A celebrated little picture, with a long critical history, for as early as 1529 the writer known as the "anonimo of Morelli" mentions it as being variously attributed to Van Eyck, to Memlinc, and to Antonello, while he himself ascribed it tentatively to "Jacometto" (Jacopo de' Barbari). The influence of the Flemish School is obvious, says Sir Edward Poynter, "in the Gothic character of the architecture, the general arrangement of the picture, and the finish of the details. But the head of the saint has an energy of character highly characteristic of Antonello, and the buildings in the glimpse of landscape seen through the window on the left are distinctly Italian in character" (The National Gallery, i. 14). It is interesting to compare this picture with the version of the same subject commonly ascribed to Bellini (694). Observe, here, "the lion walking along the cloister, holding up a suffering paw, and the puss curled up on a platform at the saint's feet. Evidently this St. Jerome was a lover of animals, and, like Canon Liddon, more especially of cats" ("The Beasts of the National Gallery," by Sophia Beale, in Good Words, July 1895).
1419. THE LEGEND OF ST. GILES.
Unknown (Flemish School: 15th Century).
See also (p. xxi)
"St. Giles, patron saint of Edinburgh, and of woods, cripples, lepers, and beggars, was an Athenian prince, revered for his miraculous gifts. Having healed a sick man whom he found in a church by laying his cloak over him, and fearing danger to his soul from the fame which this event obtained him, he withdrew to a solitary cave, where he lived as a hermit, nourished only by wild herbs and the milk of a doe which had followed him. One day the King of France, hunting near this retreat, shot the doe, and, pursuing it, came upon the aged hermit holding in his arms the doe, which was pierced by the arrow through his hand. The King, seeing he was a man of God, begged forgiveness, and wished to persuade St. Giles to return with him; but he refused to quit his solitude, and remained in the cave till his death" (Saints and their Symbols, by E. A. G., 1881, p. 95).
Here we see the saint, clad in hermit's robes, protecting the doe, which has fled from the hunting party towards him; his right hand is transfixed by an arrow, intended for the animal. The King kneels to implore forgiveness. He is attended by a companion, who is supposed to represent the painter of the picture. Notice the irises in the foreground, and to the right a plant of mullein, finished with great delicacy. "Remarkable as an example of extraordinary finish and enamel-like splendour of colour. Remarkable also for the flood of even, gay daylight diffused over it, such as makes us think of the more moderate among recent plein air transcripts from nature. But the painter shows more of that intense humanity, of that command over delicate shades of character and facial expression which are the highest characteristic of the great Netherlandish masters of his time" (Claude Phillips, in National Review, Dec. 1894).
1420. A VIEW IN HAARLEM.
Gerrit Berck-Heyde (Dutch: 1638-1698).
Gerrit, and his elder brother, Job, were the sons of a butcher at Haarlem. Gerrit was very skilful in lineal perspective, and reproduced with remarkable fidelity the most complicated architectural views. The brothers worked together a great deal, and Job often painted the figures in Gerrit's pictures. "The pictures of both brothers are remarkable for a broad style of painting, for brilliant sunlight, and careful, but not over elaborate, drawing of details, and the figures are invariably well grouped" (Official Catalogue).