Produced by Charles Franks, David King
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
By MRS. GEORGE HORROCKS
By EDGAR SALTUS
CCXLIV. Art and Fashion
Although art had, under French influence, become unnatural,bombastical, in fine, exactly contrary to every rule of good taste,the courts, vain of their collections of works of art, still emulatedeach other in the patronage of the artists of the day, whosecreations, tasteless as they were, nevertheless afforded a species ofconsolation to the people, by diverting their thoughts from themiseries of daily existence.
Architecture degenerated in the greatest degree. Its sublimity wasgradually lost as the meaning of the Gothic style became lessunderstood, and a tasteless imitation of the Roman style, like that ofSt. Peter's at Rome, was brought into vogue by the Jesuits and by thecourt architects, by whom the chateau of Versailles was deemed thehighest chef-d'oeuvre of art. This style of architecture wasaccompanied by a style of sculpture equally unmeaning and forced;saints and Pagan deities in theatrical attitudes, fat genii, andcoquettish nymphs peopled the roofs of the churches and palaces,presided over bridges, fountains, etc. Miniature turnery-ware andmicroscopical sculpture also came into fashion. Such curiosities as,for instance, a cherry-stone, on which Pranner, the Carinthian, hadcarved upward of a hundred faces; a chessboard, the completion ofwhich had occupied a Dutchman for eighteen years; golden carriagesdrawn by fleas; toys composed of porcelain or ivory in imitation ofChinese works of art; curious pieces of mechanism, musical clocks,etc., were industriously collected into the cabinets of the wealthyand powerful. This taste was, however, not utterly useless. Thepredilection for ancient gems promoted the study of the remains ofantiquity, as Stosch, Lippert, and Winckelmann prove, and that ofnatural history was greatly facilitated by the collections of naturalcuriosities.
The style of painting was, however, still essentially German, althoughdeprived by the Reformation and by French influence of its ancientsacred and spiritual character. Nature was now generally studied inthe search after the beautiful. Among the pupils of Rubens, the greatfounder of the Dutch school, Jordaens was distinguished for brilliancyand force of execution, Van Dyck, A.D. 1541, for grace and beauty,although principally a portrait painter and incapable of idealizinghis subjects, in which Rembrandt, A.D. 1674, who chose more extensivehistorical subjects, and whose coloring is remarkable for depth andeffect, was equally deficient. Rembrandt's pupil, Gerhard Douw,introduced domestic scenes; his attention to the minutiæ of his artwas such that he is said to have worked for three days at abroomstick, in order to represent it with perfect truth. Dennercarried accuracy still further; in his portraits of old men every hairin the beard is carefully imitated. Francis and William[1] Mierisdiscovered far greater talent in their treatment of social anddomestic groups; Terbourg and Netscher, on the other hand, delightedin the close imitation of velvet and sati