learned dogmas of the school of Aristotle, so in
sculpture the purity and simplicity of the forms of Phidias established
a line of demarcation between his own works and those of the formal,
symmetrical, and dry sculpture of his predecessors. Sculpture, till
then, lay fettered and bound up in the severity of Egyptian
Hieroglyphics. Likewise we perceive the genius of Michael Angelo and
Raffaelle setting aside the stiffness and profile character existing
in the works of Signorelli and Masaccio. In Venice, Titian emancipated
the arts from the grasp of Giovanni Bellini. In Germany, Rubens must
be considered the great translator of art out of a dead language into
a living one, to use a metaphor, and into one that, like music, is
universal. Previous to Rembrandt, the pupils of Rubens had thrown off
every affinity not only to Gothic stiffness, but even to that degree
of regularity of composition which all classes of historical subjects
require. Independent of Rubens and his pupils, we find Rembrandt was
aware of the great advances made in natural representations of objects
by Adrian Brauwer, (several of whose works, by the catalogue given of
his effects, were in his possession;) therefore, as far as transparency
and richness, with a truthfulness of tint, are concerned, Brauwer had
set an example. But in the works of Rembrandt we perceive a peculiarity
entirely his own--that of enveloping parts in beautiful obscurity, and
the light again emerging from the shadow, like the softness of moonlight
partially seen through demi-transparent clouds, and leaving large
masses of undefined objects in darkness. This principle he applied to
compositions of even a complicated character, and their bustle and noise
were swallowed up in the stillness of shadow. If breadth constitutes
grandeur, Rembrandt's works are exemplifications of mysterious sublimity
to the fullest extent. This "darkness visible," as Milton expresses it,
belongs to the great founder of the school of Holland, and to him alone.
Flinck, Dietricy, De Guelder, and others his pupils, give no idea of it;
their works are warm, but they are without redeeming cool tints; they
are yellow without pearly tones; and in place of leading the eye of the
spectator into the depths of aerial perspective, the whole work appears
on the surface of the panel. There are none of those shadows "hanging
in mid air," which constitute so captivating a charm in the great
magician of chiaro-scuro; not only a