ITALIAN ART IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY.* This is a valuable

book, but it is not one adapted to the general reader, for the style is dry and wanting in charm ; and besides, he would probably find it rather bewildering reading, from the mere fact that the plan of the work does not allow of much detail or elaboration of subject. Dr. Richter does not write for the general reader, he specially addresses the art student; and it is from this point of view that the book must be considered.

His object is to give a history of the Italian schools as illus- trated by the pictures in the National Gallery; and he combines therewith a rapid sketch of the rise and fall of Italian art. The Florentine pictures of the fifteenth, the Umbrian school of the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries, and the Venetian school of about the same period, are those best represented in our National collection. There is, perhaps, out of Italy, no picture gallery which affords equal facilities for becoming acquainted with the development of these particular schools. There are also excellent examples of the Ferrarese, the

Veronese, and Milanese schools. The development of Italian painting, from its first efforts to free itself from the Byzantine tradition to the glories of the Renaissance, can be studied here as

a whole, as well as or better than in any other collection on this side of the Alps ; but whoever wishes to obtain a thorough knowledge of any local Italian school can only do that in Italy, as most of the greatest works were executed in wall paintings, and still remain on the spot:—

"There is, however, in the national collection, a small number of pictures which, to a certain extent, enable us to trace the great connection between some painters in the particularities of their styles. To these we shall have to pay particular attention, because they are the only evidences here at hand of the organic and, at the same time, spontaneous continuity so characteristic of artists of the classic Italian schools."

Dr. Richter has adopted what he calls the modern scientific, or so- called experimental method in criticism, in contradistinction to that which was chiefly founded on subjective and artistic pre- dilection. He considers if almost presumptuous on the part of writers on art to take on themselves to teach their contem- poraries, as well as coming generations, what styles and kinds of pictures they should consider beautiful, and what they should like and dislike. Therefore, he does not allow any other basis

• Italian Art in the National Gallery. By Jean Paul B.lohter, Ph.D. London : Sampkon Low and Co. 1883.

on which to dismiss advantageously the questions concerning artistic productions, except a thorough investigation of the works of art themselves. Naturally, the first question to be decided is their genuineness, and in order to be able to decide this, careful investigations of the individual style of every master must be made, "and we have to take into account not only his general conception and the tone and harmony of colours used by him, but also his rendering of details, and especially the manner in which he represents single parts of the human figure."

There is no doubt about it that fashion, terrible fashion, does influence even the appreciation of pictures, and it is, more- over, a most difficult point to decide exactly how far we each and all take our tone from it. Indeed, it is almost impossible to judge exactly how far we are acted on by any influence. Therefore,

a question may be raised as to how much unqualified good the art student gains by a close study of the painters we indiscrimi- nately class together as the "old Italian masters," both those -painters before Raphael and those of the Renaissance with whom the strong, passionate feeling for nature, according to modern

views, holds so little place. Though perhaps not unqualified good, we cannot but hold the opinion that in the hurry and rush of modern life, where people seem only to ask for amusement and excitement, a close and reverential study of those "old masters" must raise the tone of the artist and lead him to true feeling and noble thought, and so lift him beyond the trivial aims and small ambitions of modern painting, where the love of mere technical skill seems now to reign paramount. No fashion can ever rob these Italian masters of the exalted place they have held for generations, through their glorious colour, and more especially through their grandeur of sentiment and elevated feeling.

Dr. Richter's book will probably lead the student to further studies, and will form an admirable nucleus round which he will be able to collect ever more and more knowledge of the Italian schools, whenever opportunity offers. It is full and comprehensive, and gives us, as clearly as is possible in such a condensed form, the various complicated ramifications of the different schools. The casual observer would, perhaps, be surprised at the interest in the whole progress of Art which is created in the mind of the student by tracing the influence which one painter has on

another. For instance, not many will have given probably more than a cursory attention to the two large altar-pieces by Piero -della Francesca, in room thirteen, for they are not particularly -attractive to the untrained eye. But when led by Mr. Richter -to recognise in them the influence of an earlier painter, Uccelli, they assume an individuality which instantly clothes them with interest. First, we are introduced to Uccelli as the first re-

-presentative of the scientific and realistic tendencies in painting, and in his pictures, as well as in his private life, he appears to have been the regular professor. Vasari, in his life of him, explains that, his efforts being chiefly directed to the problems

of perspective, his style was in consequence "of a dry and angular hardness, which is a very common result of too close a -consideration of minute points." We do not see, however, much -proof of l:Tccelli's love of perspective and foreshortening in his picture in the Gallery. His most ardent follower was Piero della Francesca, who studied at Florence, but neither tradition nor documents tell us the name of his master. In the years 1439 and 1440 he worked with Domenico Veneziano, and this statement has led to the belief that he was Piero's master in -painting. Dr. Richter, however, shows us that a totally different conclusion is to be drawn from a study of the above-mentioned

altar-pieces :—

"It was the Commendatore Giovanni Morelli, the celebrated -connoisseur, who first pointed out the striking affinity of style between the landscapes of Piero's pictures and those of Paolo Uccelli. It is therefore very probable that Piero was a pupil not of Domenico Veneziano, but of Uccelli. The peculiar construction of these land- scapes, with steep mountains of an uncommon type, is more remark- able, because they are the starting-point of all the later achievements in realistic landscape painting. The background of the picture No. 665, representing the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, is 'especially instructive in this respect. The tops of the mountains appear reflected on the surface of the river in the foreground. In the middle distance there is an extensive valley, with a foreshortened view of a street leading to a fortified town. The landscape in the second altar-piece, No. 908, representing the Nativity of our Lord, is not less rich in combination of picturesque details. The painting is said to be unfinished, but the assertion is probably an error. _Even minate details, such as the pearls on the robes of the Virgin, have been worked out with an accuracy which excites astonishment. One of the two shepherds, standing on the right side and seen in -front, appears to have no pupils to his eyes, and this strange fact might account for the theory of the unfinished state of the picture On the other hand, it seems to me to have suffered very much from repainting in all the flesh parts. The drawing of the features of the singing angels is entirely out of proportion. So are the toes and some of the hands,—faults which are common with picture-reistorers. It would be certainly unjust to impute such errors to the hand of so gifted and conscientious a painter as Piero. The restorer has, I believe, forgotten to paint in the pupils of the shepherd's eyes, after having destroyed them by the cleaning of the original picture. Generally, the most tenderly and caref ally executed parts of a picture—namely, the flesh parts—suffer most under the hands of picture-cleaners. A fully convincing evidence of this regrettable fact is Piero's picture No. 665, where the destroyed parts have not been subjected to restoration. Two portraits of ladies in the same room are said to

be by Piero No. 758 was ascribed by Commendatore Morelli to Uccelli, and the reasons which he brings forth for this can easily be verified by comparison with the above described picture by that master; the treatment of the hair recalls that of one of the portraits in the battle picture, while Piero used to represent curls in a thin and thread-like shape. The ornament on the left sleeve of the lady also reminds one of the decoration on the standard of Uccelli's picture."

The history of the Florentine painters is treated at greater length than any others. After showing the inadequacy with which the early Siena and Florentine Schools are represented in the Gallery, and after touching on the different aims of those early artists, Dr. Richter enters more fully into the characteristics of their successors. In examples of these the collection is very rich. He classes these painters in a way which may Seem arbitrary to some, but which cannot fail to be instructive. He gives a chapter to each class, and works out the differences and resemblaines in an interesting and useful way. There is a chapter on the early realistic painters of the Florentine school, another on the artists of the Florentine quattrocento following dramatic tendencies, and, again, on those of plastic tendencies. The next chapter is on Florentine colourists of the cinquecento, then one on Michel Angelo, and, finally, on the decadence of Florentine art. There are but few pictures of the Umbrian school in the national collection, but they are, for- tunately, by the most prominent of their painters. There is little of moment to be learnt about the early painters of this school, whereas there is much detail and discussion to interest every one in the account of later painters, and in those of Ferrara. There are magnificent works of both the Paduan and Veronese schools. In the chapter on the Venetian quattrocento colourists, the question of the introduction of oil painting into Italy is discussed, and Vasari's testimony on the subject is questioned.

There is a chapter on the ciuquecento Venetian painters, another on the schools of Brescia and Cremona, one on that of Milan, and a final dissertation on the decay of the Italian school of painting. Here, however, it must be confessed that any difficulty there may be in the subject has been avoided by the easy remedy of ignoring it.

Where the value of the book as a whole is so great, it is per- haps ungrateful to carp at want of style ; but still, where one meets occasionally with such an awkwardly constructed sen- tence that one remains in doubt as to Dr. Richter's meaning, it cannot be passed quite without notice. For instance :—" The charm of naivete which Lippi succeeds so well in impressing on the features of his saints is always confounded with a worldly expression, and this romantic poetry places his representations of sacred subjects beyond the realm of pure religious art." Is " confounded " here a Germanism P We suppose he means that Lippi's saints have an expression of romantic, poetical, worldly love on their faces. Of the photographs which illustrate the book, it is impossible to speak with too high praise. They are simply beautiful, and thoroughly well chosen to illustrate this history of painters. There are also numerous wood engravings and etchings, which are fairly well done, but which naturally appear only inadequate representations by the side of the "hello- graphs." They are of use, however, in helping us to call to mind the different pictures. In conclusion, we must add that for those who do not wish to make an extensive study of the subject, Dr. Richter's Italian Art in the National Gallery will serve admirably as a guide and book of reference, pointing out what is best worth considering, and leading us, perhaps uncon- sciously, to a more intimate acquaintance with the pictures than can be readily gained by the usual superficial way of " doing " a picture gallery. The book will be found the more valuable now that the late Mr. Wornum's catalogue is out of print, for the present one is condensed away into truly pitiable, scanty proportions.