, representing Fame, of great merit, was in -the royal collection. Her own portrait is in Hampton Court, painted in -the powerful and vivid style of Michael Angelo. Wägen says she excelled -her father in portraits.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p> - -<p>Having reaped a rich, reward for her labors in England, she returned to -Naples, where she seems to have established herself in much splendor. -She died in 1642, at the age of fifty-two. Several letters addressed -to the Cavalier del Pozzo were found among her papers. In one, dated -1637, she inquires coolly after her husband. “Sia servita darmi nuova -della vita o morte di mio marito.” Some of her letters contain orders -for gloves; now her request to the Pope was permission for a priestly -friend to bear arms; now she appealed to the Cardinal Barberini, -then, all powerful in Rome, for assistance in disposing of some large -picture, to furnish means to provide for the wedding of a daughter with -suitable magnificence; after the granting of which favor, she would -add, in the Italian fashion, that, “free from this burden,” she would -return contented to her home. A fine specimen of her skill in painting -is a picture of “Judith,” in the Palazzo Pitti, which shows, in its -ground-work, the principles of the school of Bologna; while its finish, -on the other hand, exhibits the startling effects of the Neapolitan -school. Lanzi says, “It is a picture of strong coloring, of a tone and -intensity that inspires awe.” Mrs. Jameson remarks, “This dreadful -picture is a proof of her genius, and, let me add, of its atrocious -misdirection.” But the artist should not be censured for her treatment -of a subject which may not have been her own choice. “Susannah and -the Elders” pleases by the scene and the drapery of the figures. The -“Birth of John the Baptist,” in the Museum of Madrid, painted by this -lady as a family piece, displays the same combination, but has more of -the freedom of nature, and a certain boldness that betokens familiar -acquaintance with life and the best models.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span></p> - - -<h3>ELISABETTA SIRANI.</h3> - -<p>A place among the most gifted and the most illustrious women who, in -any country or in any age, have devoted themselves to the fine arts, -must be accorded to Elisabetta Sirani. She has been pronounced a -complete artist; unrivaled by any of her sex in fertility of invention, -in the power of combining parts in a noble whole, in knowledge of -drawing and foreshortening, and in the minute details that contribute -to the perfection of a painting. Had she lived longer, she would have -equaled any painter of her time.</p> - -<p>She was born in Bologna, about 1640, and was the daughter of a painter -of no inconsiderable merit. She was enrolled among the pupils of Guido -Reni, and her artistic character was formed after the model of this -most gifted and most versatile master of the Bolognese school. She -imbibed from him an exquisite sense of the beautiful, and a peculiar -gift of reproducing it. To this she added a vigor and energy rare in -a woman. She made herself acquainted early with the works of the most -distinguished painters, and manifested so much talent in youth, that -she became the admiration of her acquaintances, particularly as she -excelled also in music; while, to the gift of genius, she added that -of rare personal loveliness. Lanzi speaks of her with enthusiastic -admiration. It is not often that an artist of celebrity so generally -wins the affections of those who know her. This popularity perhaps -added to her renown; or the tragical fate of the blooming girl may -have contributed to invest her name with a halo of romantic glory. -Malvasia, who tells us she was persuaded by her father to adopt the -profession of a painter, calls her “the heroine among artists”—and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> -himself “the trumpeter of her fame.” Another eulogist, in the glowing -style of Picinardi, praises her unwearied industry, her moderation in -eating, and simplicity in dress; and the exquisite modesty with which -she was always ready for household employments. She would rise at dawn -to perform those lowly domestic tasks for which her occupations during -the day left her little leisure, and never permitted her passion for -art to interfere with the fulfillment of homely duties. Thus she was -admirable in the circle of daily life, as in her loftiest aspirations. -She obtained time in this manner for her exercises in poetry and music. -All praised her gracious and cheerful spirit, her prompt judgment, and -deep feeling for the art she loved. Besides being a painter, she was an -adept in sculpture and engraving on copper, thus meriting the praise -lavished on her as “a miracle of art.”</p> - -<p>Her devoted filial affection, her feminine grace, and the artless -benignity of her manners, completed a character regarded by her friends -as an ideal of perfection. Malvasia mentions the rapidity with which -she worked, often throwing off sketches and executing oil pictures -in the presence of strange spectators. The envious artists of her -time took occasion, from the number of her paintings, to insinuate -that her father gave out his own works for his daughter’s to obtain -a higher price for them; but the stupid calumny soon fell to the -ground, for every one had free access to the studio of Elisabetta, and -one day, in the presence of the Duchess of Brunswick, the Duchess of -Mirandola, Cosimo, Duke of Tuscany, and others, she drew and shaded -subjects chosen by each with such promptitude that the incredulous -were confounded.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> She had hardly received the commission of her large -picture—“The Baptism of Jesus”—before she had sketched on the canvas -the entire conception of that memorable incident, including many and -various figures; and the work was completed with equal rapidity. She -was then only twenty years of age.</p> - -<p>Her method has been compared to that of Guido Reni, whose versatility -she combined with rare force and decision, and peculiar delicacy -and tenderness; the most opposite qualities being harmonized in her -productions.</p> - -<p>This fascinating artist, in the height of her fame, in the flush -of early womanhood, was snatched from her friends by a cruel and -mysterious doom. Her fate is involved in a darkness which has not been -penetrated to this day. Some do not hesitate to aver that her sudden -death was a base and cruel murder; that she was poisoned by the same -hands that administered the deadly draught to Domenichino—those of -Ribiera or his disciples, jealous of her rising fame. The general -impression is that she was the victim of professional envy. Some -averred that her death was caused by the revenge of a princely lover, -whose dishonorable advances were repelled, or some great personage -who was incensed at her refusal to engage in his service, or of a -distinguished individual who felt aggrieved by a caricature, and -secretly employed a servant to put poison in her food. Each story was -believed among her contemporaries, and the record of the examination -is yet extant; but it was conducted without regularity, and throws no -light upon the mysterious assassination.</p> - -<p>Great was the excitement on the 14th November, 1665, in Bologna, on the -day of her funeral, when the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> whole population crowded, weeping, to see -the once beautiful features distorted by the hateful poison. The victim -of revenge or jealousy was honored with solemn and splendid funeral -ceremonies in the church of St. Domenico.</p> - -<p>Shortly after her death a work was published, in which was included a -number of poetical eulogies and tributes, from the most eminent poets -of the day, to the memory and virtues of the deceased. One line runs -thus:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“I was a woman, yet I knew not love.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Picinardi adds the information that the pure calm of her soul was -never disturbed by the grand passion. On the other hand, Gualandi -intimates that the highly gifted maiden cherished for a young artist -of her acquaintance an ardent affection, but that her father would not -consent to the marriage. The romantic may please themselves with the -supposition that the seed of genius sown in the nature of this richly -endowed girl was quickened in the glow of an unhappy passion into the -gorgeous bloom that attracted the eye of the world.</p> - -<p>Elisabetta lies at rest in the chapel of the Madonna del Rosario in -the church of St. Domenico, which also incloses the dust of her great -master, Guido Reni. The works enumerated as hers by Malvasia, from -her own register, were one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits, -some of them large and carefully finished. Her first public work -was executed in 1655. Her composition was elegant and tasteful; her -designing correct and firm; and the freshness and suavity of her -color, especially in demi-tints, reminded one of Guido. The air of her -heads was graceful and noble, and she was peculiarly successful in the -expressive character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> of her Madonnas and Magdalens. Among her finest -pictures are mentioned a Francesco di Padoua kneeling before the infant -Christ, a Virgin and St. Anna contemplating the sleeping Saviour, -and others, preserved in several palaces in Bologna. Her portrait of -herself was taken in the act of painting her father. Another portrait -of her is in the person of a saint looking up to heaven. Among her -paintings on copper, which are exquisitely delicate, is a Lot with his -children, now in the possession of a family in Bologna. She produced -etchings of the Beheading of John the Baptist, the Death of Lucretia, -and several master-pieces; all distinguished by delicacy of touch and -by ease and spirit in the execution. Her painting, “Amor Divino,” -represents a lovely child, nude, seated on a red cloth, holding in its -left hand a laurel crown and sceptre, while with the right it points -to a quiver and some books lying at its feet. Bolognini says: “It -is impossible to conceive any thing more beautiful in form or more -exquisite in finish than this lovely child.”</p> - -<p>Like Guido’s, the influence of Elisabetta Sirani on the progress of -art in Bologna was exhibited in the number of scholars who sought -instruction from her, or studied her paintings to ground themselves in -her system. So illustrious an example as she presented must naturally -have contributed greatly to the encouragement and development of female -talent, and many were the women whom her success, in a greater or less -degree, stimulated to exertion. One of Elisabetta Sirani’s pupils -was Ginevra Cantofoli of Bologna. She painted history pieces with -some reputation. In a church of Bologna is a picture by her—The Last -Supper. Her best was San Tommaso di Villanuovo.</p> - -<p>Sirani’s sisters, Anna Maria and Barbara, are also mentioned among -her scholars, with Lucrezia Scarafaglia,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> Maria Teresa Coriolani, and -Veronica Fontana, who carved excellently well in wood, and executed -portraits in this manner which were highly praised. Many other names of -women are recorded who derived their impressions of art, directly or -indirectly, from Sirani.</p> - -<p>Teresa Muratori was the daughter of an eminent physician, and born at -Bologna in 1662. At an early age she showed a genius for painting and -music. She was instructed in designing by Emilio Taruffi, and afterward -took lessons from Lorenzo Parmello and Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole. She -painted historical pieces, and several religious ones for churches in -Bologna. She died at the age of forty-six.</p> - -<p>Orlandi speaks highly of Maria Helena Panzacchi. She was born at -Bologna in 1668, was taught designing by Taruffi, and became a -reputable painter of landscapes, which she embellished with figures. -Her works were correct in design, and the disposition was marked by -elegance and taste. Several of them are in private collections at -Bologna.</p> - -<p>Bologna boasted also of Ersilia Creti, a pupil of her father Donato, -and of Maria Viani, of whose workmanship a reclining Venus, in the -Dresden gallery, exquisitely done, remains to her praise.</p> - -<p>Among others of the school of Bologna, we may mention Maria Dolce, the -daughter and pupil of Carlo Dolce, so noted and so admired for the -calm dignity of his productions. She copied several of her father’s -pictures. The name of another painter, Agnes Dolce, may be added; -but we must pass over a host, observing only that the Bolognese was -throughout the seventeenth century the richest in female talent of all -the schools of Italy.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br><span class="small">THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>School of the Academicians after Caravaggio.—Unidealized -Nature.—Rude and violent Passions delineated.—Dark and stormy -Side of Humanity.—Dark Coloring and Shadows.—The gloomy and -passionate expressed in Pictures appeared in the Lives of -Artists.—The Dagger and Poison-cup common.—Aniella di Rosa.—The -Pupil of Stanzioni.—Character of her Painting.—Romantic Love -and Marriage.—The happy Home destroyed.—The hearth-stone -Serpent.—Jealousy.—The pretended Proof.—Phrensy and Murder.—Other -fair Neapolitans.—The Paintress of Messina.—The Schools of Bologna -and Naples embrace the most prominent Italian Paintings.—Commencement -of Crayon-drawing.—Tuscan Ladies of Rank cultivating Art.—The -Rosalba of the Florentine School.—Art in the City of the Cæsars.—The -Roman Flower-painter.—Engravers.—Medallion-cutters.—A female -Architect.—A Roman Sculptress.—Women Artists of the Venetian -School.—At Pavia.—The Painter’s four Daughters.—Chiara -Varotari.—Shares her Brother’s Labors.—A skillful Nurse.—Her -Pupils.—Other female Artists of this time.—The Schools of Northern -Italy.—Their Paintresses.—Giovanna Fratellini.</p> -</div> - - -<p>In contrast to the school established as before mentioned, certain -academicians had set up one grounded on principles promulgated by -Michael Angelo da Caravaggio, wherein the old idealism and conventional -forms of beauty were neglected, and the models furnished by the works -of the early masters were entirely slighted, to make room for a simple -copying of nature, whether beautiful or repulsive, full of grace or -rugged and barren of all charms. This new school had been planted in -Naples by Caravaggio; and beneath that glowing sky arose a number -of masters who devoted themselves not only to the reproduction of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> -unidealized nature, but the delineation of human passions in their -sternest and most violent demonstrations; preferring, in fact, to -depict the darkest and stormiest side of humanity. For this purpose, -depth of coloring and dark shadows were employed. These masters were -not wanting in talent, nor were their creations without effect and -influence; but they had nothing of the pure and holy element which -seems like a genuine inspiration in art. The gloomy and passionate, -expressed in their pictures, too often appeared also in their -characters and actions.</p> - -<p>The relations of these Neapolitan artists with those of the Bolognese -school were by no means friendly, and rivals settled their disputes -as frequently with the dagger and the poison-cup as with the pencil -and the palette. Such a state of things was hardly favorable to the -development of woman’s talent.</p> - - -<h3>ANIELLA DI ROSA.</h3> - -<p>Yet we find one artist of surpassing merit, who, on account of her -genius and her tragical fate, was called the Sirani of the school of -Naples. This was Aniella di Rosa, niece of the painter Pacecco di Rosa, -and pupil of that Massimo Stanzioni who, in common with Caravaggio, -exercised a species of tyranny over the struggles of Neapolitan art, -and was one of the leaders of the opposition set up against the -artists from Bologna. Aniella painted in his atelier, and he directed -her studies with paternal solicitude. She succeeded in giving to her -pictures the grace, the soft and transparent coloring of Pacecco, and -united in her heads the elegance of her uncle’s style with the correct -drawing and able grouping of Stanzioni. Her master set her to color his -sketches, and she succeeded so well that he often sold<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> their joint -productions as his own. When her education was sufficiently advanced, -she desired that her talents should be put to a public test; and her -master induced the governors of the church of the Pietà dei Turchini to -give her a commission for two paintings which were to adorn the ceiling.</p> - -<p>Aniella produced two paintings so excellent that many declared they -were completed by Stanzioni. But Domenici says he has seen several of -her original pictures, and that they are “most beautiful productions.” -“Her master himself,” he continues, “avows in his writings that she -equals the best masters of our time.” One of the pictures represented -the Birth of the Virgin; the other, her Death. The figures are larger -than life; and the boldness of design, the effects of light and shade, -and the management of the drapery, drew praise from two eminent -artists, who said she was an honor to her country, and that many -artists might learn from her. She also did several heads of the Madonna -in red chalk, pronounced equal in drawing to the works of the most -renowned artists.</p> - -<p>During the earliest days when Aniella frequented Stanzioni’s studio, -she became acquainted with Agostino Beltramo, a high-spirited -Neapolitan youth. He soon became enamored of the beautiful girl, and -his frank manners and noble bearing, with the promise his early efforts -gave of his becoming a good artist, were a passport to her heart. -His love was accepted, and they were betrothed. Stanzioni exerted -himself in their behalf, and through his good offices the consent of -the parents for the marriage of the young people was obtained. A rare -similarity of tastes, and their mutual labors in art, caused all to -admire and many to envy the happiness of their union. The serenity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> of -Aniella’s disposition tended to insure the peace of their daily life; -and during sixteen years which they passed together both acquired no -insignificant artistic fame. The husband excelled in frescoes; the lady -in oil-paintings. The superb painting of San Biagio, in the church of -the Sanità, in Naples, is the result of their mutual labors.</p> - -<p>But the cloud was brooding over the happy home which was to burst in -a fatal storm. An evil-minded woman, young and beautiful, entered the -house of Aniella as a servant. She was in love with Agostino; and, -finding all her charms and artifices ineffectual to move him from his -fidelity to his noble wife, or even to win his attention, she set -herself to work to accomplish the ruin of this domestic happiness.</p> - -<p>She contrived to insinuate herself into the confidence of the man she -could not tempt; and then, drop by drop, with the perfidy and subtle -cunning of Iago, she succeeded in instilling into his heart the poison -of jealousy. By degrees she undermined his faith in the spotless virtue -of Aniella.</p> - -<p>The husband grew morose and irritable, and at times manifested the -change that had come over him by sudden outbursts of ill-humor. Vainly -Aniella strove by unremitting patience and redoubled affection to -soothe his wayward moods. She soon perceived that all her happiness -must be derived from her art, and from the approbation of her old -master, who frequently visited her. She painted in her best manner a -Holy Family, and presented it to him. “On seeing,” writes Domenici, -“with what mastery of drawing and perfection of coloring Aniella had -completed the painting, and because she had so toiled for him, he was -overcome with feeling, and, in a transport of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> affection, clasped her -in his arms, exclaiming that she was his best pupil, and that, had he -been asked to retouch the painting, he should not know where to begin, -for fear of destroying the beautiful coloring.”</p> - -<p>The infamous servant was playing the spy throughout this scene, and -had called up a servant-lad to support her testimony. On Stanzioni’s -departure Agostino returned.</p> - -<p>“Now,” cried this hearth-stone serpent, “now I have proofs to set all -doubts at rest—proofs I will furnish you with in the presence of -your wife.” Confronted with her mistress, the vile hireling charged -her with guilty embraces, and called the servant-lad to confirm the -charge. Aniella, astounded and indignant, disdained to defend herself, -but stood before her husband mute and motionless, while a flush of pain -and indignation mantled on her brow. Her silence confirmed Agostino’s -suspicions; in his phrensy he drew his sword, and the next moment -Aniella lay dead at his feet. Thus closed the career of this noble -artist, in 1649, in the thirty-sixth year of her age. She was not the -only victim to the taste for the horrible and for wild extremes of -passion then prevailing in the works of artists, and too common in -their personal experience.</p> - -<p>Another fair Neapolitan, who also worked in Rome at portrait-painting, -was Angela Beinaschi. The nun, Luisa Copomazza, a landscape-painter and -poetess, and the flower-painter, Clena Ricchi, were of Naples; with the -painter and modeler in wax, Catarina Juliani, called the “<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">ornamento -della patria</i>.”</p> - -<p>Teresa del Po—daughter of a painter, the disciple of Domenichino, -and distinguished for oil and miniature painting, and copper -engraving—came from a family<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> of Palermo. She etched plates in her -father’s style; some after Caracci.</p> - -<p>Messina boasted of Anna Maria Ardoino, the daughter of the Princess -de Polizzi, accomplished in every branch, including music and poetry, -who won great celebrity on account of her splendid attainments in art -and literature, and was admitted a member of the Academy of Arcadia in -Rome. She died in 1700, at Naples, in the bloom of her life and fame, -and it is said her death was occasioned by grief for the loss of a son.</p> - -<p>The two schools of Bologna and Naples may be said to embrace the -greater number of the prominent productions of the pencil in Italy -during the period of which we have spoken. Other cities enjoyed their -peculiar distinctions as the seats of different schools of art, but -they exhibited more or less the influence of these chief ones. In -Florence—the ancient home of Italian painting—artists of distinction -exercised their skill; and the superior cultivation and taste diffused -under the auspices of distinguished Tuscan ladies, contributed, in no -small measure, to the encouragement of female enterprise. While Maria -Borghini—elevated, by the judgment of her contemporaries, to a seat -beside Victoria Colonna, and Mary dei Medici, who not only patronized -art, but gave it her own personal efforts—won the meed of admiration, -others were not backward in the race for the golden apple of renown.</p> - -<p>Arcangela Paladini, of Pisa, born 1599, already mentioned as a painter, -was also an engraver. Her portrait, by herself, is in the gallery -of artists in Florence. She died at the age of twenty-three. As -flower-painters, we hear of Anna Maria Vajani and Isabella Piccini; -Giovanna Redi was a successful pupil of the skillful Gabbiani; and -Giovanna Marmochini was no less<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> favorably known in art than as a wit -and a learned lady. She has been called, for the excellence of her -miniatures, the Rosalba of the Florentine school. Niccola Grassi, of -Genoa, is also called by Lanzi “the rival of Rosalba.” She painted -original compositions and church pictures.</p> - -<p>Rome, meanwhile, maintained her ancient fame. The city of the Cæsars -had often been the arena where the striving masters of the Bolognese -and the opposing schools contended for the establishment of the -supremacy they coveted. Nor was she wanting in women artists of -her own, able to do credit to their birthplace. We may mention the -excellent flower-painter, Laura Bernasconi, and the engravers, Isabella -and Hieronima Parasole, whose name became so celebrated that the -husband of the first adopted it, dropping his own. Isabella executed -several cuts of plants for an herbal published under the direction of -Prince Cesi, of Aquasparta. She also published a book on the methods of -working lace and embroidery, illustrated with cuts engraved from her -own designs. Hieronima engraved on wood, among other pictures, “The -Battle of the Centaurs.”</p> - -<p>Beatrice Hamerani worked at medallions, and in 1700 elaborated a -large medallion of Pope Innocent XII., highly praised by Goethe as -“undoubtedly one of the most skillful, expressive, and powerful -productions of art which ever came from the hands of a woman.”</p> - -<p>Add to these the name of the only woman who was ever known to have -been a practical architect. This was Plautilla Brizio, who has left -monuments of her excellence in that species of art in a small palace -before Porta San Pancrazio, and in the chapel of St.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> Benedict, in San -Luigi dei Francesi. In the latter is a picture painted by her hand. -The villa Giraldi, near Rome, is the joint work of this lady and her -brother.</p> - -<p>The female sculptor Maria Domenici, who pursued her profession in Rome, -was a native of Naples.</p> - -<p>Passing over many of the Italian cities, and attempting no sketch of -the peculiarities of the school of Venice, we find there several not -insignificant women artists. Paolina Grandi, Elisabetta Lazzarini, and -Damina Damini were known as painters, and Domenia Luisa Rialto as an -engraver on copper. The sisters Carlotta and Gabriella Patin enjoyed -celebrity for both learning and artistic skill. They lived at Pavia, -and were members of the Academy dei Ricovrati.</p> - -<p>The four daughters of the Venetian painter Niccolo Renieri, who -practiced the same art, should be mentioned. Anna, the eldest, became -the wife of Antoine Vandyck.</p> - -<p>Chiara Varotari was so highly esteemed by those who knew her, that a -niche was assigned her by contemporaries equal to that of Maria Robusti -in the sixteenth century. She was daughter and pupil of Dario Varotari, -and the sister of that Alessandro Varotari who became so noted as a -painter, under the name Padovanino. Chiara frequently shared in the -execution of his works. She was not less praised for her beauty, -and her skill as a tender nurse of the sick. Her triumphs over the -discomfort of disease were signal, in that field where female prowess -so often achieves its deeds of heroism. Such conquests are seldom -recorded by the historian’s pen; but it is pleasant for once to rescue -them from oblivion. Honors were conferred on her by the Grand-Duke -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> Tuscany, who placed her portrait in his collection. This artist -numbered among her pupils Lucia Scaligeri and Caterina Taraboti. -Boschini thinks she gave public instruction, like Sirani. She died, -full of years, in 1660, ten years after the brother whose labors she -had aided.</p> - -<p>Anna Maria Vajani, who engraved in Rome in the middle of this century, -executed a part of the plates for the Justinian Gallery.</p> - -<p>Laura Bernasconi imitated the famous flower-painter Mario Mizzi, called -“Mario dai fiori.” With his coloring she had also his defects.</p> - -<p>Maria Vittoria Cassana was the sister of two painters, and painted -chiefly devotional pieces, in little. She died 1711. Lucia Casalina, a -disciple of Giuseppe dal Sole, turned her attention to portraits.</p> - -<p>Angelica Veronica Airola, a Genoese, studied painting under Domenico -Fiasella. She painted religious pictures for the convents and churches -of Genoa, and became a nun of the order of St. Bartholomew della -Fiavella. Soprani and others mention her.</p> - -<p>Giovanna Garzoni painted flowers and miniature portraits about 1630. At -Florence she painted some of the Medici and the nobles. Dying at Rome -in 1673, she bequeathed her property to the academy of St. Luke, in -which there is a marble monument to her memory.</p> - -<p>Two daughters of Caccia—called “the Fontane of Monferrato”—painted -altar and cabinet pieces. One, Francesca, adopted for her symbol -a small bird; Ursula, a flower. Ursula founded the convent of the -Ursulines, in Moncalvo. Some of her landscapes are decorated with -flowers.</p> - -<p>Lanzi and Tiraboschi mention Margerita Gabassi as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> admirable in -humorous pieces. She died in 1734, aged seventy-one.</p> - -<p>In the Nuova Guida di Torino, Isabella dal Pozzo is mentioned as the -painter of a picture in the church of San Francesco, at Turin, dated -1666, and representing the Virgin and Babe surrounded with saints. -Lanzi bestows high praise on her. In 1676 she became court painter to -the Electress Adelaide of Bavaria.</p> - -<p>The schools of Northern Italy recorded the names, too, of Chiara -Salmeggia, the painter of Bergamo, and of Maria la Caffa, of Cremona, -who worked at the Court of Tyrol; of Camilla Triumfi; and Maria -Domenici, a native of Naples, who worked at sculpture in Rome, and died -a nun in 1703.</p> - -<p>Lucia Scaligeri, a pupil of Chiara Varotari, had a daughter Agnes, -also a painter, spoken of by Boschini. Caterina Rusca was a native of -Ferrara, and known as an engraver and poetess.</p> - -<p>Crayon-drawing seems to have been much in vogue at this time. Giovanna -Fratellini, called by Lanzi “an illustrious female artist, from the -school of Gabbiani,” painted in crayons as well as in oil, miniature -and enamel. So famous did she become that, after executing the -portraits of Cosmo III. and family—a drawing consisting of fourteen -figures in a superb apartment, of the richest architecture, remarkable -for its judicious disposition and lovely coloring—her patron sent her -throughout Italy to paint the other princes. “Her pencil is light, -delicate, and free,” writes Pilkington; “her carnations are natural, -and full of warmth and life, and as she understood perspective and -architecture thoroughly, she made an elegant use of that knowledge, -enriching her pictures with magnificent ornaments. Her draperies are -generally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> well chosen, full of variety, and remarkable for a noble -simplicity. Her works rendered her famous, not only in Italy, but -in Europe.” Her portrait is in the gallery at Florence; she painted -herself in the act of drawing her son and pupil, Lorenzo, in whom were -centred all her hopes. Under her tuition he made rapid progress in art, -but died suddenly, at an early age. His mother never recovered from -the blow; life and art had alike lost their charms for her, and she -speedily followed him to the grave.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br><span class="small">THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Contrast between the Academicians and Naturalists, and between -the French and Spanish Schools of Painting.—Peculiarities of -each.—Ladies of Rank in Madrid Pupils of Velasquez.—Instruction -of the royal Children in Art.—The Engraver of Madrid.—Every -City in the South of Spain boasts a female Artist.—Isabella -Coello.—Others in Granada.—In Cordova.—The Sculptress of -Seville.—Luisa Roldan; her Carvings in Wood.—The Canons -“sold.”—Invitation to Madrid.—Sculptress to the King.—Other Women -Artists in Spain.—In France Woman’s Position more prominent than -in preceding Age.—Corruption of court Manners.—Unworthy Women in -Power.—Women in every Department of Literature.—Mademoiselle de -Scudery.—Madame de la Fayette.—Madame Dacier.—Women in theological -Pursuits.—Their Ascendency in Art not so great.—Miniature and -Flower Painters.—Engravers.—Elizabeth Sophie Chéron.—A Leader -in Enamel-painting.—Her Portraits and History-pieces.—Her -Merits and Success.—Her Translations of the Psalms.—Musical and -Poetical Talents.—Honors lavished on her.—Love and Marriage -at three-score.—Her Generosity to the needy.—Verses in her -Praise.—Historical Tableaux.—Madelaine Masson.—The Marchioness de -Pompadour.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Striking contrasts belong to the history of art in the seventeenth -century. A moral, religious, and artistic contrast existed between -the academicians and the naturalists; and one as remarkable may -be noticed between the French and Spanish schools of painting, -corresponding, in fact, to the civil struggle between the two nations -for European supremacy. In Spain the enthusiasm for art harmonized -with the passionate character of the people; in France, discretion and -intellectual taste predominated. The sensuous and rudely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> natural in -Spanish art was combined with the warmest glow of religious feeling.</p> - -<p>Velasquez, a son of Andalusia, had a number of scholars in Madrid among -ladies of high rank. Donna Maria de Abarca and the Countess of Vill’ -Ambrosa were celebrated for their skill in taking likenesses, and were -highly praised by the poets. The Duchess of Bejar, Teresa Sarmiento, -and Maria de Guadalupe, Duchess of Aveiro—also an accomplished -linguist and lover of letters—had considerable celebrity as painters. -The admiration of Philip IV. for art rendered the instruction therein -of the royal children and those of the nobility a necessary branch -of education. The Duchess of Alba, celebrated for her beauty and -intrigues, gave one of Raphael’s master-pieces as a fee to the family -physician, who had cured her of a dangerous illness.</p> - -<p>Maria Eugenia de Beer was an engraver in Madrid, and we may find in -the choir-books of the cathedral at Tarragona creditable specimens of -the talent of the painter Angelica, who painted the illuminations with -great neatness and skill.</p> - -<p>Every city in the south of Spain seemed to be able to boast of a female -artist. In Valencia lived Doña Isabella Sanchez Coello, the daughter -and pupil of “the Spanish Prothogenes”—Alonzo Sanchez Coello—the -first of the great Spanish portrait painters, and the Velasquez of the -court of Philip II. Born in 1564, she was the playmate of Infants and -Infantas, and she acquired distinction both in music and painting. She -married Don Francisco de Herrera, Knight of Santiago. Dying in Madrid -in 1612, she was buried with her husband’s family in the church of San -Juan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span></p> - -<p>Magdalena Gilarte was a noted painter, and worked in her father’s -style with spirit and skill. Jesualda Sanchez carried on her husband’s -business after his death, and painted small pictures of the saints for -sale.</p> - -<p>In Granada we find Doña Maria Cueva Benavides y Barrados an admired -painter, and Anna Heylan an engraver in copper. In Cordova, Doña -Francisca Palomino y Velasco, the sister of the painter and art -historian of the same name. She flourished about the close of the -century.</p> - - -<h3>THE SCULPTRESS OF SEVILLE.</h3> - -<p>To the school of Seville, in which Spanish art reached its highest -development, belongs a fair artist of repute. Luisa Roldan was known -as an excellent sculptor in wood. She was born in 1656, and profited -by her father’s instructions in art, acquiring great skill. After her -mother’s death, she kept both her household and the studio in orderly -operation, attending with successful management to the affairs of both, -and keeping busy at work both her servants and her father’s pupils.</p> - -<p>Roldan was indebted to her for valuable hints. He had carved a statue -of St. Ferdinand for the Cathedral, which the canons rejected. Luisa -suggested certain anatomical operations with the saw, which were -perfectly successful. The canons took the work for a new one, and were -satisfied; and the saint was peacefully installed in his chapel. Her -chief productions were small figures of the Virgin, or groups of the -Adoration of the shepherds, etc., and all were designed and executed -with delicacy and grace. She sculptured a Magdalen supported by an -angel, the statue giving an exquisite idea of an angel’s sweetness and -protecting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> love. It is placed in the hospital at Cadiz. Her small -pieces are full of expression.</p> - -<p>She married Don Luis de los Arcos, and was invited to Madrid in 1692, -through Don Cristobal Ontañon, who had presented several of her works -to Charles II. The king was pleased, and ordered a statue of St. -Michael, life size, for the church of the Escurial. This Luisa executed -with great success, and to the admiration of the connoisseurs. The work -elicited complimentary verses from a distinguished poet, and the artist -was rewarded by the post of sculptress in ordinary to the king, with a -salary of a hundred ducats, paid from the day she arrived at court.</p> - -<p>When Charles II. died she had just completed a statue of our Saviour -which he had ordered for a convent; its destination was then changed to -a nunnery at Sisanto. She died at Madrid in 1704, leaving in the palace -treasure a small group, modeled in clay, representing St. Anna teaching -the Virgin to read, and attended by angels. Some of her works were -placed in the Recolete Convent, and some in the Chartreuse of Paulan.</p> - -<p>Doña Isabella Carasquilla was a painter, and married a miniaturist, -Juan de Valdes Leal of Cordova. Their daughters Luisa and Maria were -highly educated, and painted miniatures. The latter died in 1730, a nun -in the Sistercian Convent at Seville.</p> - -<p>Rosalba Salvioni, a painter of celebrity, was the pupil of Mesquida. -Doña Inez Zarcillo evinced no small taste in drawing and modeling. She -was the sister of a sculptor.</p> - -<p>Maria de Loreto Prieto, an artist’s daughter, possessed extraordinary -talent for painting and engraving. Her father was highly esteemed by -Charles III.,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> and had the oversight of all the coins for the purpose -of improving the stamps.</p> - -<p>Caterina Querubini, the wife of Preciado, a miniature-painter, enjoyed -a pension from the Spanish court, and an honored place in the Academy -de San Fernando.</p> - -<p>Doña Isabella Farnese, the wife of Philip V., and Angela Perez -Caballero, drew exceedingly well, and were members of the Academy in -Madrid.</p> - - -<h3>WOMEN ARTISTS IN FRANCE.</h3> - -<p>In France women had taken a position more prominent than in the -preceding century. Even the gallantry prevailing in society, and the -corruption of court manners, were promoted by feminine influence. -Unworthy women were raised to power, and the history of court favorites -from the reign of the knightly Henry IV. to that of the great monarch -Louis XIV. forms the most important part of the annals of the empire.</p> - -<p>Women took eminent places in every department of literature; in the -drama Catherine Bernard was the disciple of Racine, and Mademoiselle de -Scudery had many imitators in her poetical romances; while Madame de la -Fayette took the lead in a more modern style of fiction. Madame Dacier -became celebrated as “the most learned and eloquent of women,” and her -example helped to spread a love of knowledge and classical attainment -among the French ladies. Even theological pursuits had a Jeanne de la -Mothe-Guyon to represent mysticism in conflict with the orthodoxy of -the court and the state.</p> - -<p>In art the ascendency of woman was by no means so great. We may, -however, name, as prominent in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> portrait and miniature painting, -Antoinette and Madelaine Herault; the latter, in 1660, married Noel -Coypel. She joined noble virtues to her extraordinary talents. -Henriette Stresor and Catherine Perrot may also be mentioned. Catherine -Duchemin, a flower-painter, married the famous sculptor Girardon.</p> - -<p>Several women were noted as engravers on copper; among them Claudine -Bonzonnet Stella has been called the first in France, and practiced the -art with her two sisters. Jane Frances and Mary Ann Ozanne, the sisters -of a French engraver, worked chiefly in engraving sea-side scenes.</p> - - -<h3>ELIZABETH SOPHIE CHÉRON.</h3> - -<p>But she who occupies the highest place among all the artists of this -period is Elizabeth Sophie Chéron. Born in Paris in 1648, she received -instruction from her father in miniature and enamel painting, in which -she attained such perfection that she may be regarded as the leader -of the host of French artists who devoted themselves especially to -this branch. At the age of twenty-six she was admitted a member of the -Academy, at the proposal of Charles Le Brun. She was received with -distinction; his portrait by her being her reception picture.</p> - -<p>Her merits were a fine tone, exquisite taste and harmony in design, -and finely-disposed draperies. She often made portraits from memory. -Her portraits were so frequently treated in an allegorical manner they -might be called historical; and her history-pieces were much admired. -She designed much after the antique.</p> - -<p>Her father had educated Elizabeth in the strictest principles of -Calvinism; but her mother, Marie Lefevre,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> a Catholic, persuaded her -to become a member of that church, after a year’s seclusion in the -community of Madame de Miramion. The difference in faith did not impair -her affection to her family. She supported her brother Louis for some -time in Italy, whither he went to study painting.</p> - -<p>This accomplished artist passed the maturity of life without any of the -experiences, with which almost every young girl is familiar, of the -tender passion. Her emotions seem to have been altogether spiritual. -She translated many of the Psalms into French verse; and they were -published with illustrations by Louis. She played admirably on the -lute, and was accustomed to practice in the parlor with her nieces and -pupils, who performed on different instruments. Louis XIV. gave her a -pension of five hundred livres.</p> - -<p>The most eminent scholars of the day were her friends and visitors; -and in conversation she evinced the highest mental cultivation. Her -portraits were chiefly painted as presents to her friends, or as -ornaments to her own cabinet. “I have the pleasure,” she would say, “of -seeing them in their absence.”</p> - -<p>In spiritual lyrics she was the precursor of J. B. Rousseau, with whom -in warmth of feeling she may be compared; and in narrative poetry she -acquired much reputation. The Academy dei Ricovrati, in Padua, received -her as a member in 1699, under the name of Erato. She possessed beauty -and engaging manners, and to all the honors lavished on her she joined -the crowning grace of modesty.</p> - -<p>The attractions of this gifted being did not depart with the beauty of -fleeting youth. At the age of sixty she fascinated the affections of -the Sieur Le Hay, a gentleman about her own age, on whom she bestowed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> -her hand, simply with the generous motive, it was said, of promoting -his good fortune. Tradition reports that, when they came out of the -church after the ceremony had been performed, the bride made a speech -to her husband, implying that esteem, not romantic love, had influenced -her choice. She is said to have alluded to him, under the name of -Damon, in one of her poems.</p> - -<p>As of Madame Dacier, it might be said of this artist—the traits of a -great and manly nature might be discerned in her face. Her features -wore an expression of decision and firmness. Her hair, in her portrait, -curls from the top and floats in ringlets. She was remarkable for -the modesty and simplicity of her dress. Her large and sympathizing -heart made her the protector and benefactor of needy artists, while -her social qualities drew around her the brilliant circles that -habitually were found at her house, including many of the most gifted -and illustrious of that day. Her death took place in 1711, at the age -of sixty-three, and she was buried at St. Sulpice. She was lamented -by Fermelhuis in a canto of praise. The Abbé Bosquillon wrote the -following lines to be inscribed under her portrait:</p> - -<p class="poetry"><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“De deux talens exquis l’assemblage nouveau</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rendra toujours Chéron l’ornement de la France;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rien ne peut de sa plume égaler l’excellence</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Que les graces de son pinceau.”</span></span><br> -<br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For different gifts renowned, fair Chéron see,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ever of France the ornament and pride;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Equaled by none her pen’s great works shall be,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Save when her pencil triumphs at their side.</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle Chéron made many studies from Raphael and the Caracci. -Among her historical tableaux<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> are enumerated, “The Flight into -Egypt”—the Virgin represented in a wearied sleep, with angels -guarding the babe; “Cassandra inquiring of a god the doom of Troy;” -“The Annunciation;” “Christ at the Sepulchre”—after Zumbo; with “The -Demoiselles de la Croix”—her nieces and pupils; and a grand portrait -of the Archbishop of Paris, placed in the Jacobin school of the Rue St. -Jacques.</p> - -<p>Madelaine Masson was the daughter of Anthony Masson, a celebrated -engraver, and was born in Paris, 1660. She received instruction from -her father, and engraved portraits in his fine style. Among these is -the picture of Maria Teresa, Queen of France, and of the Infanta of -Spain.</p> - -<p>The Marchioness de Pompadour engraved and executed small plates after -Boucher and others. She engraved one set of sixty-three prints, after -gems by Gay.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br><span class="small">THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Two different Systems of Painting in the North.—The Flemish School -represented by Rubens.—The Dutch by Rembrandt.—Characteristics -of Rubens’ Style.—No female Disciples.—Unsuited to feminine -Study.—Some Women Artists of the first Part of the Century.—Features -of the Dutch School.—A wide Field for female Energy and -Industry.—Painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>.—Its Peculiarities.—State -of Things favorable to female Enterprise.—Early Efforts -in Genre-painting.—Few Women among Rembrandt’s immediate -Disciples.—Genre-painting becomes adapted to female Talent.—“The -Dutch Muses.”—Another Woman Architect.—Dutch Women Painters -and Engravers.—Maria Schalken and others.—“The second -Schurmann.”—Margaretta Godewyck.—The Painter-poet.—Anna Maria -Schurmann.—Wonderful Genius for Languages.—Early Acquirements.—Her -Scholarship and Position among the learned.—A Painter, Sculptor, -and Engraver.—Called “the Wonder of Creation.”—Royal and princely -Visitors.—Journey to Germany.—Embraces the religious Tenets of -Labadie.—His Doctrines.—Joins his Band.—Collects his Followers, -and leads them into Friesland.—Poverty and Death.—Visit of -William Penn to her.—Her Portrait.—Her female Contemporaries in -Art.—Flower-painting in the Netherlands.—Its Pioneers.—Maria Van -Oosterwyck.—Her Birth and Education.—Early Productions.—Celebrated -at foreign Courts.—Presents from imperial Friends.—Enormous -Prices for her Pictures.—Royal Purchasers.—The quiet Artist at -work.—The Lover’s Visit.—The Lover’s Trial and Failure.—Style of -her Painting.—Rachel Ruysch.—The greatest Flower-painter.—Early -Instruction.—Spread of her Fame.—Domestic Cares.—Professional -Honors.—Invitations to Courts.—Her Patron, the Elector.—Her Works -in old Age.—Her Character.—Rarity of her Paintings.—Personal -Appearance.</p> -</div> - - -<p>While the academicians and naturalists of the Italian schools contended -through the seventeenth century,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> and while in France and Spain the -works of art exhibited as great contrasts, modified in each country by -national peculiarities, two different systems in the North came into -notice. These, as in the time of Von Eyck, had great influence upon the -development of art in other lands besides that where they originated. -One was the Flemish school, represented by Rubens; the other the Dutch, -in which Rembrandt was regarded as the mighty master.</p> - -<p>The style of Rubens, brilliant, luxuriant, and full of vigorous life, -it may be thought would commend itself peculiarly to the attention of -women. This school, however, in which the healthy and florid naturalism -of Flemish art reached its highest development, seems to have been -without any female disciples of note. The passionate and often -intensely dramatic character of the works of Rubens and his scholars, -and the physical development of his nude figures, were, indeed, -scarcely suited to feminine study, though their fullness of life and -warmth of coloring afterward won to imitation an artist like Madame -O’Connell. We may also mention Micheline Wontiers, a portrait painter -in the first half of the seventeenth century. An engraving was made -from one of her productions by Pontius, who busied himself with the -works of Rubens. The name of Catherine Pepyn, too, is found inscribed -as a portrait painter in the St. Luke’s Society of Artists at Antwerp, -about 1655.</p> - -<p>In Holland, on the other hand, the new school of painting owed its -marked features to the political and religious revolution that had -been the fruit of the reformed doctrines. This change offered a wide -field for the exercise of female energy and genius. With the progress -of the new faith kept pace the rapid advance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> of literature; the great -questions at issue and the more earnest domestic life of the Hollanders -furnishing ample materials for thought and description. Painting came -under the same influence, and this was evident when the depth and power -of feeling in his works marked Rembrandt as one of the greatest masters -of all time.</p> - -<p>A novel species of the art was called painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>. Herein -life was represented in all its rich and varied forms, and the world -and real humanity became objects of attention where hitherto only -idealized representations had been tolerated. A new arena was thus -opened, in which there was promise of noble achievement, and the rudest -and meanest aspects of common life soon appeared capable of being -invested with an ideal fascination. The painter <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>, armed -with the wand of humor, often succeeded in such attempts, and success -led to the adoption of that wonderfully poetical chiar’ oscuro in -coloring, which, till this period, had never attained the same degree -of favor either in the North or the South.</p> - -<p>This state of things was eminently favorable to female enterprise, -and we find, accordingly, in a number of fair artists, evidences of -the energetic industry and careful minuteness for which the women of -Holland have been particularly noted. However, in the earliest efforts -at painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>, wherein the Flemish artists stood opposed -to the schools of Italy, women took no share. These trial specimens -usually consisted of some rough piece after nature, such as the drunken -boors and rustic women of the elder Breughel, and for a long time the -prevailing taste ran on the low, coarse, and fantastic in the models -selected. There was more to disgust than to attract cultivated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> women -in such a fashion, and, notwithstanding their alleged fancy to run into -extremes, this will account for the fact that they did not choose to -be numbered among those who delighted in such a copying of nature. One -we hear of, Anna Breughel, seems to have been a kinswoman of a younger -painter of that name.</p> - -<p>The earnestness, depth, and intensity given to this species of art by -Rembrandt seemed to lie as little within the compass of female fancy, -which rather delighted in pleasing delineations of more superficial -emotion, than in the concentration of the deepest feelings of nature. -Thus few women were found among the immediate disciples of Rembrandt.</p> - -<p>But as painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i> accommodated itself more pleasingly to -representations of ordinary life and circumstances, and the delicacy -of detail that formed the peculiar charm of this species of art was -lavished on attractive phases of character, the school became more and -more the nursery of female talent.</p> - -<p>Literature, at this period, experienced a similar change; and it is -interesting to see the same persons pursuing both branches of study. -This was the case with the two painters, Tesselschade-Visscher—called -the “Dutch Muses,” on account of their poetry—with Elizabeth Hoffmann, -and the dramatic poet, Catharina Lescaille; also with one of whom we -shall presently speak, whose fame traveled far beyond the boundaries of -her native land.</p> - -<p>Among the older artists of the Dutch school we may mention, in passing, -the fruit and flower painter, Angelica Agnes Pakman; Madame Steenwyk, -a designer in architecture; and the portrait-painter, Anna de Bruyn. -Anna Tessala was eminent as a skillful carver in wood. Concerning -Maria Grebber, a pupil of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> Savary, Van Mander remarks that she was -well skilled both in perspective and in building plans. Maria and -Gezina Terburg were sisters of Gerard, and, like him, skillful in -genre-painting.</p> - -<p>Gottfried Schalken, who introduced a simpler method, and surprising -effects of light, was not more celebrated than his sister and pupil, -Maria, for productions remarkable for delicacy of execution and tender -expression. Eglon van der Neer shared his fame with his wife, Adriana -Spilberg. She was born in Amsterdam, in 1646, and was taught by her -father, an eminent painter. She excelled in crayons or pastels, though -she often painted in oil. Her portraits were said to be accurate -likenesses. They were delicately colored, and executed with neatness -and care. She was much patronized at the court of Düsseldorf.</p> - -<p>Caspar Netscher, one of the best and most pleasing masters in this -peculiar style, had a disciple in Margaretta Wulfraat, whose historical -paintings—a Cleopatra and a Semiramis—are to be seen in Amsterdam, -and who died at a great age early in the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>A still greater interest attaches to artists who also took an -active part in the elevation of Dutch literature. Anna and Maria -Tesselschade—the daughters of Visscher, already mentioned—belonged to -this class; they were also celebrated for their fine etchings on glass. -Their literary culture brought them into association with the most -eminent scholars of that day.</p> - -<p>With them may be ranked Margaretta Godewyck—born at Dort, in 1627, -and a pupil of Maas—who attained celebrity both in painting and in -her knowledge of the ancient and modern languages. She was called “the -second Schurmann,” and many praised her as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> “the lovely flower of art -and literature of the Merwestrom;” that is, of Dortrecht. She painted -landscapes and flowers, and embroidered them with great skill. She died -at fifty.</p> - -<p>Catharina Questier, who resided at Amsterdam, was distinguished for -painting, copper-engraving, and modeling in wax, besides having no -small consideration accorded to her poetry. Two of her comedies, that -appeared in 1655, evince her skill in at least three branches; for the -drawings and engravings that illustrated the dramas were entirely her -own design and execution.</p> - - -<h3>ANNA MARIA SCHURMANN.</h3> - -<p>A higher and more enduring fame than all these could command must be -accorded to Anna Maria Schurmann, called by the Dutch poets their -Sappho and their Corneille. She was born in November, 1607, in Cologne -(Descampes says, at Utrecht), of Flemish parents. Her family, like that -of Rubens, was Protestant, and her parents fled to Cologne from the -persecutions of Alba, remaining till 1615, when they removed to Utrecht.</p> - -<p>Even in early childhood the genius of the young girl displayed its -bent. At three years of age she began to read, and at seven could -speak Latin. Her mother tried to keep her at the needle, but she loved -to amuse herself by cutting out paper pictures; she also painted -flowers and birds—untaught. A few years later, her taste for poetry -and learning languages developed itself. Learning was her passion; -the arts her recreation. Being allowed to be present at her brothers’ -Latin lessons, she soon gained surprising proficiency in that tongue. -When she was ten years old, she translated passages from Seneca into -French and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> Flemish. Her love of study soon led to the acquisition of -the Greek. To the classics she added, before long, a knowledge of the -Oriental languages. She spoke and wrote the Hebrew, Samaritan, Arabic, -Chaldaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Turkish, and Persian; besides being -perfectly well acquainted with the Italian, Spanish, French, English, -and German, and speaking every European tongue with elegance.</p> - -<p>At the age of eleven this Flemish lassie had read the Bible, Seneca, -Virgil, Homer, and Æschylus in the original tongues; at fourteen she -composed a Latin ode to the famous Dutch poet Jacob Cats, who became -afterward an unsuccessful suitor for her hand. She wrote verses, -indeed, in many languages. The knowledge of different tongues greatly -aided her theological studies, in which she took the deepest interest -from early life. It is said that it was by reading the History of the -Martyrs she became imbued with the tendency to religious enthusiasm -that so strongly influenced her through life, and led to so strange a -career in her latter years.</p> - -<p>The astonishing learning of this remarkable woman and her mastery in -the languages, caused her opinions to be often consulted by the most -erudite scholars of her time. Her judgment was always received with -respect; an honorable place was reserved for her in the lecture-rooms -of the University at Utrecht; and not unfrequently she took part -openly in the learned discussions there carried on. The professors -of the University of Leyden had a tribune made, where she could hear -without mixing with the audience. With this wonderful erudition Anna -Maria combined a rare degree of cultivation in art. The genius that -had shown itself in paper-cutting still gave evidence of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> strong and -resolute activity. She was skilled both in drawing and painting, had -a “happy taste in sculpture,” and exercised her talents in carving in -wood and ivory, as well as in modeling in wax. She carved the busts of -her mother and brothers in wood. The painter Honthorst valued a single -portrait executed by her, at a thousand Dutch florins. In addition, she -has left evidence of her no slight accomplishments in copper-engraving; -and she engraved with the diamond on crystal. Taste in music, and skill -in playing on several instruments, fill up the list of the amazing -variety of endowments bestowed on one of the most gifted of her sex.</p> - -<p>We can not marvel that she was called by her contemporaries “the wonder -of creation.” Not only was she, on account of such varied gifts, -regarded with admiration, but she was idolized by her acquaintance for -personal qualities. She was in the most intimate literary association -with men of distinguished learning like Salmatius, Heinsius, -Vossius—who is said to have taught her Hebrew—and others. Princes -and princesses came to visit and converse with her, and entered into -correspondence with her.</p> - -<p>Gonzagues, Queen of Poland, taking a journey to Utrecht in 1645, went -to visit Anna Maria, having heard such wonderful things of her. After a -long conversation she gave her flattering tokens of her esteem.</p> - -<p>The Queen of Bohemia, and the Princess Louise, her daughter, often -wrote to her. With a modesty that was as rare as her singular -endowments, Anna Maria declined all proffered honors, and it was long -before she could be persuaded to publish her literary productions. When -the distinguished physician, Johann<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> van Beverwyk wished to dedicate -to her his treatise on the “Advantages of the Female Sex,” she sought -to withdraw from the intended compliment. In 1636 she was induced to -publish a Latin poem, celebrating the foundation of the University of -Utrecht. Her “Apology for the Female Sex,” and other works followed -this.</p> - -<p>Anna Maria Schurmann resided many years in her native city of -Cologne. According to one authority, part of her time was passed in -a country house, where she lived in the utmost simplicity, shunning -the attentions of the persons of celebrity who wished to visit her, -and dividing her time between her art and her pen. In 1664 she made a -journey to Germany in company with her brother; and there first became -acquainted with Labadie, the celebrated French enthusiast and preacher -of new doctrines. He believed that the Supreme Being would deceive -man for the purpose of doing good. He taught that new revelations -were continually made by the Holy Spirit to the human soul; that the -Bible was not a necessary guide; that observance of the Sabbath was -not imperative; that a contemplative life tended to perfection in the -character; and that such a state could be attained by self-denial, -self-mortification, and prayer. This man was possessed of singular -intellectual powers, and fascinating eloquence. He succeeded in -gaining many followers, and the mind of Anna Maria, deep and serious -to melancholy, and now clouded by grief for the loss of her father and -brothers, too readily gave credence to his pretensions.</p> - -<p>Abandoning both pen and pencil, she joined the disciples of Labadie, -devoting herself to the studies that favored his theological doctrines. -To promote<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> his success, she published her last work, entitled -“Eucleria,” in 1673, the year before the death of the fanatic. She -attended him, and it is said he died in her arms.</p> - -<p>In this book she deplores her early devotion to literature and art. -Other accounts add that she collected the followers of Labadie—called -Labadists—and, continuing to disseminate his tenets, assumed the -leadership of the band, and conducted them to Vivert in Friesland. She -brought over Elizabeth—Princess Palatine—to these doctrines, and -together they opened an asylum for the wandering disciples. True to the -doctrines she professed, Anna Maria bestowed all her goods to feed the -poor, and sank to the grave in poverty, dying in May, 1678, at the age -of seventy-one.</p> - -<p>William Penn mentions, in his “Journey in Germany,” a conversation he -had at Vivert with this wonderful woman in 1677, noticing especially -the gravity and solemnity of her tones in discourse.</p> - -<p>Anna Maria Schurmann has left behind her not only the renown of her -great learning and artistic culture, truly remarkable in one of either -sex, but also a reputation for purity of heart and fervor of religious -feeling, which can not be disturbed by her mistaken though sincere -belief, and the fanatical enthusiasm with which she clung to absurd -dogmas. In her portrait her hair is combed back from her forehead, with -flowing side locks. The back knot is wreathed with ornaments. A large -pointed collar closely encircles her throat. Her features are marked; -her eyes keen and expressive; her Roman nose is large.</p> - -<p>Among the contemporaries of Anna Maria Schurmann were the painters -Clara Peters, Alida Withoos,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> Susanna von Steen, and Catharine -Oostfries; with the copper-engravers Susanna Verbruggen, Anna de Koher, -and Maria de Wilde, who etched a series of fifty pieces—gems in her -father’s collection—and published them in 1700 at Amsterdam.</p> - -<p>It was in the seventeenth century that flower-painting was carried -to such perfection among the women of the Netherlands. Constantia of -Utrecht and Angelica Pakman may be classed with the pioneers of this -beautiful art—this truly feminine accomplishment.</p> - - -<h3>MARIA VAN OOSTERWYCK</h3> - -<p class="p0">was the first eminent artist in this branch, and the precursor of one -superior to her—Rachel Ruysch—who, esteemed in her day as the pride -and honor of the Dutch school, was, indeed, worthy of being reckoned -among those of whom the whole world is proud. Though not so great, -Maria is justly numbered among the illustrious women of Holland. She -was born at Nootdorp, near Delft, about 1630. She received her early -instruction from the distinguished flower-painter, David Heem. Her -father was a preacher of the Reformed religion, and took pains in -cultivating his daughter’s intellectual powers. He did not fail to -notice her remarkable inclination to painting, and her dissatisfaction, -and even disgust, at the trifles that served to amuse other girls of -her age. She always had the crayon in her hand.</p> - -<p>Her early productions gained much praise, and it was not long before -she obtained such exceeding skill as to become the rival of her -teacher. Admiring connoisseurs carried her fame abroad, and she became -celebrated at foreign courts. Her works were eagerly sought by the -first princes of the time, after Louis<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> XIV. of France had placed one -of them in his magnificent collection. The Emperor Leopold and the -empress sent for specimens of her powers, for which she received the -portraits of their imperial majesties, set in diamonds, in token of -their esteem. Her pieces commanded enormous prices. William III. of -England paid her nine hundred florins for a picture, and the sovereigns -of Europe seemed to vie with one another in heaping honors and fame on -this gifted woman. The King of Poland purchased three of her pictures -for two thousand four hundred florins. These sums were paid her with -every mark of respect, as presents from her friends rather than -professional remuneration.</p> - -<p>In the midst of all these honors Maria led a quiet and peaceful life, -undisturbed by excitement or change. She was surrounded by a pleasant -circle of friends; she worked indefatigably, and was always found in -her cabinet. To obtain more time to herself, she went to pay a visit -to her grandfather at Delft. One day she received a visit from a young -man, who announced himself as William van Aelst, and appeared anxious -to see some of her works. His admiration of them, was blended with an -ardent love for the artist. He at last summoned courage to declare -his passion, but Maria replied that she was firmly resolved against -matrimony. Her lively suitor, she thought, too, was unsuited to her -grave and quiet nature.</p> - -<p>Unwilling, however, to crush his hopes too suddenly and treat him -with unkindness, she annexed a condition to her acceptance of her -wooer, which she imagined would effectually deter him from prosecuting -his suit, or at least wear out his constancy. She required that he -should work ten hours of every day<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> for a year. The young man promised -readily; but, as she supposed, he had not perseverance enough to keep -his word. His studio was opposite Maria’s; she watched him from her -window, and failed not to mark on the sash the days he was absent from -his labors.</p> - -<p>At the end of the year William came to claim her promise. “You have -yourself absolved me from it,” was her reply; and, going to the window, -she pointed out to him the record of his idle days. The lover was -confounded, and retired disappointed.</p> - -<p>Maria painted flowers with an admirable finish and accuracy, and -displayed exquisite taste and art in their selection and grouping; -she had also wonderful skill in copying their fresh tints, and in the -harmonious adjustment of different colors. She took a long while and -bestowed much labor in finishing her works, and they are consequently -rare.</p> - -<p>She died at the age of sixty-three, at the house of her nephew, Jacques -von Assendelft, a preacher at Eutdam in Holland.</p> - - -<h3>RACHEL RUYSCH.</h3> - -<p>Rachel Ruysch (spelled also Ruisch or Reutch) trod in the footsteps -of Maria van Oosterwyck, and carried flower-painting to a perfection -never before attained. Descampes says her flowers and fruit “surpassed -nature herself.” It is certain that she succeeded in producing the -most perfect illusion; and the tasteful selection of her subject and -manner of grouping, disposition, and contrast, rendered the effect more -exquisite.</p> - -<p>This illustrious artist was the daughter of a famous anatomist, and -was born in Amsterdam, 1664. She received lessons in painting from -Wilhelm van Aelst,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> an artist who ranked with De Heem and Huysum among -Dutch flower-painters. He and his rivals were soon equaled by the fair -scholar, and thenceforward she took nature for her teacher.</p> - -<p>While her fame went abroad with her pictures, Rachel sat and worked -in her secluded room; but she could not hide herself from the arrows -of the boy-god. She married—Descampes and others say, at the age of -thirty—a portrait-painter named Julian van Pool, who fell in love, and -introduced himself to her.</p> - -<p>She became the mother of ten children. In the midst of domestic -cares, and the duties of attending to her offspring, she managed not -to neglect the art she loved so much; yet we are informed that her -children were admirably brought up. The toil and study must have been -immense which, in spite of the interruptions of household employments -and the depression of a narrow income, enabled her to attain such -excellence that her praises were sung by poets and poetesses, and her -fame traveled to every court in Europe. In 1701 the Academical Society -of Haye admitted her into membership; her reception picture was a -beautiful piece of roses and other flowers. Her celebrity became so -great that, in 1708, the Elector John of the Pfalz sent her a diploma, -naming her painter in ordinary to his court, and inviting her to take -up her residence in his capital. This prince wrote her another letter, -accompanying the gift of a complete toilet set in silver, twenty-eight -pieces, to which he added six flambeaux of the same metal. He promised -to stand godfather to one of her children. When she took her son to -Düsseldorf, the elector decorated the babe’s neck with a red ribbon, to -which was attached a magnificent gold medal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span></p> - -<p>In the elector’s service she produced a number of pictures, most of -them for her Mæcenas, who after paying for them always added honorable -presents. In 1713, on a second visit to Düsseldorf, she was received -with the distinction her great talents merited. The elector sent some -of her pictures to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, who admired and placed -them among his rich collection of master-pieces. Several of her works -were presented to royal personages; some were treasured in the gallery -of Düsseldorf, and some excellent pictures were preserved in Munich.</p> - -<p>After the death of her friend and patron, the elector, she returned to -Holland, and prosecuted her art with unwearied industry. She mourned -his loss as her friend and the generous protector of art; but her works -met with as great success, and Flanders and Holland even murmured at -their being taken to Germany.</p> - -<p>The advance of old age could not obscure her rare gifts; the pictures -she executed at eighty were as highly finished as at thirty. To genius -of the highest order she united all the virtues that dignify and adorn -the female character. Respected by the great—beloved even by her -rivals—praised by all who knew her—her path in life was strewn with -flowers, till at its peaceful close she laid her honors down. She died -in 1750, at the age of eighty-six, having been married fifty years and -five years a widow.</p> - -<p>Her works are rarely seen, from the difficulty of inducing possessors -in Holland to part with them. At Amsterdam there are four beautiful -pieces. Their chief merits are surprising vigor and a delicate finish, -with coloring true to nature. Flowers, fruits, and insects seem full of -fresh life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> - -<p>Rachel’s style combined a softness, lightness, and delicacy of touch -with a certain grandeur of disposition and powerful effect, which -caused the universal recognition of a manly spirit and nobility -of feeling in her works. In her portrait her hair is short, with -low-necked dress and beads round the throat. The features of the -artist, large and strongly marked, bear the same brave, open character -that spoke in the grouping and arrangement of her flowers—in the -freedom that marked her compositions and was blended with their -surprising lightness and grace. In the depth of coloring a delicate -poetic fragrance seemed to be infused.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br><span class="small">THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Unfavorable Circumstances for Painting in Germany.—Effects of the -Thirty Years’ War.—The national Love of Art shown by the Signs of -Life manifested.—Influence of the Reformation.—Inferiority of -German Art in this Century.—Ladies of Rank in Literature.—A female -Astronomer.—The Fame of Schurmann awakens Emulation.—Distinguished -Women.—Commencement of poetic Orders.—Zesen, the Patron of the -Sex.—Women who cultivated Art.—Paintresses of Nuremberg.—Barbara -Helena Lange.—Flower-painters and Engravers.—Modeling in Wax.—Women -Artists in Augsburg.—In Munich.—In Hamburg.—The Princess -Hollandina.—Her Paintings.—Maria Sibylla Merian.—Early Fondness -for Insects.—Maternal Opposition.—Her Marriage.—Publication -of her first Work.—Joins the Labadists.—Returns to the -Butterflies.—Curiosity to see American Insects.—Voyage to -Surinam.—Story of the Lantern-flies.—Return to Holland.—Her Works -published.—Republication in Paris afterward.—Her Daughters.—Her -personal Appearance.—The Danish Women Artists.—Anna Crabbe.—King’s -Daughters.—The Taste in Art in Denmark and England governed by -that of foreign Nations.—Female Artists in England.—The Poetesses -most prominent.—Miniaturists.—Portrait-painters.—Etchers.—Lady -Connoisseurs.—The Dwarf’s Daughter.—Anna Carlisle.—Mary -Beale.—Pupil of Sir Peter Lely.—Character of her Works.—Rumor -of Lely’s Attachment to her.—Poems in her Praise.—Mr. -Beale’s Note-books.—Anne Killegrew.—Her Portraits of the -Royal Family.—History and still-life Pieces.—Her Portrait by -Lely.—Her Character.—Dryden’s Ode to her Memory.—Her Poems -published.—Mademoiselle Rosée.—The Artist in Silk.—Wonderful -Effects.—Her Works Curiosities.—The Artist of the Scissors.—Her -singular imitative Powers.—A Copyist of old Paintings.—Her -Cuttings.—Views of all kinds done with the Scissors.—Royal and -imperial Visitors.—Her Trophy for the Emperor Leopold.—Poems in -her Praise.—The Swiss Paintress Anna Wasser.—Her Education and -Works.—Commissions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> from Courts.—Her Father’s Avarice.—Sojourn at a -Court.—Return home.—Fatal Accident.—Her literary Accomplishments.</p> -</div> - - -<p>While in the Netherlands, under the influence of the national -elevation, art grew into a school of peculiar nationality, much less -favorable circumstances existed in Germany. It may be said, indeed, -that none less favorable could be found in any country. It was not -merely that the land had been wasted by the Thirty Years’ War, for art -and knowledge have been known to bud and bloom amid a severe national -struggle. This contest, however, was one hostile to every generous -impulse and lofty aspiration, and tended to crush the noble energies -that are called forth in other conflicts. It was an internecine and -sordid strife; Germans were arrayed against Germans, and hordes of -foreign robbers were encouraged to plunder the country desolated by her -own children. In the reign of mean and base passions, there was no soil -where such flowers might bloom as then made beautiful the Netherlands.</p> - -<p>There was wanting, also, such a central point as was afforded in France -and Spain by the courts of Versailles and Madrid. All things revolved -in a narrow and sordid sphere of individual interest. That Germany, in -spite of this disastrous and gloomy condition, should have produced -artists, and that even women, with self-sacrificing zeal should have -manifested their predilection for the calling, is a proof of the deep -love for art implanted in the heart of the nation, showing itself in -brilliant flashes during the sixteenth century, and in the midst of -troubles not entirely extinguished. The Reformation, while it had -inspired Germany with the spirit of a new epoch, at first assumed a -position hostile to the arts that had contributed to embellish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> the old -faith. For three hundred years, by open force, blind fury, and cold -contempt, this misapprehension of the true scope of art threatened -to destroy what preceding ages had left of excellence; nor did the -struggle terminate till the nineteenth century.</p> - -<p>Signs of life in art had been first perceived in Germany toward the -beginning of the thirteenth century; and there had been progressive -stages of improvement. The stiffness and seriousness prescribed by -tradition were replaced by softer execution and an easier flow of -outline. Flowing drapery and grace marked the earliest attempts to -express the artist’s own feelings in his works, and a subjective -principle was allowed in paintings.</p> - -<p>In the revival of art toward the end of the fifteenth century the -sacred subjects of earlier ages had been much chosen. Afterward, the -artist’s own mind and emotions came forth in self-productive energy; -and, at a later period, rose into favor the accurate delineations of -nature’s forms.</p> - -<p>The inferiority of Germany in an artistic view, in the seventeenth -century, is undeniable; but many were found who longed after the -excellence of which other lands could boast. Women there were in -abundance who cultivated ornamental literature; noble ladies and -princesses patronized poets and courted the muses. Henrietta of Orange, -the consort of the great Elector, was one of several royal dames yet -remembered in their sacred songs. The lower orders could boast their -cultivated women; and the name of Maria Cunitz deserves mention as -learned in the science of astronomy.</p> - -<p>The fame of Anna Memorata, Fulvia Morata, and Anna Maria Schurmann -meanwhile filled the German<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> women with emulative desire to inscribe -their names beside those accomplished persons. Gertrude Möller was -learned in the languages, and Sibylla Schwarz in poetry. Even Rist, who -excluded women from his literary society, corresponded with the poetess -Maria Commer.</p> - -<p>This was the beginning of honorary poetic orders, and women were not -excluded from these, especially from those established by Zesen. He was -the patron and encourager of female genius and enterprise; his pen was -dedicated to the service of the sex, and his praises were reciprocated -by the grateful fair. In his “Lustinne” he sings of the lady poets of -his day.</p> - -<p>The female artists of that time seemed, indeed, to lack such generous -appreciation; and it may be that the enthusiastic eulogies lavished by -poets on each other had a selfish aim. Yet the period was not without -a goodly number of women who cultivated art, and it is not improbable -that the success of the poetesses had some effect in stimulating their -zeal. The example of the illustrious Schurmann, who wore the double -wreath of both branches of study, was before their eyes; and the Dutch -school had much influence in forming tastes in Germany.</p> - -<p>The love of exercising creative power naturally developed itself in -various ways. Nuremberg, the seat of the Pegnitzschäfer order of -bards; Hamburg, the residence of the chivalrous Zesen; Saxony, where -flourished many fair devotees to literature—were not abandoned by the -spirit of art. In the first-mentioned city we hear of two paintresses -descended from families celebrated for artistic excellence: Susannah -Maria von Sandrart, who also did etching in copper; and Esther Juvenel, -who drew plans for architecture. To<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> these may be added the name of -Barbara Helena Lange, who earned celebrity by engraving on copper, and -carving figures in ivory and alabaster. She was admitted to the Pegnitz -order, on account of her poetical talent, in 1679, her poetical name -being entered as Erone. In 1686 she married one Kopsch, and with him -removed to Berlin, and afterward to Amsterdam.</p> - -<p>The names of Maria Clara Eimart and Magdalena Fürst may here be -mentioned as flower-painters; that of Helen Preisler as an engraver on -copper; and Joanna Sabina Preu as both an engraver and modeler in wax. -All these obtained no insignificant reputation.</p> - -<p>In Nuremberg also lived, in 1684, Anna Maria Pfründt, born in Lyons. -She modeled portraits in wax, some of which were those of persons of -high rank, and, adorned with costly drapery and precious stones, gained -a wide-spread reputation for the artist.</p> - -<p>Augsburgh was also rich in evidences of woman’s artistic taste. -Susannah Fischer and Johanna Sibylla Küsel excelled in painting, -while her younger sisters, Christina and Magdalena Küsel, with Maria -Wieslatin, engraved in copper. Others surpassed the Nurembergers in -fine carving.</p> - -<p>In Regensburgh lived Anna Catharina Fischer, a flower and portrait -painter; in Munich, Isabella del Pozzo was appointed court painter -by the Electress Adelaide, and the miniature-painter Maria Rieger -was employed very frequently by princely personages. Placida Lamme -distinguished herself about the same time by painting miniatures and -carving pictures, with which she occupied her time in the Bavarian -cloister of Hohenwart.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p> - -<p>In Hamburg, Mariana Van der Stoop and Diana Glauber were painters -by profession, and in Saxony we find a skillful portrait-painter in -Margaretta Rastrum, who pursued her art in Leipzig. The above-mentioned -Anna Catharina Fischer lived a long time in Halle, with her husband, a -painter named Block. Toward the end of this century we hear of Madame -Ravemann, who executed a beautiful medal—an exquisite specimen of -cutting—for Augustus the Second.</p> - - -<h3>THE PRINCESS HOLLANDINA.</h3> - -<p>Casting a glance over western Germany, we find the artistic poverty -of the land redeemed by a princess who loved the liberal arts—Louise -Hollandina, of the Pfalz. She was the daughter of the unhappy Friedrich -V., and the sister of the Princess Elizabeth, whose chief celebrity -arose from her veneration for the philosopher Descartes; also of -the Prince Ruprecht, noted in art history for his drawings and his -leaves in the black art. Hollandina, with her sister Sophia, received -instruction in painting from the famous Gerard Honthorst, and painted -large historical pictures in the style of that master, of which at the -present time very little is known. Two of Hollandina’s paintings were -added to the collection of her uncle, King Charles—one representing -Tobias and the Angel; the other, a falconer. An altar-piece by her hand -adorns a church in Paris. Lovelace, in his poetry, speaks highly of the -abilities of this princess.</p> - -<p>Her family originated from the same place that gave birth to Anna Maria -Schurmann—the city of Cologne—where that famed artist obtained her -early education.</p> - -<p>We must not omit to mention Frankfort-on-the-Main,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> where, in the -middle of the seventeenth century, lived one of the most celebrated -women of whom Germany then could boast. This was</p> - - -<h3>MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN.</h3> - -<p>She was the daughter of Matthew Merian, the well-known geographer -and engraver, and born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1647. Her father -published a topographical work in Germany, in thirty-one folio volumes. -Her mother was the daughter of Theodore de Bry, an engraver of repute.</p> - -<p>A remarkable circumstance, and one contrary to the usual experience -of extraordinary persons, was, that Sibylla devoted herself to the -vocation of the artist in opposition to her mother’s wishes and in the -face of great difficulties. In this respect she differed from most -other women artists; for they, as a rule, were led to the study by -parental example or domestic training.</p> - -<p>From the early childhood of this singular girl she manifested a -persevering spirit of research in natural history, with a fondness for -examining specimens of vegetable and animal life. It is possible that -this natural predilection was owing to one of those accidents that so -often determine the course and bent of human intellect. Her mother, -shortly before her birth, it is said, took a fancy to make a collection -of curious stones, mussels, and different sorts of caterpillars. -However this may be, it is certain that the child, at a very early age, -showed the same taste, and no maternal reproaches or punishment could -keep her from indulging the strange fancy. She would, however, conceal -her treasures. At last her step-father, the painter Jacob Marrel, -having persuaded the mother to consent,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> arranged it so that the girl -took lessons of the famous flower-painter, Abraham Mignon.</p> - -<p>In the year 1665, at eighteen, she married John Andrew Graf, a painter -and designer in architecture. The marriage was not a happy one, but -she lived with Graf nearly twenty years in Nuremberg, in a lonely and -secluded manner, devoted solely to her art, as she herself says in -the preface to one of her published works, giving up intercourse with -society, and beguiling her time by the examination of the various -species of insects, of which she made drawings, and by the study of -their transformations.</p> - -<p>She painted her specimens first on parchment, and many of those -pictures were distributed among amateurs. Encouraged by them, she -published, in 1679, a work entitled “The Wonderful Transformations of -Caterpillars,” a quarto volume, with copper engravings, executed by -herself after her own drawings. Another volume appeared in 1684.</p> - -<p>The affairs of Graf having become embarrassed, and his conduct being -much censured, he was compelled to leave his family and go out of the -country. After this separation, Sibylla never assumed her husband’s -name in any of her publications, but issued them under her maiden name. -About 1684 she went to Frankfort, and prepared for a journey to West -Friesland with her mother and daughters. There she became possessed -with the religious enthusiasm which had driven so many women into -strange doings, and joined the sect of the Labadists, taking up her -abode at the Castle Bosch.</p> - -<p>Sibylla did not yield her energies, however, entirely to the dominion -of this kind of phrensy; her old habits of study and research followed -her. Butterflies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> and worms again occupied her attention, and she soon -took a deep interest in all the collections of animals from the East -and West Indies which she discovered were within her reach.</p> - -<p>Among those persons whose collections were most admired by her was -Fridericus Ruysch, a doctor of medicine and professor of botany, and -the father of the Rachel Ruysch already noticed. It is not difficult -to believe that the example and conversation of a woman so gifted and -so devoted to study as Madame Merian had a decisive influence upon the -character of the youthful Rachel.</p> - -<p>Our heroic and industrious heroine was delighted at the opportunity -of examining such interesting collections; for, besides the pleasure -her investigations in natural history afforded her, she was stimulated -by an inextinguishable desire to know all that could be learned about -that department of the animal kingdom. At length, anxious to see the -metamorphoses and food of American insects, she determined to undertake -that laborious and expensive journey to Surinam which she accomplished -in June, 1699. The States of Holland assisted her with the means of -travel. Her journey gave occasion to the following lines by a French -poet:</p> - -<p class="poetry" xml:lang="fr" lang="fr"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Sibylla à Surinam va chercher la nature,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Avec l’esprit d’un Sage, et le cœur d’un Heros.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>The place of her destination was Dutch Guiana, often called Surinam, -from a river of that name, on which the capital, Paramaribo, is -situated. It is said that, one day during her residence there, the -Indians brought Madame Merian a number of living lantern-flies, which -she put into a box; but they made so much noise at night, that she rose -from her bed and opened their prison. The multitude of fiery flames -issuing from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> the box so terrified her that she immediately dropped it -on the ground. Hence came marvelous stories of the strong light emitted -by that insect.</p> - -<p>She remained in America nearly two years, till the summer of 1701, -notwithstanding the unfavorable effect of the climate on her health, -and the difficulties thus encountered in the prosecution of her -studies. Though strong of will, she could not long bear up against -such an enemy, and was obliged to return much sooner than suited her -inclinations.</p> - -<p>In September she was again in Holland, where her splendid paintings, on -parchment, of American insects, excited the greatest admiration among -the connoisseurs. They pressed her to publish a work that would open a -world of vegetables and animals hitherto unknown; and, in spite of the -great expense, she resolved at last, without expectation of a return -for her outlay, to engrave her pictures for publication. The reward of -her labors was to be in the sale of successive editions. This work was -entitled “Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, etc. The text drawn -up by Gaspar Commelin, from the MSS. of the author.”</p> - -<p>In 1771 a collection of Madame Merian’s works was published in Paris, -translated into French; and to this day are to be seen engravings, -nearly of the size of the original, of the various paintings made by -this enthusiastic woman of objects that struck her fancy—caterpillars, -butterflies, spiders, snakes, and various kinds of animals and -plants—executed with all the luxury of brilliant coloring, and -illustrated by choice poetry.</p> - -<p>Her great work was entitled “History of the Insects of Europe, drawn -from Nature, and explained, by Maria Sibylla Merian.” It included a -treatise on the generation and metamorphoses of insects, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> -plants on which they feed. Her pictures were not only executed with -fidelity, but each insect appeared in its first state with the most -pleasing accompaniments. With those metamorphosed from the chrysalis or -nymph to the fly or butterfly, were presented the plants and flowers -they loved, all correctly and tastefully delineated.</p> - -<p>Even after the appearance of her work, in 1705, the persevering artist -continued her studies in natural history, in which she was joined by -both her daughters, whom she had educated to pursuits of art. Dorothea, -the youngest, had accompanied her to Surinam, while the eldest, Joanna -Maria Helena, came afterward with her husband, a merchant of Amsterdam, -to assist her mother in collecting and painting specimens. It was the -mother’s intention to publish the pictures made by her daughters in an -appendix to her own collected works; but her death, which occurred in -January, 1717, prevented this, and the daughters afterward published -the results of their labors in a separate volume.</p> - -<p>This extraordinary woman, whose labors contributed so much to the -improvement and embellishment of the natural history of insects, was -little favored by gifts of beauty or personal grace. Her portrait shows -hard and heavy-lined features. A curious headdress, made of folds of -black stuff, rises high above the head, and inclines a little to the -left. Short, light curls appear above a cambric ruffle, finishing a -half-low corsage. She is undoubtedly entitled to a place among great -artists.</p> - -<p>The history of Madame Merian rounds off that of German female artists -belonging to the seventeenth century with an exhibition of more than -ordinary interest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span></p> - - -<h3>THE DANISH WOMEN ARTISTS.</h3> - -<p>A glimpse may here be had of the artists of Denmark and England. -Anna Crabbe was a painter by profession in Copenhagen before the -year 1618. She painted a series of portraits of Danish princes, to -which she added a poetical description of each. The daughter of King -Christian IV., Eleonora Christina, who married the minister Ulefeld, -was not only celebrated for her beauty and intellectual gifts, but -for skill in various branches of art—engraving, modeling in wax, -and miniature-painting. Her daughter Helena Christina possessed like -talents.</p> - -<p>Toward the close of the century, Sophie Hedwig, the daughter of King -Christian V., became noted as an artist, gaining much reputation by her -performances in portrait, landscape, and flower painting.</p> - -<p>Neither in Denmark nor in England was any special direction given -to art by the national character; on the contrary, in both these -countries, the prevailing taste was governed by that of foreign -nations—as the Dutch and German.</p> - - -<h3>ENGLISH FEMALE ARTISTS.</h3> - -<p>In England there were not many women artists, although in literature -the sex was not without its share of laurels, and in dramatic poetry -and prose romance women contended for appreciation with masculine -writers. The poetess Joanna Weston was a great admirer of Anna Maria -Schurmann, and took her for a model; but there were no painters who -could be compared in merit to the women who cultivated poetry.</p> - -<p>As miniature-painters, Susannah Penelope Gibson<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> may be mentioned; -also Penelope Cleyn. The latter was the daughter of a German painter, -and her sisters Magdalen and Sarah were also devoted to the art. They -painted the portrait of Richard Cromwell’s daughter.</p> - -<p>Mary More obtained some distinction as a portrait-painter. It was in -England that the Princess Hollandina, before mentioned, took lessons in -painting, with her sister Sophie, from Gerard Honthorst.</p> - -<p>In the noble art of etching Anna and Susannah Lister were regarded as -having much skill; they illustrated a work on natural history by their -father, in the manner of Madame Merian, by their artistic efforts.</p> - -<p>A lady connoisseur and engraver of much taste was the Countess of -Carlisle. She perhaps set the fashion afterward followed by so many -fair dilettanti, who exercised so much influence in England during the -succeeding century.</p> - -<p>Susan Penelope Rose, according to Lord Orford, was the daughter of -Richard Gibson the Dwarf. She married a jeweler, and became noted for -painting portraits in water colors with great freedom. Her miniatures -were larger than usual. She died at forty-eight in 1700.</p> - -<p>A contemporary of Vandyck was Mrs. Anna Carlisle, who died about 1680. -She was celebrated for her copies of the Italian masters. Charles I. -esteemed her highly. She once shared with Vandyck a present from their -royal patron, of ultramarine; it is said to have cost the king five -hundred pounds. This renders it probable that she painted in oil; for -the quantity was too large for use in miniatures.</p> - -<p>One of her works represents herself teaching a lady<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> to paint. This -artist must not be confounded with the Countess of Carlisle, who was -distinguished for her beautiful engravings of the works of Salvator -Rosa, Guido, etc.</p> - - -<h3>MARY BEALE,</h3> - -<p class="p0">the daughter of Mr. Craddock, a clergyman, was born at Suffolk about -1632. She received some instruction from Walker, but was a favorite -pupil of Sir Peter Lely. She painted in oil, water-colors, and crayons. -She acquired much of the Italian style by copying old pictures from -Lely’s and the royal collection. She copied some of the portraits of -Vandyck. Her works were remarkable for vigor of drawing and fresh -coloring, with great purity and sweetness. The artist was an estimable -and amiable woman; was highly respected, and mingled in the society of -the noble and the learned. Her pencil was employed by many personages -of distinction. Her husband was an inferior painter.</p> - -<p>It was rumored that Sir Peter Lely was romantically attached to his -fair pupil; but his love could not have met with return, for he is -known to have been reserved in communicating to her the resources of -his pencil. He refused to intrust to her one of the important secrets -of his art.</p> - -<p>Several poems in praise of Mrs. Beale were published; one in particular -is remembered, by Dr. Woodfall, in which she is celebrated under the -name of “Belasia.” Her husband, Charles Beale, had the curious practice -of noting in small almanac pocket-books almost daily accounts of -whatever related to his wife, her pictures, or himself. He practiced -chemistry for the preparation of colors. He bequeathed thirty of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> the -almanacs, filled with his notes, and records of the praises lavished on -his wife’s pictures, to a colorman named Carter.</p> - -<p>Walpole says Mrs. Beale’s portraits were numerous. She painted one of -Otway, the poet. The Archbishop Tillotson was her patron, and many of -the clergy sat to her. The archbishop’s portrait is the first of an -ecclesiastic who, quitting the coif of silk, is delineated in a brown -wig.</p> - -<p>Some have said that she persuaded her friends to sit to Lely, that she -might learn his method of coloring. There is no doubt that she rose to -the first rank in her profession. One of her sons became a painter. She -died at Pall Mall in 1697, aged sixty-five.</p> - - -<h3>ANNE KILLEGREW—</h3> - -<p>“A grace for beauty, and a muse for wit,” as writes one of her -admirers—was the daughter of Henry Killegrew, descended of a family -remarkable for loyalty, accomplishments, and talent. She proved one -of its brightest ornaments. She was born in London, and at a very -early age discovered a remarkable genius. She became celebrated both -in painting and poetry. One of her portraits was of the Duke of York, -afterward James II.; others, of Mary of Modena and the Duchess of -York, to whom she was maid of honor. These pieces were highly praised -by Dryden. She produced, also, several history-pieces, and pictures -of still life. Becket did her miniature in mezzotint, after her own -painting; it was prefixed to the published edition of her poems. The -painting was in the style of Sir Peter Lely, which she imitated with -great success. Her portrait, taken by Lely, has a pleasing expression, -though the air is slightly prim. The dress is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> low-necked, with beads, -and a mantle is fastened at the breast with a brooch. Curls cluster -round the face; the back hair is loose and flowing.</p> - -<p>Though called “mistress,” after the fashion of the time, Anne was never -married. She was a woman of unblemished character and exemplary piety. -Death cut short her promising career, by small-pox, in 1685—as Wood -says, “to the unspeakable reluctancy of her relations”—when she was -but twenty-five years of age. She was buried in Savoy Chapel, where -a monument is fixed in the wall, bearing a Latin inscription by her -father, setting forth her accomplishments, virtue, and piety.</p> - -<p>Dryden’s ode to her memory was called by Dr. Johnson “the noblest -our language has produced.” Another critic terms it “a harmonious -hyperbole, composed of the fall of Adam, Arethusa, Vestal virgins, -Diana, Cupid, Noah’s ark, the Pleiades, the fall of Jehoshaphat, and -the last assizes.” After lauding her poetic excellence, Dryden says:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Her pencil drew whate’er her soul designed;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And oft the happy draft surpassed the image of her mind.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>And of her portrait of James II.:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“For, not content to express his outward part,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her hand called out the image of his heart;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His warlike mind—his soul devoid of fear—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His high-designing thoughts were figured there.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding such flattery, Anthony Wood says, “There is nothing -spoken of her which she was not equal to, if not superior;” and -adds, “If there had not been more true history in her praises than -compliment, her father never would have suffered them to pass the -press.”</p> - -<p>Her poems appeared after her death in a thin quarto<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> volume, prefaced -by the ode and the Latin epitaph. Among her history-pieces were “St. -John in the Wilderness,” “Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist,” -and “Two of Diana’s Nymphs.” The melodious eulogizer of her graces and -gifts remarks of the queen’s portrait:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Our phœnix queen was portrayed too, so bright,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beauty alone could beauty take so right;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Before, a train of heroines was seen,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In beauty foremost, as in rank a queen.”</span><br> -</p> - - -<h3>THE ARTIST IN SILK.</h3> - -<p>Mademoiselle Rosée, born in Leyden in 1632, deserves a place among -eminent artists for the singularity of her talents. Instead of using -colors, with oil or gum, she used silk for the delicate shading. It -can hardly be understood how she managed to apply the fibres, and to -imitate the flesh-tints, blending and mellowing them so admirably. -She thus painted portraits, as well as landscapes and architecture. -Michel Carré, who saw one of her portraits, says, “It can scarcely be -believed it is not done by the pencil.” One of her pieces brought five -hundred florins. It represented the decayed trunk of a tree, covered -with moss and leaves. On the top a bird has made her nest. The shading -and the sky in the distance left nothing to be desired for coloring and -truthful effect. The Grand-Duke of Tuscany purchased one of her finest -pieces, which is yet preserved among the curiosities of his collection. -She was never married, and died at the age of fifty, in 1682.</p> - - -<h3>THE ARTIST OF THE SCISSORS.</h3> - -<p>Joanna Koerten Block is regarded by the Dutch as one of their most -remarkable female artists. She was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> born in Amsterdam in 1650, and -manifested a taste for the fine arts in her childhood. She learned -music and embroidery, and how to model fruits and figures; she also -understood coloring, and engraved with a diamond on crystal and glass -with surprising delicacy. She also painted in oil and water colors -in a novel manner. Possessing a rare art in blending colors, she -copied pictures so wonderfully that they could hardly be distinguished -from the originals. This faculty of imitation she carried to such -perfection, that it was believed among her contemporaries that, had -she devoted herself exclusively to this kind of work, she would have -equaled the great masters. She gave up, however, after a while, the -cultivation of this singular talent for the development of another -still more extraordinary, for which she has obtained a place among the -great artists of her country.</p> - -<p>All that the engraver accomplishes with the burin, she was able to -do with the scissors. Her cuttings were indeed astonishing. Country -scenes, marine views, animals, flowers, with portraits of perfect -resemblance, she executed in a marvelous manner. This novel style of -making pictures out of white paper created not a little sensation, -and ere long the matter became spread abroad widely, and excited the -curiosity of all the courts of Europe. Even artists could not help -admiring her skill in this strange art, and not one came to Amsterdam -without paying her a visit.</p> - -<p>The Czar Peter the Great, princes of royal blood, and nobles of the -highest rank paid their respects to the simple Dutch maiden, and -examined her works with pleased curiosity. The Elector Palatine offered -a thousand florins for three small pieces cut by her, but the offer was -declined as not liberal enough.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span></p> - -<p>The Empress of Germany ordered a piece executed as a trophy of the arms -of the Emperor Leopold I. The design showed the crown and imperial -arms upheld by eagles, and surrounded by laurel wreaths, garlands of -flowers, and appropriate ornaments. This was executed in a wonderful -manner, and for it the fair artist received four thousand florins.</p> - -<p>The portrait of the emperor, cut by Joanna, is preserved in his -imperial majesty’s cabinet at Vienna. Queen Mary of England, and other -royal personages, wished to decorate their cabinets with the works -of this artist. She cut many portraits, with which the sitters were -pleased and astonished. The Latin, German, and Dutch verses composed -in her honor would fill a volume. She had in her working-room a volume -in which were registered the names of her illustrious visitors, the -princes and princesses and other great personages writing their -own. It is the same curious register in which Nicholas Verkslie saw -the portraits of illustrious persons, appended each to the proper -signature. This interesting addition is said to have been made by -Adrien Block, the artist’s husband. He published a series of vignettes -from her pieces.</p> - -<p>Joanna died in 1715, at the age of sixty-five. Her taste and design -were marked by correctness and delicacy, and she was original and -unique in the style of work to which she devoted herself. When her -pieces were put over black paper, the effect was that of an engraving -or pen-drawing. Neatness, clearness, and decision were her prominent -characteristics.</p> - -<p>Her portrait, coarsely engraved, is published by Descampes. She had a -noble style of face, with strongly marked features. The hair is dressed -in a point in front; the neckerchief and dress are worn in antiquated -style.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p> - -<p>Among the distinguished artists of the seventeenth century we must not -omit</p> - - -<h3>ANNA WASSER.</h3> - -<p>She was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1676, and is esteemed by the -Swiss as one of their most eminent painters. Her father was Rudolph -Wasser, a member of the Grand Council of Zurich, and artist of the -foundation of the Cathedral. She very early evinced a remarkable -faculty for learning languages, and at the age of twelve was familiar -with Latin and French, and acquainted with the general literature of -those tongues. Her rapid progress in belles-lettres astonished every -body, and gave the promise of wonderful attainments; but the bent of -her genius was for art. She took lessons of the painter Joseph Werner, -and had no sooner learned to handle a pencil, than she could think -of nothing else. When thirteen years old she made a copy of Werner’s -“Flora” in Bern, which convinced all her friends that she was destined -by nature for an artist. The painter himself praised her correct design -and perfect imitation of his coloring, and advised her father to send -her to Bern to study. She spent three years in the school; at first -employing herself in oil painting, but finally abandoning that for -miniatures. By the time her education was completed she had reached a -perfection little short of that of her teacher.</p> - -<p>Returning to Zurich, she devoted herself to art as a profession. Her -productions were taken to England, Holland, and Germany, where they -were greatly admired, and her contemporaries extolled her as a second -Schurmann. There was scarcely a court in the German empire from which -she had not commissions.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> Those of Baden-Durlach and Stuttgard disputed -which should possess the greatest number of her works. The Duke of -Wurtemberg, Eberhard Louis, and his sister, the Margravine von Durlach, -sent her large portraits to be painted in miniature.</p> - -<p>While Anna’s fame spread throughout Germany, her very success tended -to throw difficulties in the way of her artistic progress. Her -father was pressed with the care of a large family, and thought his -interests would be favored more by multiplying the number of his -daughter’s works, than by allowing her time to finish them. He urged -her continually to new enterprises. Thus depressed and tied to sordid -cares, Anna lost her spirits and fell into a melancholy that threatened -to destroy her health. Happily, at this time, the court of Solms -Braunfels made her favorable proposals of employment. She accepted the -invitation, went there with one of her brothers, and soon found she -would be enabled to indulge her taste for elaborating and perfecting -her paintings. She rapidly regained her cheerfulness, and became the -delight and admiration of the circles in which she moved. Again her -father’s avarice disturbed this agreeable state of things. He sent her -an abrupt summons to return home, where he expected her to do more work -for his benefit. She obeyed the command, but on the journey, made in -such haste, she got a severe fall, the effects of which terminated her -life in 1713, at the age of thirty-four.</p> - -<p>Fuseli possessed a painting in oil done by Anna Wasser at the age of -thirteen. He gave her praise for correctness of outline, and for spirit -of coloring. She appears to have excelled most in pastoral and rural -pieces, which it was her delight to paint. Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> compositions were -marked by great ingenuity, and were finished with exquisite delicacy.</p> - -<p>Her literary accomplishments procured her the friendship of the most -eminent scholars of her day in Germany; such as Werner, Meyer, Hubert, -Steller, etc., and she corresponded with many celebrated persons. Among -her female friends was Clara Eimart, already mentioned among German -artists. Her manners were gentle and dignified, and her character was -pure and blameless. To filial obedience she would at any time sacrifice -her own inclinations; indeed she often carried her devotion to excess.</p> - -<p>The portrait given of her shows delicate and sharply defined features. -The hair is worn in Grecian style, with ringlets at the side, and -braids falling on her neck. She appears surrounded with flowers, with -baskets of fruit beside her.</p> - -<p>Maria Theresa van Thielen, and her two sisters, the daughters of an -artist of noble family, were instructed by him in flower-painting, the -first excelling also in portraits.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>General Expansion and Extension of Art-culture.—More Scope given to -the Tendencies originated in preceding Age.—Reminiscences of past -Glories of Art active during the first half of the Century.—The -Flemish and Italian Schools in vogue.—Eclecticism.—Influences of -the French School mingled with those of the great Masters.—The -Rococo Style.—The Aggregate of Woman’s Labor greater than ever -before.—Not accompanied by greater Depth.—Less Individuality -discernible.—The greatest artistic Activity among Women in -Germany.—In France next.—In Italy next.—In other Countries -less.—Rapid Growth of Art in Berlin.—In Dresden.—Scholarship -and literary Position of Women during the first half of the -Century.—Poets and their Inspirations.—Princesses the Patrons -of Letters.—Nothing new or striking in Art.—A Revolution in -the latter half of the Century.—Instruction in Art a Branch of -Education.—Dilettanti of high Rank.—Female Pupils of Painters -of Note.—Mengs and Carstens.—Carstens the Founder of modern -German Art.—His Style not adapted to female Talent.—A lovely -Form standing between him and Mengs.—A female Stamp-cutter.—An -Artist in Wax-work.—In Stucco-work.—In cutting precious -Stones.—Barbara Preisler.—Other female Artists.—Fashionable Taste -in Painting.—Marianna Hayd.—Miniaturists.—Anna Maria Mengs.—Her -Works.—Miniature and Pastel-painting.—Flowers and Landscapes a -Passion.—Imitators of Rachel Ruysch and Madame Merian.—Celebrities -in Flower-painting.—Copper-engraving. Lady Artists of high -Rank.—Other Devotees to Art.</p> -</div> - - -<p>During the greater part of the eighteenth century we find rather a -general expansion and extension of taste and cultivation in the arts, -than a concentration of effort or a more rich and earnest development -of talent. The period gave more scope to the tendencies that had been -originated and determined in a preceding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span> age. Connoisseurs fed upon -reminiscences of the past glories of art, and no new ideas were brought -to the world’s notice till the first half of the century had rolled -away.</p> - -<p>The Flemish and Italian schools were in vogue, slightly modified, -but, on the whole, scarcely changed in any essential particular; or a -blending of diverse styles produced some artists who hardly deserve -notice for their individual merits. A spirit of eclecticism may, -indeed, be traced in the productions of the best masters of this time. -The sovereigns in the domain of art had then passed away, and with the -influence they still exercised was mingled that of the French school. -The brilliancy and glow of Titian and Paul Veronese, the deep poetic -feeling of Giorgione, the purity and tenderness of Raphael and Leonardo -da Vinci, the rugged grandeur of Michael Angelo, the soft, transparent -loveliness of Correggio, the bright beauty of Guido and Albano, and the -power and passion of the Caravaggio school, disputed the consideration -of amateurs with the light and lively style, the graceful mannerism of -a Watteau and a Bouché, and something of the reflective character of -the German Raphael Mengs, or that of Carstens and of Dietrich.</p> - -<p>The finished and ornate manner of France especially became popular -over all the countries of Europe, exercising the same influence, in a -measure, upon art that it had upon literature. Hence originated the -style that has been aptly termed the Rococo—wanting in depth and -warmth, indeed, but having a certain completeness of technical detail -productive of happy effects.</p> - -<p>The fresh life and earnest vigor that had marked the earlier schools -were paralyzed in this, and we do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> not wonder that a better condition -followed the reawakening of artistic feeling.</p> - -<p>It is not to be denied that the aggregate amount of woman’s labor in -the domain of art was greater during the eighteenth century than in -any preceding one; indeed, the number of female artists far surpassed -the collected number of those known from earliest history. So vast an -increase was not according to the proportion of other vocations. It -is also true that, in their efforts, as in those of the men of this -period, the extension was not accompanied by greater depth, and less -individuality was discernible in the talent and skill which became more -generally diffused; hence the well-grounded complaint that the time was -deficient in great men. Nevertheless, the sum of ability and knowledge -had not diminished, though, in its manifold branchings and divisions, -such might appear to be the case.</p> - -<p>We find, therefore, a certain uniformity and mediocrity among numerous -women artists of the eighteenth century, rather than eminent talent in -special instances. Yet this was not wholly wanting, while the standard -of excellence was elevated, and a more general spirit of emulation -prevailed.</p> - -<p>Contrary to the experience of preceding ages, we discover the greatest -evidence of artistic activity among women in Germany; next to that, -in France; then in Italy. The Netherlands and England may be classed -together, while Spain and the Scandinavian countries are at the minimum -in this respect. These proportions are not owing to chance, but -correspond with the general development of art among the nations at -this time.</p> - -<p>The aspect of female culture also corresponded with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> national -characteristics. The decorative was of rapid growth and early bloom in -Prussia; Berlin, hardly mentioned heretofore, became suddenly alive -with energetic talent superior to that which displayed itself in any -other German city. Art sprang into luxuriance, too, at the Electoral -court, and Dresden claimed no insignificant rank in the scale. France -meanwhile sustained her old renown; while Nuremberg and Munich should -not be slighted. But the Austrian and Rhine countries had less reason -to boast; and many cities of northern Germany were in like poverty of -women artists.</p> - -<p>During the first half of the eighteenth century, the order of things -differed not essentially from the close of the seventeenth; in fact, -the same influences predominated, both in literature and art. The -Pegnitzschäfer and other poetical orders were still in existence; the -sacred poems composed by noble ladies had their imitations; female -authors wrote after the established fashion, while they entered on -a wider field, and partook of the new spirit breathed into German -poetry. Women then became not only creators in the realm of fancy and -imagination, but exercised a controlling influence, by their relations -of friendship and intimacy with distinguished literary characters. Meta -arose beside her Klopstock; Herder sought inspiration from his bride; -by Wieland stood Sophie Delaroche; Schiller was aided by Caroline -Wolzogen and Madame von Kalb; Goëthe by Madame von Stein. Princesses -and the noble ladies of the land gave their patronage and protection to -letters, and sought to gather round them the choice spirits of their -day. This, in the beginning of the century, did Sophie Charlotte, the -great Queen of Prussia; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> Amalia von Weimar thus aided the richest -development of German mind.</p> - -<p>Though nothing new or striking can be said to have been accomplished -in art by women during the first half of this century, the latter part -witnessed a revolution in which they greatly aided to spread and deepen -the growth of new ideas. It became necessary to the complete education -of ladies of the higher classes, that they should possess some -knowledge of art. Hagedorn mentions the fact that a teacher who could -give instruction in drawing and painting could much more readily obtain -a situation than one ignorant of those branches. Fashion and custom -enjoined not only a degree of knowledge, but also of skill, on those -who wished to be thought accomplished. There were many aristocratic -dilettanti, and a few royal ladies emulated the fame of the princely -dames of an older time in the pictorial crafts.</p> - -<p>Among these may be mentioned, Anna Amalia, of Brunswick; the -Archduchesses Charlotte and Maria Anna, of Austria; Duchess Sophia, -of Coburg-Saalfeld; the Margravine of Baden-Durlach; the Princess -Victoria, of Anhalt-Bernburg, and Elizabeth Ernestine Antonia, -of Saxe-Meiningen; besides the excellent Elizabeth Christina, of -Brunswick, who sought to promote the restoration of art and the advance -of knowledge, for the love of Frederick, her royal husband, and who -will ever be honored as the ornament of a house that henceforward -showed itself ready to foster and appreciate the liberal arts.</p> - -<p>We observe here, as before, that many painters of note had female -pupils or assistants, who endeavored to carry out the ideas they -originated. Dietrich, esteemed one of the best masters of the eclectic -school of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span> the eighteenth century, had his enthusiasm shared by his -two sisters; Tischbein, who cultivated the French style, as Dietrich -did the Dutch, found appreciative companions and co-laborers in his -wife and daughter; and there were other women who strove to ennoble the -eclectic system by greater purity of tone and a more ardent study of -the antique. Oeser had several female pupils; and two sisters worked -in modest retirement beside the greatest artist of this style—Antoine -Raphael Mengs—having been taken through the same course of severe -study and exercise by their pedantic father.</p> - -<p>Carstens obtained and brought to perfection what Mengs toiled to reach -and realize. The grand and comprehensive ideas of Winkelmann found in -him a harmonious development. Averse to the reflective, which formed -the chief characteristic of Mengs and Oeser, he was steeped in the -inspiration caught from the antique ideal, and, without becoming a -copyist of any style, was able to reproduce the seed from the fruitful -soil of his own endowments. He may be called the founder of modern -German art. His grand, bold, and ingenious style did not particularly -commend itself to female talent; we do not find, therefore, that he had -any disciples of the softer sex.</p> - -<p>Between Carstens and Mengs, however, stands a lovely female form, -in age midway betwixt them, as in the peculiar bent of her genius; -less minute and reflective than Mengs, less grand and impressive than -Carstens. It is Angelica Kauffman, the gem of all the women artists of -this period; preserving the forms of the antique in her own delicate, -elegant, and charming style; wielding her power with such gracious -sweetness that all who behold are attracted to render the homage of -heartfelt admiration.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p> - -<p>It was now that fresh vitality was infused into German art by a -contemplation of the antique, while the forms of humanity and nature -were observed with greater freedom. Chodowiecki pursued this system, -and was one of the most successful artists <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>; while -his daughter, his pupil, Mademoiselle Bohren, and Kobell’s scholar, -Crescentia Schott, were instrumental in preparing the way for the -advance of painting in the style lately introduced.</p> - -<p>If we turn now from a general and hasty survey to the notice of -particular branches, it becomes a duty to record the names of some -women who practiced the most difficult and laborious of the plastic -arts. One of these was stamp-cutting. One who first evinced skill in -this kind of work was Rosa Elizabeth Schwindel of Leipzig, who plied -her art in Berlin at the commencement of the eighteenth century. -A beautiful medal of Queen Sophia Charlotte, executed by her, is -preserved. She was accomplished also in the cutting of gems and in -modeling in wax. In wax-work, Elizabeth Ross of Salzburg, Dorothea Menn -of Cologne, and Madame Weis, probably of Strasburg, were noted. As a -stone-cutter, Charlotte Rebecca Schild of Hanau worked in Paris. Rosina -Pflauder, in Salzburg, assisted her husband in stucco-work.</p> - -<p>In the same kind of work, as well as in painting, Maria Juliana Wermuth -of Gotha displayed both industry and skill. In cutting precious stones -Susanna Maria Dorsch gained some celebrity. She was born at Nuremberg -in 1701, and married the painter Solomon Graf, taking the noted painter -and engraver, J. J. Preisler, for her second husband. The kind of work -in which she excelled had been practiced by her father and grandfather, -and her application was remarkable.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> A vast number of gems were cut by -her hand, and her industry was not without its reward in the gaining of -great reputation. Medals were stamped in honor of her.</p> - -<p>Her daughters, Anna Felicitas and Maria Anna Preisler, employed -themselves in the same kind of work, without possessing, however, the -variety of talent or achieving the brilliant success of Barbara Julia, -the daughter of Johann Daniel Preisler of Nuremberg. She was skilled -in various branches of art; she could model in wax, and work in ivory -and alabaster, and added painting and copper-engraving to the list -of her accomplishments. She married a painter named Oeding, and died -in Brunswick before 1764. Several women, who were well known at the -time as modelers in wax, and who occupied themselves in engraving and -stone-cutting, might be named. Amid a number of names, necessarily -passed over, may be added those of the beautiful and variously-gifted -Mary Anna Treu of Bamberg, and her relative, Rosalie Treu, the wife of -the painter Dom, who afterward went to take the veil in a convent at -Mentz, giving up her resolution four days before the completion of her -novitiate, to return to the world and her native Bamberg.</p> - -<p>Henriette Felicitas Tassaert, the daughter of the famous painter, -painted in pastel, and engraved in copper admirably. Mademoiselle -Nohren, a pupil of Chodowiecki in Berlin, became a member of the -academy.</p> - -<p>It was natural that the greater number of artists of this period should -betake themselves to painting. We will glance first at some branches -of this, cultivated especially by women who did not achieve any thing -noteworthy in historical and genre painting. The fashionable taste of -the day ran much upon miniatures<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> and pastel portraits, and many women -made themselves accomplished in this species of work, as well as in -enamel-painting, as far less study and application were required than -in the higher branches of the art.</p> - -<p>Marianna Hayd, a somewhat celebrated miniature-painter, was born in -Dantzic in 1688. She pursued her profession in Berlin, and, after -her marriage in 1705 to the painter Werner, in Augsburg, her talents -procured for her the honor of a call to the electoral court of Saxony -in Dresden, where she received an appointment, and died in 1753.</p> - -<p>Another fair artist in miniatures was Anna Rosina Liscewska, who also -worked in Berlin, where she was born in 1716. She achieved no mean -success, and in 1769 was admitted a member of the academy in Dresden.</p> - -<p>The same city was adorned by the elegant labors of Anna Maria Mengs, -whom Dr. Guhl calls “the most gifted of the three sisters,” and who -is styled by Fiorillo “the daughter of the Raphael of his age.” She -received early instruction from her father; came to Dresden in 1751, -and devoted herself to painting—chiefly portraits. She made her first -journey to Rome in 1777, and there married a copper-engraver, Manuel -Salvador Carmona. She had many children, but continued to exercise -her art while taking care of them. She produced several pastel and -miniature paintings. Her chief works, done for the King of Spain and -the Infant Don Luis, are in Madrid, in the Academy of San Fernando, of -which she was chosen a member. She died in Madrid, 1793.</p> - -<p>As miniature and pastel painting are peculiarly adapted to female -hands by the delicate and cleanly handling required, so flowers and -landscapes seem to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span> present objects and scenes of beauty congenial to -the taste of the sex. It can not be wondered at, therefore, that these -branches found several cultivators. Flower and landscape painting -became a passion among the German women who could be classed as -amateurs or connoisseurs. Hagedorn mentions, in his work on painting, -as a distinguished patroness of these, a Countess von Oppendorf. With -her may be named the Countess von Truchsetz-Waldburg, the Princess -Anna Paar, and others of no special note. Maria Dorothea Dietrich, -the sister of the Dresden painter, and Crescentia Schott, already -mentioned, labored professionally in the art.</p> - -<p>Many were the fair painters who imitated the famous Rachel Ruysch. -The representation of animals and objects in natural history became a -favorite style, and the celebrity of Madame Merian stirred up many of -her sex to emulate her success. The influence of example wrought as -powerfully here as in every other matter.</p> - -<p>In the early part of this century lived at Lubeck Catharina Elizabeth -Heinecke, born in 1685, an enthusiastic patroness of flower-painting, -and the mother of “the famous Lubeck child.” We may mention also, amid -a cloud of artists to be passed unnoticed, a family at Nuremberg, named -Dietsch, that included three sisters of talent and accomplishment. -Catharina Treu, born at Bamberg in 1742, obtained celebrity in the same -line. She studied in Düsseldorf, attracted thither, doubtless, by the -works of Rachel Ruysch, and received the appointment of cabinet-painter -from Karl Theodore at Mannheim. Thence she returned to Düsseldorf to -take the place of professor in the academy of art in that place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></p> - -<p>To the same period belongs Caroline Frederika Friedrich, the first -female pensionnaire who exercised her art as member of the academy in -Dresden. Gertrude Metz of Cologne was also a disciple of Rachel Ruysch -in Düsseldorf. Of a remaining host we name only the sisters Anna and -Elizabeth Fuessli (Fuseli), who painted in the style of their father, -and copied from nature the flowers and insects of Switzerland.</p> - -<p>Copper-engraving was at this period practiced by a great number -of women, and patronized by many fair and princely dilettanti. -The Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, already named, possessed skill in -this branch. We may now leave all these, to look at the women who -distinguished themselves in the more commanding and elevated styles -of historical and genre painting. Here appears more evidence of -individuality in the treatment of particular subjects.</p> - -<p>Place must be accorded first to ladies of the highest rank. Anna Amalia -of Brunswick was a noted painter. Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria, -and daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa, occupied her leisure hours -in genre-painting and etching, and by her skill obtained considerable -repute. Charlotte, Archduchess of Austria, was a member of the academy -at Vienna, and as Queen of the Two Sicilies received instruction in -Naples from Mura. The Duchess Sophia of Coburg-Saalfeld, besides her -paintings, left some proofs of her skill in engraving toward the close -of the century.</p> - -<p>To these illustrious names may be added others who, like those royal -dames, devoted themselves to art, and gained high appreciation from -connoisseurs. Maria Elizabeth Wildorfer of Innspruck was busied in the -same profession a long time in Rome, where she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> painted portraits and -church pictures under the patronage of a cardinal. Maria Theresa Riedel -of Dresden, made pensionnaire of the academy there in 1764, occupied -herself in copying Dutch genre-paintings. Rosina, another sister of the -painter Dietrich, copied a number of old paintings. She married the -painter Boehme, and lived in Berlin till 1770.</p> - -<p>Anna Dorothea, one of the sisters Liszeuska, born in 1722, was elected, -on account of her portraits and historical works, a member of the -Parisian Academy. She died in Berlin as Madame Therbusch, in 1782. -Jacoba Werbronk worked in the latter part of the century, and died in -1801 in the Cloister Iseghen. But none of the women artists of this -time can be compared in point of genius or celebrity to the one of -whom we are now to speak—one of the loveliest, most gifted, and most -estimable of all the women who have secured immortal fame by the labors -of the pencil.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Angelica Kauffman.—Parentage and Birth.—Beautiful Scenery -of her native Land.—Early Impulse to Painting.—Adopts the -Style of Mengs.—Her Residence in Como.—Instruction.—Music or -Painting?—Beauty of Nature around her.—Angelica’s Letter about -Como.—Escape from Cupid.—Removal to Milan.—Introduction to great -Works of Art.—Studies of the Lombard Masters.—The Duke of Modena -her Patron.—Portrait of the Duchess of Carrara.—Success.—Return to -Schwarzenberg.—Painting in Fresco.—Homely Life of the Artist.—Milan -and Florence.—Rome.—Acquaintance with Winkelmann.—Angelica -paints his Portrait.—Goes to Naples.—Studies in Rome.—In -Venice.—Acquaintance with noble English Families.—In London.—A -brilliant Career.—Fuseli’s Attachment to her.—Appointed Professor -in the Academy of Arts.—Romantic Incident of her Travel in -Switzerland.—The weary Travelers.—The libertine Lord.—The Maiden’s -Indignation.—Unexpected Meeting in the aristocratic Circles of -London.—The Lord’s Suit renewed.—Rejected with Scorn.—His Rank -and Title spurned.—Revenge.—The Impostor in Society.—Angelica -deceived into Marriage.—She informs the Queen.—Her Father’s -Suspicions.—Discovery of the Cheat.—The Wife’s Despair.—The -false Marriage annulled.—The Queen’s Sympathy.—Stories of -Angelica’s Coquetry.—Marriage with Zucchi.—Return to Italy.—Her -Father’s Death.—Residence in Rome.—Circle of literary -Celebrities.—Angelica’s Works.—Criticisms.—Opinions of Mengs -and Fuseli.—The Portraits in the Pitti Gallery.—Death of -Zucchi.—Invasion of Italy.—Angelica’s Melancholy.—Journey and -Return.—Her Death and Funeral.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>ANGELICA KAUFFMAN.</h3> -<p>Maria Anna Angelica Kauffman was born in Coire, the capital of the -Grisons, in 1741. Her father, the painter Johann Joseph Kauffman, had -been called to that place from Schwartzenberg on the Boden-See,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> by the -bishop’s appointment, to paint church pictures. He married there, and -remained till 1742, before removing to Morbegno in Lombardy.</p> - -<p>An only child, Angelica’s early years were tended by the care of -loving parents; and the grandeur and beauty of nature around her home, -the vine-clad hills and wild forests of her native land, the blue -waters and bright scenery she was accustomed to contemplate in Italy, -impressed her susceptible imagination, and awakened in her youthful -breast a quick and joyous sympathy with nature. Though not specially -intended by her father for the artist’s calling, the early impulse of -genius led her to painting, and she was permitted to follow the bent of -her inclination with such direction only as made the work appointed her -seem like a pleasant recreation. She preferred her lessons, in fact, -to any amusement. Very different was the early training of this gentle -spirit to that of Raphael Mengs, compelled to labor under strict rules; -and though Angelica afterward adopted the style of this celebrated -German master, hers differed in the possession of a light and charming -grace, which could only have been derived from her native endowments -and the free indulgence of her tastes.</p> - -<p>At the age of nine this child of genius was much noticed on account of -her wonderful pastel pictures. When her father left Morbegno, in 1752, -to reside in Como, she found greater scope for her ingenious talent, -and better instruction in that city; and, in addition to her practice -with the brush and pencil, she devoted herself to studies in general -literature and in music. Her proficiency in the latter was so rapid, -and the talent evinced so decided, besides the possession of a voice -unusually fine, that her friends, a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> years afterward, urged that -her life should be devoted to music. She was herself undecided for some -time to which vocation she should consecrate her powers. In one of her -pictures she represents herself standing, in an attitude of hesitation, -between the allegorical figures of Music and Painting. Her love for the -latter gained the ascendency; and so great was her success, while yet -of tender age, that her portrait of a steward of the Bishop of Como -gained her a number of profitable orders.</p> - -<p>The exquisite natural scenery by which Angelica was at this time -surrounded, in a home on the borders of the loveliest lake in the -world, had a genial influence on her feelings, and the time passed -there was the happiest of her life. She is said to have painted the -portrait of the Archbishop of Como, at a very early age. At a later -period she recurs with pleasure to the years passed in this charming -abode.</p> - -<p>“You ask, my friend,” she says, in one of her letters, “why Como is -ever in my thoughts? It was at Como that, in my most happy youth, -I tasted the first real enjoyment of life. I saw stately palaces, -beautiful villas, elegant pleasure-boats, a splendid theatre. I thought -myself in the midst of the luxuries of fairyland. I saw the urchin, -too, young Love, in the act of letting fly an arrow pointed at my -breast; but I, a maiden fancy free, avoided the shaft, and it fell -harmless. After the lapse of years,” she proceeds, “the genius that -presides over my destiny led me again into this delicious region, -where I tasted the delights of friendship with the charms of nature, -and listened with deeper joy than ever to the murmur of waves on that -unrivaled shore. One day I was walking with agreeable company around -one of the most beautiful villas<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> near the lake. In the shadow of a -wood I again saw the youthful god slumbering. I approached him. He -awakened, looked at me, and, recognizing her who had contemned his -power, sprang up suddenly, intent on swift revenge. He pursued me, the -arrow sped once more, and but by a hair’s breadth failed to reach my -heart.”</p> - -<p>All too quickly, indeed, passed the two years of her first residence in -Como; and it was with poignant regret that she left her beloved home, -when, in 1754, her father went to settle his family in Milan.</p> - -<p>Even this dreaded change, however, was a fortunate one; for it seemed -to be appointed that Angelica’s youth should glide away like a stream -in the sunshine of happiness. A new world of wonders opened to her view -in this city, where she saw works of art surpassing in merit those -she had yet beheld. She had copied antique models in her drawing, and -the engravings of pictures by the early masters which were among her -father’s treasures. Here she was first introduced to an acquaintance -with works of great beauty and importance in the history of art. Here -Leonardo da Vinci had labored, and founded a school in which are still -conspicuous the gentle dignity, purity, and elevation that live in -his creations. The impressions received from her contemplation of the -productions of the most famous of the Lombard masters, and the care -with which she studied them till her own style became imbued with their -spirit, decisively influenced the professional career of the young -artist.</p> - -<p>The change had a not less favorable effect upon her worldly -circumstances. Her copies of some pictures found in the palace of -Robert d’Este, Duke of Modena and Governor of Milan, induced him to -declare himself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> her patron, and led to her introduction to the Duchess -of Carrara. After she had painted by command the portrait of that -princess, she received orders for a number of pictures for other ladies -of rank.</p> - -<p>The associations to which this success gave rise contributed to give -the youthful painter that self-possession and dignity of manner, -combined with a quiet modesty most becoming her age and sex, which -afterward marked her deportment in elevated circles of society.</p> - -<p>Thus the few years of Kauffman’s residence in this favored Italian city -were productive of manifold advantages to his daughter. The death of -his wife determined him to another removal, and he went to undertake -a great work in his native city of Schwarzenberg. In this enterprise -Angelica was of essential service, having for the first time an -opportunity of engaging in an enterprise of magnitude, and of a kind -not often practiced by women. She painted in fresco the figures of the -Twelve Apostles after copper engravings from Piazetta.</p> - -<p>It has been said that the time spent in this country at this period -by the young artist was in the home of her father’s brother, an -honest “farmer, in comfortable though narrow circumstances. At first, -Angelica, accustomed to the wonders of art and the splendor of Italian -cities, could scarcely bring herself to endure this homely mode of -existence. The rude manners of those by whom she was surrounded—the -utter want of elegance or taste—displeased and disgusted her. -Gradually, however, as habit softened down these first impressions, -the poetic side of the picture dawned upon her mind. She learned to -love the homely simplicity of that hospitable dwelling, with its gabled -front and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> narrow windows—the gloom and solitude of those dark pine -forests, through which the sunbeams could scarcely penetrate, and -ceased to long for the marble palaces of Milan and the orange-groves -of Como. Besides, she had little time for idle regrets, the interior -decoration of a church in the neighborhood being intrusted to her -father and herself. Her success in an undertaking so difficult excited -considerable attention.”</p> - -<p>After the completion of this work, which won the enthusiastic -appreciation of the Bishop of Constance, a season of disquiet followed, -with frequent changes of residence and a crowding of commissions, -while the artist in vain longed for an opportunity to revisit the -depository of art treasures—Italy. To fulfill this wish, and complete -her artistic education, Angelica first returned with her father to -Milan, and thence went to Florence, where she threw herself with -restless zeal into the study of the great master-pieces in which that -city is so rich. Her performances already met with the appreciation -that was afterward testified by the admission of her portraits into the -collection there made of original paintings by artists of celebrity. -Cardinal de Roth called her to Constance for his portrait.</p> - -<p>Yet even Florence was regarded by her only as a place of preparatory -study; the great goal of her ambition was Rome. Thither she went in -1763, and her usual good fortune followed her. She went through a -course of perspective the following year. The immortal Winkelmann was -then in the midst of his great work of breathing new life into ancient -art, and it was his delight to interpret the inspiration for others, -and to promote social intercourse and a good understanding among -artists.</p> - -<p>It was not long ere the youthful votary became acquainted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span> with this -great man. It was beautiful to see the friendship that subsisted -between this girl of eighteen, in the fresh bloom of life, and the -experienced man of sixty, who had spent so many years of labor in his -profession: she brilliant and ardent, full of hope and enthusiasm—his -brow furrowed with study and reflection; both inspired by the same -spirit; both having felt the same ardent desire to visit the Eternal -City.</p> - -<p>Angelica found both pleasure and profit in Winkelmann’s society, always -in the company of her friend, the wife of Raphael Mengs. A portrait of -him, painted by her at this time, and afterward engraved by her, amply -proved, by its excellent likeness, vivid coloring, and vigorous touch, -and, above all, by its spiritual expression, how thoroughly she had -comprehended the spirit of the greatest disciples of art. Winkelmann -announced to his friends, not without evident satisfaction, that his -portrait had been painted “by a young and beautiful woman.”</p> - -<p>Ere long, a command to copy some paintings in the royal gallery at -Naples called her to that city, so favored by the beauty of its -situation and the charm of its climate. Here she gained new ideas in -the contemplation of numerous master-pieces of old time, as well as a -rich reward for her labors in executing orders from many persons of -rank. Her abode in that soft, luxurious clime, surrounded by nature’s -loveliness, did not, however, enervate her character, nor impair the -freshness and naiveté of her style.</p> - -<p>In 1764 we find her again in Rome. Here she passed a year in the -prosecution of her studies, including architecture and perspective, -continuing her friendship with Winkelmann. Her observations of -Italian art<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> were completed by studies of the works of the Caracci -in Bologna, and Titian, Tintoretto, and Paul Veronese in Venice. -In the last-mentioned city Angelica made the acquaintance of an -English lady—the accomplished Lady Wentworth, wife of the British -resident—who afterward took her to London.</p> - -<p>During her stay in Naples she had been received into relations -of intimacy with several noble English families, and had taken -their orders for paintings. It was thought that in London a more -distinguished and more lucrative success would be commanded than she -could hope for in a country so rich in artistic achievements as Italy. -This was in truth the case; and after Angelica had passed through -Paris, availing herself of its advantages, to London, she found open -to her a career of brilliant success, productive of much pecuniary -gain. Her talents and winning manners raised her up patrons and -friends among the aristocracy. Persons attached to the court engaged -her professional services; and the most renowned painter in England, -Sir Joshua Reynolds, was of the circle of her friends. It is said he -offered her his hand, and I have been told by Mr. Robert Balmanno, -who knew Fuseli personally, that he was one of her suitors. She was -numbered among the painters of the Royal Society, and received the rare -honor, for a woman, of an appointment to a professorship in the Academy -of Arts in London, being, meanwhile, universally acknowledged to occupy -a brilliant position in the best circles of fashionable society.</p> - -<p>A writer in the Westminster Review gives a romantic account of an -incident that led to the greatest misfortune of Angelica’s life:</p> - -<p>“It was in early girlhood, while traveling with her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span> father through -Switzerland to their native land, that she first beheld the man who was -to exercise so fatal an influence on her destiny. Angelica was then -only in her seventeenth year, her dawning talents had already attracted -considerable attention, but as both father and daughter were poor, they -were compelled to travel on foot, resting at night at the little inns -by the wayside. One evening, when, wearied with the long day’s journey, -they entered a humble house of entertainment, they were informed by the -landlord that they must go farther, for a couple of “grand seigneurs,” -just arrived, had engaged all the rooms for themselves and their suite. -The weary travelers insisted on their right to remain, and the debate -was growing warm, when one of the gentlemen for whose accommodation -they were rejected made his appearance, and with great politeness -begged them to enter the dining-room and share their repast. The good -Kauffman, whose frank, confiding nature was always a stranger to -suspicion, at once consented, despite the whispered entreaties of his -daughter, who, with the intuitive perception of her sex, had discerned -something offensive beneath the polished courtesy of their inviter. -She was not mistaken; at the table Lord E—— soon forgot the respect -due to youth and innocence, and attempted some liberty. Angelica -indignantly repulsed it, and on its repetition, rising hastily from the -table, drew her father with her, and instantly left the house.”</p> - -<p>Years afterward, while Angelica was living in England—“welcomed with -enthusiasm, sought by the noblest and most gifted in the land, when all -seemed to smile upon her path, in a fatal hour she again lighted on the -man whose undisguised libertinism had so deeply wounded her modesty -ten years before. It was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> the midst of a brilliant circle, where -all the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">beaux esprits</i> of London were assembled, that they again -met. Lord E—— had long since lost every trace of her, and great was -his amazement to recognize in the elegant woman and celebrated artist -the humble little pedestrian of the Swiss mountains. If he had thought -her charming then, how much more lovely did she seem to him now; his -heart and fancy were alike inflamed, and he resolved that this time, -at least, she should not escape him. Feigned repentance for the past, -assurances of unselfish devotion which sought for nothing in return -save the friendship and esteem of its object, flattery, insinuation, -all were employed. Angelica, trusting and guileless, believed him; nor -was it till, fancying himself secure of triumph, he threw off the mask, -that she even suspected his baseness. Equally shocked and indignant, -she would no longer admit him to her society.</p> - -<p>“This only stimulated his passions. Perhaps he thought it a pretext -to lure him to more honorable offers; at all events, despairing of -winning the prize by any other means, he laid his rank and title at her -feet. But Angelica was no Pamela to receive with humble gratitude the -hand of him who had insulted her virtue. Her mild but resolute refusal -stung him to madness. If what some of her biographers assert be true, -he forced himself into her presence, and sought by violence that which -no entreaties could win; but here, too, he failed. The rumor of his -worthless conduct got abroad, and he found it most convenient to leave -England for a time, vowing revenge. The subsequent portion of the story -is well known.”</p> - -<p>Others say it was an English painter, who, out of jealousy of the -talents of Angelica, instigated to his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> base plot the man who deceived -her. Be that as it may, she was undoubtedly the victim of a conspiracy -arranged with no less malignity than art. It was a counterpart to the -story of the Lady of Lyons; a rejected suitor vowing revenge, and using -as his instrument to obtain it a man very different in character from -the noble Claude.</p> - -<p>A low-born adventurer, who assumed the name of a gentleman of rank -and character—that of his master, Count Frederic de Horn—played a -conspicuous part at that time in London society, and was skillful -enough to deceive those with whom he associated. He approached our -artist, who was then about twenty-six, and in the bloom of her -existence. He paid his respects as one who rendered the deepest homage -to her genius; then he passed into the character of an unassuming and -sympathizing friend. Finally, he appealed to her romantic generosity -by representing himself as threatened with a terrible misfortune, from -which she only could save him by accepting him as her husband. A sudden -and secret marriage he averred was necessary.</p> - -<p>Poor Angelica, who had shunned love on the banks of Como, and under the -glowing skies of Italy; and since her coming to London had rejected -many offers of the most advantageous alliance, that she might remain -free to devote herself to her art, was caught in the fine-spun snare, -and yielded to chivalrous pity for one she believed worthy of her -heart’s affection. The marriage was celebrated by a Catholic priest, -without the formality of writings, and without witnesses.</p> - -<p>Angelica had received commissions to paint several members of the -royal family and eminent personages of the court, and her talents -had procured her the favorable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> notice of the Queen of England. One -day, while she was painting at Buckingham Palace, her majesty entered -into conversation with her, and Angelica communicated to her royal -friend the fact of her marriage. The queen congratulated her, and sent -an invitation to the Count de Horn to present himself at court. The -impostor, however, dared not appear so openly, and he kept himself very -close at home, for he well knew that it could not be long before the -deception would be discovered.</p> - -<p>At length the suspicions of Angelica’s father, to whom her marriage had -been made known, led him to inquiries, which were aided by friends of -influence. About this time, some say, the real count returned, and was -surprised at being frequently congratulated on his marriage. Then came -the mortifying discovery that the pretended count was a low impostor. -The queen informed Angelica, and assured her of her sympathy.</p> - -<p>The fellow had been induced to seek the poor girl’s hand from motives -of cupidity alone, desiring to possess himself of the property she had -acquired by her labors. He now wished to compel her to a hasty flight -from London. Believing herself irrevocably bound to him, Angelica -resolved to submit to her fate; but her firmness and strength of nature -enabled her to evade compliance with his requisition that she should -leave England, till the truth was made known to her—that he who called -himself her husband was already married to another woman still living. -This discovery made it dangerous for the impostor to remain in London, -and he was compelled to fly alone, after submitting unwillingly to the -necessity of restoring some three hundred pounds obtained from his -victim, to which he had no right.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span></p> - -<p>The false marriage was, of course, immediately declared null and -void. These unhappy circumstances in no way diminished the interest -and respect manifested for the lady who, in plucking the rose of -life, had been so severely wounded by its thorns; on the contrary, -she was treated with more attention than ever, and received several -unexceptionable offers of marriage. But all were declined; she chose to -live only for her profession.</p> - -<p>One of Angelica’s biographers pronounces her “proof against flattery.” -Nollekens, on the other hand, accused her of having been a coquette -in her youth. While at Rome, before her marriage, he said she -was extremely fond of personal admiration. “One evening she took -her station in one of the most conspicuous boxes of the theatre, -accompanied by two artists, both of whom, as well as many others, were -desperately enamored of her. She had her place between her two adorers; -and while her arms were folded before her in front of the box over -which she leaned, she managed to press a hand of both, so that each -imagined himself the cavalier of her choice.”</p> - -<p>After fifteen years’ residence in England, when the physician who -attended her suffering father advised return to Italy, and the invalid -expressed his fear of dying and leaving her unprotected, Angelica -yielded to his entreaties, and bestowed her hand upon the painter -Antonio Zucchi.</p> - -<p>This gentleman was born in Venice in 1728, and had worked there -upon historical pieces. He afterward took to landscape-painting and -architecture, and many of his designs were published in learned works -of the day. Being induced to go to England, he obtained an excellent -place, and won the warm friendship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span> of Mr. Kauffman. The marriage -with his daughter took place in 1781, and proved a most happy one, -undisturbed by any untoward occurrence till the death of Zucchi.</p> - -<p>Angelica, with her husband and her father, now returned to the sunny -south. Stopping in Schwarzenberg to visit their relatives, they -proceeded to Italy, settling themselves for a prolonged stay. In -January of the following year Kauffman expired in the arms of his -loving child.</p> - -<p>The wedded pair, anxious to escape from the shadow of this sorrow, -hastened to Rome, where they fixed their permanent abode, paying only -a few visits to Naples at the command of the royal family. Their house -was the centre of attraction to the artistic and literary society of -that capital of art; and Madame Zucchi did the honors and dispensed -hospitalities with a grace peculiarly her own, without losing a -particle of her energy in the prosecution of her painting, or any -portion of the love for it that had distinguished her early years. -This may account for the uniform individuality discernible in her -productions, in the merits and defects of which may be traced the -peculiarities of her nature and training.</p> - -<p>In Rome, Angelica became acquainted with Goethe, Herder, and other -great men who at different times visited the Eternal City. Goethe says -of her in one of his letters, “The good Angelica has a most remarkable, -and, for a woman, really unheard-of talent; one must see and value -what she does and not what she leaves undone. There is much to learn -from her, particularly as to work, for what she effects is really -marvelous.” And in his work entitled “Winkelmann and his Century,” he -observes concerning her: “The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> light and pleasing in form and color, -in design and execution, distinguish the numerous works of our artist. -No living painter excels her in dignity, or in the delicate taste with -which she handles the pencil.”</p> - -<p>At the same time she has been thought deficient in strength of outline, -variety and force of touch; her coloring has been said to lack depth -and warmth; while all acknowledge her grace, sweetness, and delicacy, -and the freedom and ease, with the correctness and elegance of her -drawing. Her works have been justly called “light and lovely May-games -of a charming fantasy.”</p> - -<p>Among her character-pictures have been noted particularly “Allegra” -and “Penserosa,” and fancy portraits of Sappho and Sophonisba, with -the goddesses of Grecian mythology; also figures and scenes from the -modern poets, such as the delicate and bewitching Una, from Spenser’s -“Faery Queen,” and simple allegorical representations. These last -were favorite subjects with her, and were taken both from classic and -romantic history, as “Venus and Adonis,” “Rinaldo and Armida,” “The -Death of Heloise,” “Sappho inspired by Love,” etc. The praise can not -be denied her of having essentially aided the progress of modern art, -without parting with any portion of her feminine reserve and purity. -Her pictures, with Mengs’s writings, helped to liberate painting from -the exclusive school of Carlo Maratti.</p> - -<p>Among her best compositions have been noted “Leonardo da Vinci Dying in -the arms of Francis I.;” “The Return of Arminius”—painted for Joseph -II.—“The Funeral Pomp of Pallas;” and “The Nymph Surprised,” covering -herself hastily with a white veil. In painting portraits, she had the -habit of waiting, before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> sketching, to seize on some favorite attitude -or expression. She understood the effects of clare-obscure, and took -care to avoid confusion in her figures. Her draperies were designed -with taste, and not superfluous.</p> - -<p>An amateur once said to her, “Your angels could walk without deranging -their robes.”</p> - -<p>She was in the habit of throwing on paper her reflections, and -preserving the souvenirs. The following words were written on one of -her pictures:</p> - -<p>“I will not attempt to express supernatural things by human -inspiration, but wait for that till I reach heaven, if there is -painting done there.”</p> - -<p>Art to her had been as the breath of life, and labor her greatest -delight. They continued to be so, even when, crowned with fame, she was -the centre of an admiring circle in the best society of Rome. Zucchi, -in the hope of beguiling her from too assiduous application, purchased -a beautiful villa—Castle Gandolfo—for their residence; but Angelica -could not bear to be long distant from Rome. Strangers who came to the -city were soon attracted to pay their respects to the lovely artist; -and in the companionship of the great and gifted, either in her own -circle, or with friends like Klopstock and Gessner—who have highly -praised her genius—she exercised an influence that did not fail to -promote the growth of literary and artistic cultivation.</p> - -<p>De Rossi says: “It was interesting to see Angelica and her husband -before a picture. While Zucchi spoke with enthusiasm, Angelica remained -silent, fixing her eloquent glance on the finest portions of the work. -In her countenance one could read her feelings, and her observations -were always limited to a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span> few brief words. These, however, seldom -expressed any blame; only the praises of that which was worthy of -praise. It belonged to her nature to be struck by the beautiful alone, -as the bee draws only honey out of every flower.”</p> - -<p>Raphael Mengs pronounced upon her a flattering eulogium. “As an -artist,” he says, “she is the pride of the female sex in all times and -all nations. Nothing is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all are -here.” But he was her friend, and wrote thus while the recollection of -her charms and virtues were fresh in his memory.</p> - -<p>Fuseli, who was honored by her friendship, was a more severe judge. -He says, he “has no wish to contradict those who make success the -standard of genius, and, as their heroine equals the greatest names -in the first, suppose her on a level with them in power. She pleased, -and desired to please, the age in which she lived and the race for -which she wrought. The Germans, with as much patriotism, at least, as -judgment, have styled her the Paintress of Minds (Seelen Mahlerin); -nor can this be wondered at for a nation who, in A. R. Mengs, flatter -themselves that they possess an artist equal to Raphael.</p> - -<p>“The male and female characters of Angelica never vary in form, -feature, or expression from the favorite ideal in her own mind. Her -heroes are all the man to whom she thought she could have submitted, -though him, perhaps, she never found. Her heroines are herself, and, -while suavity of countenance and alluring graces shall be able to -divert the general eye from the sterner demands of character and -expression, can never fail to please.”</p> - -<p>The lighter scenes of poetry were painted by her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span> with a grace and -taste entirely her own, and happily formed, withal, to meet that of an -engraver, whose labors contributed to the growth and perpetuity of her -fame. This was Bartolozzi, whose talents were in great part devoted to -her.</p> - -<p>One feels naturally desirous of knowing something about the personal -appearance of one so much admired. Her portrait, painted by herself, -the size of life, is in the Pitti Gallery at Florence, with that of -two other female artists; and the three attract the attention of every -visitor.</p> - -<p>The following is the description of one spectator: “The first in -feature and expression bears the stamp of a masculine intellect; the -touch is vigorous, the coloring has the golden tint of the Venetian -school, but it presents no mark of individuality; this is Maria Robusti -Tintoretto. The second can not be mistaken; even the most unpracticed -eye would discern at a glance that it is a Frenchwoman—piquant, -lively, graceful, evidently not so much engrossed with her art as to be -insensible to admiration as a woman—this is the well-known Madame Le -Brun. Opposite the fair Parisian is a third portrait, a woman still in -the bloom of life, but destitute of all brilliancy of coloring, with an -expression grave and pensive almost to melancholy. She is seated on a -stone, in the midst of a solitary landscape, a portfolio with sketches -in one hand, a pencil in the other. The attitude is unstudied almost -to negligence. There is no attempt at display; you feel as you look on -her that every thought is absorbed in her vocation. This is Angelica -Kauffman.”</p> - -<p>The quiet tenor of her life was broken up by the death of her husband -in 1795. This domestic calamity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> was followed by political events that -shook the world, and our artist suffered amid the universal agitation. -She was much disquieted by the invasion of Italy by the French, though -she found in her art both relief from care and a protection from the -dread of poverty. General L’Espinasse exempted the house in which she -lived from lodging soldiers, and offered her his services for her -security and protection. But no kindness could restore her lost energy -or bring back the cheerfulness that had once sustained her.</p> - -<p>In 1802 Angelica was seized with illness, and on recovery was advised -to travel for the strengthening of both her bodily and mental -faculties, and for relief from the oppression of sadness that paralyzed -even her love of art. She visited Florence, Milan, and Como, where she -lingered with a melancholy pleasure amid the scenes of her youthful -days. In Venice she staid to visit the family of her deceased husband. -She then returned to Rome, where she was received by her friends with a -jubilant welcome.</p> - -<p>Her time passed thenceforward in her accustomed employments, and the -society of those who loved her. Her health continued to decline, but -her intellect remained bright and vigorous to the period of her death -in November, 1807. Not long before she expired she requested her cousin -by signs to read to her one of Gellert’s spiritual odes. In the midst -of Italian life she was ever true to the German spirit; as, amid her -more than masculine labors, she preserved her gentle, womanly nature. -The news of her decease caused profound grief throughout Rome. All -the members of the Academy of St. Luke assisted at her funeral; and, -as at the obsequies of Raphael, her latest pictures were borne after -her bier. Her remains were placed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> in the Church of St. Andrew della -Fratte. Her bust was preserved in the Pantheon.</p> - -<p>Her works are scattered all over Europe, and are to be found in Vienna, -Munich, London, Florence, Rome, Paris, etc.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Female Artists in the Scandinavian Countries.—In Sweden.—Ulrica -Pasch.—Danish Women Artists.—A richer Harvest in the -Netherlands.—The Belgian Sculptress.—Maria Verelst.—Her -Paintings and Attainments in the Languages.—Residence in -London.—Curious Anecdote.—Walpole’s Remark.—Women Artists in -Holland.—Poetry.—Henrietta Wolters.—Her Portraits.—Invitation -from Peter the Great.—Dutch Paintresses.—The young -Engraver.—Caroline Scheffer.—Landscape and Flower Painters.—A -Follower of Rachel Ruysch.—An Engraver.—In England.—Painting -suited to Women.—Literary Ladies.—Effect of the Introduction -of a new Manner in Art.—Numerous Dilettanti.—Female -Sculptors.—Mrs. Samon.—Mrs. Siddons and others.—Mrs. -Damer.—Aristocratic Birth.—Early love of Study and Art.—Horace -Walpole her Adviser.—Conversation with Hume.—First Attempt at -Modeling.—The Marble Bust and Hume’s Criticism.—Surprise of -the gay World.—Miss Conway’s Lessons and Works.—Unfortunate -Marriage.—Widowhood.—Politics.—Walpole’s Opinion of Mrs. Damer’s -Sculptures.—Darwin’s Lines.—Sculptures.—Envy and Detraction.—Going -abroad.—Escape from Danger.—Noble Ambition.—Return to -England.—Politics and Kissing.—Private Theatricals.—The three -Heroes.—Friendship with the Empress.—Walpole’s Bequest.—Parlor -Theatricals, etc.—Removal.—Project for improving India.—Mrs. -Damer’s Works.—Opinions of her.</p> -</div> - - -<p>From Germany we now turn to the northern countries, to the Netherlands, -and England, to glance at their female artists of the eighteenth -century.</p> - -<p>Few are found among the Scandinavian nations. Female talent had greatly -aided to bring about the rise of literature in Sweden, as in the -instance of Charlotte Nordenflycht and Ulrica Widström by their lyric<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span> -poems, and Maria Lenngren by her dramatic productions; but only one -artist of merit appears—the painter Ulrica Frederika Pasch, who, in -1773, was elected a member of the Academy at Stockholm.</p> - -<p>In Denmark, where many women cultivated the muses, gaining celebrity -for lyric and dramatic productions, a flower-painter, C. M. Ryding, -and an engraver on copper, Alexia de Lodde, may be mentioned, as well -as Margaretta Ziesenis, who devoted herself to painting portraits and -historical pieces, and was somewhat famous for her copies in miniature, -such as that of Correggio’s Zingarella.</p> - -<p>A much richer harvest opens in the Netherlands, in which the number of -women pursuing art as a profession was not less than it had been in the -preceding century. Among the Belgians the name of the sculptress Anna -Maria von Reyschoot of Ghent must not be omitted.</p> - - -<h3>MARIA VERELST.</h3> - -<p>Maria Verelst was born in 1680, at Antwerp. She was the daughter of -the painter Herman Verelst, and belonged to a family abounding in -celebrated artists. She received instruction from her uncle, Simon -Verelst, and was highly esteemed, not only for her very uncommon skill -in small portraits, while she attempted historical pieces successfully, -but also for her attainments in the languages and music. She went with -her father to London, then, as before and afterward, the rendezvous of -foreign talent, and died there in 1744.</p> - -<p>Descampes mentions a curious anecdote of her proficiency in the -languages. During her residence in London, one evening at the theatre, -she chanced to sit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> near six German gentlemen of high rank. They were -struck with her beauty and distinguished air, and expressed their -admiration in conversation with each other, in the most high-flown -terms which the German language could supply. The lady turned and -addressed them in the same tongue, observing that such extravagant -praise in the presence of a lady conveyed to her no real compliment. -One of them soon after repeated his encomium in Latin. She again -turned, and, replying in the same language, said, “It was unjust to -deprive the fair sex of that classic tongue, the vehicle of so much -true learning and taste.”</p> - -<p>With increased admiration the strangers begged permission to pay their -respects in person to a lady so singularly endowed. Maria answered that -she was a painter by profession, and lived with her uncle, Verelst -the flower-painter. They did not lose time in availing themselves of -the opportunity of seeing the fair artist and her works. Each of the -gentlemen sat for his portrait, for which he gave liberal compensation. -The story spread abroad, and proved an introduction for Maria into the -best society.</p> - -<p>Walpole remarks of this artist that she painted in oil both large -and small portraits, and drew small history-pieces. She spoke Latin, -German, Italian, and other languages fluently.</p> - -<p>In Protestant Holland women artists are found in still greater numbers. -Here the same favorable circumstances which had in former ages brought -art to early bloom existed with little change. As women assumed an -influential position in literature, so they did in the pictorial arts.</p> - -<p>The religious spirit that animated many breathed in the hymns and -odes of Petronella Mocas, and in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> didactic poetry of Lucretia van -Merken; Elizabeth Wolff made herself known by her poetical epistles; -and the national drama, the fair fruit of the seventeenth century, -had a votary in the Baroness von Launoy, who made translations from -Tyrtæus. In like manner did women show their enterprise in the branches -of study which belong to our subject.</p> - - -<h3>HENRIETTA WOLTERS.</h3> - -<p>Henrietta Wolters of Amsterdam gained no inconsiderable fame as a -miniature-painter. She was the pupil of her father, Theodore van Pee, -and was early accustomed to copy from Van der Velde and Vandyck. The -miniature portraits afterward painted by her were so perfect in finish -and execution, that the Czar Peter the Great, who seems to have become -acquainted with her during his journey incognito through Holland, -offered her a salary of six thousand florins as court-painter if she -would remove to his capital. She received as much as four hundred -florins for a single picture. She declined the imperial invitation, and -remained in her home, where, having lived with her husband, the painter -Wolters, since 1719, she died in 1741.</p> - -<p>Passing over several of little note as artists, though among them are -numbered the Princess Anna of Orange and Cornelia de Ryk, we may pause -to mention Christina Chalon, who was born in Amsterdam in 1749, and -received her education with another artist, Sarah Troost. She painted -chiefly in gouache scenes from country life and family groups, and is -said to have learned the engraver’s art so young that she engraved a -picture when only nine years old. She died at Leyden in 1808.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span></p> - -<p>Caroline Scheffer belongs to the close of this century. She was the -daughter and pupil of a painter, Ary Lamme, and married another, J. -B. Scheffer of Mannheim, with whom she lived long in Amsterdam and -Rotterdam. After her husband’s death, in 1809, she went to Paris with -her two sons, Ary and Henry, to give them the advantage of the best -instruction in painting. They did credit to the care of this good -and affectionate mother in the fame they acquired, and returned her -devotion with due tenderness and filial love. She died at Paris in 1839.</p> - -<p>To these names should be added those of several women who devoted -themselves especially to landscape and flower painting—two branches in -which Holland could boast artists of skill and renown. Among these are -Elizabeth Ryberg, who lived in Rotterdam; Maria Jacoba Ommegank, and -Alberta ten Oever of Gröningen, some of whose landscapes, in the manner -of Ruysdael and Hobbema, were seen in the exhibition of 1818. Anna -Moritz, Susanna Maria Nymegen, and Cornelia van der Myin, are named by -Dr. Guhl.</p> - -<p>Elizabeth Georgina van Hogenhuizen, a dilettante, born in Hague in -1776, became a disciple of Rachel Ruysch, and gave promise of attaining -to a kindred celebrity, had not her life been cut short in the bloom of -eighteen.</p> - -<p>Among engravers on copper, who employed themselves with the pencil -as well as the graver, may be mentioned Maria Elizabeth Simons; she -engraved several pictures from Rubens and Van der Velde in the early -part of the century.</p> - -<p>In England, the political greatness of the nation and the appreciation -of art among the nobility, more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> than any natural predisposition of the -people, proved favorable to the progress of a cultivated taste, and -rewarded talent from other countries. Corresponding to the improvement -in the prospects of art, we find a number of women occupied diligently -in its pursuit.</p> - -<p>A writer in one of the British reviews observes: “The profession of -the painter would seem, in many respects, peculiarly fitted for woman. -It demands no sacrifice of maiden modesty nor of matronly reserve; -it leads her into no scenes of noisy revelry or unseemly license; it -does not force her to stand up to be stared at, commented on, clapped -or hissed by a crowded and often unmannered audience, who forget the -woman in the artist. It leaves her, during a great portion of her time -at least, beneath the protecting shelter of her home, beside her own -quiet fireside, in the midst of those who love her and whom she loves. -But, on the other hand, to attain high eminence, it demands the entire -devotion of a life; it entails a toil and study, severe, continuous, -and unbroken.” There is enough in this twofold truth to account both -for the number of women artists and the failure of many to reach the -distinction they aimed at.</p> - -<p>The assiduous cultivation of literature among ladies of the higher -class in the eighteenth century is sufficiently attested by productions -that yet remain for popular admiration. The names of Joanna Baillie, -Mrs. Montague, Clara Reeve, Fanny Burney, Harriet and Sophia Lee, Mrs. -Cowley, etc., posterity will not willingly let die; and the improvement -in general education owes much to the beneficial influence of women who -labored for this end, and strove also to introduce into society a less -frivolous tone of manners and a more pervading respect for morality and -religion.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> Mrs. Trimmer, Hannah More, Mrs. Barbauld, are remembered -with gratitude as having done their part in the good work; as also -Elizabeth Smith, who added to her literary acquirements extraordinary -talents and accomplishments both in music and painting.</p> - -<p>It was after the introduction of a new manner by artists who had -partaken of the inspiration of Carstens—such as Flaxman and Fuseli, -near the close of the century—that the greater number of English -female artists came into notice. It is necessary to mention only the -most prominent. One third, at least, of the entire body in England were -distinguished chiefly as amateurs, while in France the contrary was -true, very few having been noted among the artists of this period.</p> - -<p>First let us pay some attention to the sculptors. In the early part of -the century Mrs. Samon modeled figures and historical groups in wax. It -is said that the world-renowned Siddons was accustomed to amuse herself -occasionally by attempts in sculpture. Lady E. Fitzgerald, Miss Ogle, -Mrs. Wilmot, and Miss Andross, were also noted for their attempts in -sculpture. But the place of pre-eminence, above all who had appeared -down to the later years of the eighteenth century, belongs to Mrs. -Damer.</p> - - -<h3>ANNE SEYMOUR DAMER.</h3> - -<p>A rarer honor it is to a nation to be able to boast of a successful -artist of aristocratic origin than of a celebrated statesman. The -subject of this sketch was descended from families of the best blood -of England. Born in 1748, she was the only child of Field Marshal -Henry Seymour Conway (brother to the Marquis of Hertford) and Caroline -Campbell, only daughter of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span> John, the fourth Duke of Argyle, and -widow of the Earl of Aylesbury and Elgin. “Her birth entitled her to -a life of ease and luxury; her beauty exposed her to the assiduities -of suitors and the temptations of courts, but it was her pleasure to -forget all such advantages, and dedicate the golden hours of her youth -to the task of raising a name by working in wet clay, plaster of Paris, -stubborn marble, and still more intractable bronze.”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Allan Cunningham.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The foundation of a pure and correct taste was laid in her superior -education. She devoted herself early to study, and acquired a knowledge -of general literature rare among women; became well acquainted with the -history and arts of the nations of antiquity, and with the standard -authors of England, France, and Italy. Her cousin, Horace Walpole, was -greatly pleased with her enthusiasm, and took delight in directing her -studies.</p> - -<p>She had long been accustomed to gaze with admiration on the few -beautiful pieces of ancient sculpture which she had opportunity of -seeing, and she felt in her own soul that inspiration which is almost -always the prophecy of success. It is said the bent of her genius -was discovered by an adventure with David Hume, the historian. When -eighteen or twenty years old, Anne was walking with him one day. They -were accosted by an Italian boy who offered for sale some plaster -figures and vases. The historian examined his wares, and spent some -minutes talking with the little fellow. Miss Conway afterward rallied -Mr. Hume in company upon his taste for paltry plaster casts. He -replied, with a touch of sarcasm, that the images she had viewed with -such contempt had not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> been made without the aid of both science and genius, adding that a -woman, even with all her attainments, could not produce such works. -The young lady formed a determination from that moment to convince her -monitor of his mistake.</p> - -<p>She procured wax and modeling tools, worked in secret, and in a short -time finished a head—some say a portrait of the philosopher, which she -presented to him in no small triumph.</p> - -<p>“This is very clever,” observed Hume. “It really deserves praise for a -first attempt; but, remember, it is much easier to model in wax than to -chisel a bust from marble.”</p> - -<p>The persevering girl was resolved to compel the satirist to the -admission that a woman could do more than he had supposed. Without -any announcement of her design, she supplied herself with marble and -all the necessary implements of labor. It was not long before she had -copied out in marble, roughly perhaps, but faithfully, the head she had -modeled in wax. She placed it before the historian, who was actually -surprised into admiration, though he found something still to criticise -in the want of fine workmanship and delicate finish. His fault-finding -probably went far to stimulate her to new exertions. From this time the -impulse of genius was strong within her, and she was firmly resolved -even to seclude herself from the brilliant society by which she was -surrounded for the purpose of devoting her life to the pursuit she -found so congenial to her taste.</p> - -<p>It could not long be concealed from the world of fashion that the -admired Miss Conway had forsaken the mask and the dance, and was -working, like any day-laborer, in wet clay; that she moved amid -subdued<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> lights; that her glossy hair was covered with a mob cap -to keep out the white dust of the marble, while an unsightly apron -preserved her silk gown and embroidered slippers; that her white and -delicate fingers were often soiled with clay, or grasped the hammer -and the chisel. The strange story ran like wild-fire among the circles -of her acquaintance. Several titled ladies had wielded the pencil -and the brush, but scarcely one could be remembered who had taken -to sculpture. It may well be imagined that the spirited girl found -pleasure in showing her independence, and that she was animated by a -noble ambition to carve out for herself with the chisel a place among -the honored among artists, worthy of a descendant of the Seymours and -the Campbells. Works of genius seemed more than coronets to her; and -noble actions, than Norman blood!</p> - -<p>She now took lessons in modeling and the elemental part of sculpture, -from Cerrachi—the same conspirator who was brought to the guillotine -for plotting against Napoleon—while she perfected herself in the -practical part of working in marble in the studio of the elder Bacon, -and studied anatomy with Cruikshanks. She produced a number of ideal -heads and busts, and some figures of animals, executed with skill; but -her progress was slow, and she produced no work of note till seven -years after her marriage.</p> - -<p>At the age of nineteen she bestowed her hand upon the Hon. John -Damer, the eldest son of Lord Milton, and the nephew of the Earl of -Dorchester. This marriage proved a sad drawback to the improvement -of our young artist. Damer—“heir in expectancy to thirty thousand a -year—was at once eccentric and extravagant. Those were the days of -silk, and lace, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> embroidery, and he adorned his person with all -that was costly, and loved to surprise his friends and vex his wife by -appearing thrice a day in a new suit.” He furnished for Miss Burney, -remarks Mrs. Lee, “in her celebrated novel of Cecilia, a character in -real life—Harrington, the guardian of her heroine.” He became the -prey of tailors and money-lenders in London; his extravagance daily -increased, and he scattered a princely fortune in a few years. In nine -years this unhappy union was terminated by the suicide of the husband, -who shot himself with a pistol, in the Bedford Arms, Covent Garden, in -August, 1776. His wardrobe, which was sold at auction, is said to have -brought fifteen thousand pounds—perhaps half its cost.</p> - -<p>The widow, left childless, availed herself of her recovered freedom -to take journeys with the object of gaining new ideas in the art she -loved. She traveled through France, Spain, and Italy, renewing her -studies in sculpture. At this time it was the fashion for ladies to -take a warm interest in politics. Mrs. Damer became an ardent partisan -of the Whig cause, and active in helping to carry elections.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Lee observes: “Gentlemen have no objection to ladies being -politicians if they take the right side: to wit, that to which they -themselves belong; and Mrs. Damer conscientiously adopted the opinions -of the Whig party. At that time Great Britain was waging war with her -American colonies. She took the part of the rebellious subjects, warmly -espoused our cause, and bravely advanced her opinions.” She was a warm -friend of Fox.</p> - -<p>Walpole thus speaks of his cousin’s works, which soon acquired her -fame as a sculptor: “Mrs. Damer’s busts from the life are not inferior -to the antique. Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span> shock dog, large as life, and only not alive, -has a looseness and softness in the curls that seemed impossible -to terra-cotta; it rivals the marble one of Bernini in the royal -collection. As the ancients have left us but five animals of equal -merit with their human figures—viz., the Barberini goat, the Tuscan -boar, the Mattei eagle, the eagle at Strawberry Hill, and Mr. Jenning’s -dog—the talent of Mrs. Damer must appear in the most distinguished -light.” Cerrachi gave a whole figure of Anne as the Mùse of Sculpture, -preserving the graceful lightness of her form and air.</p> - -<p>The poet Darwin says:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Long with soft touch shall Damer’s chisel charm;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With grace delight us, and with beauty warm.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>After 1780, she produced several fine specimens of sculpture, both in -marble and terra-cotta. She made a group of sleeping dogs, in marble, -for the Duke of Richmond, her brother-in-law, and another for Queen -Charlotte. She presented a bust of herself, in 1778, to the Florentine -Gallery, and executed several of her titled lady relatives, which were -esteemed as works of great merit, and still adorn the galleries of -noble connoisseurs. Two colossal heads of her workmanship, representing -Thames and Isis, were designed for the keystones of the bridge at -Henley.</p> - -<p>Envy was busy, as it generally is, in disputing the claims of this -noble lady to the entire authorship of her celebrated productions; but, -though they exhibit a varied character, there was no proof that she -availed herself of more assistance than is usual for all sculptors, -both in modeling and marble-work. Subordinate hands are always employed -in preparing the model and removing the superfluous material.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Damer complied with the fancy of the day in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span> idealizing the -portraits of some of her friends into muses and deities. To please her -fast friend, Horace Walpole, she presented him with two kittens in -marble, wrought by herself, as an addition to the curiosities of his -villa. Still more endearing than their relationship was her agreement -with him in political opinions.</p> - -<p>She had lost her father at the time she went abroad in 1779. The -seas were filled with the armed vessels of France, America, and -Great Britain, and there was some danger in crossing the Channel. -The sculptress was protected, it is true, by her sympathy with the -Transatlantic “rebels” and by her character of artist. However, the -vessel in which she sailed encountered a French man-of-war, with which -a running fight was kept up for four hours. But “the heroic daughter of -a hero” manifested both sense and coolness. The French prevailed; the -packet struck its colors within sight of Ostend; but Mrs. Damer was not -detained in captivity.</p> - -<p>She now devoted herself more assiduously to the study of classic -authors, with the view of entering more fully into the feeling and -character of antique sculpture. She kept notes of her reflections -as she contemplated the works of art in Italy, with the remarks of -critics. She was bent on accomplishing some great work, the glory of -which should eclipse the lustre of her hereditary dignity. She had more -ambition to become distinguished as a sculptor than as the descendant -of the high aristocracy of Britain.</p> - -<p>Returning from Italy and Spain, she took part in the election that -terminated in the triumph of Charles Fox. Mrs. Crewe and the lovely -Duchess of Devonshire joined her in canvassing for their favorite, -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span> Whig candidate, “rustling their silks in the lowest sinks of sin -and misery, and, in return for the electors’ ‘most sweet voices,’ -submitting, it is said, their own sweet cheeks to the salutes of -butchers and barge-men.”</p> - -<p>An old elector said to Cunningham: “It was a fine sight to see a grand -lady come right smack up to us hard-working mortals, with a hand held -out, and a ‘Master, how d’ ye do?’ and laugh so loud, and talk so kind, -and shake us by the hand, and say, ‘Give us your vote, worthy sir—a -plumper for the people’s friend, our friend, every body’s friend.’ And -then, sir, if we hummed and hawed, they would ask us for our wives and -children; and if that didn’t do, they’d think nothing of a kiss—ay, a -dozen on ’em. Kissing was nothing to them, and it came all so natural.”</p> - -<p>It is recorded, also, that Mrs. Damer was fond of private theatricals, -and recited poetry and personated characters in plays performed at -the Duke of Richmond’s and elsewhere. Her talents in high comedy won -deserved applause, and many of our actresses would be eclipsed by her -performance in the standard old pieces. But though she took part in -such entertainments for the pleasure of others, her own delight was in -sculpture alone. Her busts in bronze, marble, and terra-cotta became -ornaments to the rich collections of her friends. Her statue of the -king in marble was established in the Edinburgh Register Office. She -consecrated a monumental bust to the memory of the countess her mother, -whose pieces of needle-work had equaled the finest paintings. She -formed a design to perpetuate the memory of a noble act by Lord William -Campbell, her uncle, he having once leaped from a boat into the Thames, -and dived down sixteen feet, to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> save the life of a drowning man. This -work was never finished in marble.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Damer’s heroes, out of her own family, were Fox, Nelson, and -Napoleon; and she was acquainted with them all. She executed the -busts of the first two, and it was one of her fancies to record in -a small book the remarks of “the Napoleon of the waves” during his -conversations with her. During her visit in France she formed a -friendship for the Viscountess Beauharnais; and many years afterward -a French gentleman brought her a letter from the wife of the First -Consul, with a splendid present of porcelain. She was invited to Paris -by her former friend, who desired to present her to Napoleon. The -latter asked her for a bust of Fox, which Mrs. Damer brought to the -emperor on a subsequent visit to Paris. The emperor presented her with -a splendid snuff-box and his portrait set with diamonds.</p> - -<p>Walpole died in 1797, bequeathing to this daughter of General Conway -for her life, his Gothic villa of “Strawberry Hill,” with its rich and -rare contents—books and artistic curiosities—and two thousand pounds -a year to keep the place in repair. It has “become famous from its -connection with the studies of the accomplished author of the Castle -of Otranto.” Here Mrs. Damer was happy in entertaining her friends, -not only with feasts of good things at her table, but with private -theatrical performances, in which she often took part. Joanna Baillie, -the matchless Siddons, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs. Berry and her daughters, -were among her chosen companions. The classic villa, however, had been -entailed upon Lord Waldegrave, and Mrs. Damer was induced to give it up -to him ten years previous to her own death. She purchased<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> York House -in the neighborhood, the birth-place of Queen Anne. This was her summer -residence, her winter house being in Park Lane.</p> - -<p>As she approached the close of life, and saw the heroes of her early -enthusiasm pass away, her love of sculpture increased. She thought -the art might be made to render important aid in the civilization and -religious improvement of Hindostan and the Indian isles, and often -talked with Sir Alexander Johnston of substituting Christian subjects -in sculpture for the idols of heathenism in those regions. She was, -unfortunately, no longer young enough for such an enterprise; yet the -idea was a noble one. She executed the bust of Nelson in marble for -a present to the King of Tanjore—a Hindoo sovereign of power and -influence in the south of Asia. That specimen of her skill may have -tended to disseminate in that remote nation a desire for statuary by -British artists.</p> - -<p>A list of thirty of her works has been published. A beautiful bust of -herself, executed by her in marble, was in the collection of Richard -Payne Knight, and was bequeathed by him to the British Museum. Her -group of “The Death of Cleopatra,” represented the closing scene of -Shakspeare’s tragedy. The Queen of Egypt, having failed to excite the -pity of Octavius Cæsar, and resolved to follow her departed love, has -applied the “venomous worm of Nile” to her breast. The words</p> - -<p class="poetry" > -<span style="margin-left: 9em;">“Come, mortal wretch,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of life at once untie,”</span><br> -</p> - -<p class="p0">are embodied in the expression.</p> - -<p>This tasteful composition was modeled in basso-relievo, and was -engraved by Hellyer as a vignette title to the second volume of -Boydell’s Shakspeare.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Damer’s health declined in the spring of 1828, and on the 28th -of May she departed this life, in her eightieth year. She left to her -relative Sir Alexander Johnston all her works in marble, bronze, and -terra-cotta, and her mother’s needle pictures, with directions that her -apron and tools should be buried in her coffin, and that her manuscript -memoranda and correspondence should be destroyed. She was interred in -the church of Tunbridge, Kent.</p> - -<p>Whatever difference of opinion there may be respecting the genius and -works of this sculptress, there can be none in pronouncing her an -extraordinary woman. She would have been called “strong-minded” in -our day, for she sent a friendly message to Napoleon on the eve of -Waterloo, canvassed an election for Fox, and entertained Queen Caroline -during her trial! In her estimation, genius and generous impulse were -above the conventionalities of birth and fashion. It is difficult -to estimate fairly the productions of a favored child of wealth and -splendor, and one eminent for learning and wit. Her works have been -severely criticised, and those who most admire her independent career, -are disposed to deny her the possession of great originality and such -a practical knowledge of art as would enable her to finish with a -good degree of perfection. It has been remarked, however, that her -conception was generally superior to her execution.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Mary Moser.—Nollekens’ House.—Skill in Flower-painting.—The -Fashions.—Queen Charlotte.—Patience Wright.—Birth -in New Jersey.—Quaker Parents.—Childish Taste for -Modeling.—Marriage.—Widowhood.—Wax-modeling.—Rivals -Madame Tussaud.—Residence in England.—Sympathy with America -in Rebellion.—Correspondence with Franklin.—Intelligence -conveyed.—Freedom of Speech to Majesty.—Franklin’s Postscript.—“The -Promethean Modeler.”—Letter to Jefferson.—Patriotism.—Art the -Fashion.—Aristocratic lady Artists.—Princesses Painting.—Lady -Beauclerk.—Walpole’s “Beauclerk Closet.”—Designs and Portrait.—Lady -Lucan.—Her Illustrations of Shakspeare.—Walpole’s Criticism.—Other -Works.—Mary Benwell and others.—Anna Smyters and others.—Madame -Prestel.—Mrs. Grace.—Mrs. Wright.—Flower-painters.—Catherine Read -and others.—Maria Cosway.—Peril in Infancy.—Lessons.—Resolution -to take the Veil.—Visit to London.—Marriage.—Cosway’s -Painting.—Vanity and Extravagance.—The beautiful Italian -Paintress.—Cosway’s Prudence and Management.—Brilliant -evening Receptions.—Aristocratic Friends.—The Epigram on the -Gate.—Splendid new House and Furniture.—Failing Health.—France -and Italy.—Institution at Lodi.—Singular Occurrence.—Death of -Cosway.—Return to Lodi.—Maria’s Style and Works.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>MARY MOSER.</h3> - -<p>This lady, a member of the Royal Academy in London, is mentioned by the -biographers of Nollekens as “skillful in painting flowers, sarcastic -when she held the pen.” She liked to visit the illiterate Nollekens, at -whose house, with a cup of tea, she occasionally enjoyed the company of -Dr. Johnson. Smith does not hesitate to charge her with having set her -cap at Fuseli,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> “but his heart, unfortunately, had already been deeply -pierced by Angelica Kauffman.”</p> - -<p>She was the daughter of a German artist in enameling, but was educated -in England. She was truly wonderful in flower-pieces. The tasteful -decorations of some new apartments in Windsor Palace were executed by -her hand.</p> - -<p>While in London she wrote thus to her friend Mrs. Lloyd:</p> - -<p>“Come to London and admire our plumes; we sweep the sky! A duchess -wears six feathers, a lady four, and every milkmaid one at each corner -of her cap! * * * Fashion is grown a monster; pray tell your operator -that your hair must measure just three quarters of a yard from the -extremity of one wing to the other.”</p> - -<p>Queen Charlotte took particular notice of Miss Moser, and for a -considerable time employed her for the decoration of one chamber, which -her majesty commanded to be called Miss Moser’s room, and for which the -queen paid upward of nine hundred pounds.</p> - - -<h3>PATIENCE WRIGHT.</h3> - -<p>This extraordinary woman, as Dunlap rightly calls her, was born, like -West, among a people who professed to eschew all that is imaginative -or pictorial. Her parents, who were Quakers, lived at Bordentown, New -Jersey, where Patience Lovell was born in 1725. Her uncommon talent for -imitation was shown long before she had an opportunity of seeing any -work of art. The dough meant for the oven, or the clay found near her -dwelling, supplied her with materials out of which she moulded figures -that bore a recognizable resemblance to human beings, and, ere long, to -the persons with whom she was most familiar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span></p> - -<p>She married Joseph Wright of Bordentown in 1748. He lived only nineteen -years. Before 1772 the lady had gained not a little celebrity in some -of the cities of the United States for her astonishing likenesses in -wax. A widow, with three children dependent on her for support, she was -obliged to seek a larger field for her efforts. The prospect of success -in London was good, and to London she went.</p> - -<p>There is testimony in English journals of the day that her works -were thought extraordinary of their kind. She bade fair to rival -the famous Madame Tussaud. Her conversational powers and general -intelligence gained her the attention and friendship of several among -the distinguished men of the day. Though a resident of England, her -sympathies were engaged in behalf of her countrymen during the struggle -of the American Revolution. It is said she even rendered important -aid to the cause by sending to American officers intelligence of the -designs of the British government. She corresponded with Franklin while -he was in Paris; and as soon as a new general was appointed, or a -squadron began to be fitted out, he was sure to know it. She was often -able to gain information in families where she visited, and to transmit -to her American friends accounts of the number of British troops and -the places of their destination.</p> - -<p>At one time she had frequent access to Buckingham House, and was -accustomed to express her sentiments freely to their majesties, who -were amused with her originality. The great Chatham honored her with -his visits, and she took the full-length likeness of him, which appears -in a glass case in Westminster Abbey.</p> - -<p>The following is the postscript to one of Franklin’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> letters, offering -service should she return to America through France:</p> - -<p>“My grandson, whom you may remember when a little saucy boy at school, -being my amanuensis in writing the within letter, has been diverting -me with his remarks. He conceives that your figures can not be packed -up without damage from any thing you could fill the boxes with to -keep them steady. He supposes, therefore, that you must put them -into post-chaises, two and two, which will make a long train upon -the road, and be a very expensive conveyance; but, as they will eat -nothing at the inns, you may the better afford it. When they come to -Dover, he is sure, they are so like life and nature, that the master -of the packet will not receive them on board without passports. It -will require, he says, five or six of the long French stage-coaches to -convey them as passengers from Calais to Paris; and a ship with good -accommodations to convey them to America, where all the world will -wonder at your clemency to Lord N——, that, having it in your power to -hang or send him to the lighters, you had generously reprieved him for -transportation.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Wright was sometimes called “Sibylla,” as she professed to -foretell political events. In a London magazine of 1775 she is called -“the Promethean modeler,” with the remark: “In her very infancy she -discovered such a striking genius, and began making faces with new -bread and putty to such an extent that she was advised to try her skill -in wax.”</p> - -<p>Her likenesses of the king, queen, Lord Temple, Lord Chatham, Barry, -Wilkes, and others, attracted universal attention. Critics gave her -credit for wonderful natural abilities, and said she would have been -a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span> miracle if the advantages of a liberal education had fallen to her -lot. Noticing her quick and brilliant eyes, their glance was said to -“penetrate and dart through the person looked on.” She had a faculty of -distinguishing the characters and dispositions of her visitors, and was -rarely mistaken in her judgment of them.</p> - -<p>Dunlap farther speaks of “an energetic wildness in her manner. While -conversing she was busy modeling, both hands being under her apron.”</p> - -<p>Her eldest daughter married Mr. Platt, an American; she inherited some -of her mother’s talents. She became well known in New York about 1787 -by her modeling in wax. The younger was the wife of Hoppner, the rival -of Stuart and Lawrence in portrait-painting. The young lady’s sweet -face may be recognized in some historical compositions. The British -Consul at Venice, mentioned by Moore in his Life of Byron, was the -grandson of Mrs. Wright.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Wright lost favor with George III. by her earnest reproofs for his -sanction of the war with America. She went to Paris in 1781, but was -in London in 1785, when she wrote to Jefferson that she was delighted -that her son Joseph had painted the best likeness of Washington of any -painter in America. Washington himself said he “should think himself -happy to have his bust done by Mrs. Wright, whose uncommon talents,” -etc.</p> - -<p>She wished not only to make a likeness of the hero, but of those -gentlemen who had assisted at signing the treaty of peace. “To shame -the English king,” she says, “I would go to any trouble and expense, to -add my mite to the stock of honor due to Adams, Jefferson, and others, -to send to America.” And she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> offered to go herself to Paris and mould -the likeness of Jefferson. She wished to consult him how best to honor -her country by holding up the likenesses of her eminent men, either in -painting or wax-work; and hinted at the danger of sending Washington’s -picture to London, from the enmity of the government and the espionage -of the police; the latter, she observes, having “all the folly, without -the ability, of the French.”</p> - -<p>The exercise of artistic accomplishment was now so popular, that -culture in painting, drawing, and etching became general in the -education of young ladies. The fashion of patronizing the arts, too, -was in vogue among women of the highest rank. Lady Dorothea Saville -painted portraits and drew admirable sketches. Lady Louisa de Greville -and her sister Augusta were ardent connoisseurs. The Countess Lavinia -Spencer was celebrated for her skill in etching; and Lady Amherst, Lady -Temple, and Lady Henry Fitzgerald, were noted artists.</p> - -<p>Two princesses of the royal family took pleasure in painting. Princess -Elizabeth drew with taste and skill. She engraved a “Birth of Love” -after Tomkins, and produced several original specimens of great beauty. -One of her fancy-pieces was “Cupid turned Volunteer,” which appeared, -in 1804, in a series of prints engraved with poetical illustrations. -The designs were beautiful. Three years later, a series of twenty-four -etchings by her royal highness was published. They evinced spirit and -taste, and a deep feeling for the beautiful.</p> - -<p>Charlotte Matilda, afterward Queen of Wurtemberg, drew and painted -landscapes after the manner of Waterloo.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span></p> - - -<h3>LADY DIANA BEAUCLERK.</h3> - -<p>Lady Diana Spencer, the wife of Topham Beauclerk, and the daughter -of the Duke of Marlborough, was celebrated as an amateur artist, and -produced drawings that gained the enthusiastic admiration of Walpole. -In 1776 he built a hexagonal tower, which he called “Beauclerk -Closet,” as it was constructed “purposely for the reception of seven -incomparable drawings by Lady Diana, illustrating scenes in his -‘Mysterious Mother.’” They were conceived and executed in a fortnight. -In 1796 the lady produced designs for a translation of Bürger’s ballad -of “Leonore,” by her nephew, published in folio the following year. -Lady Diana also finished a series of designs for a splendid edition of -Dryden’s Fables in folio. These show that she possessed an elegant and -fertile imagination, with a truly classic taste. In her portrait of the -Duchess of Devonshire, the nymph-like grace of the figure is like what -a Grecian sculptor would give to the form of a dryad or river-goddess.</p> - -<p>She died in 1808, at the age of seventy-four.</p> - - -<h3>MARGARET, COUNTESS OF LUCAN,</h3> - -<p class="p0">possessed a remarkable talent for copying miniatures and illuminations. -She completed a series of embellishments of Shakspeare’s historical -plays, in five folio volumes, now preserved in the library at Althorp. -For sixteen years she devoted herself to the pursuit, indulging in “the -pleasurable toil” of illustrating that great work. She commenced this -enterprise when fifty years of age, and ended it at sixty-six. Walpole -says: “Whatever of taste, beauty, and judgment in decoration, by means -of landscapes, flowers, birds, heraldic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> ornaments and devices, etc., -could dress our immortal bard in a yet more fascinating form, has -been accomplished by a noble hand, which undertook a Herculean task, -and with a true delicacy and finish of execution that has been rarely -equaled.”</p> - -<p>Lady Lucan also copied the most exquisite works of Isaac and Peter -Oliver, Hoskins, and Cooper; “with genius,” says her admiring friend, -“that almost depreciated those masters;” and “transferring the vigor of -Raphael to her copies in water-colors.” She died in 1815.</p> - -<p>The Countess of Tott exhibited in 1804 her portrait of the famous -Elfi Bey. Lord Orford speaks of Mrs. Delany’s skill in painting -and imitating flowers with cuttings of colored paper. This lady is -mentioned by Madame d’Arblay, in her Diary, as the queen’s friend, the -wife of Patrick Delany, who was the intimate friend of Dean Swift.</p> - -<p>Among a host of minor women artists may be mentioned Mary Benwell, who -painted portraits and miniatures in oil and crayons, exhibited from -1762 to 1783. She married Code, who was in the army, and purchased -rank for him. He was stationed at Gibraltar, where he died. Mrs. Code -retired from her profession in 1800. Miss Anna Ladd, skilled in the -same branch, died in 1770. Agatha van der Myn also painted flowers, -fruits, and birds in England.</p> - -<p>Anna Smyters, the wife of a sculptor and architect, acquired celebrity -for her miniatures and water-color paintings. One, representing a -wind-mill with sails spread, a miller with his sack on his shoulder, a -carriage and horse, and a road leading to a village, was complete, of a -size so small that it could be covered by a grain of corn.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p> - -<p>Miss Anna Jemima Provis was said to have made known to some English -artists the receipt for coloring used by the great Venetian masters. It -had been brought from Italy by her grandfather.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Dards opened a new exhibition with flower-paintings, in the -richest colors. They were exact imitations of nature, done with -fish-bones.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Hoadley, wife of the Bishop of Winchester, was well skilled -in painting. Caroline Watson was eminent in engraving. She was -born in London, 1760. Receiving instruction from her father, she -engraved several subjects in mezzotinto and in the dotted manner. Her -productions were said to possess great merit. Miss Hartley, who etched -admirably, preceded her.</p> - -<p>Maria Catharine Prestel was the wife of a German painter and engraver. -She aided him in some of his best plates, particularly landscapes. The -marriage was not happy, and the pair separated. Madame Prestel came -to England in 1786, where she engraved prints in a style surpassed by -no artist for spirit and delicacy. She made etchings, and finished in -aquatinta in a fine picturesque manner. She died in London in 1794.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Grace exhibited her works seven years in the Society of Artists. -They were chiefly portraits in oil, rather heavy in coloring. She -attempted a historical subject in 1767: Antigonus, Seleucus, and -Stratonice. Her residence was in London.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Wright, the daughter of Mr. Guise—one of the gentlemen of his -majesty’s Chapel Royal at St. James’s, and master of the choristers -at Westminster—was a successful painter in miniature. She married, -unfortunately, a French emigrant, who shortly afterward left her, and -went to France, where he died. Her second<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> husband was Mr. Wright, a -miniature-painter. She died in 1802.</p> - -<p>Fiorillo also mentions Betty Langley, Miss Noel, Miss Linwood, -Miss Bell, Madame Beaurepas, and the eldest daughter of Smirke the -academician.</p> - -<p>Walpole mentions Elizabeth Neal as a distinguished paintress, who went -to Holland. She painted flowers so admirably, that she was said to -rival the famous Zeghers.</p> - -<p>Among English flower-painters should not be forgotten Miss Elizabeth -Blackwell, Miss Gray, Anna Ladd, Anna Lee, and Mary Lawrence, who -busied herself with a splendid work on roses—painting and engraving -the illustrations.</p> - -<p>Catherine Read painted beautiful family scenes, and obtained -considerable reputation as a painter of portraits, both in oil and -crayon. A crayon, in the possession of a lady of New York, was -recognized as hers by an eminent American painter. She lived near -St. James’s, and frequently sent pieces to the exhibition. Several -mezzotint prints after her pictures were published. In 1770 she went to -the East Indies, staid a few years, and returned to England. Her niece, -Miss Beckson, also an artist, who went with her to the East Indies, -afterward married a baronet.</p> - -<p>Some of Anna Trevingard’s pictures were engraved. Miss Drax and Miss -Martin engraved from Tomkins and Der Petit; Miss Morland and Catharine -Mary Fanshawe drew and engraved twenty pictures of historical scenes. -The zealous and industrious Mary Spilsbury’s studies from country life, -and particularly those in which she represented her rural scenes and -sports of children, have been reproduced in engravings.</p> - -<p>It is certainly surprising that engraving and flower-painting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> did not -boast at this time a greater number of distinguished followers.</p> - -<p>It now becomes our task to linger a moment over the history of a -paintress whose genius and attainments won for her an enviable -reputation, and whose life experience illustrates the condition and -circumstances of art amid the higher classes of English society.</p> - - -<h3>MARIA COSWAY.</h3> - -<p>Maria Hadfield was the daughter of an Englishman who became rich -by keeping a hotel in Leghorn. It is said he lost four children in -infancy, and detected a maid-servant in the avowal that she sent them -to heaven out of love, and meant that the fifth, Maria, should follow -the rest. The woman was imprisoned for life, and the child was sent -to a convent to be educated. There she received lessons in music and -drawing, in common with other branches. Returning home, she devoted -herself to painting, and the acquaintance she afterward formed at Rome -with Battomi, Mengs, Maron, and Fuseli, with her contemplation of -the works of art in churches and palaces, contributed to the farther -development of her talents.</p> - -<p>At her father’s death she formed the resolution of entering a cloister, -but her mother persuaded her to accompany her first to London. There -the young girl became acquainted with the interesting and popular -Angelica Kauffman, who easily prevailed on her to relinquish all idea -of taking the veil.</p> - -<p>The change of resolution was followed not long afterward by Maria’s -marriage with Richard Cosway, a portrait and miniature painter, who -occupied a high position, and whose soft, pliant, and idealized style -was well adapted to please rich patrons whose vanity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span> desired the most -favorable representation. In his carefully-finished miniatures the most -ordinary features were transformed into beauty, and pale, watery eyes -were made to sparkle with intellectual expression. This faculty of -beautifying rendered him the favorite of the wealthy and aristocratic. -He was, moreover, a member of the Academy, and had the honor of -being called a friend by the Prince of Wales, circumstances which -contributed still more to make him the “fashion.” But, unfortunately, -he had not good sense enough to wear these honors meekly. Vanity led -him into ridiculous extravagances. He dressed in the extreme of the -mode, and kept his servants costumed in the like absurd manner; he -gave expensive entertainments, and succeeded in drawing around him a -number of frivolous young sprigs of nobility, who would do him the -favor of drinking his Champagne and scattering his money at play, and -the next morning would amuse their “set” by laughing heartily over the -pretensions of the “parvenu.”</p> - -<p>Such was the situation of Cosway when he fell in love with Maria -Hadfield, wooed, and won her, and took his wife to his magnificently -furnished house. Maria was very young, and, having come recently from -Italy, was inexpert both in the English language and English customs. -Her fashionable husband chose to keep her strictly isolated from all -society till she should learn to appear with dignity and grace in the -distinguished circles where he meant she should move.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile he caused her to complete her artistic education, and to -practice on the lessons she received. Her miniatures soon gained such -appreciation that the highest praise was awarded to them of all that -appeared at the Royal Academy exhibitions. Maria was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span> even pointed out -in the street as the successful artist. Then arrived the time when, -in Cosway’s opinion, she was fitted to become the central point of -attraction in his house for the brilliant society he loved.</p> - -<p>Very soon the talk every where was of the young, beautiful, and gifted -Italian. Cosway’s receptions were crowded, and half the carriages at -his door contained sitters ambitious of the honor of being painted by -the hand of his lovely wife. Her portrait of the beautiful Duchess of -Devonshire in the character of Spenser’s Cynthia raised her to the -pinnacle of reputation.</p> - -<p>Cosway, however, was too prudent, and, at the same time, too proud to -permit his wife to be esteemed a professional painter, for he knew -well that her productions would have greater value as the work of an -amateur. To be painted by her was thus represented and regarded as -a special favor; and costly presents were frequently added to the -customary payments for her pictures.</p> - -<p>In another matter the husband was more indulgent. Maria was -passionately fond of music, and he permitted her to exercise her gift -of song at the brilliant companies invited to his magnificent abode. -This completed the enchantment. Visitors came in such numbers that the -house would scarcely contain them; and all who were fashionable, or -had any aristocratic pretensions, were sure to be found in Cosway’s -drawing-rooms. There would be the poet whose latest effusion was -the rage in high circles; the author of the last sensation-speech -in Parliament; any rising star in art, or any hero of a wonderful -adventure; in short, all the lions of London were gathered in that -place of resort, to see and to be seen, and, above all, to listen to -the charming Cosway. The Honorable Mrs. Damer,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> Lady Lyttleton, the -Countess of Aylesbury, Lady Cecilia Johnston, and the Marchioness of -Townshend, were Maria’s most intimate friends, and were usually present -to add splendor to her receptions; while among the men were General -Paoli, Lords Sandys and Erskine, and his royal highness the Prince -of Wales, the foreign embassadors being also invited upon special -occasions.</p> - -<p>The mansion in Pall Mall was soon found too small to accommodate such -an influx of visitors, and to display its master’s works and finery. A -new one was taken in Oxford Street.</p> - -<p>Several of Cosway’s biographers mention the fact that the figure of a -lion beside the entrance put it into some wag’s head to stick on the -door an epigram that had a severe point, as the foppish little painter -was “not much unlike a monkey in the face:”</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“When a man to a fair for a show brings a lion,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">’Tis usual a monkey the sign-post to tie on;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But here the old custom reversed is seen,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For the lion’s without, and the monkey’s within.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>The artist left the house in consequence of this foolish joke, and -fitted up another in the same street, with the magnificence of a fairy -palace. The author of “Nollekens and his Times” says:</p> - -<p>“His new house he fitted up in so picturesque, and, indeed, so princely -a style, that I regret drawings were not made of the general appearance -of each apartment; for many of the rooms were more like scenes of -enchantment, penciled by a poet’s fancy, than any thing perhaps before -displayed in a domestic habitation. His furniture consisted of ancient -chairs, couches, and conversation-stools, elaborately carved and -gilt, and covered with the most costly Genoa velvets; escritoirs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span> of -ebony, inlaid with mother-of-pearl; and rich caskets for antique gems, -exquisitely enameled, and adorned with onyxes, opals, rubies, and -emeralds. There were also cabinets of ivory, curiously wrought; mosaic -tables set with jasper, blood-stone, and lapis lazuli, having their -feet carved into the claws of lions and eagles; screens of old raised -Oriental Japan; massive musical clocks, richly chased with ormolu and -tortoise-shell; ottomans superbly damasked; Persian and other carpets, -with corresponding hearth-rugs, bordered with ancient family crests, -and armorial ensigns in the centre; and rich hangings of English -tapestry. The carved chimney-pieces were adorned with the choicest -bronzes, models in wax, and terra-cotta; the tables were covered with -old Sèvre, blue Mandarin, Nankin, and Dresden China; and the cabinets -were surmounted with crystal cups, adorned with the York and Lancaster -roses, which might probably have graced the splendid banquets of the -proud Wolsey.”</p> - -<p>But splendor, fashionable position, success as an artist, and the -friendship of princes and nobles could not make Richard Cosway happy. -He saw the sneers lurking beneath the smiles of his aristocratic -guests, and he heard the rumor that he was accused by other artists -of using his talents to flatter the great, whose fleeting favor could -not, after all, confer upon him lasting reputation. Maria’s health, -too, began to fail; and, as the London climate was no longer endurable -for her, her husband took her to travel on the Continent. They went -to Paris and Flanders. One day, as they walked in the Gallery of the -Louvre, Cosway pointed to the naked wall, and said his cartoons would -look well in that place. He presented them to the French king,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span> who -accepted and hung them up, giving the painter in return four splendid -pieces of Gobelin tapestry, which Cosway presented to the Prince of -Wales.</p> - -<p>With improved health, Mrs. Cosway returned to England and resumed her -brilliant parties. But her spirits again failing, she accompanied her -brother to Italy, expecting her husband to join her.</p> - -<p>Three years’ residence in that soft clime quite restored her health, -and she set out on her return to London. A new and terrible trial -awaited her there: she was called to mourn the death of her only -daughter.</p> - -<p>Again she departed for France, and, after the breaking out of the war -between that country and England, pursued her journey to Italy. She -established at Lodi a college for the education of young ladies on a -plan she had arranged for a similar institution at Lyons.</p> - -<p>On the establishment of peace she returned to England, and became the -tender nurse of her invalid husband, trying to solace the weary hours -which were passed in weakness and pain.</p> - -<p>Upon Mrs. Cosway’s return, Smith informs us, “she had caused the body -of their departed child, which her husband had preserved in an embalmed -state within a marble sarcophagus that stood in the drawing-room of -his house in Stratford Place, to be conveyed to Bunhill row, where it -was interred, sending the sarcophagus to Mr. Nollekens, the sculptor, -to take care of for a time. It is a curious coincidence that the same -hour this sarcophagus was removed from Mr. Nolleken’s residence, Mr. -Cosway died in the carriage of his old friend, Miss Udney, who had -been accustomed, during his infirm state, occasionally to give him an -airing,” and had taken him out that morning, as the weather was fine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span></p> - -<p>Maria heard the sound of the returning wheels, and, hastening down -to receive her husband, found only his lifeless corpse. He had died -suddenly, upon a third and last attack of paralysis, July 4, 1821, at -the advanced age of eighty.</p> - -<p>The widow returned to Lodi, where her ladies’ college was still -flourishing. The place was endeared to her by many happy memories, and -there she was loved and respected by a large circle of friends. She -died in 1821.</p> - -<p>In her style Mrs. Cosway appears to have taken much from Flaxman and -Fuseli. In many of her works something fantastic is embodied, which is -associated with more of the wild and terrible than we usually find in -the creations of a mind at ease. No doubt her inconsolable grief for -the loss of her child was the cause of this unfeminine peculiarity. She -originated compositions from Virgil and Homer, as well as from Spenser -and Shakspeare.</p> - -<p>The engraving from a portrait of Maria Cosway represents her in the -bloom of youth, with a profusion of light hair dressed after the -then prevailing mode. The fresh and delicate loveliness of the face -is most attractive, and there is a wonderful beauty in the large, -soft eyes, and the artless innocence that beams in their expression. -The celebrated Mrs. Cowley, in a letter to her, thus speaks of her -portrait: “If you can draw every body as justly as the fair Maria -Cosway, you will be the first portrait-painter in the kingdom.”</p> - -<p>She painted a portrait of Madame Le Brun. One of her latest works was -a picture representing Madame Recamier as a guardian angel watching a -slumbering child. “The Winter’s Day,” in twelve pieces, was a series -by her, and she also published a book of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span> drawings jointly with -Hopner. Her “Lama,” exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1788, showed a -female figure reclining by a stream; and the striking likeness to Mrs. -Fitzherbert caused no little sensation.</p> - - -<h3>MADAME TUSSAUD.</h3> - -<p>Madame Tussaud’s famous wax-work collection was first opened in Paris -about 1770, by M. Courcius, her uncle. Though consisting then chiefly -of busts, with a few full-length figures, it attracted much attention -as a novelty; and Louis XVI. was wont to amuse himself by placing -living figures, costumed, among the wax ones. In 1802 Madame Tussaud -opened her exhibition in London; afterward visiting all the large towns -in Great Britain. Her rooms were large and splendidly decorated, and -her figures were magnificently dressed—some in their own royal robes, -with crowns, stars, orders, and regal finery. Among the historical -groups is one of Henry VIII. and his family. The exhibition is still -kept up in the largest saloon in Europe, more than forty persons being -kept constantly employed in the care of it.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Close of the golden Age of Art in France.—Corruption of -Manners.—Influence of female Genius.—Reign of Louis XVI.—Female -Energy in the Revolution.—Charlotte Corday.—Greater Number of -female Artists in Germany.—Reasons why.—French Women devoted -to Engraving.—Stamp-cutters.—A Sculptress enamored.—A few -Paintresses.—The Number increasing.—Influence of the great -French Masters.—Sèvres-painting.—Genre-painting.—Disciples -of Greuze.—Portrait-painting in vogue.—Caroline -Sattler.—Flower-painters, etc.—Engravers.—Two eminent -Paintresses.—Adelaide Vincent.—Marriage.—Portraits and other -Works.—The Revolution.—Elizabeth Le Brun.—Talent for Painting.—Her -Father’s Delight.—Instruction.—Friendship with Vernet.—Poverty and -Labor.—Avaricious Step-father.—Her Earnings squandered.—Success -and Temptation.—Acquaintance with Le Brun.—Maternal Counsels -to Marriage.—Secret Marriage.—Warnings too late.—The Mask -falls.—Luxury for the Husband, Labor and Privation for the -Wife.—Success and Scandal.—French Society.—Friendship with -Marie Antoinette.—La Harpe’s Poem.—Evening Receptions.—Splendid -Entertainments.—Scarcity of Seats.—Petits Soupers.—The Grecian -Banquet.—Reports concerning it.—Departure from France.—Triumphal -Progress.—Reception in Bologna.—In Rome.—In Naples.—In -Florence.—Madame Le Brun’s Portrait.—Goethe’s Remarks.—New -Honors.—Reception at Vienna.—An old Friend in Berlin.—Residence -in Russia.—Return to France.—Loyalty.—Her Pictures.—Death of her -Husband and Daughter.—Advanced Age.—Autobiography.—An emblematic -Life.</p> -</div> - - -<p>The golden age of French literature and art came to a close with the -life of Louis XIV. A shadow only of that fortunate epoch lingered -during the years succeeding, and the general corruption of manners soon -obliterated even that. But in the reign of Louis XV.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span> were glimpses of -a better state of things, and the influence of female genius and merit -was apparent, as a long list of names in literature can testify. Vice -held sway, however, in the latter years of this monarch, and hypocrisy -became the only homage paid by the court to virtue.</p> - -<p>The sceptre passed into the hands of Louis XVI., a feeble prince, whose -virtues were those of the man, not the sovereign. When the throne was -shattered, and revolution broke out, the women of France regained -their energy. They were heroines under the sway of the Decemvirs. What -self-sacrifice, for example, can outshine that of Charlotte Corday—the -greater than Brutus? And what was begun by a woman, a woman completed: -Madame Cabarrus shared in the glory of those great events! Those days -had writers, too, whom posterity has crowned with the garland woven by -their contemporaries.</p> - -<p>In comparing woman’s progress and her cultivation of art in France -with those of other nations, and especially the German, we may notice -important differences. The number of female artists was far greater in -Germany, perhaps because many cities in that land were central points, -affording employment to labor, and appreciation to those who devoted -themselves to the profession; whereas in France Paris alone was the -great rendezvous. There were, also, several branches of art cultivated -in Germany which in France were little practiced by women, such as -landscape-painting, for instance. The French women devoted themselves -much more to engraving than in Germany; in fact, engravers formed the -majority of female artists in France, where, moreover, female effort -was more in a strictly business line than in any other country. With<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span> -this professional devotion among the women engravers in France, it -follows that there were few amateurs; while, on the other hand, those -in Germany and England who handled the implements of art as dilettanti -were very numerous.</p> - -<p>Glancing over the prominent Frenchwomen who enjoyed a reputation among -their contemporaries during the eighteenth century, we may notice the -stamp-cutters Marie Anne de St. Urbin and Elise Lesueur, with the -sculptress Mademoiselle Collot, who afterward married Falconnet, and -assisted him in the completion of the statue of Peter the Great. She -was said to be enamored of the czar, and to have executed the finest -bust of him extant. The female painters of this period are but little -known. In the early part of the century, Lucrece Catherine de la Ronde -and Elizabeth Gauthier engraved after Edelinck and Langlais. Marie -Catherine Herault accompanied her husband, the painter Silvestre, to -Dresden; and Geneviéve Blanchot, and the Dames Godefroy and Davin, -among others less noted, complete the list during the first half of the -century.</p> - -<p>The number of devotees to art, however, was rapidly increasing, as the -ateliers of Regnault, David, and Redouté could bear witness, when they -became central points of reunion for female enterprise and study.</p> - -<p>The influence of those celebrated men, whose fair scholars have -exercised their talents in the nineteenth century, brought more into -vogue the tender and emotional kind of genre-painting, shown by Greuze -and Fragonard to be so well adapted to the taste and the feeling of -woman. Marguerite Gérard, the sister-in-law and pupil of Fragonard, -in this manner painted scenes of domestic life and family groups -with much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> grace and repose. A Madame Gérard has been mentioned as a -dilettante, who possessed a large fortune, and had a hotel furnished -with facilities for painting Sèvres. Her splendid cupboards of polished -mahogany were gilded and bronzed, and their contents looked like a -rich collection for the gratification of taste rather than for sale. -She purchased some pieces for sixty and eighty louis-d’ors. A pair -of vases, not very large, painted with sacred subjects, sold for -twenty-six thousand livres.</p> - -<p>The genre style was practiced by Mademoiselle Duquesnoy and Madame -Gois. Greuze’s manner was also imitated by his wife, Anna Gabrielle, -with Marie Geneviéve Brossard de Beaulieu, who had the honor of -membership in the Academies of Paris and Rome.</p> - -<p>Other disciples of this school entered into their profession after the -commencement of the nineteenth century; and they, with the pupils of -Regnault, Redouté, and David, belong to a later period than that under -discussion.</p> - -<p>Portrait-painting was more in vogue than any other kind, and that -almost altogether in oil; while miniature-painting, so much in favor -among the women of Germany, was in France much less practiced. Among -those who gained some celebrity, Caroline Sattler deserves mention. She -studied in Paris, and was not only received as a member of the Academy -in that city, but was honored with the title of Professor. Some time -afterward she gave her hand to a merchant named Tridon, and went to -live in Dresden.</p> - -<p>Landscape-painting was practiced by very few women. In flower-painting -Madeleine Françoise Basseporte was noted. She was born in 1701, -received her instruction from Aubriet, and in 1743 succeeded him in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span> -his official appointment in the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Jardin des Plantes</i>. She painted -a series of pieces for the collection of the Duc Gaston d’Orleans, -which are still exhibited as masterworks of art.</p> - -<p>Madame Kugler, the wife of Von Weyler, painted the portraits of -distinguished persons in ivory, and had fine pieces, in enamel and -pastel, in the exhibition in 1789. She was employed by the government, -and worked after her husband’s plans. For twelve years she was -distinguished for her labors.</p> - -<p>Mesdames Charpentier, Surigny, Capet, Bruyère, Michaud, Davin, Mirnaux, -Anzon, and Benoit—who painted the emperor—were also well known as -artists.</p> - -<p>Susanna Silvestre came of a French family of painters. She copied heads -and portraits after Vandyck.</p> - -<p>As to the class of women, already noticed, who embraced the profession -of engravers, they were almost innumerable; yet it is difficult to -select any who merit special attention. One of the number—Marguerite -Leconte—about the middle of the century was a member of Art-academies -in Rome, Florence, and Bologna, and enjoyed a position of high -distinction. Geneviéve Naugis, born in Paris in 1746, worked before -she became the wife of Regnault. She copied plants from nature, and -engraved in copper; she also copied history-pieces after different -masters.</p> - -<p>Fanny Vernet engraved the pictures painted by her husband, Charles -Vernet; and, in her son Horace, gave to French art one of its greatest -ornaments.</p> - -<p>Elizabeth Clara Tardieu was the wife of an eminent French engraver, and -was accustomed to practice the art herself with success.</p> - -<p>Mary Magdalen Hortemels, the daughter of a French engraver, and the -wife of Cochin, was a noted engraver.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> She executed with the point and -finished with the graver, in a light and pleasing style. Several of -the plates for Monicart’s treatise on the pictures, statues, etc., at -Versailles were done by her.</p> - -<p>Marie Rosalie Bertaud and Louise Adelaide Boizot were excellent -engravers.</p> - -<p>Anne Philibert Coulet was an ingenious engraver of landscapes and -marine views; she wrought in a delicate and pleasing style.</p> - -<p>We will now throw back a look upon two female painters, who won for -themselves a nearly equal renown, and who are admirably adapted—each -in her own personal history, and the view of her early efforts—to be -representatives of the condition and characteristics of French art at -that period; and, withal, of the prevalent state of society. These -women are Adelaide Vincent and Louise Elise Le Brun.</p> - - -<h3>ADELAIDE VINCENT.</h3> - -<p>Adelaide Vertus Labille was born in Paris in 1749, and received her -earliest lessons in painting in that city, from J. E. Vincent, of -Geneva. This artist had come to Paris a short time before her birth, -had gained consideration as a painter of miniature portraits, and was -received a member of the Academy. Adelaide’s teacher in pastel-painting -was at first Latour; but when the son of her childhood’s -master—François Antoine Vincent, who had shared her studies in his -father’s atelier, as a boy, three years older than herself—came back -to Paris, she determined to join him both in the pursuit of art and the -journey of life. Her first husband had been M. Guyard; her second was -the younger Vincent.</p> - -<p>Adelaide painted a great number of portraits, among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span> which those of -artists were most noted. One of these—the portrait of the sculptor -Gois—won the prize offered by the Academy, and gained for the fair -artist such celebrity that even the works of her famous rival Madame Le -Brun were thought inferior to it.</p> - -<p>A distinguished mark of appreciation was the appointment of Madame -Vincent as regular member of the Academy; this took place on the 31st -March, 1781. When the storm of the Revolution burst upon France she -adhered to the party of her husband, whose attachment to the royal -family caused him to live in continual hostility with the republican -painter David. One of her works was a large picture, in which the -figures were of life size, representing herself before the easel, and -her pupils around her; among them Mademoiselle Capet, the Duchess of -Angoulême, and several other members of the royal family, by whom she -was greatly esteemed and frequently employed.</p> - -<p>Another of her greatest productions represents the reception of a -member into the Order of St. Lazarus, by Monsieur, the king’s brother, -grand master of the order, who had given her the appointment of court -painter. This picture was destroyed during the Revolution, and its loss -caused the artist so much vexation that she would rarely touch the -brush afterward. Among her subsequent productions, a portrait of her -husband was celebrated at the time.</p> - -<p>This accomplished woman, crowned with honors by her contemporaries, -both as an artist and in social life, and esteemed by a large circle of -friends, died in 1803.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span></p> - - -<h3>ELIZABETH LE BRUN.</h3> - -<p>The other distinguished artist alluded to is Marie Louise Elizabeth -Vigée, who, under her married name, Le Brun, is widely known as one of -the most celebrated women belonging to the eighteenth and nineteenth -centuries.</p> - -<p>She was born in Paris, April 16th, 1755. Her father was a skillful -portrait-painter, and, amid the sports of childhood in her home, she -became acquainted with the principles that form the ground-work of this -art. She showed very early both disposition and talents for painting. -When only seven or eight years of age she drew a sketch of a bearded -man, which when her father saw, recognizing it as a token of the -presence of genius, he exclaimed, rapturously, “You shall be a painter, -my daughter, or there never was one!”</p> - -<p>Elizabeth long remembered this occurrence, and, in her memoir of -herself, speaks of the deep impression made upon her childish feelings -by the praises her father lavished on this early production.</p> - -<p>The lessons she received at home were soon found insufficient for her -rapidly-developing talent. She was introduced, as a pupil in drawing, -to Briard, a painter of considerable merit, who excelled in outline and -sketching. Her teacher in coloring was Davesne, after whom a picture -of Marie Antoinette as Dauphine of France was engraved. The celebrated -Joseph Vernet, then in the midst of his brilliant career, gave her -valuable advice, and always took a fatherly interest in the gifted -child. Her own father died when she was only thirteen years old, but -her mother permitted her to continue her studies of the great masters -in the public galleries.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span></p> - -<p>Here the maiden copied from the mighty works of Rubens, from the -portraits of Rembrandt and Vandyck, and from the delicate and charming -female heads of Greuze. Thus the ground-work was laid of her future -eminence as a colorist, and it was not long ere she was sufficiently -advanced to make considerable profit out of her labors.</p> - -<p>Her father had left no property at his death, and her mother had -been too long accustomed to a brilliant and luxurious Parisian life -not to feel privations sorely. She sought the means of indulgence in -her accustomed pleasures by availing herself of the talents of her -daughter, who now found herself obliged to support the family with her -earnings.</p> - -<p>Even when the mother entered into a second marriage, some years -later, the condition of things was not improved. Madame Vigée, wedded -to a rich jeweler, found herself disappointed in the expectation of -increased means to minister to her vanity and extravagance. From -the day of the bridal the husband showed himself so avaricious and -penurious, that he refused to furnish his wife and step-daughter even -the necessaries of life.</p> - -<p>The labors of our poor little Elizabeth were again in requisition; -and though her old friend Vernet advised her to give her parents only -an allowance from her earnings, and reserve the remainder for her -own use, all she could procure was taken from her and spent, either -in the purchase of articles for the family, or for the gratification -of her mother’s unbounded fondness for dress, promenades, and public -amusements.</p> - -<p>Wherever the youthful maiden appeared she was noticed for her extreme -beauty, as well as talked about for her wonderful talents, and the -general interest in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span> her professional career seemed to go hand in hand -with admiration of her rare personal loveliness. She tells us, in her -memoirs, of several men enamored of her, who bespoke portraits from -her hand in the hope, during the sittings, of making progress in her -favor; but her love for art, as well as the principles of morality and -religion in which she had been reared, rendered her proof against all -such attempts to undermine her virtue.</p> - -<p>When only fifteen years old she painted a portrait of her mother, -which proved so admirable a piece of work that Vernet counseled her -to present it to the Academy with an application for admission. -Elizabeth’s extreme youth prevented her being received as a member, but -she was permitted, a few years later, to be present at all the public -sittings of the Academy.</p> - -<p>It was about this time that she became acquainted with Jean Baptiste -Pierre Le Brun, a painter and picture-dealer, who was then considered -one of the first connoisseurs of Europe. He paid devoted attention -to the lovely young artist, inducing her to visit his rare and rich -collection for the purpose of study, while he manifested the deepest -interest in her success. Six months after his introduction he became a -suitor for her hand. She says, in her autobiography,</p> - -<p>“I was far from the thought of marrying M. Le Brun, although he -possessed a handsome face and agreeable person; but my mother, who -imagined him very rich, never ceased urging me not to refuse so -advantageous a proposal. So at length I yielded; but the marriage was -only an exchange of one kind of trouble for another. Not that M. Le -Brun was a bad-hearted man. His character showed a mixture of softness -and vehemence; and his complaisance to every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span> one made him popular. But -he was unhappily too fond of the society of disreputable females, and -this degrading propensity led him to a passion for gaming that ruined -both of us in point of fortune. So completely had he run through all we -possessed, that in 1789 I had not twenty francs for my journey out of -France, although my earnings had amounted to more than a million.”</p> - -<p>The marriage, which on the husband’s part was a mere matter of -speculation, for he relied on the talents of his bride to rid him -of his creditors, and enable him to live in ease and luxury, was -one of those alliances common in Paris in the reign of Louis XV. -The experience of our heroine was characteristic of the times. Le -Brun had been previously engaged to the daughter of a wealthy Dutch -picture-dealer, with whom he had transacted business. He begged -his wife to keep their marriage a secret till his former business -arrangements were satisfactorily adjusted. Madame consented, although -she was placed in a most painful position, being beset with warnings -and entreaties from her friends, urging her not to enter into a union -sure to be productive of unhappiness—when, alas! the mischief was -already accomplished. The Duchesse d’Aremberg predicted misery as -the result of such a marriage; the court jeweler, Auber, a friend -of her youth, advised her “rather to tie a stone round her neck and -throw herself into the river than to commit such a piece of folly and -madness.”</p> - -<p>The young wife, however, still kept her faith in the excellence of her -beloved. At last the completion of his business arrangements enabled -him to declare the marriage publicly, and very soon it appeared that -all these warnings were but too well founded. Le Brun<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span> first took -possession of all the hard-earned property of his wife, and compelled -her to increase her income by taking pupils. The sole advantage -this accession of means procured for her was the more active and -incessant employment that prevented her from feeling too bitterly the -disappointment of her hopes of happiness in domestic life. Her husband -took the money paid for her pictures and lessons to squander it on his -own selfish indulgences. He occupied the first floor of the house, -furnished in magnificent style, and surrounded himself with costly -luxuries; while his wife was obliged to content herself with the second -story, and with very plain living. Such a state of things in married -life, however, was not unusual toward the close of the reign of Louis -XV., and it excited no surprise.</p> - -<p>While matters stood thus, Le Brun obtained the credit of being an -indulgent husband by the indifference he showed in allowing even -persons of questionable character to visit his wife, while he seldom -appeared in her circles, and by his disregard of sundry cautions and -rumors on the subject. Scandal, which rarely spares an ill-used wife, -unless the austere seclusion of her life be more than hermit-like, -whispered terrible things of Madame Le Brun, and she was even accused -of owing the large sums paid for her pictures more to personal favors -than to her merit as a painter. Conscious of innocence, she was wont -to complain to her husband of such injustice, and he would answer, -jestingly,</p> - -<p>“Let people talk. When you die I will put up a lofty pyramid in my -garden, inscribed with a list of the portraits you have painted, and -then the world will know how you have come by the money you have made.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span></p> - -<p>Such mocking sympathy was all the return for her confidence and earnest -appeals for protection from the unworthy husband who continued to live -in luxury at her expense.</p> - -<p>When twelve thousand francs were sent Elizabeth for a portrait of the -son of Princess Lubomirska, Le Brun appropriated to his own use the -entire sum except two louis-d’ors, which he gave his wife out of it.</p> - -<p>With feelings wounded, and alienated from him by such treatment, Madame -Le Brun at length appears to have resolved to make herself as happy -as possible in her own way. French society was then corrupted to the -core, and it was difficult to move in it without partaking of the -contamination. It was especially so for one whose education had been -superficial, and who had never learned to emulate the example of those -pure devotees to art who had found in that a power to preserve and -guide them, even amid the intrigues and dissipation of the circles that -surrounded them.</p> - -<p>Madame Le Brun had obtained the favor and intimate friendship of -persons of very high rank. Marie Antoinette not only sent to her for -her picture, but was accustomed to ask her to sing with her, the -painter being almost as celebrated for her “silver voice” as for her -professional merits. The public honors lavished upon her aided to make -her labors profitable.</p> - -<p>On one occasion, at a sitting of the French Academy, La Harpe recited a -poem in honor of female genius. When he came to the lines—</p> - -<p class="poetry" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Le Brun—de la beauté le peintre et le modèle,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moderne Rosalba, mais plus brillante qu’elle,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Joint la voix de Favart au sourire de Vénus—”</span><br> -</p> - -<p class="p0">the whole assembly rose, not even, excepting the Duchesse de Chartres -and the King of Sweden, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> the fair artist was stunned with a burst -of enthusiastic applause.</p> - -<p>Her admission into the Academy, which had been hitherto prevented by -personal jealousies and other hinderances, now took place, on the -presentation of her own portrait, in 1783. This picture she had painted -after the famous one by Rubens—“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le chapeau de paille</i>”—which -she had seen the year before when on a visit to Belgium. Her work was -so admirable that Vernet, her ever faithful friend, saw at once that he -could by its means procure the immediate enrollment of her name among -the members of the Academy.</p> - -<p>In the “poor dwelling” to which M. Le Brun’s extravagance consigned -her, she managed to hold every week an evening reception, -notwithstanding the limited accommodations. Her house became the -rendezvous for all the celebrities of Paris, and for much of its -beauty and high rank. Curious stories were afloat in regard to her -expenditures in entertaining the dignified personages who visited -her. It was said that her table was covered with gold plate; that her -apartments were warmed with aloes-wood, and even that she kindled her -fire with bank-notes. The absurdity of such rumors may well lead one -to doubt others in the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chroniques scandaleuses</i> of the day, more -nearly affecting her reputation.</p> - -<p>It is certain, however, that she received guests of the highest -distinction, and that her receptions were crowded to excess. The want -of chairs often compelled her visitors to seat themselves on the -ground. Madame Le Brun herself describes, with evident pleasure in the -recollection, the embarrassment of the fat old Duc de Noailles, who one -evening had to stand a long time, on account of the scarcity of seats.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span></p> - -<p>Music was generally a part of the entertainment, and the fair hostess, -though she had paid little attention to the superior cultivation of -that art, sang most charmingly. Grétry, Sachini, and Martini here -rehearsed scenes from the new operas before their representation; -Garat, Azevedo, Richer, and Madame Le Brun supplied the vocal music, -while the instrumental would be furnished by Viotti, Jarnowich, -Maestrino, Cramer, Hülmandel, and Prince Henry of Prussia, brother to -Frederick William III. He was said to be a celebrated amateur.</p> - -<p>The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petits soupers</i> which usually terminated these delightful -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">soirées</i>, and to which only a few favored guests were invited, -became renowned throughout France. They were said to be brilliant in -Attic elegance and Parisian luxury. The popular Delille, the piquant -author Le Brun, who first flattered the royal family and then became -the Pindar of the Revolution; the luxurious Boufflers, the Vicomte de -Segur, were among the frequenters of this sanctuary of the muses and -the graces. The suppers, indeed, had a European celebrity.</p> - -<p>One day the brother of Madame Le Brun read aloud from the travels of -Anacharsis a description of an ancient Grecian banquet. The fancy came -into the lady’s head of arranging one of her suppers in imitation of -the feasts of the luxurious Aspasia.</p> - -<p>The cook was immediately furnished with receipts for Greek sauces; the -“little” supper-room was changed into a classic banqueting-hall, and a -table made according to the antique fashion was set in the middle of -the room, surrounded with Grecian draperied couches. A request was sent -to the Comte de Pezay, who lived in the same building, for an antique<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> -mantle of regal purple, while the Marquis de Cubières was levied on for -a golden lyre, on which he was skilled in playing.</p> - -<p>Le Brun—not the husband, but the poet—was arrayed by the fair -hands of the artist—whose taste in picturesque costume none could -question—with the purple robe and a classic wig, adorned with a laurel -wreath. He was thus fitted to bear his part as Pindar or Anacreon! Some -young ladies, noted for their beauty, were dressed in Greek tunics, -with classic coiffures, to figure as Athenian maidens; while the -gentlemen guests underwent a corresponding transformation.</p> - -<p>Those favored with invitations to this select entertainment took their -places to the music of the golden lyre, and the classic air composed by -Gluck,</p> - -<p class="poetry" xml:lang="fr" lang="fr"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Le Dieu de Paphos et de Gnide,”</span><br> -</p> - -<p class="p0">while the Pindar of the evening sang Anacreontic odes.</p> - -<p>Among the delicacies that covered the board were eels and birds dressed -with Greek sauces and garnished with honey-cakes; figs, and olives, -and grapes of Corinth. Two beautiful slaves—Mademoiselle de Bonneuil -and Mademoiselle Le Brun—served the guests with Cyprian wine, in cups -brought from buried Herculaneum.</p> - -<p>Two guests arrived late—the Comte de Vaudreuil and the financier -Boutin—who had not been prepared for the surprise. They stood still, -dumb with amazement, at the threshold, and seemed to think themselves -transported to Athens in her day of intellectual glory!</p> - -<p>The next day the classic banquet given by Madame Le Brun was the talk -of all Paris. She was entreated to repeat the entertainment, but with -proper tact declined.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> Some of her acquaintances took offense at the -refusal and at their own exclusion, and revenged the slight (as she -says) by slandering her to the king. It was averred the supper had cost -twenty thousand francs, and Cubières had much ado to undeceive his -majesty.</p> - -<p>The story and the fame of the banquet traveled over the Continent; by -the time it had reached Rome the cost had swelled to forty thousand; -and in Vienna, the Baroness Strogonoff assured Madame Le Brun, it -was reported she had spent sixty thousand. In St. Petersburg it was -naturally as much as eighty thousand. “The fact is,” says Madame Le -Brun, “the little affair cost me only fifteen francs.” She may be -relied on as to her share of the expense, although the cost to others -may have been somewhat greater.</p> - -<p>Such exaggerated rumors, and the gossip growing out of them, caused -some disagreement in the general estimation of Madame Le Brun’s talents -and character. The homage she had received and continued to receive -from the nobility, with her appointment as painter-in-ordinary to the -queen, and the favors heaped on her by the court, helped to render her -obnoxious to a people among whom attachment to royalty and aristocratic -forms began to be regarded as a crime.</p> - -<p>France was on the eve of that Revolution which was destined to uproot -the existing order of things, and the woman whom Marie Antoinette -had made her companion was not likely to escape without opprobrium. -Besides, had she not, in 1774, before her marriage, published a work -entitled “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Amour des Français pour leur roi</i>?”</p> - -<p>When the Revolution broke out, Madame Le Brun<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span> perceived that she could -no longer remain in France. The law protecting artists, and permitting -them to travel in their vocation, was available for her departure.</p> - -<p>She resolved to go to Italy, and, with poignant grief, bade adieu to -her home and friends. But the journey commenced so sadly proved a -triumphant progress, crowned with tokens of respect and homage.</p> - -<p>In Bologna she was at once declared a member of the Academy. At Rome -she was welcomed by a deputation of artists, who went to meet her; -while the painter Menageot, who had just been appointed director of -the French Academy, assigned her apartments in the palace of the -institution.</p> - -<p>In Naples she was received with marks of distinction by the queen, the -sister of Marie Antoinette, and here several residents of rank sat to -her for their portraits—among others, the beautiful Lady Hamilton, -whom the artist painted as a Bacchante reclining on the sea-shore. This -picture was highly praised, and spread far and wide the fame of Madame -Le Brun.</p> - -<p>In Florence she was requested to paint a portrait of herself for the -collection of originals to which reference has already been made. -She finished the portrait for this gallery, where it was placed in -1790, two years after that of Angelica Kauffman had been added to the -collection.</p> - -<p>Goethe says of the portrait of Angelica Kauffman, comparing it with -that of Madame Le Brun in the same gallery: “It has a truer tone in -the coloring; the position is more pleasing, and the whole exhibits -more correct taste and a higher spirit in art. But the work of Le -Brun shows more careful execution; has more vigor in the drawing, and -more delicate touches.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> It has, moreover, a clear, though somewhat -exaggerated coloring. The Frenchwoman understands the art of adornment; -the head-dress, the hair, the folds of lace on the bosom—all are -arranged with care, and, as one might say, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">con amore</i>. The -piquant, handsome face, with its lively expression, its parted lips -disclosing a row of pearly teeth, presents itself to the beholder’s -gaze as if coquettishly challenging his admiration, while the hand -holds the pencil as in the act of drawing. The picture of Angelica, -with the head gently inclined, and the soft, intellectual melancholy of -the countenance, evinces higher genius, even if, in point of artistic -skill, the preference would be given to the other.”</p> - -<p>From a comparison of the two portraits, a contrast might be drawn in -the contemplation of the lives and characters of the two artists. But -we will return to Madame Le Brun, whom we find pursuing the journeys -she made as a conqueror, receiving new honors and new tributes wherever -she passed.</p> - -<p>After visiting Florence and Parma, where she was elected a member -of the Academy, she went to Venice, Verona, and Milan. Italy—the -land where the fairest fruits of female genius in painting had been -found—seemed eager to pay the homage of admiration to the gifted -daughter of another clime. Compliments and felicitations were showered -upon her by the countrymen of a Sirani and a Robusti.</p> - -<p>She came at length to Vienna, where the Count Kaunitz received her with -friendly welcome, and immediately introduced her at court. A golden -harvest here awaited her efforts, and gallant attentions from persons -in high places were not wanting. The Prince de Ligne—a type of the -cavaliers of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ancien régime</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span> whom she had known in former -years at the court of Versailles—devoted himself to her service, and -sang her praises in amatory verses.</p> - -<p>Visiting Berlin, she found an old friend in the person of Prince Henry, -and had a very favorable reception at court. Thence she went to St. -Petersburg, where she lived some years in a brilliant circle of society -under the protection of the Empress Catherine II. and Paul I.</p> - -<p>The honors heaped upon her were crowned in 1800 by her election to -membership in the Academy of Arts; but, notwithstanding the favor in -which she stood with the imperial family and the nobility, and the -influx of wealth that grew out of their kindness and the extended -appreciation of her paintings, the condition of her health at last -obliged her to quit Russia. The entreaties of the emperor and empress -could not prevail upon her to remain longer than 1801.</p> - -<p>In July of that year she returned to Berlin and received the honor -of being chosen a member of the Academy. Orders for portraits were -not wanting, but her short stay made it impossible to undertake them. -Passing through Dresden she returned to the native land for which her -heart had ever pined, arriving in safety at Paris in the winter of the -same year.</p> - -<p>The misfortunes of the Bourbons had filled her breast with sympathizing -grief wherever the news had reached her. She remained true to them -through all reverses, living to witness both the restoration and second -and final exile of that royal line. This loyal feeling manifested -itself even in her relations to the imperial family, when they were in -possession of the throne.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span></p> - -<p>Her picture of “Venus binding Love’s wings” had been engraved in Paris -by Pierre Villu, in 1787. In London she was attacked by the painter -Hoppner, who depreciated her works, and charged her with mannerism. She -succeeded, nevertheless, in obtaining distinguished patrons. Two pieces -that spread her renown were, a knee-piece of the Prince of Wales, and -one of the Signora Grassini in a classic character. The draperies are -luxuriant and rainbow-colored.</p> - -<p>Sir Joshua Reynolds, when questioned by Northcote on the merits of two -of her portraits, pronounced them “as fine as those of any painter,” -and he would not except Vandyck, though his remark has been attributed -to a generous unwillingness to interfere with the brief summer of her -popularity. After a residence of three years in England she came to -Paris to paint the portrait of Madame Murat.</p> - -<p>At Coppet, whither she went on a journey into Switzerland in -1808-9, she painted a portrait of Madame de Staël, which aided much -in spreading her reputation. Having returned from this tour, she -purchased a country-seat near Marly, which became, as her house in -Paris had been, the resort of a highly cultivated and brilliant -society. Especially at the period of the Restoration, public attention, -influenced by that of the court, seemed turned to Madame Le Brun with -greater earnestness than ever.</p> - -<p>The husband of this accomplished woman died in 1813, and five years -afterward she lost her only daughter. Her death was followed by that -of the brother to whom Madame Le Brun was so much attached. These -multiplied afflictions weighed heavily upon her desolate heart. She -sought consolation in renewed devotion to her art, and worked in her -profession as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span> assiduously as ever, notwithstanding the infirmities of -advanced age. When eighty years old she painted the portrait of her -niece, Madame de Riviere, and so remarkable for vigorous coloring and -lively expression was this picture that it has been preserved among the -best specimens of her powers in their prime of energy.</p> - -<p>About this time, in 1835, she gave the world her autobiography, in the -work entitled “Souvenirs.” In this memoir she enumerates the paintings -which she had at that time executed during her life. She had finished -six hundred and sixty-two portraits, fifteen large compositions, and -two hundred landscape-pieces, sketched during her travels in England -and Switzerland.</p> - -<p>She had nearly completed her eighty-seventh year at the time of her -death, March 30th, 1842. Her long life had been as richly productive in -earnest labor as in the reward of success, and in manifold enjoyment. -It may, indeed, be regarded, in its rare bloom and vigor, as a type of -that brilliant period, gay and luxuriant on the surface, but concealing -numerous imperfections, which preceded the French Revolution, and led, -as a natural consequence, to that tremendous outbreak.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.<br><span class="small">THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Women Artists in Spain.—Their Participation a Test of general -Interest.—Female Representatives of the most important Schools.—That -of Seville.—Of Madrid.—The Paintress of Don Quixote.—Ladies -of Rank Members of the Academy.—Maria Tibaldi.—Two female -Artists besides two Poetesses in Portugal.—The Harvest greater -in Italy.—Few attained to Eminence.—Learned Ladies.—Female -Doctors and Professors.—Degrees in Jurisprudence and Philosophy -conferred on them.—Examples.—The Scholar nine Years old.—A lady -Professor of Mathematics.—Women Lecturers.—Comparison with English -Ladies.—Brilliant Devotees of the Lyre.—Female Talent in the -important Schools of Art.—Women Artists in Florence.—Engravers and -Paintresses.—In Naples.—Kitchen-pieces.—In the Cities of northern -Italy.—In Bologna.—Princesses.—In Venice.—Rosalba Carriera.—Her -childish Work.—Her Genius perceived.—Instruction.—Takes to -Pastel-painting.—Merits of her Works.—Celebrity.—Invitations -to Paris and Vienna.—Visit from the King of Denmark.—Invited -by the Emperor and the King of France.—Portrait for the Grand -Duke of Tuscany.—The King of Poland her Patron.—Unspoiled by -Honors.—Her moral Worth.—Residence in Paris.—Her Pictures.—The -Lady disguised as a Maid-servant.—Want of Beauty.—Anecdote of the -Emperor.—Rosalba’s Journal.—Visit to Vienna.—Presentiment of -Calamity.—The Portrait wreathed with gloomy Leaves.—Blindness.—Loss -of Reason.—Death and Burial.—Her Portrait.—Other Venetian Women.</p> -</div> - - -<p>A glance at the women artists of the romantic South will close this -general survey of the eighteenth century. In Spain we find few worthy -of mention. Since the commencement of the Bourbon dynasty interest in -art had ceased to be the essential element in the national life that -it had been under the sway of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> the house of Hapsburg throughout the -seventeenth century. And in the Peninsula the truth was made apparent -that the participation of women is a test and measure of the general -interest in the studies and products of art prevailing among any people.</p> - -<p>The most important schools, however, were not entirely without female -representatives. Linked with that of Seville, we hear the name of the -portrait-painter, Maria de Valdes Leal; her father and tutor, Don Juan -de Valdes, after the death of Murillo, was regarded as the first living -master of this school.</p> - -<p>That of Madrid had among its disciples Clara and Anna Menendez, the -latter being remembered as the painter of a series of scenes from Don -Quixote. To the same school belong Donna Barbara Maria de Hueva, and -Donna Maria de Silva, Duchess of Arcos, both celebrated for their skill -in drawing, and members of the Academy of San Fernando, as were also -Anna Menendez, and the painter Anna Perez of Navarre. Maria Felice -Tibaldi, born in 1707, painted in oil, and also miniatures and pastels. -She possessed great skill in drawing from life and copying historical -pieces. A work of her husband, Pierre Subleyras, “The Apostolic -Supper,” was copied by her in miniature. Pope Benedict XIV. sent her -for it a thousand scudi, and placed it in his collection at the -Capitol. After the death of her husband Maria supported herself and her -children by her talents.</p> - -<p>To these may be added Maria Prieto, the daughter of a distinguished -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">médailleur</i>; she practiced both painting and engraving, but died -in her twentieth year at Madrid, in 1772.</p> - -<p>Portugal, at this period, was justly proud of two women whose poetical -talents had won no small celebrity,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span> Magdalena da Gloria and the -Countess de Vimiero. Beside them we may note two artists of eminence, -Doña Isabel Maria Rite of Oporto, and Catarina Vieira of Lisbon; the -former of high repute as a miniature-painter, the latter noted for -several church pictures which she painted after the designs of her -brother, Don Francisco Vieira de Mattos.</p> - -<p>In Italy the harvest of names was greater, but fewer women attained -to eminence during this century than in either of the two that had -preceded it. Of women of poetical genius there was no lack at this -period; and more than ever—though such are not wanting in the early -annals of the principal Italian cities—learned ladies abounded. Female -doctors and professors were far more in plenty than they promise to be -in America in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Such phenomena -were not rare in the classic Italian clime as women occupying the -chair, not only of music, drawing, and modern tongues, but of Greek, -Latin, Hebrew, mathematics, and astronomy. They took degrees as doctors -in jurisprudence and philosophy; for example, Maria Victoria Delfini, -Christina Roccati, and Laura Bassi, in the University of Bologna, -and Maria Pellegrina Amoretti, in that of Pavia. Anna Manzolini, in -1758, was Professor of Anatomy in Bologna; and Maria Agnesi—who, -when only nine years of age, had delivered at Milan a Latin address -on the “Studies of the Female Sex”—was appointed by the Pope to the -professorship of mathematics in the same university at Bologna.</p> - -<p>It was not then esteemed unfeminine for women to give lectures in -public to crowded and admiring audiences. They were freely admitted -members of learned societies, and were consulted by men of pre-eminent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> -scientific attainments as their equals in scholarship; yet, a British -reviewer remarks, “It is doubtful whether the far-famed Novella was -a better Greek scholar than Mrs. Browning; or Maria Porcia Vignoli, -whose statue long adorned the market-place of Viterbo, more learned in -natural sciences than Mrs. Somerville.”</p> - -<p>Among the more brilliant devotees of the lyre may be mentioned, in -passing, Emilia Ballati and Giulia Baitelli, who emulated the fame of -Petrarch, and Laura Vanetti, in whose poems Metastasio discerned the -very soul of the bard of Love.</p> - -<p>But we must not linger over names, even of the artists who belong to -our special field of observation. None of the important early schools -failed in the eighteenth century, to be able to boast the ornament of -female talent. In Florence, Violanta Beatrice Siries, after a prolonged -course of study in Paris under Boucher and Rigaud, was noted as a -portrait-painter. In the same branch of the profession, Anna Boccherini -and Anna Galeotti were highly esteemed.</p> - -<p>In copper-engraving, Catarina Zucchi and Laura Piranesi acquired some -celebrity. As engravers, we hear of Livia Pisani, Violanta Vanni, and -Teresa Mogalli, the last also skilled in painting.</p> - -<p>In encaustic painting, Anna Parenti-Duclos was well known toward the -close of the century. Maria Felicia Tibaldi was distinguished in Rome -for her talents as a painter no less than for her virtues as a woman; -and her sister, Teresa, belongs to the same category, with Rosalba -Maria Salviani and Caterina Cherubini. In miniature-painting, Bianca -and Matilda Festa excelled; the latter holding the professor’s chair in -the Academy of San Luca.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span></p> - -<p>The wreaths of poetry and painting were intertwined around the brow of -Maria Maratti, the daughter and pupil of the celebrated Carlo Maratti, -and the wife of the poet Zappi. The like was true of Anna Victoria -Dolora, who died at a great age in 1827, in a Dominican convent.</p> - -<p>Naples boasted at this period a famous mathematician in Maria Angela -Ardinghelli. Three gifted sisters, Maria Angiola, Felice, and Emmanuela -Matteis, were also noted here; with the distinguished Angelica Siscara -and Colomba Garri, who practiced flower and genre painting, and -produced a series of kitchen-pieces, in which they sought to idealize -by artistic adornment the ordinary occupations of the frugal and -industrious housewife.</p> - -<p>The cities of northern Italy had their share of energetic women. Turin, -Milan, Bergamo, Roveredo, Carpi, and Parma produced artists whose fame -was limited to a narrower circle than those of Bologna and Venice, -where, especially in the former city, the shadow of past glories seemed -to linger.</p> - -<p>Professor Anna Manzolini modeled excellent portraits in wax, and -Clarice Vasini obtained no small celebrity as a sculptor, being a -member of the Academy.</p> - -<p>Lucia Casalini, Bianca Giovannini, Barbara Burini, Eleonora Monti, Anna -Teresia Messieri, Rosa Alboni, and Teresa Tesi, belonged to Bologna, -and elevated the renown of its women for painting. They aspired to -imitate the example of Elizabetta Sirani.</p> - -<p>Carlotta Melania Alfieri is mentioned as accomplished in literature, -music, and painting.</p> - -<p>Laura Vanetti, praised as a linguist, musician, and philosopher, also -excelled in painting. In the beginning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span> of this century the Princess -Elizabeth of Parma, afterward married to the King of Spain, was a -famous dilettante. Another Princess Elizabeth, the wife of the Archduke -Joseph of Austria, was, in 1789, on account of her pastels, admitted to -membership of the Academy in Vienna.</p> - -<p>In Venice, on the other hand, the fair students of art zealously -emulated the fame of Maria Robusti. This “city of the sea” had many -daughters who did well in painting, though even their names are now -forgotten. She gave birth to one, however, whose fame was destined to -spread into a wider circle, and to renew even in foreign lands the -ancient lustre of the Italian name in art. This gifted being stands -almost alone in the century as one who will be remembered by posterity -with admiration.</p> - - -<h3>ROSALBA CARRIERA.</h3> - -<p>Rosalba Carriera was born in Venice in 1675. Her father held an office -under government, which occupied his whole time; but he, as well as -his father, had been a painter. He loved art, and encouraged his child -in her early fancies. Her first childish work was at point de Venise -lace. She seemed to care little for the ordinary amusements of young -people, but passed her leisure time in drawing. She tried to copy one -of her father’s designs for the head of a sonnet. A student of art, -who chanced to see this piece of work, showed it to his master, who -instantly perceived the genius of the child artist; and, foreseeing the -excellence to which she would attain, and wishing to encourage her to -persevere, gave her other designs to copy.</p> - -<p>Rosalba was desolate when this friend left Venice;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span> but a Venetian -banker, who had noticed her proficiency, lent her some heads in pastel -of Baroche. These studies vastly improved her; and her father, then -satisfied of his daughter’s possession of rare talents, consented -that she should take lessons from Antonio Nazari, who was eminent -as a pastel-painter. The cavalier Diamantini, distinguished for the -freshness of his pencil, also gave her instruction.</p> - -<p>Her most valuable knowledge of the technical part of painting, -which gave her the mastery and command of her art that marked her -productions, was acquired under the tuition of Antonio Balestra. -Finally, she obtained from her kinsman, Antonio Pellegrini, a knowledge -of the details of miniature-painting, to which the advice of a lady -friend first directed her, and in which branch she acquired rare skill. -She would willingly have pursued this, but the weakness of her sight -compelled her to abandon it, and take to pastel-painting, in which she -obtained the greatest celebrity—attaining, Zanetti says, the highest -grade of perfection.</p> - -<p>Her miniatures were noted particularly for severe accuracy of drawing, -united with rare softness and delicacy of touch; they had the -perfection of proportion, and the brilliancy and warmth of coloring for -which her pastels were remarkable. Her tints were blended with great -tenderness; her heads had a lovely expression of truth and nature.</p> - -<p>Her talents met with due appreciation and honor while yet in their -bloom of promise. She was celebrated in her native city as the -“companion of the muse of painting,” and “the ornament of her sex and -of the Venetian school.” Zanetti speaks of her with high praise in his -“Storia della Pittura Veneziana.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> Works evincing her extraordinary -ability were shown at most of the courts of Europe. She was invited to -Paris and Vienna to practice her profession there, and was elected to -membership in the academies of Paris, Bologna, and Rome. Her miniature -and pastel paintings were sent to the institutions which conferred -this honor upon her. The King of Denmark came to Venice, and, having -heard of Rosalba, expressed a curiosity to see her. After consulting -Balestra, she presented to her royal visitor some portraits of Venetian -ladies of rank whom he had admired, receiving from his majesty in -return a very costly diamond. She also played and sang for his -amusement with her two sisters, one of whom performed on the violin.</p> - -<p>She was invited by royalty to paint the Emperor Charles and the -imperial court; also the King of France. The Grand-Duke of Tuscany -placed her portrait in his gallery; it is painted in pastel, with one -of her sisters. The style is noble and sustained; the expression is -true, and the flesh-tints are so admirable, the face seems scarcely to -want a soul. Augustus III., King of Poland, was her special patron; and -in Modena she painted portraits of the reigning family.</p> - -<p>None of these, or similar honors, had power to turn her head nor -to corrupt her heart. Although a daughter of Venice, then the most -luxurious and licentious city in Europe, the deep seriousness, and -even enthusiastic melancholy of her character—dispositions that find -expression in many of her works—kept her aloof from contact with vice, -and her moral purity and worth were as conspicuous and as universally -recognized as her genius. Her own house at Venice was adorned with -portraits and original compositions.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span> This valuable collection she sold -at a high price to the King of Poland, who placed them in a special -cabinet of his palace in Dresden.</p> - -<p>In the bloom of her career and her fame, Rosalba accompanied her -brother-in-law Pellegrini to France. She remained a year at the house -of M. Crozat. Two portraits of the king were done by her in pastel, and -one in miniature, besides a victoire for a snuff-box which his majesty -gave to Madame de Ventadour.</p> - -<p>Several groups and demi-figures, designed by Pellegrini and executed -by Rosalba, are preserved in Paris, with many heads in pastel done for -Crozat. Many of her symbolical pictures—such as the Muses, Sciences, -Seasons, etc.—were purchased by English travelers. Her crayon-drawings -were distinguished by softness and life-like freshness. She became a -member of the Paris Academy in October, 1720. Her tableau de reception -was a Muse in pastel. The connoisseurs esteemed her portraits for their -perfect likeness, delicacy of touch, wonderful lightness, peculiar -grace, and admirable coloring and expression. They were unrivaled of -their kind.</p> - -<p>An anecdote has been mentioned of a lady of rank who wished to study -painting under Rosalba, but knew she could not be prevailed on to take -pupils. The lady presented herself in the disguise of a maid-servant, -and desired employment at the house of the distinguished paintress. -Rosalba was pleased with her appearance, and at once engaged her -services. While faithfully performing her tasks, the lady incessantly -watched the proceedings of the artist; and, by dint of careful -observation, succeeded in learning much of the art. Rosalba noticed -the extraordinary quickness of her maid in these matters; and, willing -to give to native<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> talent all the aid in her power, invited the girl -to observe her while painting, and gave her valuable instruction. The -secret was at last discovered. The lady became afterward an artist so -skillful in miniatures, that she received an appointment from a German -prince as painter at his court.</p> - -<p>An Italian writes concerning her: “Nature had endowed Rosalba with -lofty aspirations and a passionate soul, and her heart yearned for that -response which her absence of personal attractions failed to win. She -was aware of her extreme plainness; and had she ignored it, the Emperor -Charles XI. enlightened her, when, turning to Bertoli, a court artist, -who presented her in Vienna, he said, ‘She may be clever, Bertoli mio, -this painter of thine, but she is remarkably ugly.’ But Rosalba, even -if annoyed, could well afford to smile, for Charles XI. was the ugliest -of men.”</p> - -<p>While in France, Rosalba wrote a journal which was entitled “Diario -degli anni 1720 e 1721. Scritto da Rosalba Carriera.” It appeared -in Venice in 1793, with notes by Giovanni Vianelli, who had a fine -collection of her paintings.</p> - -<p>From Paris she went laden with honors to the imperial court at Vienna, -where, besides the emperor and empress, she painted the archduchesses -and others of the court. The King of Poland had a number of her -pastels, which were highly valued.</p> - -<p>Zanetti remarks: “Much of interest may be said of this celebrated and -highly-gifted woman, whose spirit—in the midst of her triumphs and the -brightest visions of happiness—was weighed down with the anticipation -of a heavy calamity. On one occasion—when she had painted a portrait -of herself, with the brow wreathed with gloomy leaves, significant of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> -death—her friends asked why she had done this. She replied that the -representation was an image of her life, and that her end would be -tragic, according to the meaning here shadowed forth. This portrait was -afterward in the possession of Giambattista Sartori, a brother of her -famous pupil Felicità Sartori. He preserved it as a sacred relic. His -sister married Von Hoffmann, and painted with much success at the court -of the Elector of Saxony.”</p> - -<p>It seemed, indeed, that the presentiment of a fast approaching and -terrible affliction, amid the strict seclusion in which Rosalba lived, -had taken possession of this noble and gifted spirit. It might be that -her solitary existence tended to sadden her temperament, and deepen -its natural inclination to melancholy. The forewarning, of which even -in youth she felt conscious, was mournfully fulfilled ere she had -long passed her prime. Before she was fifty years of age she became -totally blind, as she had feared. Her mind struggled long with weakness -and incurable sorrow, but sank at last, and the light of reason too -departed.</p> - -<p>The latter part of her life was a blank, yet she lingered to old -age, dying in Venice, on the 15th of April, 1757. Amid the universal -expression of unaffected sorrow and commiseration, she was buried in -the church of San Sista a Modesta. She left considerable property. Her -grave is still pointed out to the traveler as the last resting-place of -one whose genius was an ornament to Venice.</p> - -<p>Many of her works have been engraved. The Dresden Gallery has the -largest collection, numbering one hundred and fifty-seven pieces.</p> - -<p>The engraving of Rosalba’s portrait shows a youthful face, with a -pleased expression of childish innocence.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span> The hair is brushed back -from the forehead on the top, but curls cluster around the face on the -sides; earrings are worn, and the corsage is low. The eyes are dark, -the forehead is high, and the whole head has a graceful air.</p> - -<p>Like Rosalba Carriera, Ippolita Venier was a native of Venice, though -she lived at Udina with the painter her father. In 1765 she painted the -Adoration of the Kings, for a church in the sea-born city. Felicità -Sartori was a pupil of Rosalba, and worked in Dresden, whither she went -with her husband.</p> - -<p>Apollonia de Forgue, born in 1767, assisted her husband, Seydelman, -with his pictures. She was a member of the Academy in Dresden.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.<br><span class="small">THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>More vigorous Growth of the Branches selected for female -Enterprise.—Progress accelerated toward the Close of last -Century.—Still more remarkable within the last fifty Years.—Great -Number of Women active in Art.—Better intellectual Cultivation -and growing Taste.—Increased Freedom of Woman.—Present Prospect -fair.—Growing Sense of the Importance of Female Education.—Women -earning an Independence.—The Stream shallows as it widens.—Few -Instances of pre-eminent Ability.—Fuller Scope of the Influence -of the French Masters in the nineteenth Century.—David, the -Republican Painter.—His female Pupils.—Angélique Mongez.—Madame -Davin and others.—Disciples of Greuze.—Female Scholars of -Regnault.—Pupils of the Disciples of David.—Pupils of Fleury -and Cogniet.—Madame Chaudet.—Kinds of Painting in Vogue.—The -Princess Marie d’Orleans.—Her Statue of the Maid of Orleans.—Her -last Work.—Promise of Greatness.—Sculpture by Madame de -Lamartine.—“Paris is France.”—Painting on Porcelain.—Madame -Jacotot and others.—Condition of Art in Germany.—Carstens.—Women -Artists.—Maria Ellenrieder.—Louise Seidler.—Baroness von -Freiberg.—Madame von Schroeter.—Female Artists of the Düsseldorf -School.—The greatest Number in Berlin.—Rich Bloom of Female Talent -in Vienna and Dresden.—Changes in Italy.—Prospect not fair in Spain -and Scandinavia.—In England, Sculpture and Painting successfully -cultivated.—Fanny Corbeaux.—Superior in Biblical Scholarship.—The -Netherlands in this Century.—Encouragement for Women to -persevere.—Dr. Guhl’s Opinion.—History the Teacher of the Present.</p> -</div> - - -<p>With the foregoing glimpses, the sketch of woman’s active efforts -in art during the eighteenth century may be closed; completing our -bird’s-eye view of her share in those ennobling pursuits during -a history covering over two thousand years. As we approach the -present time, the various branches in which her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span> enterprise has been -influential develop into more distinct and vigorous growth. It may now -be interesting to notice the indications of our own—the nineteenth -century.</p> - -<p>The progress of female talent and skill, accelerated toward the close -of the preceding age, has become more remarkable than ever within the -last fifty years. The number of women engaged in the pursuits of art -during that time far exceeds that of the whole preceding century.</p> - -<p>This accession is probably owing, in a great measure, to the more -general appreciation of art, growing out of better intellectual -cultivation, and to the growing taste for paintings and statuary as -ornaments of the abodes of the wealthy. But it is due, in some degree, -to the increased freedom of woman—to her liberation from the thraldom -of old-fashioned prejudices and unworthy restraints which, in former -times, fettered her energies, rendered her acquisition of scientific -and artistic knowledge extremely difficult, and threw obstacles in the -way of her devotion to study and the exercise of her talents. We have -seen that, the more enlarged is the sphere of her activity among any -people, the greater is the number of female artists who have done and -are doing well, by their sustained and productive cultivation of art.</p> - -<p>At the present time, the prospect is fair of a reward for study and -unfaltering application in woman as in man; her freedom—without -regarding as such the so-called “emancipation,” which would urge her -into a course against nature, and contrary to the gentleness and -modesty of her sex—is greater, and the sphere of her activity is wider -and more effective than it has ever been. The general and growing -apprehension of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> the importance of female education will gradually lead -to dissatisfaction with the superficial culture of modern schools, and -to the adoption of some plan that shall develop the powers of those -who are taught, and strengthen their energies for the active duties of -life. Many advantages besides these have encouraged the advancement -of women as artists beyond any point reached in preceding ages. We -may thus find an increasing number of young women who, bent on making -themselves independent by their own efforts, spare no pains to qualify -themselves as teachers in various branches of art.</p> - -<p>The same observation we made in regard to the increase of art scholars -in the last century is true of the present. The stream which has -widened has grown shallower in proportion; and while the cultivation of -taste and talent has become more general, and many more have attained -a respectable degree of skill, there are few instances of pre-eminent -ability, or of original genius. This seems a law of the world of art, -as well as that of poetry and science; and it holds good no less among -men than women. We must look, therefore, for not many remarkable -examples of talent.</p> - -<p>We have already seen something of the influence of Carstens and David -in the bent and direction given to female talent; but these had not -full scope till the beginning of the nineteenth century. David was -inspired by a more earnest feeling than had breathed in the frivolous -and conventional style of a former period; and the depth and vigor, -and more careful execution he brought into vogue, greatly improved the -taste of his day. He may be called the Republican painter, laying the -ground-work of French art as it now exists.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span></p> - -<p>David himself had a goodly number of female pupils, and some of them -displayed no inconsiderable talent. Among them may be enumerated -Constance Marie Charpentier, who, besides, enjoyed the advantage of -instruction under Gérard and Lafitte, with Angélique Mongez, at first -the pupil of David, then of Regnault. She painted a large picture -entirely in the classic style of David. Her painting—the figures life -size—represented “Ulysses finding young Astyanax at Hector’s Grave.” -The design is correct of the antique costume, the disposition is -excellent, and a free and light touch is noticed. So large a picture -had rarely been exhibited in Paris by a woman. This artist, however, -lacked originality and self-reliance, and seemed to follow David too -slavishly. Another large picture was “Alexander weeping at the Death of -the Wife of Darius.” The connoisseurs gave her the credit of a grand -style, but thought her coloring hard.</p> - -<p>To these may be added Madame Leroulx and Madame Davin. The latter -received instruction, also, from Suvé and Augustin, and obtained the -gold medal for her miniatures and genre-paintings. Nanine Ballain was -noted for her genre-paintings; and Marie Anne Julie Forestier, for her -romantic ones in this style and for her classic pictures.</p> - -<p>Contemporary with these were some female artists who painted in the -manner of Greuze; as Constance Mayer, afterward a disciple and friend -of Prudhon; Madame Elie, and Philiberte Ledoux; the first well known -for her portraits, the latter for her scenes and child-pictures. We may -mention, in passing, Madame Villers, whose numerous works were marked -by truth and pleasing expression. One of her pieces, “A Child asleep in -a Cradle,” carried away by a flood, while a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> faithful dog plunges in to -save it, with eager expression, is very striking and graceful.</p> - -<p>Regnault, the rival of David, had the honor of many more female -scholars. One of them, Madame Anzon, painted large pictures in 1793. -Sophie Guillemard sent to the Exhibition, in 1802, “Alcibiades -and Glycerion,” and, two years later, her “Joseph and Potiphar’s -Wife.” After this, Claire Robineau produced historical pictures and -landscapes, and Rosalie de Lafontaine her delicate genre-paintings. -Aurore Etienne de Lafond and Eugénie Brun obtained medals for their -master-pieces in miniature-painting. Madame Lenoir painted Sage’s -portrait, and was much esteemed. A host of names might be added, were a -mere list desirable.</p> - -<p>The disciples and imitators of David also numbered women among -their pupils. Drolling’s daughter, Louise Adéone, studied under his -direction; her first husband was Pagnierre the architect. Fanny Robert -was trained in Girodet’s atelier; Abel de Pujol taught Adrienne Marie -Louise Grandpierre Deverzy; and Gérard finished some of David’s -scholars, as Eléonore Godefroy, who exhibited portraits and copies from -her master after 1810, and Louise de Montferrier, Comtesse de Hugo, -whose genre-paintings were brought to the Exhibition nine years later. -Madame von Butlar, of Dresden, studied under this master in 1823.</p> - -<p>These were the latest masters in serious historical painting till -Robert Fleury and Léon Cogniet, who could perhaps boast the greatest -number of gifted female pupils. We should mention here Jeanne Elizabeth -Gabiou, the wife of Antoine Denis Chaudet, born in 1767, and dying -about 1830. She was a pupil of her husband, and painted “A Child -Teaching a Dog<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span> to Read,” with many charming little pieces of the kind; -excelling, too, as a portrait-painter. The empress bought one of her -pictures.</p> - -<p>The majority of French women artists of this period busied themselves -with portraits. Flower-painting was also much in vogue, and miniature -and porcelain painting furnished continual employment for female -industry and talent.</p> - -<p>In modeling and sculpture France has produced some excellent artists -since the commencement of the present century.</p> - - -<h3>MARIE D’ORLEANS.</h3> - -<p>One in particular, of illustrious station and royal blood, too early -snatched away by death, has conferred lustre upon the whole class by -whom the difficult and delicate art has been cultivated.</p> - -<p>Marie of Orleans, the daughter of Louis Philippe, is thus mentioned in -Mrs. Lee’s “Sketches.”</p> - -<p>“She was born at Palermo in 1813, and was married in 1837 to Duke -Alexander of Wurtemberg. Her health was impaired, and she went to Pisa -in the hope of recovering, but died there in 1839. Her statue of the -Maid of Orleans is of the size of life, and is placed at Versailles; it -is full of animation and spirit. But her last work, an angel in white -marble, seems to be the result of inspiration. It is in the chapel -of Sablonville, on the sarcophagus of her brother. It may be deeply -lamented that the Princess Marie did not live to give additional proofs -of the capability of her sex for works of sculpture. Her early death -frustrated the efforts of a genius which bade fair to compete with the -graceful forms of Canova or Flaxman.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Lee says, “We were much gratified by seeing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span> a font in the church -St. Germain de l’Auxerrois in Paris, by Madame Lamartine, the wife of -the poet and historian; the font is surrounded by marble angels, who -rest on its margin. It is a beautiful record of her taste, ingenuity, -and benevolence.”</p> - -<p>Paris at this period, more emphatically than ever, was the centre of -active efforts among artists. “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Paris—c’est la France</i>” was an -expression as true as in the literary and political life of the nation. -This was advantageous for the development of talent, and the advance of -skill in details; bringing rival merits more keenly into conflict, and -furnishing the student with more varied means of instruction.</p> - -<p>Painting on porcelain became much practiced by French women in the -early part of the present century. Amélie Legris was skilled in it, as -well as in painting in oil, miniatures, and aquarell.</p> - -<p>Madame Jacotot was noted for her beautiful paintings on porcelain. She -was sent to Italy by the French government to copy the paintings of -Raphael. She lived in style, was in much society, and was distinguished -for her wit.</p> - -<p>Madame Ducluzeau is the wife of a physician, and has gained -considerable celebrity as an artist. The Comtesse de Mirbel painted -miniatures. Louis Philippe, and many persons of his court, and the -nobility, sat to her. She was employed to copy paintings for cadeaus to -royalty.</p> - -<p>Madame Aizelin had some charming pieces in pastel in the Paris -Exhibition, 1857. Transparency of tissue was never better rendered than -in her gauze drapery. Madame Fontaine, a pupil of Cogniet, excelled in -the department of still-life. Mademoiselle Augustine Aumont had twelve -panels, giving the flowers of each<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span> month. Miss Mutrie, Mademoiselle -Alloin, pupil of Rosa Bonheur, and many other women, were praised for -beautiful groups of fruit and flowers. In this branch, as in portraits, -miniatures, and porcelain-painting, the palm of excellence is awarded -to lady artists. The productions of Madame Herbalin were conspicuous -for delicacy and purity of execution and coloring.</p> - -<p>Casting a glance at the condition of art at this period in Germany, -it is noticeable that women took part with enthusiasm in almost every -branch. We have observed the grounding of modern art in this country by -Carstens. He went back to the purer forms of the antique, as his French -contemporary, David, had done; and his restoration of purity, vigor, -and tenderness, found earnest sympathy among his fair countrywomen. -A style expressing the heart’s deepest feelings, and the religious -veneration which had become traditional, could not fail to meet the -aspirations of noble-minded female artists.</p> - -<p>Among artist-women who flourished at the close of the eighteenth and -in the present century we may mention Mademoiselle Sonnenschein, who -died in 1816, a member of the Academy in Stuttgard. We should not -drop, among minor names, that of Sophie Ludovika Simanowitz, born -Reighenbach, whose portrait of Schiller is well known.</p> - -<p>Magdalena Tischbein, a flower-painter, the daughter of a noted artist, -married the court painter Strack, of Oldenburg, in 1795.</p> - -<p>The Princess of Saxe-Meiningen was noted for her beautiful pictures -illustrating Bible history.</p> - -<p>Mary Anna Bösenbacher, of Cologne, an engraver, was engaged in the -service of the Elector Max Francis.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span></p> - -<p>Barbara Krafft, born Steiner, of Iglau, painted a number of -genre-pictures of life size, and in this branch was the precursor of -Madame Jerichow-Baumann. She died in Bamberg, in 1825, aged sixty.</p> - -<p>One who was busy in Rome at this time was Maria Ellenrieder. She had -before visited the Academy in Munich for the purpose of educating -herself in historical painting. In her works she sought to revive the -spirit of ancient German art, and her longings drew her to the city -which has long been the resort of ambitious art-students, where we find -her in 1820. Among her productions are many altar-pieces, representing -the Holy Family. Some have been lithographed. Since 1825 she has lived -in Germany, where she has completed many works, and has practiced the -art of etching.</p> - -<p>Louise Caroline Seidler was at the same time in Rome. Born in Jena, -she studied painting in Munich under Professor Von Langer, afterward -going to Italy to profit by the works of Pietro Perugino and Raphael. -She received the appointment of court painter in Weimar, and executed -several pictures that belong to the romantic genre school. A splendid -fruit of her study of the old masters is a collection of heads taken -from celebrated pictures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. -These were lithographed by Von Schmeller, and published in Weimar in -1836.</p> - -<p>Among the German artists in Rome at the same period was Electrine -Stuntz, afterward Baroness von Freiberg. She was the daughter of a -landscape-painter of Strasburg, and devoted herself to historical -pieces. She was in the Eternal City during 1821 and the following -year, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of San Luca, -occupying a position<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span> similar to that held by Angelica Kauffman. Her -works have a serious character, and Madonna pictures abound in them. -About 1823 she was married to Baron von Freiberg, and thenceforward -divided her cares between her family and her art. Several of her -etchings were greatly admired, and brought her high reputation.</p> - -<p>Madame Caroline von Schroeter belongs to the same period. She became -distinguished in Rome in 1826 by her beautiful miniature-paintings, and -was there chosen member of the Academy of San Luca.</p> - -<p>A few female artists belonged to the Düsseldorf school, while in -Weimar they were indefatigable in supporting the ancient reputation. -But the greatest number is to be found in Berlin. The impetus there -given in various departments of learning, and the patronage of royal -connoisseurs, with the superior cultivation of the people, had the -happiest effect, and brought out the richest bloom of female talent. -No branch of modern art has there been neglected by women, and several -have displayed a genius for sculpture. Dilettanti of the highest rank -have turned their attention to painting; and those who have pursued -art as a profession, from dignified history-pieces down to flowers and -landscapes, have met with encouraging success. In flower-painting and -arabesques some very important improvements have recently been made.</p> - -<p>In the other cities of Germany, where women have successfully engaged -in such pursuits, less has been done. Few have taken to the profession -in Vienna, though Dresden has maintained the old repute in this -particular, and her Academy is to this day a genial nursery of female -talent.</p> - -<p>Italy, the birthplace of the fine arts, has experienced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span> the change -common to all mundane things, and the participation of her women in -art is by no means so great and significant as in earlier ages. Yet -a few names may be ranked with those who have gone before. Turin, -Milan, and Rome have each produced fair artists of distinction in -various branches, and their success promises to open the way to future -enterprise.</p> - -<p>Not so fair is the prospect in Spain and among the Scandinavian -nations. In England, on the other hand, both sculpture and painting -have been successfully cultivated during the present century. We may -mention, in passing, Fanny Corbeaux, an artist and distinguished -Biblical scholar, born in 1812. When she was only fifteen years of -age her father suddenly lost his property, and became indigent. The -daughter had received only superficial instruction in drawing, but -determined to use her small skill to support her father and herself. -With the ardent spirit of youth she threw herself into the undertaking, -sparing herself no severe labor, and so well directed were her efforts -that, before the end of the year, she obtained a silver medal for -water-color drawings. Within the next three years she received another -similar token of approbation, and the gold medal of the Society of Arts.</p> - -<p>All this time she had been her own instructor. She afterward painted -small pictures in oil and water-colors, but confined herself chiefly -to portraits. Her superiority in Biblical scholarship was shown by a -valuable series of letters on the Physical Geography of the Exodus. She -published another series entitled “The Rephaim.”</p> - -<p>Fanny is described as being small, with figure slightly bent, but -cheerful and charming in manner. Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span> mother, living with her, is said -to be lively and agile in movement.</p> - -<p>Miss Merrifield is the author of a treatise on the Art of Painting.</p> - -<p>A “Society of Female Artists” was established in London in 1857. -Among its members, and now secretary to the association, is Mrs. -Elizabeth Murray, the wife of the English Consul at Teneriffe. She -has great celebrity as a water-color artist. Her style is dashing -and vigorous, but highly finished; her coloring bright, transparent, -pure, and sparkling, though something deficient in depth and middle -tint. Mrs. Murray has lately published a book entitled “Sixteen -Years of an Artist’s Life, etc.” She says of herself: “A vagabond -from a baby, I left England at eighteen, independent, having neither -master nor money. My pencil was both to me, and, at the same time, my -strength, my comfort, and my intense delight.” Honorable Mrs. Monckton -Mills, Miss Louisa Rayner, Miss Florence Caxton, and others, are -mentioned with praise. Mrs. Benham Hay is known as the illustrator of -Longfellow’s Poems; and Barbara Leigh Smith, an admirable writer, is an -excellent artist. Of Miss Mutrie’s work Mr. Ruskin says: “It is always -beautiful;” and Miss Howitt and Mrs. Carpenter are noted as artists. -Many whose names are now beginning to be familiar have hardly yet done -justice to their own powers.</p> - -<p>The Netherlands have done their share during the present century, -preserving the old Dutch reputation, and producing a number of women -who have made themselves independent by the exercise of skill in -different departments of art.</p> - -<p>The encouragement Goëthe has given, in his observations on the women -artists of his day, is applicable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span> to those of the present. They -have taken more firm hold, and manifested yet more ability in the -profession. If many of them have been deficient in creative power, they -have shown themselves capable of the highest excellence in the tender, -the graceful, the pathetic, the ideal, and in the delicacy and quick -perception, which often achieves so much, as by intuition. Dr. Guhl -regards the indications of the present age as exceedingly promising, -and urges women to enlarged ambition and activity. Severe exertions are -demanded, but when was any success worth having commanded without them? -The time is now ripe for their emulation of their most eminent rivals -of the other sex, not by laying aside womanly delicacy, but by labors -entirely consistent with that true modesty which will ever be the most -attractive ornament of the sex. History is the great teacher of the -present; and what we have seen of the achievements of by-gone ages is -so full of encouragement, that it is but reasonable to look for still -greater triumphs in the wider arena now opened, than have yet crowned -the genius or the persevering industry of woman.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.<br><span class="small">THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Felicie de Fauveau.—Parentage.—Her Mother a Legitimist.—The -Daughter’s Inheritance of Loyalty.—Removals.—Felicie’s -Studies.—Learns to Model.—Resolves to be a Sculptor.—Labor becoming -to a Gentlewoman.—Her first Works.—Early Triumphs.—Social Circle in -Paris.—Evening Employments.—Revival of a peculiar Taste.—Mediæval -Fashions.—The bronze Lamp.—Equestrian Sketch.—Effect of the -Revolution of 1830.—The two Felicies leave Paris.—A rural -Conspiracy.—A domiciliary Visit.—Escape of the Ladies.—Discovery -and Capture.—The Stratagem at the Inn.—Escape of Madame in -Disguise.—Imprisonment of Mademoiselle.—Works in Prison.—Return -to Paris.—Politics again.—Felicie banished.—Breaks up her -Studio.—Poverty and Privation.—Residence in Florence.—Brighter -Days.—Character of Felicie.—Personal Appearance.—Her Dwelling -and Studio.—Her Works.—The casting of a bronze Statue.—Industry -and Retirement.—“A good Woman and a great Artist.”—<span class="smcap">Rosa -Bonheur.</span>—Her Birth in Bordeaux.—Her Father.—Rosa a Dunce -in Childhood.—Her Parrot.—Rambles.—The Spanish Poet.—Removal -to Paris.—Revolution and Misfortune.—Death of Madame -Bonheur.—The Children at School.—Rosa detests Books and loves -Roaming.—Remarriage of Bonheur.—Rosa a Seamstress.—Hates the -Occupation.—Prefers turning the Lathe.—Her Unhappiness.—Placed -at a Boarding-school.—Her Pranks and Caricatures.—Abhorrence -of Study.—Mortification at her Want of fine Clothes.—Resolves -to achieve a Name and a Place in the World.—Discontent and -Gloom.—Return home.—Left to herself.—Works in the Studio.—Her -Vocation apparent.—Studies at the Louvre.—Her Ardor and -Application.—The Englishman’s Prophecy.—Rosa vowed to Art.—Devoted -to the Study of Animals.—Excursions in the Country in search of -Models.—Visits the <i>Abattoirs</i>.—Study of various Types.—Visits -the Museums and Stables.—Resorts to the horse and cattle Fairs in -male Attire.—Curious Adventures.—Anatomical Studies.—Advantages -of her Excursions.—Her Father her only Teacher.—The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span> Family of -Artists.—Rosa’s pet Birds and Sheep.—Her first Appearance.—Rising -Reputation.—Takes the gold Medal.—Proclaimed the new -Laureat.—Death of her Father.—Rosa Directress of the School of -Design.—Her Sister a Professor.—“The Horse-market.”—Rosa’s -Paintings.—Bestows her Fortune on others.—Her Farm.—Drawings -presented to Charities.—Demand for her Paintings.—Her Right -to the Cross of the Legion of Honor.—The Emperor’s Refusal -to grant it to a Woman.—Description of her Residence and her -Studio.—Rosa found asleep.—Her personal Appearance.—Dress.—Her -Character.—Her Industry.—Mademoiselle Micas.—Mountain -Rambles.—Rosa’s Visit to Scotland.—Her Life in the Mountains.—At -the Spanish Posada.—Threatened Starvation.—Cooking Frogs.—The -Muleteers.—Rosa’s Scotch Terrier.—Her Resolution never to marry.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>FELICIE DE FAUVEAU.</h3> - -<p>Felicie was born in Tuscany, but was taken, when an infant, to Paris, -where her education commenced. Her parents were persons of much -intelligence and culture. Her mother had great taste for music and -painting, and it was from her that her daughter’s talents received -their first direction and encouragement. The family favored the -aristocrats and Legitimists, and endured much in the cause of the -Bourbons. Madame de Fauveau’s eyes had opened on the terrors of -the guillotine, and she was as proud of those memories of exile, -proscription, and the scaffold as most persons are of honor and titles. -Her chivalrous loyalty looked on them as dignities, and the privilege -of suffering for the family to which she was devoted was cheaply earned -in her eyes by the ruin and exile of her own.</p> - -<p>The daughter shared in the mother’s chivalrous sentiments, and her -cherished ideas of monarchy and Romanism became perceptible in her -conversation and works, while her self-sacrificing spirit of loyalty -remained the same amid many vicissitudes. Owing to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span> pecuniary losses, -her parents were compelled, while she was yet very young, to remove -successively to Limoux, Bayonne, and Besançon. While at Bayonne, -in 1823, she met with many partisans in the war then raging on the -frontiers of Spain—men whose loyalty amounted to fanaticism, and -whose piety belonged to the ancient time of the Crusades; from these -her youthful imagination must have received powerful and indelible -impressions.</p> - -<p>Her studies were varied and profound; ancient history, classic and -modern languages, heraldry, and archæology received her devoted -attention. The feudal and chivalric traditions of the Middle Ages were -explored with eagerness by her, and she reproduced and utilized the -knowledge thus acquired. During her residence in Besançon, she executed -some oil-paintings which were much praised; but she seemed to feel that -canvas was not the material which would most fully express her ideas. -She had then received no instruction in modeling. One day, in her walk, -she paused before the shop of one of the workmen who carve images of -virgins and saints for village churches. Impelled irresistibly, she -entered and made inquiries as to the method of work, learning thus -the secrets of modeling in clay or wax, and of carving wood or gold. -It then appeared that her vocation was decidedly for the plastic art. -She had the faculty of coloring with skill, and might have been a -great painter, had she not resolved to be a sculptor. Her taste led -her to adopt the mediæval manner, and she took Benevenuto Cellini for -her prototype, occupying herself with art in both its monumental and, -decorative character.</p> - -<p>At the death of her father, the family—consisting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> of the widow, two -sons and three daughters—was in some distress. Felicie determined -to devote her talents to their support. Some of her friends objected -that such employment was unbecoming one who belonged to a noble -family. “Unbecoming!” said she, drawing herself up with a noble pride; -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Sachez qu’un artiste tel que moi est gentilhomme.</i>”</p> - -<p>The first work she exhibited was a group from Scott’s novel, -“The Abbot.” Encouraged by its brilliant success, she produced a -basso-relievo, consisting of six figures—Christina of Sweden and -Monaldeschi in the fatal gallery of Fontainebleau. This work was in -the Exposition des Beaux Arts, and it received from Charles X. in -person the gold medal awarded by the jury. The dramatic energy of the -group, the expression of the figures, and the beauty of the minor -details won universal admiration, and it was hailed as offering the -brightest promise of future excellence. The triumphant artist was then -a girl in the bloom of early youth; and, flattered and delighted at -the appreciation she met with, it is not to be wondered at that her -resolution to adhere to the career she had chosen was steadfast and -immovable.</p> - -<p>Felicie remained in Paris with her family till 1830. Her mother’s -house was the centre of a charming circle of persons of high rank, -of cultivated women, and of accomplished artists, such as Scheffer, -Steuben, Gassier, Paul Delaroche, Triqueti, Gros, Giraud, etc. So -distinguished and agreeable was the mother, so sensible and so witty -was the conversation of the daughter, that their society was coveted -and prized. The friends assembled of an evening in their drawing-room -would gather round a large centre-table, and improvise drawings in -pencil, chalk, and pen and ink; or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> would model, in clay or wax, -brooches and ornaments, sword handles and scabbards, dagger-hilts, etc. -The young lady wished to revive those famous days when sculpture lent -its aid to the gold and silver smith, the jeweler, the clock-maker, -and the armorer. To her may be chiefly attributed the impulse given -to this taste in Paris—a taste that infected England also, reviving -mediæval fashions for ornaments, and also mediæval feelings and -aspirations, which at last found expression in Puseyism in religion, -and pre-Raphaelism in art.</p> - -<p>She executed, for Count Portalès, a bronze lamp of singular beauty, -representing a bivouac of archangels armed as knights. They are resting -round a watch-fire, while one, St. Michael, is standing sentinel. It -is in the old Anglo-Saxon style. Round the lamp, in golden letters, -is the device, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vaillant, veillant</i>.” Beneath is a stork’s foot -holding a pebble, a symbol of vigilance, surrounded by beautiful -aquatic plants. The work was poetically conceived, and executed with -great spirit and finish. She also commenced a work which she called “a -monument to Dante,” and sketched an equestrian statue of Charles VIII. -On returning from the expedition to Naples, it was said, the monarch -paused on the ascent of the Alps, and turned to take a last farewell -of the beautiful country—“wooed, not wed”—which he so unwillingly -abandoned. The sculptress was most successful in rendering this -expression of sadness and yearning. The pose of the horse was natural, -yet commanding; and the work would doubtless have been a master-piece; -but, unfortunately, the model had to be destroyed, on the breaking up -of her studio.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle de Fauveau had now acquired an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span> eminence and gained -a celebrity which must have satisfied the most ambitious. She was -incessantly occupied with commissions for most of the private galleries -in France; and a place was promised her among those great artists who -are employed to adorn public monuments, and whose works enrich public -collections. She was to have modeled two doors for the gallery in the -Louvre, after the manner of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise; a baptistery -and pulpit in one of the metropolitan churches had been already spoken -of, when the revolution of 1830 broke up this calm and noble existence, -and ended her career in Paris.</p> - -<p>To Mademoiselle de Fauveau, with her extreme opinions, this revolution -was a personal calamity. She had identified the glory and greatness of -France with the elder branch of the Bourbons. The times for her were -evil and out of joint; she abhorred the Paris which had overthrown -what she considered a legitimate, to set up a pseudo royalty, and -she longed, with all the concentration and single-mindedness of her -character, for an opportunity of leaving the city. This soon presented -itself. Among other noble and distinguished persons who were proud of -their acquaintance with this gifted woman, were members of the Duras -family. The married daughter, who bore the beloved but fatal name of La -Roche Jacquelein, sympathized entirely with the opinions and feelings -of her namesake, Felicie. She invited the artist to leave Paris, and -accompany her on a visit to her estates in La Vendée. During this -visit, which was at first considered a mere relaxation from severe -labor and study, riding, shooting, and hunting took the place of -designing, modeling, and casting. But, after a while, a more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span> serious -purpose was contemplated, and a loftier end proposed. Mademoiselle -de Fauveau found herself in the thick of a political conspiracy. A -regular <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chouannerie</i> was organized, and our poetical artist -distinguished herself by her spirit, energy, and determination. To this -day the peasantry in that part of France always speak of her as “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">la -demoiselle</i>.”</p> - -<p>The authorities at last took umbrage, and a domiciliary visit was made -to the chateau. The two ladies, warned in time, escaped, and took -refuge in a neighboring farm-house. But arms and ammunitions were found -in the chateau, with compromising letters and treasonable symbols. -Orders were given to pursue and arrest the fugitives. The farm-house -was searched in vain; the peasants were questioned, but their fidelity -was unimpeachable. Unfortunately, however, some faint sounds were heard -behind an oven; the grated door was removed, and the two rebels, who -had so nearly defeated the search of their pursuers, were discovered, -arrested, and sent under a strong guard to Angers.</p> - -<p>At the first stage they stopped at an inn. The captives were conducted -to a room up stairs; the door was locked, and their guards descended to -the kitchen to refresh themselves. Presently a maid-servant was sent -up to receive their orders for supper. In an instant, Madame de la -Roche Jacquelein made herself understood by this woman. As soon as the -supper was brought up, and the door closed, she effected an exchange -of clothes, and, thus disguised, descended boldly, plates in hand, to -the kitchen. She quickly deposited her burden on the dresser, and then, -taking up the milk-pail, announced in the pretty <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">patois</i> of the -country her intention to fetch the milk from the dairy.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span> It is said the -lady looked so captivating in her new costume that a gallant sergeant -made advances to her, which she was obliged to repress vigorously, so -as to proceed unattended. She reached the dairy, went out at a back -door, crossed some fields, and was soon out of reach. Mademoiselle -de Fauveau remained quietly in her room, allowing the servant to -sleep with her, so as to lull all suspicion, and give as much time as -possible for the escape. The next morning the evasion of Madame was -discovered, and caused great consternation. It was thought necessary -to take the most rigid precautions, such as obliging Mademoiselle de -Fauveau to have a guard in her sleeping-room, who was authorized to -disturb her whenever he wished to make sure of her presence, to prevent -her following her friend’s example. She was thus transferred to Angers, -and remained seven months in prison.</p> - -<p>Her bold spirit and elastic temperament were not weakened or cast down -by this destruction of her hopes. She took advantage of the forced -seclusion to resume her occupations. In prison she modeled several -small groups; one of them, composed of twelve figures, representing the -duel of the Sire de Jarnee and the Count de la Chataignevaie in the -presence of Henry II. and his court. She also designed a monument for -Louis de Bonnechose, who had lately perished in an affray with some -soldiers sent to arrest him. The background of this composition is -architectural, in the Gothic style, adorned with the blazoned shields, -achievements, and banners which belong peculiarly to the Vendean -party. On the summit of the edifice is an angel, whose face is veiled, -supporting the armorial shield of the deceased; in the foreground -the Archangel Michael, terrible and victorious, has just killed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> the -dragon. This dragon has a head like a cock—a type of the French -republic. Michael bears in his right hand the avenging sword, and in -his left holds a pair of crystal scales; in one of these are figures -of judges, advocates, and magistrates; in the other, which weighs down -these, is a single drop of blood, with this inscription:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Quam gravis est sanguis justi inultus.”</p> -</div> - -<p>In this sketch, as, indeed, in all Felicie’s works, the symbolical -beauty inspires the whole; the ideal gives spirit to the material form, -while the form receives its noblest distinction as the fitting vehicle -of the idea.</p> - -<p>After seven months’ imprisonment, Mademoiselle de Fauveau was set at -liberty, and returned to Paris and her studio. Very soon afterward, the -appearance of the Duchesse de Berri in Vendée set on fire all Royalist -imaginations. Madame de la Roche Jacquelein and our fair artist again -left Paris, and worked day and night for the cause so dear to their -hearts, to reap again disappointment, failure, and misfortune. This -episode in Felicie’s life may show how strong was the political bias -which gave tone and character to both her private and artistic life. -“My opinions are dearer to me than my art,” she said, and her actions -proved this. She was one of the forlorn hope that stood up in the -breach to save a falling dynasty; and with its ruins were ingulfed her -own fortune, her prospects, and such part of her success as depended on -the public recognition and acceptance of art in her own country.</p> - -<p>After the failure of this second attempt of the Legitimists, -Mademoiselle de Fauveau was among the persons exiled. She first took -refuge in Switzerland;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span> then returned to Paris, in the very teeth of -the authorities, broke up her studio and establishment there, and went -to Florence, where she fixed her permanent abode with her mother and -brother.</p> - -<p>Considerable expense and outlay are necessary to carry on the art -of sculpture, and a removal from a studio in which were accumulated -sketches, models, and marbles—most of them not portable—was almost -total ruin. The forced sale of furniture; the transfer, at a heavy -discount, of funds which had to be reinvested, added serious items -to the amount of loss. From the fragments thus thrown aside fortunes -were made. At the very time when the little family was enduring bitter -privation in Florence, a man realized an almost fabulous sum by selling -walking-sticks manufactured from designs made by Mademoiselle de -Fauveau in those happy Paris evenings before mentioned.</p> - -<p>The expense attendant on establishing a new studio in Florence had -to be met by the labor of many years. Madame de Fauveau, at this -period, was the guardian angel of the family, and thought no sacrifice -too great for the encouragement of her daughter’s genius, and the -advancement of her views. Her own poetical and imaginative mind aroused -and fostered the ideas of the sculptress, while her unflinching -resignation and humble faith soothed and solaced her heart.</p> - -<p>With unparalleled nobleness, in spite of extreme poverty, the family -refused to receive a sous from the princes or the party they had so -served. No fleck of the world’s dust can be thrown on that spotless -fidelity. It was at this period, when each day’s labor scarcely -sufficed to provide for daily necessities, that Mademoiselle de Fauveau -wrote to one of her friends, “We artists are like the Hebrews of old; -manna is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span> sent to us, but on condition we save none for the morrow.”</p> - -<p>Brighter days dawned. Labor is not only its own reward, in the -happiness it confers, but those who sow unweariedly and judiciously -shall reap fairly. Our sculptress achieved a modest independence. It -was probably at this time of her life that her friend the Baroness de -Krafft sketched her character, dwelling on the contrasts presented -by her history, in which her mind was developed, and the bent of her -nature determined. “Fire, air, and water,” she says, “are in that -organization;” and it is true that ardor, purity, and impulse are -the characteristics of her genius. On the one hand we see the lady -of the Faubourg St. Germaine, with all the habits, associations, and -prejudices which belong to her order; on the other, the artist, earning -her daily bread, and obliged to face in their reality the sternest -necessities and most imperative obligations; the single woman treading -victoriously the narrow and thorny path which all women tread who -seek to achieve independence by their own exertions; and the genius -which, to attain breadth and vigor, must freely sweep out of its path -limitations and obstacles. These contrasts appear in her person and -manner. Her glance, usually soft, can kindle and grow stern. Madame de -Krafft notices that the movements of her arms are somewhat abrupt and -angular, but her hands “are white, soft, and fine, royal as the hands -of Cæsar, or of Leonardo da Vinci.”</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle de Fauveau is described by a visitor as being fair, with -low and broad forehead; soft, brown, penetrating eyes, aquiline nose, -and mouth finely chiseled, well closed, and slightly sarcastic. Of the -medium height, her figure is flexible and well formed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span> Her ordinary -studio dress is velvet, of that “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">feuille morte</i>” color Madame -Cottin has made famous; with a jacket of the same fastened by a small -leathern belt, a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">foulard</i> round the neck, and a velvet cap. Her -hair is blonde, cut square on the forehead and short on the neck, and -left rather longer at the sides, in the Vandyke manner. The face, and -figure, and presence, give the impress of a firm but not aggressive -nature, revealing the energy of resistance, not of defiance. Opinions -strongly held and enunciated, defended to the death, if necessary, give -such an aspect. Combined with this peculiarity is a look of thoughtful -melancholy, such as Retzch has represented in his sketches of Faust. In -fact, the head, in a statuette of herself, might serve as an ideal of -the world-famous student. There are two admirable likenesses of her: -one by Ary Scheffer and one by Giraud.</p> - -<p>Her dwelling is in the Via delle Fornace, where are also the studios of -Powers and Fedi. A dark green door opens into a paved covered court, -formerly the entrance to a convent, which is now adapted to form a -modern habitation. On one side a flight of stairs leads to the upper -rooms, another door leads to the studio; a third opens on a cool, -quiet garden, shaded by trees. There are dovecotes, pigeon-houses, -and bird-cages; and the walks are hedged with laurels and cypresses, -while there are gay flowers mingled with Etruscan vases and jars. -The artist’s drawing-room looks like the parlor of an abbess, -furnished with antique hangings, carved chairs, silver crucifixes, -and gold-grounded, pre-Raphaelite pictures, some of great beauty and -value. From this drawing-room, half oratory and half boudoir, the -visitor descends to the studio, which is composed of two or three large -white-washed rooms on the ground floor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span></p> - -<p>The first thing that strikes one here is the evidence of the artist’s -indefatigable industry. Here are casts and bassi-relievi from the -antique, but no goddesses, nymphs, or cupids; it is Christian art of -the mediæval period. Saints and angels cover the walls; in the centre -is a large crucifix of carved wood, beautifully executed, and full -of vigor and expression; near it is a Santa Reparata, designed in -terra-cotta. Mademoiselle de Fauveau has been peculiarly successful -in her adaptation of terra-cotta to artistic purposes. A large -alto-relievo represents two freed spirits flying heavenward, dropping -their earthly chains. A lovely St. Dorothea looks upward, and holds up -her hands for a basket of flowers and fruit which a descending angel -is bringing from Paradise. Bold and rapid movement is expressed in -the flying figure. In the background is an architectural design of a -church, and an inscription describing how it sprang, as it were, from -the martyr’s blood. There is a Judith addressing the Israelites from -an open gallery, with the head of Holofernes on a spear beside her. In -the aspect of the resolute woman of Bethulia there is an undefinable -resemblance to the artist. The expression, indeed, is congenial to her -character, in which there is the concentration of purpose which gives -force, and the ardor that gives decision to the will.</p> - -<p>There are also works of a lighter character; the carved frame-work -of a mirror, with an exquisite allegorical design—a fop and a -coquette, in elaborate costume, are bending inward toward the glass, -so intent on self-admiration as to be unconscious that a demon below -has caught their feet in a line or snare from which they will not be -able to extricate themselves without falling. Most of Mademoiselle -de Fauveau’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span> works have superabundant richness of ornament and -allegorical device. Her designs for gold and silver ornaments are -unrivaled for elegance and imaginative picturesqueness.</p> - -<p>She made for Count Zichy a Hungarian costume, the collar, belt, sword, -and spurs being of the most finished workmanship. A silver bell, -ornamented with twenty figures, for the Empress of Russia, represents a -mediæval household, in the costumes of the period, and their peculiar -avocations, assembling at the call of three stewards, whose figures -form the handle. Round the ball is blazoned, in Gothic characters, -“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">De bon vouloir servir le maître</i>.”</p> - -<p>It would be tedious to enumerate the works of this indefatigable -artist. The finished specimens of twenty-five years of labor are shut -up in private galleries, the models remaining in her studio. Her last -and most imposing work is the monument in Santa Croce, erected to the -memory of Louise Favreau by her parents. Madame de Krafft published a -description of this in the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Revue Britannique</i> for March, 1857. -Three monuments, in different styles, may be seen in the Lindsay -chapel. In her studio are several busts of great beauty, strongly -relieved by her method of placing an architectural back-ground. One is -the bust of the Marquis de Bretignières, the founder of the reformatory -school colony of Mettray.</p> - -<p>Besides devoting herself to the actual expression of her ideas, Madame -de Fauveau has, all her life, studied to improve the mere mechanical -portion of her art. She endeavored to revive certain secrets known -to the ancients, which have been abandoned and forgotten, to the -detriment of modern sculpture. To cast a statue entire, instead of in -portions, and with so much precision<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span> as to require no farther touch -of the chisel—to preserve inviolate, as it were, the idea, while it -is subject to the difficult process of clothing it with form, has been -her life-long endeavor. In bronze, by means of wax, she succeeded, -after repeated failures, with incredible perseverance. A figure of -St. Michael in one of her works was thus cast seven times. The least -obstacle, were it only the breadth of a pin’s point in one of the -air-vents which are necessary to draw the seething metal into every -part of the mould, is enough to destroy the work. At last her head -workman brought her St. Michael complete; all the energy and delicacy -of the original design being preserved, and none of the pristine -freshness lost in the translation from wax to bronze.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle de Fauveau works almost incessantly, scarcely allowing -herself any relaxation. Her principal associates are a few of the -higher church dignitaries, and two or three distinguished Italian or -foreign families. Retirement is agreeable to her, and her political -opinions have drawn around her a line of demarkation. She has paid two -visits to Rome: one when the Duc de Bordeaux was there. He paid her -much attention, as did the two great princes of art, Cornelius and -Tenerani, at that time in Rome. Thus situated, beloved by many, admired -and appreciated by all, this clever artist and noble woman leads an -honored life, which seems a realized dream of work, progress, and -success.</p> - -<p>From every point of view, a life so spent is a curious and interesting -study. There is the independence belonging to an existence devoted -to art, with almost cloistral simplicity and formality. She had been -hardly ever separated from her proud and devoted mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> till her -death, in 1858. The loss left her inconsolable. Her brother, an artist -of merit, resides with her, assists in most of her works, and is the -support and comfort of her life. Her happy home and domestic relations -have helped to expand and refine her genius. A woman’s art, as well as -her heart, suffers when the home in which she works is uncongenial. Our -artist’s name—Felicie—has proved a good omen for one who is at once -“a good woman and a great artist.”</p> - - -<h3>ROSA BONHEUR.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> This sketch was prepared under the supervision of -Mademoiselle Bonheur.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Rosalie Bonheur—as she is called in her <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">acte de naissance</i>—was -born in Bordeaux on the 16th of March, 1822. Her father, Oscar Raymond -Bonheur, was a painter of merit, who had in youth taken the highest -honors at the exhibitions of his native town. He devoted part of his -time to giving drawing-lessons in families for the support of his -aged parents. An attachment sprung up between him and one of his -pupils—Sophie Marqués—a lovely and accomplished girl. Her family -opposed their union on account of the artist’s poverty; and after the -marriage the young people were thrown entirely on their own resources. -Rosalie was the eldest of their four children. Her father was compelled -to give up his dreams of fame and the higher labors of his art, and for -eight years maintained his family by teaching drawing.</p> - -<p>Rosalie—or Rosa, as she has always called herself—was a wild, active, -impetuous child, impatient of restraint, and having a detestation of -study. She was a long time in acquiring even the elements of reading -and writing. When not in the fields, she was in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span> -garden. She remembers a gray parrot, a pet of her grandfather’s, that -often called out “Rosa! Rosa!” in a voice like her mother’s, and would -bring her in, when her mother would seize the opportunity to make -her repeat her catechism. When the lesson was over, the little girl -would scold the bird angrily for the trick it had played her. But if -Rosa hated her books, she dearly loved all objects in nature, and was -happiest when rambling in wood or meadow, gathering posies as large as -herself. Her complexion was fair, with rosy cheeks; her light auburn -hair curled in natural ringlets; and she was so plump that the Spanish -poet Moratia, who then lived in Bordeaux, and spent his evenings at -Bonheur’s, used to call her his “round ball.” He would romp with the -merry child for hours together, and laugh over the rude figures she -was fond of cutting out of paper. Rosa was fond of amusing herself in -her father’s studio, drawing rough outlines on the walls, or burying -her little fat hands in the clay, and making grotesque attempts at -modeling, though these childish efforts were not noticed by her family -as showing any genius. The exiled poet, however, saw the boldness, -vigor, and originality of her nature, and often prophesied that his -favorite would turn out, in some way, “a remarkable woman.”</p> - -<p>In 1829 Raymond Bonheur quitted Bordeaux, and established himself -with his family in Paris. Interested in the ideas then fermenting in -the public mind, he entered into the excitement that preceded the -Revolution of July. Periods of national effervescence are not favorable -to art; the painter could not sell his pictures, and had to betake -himself once more to giving drawing-lessons. His wife gave lessons -on the piano; but the growing agitation of the social and political<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> -world made their united exertions profitless. Madame Bonheur sustained -her husband’s courage throughout this trying period, while she was -often compelled, after the day’s labors, to sit up half the night to -earn with her needle a precarious support for the morrow. When public -tranquillity returned, Bonheur resumed his teaching, and had some of -his works noticed in the Paris Exhibition.</p> - -<p>Madame Bonheur died in 1833. The father then placed the three elder -children with an honest woman—La Mère Cathérine—who lived in the -Champs Elysées; Juliette, the youngest, being sent to friends in -Bordeaux. La Mère sent her little charges to the Mutual School of -Chaillot. Rosa, now in her eleventh year, and detesting books and -confinement as heartily as ever, generally contrived to avoid the -school-room, and spent most of her time in the grassy and wooded -spots afforded in the Bois de Boulogne, and other environs of Paris. -Two years passed thus; the children being plainly clad and living on -the humblest fare. Rosa meanwhile, with her passion for independence -and outdoor life, incurred almost daily the angry reprimands of La -Mère Cathérine, who was distressed at her neglect of school for her -rambles. “I never spent an hour of fine weather indoors during the -whole of the time,” she often said. But this sort of gipsy life could -not last. Raymond Bonheur married again, took a house in the Faubourg -du Roule, brought the three children home, and endeavored to put them -in a way to make a position for themselves. The two boys—Auguste and -Isidore—were placed in a respectable school, in which their father -gave three lessons a week by way of payment; and Rosa, who could not be -got to learn any thing out of a book, and seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span> to have neither taste -nor talent for any thing but rambling about in the sunshine, was placed -with a seamstress, in order that she might learn to make a living by -her needle.</p> - -<p>Nothing could have been more disagreeable to the poor girl than the -monotonous employment to which she was thus condemned. The mere act of -sitting still on a chair was torture to her active temperament; she ran -the needle into her fingers at every stitch, and bending over her hated -task made her head ache, and filled her with inexpressible weariness -and disgust. The husband of the seamstress was a turner, and had his -lathe in an adjoining room. Rosa’s sole consolation was to slip into -this room, and obtain the turner’s permission to help him work the -lathe. If he were absent, she would do her utmost to set the lathe in -motion by herself, more than once doing some damage to the turner’s -tools. But these stolen pleasures were insufficient to compensate her -for the repulsiveness of her new avocation; and whenever her father, -with his pockets full of bonbons, came to see her and learn how she -was getting on, she would throw herself into his arms in a passion -of tears, and beseech him to take her away. Every week her distress -became more and more evident; she lost her appetite and color, and was -apparently falling ill. Her father was much disappointed at the ill -success of his attempt to make of his wild daughter an orderly and -industrious needle-woman; but he was too fond of her to persevere in -an experiment so repugnant to her feelings. He therefore broke off the -arrangement with the seamstress, and took her home.</p> - -<p>After thinking over many plans for her, he at length succeeded in -making an arrangement for her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span> reception in a boarding-school in the -Rue de Reuilly, Faubourg St. Antoine, on the same terms as those he -had obtained for her brothers. A vast deal of good advice was expended -on her, with many earnest exhortations to make the best use of the -advantages of the school, by diligent application to her studies.</p> - -<p>For a short time after her entrance into this establishment, Rosa was -delighted with her new life, for she speedily became a favorite with -her young companions, the leader in all their games, and the inventor -of innumerable pranks. But the teachers were far from being equally -satisfied with the new pupil, who could not be got to learn a lesson, -and who threw the household into confusion with her doings. One of -her favorite amusements was to draw caricatures of the governesses -and professors; which caricatures, after coloring, she cut out very -carefully, and contrived to fasten to the ceiling of the school-room, -by means of bread patiently chewed to the consistence of putty, -and applied to the heads of the figures. The sensation created by -this novel exhibition of portraiture, and the ludicrous bowings and -courtesyings of the paper figures, as they swayed over the heads of -their originals, may be easily imagined. The pupils would go beside -themselves with suppressed laughter; the teachers were naturally more -displeased than diverted. The mistress of the establishment, struck -with the vigor and originality of these drawings, caused them to be -detached from the ceiling, and placed them privately in an album, -where, it is said, they have been treasured to this day. But Rosa was -none the less pronounced a very naughty girl; and she generally found -herself condemned to bread and water about five days in the week.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span></p> - -<p>Rosa Bonheur is by no means deficient in the faculty of acquiring -knowledge, and has since made up, in her own way, for her early -disinclination to study; but it was absolutely impossible for her, -at that time, to constrain her mercurial temperament to the measured -regularity of a class; and the only branch of study in which she made -any progress was drawing, which she practiced assiduously, sharing the -lessons given twice a week by her father in return for her schooling.</p> - -<p>Rosa, however, was far from happy. Besides the constant trouble in -which her love of frolic and mischief involved her, there was another -annoyance that poisoned her peace, and gradually rendered her stay in -the school intolerably painful.</p> - -<p>All the other pupils being daughters of rich tradesmen, they were -elegantly dressed, and had their silver forks and cups at table, and -plenty of pocket-money for the gratification of their school-girl -fancies. Rosa, with her calico frocks and coarse shoes, her iron -spoon, tin mug, and empty pockets, felt keenly the inferiority of -her position. Her father was as good and as clever as the fathers -of her companions; why, then, was he not rich? Why must she wear -calico and drink out of tin, while the other girls had silver mugs -and beautiful silk dresses? Too generous to be envious, and treated -as a favorite by the other pupils, the proud and sensitive child yet -recoiled instinctively from a contact which awakened in her mind an -unreasoning sense of injustice, and humiliated her, as she felt, for -no fault of her own. She had no wish to deprive her little companions -of the superior advantages of their lot, but she longed to possess -the same, tormenting herself day and night with pondering on her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span> -difficulties, and seeking to devise some plan by which they might be -overcome. To this period, with its secret mental experiences, is to be -traced that firm resolve to achieve a name and a place for herself in -the world—to a perception of whose social facts she was now beginning -to awaken—which sustained her through the subsequent phases of her -artistic development. Yet this resolve, though prompted by a galling -sense of the humble character of her wardrobe and “belongings,” -pointed less to the acquisition of greater elegance of dress and -personal conditions—to which she has subsequently shown herself almost -indifferent—than to the attainment of a superior and independent -social position. She was determined to be something, though she could -not see what, and felt no doubt of the accomplishment of her purpose, -though as yet she had no idea of the mode in which it was to be carried -out. Meanwhile, her secret discontent preyed on her spirits and -affected her health. She became reserved and gloomy, and while seeking, -with feverish anxiety, to devise the sort of work that should enable -her to gain for herself the superior position she so ardently coveted, -she became more and more neglectful of her studies, until, her teachers -and her father being alike discouraged by her seeming idleness, the -latter withdrew her from the school, and once more took her home.</p> - -<p>More than ever perplexed what to do with her, her father now left her -for a time entirely to herself. Thus abandoned to her own spontaneous -actions, Rosa, who felt that the idle and aimless life she had hitherto -led was little calculated to help her to the realization of her secret -ambition, and who was full of unacknowledged regret and remorse for her -incapacity and uselessness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span> sought refuge from her own uncomfortable -thoughts in her father’s studio, where she amused herself with -imitating every thing she saw him do; drawing and modeling, day after -day, with the utmost diligence and delight, happy as long as she had -in her hands a pencil, a piece of charcoal, or a lump of clay. In the -quiet and congenial activity of the studio, her excited feelings became -calm, and her ideas grew clearer; she began to understand herself, and -to devise the path nature had marked out for her. As this change took -place in her mind, the desultory and purposeless child became rapidly -transformed into the earnest, self-conscious, determined woman. She -drew and modeled from morning till night with enthusiastic ardor; and -her father, amazed at her progress, and perceiving at last the real -bent of her nature, devoted himself seriously to her instruction, -superintending her efforts with the greatest interest and care. He took -her through a serious course of preparatory study, and then sent her to -the Louvre to copy the works of the old masters, as a discipline for -her eye, her hand, and her judgment.</p> - -<p>Surrounded and stimulated by the glorious creations of the great -painters—the first to enter the gallery and the last to leave it—too -much absorbed in her model to be conscious of any thing that went on -around her, Rosa pursued her labors with unwavering zeal.</p> - -<p>“I have never seen an example of such application, and such ardor for -work,” remarked M. Jousselin, director of the Louvre, in describing the -deportment of the young student.</p> - -<p>The splendid coloring and form of the Italian schools, the lofty -idealism of the German, and the broad naturalism of the Dutch, alike -excited her enthusiasm;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span> she studied them all with equal delight, -and copied them with equal felicity. To aid her father in his arduous -struggle for the support of his family, now increased by the birth of -two younger children, was the immediate object of Rosa’s ambition; -and, the admirable fidelity of her copies insuring them a speedy sale, -this filial desire was soon gratified. She gained but a small sum for -each, but so great was her industry that those earnings soon became an -important item in the family resources.</p> - -<p>One day, when she had just put the finishing touch to a copy of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les -Bergers d’Arcadie</i>, at the Louvre, an elderly English gentleman -stopped beside her easel, and, having examined her work with much -attention, exclaimed, “Your copy, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mon enfant</i>, is superb, -faultless! Persevere as you have begun, and I prophesy that you will be -a great artist!” The stranger’s prediction gave the young painter much -pleasure, and she went home that evening with her head full of joyous -visions of future success.</p> - -<p>Rosa was now in her seventeenth year, vowed to art as the aim and -occupation of her life, cultivating landscape, historical, and genre -painting with equal assiduity, but without any decided preference for -either; when, happening to make a study of a goat, she was so much -enchanted with this new attempt that she thenceforth devoted herself -to the cultivation of the peculiar province in which she has commanded -such brilliant success. Too poor to procure models, she went out daily -into the country on foot, in search of picturesque views and animals -for sketching. With a bit of bread in her pocket, and laden with canvas -and colors, or a mass of clay—for she was attracted equally toward -painting and sculpture, and has shown<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span> that she would have succeeded -equally in either—she used to set out very early in the morning, and, -having found a site or a subject to her mind, seat herself on a bank or -under a tree, and work on till dusk; coming home at nightfall, after -a tramp of ten or a dozen miles, browned by sun and wind, soaked with -rain, or covered with mud; exhausted with fatigue, but rejoicing in the -lessons the day had furnished.</p> - -<p>Her inability to procure models at home also suggested to her -another expedient, the adoption of which shows how earnest was her -determination to overcome the obstacles poverty had placed in the way -of her studies. The slaughtering and preparing of animals for the Paris -market is confined to a few <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">abattoirs</i>, great establishments -on the outskirts of the city, placed under the supervision of the -municipal authorities. Each of these establishments contains extensive -inclosures, in which are penned thousands of lowing and bleating -victims, waiting their turn to be led to the shambles. To one of -these—the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">abattoir du Roule</i>—had Rosa the courage to go daily -for many months, surmounting alike the repugnance which such a locality -naturally inspired, and her equally natural hesitation to place herself -in contact with the crowd of butchers and drovers who filled it. Seated -on a bundle of hay, with her colors beside her, she painted on from -morning till dusk, not unfrequently forgetting the bit of bread in -her pocket, so absorbed would she become in the study of the varied -types that rendered the courts and stables of this establishment so -invaluable a field of observation for her. Not content with drawing -the occupants of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">abattoir</i> in their pens, far from the -sickening horror of the shambles, she felt the necessity of studying -their attitudes under the terror<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span> and agony of the death-stroke, and -compelled herself to make repeated visits to the slaughter-house; -looking on scenes whose repulsiveness was rendered doubly painful -to her by her affectionate sympathy with the brute creation. In the -evening, on her return home, her hands, face, and clothes were usually -spotted all over by the flies, so numerous wherever animals are -congregated. Such was the respect with which she inspired the rude -companions by whom she was surrounded, and who would often beg to see -her sketches, which they regarded with the most naïve admiration, that -nothing ever occurred to annoy her in the slightest degree during her -long sojourns in the crowded precincts of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">abattoir</i>.</p> - -<p>After she had ceased to visit this establishment, she frequented in -a similar manner the stables of the Veterinary School of Alfort, and -the animals and museums of the Garden of Plants. She also resumed her -sketching rambles in the country, and resorted diligently to all the -horse and cattle fairs held in the neighborhood of Paris. On the latter -occasions she invariably wore male attire; a precaution she found it -necessary to adopt, as a convenience, and still more, as a protection -against the annoyances that would have rendered it impossible for her -to mingle in such gatherings in feminine costume. In her masculine -habit Rosa had so completely the look of a good-hearted, ingenuous -boy, that the graziers and horse-dealers, whose animals she drew, -would frequently insist on “standing treat” in a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chopine</i> of -wine, or a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petit verre</i> of something stronger, to the “clever -little fellow” whose skillful portrayal of their beasts had so much -delighted them; and it sometimes required all her address and ingenuity -to escape from their well-meant persecutions. Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> good looks, too, in -the assumed character of a youth of the sterner sex, would sometimes -make sad havoc in the susceptible hearts of village dairy-maids. Some -laughable incidents might be related under this head. In her subsequent -explorations of the romantic regions at either foot of the Pyrenees, -the passion with which she has unwittingly inspired the black-eyed -Phœbes of the south has more than once proved a source of serious -though comical embarrassment to the artist, desirous above all things -to maintain impenetrably the secret of her disguise.</p> - -<p>The young artist’s studies were not confined to the exterior forms of -her models. She procured the best anatomical treatises and plates, -with casts and models of the different parts of the human frame, and -studied them thoroughly; she then procured legs, shoulders, and heads -of animals from the butchers, carefully dissecting them, and thus -obtaining an intimate knowledge of the forms and dependencies of the -muscles whose play she had to delineate.</p> - -<p>Now that Rosa has arrived at the fame her swelling child-heart -prophesied to itself before she had ascertained the path that should -lead to the fulfillment of her aspirations, the richest and noblest of -her countrymen are proud to place at her disposal the finest products -of their farms and studs; while mules, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, -dogs, and rare poultry are offered to her from one end of Europe to the -other. But it is certain that the poverty and obscurity which, during -her first years of effort, compelled her to frequent <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">abattoirs</i> -and cattle-markets in search of subjects for her pencil were really -of unspeakable service in forcing her to make acquaintance with a -multitude of types under a variety of action and condition, such as -she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span> could never have seen in any other way, and in giving her a -breadth of conception, variety of detail, and truthfulness to nature, -which a more limited range of experience could not have supplied.</p> - -<p>Through all her varied studies, Raymond Bonheur was his daughter’s -constant and only teacher. M. Léon Cogniet, whose pupil she is -erroneously said to have been, merely took a friendly interest in her -progress, and warmly encouraged her to persevere. She never took a -lesson of any other teacher than her father and nature.</p> - -<p>Bonheur, with his family, now occupied small six-story rooms in the -Rue Rumfort. His two sons had also devoted themselves to art under his -auspices, Auguste being a painter, and Isidore a sculptor. The loving -family, merry and hopeful in spite of poverty, labored diligently -together in the same little studio. From daylight till dusk Rosa was -always at her easel, singing like a linnet, the busiest and merriest -of them all. In the evening, the frugal dinner dispatched and the lamp -lighted, she would spend several hours in drawing illustrations for -books, and animals for prints and for albums; or in moulding little -groups of oxen, sheep, etc., for the figure-dealers—thus earning an -additional contribution to the family purse.</p> - -<p>Rosa delighted in birds, of which she had many in the studio; but it -grieved her to see them confined. To her great joy, one of her brothers -contrived a net, which he fastened to the outer side of the window, -so that they could be safely let out of their cages. She had also a -beautiful sheep, with long silky wool, the most docile and intelligent -of quadrupeds, which she kept on the leads outside their windows, the -leads forming a terrace, converted by her into a garden, gay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span> with -honeysuckles, cobeas, convolvulus, nasturtiums, and sweet-peas. As the -sheep could not descend six flights of stairs, yet needed occasional -exercise and change of diet, Isidore used to place it gravely on his -shoulders, and carry it down to a neighboring croft, where it browsed -on the fresh grass to its heart’s content, after which he would carry -it back to its aerial residence. Thus carefully tended, the animal -passed two years contentedly on the terrace, affording to Rosa and her -brothers an admirable model.</p> - -<p>It was in the Fine Arts Exhibition of 1841 that Rosa Bonheur made her -first appearance before the critical Areopagus of Paris, attracting -the favorable notice both of connoisseurs and public, by two charming -little groups of a goat, sheep, and rabbits. The following year she -exhibited three paintings: “Animals in a Pasture,” “A Cow lying in a -Meadow,” and “A Horse for Sale,” which attracted still more notice, the -first being specially remarkable for its exquisite rendering of the -atmospheric effects of evening, and its blending of poetic sentiment -with bold fidelity to fact.</p> - -<p>From this period she appeared in all the Paris exhibitions, and in -many of those of the provincial towns, her reputation rising every -year, and several bronze and silver medals being awarded to her -productions. In 1844 she exhibited, with her paintings, “A Bull” in -clay, one of the many proofs she has given of powers that would have -raised her to a high rank as a sculptor, had she not, at length, been -definitively drawn, by the combined attractions of form and color, -into the ranks of the painters. In the following year she exhibited -twelve paintings—a splendid collection—flanked by the works of her -father and her brother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span> Auguste, then admitted for the first time. In -1846 her productions were accompanied by those of her father and both -her brothers, the younger of whom then first appeared as a sculptor. -The family group was completed in a subsequent exhibition by the -admission of her younger sister, Julietta, who had returned to Paris, -and had also become an artist. In 1849 her magnificent “Cantal Oxen” -took the gold medal. Horace Vernet, president of the committee of -awards, proclaimed the new laureat in presence of a brilliant crowd of -amateurs, presenting her with a superb Sèvres vase in the name of the -government; the value of a triumph which placed her ostensibly in the -highest rank of her profession being immeasurably enhanced in her eyes -by the unbounded delight it afforded to her father.</p> - -<p>Raymond Bonheur, released from pecuniary difficulty, and rejuvenated -by the joy of his daughter’s success, had accepted the directorship of -the government school of design for girls, and resumed his palette with -all the ardor of his younger days. But his health had been undermined -by the fatigues and anxieties he had borne so long, and he died of -heart disease in 1849, deeply regretted by his family. Rosa, who had -aided him in the school of design, was now made its directress. She -still holds the post, her sister, Madame Peyrol, being the resident -professor, and Rosa superintending the classes in a weekly lesson.</p> - -<p>Her already brilliant reputation was still farther enhanced by the -appearance, in 1849, of her noble “Plowing Scene in the Nivernais,” -ordered by the government, and now in the Luxembourg Gallery; of the -“Horse-market,” in 1853, the preparatory studies for which occupied her -during eighteen months;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span> and the “Hay-making,” in 1855. The last two -works created great enthusiasm in the public mind.</p> - -<p>More fortunate than many other great artists, whose merits have been -slowly acknowledged, Rosa Bonheur has been a favorite with the public -from her first appearance. Her vigorous originality, her perfect -mastery of the technicalities and mechanical details of her art, and -the charm of a style at once fresh and simple, and profoundly and -poetically true, ensured for her productions a sympathetic appreciation -and a rapid sale. She had produced, up to June, 1858, thirty-five -paintings; and many more, not exhibited, have been purchased by private -amateurs. In these the peculiar aspect of crag, mountain, valley, and -plain—of trees and herbage; the effects of cloud, mist, and sunshine, -and of different hours of the day—are as profoundly and skillfully -rendered as are the outer forms and inner life of the animals around -which the artist, like nature, spreads the charm and glory of her -landscapes. She has already made a fortune, but has bestowed it -entirely on others, with the exception of a little farm a few miles -from Paris, where she spends a great deal of her time. Such is her -habitual generosity, and so scrupulous is her delicacy in all matters -connected with her art, that it may be doubted whether she will ever -amass any great wealth for herself. Her port-folios contain nearly a -thousand sketches, eagerly coveted by amateurs; but she regards these -as a part of her artistic life, and refuses to part with them on any -terms. A little drawing that accidentally found its way into the hands -of a dealer, a short time since, brought eighty pounds in London. -Rosa had presented it to a charity, as she now and then does with her -drawings. Demands for paintings reach her from every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span> part of the -world; but she refuses all orders not congenial to her talent, valuing -her own probity and dignity above all price.</p> - -<p>The award of the jury in 1853—in virtue of which the authoress of -“The Horse-market” was enrolled among the recognized masters of the -brush, and as such exempted from the necessity of submitting her works -to the examining committee previous to their admission to future -exhibitions—entitled her, according to French usage, to the cross of -the Legion of Honor. This decoration was refused to the artist by the -emperor <em>because she was a woman</em>!</p> - -<p>The refusal, repeated after her brilliant success of 1855, naturally -excited the indignation of her admirers, who could not understand why -an honor that would be accorded to a certain talent in a man should be -refused to the same in a woman. But, though Rosa was included in the -invitation to the state dinner at the Tuileries, always given to the -artists to whom the Academy of Fine Arts has awarded its highest honor, -the refusal of the decoration was maintained, notwithstanding numerous -efforts made to obtain a reversal of the imperial decree.</p> - -<p>A visitor describes the studio of this world-renowned artist. At the -southern end of the Rue d’Assas—a retired street, half made up of -extensive gardens, the tops of trees alone visible above the high stone -walls—just where, meeting the Rue de Vaugirard, it widens into an -irregular little square, surrounded by sleepy-looking, old-fashioned -houses, and looked down upon by the shining gray roofs and belfry of -an ancient Carmelite convent—is a green garden-door, surmounted by -the number “32.” A ring will be answered by the barkings of one or two -dogs; and when the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span> door is opened by the sober-suited serving-man, the -visitor finds himself in a garden full of embowering trees. The house, -a long, cozy, irregular building, standing at right angles with the -street, is covered with vines, honeysuckles, and clematis. A part of -the garden is laid out in flower-beds; but the larger portion—fenced -off with a green paling, graveled, and containing several sheds—is -given up to the animals kept by the artist as her models. There may be -seen a horse, a donkey, four or five goats, sheep of different breeds, -ducks, cochinchinas, and other denizens of the barn-yard, all living -together in perfect amity and good-will.</p> - -<p>On fine days the artist may be found seated on a rustic chair inside -the paling, busily sketching one of these animals, a wide-awake or -sun-bonnet on her head. If the visitor comes on a Friday afternoon, the -time set apart for Rosa’s receptions, he is ushered through glass doors -into a hall, where the walls are covered with paintings, orange-trees -and oleanders standing in green tubs in the corners, and the floor -(since the artist crossed the Channel!) covered with English oil-cloth. -From this hall a few stairs, covered with thick gray drugget, lead to -the atelier, on Fridays turned into the reception-room.</p> - -<p>This beautiful studio, one of the largest and most finely proportioned -in Paris, with its greenish-gray walls, and plain green curtains to -lofty windows that never let in daylight—the room being lighted -entirely from the ceiling—has all its wood-work of dark oak, as are -the book-case, tables, chairs, and other articles of furniture—richly -carved, but otherwise of severe simplicity—distributed about the room. -The walls are covered with paintings, sketches, casts, old<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span> armor, -fishing-nets, rude baskets and pouches, poles, gnarled and twisted -vine-branches, picturesque hats, cloaks, and sandals, collected by -the artist in her wanderings among the peasants of various regions; -nondescript draperies, bones and skins of animals, antlers and -horns. The fine old book-case contains as many casts, skeletons, and -curiosities as books, and is surrounded with as many busts, groups in -plaster, shields, and other artistic booty, as its top can accommodate; -and the great Gothic-looking stove at the upper end of the room is -covered in the same way with little casts and bronzes. Paintings of all -sizes, and in every stage of progress, are seen on easels at the lower -end of the room, the artist always working at several at a time. Stands -of port-folios and stacks of canvas line the sides of the studio; birds -are chirping in cages of various dimensions, and a magnificent parrot -eyes you suspiciously from the top of a lofty perch. Scattered over -a floor as bright as waxing can make it, are skins of tigers, oxen, -leopards, and foxes—the only species of floor-covering admitted by -the artist into her workroom. “They give me ideas,” she says of these -favorite appurtenances; “whereas the most costly and luxurious carpet -is suggestive of nothing.”</p> - -<p>But the suggestion of picturesque associations is not the only service -rendered by these spoils of the animal kingdom. One sultry Friday -afternoon, one of her admirers, going earlier than her usual reception -hour, found her lying fast asleep under the long table at the upper end -of the studio, on her favorite skin, that of a magnificent ox, with -stuffed head and spreading horns; her head resting lovingly on that of -the animal. She had come in very tired from her weekly review of the -classes at the School of Design, and had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span> thrown herself down on the -skin, under the shade of the table, to rest a few moments. There was so -much natural grace and simplicity in her attitude, such innocence and -peacefulness in her whole aspect, and so much of the startled child in -her expression, as, roused by the opening and shutting of the door, she -awoke and started to her feet, that the picture seemed as beautiful as -any created by the pencil.</p> - -<p>Here Rosa Bonheur receives her guests with the frankness, kindness, -and unaffected simplicity for which she is so eminently distinguished. -In person she is small, and rather under the middle height, with -a finely-formed head, and broad rather than high forehead; small, -well-defined, regular features, and good teeth; hazel eyes, very clear -and bright; dark-brown hair, slightly wavy, parted on one side and cut -short in the neck; a compact, shapely figure; hands small and delicate, -and extremely pretty little feet. She dresses very plainly, the only -colors worn by her being black, brown, and gray; and her costume -consists invariably of a close-fitting jacket and skirt of simple -materials. On the rare occasions when she goes into company—for she -accepts very few of the invitations with which she is assailed—she -appears in the same simple costume, of richer materials, with the -addition merely of a lace collar. She wears none of the usual articles -of feminine adornment; they are not in accordance with her thoughts and -occupations. At work she wears a round pinafore or blouse of gray linen -that envelops her from the neck to the feet. She impresses one at first -sight with the idea of a clear, honest, vigorous, independent nature; -abrupt, yet kindly; original, self-centred, and decided, without the -least pretension or conceit; but it is only when you have seen her -conversing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span> earnestly and heartily, her enthusiasm roused by some topic -connected with her art, or with the great humanitary questions of the -day; when you have watched her kindling eyes, her smile at once so -sweet, so beaming, and so keen, her expressive features irradiated, -as it were, with an inner light, that you perceive how very beautiful -she really is. To know how upright and how truthful she is, how -single-minded in her devotion to her art, how simple and unassuming, -fully conscious of the dignity of her artistic power, but respecting it -rather as a talent committed to her keeping than as a quality personal -to herself, you must have been admitted to something more than the -ordinary courtesy of a reception-day. While, if you would know how -noble and how self-sacrificing she has been, not only to every member -of her own family, but to others possessing no claim on her kindness -but such as that kindness gave them, you must learn it from those who -have shared her bounty, for you will never know a word of it from -herself.</p> - -<p>Her dislike to being written about will prevent many interesting -particulars in regard to her from becoming known; but, if they ever -come to light, they will show her life replete with noble teachings, -and that the great painter whose fame will go down to coming ages was -as admirable a woman as she was gifted as an artist; that her moral -worth was no less transcendent than her genius.</p> - -<p>Rosa Bonheur is an indefatigable worker. She rises at six, and paints -until dusk, when she lays aside her blouse, puts on a bonnet and -shawl of most unfashionable appearance, and takes a turn through the -neighboring streets alone, or accompanied only by a favorite dog. -Absorbed in her own thoughts, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span> unconscious of every thing around -her, the first conception of a picture is often struck out by her in -these rapid, solitary walks in the twilight.</p> - -<p>Living solely for her art, she has gladly resigned the cares of her -outward existence to an old and devoted friend, Madame Micas, a widow -lady, who, with her daughter, resides with her. Mademoiselle Micas -is an artist, and her beautiful groups of birds are well known in -England. She has been for many years Rosa’s most intimate companion. -Every summer the two artists repair to some mountain district to -sketch. Arrived at the regions inhabited only by the chamois, they -exchange their feminine habiliments for masculine attire, and spend -a couple of months in exploring the wildest recesses of the hills, -courting the acquaintance of their shy and swift-footed tenants, and -harvesting “effects” of storm, rain, and vapor as assiduously as those -of sunshine. Though Rosa is alive to the beauties of wood and meadow, -mountain scenery is her especial delight. Having explored the French -chains and the Pyrenees, in the autumn of 1856 she visited Scotland, -and made numerous sketches in the neighborhood of Glenfallock, Glencoe, -and Ballaculish. Struck by the beauty of the Highland cattle, she -selected some choice specimens of these, which she had sent down to -Wexham Rectory, near Windsor, where she resided, and spent two months -in making numerous studies, from which she produced two pictures: -“The Denizens of the Mountains” and “Morning in the Highlands.” Her -preference for the stern, the abrupt, and the majestic over the soft, -the smiling, and the fair, makes Italy, with all its glories, less -attractive to her than the ruder magnificence of the Pyrenees and the -north.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span></p> - -<p>Among mountains the great artist is completely in her element; out of -doors from morning till night, lodging in the humblest and remotest of -road-side hotels, or in the huts of wood-cutters, charcoal-burners, -and chamois-hunters, and living contentedly on whatever fare can be -obtained. In 1856, being furnished by families of distinction in the -Béarnais and the Basque provinces with introductions, her party pushed -their adventurous wanderings to the little station of Peyronère, the -last inhabited point within the French frontier, and thence up the -romantic defiles of the Vallée d’Urdos, across the summit of the -Pyrenees. Their letters procured them a hospitable reception at each -halting-place, with a trusty guide for the next march. In this way they -crossed the mountains, and gained the lonely <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">posada</i> of Canfan, -the first on the Spanish side of the ridge, where, for six weeks, they -saw no one but the muleteers with their strings of mules, who would -halt for the night at the little inn, setting out at the earliest dawn -for their descent of the mountains.</p> - -<p>The people of the <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">posada</i> lived entirely on curdled sheep’s milk, -the sole article of food the party could obtain on their arrival. -At one time, by an early fall of snow, they were shut out from all -communication with the valley. Their threatened starvation was averted -by the exertions of Mademoiselle Micas, who managed to procure a -quantity of frogs, the hind legs of which she enveloped in leaves, and -toasted on sticks over a fire on the hearth. On these frogs they lived -for two days, when the hostess was induced to attempt the making of -butter from the milk of her sheep, and even to allow the conversion of -one of these animals into mutton for their benefit. Their larder thus -supplied,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span> and black bread being brought for them by the muleteers from -a village a long way off, they gave themselves up to the pleasures -of their wild life and the business of sketching. The arrival of the -muleteers, in their embroidered shirts, pointed hats, velvet jackets, -leathern breeches, and sandals, was always a welcome event. Rosa paid -for wine for them, and they, in return, performed their national -dances for her, after which they would throw themselves down for the -night upon sheepskins before the fire, furnishing subjects for many -picturesque <i>croquis</i>. As the <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">posada</i> was a police-station, -established there as a terror to smugglers, the little party felt -perfectly safe, notwithstanding its loneliness.</p> - -<p>Rosa was much pleased with her Scotch tour. She brought away a -wonderful little Skye terrier, named “Wasp,” of the purest breed, -and remarkably intelligent, which she holds in great affection. She -has learned for its benefit several English phrases, to which “Wasp” -responds with appreciative waggings of the tail.</p> - -<p>Rosa Bonheur has avowed her determination never to marry. Determined -to devote her life to her favorite art, she may be expected to produce -a long line of noble works that will worthily maintain her present -reputation; while the virtues and excellences of her private character -will win for her an ever-widening circle of admiration and respect.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.<br><span class="small">THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The Practice of Art in America.—Number of women Artists -increasing.—Prospect flattering.—Imperfection of Sketches of -living Artists.—Rosalba Torrens.—Miss Murray.—Mrs. Lupton.—Miss -Denning.—Miss O’Hara.—Mrs. Darley.—Mrs. Goodrich.—Miss -Foley.—Miss Mackintosh and others.—Mrs. Ball Hughes.—Mrs. -Chapin.—Sketch of Mrs. Duncan.—The Peale Family.—Anecdote of -General Washington.—Mrs. Washington’s Punctuality.—Miss Peale -an Artist in Philadelphia.—Paints Miniatures.—Copies Pictures -from great Artists.—She and her Sister honorary Members of the -Academy.—Her prosperous Career.—Paints with her Sister in -Baltimore and Washington.—Marriage and Widowhood.—Return to -Philadelphia.—Second Marriage.—Happy Home.—Mrs. Yeates.—Miss Sarah -M. Peale.—Success.—Removal to St. Louis.—Miss Rosalba Peale.—Miss -Ann Leslie.—Early Taste in Painting.—Visits to London.—Copies -Pictures.—Miss Sarah Cole.—Mrs. Wilson.—Intense Love of Art.—Her -Sculptures.—Her impromptu Modeling of Emerson’s Head.—Mrs. Cornelius -Dubois.—Her Taste for the Sculptor’s Art.—Groups by her.—Studies in -Italy.—Her Cameos.—Her Kindness to Artists.—Miss Anne Hall.—Early -Love of Painting.—Lessons.—Copies old Paintings in Miniature.—Her -original Pictures.—Her Merits of the highest Order.—Groups in -Miniature.—Dunlap’s Praise.—Her Productions numerous.—Mary -S. Legaré.—Her Ancestry.—Mrs. Legaré.—Early Fondness for Art -shown by the Daughter.—Her Studies.—Little Beauty in the Scenery -familiar to her.—Colonel Cogdell’s Sympathy with her.—Success -in Copying.—Visit to the Blue Ridge.—Grand Views.—Paintings -of mountain Scenery.—Removal to Iowa.—“Legaré College.”—Her -Erudition and Energy.—Her Marriage.—Herminie Dassel.—Reverse of -Fortune.—Painting for a Living.—Visit to Vienna and Italy.—Removal -to America.—Success and Marriage.—Her social Virtues and -Charity.—Miss Jane Stuart.—Mrs. Hildreth.—Mrs. Davis.—Mrs. -Badger’s Book of Flowers.—Mrs. Hawthorne.—Mrs. Hill.—Mrs. -Greatorex.—Mrs. Woodman.—Miss Gove.—Miss May.—Miss Granbury.—Miss -Oakley.</p> -</div> - - -<p>In America the practice of art by woman is but in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span> its commencement. -Although many names of female artists are now familiar to the public, -and the number is rapidly increasing, few have had time to accomplish -all for which they may possess the ability. The prospect, however, is -one most flattering to our national pride.</p> - -<p>The sketches of living American women who are pursuing art are chiefly -prepared from materials furnished by their friends. They are given in -simplicity, and may appear imperfect, but we hope indulgence may be -extended to them where they are inadequate to do justice to the subject.</p> - -<p>Rosalba Torrens is mentioned by Ramsay, in his History of South -Carolina, as a meritorious landscape-painter. Praise is also bestowed -on Eliza Torrens, afterward Mrs. Cochran. Miss Mary Murray painted in -crayons and water-colors in New York, and produced many life-sized -portraits, which gained her celebrity. Madame Planteau painted in -Washington about 1820, and was highly esteemed.</p> - -<p>Dunlap mentions Mrs. Lupton as a modeler. She presented a bust of -Governor Throop to the National Academy of Design in New York, of -which she was an honorary member. Many of her paintings elicited high -commendation. She executed many busts in clay, of her friends. There -was hardly a branch of delicate workmanship in which she did not -excel, and her literary attainments were varied and extensive. She -was an excellent French scholar, and a proficient in Latin, Italian, -and Spanish, besides having mastered the Hebrew sufficiently to read -the Old Testament with ease. In English literature she was thoroughly -versed, and was an advanced student in botany and natural history.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span></p> - -<p>She was the daughter of Dr. Platt Townsend, and was married early -in life. Mr. Lupton, a gentleman of high professional and literary -attainments, resided in the city of New York. After his death his -widow devoted herself to study, that she might be qualified to educate -her young daughter, and, after the loss of this only child, pursued -knowledge as a solace for her sorrows. Her talents and accomplishments, -her elevated virtues and charities, and her attractive social qualities -drew around her a circle of warm and admiring friends. She lived a -short time in Canada, and died at the house of a relative on Long -Island.</p> - -<p>Miss Charlotte Denning, of Plattsburgh, is spoken of as a clever -miniature-painter, and also Miss O’Hara, in New York. Miss Jane Sully -(Mrs. Darley), the daughter of the celebrated artist, is mentioned as -an artist of merit. Mrs. Goodrich, of Boston, painted an excellent -portrait of Gilbert Stuart, which was engraved by Durand for the -National Portrait Gallery. Her miniatures have great merit, and are -marked by truth and expression.</p> - -<p>Margaret Foley was a member of the New England School of Design, and -gave instruction in drawing and painting. She resided in Lowell, and -was frequently applied to for her cameos, which she cut beautifully. -Miss Sarah Mackintosh was accustomed to draw on stone for a large glass -company, and other ladies designed in the carpet factory at Lowell and -in the Merrimack print-works, showing the ability of women to engage in -such occupations.</p> - -<p>Several have made a livelihood by the business of engraving on wood, -and drawing for different works.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Ball Hughes, of Boston, the wife of the sculptor, supported her -family by painting and by giving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span> lessons in the art. Mrs. Chapin had a -large drawing school in Providence, and, with facility in every style, -is said to be admirable in crayons. Many others might be mentioned, but -it does not comport with the design of this work to record even the -names of <em>all</em> who deserve the tribute of praise.</p> - - -<h3>ANNA C. PEALE (MRS. DUNCAN).</h3> - -<p>Several ladies of the Peale family have been distinguished as artists, -and are mentioned in the histories of painting in America. The -parents of the subject of this sketch were Captain James Peale and -Mary Claypoole. Her maternal ancestors, the Claypooles, came to this -country with William Penn, and were among the earliest settlers in -Philadelphia. They claimed direct descent from Oliver Cromwell, whose -daughter Elizabeth married Sir John Claypoole.</p> - -<p>James Peale had great celebrity as a painter, and excelled both in -miniatures and oil portraits. He was not only remarkable for success -in his likenesses, but had the faculty of making them handsome withal, -so that he was called among his acquaintances “the flattering artist.” -This pleasing effect he gave, not by altering the features, but by -happy touches of expression; and it was one secret of his eminent -success. He painted, from actual sittings, several portraits of General -Washington and Mrs. Washington. One, a miniature, is now in the -possession of his eldest daughter.</p> - -<p>On one occasion, when Washington was sitting for his portrait in Mr. -Peale’s painting-room, he looked at his watch, and said,</p> - -<p>“Mr. Peale, my time for sitting has expired; but, if three minutes -longer will be of any importance to you, I will remain, and make up the -time by hastening<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span> my walk up to the State House (where Congress was in -session). I know exactly how long it will take me to walk there; and it -will not do for me, as President, to be absent at the hour of meeting.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Washington was as remarkable for punctuality as her illustrious -husband. At one time, during the general’s absence, he wrote to her to -get Mr. James Peale to paint her portrait in miniature, and to send it -to him. Mrs. Washington wrote a note to the artist, saying that her -presence at home was indispensable when the general was away, and it -would not be convenient for her to attend at his painting-room. She -requested him, therefore, to come to her house for the sittings, and -offered to accommodate herself to any hour when it would suit him to be -away from his studio. In his reply Mr. Peale appointed seven o’clock in -the morning. When he left his home to keep the engagement for the first -sitting, it occurred to him that the lady might not be quite ready to -see him at so early an hour. He walked on, accordingly, more slowly -than usual. Mrs. Washington met him with the observation, “Mr. Peale, I -have been in the kitchen to give my orders for the day; have read the -newspaper, and heard my niece her lesson on the harp; yet have waited -for you twenty minutes.”</p> - -<p>The gentleman, of course, felt exceedingly mortified, and remarked -that if his engagement had been with General Washington he should have -felt the importance of being punctual to the minute; but he thought it -necessary to allow a lady a little more time.</p> - -<p>“Sir,” replied Mrs. Washington, “I am as punctual as the general.” It -may be imagined that Mr. Peale took care to be at the house the next -day at the time appointed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span></p> - -<p>Dunlap, in his sketch of the artist, mentions his son and two -daughters as having adopted their father’s profession. There were -<em>three</em> daughters who did thus, out of five who showed talent -for art, viz., Anna, Sarah, and Margaretta. The son, James Peale, -showed, from early youth, a remarkable talent for landscape-painting. -His sketches from nature were admirable. For many years, though not -a professional artist, he contributed an exquisite picture to every -opening of the annual exhibition of the Academy of the Fine Arts, in -Philadelphia.</p> - -<p>Anna was born in Philadelphia, and from childhood showed extraordinary -talent for art. When about fourteen years of age, she copied in -oil-colors two paintings by Vernet; and these, sent to public auction, -brought her thirty dollars, then esteemed a good price for first -efforts. Stimulated by this reward of her labor, she resolved to -persevere, and in time became able to command an independence. Her -father had a large family to support by his profession of portrait and -miniature painting, and his daughter looked forward with pleasure to -the thought of being a help instead of a burden to him. It was not, -however, until two years after that she was able seriously to apply -herself to the art. One other attempt only she made in oil-colors; a -small fruit-piece, from nature. Her father thought miniature-painting -on ivory the most suitable employment for a lady, and urged her to make -a trial of her powers in that branch. She had learned much by standing -behind his chair, hours and hours at a time, and watching his progress. -He took great pains in teaching her, pointing out the peculiar touches -that produced his best effects, by giving a charm to the expression.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span></p> - -<p>Not only was Miss Peale assiduous in the study of her father’s -exquisite miniatures, but she copied several executed by distinguished -artists in that line. One, from a painting by the celebrated Duchésne, -a portrait of Napoleon, was sold to a gentleman in Philadelphia for -one hundred and fifty dollars. Her ambition to attain to excellence, -now fairly kindled, nerved her to industry and enterprise. She painted -a miniature of Washington from a portrait, which was purchased of her -father by one of his friends and brother officers of the Revolution, -Colonel Allen M‘Clain. The first miniature portraits from life which -she undertook were those of Dr. Spencer H. Cone and his venerable -mother. These, with one or two others, were presented at the annual -exhibition of the Academy of the Fine Arts. She and her sister, Miss -Sarah M. Peale, were elected honorary members of this institution. This -sister had adopted portrait-painting in oil as her profession.</p> - -<p>The artistic career thus commenced went on most prosperously. Although -she owed nothing to any public notice of her talents, Miss Anna Peale -soon found abundant occupation in painting miniature likenesses. Her -health, however, suffered under her incessant labors, and she was -compelled to put a higher price on her work in order to reduce the -number of applications. She was so frequently solicited to paint the -likenesses of children, and found them such troublesome subjects, that -she charged double price for them.</p> - -<p>From the commencement of Miss Peale’s painting to her sister’s -entrance on the arena as a portrait-painter, for some years, it is -believed, she was the only professional lady artist in Philadelphia. -The sisters, after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span> having commenced their labors, passed their time -alternately in Philadelphia and Baltimore; in the latter city receiving -unbounded attention and encouragement from families of the highest -respectability. They were not only well received as artists, but were -welcomed as friends and hospitably entertained. They were much caressed -by the family of the venerable Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Miss -Sarah painted in oil a portrait of his daughter, Mrs. Caten.</p> - -<p>The sisters afterward went to Washington to paint the portrait of -General La Fayette, who sat for it at their request. Anna spent the -winter of 1819 in the Federal city with her uncle, Charles M. Peale, -who went there for the purpose of painting the portraits of many -distinguished members of Congress. They worked in the same studio. -General Jackson was one of their sitters. Miss Peale retained his -portrait, and has it still in her possession. President Monroe also had -his likeness taken, and the artists were often hospitably entertained -at the “White House” by the President and his amiable wife. During the -time of her stay in Washington, Miss Peale had her time filled up with -commissions; she painted several of the members of Congress, among whom -were Henry Clay and Colonel R. M. Johnson.</p> - -<p>In the following year Miss Peale again visited Washington. She painted -a miniature likeness of that remarkable character, John Randolph of -Roanoke. It is now in her possession. So incessant was her application -to work, that during the summer she was obliged to travel for the -recovery of her health, and to give rest to her eyes. Several times -they were attacked with inflammation, and at one time she had cause to -dread the total loss of sight. Some time after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span> this period she visited -Boston, where she painted several portraits. Daniel Webster sat twice -for a miniature, which she never quite finished.</p> - -<p>In 1829 Miss Peale received the addresses of Rev. Dr. William -Staughton, a Baptist clergyman of much learning and distinction. He -was about that time elected president of the Theological College at -Georgetown, Kentucky. They were married August 27th, 1829, and left -Philadelphia for the scene of the husband’s future labors. While -they were in the city of Washington, Dr. Staughton was taken ill. He -died early in December, in a little more than three months after the -marriage. The widow returned to Philadelphia the following spring. She -resumed her profession, and painted with as great success as before.</p> - -<p>Her second marriage, with General William Duncan, a gentleman highly -esteemed in social life, may be said to have closed her career as an -artist, though her love for art can never be lost. In her happy home, -surrounded by accomplished relatives, and beloved by a large circle of -friends, she looks back with pride to the days when she toiled to woo -the Muse of Painting, and still acknowledges the truthful remark of the -German poet:</p> - -<p>“He who can not apprehend the Beautiful has no heart for the Good.”</p> - -<p>The only person to whom Mrs. Duncan ever gave lessons in -miniature-painting was her niece, Mary Jane Simes, now the wife of Dr. -John Yeates, of Baltimore. This lady is an artist of no small celebrity.</p> - -<p>Miss Sarah M. Peale excelled not only in oil portraits but in -still-life pieces. She has resided for the last ten years in St. Louis, -whither she was induced to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span> go by the invitation of numerous friends. -She found there such encouragement and success, with such warm regard -from her friends, that she has not as yet found leisure to leave her -engrossing pursuits for a visit to her native city. Her varied talents -and amiable character are justly appreciated, and she has gathered -around her a large and estimable circle. She possesses a fine talent -for music in addition to her other accomplishments.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rembrandt Peale is highly spoken of as a painter in oil-colors.</p> - -<p>Miss Rosalba Peale is an amateur artist, and is said to have been the -first lady member of any Academy of Art in America.</p> - - -<h3>ANN LESLIE.</h3> - -<p>The name of Leslie has been placed by a painter of eminent merit among -the most distinguished of this century, and his sister has contributed -to its fame. She was born in Philadelphia; her parents, Robert Leslie -and Lydia Baker, went to London in 1793, when she was an infant, and -returned in 1799. She showed a taste for painting in childhood, but did -not take it up as a regular employment till 1822, at which time she was -again in London, on a visit to her brother. She copied several of his -pictures, and two or three by Sir Joshua Reynolds, besides painting -portraits of her friends. She returned in 1825 to Philadelphia, with -her sister, Mrs. Henry Carey, and her brother-in-law, but paid another -visit to London four years afterward. Several copies she made from -pictures were engraved for the Atlantic Souvenir. One of “Sancho and -the Duchess” was pronounced equal to the original in execution. Her -skill was great in imitating coloring,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span> but she was accustomed to make -the outlines mechanically.</p> - -<p>Her life was passed in cheerful and contented activity. She resided -several years in New York, where she occupied herself chiefly in -copying paintings. She died in the summer of 1857.</p> - -<p>Miss Sarah Cole, the sister of the celebrated artist, had a great -deal of talent, and not only copied paintings, but produced original -compositions. She was born in England, but spent most of her life in -the United States. She died in 1858.</p> - - -<h3>MRS. WILSON.</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Lee mentions Mrs. Wilson of Cincinnati as having displayed much -original talent in sculpture. The following account is from a friend’s -letter:</p> - -<p>“She is the wife of a physician of Cincinnati, and was born, I believe, -in or near Cooperstown, New York. Her first impressions of persons -and things are expressed in her conversation. She is a perfect child -of nature, impulsive, but wonderfully perceptive, and with so much -freshness that all persons of mind are attracted to her. Her infancy -and youth were very much shadowed by domestic sufferings, originating, -at first, in the loss of a large property by her father, who in -consequence removed to the West. He died when she was quite young. She -married Dr. Wilson, a most excellent person, of Quaker family. All -circumstances were such, that an early revelation or development was -not made of her artistic powers. In visiting a sculptor’s studio the -desire first awoke; an intelligent friend encouraged and sympathized -with her, and Mrs. Wilson procured the materials. Her feeling was so -intense that it could not be repressed. Her husband was her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span> first -subject. She worked with so much energy that sometimes she would -faint away, and on one of these occasions he said, ‘If you are not -more moderate, I will throw that thing out of the window.’ But it was -finished, proving a perfect likeness, and she chiseled it in stone. It -is in her parlor at Cincinnati, a most beautiful bust, and an admirable -likeness, and seems like a miracle, considering it was her first -attempt.</p> - -<p>“Another marvelous work is the figure of her son. He threw himself on -the floor one morning in an attitude at once striking and picturesque. -To copy it required a perfectly correct eye, or a knowledge of anatomy. -She courageously attempted it; the attitude was repeated, and her -success was triumphant. It is only a cast, and the cast does not do -justice to the finish of her work, but she has not been able to procure -a block of marble for the copy. The effect is wonderful for its spirit -and the accuracy of its anatomy. She has commenced other subjects, but -some of them are not finished, and to others accidents have happened.</p> - -<p>“She has a family of children, and is a devoted mother. We think -<em>stone</em> will have but little chance with those beings of flesh -and blood whose minds and hearts she is carefully modeling. Perhaps -family cares may be the true secret why female sculptors are so rare; -but we congratulate this lady that she has the true perception of the -beautiful, and feel quite sure it will mitigate the suffering from -delicate health, and scatter fragrant flowers and healing herbs in the -sometimes rugged paths of duty.”</p> - -<p>A gentleman acquainted with Mrs. Wilson mentioned an incident that -occurred on a journey to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span> Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Struck with -the aspect of a distinguished person in the company—Mr. Emerson—the -sculptress gave directions to stop near a bank of soft red clay, and, -putting out one hand to grasp a sufficient portion of the material, -with the other she signed to her subject to remain motionless. In a few -moments she had modeled a very creditable likeness of the author.</p> - - -<h3>MRS. DUBOIS.</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Cornelius Dubois, now residing in New York, and devoted to the -charitable institution of the Nursery and Child’s Hospital, has shown -much talent for sculpture and cameo-cutting. Mrs. Lee describes her -as having discovered, accidentally, about 1842, a taste for modeling, -in the following manner: “Her father had his bust taken. Before the -casting, he asked his daughter her opinion of it as a likeness. She -pointed out some defects which the artist corrected in her presence, -upon which she exclaimed, ‘I could do that!’ and requested the sculptor -to give her some clay, from which she modeled, with but little labor, -a bust of her husband, and was eminently successful in the likeness. -She then decided to take lessons, but illness having interfered with -her plans, she abandoned the intention, and worked on by herself, with -merely the instruction from the sculptor to keep her clay moist until -her work was completed.</p> - -<p>“When she recovered her health sufficiently, she continued to mould, -and, among other works, produced the likenesses of two of her little -children, the group of Cupid and Psyche, a copy; and a novice, an -original piece. She also carved a head of the Madonna in marble; a -laborious and exciting work, which injured<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span> her health to such a degree -that her physician interdicted her devotion to the arts.</p> - -<p>“She then went to Italy, where she desired the first artist in cameos -to give her lessons. When he saw some that she had cut, he told her -that he could teach her nothing; she had only to study the antiques.</p> - -<p>“Her works in cameos are ‘St. Agnes and her Lamb,’ ‘Alcibiades,’ -‘Guido’s Angel,’ ‘Raphael’s Hope,’ and the ‘Apollo.’ She took over -thirty likenesses in cameo, requiring only an hour’s sitting, after -which they were completed.</p> - -<p>“Notwithstanding the care of a large family, the superintendence of -the education of her daughters, and the sad drawback of ill health, -her energy has never failed her. She has always extended a helping -hand and a smile of encouragement to young artists, one of whom was in -Brown’s studio; another is the sculptor of the ‘Shipwrecked Mother,’ -who alludes to her kindness in his short autobiography.</p> - -<p>“But, while ascending the ladder to fame, her progress was arrested by -ill health, and she now lives only to feel, as she says, how little she -has done compared to what she might do could she devote herself to the -art. Anxious to impart to others this great gift, and to stimulate her -countrywomen to the development of any latent talent they may possess, -she formed a class of young ladies, and most disinterestedly devoted a -certain portion of her time to their instruction for several months.</p> - -<p>“While all who know her admire the artist for her talents, her -unceasing energy, and philanthropic exertions, they behold in her the -good wife, mother, and friend, and the elegant and accomplished woman, -presiding over the social circle. Her heart remains true<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span> to the gentle -influences of nature, while her genius is ever responsive to immortal -Art.”</p> - - -<h3>ANNE HALL.</h3> - -<p>Anne Hall was born in Pomfret, Connecticut. She was the third daughter -of Dr. Jonathan Hall, a physician of distinction. Her talent for art -was early developed, and her father, who loved painting, endeavored -to foster the promise of her childhood. A visitor having presented -her with a box of colors and pencils, she began to use them; and her -father, who was pleased with her progress, procured for her a box of -colors from China. She had a brother who admired and valued pictures, -and whose praise encouraged her to continue her childish attempts. -He supplied her with such materials as she needed for drawing and -painting. Every hint she received from artists was turned to account, -and she gave herself to her favorite occupation with enthusiasm. She -delighted in imitating nature; and fruits, birds, flowers, and even -fish and insects were subjects for her pencil; but she took especial -pleasure in producing likenesses of her friends. Living in a retired -part of the country, she had little access to paintings of value for -a long time; but, being sent on a visit to a relative in Newport, -Rhode Island, she received some instruction in painting on ivory from -Mr. Samuel King, who had been an early teacher of Alston, and also of -Malbone. Miss Hall gained less knowledge from her master’s lessons, -however, than from copying some paintings of the old masters which her -brother afterward sent home from Cadiz and other places in Spain. These -were faithfully copied on ivory in miniature. “A Mother and a Sleeping -Child,” still in her possession, shows her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span> progress at this time. “A -Mother in Tears,” copied from a painting on ivory, was much admired -as evidence of fidelity in copying and skill in coloring. Studying -the pictures procured by her brother, she learned to appreciate their -excellences, while, by comparing them with nature, she was enabled to -avoid the formality of a mere copyist. She began now to give form and -coloring to the conceptions of her imagination, and attempted original -composition.</p> - -<p>Miss Hall took some lessons in oil-painting from Alexander Robertson in -New York, but has chiefly devoted herself to painting in water-colors -on ivory. Her merits have been acknowledged by the most distinguished -artists in New York and different parts of the United States to be of -the highest order. Among her miniature copies of oil pictures by old -masters, two from Guido were particularly noticed as executed with -surprising vigor and a rich glow of coloring. Her groups of children -from life were done with masterly skill, and finished with a taste and -delicacy which a woman’s hand only could exhibit. Her portraits in -miniature were acknowledged to possess exquisite delicacy and beauty. -The soft colors seem breathed on the ivory rather than applied with the -brush. A miniature group often sold for five hundred dollars.</p> - -<p>Dunlap mentions one of her compositions as “marked with the beautiful -simplicity of some of Reynolds’s or Lawrence’s portraits of children, -evincing a masterly touch and glowing in admirable coloring.”</p> - -<p>Miss Hall was unanimously elected a member of the National Academy of -Design in New York. Her portrait of a lovely Greek girl, from life, -was engraved, and the rare beauty of the painting was universally -acknowledged. The floating silken waves of hair<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span> have an unrivaled -effect. A group of two girls and a boy is admirable in composition, -color, and expression. Miss Hall’s “management of infant beauty” -is, indeed, unsurpassed; her flowers and children, Dunlap observes, -“combine in an elegant bouquet.”</p> - -<p>One of the best of her original compositions is a group of a mother and -child—Mrs. Jay and her infant. The first, clasping the babe to her -bosom, has a Madonna-like beauty; the child is perfect in attitude and -expression. Another group of a mother and two young children, the widow -and orphans of the late Matthias Bruen, has a most charming expression. -One of the children was painted as a cherub in a separate picture, -much valued by artists as a rare specimen of skill. Miss Hall has also -painted the portraits in miniature of many persons distinguished in the -best social circles of New York. Several of her groups have been copied -in enamel in France, and thus made indestructible. Three children of -Mrs. Ward, with a dog and bird; a child holding a grape-vine branch; -with portraits of Mrs. Crawford, widow of the sculptor, Mrs. Divie -Bethune, and the daughters of Governor King, may be mentioned among -numerous works, a single one of which has sufficient merit to establish -the author’s claim to the reputation she has long enjoyed, of being the -best of American miniaturists.</p> - - -<h3>MARY SWINTON LEGARÉ (MRS. BULLEN).</h3> - -<p>The family of Legaré (once spelled L’Egarée) is of the old stock of -French Huguenots who furnished the best blood of Carolina. Madame -Legaré, an honored ancestress of our subject, being a firm Huguenot, -immediately after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes sent to America -her only child, Solomon, then seventeen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span> years old; parting with him, -as she believed, forever in this life, that he might be saved from -peril, and not be tempted to abandon his faith. This boy—called by -his descendants “The Huguenot”—went first to Canada, and in 1685 -to Charleston, South Carolina. He became the ancestor of a numerous -posterity, of which, during the Revolution, thirteen bearing the name -were patriot soldiers, active in the cause of American liberty.</p> - -<p>On the death of her husband, Madame Legaré left her native France and -came to America. Here she found her son married, and the father of nine -children. She had given him up for religion’s sake; God restored him to -her arms, able to minister to her declining years. Her grandson, the -great-grandfather of Hugh and Mary Legaré, died in 1774, at the age of -seventy-nine. Yet, when the Colonies entered into a compact for mutual -defense, he resolutely refused to be put on the list of the “aged and -noncombatant,” saying he was able to “shoulder his musket with any -man,” besides managing a charger equal to any trooper; he “would not be -insulted by being laid aside.” Thus our heroine had a great-grandfather -and two grandfathers, besides other relatives, in the patriot army -of the Revolution, where youths of sixteen and eighteen often fought -beside their grandsires.</p> - -<p>The father of Miss Legaré married a lady whose grandfather, Alexander -Swinton, of a Scottish family, was sent from England, about 1728, as -surveyor-general of the province of South Carolina. He lost a large -estate by the villainy of executors and guardians; but after his death, -Hugh Swinton, his son, was taken to Scotland by his uncle, and educated -as became a young gentleman of birth and fortune, being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span> married to -a descendant of that John Hayne who fled from the persecution of -the Puritans by Charles II. and his bishops, and fixed his home in -Carolina. Thus, on both sides, a heritage of honor and religious faith -is derived from her ancestors by the lady who fills a place in our -humble annals.</p> - -<p>The name of Hugh Swinton Legaré is endeared to all South Carolinians, -the more so as his genius and literary attainments commanded celebrity -on both sides of the Atlantic. His sister’s talents are not inferior -to his, though she has filled no place in the national councils nor -at foreign courts, but in a quiet and uneventful life has made her -impression on the social and intellectual advancement of the day. The -youngest of three children who survived the father, she was born in -Charleston, South Carolina, where her childhood and youth were spent. -Mrs. Legaré, left a widow before she had completed her twenty-eighth -year, devoted her time and means entirely to the education of her -little ones. She was a woman of extraordinary mental powers, and her -mind had been sedulously cultivated. Her ideas of education were broad -and comprehensive, and her efforts were directed to the training of her -children in such a manner as to make their lives exemplary, useful, and -happy, as well as to develop their intellects. How well she succeeded -the honorable career of all her children testifies. The noble character -and life of her eldest daughter, Mrs. Bryan, and the brilliant fame -achieved by the son, add evidence to the fact that she was one of those -mothers whose offspring rise up to call her blessed. Mrs. Legaré died -on the 1st of January, 1843, in the seventy-second year of her age.</p> - -<p>It was not strange that the children should grow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span> up cherishing a deep -and intense love for so excellent a mother. Mary, an infant when bereft -of her father, very early showed a fondness for study, and a special -predilection for the languages and the fine arts. Even before she -was able to express emotions of admiration or delight, she evinced a -remarkable sensibility both to melody and color. When less than three -years old, she would be affected to tears or moved to joyous mirth by -different musical sounds. Beautiful pictures had for her young fancy -irresistible fascination at an age when she could hardly be supposed -able to recognize the objects they represented. Her mother frequently -observed of her little Mary that, when she showed signs of impatience -or weariness, or fretted for want of amusement, all that was necessary -to soothe her discontent or charm her into happiness was to furnish her -with paper and a pencil. The child would amuse herself for hours with -her drawings. Her decided talents for music and painting—coloring in -particular—were soon perceived by this tender mother, who determined -to give her daughter every possible aid in the cultivation of tastes -so congenial to her own, Mrs. Legaré being herself accomplished in no -ordinary degree in both these lady-like pursuits.</p> - -<p>Miss Legaré had resolved to make herself mistress of the languages even -before she could read and write English with any great proficiency. -She had in these studies, and other branches of scholarship, the best -teachers that could be procured. Her mother was her first instructor -in music. But it was otherwise in the art to which she had determined -especially to devote herself; no efficient teacher of drawing could be -found. Although remuneration for lessons was liberal—thirty dollars -per term being paid—it was almost impossible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span> to find any one capable -of giving proper instruction. The young girl was therefore obliged to -practice unaided the art she began to love with increased enthusiasm, -and her progress was still more retarded by the want of models or -scenes in nature that might take her fancy. The low country of South -Carolina—affording the only landscapes she had ever seen—abounds in -flat and swampy districts. There is much beauty for an unaccustomed -eye in the bleached wilderness of pine-land, with its stately, solemn -groves, through which the wind surges with ocean-like murmur; but it -is not of the kind available for the artist. Nor is that of the swamp, -with its immeasurable extent of wood and impenetrable undergrowth, -through which may be seen at intervals the dark, turbid water soaking -its way through masses of tangled weeds, the slimy abode of reptiles, -or the hiding-place of the water-fowl. There are green morasses choked -with vegetation, into which the sunbeams never penetrate; or over -the quagmire, rank with decay, rise giant trees, twined with thick -creepers, and burying the matted brush beneath them in black shadow. -The trees are often loaded with the gray hanging moss that forms the -ornament of woods in the low lands. The mixture of gloom and beauty, of -luxuriance and horror, is a striking novelty to the Northern visitor. -The ragged thickets, too, are alternated with islands of lovely -verdure; the water-lily decks the dark lakelet with its broad leaves -and white flowers; and graceful vines festoon the evergreens, mingling -bright blossoms with their leaves of sombre verdure.</p> - -<p>Such scenes presented little to tempt the copyist, yet, notwithstanding -her difficulties and discouragements in painting, Miss Legaré continued -to struggle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span> on toward the idea of perfection in her untutored -imagination. Her brother Hugh was wont to remark that “her passion -lay there,” in the painter’s art. She found not much sympathy in this -chosen pursuit, till some time in the year 1827, when she became -acquainted with a gentleman who possessed a similar taste, cultivated -in a high degree by superior knowledge of art. This was Colonel John -S. Cogdell, who at that time had considerable celebrity as an amateur -painter. Miss Legaré submitted her efforts to his careful criticism, -and received from him the instruction she needed. She has attributed -her subsequent success to his aid. He procured for her study the -finest new pictures that could be obtained. Among the artists whose -works were now introduced to her, Doughty became, to her fancy, the -beau ideal of excellence. Even when a child she had been accustomed to -turn away in disgust, with a “’Tis not pretty, mamma,” from flaring -or exaggerated colors in a picture. Doughty’s subdued coloring, and -soft, dreamy style, kindled her imagination, and aroused her ardent -emulation. “Could I but paint one picture like Doughty’s!” she would -often exclaim; and it may be said her earliest initiation into the -school of Nature, and into an apprehension of her seductive beauties, -was by seeing the works of this eminent American landscape-painter, -whom his country allowed to languish in bitter penury, for want of the -appreciation his genius should have commanded. Miss Legaré’s first -attempt to copy one of his paintings succeeded beyond the most sanguine -expectations of herself and her friends. Colonel Cogdell encouraged her -still more by saying, “You have an eye for color, which must insure you -success in copying nature.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span></p> - -<p>In truth, the young artist did not long remain satisfied with spending -all her energies merely in copying the works of others. Though she -had never visited any other region than the low forest country of her -native state, she endeavored to create scenes by combining various -objects into a single composition. Landscapes and rustic scenes in -every variety were her delight; yet, having never seen a mountain, -nor the country in any aspects different from the monotonous views in -her neighborhood, how was she to produce an original picture? How do -justice in any way to the powers of which she felt conscious? It was -not so easy for a lady to travel. In the South particularly, she would -be hampered in many ways; and “Mrs. Grundy” would have devoted to death -by torture any young girl who could have done so heinous a thing as -take a journey of observation by herself! Miss Legaré, therefore, was -shut in to contemplation of the boundless ocean and the swamp forest -almost as limitless. Dark scenes and deep shadows, with warm glowing -skies became features in her paintings, and her trees of great variety, -clear, deep water, and skies were pronounced by critics superior to -those of the artists she most admired. She adopted in a measure the -style of Ruysdael, mingled, in the more delicate shades, with the -warmth of Cuyp.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1833 her longing wish was gratified. She went, -accompanied by her mother, to spend the warm season amid the glorious -mountain scenery of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina. This region has -been thought to surpass in magnificence and majesty any mountainous -district in the Atlantic States. Miss Legaré was far more delighted -with these mountains than with the scenery of Lake George and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span> -Hudson, which she had visited the year before, finding it, as well -as the Alleghany range, to disappoint her expectations. But when, on -her approach to Asheville, her eyes rested on the exhaustless variety -of form and tint, blended into soft harmony, on the distant Blue -Ridge, the beauty and sublimity of the scene filled her with emotions -she had no language to express. There was awful grandeur as well as -touching loveliness in the view. Pisgah and surrounding peaks towering -skyward—the summit covered with vapor that glowed with gorgeous -colors, like a drapery of scarlet and gold—the vast mass played on by -the mellow purple and violet tints peculiar to lofty mountains—the -delicate azure mingling with fairy lights of golden violet—all -softened into harmony by an atmosphere so transparent, so Claude-like -in its purity, that it seemed the movement of a bird could be discerned -at a distance of forty or fifty miles! Miss Legaré here realized, for -the first time, what few out of Italy can realize, the naturalness of -Claude’s landscapes; the exquisite art of his unequaled coloring, which -gives to his delineations of Alpine scenery so wonderful an effect.</p> - -<p>Miss Legaré’s intense enjoyment of the beauties of nature in this -favored region during a three months’ residence gave her an invincible -repugnance to the work of copying the productions of any human artist. -She always painted in oil; and, having brought no materials with her, -could not transfer to her sketches the colors she so admired while on -the spot. But memory had faithfully treasured these delicious pictures, -and on her return to Charleston she lost no time in putting them on -canvas. “A View on the Suwannee,” now in possession of the widow of -Colonel Cogdell, was pronounced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span> by him a master-piece. Another view -on the French Broad, illustrating the distinguishing characteristics -of the scenery of that river, was purchased in 1834 by the proprietors -of the Art Union in New York. The first scene that had so struck Miss -Legaré was painted on too large a scale. It was, however, much admired; -and the same subject, represented in smaller compass, is esteemed a -finer picture.</p> - -<p>In Miss Legaré’s landscapes she gives to her coloring and combinations -as much idealizing as truth to nature will admit. An artist, who was -delighted both with her music and her painting, observed of the latter -to her brother Hugh, “It is natural, but more beautiful than nature; it -is poetical.” Another, when Hugh remarked that she must go to Italy, -replied, “No, your sister studies our own wild nature—rich, romantic, -glowing under a tropical sun, luxuriant when touched with frost; if she -go to Italy, or study the old landscape-painters, she may give a finer -finish, but it will be artificial.” These artistic criticisms gave her -encouragement; and when she repeated to Mr. Cogdell what was said in -praise of her works, he would say, triumphantly, “I told you so, but -you would not believe me!”</p> - -<p>Her rich foregrounds, transparent water, and distant mountains, as -well as her skies and foliage, have been highly praised by Sully and -other eminent artists. She owed to Mr. Cogdell her introduction to the -science of perspective, having been accustomed in early efforts to be -guided by the eye alone. A knowledge of anatomy was of use, as she -always introduced figures into her landscapes, painted with fidelity -and spirit. She excels, besides, in the delineation of animals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</span> wild -and domestic, especially dogs, cows, and sheep. A Spanish pointer, -painted nearly of life size, was so perfect in anatomy that Dr. Sewell -of Washington pronounced it a study for a student of that branch. “The -Hounds of St. Bernard” is an admirable painting. The piteous, appealing -expression in the face of one that is represented howling for aid -struck even every child who saw it. A little girl exclaimed, “How sorry -that dog is! he is afraid the people won’t come.”</p> - -<p>Besides animals, Miss Legaré has painted portraits; but this branch -never enlisted her enthusiasm—that was for landscapes.</p> - -<p>On the appointment of her brother as a member of President Tyler’s -cabinet in 1841, Miss Legaré accompanied him to Washington. Her life -of calm enjoyment was soon disturbed by sorrow. She was bereaved of -mother, sister, and brother within the space of a year. She had long -cherished a purpose of visiting the Western country, and in June, 1849, -went to Iowa. Finding the country very productive and well suited to -farming purposes, she sent for some of the children of her deceased -sister. They came with their families to the new home, and formed -a colony of twenty-one persons. The scenery in Iowa, though often -beautiful, is tame compared to the mountainous country of the Atlantic -states. Green fields, luxuriant woods, flower-bordered streams, -and groves carpeted with wild grass, forming a charming variety of -landscape, are presented; but there are few scenes that startle with -their magnificence or grandeur. Miss Legaré found, in the new cares -that surrounded her, and the habits of life so different from those to -which she had been accustomed, such a pressure of occupation, that her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</span> -beloved art was for a time abandoned. The Western housekeeper usually -finds little time for the pleasures of the imagination; but she was -not one to forget the best interests of others, particularly of her -own sex. She established an institution called “Legaré College,” for -the liberal education of women, at West Point, in Lee County, Iowa. -Her talents and taste, her varied and uncommon learning and energy, as -well as her means, were devoted to the support of this institution; -but its aim was too far in advance of the age in Iowa, or, rather, its -operations were impeded by that utilitarian spirit which has set its -heavy, ungainly foot on every high aspiration in this country, and has -prevented the progress of woman toward improvement that might enlarge -her sphere of usefulness.</p> - -<p>A writer who is intimately acquainted with Miss Legaré—now Mrs. -Bullen—thus speaks of her accomplishments:</p> - -<p>“The literature of the world, its science and its art, are with her -as household things. They flow from her eloquent tongue as music from -the harp of the minstrel. No pent-up Utica confines her powers—no -Aztec theory of woman cripples her labors, or impoverishes her mind -or her policy. A Mississippi feeling, and theory, and action actuate -her, and we may all look for corresponding results.” Her influence in -the community where she resides has directed attention to both art and -literature.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bullen intends resuming the pencil she has for years almost -entirely laid aside. She has completed a design for a painting to be -called “The Squatter’s Home.” It shows a wagon under the shade of a -Western group of tall trees, which serves for the sleeping-place of the -emigrant family. The mother is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</span> washing beside a stream; the children -are gathering strawberries.</p> - - -<h3>HERMINIE DASSEL.</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Dassel was a native of Königsberg, Prussia. Her father’s name was -Borchard; he was a banker, and at one time a man of fortune, which -enabled him to secure to his children an excellent education. He lost -his property in 1839, in consequence of financial troubles in America; -the liquidation of his affairs reduced his possessions to a small farm, -depriving his family of teachers, servants, horses and carriages, -and all the comforts which they had enjoyed. Upon the elder children -devolved the duties of housekeeping, and the cultivation of the farm to -some extent, as well as the instruction of the younger members of the -family. At this time Herminie devoted herself to the art of painting -as a profession, hoping to derive from it a support for herself and -family. She would attend to her household duties in the morning, and -then, with port-folio in hand, wander off over the dusty or muddy road -to the city, and again return to attend to the flowers and cabbages, -and the making of cheese and butter. She soon had the satisfaction of -receiving a commission for a full-sized portrait of a clergyman; this -she painted in the church, with her model on the altar, the country -folk standing about, astonished and wondering that such a tiny little -girl could accomplish such a marvel.</p> - -<p>She soon went to Düsseldorf, attracted thither by the pictures of -Sohn, which she saw in an exhibition in her native city. She studied -with this artist four years, supporting herself entirely by her own -exertions. Her pictures found ready sale, consisting of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</span> such subjects -as “Children in the Wood,” “Peasant Girls in a Vineyard,” “Children -going to the Pasture with Goats,” etc.</p> - -<p>After her return home she applied herself again to portrait-painting, -in order to obtain money sufficient for a tour to Italy, which was -the great end of her ambition. She was fortunate enough to be able -to accumulate in one year a thousand dollars. Out of this sum she -furnished her brother with an amount large enough to secure his -promotion to a doctor’s degree, as she wanted to have him accompany her -as a traveling companion.</p> - -<p>A journey to Italy was much opposed by all her relatives; a girl so -young, fresh, and diminutive could not protect herself; she would -inevitably encounter serious misfortunes. But her mind was made up; she -packed her things, took leave of her friends, and one morning started -off on the way to Vienna, directing her brother to follow her. She was -never in want of friends; every where persons took an interest in her; -without money one day, it was sure to come on the next; and her faith -was never shaken by any accident or hardship. In Vienna she began her -studies, seeking models in the streets, and taking them to her room. -From Vienna she passed into Italy. Of her studious life in Italy many -sketches bear witness.</p> - -<p>The breaking out of the revolution in 1848 obliged Herminie to leave -Italy, and as the route to Germany was unsafe, and she feared becoming -a burden to her friends, she resolved to go to the United States. An -opportunity presented itself to travel in company with a family in -whose house she lived after her brother had been called home by the -government. She rolled up her sketches, put them in a tin box, and -repaired<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</span> to Leghorn. When about to pay her passage, the draft she -presented was refused. She sat weeping over the disappointment, with -letters before her from friends in Rome and Germany, imploring her -to abandon this suicidal plan of emigration; representing strongly -the dangers of the journey, the hardships she would encounter in a -foreign land, without money and without friends. She came down to -supper. A traveler just arrived, observing her eyes red with weeping, -was led to show an interest in her; she related her troubles, upon -which the stranger examined the draft, and, finding it good, gave her -the cash for it. This gentleman was an Italian, and she continued in -correspondence with him. The next day she was on board a vessel bound -for this country.</p> - -<p>She arrived in February, 1849. The only letter of introduction she -brought was to Mr. Hagedorn, of Philadelphia, in whom she subsequently -found a friend and protector. She landed in New York, and at once -began to paint. Her first pictures, representations of Italian life, -exhibited in the Art Union, were much admired, and some of them were -purchased by that institution. She found no difficulty in making -friends.</p> - -<p>Five months after her arrival she married Mr. Dassel. After her -marriage she led a happy life, with cares and sorrows incidental to the -care of a family, and to an arduous profession. She triumphed over all, -however, and realized all the comforts which belong to success.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Dassel was most successful in portraits in oil of children -and pastel-portraits. Her painting of “Effie Deans” attracted much -attention. Her latest works are copies of Steinbruck’s “Fairies” -and the “Othello” in the Düsseldorf Gallery, which are unusually<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</span> -successful works of this class. She made steady progress in her art, -and would have doubtless attained a prominent position had she lived to -develop her powers by practice and study.</p> - -<p>We should not be doing justice to this noble woman not to allude to the -social virtues which endeared her to so many friends. With nothing to -rely upon but her own exertions, with serious illness in her family, -she was never so poor in time or money as not to interest herself in -behalf of others more unfortunate than herself. Countless instances -are known of her serviceable kind-heartedness. She exerted herself at -the time of the dreadful shipwreck of the Helena Sloman, and obtained -by personal efforts, in a few days, the sum of seven hundred dollars; -and her ministrations among the poor were constant during the severe -winter of 1853. She has, it is true, many peers in similar acts of -benevolence, but few who practiced deeds of this kind in a position so -little calculated to develop them.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Dassel died on the 7th December, 1857, and was buried in Greenwood.</p> - -<p>Jane Stuart was the youngest child of Gilbert Stuart, the eminent -portrait-painter. Like many of her sisters in art, she inherited the -genius she discovered in early life; but it was not till after her -father’s death that the talent she had shown found development in the -practice of art. She has resided for a long time at Newport, Rhode -Island, in the enjoyment of the celebrity her talents have acquired.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Hildreth of Boston deserves mention, especially for her portraits -of children in crayon. Miss May painted landscapes in Allston’s style. -Mrs. Orvis has been mentioned as a flower-painter of remarkable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</span> skill. -Hoyt remarked that he knew nothing better in coloring than her autumn -leaves and wild flowers. In this style, Mrs. Badger, of New York, has -acquired reputation by her book of “The Wild Flowers of America,” -published in 1859. The drawings were all made and colored from nature -by herself.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Hawthorne of Boston has painted many beautiful pieces. An -“Edymion,” which was greatly admired, she presented to Mr. Emerson. -She also modeled the head of Laura Bridgman. Mrs. Hill is a -highly-successful miniature-painter.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Greatorex is a landscape-painter of merit, and is rapidly -acquiring distinction. She has a deep love of wild mountain and lake -scenery, dark woods, and rushing waters; and her productions are marked -by the vigor of tone and dashing, impetuous freedom of touch especially -adapted to that kind of subjects. This felicitous boldness she has in a -remarkable degree, and her works are marked by truthfulness as well as -strength. She has painted many pieces of romantic scenery in Scotland -and Ireland. Her amiable character, her ready sympathy and benevolence, -have interested many friends in her success.</p> - -<p>Mrs. George Woodman, the eldest daughter of Mr. Durand, has painted -some excellent landscapes; also Mrs. Ruggles. Miss Gove’s crayon heads -have been much noticed and admired. Miss Caroline May’s landscapes have -proved her claim to the double wreath of artist and authoress. Miss -Granbury’s flowers have attracted attention in the Academy exhibitions. -Some pretty interior scenes were in the exhibition of 1859, painted by -Miss Juliana Oakley. It is necessary to omit many names of artists who -have not yet had experience enough to constrain public acknowledgment -of the genius they possess.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.<br><span class="small">THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Lily Spencer.</span>—Early Display of Talent.—Removal to -New York.—To Ohio.—Out-door Life.—Chase of a Deer.—Encounter -with the Hog.—Lifting a Log.—Sketch on her bedroom -Walls.—Encouragement.—Curiosity to see her Pictures.—Her -Studies.—Removal to Cincinnati.—Jealousy of Artists.—Lord -Morpeth.—Lily’s Marriage.—Return to New York.—Studies.—Her -Paintings.—Kitchen Scenes.—Success and Fame.—Her Home and -Studio.—Louisa Lander.—Inheritance of Talent.—Passion for -Art.—Development of Taste for Sculpture.—Abode in Rome.—Crawford’s -Pupil.—Her Productions.—“Virginia Dare.”—Other Sculptures.—Late -Works.—Mary Weston.—Childish Love of Beauty and Art.—Devices -to supply the Want of Facilities.—Studies.—Departure from -Home.—Is taken back.—Perseverance amid Difficulties.—Journey -to New York.—Sees an Artist work.—Finds Friends.—Visit to -Hartford.—Return to New York for Lessons.—Marriage.—Her -Paintings.—Miss Freeman.—Variously gifted.—Miss Dupré.—The Misses -Withers.—Mrs. Cheves.—Mrs. Hanna.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>LILY M. SPENCER.</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Spencer’s high position among American artists is universally -recognized in the profession. In her peculiar style, her executive -talent is probably unsurpassed in the country. She has encountered many -difficulties in her path to success, and a glance at her history will -not be without encouragement to those who possess a portion of her -energy and perseverance.</p> - -<p>Her parents, whose name is Martin, were born in France, but removed -to England soon after their marriage. They were persons of education, -refinement, and good social standing. Mr. Martin taught French<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</span> in -academies in Plymouth and Exeter, and gave lectures at his own house on -scientific subjects, especially optics and chemistry. Mrs. Martin at -one time gave instruction in a ladies’ seminary in London. Lily owed -all her proficiency to her parents’ judicious training, and never went -to a school. Her talent for drawing began early to exhibit itself. -One day, when she was about five years old, she got at some diagrams -her father had prepared for a lecture on optics, and drew an eye so -correctly that her turn for art was at once perceived.</p> - -<p>She was the eldest of four children, and was not six years of age when -her parents removed to New York, where Mr. Martin was induced, by Dr. -Hosack and others, to open an academy. Mr. John Van Buren was one of -his pupils. Lily’s drawings were much coveted by the little scholars, -who begged them from her, and gave in return the most flattering -expressions of admiration.</p> - -<p>When between eight and nine, she was taken to the old Academy of -Design. There she selected the “Ecce Homo,” as a special subject for -imitation. The girl-pupils laughed at her taste, and Lily, abashed, -burst into tears. Mr. Dunlap, then a teacher, came and asked what was -the matter. When informed, he reproved the girls, and predicted that -the young stranger would be remembered when they were all forgotten.</p> - -<p>Her power of copying whatever pleased her childish fancy increased, -though she did not then appreciate the necessity of a patient study -of the elementary principles of art. Her health was at this time so -delicate that her parents feared she would not live to reach maturity. -The desire to afford her the advantage of country air and exercise, -with the want of very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</span> attractive prospects for their enterprise in New -York, determined them to go to the West. They purchased a farm in Ohio, -a few miles from Marietta, where they soon had a picturesque Swiss -cottage, with a beautiful garden, and a mineral closet filled with the -presents of Mr. Martin’s former pupils.</p> - -<p>Lily was enchanted with the change from a city life, and with the -liberty she enjoyed of roaming at will through woods and fields, for, -her health being the paramount object, no restraint was placed on the -child. Her time was passed in working in her garden, playing and racing -with other children, hunting for insects, shells, and minerals, often -wet up to the waist in the search, while her drawing was forgotten. -Thus constantly, like Rosa Bonheur, in the open air, she rapidly -regained strength and health. One day, when about thirteen years old, -she was walking in the woods with her father. A deer, frightened from -his covert, dashed by them to leap a fence. Lily wanted a pet, and -instantly ran after the animal. As he sprang over the fence she caught -his hind legs and clung to them, while her father’s dog throttled the -captive. Some men came up directly, and, seeing the girl with her face -covered with blood, killed the deer, notwithstanding her entreaties -that he might be spared.</p> - -<p>On another occasion they were killing hogs at Mr. Martin’s place. A -powerful young porker fled foaming and champing from the slayers of his -brethren, and got over a fence into the orchard. Lily ran to stop his -flight, and the desperate animal made at her. She tried to get a stick -to defend herself, but her feet slipped on the apples that strewed -the ground, and she fell, in the very gripe of the hog. The maddened -creature might have injured her fatally, but her faithful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</span> dog sprang -upon him, and diverted his rage to another enemy. Lily saw his teeth -buried in the poor dog’s shoulder, and, resolved not to abandon her -deliverer, struck the hog a violent blow and ran; the foe, still held -by the dog, in swift pursuit. She was overtaken close to a drain, into -which the three combatants tumbled together. At this juncture the men -came running to the spot with three or four dogs, and rescued both her -and her preserver, that to the last would not relinquish his hold of -the porker. Lily’s first care was to pull into place the poor dog’s -dislocated shoulder.</p> - -<p>An illustration of her impulsive nature, and readiness to give -assistance where it was needed, is an incident that occurred a few -months later. Six or seven men were burning logs in a field. She saw -them from the house making signals that they wanted one more hand to -lift a log. Seizing a crowbar, the young girl ran to the spot, placed -it under the log, and helped to raise it to the burning pile.</p> - -<p>Her love of sketching soon began to revive. In her fourteenth year she -took a fancy to see the effect of a new style of costume which she -thought would be very becoming to herself. She drew a lady’s figure, -thus attired, with black crayons and coarse chalk, on the wall of her -bedroom. Pleased with her creation, it occurred to her that the lady -ought to be attended by admiring beaux, and she added the figures of -two gentlemen. The group was delineated one day when the other members -of her family were absent, and, fearing that her mother would be -displeased at her for daubing the walls, she hung her dresses over the -sketch, so as to screen it from observation.</p> - -<p>The next day her young brothers were playing ball<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</span> in her room, and -chanced to discover the group on the wall. Full of boyish mischief, -they decided that the richly-dressed lady would make a fine target, -and, in spite of their sister’s remonstrances, they commenced throwing -their balls at her. Lily, in great distress at the menaced destruction -of her work, complained to her mother; and instead of being reprimanded -for defacing the wall, was told to go on with her sketch, while the -boys were reproved, and forbidden to enter her room. Encouraged by the -praise she received, Lily worked on diligently. She drew a colonnade -behind her figures, then added other groups, representing persons -enjoying themselves at a place of fashionable amusement. The background -was a landscape of hill and valley, rock and sea. This picture being -much admired, she went on covering the walls of her room from floor -to ceiling with the creations of her romantic imagination. Columns -and statues, fountains and grottoes, appeared in her scenes of luxury -and magnificence; and her landscapes were as charming as the forms -with which she enlivened them. In every panel was a distinct picture. -All her leisure hours, after milking the cows and hoeing the corn, -were devoted to this amusement. It was true of her, as Halleck says -it was doubtful of his Wyoming maiden, that she worked in the field -“with Shakspeare’s volume in her bosom borne;” with Sismondi also, and -volumes of history from her father’s splendid library.</p> - -<p>The farmers in the neighborhood, and the ladies and gentlemen of -Marietta, came to see the curious sketches, both on the walls and on -canvas, of which they had heard. Saturday afternoons were appointed -for the reception of visitors. The fame of Lily’s talents began to -spread rapidly, and she was mentioned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</span> with praise in several newspaper -notices. At her father’s persuasion she tried to study perspective and -anatomy, but it was more agreeable to her impetuous nature to sketch -from her own glowing fancy, than to pore over the dry bones and plates -of different parts of the human frame. In coloring, also, she would -trust to her intuitive perceptions rather than to a regular course of -study. Her father procured her muslin for her experiments, and, after -covering many yards, she became fully aware of her own deficiencies, -which she resolved to conquer. Her unwillingness to be taught arose -from the self-reliance of an independent character, and not from an -inflated idea of her own acquirements.</p> - -<p>Her parents became more and more solicitous to give her all the -advantages they could procure; and a letter from a wealthy gentleman -of Cincinnati, describing the opportunities that would be offered for -studying in that city, determined them to leave the farm and remove -thither.</p> - -<p>Miss Martin’s pictures were exhibited in Cincinnati, and attracted the -attention of connoisseurs. They were large, as her figures of life -size best enlisted her own sympathies. Her battle with the world now -commenced in earnest. The jealousy of rival artists was awakened by the -certainty that a rising genius had come among them. Flippant critics -pleased others and their own vanity by decrying her productions. But -she continued to paint, and sometimes had good fortune in disposing -of her pictures, practicing her art with undiminished industry and -enthusiasm, even while discouraged by the want of patronage.</p> - -<p>On one occasion she was in company with Lord Morpeth. Addressing him as -“Mr. Morpeth,” she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</span> was reminded apart by her father that she ought to -say “my lord.” “No, indeed,” replied the young lady; “I never saw a man -I would call ‘my lord’ yet.”</p> - -<p>Miss Martin was married in Cincinnati to Mr. Spencer. When surrounded -by the cares of a young family she continued to paint, but her style -changed. At first her pictures had been poetical and semi-allegorical. -She liked to embody some suggestive idea, or a whole history, in a -group, as in several of her scenes from Shakspeare. Her “Water Sprite,” -representing the escape of Spring from Winter, is of this class. After -she became a mother, her taste was more for bits of domestic life, -and she found matter-of-fact pictures more salable than her cherished -ideals.</p> - -<p>After living some seven years in Cincinnati, Mrs. Spencer returned with -her family to New York, stopping a year in Columbus, Ohio, where she -painted portraits and fancy-pieces. In New York she visited the Academy -for the purpose of improving herself by drawing after the antique, -often going in the evening, as her labors and cares absorbed her during -the day, and sitting among the male art-students. One, who noticed the -quiet, modest-looking girl at work, undertook to point out the best -models, but soon discovered he was trying to teach his superior. She -was made a member of the Academy. Her “May Queen” and “Choose Between” -were much praised in the Art Union Exhibition. “The Jolly Washerwoman,” -sold by that institution, became celebrated. It was painted impromptu -from a scene in the artist’s own kitchen. A connoisseur was so much -pleased with one of her pictures that he insisted on paying more than -was asked for it.</p> - -<p>“The Flower Girl” and “Domestic Felicity,” exhibited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</span> in Philadelphia, -elicited general admiration, and proved Mrs. Spencer’s possession of -the highest order of talent. A connoisseur remarked that the latter -picture excelled any other production that had appeared in the gallery -since its first opening. Its vigor and freshness were as remarkable as -its rich and harmonious coloring, while the drawing and composition -were pronounced admirable. It represented a mother and father bending -over their sleeping children, and several artists observed that they -knew of no one who could surpass the painting of the mother’s hand. -The managers of the Art Union in Philadelphia were so delighted with -this picture that a few of their number privately subscribed to -purchase it, the rules not allowing directors to expend the funds -except for paintings selected by the prizeholders. It was afterward -sold to an association in the West. The Western Art Union purchased -several of Mrs. Spencer’s works, and had one engraved for their annual -presentation plate.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Spencer found her kitchen scenes so popular that she adopted -that comic, familiar style in many of her paintings. “Shake Hands?” -represents a girl making pastry, and holding out her floured hand with -a humorous smile. This manner the artist has been obliged to adhere -to on account of the ready sale of such pictures, while the subjects -that better pleased her own taste have been neglected. Yet she has -contrived to introduce a moral into every one of her comic pieces. -“The Contrast” embodies a touching story. It is in two pictures: one -showing a pampered, petulant little dog, barking at some intruder from -his velvet cushion surrounded by silken draperies; the other, a meagre, -skin-and-bone animal, creeping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</span> through the pitiless snow-storm in -search of food for its young ones. Mrs. Spencer excels in her pictures -of different animals.</p> - -<p>Some time ago Mrs. Spencer made a series of original designs—twenty -or thirty—illustrative of scenes in the volumes of “The Women of the -American Revolution.” All these have not yet been published. Perhaps -more of her paintings have been engraved than of any American artist. -All are of her own composition, and most of them are domestic scenes. -One called “Pattycake” shows a young mother, with her baby on her lap, -teaching it to clap its hands; another, “Both at Play,” represents a -father teasing his little girl by holding an air-balloon just out of -her reach. These are done in the highly-finished German style adopted -by Mrs. Spencer. She usually takes her own children for models.</p> - -<p>“The Captive” exhibits a slave in market, her master lifting the veil -that concealed her charms. Its touching expression is admirable. -“Reading the Legend” shows a lovely lady listening to a reading within -view of a noble castle; but we do not like the taste of either the -costume or the attitude of the reader.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Spencer encountered serious difficulties in New York before she -acquired the fame she now enjoys. In 1858 she purchased a lovely place -in a retired part of Newark, New Jersey, where she now resides with -her happy family. Her studio is at the foot of her garden, a large -building, with its walls covered by sketches, casts, etc., where the -artist labors assiduously. Visitors from distant cities come here to -see her paintings, and she usually has several in progress at the -same time. “The Gossips,” a large painting <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">de genre</i>, with ten -figures of women and children, has attracted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</span> much attention. The scene -represents the yard of a tenement-building, where women are engaged -in washing, preserving fruit, cooking, and other sorts of work. They -have gathered into a group to listen to some tale of scandal from a -stranger, with a basket of bread; and the children are getting into -mischief the while. A little boy has fallen into the bluing-tub of -clothes, while a younger girl is laughing violently at his mishap; a -dog has laid hold of the meat a boy has forgotten to look after, and a -cat in the window is skimming the pan of milk. The peaches in a basket -in the foreground look as if they might be picked out and eaten, so -rich and fresh is the coloring. The effect of light on one of the -female figures is exquisitely beautiful. The whole picture is highly -finished, and its merits are enough to make a reputation for any artist.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Spencer’s pictures may be seen in many of the shops where works of -art are for sale, and the prints engraved from them are very numerous. -She has now a prospect of independence and success before her, and may -achieve triumphs greater than any she has yet accomplished.</p> - - -<h3>LOUISA LANDER.</h3> - -<p>This young lady is a native of Salem, Massachusetts, and descended from -some of the oldest and most respected families of that good old town. -She is a daughter of Edward Lander and Eliza West, whose father was -claimed as a relative, while on a visit to London, by Sir Benjamin West.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Lander’s maternal grandfather, Elias Haskel Derby, sent the first -American ship to India, giving the first impetus to our commerce with -that country.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</span> His were the first American vessels seen at the Cape of -Good Hope and the Isle of France. Captain Richard Derby, his father, -was noted in the Revolutionary struggle. He bought and presented to -the town of Salem the cannon which Colonel Leslie attempted to seize. -When he demanded the arms, at the head of his regiment, Captain -Derby’s reply was, “Find them, and take them if you can; they will -never be surrendered!” and his courage preserved the treasure. He was -instrumental, too, in inciting his fellow-townsmen to the exploit of -raising the drawbridge and sinking the boats—the first repulse of the -British in the commencement of hostilities.</p> - -<p>Colonel F. W. Lander, the Pacific Railroad explorer, is the brother -of the subject of our sketch. In various branches of her family has -artistic talent shown itself. Her grandmother and her mother were -remarkable for their fondness for art, and gave evidence thereof -in works of their own. In the old family mansion, where Louisa’s -childhood was spent, are carvings upon the walls and over the lofty -doors, designed by her grandmother, and executed under her directions. -Similar designs, evincing both taste and skill, decorated the mahogany -furniture; and the canopies and coverings of the furniture were -embroidered by the lady, according to the fashion of the day, her own -fancy supplying the beautiful designs. It can hardly be said when -commenced the artist-life of the young girl brought up under such -influences. She was, as a child, singularly grave and thoughtful; -serious and reserved at all times, and decided in her judgment, which -was always according to the dictates of sound sense. A love of art, -which might be called an ardent passion, possessed her nature from her -earliest years.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</span> On one occasion—the first time she had an opportunity -of seeing a work of real merit—she stood quiet and absorbed in -admiration. Her sister, who had been pointing out the peculiar touches -of skill, turned to ask her opinion, and saw her face bathed in tears. -This was a surprising demonstration for a child who had been scarcely -ever known to exhibit emotion, and whose self-control was so uncommon -that her manner usually appeared cold. It seems as if art alone could -arouse the full ardor and energy of her spirit.</p> - -<p>When a very little child, at different times, she modeled two heads -for broken dolls. One was made of light sealing-wax, and the modeling -of both was so wonderfully accurate that her mother would not allow -the child to play with them, but kept them as curiosities. On another -occasion Louisa brought one of her drawings from school, so admirably -executed, especially in the face, that her relatives thought the touch -a happy accident, and were inclined to disbelieve her assertions that -she had meant to produce the very effect given to her picture.</p> - -<p>After her talent for sculpture had been fairly developed, she resolved -on the devotion of her life to that branch of art. Her intense -perception and enjoyment of the beautiful, awakened a thirst within her -which could only be slaked at the fountain-head; and, driven forth, as -it were, by this longing, she left her happy home in Salem—her circle -of beloved relatives and congenial friends—to go among untried scenes, -fixing her abode in Rome. There she speedily acquired a reputation -which drew around her friends interested in the progress and triumph of -genius. She was a pupil of the lamented Crawford—the only one he ever -consented to admit into his studio, for he had discerned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</span> in her early -efforts the promise of future eminence. She evinced, from the first, a -remarkable power in portraits, catching the most delicate and subtle -shades of likeness. One of her productions is a bust of Governor Gore, -executed from two oil portraits; a difficult piece of work, as the -portraits were not alike, having been taken at different periods of his -life. The bust was pronounced an excellent likeness by Chief Justice -Shaw and others who remember the governor. Miss Lander finished it in -marble for the Harvard Library. It is to be placed in Gore Hall, in -Cambridge.</p> - -<p>This talent for likenesses is observable in the first efforts of Miss -Lander. When very young, before she had attempted modeling, she carved -from an old alabaster clock, with a penknife, several heads and faces -in bas-relief. These were noticed by a friend, who gave her a bit of -shell and some gravers, and at once, without the least instruction, she -carved a head in cameo. Likenesses of her mother and other friends were -made, and pronounced very striking. Her first modeling was a bas-relief -portrait of her father; it was followed by a bust of her brother, the -late chief-justice of Washington Territory.</p> - -<p>Her work “To-day,” was seen in ambrotype, on her arrival in Rome, by -Crawford, and his admiration of it perhaps induced him to receive her -as his pupil. The figure is an emblem of our youthful country. The -head is crowned with a chaplet of morning glories; the drapery is the -American flag, fastened at the breast and the shoulder with the stars. -Its look forward typifies progress in so spirited a manner that, at -first sight, one might be startled by the apparent movement of life. A -flower falling from the hair on the neck behind, adds to this effect of -motion. Power and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</span> spirit are prominent characteristics of the work. -This, with her “Galatea,” a figure full of grace and tenderness, was -modeled before Miss Lander went to Italy. She had also finished a fine -bust of her father, a perfect likeness, and exquisitely chiseled in -marble.</p> - -<p>After Miss Lander went to Rome, she executed many portrait busts, among -them a fine one of Hawthorne, and a bas-relief of Mountford. A letter -from Rome described, as seen in her studio, “A charming statuette -of Virginia Dare,” about three feet in height. This child was the -granddaughter of John White, governor of the Colony of Virginia at the -period of one of the early disastrous expeditions of Sir Walter Raleigh.</p> - -<p>“About the month of August, in 1587, Mrs. Dare, daughter of the -governor, was delivered of a daughter in Roanoke, who was baptized the -next Lord’s-day by the name of Virginia, being the first English child -born in the country. Before the close of August, the governor, at the -earnest solicitation of the whole colony, sailed for England to procure -supplies. An unfortunate turn of affairs at home prevented another -expedition from reaching Virginia until 1590, when, upon arrival, it -was found that the houses of the former settlers were demolished, -though still surrounded by a palisade, and a great part of the stores -was discovered buried in the ground; but no trace was ever found of -the unfortunate colony. Bancroft says that, when the governor sailed -for England, he left the infant and her mother as hostages, and it is -presumed that they were carried into captivity by the Indians, as, -after this, European features could be traced in the Indian lineaments.</p> - -<p>“Miss Lander represents her Virginia as brought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</span> up an Indian princess, -displaying in her erect attitude and beautiful form the fearless -dignity and grace that such a life would impart. The head and face -are very fine, exhibiting the thoughtfulness and spirituality that -would naturally be derived from the dreamy recollections of her early -life. The figure is semi-nude; the drapery, a light fishing-net, is -charmingly conceived and executed, being worn like an Indian blanket; -and the ornaments are wampum beads. This design, possessing the charm -of novelty and historic interest, shows that we have in our own country -rich subjects of sculpture, without resorting to the old heathen -mythology.”</p> - -<p>Miss Lander afterward made a life-size statue of Virginia in marble. -Her reclining statue of “Evangeline” forms a fine contrast to this; -“the one full of force and energy, all life and motion; the other so -still and tranquil in her sweet, profound slumber. She is represented -at the moment when, worn out with her wanderings, she sleeps under the -cedar-tree by the river-side,</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“‘For this poor soul had wandered,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bleeding and barefooted, over the shards and thorns of existence.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Her deep repose is not so much slumbering as like one in a trance. In -the marble this is shown exactly by her attitude, as though she had -dropped from utter weariness; her drapery hangs heavily about her, -and still more heavily falls her hand; the whole figure is expressive -of deep rest—almost painful it would be but for the beautiful face, -lighted up by ‘the thought in her heart’ that her lover is near, and -that</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“‘Through those shadowy aisles Gabriel had wandered before her,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Every stroke of the oar now brings him nearer and nearer</span><br> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">(Now she slept beneath the cedar-tree).</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such was the vision Evangeline saw as she slumber’d beneath it;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fill’d was her heart with love, and the dawn of an opening heaven</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lighted her soul in sleep with the glory of regions celestial.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Very beautiful she is; and, as I gazed upon her, I seemed to hear -the dash of Gabriel’s oar, as he glided along behind ‘a screen of -palmettos,’ unseeing and unseen, and was ready to exclaim,</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“‘Angel of God, is there none to awaken the maiden?’”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Another work by Miss Lander is “Elizabeth, the Exile of Siberia,” -a spirited yet feminine figure, “very pretty in its picturesque -costume—the short cloak, Russian boots, and closely-fitting cap.”</p> - -<p>This gifted young artist has finished a statuette of “Undine.” It is a -drooping figure, with expression full of sadness, just rising from the -fountain to visit earth for the last time. The base of the fountain is -surrounded by shells forming water-jets; Undine is in the central one, -and the drapery falls from her hand into water as it drops. She has -also finished a “Ceres Mourning for Proserpine.” The goddess is leaning -upon a sheaf of wheat; her hands and head are drooping, as if she were -planning her daughter’s escape. “A Sylph,” just alighted—an airy, -floating figure, her puzzled attention fixed on a butterfly—is another -of Miss Lander’s creations.</p> - - -<h3>MARY WESTON.</h3> - -<p>The history of this lady illustrates the development, amid unfavorable -circumstances, of that self-reliant energy which often forms a -marked characteristic of the natives of New England. The spirit of -independence, when joined, as in her case, to feminine gentleness and -grace, is ennobling to any woman, and its working is both interesting -and instructive.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</span></p> - -<p>Mary Pillsbury was born in Hebron, New Hampshire. Her father was a -Baptist clergyman, holding the strictest tenets of Calvinism. In -her humble home among the mountains, though surrounded by nature’s -wild beauty, the child found nothing to suggest to her an idea of -what art could accomplish. Nevertheless, she saw objects with an -artistic perception, and loved especially to study faces. When taken -to church, she would sit gazing at those around her, and wishing -that in some way—of which as yet she had no conception—she could -copy their features. One day, when between seven and eight, she -noticed a beautiful woman, and, returning home, went quietly to -her father’s study—creeping in, as it was locked, through two -panes of a window, to which she climbed by a chair on the bed—in -search of a slate and pencil. With this she began to make a sketch -of the face that had charmed her. She made the oval outline, but -could not give the expression about the mouth and eyes. With a keen -sense of disappointment she relinquished the hopeless task. But the -artist-passion was awakened within her.</p> - -<p>She loved to read books relating to artists better than any thing else, -though fond of study in general, and her partiality for sketching -was indulged whenever she had opportunity. Having observed the work -of a profile-cutter who chanced to come into the neighborhood, she -persevered in attempts at portraits, and practiced cutting them out of -leaves and paper. She had a beautiful young sister, and often prevailed -on her to sit, improving day by day in her untutored efforts, till at -last she was able, by the eye, to take a correct likeness.</p> - -<p>Her next achievement was copying the figures and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</span> decorations of Indian -chiefs, who not unfrequently came into the little village. A servant -girl, fifteen years old, who was employed in her father’s family, knew -how to sketch houses, and this knowledge was willingly imparted to -little Mary. Her pictures, though rude in design and execution, were in -great demand among her schoolfellows; but Mrs. Pillsbury thought the -study of painting would interfere with more important branches, and -that a thorough English education should first be acquired. The young -girl, however, could not be prevented from watching the drawing-lessons -of other scholars. She would practice at home; and so earnest was her -application that it was not long before she produced a drawing agreed -on all sides to be superior to the exercises of the regular pupils.</p> - -<p>For the colors of her flowers Mary used beet-juice, extract of bean -leaves prepared by herself, etc., till the welcome present of a box of -paints made her independent of such contrivances. The romantic scenery -surrounding her home had now a new charm. Day after day she would -wander about the fields and woods, sketching, and indulging in visions -of an artistic life. When twelve years old, one day she accompanied her -parents to Sutton, in New Hampshire. A protracted meeting was held, -and her father was to preach. Paying little attention to the doctrines -promulgated, as formerly Mary occupied herself in scanning new faces in -the rural assemblage. Near the place of meeting was the colossal figure -of the Goddess of Liberty, richly arrayed, and painted in colors by a -Free-will Baptist preacher. She obtained a seat close to the window -during one of the services, and carefully studied what appeared to her -a perfect triumph<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</span> of art. After she went home she produced a clever -sketch of it. From this time goddesses of liberty multiplied in her -hands, and became famous in the school and neighborhood. One of them -was actually put into a magazine. So creditable were they considered, -that a rather unscrupulous young girl of her acquaintance presented one -to her lover as her own work; and when he challenged her to produce -another, she came to persuade Mary to make it for her.</p> - -<p>Caring little for the sports and pleasures of her age, it was Mary’s -habit to shut herself up in her father’s study, and, seated upon the -shelves, to read over and over again the biographies of great men -and distinguished women. She kept in advance of all the school-girls -meanwhile, and improved in her drawing during the hours stolen from -her spinning-tasks and the duties involved in taking care of the other -children. She entered now on the reading of the standard and classical -works contained in her father’s library, and a new world seemed opening -before her. Ambitious longings and dreams broke on the monotony of her -lonely life. She resolved to become an artist like those persons of -whom she had read, and compel appreciation from the world. But the mode -of accomplishing her wishes perplexed her. She saw that it would be -necessary to leave home and try her fortune among strangers; but she -loved to picture the day when she would return, laden with honors and -a rich reward for her labors—when her family would be proud of her -success.</p> - -<p>When about fourteen, she determined to take the first step toward the -goal she panted to reach. Secretly she quitted her home, taking with -her only a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</span> change of dress, and set out to walk through the forest -to Hopkinton, on the way to Concord, where she intended to take up -her abode temporarily, to earn a little money by her labor, and then -establish herself as an artist. She walked thirty miles that day, and -very late at night came to a small house in the country, at which she -stopped, requesting permission to warm and rest herself. The simple -people appeared surprised to see so young a girl traveling alone and -so far from home. They inquired into the particulars of her story with -curious interest, and earnestly pressed her to stay all night. She -consented, and supper was prepared for her, after which she went to -sleep, wearied with the day’s fatiguing journey.</p> - -<p>On waking the next morning a strangely familiar voice struck her ear. -She dressed hastily, and went down into the parlor, where she found -her uncle, who had come that far in search of her. Both wept at the -unexpected meeting; but when she had recovered from her confusion, Mary -begged to be permitted to go on to Concord. This was decidedly refused, -and, reluctant and mortified at the failure of her romantic enterprise, -she was obliged to consent to be taken home.</p> - -<p>She was received with tears and embraces by her family, and no word of -reproach, nor even a distant allusion to her disobedience, followed -her attempt to escape from the restraint of parental authority. The -family seemed to be sensible that she had been hardly dealt with; for -the dreams of youthful hope have significance, and nature’s bent should -not be too rudely thwarted. From this time more indulgence was shown to -her frequent neglect of work in which she felt no pleasure, and to her -devotion to books. She engaged in her studies more ardently than ever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Pillsbury was not rich, and his daughter had the prospect of -being ultimately obliged to depend on her earnings for a subsistence. -It was her desire to enter as soon as possible on the life whose -hardships she expected to encounter and overcome. She wished to go -beyond the mountains, into the beautiful world on the other side. To -her imagination the soft and roseate tints reposing on those far-off -summits were emblematic of the delights in store for her. But her -parents opposed her wishes, and urged her to remain with them, for some -years at least.</p> - -<p>She was about nineteen when, on a visit to Lynn, she saw a portrait -painted by a lady, which seized her attention amid a collection of -indifferent pictures. The longing to be a painter again possessed her -so strongly that she felt it an irresistible passion. Her first plan -was to accompany the lady to Washington and take lessons, but this -scheme was abandoned. About a year after this she went to Boston. -Passing a shop window, she saw a fine painting, that once more -enkindled the flame of artist ambition in her soul. Her determination -was formed. With the sanguine hopes of youth, she fancied that a year’s -preparation would enable her to paint professionally. She accordingly -devoted herself to the practice of her art with that view. Her friends -ridiculed the idea of her becoming an artist for a livelihood, and -predicted the failure of her scheme without powerful patronage.</p> - -<p>But this kind of opposition no longer discouraged her, though she was -much hampered by the want of time. The winter was rapidly approaching, -and she felt that it should not pass without some advance in her -beloved studies. She now resolved to go to some place southward where -she could see an artist work,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</span> and to paint cheap pictures for her own -support, living plainly in the country till her lessons were completed. -It seemed that she must either do this or die.</p> - -<p>Without consulting any one, with only twelve dollars in her possession, -she left Boston in the early morning train, leaving her trunk behind, -and taking only a basket with a few changes of clothes. The undertaking -was not without prayers for a blessing from the Providence who watches -over all human affairs. Her father needed all the aid she could give -him; he had suffered much, and sickness in his family had crippled his -narrow resources. The thought of all this, and what she might do were -she permitted to work out her own ideas, had tortured Mary and rendered -her desperate. In the ardor of her determination now, obstacles seemed -nothing; she was resolved to succeed.</p> - -<p>An old man who occupied a seat opposite her in the car noticed her, -and asked many questions. When they stopped at Providence, his evident -curiosity annoyed and alarmed her so much that she ran with all her -speed to the boat bound for New York. On the way she talked with the -stewardess, and asked if she knew any respectable house in the city -where she could obtain board. The stewardess was ignorant of New York, -but inquired of the clerk, and he directed Miss Pillsbury to the house -of Professor Gouraud, a then famous dancing-master.</p> - -<p>On repairing to this place she learned that the professor did not -receive boarders, but was recommended to look for a house in Canal -Street. Here it occurred to her to go to a milliner’s shop; she knew -there must be many girls there, respectable, though poor, and thought -that she might hear of a lodging through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</span> some of them. She received a -direction to the house of an old lady, whither she went. On being asked -for references, she frankly owned that she had none, and, as the best -explanation she could offer, related her story. The landlady had heard -through a pious friend in Boston—Mrs. Colby, a lady well known for -benevolence—of the strange girl who wanted to be a painter, and she -willingly received the wanderer.</p> - -<p>The next day Miss Pillsbury found out that an artist lived in the -neighborhood, and went to him to see how oil-colors were used. She was -allowed to watch him while painting a portrait. Afterward she went to -Dechaux, who then kept a small store for colors; and, provided with the -implements of art, she went to work in earnest. The little grandson of -her landlady was her first subject, and she painted a good likeness of -him, which was taken in part payment for board. Even the artist was -surprised at her success, and prophesied that she would do well after a -year’s study.</p> - -<p>After she had been a week in New York, her hostess advised Mary to -go to Hartford, Connecticut, and gave her a letter to the Rev. Henry -Jackson of that place. She went there, and was kindly received. While -there, she painted a little boy, and produced an astonishing likeness. -She had to prepare her own canvas, and grind her paints on a plate with -a case-knife. In about a week after her arrival in Hartford, Squire -Rider and his wife, of Willington, came on a visit to Mr. Jackson. They -were so much pleased with the pictures Mary had produced, that they -invited her to return home with them and paint the members of their -family at five dollars a head. She was to prepare the canvas, while -they would find paints.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Colby, in the mean time, had written to Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</span> Jackson, requesting -him to advance money on her account to Miss Pillsbury, should it be -necessary; but Mary had no need of more than she could earn. She -wrote to Boston for her trunk, and received it. Her parents, by this -time, had learned her whereabouts, and no longer opposed her wish for -independence.</p> - -<p>She made portraits of all the Riders, and of thirty other persons in -Willington. Among her sitters were members of the family of Jonathan -Weston, Esq. Several persons raised a sum by subscription to pay for -the portrait of Miranda Vinton, the Burmese missionary. Miss Pillsbury -had many offers of a home, and invitations to spend her time in -different families, but she preferred living entirely for her art.</p> - -<p>Returning to Hartford, she painted a few more portraits. Mr. Weston’s -daughter became her particular friend, and Mary was always warmly -welcomed by her in her father’s house.</p> - -<p>The young lady’s uncle, Mr. Weston, of New York, came to pay his -brother a visit, and took a great interest in Mary’s paintings. He -urged her to come to New York, and improve herself by lessons and -study. After his departure, she became once more possessed by an -intense desire to revisit the city, and find some method of making more -rapid progress. She received a letter from the gentleman’s daughter, -inviting her to come at once to New York, where she could profit by the -instruction of experienced artists. The prospect was an alluring one, -but Miss Pillsbury felt that she could not afford to give herself the -luxury of such lessons. She said this in her reply to the letter of -invitation.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterward another letter came from Miss Weston, urging her -coming more earnestly. Her father,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</span> she said, would procure her a -teacher, and would make arrangements for the winter. She was pressed to -make her home at his house; and, should she not be successful in her -undertaking, he pledged himself to see her safely back to her friends.</p> - -<p>This tempting offer was accepted. During the winter Miss Pillsbury -devoted herself to copying paintings. Ere long she must have made the -discovery that another feeling, besides the wish to foster genius, had -led Mr. Weston to be so anxious for her presence. Suffice it to say -that in three months she became his wife, with the understanding that -she was to pursue the profession she had chosen without restraint.</p> - -<p>For a few years Mrs. Weston exercised her skill in painting under -circumstances tending to distract her attention. She became the mother -of two children, and the care of them occupied most of her time. -Several of her copies have great merit. Her large picture of the “Angel -Gabriel and Infant Saviour,” from Murillo, is in the possession of Mr. -Henry Stebbins, who married the daughter of Mr. Weston. She made a very -fine copy of Titian’s “Bella Donna” and Guercino’s “Sibylla Samia.” -That of “Beatrice Cenci” has been pronounced an admirable copy. She -also painted a “Fornarina.”</p> - -<p>One evening, at a watering-place, at the first ball Mrs. Weston -had ever attended, she was struck by the appearance of a lady who -passed her, leaning on her husband’s arm. The lovely features of this -stranger, her pure and brilliant complexion, her eyes beaming with -cheerful goodness, and an indefinable grace in all her movements, -impressed the artist as if she had seen a vision. Some years afterward -she met Mrs. Coventry Waddell, and recognized in her the charming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</span> -ideal who had been enshrined in her memory. Her portrait of this lady -belongs to Mr. George Vansandvoord, of Troy.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Waddell’s appreciation of Mrs. Weston’s abilities, and her -friendship, proved a valuable aid to the sometimes discouraged artist.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Weston’s flesh tints are especially natural and beautiful, and -she gives a high finish to her copies of paintings. Those from the old -masters, and others, have such wonderful fidelity that her achievements -in this line would alone suffice to make a reputation. “A Witch Scene,” -from Teniers, is admirable. One of her own compositions is “A Scene -from Lalla Rookh,” and she has painted both landscapes and portraits -from nature. She still resides in New York.</p> - - -<h3>ANNA MARY FREEMAN (MADAME GOLDBECK).</h3> - -<p>has a high rank among miniature-painters in this country. She is the -daughter of an American painter, though she was born in Manchester, -England, where her parents resided for some years. She came to the -United States when very young, and early devoted herself to the -pursuits of art, from which she has for ten years derived her support. -She is gifted in various ways; she has written some excellent poetry -and stories, and is known as an accomplished elocutionist, having -given readings in New York and elsewhere with success. Her powers as a -painter, however, have been exercised most profitably.</p> - -<p>Julia du Pré, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was educated -at Mrs. Willard’s school in Troy, New York. On leaving the school, -she accompanied her mother and sister to Paris. Mrs. du Pré wished to -cultivate to the utmost her daughter’s talents for music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</span> and painting, -and gave her the advantage of the best foreign masters. They had been -three years in France when a sudden reverse deprived them of their -ample fortune; yet, with reduced means, they remained a year longer, -that Julia might devote herself to the study of painting in oil. On -their return to Charleston, Mrs. du Pré and her daughters opened a -school for young ladies, which was attended with success. The continual -occupation of teaching, however, deprived Julia of time and opportunity -for the severe study necessary to perfect herself in the art to which -she had wished to devote her life. Every hour of leisure she could -command was given to portrait-painting, and to making copies of admired -works. Many of these were executed with great skill, and drew praise -from Sully and other eminent critics. One of her best portraits is -that of Count Alfred de Vigny, who had been intimate with her family -during their residence in Paris. Miss du Pré also made a fine copy from -Parmegiano, of a Virgin and Child, and a Dido on the Funeral Pile, from -Giulio Romano. These, and other paintings, gained her considerable -repute as an artist. She married Henry Bonnetheau, a miniature-painter -of acknowledged merit, and continues to reside in Charleston. She spent -the summer of 1856 in Paris, for the sake of improving herself in -pastel-painting, and has lately finished some exquisite works in that -style. “The Love-letter,” in the possession of her brother-in-law, Dr. -Dickson of Philadelphia, “The Liaisons,” and “L’Espagnole” have been -highly praised among these.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bonnetheau’s gifts are crowned with the loveliest traits of -woman’s character. She is esteemed and beloved by a large circle of -friends in Charleston,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</span> among whom are some of the best educated men in -this country.</p> - -<p>The Misses Withers, of Charleston, South Carolina, paint in oil and -water colors, and cut cameos with much ability and skill. They have -also modeled groups and figures with success, and are devoted to these -branches of art.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Charlotte Cheves is an amateur artist who might have gained -celebrity had her life been given to the study of painting. She was -Miss M‘Cord, and was born in Columbia, South Carolina. She married Mr. -Langdon Cheves, and resides on his rice plantation nearly opposite -Savannah. She paints miniatures on ivory, some of them excellent -likenesses, and finished with great delicacy. She has also painted -pictures in oil, and excels in pastels and pencil-sketches. She is a -musician, too, and possesses a very fine voice.</p> - -<p>Ellen Cooper, the youngest daughter of the celebrated Dr. Thomas -Cooper, was a native of Columbia, South Carolina. She had a fine taste -and much skill in painting and ornamental work, and was remarkable for -intellectual culture and knowledge of general literature. She lived -some years in Mobile with her sister, and there married Mr. James -Hanna, who took her to reside on his sugar plantation near Thibodeaux, -in Louisiana. She died in October, 1858. Her sister is one of the most -accomplished amateur artists in the Southern States.</p> - -<p>About seven years ago a School of Design for Women was started by -Miss Hamilton, which, supported by voluntary contributions, met with -encouraging success. It has now been adopted by the trustees of the -Cooper Institute, and a sum is allowed annually for the support of -teachers. The attendance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</span> of pupils in 1859 has been double that of any -former year.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mary Ann Douglas</span>, now Mrs. Johnson, is a native of Westfield, -Massachusetts, where she at present resides. She was married at -eighteen, and had been a wife four years before her artist-life -commenced. While a prisoner in her room, on account of sickness, she -amused herself by copying a landscape in oil-colors. The success of -this attempt opened to her a new source of activity and pleasure. -She devoted herself to the study of painting, and labored with such -earnestness and fidelity that her efforts were crowned with success -beyond her anticipations. Her attention was directed especially to -portraits. For the last four or five years she has worked in crayon -almost exclusively, and has found employment abundantly remunerative. -A visit to New London, Connecticut, was prolonged to nine months’ -stay, so great was the popularity of her works in that place; and -during a trip into Central New York she painted many portraits in oil -at excellent prices. Her indefatigable patience in the execution of -details, the fidelity of her likenesses, and the delicate perfection of -finish in her pictures, are remarkable. In the relations of social life -Mrs. Johnson has shown herself amiable and self-sacrificing. She has -not an acquaintance who does not rejoice in the triumphs so worthily -won in spite of many discouragements.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.<br><span class="small">THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Emma Stebbins.</span>—Favorable Circumstances of her -early Life to the Study of Art.—Specimens of her Skill -shown in private Circles.—Receives Instruction from Henry -Inman.—Correctness of her Portraits.—“A Book of Prayer.”—Revives -Taste for Illuminations.—Her crayon Portraits.—Copies of -Paintings.—Cultivates many Branches of Art.—Becomes a -Sculptor.—Abode in Rome.—Instruction received from Gibson and -Akers.—Late Work from her Chisel.—“The Miner.”—<span class="smcap">Harriet -Hosmer.</span>—Dwelling of the Sculptor Gibson in Rome.—His Studio -and Work-room.—“La Signorina.”—The American Sculptress.—Her -Childhood.—Physical Training.—School-life.—Anecdotes.—Studies -at Home.—At St. Louis.—Her Independence.—Trip on the -Mississippi.—“Hesper.”—Departure for Rome.—Mr. Gibson’s -Decision.—Extract from Miss Hosmer’s Letter.—Original -Designs.—Reverse of Fortune.—Alarm.—Resolution.—Industry, Economy, -and Success.—Late Works.—Visit of the Prince of Wales.</p> -</div> - - -<h3>EMMA STEBBINS.</h3> - -<p>Few lady artists of this or any country have been surrounded with -circumstances more favorable to the development of genius. Her -childhood was passed among those who possessed culture and refined -taste, and she was familiar with the elegant adornments of life. She -learned early to embody the delicate creations of her fancy in song -or pictures, as well as to imitate what pleased her. Her family and -nearest circle of friends were ready—as is not always the case—to -appreciate and encourage her efforts. But, though she had no early -difficulties to struggle with, the steep and rugged path to eminent -success could not be smoothed by the hand of affection, and she has -gone<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</span> through all the lessoning and exercise of powers demanded for -the achievement of greatness, as well from those favored of fortune as -those to whom the capricious goddess has proved a step-dame.</p> - -<p>Miss Stebbins is a native of the city of New York, where, till within -a few years, she employed the rare skill she had acquired in different -branches of art for the gratification of her friends or for charitable -purposes. Several artists noticed in the beautiful specimens which -were shown in various circles as her work the evidence of more than -ordinary talent. Among these was Henry Inman, the distinguished -painter. He invited the young girl to visit his studio, and offered -to give her instruction in oil-painting. She had never before taken -lessons, and was pleased with the prospect of study. She improved -under the directions of her teacher, and to this aid some of her -friends attributed the masterly correctness and grace displayed in her -portraits, and for which afterward her crayon sketches were so much -admired.</p> - -<p>One of Miss Stebbins’s early works was a volume to which she gave the -title, “A Book of Prayer.” It contains some beautiful specimens of her -poetry, but is chiefly remarkable for its exquisite illuminations. -It was one of the first among the efforts to revive that style of -illustration; and the originality, grace, and beauty of the designs, -with the delicate and elaborate finish of the execution, made it quite -a curiosity of art. Some other books were illuminated by Miss Stebbins -in the same manner.</p> - -<p>The love of art in the child of genius “grows by what it feeds on,” -and claims an undivided devotion to its pursuits. Perhaps no kind of -knowledge is so fascinating when its fruits are tasted. Miss Stebbins<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</span> -found no charm in the social pleasures at her command which could draw -her attention from painting. She finally resolved on an exclusive -consecration of her talents to art, making it the sole business of her -life. She determined to go to Rome.</p> - -<p>Several of her crayon portraits, executed in Rome, received the highest -encomiums from acknowledged judges in that city. A copy she made of the -“St. John” of Du Bœuf, and one from a painting in the gallery of the -Louvre, representing a “Girl Dictating a Love-letter,” were noted among -her oil-paintings. Her “Boy and Bird’s Nest” was done in the style of -Murillo. Her pastel-painting of “Two Dogs” has been highly praised.</p> - -<p>Almost every branch of the imitative art has been at different periods -cultivated by Miss Stebbins, and her success proves the scope and -versatility of her talent. Besides painting in oil and water colors, -she has practiced drawing on wood and carving wood, modeling in clay, -and working in marble. It is probably in the difficult art of sculpture -that she will leave to America the works by which she will be most -widely known.</p> - -<p>She profited, like Miss Hosmer, by the counsels and supervision of -Gibson, and the careful instruction of Akers. A work from her chisel, -in the spring of 1859, commanded the highest suffrages. Mr. Heckscher, -a large proprietor of coal-mines in the United States, had requested -Miss Stebbins to execute for him two typical statues—one of Industry, -the other of Commerce. The figure of Industry is completed, and has -been represented by the artist, with graceful taste, as a miner. A -critic says:</p> - -<p>“The figure is that of an athletic, admirably-proportioned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</span> youth, -who bears upon his right shoulder the pick, and in the front of his -picturesque slouched hat the miner’s lamp. The weight of the body is -thrown easily and naturally upon the right leg, and the left hand rests -with the carelessness of manly strength upon a block of marble, drilled -and hewn in the manner of a mass of coal. The symmetrical vigor of -the figure, admirable as it is, is not more admirable than the lofty, -ingenuous beauty of the classic head and face, poised in an attitude -equally unforced and striking, upon the graceful, well-rounded throat. -The drapery of the full shirt, open at the neck and close-gathered -about the waist, is managed with particular skill; and while the whole -figure reminds one strikingly of one of those magnificent Gothic kings -whose images stand in the vestibule of the <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">Museo Borbonico</i>, at -Naples, the spirit and air of it are purely modern and American. It is, -in truth, one of the most felicitous combinations of every-day national -truth with the enduring and cosmopolite truth of art ever seen, and it -is a work which does equal credit to the sex and the country of the -artist.”</p> - -<p>Miss Stebbins has taken up her residence permanently in Rome, amid -those surroundings and associations sought by artists of all nations as -most favorable to their progress. She has been for some time engaged in -modeling in clay several groups which, though as yet unfinished, have -been criticised favorably by connoisseurs and friends.</p> - - -<h3>HARRIET HOSMER.</h3> - -<p>In the Via Fontanella at Rome—a street close upon the beautiful -Piazza del Popolo, and running at a right angle from the Babuino to -the Corso, a few steps out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</span> of the Babuino on the left—is a large, -rough, worm-eaten door, which has evidently seen good service, and -from the appearance of which no casual and uninitiated passer-by would -suspect the treasures of art it conceals and protects. A small piece -of whip-cord, with a knot as handle, issues from a perforated hole, -by means of which—a small bell being set in motion—access is gained -to the studio of England’s greatest living master of sculpture, John -Gibson.</p> - -<p>The threshold crossed, the visitor finds himself at once in the midst -of this artist’s numerous works. In a large barn-like shed, with a -floor of earth, on pedestals of various materials, shapes, and sizes, -stand the beautiful Cupid and Butterfly, the wounded Amazon, Paris and -Proserpine gathering flowers, the charming groups of Psyche borne by -the Zephyrs, of Hylas and the Water Nymphs, and the noble basso-relievo -of Phaeton and the Hours leading forth the horses of the Sun, with, -perhaps, a bust or figure in progress by the workman whose duty it is -to keep the studio and attend to the numerous visitors. Facing the door -of entry just described is its counterpart, opening into a fairy-like -square plot of garden, filled with orange and lemon trees and roses, -and, in the spring, fragrant with violets blue and white, Cape jasmine, -and lilies of the valley; while, in a shady recess, and fern-grown nook -trickles a perpetual fountain of crystal-clear water. The sun floods -this tiny garden with his golden light, flecking the trellised walks -with broken shadows, and wooing his way, royal and irresistible lover -as he is, to the humbler floral divinities of the place, sheltered -beneath their own green leaves, or in the superb shade of the acanthus. -Lovely is the effect of this rich glow of sunlight as one stands in the -shade of the studio,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</span> perfumed with the sweet blossoms of the South; -lovely the aspect both of nature and of art, into the presence of -which we are so suddenly and unexpectedly ushered from the ugly, dirty -street without. Having gazed our fill here, we step into the garden, -and, turning to the right, if we be favored visitors, friends, or the -friends of friends, we are next ushered into the sanctum of the master -himself, whom we shall probably find engaged in modeling, and from whom -we shall certainly receive a kind and genial welcome, granting always -that we have some claim for our intrusion upon his privacy.</p> - -<p>This room, long and narrow, is boarded, and has some pretensions to -comfort; but throughout the whole range of studios the absence of care -and attention will strike the eye, more especially as it is the present -fashion in Rome to render the studios both of painter and sculptor as -comfortable and habitable as possible. From Mr. Gibson’s own room we -are taken into another rough shed, where the process of transformation -from plaster to marble is carried on, and where frequent visitors can -not fail to discover the vast difference which exists in skill and -natural aptitude among the numerous workmen employed.</p> - -<p>As the different processes of sculpture are but little known, it may -not be out of place here to throw some light upon them. The artist -himself models the figure, bust, or group, whatever it may be, in clay, -spending all his skill, time, and labor on this first stage. When -complete—and many months, sometimes even years of unwearied study -are given to the task—a plaster cast is taken from the clay figure, -from which cast the workmen put the subject into marble, the artist -superintending it, and reserving to himself the more delicate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</span> task -of finishing. Thorwaldsen, speaking of these processes, says, “that -the clay model may be called creation, the plaster cast death, and the -marble resurrection.” Certain it is that the clay model and the marble -statue, when each has received the finishing stroke, are more closely -allied, more nearly identical, one with the other, than either is with -the plaster cast. So alive are sculptors to the fact of the injury done -to their works by being seen in plaster casts, that they bestow great -pains in working them over by hand to restore something of the fineness -and sharpness which the process of modeling has destroyed. So impressed -with this is Powers, the American sculptor, that, with the ingenuity -and inventive skill of his country, he has succeeded in making a -plaster hard almost as marble, and which bears with equal impunity the -file, chisel, and polisher.</p> - -<p>There are in Rome workmen devoted to the production of certain -portions of the figure, draped or undraped; for instance, one man is -distinguished for his ability in working the hair, and confines himself -to this specialty; while another is famous for his method of rendering -the quality of flesh, and a third is unequaled in drapery. Very rarely -does it happen that the artist is lucky enough to find all these -qualities combined in one man, but it does occasionally happen; and Mr. -Gibson is himself fortunate in the possession of a workman whose skill -and manipulative power, in all departments, are of the highest order. -A Roman by birth, the handsome and highly organized Camillo, with his -slight figure, and delicate, almost effeminate hands, is a master of -the mallet and chisel, and, from the head to the foot, renders and -interprets his model with artistic power and feeling. The man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</span> loves -his work, and the work repays his love, as when does it not, from the -sublime labors of genius to the humblest vocation of street or alley?</p> - -<p>To return from our digression; leaving the workroom, we cross one side -of the small garden, and by just such another rough door as the two -we have already passed through in the first studio, we enter another -capacious, barn-like apartment, the centre of which is occupied by the -colored Venus, so dear to Mr. Gibson’s heart that, though executed to -order, year after year passes on, and he can not make up his mind to -part with it. Ranged around the walls of this capacious studio are -casts of the Hunter, one of the earliest and most vigorous of Mr. -Gibson’s works; of the Queen, of the colossal group in the House of -Lords, and sundry others. Having inspected these at our leisure, and -viewed the Venus from the most approved point, probably under the eye -of the master, who never tires of expatiating on the great knowledge -of the ancients in coloring their statues, a curtain across the -left-hand corner of the studio is lifted, and the attendant inquires -if “la signorina” will receive visitors. The permission given, we -ascend a steep flight of stairs, and find ourselves in a small upper -studio, face to face with a compact little figure, five feet two in -height, in cap and blouse, whose short, sunny brown curls, broad brow, -frank and resolute expression of countenance, give one at the first -glance the impression of a handsome boy. It is the first glance only, -however, which misleads one. The trim waist and well-developed bust -belong unmistakably to a woman, and the deep, earnest eyes, firm-set -mouth, and modest dignity of deportment show that woman to be one of no -ordinary character and ability.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</span></p> - -<p>Thus, reader, we Have brought you face to face with the subject of this -sketch, Harriet Hosmer, the American sculptress.</p> - -<p>Born at Watertown, Mass., in the year 1831, Harriet Hosmer is the -only surviving daughter of a physician, who, having lost wife and -child by consumption, and fearing a like fate for the survivor, gave -her horse, dog, gun, and boat, and insisted upon an out-doors life as -indispensable to health. A fearless horsewoman, a good shot, an adept -in rowing, swimming, diving, and skating, Harriet Hosmer is a signal -instance of what judicious physical training will effect in conquering -even hereditary taint of constitution. Willingly as the active, -energetic child acquiesced in her father’s wishes, she contrived, at -the same time, to gratify and develop her own peculiar tastes; and -many a time and oft, when the worthy doctor may have flattered himself -that his darling was in active exercise, she might have been found in -a certain clay-pit, not very far from the paternal residence, making -early attempts at modeling horses, dogs, sheep, men and women, or any -object which attracted her attention. Both here, and subsequently at -Lenox, she made good use of her time by studying natural history, and -of her gun by securing specimens for herself of the wild creatures of -the woods, feathered and furred; dissecting some, and with her own -hands preparing and stuffing others. The walls of the room devoted to -her special use in “the old house at home,” are covered with birds, -bats, butterflies and beetles, snakes and toads, while sundry bottles -of spirits contain subjects carefully dissected and prepared by herself.</p> - -<p>Ingenuity and taste were shown in the use to which the young girl -applied the eggs and feathers of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</span> nests and birds she had pilfered. -One inkstand, a very early production, evinces mechanical genius and -artistic taste. Taking the head, throat, wings, and side feathers of a -bluebird, she blew the contents from a hen’s egg, and set it on end, -forming the breast of the bird by the oval surface of the egg, while -through the open beak and extended neck entrance was gained to the -cavity of the egg containing the ink.</p> - -<p>No one could look round this apartment, occupied by the child and -young girl, without at once recognizing the force and individuality of -character which have since distinguished her.</p> - -<p>Full of fun and frolic, numerous anecdotes are told of practical jokes -perpetrated to such an excess that Dr. Hosmer was satisfied with the -progress toward health and strength his child had made; and having -endeavored, without success, to place her under tuition in daily and -weekly schools near home, he determined to commit her to the care -of Mrs. Sedgwick, of Lenox, Massachusetts. Thither the young lady, -having been expelled from one school, and given over as incorrigible -at another, was accordingly sent, with strict injunctions that health -should still be a paramount consideration, and that the new pupil -should have liberty to ride and walk, shoot and swim to her heart’s -content. In wiser or kinder hands the young girl could not have been -placed. Here, too, she met with Mrs. Fanny Kemble, whose influence -tended to strengthen and develop her already decided tastes and -predilections. To Mrs. Kemble we have heard the young artist gratefully -attribute the encouragement which decided her to follow sculpture as a -profession, and to devote herself and her life to the pursuit of art.</p> - -<p>Miss Hosmer’s school-fellows remember many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</span> pranks and exploits that -showed her daring spirit and love of frolic. One of these was capturing -a hawk’s nest from the top of a very high forest-tree, to which she -climbed at the risk of her life. Her room was decorated, as at home, -with grotesque preserved specimens, among which was a variety of -reptiles, usually the horror of young ladies.</p> - -<p>An anonymous squib upon Boston and Bostonians was about this time -attributed to Miss Hosmer. A practical joke upon a physician of Boston -had been the immediate cause of her being sent to Lenox. Her health -having given her father some uneasiness, the gentleman in question, a -physician in large practice, was called in to attend her. The rather -uncertain visits of this physician proved a source of great annoyance -and some real inconvenience to his patient, inasmuch as they interfered -with her rides and drives, shooting, and boating excursions. Having -borne with the inconvenience some time, she requested the gentleman, -as a great favor, to name an hour for his call, that she might make -her arrangements accordingly. The physician agreed, but punctuality is -not always at the command of professional men. Matters were as bad as -ever. Sometimes the twelve o’clock appointment did not come off till -three in the afternoon. One day, in particular, Dr. ———— was some -hours after the time. A playful quarrel took place between physician -and patient; and, as he rose to take his leave, and offered another -appointment, Miss Hosmer insisted upon his giving his word to keep it.</p> - -<p>“If I am alive,” said he, “I will be here,” naming some time on a -certain day.</p> - -<p>“Then, if you are not here,” was the reply, “I am to conclude that you -are dead.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</span></p> - -<p>Thus they parted. The day and hour arrived, but no doctor made his -appearance. That evening Miss Hosmer rode into Boston, and next morning -the papers announced the decease of Dr. ———. Half Boston and its -neighborhood rushed to the physician’s house to leave cards and -messages of condolence for the family, and to inquire into the cause of -the sudden and lamentable event.</p> - -<p>In 1850, being then nineteen, Harriet Hosmer left Lenox. Mrs. -Sedgwick’s judicious treatment, and the motive and encouragement -supplied by Mrs. Kemble, had given the right impetus to that activity -of mind and body which needed only guiding and directing into -legitimate channels. She returned to her father’s house, at Watertown, -to pursue her art-studies, and to fit herself for the career she had -resolved upon following. There was at this time a cousin of Miss -Hosmer’s studying with her father, between whom and herself existed -a hearty <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">camaraderie</i>. Together the two spent many hours in -dissecting legs and arms, and in making acquaintance with the human -frame, Dr. Hosmer having erected a small building at the bottom of -his garden to facilitate these studies. Those were days of close -study and application. Lessons in drawing and modeling—for which our -young student had to repair to Boston, a distance of seven or eight -miles—and anatomical studies with her cousin, were alternated with -the inevitable rides and boating on which her father wisely insisted. -The River Charles runs immediately before the house, and on this river -Harriet Hosmer had a boat-house, containing a safe, broad boat, and -a fragile, poetical-looking gondola, with silvered prow, the delight -of her heart, and the terror of her less experienced and unswimming -friends.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</span> The life of the young girl was at this period full of earnest -purpose and noble ambition, and the untiring energy and perseverance -which distinguish her now in so remarkable a degree were at this time -evidenced and developed.</p> - -<p>Having modeled one or two copies from the antique, she next tried her -hand on a portrait-bust, and then cut Canova’s bust of Napoleon in -marble, working it entirely with her own hands that she might make -herself mistress of the process. Her father, seeing her devoted to her -studies, seconded them in every possible way, and proposed to send her -to his friend, Dr. M‘Dowell, Professor of Anatomy in the St. Louis -College, that she might go through a course of regular instruction, -and be thus thoroughly grounded for the branch of art she had chosen. -The young artist was but too glad to close with the offer; and, in the -autumn of 1850, we find her at St. Louis, residing in the family of her -favorite schoolmate from Lenox, winning the hearts of all its members -by her frank, joyous nature, and steady application, and securing, in -the head of it, what she heartily and energetically calls “the best -friend I ever had.”</p> - -<p>Her independence of manner and character, joined to the fact of her -entering the college as a student, could not fail to bring down -animadversion, and many were the tales fabricated and circulated anent -the young New Englander, who was said to carry pistols in her belt, and -to be prepared to take the life of any one who interfered with her. It -was, perhaps, no disadvantage, under the circumstances, to be protected -by such a character. The college stood some way from the inhabited -part of the town, and in early morning and late evening, going to and -fro with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</span> other students, it is not impossible that she owed the -perfect impunity with which she set conventionality at defiance to the -character for courage, and skill in the use of fire-arms which attended -her.</p> - -<p>Dr. M‘Dowell, charmed with the talent and earnestness of his pupil, -afforded her every facility in his power, giving her the freedom of the -college at all times, and occasionally bestowing upon her a private -lecture when she attended to see him preparing dissections for the -public ones. Pleasant and encouraging it is to find men of ability -and eminence so willing to help a woman when she is willing to help -herself. The career of this young artist hitherto has been marked by -the warm and generous encouragement of first-rate men, from Professor -M‘Dowell to John Gibson, and pleasant it is to find the affectionate -and grateful appreciation of such kindness, converting the temporary -tie of master and pupil into the permanent one of tried and valued -friendship. “I remember Professor M‘Dowell,” writes Miss Hosmer, “with -great affection and gratitude, as being a most thorough and patient -teacher, as well as at all times a good, kind friend.”</p> - -<p>Through the winter and spring of 1851, in fact, during the whole -term, Harriet Hosmer prosecuted her studies with unremitting zeal -and attention, and at the close was presented with a “diploma,” or -certificate, testifying to her anatomical efficiency. During her stay -at St. Louis, and as a testimony of her gratitude and regard, Miss -Hosmer cut, from a bust of Professor M‘Dowell by Clevenger, a medallion -in marble, life size, which is now in the museum of the College. It is -perhaps worthy of note that Clevenger and Powers both studied anatomy -under this professor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</span></p> - -<p>The “diploma” achieved, our young aspirant was bent upon seeing New -Orleans before returning to her New England home. It was a season -of the year not favorable for such travel, and, from some cause or -another, she failed in inducing any of her friends to accompany her. To -will and to do are synonymous with some; and so, Harriet Hosmer having -set her mind upon an excursion down the Mississippi to the Crescent -City, embarked herself one fine morning on board a steamer bound for -New Orleans. The river was shallow, the navigation difficult; many a -boat did our adventurous traveler pass high and dry; but fortune, as -usual, was with her, and she reached her destination in safety. The -weather was intensely warm, but, nothing daunted, our young friend -saw all that was to be seen, returning at night to sleep on board the -steamer as it lay in its place by the levee, and, at the expiration -of a week, returning with it to St. Louis. Arrived there, instead of -rejoining her friends, she took boat for the Falls of St. Anthony, -on the Upper Mississippi, stopping, on the way, at Dubuque, to visit -a lead mine, into which she descended by means of a bucket, and came -very near an accident which must inevitably have resulted fatally; a -catastrophe which, as no one knew where she was, would probably have -remained a secret forever. At the Falls of St. Anthony, she went among -the Indians, much to their surprise and amusement, and brought away -with her a pipe, presented by the chief, in token of amity. She also -achieved the ascent of a mountain never before undertaken by a female; -and so delighted were the spectators with her courage and agility, -that they insisted upon knowing her name, that the mountain might -thenceforth be called after her. In a subsequent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</span> visit to St. Louis, -Miss Hosmer found that her rustic admirers had been as good as their -word, and “Hosmer’s Height” remains an evidence of “the little lady’s” -ambition and courage.</p> - -<p>On her return to St. Louis, where her prolonged absence had created no -little uneasiness, she remained but a short time, and, bidding farewell -to her kind friends, retraced her steps homeward.</p> - -<p>This was in the autumn of 1851. No sooner had Harriet Hosmer reached -home than she set to work to model an ideal bust of Hesper, continuing -her anatomical studies with her cousin, and employing her intervals of -leisure and rest in reading, riding, and boating. Now followed a period -of earnest work, cheered and inspired by those visions of success, -of purpose fulfilled, of high aims realized, which haunt the young -and enthusiastic aspirant, and throw a halo round the youthful days -of genius, lending a color to the whole career. As Lowell wisely and -poetically says,</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Great dreams preclude low ends.”</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Better to aspire and fail than not aspire at all; better to know the -dream, and the fever, and the awakening, if it must be, than to pass -from the cradle to the grave on the level plane of content with things -as they are. There may be aspiration without genius; there can not be -genius without aspiration; and where genius is backed by industry and -perseverance, the aspiration of one period will meet its realization in -another.</p> - -<p>To go to Rome—to make herself acquainted with all its treasures of -art, ancient and modern—to study and work as the masters of both -periods had studied and worked before her—this was now our youthful -artist’s ambition; and all the while she labored, heart and soul, at -Hesper, the first creation of her genius,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</span> watching its growth beneath -her hand, as a young mother watches, step by step, the progress of -her first-born; kneading in with the plastic clay all those thousand -hopes and fears which, turn by turn, charm and agitate all who aspire. -At length, the clay model finished, a block of marble was sought -and found, and brought home to the shed in the garden, hitherto -appropriated to dissecting purposes, but now fitted up as a studio. -Here, with her own small hands, the youthful maiden, short of stature -and delicate in make, any thing but robust in health, with chisel and -mallet blocked out the bust, and subsequently, with rasp and file, -finished it to the last degree of manipulative perfection. Months and -months it took, and hours and days of quiet toil and patience; but -those wings of genius, perseverance and industry, were hers, and love -lent zest to the work. It was late summer in 1852 before Hesper was -fully completed.</p> - -<p>A critic in the New York Tribune thus wrote of this work:</p> - -<p>“It has the face of a lovely maiden, gently falling asleep with -the sound of distant music. Her hair is gracefully arranged, and -intertwined with capsules of the poppy. A star shines on her forehead, -and under her breast lies the crescent moon. The hush of evening -breathes from the serene countenance and the heavily-drooping -eyelids.... The swell of the cheeks and the bust is like pure, young, -healthy flesh, and the muscles of the beautiful mouth are so delicately -cut, it seems like a thing that breathes.</p> - -<p>“The poetic conception of the subject is the creation of her own mind, -and the embodiment of it is all done by her own hands—even the hard, -rough, mechanical portions of the work. She employed a man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</span> to chop -off some large bits of marble; but, as he was unaccustomed to assist -sculptors, she did not venture to have him cut within several inches of -the surface she intended to work.”</p> - -<p>“Now,” said she to her father, “I am ready to go to Rome.”</p> - -<p>“And you shall go, my child, this very autumn,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>Anxious as Dr. Hosmer was to facilitate in every way the career -his daughter had chosen, there was yet another reason for going to -Italy before winter set in. Study and nervous anxiety had made their -impression upon a naturally delicate constitution, and a short, dry -cough alarmed the worthy doctor for his child’s health.</p> - -<p>October of 1852 saw father and daughter on their way to Europe, the St. -Louis diploma and daguerreotypes of Hesper being carefully stowed away -in the safest corner of the portmanteau as evidences of what the young -artist had already achieved, when, arrived at Rome, she should seek the -instruction of one of two masters, whose fame, world-wide, alone could -satisfy our aspirant’s ambition. So eager was her desire to reach Rome -that a week only was given to England; and then, joining some friends -in Paris, the whole party proceeded to Rome, arriving in the Eternal -City on the evening of November 12, 1852.</p> - -<p>Within two days the daguerreotypes were placed in the hands of Mr. -Gibson as he sat at breakfast in the Café Greco, a famous place of -resort for artists.</p> - -<p>Now be it known, as a caution to women not to enter lightly upon any -career, to throw it up as lightly upon the first difficulty which -arises, that a prejudice existed in Rome against lady artists, from -the pretensions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</span> with which some had repaired thither, and upon which -they had succeeded in gaining access to some of the best studios and -instruction from their masters, to throw those valuable opportunities -aside at the first obstacle that arose. Mr. Gibson had himself, it -was said, been thus victimized and annoyed, and it was represented to -Miss Hosmer as doubtful in the extreme if he would either look at the -daguerreotypes or listen to the proposal of her becoming his pupil. -However, the daguerreotypes were placed before him; and, taking them -into his hands—one presenting a full, and the other a profile view of -the bust—he sat some moments in silence, looking intently at them. -Encouraged by this, the young sculptor who had undertaken to present -them proceeded to explain Miss Hosmer’s intentions and wishes, what she -had already done, and what she hoped to do. Still Mr. Gibson remained -silent. Finally, closing the cases,</p> - -<p>“Send the young lady to me,” said he, “and whatever I know, and can -teach her, she shall learn.”</p> - -<p>In less than a week Harriet Hosmer was fairly installed in Mr. Gibson’s -studio, in the up-stairs room already described. Ere long a truly -paternal and filial affection sprung up between the master and the -pupil, a source of great happiness to themselves, and of pleasure and -amusement to all who know and value them, from the curious likeness, -yet unlikeness, which existed from the first in Miss Hosmer to Mr. -Gibson, and which daily intercourse has not tended to lessen.</p> - -<p>In one of her letters she says:</p> - -<p>“The dearest wish of my heart is gratified in that I am acknowledged by -Gibson as a pupil. He has been resident in Rome thirty-four years, and -leads the van. I am greatly in luck. He has just finished the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</span> model of -the statue of the queen, and, as his room is vacant, he permits me to -use it, and I am now in his own studio. I have also a little room for -work which was formerly occupied by Canova, and perhaps inspiration may -be drawn from the walls.”</p> - -<p>The first winter in Rome was passed in modeling from the antique, Mr. -Gibson desiring to assure himself of the correctness of Miss Hosmer’s -eye, and the soundness of her knowledge; Hesper evincing the possession -of the imaginative and creative power. From the first, Mr. Gibson -expressed himself more than satisfied with her power of imitating the -roundness and softness of flesh, saying, upon one occasion, that he had -never seen it surpassed and not often equaled.</p> - -<p>Her first attempt at original design in Rome was a bust of Daphne, -quickly succeeded by another of the Medusa—the beautiful Medusa—and a -lovely thing it is, faultless in form, and intense in its expression of -horror and agony, without trenching on the physically painful.</p> - -<p>We have already spoken of the warm friend Miss Hosmer made for herself -during her winter at St. Louis, in the head of the family at whose -house she was a guest. This gentleman, as a God-speed to the young -artist on her journey to Rome, sent her, on the eve of departure, -an order to a large amount for the first figure she should model, -leaving her entirely free to select her own time and subject. A statue -of Œnone was the result, which is now in the house of Mr. Crow, at -St. Louis, and which gave such satisfaction to its possessor and his -fellow-townsmen, that an order was forwarded to Miss Hosmer for a -statue for the Public Library at St. Louis, on the same liberal terms. -Beatrice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</span> Cenci, which has won so many golden opinions from critics and -connoisseurs, was sent to St. Louis in fulfillment of this order.</p> - -<p>The summers in Rome are, as every one knows, trying to the natives, -and full of danger to foreigners. Dr. Hosmer, having seen his daughter -finally settled, returned to America, leaving her with strict -injunctions to seek some salubrious spot in the neighboring mountains -for the summer, if indeed she did not go into Switzerland or England. -Rome, however, was the centre of attraction; and, after the first -season, which was spent at Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, Miss Hosmer -could not be prevailed upon to go out of sight and reach of its lordly -dome and noble treasures of art. The third summer came, and, listening -to the advice of her friends, and in obedience to the express wish of -her father, she made arrangements for a visit to England. The day was -settled, the trunks were packed; she was on the eve of departure, when -a letter from America arrived, informing her of heavy losses sustained -by her father, which must necessitate retrenchment in every possible -way, a surrender of her career in Rome, and an immediate return home.</p> - -<p>The news came upon her like a thunderbolt. Stunned and bewildered, -she knew not at the moment what to do. An only child, and hitherto -indulged in every whim and caprice, the position was indeed startling -and perplexing. The surrender of her art-career was the only thing -which she felt to be impossible; whatever else might come, that could -not, should not be. And now came into play that true independence of -character which hitherto had shown itself mostly in wild freaks and -tricks. Instead of falling back upon those friends whose means she -knew would be at her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</span> disposal in this emergency, she dispatched a -messenger for the young sculptor who had shown the daguerreotypes to -Mr. Gibson, and who, himself dependent upon his professional exertions, -was, she decided, the fittest person to consult with as to her own -future career. He obeyed the hasty summons, and found the joyous, -laughing countenance he had always known, pale and changed, as it -were, suddenly, from that of a young girl to a woman full of cares and -anxieties. He could scarcely credit the intelligence; but the letter -was explicit; the summons home peremptory. “Go, I will not,” was her -only coherent resolution; so the two laid their heads together. Miss -Hosmer was the owner of a handsome horse and an expensive English -saddle; these were doomed at once. The summer in Rome itself, during -which season living there costs next to nothing, was determined upon; -and during those summer months Miss Hosmer should model something -so attractive that it should insure a speedy order, and, exercising -strict economy, start thenceforth on an independent artist-career, such -as many of those around her with less talent and training, managed -to carry on with success. No sooner said than done; the trunks were -unpacked; the friends she had been about to accompany departed without -her; her father’s reverses were simply and straightforwardly announced, -and she entered at once on the line of industry and economy she and her -friend had struck out.</p> - -<p>It is said that friendship between a young man and a young woman is -scarcely possible, and perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, where -the woman has no engrossing interests of her own, no definite aim and -pursuit in life, it may be so. Here, however, was a case of genuine and -helpful friendship, honorable alike<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</span> to the heads and hearts of both. -Under the experienced direction of her friend, Miss Hosmer conducted -her affairs with prudence and economy, and, at the same time, with due -regard to health. The summer passed away, and neither fever nor any -other form of mischief attacked our young friend. She worked hard, and -modeled a statue of Puck, so full of spirit, originality, and fun, that -it was no sooner finished than orders to put it into marble came in. It -was repeated again and again, and, during the succeeding winter, three -copies were ordered for England alone—one for the Duke of Hamilton. -Thus fairly started on her own ground, Miss Hosmer met with that -success which talent, combined with industry and energy, never fails to -command.</p> - -<p>The winter in which the Cenci was being put into marble she was engaged -in modeling a monument to the memory of a beautiful young Catholic -lady, destined for a niche in the church of San Andréo delle Fratte, -in the Vià Mercede, close upon the Piazza di Spagna. A portrait -full-length figure of the young girl, life size, reclines upon a low -couch. The attitude is easy and natural, and the tranquil sleep of -death is admirably rendered in contradistinction to the warm sleep of -life in the Cenci.</p> - -<p>Miss Hosmer was engaged during the winter of 1858 in modeling a -fountain, for which she has taken the story of Hylas descending -for water, when, according to mythology, he is seized upon by the -water-nymphs and drowned. Hylas forms the crown of the pyramid, while -the nymphs twined around its base, with extended arms, seek to drag -him down into the water below, where dolphins are spouting jets which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</span> -interlace each other. A double basin, the upper one supported by swans, -receives the cascade.</p> - -<p>During the spring of 1859 Miss Hosmer worked upon her statue of -Zenobia, bespoken in America. The young Prince of Wales visited her -studio to see this unfinished work, which he greatly admired. He -purchased a “Puck,” by her hand, to add to his collection. Miss Hosmer -executed, as a side-piece to this, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</span>a “Will-o’-the-Wisp,” said even to -be superior.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="NAMES_OF_WOMEN_ARTISTS">NAMES OF WOMEN ARTISTS</h2> -</div> -<p class="right">PAGE</p> -<p class="center"> -A.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Abarca, Donna Maria de, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Agnes, Abbess of Quedlinberg, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Airola, Angelica Veronica, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aizelin, Madame, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alboni, Rosa, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alfieri, Carlotta Melania, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alloin, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Amalasuntha, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Amherst, Lady, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anaxandra, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Andross, Miss, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Angelica, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anguisciola, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Europa, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Helena, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Lucia, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Minerva, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Sofonisba, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anna Amalia, of Brunswick, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anna, Princess of Orange, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anzon, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ardinghelli, Maria Angela, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ardoino, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aristarite, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Armani, Vincenza, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aromatari, Dorothea, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aumont, Augustine, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ava, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aveiro, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">B.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Badger, Mrs., <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ballain, Nanine, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Basseporte, Madeleine Françoise, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beale, Mary, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beauclerk, Lady Diana, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beaurepas, Madame de, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beckson, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beer, Maria Eugenia de, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beinaschi, Angela, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bejar, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bell, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Benavides, Maria Cueva, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bennings, Liewina, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Benoit, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Benwell, Mary, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bernasconi, Laura, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bertaud, Marie Rosalie, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Blackwell, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Blanchot, Geneviève, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Block, Joanna Koerten, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Boccherini, Anna, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bohren, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Boizot, Louise Adelaide, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bonheur, Julietta, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Rosa, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Borghini, Maria, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bösenbacher, Mary Anna, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Breughel, Anna, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Brizio, Plautilla, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Broeck, Barbara Van den, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Brossard, Marie Geneviève, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Brun, Eugénie, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Brusasorci, Cecilia, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bruyère, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bruyn, Anna de, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Burini, Barbara, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Butlar, Madame von, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">C.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Caballero, Angela Perez, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Caccia, Francesca, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Ursula, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Caffa, Maria la, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Calavrese, Maria, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Callirhoe, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Calypso, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cantofoli, Ginevra, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cantoni, Caterina, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Capet, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Carasquilla, Isabella, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Carlisle, Anna, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Countess of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Carpenter, Mrs., <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Carriera, Rosalba, <a href="#Page_226">226</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Casalina, Lucia, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cassana, Maria Vittoria, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Caxton, Florence, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Chalon, Christina, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Chapin, Mrs., <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Charlotte of Austria, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Charlotte Matilda, Queen of Wurtemberg, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Charpentier, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“ Constance Marie, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Chéron, Élisabeth Sophie, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cherubini, Caterina, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cheves, Charlotte, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cirene, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cleyn, Penelope, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Magdalen, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Sarah, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coello, Isabella Sanchez, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cole, Sarah, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Collot, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cooper, Ellen, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Copomazza, Luisa, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Corbeaux, Fanny, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coriolani, Maria Teresa, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cosway, Maria, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coulet, Anne Philibert, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Crabbe, Anna, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Creti, Ersilia, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Criscuolo, Maria Angela, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">D.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Damer, Anne Seymour, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Damini, Damina, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Danti, Teodora, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dards, Mrs., <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dassel, Herminie, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Davin, Madame, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Delany, Mrs., <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Denning, Charlotte, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Deverzy, Adrienne Marie, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dietrich, Maria Dorothea, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Rosina, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dietsch Sisters, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dolce, Agnes, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dolora, Anna Victoria, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Domenici, Maria, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dorsch, Susannah Maria, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Drax, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Drölling, Louise Adéone, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dubois, Mrs. Cornelius, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Duchemin, Catherine, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ducluzeau, Madame, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Du Pré, Julia, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Duquesnoy, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Durand, Flavia, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">E.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Eimart, Maria Clara, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Elie, Madame, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Elizabeth of Austria, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Elizabeth Ernestine Antonia, of Saxe-Meiningen, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Elizabeth, Princess, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“ Princess of Parma, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ellenrieder, Maria, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eyck, Margaretta von, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">F.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Fanshawe, Catharine Mary, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Farnese, Isabella, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fauveau, Felicie de, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Festa, Bianca, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Matilda, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fiesca, Helen, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“ Tommasa, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fischer, Anna Catharina, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Susannah, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fitzgerald, Lady E., <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Lady Henry, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Foley, Margaret, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fontaine, Madame, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fontana, Lavinia, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fontana, Veronica, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Forestier, Marie Anne Julie, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Forgue, Apollonia de, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fratellini, Giovanna, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Freeman, Anna Mary, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Freiberg, Baroness von, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Friedrich, Caroline Frederika, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fuessli (Fuseli), Anna, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “    “ Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fürst, Magdalena, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">G.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Gabassi, Margerita, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gabiou, Jeanne Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Galeotti, Anna, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Galizia, Fede, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garri, Colomba, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garzoni, Giovanna, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gauthier, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_201">201</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gentilesca, Sofonisba, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gentileschi, Artemisia, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gérard, Madame, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Marguerite, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Susannah, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ghisi, Diana, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gibson, Susannah Penelope, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gilarte, Magdalena, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ginnassi, Caterina, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Giovannini, Bianca, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Glauber, Diana, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Godefroy, Eléonore, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Madame, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Godewyck, Margaretta, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gois, Madame, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Goldbeck, Madame, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Goodrich, Mrs., <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gove, Miss, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grace, Mrs., <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Granbury, Miss, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grandi, Paolina, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grassi, Niccola, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gray, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Greatorex, Mrs., <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grebber, Maria, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Greuze, Anna Gabrielle, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Greville, Lady Louisa de, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Guadalupe, Maria de, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Guillemard, Sophie, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">H.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Hall, Anne, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hamerani, Beatrice, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hämsen, Catherine, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hartley, Miss, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hawthorne, Mrs., <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hay, Mrs. Benham, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hayd, Marianna, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hedwig, Sophie, Princess, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Heere, Margaret de, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Heinecke, Catharina Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Helena, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Herault, Antoinette, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Madelaine, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Marie Catherine, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Herbalin, Madame, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Heylan, Anna, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hildegardis, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hildreth, Mrs., <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hill, Mrs., <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hoadley, Mrs., <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hoffmann, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hogenhuizen, Elizabeth Georgina van, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hollandina, Princess, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hoppner, Mrs., <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hortemels, Mary Magdalen, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hosmer, Harriet, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Howitt, Miss, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hroswitha, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hueva, Barbara Maria de, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hughes, Mrs. Ball, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hurembout, Susannah, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">I.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Iberg, Eva von, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">J.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Jacotot, Madame, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Jerichow-Baumann, Madame, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Johnson, Mary Ann, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Juliani, Caterina, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Juvenel, Esther, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">K.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Kallo, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kauffman, Angelica, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Keyzer, Clara de, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Killegrew, Anne, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Koher, Anna de, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kora, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Krafft, Barbara, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kugler, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Küsel, Christina, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Johanna Sibylla, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Magdalena, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">L.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ladd, Anna, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lafond, Aurore Etienne, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lafontaine, Rosalie de, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lala, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lamartine, Madame de, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lamme, Placida, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lander, Louisa, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lange, Barbara Helena, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Langley, Betty, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Laodicia, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lawrence, Mary, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Laya, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lazzarini, Elisabetta, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Le Brun, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Leconte, Marguerite, <a href="#Page_203">203</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ledoux, Philiberte, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lee, Anna, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Legaré, Mary Swinton, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Legris, Amélie, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lenoir, Madame, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Leroulx, Madame, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lescaille, Catharina, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Leslie, Ann, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lesueur, Elise, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Linwood, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Liscewska, Anna Rosina, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lister, Anna, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Susannah, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Liszeuska, Anna Dorothea, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lodde, Alexia de, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Longhi, Barbara, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Losa, Isabella, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lucan, Countess of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lupton, Mrs., <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">M.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Mackintosh, Sarah, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Manzolini, Anna, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Maratti, Maria, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Margaretta, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Margravine of Baden-Durlach, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Maria Anna, of Austria, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Marie d’Orleans, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Marmochini, Giovanna, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Martin, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Masson, Madelaine, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Matteis, Emmanuela, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Felice, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria Angiola, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">May, Miss, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Caroline, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mayer, Constance, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mazzoni, Isabella, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Medici, Mary dei, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Memorata, Anna, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Menendez, Anna, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Clara, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mengs, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Menn, Dorothea, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Merian, Maria Sibylla, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Merrifield, Miss, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Messieri, Anna Teresia, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Metz, Gertrude, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Micas, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Michaud, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mills, Mrs. Monckton, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mirbel, Comtesse de, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mirnaux, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mogalli, Teresa, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mongez, Angélique, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Montferrier, Louise de, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Monti, Eleonora, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Morata, Fulvia, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">More, Mary, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Moritz, Anna, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Morland, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Moser, Mary, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muratori, Teresa, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Murray, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Mary, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mutrie, Miss, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Myin, Cornelia van der, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Myn, Agatha van der, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">N.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Natali, Madalena, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Naugis, Geneviève, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Neal, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nelli, Plautilla, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Noel, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nohren, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nymegen, Susanna Maria, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">O.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Oakley, Juliana, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O’Connell, Madame, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oever, Alberta ten, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ogle, Miss, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O’Hara, Miss, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Olympias, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ommegank, Maria Jacoba, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oosterwyck, Maria van, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oostfries, Catharine, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oppendorf Countess von, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ozanne, Jane Frances, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“ Mary Ann, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">P.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Paar, Princess Anna, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pakman, Angelica Agnes, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Palladini, Arcangela, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Palomino, Francisca, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Panzacchi, Maria Helena, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pappafava, Beatrice, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Parasole, Hieronima, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Isabella, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Parenti-Duclos, Anna, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pasch, Ulrica Frederika, <a href="#Page_165">165</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Passe, Magdalen de, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Patin, Carlotta, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Gabriella, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pazzi, Caterina de’, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Peale, Anna C., <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Mrs. Rembrandt, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Rosalba, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Sarah M., <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pellegrini, Ludovica, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pepyn, Catherine, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Perez, Anna, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Perrot, Catherine, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Peters, Clara, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pflauder, Rosina, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pfründt, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Piccini, Isabella, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pinelli, Antonia, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pisani, Livia, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Planteau, Madame, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Platt, Mrs., <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Po, Teresa del, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pompadour, Madame de, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pozzo, Isabella dal, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Preisler, Anna Felicitas, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Barbara Julia, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Helen, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria Anna, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Prestel, Maria Catharine, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Preu, Joanna Sabina, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Prieto, Maria, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria de Loreto, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Provis, Anna Jemima, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">Q.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Quatrepomme, Isabella, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Querubini, Caterina, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Questier, Catharina, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">R.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Raimondi, Madame, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rastrum, Margaretta, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ravemann, Madame, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rayner, Louisa, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Read, Catherine, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Redi, Giovanna, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Renieri, Anna, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Reyschoot, Anna Maria von, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rialto, Domenia Luisa, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ricchi, Clena, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Riedel, Maria Theresa, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rieger, Maria, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rite, Isabel Maria, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Robert, Fanny, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Robineau, Claire, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Robusti, Marietta, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rodiana, Onorata, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Roldan, Luisa, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ronde, Lucrece Catherine de la, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rosa, Aniella di, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rose, Susan Penelope, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rosée, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ross, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rossi, Properzia di, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rusca, Caterina, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ruysch, Rachel, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ryberg, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ryding, C. M., <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ryk, Cornelia de, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">S.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Salmeggia, Chiara, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Salviani, Rosalba Maria, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Salvioni, Rosalba, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Samon, Mrs., <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sanchez, Jesualda, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sandrart, Susannah Maria von, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sarmiento, Teresa, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sartori, Felicità, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sattler, Caroline, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Saville, Lady Dorothea, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Saxe-Meiningen, Princess of, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scaligeri, Agnes, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Lucia, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scarafaglia, Lucrezia, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schalken, Maria, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scheffer, Caroline, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schild, Charlotte Rebecca, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schott, Crescentia, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schroeter, Caroline von, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schurmann, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schwartz, Catherine, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schwindel, Rosa Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Seghers, Anna, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Seidler, Louise Caroline, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Siddons, Mrs., <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Silva, Maria de, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Silvestre, Susanna, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Simanowitz, Ludovika, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Simes, Mary Jane, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Simons, Maria Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sirani, Anna Maria, 72</li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Barbara, <a href="#Page_72">72</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sirani, Elisabetta, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Siries, Violanta Beatrice, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Siscara, Angelica, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Skeysers, Clara, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Smirke, Miss, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Smith, Barbara Leigh, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Smyters, Anna, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sonnenschein, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sophia, Duchess of Coburg-Saalfeld, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sophia, Princess, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spencer, Countess Lavinia, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Lily M., <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spilberg, Adriana, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spilimberg, Irene di, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spilsbury, Mary, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stebbins, Emma, <a href="#Page_346">346</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Steen, Susanna von, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Steenwyk, Madame, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Steinbach, Sabina von, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stella, Claudine Bonzonnet, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stoop, Mariana van der, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stresor, Henriette, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stuart, Jane, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Stuntz, Electrine, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">St. Urbin, Marie Anne de, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sully, Jane, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Surigny, Madame, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">T.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Tarabotti, Augusta, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Caterina, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tardieu, Elizabeth Clara, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tassaert, Henriette Felicitas, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Temple, Lady, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Terburg, Gezina, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“ Maria, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tesi, Teresa, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tessala, Anna, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tesselschade-Visscher, Anna, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Theudelinda, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Thielen, Maria Theresa van, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tibaldi, Maria Felice, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Teresa, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Timarata, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tintoretto, Marietta, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tirlinks, Lewina, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tischbein, Magdalena, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Torrens, Eliza, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Rosalba, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tott, Countess of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Traballesi, Agatha, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Treu, Catharina, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Mary Anna, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Rosalie, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Trevingard, Anna, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Triumfi, Camilla, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Triva, Flaminia, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Troost, Sarah, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Truchsetz-Waldburg, Countess von, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tussaud, Madame, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">U.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ulefeld, Eleonora Christina, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Helena Christina, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Utrecht, Constantia of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">V.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Vajani, Anna Maria, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Valdes Leal, Luisa, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Maria de, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Van der Myn, Agatha, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vandyck, Anna, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vanetti, Laura, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vanni, Violanta, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Varotari, Chiara, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vasini, Clarice, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Velasco, Francisca Palomino y, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Venier, Ippolita, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Verbruggen, Susanna, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Verelst, Maria, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vernet, Fanny, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Viani, Maria, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Victoria, of Anhalt-Bernburg, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vieira, Catarina, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vigri, Caterina, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vill’ Ambrosa, Countess of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Villers, Madame, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vincent, Adelaide, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">W.</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Wasser, Anna, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Watson, Caroline, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Weis, Madame, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Werbronk, Jacoba, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wermuth, Maria Juliana, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Weston, Joanna, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">    “ Mary, 332</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wieslatin, Maria, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wilde, Maria de, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wildorfer, Maria Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wilmot, Mrs., <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wilson, Mrs., <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Withers, the Misses, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Withoos, Alida, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wolters, Henrietta, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wontiers, Micheline, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Woodman, Mrs., <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wright, Mrs., <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> -<li class="ifrst">Wulfraat, Margaretta, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - 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