of this volume; the materials, though less complete than they may yet become, were sufficient for tracing the course of painting in Belgium, not merely from the time of the Van Eycks, but from a much earlier period. It has been our endeavour to combine all these materials together for the first time, and to form a connected narrative. More fortunate, perhaps, than our predecessors, we have been able to visit and compare most of the masterpieces of the artists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, dispersed throughout the continent of Europe. Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, have all been visited for this object; and the result of a personal inspection of all these pictures, as well as of most of those which have found their way to this country, has been a classification of schools under their several heads, such as would have been otherwise unattainable. ERRATA. Page 16, line 14, for "Salutation" read "Visitation." Page 64, line 18, for "Quos" read "Quis; " line 21, after the word Page 65, last line, for 1416 read 1516; for 1424 read 1524. Page 79, line 21, for "three" read "several." Page 83, line 14, for "previous to" read "in the early years subse quent to." Page 117, line 17, for 1451 read 1449. Page 120, line 6, for 1451 read 1452. Page 138, line 2, for "The Saviour on the Cross" read "St. John the Baptist." Page 218, line 7, for "answers the description " read "answers in part only the description." Page 283, line 12, for "Stow" read "Stoke." PAGE THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH-Altar-piece by JOHN VAN EYCK, in the Santa Trinita Museum at Madrid Frontispiece THE ANNUNCIATION-THE VISITATION-THE PRESENTATION-THE THE ETERNAL-ST. ELIZABETH-from the Altar-piece by MELCHIOR ANGEL OF THE ANNUNCIATION-VIRGIN OF THE ANNUNCIATION-from THE MYSTIC LAMB-Interior of the Altar-piece of Ghent, by HUBERT and JOHN VAN EYCK Wings of the Altar-piece of Ghent 16 16 16 16 THE VIRGIN, from the Altar-piece of Ghent, by HUBERT VAN EYCK 75 THE ANNUNCIATION-Mural Picture, by JUSTUS D'ALLAMAGNA, in Santa . 141 THE LAST JUDGMENT-Interior of the Altar-piece by ROGER VAN DER THE CRUCIFIXION-by ANTONELLO DA MESSINA, in the Antwerp Museum ... THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI-Altar-piece by STEPHEN LOETHENER, in the Cathedral of Cologne No. 1. 1.4.4.4. dalone llus me Naneus No. 2. 147.5 anlonellus me Naneus me pinxt Fac-similes of the Signature of Antonello da Messina, in the " Crucifixion" of the Antwerp Museum. No. 1, before; No. 2, after cleaning.-Vide p. 216. 178 216 259 314 EARLY FLEMISH ART. THE SCHOOL OF BRUGES. CHAPTER I. EARLY EFFORTS. THE records of early art in the Netherlands are exceedingly obscure, not only because innumerable pictures have perished, but because historians preferred to dwell. on the stirring political struggles of their time rather than on the relation of pictorial triumphs. Municipal freedom, successful commerce, and aristocratic splendour, are the themes on which they lavished their attention. They had leisure to describe the strife of jealous communes, the wars of foreign and native princes, the long intrigues and cruel stratagems, the vanities and ambition of contending parties. They chronicled with pride the wealth and love of show of duke or burgher, but they neglected art and its efforts; leaving to posterity to seek its traces through the obscurity of ages. Whilst the lives of eminent painters thus remained untold, the works of these men were subjected to all the vicissitudes of civil and religious warfare, and the greater part of them were consequently lost. No school of art, in truth, has flourished so little known as that of Bruges. We B |