New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-11-24
NUMBER 22s.

make ner natIefln9 portrait, TepHeu tne
great painter.
"0h, that had your genius!" exclaimed
Teniers, g ] would make my portrait even more
beautiful than Anne Breughel." s
- J" II IT is an Anne Breughel you are thinking
| Of, replied Rubens, "go to our grave friend,
Van Baelen; he will tell you, like an old phi
| osopher who has subdued the passions of mans
nature, what is best to be done in such case %
Teniers went directly to the house Of the old
painter; he found him painting, upon copper,
4 copy of his great work, st. John Preaching
| in the Desert" Teniers had seen the original
often in the palace of The Archduke. He came
at once to the object of his visit esWhat is the
best thing to please young maiden 20
"Love her sincerely" replied Van Baelen.
"You are, perhaps, right; and yet ] adore
Anne Breughel. who, imagine, is not the least
affected by my passion"
The three guardians interrogated their ward
in turn. She had not forgotten David Teniers.
II turned ont that Van Baelen had spoken more
wisely than his colleagues The three took
counsel together; they weighed in the balance
| the talent of Teniers and the fortune of Anne
Breughel-the mind of the one and the beauty
of the other. After some debate they decided
for the marriage. The young pair were brought
together at a supper at the house of Rubens,
| who, as well as his guests. amused themselves
with observing their mutual embarrassment.
At the dessert they told Teniers that they had
invited him as witness to the marriage con-
tract of Anne Breughei, in his character Of
a disciple of her grandfather, old Peter Breu-
ghel Soon afterward the notary presented him
self very gravely; a space was cleared for him
at the end of the table. He unrolled the parch-
ment, mended his pen, and prepared to read
4 the marriage contract of the future partners
Young David no longer doubted his happiness.
The marriage contract, still preserved in the
archives Of the city of Antwerp, is prepared
rather in favor of the wife than the husband.
1t stipulates that in case of the decease of Anne
Breughel, their children shall receive, not only
the property which she brought him as mar
riage portion, but also all interest in the joint
property settled by the contract. We shall see
presently that the clause was strictly fulfilled.
The three guardians, artists as they were, had
made all their arrangements like sober lawyers.
The marriage took place q few days afterwards.
On the morning Of the wedding, the Archduke
presented meniers with miniature portrait Of
himself and gold chain. Anne Breughel was
of sweet disposition and pleasing manners
She brought her husband four children, AND
loved him to the last as on the first day Of he1
marriage; while he, in his turn, loved her with
all the tenderness Of his passionate nature In
short, they never saw Hymen except on the fa-
yorite side of the step.
In the first years Of his welded life, Teniefs
continued to reside in the palace of Leopold
working almost exclusively for the king Of
Spain, who was so delighted with his works that
he had gallery built expressly for them. Al
first the artist did scarcely any thing more thar
copy the great masters Of the Flemish and
Italian schools. After little while, growine
weary of copying others, stroke by stroke, ht
contented himself with merely initiating them
His limitations enjoyed a singular reputation
some persons even going so far as to prefer them
to the models. He was particularly successful
in his limitations Of Rubens, which many mistool
, for the works of that master. But Teniers a
length determined to be in his turn an origina
painter 5 5ssa5 .s.A ,,A77g4..32, ,.a5as Il. Vi
In his leisure hours, remembering the coun
sells of his aged father, he sketched by fey
strokes of his pencil scene taken near by, Q
pure and simple nature. Suddenly, he aban
, doned his grand subjects. Eminently Flemish
f he limited his field to q Flemish horizon. H'
was wearied of gazing upon saints in ecstasy
, and penitent Magdalens he had never met wit
! such things in his simple way of life Was
e not time that the human form should b
f painted under some other phase, and in a char
9 acter more true to nature? II painting shout
be- a mirror of nature, why not set that miro
g beside the public way, as well as in the unfre
r quented by-roads a picture of happiness
fresh and ndif, a reflex of actual life, can neve
e be unworthy of art; prose may be made pleasin
/, as well as verse. Thus reasoned the youn
o artist. rI. -l45zsst 4. .I= zssS 5z
l. Adrian Brauwer and Van Craesbeck had Al
ready taken sketches among the mariners an
q other freauenters of the cabarets of Antwerp
d of all the original physiognomies to be foun
II there There was not an interior OF publ
), house, nor droll or characteristic face whic
l. they had not copied dozen times. Tenierssa
h that he must seek for new world but he hs
e not far to look for that. In the little village
Perck, between Malines and Antwerp, the
ia happened to be chateau to be sold, called I'll
. Chateau of the Three Towers, an ancient Goth
edifce, worthy Of lodging prince. Tenier
a who was indeed prince among Flemish pain
,e ers, purchased it, resolved to spend the remai
h der of his life there in the study of nature, al
. in the enjoyment of his good fortune. The pla
l. was well chosen--a church with pointed spiI
n meadow, lake, picturesque inclesure, Doors,
s pers, cabarets-eyery thing he wanted was
10 be found in perck and its environs. He liv
5, here in good style, keeping lackeys and equi
4 ages, and his chateau became celebrated re
is devious for the chase. The Archduke ieopol
,e the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Marlboroug
a and many other illustrions persons, visited hi
to there Twice his extravagant way of Ii
Wv brought him to the verge of ruin; the first til
no he set to work to repair his fortunes by paiut
,I day and night. He did not dispense with a 81
ne gle horse or servant, nor did he even recei
fewer of those illustrious visiotrs from all cou
IL UrleS, VINO, III lnc CuhttAu utS 1EulS Id
"a "a cied themselves in royal palace. His indust
az of restored his finances. 1t is said that at Il
"a - time he even produced as many as three hu
ad a dred and fifty paintings in a single year;
J ~ this extraordinary fecunditv disheartened
"a "a purchasers, and his works fell in value. Th
n ai. is tradition-but an improbable one-that
W. W then adopted the singular expedient of spret
1a I'd ing abroad report OF his own death, and Il
n ,s. his wife even went into mourning, to induce
e, belief in the story, and thus enhance the va
~ of his works.
Teniers was in the midst of his career WI
q. DO his wife died, His aff1iction was beyond mi
r. sure; his chateau, SO cheerful before, beca
"a somber and comfortless Nature, his ordina
H. teacher, spoke to him now of nothing but An
~ Breughel. His marriage contract compelli
;l.o him to give up every thing on the death of
lA' wife, the painter found himself by this calam
suddenly reduced to poverty. His childl
ng. would not have allowed the clauses of the C,
rs, tract to be executed in their favor, but Tenie
ea in spite of the entreates of his friends, resol
TED to strip himself of every thing in the very y,
of her death; saying that IS he would ne
ng. consent to live on the property of orphan
ea' The chateau changed owners and he retired
ner Brussels. Here he lived a solitary life, turn
his thoughts Increasingly to the remembrance
the his dear Anne and devoting himself to the pr
'm- tices of religion, and to watching over the I
" gress of his children at college.
ap- Though living now in the most humble st,
nas he had been compelled to retain one of
ltn horses-all his pictures being the result of sf