The Netherland galleries - being a history of the Dutch school of painting, illuminated and demonstrated by critical descriptions of the great paintings in the many galleries (1912) (14761526676)

Identifier: netherlandgaller00prey (find matches)
Title: The Netherland galleries : being a history of the Dutch school of painting, illuminated and demonstrated by critical descriptions of the great paintings in the many galleries
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Preyer, David C. (David Charles), 1861-1913
Subjects: Art museums Painting
Publisher: Boston : St. Botolph Society
Contributing Library: Boston Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Public Library



Text Appearing Before Image:
compo-sition. A much later group piece, dated 1562, inwhich fourteen figures are crowded on a panel,only 14 x 19, is by Dirk Barendsz. It bears Titian-esque traits, and is much warmer in colour than thework of his predecessors. The alignment of thefaces is primitive, but their expression remarkablyvirile and full of character. On the opposite wallhangs his more renowned Fish Eaters (PlateV), which is in somewhat damaged condition, butclearly displays the best characteristics of theseearly group paintings. Close together hang two panels by the earliestpainter of note, Geertgen van St. Jans. The Lifeand Martyrdom of Saint Lucia of Syracuse pre-sents several episodes, joined in different planes ofthe composition. The Saint is surrounded by hertormentors, next she is seen kneeling before a priest,and further on she is decapitated. The character-istics of the artist are still more pronounced in theother panel, which is an Allegory upon the Sacri-fice of the New Testament. This painting was
Text Appearing After Image:
Malfcs Ubrougb tbe Galleries 241 ascribed to van Eyck, to whom at first most paint-ings of this kind were attributed, but later study-has separated him from many works that went byhis name, and Bode, Bredius, Hymans, etc., haverecognized and pointed out convincingly the pecul-iar manner of the Northern artist, Geertgen vanSt. Jans. His most significant traits are the ovalfaces of the women, with their strange head-dress-ing, a certain rigidity in the composition, but atthe same time a more lustrous light effect than isfound in Flemish pictures. We leave for the moment this room to enter analcove (K), where we find several altar pieces ofthe 16th century, mounted on screens. Thesefairly represent the execution of sacred art of thetime. Only one has its authorship verified, and isascribed to Maerten van Heemskerck, a wing of atriptych, formerly in a church in Delft. It showsthe peculiar introduction of heathen mythology inChristian decorations, for it represents the SibylErythrea, while