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THE SKETCH-BOOK.

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ANTWERP CATHEDRAL.

(_For the Mirror_.)

Antwerp possesses considerable interest to an Englishman, as a place of
great importance during the late war, when there was a sort of mystery
attached to it, as the secret grand naval depot of Napoleon, which our
Government thought to "cripple France for ever," by getting into our own
hands! But what the Earl of Chatham, with an army of twenty thousand men,
aided by a fine British fleet, could not do, I did: I made my entry into
Antwerp--without molestation, thanks to the benign Spirit of Peace--towards
the evening of a fine day in July; and while the impression of novelty was
still fresh, enjoyed a rich treat in viewing its noble Cathedral. The
interior is grand, but simple--striking the beholder more by its loftiness
and spaciousness, than by any profusion of glittering ornament, so common
in Catholic churches--although the forest of pillars, the altar-piece, the
statues, and above all the splendid pictures which grace the walls, form a
rich variety to the eye. It would be useless to enter into a minute detail,
for no description can give a stranger a perfect idea of one building
distinct from others of a similar kind, and those who have seen the object
itself do not require it. Antwerp may be called the country of Rubens: at
every turn you meet with monuments of his genius; and here (in the
Cathedral) you have what is esteemed his masterpiece--the "Descent from the
Cross"--which surprises you with a boldness of drawing, vigour and richness
of colouring, and an animation in the grouping, that can scarcely be
excelled; and when you discern the colossal figures from a little distance
amongst the pillars and arches of the nave, you feel inclined to bow in
reverence to the divinity of the genius which has portrayed so wonderful a
conception of the mind. It is needless to say that this was one of the
works of art carried to Paris to enrich the gallery of the Louvre, together
with one placed in a corresponding situation, "The Assumption of the
Virgin," which is more in Rubens' florid style than the former. There is
also, by the same master-hand, a noble picture, "The Elevation of the
Cross," in the artist's happiest manner; and the exquisite altarpiece, "The
Ascension," is also his work. There are several other fine paintings
here--one of them said to be the best perform