in the Dutch master, is merely pretentious imitation of what would be facile and superb in the great Florentine. There is not a single attitude nor a movement that is not contrasted; for instance, if the left arm is behind, the right leg is in front. In fact, the study of nature is completely subordinated to academic conventions. The color is far more natural than the drawing. The artist has been extremely successful in rendering the flesh tints of life as well as of death, and he has varied the nuances in accordance with sex and age, giving very faithfully the tenderness and freshness of the flesh tints of infancy, and the softness of the female form, the stronger tones of the executioners in action, and even the cadaverous hue of the bloodless corpses. As for the expressions of the faces, they are vulgar though energetic.
His Love of painting the Nude.—The love of Cornelisz for compositions thronged with nude figures in the most varied attitudes wherein he could exhibit all the resources of his learning and study of the works of Michelangelo is again shown in the large canvas, measuring 8 by 14 feet, entitled Banquet of the Gods of Olympus, or Marriage of Peleus and Thetis.
Gilles Coignet.—Cornelisz had received his tastes and instruction principally from Gilles Coignet (1540–99), who set out for Italy with another painter named Stello in 1555 and worked principally at Terni, between Loretto and Rome, for five years. He painted historical and mythological subjects of easel size, but was more successful in landscapes, and more particularly in candle-light subjects and moonlight. He took up his abode in Amsterdam in 1586. His influence on the Haarlem school was pronounced.
Elsheimer's Excellence in Chiaroscuro.—The Mauritshuis possesses two Italian Landscapes by Adam Elsheimer (Elshaimer or Elzheimer) (1574–1620), a German painter, whom the Italians call Adam Tedesco, who possessed great influence over his contemporaries, particularly the elder Teniers and Rembrandt, who followed out the same characteristics of chiaroscuro. Elsheimer delighted in the effects of moonlight and evening dusk; also in torchlight, conflagrations, and every other kind of artificial light—all of which he represented with greater excellence than had ever been done before him. Visiting Italy, he became charmed with the country and settled in Rome, where his little pictures, usually painted on copper with microscopic and beautifully finished figures, had great success. Elsheimer was visited by all the artists of his country, including Poelemburg, who saw him in 1617. He was almost as great in chiaroscuro as Rembrandt; and his immense reputation did not diminish until after the eighteenth century.
Cornelis van Poelemburg.—A picture of Women Bathing, by Cornelis van Poelemburg (1586–1667), is a fine example of his style. He studied first under Bloemaert, but during a protracted visit to Italy he fell under the influence of Elsheimer; and on his return to his own country he became quite the rage as a painter of classic landscape. In Rome he had been fascinated by Raphael's pictures, and studied him with affectionate admiration. Poelemburg possessed a happy and tranquil nature.
His Attractive Landscapes.—"The little pictures that his imagination painted breathe a quiet happiness, and are imprinted with a suave poesy. They nearly always represent a countryside adorned with ancient ruins and frequented by demi-nude nymphs. His landscapes, enveloped in vapor which, while decreasing the dryness of the outlines and crudity of the tones, would soften the aspect of the most rugged spots, serve as a background for the whiteness of the goddesses who dance with fauns or repose in the shade of some abandoned monument. Sometimes, as though the vale that they dwell in were reserved for the gods, Poelemburg's nymphs do not fear to remove their light vesture and bathe in some open pool where only the painter may see them. But, most frequently, it is in the neighborhood of a grotto, at the foot of rocks perpetually washed by a spring of fresh water, that one likes to surprise them, nude, trembling, their bodies rendered whiter by the transparent veil of the atmosphere, playing with the water they are disturbing, swimming after one another and half-hidden by the current of their chaste fountains."
Dutch Artists who migrated to Rome.—Bartholomeus Breenborch (1599–1659) was another member of that band of artists who at the beginning of the seventeenth century deserted the banks of the Meuse for those of the Tiber, and exchanged the land that was to produce Rembrandt for the country of Raphael's birth. A few Dutch artists successfully resisted the lures of the Eternal City; but the majority of painters of that period followed the example of Elsheimer, Poelemburg, Karel Dujardin, Herman Swanevelt, Andreas and Jan Both, and others, and formed a little Dutch colony among the Seven Hills.
Breenborch compared with Poelemburg.—Breenborch devoted himself to history and landscape alternately. His historical subjects were chiefly Biblical and mythological. He was fond of painting classical landscapes with ruins; and the only artist who could excel him in painting charming little figures in a landscape was Van de Velde. The chief characteristic of Poelemburg, with whom Breenborch is so often compared, is grace. The only picture of this artist in The Hague Gallery, Mercury appearing to the Nymph Hersé, resembles Poelemburg both in subject and treatment.
Van der Ulft's Architectural Paintings.—Van der Ulft (1627–90), another artist of this school, was originally a painter on glass. Later, he turned to historical compositions of small dimensions; but his real talent lay in the representation of architectural monuments, and scenes inside city walls. It is strange that he never visited Italy, but formed himself by the study of the works of returning Roman art pilgrims and of engravings. His perspective is exact; his ancient ruins, triumphal arches, and statues are correctly placed in his pictures, and his architectural backgrounds, abounding in strong and golden grays, form an excellent frame for the little figures that animate his spirited paintings. He delighted to paint Roman processions. The Hague picture shows an army on the march in a landscape adorned with architectural remains.
Nicolas Moeyaert's Best Points.—A follower of Elsheimer, who later became a disciple of Rembrandt, was Nicolas Moeyaert (1630-?), who settled in Amsterdam in 1624 and joined the Painters' Guild in 1630. In some of his pictures he imitated Rembrandt very closely. He excelled in portraits, animals, landscapes, and historical and Biblical scenes. The Hague Gallery contains three: Mercury appearing to the Nymph Hersé; Triumph of Silenus, and a Biblical scene, also called the Visit of Antiochus to the Augur.
Description of one of his Pictures.—Antiochus, about to engage in a war, is consulting the augur. In the centre stands the king dressed in a long blue robe, with a white girdle and a purple cloak lined with fur; also a furred bonnet. He is talking to an old man, the augur, who has a long white beard. He is wrapped in a yellow cloak, is barefooted, and he is writing in a book. By him are some animals, including a dog and some rabbits, and on the right of Antiochus are two goats and a sheep. On a rock on the left is a group of ten persons; and in the centre of the picture between the two high rocks stand a tower and a temple. For pupils Moeyaert had Berchem, Van der Does, Salomon Koninck, and J. B. Weenix.
Pieters and Lastman.—Gerrit Pieters, the best pupil of C. Cornelisz, also went to Rome. He painted assemblies, genre, and small portraits; his success prevented him from devoting himself to historical painting, which he preferred. A pupil of his was Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), who also made a long sojourn in Italy under Elsheimer's influence. He groped about in different styles for a long time, devoting himself principally to Biblical subjects. He learned a good deal about light effects from Elsheimer; on his return he imparted what he knew to Rembrandt, who studied with him for a short time. Later, when his brilliant pupil grew famous, Lastman humbly followed his lead. Jan Lievens (1607–74), was another of his pupils. A picture by him, painted in 1622, when Rembrandt was still only fourteen years old, and therefore could not have influenced him, is in the Mauritshuis. It is called The Resurrection of Lazarus.
An artist who accompanied Lastman to Italy in 1605 was named Jan Pinas (f. 1608–21). He painted portraits, landscapes, and historical subjects.
Herman Swanevelt's Study of Nature.—Herman Swanevelt (Herman of Italy) (1600–55) was a pupil and imitator of Claude Lorraine in Rome, whither he went in 1624, and where his excessive