Evening star., 1941-08-17

tapping gently in the 14th century,
had become mountainous in height
200 wears later, after which, spend
ing itself, it swept north to rise
again and break over Holland and
Belgium. the Low Countries. The
backwash flooded France, but more
particularly Spain, where, mlnglng
with that from the original source,
It acquired new strength. Still on
q northern course the wave sped to
England, where it crested In the
English school. which, in works from
the Mellon collection. is admirably
represented in the National Gal
lery of Art.
Portrait Miniatures.
Obviously, this English school was
built upon the art not native IN
Britain, but imported. Hans Hol-
bein. the younger, of Augsburg, whose
fires of genius had been kindled
first in his own land and then by
works of Italian origin, may be SAID
70 have founded the English school
of portraiture, not only through his
works but his imitators, but it was
Van Dvck. pupil of RubenS and
spiritual descendent OF the painters
of the high renaissance IN ltaly,
who, though his paintings set Its
style. fixed its character.
OF course, there had been painters
In England before Holbeln crossed
the Channel with Erasmus intro
duction to Sir Thomas More In his
pocket, but among them none OF
yerv great original gift stands forth.
What works had been produced were
chiefly illustrative, of religious
character, inspired by illuminations
and miniatures done by skilled
craftsmen. In Holbeih's time the
art of portrait miniatures rose IN
England and was capably practlced
bv not a few. 1t was, it will be re-
called, of one of these that he him
self took lessons Holbein was OF
the 18th century, Van Dyck of the
18th. between came Moro. and later,
Lelv and Kneller, both German by
birth. strongly Influenced by the
Van Dyck tradition, but knlghted
by the English crown. Strangely
enough. it is a much shorter step
from Van Dyck to Reynolds than to
him and his contemporaries from
either of these painters, both OF
whom were in date closer.
This is delightfully."- illustrated in
the National Gallery collection,
wherein the visitor may pass almost
directly from Van Dycks paintings
of his English period, of Philip, Lord
Wharton and william II of Nassau
and Orange. which hang with his
works done in Antwerp and Genoa,
to those by Reynolds, Gainsborough,
Romney. Hoppner and Lawrence,
which hang in adjacent rooms.
handsomely placed Both of the
Van Dycks came from the Her
mitage Gallery and the former was
previously in the Walpole collec-
ton, Norfolk. They are very differ
ent from the Antwerp and Genoa
paintings. more suave, most gra-
Cious, but less full blooded; beau
tifully done with a facile brush,
amazing ease, but more reserve
characteristics which almost all the
works of the English school pos
sess in common as distinguishing.
It is for this reason that, after feast
ing on the sterp reality of the Ital-
ian and Flemish portraits, the tre-
mendously vital and interpretative
portraits of Rembrandt and Velas-
quez, and the splendid richness and
nobility of those done in Europe by
Van Dyck and his master, Rubens,
what the British school has to offer
seems, at first perhaps, a little
tasteless and thin.
The English artists of the great
era, reckoned from the birth OF
REYNOLDS in 1923 to the death OF
Lawrence in 1880, were, 1t should
be remembered, primarily fashion
able portrait painters; 1t was theii
business to please their patrons
who were chiefly of the nobility
leaders of society, and the purpose